Why Israel’s Defense Is Conservatism’s Last Stand Against the Radical Left

I am not an American, at least not yet, and I’ve only been living in the U.S. for two years. Still, it’s clear to me that in today’s America, defending Israel is inextricably bound to defending the core values that underpin the conservative movement itself: religious liberty, pro-life ethics, individual responsibility, family integrity, and reverence for Western civilization. When support for Israel falters, that foundation begins to crack. Let me explain:

The correlation between political conservatism and support for Israel is statistical and consistent. According to a Gallup poll released in March 2025, 75% of Republicans sympathize more with Israelis in the Middle East conflict, while just 21% of Democrats do. In contrast, 59% of Democrats express greater sympathy for Palestinians, the highest level ever recorded. This is not a split; it is a chasm. The favorability divide is just as stark. As of April 2025, Pew Research Center data shows that 69% of Democrats now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% in 2022. Among Republicans, only 37% view Israel unfavorably, while a majority still view it favorably. Among white evangelical Protestants, who represent the backbone of the conservative grassroots, 72% view Israel favorably. In sharp contrast, among the religiously unaffiliated, an overwhelmingly progressive demographic, 69% view Israel negatively. These aren’t mere policy preferences. They are identity markers.

Support for Israel then is an ideological identifier as clear and decisive as views on abortion, gun rights, or the role of government. It functions as a political signal, a proxy for where one stands on a host of related issues. To support Israel is to affirm belief in moral clarity, civilizational inheritance, and national sovereignty. To oppose Israel, increasingly, is to align with a worldview that sees Western institutions as oppressive, tradition as a tool of oppression, and religious conviction as a threat.

The Bundled-Values Effect

In American politics there is what might be called the “bundled-values effect.” Voters do not engage politics issue by issue. They choose worldviews. They vote for people, platforms, and parties that reflect a coherent moral and cultural framework. In this context, support for Israel has become a bundled value, an issue that travels with others and helps define ideological identity. Pro-Israel candidates are rarely just pro-Israel. They are also pro-life, pro-family, pro-religious liberty, and pro-limited government. They defend the Constitution, they see American exceptionalism as real, they speak the language of responsibility, not grievance. In other words, they speak the language of conservatism.

Opposition to Israel, by contrast, increasingly travels with opposition to those very values. The same political movements that denounce Israel as a colonial power also denounce the American Founding as systemically racist. The same voices that accuse Israel of apartheid also demand the deconstruction of the nuclear family, the expansion of abortion access, and the suppression of religious speech in the public square. The same activists who chant “From the river to the sea” are marching to dismantle the Judeo-Christian moral order that made America possible.

Those attacking Israel in the American context are not merely concerned about the policies of a foreign government. They are engaged in a much broader campaign: the delegitimization of Western civilization itself. Israel is not isolated in their moral calculus, it is emblematic. It represents tradition, rootedness, strength, religious identity, and the West’s refusal to dissolve itself into guilt and self-loathing. That is why they hate it. And that is why they target it. Progressive strategists understand something many conservatives do not: if you can fracture the relationship between Israel and American conservatives, especially evangelicals, you can destabilize the very coalition that has held back the progressive agenda for decades. They don’t have to convince conservative voters to become Marxists. They only need to alienate them from the one issue that aligns them instinctively with pro-life, pro-liberty, and pro-order candidates. Break that link, and the rest unravels. And it is working. Among younger evangelicals, support for Israel has dropped dramatically in recent years. In 2018, 75% of evangelical adults under 30 supported Israel. By 2021, that number had fallen below 35%. This is the result of relentless academic indoctrination, media demonization, and a social climate that portrays Israel as a pariah and any defense of it as complicity in oppression. The goal is to shift the vote. Because when voters shift away from Israel, they also drift toward candidates and parties that oppose the very foundations of conservative policy: religious freedom, parental rights, moral education, and the sanctity of life. A conservative disillusioned with Israel today may be persuaded to vote for a non-interventionist Democrat tomorrow, only to find themselves supporting a platform that includes abortion on demand, the erosion of gender distinctions, and hostility to the church. This is not just a loss for Israel. It is a loss for America.

Anti-Israelism as Anti-Americanism

The ideological coalition that attacks Israel does not stop at the borders of the Middle East. Its critique extends to the very core of American society. Israel and America are, in their view, twin evils: settler-colonial powers, capitalist oppressors, and religious zealots. They chant “Free Palestine” with one breath and “Abolish ICE” with the next. They scream about checkpoints in the West Bank and riot over policing in Atlanta. They equate Gaza with Ferguson, the IDF with the NYPD, Zionism with whiteness, and Jewish survival with white supremacy. The attack on Israel is, therefore, a disguised attack on America’s moral legitimacy. It is not about borders. It is about narratives. To delegitimize Israel is to prepare the ground for delegitimizing the Constitution, the Founders, the church, and everything conservatives seek to preserve. And the conservative movement cannot afford to be naïve about this. Supporting Israel is not optional. It is not symbolic. It is essential to the preservation of a coalition that can withstand the ideological onslaught of the modern left.

For American voters, the choice is now clear. To support Israel is to vote for candidates who believe in the moral legitimacy of the West. It is to side with those who defend religious liberty, parental rights, free speech, and the unborn. Voting for pro-Israel candidates is not about taking a side in a foreign conflict. It is about taking a side in a domestic war for America’s soul. For policymakers, the message is just as urgent. Israel policy is not a line item, it is a foundation stone. Support for Israel must be linked with a broader conservative legislative agenda: school choice, tax reform, constitutional originalism, defense of conscience rights, and the curtailment of bureaucratic overreach. Israel can no longer be treated as an isolated talking point in foreign policy platforms. It must be understood and framed as a civilizational ally in the defense of ordered liberty. Abandoning Israel is not just a betrayal of an ally. It is a surrender to the logic of the left. And that surrender will not stop at the borders of Judea and Samaria, it will march straight into the homes, schools, churches, and courts of America.

Reclaiming the Moral Narrative

To rebuild and protect the conservative coalition, leaders must reclaim the moral narrative around Israel. They must speak clearly and unapologetically: Israel is not the problem. Israel is the front line. It is a bulwark against Islamic jihad, totalitarianism, and the progressive alliance that excuses terrorism while criminalizing Biblical morality. Pastors must teach the covenantal meaning of Israel. Candidates must link Israel support to every major cultural and political fight in America. Commentators must expose the rhetorical tricks used to smear Zionism while laundering antisemitism and rebranding Islamic jihad. And voters must be reminded: this is not a marginal issue. It is a defining one. If conservatives fail to defend Israel, they will soon find they cannot defend themselves.

The left understands this. They know that breaking the link between Israel and American conservatism is a precondition for capturing the electorate. They know that if they can portray Israel as morally illegitimate, they will win those who go to church, defend the family, believe in the Constitution, and dismantle the very idea of Western identity.