Christian Zionists

Note: If you have problems viewing the video, you can watch it on Google by clicking here.

July 18, 2008. JewsOnFirst.org is proud to present our video, Pastor John Hagee: A Preoccupation with the Jews. Pastor John Hagee heads Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a leading Christian Zionist organization, and as its leader enjoys the support of major Jewish organizations. With narration by Ed Asner, our video shows a number of instances in which Hagee's understanding of Jews and Judaism should give cause for concern.

Hagee declares that Hitler was "part Jewish." He says that Jews attribute special healing powers to the "spittle" of their first-born sons. He repeats anti-semitic canards about Jewish control of the financial system.We hope this video will prompt rabbis and Jewish organizational leaders to reevaluate their relationships with Hagee and CUFI. (There is more on Hagee and CUFI below on this page.)

John Hagee's Christians United for Israel Conference Mixes End-Times Prophecies With Lobbying

JewsOnFirst.org Reporters Were Inside CUFI's Washington Conference

by JewsOnFirst.org, July 24, 2008

Even though televangelist John Hagee barred reporters from the conference of his Christians United for Israel (CUFI), reporters for JewsOnFirst.org covered most of the sessions of the conference at the Washington Convention Center, which concluded yesterday.

According to a document distributed at the conference, "CUFI is a national, grassroots organization which unites all pro-Israel Christians in America under one umbrella." JewsOnFirst.org estimates that as many as 3,000 people attended the conference. Please click here for our report, which includes video and audio clips of the conference.

Christian Zionist Leader Hagee in Unprecedented Appearance at Reform Temple

By Robin Podolsky, March 17, 2008. Special to JewsOnFirst.org

On Tuesday, March 11, the Reverend John C. Hagee spoke as a guest at Stephen S. Wise, a Reform Temple in West Los Angeles—the first time, the Reverend said that he had spoken at a Reform Temple in more than 20 years. The event was billed as a ‘dialogue’ between Reverend Hagee and Rabbi David Woznica, and the format was that of a long interview in which Rabbi Woznica asked questions that Reverend Hagee answered. The audience had no opportunity to ask questions of its own.

When asked to identify himself theologically, Reverend Hagee said that he is Evangelical, which means that he “reads scripture” and then simply “does it.” He said that he is not fundamentalist, because he does not wish to be identified with the sort of people who handle snakes. (This was not the only time when Reverend Hagee appeared to cater to a prejudice that he expected his audience to share. At one point, he invited the mixed audience of Jews and evangelicals to commiserate with the difficulties of winning Texas “rednecks” to the task of combating anti-Semitism; he also described a rushed, hurried prayer as being like that of “a Presbyterian late for lunch.”) Continue.

Christian Zionist group meeting in Washington downplays end-times prophecy

CUFI lobbying conference soft-pedals apocalyptic talk, drills on "talking points"

by Jane Hunter, JewsOnFirst.org, July 17, 2007

Washington DC Even though it was closed to the news media, a "Talking Points" briefing at the Christians United for Israel conference this afternoon lacked the characteristic apocalytpic talk about Iran sparking the battle of Armageddon. Predictions that Israel and the Jews will figure prominently in an end-times scenario culminating with the return of Jesus have been staples of CUFI's leader, televangelist John Hagee.

CUFI, the nation's newest and most active Christian Zionist group, brought several thousand people to its second annual lobbying conference this week. Almost one thousand people filled the room at a hotel across from the National Zoo for the Talking Points briefing; an announcement suggested that more people were in a second room. Continue.

Leading evangelicals counter Christian Zionists with call for Palestinian State

August 2, 2007. More than 30 prominent evangelical Christians have sent a letter to President George Bush supporting a Palestinian state as part of a two-state Middle East peace settlement. The letter comes ten days after the leading Christian Zionist group, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), convened in Washington and denounced Bush's new initiative on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Obliquely referring to CUFI in their letter, the evangelicals said it was "a serious misperception...that all American evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution." Please click here for links to documents and reports on the letter and CUFI's response.

Coalition of Evangelicals Voices Support for Palestinian State

In recent years, conservative evangelicals who claim a Biblical mandate to protect Israel have built a bulwark of support for the Jewish nation -- sending donations, denouncing its critics and urging it not to evacuate settlements or forfeit territory.

Now more than 30 evangelical leaders are stepping forward to say these efforts have given the wrong impression about the stance of many, if not most, American evangelicals. Continue.

JewsOnFirst Conversation: Rabbis discuss Reform Judaism leader's call to shun CUFI events

by Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, JewsOnFirst.org, May 25, 2007

Rabbi Beliak hosts a recorded conversation reviewing the May 18th Forward op-ed by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, discouraging cooperation with Christians United for Israel's "Nights to Honor Israel." Participating in the conversation are Rabbi Paula Reimers of Congregation Beth Israel in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Rabbi Jonathan Biatch of Temple Beth El in Madison, Wisconsin. Rabbi Biatch declined to participate in a recent CUFI "Night." We posted his sermon explaining his reasons for not participating. Rabbi Reimers is a member of the JewsOnFirst advisory board. Please use the player or click here to listen to the conversation.

Leader of Reform Judiasm discourages cooperation with Christians United for Israel

High-impact op-ed published days before CUFI event in Washington DC

by JewsOnFirst.org, May 21, 2007

In a major development in the debate raging over participating in Christian Zionist "Nights to Honor Israel," the leader of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, has sharply criticized the involvement of local Jewish federations in the events. Yoffie, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, wrote in the national Jewish weekly Forward that the federations' cooperation with Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is alienating the upcoming generation of Jewish community leaders.

Yoffie's op-ed appeared the Friday before two Conservative movement rabbis took part in a May 20th CUFI "Night to Honor Israel" in the Washington DC area. One of those rabbis told JewsOnFirst that he was participating despite his disagreement with the organizers' politics, because of their support of Israel. Continue.

When We Let John Hagee Speak for Us

Opinion article by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, Forward, May 18, 2007

"The American Jewish community must decide: Does it want to connect young Jews to Israel, or does it intend to drive them away?" asks Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, in this much discussed op-ed. "These future Jewish leaders are not hostile to Israel, and many have positive memories from Birthright or youth-movement trips, but Israel today is a marginal part of their Jewish consciousness," he writes, continuing:

There is no single explanation for their disaffection, but surely one important reason is the increasingly right-wing and even reactionary tone that some elements of the organized community have adopted in their pronouncements on Israel. American Jews have always been moderate in their views on Israel, and this is especially true for the young.
Of course, the fact that some national and umbrella bodies express hard-line sentiments that do not reflect majority opinion is not new. What is new and deeply disturbing is that local communal bodies are now following their lead. Proof of this trend, as reported in these pages earlier this month, is the willingness of some local Jewish federations to support and endorse events sponsored by Pastor John Hagee and his lobbying group, Christians United for Israel.

Yoffie argues that young Jews are repelled by intolerance such as Hagee expresses toward Muslims and gays. He urges "our federations to conduct broad-based discussions to determine if a consensus really exists on endorsing Christians United for Israel events." Click here.

Christian Support For Israel

Like many Jews who worry about Israel in these dangerous times, we are ambivalent about the growing involvement of some Christian Zionists in the pro-Israel cause. Leaders like Pastor John Hagee offer a counterweight to “mainline” Protestant churches that claim to care about Middle East peace, but whose one-sided positions and indifference to Israel’s security makes peace even more elusive. Continue.

Churches for Middle East Peace Thanks Rep. Betty McCollum

Churches for Middle East Peace wrote Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-MN-4) today thanking her for her April 25th letter to a local Minnesota pastor regarding an event organized by Christians United For Israel (CUFI) and for her work on behalf of Israeli-Palestinian peace. In her letter, Rep. McCollum brought attention to statements by CUFI founder, Pastor John Hagee, that demonstrate "extremism, bigotry and intolerance" and expressed her support, in contrast to Pastor Hagee, for "working for the ‘roadmap for peace’ in the Middle East, Israel living side-by-side in peace and security with an independent Palestinian state." Click here to read the PDF document.

George Washington Against "Christian Zionism"

By Stan Moody, Christian Policy Institute, April 24, 2007

"George Washington, arguably the most effective of the 'Founding Fathers,' offered in his farewell address a few thoughts on the dangers of ideological ties or antipathies with any nation," writes Moody, who intersperses this essay on Christian Zionists, with Washington's thoughts on keeping passion -- and religion -- out of foreign policy. Continue.

Pushback on Armageddon

by Jane Hunter and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, JewsOnFirst.org, March 7, 2007

As the nation turns against war in the Middle East, Christian Zionists continue their agitation for attacking Iran as a way to hasten Armageddon, the end-time. And the most prominent Jewish organizations continue to embrace Christian Zionists as supporters of Israel, which Christian Zionists believe will be the scene of the end-times return of Jesus.

Meanwhile, some Christians are warning of the consequences of the Christian Zionists' agenda. Dr. Stan Moody, author of Countdown to Armageddon, which we've just posted, writes with concern about a fundamentalist drive "to focus American hegemony on the Middle East to orchestrate the return of Christ."

The Jewish organizations are silent about the fundamentalist Christian domestic agenda of their Christian Zionists allies. But that does not mean that Jews around the country are at ease with it. Continue.

Jewish-Christian Difficulties in Challenging Christian Zionism

by Rev. Robert O. Smith, February 6, 2007, introduced here by Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak of JewsOnFirst.org

"In our post-Holocaust era, many Jews have identified with the State of Israel as their last line of defense should the community again come under the threat of eradication. Most Christians, especially in North America, are unable to begin fathoming this possibility. Their communities simply have not been under such a threat."

So begins Rev. Robert O. Smith in this essay. Writing as a committed Christian and academic, Smith reminds Christians that, to borrow Rabbi Leo Baeck's phrase, "Jews look at history with old eyes." (Baeck [1873 - 1956] was the leader of German Jews until 1942, when he was taken to Terezin concentration camp.) For Baeck, Jewish memory served as a cautionary and an antidote to despair. Smith is cautioning Christians that, no matter how well intentioned their theology, there is a complexity that must be acknowledged and they must be patient in building their post-Holocaust relationship with Jews.

Currently Jews are seeking political support in an increasingly hostile world for Israel. Many Jewish leaders are not hearing Christians who offer responsible criticism of the Israeli government's policies. Instead they are embracing other Christians, Christian Zionists, who are seeking their vision of the return of Jesus through the end-times battles.

Jews reading Smith's essay might wonder, which is better: The old pre-World War II "replacement" theology, in which Christians take over Jews' role as the "chosen" people -- or the new Christian Zionist theology? Replacement theology, teaches that Jews do not have a role in history. They are superceded and superfluous. Christian Zionism grants Jews a temporary "stay," until the demand for Jews to cease being Jews -- conversion -- is issued by a returning Jesus. Smith writes that most Jews will say neither choice is a good one. He seems to be searching for a third alternative on which to build a just mutuality for Jews and Christians. Please click here to read Smith's essay.

The Dangers of Christian Zionists: Conversation with Mel White

by JewsOnFirst.org, February 6, 2007

The Rev. Dr. Mel White, a co-founder of Soulforce and author of Religion Gone Bad, talks with Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak of JewsOnFirst about Christian Zionists -- and in particular Rev. John Hagee, the leader of Christians United for Israel. White spent years working for some of the biggest names on the religious right before coming out as gay. He attends the church of one of his former employers, Rev. Jerry Falwell, where he has seen Hagee preach. White sums up Hagee's hawkish position on Israel: Jews and Palestinians "can't reconcile because God wants that part of the world to burst into flames," presaging the return of Jesus. White also notes that Hagee is connects a personal prosperity gospel to the passage in Genesis in which God promises to bless those who bless Israel. Later in the conversation, White and Beliak discuss how fundamentalist leaders like Hagee work under our radar to reach millions attuned to their message. Please use the player or click here to listen to the 20-minute conversation.

This is JewsOnFirst's second conversation with White. Click here for his discussion about televangelist Pat Robertson's predictions of a terrorist attack.

Countdown to Armageddon!

by Stan Moody for JewsOnFirst.org, March 7, 2007

I believe that history will mark September 11, 2001, as the date that America lost its spirit, but for reasons that have little to do with terrorism. That was the date that galvanized a vocal segment of American Evangelicals to forsake their God and look to politics to implement their agenda – America as a theocracy and the Middle East as its final battleground.

The 2006 national election was a small victory for the voice of reason, but objective reason is no worthy warrior in the battle against ideas and ideologies. Whether in religion or politics, unless you appeal with the passion of belief, you cannot speak to the hearts of people longing for deliverance. Continue.

CUFI pleads for support of Hagee in wake of McCain's rejection

Christians United for Israel director says "attacks" on Hagee intended to "silence" Christian Zionists

JewsOnFirst has obtained and posted a copy of an email that Christians United for Israel Executive Director David Brog sent out on the Memorial Day holiday. Brog states: "Pastor Hagee has come under an angry attack by many in the media. They have ignored his fifty years of ministry. They have overlooked his lifetime of loving-kindness and charity. And they have horribly twisted his decades of zealous support for Israel and the Jewish people. And," continues Brog, "make no mistake about it, many who attack Pastor Hagee seek not only to hurt him, but to silence all Christian friends of Israel." Brog encourages CUFI supporters to respond by registering for the group's annual conference in Washington. Please click here.

On the Road to Armageddon

How evangelicals became Israel's best friend

In a recent Time/CNN poll, more than one-third of Americans said that since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, they have been thinking more about how current events might be leading to the end of the world.

While only 36 percent of all Americans believe that the Bible is God's Word and should be taken literally, 59 percent say they believe that events predicted in the Book of Revelation will come to pass. Almost one out of four Americans believes that 9/11 was predicted in the Bible, and nearly one in five believes that he or she will live long enough to see the end of the world. Even more significant for this study, over one-third of those Americans who support Israel report that they do so because they believe the Bible teaches that the Jews must possess their own country in the Holy Land before Jesus can return.

Millions of Americans believe that the Bible predicts the future and that we are living in the last days. Their beliefs are rooted in dispensationalism, a particular way of understanding the Bible's prophetic passages, especially those in Daniel and Ezekiel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. They make up about one-third of America's 40 or 50 million evangelical Christians and believe that the nation of Israel will play a central role in the unfolding of end-times events. In the last part of the 20th century, dispensationalist evangelicals become Israel's best friends-an alliance that has made a serious geopolitical difference. Continue.

Evangelical Split Seen Fueling Giuliani Bid

Rudy benefiting from tough talk on terror, which is emerging as key ‘values’ issue for conservative Christians.

A behind-the-scenes struggle among politically active Evangelicals could boost former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s 2008 presidential ambitions.

Some Christian conservative leaders now say the global fight against Islamic extremism trumps the social issues, such as opposition to gay rights and abortion, that pushed the religious right into the political big leagues — a fight they depict as a to-the-death clash of civilizations.

Giuliani’s tough talk and artful positioning on the issue and carefully nurtured 9/11 reputation have won him strong support from that faction despite a personal history that offends many “values voters” and his relatively moderate positions on hot-button issues like abortion. Continue.

Rabbis Ban Participation in ICEJ Conference

by Hillel Fendel, Arutz Sheva News (Israeli settler news organization), September 17, 2007

(IsraelNN.com) The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has issued a ruling welcoming the Christians arriving for the annual Feast of Tabernacles conference - and banning Jews from participating.

Feast of Tabernacles is sponsored by the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem, self-described as the world's largest Christian Zionist organization. The annual get-together is a week-long multicultural event held during the Sukkot holiday, which begins this year on Sept. 27. It draws tens of thousands of Christians from around the world for a week of teaching, worship, and prayer, and culminates with a march through the streets of Jerusalem. Continue.

'Convert-or-Die' Minister to Lead Visit to IDF Army Base

by Hillel Fendel, Arutz Sheva News (Israeli settler news organization), September 20, 2007

(IsraelNN.com) A Christian group led by a minister who teaches that ten million Jews are destined to be killed plans to visit an IDF base next week. A Jerusalem City Council member is trying to stop the visit.

The group leader is Richard Booker, a Christian minister and the Founder/Director of the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies who will be participating in the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles extravaganza this coming Sukkot holiday. First, however, he will lead a tour of devoted followers on a tour of northern Israel - including a visit to an Israeli army base. Continue.

A New General for God's Army?

OAKLAND, Calif. - In recent appearances on two U.S. cable news networks, he was slinging and zinging - the well-rehearsed pitchman for the Biblical "End Times" was dead certain that "Iran is going to have to be attacked" before 2008.

He also claimed that during a recent visit to Iraq, he was told by intelligence sources that Iran had given the green light to Hezbollah to unleash suicide bombers in the United States this summer.

Mike Evans is a shock jock for Armageddon, a cheerleader for the apocalypse. These days, the bestselling author and head of the "Jerusalem Prayer Team", a U.S.-based pro-Israeli Christian evangelical organization, is at the top of his game. On Jun. 3, his new book, "The Final Move Beyond Iraq: The Final Solution While The World Sleeps", made it onto the New York Times bestsellers' list at number one in the paperback category.

Evans's publisher bills him as "one of America's top experts on the Middle East" and "a personal confidant to most of Israel's top leaders." He has several bestselling books under his belt, including "Beyond Iraq: The Next Move" and "The American Prophecies". Continue.

Growing Acceptance Seen Of Fiery Pastor

Jewish mainstream rushing to embrace Hagee and his controversial brand of pro-Israel activism.

James D. Besser, New York Jewish Week, May 4, 2007 This report quotes JewsOnFirst.org co-director Haim Dov Beliak

Rabbi Jack Moline is a Jewish centrist in almost every respect. He is leader in the Conservative movement, a crusader against intermarriage and a fierce opponent of the religious right’s growing influence on American life.

And the Washington-area rabbi is on the board of the Interfaith Alliance, a relatively new group that has taken the lead in holding the line on church-state questions. Continue.

As Evangelical Firebrand Hooks Up With Federations, Liberals Speak Out

Pastor John Hagee, the firebrand evangelical Christian minister from San Antonio, Texas, had thousands of pro-Israel activists standing, clapping and chanting at this year’s annual convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Hagee’s virtuoso performance at the conference in March underscored his emergence as a linchpin in the growing political alliance between Jewish and evangelical pro-Israel activists. Less well known is that Hagee, who in February 2006 founded the first Christian pro-Israel lobbying group — Christians United for Israel — is working to extend his influence beyond power centers in Washington, to Jewish and evangelical communities across the country.

In little more than a year since its inception, Hagee’s Christian Zionist group — with an almost entirely volunteer staff of 13 regional directors, 46 state directors and more than 85 city directors — has hosted 40 dinners in cities nationwide, well-attended by Jews and evangelicals alike. To date, the events, billed as “Nights to Honor Israel,” have raised more than $10 million for charitable causes in the Jewish state. Continue.

Jews should embrace evangelicals despite their differences, group told

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Got a problem with evangelicals cozying up to the Jewish community? That’s perfectly understandable, their representatives say.

Two prominent representatives of the evangelical community who addressed a panel Sunday at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs’ annual plenum said that if Jews feel uncomfortable with evangelicals, the solution is to expand the dialogue, not limit it.

“Our community does not know how to dialogue,” said Susan Michael, U.S. director for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. “We are very good at preaching, we are very weak at dialogue.”

David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel, acknowledged missteps by evangelical Christians who appear overzealous in their embrace of the Jewish community. But, he added, evangelicals who have encountered Jews are much less likely to offend them. Continue.

'Jerusalem Post' Launches Christian Edition

Why is Israel's oldest English language daily courting American evangelicals? Tourism, along with that group's strong support for the state of Israel, has a lot to do with it.

Israel's oldest English language daily, The Jerusalem Post, has a new product. While across the world printed newspapers are declining in pages, consolidating or going out of business altogether, The Jerusalem Post came out earlier this past year with the Jerusalem Post Christian edition.

The Jerusalem Post introduces itself as a widely recognized and trusted source for news on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world," and suggests that now, it is "offering Israel's Christian friends a special edition published monthly dedicated to their unique interests." Continue.

Christian Zionist leader mobilizes against the Iraq Study Group: warning evangelicals to "Beware Baker"

By H. Malone for JewsOnFirst.org, December 19, 2006

Televangelist John Hagee recently added his voice to the conservative chorus slamming the findings of the Iraq Study Group. Hagee, founder of the Christian Zionist lobbying group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), emailed a warning to his evangelical supporters saying they should "beware" the group's chairman, former Secretary of State Jim Baker.

Hagee slammed Baker for supposedly promoting the position "that America's problems can be settled if the Israel-Arab affair is settled." Hagee also claimed that, as Secretary of State in the George H.W. Bush administration, Baker enlisted Syria's support for the first Iraq war by giving Damascus "a free hand" in Lebanon. Continue.

Jewish group honors Hagee, Butler for pro-Israel efforts

During a recent "Night to Honor Israel," the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews presented its Ambassador's Award to TV evangelists Pastor John Hagee and Bishop Keith Butler for their dedication and service to the Jewish nation and people.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) has presented its highest honor, the Ambassador's Award, to American television evangelists Pastor John Hagee of Cornerstone Church of San Antonio, Texas, and Bishop Keith Butler of Word of Faith International Christian Center of Southfield, Michigan.

The Fellowship, which works to promote understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews and to build support for Israel and the Jewish people, made the presentations during the January 7 "Night to Honor Israel," held at the Word of Faith Center. The award from the pro-Israel group and its founder and president, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, cites Hagee's and Butler's outstanding support, leadership, and dedication to Israel. Continue

As Bush's War Strategy Shifts to Iran, Christian Zionists Gear Up for the Apocalypse

Is Bush pushing for a second war or a Second Coming?

Christian Zionists are dancing the hora in San Antonio. Armageddon appears to be at hand.

As George W. Bush sets his sights on Iran, even Republicans are wondering how to constitutionally contain the trigger-happy king. But for an influential group of Christian fundamentalists -- White House allies that garner not only feel-good meetings with the President's liaisons to the "faith-based" community but also serious discussions with Bush's national security staff -- an attack on Iran is just what God ordered.

Biblical literalists, convened together through San Antonio megapastor John Hagee's Christians United for Israel (CUFI), are now seeing the fruits of their yearlong campaign to convince the Bush administration to attack Iran. Continue

Poll: One in Four Says Jesus May Return in 2007

Twenty-five percent of Americans believe it is at least somewhat likely that Jesus Christ will return to Earth in 2007, a new poll from the Associated Press and AOL News shows.

The poll, conducted by the international polling firm Ipsos, looked at the public's predictions about what will occur in 2007.

Pollsters found that 11 percent of those surveyed said it is "very likely" that Jesus will return to Earth this year. An additional 14 percent said it was "somewhat likely." Continue.

Christians seek recall of Left Behind video game

A video game that arms young people to kill those who resist conversion to fundamentalist Christianity hits the market just in time for Christmas gift-giving. Was this bad judgment or was it deliberate?

The creator of the game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, makes clear that it was entirely intentional -- a smart business move to ride the $500 million surge of profit for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ with a new genre, "God Games." Left Behind Games, a publicly traded company, also anticipates a ready market among the millions who bought 63 million Left Behind novels; the game company holds the license to create games based on the books.

In contrast to the meetings, previews, media debates and warnings that preceded Mel Gibson's film, Left Behind: Eternal Forces has rolled out discreetly, apparently avoiding Jewish scrutiny. A coalition of progressive Christian groups held a news conference last week to warn of the game's perniciousness and call for its withdrawal from the market. Continue.

Separated by faith, clergy bond over Israel

Pastors, rabbis from Nashville tour Holy Land

They disagree on a multitude of core beliefs, but not this one: the preservation of Israel.

A group of Nashville rabbis and evangelical Christian pastors have somewhat different motivations for their budding alliance, which this week has taken them on an unusual joint tour of Christian and Jewish holy sites in Israel.

For the Christian pastors, it's their view of Israel and the Jewish people as integral to God's design for Christians and in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Continue.

Effect of socially conservative 'values voters' in question

By Peggy Fikac and Gary Scharrer, The San Antonio Express-News, November 5, 2006

"Gov. Rick Perry, campaigning for re-election, sat on a stage at the left hand of San Antonio minister John Hagee on Sunday as the televangelist urged the estimated 90 million viewers of his ministry to go vote Tuesday." So begins this report which also quotes Hagee saying "If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God Almighty through the authority of Christ and his blood, listen to me, I'm going to say this very plainly -- you are going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket." Gov. Perry said his faith agreed with that statement. Continue.

Christian Zionism? Is it good for North American Jews and good for Israel?

Speech by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism at the Central Conference of American Rabbis Convention, April 2, 2008

Let us imagine the following: A group of Christian Americans affirm their deep love for the State of Israel. This love, rooted in their Evangelical Christian faith, is expressed through concrete acts of support and commitment. While remaining resolutely non-political, these Americans visit Israel whenever they can, condemn acts of terror directed at Israeli citizens, provide generous financial support to Israelis in need, and are the first to raise their voices when Israel is under military attack.

If this were to happen, what should we as Jewish Americans be saying to this group of our fellow citizens? The answer, it seems to me, is quite simple. We should be saying: Thank you.

I don’t deny that I would have some concerns. Knowing something about their religious beliefs, I would wonder if they were trying to bolster the Jewish state in order to fulfill their prophecies of Armageddon and the Second Coming. And I would wonder too at what it might mean to make common cause with those who oppose both a woman’s right to choose and basic justice for gays and lesbians. Continue.

Leader of Reform Judaism's warns against embracing Christian Zionists

Rabbi Yoffie's speech in Cincinnati underscored the danger to American Jews

This past Wednesday, April 2 Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, spoke in Cincinnati with great courage and insight at the Annual Central Conference for American Rabbis. Debating Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Yoffie was unsparing in expressing his concern about the risks and dangers inherent in the thriving Jewish partnerships with-Christian Zionists such as John Hagee, leader of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and Rod Parsley, who heads the World Harvest megachurch in Columbus, Ohio and the international Breakthrough Ministries. Continue.

After their verbal sparring, Hagee and Yoffie may meet

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Now that they've called each other disrespectful, Rabbi Eric Yoffie and the Rev. John Hagee are ready to meet and discuss their differences -- respectfully.

Yoffie in a major speech April 2 called on Jews to dissociate themselves from Hagee and the organization he founded, Christians United for Israel, asserting that the pastor did not respect other faiths or the right of Israeli leaders to make territorial concessions.

Five days later Hagee, a San Antonio-based evangelical mega-church leader and arguably the country's most influential Christian Zionist, fired back in a conference call with reporters.

"Rabbi Yoffie’s speech demonstrates not only a lack of respect for me but a troubling lack of respect for the truth," he said Monday.

Hours after Hagee's media call, however, both men were sounding a more conciliatory note.

"I was told he was interested in meeting with me," said Yoffie, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, in an interview with JTA. "I'd be delighted to sit down and talk to him." Continue.

Gentler Hagee Seen Gaining New Traction

Shift in rhetoric having impact in pro-Israel community.

Despite withering criticism from the leader of the Reform movement, there is growing evidence that America’s leading Christian Zionist, Pastor John Hagee, is winning acceptance in pro-Israel circles. And some politicians are taking note.

While nervously distancing himself from the controversial Hagee’s endorsement when addressing other audiences, Sen. John McCain last week raised the Hagee connection in an interview with a Jewish newspaper. Continue.

Hagee answers Yoffie

Pastor John Hagee took 15 minutes today during his trip to Israel to hold a conference call with reporters from JTA, the Jerusalem Post, the Associated Press and the New York Times. Hagee, responding to questions that were submitted ahead of time, defended himself against Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Reform movement and other critics who accuse the mega-church leader of being anti-Catholic and bent on stopping Israeli peace moves. Continue to JTA, where you will find links to the written statement released by John Hagee and an audio of Hagee's statement and his prepared responses to questions submitted earlier. Please Click here.

Pastor Hagee and Israel

Letter to the Editor, New York Times, April 10, 2008, signed by Harold Tanner, James Tisch, Mort Zuckerman, Mel Salberg, Lester Pollack, Shoshana Cardin, Ken Bialkin (full text)

Re “For McCain, Little Talk of a Controversial Endorsement” (news article, April 8), about the Rev. John C. Hagee and the organization he founded, Christians United for Israel, and the reaction to his efforts on behalf of Israel:

Pastor Hagee has been a true friend of Israel for many years. Christians United for Israel is among the strongest supporters of Israel in the United States.

The signers of this letter have been chairmen of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and we appreciate and respect Pastor Hagee’s dedicated efforts and those of Christians United for Israel. Click here.

VOICES: Hagee, Yoffie and the Jews: Values Count

It has been a long time since I have read such a mean-spirited assessment of a Jewish leader's words as those that emanated from Michael Jacobs ("Reject Yoffie, Embrace Christian Zionists," April 18). I was in Cincinnati to hear Rabbi Eric Yoffie's remarks, and I would like to offer a slightly different, more balanced interpretation.

The column failed to mention the context of Rabbi Yoffie's remarks about evangelical Christian support for Israel. The program was a dialogue between Rabbi Yoffie and Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who has worked with many Christian Zionist groups for many years. Rabbi Yoffie did not issue a blanket condemnation of all Christian Zionists but rather was particularly critical of Pastor John Hagee's role in this movement. Continue.

VOICES: Reject Yoffie, Embrace Christian Zionists

Rabbi Eric Yoffie doesn't like Pastor John Hagee. That is clear after the president of the Union for Reform Judaism blasted the founder of Christians United for Israel specifically and Christian Zionists generally April 2.

That much of his speech at the Central Conference of American Rabbis convention in Cincinnati was unsurprising. Rabbi Yoffie has long tried to drive a wedge between Christian Zionists and at least Reform Jews, if not all American Jews. At the Reform biennial in Houston in 2005, he spent a portion of his State of the Movement sermon decrying the political ascendancy of the religious right and reminding the world that the left has its religiously motivated activists as well, led by the Reform movement's Religious Action Center. Continue.

For McCain, Little Talk of a Controversial Endorsement

When Senator John McCain won the endorsement of the Rev. John C. Hagee in February, his campaign hoped it would shore up his conservative credentials among evangelicals and build enthusiasm among a voting bloc that would be critical for him in November.

But since then, Mr. Hagee has been on the defensive over some of his views about Catholics and Jews, and he and Mr. McCain’s campaign have been silent about his endorsement.

The controversial endorsement points to Mr. McCain’s tenuous relationship with conservative evangelicals, a group that President Bush courted with tremendous success and that Republicans have come to view as vital to their prospects in many states. Continue.

US Evangelicals March Through Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) -- American televangelist John Hagee led several hundred flag-waving followers across Jerusalem on Monday, a colorful display of the growing alliance between Christian evangelicals and Israel.

Hagee, who calls himself a Christian Zionist, pledged his unconditional backing for the Jewish state. He also vehemently denied he is anti-Catholic, telling reporters that comments attributed to him were either false or mischaracterized. Continue.

Jewish Leader Calls Hagee 'Extremist'

(04-02) 17:19 PDT NEW YORK, (AP) --The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism said Wednesday that synagogues in the movement shouldn't work with the Rev. John Hagee, a Christian Zionist, calling him an "extremist" on Israeli policy who disparages other faiths.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said Hagee and his group, Christians United For Israel, reject any Israeli land concessions to achieve peace with the Palestinians. Continue.

"Allying with Christian Zionists is bad for Israel"

New York - "No, we cannot." We cannot cooperate with the Christian Zionists, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, told the annual conference of the movement's rabbis Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to copies of the speech distributed ahead of time to the press.

Not an easy thing to say, considering their powerful numbers and the depth of the Evangelicals' support for Israel. But Yoffie thinks it is important - not because of their stance on abortion, their policies against homosexuals or the fact they do not respect members of other religions.

These elements certainly add to the argument, particularly the last factor, but they are not the main reasons. "What they mean by support of Israel and what we mean by support of Israel are two very different things," Yoffie says, highlighting the real reason. Continue.

Reform leader: 'Christians for Israel' hurt country

As 1,000 Christians tour Israel with Christians United for Israel, the head of the Union for Reform Judaism called Wednesday night on the union to reject alliances with the group, which - he said - "advances their theology at the expense of Israel's security and well-being."

Addressing the annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rabbi Eric Yoffie addressed his disagreement with colleagues who say that the connection with Christians United for Israel is needed in a time where Israel needs all the support it can get.

"The concerns expressed here are reasonable," said Yoffie, "but I would draw precisely the opposite conclusion." Continue.

Are You Listening, Joe Lieberman?

Kudos to Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, who has publicly spoken out against Jewish political cooperation with those Evangelicals who label themselves "Christian Zionists," with their most prominent organization - Christians United for Israel - and with its leader, Rev. John Hagee. Yoffie's words:

The heart of Pastor Hagee's message is to be found in these words: "Stop giving the land away. The land belongs to you. Keep it." ...[M]ainstream Christian Zionists are, by their own admission, not "advocates" of Israel but "Biblical advocates" of Israel, and this means that they oppose any territorial concessions by the Government of Israel for any reason whatsoever. It follows that their vision of Israel rejects a two-state solution, rejects the possibility of a democratic Israel, and supports the permanent occupation of all Arab lands now controlled by Israel." Continue.

Move over Moses, Pastor Hagee is here

Senator Joseph Lieberman has compared him to Moses (note: McCain is "part Maccabeean" according to Joe).

"Pastor Hagee is a spiritual leader who personifies the words of the living God," according to Rabbi Aryeh Sheinberg of San Antonio (the rabbi is also here this week).

Ambassador Daniel Ayalon has told Pastor Hagee, "We love you because you are a man of God" (one wonders when Danny became so religious) Continue.

Rabbi Yoffie Excommunicates Pastor Hagee

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, seems to think Israel has too many allies in America. In particular, he believes that Israel can do without the support of evangelical Christians, and especially Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel.

At a convention of reform rabbis in Cincinnati this week, Yoffie lowered the boom on Hagee and urged Jews to no longer attend Hagee's series of "Nights for Israel", which have helped raise tens of millions of dollars for the Jewish state, and strengthened the connection between Jews and Evangelicals around the country.

Yoffie must think that the pro-Israel community has a lot of other places to turn for support in America. Maybe he is foolish enough to think the mainline Protestant churches will take up the slack. The problem is that while Evangelicals come to Washington to lobby Congress on behalf of a strong US Israel relationship, the mainline churches are busy passing resolutions calling for boycotts and divestment from Israel . Continue.

McCain Cuts Ties to Pastors Whose Talks Drew Fire

Senator John McCain on Thursday rejected the endorsements of two prominent evangelical ministers whose backing he had sought to shore up his credentials with religious conservatives.

Mr. McCain repudiated the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist, after a watchdog group released a recording of a sermon in which Mr. Hagee said Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God’s plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.

Later in the day, he also rejected the endorsement of the Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio, whose anti-Muslim sermons were broadcast on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday. Continue.

McCain Backer Hagee Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God's Will (AUDIO)

John Hagee, the controversial evangelical leader and endorser of Sen. John McCain, argued in a late 1990s sermon that the Nazis had operated on God's behalf to chase the Jews from Europe and shepherd them to Palestine. According to the Reverend, Adolph Hitler was a "hunter," sent by God, who was tasked with expediting God's will of having the Jews re-establish a state of Israel. Continue.

CUFI pleads for support of Hagee in wake of McCain's rejection

Christians United for Israel director says "attacks" on Hagee intended to "silence" Christian Zionists

The politician's pastor

It's been an odd season for pastors and would-be presidents. The latter have been renouncing the former faster than you can say "damage control." Barack Obama quit his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago after Catholic priest Michael Pfleger delivered a sermon there in which he mocked Hillary Clinton for her alleged racism. Having already endured several rounds of controversy over Trinity's retired pastor, Jeremiah Wright, Obama decided he was not interested in defending his congregation from any more complaints about extremist statements. John McCain's renunciation of pastors John Hagee and Rod Parsley, who had both endorsed him for president, received less hyperventilating media coverage, though Hagee's contention that God used the Holocaust to gather the Jews to Israel and hasten the end times and Parsley's comment that Islam's Muhammad is "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil" are wackier than anything Wright said. Continue.

Hagee reaffirms pledge to defend Israel

Rev. John Hagee reaffirmed his pledge to combat anti-Semitism and defend Israel following controversy over his Holocaust theology. Continue.

Hagee bows out of '08 race, but vows to fight on for Israel

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Controversy may have driven the Rev. John Hagee from an active role in the presidential race, but the high-profile pastor is vowing to push forward with his pro-Israel activism. Continue.

Hagee Still Has Strong Support In Community

Foxman backtracks from tough stand; others ambivalent but standing by fiery Evangelical leader.

Pastor John Hagee may be politically treif after his stinging repudiation by Sen. John McCain, but there are few signs that mainstream Jewish leaders who have warmed to his ardent support for Israel are turning away from the controversial Evangelical leader — despite theological views of the Holocaust that several have termed offensive.

Last week Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman told The Jewish Week that Jewish groups should put on “hold” relations with Hagee’s Christians United for Israel (CUFI) after new revelations of 1990s-era sermons in which the apocalypse-minded televangelist suggested that Adolf Hitler was sent by God to spur the rebirth of Israel.

But while calling it a "perversion of Judaism to say God sent Hitler," Foxman this week said he is advocating only caution, not a broad retreat from dealings with Christian Zionist groups.

“There is no reason for us to reject Christian support for Israel,” he said. "But when those who say they are our friends say offensive things, we have to ask them: What does this mean? Do you understand its implications?"

A leading Hagee critic said that’s not enough. "What does someone have to do say or do to prove that they’re a bigot in the eyes of the official Jewish community?” asked Rabbi Haim Beliak, co-founder of the JewsOnFirst Web site, which opposes the agenda of the Christian right. "Hagee is someone our parents would have instinctively understood is outside the pale of acceptable company for Jews. But now we have leaders of the community who are afraid to acknowledge that." Continue.

Hagee Quoted as Blaming Jews for Holocaust: Yoffie’s Letter Calls for Explanation

Washington, DC, May 21, 2008 – In response to reports that Pastor John Hagee has made statements suggesting that Jews are responsible for the Holocaust, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, sent the following open letter calling for an explanation. Continue.

Hagee's Jewish Endorsers

by David Saperstein, Washington Post On Faith blog, May 23, 2008. David Saperstein is director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Fundamentalist religious leaders who believe not only that God controls everything that happens but that they are able to see God’s explicit plans within the context of their own political and cultural views should raise alarm bells for those who would ally with them. Senator John McCain faced this dilemma starkly yesterday, and ended up, rightly, repudiating Pastor John Hagee’s assertions that Hitler was foretold in a verse in Jeremiah and that Hitler and the Holocaust were part of God’s plan to force the Jewish people back to Israel.

Jews can empathize with Sen. McCain because we have faced the same dilemma with Rev. Hagee. No fundamentalist Christian is more overtly supportive of Israel, raised more money for Israel, nor used his religious and political clout to more energetically mobilize support in America for Israel. Further, he was an evangelical who made clear that his relations with Jews over Israel would not be used to try to convert us. Yet, his fundamentalist views had led to reprehensible statements about gays, Catholics, and even the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Continue.

Breaking: Foxman Calls for "Hold" on Hagee Ties

As Sen. John McCain was cutting ties to Pastor John Hagee, the controversial Christian Zionist leader whose endorsement he sought, a top Jewish leader also changed course and called for ties to Hagee's pro-Israel group to be put on "hold," the Jewish Week has learned.

"It's now necessary for us to look at the totality of (Hagee's) views, said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in a Jewish Week interview on Thursday. In the past Foxman has defended the growing nexus of relations between Jewish and pro-Israel groups and Hagee's Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Continue.

We Need Lots More Than the Holocaust

Well, not exactly about Jeremiah, but about Jeremiah’s mindset — specifically, about the prophet’s punishing predictions regarding the future history of our people.

What makes the matter pertinent just now is the controversy surrounding Pastor John Hagee. I wrote in this space recently, and quite critically, of Hagee’s “explanation” of the Holocaust. There are two overlapping parts to his explanation, one general, the other specific.

It was, says Hagee, our “own rebellion [that] birthed the seed of antisemitism that would arise and bring destruction to them [the Jews] for centuries to come…. it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people.” And then, referencing Jeremiah, the Holocaust itself: “How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the Land of Israel.’” In context, what Hagee means here is that Hitler was sent, by God, to get us to go to Israel. Continue.

Our Hagee Problem Has Yet To Be Addressed

By now, Pastor John Hagee has been revealed as a theological boor and John McCain has deftly, if belatedly, stepped away from the Hagee embrace he had earlier so assiduously sought and so gratefully welcomed.

“Boor” is a rough word, I know. So let Hagee speak for himself: “It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God’s chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day. How utterly repulsive, insulting, and heartbreaking to God for His chosen people to credit idols with bringing blessings He had showered upon the chosen people. Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of antisemitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come…. it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people.” Continue.

5 questions about Pastor Hagee and the Holocaust

Presidential candidate last week publicly rejected pastor's endorsement over 'God made Hitler' jibe.

In this written interview with David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel, Rosner asks the right questions about CUFI President John Hagee, who was dropped by John McCain on May 22nd. (Example: "In a speech a couple of months ago, rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Jewish Reform movement has said this: "By what right do we expect others to walk away from those who make anti-Jewish or anti-Israel statements when we will not walk away from those who make anti-Islam or anti-Catholic statements?") Brog's answers run mostly to excusing Hagee's statements because Israel is in need of friends. Brog completely ignores Rosner's references to Hagee's anti-Muslim rhetoric. Click here.

Hagee's publicist releases statements by Hagee, supportive San Antonio rabbi

Rabbi Aryeh Sheinberg's statement justifies Hagee's Holocuast remarks

John Hagee's publicist 5W Public Relations released as a Word document the statements with no identifying information, attached to an email stating "Today, May 23, 2008, at 2:00PM Pastor John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Sheinberg delivered the below statements in a media availability." We have posted the Word document as a PDF. Click here.

Spotlight Recasts Church Leaders and Their Support

When George W. Bush ran for president in 2000, an influential megachurch pastor from Texas made an early endorsement that helped him win over skeptical evangelical conservatives.

At the time, Mr. Hagee was pretty much the same public person he is today: a hard-line pro-Israel preacher and best-selling author whose evangelistic enterprise was built on apocalyptic prophecies that many Jews, Roman Catholics and other Christians found disturbing. Yet it was never an issue when Mr. Bush’s campaign trumpeted the support of Mr. Hagee, as well as that of multimedia evangelists like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.

Eight years later, Mr. Hagee’s presidential endorsement is suddenly more a curse than a blessing. Continue.

Sen. McCain’s Agents of Intolerance

It took a long time for him to do it, but Senator John McCain has finally rejected the endorsements of two evangelical ministers — one whose bizarre and hate-filled sermons deeply offended both Catholics and Jews and the other who has used his pulpit to attack Muslims.

Mr. McCain had it right in his unsuccessful primary campaign eight years ago when he denounced the Christian right’s Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell as “agents of intolerance” who exercised an “evil influence” over the Republican Party. It was particularly disturbing to see him cynically pander this year for the support of that same Christian right.

His belated decision to distance himself from two of the most extreme ministers was long overdue — and we suspect driven more by political ambition than by the principles he espoused in the past. Continue.

Hagee, McCain, Aipac: The Audacity of Cynicism

John McCain was shocked, shocked to know that there were horrid thoughts going on around Rev. Hagee’s brain about the positive side of the Holocaust. These comments, from a sermon on how God used Hitler to get the Jews to return to their land, in case you missed the news all weekend, include:

“How is God going to bring them back to the land? The answer is fishers and hunters,” Mr. Hagee said, referring to how Jews ended up in the modern state of Israel. “A hunter is someone who comes with a gun and forces you. Hitler was a hunter.” Continue.

Hagee, McCain part ways

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Hagee, a pro-Israel pastor, cut off ties over the revelation of Hagee's Holocaust theology.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them," McCain said in a statement Thursday. "I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well."

Reports emerged this week on the Huffington Post blog that Hagee, who founded and heads Christians United for Israel, outlined a theology in the 1990s which described Adolf Hitler as a "hunter." Continue.

McCain's Latest, Biggest, Religious Stumble

John McCain's rejection of John Hagee's endorsement today is the starkest example yet of McCain's ham handed approach to dealing with the Christian Right and with handling religious matters generally. It's a striking contrast to era of George W. Bush, whose political rise was largely a result of having mastered Christian Right and evangelical outreach, in connecting with believers personally and mobilizing them organizationally.

McCain's deficiencies in those areas also contrast sharply with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, whose sophisticated campaigns to win evangelical, Catholic, Jewish, and other religious voters just four years after John Kerry refused to engage in faith-based organizing and messaging suggest that both learned more from Bush about religion's role in American politics than McCain did. Continue.

Reverend John Hagee's statement withdrawing his endorsement of John McCain

John Hagee: “I Have Received Death Threats”

Pastor John Hagee's statement is posted on a blog on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Hagee begins: "The past 24 hours have been extremely disappointing ones to me. My disappointment has nothing to do with the fact that I parted company with John McCain – this was best for both of us and for the country. It is time the candidates and the media turn their attention back to the pressing issues of our day and stop focusing on what I did or did not say decades ago." Click here.

McCain rejects Hagee's endorsement

John McCain's rejection of John Hagee's endorsement came on the heels of two powerful video presentations of Hagee's own words captured by Dan Abrams on MSNBC's Verdict and ABC's Good Morning America. Links to both recordings are posted on the MSNBC's Raw Story blog. Click here.

Below are links to a sermon and a report posted by JewsOnFirst.org in 2007, both of which included Hagee's statements on the Holocaust.

Abandoning Our Archaic Fears

A High Holiday Sermon for 5768/2007 The American Jewish Community's Future Direction in a Christianizing America

Hagee qualifies his professed love for the Jewish people even further when he writes in his book Jerusalem Countdown that Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust as a punishment for not accepting Jesus. The chutzpah displayed here would normally put a person beyond the pale occupied by Iran's Ahmadinejad. But Israel's US lobby, the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, invited Hagee to give a keynote speech at its 2007 conference. Continue.

Pushback on Armageddon

Christian Zionists believe that Armageddon awaits the immigration of all the world's Jews to Israel. That explains Hagee's demand that Israel keep all the land it occupied in 1967. And it also undoubtedly explains -- though hardly excuses -- his statement in Jerusalem Countdown that the Holocaust resulted from Jews' refusal to move to Israel when bidden by Theodor Herzl: God then sent the hunters. The hunter is one who pursues his target with force and fear. No one could see the horror of the Holocaust coming, but the force and fear of Hitler's Nazis drove the Jewish people back to the only home God ever intended for the Jews to have -- Israel. I stand amazed at the accuracy of God's Word and its relevance for our time. Continue.

McCain's Evangelical Problem

Shortcomings by John McCain's campaign in the art of politics are alienating two organizations of Christian conservatives. James Dobson's Focus on the Family is estranged following the failure of Dobson and McCain to talk out their differences. Evangelicals who follow the Rev. John Hagee resent McCain's disavowal of him.

The evangelicals are not an isolated problem for the Arizona senator. Enthusiasm for McCain inside the Republican coalition is in short supply. During the four months since McCain clinched the nomination, he has not satisfied conservatives opposed to his positions on global warming, campaign finance reform, immigration, domestic oil drilling and how to ban same-sex marriages. Continue.

John Hagee shouldn't be rattling sabers in the Mideast

In February, John McCain eagerly accepted the endorsement of megachurch televangelist and Christian Zionist leader John Hagee. But almost immediately, the presumptive Republican nominee was under siege by Catholic advocates grossly offended by Hagee's characterization of their church as "apostate" and "the great whore." McCain wavered and Hagee publicly apologized; a close call, but the relationship survived.

A few weeks ago, a Hagee sermon from the late 1990s surfaced. In it, Hagee interprets Jeremiah 16 as foretelling Theodor Herzl's efforts to shepherd Diaspora Jews back to the Land of Israel. When Herzl's attempts proved inadequate, Hagee tells us, God ushered Hitler, the "hunter," onto the scene, because "God said, 'my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the Land of Israel.' Continue.

Hagee Down But Not Out

Despite the public flogging that Pastor John Hagee has recently received, it is too early to cast him off to the dustbin of history. While he may no longer be accepted aboard Senator John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express“ nor have such easy access to the congressional offices of a bevy of Jewish legislators—many of whom have welcomed him with open arms in the past—it is unlikely that either Hagee’s Christians United for Israel (CUFI) or his San Antonio mega-church will be closing its doors anytime soon. Continue.

CUFI pleads for support of Hagee in wake of McCain's rejection

Christians United for Israel director says "attacks" on Hagee intended to "silence" Christian Zionists

Support Hagee by going to Washington

This is a very strange election season. Who would have thought last summer that Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama would be their respective party nominees? Didn't the media nearly coronate Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Clinton as the nominees?

You may remember that I endorsed Gov. Mike Huckabee to be president and I still hold out hope that he may be the vice presidential nominee. I will write about this in an upcoming Strang Report.

But now the focus is on John McCain who received and then rejected endorsements from two friends of mine--Pastor John Hagee and Pastor Rod Parsley. Continue.

John Hagee is No Anti-Semite

John Hagee is no anti-Semite. The secular, liberal, God-hating media has been obsessed with Pastor John Hagee, insinuating that he condones the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler’s actions.

I have been a credentialed Middle East journalist for more than thirty years and I am very familiar with the games the secular media play, especially during election years.

Anyone with a brain knows that when you have a liberal Democratic presidential candidate, Barak Obama, whose pastor Jeremy Wright has, in fact, made numerous anti-Semitic statements, the strategy of the liberal Left media is to find a conservative, Republican-supporting pastor and use him as a scapegoat, no matter what the truth is. Continue.

McCain Backer Regrets Comments on Catholics

The Rev. John C. Hagee, whose anti-Catholic remarks created a controversy when Senator John McCain received his endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination with fanfare, has issued a letter expressing regret for “any comments that Catholics have found hurtful.”

The letter was issued after weeks of conversations between Mr. Hagee and Roman Catholic Republicans about repairing the damage to Mr. McCain’s campaign and the alliance built over many years between conservative Catholics and evangelicals.

Mr. McCain said Tuesday that he had not been involved in brokering the apology letter from Mr. Hagee, a megachurch pastor in San Antonio who broadcasts to 200 countries, but that he found it "a laudable thing." Continue.

McCain Backer John Hagee Apologizes to Catholics

John Hagee, the controversial evangelical pastor who endorsed John McCain, will issue a letter of apology to Catholics today for inflammatory remarks he has made, including accusing the Roman Catholic Church of supporting Adolf Hitler and calling it “The Great Whore.”

“Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful,” Hagee wrote, according to an advanced copy of the letter reviewed by Washington Wire. “After engaging in constructive dialogue with Catholic friends and leaders, I now have an improved understanding of the Catholic Church, its relation to the Jewish faith, and the history of anti-Catholicism.”

In the letter, addressed to Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League and one of Hagee’s biggest critics, Hagee pledges “a greater level of compassion and respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ.” Continue.

Letter of apology to Catholics

In a letter addressed to Willian Donohue of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, Rev John Hagee offers an apology to the Roman Catholic church. He explains specific references that he made in past lectures as well as accepts responsibility for not giving Catholics their just due in irradicating anti-semitism. Hagee praises the church's pro-life advocacy as well as record of support for defending life from "conception to natural death." Continue.

Pastor Hagee apology good enough for Catholics, but not for the DNC

The Democratic National Committee called on Sen. John McCain to "have the courage" to demand that Hagee also apologize for his comments about women and Hurricane Katrina. "Unless John McCain’s idea of being a new kind of Republican includes cozying up to radicals who compare women to dogs, hold racially insensitive fundraisers and call one of the worst natural disasters in our country’s history God’s punishment, he should renounce John Hagee’s endorsement immediately,” a DNC spokeswoman told The Hill. Continue.

How the Rev. John Hagee got religion (the Catholic kind)

AUSTIN – Here's the backstory on how the Rev. John Hagee got religion (the Catholic kind).

When the San Antonio televangelist burst onto the national political scene in February with his endorsement of John McCain, it wasn't pretty.

Instantly, the Internet was filled with snippets from sermons and provocative YouTube clips of the portly pastor calling the Catholic church "the great whore" of Revelations and suggesting the Vatican was complicit in the Holocaust.

Catholics, particularly Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, howled in protest. Publicly, Mr. McCain scrambled to distance himself from the pastor, whose endorsement was aimed at winning evangelicals.

Hagee Regrets Offending Catholics; Controversy Ends

The concluding paragraph of the letter from William Donohue reads: The tone of Hagee’s letter is sincere. He wants reconciliation and he has achieved it. Indeed, the Catholic League welcomes his apology. What Hagee has done takes courage and quite frankly I never expected him to demonstrate such sensitivity to our concerns. But he has done just that. Now Catholics, along with Jews, can work with Pastor Hagee in making interfaith relations stronger than ever. Whatever problems we had before are now history. This case is closed.” Continue.

Mr. Obama and Rev. Wright

At the end of an editorial about Sen. Barack Obama's repudiation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the Times states: "It is an injustice, a legacy of the racist threads of this nation’s history, but prominent African-Americans are regularly called upon to explain or repudiate what other black Americans have to say, while white public figures are rarely, if ever, handed that burden.

"Senator John McCain has continued to embrace a prominent white supporter, Pastor John Hagee, whose bigotry matches that of Mr. Wright. Mr. McCain has not tried hard enough to stop a race-baiting commercial — complete with video of Mr. Wright — that is being run against Mr. Obama in North Carolina." Click here.

McCain's faith, pastor hard to pigeonhole

John McCain has a deep and personal Christian commitment despite his reluctance to speak publicly about it, according to the man that the Arizona senator and presumed GOP presidential nominee claims as his pastor.

Dan Yeary, pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church, described the senator and his wife, Cindy, as "very unobtrusive" people who don't seek special attention when they are able to come to worship. "They come in the side door. They're very pleasant. They talk to people. They're very approachable."

But the man McCain calls "my family's pastor" said his relationship with the candidate is not a particularly close one. Yeary said he's done "no more [for McCain] than I would do for any church member" in the 7,000-member congregation. Continue.

The All-White Elephant in the Room

Bored by those endless replays of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? If so, go directly to YouTube, search for “John Hagee Roman Church Hitler,” and be recharged by a fresh jolt of clerical jive.

What you’ll find is a white televangelist, the Rev. John Hagee, lecturing in front of an enormous diorama. Wielding a pointer, he pokes at the image of a woman with Pamela Anderson-sized breasts, her hand raising a golden chalice. The woman is “the Great Whore,” Mr. Hagee explains, and she is drinking “the blood of the Jewish people.” That’s because the Great Whore represents “the Roman Church,” which, in his view, has thirsted for Jewish blood throughout history, from the Crusades to the Holocaust.

Mr. Hagee is not a fringe kook but the pastor of a Texas megachurch. On Feb. 27, he stood with John McCain and endorsed him over the religious conservatives’ favorite, Mike Huckabee, who was then still in the race. Continue.

Why No HageeGate? Russert Explains

On Imus in the Morning yesterday, Tim Russert supplied an answer to that question — bubbling online and, yesterday, on the New York Times’ op-ed page — given WrightGate, where is HageeGate? You know, not that it’s an apples-to-apples comparison (Obama’s relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and McCain’s relationship with Rev. John Hagee) but why have Wright’s way-out words received wall-to-wall coverage while Hagee’s hateful homilies have hardly been mentioned?Continue.

A Turbulent Pastor

John Hagee has his share of out-there opinions, but lucky for the candidate, he's in a moment of silence.

John McCain likes to think of himself as a straight shooter—a man of honor who doesn't duck tough questions. But at least one question does get him bobbing and weaving: why doesn't he renounce the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, the San Antonio televangelist who has offended Roman Catholics and other groups?

On the trail, McCain tries to stay away from talking about Hagee. In New Orleans last month, he grew irritated when asked about the pastor's views on Hurricane Katrina. "It's nonsense, it's nonsense, it's nonsense," McCain said when a reporter drew attention to Hagee's 2006 statement to National Public Radio that New Orleans had suffered "the judgment of God" because of its "level of sin." McCain refused to disavow Hagee's support. "Would I consider repudiating his endorsement?" McCain said to reporters on the back of his bus. "I certainly condemn those parts of his remarks. [But] I continue to appreciate his support for the state of Israel and for many of the good things that he and his church have done." Continue.

McCain backer John Hagee tempers Hurricane Katrina comments

Pastor John Hagee has revised his view of God's wrath, and chances are John McCain couldn't be happier.

Without fanfare, in an e-mail sent the latter part of Friday, Hagee backed off his assertion that Hurricane Katrina was the Almighty's punishment of New Orleans because it had planned to host a gay pride parade. Continue.

McCain Surrogate Brownback Downplays Hagee's Bigotry

MSNBC's Brian Williams came perilously close to applying actual press scrutiny to one of John McCain's most beloved supporters, evangelist minister John Hagee, when he asked McCain enthusiast Senator Sam Brownback if Hagee was the "albatross" around McCain's neck. Continue.

Michael Moore, Frank Rich, Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee

It is with no pleasure that I put in writing what I have long believed: Though many individual liberals have only goodwill toward black Americans, the liberal world since the late 1960s (i.e., after the major civil rights legislation of the mid-1960s) has done incalculable damage to black America and to race relations in this country. Whether out of guilt or because of its own racist views (i.e., the unspoken but regularly implied belief in the inferiority of African-Americans), the left-of-center's general attitude toward black Americans has been that they cannot be judged by the same standards as others.

From lowering standards of admission to universities to blaming the high number of black men in prison for violent crimes on white racism to decades of cultivating black victimhood and the subsequent Wright-like rage against America, liberals and their party, the Democrats, have immeasurably hurt African-Americans and America. Continue.

MoveOn.org Asks McCain To Drop Pastor Who Blamed Victims For Katrina

The liberal activist group MoveOn.org on Thursday planned to use the internet and media coverage to cement the idea in voters' minds that Arizona Republican senator John McCain is associated with the bizarre and extreme views of an evangelical pastor named John Hagee.

The group on Thursday sent out an e-mail petition to its 3.2 million members. It asks them to sign on to demand that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee drop Hagee's support.

During an interview with National Public Radio's Fresh Air program in 2006, Hagee said that Hurricane Katrina was the result of God's judgment against New Orleans for hosting a gay pride parade. Continue.

Hagee retracts Katrina comment

The Rev. John Hagee, whose endorsement of John McCain has caused headaches for the presumptive Republican nominee because of some controversial statements he has made, retracted one of them this evening.

Hagee, who has also been criticized for his remarks about the Catholic Church, suggested this week that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for a planned gay-pride parade. "What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God," the Texas televangelist told a radio show host. "It was a city that was planning sinful conduct." Continue.

Hurricane Hagee

John McCain is in New Orleans' 9th Ward today as part of his "poverty tour," which prompts TPM Reader BM to recall McCain's endorsement by the Rev. John Hagee: It's probably folly to think that a member of the press corps would ask McCain about whether he believed that New Orleans' sinfulness is responsible for the damage inflicted by the hurricane, as his endorser continues to allege. Continue.

McCain, Hagee and the Politics of God's Wrath

The whole controversy about John McCain's ties to radical preacher John Hagee has been miscast, both by McCain's critics and supporters – not to mention by our ministerially-obsessed media.

There is not really a comparison between the McCain-Hagee link and the relationship between Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Obama, the Illinois senator who leads in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, looks to Wright for personal and spiritual counsel but does not have a political relationship with the man.

Indeed, as concerns about some of Wright's statements have been voiced, Obama has gone out of his way to distance himself politically from his former paster – while at the same time voicing his regard and respect for a religious leader who has been a part of his life for two decades. Continue.

Rev. John Hagee on the Dennis Prager Show, April 23, 2008

In its introduction to Prager's interview with Hagee, TownHall says: "Pastor Hagee has been called John McCain’s Jeremiah Wright. Dennis talks to the Pastor and asks him about the various charges made against him." Click here for a link to a recording of the program, (but don't expect probing questions).

McCain Admits Hagee Endorsement Was A Mistake

ABC News' Mary Bruce Reports: Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., admitted this morning that it was a mistake to accept the endorsement of Evangelical pastor Rev. John Hagee. When asked in an exclusive "This Week" interview with George Stephanopoulos if it was "a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement", McCain replied "oh, probably, sure." Despite admitting his error, McCain made clear he's still "glad to have his endorsement."

McCain spoke out against Hagee's "condemning of the Catholic church," but added that "I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership... I admire and appreciate his advocacy for the state of Israel, the independence of the state of Israel." McCain has previously admitted to soliciting Rev. Hagee's endorsement. Continue.

Pastor John Hagee, Chistian Zionist leader, endorses McCain

McCain rebuffs Catholic pleas to reject endorsement

San Antonio televangelist John Hagee endorsed John McCain for president last week. McCain eagerly accepted the endorsement from Hagee, who heads the leading Christian Zionist organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI). McCain has refused demands by Catholics, citing Hagee's anti-Catholic statements, to reject the endorsement.

Most of the major Jewish organizations have embraced Hagee because of his support of Israel. Please click here.

For McCain, Little Talk of a Controversial Endorsement

But since then, Mr. Hagee has been on the defensive over some of his views about Catholics and Jews, and he and Mr. McCain’s campaign have been silent about his endorsement.

McCain, Hagee, and Sympathy for the Assassin

John Hagee - pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, founder of Christians United for Israel, and eager herald of End - has endorsed John McCain for president of the United States. One reason that Hagee gave for his choice was McCain’s “support of the state of Israel.” Hagee also claimed that he personally backs Israel because it is a democracy, not because of its place in apocalyptic scenarios. One must presume that after saying these words at a San Antonio press conference, the good minister turned and gave an immense wink to anyone who has read his books.Continue.

Pro-Israel evangelical leader endorses McCain

San Antonio (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain won the endorsement of Texas evangelical leader John Hagee on Wednesday, which could boost his standing among religious conservatives who have been reluctant to embrace the likely nominee.

Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio, is best known for his outspoken support of Israel and writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

"I'm very honored by Pastor John Hagee's endorsement today," McCain said at a news conference. "He has been the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement in many areas, but especially, most especially, his close ties and advocacy for the freedom and independence of the state of Israel." Continue.

Hagee Endorses McCain

By Michael D. Shear, The Trail: A Daily Diary of Campaign 2008, Washington Post, February 27, 2008

SAN ANTONIO -- Sen. John McCain picked up the support of Texas pastor John Hagee, an evangelical Christian who has made support for the state of Israel a centerpiece of his ministry.

Hagee endorsed McCain today, saying he did so because McCain is a pro-life, pro-Israel politician who has pledged to secure the country's borders. Continue.

Hagee endorses McCain

The evangelical leader who founded Christians United for Israel endorsed John McCain.

Pastor John Hagee, the founder of a 19,000-member megachurch in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday endorsed the Republican U.S. senator from Arizona in his bid for the presidency.

Hagee has made support for Israel a centerpiece of his ministry and his endorsement may be helpful in shoring up McCain's support among conservative Christians. Continue.

McCain's Own Endorsement Controversy

While Sen. Barack Obama continues to face questions about the unsolicited endorsement by Minister Louis Farrakhan, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, faces his own endorsement controversy - one that will put pro-Israel leaders in an awkward spot.

This week McCain was endorsed by Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee, an open advocate of preemptive war with Iran who believes that will start the ball rolling for a great apocalyptic conflagration that will engulf the Middle East.

Hagee is a particularly controversial figure among Catholics because of his views on the role of the Church in "end-time" prophecy. Continue.

Hypocrisy flies as McCain faces firestorm on Hagee endorsement

John Hagee, a pro-Israel televangelist and mega-church leader, has created a storm with his endorsement of John McCain for president.

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Many conservatives, not to mention Clinton supporters, were smiling wide last week during the Democratic debate in Ohio when MSNBC's Tim Russert asked Barack Obama about being praised by Louis Farrakhan. But the controversy faded almost before it started after Obama denounced the Nation of Islam leader's anti-Jewish remarks and, with a little prodding from Hillary Clinton, rejected his words of support as well.

Instead, even as he moved to secure the Republican nomination with primary wins in all four states that voted Tuesday, it was John McCain who has spent the past week on the defensive over an endorsement from a controversial clergyman, John Hagee. Continue.

Jewish Leaders Split on Hagee Endorsement Controversy

Jewish leaders are divided over whether Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain should reject a recent endorsement from the Rev. John Hagee, with one prominent rabbi taking the leader of the Anti-Defamation League to task over his refusal to criticize the GOP candidate.

Hagee, an evangelical Christian minister from San Antonio, Texas, has long courted controversy with fiery denouncements of immigration, homosexuality and Catholicism. His endorsement of McCain last week has spurred an array of critics — including the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, as well the Democratic National Committee and a number of liberal bloggers — to call for the Arizona senator to reject the endorsement, as Democratic hopeful Barack Obama did recently when he received unsolicited support from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

“We’re saying to McCain, ‘Listen, Obama denounced and rejected Farrakhan’s antisemitism, yet McCain hasn’t even brought himself to acknowledge what it is about Hagee that he may not agree with,’” Kiera McCaffrey, a spokeswoman for the Catholic League, said in an interview with the Forward. According to statements released by the Catholic League, Hagee has called the Catholic Church as “the whore of Babylon” and other derogatory terms, and misrepresented the Church’s treatment of Jews historically — charges Hagee refutes. Continue.

Why Do We Fawn Upon John Hagee?

Of politics, bedfellows and such: The dustup over evangelical Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement of Senator John McCain would not have attracted the attention it did had it not come in the wake of the Tim Russert-provoked controversy regarding Senator Barack Obama, the pastor of his church and Louis Farrakhan. In the aftermath of the revelation of the Hagee endorsement, much attention has understandably been focused on McCain’s reaction and on the distinction between an unsolicited and unwelcome endorsement (Farrakhan) and an endorsement that was actively solicited and only partially rebuffed (Hagee).

My concern here is with Hagee and those who have endorsed him, but I pause to note that the Hagee-McCain association antedates Hagee’s formal endorsement last week. In fact, in South Carolina back in September, Hagee was invited to introduce McCain at a pre-primary rally entitled “No Surrender;” his full-throated introduction was until recently featured on McCain’s campaign Web site. Continue.

McCain seeks distance from pastor

Phoenix -- John McCain is refusing to renounce the endorsement of a prominent Texas televangelist who Democrats say peddles anti-Catholic and other intolerant speech.

Instead, the Republican presidential candidate issued a statement Friday afternoon saying he had unspecified disagreements with the San Antonio megachurch leader, John Hagee. Hagee endorsed him at a news conference Wednesday in San Antonio.

"However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not," McCain said in the statement.Continue.

McCain says he's proud of John Hagee's support

A brief video from the McCain Townhall event in Houston Texas in which he expresses his pleasure at receiving Rev. John Hagee's endorsement. Continue.

Catholics United Asks John McCain to Distance Himself from Anti-Catholic Bigotry

Catholics United has issued a letter to the John McCain campaign asking him to publicly distance himself from Pastor John Hagee's anti-Catholic rhetoric and reject his endorsement.

On Wednesday, Senator John McCain was “honored” to receive the endorsement of the Evangelical pastor John Hagee. Pastor Hagee is well known for his anti-Catholic rhetoric such as past suggestions that the Catholic Church gave Adolf Hitler inspiration and support for the Holocaust. In a letter to John McCain’s campaign, Catholics United is asking the Senator to distance himself from Pastor Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments and reject the endorsement.

Pastor John Hagee has a long history of criticizing the Catholic Church. In his book, Jerusalem Countdown, Hagee has a chapter entitled “Centuries of Mistreatment” where he makes derisive claims against the Catholic Church. In one alarming and unsubstantiated passage, Hagee suggests that Hitler’s attendance at a Catholic grade school produced Hitler’s anti-Semitic world view. This rhetoric is part of a pattern of behavior employed by Pastor Hagee to discredit the Catholic faith. Continue.

John McCain: Running with the Christocrats?

Now that John McCain has tempered his lovefest with end-timer John Hagee by claiming distance from some of Hagee's words, he has hardly renounced either the big man or the powerful and cultic movement that hopes to see the world end. What is being overlooked is the big picture -- John McCain is playing ball with not only John Hagee, but also with several other big fundamentalist players. Are we to believe that Senator McCain thinks fundamentalism is good as long as it is homegrown? It's sure looking that way.

Last Tuesday, there was outrage and apology from McCain for his slimy, smarmy warm-up act, right-wing radio shock jock Bill Cunningham. According to Cunningham, he was only doing what he'd been asked; providing red meat to ramp up excitement pre-McCain. And so he did, only to be soundly spanked by the good senator.

What the media did not notice, but the Christian Fundamentalist world surely did, was that Christian Right superstar Rod Parsley, had ridden into town Tuesday with John McCain on his "Straight Talk Express" bus. This would be the same Rod Parsley who, in 2006, emphatically proclaimed to his Columbus, Ohio congregation at his World Harvest Church: "Americans must be 'Christocrats' -- citizens of both their country and the Kingdom of God"; "And that is not a democracy; that is a theocracy"; "That means God is in control, and you are not." Continue.

NY Times' standards for Catholic League's Donohue: Three articles for criticism of Edwards, two paragraphs for criticism of McCain

The York Times has devoted only two paragraphs and 102 words thus far to Catholic League president Bill Donohue's criticism of Sen. John McCain for his failure to repudiate the support of evangelist John Hagee, who has made statements Donohue considers anti-Catholic, and McCain's ensuing response. By comparison, the Times published three separate articles on Donohue's criticism of former Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign for hiring two bloggers who Donohue contended were "anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots," and the Edwards campaign's subsequent reaction. Continue.

Catholic Group Hits McCain Endorsement

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been accused by the Catholic League of embracing a “bigot” — Texas evangelical leader John Hagee.

McCain said on Wednesday that he was “very honored” to win the endorsement of pro-Israel Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio.

Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement: “There are plenty of staunch evangelical leaders who are pro-Israel, but are not anti-Catholic. John Hagee is not one of them. Continue.

Rabbis disagree on cooperation with Christian Zionist group

Debate flourishes on rabbis' listserv on whether to participate in events with Pastor John Hagee's Christians United for Israel

Edited by Haim Dov Beliak, JewsOnFirst, October 31, 2006

Following the gala weekend held earlier this month by Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in San Antonio, a rabbis' listserv became the forum for discussion about the value of participating in such events. CUFI, founded by San Antonio megachurch pastor John Hagee, is led by some of the biggest names on the religious right. It has scheduled similar galas in other cities and rabbis in those cities are being pressed to participate. Some rabbis have no problem with the events, while others object. We have posted some of their letters. Please click here.

Knights in shining armor or Trojan horses?

Lately there has been high praise from many Jewish circles for Christian support for Israel. Some Jewish supporters call the Evangelical Christians, 'Our best friends'. I am often asked if Evangelical Christians really our friends, or do they have a hidden agenda?

There is irrefutable evidence that many evangelicals who support Israel have implemented a new "soft-sell" approach to proselytizing Jews for conversion.

In the words of Joe Dean, founder of an American Christian-Zionist organization, "By standing with the Jewish people in love and support, we can provoke them to jealousy, as the apostle Paul said, 'so as to win them to Christ.' Not by cramming the gospel down their throats, but by showing that our faith produces faithful works. I have told the Jewish agencies that we are not an evangelical group as such, and this is true. We are not actively trying to win Jews to Christ -- but by taking this stand, the Jewish people don't run away from us, and we are able to witness to them indirectly." Continue.

Christian Zionists

Fundamentalist Christians' support of Israel could blunt Jewish opposition to religious right agenda

John Hagee's Christians United for Israel Conference Mixes End-Times Prophecies With Lobbying

JewsOnFirst.org Reporters Were Inside CUFI's Washington Conference

Christian Zionist Leader Hagee in Unprecedented Appearance at Reform Temple

Christian Zionist group meeting in Washington downplays end-times prophecy

CUFI lobbying conference soft-pedals apocalyptic talk, drills on "talking points"

Leading evangelicals counter Christian Zionists with call for Palestinian State

Coalition of Evangelicals Voices Support for Palestinian State

JewsOnFirst Conversation: Rabbis discuss Reform Judaism leader's call to shun CUFI events

Leader of Reform Judiasm discourages cooperation with Christians United for Israel

High-impact op-ed published days before CUFI event in Washington DC

When We Let John Hagee Speak for Us

Christian Support For Israel

Churches for Middle East Peace Thanks Rep. Betty McCollum

George Washington Against "Christian Zionism"

Pushback on Armageddon

Jewish-Christian Difficulties in Challenging Christian Zionism

The Dangers of Christian Zionists: Conversation with Mel White

Countdown to Armageddon!

CUFI pleads for support of Hagee in wake of McCain's rejection

Christians United for Israel director says "attacks" on Hagee intended to "silence" Christian Zionists

On the Road to Armageddon

How evangelicals became Israel's best friend

Evangelical Split Seen Fueling Giuliani Bid

Rudy benefiting from tough talk on terror, which is emerging as key ‘values’ issue for conservative Christians.

Rabbis Ban Participation in ICEJ Conference

'Convert-or-Die' Minister to Lead Visit to IDF Army Base

A New General for God's Army?

Growing Acceptance Seen Of Fiery Pastor

Jewish mainstream rushing to embrace Hagee and his controversial brand of pro-Israel activism.

As Evangelical Firebrand Hooks Up With Federations, Liberals Speak Out

Jews should embrace evangelicals despite their differences, group told

'Jerusalem Post' Launches Christian Edition

Why is Israel's oldest English language daily courting American evangelicals? Tourism, along with that group's strong support for the state of Israel, has a lot to do with it.

Christian Zionist leader mobilizes against the Iraq Study Group: warning evangelicals to "Beware Baker"

Jewish group honors Hagee, Butler for pro-Israel efforts

As Bush's War Strategy Shifts to Iran, Christian Zionists Gear Up for the Apocalypse

Is Bush pushing for a second war or a Second Coming?

Poll: One in Four Says Jesus May Return in 2007

Christians seek recall of Left Behind video game

Separated by faith, clergy bond over Israel

Pastors, rabbis from Nashville tour Holy Land

Effect of socially conservative 'values voters' in question

Christian Zionism? Is it good for North American Jews and good for Israel?

Leader of Reform Judaism's warns against embracing Christian Zionists

Rabbi Yoffie's speech in Cincinnati underscored the danger to American Jews

After their verbal sparring, Hagee and Yoffie may meet

Gentler Hagee Seen Gaining New Traction

Shift in rhetoric having impact in pro-Israel community.

Hagee answers Yoffie

Pastor Hagee and Israel

VOICES: Hagee, Yoffie and the Jews: Values Count

VOICES: Reject Yoffie, Embrace Christian Zionists

For McCain, Little Talk of a Controversial Endorsement

US Evangelicals March Through Jerusalem

Jewish Leader Calls Hagee 'Extremist'

"Allying with Christian Zionists is bad for Israel"

Reform leader: 'Christians for Israel' hurt country

Are You Listening, Joe Lieberman?

Move over Moses, Pastor Hagee is here

Rabbi Yoffie Excommunicates Pastor Hagee

McCain Cuts Ties to Pastors Whose Talks Drew Fire

McCain Backer Hagee Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God's Will (AUDIO)

CUFI pleads for support of Hagee in wake of McCain's rejection

Christians United for Israel director says "attacks" on Hagee intended to "silence" Christian Zionists

The politician's pastor

Hagee reaffirms pledge to defend Israel

Hagee bows out of '08 race, but vows to fight on for Israel

Hagee Still Has Strong Support In Community

Foxman backtracks from tough stand; others ambivalent but standing by fiery Evangelical leader.

Hagee Quoted as Blaming Jews for Holocaust: Yoffie’s Letter Calls for Explanation

Hagee's Jewish Endorsers

Breaking: Foxman Calls for "Hold" on Hagee Ties

We Need Lots More Than the Holocaust

Our Hagee Problem Has Yet To Be Addressed

5 questions about Pastor Hagee and the Holocaust

Presidential candidate last week publicly rejected pastor's endorsement over 'God made Hitler' jibe.

Hagee's publicist releases statements by Hagee, supportive San Antonio rabbi

Rabbi Aryeh Sheinberg's statement justifies Hagee's Holocuast remarks