Christian right steps up pro-Israel lobbying

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Subject: Berkowitz-WFC-Christian right steps up pro-Israel lobbying
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 12:40:49 -0400 (EDT)
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http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=21185
Christian right steps up pro-Israel lobbying
Christians United for Israel strut their stuff in nation's capital

Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange, August 3, 2006

Over the past two decades, as the Christian Right has grown in political power in the United States, there has been parallel growth in support for Israel. A number of organizations made up of conservative evangelical and Jewish leaders have been founded, and millions of dollars have been raised and donated to charities in Israel.

Now, a new group plans to take it up a notch, becoming a significant presence in any political policy debates involving Israel.
In mid-July, while the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict continued to escalate, Christians United for Israel (CUFI) -- an organization founded less than six months ago by Texas evangelist Rev. John C. Hagee, pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and the author of "Jerusalem Countdown," a 2006 book about a nuclear-armed Iran -- rolled into Washington, D.C., for its first major get-together.
More than 3,400 delegates from across the country attended the inaugural meeting.

CUFI kicked off the gathering on July 19 with its "A Night to Honor Israel" banquet at the grand ballroom in the Washington Hilton. The festivities attracted a number of high-profile Israeli and U.S. political leaders, including Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, retired Israeli defense chief Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.

According to a report posted at Israpundit, Hagee read greetings from President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While Bush urged "God bless and stand by the people of Israel and ... bless the United States," Olmert's letter referred to CUFI's "'bold stand at this crisis time,' and the group's acknowledgment of Israel's biblical 'birthright.'"

The following day, at a well-attended press conference, Hagee said that "The dots are there to be connected, and it is not some big thing called terrorism. It is Islamic fascism … all of the various things and forces that we've seen around the world are not merely hot spots but they are all part of a theme -- a war against Western civilization."
The news conference was followed by a trip to Capitol Hill to lobby congressional representatives.

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