John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, speaking at a rally in Jerusalem

1. It’s called Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and it’s a group of Christian Zionists.

Firstly, and probably most importantly, America’s largest pro-Israel group is actually a group of Christian Zionists. Yep, you read that right. These are a group of people who support the endless occupation of Palestinians in the name of the Jewish people, but are NOT EVEN JEWISH. To make matters worse, there are Evangelical Christians, riddled throughout the membership and leadership of this organization, who subscribe to a widespread belief that only once all the Jews have settled in Israel and converted to Christianity shall Jesus’ 2nd coming, the Rapture, the END OF DAYS finally begin. Meaning, they support Israel so all the Jews’ll go there, stop being Jews, and wait around for the world to end…sounds like a party to me?

That’s us, the non-saved, there on the ground. The Book of Revelation is *wild*.

2. CUFI boasts over 3 million members, making it the largest pro-Israel group in America.

Just for reference, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) claims to have around 100,00 members.

3. CUFI’s founder and national chairman, John Hagee, thinks Hitler was sent by God.

In a DVD set for one of his sermons, John Hagee suggests that Hitler was sent by God to ‘hunt’ the Jews out of Europe, as punishment for them not having immigrated to Israel earlier, and so they would then ‘return’ to Israel. Just read the quote:

“Theodore Herzl is the father of Zionism. He was a Jew who at the turn of the 19th century said, this land is our land, God wants us to live there. So he went to the Jews of Europe and said ‘I want you to come and join me in the land of Israel.’ So few went that Hertzel went into depression. Those who came founded Israel; those who did not went through the hell of the holocaust.

“Then god sent a hunter. A hunter is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter. And the Bible says — Jeremiah writing — ‘They shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,’ meaning there’s no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don’t let your heart be offended. I didn’t write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.”

You can’t make this stuff up.

4. John Hagee is paid more than a million dollars a year — for running a “church”.

Technically, CUFI is actually considered a ‘church’. They’re registered in Texas as the “CUFI Church Association”, with a mission to “proclaim Christ to the world”. Since it’s registered as a church, it doesn’t have to disclose many of its financial activities, making it difficult to trace where its money actually goes. It has also been reported that John Hagee’s income was more than a million dollars, making him one of the highest paid heads of a non-profit in San Antonio. In addition to founding CUFI, John Hagee also founded Cornerstone Church, a megachurch in San Antonin, and is the CEO of Global Evangelism Television. In all of these capacities, John Hagee preaches anti-Semitic, homophobic, and Islamophobic views in order to extract more and more money from his growing number of followers.

5. CUFI and John Hagee have immense political sway.

John Hagee meeting with President Trump

On March 31st, John Hagee met with President Trump in the White House. On top of that, Vice President Mike Pence is speaking at their Washington Summit this July. In 2012 (so this is after Hagee was nationally condemned for claiming God sent Hitler), Foreign Policy even ranked John Hagee as the 46th most powerful Republican on foreign policy. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, this means that a raving anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, overpaid televangelist has the ear of the Executive Branch of our government and the rest of the Republican party. If you weren’t scared already, it’s time to freak out.

6. Even Sen. John McCain isn’t down with John Hagee…

During the 2008 election, John McCain actually rejected John Hagee’s endorsement. We can’t give him too much credit though. He only did so after Hagee’s comments about Hitler gained national attention.

7. …But The American Jewish Establishment *loves* CUFI.

Yep. Despite the anti-Semitism (and nonsense) that its leader John Hagee continues to spew, Jewish and Israeli leaders still publicly support CUFI and regularly attend their events. In 2013, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein, spoke at their annual summit, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech via satellite. You would think that believing Jews will burn in eternal damnation would upset some Jewish and Israeli leaders! Unfortunately, it seems like their main concern is finding uncritical supporters for Israel’s policies — whether or not those “friends of Israel” actually care in the slightest about the well-being of Jewish (or Palestinian) people.