Israeli politicians embrace Benny Hinn
Posted March 22, 2007
As I channel-surfed last night, I was astonished to see evangelist Benny Hinn interviewing former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hinn is a flamboyant faith healer and spiritual spellbinder. (During his crusades, he shouts "Fire" and people drop to the floor as if knocked unconscious.)
Last night, Netanyahu wasn't "slain in the spirit" nor did he speak in tongues. But he prophecied a bit, warning that the world will face perilous times if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear bomb.
"This would create a powder keg in the Middle East -- a catastrophe," Netanyahu said. "This is a great danger for the world." The conservative former Likud party leader warned of a nuclear holocaust if Iran isn't stopped. But the mushroom clouds, he suggested, won't only blossom above Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
"Remember, we are the first target. Israel is merely the first target," he said. "We're the little Satan. The United States is the Great Satan and the European states are the middle-sized Satans."
The interview aired on Hinn's "This is Your Day" broadcast, which is broadcast across the country. In a break with tradition, Hinn wasn't wearing his usual Nehru jacket. Instead, he donned a purple dress shirt and what appeared to be a black leather jacket.
It's unclear how Hinn, whose faith-healing claims have been frequently challenged by critics, made inroads with Netanyahu. The preacher has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and takes large groups of tourists to the Holy Land. Earlier this year, Hinn was given an award by Israel's ministry of tourism for his efforts.
On today's telecast, Hinn will interview a second former Israeli prime minister -- Shimon Peres.
To watch the broadcasts, go to www.bennyhinn.org
Comments
Besides that, perplexed, I think that this is an example of a cynical but quite understandable tendency among Israeli politicians to exploit the simplemindedness of Hinn and other evangelicals in order to garner their support and, in turn, develop clout with American politicians who depend on the evangelical vote. Netanyahu and Peres both know that the traditional American fundamentalist policy on Israel is "whoever blesses Israel is blessed; whoever curses Israel is cursed." No matter what excesses the Israeli government itself may be guilty of, so long as they can keep evangelical folk mouthing the platitude that "it's the fulfillment of prophecy, there's nothing we can do about it," they can count on American evangelical support for pretty much whatever they may have in mind. And unfortunately, they've also developed the tendency to brand whoever may voice a criticism against such a set-up, no matter how thoughtful and balanced the criticism may be, as an anti-Semite. Just ask Jimmy Carter and Richard Marius. And now me too probably, for writing this.
Following up on what you said John, which I certainly think is a valid point:
During the semesters when I was in Europe (Austria and Germany) I had the hardest time explaining this to people. Many people just assumed that America's foriegn policy was "pro-Israel" because of the Jewish community in the US (I'll leave out any discussion of whether this idea was anti-sematic or not).
However, I kept telling them that no, the biggest pro-Israel lobby is not the orthodox Jews in New York but rather evangelical Christians in the Bible Belt.
Frank, I think we can safely add "Christian Zionism" to the list of American religious expressions that often are completely overlooked.
Anglophile that I am, I am also a firm believer that all of the political problems in the middle east (and frankly in most of the rest of the world, too) can be laid at the feet of bad British foreign policy during the last century or two.
Britian first committed itself to supporting a Jewish homeland in Israel in 1917 to gain the support of Zionists, particular Chaim Weizman, in its fight against Germany in WWI.
You wouldn't think you'd need much to get Jewish professionals to fight the Germans, but remember, this was over twenty years before the holocaust, when Germany was considered a power friendly to the Jews and Russia, with its czarist pogroms (fully supported, Alice, by the orthodox church) as the great anti-semitic satan.
The holocaust gave greater impetus to the movement, and voila, you have a state of Israel born in war and conflict, and existing in war and conflict to this day.
Now don't get me wrong. While I might not have supported the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, had I been around (and anyone cared what I thought), now, fifty years later, I think the US has no choice but to support Israel. That doesn't mean that I support everything they do, but I do admire their courage in the face of war and adversity and their pioneer spirit.
But they've got an uphill battle, and they know it. They have always been prone to find friendship where they can: Some of us are old enough to remember their flirtations with (and selling of arms to) the white apartheid governments in South Africa and Rhodesia, both made up, perhaps not so coincidentally, of white evangelical christians who might have the same religious justification for supporting Israel as Hinn does.
Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed.
I feel sure these are paid appearances by these former politicians. Its the perk of the former job that can create wealth and a financial future for them.