There are three Biblical reasons American Christians support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for judicial reform and will firmly stand up in defense of Israel’s government, if necessary.
Israel’s increasingly activist left-wing opposition is demonstrating fiercely and warning darkly of a possible civil war, even as Israel’s mainstream media dangerously incites just that, all in the name of defending democracy. Conservative Americans are increasingly frustrated at progressive liberals for shifting the United States far to the Left in the name of democracy and justice and interfering with election results for their greater good. And they love Netanyahu and are not enjoying seeing him under attack so soon after being elected.
Israeli judicial reform is a complex legal issue that Americans know little about. Nevertheless, conservative Christians are paying attention to The Wall Street Journal, Ben Shapiro, and Josh Hammer at Newsweek and are taking up Netanyahu’s case.
While there are legal arguments to be made for both sides of the issue, the first question Christians are asking, is “what does the Bible have to say?”
There are three reasons that Christians, including Pastor John Hagee’s 11 million Christians United for Israel and Mike Evans’ 100,000,000 Friends of Zion, will support Netanyahu’s push for judicial reform and will stand up in defense of Israel’s government.
1) “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122)
There is but one city on earth the Bible demands that believers care about. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” says the Psalmist. Hebrew Scripture tells the story of the deep connection between the land of Israel and the People of Israel, and many Evangelicals recognize that they are the first since ancient times to witness the miraculous return of the Jews to their ancestral homeland.
After centuries of persecution and oppression against Jews, millions of Christians around the world have rejected antisemitism and see themselves as standing with Israel as a “watchman on the wall of Jerusalem.”
Christian Zionists believe that when Jerusalem is at peace, the whole world will benefit but when Jerusalem is denounced and disparaged – as is happening now by the hysterical media and left-leaning governments around the world – its spiritual allies must increase their prayers and support.
2) “Appoint judges and officers in the cities that God has given you.” (Deuteronomy 16)
Evangelicals believe that the Jewish state of Israel must govern according to the eternal truths established in the Bible. The Bible establishes a balance of power between the king, priests and prophets. The king led the nation to battle, the priest presided over the Temple and the prophet served as the conduit to God, reining in both kings and priests, as necessary.
Conservative Christians are reading that Israel’s Supreme Court is packed with unelected and unaccountable judges, which is something they all can relate to. They sympathize with the Israeli Right that feels Israel’s Supreme Court no longer represents the Israeli public and that it is the last bastion of progressive radicalism in an increasingly conservative country.
3) “Zion shall be redeemed with justice.” (Isaiah 1)
The opening battle for Israel's religious future
Finally, Christians care about Israel’s Supreme Court because it’s the opening battle of the first majority right-wing and religious government in recent history. Only 75 years old, Israel was initially governed by secular and often anti-religious Israelis who sought to distance Israel from God. Now, a majority of Netanyahu’s coalition are Torah-observant Jews and ideal partners for Christian Zionists.
Knesset Member Simcha Rothman, who is one of the architects of judicial reform, is a prominent member of the Religious Zionist Party and sees Israel as the “first flowering of our redemption.” Rothman attempts to balance his commitment to democracy with his dedication to Torah.
With his proposed judicial reforms, Rothman and his Religious Zionist Party are a match made in heaven for Evangelical Christians. Under siege in America against the forces of media censorship and questionable elections, Christians believe that Israel is fulfilling God’s ultimate plan. They have and will insist upon their own democratically-elected political representatives will support Israeli lawmakers who share that perspective.
The writer, a rabbi, is the founder of Israel365 and the editor of The Israel Bible, which are both dedicated to strengthening relationships between Jews and Christians in support of Israel. He can be reached at RabbiTuly@Israel365.com.