Some White supremacists, such as David Duke, have adopted a pro-Palestinian façade in order to promote their hatred of Jews. Although these characters have remained on the periphery of the movement for Palestinian rights, some of their thinking has gained more and more momentum within the movement. This is reflected in an alarming increase in the belief that Israel controls the U.S. in regards to the Middle East, an assertion that falls apart in the face of the facts (among many good works on this point, Stephen Zunes’ recent book,
“Tinderbox” is one of the best, as is much of the work on this subject by Noam Chomsky) and does harken back to the sorts of Jewish conspiracy theories discussed earlier, although in many cases, people who believe this theory may be acting out of a lack of facts rather than antipathy for Jews. There is no doubt that the lobby that supports Israel is very powerful in Congress and the media activism of Israel’s supporters has been remarkably effective. It is also true that, while the Christian Right may provide a lot of the financial and people-power of this activism, the Jewish groups are providing the public face and most of the leadership. It is crucial that we keep in mind that it is not always easy to know the motivations of others. Thus, it is imperative that we attack ideas of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy as anti-Semitic while being very judicious about confusing those who are misled but are truly working for what they see as justice with those who truly wish to harm Jews simply because we are Jews.