Rep Brian Mast wore an IDF uniform because he’s a Christian who loves Israel
(www.dailykos.com)https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/13/2199183/-Rep-Brian-Mast-wears-an-IDF-uniform-to-House-Republican-meetingMast is an evangelical Christian who attended a Christian high school and is a member of The Presidential Prayer Team. He frames his support for Israel in terms of “democracy and human rights,” and maybe that’s what it is for him. But “evangelical attitudes toward Israel account for most of the Republican Party’s support for Israel; without evangelicals, Republican attitudes on Israel do not substantially deviate from the rest of America,” Brookings fellow Shibley Telhami wrote in 2021, drawing on University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll research.
When Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, U.S. evangelicals in particular were "ecstatic." As much as that move was intended to appeal to some Jewish people, it was aimed at making Trump’s evangelical base happy.
“Jerusalem has been the object of the affection of both Jews and Christians down through history and the touchstone of prophecy. But most importantly, God gave Jerusalem — and the rest of the Holy Land — to the Jewish people,” the Rev. Robert Jeffress told CNN at the time.
