Palestinian Christians in the West Bank are expressing a profound sense of betrayal as American evangelical leaders continue pushing for policies that directly harm their communities.
Nicholas Kristof recently traveled to Bethlehem to hear directly from Christians living under occupation – and their testimony stands in stark contrast to the narrative promoted by many American evangelical groups.
“Do we feel betrayed?” mused Mitri Raheb, a Lutheran Palestinian pastor who is President of Dar Al-Kalima University. “Yes, to some extent. Unfortunately, this is not new for us.”
The Roots of a Modern Movement
American evangelical support for the state of Israel didn’t emerge in a vacuum. It grew from seeds planted in the 1800s, when a theological idea called dispensationalism took root in Protestant circles.
A British preacher named John Nelson Darby first spread this teaching across America during speaking tours. Later, the Scofield Reference Bible – with its margin notes linking Old Testament prophecies to future events – carried these ideas into countless American churches.
Dispensationalism reads Bible prophecies about Israel with a rigid literalism. The ancient promises about land don’t belong to the Church, these teachers claim. They remain the property of ethnic Jews – waiting for fulfillment in our time.
This belief system found political opportunity after World War I. Christian voices helped push for the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which backed “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. When Israel declared statehood in 1948, many evangelicals saw divine prophecy unfolding before their eyes.
Cold War politics supercharged these religious convictions. As Israel aligned with America against Soviet influence, supporting Israel became both a spiritual and patriotic duty for many Christians.
Today, this theology drives concrete political action through organizations like Christians United for Israel – a group claiming 10 million members, dwarfing the better-known and politically-powerful AIPAC.
Lives Caught in the Crossfire
While American evangelical leaders urge President Trump to “reject all efforts” limiting Israeli control of the West Bank, flesh-and-blood Christians live under the policies these American churches champion.
They’re a minority twice over. Christians make up less than 2 percent of West Bank Palestinians today. But their small numbers can’t protect them from home demolitions, land seizures, and restricted movement – hardships they share with their Muslim neighbors in the shadow of expanding settlements.
In the Makhrour Valley near Bethlehem, Kristof met Alice Kisiya, 30, a member of an old Christian family. Kisiya said that she was physically attacked by Israeli settlers, that her family restaurant was torn down four times, and that she had been finally forced off her land last year by the Israeli government. She also pointed to where she said the Israeli authorities had knocked down a wooden church her family had built.
When asked about American Christian leaders who cite biblical authority for supporting these policies, Kisiya responded: “Let them come and live here so they can maybe deal with the settlers.”
When Ancient Text Collide With Modern Politics
The gap between biblical Israel and today’s nation-state spans nearly 2,000 years. They share a name but little else. One was an ancient kingdom; the other, a modern political entity established in 1948.
Many scholars who’ve devoted their lives to Scripture note a profound contradiction here. The New Testament repeatedly transforms promises about land into something broader – a covenant extending to all peoples through Christ (e.g., Galatians 3:28-29, Romans 9-11). Yet this nuance gets lost when ancient texts become modern political blueprints.
Daoud Kuttab has witnessed this contradiction firsthand. As a Palestinian Christian writer whose new book State of Palestine NOW examines the conflict, he sees the spiritual damage.
“When the Bible is used to justify land theft and war crimes against civilians, it puts the faithful in an awkward position,” he said.
The irony cuts deeper still. Prime Minister Netanyahu embraces support from evangelical leaders whose end-times theology often includes the belief that Jewish people who don’t convert to Christianity will face divine judgment when Jesus returns. Strange friends indeed.
Living the Gospel Under Occupation
One of the most poignant examples of Palestinian Christian resilience is the Tent of Nations, a community established on the Nassar family farm near Bethlehem. Their slogan, prominently displayed at the entrance, declares: “We refuse to be enemies.”
Despite this commitment to peace, the Nassars have documented years of hardship: regular assaults by settlers, destruction of their olive trees, denial of access to running water and electricity, and prohibition against building new structures on their own land.
Daoud Nassar, as he showed Kristof around the family farm, expressed deep disappointment that American Christian leaders remain silent about the repression of their fellow Christians in the holy land.
“Persecution is happening,” he said, noting for example that some Christians and Muslims alike have difficulties getting permission to pray at religious sites in Jerusalem. American Christians can easily visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus is said to have been crucified, but it’s harder for West Bank Christians to get permission to worship there.
The First Followers vs. Modern Politics
“We were the first followers of Christ,” Nassar reminded Kristof. American pulpits rarely mention this uncomfortable truth: the Christians of Palestine descend from the earliest followers of Jesus in history. Their ancestors walked the land with Christ himself.
Instead, many evangelical teachings transform Bible verses about ancient Israel into political mandates supporting modern military occupation. Palestinian believers wonder: What happened to Jesus’ words about caring for the oppressed? When did land claims become more sacred than the people living on that land?
The disconnect between American evangelical politics and the reality for Palestinian Christians highlights a broader tension between human rights principles and religious nationalism.
Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas, has gone as far as saying “There is really no such thing as a Palestinian,” while favoring Israel’s annexation of the West Bank.
Meanwhile, some international Christians attempt to provide a protective presence for vulnerable Palestinian communities. During Kristof’s visit, a Dutch Christian volunteer named Riet Bons-Storm, a retired theology professor, was staying in a cave on the Nassar farm (since they aren’t permitted to build new structures) and celebrating her 92nd birthday.
“We are like human shields,” she explained.
‘We Are Also People‘
Nassar expressed a desire for more American Christians to visit and witness the inequalities of life under occupation firsthand.
“We need the U.S. Christians to understand what is happening,” he said. He sighed and added, “We are also people.”
Four simple words carrying the weight of decades of violence. To be forgotten by the world is one thing. To be rendered invisible by those who share your faith cuts deeper.
The theological confusion between ancient covenant and modern nation has real victims. When American churches envision the Holy Land, they often see prophecy charts and political movements – not the Christians who’ve worshipped there alongside Peter and the Apostles since Pentecost.
This theological framework didn’t emerge from careful Bible study. It grew from 19th-century innovations that skip over the New Testament’s expansion of God’s family beyond ethnic boundaries. The consequences aren’t theoretical debates for seminary classrooms. They translate into demolished homes, uprooted olive groves, and families separated by checkpoints.
As American evangelical voices help shape U.S. policy toward Israel, Palestinian believers wonder: will their spiritual siblings ever recognize their existence? Or will biblical prophecy continue to be wielded like a weapon against those living in the very land where Jesus taught love for neighbors?
