Israeli biblical theme park plans in doubt

[Felix the Cat]

Israeli biblical theme park plans in doubt (http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1684098,00.html)

Plans to build a biblical theme park on the shores of the Sea of Galilee today appeared to have collapsed after Israel refused to do business with Pat Robertson, the project's main backer.

The US evangelist angered the Israeli government when, a day after Ariel Sharon had suffered a huge stroke, he said the Israeli prime minister was experiencing divine retribution for the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip.

"He was dividing God's land, and I would say: 'Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course', he told viewers of his long-running television show. "God says: 'This land belongs to me, and you'd better leave it alone'."

Avi Hartuv, a spokesman for Israel's tourism minister, said officials were furious about the remarks.

"We will not do business with him - only with other evangelicals who don't back these comments," he said. "We will do business with other evangelical leaders, friends of Israel, but not with him."

Mr Robertson's theme park proposal put him at the head of group of evangelicals who pledged to raise $50m (£28.4m) to build the Christian Heritage Centre in Israel's northern Galilee region.

The 125 acre site the evangelicals wanted is close to key Christian sites such as Capernaum, the Mount of the Beatitudes and Tabgha, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where the gospels say Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fish.

Under a tenative agreement, Mr Robertson's group was to put up the funding, with Israel to provide the land and infrastructure. Israeli officials believed the park presented a lucrative opportunity to attract an estimated one million pilgrims a year.

The tourism minister, Avraham Hirschson, is one of Mr Sharon's biggest supporters and was a founder of the prime minister's centrist Kadima party.

Mr Hartuv, his spokesman, left the door open to continuing the project with financial backers who repudiated Mr Robertson's statement.

"Those that publicly support Ariel Sharon's recovery ... are welcome to do business with us," he said. "We have to check this very, very carefully."

Mr Robertson - who has previously called on the US to assassinate the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez - was criticised for his comments about Mr Sharon by other Christian leaders and the US president, George Bush.

The theme park project underlines the way in which ties between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state have strengthened in recent years.

The US Christian right - best known for television evangelism and its stars such as Mr Robertson and Jerry Falwell - has been among the strongest supporters of Israel.

Not all Israelis welcomed the theme park project, with some fearing that the ultimate aim of the evangelicals was the conversion of the Jews to Christianity rather than support for Israel.

Fundamentalist Christians believe that in order for Jesus to return, two preconditions are Jewish control of the land of Israel and the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.

[albion]

By BRIAN MURPHY, AP Religion Writer
Thu Jan 12, 12:58 AM

TEL AVIV, Israel - Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has sent a letter apologizing for suggesting that Ariel Sharon's massive stroke was divine punishment for pulling Israel out of the Gaza Strip.

Robertson's comments drew widespread condemnation from other Christian leaders, President Bush and Israeli officials, who canceled plans to include the American evangelist in the construction of a Christian tourist center in northern Israel.

In a letter dated Wednesday and marked for hand delivery to Sharon's son Omri, Robertson called the Israeli prime minister a "kind, gracious and gentle man" who was "carrying an almost insurmountable burden of making decisions for his nation."

"My concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father's illness," the letter said.

"I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel," Robertson wrote.

The 77-year-old prime minister suffered a devastating stroke Jan. 4 and remained hospitalized Thursday in critical but stable condition.

The day after Sharon's stroke, Robertson suggested he was being punished for pulling Israel out of the Gaza Strip last summer. The pullout was seen by many evangelical groups as a retreat from biblical prophecy of Jewish sovereignty over the area.

"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says 'This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, 'No, this is mine.'"

Despite the apology, it was doubtful Robertson would be brought back into the fold of the proposed Christian Heritage Center in the northern Galilee region, where tradition says Jesus lived and taught.

The exclusion carries a special irony for a preacher who helped define television ministries: The planned complex is to include studios and satellite links for live broadcasts from the Holy Land.

Rami Levi, director of marketing for Israel's tourism ministry, told The Associated Press that the government remains "outraged" by Robertson's remarks.

Israel's tourism minister, Abraham Hirchson, said Wednesday that Robertson's help was no longer welcome for the proposed center.

"But, of course, we continue full engines ahead to construct it because the Christian community around the world _ the evangelical community _ are friends," said Levi, who is responsible for coordinating tourism contacts between Israeli groups and other faiths around the world.

Christian groups, particularly evangelical congregations from the United States, have become an important source of revenue and political influence.

Evangelicals funnel millions of dollars each year to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and provide aid for those evicted from Gaza. They also represent an essential component of the estimated $4 billion in tourist revenue expected this year.

Levi said groundbreaking on the center could come early this year and the first buildings could be finished within two years. The complex will include an amphitheater and broadcast facilities near key Christian sites, including Capernaum, the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and Tabgha on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fish.

Hirchson had predicted it would draw up to 1 million pilgrims a year, generate $1.5 billion in spending and support about 40,000 jobs. Robertson was leading a group of evangelicals who have pledged to raise the $50 million needed to build the site.

But Levi said there was "more than enough outreach" to other Christian groups to meet the funding.

"The government does not rely on one person in constructing such a site, which is important to the Christians around the world," said Levi.

Levi suggested that an apology from Robertson would not get him back on the project, but he said that Hirchson did not exclude cooperation with Robertson on other fronts.

"We love to do joint projects with people. But we are also human beings and we have feelings and we think our partners should consider that at times _ especially times like this _ that statements like this hurt," said Levi.

[Starr]

This is too funny. The jews kick him a little for being too harshly Zionist. Your words were not good for Israel, pat.:nono: And once again the Jews get to come out of this looking sensible and level headed.

[Milesian]

The US Christian right - best known for television evangelism and its stars such as Mr Robertson and Jerry Falwell - has been among the strongest supporters of Israel
That's a very liberal use of the term "Christian" :)