The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, traveled to Columbia University two weeks ago to decry the “virus of antisemitism” that he said pro-Palestinian protesters were spreading across the country. “They have chased down Jewish students. They have mocked them and reviled them,” he said to jeers from protesters. “They have shouted racial epithets. They have screamed at those who bear the Star of David.”
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Amid the widening protests and the unease, if not fear, among many Jews, Republicans have sought to seize the political advantage by portraying themselves as the true protectors of Israel and Jews under assault from the progressive left.
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Debate rages over the extent to which the protests on the political left constitute coded or even direct attacks on Jews. But far less attention has been paid to a trend on the right: For all of their rhetoric of the moment, increasingly through the Trump era many Republicans have helped inject into the mainstream thinly veiled anti-Jewish messages with deep historical roots.
The conspiracy theory taking on fresh currency is one that dates back hundreds of years and has perennially bubbled into view: that a shady cabal of wealthy Jews secretly controls events and institutions contrary to the national interest of whatever country it is operating in.
Just as criticism of Israel’s behaviors isn’t antisemitism, defense of their authoritarian violence isn’t pro-Jewish.
Most right wing support of Israel comes from an interpretation of Revelations from the 20th century that Israel needed to exist again for Jesus to float down from the sky, when he would subsequently resurrect the believers into heaven and cast the nonbelievers (including the Jews) into eternal torment.
So the ‘support’ of Christian nationalists for Israel in their mind is kind of like a Looney Toons character pretending to be nice as they guide another character under an anvil.
They are so supportive that they can’t wait for all the Jews to be in one place so they can be cast into hell by their beloved ancient comic book character.