Lieberman Ally Claims "Jewish Banking Plot" Sermon Copyright Protected -- Senator To Speak at July Hagee Event

On July 22, 2008 United States Senator Joseph Lieberman will deliver a capstone address at Pastor John Hagee's yearly Washington Christians United For Israel Summit and, presumably as an advance strike, prior to the conference, to suppress possible negative press coverage, CUFI lawyers have requested, alleging copyright violation, that YouTube remove a number of videos which contain footage from John Hagee Ministry broadcasts. As Huffington Post political journalist Sam Stein describes in a July 8, 2008 report, more than 120 YouTube videos were taken down in the sweep. It's likely that CUFI's claim to copyright violation ranges, in many of the cases of these removed videos, from shaky to dubious and all the way, in the case of journalist Max Blumenthal's mini-documentary "Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized 2007 Christians United For Israel Tour", to absurd. [below: "Rapture Ready", by Max Blumenthal and Thomas Shomaker]

However the preemptive strike will keep the critical videos out of the way at least until CUFIs upcoming conference is over. Included in the videos purged was one, showcasing audio clips from a late 2005 John Hagee sermon, in which Hagee claimed that "God sent Hitler" and that Jews are not "spiritually alive." That video, broadcast around the United States and also internationally last May, led presidential hopeful John McCain to abruptly renounce Pastor John Hagee's political endorsement. [below: the Young Turks' re-post of the "God Sent Hitler" video, still up on YouTube]

One of CUFI's lawyers told the Cutting Edge Press service, for a July 7, 2008 story, that "John Hagee Ministries, through its copyright attorneys, issued a request that YouTube remove any and all copyrighted materials belonging to John Hagee copyrights." If so, John Hagee Ministries has claimed copyright protection for John Hagee's version of conspiracy theory, identified by one national expert as clearly anti-Semitic, which closely resembled versions of the most notoriously vicious anti-Jewish conspiracy theory ever minted, "The Protocols Of The Learned Elders Of Zion," that was put out in profusion in the decades leading up to the Holocaust, internationally, in The United States and, especially, in Germany. [below: 10 minute documentary compares Pastor John Hagee's very own version, circa March 2003, of "The Protocols" with the Nazi version, as detailed in the infamous Joseph Goebbels-supervised Nazi propaganda film "The Eternal Jew"]

Pastor John Hagee's and JHM's censorship attempt has inadvertently raised a question that's potentially embarrassing both to Hagee and also to Senator Joe Lieberman, who in a speech at CUFI 2007 declared Pastor Hagee to be an "ish elochim," a "man of God" and likened Hagee to Moses; Is the promotion of a variant of the most notorious (and destructive) anti-Jewish conspiracy theory of modern times a proper educational enterprise for a 501(c)(3) 'educational" broadcast ministry such as Pastor Hagee's ? And if so, what's the didactic goal ? [10 minute documentary explores Senator Joe Lieberman's comparison of Pastor John Hagee to Moses]

Related: "Hagee's Revenge? Videos of Controversial Pastor Removed From YouTube" -- Sam Stein

Comments

[SouthpawSass]

Have they taken down video's of Rev. Wright or is it just exclusive to angry white guys?

[ga4ry]

Another vile assertion from another vile hate monger perpetuated by the vile belief in a vile diety who's vile philosophy is thousands of years out of date.
But make sure you tell Barach and Mcsame how important it is to support the faith based inititives, for they work out of only love, aaaa-meeeen

[arvay]

Humanity unfortunately has a lot of spiritual and ideological delusions, prompting female mutilations, "honor" killings" and other horrible actions.

Speaking as an observant atheist, I hope American Jews in particular will denounce hypocrites like Lieberman who embrace people like Hagee who advocates murder for the sake of his "God."

[nyboomer]

Can it be that Lieberman has secretly converted to christianity?

[Argente]

(To avoid being flagged as I was in my initial comment, I hereby disclose that I am both a Jew and a Zionist - the two can be mutually exclusive.­)

Sen. Lieberman's life speaks to the fact that he is an observant Jew. Some think that he went off the rails in '06 when he lost the CT primary and hasn't been quite right since. However, he must be allowed his views and First Amendment rights.

There are many radical Evangelicals who are ardent Zionists and write big checks for Israel. (Although Jews have a slightly different take on Israel's future, i.e., they have a little problem with the notion that prior to the End of Times all Jews must return to Israel, and those who are not 'perfected' will burn in hell.)

For this type of Evangelical Zionist, Sen. Lieberman is perceived as a great ally. Outside of election season, he addresses such groups and solicits donations to Israel. The difference here is that he is linking the election of McCain to Israel's best interests, and some of those checks are made out to the McCain campaign. Undoubtedly, this is pandering of the first order; but Evangelical money is just as green as Jewish money.

[bilditup1]

Needless to say I am shocked that some other observant Jews have no qualms accepting, with open arms, the support of these yahoos.

The typical answer I receive, roughly, is - well, we know that these people are nuts, but since we don't believe a word of their ilk, let them drown in their own feces while we reap the benefits of the support of a large swath of America.

...To which I say: well that's all well and good, but consider not just the idea that the endgame of these theocrats is the ultimate destruction of the Jewish nation by renunciation of faith or else eternal damnation. NO!

Instead, consider the view, espoused in Max Blumenthal's video above, that he who brokers the Israel-Palestine peace deal would be considered the devil and the anti-Christ. This should trouble everyone but perhaps the most hard-line of Likudniks and Shasniks. OVER THE BLOOD OF OUR PEOPLE (not to mention the blood of the Muslims) DO THESE YAHOOS BELIEVE THEY WILL BE LED TO SALVATION.

Do we really want to accept and indeed embrace the support of those who ultimately do not want a solution!?? What kind of message does this send - not just to the rest of the world, or to the Arabs in Judah, Samaria, and 'Aza - but to each and every one of us, our children, and our children's children?

[bilditup1]

haydude - not all religions have hatred as their bedrock or murder at its heart. modify your sentence with "some" in the future or be prepared to accept the consequences.

yappnmut - clearly there are other yahoos in each religion. You don't see Joseph Lieberman embracing them though; that is closer to the point of this article. To be fair, the argument that the Holocaust was G-d's way of punishing the Jews was not invented by this specific yahoo.

Full disclosure: I am an observant Jew of the Maimonidean creed (well, hoping to be anyway - it's not easy).

[SilentShout]

"not all religions have hatred as their bedrock or murder at its heart. modify your sentence with "some" in the future or be prepared to accept the consequenc­es."

Ha! How ironic. "Respect the peaceful heart of my religion or I'll kick your butt." Sounds like typical illogic from a typical believer.

[haydude]

hate is one of many things that allows religion to so effectively control people's spirituality

[MagisterLudi]

Hopefully, during the next election Democrats will have a bigger margin so they can stop handling Lieberman with kid gloves. He needs to be made an example of as traitor for the leftist cause.

[yappnmutt]

hagee is nuts but to be fair its not so difficult to find a rabbi at least as equally nuts. the judeochristoislamo tradition attracts a lot of nuts.

[falco]

Amazing the hatred, killing, and maiming that accompanies religious belief. Perhaps religion was created as a mechanism to divide people instead of uniting people. Religion is being used to manipulate us, to pit us against one another. We demonize Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Stir it all up with all that killing and torture in the name of God, and what will come out is a new religion for most, the one that the Freemasons have been initiated into - Luciferian. One world religion. One world government. We are on our way.

[mimsnpips]

I have monitored Hagee for years from a safe distance. I consider it my spiritual and public duty to do so. He needs watchdogs how ever insignificant they may be.

In the first video you hear Hagee's fingers snapping. This is a trademark move of him and other fundamentalists. It is demeaning to me, and should be to all the sheeple he snaps to. But no, they listen even closer, take notes, say amen, etc. All people like Hagee-all of them- now are "teachers" as well as or instead of pastors. Though they posess little or no teaching or educational skills. The title of 'teacher' raises their own egos, and raises their stature to the congregation.

These fundamentalist leaders are caught up in their own web of power. No different than a CEO or other person with great respect from their followers/­employees. They would deny my statement for sure, So far from appearances Hagee has kept himself clean from the downfalls that accompany such people so often. Time will tell..

As for Sen. Lie-berman, he has gone completely insane and should be given a psychiatric examination. If the work up proves my hunch he should be removed fom the senate. It's a good thing he didn't become VP who knows what he may have done.

"and to christ a cross, and to me the chair
I will sit and earn the ransom from up here
yeah we won't be raped
we won't be scarred like that"
(LIVE)

[Marlyn]

"Jews need to be perfected.­" ???

This is insane, fantasies concocted out of a few Bible phrases.

[Argente]

You haven't met my mother-in-law.

[PDXPLT]

Bruce,

While I detest Hagee and his message, I don't quite understand on what basis you claim that his assert of copyright is "shakey" or "dubious". Like it or not, under law he owns the rights to those performances, as disgusting as they are. Posting substantial portions of them on YouTube without his permission is almost certainly infringment, whether we like it or not. Twenty or 30 seconds sounds bites in the context of news, criticism, or commentary is one thing, but it's always a gray area that sites like YouTube are reluctant to push. Even the bad guys have rights under the law.

[turfkiller]

Always knew he was performaning and not preaching. If it's copyrighted then maybe his church should start paying taxes on the income it gets from his performances.

I'm sure he was commanded to "Go forth and copyright.­"

[peterg76]

You can't copyright simple statements of truth, but it sounds like that won't be a problem for him.

[PDXPLT]

No, but you can copyright expression of those statements.

See www.copyright.gov

[Marlyn]

"Hagee claimed that "God sent Hitler" "

Of course, he did. God sent us all.

[lovethesinner]

As a person of "faith" who only attends church at odd intervals, I am offended, not because of my faith, but because of my national pride.

If there is anything about being an American that I can say I'm truly PROUD of, it's that as an American I can EXPECT that my right to RELIGIOUS FREEDOM means that I can choose to practice any religion, or no religion, whenever, or never, all at my choosing.

Hagee offends my patriotism. What he's suggesting is un-American.

I'd worship with Rev. Jeremiah Write for ten, fifty, "even a hundred years" GLADLY, before I'd suffer a minute of Hagee's SPIRITUAL PRIDE.

[theplaintrutho1]

Naw, lovethesinner, what Hagee is suggesting is very much American.

Most Americans have forgotten the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Amendments.

No, what he's suggesting maybe unconstitutional, but not UN-American for about 50 plus % of Americans for the last 28 years.
They didn't wake-up during the Clinton administration, they just thought he acted and sounded like a southern Televangelist.
REMEMBER! Before Hart, Brown, Jackson, and all the rest got knocked off, Clinton was running eighth in those primaries.