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Glenn Beck Israel

August 23, 2011 by · Comments Off on Glenn Beck Israel 

Glenn Beck IsraelGlenn Beck Israel, Conservative commentator Glenn Beck plans to attract thousands of people for Courage restoration demonstration in Jerusalem this week, but the event will be as close to the neighborhood church for some in Brevard County.

The message of support for Israel, a longtime U.S. ally in the Middle East, is what resonates deeply with some evangelicals Space Coast, causing two churches to offer simulcasts of the demonstration on Wednesday.

“We have a love for Israel, and the idea of?? Someone with name recognition of Glenn Beck announced the plight of Israel,” said Pastor Gary Cristofaro of the First Assembly of God in Melbourne.

“I think it is something that draws attention to the ‘U.S. relationship with Israel. I think that has been strained, and many of us want our president to stop pressuring them,” Cristofaro said, the local director of Christians United for Israel and the organizer of several pro-Israel rallies in recent years.

Beck, a Mormon convert with strong ties to the movement of the Tea Party and the evangelical community is using the four-day rally in Israel to share what he sees as the danger of U.S. promoting a policy of two states as a form of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Obama and Bush administrations have expressed support for Palestinian statehood, a move that critics say could jeopardize Israel’s borders and divide Jerusalem – the holiest site in Judaism and third holiest in Islam – between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Authority.

Beck opened the event on Sunday in the northern Israeli city of Caesarea and will close on Wednesday with a rally a few meters from the ancient Temple Mount, site of the Islamic Dome of the Rock.

“We are leaving the era of man-made wonders of the ship, and we are entering the era of the miracles of God,” Beck told a crowd of about 3,000 at Caesarea on Sunday, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Merritt Island resident Tom Robbins plans to conduct the Melbourne First Assembly for simultaneous transmission on Wednesday. He also had the opportunity to see the simulcast of Caesarea Sunday.

“I think it went very well and gave him a sense of unity and people come together to support Israel,” said Robbins, who said he developed his love of country through reading the Holy Bible. Since then he has visited Israel twice.

“It’s the birthplace of our faith, where Jesus walked, where Abraham walked. It’s just what it is, the Holy Land,” Robbins said.

The last day of the event will be broadcast on Wednesdays at 9:30 am First Assembly and Kol Mashiach Messianic Synagogue in Melbourne. Rabbi Alan Levine, said he expects more than 100 people to attend the simulcast, shown in the hall of worship.

“It’s a word you have to leave,” said Levine, the spiritual leader of the congregation, which combines a passion for the Hebrew Bible with the belief in Jesus – or Yeshua.

Besides the two churches, two unidentified groups, private – one in Titusville and another in Rockledge – held viewing parties, according to Beck’s website.

No contact information is available for either group.

Beck, a best-selling author, was presented at a book signing at Barnes and Noble West Melbourne in 2008, making 500 people.

The event Jerusalem and its host have not been without criticism.

Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League said Beck’s comments comparing Reform Judaism to “radical Islam” as offensive. Beck later apologized for the comment.

Rabbi Zvi Konikov of Chabad of the Space Coast and Treasure in Satellite Beach downplayed the criticism and praised Beck to take a public position on the Jewish state’s struggle to coexist peacefully with its neighbors.

“Anyone who lends a hand or standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel, which I think is like a little United States in the Middle East, is worthy of praise,” said Konikov.

“I know there are people who are not big fans of him. But when I see the truth, I do not care where it comes from. I had set aside the trial. Everyone has flaws.”

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