Anti-Israel activists protested outside the Christians United for Israel conference near Washington, D.C., in late July.
“We cannot call ourselves followers of God’s holy and enduring mandate if we fail to stand with Jerusalem,” founder John Hagee said.
His words came as several rolling protests organized by Interfaith Action for Palestine, a coalition of pro-Palestinian activists who oppose Israel’s ground assault in Gaza. For nearly three days in and around Washington, its 700 participants, according to organizers, challenged Hagee and CUFI, the largest pro-Israel group in the United States., with sit-ins, street closures, singing protests and more, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and the end of U.S. arms sales to Israel.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the entrance to the main hall in the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, holding signs that read “CUFI Funds Genocide” and “Christian Zionism is Antisemitism” and singing songs with lyrics advocating for “ceasefire now.” Some shouted pro-Hamas slogans.
READ: How CUFI has awakened the sleeping giant of Christian Zionism
A handful of CUFI summit attendees confronted the demonstrators, but most looked on quietly. As the protesters processed out of the hotel, some summit attendees extended their arms and prayed over the group as it passed.
Later, a group of pastors, rabbis and seminary students blocked traffic near the Gaylord, forcing two buses filled with CUFI attendees to a standstill. “I’m here because Jesus spent his life and death fighting empires of supremacy and domination and building up a world where all of us can be free,” the Rev. Liz Kearny, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister, said while protesting in the street. “Today that means blocking Christian Zionists from lobbying my lawmakers to fuel death and genocide.”
CUFI attendees eventually were escorted by police to other buses nearby, and the protest dissipated without arrests. The protests represented a culmination of months of anti-war activism, with participants from Christians for a Free Palestine, Christians for Ceasefire, Mennonite Action, If Not Now, Jewish Voice for Peace, Rabbis for Ceasefire, Hindus for Human Rights and Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity working together.
–Dwight Widaman