Why Are Americans So Supportive of Israel?

[Donerail]

I don't know about most Americans, but I support Israel because it is one of the few democracies in the Middle East, it is one of the most progressive nations in the world on such issues of gay rights and women's rights, and unlike Hamas, it tries to stop civilian deaths.

Exactly-

I find the person's comment who started this topic offensive- Israel may be "whiny" and "defensive" over rockets being launched at their territory killing their civilians...as if they are not right to object!!!

Woah dawg simmer down. I'm just wondering why a lot of politicians and leaders just blindly pledge to support Israel in everything they do. And as I recall, it was Israel and Iran's crap and inability to talk stuff out that drove up oil and gas prices worldwide earlier this year.

Maybe because Iran keeps threatening to wipe Israel 'from the face of the earth'?

Never said that...

[patrick1]

Oh great so I have to be the one to point out that the media has been quite friendly to Israel for decades.  Many American Jews are also very prominent and influential. Some of them also advanced the cause of Israel.  I am by no means saying there is some conspiracy but it is a factor that hasnt been mentioned.

"I'm not saying it was aliens, I'm just saying it was aliens."

Ah damn, you got me.  Destroy the ZOG machine!!!!

[Joe Biden 2020]

Israel is where Christianity was born.

[angus]

Why exactly is it that Americans blindly support Israel, no matter what.

I think because it's the only democracy in the region.  We're a very sensationalistic people, and prone to the logical fallacy of the excluded middle.  When we think of the Middle East, we think of Us versus Them.  Israel is part of the Us.  For all its warts and pimples and rockets trained at the houses of peasants, it is basically a western-style democracy.  None of its neighbors are. 

[DC Al Fine]

Why exactly is it that Americans blindly support Israel, no matter what.

I think because it's the only democracy in the region.  We're a very sensationalistic people, and prone to the logical fallacy of the excluded middle.  When we think of the Middle East, we think of Us versus Them.  Israel is part of the Us.  For all its warts and pimples and rockets trained at the houses of peasants, it is basically a western-style democracy.  None of its neighbors are. 

[bgwah]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

[dead0man]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

Everybody that voted Iran in the Iran V Israel thread?

[bgwah]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

Everybody that voted Iran in the Iran V Israel thread?

And who would that be? Tweed?

Furthermore, if I'm thinking of the thread you're mentioning, that was Iran vs Israel/US, with no context as to why the two would be at war. Perhaps there would be a correlation, but "everybody" seems like a leap to me.

I'm not claiming nobody here "supports" Hamas. This forum obviously has a lot of weirdos. I just wanted names.

[k-onmmunist]

At the same time I don't understand why so many liberals side with Hamas considering their horrible treatment of women, gays, etc. I think it's just because conservatives blindly support Israel, so they feel the need to take the opposite position.

[Redalgo]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

Everybody that voted Iran in the Iran V Israel thread?

So because I would support Iran if Israel were to begin bombarding it I somehow also support Hamas, you say? How does that work? As of this moment I don't think Iran has initiated a war against Israel, but if it were to I'd obviously support Israel instead.

I like Israel. I like its people. But they're not above criticism. I refuse to unconditionally defend any country - even my own - and I sure as hell do not support terrorist organizations. xD

[Vosem]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Those that set the tone of debate in this country are very supportive of Israel, as stated by patrick. Example: I guarantee at all of the top tier universities that are all leftist to varying degrees that support for Israel's jingoist strikes were supported by small margins. Elite support for Israel flows down to the media and combine that with our country's tendency to embrace apocalyptic fundamentalism a total lack of anti-antisemitism and you have the perfect storm for Israeli support.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

Do you ever have anything substantive to contribute on this forum? I suggest you take a leave of absence and occupy your time with books/maturation so you can make valuable posts. At the very least, create an interesting persona to entertain us with.

[dead0man]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

Everybody that voted Iran in the Iran V Israel thread?

And who would that be? Tweed?

Aye, probably that bigot Cory and that guy that favors the murder of Israelis living beyond the Green Line....he used to post here a lot......Xahar, that's it.

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Indeed!  The thread should have given us an "out" option of voting "neither".  You're probably right that a few people went with Iran out of the assumption that Israel would be the one attacking first despite the fact that Iran attacks Isreal all the damn time but their aggression is ignored.  It doesn't fit their world view (and certainly won't be seen by them unless pointed out by people like me). 

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You're probably right.

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Tweed, Cory, Xahar and at least a few others.

[dead0man]

Oh and FallenMorgan, obviously.

[k-onmmunist]

i'd be more sympathetic to hamas if they dropped the islamism and ended this fantasy that they can destroy israel.

[Redalgo]

. . . The thread should have given us an "out" option of voting "neither".  You're probably right that a few people went with Iran out of the assumption that Israel would be the one attacking first despite the fact that Iran attacks Isreal all the damn time but their aggression is ignored.  It doesn't fit their world view (and certainly won't be seen by them unless pointed out by people like me).

And by "their aggression is ignored" I assume what you really mean to say is, "their aggression is ignored by some, while going unnoticed by others since at least some of them do not carefully scrutinize Iranian-Israeli relations," instead? With all due respect, I resent the implication that I am prejudiced against Israel or in favor of Iran or Hamas when, in fact, I am interested in who is wronging who and at what orders of magnitude - imperfectly developing opinions and foreign policy prescriptions based on what limited information I've been exposed to in the past. The original thread may not have given any context, incidentally, but if memory serves me well was posted at a time when there was a lot of speculation going around that Israel was preparing to execute a preemptive strike to neutralize Iran's nuclear facilities.

[ingemann]

Israel get so wide support for the same reason IRA got so wide support in the past. There are a influential group which lobby on their behalf in USA. The strong position of people of belonging to the Jewish faith or being of Jewish descend and the relative few Arabs and Muslims in the media have only amplified this tendency, to say nothing of the religious right's Israel fetish and a general American (mild) hostility to Islam thanks to Islamic terrorism.

Of course I don't talk about anything idiotic like "Zionists control the media", but when a group are over represented in any public forum, and they have strong opinion on a issue most people don't feel very passionate about, their opinions usual end up dominating the public discource.

Of course Israel's problem is that they can only go so far, before their support collapse. Until the Lebanon War in 2006, there was a wide mild support for Israel in the European centre-right, but with that conflict, the mainstream support for Israel in western Europe collapsed, and now support to Israel is limited to anti-Muslim groups. They risk the same in USA, if they are stupid enough.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

i'd be more sympathetic to hamas if they dropped the islamism and ended this fantasy that they can destroy israel right now.

Fixed.  In the short term, the Arabs can't destroy Israel.  In the longer term they can.  I forget if it was from NPR or the BBC, but they had an interview with a recent Jewish immigrant from Mexico who was going to go back to Mexico because she thought it would be safer for her and her family.  Moderate Zionists who can live elsewhere will tend to move elsewhere if this continues. So I see Israel as likely to become more reactionary over time, which will eventually lead to a break with the United States.  That by itself won't be the final straw, but it means that when the Arabs finally achieve military superiority over Israel in a century or two, the Zionists won't have anyone to call on for help as they did in 1973.

[Vosem]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

Do you ever have anything substantive to contribute on this forum? I suggest you take a leave of absence and occupy your time with books/maturation so you can make valuable posts. At the very least, create an interesting persona to entertain us with.

I'm afraid I don't have anything more entertaining than my actual persona. I did join Drama Club last Monday, so perhaps that'll help.

It's a (semi)serious question. Hamas very loudly espouses opinions that Americans find detestable basically unanimously, including very religious extremism and a genocide of Israelis. They're not exactly big fans of the US, either. (You can I argue that's because of history, but one must keep in mind history can only be regretted, not changed).

The answer, of course, is an anti-Israel bias. That's not to deny the American mainstream media doesn't have a pro-Israel bias -- it does. But that doesn't mean the opposite attitude isn't also pervasive to a frightening extent.

[Donerail]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

Do you ever have anything substantive to contribute on this forum? I suggest you take a leave of absence and occupy your time with books/maturation so you can make valuable posts. At the very least, create an interesting persona to entertain us with.

I'm afraid I don't have anything more entertaining than my actual persona. I did join Drama Club last Monday, so perhaps that'll help.

It's a (semi)serious question. Hamas very loudly espouses opinions that Americans find detestable basically unanimously, including very religious extremism and a genocide of Israelis. They're not exactly big fans of the US, either. (You can I argue that's because of history, but one must keep in mind history can only be regretted, not changed).

The answer, of course, is an anti-Israel bias. That's not to deny the American mainstream media doesn't have a pro-Israel bias -- it does. But that doesn't mean the opposite attitude isn't also pervasive to a frightening extent.

Yes, but you appear to conflating "opposing Israel's policies" with "supporting Hamas"; simplifying this to an Us vs. Them, Good vs. Evil kind of thing is far oversimplifying it.

[Vosem]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

Do you ever have anything substantive to contribute on this forum? I suggest you take a leave of absence and occupy your time with books/maturation so you can make valuable posts. At the very least, create an interesting persona to entertain us with.

I'm afraid I don't have anything more entertaining than my actual persona. I did join Drama Club last Monday, so perhaps that'll help.

It's a (semi)serious question. Hamas very loudly espouses opinions that Americans find detestable basically unanimously, including very religious extremism and a genocide of Israelis. They're not exactly big fans of the US, either. (You can I argue that's because of history, but one must keep in mind history can only be regretted, not changed).

The answer, of course, is an anti-Israel bias. That's not to deny the American mainstream media doesn't have a pro-Israel bias -- it does. But that doesn't mean the opposite attitude isn't also pervasive to a frightening extent.

Yes, but you appear to conflating "opposing Israel's policies" with "supporting Hamas"; simplifying this to an Us vs. Them, Good vs. Evil kind of thing is far oversimplifying it.

Point taken, but this is an issue people usually view as Us against Them in the context of American political discourse.

[Donerail]

A better question is why the minority of Americans that doesn't support Israel has gotten beyond single digits.

Do you ever have anything substantive to contribute on this forum? I suggest you take a leave of absence and occupy your time with books/maturation so you can make valuable posts. At the very least, create an interesting persona to entertain us with.

I'm afraid I don't have anything more entertaining than my actual persona. I did join Drama Club last Monday, so perhaps that'll help.

It's a (semi)serious question. Hamas very loudly espouses opinions that Americans find detestable basically unanimously, including very religious extremism and a genocide of Israelis. They're not exactly big fans of the US, either. (You can I argue that's because of history, but one must keep in mind history can only be regretted, not changed).

The answer, of course, is an anti-Israel bias. That's not to deny the American mainstream media doesn't have a pro-Israel bias -- it does. But that doesn't mean the opposite attitude isn't also pervasive to a frightening extent.

Yes, but you appear to conflating "opposing Israel's policies" with "supporting Hamas"; simplifying this to an Us vs. Them, Good vs. Evil kind of thing is far oversimplifying it.

Point taken, but this is an issue people usually view as Us against Them in the context of American political discourse.

So basically the same as every other issue in American political discourse. Pro-Israel or pro-Hamas, pro-life or pro-choice, R or D, pro-gay or anti-gay, pro-gun or anti-gun.

[Paul Kemp]

Ideally, we would stay out of it all together.

[bgwah]

Out of curiosity, which posters "support" Hamas?

Everybody that voted Iran in the Iran V Israel thread?

And who would that be? Tweed?

Aye, probably that bigot Cory and that guy that favors the murder of Israelis living beyond the Green Line....he used to post here a lot......Xahar, that's it.

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Indeed!  The thread should have given us an "out" option of voting "neither".  You're probably right that a few people went with Iran out of the assumption that Israel would be the one attacking first despite the fact that Iran attacks Isreal all the damn time but their aggression is ignored.  It doesn't fit their world view (and certainly won't be seen by them unless pointed out by people like me). 

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You're probably right.

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Tweed, Cory, Xahar and at least a few others.

So basically a very small number of people, even here on wacko Atlas, are pro-Hamas. So when a few people (not necessarily you) have to act like a lot of people do it just seems silly to me.

But a lot of people here do defend Israel's actions and always take their side. So when those who would rather not be involved at all criticize them, I suppose that is where some people assume that by not supporting Israel's every move they are supporters of Hamas by default. But if the U.S. gave billions and billions to Hamas and defended them at every turn, a lot of those same people would be critical of that as well. But that doesn't happen, and there are few supporters of Hamas... and there's no point in arguing against something that's not happening.