The Rev. Jerry Falwell said Tuesday that he and several leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention had told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that they would mobilize evangelical churches to oppose steps to give up any more territory to the Palestinians.
To get out the word on Israel, Falwell said, "There are about 200,000 evangelical pastors in America, and we're asking them all through e-mail, faxes, letters, telephone, to go into their pulpits and use their influence in support of the state of Israel and the prime minister."Netanyahu, who met with the evangelical leaders in Washington on Monday, is tapping a vein of support among evangelical Christians.
But in courting conservative Christians on this trip, Netanyahu has apparently angered President Clinton, who was said to be outraged to hear that Netanyahu had met privately with Falwell.