As international attention turned to Israel-Palestine this May, Jonathan Brenneman and Aidan Orly co-authored an op-ed for Truthout titled “Progressives Can’t Ignore Role of Christian Zionism in Colonization of Palestine.” In this episode, producer Emily Bell interviews Brenneman and Orly about the origins of Christian Zionism; the relationship between Christian Zionism, Jewish Zionism, and U.S. foreign policy; and what it means to challenge Christian Zionism.

CREDITS

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Asaf Calderon, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson. Original music by Nat Rosenzweig. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Jonathan Brenneman is a Palestinian-American Christian. He has undergraduate degrees in History and Philosophy from Huntington University, and in 2016 completed a Masters at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Before going to Notre Dame, Jonathan was part of Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine project in Hebron/Al-Khalil, where he worked in solidarity with Palestinian communities to challenge unjust Israeli policies and the structures that uphold them. Today, he continues his advocacy in the United States primarily through challenging Christian Zionist theology.

Aidan Orly is an Israeli-American Ashkenazi Jew who is active in donor and social justice organizing, especially around issues related to Jewish communities, the Christian Right, and Palestine.

RESOURCES

• “Progressives Can’t Ignore Role of Christian Zionism in Colonization of Palestine” (Jonathan Brenneman & Aidan Orly, Truthout, 5/20/21)
• “Will this Palestinian matriarch get to keep her Jerusalem home?” (Unsettled, produced in collaboration with +972 Magazine, 4/12/21)
• “Inside the Most Insanely Pro-Israel Meeting You Could Ever Attend” (David Weigel, Slate, 7/22/14)
• “An unholy alliance” (Natasha Roth-Rowland, +972 Magazine, 11/5/20)
• “The Terrifying Alliance Between End Times Christian Zionists and Donald Trump” (Sarah Lazare, In These Times, 10/5/20)
• “AIPAC Isn’t the Whole Story” (Jonah S. Boyarin, Jewish Currents, 3/4/19)