‘SHOULD NOT BE WELCOMED’

Controversial Pastor John Hagee Speaks at March for Israel in Washington

Hagee has made several statements in the past labeled by Jewish groups as antisemitic.

The March for Israel in Washington, D.C. featured a pastor and televangelist as a designated speaker who infamously gave a sermon claiming Adolf Hitler was sent by God to carry out the Holocaust in order to help Jews create Israel. John Hagee’s words made headlines when he publicly backed John McCain for president in 2008. When news of his participation in the “Voices of Allies” section of the rally broke on Tuesday, the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street tweeted, “A dangerous bigot like Hagee should not be welcomed anywhere in our community. Period.” On Tuesday afternoon, The Times of Israel reported that Hagee told the crowd of hundreds of thousands to “choose peace or terror. We choose Israel or Hamas. There is no middle ground in this conflict.” According to The Forward, he later added, “Israel’s victory will come when Hamas and Hezbollah are in the ash heap of history along with Haman and Hitler. There is no substitute for victory!”