Palestine, Israel, and The U.S. Right

On October 7, the theocratic Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, which included the horrific murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians. In response, Israel launched an unprecedented wave of deadly bombardment across the Gaza Strip, murdering thousands of Palestinian civilians, denying food, water, and electricity to residents of the besieged enclave in an act of brutal collective punishment, and causing a mass displacement of hundreds of thousands that many are calling a second Nakba. These events have also triggered escalated U.S. government and non-state targeting of Arab, Muslim, Middle-Eastern, and South-Asian people here at home.

PRA is closely monitoring the activities of U.S. right-wing factions as they attempt to shape perceptions of the escalating violence as well as to influence U.S. policy towards Palestine and Israel. We have published a collection of resources (see below), including an advisory to US-based Palestinian solidarity groups about attempts by far-right anti-Muslim and antisemitic groups to hijack the message of progressive protests calling for a cease-fire and cessation of US military support. 

Please check our websites, politicalresearch.org and religiondispatches.org for our ongoing reporting and analysis.

White supremacist groups may try to join Palestine solidarity demonstrations to spread propaganda & position themselves as part of the movement.

Learn what you can do to protect your protests: read PRA's latest advisory, published today October 20th, with concrete strategies for how to keep our movements safe.

What This Violent Conflict Tells Us About a Divided U.S. Right

"The sudden descent into bloodshed has sent shockwaves around the world.

The U.S. Right has, in response, leapt into frenzied overdrive, ramping up Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and war-on-terror saber-rattling while calling for repression of Palestine solidarity protests in the US. At the same time, a debate is unfolding on the Right regarding the nature and scope of U.S. support for Israel."

Read more here on how "The Right is Deeply Divided Over Support For Israel—Though It's Not About Justice for Palestinians" by PRA Senior Research Analyst Ben Lorber, writing for Religion Dispatches

Celebrating Rapture in the Face of Mass Death

"[A] good portion of the Christian Right in the U.S. cannot help but make the murder of Israelis and Palestinians—including children—about them and their religious ideas."

Read more here on how the "Israel-Hamas is Not a Religious War and This is Not Your Rapture" by Thomas Lecaque

On the History of Israel and Revenge

"This sense of necessary revenge has always played a role in Israel’s national story, licensing a variety of actions...When Hamas fires rockets over the border into Israel proper, they pale compared to the IDF’s shock-and-awe response, which presumes that an overwhelmingly violent counter-attack will make Israel safer."

Read more here on how the "The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself" by Shane Burley

Resources and Readings

Paramilitaries at Your Protest: An Activist Field Guide to the Far Right - Though their numbers are usually small, far-right activists have had significant consequences for justice-movement organizing efforts, raising the level of fear and suspicion and distracting attention from the just goals of protesters. Read more here.

Progressive Movements Cannot Afford to Ignore the Role of Christian Zionism in the Dispossession of Palestinians - Christian Zionism is by far the largest movement supporting authoritarian policies in the Israeli government outside of Israel, and an essential bloc within the larger U.S. Christian Right. Read more here.

End Times Antisemitism: Christian Zionism, Christian Nationalism, and the Threat to Democracy - Today, we see explicitly Christian Zionist organizations and megachurch pastors working with high administration officials such as Mike Pompeo, to justify expanding support for a right-wing, authoritarian Israeli government as the fulfillment of prophecy. - Read more here.

Your support enables PRA to monitor the latest developments on the U.S. Right with an eye towards keeping our movements safe and strategic in our changing world.