January 30, 2009
News coverage about the nation of Israel doesn’t often cover the tiny country’s history of struggle against surrounding areas. At worst, coverage can be flatly biased against Israel, painting the nation as a Middle East aggressor.
One group in the United States is working against those portrayals. Christians United For Israel (CUFI) takes seriously the biblical mandates to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), to speak out for Zion’s sake (Isaiah 62:1), to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6), and to bless the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3).
In an interview this week, CUFI’s Executive Director David Brog spoke with Crosswalk.com about the precarious issues Israel faces, including the tense situation following the most recent conflagration at the Gaza-Israel border.
“Don’t blame the Gazans for the mortar strikes,” said Brog. “Blame Hamas. Hamas seized control of Gaza through a military coup. They have never recognized Israel’s right to exist and continue to embrace terrorism in word and deed. The international force in Sinai has to make sure the arms smuggling into Gaza from Egypt stops.”
CUFI is still waiting to see if newly-elected President Barack Obama’s pro-Israel campaign rhetoric will turn into actual policy.
“There has been a lot of speculation, but CUFI is not engaging in speculation,” Brog said. “During his campaign, President Obama said a lot of positive things about Israel’s security being sacrosanct and a nuclear Iran being unacceptable. CUFI has hopes that President Obama will keep his promises. If differences emerge between his words and his deeds, we will address them then.”
The “New Hitler”
Recent Gaza strikes and administration changes aside, particularly grim threats from one of Israel’s neighbors, President Ahmadinejad of Iran, propelled the creation of CUFI.
In February 2006, believing Israel was in peril from “a new Hitler in the Middle East” (Ahmadinejad), CUFI was created as a national grassroots movement for her support.
The group's Web site voices a desire for Christians to take up their role as protectors of the innocent, in addition to the biblical mandates.
“During the Holocaust, too many Christians were silent, and we were left to mourn the slaughter of six million Jews," it reads. "Today, Bible-believing Christians must speak up and stand up for Israel. We must act to do whatever we can to protect Israel’s six million Jews from the second Holocaust. We must. Our faith demands it. The times require it. Silence is not an option.”
Over 400 America Christian leaders joined CUFI to launch this new initiative. Founded in 2006, CUFI now claims to be the largest Christian grassroots movement in America with directors in every state and city directors in over 90 of America’s leading cities. Under the leadership of Brog and other directors, CUFI hosts citywide events celebrating Israel, a yearly July Washington-Israel Summit in Washington, D.C., and a biannual solidarity summit in Israel.
CUFI’s aims also extend beyond support building and news distribution for Israel. The group also works to shape public policy through communication with elected officials.
An Continual Crisis
At this moment, a tense peace reigns between Gaza’s Hamas leaders and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). But since little or nothing enforceable has been agreed upon, and if the past is any indicator of the future, Brog says it is probably only a matter of time until mortars and gunfire begin again — unless there is a change in Palestinian leadership.
“Since 2001 [when Israel withdrew from Gaza], over 10,000 mortars have been fired into Israel from Gaza,” said Brog. “Under similar circumstances, most sovereign nations would have moved to protect their citizens a long time ago.
“At the time of its withdrawal, Israel had high hopes for helping Gaza develop its economy. The Israelis left greenhouses intact and built an industrial center on the border. The terrorists destroyed the greenhouses and forced the closure of the industrial center.”
He continued, “Terrorists such as Hamas are the source of trouble. If reasonable, moderate leadership would take control [of Gaza and the Palestinian Territories] and reign in the terrorists, there could be peace.”
Brog dismissed the perception of Israel as the aggressor in the latest conflict, pinning the conflict squarely on Hamas.
“Israeli mothers are tired of sending their sons off to war. The Israel public wants peace. But the terrorists who seek only to kill innocents and block peace must first be stopped.”
CUFI Future Agendas
CUFI plans to take up the issue of the shrinking, oppressed Palestinian Christian population at its Washington, D.C. summit in July. As with Israel’s woes, Brog underlined that Muslim terrorists are the main source of trouble for the West Bank’s remaining Christians.
Brog admits some in the Jewish community are understandably suspicious that CUFI’s secret agenda to target Jews for evangelism. But he underlined that CUFI has a non-conversionary policy:
“The Genesis 12:3 biblical mandate — to bless the Jewish people — is our purpose. Our agenda remains to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. Christians want to get it right this time. Israel is in danger. It is time to speak up and stand up for her.”
Rebekah Montgomery, author/speaker/teacher, is a gifted, dynamic communicator. She is the author of more than five books and has penned 1,100 articles. She shares tough real-life topics and biblical application in a simple easy to grasp manner. To book Rebekah for your next event visit www.rebekahmontgomery.com. Rebekah is also the editor of Right to the Heart of Women and a publisher at Jubilant Press.
