Hagee’s Christians United for Israel (CUFI) reaches one million members

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The news will be announced Sunday evening in Jerusalem, when the Prime Minister of Israel will address several hundred new members of Christians United for Israel – the Christian lobby known as CUFI. Pastor John Hagee, the founder leader of the group, will be there, celebrating this achievement.

And it is an achievement, no doubt. Just two years ago, the 500,000 mark was passed, with some fanfare. Now it has doubled.

I covered the launch of CUFI just a few years ago, and it is now by far the largest pro-Israel organization in the US. Like it or hate it – as some still do - ignoring it is no longer an option. Not for Israel’s government (this was never really in doubt: Israel will take whatever support it can get), not for other pro-Israel lobbies (as Nathan Guttman aptly put it: “the shofar-blowing, hora-dancing Christian evangelicals are now an integral part of the pro-Israel advocacy scene”), not for Congressional legislators. One million members mean that many Congressmen and women have a lot of CUFI members in their districts, ready to take action.

CUFI has members in all 50 states, it hold dozens of events every month in every corner of the US. In Washington, its annual conference attracts more than 5,000 participants. It is powerful and growing stronger, even though a word of caution is advised: A member of CUFI only has to sign on and give an active email address – no dues involved. But the leaders of CUFI say that such emails are what make CUFI’s potential impact. Behind the active emails there are active supporters, ready to send a letter, to attend a rally, to call a congressman, to make contribution when necessary.

True, most of it, if not all, are of the Republican electorate and legislative arm. The Republican Jewish Coalition has just released a statement on the “growing Israel gap” between Republican and Democrats (78% of Republicans sympathize with Israel compared to 53% of Democrats – this is a problem I’ve written about quite a lot in the past), and the power of CUFI is yet another sign of the strong support for Israel among America’s right wing voters."

http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/john_hagees_christians_united_for_israel_reaches_one_million_members_201203/

[Justice wanted]

1. That jerk is a mess. He wants the end of the world.

[LeftishBrit]

2. These nutters 'support' Israel as a useful pawn, not a friend.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. That is true. The Palestinians have the same problem with other groups.

[shaayecanaan]

4. pretty much an irrelevance

As the op makes clear, all one has to do to be considered a member is to supply an email address. The size of its annual summit (5000 is pretty small beer in the scheme of things) would indicate that they are not setting the world on fire.

The main issues with these people are gay marriage, abortion and so forth, if Israel does factor into their considerations it is still a fair way down the list.