The Armageddon Lobby: Dispensationalist Christian Zionism and the Shaping of US Policy Towards Israel-Palestine

Abstract

This article investigates the history of contemporary Christian Zionism in the United States and the impact of this movement on US policy issues related to Israel-Palestine. Dispensationalist Christian Zionists, often described the 'Armageddon lobby', make up the largest voting bloc in the Republican Party and have become a mainstay in US politics. More recently, the Christian Zionist lobby has had a profoundly damaging impact on the Israeli-Palestinian 'peace process' as well as creating a conspiracy of silence regarding Israeli offensives in the occupied Palestinian territories. Though the 'Armageddon lobby' has been successful in its efforts as a pro-Israel lobby, its infl uence is in fact counterproductive to Israel because the lobby hinders the prospect of Israel living in peace because of their policy of deterring the progression of negotiations. 1. This article is based on a graduate thesis written towards a Master's degree in Government at Harvard University, which was completed in 2005. I am indebted to Professor Paul D. Hanson of Harvard University and Professor Saliba Sarsar of Monmouth University for their useful comments on this article.