Pat Robertson's CBN Calls on Christians to Pray Against Palestinian Statehood
Pat Robertson, chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), has issued a "call to prayer" as the United Nations considers President Mahmoud Abbas' application for membership and statehood recognition.
In a video published on CBN's website Friday, the network claims that Palestinian statehood could be devastating for Israel.
In an accompanying report, the Christian network writes, "Many observers believe granting the Palestinian Authority's request could lead to devastating attacks on the Jewish state."
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The report also states that Robertson is requesting for Christians to pray "that the U.N. will not vote to create a Palestinian state, that Israel will never be divided into two countries, that the U.S. will remain a strong supporter of Israel and that Christians will continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
The network claims the "call to prayer" against Palestinian statehood was issued on sister sites and networks all around the world, "from the Philippines to the Ukraine."
In a separate section on the CBN website, a special section has been created just for this issue, titled "An Urgent Call to Pray for Israel."
On that site, a message signed by Robertson reads:
This month the United Nations will vote on a resolution to recognize a group of people, the Palestinians, as a legitimate nation. If successful, the Palestinians will undoubtedly move to claim the West Bank as their homeland and Jerusalem as their capital.
This would be catastrophic for the nation of Israel!
It has long been the stated policy of Israel's enemies to destroy God's chosen people and wipe the Jewish state off the map.
Terrorists and dictators surround Israel on every hand. Yet Israel remains a true bastion of democracy, standing alone in the Middle East as the nations of the world gather against her.
In his letter, Robertson shares the view held by many evangelicals that the creation of an Israeli state in 1948 was the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
According to a Global Survey of Evangelical Leaders, 48 percent of evangelicals say the state of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy about the Second Coming of Jesus, while 42 percent say it is not.
The survey, published in June by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public LIfe, reveals that 34 percent of evangelicals sympathize with Israel, while 11 percent sympathize with the Palestinians.
The survey also found that most evangelicals also believe that God's covenant with the Jewish people continues today (73 percent).
Abbas received a standing ovation Friday as he stood before members of the United Nations and delivered a speech outlining his agenda.
"I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favor of our full membership," he told the General Assembly.
The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators (the U.N., the E.U., the U.S., and Russia) hope Palestine and Israel can agree on an agenda for peace negotiations; however, Abbas in his address said negotiations with Israel "will be meaningless" as long as the nation continues building on lands the Palestinians claim as their own.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the Palestinian application.
President Barack Obama has made it known that the U.S. plans to use its U.N. Security Council veto to block the Palestinians' application.
An alternative, which as garnered support by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would be to grant the Palestinian Authority enhanced status as a non-member state, a position also held by the Vatican.
Such a compromise would require only a majority vote in the General Assembly, where members do not have veto power.
U.N. Security-General Ban Ki-moon has not expressed how long it might take for a decision to come down on Abbas' application, but observers speculate that a decision could take weeks or months.
