Often times, authors are not allowed to pick the title for their books. The publisher typically makes that decision.
I recently learned, however, that Wipf and Stock Publishers has decided to use the title I proposed for my next book. I am letting you know about this so you can keep your eyes open for it once it becomes available (perhaps in the fall).
The title will be Like Birds in a Cage: Christian Zionism’s Collusion in Israel’s Oppression of the Palestinian People.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “Christian Zionism” (CZ) refers to a large segment of the Christian church who believe that the modern state of Israel is God’s chosen nation, now preparing the way for Christ’s second coming.
May of these folks will talk about reading “the signs of the times” 
anticipating various beasts, the antichrist, and the final battle of Armageddon, all occurring in the land of Israel.
My argument with Christian Zionism takes a three-pronged approach.
First, I dissect the basic problems with CZ Bible-reading, showing why and how their approach to scripture is wrong. Bad methods can only produce bad results. CZ has no Biblical foundation.
Second, I trace the history of political Zionism — the branch of Zionism that gave birth to the Jewish nation-state — and its abusive treatment of the indigenous Palestinians.
Israel’s establishment was the last venture of western, settler colonialism. The goal was to create a Jewish supremacist state (yes, go ahead and make the
implied comparison to white supremacy in this country), where Jews alone claimed all the rights and privileges of citizenship. The natives were displaced, replaced, and excluded by European, Jewish settlers who built a society only for themselves.
Third, I tell a number of eyewitness accounts detailing the unrelenting brutality of Israel’s military occupation in the West Bank. Captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, Israel continues to violate international law by annexing large portions of this territory and building Jewish-only settlements on stolen Palestinian land.
The United States is Israel’s largest source of foreign aid, to the tune of nearly $4 billion each year.
Christian Zionists are the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in this country.
The logic is self-evident.
Israel will not change its behavior until the USA stops financing their military. The US government will not cut Israel’s foreign aid budget without consistent, long-term pressure to this end from American citizens.
Here is the logicĀ that led me to write Like Birds in a Cage.
My prayers and my hopes are focused on educating American evangelicals, convincing them that not only does Israel not deserve the church’s support, but that Israel is a rogue state built on ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
No Christian, no congregation, no denomination, no non-profit organization, no country can ever support a nation like Israel with a clear conscience.
I hope you will look for my book and buy copies for you and your friends when it comes out. My Palestinian friends need your help.
