Rev. John Hagee's appearance drawing criticism on eve of policy
conference.


Hardline Pastor Gets Prime AIPAC Spot
James D. Besser - Washington Correspondent
03/09/2007
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=13765&print=yes


Growing ties between pro-Israel forces and a controversial, hardline
"Christian Zionist" movement will move into the national spotlight at
next week's policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby.

One keynoter at the event, which annually draws hundreds of lawmakers,
administration officials, diplomats and political hopefuls, will be
Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI),
author of several books about biblical prophecy and an opponent of new
territorial concessions to the Palestinians on biblical grounds.

Rev. Hagee, who will speak at a Sunday plenary, was also a leading
backer of a controversial Christian broadcast venture in Israel that
critics charge sought to convert Jews.

And a time when pro-Israel forces are being accused of beating the
drums for war with Iran, Rev. Hagee seems to believe such a conflict
is both inevitable and necessary. In his apocalypse-oriented book
"Jerusalem Countdown," he predicted a nuclear showdown with Iran and
said, "The end of the world as we know it is rapidly approaching ...
rejoice and be exceedingly glad, the best is yet to be," according to
a Wall Street Journal report posted on the CUFI Web site.

Last year, Rev. Hagee told the Jerusalem Post that "I would hope the
United States would join Israel in a military pre-emptive strike to
take out the nuclear capability of Iran for the salvation of Western
civilization."

Israeli historian Michael Oren will also speak at Sunday's plenary.
Giving Rev. Hagee such prominence at the premier pro-Israel gathering
of the year — he attended last year's conference — troubles some AIPAC
supporters.

Rabbi Barry Block of Temple Beth El in San Antonio—the home of the
John Hagee Ministries and to his 18,000-member Cornerstone Church—said
he hopes the minister's presence will be balanced by "Christians who
support Israel but who do not share the `end of days' theology and
extremist anti-Palestinian positions and anti-Muslim prejudice so
often spewed by Pastor Hagee."

Rabbi Block, who said he is an "AIPAC supporter" and participates in
local activities of the lobby, added that "there are those I love and
respect in my community who believe we should work with Pastor Hagee
on the important concern we share—the welfare of the state of Israel.
However, despite what may be good intentions, I don't think Pastor
Hagee's activism is good for Israel."

Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, cofounder of a We site that opposes Christian
right church-state policies, said that Hagee's AIPAC appearance will
mark a "decisive point when the costs of a relationship with Hagee
couldn't be clearer. AIPAC has to know that Hagee's push for an attack
on Iran is not based on a logically constructed policy but on
cherry-picked biblical verses. And it is only the first step to the
end-times scenario that Hagee enthusiastically predicts will engulf
Israel in a devastating war."

A former AIPAC official said giving Rev. Hagee a key speaking slot
represents one more step toward an AIPAC embrace of the Evangelicals
that began more than two decades ago, and warned that it has political
risks.

"This sends out a message of an endorsement by AIPAC at a time when
these Christian groups seem to be losing power in Congress—and when
the Democrats, who have long opposed this cozying up to the religious
right, are now in power," this activist said.

But many pro-Israel leaders believe Rev. Hagee and other Christian
Zionists, representing a growing political force, are a critical
addition to the pro-Israel coalition — especially as "mainline"
Protestant churches continue to castigate Israel for its West Bank
policies.

But Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation
League and a strong critic of many Christian right groups, said he is
not alarmed about Hagee's role in the policy conference.

"I think there is a role for him," Foxman aid. "He has earned a
certain recognition with the community because of his support for
Israel."

Foxman said he expects Hagee will get a good reception. "It's a
friendly platform," he said. "I'm sure an overwhelming majority may be
pleased with what he says."

That reflects an annual conference expected to strike a hawkish note
on a number of issues, starting with the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Other keynote speakers will include Israeli opposition leader Benjamin
Netanyahu and—health permitting—Vice President Dick Cheney. The
current Israeli government will be represented by Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Ambassador Sallai Meridor.

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, several sources said, will tell
delegates that increased aid to Palestinian moderates is in Israel's
interests—a call that may conflict with a major AIPAC theme.
In a show of both political clout and bipartisanship that has become
routine for AIPAC, the conference will feature speeches by all four
top congressional leaders.

AIPAC says "more than 6,000 pro-Israel activists, including 1,200
students representing over 390 campuses" will attend. "Lead by Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and
both House and Senate Republican leaders all speaking under the same
tent, this year's AIPAC Policy Conference underscores the bipartisan
nature of American support for Israel," according to AIPAC spokesman
Josh Block. "The conference schedule also underscores the long
history, breadth and diversity of America's centuries of support for
the Jewish homeland in Israel."

Anxiety about Iran will dominate the conference, and it is a major
element in the "action agenda" that, at least in theory, sets the
group's goals for next year. Members of the executive committee will
debate and vote on the statement on Sunday.

Proposed new language in the policy statement supports using "all
means necessary for the United States, Israel and their allies to
prevent Iran and other nations from developing nuclear, biological or
chemical weapons and the vehicles for their delivery."

Lobbying for tougher sanctions legislation will also be a top priority
for AIPAC delegates when they blanket Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Protecting Israel's big chunk of foreign aid has traditionally been a
top AIPAC priority, but this year the group will also emphasize
"closely monitoring assistance to countries that are not supporting
American objectives in the region."

At the top of that list: the Palestinian Authority. Congress has
frozen an administration request for $86 million in emergency aid to
boost Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' forces.

Pro-peace groups say they will not press AIPAC to soften its language
about the Palestinians, as they have done in the past. Morton Klein,
national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), will
come to the executive committee meeting loaded with amendments aimed
at toughening them.

The AIPAC conference will be the usual display of political clout, but
the group also faces some new challenges, including a new Democratic
leadership that remains strongly pro-Israel but less in lockstep with
AIPAC than their Republican predecessors.

Congressional observers say AIPAC remains a legislative powerhouse,
"but more lawmakers will now feel free to ask questions, especially
about routine and nonbinding resolutions praising Israel and
criticizing the Palestinians," said a longtime pro-Israel lobbyist.
But AIPAC's influence on signature issues like Iran and foreign aid to
Israel remains intact despite the partisan shift, said Kean University
political scientist Gilbert Kahn.

"AIPAC has successfully maneuvered itself through Democratic and
Republican administrations, Democratic and Republican Congresses, and
there's no reason to think they won't do it again," he said.

Kahn said AIPAC has also strengthened itself by aggressively "pushing
the Orthodox community to engage. You have more and more Orthodox
rabbis who are touting AIPAC and touting joining AIPAC. AIPAC
understands that if you get the rabbis on board, they in turn will
press the community to get involved."

That "dramatic shift," he said, may make AIPAC "less representative,
but it also strengthens the group as voices on Mideast policy become
more diverse.

"It's a source of strength because this is a community that is
comfortable with the direction AIPAC has taken in recent years," he said.

AIPAC also faces a rising challenge from Jewish groups on both the
right and the left that take a different tack on Mideast policy, and
that are increasingly active on Capitol Hill.

The Zionist Organization of America on the right and both Americans
for Peace Now and the Israel Policy Forum on the left are expanding
their lobbying, targeting areas where they feel AIPAC does not
represent them.

None can come close to eclipsing AIPAC, although IPF, Washington
sources say, is starting to build a network of campaign contributors
who also support the group's perspective on Mideast affairs—a key
element in AIPAC's strength.

Still, on the verge of the 2007 policy conference, they point to a
changed lobbying environment for what remains the pre-eminent group on
the pro-Israel scene.

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