Things I did not know about Israel/Palestine

Last week I began to think how can the Arab’s believe Israel is taking over the Middle East.  There are 22 Arab and or Muslim nations. Iran is not considered and Arab nation. Israel is surrounded by Arab and or Muslim nations. How can anyone say "expansionist Israel" has "taken over" the Middle East or trying to take over the Middle East?

The Arab countries occupy 640 times the amount of land as does Israel and outnumber the Jews of Israel by nearly fifty to one. How convenient that today's Arab Nations are forgetting that land east of the Jordan River was also part of "Palestine". Why are they not demanding Jordan return that area to the Palestinians?

In 1916 control of the southern portion of the Ottoman Empire was turned over to France and Britain under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region. Lebanon and Syria were assigned to France and "Palestine" (today's Jordan, Israel and "West Bank" and Gaza ) was given to Great Britain.  Because no other peoples had ever established a national homeland in "Palestine" since the Jews had done it 2,000 years before, the British "looked favorably" upon the creation of a Jewish National Homeland throughout ALL of Palestine.

The Jews had already begun mass immigration into Palestine in the 1880's in an attempt to rid the land of swamps and malaria and to prepare for the rebirth of Israel. This Jewish effort to revitalize the land did not only attracted Jews back to the land it also attracted an equally large immigration of Arabs from neighboring areas who were drawn by employment opportunities and healthier living conditions. There was never any attempt by the Jews to get rid of the Arabs in the land.

in 1946 Trans-Jordan was renamed to "Jordan". The remaining 18% of Palestine, now WEST of the Jordan River, was to be the Jewish Palestinian homeland.  However, sharing was not part of the Arab psychological makeup then or now. With the help of the British the Jews were forced out of Trans-Jordan!

The British at first tried to maintain order but soon due to the large oil deposits being discovered throughout the Arab Middle East they turned a blind eye. It became clear to the Palestinian Jews that they must fight the Arabs and drive out the British. Finally in 1947 the British had enough and turned the Palestine matter over to the United Nations.

The 1947 U.N. Resolution 181 partition plan was to divide the remaining 18% of Palestine into a Jewish Palestinian State and a SECOND Arab Palestinian State  based upon population concentrations.  The Jewish Palestinians accepted... the Arab Palestinians rejected. The Arabs still wanted ALL of Palestine... both east AND west of the Jordan River. Therefore, the resolution was not carried out and it never became legally binding! The Arabs started the 1948 war.

On May 14, 1948 the "Palestinian" Jews finally declared their own State of Israel and became "Israelis." On the next day, seven neighboring Arab armies - Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen... invaded Israel. Most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war.

The truth is that most of the Arab Palestinians who left Israel in 1948 – between 400,000 to 500,000 – never saw an Israeli soldier! They did not flee because they feared Jews. They left because they believe the Jews would be exterminated and would return afterwards to reclaim their homes, and to inherit Jewish properties as well. They guessed wrong.  The Jews  did not throw out all the Palestinian Arabs living in Israel they chose to leave after being encourage to do so by the seven Arab nations that invaded Israel. Those Arabs who did not flee became Israeli-Arab citizens.

The end result of the 1948-49 Israeli War of Independence was the creation of a Jewish State. From 1949-67 when all of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem were under Arab [Jordanian, Syria and Egyptian] control, no effort was EVER made to create a second Palestinian State for the Arabs living there. Why do many in the world want the Jews to give up part of their country when none of the Arabs were willing to concede any of their land to the 'so called' Palestinian Arabs?

Throughout much of May 1967, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies mobilized along Israel's narrow and seemingly indefensible borders in preparation for a massive invasion to eliminate the State of Israel. Within two hours the Egyptian Air Force did not exist most of its planes were destroyed while still on the runways. Unaware that the Egyptians had no more air force, King Hussein of Jordan launched his attack from the his West Bank into Israel, while Syrian troops prepared to descend down the Golan Heights high ground into northern Israel. The Arabs lost the battle in six days they had once again underestimated the Jewish Nation of Israel.  

Now, 35+ years later and despite the fact that Israel won a war started by seven Arab nations and fought by three Arab nations the Israelis are still willing to allow the Arab-Palestinians to have a state on much of the West Bank and Gaza if only they would stop sending their suicide/homicide bombers into the heart of Israel.

Israel was responsible for bringing about some of its own problems. The Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were packed and ready to leave following their 1967 defeat. Suddenly the victorious Israeli General Moshe Dayan persuaded them to stay. I think this was madness. The Arabs would have slaughtered the Jews if they would have had an opportunity to do so and to this day are still trying to. Dayan's plan was to educate them, offer them modern medical treatment, provide them with employment both in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel Proper itself. He thought he would be able to build a healthy relationships with the Arabs – how wrong he was.  If he build a bridge to the Arab world it was a bridge to terrorism.

Jordan accounts for 3/4 of Palestine's original land mass. Though they may call themselves "Jordanians," they are culturally, ethnically, historically and religiously no different than the Arab-"Palestinians" on the "West Bank." Even the flag of Jordan and the flag of the proposed 2nd Arab-Palestinian state on the West Bank / Gaza look almost identical. Why do they not give the 'so called' Palestinians their own land to establish a State or Nation. 

Another thing that is interesting to me is the term "Palestinian". The name had referred to Israeli Jews back in the 1940's, and has been slowly redefined to refer to the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza. I guess political correctness started much earlier than we thought. 

The Middle East Conflict was always a war by Arabs against Jews, not a conflict between Israelis and "Palestinians." The war was repackaged as a conflict between Jews and Palestinians as a public relations gimmick by the Arab fascist regimes. These regimes had never had any interest in "Palestinians," or in creating a "Palestinian" state, or in "Palestinian nationalism" before 1967. The Palestinians are a regional group of Arabs having virtually no cultural nor national distinctive traits separating them from Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians. They are all basically Arabs. Yasser Arafat’s family came to Gaza from Egypt and a wealthy family of current PA President Mahmoud Abbas moved to Tzfat from Damascus, Syria!

The Middle East war continues because it is really an Arab-Israeli war, not an Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is also in large part a war between barbarism and civilization and in many ways an Islamic religious jihad against the Jews.

The mass conversion of Jews to Christianity will bring about Jesus' second coming - REALLY!

The Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations said, “Catholics should witness to their faith, but not undertake organized efforts to convert Jews.”  The document they issued said, “Catholics should take a different approach to Judaism than to other religions.”

The Vatican commission produced the new document to mark the 50th anniversary of a groundbreaking document on Catholic-Jewish relations, “Nostra Aetate,” in which the church rejected the notion that Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death. The new document describes the Torah as, “… the instruction for a successful life in right relationship with God.” The new document could also be a prelude to Francis visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue on January 17, 2016.

Until reforms in the 1960s, Second Vatican Council, prayers at Catholic Masses on Good Friday, described Jews as “faithless” and called for their conversion. In the past the church was clear on their belief that all Jewish people were guilty for Jesus' death. Many historians and theologians said the prayers and the collective guilt concept contributed to anti-Semitism and the unnecessary persecution of Jews.

In 2008, in response to requests from traditionalist Catholics who reject any theological dialogue with the Jewish religious leaders, Pope Benedict XVI allowed Catholics to return to using the old prayer used in the Tridentine Rite. Benedict tweaked the prayer slightly to refer to “the blindness of that people”, meaning the Jews. Many Jewish organizations still found the prayer offensive and it caused a mini-crisis between Jews and Catholics.

The latest Vatican document appears to be another step toward easing Jewish/Catholic tensions created in 2008 and it comes a week after a group of Orthodox rabbis issued a statement calling Christianity part of a divine plan in which God would have Jews and Christians work together to redeem the world.

The new Vatican document is more in line with the thinking of Pope Francis. Pope Francis has often called for collaboration between religions to obtain justice, peace, conservation and reconciliation. He has also repeatedly stressed that a Christian can never be an anti-Semite, especially because of the Jewish roots of Christianity. Pope Francis has definitely been more compassionate and open than Pope Benedict XVI. He has attempted to move the church further away from entrenched traditions that no longer serve a purpose.

Vatican-Israeli ties were strained again earlier this year when the Vatican signed an agreement recognizing the state of Palestine. The signing of that document damaged the prospects for advancing a peace agreement and slowed international effort to convince the Palestinian Authority to return to direct negotiations with Israel.

I welcome the attempt by my church, the Catholic Church, to improve Christian/Jewish relationships. I vigorously oppose what many in the Evangelical Christian churches are doing to entice vulnerable young Jews to convert to Christianity which is damaging Christian/Jewish relationships.

In some Evangelical Christian churches they do not have Sunday services they meet only on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. I see this as a deliberate attempt to keep young Jews that are showing an interest in Christianity from attending Temple. They never have a cross or an altar in their meeting room. Instead, there is a Holy Ark with a Star of David adorning its velvet cover, and a stage for prayer services in the center of the sanctuary. The leader will wear the vestments of a Jewish Rabbi. I see their efforts as an attempt to make the young Jewish believers think there are no differences, are only slight differences, between Judaism and Christianity, which is not true.

In some Evangelical Christian congregations they greet each other with joyous shouts of “Shabbat Shalom” and “Baruch Hashem”. The meeting room is filled with the beat of a modern Israeli musical. These congregations are purposely designed to appear Jewish, but they are actually fundamentalist Christian churches which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of the young Jewish people into their ranks and their marketing ploys are proving to be successful.

These groups estimate they get 8,000 young Jews to cross over to the “Hebrew-Christian” movement each year. These fundamentalist Christians are unyielding in their commitment to convert Jews to their zealous brand of Christianity. There are an estimated 70 million fundamentalist Christians in America. The Southern Baptist Convention passed numerous resolutions encouraging its more than 15-million American members to target the Jewish people.

They can quote scripture to support their belief and there is scripture that can be used to support their belief. There is scripture that would just about support anyone’s belief. That is why one must read scripture with a critical mindset keeping in mind the historical time in which it was written.

I believe the Evangelical Christian goal is a selfish goal they are trying to hasten the coming of end time. Evangelical Christians widely believe that the mass conversion of the Jews will bring about Jesus’ “second coming”. They believe the Jews, in a sense, are holding up the second coming of Jesus.

A few decades ago, there were only a handful of Messianic congregations throughout the United States. But today, several hundred actively attract and recruit Jews who lack a sound Jewish education and support system. Their mission field is largely University Campuses. These young Jews, often away from home for the first time, are buying the manipulative rhetoric and persuasive techniques of the Hebrew-Christian missionary movement.

These Messianic congregations have been quite successful among all the most vulnerable segments of the Jewish community – the very young, the very old, and the former Soviet Union Jews.

There are over 1,000 Christian missions dedicated to converting the Jewish people. It is estimated that there are more than 250,000 Hebrew-Christians in North America and Israel.

The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest denomination in Christendom. Yet, despite Rome’s past bitter relationship with the Jewish people, today’s Catholic Church is, for the most part, not interested in converting Jews. Mainline or liberal Protestant denominations, Methodist, Episcopalian, Unitarian, etc., are also not interested in converting Jews. The Southern Baptist Convention, the Presbyterian Church in America and the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod has each adopted statements of conviction on the necessity of Jewish evangelism.

It is significant to me that Christianity swept through Europe almost overnight. The same is true for Latin America. Yet, the Jews, despite the unyielding persecution and the forced exile they have endured refuses to convert. This question has perplexed many of the Evangelical Fundamentalist so much that during the mid-1970’s they convened the most significant symposiums ever held in Switzerland and Thailand. They sought to unravel the mystery of why the Christian Church had been so unsuccessful in their efforts to convert the Jews and what new techniques could they employ to finally attract masses of new, unclaimed Jewish souls.

I could have told them Jewish people historically tend to equate Christianity with persecution. Jewish people often feel somewhat uncomfortable just hearing the words “Jesus Christ,” and when they see a Cross or a Church icon, it rarely conjures up warm, affectionate feelings. Jewish people tend to feel alienated by churches and its rituals. I am sure the Vatican’s position during World War II contributes to these feelings. It is my opinion the Vatican was more interested in protecting church property and priest in Germany than they were in protecting the Jews.

To overcome the Jewish people’s anti-Christian mindset the Evangelical Fundamentalist came up with a new strategy. The new sales pitch goes like this: When you’re becoming a believer in Jesus, you are not converting to another religion. On the contrary, you’re becoming a ‘fulfilled Jew’ or a ‘completed Jew.’ After all, Jesus was a Jew and his followers were Jewish; therefore, it stands to reason that believing in Jesus is the most Jewish thing you can do!

They also developed the slick idea of “Messianic synagogues,” that I discussed earlier in this piece, which are designed to look nothing like a church. They are deliberately built, furnished, and decorated to resemble a typical synagogue. They adopt Jewish holidays, for example you can watch on Christian television throughout the world and you will see Messianic congregations holding elaborate and well-publicized Passover Seders.

These groups shrewdly include Christian doctrines into the Messianic Passover Seder like: The matzah has stripes because Jesus had stripes across His back as a result of the scourging that he endured during his trial. The matzah is broken because Jesus was brutally broken on the cross. The matzah is wrapped in a white towel because Jesus was wrapped in a white burial shroud. The middle matzah is hidden because Jesus was hidden away in the tomb following his crucifixion. The matzah is brought back at the end of the meal because Jesus will return in the Second Coming at the End of Days. They claim this is all prophecy that Jesus fulfilled.

I believe God has called Christians to provoke Israel to jealousy—to draw Jewish people to the Messiah through our acts of love and kindness, speaking out against anti-Semitism and by doing so we will introduce the Jewish people to the Messiah. I personally do not seek to make Jewish converts. I prefer to let my life introduce these people to the Messiah. I let my life speak for me, while I pray and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.

 

 

The U.S. has two land borders - what about our northern border?

We constantly are bombarded with news about the southern border with Mexico. When are our political geniuses in Washington D.C. going to start doing something about our northern border with Canada?

The new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s is welcoming refugees to Canada. How long do you think it will take for some of them to try and escape the cold weather and move on into the United States?   We have two border problem and we had better start focusing on both and not ignore our northern border’s security.

Trudeau is another ultra-liberal - Obama.  He was a community organizer, fund raiser, advocate for liberal causes, climate control freak, who thinks he can solve all of Canada’s problems by taking money from the rich and giving it to welfare recipients. He opposes any type of bombing in the Middle East.  President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau have not directly addressed anti-Semitic incitement in Palestinian society and the stabbing and car-ramming terror attacks. They are more concerned with Syrian refugees than the security of Israel. Neither seems interested in protecting their borders from illegal aliens or stopping an influx of terrorist that have infiltrate the refugee movement. I know now why the two, Obama and Trudeau, were inseparable recently while in the Philippines and appeared to be best 'buds' at all casual functions.

Communities in Minnesota and New York, which are adjacent to Ontario and Quebec have recently, experienced apprehensions of individuals on terrorist charges. Trudeau, opening up his border to refugees is only going to increases our risk.

Our nation’s southern border continues to serve as an entry point for terrorists. refugees have already begun to come across our southern border into the United States from Mexico. Everyday Border Control Agents encounter the problem and with them facing a shortage of agents and being limited by the Obama Administration as to what they can and cannot do with illegals the problem grows worse by the hour.

Earlier this month, it was reported that immigration officials apprehended five young Middle Eastern men carrying stainless steel cylinders in backpacks in an Arizona town about 30 miles away from the southern border. Just days earlier, Border Patrol apprehended five Pakistani nationals and one Afghan national who had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
 
How many are entering through our northern border where one only has to walk across at non-manned border crossings? Government figures (Homeland Security) reveals the following: in the year 2014 there were 3328 illegals apprehended trying to cross from Canada to the United States. I do not think people know that more trucks and trains cross our northern border from Canada to the United States than trucks and trains cross our southern border.

Another little known fact is many who are apprehended crossing from Canada into the United States have previously been caught and turned back at our Southern border with Mexico.

According to the Justice Department the northern U.S. border still has just one Border Patrol agent for every 16 miles. The border with Mexico, by comparison, has enough agents to assign one about every 1,100 feet and they are still understaffed. There is only 400 agent’s station on the U.S. northern border. They cover nine states bordering Canada: Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New York, Vermont and Washington. Alaska has nearly 1,600 miles of border with Canada and does not have one border agent assigned directly to the area.

There are significant security concerns on the northern border, but little has changed in the distribution of Border Patrol agents since Sept. 11. This in spite of the fact President Bush stated before leaving office that, “The northern border has become an attractive gateway for potential terrorists.”

Perhaps one of the reasons more action is not taken on our Northern border is because the Canadians complain about any aggressive or increase attention by U.S. Border Patrol along our northern border. It seems that it interferes with their business and economy. It also seems to be inconvenient for Canadian citizens living along the border that want to shop and seek medical treatment in the United States to cross.

The 4,000 mile long U.S. / Canadian border has been described as the longest undefended border in the world. Anyone familiar with Canadian immigration policy will tell you that Canada is an immigrant haven and one especially desirable for those seeking some form of asylum. Permanent resident status in Canada is easy to obtain even for individuals from countries strongly suspected of supporting organized terrorism.

The Detroit Sector for instance, is responsible for 804 miles of total wilderness between Michigan and Canada. The Detroit Sector is home not just to wilderness, but to the city of Detroit which has the largest Muslim population anywhere outside of the Middle East. With a Muslim population exceeding 150,000, Detroit’s City Fathers are amending the city noise ordinance to allow mosques to use loudspeakers for the call to prayer and Obama last Sunday accused Americans of discriminating against Muslims. There are 76 suspected terrorist cells in that area.

If Montreal resident Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian-born Al-Qaida operative who was caught in 1999 by vigilant U.S. border inspectors, had simply walked across the Canadian border through the woods near Detroit, his bombs would have brought untold death and destruction to his planned target, LAX, and possibly killed more people than were killed on 9/11. His stupidity by trying to cross at a Port of Entry was his downfall.

The U.S. and Canada do not share information about people placed on their respective “no-fly” lists. As a result, individuals deemed a threat that flies into one country may then cross the land border into the other.

Congress and the President have both been advised repeatedly that in terms of a terrorist threat, the northern border is significantly more of a threat than the southern border. I guess our elected officials in Washington D.C. are waiting for another big terrorist attack to happen before they address the issue, but 9/11 was not a wakeup call, so I do not know what it would take to wake them up.

Israel is not always right.

I have said how I felt about the ‘moderate’ Muslims in-action and now I will say how I feel about the Jewish people, Israel and Trumps remarks at the recent forum. I think it is time that we all begin to be more honest with our words and stop trying to be politically correct. That does not mean I approve of being rude.  

Israel is a ‘secular’ nation. It is not the religious nation of Moses. It’s a secular democracy where Judaism is privileged.  Many orthodox Jews believe that Israel should be a theocratic state where Judaism is the supreme law of the land, but secular Jews do not feel that way. Secular and orthodox Jews are at odds over the future of Israel and have been for years. It's uncertain what will happen or who will win in the end. If they cannot agree among themselves if they are a secular or theocratic state then why should we be trying to apply Old Testament principles in our relationship with them?

Israel’s Proclamation of Independence makes few concessions to the Almighty. Israel, it decrees, will be a Jewish state, but the concept is nowhere defined. The state, it says, will be based on the principles of liberty, justice and peace as conceived by the Prophets of Israel (it does not name the Prophets); it will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, education and culture;  it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and will loyally uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter. It has not upheld all the principles of the United Nation Charter.

Every student of modern Israel should reread the proclamation of May 14, 1948, at least once a year. It is a reminder of the secular vision that the founding fathers had for Israel. Israel was to be a modern democratic state, an expression of Jewish nationalism rather than Jewish faith. Every Christian minister preaching that the United States must deal differently with Israel than other nations because of the Bible should read the proclamation before espousing their Biblical beliefs.

Neither the conservative Likud nor the liberal Labor parties are able to form a government on their own and they certainly do not want to form one together. This means that creating a government requires that they join forces with the political parties of the ultra-Orthodox Jews who have adopted an unapologetically religious vision of Israel.

The Haredi society in Israel is based upon a rejection of modern thinking and modern values, and on the desire to isolate itself so as to be protected from the influence of the modern world. They have views similar to some Islamic Muslims – isolation, opposes the modern world, want to live in the past with strict laws governing all aspects of society. They consider the last 100 years or so to have dealt the Jewish people two tragic blows: the Holocaust and the mass defection of once-Orthodox Jews in Eastern Europe to Socialism, secular Zionism, or just plain non-observance.’

The parallels between these ultra-Orthodox Jews and the American Christian Right are strong. Both regard modernity as a tragedy, both bemoan the loss of power and influence for their respective religions, both would like to transform society by taking it back several hundred years and institute religious law in place of civil law, both are dismissive of the rights of religious minorities, and both would risk war with other nations in pursuit of their religious goals.  Sounds to me like some Muslims, Ultra-Orthodox and Christian Right share similar goals, but a different value system.

All of this is a problem in Israel because the agenda and tactics of the ultra-Orthodox are very likely to lead Israel into greater tension and conflict with its neighboring nations. American support of Israel is often based on the argument that Israel is the only free democracy in the Middle East. Our policies have forced Turkey and Egypt to not be as free a society as they once were and at one time they both were strong allies of the United States. The more the Haredim have their way, the less Israel is a free democracy. Will that lead to a decrease in American support or has it already? Perhaps Obama has gotten one thing right during his administration.

I doubt that the Haredim or the Christian Right care that much about American support because they both believe that God is on their side, so who needs America? If one believes they are doing GOD’S WILL they then will believe God will save them regardless of how they go about accomplishing their goal. It tends to make them more unwilling to negotiate for peace. We should keep in mind the Jews slaughtering the inhabitants of the land (men, women, children and animals) they believed God gave them as their Promise Land. The means justified the end.

In the last election Jews voted for President Obama over Mitt Romney by 69 percent to 30 percent. Should a Republican candidate really be concerned about losing Jewish American votes? What Trump said is true. The American Jews in the past have tended to support candidates they could control. Any party would like to have the votes of all the people, but that is not possible and will never happen. It is my opinion that a candidate should be honest and straight forward when campaigning.  If the candidate wins we know what we are getting unlike what we have in the recent past with Obama and other Democrat and Republican candidates.

Trump, I think is a strong supporter of Israel, but he was booed by the wealthy Jews at the forum when he refused to commit to moving the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which both Palestinians and Israelis consider their capital. Don’t we have enough problems in the world without tackling that issue at this time!

The other candidates at the forum also bragged about their Jewish ties — their friendliness toward Israel and the depth of their friendships with Jews. They spoke of the danger to Israel the deal the Obama administration and other powers negotiated with Iran this summer. That agreement lifts some sanctions on Iran and I definitely am not for it. Iran’s leaders continue to threaten Israel and the UNITED STATES.  Obama naively thinks the agreement will rein in Iran’s nuclear program.  

The other Republican candidates at the forum warned of the dangers of Islamic extremists, but they were careful to avoid rhetoric that would have offended Muslims. I found that amusing because that is the same thing they criticize Obama for.  I think you call it “straddling” the fence.

I am against the Obama Iran deal because I do not believe it is good for the United States. I am more concerned how it will affect the United State than Israel. I am for supporting Israel because at this time I think it is good for the United States and not because of something that appears or does not appear in the Bible.

I still do not know if I will vote for Donald Trump in the primary election, but the more he is criticized by Democrats, Republicans and Liberals for not being ‘politically correct’ he becomes more and more an attractive nominee.