Home court advantage: Religion and the Israel Lobby I submit for your consideration that the real secret to the sensational success of the Israel Lobby is the religious home court advantage it enjoys in the west and most particularly in America. This advantage is diffused effectively throughout the generality of western society but nowhere is it more damaging than among ranks of the so-called progressive groups. The religious factor is avoided plague-like by progressives because they are singularly loathe to consider religion as a factor in any issue, preferring instead the safer waters of political, class or economic terms. They shift uncomfortably in their seats and their eyes dart back and forth nervously when the issue of religion comes up unless of course they are called upon to excoriate Muslim treatment of women or decry Falwellian dispensationalism in which case they breathe a sign of relief and heave to. This willingness to castigate “unenlightened” theologies not only smacks of racism and elitism but it also neatly frees progressives from examining their own theologies and how they might skew their ability to think and act in a principled manner.....Full essay available at Dissident Voice  ¶ 10:29 AM