Correspondence

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Evangelical leaders on record in support of two-state solution

To the editor:

In “Jewish-evangelical Christian alliance good for Israel” (Jewish Review, May 1),Robert Horenstein asserts that evangelicals “generally oppose” any political division of the Holy Land. However, he fails to mention that many prominent evangelical Christians have spoken out in support of a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In 2007, 80 American evangelicals, including denominational and ministry leaders as well as Christian college and seminary presidents, were signatories to “An Evangelical Statement on Israel/Palestine.”

According to these distinguished evangelicals, “The Bible clearly teaches that God longs for justice and peace for all people. We believe that the principles about justice taught so powerfully by the Hebrew prophets apply to all nations, including the United States, Israel and the Palestinians. Therefore we are compelled to work for a fair, negotiated solution for both Israelis and Palestinians. We resolve to work diligently for a secure, enduring peace and a flourishing economy for the democratic state of Israel. We also resolve to work for a viable permanent, democratic Palestinian state with a flourishing economy that offers economic opportunity to all its people. We believe that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution.”

In a sidebar accompanying Horenstein’s piece, the Jewish Review introduces its readers to one of the most powerful and influential Christian Zionist preachers in the United States, Pastor John C. Hagee. The sidebar also mentions that Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, has criticized Hagee for his extreme views.

Hagee’s views are not merely extreme; they are blatantly anti-Semitic. In his book “Jerusalem Countdown” Hagee blames the persecution of the Jewish people, including the Holocaust, on Jews’ disobedience to God. Hagee writes, “It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God’s chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day... Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of anti-Semitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come.... it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people.”

Joel Glick
Portland

A ‘baseless’ claim

To the editor:

Robert Horenstein’s claim that many American Jews hold a “double standard” when it comes to creating a partnership with Christian Zionists (Jewish Review, May 1) is baseless, and his depiction of progressive Jews who oppose such an alliance as naïve and ill-informed is insulting.

Most American Jews oppose working with far-right evangelicals like John Hagee because they push policies that hurt Israel instead of helping it.

While Hagee’s hostility towards Catholics and blacks and his disparagement of gays and women is upsetting, it’s his opposition to a two-state solution that precludes any sort of pro-Israel partnership.

As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said last year, “If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses…the state of Israel is finished.”

If Americans really rejected Israel’s right to defend itself or if demonization of Israel on university campuses constituted an actual threat to the Jewish state, then making deals with the devil might not be unreasonable.

But in 2008, neither is a reality. Israel does face an existential threat, but it’s not from the American public, Jewish progressives or even Hamas; it’s from extremists like Hagee and their supporters.

Jeremy Gillick
Portland