Is Israel an apartheid state persecuting the Palestinians?

JPN Reply:

Hi,

I know your mind seems made up on this topic but I thought I’d write a few reasons why a Christian SHOULD support Israel. I’m not after a debate. But I do hope you’ll at least read and think on what I have written below. For me it is important that a Christian bases their opinions on the word of God and not the 6 o’clock news. The Bible says we live in a world that is in the power of the evil one. So we live in a world that is anti-God on the whole and that applies to the people of God as well. It applies to the Church and it applies to the nation of Israel. The world, on the whole, is anti-Christianity and anti-Israel. A Christian should be neither.

There is no doubting that the situation in Israel is a complex one. So complex in fact that despite all the resources that have gone into finding a “solution” for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over many decades, we are no closer in this ‘peace process’. This is obviously in line with what the Bible says for God spoke through the Prophet Zechariah saying that the issue and burden of the world at the end of the age will still be Jerusalem:

Zec 12:2 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
Zec 12:3 "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

Another version says that God will make Jerusalem ‘a burdensome stone for all peoples; all who lift it or burden themselves with it shall be sorely wounded.’

The whole issue of Jerusalem will be burdensome. God has made it so and has a reason for this because His plans and purposes are still to be fulfilled in that region. According to the prophet Daniel, God will use all that is happening to break the power of the Holy people (Jewish nation) so that they will turn to and cry out for the Messiah Jesus to return. (Dan 12:7, Zech 12:9-14, Matt 23:37-39) So what we need to remember, and it’s something you won’t be told on the network news, is that the root of the conflict is SPIRITUAL. It is a conflict between the god of Islam and the God of Israel. Behind it all, Satan hates the Jewish people for the prophetic promises of God and the coming Messianic Kingdom are all tied to the nation of Israel. So he will do all he can (as he has done throughout history – most notably recently with Hitler and WWII) to destroy the Jews. If he can stop God fulfilling his promises to that nation then he has won. He won’t win of course but will use all that he has to come against them. Don’t be on that side. The world, in general, hates Israel as well because it hates God and the Jewish nation is a reminder and pointer to His existence. And they don’t want that.

Winston Churchill wrote “Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world.“ 

In like manner Mark Twain wrote: 'All things are mortal, except the Jew. Other forces pass but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?'

They may not have known why that is the case but it is because God is upholding them. Despite all the hatred in the world, despite all the bias, despite all the persecution… God loves them, has an amazing plan for that nation and the fact that they survive despite so much being against them continues to show that God exists and His word is true.

God’s ongoing love 

I’m not writing this thinking that Israel is perfect or always makes great decisions and actions. Today they are largely a secular nation who lives mostly in unbelief concerning their Messiah Jesus. BUT… this current unbelief does not nullify the faithfulness of God because He will still be true to the promises He gave them and He loves them. As the Apostle Paul said:

Rom 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
Rom 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
Rom 11:27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."
Rom 11:28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
Rom 11:29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Therefore, as the prophet Zechariah said: ‘whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye…’ (Zec 2:8)

Because of God’s faithfulness to His promises, He will fulfill His many promises to the Jewish people. I have written more about this here: http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/questions/IsraelsFuture.htm

The Spiritual Battle

As I mentioned earlier, this whole battle and ongoing trouble, is a spiritual battle that will play out right to the end of the age and the coming of Jesus. The USA, the EU or anyone else will not be able to solve it even if they gain temporary agreements. But let’s be clear on this: Israel WOULD live in peace with its neighbors. Israel DOES NOT live for the annihilation of the Palestinians or any others that surround them. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the many Islamic nations that surround Israel. The question is WHY? Why the hatred of Israel?

Look at it this way – Islam is meant to bring the whole world into submission to Allah. That is their goal.
http://www.wnd.com/2008/09/76017/
 https://www.google.com/search?q=islam+dominate+world&source=lnms&tbm=isch (picture worth a thousand words!)
It is a disgrace to Islam, who are meant to make all submit to their god, to have in their very own backyard this tiny nation of Israel that they have not been able to defeat or cause to submit. It is a DISGRACE! It is a disgrace to them, to their religion, to their god. It is a disgrace that given all their superior numbers and armies and machinery that they have been defeated in all the wars against Israel such as in 1948-49, 1967 and 1973. Furthermore their own prophet Muhammad said the following:

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews , when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." (related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).Sahih Muslim, 41:6985

This is but one of many in the Koran and hadiths (record of their traditions) that declare that the Muslims need to kill the Jews before the last ‘Day of Judgment’. So they see it as their god-given destiny to destroy Israel. This produces an everlasting hatred. It is taught to their kids. Consider the following quotes that show this hatred (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_antisemitism):

In a speech delivered by Egyptian Salafi Islamic scholar Muhammad Hussein Yacoub which aired on Al-Rahma TV on January 17, 2009, he stated (as translated by MEMRI):

"We must believe that our fighting with the Jews is eternal, and it will not end until the final battle...You must believe that we will fight, defeat, and annihilate them, until not a single Jew remains on the face of the Earth...As for you Jews – the curse of Allah upon you. The curse of Allah upon you, whose ancestors were apes and pigs. You Jews have sown hatred in our hearts, and we have bequeathed it to our children and grandchildren. You will not survive as long as a single one of us remains...Oh Jews, may the curse of Allah be upon you. Oh Jews... Oh Allah, bring Your wrath, punishment, and torment down upon them. Allah, we pray that you transform them again, and make the Muslims rejoice again in seeing them as apes and pigs. You pigs of the earth! You pigs of the earth! You kill the Muslims with that cold pig [blood] of yours."

Palestinian preacher Ibrahim Mahdi said in a sermon:

"Palestine will be, as it was in the past, a graveyard for the invaders – just as it was a graveyard for the Tatars and to the Crusader invaders, [and for the invaders] of the old and new colonialism... A reliable Hadith [tradition] says: 'The Jews will fight you, but you will be set to rule over them.' What could be more beautiful than this tradition? 'The Jews will fight you' – that is, the Jews have begun to fight us. 'You will be set to rule over them' – Who will set the Muslim to rule over the Jew? Allah... Until the Jew hides behind the rock and the tree. But the rock and tree will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, a Jew hides behind me, come and kill him.’… We believe in this Hadith. We are convinced also that this Hadith heralds the spread of Islam and its rule over all the land... Oh Allah, accept our martyrs in the highest heavens... Oh Allah, show the Jews a black day... Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters... Oh Allah, raise the flag of Jihad across the land... Oh Allah, forgive our sins..."

So it is easy for people in the West to stand from a great distance and point out things that Israel are doing wrong but it should be remembered that they are literally in a battle for their existence. No, Israel is not perfect. They have to make hard and tough decisions at times. But realize that their enemies live for their total destruction so they often don’t have the luxury of just doing nothing and seeing what happens!

Dividing the land

At the moment there is a lot of pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to agree to a two-state solution. There is a lot of pressure on Israel to give up land for ‘peace’ in return. This is only going to increase early next year. From what you have written I would expect that would agree with this but there are two big problems with this.

1. Islam does not want peace.
There are moderate Muslims. But Islam true to the Koran is anything but moderate. It does not, and cannot, want peace with Israel. We see that from what their imam’s teach in their Mosques and what their children are taught in their schools. They want Israel annihilated and pushed into the sea and gone forever. We see this from the goals of the people Israel has had to have ‘peace talks’ with. The PLO charter – the very document that is the backbone of that organization calls for the destruction of Israel as a nation. It still does and hasn’t been changed despite this being an absolute for Israel during the peace talks of the 90’s.
 http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/08/21/the-plo-charter-still-calls-for-israels-destruction/
 http://www.wnd.com/2002/10/15504/

Today it is still the same. The Israeli Prime Minister goes into negotiations still requiring that the Palestinians recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. That is not too much to ask if the Palestinians actually want peace is it? But no recognition is given. Islam doesn’t want two states living side by side. They want Israel gone period. http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2013/10/netanyahu-call-for-pa-recognition-of-jewish-state-is-nothing-new-2728762.html

You spoke about ‘how you yearn for peace’ in that region. While this is a natural response, do you know that the Bible says there will not be peace for Israel until the prince of peace returns? Do you study Bible prophecy? Do you understand what the Bible prophets said will come about in that region leading up to the return of Christ? What’s coming is not peace. It is called ‘the day of Jacob’s trouble’. It will be another holocaust – but this time 2/3 of the Jews will be killed according to the prophet Zechariah. Islam, and the spirit that is behind Islam, will not allow peace. You spoke of ‘settlements’ in the Gaza strip as an ultimatum to Palestinians to ‘get out or die’. Not sure where you got that from. Israel gave up the Gaza Strip in 2005 to further peace with the Palestinians. What did they get in return? Well, from 2006 onwards it has been run by the terrorist organization Hamas and it has been used to fire over 8000 rockets into Israel. (http://www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/).

Again… you have to remember that behind it all there are spiritual forces at work. Forces that do not want Israel as a nation to survive. They hate God and hate His people. Every time Israel has given up ‘land for peace’ they have got nothing but further attacks in return.

2. God sees the land of Israel as His and it shouldn’t be divided!
Did you know that when God gave the land to the tribes of Israel they were not even allowed to sell the land permanently? Do you know why? It is because the Promised Land is God’s!

Lev 25:23 'The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.
In connection with this, have you looked at what the prophet Joel said about the final judgment when Christ returns? It is interesting to see the basis upon which God will judge the nations. Here it is:

Joe 3:1 In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

Joe 3:2 I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.

Joe 3:3 They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine that they might drink.

God is going to judge the nations for scattering His people Israel amongst the nations (which began in 70AD and they were left without a homeland until they became a nation again in 1948) and for dividing up HIS land. God, even at the end of the age, still says the land of Israel is HIS. Whose side do you want to be on? God’s – who sees dividing the land of Israel as something that will bring His judgment… or the world’s – who sees pressuring Israel to give up more land as the path to peace?

I’ve tried to give you a view of the spiritual battle that is going on and will continue to go on culminating in the final battle at the end of the age. This is where the whole world, being controlled by the god of this world and his coming world leader, the antichrist, will cause anti-Semitism to rise to the extent where all nations will come against Israel. As it is written:

Zec 14:2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

Zec 14:3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.

Again – please see that the Lord fights FOR his people Israel and AGAINST the nations. So it is important to make sure you are supporting the right side for though the world will become more and more anti-semitic, a Christian SHOULD be supportive of those that God is for – not against them! The Jewish people will be more and more isolated as we approach the end of the age and the return of Jesus. But Christians should not be joining the world in this. We are not meant to be basing our beliefs on what the world’s media tells us but on the word of God.

What about persecution of Christians?

But maybe you don’t know too much about what the Bible says about the end or God’s love, plan and promises for the nation of Israel. If that is the case I would say that you should be a supporter of Israel for this reason alone: They are basically the only country in the whole middle-east region where a person is free to be a Christian without discrimination and persecution. If you are anti-Israel, as your email suggests, then you must be, I assume, even far more anti-Iraq, anti-Iran, anti-Syria, anti-Libya, anti-Saudi Arabia etc… for it is basically open war on Christians in many of these countries and far worse atrocities, and far more oppressive laws are in place there. Can I ask if you speak out about this? Do you want your country to stop supporting these nations that so persecute Christians and even their own Muslim brothers? Or is it just Israel you don’t support? Let me say it again – Israel is not perfect and has problems of its own but it is the safest place for a Christian to be at this time in the Middle East. Christians are not killed and their churches are not burned in Israel. They are free to worship God. You can’t say that about the other Middle-Eastern nations. Have a read: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/April/Israel-a-Christians-Haven-amid-Islamic-Persecution/

You mentioned ‘Gaza’ - Are you anti-Hamas now for how Hamas is spreading fear, persecuting Christians, closing their schools in Gaza and enforcing Islam on the whole region?
http://www.persecution.org/2013/06/19/hamas-imposes-islamization-on-schools-in-gaza/

Further reading:

With a few deviations, I’ve tried to write mostly from a Biblical point of view because this is the most important aspect for a Christian. Here (if you are interested) are a few extra links you could read. Firstly, from a lefty-liberal political point of view, here is an article why even the left should be pro-Israel:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-krinsky/8-reasons-leftists-should_b_653432.html

Dave Hunt’s article on the rising tide of anti-Semitism is well worth reading:

http://www.thebereancall.org/content/november-2013-classic-2

As is the following looking at the prophetic proof:

http://www.thebereancall.org/content/israel-and-prophetic-proof-part-i

http://www.thebereancall.org/content/israel-and-prophetic-proof-part-ii

Some other Biblical reasons for supporting the nation of Israel:

http://www.gotquestions.org/support-Israel.html

I hope some of this helps. I also hope it makes you question why you are sending out emails against Israel. As I said at the start, it is important to see this from a Biblical perspective and not just believe what the 6 o’clock news tells you. Difficult days lie ahead for the nation of Israel. Whether by prayer, financial or moral support, they need and should gain the support of all that believe in the God of Israel. Prayer is the most important for it is a spiritual conflict.

All the best.

JPN Reply:

Hi,

apologies if you thought I was attacking you. I'm not sure where it was that you thought I was doing that but it was certainly not the intention. I did however want you to think about the big picture. BTW - I wasn't suggesting that you support Hamas or Terrorism - I was simply trying to get you to see whether your views against Israel are actually balanced in view of what their many enemies do and what life is like in such a dangerous neighborhood of the world.

In terms of your examples, at the end of the day you could point out a particular case and I could counter with another... and on it goes. We could do the very same thing with the policies of the US and their so called 'just wars' (or not) and talk about how many innocent people including children they have killed if we wanted. But I wrote what I wrote to try and help you see the bigger prophetic picture in the Middle East and the spiritual realities behind the conflict.

You say "I refuse to hate. Period!" That's fine when applied to people for God loves the whole world and all people are created equal. But you can and should hate certain ideologies and beliefs. For example you should hate the ideologies and beliefs of Nazi Germany that would try to murder and eradicate all Jews... simply because they are Jewish. And you should hate the ideologies that lead a person to strap explosives to himself to try and kill as many people as he can in a bus or shopping mall (including women and children) in the name of his 'god'. (They do this for in Islam the ONLY sure way of making it to Heaven is to die in Jihad (Holy War) and those that die in Jihad are promised 70 mansions, each with 70 rooms, each containing 70 virgins.) Such deceptive beliefs and ideologies that lead to murder should be hated.

You also said that you will not hide behind scripture to support the Israeli leadership. That actually shows a low view of scripture and the prophesied plan of God for the nation of Israel and the Middle East. Which is a shame because in the end it only makes you the poorer for you'll only have the world's books and news to base your views on. Which just leaves you listening to a world that, as I pointed out, in general hates God and those associated with Him - Christianity and Israel.

It is great that you pray for the nations in that region. They all need the true God. What's coming to Israel is not peace. The prophets declared that it is the time of their trouble. My advise is that as a Christian you stand with them, not against them.

I'll leave you be now and won't write again : )

Hope you have a good year.

PS Last interesting website concerning the media and Israel: http://www.camera.org/index.asp

PPS Last quote (which I agree with) - 'If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.' - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu