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Christian Advocates Compete for Ear, and Heart of
Policymakers
~Summer 2007~
By Corinne
Whitlatch, Executive Director
Washington is renowned for hot and steamy summers and
it’s going to get hotter around July 16 when
Christians United for Israel (CUFI) comes to town.
Last summer, just months after Pastor John Hagee
founded CUFI, over 3,500 Christian evangelicals came
to tell their senators and representatives that they
should “use every means at their disposal to permit
Israel to continue its anti-terror operations in Gaza
as long as its deems necessary. Israel must not be
pressured to withdraw its troops before the job has
been completed.”
CUFI brought together an array of non-denominational
Christian leaders, each with his own mega church,
television ministry or publishing company, to
galvanize their supporters to urge the U.S. Congress
to “not pressure Israel in any way to give land for
peace.”
Churches for Middle East Peace, the ecumenical
advocacy voice of 22 Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant
national bodies that lobbies in support of a two-state
solution to the conflict and the sharing of Jerusalem,
stands in sharp contrast to CUFI. We meet at the front
line of Capitol Hill, each with legions of church
members that span the country, each claiming to be
guided by our Christian faith traditions. With the
arrival of the Christian Zionist voice of CUFI, CMEP
has found new openness in Congress for our message – a
message grounded in the faith-based principles of
peace and justice and the practice of loving
compassion.
Minnesota Values
CUFI’s proclaimed “love” of Israel is causing
Congress members to revisit the notion of what it
means to be a true friend of Israel and the Jewish
people.
In April, CUFI organized a “Night to Honor Israel”
event in a St. Paul suburb. The invitation to
Representative Betty McCollum (DFL-MN-4) -listed local
Jewish organizations that would be attending,
including American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC), the Jewish Community Relations Council and
the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Rep. McCollum
replied with a public letter (that was copied to the
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.), “As an elected
official and a person of faith, I feel compelled to
speak out against a voice, like Pastor Hagee’s, that
promotes or, even worse, preaches intolerance and
bigotry – whether in churches, synagogues or mosques.
Minnesota is a state in which multiculturalism,
religious tolerance, honest debate and a spirit of
respect are treasured.”
Rep. McCollum charges Pastor Hagee with an “extremism,
bigotry and intolerance that is repugnant” and cites
his well publicized public statements.
“Those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate
to kill Christians and Jews.”
(Fresh Air, 9/18/06)
“I would hope the United States would join Israel in a
military preemptive strike to take out the nuclear
capability of Iran for the salvation of Western
civilization.
(Jerusalem Post, 3/21/06)
Confronting CUFI’s assertion that the "Night to Honor
Israel" event is for people to “speak and act with
one voice in support of Israel and the Jewish
people,” Rep. McCollum wrote, “Unlike Pastor Hagee, I
support working for the ‘roadmap for peace’ in the
Middle East, Israel living side-by-side in peace and
security with an independent Palestinian state. That
is a goal that many of us in Congress share with both
Israeli political leaders and citizens.”
CUFI and
AIPAC
Pastor Hagee, of
Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, was reported in
Jewish publications to have been “perhaps the most
enthusiastically received speaker at the AIPAC
conference” in March, sending “the crowd into a
frenzy, as delegates chanted “Israel lives.’” James
Besser wrote that “Mainstream pro-Israel leaders
welcome the Christian Zionists’ numbers, their
willingness to raise money for Israel, their political
clout and their tourism in Israel, even when fearful
Jews stay home. The right-wingers love the Christian
Zionists for another reason: Unlike most American
Jews, these Christians believe that giving back the
West Bank violates God’s covenant with Israel.”
At the AIPAC
conference and at the Night to Honor Israel events,
Hagee promises his Jewish hosts “a non-conversionary
event” - no proselytizing permitted. But, when they
read Hagee’s book, “Jerusalem Countdown,” many Jews
are chilled by Hagee’s focus on biblical prophecy
about cataclysmic wars, the specter of death beyond
imagination and a peace that can come only with the
Second Coming of Jesus.
A number of
prominent Jews are now raising concerns about the
fallout of AIPAC’s embrace of Hagee and his
followers. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union
for Reform Judaism, wrote in the May 18 Forward (a New
York Jewish weekly,) that it was a mistake for AIPAC
to host Hagee for two reasons. “The first is the way
that Hagee’s appearance would be perceived on Capitol
Hill. The central principle of Israel advocacy for
half a century has been that support of Israel must be
broad and bipartisan, and this means appealing to the
Republican and Democratic mainstream and avoiding
identification with controversial minorities of either
party.” Yoffie’s second reason is that Jewish young
adults are likely to be alienated from the Jewish
establishment and the Jewish state by the
accreditation given to Hagee as a spokesman for
Israel.
Land for Peace
It is disappointing that Rabbi Yoffie expresses no
concern that Pastor Hagee’s condemnation of the whole
land-for-peace notion damages the hope and opportunity
of reinvigorating U.S. political support for a
two-state solution to the conflict.
The divide within the American Jewish community is
great and deepening. CMEP’s experience with Jewish
American individuals and organizations brings us
confidence that within the American Jewish community
is a strong and steadfast dedication to peacemaking
between Israel and Palestinians, and a growing
recognition that Jerusalem must be shared as the
political capitol of each state and as sacred space by
the three Abrahamic faiths.
Some Jews hold doubts about the good intentions of
American Christians – especially mainstream
Protestants – for Israel and its future. CMEP
encourages church member advocates to highlight their
commitment to a resolution of the conflict that makes
it possible for Israelis to live in peace, with
security and recognized borders, side-by-side a viable
state of Palestine.
Jerusalem Declaration on
Christian Zionism
The Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and Syrian Orthodox
church leaders in Jerusalem issued a statement last
August on Christian Zionism. They “categorically
reject Christian Zionism doctrines as false teaching
that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice
and reconciliation.”
They characterize Christian Zionism as a modern
theological and political movement with an emphasis on
apocalyptic events leading to the end of history
rather than living Christ’s love and justice today.
Referring to Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of
you, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God,” the Patriarchs and Bishops write,
“This is where we take our stand. We stand for
justice. We can do no other. Justice alone guarantees
a peace that will lead to reconciliation with a life
of security and prosperity for all the peoples of our
Land. By standing on the side of justice, we open
ourselves to the work of peace – and working for peace
makes us children of God. ”
Evangelicals Who Embrace Two-States
There is a widely held perception that all Christian
evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some observers
believe that one reason for President Bush’s
unwillingness to press Israel to negotiate with
Palestinians on final status issues is his fear of
losing support among evangelical voters.
For some time now well-known evangelicals have been
trying to correct that misperception. Evangelical
support for peace and two states is not a new or
changed position. In July of 2002, over 40 nationally
known evangelicals wrote to the President, “We urge
you to employ an even-handed policy toward Israeli and
Palestinian leadership so that this bloody conflict
will come to a speedy close and both peoples can live
without fear and in a spirit of shalom/salaam.”
Five years ago, they tried to update the President and
his advisors. “Mr. President, the American
evangelical community is not a monolithic bloc in full
and firm support of present Israeli policy.
Significant numbers of American evangelicals reject
the way some have distorted biblical passages as their
rationale for uncritical support for every policy and
action of the Israeli government instead of judging
all actions – of both Israelis and Palestinians – on
the basis of biblical standards of justice.”
Nevertheless, when four
U.S. evangelicals attended a Brookings Institution
sponsored U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Qatar in
February 2007, Martin Indyk (who was ambassador to
Israel under both Clinton and GW Bush) was surprised
by Ron Sider’s question “Why, both in the interest of
justice for all and long-term U.S. geopolitical
self-interest, does the U.S. not press Israel more
vigorously to embrace a two-state solution?”
Sider, in his
publication PRISM, reported that Indyk said to
him, “I thought all you American evangelicals had a
homogenous, pro-Israel position.” Sider, President of
Evangelicals for Social Action, assured him that was
not true, indicating that large numbers of
evangelicals want just, secure states for both
Israelis and Palestinians. Indyk encouraged Sider and
his colleagues to make such views clear to President
Bush. Sider wrote that, “The evangelical participants
in the Qatar conference returned to the U.S.
determined to inform President Bush, Secretary of
State Rice, the American people, and indeed the Muslim
world that many American evangelicals long and pray
for a two-state solution.” CMEP hopes to report soon
that U.S. evangelicals have spoken in support of
Israeli-Palestinian peace and that the President has
heard them.
Generalizations about Christian
evangelicals must be resisted. The profound teaching
on universal justice that the Hebrew prophets
proclaimed to the world transcends the theological
divides within and between faiths.
ADVOCACY ACTION
Churches for Middle East Peace
believes that the best response to Christian Zionist
advocacy is Christian-identified advocacy that is
grounded in justice, practiced with love, committed to
peace and aimed toward reconciliation.
During this spring, advocates from across the country
have come to Washington DC to talk with their elected
officials and their staff. CMEP greatly appreciates
these advocates and reminds them to maintain those
relationships with calls, letters and emails that are
certain to be timely and relevant when guided by
CMEP’s action alerts.
Most people are not able to come to Washington DC for
congressional meetings, and don’t need to. Actually,
advocacy meetings with Representatives and Senators
when they are home are very effective. You are more
likely to be able to talk with the Member of Congress
in a district or state meeting and their staff are
often very well informed, especially in Senator’s
state offices. The “Summer District Work Period” is
Aug. 4-Sept. 4. Pull together a small group from your
church, your synod or diocese, or your community.
Instructions for Holding a
meeting at a Representative or Senator's local office
If more than one person is participating in the
meeting, check schedules with each other before. Only
one person should then contact the office.
Here are step-by-step instructions for how to set up
the meeting:
1.
After finding the information for the local offices
of your Representative and/or Senators, call the
office and find out the fax number for the office
and the name of the person who schedules
appointments for the member.
2. Fax a brief letter to the scheduler's attention
requesting an appointment. If possible, put the
letter on church letterhead. It could read something
like the following:
"On behalf of several local church leaders and
Churches for Middle East Peace, I write to request a
meeting with you at your earliest convenience. At this
meeting we would like to discuss present opportunities
for US leadership and Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking
and the significance of Jerusalem’s status for a
two-state solution to the conflict. Besides myself,
the persons who would like to discuss this with you
are (names, titles and church affiliations or other
credentials.) I will be in touch in the next few days
to see what time might work best. If you or your
scheduler have any questions or require additional
information, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. My
colleagues and I look forward to meeting with you on
this very timely issue."
3.
Follow up a day later by calling and asking to speak
with the scheduler. Tell him or her who you are,
your affiliation and that you are calling to follow
up on the request you faxed the previous day for
meeting with Sen./Rep. Xxxxx.
4.
If after your attempts, the scheduler states that
the member will be unable to meet with you, request
that a senior staff person in the office meet with
your delegation.
5.
Plan your meeting, prepare talking points (based on
guidance from CMEP action alerts and newsletters)
and assign points to specific members of the
delegation.
6.
Write a thank you note, report to CMEP on your
meeting, and build an on-going relationship with the
Member and their staff.
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