Muffti is not going to lie to you: he is no fan of Pat Robertson. The man is a jerk: he’s a homophobe, a sexist, he’s called for the assasination of Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chavez, claimed that his prayers manage to keep natural disasters from striking Virginia Beach, supported war criminal Charles Taylor of Liberia, praised the idea of wiping out the US state department right around the same time he claimed that objecting to the war in Iraq was tantamount to treason, and claimed that “pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way.” were responsible for 9/11. And those are just the things he’s proud of!
Israel showed some teeth and let Muffti know that he is not alone in holding this opinion. Add to the list above Pat’s claim that Sharon’s latest health problems are directly related to the withdrawl from Gaza:
He was dividing God’s land, and I would say, ‘Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the [European Union], the United Nations or the United States of America,’”…God says, ‘This land belongs to me, and you’d better leave it alone,’
Why do religious nuts think that they can discern the actions of God? If Pat comes down with a stroke anytime soon, can we all follow his line of thinking and claim that surely God is just giving him his due?
Israel’s tourism ministry has been hatching out a deal with Christian ministries in the US to build the Christian Heritage Center in Israel’s northern Galilee region. The Christians were to put up the money, the Israelis the land and infrastructure to benefit of everyone. Roberston was at the head of the group brokering the deal. In a bold show (given how much money Roberston and his foundation pour into Israel; especially into the settlements until recently), the ministry adopted an anti-Roberston policy. Spokesman Ido Hartuv said:
We want to see who in the group supports his (Robertson’s) statements. Those who support the statements cannot do business with us. Those that publicly support Ariel Sharon’s recovery … are welcome to do business with us.
Of course it’s all politics, and of course it probably doesn’t come to much in the long run, and given Pat’s rabid support of Israel over the years, the punishment may not quite match teh crime. But Muffti can’t help but feel some extra pride in our favourite medinah.
UPDATE: Pat, faced with a ban on business with Israel, appologized to Omri Sharon, stating:
My concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father’s illness.
Translation? SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Hat tip to Kenny, that skinny bastard. See here for some details.
