By Ali Hamza Chaudhry
Twenty-one months into the protracted conflict, the Gaza massacre is marked by an ever-increasing number of innocent civilian casualties, with the death toll having surpassed 60,000, according to Reuters.
Calling it “genocide”, the former Israeli prime minister wrote a piece in Haaretz, a leftist Israeli mainstream newspaper, outlining the war crimes Israel is committing in Gaza. Now, a highly plausible threat of famine looms over innocent Gazans, with a large number being children. As the situation worsens manifold, people, both in the US and around the globe, are perplexed at the unstinted US support for Israel even when the genocide of the 21st century plays out on their TV screens.
Recently, the Trump administration announced that, in case of a natural disaster, the federal government would not assist US cities and states that boycott Israeli companies. This has led the core base of the Republican Party to question the veracity of Trump’s ‘America First’ slogan.
It is certainly difficult for Mr Trump to balance the factions within his party surrounding the issue; on the one hand, hawkish members of the administration, such as Senator Ted Cruz, routinely advocate for US involvement. On the other hand, some conservative voices in the Republican Party strongly oppose direct US interference in yet another conflict. For instance, Republican lawmaker and an influential voice in the party, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is among the very few who openly oppose Israel's heinous actions.
It is, however, important to note that multiple US presidents, regardless of the party, have done Israel’s bidding. For instance, under the Biden administration, according to The Guardian, the US vetoed five UNSC resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, thus effectively allowing Israel to carry out genocidal actions without any ramifications and international accountability.
It is, therefore, a worthy question to ask: Why is the US blind to Israel’s genocidal policies that threaten regional peace and stability? Well, the answer to such a question is rather intricate and multifaceted: there are cultural, economic and political factors behind the US’s unconditional and sustained support for Israel.
First, elite Christian Zionism is one of the driving factors. Christian Zionism is the ancient belief among Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, that the modern state of Israel fulfilled biblical prophecy and that standing up for the state of Israel is a religious duty. It refers to the historical return of the Jewish people to the holy land.
Some of the key tenets of the ideology include: the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem, which is a prerequisite to the arrival of Jesus; Israeli sovereignty over all of historic Palestine, including the West Bank.
With roots entrenched in ancient biblical narrative, evangelical Zionism has an overarching influence on American foreign policy, especially in the Middle East: it is mainly promulgated by conservative think tanks and right-wing political figures.
According to Dr Noam Chomsky, the extremist Zionism of the vast evangelical movement has now become “a substantial part of the Republican Party’s base”.
For instance, in a recent podcast with Tucker Carlson, a conservative media figure and former Fox News host, Ted Cruz, a Republican Senator from Texas and a former presidential candidate, stated: “Growing up in Sunday school, I was taught, from the bible, that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed, and from my perspective, I want to be on the blessing side of things”.
Consequently, evangelical Zionists have become a major political force in the American political landscape, playing a pivotal role behind the US’s unwavering support for Israel. Through effective lobbying, they have influenced significant US policy decisions: the relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem – a region of profound cultural and religious significance claimed by both Israel and Palestine.
This religious fervour of evangelical Zionists has helped lay the foundation, but it is lobbying groups that turn this sentiment into legislative action. Chief among them is the American–Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has been instrumental in shaping both Republicans’ and Democrats’ positions on Israel.
Established in 1951, AIPAC began as a small advocacy group. However, since then, it has evolved into one of the most well-funded and powerful lobbies in Washington DC. While it claims to be bipartisan and focused on strengthening the US-Israel relationship, its influence often skews US foreign policy in favour of Israel – regardless of human rights or the concerns surrounding the violations of international law.
AIPAC lobbies Congress aggressively to ensure continued military aid, fiercely opposes any legislation critical of Israeli actions and promotes policies that shield Israel from accountability. For instance, it plays a key role in ensuring that Israel receives $3.8 billion in military aid. It also opposed the No Way to Treat a Child Act, which aimed to restrict US funding from being used to detain or abuse Palestinian children. Also, AIPAC supported legislation that penalised individuals and companies that boycott and condemn Israel.
In election cycles, AIPAC has funnelled millions of dollars through its affiliated Super PACs like United Democracy Project, targeting lawmakers critical of Israeli policies. In 2022, it spent heavily to defeat progressive candidates such as Rep Donna Edwards and Rep Andy Levin, both of whom supported conditioning aid to Israel. Meanwhile, it has helped elect more compliant figures by boosting their campaigns financially.
By exerting pressure through substantial campaign contributions, high-profile conferences, and mobilisation of pro-Israel political networks, AIPAC has ensured that challenging Israel’s policies comes at a heavy cost that few are willing to pay. AIPAC’s pervasive influence has led to dire consequences for the Jewish community as well. When Israel’s war crimes are justified as 'Jewish self-defence' – as AIPAC routinely does – it inevitably ties Judaism to the bombing of children.
The US’s unconditional support of Israel has fueled anti-American sentiment all around the world. Ignoring Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza, turning a blind eye to the expansion of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the US’s perpetual opposition to peace calls by the international community undermines the very principles the US has advocated for.
While Washington lectures Russia and China on human rights, its blanket defence of Israel’s atrocities exposes a moral bankruptcy that undermines US credibility worldwide.
If the US seeks to restore its global credibility and allow the true voice of its people to shape foreign policy, it must begin by curbing the disproportionate influence of lobbies that act in the interests of foreign governments – often at the expense of justice, democracy, and the public will.
The writer lives in New York and aspires to be a legal scholar. He can be reached at: alibilal4471@gmail.com
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