Group: 17,000 People Express Opposition to Hagel

The largest pro-Israel group in the nation, Christians United for Israel, says that "More than 17,000 people have responded to a Christians United for Israel (CUFI) action alert launched yesterday asking individuals to email their Senators in opposition to the potential nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense."

The email being sent to senators by members of the pro-Israel reads:

As a member of Christians United for Israel, I'm writing to ask you to publicly oppose the nomination of Senator Chuck Hagel to be our next Secretary of Defense. The easiest time to stop Hagel's nomination is before it's ever made.

The greatest threat to our security and that of our front-line ally Israel is a rising and potentially nuclear Iran. Yet Senator Hagel has demonstrated a troubling blind spot towards this threat. In the Senate, he repeatedly opposed economic sanctions on Iran intended to stop its nuclear program. He also opposed recognizing Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Finally, he refused to support efforts to further isolate Iran's number one puppet: Hezbollah.

As a combat veteran, Senator Hagel deserves our respect. As a former senator, he deserves your cordiality. But America deserves someone who recognizes the greatest threats facing us to lead the Defense Department.

Please oppose the nomination of Senator Hagel for Secretary of Defense.