The corporation I once worked for drummed into us the inevitability of change: “Get used to it.” They meant company re-structures. Some things never change, though. Israel will always be a punching bag.
Maybe it was because it was around the time of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But I was seeing an unusual wave of barbs against Israel. It took some time for the penny to drop.
It must work something like the Christmas and Easter seasons. I’m sure you know what I mean. Easter is coming up and you’re going to expect the perpetually re-cycled challenges to the resurrection etc. Yes, some things never change.
That said Israel will always be a punching bag. Some almost do it for a living. It appears to be a life-mission crusade for others. Still, for others, it’s kinda kewl to bash Israel. Pointing to Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians is, like, as important as making people aware of the dangers of Climate Change.
Yes, I’ve got my Grumpy Face on.
Israel is to the oppressed Palestinians as man-made Climate Change is to “Mother Earth.” Oh, and don’t forget the Israel-enabling Christian Zionists. They’re going to march us all off to Armageddon if we don’t pay attention. The whole world’s a mess – especially the Middle East. And you can blame them.
No, seriously!
When Stephen Sizer wrote his book (Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?), he wasn’t really asking a question. He hasn’t been shy about affirming this all along. In a recent blog post titled Christian Zionism preceded Jewish Zionism; he linked to an article by Delinda Hanley. She references Sizer’s work, but I’m sure that was purely coincidental.
As it turns out, Hanley is a “sister” in the struggle against Zionist and Israeli hegemony. There’s the obligatory diatribe. Her article reads like one of Sizer’s or Gary Burge’s cheat sheets – Darby, Falwell, Hagee etc. Honestly, responding to this stuff is as frustrating as bucketing water out of a boat with a big hole in its bottom. It never stops coming in.
First of all, since 70 AD Jews have never stopped longing to be back in their land. So, no, Christian Zionism didn’t precede Jewish Zionism. Secondly, Christian Zionism exists because God is a Zionist. God’s Zionism precedes Jewish and Christian Zionism.
Really, verses like Gen 12:3; Jer 31:31-37 and Amos 9:14-15 should be sufficiently clear on what’s God’s intentions are. But if you despise Israel (or the Jews) you likely don’t believe your Bible. Or you’ll use whatever tricks you can find in your little bag to make it say something other than what it plainly states. Take your pick.
Then there was that New York Times screed by Michelle Alexander. She wants to “break the silence on Palestine.” Silence? What silence? Well, Alexander complained that:
…many students are fearful of expressing support for Palestinian rights because of the McCarthyite tactics of secret organizations like Canary Mission, which blacklists those who publicly dare to support boycotts against Israel, jeopardizing their employment prospects and future careers. (Emphasis mine)
Do I hear a violin playing a mournful melody somewhere? Oh goodness me! What bologna!
Do these people live in an alternate universe – one I’m entirely unfamiliar with? Do her readers ever fact-check this drivel? In the few years that I’ve been reading, writing and commenting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I’ve seen quite the opposite. There’s no fear in vilifying Israel. It’s as common as dirt. Take a walk around the CAMERA website when you have time.
Also, Canary Mission outs the widespread vile comments calling for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Whether squeaky wheels like Alexander, Sizer, Burge et al realize it or not, their irrational charges against Israel feed the ravenous Anti-Semitic Beast. No, I’m not being hyperbolic or conspiratorial.
Alan Dershowitz responded to Alexander’s gripes HERE
As I was ruminating on all this, I came across an old article in which Pope Francis expressed a fervent desire for a Two-State solution as a remedy for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Now that’s a novel idea! Shall we run with that?
One great way to begin is to convince the two Palestinian leaderships to stop trying to kill Jews and accept living alongside a Jewish State. I know that’s a BIG ask considering the word “Jew” sticks in the throat of (even) the Palestinian Christian leaders. I mean, Jesus was a Palestinian rather than a Jew – right? But, hey, aren’t we all “Peace Makers”?
Then again, there are folks who prefer the much simpler One-State Model. Apparently free-thinking Democrat Rep Rashida Tlaib is one of them. Unfortunately her model isn’t exactly Israel (or Jew) friendly. John Perazzo noted:
When asked to describe a proper “solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Tlaib replies: “One state. It has to be one state. Separate but equal does not work.” In other words, she supports the permanent dissolution of Israel as a Jewish state, in favor of a new nation wherein a Palestinian majority would dominate the Jewish minority. Three weeks ago – on her first official day as a new Member of Congress – someone in Tlaib’s entourage affixed, to a wall map in the congresswoman’s office, a piece of paper bearing the name “Palestine” along with an arrow pointing to the spot on the map where Israel was located.
And people like Tlaib still get elected!
I’ll leave the last word to God. Re-interpret it to your heart’s content.
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. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me. Zech 2:8-9
Maranatha!
More resources:
T. Francis Glasson wrote:
In the OT and also in later Jewish writings two things are associated with the gathering of the dispersed: the trumpet and the ensign (or standard). The following prayer still appears in the Jewish Daily Prayer Book: Sound the great trumpet for our freedom: lift up the ensign to gather our exiles and gather us from the four corners of the earth. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who gatherest the banished ones of thy people Israel. (Quoted from the Authorized Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, S Singer p 48). See Renald Showers’ “Maranatha – Our Lord, Come” p 183.
Paul Wilkinson – Israel Betrayed
Sharing is caring!
