UC Irvine UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Who’s in My Bed: Strange Bedfellows in the American pro-Israel Movement Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4w46k6w7 Author Sagi, Rottem Publication Date 2016 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Who’s in My Bed: Strange Bedfellows in the American pro-Israel Movement DISSERTATION submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Sociology by Rottem Sagi Dissertation Committee: Professor David S. Meyer, Chair Associate Professor Catherine Bolzendahl Assistant Professor Graeme Boushey 2016 © 2016 Rottem Sagi DEDICATION I know this is for Dylan, but that’s as far as I got. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF TABLES vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii CURRICULUM VITAE ix ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 History of the American pro-Israel Movement 4 Beyond the American pro-Israel Movement 13 Theoretical Overview 15 Summary of Dissertation Chapters 17 CHAPTER 2: THREATS, RESOURCES, AND COALITION GROWTH IN THE PRO-ISRAEL MOVEMENT 20 Literature Review 21 The American pro-Israel Movement 25 Data and Methods 32 Results 39 Discussion and Conclusion 41 CHAPTER 3: ENDOGENOUS FACTORS AND COALITION GROWTH IN THE AMERICAN PRO-ISRAEL MOVEMENT 44 Literature Review 45 Data and Methods 56 Results 66 Discussion and Conclusion 68 CHAPTER 4: JEWISH AND EVANGELICAL ALLIES: ADVERSARIAL COLLABORATIONS IN THE AMERICAN PRO-ISRAEL MOVEMENT 72 Literature Review 74 Timeline: Mapping Four Dimensions 80 American and Israel Political Opportunity Structures 82 iii American Jewish Support for Israel 87 Evangelical Christian Support for Israel 91 Collaborative Adversarial Alliances 101 Discussion and Conclusion 120 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 125 Major Findings and Argument 126 Implications for Theory 128 Broader Implications 132 Directions for Future Research 134 ENDNOTES 136 REFERENCES 137 APPENDIX A: CODING INSTRUMENT FOR AMERICAN JEWISH YEARBOOK 147 APPENDIX B: CODING INSTRUMENT FOR ORGANIATIONAL STRATEGY 150 iv LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 2.1 Percentage of Sample Coded as Hawks vs Doves 35 Figure 3.1 Percentage of Sample Coded as Hawks vs Doves 63 Figure 4.1 Timeline of Political Structures, American Jews, and Evangelicals 82 Figure 4.2 Percentage of Jews and Evangelicals Identify or Lean Democrat 104 1994-2014 Figure 4.3 Percentage of Jews and Evangelicals Identify or Lean Republican 104 1994-2014 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1 Purpose Statements Listed in the American Jewish Yearbook 34 Table 2.2 Incident Risk Ratios and Standard Errors of Poisson Models 40 Table 3.1 Hypothesis Table 56 Table 3.2 Purpose Statements Listed in the American Jewish Yearbook 62 Table 3.3 Event History Analysis 67 Table 3.4 Results Summary 69 Table 4.1 Jewish and Evangelical Political Leanings and Opinions 103 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Success is rarely achieved alone. I was fortunate to be part of a community that offered support and guidance. I’m indebted to scholars, colleagues, friends, and family who have offered me their time, patience, and understanding while I journey down my own path. I am extremely grateful for my dissertation committee: David Meyer, Catherine Bolzendahl, and Graeme Boushey. I am thankful for the support and guidance which Emily Katz, Yang Su, and Nina Bandelj provided during the research proposal stage. I am also thankful for the advice and support from Katherine Faust and Evan Schofer, who introduced me to variety of advanced research methods and provided feedback. I was fortunate to have received grants and fellowships in support for this research from the UCI Center for the Study of Democracy, the UCI Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, the Association for Jewish Studies and the Berman Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Support of the Social Scientific Study of the Contemporary American Jewish Community. I am grateful for the support of UCI staff, Shani Brasier, Brenda Fitzjarrald, Ekua Arhin, Hannah Absher who helped me navigate the complexities of UCI. I am especially indebted to David Meyer, my advisor and mentor, who generously provided me with guidance and support. David always made himself available to read drafts, work through ideas, and help me seek out new opportunities. David has pushed me to become a better writer and scholar than I would have ever thought possible. Without his encouragement and support, I would not have been able to complete this dissertation. I am fortunate to have worked closely Catherine Bolzendahl and am extremely grateful for her mentorship and support. Katie set an example of how to conduct high-quality research. She was always patient and understanding while we worked together on a variety of projects. Katie took the time to teach me how to carry out an advanced research project from conception to publication. Her kindness, confidence, strength, and support created an environment that made success inevitable. I’d like to thank my collogues at UCI, Erin Evans, Dana Moss, Eulalie Laschever, and Amanda Pullum, who were always willing to work through ideas, read drafts, and provide feedback. I’d like to thank the Social Justice Social Movements work group and the Young Scholars Conferences, especially Nicole Fox and Doug McAdam, who provided feedback. I was lucky to be part of the best cohort: Edelina Burciaga, Matt Pearce, Dan Schneider, Henry Hail, Hector Martinez, Jonathan Calvillo, Natasha Miric, Erin Evans, Sean Fitzhugh, and Anne Schwichtenburg. As a group, you were always a source of strength and unconditional support that I have come to rely on these past seven years at UCI. Whether we were writing together, griping together, or laughing together, I always enjoyed our time. Together. I am overwhelmed by the support and encouragement I received from the friends I made while attending UCI. I would like to thank Kathryn Hoban, John Cuffe, Trevor Allen, Graham Odell, vii Hannah Alarian, Misty Knight-Rini, Steven Ahrendt, Kat Pham, Raissa Kay, Stephen Bolaris, and Nicole Beckage whose friendships made Southern California feel like home. I’d like to thank my family and friends whose patience, kindness, love, and support helped me become the person I am today. I’d like to thank my parents, Hemi and Sarah Sagi, who always pushed me to excel, even if they didn’t always know where that would take me. I’d like to thank Sara Lingeman, Melissa Roth, and Whitney Harrison. You three have always been there whenever I needed you. You made me laugh when I was down and encouraged me to keep going when I felt defeated. Even from afar, I always felt your love and support. Finally, I’d like to thank Dylan Alberts not only for his love and support but also for reading every single draft, talking through every single idea, and offering me encouragement every step of the way. viii CURRICULUM VITAE Rottem Sagi University of California, Irvine Department of Sociology www.rottemsagi.com EDUCATION Ph.D. Sociology, University of California, Irvine, June 2016 Dissertation: Who’s in My Bed: Strange Bedfellows in the American Pro-Israel Movement. Dissertation Committee: David Meyer (Chair), Catherine Bolzendahl, Graeme T. Boushey. Exam Areas: Political Sociology and Social Movements; Sociology of Culture. M.A. Sociology, University of California, Irvine, 2012 Thesis Title: National Jewish Advocacy and Interest Groups: A Cross-National Comparison of the United States and Canada. B.A. Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, with Departmental Honors, 2009. B.S. Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2009. RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS Social Movements; Political Sociology; Organizational Sociology; Statistical Methods; Jewish Studies; Sociology of Culture. PUBLICATIONS Sagi, Rottem and Catherine Bolzendahl. 2015. “Rhetoric and Reality: The Role of Family Issues in Politician and Party Support.” Journal of Family Issues 36(13):1731-1750. Sagi, Rottem. 2013. “Israeli Social Movements.” Pp. 649-652 in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, edited by D. A. Snow, D. della Porta, B. Klandermans, D. McAdam New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Sagi, Rottem. 2013. “The Zionist Movement.” Pp. 1422-1429 in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, edited by D. A. Snow, D. della Porta, B. Klandermans, D. McAdam New York: Wiley-Blackwell. MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS AND PAPERS UNDER REVIEW Sagi, Rottem. Under review. “Threats, Resources, and Coalition Growth in the American Pro- Israel Movement.” Mobilization. Sagi, Rottem. Under review. “A Social Movements Approach to Understanding American and Canadian Support for Israel.” Contemporary Jewry. ix Sagi, Rottem and Catherine Bolzendahl. Under review “Godliness and Government: Individual and Institutional Connections between Religiosity and Citizenship.” International Journal of Comparative Sociology. Meyer, David S., Amanda Pullum, and Rottem Sagi. “The Accretion and Dispersion of Issues in Social Movement Coalitions.” PRESENTATIONS 2015 Sagi, Rottem. “Threats, Resources, and Ideological Diversity in the American Pro- Israel Movement.” August 24, 2015 at ASA annual meeting in Chicago, IL. 2015 Sagi, Rottem. “Threats and Coalition Growth in the American Pro-Israel Movement.” May 29, 2015 at Kugelman Symposium, at the University of California, Irvine. 2015 Sagi, Rottem. “Threats, Resources, and Coalition Growth in the American Pro- Israel Movement.” May 1,