New in Civitas Outlook: "Anti-Semitism and Anti-Christian Zionism On The Right"

"It is perverse to include Anti-Zionists and cozy up to antisemites."

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We often repeat, reflexively, "Never again." Yet far too many people forget the "again" part. Antisemitism has been with us since the beginning of recorded history. While it is important to study the Holocaust, modern education fixates on that Shoach at the expense of obscuring the long train of hatred towards Jewish people that continues to this day. That education also portrays Jews as victims, and teaches that anything short of mass extermination is not that big of a deal.  I would commend a new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, titled "Holocaust Education Obscures Antisemitism." It begins:

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, it's important to reflect on, mourn and remember the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis. As time passes and the Holocaust fades further from memory, this somber day grows increasingly important. Yet with antisemitism surging and Jews being murdered in attacks worldwide, it's clear that remembering is no longer enough. If our understanding of Jew-hatred remains locked in the past, there's a risk that current and future forms of antisemitism will spiral out of control.

Today is a very fitting day to publish my new essay in Civitas Outlook, titled Anti-Semitism and Anti-Christian Zionism On The Right. From the introduction:

On the political left, antisemitism has long been cloaked under the garb of anti-zionism. Those advocating for Palestinian rights insist they have no animosity towards Jews, but simply reject Zionism: the belief that Israel is the Jewish state. The defense of Zionism invariably falls to Jewish people, who explained that this purported anti-zionism was little more than a ruse for anti-semitism. And in recent times, Jews found allies on the right with Christians who zealously supported Zionism as both a matter of policy and faith. But a rupture is forming. A rising tide on the right is attacking Zionists and Christian Zionists alike. In every civilization, antisemitism has morphed to match the circumstances of the day on all sides of the political spectrum. Regrettably, this movement to oppose Christian Zionism is little different than left-wing anti-Zionism on college campuses. As the very bounds of conservatism continue to ebb and flow, stark lines are being drawn of how those on the right view Israel and the Jewish people. Conservatives need to account for how this shift is drastically altering American domestic and foreign policy.

It is tempting to start this analysis with Kevin Roberts's ill-fated defense of Tucker Carlson. But we should step back a bit further. It has been widely reported that Carlson did nothing to push back against Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier, when Carlson interviewed him. But Carlson did express some opinions of his own. He described Christian Zionists as a "Christian heresy" whom he "dislikes more than anybody." Among these heretics were Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Senator Ted Cruz, former President George W. Bush, and others. Carlson actually said that Cruz was "serving for Israel." Tucker charged that this Zionism is a "brain virus." The implication was clear: disloyal American Jews have infected Christians to advance Israeli interests over American interests. Stop me if you've heard this trope before.

And from a somewhat hopeful conclusion:

Perhaps there is some room for hope. In a recent interview, the New York Times asked President Trump, "Do you think there's room within the Republican coalition, the Make America Great movement, for people with antisemitic views?" Trump replied, "No, I don't. I think we don't need them. I think we don't like them." Trump is right. It is perverse to include Anti-Zionists and cozy up to antisemites. Christian Zionists should be welcomed, and antisemites excluded. 

Never again means never again.

Comments

[Botaglove]

"Zionism: the belief that Israel is the Jewish state."

THis is not an accurate definition of Zionism. Zionism is the theory that to protect the Jewish people, they must (and have a right to) establish a religious identity state in a particular location, former Palestine, with or without the consent of the people otherwise there.

You can agree or disagree with the prescription but should be reasonably clear as to what you're arguing about.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

There are plenty of good *secular* reasons to cooperate with Israel on key issues (regional issues, anti-terrorism), and it's not necessary to add dubious theology (Christian Zionism) to the reasons.

While nationalism in general has some bad manifestations, singling out the Jewish variety of nationalism while winking at the others is of course anti-Jewish. So, making out (Jewish) Zionism as some kind of unique evil is beyond absurd. And you don't have to be an actual Zionist (of either kind) to acknowledge this.

I would love to see what happens in an alternate universe where Palestinian (mis)leaders *don't* engage in terrorism or other war crimes to make their points. Would Israel have behaved better toward the Palestinians? I can't travel to that alternate universe, but my best guess is that, yes, Israel and the Palestinians would be getting along much better.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

The best we can say of Israel's Christian minority is that it's treated better than in (say) Iraq or other heckholes. But the various Christian Patriarchs certainly shouldn't be expected to support "Christian Zionism." I don't know these patriarchs and it's possible that some of them are Bad People, but it's also possible that they are simply trying to do what's best for their beleaguered flocks.

[Katall]

Really? You think Israeli Christians are maltreated, but not as bad as in some Muslim countries? What is your basis for this view?

The Israeli government regularly meets with Christians visiting the country. And Christians are a significant part of the tourist economy.

That said, religious minorities have issues in the West Bank, but generally, they are caused by Jewish zealots (who the government now supports).

Are they treated any worse than, say, Jewish people in Mississippi, whose synogogue was torched? Or are they called evil by an Alabama senator as Muslims are?

I would submit that, in Israel, religious minorities are treated better than those in the vast majority of the world.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

"The Israeli government regularly meets with Christians visiting the country. And Christians are a significant part of the tourist economy."

How the Israelis treat Christian *visitors* is not entirely the same issue as how they treat Christian *residents.*

However, I've *already acknowledged* that it's better to be a Christian in Israel than in Iraq or similar heckholes (like Syria), where the longstanding Christian communities are getting driven out.

Should Israeli Christians be Christian Zionists? The used to be under Muslim control, yet the Christian minority weren't expected to be "Christian Arab nationalists." Some of them joined political movements based on Arab solidarity, but now they're losing many of their erstwhile Muslim "partners," who want Muslim-only rule.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

I should say that any previous invitation that the local Christians received to become "Christian Arab nationalists" has become problematic because of loss of support among putative Muslim allies.

They would receive a similar cool reception if they decided to become "Christian Zionists." Of course the Israelis would profess sympathy, but how much of that would translate to practical assistance? And the newly-minted "Christian Zionists" would be expected to adopt a basically Protestant theology, and believe it or not, there are Israeli Christians who are not Protestants.

[Katall]

Well, in an alternative universe, for one, Jordan would be in control of the West Bank and Egypt would rule Gaza. But, most likely, biblical scholarship would have suffered from it.

[gormadoc]

"Antisemitism has been with us since the beginning of recorded history."
Recorded history began well before the Israelites existed. The unification of Egypt happened almost two millennia before the word "Israel" existed and was commemorated throughout the First Dynasty in writing and art.

[MarkJawz]

I can understand why nationalists in the West don't want Jews around, as I don't believe Jews are a force for good in the West.

But it doesn't make sense to me why those people would oppose Israel's existence. If Israel exists as a strong and prosperous Jewish state, it's more likely that they'd have somewhere to go if removed, involuntarily or constructively, from other Western nations.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

Above I commented that nationalism had its bad side, but that singling out the Jewish variety of nationalism was wrong.

Now MarkJawz comes along to demonstrate my point, that nationalism doesn't have to be Zionistic to have its bad side.

On the contrary, *any* nationalism can have the side-effect of turning non-ethnically-favored inhabitants of the nation-state into "the other" - not fellow-citizens but enemies.

A multicultural republic - if we can manage it - would be far better than an ethno-state. But such idealistic sentiments are no excuse for singling out one particular ethno-state (and its presumptive supporters) for terrorism and other horrors.