Tag Archives: anti-semitism

October 13, 2015 · 5:59 AM

Stop the Violence…In Israel!

This morning three innocent Israelis were killed in a personal terrorist attack in Jerusalem. This is another in a long list of what may only be viewed as a new method employed by the enemies within Israel to create chaos by destroying innocent families in hopes of political gain. And some of us wonder why peace talks have stalled?

Seventeen people were injured in what appeared to be “twin attacks” in Jerusalem by seemingly random terrorists! It is now becoming more than obvious that these attacks are well planned and that some sinister force is behind the coordination of these “personal terrorists.”

One can search far and wide for reasons and try to even understand what motivates individuals, who also are husbands and fathers, wives and mothers to perpetrate these attacks and even be tempted to sympathize with the victim mentality portrayed by these terrorists in the media. But, we must resist the urge to think kindly or in any way even trying to understand the predicament that leads individuals to respond in this way. The response is far more horrible than any alleged crime. Besides, these three Israelis were innocent.

I appreciate the comments expressed by one individual writing in the Jewish Express online version of the story,

These mass terror attacks on Israeli Jews by Palestinians using knives, guns, and autos to run down pedestrians, is a natural direct result of the PA incentivizing terror. Abbas and the PA encourage such terror, they reward it, they pay money to the family of any terrorist who is killed, they name parks and monuments after terrorists. Abbas recently said that he honors blood shed for Jerusalem That is a direct incitement. It is not the statement of a peace partner. At the same time, when Israel defends its civilians, the PA, the UN, and the media accuse Israel of being aggressors and using disproportionate response. Shooting a terrorist murderer to death is not a disproportionate response. An Israeli died from rock throwing at his car. Israeli Jews die from stabbing by Palestinians. Palestinian throwers of firebombs attempt to burn the Jews alive. It is serious and deadly. Abbas shows clearly that he has no intention of seeking peace. The PA should be cut off from support by the US and the EU. Their corruption and incentivizing terror disentitle them to money from western countries. (Jewish Express…Tuesday)

We need to ask our elected officials to help Stop the Violence…in Israel! I hope you will join thousands of others as we voice our concerns to our elected officials and to our Secretary of State, the Honorable John Kerry, to do what he can to meet with Mahmoud Abbas and if possible the leaders of Hamas – still listed as a terrorists group by the United States and demand that they root out whoever is controlling these “personal terrorists” and put a stop to the violence against innocent Israelis. As you can see from the above quote – the Palestinian leaders seem to be creating the climate for these horrific attacks to continue.

We also need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Psalmist made this clear in Psalm 122:6. And ask the Lord to fulfill His promise found in another Psalm, 121:3-4 and prayed in Synagogues around the world, “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold He keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”.

And pray especially for the victims of the personal terrorists that the Lord would bring comfort to their families.

Turning a Nightmare into a Gospel Opportunity!

Shalom in the great name of Jesus our Messiah!

I do not usually speak about political issues, though, like you, I care deeply about the direction of our country. That is why every so often I feel I must say something! And this is one of those times.

We are in the midst of a real crisis. It is a crisis for Israel, the United States and countries all across the globe. Allow me to express my concern as a question…

What could be more disastrous for the world than a nuclear-armed Iran?

How Real Is the Iranian Nuclear Threat to Israel?Can you imagine the level of threat when, one day, Iran will be armed with nuclear weapons? They have already developed the missile delivery systems to reach Israel and Europe within a short amount of time.¹ The very thought of this puts fear into my soul.

And, I am so sorry that our country has complied with what could be a suicidal agreement with an unabashed enemy of the free world. Even a cursory reading of the deal reveals major flaws that are a danger to Israel and the West. This deal placed unearned trust in the terrorist leaders of Iran rather than our allies and experts who have voiced their dissent. Even our Arab allies decry the deal because it spells danger for them too!

A few months ago the president and spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, wrote a book entitled Palestine. It has not yet been translated into English, but the book calls for the destruction of the “Little Satan”—Israel…and the “Great Satan”—the United States!

One of the most disturbing comments in the book is this: “Without destroying Israel, our victory is incomplete.” ²

The book describes Khomeini as “the flag bearer of Jihad to liberate Jerusalem,” with a chilling message: Israel has no right to exist and must be destroyed. Khomeini uses powerful words to describe his goal for Israel’s eventual destruction—nabudi (annihilation), imha (fading out), and zaval (elimination).³

Four Critical Reasons Why the Iranian Nuclear Agreement Is So Dangerous

Let me give you four reasons why this alleged “deal” with Iran is a nightmare and can lead to the destruction of Israel, Europe and other nations within the range of Iranian missiles…and why those who love the Bible, the Messiah, and the people of Israel need to pray fervently!

#1. The “deal” virtually guarantees that Iran will one day have nuclear weapons.

#2. Iran will have billions of dollars released to them that they can use to purchase conventional weapons, arming Israel’s enemies and themselves for a conventional war.

# 3. Iran will be able to develop a new economic relationship with Western countries, especially in Europe, which will give them a platform to influence politics and economies around the globe.

#4. Inspections will have no effect on Iran’s plan to build nuclear weapons, as the methods for inspection take so long they are rendered useless.

This is all very bad news for Israel and the West. This more affluent, influential and nuclear-powered Iran is nothing less than a nightmare.

The Jewish People and Persia

The Jewish people have a long history in Iran—ancient Persia (586–332 BC). Over the centuries, the Jewish people developed a rich culture and heritage in Persia, beginning with Cyrus who gave the edict allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem.⁴ Some returned but most did not and continued to build a life among the Persians which endured through centuries of Islamic rule.

In more recent times, Iran was probably the most Western of all nations in the Middle East and was quite favorable towards the Jewish people. However, after the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948, Jewish people living in the Middle East and North Africa had to flee for their lives. Many Jewish people remained in Iran until the fall of the Shah and the rise of a more militant and fundamental Islam under Ayatollah Khomeini.

Today, the number of Jews still living in Iran has dipped below 9,000. Most Iranian Jews live in New York City or Los Angeles with the greatest number living in Israel—especially in the Tel Aviv area.

Iranians are very traditional and often quite religious. This group of Jewish people in Iran is not easy to reach for the Messiah and there has not been a focused effort to reach Iranians Jews for the Lord. But this is changing NOW!

Your Mission to the Jewish People is partnering with a ministry in Tel Aviv led by a Persian Jew who has translated and published our Isaiah 53 Explained book in Farsi—the ancient language of Iranian Jews.

We have already begun testing Farsi ads on Facebook offering Isaiah 53 Explained books for free. We are focusing the ads in Israel and the United States for now and in the future we hope to offer the book as a download to Iranians living in Iran! It is highly likely that our ads will be blocked, but we are going to try anyway.

So how does the Lord turn a nightmare into a Gospel opportunity?

Well, in this case, by enabling Chosen People Ministries to reach Iranian Jews for the Messiah by sharing the Gospel according to Isaiah 53!

A Ministry to French Jews Too!

I also wanted to bring you up-to-date on our efforts to reach Jewish people in France, which has the fourth largest Jewish population in the world.

The more than half a million Jews of France live under tremendous pressure today. They are surrounded by a sea of hostile Muslim extremists who, as we know, have violently attacked members of the French Jewish community. This is why many thousands of French Jewish people are moving to Israel.

We have put a strategy in place to reach Jewish people as they move from France to Israel and also those who are taking their chances by remaining in France. This is why we have translated the Isaiah 53 Explained book into French, and why we have created a French Isaiah 53 website.

We can reach multiple thousands of French and Iranian Jewish people daily by placing evangelistic ads on Facebook, YouTube, and other forms of social media. We have budgeted $500 a day for these ads and we hope to continue at this rate for at least 90 days.

This would be impossible to do without employing a growing media team. I wish you could meet every member of this team, and if you did I know that you would want to invest in their ministries. The work of this wonderful team of dedicated and creative younger people costs about $20,000 per month.

We want to invest our time and treasure in reaching Jewish people for Jesus. We have discovered that using social media to find these Jewish people interested in Jesus, then following up with them personally through our missionaries, is incredibly effective.

Please partner with us in prayer for the Iranian and French Jews as we attempt to reach out to them through these channels. In addition, would you pray about giving a generous donation today so that we can sustain our media department and purchase the necessary ads to reach Jewish people with the Gospel—both online and in person?

By God’s grace we have already received a gift that allows us to print an adequate number of books to provide for the mailings once they are requested. We want every Jewish seeker to have an Isaiah 53 Explained book for free.

Your generous gift today will be used to support our digital media department and the advertising costs for our French and Farsi outreach campaigns.

I certainly hope that this “deal” with Iran will be rolled back in the future. But the Messiah is all-powerful and turns nightmares into Gospel opportunities, because He is Lord!

Thank you for caring about the Jewish people.

In Him,

Mitch

P.S. Check out our online store to purchase The Fall Feasts of Israel, written by my wife and myself. This is a great resource to understanding and celebrating the High Holy Days!

ENDNOTES:
1   Isaiah 45:1
1   Isaiah 45:1
2    http://missilethreat.com/missiles/sejil-123/
3   http://irantruth.org/exclusive-first-translation-of-khameinis-new-book-on-the-destruction-of-america-israel/
4   Ibid.

German Newspaper Cartoon of Mark Zuckerberg

Every so often, an attack is mounted against the Jewish people that demands we raise our voice in protest. Suddeutsche Zeitung, one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Germany, has performed such an attack by publishing a cartoon that hearkens back to hateful propaganda of the Nazi era.

The online Jewish publication, Algemeiner broke the story yesterday. They write,

The cartoon, published by Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and entitled “Krake Facebook,” German for “Facebook Octopus,” shows Zuckerberg as a half-human sea giant grasping with tentacles at computers around him. Depicted with a hooked nose, the 29-year-old entrepreneur is shown smiling while his curly hair creeps out from under an oversized hat that has the Facebook logo on its brim.

The newspaper, based in Southern Germany, linked the cartoon to the recent purchase of WhatsApp by Facebook.

Certainly Germany has made some progress over the years in making reparations to Holocaust victims. In recent years, an influx of Russian Jewish immigrants has even been welcomed by Germany. Yet, it is evident that some level of underlying anti-Semitism still exists within the psyche of some Germans. When the creator of the cartoon was asked about the anti-Semitic nature of the image, the Jerusalem Post reports,

The SZ cartoonist, Burkhard Mohr, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday he was “shocked” his cartoon was deemed anti-Semitic. “Anti-Semitism and racism are ideologies which are totally foreign to me,” he said, flatly rejecting the notion that his cartoon could be viewed as offensive to Jews. He explained that his cartoon was designed to be a commentary on Facebook’s purchase of WhatsApp. What he “meant was a cartoon depiction of the company Facebook beyond a specific person,” he said. “I am sorry that it led to this misunderstanding and hurt the feelings of some readers.”[1]

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper on Monday called the cartoon “an outrage” and said is was anti-Semitic. Algemeiner further quotes Cooper, “The nefarious Jew/octopus was a caricature deployed by Nazis. That was used pretty much as a staple by the Nazis in terms of their hateful campaign against the Jews in the 1930s. [An] exaggerated Jewish nose removes any question if this was unconscious anti-Semitism.”[2]

I am not writing to bash Germans in any way, but rather to call attention to a cartoon that crossed the line of human decency and reflects deeper issues that must be addressed. We cannot allow anti-Semitism in any form – be it portrayed through a cartoon, article, film or comment by a public figure – to be ignored. If we do, we ourselves are guilty of a most heinous sin.

Let me explain. In the Book of Genesis, God gave Abraham a promise that became the basis for Jewish national existence. In other words, the creation of the Jewish people was not man’s idea but God’s. Evidently, the Lord of the universe had a plan for the family of Abraham to be used for holy purposes. The Bible tells us,

And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

Those who believe in the authority of Scripture should take this passage both literally and seriously. There is a promised blessing upon those who “bless” the Jewish people and a curse upon those who “make light” of the Jewish people – a more literal translation of the Hebrew. If we devalue the Jewish people in the plan of God, the Lord promises to bring punitive measures. This is plain to those who believe the Bible, but perhaps unknown or shrouded in mystery to those who do not!

It is an act of love to warn those who perpetuate anti-Semitic stereotypes. This is particularly true of images reminiscent of Nazi caricatures of the Jewish people – even very public figures like Zuckerberg.

When this occurs, we need to cry foul. As followers of the Scriptures, we are obligated to warn those who do this that God still loves the Jewish people. We must remind them that repentance is the only right response, once they have been told of their sin against God’s chosen people.

We can say it was just a cartoon. But we know that it was more! We have sounded the warning. God is not pleased with anti-Semitism. Those who act in this way, whether consciously or not, should listen and make amends. One day, we will all face a loving God, who does offer forgiveness through Jesus the Messiah. But God is also just, righteous and unflinching when it comes to keeping His promises to the Jewish people and to us all.

[1] http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/02/24/german-cartoon-of-facebooks-zuckerberg-compared-to-nazi-imagery/

[2] IBID

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