During a press conference at the 2007 Christians United for Israel Washington-Israel Summit, I asked CUFI Executive Director Pastor John Hagee about passages in his book "Jerusalem Countdown" in which he appeared to blame Jews for their own persecution. Hagee was visibly piqued by my question, insisting that his statements were directly inspired by the Book of Deuteronomy. When I attempted to ask Hagee a follow-up question, a public relations agent, Kara Silverman, a former intern for AIPAC, cut me off.

Moments later, a team of off-duty DC police officers hired by CUFI surrounded my co-producer and I and demanded that we immediately leave the conference, threatening us with arrest if refused to comply. You can view my exchange with Hagee and the ensuing fracas at 7:45 of my video report on CUFI's summit, "Rapture Ready:"

For nearly two years, a handful of independent journalists and I have raised the alarm about Hagee's long record of anti-Semitic statements. Until now, our reporting has been largely ignored by the mainstream press and the politicians who have clamored for Hagee's support. The supposedly "pro-Israel" groups that have joined with Hagee in support of Israeli military aggression, providing him with much-needed moral cover in the process, have also turned a blind eye to the pastor's Judeophobic tendencies.

Michelle Goldberg was, as far as I know, the first journalist to point out Hagee's Holocaust apologia, exposing his now-infamous "Hitler was a hunter" statement in a piece for the Huffington Post in November 2006. When AIPAC invited Hagee to headline its annual conference in March 2007, I noted Hagee's repugnant views on the Holocaust and his record of anti-Semitic remarks in a Huffington Post article entitled, "AIPAC Cheers an Anti-Semitic Holocaust Revisionist (and Abe Foxman Approves)."

Though this disturbing information was widely disseminated, and was accessible simply by Googling Hagee's name, the John McCain campaign courted Hagee's endorsement, and ultimately accepted it in a highly publicized ceremony three months ago.

Now, thanks to the work of the tenacious researcher Bruce Wilson, (see Bruce's video here) the website Talk2Action, and a massive push by the liberal blogosphere, the McCain campaign has been forced to cut ties with their most influential Christian right supporter. But McCain's reversal on Hagee's endorsement does not in any way signal that Hagee will suddenly recede from politics, or that the pastor's influence in Washington will wane. In fact, Hagee still maintains a close relationship with one of McCain's key political allies, a turncoat senator who is likely to become his secretary of defense if he is elected president: Joseph Lieberman.

During a banquet at CUFI's 2007 convention, I watched with astonishment as Lieberman strode to the stage, then compared Hagee to Moses (watch Lieberman's remarks at 5:30 of my video) "I want to take to opportunity to describe Pastor Hagee in the terms the Torah used to describe Moses," Lieberman declared. "He is an Ish Elohim. A man of God. And those words really do fit him. And I have something else," the senator continued. "Like Moses, he's become the leader of a mighty multitude. Even greater than the multitude that Moses led from Egypt to the Promised Land."

Was Lieberman aware at the time of Hagee's statements about Jews and the Holocaust? I don't know. But with McCain's tacit acknowledgment of Hagee's anti-Semitism, Lieberman must now decide: is Hagee a man of God, or just a mamzer?

Correction: I misidentified Kara Silverman as Alison Silverman and incorrectly stated that she was the former assistant communications director for AIPAC. She was an intern for AIPAC.

Comments (26)

1. And McSame still hasn't renounce Rev Parsely...

   Posted by leftofcenter at 05/23/2008 @ 12:31am

2. As I see the Nation and the left in general determined to lie and distort the beliefs of Christians in general and we Evangelical preachers specifically, I will continue to expose their lies.

   It is hardly surprising to find the media (ala Keith Olbermann) and the Nation and it's leftist bloggers reacting vehemently out of ignorance to this sermon from Pastor Hagee.

   First of all, while I wouldn't have taught it with quite the same application and wording as Pastor Hagee, his essential principle taught here is consistent with the Word of God and consistent with historic Rabbinic teaching (at least from Orthodoxy).

   It dates all the way back to Genesis 45 and Joseph's meeting with his brother's in Egypt. That it was G-d's plan to use an evil to bring about Israel's good.

   Orthodox Judaism and Evangelical Christianity share in the principle that all events are ruled by the sovereign G-d, and that He has an ultimate good planned out of even horrific events.

   Secondly, within the OT and the passage in Jeremiah that is referred to, it relates how G-d allows others to conquer the Jews as punishment for idolatry and rebellion against G-d.

   None of the critics bother to cite the verses preceeding those noted in this article where Israel asks G-d why they are being punished. G-d tells in Jeremiah 16:9,10

   For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. 10 "And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, 'Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?' 11 then you shall say to them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken Me,' says the LORD; 'they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.

   The OT records the numerous occasions where G-d allowed enemies overcome them and even take them into exile for hundreds of years, how they had to wander for 40 years in the desert after leaving Egypt with Mose because of rebellion.

   To specifically the Holocaust, there is division among Rabbinic Scholars on this subject as evidenced from articles published on the website for Yad Vashem, the Jewish Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.

   http://yad-vashem.org.il/research_publications/research/kimmy.pdf

   What we really have here is another example of the left attempting to determine what is appropriate for people of faith. These are well established beliefs with the traditions of Judaism and Christianity. They were spoken not in a political dialogue, but in the context of a worship service.

   As to Pastor Hagee himself, the respect and appreciation that many in Israel hold for him is proof of the reality rather than the distortion that the left wants to depict.

   Pastor Hagee is one of the most respected and honored Christian leaders by the people of Israel.

   Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008 @ 12:46am

3. Just a little truth to counter the lies

   Throwing stones at John Hagee

   May 15, 2008

   By Joel Mowbray

   Theologically, Mr. Hagee believes that one of the greatest sins a Christian can commit is anti-Semitism -- hence the reference in the video to the drinking of the blood of the Jews. He was reminding Christians, as he often does, of the long history of Christian anti-Semitism. Mr. Hagee wastes no opportunity to teach Christians that one of the surest ways for a Christian to become a member of the "apostate church" is to engage in anti-Semitism.

   For decades, Mr. Hagee has easily been one of the most prominent Christian leaders fighting anti-Semitism. To him, loving Jews as much as one's Christian neighbors is a core tenet of his faith. In his book "In Defense of Israel," Mr. Hagee wrote, "Show me an anti-Semitic Christian, and I'll show you a spiritually dead Christian whose hatred for other human beings has strangled his faith."

   If anything, Mr. Hagee is obsessed with purging anti-Semitism from Christendom. Thus, the book contains a lengthy discussion of the history of Christian anti-Semitism.

   http://tinyurl.com/4u5l2q

   Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008 @ 12:49am

4. By the way, Joe Lieberman was not just a supporter at last year's CUFI Summit -- he is the featured speaker (along with Hagee) at the upcoming Summit in July.

   http://www.cufi.org/site/PageNavigator/events_washington_summit

   And apparently, he has regularly scheduled conference calls with Hagee and his followers, too.

   http://www.cufi.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events_Conference_Call

   Posted by eric72 at 05/23/2008 @ 12:57am

5. Some examples of Jewish appreciation and respect for Pastor Hagee

   Evangelical Christians may feel they have been left out in the cold by US election fever, with none of the three remaining candidates generating the excitement of President George W. Bush's successful 2004 run.

   But in Ariel they received an enthusiastic welcome, not only because of the millions of dollars they have given the settlement, but because of pastor Hagee's firm opposition to giving anything to the Palestinians.

   "They believe in God's word in the Bible, and in God's promise to the Jewish people that the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel," master of ceremony and head of the Ariel Development Fund Dina Shalit told the crowd.

   Ariel's mayor Ron Nachman added, "And only to the people of Israel!" to a thunderous roll of applause.

   "Believe me, my dear friends, he is amazing," mayor Nachman said as he called Hagee to the stage.

   http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/49723.aspx

   Livni: We won't cede red lines in peace talks Foreign minister meets with Evangelical leader John Hagee, tells him international community must understand that Israel 'has no plans to compromise on its red lines' in negotiations with Palestinians Roni Sofer Published:

   04.06.08, 21:20 / Israel News

   During a meeting with Christian Evangelical leader John Hagee, the foreign minister said that "Israel will continue the negotiations with the Palestinians, but there are things we cannot compromise on, and things we won't compromise on. Israel does not plan to compromise on the red lines, and this is something the international community must understand."

   A message to the White House?

   Hagee, who is supported by some 80 million believers in the United States, has enjoyed an Israeli welcome reserved for heads of states. In addition to his meeting with the foreign minister, he also met with the prime minister and is expected to meet with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3528368,00.html

   Pastor Hagee has been a true friend of Israel for many years. Christians United for Israel is among the strongest supporters of Israel in the United States.

   The signers of this letter have been chairmen of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and we appreciate and respect Pastor Hagee's dedicated efforts and those of Christians United for Israel.

   http://tinyurl.com/4t3gme

   Bibi: Christian Zionists our top friends

   Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 7, 2008

   Israel has no better friends in the world than Christian Zionists, Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

   "This is a friendship of the heart, a friendship of common roots, and a friendship of common civilization," Netanyahu told a conference of American Evangelicals in Jerusalem.

   The head of the Knesset's increasingly influential Christian Allies Caucus MK Benny Elon (National Union-National Religious Party), who has spearheaded Israel's relations with the evangelical Christian world, called Yoffie's politically based remarks "shameful," and called Hagee a "visionary man of courage" and an "outstanding spiritual leader."

   "You are the right man in the right place in the right time," Elon said Friday at a book launch of Hagee's book In Defense of Israel, which has now been translated into Hebrew.

   Efrat Chief Rabbi Shlomo Riskin called the burgeoning ties between Israel and the evangelical Christian world "one of the most important things," after close to 2,000 years of enmity persecution and pogroms.

   "What we have to understand is that the Christianity of persecution and intolerance and Jew-hatred is not the Christianity of Pastor Hagee and most evangelists today," Riskin said.

   He called the rapprochement between Christians and Jews "one of the miracles" of the 20th century.

   http://tinyurl.com/58vghb

   Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008 @ 02:02am

6. To be honest, I'm more interested in how Joe Lieberman can rationalize appearances with a man who believes that the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was punishment by God over a Gay Pride parade.

   And...if it's true that Joe Lieberman agrees with Hagee's core belief (that Jews should converge on Israel), well then, he knows what he should do.

   Posted by eric72 at 05/23/2008 @ 02:34am

7. i dunno. seems like certain psychologies of christians, fearful of loss of fellow believers to reinforce their set of hard-to-hold-in-the-modern-scientific-world beliefs, desperately cling to this hope that the world will end before their belief system becomes more discredited. kind of scary considering how close to power these folks have been for some time now. and pathetic. and ultimately small, self grasping, and evil.

   same reason why they detest european social democracy - they see what happens when societies practice social justice and take care of their own - they drift away from hard-to-hold-in-the-modern-scientific-world beliefs and the fundyvangelist preacher finds himself unemployed or not making millions of dollars on tv...

   so...they angrily and self righteously pray for the end of the world because they know that if the world does not end soon...

   their days of being taken seriously and feared are numbered...

   there is indeed a struggle in this world - a struggle between those who love life and those who would rather see life snuffed out in nuclear glory than look like the dangerous, self righteous, ignorant, yahoos they are...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 05/23/2008 @ 05:06am

8. i'm not sure hagee is necesarily an anti-semite. if he is, then apparantly so are a lot of jews, based on the video...

   but then there have always been self hating jews and too, the jewish faith is not immune to fundamentalism, bassackwardness, nor kooky mythologies itself.

   i mean, honestly...seems like half the old testament is some form of hebraic self flagellation - some prophet bemoaning how god has punished israel for the sins of the jewish people...explaining disaster, conquest, enslavement as gods disfavor and the opposite as his favor...so...

   what hagee said about hitler sounds to me like a logical progression of old testament logic and process...

   hmmm...you know, there is also an anti-zionist faction of judaism whose thinkers and scholars and rabbis get trotted out by radical death loving, rapture fantasizing muslims at their little nuttyt soirees as well...

   so crazy rapture fantasizing christians got their jews who want the us to go blow up iran...and crazy muslim rapturists have a few token ant-zionist jews they trot out to support their desire to destroy isreal...

   funny in a way...

   then there's mad max blumenthal and most jews...stuck in the sane middle.

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 05/23/2008 @ 05:20am

9. Gershom Gorenberg said, "The Jews die or convert. As a Jew, I can't feel very comfortable with the affections of somebody who looks forward to that scenario. They don't love real Jewish people. They love us as characters in their story, in their play, and that's not who we are, and we never auditioned for that part, and the play is not one that ends up good for us. If you listen to the drama they're describing, essentially it's a five-act play in which the Jews disappear in the fourth act."[40]

   Isreali political analyst Yossi Alfer has also criticised this view, saying "It's not good for the Jews. We have to get God out of this conflict if we're going to have any chance to survive as a healthy, secure Jewish state."[40]

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 05/23/2008 @ 06:28am

10. lvliberty1,

    Heil, mein Führer!!!

    ---------------------------------------- Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008 | ignore this person | warn this

    Posted by POSEIDON at 05/23/2008 @ 07:14am

11. eric72, lvliberty1,

    Why is this even an issue? God, as you people think of him, does not exist.

    Posted by POSEIDON at 05/23/2008 @ 07:19am

12. "...God, as you people think of him, does not exist." Posted by POSEIDON at 05/23/2008

    Intriguing view. I've never seen it put quite that way.

    "i mean, honestly...seems like half the old testament is some form of hebraic self flagellation" Posted by ibbleblibble at 05/23/2008

    That's always been the impression I got.

    Also it seems that Hagee and Wright have the same problems; people taking a snippet and using that against them. The only difference is Hagee doesn't scare white people(or jews), so his actions/words can be excused. Funny how fear works to one's advantage.

    Posted by k330k at 05/23/2008 @ 08:19am

13. "Hagee, who is supported by some 80 million believers in the United States..."----Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008

    Excuse me, what is your evidence for that?

    Posted by Mask at 05/23/2008 @ 09:32am

14. If we can't have atheist politicians, at least we can take some comfort in the fact that all of the religious ones seem to have to renounce their crazy religious brethren along the path to power.

    Now...if we could just get them to turn away from religion itself, as well as all the wacko leaders of said institution. Perhaps then we could have real moral and intellectual leadership in the US.

    Posted by ErikDugger at 05/23/2008 @ 10:22am

15. Well, obviously from his renouncement of Hagee and the fact LVLIB is taking it so well (despite his virulent attempts to defend the Dominionalist Dumpling)...

    McCain probably knows the Religious Right aren't going anywhere and he can cut loose ALL the preachers and still be safe come November.

    Posted by Mask at 05/23/2008 @ 10:40am

16. Great work, Max!

    AIPAC (and Lieberman) support Hagee and his group because of their support for a larger and more powerful Israel. They know that their views on Jews are whacked, and they certainly don't believe Christ will return when Jews control the historic area of Judah or that Jews will eventually convert to Christ as Hagee's CFUI group believes.

    Nonetheless, from a strictly political point of view, AIPAC sees an alliance with Christian evangelicals as helpful in pushing their imperialist view of Israel in Washington, as many Republicans rely on the Christian-right-wing vote. So if AIAPC can control Democrats with their money (50% of Democrat campaign cash comes from their operatives), and Republicans by allying with Christian evangelicals, then any resistance to continued illegal settlements on Palestinian land, no discussions with democratically elected Hamas to bring about real peace, building of the wall that separates Israelis from the Palestinians, or continued second class citizenship for darker-skinned Jews, Arab-Israeli citizens, or even Christians and citizens of other faiths living in Israel continues to be ignored in Washington.

    Lieberman's support of Hagee is therefore about AIPAC POWER, not any philosophical agreement with Hagee's extreme views or those of the CFUI.

    Posted by Metteyya at 05/23/2008 @ 10:42am

17. LvLiberty-The left is not trying to distort anything.Typically,you do that by whitewashing what these people say and by distorting evangelical beliefs so they seem saner..You changed what both Hagee and Falwell said about 9/11 and Katrina and lied and claimed that they were just pointing out sin when that is not what they said or did.It is not just the left that views your type as religious fanatics who distort Christian beliefs.Many mainstream conservative Christians have that view.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 05/23/2008 @ 11:00am

18. "Hagee, who is supported by some 80 million believers in the United States..."----Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008

    Excuse me, what is your evidence for that?

    Posted by Mask at 05/23/2008

    Don't know Mask, I merely copied the news article from the Israeli press.

    I would suspect myself that the number is far less. However, he does have a viewership in the 10's of millions and nearly all Evangelicals that I know are in support and agreement with him. I attend a lot of Evangelical conferences and we do discuss other Pastors and issues.

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 05/23/2008 @ 11:46am

19. So LIBERTY, are you saying that Hagee's statements were taken out of context? Twisted around?

    Hmmm . . . where have I heard that explanation before?

    Posted by Hman23 at 05/23/2008 @ 1:33pm

20. thomas jefferson would be ashamed.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 05/23/2008 @ 1:47pm

21. thomas jefferson would be ashamed.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 05/23/2008

    being a son of the enlightenment, i think he would be shocked that such regressive, anti-intellectual, fundamentalism would still hold such power over the minds of so many.

    again...in a massively wealthy country, the maintenance of a system that tolerates injustice, that divides its wealth so unequally and unfairly that most of its people live in fear of personal economic disaster even while its economy leads the world...is a country where trauma and fear drive millions into the clutches of wicked fundamentalist fantasists and fantasize of deace, security, and happiness in the form of a self affirming mass death rather than in this life.

    in study after study western europeans (with the exception of isolated muslim proletariat...a problem to be sure and a similar problem to our christian fundyvangelists) consistantly report that they are happier than americans. they manage to provide a society for themselves in which social justice and security coexist with a profitable private sector which, freed from having to deal with such distractions as health insurance, appears to compete quite well. sure, nothing is perfect, but the european model for slower, more sustainable growth indeed appears to work and if the happiness of the people is considered, in the long run functions better than our run away train system of boom and bust, with the average schmuk living in fear of economic disaster.

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 05/23/2008 @ 2:14pm

22. Lieberman's (AIPAC's) political calculation in embracing Hagee the CUFI may backfire, as Democrats balk at taking money from a group (AIPAC) so closely associated with the right-wing.

    I know if I were a Democrat running for Congress and had ANY alternative to AIPAC for raising sufficient campaign funds, I would send AIPAC's checks back with a note in large bold letters that would read:

    "GOOD LUCK AIPAC WITH YOUR NEW RIGHT-WING FRIENDS AT THE CUFI. I DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO RIGHT-WING VIEWS, WHETHER THEY BE RIGHT-WING LIKUD VIEWS ON ISRAEL OR RIGHT-WING EVANGELICAL VIEWS THAT THINK WIPING OUT THE PALESTINIANS AND TAKING ALL OF THEIR LAND WILL HASTEN THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. CHRIST DOES NOT CONDONE STEALING LAND OR TREATING YOUR NEIGHBOR ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU WANT TO BE TREATED. I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU HEED THIS GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE POWER IN THE HALLS OF CONGRESS".

    Posted by Metteyya at 05/23/2008 @ 3:00pm

23. Mr Lieberman, to keep his name written in the Book of Life, must immediately hop on the nearest plane and head home to Israel.

    And good riddance.

    Posted by opeluboy at 05/23/2008 @ 5:38pm

24. Do not under estimate these people. Remember what they did to poor Kerry. They were going to ex communicate him because he was pro choice. Old Joe evil will do anything for power. I still think he wants Iraq turned over to Israel. Otherwise what was McCain and his freight train to hell, doing at the wailing wall with bad old Joe. Any one who believes that Mr. Lieberman is American above his pro Israel stance is sniffing glue. Hagee simply wants to destroy the middle east. These idiots are still fighting the crusades.

    Posted by julien38 at 05/23/2008 @ 9:38pm

25. I wouldn't characterize Hagee as anti-semitic. I think he is such a fanatic of his religion that he believes in things that some of us might all kooky. Christian fanatics scare me just as much as the fanatics of any religion. Especially because Fundamentalist Christianity is slowly falling farther and farther apart because of discoveries in science. The hardcore Bible thumpers who say that the Bible is EXACTLY the way everything happened are slowly being pushed aside by science proving the nature of the Big Bang to be possible. Proving evolution to be possible. I think you will see FUNDAMENTALIST religious fanatics start to get more out there as science gets more and more of a grasp on certain questions.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 05/24/2008 @ 3:22pm

26. Hagee is anything BUT anti-Semitic. As a journalist who follows the Christian Zionist movement and Israel Hasbara in general, please read my deconstruction of an interesting little article in The Torch, the glossy magazine CUFI produces:

    http://palestinethinktank.com/2007/12/28/christians-united-for-israel-an d-some-say-there-is-no-lobby/ This man calls Christians "pagans" and uses terminology that only being fed on a steady diet by his Jewish Pro-Israel coordinators (they are in his staff, and I feel he may just be a front for them and not the other way around) can produce. Read it and then ask yourself if he's anti-Semitic.

    Posted by peacepalestine at 05/26/2008 @ 4:20pm