There are a wide range of reasons why Americans either support or oppose Israel. These include:
Pro-Israel
- ISRAEL IS A PLUCKY LITTLE DEMOCRACY, BORN OUT OF THE HOLOCAUST, SURROUNDED BY HOSTILE AND AUTOCRATIC ARAB REGIMES: This somewhat anachronistic view of Israel is still shared by many elderly Democrats, including Joe Biden.
- THE CREATION OF A STRONG AND EXPANDING ISRAEL IS A CONDITION OF THE SECOND COMING: Many right-wing evangelical American Protestants believe this and consequently support Israel even against the claims of Palestinian Christians.
- ONE NATION, ONE CREED: Some American nationalists support the current Israeli regime for this reason even if, logically, it would mean expelling Jews from the United States.
- BIBI KICKS BUTT: The image of Netanyahu as a human steamroller appeals to portions of the New Right who celebrate testosterone and the destruction of the “feminized” world order.
Anti-Israel
- TODAY’S ISRAEL IS AN AGGRESSIVE IMPERIALIST STATE THAT SEEKS HEGEMONY OVER ITS NEIGHBORS AND HAS THE RESOURCES TO DO SO: This is effectively the opposite of the “plucky little democracy” theme discussed above.
- BIBI AND TRUMP ARE UNITED IN THEIR DESIRE TO PUT A KNEE ON THE NECKS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: In this image, the Israelis are the Middle East version of Minnesota policemen; they are settlers oppressing ethnic minorities.
- THERE IS NO LOGICAL REASON TO CREATE AN ISRAELI EXCEPTION TO “AMERICA FIRST”: This is Tucker Carlson’s position; he sees our relations with Israel as a strategic liability.
- WE JUST HATE JEWS, PERIOD: Both the extreme right and the left include pure antisemites, although they are probably more numerous among the right.
Gaza effectively discredited the “plucky little democracy” position and increased the number of people in the first and third anti-Israel camps. It didn’t much impact the other arguments.