That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, See, this is new? It has already been in ancient times before us.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

 

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Winston Churchill

History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time.

Anonymous

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.

Aldous Huxley

Tumultuous Times Are Upon Us

Sometimes these days I feel like I am in somewhat of a time warp. Back 75 - 80 years ago the Jewish people were under attack not just in Germany but in many nations around the world including the USA. Just a few months ago we saw demonstrations in many capitols of Europe and in some American cities calling for "Death to the Jews!" "Cut their throats!" and "Hitler was right!" This is a gross failure to learn the lesson of history from the Nazis and the Second World War.

Hatred of the Jews is once again blooming as an evil, poisonous flower. This world ruler of anti-Semitism is once again prowling the earth and being welcomed almost everywhere he goes.

The demonstrations we have seen all over the world have revealed the truth. These demonstrators are not just anti-Israel, they hate the Jews. This is anti-Semitism pure and simple.

It is almost to be expected that the Muslims of the world want to see Israel and the Jewish people destroyed. After all the Koran and the Hadith call for the slaughter of the Jewish people. But what about the non-Muslim demonstrators, so-called "normal" people from both the left and the right, atheists and even those who consider themselves Christians all wanting to see Israel destroyed? The largest and most violent demonstrations have taken place in Europe, the largest Jewish graveyard in the world.

It seems that for most of the world it is much easier and more comfortable to commemorate dead Jews (International Holocaust Memorial Day 25 Jan. 2015), than to give living Jews the right to life in their God-given land.

There might even be a simpler and darker reason: Could it be that much of Europe has still not come to terms with the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism in their heart? Both those who were alive at the time and actively or passively participated in the slaughter of the Jewish people and also younger people who label Israelis as Nazis in their fight against Hamas? Does it sooth their souls to think that the Jewish People are evil and that Hitler really was right?

Anti-Semitism did not start with Hitler; it did not even originate in Europe but it has infected Europe and Europeans for more than a thousand years.

During the Second World War representatives of the world wide Jewish community appealed to the American and British Governments to bomb Auschwitz and they were refused. Now the British Parliament has voted (a non-binding motion) to recognize a Palestinian State as have (at the time of writing), the Spanish, French, Irish and Belgian Parliaments. Sweden has already recognized a Palestinian State. The hostility of the Obama administration in the USA towards the Israeli Government has come out into the open in a rather ugly way.

It seems that American Secretary of State Kerry and the European Union leaders really are obsessed with forging some kind of deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Many Israelis are a little better at learning the lessons of history than the rest of the Western world. Maybe it is because we have so often been the victims of history. Since the Israeli government expelled the Jewish people from Gaza in 2005, there have been over 10,000 rockets shot at Israel and 3 hot military actions in the last 6 years alone. To allow a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria today would be the grossest failure to learn from recent history. We also need to understand fully that Abbas of the Palestinian Authority cannot make any compromises. They want 100% of their demands! That is also the history of the infamous Oslo Accords. All the "giving" has been done by Israel and all the "taking" by the P.A. In reality the creation of a Palestinian State carved out of the Land of Israel would be a disaster not only for Israel but for the Palestinians as well.

Thus says the Lord: Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit-behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, As the Lord lives, as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 12:14-17

Anti-Semitism will likely be the passion that unites the world in the last days. It will be the spark that plunges the world into a murderous and blood-thirsty darkness that will only end with the return of the Lord. After all, all the nations will not come up against Jerusalem because they love us. (Zechariah 14:2)

A little walk through history concerning Israel and the broken promises of the nations.

The Balfour Declaration was issued 2 November 1917 promising British support in the establishing of a Jewish homeland in what was then the Ottoman province of Palestine. Without getting into details during the time of the Mandate the British did their best to see that Israel never became a nation. In 1922 they sliced off 77% of the mandated land to create an artificial nation now known as Jordan. When they left in 1948 they turned most of their armaments and fortresses over to the Arabs. Only in 1950 did they recognize Israel as a state and open diplomatic relations.

On April 25, 1920 in San Remo Italy, Great Britain and France under the authority of the League of Nations created three mandates: Iraq, Syria and Palestine from part of the former Ottoman Empire. This was mostly creating artificial nations (with the exception of Israel), and it remains one of the root problems setting the Middle East aflame today. On July 24, 1922 again in San Remo the League of Nations officially recognized Britain as the holder of the Mandate for Palestine including in their resolution the original Balfour Declaration.

From the preamble of the resolution:

The Council of the League of Nations: Whereas the Principal Allied powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on 2 November, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country (my emphasis).

ARTICLE 2 of the Mandate:

The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.

ARTICLE 6 of the Mandate:

The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.

These two San Remo declarations form the basis of Jewish legal rights and the title of sovereignty over Palestine and the Land of Israel under international law. Of great importance here are the statements in the preamble recognizing the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land and reconstituting their national home and from Article 6 calling for Jewish immigration (Aliyah). They are in effect, an acknowledgment by those nations of Israel's ancient history. But today, less than 100 years later this seems to have been forgotten.

When the United Nations was founded it committed itself to abide by the League of Nations resolutions (Article 80 of the UN Charter). That makes the UN resolutions of 29 November, 1947 dividing the land into Jewish and Arab nations an illegal cancelling of Jewish legal rights and title of sovereignty to the whole of Palestine and the Land of Israel.

American Promises

In 1956 Israel joined with Britain and France to conquer the Sinai Peninsula and take back control of the Suez Canal from Egypt. Britain and France wanted the Suez Canal back and Israel wanted the Straits of Tiran off the Sinai Peninsula opened for Israeli shipping to Eilat. The Americans were outraged and forced all 3 nations to withdraw. President Eisenhower gave Israel a written commitment that the USA would not allow the Straits of Tiran to be closed again and if they were it would be considered an act of war. In 1967 Egypt not only closed the Straits of Tiran she mobilized her army and sent it across the Canal into Sinai. The U.N. buffer force in the Sinai that was supposed to keep the peace, meekly and obediently left when Egypt's President Nasser told them to leave. When Israel protested to the USA and asked for help the Americans could not find Eisenhower's letter and instead of helping they pressured Israel not to go to war. Thankfully Israel ignored the Americans, (perhaps a lesson from history for Israel today), preempted and defeated Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 6 days.

In 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, Israel asked the Americans to resupply us with ammunition and fuel as they had promised. While they eventually did resupply Israel Secretary of State Kissinger's infamous words to President Nixon still ring in my heart: "Let them bleed a little first". We ended up losing more than 2,600 lives. How many could have been saved had we been resupplied earlier? As for the Europeans every nation with the exception of Portugal refused to allow the American planes resupplying Israel to land for refueling.

Also during the Yom Kippur War, a declaration by the American National Council of Churches called for an immediate mutual cessation of arms shipments. Did they really think the Soviets were going to listen to them? David Stowe, an official of the United Church of Christ said to American Jewish Committee representative Gerald Strober "Israel might have to die for the cause of peace."

In 2005 before the evacuation from Gaza, American President G.W. Bush acknowledged in writing to Prime Minister Sharon that many of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria would remain in Israeli hands in any future peace treaty with the Palestinians. Six years ago when Obama came to power he dismissed Bush's letter completely.

During the latest fighting in Gaza, at a certain point Israel asked the USA for resupply of bombs and artillery ammunition and again while they eventually did resupply us they delayed it quite a long time.

Now we are waiting to see if American promises to prevent Iran's becoming a nuclear weapons state are worth the paper that they are printed on.

BDS

The present Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement against Israel is another rerun of history. How did the Nazis start their persecution against the Jewish people? They started in 1933 by forbidding Jews to work for newspapers or in the Civil Service. Then they called upon Germans to boycott Jewish stores. In 1935 the Nuremburg Laws were passed and among other things, Jews could no longer be German citizens. In 1936 Jews were banned from any "professional occupations". In 1937 Jews were banned from any political or governmental jobs. The hardest year before the war was 1938. Jewish passports were stamped with a red "J". (Actually this was a demand of the Chief of Switzerland's National Police.) Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass, sent 20,000 Jews to concentration camps, synagogues and many Jewish homes were burned down, the windows of Jewish shops were smashed. The Jews were then forced to pay a fine for Kristallnacht. Jews were banned from state schools, cinemas and public places. Jews were forced to close down and sell their businesses. All of this took place before the slaughter of six million people in the Holocaust.

Today's BDS campaigns were begun by South Africa's Desmond Tutu - an Archbishop of the Anglican Church. Today the following churches or church organization (a partial list) are among those to have signed on to BDS:

• Presbyterian Church (USA)

• World Council of Churches (based in Geneva)

• United Church of Christ

• U.K. Anglican Church

• United Church of Canada

During the Holocaust the nations and most of the Church remained quiet in the face of Hitler's resolve to annihilate the Jewish people. Perhaps if the Church had interceded and protested vigorously against Hitler, and against their own governments' callous attitude toward the plight of the Jews, many (perhaps even millions) could have been saved. The Church totally disregarded its calling to be a watchman and to warn its people and its nations that: Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8b)

Still today, much of the Church is ready to abandon Israel to the forces of Islam, when those are the same forces that are seeking to destroy the Church. Most of the Church still does not realize that its own destiny is linked with Israel's. Anti-Semitic persecution has always preceded and then led to anti-Christian persecution. It is a warning to the Church that they are next!

It happened during:

• The Crusades: The European crusaders first killed all the Jews in Jerusalem and then the Eastern Christians who just weren't like them.

• The Inquisition: After torturing, murdering and expelling the Jews from Spain the Inquisition turned its face against the real believers who were in Spain.

• The Nazi time: Martin Neimuller one of the survivors of the confessing Church famously said," When the Nazis came for the Jews, I wasn't a Jew so I said nothing. When they came for the Communists, I wasn't a Communist so I said nothing. When they came for me there was no one left to say anything."

Islam openly says, "First we will deal with the Saturday People and then the Sunday People."

Anti-Semitic rage fueled by the un-Christian element of Replacement Theory and the false charge of Deicide will, in the end boomerang on Christianity and discredit it too!

And what about the academic boycotts of Israeli universities and faculty? The Nazis burnt books and today's liberal academics don't want anything to do with Israel or Israelis. Are they really ready to give up their cell phones, Wi-Fi, medical imaging, drip irrigation, desalinization and many other things too numerous to list that were either invented or improved upon by Israelis in Israel? Academics who should be teaching us to learn from history are as ready to ignore history as anyone else.

Israeli Election March 17, 2015

The unstable and bickering Israeli government has come to a premature end after only 20 months in office. P.M. Netanyahu finally fired the leaders of Yesh Atid (Yair Lapid) and Hatnuah (Tzipi Livni) for attempting to form another government behind his back. In truth the government has been not quite dysfunctional but certainly an unruly and rebellious group. The rule in a parliamentary democracy is that members of the cabinet are free to state their opinions in the cabinet room but once something is decided, they have to support that decision. This last government saw many ministers trashing the P.M. for his decisions even after they themselves had voted with him.

While we don't yet know the finer points of how the competing parties will run their campaigns it is clear that the lefts will run on a platform of "Anyone but Bibi". From our history it is clear the "left's" obsession for a deal with the Palestinians will not bear good fruit. And submitting blindly to the dictates of the USA does not bear good fruit either.

We will try and put out an election update sometime in the next two months. However we believe that Benjamin Netanyahu is still the best man for the job and as far as we can discern the Lord's choice as well.

Pray for:

• All of us to be good students of history, to learn the appropriate lessons and to make the right decisions based on those lessons and the Word of God.

• Israel's next government to adopt the Levy Report, that is based on the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine. (This report now more than two years old was commissioned by the previous government as a basis for Israel's legal claim to the whole Land of Israel including Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights.)

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Eliyahu Ben-Haim, Jerusalem

9 December 2014

P.S. The invitation to next January's International Prayer Conference (19-26 January 2015) has been mailed. The theme will be: Psalm 3:3 But You, O Lord are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. If you didn't receive the invitation you can find it on the IFI website www.ifi.org.il. There you can also sign up for IFI's Friday Prayer Points.