There is a truth Americans don’t want to face, Pastor John Hagee said at the closing banquet of the annual Christians United for Israel summit in Washington, D.C., and that truth is this: “President Obama is not pro-Israel.”
The Rev. John Hagee, who leads Cornerstone Church, began Christians United For Israel in 2006. (Photo: Associated Press File Photo/AP)
“Mr. President, go tell Russia what to do. Go tell the Chinese what to do. Go tell Iran to stop building a nuclear bomb,” Hagee said in his speech at the Washington Convention Center, criticizing the president for his handling of the U.S.–Israel relationship since he took office.
“Israel is not a vassal state of the United States,” he added, condemning President Obama’s recent call to use Israel’s pre-1967 borders as the basis for peace negotiations with Palestinian Arabs.
Hagee said those gathered at the conference had one message: “Israel today, Israel tomorrow, and Israel forever.” Hagee, a fifth-generation pastor, founded and leads Christians United for Israel.
“Attention liberal media: The Jewish people are not occupying the land of Israel, they own the land of Israel,” he said. “American should never pressure Israel to give up land for peace, not for any reason, not to anyone, ever.”
Hagee also took on former White House reporter Helen Thomas, who was forced to resign last year from her post as a Hearst Newspapers columnist after she was caught on camera saying Israeli Jews should go back home to Europe.
“You’re wrong, Helen,” Hagee said. “The Jewish people are home.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Michael Oren also spoke to the attendees earlier in the evening about the devotion and contribution of American Christian Zionists “who believed in the biblical promises and helped fulfill them” over the last century. Former Fox News host Glenn Beck is slated to deliver the keynote address later in the evening.
Before the gala dinner started, attendees waved American and Israeli flags. As a band played and images of Israel were displayed on large screens throughout the convention hall, some in the crowed found room in the pathways between the dinner tables to dance the Jewish Hora.
On Wednesday, members of Christians United for Israel will storm Capitol Hill, lobbying legislators and their staffs to stand firm with Israel.
CUFI, which organized the conference, said over 5,000 people were attending, including roughly 500 hundred pro-Israel Christian college students.
