Christian Zionism’s Unholy Alliance: Biblical Mandate or Political Convenience Amid Regional Bloodshed?

The contradictory relationship between Christian Zionism and the modern political alliance between the United States and Israel raises questions about the theological, moral, and political foundations of unconditional support for Israeli policies among some American Christians.

Jeffrey Silverman

Christians and Jews have maintained a complex and often fraught relationship throughout history, a love-hate relationship, one further complicated by the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew who observed Jewish religious law. The figure revered as the Son of God in Christianity might scarcely recognize many versions of the faith that developed in his name and could well distance himself from many of the actions undertaken in his name and especially from those taking those actions.

Gott Mit Uns!

The close alignment between modern American Christians—especially evangelicals—and the State of Israel is concerning. This partnership, while characterized by strong expressions of political support, can be better portrayed as a bad marriage of convenience rather than a deep or enduring bond. Such unconditional backing, blind faith, which typically extends to Israeli policies “right or wrong,” represents a development that, in the view of this journalist, ought never to have emerged at all.

Identifying as Jewish through culture or religion has nothing to do with endorsing every policy of the modern State of Israel. Zionism itself, as a political project, stands in tension with significant strands of traditional Jewish teaching

Such an alliance serves pragmatic and vested interests more than shared conviction. While many Christian Zionists cite biblical promises and prophetic interpretations to justify their stance, detractors such as myself question the sincerity and long-term stability of the relationship.

For instance, Senator Ted Cruz claims that unconditional support of Israel is a biblical mandate for Christians based on Genesis 12:3, stating that “those who bless Israel will be blessed.” In a June 2025 interview, he expressed that he believes this applies to the nation of Israel and its people, aiming to be on the “blessing side of things.”

But what does Israel really mean? For Zionists, it is either the modern state or the concept of the Jewish people, and sometimes both. But all that is a moot point when the same Zionist Christians turn a blind eye to the destruction of Christians among the Palestinians and in neighboring Arab countries, with outright mass murder, and the destruction of Churches and entire villages, as is the case with Christians murdered in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon by the Israeli military (IDF).

Because the Bible Says So!

In a June 2025 interview with Tucker Carlson, Cruz invoked Genesis 12:3, stating: “As a Christian, growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed. I want to be on the blessed side of things.”

Cruz clarified that the verse, in his view, applies to the nation and people of Israel rather than solely to any specific government. While many Christian Zionists emphasize unwavering political and military support for the modern State of Israel based on such scriptural interpretations, they appear— to overlook or minimize the suffering of Christian communities in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.

In Syria, the fall of the Assad government in late 2024 led to increased instability, with extremist elements exploiting power vacuums to target Christians through violence and intimidation. Similar pressures have affected Christian villages in southern Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities.

Opponents argue that this selective emphasis — strong advocacy for Israel paired with relative silence on the persecution of fellow Christians by various actors in the region — undermines the moral and theological consistency of the “blessing” doctrine.

It also specifically runs counter to the words of the Apostles, who universally describe “Israel” not as an ethnic group, or a nation-state, but as those who do God’s will, which, from the perspective of the Apostles, would be the Christians, most of whom initially were Jews who recognised Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.

Contradictions into Perspective

There are double standards and notable tensions among Christian Zionism:

The promise in Genesis 12:3 was originally directed at Abraham (then Abram) and his descendants. Christian Zionists like Senator Cruz interpret this as extending to the Jewish people and the modern State of Israel established in 1948. However, he does not want to take into account the subsequent ethnic cleansing, mass murder of Palestinians in the wake of the establishment of the State of Israel by the UN within the borders of the Jewish State.

Hence, equating the ancient covenant with contemporary geopolitical support for a nation-state represents a theological leap (into a chasm, no less), particularly when the New Testament reinterprets themes of covenant, blessing, and God’s people through the person of Jesus Christ.

Unconditional Political Support vs. Universal Christian Solidarity

Palestinian Christians, who trace their roots to the earliest days of the faith, and are generally descendants of Old Testament Jews who became Christians, have seen their numbers dwindle over decades due to emigration driven by conflict, economic hardship, and, in some cases, social pressures from both Muslim-majority environments and Israeli policies (such as settlement expansion and movement restrictions). In Syria and parts of Lebanon, persecution stems primarily from Islamist extremists and general wartime chaos rather than Israeli actions.

The critique suggests a potential inconsistency: if Christians are called to “bless” Israel to receive blessing, does this obligation extend to defending vulnerable Christian minorities caught in regional conflicts? But what about the Christian suffering in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria (where persecution rose sharply after 2024), and Lebanon? It often receives less vocal advocacy from prominent Christian Zionist voices compared to their robust defense of Israeli security interests.

More outrage has been expressed towards the IDF because of its soldiers destroying Christian symbols than the loss of lives and property of Christians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Southern Lebanon at the hands of the IDF and settler movement,

The mentioned passage portrays Christian Zionist theology as creating a hierarchy of concern that places the modern State of Israel at the apex, almost always at the perceived expense of empathy toward Arab Christians enduring real hardship and persecution. This raises broader questions about how ancient biblical promises should inform 21st-century foreign policy and interfaith ethics.

A thorough understanding of this nexus requires examining both the biblical texts in context and the complex, multifaceted causes of Christian decline in the Middle East.

The Whole Unholy Mess Boils Down to Cold, Hard Cash

Let’s cut the sanctimonious nonsense. The purported Son of God would probably stare in disbelief at the Evangelical-Zionist “religion” now operating under his name. Jesus, who lived as a Jew under Jewish law, would almost certainly distance himself from the spectacle being staged in his honor — and he’d be downright furious about the money changing hands.

What we are witnessing isn’t some profound theological love affair between American Christians and Israel. It’s a tawdry arranged marriage of convenience and a bad one at that. Israel has been welcomed into a comfortable political ménage à trois with the American political class — mostly Christians, some Zionist Jews, and with the Europeans playing a supporting role.

Democrats and Republicans alike stay nicely replenished, in their campaign funds, thanks to Christian Zionist donors and Israeli and pro-Israel lobbying muscle. Much of the base of support for Donald Trump is from this cult.

One need not be Jewish to be a Zionist, and identifying as Jewish through culture or religion has nothing to do with endorsing every policy of the modern State of Israel. Zionism itself, as a political project, stands in tension with significant strands of traditional Jewish teaching. Yet these nuances get conveniently ignored when the donations keep rolling in.

How long would this “marriage from hell” survive if the campaign contributions from Christian Zionists suddenly dried up and UN resolutions were actually honored? The answer is as obvious as it is uncomfortable — not very long. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about divine mandate or spiritual solidarity. It’s about power, access, and the almighty dollar.

The rest is mostly theatrical piety!

Looking back, growing up among Christian Zionists in the Southern United States as a boy with a Jewish father gave me a front-row seat of how theology and blind faith shaped political outlooks. Born again teachings centered on the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming—drawn from the Book of Revelation and popularized through the Scofield Reference Bible—framed unwavering support for Israel.

Jews were to be treated with particular respect, seen as central to the end-times narrative in which they would finally come around and embrace Christianity. Religious printed materials from that era, such as heavily annotated Bibles passed between generations, reflect the depth of these beliefs. Today, they serve as reminders of a period when faith, identity, and geopolitics were closely intertwined, often leaving little room for alternative perspectives and the need to face reality.

You can’t be a Christian and a Zionist at the same time.

Jeffrey K. Silverman is a freelance journalist and international development specialist, BSc, MSc, based for 30 years in Georgia and the former Soviet Union