Hagee and Haman in Pridelands
By Ellen W. Horowitz
June 28, 2007
We are here to introduce a new era in America - an era of unity, mutual respect, and lasting peace -- an era when Christian and Jew stand together hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.... ---Pastor John Hagee from CUFI
We shall rise to meet the dawning of a new era - a new order of peace and prosperity in which lion and hyena come together in a great and glorious future.... ----Scar from the Lion King
Like King Achashverosh, sleep evaded me last night. So I rose at dawn and wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as I, once again, perused the above quote by Pastor John Hagee, which appeared in an article written by Marcia Friedman and was published in yesterday's (June 27) online edition of the Jewish Press.
I called my daughter, read her Hagee's quote, and asked her if she heard this before? Without missing a beat, she replied, "That's easy Mom. It's from that chilling scene in the Lion King, where Scar recruits the hyenas."
I knew that. In fact , I had already accessed Google for the source, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't losing my mind. After Scar's proclamation, things take a real downhill turn in The Pridelands in the form of murder, famine, oppression and a lack of rain. That is until Simba shows up, deposes of the character that made that speech, and returns things to their natural order.
Now I know that plot doesn't quite jibe with John Hagee's end-times scenario, but I didn't write the script. Walt Disney Productions owns the rights. And this cartoonist feels that it's a blessing that Walt left this world before he could see Micky hijacked by Hamas and Hagee partially clone Scar's oration.
Characters will be characters and it seems that the good pastor has a special affinity for the Purim story. I find it queer that the jumbo-sized reverend, with a deep-seated aversion to gays, takes to masquerading (behind his CUFI organization) as Queen Esther:
"We hear the voice of Haman ranting from Iran but the church of Jesus Christ will be silent no more! This time the spirit of Ester will prevail." "CUFI is exactly in the position of Esther...."
Pastor John Hagee and I share some common ground , as I feel he is correct in his labeling of Iran's President as Hamen incarnate -- but it hardly takes a preacher turned Doomsday prophet to have figured that out.
A year ago this former caricaturist told my kids that the Iranian president had the same face as Hamen. The kids looked at me -- as if I were a bit touched - patted me on the head and said, " ahhh ... right, Mom ". A few weeks ago I showed them the latest quote, in which Ahmadinejad speaks of Israel's "imminent disappearance " and says that "the Zionist regime will have to bow down to Palestinians." And they said "Huh. You're right, Mom ".
We Jews must know that even if all of the chariots, horses, and myriads of men from AIPAC, CUFI and an empathetic U.S. Congress were to combine and convince the White House to physically eliminate the Iranian threat, it would be but a temporary reprieve from our enemies -- and there would be a formidable cost involved. It will continue to be that way until we Jews learn to stand on our two feet and fulfill our unique responsibilities as individuals, as a nation , and as a light unto the nations.
I'm wary when Hagee implores us to fantasize that "our potential future together: 50 million evangelicals joining in common cause with 5 million Jewish people in America on behalf of Israel is a match made in heaven."
Once again, this reminds me of something from the not-so-distant past. Only this time it wasn't a cartoon production. I penned an article two years ago in response to Pastor Vineyard's plans to have 50,000 Southern Baptists set up residency in Gush Katif to avert the Disengagement Plan. Well, that didn't pan out. Thousands of Baptists didn't come and thousands of Jews went.
To rely on a spontaneous swelling of our ranks, via an influx of another faith or nation, has never been the preferred strategy for the Jews. Our successful legacy and survival has never been tied to demographic strength and superiority. The faithful few against the many has been a formula we can and must consistently count on.
That I had to pick up the following little gem from the liberal Jews on First website, which keeps tabs on Pastor Hagee and is directed by a Reform rabbi, should put every Torah Observant Jew and Zionist to shame -- especially those who claim to have more in common with Christians than they do with their own people:
"Indeed, Jewish commentators interpret the book of Esther as calling for more responsibility on the part of Jews for their fate. Some commentators suggest that the book may be a sly letter from the Jewish Diaspora claiming that people in the Babylonian Exile (circa 500 B.C.E.) do not need to return to Israel since they were an important "lobby" that saved the Jewish people."
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