>>> With his eyes firmly fixed on the White House, Senator Joseph Lieberman is making moves to whitewash his religious record. Specifically, "Holy Joe" (as he's sometimes called) is trying to erase his association the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, an organization that tries to get fundamentalist Christians to support Israel, especially the emigration of Jews in the former Soviet Union to Israel.

If you haven't been paying attention lately, fundie Christians are growing ever more supportive of Israel, since the creation of that country and the return of Jews to it are two of the big steps on the way to the joys of Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the Rapture, etc., etc. The Fellowship plays on these beliefs by constantly invoking "biblical prophecy," conveniently forgetting that in the End Times scenario, Jews must either convert to Christianity or roast in hell forever.

Lieberman has long been associated with this group. From 1994 to 1999, he was the co-chair of their Center for Jewish and Christian Values. He has praised the Fellowship and appeared in their infomercial.

After announcing his candidacy, he asked the Fellowship to remove him from their half-hour commercial, which pleads for money to send Russian Jews to Israel. Also appearing in the infomercial--which aired on the right-wing Christian PAX network--are Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. (Holy Joe claims he didn't know he was in the infomercial.) A still-frame of his appearance is at the top of the page. I viewed a videotape of the original, uncut version of the infomercial, kindly sent by Ed Ericson. Lieberman's portion comes at the 17-minute mark and lasts for 12 seconds. Sitting in a studio and directly addressing the camera, he intones:

Brother Eckstein established the first dialogs in America between the Jewish community and evangelical Christian community. He is the leader in America, probably in the world, in this important work.

Furthermore, Lieberman has said that the Fellowship is "the best-kept secret in the United States." That cryptic endorsement used to be on the homepage of the Fellowship's Website, but now--naturally--it's gone. However, we've rescued it from purgatory (see above).

Further Reading

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews | May 2001 version of their Website

What About Those End Times, Mr. President? | Joe Saves Face

Lieberman's Support for Government-Backed Religion | Jewish Court Excommunicates Lieberman

Joe Lieberman for President in 2004 (official site) | Joseph Lieberman for President in 2004 (parody site)

Born-Again Zionists

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