Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Jew Among the Christian Evangelicals


The Jew Among the Christian Evangelicals

By Ronn Torossian 

The media covering Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel talked a lot about Romney’s pursuit of “the Jewish vote,” but much less about the Evangelical Christians.  In reality, whether the mainstream media want to recognize it or not, Evangelicals are of course much more important – and frankly closer and more connected to Israel than most American Jews. The Evangelical audience’s religious faith is predicated upon Israel – and unlike liberal Jews they practice their religion.

As a traditional American Jew who owns a PR agency, I have often been the Jew amongst the Christians, and through the years worked with many Evangelical organizations. From Pastor Benny Hinn, the Christian Coalition of America, Pastor John Hagee, Trinity Broadcasting Network, the ACLJ and their brilliant leader Jay Sekulow, I know first-hand the strength and power of this community – as well as their devotion to a safe and secure Israel.

As an American, as a father of young children, I am honored to be able to work with pro-family concerns – and this community is pro-business, pro-America, and understands the dangers the world faces with radical Islam. As a proud Jew, I see Israel facing enemies on their borders, rampant European anti-Semitism, assimilation and so many other evils, and the Christians simply stand by the Jewish state.  These folks care for Israel and raise money, that both Israel and the Jewish people needs.

I feel more at home with these people than I do in many Jewish events. Having shared many meals with Pastors, managed media for the Christian Coalition’s annual conference, it’s great to see people who urge their lawmakers to fear God and to say, “This is our land and we will think of God when we make decisions.” Imagine if all the leaders of the Jewish people could say such a thing? Imagine if every American Jewish organization had leaders who followed the laws of our Holy Torah and urged people to be closer to authentic Judaism?

Prayer in school, In God we trust and Pro-family judges scare the liberal American Jewish community? Why? Those who fear God are better people, and will make America a greater, stronger country. The truth of the matter is that before many Jews read the Torah, they read the party line of the Democratic Party which is their Bible – so even an anti-Israel president like Obama has a shot at getting their vote.

As Norman Podhoretz has said, “liberalism has become much more than a set of political opinions for political Jews: It has become a religion in its own right, with its own Torah of liberalism and its own set of commandments.” For these people, he continues: “The new Torah will always trump the old. The devotion of three-quarters of my fellow Jews in America to liberalism and the Democratic Party is as passionate and scrupulous and faithful as the devotion their great-grandparents had toward the Torah of Judaism. They are very loyal to it, and they regard any move from left to right, or from liberalism to conservatism, with the same horror that their grandparents and great-grandparents felt about conversion to Christianity.”

Romney’s visit to Israel – and in fact the issues of importance on which some swing voters are hedging – should be seen as appealing to traditionalists, those concerned about tradition, whether Christian, Jewish or other.  Like it or not, the majority of the Jewish community is absurdly still supporting Obama despite his awful record on important issues.

As a God fearing Jew, I see eye to eye with the Evangelicals on many issues, and believe they have more in common with authentic Judaism than the vast sea of American Jews.  The “swing” voters Romney seeks are more likely to come from traditional Americans of any religion than Jews who believe simply in the Torah of liberalism.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/ronn-torossian/the-jew-among-the-christian-evangelicals/

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