Rev. John Hagee, a pastor in San Antonio, Texas, saw that Israel had done the civilized world a favor. In response, he put together a pro-Israel extravaganza that has been repeated annually ever since.
By FREDRIC HAYWARD, MICHAEL HINESPastor John Hagee 88 298(photo credit: Courtesy)
The idea of Christians holding "A Night to Honor Israel" was born over 20 years ago, when the Israeli Air Force bombed Iraq's Osirak reactor and was universally condemned.
Rev. John Hagee, a pastor in San Antonio, Texas, saw that Israel had done the civilized world a favor. In response, he put together a pro-Israel extravaganza that has been repeated annually ever since.
Pastor Hagee explains he is simply acting on the advice given in Genesis 12:3: "I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you."
"It is time to stop praising the dead Jews of the past - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses," he told a gathering of Christian leaders, "while ignoring the Jews across the street."
This is what led Hagee, this February, to found Christians United For Israel (CUFI), an umbrella organization to connect and mobilize hundreds of congregations and ministries so they can speak louder on behalf of Israel.
Energized in response to the IDF battle against Hizbullah in Lebanon, the group's inaugural conference in Washington brought over 3,500 Evangelicals to the nation's capitol.
Calling the current conflict in the Middle East a "war of good versus evil," Hagee urged attendees to fan out and "see every congressman and every senator and tell them that millions of Christians stand with Israel." Organizers claimed the large contingent exceeded the numbers AIPAC had ever been able to muster at any one time in over four decades.
Among those on hand were Reverands Jerry Falwell and Rod Parsley, Charisma publisher Steven Strang, Washington veteran Gary Bauer and country music star Randy Travis. Addressing the main banquet, Israeli ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon and former IDF chief-of-staff Moshe Yaalon spoke of Christian support as a key element in America's close relationship with Israel.
Greetings were also read from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as from US President George Bush, who praised Hagee and CUFI for "spreading the hope of God's love and the universal gift of freedom."
Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Cong. Elliot Engel (D-NY) were also featured speakers at the gathering, which was broadcast live by Daystar.
Now the group is on the road across California - the State that boasts one of the top 10 economies in the world and, in Hagee's words, is "a nation unto itself." Interest in hosting pro-Israel events is growing weekly, with evenings scheduled in Berkeley, Pasadena and Sacramento. Others are planned for San Diego, Long Beach and Palm Springs.
"There are over 40 million Evangelical Christians whose pro-Israel position is biblically based," comments CUFI regional co-director Randy Neal: "Like a sleeping giant now stirring from its slumber."
"Tens of millions of Evangelicals are coming to wonder if they have been raised up for just such a time."
For more information on Christians United For Israel, go to http://www.cufi.org
