The Spectrum on Israel Accepted in the MAGA Movement

Arguing for Allowance of This Diversity

I have a particular position on Israel both theologically and politically.  This viewpoint, I believe, is the scripturally correct one, which I can and do defend.  I want other people to take my belief on this and I also want to persuade them of it.  However, I take another theological and political position that would allow for several different beliefs for the sake of a voting coalition to elect Republicans.  I am a biblical purist and ecclesiastical separatist, but I don’t think one should take that same position on Israel in politics.  Having a winning coalition on a fewer number of agreed overall issues is more important.

To go to the most stark example of what I’m writing, I want Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and their fans to vote for Republicans, essentially the MAGA movement, as opposed to voting Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or staying home during elections.  What I’m saying here should change the nature of the debate and also express an opinion on denunciation of thought leaders.  I might not like them or their positions, but offending them to the extent that they toss the game board and go home — that’s not acceptable to me.  This is a fine needle to thread, but thread it we must, I say.

Doesn’t Mean Liking Something

To be clear, support for free speech does not mean I’ve got to like what someone says — obviously.   Shutting people down, debanking them and the such, totally censoring them, this is not in the platform of the right.  What I’m writing, I believe is in fact the MAGA belief and practice, if not the American First one.  It goes both ways too, because as horrible as some of the characters are, if they cumulatively held power over me, I wouldn’t want that treatment either.  This, however, also does not mean the acceptance of anything and everything.  It is choosing what or where to battle or the hill to die on.

One terminology I hear often today is, “call out.”  Tucker called out Ben, Nick called out Candace, and Ben called out Nick.  I also hear, this particular podcast personality destroyed this other podcaster and ended his or her career.  The next day all the same characters move along with their shows, opinions, and essentially the same audience.  TPUSA allows for some of the worst representatives to get in line to ask questions of the hosts or speakers, giving the impression that things are quite awful out there.  Meanwhile, Governor Tim Walz allows Somalis to defraud Minnesota and the taxpayers of billions of dollars.

Debate Raging in MAGA Movement

But I digress.  A debate rages in the MAGA movement, causing what seems shattered or cracked coalition and anger and hurt.  Perhaps instead, I say, list the variation in Israel positions in the coalition.  Only one is right, but this is not a deal breaker for the movement.  The United States has dozens of religious denominations, all still American.  I don’t like it, but that is reality.  Mormons in general vote Republican and even if Utah politicians are usually moderate, MAGA holds strong in that state.  That isn’t support for the doctrine of Mormonism in the MAGA movement.  They’re part of the voting coalition.

One could call the variations in MAGA or even the Republican Party, this voting bloc, a spectrum on Israel.  This is a bit of a change as it relates to the Republican Party itself.  Republicans have not opposed Israel, but now a significant percentage of the coalition opposes Israel.  I don’t like that, but it is the truth.  I also believe that, even though wrong, it is understandable.  Jews very often don’t make it very easy to support them and those on the far right have some good reasons, sheerly based on political and even practical reasons.  I didn’t like Mitt Romney or John McCain when I voted for them either.

What I’m going to do here from henceforth is try to list the spectrum of Israel in MAGA, starting with the most Jew hating and Israel opposing faction and moving to Israel’s greatest supporters.

1.  VIRULENT ANTISEMITES

I don’t think this is a very big group, but it is growing for many various reasons, partly from influencers who would never vote Democrat or left.  Some of MAGA are holocaust deniers and pro-Hitler.  Who would want them in a coalition?  And yet there they are.  It doesn’t do any good to kick them out, except to get rid of their votes.  Having them in the group doesn’t mean MAGA either supports or welcomes antisemitism.   It is a small minority, more vocal and loud than it is large.  They are an angry group and mostly young.

Who and What to Do

Who are these people and what should MAGA do?  It really is a patchwork of haters.  They can’t round Jews up and put them in concentration camps, because there aren’t and probably won’t be enough of them.  The best thing to do is let them argue and yell, and then give the best opposing arguments.  Right now the biggest question is, should anyone platform these people?  Tucker Carlson likes to say, “platform” is not a verb!!  Usually he screams it in a high pitched voice and then laughs at himself with an insane cackle.  He makes a grammatical argument against platforming.  Apparently somebody’s got to do that.

Interviewing a virulent antisemite boosts the ratings.  It brings in new audience, saying also that you are freedom of speech.  Sunlight is the best antiseptic, you know.  So you can’t understand them without listening to what they say.  Some that have these people on their shows want to embarrass them, like a Piers Morgan.  Others are sympathetic.  They find truth in some or many of their statements, depending on the degree of support for their ideas.  Not every platform is the same.

Platforming and Answering

The first I heard the word “platforming” as a verb was among fundamental Baptists.  Should Bob Jones University platform John R. Rice or should a fundamental Baptist fellowship have Jack Hyles preach?  Then it went the other direction and fundamental Baptist institutions had John MacArthur come to preach for them, platforming him.  It’s strange to hear the word used now for podcast interviews and on the subject of free speech, sort of nostalgic.

The great Charlie Kirk himself said, don’t interact with these vermin.  Yet, they show up in droves still though at the TPUSA events and ask questions, scripted and ready.  Many of these young ones will move off this position, so a good thing is to bear with them.  Treat them with respect and answer the questions.  Be ready with good answers.  If you are going to answer leftist pro-Palestinians, then you should answer the worst of the groypers and treat them like they’re legitimate seekers.

The Cause for the Antisemites

What caused people in the MAGA movement to get here?  Jews have caused actual damage in the United States in many different ways.  When you read the New Testament, you could consider the Pharisees and their corruption of the temple, money-changing and the like.  One can acknowledge that.  There are some seriously self-loathing Jews who hate Israel as much as anyone.  Think Norman Finklestein.  You know that Soviet Leon Trotsky was a Jew.  Karl Marx was of Jewish descent.  Gloria Steinem is a Jew.  George Soros.  Yes, Adam Schiff is Jewish.  Then Jews fuel and fund the left.

White guys want in Harvard, because they see that corridor to power from there to Washington, DC.  But they aren’t allowed in the club without genuflecting to the left all the way, hating their own whiteness, manhood, and more.  If Harvard and other Ivy League schools allowed the best, Asians rank higher.  Five out of eight of those institutions have Jewish presidents or of Jewish heritage.  Jews are what?  Three percent of the population of the U.S. ?  They break down what made America great with more gusto than anyone and hate what really made America great.  They hate American Christianity more than anyone I’ve seen.  Hate it.

I’m not justifying virulent Antisemitism.  This isn’t my position.  I’m several iterations on Israel removed from the worst, really on the other side of this.  This is a wrong position on Israel that should not disqualify from inclusion as a voter in a coalition.  They’ve got to vote somewhere.  Since this is the free speech coalition, they can and should vote here.  I don’t care what the left says.  They’ve actually got far more virulent antisemites and for different reasons, totally different reasons that are completely unjustifiable.

More to Come