Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations

Description

Through the stories of evangelical activists, American Jewish leaders, and Israeli officials, Covenant Brothers portrays the dramatic rise of American Christian Zionism after World War II. According to Daniel G. Hummel, conventional depictions of the Christian Zionist movement--the organized political and religious effort by conservative Protestants to support the state of Israel--focus too much on evangelical apocalypticism. Hummel emphasizes instead the institutional, international, interreligious, and intergenerational efforts on the part of Christians and Jews to mobilize evangelical support for Israel. From missionary churches in Israel to Holy Land tours, from the Israeli government to the American Jewish Committee, and from Billy Graham's relationship with Richard Nixon to John Hagee's courting of Donald Trump, Hummel depicts modern Christian Zionism as an evolving and deepening collaboration between Christians and the state of Israel. He shows how influential officials in the Israeli government, tasked with pursuing a religious diplomacy that would enhance Israel's standing in the Christian world, combined forces with evangelicals to create the vast global network of Christian Zionism that exists today. Using new religious and government archival sources in the United States and Israel, Covenant Brothers reveals how an unlikely mix of Christian and Jewish leaders, state support, and transnational networks shaped U.S. foreign policy and international politics.