Yet here Paul is on a rainy day in Texas, speaking with me about his
international adventures, which he continues to undertake despite the
Bush administration’s alleged grounding of his private 747 plane a
decade ago. Today, he says, the plane remains grounded in Tijuana,
Mexico. (Click here and here for the most recent documentation of the whereabouts of Paul’s “Global Peace Ambassadors” plane.)
So why does Paul meet with world leaders — dictators and democracy practitioners alike — and what makes them willing to meet with him? The evangelist says his success derives from his peace rallies.
“We don’t take money, like every other evangelist or preacher or rabbi takes,” he says. “We don’t sell books like everybody else sells. I don’t promote just a religious agenda, but a peace agenda. Therefore, everybody who has got nothing to lose, who is hungry for peace, comes to my rallies.”
When “millions of people” attend your rallies, Paul says, you have the ear of presidents and prime ministers.
“The message of peace resonates with everybody,” he says. “Go to the Middle East. Go to Israel and Palestine. You’ll see how many people want peace. It is the leaders that need to be changed.”
Paul supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, but says he isn’t sure that will ever happen “because now,
nobody trusts American leadership. Without proper American leadership,
it’s not going to happen.”
In 2000, when Ehud Barak was Israel’s prime minister and Arafat was the Palestinians’ leader, Paul says he “had hopes” that peace was achievable. I ask Paul for his impressions of Arafat. He responds, “Why talk about a dead man? But [he was] a very unique person. That’s all I can say right now.”
Paul has also met several times with Mahmoud Abbas, the current Palestinian leader. Asked if he believes Abbas is committed to peace, Paul answers, “He really wanted to get the peace deal [with Israel] done. He’s caught in a very unique spot between the West and the East. All the fanatics and extremists in the Muslim community hate him, and all the right-wing Western leaders say he doesn’t do enough. So it’s very hard.”
It’s mandatory for every Christian, Paul explains, “to pray for Israel every day, support Israel in every way, because a young man — a good-looking boy called Jesus — 2,000 years ago died for all humanity and shed his precious blood, and commanded all of us to pray for Israel.”
So why does Paul meet with world leaders — dictators and democracy practitioners alike — and what makes them willing to meet with him? The evangelist says his success derives from his peace rallies.
“We don’t take money, like every other evangelist or preacher or rabbi takes,” he says. “We don’t sell books like everybody else sells. I don’t promote just a religious agenda, but a peace agenda. Therefore, everybody who has got nothing to lose, who is hungry for peace, comes to my rallies.”
When “millions of people” attend your rallies, Paul says, you have the ear of presidents and prime ministers.
“The message of peace resonates with everybody,” he says. “Go to the Middle East. Go to Israel and Palestine. You’ll see how many people want peace. It is the leaders that need to be changed.”
In 2000, when Ehud Barak was Israel’s prime minister and Arafat was the Palestinians’ leader, Paul says he “had hopes” that peace was achievable. I ask Paul for his impressions of Arafat. He responds, “Why talk about a dead man? But [he was] a very unique person. That’s all I can say right now.”
Paul has also met several times with Mahmoud Abbas, the current Palestinian leader. Asked if he believes Abbas is committed to peace, Paul answers, “He really wanted to get the peace deal [with Israel] done. He’s caught in a very unique spot between the West and the East. All the fanatics and extremists in the Muslim community hate him, and all the right-wing Western leaders say he doesn’t do enough. So it’s very hard.”
It’s mandatory for every Christian, Paul explains, “to pray for Israel every day, support Israel in every way, because a young man — a good-looking boy called Jesus — 2,000 years ago died for all humanity and shed his precious blood, and commanded all of us to pray for Israel.”
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