The Holy Alliance
Fox News, the alt-Right, Trump, American Zionists, and the Christian Right: which of these is not like the others?
It’s not too difficult to draw a political line from Trump to Fox News (if you need reinforcement, read Jane Mayer’s treatise in The New Yorker). And, despite the contradictions of a moral group supporting a demonstrably immoral man, the Christian Right has “sold-out” for Mr. Trump. They are willing to accept his personal immorality in return for his dedication to their causes: an end to legal abortion, privatization of schooling (and the use of public money to fund private schools,) and rolling back LGBTQIA rights (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual or Allied – the IA were new to me, and I want to be thorough).
And while others in the Trump Administration would deny it, the President has made it clear that he sees “…fine people on both sides.” Trump owes the ideology of his rise to political power to the “alt-right,” from the members of his staff like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon, to the more established hate groups (“…I don’t even know who David Duke is…”) to the absolute crazy conspiracy theorists of Q-Anon, a group that Trump quietly and consistently signals his approval.
So how do American Zionists, mostly Jewish, end up in such a mix? Traditionally American Jews have supported the Democratic Party platform, are moderate to liberal on social issues, and have been the target for right-wing attacks. Anti-Semitism was a foundation of the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazis; of the three civil rights workers killed during the Mississippi “Freedom Summer,” two were Jewish.
The President has placed his son-in-law, Jared Kushner in charge of Middle East Policy. Kushner, a Modern Orthodox Jew, has close links to Israel. And it’s more than just his connection to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kushner’s father was a close friend of Netanyahu, and Kushner was educated from a young age in Zionism (New York Times.) Trump himself has connections to the Jewish community, with one of his earliest mentors being attorney Roy Cohn. And Trump has more recent found political backing from billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, whose pro-Zionist views are well known. When Trump moved the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Adelson was given a seat on the podium, and when Adelson wanted to build a casino in Japan, Trump brought the subject up to Prime Minister Abe.
But President Trump isn’t the only nexus between pro-Israeli forces and the conservative right. Since the late 1960’s, Christian evangelists, starting with Billy Graham himself, have supported the Jewish state in the Middle East. Christian Zionists see modern day Israel as a sign of Biblical prophecy come true; foretelling the coming of the “end of days” as written in Revelations.
Both Christians and Jews are encouraged to “own a piece” of the Holy Land. To Christians, Israel is the land of the Second Coming, to have a piece of that land gives a “foothold” for the End (check this Youtube offer to buy 1 square inch for only $49.99!!!) And Jews too can a piece of the Jewish Homeland – $36 for one square cubit near Mt. Carmel, a great Bar Mitzvah present on E-Bay! They even send you a “Deed” with the Star of David (and written in English.)
Sure, someone is making money off of these “land” deals, but it also gives thousands of American Christians and Jews another reason to support Israel; defending their own land!
Democrats have been put into a difficult position. They used to have the monopoly on Zionism, but the Trump coalition has cracked that wide open. Democrats are more politically aligned with the Labor Party in Israel, the dominant political force through the late 1990s. More recently, the Labor Party has been eclipsed by the right-wing Likud Party, led by Netanyahu. As Democrats try to represent other legitimate interests, including the fate of Palestinians and the concept of the two-state solution to Middle East peace, they are treading a thin line: it has become difficult to criticize Netanyahu’s policies, without being attacked as Anti-Semitic. It doesn’t help Democrats that the most recent face of criticism has been a Muslim Congresswoman from Minnesota, playing into the right-wing “trope” for Muslim hatred.
In current Israeli politics, Likud is polling at 30% and Labor at 18%. Israel has fourteen political Parties, it takes an alliance of multiple parties to gain the majority. The coalition around Likud is polling at 61%. Israel is itself divided, so it’s should be no surprise that support for Israel in the United States is divided as well.
It is possible to be pro-Israel and not accept some of the actions of the Netanyahu administration. It is possible to be in favor of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, and still be supportive of a Jewish state. It is possible to be concerned about the fate of the Palestinian people, trapped on the West Bank and in Gaza, without being anti-Semitic. But in our current political climate it is difficult to be nuanced; every action is exaggerated to its extreme, broadcast from the mountaintop by Trump and Fox News.
And somehow, they have laid claim to the power of declaring who is Anti-Semitic.
