There's a long and disgusting history of people blaming the Jews for their own persecution. The latest to do so is one of John McCain's key backersÑPastor John Hagee.

McCain actively sought Hagee's backing and says he's "very honored"1 and "very proud"2 to have it. But yesterday, a recording surfaced of Hagee "explaining" that God sent Hitler to perpetrate the Holocaust because Jews weren't moving to Israel.

It's hard to overstate how deeply offensive these views are. And how disturbing it is when John McCain aligns himself with extreme religious right leaders like Hagee, while ducking responsibility for their hateful views.

J Street, a new progressive Jewish group, is asking John McCain to renounce Hagee and send a clear message that it's absolutely intolerable to blame Jews for the Holocaust. You can sign on to their petition here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3689&id=12704-137503-c_hPy_&t=1

MoveOn members have already confronted McCain over Hagee's comments on Hurricane Katrina, but he refused to reject Hagee's support. We need to turn up the heat. Please help us send a message that hate has no place in American politics.

(MoveOn.org Political Action Team)

P.S. As J Street points out, it's not just Hagee's views toward Jews that are outrageous. From their alert: "This is the same John Hagee whose support John McCain is 'glad' to have despite 'condemning' some of his views.3 And it's the same John Hagee who has so far had to apologize for calling the Catholic Church a 'great whore' 4 and who said Hurricane Katrina was the judgment of God against New Orleans for planning a gay pride parade.5"

And if you want to see Hagee's actual comments, here they are, as reported today by the Huffington Post:6


Going in and out of biblical verse, Hagee preached: "'And they the hunters should hunt them,' that will be the Jews. 'From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks.' If that doesn't describe what Hitler did in the holocaust you can't see that."

He goes on: "Theodore Hertzel is the father of Zionism. He was a Jew who at the turn of the 19th century said, this land is our land, God wants us to live there. So he went to the Jews of Europe and said 'I want you to come and join me in the land of Israel.' So few went that Hertzel went into depression. Those who came founded Israel; those who did not went through the hell of the holocaust.

"Then god sent a hunter. A hunter is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter. And the Bible saysÑJeremiah writingÑ'They shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,' meaning there's no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don't let your heart be offended. I didn't write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel."


Sources:

1. "McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran'," Think Progress, February 28, 2008.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3553&id=12704-137503-c_hPy_&t=2

2. "The McCain/Hagee story picks up steam," Salon, February 29, 2008.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/02/29/hagee/

3. "McCain Admits Hagee Endorsement Was A Mistake," ABC News, April 20, 2008.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3685&id=12704-137503-c_hPy_&t=3

4. Press Release, John Hagee Ministries Website.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3688&id=12704-137503-c_hPy_&t=4

5. "Pastor John Hagee on Christian Zionism," NPR, May 22, 2008.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6097362

6. "McCain Backer Hagee Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God's Will," Huffington Post, May 21, 2008.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3687&id=12704-137503-c_hPy_&t=5