The Christian Right And US-israeli Policy Post September11

The Christian Right has been a phenomenal religious and political movement inthe past three decades and its political power has become more saliently influential inrecent years, especially after the September11terrorist attacks. Believing in theinerrancy of the Bible, the movement originates its ideology from the literal biblicalinterpretation. On domestic issues, it calls for the strengthening of traditional familyvalues; on foreign issues, it stresses American unilateralism, religious freedom andsupport of Israel. Chinese scholars have done some research on the Christian Right’spolitical involvement in American foreign policy, but only a few of them have studiedthe Christian Right’s impact on a certain American foreign policy. This thesis attemptsto examine motivations, means and influence of the Christian Right’s politicalparticipation in US-Israeli policy-making after the September11terrorist attacks.The thesis is organized into three chapters. The first chapter analyzes theChristian Right’s involvement in US domestic and international politics and examinestheological ideology and organizational preparation behind the Christian Rightpro-Israel agenda. Believing that Christianity and Judaism share the same origin andthat Israel is the precondition for the returning of Jesus Christ described in the Bible,the Christian Right strongly supports Israel and has been attempting to lobby the USgovernment to take pro-Israel stance and make pro-Israel policies. The second chapterexamines the strategies and tactics the Christian Right organizations have adopted toinfluence US-Israeli policy, including publicizing pro-Israel ideas, making alliancewith Israel lobbies and neo-conservatives, constituent mobilizing and insider lobbying.These strategies provide the movement a large pool of human and financial resourcesfor political activism. The third chapter examines the impact of the Christian Right onthree aspects of US policy towards Israel–silencing the US criticism on Israel,stalling US Road-map for Palestinian-Israeli peace process and supporting US “waron terror”, and evaluates such impact from the perspectives of US national interests inthe post9/11era and ideological concerns of the Bush administration. The thesis concludes that the influence of the Christian Right in US-Israeli policy is significantdue to its lobbying strategies and tactics but its effectiveness is largely shaped by USnational interests and ideological concerns; and that its future influence will not abateas long as the movement maintains its strength in constituent mobilization andWashington lobbying and its pro-Israel activism is not in conflict with the US interestin the Middle East.