However, because this is not always possible regardless of the amount of truth that is placed before certain individuals, and because there are those who will always love the evil inwardly more than righteousness, I believe that there can is righteous-based hatred regarding some humans. I don’t believe in living a life for the sole purpose of hating for any cause as do certain political, religious, and non-religious hate groups. But there are things in this life (including evil devoted people) of whom it's righteous to hate.
God judges hatred along with all motivations of the human heart by His law and not by man’s westernized liberal conceptions. There is a big difference between hating your personal enemy on a personal level for personal reasons, and hating an enemy of God on a spiritual level for spiritual reasons. Examine what the scripture states:
"Do not I hate them, O YHVH, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: They are become mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalms 139:21-24. (also see II Chronicles 19:2)
In this segment from the book of Psalms, the psalmist was searching his heart before God in which he was making sure that his godly resistance towards his enemies - in the form of righteous hatred - was in check. In this passage Israel’s enemies are the ones who hates God. For the psalmist, his thought was that if he did not have a "perfect" hatred towards God’s enemies, then his thoughts of not hating God's enemy would be of a wicked way within his heart. From my point of view, the politically-correct secular world could learn volumes from the simple declaration that this psalmist proclaimed and of which the first and second Jewish Temple singers sang the psalm:1
“Do not I hate them, O YHVH that hate thee?” and "I hate them (God's enemies) with a perfect hatred"
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I have heard people say that they may hate the things evil people do but not the person themselves. I agree with that concept in general but not as an overall concept. An individual can sink so much into evil that they become “as one” with their wickedness. There is a place in the realms of evil where a person has sold out "soul" lock, stock and barrel in effect crossing the point of no return where their whole lives can only be devoted as an enemy against God. Such was the case with Pharaoh during the time of the Exodus whose heart become more hardened after each manifestation of the ten plagues of Egypt.
To bring this reality into modern times, I do not and cannot love any part of Adolph Hitler including his very soul. I not only hate the things that he did on earth but I also hate him spiritually as God's enemy as well. How about you? Are you a hater of Hitler's very soul?
Fact: There is no separation between Hitler's soul and his Holocaust deeds that he did on earth both now and forever.
Hitler made a choice to become the image of evil rather than expressing the image of God he was made in. I don’t believe God loves him but rather hates him insomuch that Hitler’s soul (and not just the things he did) is in a place of the eternally damned where he will be forever separated from the God of mercy, justice, and righteousness. So in trying to be like minded with God’s thinking towards Hitler, I hate the expressed devil that Hitler was and forever shall be known. I not only believe that it's a righteous act to hate Hitler, but in fact it would be evil of me or anyone else not to do so as the above Psalm of David plainly points out. Furthermore, the so-called do-gooders who actually love Hitler are the ones most likely to support him and his deeds.
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Hitler is not the only ambassador of evil to walk around in human form. I feel the same way with the likes of other such devils as Yassier Arafat, Louis Farrakhan, David Duke, and now Jimmy Carter who has devoted the rest of his evil life to the cause of Israel's murderous enemy. These men are not simply misguided fools that are followers of evil (a place where true repentance and the turning away from evil are still available to such a person) but they are in fact actual leaders and forgoers of evil for the sole purpose of leading others in their evil!
Since false prophets don’t repent, (no false prophet in the Bible ever did) I have no desire to pray for these men and others like them for a change of their evil ways. Rather, I choose to pray according to God’s promise to them which is for their destruction as God sees fit according to their relentless evil and unrepentant deeds upon this earth.
"And He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slow to repay him who hates Him. He will repay him to his face." - Deuteronomy 7:10 (See also Isaiah 59:18).
Therefore, my Bible-guided prayer is, "May YHVH according to His holy and righteous Torah promise, repay the Arab-Palestinians to their face, along with and all who support them in their terrorist-expressed hatred acts against YHVH's chosen people."
The Palestinians:
There isn't a greater enemy towards the nation of Israel in all the world today than the Palestinians! The Palestinians have taken the title from the German Nazis as "the greatest threat" to the Jewish nation. Mein Kamph gave way to Jihadi - both meaning "my struggles" in both German and Arabic. When Hitler's struggles expired the Islamic struggles picked up the banner. What now is at stake in the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians that wasn't at stake during Hitler's Final Solution is the possibility of the most evil people in all the earth, worshiping the most evil god (their god Allah), in the most holiest place (Jerusalem and the Temple Mount) in all the world!
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There has never been of people in modern times besides the Palestinians whose paradigm is terrorism and whose ultimate goal as a people in the world is towards the annihilation of another people based upon their religion and spirituality. What makes this fact all the more significant is that the Palestinians are given the world's support (7.4 billion dollars worth of support recently > http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1207/west.php3) in their terrorist endeavors and annihilation aspirations, and this was after the Palestinians as a people overwhelmingly voted in the party of Hamas to run their government in January 2006!
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To try and understand the depth of the very evil that lies within the Palestinian society, one must look at what they as a society are capable of. The following is a very small and incomplete list as to the kind of things that comes forth from out of the Palestinian people. While viewing this list ask yourself, "Why are the world nations (especially the United States lead by a conservative president) are so desperately seeking to grant these Palestinians (of all people) any kind of a political state?"
- Among the two great political parties that rule the Palestinians (Al-Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip) both covenants from both parties call for for an arms struggle and the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html
- The greatest forms of child abuse in all the world occur among the Palestinians. Children who are barely old enough to speak are taught to Jew-hate with words they don't even understand. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ZL0C2QvqIlo This gives heed to the saying, "they drink the hatred with their mother's milk"! Just the picture alone (at the top of the article) speaks volumes of the Palestinian society.
- Children TV shows are shown in the name of Shahid (martyrdom). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi-c6lbFGC4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4zgURMOZ6k
- Shahid (martyrdom) for children is glorified of official PA and Hamas television. http://www.pmw.org.il/ASK%20FOR%20DEATH.htm
- An exhibition of glorifying and celebrating suicide / mass murder is displayed with Palestinian gleeful acceptance at Al Najah University in the West Bank town of Nablus in September, 2001. http://www.gamla.org.il/english/feature/sbarro.htm This exhibition included many displays of body parts one of which was a bloody set of blue-jean wearing legs with no torso connected, still sitting on a chair. The bombing of Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem in which the exhibition re-enacts hits a little close to home. My wife and I personally eat there three years before this massacre occurred.
- School text books promote anti-Israel and pro shahid-martyrdom. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/patext1.html http://www.edume.org/research/testimonies/2007-05-15.html http://www.pmw.org.il/getresults/political/index.html#i214759
- Women who sends their sons to Jew-murder are given high status in Palestinian society, even to run for a government office. http://www.amitiesquebec-israel.org/texts/mother.htm
- Suicide murderers are glorified all through Palestinian controlled areas, in the form of billboards, street names, names of soccer fields, trading cards, names of hospitals, new babies named after suicide bombers, and children's events, songs, chants, and poems during parades, ect. http://programs.ssrc.org/gsc/gsc_quarterly/newsletter5/content/allen/ http://www.zoa.org/2003/07/palestinian_aut_13.htm Even "Saddam Hussein" whose Scud missiles hitting Tel-Aviv civilian areas brought Palestinian cheers, is honored in the Palestinian city of Jenin> http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53882
- Suicide for the murder of Jews is an accepted norm and is a high form of religious devotion. Outside of martyrdom, there is no guarantee of reaching paradise for oneself and family members. This is one of the reasons candy is passed out in celebration at suicide / murderer's funeral. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013234.php
- One Hundred Thousand citizens of the would-be future State of Palestine attended the funeral of Yahya Ayyash (a.k.a. "the Engineer") not to mention the many funerals of other Palestinian terrorist and terrorist spiritual teachers like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin! I wonder how many of these one hundred thousand funeral attendees of Yahya Ayyash would consider themselves Palestinian moderates? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahya_Ayyash Moreover, this Palestinian hero has traffic squares named after him in both Jenin and Jericho with no Palestinian complaints. Imagine that! This issue of glorifying and mass murderer among the Palestinians even became part of "peace" negotiation with such a people. See "article 6" section "h" > http://www.israelmfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israeli+View+on+Palestinian+Security+Commitments.htm?DisplayMode=print
- Palestinians seek to destroy the God of Israel through a revised history of Holocaust and Temple denial, and stand as a barricade between God and His fulfillment of the covenant He has with His chosen people, the Jews. http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/facultyforum.cgi?ID=1735
Muslim religious fervor has many different facets of Jew-murdering expressions that are fully exposed in the Palestinian society. From passing out candy at shahid funerals to eating flesh and drinking blood of Jewish victims as they did on October 12, 2000 in Ramallah> http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014886.php Yet, the Muslim world has the audacity to vilify Israel as the blood-libel people and state. It is these Palestinians who are on the front lines (even occupying a huge portion of the ancient land of Israel) in the Islamic war against the God of Israel!
The 64,000 dollar question: Does the God of Israel "hate" the Palestinians?
The politically-correct answer would be, "God loves everybody". However, the Bible is never politically correct. The Bible states very clearly that God hated Esau, who like the Palestinians wished to destroy Jacob / Israel.
"I have loved you, saith YHVH. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith YHVH: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated (Hebrew: sanay-ti) Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Malachi 1:2,3
The New Testament correctly applies this scripture of God's hatred of an individual as also to the nation that proceeded from that individual (see Romans 9:12,13). The land that should be considered for a Palestinian state is all contained in the ancient writings of which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about -the Bible. Aside from Mecca, the Palestinian spiritual base is that of Esau's - Mt. Seir in Jordan, which is why the prophecies of Ezekiel against Israel's most vicious enemy is not against the West Bank, for that is Israel's land and not the Palestinians! http://www.danielpipes.org/article/298
Take another look at the list above as to what the Palestinians are capable of and then see if you notice any similarities in the following scripture: "Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end...Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; [sound familiar? > http://inbrief.threatswatch.org/2006/02/palestine-from-the-river-to-th/ ] whereas YHVH was there: Therefore, as I live saith YHVH God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them, when I have judged thee. - Ezekiel 35:5, 10-111
One of the hardest scriptures for most people to understand and one that I personally had an atheist use in trying to discredit the Bible, is Psalms 137:7-9 which reads:Remember, O YHVH , the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The psalmist is not promoting that idea of killing innocent children for the sake of killing children. That would be what the enemies of the Bible and Israel would have you believe! This is the same mindset that the "Human Rights Watch" tried to sell the world (which the world willfully bought) when they accused Israel of killing 54 children in Qana, Lebanon during the 2006 Lebanon-Israeli War. Because of their spiritual state they didn't have the ability nor the will to considered the 4,000 rockets that was shot from civilian locations into Israel to start the war by which was indeed meant to kill as many Israeli citizens including children as possible!
When given over to dark forces the human mind can no longer judge between good and evil. This scripture in the book of Psalms is about God's judgment (of what He will allow to occur) in the form of reaping and sowing. Babylon had "dashed" Jewish babies against stones in their invasion against the Jewish people much like the Palestinians shoot rockets targeting Jewish school children. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6977346.stm The scripture of Psalms 137:7-9 is stating that what the Babylonians did against the Jews would divinely return back to them in the form of the coming Persian Empire. In fact, one could argue that Babylon is still reaping from their deeds of old in today's Iraq!
Likewise, the prophet Ezekiel has declared that Israel's enemies would reap what they have sown at the End of Days (Ezekiel. 35: 5-11). Keep in mind that Psalm 137 is one of the most Zionistic portions of scripture in the entire Bible. In it we find the great love for God's chosen people - the Jews, and for Zion - God's chosen place of worship. But also we find in it a bitter hatred for all those who hate and try to kill God's chosen and possess Zion for their own - kind of like what the Palestinians do.
So why do I hate the Palestinians? Simply put; because God does! Not that every single Palestinian is hated by God, for I know that God loves Palestinians such as Walid Shoebat - a Palestinian who has a deep devoted love for Israel and Israel's covenant with YHVH. But according to the Hebrew scriptures God hates all those who hate His covenant with Israel, which puts the Arab-Palestinians as a people first in line to be hated by God!
"The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity." - Psalms 5:5
"YHVH tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence [terrorist Palestinians] His soul hates." - Pslams 11:5
Do not I hate them, O YHVH, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. - Psalms 139: 21-24
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Notes:
1. Psalms chapters 107-150 (the fifth section of the Pslams in the Hebrew Bible) are mostly liturgical psalms for pilgrimages to the temple and festivals.
3,878 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 3401 – 3600 of 3878 Newer› Newest»Another good book from www.barnesandnoble.com is titled
"Politicide: The Attempted Murder of the Jewish State"
by Victor Sharpe
The Overview says
"A compilation of published articles written by the author over a period of nearly five years, detailing every aspect of the Arab and Islamist war against Israel and the relentless attempts by them to murder the Jewish State. Politicide is the word originally coined by an Israeli statesman to describe just such an act of State murder. This book provides an easily readable account of the Biblical and post-Biblical history of the Jewish state. It also outlines the refusal by the Islamists to accept the rebirth of Israel in its ancestral homeland: the main obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israel conflict." This book comes in 4 Volumes, see also Lulu.com
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781257355952
Publisher: Lulu.com
Publication date: 07/19/2011
Sold by: LULU PRESS
Format: NOOK Book
File size: 2 MB
On Amazon.com some people typed the following Reviews and Comments of the Politicide book by Victor Sharpe , one person typed:
5.0 de 5 Victor Sharpe is an astute and courageous observer - read Politicide!
"Victor Sharpe's "Politicide" is very much a must read for any fair-minded person. If you have an intuitive feeling that there is no shortage of fabrication and history revisionism in the media outlets of the world regarding the Arab war against Israel then this great book of columns by an astute observer is for you. When so many have become mouthpieces for all sorts of inventive invective and propaganda against the world's one and only Jewish state, Victor Sharpe takes us back into the facts of history and sheds much needed light on the situation as it stands today. In a world of soundbites and endless flap about the Israeli occupation few stop to ask if what we are hearing is, in fact, the truth of the matter. Thankfully, there are those who are gifted communicators, like Victor Sharpe who stop us in our tracks and say, "take another long hard look." Read this book, and other Victor Sharpe columns. You will feel that the light has been turned on. It is easier, of course, to live in apathy and self interest only. But, for the sake of the future of both Israel and the United States we must all become astute observers and watchful intercessors. The God of Israel (the God of history) has told us: On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isaiah 62:6-7)."
Another person typed on Amazon.com as a Review of "Politicide" the following:
"The attempted murder of the Jewish State will ultimately lead to murder of others. Jews are usually first, but never last.
Calificado en Estados Unidos el 5 de abril de 2018
Victor Sharpe has performed a great service to anyone who wants to read the truth about the politics about Israel and her people. His new book, “Politicide: The Attempted Murder of the Jewish State, Vol.4,” is an amazingly informative source. As his essays unfold, he clarifies the mindset of the media who first celebrated the surviving remnants of the Holocaust followed by a reversal of opinion once those same remnants once they survived the attacks against them by the English and by Arab armies.
Encouraged by our own Clinton and Obama presidencies, the Islamic ideology that imperils our world has been exposed by the author. Yet, despite the information available to us daily about this threat, and the Biblical warnings read by Jews worldwide at every Passover Seder––that our enemy will rise up against us in every generation––and despite the horrific experiences of the 20th century Holocaust, Jews continue to offer concessions in an effort to assuage the Arabs’ unbridled hate.
In an essay that speaks to the looming destruction of Jews during World War II, Sharpe quotes 19th century philosopher Max Nordau: “The Jew learns not by way of reason but from catastrophes. He won’t buy an umbrella merely because he sees clouds in the sky. He waits until he is drenched and catching pneumonia.” This also addresses the Jews who remain in Germany, France and Scandinavia as the Islamic invasion and attacks against citizens increase, and in Poland, where the pogroms have taken a legal turn at accomplishing what the previous centuries’ ghettoization and violence could not.
The author wisely does not limit us to the existential threat to the Jewish state, by the invented Palestinians and the U.N., but also to the Kurds who demonstratively deserve their own state, as well as the Berbers and millions of other non-Arab people of the Middle East and North Africa. Sharpe also provides us with interesting heretofore secreted facts, such as how Lawrence of Arabia supported the cause of a Jewish National Home in Palestine; the truth about Obama’s dismantling of the U.S. to enable Islamic growth; and Koranic passages and the media’s deceptive language that never reach the majority of Americans.
This is a must-read volume to grasp the implication of world events as they affect Israel and all of Western civilization, information that may help to save our world for future generations."
Another Comment to the Politicide book on Amazon.com was
"Politicide is an excellent assessment of the attacks on Israel by the Muslim world. Mr. Sharpe brings out the biblical history and connects it with present day events. He is intuitive in understanding what the outcomes may be. When I've wanted to explain something to others, I've stopped and checked with his writings to be able to understand more thoroughly. This book documents in 46 easily readable chapters the ever-continuous war of the Arab world against Israel, which is not only extremely interesting to read but is a most worthwhile reference book to have in one's library."
A person typed as a comment on Amazon.com about "Politicide" Volume Two by Victor Sharpe
the following comment:
" All the volumes from One to Four, are must read books that should be on everyone’s book shelves.
Victor Sharpe’s Volumes, Four of them, with Politicide: the attempted murder of the Jewish state, continues to engage Middle East topics and, in particular, the Israel-Islam conflict. He also addresses the enormous Islamic migrant wave that has engulfed Western Europe and is increasingly lapping at the shores of America.
Very few of the millions who have come to America to better their lives brought with them a hostile hidden agenda. This book illustrates important differences about many of today’s newcomers.
Indeed, most mosques and madrassas (where young Muslims are indoctrinated) in America are dominated by hardline Salafi/Wahhabi imams who espouse too many Islamic teachings that promote less than good wishes and actions towards their non-Muslim neighbors.
As Sharpe reveals, jihad’s hatred of Jews and of Judeo-Christian civilization, subservience of women, and other hallmarks of the “religion of peace” are promoted here in the U.S. as well as overseas by Muslim immigrants. If only 10% of the 1.5 billion Muslims adhere to these teachings, we run the risk of the streets of America becoming as dangerous as those in Sweden, Great Britain, France, Germany, etc.
Within the many detailed and important issues covered, Victor Sharpe also exposes academia's indoctrination on our children, mainstream media bias, anti-Israel organizations, the BDS movement and the Muslim influenced rise in anti-Semitism.
Politicide is a collection of many published articles and essays that make for easy reading, but are vital revelations for non-head-in-the-sand folks to understand about our world today."
On Amazon.com some people typed the following Comments/Reviews about Volume Four
of the "Politicide" book by Victor Sharpe
"From The Deep History of Israel To The Present: Politicide
I liked this book for its facts. The word Politicide was first coined by Abba Eban—Israel’s foreign minister in 1967—to describe the attempted murder of the sovereign, independent State of Israel by enemies both within and outside of the fledgling state.
When Victor Sharpe first read the word, he told me how it resonated in “the deepest parts of my heart and soul.”
A passionate student of Jewish history—as well as a prolific writer on contemporary Jewish and geopolitical issues—Sharpe was mobilized into action, believing that his determination to protect and defend Israel and to illuminate the wider public about the tiny state’s chronically imperiled status, demanded that he write a book about…Politicide!
His first Politicide book was published in 2006, with a second book following in 2009, and a third book in 2011. Now he has written his fourth opus: Politicide: The attempted murder of the Jewish state.
In this riveting volume, Sharpe describes in painful detail the annihilating attacks upon the ancient Jewish homeland by the immensely powerful Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman empires, which, significantly, no longer exist.
In this riveting volume, Sharpe describes in painful detail the annihilating attacks upon the ancient Jewish homeland by the immensely powerful Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman empires, which, significantly, no longer exist.
He also describes the inexpressible suffering endured by the stateless Jews throughout their 2,000 years of exile in the diaspora, during the Crusades and the Inquisition, and through the cruel expulsion of Jews from various countries including England, Spain and Portugal, the bleak pogroms in Poland and Russia, and to the worst crime in human history, the genocide during the 1940s of six-million Jews in Hitler’s German-occupied Europe.
But to counter this painful history, Sharpe describes in vivid detail the exceptional history of Jewish life from its beginning with Abraham the first Jew—the Holy Convert—who left his idol-making father after discovering the existence of the one-and-only God, thus establishing monotheism for the entire world.
He describes how Abraham and his wife Sarah, along with Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Leah and Rachel, became the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish People in the eternal and Covenanted Land of Israel to which God brought them.
And finally, Sharpe tells the story of the miniscule but powerful 14-million Jews who now exist—half of them in the miraculous and flourishing State of Israel—in a world of seven-and-a-half billion people, including over a billion Christians and over a billion Muslims.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted on Resolution 181 to declare the establishment of a Jewish State in the land to be known as Israel. Ironic, yes, that the U.N. today is a virtual cesspool of virulent anti-Semitism run by tin-pot dictators and rancid racists.
On May 14, 1948, the man who would become the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, who was then the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. On that very day, U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation!"
The Comment about Volume Four Continues
"On December 6, 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump proclaimed the following:
“In 1995, Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act, urging the federal government to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city…is Israel’s capital. This act passed Congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and was reaffirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate only six months ago. Yet, for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law’s waiver, refusing to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.
“Therefore, I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital…”
There is even talk that as Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary as a sovereign state this coming May, the American president may be the most honored guest in attendance.
And yet, in the mere 70 years since Israel’s establishment, a resurgence of anti-Semitism is sweeping the globe in what can only be described as a pandemic. This is not surprising for the European countries where it once flourished or for the Muslim countries where their “holy” book mandates the death of all infidels, Jews particularly.
But it is very disheartening that this obsessive Jew hatred is also rampant in the hallowed halls of the United States Congress, where, according to American Thinker’s Thomas Lifson, no less than seven Democrats embrace the Hitler-admiring racist “Reverend” Louis Farrakhan, whose recent remarks include that “the powerful Jews are my enemy.”
All this makes Victor Sharpe’s book downright urgent for readers who are interested in historical facts and not inflammatory and hateful rhetoric. Perhaps by serendipity, it is also the ideal primer for students in the not-so-hallowed halls of American academia—both Jewish and non-Jewish youth alike—whose leftist, anti-Semitic professors expose them to the obscene Boycott-Divest-Sanction movement to destroy Israel and other malevolent anti-Israel indoctrination.
In short, this is a terrific, illuminating, important book that readers will learn from, share with their friends, and cherish for its richness."
Another Amazon.com Comment Review about Volume Four says
" Clarify of conflict as it applies to Israel and civilization.
Victor Sharpe began publishing his political writings with the advent of the bombing of the Twin Towers, on September 11, 2001. His concerns were the future of the Judeo-Christian civilization – the survival of Israel and the West as Islam awakened with renewed aggression. Since these people could not have met western force and innovative weaponry, they used their children and the art of psychology to infiltrate the minds of our clergy, schools, media, and government, and gradually capture small city blocks (no-go zones) to progressively impose their barbaric laws on their victims.
The author understood early on that the Religion of Peace is a deceptive title because their adherents want no peace, and Sharpe provides numerous quotations from the Koran and exposes the Palestinian broadcasts that intentionally foment hate into their children. This extensive compilation of essays that runs through to the last years of the Obama administration provides a succinct overview and exposé about Islam, and its ambition to annihilate Israel and Jews worldwide – and all Western civilization for global dominance.
Sharpe gives us past and recent history to explain Israel’s positioning in the world today. He has a wonderful grasp of Islam’s 1400-year history and the derivation of its objectives and principles. The quotes he uses are priceless and astounding. While the Palestinians continue their political, spiritual, geographical and economic aggression against the Jewish State, the United Nations looks away, but the Muslims have shown their hand too aggressively. “Politicide” may well awaken the masses."
Yet Another Amazon.com Review of Volume Four of Politicide says
"A Continuing Story: Israel strength in the midst of peril
Like the previous three volumes of Politicide, Volume 4 takes the reader through the history and challenges of Israel from 2012 - 2015 as well as the pain during the Obama years of strained relationship to Israel.
Victor's well written and documented timely articles, compiled in book form here, will allow one to get a grasp of what the State of Israel faces on a daily basis in a very hostile part of the world. His easy to read style will help the reader to get a handle on the situation in Israel today -- both the pain and the hope.
A must read for those who are active in their support of Israel as well as the casual reader who wants to learn more of amazing Israel and the challenges she faces as a nation."
We at this blog are not "Islamophobic" or "Racist" there are many Peace Loving Muslims &
Arabs, but sadly there are Far More Extremist Hate Filled Muslims & Arabs Worldwide
An article online Quotes author Thomas Cahill from his "The Gifts of the Jews" book
The Quote says:
“The Jews started it all—and by "it" I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, tick. Without the Jews, we would see the world through different eyes, hear with different ears, even feel with different feelings … we would think with a different mind, interpret all our experience differently, draw different conclusions from the things that befall us. And we would set a different course for our lives.”
—Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews:
How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed
the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (1998).
Christians should Never Forget that Jesus was and IS Jewish, Jesus is still Jewish in Heaven !!! Jesus Never Stopped being a Jew, From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book to read is titled "Forgotten Origins: The Lost Jewish History of Jesus and Early Christianity" by Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez
The Overview says:
"Many years ago, in a lecture on the creation of the Mishnah, the Orthodox Jewish historian, Rabbi Berel Wein discussed the rise of early Christianity as a historical and theological backdrop. He mentioned that this era is of particular importance to Jews because of the complicated and tragic relationship between Jews and Christians over the centuries. He referred to Joseph Klausner, the famed Jewish professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who in the earlier part of the 20th century, had authored several works on early Christianity from a Jewish standpoint. The first was titled Jesus of Nazareth. The second was titled From Jesus to Paul. Rabbi Wein considered both books to be exemplary works on the subject. He noted, disappointingly, however, that at the time, most Christians were not interested in reading the Jewish perspectives of Joseph Klausner. Jews, he observed, were not that fascinated by the subject either. Things have changed considerably, however, and the historical relationship between Judaism and Christianity is of increasing importance for both contemporary communities. Even in discussing Jewish Law, as Rabbi Wein noted, the subject of Christianity is not far away in significance. Similarly, for Christians, there is probably not a weekly service that goes by without Israel or the Jewish people being mentioned in some form or fashion.The process of reflection has not been an easy one. Since the third and fourth centuries, the worlds of Judaism and Christianity have increasingly crystallized to such a level of distinction obscuring their shared history and theology. Consequently, people legitimately ask what connections between Judaism and Christianity exist. That was not always the case, and early Christians, as well as Jews, were cognizant of the ties that existed. In past centuries the connections were usually the source of bitter polemics between the two communities. Each community saw itself as the legitimate representative of biblical faith to the exclusion of the other. The relationships deteriorated steadily over time.Rabbi Byron Sherwin of blessed memory, in a lecture at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning and Leadership and in his book Studies in Jewish Theology, noted what he believed to be the great enigma of Christianity. He believed like the medieval and early modern rabbis, Rabbi Menahem Ha-Meiri, Rabbi Abraham Farisol, Rabbi Moses Rivkes, Rabbi Leon de Modena, and Rabbi Jacob Emden and others that Christianity had transformed many non-Jews from paganism to the knowledge of the God of Israel. This was not an endorsement of Christianity for Jews, but recognition of its positive effects for non-Jews.Almost simultaneously, however, the nascent Christian movement also promoted anti-Judaism and then anti-Semitism. Rabbi Berel Wein, in his lecture on the Oral Law, speculated whether significant Jewish opposition to the early followers of Jesus resulted in long-term and negative recollections that became embedded in later Christianity. If that was the case, the ferocity of the Christian reply was ultimately unequaled and repaid Jewish rejection many times over.To discover the forgotten Jewish origins of early Christianity, a series of chapters will lay out the case for the continued Jewish distinctiveness of the early Christian movement composed of Jews in the first century and beyond. Their Jewish identity lay along a wide-ranging continuum. Other sections will also examine those who departed or deviated from these views."
From the Intercessors for Israel website, ifi.org an article is headlined
"BLASPHEMOUS AND DANGEROUS - REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY AND TODAY'S CHURCH" the article says:
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is Replacement Theology?
Why Replacement Theology is Unbiblical
What is blasphemy?
Why Replacement Theology is blasphemous
What Replacement Theology distorts
God's essential nature never changes
Has this covenant-making and covenant-keeping God turned against His people?
Replacement Theology is dangerous
Is now the time?
"Introduction
Biblical truth gives us the foundation we need to get to know the God who saved us and to live in a way that pleases Him. Correct biblical teaching (doctrine) also enables us to identify prophetic signs in today's world. Yet for those who follow the demonic delusion known as Replacement Theology [RT], current events and their relationship to the return of Messiah Yeshua1 become blurry and mysterious. These people, many of whom are our brothers and sisters in Messiah, end up believing a lie.
To put it briefly, Replacement Theology replaces Israel with the Church.2 Israel becomes only a symbol.
To truly grasp the revelation of our God, who often calls Himself YHWH (Yahweh), the God of Israel, we should interpret the Old Testament, the Tanach, in the same way that Yeshua did. However, RT allegorizes, that is, understands only symbolically, much of the Tanach, the only Scriptures Yeshua read, and – especially when it came to the prophecies – interpreted literally.
How can RT promoters correctly understand what Yeshua was teaching? Over and over again Yeshua referred to the Tanach as His proof text, but if the correct interpretation is blurred, if the people and nation of Israel, the contested factor in this end-time drama, is now just the cultural Christian Church, how will people have a clue to what God is doing to conclude this age by the return of His Son to Jerusalem?
1 I am using the Messianic Jewish term for Jesus Christ, which is Yeshua the Messiah, or Messiah Yeshua.
2 To understand how RT arose in the earliest centuries of the Church, there is an excellent overview online from Word from Jerusalem Magazine, May/June, 2019, pages 4 to 7, in an article called “The Breach” by Jurgen Bueler, the head of the International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem."
the article continues
"What is Replacement Theology?
"Replacement theology"1 is today's common name for ancient, twisted, demon-inspired interpretations of biblical promises and prophecies concerning Jacob's descendants. These, now often traditional, interpretations see God's relationship with the Church and Christians as 'replacing' His prior relationship with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.
Covenants and promises are Biblical concepts defining God's relationship with His people. Replacement theology believers think that God's covenant – singular – with the universal Church, known as the New Covenant, replaces His covenants and promises – plural – with Israel. This wrong interpretation also dismisses the revealed truth that the New Covenant itself was promised to the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jer. 31:31), and is confirmed as such in Hebrews 8:8 in the New Testament.
RT is usually linked to the erroneous idea that since "the Jews" rejected their "Messiah", Hebrew for "Anointed One" also known as "Christ", Greek for "Anointed One", then God rejected the Jews as His nation for rejecting His Son, even though He had in the Tanach called Israel His "son" (Ex. 4:22-23; Hos. 11:1). Therefore today, according to RT thinking, for a Jewish person to have any part in the Kingdom of God, they must convert and become a born-again (reborn spiritually) Christian.2 Yet today, Yeshua is still King David's heir and the King of the Jews, (Rev. 22:16).
In the Middle Ages, it was not enough for Jews to accept Jesus; they also had to reject, even openly curse, all things to do with their Jewish background. They had to prove they were no longer Jews, so they were required to eat non-kosher foods, stop circumcising their sons and stop celebrating the Shabbat on the seventh day, and instead honor Sunday as God's day of rest. Also, they could not keep Yahweh's feasts in Leviticus 23, but must honor the man-made feasts of Christmas and Easter.3
1 RT's theological title is "supercessionism,' which comes from the unbiblical idea that after the Cross, the Church now "supercedes" Israel in the heart and plans of God.
2 Yeshua said to Nicodemus you must be born-again (John 3:7 AV), but search the Scriptures and you will not find anyone claiming that you must be a 'born-again Christian'! The "Christian" tag to the theological concept of being 'born again' has taken on the meaning of 'no-longer being Jewish' and has held the Jews back throughout the centuries from even considering whether Yeshua is their Messiah. Yet there were no "Christians" when Yeshua said to Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, You must be born again! "
& continues
"3 Here is an example from Medieval Sourcebook: Professions of Faith Extracted from Jews on Baptism, Fordham University, [https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/jewish-oaths.asp] Of Erwig, from Leg. Vis. 12.3.14: "I do here and now renounce every rite and observance of the Jewish religion, detesting all its most solemn ceremonies and tenets that in former days I kept and held. In future I will practise no rite or celebration connected with it, nor any custom of my past error, promising neither to seek it out nor to perform it. Further do I renounce all things forbidden or detested by Christian teaching; and, (here followed the Nicene Creed stating what all Christians believe about God, and then…). "In the name of this Creed, which I truly believe and hold with all my heart, I promise that I will never return to the vomit of Jewish superstition. Never again will I fulfil any of the offices of Jewish ceremonies to which I was addicted, nor ever more hold them dear. I altogether deny and reject the errors of the Jewish religion, casting forth whatever conflicts with the Christian Faith, and affirming that my belief in the Holy Trinity is strong enough to make me live the truly Christian life, shun all intercourse with other Jews and have the circle of my friends only among honest Christians. With them or apart from them I must always eat Christian food, and as a genuinely devout Christian go often and reverently to Church. I promise also to maintain and embrace with due love and reverence the observance of all the Lord's days or feasts for martyrs as declared by the piety of the Church, and upon those days to consort always with sincere Christians, as it behoves a pious and sincere Christian to do. Herewith is my profession of faith and belief as given by me on this date."
Why Replacement Theology is Unbiblical
Someone who reads the NT without prejudice knows that not all the Jews rejected Yeshua's claims. It was mainly Israel's religious leadership at that time – and not even all of them – with whom Yeshua had many verbal battles, with the crucial issue being their question of where His authority to teach and heal came from (Matt. 21:23; Mark 1:22). He answered their question with a question about where they thought John the Baptist's authority came from. Their reluctance to answer proved that while their question was legitimate their motive was only to protect their own religious standing.
Many of the Jews who came to Jerusalem to celebrate that Passover feast wept and cried for Yeshua on the road to His crucifixion (Luke 23:27-28). These were likely the same Jews who had welcomed Him into the city a few days previously (Mark 11:9-10; John 12:13). The claim that the Jews who received Him, turned against Him in less than a week is an unproveable claim against the Jewish nation, and had become part of the "fake news" that encouraged Christians to persecute the Jews from the early days of Church history, and which continues even today.
Of course, if all the Jews rejected Yeshua, how did "the gospel", literally "the good news" of Israel's Promised Messiah, spread to the gentiles? Did God use another talking donkey? Was it a host of angels? No. It was Jews whom today's RT cheerleaders erroneously claim rejected their "Christ"! It was not until Acts 10:11-13, when Peter's dream of being commanded to eat unkosher animals was followed by the Holy Spirit directing him to go to Cornelius' house where we first see gentiles coming to faith. Before this, the Church was only Messianic Jews and born-again proselytes to Judaism.1
All the apostles were Jewish and even Paul remained a Jew after he met Messiah Yeshua."
& continues
"Do not believe the hellish lie which has hindered Jews from accepting their Messiah over the centuries: that if a Jewish person accepts the Jew Jesus, Israel's King Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah – that now this born-again Jew is a gentile! How absurd this sounds, and yet this has been the belief, and as already mentioned, the goal of many Christians for centuries!
Most of the apostles, including Paul, were martyred for their outreach in sharing the gospel with both Jews and gentiles. If all the Jews rejected Yeshua, how did gentiles hear about this amazing act of love by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sent His Son into the world through a Jewish virgin's womb (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23) so that people from all the families of the earth could be blessed in the Seed of Abraham (Luke 2:30-32)?
In Romans 11:18, Paul clarifies that the root of Israel's olive tree supports the gentile part of Messiah's Body and not the other way around. Gentiles are grafted into Israel's cultivated olive tree – which is where Jews belong, re-grafted when they come to trust in Yeshua. Gentiles are grafted in among the Jews (v. 17), not instead of them, and this tree, in reference to Jewish believers, is called their own tree (v. 24)! So the root must be theirs as well. That is God's promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that in their descendants all the nations/families of the earth would be blessed.3
This promise is called by the Holy Spirit through Paul as the gospel to the gentiles (Gal. 3:8), and is one of the reasons why Messiah Yeshua became a servant of the Jews in the first place (Rom. 15:8).
1 Many Christians view the end time movement of Messianic Judaism as a new phenomenon. Yet before there were any other denominations, before any gentiles were called "Christians," Messianic Jews were meeting in congregations, worshiping Messiah Yeshua as Lord. Even John the Baptist was a Messianic Jew – and not a Baptist. (Although since he came from Judea, the southern part of Israel, maybe we could call him a Messianic Jewish Southern Baptist!)
2 Acts 21:39; 22:3; Rom. 2:29; 2 Cor. 11:22; Gal. 2:15; Phil. 3:5
3 To Abraham: Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; to Isaac: Gen. 26:4; to Jacob: Gen. 28:14"
& continues
"What is blasphemy?
Blasphemy in the Bible includes words or actions exhibiting irreverence toward, or contempt of, God or of that which is seen as sacred. It is a disdainful, scornful, or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning the One True God. It is also used to describe disrespectful or despicable talk about a holy person or sacred item. Profaning, literally "making common", is to defile, pollute or distort the truth about what is profaned. It is the opposite of sanctifying, or "setting apart," someone or something.
In the Tanach, to profane God's "name" is to do all of the above in relation to His name, and when we consider that "name" in Hebraic thinking includes not only one's personal name, but also one's essential nature, as well as one's deeds or reputation, then we perceive how damaging such an act can be. Today we could say that, disguised "fake news" is often substituted for truth. It is slander; it is blasphemy.
Here are a few expanded definitions of "blasphemy" from cited sources:
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology [www.biblestudytools.com]
In English "blasphemy" denotes any utterance by someone which insults another person's God (or Christ or Allah, or Muhammed, etc.) and gives deeply felt offense to that deity's followers… In Islamic countries generally no distinction is made between blasphemy and heresy, so that any perceived rejection of the Prophet or his message, by Muslims or non-Muslims, is regarded as blasphemous.
The biblical concept is very different. There is no Hebrew word equivalent to the English "blasphemy," and the transliterated Greek root blasphem …which is used fifty-five times in the NT, has a wide meaning. In both Testaments the idea of blasphemy as something that offends the religious sensibilities of others is completely absent.
The OT: At least five different Hebrew verbs are translated "blaspheme" in English translations. Translators choose "blaspheme" when, for instance, the verbs "curse" (qalal), "revile" (gadap), or "despise" (herep) are used with God as the object. No special verb is reserved for cursing or insults directed at God.
However, to curse or insult God is an especially grave sin. It can be done by word or by deed. There is little distinction between the sinner who deliberately abuses the name of the Lord (Lev. 24:10-16), and the one who deliberately flouts His commandments (Num. 15:30-31). For both, the death penalty is prescribed. Similarly…Nehemiah 9 calls awful blasphemies all that the Israelites did when they made the golden calf (9:18).
David's flagrant sin with Bathsheba may be called a blasphemy (2 Sam. 12:14), but a more likely translation is that David has made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt (NIV). Instead of testifying by lifestyle to the character of the Lord, David's action confirms the blasphemous belief of the nations that [YHWH] is no different from any other national god.
The NT: The Greek root blasphem …can be used of strong insults thrown at other people (Mark 15:29; Acts 13:45; Eph. 4:31; 1 Pet. 4:4), or even unjust accusations (Rom. 3:8), but it is more usually used of insults offered to God (e.g., Rev. 13:6; 16:9). Jesus is accused of blasphemy for granting forgiveness and for claiming a unique relationship with God (Matt. 26:25; Mark 2:7; John 10:33)."
& continues
"Jesus picks up the Numbers 15 passage about blasphemy in His famous saying about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10). In the OT Numbers 15:22-31 distinguishes between unintentional sin committed in ignorance (for which forgiveness is possible), and defiant sin, called blasphemy, for which there is no forgiveness. Jesus teaches that the blasphemy for which there is no forgiveness is that against the Holy Spirit; all other blasphemies, particularly those against 'the Son of Man,' may be forgiven…because they are committed in ignorance of who He really is: his heavenly glory does not appear on earth. But to ascribe obvious manifestations of God's Spirit to the devil's agency is a much more serious offense not committed in ignorance."1
This downgrade of the significance of blasphemy against Christ marks an important difference between Christianity and Islam. Whereas Muslims are bound to defend the honor of the Prophet, for Christians Jesus is the one who… accepts the vilification of others and prays for the forgiveness of those who insult him (Luke 23:34). In this, he sets an example for Christians to follow (1 Pet. 2:19-25) …
Matt Slick, President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry [carm.org]
Blasphemy is speaking evil of God or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him. It could also be understood to be acting in any impious, mocking or contemptuous way toward any member of the Trinity. The word blasphemy comes from the Greek word blasphemia, meaning "curse" or "vilifying." Blasphemy arises out of pride (Psa. 73:9, 11), hatred (Psa. 74:18), injustice (Isa. 52:5), etc. Christ was often mistakenly accused of blasphemy by Jewish leaders (John 10:30-33).
"In the OT the penalty for blasphemy against God is death by stoning (Lev. 24: 16; cf. John 10:33; Acts 6f [Stephen]). According to 1 Samuel 3:13, Eli's sons blasphemed God (RSV and NEB, following LXX; the AV has "made themselves vile," following MT). In Nehemiah 9:18, 26, Ezra refers to the great blasphemies of the Israelites of old. And Ezekiel 20:27ff speaks of the blasphemy of ancient Israel in sacrificing on the high places." (Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988.)"
& Continues
"The Politically Correct Blasphemy of Replacement Theology, Avner Boskey [davidstent.org]
The Oxford English Dictionary describes blasphemy as an "action or offense of speaking disrespectfully about God or sacred things; profane talk." The Greek origin of the word 'blasphemy' comes from the root meaning "to injure a reputation." It is used to describe gross irreverence toward any person or thing worthy of exalted esteem. Broadly speaking, in English it means to slander, tell an injurious lie about a person, which is a punishable offense in many societies, because it can harm someone's reputation.
One of the Hebrew words translated as blasphemy is "na'atza", meaning "to deride, spurn or reject." It can refer to men spurning God (Psa. 10:3) or scorning His prophets (Neh. 9:26), men despising the Jewish people (Isa. 60:14), or even God rejecting rebellious men (Deut. 32:19; Jer. 14:21).
Yeshua described blasphemies not as some rare sin found in unusually evil people, but as the normative fruit of an unregenerate heart: For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies… (Matt. 15:19).
Yeshua also declared that God's mercies are so huge, that they can cover any blasphemer who repents: Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter (Mark 3:28).
1 I do not happen to agree with the above definition of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in Baker’s dictionary. What are "obvious manifestations of the Spirit"? Signs and wonders? We must know what the Bible says about testing every spirit! The only unforgivable sin is the rejection of the Spirit's witness to who Yeshua really is, and this is what Yeshua said the Spirit would do: And when He [the Comforter (v. 7), the Spirit of truth (v. 13)] is come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me; (John 16:8-9) The "sin" the Spirit deals with in an unbeliever's heart is his rejection of Yeshua as Savior. Peter tried to prevent the Lord from going to the cross, and was rebuked by Yeshua as being Satan's mouthpiece (Matt. 16:23), yet Peter did not lose his salvation. And even when he denied the Lord three times, despite Yeshua saying that whoever denies Him before man, He would deny before His Father's angels (Luke 12:8-9), Peter still did not "lose his salvation". So what Yeshua must mean is that whoever continues until his death to deny Him before man without repentance – will not find Him as their Advocate Redeemer before God on that final day."
& Continues
"Why Replacement Theology is blasphemous
Replacement Theology is blasphemous because this teaching distorts and lies about God, His Word, even His very nature. In essence it implies that the God who has revealed Himself through His written Word – and His Son, the Living Word – that this God either does not keep His Word, or He is not really omniscient, since He seems not to have known the future, or if He is omniscient and does know the future, then He broke His everlasting covenant commitment to Israel – His nation and people (for example Jer. 31:3, 35-37).
Some believers seem to think that since God created man with free-will, He cannot know the future. Yet prophecy, which gives proof that the Bible is the Word of God,1
is God specifically declaring the future before it happens – in spite of the reality of man's free will. While some prophetic events depend on man's response to God's warnings, like the city of Nineveh which repented after hearing a prophetic word from Jonah, many other prophecies are predicated on His will and foreknowledge and power – without man's free will influencing it. Ezekiel 37 is an excellent example, as dead, dry Jewish bones in a grave do not possess any free will! Other prophetic declarations take people's decisions into account. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 present Israel with a choice – blessings or curses: blessings if they follow and obey God and His law; curses/judgments if they do their own thing and throw out or ignore God and His Word.
Yet a crucial issue is how RT adherents dare to ignore – or misinterpret – the following verses, which are only a few of the many statements our God makes about His covenant-love relationship with Israel.
Numbers 23:19-21 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man, that He should repent [i.e., change His mind]: has He said, and shall He not do it? Has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? Behold, I [Balaam] have received a command to bless. He has blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor seen perverseness in Israel. YHWH his God is with him and the shout of a king is among them.
But RT devotees teach that God did "reverse" His blessings, despite the clear warning from Paul that gentile believers should not be arrogant against unsaved Jews (Rom. 11:18-24).
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 For you are a holy people to YHWH your God. YHWH your God has chosen you to be a special people [Heb: segullah – a special treasured possession] to Himself, above all people that are on the face of the earth. YHWH did not set His love upon you, or choose you, because you were more in number than any people – for you were the fewest – but because YHWH loved you, and because He would keep His oath which He had sworn to your fathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob], YHWH has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from…Egypt. Know therefore that YHWH your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations [Hebraic idiom basically meaning 'forever'].
Jeremiah 31:3 From afar, YHWH has appeared to me, saying, 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness [Heb. chesed] have I drawn you'. [chesed is God's love based on His commitment to His own covenants. 'Covenant-love' is a more literal way to translate chesed.]
Jeremiah 31:35-37 Thus says YHWH, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea and its waves roar – YHWH of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me… then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me …If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says YHWH.
Malachi 3:6 For I am YHWH, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed."
& continues
"Add to these few examples the truth that more than 200 times in the Tanach God promises to give the land of Israel to the people of Israel. This includes about forty times when He swears to do this – and even a few times swearing an oath.2
Has this God changed His mind because many of the Jewish leaders incited rejection of Yeshua?
Saying that God has rejected the Jews because they rejected and had Jesus their Messiah crucified, has been the spark igniting the Church's Jew-hatred for almost 2,000 years. Yet it is based on a lie, as we have just seen NT proof that not all Israel rejected Yeshua. The good news is not even proclaimed to the gentiles until the events in Acts 10. In the first nine chapters of the book of Acts only Jewish believers in Yeshua were called the "Church".
There is also the inconvenient NT truth which states that Israel's national rejection of Yeshua as their Messiah and King was foreordained (Luke 24:27; Acts 3:18; 10:42). So their blindness leading to their rejection of Yeshua was prophesied and necessary for both Jews and Gentiles to be saved. After all, He came to die for the sins of all humanity (Mark 10:45; John 10:17-18).
Replacement believers' thinking is based on two major misconceptions of God's nature. The first is that God does not really know the future, because they think the Jewish leadership's rejection of His Son was apparently not foreseen by Him. Otherwise how can those great and precious promises God made to the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be explained? Yet scripture declares God as the Aleph and Tav, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, knowing the end from the beginning.
Isaiah 44:6-8 Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, YHWH of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; beside Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? …Fear not, neither be afraid: have not I told you from that time, and have declared it? You [the children of Israel] are even My witnesses. Is there a God beside Me? There is no God; I know not any.
Isaiah 48:9-12 For My name's sake will I defer My anger, and for My praise will I refrain that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, even for My own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? I will not give My glory to another. Hearken to me, O Jacob and Israel, My called; I am He; I am the first, I also am the last"
& continues
"Before we were born and had any chance to make any free-will decisions, God had already written our names in the Lamb's book of life. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Messiah: according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love, having predestined us for the adoption of children by Yeshua the Messiah to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Eph. 1:3-5)
The second major misconception is that God changed His mind about His covenant commitments to Israel based on their "free-will" rejection of His Son. Yet we have just seen that Messiah's rejection by most of His people was ordained (Luke 9:22; 20:17; Acts 2:23, etc.). As it was part of God's plan to save the gentiles, the religious leaders' rejection of Messiah did not surprise Heaven.3
1 God states that His knowledge of the future is that which proves He is God (Isa. 41:21-23; 42:5, 8-9; 46:9-10; see also 2 Peter 1:16-19).
2 In Derek Prince's book The Destiny of Israel and the Church, he lists all these verses in Appendix II. (This book may have a different title in different nations.)
3 Does this mean that Israel as a nation could not accept Yeshua as Messiah at least until after His death and resurrection? That is one way of looking at it and based on that, it could be argued that the Jewish nation was cast into exile in 70 AD and again in 135 AD, because of a continual rejection of the apostolic witness to Messiah's resurrection. This is totally different from saying that the Jews were exiled because they rejected and crucified their Messiah.
What Replacement Theology distorts
Although at times God modifies His declared decisions, He does not change His essential nature.
The Bible reveals that God will modify His decisions according to man's response to His warnings, judgments, threats and His offers of salvation, mercy, etc. After all, if God would not modify His decision, why would He emphasize the power of prayer throughout the Word?
Human response can modify God's decisions.
In Leviticus 26, four times God warns about His increasingly severe judgments, saying, And if you will not yet for all this obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins (Lev. 26:18; cp. vs. 21, 24, 28).1 God is offering Israel a choice of blessings or judgments according to how they respond to His revealed will for them as His people. So their response determines which it will be.
Again, in Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses sets before the children of Israel two paths and asks them to choose – the implication being that God will respond either with blessings or curses/judgments according to what His people decide. I call heaven and earth to record against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live."
& continues
"Joshua 24:14-15 is another case of an Israeli leader challenging his people to make a choice. Now therefore fear YHWH, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods whom your fathers served on the other side of the River, and in Egypt, and serve YHWH. Yet if it seems evil to you to serve YHWH, then choose this day who you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.
This truth of God modifying His decision according to man's response happens not only with Israel, as the pagan city of Nineveh is a stunning example. Jonah, after God's "gentle" persuasion, walked through that large city, proclaiming, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jon. 3:4). That is all God told him to say (1:2). As far as what is revealed in scripture, God did not tell Jonah to tell the Ninevites that if they would only repent, He would spare them. We do not know if He even gave them that choice. Yet they did repent and God modified His declared judgment and did not allow that which He said would happen to happen.
While many prophetic statements in the Word are established by God's eternal counsel, many others wait for man's response. In the Jonah story, we have an example of God "changing His mind" – but not His nature. Since He is always merciful as well as just, Nineveh's actions caused Him to act according to His holy mercy while in no way forsaking the fact that He is a just and holy Judge – as the Ninevites found out about a century later.2
While God often prophesies judgments in order to bring forth a response of repentance, the pattern seen in Scripture is that most of the time people refuse to repent.
Revelation 9:20-21: The rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues [of the 6th trumpet], did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should stop worshiping demons, or idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which cannot see, or hear, or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their drug use, their illicit sex, or their thefts.
Revelation 16:8-11, 21 tells us the same sin-filled story, since after the 4th, 5th and 7th bowls are poured out, people continue to blaspheme God's name.
Yet Revelation 11:13 shows that there will always be some who respond in a righteous way. At the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city [Jerusalem] fell, and …7,000 people were killed. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven. Since the context is the remnant in Jerusalem, is it specifically talking about the Jews? It would seem so."
& Continues
"Prayer also can "change God's mind"
Exodus 32:7-14 is one of the best examples. Moses, who, other than Messiah Yeshua, is the intercessor supreme in the Scriptures, is on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments [literally, the Ten "Words"] from God.1 The Israelites had built an idol, a golden calf, and were worshipping it. God is furious! YHWH said to Moses, Go! Get down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made a molten calf, worshiped and sacrificed to it, saying, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up out of the land of Egypt'.
God then tells Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is stiff-necked. Now leave Me alone, so that My wrath may burn against them and…consume them, and I will make from you a great nation.
We are confronted with this incomprehensible fact that the Almighty God, the Creator, tells His created servant Moses, Leave Me alone! Yet with unbelievable chutzpah – that is, extreme audacity – Moses refuses to obey this God with whom he is face-to-face (Ex. 33:11; Deut. 34:10)! Moses perceived what was ultimately at risk and boldly prayed – challenging God not to do what He has threatened to do because His name, His reputation and His word, is at stake.
Moses prayed to YHWH his God, saying, 'YHWH, why does Your wrath burn against Your people whom You have brought forth out of…Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, "He brought them out for harm, to kill them in the mountains and consume them from the face of the earth?" Turn from Your fierce wrath, and repent [change Your decision] concerning this evil [You have threatened] against Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, saying to them, ''I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever".' And YHWH repented [turned away] from the evil which He spoke of doing to His people.
Moses reminded God of His Word, which is what biblically based intercession is all about (Isa. 62:1-2, 6-7, see below). Specifically Moses reminded God of His covenant commitments to Israel's forefathers, arguing that if He followed through with Israel's destruction, the gentiles would misunderstand and spread lies about God's way of dealing with His people. This would lead to God's name and reputation being blasphemed, profaned, slandered. Finally, note that Moses never mentioned Israel's sin! His target in intercession was God's glory, and that resulted in God turning from His threats of judgment – for His holy name's sake, which is often the reason why He extends mercy to His people (Ezek. 36:21-23, 32). We continue to pray for Israel like this today."
& Continues
"Isaiah 62:1-2, 6-7 For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until its righteousness goes forth as brightness, and its salvation as a burning lamp. Gentiles will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of YHWH will name. In these verses Isaiah declares God's will and intentions. Note that one of the main reasons for Jerusalem/Zion to reflect His glory is for the gentiles' sake. This is part of God's initial promise to Abraham, that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3b, cp. Ga. 3:8).
Then in Isaiah 62:6-7, God places watchmen on Jerusalem's walls specifically so that they can remind Him of what He has already said He will do. They co-labor with God to accomplish His will. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, who will not be silent all day and night. You who remember YHWH [lit: those who remind God; in modern Hebrew the root of this word is where we get the word for "secretaries"], do not be silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise [reflecting on Himself] in the earth."
& Continues
"In Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 14:11, God tells His prophet not to pray for the good of Judah because He has already determined to exile them to Babylon. Praying can be so powerful that it could hinder God's righteous judgment at the wrong time! We truly need to have circumcised ears to listen for the Spirit's guideance as we intercede.
Ezekiel 22:30-31 I sought for a man among them who should build up a wall for the land, and stand in the gap before Me, that I should not destroy it. But I did not find any, therefore I have poured out My fury on them. I have burned them up with the fire of My wrath. I have given their way on their heads, says the Lord YHWH.
In these verses, God seeks for an intercessor, for someone to remind Him of His merciful nature and turn Him from His holy wrath, just like we saw Moses do in Exodus 32. Because He did not find anyone, His judgment was poured out. This is what the Lord Yeshua did for us as our intercessor, our mediator, who turned God's righteous judgment into holy mercy by standing in the gap between us and His Father, and taking on Himself the outpouring of the Father's just decree that was due to us (2 Cor. 5:21).
Amos 7:1-6 The Lord YHWH made me see this: behold, He is forming locusts at the beginning of the coming up of the late grass…And it happened when it had made an end of eating the tender plant of the land, I said, 'O Lord YHWH, forgive, I pray You. How can Jacob stand, for he is small?" YHWH repented [changed His decision] for this; 'It shall not be,' says YHWH. The Lord YHWH made me see this: behold, the Lord YHWH was calling to contend by fire, and it consumed the great deep, and it was devouring part of it. Then I said, 'O Lord YHWH, I pray You, cease. How can Jacob stand, for he is small? YHWH repented for this; 'This also shall not be,' says the Lord YHWH.
Twice in this chapter Amos pleads for mercy and God changes the outcome. However, as the next verses show there is a limit to what an intercessor can do. God finally says, "Enough!" He determines not to pass by His people in mercy again."
& Continues
"In Luke 18:1-8 the Lord Yeshua tells a parable, teaching that it is always right to pray and not to faint. He uses the story of a persistent widow and an unjust judge. Because of her persistent nagging of the judge, he changes his mind and gives her what she is asking for. Then Yeshua said, Hear what the unjust judge says. And shall not [a just] God avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, though He has been long-suffering over them? I tell you that He will avenge them suddenly. Yet when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?1 God, after seeming not to hear our cry, often answers suddenly. This is why we need faith and patience to inherit the promises (Heb. 6:12).
James 5:16-18 Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much. Elijah was a man of like passion as we are, and he earnestly prayed that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the time of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to sprout.
1 In the book of Revelation God also warns four times of a seven fold judgment – seven seals, then seven trumpets, followed by seven thunders and finally seven vials. Judgment is to the Jew first, then to the rest of mankind (Rom. 2:9), that is to the gentiles. Is this what we see pictured here – in Leviticus 26, judgment to the Jew and in Revelation, judgment to the rest of humanity?
2 Read about this in the Prophet Nahum.
3 Moses was face to face with the pre-incarnate Son of God, because John says, No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the Father's bosom, He has declared Him. (John 1:18)
3 In the context of teaching via parables, Messiah's final question has nothing to do with apostasy. Instead, He is wondering whether there will be believers who will persistently pray and not faint in the last days for His kingdom purposes to come on earth."
& Continues
"God's essential nature never changes
In the Tanach, the Hebrew word "name" when associated with God, often stands for His essential nature and/or reputation. If we read "essential nature" when verses say "name," at times it clarifies what the original word is trying to communicate. Here are a few examples:
Exodus 34:5-6 YHWH descended in a cloud, and stood there with him [Moses], and proclaimed the name [the essential nature] of YHWH, saying, YHWH, YHWH God,1 merciful and gracious, patient, and compassionate and true. Note that His "name" that Yahweh declares to Moses is basically a list of some of His divine attributes.
Psalm 138:2b is usually translated, …for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Yet the Hebrew is better translated as, You have magnified Your word upon all Your name [essential nature]. In other words, God's Word is true because God is true; God's Word is living because He is alive; God's Word is trustworthy, because He is trustworthy; the Scriptures are faithful because He is faithful; etc.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of YHWH is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe. This is a very important truth for believers in these last days, especially when understood in its Hebraic sense, which is that all that our God is – His divine attributes – that is our strong tower. We can run into His mercy, His justice, His holiness, His truth, His strength – and find our safety and salvation in who He is.
John 17:6 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given to Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word." What Messiah Yeshua is saying is much more understandable if we see know "name" can also mean "essential nature." He is stating here that which He had told His disciples when they asked Him to show them the Father. "Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it will be enough for us'. Yeshua answered, 'Have I been with you for this long and yet you still do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father… (John 14:8-b) In other words, Yeshua in His incarnation manifested the very essence of His Father. This is why one of His "names" in the Tanach is The Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6). While Yeshua is not the Father, He is of the same essence as God the Father.2
There are other examples of how knowing that "name" in the Hebrew often means "essential nature" can open up verses in a faith-building way. Try thinking of "essential nature" when you read the words "in His/God's name" and see if the verse becomes a brighter light to your path (Psa. 119:105). While this is not a rule, it is valid in quite a number of verses.
One other note: this biblical insight clarifies what it means to pray "in the name of Yeshua." It does not mean to use His name as some magical incantation, but it guides us to pray more in line with Messiah's essential nature – which includes God's revealed attributes from Genesis through Revelation."
& Continues
"While many of God's attributes are revealed in the Word, the foundational characteristic which undergirds all the others is His holiness, that is, His purity and total separateness from His creation. While God is love, He is never described as "love, love, love," but He is declared to be holy, holy, holy, in both the Tanach and the NT. "Holy" describes His character which existed even before He created anything to be separated from. God's purity existed before creation and is the living source of all God's attributes. No one can see God in His purity/holiness and live. He stands alone in His timeless perfect purity, unassailable and unbreachable. Only His Son can reveal Him to us.
Isaiah 6:3 One cried to another, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, is YHWH of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory'.
Revelation 4:8 The four living creatures each had six wings and were full of eyes within, and they did not rest day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come'.
All His attributes are under His "holy" umbrella, so that His love is not just the Beatles type of "all-you-need-is-love" stuff; it is a holy, a pure, love. His mercy is never a humanistic mercy that actually becomes part of the problem, but it is holy mercy. His grace is holy grace, not the cheap grace which is often taken too lightly or taken for granted. His justice, His judgments, His anger and all other of His characteristics are holy in all their ways, and can only be understood through revelation – revelation that always agrees with His Word.4
1 Is God hinting at His triune nature? The doubling of Yahweh refers to the Father and the Son, whose essential nature is that of the Father revealed in the flesh. Yeshua said that he who sees Him sees the Father (John 14:9) and Messiah is also described as God's express image (Heb. 1:3). Yet the third person of the Godhead is not called Yahweh, but the Spirit of YHWH. This obviously refers to the Holy Spirit who is never given a personal name in the Bible. By the way, the Holy Spirit is also never prayed to or worshipped, while God the Father and/or Yehsua the Son are often the focus of both (for example Rev. 4:1-5:14).
2 See also 2 Cor. 4:4; Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:5; Heb. 1:3
3 The ultimate goal of prayer is God's glory (Psa. 50:15; 115:1-3). If that is not your goal as you pray – whether personal prayer, praying for others, for your nation, or for Israel – then there is a good chance that what you are praying is not in line with His will and therefore not in Messiah Yeshua's name. If that is the case, ask Him to show you how to pray into those same situations in a way in which you can confidently say "and I ask this in the name of Yeshua!"
3 Ex. 15:1; 28:36; Psa. 29:2; 47:8; 60:6; 89:35; 93:5; Isa. 63:15; Jer. 23:9; Zech. 14:20-21; Rom. 1:4; 1 Thess. 3:13"
& Continues
"Has this covenant-making and covenant-keeping God turned against His people?
RT followers are caught implying that the God who has made a covenant-commitment to Israel based on who He is – and not based on what Israel does – that this God is now somehow saying to Israel, "Forget it! I've broken My covenant with you!" But for the biblical God to go back on His Word to Israel means He would have to change His nature. And that is impossible.
God's commitments to Israel are based on who He is
Genesis 12:1-3 God's initial promise to Abraham includes a land, a name, a great nation, divine protection and the gospel, the Good News, to the gentiles (Gal. 3:8), and all this was before Abraham said "yes" or "no" to the only thing he was told to do – leave his land and father's household and go to what was then Canaan.
Genesis 15 God's covenant of the land promised to Abraham was unconditional because there was nothing Abraham did, or needed to do, to "earn" it. He was put into a deep sleep by God [v. 12], and then God made [literally "cut" (v. 18)] a covenant by passing through "the pieces" in a theophany, an appearance of God in the Tanach.1 By this unconditional covenant commitment God gave to Abraham and his seed2 all the land of Israel, which includes more than it has today. And all this based on who God is and not on whom the Jews are, or what they do!3
Genesis 17:19 God's unconditional covenant was passed on to Isaac, and not Ishmael, even before Isaac was born. Later, God confirmed the covenant to Isaac himself (Gen. 26:2-5).
Genesis 25:23 God's unconditional covenant was promised to Jacob, and not Esau. Again this was before Jacob was born or did anything to earn it or spurn it. Later, God Himself confirmed His covenant to Jacob (Gen. 28:12-15), and this was right after Jacob had obeyed his mother and deceived his father in order to receive the blessing of the firstborn. Yet the covenant was – and still is – based on God's faithfulness to watch over His Word to fulfill it (Jer. 1:12) regardless of what His people do or not do.4
Romans 15:8 is a very revealing verse on Messiah Yeshua's relationship to all His Father has promised to the Jews. Now I say that Yeshua the Messiah was a minister for the Circumcision [the Jews] for the truth of God [the Word of God (John 17:17)], to confirm [to establish and make even more sure] the promises made to the fathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob].
1 In verse 17, this is signified by a "smoking furnace" and a "flaming torch." Smoke and fire are symbolic of God's presence throughout the Tanach. For example the column of smoke and pillar of fire that led the Israelis through the wilderness, or the smoke and fire which appeared on Mount Sinai when God came down to meet Moses.
2 "Seed" can be either singular or plural – or both – according to the context. Here it is obviously the Jewish people.
3 While the land is given to the Jews unconditionally, their ability to remain in the land or to be exiled among the nations, the gentiles, depends on their obedience to God and His Word (Lev. 26:33, 36-39; Deut. 28:63-64).
3 While there are consequences for disobedience as God clearly states in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and although each person is held responsible for their free-will decisions to obey or disobey God, His covenants and promises are dependent on His sovereign will and foreknowledge. We, who trust in what He has done for us in the death and resurrection of His Son, have His declared sovereign will as our assurance."
& Continues
"Replacement Theology is dangerous
Our "Adversary" Satan, has secular Western culture firmly in his grip, but what about the Church? He knows that to attack God's plan, he has to attack His People, both the Jewish people and the Christians. My wife and I have been horrified observers for more than twenty years, as we have witnessed the spiritual corruption and destruction caused in today's Church through a receiving of untested spirits and an ignorance of God's Word. This is one of Replacement Theology's most dangerous results.
As we see an increase of God's judgments in the world today, a nation's greatest need is intercession in line with His will and led by His Spirit. Yet how can believers who are still under the curse of Genesis 12:3b and Numbers 24:9b stand in the gap for their countries (Ezek. 20:30-31) whose governments are cursing Israel? These nations are targeted by God for judgment, and if the Church also curses Israel, it also remains under His curse, and so is ineffective to stand before God in intercession for its nation (Prov. 28:9).
Am I saying Christians can still be under God's curse? Yes! Paul, in Galatians 3:13, says, Messiah has redeemed us that is, made us free, delivered us, from the curse [described in God's] Law, having become a curse for us through His death on the cross (the "tree" of Deut. 21:23). This was done so that in Messiah Yeshua, gentiles also might receive the blessing of Abraham – that is the promise of God's Spirit – though faith (Gal. 3:14). Yet Paul goes on to say that, the Law, which was four hundred and thirty years later cannot annul (so that it would make the promise of no effect) the covenant that was confirmed earlier by God in Messiah, (Gal. 3:17).
That promise is clearly identified by Paul as God's initial promised commitment to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 (cp. Gal. 3:8), which includes I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you – I will curse.1 As that promise still stands so does God's commitment in that promise which guarantees His continual protection of His people – for the sake of the gentiles (Gal. 3:8).
Advocates of RT open themselves up to come under this curse. Believers who willingly absorb this demonic doctrine are afflicted with many deceptions – such as not knowing the real nature of God, which is impossible to know without an understanding of the revelation He gives us of Himself in the Tanach (Psa. 36:9; 119:105, 130), including that He was and still is Yahweh, the God of Israel. Also, they do not really see who His Son was and still is – the Jewish Messiah and the King of Israel."
& Continues
"By not having a solid biblical revelation of these essential truths of who our God is, it is impossible to understand what He is doing in the world today. His focus now centers on Israel's restoration, leading to its salvation – for His holy Name's sake (Ezek. 36:22-32). He has not turned away His focus from the Church, but He is also preparing His physical land and His nation for the return of His Son (Psa. 14:16).
If, as RT claims, God is finished with Israel as a nation, then why not support the creation of another Islamic terror-state, one called 'Palestine,' on God's land which He had promised to His now-permanently-cast-off people? RT people thinking this are blinded to their danger.
By not validating God's restoration of His people to His land, and by ignoring God's curse on those who curse Israel, how can Christians intercede for their own nations? Will they pray against homosexuality being legalized because it will bring judgment? Too late! According to Romans 1:26-28, societies infiltrated with homosexuality is a clear sign that God has already judged! Also symptomatic of God's judgment is violence, family breakdown, foreign gods and other idols being worshipped in a society. How can RT Christians understand that the root of His judgment is based on how their nation touches the pupil of God's eye (Zech. 2:8)2 – meaning how their nation deals with Israel3 – especially if they have already labeled Israel's restoration a "political anomaly" or a "mistake of history"?
The only believers who are able to stand in the gap, crying out for mercy for their nation, are those who bless Israel and support what God is doing in these days for His glory (Psa. 115:1-3). The rest are ineffective and even resisting what their God is doing openly with all of His heart and soul (Jer. 32:41). And yet RT believers expect to have their prayers answered? Sadly, their intercession for their nations cannot coincide with praying in the name of Yeshua (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15)!
RT allowed into the Church eventually results in the removal of the only spiritual covering any nation has – the prayers of the true Church, leaving an open door for demonic infiltration. Is this not the condition of most Western nations today, which is where most RT theologians have their headquarters? Is this your nation's condition? You can be part of the answer. But if you are involved in a congregation that preaches RT intentionally, I suggest you ask the Lord if it is time for you to "flee" Babylon (Isa. 48:20; Jer. 50:28; 51:6; Zech. 2:6-7; Rev. 18:1-5)."
& continues :
"RT ideology curses God's people – the nation of Israel and the Jewish people – by distorting and scorning His eternal covenants and His promises to them, so any church or believer involved with RT is a target of God's curse (Gen. 12:3a; Num. 24:9b). This interferes with – if not totally ruins – the authority of RT believers, hindering their ability to stand in the gap as priests and prophets for their respective nations and peoples (Ezek. 22:30-31).
By tapping into latent ant-Semitism, RT grows stronger in many Western denominations and congregations today. Because the ultimate battle is spiritual, the invasion of unclean spirits into Western society has been facilitated by the lack of the Churches' knowledge of God's Word and will to stand against these attacks. In many "post-Christian" nations the spirits of humanism, radical feminism, sexual perversions, Islam, racial antagonisms, occultism, and an idolatry of people and things, as well as other anti-Christ ideals – have invaded and taken root. All these replace the worship of and dependence on the One True God.
RT in the Church has lost its true prophetic voice, and sits back doing nothing as the leaders of its nations toy with God's land and His people – as if Israel is a nation like any other nation (Num. 23:9). The infiltrations and attacks against the West today are a form of God's judgment – the removal of His prevenient grace, His hand of protection that is well able to hold back the worst in mankind. When He removes His hand, societies give themselves over to the lusts of their flesh and to reprobate minds (Rom. 1:28). Read what comes to those who reject the love of Truth in Second Thessalonians 2:10-12!
Most tragically, the blasphemy and deception of RT declares another Jesus, opening up believers to another spirit, resulting in the preaching and receiving of another gospel that is not the real NT good news. After all, if the Jesus who saved you was not a Jew, as well as God the Son, the Son of Man, the King of Israel, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, and today is still not a Jew – the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root and Offspring of David – then you believe in another Jesus who never existed in history or is enthroned in heaven today! RT attacks the Lord Yeshua's nation and family, and distorts His true nature. An uncircumcised Savior cannot save you!
Since RT is both blasphemous and existentially dangerous, once again I ask – unless God specifically tells you to remain in a congregation that preaches this error – is it not time to leave, to flee Babylon?"
& lastly says
"1 In Genesis 12:3a, the Hebrew word translated "bless" is the same both times, but the Hebrew words translated “curse” are different. God says He will curse, judge severely, those who habitually denigrate, falsely accuse, slander, bully, belittle, make light of and plot against His people.
2 It has been explained that when you “touch” Israel negatively you are poking God in His eye, as the Hebrew word translated "apple" in Zechariah 2:8 was used for the eyes' pupil. Since we all see the world through our pupils, this verse could also refer to God viewing the world through His nation Israel!
3 Isa. 60:12; Joel 3:1-2; Zech. 12:9 as a few of the many warnings of hindering God's restoration of Israel.
Is now the time?
It's always time to flee Babylon! Since RT encouages belief in another Yeshua and another gospel, it opens wide the door to other spirits. And what will Replacement people do when, having been imbued with unclean spirits, they arrive at the gates of New Jerusalem?1 After all, Yeshua is still King of the Jews, or as heaven declares Him – the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In fact, in the last chapter of the Bible, Yeshua Himself says that He is the Root and Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16). What will those who believe in RT do if and when they get to Heaven and suddenly are face-to-face with a Jew who is their Savior and King?
Again, Yeshua is returning to Jerusalem to rescue His people. Now if Jerusalem is just an allegory of the Church, then maybe Yeshua won't return to the Mount of Olives.2 And if that is true that the Land of Israel is no longer important, nor is it promised to the Jews any longer, then what has happened and is happening in Israel today is the weirdest concurrence of what appears to be the actual fulfillment of prophecy in, like, forever.
Also, if RT is true then nations are not being judged today for how they treat Israel. The only problem with that is that many nations today seem to be suffering God's judgment in line with how they deal with Israel and the Jews.3
Again, if RT is a biblically sound doctrine, we need to redefine how Paul pictures salvation, because it cannot mean being grafted into Israel's olive tree "among" – and not "instead of "– the Jews. Yet Paul does say that salvation means being grafted in "among" the natural branches, the Jews (Rom. 11:17, 24), and that the roots of Israel's tree, which are God's promises to Israel's forefathers, actually support the Church (Rom. 11:18). Israel can exist without the Church – which it did for over a thousand years, but if Israel is destroyed, the Church does not have a leg – or a root – to stand on.
Now if we believe what the New Testament says, then the gospel is still to the Jew first (Rom. 1:16).
Of course, if God is not the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) or if God Himself does change although He says he does not (Mal. 3:6), and if the sons of Jacob can be completely consumed, which is Satan's agenda, then RT would be correct.
Thank God it is not correct! It does not agree with biblical or historical truth. RT is unbiblical and blasphemous, making God out to be someone He specifically declares in His Word that He is not. So if you are in a church or a denomination that teaches and believes Replacement Theology – it is very possible that the Spirit of God is telling you that now is the time to flee Babylon!
1 Thank God we are saved by grace and not by our doctrines!
2 I once spoke with an Evangelical Anglican minister in London, who was into 'fulfillment theology' – which believes that all prophecies were already fulfilled so that not only is Yeshua not coming back, but this modern restoration of Israel is not of God.
3 See "Why God Judges the Nations" on the Intercessors for Israel website."
From the website, israelnationalnews.com an article is headlined
"The Plague of the Un-Jews" the article says
It is the vile behavior of the un-Jews towards Israel that allows the non-Jewish anti-Semites to be open about their own deep seated pathology and bigotry.
The article also says:
"Many years ago, posing as a supporter of the PLO, I infiltrated an Arab anti-Israel meeting held in a room above a London pub. There were mostly Arabs present with a sprinkling of non-Arabs, mostly local Brits.
Among the Brits was a man who told the audience that he was a Jew and hated Israel. His self-loathing expressed itself in hostility towards the increasingly embattled Jewish state.
But in all the bile that fell from his lips, he revealed a total lack of knowledge about Judaism and Jewish history – certainly he exhibited no understanding of the rebirth of Israel in its ancestral and biblical homeland or of the immense odds of its survival in the face of enormous Arab and Muslim aggression.
His trope was merely to echo the fashionable Arab and pro-Arab propaganda of “the poor Palestinian Arabs, and the nasty Israelis.”
All he seemed to want to do was ingratiate himself with those Arabs in the misguided belief that they would award him with what he personally lacked in his own sad life: fame and name recognition.
If he could achieve that by denigrating and abusing the people from whom he sprung, then so be it. For him the means justified the ends. What he did not realize was that the Arabs looked upon him with no respect; rather they treated him with contempt; using him instead as a useful idiot.
I thought of him when I remembered the UK pro-Palestinian group of Jews - overwhelmingly leftist - whom you may remember had attempted to sail to Gaza from the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus in order to bring aid and comfort to the Hamas occupiers of the Gaza Strip.
Among the left wing British Jews was one Yonatan Shapira who had allegedly defaced a wall near the Warsaw Ghetto monument with a slogan describing the Arabs in Gaza as suffering a holocaust like the Jews had during the real Holocaust.
Unlike the Arabs in Gaza, the Jews during the Shoah were almost entirely exterminated. And unlike the hapless Jews who lost at least 30% of the world’s Jewish population, the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians - and who spew the lie that they are undergoing their own holocaust - have grown in numbers by some 600% since 1948: Some holocaust!
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman at the time, Andy David, called the left wing Jews' claim to be bringing aid to Gaza "ridiculous" and labeled the voyage "a politically motivated provocation.” Under the circumstances, a rather mild and muted criticism.
Emanuele Ottolenghi, in a commentary said, “There is a certain irony in the fact that a boat full of ‘Jews for Justice for Palestinians’ set sail for Gaza from Northern Cyprus.
“Northern Cyprus remains an illegally occupied territory that belongs to EU-member Cyprus, but was seized by force in 1974 by the Turkish army.
“Its legal status as a fictionally independent state is only recognized by Turkey. The Turkish military forcibly removed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Greeks from that territory and settled its own population to permanently alter the ethnic balance of the area.”
the article continues
"I also thought of the man in the room above the London pub when I remembered that other Jewish self-hater, Professor Illan Pappe, who once visited India in order to demonize Israel and encourage a boycott by Indians of the Jewish state.
Professor Pappe, well known as an extreme leftist and one of a handful of Israeli professors who support an academic boycott of Israel, criticized the Arab world for “not doing anything” against Israel.
In view of the decade’s long history of barbaric terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian and other Arabs against Israeli civilians, this was an oxymoronic statement if ever there was one.
Another visitor at the time to India was Richard Falk, formerly the United Nations Human Rights Council envoy to Gaza, and to Judea and Samaria (or what most of the world calls by its Jordanian Arab name, the 'West Bank').
During his term with the grotesquely misnamed UN Human Rights Council, Falk was the envoy for this despicable organization, one made up of the most egregious rogue states on earth and worst human rights abusers.
This committee spends all its time ignoring the horrors perpetrated by its own members and concentrates solely and obsessively on heaping slanders and falsehoods against Israel.
Falk, yet another Jewish self-hater, had no conscience in condemning Israel for such actions as dismantling illegally built Arab structures in Jerusalem and deporting four senior Hamas terrorists from the city.
Indeed, Israeli officials criticized Falk as “redundant at best and malicious at worst” and accused him of lacking any objectivity. Again a rather mild and muted criticism.
Did this same Falk have condemnation for the Muslim terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 during which the terrorists deliberately attacked Chabad House and cruelly murdered eight Jews, including a Rabbi and his young wife?
I mention this only because it reveals the depths of the pathological sickness the Jewish self-haters are consumed by. But we have to understand that this is not something new that has existed only since Israel was reconstituted in 1948 in its ancient homeland.
For centuries, since the destruction of Jewish Judea, the Jews were stateless, seeking refuge wherever they could find it within Christendom and the Islamic world.
The relentless persecution of the stateless Jews during the following nineteen hundred years or so led to some individuals wishing to shake off the crushing burden."
& Continues
"Unlike the vast majority of Jews who endured endless torment, often through martyrdom, a few sought to evade it by converting or, in many instances, aiding and abetting the very persecutors of their fellow Jews.
Like the man in the room above the London pub, they sought to ingratiate themselves but, again like him they were treated with contempt and considered “useful idiots.”
As Achad Ha’am wrote in 1891, “…Nothing is more dangerous for a nation or an individual than to plead guilty to imaginary sins.”
In this second decade of the 21st century, it seems that there is an endless procession of such men and women who spring from the Jewish people but who know very little if anything about their faith and history. I call them the un-Jews.
These people are often from the higher strata of society; academics, writers, musicians, the intelligentsia, etc. The glue that binds them is their total ignorance and arrogance. They are drawn primarily from the Left – a spurious and problematic home from which venomous attacks upon Israel routinely emanate.
Again these un-Jews feel compelled to find acceptance in this Theater of the Absurd that is known as the Left. The un-Jews thus, yet again and again, seek to ingratiate themselves with their non-Jewish cronies by railing against only the Jewish state - ignoring all the horrors of ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaida, Boko Haram, the Sudan, Iran, Syria, and of the despotic Arab and Muslim world.
They care not for the disinherited Tibetan people who live under Chinese occupation. They care not for the Serbian Christians who saw their own ancestral heartland of Kosovo snatched from them by Muslims.
Only the struggle by beleaguered Israel, the one and only Jewish state, attempting against great odds to survive and seek its own self-determination in a hostile world, inspires within the un-Jew such demented loathing.
It is the vile behavior of the un-Jews towards Israel that allows the non-Jewish anti-Semites to be open about their own deep seated pathology and bigotry."
& lastly says
"After all, they can say with equanimity, Jews themselves are criticizing Israel so that gives us a free pass to libel the Jewish state and support the Muslims and Arabs in their genocide against the Jews.
You can find a list of these miscreants, these un-Jews, in an article written some time ago by David Solway in Front Page.
Writer, Ruth Wisse, described how the liberals and leftists undermine the Jewish people’s own liberation and self-determination movement, Zionism – the return to Zion and Jerusalem; words which are synonymous with each other. Her extraordinary book, a must read, is titled The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews.
Michael Savage, the conservative Talk Show host, aptly describes liberalism as a “mental disorder.” The un-Jews who endlessly spew their venom against their own people are at the forefront of creating organizations that are patently one sided shills for the Arab and Muslim terror and genocide machine and for the anti-Israel Obama regime.
J Street and the New Israel Fund are two of many such organizations. They stand guilty as charged. Such organizations are readily transparent by the slogans they use, which always include words such as “social justice” and “peace.”
These once precious words have been bastardized by the Left and increasingly by liberal churches who still embrace the pernicious doctrine of Replacement Theology. Now those words, epitomizing the higher ideals of humanity, are become as bitter ashes in the mouth.
What is most egregiously insulting is how the un-Jews claim to espouse authentic Jewish ethics and morality. They do not. They exhibit a devastating ignorance and profound shallowness of what Judaism teaches.
Their breathtaking ignorance misrepresents the divinely inspired Jewish ideals and love of life, which is in such stark contrast to the Muslim love of death.
As Achad Ha’am wrote in 1891, “…Nothing is more dangerous for a nation or an individual than to plead guilty to imaginary sins.”
Yet the un-Jews would willingly see Israel destroyed. They would then march lockstep into the unparalleled darkness of Sharia law and dhimmitude.
They are above all else, a plague unto themselves."
Yet Another recent article on Israelnationalnews.com said
" Palestinian killings and torture of Palestinians that go unmentioned by the so-called “Palestinian human rights” groups, a sure sign of the hypocrisy of their language.
These “Palestinian human rights” activists have nothing to say about appalling Palestinian human rights abuses against their own women, gays, and the brainwashing of their children, forcing them into military (terrorist) training before they become teenagers.
... the hypocrisy of anti-Israel, “pro-Palestinian,” activism that has nothing to say about the apartheid policies of Arab countries that have kept Arabs in refugee status for seventy years. So much for their professed devotion to Palestinian human rights!
On this point, how about the nonsense of Arabs living in Palestinian controlled territories in the West Bank and in Gaza, and yet they are still referred to as “refugees” by their Palestinian rulers and the United Nations. How can you be a Palestinian refugee while living under Palestinian authority?
and the lie of .. “Palestinian human rights activism” that shouts about a blockade of Gaza but has nothing to say about the Egyptian blockade of Gaza. Israel allows hundreds of trucks a day and tons of construction material to flow into the Gaza Strip but nothing goes in via Egypt. Yet, they remain deliberately silent about this. No protests are heard against Egypt"
On Facebook some good pages to view are named
1. Fakestinians- the 20th century invented identity
2. Expose Fakestinians and anti-semites
See Also the websites, We Believe in Israel at webelieveinisrael.org.uk
& Christian Friends of Israel at cfijerusalem.org
Also from the website
urbandictionary.com it gives as the top definition of Fakestinians
The entry for Fakestinian says:
1 definition by
TOP DEFINITION
Fakestinian
Fake·es·tin·i·an
–noun
1. an occupying Arab who was shipped in to create an imaginary land called "Palestine", also known as Fakestine. While the original term "Palestine" was created as a PR move by Yasser Arafat, efforts to provide legitimacy for using this name have failed and thus dubbed the made-up land for a made-up people, "Fakestine."
2. Also called Fakestinian Arab. an Arab living in Israel and Arab-occupied territory called Fakestine who advocates the establishment of an Arab homeland there and the annihilation of all the Jews.
3. Any member or descendant of the 1,000,000 Arabs brought by Britain to Israel from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, between 1922 and 1938, in effort to offset the Jewish population.
–adjective
4. of or pertaining to Fakestine or Fakestinians.
5. descriptive of the made-up people who began calling themselves "Palestinian" in the latter end of the 20th century.
6. of or pertaining to Fakestinian Arabs: "Palestinian" guerrillas, terrorists, refugees by choice,
7. a victim of oppression by the Zionist pigs: the poor Fakestinian bombed 5 buses today and shot 10 children and now the Zionist pigs won't let him past the check-point to kill more.
Examples
–noun
1. Most Fakestinians work in PR, others are in the refugee business.
2. My Fakestinian friends get free health care & education from Israel.
3. We are Fakestinian but our grand parents are all from Jordan, Egypt, Syria & Lebanon.
–adjective
4. That guy throwing rocks at tourists is so Fakestinian
5. Yasser Arafat, first leader of the Fakestinian people, was born in Cairo, Egypt 8/24/1929.
6a. Every time we donate money to Fakestinians they spend it on bombs & guns.
6b. This Fakestinian refugee camp has flat screen TVs and a spa.
6c. Well Chief, I tried to put him on the Terror Watch List but it says "Palestinian" is not a real nationality--oh, here we go, Fakestinian.
6d. The Fakestinian Real-Estate industry is booming. What's the secret? Sell Fakestinian land to Jews, then sue the Jews by claiming they stole the land from the Fakestinians.
6e. Oh don't worry about it, we'll get the Fakestinian to clean it up. "Ahmed, clean-up, aisle 5."
7a. A Fakestinian bombed 3 buses today and shot 10 children & now the Zionist pigs won't let the poor guy past the check-point.
7b. The Fakestinian was given priority treatment at Hadassa Hospital in Israel after he blew up a bus full of Jews--then the Zionist pigs took 2 weeks to pay for all his medical treatment.
7c. Why won't the Zionist pigs accept "killing all Jews" as part of the Fakestinian Peace Treaty?
7d. More Fakestinians bombed Sderot today & those Zionist pigs won't sign a peace treaty."
From urbandictionary.com in reality there is Nothing Funny about Relentless Arab &
"Palestinian" Terrorism & Attempted Terrorism, Countless Arab Terrorist Attacks have been prevented and thwarted by Quick Thinking Israeli Police, Military & Intelligence Services, you don't hear about these Countless Prevented Thwarted Arab & so-called "Palestinian" Terrorist Attacks on Israeli Jewish Civilians because the Media is Biased Against Israel. The Media is full of Anti-Israel & Anti-Jewish Fake News & Lies, and when they spew Lies & Hate about Jews & Israel, they call it "Free Speech"
From the website, askdrbrown.org an article is headlined
"Historic Peace Treaty or Preparation for the Antichrist?"
Posted Sep 16, 2020 by Michael L. Brown the article says
"For evangelical Christians, it is difficult to look at major developments in the Middle East without wondering about biblical prophecy. Should we rejoice over the historic peace treaty between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain? Or is this leading to a dangerous, false peace that will only hasten the reign of the antichrist?
Let’s first recognize just how historic this peace treaty actually is.
For 30 years, from 1948 until 1978, not a single Middle Eastern nation made peace with Israel. It was not until 1979 that Egypt made that historic move, ultimately factoring into the assassination of the courageous Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat.
The next Middle Eastern (and Muslim) nation to make peace with Israel was Jordan in 1995, 16 years later. Since then, not a single Islamic, Middle Eastern nation has made peace with Israel. That is, until now, 25 years later.
Not only so, but this is the first time ever that two nations signed peace treaties on the same day. So, what previously took 47 years (from 1948 to 1995) took place in a matter of hours. This is completely beyond anything we have seen in the modern history of Israel.
Not only so, but this happened after President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem and after he officially recognized Israel’s possession of the Golan Heights. This makes the peace treaty this all the more remarkable.
Let’s not forget that, for years we were told that for America to make such moves would be disastrous, leading to an all-out war with the Muslim world. Instead, the aftermath has been a path of peace.
That’s why Boaz Bismuth’s article on Times of Israel was titled, “The Event That Will Change the History of the Middle East.” He wrote, “Even in a pandemic, we can allow ourselves to rejoice at the first open, warm peace between Israel and Arab countries, and ignore the cynics who are seeking to downplay the importance of today's events.”
Obviously, the Palestinians are anything but happy with the treaty. And the details of the agreement must be carefully analyzed.
But what cannot be denied is the magnitude of this treaty, which is being hailed as the Abraham Accords. As one of the official documents states, “this development will help lead to a future in which all peoples and all faiths can live together in the spirit of cooperation and enjoy peace and prosperity where states focus on shared interests and building a better future.”
Yet it is words like this that cause some prophecy-minded evangelicals to say, “Not so fast! After all, there will be no true peace in the Middle East until Jesus returns. Plus, there are prophetic scriptures that speak of a false peace orchestrated by the antichrist that will lull the world to sleep, leading to the slaughter of millions. Beware!”
the article continues
"Scriptures that would come to mind include 1 Thessalonians 5:3, where Paul wrote, “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
Also relevant is Ezekiel 38:11-12, where the hostile nations will say about Israel, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.”
Who could imagine the nation of Israel described as “a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars”? Who could imagine Israel putting its guard down?
Yet, according to some prophecy teachers, this passage will be fulfilled at the end of this age. In that light, shouldn’t the Abraham Accords, which Trump described as “the dawn of a new Middle East,” be viewed with great suspicion, especially if 5 or 6 other nations follow suit and join the peace process?
As someone who has been studying the Bible intensively for the better part of the last 50 years, I can say with absolute confidence that I do not know.
I do not know if this will prepare the way for the antichrist.
I do not know if this will ultimately hurt Israel more than it helps Israel.
But what I do know is that Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9)."
the article continues
"What I do know is that Paul wrote, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).
What I do know is that it is better for Israel to have more friends than more enemies.
That being said, if sudden and dramatic peace came to the Middle East, I would be both hopeful and cautious.
Would this be the result of decades (if not centuries) of prayer and years of diplomacy? Or would it be the first step towards a dangerous, one-world government that will ultimately oppose God Himself?
Obviously, only God knows. But when it comes to making national decisions, they must be based on pragmatism more than prophecy. That’s because religious believers from all backgrounds have often misinterpreted prophecy before it unfolds, often wrongly predicting the end of the world or the return (or coming) of the Messiah.
But speaking of prophecy, this same Bible I have been quoting speaks of the day when nations like Egypt and Assyria (today, Iraq) will join together and worship the God of Israel after a time of great upheaval and judgment. As stated by the prophet Isaiah, “In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.’” (Isaiah 19:24-25)
In fact, Isaiah prophesied about other Arabian nations turning to the God of Israel through the Messiah (see Isaiah 42:11; 60:7)
And so, while only the Lord Himself knows the implications of this important peace treaty, at the least, let’s be glad that leaders are meeting together rather than killing each other. And let us see the Abraham Accords as a reminder of the day when all the nations of the earth will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (Isaiah 2:1-4).
May He hasten that day!" Some people typed as comments in reply to this article..
"Just a clarification - when the article says that national decisions should be "based on pragmatism more than prophecy", I believe it is talking about long term predictive prophecy. It should be noted that the ignoring of Jeremiah's prophecies did not turn out too well for the kingdom of Judah!" Another person typed
"Neither. Just an excuse for a renewed arms race."
We cannot be fooled, or deceived Israel's New "Friends" would betray her in an instant, in a Heartbeat if it would benefit them, the Only Reason these Nations made "Peace" with Israel is because it benefits them, to benefit their Selfish Desires, these Nations are still Wicked, Evil & Hate Jews & Israel with a Passion,
From the New International Version, NIV Bible,
Isaiah 19:23-25
New International Version
"23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing[a] on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” Do these verses in the Context of all of Chapter 19 of Isaiah , hint at Ultimate Peace & Reconciliation between Israel, the Jewish People & The Arab Nations ? Only God Knows,
Again, see the website, canarymission.org a Superb website documenting
Anti-Israel Losers, Liars & Troublemakers, on the canarymission.org website it says
"About Us
Canary Mission documents individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses. Canary Mission investigates hatred across the entire political spectrum, including the far right, far left and anti-Israel activists.
Canary Mission is motivated by a desire to combat the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses. We pursue our mission by presenting the words and deeds of individuals and organizations that engage in anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry on the far right, far left and among the array of organizations that comprise the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Canary Mission gathers content from publicly available sources. We aggregate this information into a concise and easily searchable format, providing free access to the general public. Before publication, all content is verified, meeting our high standards of accuracy and authenticity.
The addition of individuals to our database is governed by our Ethics Policy.
Individuals who believe that they should be removed from the Canary Mission website are encouraged to be in touch with us and may become an Ex-Canary.
By shining a light on hate groups and their members, the public is better informed about bigotry on their campuses and in their communities. Canary Mission believes that we all have the right to know if an individual has been affiliated with movements that routinely engage in anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions, promote hatred of Jews and seek the destruction of Israel." Even more disturbing, if you go on canarymission.org it documents how these Anti-Israel Evil Wicked Losers are Against the Existence of the United States & Canada as well, these Anti-Israel people are Also against the Existence of the United States & Canada, referring to the U.S. & Canada as "Occupied Turtle Island" These Anti-Israel people and their ilk hate with a Passion the United States & Canada as well, yet they cowardly hide behind "Free Speech" to spew Hate
From the website www.barnesandnoble.com a good book to read is titled
"Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich"
by Norman Ohler, Shaun Whiteside (Translator)
The Overview says:
"New York Times Bestseller
“[A] fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich.” — Washington Post
The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping new history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of a form of crystal meth—the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs—ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin—administered by his personal doctor.
Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows.
“Delightfully nuts.” — The New Yorker
NORMAN OHLER is an award-winning German novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. He is the author of the novels Die Quotenmaschine (the world’s first hypertext novel), Mitte, and Stadt des Goldes (translated into English as Ponte City). He was cowriter of the script for Wim Wenders’s film Palermo Shooting. He lives in Berlin." Big Surprise, the Nazis Cheated, using hardcore drugs to help them in battle to Successfully Invade and Conquer various European Nations During World War II, the Nazis cheated, Big Surprise
Some Editorial Reviews given on www.barnesandnoble.com about the book
"Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich"
are
Editorial Reviews
"The strengths of Ohler's account lie not only in the rich array of rare documents he mines and the archival images he reproduces to accompany the text, but also in his character studies.
The New York Times Book Review - Dagmar Herzog
National Bestseller
New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice
“The strengths of Ohler’s account lie not only in the rich array of rare documents he mines and the archival images he reproduces to accompany the text, but also in his character studies… Ohler effectively captures Hitler’s pathetic dependence on his doctor and the bizarre intimacy of their bond…Blitzed makes for provocative reading.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A revelatory work that considers Hitler’s career in a new light. ‘Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich’ is that rare sort of book whose remarkable insight focuses on a subject that’s been overlooked, even disregarded by historians.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
“Blitzed is a fascinating read that provides a new facet to our understanding of the Third Reich.”—Buzzfeed
“It's as breezy and darkly humorous as its title. But don't be fooled by the gallows humor of chapter names like ‘Sieg High’ and ‘High Hitler’: This is a serious and original work of scholarship that dropped jaws around Europe when it was published there last year.” —Mashable
"A juicier story would be hard to find.” —The Week
“Delightfully nuts, in a Gravity’s Rainbow kind of way.”—The New Yorker
“Transforming meticulous research into compelling prose, Ohler delves into the little-known history of drug use in Nazi Germany.”—Entertainment Weekly
“[A] fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich.”—The Washington Post
“This heavily researched nonfiction book by a German journalist reports that the drug was widely taken by soldiers, all the way up the ranks to Hitler himself, who received injections of a drug cocktail that also included an opioid.”—Newsday
“The book achieves something nearly impossible: It makes readers look at this well-trodden period in a new way and does it in a readable, inviting format. It also doesn’t preclude future scholarship by professional historians to elaborate on the role of drugs in Nazi Germany.” —Newsweek
“This is Ohler’s first nonfiction book (he’s written three novels) and the first popular book of its kind, filling a gap between specialist academic literature and sensationalist TV documentaries… The book is an impressive work of scholarship, with more than two dozen pages of footnotes and the blessing of esteemed World War Two historians… Ohler offers a compelling explanation for Hitler’s erratic behavior in the final years of the war, and how the biomedical landscape of the time affected the way history unfolded… Ohler’s book makes a powerful case for the centrality of drugs to the Nazi war effort.” —The New Republic
The Editorial Reviews Continue :
"Explosive ... Ohler describes the chemical ignition of the first assault on the Western front with a novelist's flair." — Rolling Stone
"I had thought nothing could make [Nazis] more horrifying, but that was before I encountered Blitzed. Now I know the only thing more terrifying than the Nazis are the Nazis on meth ... Blitzed is not your typical history book ... It's amazing that biographers haven't focused on the drug angle this rigorously." — Esquire
“This bestseller has promulgated a perspective on Nazi Germany that has not really been widely explored previously and goes a long way toward explaining much on the topic, which we may heretofore have failed to realize.” —New York Journal of Books
“Ohler’s reputation precedes him… [Ohler] brings storytelling vigor to an unexplored corner of Hitlerology… Mordant and casual even in translation, it’s easy to mainline
(with a pinch of salt mixed in).” —New York Magazine, VULTURE
“The author who exposed the hidden history of Nazis on meth.” —Playboy
“In Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich, Norman Ohler accomplished a feat that many historians desire, but never quite achieve… the author manages to cover new ground and shed a bright light on a previously dark corner of 20th century history." —The Fix
“A compelling piece of serious scholarship that offers a comprehensive view of drugs in Nazi Germany that professional historians seem to have missed." —Under the Radar (Military.com)
“A fast, compelling read." —Nylon
"Ohler's astonishing account of methamphetamine addiction in the Third Reich changes what we know about the Second World War ... Blitzed looks set to reframe the way certain aspects of the Third Reich will be viewed in the future." — Guardian
& Continues
"
"Blitzed tells the remarkable story of how Nazi Germany slid towards junkie-state status. It is an energetic ... account of an accelerating, modernizing society, an ambitious pharmaceuticals industry, a military machine that was looking for ways to create an unbeatable soldier, and a dictator who couldn't function without fixes from his quack ... It has an uncanny ability to disturb." — Times (UK)
"A huge contribution ... Remarkable." —Antony Beevor, BBC 4 Today
"The picture [Ohler] paints is both a powerful and an extreme one ... Gripping reading." — Times Literary Supplement
"A fascinating, most extraordinary revelation." — BBC World News
“Blitzed tells a deliriously druggy tale of the Third Reich.” — Paris Review
"Absorbing ... Makes the convincing argument that the Nazis' use of chemical stimulants ... played a crucial role in the successes, and failures, of the Third Reich." —Esquire
"An audacious, compelling read." — Stern (Germany)
"Bursting with interesting facts." — Vice
"Very good and extremely interesting — a serious piece of scholarship very well-researched ... There have, of course, been other books that already argued that Hitler was effectively a drug addict at the hands of Dr Morell's pills and injections of amphetamines and other drugs. But Ohler takes the argument, to my mind, further and more convincingly." — Ian Kershaw, author of To Hell and Back and The End
“An intense chronicle of ‘systematic drug abuse’ in Nazi Germany... Written with dramatic flair, this book adds significantly to our understanding of the Third Reich.” —Kirkus Starred Review
“[Ohler’s account] makes us look at this densely studied period rather differently." —New York Review of Books
[Ohler] brings storytelling vigor to an unexplored corner of Hitlerology… Mordant and casual even in translation, it’s easy to mainline (with a pinch of salt mixed in).” —New York Magazine (Vulture)
"Ohler offers a compelling explanation for Hitler’s erratic behavior in the final years of the war, and how the biomedical landscape of the time affected the way history unfolded." —The Jewish Book Council
“Ohler paints a picture of the Nazi era that will enthrall World War II history buffs and all non-fiction readers alike.” —Library Journal
"The author who exposed the hidden history of Nazis on Meth." —Playboy
From the Publisher
03/15/2017
There is no shortage of books explaining the rise and reign of the Third Reich in mid-20th-century Germany. Economic devastation, revitalized xenophobia, and cult-like nationalism are most often cited as the primary contributing factors. Do these tell the whole story? Journalist Ohler suggests an additional element that aided German troops, government officials, and even Adolf Hitler himself—drugs. The author tells the story of Nazi-era drug use from both the perspective of members of the military and Hitler himself. Government sanctioned and distributed medication, primarily a German-developed drug called Pervitin (a form of methamphetamine), sustained the German war machine. Hitler's personal physician during the war years, Theodor Morell, is given extensive coverage. Although Morell is not unknown to Nazi history, descriptions of his medicating the Führer here are new and fascinating. Stories of drug use among German soldiers are culled from old letters, anecdotes, and interviews with veterans. This book is well translated from the original German. VERDICT Ohler paints a picture of the Nazi era that will enthrall World War II history buffs and all nonfiction readers alike.—Brett Rohlwing, Milwaukee P.L.
Library Journal"
& continues
"An intense chronicle of "systematic drug abuse" in Nazi Germany.Although the use of opiates and other drugs was pervasive in the Weimar Republic of the 1920s, the Nazis ostensibly opposed them, offering "ideological salvation" instead, writes German journalist Ohler in this nonfiction debut. In fact, the Third Reich depended heavily on drugs, notably cocaine, heroin, morphine, and methamphetamines, to sustain the fearless blitzkrieg attacks of its advancing armies and to keep Adolf Hitler in a euphoric, delusional state. Drawing on archival research in Germany and the United States, the author crafts a vivid, highly readable account of drug use run amok. He describes systematized drug tests conducted by Dr. Otto F. Ranke, a defense physiologist, who waged war on exhaustion with Pervitin, an early version of crystal meth. The fierce Nazi invasion of France, lasting three days and nights without sleep, was made possible by use of Pervitin: "It kept you awake, mercilessly," recalls a former Nazi medical officer. Relying heavily on the diaries of Dr. Theodor Morell, Hitler's personal physician (Hermann Göring called him the "Reich Injection Master"), Ohler writes at length about Hitler's drug use throughout the war, which began with a "power injection" of glucose and vitamins before big speeches, then escalated to cocktails of hormones, steroids, and vitamins, and finally, in his last year, to the use of both cocaine and Eukodal, a designer opioid that even infamous heroin addict William Burroughs called "some truly awful shit." With Morell treating him daily, Hitler spent his last weeks in a fog of artificial euphoria and "stable in his delusion," and his veins had a junkie's track marks. Because of Allied bombing of manufacturing plants, supplies of the drugs favored by Hitler dried up, his health deteriorated, and he entered withdrawal. He would fire his doctor before committing suicide in 1945. Written with dramatic flair (Ohler has published several novels in Germany), this book adds significantly to our understanding of the Third Reich.
Kirkus Reviews An Anonymous Customer gave the following Brief Review Below
☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆ 5.0 Overall, average rating value is 5 of 5.
Anonymous
Review 1Votes 0
☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. · 3 years ago
I loved this book so much! As a history major it opened my eyes and totally changed the way I think about World War 2.
From the "Read an Excerpt" on www.barnesandnoble.com website section of the Blitzed book it says
Read an Excerpt:
1
Methamphetamine, the Volksdroge
(1933–1938)
National Socialism was toxic, in the truest sense of the word. It gave the world a chemical legacy that still affects us today: a poison that refuses to disappear. On one hand, the Nazis presented themselves as clean-cut and enforced a strict, ideologically underpinned anti-drug policy with propagandistic pomp and draconian punishments. On the other hand, a particularly potent and perfidious substance became a popular product under Hitler. This drug carved out a great career for itself all over the German Reich, and later in the occupied countries of Europe. Under the trademark Pervitin, this little pill became the accepted Volksdroge, or “people’s drug,” and was on sale in every pharmacy. It wasn’t until 1939 that its use was restricted by making Pervitin prescription-only, and the pill was not subjected to regulation until the Reich Opium Law in 1941.
Its active ingredient, methamphetamine, is now either illegal or strictly regulated, but with the number of consumers currently at over 100 million and rising, it counts today as our most popular poison. Produced in hidden labs by chemical amateurs, usually in adulterated form, this substance has come to be known as “crystal meth.” Usually ingested nasally in high doses, the crystalline form of this so-called horror drug has gained unimaginable popularity all over Europe, with an exponential number of first-time users. This upper, with its dangerously powerful kick, is used as a party drug, for boosting performance in the workplace, in offices, even in parliaments and at universities. It banishes both sleep and hunger while promising euphoria, but in the form of crystal meth it is a potentially destructive and highly addictive substance. Hardly anyone knows about its original rise in Nazi Germany.
Breaking Bad: The Drug Lab of the Reich
Under a clean-swept summer sky stretching over both industrial zones and uniform housing, I take the suburban train southeast, to the edge of Berlin. In order to find the remnants of the Temmler Factory I have to get out at Adlershof, which nowadays calls itself “Germany’s most modern technology park.” Avoiding the campus, I strike off across an urban no man’s land, skirting dilapidated factory buildings and passing through a wilderness of crumbling brick and rusty steel.
The "Read and Excerpt" section continues
" The Temmler Factory moved here in 1933. It was only one year later that Albert Mendel (the Jewish co-owner of the Tempelhof Chemicals Factory) was expropriated by the racist laws of the regime and Temmler took over his share, quickly expanding the business. These were good times for the German chemicals industry (or at least for its Aryan members), and pharmaceutical development boomed. Research was tirelessly conducted on new, pioneering substances that would ease the pain of modern humanity or sedate its troubles. Many of the resulting pharmacological innovations shape the way we consume medicine today.
By now the former Temmler Factory in Berlin-Johannisthal has fallen into ruin. There is no sign of its prosperous past, of a time when millions of Pervitin pills a week were being pressed. The grounds lie unused, a dead property. Crossing a deserted parking lot, I make my way through a wildly overgrown patch of forest and over a wall stuck with broken bits of glass designed to deter intruders. Between ferns and saplings stands the old wooden “witch’s house” of the founder, Theodor Temmler, once the nucleus of the company. Behind dense alder bushes looms a forsaken brick building. A window is broken enough for me to be able to climb through, stumbling into a long dark corridor. Mildew and mold grow from the walls and ceilings. At the end of the hallway a door stands beckoning, half open, encrusted with flaking green paint. Beyond the door, daylight peers through two shattered, lead-framed industrial windows. An abandoned bird’s nest hides in the corner. Chipped white tiles reach all the way to the high ceiling, which is furnished with circular air vents.
This is the former laboratory of Dr. Fritz Hauschild, head of pharmacology at Temmler from 1937 until 1941, who was in search of a new type of medicine, a “performance-enhancing drug.” This is the former drug lab of the Third Reich. Here, in porcelain crucibles attached to pipes and glass coolers, the chemists boiled up their flawless matter. Lids rattled on pot-bellied flasks, orange steam released with a sharp hissing noise while emulsions crackled and white-gloved fingers made adjustments. Here methamphetamine was produced of a quality that even Walter White, the drug cook in the TV series Breaking Bad, which depicts meth as a symbol of our times, could only have dreamed of."
The "Read an Excerpt" section lastly says:
"Prologue in the Nineteenth Century: The Father of All Drugs
Voluntary dependence is the finest state.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
To understand the historical relevance of methamphetamine and other substances to the Nazi state, we must go back before the beginning of the Third Reich. The development of modern societies is bound as tightly with the creation and distribution of drugs as the economy is with advances in technology. In 1805 Goethe wrote Faust in classicist Weimar, and by poetic means perfected one of his theses, that the genesis of man is itself drug-induced: I change my brain, therefore I am. At the same time, in the rather less glamorous town of Paderborn in Westphalia, the pharmaceutical assistant Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner performed experiments with opium poppies, whose thickened sap anesthetized pain more effectively than anything else. Goethe wanted to explore through artistic and dramatic channels what it is that holds the core of the world together — Sertürner, on the other hand, wanted to solve a major, millennium-old problem that has plagued our species to a parallel degree.
It was a concrete challenge for the brilliant twenty-one-year-old chemist: depending on the conditions they are grown in, the active ingredient in opium poppies is present in varying concentrations. Sometimes the bitter sap does not ease the pain quite strongly enough, and other times it can lead to an unintended overdose and fatal poisoning. Thrown back entirely on his own devices, just as the opiate laudanum consumed Goethe in his study, Sertürner made an astonishing discovery: he succeeded in isolating morphine, the crucial alkaloid in opium, a kind of pharmacological Mephistopheles that instantly magics pain away. Not only a turning point in the history of pharmacology, this was also one of the most important events of the early nineteenth century, not to mention human history as a whole. Pain, that irritable companion, could now be assuaged, indeed removed, in precise doses. All over Europe, apothecaries had to the best of their ability (and their consciences) pressed pills from the ingredients of their own herb gardens or from the deliveries of women who foraged in hedgerows. These homegrown chemists now developed within only a few years into veritable factories, with established pharmacological standards. Morphine was not only a method of easing life’s woes; it was also big business.
In Darmstadt the owner of the Engel-Apotheke, Emanuel Merck, stood out as a pioneer of this development. In 1827 he set out his business model of supplying alkaloids and other medications in unvarying quality. This was the birth not only of the Merck Company, which still thrives today, but of the modern pharmaceutical industry as a whole. When injections were invented in 1850, there was no stopping the victory parade of morphine. The painkiller was used in the American Civil War of 1861–65 and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Soon morphine fixes were doing the rounds as normal procedure. The change was crucial; the pain of even seriously injured soldiers could now be kept within bounds. This made a different scale of war possible: fighters who before would have been ruled out for a long time by an injury were soon coddled back to health and thrust onto the frontline once again."
From the website, hnn.us for History News Network an article is headlined
"How to Get the World To Hate Israel" at History News Network they say
"Because the past is the present and the future too"
the article is by
by Richard L. Cravatts
Mr. Cravatts, PhD, director of Boston University’s Program in Book and Magazine Publishing at the Center for Professional Education, writes frequently on terrorism, higher education, politics, culture, law, marketing, and housing, and is currently writing a book about the world-wide assault on Israel taking place on college campuses. The article says:
"As part of evaluating the competitive landscape of the popularity of nations, in a process referred to in marketing circles as ‘place branding,’ Israel, to no one’s great surprise, comes up short in brand likeability, ranking last out of 35 nations included in an August 2006 survey conducted by nation branding expert Simon Anholt, even less attractive to respondents than Indonesia, Estonia, and Turkey.
How could this have happened to a country that is the Middle East’s only thriving democracy and enjoys a remarkably robust economy that has spawned some 1000 startup high tech companies, for example, second only to the U.S.? How, in short, would you go about making the world hate Israel?
This is how you would accomplish that objective if you were an enemy of Israel:
Even after 60 years of its existence, you question the fundamental right of Israel to even exist and regularly, though falsely, condemn it for being created “illegally”—through the “theft” of Palestinian lands and property—and thus decide, because of its original sin, it has no “right to exist.” You accuse the government of a “brutal,” illegal “occupation” of Palestinian lands, especially Gaza and the West Bank (but for many, all of Israel), of being a “colonial settler state,” a Zionist “regime” or “project,” a land-hungry nation, a usurper of property that was lived on and owned by a Palestinian “people” “from time immemorial.”
You describe the very existence of the country as being the “greatest threat to world peace,” the core cause of all Muslim anger toward the West, the root of all of the Palestinians’ suffering and economic plight, and describe Israel as a nation that has even been referred to publicly as a “shitty little country” by the French ambassador to Britain.
You make ‘Palestinianism’ into a virtual cult whose members offer a world-wide reverence for the Palestinian cause and repeat without end that their nationalistic striving is inviolable, a basic human right, Of all the 100 million refugees who were dispersed around the globe and were re-assimilated since World War II, you chose only the Palestinians to languish, as if in amber, in barbaric refugee camps where their lives are used as political fodder to denounce the existence of an Israel that supposedly has deprived them of a home.
You have the United Nations set up an agency whose sole function it is to make sure that this one group of refugees in the whole world are coddled, advocated for, and repeat, mantra-like, that a human “right of return” has been sanctified and assured by international law for the Palestinians, giving only this group of refugees a collective, as opposed to individual, right of return—and not only to those refugees who supposedly lived in and left what is now Israel, but all of their descendents, as well."
the article continues
"You use the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to further demonize and delegitimate Israel, making it a pariah in the world community and issuing an edict that equates Zionism with racism. In 2006-07, if you are the Human Rights Council, you pass one hundred percent of your condemnatory resolutions against Israel.
If you are the autocratic, despotic states of the Arab world, you initiate a prolonged, unceasing propaganda war against Israel and Zionism, in which it is your intention to encourage your citizens, not to question why they live under tyranny and despair under their own corrupt, defective governments, but that their circumstances are bleak because of the success and very existence of Israel. You depict Jews as apes, pigs, and subhuman monsters, and regularly produce Nazi-like propaganda and cartoons in your state-owned media that accuses Jews and Israelis of blood libels, bloodthirstiness, militarism, a desire for world domination, imperialism, and complicity with the U.S. and the West to destroy Islam—all which make Jew-hatred inevitable.
You inculcate Palestinian children, nearly from birth, with seething, blind, unrelenting, and obsessive hatred of Jews and the 'Zionist regime,' so that kindergartners graduate with blood-soaked hands while toting plastic AK 47s and dedicate their lives to jihad, and older children are recruited to hide explosives on their bodies to transform themselves into shahids -- a new generation of kindling for radical Islam's cult of death.
When Israel launches a military strike against nests of terrorists or in response to ceaseless rocket barrages, you term their response “disproportionate,” another escalation in the “cycle of violence,” a violation of human rights, aggressive, militaristic, with Apache gunships “pounding” terrorist neighborhoods.
If you are the Palestinian media, and members of the world media who are either intentionally biased or willing to be duped by anti-Israel propaganda, you repeatedly report on supposed Israeli human rights violations, such as an alleged “massacre of the 21st century,” a horrible war crime and example of “genocide” committed by Israel against Palestinians in the village of Jenin.
You talk about the Israeli security barrier as an “apartheid wall,” and describe it as a massive, soaring, unbroken division through Palestinian neighborhoods and communities, overlooking the fact that the wall is towering and solid concrete only in those regions that have been repeatedly assaulted by terrorism, and that 90 percent of the hundreds of miles of barrier is comprised merely of wire fence.
You use the “apartheid wall” image to create a broader misconception about the Palestinians living under a South African-style apartheid regime, disingenuously equating race restrictions that blacks lived under in Soweto with the open society of Israel in which Israeli Arabs have more rights than in any Arab state and are asked only not to murder Jews in their midst.
On campuses where a coddled and insulated professoriate often express antipathy for the perceived ills of capitalism, the usurpation of “Palestine” by Israel, “land grabs” through occupation, and the denial of the civil and economic rights of the Palestinians, you contend that Israel’s very existence is not at all about self-determination (something you deem appropriate only for the Palestinians) and all about greed, globalism, colonialism, exploitation, and undeserved political and economic might. No longer able to fight apartheid in South Africa, you now try to transmogrify that racist social system onto Israel, holding rallies and encouraging the signing of petitions which call from divestiture from companies doing business in Israel. "
& lastly says
"You fund Middle Eastern Studies centers on university campuses and use them as anti-Israel, anti-American “think tanks” where scholarship is tainted with ideology and singularly focused on the Palestinian cause. You fund the active and vocal Muslim Students Association on campuses across the country that hold “Israel Apartheid Week” and “Holocaust in the Holy Land” festivals at which propaganda, Jew-hatred, apologies for terrorism, and further demonizing of Israel takes place.
In the Arab world, you play fast and loose with history in your attempt to create a historical narrative conforming to your own political agenda, erasing any link between Palestine and the Jews. Though Jerusalem is mentioned not once in the Koran and over 669 times in the Jewish Bible, you claim that Jerusalem is now the “third holiest site to Muslims,” that, as Yasser Arafat announced at Camp David in 2000, the Temple Mount was never a Jewish site, that Jews now “occupy” Muslim lands, and that the archeological and historical evidence that confirms an uninterrupted 3000-year presence by Jews in the Holy Land is merely a “construct,” yet another lie promulgated by Israeli historians and archeologists as way of erasing and obscuring an Islamic past.
If you are in the traditionally Arabist U.S. State Department, or in the “realist” school of diplomacy, or part of the European Union, and you have an insatiable need for oil, you overlook the tyrannies and unfaithfulness of our Middle Eastern “friends,” and ask nothing of them, but demand that Israel, the only democracy in a sea of despotism, continually prove its loyalty to us and embrace policies that could potentially threaten their own security. You write academic books questioning the strength of the "Israel Lobby," and wonder out loud if Jewish influence and wealth forces us to lose credibility and threaten our national security on behalf of Israel.
You do all of these things, as part of a concerted effort and also as random, independent efforts on the part of Israel’s enemies, and you do it for the 60 years of Israel’s existence, and then you are shocked, shocked, when Israel is shown to rank unfavorably in surveys which measure the public’s perception of nations and how they compare to one another in the world community. But you are pleased, because you know that if Israel cannot be annihilated with armaments and rockets, perhaps you can make it cease to exist simply by making the entire world loathe it for being what it is." All Supporters of Israel should Reject the so-called "Right of Return"
From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book published in 2012 is titled
"Genocidal Liberalism: The University's Jihad Against Israel & Jews"
by Richard L. Cravatts
The Overview says
"Genocidal Liberalism: The University's Jihad Against Israel & Jews explores the growing phenomenon of Israel-hatred and covert anti-Semitism on college campuses. Fomented by extreme Left-wing institutes, funded by Saudi dollars, and led by professors with a barely-hidden intolerance for even the continued existence of the Jewish state, the new anti-Semitism-parading as anti-Zionism-poses dangerous threats to Israel and those who recognize the viability of this Western-style democracy in the Middle East.
Tracing the birth of this new strain of virulent anti-Israelism to the Left's obsession with "Palestinianism," this book also reveals how a destructive "unholy alliance" has been formed between those liberals who seek social justice for the Palestinians, and Islamists, who now find the Left as an ally against a common enemy: Israel.
Genocidal Liberalism exposes the threat posed by the new anti-Semitism in detail, and then offers some concrete solutions to help bring American and Canadian campuses back to a balanced and level-headed discussion of Israel and to expose the dangerous agenda of campus radicals."
Also from www.barnesandnoble.com Another good book to read is titled
"Dispatches From the Campus War Against Israel and Jews" Published in 2016
by Richard L. Cravatts
The Overview says
"DISPATCHES FROM THE CAMPUS WAR AGAINST ISRAEL & JEWS is a collection of essays exploring the alarming, and ever-worsening, phenomenon of Israel-hatred and covert anti-Semitism on college campuses. Fomented by such radical student groups as Students for Justice in Palestine and faculty who promote academic and economic boycotts, fueled by Saudi dollars and politicized scholarship in Middle East studies departments, and abetted by leftist professors with an obsessive enmity for the continued existence of the Jewish state, the new anti-Semitism-parading as anti-Zionism-poses dangerous threats to Israel's standing in the world community. What are the virulent manifestations of this campus hatred? A Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law Anti-Semitism Report revealed that "more than half of 1,157 self-identified Jewish students at 55 campuses nationwide in a survey reported having experienced or witnessed anti-Semitism on their campuses . . ," and, in fact, anti-Zionist activity is highly correlated with anti-Semitic targeting of Jewish students. Anti-Semitic vandalism and activism-targeting Jewish students-has been regularly documented on campuses like Stanford, Emory, DePaul, Berkeley, UCLA, and Yale. This book exposes the tactics used to delegitimize Israel, and reveals the dangerous, toxic agenda of the campus radicals who lead this abhorrent campaign." This book documents the Sick Evil Wicked Satanic Demonic Diabolical nature of
"Free Speech" on College & University Campuses that would NEVER be tolerated against Any Other Nation or Group of People, this type of so-called "Free Speech" would NEVER be Tolerated against any other Nation or Group of People
Even if some people disagree with some of Israel's Policies, it is No Excuse or Justification to Demonize or Vilify Israel, and it's People , Many Many Nations of the World have Controversial Policies, that countless people consider unjust, even if you dislike some of Israel's Policies, it is Never an Excuse or Justification to Demonize & Vilify Israel or it's people, that's taking it to a Sick Unhealthy Extreme Level
Also from www.barnesandnoble.com another good book to read is titled
"Muslim Hate Groups on Campus" Published in 2011
by Daniel Greenfield
The Overview says:
"By revealing the Nazi and Marxist origins of groups such as the Muslim Students Association and Students for Justice in Palestine and the connections between these organizations and terrorist activities around the globe, Muslim Hate Groups on Campus sheds light on the dark undercurrent of anti-Semitism which flows unobstructed through our most prestigious institutions of higher education."
From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book to read is titled
"Hitler, the War, and the Pope"
by Ronald J. Rychlak
The Overview says:
"Perhaps no modern-day leader of the Roman Catholic Church has sparked as much controversy as Pope Pius XII, the Bishop of Rome during World War II. Was he a Nazi sympathizer? Or did he vehemently oppose Hitler's regime? The conflicting opinions about Pius XII's wartime performance indicate not only the complexities of the man, the former Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, but also the difficulty in understanding the Hitler era and the inherent conflict between political posturing and pastoral actions.
With exacting scholarship, Professor Ron Rychlak gives a full exploration of the background facts, including discussions of history, religion, politics, diplomacy, and military tactics. Then come ten fundamental questions concerning Pope Pius XII and the Nazis which are answered with legal analysis and authoritative citation. The epilogue provides a critical examination of John Cornwell's recent book on the same topic, Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII.
Readers will come away from this book with a new appreciation for the difficulties, challenges, and choices faced by the Bishop of Rome during a time of Unfathomable Horror"
From www.barnesandnoble.com Another book that looks worth reading is titled
"Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler" Published in 2016
by Mark Riebling
The Overview says:
"The heart-pounding history of how Pope Pius XII — often labeled "Hitler's Pope" — was in fact an anti-Nazi spymaster, plotting against the Third Reich during World War II.
The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him "Hitler's Pope." But a key part of the story has remained untold.
Pope Pius in fact ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he sent birthday cards to Hitler — while secretly plotting to kill him. He skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. Under his leadership the Vatican spy ring actively plotted against the Third Reich.
Told with heart-pounding suspense and drawing on secret transcripts and unsealed files by an acclaimed author, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. Riebling reveals here how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history."
Editorial Reviews
"A page turning book....Fascinating."—The Wall Street Journal
"A groundbreaking new history of the Vatican-German resistance....Writing with the craft of a novelist and the conscience of a meticulous scholar, Riebling has produced a masterly account."—National Review
"A remarkable book....[Riebling] has written what is one of more important books on intelligence of the year."—Washington Times
"An amazing book that combines the rigor of history with the storytelling of a novel."—War on the Rocks
"[A] blockbuster of a book which not only defends Pius XII...but utterly demolishes the Black Legend by showing in intricate and meticulously documented detail...that from the very start of the war the Pope cooperated secretly with anti-Nazi forces in Hitler's thousand year Reich who sought, first, to remove the Führer from power; and when that failed, to kill him.... Riebling's book is beautifully written, and reads like a novel.... [R]iveting."—Catholic World Report
More Editorial Reviews are
"While the Pope hesitated to publicly provoke Hitler in foolhardy way, he had no hesitation in secretly opposing the Third Reich and its crimes. The record of the assistance Pius XII provided, through his representatives, to the German resistance, and the actions they took, under his guidance, is extraordinary. Without minimizing the complicity of individual Christians, or the role of Christian anti-Semitism, Mark Riebling shows that the Vatican took a very powerful stance against the Nazis. It is especially important for Jewish people-and I am Jewish myself-that this information is now being gathered for all to see."—Sir Martin Gilbert, official biographer of Winston Churchill
"[F]ascinating...offers a compelling narrative of the actions taken by Pope Pius to stop Hitler from carrying out his campaign of world domination and ethnic cleansing. Backed by a mass of carefully compiled documentation, Riebling shows that Pius cooperated in a variety of plots, initiated by patriotic, anti-Nazi Germans, to assassinate Hitler and replace the National Socialist regime with a government that would make peace with the west."—Breitbart News
"Church of Spies shows, with significant research to back it up, that Pope Pius the Twelfth was not, in fact, Hitler's Pope, as he has wrongly been called, but quite the contrary, an enemy of Hitler's who worked behind the scenes against him. Mark Riebling documents how people of faith linked arms against evil that was Nazism and did not turn a blind eye against it. This is a fascinating, riveting, and a deeply important corrective to the false narrative about the Catholic church during World War II."—Eric Metaxas, New York Times #1 bestselling author, nationally syndicated radio host
The Editorial Reviews continue
"In this exciting and original work, Mark Riebling has unearthed vital new sources, and he writes elegantly and persuasively on a fascinating subject that has remained hidden in history's shadows."—Michael Burleigh, author of The Third Reich: A New History
"In Church of Spies, Mark Riebling provides a groundbreaking and riveting account of Pope Pius XII's secret war against Hitler. This richly documented book makes an important contribution to contemporary scholarship about Pius XII and to our understanding of the historical legacy of his pontificate."—Rabbi David Dalin, author of The Myth of Hitler's Pope
"Church of Spies sheds light on the secret actions and covert war waged by Pius, the Vatican, the German Catholic Church, and various German Catholic citizens against Hitler and the Nazis.... By weaving together numerous storylines in a chronological fashion from 1939 to 1945, the history of this period reads more like an exciting popular fiction spy novel than an academic work.... [A]n extremely readable and interesting work."—H-Net
"Riebling recounts in a fast, readable style the fumblings, betrayals, and bad luck that plagued attempts to remove Hitler. Through it all, he shows the Vatican looming in the background-the only support on which the conspirators could count, the only consistent contact they had with the Allies, and one of the few moral centers to which they could look."—Joseph Bottum, Washington Free Beacon
"[Church of Spies] adds a mass of new evidence to what we know, now, about what the Pope and the Church did to deal with the mortal threat to civilization posed by Hitler and German National Socialism."—George Weigel, author of First Things
From the Publisher
08/01/2015
Pius XII is sometimes referred to as "Hitler's Pope," and accused of worrying more about communism than the Holocaust. Riebling (Wedge: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11) asserts that instead of sitting passively while the Nazis ravaged Europe, Pius sponsored an intelligence network that sought for five years to assassinate Hitler. Rather than an organization in its own right, the Vatican spy network appears more like a loose association of the Pope's confidants who worked in conjunction with anti-Nazi groups that were comprised of religious figures and members of German military intelligence. The narrative's hero is Josef Muller, a German Catholic lawyer who served as a liaison between the Vatican and the German Resistance, and was one of the few conspirators to survive the war. VERDICT Clandestine organizations are hard to reconstruct and Riebling has mined an impressive array of archival sources to tell this fascinating story, although he tends to get bogged down in extraneous details. While Riebling tries to rehabilitate the Pope's reputation, he recognizes that the Pontiff's silence in the presence of genocide morally compromised him. Recommended for all libraries.—Frederic Krome, Univ. of Cincinnati Clermont Coll.
& Continues
2015-06-30
Riebling (Wedge: The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA, 1994), an expert on secret intelligence, compellingly explores the papacy's involvement in espionage during World War II. Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) was a political pope, and his was a pontificate of war. He valued science and technology and prefigured many leaders by installing an audio spying system in his library. The Holy See was actually hardwired by renowned Italian electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi. In 1940, the Vatican proposed preventing future aggression with an Economic Union of Europe. The key component was Josef Müller, a Bavarian lawyer whose legal resistance to the Nazis led Heinrich Himmler, after first arresting him for treasonous conspiracy, to invite him to join the SS. Knowing Hitler's hatred for Catholics, and particularly Jesuits, Müller agreed to join the Vatican in facilitating connections between rebellious officers and England. He acted under orders from Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, chief of German military intelligence, as a double spy pretending to undermine the Vatican. Canaris was part of a wide conspiracy led by Gen. Ludwig Beck. Müller's travels between Germany and the Vatican included liaisons with the "Orders Committee" of Jesuits and Dominicans and made him one of the church's most valuable spies, even after his arrest. The pope claimed that Müller's exploits in smuggling, politics, and confounding the Nazis "worked wonders." This book has much to surprise, especially the many German officers, separately and together, involved in attempts on Hitler's life. There were many other "decent Germans" who hated Hitler, but they couldn't betray their "fatherland." Pius, vilified by critics who believed he ignored Germany's atrocities, comes off as a politically savvy man who realized his interference would precipitate Hitler's mortal overreaction against German Catholics. Not only a dramatic disclosure of the Vatican's covert actions, but also an absorbing, polished story for all readers of World War II history.
Kirkus Reviews
Peter Riebling gave the following Review
Review 1Vote 1
☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. · 5 years ago
As Someone Interested In What Really Happened Behind The Scenes In ...
As someone interested in what really happened behind the scenes in World War 2, I found this book riveting and hard to put down. Using records from Germany’s Institute für Zeitgeschichte and from the Vatican Secret Archives, Church of Spies casts light on WWII covert operations and spycraft that remained in the shadows for 75 years. Perhaps most-earth shattering and historically game-changing is the proof that a modern Pope, running a vast intelligence network inside Germany, green-lighted Hitler’s assassination, something neither FDR or Churchill, so far as we know, risked their reputations to do.
"Church of Spies" will inspire many Catholics. It brings to life the heroic priests and ordinary faithful who did not sit on their hands, and who shed their own blood in the Pope’s high-stakes espionage to stop the Third Reich.
This book will also interest students of the Holocaust. It provides new context for evaluating Pope Pius XII, who opted for quiet clandestine operations instead of loud public speeches. Although not uncritical of Pius – Riebling writes that "he should have spoken out" – the book shows the German resistance itself begged the Pope not to do or say anything publicly that would cause retribution against Catholics in Germany who were concurrently planning assassinations and coups against the Third Reich.
Written with the attention to detail that one finds in Rick Atkinson's Pulitzer Prize winning World War II books, Church of Spies reads like a thriller. But the nearly 100 pages of source citations remind us that what happened here is true. And savoring that truth makes reading “Church of Spies” all the more compelling."
From the website, logos.com a good book worth reading is titled
"Does Jacob's Trouble Wear a Cross? The Ancient Legacy of Christian Anti-Semitism"
by Randall A. Weiss
Publisher:
Excellence in Christian Books
, 1995
ISBN: 9781573760003
555551 rating
Format:
Digital
The Overview says:
"Hitler depended upon the teachings of the Church Fathers to justify the Holocaust! How did the Church go from a 1st century branch of Judaism to a 20th century contributor to the Holocaust? The New Testament Church didn’t have a New Testament! What did they read? The 1st 15 popes were Jewish! How did 2nd century Gentile control impact the early Jewish Christians? The first white man in America was Jewish! Why did later colonial America decree “Death to Jews?” Jewish believer, Dr. Randy Weiss addresses these facts and discusses the Jewish origins of the Church in Does Jacob’s Trouble Wear a Cross"
Product Details
Title: Does Jacob’s Trouble Wear a Cross?: The Ancient Legacy of Christian Anti-Semitism
Author: Randall A. Weiss
Publisher: Excellence in Christian Books
Print Publication Date: 1995
Logos Release Date: 2001
Pages: 159
Language: English
Resources: 1
Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
Subjects: Antisemitism; Jews and Gentiles › Prejudice
ISBN: 9781573760003
Resource ID: LLS:47.60.1
Resource Type: Monograph
Metadata Last Updated: 2020-04-24T15:41:09Z
From the Jerusalem Post website, www.jpost.com an article is headlined
"Dutch Protestant Church apologizes to Israel for role in Holocaust"
Dutch Protestant Church spokesman Peter de-Boer said “unfortunately, Christian theology contributed much to the antisemitic discourse that led to the events of the Holocaust.”
By LAHAV HARKOV NOVEMBER 15, 2020
Dutch Ambassador to Israel Naor Gilon (left) is seen shaking hands with Duth Senate President Jan Anthonie Bruijn. (photo credit: ISRAELI EMBASSY IN THE HAGUE)
the article states:
"Representatives of the Dutch Protestant Church (PKN) gave a declaration of the church’s collective responsibility for its role in the Holocaust to Ambassador to the Netherlands Naor Gilon on Thursday.
The declaration admitted and apologized for the church’s role in encouraging antisemitism before, during and after the Holocaust, and said PKN said they are committed to learning the lessons of the past and teaching them to future generations. The church also apologized for the apology coming many decades late.
Gilon said he sees “the recognition and admission of responsibility as being part of a significant process the Netherlands is undergoing in looking to its past. This message is an important and significant step in taking collective responsibility and sends an important message to Dutch society.”
PKN spokesman Peter de-Boer told Gilon that “unfortunately, Christian theology contributed much to the antisemitic discourse that led to the events of the Holocaust.”
Pastor Ryan Freihoff quoted the recently-deceased former chief rabbi of the UK, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, as saying that “Jews are the canary in the coal mine. That which starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews. What happens to Jews is a warning, as it exposes the level of hatred and destructiveness in a society. Antisemitism is anti-identity, anti-peace, anti-existence, anti-life.”
The declaration of responsibility and apology was also read in PKN churches on Sunday. PKN is the Netherlands’ second-largest Christian denomination, after the Roman Catholic Church, with its members making up about 9% of the population as of 2016, including the Dutch Royal Family.
PKN first issued its apology last week, ahead of a ceremony marking the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Germans destroyed Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues and sent Jews to concentration camps."
the article continues
"“For centuries a rift was maintained that could later isolate the Jews in society in such a way that they could be taken away and murdered,” René de Reuver said at the ceremony at Rav Aron Schuster Synagogue in Amsterdam last Sunday, speaking on behalf of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands’ General Synod, AP reported.
“Also in the war years, the ecclesiastical authorities often lacked the courage to choose a position for the Jewish citizens of our country.”
About 70% of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands when Nazi Germany invaded in May 1940 were killed in the Holocaust, most famously diarist Anne Frank and her family.
“The church recognizes faults and feels a present responsibility,” de Reuver said. “Antisemitism is a sin against God and against people. The Protestant Church is also part of this sinful history.”
Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs was “pleased” with the PKN’s apology, his spokesman Hans Knoop said Sunday.
“Chief Rabbi Jacobs hopes that the important message of the church will help to fight current antisemitism in Europe and help to eradicate it in the future... Much importance should be attributed to the fact that the message was passed on to the Jewish people at the Israeli embassy in The Hague. It implies that the Protestant Church rejects anti-Zionism as a cover for antisemitism.”
Ruben Vis, secretary of the Jewish community umbrella organization Nederlands-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap, said: “The book of the Shoah never closes, but with this confession of guilt the church turns a page.”
“It is a commendable and historic move for the Protestant Church to admit its failure, in what appears to be pure intentions,” Vis stated. “Of course, it is belated and certainly, too late for the victims and the survivors, many of whom have already passed. But it is not too late for the future. This is a new starting point for how I view the church.”
Earlier this year, as the world has marked 75 years since the end of the Holocaust, several senior Dutch figures and organizations have apologized, including Prime Minister Mark Rutte, King Willem-Alexander, the Dutch Red Cross and the CEO of the Netherlands’ national railroad company."
From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book worth reading is titled
"Has the Church Replaced Israel?: A Theological Evaluation"
by Michael J. Vlach
The Overview says:
"The relationship between Israel and the church continues to be a controversial topic led by one question: Does the church replace, supersede, or fulfill the nation of Israel in God's plan, or will Israel be saved and restored with a unique identity and role?
Michael J. Vlach supports the latter belief in Has the Church Replaced Israel? Evaluating the doctrine of replacement theology (also known as supersessionism) down through history, he ultimately makes a cogent argument in favor of the non-supersessionist position. Thoroughly vetting the most important hermeneutical and theological Issues related to the Israel/church relationship-and not allowing anti-Semitism discussions to influence the debate-Vlach explains in illuminated detail why ?there are compelling scriptural reasons in both testaments to believe in a future salvation and restoration of the nation Israel."
From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book to read is titled
"Israel and the Church: The Origins and Effects of Replacement Theology"
by Ronald E. Diprose
The Overview says:
"Modern Israel and its relations with its Arab neighbors has been conspicuously in the daily news ever since World War II. Until that time, the concept of Israel and a continuing Jewish people had been hovering in the distant background of Christian thought and doctrine since the post-apostolic era. In this important work, Dr. Diprose demonstrates the uniqueness of Israel and its special place in the divine plan.
By carefully reviewing relevant New Testament and post-apostolic writings, the author traces the origin and development of Replacement Theology—the concept that the Church has completely and permanently replaced ethnic Israel in the outworking of God's plan throughout history—challenging its origin and role in the development of Christian thought on the future of ethnic Israel."
Editorial Reviews
"Without a clear understanding of the place of Israel in the grand scheme of redemptive history, it is impossible to understand rightly what the Bible says about the future--including the return of Christ, the triumph of his kingdom on earth and the culmination of God's plan for the ages. Romans 11 is emphatic (and many other passages of Scripture affirm) that God is not finished with national Israel. Promises originally made to Abraham are yet to be fulfilled. Ron Diprose masterfully draws together the major threads of biblical prophecy that are tied to Israel and shows why this theme, woven through all of Scripture, is essential to a right understanding of where history is headed."
John MacArthur, radio host of Grace to You
From the Publisher
"Without a clear understanding of the place of Israel in the grand scheme of redemptive history, it is impossible to understand rightly what the Bible says about the future—including the return of Christ, the triumph of his kingdom on earth and the culmination of God's plan for the ages. Romans 11 is emphatic (and many other passages of Scripture affirm) that God is not finished with national Israel. Promises originally made to Abraham are yet to be fulfilled. Ron Diprose masterfully draws together the major threads of biblical prophecy that are tied to Israel and shows why this theme, woven through all of Scripture, is essential to a right understanding of where history is headed."
John MacArthur
From Amazon.com another book that looks interesting is titled
"Why the Church is Not Israel" by Samuel Garcia the book is on Kindle
the description of the book says :
"Part of the furor in the Middle East is the identity of Israel. Various sects of Christianity try to tackle its relationship with the nation, kingdom, and homeland of the Jews.
With that in mind, this book aims to answer the following question Biblically: Why is the Church not and never will be Israel?
Discover:
The five main views of the relationship between the Church and Israel
The difference between the New Testament and New Covenant (It's not what you think)
Why passages that seem to imply that the Church is Israel doesn't actually say so
The question is explored in many angles, and yet all answered Biblically. If the identity of Israel in relation to Christianity as a whole interests you, this is for you. Read it today!"
From www.barnesandnoble.com another good book worth reading is titled
"Israel and the Church: An Israeli Examines God's Unfolding Plans for His Chosen Peoples"
by Amir Tsarfati
This item will be available on April 6, 2021
The Overview says:
“Amir Tsarfati tells the prophetic story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and in the process helps his readers to comprehend God’s unique purpose and plan for both Israel and the Church. His refutation of Replacement Theology is profound and yet easy to understand. This book answers a lot of questions many prophetic writers are afraid to ask.”
—Dr. David Jeremiah
As the day of the Lord rapidly draws near, we must appreciate God’s plans for all His people
To truly grasp Bible prophecy, we must first understand how God’s promises to Israel complement His vision for the church. While some believe God has forsaken Israel for the church, this goes against the nature of the faithful Lord we find in Scripture.
In his latest book, native Israeli and bestselling author Amir Tsarfati makes clear what the Bible says about God’s unique master plans for His two chosen groups, Israel and the church. Amir gets to the heart of key questions, such as…
Do the promises God made to the Old Testament nation of Israel still apply to the Jewish people today?
Has God replaced rebellious Israel with the church?
Now that the church exists, does Israel possess a distinct role in the present age?
How are current events in Israel relevant to the church?
What should the church’s attitude be toward Israel?
Israel and the Church provides a fascinating look at all that God has prepared for His two peoples—and why it’s so relevant to us today!"
Another Interesting book is titled
"The Church has Not Replaced God's Israel: Putting Israel Back in the Picture" by
Thomas Pelham Gross The Amazon.com Description says
This Book is Dedicated to PETER LOTH, Holocaust survivor, born in Stutthof, Poland's death camp.
Peter, I dedicate The Church Has Not Replaced God’s Israel to you, your faithful wife Valerie, children, family and all survivor families. We are blessed indeed to honor you. Heaven forever forged you into our hearts.
We love you.
Pelham and DeDe
(Meet “Brother Forgiveness” on www.forerunnerministries.org.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Church Has Not Replaced God’s Israel:
Putting Israel Back In The Picture
Introduction: Get the Big Picture First
Part I: Immersed Into Israel’s Messiah
Chapter 1: Theology?
Chapter 2: Same Jesus, Different Box
Chapter 3: When a Forerunner Runs
Chapter 4: Immersed is Good
Chapter 5: Christians, Come Home
Chapter 6: The Revelation is Upon Us
Part II: Where Did This “Gospel” Come From?
Chapter 7: Black Light Divided Us
Chapter 8: Exposing This Black Darkness
Part III: Re-immersed Into Israel’s Messiah
Chapter 9: Put Israel Back In
Chapter 10: Count the Christians In
Chapter 11: Why Did Jesus Die?
Chapter 12: Can You Love too Early?
Chapter 13: Common-care Love
Chapter 14: Love on in—Blood Deep
Chapter 15: Anybody Got a Plan?
Chapter 16: Loving-in-the-Gap Intercession
Part IV: Kingdom Gospel Vs. A Different Gospel
Chapter 17: Are You Ready for Kingdom Hurry-up?
Chapter 18: DeDe is Back from Israel
Chapter 19: It’s Testing Time
Chapter 20: Elijah’s Highway
Chapter 21: Traveling Elijah’s Highway
Chapter 22: Traveling on Leap-out Faith
Chapter 23: Traveling to Israel (Rapture)
Chapter 24: They Threw Him Out of His Vineyard
After Hurricane Katrina
INTRODUCTION
Get the Big Picture First
Church Forgot
In The Church Has Not Replaced God’s Israel I’m seeing the reason we as church people experience so little of God’s fullness, so few of his outlandish miracles—and what we, the church, can do about it. I understand that any old donkey can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one. It seems the church forgot our Carpenter is a Jew. That could be why we're missing the presence many of us are longing for—the presence that does what the real Jew—Jesus—did, does, and sends his people to do: establish a government on healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and driving out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Matt. 10:8).
I noticed Matthew 10:5–7 too. These twelve (all Jews) Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’” We know about the “go ye” in Matthew 28, but somehow we have disconnected from the Matthew 10 message of the kingdom. Why? We’ll be looking for an answer.
Church Sputtering
Power-wise, we have to admit the Western church is running on fumes; miracles are few. Fullness-of-the-Gentiles work is in full swing elsewhere in the believing world with Matthew 10 activity going on while we Western believers are mostly longing spectators. I’m not seeing the dead raised and miracles flowing, so I have concluded church change is not an option; that the only solution is church revolution. When we lost our Jewish connection, we got some bad gas in our church tank. We're just sputtering along. Could our jesus be an “other” jesus?
Part I points out that we all have some form of theology and begins looking at the good, bad—and yes—the really ugly. It rolls out a good forerunner who ran for nothing because he didn’t run with the full message that had to be delivered. Then we look at the Word of God to see how good it is to be immersed into the real Jesus, the one born in Israel, who died in Israel, broke out of his grave in Israel, is coming back to Israel, and coming back to us because of Israel."
From the website myolivetree.com an article is headlined
"Blessing Israel | Why Do Many Christians Support Israel?"
With the United States’ decision to move the American Embassy to Israel’s capital of Jerusalem, supporters of Israel are speaking loud and clear. Many in the Christian community are uniting in the Lord’s promise of Israel’s restoration.
“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”—Jeremiah 30 2:3
The Lord’s promise of Israel’s return is coming to fruition. The major waves of migration in the 1900s to the blooming of the desert of today prove the Lord is gathering His people and the prophecy of land restoration is underway.
There is also a promise for many who support, stand in solidarity with, and pray for Israel.
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”—Genesis 12:3
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE [INFOGRAPHIC] “ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY TO PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT” NOW!
History: Israel, You Will Never Be Forgotten
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob remains with Israel. He plans to completely restore, honor, and bless them. In fact, Israel is the apple of God’s eye and her citizens are still His people.
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.’”—Zechariah 2:10
“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”—Jeremiah 30:2-3
Many in the Body of Christ today, in these end-times, are witnessing prophecy being fulfilled. Prophecy about Israel’s restoration isn’t just in the Old Testament, but the Apostle Paul provides even greater depth in the New Testament.
Paul stressed that the Gentile nations are a “wild olive branch,” grafted into Israel, not to replace her. That together, Jews and Gentiles, are partakers of the “fatness of the olive tree.” He goes on to say this…
“…do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.”—Romans 11:18
Many Christians today understand that the Jewish nation is the branch for which they are grafted into, and the Lord is the root.
Why the history of Christianity points to supporting Israel
Let us not forget that the Christian faith is founded in Jewish roots. Remember the forefathers of the Christian faith. Would those who believe that the blood of Jesus saves them hold the faith they have today had the nation of Israel come first? Jesus was Jewish and loved Israel.
Jesus told His disciples Israel would be restored with the help of the Church.“…Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?… It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”—Acts 1:6-8.
The disciples knew from Old Testament prophecy that there would be a national and spiritual restoration of Israel. Jesus then explained to them that Believers in Him would be a part of God’s restorative plans."
the article continues:
"The Lord’s promises are eternal. The Bible says that the Lord’s character is eternal and unchanging. Therefore, many who believe in the God of the Bible believe in His promises and stand for what He does.
“Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations… and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land… they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again… Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”—Ezekiel 37:21-23
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE [INFOGRAPHIC] “ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY TO PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT” NOW!
Present Day: Israel’s Restoration
Many people in the Christian community stand with Israel, and the number is growing as more awareness is presented about the nation’s political, economic, environmental, and spiritual growth. The movement is gaining momentum because the United States is seemingly coming into alignment with God’s plan.
With the Aliyahs in the last century, a number of God’s people are being regathered to their homeland. The United States’ official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, followed by the move of the U.S. Embassy, puts prophecy fulfillment front of mind for many Christians today.
>>>Read a recap of the American Embassy’s move HERE!<<<
The Bible says to comfort Israel. God calls many Christians today to speak tenderly to and pray for the regathering of His people. The Bible says that many Christians will nurture the Jewish people and facilitate a return to their land; this transformation is underway today!
“’Comfort, yes, comfort My people!’ says your God. ‘Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’”—Isaiah 40:1-2
Future: My Olive Tree Is Planting Trees for Land Covenant Restoration
There are a number of organizations coming together to support Israel. Many groups pray for and keep the supporters up to speed with the latest Israeli news.
What isn’t talked about as much but will be, as God proclaimed it in His Word, is the land restoration in Israel. After the Jewish people return to their ancestral homeland, the Land Covenant God made with Abraham will be renewed.
The apple of God’s eye can’t flourish unless the land blooms. Therefore, God is raising up those who support Israel as well as those who plant physical roots in the Holy Land.
“…that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. "
& lastly says
"
“Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.”—Deuteronomy 30:3-5
My Olive Tree doesn’t want to stand by and merely watch and learn about Israel; we want to pour our blessings on the land and her people. We are taking those next steps in God’s restorative plan for His people.
Those who have gone through the heartbreak of the past, such as the Holocaust, and serve their country receive practical support such as basic needs, home repairs, and hot meals.
We are planting olive trees in the ancient Kidron Valley, reaping a harvest of spiritual oil, and planting the 7 species, referred to in Deuteronomy 8:8, within the city of Jerusalem.
Together, we plant trees in a valley where the Bible says Jesus once walked and where He will return again.
We will not forget Israel’s past; we honor it. We stand with Israel, the branches of the olive tree, to move her forward into God’s divine destiny.
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE [INFOGRAPHIC] “ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY TO PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT” NOW!
FAQ:
Q: Where in the Bible does it say to pray for Israel?
A: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls,
prosperity within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”—Psalm 122:6-7
Q: Is the American Embassy’s move to Jerusalem fulfilling biblical prophecy?
A: According to the Bible, “For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.”—Isaiah 60:12
Restoration prophecies throughout God’s Word tell of the nations gathering in Jerusalem. “Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.”—Zachariah 8:22
Q: Is Israel’s restoration part of the biblical prophecy?
A: There are a number of references made in the Bible about Israel’s restoration, both for the people and the land. And there are signs that indicate we are in the end-times.
“’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.”—Amos 9:11-13
Q: What is My Olive Tree’s relationship with Israel and the City of Jerusalem?
A: In 2004 My Olive Tree’s founder, Curt Landry, met with the then Israeli Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss humanitarian aid efforts and the economic stability of Israel. Through the trusted relationship, My Olive Tree works with the Israeli Defense Forces (which has control over water distribution in Israel) and the City of Jerusalem to plant olive trees.
Q: I want to know more about the following:
Environmental benefits of standing with Israel
Political benefits of standing with Israel
Economic benefits of standing with Israel
The Legacy of the Land "
From Amazon.com a good kindle book to order is titled
"The Eternal Scapegoat: Israel, Holy War and the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". About the hypocrisy of the traditional image of the Middle East conflict (German Edition)" Kindle Edition
by Tilman Tarach (Author), Waleed Al-Husseini (Foreword), Henryk M. Broder (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
See all formats and editions
From the Amazon.com description of "The Eternal Scapegoat" book by Tilman Tarach it says
"With prefaces by Henryk M. Broder and Waleed al-Husseini.
There are no more rumors about any state than about Israel. Tilman Tarach subjects it to a critical examination and outlines the decisive aspects of the Middle East conflict. The historical, ideological and psychological contexts presented are surprising and compel us to abandon the traditionally negative image of Israel, even if the apologists for a cheap "criticism of Israel" do not want to admit this.
Reviews from the press:
“When you read the facts, you are stunned. A great, meticulously described book «
(› BERLINER MORGENPOST ‹)
» A thoroughly researched study «
(› DIE WELT ‹)
» Tarach's collected facts make you think. «
› N-tv ‹
“The eternal scapegoat ... should be compulsory reading in schools, universities and editorial offices.”
“Jüdische Allgemeine”
“A gain even for those familiar with the subject.”
“Enlightenment and criticism”
“Tilman Tarach, a doctor of law, presents a fact-rich, well-documented one and an excitingly written study before [...] an important corrective against common clichés, prejudices and stereotypes for assessing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. «
Plus anyone can Click on where it says "Look Inside" to read for Free, a good Sampling of "The Eternal Scapegoat" Kindle Book Exposing Arab Lies
A reader gave a comment about the book "The Eternal Scapegoat" by Tilman Tarach published in 2016
"A book that cannot be put down until it is finished. The author describes the suffering of the Jews over the centuries and the constant threat to the State of Israel from hateful, backward, Islamic fanaticism based on historically proven facts.
In addition, the sometimes one-sided anti-Israeli, sometimes verifiably falsified reporting by the Western media is exposed. The picture of the young Jew, beaten half to death by Palestinians, to whom an Israeli soldier rushes to the aid, circulated in the major western newspapers as evidence of the brutal Israeli military who mistreated a Palestinian (!). The (verifiable) forgery was only exposed because the Jewish victim recognized himself in the photo. One wonders what else our media has to offer us.
In view of the situation of Israel as a comparatively tiny and only, democratic-free state in the midst of a seething cauldron of fanatical, autocratic systems, one can only express one's respect for its perseverance! Just like the author, who with this book made an important contribution to unmasking the still existing anti-Semitism."
From the Wikipedia article/entry
"Secondary antisemitism" it says
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the entry says
"Secondary antisemitism is a distinct form of antisemitism which is said to have appeared after the end of World War II. Secondary antisemitism is often explained as being caused by the Holocaust, as opposed to in spite of it.[1] One frequently quoted formulation of the concept, first published in Henryk M. Broder's 1986 book Der Ewige Antisemit ("The Eternal Antisemite"), stems from the Israeli psychiatrist Zvi Rex [he],[2] who once remarked: "The Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz."[3][page needed][4] The term was coined by Peter Schönbach [de], a Frankfurt School co-worker of Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, based on their critical theory.[5]
An alternative explanation was proposed for the spate of postwar antisemitic violence in Eastern Europe. In 1946, the Slovak writer Karel František Koch argued that the anti-semitic incidents that he witnessed in Bratislava after the war were "not antisemitism, but something far worse—the robber’s anxiety that he might have to return Jewish property," a view that has been endorsed by Czech-Slovak scholar Robert Pynsent [cs].[6] It has been estimated that only 15% of Jewish property was returned after the war, and restitution was "negligible" in Eastern Europe. Property not returned has been valued at over $100 million in 2005 dollars.[7]
Adorno, in a 1959 lecture titled "Was bedeutet: Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit", published in his 1963 book Eingriffe. Neun kritische Modelle,[8] addressed the fallacy of the broad German post-war tendency to associate and simultaneously causally link Jews with the Holocaust. According to Adorno's critique, an opinion had been readily accepted in Germany according to which the Jewish people were culpable in the crimes against them. Jewish guilt was assumed to varying extents, depending on the varying incarnations of that antisemitic notion, one of which is the idea that Jews were (and are) exploiting German guilt over the Holocaust. Adorno further wrote:
Sometimes the victors are declared to be the cause of what the defeated have done when they were still in charge, and for the crimes of Hitler those are declared guilty who acquiesced his rise to power, and not those who hailed him. The idiocy in all this is in fact an indication of something mentally uncoped-with, of a wound, although the thought of wounds should be dedicated to the victims.[8]
Initially, members of the Frankfurt School spoke of "guilt-defensiveness anti-Semitism", an antisemitism motivated by a deflection of guilt.[9] The rehabilitation of many lower and even several higher-ranking Third Reich officials and officers appears to have contributed to the development of secondary antisemitism. These officials were rehabilitated in spite of their considerable individual contributions to Nazi Germany's crimes. Several controversies ensued early in post-World War II Germany, e.g. when Konrad Adenauer appointed Hans Globke as Chief of the Chancellery, although the latter had formulated the emergency legislation that gave Hitler unlimited dictatorial powers and had been one of the leading legal commentators on the Nuremberg race laws of 1935.[10][11] According to Adorno, parts of the German public never acknowledged these events and instead formed the notion of Jewish guilt in the Holocaust."
From the website paulbogdanor.com a good article pdf file to read is titled
"The Top 250 Chomsky Lies"
Compiled by Paul Bogdanor
Version 2.0
“He begins as a preacher to the world and ends as an intellectual crook.”
– Arthur Schlesinger
(Commentary, December 1969)
“Noam Chomsky skittles and skithers all over the political landscape to distract the
reader’s attention from the plain truth.”
– Sidney Hook
(The Humanist, March-April 1971)
“In his ideological fanaticism he constantly shifts his arguments and bends references,
quotations and facts, while declaring his ‘commitment to find the truth.’”
– Leopold Labedz
(Encounter, July 1980)
“Even on the rare occasions when Mr. Chomsky is dealing with facts and not with
fantasies, he exaggerates by a factor of, plus or minus, four or five.”
– Walter Laqueur
(The New Republic, March 24, 1982)
“After many years, I came to the conclusion that everything he says is false. He will
lie just for the fun of it. Every one of his arguments was tinged and coded with
falseness and pretense. It was like playing chess with extra pieces. It was all fake.”
– Paul Postal
(The New Yorker, March 31, 2003)
Contents
1. Communist Mass Murderers: General 1
2. Communist Mass Murderers: Vietnam 5
3. Communist Mass Murderers: Cambodia 9
4. Modern History 13
5. The Cold War 17
6. The Vietnam War 21
7. The Cambodian Wars 24
8. Latin America 27
9. Nicaraguan Civil War 31
10. Terrorist Atrocities 35
11. The War on Terrorism 38
12. Middle East Politics 42
13. The Arab-Israeli Wars 46
14. The Arab-Israeli Peace Process 50
15. Collaboration with Holocaust Deniers 54
16. Falsifications of Sources: Vietnam 57
17. Falsifications of Sources: Cambodia 60
18. Falsifications of Sources: Israel 64
19. Falsifications of Sources: Other 67
20. Worthless Sources: Vietnam 71
21. Worthless Sources: Cambodia 75
22. Worthless Sources: Other 78
23. Numbers Games 82
24. Political Ideas 85
25. Lies About Himself 89 Noam Chomsky Lies and Lies and Lies, he Covers up the Truth about Arab, Islamic & "Palestinian" Evil,Wickedness,Terrorism, etc, Chomsky Lies about Everything The Top 250 Chomsky Lies are a Must Read, documenting Arab Evil & Showing how Israel is the good guy in the Middle East Conflict
Also from paulbogdanor.com it says about the Fraud Noam Chomksy
"The Chomsky Hoax"
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The Chomsky Hoax
Articles and documents exposing the dishonesty and fanaticism of extreme left-wing propagandist and genocide denier Noam Chomsky.
General
Paul Bogdanor, The Top 250 Chomsky Lies [PDF]
Documentation of 250 egregious falsehoods about communist mass murderers, modern history, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Cambodia, 9/11, Latin America, the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Holocaust denial, etc. Also lists misquotations, numbers games and worthless sources used in his writings.
Paul Bogdanor, The Wit and Wisdom of Noam Chomsky
Quotations the Chomsky cultists would like you to ignore.
Stefan Kanfer, America's Dumbest Intellectual
Charles Kalina, Noam Chomsky and His Critics
Illuminating guides to the mental dungeon of Chomskyism.
J. Bradford DeLong, My Very, Very Allergic Reaction to Noam Chomsky
Oliver Kamm, Noam Chomsky
Ridiculing Chomsky's statements about Bosnia, Holocaust denial and the Khmer Rouge.
Keith Windschuttle, The Hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky
Overview of Chomsky's ideological career.
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky Recollects
Chomsky wrote that Americans were no better than Nazis. Then he misrepresented what he had written.
Book Reviews
American Power and the New Mandarins
Arthur Schlesinger, Three Cheers For Professor Chomsky: But Not Just Now [PDF]
Arthur Schlesinger and Noam Chomsky, Exchange: Truman's Speech and Noam Chomsky [PDF]
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky and the Vietnam War: A Study in Failure
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky and the Vietnam War: A Study in Propaganda
Peace in the Middle East?
Benjamin Kerstein, Review
Political Economy of Human Rights
Stephen J. Morris, Chomsky on US Foreign Policy [PDF]
Paul Bogdanor, Chomsky's Totalitarian Apologetics
Paul Bogdanor, Chomsky Denies a Genocide
Towards a New Cold War
C. M. Woodhouse, The Anti-American Case [PDF]
Fateful Triangle
Paul Bogdanor, Chomsky's Protocols
Manufacturing Consent
Paul Bogdanor, Manufacturing Distortions
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
J. Bradford DeLong, My Allergic Reaction to Noam Chomsky
Benjamin Kerstein, Review
Powers and Prospects/Class Warfare
Roger Scruton, Rash Thinker Who is in Two Minds
The New Military Humanism
Adrian Hastings, Chomsky and Kosova
A New Generation Draws the Line
Marko Attila Hoare, Nothing is Left
9/11
Carlin Romano, Once Again, Chomsky's on Anti-US Hobbyhorse
Interventions
Jonathan Rauch, Notes From a Gadfly
Ideology
Nathan Folkert, Chomsky on Violence
On Chomsky's support for totalitarian terror and mass murder.
Barry Loberfeld, The Coercive Anarchism of Noam Chomsky [PDF]
The true nature of Chomsky's anarchocommunist ideology.
James Ostrowski, Chomsky's Economics
Chomsky wants to abolish the liberal state because it exercises too little control over the population.
Paul M. Postal, Noam Chomsky and the Quest For Social Justice
An academic colleague exposes his manipulative rhetoric about international human rights standards.
Cold War
Russil Wvong, Chomsky Responds to Criticism of PPS/23 Quote
Russil Wvong, A Response to Chomsky's Quotation of PPS/23
Chomsky distorts a Cold War document.
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky on Milosevic, Stalin and Germany
Chomsky revives discredited myths about the 1952 Stalin Note on the status of Germany.
Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman, Handling Dissidents: The "Free-World Model" [PDF]
Joshua Muravchik, Latin American and Soviet Repression [PDF]
Chomsky tries to belittle Soviet crimes.
Charles Kalina, Chomsky and Afghanistan
Quick rebuttal of Chomsky's ludicrous equation of American intervention in Vietnam and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan."
The article "The Chomsky Hoax" continues:
Vietnam
Noam Chomsky, In North Vietnam
Chomsky undertakes a stagemanaged tour of North Vietnam and argues that this hideous dictatorship "offers the peasant hope for the future."
Tim Starr, Noam Chomsky: Viet Cong Cheerleader
Chomsky's notorious speech glorifying the communist mass murderers in North Vietnam. Chomsky has admitted in print to delivering this speech.
Anders Lewis, Chomsky's Stalinist Arguments
Debunks the Chomsky propaganda version of the Vietnam War.
Noam Chomsky, Education Camps or Tiger Cages?
Chomsky whitewashes the concentration camps in postwar Vietnam.
Cambodia
Noam Chomsky, Comments on Cambodia [PDF]
Chomsky credits the Khmer Rouge dictatorship with saving up to a million lives.
James A. Donald, Chomsky Lies
Point-by-point refutation of Chomsky's infamous genocide denial essay in The Nation.
Noam Chomsky, Letter on Cambodia
Leopold Labedz, Chomsky Revisited
Chomsky suggests that Khmer Rouge atrocities have been inflated by "a factor of 1,000." He is then taken apart by Labedz in one of the most devastating rebuttals ever written. If you only read one discussion of Chomsky's political views, make it this one.
Robert Manne, Response to Chomsky [PDF]
West Midlands Anarchists, Noam Chomsky on Cambodia
First-rate analyses of Chomsky's genocide denial.
Sophal Ear, The Standard Total Academic View on Cambodia
Bruce Sharp, Averaging Wrong Answers: Noam Chomsky and the Cambodia Controversy
Massively detailed studies of Chomsky's Khmer Rouge apologetics.
Nathan Folkert, Noam Chomsky on the CIA Demographic Catastrophe Report
Chomsky's falsification of the CIA demographic study of Cambodia.
Noam Chomsky and Murray Rothbard, Exchange: Noam Chomsky on Cambodia [PDF]
Noam Chomsky and Charles Burton, Exchange on Cambodia [PDF]
Noam Chomsky and Adam Roberts, Exchange on Cambodia
"Trilateral Chairman," Noam Chomsky on Cambodia
Sophal Ear and Geoffrey Cain, Chomsky Should Listen to His Own Advice and Admit Errors
In which Chomsky is repeatedly caught falsifying his record of genocide denial."
& continues
"Yugoslavia
Roger Lippman, Noam Chomsky's Denials of Serbian War Crimes
Marko Attila Hoare, Chomsky's Genocidal Denial
Chomsky's appalling record on the war crimes in Yugoslavia.
Ed Vulliamy et al., Srebrenica: Defending the Truth
Marko Attila Hoare, The Guardian, Noam Chomsky and the Milosevic Lobby
Bosnia specialists and genocide survivors denounce Chomsky.
Oliver Kamm et al., Chomsky, The Guardian and Bosnia
Newspaper columnists denounce Chomsky.
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky Bamboozles on the Balkans I II III
Chomsky falsifies sources to conceal war crimes and concentration camps.
David Watson, Letter to the New Statesman
Roger Lippman, Noam Chomsky on Kosovo
Chomsky's apologetics for the crimes of the Milosevic regime.
Marko Attila Hoare, Is it Really True That "East Timor Was Worse Than Bosnia or Kosovo"?
Detailed refutation of Chomsky's abuse of the East Timor tragedy in his campaign to belittle the bloodbaths in the former Yugoslavia.
Israel
Paul Bogdanor, The Devil State: Chomsky's War Against Israel [PDF]
Comprehensively refutes Chomsky's fictions about the Arab-Israeli conflict. From Edward Alexander and Paul Bogdanor, eds., The Jewish Divide Over Israel.
Alan Dershowitz, Chomsky's Immoral Divestiture Petition
Benjamin Kerstein, Noam Chomsky is an Iconic Mass Murderer...
The Chomsky-Dershowitz debates on Israel.
Ali Hussein, Chomsky Needs to Learn a Lot More About Lebanon
Zachary Hughes, Noam Chomsky's Support For Hezbollah
Chomsky travels to Lebanon and openly embraces the genocidal fanatics of Hezbollah.
Noam Chomsky, Hamas Policies Are More Conducive to a Peaceful Settlement Than Those of the US or Israel
Chomsky tells Lebanese viewers that Hamas positions are "preferable to the policies of the United States and Israel," which are "very similar to those of Hitler."
Paul Bogdanor, Chomsky and the Terror Masters
Chomsky travels to Gaza for a meeting with the leader of Hamas.
David Bernstein, Chomsky on Moshe Dayan
Adam Holland, Quoting Chomsky's Misquotes
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky and Conspiracy Theory
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky on Palestine & Israel
Joel B. Pollak, 60 Years of Self-Destruction
Typical Chomsky falsehoods exposed."
& continues
"Antisemitism
William D. Rubinstein, Chomsky and the Neo-Nazis [PDF]
Examines Chomsky's belief that Holocaust denial is not antisemitic and that Holocaust deniers have been maligned. Also notes the parallel between Nazi apologetics and Chomsky's Khmer Rouge genocide denial.
Pierre Vidal-Naquet, On Faurisson and Chomsky
On the notorious Chomsky preface to Faurisson's book.
Nadine Fresco, The Denial of the Dead: On the Faurisson Affair
Detailed analysis of the Faurisson scandal.
Werner Cohn, Partners in Hate: Noam Chomsky and the Holocaust Deniers
The definitive work on Chomsky's neo-Nazi involvements.
Werner Cohn, Chomsky and the French Neo-Nazis: Some Documents
Comments on the Guillaume essay below.
Werner Cohn, Chomsky's Veracity Problem - Continued
More evidence of Chomsky's collusion with the Holocaust deniers.
Rachel Neuwirth, The Chomsky File
There is more to Chomsky's involvement with antisemitism than his collaboration with Holocaust deniers.
Chomsky's Jewish Critics
Edward Alexander, The Secret Life of Noam Chomsky [PDF]
Carlos P. Otero, The Attack on Noam Chomsky Was Unjustified [PDF]
Edward A. Stern, Noam Chomsky's Politics and Albert Einstein's Violin [PDF]
Noam Chomsky, Chomsky's Words Stand on Their Own [PDF]
Edward Alexander and Edward A. Stern, Response to Chomsky [PDF]
Illuminating debate on Chomsky's antisemitic connections.
Noam Chomsky and Edward Alexander, Exchange: Holocaust Denial [PDF]
Chomsky tries to cover his tracks with a defamatory rant against his chief opponent.
Chomsky's Nazi Admirers
Pierre Guillaume, A Clarification
A French Holocaust denier shows how Chomsky single-handedly saved the denial movement from collapse. He even gave the deniers translation rights for his books! Chomsky assisted in the preparation of this essay. For discussion, see the preceding articles by Cohn.
Institute for Historical Review, "One of the Best Exposes of Zionist Mythology..."
Institute for Historical Review, "Chomsky's Valuable Insights..."
American Holocaust deniers endorse Chomsky's anti-Israel ravings.
Friends of Oswald Mosley, Noam Chomsky's Search For the Truth
British fascists sing Chomsky's praises."
& continues
"War on Terrorism
Noam Chomsky, On the Bombings
Brian Carnell, Chomsky Needs a Fact-Checker
Oliver Kamm, Chomsky Redux
In which Chomsky equates the 9/11 massacres and the bombing of a deserted factory in Sudan, invokes a worthless source and fabricates statements by Human Rights Watch.
Noam Chomsky, The New War Against Terror
The speech containing Chomsky's infamous invention about American plans for a "silent genocide" in Afghanistan. Chomsky warns (at 7:55-8:25 mins.) that millions will die within "the next couple of weeks."
Massive Food Delivery Averts Afghan Famine
Chomsky accused the Bush Administration of planning to murder 3-4 million people, but American intervention actually prevented a famine in Afghanistan.
Noam Chomsky, On Afghanistan
Brian Carnell, Chomsky: Take Bin Laden at His Word
Chomsky declares it "entirely possible" that bin Laden did not know about 9/11 - even when bin Laden is quoted saying that he did know - and adds that "there are no innocent victims" of terrorism.
Michael Weiss, Fisking Chomsky's Latest Bilge on Iran
Michael Weiss, Fun With Chomsky's Latest Hiccup
Chomsky's falsehoods about the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Noam Chomsky, My Reaction to Osama Bin Laden's Death
Christopher Hitchens, Chomsky's Follies
Bret Stephens, From Chomsky to Bin Laden
Chomsky denounces the killing of bin Laden while continuing to deny bin Laden's involvement in 9/11.
Chomsky's Conspiracy Theories
Chomsky Calls US Imperialistic [PDF]
Chomsky suggests that America is planning a war against Europe.
Chomsky Misuses Facts [PDF]
Chomsky fabricates American plans to exploit the Iranian hostage crisis by building new missile systems and encircling the Indian Ocean.
Chomsky Lectures on US Foreign Policy
Chomsky asserts that the Clinton Administration is "the most extreme fundamentalist administration," but the American population "hasn't got a clue to what's going on."
Faculty Hold Teach-In on Divestment
Chomsky claims that America arms and funds Arab suicide bombers.
Interview: An Hour With Noam Chomsky [PDF]
Chomsky argues (page 119) that sports, sex and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? are media tools for manipulating the population.
Larissa MacFarquhar, The Devil's Accountant [Excerpts]
Chomsky claims that the attack on Pearl Harbor saved millions of lives and that America and Britain used Nazi armies to fight the Soviet Union and prolong the Holocaust.
Bill Frezza, A Lion in Winter
Chomsky suggests that America is selling nuclear warheads to the Israeli air force and that the search for a cancer cure is a hoax.
Other
Konrad Koerner, The Anatomy of a Revolution in the Social Sciences: Chomsky in 1962
A respected historian of linguistics shows how Chomsky actually achieved academic prominence.
Barry Eshkol Adelman, An Underdiscussed Aspect of Chomsky (1959)
Exposes the distortions and misquotations in Chomsky's famous assault on B. F. Skinner.
Peter Schweizer, Noam Chomsky, Closet Capitalist
Alleges that Chomsky made millions of dollars from the political system he despises.
Samuel Korb, Chomsky's Allegations Should Be Questioned
Eye-witness account of bullying by Chomsky.
Larissa MacFarquhar, The Devil's Accountant [Excerpts]
More examples of bullying by Chomsky.
From the website, en.shalomfromg-d.net an article is headlined
"Isaiah & the re-gathering of Jews to Israel" the article says:
Probably the most influential book in the Prophets (Nevi’im = נְבִיאִים ) of the Tanakh is Isaiah, named after the human author – Isaiah – who lived in the First Temple Period around 750 BC. The figure below shows where he sits in a historical timeline. This timeline is taken from History of the Jews, zoomed to the two Temple periods.
Historical TImeline with Isaiah and other writers of Tanakh
The Welcome article highlighted the curious fact that Jewish history is like a dance between The Book (Bible), the Land (Israel), The People (Jews) and other Nations. No other nation has such a complex dance. If Moses’ Blessings & Curses have controlled the broad movements of this dance for the last 3500 years, Isaiah’s prophecies are guiding its precise steps into our times. Isaiah also added a new partner into this dance (though he is not the first to do so, but this new partner takes prominence in Isaiah). This is seen in his far-reaching vision of history in Isaiah 11.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-2)
Jesse was the father of King David who founded the city of Jerusalem about 1000 BC. When Isaiah wrote these words Jesse had been dead 300 years but through David the royal dynasty from Jesse was ruling in Jerusalem in Isaiah’s lifetime. Isaiah prophesied that this dynasty, like a tree felled by an axe, would one day be reduced to a ‘stump’, i.e., the kingdom would fall. But then after this dynasty a ‘Branch’ would ‘shoot’ up from that very same stump. This Branch was a ‘him’ (male human) who would ‘bear fruit’. Who would this Branch be? What kind of ‘fruit’?
As Isaiah continued it is not immediately clear whether he was speaking metaphorically or literally. But then he wrote what, for us in the 21st century, should make us sit up and take note:
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Sea."
the article continues
"12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth. (Isaiah 11: 10-12)
Isaiah predicted a re-gathering of the Jewish people (as Moses did in his Blessings and Curses) but Isaiah wrote that this would be for the ‘second time’. Below is the Timeline from History of the Jews with the re-gatherings of Jews to Israel (in green) and Isaiah in red. You can see there have been two different re-gatherings of Jews from the nations back to Israel, both after he lived. From Isaiah’s time (750 BC) you might think that he was writing about the re-gathering of Jews to Israel from the Babylonian captivity but because he specifically wrote of the ‘second time’ we know he is looking beyond that re-gathering. The ‘second’ (and only other) re-gathering is the one that is happening now, as part of the re-birth of modern Israel. His description of the re-gathering from the ‘four quarters of the earth’ (i.e. from North, South, East, West) precisely describes what is occurring today as Jews from every continent on the globe are now doing Aliyah to Israel in a precise and literal fulfillment of what Isaiah wrote 2700 years ago.
Historical Timeline of the Jews - featuring their two periods of exile
Historical Timeline of the Jews – featuring their two periods of exile
Some of the countries he lists are obscure because he is naming countries in 750 BC. But the countries he specifically lists: Elam (= Iran today), Cush (= Ethiopia today), Babylonia (= Iraq today) along with Egypt are countries almost emptied of Jews making Aliyah to Israel since 1948."
& continues
"Isaiah continues with further details surrounding this ‘second’ re-gathering. To help us identify countries Isaiah mentions, a map compares countries named in his passage with those today. Isaiah continues:
Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them. (Isaiah 11:13-14)
Map of Israel + Judah and surrounding countries in 750 BC (1st Temple Period) vs. map of Israel and countries of today
Map of Israel + Judah and surrounding countries in 750 BC (1st Temple Period) vs. map of Israel and countries of today
You can see that in the 1st Temple Period the Jews were politically divided into two rival kingdoms – Judah & Israel. The situation then was like Koreans today who are one people divided into two opposing countries – North & South Korea. The rivalries between the two Jewish countries in the 1st Temple Period are detailed in the Tanakh in the books of Kings and Chronicles.
Re-gathering to one nation
When Isaiah looked into the future and wrote
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim (v 13)
He meant that when the Jews re-gathered for the 2nd time from this world-wide exile they would not be politically divided anymore, but united into one nation. That was not a foregone conclusion when he wrote in 750 BC but it happened in 1948 when a United Nations resolution birthed one single modern Jewish state: Israel.
Israeli & Six-Day War
Looking closely on this map of the nations in Isaiah’s day we see Philistia on a coastal strip between Judah and the Mediterranean Sea and Moab, Edom and Ammon directly to the East. Note the states in the corresponding places today and we can see that they are Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan. The West Bank was captured from Jordan in the six-day war of 1967. Knowing this Isaiah’s prophecy makes sense to our modern ears.
They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia (i.e. Gaza) to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
Isaiah foresaw the Israelites returning from that second, far-in-the-future and world-wide exile and predicted the birth of the one Jewish state. Then, he predicted, the Israelites would ‘swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west’. He foresaw a very quick (‘swoop down’) incursion of Israel into Gaza – just as it happened in the Six-Day war. In that same war the West Bank was won from Jordan, resulting in the ‘subduing’ of the people of Edom, Moab and Ammon – the modern-day Israeli control of the West Bank. It is like Isaiah was 2700 years ahead of events of our time.
Perhaps you agree with me. Or perhaps you think I am reading way too much into Isaiah. But the fact is that Isaiah was part of a very select group whose writings are in the Tanakh. This theme of predicting the fortunes of Jews, the land of Israel and surrounding nations run through the other writings in the Tanakh and indicates that Isaiah is not just some lucky historical coincidence. The theme that began with Abraham, was developed by Moses, is now extended by Isaiah. The prophets of Tanakh hardly ever met since they lived several hundred years apart. You can imagine the immense difficulty in coordinating a consistent theme with others you have never met. Look at the difficulties our political leaders are having in coordinating a consistent response to all the events today – and they communicate regularly."
& lastly says
"But so what anyways? So what if Isaiah foretold details of the modern-day re-birth of Israel. So what if he and other writers of the Tanakh foresaw the global re-gathering of Jews? What difference does that make to you and me?
Isaiah and the other writers of Tanakh never claimed to have innate powers of foresight. He claimed that G-d, blessed be He, who created our planet and the universe, who is sovereign over all states, both Jewish and non-Jewish – revealed this to him. And if he was right about these things visible today then we have reason to take him seriously about his Source.
Even so, much remains still to be understood about what Isaiah wrote. He began this passage with a coming ‘shoot from the stump of Jesse’ which would coincide with the ‘second’ regathering of Jews to Israel. How is this ‘shoot’ to be understood? Before we take up that question it will be worthwhile to see what another writer of the Tanakh wrote about the dance between Jews and the land of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel, who lived 200 years after Isaiah described in exact detail the time of this re-gathering. From where we sit, during this re-gathering, we can check if what he prophesied was accurately predicted. We do this next." Good Pictures & Charts are shown in the article
Also from the website en.shalomfromg-d.net Another article is headlined
"The Hebrew Prophet vs. the Jewish Skeptic (Part 1)"
Considering the Tanakh's promise of Shalom, the Man, and the Land – all in the sea of the Nations the article says
"We saw how Moses in the Torah and how Isaiah in the Prophets (Nevi’im) prophesied the dispersal, exile and the re-gathering of the Jews to the Land of Israel – events that are facts of Jewish history as well as modern-day happenings. In doing so, they pass the test for Divine inspiration laid down long ago in the Torah
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. (Deuteronomy 18: 21-22)
It is because these are persistent prophecies throughout the Tanakh that add credibility to this evidence. For example, take the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel lived during the first exile (550 BC) in Babylon as shown in the timeline.
Ezekiel in Historical Timeline of the Temple Periods
Ezekiel in Historical Timeline of the Temple Periods
In his book he describes a bizarre vision
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
A man is whisked away to a valley full of bones which start to rattle as they join together forming skeletons, and then dead flesh and skin wraps around the lifeless skeletons so that they become corpses. Then the wind blows wildly from all directions and the bodies all come to life and they stand up to become a great army. This sounds like a script from a horror movie for Halloween! But Ezekiel was not interested in sending shivers down our spines. He claimed that this script was a message from G-d Himself, Blessed be He. To remove all guesswork, he explicitly wrote the meaning of his vision"
the article continues
"
1 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
One Nation Under One King
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:11-23)
The Jews in Ezekiel’s day did return from the Babylonian exile a few decades after this vision, but that was a return only from Babylon, and they remained only a province within the Persian Empire. Ezekiel wrote of a return from ‘the nations’ ‘all around’ back to Israel where they would be ‘one nation’ with their own ‘king’ or government. That did not happen until thousands of years later when the modern state of Israel was formed in 1948. For a nation of 8 million people, having 40% of the population do aliyah from almost half the countries of the globe in the 70 years since independence, after an exile of 1900 years, is nothing short of remarkable. Even more remarkable is that Ezekiel ‘saw’ it in his vision 2500 years ago."
& continues
"But some who have reflected on this are unconvinced. Prominent among them is Sam Harris, a well-known Jewish American atheist. Here is his objection:
“But just imagine how breathtakingly specific a work of prophecy would be, if it were actually the product of omniscience. If the Bible were such a book, it would make perfectly accurate predictions about human events. You would expect it to contain a passage such as ‘In the latter half of the 20th century, humankind will develop a globally linked system of computers-the principles of which I set forth in Leviticus-and this system shall be called the internet” The Bible contains nothing like this. In fact, it does not contain a single sentence that could not have been written by a man or woman living in the first century. This should trouble you.”
Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation. p.60
Harris mocks the prophecy in the Bible as being just coincidence. In his view, if you ‘predict’ something vague enough (regathering of Jews to Abraham’s Promised Land), eventually it will happen just by chance. He would be impressed if Ezekiel had prophesied timing it to the 20th century and linking the prophecy back to Leviticus. That would be real sign of G-d!
Unfortunately for Harris, Ezekiel was not yet finished. Because Ezekiel, in another really dramatic prophecy does predict the time – to the 20th century – and, almost as if there is some Divine humor in addressing Harris’s taunt, links it back to … the book of Leviticus. We take it up next here." Good Charts are Shown in the Article
Part 2 of the Article says "The Hebrew Prophet vs. Jewish skeptic (Pt. 2)"
Ezekiel’s Bizarre Siege Drama
We saw how Ezekiel’s vision of Dry Bones coming back to life predicted the modern re-birth of Jewish Israel. We also saw how Jewish skeptic Sam Harris was unimpressed with Bible prophecy. He wanted to see a time-specific prediction relying on the Torah. As if anticipating this challenge, Ezekiel was also commanded to do out something bizarre. Here is what G-d, blessed be He, commanded him to do in a prophecy acted out:
4 “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. 5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.
6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. 7 Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege. (Ezekiel 4: 4-8)
Ezekiel was commanded to remain bound on one side and then on the other for over a year! To give a little background, Ezekiel was writing from Babylon just before the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem (thus the reference to a siege). This siege lasted many months but finally Jerusalem was conquered in 586 BCE by the Babylonians, the city was burned, the First Temple destroyed and the Israelites sent to exile in Babylon. Ezekiel would soon meet the captives brought from the siege of Jerusalem after he had acted out this prophecy.
But why were the Babylonians besieging Jerusalem? They had defeated the Jewish nation in a war in 606 BCE and so the Israelites had, in effect, lost their independence that year. Most were permitted to remain in Judah, but some, like Daniel, were sent to Babylon in this first wave of deportation that occurred in 606 BCE. The Jews in Jerusalem at first grudgingly swore allegiance and paid tribute to the Babylonians but later on revolted against them. So the Babylonians came and laid siege to Jerusalem, mercilessly crushing it in 586 BCE. The kings of David have never reigned since then.
Note how Ezekiel referred to the ‘House of Israel’ and the ‘House of Judah’. After Solomon, around 900 BCE, the Israelites had split into two political countries – Judah and Israel. This was a similar situation to Koreans today – one people divided politically into the two countries of North and South Korea. The ‘House of Israel’ had already been conquered as a political entity around 722 BCE by Assyrian. See more details on history of Israel here.
Ezekiel’s Prophecy
In this acted drama, Ezekiel prophesied a period of 390 days + 40 days = 430 days, with each day representing a year (v. 5 & 6). So he was prophesying 430 years to pay ‘for sin’. Where does this idea that such a payment for sin was required? The parting Blessings and Curses of Moses stated that if they sinned they would pay for their sin in being exiled from their land. So Ezekiel was now prophesying from this principle rooted in Deuteronomy that they were to enter 430 years of exile.
The 360 day year
Today we commonly use the 365.244-day year (the Gregorian calendar) and the traditional Hebrew calendar based on lunar months with extra ‘leap-months’ added to keep lunar year from moving away from the solar year. In ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian and Greek civilizations a 360-day calendar was common, and it was the year length that Daniel used and is the basis of the prophetic year used in the Torah. We will need to convert Ezekiel’s 360-day years to our solar years to understand his prophecy in our calendar. But there is another twist to consider first."
& continues
"Jeremiah’s 70 year Prophecy of Exile
While Ezekiel was in Babylon prophesying 430 years of exile his contemporary, Jeremiah, living through the siege in Jerusalem wrote:
8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “… 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the LORD, (Jeremiah 25:8-12)
Jeremiah prophesied 70 years … not 430. So which was it – 70 or 430? It turns out that in 539 BCE the Babylonians were conquered by Medes and Persians. King Cyrus of Persia then permitted the Jews in Babylonian exile to return to Jerusalem.
So the Babylonian exiles arrived back in Jerusalem 537 BCE. From the initial deportation in 606 BC to 537 BC – Jeremiah’s prophecy of destruction of the Babylonians and return to Jerusalem in 70 years was fulfilled. Now this is precise, but not impressive. Sam Harris would certainly point out that it would have been easy for later editors of Jeremiah’s book to insert the ‘prophecy’ to ensure a ‘fulfillment’. Since the earliest existing copies of the prophetic books are the Dead Sea Scrolls from 200-100 BCE we cannot be sure that it did not happen this way. If this was all we had we would have to agree with Harris that it would be inadequate evidence of Omniscient prophecy.
The Leviticus Principle
But is there not also a contradiction between Jeremiah and Ezekiel? They seem to be predicting mutually exclusive things – one an exile of 70 years and the other an exile of 430 years. It would be impossible for both to be right. Or is it? Because if you go to the ‘principles in Leviticus’ that Harris had asked for you will see the following:
if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: … 17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.
18 ” ‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. 19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze…
21 ” ‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve…
23 ” ‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over….
27 ” ‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over…
40 ” ‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. (Leviticus 26: 14-43)"
& continues
"G-d, blessed be He, stated that if they did not obey the Law they would be defeated by their enemies who would rule over them (v. 17). This warning provided the background for Jeremiah’s declaration of a 70 year exile which started with the first Babylonian deportation (606 BC) and ended when a Jewish remnant returned back to their land in 537 BC.
Then v. 18 says ‘If after all this…’ (i.e. the sequence of events from disobedience, conquest, exile and return) they still remained ‘hostile’ to G-d and did not ‘listen’ to His commands the punishment for sins would be multiplied seven times over. This is repeated directly in v. 21, 23 and 28. Events unfolded just that way. The Jews were to return to the Land to renew their hearts – which they never really did. Only a small remnant returned … they struggled for years to be motivated to rebuild the Second Temple which they grudgingly accomplished but few were interested in putting out the effort … Nehemiah brought another group 80 years later when permission to rebuild Jerusalem was given. But as a people they continued to pursue their own interests and are scolded by Nehemiah for their exploitation of the poor and intermarriage. Malachi, the last book of the Tanakh written, was a plea for them to remain faithful in their marriage covenants and in their offerings to G-d – which they did not do. They remained hostile to Him.
So the punishment, according to this Leviticus principle, was multiplied seven times over. Only after the full seven-times payment was made would G-d, blessed be He, remember the covenant made with Isaac, Abraham and the land (v.42). What was that covenant? G-d had promised Abraham that He would give his descendants the land. In other words, only after the full seven-fold payment was made would Jews be allowed to claim and rule that land that G-d had originally promised to the Hebrew patriarchs. When they returned by Cyrus’s Edict they only did so as a vassal province within the Persian Empire. The Persians still ruled and controlled the land. Jewish rule would have to wait until the seven-fold payment was made."
& continues
"Leviticus, Jeremiah & Ezekiel Converge – in Modern Day History
With the insight from the ‘principle in Leviticus’ we can understand Ezekiel’s prophecy. He had predicted 430 years of exile for their sin. They paid 70 years (as per Jeremiah) which brought the ‘debt’ down to 430 – 70 = 360 years. This remainder was multiplied by seven (as per Leviticus) to get: 360 * 7 = 2520 years.
Let us now convert these to our solar years and put it on a timeline:
The Babylonian exile lasted from 606 BCE -> 537 BCE = 69 years. This was exactly as specified by Jeremiah if we convert his timeframe into solar years (70 years * 360/365.2422 = 69 Gregorian solar years of Jeremiah’s exile).
Ezekiel’s remaining seven-fold years would be:
2520 years * 360/365.2422 = 2484 Gregorian solar years of Ezekiel’s exile
Adding 2484 years to 537 BCE (when the exiles returned and this seven-fold period started) we come to 1948 AD.[1]
Historical Timeline of Jews from Moses to Present-Day, showing Ezekiel & his Exile Prophecy
Historical Timeline of Jews from Moses to Present-Day, showing Ezekiel & his Exile Prophecy
What happened in 1948? That was the year Israel was re-born as a modern nation – an independent and self-ruled Jewish country. Most remarkable, Ezekiel, with some ‘principles from Leviticus’, saw it 2500 years ago – precise to the year!
So let’s reflect. Sam Harris challenged the Bible to predict something for “the latter half of the 20th century”, using “principles from Leviticus”, and doing so would show it to be a “product of omniscience”. Harris gave this challenge because he figured it was impossible – but he never actually looked. He thought that ‘within half a century’ was hard enough so no one would attempt it. Ezekiel, with some principles from Leviticus, was bang on to the year starting about 2500 years ago, in predicting the re-birth of Israel in 1948, and in the process, managed to resolve a seeming contradiction with Jeremiah. I’d say that is pretty good. At the very least, whether we are Zionist, anti-Zionist, ultra-orthodox, Reformed – or Christian, Muslim, atheist or something else this is something worth being informed about even as we may weigh the implications differently. In my next post I will look at how Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (Kotel) fits Ezekiel’s (with some principles from Leviticus) far-seeing predictions.
[1] 537 BCE is like -537. So -537 + 2484 + 1 = 1948 (the +1 is because there is no 0 on this number line, it goes from -1 to +1 (1 BCE –> 1 AD) – in an interval of 1"
Part 3 of the Article says
"Jerusalem & the Hebrew Prophet vs. Jewish skeptic (Pt 3)"
Previously, I argued that Ezekiel had foreseen the Jewish exile and subsequent loss of sovereignty in the land of Israel 606 BCE -> 537 BCE -> 1948 CE as he prophetically lay on his side for 430 days. This addressed Sam Harris’s demand that the Biblical prophets foretell something specific for our time.
The Prophetic Timetable for Jerusalem
This same sequence also holds true for the city of Jerusalem and the Kotel (Temple site) – it is just shifted from the above dates. To see this we need to know some details of Jewish history. The Jewish Kingdom of Judah lost its independence to the Babylonians in 606/605 BCE when it became subject to Babylonia, and the first wave of deportations to Babylon occurred. Daniel was in this group of exiles. This started the countdown for Jeremiah’s 70 year exile. However it was not until the failed revolt a few years later that the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, destroying and burning both the city and the First Temple. The accepted date for this is 586 BCE. This started the exile and desolation of Jerusalem proper.
The Jerusalem Temple – also desolate for 70 years
The Jews returned under the Persian Emperor Cyrus’s Edict in 537 BCE that fulfilled the 70 years of exile that Jeremiah had predicted. But after returning they were not able (because of lack of interest and local opposition) to rebuild their temple. That work was not begun in earnest until 520 BCE under the promptings of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The Second Temple was finally inaugurated in 516 BCE. So from 586 BCE to 516 BCE the Temple was also desolate for 70 years. The length of time was the same as that of the formal exile, but the start and end dates were shifted over 19 years.
Jerusalem in 1967
I suggested that the re-birth of Israel in 1948 was the conclusion to Ezekiel’s prophesy but this did not include Jerusalem. In the 1948 war of Independence Israel did not get Jerusalem as it was not able to hold the city of Jerusalem or the Kotel and it was lost to Jordan. It was later, in the six-day war of 1967, that Jerusalem with the Kotel was regained by Israel."
& Continues
"Applying the same prophetic timetable that we had used for Israel but now using Jerusalem dates (destroyed 586BCE, Temple rebuilt 516BCE, regained 1967CE) we get the following result:
586BCE + [70+(360*7)]*360/365.24 + 1 => 1967CE [1]
Ezekiel foretells the dispersal and re-gathering to Jerusalem, as a frame-shift of the schedule of Israel proper
Ezekiel foretells the dispersal and re-gathering to Jerusalem, as a frame-shift of the schedule of Israel proper
In other words, the prophetic schedule given by Ezekiel (and Leviticus) can shift so that Jerusalem also fits the prophetic timetable of national exile. The dates of 586 BCE (destruction of Jerusalem & First Temple) -> 516 BCE (restoration of 2nd Temple) -> 1967 CE (return of Jerusalem & Kotel to Israel) matches the predictions of Ezekiel exactly as the dates of 606/05 BCE (first exile of Israelites to Babylon; Kingdom of Judah under Babylonian power) -> 537 BCE (first Jewish return from exile under Cyrus) -> 1948 CE (re-birth of modern Israel). Both sets of events follow the same intervals and thus both are fulfilled with Ezekiel’s drama of lying on his side. As the saying goes, Ezekiel “killed two birds with one stone”.
Coincidence or Prophecy?
So what are we to make of this? On the one hand it does not hurt to be cautious. If you look long and hard enough you can match some sequence of numbers matching different historical events. For example, the interval of 2300 days is prominent in Daniel 8. World War II was very close to being 2300 days long. Is it possible that WWII is a ‘fulfillment’ of Daniel’s 2300 days because of the close match? We would see this as a coincidence since the context of Daniel 8 does not fit WWII. Why would we treat Ezekiel’s prophecy differently?"
& lastly says
"The Persistent Theme of Dispersal and Re-gathering
Ezekiel’s ‘lying on his sides’ prophecy is not being matched with any event that ‘fits’ but with his explanation of it. Here is what Ezekiel wrote that the 430 days on his side meant:
I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. (Ezekiel 4:5) ….
Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. (Ezekiel 5:8)…
and a third [of the Jews] I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword (Ezekiel 5:12b)
To then assign a meaning of 430 years of exile and punishment for Israel and Jerusalem is not assigning any meaning to the prophecy, but the meaning that the prophet himself put on it. This prophecy of exile and punishment is part of an overarching theme that runs through the Torah and Tanakh – this theme of a dispersion and a re-gathering of the Jews. It starts with Moses and continues through other books of the Old Testament including Isaiah. and Ezekiel’s vision of Dry Bones.
This ensures that we are not just grabbing any set of numbers presented in Ezekiel and looking for any set of events that matches these numbers. Moses and Ezekiel (along with Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and a few others) together develop a consistent theme with some remarkably precise elements within that theme. Ezekiel matches modern-day Israeli events with a precise and measurable chronology. I know of no other writings, modern or ancient, that does this in a remotely comparable way.
[1] As in the previous timetable there were 430 years of exile, 70 of which were paid in the initial exile but the remainder (430-70=360) multiplied by 7 as per Leviticus. This is the ‘[70+(360*7)]’ part of the calculation. We, like before and like in Daniel, convert to 360 day years (the ‘360/365.24’ factor). The ‘+1’ because there is no year 0 in going from BCE->CE. These factors are exactly the same as used in the previous calculation of the exile of Israel. What is different now is that we start with 586 BCE rather than 606 BCE since we are starting from the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. 586 BCE is like -586 so the whole equation become -586 + [70+(360*7)]*360/365.24 = 1967, which corresponds to 1967 CE."
Also from en.shalomfromg-d.net An article is headlined
"Shoah in the Bible?" the article says:
"Two events have dramatically impacted the welfare of Jews in modern times. The remarkable re-birth of the Nation of Israel, and its growing prosperity, today is the more visible of these two events. But just a little further back in time lurks the second event – the Holocaust or Shoah. This unspeakable evil saw the murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. Yad Veshem is the best reference for the Shoah. Here we want to explore whether the Bible had anything to say about it. That may sound absurd since the last book of the Tanakh was written about 2400 years ago. How can books written 2400 plus years ago say anything about what happened just over a generation ago? The prophets of the Bible claimed that G-d inspired their writings, and as proof, made many detailed prophecies of the future. The re-birth of Israel, even its date, and the six-day war of 1967 were predicted by these prophets of the Tanakh. So is it conceivable that they also foresaw the Holocaust?
Moses had predicted the expulsion of the Jews from the land of Israel, which happened twice. The prophecies of Moses, though matching these exiles, do not describe the Holocaust.
But Psalm 102 does. We may not see it because it is written in the first person so we assume it is only describing the Psalmist’s life. But other passages in the Tanakh are also written in first person but are not ultimately referring to the writer. For example, Psalm 16, written by King David, states that G-d ‘will not abandon me to the realm of the dead’ (v.10). But David has been buried in Jerusalem for 3000 years, so the ‘me’ must refer to someone else. For this reason, many think that this is a Messianic Psalm, and not about David per se, even while it is written through his eyes."
the article continues
"The ‘I’ in Psalm 102 describes a communal experience. Thus the ‘I’ could very well have the Jews in mind. So let’s take a look at Psalm 102 to see if it describes the Holocaust.
Psalm 102
1 Hear my prayer, Lord;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
The psalmist is in great distress. His distress centers on his life vanishing up in smoke while his bones burn – bringing to mind the ovens of the death camps like Auschwitz where smoke rose continuously as the bodies – and bones – were burned. Holocaust victims, being emaciated skeletons, fit the Psalmist description as being ‘withered’ and ‘reduced to skin and bones’.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.
At a recent Holocaust memorial service I heard a survivor describing his isolation as he hid for two years behind a false wall in the upstairs attic of a rundown mill. Feeling like a ‘lonely bird on a roof’, the psalmist describes a similar experience of isolation. The owl is an unclean animal (Leviticus 11:16-18). The movie Zookeeper’s Wife describes how Jews were fed pork at the Warsaw zoo and how pork was smuggled into the ruins of the ghetto to feed the people. Their choice was to be unclean or to starve in their ruined ghetto.
‘Among the ruins’ – a snapshot of the ruins of the Kovno ghetto in Lithuania
‘Among the ruins’ – a snapshot of the ruins of the Kovno ghetto in Lithuania
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears
Under the Nazis and their collaborators the term ‘Jew’ was used as a curse and Jews across Europe were taunted while millions were reduced to ashes.
10 because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
The inescapable conclusion for those going through the Holocaust was that G-d had indeed thrown them aside in great wrath. Approaching sunset (‘the evening shadow’) describes the psalmist’s desperate sense that his life will end shortly, and captures the same desperation felt by those in the Shoah knowing their days would end shortly."
& continues
"12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.
The tone and perspective of the Psalm now changes. The focus is on Hashem who will ‘rebuild Zion’ at the ‘appointed time’ and use the nations to do so. Though it would have been impossible to imagine it in the depths of the Holocaust, barely three years after it was over, Israel was born, through a mandate of the nations in the UN. Shortly thereafter, Zion itself was restored to the Jews and they have rebuilt it. The Psalmist’s abrupt and unexpected transition from the horrors of his affliction to the rebuilding of Zion, foresaw the same abrupt and unexpected transition from the horrors of the Shoah to the building of the modern state of Israel.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.
The Psalmist clearly states that the Psalm was not written for himself or for his generation. It was written for a ‘future generation’ – for those who were not yet a people, or nation. This Psalm was written for the generation just before Israeli Independence (‘A people not yet created’) who would see the creation of the nation centered on Zion (Jerusalem). That was the generation that lived through the Holocaust, those that were ‘condemned to death’ but were ‘released’ so that G-d could be praised in Zion. We see the future-focus of the Psalm here as well as a communal emphasis. No longer is it an ‘I’ but it is ‘a people’ released from death. It anticipates the Jewish generation that survived the Holocaust to see the state of Israel born.
In the course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”
The Psalmist closes with the reminder of the unchanging nature of G-d, even as all things in the physical world wear out and decay. Then it is promised that the ‘children’ of the servants who passed through the great affliction (i.e. the Jews born after the Holocaust) will be ‘established’ before this unchanging G-d."
& lastly says
"The description of the afflictions, the abrupt transition to the rebuilding of Zion, and that it was specifically ‘written for a future generation’ which would see G-d ‘release those condemned to death’ make it reasonable that the Psalmist was, thousands of years ago, foreseeing the affliction of the Shoa. Of course, many of us today find it difficult to accept the idea of prophetic foretelling. But given that the warnings in the Tanakh about exile into foreign Gentile lands, the re-gathering back to Israel and Jerusalem, including even the timing, are verifiable prophecies, we should at least be open-minded about it.
If there is even a possibility that Psalm 102 was prophesying the Shoah and subsequent rebuilding of Zion then that leaves an important question for us. After all, the Psalm does conclude with
The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.
It is essential for the ‘children of your servants’ (the generation after the Holocaust) to understand what it means to ‘live in your presence’ and to ‘be established before you’. After all, Psalm 102 moves to this conclusion. Perhaps the Divine Author inspiring the human Psalmist is calling those on the Post-Holocaust side of history to seek out His Presence. Here is His Promise for those who do:
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)
Perhaps a good place to start is with Abraham."
From the website elishavision.com an article is headlined
"Holocaust Again?" the article says
"NEVER AGAIN!
Here is a simple answer to a critical question. Will Israel and the Jews still suffer another Holocaust? They will not.
The two millenia since Jesus show that they were severely judged nationally for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah. Even though almost all the early believers were Jews, the national political and religious authorities of that day did not believe He was the promised Messiah. Apostle Paul profoundly declared an often misunderstood principle in Romans eleven.
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Romans 11:22-23
History bears this out. For almost 2,000 years the Jews have suffered great persecution under the severity of God. However, as surely as it happened, it came to a certain end after the Holocaust. God turned the page for Israel from severe judgment to favor, blessing and restoration. Psalm 102 is the prophetic Holocaust Psalm. After spending eleven verses in the most graphic picture of the concentration camps of Europe, the Psalm turns abruptly to verses twelve and thirteen:
But You, O Yehovah, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. Psalm 102:12-13
Likewise history abruptly turns after the Holocaust. Within just three years Israel is a nation! And for 68 years against overwhelming odds, Israel has survived. Not only that, but it has prospered in every area of its national life. Israel has one of strongest armies in the world, economic prosperity and wealth (especially with mammoth finds of natural gas and oil), and the return of over six million Jews from nearly every country on earth! The season of Israel’s judgment is over. Read Psalm 102 and Romans 11 for yourself. This is the time of the resurrection of God’s covenant people. We are seeing Israel’s restoration by Yehovah, the promise keeping God! Praise Him.
Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists (READ MORE)
(I have taken the liberty to change the word “LORD” to Yehovah. Every single time you see LORD or GOD in all capital letters in the Old Testament, the actual Hebrew word is Yehovah. This name occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text, yet remains untranslated in most Bibles. His name, obscured for 2,500 years, is now being revealed. It is TIME to restore the name of Yehovah! (for deeper study click here.)"
From the website, voices-magazine.blogspot.com an article is headlined
"Psalm 102 - The Holocaust and the Redemption" on Monday May 2, 2011 the article says
Last night was Yom HaShoa, an evening when we remember those Jews who were lost to us in the Holocaust when hatred for the Jewish people led to the extermination of Six Million of our people – family, friends, children, adults.
My next door neighbor Batya Yaniger and I made a siyum (a celebration of the completion of a Torah book) on Sefer Tehillim (psalms).
Perhaps it was a strange time to make a siyum, but in addition to the Psalms that we discussed last night, we also discussed Psalm 102, which an American journalist David Dolan suggested foretold the Holocaust and the Final Redemption.
My son Mati and I studied the perek (chapter) together to see if that might indeed be true.
Here are some excerpts of Perek 102:
The Singer calls it "Tefilla l'ani" – a prayer of the afflicted man.
"O' L-rd, hear my prayer and let my cry come before You…For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth."
With these words, we remember our brethren who in the face of death still called out with faith and prayer to Hashem, despite the round-the-clock evil annihilation in the Nazi crematoria.
"My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; for I have forgotten to eat my bread." Me'am Lo'ez offers an alternative explanation, "For lack of bread, I have already forgotten how bread is eaten. Because of much affliction, I forget to eat."
We are reminded how the Jews in the ghettos and concentration camps were starved for real food, how they picked through garbage and thanked Hashem for a stale piece of crust or a rotten potato.
"From the sound of my sighing, my bones cleave to my flesh." Who can forget the pictures of our brethren who died or lived as starved-tortured-skeletons?
"My enemies vilify me all day; those who are in a frenzy against me swear (or curse) by me."
the article continues & lastly says
"Me'am Lo'ez says "All day long my enemies would revile and taunt me, until maddened to a frenzy against me." We bitterly recall the taunts of the Nazis against our people, "Schweinehund," (dog). We were dirty Jews, less than human.
David Dolan said that they took the name Jew itself and made it into a curse. Every Jew had to wear a yellow Magen David with the word Jude (Jew) inside. There could be nothing lower or more contemptible in their eyes.
"For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears."
If we cannot understand what this means, Dolan suggested that we should try to remember the movie "Schindler's List". Ashes of cremated bodies wafted from the camp chimneys and then rained on the camp when the winds dragged them down. "Thus," he says, "inmates were sometimes forced to breathe in, and even taste, the sooty remains of their fellow Jews."
These images are so heart-wrenching, but B"H, Psalm 102 then consoles us and gives us hope for the future.
Hashem - "You will arise, and have compassion upon Zion, for it is time to favor her with grace, for the appointed time has come. For Your servants take delight in her stones, and cherish her dust."
We are living in that time. Hashem has brought us back to Zion, He has made miracles for us, He has blessed us in countless ways. And we, His servants, especially those of us who live in Yehuda and Shomron (who once lived in Gaza), and all our supporters take delight in the stones of Eretz Yisrael and cherish its dust. We kiss the ground beneath us – whether rock or earth or sand – and we thank Hashem for the opportunity to fulfill the dreams of those who perished in the Holocaust and all those who came before us, who prayed that one day truly the "L-rd will build up Zion and appear in His glory."
The psalm assures us that we will see this. It will be a time when "the nations are gathered together and the kingdoms, to serve Hashem."
And "the children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their seed with be established before You."
From Amazon.com a good book to read is titled
"Blessing Israel: Compelling Biblical Evidence of Zion's Purpose in God's Heart" by
Les Lawrence , Published in 2015
The Amazon.com Description says
"Compelling Biblical Evidence of Zion's Purpose in God's Heart Do you want to know how God defines Zionism? What is in His heart? Did He favor Israel only to reject all others? Or, did God permanently reject Israel? Did He shift His favor from Israel to the nations, forever? The saga concludes in this generation, with the most exciting climax."
A good Bible Verse that Describes the Evil Wicked Diabolical Demonic Satanic nature of Pathetic Loser Troublemaker Anti-Israel People who are against the Modern State of Israel and support it's Terrorist Enemies is the Bible Verse Isaiah 5:20
Isaiah 5:20 in the Old Testament
New International Version
"20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter." Again the Bible verse Isaiah 5:20 is a good description of the Anti-Israel Losers & Hypocrites
The website military.wikia.org has an article headlined
"Criticism of Holocaust Denial" if you scroll down it says about German Responsibility for the Holocaust , it says
"In addition to the Posen speeches, studies have shown that the mass of ordinary Germans at the time knew about the existence of the death and concentration camps:[32]
“Hitler exterminated the Jews of Europe. But he did not do so alone. The task was so enormous, complex, time-consuming, and mentally and economically demanding that it took the best efforts of millions of Germans… All spheres of life in Germany actively participated: Businessmen, policemen, bankers, doctors, lawyers, soldiers, railroad and factory workers, chemists, pharmacists, foremen, production managers, economists, manufacturers, jewelers, diplomats, civil servants, propagandists, film makers and film stars, professors, teachers, politicians, mayors, party members, construction experts, art dealers, architects, landlords, janitors, truck drivers, clerks, industrialists, scientists, generals, and even shopkeepers—all were essential cogs in the machinery that accomplished the final solution.”[33] - Konnilyn G. Feig "
Anyone can go on the Internet Archive Website, web.archive.org to look up the website
www.holocaust-history.org to see a Snapshot of the website as it appeared on
April 29, 2001 ,
The Snapshot of the website with the Archived Articles says :
"The Holocaust History Project. The Holocaust History Project. Holocaust-denial and Holocaust history are the focus of this free resource.
Q: How long did the Russians take to die?
A: I do not know. I only obeyed orders.
Q: How long did it take to gas the Russians?
A: I returned after two hours and they were all dead.
Q: For what purpose did you go away?
A: That was during lunch hour.
SS-Unterscharführer Wilhelm Bahr *
The Holocaust History Project is a free archive of documents, photographs, recordings, and essays regarding the Holocaust, including direct refutation of Holocaust-denial.
Essays
contributions on various topics from THHP members.
Are the Jews central to the Holocaust? (1500 words) by Gordon McFee.
The Bolshevik Canard (1800 words), by Richard J. Green.
The Dachau Gas Chambers (5000 words, 47 photos), by Harry W. Mazal OBE.
December 12, 1941 (2000 words), by Götz Aly (translation by Gord McFee).
Der ewige Jude ("The Eternal Jew") (30,000 words, 83 images, recording), by Stig Hornshøj-Møller.
The Forensic Sins of Carlos Porter (6000 words), by Yale Edeiken.
The Führer Myth (15,000 words), by Stig Hornshøj-Møller.
In the Nazis' Words (2500 words), collected by Gord McFee.
An Introduction to the Einsatzgruppen (6000 words), by Yale Edeiken.
Irving's War (8000 words), by Yale Edeiken.
Photographs Documenting the Holocaust in Hungary (3000 words, 180 photos), by Dr. László Karsai.
Stroop on Treblinka (1200 words), by Jamie McCarthy.
When Did Hitler Decide On The Final Solution? (2000 words), by Gord McFee.
Where Did David Irving Go Wrong, by Gord McFee.
Why "Revisionism" Isn't (1500 words), by Gord McFee.
Essays on the Auschwitz death camp:
Body Disposal at Auschwitz: The End of Holocaust-Denial (20,000 words), by John Zimmerman.
The related essay My Response to Carlo Mattogno (20,000 words), by John Zimmerman.
The Chemistry of Auschwitz (8000 words), by Richard J. Green.
The related essay Leuchter, Rudolf and the Iron Blues (4000 words), by Richard J. Green.
The related essay Chemistry is Not the Science (18,000 words), by Richard J. Green and Jamie McCarthy.
How Reliable are the Höss Memoirs? (5000 words), by John Zimmerman.
John Ball: Air Photo Expert? (3000 words), by Jamie McCarthy.
A Study of the Cyanide Compounds Content In The Walls Of The Gas Chambers in the Former Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps (4000 words) by Jan Markiewicz, Wojciech Gubala, Jerzy Labedz
with a foreword (1300 words) by Richard J. Green
The "Wolzek" Paradox (2000 words), by Jamie McCarthy.
Zyklon Introduction Columns (2000 words), by Jamie McCarthy and Mark Van Alstine.
And, please see our nine Short Essays: bite-sized discussions of common questions.
Documents
documentary evidence from the past.
Documents on the beginnings of the gassing program:"
The Snapshot continues
"NO-365
October 25, 1941: "Gassing Devices". Letter from Wetzel to Lohse, recommending that the head of the euthanasia program should build "gassing devices" to eliminate the Jews.
March 26, 1942: "Special Vans...or Other Remedies". Letter from Rauff to the Criminal Technical Institute, stating that "special vans" are needed at the Mauthausen concentration camp. Until they arrive, bottled poison gas must be used.
April 11, 1942: "Delousing Van". Letter to Himmler's staff describing how a "delousing van" -
Rauff: 97,000
quote marks in the original - will be used to clear out a camp of Jewish women and children.
June 5, 1942: "97,000 have been processed". Letter to Rauff, describing in detail how the "special vans" in the East have murdered 97,000 people.
Documents on the Auschwitz death camp:
August 21, 1942: "Bathing Installations for Special Action". Describes two ovens installed in Auschwitz gassing bunkers.
August 26, 1942: "Material for Special Treatment". Permission to send a truck to pick up Zyklon-B.
September 1-5, 1942: Diary of Johann Paul Kremer. Dr. Kremer witnessed gassings in Auschwitz and wrote about them in his diary.
Electricity
January 29, 1943: "Cremation with Simultaneous Special Treatment". It was important to conduct gassing and cremation at the same time.
January 29, 1943: "Vergasungskeller". The gas chamber room's purpose is revealed ("gassing cellar").
March 31, 1943: Krema II Inventory. Mentions the devices by which the Zyklon-B was poured into the gas chamber.
Kr3: Inventory
June 24, 1943: Krema III Inventory. Lists the fourteen (fake) showerheads and "one gas-tight door" installed in the gas chamber.
May 24, 1944: "Unconditional Secrecy". An SS man is sworn to secrecy "to carry out the Jewish evacuation."
June/July 1944: "Revealing a State Secret". A woman is executed for having revealed Auschwitz's secrets.
Other Documents:
Cremation at Gusen: A Timesheet. Shows the cremation of 94 corpses in less than 20 hours on November 7, 1941.
Leuchter Consent Agreement. Holocaust Denier Fred Leuchter admits he is not an engineer and nevertheless represented himself as such.
Reproductions
scanned or typed reproductions of works."
& Lastly says
"IMT Volume I (370 pages). The Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Volume I. Covering October 18 to November 13, 1945. The text has been faithfully reproduced page-by-page. Thanks to Patrick Groff and Harry Mazal.
IMT Volume II (500 pages). Covering November 14 to November 30, 1945. Thanks to Patrick Groff and Harry Mazal.
IMT Volume III (600 pages). Covering December 1 to December 14, 1945. Thanks to Patrick Groff and Harry Mazal.
IMT Volume IV (570 pages). Covering December 17, 1945 to January 8, 1946. Thanks to Patrick Groff and Harry Mazal.
Stroop Report
The Stroop Report (125 pages), Major General Jürgen Stroop, 1943. The thorough Nazi record proudly documenting the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto. See also Stroop on Treblinka. Thanks to Jürgen Langowski. See introduction for notes on the English translation.
Blausäure zur Schädlingsbekämpfung (70 pages), Gerhard Peters, 1933. "Prussic Acid in Pest Control." An important work for understanding the characteristics of Zyklon-B. Text transcription and translation are not yet available. Thanks to Daniel Keren.
Die Einsatzfähigkeit der Blausäure-Durchgasung bei tiefen Temperaturen (5 pages), Gerhard Peters and W. Rasch, 1941. "The Efficiency of Prussic Acid Fumigation at Low Temperatures." Addresses behavior of Zyklon-B at low temperatures.
Nochmals: Die Einsatzfähigkeit der Blausäure-Durchgasung bei tiefen Temperaturen (3 pages), R. Irmscher, 1942. "Once More: The Efficiency of Prussic Acid Fumigation at Low Temperatures." Further German research addressing the behavior of Zyklon-B at low temperatures.
Also of Interest
CODOH (the so-called committee for open discussion of the Holocaust story) is one of the major disseminators of denial in the US. We now have a webpage devoted to addressing the challenge that they pose.
We have a letter from Joel Hayward regarding his change of views with respect to his Master's thesis.
Our questions@holocaust-history.org email service offers answers to all serious questions on the subject of the Holocaust, its history, or its denial. Please see our instructions, and answers to previous questions.
We have a page on the team who puts this site together.
Our search engine indexes the entire site.
We offer a pamphlet for those seeking a printed concise introduction to Holocaust-denier David Irving and his lies, entitled Who is David Irving?
(Over a year ago, David Irving called this pamphlet "lies" and "fiction." Although he constructed a special webpage to reprint it, and has corresponded with us several times, he has been unable to name even one error. In July 1998, he said he would respond - and after a long silence, in January 1999 decided not.)
You are cordially invited to sign our guest book.
We maintain a selected list of links to other sites."
From the website Camera.org an article is headlined
"Norman Finkelstein's Fraudulent Scholarship" on October 10, 2005
CAMERA - Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis the article says
"Campus anti-Israel activists copy many of their arguments from two main sources – MIT professor Noam Chomsky, and his acolyte Norman Finkelstein, a DePaul University political science professor who never misses an opportunity to inform readers that his parents were Holocaust survivors. For example, following the Palestine Solidarity Movement’s conference in October 2004 at Duke University, the student paper published a column that included anti-Semitic slurs such as “Jews must own up to their privilege in America, and use it more wisely” and ” the Holocaust Industry’ uses its influence to stifle … the Israeli-Palestinian debate.” The student supported these canards by citing Finkelstein’s book The Holocaust Industry.
Anti-Zionists and anti-Semites often reference Finkelstein’s books despite the fact that they are marred by factual inaccuracies, omissions and selective mention of fact. Much of his work is seemingly shaped by his antagonism toward the Jewish establishment and his avowed anti-Zionism. Thus, he routinely accuses pro-Israel writers of being “frauds” and “plagiarists,” and labels their work “hoaxes.”
In his controversial book The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein argues that “Jewish elites” have created an “industry” to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust as a ploy to extort money and to gain influence, as well a tactic “to crush any dissent, any criticism, of the State of Israel.” The New York Times’ review of the book described its premise as a “novel variation” of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fraudulent essay concocted in the late nineteenth century by the Czarist secret police which purports to uncover a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. Accordingly, the Times’ reviewer described Finkelstein as “juvenile,” “arrogant,” and “stupid” (Aug. 6, 2000).
In Finkelstein’s portrayal no one “unerringly articulates” the Holocaust “dogma” more than Nobel Laureate and human rights activist Elie Wiesel, who is himself a Holocaust survivor. Finkelstein mockingly describes Wiesel as the “resident clown,” and charges he is responsible for creating a “meaningless version of the Nazi Holocaust” and for only exposing “genocides that serve the interest of the US and Israel” (Salon.com, Aug. 30, 2000). While Wiesel’s work on behalf of those suffering around the world is generally well-respected, Finkelstein denounces his lack of “humanitarian commitments,” and his “shameful record of apologetics on behalf of Israel.” A more mainstream view was expressed by Ted Koppel of ABC’s Nightline, who called Wiesel “one of the most compassionate human beings alive.” Koppel specifically praises Wiesel for showing as much compassion for other people as he does the Jews (April18, 2002).
Other Jewish leaders are similarly slandered by Finkelstein. For example, he calls Abraham Foxman, who heads the Anti-Defamation League, “the Grand Wizard,” a term typically reserved for a leader in the racist Ku Klux Klan.
Finkelstein on Israel
Finkelstein tries to convince readers that the “Holocaust Industry” exists as an ideological weapon to gain unqualified support for Israel against the Palestinians. He unconvincingly argues that both the Holocaust and Israel became important to American Jews only in 1967 because:
Israel now becomes the United States’ strategic asset in the Middle East. It’s safe to be pro-Israel. And suddenly American Jewry, Jewish intellectuals and so forth, become fanatical towards the State of Israel. It’s one of the enduring ironies of the whole conflict. That of all the Jewish intellectuals who are now fanatical stalwarts of the State of Israel, until 1967 there were only two public Jewish intellectuals who are publicly identified as supporting Israel. There are only two. And they were Hannah Arendt … the second one was Noam Chomsky."
the article continues
"Finkelstein’s assertions are simply bizarre. In fact, many Jewish intellectuals supported the Jewish state before 1967.
Thus, Albert Einstein, perhaps the preeminent intellectual of the 20th century, co-wrote an article in the 1944 Princeton Herald strongly supporting a Jewish state:
In speaking up for a Jewish Palestine, we want to promote the establishment of a place of refuge where persecuted human beings may find security and peace and the undisputed right to live under a law and order of their making. The experiences of many centuries have taught us that this can be provided only by home rule and not by a foreign administration. This is why we stand for a Jewish-controlled Palestine, be it ever so modest and small. (Jews Among the Nations, pg. 137)
Several American-Jewish intellectuals were deeply involved in the Zionist movement even before the Holocaust. In 1915, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis wrote about the importance of a Jewish state for the Jewish people:
The glorious past [of the Jews] can really live only if it becomes part of a glorious future; and to this end the Jewish home in Palestine is essential. We Jews of prosperous America above all need its inspiration. (Menorah Journal, January 1915)
Even before Brandeis became chairman of the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs, he proclaimed in a 1913 speech that "we should aid in the efforts of the Jews in Palestine. We should all support the Zionist movement." In many of his speeches in that period he stated "to be good Americans we must be better Jews and to better Jews we must become Zionists."
Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter also actively promoted the establishment of a Jewish homeland. In an article for the April 1931 Foreign Affairs magazine, he wrote that he supports a Jewish state:
not only as a Jew. But as one who believes in the wisdom of the policy embodied in the Palestine Mandate for the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine.
Finkelstein in particular singled out Norman Podhoretz, the former editor-in-chief of Commentary, as a Jewish intellectual who did not support Israel before 1967:
What is very striking is everyone says, everyone says Israel played no role in my life up until '67. . . . Take the editor of Commentary Norman Podhoretz. . . . He writes a famous memoir called Making It. I reread Making It. Israel gets exactly four words in the whole book, it's nothing."
& continues
"Finkelstein is once again sloppy in his research. A full 10 years before the Six Day War, Podhoretz wrote a well-known article for the Zionist magazine Midstream about the importance of American Jews making the case for Israel. He wrote:
Failing active restraint by America, the Arabs will continue to provoke, and Israel, under the inalienable right of self-preservation, will be forced to move. It is in the interest of the United States to insure that justice is to be done to Israel, and American Jews, who should be alerted by their interest as Jews to the special danger of the situation in the Middle East. . . are the ones to make that point clear to their fellow Americans.
Support for Zionism by such luminaries as Brandeis, Franfurter, Einstein, and Podhoretz, all apparently missed by Finkelstein, exposes his shoddy research and proves just how unreliable he is when it comes to Zionism and its history.
Flawed Book
Just as inaccurate as the Holocaust Industry is Finkelstein's book Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict. Dedicated to the proposition that Israel and Zionism are illegitimate, the book relies largely on anti-Israeli secondary sources and virtually ignores contrary evidence.
For example, Finkelstein's chapter "Born of War, Not by Design," about the 1948 Palestinian refugees, relies almost exclusively on Benny Morris's book The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, which has been seriously challenged by mainstream historians for selectively using Israeli archival material. Finkelstein relies on information found in The Birth, but often distorts already questionable material. For example, Morris claims in one of his endnotes that Ben-Gurion said:
[a return] is out of the question until we sit together beside a [peace conference] table...and they will respect us to the degree that we respect them and I doubt whether they deserve respect as we do. Because, nonetheless, we did not flee en masse. [And] so far no Arab Einstein has arisen and [they] have not created what we have built in this country and [they] have not fought as we are fighting...We are dealing with a collective murderer.
Rather than checking the original source, Finkelstein distorts the secondary source. In order to demonstrate Ben-Gurion's "extreme" "racis[ism]," he shortens Morris's citation to read, "Arabs were not entitled to the same respect accorded to Jews because 'so far no Arab Einstein has arisen...We are dealing with a collective murderer.' "
& continues
"Rather than checking the original source, Finkelstein distorts the secondary source. In order to demonstrate Ben-Gurion's "extreme" "racis[ism]," he shortens Morris's citation to read, "Arabs were not entitled to the same respect accorded to Jews because 'so far no Arab Einstein has arisen...We are dealing with a collective murderer.' "
Benny Morris himself has long been critical of Finkelstein's scholarly research as it relates to his [Morris's] work. He criticizes Finkelstein for "selectively quot[ing]" from his book and for not knowing "anything ...beyond what is found" in his books. His sources, according to Morris, are "dubious," and he adds that Finkelstein fails to marshal "sources or materials from elsewhere that could serve to contradict my findings" (Journal of Palestine Studies, Autumn 1991). According to Morris, "for Finkelstein the only good Israeli is an evil Israeli."
Finkelstein routinely compares Israelis with Nazis and told the Jeruslem Report that he "can't imagine why Israel's apologists would be offended by the comparison" (Aug 28, 2000).
While Finkelstein expresses nothing but contempt for Israel, he lavishes praise on the terrorist group Hezbollah. In a letter posted on his Web site he states, "I did make a point of publicly honoring the heroic resistance of Hezbollah to foreign occupation ...Their historic contributions are...undeniable." He appeared on the official Hezbollah television network al-Manar, because, he said, "If I'm willing to appear on CNN – the main propaganda organ for America's terrorist wars–why shouldn't I appear on al-Manar?"
Al Manar's expressed mission is to wage "psychological warfare against the Zionist enemy." Al Manar producers boast of creating programming to recruit Palestinian suicide bombers. In addition, Ibrahim Mussawi, director of English-language news for al Manar, in an interview with the New Yorker's Jeffrey Goldberg, labeled Jews "a lesion on the forehead of history." Al Manar TV was banned by European Union satellites for airing racist programming such as the series "The Diaspora" based on The Protocols."
& lastly says "Attacks on Pro-Israel Writers
Finkelstein routinely calls those he disagrees with "frauds" labeling their work "hoaxes." Alan Dershowitz, a renowned Harvard lawyer and author of the best selling book The Case for Israel, is his latest target. Finkelstein claims Dershowitz's book is "sheer, unadulterated, complete, total, comprehensive, from beginning to end, from the first uppercase letter to the last period, a complete fraud" (March 8, 2005, lecture at the University of Illinois Law School). He accuses Dershowitz of plagiarism and has said that Dershowitz "almost certainly didn't write the book and perhaps didn't even read it prior to publication." The allegations were investigated and rejected by former Harvard President Derek Bok. In an upcoming book on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Finkelstein was going to accuse Dershowitz of plagiarism, but, under threat of lawsuit, he was forced to omit the allegation from his book.
In March, CAMERA asked Dershowitz why he thought professors are reluctant to publicly defend Israel. He said they fear:
Finkelstein going all over campuses of the world making up stories about them. The whole Finkelstein-Noam Chomsky-Alex Cockburn attack team has succeeded in intimidating many young professors around the country and around the world. Because if you write a pro-Israel article or book, they will call you a plagiarist...They will make up quotes about you...The hit team claims that they already prevented and destroyed the reputations of two pro-Israel writers.
It's hardly surprising that Finkelstein's fabrications and attack strategy intimidate. All the more reason that the facts about his reckless charges be widely disseminated. Finally, the grossly flawed writings of the DePaul "professor" point to yet another example of the failure of the academic world to uphold genuine standards of scholarship–such as accuracy, truthfulness and rigorous sourcing."
From the Wikipedia article/entry for "Self-Hatred" it says
"Self-hatred"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ant culture against a subculture by members belonging to that subculture.[citation needed][clarification needed]
The term is infrequently used to mean a more personal self-loathing or hatred of oneself, or low self-esteem[1] which may lead to self-harm.
Contents
1 In psychology and psychiatry
2 In social groups
2.1 Catholics
2.2 Jews
2.3 African-Americans
3 Related concepts
3.1 Self-deprecation
3.2 Self-harm
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
In psychology and psychiatry[edit]
The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe people who hate themselves as "people with low self-esteem".[1] Self-hatred, self-guilt and shame are important factors in some or many mental disorders, especially disorders that involve a perceived defect of oneself (e.g. body dysmorphic disorder). Self-hatred is also a symptom of many personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder,[2] as well as mood disorders like depression. It can also be linked to guilt for someone's own actions that they view as wrongful, e.g., survivor guilt.[citation needed]
Some sociology theorists such as Jerry Mander see television programming as being deliberately designed to induce self-hatred, negative body image, and depression, with advertising then being used to suggest the cure.[3] See also the arguments related to the Kill your television phenomenon.[clarification needed]
In social groups[edit]
Self-hatred by members of ethnic groups, gender groups, and religions is postulated to be a result of internalization of hatred of those groups from dominant cultures.
Catholics[edit]
Self-hating or "anti-Catholic Catholics" are terms of critique by traditionalist or conservative Catholics to describe modernist or liberal Catholics, especially those who seek to reform doctrine, make secularist critiques of the Catholic Church, or place secular principles above Church teachings.[4][5][6]
Jews[edit]
Main article: Self-hating Jew
Theodor Lessing, in his book, Jewish Self-Hatred (1930), identified this as a pathology, “a manifestation of an over identification with the dominant culture and internalization of its prejudices.” There have been studies from sources stated in the scholarly research, “mental illness in Jews often derived from feelings of inferiority and self-hatred resulting from persecution and their subordinate position in society.”[citation needed]
The term has been used to label American Jews accused of hiding their identity “by converting or intermarrying and raising their children in another faith” to overcome sociopolitical barriers due to antisemitism in the United States.[7]"
the Wikipedia article/entry continues
African-Americans[edit]
Racial stereotyping of African-Americans and negative American media portrayals of Black men and women have spread outside of the U.S., influencing people of all races worldwide, and increasing self-hatred.[8][9][10]
Related concepts[edit]
Self-deprecation[edit]
Main article: self-deprecation
Self-deprecation is the act of belittling, undervaluing, or disparaging oneself,[11] or being excessively modest.[12][13] It can be used in humor and tension release.[14]
Self-harm[edit]
Main article: Self-harm
Self-harm is a condition where subjects may feel compelled to physically injure themselves as an outlet for depression, anxiety, or anger, and is related with numerous psychological disorders.[15][16][17]
In some cases, self-harm can lead to accidental death or suicide. It is not a definitive indicator, however, of a desire either to commit suicide or even of its consideration.[18]
See also: Mortification of the flesh, Self-flagellation
See also[edit]
Anti-Japaneseism, a movement in Japan composed of ethnic Japanese who seek the downfall of Japan
Internalized oppression
Sadomasochism
White guilt
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "I Hate Myself", by PsychAlive
^ "Borderline Personality Disorder - Symptoms". WebMD. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
^ Kaufman, Ron. "Review of Jerry Mander's Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television". TurnOffYourTV.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
^ Weigel, George (21 June 2011). "Maureen Dowd's Catholic Problem". National Review Online. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
^ Arkes, Hadley (1 November 1996). "Life Watch: Anti-Catholic Catholics". Crisis Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
^ Lawler, Phil (13 July 2011). "Anti-Catholic Catholics". Catholic Culture. Trinity Communications. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
^ Alperin, Richard M. (September 2016). "Jewish Self-Hatred: The Internalization of Prejudice". Clinical Social Work Journal. 44 (3): 221–230. doi:10.1007/s10615-016-0577-2. S2CID 147008248.
^ Charles, Christopher A. D. (July 2003). "Skin Bleaching, Self-Hate, and Black Identity in Jamaica". Journal of Black Studies. 33 (6): 711–728. doi:10.1177/0021934703033006001. S2CID 143716772.
^ Hall, Ronald E. (December 2014). "Self-Hate as Life Threat Pathology Among Black Americans: Black Pride Antidote Vis-à-Vis Leukocyte Telomere Length (LTL)". Journal of African American Studies. 18 (4): 398–408. doi:10.1007/s12111-014-9277-6."
Many Jewish & part-Jewish Individuals in America & Worldwide suffer from Self-Hatred, and Hate being asked if they are Jewish, and hate being told they "look Jewish" Do the Brain Dead Jew-Haters & Anti-Semites realize that many Jews & part-Jewish Individuals don't like being Jewish either
From Wikipedia an article about Jewish Self-Hatred is Headlined
"Self-hating Jew"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the article says:
Cover of one edition of Theodor Lessing's 1930 book Der jüdische Selbsthass
Self-hating Jew or self-loathing Jew, both associated with auto-antisemitism, is a term applied to Jews perceived to hold antisemitic views.[1] Similar accusations of discomfort with ones own Jewishness were already being made by some[according to whom?] Jews against other Jews, before Zionism existed as a movement. The concept gained widespread currency after Theodor Lessing's 1930 book Der jüdische Selbsthaß (Jewish Self-hatred), which sought to explain a perceived inclination among Jewish intellectuals, toward inciting antisemitism, by stating their views about Judaism. The term is said to have become "something of a key term of opprobrium in and beyond Cold War-era debates about Zionism".[2]
Contents
1 Descriptions of the concept
2 History
2.1 In German
2.2 In English
3 Social and psychological explanations
4 Usage
5 Controversy and criticism of the term
6 Similar terms
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Descriptions of the concept[edit]
The expression "self-hating Jew" is often used rhetorically, to disparage Jews who differ in their lifestyles, interests or political positions from the speakers and/ or writers.[3]"
the article continues
"W. M. L. Finlay, a member of the Psychology Department at University of Surrey, distinguishes between "Jewish antisemitism" and "Jewish self-hatred", arguing that while the literature is full of examples of Jews who espoused antisemitism, with statements dangerous and damning to all Jews, "whether this amounts to self-hatred is not easy to assess."
Usage of self-hatred can also designate dislike, or hatred, of a group to which one belongs. The term has a long history in debates over the role of Israel in Jewish identity, where it is used against Jewish critics of Israeli government policy.[3]
Alvin H. Rosenfeld, an academic author who does not use the term "self-hatred", dismisses such arguments as disingenuous, referring to them as "the ubiquitous rubric 'criticism of Israel,'" stating that "vigorous discussion of Israeli policy and actions is not in question."[4]
Alan Dershowitz limits the term "self-hatred" to extreme[vague] Jewish anti-Zionists who "despise anything Jewish, ranging from their religion to the Jewish state", saying it does not apply to all "Israel-bashers."[5]
The academic historian Jerald Auerbach uses the term Jewish self-loathing to characterize "Jews who perversely seek to bolster their Jewish credentials by defaming Israel."[6]
The cultural historian Sander Gilman has written, "One of the most recent forms of Jewish self-hatred is the virulent opposition to the existence of the State of Israel."[1] He uses the term not against those who oppose Israel's policy, but against Jews who are opposed to Israel's existence.
The concept of Jewish self-hatred has been described by Antony Lerman as "an entirely bogus concept",[7] one that "serves no other purpose than to marginalise and demonise political opponents",[8] who says that it is used increasingly as a personal attack in discussions about the "new antisemitism".[8]
Ben Cohen criticizes Lerman, saying no "actual evidence is introduced to support any of this."[9] Lerman himself recognizes the controversy over whether extreme vilification of Israel amounts to antisemitism, and says that antisemitism can be disguised as anti-Zionism,[7][10] also a concern of Rosenfeld and Gilman as mentioned above.
The sociologist Irving Louis Horowitz reserves the term for Jews who pose a danger to the Jewish community, using "Jewish self-hater" to describe the so-called "court Jew", "who validates the slander (against Jews) as he attempts to curry the favor of masters and rulers."[11]
The historian Bernard Wasserstein prefers the term "Jewish anti-Semitism," which he says was often termed "Jewish self-hatred".[12] He asks, "Could a Jew be an anti-Semite?", and responds that many Jews have "internalized elements of anti-Semitic discourse, succumbed to what Theodore Hamerow has called psychological surrender."[vague] Wasserstein goes on to say that self-hating Jews, "afflicted by some form of anti-Semitism[,] were not so much haters of themselves as haters of 'other' Jews."
Jewish self-hatred has also been described[by whom?] as a neurotic reaction to the impact of antisemitism by Jews accepting, expressing, and even exaggerating, the basic assumptions of the antisemite.[13]"
& continues
"History[edit]
In German[edit]
The origins of terms such as "Jewish self-hatred" lie in the mid-19th century feuding between German Orthodox Jews of the Breslau seminary and Reform Jews.[8] Each side accused the other of betraying Jewish identity,[2] the Orthodox Jews accusing the Reform Jews of identifying more closely with German Protestantism and German nationalism than with Judaism.[8]
According to Amos Elon, during 19th-century German-Jewish assimilation, conflicting pressures on sensitive and privileged or gifted young Jews produced "a reaction later known as 'Jewish self-hatred.' Its roots were not simply professional or political but emotional."[14] Elon uses the term "Jewish self-hatred" synonymously with Jewish antisemitism when he points out, "One of the most prominent Austrian anti-Semites was Otto Weininger a brilliant young Jew" who "published 'Sex and Character', attacking Jews and women." Elon attributes Jewish antisemitism as a cause in the overall growth of antisemitism when he says,"(Weininger's) book inspired the typical Viennese adage that anti-Semitism did not really get serious until it was taken up by Jews."
According to John P. Jackson Jr., the concept developed in the late 19th century in German Jewish discourse as "a response of German Jews to popular anti-Semitism that primarily was directed at Eastern European Jews." For German Jews, the Eastern European Jew became the "bad Jew".[15] According to Sander Gilman, the concept of the "self-hating Jew" developed from a merger of the image of the "mad Jew" and the "self-critical Jew",[2] and was developed to counter suggestions that an alleged Jewish stereotype of mental illness was due to inbreeding. "Within the logic of the concept, those who accuse others of being self-hating Jews may themselves be self-hating Jews."[16] Gilman says "the ubiquitousness of self-hatred cannot be denied. And it has shaped the self-awareness of those treated as different perhaps more than they themselves have been aware."[1]:1
The specific terms "self-hating Jew" and "Jewish self-hatred" only came into use later, developing from Theodor Herzl's polemical use of the term "anti-Semite of Jewish origin", in the context of his project of political Zionism.[2] The underlying concept gained common currency in this context, "since Zionism was an important part of the vigorous debates that were occurring amongst Jews at the time about anti-Semitism, assimilation and Jewish identity."[3] Herzl appears to have introduced the phrase "anti-Semite of Jewish origin" in his 1896 book, Der Judenstaat (The Jews' State), which launched political Zionism.[2]"
& continues
"He was referring to "philanthropic Zionists", assimilated Jews who might wish to remain in their home countries while at the same time encouraging the Jewish proletariat (particularly the poorer Eastern Jews) to emigrate; yet did not support Herzl's political project for a Jewish state.[2] Ironically, Herzl was soon complaining that his "polemical term"[2] was often being applied to him, for example by Karl Kraus.[2] "Assimilationists and anti-Zionists accused Zionists of being self-haters, for promoting the idea of the strong Jew using rhetoric close to that of the Anti-Semites; Zionists accused their opponents of being self-haters, for promoting the image of the Jew that would perpetuate his inferior position in the modern world."[8]
The Austrian-Jewish journalist Anton Kuh argued in a 1921 book Juden und Deutsche (Jews and Germans) that the concept of "Jewish anti-semitism" was unhelpful, and should be replaced with the term "Jewish self-hatred", but it was not until the 1930 publication of the German-Jewish anti-Nazi philosopher Theodor Lessing's book Der Jüdische Selbsthass (Jewish Self-hatred) that the term gained widespread currency.[2] Lessing's book "supposedly charts Lessing’s journey from Jewish self-hater to Zionist."[8] In it he analyses the writings of Jews such as Otto Weininger and Arthur Trebitsch who expressed hatred for their own Judaism. Lessing was assassinated by Nazi agents shortly after Hitler came to power."
& continues
"In English[edit]
In English the first major discussion of the topic was in the 1940s by Kurt Lewin, who was Lessing's colleague at the University of Berlin in 1930.[2] Lewin emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1933, and though focused on Jews also argued for a similar phenomenon among Polish, Italian and Greek immigrants to the USA.[3] Lewin's was a theoretical account, declaring that the issue "is well known among Jews themselves" and supporting his argument with anecdotes.[3] According to Lewin, a self-hating Jew "will dislike everything specifically Jewish, for he will see in it that which keeps him away from the majority for which he is longing. He will show dislike for those Jews who are outspokenly so, and will frequently indulge in self-hatred."[17] Following Lewin's lead, the concept gained widespread currency. "The 1940s and 1950s were ‘the age of self-hatred’. In effect, a bitter war broke out over questions of Jewish identity. It was a kind of ‘Jewish Cold War’..."[8] in which questions of Jewish identity were contentiously debated. The use of the concept in debates over Jewish identity – for example over resistance to the integration of African Americans into Jewish neighbourhoods – died down by the end of the 1970s, having been "steadily emptied of most of its earlier psychological, social, and theoretical content and became largely a slogan."[18]
The term was used in a derogatory way during the 1940s by "'militant' Zionists",[18] but the 1963 publication of Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem opened a new chapter. Her criticism of the trial as a "show trial" provoked heated public debate, including accusations of self-hatred, and over-shadowed her earlier work criticising German Jewish parvenu assimilationism.[18] In the following years, after the 1967 Six-Day War and 1973 Yom Kippur War, "willingness to give moral and financial 'support' to Israel constituted what one historian called ‘the existential definition of American Jewishness’."[18] "This meant that the opposite was also true: criticism of Israel came to constitute the existential definition of ‘Jewish self-hatred’."[8] This is dismissed by Rosenfeld saying it "masquerades as victimization" and "can hardly be expected to be taken seriously" since criticism of Israel "proceeds across all the media in this country and within Israel itself."[4]
Even Commentary, the Jewish journal which had once been "considered the venue of self-hating Jews with questionable commitments to the Zionist project",[18] came under the editorship of Norman Podhoretz to staunchly support Israel.[18] In his 2006 essay "Progressive Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism", Alvin H. Rosenfeld takes "a hard look at Jewish authors" whose statements go well beyond "legitimate criticism of Israel," and considers rhetoric that calls into question Israel's "right to continued existence" to be antisemitic. The use of the concept of self-hatred in Jewish debates about Israel has grown more frequent and more intense in the US and the UK, with the issue particularly widely debated in 2007, leading to the creation of the British Independent Jewish Voices.[8] The Forward reported that the group was formed by "about 130 generally leftist Jews."[19] It was the Rosenfeld essay, which did not use the term Jewish self-hatred, that led to the 2007 debate. Critics claimed the charge of antisemitism implied Jewish self-hatred to those criticizing Israel. Rosenfeld responded that such claims were "disingenuous" and for some a "dialectical scam validating themselves as intellectual martyrs."[4] The New York Times reported that the essay spotlighted the issue of when "legitimate criticism of Israel ends and antisemitic statements begin."[20]
& continues
"Social and psychological explanations[edit]
The issue has periodically been covered in the academic social psychology literature on social identity. Such studies "frequently cite Lewin as evidence that people may attempt to distance themselves from membership in devalued groups because they accept, to some degree, the negative evaluations of their group held by the majority and because these social identities are an obstacle to the pursuit of social status."[3] Modern social psychology literature uses terms such as "self-stigmatization", "internalized oppression", and "false consciousness" to describe this type of phenomenon. Phyllis Chesler, the professor of psychology and women's studies, in referring to female Jewish self-hatred, points to progressive Jewish women who "seem obsessed with the Palestinian point of view." She believes their rage against oppression, frustration and patriarchy "is being unconsciously transferred onto Israel."[21]
Kenneth Levin, a Harvard psychiatrist, says that Jewish self-hatred has two causes: Stockholm syndrome, where "population segments under chronic siege commonly embrace the indictments of their besiegers however bigoted and outrageous", as well as "the psychodynamics of abused children, who almost invariably blame themselves for their predicament, ascribe it to their being "bad," and nurture fantasies that by becoming "good" they can mollify their abusers and end their torment."[22] According to Howard W. Polsky, the social scientist, "feelings about Jewish marginality are often a step away from self-hatred." He then says, "Jewish self-hatred denotes that a person has adopted gentiles' definition of Jew as bad in one way or another and that being Jewish will hinder their success or identity."[23]
& continues
"Usage[edit]
It is argued by some academics that the concept of Jewish self-hatred is based on an essentialisation of Jewish identity. Accounts of Jewish self-hatred often suggest that criticizing other Jews, and integrating with Gentile society, reveals hatred of one's own Jewish origins.[3] Yet both in the early twentieth century, where the concept developed, and today, there are groups of Jews who had "important differences in identity based on class, culture, religious outlook, and education", and hostility between these groups can only be considered self-hate "if one assumes that a superordinate Jewish identity should take precedence over other groupings of Jews."[3]
Yet such hostility between groups has at times drawn on some of the rhetoric of antisemitism: "criticism of subgroups of Jews which drew on anti-Semitic rhetoric were common in 19th and 20th century arguments over Jewish identity".[3] In practice, according to one academic, whilst there have been Jewish writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who consistently employed virulent antisemitic rhetoric without seeming to value any aspects of being a Jew, too often "those who accuse others of being self-haters search for examples of when they have criticized Jews or Judaism but ignore examples of when those they criticize have shown they value being a Jew."[3] He argues that Jewish antisemitism does not necessarily amount to self-hatred, implying that "antisemitic Jew" may be a more accurate term to use. Other authors have also shown a preference for using "antisemitism" rather than "self-hatred."[4][12]
The term is in use in Jewish publications such as The Jewish Week (New York) and The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem) in a number of contexts, often synonymously with antisemitic Jew. It is used "to criticize a performer or artist who portrays Jews negatively; as a shorthand description of supposed psychological conflict in fictional characters; in articles about the erosion of tradition (e.g. marrying out and circumcision); and to discount Jews who criticize Israeli policies or particular Jewish practices."[3] However the widest usage of the term is currently in relation to debates over Israel. "In these debates the accusation is used by right-wing Zionists to assert that Zionism and/or support for Israel is a core element of Jewish identity. Jewish criticism of Israeli policy is therefore considered a turning away from Jewish identity itself."[3]
Thus some of those who have been accused of being a "self-hating Jew" have characterized the term as a replacement for "a charge of anti-Semitism [that] will not stick,"[24] or as "pathologizing" them.[3][25] Some who use the term have equated it with "anti-Semitism",[26][27] on the part of those thus addressed, or with "so called ‘enlightened’ Jews who refuse to associate themselves with people who practice a ‘backward’ religion."[28] One novelist, Philip Roth, who — because of the nature of the Jewish characters in his novels, such as the 1969 Portnoy's Complaint[18] — has often been accused of being a "self-hating Jew", argues that all novels deal with human dilemmas and weaknesses (which are present in all communities), and that to self-censor by only writing about positive Jewish characters would represent a submission to antisemitism.[3]
& continues
"Controversy and criticism of the term[edit]
The legitimacy of the term (in modern usage) remains controversial. According to the transdenominational Jewish platform My Jewish Learning: "Some scholars have claimed that by labeling another Jew self-hating, the accuser is claiming his or her own Judaism as normative–and implying that the Judaism of the accused is flawed or incorrect, based on a metric of the accuser’s own stances, religious beliefs, or political opinions. By arguing with the label, then, the accused is rejecting what has been defined as normative Judaism. The term “self-hating” thus places the person or object labeled outside the boundaries of the discourse–and outside the boundaries of the community."[29] Haaretz writes that the term is almost exclusively used today by the Jewish right against the Jewish left, and that within left-wing and liberal circles, is "usually considered a joke".[30] Richard Forer, writing for The Huffington Post, rejects the legitimacy of the term as it is commonly used, calling them so divisive that they make tolerance and cooperation impossible, eradicating the possibility for genuine understanding. Forer writes: "The notion that any Jew who is dedicated to justice for all people harbors self-hatred defies common sense. Given the self-esteem it takes to stand for justice amidst fierce denunciation, a more accurate assessment is that these are self-loving Jews."[31]
Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, was repeatedly called a "self-hating Jew" by people whom he described as "fascistic".[32] Considering the term to be like equating someone with the Jews who turned their backs on each other during the Holocaust, he said, "I have people that I lost in the Holocaust and I just … go fuck yourself. How dare you?" Stewart commented that the way his critics used the term—to define who is a Jew and who is not—was formerly always done by people who weren't Jewish. He saw this as "more than nationalism". Stewart also criticized right-wing Jews for implying that they are the only ones who can decide what it means to be Jewish: "And you can't observe [Judaism] in the way you want to observe. And I never thought that that would be coming from brethren. ... How dare they? That they only know the word of God and are the ones who are able to disseminate it. It's not right."[33] To The Hollywood Reporter, he said, "Look, there's a lot of reasons why I hate myself—being Jewish isn't one of them."[34]
In 2014, Noam Chomsky said that Zionists divided critics of Israeli policy into two groups: antisemitic non-Jews and neurotic self-hating Jews, stating:
Actually, the locus classicus, the best formulation of this, was by an ambassador to the United Nations, Abba Eban, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.... He advised the American Jewish community that they had two tasks to perform. One task was to show that criticism of the policy, what he called anti-Zionism—that means actually criticisms of the policy of the state of Israel—were anti-Semitism. That's the first task. Second task, if the criticism was made by Jews, their task was to show that it's neurotic self-hatred, needs psychiatric treatment. Then he gave two examples of the latter category. One was I. F. Stone. The other was me. So, we have to be treated for our psychiatric disorders, and non-Jews have to be condemned for anti-Semitism, if they're critical of the state of Israel. That's understandable why Israeli propaganda would take this position. I don’t particularly blame Abba Eban for doing what ambassadors are sometimes supposed to do. But we ought to understand that there is no sensible charge. No sensible charge. There's nothing to respond to. It's not a form of anti-Semitism. It's simply criticism of the criminal actions of a state, period.[35]
& lastly says
"Bernie Sanders, one of the Democratic candidates running for US Presidential elections in 2016, was accused by comedian Jackie Mason of being a "self-hating Jew".[36][37] His brother, Larry Sanders, told the Times of Israel that this was because his brother disagreed with Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign policy. "Bernard is not a self-hating Jew. There was never a moment in our life when we had any reason to be self-hating. The fact that he does not agree with Netanyahu on politics does not make him a self-hating Jew."[38] In March 2016, after a reporter asked him if he was "intentionally keeping his Judaism in the background", Sanders stated that he is "very proud to be Jewish, and being Jewish is so much of what I am. Look, my father's family was wiped out by Hitler in the Holocaust. I know about what crazy and radical, and extremist politics mean."[39] Max Berger wrote in Haaretz, "While some in the Jewish American establishment strive to marginalize Bernie and his movement by suggesting we’re self-hating Jews who don’t care about Israel, it just goes to show how badly out of touch they are with the future of our community, and the values of our tradition."[40] A related dispute revolved around his Jewish advisor, Simone Zimmerman, who was similarly accused of being a self-hating Jew. In These Times strongly criticized this accusation, describing it as "slandering".[41]
Similar terms[edit]
"Self-loathing Jew" is used synonymously with "self-hating Jew." "Antisemitic Jew" can be used synonymously as well. "Self-hating Jew" has also been compared to the term "Uncle Tom" which is used in the African-American community.[42][43] The term "auto-antisemitism" (Hebrew: אוטואנטישמיות, autoantishemiut) is also synonymously used in Hebrew.[44][45][46] In a column in Haaretz, Uzi Zilber used the term "Jew Flu" as a synonym for Jewish self-hatred.[47]"
From www.barnesandnoble.com a good book to read is titled, The Newest NOOK Tablet is Coming. Great Reads and endless
" Industry of Lies: Media, Academia, and the Israeli-Arab Conflict" Published in 2017
by Ben-Dror Yemini
The Overview says
"The Industry of Lies is one of the greatest frauds of recent decades - a fraud of historic, even epic, proportions. When almost half of all Europeans believe that Israel treats the Palestinians just like the Nazis treated the Jews, when leading politicians assert that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the central cause of violence in the world, and when prominent intellectuals argue that Israel is an apartheid state, the unfortunate reality is that the lies are winning.
As a result, Israel has become the devil incarnate in the eyes of many otherwise good and reasonable people - people who genuinely want to see peace but inadvertently contribute to the continuation of the Israeli-Arab conflict. The tragedy is that they are neither helping the Palestinians nor promoting agreement or reconciliation. Instead, they lend legitimacy to the most fallacious claims of the most extreme activists, empowering not moderates but the worst of the radicals who have no interest in attaining peace.
Israel is not free from flaws. However, this book draws a clear distinction between legitimate criticism and the industry of lies that has emerged from two unlikely sources - the media and academia - undermining their reputation as bastions of truth and knowledge. Ben-Dror Yemini presents an in-depth analysis of the many inaccurate and malicious accusations leveled against Israel and refutes them one by one in this thought-provoking and well-researched volume that invites us to rethink the causes and consequences of the Israeli-Arab conflict."
From the New York Daily News website, nydailynews.com an article is headlined
"Can a college student back Israel?: Jewish students face widespread hostility"
By ISAAC DE CASTRO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MARCH 29, 2021 the article says:
"Ever since I co-founded the social-media-based organization Jewish on Campus, I have been constantly asked why the stories of anti-Semitism we post are done so anonymously. While I would love to be leading a movement with the names and images of those whose stories I tell at the forefront, we face an unfair reality where I must ask myself: “If this platform were not anonymous, would anyone come forward?”
With a scroll of our Instagram page, the answer is clear. At Columbia University, Jewish students were spat on and called murderers on their way to class, and professors have told their students anti-Semitism is no longer an issue. At Cornell, a student assembly member was threatened to be outed to his family if he did not vote for BDS (boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel). At USC, the student body vice president resigned from her position after being the victim of bullying and harassment for her identity as a Zionist. At Tufts, a student judiciary member was silenced when discussing an unquestionably anti-Semitic referendum because his Jewish identity allegedly made him biased.
There is no question about what will happen if a student is open about supporting Israel’s right to exist, or even open about their Jewish identity; the precedent has been set. Those who choose to remain silent out of fear and pressure are constantly reminded that their views are not welcome. When we try to protect our communities from this blatant discrimination, our efforts are smeared as attempts at censorship, and infringements on academic freedom and freedom of speech. Faculty biases and student body bigotry are not addressed. At the end of February, hundreds of scholars defended David Miller, a lecturer at University of Bristol, on that premise after he called Jewish students “pawns” of the Israeli government.
Holy City, hostile campuses. (ShutterStock)
If academic freedom is suppressing the opinions of Jewish students like myself, in seminars, lecture rooms, and extracurricular clubs, wouldn’t that be antithetical to the concept of academic freedom in and of itself? See, the truth is that academic freedom is not for me. It is not for conservatives, it’s not even for liberals, and quite definitely not for Zionists. Academic freedom is the freedom to have the correct opinions. Right and wrong, good and bad, and no in-between — these have already been decided for us. Our job is to accept them without question. This “academic freedom” is not freedom at all."
the article continues
"We are witnessing a modern-day inquisition and inevitably, Jews are the archetypal heretics. In the college campus model, professors have become the preachers, and students have become an active mob seeking apostates. Those who dare to speak out are not subject to a mass burning or torture, but certainly to the wrath of the crowd. The offenders face “cancellation,” social ostracization and public “dragging” on social media with the potential of ruining lives and careers. Their ironic calls for “academic freedom” are a mutation of what has become, in this case, the unquestionable left. It behaves like a cult or a medieval religion, in which morality and universal truth are defined. To be a good person, one must accept a number of divine tenets, anti-Zionism being one of them.
Beyond college campuses, the exponential expansion of this toxic ideology has arrived at our government and public education, as demonstrated by the newest edits of California’s ethnic studies model curriculum, which was unanimously passed by the state Board of Education. The lesson plans aim to teach children a racial hierarchy, in which Jews are the only group described with the word “privilege.” In previous edits, Jews were not even mentioned. Capitalism was cited as a form of oppression along with racism and Islamophobia; anti-Semitism was not. Students who have been exposed and conditioned within these illiberal tenets in college are entering the workforce and coming full circle to reach the vulnerable minds of young kids to create a tightly-knit cycle of indoctrination.
An Instagram post by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network commenting on the lukewarm changes made in the curriculum by Jewish advocacy groups reads, “Zionists have no place in the classroom!” Jewish college students are aware of this. We are no longer facing gaslighting and dog whistles, but outright threats to our liberties. The anonymity of Jewish on Campus is simply a harsh consequence of a harsher reality in which our discrimination is a symptom of a much larger problem."
And lastly says
"This week is Passover and as Jews celebrate our freedom, we must liberate ourselves once again. Ultimately, we have two choices. Jewish students can try to force our identities into the hostile ideologies that become ingrained in our society, perhaps even shed them, but this formula fails, as history attests. Conversely, we can turn this into an opportunity, embrace Judaism and Zionism, and be key to a resistance. The singularity of our preemptive cultural suppression is also the gift of clarity in discerning the hypocrisy of these ideologies. Courage is needed, but the choice is a given."
De Castro is a student at Cornell University who runs the group Jewish On Campus.
From the New York Post website, www.nypost.com an article is headlined
"Passover and Exodus hold fresh lessons about tyranny for the woke age"
By Yaakov Menken March 30, 2021 the article says
"Jews around the world are celebrating Passover, which commemorates the redemption of ancient Israel from slavery in Egypt. Although that event occurred nearly 3,500 years ago, its essential lessons — about how we descend into bondage, and how we can ascend to liberation — remain as vital as ever.
Current events provide alarming parallels to the slide into tyranny found in the biblical account. Promotion of illogical ideas, punishment of nonconformity and the gradual denial of civil liberties are all as present today as in ancient texts.
In the Book of Genesis, Joseph, son of Jacob, rescued and enriched Egypt during years of famine, winning pharaoh’s favor. The Bible’s second book, Exodus, begins with the rise of a new pharaoh hostile to the Jews and to liberty.
Jewish lore records that a cadre of Egyptian elites petitioned their leader, demonizing the Israelites for having different beliefs. Egyptians, for example, worshiped animals, while the Israelites ate them, literally devouring the Egyptians’ gods. The Egyptian elites insisted that subjugating the Jews was necessary for their nation’s protection.
The pharaoh of Exodus bent to this irrational pressure, pretending to forget all about Joseph and how an Israelite had saved his country. But rather than openly enslaving his Jewish citizens immediately, pharaoh wanted them to remain oblivious of the threat to their liberties until it was too late.
To accomplish this, he announced construction of two new cities. Initially, everyone participated, including the Israelites, who were eager to make a patriotic contribution to their nation. As time passed, however, the Egyptians stopped coming. The enforcers required the Israelites to keep working, even when they were denied pay. And this is how an amicable society gave way to tyranny.
A political leader being pressured to adopt what he likely knows is an insane position — that should sound familiar.
Today’s insane assertions — that law enforcement is inherently evil, that unborn children aren’t actually alive, that biology doesn’t determine gender — are no more logical than the claims of Egypt’s elites. The lies of anti-Semites, of course, also persist and find fresh favor with today’s pharaohs, so long as they are masked in the guise of opposition to Israel.
The resurgence of the belief that people must be silenced and denied a livelihood simply for maintaining different views should frighten us all.
Big Tech first decided to control the news, censoring The New York Post for doing what it has done for more than 200 years: truth-seeking. On the tails of that “success,” the tech giants then censored the then-president of the United States. Yet repeated calls for nuclear genocide against Israel from Iranian leaders don’t earn them permanent bans.
Woke elites have pursued other targets: Parler, The Epoch Times and even the scholar and think-tank president Ryan Anderson, author of the 2018 book about transgenderism, “When Harry Became Sally.” What all share in common are viewpoints that dare challenge the elite orthodoxy.
True, the left hasn’t banned the Bible outright — yet. But the prospect seems not that far off: The “Equality Act” declares biblical beliefs to be nothing more than discriminatory stereotypes. Why stop with Anderson?
To pursue irrational policies that demonize biblical values, the Passover story tells us, takes a society on the road to ruin. In one generation after the next, this has proved true. It is adherence to the biblically sound values of the Founding Fathers, including freedom of speech, peaceful dialogue, religious liberty and equal justice, that enabled America to flourish in the first place.
“The stories of the fathers are signposts to the children,” we are taught. This year’s Passover seder is as relevant as any of those conducted for millennia."
On a Bible Study Group online a person typed the following Bible verse
Matthew 24:32-34 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, all of you know that summer is nigh:
So likewise all of you, when all of you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
The Fig Tree is analogous of Israel, and all scholars agree and it has “put forth leaves” when it became a nation again in 1948"
From the Jerusalem Post website www.jpost.com an article is headlined
"Winston Churchill in Palestine – 100 years on"
By LEE POLLOCK/NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL MARCH 28, 2021 The article Quotes Legendary British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill as saying to a group of assembled dignitaries when he planted a tree at the site on Mount Scopus of the future Hebrew University Churchill said
“My heart is full of sympathy for Zionism. The establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine will be a blessing to the whole world.” Churchill Was Right !!!
From the website, thetower.org an article is headlined
"The Apartheid Libel: A Legal Refutation"
by
Eugene Kontorovich
Professor of international law, Northwestern University the article says:
“Apartheid” isn’t just an absurd epithet when applied to Israel; it is also patently untrue according to international law. Which is why exposing the canard on legal grounds—and revealing the twisted, amoral logic behind the claim—is both easy and vital for coexistence in the Middle East.
Secretary of State John Kerry may have quickly retracted his recent off-the-record comment to the effect that without a peace agreement, Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state.” But his quip nonetheless has helped push the accusation into the mainstream conversation and ensure that it will continue to be repeated by Israel’s critics.
Yet the apartheid allegation—or, as Kerry carefully put it, the potential for apartheid accusation—has no relation to reality. To understand why, one must first understand that “apartheid” is not simply an epithet, but a legal term with strong historical connotations and a specific definition. Its origins, of course, lie in the name South Africa gave to its system of de jure segregation between blacks and whites in all aspects of life. This was done to ensure the perpetuation of white minority rule. International condemnation of this regime lead to various treaties—such as the Convention Against Apartheid and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court—which created and defined a “crime of apartheid.” This crime was held to mean “inhumane acts committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups, and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.” These “acts” included such things as “widespread” murder, enslavement, and so forth. The legal standard for labeling a government an “apartheid regime” is set quite high—indeed, so high that no country since the end of South African apartheid has ever received the distinction. As international human rights lawyers have observed, despite massive systematic oppression of racial and ethnic minorities in countries from China to Sri Lanka to Sudan, the apartheid label has never been applied to those countries by the U.S. or anyone else. Not surprisingly, given that it was defined in reaction to the particular policies of a particular regime, the crime of apartheid is not seen as a general concept, but rather a very specific type of crime. This makes its fairly sudden appearance in otherwise respectable discussions of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, and the possibility of its becoming part of the mainstream political discourse, particularly disconcerting."
the article continues
"
The apartheid claim, as applied to Israel within the 1949 Armistice lines, is entirely absurd, with the Israeli Arab minority having full civil and political rights. The new apartheid accusation focuses on the West Bank, claiming that Israel denies Palestinians political participation on the basis of their ethnicity. (The legal definition of apartheid speaks of “racial,” rather than national or ethnic discrimination, but that is the least of the weaknesses with the apartheid accusation). That is to say, Palestinians cannot vote in Israeli elections.
The idea that Palestinians should have a right to vote in Israeli elections, however, rests on the false assumption that Israel governs them—and more specifically legislates for them. Ironically, even as the apartheid accusation was making more news than it ever had before, events transpired that proved this to be completely untrue. For example, the Palestinians left the peace process and joined 15 international organizations whose membership is open only to independent states. In addition, they began forming a national unity government between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. The Palestinians can only take such actions because, as a consequence of the Oslo Accords, they have their own government—or governments. In fact, over 95 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live under the legislative control of the Palestinian Authority. The PA is, of course, a Palestinian government. It may be sometimes unclear whether the Palestinians are ruled from Ramallah or Gaza City, and their internal politics are far from democratic, but they are certainly not ruled from Jerusalem. Looked at objectively, there is nothing sinister in Palestinians not voting for Israeli Knesset members, any more than there is in Israeli settlers not voting in Palestinian elections. Each group votes for its own government—and the Palestinian government’s decisions dictate the vast majority of what happens in their daily lives.
This state of affairs, moreover, has clearly resulted in Palestinian policies that Israel would never approve if it actually governed the Palestinians. These include an overtly anti-Semitic educational curriculum and television content, pensions for terrorists and the families of suicide bombers, and laws prohibiting real estate transactions with Jews on pain of death. Nor does Israel control the infrastructure of Palestinian society. The PA has its own security forces, central bank, top-level Internet domain name, and tax policy. In the realm of foreign relations, the PA has diplomatic relations with almost as many nations as Israel does. A common retort by peddlers of the apartheid canard is to dismiss the PA as simply a “Bantustan,” the term used to describe the pseudo-autonomous puppet governments set up by South Africa for its black population. In fact, the Palestinian government is very far from an Israeli puppet. As noted above, its policies markedly oppose Israel’s, and some take a self-evidently racist position toward the PA’s Jewish neighbors. In addition, the international community specifically refused to recognize South Africa’s Bantustan’s, to not give them legitimacy. In contrast, it has embraced the PA, and treats it as a full sovereign government."
& Continues
"Perhaps the most telling evidence that the apartheid accusation is baseless comes from the Palestinians themselves. Abbas’ successful pursuit of international recognition, for example, amounts to an admission that a policy of apartheid does not exist. To become a state under international law, as the PA claims it is, a territory must be self-governing. Abbas conceded this when he announced the “successful culmination of our state-building program” at the United Nations. Under international law, the PA can be a new country, or it can be ruled by Israel—but it cannot be both at once. Under law and logic, the Palestinians cannot have it both ways, though they do so in the world of public diplomacy.
It is true that Israel conducts security operations in the Palestinian territories. But such interventions do not amount to Israeli dominion, let alone apartheid. Conducting raids and drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere does not make America an apartheid regime. Indeed, if such measures did amount to apartheid, the Palestinians would be running an apartheid state themselves. While Israel arrests suspected terrorists in Palestinian-controlled areas, the Palestinians fire rockets into Israel and seek to murder innocent Israeli civilians. Through such war crimes, the Palestinians have a major impact on the daily lives of Israelis, deciding where they can go, when their schools open and close, and when they and their children suddenly have to rush for bomb shelters. Though the lives of Israelis are in part controlled by such actions, no one claims that this is apartheid, or anything close to it.
Indeed, if Israel is an apartheid regime, America surely fits the bill as well. The United States, for example, rules over territories largely populated by racial minorities that are denied the right to vote in congressional elections, such as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Majorities in these areas reject this arrangement, but whatever its problems, it is not considered apartheid under any legal definition. Indeed, unlike the Palestinians, who have received non-member status in the UN and diplomatic immunity for their officials, these areas must content themselves with observer status in the U.S. House of Representatives. Finally, apartheid is a policy purposely imposed on a population against their will by a regime “with the intention of maintaining that regime.” Israel, in contrast, has offered the Palestinians total independence at least three times in the last 15 years. Each time, they have refused. And whatever one thinks of the Palestinians’ reasons for their refusal—mainly the question of borders and the so-called “right of return”—they have nothing to do with anything that could be described as apartheid."
& continues
"There are those, like Secretary Kerry, who say that Israel may not be an apartheid state at the moment, but without a peace agreement, it could become one in the future. This argument relies on stacking two improbable predictions on top of each other.
First, there is the claim that the Palestinians will eventually become a demographic majority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Once this point is reached, it is assumed, the Palestinians will demand equal citizenship in a State of Israel encompassing the entire territory. This, in turn, will result in a “binational”—i.e., non-Jewish—state. Such a majority would depend on foisting the population of Gaza upon Israel as well, a bizarre notion since Israel left the formerly Egyptian-occupied territory to its own devices a decade ago. Moreover, this perverse fantasy of Kerry’s would require the Palestinians to dismantle the PA and, in essence, give up their own government and desire for a state of their own—a repudiation, in other words, of the very goal they have claimed to have all along. Even the most extreme demographic projections indicate that they would only amount to half the population of a binational state. As a result, they would go from being governed by their own leaders to being governed by a legislature at least half of which would be Jewish and Zionist. Abbas, or his successor, would no longer be a head of state, but of a Knesset faction. There is little reason to think the Palestinians and their leaders see this as a desirable outcome. Given their insistence, moreover, on expelling every single Jewish Israeli from their putative state as a minimum condition of a diplomatic agreement, it is difficult to see why the Palestinians would accept living in a country that is half- or majority-Jewish.
The second major assumption in Kerry’s comment is that if one day the Palestinians were to dissolve the PA and seek to merge with Israel, the latter would in fact continue to rule them while refusing to grant them equal citizenship. Yet this, in fact, even less likely than the first scenario. For one, there is no compelling reason for Israel to accept such a merger. Should the demographic threat become bad enough or the Palestinians dissolve their government, Israel could simply withdraw to its 1967 borders, divesting itself of any control over the West Bank’s Palestinian population. Indeed, Israel has already done so when it withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Such prophecies, then, make no sense in an imagined future reality. They are, rather, little more than rhetorical scare tactics. Their intention is to make Israelis believe that their future as a democratic and Jewish nation is in terrible danger. This, it is hoped, will make them more likely to accede to Palestinian demands."
& lastly says
"Whatever critics may think about Israel’s control of parts of the West Bank, the “apartheid” label is such a gross distortion that it can only discredit them. It is inaccurate in terms of both international law and the facts on the ground. And it raises the question of why critics of Israel use the label, despite the risk of discrediting their arguments with their rhetorical overkill.
The answer can be found in the unique international response to South Africa’s apartheid regime. Numerous countries, from Turkey to Russia to Armenia, occupy and annex territory. Numerous countries—perhaps most—are grossly undemocratic, discriminate against minorities, and deny political rights to much or all of their population. Yet only the apartheid label resulted in orchestrated international sanctions that sought to completely eliminate a specific regime. Falsely applied to Israel, the accusation is clearly not a serious criticism, but a diplomatic weapon. It is not about the reality it seeks to describe, but the reaction it seeks to elicit—in a word, BDS. For some, it serves as a scare tactic to push Israel toward dangerous concessions. For others, it is a step toward literally destroying Israel as a Jewish state. Israel has paid a very high price for avoiding anything like apartheid. Creating Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and much of the West Bank has required Israel to forcibly expel its own citizens from all of Gaza and parts of the West Bank. And it has subjected Israel to an unprecedented terrorist war coordinated by the PA, as well as ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza. Yet the international community continues to perpetuate the libel of the apartheid accusation. This indifference to the price in lives and security Israel has paid seems to suggest a stark truth: Whatever Israel does, it can never be safe from such diplomatic demagoguery."
On YouTube a video about how Everyone unjustly hates the Jews is titled
"Madeleine Stern – “Anti-Semitism is Everywhere: Stop Hate" Uploaded on February 2, 2021
by B'nai B'rith Int'l
#ContestWinner #FightHate #Students
The Description says:
"Madeleine Stern of Broadneck High School in Annapolis, Maryland submitted her winning entry for the “Students Speak Out Against Anti-Semitism. A Creative Video Production Contest" titled, “Anti-Semitism is Everywhere: Stop Hate.”
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Some Comments people typed in Reply to this YouTube video are
"Beautiful! Jews are native to Judea and Samaria. These are our ancestral homelands and jews are an indigenous people to that area. Thank you, Madeleine!" &
"The stories about people around them talking about concentration camps, that angered and saddened me. How can they say that?! Horrible people that seem to have no conscience towards that kind of hate. That’s no right and needs to stop! The students are so brave! Thank you for standing up! I love the Jews and support them. They are Gods chosen people and serve to be a nation, to be. The hate needs to stop!"
From the website www.catholicamericanthinker.com an article is headlined
"PEJTML = Palestinian Ends-Justify-The-Means Liar"
by Vic Biorseth, the article states:
"You show me a Palestinian and I'll show you an ends-justify-the-means liar.
Palestine did not exist prior to the creation of Israel in 1947. Palestinian "nationality" was declared and a national flag invented after Islam lost its first war with Israel, after attacking the new state the day it came into being. Indigenous people who cooperated in that and all following attempted conquests of Israel simply will not accept their own military defeat. Palestine did not even exist until after Israel existed. It's purpose for being is to destroy Israel.
Palestinians insist on returning "Palestine" to the borders before the post-World War II British partitioning of 1947. Why? They had nothing to say about those borders before 1947 either. Why should they care about another foreign partitioning after?
The Palestinian Charter calls for the elimination of Israel, the Palestinian "government" (PLO, HAMAS) is terrorist, and every Islamic and every Arab nation has either kicked them out or not allowed them into their borders, because they are so terroristic and unruly. They will never settle for any "two nations solution" or any peaceful agreement with Israel so long as Israel continues to exist.
And when they say otherwise, they lie.
They would not accept even the original United Nations position on Israel, until after the UN became thoroughly corrupted and went pro-Marxist, pro-Islam, anti-USA, pro-Palestine and anti-Israel, and began angling to make itself into a global government.
The Palestinians have become another of Cultural Marxism's manipulated "Victim Groups", like America's "Black Lives Matter", of use in causing disorder, chaos and destabilization in the world. "
Vic Biorseth, who is a Catholic also stated on www.catholicamerianthinker.com
"If their leaders and their government speaks for them, then the Palestinians do indeed hate the Jews. The PLO and Hamas have said so. They have pledged death to Israel. If these terrorist organizations are not truly representative of the Palestinian people, then why do the Palestinian people follow them and allow them to govern over them? Do they not have minds of their own? Are they not independent thinkers?
Just as Islam, at its root, is an evil and murderous ideology, the Palestinian people, at their root, are an evil and murderous people. Who else on earth hides weapons and rockets and warriors among their own civilian population and in hospitals. Who else on earth brings babies and sick and elderly to the front of their planned and orchestrated violent attacks on Israelis so that they can be killed, and their deaths may be used as propaganda against Israel?
Who else, besides America's Marxocrat Party, has learned to use the Marxified, corrupted and wholly anti-Semitic and anti-American American News Media to highlight the deaths of these "innocent" victims of Israeli "cruelty" in their daily propaganda?
I don't believe you on this point. If your Palestinian friends are not playing you for a fool, and they really are civilized and friendly, then why do they put up with their own leadership? No decent people would allow all that evil to go on, in their name." Thanks Vic for Supporting Israel
From Wikipedia an article about the Evil of the Nation of Jordan
the article is headlined
"Islamization of East Jerusalem under Jordanian rule" the article says:
"East Jerusalem was Islamized during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank between 1948–1967, as Jordan sought to alter the demographics and landscape of the city to enhance its Muslim character at the expense of its Jewish and Christian ones. At this time, all Jewish residents were expelled, and restrictions were imposed on the Christian population that led many to leave the city. Ghada Hashem Talhami states that during its nineteen years of rule, the government of Jordan took actions to accentuate the spiritual Islamic status of Jerusalem.[1] Raphael Israeli, an Israeli professor, described these measures as "Arabization".[2]
Contents
1 Treatment of Jews and Jewish holy sites
Treatment of Jews and Jewish holy sites
Arab Legion soldiers at the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue after conquering the city.
While Christian holy sites were protected, and Muslim holy sites were maintained and renovated,[3] Jewish holy sites were damaged and sometimes destroyed.[4] According to Raphael Israeli, 58 synagogues were desecrated or demolished in the Old City, resulting in the de-Judaization of Jerusalem.[5][6][7] Oesterreicher, a Christian clergyman and scholar, wrote, “During Jordanian rule, 34 out of the Old City’s 35 synagogues were dynamited.” [8] The Western Wall was transformed into an exclusively Muslim holy site associated with al-Buraq.[9] 38,000 Jewish graves in the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives were systematically destroyed (used as pavement and latrines),[10][11] and Jews were not allowed to be buried there.[5][6] This was all in violation of the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement Article VIII - 2 "...; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives;...."[12] Following the Arab Legion's expulsion of the Jewish residents of the Old City in the 1948 War, Jordan allowed Arab Muslim refugees to settle in the vacated Jewish Quarter.[13] Later, after some of these refugees were moved to Shuafat, migrants from Hebron took their place.[14]"
From the Wikipedia article/entry
"Jordanian Annexation of the West Bank" if you scroll down it to where it says
"Access to holy sites" it states about Jordanian Evil that
"Clauses in the 3 April 1949 Armistice Agreements specified that Israelis would have access to the religious sites in East Jerusalem. However, Jordan refused to implement this clause arguing that Israel's refusal to permit the return of Palestinians to their homes in West Jerusalem voided that clause in the agreement.[37] Tourists entering East Jerusalem had to present baptismal certificates or other proof they were not Jewish.[38][39][40]
The special committee that was to make arrangements for visits to holy places was never formed and Israelis, irrespective of religion, were barred from entering the Old City and other holy sites.[41] Significant parts of the Jewish Quarter, much of it severely damaged in the war, together with synagogue such as the Hurva Synagogue, which had also been used as a military base in the conflict, were destroyed.[42][43] and it was said that some gravestones from the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives had been used to build latrines for a nearby Jordanian army barracks.[44][45] The Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of East Jerusalem.[46] All but one of the 35 synagogues in the Old City were destroyed over the course of the next 19 years, either razed or used as stables and chicken coops. Many other historic and religiously significant buildings were replaced by modern structures.[47][48] The ancient Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives was desecrated, and the tombstones were used for construction, paving roads and lining latrines; the highway to the Intercontinental Hotel was built on top of the site.[49]"
From the website, blogs.timesofisrael.com an article by Fred Maroun on
February 24, 2018 is headlined
"Judea and Samaria: The World's abdication to antisemitism" in the context of this article Fred Maroun says about Arab Crimes against the Jewish people that
"Opponents of the settlements accept very quietly the Arab requirement of a judenrein Judea, as if it is perfectly natural and perfectly acceptable. It is not. In fact, it is a despicable form of bigotry that Jews would be barred from living anywhere in the world, let alone a place like Judea and Samaria that holds huge significance to them.
Judea and Samaria was the home of Jews until 1947/48 when several Arab armies attacked Israel and ethnically cleansed all the lands they conquered, including Judea and Samaria and a large part of Jerusalem, now known as East Jerusalem.
The Arab world has never paid for this crime, and on top of that, it is today supported by the international community in demanding that its crime of ethnic cleansing be allowed to stand indefinitely. At the same time, the international community sees as totally natural that 20% of Israel’s citizens are Arabs with rights equal to Jewish Israelis.
The difference between the high ethical standards that Israel upholds and the low ethical standards that the Arab world is allowed to get away with is truly astounding." The Whole Article can be looked up online
From the website Medium.com an article is headlined
"Why Did a 2,400 Year Old Bible Book Terrify The Nazis?" and it says
Even the godless Nazis knew the accuracy of the Bible
by George Austin on December 12, 2019
the article states
"The Nazis of World War II Germany knew the Bible.
Or, at least, they knew one particular Old Testament book — Esther. And the message of that book contains a prophecy which created a fear within Nazi leadership. That fear may have been the stimulus for their “final solution’ of the Jews.
Indeed the fear was so great Hitler outlawed the reading of the book of Esther although Germany was home to the Protestant Reformation.
This fear born of Biblical prophecy haunted the Nazis all the way to the Nuremberg Trials in 1946.
Just before one of the chief Nazi propagandists stepped onto the gallows to be hanged, the last words he muttered related directly to the story of that Old Testament book.
There are two lessons here. One centers around the Nazis.
The other stands as witness that the modern gentile (non-Jewish) world, plus the Christian church, has ignored or purged itself of any real understanding of the Old Testament — which is integral to the lives of their many Jewish neighbors.
That’s because the anniversary of the festival which surrounds these events as found in Esther still occurs every year. Millions of people around the world take note of this day and rejoice with great singing and fun. It’s called Purim.
Purim is the remembrance of an entire episode in Israel’s past which was crucial to their very survival. This was a time that almost became the first Holocaust. Fortunately, it became the celebration of a mighty miracle. And what scared the Nazis was the fear there could be a repeat of this Bible type miracle.
In my honest opinion, if you attend a Christian church and didn’t learn about this episode in Old Testament history at your church, then you need to get your money back. Go somewhere you can learn the whole story of God’s wonderful Scriptures.
But, I digress…
Let’s bring you up to date by going back over 2,300 years to the time of Queen Esther.
Edwin Long [Public domain]
The miracle of Purim
It was a dark time for the Jewish people. The first Temple had been destroyed and the Land of Israel was virtually emptied of its Jews. Permission had been granted to begin rebuilding the Second Temple, but then the work was halted by King Ahasuerus of Persia. Even when the work was proceeding, only about 40,000 Jews had the courage to return to the Land.
The Jewish people had the mindset of a defeated nation. They felt God had abandoned them. Perhaps He no longer considered them as His people. They worried that they had lost the promises and prophecies of the Torah and the prophets.
Then along comes Haman, an Amalekite, to make things worse. He wanted to annihilate the Jewish people and he tricked the most powerful king in the world into helping him.
But Esther, by hiding her Jewish heritage, became the Queen. When she learned of Haman’s plot she risked death by approaching the King without being summoned. The King listened to her and instead of the Jews being killed, Haman and his ten sons were killed.
The full story is filled with suspense. Plus it teaches that God always hovers near His people even when He seems far away. And it teaches there are no coincidences in Jewish history. Haman stands as the example of what happens to those who try to destroy the Jewish people.
But that is just the outline of the story."
the article continues:
"Haman and the Nazis
In Esther 3:1, we are told that Haman is an Agagite. Agag was the king of Amalek (1 Sam. 15:8). Therefore, Haman and his sons were Amalekites.
This is where the story leads us to the Nazis.
Rabbi Elijah Solomon, a prominent Lithuanian rabbi of the 18th century known as “the great one of Vilna,” held the tradition that the German nation was descended from Amalek.
Interestingly, the Vilnan Gaon — who also lived in the 18th century and is considered the most influential Jewish leader in modern history — claimed that the Germans are also descendants of Amelek.
Simon Dubnow (a 19th-century Jewish historian born in 1860, in White Russia), Arthur Szyk (an activist artist of WWII ) and Raul Hilberg (a post-war historian) also identified the Nazis as being Amalekites.
Carl Schleicher (fl. c. 1859 — after 1871 date )[Public domain]
In addition, there are Talmudic passages which mention a nation called Germania during the Roman Diaspora that seem prophetic in retrospect.
Now we can get a glimpse of the fact that the Germans (who tried to destroy the Jews during World War II) are the descendants of Haman (who first tried to destroy the Jews in Esther’s time).
Before we go further, let’s look back again at an intriguing dialogue between Queen Esther and King Ahasverus.
The ten sons of Haman
12) And the king said unto Esther the queen, “The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the castle, and the ten sons of Haman…
Now whatever your petition, it shall be granted you, and whatever your request further, it shall be done.”
13) Then said Ester, “If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan, to do tomorrow also, according unto this day’s decree:
and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.”
14 And the king commanded it so to be done, and a decree was given out in Shushan:
and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
(Ester 9:12–14 HRV)
Let me point out the dilemma.
Esther’s request seems odd. The ten sons of Haman had already been killed. Why bother to hang them?
In the writings of the Rabbis and the Midrashim (Midrashim are ancient Rabbinical expositions of Holy Writ) we find several thoughts that could elaborate on this:
Image by kalhh from Pixabay
A prophetic hanging
On the word “tomorrow,” in Esther’s request, the Rabbis comment:
“There is a tomorrow that is now, and a tomorrow which is later.” (Tanchuma Bo 13 and Rashi on Exodus 13:14).
In other words, Esther was prophesying that the hanging of Haman’s ten sons would not be a single episode in history, but would be repeated at a future “tomorrow” as well.
If you read the book of Esther with an English translated Bible, you’re not going to see what is obvious in the original Hebrew.
In the original Hebrew, you’ll notice at first glance that the list of Haman’s sons appears on a separate page, written in a prominent, peculiar manner."
and continues:
"The Author
The left-hand column contains the word v’et (the English word “and”) ten times. According to the Thirty Two Rules of Eliezer (a revered 2nd century Rabbi), the word v’et is used to denote replication.
Thus, the conclusion is that another ten people are also to be hung in addition to Haman’s ten sons.
According to Nachmanides (a leading medieval Jewish doctor, scholar, and biblical commentator) in his commentary on Genesis he says any change from the usual way of writing a word or letter indicates some hidden meaning in a text.
So if we again examine the list of Haman’s sons, we notice that three letters are written smaller (seen above in red):
· the taf of Parshandata
· the shin of Parmashta
· the zayin of Vizata
The three letters together form “taf-shin-zayin”. Those letters indicate numerically the year 707. The Jewish calendar assumes people know the millennium. Yet, the text in Esther gives another clue. There is one letter that is larger than all the rest — a Vav, which corresponds to the number six.
All in all, that translates into the western calendar year of 1946 C.E.
Special newspaper editions reported the execution of ten Nazi war criminals found guilty by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
The date? October 16, 1946.
The Nazi’s fear
We can conclude that Hitler must’ve read at least parts of the Old Testament.
In a speech made on January 30, 1944, he made a connection between Haman and his regime. He said that if the Nazis were defeated, the Jews could celebrate “a second Purim”.
Wikimedia, Credit Weinrother, Carl
Take note that Adolf Hitler had banned the observance of Purim,
declaring it a capital offense to possess a copy of the Book of Esther.
In a speech made on November 10, 1938, (the day after Kristallnacht — night of rioting against Jews), a prominent Nazi named Julius Streicher said that just as…
“the Jew butchered 75,000 Persians in one night, the same fate would have befallen the German people had the Jews succeeded in inciting a war against Germany; the Jews would have instituted a new Purim festival in Germany.”
Streicher was the editor of a Nazi newspaper. As Hitler rose to power, his newspaper consistently spread hatred for the Jews all over Europe. He was out to destroy the Jews. Like Hitler, he felt that the “final solution” to the world’s problems would be the complete annihilation of the Jewish people.
It’s also notable that many of the Nazi attacks against Jews often coincided with Purim.
On Purim 1942, ten Jews were hanged in Zduńska Wola supposedly to avenge the hanging of Haman’s ten sons. In a similar incident in 1943, the Nazis shot 10 Jews from the Piotrków ghetto. On Purim eve that same year, over 100 Jewish doctors and their families were shot by the Nazis in Czestochowa. The following day, Jewish doctors were taken from Radom and shot nearby in Szydlowiec.
During World War II, the Nazis in Germany tried to wipe the Jewish race from the face of the earth. Six million Jews were killed by the Germans. After the end of the war, the surviving Nazi leaders were tried at Nuremberg .
These trials began on November 20, 1945, for 23 German Nazi leaders."
& lastly says
"Credit: National Archives, courtesy of USHMM Photo Archives
Copyright: Public Domain
Trials for 23 — hangings for only 10
Of the twenty-three Nazi war criminals on trial in Nuremberg, eleven were in fact sentenced to execution by hanging.
But just two hours before the sentence was due to be carried out, Goering committed suicide — so that only 10 descendants of Amalek were hung,
thus fulfilling the request of Esther: “let Haman’s ten sons be hanged.”
Furthermore, although the trial was conducted by a military tribunal, the sentence handed down was not the normal death by firing squad, or by electric chair as practiced in the U.S.A.
However, the court specifically prescribed hanging, exactly as in Esther’s prophetic request: “let Haman’s ten sons be hanged.”
None of this was lost on Julius Streicher (as The New York Herald Tribune of October 16, 1946, reported after he ascended to the gallows)
“With burning hatred in his eyes, Streicher looked down at the witnesses and shouted his last words as he was hanged: ‘Purim Fest 1946!’ “
Streicher realized that he was repeating the plot of Haman. In his own way, he was belatedly acknowledging the truth of the Bible.
If we examine the calendar for that month. The date of the execution (October 16, 1946) fell on the Jewish festival of “Hoshana Rabba” (21 Tishrei).
This is the traditional day when all of God’s verdicts are sealed.
Bernard Picart Public Domain
What makes this even more significant is the trial ended several months earlier. But the final verdict had been postponed because the Nazis appealed for amnesty.
Had the verdict been issued when the trial ended the Jewish date would’ve been 5706 instead of 5707! During the delay the new Jewish year began.
Thus the date 5707 matched the Hebrew text with the small letters!
Does Purim teach us anything ?
Purim should be on our calendar of days to remember and rejoice.
Rejoice that God will always bless those who bless Israel, and He will curse those who curse Israel.
If no one discussed Purim at your church, shouldn’t that raise a few eyebrows? After all, since the Nazis not only read but also believed the story behind Purim, why is the church silent?
Admit it…all you’ve known this far about the Bible comes from Gentile pastors, Gentile teachers, and Gentile commentaries. If there is a Jew in your congregation he has been expected to adapt to a Gentile mindset as well.
But, think about it. The Bible is the story of the Hebrew God speaking to the Hebrew people in the Hebrew language about the Hebrew Messiah who graciously allows the Gentiles to be grafted into the Hebrew family.
Just suppose for the moment that by adopting a Hebraic oriented mindset you could go deeper into the Scriptures than you ever thought possible.
Imagine the mysteries that could unfold before your eyes!
By ignoring any section of the Bible we become its judge - we proclaim that parts of God’s eternal Word are only temporary or not needed.
The Nazis banned the Book of Esther so no one would know what it said.
Today many ban the whole Bible by their neglect in reading it.
Yet, as we see in Esther, every word, even every tiny letter of Scripture contains a vital message to us from the Almighty.
When non-Christians say the Bible is wrong, or when Christians teach that certain sections of Scripture are no longer valid, we become like the Nazis.
Sadly, our ignorance of Scripture may also lead us to a similar fate." We at this Blog say that NOT all German People or German Americans are Evil,
More about Arab Evil, the website jstor.org has an article headlined
"The Arab League's Propaganda Campaign in the US Against the Establishment of a Jewish State (1944–1947)"
Daniel Rickenbacher
Israel Studies
Vol. 25, No. 1 (Spring 2020), pp. 1-25 (25 pages)
Published By: Indiana University Press
Israel Studies
https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.25.1.01
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.25.1.01
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"In 1944, the Arab League started planning a propaganda offensive in Western countries to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. The League's focus of attention was the United States, where, members believed, Palestine's future would eventually be decided and where they deemed it imperative to counter the Zionist campaign. In 1945 and 1946, it opened offices in Washington, D.C. and New York. The efficiency of these offices in undermining support for Zionism in the US was, however, hampered by infighting between Musa Alami, head of the Arab Offices, and the leader of the Palestinian national movement Amin al-Husseini. When the British relegated the Palestine Question to the UN, the Arab League and the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) were therefore ill-prepared to meet the challenge. Omar Haliq, a member of the anti-Zionist Institute of Arab-American Affairs (IAAA), devised a strategy to mobilize Catholic anti-Semitism in Latin America and Europe for their cause. As a result of these recommendations, in April 1947, the AHC sent a team of senior members, many of them experienced in the field of propaganda, to the US. Moreover, a special committee staffed by the Arab representatives at the UN and functionaries of the AHC was set up to organize a propaganda campaign focusing on South America. The strategy, however, was not successful. Most of Latin America and Catholic Europe voted for UN resolution 181 on November 29, 1947, at the UN session in Lake Success. The article explores the strategy of the Arab League in its propaganda campaign in the US, its Arab Office activities and its actions in 1947, which aimed at preventing the establishment of a Jewish state by the UN. It further discusses why these efforts failed. It is based on records of the Arab League, the Jewish Agency, the British Foreign Office and the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League located in US, British and Israeli archives and on documents left by the actors themselves."
On the website, www.catholicamericanthinker.com Vic Biorseth also typed to a man named David
Comment:
David:
"I am not a Jew, I am a Catholic. But If I were a Jew and not a Catholic, I would follow the whole Torah, not just parts of it. Torah represents objective reality, and individual opinions of men represent subjective whimsy, in comparison. To be a part of "The Jewish People", to me, would be to embrace the external truths that make Jews Jews. All of them. Otherwise, if every Jew just followed his own entirely subjective personal opinions, "The Jewish People" would just be an undistinguished and indistinguishable bunch of individuals scattered among the larger crowd. The Ten Commandments, after all, are not the Ten Suggestions.
You say the Jews were there to "take" the land. But Jews have always been there, throughout history. I would reword your expression to say that Jews of the diaspora were drawn there to join others and become one with the land. If Jewry was and is to stand and defend itself against an unreasonably hostile world, what better place to do it from than from the land given to them by God?
The Palestinians will not be lived with in peace, not only by the Jews, but by anyone. They have caused conflict, trouble and death everywhere they have gone in the world, and they have become a people grounded on hate of the Jews, hate of Israel and hate of America. Implacable hatred. Coupled with pledges and sworn oaths to eradicate Israel and kill the Jews. They live to hate.
In my opinion, until that somehow changes, and I don't see it changing, an honest and lasting Israeli-Palistinian peace settlement is impossible. There will never be peace in Israel until the Palestinians are either driven off the land entirely, or, converted out of their insane and implacable hatred.
If the Jews hand over governmental authority to the Palestinians, the next thing that will happen is the Palestinians will kill all the Jews. "
On the website athens-and-jerusalem.blogspot.com a person typed in 2009 that "According to this recent poll, 54% of Palestinians endorse armed attacks against Israeli civilians. Support for attacks against American civilians is lower -- 39% approve or have "mixed feelings." (If the U.S. civilians are working in Islamic countries, that percentage rises to 48% (see p. 7 at link). 78% of Palestinians have positive or "mixed" feelings toward Osama bin Laden (p. 26 at the previous link). All these numbers are very high in comparison with other nations, even within the Muslim world.
Personally, while I also wouldn't use the phrase "gleeful butchers," I'm perfectly happy to say that Palestinians, taken as a whole, are extraordinarily pro-terrorist."
Furthermore in Reply to the 2009 comment on athens-and-jerusalem.blogspot.com Another person typed in Reply to the Comment about 54% of "Palestinians" endorse armed attacks against Israeli civilians , the second person typed "------poll elides an important point that other polls have picked up on: whether one opposes terror attacks because one fears Israeli retaliation, or whether one opposes them on principle. Palestinians support terror attacks in principle somewhere north of 90%; the overwhelming majority of dissenters have merely tactical objections."
From the website townhall.com an article by Ben Shapiro is headlined
"The Case for Israeli Settlements"
Posted: Jun 04, 2008
the article says
"On Sunday, June 1, Israel announced plans to build over 800 homes in Jerusalem. And the international community proceeded to go ballistic.
"Our position on the settlements is that we don't believe that any more settlements should be built," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. "And we know that it exacerbates the tension when it comes to the negotiations with the Palestinians." U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's office said that he was "deeply concerned" by Israel's plans. "The government of Israel's continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory is contrary to international law and to its commitments under the Road Map and the Annapolis Process," Ki-Moon's office stated.
What's the problem with Israel building homes in its capital city? The problem is that the homes will be built in two neighborhoods -- Pisgat Zeev and Har Homa -- which lie east of the so-called "Green Line," the pre-1967 Israeli border.
And the international community doesn't like that at all. According to the international community, Israel's decision to build constitutes a slap in the face to its Arab neighbors, particularly the Palestinian Arabs.
Here's the question: so what?
The world should be far less concerned about Israel's settlement policy than about the terroristic, fascistic nature of Israel's enemies. Supporters of the so-called two-state solution -- in reality, a piecemeal attempt to dismantle the state of Israel by making its borders indefensible -- assume a moral equivalence between Israel and her enemies. They argue against Israeli settlements as if Israel were America and its Arab neighbors Canada, as if the Arab-Israeli conflict were a simple border dispute. In reality, Israel shares Western values; its enemies share values with the mullahs. The Arab-Israeli conflict is a conflict between two contrasting worldviews: freedom and fascism.
Viewed in its starkest terms, the Arab-Israeli conflict may be accurately described as a war between darkness and light. Those who argue against Israeli settlements -- outposts of light in a dark territory -- argue for the continued victory of night. They argue for the dominance of the same terroristic population that elected Hamas. They argue for the appeasement of populations and leaderships who value murder at the expense of those who value life.
No standoff is possible between darkness and light. Where light fails, darkness engulfs. When Israel pulled its settlements from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Arab population immediately destroyed all semblances of civilization -- as they have wherever Israel has pulled out -- then elected Hamas. Hezbollah reacted to the Gaza withdrawal by initiating a war against Israel in Lebanon.
Israel is a single candle in a pitch-black room. Its rays are the settlements. As the candle burns more brightly, so too does its rays. The free world's true interest lies not in a truce between the darkness and the candle -- such a standoff means merely that the oxygen will eventually run out, extinguishing the flame -- but in providing energy for the candle, allowing it to continue shining forth. That means recognizing the right of liberty to overtake tyranny. It means acknowledging that the supposed right to self-determination must take a back seat to civilized behavior. It means supporting the right of free peoples to spread freedom."
Another article by Ben Shapiro is from the website creators.com in 2007 headlined "The Radical Evil Of The Palestinian Arab Population"
By Ben Shapiro
June 19, 2007 the article says
"The battle over the Palestinian Arab territory in the Gaza Strip is a battle between extremists and more radical extremists. Last week, the extremists, led by Holocaust denier and Fatah strongman Mahmoud Abbas, were ousted in a bloody coup by the radical extremists, Islamist terrorist group Hamas.
Yet, instead of allowing Fatah and Hamas to slug it out, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed newly appointed Abbas frontman Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that America would resume aid to the Palestinian Authority. "I told the prime minister that we want to work with his government and support his efforts to enforce the rule of law and to ensure a better life for the Palestinian people," Rice told the media.
Ah, the fabled Palestinian people. The Palestinian people, who simply want "a better life." The Palestinian people, who, President George W. Bush has repeatedly informed us, "long for a society in which they can raise their children in peace and hope."
The Palestinian people, who support, fund and execute suicide bombings. The Palestinian people, who dress their toddlers in bomb belts and then take family snapshots. The Palestinian people, who cheered on September 11 as the World Trade Center towers fell. The Palestinian people, who followed terrorist extraordinaire Yasser Arafat, supported Saddam Hussein, shredded the blooming rose that was once Christian Lebanon, and almost toppled the Western-friendly Jordanian monarchy. The Palestinian people, who destroy relics on the Temple Mount, openly call for the destruction of the state of Israel, ally with Syria and Iran, and elect Hamas. The Palestinian people, who teach their children that the Holocaust is a fairy tale, and that Jews routinely poison Palestinian candy. The Palestinian people, who stage injuries in order to solicit Western media sympathy, and then roar madly as they hold up their hands, red with the blood of murdered Israeli soldiers
The idea of an entire population corrupted by bloodthirsty anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism violates modern ideas of politics. According to the Bush administration, the problem with the Palestinian Arabs isn't the Palestinian Arabs — it's their leadership. During Yasser Arafat's tenure, the problem was Yasser Arafat, not the hundreds of thousands who followed him. Now the problem is Hamas, not the hundreds of thousands who supported and elected them."
the article continues :
"The problem runs deeper than a few figureheads. The Palestinian Arab population is rotten to the core. There are many to be blamed: Yasser Arafat, who lined his pockets with cash and subsidized murder while playing the victim of oppression. An Arab world that refused to absorb the Palestinian population, preferring to use it as a political pawn against Israel. The United Nations, which suckled the Palestinian Arab population into dependency at the international teat. Israel, for emboldening the Palestinian Arabs by conceding to them.
But in the end, the blame must lie with the Palestinian Arabs themselves. They have accepted their role with relish. They are as responsible for their government's longstanding evil as the Germans were for the Nazis'.
It is far more convenient, however, for the Bush administration and the international community to treat the Palestinian Arabs' thoroughgoing radicalism as a top-down problem. Throw a bit of money at the Holocaust denier, pressure Israel into concessions and hope that the Palestinian Arabs will abandon their attachment to Islamofascism, the logic runs.
Such policy demonstrates an adolescent understanding of Palestinian Arab motivation. Palestinian Arabs will not be bribed: The West has bribed them for decades, and the Palestinian Arabs have demonstrated their preference for suicide bombing over working toilets. Palestinian Arabs will not be moderated: Israel has ceded land continuously since 1993, and the Palestinian Arabs have demonstrated their preference for murder over peace. Palestinian Arabs must be fought on their own terms: as a people dedicated to an evil cause.
So far, Israel and America have willfully blinded themselves to the harsh reality of popular evil. They have refused to come to terms with the harsh fact that collective choices require collective treatment.
Treating collective problems as problems of individuals is a vacuous panacea. Waiting for Arafat to die of old age did not moderate the Palestinian Arabs; supporting one radical over another will not moderate them, either. The Palestinian Arab population breeds terrorism, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. If Israel and America refuse to recognize that simple truth, they will continue to pay the price in blood and treasure."
From the website www.publicopiniononline.com a letter someone wrote in 2015 is headlined
"Letter: God protects Israel"
Chambersburg Public Opinion
A stock image of hands in the sky. the article says
"Iran said recently that Israel will not be a nation in this world in 25 years. Hogwash! When are those people going to wake up?
Before Jesus was born God made a covenant with Abraham that the land Israel occupies today will always belong to Israel. The Jewish people have been scattered to all countries in the world. It is amazing how the Jewish people from every country in this world have returned to Israel and when the rapture takes place and Jesus comes back to earth the second time, Israel will still be here.
God himself will protect Israel as he has in the past. From this point on, no country will prevail against Israel and their people will never be scattered again. For Israel, it is now survival.
God does not have a military budget. When needed he just whips up a hailstorm as big as rocks and pours them down on the enemy and it doesn’t cost him one cent. Joshua 10 tells us that God defeated five armies in one day in the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38. God personally destroyed the Iranian and Russian armies that invaded Israel.
In 1967, when most of us were still living, seven Arab countries proclaimed on their radio station, “As of today there no longer exists an international force to protect Israel. We shall not complain to the U.N. about Israel. We shall apply total war which will result in the extermination of Israel’s existence.” The seven Arab armies surrounded Israel with 465,000 troops, more than 2,800 tanks and 800 aircraft. The war was over in six days. The news journalists called it the “war of miracles.”
Because of space I will share only one miracle. An Israeli sergeant said an Egyptian halftrack came upon them. This Israeli sergeant said they had only light weapons and could not stop the halftrack. No shots came and the halftrack came to a halt. The Israelis found 18 armed soldiers in it with a petrified look on their faces. The Israeli sergeant said, “Why didn’t you shoot at us?” The Egyptian leader said, “I don’t know. My arms froze. They became paralyzed.” There were many miracles in those six days.
In March this year, Netanyahu spoke to our Congress and said if Israel has to go to war alone, they will do so. He knows how God has protected Israel from the beginning of time. You hear people say there are not any miracles anymore. Wake up! They are all around you. Prophecy has been fulfilled now."
Glenn W. Angle, Chambersburg Well said Glenn
From the website www.C4israel.org an article is headlined "Five Bible Texts about God’s Protection of Israel" the article says:
2 April 2019
The last few months we were startled by several missile and terror attacks in Israel. Unfortunately there were casualties.
God promises in His Word that He will protect Israel, the apple of His eye. We give you five Bible texts that underline this.
Zechariah 2:8
For this is what the Lord Almighty says: After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.
Deuteronomy 32:11-12
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
Deuteronomy 33:29
Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.
Isaiah 46:4b
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Psalm 121:4-5; 7
Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life.
What is Israel’s hope? “My hope is in you.” David writes in Psalm 39. Prayer point for us: that all Israel may place her hope on the Lord!"
From the website opentheword.org an article is headlined
"Is God protecting Israel by changing the direction of Hamas’ missiles? The terrorists think so!" Published July 24, 2014
written by Dean Smith
the article says:
"As Hamas continues to rain thousands of rockets and missiles on Israel, people are stunned by the lack of damage that is occurring. A number of reasons are being thrown out. Israel has developed its Iron Dome that is intercepting rockets and destroying them before they land. But it is not stopping all of them.
Israel estimates it intercepts between 30% to 40% of Hamas’ missiles. Many are still getting through, but so far have inflicted minimal damage.
The Hamas strategy has been relatively simple — throw enough rockets into the air and eventually one is going to cause massive damage. That moral victory will be trumpeted around the Middle East. Targets of their barrage have included a nuclear power plant, airports and city suburbs.
According to reports, even the Hamas is starting to notice how ineffective their missiles have been and they blame Jehovah.
Barbara Ordman lives in the West Bank (Palestine). In an article in the Jerusalem Telegraph, she recounted a story of what one Hamas missile launcher said, when he was asked why his missiles were so ineffective.
Barbara wrote:
“As one terrorist from Gaza was reported to say when asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets more effectively: “We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.”
The fact Israel survives is a testament to God’s divine protection.
Israel and God’s time-table
Israel’s return to the Promised Land was prophesied many times in the Old Testament. Ancient scholars such as Isaac Newton believed the restoration of Israel was a critical piece leading to the second coming of Christ.
“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth, (Isaiah 43:6 NASV)
Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; (Ezekiel 37:21 NASV)
The purposes of God are being fulfilled. However, one promise yet to come to pass is Israel accepting Jesus as their Messiah.
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes:
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” (Romans 11:25-26 NASV)"
From the website inspirationfromzion.com an article is headlined "Miracles are real"
Posted on August 16, 2014 by Forest Rain
This is for all the people that (have and still) pray for miracles for Israel.
the article says:
"Israelis are a very cynical, practical people who tend to trust no one but themselves and yet many (if not most) will tell you that miracles are real.
Israeli actress Gal Gadot lights Shabbat candles & prays with her daughter for the safety of IDF soldiers & the Nation of Israel
I think most people around the world tend to think of miracles as something that might have happened in ancient times. Christians tend to imagine miracles as something spectacular – like a bush that burns with flame and yet does not burn to char or a man that can walk on water. Many people picture miracles as spontaneous remission from disease.
In reality miracles tend to be non-spectacles, most commonly – events that should have occurred and simply didn’t. Yes, I said ‘common’. In Israel we see miracles frequently.
This country is full of ingenuity. The people are brilliant and strong but all too often it seems that we are living on a prayer and surviving by miracles.
The Iron Dome missile defense system, for example, has become famous worldwide for its accuracy and precision. The system detects and calculates the trajectory of missiles aimed at Israel’s civilian population. It knows where the missile will land and when it will hit populated areas (homes, buildings etc.), the system sends out its own missile to explode the incoming missile in the sky, preventing its impact on the ground. The technological wonder of this system is its ability to calculate exactly where the in-coming missile will land which allows the system to ignore and not shoot down missiles that will hit an “open space”. The unexplainable element of this is – how, attacked by thousands of Hamas rockets, did tiny Israel suddenly become full of open spaces?
Hamas fired 3,360 rockets. The Iron Dome intercepted 584. 115 hit populated areas in Israel causing some injuries and extensive property damage. 475 Hamas rockets aimed at Israel landed within the Gaza Strip. The majority of the rockets landed in open spaces. Who knew there was so much “open space” in this tiny, crowded country?"
the article continues :
"When asked about their inability to cause significant damage to Israel, in spite of launching thousands of rockets at the civilian population, a Hamas terrorist was quoted as saying: “We do aim but their God moves the missiles from their trajectory.”
A more dramatic example of this occurred, according to an Iron Dome battery commander, when his battery failed three times to down an incoming missile headed toward Tel Aviv. The missile was going to hit a major location in Tel Aviv; if it did hundreds could have died. He explained to an Israeli news site:
“We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident. Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that…sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There is a God!’ I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. It was not told or reported to me. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea.”
Col. Ofer Winter, commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade described an event that sounds taken directly from the bible:
Col. Ofer Winter, commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade
Col. Ofer Winter, commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade
A predawn raid had been delayed, forcing his soldiers to move in the light of the rising sun, making it easier for Hamas to target them and putting them in danger. Suddenly a heavy fog descended from out of nowhere, enveloping the soldiers, concealing their movements and protecting them until their objective was achieved – the fog dissipated only when the soldiers were in a secure position."
the article continues :
"Col. Winter was criticized by some of the Israeli left for religious overtones in his military conduct however he dismissed this saying that people who never saw battle could choose not to believe in miracles but those who do are forced to begin to believe.
These events were documented, many others were not. Who is going to write about the things that didn’t happen? The bullets that didn’t hit the soldiers? The RPG’s launched directly at them that somehow missed? The ambushes that were discovered moments before it was too late?
Time and time again IDF soldiers got intelligence that a location they were about to enter was booby trapped with explosives – moments before entering. A friend’s son who fought in Gaza told us of a house he and the soldiers with him had to enter. The entire ceiling was covered in gas balloons rigged to explode. They were meant to cause an explosion that would have incinerated the building and all the soldiers inside but didn’t. The soldiers shouldn’t have made it out alive. But they did.
These are just a few examples. There are many, many, more. Many soldiers would tell you that as they walked in to Gaza God went with them. Many others who do not profess any kind of faith would simply say that they were very lucky…
You can be cynical if it makes you happy but if you are, I am not writing this for you. I am writing this for all the people around the world that prayed for miracles. This is for all the people that prayed, sang, meditated etc. for protection of innocents, for safety, for right to prevail. THANK YOU.
Many horrible things happened in Gaza. Urban warfare against a terrorist organization that uses children, women and handicapped people as human shields is practically impossible. Even so, the IDF completed every task given them, doing everything possible to protect both the people of Israel and the civilians of Gaza from Hamas. Although universally criticized, the truth is that the IDF concern for the innocents on the attacking side is unparalleled. Hamas used their own people as human shields BECAUSE they are very familiar with Israel’s insistence on not hurting innocents. Even with all these challenges our soldiers still managed to fight the terrorists, destroy their attack tunnels and maintain our high moral standards. This too is a kind of miracle.
David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister said: “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.” I believe in miracles. I think that everyone who prayed, wished and hoped for good, helped create miracles.
Thank you.
Please note that the danger has not passed. This war has taught the jihadists where Israel’s weak-points are and the Israeli government’s decision to leave Hamas leadership intact has emboldened them. Hamas is not the only threat; Hezbollah is in the north and the Islamic State is spreading in our direction…
We need miracles now, possibly more than ever before. Please continue to support Israel in your prayers and in your actions. You can help save lives.
It would take an enormous miracle (or perhaps millions of small ones) to make the world a safe and peaceful place for everyone who is safe and peaceful. Who knows? Miracles do happen. Maybe, together, eventually, we will succeed."
From the website israeladvocacy.net an article is headlined "Is it true that Israel stole Palestinian land?" the article says
Accusation: Israel stole Palestinian land to build a Jewish State
[the Muslim Brotherhood will] continue to view the Jews and Zionists as their first and foremost enemies … Jihad means making sacrifices in order to restore what has been stolen [Palestine].
– Mohamed Badie, Supreme Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, January 2010
Fact or fiction: Jews stole Palestinian land before 1948
From the beginning of World War 1 Arabs began claiming that Jews had stolen Arab land and displaced its inhabitants. In reality, 80% of the land in the region was considered “state land”, owned by the Ottoman Empire (subsequently the British), the next largest landholders were absentee landlords like the Lebanese Sursuck family who owned most of the Jezreel Valley. In contrast, 80 percent of Palestinian Arabs were impoverished peasants, semi-nomads and Bedouins… not wealthy landowners.1
The region was severely underpopulated which meant the Jews were able to avoid buying land in areas where Arabs might be displaced, which they did. They sought land that was largely uncultivated, swampy, sandy, and most importantly, without tenants, like much of the Jezreel Valley. In 1920, David Ben-Gurion expressed his concern about the Arab fellaheen (peasants), whom he viewed as “the most important asset of the native population” he said “under no circumstances must we touch land belonging to fellahs or worked by them”. He advocated helping liberate them from their oppressors. “Only if a fellah leaves his place of settlement,” Ben-Gurion added, “should we offer to buy his land, at an appropriate price.” 2
The Jews overpaid for land they purchase
When British MP John Hope Simpson arrived in Palestine in May 1930 to report on Arab-Jewish violence and discovered the Jews were purchasing land at exorbitant rates: “They [Jews] paid high prices for the land, and in addition they paid to certain of the occupants of those lands a considerable amount of money which they were not legally bound to pay.” 3
In 1937 the British Government published the Peel Commission which found that Arab complaints about Jewish land acquisition were baseless. It pointed out that “much of the land now carrying orange groves was sand dunes or swamp and uncultivated when it was purchased. . . . there was at the time of the earlier sales little evidence that the owners possessed either the resources or training needed to develop the land.” Moreover, the Commission found the shortage was “due less to the amount of land acquired by Jews than to the increase in the Arab population”. The report concluded that the presence of Jews in Palestine, along with the work of the British Administration, had resulted in higher wages, an improved standard of living and ample employment opportunities. 4
It is made quite clear to all, both by the map drawn up by the Simpson Commission and by another compiled by the Peel Commission, that the Arabs are as prodigal in selling their land as they are in useless wailing and weeping
— Transjordan’s King Abdullah, My Memoirs Completed, p88-89
As the violence escalated Arabs continued to sell land to Jews at outrageous prices, usually for tiny tracts of arid land. “In 1944, Jews paid between $1,000 and $1,100 per acre in Palestine, mostly for arid or semiarid land; in the same year, rich black soil in Iowa was selling for about $110 per acre.” 5"
the article continues: " average-price-of-an-acre-of-land-in-Palestine
Land ownership from 1945-1947
In 1945 the British commissioned a survey of land ownership in Mandatory Palestine for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine. This survey was the research that the UN relied upon when suggesting how the region could be partitioned. The illustration below is a visual representation of this survey. It clearly shows that the UN’s suggested Jewish state would be in the area with heavy Jewish or state ownership (such as the barren Negev Desert). While the proposed Arab state was in the regions with heavy Arab ownership. The claim that Jews stole Palestinian land is factually incorrect.6
israel-arab-jewish-land-ownership-1945
By 1947, Jewish holdings in Palestine amounted to about 463,000 acres. Approximately 45,000 of these acres were acquired from the Mandatory Government; 30,000 were bought from various churches and 387,500 were purchased from Arabs. Analysis of land purchases from 1880 to 1948 show that 73 percent of Jewish plots were purchased from large landowners, not poor fellahin. 7 Those who sold land included the mayors of Gaza, Jerusalem and Jaffa. As’ad el–Shuqeiri, a Muslim religious scholar and father of PLO chairman Ahmed Shuqeiri, took Jewish money for his land. Even King Abdullah leased land to the Jews. In fact, many leaders of the Arab nationalist movement, including members of the Muslim Supreme Council, sold land to Jews. 8
Fact or fiction: Israel stole Palestinian land in the 1948 war?
As soon as Israel declared independence eight Arab nations invaded. With the battle cry of the Grand Mufti ringing in their ears, “I declare a holy war, my Moslem brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all”,9 the Arab armies, with the help of Palestinian militias, attempted their genocide against the Jews.
By some miracle, the Jews repelled the invaders and in defeating the Arab armies captured more land than that allotted in the UN partition. Much of this land had sizable Jewish populations and more defensible borders. Israel took the decision to retain this land to assure the safety of its citizens. It is this new border that most people refer to when they speak of the Pre-67 Lines (or the 49 Armistice Lines).
The Arabs also captured land. The Egyptians conquered Gaza, while the Jordanians usurped the West Bank. Unlike Israel, this was not for the safety of their citizens, but to increase their own territory. By the end of the war, according to Benny Morris, the “Arab war Plan changed . . . into a multinational land grab focusing on the Arab areas of the country. The evolving Arab ‘plans’ failed to assign any of these whatsoever to the Palestinians or to consider their political aspirations.”10
& Continues
"Fact or fiction: Israel stole Palestinian after 1948?
While Arab leaders boasted “strike the enemy’s settlements, turn them into dust, pave the Arab roads with the skulls of Jews”,11 their genocidal intentions were repeatedly crushed, often leaving Israel with even greater territory. Despite these gains, Israel had no intention of keeping the land – it always intended to return the land in exchange for peace.
In 1974 Israel returned territories to Syria that it had captured 1967 and 1973. Again in 1979 they returned the entire Sinai Peninsula, a mass of land rich in oil, with Jewish settlements and three times the size of pre-67 Israel.
In September 1983, Israel withdrew from large areas of Lebanon to positions south of the Awali River. In 1985, it completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, except for a narrow security zone just north of the Israeli border. That too was abandoned, unilaterally, in 2000.
After signing peace agreements with the Palestinians, and a treaty with Jordan, Israel agreed to withdraw from most of the territory in the West Bank captured from Jordan in 1967. A small area was returned to Jordan, and more than 40 percent was ceded to the Palestinian Authority.
Finally in 2005, all Israeli troops and civilians were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and the territory was turned over to the control of the Palestinian Authority. In addition, four communities in the West Bank that covered an area larger than the entire Gaza Strip were also evacuated as part of the disengagement plan. As a result, Israel has now withdrawn from approximately 94 percent of the territory it captured in 1967."
& lastly says "israel-gave-land-for-peace-compared-to-britain
Israel has captured territory from those that wage war against the tiny state, but each time it returns the land in a heartbeat in exchange for peace.
Fact or fiction: Israel stole Palestinian land to build settlements?
From ancient times Jews have lived in the West Bank, the only time they did not was in recent decades when Jordan ethnically cleansed Jews from the region between 1948 to 1967. When Israel captured the territory from the Jordanians, following Jordan’s attack on Israel in the combined Arab attack of 67, Israel allowed Jews to move back to some select locations.
Numerous experts in international law believe that these settlements are not illegal. Stephen Schwebel, formerly President of the International Court of Justice, notes that a country acting in self defence may seize and occupy territory when necessary to protect itself. Schwebel also observes that a state may require, as a condition for its withdrawal, security measures designed to ensure its citizens are not menaced again from that territory. 12 In the seventies Israel made thousands of its citizens homeless when it returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, it did so on the condition Egypt would make peace with the Jewish State – just as Schwebel described.
When Israel constructs its settlements it does not requisition private land for their establishment. Housing construction is only permitted on private land where the rights of others have not been violated. The vast majority of settlements have been built in uninhabited areas and even the handful established in or near Arab towns did not displace or steal land. In instances where it had been that settlements had been built on stolen land, the previous Arab owners took their case to the Supreme Israeli Court which ruled the settlements needed to be dismantled.
Jewish settlements
In the images below we can see Jewish settlements built in uninhabited areas, this was the pattern for the overwhelming majority of West Bank settlements.
gush-etzion-before-settlement
har-homa-before-2008
Arab settlements
What many people do not realise is that the majority of Palestinian urban areas are in fact modern settlements that did not exist a century ago.
silwan-east-jerusalem-19th-century
east-jerusalem-1914-arab-settlement
Summary
The claim that Jews stole Palestinian land is a lie.
The UN proposal awarded Israel the land where Jewish ownership was high
Jews massively overpaid for the land they acquired
Israel has captured land in defensive battles, but has always exchanged it for peace
Learn more about how Israel was created:" Good pictures are shown in this article, ARAB Settlements are shown, illegal ARAB settlements are shown in this article, Jewish Settlements are Legal, but there is sadly much illegal Arab Settlement Construction activity going on
From the website
echadmacfam.com an article is headlined
"WILL TWO THIRDS OF ISRAEL BE DESTROYED AGAIN?" the article says
"Some bible teachers say that Zechariah 13:7-9 shows that two thirds of those Jewish people living in modern Israel will be destroyed at some future time. In other words, before the millennial reign of Christ starts, two thirds of the people of national Israel will be wiped out. This article puts forward for consideration some difficulties with this understanding of scripture.
The verses read as follows:
“Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered and I will turn My hand against the little ones. And it will come about in all the land” declares the Lord “that two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third will be left in it. But I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is tested, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say “They are My people” and they will say “The Lord is My God””.
First we can consider another prophecy by way of an introduction. Some hold that Damascus must be destroyed in the future because Isaiah 17:1 has “never been fulfilled”. But 2 Kings 16:9 records the fulfilment of both this prophecy (and also Amos 1:5) by an Assyrian invasion of 732 BC. There can of course be multiple fulfilments of the same prophecy (e.g. “out of Egypt I called My son”-Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:15). But we do need to check the historical record for indications that a prophecy may already have been fulfilled.
The record of history also points to there being one fulfilment already. Jewish historians have estimated that because of the two revolts against Rome during the 100 years after Calvary there was approximately a 66% population loss amongst the Jewish population of Israel. Yet God’s mercy is shown in that the majority of the Jews lived in Babylon or Egypt at that time, and so they escaped the savage Roman actions within Israel.
Scripture itself also indicates that this prophecy at Zechariah 13:7-9 has already had one, primary, fulfilment at the time of Calvary, and in the following century up to around AD 140. At Matthew 26:31 the Lord Jesus Himself expressly links the coming scattering of His disciples to the striking of the shepherd mentioned in this passage. Jesus Himself wept over the coming destruction of Jerusalem due to His rejection, and warned the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and not Him. So He saw imminent and grave consequences for the nation set out in Scripture flowing from that striking of the one true Good Shepherd.
In the linked passage of Zechariah 11:7-17 there is reference to all of the following: the rejection of a true shepherd by a low valuation of 30 pieces of silver (the blood money for Jesus), God’s removal of three false shepherds (representative of the traditional division of national leadership of Israel into prophet, priest and king), Israel as a flock destined for slaughter, and appointment of a shepherd who will not genuinely care for the people (some would see the leadership of the Jewish rebel leader Bar Kochba, a false Messiah, around AD 133 as this harsh shepherd). This passage serves as a further indication of at least an initial fulfilment of the Zech 13 prophecy in the destruction of Jerusalem at that time."
the article continues
"A similar warning of a two thirds loss of the nation is found at Ezekiel 5:1-12. The prophet demonstrates how many will be killed in the final fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. One third of some hair is to be burnt, another third struck by the sword, and the surviving third “you shall scatter to the wind”. God says at Ezekiel 5:10 that He “will scatter all your remnant to every wind”. This warning was tragically fulfilled in 586 BC. In Isaiah 1:25 we see similar wording about God turning His hand against Judah, and that He would “smelt away your dross”.
In seeking to understand scripture it is helpful to consider what our forefathers in faith might have thought in their own day. Early believers in Jesus, who had heard His repeated warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem, fled to Pella when Roman armies approached. After the destructions of AD 70 and AD 133, they would have read again Zech 13:7-9 , knowing that two thirds of the Jewish population of Israel had been lost. The fulfilment of this scripture would perhaps have appeared clear to them. The warning of Ezekiel chapter 5 had not been heeded, and the city was destroyed. The warnings of Zech 13 not been heeded, and the city destroyed again.
Two other verses are taken by some to support the view that Zech 13:7-9 must have a future application. First, they say that coming distress for Israel must come because of the reference at Jeremiah 30:7 to “Jacob’s distress”. But we need to consider that verse in its own immediate context (verses 30:3-9). It is the first part of a section that extends from Jeremiah 30:1 to 33:26 dealing with the theme of God’s wonderful long term plans of mercy and grace for Israel, closing with a glorious emphasis on the coming rule of Messiah.
The reference to the distress of Jacob can be linked historically to the gentile anti-Semitism of Europe and Russia in the hundred years prior to the national rebirth of Israel as a sovereign state, culminating in the Nazi holocaust. Jeremiah’s reference at 30:5 to “terror” and “dread” match precisely Deuteronomy 28:65-67 in describing the insecurity of Jewish life amongst the gentiles. Ezekiel 37:11-13 speaks of Israel coming back to the land from their graves (ie death camps).
The reference to birth at 30:6 is perhaps to “a nation being born in one day”-at Isaiah 66:7-9. Verses 30:8-9 refer to the breaking of the rule of the gentiles over the Jews, and its replacement with the reign of Messiah (carried to completion at Zech 12 and 14).
Further, Jeremiah 31:7-10 refers to a return to Israel from those “scattered” in the past by God to the “north country” (Russia) and “remote parts of the earth”. Those listed as able to travel (those in labour) point to modern aircraft enabling swift journeys. God then goes on to warn the gentiles that “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock” (Jeremiah 31:10). It seems rather inconsistent for God to give this reassurance here, assert His role as shepherd, and for there to be a death of 66% of those re-gathered in the land because Israel is shepherdless!
Further support for a past application of Jeremiah 30:7 is found at Ezekiel 20:33-38. This expressly links the return of the Jewish nation from a scattering with a time when “wrath” is “poured out” on them, and warns of Israel then facing the “wilderness of the peoples”. Israel will have at that time to “pass under the rod”- a reference to a flock being divided, some selected for death and some for life. By way of contrast, at Ezek 20:40-41 the emphasis on judgment has lessened. God says there that He will accept “as a soothing aroma” those who have returned to the land after the trials referred to at verses 33-38. "
& lastly says
" Another scripture quoted in support of a coming population loss of two thirds in Israel is Daniel 12:1, where an angel warns of a “time of distress that such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is written in the book, will be rescued”. From the emphasis added it seems that whether or not people are then delivered depends on whether their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Dan 7:10, Rev 20:11-15). This reference seems to be to the persecution instigated by antichrist at Daniel 11:31-35, which both Daniel 7:21 and Revelation 13:7-10 see as being against “the saints”. A worldwide campaign to eradicate belief in the Lord Jesus, even if not specifically aimed against national Israel, would satisfy the warning of Daniel 12:1. Gentile believers in Jesus have been grafted in to the one new man of the church, with its Jewish roots. The angelic forces that have shielded national Israel (including Israelis such as Elijah and Moses who are saved by faith) would not necessarily be idle when those grafted by faith into God’s people are being assaulted.
Finally, one wonders why the view that there will be another holocaust for Israel has gained such prominence, despite the weak scriptural support. The major reason for expecting a future application of Zech 13:7-9 seems to be the place it holds in “dispensational” approach to Scripture made popular by JN Darby and CI Scofield, not held by this writer. One follower of that view, J Dwight Pentecost, claimed “The church is an interruption of God’s programme for Israel, which was not brought into being until Israel’s rejection of the offer of the Kingdom. It must logically follow that this mystery programme must itself be brought to a conclusion before God can resume His dealing with the nation Israel”(“Things to come” p 201).
This dispensational view envisages the current church age ending with a secret rapture of all believers in Jesus. Israel is then left to face the wrath of the antichrist, the loss of two thirds of her people, and the tribulation period. JN Darby even taught, despite Hebrews Chapters 8-10, that Israel do not yet have the benefit of the new covenant referred to at Jeremiah 31:31-“Israel not accepting the blessing, God brought out the church, and the Mediator of the covenant went on high. We are associated with the Mediator. It will be made good to Israel by-and by.” (Collected Writings-27-565) He also wrote “The new covenant will be established formally with Israel in the millennium” –in other words, after this further holocaust.(Both cited by Pentecost at p 121/122).
Ian Macaulay
Also from echadmacfam.com another article is headlined "Has Israel’s special significance ended?"
by Ian Macaulay the article says
"It is rightly said that a text without a context may be a pretext. In other words, we need to look at passages of Scripture to sense what the Lord’s mind is on a matter, and not just verses on their own. Further, each passage needs to be considered in the light of what the rest of the Bible says. This means we need to read the entire Bible for ourselves. Satan picked verses out of their context when tempting the Lord Jesus.
Those who say Israel as a nation no longer has a special place before God often do not apply Matthew 21:43 correctly. The Lord Jesus told the Chief priests and Pharisees “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit thereof”. He was telling a religious leadership that all spiritual authority was to be removed from them. Secular authority had been lost by Israel to Rome some years before. Even the power of any Jewish court to order a death sentence had just been removed, a year beforehand.
Instead, spiritual authority was passing a new group of people. This had initially 100% Jewish membership. It is built on the foundation of the Jewish prophets and the Jewish apostles (Ephesians 3:20). It is called the church.
The Lord Jesus had told Peter at Matthew 16:19 how this spiritual authority is to be exercised: “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” In other words, any effective binding of demons on earth can only follow a decree already made in heaven.
Acts 1:3 tells us that the Lord Jesus gave His disciples, for forty days after the resurrection, personal teaching “concerning the kingdom of God”. What a privilege they had to have such instruction, as a climax of the three years before. The response they gave was a question as to the time when (not if!) He would restore authority as a kingdom to Israel. So this teaching had clearly not indicated that the nation of Israel was on some scrap heap, as a “failed” project of God. They knew that the only question was when Israel would be restored.
But the disciples are told that the date for this restoration of Israel is not for them to know. They must get on with the job of Spirit empowered disciple making. We must do the same. We are not think we know better than God, and down play the need of Jewish people to hear the Gospel. This should be presented in a sensitive and appropriate manner, but to hold back the good news of salvation from any nation is not pleasing to the Lord."
Also from echadmacfam.com another article is headlined "The permanence of the Jewish Nation"
by Ian Macaulay the article says
“If this fixed order [i.e. the sun, moon and stars] departs from before Me then the offspring of Israel shall cease from being a nation before Me forever” (Jeremiah 31:36)
God promises that the national identity of Israel will never cease. In other words, they will remain a distinct people. The Lord Jesus alluded to this promise at Luke 21:32-33 when He said that “this race shall not pass away until all things take place”. This section of Jeremiah contains much encouragement for those who pray for God’s loving purposes for Israel to be fulfilled. “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done” (Jeremiah 31:37)
This is another promise that God will not end His covenant relationship with Israel due to any misbehaviour. It should be remembered that God then knew that the Messiah would be crucified by Rome on behalf of the gentile world, at the request of the Jewish leadership.
“The city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hanalel to the Corner gate” (31:38)
The rebuilding will have a physical as well as a spiritual aspect. This makes it impossible to claim that all these prophecies will be “fulfilled in a spiritual sense only”. Real places in Jerusalem have been restored over recent years.
“I will fulfil the good word that I have spoken concerning the House of Israel and the House of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous branch of David to spring forth, and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.” (33:14-15)
This speaks of the Lord Jesus, who according to the flesh could claim descent from King David, and was the only fully righteous man ever to live. He was the only person ever to fulfil all the requirements of God- including the Law of Moses, that we therefore need not obey ourselves.
“In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety, and this is the name by which she shall be called; the Lord is our righteousness”(33:16)"
the article continues
"The prophet Daniel promised national salvation for the people of Israel at chapter 9:24. We are told that the sin Daniel has mourned about will end, and everlasting righteousness be brought in. This will be when the Jewish nation recognise that righteousness is available from responding in faith and repentance to the work of Messiah, rather than trying to build up human self-righteousness by obeying human rules.
“As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted or the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant” (33:22)
This is fulfilled in the immense numbers of the one worldwide church, which stands on the foundation of Jewish prophets and apostles. By the blood of the Jewish Messiah, even gentiles have been brought into the commonwealth of Israel, and become those who benefit from “covenants of promise”. An example is the promise of God to Abraham at Gen 15:5 that his descendants would be a numerous as the stars seen in a clear Middle Eastern desert sky.
“Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, “The two families, which the Lord chose, He has rejected them? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. Thus says the Lord “If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and have mercy on them” (Jeremiah 33:24-26).
God always hears what is said. He repeats what is being said about his alleged rejection of the people of Israel, and is clearly not impressed. The section that Jeremiah was commanded at verse 2 of chapter 30 to write in a book closes with a repeat of this promise of restoration.
The verses stress the permanent authority over Israel of David’s successor, the Messiah. It is vital to remember that fulfilment of the promises of God to Israel find expression in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. He is to have the pre-eminence in this, and every aspect of the unfolding purpose of God- “He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Col 1:18)."
Also from echadmacfam.com Another article is headlined "HOW DOES GOD JUDGE ISRAEL?"
by Ian Macaulay the article says
"The Jewish nation has a unique relationship with God. This is due to the promises He gave their forefathers (and that they agreed) to be His special nation. Abraham agreed to leave all that was familiar, in reliance on the promise of God (Genesis 12:1-4).
Deuteronomy 26:17-20 records how Israel over four hundred years later “today declared the Lord to be your God”, and that in response “The Lord has declared today you to be His people, a treasured possession”. This event was on the brink of moving in from the wilderness, and taking possession of the land of Israel from the Canaanites. But we read very soon afterwards, at Deuteronomy 31:14-21, that God foresees that when He brings them “into the land of milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant”.
The Lord has promised Israel, for example at Jeremiah 31:36, that they will always exist as a nation in His sight. So the nation is indestructible, unlike Gentile nations. Gentile nations can (and do) pass into oblivion due to sinfulness. But God’s judgment on Israel can never be so severe that it leads to annihilation. They suffer punishment from God, as they still carry His name on the international stage despite the fact that so few have accepted the authority of King Jesus.
Divine protection of Israel from Satan is necessary. The Lord told Satan that one born of woman would crush his head (Gen 15:11) despite being wounded by Satan on his heel. Incidentally, in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is part of the leg bone of a crucified man, still with the original nail inserted through the heel.
Satan had heard from what was promised to Abraham that worldwide blessing would come from the Jewish race. He made repeated attempts to stop the birth of this child of promise. Abraham lent out his wife Sarah to Pharaoh, and then to Abimelech (as did Isaac). Later Satan enticed another Pharaoh to slay Hebrew boy slaves, and King Xerxes to order the death of all the Jews. In the same way he motivated Hitler’s diabolical plans. Today Satan wishes to drive all Jews from Jerusalem in order to delay the return of the Lord Jesus to earth.
Satan also has a subtler tactic than such attempts at annihilation. This is to prompt national sin, and then to quote that sin before God as a reason for Israel to be punished. Note for example the way that Balaam wanted to make sure he got a big fee from Balak. So he told him how to get God to punish Israel through a combination of sexual misconduct and idol worship (Numbers 31:16). Worship of false gods is a deep-seated problem. Israel took idols out of Egypt with them, and this led to exile hundreds of years later (Acts 7:43)."
the article continues
"Due to Solomon’s idolatry, a northern kingdom called Israel emerged, distinct from the southern area (including Jerusalem) that was called Judah. At 2 Kings 17:7-23 we read of how the people of the northern kingdom of Israel were removed by the Assyrian invaders after 722 BC due to their idolatry. Settlers were brought in instead- this is the origin of the Samaritans. The Assyrians had a policy of permanent population re-settlement and transfer to weaken any sense of national identity in those they conquered.
The remaining southern Kingdom Judah and its righteous King Hezekiah, helped by the prophet Isaiah, was super-naturally protected from the immense Assryian army. Judah remained in place until the emerging superpower Babylon took over just over a century later. Judah then fell. Her subsequent rebellions against Babylonian rule led to destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC. God speaks at Jeremiah 50:17-20 of the whole nation of Israel as “a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is the Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon”. After stating that Babylon will be punished for their actions, it is promised that God “will bring Israel [in this context meaning both kingdoms] back to his pasture…in those days search will be made for the iniquity of Israel but there will be none”. In other words, national sin will be dealt with.
At Deuteronomy 28:15 onwards the Lord sets out the sort of punishments that national disobedience will cause. This is as a warning for Israel. Invasion from far off lands is warned of (verse 49) and numerical decline (verse 62). From verse 63 there is warning the Lord “will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth”. After the Jewish revolt of AD 70 so many captives were taken to Egypt in ships that the price of slaves crashed, fulfilling the warning at verse 68. Israel was warned that those who see their deserted land “a burning waste, unsown and unproductive” will recognise that this happened because they forsook the Lord, and served other Gods (Deut 29:22-28). There is an offer at Deuteronomy 30:1-5 that, even if this final calamity does occur, God will bring them back to the land if He sees Israel “return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul.”
Ezekiel 36:22-28 makes it clear that the recent rebirth of Israel in her own land was not because of repentance, but God’s sovereign act for His own purposes. This action will lead the nations to know “that I am the Lord”, and also lead to spiritual life: “I will sprinkle clean water on you…. I will heart and put a new spirit within you….I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes”. These verses explain why Jesus expressed surprise that Nicodemus did not realise that re-birth with water and the Spirit are required (John 3:1-10). The vision of the valley of dry bones at Ezekiel 37, and Psalm 126, repeats that spiritual rebirth for Israel will come after the physical.
God speaks of Israel as His first-born son (Exodus 4:22, Hosea 11:1). The first-born has a double inheritance (Deut 21:17). Israel is told at Isaiah 40:2 that she has received “double for all her sins”. The strong punishment is due to her position as first born. But Israel has a glorious destiny as the first-born!"
From the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem website, fj.icej.org an article is headlined "RESTORED FOR DESTRUCTION?
Is the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’ still ahead of us?"
By: Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ President
Posted on: 11 Apr 2018 the article says:
Restored for Destruction?
“Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jeremiah 30:7)
A few years ago, I listened to the sermon of a well-known Bible teacher who basically stated: “The Jewish people did not learn the lesson of the Holocaust, so they need to go through more suffering that will make the Holocaust look small in comparison.” A similar thought we frequently hear is: “Two-thirds of the Jews will die in the Great Tribulation.” In other words, the worst chapter in Jewish history is still ahead of us. Or to put it more bluntly, God is returning the Jewish people back to their homeland of Israel in order to kill two-thirds of them in a massive conflagration. These views are usually linked to ominous quotes from the Old Testament prophets which seem to underline their point. One such passage is the above verse from Jeremiah, which speaks about the “the times of Jacob’s trouble”. Other passages used to bolster this teaching are Zechariah 13:8-9 and Ezekiel chapter 5, which both speak about a time when two-thirds of those in the land will be wiped out.
The prophetic context
I personally have strong reservations with subscribing to this kind of interpretation, because I believe that it takes these passages out of context and, even more importantly, they misrepresent the character of God and His present purposes for Israel. At the same time, Scripture indicates that “the time of Jacob’s trouble” and the time when two-thirds of Israel are to be cut off, refer to two different events in Jewish history. Allow me to explain.
A. Jeremiah and Jacob’s trouble
The prophet Jeremiah introduces in chapter 30 a great succession of passages (30-33) that foresee the restoration of Israel, culminating in a “new covenant” of changed hearts and the rule of the “the Righteous Branch”. God makes sure that these prophecies will not be lost for future generations, as He explicitly tells Jeremiah to “write down” the words, because “I will restore the fortunes of My people… and I will bring them back to their land…” (30:2-3)
Then God begins to lay out, from verse 4 onward, the sequence for how He is going to accomplish this redemptive work. He first sees a picture of despair and calamity: “Cries of terror and panic!” Concluding with the call: “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble…” (30:7). Immediately following these verses, God’s restoration programme starts to play out. The Lord announces that change is coming as He breaks off the yoke of oppression (30:8), until Israel will finally serve God and His Messiah. He continues:
“Therefore, do not fear, O My servant Jacob … For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid.” (30:10)
A similar sequence of events is found in the following chapter of Jeremiah 31, where the prophet declares: “Thus says the LORD, ‘The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness …’” (31:2) Israel escaped the sword and God saved them. This declaration again is followed by the promise of return from exile: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, … A great throng shall return there.” (31:8)
This indicates that the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’ represents an unprecedented catastrophe (‘none is like it’) at a time when Israel is still exiled. Out of this crisis, God is restoring them back to their land."
the article continues :
"This is what we see fulfilled in the modern history of Israel. A nation that barely escaped complete annihilation in the Holocaust, with six million dead, yet they arose from the ashes of that great tragedy and returned to their homeland to re-establish the nation of Israel, just as the prophet Ezekiel foretold:
“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!”’ “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”’” (Ezekiel 37:11–12)
The Holocaust indeed was one of the darkest chapters of Jewish history. It was a time of Jacob’s trouble and all historians agree that it was a singularly unique tragedy in human history. Yet out of this season of devastation and hopelessness, God saved His people and restored them to their land.
B. Ezekiel and the scattered hairs
Ezekiel was the first prophet to foresee the calamity of two-thirds of the people of Israel perishing. (Ezekiel 5:1-4) He prophesied these things during the Babylonian Exile and was asked to carry out a strange act to demonstrate what was coming: to take a razor blade and cut off all the hair on his head and beard! Then “you shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, … then you shall take one-third and strike it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind….” (5:2) “This is Jerusalem,” explains the Lord. A two-thirds majority will be wiped out in famine, judgement and war, while the remaining one-third are not redeemed but scattered around the world, with harsh persecution following them even in exile. (5:2-4)
C. Zechariah and the shepherd
Zechariah lived in the time when Israel was returning from Babylon. Chapters 12-14 speak about the end-time struggle and restoration of Jerusalem, climaxing in the redemption of Israel as the “spirit of grace and supplication” is being poured out upon them. Yet right in the midst of these passages, the prophet inserts a vision about the Messiah…"
& continues :
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion,” says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.” (Zechariah 13:7)
Jesus himself quotes this scripture (Mark 14:27), referring to its fulfilment in the Garden of Gethsemane, as his disciples fled leaving him to suffer alone. In a broader sense, it is also a picture of the entire nation of Israel being scattered three decades after Christ, who is the great Shepherd who was “struck” and died. In this context, Zechariah foresees tragic times for all of Israel: “And it shall come to pass in all the land, says the LORD, that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.” (Zechariah 13:8)
The accounts of the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius tell us that during the first Jewish uprising, prior to the destruction of the Temple, some 1.1 million Jews lost their lives in the land of Israel. Just a few decades later, during the Bar Kochba revolt, the Roman historian Cassius Dio tallies another 580,000 Jewish casualties, with the surviving remnant being exiled. This would bring the total number of casualties in both revolts to over 1.7 million people.
Moreover, the Jewish historian Salo Wittmayer Baron estimated the population of Israel at 2.3 million at the time of the Roman emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). Two-thirds of this number would represent some 1.5 million people. So, there is amazing accord between these secular histories and the words of the Hebrew prophets foretold some 500 years earlier. Both the history books and the prophetic context of the ‘stricken shepherd’ compel us to place these events in the past and not in the future.
Jesus himself foresaw this calamity over Israel when he wept over Jerusalem. “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.” (Luke 21:24) Zechariah likewise foresees an extended period of judgement for Israel, with two-thirds perishing while the one-third remnant is placed through the “fire” of exile, followed by their eventual redemption.
Thus, there is a common thread that can be followed throughout these prophetic writings in Jeremiah 30-33, Ezekiel 5 and Zechariah 13. The process of Israel’s redemption starts with the rejection and striking of the Shepherd. This is followed by a huge upheaval in the land of Israel where two-thirds are “cut off” with the remaining one-third scattered to all the nations. This exile is accompanied by the refining fire of ongoing persecution and culminates in a final calamity outside the land known as “Jacob’s trouble”. Finally, it ends with a national restoration of Israel that ultimately gives way to her spiritual restoration as well.
This very same sequence also can be found in the great chapters of Ezekiel 36-37, while Psalm 102 also forsees a Holocaust-type ordeal after which God declares that “the time to favour Zion has come!”
& continues
"The new paradigm of favouring Zion
The prophets indicate that once God’s restoration purposes with Israel set in, nothing can stop or interrupt it anymore. Zechariah tells us that Jerusalem will become a “cup of drunkenness” for the world and that the nations will eventually gather against Jerusalem. Although, the same prophet also declares that it is the nations who will be judged, while Israel is delivered and comes out victorious.
The restoration of Israel represents a paradigm shift in how God is dealing with the Jewish people. The prophet Isaiah starts his restoration-chapters (40-48) with the call to “Comfort My people” and to cry out to her, “that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2) This expression “her iniquity is pardoned” could be better translated from the Hebrew as “her debt has been settled”, or “she has paid for her sin”. Rather than pardon or forgiveness, it reflects the idea that God has completed His season of judgment with Israel and He is no longer dealing with her anymore according to her sins. God is telling the world to cry out to Israel saying that her warfare and time of judgement has ended, and a new season of restoration lies ahead of her!
Likewise, Zechariah declares: “‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the LORD of hosts… ‘Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘And I would not relent, so again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.’” (Zechariah 8:11-15) This means that God has started an unwavering restoration process representing a radical shift in how He deals with Israel. This does not mean He will never again correct Israel, like a loving father would his son, but it will be done “with measure”. (Jeremiah 30:11)
The way to redemption
Finally, the teaching that Israel will only receive her Messiah through yet another period of great judgement misrepresents the character of God and even mankind. In general, great human catastrophe does not lead to repentance but rather to the contrary. Pharaoh, after the severest plagues, only hardened his heart even further. The book of Revelation parallels this by describing humanity as hopelessly in rebellion against God, even after His great wrath unfolds in the last days: “And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 16:11)"
& lastly says "Catastrophic judgments like that which occurred to Israel in 70 AD were not God’s way to call His people back to Him; rather, they expressed His sense that their measure of sin was full and demanded divine justice. Jesus declared “your house is left to you desolate…” (Matthew 23:38)
Similarly, the great tragedy of the Holocaust left most Jews not seeking God but rather asking “Where was God?”, and many even lost their faith in Him. As one Holocaust survivor once told me: “For me, God died in Auschwitz.” The Apostle Paul, on the other hand, declares that “the goodness of God leads you to repentance”. (Romans 2:4)
God’s way of redeeming His people is a story of His covenant faithfulness and eternal love restoring them. (Jeremiah 31:2) In contrast, the message of God to the nations in our day is not that more judgement is waiting for Israel, but: “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’” (Jeremiah 31:10) This can surely include measured discipline by the corrective staff of the good shepherd, yet it will lead to green pastures.
This is the call we are committed to at the Christian Embassy: declaring God’s mercy and faithfulness to Israel and to the nations. We are declaring that a new season of restoration has started, and we are challenging the Church to join God in this great restoration work with Israel. Our call is to “Comfort My people” and to declare to Israel that a new chapter has started which will lead not to further judgement but to all of Israel being saved!"
From the website evidenceunseen.com an article is headlined "The Regathering of Israel"
By James Rochford the article says
"The regathering of Israel is an often repeated prediction of the Bible, mentioned in a multitude of passages. The Jews were globally dispersed for 1,900 years, and yet, during that time they were able to retain their cultural and religious identity. In recent years, they were reestablished as a nation against all odds. This would be about as likely as the Native Americans being given back their land in the United States! In fact, that would be more likely—given the fact that the Native Americans were not globally dispersed for almost two millennia.
Let’s consider the predictions that the Bible makes in this regard. Below is a partial list of verses that predict the regathering of Israel. For more passages, see the endnote.[i]
The Regathering in Isaiah
Let’s look at this passage closely:
(Is. 11:11-12 NASB) Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And He will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
First, this cannot refer to the regathering under Ezra and Nehemiah, because he clearly says that they will be regathered “a second time.” Isaiah was writing before the first dispersion under Nebuchadnezzar (8th century B.C.). The return from Babylonian and Assyrian exile was the “first regathering” (Is. 10:20-27; 44:26-45:8). Moreover, this cannot refer to the regathering of the Exodus under Moses, because Isaiah promised a “remnant” will be regathered. The Exodus was not a remnant –rather all of Israel was gathered.
Second, this passage states that this will be a global regathering (“from the islands of the sea… from the four corners of the earth”), rather than a local regathering.
Third, the context explains that this is a global regathering at the end of history. In verses 1-5, Isaiah speaks of the Branch (the Messiah). In verses 6-9, he speaks of the Messianic kingdom. In verses 10-16, he speaks of the political or physical regathering of Israel. In chapter 12:1-6, he speaks of the spiritual regathering in Israel.[1] This is during the time of King Messiah (v.10). Isaiah mentions the “Root of Jesse,” which is synonymous with the Messiah.
Fourth, he mentions the specific countries from which the Jews will return. Regarding the first regathering under Ezra and Nehemiah, Eugenie Johnston writes:
About 50 thousand Jews from Babylon returned immediately under Zerubbabel (Neh. 7:6-7, 66-67). Nearly a century later, Nehemiah led another group from Shushan in Persia (Neh. 1:1; 2:1-11). No other places are mentioned from which Jews returned. Among the names of Jews who returned, we find a number of Babylonian and Persian names, indicating that the Jews had lived in these areas, but no evidence of return from other regions.[2]
Today, we see that there has been an exodus from these specific countries that Isaiah had predicted:"
the article continues
"Statistics on Regathering from the Nations
Nation
Jewish Population (1948)
Jewish Population (Today)
Egypt
66,000 Jews.
A few hundred.[3]
Assyria & Babylon
(modern day Iraq)
150,000 Jews
Fewer than 10![4]
Hamath
(modern day Syria)
15,000 Jews.
Fewer than 100.[5]
Elam
(modern day Persia, then Iran)
95,000 Jews.
20,000 to 25,000.[6]
The Regathering in Jeremiah
Jeremiah writes:
(Jer. 31:38-40 NASB) “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39“The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40“And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
The final line is crucial, because God promises that the Jews will never be dispersed again after this time. This, of course, could not refer to the first regathering. In addition, John Walvoord comments, “It is predicted that Israel will return to the land and that Jerusalem will be built in a certain area which had formerly never been used for building purposes. It is remarkable that this precise area has been built into a portion of the modern city of Jerusalem in fulfillment of this prophecy.”[7]"
the article continues
"The Regathering in Ezekiel
Ezekiel writes:
(Ezek. 37:11-12, 14, 21-22, 25 NASB) “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel… 12I will bring you into the land of Israel… 14I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,” declares the LORD… 21Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land 22and I will make them one nation in the land… 25They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.
This passage refers to the end of human history, because it mentions the return of the Messiah (“David My servant will be their prince forever…” v. 25). This hasn’t happened yet, so we should expect this to occur in the future. If you read the entire chapter, Ezekiel describes a vision of skeletons being reassembled and formed into a living being. Pentecost suggests that this passage might imply a process, rather than an overnight event. The bones gain sinews, then flesh, and are covered with skin. Finally, they are given breath (or life).[8] Similarly, the modern regathering of Israel has been a slow process, and the nation is largely secular—not spiritual. Therefore, the rest of the fulfillment of this prediction will come about in the future.
The Regathering in Hosea
In the beginning of Hosea, God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer—a prostitute. He has several kids with her, and she leaves him to sleep around with other men (2:2-7). In chapter 3, Hosea is commanded to renew his relationship with Gomer. This becomes a dramatic picture of God’s dealings with Israel. God married her, Israel left him for idols, but he still remained faithful to her. In chapter 3, Hosea makes a remarkable prediction about Israel:
(Hos. 3:4-5 NASB) For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.
“Without king or prince…” The people will cease to have a political ruler.
“Without sacrifice or sacred pillar…” The people will be without religious practice.
“Without ephod or household idols…” The people will be without true or false religious practice (c.f. 2 Kings 23; Ezra 2:63).
John Bloom comments, “The Encyclopaedia Judaica, on the other hand, believes ‘the priests merged with the rest of the nation’ and also that about 20 years after the destruction, the Sanhedrin at Jabneh [Jamnia] ruled the temple ‘sacrifices were… replaceable by charity and repentance.’ In any case, by about AD 100, the Jews are ‘without sacrifice and (figurative) ephod.’ This situation has continued to the present day.”[9] Hosea writes,
(Hos. 3:5 NASB) Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God [religious restoration] and David their king [political restoration]; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days."
& continues
"Finally, Hosea predicts that Israel would return both politically and religiously at the end of human history.[10]
The Regathering in Zechariah
Zechariah writes,
(Zech. 10:8-10 NASB) “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. 9“When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. 10“I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them.
This cannot refer to the first exile, because this book post-dates the exilic period! Gleason Archer dates Zechariah’s book between 520 and 480 B.C. Liberal scholars date this book even later.[11] Also, Zechariah mentions the “far countries”—not merely Egypt and Assyria (c.f. Zech. 12:6).
The Regathering in the New Testament[12]
Jesus said,
(Lk. 21:24 NLT) They [the Jews] will be brutally killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be conquered and trampled down by the Gentiles UNTIL the age of the Gentiles comes to an end.
The operative word here is “until…” The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. However, while the Jews were going to be temporarily removed from the land, they would ultimately receive the land in the end. At the end of history, Zechariah pictures Jerusalem being in the hands of the Jews (Zech. 12 and 14).
Remarkably, the regathering of the nation of Israel was predicted –not just in one passage –but in dozens of passages in the Bible. It appears that multiple authors in the Bible (both Old and New Testament) believed that God would restore the nation of Israel as a sovereign state on their original land. In the last fifty years, we have seen this prediction come to fruition. John Walvoord comments, “The restoration of Israel to its ancient land and its establishment as a political government is almost without parallel in the history of the world.”[13]
& continues " Timeline of the Jewish People in the Promised Land
Passage and Time
Event
(Gen. 11) Roughly 2,000 B.C.
Abraham was called by God from the land of Ur to go to the Promised Land, but he never owned it.
(Gen. 37-50) Roughly 1,800 B.C.
Joseph led the Hebrews to set up their homes in Egypt because of the famine.
(Exodus) Roughly 1,445 B.C.
Moses led these Hebrew slaves out of Egypt to the Promised Land. They sinned against God (Ex. 32), and they are cursed to wander for 40 years until all of the culpable adults die off.
(Joshua) Roughly 1,400 B.C.
After the 40 years have commenced, Joshua and Caleb lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land.
(Judges) Roughly 1,300 B.C.
The nation had no leadership. The repeated refrain is that they needed a king (Jud. 21:25).
(1 Samuel) Roughly 1,000 B.C.
God raised up Saul as the first king of the nation of Israel.
(2 Samuel) Roughly 1,000 B.C.
David took over as king after Saul. Solomon took over after him.
(1 and 2 Kings) Roughly 900 B.C.
Solomon –David’s son –allowed the Hebrew men to marry idol-worshipping women. Soon, idol worship was rampant in Israel.
(Isaiah; Amos; Hosea) Roughly 750 B.C.
The Jews didn’t fulfill their contract with God (Deut. 28; Lev. 26). Therefore, these prophets warned the Jews of judgment by Assyrian takeover.
(2 Kings 17) 721 B.C.
At this point in the history of Israel, the nation was broken into two factions –Israel to the north and Judah to the south. The Assyrians take over the ten tribes to the north (Israel).
(Jer. 29:10) Roughly 650 B.C.
During this period, Jeremiah predicted that the rest of Israel (Judah) would be invaded and exiled. He predicted that this would last for 70 years.
(Daniel) Roughly 600 B.C.
The rest of the land (Judah) was taken over by Babylonia, as Jeremiah predicted. This was the remaining land to the south. All of the Jews were exiled.
(Ezra and Nehemiah) Roughly 500 B.C.
After the exile, the Jews were taken back into the land. The book of Ezra describes how they rebuilt the Temple, and the book of Nehemiah describes how they rebuilt the buttressing wall.
350 B.C.
Alexander the Great took over the Jews. This was predicted in the book of Daniel (Dan. 8), but it isn’t historically recorded in the Old Testament. This occurred during the intertestamental period (the time between the Old and New Testament).
167 B.C.
A number of Jews revolted at this time (which was called the Maccabean revolt), and they kicked the Greeks out of Israel.
63 B.C.
Romans invaded and took the Jews over again. Governors were brought in to oversee the Jews and collect taxes. The governor at the time of Jesus was Pontius Pilate.
A.D. 33
Jesus was crucified. The church began at Pentecost (Acts 2)."
& continues
A.D. 70
Titus—the Roman General—ordered Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed. Josephus recorded that 1.1 million were killed.
A.D. 132-136
Simon bar Kokhba was hailed as a messianic figure, who could bring freedom to Jerusalem. Rome sent six full legions to destroy his movement. As a result of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, all Jews were banned from the city of Jerusalem.
A.D. 700’s
Abbasid Arabs took over the land during this period. They held it until the 20th century. Anti-Semitism prevailed. The Jews were men and women without a country. Suspicion and conspiracy theories surrounded them, because they were a people that existed everywhere on Earth. People began to resent these foreigners, and this is where anti-Semitism originated.
1881
At this time, roughly 25,000 Jews lived in Israel.[14]
1914
At this time (the beginning of World War I), there were roughly 80,000 Jews living in Israel.
1939
By the start of the Second World War, there were over 400,000 Jews living in the Promised Land. While mandates were made by the League of Nations and the British Foreign Secretary to legislate territory for them, nobody respected or listened to them. The Jewish immigration laws (by Arabs) were severe and strict.
1945
After World War II, the Jews garnered world sympathy due to the ultimate expression of anti-Semitism under Hitler’s Third Reich.
1948
The British handed the land of Palestine (the Promised Land) over to the United Nations. The UN divided the land into an Arab state and a Jewish state. 650,000 Jews lived in Israel at this time. There was massive repopulation of the land.
May 14, 1948
The British withdrew. Israel declared itself an independent state. Before the day was over, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia engaged in open warfare! Truces were made by the following year.
June 5th, 1967
Israel engaged in the Six Day War. This resulted in the Jews regaining the territory from the Suez Canal to the Jordan river, including the city of Jerusalem itself.
Present Day
Today, there are roughly six million Jews in Israel."
& continues
Let’s consider some objections to these biblical prophecies.
OBJECTION #1: “What if the Regathering of Israel is just a self-fulfilled prophecy?”
Skeptics claim that there is nothing supernatural about this prediction. Instead, the Jewish people merely self-fulfilled this prophecy. The Jewish people read their Bibles and this encouraged them to take back their land—thus self-fulfilling these “predictions.” Let’s look at a couple of responses to this objection:
First, the Roman government usually didn’t scatter conquered nations. Instead, they dominated them, while letting stay in their land (e.g. Israel during the time of Christ). Samuel Kellogg writes, “Such as scattering, please note, is hardly a necessary result of foreign domination. The Romans, for instance, to whom the last and most extensive scattering of the Jews is due, conquered many nations; generally they allowed these nations to remain in their own land if they would submit to Rome.”[15] Moreover, the Jews would hardly wish to instigate the fulfillment of this portion of the prophecy! Josephus estimated the fatalities at 1.1 million Jews during this time.
Second, as the Bible predicts, it is unlikely that the Jews could retain an identity without a government and a centralized place of worship. Hosea predicted, “For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols” (Hos. 3:4). Hosea predicted that the Jews would be scattered for “many days” without a “king or prince.” They would hardly wish to self-fulfill this prediction! Moreover, it would be incredibly difficult to keep a national identity without a king or prince to govern the nation. Likewise Ezekiel predicted that the kingly line would be suspended until the King Messiah came (Ezek. 21:25-27 “Remove the turban and take off the crown… this also will be no more until he comes whose right it is”). There has been no king in Israel since this time (587 B.C.). The Maccabees were not from the line of David or tribe of Judah—neither were the Herods.
Third, the Jews have not regathered ONCE—but TWICE. If the regathering of Israel was a lucky regathering of religious zealots, then it would need to explain not just one fluke, but two. Therefore, the improbability of one self-fulfilled regathering is multiplied exponentially by a second. The first regathering was under Ezra and Nehemiah."
& continues "Fourth, other nations have tried to regather, but they have repeatedly failed. Robert Newman writes:
“What are the probabilities that a people group will be globally dispersed, yet retain its identity for centuries independently of a homeland, survive almost continual persecution and harassment, and then return to reestablish their nation? Few of the peoples from Old Testament times survive today as distinct ethnic groups: The people of Moab, Edom, Nabatea, Philistia, and Assyria have all disappeared, having blended with successive migrations of Arabs and others into the area. Coptic (pre-Islamic) Egyptians and Samaritans survive, but they stayed within or close to their homelands. Given the upheavals in the Near East, only about a tenth of these people groups have maintained their ancient ethnic identity in the region over the centuries. The Jews, who were dispersed globally, faced much lower odds of retaining their identity outside their homeland for over two thousand years. That a globally-dispersed group would return to their native land and resettle it after two thousand years is unique in history. This is not a situation like the Balkans or the former Soviet Union where an amalgam of hostile people groups has fragmented after a century of enforced political domination; but a global dispersion of small, relatively isolated communities in foreign lands that nonetheless preserved their identity for thousands of years. Perhaps the closest analogy would be if the Amish or Mennonite communities returned to their homelands and formed a new nation, although these groups have only a 500-year history.”[16]
As we noted above, other dispersed people have tried to reclaim their land (e.g. Native Americans), but this isn’t as easy at the skeptics cavalierly claim. If this was so easy, then why haven’t other groups been able to do this?
Fifth, the Jews regathered despite horrendous opposition. Sadly, a lot of this persecution and anti-Semitism was carried out by so-called Christians. Samuel Kellogg writes, “We still find that the Jews have been under foreign government for three-fourths of their history. For half of their history, over eighteen hundred years, they have been scattered from their homeland into nearly every nation on earth.”[17] It would be a hate filled insult to say that these Jews did this intentionally (to self fulfill this prophecy), considering the Russian and German persecution of the Jews. Kellogg writes, “Nearly every influence which might obliterate a people has come upon the Jews over the centuries, as upon no other nation in history, and yet they still survive today… But the Nazi holocaust wiped out about six million Jews according to the best estimates, about two-thirds the Jewish population of Europe at that time.”[18]
& continues
"There are roughly six million Jews in Israel today. This was roughly the amount of Jews killed under Hitler’s Third Reich. If this prophecy was self-fulfilled, it was done so under tremendous opposition. Hitler was hunting down these people in their houses across Europe and systematically sending them to death camps to be burned alive! Thus, this wasn’t an easygoing regathering of scattered people; it was an arduous and tortured regathering of persecuted people. Charles Ryrie adds:
“In A.D. 70, an even greater calamity came on the Jews. Two years before, 20,000 Jews were killed by Gentiles in Caesarea and, in a single day, the people of Damascus cut the throats of 10,000 more. But in A.D. 70, Jerusalem was conquered and the Temple was destroyed. More than 100,000 bodies of Jews were thrown over the wall of the city during that siege, and after the fall of the city an equal number were sold into slavery. One estimate is that more than a million people were killed in the conquest of Jerusalem and the events that followed. The world has not been any kinder to the Jewish people since that time. Under Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), the Romans destroyed 985 towns in Palestine and killed 580,000 men. Many others were sold into slavery. The Jews were banished from Jerusalem, a policy continued under other emperors. The Crusades (A.D. 1096 and following), which sought to recapture the holy places in Palestine from the Muslims, also brought extermination to the Jews of Europe as part of the holy wars. Even the English and the French, as late as the Thirteenth Century, wiped out entire Jewish communities in their counties. While Columbus was discovering America, the Jews were being expelled from almost all of western Europe.”[19]
Deuteronomy predicted that the people would “become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you” (Deut. 28:37). We’ve also seen this prediction come to fruition. Anti-Semitic jokes and stereotypes have surrounded the Jews in a degrading way. Europeans began the phrase “jewing a person,” which was an idiom for having poor business dealings.
Sixth, when the Jews tried to regather, they repeatedly failed. The Jews tried to assert themselves over the Roman Empire twice before, and they failed miserably. Josephus estimated that 1.1 million Jews were killed in A.D. 70. There were additional casualties in the Bar Kokhba Revolt in A.D. 132. It wasn’t until secular nations gave them this authority that they claimed it.
This is why anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists believe that the Holocaust was a hoax. They believe this, because the Jews got their land back as a result of this atrocity. The United Nations voted Israel into existence as a nation. Even the Soviet Union voted for it! Until this happened, Israel could not buy or import weapons. In fact, Great Britain had a naval blockade on Israel, confiscating guns that Jewish settlers smuggled in. Atheistic governments (like the USSR) would hardly wish to fulfill Bible prophecy."
& continues " Seventh, the institution of the nation of Israel was largely a secular movement—not a religious one. Religious dogmatism and zealotry can explain fervent and unrelenting motivation. But it doesn’t explain the regathering of Israel, because Israel is largely a secular state—not a religious one.[20] In order for this explanation to work, we would need a sufficient religiously motivated (i.e. Bible-believing) agenda. But Israel’s regathering was largely driven by political and secular motives (e.g. Zionism, Theodor Herzl). Even this secular state of Israel was predicted in the Bible, which states that the regathering of political Israel will precede its spiritual revival (see Ezek. 11:17-20; 36:26-28).
OBJECTION #2: Response to Richard Carrier
Briefly, I would like to respond to skeptic Richard Carrier’s criticism of this prediction. His criticism can be found in his article titled “Newman on Prophecy as Miracle” (1999, 2005).
ARGUMENT #1: Hosea didn’t predict how many days that Israel would be scattered
CLAIM: Carrier claims that this passage is not predictive, “because it does not say how many ‘days’ Israel would suffer this way.”
RESPONSE: This really isn’t an argument at all; it is just an expectation. This statement doesn’t deal with the evidence; instead it deals with Carrier’s own personal expectations for something that was never predicted. Therefore, this “argument” is specious. If the number of days had been predicted, Carrier could have added other expectations. Thus no prediction would satisfy Carrier’s personal expectations. In fact, at the end of this section, Carrier writes,
If Hosea had said that in twenty-five centuries the Israelites would have communities in a land across a great sea that lies past the mouth of the Mediterranean, that they would build a weapon that flies through the air and lays waste to entire kingdoms, and that the people of Britain would help them reclaim their Holy Land against a people who pray to only one God, that would have been miraculous. But we do not get predictions anywhere near that good or precise (and this hypothetical example isn’t even all that good or precise itself).
This example isn’t good enough either? This final comment demonstrates that Carrier’s expectations are the issue here—not the prediction itself."
& continues "ARGUMENT #2: The destruction of Israel is not improbable—but probable
CLAIM: Next, Carrier focuses on how probable it would be that Israel would be destroyed, because of its “small size and fertile and strategic location at a major nexus of two major ocean trade routes, between several superpowers.” He concludes, “This prediction thus fails to be miraculous.”
RESPONSE: Of course, the destruction and dispersion of Israel is not the important part of this prediction. Nations are destroyed all the time. Instead the important part is their regathering. It is shocking that Carrier never really acknowledges this key point!
ARGUMENT #3: The abolition of idolatry was not improbable
CLAIM: Carrier notes, “Jewish holy men had been on a campaign against idolatry for ages–thus the claim that idols would vanish is hardly any more a prediction than a plan.” Carrier’s argument here is that Jewish zealotry would eliminate—or self-fulfill—this prediction, because the religious Jews hated idolatry.
RESPONSE: This argument fails because, as mentioned earlier, Hosea also predicted the absence of true religious worship, as well as government. Why would religious Jews also make a “plan” (as Carrier puts it) to eliminate true worship and true leadership? Religious Jews would have a motive to preserve these things—not predict them.
ARGUMENT #4: The Maccabean kings should count as kings
CLAIM: Carrier writes, “The prediction only says ‘without kings,’ so Newman is taking liberties of interpretation–but that allows any excuse for a missing king to be a success.”
RESPONSE: The Maccabees were not from the tribe of Judah; they were from the priestly line. Therefore, to a Jewish reader, they would not be true kings. While Carrier (a 21st century atheist) doesn’t see a distinction here, what would the original Jewish audience have thought? This distinction was important to them—even if it isn’t to Carrier.
In conclusion, Carrier’s minor squabbles about the details of this prediction really divert our attention from the main point, which was never really addressed. This is similar to a football coach asking the referees to review a call on a fourth down play, when their team is down by 60 points in the fourth quarter! He focuses on the minutia, rather than the overall prediction. Even after carefully taking into account Carrier’s critique, it still remains clear that the OT predicts the regathering of Israel in dozens of passages, which is still a remarkable biblical prophecy. "
& continues
"OBJECTION #3: “How do we know that these passages are not referring to the first regathering of Israel (under Ezra and Nehemiah)?”
So far, in Jewish history, there have been two historical regatherings (or three if you count the Exodus).
FIRST REGATHERING: The Jews were scattered under Solomon’s sons, because of neglecting the Sabbath and their idolatry. They regathered under the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
SECOND REGATHERING: The dispersion after the destruction of the Temple and the nation between A.D. 70 and 135. They regathered only recently in the 20th century.
Critics argue that these passages above refer to the first regathering under Ezra and Nehemiah (sixth century BC). Is this the case?
First, the promises of this regathering are said to be PERMANENT. In Amos 9:14-15, we read that God will never scatter the people again after the regathering that is being predicted. This could not refer to the first regathering, because Israel was dispersed in A.D. 70 under the Romans, which would break the promise. Liberal scholars claim that these passages refer to the first regathering, but the prophet “exaggerated” what would happen! As Bible believers, we cannot side with these sorts of interpretations. If the text says that it is a permanent regathering, then this is what it means.
Second, Jesus implied that the nation of Israel will be regathered after they are scattered. As we have already read, Jesus said that the Jews will be scattered “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24 NASB). Clearly, this statement occurred after the first regathering but before the second. Other New Testament passages imply the regathering of Israel, as well. For instance, Jesus said, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet” (Mt. 24:15 NASB). Jesus specifically refers to the “abomination of desolation” which Daniel wrote about. This specifically refers to the sacrifices in the Temple of God (Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11), implying that the Temple will be rebuilt (c.f. 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 7:3-8; 11:2). Other passages in the NT also teach that God was going to work through Israel again at the end of human history (Acts 1:6-7; Rom. 11:25-29).
Third, some of the promises of regathering refer to every Jew being back in the land. Clearly, this hasn’t been fulfilled yet, but it is on its way in the future (Is. 27:12-13). Of course, the first regathering could not have completely fulfilled this promise, so a future expectation is warranted.
Fourth, certain books, which predict the second regathering, were written after the first regathering. For example, the book of Zechariah post-dates the exile. Gleason Archer dates Zechariah’s book between 520 and 480 B.C. Liberal scholars date this book even later.[21] Therefore, Zechariah could not have been predicting the first regathering, because his book was written after it. Also, Ezekiel is normally dated during the exile, and it also predicts the regathering. This wouldn’t have been much of a prediction, if it was during this period. Moreover, the NT authors clearly wrote are after the exile! –and they also predicted a future regathering after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70."
& continues
"Fifth, the prophets mention that David will be ruling at this time (Ezek. 37:25). At this point in Israel’s history, David had been dead for centuries. This is most likely a reference to King Messiah, as promised in the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7). This could not be a reference to Jesus’ First Coming, because he did not rule on Earth. It would be better to say that this will eventually be literally fulfilled in his Second Coming, along with the future regathering of Israel.
Sixth, some of the prophecies mention a world-wide regathering. While the Jews were regathered from Babylon and Persia in the first regathering, many passages say that they will be regathered from “the distant coastlands” and the “east, west, north, and south” (Is. 43:5-7; Is. 66:19-20). This language refers to an international regathering, rather than a regathering from just the nations of Babylon and Persia. The return from Babylon (the first regathering) only consisted of about 46,000 Jews, which was only from the east of Israel. This passage teaches that they will be regathered from all sides and “from the ends of the earth” (Is. 43:6 NASB).[22]
Seventh, God predicted the regathering of Israel twice before, and it literally came true. The Jews were scattered in Egypt during the time of Joseph. God predicted that they would be gathered into the Promised Land, and it literally came true. Later, the Jews were scattered and occupied by the Assyrians and Babylonians. God promised that he would regather them, and he literally did this during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. These passages above are predictions of a future regathering, and it makes sense that they will be literally fulfilled. Why should the final regathering be figurative if the first regatherings were literal?
Eighth, and most obvious, the Jews have been regathered in history. If you asked an interpreter from this school (Amillenniarian), “What do you think about the Jewish regathering in 1948 and the capture of Jerusalem in 1967?” Do you know what they’d say?
“It’s a coincidence…”
I guess that is one way of looking at it, but we don’t see it this way! This “coincidence” seems to confirm what the Bible has been teaching all along."
& continues [1] Some interpret verse 10 to refer to Jesus’ rest that he promised during the Church Age (Mt. 11:28-30; Is. 42:6; 49:6). Others interpret this to be a summary statement of the Messianic Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus’ Second Coming. In this way, the passage is not necessarily chronological that follows (i.e. the nation of Israel was regathered before the Messiah returned in the Messianic Age). I take the latter view.
[2] Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988. 90.
[3] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/egjews.html
[4] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iraqijews.html
[5] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/syrianjews.html
[6] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iranjews.html
[7] Walvoord, John F. Israel in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1978. 68.
[8] Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things to Come: a Study in Biblical Eschatology. Grand Rapids, MI: Academie, 1964. 345.
[9] Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988. 81.
[10] Skeptics claim that Hosea’s primary ministry was only to the North (Ephraim), rather than the south (Judah). Ephraim, however, amalgamated with the southern kingdom; therefore, it appears that Hosea had the entire nation in mind. If he only had this northern kingdom in mind (Ephraim), then some have argued that the Samaritans could also be a fulfillment of this passage, because they have similar hallmarks in their history, as well. See chapter 7 of Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988.
[11] Archer, Gleason Leonard. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody, 1974. 433.
[12] See also Lk. 1:30-33 (it is the angel, who makes this affirmation of Jesus’ literal reign) and Mt. 19:28 (the expectation of the literal Davidic throne); Acts 1:6-7 (the disciples’ belief in a restoration of Israel); Rom. 9:3-5 (Paul’s use of the present tense); Rom. 11:25-29 (Paul’s emphasis on the salvation of ethnic Israel); Rev. 7:3-8 (mention of the tribes and numbers of people).
[13] Walvoord, John F. Israel in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1978. 19.
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[14] Walvoord, John F. Israel in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1978. 18-19.
[15] Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988. 58.
[16] Robert Newman “Public Theology and Prophecy Data: Factual Evidence that Counts for the Biblical Worldview.”
[17] Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988. 55.
[18] Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988. 55, 62.
[19] Ryrie, Charles C. The Bible and Tomorrow’s News. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1976. 82.
[20] Ryrie wrote, “This was more of a political than a religious movement.” Ryrie, Charles C. The Bible and Tomorrow’s News. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1976. 90.
[21] Archer, Gleason Leonard. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody, 1974. 433.
[22] Amillennial interpreters claim that this is just hyperbolic language. Because the Jews were unaware of the rest of the known world, this language simply refers to the local nations, surrounding Israel. While the Bible does use hyperbolic language like this, we don’t feel that this adequately explains the language used in these passages. The Bible predicts that the people will come from the four corners of the Earth, the ends of the Earth, the distant coastlands, and all four directions (east, west, north, and south). The repeatedly global language seems to imply a global implication. It is almost as if the authors are repeating themselves in many different ways to get their point across!"
& continues Additional Predictions of Israel’s Future Regathering
(Is. 14:1 NASB) When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
This verse comes off the heels of chapter 13, which is clearly apocalyptic. In addition, the next verse explains that Israel will “take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors” (v.2). Israel never did this at the time.
(Is. 43:5-7 NASB) Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. 6“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back ‘ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
Isaiah emphasizes that this regathering will not be local, but instead, it will be worldwide “from the ends of the earth” (east, west, north, and south).
(Is. 66:8 NASB) Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
(Is. 66:19-20 NASB) 19“I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory And they will declare My glory among the nations. 20“Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
The context for this passage is the end of the world. The Gentile nations are also included.
(Jer. 16:14-15 NASB) “Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
Jeremiah explains that this will be a regathering from the many countries –not just the deportation from Babylon.
(Jer. 23:3-8 NASB) “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4“I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD. 5“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6“In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’ 7“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
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"Again, Jeremiah promises that the people will be back on their own real estate. At this time, the Messianic ruler will reign as king, which is a future event.
(Jer. 30:3 NASB) ‘For behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah ‘ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.'”
(Jer. 30:10-11 NASB) 10‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity and Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease, and no one will make him afraid. 11‘For I am with you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to save you; for I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, only I will not destroy you completely but I will chasten you justly and will by no means leave you unpunished.’
The context is the end of history. It is the “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7). In addition, the Messiah is mentioned in verse 9, as well (“David their king…”).
(Jer. 32:37-44) 37“Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. 38“They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. 40“I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41“I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. 42“For thus says the LORD, ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43‘Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44‘Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes,’ declares the LORD.”
& continues
"This also refers to an “eternal covenant” at this time. In other words, God will not disperse them again. This cannot refer to the first regathering.
(Ezek. 11:16-20 NASB) “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”‘ 17“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.“‘ 18“When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. 19“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.
The nation of Israel has never seen this sort of spiritual renewal. This must still be in the future. Notice, this covenant was not given to the church; it was given to the Jews. We should expect this to be literally fulfilled.
(Ezek. 38:8 NASB) After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.
Ezekiel specifies that this will happen at the end of history. Ezekiel 38-39 is all about the final tribulation, or “the time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7)."
& lastly says
"(Ezek. 39:25-29 NASB) 25Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26“They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27“When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. 28“Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29“I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.
John Walvoord: “The meaning of this passage is that they will be gathered to their land and that God will not allow a single Israelite to remain in dispersion. This has never been fulfilled by any previous regathering.” (Walvoord, Israel in Prophecy, p.70).
This period is probably in the millennium. In Daniel’s 70th week, there is great turmoil for the Jews (Dan. 9:27). Here, however, the Jews live securely (“live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid” vs. 26).
(Amos 9:11-15 NASB) “In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name,” Declares the LORD who does this. 13“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved. 14“Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15“I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.
This passage explicitly states that they will never be taken from their land again. This could not have happened in the first regathering."
Again, we at this blog post from the website, askdrbrown.org an article headlined "Is the Time of Jacob’s Trouble Past, Future, or Both?"
Posted Jan 13, 2013 the article says
"I addressed this important subject in my commentary on Jeremiah, which is due out later this year. Here, I’ll provide a very short summary of what I wrote there.
The concept of “Jacob’s trouble” comes from Jeremiah 30:5-7: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Cries of fear are heard– terror, not peace. Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.’”
Does it refer to Jacob’s (= Israel’s) sufferings at the time of the Babylonian captivity, a major theme in Jeremiah? Does it refer to Israel’s many severe sufferings through history, such as the Holocaust? Or does it point towards an ultimate time of Jewish suffering immediately before the Lord’s return?
There are a number of potential approaches for those of us reading the book of Jeremiah today: (1) Everything refers to the events that unfolded in the prophet’s own day, the 6th century BC, with no reference to any period beyond that; (2) The primary application is to the events that unfolded in the 6th century BC, with the possibility of secondary, future applications; (3) Both the immediate application and the distant-future are equally intended and applicable; (4) There may have been a past period called “Jacob’s trouble,” but the primary application is to various future events (such as the Holocaust); (5) Everything refers to events that are yet to unfold, to a future “tribulation” period called Jacob’s trouble, with no historical application of the text.
The context of the entire book of Jeremiah rules out the possibility of #5 (namely, that Jacob’s trouble refers exclusively to events that are yet to unfold), since an immediate application is demanded by virtually everything that precedes and follows these chapters. In other words, for the prophecy to make any sense to Jeremiah and his listeners, and based on the immediate context (just read Jeremiah 29!), the prophecy of “Jacob’s trouble” had to refer in the first place to the exile of the Jewish people by the Babylonians and the destruction of Jerusalem. All of this took place in Jeremiah’s day.
On the other hand, there are some clear Messianic promises in Jeremiah 30 (see Jer 30:8-10, 17-22) which still have not been fulfilled. There are also references to both Israel and Judah in Jer 30:3-4, meaning, this prophecy cannot refer to Judah alone (remember that it was Judah, not Israel, which was exiled by the Babylonians; the tribes of Israel had already been dispersed by the Assyrians 140 years earlier). This would suggest an immediate application of these verses in the destruction of Jerusalem and its consequent rebuilding in the 6th century BC, with a subsequent application and ultimate fulfillment in the end-time upheaval that will overtake much of the world before the Lord’s return, an upheaval that will surround Israel, and from which Israel will ultimately be saved. So, the first application of the prophecy would be to Judah’s exile and return from exile over 2,500 years ago, but the full application of the text is still future: There will again be traumatic sufferings for Israel, but God will deliver His people!"
the article continues :
"And yet there’s more. These verses also provide a template in which Israel’s sufferings, at select times in history, can be read. This means that while it would certainly be incorrect to see Jer 30:6-7 as “a prophecy of the Holocaust,” it would be valid on some level to apply these verses to that terrible period in Israel’s history, a period followed by what many would see as the beginning of Israel’s end-time spiritual restoration, marked by the physical reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, having been saved out of the decimation of the Holocaust.
Interestingly, a number of prominent rabbinic commentaries read these verses with a dual application. As noted by Rashi (he lived from 1040-1105; Rashi was the foremost traditional Jewish commentator), on Jer 30:5, “Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah [an older, rabbinic homily] explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.” Commenting on the words “that day,” in Jer 30:7, he writes, “The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.” How fascinating!"
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