# What would Repubs do if Israel decided to fight climate change? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858 "2015-04-30T00:20:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/21 "2015-04-30T17:35:23Z")
Wait, you think the politics of that region aren’t intrinsically tied to water? That’s adorable! Have you looked at a hydrological map of Israel and Syria? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/22 "2015-04-30T17:39:11Z")
That would be remarkable range from Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/23 "2015-04-30T17:39:49Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Wait, you think the politics of that region aren’t intrinsically tied to water? > That’s adorable! Have you looked at a hydrological map of Israel and Syria? 50% of Israel’s water comes from desalination. Right now Israel has more water than it needs. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/taMWUjda3fA/hqdefault.jpg "How Israel became a leader in water use in the Middle East") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taMWUjda3fA) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/24 "2015-04-30T18:03:25Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Israel has a _lot_ invested in —and researches a lot of — alternative energy tech; and has done for many decades. > One reason being they have a lot more sun than oil. May no longer be a factor: recent discoveries of natural gas in the Med have allegedly left Israel with more fuel than they can use. Indeed, Israel plans to become an energy exporter. > **[Leviathan gas field](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_gas_field)** > > The Leviathan gas field is a large natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometres (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is roughly 130 kilometres (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the largest offshore natural gas field finds. According to some commentators, the gas find has the potential to change Israel's foreign relations with neighboring coun In 2017, Lev... > **[Energy Triangle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Triangle)** > > The Energy Triangle is a natural gas extraction plan between the three allied countries Cyprus, Israel, and Greece. The three countries agreed to use the gas fields Tamar, Leviathan, and Aphrodite; found in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively. About 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas were found between Cyprus and Israel, giving both countries an upper hand in the trading business within the region. Europe requires 19 tcf of natural gas a year and the Cypriot government believes that its Th... Which isn’t to say Israel hasn’t invested heavily in solar - only that the reason is not necessity caused by a lack of alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/25 "2015-04-30T18:15:39Z")
Israel was the primary test market for the [Better Place battery swap electric car experiment.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Place) It remains a good idea, and Tesla showed their own test. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/26 "2015-04-30T18:33:47Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > However, America would be safe from Israeli attack, and probably self-sufficient so perhaps the Republicans wouldn’t worry too much? We are the world’s largest net importer of energy, so, no. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/27 "2015-04-30T19:27:50Z")
The massive investment Israel has made in desalination tech only underscores how important a secure water supply is. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/28 "2015-04-30T19:32:13Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > The massive investment Israel has made in desalination tech only underscores how important a secure water supply is. Every desalination plant in Israel was built by a private company and is not subsidized by Israeli taxpayers. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/29 "2015-04-30T19:54:12Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > This thread is based on a lot of dubious assumptions about why Republicans support Israel. > > [http://www.gallup.com/poll/181652/seven-americans-continue-view-israel-favorably.aspx](http://www.gallup.com/poll/181652/seven-americans-continue-view-israel-favorably.aspx) > > The notion that a majority of Republicans support Israel because of millenialist reasons is simply not reality-based. If it was, Republican support ought to be reasonably constant in recent years - as religious opinions do not shift quickjly. In actual fact, Republican support has varied a lot, and tracks ME events pretty closely. > > [Emphaiss added] > > The implication is that the increase in support derives from ‘an enemy of our enemy’. Unless 2000 support derived almost solely from millenialism - a very dubious proposition - it seems very unlikely that millenialsim is a majority reason for overall support. The notion isn’t that “the majority of Republicans” support Israel because of millenialist reasons, it’s that the Republican Party does. Evangelicals are a minority in the party, but since the 70’s they’ve been an increasingly influential and vocal one. To me, your poll numbers completely bear that out. The Israel/Palestine question is a difficult one so 50/50 support sounds like the normal background. Note that in that same year Democrats were also about 50/50. Pre-9/11 the Republican Party was staunchly and unconditionally pro-Israel even though individual Republicans as a whole weren’t especially. These days, obviously Israel is a natural ally for our various Middle Eastern adventures, and so support for Israel has become somewhat of a proxy for whether one supports US meddling in the region in general. Hence Republican support going up and Democratic support going down. (Of course that does beg the question of whether we’d be having those adventures in the first place were it not for our earlier enthusiastic support of Israel.) > [@cmkeller](#): > > Greasy Jack: > > So, the US decreases its carbon emissions, and in response, Israel increases its [Korban](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban) emissions? Maybe some sort of yamaka-and-trade system could be put in place. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/30 "2015-04-30T20:10:33Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > The notion isn’t that “the majority of Republicans” support Israel because of millenialist reasons, it’s that the Republican Party does. Evangelicals are a minority in the party, but since the 70’s they’ve been an increasingly influential and vocal one. That’s what I keep hearing. So, why do the Republicans keep nominating moderate, business wing candidates for President? If the Religious Right is so powerful, why is the nominee usually someone like Mitt Romney or (coming up) Jeb Bush??? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/31 "2015-04-30T20:20:00Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > The notion isn’t that “the majority of Republicans” support Israel because of millenialist reasons, it’s that the Republican Party does. Evangelicals are a minority in the party, but since the 70’s they’ve been an increasingly influential and vocal one. > > To me, your poll numbers completely bear that out. The Israel/Palestine question is a difficult one so 50/50 support sounds like the normal background. Note that in that same year Democrats were also about 50/50. Pre-9/11 the Republican Party was staunchly and unconditionally pro-Israel even though individual Republicans as a whole weren’t especially. This isn’t what was claimed upthread. Someone upthread said this: > [@](#): > > Keep in mind that a lot of Republicans are only pro-Israel because they believe its existence is a prerequisite for the return of Christ. Also, I’d like to see some form of evidence that the Republican party’s support for Israel is solidly based on millenialism (as opposed to the Democratic party’s support, which presumably is not). To my mind, this alleged factor is wildly overblown, bears little relationship with reality, and has mostly been asserted for rhetorical purposes. Yes, some evangelicals support Israel for millenial reasons; OTOH, other evangelicals oppose Israel for whatever reasons (Jimmy Carter is an Evangelical Christian, and hardly an automatic supporter of Israel!). > [@](#): > > These days, obviously Israel is a natural ally for our various Middle Eastern adventures, and so support for Israel has become somewhat of a proxy for whether one supports US meddling in the region in general. Hence Republican support going up and Democratic support going down. (Of course that does beg the question of whether we’d be having those adventures in the first place were it not for our earlier enthusiastic support of Israel.) The two major issues of the times - the 9/11 attack and the invasion of Iraq - had nothing to do with Israel. The main issue right now - the rise of ISIS - has nothing to do with Israel. Once again, the assertion that everything the US does vis. the middle-east revolves around Israel has little basis in reality and is only asserted for rhetorical purposes. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/32 "2015-04-30T20:21:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > That’s what I keep hearing. So, why do the Republicans keep nominating moderate, business wing candidates for President? > > If the Religious Right is so powerful, why is the nominee usually someone like Mitt Romney or (coming up) Jeb Bush??? Because they want to win general elections? Nobody’s saying the Republican Party is literally run by the religious right, but they’re an important part of the current conservative coalition that is the party. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/33 "2015-04-30T20:26:34Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Every desalination plant in Israel was built by a private company and is not subsidized by Israeli taxpayers. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/34 "2015-04-30T20:28:57Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Cite? [http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/20/221880/israel-no-longer-worried-about.html](http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/20/221880/israel-no-longer-worried-about.html) Each of Israel’s plants cost between $300 million and $450 million to build. The plants are privately owned and operated, under a contract with the government, which buys the water from the plants. The budget for water purchases comes from water charges to consumers. The plants are not subsidized. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/35 "2015-04-30T20:53:21Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Cite? Here is [detailed info](http://www.water-technology.net/projects/sorek-desalination-plant/) for the biggest plant: After an extensive tender process, WDA chose the Sorek Desalination Company (SDL) for financing, planning, building and operating the desalination plant in Sorek for 25 years. SDL is a consortium established especially for desalination project and is owned by two companies. IDE Technologies with a 51% share is leading the consortium. Hutchison Water, a fully-owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa of Hutchison Group, has the remaining 49% stake in the partnership. … In May 2011, SDL entered into agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB), Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi to obtain $400m in project financing to help build and operate the plant. EIB, the European Union’s (EU) financing institution, provided $185m for the design and construction of the plant. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/36 "2015-04-30T21:32:54Z")
Well, suddenly mass-bombing Europe as per the previous poster’s musings might take care of the repayment schedule. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/37 "2015-04-30T21:52:02Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > This isn’t what was claimed upthread. > > Someone upthread said this: Right, I said “a lot of Republicans” specifically because it’s not something all Republicans believe. Maybe I should have said “a small but influential number of Republicans believe…” > [@Malthus](#): > > Also, I’d like to see some form of evidence that the Republican party’s support for Israel is solidly based on millenialism (as opposed to the Democratic party’s support, which presumably is not). > > To my mind, this alleged factor is wildly overblown, bears little relationship with reality, and has mostly been asserted for rhetorical purposes. > > Yes, some evangelicals support Israel for millenial reasons; OTOH, other evangelicals oppose Israel for whatever reasons (Jimmy Carter is an Evangelical Christian, and hardly an automatic supporter of Israel!). Here’s a poll that has some relevant data: [Many Americans Uneasy with Mix of Religion and Politics | Pew Research Center](http://www.pewforum.org/2006/08/24/many-americans-uneasy-with-mix-of-religion-and-politics/) 35% of Americans say that Israel is part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus. 60% of evangelicals. It’s not a universal belief, but neither is it only held by some small lunatic fringe. For further evidence you can very easily find quotes from Fallwell, Robertson, and all the other hugely influential evangelists _explicitly_ saying evangelicals and conservative politicians should support Israel because of biblical prophesy. As for whether that is indeed what was behind the pre-9/11 Republican support of Israel, I don’t know what you’d accept as “evidence.” Simply the coincident timing of the rise of the Moral Majority within the party and its adoption of very pro-Israel policies is pretty strong circumstantial evidence at least. > [@Malthus](#): > > The two major issues of the times - the 9/11 attack and the invasion of Iraq - had nothing to do with Israel. The main issue right now - the rise of ISIS - has nothing to do with Israel. > > Once again, the assertion that everything the US does vis. the middle-east revolves around Israel has little basis in reality and is only asserted for rhetorical purposes. Much of the US’s policies in the middle-east aren’t directly related to Israel, but the US support of Israel was a major factor (if not _the_ factor) in the US being the enemy of choice of the various radical groups pre-9/11. Without it, 9/11 probably wouldn’t have happened which means most of the US’s entanglements in the region this century also wouldn’t have happened. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/38 "2015-04-30T21:55:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Quite right. > > And the rest of their support is based on a mix of two geo-political things: First is residual Cold-war clientele-ism, where the neighboring Arabs were largely Soviet clients and Israel was our client. We support Israel now because we always have. Second is simply modern anti-Islamism. In a simple us-them binary worldview, **we have to choose either the Israelis or the Islamists. It’s pretty clear which one a rightist would prefer.** I’m no “rightie.” Not by a long shot. But frankly, given the kinds of things certain groups are doing “in the name of Allah” these days, wouldn’t MOST “Merkans” with a conscience side with the same group of people? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Last of all is the simple fact that despite US Jews’ collectively being thought of as left of center, that’s mostly a phenomenon of the Jewish middle class. **There are plenty of very wealthy Jewish folks who lean right, donate accordingly, and make support of Israel a precondition for those donations. Given how much louder money is than mere votes, we get the effect we see.** One of my wife’s sisters married a Jewish guy (Me? I couldn’t care less. My interactions with people aren’t based on what religion they say they follow or what “race” they claim to be. Just sayin’.). My wife’s family grew up in North Dakota/Minnesota which, if I’m not mistaken, is Lutheran territory. But according to my wife her sister’s taken the whole Jewish community thing and bought it hook, line, and sinker (Sometimes my wife refers to her sister as “Super Jew” even though she only MARRIED into being one). He’s rich. THEY’RE rich (How rich? To be able to do things - as my wife once described to me - such as state, out of the blue, that they plan on attending Wimbledon and then go do it, on short notice). And, yes - they support Israel and, as far as I know, Republican politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/39 "2015-05-01T14:29:33Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Right, I said “a lot of Republicans” specifically because it’s not something all Republicans believe. Maybe I should have said “a small but influential number of Republicans believe…” > > Here’s a poll that has some relevant data: [Many Americans Uneasy with Mix of Religion and Politics | Pew Research Center](http://www.pewforum.org/2006/08/24/many-americans-uneasy-with-mix-of-religion-and-politics/) > > 35% of Americans say that Israel is part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus. 60% of evangelicals. It’s not a universal belief, but neither is it only held by some small lunatic fringe. For further evidence you can very easily find quotes from Fallwell, Robertson, and all the other hugely influential evangelists _explicitly_ saying evangelicals and conservative politicians should support Israel because of biblical prophesy. > > As for whether that is indeed what was behind the pre-9/11 Republican support of Israel, I don’t know what you’d accept as “evidence.” Simply the coincident timing of the rise of the Moral Majority within the party and its adoption of very pro-Israel policies is pretty strong circumstantial evidence at least. No-one doubts that some Evangelicals belive in millenialist notions concerning Israel. What I doubt, is the emphasis put on this. As your own survey reports, this is a belief confined mostly to Evangelicals, who are not a majority of the population: > [@](#): > > Seven-in-ten white evangelicals (69%) believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people and a solid majority (59%) believes that Israel is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy views rejected by majorities of the rest of the public, including most mainline Protestants and Catholics. The notion that a view held by a “majority” of Evangelicals explains the widespread (and bi-partisan) support of Israel in America simply lacks reality. In fact, both parties support Israel (despite the recient and very personal fracas between Obama and Bibi) and for the same reason - support for Israel is strong in the American public generally. It’s a rhetorical tactic: ‘people support Israel because they are crazy fundies’, rather than ‘a certain percentage of crazy fundies support Israel’. It is no doubt comforting to think of one’s opponents as, basically, motivated by nutso motives, but it is a bad and self-defeating idea to distory reality in this manner. > [@](#): > > Much of the US’s policies in the middle-east aren’t directly related to Israel, but the US support of Israel was a major factor (if not _the_ factor) in the US being the enemy of choice of the various radical groups pre-9/11. Without it, 9/11 probably wouldn’t have happened which means most of the US’s entanglements in the region this century also wouldn’t have happened. Easily disproved nonsense. Bin Laden was quite explicit in what he viewed as America’s worst “offence” - and it was its alleged “occupation” of … Saudi Arabia! [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/military-july-dec96-fatwa\_1996/](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/military-july-dec96-fatwa_1996/) > [@](#): > > The latest and the greatest of these aggressions, incurred by the Muslims since the death of the Prophet (ALLAH’S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) is the occupation of the land of the two Holy Places -the foundation of the house of Islam, the place of the revelation, the source of the message and the place of the noble Ka’ba, the Qiblah of all Muslims- by the armies of the American Crusaders and their allies. (We bemoan this and can only say: “No power and power acquiring except through Allah”). In his “Letter to America”, support for Israel was just _one_ of the _many_ “offences” Bin Laden felt that America was guilty of. Support for existing Arab nations, whose continued existance prevents the establishment of Sharia-law states, is of equal (if not more) importance: > [@](#): > > You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon. > > (c) Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis; > > (i) These governments prevent our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah, using violence and lies to do so. > > (ii) These governments give us a taste of humiliation, and places us in a large prison of fear and subdual. > > (iii) These governments steal our Ummah’s wealth and sell them to you at a paltry price. > > (iv) These governments have surrendered to the Jews, and handed them most of Palestine, acknowledging the existence of their state over the dismembered limbs of their own people. > > (v) The removal of these governments is an obligation upon us, and a necessary step to free the Ummah, to make the Shariah the supreme law and to regain Palestine. And our fight against these governments is not separate from out fight against you. > **[Removed: document](https://www.theguardian.com/info/2023/nov/15/removed-document)** In short, for America to have avoided his wrath, it would have to stop supporting Arab nations (as well as Israel) - and the worst ‘offence’ clearly was supporting Saudi Arabia (where, as you may recall, Bin Laden is from, as well as most of the 9/11 hijackers - so it only makes sense that he feels most sorely about that). Al of this is well known and uncontroversial. The notion that the US troubles with the region all stem from Israel is an absurdity not supported by facts - once again, it is a self-serving distortion, based on a kernel only of truth (Bin Laden, like most Islamicists, indeed hates Israel). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858/40 "2015-05-01T19:12:06Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Greasy Jack: > > So, the US decreases its carbon emissions, and in response, Israel increases its [Korban](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban) emissions? Hilarious! But it’s pretty impossible to rebuild the Temple on Temple Mount, no? Why not Mt Shiloh? Or someplace right outside the City? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-repubs-do-if-israel-decided-to-fight-climate-change/718858.md?page=3)