Zionist meeting brands 'road map' as heresy

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A Washington conference of Christian and Jewish Zionists yesterday heard attacks on the U.S. "road map" for peace in the Middle East as a breach of a 4,000-year-old covenant between God and Israel.

"The land of Israel was originally owned by God," said Gary Bauer, president of American Values and a Republican presidential contender in 2000. "Since He was the owner, only He could give it away. And He gave it to the Jewish people."

Terrorists, he said, "don't understand why Israel and the United States are joined at the heart."

Called the "Interfaith Zionist Leadership Summit," the conference attracted to the Omni Shoreham Hotel about 1,000 participants, who debated how evangelical Christians could best unite with Jews to support Israel.

A three-page statement was adopted, to be delivered to President Bush this week, demanding Palestinian concessions before Israel is asked to return to its pre-1967 borders, which would turn over the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority.

Calling the peace proposal "a Satanic road map," Earl Cox, executive producer and host of Front Page Jerusalem, a radio program, asked, "Do any of you believe [Palestinian leader] Yasser Arafat will embrace traditional family values? There will be a mosque on all the holy sites. How can anyone who's a Jew or a Christian support such a proposal?"

Evangelical Christians, estimated to number about 45 million in America, are a source of support for Israel, though to varying degrees.

Evangelical organizations represented at the conference included the Christian Coalition, the Christian Broadcasting Network and the Religious Roundtable. One organization distributed bumper stickers saying: "Pray that President Bush will honor God's covenant with Israel."

Frank Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy, said the months before the November 2004 election are ideal for lobbying Mr. Bush on an issue important to his conservative base.