Israel Matzav

Christians to lobby against Hagel

A Christian group is bringing over 200 Christian leaders to Washington to lobby every single Senator to stop Chuck Hagel from being confirmed as Secretary of Defense of the United States.

[Christians United For Israel] CUFI, which is organizing the effort through its 501(c)4 offshoot, is arranging meetings with every one of the one hundred Senate offices.

"We're concerned not only that Hagel is a poor choice when it comes to Israel--frankly, we believe he's a poor choice when it comes to America and American security," CUFI executive director David Brog told Breitbart News.

"The number one security threat to America today is an ascendant and potentially nuclear Iran. And Hagel has demonstrated a consistent pattern of opposing economic sanctions on Iran, opposing diplomatic pressure on Iran, opposing the further isolation of Hizbollah, opposing recognizing Iran's Revolutionary Guard as the terrorists they are. As much as he's trying to walk away from his record in recent days, we believe his consistent record of action is far more important than his recent words," Brog said.

"And as far as we are concerned, if you don't recognize the number one security threat to America, how can you defend agains it?"

CUFI's aggressive approach stands in stark contrast to that of other pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has remained silent and inactive on the Hagel nomination. Jewish groups in particular, aside from the Republican Jewish Coalition, have been reluctant to oppose Hagel actively, though some have voiced criticisms and concerns. Hagel met with AIPAC and several Jewish groups last week.

...

The diversity of the pro-Israel community is relevant to the controversy over Hagel's 2006 remark that the "Jewish lobby" was responsible for "intimidating people." CUFI is, by far, the largest pro-Israel organization in the country, with more than 1.2 million members across fifty states, according to officials. AIPAC, by contrast, has 100,000 members, according to its website. Hagel has since expressed regret for his choice of words.

Hmmm.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Christians United for Israel, Chuck Hagel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 PM