- The reasons evangelicals back Israel vary - The uproar
over Mel Gibson's upcoming film on Jesus' death is testing the unusual
partnership between American Jews and evangelical Protestants, who have
recently become among the staunchest supporters of Israel.
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- Many conservative Christians have called "The Passion"
the most powerful depiction they've seen of Christ's final hours. But groups
such as the Anti-Defamation League have argued that the portrayal of Jews
in the events leading to the crucifixion will promote anti-Semitism.
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- The Rev. Ted Haggard, head of the National Association
of Evangelicals, upset some Jewish leaders by mentioning support for Israel
in a recent statement defending Gibson's movie, set for release next year.
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- "There is a great deal of pressure on Israel right
now and Christians seem to be a major source of support for Israel,"
Haggard said, after a private viewing of the film for top evangelicals.
"For the Jewish leaders to risk alienating 2 billion Christians over
a movie seems shortsighted."
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- Haggard said in an interview that his comments were not
meant as a threat, but as a "word of caution" that Jewish complaints
"may come across to some average people as them being against a movie
about Jesus."
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- Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation
League, called Haggard's comments "sad and offensive."
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- "You don't achieve interfaith relationships by being
tolerant of anti-Semitism," Foxman said. "My understanding has
always been that evangelical support of Israel is out of goodwill, good
faith and is not conditioned as a quid pro quo on any issue."
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- An ADL representative saw a screening of the film in
Houston, after which the group complained that the film portrays Jewish
authorities and a Jewish mob as the ones responsible for the decision to
execute Jesus. Gibson has said the movie is not anti-Semitic.
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- Haggard insisted that disagreement over the film would
not destroy the Jewish-Christian alliance on Israel. The National Association
of Evangelicals says it represents 51 conservative denominations with 43,000
congregations.
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- However, some leaders say the dispute is forcing both
sides to confront the uncomfortable theological differences between them.
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- ranging from a sense of shared spiritual heritage to
support for a Jewish homeland after the Holocaust.
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- The strongest pro-Israel sentiment comes from a subset
of evangelicals known as Christian Zionists, who see the existence of modern
Israel as a precondition for the second coming of Christ, which is to be
preceded by a period of extreme violence and the death of millions, including
Jews.
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- Many Jewish leaders have been uneasy about accepting
this support. Even so, conservative Jews and evangelicals have been working
together for Israel more closely than ever. Last year, American Christians
donated $20 million to help Jews resettle in Israel, said Rabbi Yehiel
Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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- Eckstein, who has sought Christian support for Israel
for 25 years, agreed that Haggard's remarks "would confirm for a lot
of Jews their suspicion that there is a quid pro quo." But he argued
the ties between Christians and Jews over Israel are so strong, "it's
not even going to register on the radar screen. It's not even going to
be a blip."
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- Dave Blewett, president of the National Christian Leadership
Conference for Israel, disagreed. He said that until the recent flap over
the movie, Jews troubled by working with evangelicals had concluded they
needed support for Israel so they would deal with religious disagreements
later.
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- "Well, it's all coming up now," Blewett said.
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- The executive committee of his organization, which represents
evangelicals, mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics, plans to discuss
fallout from the movie at its meeting in October.
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- Foxman said he has already received calls from Jews who
had opposed working with evangelicals. They are pointing to Haggard's remarks
as evidence that the partnership is unworkable.
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- But Haggard said Jewish leaders are the ones making relations
more difficult by focusing so intensely on Gibson's film.
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- "I don't think that Christian leaders are going
to compromise on their support of Israel no matter what, certainly not
over their like or dislike of a movie," he said. But, he added, "if
the impression is that Jewish leaders are against the (crucifixion) story
being told, then that's not helpful to us."
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- ON THE NET
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- National Association of Evangelicals: http://www.nae.net/
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- Anti-Defamation League: http://www.adl.org/adl.asp
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- From The Associated Press, available online at: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/6615048.htm
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