Tel-Chai Nation

The Atlantic's Garance Franke-Ruta writes about Sarah Palin wearing a Magen David necklace during her trip to Israel, but not in a very flattering tone. They say:

The Star of David or Magen David is a symbol associated with Jewish texts far back as the 11th century and has been used by European Jews to symbolize their faith since the 17th century. As Zionism developed as a European philosophy, the Star of David came to represent the movement and later became the defining symbol on the flag of the state of Israel. In contemporary urban America, wearing a Star of David on a chain generally marks the wearer as Jewish.

So what was the most decidedly not-Jewish Palin doing wearing one in Israel? Not appealing to American Jews -- that's for sure. Most American Jews, being Democrats, can't stand her. And one visit to Israel, a nation many American Jews have mixed feelings toward, anyway, isn't going to change that.

Rather, by wearing the Star of David, Palin was reaching out to American evangelical Christians -- and also being one herself.

According to David Brog, the (Jewish) executive director of Christians United for Israel, "it is increasingly common" for evangelical Christian supporters of Israel -- who follow a fairly common Israel-centric strain of American biblical interpretation -- to wear Stars of David as symbols of solidarity with the Jewish state.

"A lot of the folks in my organization, they wear Stars of David," he noted. "Mainly the women."

That's certainly amazing to learn, but did it ever occur to Franke-Ruta that even some Israelis could be flattered by the sight? And why shouldn't it make some residents with USA citizenship ponder voting for her if she runs for the Senate? Franke-Ruta doesn't seem to have considered that idea.

Incidentally, if we were to make a pop culture reference here, Palin's wearing a Star of David even though she's not of Jewish descent herself isn't new: those with long memories of the 1980s may recall that Mr. T wore a Star of David necklace with all that other jewelry in The A-Team, alongside a Christian cross, and despite the badass image he sported at the time, he's known to be a devoted Christian (side note: I've seen all 97 episodes of the A-Team, including the guest role by a young Tia Carrere).

Labels: Christianity, Israel, showbiz, United States