Many on the left have a difficult time understanding why Americans generally support Israel. Some, like George Monbiot, writing in the U.K. Guardian, concludes that it has to be because so many “fundamentalist” Christians believe in the Rapture, and therefore think that the eschatological process must be helped along by siding with Israel.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. First of all, not all evangelicals believe in the rapture—a fact that would shock many on the left. Second, even among the dispensationalists I know who espouse belief in a secret rapture, very few cite this as a reason for supporting Israel. The view that Monbiot cites is indeed held, but nowhere near the 15-18% of U.S. voters that he cites in his article.
Most evangelicals who urge support for Israel do so on the basis that it is the only democracy in the Middle East. It is the country most like America, and it does not have a penchant for state terrorism. A nation exhibiting these features elicits much more affinity from Americans than nations who label the U.S. as the “Great Satan.”