Elie Wiesel Interviewed by a Fiery Evangelical
During the 2008 presidential campaign fiery evangelical leader John Hagee got into trouble after a sermon had surfaced in which he suggested that the Holocaust was a divine act meant to drive the Jews to the land of Israel.
This sermon led Republican presidential candidate John McCain to reject Hagee’s endorsement and distance himself from the controversial pastor.
Hagee, the leader of Christians United for Israel, has since worked to explain his views and prove his credentials to the Jewish community.
This week, Hagee invited Nobel laureate Ellie Wiesel to be his guest for an hour-long interview on his TV show.
The highlight of the interview: Hagee repeatedly attempts to make a tie between the Holocaust era and the current threats facing Israel from Iran. Wiesel stresses there is no comparison you can make to the Holocaust, although he is also alarmed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
And more on Hagee and the Holocaust remembrance: Last month his group sponsored a two week trip for Christian students to Poland and Israel, similar to the March of the Living trips taken by many Jewish teens.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
