Palestinian Christians Respond to Mike Huckabee!

The Critique of Christian Zionism and its Contradictions [0:11]

• Christian Zionism is presented not as an untouchable ideology, but one with significant contradictions that fail biblical, logical, and moral tests.
• Huckabee's interpretation of Zionism is criticized for equating Jewish safety and security with exclusive land ownership, ignoring Palestinian displacement.
• The discourse is characterized by the erasure of Palestinian history, presence, and belonging to the land, framing it as a "land without a people."
• Christian Zionism is described as inherently bigoted and denying Palestinian history and connection to the land.

"Finally, finally, to the idea that Christian Zionism is no longer this untouchable giant that no one dares to challenge it unless you know they risk being called names or as if it is the standard theology."

Redefining Zionism and its Impact [05:18]

• Mike Huckabee defines a Christian Zionist as a follower of Jesus Christ who also believes in Jewish safety and security in their homeland.
• This definition is challenged as overly simplistic and used to corner critics into being labeled as hateful or anti-Jewish.
• The real issue is identified not as the right of Jews to exist, but the right of Israel to exist as an apartheid state, or Jews to exist by displacing others.
• Zionism is defined by theologians as the establishment of an ethnically exclusive Jewish state on land inhabited by others, leading to the displacement of Palestinians.
• The early Zionist concept of "transfer" and the justification of ethnic cleansing are highlighted as inherent to Zionism, not an aberration.
• The Nation-State Law is cited as evidence of coded supremacy within Israeli law, stating self-determination is exclusive to the Jewish people.

"The question is not about Jewish safety. And by the way, why can't Jews be safe in Arkansas? Why is it always why does it always have to fall on our shoulders as if it's only our responsibility Palestinians to give space of our land, our towns, our history, our identity so that Jews can be safe?"

The Theological Weaponization of the Land Promise [18:04]

• Huckabee appeals to Genesis 12 and 17 regarding the land promise to Abraham's descendants, while Tucker Carlson references Genesis 15 for the land's boundaries.
• The vast biblical borders described (from the Nile to the Euphrates) are not interpreted as a literal political mandate by theologians.
• Scholarly consensus views these borders as signifying ancient cosmology, the ends of the earth, or the extent of imperial rule, rather than a precise territorial claim.
• Scripture's promise to Abraham was about inheriting the "cosmos" or the "whole world," with Christ being the ultimate heir and believers inheriting with him.
• The weaponization of this land motif is seen as a horrific means to legitimize the ethnic cleansing and ongoing injustices against Palestinians.
• The political ramification of using this theological language is that it can justify expansionist ambitions, such as the concept of "Greater Israel."

"So God gave that land to his people, the Jews, or he didn't. You're saying he did? What does that mean? Does Israel have the right to that land? Because you're appealing to Genesis. Yeah. You're saying that's the original deed?"

The "Seed of Abraham" and Inclusive Inheritance [31:06]

• The conversation explores the claim that Jews today have a right to the land due to being descendants of Abraham's people from 3,000 years ago.
• The theological argument is made that the "offspring of Abraham" is not solely defined by ethnic or genetic lineage but by faith in God.
• Scripture highlights that Abraham had other children besides Ishmael and Isaac, and that intermarriage and conversion have historically complicated ethnic claims.
• Making God's relationship dependent on DNA is seen as risking the notion of God being racist.
• The New Testament, particularly through Paul's writings in Galatians, emphasizes that the offspring of Abraham are those in Christ, transcending ethnic or religious divides.
• Jesus' own teachings in John suggest that "children of Abraham" are those who do the works of Abraham, opening the definition beyond physical descent.
• The establishment of Israel in the Old Testament is linked to the Exodus event, a community of faith transcending biological descendancy, inclusive of mixed ethnicities who responded to God's law.

"So it can't be ethnic. Let's be clear. And again, let alone the problem that it makes God racist."

The Illusion of Christian Thriving in Israel [01:01:09]

• Mike Huckabee's claim that Christians are "thriving" and growing in Israel is sharply contrasted with the reality of Palestinian Christians.
• Huckabee cites the increase in Christian numbers in Israel proper from 34,000 in 1948 to 184,000, while ignoring the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians, including many Christians, during the Nakba.
• Theologians present evidence of ongoing discrimination, settler violence, forced displacement, and restrictions on worship faced by Palestinian Christians under Israeli policies.
• The decline in the Christian population in areas like Bethlehem (from 80% to 20%) is attributed not to Muslim pressure, but to the occupation, settler threats, and economic hardship, driving people away.
• The argument is made that Christian Zionism leads to a willful ignorance or deception that prevents seeing the humanity of Palestinians and the suffering caused by the occupation.

"And the fact that he just dismissed the Nakba in which 50,000 Palestinians at least at least were forced out and credible studies uh one by direct university yeah 50,000 Christians credible studies show that the numbers of Palestinian Christians today if the Nakba did not happen would be around 600,000."