Pat Robertson Apologizes to Israel, Sharon

Pat Robertson offered apologies to the family of Ariel Sharon for comments he made immediately following the Israeli Prime Minister’s recent stroke in which Robertson said it was divine punishment for Sharon's decision to divide the land of Israel and withdraw settlers from Gaza.

Robertson, chairman and CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network, wrote a letter to Omri Sharon, son of the prime minister, expressing his "sadness at [Ariel Sharon’s] condition and my warm regard for him as a person.”

The TV evangelist had received scorn from the White House for his remarks and, earlier this week, was also rebuked by Israel, which said it would no longer move forward with Robertson’s plans to build a Christian theme park in the Holy Land.

Robertson’s letter to Sharon was direct in its contrition, but it also blamed media reports for distorting his intent about the cause of Sharon’s medical condition.

"Regrettably, few, if any, of these heartfelt sentiments were carried by the news media in America or by the new media in Israel," Robertson wrote. "However, I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for remarks I made at the time concerning the writing of the holy prophet Joel and his view of the inviolate nature of the land of Israel."

Robertson had claimed God punished Sharon for his decision to give settlements in the Gaza region to the Palestinians as part of a peace effort to resolve long-standing conflicts and frequent bloodshed in the region.

Robertson continued:

"My zeal, my love of Israel, and my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father’s illness. I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for saying what was clearly insensitive at the time.”

An Israeli tourism official said Wednesday it would no longer do business with Robertson because of the insensitive remarks Robertson, according to Associated Press reports, is "leading a group of evangelicals who have pledged to raise $50 million to build a large Christian tourism center in Israel's northern Galilee region, where tradition says Jesus lived and taught.”

Robertson added:
"... I pray for the future security of your country and, when I speak, it is always as a friend."