Bill Berkowitz: 'Christian right steps up pro-Israel lobbying'

Christians United for Israel strut their stuff in nation's capital

Bill Berkowitz, Working For Change

Over the past two decades, as the Christian Right has grown in political
power in the United States, there has been parallel growth in support for
Israel. A number of organizations made up of conservative evangelical and
Jewish leaders have been founded, and millions of dollars have been raised
and donated to charities in Israel.

Now, a new group plans to take it up a notch, becoming a significant
presence in any political policy debates involving Israel.

In mid-July, while the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict continued to escalate,
Christians United for Israel (CUFI) -- an organization founded less than six
months ago by Texas evangelist Rev. John C. Hagee, pastor of the
18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and the author of
"Jerusalem Countdown," a 2006 book about a nuclear-armed Iran -- rolled into
Washington, D.C., for its first major get-together.

More than 3,400 delegates from across the country attended the inaugural
meeting.

CUFI kicked off the gathering on July 19 with its "A Night to Honor Israel"
banquet at the grand ballroom in the Washington Hilton. The festivities
attracted a number of high-profile Israeli and U.S. political leaders,
including Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, retired Israeli defense chief
Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken
Mehlman.

According to a report posted at Israpundit, Hagee read greetings from
President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While Bush
urged "God [to] bless and stand by the people of Israel and ... bless the
United States," Olmert's letter referred to CUFI's "'bold stand at this
crisis time,' and the group's acknowledgment of Israel's biblical
'birthright.'"

The following day, at a well-attended press conference, Hagee said that "The
dots are there to be connected, and it is not some big thing called
terrorism. It is Islamic fascism