Hagee once suggested in a sermon that Hitler was sent to Earth to carry out God’s will.
Leaders in Congress are being criticized after speaking at a Zionist rally in Washington, D.C. that featured white supremacist pastor John Hagee, a well known antisemite who once said that Adolf Hitler was sent by God to carry out the Holocaust.
Zionists marched in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday afternoon to express support for Israel and oppose calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel’s current siege has killed at least 11,240 Palestinians so far. The crowd chanted phrases like “no ceasefire” and cheered for Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who appeared via video call to support the rally, called the “March for Israel.”
Featured speakers included prominent members of Congress like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), who pledged that the U.S. would do everything it can to stand with Israel even as it continues to massacre Palestinians.
Speakers also included Hagee, who has made vitriolic antisemitic remarks at many points in his career. In a nine-minute address about an hour after the lawmakers took the stage, Hagee appealed to Zionist and extremist conservative Christian sentiments, saying that Hamas and Hezbollah must be sent to “the ash heap of history” along with people like Hitler, and that those who speak up against Israel are only “speaking of [their] own demise,” to cheers from the crowd.
Hagee, a known ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the founder of far right organization Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which has deep ties to the Republican Party. One of Hagee’s most abhorrent statements on Jewish people — of which there are many — was in the 1990s, when he suggested in a sermon that Hitler was sent by God to carry out His will and send Jewish people to the promised land, or Israel.
There's always a third option when you think outside the ballot box.