Last month the Reverend John Hagee, a Pentecostal television evangelist from Texas, convened a meeting in Washington of 3,500 members of Christians Unified for Israel. The organization is dedicated to building support for Israel, even in states where there are few Jewish voters.
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a Republican presidential hopeful, attended the rally, as did Senator Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania, Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, and Daniel Ayalon, the Israeli Ambassador.
Mr Hagee called the Israeli attacks on Lebanon a miracle of God and suggested that a ceasefire would violate God's foreign policy statement towards Jews. The evangelist is a leading figure in the so-called Christian-Zionist movement, rooted in a literal interpretation of the Book of Revelations, which predicts a final battle between good and evil in Israel, where two billion people will die before Christ's return ushers in a 1,000-year period of grace.
The end of the world as we know it is rapidly approaching . . . Rejoice and be exceeding glad the best is yet to be,Mr Hagee has written in a book that has sold 700,000 copies.
President Bush sent a message to the gathering praising Mr Hagee and his supporters for spreading the hope of God's love and the universal gift of freedom. He is said to have added: God bless and stand by the people of Israel and God bless the United States.
US SUPPORT
43 per cent thinks Israel's actions justified, not excessively harsh
28 per cent thinks Israel's action is unjustifed
13 per cent thinks the US should call for an immediate ceasefire
50 per cent thinks the US should continue to align itself with Israel
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