What connects a bunch of San Antonio-based evangelicals to Mideast foreign policy? Answer: John Hagee.
San Antonio-based Christians United for Israel last week launched a letter-writing campaign demanding Twitter ban Hamas,
reports the Times of Israel. In an
action alert, the group wrote, “The fact that a terrorist organization like Hamas, with so much Israeli and American blood on its hands, can use a service like Twitter is outrageous.” Over 12,000 supporters fired off letters to Twitter and the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office within hours of the petition going live. The group has also launched the Twitter hashtag "#BanHamas."
CUFI, founded by San Antonio mega-church pastor John Hagee in 2006, kicked it into high gear soon after Israel launched its
Operation Pillar of Defense this month. More than 160 Palestinians and 6 Israelis died during the eight-day offensive, in which Israel bombed more than 1,000 targets in Gaza and militants in Gaza fired more than 1,500 rockets into Israel. CUFI posted a steady stream of stories and comments boosting support for the Israeli offensive, including PR material lifted straight from the Israeli military, on its
Facebook page since the start of the offensive.
Hagee's die-hard zionist commitment to Israel has itself been controversial, forged from a deep evangelical belief that the Jewish state will someday (
soon) be the site of Armageddon. Through CUFI, Hagee has lobbied for continued U.S. support and military aid to Israel. Hagee Ministries claims to have showered Zionist groups and causes with millions over the years, including controversial settler groups, as detailed by journalist Max Blumenthal in
this 2010 piece.
On the home front, Hagee has already weighed in on what President Barack Obama's re-election means for the country, telling followers of his "Hagee Hotline" this month, "America chose a leader who is for men marrying men" who is "pro-abortion" and who has attacked religious freedom. "We have obviously embraced socialism and we are racing toward an economic cliff," he continued. "That's the real reality. America has made a choice and God will hold America responsible for that choice." --
Michael Barajas
