"How can I vote for Bush and not violate a religious trust?" the Christian pastor asked me.
We were sitting in a Jerusalem hotel lobby over a cup of coffee, and the aforementioned pastor, who heads a major Evangelical church in America's Bible Belt, was clearly in anguish. I had asked him jokingly, I thought, if he were voting for George Bush or John Kerry in the upcoming US Elections. His answer knocked me for a loop.
"I won't vote for Senator Kerry," he said, "I have supported President Bush because he is a man of moral integrity. But after his UN speech two weeks ago where he spoke about Israel and the Palestinians with the same type of cheap moral relativism used in the left-liberal media, it was more than I could swallow," stated the southern reverend.
In his September 21, 2004, United Nations speech, President Bush declared: "Israel should impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people, and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations." In the same breath, so to speak, Mr. Bush called on the Palestinians to fight terror, as if Israeli settlement building was equal to Palestinian Arab suicide bombers blowing up grandmothers and school children riding city buses, or unauthorized outposts was equal to firing Kassam rockets onto city streets, murdering toddlers in their playground.
"But isn't George W. Bush the best friend Israel ever had in the White House?" I protested.
"There is no question that Mr. Bush is a good and moral person who means well, but it is equally clear that he has evil advisors that have influenced him to support an evil and immoral policy," explained the pastor.
"The American Ambassador to Israel, a Clinton administration appointee, seems to be working extra hours in pushing the Israelis to freeze settlements and dismantle unauthorized outposts. Why isn't he pushing the Palestinians to fight terror?" the reverend asked. "After all, even according to that Road Map plan, the Palestinians are supposed to first and foremost fight and stop terrorism before Israel is supposed to do anything. But all our ambassador has on his mind, apparently, is this obsession to prevent Jews from living in the Biblical heartland. I never understood why the Bush administration kept him on. And I wouldn't be surprised that if Kerry wins, this fellow will stay on to keep pushing this left-liberal policy as if there was no Bush administration between Clinton and Kerry. I won't vote for Mr. Kerry, but I can't vote for Mr. Bush the way he is talking and his policy people are acting," declared the angry pastor.
I asked him why the settlement of Jews throughout Israel's Biblical heartland was so important as to affect his decision on voting in an American election.
"We Christians who support Israel know full well the Old Testament passages that apportion Israel to the Jewish people, refer to the Jews as God's Chosen People and His promise that He will bless those who bless the Jewish people. In Genesis 12:3, it is written: 'And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curse thee will I curse,'" declared the Christian clergyman.
"I can't vote for a man who actively supports the uprooting of Jews from their Biblical homeland; it's immoral and I cannot abide such behavior. My commitment is to a Higher Authority. If Mr. Bush doesn't change his policy on uprooting Jewish families from their homes," said the American Evangelical pastor, "I will have no choice but to stay home on Election Day and pray."
We were sitting in a Jerusalem hotel lobby over a cup of coffee, and the aforementioned pastor, who heads a major Evangelical church in America's Bible Belt, was clearly in anguish. I had asked him jokingly, I thought, if he were voting for George Bush or John Kerry in the upcoming US Elections. His answer knocked me for a loop.
"I won't vote for Senator Kerry," he said, "I have supported President Bush because he is a man of moral integrity. But after his UN speech two weeks ago where he spoke about Israel and the Palestinians with the same type of cheap moral relativism used in the left-liberal media, it was more than I could swallow," stated the southern reverend.
In his September 21, 2004, United Nations speech, President Bush declared: "Israel should impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people, and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations." In the same breath, so to speak, Mr. Bush called on the Palestinians to fight terror, as if Israeli settlement building was equal to Palestinian Arab suicide bombers blowing up grandmothers and school children riding city buses, or unauthorized outposts was equal to firing Kassam rockets onto city streets, murdering toddlers in their playground.
"But isn't George W. Bush the best friend Israel ever had in the White House?" I protested.
"There is no question that Mr. Bush is a good and moral person who means well, but it is equally clear that he has evil advisors that have influenced him to support an evil and immoral policy," explained the pastor.
"The American Ambassador to Israel, a Clinton administration appointee, seems to be working extra hours in pushing the Israelis to freeze settlements and dismantle unauthorized outposts. Why isn't he pushing the Palestinians to fight terror?" the reverend asked. "After all, even according to that Road Map plan, the Palestinians are supposed to first and foremost fight and stop terrorism before Israel is supposed to do anything. But all our ambassador has on his mind, apparently, is this obsession to prevent Jews from living in the Biblical heartland. I never understood why the Bush administration kept him on. And I wouldn't be surprised that if Kerry wins, this fellow will stay on to keep pushing this left-liberal policy as if there was no Bush administration between Clinton and Kerry. I won't vote for Mr. Kerry, but I can't vote for Mr. Bush the way he is talking and his policy people are acting," declared the angry pastor.
I asked him why the settlement of Jews throughout Israel's Biblical heartland was so important as to affect his decision on voting in an American election.
"We Christians who support Israel know full well the Old Testament passages that apportion Israel to the Jewish people, refer to the Jews as God's Chosen People and His promise that He will bless those who bless the Jewish people. In Genesis 12:3, it is written: 'And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curse thee will I curse,'" declared the Christian clergyman.
"I can't vote for a man who actively supports the uprooting of Jews from their Biblical homeland; it's immoral and I cannot abide such behavior. My commitment is to a Higher Authority. If Mr. Bush doesn't change his policy on uprooting Jewish families from their homes," said the American Evangelical pastor, "I will have no choice but to stay home on Election Day and pray."