Rupert Murdoch.

News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch told a Jewish gathering Thursday that the freedoms enjoyed by many of the world’s citizens are dependent on the existence of the state of Israel. “You know as I do that as Israel goes, so goes […] our morality and our very existence as freedom loving citizens of the world” he said, addressing the founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), Pastor John Hagee, who was being honored at the event.

“This beleaguered nation and its people are beacons of hope and justice,” he said further, adding, “their enemies are our enemies, glorifiers of death, seeking to impose their bloody doctrine through violence.”

Murdoch, whose video remarks for the event hosted by Israeli poverty center Meir Panim, were pre-recorded, praised Hagee for his activism against anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism.

“You recognize it as the greatest ally of democracy, in a region beset with turmoil and radicalism,” Murdoch said.

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Accepting the recognition, Hagee recounted the challenges he experienced while enacting his first pro-Israel event, and touted his group’s growth since that time.

The evening also featured tributes to Hagee from Senator Lindsey Graham, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein.