I am driving my husband crazy. This is not, as
you might think, because he returned home to an organized study. He is
gracious enough to concede that he loves the way his study looks and will be
able to work more efficiently than before. No, it is because I am not keeping
quiet while he listens to the radio.
Yesterday, we heard a respected news commentator announce
that both Israel and Hamas were being intransigent in their demands. At that
point, I began a tirade that went something like this: “I can’t believe he said
that. Israel is intransigent that Hamas stop firing thousands of rockets aimed
at kindergartens and hospitals and Hamas is intransigent that it be allowed to
massacre all Jews. And he says it as if the two sides are equivalent.” It is
possible that I carried on a wee bit longer, repeating the concept in a variety
of ways. Meanwhile, my poor husband was not able to hear any more of the radio
conversation.
Israel is not perfect. Her government sometimes behaves
wrongly. Her citizens, like the citizens of America and other countries, run
the gamut from holy to reprehensible. That data is irrelevant. I did not
originate the following idea, but it is true. If Hamas, Hezbollah, and other militant
Islamists put down their weapons there would be peace in the Middle East. If
Israel puts down its weapons there will be a massacre. That is the only reality
that counts. Israeli schools do not inculcate hatred of Moslems, while
Palestinian schools teach math through problems such as, “If there are seven
Jews and I kill four, how many are left?” Unlike TV in Egypt and other Moslem
countries, Israeli children’s TV does not advocate murder of those who follow a
different religion. Unless a cease-fire
changes core teachings such as these, the idea of peace is a hopeless chimera.
God holds Israel and the Jewish people to a higher standard
than He holds any other lands or people. That is both a privilege and a
terrifying truth. I believe that the blessings and curses that He pledges in Deuteronomy
for following or abandoning His ways, explain Jewish history to the present day.
The children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob need to combine prayer and repentance with
pragmatic and practical strategies.
Yet, even when Israel deserves chastisement, each nation and
person (Jew and non-Jew) has the free choice whether to join those who protect
or those who attempt to destroy the Jewish people. Each nation and person will be
held accountable for the choices made, as nations and people have for thousands
of years.
I am not really driving my husband crazy. We are both
desolate at seeing so much of humanity, in the Middle East and around the world,
choose evil over good and death over life. We are despondent at the moral
equivalence that is prevalent in the world today that equates murder with
self-defense or destruction with productivity. Yet we are also hopeful, knowing
that millions in Israel, America and around the world are committed to fighting
darkness and praying to merit light.
The American Alliance of Jews and Christians (AAJC) wants to
support Israel’s soldiers, many of whom are reservists called away from home
and business. If you would like to participate, all donations made to AAJC through
Saturday night will be sent to provide much appreciated packages and supplies
for these men and women. (After that time, enter the word “Israeli soldiers” on
the ‘organization’ line to have funds targeted for this campaign).
Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, those who love you shall prosper.
May there be
peace within your walls and serenity within your citadels.
Psalms 122
Dear Susan, Thank you for your mussing. I respect your writings and insight. I have no idea the origins or believes of my people. I know that since the day I opened the Holy Bible, I have felt an love and passion for The Lord God of Israel and His People.
It saddens me that Churches do not speak of Israel or even speak of the fact the Yashua was Jewish. Since I have started speaking up about this fact, I have lost friends and family support and respect. They think I am crazy, I know they have not read the Book. I love you show and the knowledge which you share. Blessing to you both, and I will always Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
I am extremely concerned about actions in Israel, including abortion, that go against God’s clear commands. That is exactly what I meant by saying that God holds Israel to a higher standard and that is a ‘terrifying truth.’ That doesn’t make Hamas’ murderous desires correct.
Choose Life?
Probably within a radius shorter than the distance between Gaza and Tel Aviv will be one or more Abortion Clinics, that daily “massacre” more innocent unborn babies than Israelis be killed on any day during the current conflict, and it will have been going on since the day you moved in. No missiles or trails, just babies ripped limb from limb or otherwise horribly destroyed.
The conflict 10,000 miles away will probably be over by the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, and the daily massacre in your back yard will continue. Unopposed.
If you cannot or will not oppose this local massacre, why the outrage over a geographically remote one? Would you be upset if Hamas and Planned Parenthood got together to destroy the same children in their Mother’s wombs in Israel?
The choice for life – or death – is not something which you can do circumstantially. I am not a Jew, but I understand you cannot eat a diary product representing life immediately after eating a meat product which involved killing. Life and death must be kept separated by both space and time if I understand things.
So if you accept and allow death practically at your doorstep, can you advocate very remote life in the very next moment?
And can a country which is given over to “the culture of death” long defend any value involving life? One that breaks every commandment will be absolved by supporting Israel – whether such support encourages righteousness or is like giving alcohol to an alcoholic? Baalam told Barak to send young women to seduce the Israeli men. Are you absolutely sure that supporting the bloodshed is a blessing and not a curse? Obeying and not breaching the commandments?
The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi is an early concept of justice. Enshrining the principle of lex talionis, it calls for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” The Rabbi has made it clear how the principles of love and forgiveness, superseding mere justice, are attributable to the Jewish tradition. Likewise, Christ expanded this principle, responding to those who would stone the woman taken in adultery, saying: “Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone.”
But what about a religion, not only as a matter of practice, but upon the basis of its scripture, that demands vengeance and retaliation? Gandhi said, “an eye for an eye, until all the world is blind.” There are better and more effective ways than vengeance and extermination to effect benign social change. If the radicals that routinely shell Israel had employed the non-violent methods of Gandhi, they would already have their Palestinian state, and MORE.
I am praying for Israel and that those whose eyes are closed over here be opened to the truth.
Thanks for expressing what so many feel, Susan. So frustrating and upsetting to see the moral equivalancies in the mainstream press go unchallenged. And thanks for creating an outlet where interested people can help.
I forgot to provide a link for the American Alliance of Jews and Christians (AAJC) for dontations. It is https://www.rabbidaniellapin.com/dynpage.php?id=1. Sorry!
peace