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Zionism and Post-Holocaust Christian Theology: A Jewish Perspective. Mark Braverman

    


Introduction of Mark Braverman:

Mark Braverman is a Jewish-American psychologist, theologian, and prominent voice in the interfaith justice movement for Palestine. Raised in a strong Zionist tradition, Braverman underwent a personal and moral transformation after witnessing the realities of the Israeli occupation. He is the Executive Director of Kairos USA, an organization that mobilizes American Christians to support Palestinian rights.

Braverman focuses on the intersection of theology, justice, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His work critiques both Jewish and Christian theological frameworks that support Zionism and calls for a prophetic response rooted in human rights and reconciliation. His major works include Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land and numerous essays on interfaith theology and justice.


Mark Braverman.


Opening Note:

In the wake of the Holocaust, Christian theology took a new directionseeking to repent for centuries of anti-Judaism and to build a renewed relationship with the Jewish people. While this shift was driven by a sincere desire for healing, it also gave rise to an unintended consequence: a reluctance to speak out against the injustices faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation. 

This blog explores how post-Holocaust theology, shaped by guilt and a desire for reconciliation, has often supported Zionism at the cost of justice—and why it’s time to revisit these beliefs through a prophetic, truth-telling lens.


1. Theological Shift After the Holocaust

Post-Holocaust Christian theology rightly sought to correct the deep roots of anti-Semitism embedded in Christian doctrine. This led to efforts at solidarity with Jews and support for Jewish self-determination. However, that support often became automatic backing for the State of Israelits founding, its wars, and its occupation policies. As justice for Palestinians became a global moral concern, Christian theology's uncritical embrace of Israel has become a stumbling block, even for many well-meaning faith leaders.


2. Universalism vs. Particularism: A Central Theological Tension

At the heart of this issue lies a contradiction: Christianity proclaims a universal message of love and justice, yet post-Holocaust theology often affirms a unique theological claim of Jewish entitlement to historic Palestine. The result is a selective application of justice—universal for all, except when it comes to Israel.


3. A Personal Encounter With Christian Guilt

Mark Braverman recounts a 2006 meeting with a Christian pastor who confessed his unwillingness to criticize Israel, haunted by Christian guilt over the Holocaust. Braverman, a Jew raised with Zionist ideals, challenged this silence, arguing that real reconciliation means being honest about injustice—even when it implicates Jews.


4. Western Complicity and Muzzling of Critique

Political and religious leaders in the West, including liberal Christians and Jews, often avoid criticism of Israel. Events supporting Palestinian rights are frequently branded as anti-Semitic, shutting down honest theological and ethical conversations. This silence perpetuates injustice.


5. From Zionist Belief to Moral Reckoning

Braverman’s journey is deeply personal. Raised on the moral certainty of Zionism, his worldview shattered when he witnessed the harsh realities of Israel’s occupation firsthand. The cognitive dissonance between Jewish ethics and political Zionism forced him into a crisis—and ultimately, into a new prophetic understanding of justice.


6. A Parallel Reckoning: Christianity Then, Judaism Now

Just as Christian theology had to confront its complicity in the Holocaust, Jewish theology must now confront its complicity in the oppression of Palestinians. This reckoning is deeply uncomfortable, as it challenges cherished identities and narratives. But prophetic traditions in both faiths demand this moral clarity.


7. Christian Guilt as an Obstacle to Justice

While Christian responses to the Holocaust are rooted in repentance, they have sometimes led to a theological paralysis. Both evangelical Zionists and liberal interfaith advocates now defend Israel in ways that foreclose real critique, out of fear of repeating past sins. Ironically, this fear allows new injustices to persist.


8. Paul Van Buren e the Birth of Liberal Christian Zionism

Paul Van Buren exemplifies this theological shift. A pioneer of post-Holocaust theology, Van Buren sought to affirm God's covenant with Jews—but did so by celebrating Israel’s military victories as signs of divine favor. His legacy is a troubling blend of Christian repentance and theological Zionism, which helped normalize Israeli militarism in religious discourse.


9. Theology and Nationalism: A Dangerous Mix

Van Buren’s approach shaped generations of clergy. In his work, the suffering of Jews becomes a sacred narrative that justifies Zionist nationalism. The rise of Israel, framed as redemptive, encourages Christians to support a political project that often contradicts the very values of mercy, justice, and peace that Christianity claims to uphold.


10. James Carroll and the Soft Reinvention of Jesus

Liberal Catholic theologian James Carroll attempted to bridge Christianity and Judaism by emphasizing Jesus’ Jewish roots. But Braverman critiques this move as a distortion—one that tames Jesus’ prophetic voice to fit a post-Holocaust interfaith agenda. Rather than confronting tribalism and religious nationalism, it reinforces them.


11. The Risk of Sanitized Theology

For Braverman, reshaping Jesus into a figure of interfaith comfort undermines his radical messagea challenge to power, privilege, and empire. True reconciliation demands that Christians and Jews alike reckon with the injustices done in their name, not hide behind theological nostalgia.


12. Honoring Jewish Roots Without Endorsing Injustice

The desire to reconnect with Judaism has led some progressive Christians to affirm the Old Testament without critique. Yet, uncritical affirmation of tribal, conquest-based narratives risks validating the modern Israeli state’s actions. Solidarity must never become sanctification of state violence.


13. Prophetic Theology vs. Royal Consciousness

Brueggemann offers a way forward. He contrasts “royal consciousness”—a theology aligned with state power—with prophetic imagination, which names injustice and grieves real suffering. Prophets like Jeremiah challenged the belief that divine election guarantees moral righteousness. Israel today, like ancient Judah, needs that prophetic warning.


14. Braverman’s Awakening: From Mourning to Moral Vision

After witnessing the occupation, Braverman embraced a theology of lament—for both Palestinians and Jews. He saw Israeli society trapped in fear, denial, and militarism. Inspired by Brueggemann and theologians like Ruether, he calls for a new covenant grounded not in conquest, but in co-humanity—shared dignity, justice, and reconciliation.


15. Reclaiming the Land Theologically: Brueggemann’s Evolution

In his early work The Land, Brueggemann described the land of Israel as central to Jewish identity. But in later editions, he warned against the politicization of that promise. The land must be understood symbolically, not as divine license for domination.




16. Ruether’s Theological Journey: From Balance to Bold Critique

Rosemary Ruether’s early work sought “balance” between Jewish and Palestinian claims. But this framing concealed power asymmetries and sanitized injustice. Later, in The Wrath of Jonah, she abandoned false equivalency and directly named Israeli colonialism and U.S. complicity.




17. Rejecting the Two-Narrative Myth

Ruether challenges the idea of “dual narratives,” which presents Zionism and Palestinian resistance as two sides of a tragic story. Instead, she calls for historical honesty: Zionism led to displacement. Any theology that hides this truth serves power, not justice.


18. Courage and Clarity in Theological Discourse

The Wrath of Jonah marks a turning point. It refuses to veil critique in interfaith politeness. Ruether dismantles sacred myths—such as Israel’s unquestionable right to exist—and exposes the peace process as cover for systemic apartheid. Her call is clear: justice before reconciliation.


Transcript from the Article, the story of a Pastor , one of the best illustration.

"My enounter with the Pastor: 

In the Fall of 2006, soon after my return from a visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, a colleague and I delivered an address at a church in Washington, DC, well-known for its involvement in human rights and social justice causes. The pastor of the church introduced us and listened intently to our presentations. I spoke unreservedly about my horror at the Israeli occupation of Palestine and my ‘conversion’ from a progressive Jew critical of some of Israel’s policies but supportive of the Zionist project to someone questioning the very fundamentals of Zionist ideology and practice. After the presentation, the pastor approached me and said: ‘I agree with much of what you have said and appreciate your passion and your honesty. But I feel that we have to be sensitive to the feelings of Jews in this matter.’ I asked him what he meant by that. He answered in words to this effect:


I have to tell you that as a Christian, I feel personally responsible for the evil of anti-Semitism and indeed for the Holocaust itself. I have been involved in human rights work for my entire career, including for years working with an interfaith group of Christian and Jewish clergy. Until recently, Israel and the Palestinians simply didn’t come up. When, however, the issue of the Presbyterian Church’s divestment from companies involved in the Israeli occupation was raised in 2004, we decided not to discuss the issue out of sensitivity for the rabbis in the group.

My Jewish pedigree must be impeccable. I looked at him and with what can only be described as chutzpah, said: ‘Pastor, you need to do something else with your Christian guilt. The rabbis who will not engage with you in an honest discussion about Israel and Zionism are not friends of Israel. We Jews are in spiritual peril, and Israel itself is in grave danger. We need your help as a Christian leader and as a worker for justice and peace. Allowing this discussion to be muzzled and holding back from engagement in this struggle is not what Jesus would want you to do.’ The pastor didn’t flinch – not by backing off from his position, and not by dismissing my challenge. Our friendship – and our continuing dialogue – began on that day."


Final Thoughts: Toward a New Covenant of Co-Humanity

Theologies born from guilt are not enough. Neither are those built on tribal exceptionalism. If Jews and Christians are to walk toward reconciliationreal reconciliation—it must be grounded in truth, justice, and prophetic courage. As Braverman writes, we need a new covenant, one that honors suffering but refuses to sanctify supremacy.

Only then can we begin the hard work of healingnot just between Jews and Christians, but within our own spiritual traditions.


Quotes of Mark Braverman on Antisemitism 

1. On Weaponization of Antisemitism:

> “Calling out antisemitism has become a tool to silence criticism of Israel.”

– Mark Braverman


Braverman frequently critiques how accusations of antisemitism are used to delegitimize pro-Palestinian voices, especially within Christian and interfaith spaces.

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2. On Christian Guilt and Avoidance:

> “The horror of Christian antisemitism has caused Christians to hesitate—often fatally—before addressing Israel’s abuses of power.”

He argues that post-Holocaust guilt has created a paralysis among many Christians, leading to a moral failure to speak against injustice.

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3. On Redefining Antisemitism:

> “Real antisemitism must be opposed. But conflating it with criticism of Israel is dishonest and dangerous.”

Braverman emphasizes the need to distinguish between genuine hatred of Jews and legitimate political critique of Israeli policies.

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4. On Jewish Identity and Moral Responsibility:

> “As a Jew, I reject the idea that my identity is tied to the defense of a state committing injustice.”

He calls for a reimagining of Jewish ethics and theology that centers justice and human dignity, not nationalism or exceptionalism.

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5. On Christian Theology’s Role:

> “When Christians fail to challenge Israel’s injustices because of their guilt over antisemitism, they’re enabling more suffering—not healing it.”

Braverman urges Christians to act with courage and prophetic honesty, rather than retreating into silence out of fear of offending Jews.



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