TABLET MAG
by Rick Richman
September 2014
As the attacks on Israel turn wild and violent around the world, perhaps it is time for those who do support Israel–Jews and Christians–to join forces?
On June 23, 2014, two days after the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted 310 to 304 to divest from companies doing business with Israel, the organization Christians United for Israel (CUFI) issued an “action alert” to its 1.75 million members. The alert condemned the action and said, “Happily, this small and shrinking denomination does not speak for America’s Christians.” Within 24 hours, 26,000 CUFI members emailed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “As an American Christian, I want you to know that the PCUSA does not speak for me.”
PCUSA’s membership has been declining for more than a decade, while CUFI’s has grown exponentially. Pastor John Hagee, head of the non-denominational, 20,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, founded CUFI in 2006. Two years later, it had grown to 100,000 members, reaching one million in 2012, 1.5 million in 2013, and now has 1.75 million today. Its membership currently exceeds the total number of all Presbyterians in the United States.
CUFI is now the largest pro-Israel organization in the world in terms of membership, and one of the most active Christian organizations in America. It has held more than 1,700 pro-Israel events, including 260 formal “Nights to Honor Israel.” It hosts an average of 40 pro-Israel events a month; holds regular conference calls with Israeli and American officials and pastors; has a growing campus organization at more than 300 colleges; publishes a quarterly magazine; and has a Facebook page with 1.2 million “likes,” more than 10 times that of AIPAC and J Street combined…..
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