Democratic Group Urges Bush To Cut Off Ties to Evangelist’s Charity
Citing what it called Pat Robertson’s “hateful and divisive rhetoric,” a Jewish Democratic group is demanding that the Bush administration cut off government grants to the evangelist’s charity, Operation Blessing.
The National Jewish Democratic Council made the plea in an online advocacy campaign launched this week, which includes a petition and links to send electronic messages to President Bush and to Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman. The NJDC cited press reports that identified Operation Blessing as receiving $14.4 million in federal funds last year.
Among the Robertson comments that the group described as objectionable were his remark that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s recent stroke was a punishment from God, his 2005 claim that the federal judiciary is a greater threat to the country than “a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings” and his call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Robertson was a 1988 candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.