America Forfeits Separation of Church and State

An op-ed in today’s Jerusalem Post by Mike Evans, founder of Churches United with Israel, the largest Christian Zionist network in America, with more than 30 million followers; the author of 120 books; and the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, as well as the Ten Boom Museum in Holland, should give pause to everyone who believes in the separation of church and state as a foundation stone of a liberal democracy.

In a response to Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who alleged that Donald Trump had to make a deal with Israel to be elected president, he claims, “Donald Trump’s rise wasn’t driven by Israel, but by millions of Evangelical voters who demanded action on faith, values, and unwavering support.”

Evans continues: “The truth is much simpler, and it needs to be said clearly. Donald Trump did not make a deal with Israel. He made a deal with Evangelicals. When Donald Trump ran for president, he asked for our support. And we gave it, with three clear expectations: to reverse Roe v. Wade (i.e. that permitted abortion on demand), to stand by Israel, and to support our Christian values in America.”

To be sure, anyone who runs for public office in a democracy can promise anything he or she chooses to promise to any group as long as what is being promised is not illegal under the law. So far so good. Trump heard the demands of the Christian Evangelical community in America and agreed to them in return for their support and, of course, he was elected….twice.

Fast forward to this past April 30, when, on a televised episode of the Tucker Carlson Show, Greene claimed that Trump could not have become president if he did not agree to show allegiance to Israel, arguing that Israel holds more power over the United States than any other foreign country. She also, of course, subscribes to the theory that the US started the war with Iran because Israel pushed Trump to do so in spite of the concerns of many of his advisors.

Referencing Greene’s statements, Evans counters: “That claim is not only misleading, it also ignores the real driving force behind Trump’s election. This is where the conversation must be corrected. The power behind Trump’s rise was not foreign; it was domestic. It came from millions of Americans who vote, who pray, and who believe that America’s destiny is tied to its moral and spiritual foundation. His support for Israel was never about political calculation alone. He understands who we are. We are Bible believers. We love the Bible Land. We stand with Israel not because of politics, but because of faith.”

As to why the US started the war, he says: “The war raised ongoing questions about Israel’s influence over US foreign policy. But the reality is this: Trump’s relationship with Israel was never about foreign control. It was about fulfilling a promise to millions of American Christians who demanded moral clarity, biblical alignment, and unwavering support for Israel.”

So, there you have it in Evans’s own words from someone who has the President’s ear and is in control of 30 million Evangelical Christians. US foreign policy, when it comes to issues regarding Israel, is determined by Christian faith and the promises made to this particular electoral base, whether or not the decision is good for America.

In a word, this represents the total abandonment of the principle of separation of church and state, which has been a hallmark of America’s strength for 250 years.

To be sure, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu lobbied Trump hard to start a war against the tyrannical regime in Iran which is openly committed to the destruction of both Israel and the US with its ultimate goal the demise of the democratic West. However, as we here in Israel see Iran’s threat as existential to our very survival, it is actually incumbent on any Israeli prime minister to push for Western military action against Iran in concert with our efforts as well. Israel and Netanyahu cannot be blamed for looking out for their own interests. Those who choose to do so are cloaking their antisemitism in anti-Israel rhetoric.

Former US President Obama’s remark to the press this week that he, too, was pushed by Netanyahu on the Iranian issue should come as no revelation to anyone, given the real concern here for what Iran could and would do should they ever possess nuclear weapons.

Nevertheless, what Mike Evans’s op-ed in today’s paper does do, is clarify what the driving force has been behind Trump’s extraordinary support for Israel. It’s not his love for the country, or whether or not he does or does not like Jews, or whether he has a Jewish daughter, son in law and grandchildren. Rather, it is simply because he “made a deal with the devil,” in this case, the 30 million Evangelical Christian voters referred to and represented by Mike Evans and his ilk.

For all practical purposes the concept of separation of church and state in the US is now null and void and should worry every freedom-loving American.

In a question raised by Elizabeth Willing Powel on September 17, 1787, following the Constitutional Convention as to what kind of government America has now approved, Benjamin Franklin famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it,” highlighting that the new American government was not self-sustaining, but a fragile experiment requiring civic virtue, active participation, and constant vigilance to prevent it from devolving into monarchy or tyranny. A word to the wise if there ever was one.