Walter Russell Mead on Christian Zionism, the ‘Israel Lobby’ Myth, and the Psychology of Antisemitism

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.5 • 619 Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why do Americans support Israel? The standard answers—D.C. lobbying, shared democratic values, strategic benefits—all miss something. Walter Russell Mead, one of America's foremost foreign policy scholars, traces the real answer back to 17th-century Calvinist theology, and argues that Christian Zionists were advocating for a Jewish homeland long before most Jews were. Mead joins the show to make the case that the famous Israel Lobby thesis is actually historically incoherent. To explain where antisemitism comes from and why it keeps coming back, he offers a nuanced defense of American global engagement against the America First movement’s more isolationist impulses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some follow the noise.
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0:13.8	there's a money-side to every story.
0:16.5	And when you see the money-side, you understand what others miss.
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0:25.3	Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.
0:30.1	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman.
0:32.8	My guest today is Walter Russell Mead.
0:38.4	Walter is an American foreign policy scholar, columnist, and professor known for his analysis of U.S. foreign policy. He's a longtime writer for the Wall Street Journal and the author of many
0:43.2	great books, including my personal favorite, The Ark of the Covenant. In this episode, we talk
0:48.8	about the virtues and vices of the America First Movement. We talk about the history of Christian
0:53.9	Zionism in America,
0:55.3	which I can guarantee you is more interesting and surprising than you think. We talk about where
1:00.4	anti-Semitism comes from historically and psychologically. We talk about the problems with
1:05.8	John Mearsheimer's Israel lobby thesis, and much more. So without further ado, Walter Russell Mead.
1:20.2	Okay, Walter Russell Mead.
1:21.8	Thanks so much for coming on my show.
1:23.6	Great to be here.
1:26.2	So I want to talk to you today about a set of topics that are directly in your wheelhouse
1:32.9	related to the many books you've written, many op-eds you've written.
	...

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