Pat Robertson outburst provokes Israeli soul searching

January 13, 2006

JERUSALEM --  US television evangelist Pat Robertson's claim that Ariel Sharon's stroke was an act of God has triggered a bout of soul-searching in Israel about the Jewish state's relationship with right-wing Christians.

Robertson, a hellfire-and-brimstone preacher known for his controversial remarks, triggered a storm of protest last week by suggesting that Sharon had been struck down for overseeing the pullout from Gaza, the first-ever Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian land.

His comments, hours after Sharon suffered a brain haemorrhage, prompted Israel to cancel a $50-million contract with Robertson to build a new Christian heritage center in the Galilee.

Quoting the Biblical book of Joel, Robertson said God has "enmity" against those who divide His land.

Sharon, he said, "was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course".

Announcing the cancellation of the Galilee project, Israel's tourism ministry said such views ruled out any partnership with Robertson.

"We, as the State of Israel, cannot accept what he said and we will not do any business with him or with anyone else who agrees with his view," said Ido Hartuv, adviser to tourism minister Abraham Hirshson who is one of Sharon's closest allies.

Robertson's remarks drew a flurry of condemnation, with the White House slamming his words as "wholly inappropriate and offensive" and the US Anti-Defamation League calling them "un-Christian and a perversion of religion".

Robertson has since apologised and has asked forgiveness for his comments in a letter to Sharon's sons.

"My zeal, my love of Israel, and my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father's illness," Robertson wrote.

Israel's ambassador to the United States Daniel Ayalon accepted the apology and said he planned to speak with the religious leader. Ayalon said he expected that Robertson will again be allowed to participate in building the Christian theme park.

It also sparked a bout of naval gazing within Israel, where many commentators admitted it highlighted some of the latent faultlines in the relationship between Israel and the evangelical Christian right.

Such remarks from a man who four years ago received the Israel Friendship Award, was "vivid evidence of why Jews ought to treat Christian Zionism with equal measures of gratitude and wariness", wrote Samuel Freedman in the Jerusalem Post.

Similar observations were expressed by Ray Hanania, a commentator writing for the website of the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

"Israelis know that Robertson and the Christian fundamentalists are a double-edged scimitar," he wrote, slamming Robertson as "a Christian ayatollah".

But Rabbi David Rosen, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said it was important to differentiate between the agendas of different evangelical groups.

"We are talking about a special segment of the evangelical world, a more militant, political strand which sees scripture as mandating political events and pushing the End Times scenario," he said, describing it as "political evangelicalism".

Politically, many of the evangelicals who support Israel are firmly on the right of the political spectrum, believing that according to the Bible, God promised the entire land of Israel to the Jews, including all of the Palestinian territories.

But, not all evangelicals agree with Robertson's view.

Since Sharon was taken ill last Wednesday, several dozen visiting evangelicals have battled the elements to hold lengthy prayer vigils outside the Jerusalem hospital where Sharon is fighting for his life, asking for God's help in saving the Israeli leader.

Rosen said Robertson's prognosis highlighted several important faultlines in the relationship.

"On the one hand, those who are the most aggressive supporters believe Israel is going to bring about the End Times."

Another aspect was that these evangelicals support some of the most militant elements of Israeli society, and are "completely opposed to any compromise or peaceful resolution of the conflict", he noted.

Although Rosen would not advocate a boycott of Israel's ties with the evangelical church, it did "highlight the delicacy of the situation and the problematic aspects of this particular relationship", he said.

SOURCE: Middle East Times