Prominent U.S. Pastor Says Israel Is Not the 'Occupier' but the 'Owner' of the Holy Land

Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, tells an Israeli newspaper that Israel is not an “occupier” but is rather the “owner” of the land of Israel, despite its portrayal to the contrary in mainstream media.

Pastor John Hagee, Christians United for Israel's founder and national chairman (Image source: Facebook)

On a visit to Israel last week along with 500 members of Christians United for Israel, Hagee spoke with Israel Hayom, a right-wing daily, during which he described the biblical underpinnings of the connection of the Jewish people with the land of Israel – including Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) - calling the Bible “the moral compass for the soul.”

“The Bible does not offer God's recommendations; these are God's laws and we keep them, beginning with 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth' (Genesis 1:1),” Hagee told columnist Dror Eydar. “King David said: 'The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof' (Psalms 24:1). If God owns the earth, and made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give their descendants the right to the land of Israel -- then Israel is not an 'occupier' as implied by the liberal media in the United States, but the owner of the land by covenant. And the covenant still stands.”

During the interview, Hagee criticized the Obama administration’s Middle East policy.

"I think it was Edmond Burke who said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' I think America has backed down from its role as a global leader,” Hagee said. “We have a weak national leadership, and on account of that weakness, the tyrants of the world are marshalling all the people; the radicals are bent on realizing their evil intent, and evil is prospering. This is the heyday for evil.”

Noting President Barack Obama’s likening Islamist militants to a junior varsity team earlier this year, Hagee said, “In less than ten months they went from nothing to a major military force. And why? Because those who should represent truth and light are backing down and evil is having a field day.”

Hagee described the motivation of Christians United for Israel, which numbers 1.8 million who are spurred by the Bible to act against injustice.

“We believe that not to speak is to speak; Seeing evil and not resisting it is evil. Therefore when we see evil -- and anti-Semitism is evil, a sin that damns the soul -- we react,” Hagee told Israel Hayom.

"Judaism has given Christianity the first family of Christianity: Mary, Joseph and Jesus, as well as the Twelve Disciples. Jesus says in the book of John (4:22): 'Salvation is of the Jews.' Meaning that if you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, Christianity would not exist,” Hagee said. "Now, people who believe the Bible believe in this too, and therefore their support for Israel is not a political issue, but rather a matter of obedience to the word of God."

Hagee said that he and his delegation of 500 traveled at this time to Israel, “because we consider Israel's struggle also our struggle. We believe Israel has the right to exist, and the right to secure borders. It has the right to defend itself against its enemies, and its friends need to stand up and speak up for it at a time of adversity.”

Hagee cited Genesis 12:3 when God tells Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.”

“From that moment on, every nation that ever blessed Israel has been blessed by God. And every nation that has ever persecuted the Jewish people, God crushed. And so He will continue,” Hagee said.

"So take that principle and apply it to the people who call themselves Christians. There are Christians who claim to be anti-Semitic. That is an oxymoron. Christianity is driven by a love. Anti-Semitism is driven by hate. You cannot be a Christian anti-Semite; You are either a Christian or an anti-Semite. Bottom line, if you are not for Israel and the Jewish people, you either are biblically ignorant or you're not a Christian," Hagee asserted.

The Christians United for Israel leader offered Israel a blessing for the Jewish new year which is marked later this week, saying, "Our prayer and our blessing for the State of Israel is that they have a lasting peace, when they can enjoy the fruit and benefits of living in this democratic country; and that their children and their children's children will no longer be under constant threat of war from radical groups, but will prosper and be blessed."

Read the entire Hagee interview at Israel Hayom.

—