Christian Right Steps Up Pro-Israel Lobbying
By Bill Berkowitz
Over the past two decades, as the Christian Right has grown in
political
power in the United States, there has been a parallel growth in
support for
Israel. Organizations made up of conservative evangelical and
Jewish leaders
have been founded, and millions of dollars have been raised and
donated to
charities in Israel.
Now, a new group plans to take it up a notch, becoming a significant
presence in any political policy debates involving Israel.
Last week, while the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict continued to escalate,
Christians United for Israel (CUFI) - an organization founded less
than six
months ago by Texas evangelist Rev. John C. Hagee, pastor of the
18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and the
author of
Jerusalem Countdown, a 2006 book about a nuclear-armed Iran -
rolled into
Washington for its first major get-together.
More than 3,400 delegates from across the United States attended the
inaugural meeting.
CUFI kicked off the gathering on July 19 with its "A Night to Honor
Israel"
banquet at the grand ballroom in the Washington Hilton. The
festivities
attracted a number of high-profile Israeli and U.S. political leaders,
including Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, retired Israeli defense
chief
Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken
Mehlman.
According to a report posted at Israpundit, Hagee read greetings from
President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Bush
commented: "God bless and stand by the people of Israel and God
bless the
United States."
Olmert's letter referred to CUFI's "'bold stand at this crisis
time,' and
the group's acknowledgment of Israel's biblical 'birthright.'"
The following day, at a well-attended press conference, Hagee said
that "The
dots are there to be connected, and it is not some big thing called
terrorism. It is Islamic fascism ... all of the various things and
forces
that we've seen around the world are not merely hot spots but they
are all
part of a theme - a war against Western civilization."
The news conference was followed by a trip to Capitol Hill to lobby
congressional representatives.
While other organizations have mostly talked the talk, Hagee's CUFI
has set
out a bold agenda and it appears to have the resources and political
connections to walk the walk: CUFI intends to not only establish a
visible
presence in hundreds of cities throughout all 50 states, but it
also intends
to recruit activists to lobby on behalf of Israel.
In addition, CUFI plans to set up an "Israel Rapid Response"
network which
through e-mail, faxes, and phone calls will make its voice heard by
elected
officials.
To move CUFI's agenda from the planning stage to direct action, Hagee
brought David Brog, a Washington insider, on board as the
organization's
executive director. The hiring of Brog, who is Jewish, the former
chief of
staff for Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter and the author
of the
recently published book Standing With Israel: Why Christians
Support the
Jewish State, was a shrewd and politically savvy move.
In a recent interview, Brog noted that he had "admired" Hagee "from
afar,"
and he explained why, as a Conservative Jew, he would work for a
Christian
organization: "I believe this is the most important thing I could
do not
only for Israel but for Judeo-Christian civilization today, which
is under
threat from radical Islam."
In the preface to his book, Brog establishes his credentials by
maintaining
that he is "not a Messianic Jew or a Jew for Jesus" and that he
doesn't
"believe that the Messiah has ever appeared on Earth." He writes
that he
"embrace[s]" his "Jewish faith and seek[s] knowledge of my Creator
through
the paths and texts provided to me by my Jewish ancestors." He also
points
out that while he doesn't "observe all of the Halacha [Jewish law],
[he
does] recognize the Halacha as a central component of my religion."
While many in the Jewish community have certainly appreciated the
support
evangelical Christians have given Israel, many Jews still have deep
reservations about the Christian evangelicals' mission to convert
Jews to
Christianity, and their adherence to End-Times beliefs that
essentially
leave Jews behind.
In a press release issued by the Institute for Public Accuracy, the
Rev. Dr.
Donald Wagner, a professor at North Park University in Chicago and a
founding member of the Institute for the Study of Christian
Zionism, pointed
out that Christian Zionists see "the modern state of the country-
region
Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and thus deserving of
political, financial, and religious support."
Referring to the current Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Wagner added
that "Many
of the Christian Zionists may interpret this as a prelude to the
battle of
Armageddon and the final end-times scenario."
In a late-May interview with the American Thinker's Ed Lasky, Brog
stated
that "Christians who support Israel do not expect any kind of quid
pro quo
from the Jewish community. ... Evangelical support for Israel is a
genuine
expression of Christian love for the Jews and respect for God's
promises to
them, and it comes with no strings attached."
"That being said, it is important to note that Christians are human
beings
with normal human emotions. When they spend a great deal of time
supporting
Israel and fighting anti-Semitism, they are disappointed when these
efforts
are ignored by the Jewish community, and when the only time they
hear from
representatives of the Jewish community is to attack them because
of their
positions on social issues."
"This cold reception doesn't sway evangelicals from their course of
support
for Israel. But it does cause a certain disappointment, a certain
feeling of
rejection, that I think is unfortunate. We in the Jewish community
should
try to express greater appreciation for what our Christian friends
are doing
on our behalf."
In the preface to his book - written before becoming CUFI executive
director
- Brog gives Christian Zionists his stamp of approval, stating that
he was
"convinced that the evangelical Christians who support Israel today
are
nothing less than the theological heirs of the righteous Gentiles
who sought
to save Jews from the Holocaust."
CUFI has drawn its share of criticism as well. In a recent commentary,
ultraconservative pundit Pat Buchanan wrote, "One wonders if these
Christians care about what is happening to our Christian brethren
in Lebanon
and Gaza, who have had all power cut off by Israeli air strikes, an
outlawed
form of collective punishment that has left them with no
sanitation, rotting
food, impure water, and days without light or electricity in the
horrible
heat of July."
*
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