Evangelical America: The Driving Force Behind US-Israel Relations
Since the 1980s, Evangelical Americans have been a dominant political force. Currently, they make up 25% of the United States’ population, as well as 30% of the United States Congress. Evangelicals are known for many hard-line political positions, including on issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage, but they hold few beliefs as strongly as that in the existence and support of Israel. Evangelicals support Israel at an extremely high rate: 75% say that they either support Israel outright or lean towards supporting Israel, while just 3% say the same about Palestine, compared to the 55% of total Americans that approve of Israel. The combination of Evangelical political clout, as well as their incredibly tilted preferences, form a policy making juggernaut. For example, in 2017 former US president Donald Trump moved the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In doing so, Trump said “That’s for the evangelicals.” In a 2019 speech given to AIPAC, America’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group, former Vice President and outspoken Evangelical Mike Pence said with regards to Israel that “Her cause is our cause. Her values are our values. Her fight is our fight.” Evangelicals see Israel as far more than a simple ally, and in this essay I will argue that theology, eschatology, and shared cultural values are the foundation for that relationship.
Historically, Evangelicals have largely supported the Zionist movement for theological reasons. As Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Opinion on Israel lays out, The Jews — and their presence in Israel — play a central role in Evangelical eschatology. According to Evangelicals, we are on the precipice of the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the first stage of his return, all of the true believers will be drawn up to heaven for seven years, during which time the Jews will firmly establish a sovereign kingdom in Israel. From this kingdom, Evangelicals believe, will rise a false Messiah, (referred to as the antichrist) who will rebuild the temple only to be defeated by Jesus, who will establish his kingdom on Earth with his capital in Jerusalem. Contemporary Christianity and Israel, an essay by Ariel Yaakov, notes that these beliefs have led to the creation of some of the most influential policies in the history of Israel — which then reinforce the beliefs by making the coming of Christ seem imminent.
Real-world events have only solidified Evangelical eschatological beliefs. For example, Ariel Yaakov notes that “Christian supporters began to coordinate their efforts with Jewish Zionists who valued the Christian engagement on behalf of the Zionist cause — for example, their efforts to persuade President Woodrow Wilson to allow his British allies to issue the Balfour Declaration in 1917.” Events like the Balfour Declaration, the triumph of the Jews in the 1948 Independence Day War, and particularly the 1967 Six-Day War have made the realization of the Evangelical prophecy closer than ever. In the 1967 war, Israel recaptured the Temple Mount, the site upon which the Jews will allegedly rebuild the temple. This led to a large increase in the number of self-identified Evangelicals and a greater focus on Evangelical eschatology. Survey responses ever since have indicated that Evangelical support for Israel remains largely driven by their theology and the historical events that have reinforced it.
Another strong explanation for Evangelical support for Israel is the perceived shared cultural and religious values between the two groups. Notably, a survey from 2019 found that the best indicator for support of Israel among Evangelicals was their opinion of Jews. This shows that support for what are commonly referred to as “Judeo-Christian” values are the biggest reason that evangelicals see Israel as, in the words of Mike Pence, “more than just a friend, and more than just an ally.” In a 2017 speech to Christians United for Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extolled American Evangelicals as being Israel’s best friend, and reiterated his commitment to protecting Christians in Israel. In the speech, Netanyahu spoke at length about the shared commitments and ideals of the West and Israel, particularly in their fight against Islamic terrorism. “People often make a mistake in conventional discussions when they used to say that militant Islamists hate the west because of Israel. It’s actually the other way around,” he said. “They hate Israel because of the West — because we represent a free society built on the foundation of Judeo-Christian heritage. This is the society they despise so much.” By saying this, Netanyahu places Israel on the front lines of the battle between the Western and Eastern worlds, between Muslim and Judeo-Christian ideals, and between capitalism and communism. Aligning the two countries, he paints Israel as a moral beacon for the West, an entity that must be supported at all costs.
Despite the consistent history of Evangelical support for Israel, times are changing. One of the biggest indicators as to whether or not an Evangelical will support Israel is age, as Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Opinion on Israel lays out. The book concludes that “[t]his religious movement is rapidly evolving and fragmenting…to one which manifests almost evenly split loyalties on the Israeli–Palestinian question and considerable levels of eschatological, racial/ethnic, generational, and political diversity.” It noted that only a third of Evangelicals under thirty said they supported Israel, a number not far off from the 25% that claimed they supported the Palestinians in the conflict between the two peoples. Notably, 40% choose either to not respond to the question or said that they did not support one side from the other, meaning that young Evangelicals are less likely to see the United States’ relationship with Israel as inherently different from that with any other country. Young Americans traditionally prioritize conceptions of justice and oppression over geopolitical or cultural concerns, which helps to explain the discrepancy between them and older generations on the Palestinian question. As the United States enters a new phase of its relationship with Israel in the wake of the October 7th War and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the sympathies of young Evangelicals lie will play a large role in shaping the future of the United States’ relationship with Israel. For the time being, however, American Evangelicals remain the chief advocate for Israel in the halls of the United States Congress.
