On Tuesday, Apr. 14, The Center for Peace and Justice Education and The Center for Political Theology co-hosted a teach-in event on Christian Zionism in Driscoll Hall.
The teach-in, which lasted from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., focused on informing attendees about the history of Christian Zionism and how it continues to affect communities today.
Taught by Rabbi Alissa Wise, the founding director of Rabbis for Ceasefire, and Reverend Naomi Washington Leapheart from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, this teach-in began with both sharing their individual backgrounds and how they relate to their passion for the topic.
“As a Rabbi and Jewish activist, I have been active in combatting Jewish support for Zionism, which at this moment is an ideology that seeks to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homes and lands and that is committing genocide in Gaza,” Wise said.
The teach-in began by defining the goals of the event, which included understanding the theology behind Christian Zionism.
From there, the teach-in dived into identifying major organizations, funders and leaders of Christian Zionism, examining and recognizing examples of Christian Zionism, understanding antisemitism and philosemitism in relation to Christian Zionism and analyzing how Christian Zionism fuels authoritarianism.
Wise and Washington Leapheart defined Christian Zionism as more than one belief. Instead, it is a theological ecosystem. Christian Zionism is a set of Christian ideas that views Jewish people, land and history through a Christian lens.
An aspect of this teach-in was the ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip, and the antisemitism, racism and disparities throughout this conflict.
Attendees were taught that Christian Zionists specifically erase Palestinians and Palestinian Christians.
When deciding to host this teach-in, Wise and Washington Leapheart shared that it was critical to teach this to college students and to encourage students to use their voices.
“College campuses have been essential focuses for organizing and activism for anti-war, feminist, queer and economic liberation for decades,” Wise said. “Since the genocide in Gaza began, it has been a main battleground for the fight for Palestinian rights in the US, and students have faced intense backlash for their activism.”
Throughout the event, Wise and Washington Leapheart showed different videos to help teach their lesson.
For instance, a video of Senator Ted Cruz quoting Genesis 12:3, and shared information about prominent Christian Zionists within the federal government, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham.
Throughout the rest of the teach-in, the history of Christian Zionism was deconstructed and explained by time period, along with examples of how these ideals have spread over the years.
Towards the end of the evening, Wise and Washington Leapheart shared why they believe this topic is important.
“I don’t want to live in a world where any people are dehumanized,” Wise said. “Christian Zionism in practice means support for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, paid for with our tax dollars as US citizens. Christian Zionism instrumentalizes Jews toward the salvation of Christians. Jews are the beloved partner to Christians, not because they are Jews and practice Judaism but because they have a role in [the] salvation of Christians.”
Wise hopes that the attendees took a lot away from the event.
“[I hope they take away] the inherent antisemitism and Islamophobia embedded in Christian Zionism, the power that Christian Zionism wields and the importance of allying with Palestinians as they struggle for their freedom,” Wise said.
Wise went onto say the demonstrated impact of Christian Zionism on political Zionism.
“Obscuring Christian Zionism’s influence on modern-day political Zionism, as has been the case for too long, makes it harder to effectively advocate for a just US foreign policy,” Wise said. “Christian Zionism is an oppressive ideology, and so it is critical that we understand it so we can adequately address it.”
The night concluded with Wise and Washington Leapheart sharing more about the course they will be teaching this upcoming May, broken into a three-part lecture.
The course will dive deeper into understanding Christian Zionism.
