New Christian pro-Israel lobby aims to be stronger than AIPAC

[Violet_Crumble]

NEW YORK - Televangelist John Hagee told Jewish community leaders over the weekend that the 40 million evangelical Christians in the United States support Israel and that he plans to utilize this power to help Israel by launching a Christian pro-Israel lobby.

The lobby, called , is slated to launch in July, during a Washington conference in which hundreds of American evangelicals are slated to participate, Hagee said at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which represents 52 national Jewish groups. He also discussed the lobby with Israel's consul general in New York, Aryeh Mekel.

Hagee said his group would be a Christian - and more powerful - version of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a large pro-Israel lobby, and would target senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill. A quarter of congressmen are evangelicals, and many American legislators represent regions that include a large evangelical population, he said.

<snip>

Anti-Defamation League director Abe Foxman was a bit more cautious. He said Hagee's project should be welcomed, but added that Jews and Israelis should be both respectful and wary. Foxman noted that Hagee told the Conference of Presidents that the evangelical support Israel from a biblical perspective, but did not explain exactly what he meant.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/701583.html

[bemildred]

1. I'll bet there is a good living to be made running a "pro-Israel" lobby.

I would expect Foxman to view this as direct competition, stay tuned.

[Coastie for Truth]

2. Read the Book of Revelations

That's what their lobby is all about.

[bemildred]

3. You don't think money has anything to do with it? nt

[Coastie for Truth]

4. Maybe from their own people

to go out and "Save" (convert) the Jews.

This is their vision of the Apocalypse and Rapture, and the ingathering of exiles for conversion and/or death.

[pelsar]

5. great..more weirdos....

seems jerusualem is a magnet for all of the religious fanatics...cant they go find a mountain somewhere.....

and these guys.....once all the jews are in israel its either convert or die (gosh why does that sound so familiar....)

[bemildred]

6. I think Mr Hagee takes a more down to earth view of all that cash.

The Apocalyptic stuff is just show biz for rubes.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Ka-ching.

[Phx_Dem]

7. supposedly

at the "end times" 3/4 of all jews will die in the "war" and the 1/4 left will convert or go to hell.

[Tom Joad]

8. Like AIPAC, it will be the great enemy of Peace for the people of

Jerusalem. All of the people of Jerusalem.

[Coastie for Truth]

9. Half agree - and half question/disagree???

I agree with "it will be the great enemy of Peace for the people of Jerusalem. All of the people of Jerusalem."

I do not follow "Like AIPAC" - this is an evangelical group who favors mass conversion of the Jews or eternal damnation - part of an apocalytic or rapture world view. About as good for the Jewish people as Czar Alexander III (of the infamous "one third convert - one third leave - one third die" rule) and Tomás de Torquemada architect of the Spanish Inquisition.

I really don't follow your reasoning.

[Tom Joad]

10. Like AIPAC it will fight against policies

that will bring peace to all the inhabitants of Israel.
I don't think it will focus on its views of the afterlife. they believe god sends people to hell.

they are focusing on promoting policies of militarism... I don't think their work will differ at all with AIPAC, they will push the same bills, oppose the same voices of sanity that sometimes raise up and then are quickly quashed . And, despite this evangalists dream (nightmare), I think since AIPAC is so well entrenched in Washington, it will take a long time before it becomes more powerful. How powerful either one is, or how it compares to the oil interests --i don't care.

If these groups want to be the public face of militaristic policies in the Middle East, fine. We will oppose them publicly at every opportunity, and propose a different set of priorities, a radically different worldview based on justice for all.

[Coastie for Truth]

11. Too much generalizing and stereotyping, no historical context

AIPAC tends to be a complex mirror of the US and Israeli administrations (historically). I will make a prediction -

*if the US elects a Democratic President, House, and Senate, and
*Israel has a left coalition government including Labor, Meretz (Yossi Beilin-Shulamit Aloni) Party, and some left "special interest" parties (with or without Kadima)

AIPAC will be "the" lobby for a truly massive Marshal Plan for the Palestinians - and will reflect that leftward sea change.

I am 65, I have been watching Israeli politics since I was a pre-teen, in a very politically active and aware, left wing household (with family members who were blacklisted by McCarthy and HUAC), and my wife and I both have Israeli family members who have stood for the Knesset on left wing, peace lists.

The Israeli politic is turning left even faster then the US body politic.

[Tom Joad]

12. aipac is not supporting policies of peace or justice. eom

[Coastie for Truth]

13. Talk about a stroboscopic moment in time on a single issue. NT

[IndianaGreen]

14. We don't need the American Taliban!

Abe Foxman was quite polite, but there is no mistake in what he meant when he said that people like Agee only need Israel to bring about the return of Jesus, even if they have to nuke the entire planet to bring that about. The fundie biblical view is that in the end all Jews are either converted or are killed for refusing to accept Jay-zeus.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. I think Abe was too polite...

A project like that one shouldn't be welcomed, not even cautiously, though I think there's a fair dollop of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' factor in offering a cautious welcome to the Rapture Ready crowd...

Evangelicals are dangerous and nasty creatures. They've got a shitload of money behind their juggeranauts, one of which involved funding and setting up a religious based political party here to run in the last federal election....

Violet...