Too narrow a view of both right and left. The essence of Israel is that is a settler state -- the Zionists got off the boat, built their own Western society with hard work, and defended what they had built against the natives by force. The Hebrew word for the Zionist settlers is halutz, which translates into English as "pioneer."

That's why the non-Jewish left here and even more in Europe loathes Israel. Orwell wrote before Israeli independence that to an Indian, the Jewish-Arab dispute would seem a racial one, and the Indian would side with the Arabs. In leftist eyes, Israel is a settler state no different than South Africa or French Algeria, and the only proper recourse for the Jews is either to submit to rule by a native majority or to return to the West.

But that's also why the right in this country (aside from the conspiracy minded anti-Semites) favors Israel. The USA is the greatest, most successful, and least repentant European settler state. Our forbearers also got off the boat, took the country away from the Indians at gunpoint, and built up what we have today. We don't intend to give any of it back. Even without Bible-centered Protestantism, it is easy for mainstream Americans to identify with Israel as a country like ours.