Lines in the Sand

How did the State of Israel come into being, and why does it

continue to enjoy such unwavering political, financial and

military support from Western countries, particularly the United

States? Written in the aftermath of the attack on Israel on 7

October 2023 and the devastating escalation that followed,

Lines in the Sand brings together three penetrating essays that

offer rare spiritual perspectives in the context of an historically

grounded examination of the seemingly intractable Israel–

Palestine conflict.

The opening essay revisits the formation of Israel, focusing on

the decisive role played by British and American elites. It studies

the democratic legitimacy of international decisions such as the

Balfour Declaration and the 1947 UN partition vote, explores

contested ideas of a ‘Jewish State’ and a ‘national home’, and

traces how imperial strategy, religious ideas and demographic

engineering shaped Palestine’s fate.

The second and third essays examine the deeper origins and

extraordinary influence of so-called ‘Christian Zionism’. Tracing

its roots from medieval proto-Protestant movements through

the Reformation to modern American fundamentalism, Terry

Boardman shows how apocalyptic theology, millenarian

expectations and dispensationalist beliefs evolved into a

powerful political force. He explains how this movement has

shaped US foreign policy, sustained massive military aid to

Israel, and helped determine events in the Middle East for more

than seven decades.

Informed by the work of Rudolf Steiner, these essays offer a

challenging account of how theology, empire and power

converged to shape one of the most enduring struggles of the

modern world.