Israeli Gov’t: Evangelicals Should Shun “Christ at the Checkpoint”
David Lazarus
Israel’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has issued a last-minute statement suggesting
Christians steer clear of the “Christ at the Checkpoint” (CatC) conference that
opens tomorrow (Monday) in Palestinian-held Bethlehem. The statement, which
came in response to an investigative inquiry by Israel Today, regards the CatC
conference as a serious long-term threat to Israel’s security.
The official
provided statement from the MFA is as follows:
“The attempt to use religious motifs in order to
mobilize political propaganda and agitate the feelings of the faithful through
the manipulation of religion and politics is an unacceptable and shameful act.
Using religion for the purpose of incitement in the service of political
interests stains the person who does it with a stain of indelible infamy.”
“Using religion for incitement”
In this
unprecedented advisory, the Israeli government has taken the dramatic step of
warning Christians that an Evangelical Christian event is “using religion for
the purpose of incitement.” The Israeli government issued the warning as it
became clear that Palestinian evangelicals at CatC are misusing Christian
teachings to inflame anti-Israeli passions. Government officials are concerned
that the “blame Israel” propaganda coming out of events like CatC ultimately
serves, even if unintentionally, to encourage violence and stir up even more
radical Islamic terror.
The Israeli
government recognizes that depicting Christ suffering at the Bethlehem
checkpoint under the heavy-booted and trigger-happy Jews is just the type of
religion-fueled imagery that has in years past resulted in the worst kind of
Christian anti-Semitism.
“Stains the person with indelible infamy”
When the
government of Israel needs to put out an official warning about a group of
evangelical Christians saying that they are “stained with indelible infamy,”
they mean business. The government of Israel has made it clear that those who
participate in this type of religious manipulation to incitement are marked,
both figuratively, and as a focus of further action on the part of the
authorities in Jerusalem.
“We have already
actively targeted specific participants in the conference, as well as leaders
of the groups who will attend the event, in a coordinated effort to expose them
to our side of the story,” the MFA told Israel Today.
Furthermore, the
government has indicated that it considers certain people involved in CatC to
have a reputation for being involved in malicious acts against the state. For
example, it was recently revealed that some of the leading figures at CatC have
very close ties to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that
aims to delegitimize and ultimately to undermine entirely the Jewish state.
(See the Bethlehem
Call, which was co-authored by one of the CatC organizers and is linked to
from the conference’s website)
Evangelical Friend or Foe?
That Jerusalem
is so aware and concerned about CatC should be encouraging news to Evangelical
Christians around the world. The government of Israel finds them “an extremely
important audience,” and the goal of the conference is clearly to drive a wedge
between Christians and the State of Israel. Christians around the world should
continue to heed the government’s call to distance themselves from the
dangerous and politically-motivated propaganda of Christ at the Checkpoint.
Source: Israel
Today
Via: Julio Severo
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