So many things have changed over the past nine years. Millions have been born and millions have died; governments have risen and governments have fallen. Many other things have simply become more extreme and widespread. Hatred for Israel, especially in America and Europe, is one of those things.
After four years of peace and increasing cooperation between Israel and the Arab world, President Biden’s foreign policy has ushered in a reversal of good news. His plan, not only in the Middle East but around the globe, seems to suggest the slogan, “We are weak and subject to political pressure.” Not surprisingly, the world is noticing.
I found this Musing from 2012 (with some slight language corrections), which reads like déjà vu:
I am driving my husband crazy. This is not, as you might think [another article from 2012] 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 unable to hear the rest of the radio conversation.
Israel is not perfect. Her government sometimes behaves in imperfect ways. Her citizens, like the citizens of America and other countries, are also imperfect; they run the gamut from holy to reprehensible. All this is irrelevant. The following idea isn’t my own, 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 would 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 the murder of those who follow a different religion. [Note: I am not positive if this is still the case in Egypt] Unless a ceasefire 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 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. [She never does! She only helps me–RDL] 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.
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
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It’s amazing how the conflict in the middle east has brought out all the haters. I know there is a cycle of the Jewish people transgressing God and repenting and returning to him. Likewise, the promise of Abraham is not a blank check from God to let Israel do anything it wants. The USA plays an important role in its alliance with Israel, no doubt they could have been “wiped off the map” (as Iran likes to say) were it not for our big stick over here. Biden’s weak leadership invites aggression and unfortunately, Israel is paying the price for that because part of Biden’s party is hostile to Jews. My thoughts and prayers to all families affected by this conflict.
Now that the left in the US feels emboldened, their hatred of Christians and Jews is becoming more and more transparent. In the words of Ronald Reagan, this IS a time for choosing. My prayer is that more people will see the darkness that comes with leftist ideology and choose the real “right side of history” this time around. My fear is that the lack of actual education that seems to prevail will lead to deja vu all over again (Germany 1933).
It is quite scary, Jean. I would add God to the list of the hated. He’s actually at the top of the list.
God doesn’t do fair so do not despair,He’ll work it out in the end.
Tony, I don’t despair for the overarching picture. But that doesn’t stop grief for what happens on the path to that glorious future.
The news people are pretty horrific. It’s pretty simple to see if Israel killed every hamas member the world would be a better place. Have the Abraham accords changed nothing? Is there nobody in the area that has had enough of this. Every rocket fired = 1 mile of territory forfeited. Inform the countries around them that will have an influx of immigrants coming their way.
Shawn, Europe and the United States are heading in the direction of having to deal with the same violence problems as they indiscriminately opened their doors. T
I’m sure the governments are doing absolutely zippo about it. I hope Israel can find peace. I also hope Israel dealt of heck of a blow to hamas.
It almost seems worse this time because of the peace that was developed with Trump policies.
Don, if it is worse, I think it is because President Trump showed a hopeful path for both America and Israel, yet the lies about him and the hatred of him led too many people to reject moving in a positive direction.
Mrs. Lapin,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this post. I am a Christian man and I support Israel. Your comment regarding the current state of Israel as it relates to God’s directives in the book of Deuteronomy I thought was an especially good insight. We know from the New Testament that God has not forsaken Israel as outlined by the apostle Paul. My hope is that as the dust settles in Israel and that some level of peace and quiet is restored that people would really pause to consider God’s Words in a new and fresh way. He is Israel’s great deliverer and He is willing to deliver her once again if she turns to Yahweh once more. In other words when God says something (as outlined in Deuteronomy He really means it). I am hoping that the people of Israel will have a bit of time now to pause and reflect on that reality and on His great love for her. She will never have peace or any real security apart from God it’s simply impossible. I support Israel and am praying for the peace of Jerusalem.
Mark, thank you for taking the time to write.
Deuteronomy 30:19 is so straightforward, “… I have set before you life and death, … therefore chose life.” A single question test, 2 possible answers, and the correct answer is given. Too many people make every possible choice except God’s way. I am thankful for everyone who is trying to live according to God’s Word!
Lyna, much of the Moslem world is extremely clear on preferring death. Too many Westerners simply refuse to listen.
Mrs. Lapin,
The anti-Israel sentiment concerns me deeply. The idea that Israel and Hamas are two like entities is mind-boggling… but I am seeing and hearing it everywhere. I am hearing Israel accused of apartheid (again).
You are in my prayers. I thank God for the perspective you and Rabbi Lapin bring to the world, particularly here in the U.S. where we are desperately in need of sane voices and “manure detectors” as the Rabbi says. (He made me laugh with that one.) God bless and keep you.
Kristyn, the lack of wisdom among highly intelligent people is mind-boggling indeed.
There is a direct and inevitable connection between certain domestic & foreign events. Recent domestic disturbances and a new policy of wrakness \ appeasement and subtle encouragement bacjed by demonstrated incompetence on an epic scale. Trends. The Suez crisis and subsequent events in the U.S. in the 1960’s were directly connected. In spirit and in facts. In academia and the streets. The so called Non Aligned Movement. Just one example.A continuum across decades varied but consistent. Neither space nor time for voluminous facts and footnotes. Numerous verified sources. Wide ranging. Including some unusual sources. Relatives who actually remember the events. Writings by the boastful opposition. What they deny in one place they goat about in another.
Elijah, I think there is absolutely a correlation between the riots in American streets that were excused and ignored by the media and Democrat politicians (actually – they were encouraged by many of them) and the riots among Israeli Arabs.
Mrs Lapin
I agree with you completely! For The Left to tell their supporters that Israel is at fault when they did not start this is beyond comprehension! I still cannot believe the number of rockets fired at Israel! It must have taken a very long time to smuggle them to Gaza with the assistance of other hostile countries. Thank God Israel has The Iron Dome! Terrorists using Human Shields has been done for years. The fact that Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate before they struck shows a lot of compassion for Human Life.
I am one of the many Christians who believe we are in The End Times and anything can happen. I find it very frustrating that there is not more outrage from Conservatives in America! Many American Politicians are remaining silent or twisting the facts around and are only concerned with their political careers! It is also tragic that each generation knows less about their true history especially The Holocaust and the founding of Israel!
Matthew, there is a direct correlation between knowing little about the founding of Israel (and the unceasing Jewish presence there since the days of Joshua) and the lack of knowledge about American history in the U.S. Both are subject to many lies today and you need to work to ferret out the truth. Understanding the link is imperative for moving forward.
Perhaps God will directly intervene soon and Israel will have total control of the Gaza area.
Jan, God is directly intervening all the time!