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In the Matter of Pat Robertson
- Abstract
Is Pat Robertson guilty of the charge of anti-Semitism that has lately been hurled at him?
It is an important question, with much more riding on it than Robertson’s personal reputation alone. He is, after all, one of the most prominent Protestant preachers in America, commanding a huge daily audience on a cable-TV network (the Christian Broadcast Network, or CBN) which he himself owns. He is also the creator of and the moving spirit behind the American Center for Law and Justice, the most prominent of the various groups that have sprung up in the past few years to fight in the courts for a less restrictive interpretation of what the First Amendment permits by way of religious expression in “the public square.” Finally, and most consequentially, he is the founder of the Christian Coalition, a political organization whose influence within the Republican party, and especially its newly dominant conservative wing, has grown by leaps and bounds; and though Robertson has turned over the running of the organization to his young protégé, Ralph Reed, he remains its titular head and retains a deciding voice in its councils.
About the Author
Norman Podhoretz has been writing for COMMENTARY for 56 years.
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