Maybe you’ve heard the story about the two Jews arguing about evangelical support for Israel. The first one praises the great value of religious conservatives making the pro-Zionist case and their importance as political allies. The second warns that many Christians only stand with Israel because of their belief that Jesus will not return to earth until the Holy Land belongs to the Jews and therefore they must be regarded with suspicion.
“How about this?” says the first Jew. “Let’s work with them until Jesus comes back, and then we’ll figure out what to do after that.”
Jewish Pro-Israel activism among Jews has an important impact in American politics, of course, but evangelical influence has also become extremely critical, especially among Republican officeholders. Most of us appreciate that support, but we don’t talk about it in public all that much. We love Israel for different reasons, and we’re willing to stand with improbable allies if that’s what’s required to get U.S. presidents and Congress to do the right thing. So it’s tempting for many Jewish Zionists to look past the uncomfortable reality that support among Christian conservatives for Israel now often has even greater influence than the advocacy of this country’s Jewish community
But now that President Biden has begun talking about supporting Ukraine with what he calls “the Israel model”, the role played by evangelical Christians on behalf of the Jewish state requires a closer look. America’s special relationship with Israel is based on the deeply-held beliefs of Jews, friends of democracy and human rights, geopolitical realists, evangelicals and other religious conservative voters. But as resistance to military aid for Ukraine deepens among congressional Republicans, we’re reminded of the critically important role that religious conservatives play in the pro-Israel coalition.
Biden consistently argues that admitting Ukraine as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance is desirable but premature. The president has worked very hard to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, but he worries that bringing the country into NATO could end up prolonging the war if Vladmir Putin were to see the decision as a provocation. “We don’t want WW III” has been a frequent Biden warning since hostilities first broke out last spring.
Now that President Biden has begun talking about supporting Ukraine with what he calls “the Israel model,” the role played by evangelical Christians on behalf of the Jewish state requires a closer look.
This balancing act has forced the president to identify other ways to publicly stand with Ukraine, most notably by providing the country with the type of sophisticated military weaponry they need for their current counter-offensive to succeed. So Biden now points to the extremely generous support that the U.S. has provided Israel over the years and suggests that Ukraine could be the beneficiary of similar largesse even without the NATO designation. If Israel receives such favorable treatment without the formal designation of an alliance member, then maybe Ukraine can be satisfied with the same arrangement.
But just last week, roughly one-third of House Republicans voted against continuing aid to Ukraine. Most of those same members, who are isolationists on most foreign policy matters but are fervent social conservatives, count themselves among Israel’s strongest supporters. Why do they oppose helping Ukraine but stand so strongly with Israel? It’s not because of their relationship with the American Jewish community or because of their respect for traditional Republican internationalist hawks. It’s because of the deep relationships they have formed with their evangelical and fundamentalist constituents, who want Israel to be safe and secure for very different reasons than we do.
The American Jewish community has developed an extremely powerful and influential advocacy apparatus with which we advocate for Israel and its people. But we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that we are doing this on our own. If we would like to see how the U.S. role in the Middle East might be different if it were not for the committed pro-Zionist efforts of Christian conservative voters, the growing ambivalence among Republicans regarding Ukraine gives us a vivid clue. Most Americans support democracy and human rights in both Israel and Ukraine, but this is a much easier argument to win when believers in Moses and Jesus are on the same side.
Dan Schnur is the U.S. Politics Editor for the Jewish Journal. He teaches courses in politics, communications, and leadership at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. He hosts the monthly webinar “The Dan Schnur Political Report” for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall. Follow Dan’s work at www.danschnurpolitics.com
