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Podcast
Free Press

Christian Zionism, the “Israel Lobby” Myth, and the Psychology of Antisemitism

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
People carry Israeli and American flags during the United for Israel march, led by the Pursuit NW Christian Church, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, on May 12, 2024. (Getty Images)
Caption
People carry Israeli and American flags during the United for Israel march, led by the Pursuit NW Christian Church, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, on May 12, 2024. (Getty Images)

Walter Russell Mead appears on The Free Press’s Conversations with Coleman to discuss the most polarizing question in American foreign policy—United States support for Israel. Mead argues that nearly everyone has the story wrong by focusing on lobbying power, campaign donations, and media influence. They ignore the fact that American interest in a Jewish return to the Holy Land far predates modern Zionism. It is rooted not in Jewish political organization but in Protestant theological traditions.