It was a “gut punch for most American Jews,” the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote in an editorial published Friday. In an email, Mr. Hagee said his comments, in a sermon about the problem of evil in a world of God’s creation, were taken out of context, and he has apologized for any offense. Many Israelis, especially on the right, shrug off the beliefs of their Christian allies as a theoretical matter. When the Messiah arrives, runs an old joke, we will ask him whether the visit is his first or his second. The alliance with evangelicals may free him of the need to appease liberal Jews.

Source: New York Times May 19, 2018 17:42 UTC