With God on our Side

The minute any pastor justifies apartheid, violence n invasion by wrongly quoting a holy book and causes one to become prejudiced against other people or group... its better to boycott such pastors.

Without the belief of Victorian upper class evangelical Englishmen - almost exactly the equivalents of George W Bush - there never would have been a Balfour Declaration. And without that declaration, there could not have been the Jewish immigration to Palestine that laid the foundations for the state of Israel.

The formation of the state of Israel dates back to the founding of Zionism in the late 1800s, and the fervor for a Jewish homeland grew in the inter-war period until 1948. This documentary does a great job of examining this issue, and raises some serious questions about the legality of Israel's formation, and the legality of Israeli settlements on the West Bank. It also interviews John Hagee, the evangelical pastor who preaches that the restoration of Israel is necessary for Jesus' return. Unfortunately, once those issues are discussed, this doc veers into feel-good territory where it says that if only Christians in Israel and the occupied territories could come together, everything would be peachy. They miss the elephant in the room: religion, and especially fanatic religious belief, is what created the mess in the first place, and religion is what continues to be a barrier to a peaceful solution. Do yourself a favor and don't bother watching the last 20 minutes.

Incredible, "must watch" for everyone, especially American Christians who want to learn more about Holy Land theology, the history of Palestine/Israel, and things we are often not taught growing up in church. This film lays out the history very clearly. Well done. What a great resource.