LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY deridetenebras)

Christian Zionism on the rise:

"My first English book. It's written for the Christians," says Elon, sitting in his cramped Knesset office. "I cannot overstate their importance. The Christians here are the key to Christians all over the world. And they are the key to Israel's survival." The rabinically trained Knesset member has been touring the United States for years, courting evangelical leaders from James Vineyard to Jerry Falwell, along with sympathetic red-state pols like Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. [...] Now Elon has a new goal: to make Israel's borders as much of a moral issue to Christian conservatives "as gay marriage and family values." [...]

Elon has spent years trying to marshal evangelical influence on thorny foreign-policy questions. His new book includes a pledge for believers to sign in support of Jewish control of Judea and Samaria—what he calls the "heartland of Israel." Evangelical heavyweights like Kay Arthur and Glenn Plummer signed the pledge earlier this year, when Elon made the rounds at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. A flood of believers followed their lead. "We have thousands of signatures already. We want millions. Then a congressional bill," says Elon. [...]

Meanwhile, Elon, like many anti-disengagement organizers here, is already starting to look past Aug. 17, the day the government starts evicting the remaining Gaza settlers. "The people I speak with in American churches, they are all against the withdrawal. They don't understand it. So, I'm trying to build, with patience, because we'll be back. In six or seven years, we'll be in Samaria again. … I don't think this is the end."

If he can maintain his current level of stateside success, says Elon, "Within two years, at least 200 representatives in America will understand that, for their constituents, Israel's claim to Judea and Samaria is non-negotiable. The Israeli prime minister will be able to visit America knowing that half of Congress understands this issue from our perspective. That is how I define success." It is, he concedes, a long shot. Then again, he reminds me, "I live in the land of miracles."