CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL MAGAZINE FALL 2021 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.” ISAIAH 62:1 RABBI Aryeh Scheinberg 1940-2021 A Relationship that Transformed Jewish-Christian Relations by Pastor John Hagee pg. 6 Iran’s New President Has a Track Record of Antisemitism by Jonathan A. Greenblatt pg. 16 A Chilling Warning: Sound the Alarm by Gary Bauer pg. 22 New Poll: Voters Oppose Biden’s Iran Strategy by Jackson Richman pg. 242 CUFI FALL 2021 Letter Pastor John Hagee Founder and Chairman Christians United For Israel Diana Hagee Co-Executive Director Christians United For Israel Shari Dollinger Co-Executive Director Christians United For Israel from the Editor… CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL PROUDLY ANNOUNCING THE RABBI SCHEINBERG FELLOWSHIP In honor of this exceptional man, it is CUFI’s great honor to announce the establishment of the Rabbi Scheinberg Fellowship. The purpose of the Fellowship is to foster long lasting relationships between pastors and rabbis that will continue to transform communities and better the future of Jewish-Christian relations. To learn more visit: cufi.org/rsf A t CUFI’s 2021 Leadership Summit, which was held by invite-only in Dallas in July, words by CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker sum up the heart of CUFI’s vision and mission: “What we do, we do because of a biblical mandate.” CUFI’s success in ensuring Israel is continually more secure and her people are safer could not have been accomplished without the grace of God and the support of our millions of members, including those reading this issue. You know that your participation in CUFI for Zion’s sake is not a mere hobby or a personal goal but a God- given mandate to defend and bless Israel and the Jewish people. In this issue, you will read several articles which summarize the growth and influence the Lord has graciously afforded CUFI in recent months through coverage about CUFI’s 2021 Leadership Summit. At the Summit, we were privileged to hear from Ambassador Nikki Haley, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, syndicated radio host Dennis Prager, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and other distinguished guests. You will read coverage of some of their remarks at the Summit, and I hope that if you were not able to attend in-person or online you will enjoy experiencing the 2021 Summit for the first time. If you did participate in-person or online, I hope you will experience the event anew and be invigorated afresh to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. You will also read several CUFI-authored op-eds covering Israel’s war with Hamas in May, as well as Iran’s role in the recent conflict and the results of a CUFI-conducted poll reflecting American attitudes toward important Middle East policy issues. Additionally, you will read about CUFI’s efforts at the state level to pass anti-BDS legislation and enhance Holocaust education legislation in several key states across the country. Included in this issue is also a touching profile piece covering the warm friendship I shared with the late Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, my closest friend and my brother, and how our relationship changed the course of Jewish-Christian relations for the better. The work we began lives on through CUFI. To echo Chairwoman Parker, what we do, we do because of a biblical mandate. And what we do, we could not do without you. Thank you for your continued support of Christians United for Israel. It is truly making all the difference—for CUFI, for Israel, and for the world. With Gratitude, Pastor John Hagee Founder and Chairman3 CUFI FALL 2021 Features FALL 2021 06 A Relationship that Transformed Jewish-Christian Relations by Pastor John Hagee 08 Jews & Christians Can Strengthen One Another by Paul Miller 10 Hagee & Haley: Israel Endures by Pastor John Hagee and Ambassador Nikki Haley 12 CUFI Touts Its State-Level Success Fighting Anti-Semitism Ahead Of Leadership Conference by Dmitriy Shapiro 16 Iran’s New President Has a Track Record of Antisemitism by Jonathan A. Greenblatt 18 Reports Of Waning Evangelical Support For Israel Are ‘Fallacy’ by Dmitriy Shapiro 19 Lapid to CUFI Conference: Israel Grateful for Unequivocal Support During Gaza Conflict by Dmitriy Shapiro 20 ‘A Night to Honor Israel’ Turns Out Hundreds of Fervent Christian supporters by Dmitriy Shapiro 22 A Chilling Warning: Sound the Alarm by Gary Bauer 24 Iranian Opposition Activists Defend Israel in Latest Round of Conflict with Hamas in Gaza by Karmel Melamed 26 How Biden Should Handle Israel, Hamas and Iran by Pastor John Hagee 28 Visiting the Riga Ghetto Museum in Latvia by Alastair Kirk 30 New Poll: Voters Oppose Biden’s Iran Strategy by Jackson Richman VOL.15, NO.4 Publications Mail Agreement #40032588 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 • www.cufi.org CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL All rights reserved. CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL EXECUTIVE BOARD Pastor John C. Hagee Founder and Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Church, Founder and Chairman, Christians United for Israel. Michael Little Principle Representative of Israel (CBN) Pastor Mac Hammond Senior Pastor of Living Word Christian Center, in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. Pastor Happy Caldwell Founder and Pastor of Agape Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also the founder and pres- ident of VTN (Victory Television Network). Bishop Keith A. Butler Founder and presiding bishop of Word of Faith International Christian Center. Pastor George Morrison Founder of Truth and Life Ministries Publishers: Pastor John and Diana Hagee Staff Writers: Pastor John Hagee / Diana Hagee / Ari Morgenstern / Kathy Rudkin / Shari Dollingerr Corina Cater / Sandra Parker Editors: Kathy Rudkin / Shari Dollinger / Corina Carter / Ari Morgenstern / Jordan Farhart Design: Kathy Rudkin / Olga Moreno / Gwen Turner Photography: www.israelimages.com / Dan Ostrem / Kelly Jackson / Wharton Photography Produced by: Rudkin Productions, Boerne, Texas • www.rudkinproductions.com Circulation: Additional copies $6.25 each Correspondence: P.O. Box 1307 • San Antonio, Texas 78295-1307 Pastor Scott Thomas Founding and Lead Pastor of Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, Florida.WATCHMAN Monthly Up to $10 One-Time $24-$120 CHAI Monthly $11-$82 One-Time $121-$999 EZEKIEL Monthly $83-$416 One-Time $1,000-$4,999 NEHEMIAH Monthly $417-$2,083 One-Time $5,000-$24,999 AMBASSADOR Monthly Min. $2,084 One-Time Min. $25,000 Annual Partner Level Benefits C UFI Me m bership Pi n S U M M I T B E N E F I T S Quarterly P artner B riefing Call To rc h M agazine Subsc rip③o n Wh y Is r ael book Mo nthly P artne r B riefing Cal l S igned co py of P astor J ohn Ha gee' s In De fe nse of Is ra el book Bi-Annual Briefing Calls with P astor J ohn Ha ge e Invita③on to the Annual L eadership Summit in San Antonio, TX A Pe r sonalized Plaque on N ehemiah W all at CUFI's Na ③onal Office A Pe r sonalized Plaque on Ambassador Cir c le W all at CUFI's Na ③onal Office Tw o complementary Summit R egistra③on s Sp ecial Ev ent In vita③on C UFI P artner Banquet P artner and L eade r ship Lu ncheon Pr e Night to H onor Is r ael Dinner Ex clusiv e Ambassador's Re cep③on CUFI'S NEW PARTNER PROGRAM Check or money order enclosed. Please make checks payable to CUFI. Please charge my partner gift to my credit card.. Enclosed is my one-time gift in the amount of $________________. I want to support CUFI monthly in the amount of $________________. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Pastor NAME ADDRESS CITY STATEZIP EMAIL EXPIRATION DATESECURITY CODE PRINT NAME SIGNATURE (PRINT ALL DIGITS) CARD NO. You can return this form in envelope provided in center of this publication.You can donate online at: cufi.org/partnerYou can donate over the phone at: 210-477-4714 I WANT TO PARTNER WITH CUFI CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL PLEASE SUPPORT CUFI TODAY! For CUFI Partnership Information please visit cufi.org/partner. Thank you for being a part of a movement of 10 Million Christians who are passionate about making Israel stronger and its people safer. As we look ahead to new challenges and opportunities, we hope to continue to count you as a partner. We invite you to choose the level that reflects your commitment to bless and defend Israel and the Jewish people. WATCHMAN Monthly Up to $10 One-Time $24-$120 CHAI Monthly $11-$82 One-Time $121-$999 EZEKIEL Monthly $83-$416 One-Time $1,000-$4,999 NEHEMIAH Monthly $417-$2,083 One-Time $5,000-$24,999 AMBASSADOR CIRCLE Monthly Min. $2,084 One-Time Min. $25,000 SELECT AN ANNUAL PARTNER LEVEL BENEFITCUFI.ORG // ABOUT // ISSUES // LEARN // ENGAGE // EVENTS // SHOP // NEWS GET INVOLVED | LEARN. ACT. BE HEARD. STAND. // ABOUT Learn more about CUFI’s mission, programs, leadership. team, impact, and policy. // ISSUES At CUFI, we are focused on several key issues with the goal of defending Israel’s strength, security, and sovereignty. // LEARN At CUFI, we want you to be as equipped as possible with everything you need to support Israel as a Christian. // ENGAGE It is time for action! Every voice matters. Every person has a sphere of influence. Israel needs you to take your place in her story. // EVENTS Join us! Learn about all the various events CUFI is hosting such as trips to Israel, Poland and many local events. // DAILY BRIEFING The CUFI Daily Briefing will help you understand current events so you can become a confident defender of Israel. MAKE ISRAEL STRONGER AND HER PEOPLE SAFER. Join over 10 million Christians in standing up and speaking up for Israel. Become a CUFI member today. We make Israel stronger and her people safer one person at a time. Add us all together, and we are millions of Christians speaking with one loud voice. But it starts with you. TOGETHER, We Stand with Israel CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL CUFI.ORGTRANSFORMED BY PASTOR JOHN HAGEE HIS LEGACY LIVES ON A RELATIONSHIP THAT JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS 1940-2021n June 17, 2021, Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg (of blessed memory) departed this life. On this day the world lost a bright light, a shining example of courageous faith and ferocious kindness, and I parted with my dearest friend. Rabbi was compassionate, kind, consistently positive, exceptionally brave and most passionate about God’s Word. His decision to partner with me and encourage the Jewish community of San Antonio to trust a Christian pastor desiring to host a Night to Honor Israel forty years ago changed history. Were it not for his gracious hand of fellowship, his courage and heart of pure faith, Christians United for Israel would not exist. Because of our joint efforts, CUFI was born and the landscape of the present-day relationship between Christians and Jews is being continually transformed. I am eternally grateful to Rabbi for his loving friendship and unconditional support. Rabbi Scheinberg was a great and godly man. He was my partner, my friend, and my brother. Although I will miss him dearly, I am comforted knowing his legacy will live on in the work that he has done and within the hearts of those of us who were blessed to know him. In honor of this exceptional man, it is my great honor to announce the establishment of the Rabbi Scheinberg Fellowship. The purpose of the Fellowship is to foster long lasting relationships between pastors and rabbis that will continue to transform communities and better the future of Jewish-Christian relations. Eighteen pastors and eighteen rabbis (a total of 36 participants— double chai, which signifies life in Hebrew) will be selected to grow in their knowledge and love for Israel and each other through the study of God’s Word, by traveling to Israel as a group and by benefitting from each other’s perspectives on their journey—just as Rabbi Scheinberg and I did. These spiritual leaders will study the Word together, break bread together, and support Israel together. I am confident that the unity which is birthed from this inaugural fellowship will strengthen cooperation between Christians and Jews across the country, changing hearts and lives, as well as bolster American support for Israel. Rabbi and I were blessed to demonstrate that the power of two can change the trajectory of a city, a nation and the world. It is our Biblical mandate to support Israel and the Jewish people, and your active partnership with CUFI sends the message to our Jewish friends and neighbors that we stand with you and you will never be alone again! Rabbi’s life and legacy will always be a reminder to me of the urgency of our mission. We must each do all we can to partner with the Almighty in His work to protect His people and His land. As antisemitism rises in every arena in our nation—from college campuses, through social media and within Congress—we must unite with one purpose and double our efforts to declare that Christians have the privilege and the responsibility to support Israel and the Jewish people—now and forevermore. The Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg Fellowship is an effort to preserve and promote a legacy that will continue to positively impact the future brotherhood of Christians and Jews. As my friend and partner shared at the 2020 Virtual Summit, “The bond that exists between Christians and Jews is woven in the heart of our people, and CUFI proves this statement true every single day across this country.” Pastor John Hagee is the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel. O8 CUFI FALL 2021 BY PAUL MILLER Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg changed the history of the Jewish-Christian landscape as we see it today. CAN STRENGTHEN ONE ANOTHER his past month, thousands of Christians took to their computer screens and smartphones to join over 700 invite-only attendees to this year’s annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit to celebrate and honor the life of Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg of blessed memory. The San Antonio rabbi passed away recently, two weeks shy of his 81st birthday. Besides leaving behind over 300 families who belonged to his congregation Rodfei Sholom, the Orthodox rabbi left behind over 10 million CUFI members, many of whom regarded him as their rabbi. I first met Rabbi Scheinberg nearly six years ago, when I sat down with him and CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee for an exclusive interview about their friendship. Just a few months earlier, the rabbi and his community awoke to swastikas, Ku Klux Klan writings and other anti- Semitic graffiti spray-painted on their cars and homes. When news of the anti- Semitic attack surfaced, the rabbi immediately received a visit from one of his closest friends, Pastor Hagee. “As soon as I heard this had happened,” Hagee said in our October 2015 interview, “my wife and I came down immediately to express our solidarity with the rabbi, with his congregation and the Jewish community of San Antonio. I want to say to all of the Christians in America, we stand with the Jewish people. An attack against this synagogue is an attack against Christians everywhere. We are united.” The bond between Pastor Hagee and Rabbi Scheinberg celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. It was 1981 when Pastor Hagee had the idea to support Israel and the Jewish people with the first “Night to Honor Israel.” But to get his idea off the ground, he wanted the blessing of the San Antonio Jewish Federation. Following Hagee’s initial conversations with the Federation, Scheinberg met the pastor and was “convinced that it was T CHRISTIANS9 CUFI FALL 2021 worthwhile to give this person an opportunity. I told the Federation that I was very impressed with the pastor and we should give his idea a shot. At that point I think the community was ready to participate in a Night to Honor Israel.” “There would never have been a Night to Honor Israel or a Christians United For Israel that now has over 2.5 million members; and $95 million for humanitarian causes would never have been donated to Israel – if we hadn’t been successful in that first meeting,” said Hagee back in 2015. Six years later, CUFI now exceeds 10 million members and has donated over $300 million to Israel and Jewish causes. None of this support would have been possible if Rabbi Scheinberg didn’t take a chance that Pastor Hagee was sincere about his support for Israel and the Jewish people. Scheinberg told me that it was “God’s plan for us” that brought us together. “In Jewish thought, we believe that you connect with people with your heart and soul and then your mind kicks in to process that relationship. When I met Pastor, it wasn’t me saying let’s give it a chance – there was something about him. I knew we were going places – I felt it. When I went back to the Federation it wasn’t just to recommend that we give it a try. I told them that this person was going to do something wonderful for our people.” During their 40-year friendship, Pastor Hagee and Rabbi Scheinberg have visited Israel together dozens of times – leading congregations of Christians and Jews to the Promised Land. Rabbi Scheinberg has also been a regular presence at CUFI events. From leadership conferences to the annual summit that draws crowds of over 5000 Christian Zionists, this year his attendance was greatly missed. Due to Covid restrictions, this year’s summit was held in Dallas instead of Washington, DC, and in-person attendance was limited to 700. But through the power of technology, thousands more attended the conference virtually. And Rabbi Scheinberg was, in spirit, still part of the festivities. “It was truly a moment of destiny. From the moment they met it was love at first sight. Whether they walked shoulder to shoulder in their beloved Jerusalem or the halls Congress, they were friends they were partners, and they are brothers now and forevermore.” These are the opening words narrated by Pastor Hagee’s wife Diana in a video tribute to Rabbi Scheinberg that brought tears to the eyes of many, this past month when CUFI held their first summit after the rabbi’s passing. The video is a historical look through the years of the bond between the pastor and rabbi. From the beginning of their friendship to their many trips to Israel and events honoring Israel and showing solidarity with the Jewish people, CUFI reveals a partnership between two men who love Israel and cherish their friendship. As stated in the video, Rabbi Scheinberg “changed the history of the Jewish-Christian landscape as we see it today.” “One of the great joys of my life has been to see how CUFI has enabled Christians and Jews to come together. We cannot heal the wounds of the past, but we can ensure that as friends, neighbors and spiritual brethren, we walk forward together,” Hagee told the Haym Salomon Center. Rabbi Scheinberg made all of that possible by teaching me and countless others about Jewish history and moreover the modern Jewish experience and by personally exemplifying the open- minded approach necessary for Jewish-Christian relations to thrive on a personal level. CUFI is currently the largest pro-Israel organization in the country – supporting the Jewish state, standing with the Jewish people and combating the growing scourge of anti-Semitism and its many faces. Through its legislative arm, CUFI Action Fund, the organization is one of the most influential voices on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures. None of this would be possible if an Orthodox rabbi hadn’t taken a chance on an Evangelical pastor. “Without Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, there would be no CUFI. He took a chance and opened his heart to me decades ago, thus enabling the first Night to Honor Israel to take place,” explained Hagee. “We are all here today because Rabbi Scheinberg said, “yes.” In the years since, his friendship and advice enabled CUFI’s birth, growth and many successes.” “God has a special plan for Jews and Christians together to strengthen one another. We need each other and we can give strength to each other; and to me, that is one of the great miracles of our day – the unity of Jerusalem and the unity of Jews and Christians together” – RABBI ARYEH SCHEINBERG. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE HAYM SALOMON CENTER Paul Miller is president and executive director of the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center. Next >