More Things That Are Convenient
No single factor confuses the Middle East issue more than the overwhelming and unthinking support of American Christians who mostly side with “Israel” out of a misplaced sense of obligation to support “The Chosen People”. In most conflicts we are given a “choice” between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. Ukraine is a perfect example. Despite Ukraine being a cesspool of human trafficking and corruption, They did an amazing job of convincing Americans that have no idea where Ukraine is on a map that Zelenskyy was the greatest military leader in modern human history (just check out his collection of olive green tacticool sweaters and t-shirts!) and that the Ukrainian forces were fighting for democracy itself against the unwashed Russian hordes. It helped that Russia was already a convenient bad guy, having been totally responsible for Orange Man Bad winning in 2016.
When it comes to Israel (assume quotes around the word going forward), it is far worse because They have convinced the already gullible Americans that if you aren’t on the side of Israel, you are literally on the opposite side of God. Say anything even mildly critical of Israel on social media and you will get Normiecons quoting stuff like this to you:
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” — Genesis 15:18–21
According to an awful lot of “conservatives”, based on a few passages like this in a book more than 2000 years old, the modern secular state of Israel is justified in doing literally whatever it wants. Trying to point out that the New Testament describes the older land covenant promises as obsolete and that the New Covenant in Christ is far better and you get either glazed expressions or anger, usually accompanied by being called a liberal, in response.
The “logic” behind their claim to the Levant is pretty handy, for the Jews anyway.
Jews: “We have a divine right to this land”
Goyim: “Says who?”
J: “God said so, he promised us this land for all generations”
G: “Where did he say that?”
J: “Right here in the Torah”
G: “Wait, who wrote the Torah?”
J: “Well we did of course, we are his chosen people”
G: “Why do you think you are his chosen people”
J: “Because God said so”
G: “Where did he say that”
And on and on it goes. According to the Jews they are God’s chosen covenant people and have an eternal claim to what we know as Israel, all based on a book that Jews wrote.
That is understandable for Jews to say, of course They would make those claims but for Christians? The secular state of Israel, formed after World War II as a homeland for Jews almost 1900 years after the temple was destroyed, is almost entirely populated by people that reject Jesus and are covenant-breakers. Again, try to explain this to most Christians and you will get a combination of confusion and anger.
It sure is convenient that God gave Jews a divine blank check in a book that the Jews wrote.