Christian Zionism in the Philippines: When Faith Becomes a Tool for Settler Colonialism

Defining Christian Zionism and Zionism

Christian Zionism is a theological and political movement that holds a belief in the biblical prophecy of the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel and the establishment of the State of Israel. This movement often distorts biblical passages, particularly from the Old Testament, as prophetic to the modern state of Israel to justify their political views. This interpretation often involves the belief that Christians must support Israel. Christian Zionists see the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel as a key prophetic fulfillment, a necessary precursor to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Many Christian Zionists are staunch supporters of Israel and often advocate for policies that align with the Israeli government’s policies. 

Zionism comes from the root word “Zion” which refers to the hill, “Mount Zion” in Jerusalem. It symbolizes the broader concept of the Land of Israel. It is a nationalist, political movement to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. Zionism emerged in the late 19th century as a response to the growing anti-Semitism in Europe, particularly the genocide of Europe’s Jewish population in the Holocaust.  

Zionism is a “colonial movement supporting the establishment by any means necessary of a national state for Jews in historic Palestine.” Zionists believe that all Jews form a single nation and that a Jewish state in Palestine is the only solution to anti-Semitism. It is a colonial settler movement built on the exclusionary ideology of white supremacy that adopts aspects of Judaism in an attempt to justify apartheid and genocide of Palestinians in their land.  

The Critical Difference Between Zionism and Judaism

Judaism and Zionism are often conflated in public discourse, however, they are fundamentally distinct entities. Judaism is a religion, the belief of Jews, that encompasses a rich history, culture and tradition for over a millennia. It is a spiritual framework that has guided Jewish life worldwide. Zionism, on the other hand, is a political, colonialist ideology that emerged as a response to anti-Semitism. Its primary goal of establishing the modern state of Israel has resulted in the dispossession and displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians during the Nakba (“Catastrophe” in Arabic), depriving them of their homes and livelihood, and continues to do so. Zionists argue that the establishment of a Jewish state is an act of self-determination as a response to the age-old anti-Semitism in Europe. They also believe that Zionism is the final cure that would eradicate anti-Semitism, once and for all.  

While Judaism is a religion with adherents spanning the globe, Zionism is a more geographically concentrated movement, historically focused in Palestine. It is important to emphasize that not all Jews are Zionists. Many Jews are deeply committed to their faith without endorsing the state of Israel. Many American Jews argued that unqualified support for Israel and Zionism is “not in our name” Jewish organizations such as Jews Say No to Genocide, Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNowMovement, and Students for Justice in Palestine, prioritize justice as a Jewish value and were not motivated by anti-Semitism or hatred, but by fighting for the human rights of Jews and Palestinians. 

The Anti-Semitic Foundation of Christian Zionism

One of the central tenets of Christian Zionism is a belief in a future Millennial Kingdom, a period of peace and prosperity during which Jesus Christ will reign on earth. This belief is linked to the Christian Zionist idea of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. They believe that before Christ returns, there is a period of tribulation or suffering which involves disasters, wars, or even the existence of an Antichrist. Christian Zionists believe that the Mosaic Covenant binds Jewish people and that before the Millennial Kingdom, Jewish people will undergo a mass conversion to Christianity to be saved, and if not, they will be condemned to eternal damnation. 

It fuels the idea that Christian Zionists only support the creation of Israel as it triggers the end of days. Palestinian suffering, including Christian Palestinians that come from the oldest Christian communities in the world, does not hold any meaning in Christian Zionism. This very belief is the basis for white supremacy and colonialism, which supports the idea of the “white man’s burden” to save people of color from themselves. Furthermore the Israeli government, US government, white supremacists, and anti-Palestinian organizations continuously bring programs that misstate the meaning of anti-Semitism, lumping it together with anti-Zionism. This is especially dangerous as it harms not only the lives of Jewish and Palestinian people by making them susceptible to attacks against their beliefs and practices, it also endangers the lives of the supporters of Palestinian rights. On top of that, it takes away the accountability of Israel to all violations of human rights and violence they commit to Palestinians. 

Christian Zionism in the Philippines

Christian Zionism has had a significant impact in the Philippines, particularly among fundamentalist and evangelical churches. This movement, often propagated by American missionaries who were supportive of the colonial interests of their country, has contributed to a pro-Israel sentiment among Filipino Christians. This has led to a distorted view of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, often overlooking the suffering of Palestinians and the illegality of Israel's settler entity. 

In a country where  78% of the population are Roman Catholics as their religious affiliation, religious communities are especially susceptible to biblical prophecies and misleading interpretations of the scriptures. Members of faith and spiritual groups in social media are particularly vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation. Many false and misleading religious claims appeal to emotions, such as fear for the “end of the days”, hope, or a sense of divine purpose, which in turn causes panic or hysteria amongst the religious masses. In particular, there would be posts talking about Israel’s biblical significance and its role at the end of the day, using bible verses to interpret that Israel belongs to the Jews, or that the destruction of Gaza is predetermined. 

One of the hot topics among religious groups is the genocide of the nation of Israel in Palestine and the Christian Zionist belief of the establishment of Israel as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies.  

In the context of Israel-Hamas, disinformation narratives circulated online include the unverified allegations of Hamas’ killing of 40 babies and beheading them. According to Al-jazeera’s Investigative Unit’s forensic analysis of the attacks on October 7, many of the stories that came out in the following days after the events were false. These false claims were circulated and repeatedly used by Zionist politicians and the media to justify the decades-long violence and bombardment of the Gaza Strip. 

It is no surprise how many Filipinos support Israel and the Zionist agendas. The government of the Philippines has been supporting Israel unconditionally for many decades, as the Philippines is one of the 33 countries that voted in favor of UN Resolution 181 in 1947 to partition Palestine into two states: a Jewish state, and an Arab state. This resolution didn’t come about, but the Philippines has continued to support the Israeli state. The Philippines has also demonstrated solidarity and unwavering support for Israel during the October 2023 attacks and even abstained from voting during a United Nations resolution on the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

Other forms of Christian Zionism also are on the rise in the Philippines. They turn to these new religious movements as sources of hope during times of economic and social crises. An example of this is The Children of Noah, a messianic group in the Philippines who have converted to Noahidism, which is a form of Judaism that focuses on the Seven Noahide Laws as a pathway to righteousness for non-Jews. “Noahides”, which they call themselves, are guided by Orthodox Jewish rabbis and study the Torah, observe the Sabbath, and support messianic Zionism. While they are not fully Jewish, they identify with Jewish values and traditions and believe in the problematic Zionist biblical right to the Land of Israel. Filipino Noahides, guided by the teachings of Chabad-Hasidic rabbis, are forbidden from performing Jewish rituals or even reading certain Jewish texts. These restrictions allowed them to create new Noahide ritual practices and prayers based on Jewish texts, such as: using an English-translated Chumash (Torah in printed and bookbound form) instead of Torah scrolls, denouncing their Christian faith and belief in Jesus, and participating in Jewish practices like candle-lighting on Sabbath, Passover rituals, and Jewish New Year. As of 2018, there are 15 synagogues in 6 different islands in the Philippines, with nearly 2,000 Filipinos considering themselves as Noahides.   

Another instance happened last August 18, 2024, when a Filipino church in Toronto, Friends of Jesus Christ, hosted an event celebrating the state of Israel. This event, Israel Rejoicing Celebration, is funded and co-hosted by the Israeli consulate in Toronto, among other Zionist groups like the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.  Friends of Jesus Christ is a non-denominational community church based in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Its members are mostly Filipino immigrants. The church regularly carries out its Israel ministry in Jewish communities in Toronto during their annual Israel Rejoicing Celebration. The church also teaches its members to rejoice in Israel as the nation of Israel is the only nation established by God. According to them, God has intended (the nation of Israel?) to have a smooth existence, but their sins led them to exile, thus scattering them away from their land. Despite this, God has promised to always bring them back together. This became their justification in order to support the State of Israel.

To be celebrating Israel during the 310th day of Israel’s genocide of Gaza is outright ignorant and audacious when Jesus himself is Palestinian. He was a Palestinian refugee who was turned away by others in his own birthplace of Bethlehem. Like Reverend Munther Isaac in Bethlehem has said, “if Jesus were alive today, he would be under the rubble.” Furthermore, to be supporting Israel as a Christian when Israel has killed 3% of Palestine’s Christian population since October 7 is outrageous.  

What Can the Filipino People Do?

As Filipinos, we should not support a belief that perpetuates settler colonialism and genocide. The Jewish biblical right to the Land of Israel is different from the State of Israel today. The State of Israel is not the land that was promised by God to Abraham and his descendants. It was created by British colonial power and other European countries to create a Jewish state in Palestinian land and generated a mass migration of Jews in Palestine, seizing a zionist claim to the land. The creation of Israel is a result of settler colonialism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. In addition to that, many conservative Christians believe that Jewish sufferings are testament of the Second Coming of Christ, and that Jews in Palestine are a sign of that. They do not see the sufferings of Jews and Palestinians as suffering, they see it as fate. It is not right to believe in people’s suffering as fulfillment. Filipinos should not support such beliefs. 

Shared histories of colonialism, systemic oppression, and state violence bind Filipinos and Palestinians. For centuries, both of our peoples have resisted imperial forces that seek to control our lands, silence our voices, and erase our cultures. A yearning for a future free from violence, occupation, and genocide unites us. We deserve not just peace, but genuine justice and liberation.

As Filipinos, we must stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people. This means rejecting and denouncing Christian Zionism, which uses religion to justify oppression, and confronting the global systems that uphold Israel’s apartheid regime.

We must actively raise awareness, challenge misinformation, and educate our families, friends, and communities about the realities of Palestine. But awareness alone is not enough. We must hold the Philippine government accountable for its complicity in Israel’s colonial violence. As communities in the diaspora, we must continue to demand that our governments stop directly funding and enabling this genocide. For further resources on Filipinos’ roles in solidarity with the Palestinian people, check out the following blogs:

• Huwag Matakot! Leaving Fear Behind as We Speak Up for a Free
• Filipinos in solidarity with Palestine call for Arms Embargo now!
• Existing as a Ghost in Empire

True solidarity means committing to the Palestinian people's right to return to their homeland, their right to self-determination, and their right to live free from occupation. When we fight for Palestine, we fight for a world free from imperialism and violence—a world where all oppressed peoples can reclaim their lands, dignity, and futures.

FREE PALESTINE! FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE!

FROM PALESTINE TO THE PHILIPPINES, STOP THE U.S. WAR MACHINE!

FILIPINOS STAND WITH PALESTINE!

Some critical questions we can all reflect on as we further our understanding of Christian Zionism and our roles in solidarity with the Palestinian people:

• Why is Israel committed to spreading Zionist propaganda in the Philippines? Who truly benefits? Does it lead Filipinos closer to self-liberation? 
• In what ways has religion been used to oppress Filipinos in the past? How did our people challenge this? 
• What makes Zionism not just problematic, but dangerous—both for Palestinians and for all oppressed peoples?