Conservative evangelicals’ obsession with Israel is well known. In fact, some go so far to believe that America is the New Israel (the new Promised Land) of God along with the belief that America is to be a benevolent nation seeking only the good of all. They don’t believe that the End Times prophecies can be fulfilled unless certain conditions are met, like that Israel exists, and they are convinced that God can’t ensure that those conditions exist without the help of evangelicals. This is where Pat Robertson comes in. The religious broadcaster warned the United States that the country risks God’s wrath if it forces Israel to surrender part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

Robertson made the comment on his daily religious news-and-talk television program “The 700 Club,” on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

He that touches Jerusalem touches the apple of God’s eye. And if we decide we’re going to wrest East Jerusalem away from the Jews and give it over to the Palestinians, we’re risking the wrath of God on this nation, and I think it’s very dangerous.”

Jerusalem is a city of many, often competing, definitions. It is a spiritual center for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, the “reunified” capital of the State of Israel, and the focus of Palestinian aspirations for political independence. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Israeli portion of Jerusalem, West Jerusalem, was declared the national capital. The Arab sector of the city, East Jerusalem, which included the Old City and religious shrines, was annexed by Jordan along with the entire area west of the Jordan River – the West Bank – which remained under Arab control after the war. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed the section of the city as part of its capital. Palestinians want east Jerusalem for the capital of a future state.

American fundamentalists strongly supported the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. They consistently support Israel’s hard-line policies. Thanks to these end-timers, American foreign policy has turned much of the world against us. Based on Biblical interpretation, end Timers vehemently argue that America must protect Israel and encourage its settlements on the West Bank in order to help God fulfill His plans. The return of Jews to Palestine is central to the prophetic vision who see it as a critical step toward the final battle and the victory of the righteous over Satan.

We can laugh at these people, but we should not dismiss them. Some of them are some of the most powerful men in America.