Controversial US media pundit Glenn Beck was in Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday, leading an excitable crowd in mantras of love and support for Israel just yards from the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
At least 1,000 people, many of them Christians from the US, packed into the seats at the outdoor archaeological park to witness Beck’s highly-publicised Restoring Courage rally aimed at showing support for an increasingly isolated Israel.
“I have one message for Israel and for the Israelis: do not lose hope, you must have courage. Israel is here because the God of Abraham keeps his covenant,” he roared.
“In Israel, you see more courage in one square mile than in the whole of Europe,” he said, as the crowd leapt to its feet clapping and whistling.
The rally, a slick media performance with accompanying choir and orchestra and, at times, rousing Hollywood-style music, was staged just yards from both the the Western Wall, one of the most sacred places in Judaism, and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
In the front row stood Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight, the estranged father of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, a staunch supporter of Israel, who could be seen leaping to his feet, beaming and applauding – and at one point wiping tears from his face.
Mr Beck said he had seen the dangers of the so-called Arab Spring and had predicted it would bring trouble to Israel.
“I said: behind much of the Arab revolutions is a force which will put the people of Egypt under a new pharaoh and bring terror to the borders of Israel – and so it has, in the last seven days,” he said, referring to a deadly shooting attack near Eilat in which gunmen killed eight Israelis after crossing the border from Sinai.
“Say what you will about him, but he gets the Middle East,” murmured one Israeli journalist in the crowd.
“Glenn Beck is a real friend of the state of Israel,” said Danny Danon, an MP with the ruling right-wing Likud party. “We will continue to work with him so that Israel is a strong Jewish nation.”
But not everyone was quite so quick to welcome Beck’s unquestioning support, with several prominent rabbis and right-wing activists speaking out against him, arguing that his devotion to Israel masks an agenda which seeks to proselytise.
Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, who had been expected to join the gathering, was just one of a number of rabbis who pulled out at the last minute because of similar concerns.
Born a Roman Catholic, Mr Beck later converted to Mormonism, which holds the Jewish people in very high esteem and believes all true Mormons are direct descendants from the people of Israel.
The controversial commentator hosted a once-popular television show which was taken off air several months ago amid declining ratings. He has since started his own television station, called GBTV.