Palin’s Pilgrimage

Another Republican is visiting Israel.  This time it’s Sarah Palin who’s running around the country and wearing a star of David.  Like Huckabee and others before her, she’s ingratiating herself with Israel’s right wing coalition and making damaging policy statements about expanding settlements in the territories.  She does this with no regard or concern for the welfare of the Jewish people.

That’s because she doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of the Jewish people.  Nor has she made the trip in order to get Jewish votes.  American Jews are not going to vote for her in any significant numbers.

No, Palin is in Israel for two reasons.  It’s good for fundraising among the Republican Jewish minority that consists of heavy hitters like Sheldon Adelson.  And it’s good for appeasing her fundamentalist Christian base of so-called “Christian Zionists” with whom she identifies.

These Christian Zionists, who have recently become the sweethearts of some Jewish Zionists, do not have much regard or concern for the future or well-being of the Jewish people.  At least not in any way that should matter to any actual Jews.

No, they support Israel – chiefly its current right wing policies – for their own reasons.  The establishment of the Jewish State reinforces the fundamentalist Christian belief in the truth of ancient prophecy.  (I’m not going to get into its relationship to their eschatology because there’s no common ground among the various wacky fairy tales that Christians have made up about that.)

The bottom line is that Sister Sarah is in Israel for her own gain, unrelated to the best interests of Jews, Palestinians or anyone else in the region.

And I, for one, wish she would take off that damned star.