Lunch at the Labs

Israel and the religious right.

Ever wonder why the United States is so pro Israel in its conflict with Palestinians? The standard reason given is that Israel is the only democracy in the mid-east and they share our political and social values. Other reasons sometimes mentioned are that Israel has a better lobbying effort than the Arabs or that some Palestinians are terrorists. Although these things are at least partially true, I believe there is a more fundamental reason (especially under the current administration) which is hardly ever mentioned.

The real reason why the U.S. so strongly supports Israel is the religious right which is the base of support for the Bush administration. They believe Israel is God's way of preparing for the Messiah's return and the current struggle is fulfilling the biblical prophecy for God to regather the Jews in Zion for that purpose as stated in Ezekiel 37:21:

"I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land."

Basically this is a religious war and the notion that one side is right and just and the other wrong and evil doesn't make sense in that context.

Posted by mjm at July 1, 2002 01:20 PM