William Eugene Blackstone was a Christian evangelist who supported Jewish restoration. In 1878, he wrote the wildly popular and significant book Jesus is Coming.1 Millions of copies of his book, which served as the definitive source for American dispensationalist philosophy, were sold. Blackstone outlined the biblical arguments for the Jews’ return and the restoration of the Jewish state as a prerequisite for Jesus’ second arrival.
He initially concentrated on getting the Jews back to the Holy Land as a step toward their conversion to Christianity. However, as he grew more concerned with the deadly pogroms that the Russian government was instigating, he came to believe that Israel needed to be established as the Jewish homeland. He was also convinced that neither the United States nor the European countries would take in as many Jews as would be required to flee from Europe.
After Blackstone visited the Holy Land with his daughter, he came back determined that the only way to end the persecution Jews endured elsewhere was for the Jewish people to return to their historic homeland. Blackstone hosted the conference on the past, present, and future of Israel on November 24 and 25, 1890, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago2. Leaders of the Jewish and Christian communities attended the event, though not those from the Reform movement. The conference issued a call requesting that the Ottoman Empire and other powerful nations grant the Jews their rightful ownership of Israel. He fervently supported the Jewish people’s voluntary relocation to Israel, where they were fleeing violent anti-Semitism.
Blackstone spearheaded a petition push that was accepted by the conference a year later; in 1891, subsequently, it was named the Blackstone Memorial. 413 well-known Christians and a few Jewish leaders in the United States signed the memorial3. John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Cyrus McCormick, senators, congressmen, religious leaders of all denominations, newspaper editors, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and others signed the “Blackstone Memorial” that Blackstone personally gathered their signatures. He gave the “Memorial” to President Harrison, which urged American support for the return of Jews to Israel.
Restorationism is the conviction that the Jews’ return to Palestine, the country that their God had promised them, was one of the requirements for Jesus’ Second Coming; this idea derives from a straight interpretation of the Bible. Dispensationalist Christians disagree with the 2,000-year-old orthodox and Eastern Catholic belief that the Church replaced the Jews as a result of their guilt of rejecting Jesus. The Jews had gone through a time of chastisement, but not exile.
Blackstone believed that God’s love for the Jewish people and their role in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy was not reversible acts of an unsure God. When true believers would be gathered to God in safety before the seven-year tribulation and time of destruction that would usher at the end of time, Blackstone’s theological theories connected the Jews’ return to the 1,000-year reign of Jesus in Jerusalem following the Rapture. Evil would be vanquished, but everything hinged on the Jews’ protection so they could go back to Palestine. Without the Jewish Restoration, Jesus’ second coming would not be possible.
The Longer-Term Consequences
It was seen how Turkey and its empire, the sick man of Europe, were being torn apart. Over three hundred years were spent under Ottoman authority in the Holy Land. Since the Byzantine era, Christians had accounted for the majority of the population in the region, which has been broadly referred to as Palestine. The land’s characteristics were altered over time by the Muslim conquest of the region in the 7th century and the forcible conversion of the locals. Despite a sharp decline in population, Jews have always been present in the area, even after the Romans expelled them.
Many English-speaking people first learned about the Holy Land throughout the 19th century. For decades, Americans had been physically doing Restorationist activities in Palestine for both Christians and Jews. On the other side, America was in good economic relationships with Ottoman Empire.4 It was the age of institutionalized anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and deliberate reactionism and tyranny in Russia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the lives of Jewish people in Russia were under a big threat, and Jews were at the edge of distinction.
Although America was the center of hope for a better future, it nevertheless refused to accept the role of the New Zion for the billions of Jews around the world. Even the long-established, powerful, and assimilated German Jews of America did not support the influx of the vast numbers of disfavored Russian Jews. They were concerned that it might rekindle American anti-Semitism and jeopardize their own hard-won tolerance and acceptance.
The Holocaust of Jews in Eastern Europe during World War I is little discussed or even known today. By 1916, Jews were being massacred by both sides, but notably by the Russians5. Jews spearheaded specialized relief initiatives for food, medicine, funds, and political assistance. Berlin, Germany, served as the Zionist world’s epicenter up until the early stages of World War I. It became clear that the Zionist movement would need to migrate to a more impartial hub. There were disagreements on the location of such a center; eventually, the options were narrowed to either Britain or the United States. Between London and New York, territoriality and conflict increased.
W.E.B’s policy and beliefs had some long-term consequences for the Diaspora Jewry and USFP. In terms of demographic, American Jews far outnumbered British Jews, but Britain was fighting the Turk and the German on the ground in Europe and the Middle East. Chaim Weizmann was the capable leader of British Zionism. Weizmann battled to achieve his objective—a British proclamation in favor of a Jewish homeland—having spent years building British political leadership. Despite working toward similar goals, Weizmann and Brandeis were already displaying contentious differences, and they kept their information-sharing private.
I think that W.E.B did not fully understand the consequences of his ideas for Palestinian locals, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians. His beliefs contributed to the massive ideological contradiction between people of different religions. W.E.B. considered the division of the territory of the Palestine only from the point of Christianity and the second coming of Jesus. However, he did not have enough understanding, or he did not want to see the importance of this land for Muslims.
Relevance to USFP Today
Ideas of W.E.B are still topical for some people that hold the same ideology. However, in terms of its relevance to USFP, the confrontation holds more of a geopolitical rather than ideological character. The NSFP does not recognize the State of Israel; it opposes negotiations with the Government of Israel and favors a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Until today USFP supports the liberation of Palestine and USA continues to accept refugees from Palestine6. There are a number of socialist parties on the territory of Palestine now7. I would consider the fact that W.E.B. left a legacy in USA and Palestine as a negative context for the situation in Palestine. These days the conflict around Palestine is a complex crisis with a long and complicated history and a huge number of problems: ethnic, religious, and political. The Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the most striking examples, and this conflict intersects with the geopolitical and ideological aspirations of USFP. Over the past month, the world community has watched as tensions between Jews and Arabs have grown, which eventually resulted in a large-scale exchange of airstrikes and rocket attacks. On January 26, 2021, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki expressed hope that the new US administration would reverse the illegal and hostile steps of the Donald Trump team and play an important role in multilateral efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.
Bibliography
Awad, Sumaya and Bean, Brian, ed. Palestine: A Socialist Introduction. Haymarket Books, 2020.
Black, Alasdair. “The Balfour Declaration: Scottish Presbyterian Eschatology and British Policy towards Palestine.” Perichoresis 16.4 (2018): 35-59.
Bowker, Robert. “Palestinian refugees.” Palestinian Refugees. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2022.
Napierala, Paulina. “God’s Country. Christian Zionism in America.” (2018): 758-760.
Oren, Michael B. Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present. Available from: MBS Direct, W. W. Norton, 2008.
Skinner, Timothy M. “CI Scofield’s Teachings Regarding the Conversion and Restoration of the Jewish Nation in Fulfillment of Old and New Testament Prophecies and their Potential Apologetic Value.” (2022).
Waxman, Chaim I. “God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America: by Samuel Goldman. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 13.1, 2018), 177 pages.” (2019): 117-120.
Footnotes
- Napierala, Paulina. “God’s Country. Christian Zionism in America.” (2018): 758-760.
- Waxman, Chaim I. “God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America: by Samuel Goldman (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), 177 pages.” (2019): 117-120.
- Black, Alasdair. “The Balfour Declaration: Scottish Presbyterian Eschatology and British Policy towards Palestine.” Perichoresis 16.4 (2018): 35-59.
- Oren, Michael B. Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present. Available from: MBS Direct, W. W. Norton, 2008.
- Skinner, Timothy M. “CI Scofield’s Teachings Regarding the Conversion and Restoration of the Jewish Nation in Fulfillment of Old and New Testament Prophecies and their Potential Apologetic Value.” (2022).
- Bowker, Robert. “Palestinian refugees.” Palestinian Refugees. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2022.
- Awad, Sumaya, ed. Palestine: A Socialist Introduction. Haymarket Books, 2020.