"Til Kingdom Come" and This Week in Israel

Dear Christian Leader,

A new documentary, "'Til Kingdom Come," presents a skewed analysis of the relationship between American Evangelicals, their financial and political support of Israel, and Israelis who live in the West Bank. The film, produced and directed by Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein, premiered in Israel in September, 2020 and has been shown in at least twenty film festivals since November of last year. As demonstrated in her own words, Zinshtein intended that her production expose, what is for her, an undesirable relationship between American Christians and Israel because she "...[does] not think we [Israelis] should have such an external influence in our lives."

In order to advance Zinshtein's agenda and validate her belief that there is an "unholy alliance" between American Christian Zionists and Israeli settlers, "'Til Kingdom Come" propagates a deceptive storyline dependent upon a manufactured presidential quote and an inaccurate, biased representation of the alleged motivation behind Evangelical support for the Jewish State. According to the narrative, Evangelicals only support Israel in order to hasten the fulfillment of End Time events, which include war and death for the majority of those who live in the Holy Land.

The fake presidential quote was constructed by combining words and phrases from three different places in former President Trump's January 28, 2020 announcement of a peace plan that included the creation of a Palestinian state. In order to strengthen the documentary's intentionally misleading storyline, the filmmakers spliced together words spoken at different points in the speech to make it sound as if the president supported the annexation of the entire West Bank, which if implemented, would obviously prevent any possibility of a Palestinian state.

The fabricated presidential statement of support for total annexation directly contradicts what was actually said on January 28, 2020 concerning prospects for a Palestinian state. It also enables the misrepresentation of positions held by various Evangelical pro-Israel organizations - well known to the readers of this newsletter - that issued statements demonstrating overall approval of the 2020 peace plan. Indeed, contrary to the film's false depiction of Christian Zionists as warmongers whose sole purpose is to help bring about the End Times, organizations such as the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Eagles' Wings, and Christians United for Israel supported the former president's efforts towards peace. As the statements from these three organizations demonstrate, Evangelical Christian Zionists promote peace, not war.

Furthermore, Evangelicals support Israel's right to exist for theological and historical reasons that are as old as the Christian faith itself - NOT out of a self-centered desire to bring about the End of Days for their own sakes at the expense of others. In contrast to the documentary's narrative, which effectively demonizes the motivation behind Evangelical support for the Jewish State, Evangelicals care deeply about the Jewish people and their well-being in their historic homeland.

In mid-March, CAMERA's Dexter Van Zile detailed the blatant discrepancies between what was actually stated during the January 28, 2020 peace plan announcement and the manufactured quote that appears in "'Til Kingdom Come." CAMERA then called on PBS to investigate the documentary for error before its scheduled appearance on PBS stations on March 29, 2021. We are happy to report that in response to CAMERA's request, PBS did not air the film on March 29th and has postponed any broadcast of this problematic production while an independent review of its contents is in process.
 

THIS WEEK IN ISRAEL

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Beginning Tuesday evening, April 13th, Israel will observe its annual Memorial Day, or Yom HaZikaron. Memorial Day is a solemn observance in honor of all those who have died in defense of the State of Israel and all civilians who have been murdered by terrorists. Commemoration ceremonies are held across the country and flags are lowered to half-mast.

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Yom HaZikaron ends on Wednesday evening, April 14th, and the celebration of Independence Day, or Yom HaAtzmaut, begins.

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This year's Yom HaAtzmaut marks the 73rd anniversary of the declaration of Israel's independence when in 1948, David ben Gurion read the proclamation of the establishment of the State of Israel publicly as the British Mandate over Israel came to an end. In 1948, this event happened on May 14th according to the Gregorian calendar, which is why May 14th is also commonly recognized as Israel's Independence Day.

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The juxtaposition of Memorial Day and Independence Day in the Hebrew calendar is a poignant reminder of the fact that Israel's national independence is directly dependent on the sacrifice of the fallen and their families.