Support for Israel among U.S. conservatives is starting to crack. Here's why

"Red-state America has been a big fan of Israel, according to Jackson Lahmeyer, an evangelical pastor in Oklahoma and founder of Pastors for Trump. "Evangelical Christians in America for the most part, not always but generally speaking, have usually been very strong supporters of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people," Lahmeyer said in an interview with NPR. That support is deeply rooted in their evangelical faith, he said. But recently, Lahmeyer has noticed the conversation around Israel is changing quite a bit"

""Some very influential leaders, all of whom I like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor Greene have taken a very controversial stance in regards to the nation of Israel," he said. Last week, Carlson hosted a prominent white nationalist named Nick Fuentes on his show. Although Carlson disagreed with Fuentes on his most antisemitic statements, such as American Jews are more faithful to Israel than they are to the United States, he did broadly align with Fuentes on his views about the country itself."

""I've always thought it's great to criticize and question our relationship with Israel because it's insane and it hurts us. We get nothing out of it, I completely agree with you there," Carlson said. Opposition to Israel on the right isn't new, but younger conservatives appear to be rapidly moving away from supporting the close U.S. relationship with the country."

Evangelical Christians in the U.S. have generally been strong supporters of Israel and the Jewish people, grounded in evangelical faith. Online conversation about Israel is shifting as influential conservative figures adopt controversial, critical stances and host extremist guests. Some conservative commentators broadly align in criticizing the U.S.-Israel relationship as harmful and unrewarding. Younger conservatives under 50 have grown markedly more skeptical of Israel, with negative views rising from 35% to 50% over three years according to Pew. Growing skepticism among influencers and officials could threaten billions in U.S. military and foreign aid to Israel.

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