Christians United for Israel [View All]

I caught a short doc on these "people" and want to find out more.

Pastor John Hagee spearheads Christians United for Israel
CUFI to set up working groups in all 50 states, lobby Congress, become Christian AIPAC
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=20640


Here's their site:

The Bible commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), to speak out for Zion’s sake (Isaiah 62:1), to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6) and to bless the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3). These and so many other verses of the Bible that have one overriding message-- as Christians we have a Biblical obligation to defend Israel and the Jewish people in their time of need.

Israel’s time of need is now. There is a new Hitler in the Middle East --President Ahmadinejad of Iran -- who has threatened to wipe out Israel and America and is rapidly acquiring the nuclear technology to make good on his threat. If we learned anything from the Holocaust, it is that when a madman threatens genocide we must take him seriously.

During the Holocaust, too many Christians were silent, and we were left to mourn the slaughter of 6 million Jews. Today, Bible-believing Christians must speak up and stand up for Israel. We must act to do whatever we can to protect Israel’s 6 million Jews from the second Holocaust. We must get it right this time. Our faith demands it. The times require it. Silence is not an option.

Christians United for Israel is a national Christian grassroots movement focused on one issue: supporting Israel. Although we are less than two years old, we are spreading like a wildfire and are changing the nature of support for Israel in America. YOU can part of this national Christian grassroots movement. YOU can make a difference for Israel.

http://www.cufi.org/site/PageServer

Snip from an article in American Prospect, "Pastor Strangelove", Posner:

Hagee calls pastors “the spiritual generals of America,” an appropriate phrase given his reliance on them to rally their troops behind his message. The CUFI board of directors includes the Reverend Jerry Falwell, former Republican presidential candidate and religious right activist Gary Bauer, and George Morrison, pastor to the 8,000-member Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, Colorado, and chairman of the board of Promise Keepers. Rod Parsley, the Ohio televangelist who is rapidly becoming a major political figure in the Christian right, signed on as a regional director. Among CUFI's other supporters are nationally syndicated Christian right talk show host Janet Parshall, who serves on its board of advisers, and Ron Wexler, an Orthodox Jew and president of the theocratic Ten Commandments Commission, which has the backing of nearly every prominent conservative evangelical in the country. Many popular TBN televangelists, among them the controversial faith healer Benny Hinn and the best-selling author of self-improvement books, Joyce Meyer, have also offered their support. Meyer was named one of the country's 25 most influential evangelicals in an oft-cited 2005 Time magazine article -- as was Stephen Strang, CEO of Strang Communications, which published Jerusalem Countdown. Long before his launch of CUFI, Hagee had sought to influence American policy toward the Middle East. For 25 years, he has hosted a “Night to Honor Israel” at his church, an event that showcased Tom DeLay as the keynote speaker in 2002, and that has attracted leaders of the Israeli government as well as American politicians.

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=pastor_strangelove

Look at their Executive Board:


Gary Bauer
President, American Values
From Sourcewatch:Gary L. Bauer founded the Campaign for Working Families CWF) in 1996 to "represent the interests and values of America's traditional families in the political arena. CWF is a "non-partisan political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing pro-family, pro-life and pro-free enterprise candidates to federal and state offices."<1><2>

In 2000, Bauer was a presidential candidate. He served as President of the Family Research Council. "Prior to joining FRC, Bauer served in President Ronald Reagan's Administration for eight years, during the last two years as President Reagan's Chief Domestic Policy Advisor."<3>

"In the final days of the 2000 campaign, CWF spent tens of thousands of dollars on a massive 12-state Get-Out-The-Vote drive on behalf of George Walker Bush and Republican candidates down the ballot."<1>

"Previously, Bauer was under Secretary of Education beginning in July 1985, when he was confirmed by unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate. While serving at the Education Department, Bauer was named Chairman of President Reagan's Special Working Group on the Family. His report, "The Family: Preserving America's Future," was presented to the President in December 1986."<3>

Bauer is currently also president of another organization named American Values.<4> In 1973, Bauer received his law degree from Georgetown University Law School in Washington D.C.

He is married to Carol Bauer.<5>


Bishop Keith A Butler
Founder and Pastor, Word of Faith International Christian Center
Homophobe: Snip from 2004 article, "Bush Convention Appearances Marked by Anti-Gay Performances."

Butler runs the Word of Faith International Christian Center. Founded in Detroit in 1979, Word of Faith now has 18,000 members and more than 80 churches worldwide, according to GOP officials.

Bishop is an outspoken critic of gay marriage. He led a coalition of black pastors who came to Washington in June to support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and he supports a similar amendment drive in Michigan.

"Homosexuality is not a civil rights issue; it is a lifestyle choice, a decision, that is not natural or normal, and should not be depicted as such to our children," Butler said during the event in Washington.
http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=9&id=4047

David Brog
Executive Director, Christians United for Israel
Bio: David Brog lives and writes in Washington, DC. He worked in the United States Senate for seven years, rising to be chief of staff to a senior United States senator and staff director of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to his time on Capitol Hill, Brog served as an executive at America Online and practiced corporate law in Tel Aviv, Israel and Philadelphia, PA. Brog is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.


Pastor John C. Hagee
Founder and Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Church
President and CEO, John Hagee Ministries
Founder and National Chairman, Christians United for Israel
DU OP on Hagee from 2001: http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/08/18_hagee.html

Michael Little
President and Chief Operating Officer The Christian Broadcasting Network
Sourcewatch on the CBN: The mission of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and its affiliated organizations, according to its website, is to prepare the United States of America and the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a time in history when "the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea."

Multi-millionaire heir Joseph Coors serves on the Regent University (formerly called CBN University) Board of Trustees. His wife Holly Coors is on the Regent University Board of Regents. The Coors Foundation has given money to the university (Foundation Grants Index, 15th edition, 1986.)

The National Committee to Draft Pat Robertson for President, which featured Roy Rogers and Dale Evans as spokespersons, held a big fundraiser at the Dallas ranch of millionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt. Joseph Coors supported this run as well.

George Morrison
Senior Pastor, Faith Bible Chapel
CO: I think the War on Christmas was catapulted by this guy in Denver. My searches find a bunch of articles ca. 2004 from mostly RW outlets, like this one: Santa, Yes, Jesus, No
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140545,00.html

NPR has audio on CUFI and with Max Blumenthal on this topic:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6097362