I think some historical context is in order. Three and four and five generations ago, the Jews who came to the United States from Eastern Europe and Russia did so in good part because of persecution under the guise of Christianity. History is littered with this, going back many centuries. For the older generation this persecution was experienced first hand. I know that personally an entire branch of my family from Hungary was completely eliminated by such persecution, save a single person.
Now, I personally know that American Christianity is innocent in the most meaningful sense of wanting to do violence to us. But this is only because I am reasonably well versed in both Christianity and Islam; for others this is not necessarily the case. While the evangelism may be innocent, the people on the receiving end often do not know this and associate it with the historical memory in Europe. This is where the hostility comes from.
I will not make their argument for them, because I do not share it. I am simply explaining what I know of the context and the way evangelism is often perceived. In reality, most evangelism is received is to ignore it. Evangelists differ in persistence, however, and some exceed the bounds of civility.
I will however make the argument that Judaism is as thoroughly woven into the fabric of this nation as is Christianity and is as American a philosophy as any other, and on both religious and patriotic grounds it should be respected.
I know where the threat is - to all of us. Heck, I was personally, or impersonally as it were, a target of the 1993 WTC attack.
I can't disagree with anything you stated in 126. I kinda even suspected that whatever suspicions some Jews may have towared the Christian Right in this country is based more on European history than anything that has happened in the US.
There has no doubt been anti-semitism in the US but it seems to be confined to pockets rather than permeating the entire culture as is the case again today in Europe as it has been in the past. I believe a large part of the reason America seems to be immune to the anti-Semitism which is again sweeping large parts of the globe is due to Fundamental Protestantism. They tend to interpret the Bible very literally and at the same time view the Bible as the final authority on all issues pertaining to how one is to live and what constitutes truth. Holding to this strict and some would say simplistic view of Scripture I believe has served them and America well. By clinging to the Bible I believe they have been able to avoid some of the philosophies that have seduced other "Christian" cultures in the past. That's not to say that fundamentalists can't get off track but I can't think of a better formula for maintaining the proper course than adherence to the Bible. I believe our view of the Bible is the reason much of Europe considers us to be nothing more than superstitious, simple minded hillbillies.