Jerusalem, Israel - One year after hosting a huge politically charged and largely faith-based rally in Washington, Glenn Beck is at it again, this time in Jerusalem.
Just like last year’s “Restoring Honor” rally in the capital, Beck’s pro-Israel rally in the Holy Land on Wednesday has stirred plenty of controversy before it even begins, with many Jews in Israel and the United States saying they feel mixed about the event.
They welcome the support for the Jewish state, many Jews say, but some are uncomfortable over recent Beck pronouncements on Judaism and with the rally’s close association with conservative evangelical Christians from the United States.
“I and some in my community have been critical of him and some of his expressions and we have made no secret about our feelings,” says Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish group that fights anti-Semitism.
“We should welcome it and embrace it,” he said of Beck’s rally, but added, “I hope he doesn’t make any faux pas, which he’s been prone to do.”
Beck says his Jerusalem rally is meant to show global solidarity with Israel at a time when the nation is facing growing international criticism and threats.
“There’s an important distinction of saying I love Israel, I defend Israel, and not separating that from the Jewish people,” Beck said on Monday at one of a string of events leading up to the Wednesday rally. “Make sure to say not that we only love Israel, but we love the Jewish people as they are.”
Some of Beck’s previous comments on Judaism have attracted criticism from groups like the Anti-Defamation League, provoking apologies from Beck.
In February, Beck criticized Reform Judaism – a major movement among American Jews - on his radio show. At the time, Beck said Reform rabbis are "generally political in nature.”
“It's almost like Islam, radicalized Islam in a way,” Beck continued, “ … radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics. … When you look at the Reform Judaism, it is more about politics."
The Anti-Defamation League’s Foxman called the statement “highly offensive and outrageous." Beck apologized for using a “horrible analogy.”
Last year, Foxman blasted Beck for alleging that financier George Soros, who is Jewish by birth, helped send Jews to death camps during the Holocaust. Foxman said the remarks, which came on Beck’s radio show, were “inappropriate, offensive and over the top.”
Beyond Beck’s statements, some Jews are uneasy with his close association with Christian Zionists, American-based evangelicals who tend to be on the opposite end of the political spectrum from American Jews and whom some Jews suspect have ulterior motives for befriending them.
Some evangelicals believe events in Israel are crucial to ushering in Jesus’ second coming, while other Jews say evangelical Christians want to convert them.
High-profile American evangelical leaders like the Rev. John Hagee, the leader of the American Christian Zionist movement, are traveling with Beck this week. Beck, a Mormon, began building bridges to conservative evangelical leaders in the lead-up to last year’s Washington rally.
“Last year’s event was all about getting your house in order, getting back to God and getting started in prayer again, whether or not you’re an evangelical,” said David Barton, an American evangelical activist who helped Beck organize the Washington rally and who is traveling with Beck in Israel this week.
“This next event is about, because you’re God-centered, you start looking around for neighbors that need help - especially Israel, which is where our roots are,” said Barton, describing the Jerusalem rally.
Barton said Beck’s Mormonism is a plus because Israeli leaders are less wary that he has ulterior motives for supporting them.
Many Christian Zionist leaders say Christian support for Israel is based in a Biblical connection to Jews and Israel, not in messianic thinking or a desire to convert.
“There’s an uneasiness in the community with evangelical support,” says Foxman. “But as long as the support is not conditioned on American Jewish support for the conservative Christian political agenda, or on us converting, they can be my guest.”
The rally is happening steps away from holy sites like the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. On Tuesday night, some Republican members of Congress were meeting with Beck and American evangelical leaders in Jerusalem.
In Israel, many conservative politicians have embraced Beck’s rally and the broader backing of American evangelicals.
“I am very supportive of his initiative,” Danny Danon, an Israeli parliament member who belongs to the conservative Likud Party, told CNN about Beck’s rally.
“When we see so many attacks against Israel and when we have people coming and standing with Israel it is very important,” he said.
But Danon also hinted at Jewish ambivalence toward Beck.
“I don’t agree with everything that Mr. Beck said in the past and I will not agree with everything that he will say in the future,” he said.
“But if you take the overall picture in terms of support for Israel … you really have someone who really cares about supporting the state of Israel and supporting the message of the connection of Jews to the land.”