Sen. Joe Lieberman's ties to "Left Behind" fanboys -- <font size = "4">The Drunks Bar </font size "4">

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Date Posted: 03:41:54 01/22/03 Wed
Author: Sister Regina Dentata
Subject: Sen. Joe Lieberman's ties to "Left Behind" fanboys

source
I read this article and am reminded of a scene in Elie Wiesel's Night where Moshe the beadle is pleading with the people in Wiesel's hometown to flee and not get into the cattle cars, saying that the Germans were planning something more insane than even the worst progoms, and no one believes him.

As for the Apoca-Fundies; say what you will about Heaven's Gate, at least their reaction to living in what they saw as a base and fallen world was to simply take themselves out, not to decide to pass a death sentence on the whole damn planet...

What About Those End Times, Mr. President?
Sen. Joe Lieberman announces his candidacy, but not his association with lunatic fringe of Biblical prophecy

by Edward Ericson - January 16, 2003

The image is jarring: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, presidential candidate, appears on an infomercial asking Evangelical Christians to donate money to "rescue a Jew.""'On Wings of Eagles' is a modern-day fulfillment of Biblical prophesy," the voiceover in the infomercial says, over images of huddled Russian Jews at the airport, smiling as they presumably wait to leave Russia for Israel.
The half-hour appeal aired on the afternoon of Jan. 2 on Paxson Broadcasting (PAX) stations across the nation (locally on WHPX, channel 26), according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the Chicago-based nonprofit that paid for the spot. Alongside Lieberman, testimonials come from stars of the Christian Right, including convicted Watergate felon Charles Colson, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, and Moral Majority head Jerry Falwell.

Critics of the Christian Right say the IFCJ's appeal to "prophesy" in their infomercial is a thinly veiled reference to Armageddon, the Second Coming of Christ and the moment when nonbelievers -- Jews included -- will be cast into the lake of fire. Jewish critics of the IFCJ say the group demeans the dignity of Jews.

Yet from 1994 to 1999, Lieberman, who on Monday announced his bid for the presidency, served as co-chair of one of IFCJ's projects, the Washington-based Center for Jewish and Christian Values.

Lieberman's long association with the IFCJ is, if not a secret, a little-known detail of his biography. No examination of it was made during Lieberman's bid for the vice presidency in 2000. The secular, mainstream press has taken no notice.

His appearance in the infomercial -- replete with scenes from the Nazi Holocaust and repeated invocations of prophecy -- raises questions:

� When did Lieberman tape this message, which consists of testimonial for Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the leader of the IFCJ?

� Did the senator know it would be used in an infomercial?

� Does Lieberman believe that we're in the End Times?

The Advocate described the IFCJ's tape in detail to Lieberman's press secretary, Adam Kovacevich, who said last week he would ask Lieberman about it. On Monday, however, Kovacevich said he would not consult Lieberman until The Advocate sent him a copy of the tape. "We have no recent record of the senator making this video," said Kovacevich. "So without seeing it I'm unable to comment."

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein founded IFCJ in 1983, soon after his ordination at New York's Yeshiva University. Its mission, according to its website, is "to foster better relations and understanding between Christians and Jews ... and help build support for Israel and Jews in crises or need."The group toiled in obscurity for its first decade. Then in 1994, Eckstein shifted focus, appearing on Pat Robertson's 700 Club to pitch Christians. Robertson's flock responded generously; IFCJ's budget thereafter ballooned from about $500,000 to, last year, $27.5 million. Eckstein boasts that his organization has "saved" more than 200,000 Jews from Russia.

This alliance of conservative Jews and Christians raised eyebrows in both the Jewish and Christian worlds.

Jewish Anti-Defamation League executive director Abraham Foxman has said he is horrified that Jews are soliciting Christians. "Eckstein is selling the dignity of the Jewish people and the state of Israel by pandering to Christians for money," he told The Jerusalem Report for a 1999 profile on Eckstein.

Falwell, incidentally, has said that the Antichrist will be a Jewish male who is probably "alive somewhere today," a statement that set off charges of anti-Semitism in 1999.

And why do Evangelical Christians give so generously to move poor Russian Jews to Israel? Eckstein's critics say the answer lies in Evangelical Christians' preoccupation with End Times prophesy.

"From their worldview," notes Nikhil Aziz, a researcher with Political Research Associates, a Massachusetts-based think tank, "the permanent establishment of Israel is a prerequisite for the second coming of Christ."

According to many evangelicals the Second Coming will be preceded by the establishment of Israel, and the return of all the Jews. The Jews will construct the "Third Temple," and there will be a great battle. When Christ reappears, those Jews who remain alive will be given a choice: convert or die.

"The support from the religious right is not so much support for Israel for political convictions, but support for Israel because of theological convictions," says Weldon Gaddy, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, a liberal Washington group. "And this is one part of a strategy for seeing the conversion of Jews."

Eckstein calls that "hogwash" and cites a poll his group did of its donors, where only between 1 and 5 percent gave to hasten the End Times. "Our study found that the majority supported Israel not for theological reasons, but because of democracy and the shared values that we had," he says.

The Lieberman endorsement, in which Lieberman calls Eckstein "the leader ... probably in the world" in promoting dialogue between Jews and evangelicals, came several years ago for a ceremony in which IFCJ was honored by another group, Eckstein says. Eckstein says he never told Lieberman he would use the tape as part of his "Wings of Eagles" appeal but, "when a senator does something like that, unless there is a reason to revoke the endorsement, then we can use it," he says.

The "project" may also have direct political consequences. The Likud government, reeling from scandal but always more hawkish about suppressing the Palestinians than the rival Labor party, had drawn support from the exploding population of former Russians relocated by IFCJ and similar organizations in Israel. Former Soviet emigres now represent more than one-sixth of Israel's voters."I have a concern that Senator Lieberman know the context in which these activities are taking place," says Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance. "I would say to him precisely what I said to President Bush in a letter to him -- that Americans have a right to know that U.S. foreign policy is not being shaped by just one interpretation of biblical prophesy."

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Lieberman's presidential chances -- NKLS Cody, 12:17:23 01/22/03 Wed