Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Interfaith Friends and Ideological Foes examines the evolution of American Jewish–evangelical relations as it relates to pro-Israel support. It argues that Jewish interfaith partnerships with evangelicals developed as a necessary, adaptive strategy to deal with the shifting American political landscape. As evangelicals moved from a subculture to the mainstream, they appealed to Jewish communal organizations due to their increased influence in American politics and their steadfast defense of Israel. Jewish groups acknowledged—and accepted—a certain amount of ideological inconsistency to secure broad political support for Israel. Without an understanding of this complex history of Jewish–evangelical relations, there is a greater likelihood that one might misread the current political moment. Intensified support for white Christian nationalism, the rise of antisemitism, and debates surrounding Israeli governmental policies have all created a divisive American landscape. This book speaks directly to today’s challenges regarding polarization and the difficulty of coalition-building. Pundits and the public tend to describe the present as an especially divided time in history. Support for Israel, at almost any cost, has shaped the policies of major American Jewish organizations, sometimes leading them to act in profound tension with the views of their constituents and their own long-standing commitments to American democracy and religious pluralism. This evidence therefore upends established claims about Jewish organizations’ commitments to strategies promoting religious pluralism. It also helps to explain how support for Israel has become increasingly associated with the American political right, further underscoring the ongoing, ever-changing dynamics of dialogue and partnership.</jats:p>