US Zionism’s political base shifted from liberal Democrats to the Christian Right

Evidence

The Christian Right is an integral part of the Islamophobia network; it too ardently supports Israeli occupation and settlement of Palestinian lands. For the Christian evangelical movement, Israel is of crucial importance; they believe that Jews will go back to Israel before the return of Christ. And while they also believe that Jews would be converted to Christianity, they firmly support a Jewish state in Palestine. Thus, the Christian Right has lined up with other Zionists in demonizing Palestinians. At least since the 1980s, the Christian Right has been an important base for the Republican Party. In fact, the Christian Right and the GOP have become some of the most extreme Zionists (even if they believe that Jews can’t get into heaven). This marks a shift from the 1970s and earlier, when Israel had a “social democratic” world image and liberal Democrats were the most ardent supporters of Zionism. The events of 9/11 further solidified the Christian Right–neocon–Zionist alliance. … The alignment of US and Israeli policy has meant, as Elaine Hagopian writes, “defining Arab/Muslim states and/or movements within them as terrorist or supporters of terrorism.” For the evangelicals, “the attacks on Israel by Palestinian suicide bombers are an important test in the global fight against Islamic terrorism.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 687

Categorization

• XREF: Directly corroborates and historically deepens the vault’s claims about Islamophobia being networked with pro-Israel policy; also parallels the evangelical-Zionist demonization angle in the Complaints About Immodesty cluster’s treatment of political-religious alliances. — connects to: Unqualified support for Zionism is bipartisan in the US establishment — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 401; American evangelical leaders framed Zionism as biblically ordained Palestinian removal — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 636; Evangelical theology drove US support for Israel and Palestinian dispossession (+7 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 687

Broader Connections

• Unqualified support for Zionism is bipartisan in the US establishment #contradicts (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 401
• The Christian Right’s lasting achievement was locking evangelicals to the GOP #expands (0.85) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 244
• American evangelical leaders framed Zionism as biblically ordained Palestinian removal #expands (0.80) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 636
• Evangelical theology drove US support for Israel and Palestinian dispossession #corroborates (0.80)
• Postwar evangelical political power moved through direct presidential access and official state religion markers #expands (0.75) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 82
• The Islam-fascism equation derived from Likud-style Zionism among neoconservatives #expands (0.75)
• American Muslim organizations actively assimilated into the postwar Protestant-Catholic-Jew consensus #complicates (0.72) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 283
• The Islamophobia network spans neocons, Zionists, Christian Right, and ex-Muslims #expands (0.70)
• Southern economic catch-up could independently explain realignment away from Democrats. #qualifies (0.70) — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 43
• Historians still dispute whether race or economics drove white Southern exit from the Democrats. #responds-to (0.70) — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 49