The Neglected History of the State of Israel

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5. Amalek: Netanyahu's & American Right Wing Christians' Explicit Biblical Calls For Genocide

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Christian Right Cites Violent Biblical Amalek Trope to Justify Israel’s Tactics

Many Christian Zionists are backing genocide by likening Hamas to a biblical tribe that God promised to exterminate.

Published October 22, 2023

https://truthout.org/articles/christian-right-cites-violent-biblical-amalek-trope-to-justify-israels-tactics/



As the world witnesses Israeli leaders deploying genocidal language and attacks against Palestinians in Gaza, much of the global Christian right is mobilizing its base in unilateral support for Israel. Many forefront Christian Zionist organizations are preaching a decades-old trope likening Hamas to “Amalek,” an archetypal enemy tribe of the biblical Israelites whom God promised to exterminate in order to bring Israelites “peace.” This is not the first time that right-wing religious groups across the globe have invoked Amalek against those they oppose. For centuries, Christian leaders have used Amalekite language to justify genocide, including against Native Americans and against Tutsis in Rwanda.

Right-wing Jewish groups have also employed the Amalek trope. Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994, likely influenced by Amalekite language employed by the far right Kahane movement of which he was a part. (Israel’s current minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is also associated with this movement, which has largely dissipated but is still technically outlawed in Israel as a terrorist group.) Now many on the Christian right, and some Jews as well, are continuing the tradition of employing Amalek language to justify genocidal tactics, this time employed by the Israeli state against 2 million Gazans, about half of whom are children.

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Several Christian Zionist groups, such as the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), Capitol Hill Prayer Partners (CHPP) and Reformation Prayer Network (RPN) are directly citing biblical passages to overlay the biblical story onto the current reality. The ICEJ — one of the largest global Christian Zionist organizations boasting organizational representation in 95 countries and a following spanning 170 countries — sent its supporters an email on October 14 claiming, “This attack is without a doubt rooted in the demonic realm as a manifestation of the Spirit of Amalek.” It referenced the Samuel 30:3 Bible verse that describes how in response, the Israelites “burned [the Amalekites’ city] with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.” It’s a passage that echoes Israel’s current “collective punishment” strategy against Gaza’s civilians.

Numerous U.S. congressional leaders have echoed similar calls for annihilation, mirroring their right-wing counterparts in Israel. Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted a clip in which he states: “We’re in a religious war…. Do whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourself. Level the place.” Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley — referring to Hamas — issued a call to “eliminate them.” At least publicly, these leaders are calling for complete destruction of Hamas. Yet when congressmembers like Marjorie Taylor Greene equate anyone in solidarity with Palestine with being pro-Hamas, and when the Israeli government cuts off water, electricity and gas to Gaza’s civilians, the lines between eliminating Hamas and eliminating all of Gaza are blurred. In an email on October 8, the ICEJ employs Amalek rhetoric to distract from Israel’s ongoing brutal repression in Gaza, saying:



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