Pat Robertson, “Defender of Israel”, Passes Away at 93
Prominent televangelist and the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson, passed away on Thursday at the age of 93.
His obituary posted on CBN said, “His life was lived to the glory of God.”
In 1986, Mr. Robertson announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States on a conservative platform. While he enjoyed some success in the early primaries, he eventually placed third. At the 1988 Republican Convention, Mr. Robertson endorsed Vice President George H. W. Bush, who won the nomination and the presidency.
In honor of his support for Israel, Mr. Robertson received the Defender of Israel Award in 1994 from the Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign; the State of Israel Friendship Award in 2002 by the Chicago chapter of the Zionist Organization of America; and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Support of Israel in 2008 by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Robertson vehemently opposed any negotiations that would require Israel to give up territory. In January 2009, on a broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson stated that he was “adamantly opposed” to the division of Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians. He also stated that Armageddon was “not going to be fought at Megiddo” but would be the “battle of Jerusalem,” when “the forces of all nations come together and try to take Jerusalem away from the Jews. Jews are not going to give up Jerusalem—they shouldn’t—and the rest of the world is going to insist they give it up.” Robertson added that Jerusalem is a “spiritual symbol that must not be given away” because “Jesus will come down to the part of Jerusalem that the Arabs want,” and this would be “not good.”
Rabb Tuly Weisz, the head of Israel365, mourned the passing of a “friend of Israel.”
“Israel lost one of its greatest advocates and leading supporters with the passing of Pat Robertson,” Rabi Weisz said. “For decades, he was at the forefront of Christian Zionism. He helped transform America to become Israel’s great ally, by educating a generation of Christians about the importance of Israel and the US-Israel special relationship. Amongst Roberstson’s many accomplishments and impressive achievements for Israel and the Jewish People, one of his most significant initiatives was establishing a CBN news bureau in Jerusalem. Pat Robertson put his money where his mouth was and by investing in a news studio in the heart of Jewish Jerusalem, he ensured that Christians all over the world were well-informed about the great miracles occurring here and the fierce struggle our enemies wage against us. Our hearts go out to Gordon and the entire Robertson family and we mourn this great leader whose legacy will live eternally through the many blessings he bestowed upon the Land of Israel in his lifetime.”
Rabbi Weisz noted that in a beautiful speech posted on his website, Robertson explained his support of the Jewish state succinctly:
“The survival of the Jewish people is a miracle of God. The return of the Jewish people to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a miracle of God. The remarkable victories of Jewish armies against overwhelming odds in successive battles in 1948, and 1967, and 1973 are clearly miracles of God. The technological marvels of Israeli industry, the military prowess, the bounty of Israeli agriculture, the fruits and flowers and abundance of the land are a testimony to God’s watchful care over this new nation and the genius of this people.”
“Ladies and Gentleman, evangelical Christians support Israel because we believe that the words of Moses and the ancient prophets of Israel were inspired by God. We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was ordained by God.”
“We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth…We evangelical Christians merely say to our Israeli friends, ‘Let us serve our God together by opposing the virulent poison of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that is rapidly engulfing the world.”
His love of Israel was acknowledged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who praised him on his 93rd birthday last March by saying, “You’ve been a tremendous friend and I have to say, you have many friends and many admirers around the world for the life of purpose that you have led. But I want to say categorically that Israel has had no better friend than you. You have led many Christian believers around the world to understand the miracle of the Jewish return to the ancient Jewish homeland, the resurrection of Israel and the reuniting of Jerusalem. I know all that stirs your heart as much as it does mine. And I want to also say that you’ve been a great personal friend. So, for all of that and much more, thank you, Pat. Happy Birthday.”
The pro-Israel lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), mourned his passing, calling him
The pro-Israel lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), mourned his passing, calling him
The pro-Israel lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), mourned his passing, calling him “a great friend of Israel and a pioneer in the modern Christian Zionist movement”.
In 1954, he married Adelia “Dede” Elmer Robertson. They were married 67 years before she predeceased him on April 19, 2022, at the age of 94. Together they had four children: Timothy Brian Robertson of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Elizabeth Robertson Robinson of Dallas, Texas; Gordon Perry Robertson of Chesapeake, Virginia; Ann Robertson LeBlanc of Portsmouth, Virginia; plus 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
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