Israel will not be building a Christian tourism complex in the Galilee with Pat Robertson’s funding.
Tourism Minister Avraham Hirchson has shunned US evangelical leader Pat Robertson shortly before the two were to sign a major funding deal for the Galilee Christian Heritage Center after Robertson suggested that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was a punishment from God for the Gaza Strip withdrawal, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
“The minister has very strong views on this and cannot accept what was said,” Tourism Ministry spokesman Ido Hartuv said. “We reconsidered the deal and realized that we cannot sign with Robertson or anyone who supports his views.”
Hartuv stressed that this was an attack on Robertson and his comments rather than a rejection of the evangelical community as a whole, which has become a target group for Israeli tourism in 2006.
Well, yeah.
The AP picked up this story, too, and put their own spin on it. It’s subtle, and barely there, but this part doesn’t feel quite right:
Israel was considering leasing the land to the Christians for free. Hirschson predicted it would draw up to 1 million pilgrims annually who would spend $1.5 billion in Israel and support about 40,000 jobs.
Hirschson, however, is one of Sharon’s biggest supporters, and a member of the centrist Kadima party recently founded by the prime minister.
What’s with the “however”? If anyone can figure out what it’s doing there, I’d love to know.
Well, within the context of this article, yea, it doesn’t fit very well.
It is already established that slandering sharon is a show-stopper (with the Israeli government) and that establishing Hirschson in the Sharon camp as rather redundant.
I’d either liken the ‘however’ as an Irish Pendant (sloppy writing) or an idealogues’ inference that can only be deciphered by people of like mind as his (…or by reading other articles by this guy and determining the pattern of his writing).
Yes!!! Evangelists are more dangerous to Israel than we can realize. By shooting off his mouth, Robertson saved Israelis from having one more missionary center targetting the ignorant and the vulnerable. I for one am grateful that Robertson managed to to trip himself up — Vayiftach Hashem es pi ha-ason . . .[“And God opened the donkey’s mouth . . .”, see Parshas Balak]
About time people stopped kissing evangelist tush just because they’re real vocal about “we support Israel.” Talk is cheap, cheap shots about strokes reveal the real charachter.
And now I see that I spoke to soon. Per today’s AP story, Israel will continue to allow the center as a base for evangelical activity — they just won’t deal with Robertson. One of his buddies will simply take over negotiations for the center, and Israel will go forward with the project.
What, you say? The evangelicals have promised NOT to use the center as a means to seek Jewish converts? If you believe that promise, I’ve got a hudna you may be interested in buying.