Wow.
The Rev. Pat Robertson said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is being punished by God for dividing the Land of Israel. Robertson, speaking on the “700 Club” on Thursday, suggested Sharon, who is currently in an induced coma, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by an Israeli extremist in 1995, were being treated with enmity by God for dividing Israel.
“He was dividing God’s land,” Robertson said. “And I would say, Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, ‘This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.'”
Can’t you just feel the Christian love? A prime minister and close ally of the United States is in critical condition and this TV preacher clown, instead of praying for a speedy recovery, tells his national television audience that God is punishing Sharon. What’s more, Robertson exploits the illness to insist that God shares his foreign policy worldview for the Middle East. (thanks to bubba for the tip)
Robertson sure has been on a roll lately, hasn’t he? He’s sending God after Dover, Pa. over intelligent design; he’s threatened Republican senators over Harriet Miers; he’s told CNN that earthquakes in Pakistan may be a sign of the end times; and he’s called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — all in just the last few months.
And let’s also not forget, this crazed TV preacher also happens to be a close ally of powerful GOP officials. After all, George W. Bush has appeared at two Robertson-hosted Christian Coalition events and the president even met with Robertson in early 2003 to discuss the war in Iraq. For that matter, tune into the 700 Club on any given day and you’ll see high-ranking officials from the Bush administration chatting about today’s biggest issues.
Indeed, after Tom DeLay was forced from his leadership post, whom did he immediately turn to? Who else? Pat Robertson.
Robertson isn’t some guy shouting bizarre ideas from a street corner; he’s a Republican insider, shouting bizarre ideas on national television.
Update: People for the American Way has the video of Robertson’s comments.