Shalom from Zion,

Recently an American friend asked, Do you see 'a two state solution' as the answer - one that would be monitored by an international community with a demilitarized Palestinian Group …and Hamas gone, or is that too much to hope for? In addition, what is your thinking relative to the level of support provided by President Obama, and what he can say openly, in light of the funding for the Iron Dome system?

Here is an expanded version of Chuck's answer: The issue is how one sees the world. The West sees through a humanistic lens, whether religious or secular. But humanism works well only as long as it is based on the Judeo-Christian foundation which views all people as equal under the law, because created in God's image. If God is removed, you have secular humanism in which a person still is worthy of respect and has the freedom and personal responsibility to choose how to live, as long as doing so does not illegally impact others. However, not being based on absolute truth, secular humanism can rapidly devolve into the cult of the victim, creating a welfare state with an unsustainable immigration and criminal justice system. In this, the US is following in the EU's footsteps.

The progressive leaders of the West, blinded by arrogance, think everyone sees the world through their humanistic filter. For example: The Palestinians actually only want to have their state and to live in peace with Israel.

Reading the charter of either Fatah (Palestinian Authority [PA] President Abbas' group) or Hamas [available online] shows that their goal is Israel's total destruction - with Hamas also aiming for every Jew on earth dead, as Mohammed decrees in the Hadiths [Islamic commentaries and sayings of Mohammed, as important as the Quran.] Add to that the Islamic doctrine approving of and, at times, insisting on lying to further Allah's cause. So with whom exactly should Israel make peace?

Today, secular Westerners cannot conceive of sane people who are willing to kill and/or die for religious reasons. That is so last century! Yet maybe the Islamic State [IS; aka ISIS] is starting to open up eyes. Not even giving them democracy with McDonald's and Starbucks and free elections is going to change their raison d'être which is to make the world submit to their god.

Our worldview differs from both of the above. We believe in a God who created us, so the only way we can know about Him is as He chooses to reveal it, which He does through His Word - the Tanach [OT], the New Testament, and new life through His Son by His Spirit. The proof that the Bible is from the Creator is simple: it is the only religious book which history has proven to foretell the future - to prophesy. Whether it was that the promised Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, or that He would be both God and Man, or that He would be crucified and resurrected, or that after the Holocaust Israel would be restored on God's land as a nation again, with Jews returning from all over the world and nations in an uproar over it - there are literally hundreds of prophecies that have already become history.

God's Book says that the Land of Israel is His land (Lev. 25:23; Joel 3:1-2) and it is not to be divided or sold. He has given His land to His people and expects us to care for it - for His holy name's sake (Ezek. 36).

Woe to those who call good evil

Today we hear people calling good evil, and evil good. Here is what God thinks of this: He who says to the wicked, You are righteous; the people shall curse him and nations shall abhor him. (Pr. 24:24); Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness…! (Is. 5:20a); A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (Mt. 7:18). Here is an example : UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked on Oct. 12^th concerning the Gaza war. We must not lose sight of the root causes of the recent hostilities: A restrictive occupation that has lasted almost half a century, the continued denial of Palestinian rights and the lack of tangible progress in peace negotiations…

Israeli Prime Minister [PM] Bibi Netanyahu disagreed. The root cause of the violence that burst from Gaza is not Israel's occupation…We uprooted all settlements and vacated all settlers. There is no Israeli occupation of Gaza. ("ADL Decries UN Chief's 'Stunning' Bias," Arutz 7, 14 Oct. 2014)

Concerning Obama and US Secretary of State Kerry, why did they try to get Qatar and Turkey, Hamas supporters, to negotiate a cease-fire, when Egypt, who despises Hamas and sees it as a terror group [as does US law], is a much better address? When they did that, Israel, Egypt, the Gulf States - except Qatar - Jordan and Saudi Arabia were united against Kerry's attempts, and America's reputation took another nose-dive in the Middle East [ME].

Gaza war aftermath

Israeli-Arab reporter Khaled Abu Toameh often exposes the world's hypocrisy against Israel, as when he wrote about Egypt's war against terrorism in northern Sinai.

Egypt's army is clearing out a wide area on their Gaza border, demolishing hundreds of homes, moving thousands of Gazans, creating a security buffer zone…to prevent terrorists from using smuggling tunnels to launch attacks on Egyptian soldiers and civilians. In other words, they are tightening the Gaza blockade and collectively punishing the Palestinians living there.

Egyptians have finally realized the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has become one of the region's main exporters of terrorism. Israel reached this conclusion several years ago…

The hypocrisy of the nations is exposed. While it is fine for Egypt to demolish hundreds of houses and forcibly transfer thousands of people in the name of the war on terrorism, Israel is not supposed to fire back at those who launch rockets and missiles at its civilians. ("Egypt's War on Terrorism: World's Double Standards," K. Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 3 Nov. 2014)

The 'Peace Idol' & Abbas

No matter what the Palestinians do, most nations still want Israel to divide its God-given inheritance and create another Islamic enemy state. 'Peace' is an end-time idol, and God's word is clear that those who worship idols, end up being like their dead gods - deaf, dumb and blind (Ps. 115:4-8; Is. 44:9-11).

Abbas' recent statements show he is not Israel's 'peace partner'. At the UN General Assembly in Sept., Abbas accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, saying its jets and tanks brutally assassinated lives and devastated homes, schools and dreams of thousands of Palestinian children, women and men… destroying the remaining hopes for peace. ("Lieberman calls Abbas 'diplomatic terrorist busy with slandering Israel'," JP, 26 Sept. 2014)

Other terms he used to slander Israel were, a racist occupier state, apartheid, colonialism, a state above the law… He also blamed ME Islamic terror groups on Israel, saying, Confronting the terrorism that plagues our region requires, bringing an end to the Israeli occupation of our country, which constitutes in its practices and perpetuation, an abhorrent form of state terrorism and a breeding ground for incitement, tension, and hatred. ("Abbas incites and we're to blame?" Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 29 Sept. 2014)

Abbas: Israel has chosen to make it a year of a new war of genocide perpetrated against the ‎Palestinian people…a series of absolute war crimes… In the name of ‎Palestine and its people, I affirm here today: we will not forget and we will not forgive… ("Abbas' UNGA speech," Elliot Abrams, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Sept. 2014)

Israel's ex-US ambassador, Michael Oren, said a Palestinian leader who accuses the State of Israel, which arose from the ashes of the Holocaust, of committing genocide in Gaza, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, has no intention of being a peace partner.

Instead, he is a strategic danger, more serious than the tactical dangers posed by Hamas. His UN words are the opening shot of a political Palestinian initiative aimed at isolating Israel in the international arena, delegitimizing it, and imposing sanctions on it. ("Abbas' strategic threat could be more dangerous than Hamas," M. Oren, Ynetnews Op-ed, 29 Sept. 2014)

The Jewish People Policy Institute's Dr. Einat Wilf said, since violent attempts to destroy Israel failed, the effort to turn public opinion against Israel and Zionism…has become the focus of Palestinian anti-Israel activity. Many mistakenly believe that because this is a war of words, pictures and imagery, it is less of a threat than a 'real' war. But the goal is to fix the State of Israel and the Zionist idea in world consciousness as a total evil, one the world would be better without. The nonviolent activity of turning Israel into Satan lays the groundwork for the actual violence that will follow.

This is what Abbas was aiming for. After ideas like 'Zionism is racism' and 'Zionism is apartheid' gained traction, we now have 'Zionism is genocide'. Boycotts and sanctions are not enough. Only an all-out war to destroy Israel will do, because that is the only way to address countries that commit genocide… ("The true Palestinian dream," Dr. E. Wilf, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 1 Oct. 2014)

Interviewed on CNN, Bibi said if there will be a 'Palestine', Israel must have a long-term security presence in it to prevent it from becoming 'Hamastan', because if Hamas takes over Judea and Samaria, they could stop our international airport with mortars, not rockets, not missiles …So we have to find a security solution that is real… ("PM: For Palestinian state to emerge everyone needs to adjust concepts of sovereignty, JP, 5 Oct. 2014)

Speaking to Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said, Israel will not agree to a Palestinian state without a true peace agreement that recognizes it as the nation state of the Jewish people, and includes concrete, long-term security arrangements on the ground, which will enable it to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

People say, Give up territory in advance, draw a map, and later set security and other arrangements…What is the point of drawing a border if we don't know what kind of country will arise on the other side? Security is not decided by words, but by soldiers on the ground. Only IDF troops will prevent the digging of tunnels. When it comes to defending Israel, there is no alternative… ("Israel has every right to build in Jerusalem," Israel Hayom, 28 Oct. 2014)

Bibi said a belief that the Israeli-Arab conflict persists because of settlements is a lie. The issue is not about territory; it's about our existence…Palestinians expect us to recognize that they have a right to a state of their own, yet they say to us Jews who have been here for close to 4,000 years, you do not have that right. ("[Bibi] Assures EU: No Jewish Prayer on Temple Mt.," Arutz 7, 7 Nov. 2014)

Terror stalks Jerusalem's streets again

In Oct., terrorism hit Jerusalem again. Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman accused Abbas of stoking the flames… For example, in a recent speech, Abbas said Jewish settlers must be prevented from entering the Temple Mount by any means…This is our Noble Sanctuary… They have no right to enter and desecrate it.

Lieberman said Abbas has joined the frontlines of extremist Islamist organizations…who sanctify religious war. ("Lieberman: Abbas is anti-Semite trying to ignite holy war," Israel Hayom, 19 Oct. 2014)

A terrorist identified and then shot Rabbi Y. Glick, an activist for enabling Jews to legally pray on the Temple Mount. Miraculously, he survived. Netanyahu blasted the nations' hypocritical silence both about the shooting and the spike in violence in Jerusalem. A few days ago, I said we were facing a wave of incitement by radical Islamic elements and Abbas, and still we have not heard one word of condemnation from the international community. ("Netanyahu Slams International 'Hypocrisy' over Glick Shooting," Arutz 7, 30 Oct. 2014)

When two terrorists butchered five Israelis, four being rabbis, in a Jerusalem synagogue, Times of Israel editor David Horovitz wrote, Abbas and his loyalists have emphatically swung to the extremes…legitimizing terrorism. Last week Abbas warned of settlers and extremists 'contaminating' Al-Aqsa Mosque. His Fatah loyalists published cartoons and Facebook posts hailing and encouraging terrorism, and…'days of rage' to defend…Al-Aqsa. He hailed the would-be assassin of Rabbi Glick…as a martyr.

Today's attack confirms that this latest iteration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is religious in nature and exposes Muslim intolerance of the very notion that Jews have a religious connection to the Temple Mount, to Jerusalem and to Israel.

Horovitz ends, this is the homeland of the Jewish nation, the only place we have ever been sovereign or sought sovereignty. What needs writing and saying, especially on a terrible day like today, is that we will not be driven from it. ("Palestinian terrorists… know: It's not going to work," D. Horovitz, Times of Israel Op-ed, 18 Nov. 2014)

Palestinian Media Watch said that an op-ed in the PA's official daily the previous week accused rabbis of desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque, of being behind the arming of ISIS, and of encouraging the doctrinal conflict between Sunnis and Shi'ites. ("PA, Hamas Justify Murder of 'Rabbi Terrorists'," Arutz 7, 21 Nov. 2014)

"Behold, I [YHWH], will make Jerusalem…

…a cup of trembling to all the peoples around it…In that day, I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples. All who lift it shall be ruptured, even if all the nations be gathered against it. (Zech. 12:2-3)

The EU's new foreign affairs chief Mogherini, visiting Gaza, declared, We need a Palestinian state. That is the ultimate goal of the EU. In Ramallah, she added, Jerusalem can be and should be a capital of two states, but Israel is blocking this global goal by permitting Jews to live in areas claimed by the Palestinians, especially east Jerusalem (aka 'biblical Jerusalem'). Bibi retorted, Jerusalem is our capital… [It] is not a settlement. ("Europe: Divide Jerusalem; Netanyahu: Not a Chance," Israel Today, 9 Nov. 2014)

On the 10^th anniversary of Arafat's death, with thousands in attendance at a Ramallah rally, Abbas gave another inflammatory speech. Muslim and Christian worlds will never accept Israel's claim that Jerusalem belongs to it…Jerusalem that was captured in 1967 is our Jerusalem. Our responsibility is to protect and defend the holy places. ("Abbas: Israel leading region toward 'bloody religious war'," Israel Hayom, 12 Nov. 2014)

Despite global condemnation against Jews building in this city, Netanyahu recently said, We have built in Jerusalem, we are building in Jerusalem and we will continue to build in Jerusalem. (Ps. 147:2; Zech. 12:2-3)

The battle over God's 'holy hill'

Why do the nations rage and the people meditate on a vain thing? Kings…and rulers plot together, against YHWH and His Messiah, saying, Let us break their bands in two and cast away their cords from us. He sitting in the heavens shall laugh…[and] mock them. Then He will speak to them in His anger, and trouble them in His wrath. I have set My king on My holy hill in Zion. (Ps. 2:1-6)

Bloggist Tuvia Brodie says that while the Gaza war is over for now, the fight to conquer Israel hasn't stopped. It's just moved to a different battlefield, east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

With the Mount becoming a rallying-point for Muslim attacks, police wanted to close it temporarily. The world had said nothing as Muslims attacked Jews, but when Israel announced the closure for security reasons, nations 'begged' Israel to not do it, with the US stating, Israel must open the Mount to Muslims while keeping it closed to Jews. ("The Muslim, the world, the war against Jerusalem," T. Brodie, Arutz 7, 3 Nov. 2014)

Israeli and Arab media have lately been writing of a religious war in the Holy Land, as many Muslims see the current violence as the start of a great war that will break out in accordance with the Koran. Jews and Christians also know of a coming battle which will bring all nations against Israel, primarily over the issue of Jerusalem. (Zech. 12:2-3; 14:2)

In the ME, politics and religion are inseparable, yet this is so contrary to Western thinking that their media finds it difficult to understand and properly perceive the religious basis of the Israeli-Islamic conflict. ("Israeli, Arab Media Speak of Religious War; West Remains Blind," Israel Today, 19 Nov. 2014)

Annika Hernroth-Rothstein, political adviser and writer, just after she heard of the assassination attempt on ‎Rabbi Glick, said, I see tomorrow's story shaping up, and the headline reads ‎‎'restraint'. ‎Jerusalem is boiling; our children are slain in a third intifada. Yet the US, the UN, et al, will call for 'restraint' on both sides, as if Israel is the cause of this mindless terror. ‎

At the 1936 Peel Commission hearings, Israel's soon to be first prime minister, Ben-Gurion, when asked for proof of the Jewish right to the land of Israel, held up a Bible and answered: 'This is our mandate to the land of Israel!' Annika closed, I pray for all of us to find ‎strength in Ben-Gurion's words - with confidence in the knowledge that we protect, we build, and we govern what is ours. ("This land is our land," A. Hernroth-Rothstein, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Oct. 2014)

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's wisdom

Since our last issue, Netanyahu has shared his views on current events widely. These excerpts show him as one of the most clear-thinking leaders today. God is answering our prayers (Ps. 80:17).

To diplomats and experts at a counter-terrorism conference in Israel, he said Hamas, al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terror groups are all branches of the same poisonous tree…a clear and present danger to the peace and security of the world and to our common civilization… Fighting them requires weapons…clarity and courage. Clarity to understand they're wrong and we're right. They're evil and we're good. No moral relativism there… ("Netanyahu: Israel fully supports Obama against ISIS," Ynetnews, 11 Sept. 2014)

He warned about allying with Iran against IS, saying it's crucial not to let the fight against Sunni extremism [IS] make us forget the danger of Shiite extremism [Iran]. His advice: Weaken both and most importantly, don't allow any of them to get weapons of mass destruction. ("…Fight ISIS, but don't neglect Iran nuclear threat," Israel Hayom, 12 Sept. 2014)

Introducing a Jerusalem Post interview with Netanyahu, the writer said Bibi feels vindicated, as one who correctly predicted the future, often going very much against the grain to do so, accurately foreseeing the disastrous fruit that would follow the Gaza withdrawal, that the 'Arab Spring' would not bring democracy and freedom to Arabs, and pressing successfully, for tough economic sanctions against Iran… And the Gaza war proved the absolute necessity of the security requirements he has so long demanded from the PA, before signaling a willingness to withdraw from any additional territory.

He sees Iran with nuclear weapons as the biggest immediate, medium and long-term threat to Israel, and to the world…[To] us, because we are the outpost of the civilization they abhor so much and wish to wipe off the face of the earth, they say as much. They mean it, and I take them at their word… ("Special JP interview with Netanyahu: 'Who turned out to be right?'" JP Interview, 24 Sept. 2014)

Bibi in the UN Den of Lies (Sept. 29th, 2014)

What a blessing to hear Israel's prime minister declare truth from Zion at the UN: The people of Israel are not occupiers in the land of Israel. ("Netanyahu at UN: 'ISIS is Hamas…'," Arutz 7, 30 Sept. 2014)

Dr. Haim Shine writes, Every time an Israeli prime minister or president…speaks at the UN, I get excited. Standing in front of representatives of the world's nations, they represent a country that rose from the…ashes, fulfilling a 2,000-year-old dream that is now an oasis of enlightened democracy in the midst of extreme madness and violence. Oh that more believers would see this!

Shine: …Netanyahu made it clear he would never give up the Jewish state's right to security and defensible borders. The IDF [will]…be responsible for defending Israel. History has proven the world has no room for Jews who cannot defend themselves.

Bibi exposed that Holocaust denial and refusal to recognize a Jewish state are the foundation of Abbas' worldview.

He said radical Islamic organizations have different names, but their essence is the same. Their aim is to destroy Western civilization and impose an Islamic caliphate in its place…Merely taking out IS pickup trucks without preventing a nuclear Iran would be a monumental strategic error. ("A Jewish & Zionist speech," Dr. H. Shine, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Sept. 2014)

Columnist Ruthie Blum, in line with scriptural truth, said words matter, and then gave excerpts from Bibi's speech: We hear mobs today in Europe call for gassing of Jews. We hear some national leaders compare Israel to Nazis. This is not a function of Israel's policies. It's a function of diseased minds. That disease has a name …anti-Semitism. It is now spreading in polite society where it masquerades as legitimate criticism of Israel.

Referring to Abbas' labeling of Israel's fight against Hamas as genocide, Bibi asked rhetorically, In what moral universe does genocide include warning the enemy civilian population to get out of harm's way, or ensuring that they receive tons of humanitarian aid each day, even as thousands of rockets are fired at us, or setting up a field hospital to aid their wounded? He answered, It's the same moral universe where a man [Abbas] who wrote a dissertation of lies about the Holocaust and who insists on a Palestine free of Jews…can stand at this podium and shamelessly accuse Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing. ("Words matter," R. Blum, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Sept. 2014)

Bibi ended his speech, quoting from Isaiah, For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still. ("…Truth in a Den of Lies," Joseph Klein, FrontPageMag, 30 Sept. 2014)

Liat Collins, a JP editor, said Netanyahu, is a perennial party-pooper in an age when everyone just wants to have fun… [His] message was not in touch with the times simply because it was so in touch with reality…

The world does not fear Netanyahu. It fears what [he] has to say. And it is easier to blame Israel (and the Jews) for the world's problems than to solve them. ("Selective hearing," L. Collins, JP Op-ed, 2 Oct. 2014)

Obama & Co. vs. Israel

OBAMA DEFENDS ISLAM, SMACKS ISRAEL, AMERICAN RACISM AT UN

It has become obvious that the Obama Administration and the US State Dept. are not Israel's friends. Daniel Greenfield said, In a striking public rebuke, the Obama administration warned Israel today that plans for a controversial new housing project in east Jerusalem would distance Israel from 'even its closest allies' and raise questions about its commitment towards peace. They also condemned the recent occupation of residential buildings in Silwan, by several hundred Israelis in recent years. Yet SilwanShiloach) is the site of King David's Jerusalem, including his and Solomon's royal palace. (Heb.

In modern history, this occupation involves Jews buying property in an area from which they had been ethnically cleansed by invading Jordanian Muslim forces in the late 1940s.

Bibi rejected this political attack, saying, Arabs in Jerusalem are free to purchase apartments in the western [part of the] city…I have no intention of telling Jews they can't buy apartments in east Jerusalem…There cannot be discrimination…This goes against values that the US also believes in. ("Obama Warns Building Houses in Jerusalem Will Distance Israel," D. Greenfield, FrontPage Mag, 1 Oct. 2014)

On CBS' Face the Nation, he said this doesn't bode well for peace…The idea that we'd have this ethnic purification as a condition for peace…its anti-peace. ("WH: American Values Demand We Keep Jews Out of Jerusalem," D. Greenfield, FrontPage Mag, 6 Oct. 2014)

Dror Eydar writes, We have reached a dangerous point…The Obama administration is now calling Netanyahu a 'coward', and 'chickens**t'. Meanwhile, Russia is occupying parts of Ukraine … Iran is receiving legitimacy in European parlors, multitudes are killed in Syria, IS has conquered large swathes of territory, Christians are being slaughtered by Muslims, forced to convert, or become refugees. Egypt is fighting terrorism in the Sinai… Africa is being torn apart by civil wars and terrorism…Europe is helpless in the face of a creeping takeover of its cities by Muslims … North Korea, Yemen, Lebanon and more. The world is very dangerous. Yet what makes Obama furious? …Jews building homes in their own capital city. What a farce!

Today, most Israelis agree, There will be no peace agreement without Jerusalem under full Israeli sovereignty. Having Jerusalem is preferable to the [world's] delusional peace…There is no Zionism without Zion. ("No Zionism without Zion," D. Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Oct. 2014)

With threats such as Isaiah 60:12 and Zechariah 12:9, this does not look good for the US. Yet Ezekiel 22:30 says God, wanting to be merciful, seeks a believer to stand in the gap before Him.

A nuclear-threshold Iran?

The news as we write is that the P5+1 nations have agreed to a 7-month extension in talks with Iran - which is another victory for Islamic fanatics who lead that radical Shi'ite state.

Clifford D. May sees, Iran making significant gains. This is not good, as Iran's 1979 revolution was led by Ayatollah ‎Khomeini whose goal was to spark a global ‎jihad against the West.‎

Khomeini backed an Islamic version of social justice, saying in 1984, If one permits an infidel to continue in his role ‎as a corrupter of the earth…the ‎infidel's moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel, and this stops him from ‎perpetrating his misdeeds, his death will be a blessing to him. Iran's current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and its 'moderate' President Rouhani are both Khomeini's disciples.

C. D. May said if Iran becomes a ‎nuclear-armed nation, Obama will be responsible for a blunder of worldwide, historical ‎proportions … ("Iran rising," C. May, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 2 Oct. 2014)

Shortly after an Obama secret letter to Khamenei was revealed, about America's and Iran's shared objectives in the ME, the Ayatollah, on his official Twitter account, again called for Israel's destruction, This barbaric, wolflike & infanticidal regime of #Israel which spares no crime has no cure but to be annihilated … The only means to confront a barbaric regime like #Israel is arming [the Palestinians]. ("Iran: It's time to destroy Israel," Israel Today, 9 Nov. 2014)

Khamenei mocked Obama's overtures. In front of banners proclaiming, America cannot do a damn thing, he boasted that the Great Satan's attempts to bring Iran to its knees failed.

With Iran repeating its goal to destroy Israel, Isi Leibler says, Israel cannot accept the prospect of such a fanatical terrorist regime becoming a nuclear threshold state. ("Obama desperate for a deal with Iran at any price," Isi Leibler, JP Op-ed, 12 Nov. 2014)

The war against Zionism

Zionism was a sign of the return of the Jewish people to history, from a ghost-like state to national and diplomatic resurrection. Until then, we were not dead or alive. We were outside time and the normal rules of history, wandering…constantly searching for a place to rest our feet.

Over the last 200 years, our pendulum of history changed direction from exile to redemption; from destruction to independence. The direction taken by the Jews is clear: a return to Zion - to our ancient homeland. Some parts of the world do not accept the change and wish to put the Jewish genie back into the bottle…

The war against the Jews' return to Zion has been waged on several fronts: Consistent prevention of Jewish establishment and sovereignty in Israel, vocal opposition to Jews actively defending themselves in their land, and a growing anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activism. You can't blame them: after all, over the course of hundreds of years they had become accustomed to Jews who submissively accepted pogroms, murders and bitter religious persecution, as well as expulsions starting with Spain and ending with the gates of Auschwitz. So how dare we change the rules now and defend ourselves? We Jews must have gone crazy. ("A shadow of a doubt," Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 5 Sept. 2014)

David Horovitz said, the critical importance of the revived Jewish national homeland as the only guaranteed place of refuge for Jews has been bitterly reconfirmed this summer, as Jews from nations like France and Belgium, are now increasingly looking to Israel as an essential safe haven, given the growing impossibility of living safely as publicly identified Jews amid the post-[Gaza] war wave of anti-Semitism. ("Lady Gaga, we…love you too," D. Horovitz, Times of Israel Editorial, 17 Sept. 2014)

Israel & India

Vijeta Uniyal, from India, wrote, As Europe…sees the return of unconcealed anti-Semitism, the world's largest democracy, India, in its full support for Israel, tells a very different story about the world's manufactured outrage over the Gaza conflict that mainstream media in West apparently wish to portray. A majority of Indians whose opinions are not tainted by a culture of anti-Semitism can see that… the State of Israel not only has the right to defend itself, but an obligation to protect its citizens from unprovoked terrorist aggression.

Such a rational view…is probably too much to expect from the media elites in Europe. They seem unable to see the threat posed to the West by radical Islamist ideology…They also seem unable to distinguish their friends from their foes. ("Responses to Terrorism: Europe vs. India," V. Uniyal, Gatestone Institute, 16 Sept. 2014)

George Whitefield's wisdom

If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written Word of God sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed Lord, though He had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by, and fought the devil with, 'It is written'.

Chuck & Karen Cohen