Examining U.S. Views of Arab-Israeli Conflict

“Since 9/11, American support for Israel has gone up. In fact, it has never been higher than it is today,” said Johnathan Rynhold in a discussion on America’s views of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies hosted Rynhold’s February 25 talk about his recently published book, The Arab-Israeli Conflict in American Political Culture, which examines the foundations of why Americans identify with Israel.

“We [the United States] are a country of immigrants, they [Israel] are a country of immigrants. We’re a democracy, they’re a democracy,” said Rynhold. “They suffered from religious persecution, that’s why they left Europe. We suffered from religious persecution, that’s why we left Great Britain.”

According to Rynhold, what underlies this identification and sympathy is the American creed of classical liberalism, and America’s Puritan Protestant roots.

“Spreading democracy,” said Rynhold, “is a part of American identity.”

After World War II, he said, Israel and India were the only states that gained independence and remained democratic throughout, he said. From its creation, Israel leaned towards the U.S.

Israel is seen increasingly more as one of America’s most important allies, he added.

Another factor behind the sympathy with Israel stems from Protestantism, which is deeply rooted in American culture and politics, said Rynhold. It influences the way Americans look at Israel.

“When people in Europe think of Israel, they have a different metaphor,” he said, alluding to Europe’s more Catholic roots.

“Europeans believe that the Jewish should have rights because they’re humans, not because they are Jewish,” Rynhold said. “To Americans, they deserve rights because they are Jewish.”

For these reasons, he added, sympathy for Israel is markedly higher in the United States than elsewhere in the world.

However, while sympathy for Israel is the highest in the United States, Americans are “increasingly divided about how to handle the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said Rynhold.

These divides align with major political, ideological, and religious divides.

There is a noticeable divergence between Democrats and Republicans on how to handle the issue, said Rynhold, and the partisan gap has more than doubled in recent years.

“Americans are more polarized,” he said.

On the question of a Palestinian state, the Republicans are divided on whether they support it, whereas the Democrats have increased their support in recent years, he said. However, on “Israel’s equivocal use of force,” while Democrats are divided depending on the situation, the Republicans “are sure that Israel is using the right amount of force.”

According to Rynhold, changing attitudes of the Arab-Israeli conflict is cause for concern for Israel. The situation in the Middle East and Israel’s credibility – particularly the Prime Minister’s – affect American attitudes.

These attitudes can either close or widen the gap between Americans and Republicans, said Rynhold. The gap closed when Netanyahu was elected, during which the Palestinians were viewed as credible, he provided as an example.

From Israel’s perspective, if it wants to maintain partnership, it needs to be credible about the two-state solution and settlements, he said.

Regardless of the fluctuating attitudes to the Arab-Israel conflict, Rynhold predicts that American sympathy for Israel will remain constant.

“[It] is very much a part of the American identity,” said Rynhold. “It always will be and it will take a long time, if ever, for that to change.”

— Tamara El Waylly MIA ‘15