From 1776 to Jerusalem: Zion and the American Story

The idea of “Zion” has long been a part of the American mindset. At the outset, America itself was defined by some of its early founders as the “new Zion” before this idea would again become attached to Jerusalem and the reality of modern Israel.

As America prepares to observe the 250^th anniversary of its founding (July 4, 1776), this special bond between the United States and the State of Israel will be highlighted and one of the connecting themes is this shared idiom.

“Zion” reflects several distinctive definitions. For Jews, this term encapsulates the meaning and presence of Jerusalem and, more definitively, the hills of the city of Jerusalem. In Christian thought, this notion represents a heavenly city.

This concept was not only understood as a geographical place but also as a spiritual ideal. Within the contours of American history, the Puritans, fleeing persecution, defined themselves as the “New Israel.” In 1630, John Winthrop’s sermon,¹ “A Model of Christian Charity” describes the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a “city upon a hill,” echoing the biblical imagery of Zion and Jerusalem. America was defined by early Christian scholars as a “redeemed land,” chosen for its providential role in history.

Beyond Winthrop, a group of other key Protestant leaders, including Cotton Mather, John Edwards, and Ezra Stiles joined with various American presidents in embracing aspects of these ideas.

Taking a Deeper Dive Among the Presidents:

Employing Old Testament language when writing ² to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island in 1790, George Washington framed a portion of his message with the language that would help shape the “Jewish Contract”³ with America:

May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

For Washington, Jews represented a distinct, divinely preserved people. The twin ideas of “chosenness” and of a community rooted in the Bible would undergird his beliefs about the special place of Jews in history.

America’s second president, John Adams, held admiration for ancient Israel and expressed in his writings the hope that Jewish restoration would take place:⁴ “I really wish the Jews again in Judea as an independent nation.”

Viewing the Hebrew Bible as a “model of republican virtue,” Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president, admired ancient Israel’s system of law and governance.⁵ Correspondingly, the nation’s 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln, held a deep regard for Jewish scripture and imagery, viewing America as an instrument of divine justice, framed around the covenant of the Old Testament.⁶

Indeed, many other presidents over the course of this nation’s history would also reflect on scripture and noted the deep connection of the Judeo-Christian tradition in providing a special bond between the Holy Land and the United States.

The American Jewish Connection:

Possibly no more interesting example of this powerful and sustaining connection to the idea of Zion can best be understood through the actions of Mordecai Emanuel Noah (1785-1851). A journalist, diplomat, and Jewish leader, Noah would purchase in 1825 a piece of land on Grand Island, outside of Buffalo, which he renamed “Ararat” and issued a letter to the Jews of the world to come to America and settle in this new national home for Jews.⁷ While this venture in trying to build Zion in America failed, Noah, along with one of the most prominent 19^th century American rabbis, Isaac Leeser,⁸ would devote their energies in talking about the idea of Jews settling in Palestine in order to build a national homeland.

Employing the Yiddish expression, “Goldene Medina,” many Jews of the late 19^th century would identify the United States as the great hope for Jews in the absence of a Jewish State.⁹ America’s Jewish poets, songwriters, and artists each contributed to this notion, with Emma Lazarus among them, constructing the poem “The New Colossus” (1883), that would be imprinted on the base of the Statue of Liberty:¹⁰

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Indeed, many other Jewish artists, politicians, writers, and

intellectuals contributed, such as the 1938 song “God Bless America” Irving Berlin would compose.¹¹ The Forward 125,¹² published in 2022, provided a broad listing of prominent Jewish Americans who had contributed their talents and wisdom to enhancing the American story, further embracing the deep connections that Jews would have with this nation. For many Jews, America would be identified and viewed as their Zion.

Modern Christian Zionist Expressions:

By the 19^th century, American engagement with Zion became

more defined and literal. The biblical literalism of the Second

Great Awakening¹³ created linkages with the Holy Land as

missionaries, scholars, and explorers, as part of their travels to the Ottoman Empire, would visit Jerusalem.

In the 1870s, the American Palestine Society¹⁴ would be established, producing popular travelogues and publishing illustrated bibles, depicting scenes of the Holy Land. In reviewing the liturgy, music and sermons of this era, one can find numerous references to Jerusalem and the holy sites. During the contours of this period, Americans viewed this connection through a religious framework rather than a political one.

At the end of the 19th century, Christian Zionism¹⁵ would redefine the relationship of Christianity to the idea of the Jewish return to the land of Israel. John Nelson Darby would introduce the idea of “Dispensationalism,”¹⁶ where history is seen as divinely ordained stages, further contributing to the notion of a return to the biblical imperative linking Jews to their land. Here, Israel’s rebirth would be seen as a prerequisite enabling Christ’s Second Coming. With the advent of this religious principle, it would become an obligation for Christians to support the Jewish return to the Holy Land.

Before the emergence of political Zionism, American Protestants

had already embraced Jewish “restoration.”¹⁷

By 1948, evangelicals argued that the founding of the modern

Jewish State must be seen as an act of biblical fulfillment.

With the advent of Israel, Christian Zionist activism would

accelerate both on the political and religious level. The founding of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and the formation of the Moral Majority (1980s) would emerge as political expressions of the Evangelical involvement with the State of Israel.

A corollary political development in more recent times has been the emergence of Christian Nationalism. This movement has drawn on the ideas of Christian Zionism, identifying the United States and Israel as “parallel covenantal nations” with a shared narrative of chosenness and divine favor. Its founders have incorporated various symbols, including the Israeli flag, images of Jerusalem, and Holy Land pilgrimages as political tools.

Indeed, well beyond the idea and meaning of Zion, Israel has

become a key American bipartisan strategic and military ally. The

two nations enjoy a key high-tech partnership in such areas as

cybersecurity, AI, and biotechnology. The two nations share a set

of democratic values, involving the rule of law, a free press, respect for civil rights, and open elections.

Beyond the public sector, there exists a strong connection between the American Jewish community and the people and State of Israel, involving philanthropic, cultural, and political connections.

Culture and memory would serve as powerful elements in shaping

the American post-Second World War conscience.

Conclusion: Zion as Mirror and Myth

The idea of Zion in American culture has never been just about

Israel. It has been, in part, a mirror into American identity. This

concept has become a symbol of hope, power, and destiny.

Understanding America’s connection to Zion, and to Israel, requires seeing how religion, nationalism, memory, and strategy

intertwine. The Holy Land is not only a foreign policy issue for the United States: it is part of a deeply embedded story Americans tell about themselves as well.

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Notes