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Source: https://jcfa.org/from-1776-to-jerusalem-zion-and-the-american-story/
The Idea of Zion and the American Story
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Dr. Steven Windmueller - Zion has functioned in American culture as both a spiritual symbol and a framework for national identity, shaping how Americans understand purpose, chosenness, and destiny. From early colonial theology through presidential rhetoric, Jewish experience, and Christian religious movements, the idea evolved from metaphor to concrete political and religious engagement with Israel. Jewish Americans often viewed the U.S. itself as a form of Zion, while Christian movements increasingly tied biblical interpretation to support for a Jewish homeland. Over time, these religious and cultural ideas merged with strategic, political, and democratic partnerships between the U.S. and Israel. The writer, Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, is a fellow of the Jerusalem Center.