The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party

Is withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza a beginning or an end? How will the Palestinians deal with the new land? What will happen to the West Bank? And how will Christian Zionists respond to the current set of events?

This page will track articles documenting events between Israelis and Palestinians hoping, at some point, to shed light on the role of Christian Zionists. At this point, there is virtually no mention of Christian Zionists in the media. To read about Christian Zionists, click here.

Articles in chronological order:

As Evangelical Firebrand Hooks Up With Federations, Liberals Speak Out, The Jewish Daily Foreward, May 4, 2007

Israel to Hand Over Several West Bank Cities, New York Times, January 31, 2005

Knesset approves Evacuation Compensation bill, Ha'aretz, February 16, 2005

Republicans Criticize $81.9 Billion Spending Bill, New York Times, March 2, 2005 (This is important because President Bush put $350 million in his supplemental spending bill for aid to the Palestinians, and it remains to be seen whether or not the dispensationalists in Congress will leave it in.)

Top Jewish Council Urges House Congress not to Block Plan for Palestinian Aid, The Forward, March 4, 2005

House Republicans Give a Little and Take a Little on Bush Bill, New York Times, March 5, 2005

To read a letter from Brit Tzedek V'Shalom on the bill to send aid to the Palestinians, click here.

The Armageddon Nominee, TomPaine.com, March 7, 2005

Sharon and the Outposts, Ha'aretz, March 9, 2005

Israeli Cabinet Pledges to Raze Some Outposts in West Bank, New York Times, March 14, 2005

Israel to Turn Over Control of 2 West Bank Towns to Palestinians, New York Times, March 15, 2005

Palestinians Gain Security Control of Jericho, New York Times, March 17, 2005

Palestinian Factions Agree to Extend Truce With Israel, New York Times, March 18, 2005

Israeli photographs show extensive new illegal settlements, The Independent, March 21, 2005

Israel to Expand Largest West Bank Settlement, New York Times, March 22, 2005

One Step Back in the Mideast, New York Times, March 23, 2005

Rice Warns Israel against Settlement Expansion, Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2005

Jordan's King Asserts Israel Imperils Talks, New York Times, March 24, 2005

Sharon Vows to Pursue Settlement Expansion, Reuters, April 4, 2005

Sharon Defies International Objections by Allowing 3,500 New Homes on West Bank, The Independent UK, April 5, 2005

Lupolianski for linking Ma'ale Adumim, Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2005

Israel Defends Settler Plan in Face of Bush Demands, Reuters, April 6, 2005

Settlement Dispute on Bush-Sharon Agenda, New York Times, April 9, 2005

Israel Seals Off Shrine, Foils Jewish Protest March, Washington Post, April 10, 2005

West Bank Construction Forges Ahead, ABC News, April 13, 2005

Israel, on Its Own, Is Shaping the Borders of the West Bank, New York Times, April 19, 2005

Israel to purchase American-made 'bunker-buster' bombs, Ha'aretz, April 27, 2005

$82 Billion Bill Advances With War Funds, Add-Ons, Washington Post, May 4, 2005:

One major beneficiary is the Palestinian territories, which would receive $200 million in economic and infrastructure assistance. But the bill requires an independent audit of the Palestinian Authority's financial structures and a report on its political, economic and security reforms.

Palestinians to Get Aid, With Strings, in House Plan, New York Times, May 6, 2005

Professors in Britain Vote to Boycott 2 Israeli Schools, New York Times, May 8, 2005

Paving Palestine's Way, LA Times, May 10, 2005

Sharon prepares to extend barrier into West Bank, Times OnLine, May 17, 2005

Demonstrators jam traffic across Israel, LA Times, May 17, 2005

Bush Offers Palestinians Aid, Washington Post, May 27, 2005

Bush Praises Palestinian; Tells Israel of Its Duties, New York Times, May 27, 2005

British Group Lifts Boycott of 2 Israeli Universities, New York Times, May 27, 2005

Let's just dump that road map, Yossi Beilin, Herald Tribune, June 4, 2005

In the Mideast, Steps Forward, Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2005

Effort to Raise $3 Billion for Palestinians in Post-Israel Gaza, New York Times, June 17, 2005

Moving Forward by Falling Back, by Isaac Herzog, New York Times, June 18, 2005

Israeli Troops Drag Pro-Settler Squatters From Stronghold, New York Times, July 1, 2005

Israeli Barrier in Jerusalem Will Cut Off 55,000 Arabs, New York Times, July 11, 2005

Killing of Hamas Commander Threatens Ceasefire, The Independent UK, July 18, 2005

The Rabbi Who Loved Evangelicals (and Vice Versa), New York Times, July 24, 2005: This article talks about those calling attention to the motives behind Christian Zionists actions as "paranoid." Be sure to read until the end to understand that what the reporter is getting has been carefully scripted.

Threat to Divest Is Church Tool in Israeli Fight, The New York Times, August 6, 2005

Gaza Pullout: Cooperation or Resistance? New York Times, August 7, 2005

Israeli Minister Quits as Gaza Pullout Nears, New York Times, August 8, 2005

Start of Gaza Withdrawal Mostly Peaceful, Washington Post, August 15, 2005

Gazans to Monitor How Vacated Land Is Used, New York Times, August 16, 2005

There's a big gap in this web site during those dates that Israel withdrew from Gaza. There were just too many articles to include here.

A history of Jews in Gaza, Palestinians on the Right Side of History, New York Times, August 24, 2005

Israel Confirms Plan to Seize West Bank Land for Barrier, New York Times, August 25, 2005

 Palestinian Authority's US Assets Are Frozen, The Boston Globe, August 30, 2005

Sharon UN speech turns Israeli politics on its head, Reuters, September 16, 2005

Evangelicals Get a Piece of the Promised Land, IPS News, October 3, 2005

Doomsday: The Latest Word if Not the Last, New York Times, October 16, 2005

Christian leanings at the Jerusalem Post, The Guardian, October 20, 2005

Did Tim LaHaye Just Call Israelis "Not-To-Be-Trusted Yids?," Talk To Action, December 1, 2005

Jews and the Christian right: Is the honeymoon over? Michelle Goldberg, Salon

Sharon 'sees wall as Israel's new border', UK Independent, December 2, 2005

Nice homeland you've got there, shame if something happened to it, Talk To Action, November 30, 2005

AFA's Don Wildmon: If ADL's Foxman criticizes religious right, some of them "won't support Israel anymore," Media Matters, December 8, 2005

Discontent among Christian Zionists, Talk To Action, December 9, 2005

The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy - Part Five, Talk To Action, December 26, 2005

The day after Christmas, Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind Prophecy Club" sent out its daily e-mail message with a 2005 "Year in Review" summary The teaser stated: "Are we living in the End Times? Could events of today signify that the Rapture and Tribulation could occur during our generation? Five important Signs from 2005 say yes!" read on

Ted Haggard Wants Jews to be Afraid, Talk To Action, December 31, 2005

Pat Robertson: Sharon Invited God's Wrath, People for the American Way, January 5, 2006

Ariel's Exit The end of Sharon means big trouble for the Bush administration. Gershom Gorenberg,, The American Prospect, January 10, 2001

Israelis' Anger at Evangelist May Delay Christian Center, New York Times, January 12, 2006

Bush & the Apocalyptic Coalition, Talk To Action, January 30, 2006

Israel's Tragedy Foretold, New York Times, March 10, 2006 -- In this article, journalist and author Gershom Gorenberg does not discuss Christian Zionism. but the article is informative about the settlements. Likewise, Gorneberg's interview on NPR's Fresh Air is very informative while focusing exclusively on Israeli creation of the settlements. Gorenberg has written extensively on Christian Zionism in the past such as in this article for the Washington Post:

Unorthodox Alliance Israeli and Jewish interests are better served by keeping a polite distance from the Christian right, Gershom Gorenberg, Washington Post, October 11, 2002

Overview of the Foundation for Middle East Peace Settlement Report

Sources of Population for West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements, 1993 to 2004, Foundation for Middle East Peace

Christian Zionism all juiced up, Talk To Action, April 4, 2006

Evangelicals Rally Their Flocks Behind Israel, by Bill Berkowitz posted on CommonDreams, April 5, 2006

Pastor Strangelove, The American Prospect, June 06 Issue -- Pastor John Hagee is a very popular evanglical minister from Texas who has the ear of the President. He is head pastor of the 18,000 member Cornerstone Church, and his sermons are broadcast twice a day on TBN. He has written a book claiming that in order to fulfill God's plan for Israel and the West, the Bible calls for a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

Israel's American Constituency, InterPress Service, Posted on TomPaine.com, May 25, 2006:

Even while the House approved the bill, however, hard-line neoconservatives and leaders of the Christian Right here launched a strong attack on Olmert's "realignment" plans under the general theme that, in the words of one melodramatic full-page Washington Times ad paid for by far-right Americans for a Safe Israel, "Friends don't let friends commit suicide."

Writing in The Wall Street Journal , former CIA Director James Woolsey warned hyperbolically that Israel's withdrawal from most of the West Bank would result in a "West Bank terrorist state," part of an "Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah-Hamas axis (that) is quite explicit about a genocidal objective" against the Jews. Similar themes were sounded in Washington Times op-eds by Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney and the Heritage Foundation's Ariel Cohen.

Americans for a Safe Israel's ad was signed by half a dozen Christian Right groups-a core constituency of Bush. It warned that realignment would "reverse the victorious miracles of (the) 1967 (Arab-Israeli War)" and violate "God's promise to the Jewish people," asserting that "there is a moral duty for the United States to restrain the State of Israel from destroying itself."

Presbyterians Revise Israel Investing Policy, New York Times, June 22, 2006

'End times' religious groups want apocalypse sooner than later, and they're relying on high tech -- and red heifers -- to hasten its arrival. Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2006

The World According to Tim LaHaye: Chapter One, Talk To Action, June 26, 2006

Pro-Israel Christians Lobby in Washington, NPR All Things Considered, July 17, 2006

Christian Zionists Lobby Congress, Common Dreams, July 21, 2006

New website -- Challenging Christian Zionism, Christians committed to Biblical Justice

Forcing God's Hand, Talk To Action, August 4, 2006 Birth Pangs of a New Christian Zionism

Birth Pangs of a New Christian Zionism, The Nation, August 8, 2006

Israel, the US, and the Christian Right: The Menage a Trois From Hell, Talk To Action, August 10, 2006

Dick Armey Denies Bush Administration Trying To Provoke "End Times" Talk To Action, August 15, 2006

Pastor John Hagee on Christian Zionism, NPR Fresh Air, September 18, 2006

Gershom Gorenberg on Christian Zionism, NPR Fresh Air, September 18, 2006

Max Blumenthal on Christian Zionism, NPR Fresh Air, September 18, 2006

Christian Zionist leader Hagee depicts Jews as Christ killers, JewsOnFirst, September 26, 2006

Christian Zionists Fundamentalist Christians' support of Israel could blunt Jewish opposition to religious right agenda, JewsOnFirst, October 31, 2006

Christian Zionist Author to Evangelise Lebanese Refugees, Talk To Action, November 12, 2006

Imagining Satan, Talk To Action, December 4, 2006

"Be Jewish In Five Easy Days", The Twelve Tribes Of Hagee, Talk To Action, March 9, 2007

The Goy Who Cried Wolf: The Israel lobby gives America's leading Christian right warmonger a warm welcome. American Prospect, March 12, 2007

Christian Zionists "Repent" for Church Anti-Semitism, Talk To Action, April 1, 2007

Christians United For Israel "Wipes" Dome Of The Rock From Website Logo, Talk To Action, April 14, 2007

Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour, Huffington Post, July 26, 2007 -- This includes a video of the Christians United for Israel's annual
Washington-Israel Summit meeting last week.

Coalition of Evangelicals Voices Support for Palestinian State, New York Times, July 29, 2007

Doubts Greet Evangelical Christians in Israel, NPR's Morning Edition, October 4, 2007

Christians against Iran, urging bombing of Iran, Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, October 5, 2007 -- Aired October 5 at 9:00 pm

Christian Zionists Gain Israel's Inner Sanctum, Talk To Action, January 9, 2008