A new phenomenon has appeared over the past several months, which burst into full view during the recent "12 Day War": the so-called "woke right," a small but vocal group of anti-Israel commentators and podcasters.
We are talking about a small minority of people -- only about 6% of Trump supporters, according to one recent poll. But they are prolific on social media, and are therefore believed to be somewhat influential.
Some of these voices used to be avowedly pro-Israel, but turned against the Jewish state in recent months. Often, their changes of heart are ascribed to antisemitism, but usually that is too simplistic an explanation.
It is true that a few have used antisemitic language and themes. In some cases, these commentators had been targeted previously by left-wing Jewish groups like the Anti Defamation League for cancelation for stating conservative ideas. Once targeted in this way, they became more hostile to Jews, and to Israel, because they felt they had been attacked first -- which they had been, if only by a partisan slice of the Jewish community.
Some seem to have changed their views with no explanation whatsoever. There is broad suspicion that some foreign funding, perhaps from Qatar, might have been involved, especially since some of these voices have explicitly endorsed the Qatari regime. But there is little hard data (yet) to back up these accusations -- which, if true, would be ironic, given how these voices inveigh against the supposed foreign influence of Israel.
There is also a lot of copycat behavior. Once one pundit finds an audience for anti-Israel views, others tend to follow. And because support for Israel is seen as an "establishment" view, opposing Israel is an easy way to establish anti-establishment credentials -- a mark of authenticity in the alternative media. The growth of the audience for anti-Israel views attracts more pundits to a cause they once opposed, and barely understand.
Yet there seems a deeper reason for the shift. It lies in the ongoing cultural battle within the U.S. -- one in that conservatives feel they are still losing, despite winning at the ballot box and in the courts. They look at Israel and see what they want, but are not allowed to have: a society that values religion, family, history, and military service. They see that Israel is the only western country with a birth rate above replacement.
Perhaps they see that Israel, despite repeated threats of war and annihilation, is the 8th-happiest country in the world -- down from 5th place before October 7, but still well above the U.S., at 24th. Perhaps they wonder if Israel's very vulnerability to attack gives it a sense of purpose and social cohesion that often feels lacking in the United States: Israelis are happy because they know what they believe in and what they are fighting for.
No one would wish constant war on themselves, and yet the struggle against Islamic terror puts Israel, and Jews, in a central role in human history, a role that the Jewish people have played since the days of the Bible.
It was once the left that turned against Israel, partly because of Soviet influence; partly because Palestinians successfully cast themselves as underdogs; but also because of deep cultural changes in American society.
Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren once told me that Israel was losing support among Democrats for cultural reasons:
"It does not matter that Israeli society is even more liberal than American society, he explained, with its protection of gay rights, its higher percentage of women in politics, its socialized medicine, and so on. The problem is that 'everything that we [Israelis] are, increasingly they [Democrats] aren’t,' he said.
“'Israel stands for territoriality, and devotion to force when necessary. We are also patriotic, and deeply embedded in tradition and belief.'
"These are values that the western left no longer shares or expresses with any real enthusiasm."
Conversely, it might be said that the "woke right" should support Israel because of shared cultural values.
Many do -- but many are also simply envious. Israelis are permitted to love their country and to die for it, and to believe in their cause when they do.
In the recent war with Iran, the "woke right" claimed that Israel intended to drag the U.S. into another "forever war" for "regime change." They warned President Donald Trump not to become involved, and claimed he would play a political price for supporting Israel. Some predicted that Israel would struggle against Iran, and would have to beg the U.S. for help. Some openly rooted for Iran to win -- just to be right.
What the "woke right" never saw coming was that Israel would win -- not just because of American weapons and support, but primarily because of the sheer determination of the common Israeli soldier to prevail.
Perhaps instead of attacking Israel, and those Americans, Jewish and non-Jewish, who support it, the "woke right" could study Israel's example, and help Americans learn to fight for what we care about, and for each other.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
