Walter Russell Mead wrote this interesting passage on why the right supports Israel:
"Many of the arguments and perceptions that have weakened support for Israel on the left cut no ice with the populist right. The argument that just war theory forbids the ‘disproportionate’ use of force has absolutely no weight in much of American opinion. When somebody attacks you, especially in an underhanded terrorist way, you have a natural right to defend yourself using every weapon and every tactic that comes to hand. This is the way most Americans think about war; American public opinion on the whole does not regret the use of nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Two-thirds of American respondents tell Pew pollsters that they favor the use of “torture” under some circumstances. Such people are not necessarily indifferent to Palestinian rights, and they may not feel that every Israeli action is well judged, but they strongly believe that as long as Palestinians engage in terrorism, Israel has an unlimited and absolute right of self defense. It can and should do anything and everything it can to stop the attacks and many Americans consider international laws against such practices as pious hopes with no binding legal or even moral force. If the terrorists shield themselves behind civilians, that only shows how evil they are — and is an extra reason why you have both the right and the duty to eliminate them no matter what it takes."
I wonder if more can be done to engage the right, rather than just focusing on the left on this matter. The right’s increasing blind support for anything Israel does is problematic and does constrain peace making moves. In describing what motivates the right’s blind support of anything Israel does, Walter Russell Mead is also describing the issues that have to be engaged on in order to weaken this support. Primarily, the Palestinians can’t turn to violence and they need to make their case for justice more directly to the American public.
