At This Critical Time

The United States must now be constitutionally Christian Zionist, since its Ambassador to Israel, in that capacity, feels moved to make the case for Christian Zionism against the leaders of the historic Christian communities in the Holy Land. If those communities are dependent on Israel for their survival, then how did they survive for 1,915 years without it? It is not Christian to give uncritical support to any state, especially one’s own, and even the Vatican in its dealings specifically as a City State. That the modern State of Israel is a fulfilment of Biblical prophecy is simply an heretical proposition. If Christians have to be Zionists, then is everyone in Hell if they died before 1948, or before the Balfour Declaration, or before the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible, or before the ministry of John Nelson Darby? Some people are. As Rifat Kassis writes:

Last week, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, the leaders of the historic churches in the Holy Land, issued a momentous statement clearly expressing their rejection of Christian Zionism. The statement was remarkable not only for its clarity but also for the moment of its release and the response it provoked from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a vocal Christian Zionist. The episode highlights an emerging threat to the work and witness of the Palestinian church, as well as steps Christian Zionists are taking to erase our political voice.

The Patriarchs’ statement read, in part:

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land affirm before the faithful and before the world that the flock of Christ in this land is entrusted to the Apostolic Churches, which have borne their sacred ministry across centuries with steadfast devotion. Recent activities undertaken by local individuals who advance damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism, mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock. These undertakings have found favor among certain political actors in Israel and beyond who seek to push a political agenda which may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East.

What does this mean?

The statement is a response to disturbing developments taking place in Palestine that threaten the integrity, unity, and historical authority of the Christian Churches in the Holy Land. What specifically stirred the Patriarchs appears to be a growing pattern: the promotion of self-appointed local individuals or groups, welcomed at official political levels, who claim to represent Christians in Israel or the Holy Land while advancing Christian Zionist theology. Such initiatives have happened in the past and have gone unnoticed. But recently, such meetings have involved senior U.S. and Israeli officials, including Ambassador Huckabee, and increasingly pose a direct threat to the historic authority of the Heads of Churches and the integrity of the Christian faith. They undermine the centuries-old ecclesial structures (known as the Status Quo) that have maintained the unity of Christian communities in Palestine throughout a history of empire, colonialism, and occupation.

This is why Ambassador Huckabee felt compelled to publicly comment on the Patriarchs’ statement. He wrote in part, “It’s hard for me to understand why everyone who takes on the moniker ‘Christian’ would not also be a Zionist.” The importance he gives the statement points to the serious stakes that issues of representation and power hold for Christians in the Holy Land and the degree of political interference Israel and its supporters are willing to exert to undermine anti-Zionist Christian voices.

It is worth asking why a U.S. representative would intervene at all in an internal matter of the Churches of Jerusalem. After all, the Patriarchs’ statement is not a political manifesto. It is a pastoral affirmation from those who legitimately represent Christian communities in the Holy Land. Huckabee’s response, therefore, reveals more about the political sensitivities exposed by the statement than about the statement itself. His reaction underscores precisely the concern the Patriarchs raise: certain political actors in Israel and abroad seek alternative Christian voices that are more aligned with their ideological and geopolitical agendas.

Huckabee’s interference cannot be separated from the broader political context. In recent years, we have witnessed systematic efforts by Israel and its allies, particularly the United States, to delegitimize official Palestinian representation. This process began with the weakening of the Palestinian Authority, criminalizing our resistance and our political parties. It continued with the designation of respected Palestinian NGOs as “terrorist organizations.”

It now appears this interference and repression is extending into the Christian sphere. Creating or empowering a local Palestinian Christian Zionist group provides a convenient alternative—a useful narrative—that allows political powers to bypass church leaders, silence prophetic Palestinian Christian witness (Kairos Palestine, Sabeel, Bethlehem Bible College, and others), and cast doubt on the legitimacy of long-established Palestinian institutions.

This is especially alarming at a moment when Palestinian Christians, alongside Muslims, have been among the most consistent and moral voices confronting genocide, mass displacement, and grave violations of international law in Gaza and beyond. Our advocacy has exposed not only Israeli policies but also the direct complicity of the United States. In this light, the emergence of a politically endorsed “Christian” voice that blesses occupation and its violence is not accidental. It serves a clear strategic purpose.

The Patriarchs’ language in their statement is also significant. Their critique of Christian Zionism and their emphasis on unity, representation, and pastoral responsibility closely echo the theological clarity of Kairos Palestine, particularly in its recently released document, Kairos II, A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide. Kairos II unambiguously names Zionism as a political ideology rooted in injustice and calls Christians worldwide to reject theological distortions that tolerate oppression.

For years, the Kairos movement has sought deeper alignment with church leadership, sometimes from the margins. In this statement, the Heads of Churches appear not only to defend the historical significance of their office but also to offer a practical and positive response to the Kairos call, affirming what is ultimately at stake: the future of Christian presence in Palestine. Their statement signals that the churches’ shepherds in Jerusalem increasingly recognize that neutrality in the face of political theology is impossible, and that safeguarding Christian unity today requires naming false theologies and resisting political manipulation. The Patriarchs are not merely protecting their institutional authority. They are defending the integrity of Christian witness in the land of Christ.

In this sense, Huckabee’s intervention confirms the urgency of the Patriarchs’ message. The struggle is no longer only about land or politics. It is also about who speaks for the Christian community, whose theology shapes—or helps to shape—global Christian understanding, and whether the churches of the Holy Land—and beyond—will be sidelined in favor of voices connected to Israel’s hegemonic and genocidal policies.

The Patriarchs’ statement is not defensive. The statement is prophetic. It draws a clear line between authentic church representation and politically manufactured alternatives. It reminds both the global church and the world that the Christian presence in Palestine cannot survive if it is severed from truth, justice, and the lived experience of its people, whose ancestors first claimed the faith and brought it to the world.

At this critical time, we are all encouraged to support our church leaders, helping to ensure that this clarity is preserved and strengthened, as the Patriarchs declare, “in the very land where our Lord lived, taught, suffered and rose from the dead.”