Benjamin Netanyahu threw himself headlong into the trap set for him by Hamas in Gaza. But at least he hopes that the ongoing catastrophe, if it continues, even to Israel's detriment, will enable him to avoid being held to account by his country's justice system.

As for Joe Biden, he rushed headlong into a similar trap, giving his unconditional support, at least initially, to Israel's campaign in Gaza.

However, the president of the United States, far from working in his own interests, has played into the hands of his most bitter enemies, the Christian Zionists who have taken control of the Republican Party and are ardently preparing the return of Donald Trump to the White House. For these ultra-conservative fundamentalists, an all-out war must be waged against the embodiment of "absolute evil" that "Palestinian terrorism" represents.

Mike Johnson, who has served in the House of Representatives for Louisiana since 2017, is one of the most radical figures of Christian Zionism in Congress. A fervent evangelical, he is convinced that the "return" of the Jewish people to "their" land of Israel is part of the fulfillment of prophecy, even if it means that two-thirds of the Jews will be slaughtered during these "tribulations," with the remaining third owing their survival only to their conversion to Christ.

Johnson is open about his belief in creationist theories, to the point of defending as a lawyer the group Answers in Genesis and its theme park in Kentucky, where school groups learn that the Earth was created six millennia ago, with the "reconstruction" of Noah's Ark to back it up.

An anti-abortion activist and climate skeptic, Johnson advocates for "marriage covenants," which are already in effect in Louisiana as well as Arizona and Arkansas and are far more binding than common marriages in the event of divorce. He is also a member of the hardest wing of the Republican Party, which contests the election of Biden in November 2020 and is actively campaigning for his champion's return to the White House.

Johnson was invited to Israel in February 2020 by supporters of the construction of a Third Temple in Jerusalem in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Muslim holy site he visited in the company of these Israeli fanatics. When he was elected speaker of the House of Representatives last October, after three weeks of turmoil within the Republican Party, his first act was to pass a resolution of unconditional support for Israel as "it "defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists."

You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.