January 24, 2003
HOW BIG A TENT?:
What About Those End Times, Mr. President?: Sen. Joe Lieberman announces his candidacy, but not his association with lunatic fringe of Biblical prophecy (Edward Ericson, January 16, 2003, Hartford Advocate)The image is jarring: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, presidential candidate, appears on an infomercial asking Evangelical Christians to donate money to "rescue a Jew.""'On Wings of Eagles' is a modern-day fulfillment of Biblical prophesy," the voiceover in the infomercial says, over images of huddled Russian Jews at the airport, smiling as they presumably wait to leave Russia for Israel.The half-hour appeal aired on the afternoon of Jan. 2 on Paxson Broadcasting (PAX) stations across the nation (locally on WHPX, channel 26), according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the Chicago-based nonprofit that paid for the spot. Alongside Lieberman, testimonials come from stars of the Christian Right, including convicted Watergate felon Charles Colson, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, and Moral Majority head Jerry Falwell. [...]
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein founded IFCJ in 1983, soon after his ordination at New York's Yeshiva University. Its mission, according to its website, is "to foster better relations and understanding between Christians and Jews ... and help build support for Israel and Jews in crises or need."The group toiled in obscurity for its first decade. Then in 1994, Eckstein shifted focus, appearing on Pat Robertson's 700 Club to pitch Christians. Robertson's flock responded generously; IFCJ's budget thereafter ballooned from about $500,000 to, last year, $27.5 million. Eckstein boasts that his organization has "saved" more than 200,000 Jews from Russia. [...]
The "project" may also have direct political consequences. The Likud government, reeling from scandal but always more hawkish about suppressing the Palestinians than the rival Labor party, had drawn support from the exploding population of former Russians relocated by IFCJ and similar organizations in Israel. Former Soviet emigres now represent more than one-sixth of Israel's voters.
One fails to see how Democrats will benefit from attacking Joe Lieberman's religious associations. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 24, 2003 7:20 PM
Bravo to Rabbi Eckstein. Foxman's horror at Jews asking Christians for money is just one more instance of his anti-Christian bigotry.
As for Gaddy's statement that "Americans have a right to know that U.S. foreign policy is not being shaped by just one interpretation of biblical prophesy," I'm a bit puzzled. Would Gaddy be satisfied if American foreign policy were based on two interpretations of biblical prophecy?