Bringing God s Chosen People Home : A study of Christian Zionist strategies used to support and assist the State of Israel

In recent decades, growing academic attention has been paid to the Christian Zionist movement. Christian Zionism represents the theological position of Christian that support the modern Israeli state and believe that this state will play a central role before the return of Jesus. Most of the research on Christian Zionism, as well as media comments, has focused on its apocalyptic aspects and its influence on foreign policy making in the USA. However, Christian Zionism is a global movement that is highly active also inside of the Israeli state. This thesis argues that more attention should be paid to how organizations, from the Christian Zionist movement, strategically work to settle Jews in Israel. By assisting in Jewish migration, these organizations attempts to restore the Promised Land with the hope of restoring Israel back to its biblical borders. By taking the onset in one Christian Zionist organization, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), the aim of this thesis is to explore the strategies used in order to bring Jews to Israel, but also the effects and potential consequences this might have. The ICEJ has been active in assisting Jewish migration from the early 1990s and has helped more than115,000 (2014) Jews move to Israel. The empirical foundation of this thesis is based on position statements, reports and articles published by the ICEJ. This material has proved the organization adapts a pragmatic approach in order to influence the Israeli society. By assisting in Jewish migration to Israel, the ICEJ has actively positioned itself in a central role in God s providential plan. However, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is understood as a threat to the Jewish character of Israel, by the ICEJ. Therefore, the ICEJ is active in advocating for Israel in the international community. Through advocacy and by assisting Jews to Israel, the ICEJ hopes to preserve the Jewish character. The ICEJ s work, as part of the Christian Zionist movement, has become a forceful actor inside Israel and also on a global scale. The impact the Christian Zionist movement has on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be underestimated