The latest Hagee flap: Did McCain backer blame Jews for the Holocaust?
By Ami Eden on May 22, 2008 in John Hagee, Uncategorized |
Pastor John Hagee, who offered a high-profile endorsement of John McCain earlier this year, is again under the microcscope, thanks to this article on HunffingtonPost about his assertion that the Holocaust was essentially God’s punishment for Jews who did not leave Europe for Palestine.
The bad news for Hagee (and McCain): The comments are on YouTube.
The cherry on top for Democrats … To make his case, Hagee quoted from Jeremiah. Wonder who that will make people think of?
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, has written Hagee a letter, asking for an explanation.
Pastor Hagee is preaching scripture the way he, and even some Jews, see it. This might not be a politically correct understanding, but it is one way to interpret Jeremiah in light of history. Hagee’s preaching is a far cry from having a political agenda that puts another continent above one’s own country that one wants to lead. And Sen. McCain does not belong to Hagee’s church, nor has he asked for his counsel in the campaign, nor has he sat under Hagee’s teachings for 20 years. Trying to make this a campaign issue is really digging on the Democrat’s part, obfiscating the real problem which is that neither of the Democratic candidates possess the experience that McCain does in leadership and in international diplomacy.
Cathy | May 22, 2008 | Reply
Hagee’s opinion is actually relatively accepted amongst the dati leumi. All Hashem’s judgements are based on divine decrees - there was a divine decree for 40 years in the desert, for the destruction of the 1st temple, for the destruction of the 2nd temple, for the expulsion from Spain, so why not for the Shoah? According to R Issachar Teichtal z”l, the decree is not so much the reflection of all European Jews having sinned, but the pre-Shoah Orthodox Rabbis who published court decrees speaking against Aliya as a wall (Aliya en masse).
Frank | May 22, 2008 | Reply
Hagee is in concordance with many national orthodox poskim. Shoah was based on a divine decree, and the lack of Ahavat Israel (love of the land of Israel) is what prompted this evil decree. Those that do not love the land of Israel and not work on rebuilding the temple deserve no blessing…
Frank | May 22, 2008 | Reply
I think that is a misguided interpretation of Jeremiah by someone who is looking to find why God “let” the Holocaust happen. His God is a vindictive God apparently. Hunters and fishermen generally want the prey they seek. The Nazis were not hunters, they were exterminators and saw the Jews as vermin. McCain isn’t a member of his church so to attribute Hagee’s views to McCain would be a mistake.
Jen | May 22, 2008 | Reply
McCain’s link to Hagee endangers the possibility for peace in Israel. His position is to work for the seconed comming. Like the other evangelicals, he opposes a two state solution and peace with the Palestinians. THat policy dominated Bush and led to the more dangerous position Isreal is in now.
McCain saying this is a Christian country further endorsces the Hagee’s of our country and their attempts to use our government to convert Jews.
Lori ZImmerman | May 22, 2008 | Reply
This is a theological debate that has no place in this year’s political campaign. I know many rabbis who would agree with Hagee. Many others would disagree. Trying to connect this somehow to McCain and then use it to offset the patently offensive comments of Reverend Wright is a sick attempt by those who have no respect for religion to divide our community. How does sowing hate against Christians who are so obviously pro-Zionist advance anything except someone’s misguided political agenda?
Ben Strout | May 22, 2008 | Reply
I have heard many Orthodox rabbis say similar things.
Alice | May 22, 2008 | Reply
Actually, it is a tenet of Jewish faith, that what happens to us, whether good or bad, is due to a divine decree [Eric Yoffie doesn't believe in divine decrees, but then, he isn't an orthodox rabbi]. So shoah would definitely qualify in that respect. And one of the features for which such divine decree could have been met out was the failure of most orthodox rabbis who lived in continental Europe to encourage Aliya before the Shoah came.
Frank | May 22, 2008 | Reply
Pastor Hagee’s comments are neither unique nor disturbing. The simple facts are that one can find Orthodox theologians, both Charedi and Religious Zionist, who maintain that the Holocaust, which Reform leader Eric Yoffee seems to minimize as to its genocidal cause and effect against European Jewry, was caused for a variety of theologically based reasons. Only a Reform Jewish leader would pass over in complete silence the fact that Reform Judaism’s assimilation based policies and hostility towards Zionism played no small part both in the events that led to the Holocaust and the silence of American Jewry during this tragic period.
Steve Brizel | May 22, 2008 | Reply
Watch; Hagee is dealing with what i call biblical logic which is rather difficult to follow and he could be right. Ask the Rabbis about the second last plague and whom it was mean for. It will take time but Hagee will be vindicated. I don’t wish to elaborate at this point.
Secondly, one need to point out that Christians today[as do Jews in the diaspora]face the same danger of assimilation as did the Jews in Europe in the countdown to the holocaust. What am I saying? WATCH, Yeshua did say Luke 21:34. Do not be caught up in traditional Christian theologising; may Hashem show mercy.
Joshua, Nairobi - Kenya
Joshua | May 22, 2008 | Reply
I wonder what your God is saying on the behalf of many millions that the West has killed to fulfill their thirst for profit and the expanding of their colonies… I tried to figure it out, I am desperately trying to understand God’s logic coming out of fascist , religious figures I tried to follow up if I could, at some point I wonder what would be written of the un chosen people’s own bible, such American Indians, or Maya’s, etc, unfortunately there was no reference to Israel, or Jews.. Or may be there was but its hard to see it, there was none left to verify. How dump you people possibly be to workshop a racist God. Why Jews in the holy land? Where is that land? Why can’t be Texas? Zionist is the only force by design has killed and perished Judaism for no return!!!!
Ish | May 23, 2008 | Reply
I think: In escence it has some truth in it, but: The Hebrews/Jews as a people gave the civilisation a lot of values, thus therefore BLAME? Is inapropriate. Just hapenned that they lost their land being exiled and since then as OUTSIDERS, they suferred endless ending with being used by Hitler as escape gosts for the failure of his one people/Germans after the FIRST WORLD WAR consecuenses.
Zvi Glaser | May 23, 2008 | Reply
What you struggle with is no different than what human kind struggles with….the soveirengty and providence of all mightty God. Second, people struggle with letting the Bible (both jewish and christians) interpret itself. Unforetunetly, we only agree or take parts of the bible we understand or agree with. Of course, if you don’t believe the bible is God’s written word, you can through the baby out with the bathwater on this..lol..This case has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with theology.
HV | May 24, 2008 | Reply
“Like the other evangelicals, he opposes a two state solution and peace with the Palestinians. THat policy dominated Bush and led to the more dangerous position Isreal is in now.”
Lori, you have just shown yourself to be totally ignorant of the Bush Admin policy regarding Israel/Palestinians.
As to this entire manufactured non-troversy, it is nothing but a media creation to 1) try to distract from Obama’s REAL problem of having sat under (and subjected his children to) the tutelage of a raving lunatic racist and 2) bring Jewish voters, who are very suspicious of Obama’s ties to anti-Semites (like his “pastor”) and Islamists, back to Obama
Chet Lemon | May 25, 2008 | Reply
Hagee seems to have blamed God for the Holocaust, i.e. it was “God’s plan” to get Jews to move to Israel (and presumably promote international support for a Jewish homeland). I see where Hagee is coming from, even though I don’t like where he is going.
Remember that Evangelical Christians also think that Roman persecution of Christians, and of course Jesus’ crucifixion, were all part of God’s plan to promote Christianity. It was “necessary” for martyrs to be thrown to lions to get pagan Romans interested in Christianity. Nonetheless, McCain is better off without this controversy, and Hagee himself withdrew his endorsement for this reason.
Now let’s get back to Obama’s solicitation, promotion, and empowerment of racists (Wright, Sharpton, and until he was FORCED to reject him, Farrakhan), anti-Semites (Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, MoveOn.org), and Catholic-hating bigots (Farrakhan, MoveOn.org).
Bill Levinson | May 27, 2008 | Reply