Many Americans say when asked that they "love" Israel because it's the safe choice. Just like saying that they believe in God, just like saying that they think that United States is the best country in the world in all possible things. People know that they are expected to say these things, so they say them.
Etremely few Americans in reality support Israel because of supposed love for Zionist "democracy". If they would, then they would be madly in love with democracies in other regions too and we would get polls about it and poll results like "Americans love Costa Rica because of it's democracy" etc.
We don't get that, because United States and Americans don't really care about democracy in other countries all that much, otherwise Palestinian elections would create a wave of mushy feelings towards Palestinians in USA.
Ask the true believers and what you get is a mix of fundamentalistic religious feeling and appreciation for overwhelming use of violence and getting away with it. Frankly, many Americans love Israel because it's a nasty piece of work that is seen to be above all laws and as a result gets away with awful things, just like these Americans want USA to get away with it. It's a love between monsters.
Then there are the Christian Zionists, who support Israel "because of the bible". Theirs is an irrational cult devotion to Israel that has very little to do with what happens in reality and very much to do with their religious visions.
Lastly, many Americans see Israel's conquest, ethnic cleansing and bantustan creation in Palestine as re-enactment in miniature form of US history: Zionists as victorious pioneers pre-determined to win, settlers as cowboys and the illegal settlement fortresses as kind of homestads on the prairie and Palestinians left with the role of Indians doomed to be closed into reservations so that all their land can be given to those who have been given a Manifest Destiny. This view is backed by actual research - Americans do view West Bank through Hollywood Westerns.
And lastly, direct and indirect propaganda in US media (there's a lot of not too well-hidden pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian propaganda in US mainstream TV fiction) plays a huge role. Without this propaganda saying "I love Israel" would not have to be the safe choice for Americans when polled about these things, as it is now. Unconditional support for Israel has been deliberately made to be one of the pillars of modern America, what it means to be an American.
Etremely few Americans in reality support Israel because of supposed love for Zionist "democracy". If they would, then they would be madly in love with democracies in other regions too and we would get polls about it and poll results like "Americans love Costa Rica because of it's democracy" etc.
We don't get that, because United States and Americans don't really care about democracy in other countries all that much, otherwise Palestinian elections would create a wave of mushy feelings towards Palestinians in USA.
Ask the true believers and what you get is a mix of fundamentalistic religious feeling and appreciation for overwhelming use of violence and getting away with it. Frankly, many Americans love Israel because it's a nasty piece of work that is seen to be above all laws and as a result gets away with awful things, just like these Americans want USA to get away with it. It's a love between monsters.
Then there are the Christian Zionists, who support Israel "because of the bible". Theirs is an irrational cult devotion to Israel that has very little to do with what happens in reality and very much to do with their religious visions.
Lastly, many Americans see Israel's conquest, ethnic cleansing and bantustan creation in Palestine as re-enactment in miniature form of US history: Zionists as victorious pioneers pre-determined to win, settlers as cowboys and the illegal settlement fortresses as kind of homestads on the prairie and Palestinians left with the role of Indians doomed to be closed into reservations so that all their land can be given to those who have been given a Manifest Destiny. This view is backed by actual research - Americans do view West Bank through Hollywood Westerns.
And lastly, direct and indirect propaganda in US media (there's a lot of not too well-hidden pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian propaganda in US mainstream TV fiction) plays a huge role. Without this propaganda saying "I love Israel" would not have to be the safe choice for Americans when polled about these things, as it is now. Unconditional support for Israel has been deliberately made to be one of the pillars of modern America, what it means to be an American.
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