Why the Left-Right schism on Israel? (Pat Buchannan not withstanding)

[nomoon]

Good point on the American exceptionalism, which is more accepted among the Right, and less so by the Left. The schism with Israel also exist in Europe, where there is also a diverence of opinions among the Left and Right about American exceptionalism.

On another forum, a Left-leaning person was trying to promote the idea that the Right's alignment with Israel had to do with fanatical support for biblical prophecy (Book of Revelations, most likely), and that the only reason they promoted Israel was to speed up the Second Coming, or something like that. I don't give that theory much credibility at all. However, people who are more religious may be more sympathetic to the Jewish people, even among Christians, whom may consider them to be God's people. However, many Christian doctrines aren't terribly sympathetic towards Jewish theology, as some actually seem anti-Jewish, so I’m not sure that this is a significant factor, either.

On a more cynical note, it might be argued that anti-Semitism, which was active among some of the Left-leaning political movements of the early twentieth century, may have a lingering effect. The communists, socialist, fascists, and arguably, the early 20th century progressives, were overtly anti-Semitic. The early 20th century (pre-World War II) was a time where Fascism wasn’t a dirty word, and the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was being promoted by Henry Ford. Modern liberals rightly denounce the atrocities of that era. It’s easy to find caustic finger pointing between the Right and the Left in regards to antisemitism of the era.