Evangelical Friends of Israel and Right-Wing Movements in the US and Brazil

Abstract In political demonstrations, conservative Christian groups frequently include Israeli flags and speeches in support of Israel. This is in line with a long-standing trend, which links peculiar interpretations of apocalyptic texts with the future of Jewish people, resulting nowadays in a movement known as Christian Zionism. The diffuse association between the religiosity of Jewish people and the modern state of Israel has made it easier for conservative Christians to legitimize with religious arguments their support for political parties and politicians who declare unrestricted support for the state of Israel and its policies, even if they radically deny many other core values of Christianity. In the US, they support the Republican Party’s international policy on the state of Israel; in Brazil, Christian Zionism gives strong support to Jair Bolsonaro and his radical right movement. In this article, I intend to show the origin and some characteristics of the apocalyptic interpretations in the US and Brazil and how they contributed to linking conservative evangelical Christians with the radical political right. To conclude, pointing out some political tendencies of the alliance between Christian Zionism and the radical right, especially in positions concerning international relations regarding the state of Israel.