Evangelical Christians flock to Republicans over support for Israel

President Donald Trump made no secret of his desire to keep Hagee and Christian Zionist voters happy as a key part of his base by abandoning even the pretense that the US was a neutral player in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But it also plays out in local politics, including the proliferation of state laws to punish support for the Palestinian movement to boycott Israel and in obliging Republican primary candidates to pledge their unwavering support for the Jewish state.

The number of white evangelical Christians is in decline, falling from about a quarter of Americans in 2006 to 14% today. But even as their numbers fall, they remain the most politically influential of religious blocs.

Daniel Hummel, the author of Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and US-Israeli relations, said evangelical support for Israel is principally grounded in two differing theological arguments.

About 80% of evangelicals twice voted for Trump for president even though he previously had not shown any great interest in the Jewish state, and has made antisemitic statements stereotyping Jewish power and money. But Trump understood the politics, and so did evangelicals among his leading officials.

Even with Trump gone, the consequences linger. President Biden has not reversed the embassy move nor revived the position that Israeli settlements are illegal.

Still, Hummel said change may be on the horizon, albeit a distant one.