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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: Evangelical Christians swarm the U.S. Capitol in support of Israel Web Posted: 07/19/2006 06:04 PM CDT Express-News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON – As tensions in the Middle East tension continued to rise, Israel received pledges of unwavering support Wednesday from evangelical Christians who swarmed the U.S. Capitol. “This is not the time for Christians to be silent,” said the Rev. John Hagee, pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. Hagee and other spiritual leaders formed Christians United for Israel to lobby Congress and the Bush administration to support the Jewish nation against threats from its enemies. Some 3,500 members of CUFI attended a two-day Washington/Israel summit, which included visits Wednesday to congressional offices on Capitol Hill. The event coincided with more than week of fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant Islamic group Hezbollah, and continuing violence with Hamas in Gaza. “Over the last several weeks we've seen Israel fighting for its survival against the forces of Hamas and Hezbollah – people at its doorstep dedicated to Israel's destruction,” Hagee told a Capitol Hill news conference. It is the first time that Christians have lobbied Congress on behalf of Israel, said Hagee, who calls it a moral and biblical obligation to defend the Jewish state. Dr. Jerry Falwell and Gary Bauer, a Republican presidential candidate in 2000, were among those attending the summit, which was planned months ago and is not connected to the current Middle East violence. Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg of Congregation Rodfei Sholom in San Antonio also attended. He said Hagee is seen as a “tower of strength for Jews throughout the world.” Despite its support for Israel, CUFI is regarded skeptically by some Jewish groups because of theological and political divisions. “We have our differences,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in New York. Yoffie said Hagee has taken positions on Israel – for example his opposition to returning captured territory in exchange for peace – that many American Jewish groups and even the government of Israel do not support. Hagee's end-time scenarios of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ also have left some Jews with an ambivalent view of his support for Israel. CUFI's lobbying push comes as the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly this week for resolutions supporting Israel in the latest crisis, which began after Hezbollah carried out a raid inside Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers. President Bush endorsed Israel's action in defense of “terrorist attacks on a democratic country.” Even Saudi Arabia and Jordan condemned Hezbollah for the raid that precipitated the latest violence. Arab Americans called on the Bush administration to push for a cease-fire to stop the killing of civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, and to halt the destruction of Lebanese and Palestinian infrastructure. “We are now at a point where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Lebanon. At the same time, the dire situation of the Palestinians in Gaza remains unaddressed by the Bush administration and world at large,” said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. Hagee said he formed CUFI to allow Christians to speak with one voice in support of Israel in the face of threats throughout the region. “Last October, the president of Iran publicly vowed that ‘Israel should be wiped off the map',” Hagee said. Bauer, the president of American Values, recalled Sept. 11, 2001, the Beslan school massacre in Russia, the al Qaida train bombing in Madrid. He said media has failed “connect the dots” that point to an Islamic/fascist attempt to destroy Israel in a war against western civilization. George Morrison, board director of Promise Keepers, an evangelical men's group, said CUFI would serve as a platform to speak out against Islamic “fascism.” “We as evangelical Christians will be a voice,” Morrison said.
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#10. To: Zipporah (#0)
He said media has failed “connect the dots” that point to an Islamic/fascist attempt to destroy Israel in a war against western civilization. Hey, Bauer, you and your buddies are already destroying Western civilization.
#14. To: aristeides (#10)
Youre exactly right .. and we get to observe it's death.. get out the popcorn and the black armbands.
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