שלום חברים
Shalom Dear Friends,
This is the second of two newsletters that will be a little different. I am writing this September 2013 newsletter during the first half of July. The reason: I will be spending the second half of July in Upper New York State teaching at Ariel Ministries Camp Shoshanah. Then, in August, Susan and I will be enjoying two weeks of vacation time with family in the great Northwest. The result is the fact that I need to get ahead of the curve and get the summer newsletters underway. The Lord has provided me with a couple of good substitute writers. The second is my guest writer for September, Mr. Olivier Melnick.
Olivier and I have worked together in ministry for over 20 years. I was his supervisor when he was a volunteer with Ariel Ministries. We also worked together when he was stationed in Irvine, CA for Chosen People Ministries. Currently, he is the Northwest Director for Chosen People Ministries. Olivier has a burden to expose the growing curse of anti-Semitism in the USA and around the world. He does so using his blog www.newantisemitism.com. Please feel free to visit his blog and keep informed about this scourge.
He has written a very important article that I feel compelled to share with all of you. It speaks of a new and insidious “intifada” that affects all of us.
The Combined Threat of the Three Intifadas!
There is nothing positive attached to the word intifada. In fact, since the first Palestinian Intifada of 1987, the word has been known to mean the “violent revolt of the people.” The word itself is Arabic for “shaking off” and has commonly become synonymous with “uprising.” There is a connotation of resistance against oppression that of course, in the case of the Palestinian intifada would be referring to the “Israeli oppression”; if indeed the accusation was factual.
Some might wonder what is meant by the three intifadas since there has only been two Palestinian uprisings to date: The First Intifada of 1987 (1987-1993) and the Second Intifada of 2000 (2000-2005). The third one is not a reference to a more recent Palestinian uprising, but to a different kind altogether.
So, as I see it, Israel and the Jewish people at large are plagued by three kinds of intifadas that must be clearly defined if we want to understand them and better fight them. They are the people’s intifadas, the academic intifada and the Christian intifada.
- The People’s Intifadas of 1987 and 2000
When one hears the word intifada, the first thing that usually comes to mind is one of the two past Palestinian uprisings against Israel.
The first one started in 1987 and lasted over six years during which Palestinians lead a revolt against Israelis using all sorts of weapons from rifles to Molotov cocktails and from stone throwing to homicide bombings. The result was much more devastating to the Palestinians than to the Israelis (almost 10 to 1). It is believed that the First Intifada was somewhat of a catalyst for the drafting up of the Oslo Accords of 1993.
The second one, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada or the “Oslo War,” started in September 2000 during Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount. It quickly escalated and saw a final death toll of 3,000 Palestinians and about 1,000 Israelis. The targets, like those of the First Intifada, were both military and civilian. Some claim that this second uprising was officially over after the death of internationally known PLO leader Yaser Arafat in 2004, while others feel that the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005 was the turning point during which Mahmoud Abbas vowed that violence would stop. By 2005, the uprising had subsided even though violence has continued to punctuate everyday life in the Middle East.
Both Intifadas helped to create the false image of the “Palestinian victim” under the yoke of the “Israeli oppressor.” The international press grabbed hold of copious footage of little kids throwing rocks at heavily armed IDF soldiers, and as a result immediately garnered the world attention and compassion for the “Palestinian innocent victims” of the “Israeli invaders.” The truth, of course, is far from what has been reported. In fact, much of the footage that has been shown over the airwaves and on the Internet was either staged or doctored-up after the fact, as sites such as Honest Reporting, defending Israel against media bias or CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) can testify. But sadly, when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people, most of the world has long ceased to be interested in the truth. Ludicrous, libelous accusations and anti-Semitic slurs have now become the leit motiv guiding the masses against the chosen people of God. Where the violent people’s intifadas left off, the next two picked up and the damage continues.
- The Academic Intifada
Since about 2005, people around the globe have gathered under the banner of IAW (Israeli Apartheid Week) to denounce the “Israeli Apartheid” policies. These events go hand in hand with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, in an effort to cripple Israel’s economy and force its government to make outrageous concessions.
College campuses have been a breeding ground for the left-wing postmodern agenda of tolerance and multiculturalism. Promoting social justice for Palestinian and other global “innocent victims” helps to rally those who hate Israel. Sadly, many of the causes that such groups might bring to the world’s attention are worth taking note, because they often feature ethnic groups that are severely abused by others for political, geographic or religious reasons. Yet in the case of the Arab/Israeli conflict, victims and perpetrators seem to have been switched in what could be a great episode of The Twilight Zone if it was not such a xenophobic exercise. I have witnessed first hand some of that hatred on the campus of University of California Irvine, in my own backyard.
The most recent installment in this infamous attempt at demonizing Israel and the Jewish people comes from Ireland, where as recently as last week, the Teacher’s Union of Ireland unanimously voted for a total academic boycott of Israel. Jonny Paul reported in the Jerusalem Post that: At its annual congress last week, the TUI voted unanimously to endorse Palestinian activists call for an academic boycott of the Jewish state, “including the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities, as well as all cooperation in research programs.”
This move is the first of its kind in Europe, but I am convinced that it will only pave the way for more European countries to show their true colors, encouraged and vindicated by Ireland, to further stigmatize Israel.
But, it is still reassuring to know that Christians wholeheartedly support Israel and the Jewish people as they hold hands against this injustice, all the media bias and the violence perpetrated against the chosen people worldwide. Think again!
British Messianic leader Joseph Weissman so appropriately described this growing Christian illness as the “Evangelical Intifada.” It is like a spiritual leprosy attacking the nerve endings of common sense and slowly gnawing at the limbs of proper biblical interpretation.
- The Christian Intifada
Against all logic and certainly against anything the Bible teaches about Israel, there is a new camp within Evangelicals. They are committed to promoting Christian Palestinianism and erase Israel’s true history from the pages of the Bible. The likes of Gary Burge (New Testament professor at Wheaton College) and current Vicar of Christ Church of UK, Stephen Sizer, are doing a great disservice to the Christian faith. Under a crafty disguise of theological discernment, they convince their audiences that Israel is guilty of killing Palestinians and that the Christian duty is to expose them.
Messianic teacher Louis Lapides takes on Gary Burges’ false teaching and carefully lines it up against God’s Word to find out that God isn’t finished with Israel. In fact, the Bible tells us that Israel plays a crucial part in the end days, including the Second Coming of Messiah at the pleading of corporate Israel towards the end of the Tribulation (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 12:25-26).
Men like Burge and Sizer are very dangerous. They have the ability to sweep away those Evangelicals who spend more time conjecturing than reading their Bibles. Lately they have been rather successful at turning the tides against Israel within the Evangelical community. People like Lynne Hybels (Bill Hybel’s wife), Robert Seiple (former President of World Vision) and more, are being convinced of the validity of such a position.
Stephen Sizer IS NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL and does not represent all Christians by a long shot; neither does Gary Burge. Yet, by virtue of their reputation and their status, they have an increasingly louder voice on the anti-Israel platform. The propaganda is growing stronger while nobody is checking for accuracy.
It is time for Christians to read their Bible and confront such men and women with God’s everlasting Word of Truth.
The three intifadas might be very different in their fabric and do vary in intensity and delivery as they fluctuate between deeds, words and thoughts. Yet they all have in common the stigmatization and ostracism of Israel and the Jewish people. And when the real enemies of the Jews will go after them, most Christians would have again become by-standers if not perpetrators. These three intifadas feed each other in many ways.
I fear, not for Israel that God has promised to never forsake, but her enemies that He has promised to destroy. Yet it is never too late to return to God and His Truth.
MAYBE IT IS TIME FOR A FOURTH INTIFADA, AN UPRISING AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM. THAT ONE, I WOULD DEFINITELY SUPPORT!
Surely, thus says the LORD, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, and the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; for I will contend with the one who contends with you, and I will save your sons. “and I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 49:25-26
September is a month of many observances for the Jewish People!
Sundown to Sundown, September 4-5
Rosh Hashanah: Festival of Trumpets
In Hebrew, “Rosh Hashanah” literally means “the first of the year;” and is more commonly known as the Jewish New Year. It falls on the first day of the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar and marks the beginning of the High Holy Days. The first two days usher in the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in the major fast day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In Leviticus 23:24-25, the holiday is called “Yom Ha-Zikkaron” (the day of remembrance) or “Yom Teruah” (the day of the sounding of the shofar). A blowing of the shofar (a ram’s horn) in the synagogue sounds a call to repentance. Work is not permitted and the holiday is observed reading liturgy in the synagogues and focusing on God’s sovereignty.
For the church, The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah) portrays the Rapture (the end of the Church age).
Sundown to Sundown, September 13-14
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement
Even if other Jewish holidays are not observed, most Jews refrain from work and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur. The rabbis teach that God seals our fate for the coming year, and the entire day is spent fasting and praying to God for forgiveness and a good year. The rabbis teach that Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God. In order to atone for sins against another person, reconciliation must be sought with the other person and must be done before Yom Kippur. It is customary in the days before Yom Kippur for Jews to seek out friends and family whom they have wronged and personally ask for their forgiveness.
In Leviticus 23:27-32, God describes Yom Kippur as a day of “complete rest.” Observances include not working, refraining from eating and drinking even water for 25 hours beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 contains the two main concepts of the Day of Atonement: substitution and atonement. The Messiah will undergo a substitutionary suffering; He will die a substitutionary death on behalf of the people of Israel. The Messiah also bears our iniquity and is an offering for our sins.
Based on the previous passage, we can draw six deductions. First, the Messiah would be rejected by His own people Israel and He will be despised among the Gentiles. Secondly, the Messiah would die as the Day of Atonement sacrifice. Thirdly, the Messiah will bear the sins of the believers. Fourthly, after being rejected by Israel, He will be a light to the Gentiles. Fifthly, after being a light to the Gentiles, He will be accepted by His own people. And lastly, as a result of Israel’s acceptance, the Messiah will return to set up His Kingdom.
Ask your Jewish friend if you could read to them from scripture. Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and then ask, “Who was that about and where is it found?” Invariably they will answer that it is about Jesus from the New Testament. They will be very surprised and hopefully impressed when you show them that it was written about Jesus by the Jewish prophet Isaiah some 700 years before Jesus came, and that is why you believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and Savior. For Christians, The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) will be fulfilled by the Tribulation period and Israel’s national salvation.
Sundown to Sundown, September 18-27
Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles
This feast is celebrated by each family erecting their own temporary shelter or booth (tabernacle, Hebrew: Sukkah). The Jewish family “lives” in the Sukkah as much as they can for the seven day period of the feast, eating and even sleeping in it. This recalls the Exodus from Egypt when Israel lived in temporary shelters and God dwelt visibly in our midst.
We know that the feast portrays the institution of the Messianic Kingdom from Zechariah 14:16. “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.” In the Messianic Kingdom observance of the Feast of Tabernacles will be mandatory for all nations. Every country will be required to send a delegation to Jerusalem each year to celebrate the festival.
Thanks for your partnership reaching the Jewish community with the Good News of Jesus the Messiah!
Bob