Interfaith leaders, activists disrupt Christians United for Israel in Washington

A group of dozens of interfaith leaders and activists gathered in Washington, DC on Tuesday to disrupt a visit to Capitol Hill by Christians United for Israel.

CUFI, as it is often called, claims to be the largest pro-Israel and Zionist group in the United States, boasting around 10 million members from churches across the country. Among its many activities, according to congressional financial disclosures, is the funding and hosting of US Congress members' trips to Israel.

As CUFI lobbyists from across the US were visiting Capitol Hill on Tuesday as part of their annual summit, largely to advocate for more US military support for Israel, a multifaith group of pro-Palestinian activists, mainly Muslims, Jews and Christians, were ready to disrupt them.

On Tuesday morning, a group of activists blocked the lobbyists' bus from National Harbor in Maryland, where their annual convention is being held, to Capitol Hill. Around the same time, protesters gathered in a park near the Capitol, where faith leaders took turns speaking and activists held signs reading "Blessed are the Peacemakers" and "Christian Zionism is antisemitism".

"For decades, CUFI has pressured the United States government to continue funding Israel's deepening occupation and apartheid at the expense of Palestinians and Israelis," said Eva Borgwardt, IfNotNow National Spokesperson, who spoke at the rally on Capitol Hill.

"We are mobilising to disrupt CUFI’s white nationalist agenda and racist, antisemitic message, and to call for the US to stop funding this genocidal assault on Gaza," she added.

Though CUFI is self-described as being against antisemitism, its leader, John Hagee, a Texas-based evangelical pastor, has previously said that God sent Hitler to create Israel, an apparent reference to the biblical end-of-times prophecy. 

He has also said that Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans in 2005 was the judgment from God of gay people; he has said that all Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews; and he has said that women's sole purpose is to bear children.

Knowing the rhetoric of its leader, a number of public figures, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have given speeches at CUFI conferences.

Many prominent pro-Israeli Americans and Israelis, however, have spoken out against Hagee, saying he is not a friend to Israel.

Though the activists who protested against CUFI on Tuesday tend to lean left, their condemnation of the group and its leader appears to represent a relatively broad population who do not align with Hagee's positions.

"I am sick and tired of Christian Zionists co-opting my faith tradition to fuel the genocide of the Palestinian people with my US tax dollars. I follow Jesus, who spent his life and death challenging empire's ways of domination while building a world of peace where everyone can be safe and whole," said Reverend Liz Kearny, from the Presbyterian Church USA, in a public statement released after she had participated in the human blockade of CUFI.

"I sit locked in this position today alongside these beloveds, blocking a bus of Christian Zionists going to lobby our lawmakers, to say with my body, Let Gaza live, stop arming Israel, end the occupation, free Palestine," she said.

In addition to having a widespread following across the US, CUFI also has a presence in the UK and Canada.