JEWISH WORLD

C hristian Zionism has also faced resistance in its efforts to be accepted by the Jewish community. For one, the Jewish community has faced centuries of anti-Semitism at the hands of Christians, who have perennially persecuted Jews and encouraged conversion. “After working with the Jewish community for more than 40 years, I’ve come to fully understand their hesitancy to work with Christians. I believe we’ve done a fairly good job of showing that we are exclu- sively focused on supporting Israel and combatting anti-Semitism,” said Hagee. “We’ve kept true to our word that we are a non-conversion- ary association, and today, when we approach members of the Jewish community, hesitation is the excep- tion, not the rule.” At the same time, politics have played a role in creating suspicion among American Jews of Chris- tians. The American Jewish com- munity overwhelmingly supports the Democratic Party and liberal policies, while evangelicals are closely tied to the Republican Party and conservative issues. Hagee dismissed this, saying that while not everyone may share in their policies, they hardly ever encounter rejection from the Jewish community. “CUFI is well-known, and while not all of our policy positions are shared by all corners of any com- munity, including the Jewish com- munity, in our experience only a small minority of members of the Jewish community decline to work with CUFI,” he recounted. Among the successes that CUFI cited has been its involvement with the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in May 2018 and the U.S. recognition of Israeli sover- eignty over the Golan Heights the next year. At the same time, the group has also been part of advancing legisla- tion including the Never Again Education Act, the Taylor Force Act and the Sanctioning of the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act. Hagee also noted the Never Again Education Act, Executive Order 13899 on combating Anti- Semitism, consistent bipartisan support for U.S. aid to Israel year after year, and the advancement of anti-BDS legislation on college campuses and states across the country. S andra Parker, chairwoman of the CUFI Action Fund, which serves as the group’s lobbying arm, said several issues that CUFI is working on coincide with core con- cerns of the Biden administration. “We are a nonpartisan associa- tion, and we see areas, such as Turkey, where we feel CUFI and the Biden administration strongly agree,” she said, referring to the group’s support for sanctions on Turkey related to the F-35 fighter- jet program, which the Biden administration extended. And while CUFI was very vocal in its opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and supported former President Donald Trump’s decision to leave it, it hopes to work closely with U.S. President Joe Biden and his staff on the issue. Parker said the organization aims “to help shape the thinking in Wa- shington as it relates to Iran. We do not believe that the U.S. should return to the JCPOA or be taken in by Iran’s pre-nuclear blackmail.” At the state level, Parker said they work on several common areas with Jewish and pro-Israel groups. “CUFI is engaged at the state level like never before, continuing to advance anti-BDS legislation, and this year, we’ve started to work on Holocaust education issues as well,” she said. W ith 2021 marking CUFI’s 15th anniversary, the organi- zation says that it continues to grow rapidly despite challenges brought on by the coronavirus pan- demic. “Prior to the pandemic, CUFI was hosting an average of 50 events per month in cities and towns across the country and an annual summit with an average of 5,000 in attendance. Since March of last year, we’ve had to make a dramatic shift in the way we engage our members and the nation,” Shari Dollinger, co-execu- tive director of CUFI, told JNS . Dollinger said that the pandemic has helped them reach new sup- porters while still staying engaged with its current members. “CUFI has seen a dramatic increase in online engagement. For example, after we held our summit virtually, we saw more than 300,000 emails sent to elected offi- cials in support of the summit poli- cy agenda items,” she said. Additionally, Dollinger said they have rolled out a host of online engagement opportunities, such as small-group study series and online content such as short videos. “In some respects, I feel we had the building blocks already in place that enabled us to grow even during the pandemic,” she said. “CUFI’s emphasis on digital engagement has always been strong.” Looking towards the future and a post-pandemic world, Dollinger stressed that CUFI will continue to focus on providing educational content for its 10 million members and hopes to return to in-person events soon. “In the long-term, this educa- tional focus will remain, but I hope and pray we will be able to return to the kind of face-to-face interac- tions that have such a dramatic impact. Among those, of course, are trips to Israel. Once it’s safe to do so, we plan on ramping up our pastor trips to the Jewish state without delay. “We may not be on the first flight, but we won’t be far behind,” she assured. A s for the U.S.-Israel relation- ship, Parker said that while she remains optimistic for the future, she’s also concerned about the threats to it as well. In particular, she noted that CUFI is “deeply concerned” about fringe elements that have made their way to Congress in the past few years. “Congress is no place for anti- Semitism, conspiracy theories and the like,” she stated. “Israel-haters, isolationists and all those who would traffic in anti-Semitic tropes or attack the Jewish state should be shunned from both political par- ties.” Indeed, CUFI was outspoken in condemning Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and urged her removal from committees in the House of Representatives. “Unfortunately, I am disturbed that party leaders have not gotten their houses in order, but then again, the American people ulti- mately decide who goes to Washington to represent them, and the American people are over- whelmingly pro-Israel,” said Parker. Moving forward, Hagee empha- sizes that as long as CUFI remains “true to its Biblical values” that he does not see anything stopping it. “We grow because our message resonates, and it resonates because it is an honest and true representa- tion of Israel’s Biblical, moral and historical claim to exist as an inde- pendent, sovereign nation,” he said. “We have an impact because our people understand that to be a faithful supporter of Israel requires action and failure to act provides Israel’s enemies abroad and the anti-Semites here at home with an opening for their hatred to take root and propagate — not on CUFI’s watch!” Sean Savage is the news editor of the Jewish News Syndicate. JNS.org “CUFI is engaged at the state level like never before, advancing anti-BDS legislation and Holocaust education.” Supporters of CUFI at the 2019 “Night to Honor Israel” at Pastor John Hagee’s Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. Mareyah Washington, a junior at St. Augustine University and head of the school’s CUFI chapter. Pastor Jay Bailey, lead pastor of Solid Rock Church in Columbus, Ga., and Georgia State Director for CUFI. JEWISH WORLD • MARCH 19-25, 2021 19