The fervent embrace : liberal Protestants, Evangelicals, and Israel / Caitlin Carenen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carenen, Caitlin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian Zionism--United States--History--20th century.

Christian Zionism.

Protestants--United States--Attitudes.

Protestants.

Evangelists--United States--Attitudes.

Evangelists.

Protestant churches--Political activity--United States.

Protestant churches.

Protestant churches--Relations--Judaism.

Public opinion--United States.

Public opinion.

Israel--Public opinion--United States.

Israel.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (284 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

When Israel declared its independence in 1948, Harry Truman issued a memo recognizing the Israeli government within eleven minutes. Today, the U.S. and Israel continue on as partners in an at times controversial alliance—an alliance, many argue, that is powerfully influenced by the Christian Right. In The Fervent Embrace, Caitlin Carenen chronicles the American Christian relationship with Israel, tracing first mainline Protestant and then evangelical support for Zionism.In the aftermath of the Holocaust, American liberal Protestants argued that America had a moral humanitarian duty to support Israel. Christian anti-Semitism had helped bring about the Holocaust, they declared, and so Christians must help make amends. Moreover, a stable and democratic Israel would no doubt make the Middle East a safer place for future American interests. Carenen argues that it was this mainline Protestant position that laid the foundation for the current evangelical Protestant support for Israel, which is based primarily on theological grounds.Drawing on previously unexplored archival material from the Central Zionist Archives in Israel, this volume tells the full story of the American Christian-Israel relationship, bringing the various “players”—American liberal Protestants, American Evangelicals, American Jews, and Israelis—together into one historical narrative.

Contents:

1. American Protestants and Jewish persecution, 1933-1937

2. American Protestants respond to Zionism and the Jewish genocide in Europe, 1938-1948

3. The challenges of statehood, 1948-1953

4. Political and theological dissent, 1953-1967

5. The tide turns 1967-1973

6. A new U.S.-Israeli alliance, 1973-1979

7. The political and religious landscape shifts, 1980-2008.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814708095

0814708099

9780814708378

0814708374

OCLC:

779828048