Hagee vows never to endorse another candidate

WASHINGTON — Speaking to more than 3,000 followers gathered here, Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee said the “vicious national media firestorm” over his inflammatory remarks about Jews and Catholics has not weakened his vocal support for Israel.

“We’re stronger than we’ve ever been,” he said July 22 at the annual convention of Christians United for Israel, a group started by Hagee in 2006. “We’re here to stay, and we’re not going away.”

Sen. John McCain rejected Hagee’s earlier endorsement after comments surfaced where the Christian-Zionist pastor denigrated the Catholic Church and suggested the Holocaust was God’s plan to push Jews back to Israel.

Hagee has said those comments were taken out of context, and at his group’s Night to Honor Israel banquet, said the political slight from McCain’s campaign has not gone unnoticed.

“What will I say the next time I am asked to endorse a presidential candidate?” he asked the crowd. “Never again!”

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who spoke at the event despite his support for McCain and criticism from Jewish groups, got a standing ovation before declaring: “I am your brother, Joseph.”

“As you know, there has been an organized and aggressive campaign to convince me to cancel my speech this evening,” he said. “But the bond I feel with Pastor John Hagee and each of you is much stronger than that, and so I am proud to stand with you here tonight.”

Lieberman acknowledged Hagee’s “hurtful and offensive” comments and made clear that he does not “agree with everything Pastor Hagee has ever done or said.” But he defended Hagee’s behavior by likening the pastor to Moses.

“Even Moses fell short of God’s expectations,” he said.

— RNS