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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 18, 2024

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Candace Owens out at the Daily Wire

This is less than 24-hours after the ADL publicly attacked Candace, and Mediaite reports:

Owens’s departure comes after months of tensions between her and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro over her promotion of various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Her promotion of so-called antisemitic conspiracy theories has definitely been noticed on DR Twitter, and she's been engaged in public spats with a certain Rabbi Schmuley. So this isn't really a surprise, but it's a significant development that DR critiques of Zionism are making their way into Right-wing mainstream, as other rhetoric has in the past 10 years.

Candace is breaking from the Zionist right at the same time Tucker Carlson has turned heel on US support for Israel, and even Alex Jones who is notorious for his "the Chicoms are behind everything I love Judeo-Christian values" schtick - his willingness to humor every conspiracy theory to his audience except ZOG - yesterday accused Israel of Genocide.

I have a lot of criticisms of Nick Fuentes and his movement, but there has to be credit where it's due. I remember the Bush years, support for Israel was simply axiomatic and it was unthinkable for anybody to believe any differently. That has changed, and Zionism now faces a pincer movement of critique from both the Left and the Right, with the Right-wing critique of Zionism growing in influence among younger audiences.

The right's support of Israel never made sense. Israel has created a perpetual refugee crisis on Europe's border, it costs a fortune in foreign aid, and it is a PR nightmare. Meanwhile, ADL, AIPAC and every mainstream jewish groups work against the interests of social conservatism in western countries. Simping for the Israel lobby while the ADL wants to ban conservatives off Twitter is a one way relationship. Israel is oppressing Christians and has sponsored terrorist groups in Syria. Israel works to destabilize the region when the rest of us benefit from it being stable.

There is absolutely no reason to burn political capital defending some of the bloodiest and most brutal wars in recent history in the middle east. Israel can't really provide any tangible benefit to social conservatives in the west. Especially not when Ben Gvir who is Minister of National Security of Israel wants to relocate large numbers of Palestinians in the west.

Had Israel supported similar politics in the west as they promote in their own country, it could have worked. But "nationalism for me, open borders for thee", will upset the left in the west that doesn't like nationalism as well as the right in the west that doesn't like the "open borders for thee"-part.

Had Israel supported similar politics in the west as they promote in their own country, it could have worked.

You're doing what SS and his crew do, and assuming that Jews are all part of an orchestrated ZOG movement. Jews in the West are generally sympathetic to Israel, obviously, but Israeli political concerns are very different from Western ones - Israelis generally are not trying to get Western countries to open their borders. They don't care. They actually do have specifically Israeli concerns, they aren't seeing everything through the same lens of "Jewishness" that people who hate Jews do.

As for why conservatives have traditionally supported Israel, it's pretty simple: even if most conservative Christians don't particularly like Jews, they dislike Muslims even more, and geopolitically, a local boot to put on Arabs in the region is very useful.

And that's without addressing the Christians who genuinely do believe that support for Israel is Biblically mandated.

and assuming that Jews are all part of an orchestrated ZOG movement

No, black people overwhelmingly vote democrat. There is no conspiracy, no centralized control and there are individual black people who are right wing. Jews have been overrepresented in promoting their ethnic interest which is in stark contrast to our ethnic interest. When Jared Kushner talks about moving the population of Gaza to Europe that is promoting his ethnic interest against ours.

Israelis generally are not trying to get Western countries to open their borders.

Ben Gvir has been publically promoting ethnic cleansing in Palestine with the goal of bringing in migrants to the rest of the world. ADL and AIPAC have worked hard for open bordres for everyone except Israel along with the pro zionist donor class.

and geopolitically, a local boot to put on Arabs in the region is very useful.

How was the war in Iraq useful? The war in Libya was a terrible example of the west shooting itself in the foot. Afghanistan gave us heroin, migrants and two trillion dollars of debt. We haven't been putting a local boot on Indonesia, the largest muslim country and that hasn't created a problem for us. Israel has not benefited christians in the region, they have not benefited christian Palestinians and they have pushed millions of muslims into Lebanon that used to be more Christian and Greek. Israel is supporting Azerbaijan cleanse Armenians. Meanwhile, Israel has if anything opposed relatively secular nationalists in the middle east and backed islamists who fracture and weaken nearby arab states. This is the polar opposite interest of the rightwing voter.

Ben Gvir has been publically promoting ethnic cleansing in Palestine with the goal of bringing in migrants to the rest of the world.

Let's say the first part is correct: why do you think his goal is "bringing migrants to the rest of the world" (as opposed to just wanting them out of Palestine so Israelis can settle there)?

ADL and AIPAC

Are not Israeli.

How was the war in Iraq useful?

In my opinion, it wasn't, but the argument (whether or not you believed it at the time) was that Saddam Hussein posed an existential threat to the stabliity of the region (and oil prices). The reason it is useful to have an outpost in the region is oil, and Iran.

I'm not personally defending US misadventures in the Middle East (of which there are many). I'm explaining why conservatives would find Israel useful for reasons other than "Da Joos hoodwinked us."

We haven't been putting a local boot on Indonesia, the largest muslim country and that hasn't created a problem for us.

We don't have national interests threatened in or next to Indonesia.

Israel has not benefited christians in the region

Well, Christians have it better in Israel than in most Arab countries. Of course, so do Arab-Israelis.

they have not benefited christian Palestinians and they have pushed millions of muslims into Lebanon that used to be more Christian and Greek.

The Muslims who got pushed into Lebanon were a result of Black September, which the Palestinians did to themselves (by trying to start a coup in Jordan).

This is the polar opposite interest of the rightwing voter.

Not being a right wing voter, I will not disagree with you that they often choose sides poorly. But the bottom line is that Israel is, at least from a Western perspective, the best of a bad lot in the region, and we cannot escape our interests in the region.

(as opposed to just wanting them out of Palestine so Israelis can settle there)

They are going somewhere. The best option is if they stay put. Moving millions of arabs around 300 km from the EU is a terrible idea.

Are not Israeli.

Imagine in a Han chinese lobby claimed they were not a Chinese lobby, just ethnic Han who love China.

The reason it is useful to have an outpost in the region is oil, and Iran.

Yet Chinese ships sail past Yemen without getting shot at and China buys middle eastern oil. They didn't have to invade any countries. Iran is in no way a threat and is if anything the group that has been the best at integrating in Europe. They even speak an indoeuropean language. Destabilizing Iran would be an absolute disaster. Our interest is a stable Iran with few migrants and stable exports.

We don't have national interests threatened in or next to Indonesia.

What national interests does the west have around Israel that Israel helps with? Israel provides no oil.

Well, Christians have it better in Israel than in most Arab countries.

Christians are being ethnically cleansed by Israel. Israel has backed jihadists in Syria that were wrecking Christian communities and Israel has had an anti-christian stance in the Armenia/Azerbadjan conflict.

and we cannot escape our interests in the region.

How has Israel promoted stable arab states that produce few migrants and like to do business with the west?

They are going somewhere. The best option is if they stay put. Moving millions of arabs around 300 km from the EU is a terrible idea.

I don't disagree. I disagree that moving Arabs to Europe is the end goal of right-wing Israeli nationalists (and Jews in general). They want to move the Palestinians somewhere, and usually the (very slightly more realistic) proposal is that neighboring Arab countries should take them in. (Only slightly more realistic because the Arab countries don't want them.)

Imagine in a Han chinese lobby claimed they were not a Chinese lobby, just ethnic Han who love China.

Okay. I have no problem imagining that. Lots of Chinese special interest groups, political and cultural, exist in the US. I don't think most of them are fronts for the Chinese government or advocating the interests of the PRC.

What national interests does the west have around Israel that Israel helps with? Israel provides no oil.

A joint base of operations. Israeli intelligence. An allied military force in place.

Christians are being ethnically cleansed by Israel.

That's a bold claim. Are you basing this on the fact that some Palestinians are Christians, or are you actually claiming Christians who live in Israel are being ethnically cleansed?

Israel has backed jihadists in Syria that were wrecking Christian communities and Israel has had an anti-christian stance in the Armenia/Azerbadjan conflict.

This seems like a very skewed reading of their interests. That said, yes, both Israel and the US have made very unfortunate devil's bargains with jihadists that have come back to bite us.