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| Ben Shapiro calling out antisemitic conservatives at a TPUSA event (JTA) |
And yet there is no denying it. Support for Israel is no
longer assumed; in some quarters it has devolved into questioning Israel’s
value as an ally. Or worse, portraying Israel as a liability to the United
States. Disturbingly, this sentiment is no longer confined to the fringe.
I never thought I would see this day. Not when so many
stalwart conservatives in Congress and Republican leadership have stated
unequivocally that Israel is among America’s most important allies—if not the
most important. Among them are Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco
Rubio, Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and
former Vice President Mike Pence, to name just a few.
The shift seemed to begin when Candace Owens, once a
supporter of Israel, started promoting conspiracy theories about the Jewish
state and the Jewish people. Soon after, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
launched her own anti-Israel crusade, complete with conspiratorial rhetoric.
Then came Tucker Carlson, who not only echoed similar themes but went
further—platforming Holocaust deniers and open antisemites like Nick Fuentes on
his show.
The most troubling aspect of all this is not that a handful
of outliers espouse conspiracy theories so absurd that only a fool - or someone
harboring antisemitic tendencies—would take them seriously. Rather, it is that
mainstream conservative politicians like the vice-president and pundits like
Megyn Kelly continue to treat these figures as legitimate voices within the
movement, entitled to their opinions even when those opinions cross clearly
into antisemitism.
How did Israel go from being viewed as a vital ally to being
treated as something close to a pariah in their minds? And why has supporting
Israel become conflated with disloyalty to the United States? As though
American Jews or Israel’s supporters are somehow beholden to a foreign country
that offers no tangible benefit to America?
The answer is not difficult to find. And it isn’t pretty...
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