Standing with and speaking to Israel

For the record, I'm a Jew. I was born a Jew; I'll die a Jew. When I was 11 I stood in a protest rally outside the Jewish Community Center on 82nd and Holmes in Kansas City, attesting to the plight of Soviet Jews and begging the world community to amend its ways and 'let my people go.' We sang Holocaust songs in Yiddish and my commitment to activism was born. 

Again when I was 15, we held a 24-hour rally to bring to the world's attention the plight of our Soviet family of Jewish people. This time even Christians joined us in solidarity. That was a surprise to me. 

So when I watched rallies across the world, here and there, in and around the horrors of 7 October 2023, and the continuing plight of Jewish people, most notably the hostages captured on that fateful morning, my heart aches to help and my activist streak wants to kick in. What can I do to help? What can anyone do to help?

A friend of a friend on Facebook posted a link to an Israeli news outlet that chastised an American political party for what they deemed as an improper response at their national convention held in Chicago last month. 

"But rather than side unreservedly with Israel, the Democratic Party and the Biden administration have chosen to take unprecedented measures against the elected government of a friendly nation. With unspeakable impudence and cynical exploitation of his Jewish origins, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer purported to know better than the Israeli electorate what is good for it. In a desperate attempt to kowtow to his party’s increasingly assertive radical wing, he accused the elected Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of being an “obstacle to peace,” calling for early elections to replace him, despite the fact that, even today, he is the most popular politician in the country."

This sentiment was written by the journalist Dr. Martin Sherman. The crowds this weekend, and for months now, that are telling the government of Israel to make a deal, that are not agreeing with PM Netanyahu, that are calling for his removal, are not in the view of Dr Sherman. 

The BBC reported after the weekend's protests, "Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Israel after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were recovered by soldiers, causing national outrage. Protesters - many clad in Israeli flags - descended on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, accusing PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attacks.

Sunday's protests were largely peaceful - but crowds broke through police lines, blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv. This comes as a major Israeli labour union, Histadrut, called for a nationwide general strike on Monday, pressing for a hostage deal."

 

I'm very much still 'for Israel.' I would still march when global opinion would turn away from her. Here is a great resource if you are 'for Israel.' I read it as well. If you want to follow the Australian Jewish Association and all the media watch they perform here is the link: https://jewishassociation.org.au/news-media/ . 

 

AT THE SAME TIME, I will not stand idly by and let a seemingly uncaring government have full power. As long as we live in democracies, and we do, we should speak up when we see/ hear injustice. I hear the words of the prophets decrying Israel's duly 'elected' or 'appointed' leadership whether it is Jeremiah (chapter 23) or Ezekiel (chapter 34), and the judgment which befell Israel was God's doing. Yes, He uses the nations around Israel to accomplish these disciplines, but in the end, it is our responsibility to turn to God, and to repent, and to ask Him for His favour to be on us. 

All that said, what Schumer said in calling out Israel's PM is what we do in democracies. Schumer is not anti-Israel. He's opposed to stonewalling. I wish the PM would have made a deal before the 6 bodies were discovered this weekend having only recently been executed by Hamas. Bring them home, PM. Bring them home, world government. Bring them home, UN. Let's get it right. The evil violence of the 7 October attack should be rewarded with world rejection and not world sympathy for Hamas. 

What would you do if you were still PM today?

 

Blood everywhere...(ANZAC, Democrats,

An Australian Facebook friend wrote about the Spirit of the ANZACs. "Next year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Australian Light Horsemen freeing Beersheba from the Islamic Caliphate (Ottoman Empire). If Australia will continue to support the descendents of Israel, then she will continue to be blessed. However if Australia turns her back on Israel, by calling for Israel to give more land for peace, then not only will she be trampling under foot the blood of the ANZAC soldiers, denying their victories, and returing the land to the ones they liberated it from, but she will also find herself fighting against the living G-d!"

I value the work of the ANZACs at Gallipoli, Turkey, and in the entire campaign in what was then labelled Palestine at the end of World War I. The history is clearly unpacked in this article from AWM .
The simplest description is "The battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza. The final phase of this all day battle was the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. Commencing at dusk, members of the brigade stormed through the Turkish defences and seized the strategic town of Beersheba. The capture of Beersheba enabled British Empire forces to break the Ottoman line near Gaza on 7 November and advance into Palestine."

That anniversary in 16 months will be noteworthy for the Aussies, the Brits, maybe even for the world. So the question is begged with which I began. What does the phrase, "trample under foot the blood of the ANZAC soldiers" mean?

Actually the Bible uses a similar sounding phrase nine times. Four in the Older Testament and five in the Newer Testament portion. Three are direct quotes from Yeshua. Only once does the word 'foot' actually appear, and seems unnecessary. Trampling seems to imply 'under foot' as it is a visual word.

After the recent Democratic National Convention, having been blurry-eyed from watching much of both conventions, I posted on FB and Twitter about some of my takeaways. "My takeaways from the ‪#‎DNC‬: Black preachers get the crowd moving. Four days is too long for a pep rally. Videos of Trump's poor rhetoric were excellent. Hoping for Hillary Clinton to include victims of ‪#‎abortion‬ in her Village. ‪#‎Im‬(almost)withher. God was mentioned much more than at ‪#‎RNC‬. Balloons every night would make things more fun. Ended in prayer--that's good. Michelle and Barack are amazing orators." I enjoyed some of the speeches and routines. I found neither convention compelling, but I saw more clearly how I should be voting in 100 days. When I mentioned anything good about Hillary, almost immediately I received more than a fair share of pro-Trump, name-calling of the Dem's candidate. If I mentioned anything positive about the Repubs many took me to task.

That whole posturing and especially the quoting of any evidence came almost exclusively from Fox News or MSNBC. I was gobsmacked. It's almost as if whole chunks of society are 'mediated' by the ultra-right or ultra-left. People aren't thinkers anymore, we are merely quoters. And bad quoters at that.

This excursus into the topic of the conventions allows me to discuss many of the one-issue people from the right. I've been told and retold, scolded and re-scolded about Hillary. Don't I know anything? They tell me that she's an anti-Israel, left-wing, liar and flip flopper who is in bed with Wall Street and a baby killer. Yes, one or two have even told me she is a witch, a practicing witch who believes in Molech and has sacrificed children to the ancient god of fire.
One wrote, "If we can reason away murdering our unborn children and put anything above that we are so being absorbed and digested by society our culture to a point that we don't even see it. We need prayers." One cited Mother Teresa, " It is a poverty that a child must die so that we may live as we wish. Mother Teresa"

The business of abortion in the US which has seen over 58 million children removed from life since 1973 is huge. Planned Parenthood had a very grand welcome by Hillary and the Democrats and is well entrenched in their platform. The abortion mill well represents the phrases trampled under foot and subsumed by the blood of the infants-to-be.

The Bible records this in the Book of Hebrews: "How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" This phrase of 'trampled under foot' seems to be a synonym for disregarded. And it's linked with a blood covenant reference. That is clearer in the book of Ezekiel.
I quote this passage which seems to depict abortion with no apology:
“As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ (Chapter 16.4-6)

God hates the shedding of innocent blood.
God hates the taking of a human life, especially one which has no voice to self-defend.
God wants us all to know Him personally, to regard Him with honour and to receive the Spirit of Grace.

What will you do with Yeshua? Please, I urge you, receive His love and care. His blood was spilled for you; He died for you taking on Himself your sins and mine. Any and every sin. And He longs to be in relationship with you. Don't disregard this blog. Don't disregard His voice. Today, if you hear His voice, don't harden your heart. (Psalm 95, Hebrews 3, Hebrews 4) And write to let me know your choice. Thanks for listening.