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Israeli Defense Minister Calls Iranian Regime and John Kerry "Messianic"

March 1, 2015

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares his Congressional address, other members of his government are joining his campaign to torpedo a potential U.S. nuclear deal with Iran. This week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warned that "every deal that will be signed between the West and this messianic and apocalyptic regime will strike a severe blow to Israeli and Western interests."
While many might agree with his assessment of the mullahs in Tehran, Ya'alon's choice of "messianic" is nevertheless more than a little ironic. After all, it was only a year ago he used the same term to slander the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry. And as it turns out, "Bogie" Ya'alon is a regular speaker at gatherings of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), an organization whose End Times vision of mass conversion and slaughter of the Jews at Armageddon is literally "messianic and apocalyptic."
As far as Americans are concerned, the former IDF chief's first use of the m-word came during the most recent U.S.-led peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In January 2014, Defense Minister Ya'alon got biblical in response to American pressure:

"American Secretary of State John Kerry, who turned up here determined and acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor, cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians."

The episode did teach Ya'alon he had to apologize to Americans, if not to the West Bank settler groups whose video mocked Kerry as a dumb-as-rocks, do-gooder advising Israelis to wipe their asses with a porcupine.
Being an IDF legend and Defense Minister means never having to say you're sorry to another far-right constituency, Christian Zionists here in the United States. As the Jerusalem Post reported in September 2006, Ya'alon was one of the featured speakers at the first annual gathering in Washington, DC of Christians United for Israel:

Among those on hand were Reverands Jerry Falwell and Rod Parsley, Charisma publisher Steven Strang, Washington veteran Gary Bauer and country music star Randy Travis. Addressing the main banquet, Israeli ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon and former IDF chief-of-staff Moshe Yaalon spoke of Christian support as a key element in America's close relationship with Israel. Greetings were also read from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as from US President George Bush, who praised Hagee and CUFI for "spreading the hope of God's love and the universal gift of freedom."

For Christian Zionists like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) ("Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls back its support, America will cease to exist"), Gov. Rick Perry ("As a Christian I have a clear directive to support Israel") and Mike Huckabee ("no such thing as a Palestinian"), Israel serves merely as a means to an end. In that telling, it is a divinely required stepping-stone to the End Times conversion (and much larger slaughter) of the Jews that will accompany the Second Coming of Christ. And that has a real impact on foreign policy. As the controversial head of the Christians United for Israel, Pastor John Hagee, explained in 2006:

"The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West ... a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ."

Back in 2008, GOP presidential nominee John McCain ultimately rejected the endorsement from Pastor Hagee he previously sought after the CUFI leader declared, "Hitler was a hunter" foretold by Jeremiah who crimes were not stopped "because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel." But the likes of Ya'alon, Bibi Netanyahu and his U.S. Ambassador Ron Dermer have no issue with accepting money and support from the Christian Zionists, even as they politely turn a blind eye to the Jews s prophesied fate as biblical cannon fodder.
If, for example, you missed your chance to see Moshe Ya'alon headline an October 2009 "Stand with Israel Event" in Nashville, Tennessee, the 2010 Epicenter conference in Philadelphia provided a great opportunity. As CBN described it, "the two-day event, which focuses on Bible prophecy, Israel, and the Middle East, and is organized each year by New York Times bestselling author Joel Rosenberg." As CBN's Erick Stakelbeck explained in his interview with Ya'alon:

This year's edition of Epicenter...has featured an all-star lineup of evangelical Christian leaders and media personalities, including Rosenberg, Ret. Lt. General William "Jerry" Boykin, nationally syndicated radio host Janet Parshall, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and "the Billy Graham of Iran" Hormoz Shariat.
But Yaalon was undoubtedly the most anticipated speaker for the roughly 1,500 in attendance and 20,000 tuning in via satellite from around the world.

For his part, Ya'alon was clear that when it came to the Iranian nuclear program, his country was more than willing to make an exception to the rule that Israel should never depend on anyone else for its security. But if not, the Jewish State would go it alone:

When asked if he felt the Obama administration was open to military action against Iran, Yaalon said that, according to the traditions of Israel's forefathers, righteous people hope that the job might be done by others.
On the other hand, he said, there is another old saying that goes like this: "If I'm not for myself, then who is for me?" He added, "So we should be ready."

As for the "messianic and apocalyptic" John Hagee, his Christian Zionists have been ready for years. As he excitedly told Human Events in March 2006:
"Israel will engage Iran before the end of May!"


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Jon Perr
Jon Perr is a technology marketing consultant and product strategist who writes about American politics and public policy.

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