For most Americans, events in Israel stir up a familiar set of emotions: sadness over the loss of life, especially innocent civilians; anger, even fury, on one side or the other; and the fear that the conflict will eventually engulf the region as a whole. It is difficult to find a glimmer of hope in the cloud that now hangs over the Middle East.
Unless, of course, you believe that the blood shed in Israel will pave the way for the second coming of Christ. Secular voters may find this confusing, but it is the worldview of a significant number of evangelical Christians and, by extension, a core part of the Republican Party.
And while many know of the affinity that exists between Jews and evangelicals, the vitriol response from the religious right to the war between Israel and Hamas brings to the forefront the prophecies that many Christians use to guide their thinking and actions.
