Israel attack has torn a rift in MAGA's ranks: expert

Sky Palma
November 17, 2023 

(Photo by Roy Rochlin/WireImage)

The debate over the Israel-Palestinian conflict — especially in the wake of the worst terror attack in Israel's history carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7 — is causing serious rifts within the MAGA faithful, according to an expert.

Speaking to Newsweek, University College London professor Julie Norman said that when it comes to conservatives, their views "in general" are "more diverse than they seem on the surface" — which is likely the cause of the rift over Israel.

The disagreements were highlighted by the recent blowup between Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens of conservative news website The Daily Wire.

While it was brewing for some time, that feud came to a head when Owens posted to X two biblical quotes — "blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," and "you cannot serve both God and money."

Shapiro, who is Jewish and a diehard supporter of Israel, fired back at Owens' post, writing, "If you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit," to which Owens replied by calling him "utterly out of line" and accusing him of behaving "unhinged for weeks now."

According to Norman, the Owen-Shapiro feud is a reflection of a larger split within the conservative movement.

"Most [GOP] policymakers are vocally in lockstep with Israel, but the more isolationist wing of the party doesn't want to get pulled in further to an unpredictable conflict in the Middle East, and some voters are wary of increasing foreign aid in general, even to long-standing allies like Israel," Norman told Newsweek.

"This is a bit different than the seeming 'pro-Israel' v. 'pro-Palestine' split that we see in the Democratic Party, and more a reflection of the competing tensions in the GOP between 'America as Global Leader' v. 'America First' perspectives," she added.