The influence of the Christian Right in U.S. Middle East Policy.: An article from: Middle East Policy
This digital document is an article from Middle East Policy, published by Middle East Policy Council on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 3042 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The influence of the Christian Right in U.S. Middle East Policy.
Author: Stephen Zunes
Publication: Middle East Policy (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Middle East Policy Council
Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Page: 73(6)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Review: Vastly underestimates the power of truth when confronting lies and oppression
Stephen Zunes begins this article with some comments about the political role of Christian fundamentalists. He says that once the Republican Party began to seriously court Christian fundamentalists, it won more elections. It did so by adopting conservative positions on social issues such as Women's rights.
That may be true, but I have to admit that I've always thought of the Republican Party as the natural home of those with conservative positions on social issues. In any case, it could well be that many of those who for economic reasons might vote Democratic vote Republican because they have conservative positions on social issues.
Now, where have Americans stood on the subject of human rights for Jews in Israel? Well, as Zunes admits, Americans typically have liked the fact that Israel has provided Jews with a refuge (and realized that such a refuge was badly needed). In addition, Americans have liked Israeli democracy (although Zunes somewhat dubiously implies that only the Israeli Jews actually experience it).
Have Christian fundamentalists tended to support Israel? Yes. They've done so for decades or more. And Zunes says that this has made a difference in Republican politics. In the past, Republican ties to the oil industry made some Republicans unwilling to attack Arab opposition to the human rights of Israelis. I think that is still the case, but I agree that there may well be a countering influence by the Christian fundamentalists.
I think, however, that Zunes may be mixing up cause and effect. I think there is an overall cause of the power of Zionist arguments, namely intense intransigence by some Arabs, coupled with some outrageous untruths by those who support Arab terrorism. This Arab refusal to abide human rights for Jews has made Israel a bigger issue for the Christians. It has also made Christian pro-Israel arguments dwell on anti-Zionist and anti-Western lies. This in turn has made such arguments more convincing to Republicans and Democrats in general, as well as to Jews, of course.
Zunes sees very little of all this. Instead, he feels that Zionist arguments are inherently meritless, so he starts looking for lying lobbyists that he can blame! And he wonders who is at fault, Jews or Christians! He concludes that Christian Zionists, who probably well outnumber Jewish Zionists, have a bigger impact. Besides, he's afraid that to accuse the Jewish lobby of supporting Israel might put one at risk of some ugly name-calling.
It's an interesting essay. But it is only worth one star at most. After all, there is not even the slightest admission that one could support human rights for Israelis just because one supports human rights. Instead, Zunes implies that everyone agrees that support for Israel is support for repression and opposition to peace, justice, and the rule of law! I strongly feel that Zunes himself is opposing truth, peace, justice, human rights, and the rule of law in this article.
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Mobilizing the Christian right. (interview with Christian Coalition's Ralph E. Reed): An article from: Campaigns & Elections This digital document is an article from Campaigns & Elections, published by Campaigns & Elections, Inc. on October 1, 1993. The length of the article is 3454 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Christian Coalition Exec Dir Ralph E. Reed believes that the future of conservative candidates lies on the political preference of minorities and new voters. He opines that conservatives should try to reach out to minority voters and those that they traditionally ignore to improve their chances at the polls. Reed also stated that the Christian Coalition is taking a more active role in politics by engaging in different political and economic issues such as free trade and education.
Citation Details
Title: Mobilizing the Christian right. (interview with Christian Coalition's Ralph E. Reed)
Author: Andrea Spring
Publication: Campaigns & Elections (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 1993
Publisher: Campaigns & Elections, Inc.
Volume: v14 Issue: n5 Page: p33(5)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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