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July 12, 2005

Rightwing Christians Love Government Seizures of Property

Well, they claim not to, many being quite upset , according to the New York Times, with the recent Kelo decision allowing eminent domain for economic development purposes.

Except those same rightwing Christian groups also love Israel, which has made pervasive land seizure one of its main policies to oppress the Palestinians.  The erection of  "the Wall" is just the most recent large-scale version of that policy.

The kind of abusive, politically targetted seizure of land, usually without compensation, that Israel engages with is the kind of violation the 5th Amendment Takings Clause was meant to prevent.   It is pathetic hypocrisy for rightwingers to bemoan the Kelo decision -- which guarantees full compensation for landowners -- yet endorse Israel's full-scale destruction of any property rights for the Palestinians. 

Luckily, at least some Christian denominations recognize injustice when they see it.

Posted by Nathan at July 12, 2005 09:38 AM