The election of Hamas to the government of Palestine is both terrifying and intriguing. “Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader and former Israeli prime minister, said Israel shouldn’t be surprised by the Hamas victory – the establishment of “Hamastan,” he called it,” reported by CNSNews.com.

Hamas, an acronym which in Arabic also means “zeal” or “ardor,” was founded in 1988 and quickly adopted as the military arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Indiana 1994), at 694, et. seq. It was financially supported by Saudi Arabia and others. Hamas’ charter of thirty-six articles makes it clear that nationalism and religious faith are intertwined such that for that reason no territory in Palestine may be left in the hands of non-Muslims. Further, Hamas’ charter spells out that there can be no solution to the Palestinian territorial claims except through Jihad. Hamas must engage in and promoter terrorism and warfare against Israel to fulfill its charter.

The election of Hamas to the government of Palestine will permit the international community to directly address Hamas’ commitment to warfare as the sole solution it will consider to its claims on Israel’s territory. Further, actions by Hamas can now be laid directly at the feet of Palestinian government and accountability might be more easily achieved. By going legitimate, Hamas might be forced to divorce its actions from its rhetoric in order to remain in legitimate power.

However, it is possible Hamas will drag the Palestinians back down the path of warfare and humiliation that have plagued those Arab nations with implacable designs on the territory of Israel. Those Arab nations were defeated by Israel in 1948, 1967, 1973 and throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After each conflict, the Arab nations that participated in warfare with Israel lost their military establishments, lost territory to Israeli occupation, and were humiliated. Israel has incrementally vacated territory taken in these wars in exchange for peace with those Arab Nations. Hamas, on the other hand, arrogantly believes it can better the record of those Arab Nations and refuses to face the fact that if its theology is true, Allah’s will has been clearly announced.

If Hamas fails to go legitimate, if it embroils the Palestinians in another military confrontation with the Israelis, Hamas is more likely to set back Palestinian aspirations for another century, and maybe, irreparably. If Hamas continues to bring about confrontation with the United States, Hamas may be forced to join the Taliban in the twilight of history.

Pat Robertson has apologized to the son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for saying Sharon’s massive stroke was God’s judgment on him. (See earlier post: “Robertson: Leave God’s Judgment in God’s Hands”). In a letter dated Wednesday and addressed to the prime minister’s son, Omri Sharon of Jerusalem, Robertson wrote:

“I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for remarks I made at the time concerning the writing of the holy prophet Joel… 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. I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for saying what was clearly insensitive at the time.”

Full text of the letter is here: Robertson apology.

Guess Pat Robertson is finding out that attacking a world leader can be bad for business. Last week Robertson declared that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke because God is angry with him (see earlier post: “Robertson: Leave God’s Judgment in God’s Hands”). Now the Israeli government is pulling out of a deal in which Robertson would have built a tourist attraction/theme park near the Sea of Galilee.

Say what? That’s right. Apparently Robertson has been developing Galilee World (friends, really, I’m not making this up) – which would include a park, auditorium, amphitheaters, and, of course, a TV studio. Israel was going to donate the land and infrastructure (Israel is more than happy to pave the way for U.S. tourists). Location of the proposed Galilee World is northeast of the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional location of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

But now the Israeli government says no dice – at least not with Robertson. Tourism Ministry spokesman Ido Hartuv said his government is furious with Robertson after his remark about Sharon. The BBC quotes Hartuv as saying:

“We were due to sign a contract in the near future with Mr. Robertson … We, as the State of Israel, cannot accept what he said, and we will not do any business with him or with anyone else who agrees with his view.”

If that sends your heart sinking, don’t worry. Galilee World may still become a reality. Hartuv added,

“The contract is still open, just not with Mr. Robertson. If there are other Christian leaders, they are most welcome to sign a contract to bring Christian tourists to the state of Israel.”

Interested? For $50 million (and a promise not to declare that God hates Israel’s prime minister) Galilee World can be yours.

Pat Robertson is back in the news with another mean-spirited, cold-hearted pronouncement. This time the “700 Club” host declares that Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has had a stroke because God hates him for pulling Israel out of the Gaza Strip.

Two days ago, Sharon, 77, suffered a massive stroke. Doctors have performed two brain surgeries, but Sharon remains in critical condition. Yesterday, as Sharon remained in a coma, Robertson declared on his live TV show, “The 700 Club,” which is viewed by up to 1 million people daily:

The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who “divide my land.” God considers this land to be His. … For any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, “No, this is mine.”

Robertson also said he considered Sharon a friend. With friends like that — well, you know the rest.

Robertson is referring to an Old Testament prophecy, Joel 3:1-2, which says:

In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.

Most Christians and Jews agree that Bible prophecy is very hard to interpret. Perhaps Joel was talking about events in his own day, more than 2,500 years ago. Perhaps he was prophesying about the end times, as Robertson believes. But it does not take a scholar to see that the word “enmity,” meaning “deep-seated hatred,” a word which was so ready on Robertson’s lips, does not appear in the passage. It also is plain that God is pronouncing his judgment on nations, not on any one individual.

For Robertson to speak for God and to announce God’s enmity on an individual person, while that person lies in a coma in a hospital bed, while his wife and children and grandchildren anxiously offer up their prayers, is mean, callous, and arrogant. Palestine has been divided every which way for the last three millennia. Robertson is just plain wrong to single out Sharon for vilification. Pat Robertson ought to leave God’s judgment in God’s hands.

This thing of Robertson making a big news splash with shocking statements is getting to be a regular thing. It was just last November that Robertson spoke directly to the people of Dover, PA, again on his live TV program, saying:

I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God. You just rejected Him from your city. … Don’t ask for His help, because he might not be there.

Robertson delivered that stern judgment upon the people of Dover after they voted out their school board over an Intelligent Design debate.

Two months before that, Robertson called on the U.S. government to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:

He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he’s going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent. … If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.

What is especially troubling is that every time Robertson spouts one of these pontifications, the media can’t wait to serve it up to the whole world. Why? Because they know that such vicious remarks embarrass us Christians. By simply reporting Robertson’s actual words, all believers end up looking bad, and unbelievers are confirmed in their opinion that Christianity is not for them.

So what’s with Robertson? Some speculate that as he gets older (he will turn 76 in March), he’s just losing his grip. I have a different theory. At this stage of his life, Robertson has few reasons to hold back on what he really thinks. What we are witnessing is actually the emergence of the real Pat Robertson. The broadcaster once aspired to political office. In 1988 he was a presidential candidate. His father blazed the trail, serving in the U.S. House and Senate for 34 years. As long as Robertson speculated about another political campaign, he had to exercise some caution about alienating voters.

Now, however, it is all but impossible that Robertson’s name will ever appear on another ballot. That ship has sailed. And with it has vanished Robertson’s concern about what he says or who he turns off. He is remarkably successful (he owns and heads numerous corporations), abundantly rich, and very powerful (he speaks his mind each day to a million eager viewers). Fooled by his own success and power, Robertson now presumes to speak for God himself, declaring God’s judgment on world leaders, calling for the assassination of other leaders, and telling entire towns that God won’t answer their prayers.

There was a man once who knew the mind of God and actually did speak on God’s behalf. Brother Robertson, you aren’t him. And the difference is stark. He preached that God loves the whole world – the righteous and the unrighteous — and that we should do the same. Mr. Robertson, speaking to you as a brother, I exhort you: try on a little humility.