Many Jews and non-Jews alike don't like evangelical Christians because of the evangelical/fundamentalist belief that only those that follow their particular interpretation of the Bible will go to heaven after death, and that all others will be damned to hell for all eternity.

This is an appalling belief that is universally ignored by the defenders of these people. Listen to what they say when they are talking amongst themselves and you will hear it expressed as a core value. It is a belief unworthy of respect by civilized people.

A good article, but Dr. Wilson falls short of offering a rebuttal to the frequent claim that evangelicals support Israel only because their faith dictates that the Jews - all being in Israel - should either convert or be killed at the end of days.

If I recall, AIPAC actually released some data refuting the notion that the majority of evangelicals tie a great deal of thought to this concept, especially in relation to contemporary Israeli policies, but I haven't been able to locate it. Either way, many in Jewish circles are understandably wary of evangelicals for this very reason, which smacks of anti-Semitism, or at least can use it to justify their intense and sometimes mystifying aversion to evangelicals.

I had hoped Dr. Wilson would address this in his piece, and perhaps he does in his Manhattan Institute lecture, but it's certainly important enough to discuss further.

James Q. Wilson rightly points to the largely liberal Jewish-American community's reluctance to form close ties with evangelical Christians. He is also right in indicating how important the evangelical support for Israel has become, and in suggesting that there is something self-defeating in this rejection. But he does not distinguish between those Jews both in America and Israel for whom the survival and well-being of Israel is an issue of utmost importance, and those for whom it is far down on the list of priorities.

My own sense is that those Jews who do deeply care about the survival of the Jewish state have moved somewhat closer in mind and heart to their evangelical supporters. And that there is within the Jewish community an understanding that in a world in which one has only a limited number of friends, each of those friendships should be not simply appreciated, but cultivated with diligence.

Mr. Wilson misses one key point concerning liberal views on Israel. Precisely because Israel is a democracy, many people hold her to a higher standard of conduct than they hold her Arab and Palestinian neighbors. It would be wrong, however, to view this as an anti-Israel bias, as it is highly doubtful that Israelis wish to be compared to surrounding dictatorships.

Maybe Jews don't like fundamentalist Christians for the reason that they are "theological," to wit: that the fundamentalists believe that the function of the state of Israel is merely instrumental to the supposed return of Jesus Christ, and that Jews who, in the end, refuse to embrace Christ as their "lord and savior" will burn in hell.

The ambivalence that many Jews feel towards evangelical Christians is, despite Dr. Wilson's charming insistence that anything liberal must necessarily be irrational, entirely apolitical.

Dr. WIlson seems to be missing a key point in the evangelical narrative of the end of the world. Not only must all the Jews return to Israel, but a certain number must convert to Christianity in order to bring about the apocalypse. Those who don't cast their lot in with Jesus will be tossed into hell along with the rest of the sinners.

The cultural discomfort between Jews and evangelicals comes from the simple fact that in the evangelical play about the universe, Jews don't get to make it to the final act. Try starting a political conversation with that subtext and see how far you get. A group whose ultimate goal is the complete elimination of the Jewish religion and people hardly seems like a natural bunch for Jews to align themselves with.

Furthermore, it's hard to believe that casting in your lot with a group that is not only eagerly awaiting the end of the world, but doing what it can to bring it about, can really be considered in anyone's long-term interest.

Wilson's approach here is fundamentally pragmatic, which is a valid approach to many issues but ignores the idealism inherent in any policy to which religious concerns are relevant. Dispensationalist evangelicals do not support Israel because they are in favor of democratic states, and they are not Judeo-philic because they find special merit in Judaism. The existence of Israel is necessary to their visions of the coming apocalypse, in part because it will be the place where 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity. Dispensationalists view Israel and Jews with an instrumental eye. That, rather than the evangelical predilection for government-by-theology, explains Jewish distaste for dispensationalist support.

Wilson is also imprecise in his labels here. Not all evangelicals are dispensationalists, and it is important to recognize the distinction.

Finally, Wilson seems to assume that the endpoint of Jewish politics is support of Israel simply because Israel is the Jewish state. In fact, the endpoint of Jewish politics for many Jews is the promotion of social justice, equality of opportunity, and effective governance towards those goals. If Israel is not moving towards those goals, then it cannot be rightly called a Jewish state. Some of Israel's critics quite obviously turn the corner to anti-Semitism. That said, it is time to stop pretending that Israel should be beyond the dictates of international law because of its unique status as a Jewish state. If anything, such a distinction implies a higher moral standard, not a lower one.

Dispensationalist support of Israel comes part and parcel with rhetoric that dehumanizes Arabs and Muslims and excuses for every civil rights violation that one can fathom. The original Zionist goal was not a state for Jews, but a truly Jewish state. Dispensationalism supports only the former and is a dangerous influence on American foreign policy.

What an unbelievably dishonest - or ignorant - article. The author somehow forgot to mention that evangelical support for Israel is conditional on the belief that half of the Jews will be converted, and half damned to hell during the end days. Jews aren't supported as such - they're only seen as Christians in embryo. Jews haven't forgotten Billy Graham's comment to Nixon that there are "Satanic Jews" one has to watch out for. Overall, a shoddy piece of work equating anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism. Since many liberal Jews are more critical of Israel than Christians are, it might just be that they prefer to think critically and morally about who their friends are.

Well, it could be that pre-millenial dispensationalism has as its endpoint all Jews who don't accept Jesus being condemned to hell. I have yet to understand why conservatism must include an exaggerated respect for absurd (and dangerous) beliefs merely because they are called "religious."

We are perfectly free to point out the demonstrable absurdity of any other empirical claims, so why not those of religion?

What Wilson perceives as black anti-Semitism is black anger and "reap what you have sown" for Jews discriminating against blacks in hiring, in major black urban centers like Harlem, into the 1960s. Added to that is anger at Israel's total support of and aid to the racist, repressive, murderous South African regime, and it's genocide against the native black Africans, even after most countries in the world had officially boycotted them for their racist policies.

I think perhaps Dr. Wilson has missed one other major reason that Jews distrust fundamentalists - because fundamentalists are committed to converting Jews to Christianity.Fundamentalist leaders, while accepting the idea that Jews are God's chosen people, still think that in the end times Jews will "come to Christ." This sentiment engenders a significant amount of resentment in Jews.

While Jews are grateful for any non-Jewish population that appreciates them, they are understandably suspicious, considering the way that 15th century Spain and 20th century Germany turned on them. The Jews have suffered a constant harrassment long before the capriciously given stigma of deicide befell them. Even today, the welcoming evangelical movement believes that, in the end, the Jews by their denial of Jesus' divinity will be denied eternal life. And just today, the Catholic Church is finally ridding its liturgy of specifically praying for the Jews' salvation. The Christian world has a long way to go to allay Jews' suspicions, but Jews are forgiving people, even to their own detriment.

There are two simple reasons for the distrust:

1. A long shadow of history. In Europe, the term Christian in a political party name generally meant "anti-Semitic." Furthermore, "the right" had associations with fascism and anti-Semitism, as it did for some time in the U.S., particularly back in the 1920s. This may change; in particular in Israel, among the center-right parties, the Christian right has been welcomed (the left generally doesn't like religious people as a category).

2. What does liking "Jews" mean to Americans, who like to think of themselves as individuals rather than representatives of some kind of ancient conception? Particularly, when the evangelical definition of Jew is all wrapped up with some kind of relationship to Jesus--a definition which has connection to the average Jewish-American's self definition. I have had the experience of people walking up to me in the street and telling me they "loved me," meaning they recognized me as a "Jew" and future fulfillment of their idea of Jesus' plans, etc., while all I was trying to do was get to work and live my normal life.

The core of racism/anti-Semitism is group definition by a more powerful majority with a set of assumptions based solely on preconceived ideas not fostered by the people being stigmatized. And whether it is love or hate, it is unpleasant.

I would submit that the Jewish distrust of evangelicals is also based on their...evangelism. Jews are pretty prickly about being prosyletized to, and also constitute the main target of such conversion efforts. As a small minority, prone to intermarriage, we feel the threat of disappearance keenly.

Such perceptions are not without basis. When Bill McCartney showed up - along with many other Christians - to protest a sign outside a Pentacostal Church claiming that, "Jews Killed Christ," he used the moment to announce the formation of a group called "Path to Jerusalem," his effort to convert Jews.

On that occasion, I welcomed his help. On other occasions I have worked closely with Zionist Christian groups and churches to support Israel. But there are times when it's impossible to escape the feeling that the evangelical desire to love and protect Jews comes with expectations that are bound to be disappointed.

First, only 18 percent of evangelicals are dispensationalists. Second, even most of these believe that the end of times is God's work, not man's. As David Brog's research showed, most evangelicals are greatly influenced by the line from Genesis: "Those that curse the Jews will be cursed, those that bless the Jews will be blessed." That and the shared Bible, democracy, and the fact that Jesus was a Jew turn out to be much greater factors in the evangelical support for Israel.

Good article. I am an evangelical Christian of Jewish ethnicity, but not a dispensationalist. One reason why Christians are warming up to Jews is that Christianity is undeniably an Ancient Near Eastern religion whose founder was a Jew. The Old Testament (or perhaps better called the Hebrew Scriptures) is more often seen as a corpus worthy of more detailed study to gain a better understanding of our faith. I do not believe, as another poster does, that the love of Israel is insincere. However, as the late Art Katz often said, Christian love of the Jew is sometimes sentimental, in which case the Jew is actually put on a pedestal. Not that sentimentality is good, but it can spring from good motives. Don't forget Paul's letter to the Romans: Jews are natural branches of the tree, while Gentiles are wild branches grafted in. Gentiles do not "replace" Jews; they supplment them in the eyes of God.

Although the article seems to hit the nail on the head, the author fails to identify the major reason why the Presbyterian Church (USA) opposes (ostensibly) Israel: namely, that Israelis are Jews, whereas, at least until recently, approximately one-third of Palestinians are or were Christians, with a large portion of those being Presbyterians. Today, this is less often the case, as many of those Palestinian Christians have fled to America, but even today, the Palestinian voice remains very strong and loud within PCUSA circles.

Perhaps one reason Jews dislike evangelicals is because of the latter's insistence that all, including Jews, must acknowledge and follow Jesus as their Messiah. Other types of Christians are not insistent on that.

No one likes to be told that they're not on good terms with G-d. So despite the political agreements, there's beneath that a personal dislike for the religion.

Prof. Wilson makes some good points. In our defense, however, it is difficult to trust a group who have spent the last 2,000 years trying to exterminate you, have come very close to succeeding, and now profess friendship. Are they now trying to do with carrots what they couldn't accomplish with sticks?

Is it really that hard to understand why Jews might feel a tad cold to people who are eagerly awaiting a de facto Second Holocaust? Jews may find fundamentalist Christian eschatology laughable, but the joke wears a little thin when you realize these people are counting on your mass slaughter. And we don't even have to discuss the fundamentalist belief that the victims of the upcoming Holocaust, like those of the previous one, and indeed all "unconverted" Jews ever, will be hellbound and forever out of God's grace. With "friends" like that....

What Professor Wilson fails to understand is the dark side of Christian Zionism, which Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg understands well. Gorenberg, who has studied American fundamentalist support for Israel, recognizes that much of the so-called evangelical love of Jews is less a love of Jews as people than a fetishization of Jews. They don't love Jews as fellow human beings and neighbors, but as characters in a biblical drama which ends with the slaughter of all who fail to convert to Christianity in the End Times. Jews who understand this are rightfully reluctant to accept such support.