WASHINGTON (JTA) — An evangelical Christian who promotes messianic Judaism will be the keynote speaker at a Birthright Israel alumni event.
Gordon Robertson, son of former Christian Coalition leader Pat Robertson, will speak at a Nov. 18 event in New York sponsored by Birthright NEXT and the Jewish Enrichment Center, The Jewish Week reported.
In an appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network in July 2008, according to the paper, Robertson, CEO of the network, said that "you don’t have to change your culture, you can still observe the Torah, you can still be Jewish and still believe that Jesus is the messiah."
Birthright NEXT officials said they were aware of Robertson’s views and hoped attendees would question him about them, but that he was not coming to speak about Christianity or messianic Judaism.
The event’s title is "Are Evangelical Christian More Fervent Zionists than American Jews?"
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.