Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Tags

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority

A Shocking Statement

Just over a week ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a short but stunning video through social media that generated global shock waves, including a scathing response from the US State Department.

As stated or implied in several Eye of Prophecy articles, I am an unapologetically strong supporter of Israel and an ardent admirer of Benjamin Netanyahu. This enthusiasm for Israel comes from my firm belief in the true and living God; His Word as divinely recorded in the Bible; and personal salvation through God’s Son, the Jewish Messiah Jesus.

Benjamin Netanyahu is a consummate diplomat in all of the positive connotations of political diplomacy. He is firm but fair; passionate in his pursuit for true peace in Israel but objectively realistic of the obstacles to peace; completely committed to Israel, but considerate of any reasonable coherent demands made by the Palestinians and by surrounding Arab nations. When it comes to a matter of Israel’s survival, which is still an all too real threat facing the only Jewish nation in the world, Benjamin can tell it like it is.

Nevertheless, I was dumbfounded as I watched this video and listened to his words. My incredulity was not of being aghast that he would characterize the actual Palestinian agenda—whether it be from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas—of “ethnic cleansing” of all Jews in Israel. Rather, it was astonishment of how bravely accurate and daringly appropriate the phrase is to explain the real reason why Palestinians have rejected a two-state proposal on any terms but their own.

For example, it’s only been a few years since the Palestinians refused generous offers from two Israeli Prime Ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, that would allow Palestinian control over some 95% of the West Bank. Why would they scorn such offers? Easy answer: 95% of the West Bank is not enough. For that matter, 95% of all Israel is not enough. In fact, a Palestinian State within Israel is also unacceptable. By the time you finish this article, you’ll see what the Palestinians really want: A Palestinian State instead of Israel!

Personally, I would not have used the phrase, ethnic cleansing, because it conjures up the more common image: forced removal of ethnic or religious groups of people from a given territory. Yet, the more I thought about Netanyahu’s use of the term, the more I realized how it reliably reflected the true Palestinian narrative.

For many, the thought of genocide even comes to mind. Such as what the Third Reich did to European Jews and nearly succeeded; what the Turks did to the Armenians, or what happened in Yugoslavia. What Muslims in the Sudan are doing to the Christians; or what the Romans did to Israel in 70 AD that resulted in Jews being exiled all over the world. Only to miraculously return and be reborn as a sovereign nation in 1948. A return that is still going on to this day. One that God said would take place, as documented in hundreds of Old Testament passages.

(Holocaust Genocide)

Various Ways of Ethnic Cleansing

Ethnic cleansing can be accomplished by means others than elimination of ethnic groups through extreme force. The pendulum can swing all the way from genocide to a lesser, but still imposing, intimidation through limited violence or non-violent pressure that results in the ethnic group leaving their homes.

Such as, for example, the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who left Israel because they were told to do so by the Arab nations (especially Egypt and Syria) which attacked the newborn State of Israel in May, 1948. That was ethnic cleansing of Arabs by Arabs. The rationale of Egyptian and Syrian leaders/generals was that they needed unhindered space to conduct their military campaign against Israel. The Palestinians (they weren’t called Palestinians back then) were in the way, so they were told to leave. Theoretically, they could return after Israel had been swiftly and soundly defeated. Israel miraculously won that war and told the “refugees” they could return; most did not.

Many people, who don’t know or don’t want to know, now believe that these “refugees” were forced out of Israel by the Jews. That is not what happened. But then the individuals, groups, and nations who blame Israel entirely for the Palestinian predicament don’t want to be bothered with historical or contemporary facts. The actual evidence would undermine their predisposed prejudice against the Jews and interfere with their pernicious plan for Israel, which (in varying degrees) is to replace the State of Israel with yet another Arab nation. An Arab state that the Arabs, themselves, originally declined in 1947. Why? For the same reason they did not acknowledge the Balfour Declaration of 1917: They would have to live alongside a Jewish territory, and then a Jewish State.

A more subtle strategy of ethnic cleansing is the removal, desecration, or denial of physical and cultural evidence that the targeted group has any valid historical existence in the land in question. The Palestinians have done all these things to Israel by excavating and then removing valuable Jewish artifacts from and around Temple Mount, Hebron, and Bethlehem. Also the rewriting of Israel’s history in Palestinian school curriculum, maps that depict Israel as “Palestine” (a state that never has existed), and in daily rhetoric denial of Israel’s legacy and heritage in the land.

That is the ultimate problem: Israel’s right to exist. The Palestinians and all Muslim nations save two (Egypt and Jordan … for political expedience only) deny the right of Israel to be a Jewish nation. But the Palestinians have tried to conceal this ambition so as not to jeopardize their cause by being too blatant in the eyes of Western nations. Thus, they focus the world’s attention on so-called Israeli settlements in the West Bank as the exclusive obstacle to peace. Pathetically, but sadly, virtually the entire European Union and also the United States Executive Staff have bought into this inaccurate and unhistorical “Israeli occupation.”

When, in fact, it’s just the opposite: Palestinians are occupying land that historically belongs to Israel.

If someone denies that, then they must challenge God, himself. Seriously!

Excerpts from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Astonishing Video

He began with these words:

“I’m sure many of you have heard the claim that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, are an obstacle to peace. I’ve always been perplexed by this notion, because no one would seriously claim that nearly two million Arabs living inside of Israel are an obstacle to peace. That’s because they aren’t. On the contrary, Israel’s diversity shows its openness and readiness for peace. Yet the Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian State with one pre-condition: No Jews!

“There’s a phrase for that. It’s called ethnic cleansing.”

(Prime Minister Netanyahu “Ethnic Cleansing” Video)

Let’s pause here for commentary. Benjamin Netanyahu knows there are other Arab demands. He chose the “No Jews” pre-condition because it is the ultimate Palestinian purpose that trumps all other (alleged) reasons for wanting a Palestinian State.

The Palestinians have imposed several “pre-conditions” on Israel. They go back and forth as to which of these are pre-conditions Israel must meet before the Palestinians agree to sit down at the negotiating table with the Israelis. At one time or another all of the Palestinian demands have been “pre-conditions.” At other times only some of these are pre-conditions, with other demands open for negotiation. It pretty much depends upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ (who is now in the 11^th year of a four-year election term!) mood at the time.

Here are the primary Palestinian demands:

The so-called “right of return” of the so-called Palestinian refugees—now mostly 2^nd generation descendants—from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. (They now number in the millions and even if half of this number were to return it would, for all practical purposes, spell the end of a Jewish nation).
Gaza and West Bank checkpoints to be turned over by the Israelis to the Palestinians.
Many more Palestinians prisoners to be released, including convicted murderers.
For Israel’s “borders” to shrink back to pre-1967 Six-Day War truce lines. (This would leave Israel highly vulnerable, if not defenseless, especially in the Golan Heights).
A Palestinian State with what is known as “East Jerusalem” as its capital. (Which would include complete possession of and sovereignty over Temple Mount).
Complete expulsion of all Jews from the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

The last condition listed above is one that the Palestinians have attempted to keep relatively low-key. Why? Because they don’t want to be viewed in the same fashion that they want the world to see Israel (which Israel is not), i.e. a bigoted apartheid type nation that seeks to be rid of an ethnic group they despise.

That is why Benjamin Netanyahu limited his speech to this one Palestinian demand before they will enter into negotiations with the Israelis. It represents the ultimate objective of Palestinians (and all Muslim nations): To get rid of all Jews in Israel, beginning with the so-called West Bank territory.

This is nothing less than “ethnic cleansing.”

Which isn’t anything new. Which is why Benjamin Netanyahu wants the world to finally and fully realize the perpetual plan of the Palestinians that hasn’t (and won’t) changed since Israel became a Sovereign State … actually long before that when it comes to Muslim nations that surround Israel.

For example: In 1996, just three years after his farcical participation in the Oslo Accords (signed on September 13, 1993) with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (moderated by US President Bill Clinton), PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat uttered these words at a public press conference:

“We Palestinians will take over everything … You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel, and establish a purely Palestinian State … I have no use for the Jews, they are and remain Jews.”

Can anything be more callously clear? It’s equally clear to this very day: The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have every intention to continue Arafat’s atrocious agenda.

(Oslo Accord … Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat)

Prime Minister Netanyahu went on to say:

“And this demand (no Jews in a Palestinian State) is outrageous. It’s even more outrageous that the world doesn’t find this outrageous. Some otherwise enlightened countries even promote this outrage. Ask yourself this: Would you accept ethnic cleansing in your state? A territory without Jews, without Hispanics, without blacks? Since when is bigotry a foundation for peace?

This moment, Jewish children in Judea and Samaria are playing in sandboxes with their friends. Does their presence make peace impossible? I don’t think so. I think what makes peace impossible is intolerance of others.”

The Real Situation in Israel

My commentary: I have read extensively about Israel’s ancient and contemporary history, and have seen numerous documentaries about the Holocaust and the Palestinian intifadas in Israel, especially the one that began in September, 2000. I have traveled to Israel and saw no evidence whatsoever of Jewish animosity toward the Palestinians as a whole. Of course, they are saddened and angered when Palestinians kill Jews; but they are still tolerant of the existence of Arabs within Israel.

I spent some time with two taxi-drivers in Jerusalem. One of them was part Jewish and part Egyptian, the other a former Palestinian Arab, both of whom became Israeli citizens. Both of them were, in varying degrees, representative of the nearly “two million Arabs living inside of Israel” (Netanyahu’s description), called Israeli Arabs. Though one staunchly supported the State of Israel and the other barely tolerated Israel’s existence, the fact remains that neither would want to be forced to live in a Palestinian State. Both highly valued their freedom to work, travel, vote, and otherwise live in Israel, the only true democratic state in the Middle East.

Some 70% of Israeli Arabs do not want a Palestinian State. Here is an excerpt from an Eye of Prophecy article, entitled, A Palestinian State … No Say Many Arabs (posted 1-11-14).

I quote well-known columnist Khaled Abu Toameh from one of his articles:

“Arab Knesset members … do not want to wake up in the morning and discover that they are citizens of a Palestinian state. It is much easier for them to accuse Israel of racism than to admit that they do not want to be part of a Palestinian state.”

I then go on to say:

At face value that seems and sounds incredible—that Palestinians wouldn’t want to be governed by their own people. But after further review, it’s all too practical and easy to grasp. Pretty much ever since Israel became a nation, and especially since 1967 when hundreds of thousands more Arabs suddenly became citizens of Israel, those Israeli Arabs have been far better off than their Palestinian brothers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although there’s still a lot of hostility emanating from Israeli Arabs toward Israel, they understand that Israeli citizenship affords them much more freedom, democracy, a higher standard of living, movement throughout Israel, more places to shop for and buy the things they want and need; in short, a better way of life. The last thing they want is an abruptly changed life in a Palestinian State, controlled by a Palestinian government that could just as quickly take away many of the privileges they currently enjoy as Israeli citizens.

Even many Palestinians (non-Israeli citizens) who occupy the West Bank or Gaza do not want a Palestinian State. Especially since Hamas took over Gaza. If a Palestinian State was arbitrarily and unilaterally created by say the European Union, the United Nations, the P5 +1, or even the United States alone, who would govern this state? The Palestinians know that, in all likelihood, a civil war would erupt between Hamas and Fatah (Palestinian Authority), which would entice Iran, Hezbollah, ISIS, and perhaps even Russia to jump in. Not to mention Israel’s reaction if any Israelis were harmed in this struggle between Palestinian factions.

In addition to Khaled Abu Toameh’s perceptive understanding of the Middle East problems and their true historical source, there is another Arab who tells it like it is. His name is Fred Maroun, currently a resident of Canada, who lived in Lebanon from 1961 to 1984.

Although Arabic through and through, he looks at Israeli/Palestinian history objectively. The September edition of the Levitt Letter (Zola Levitt Ministries) presented a very brief bullet-point summary of articles written by Fred Maroun, originally published in the on-line news source Gatestone Institute, entitled, Arabs’ Historic Mistakes in Interactions with Israel.

“We Arabs managed our relationship with Israel atrociously. Our worst mistake was in not accepting the United Nations partition plan of 1947.
Perhaps one should not launch wars if one is not prepared for the results of possibly losing them.
The Jews are not keeping the Arabs in camps, we are.
Jordan integrated some refugees, but not all. We could have proven that we Arabs are a great and noble people, but instead we showed the world, as we continue to do, that our hatred toward each other and toward Jews is far greater than any concept of purported Arab solidarity.”

Bowing to internal pressure from his own people, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for elections to be held October 8, 2016. But Abbas totally misjudged Hamas, as he thought they would boycott the elections … exactly what he wanted them to do. Instead, they agreed to participate and introduced their own candidates.

Just last week, the elections were postponed!

Talk about Palestinian prejudice and bigotry. Obviously based on the Islamic religion that suppresses woman to the point of complete subjugation to men, the Palestinian Authority refused to identify some of their woman candidates for office by name. Instead, they listed them as the “wife” or “sister” of so and so. Little wonder that they have zero tolerance for Jews, when they won’t even publicly acknowledge their wives and daughters by name … and certainly not by photograph. On the other hand, if a Palestinian woman or girl kills a Jew or two in a lone-wolf terrorist attack, their names are immediately publicized and photographs posted.

Getting back to Benjamin Netanyahu’s video. He concludes by saying:

“Societies that respect all peoples are the ones that pursue peace. Societies that demand ethnic cleansing don’t pursue peace. I envision a Middle-East where young Arabs and young Jews learn together, work together, live together, side-by-side in peace. Our region needs more tolerance, not less. So the next time you hear someone say Jews can’t live somewhere, let alone in their ancestral homeland, take a moment to think of the implications.

“Ethnic cleansing for peace is absurd. It’s about time somebody said it. I just did.”

Telling It like It Is

Boy, did he ever say it!

Not only did Benjamin hit the proverbial nail on the head by calling the ultimate overriding demand of the Palestinians (and by default all Muslim nations) exactly what it is, he also drove home the incontrovertible historical reality that the Palestinians want the Jewish “ancestral homeland” to be absent of all Jews.

It was horrifically pathetic and tragically “absurd” (irrational, hideously bizarre) enough for the Nazis to try to eliminate all Jews in Germany (also from all of Europe). It is no less appalling to remove the Jews from their own land, which is the outrageous intention of the Palestinians.

Indeed, Benjamin Netanyahu’s charge that Palestinian leaders want all Jews to leave Israel is shocking and provocative; but it is also poignantly proper. His description of “ethnic cleansing” is NOT an exaggeration.

Although a member of Netanyahu’s political party, Likud, Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steintz, nevertheless, expressed what nearly all Jews and Palestinians already know to be true; what most of the Western World sweeps under the global carpet through ignorance, or deliberately because they don’t want to admit the real Palestinian agenda.

Said Yuval Steintz:

“It’s not the prime minister who is talking about ethnic cleansing. The prime minister’s remarks reflect what the Palestinians themselves are saying. [The Palestinians] talk about ethnic cleansing in their own school system and speeches. Netanyahu told the truth. When the Palestinians talk about being ‘cleansed’ of Jews, they don’t mean just (in) Judea and Samaria, but rather the entire country.”

It was no secret that Netanyahu’s reference to “otherwise enlightened countries” (that endorse and even encourage the idea of expelling all Jews from the West Bank, which also includes East Jerusalem) included first and foremost the United States. Thus, I’m certain that the Israeli Prime Minister wasn’t surprised at the reaction of the US State Department.

Here are some of the words of State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau:

“We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank. We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful. We share the view of every past U.S. administration and the strong consensus of the international community that ongoing settlement activity is an obstacle to peace. We continue to call on both sides to demonstrate with actions and policies a genuine commitment to the two-state solution.”

She went on to condemn Israel’s “illegal outposts and unauthorized settlement units.”

Ironically, because of monumental blunders in yielding to international pressure, Israel herself has contributed mistakenly to forced removal of her own people. Something that Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders who now “see the light” never want to happen again. Although there are a few other less traumatic instances of Israel giving back part of their land to placate international demands (whims), I’m referring to two grievous gaffes in Israel’s remarkable history as a nation reborn from the floods of dispersion and the fires of Nazi death camps.

The first was to relinquish control of Temple Mount back to the Jordanians (with what is now functional jurisdiction assumed by the Palestinian Authority) after Israel’s victory in the amazing Six-Day War, including the IDF’s recapture of their holy city, Jerusalem.

(IDF Taking Jerusalem in 1967 Six-Day War)

The second was former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s eviction of 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip in 2005, which fits the stronger, more overt definition of ethnic cleansing: “systematic forced removal of an ethnic or religious groups from a given territory with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous” (Wikipedia).

Indeed, both of these tragic events resulted in “cleansing” of Jews from a part of their homeland—which the Gaza and West Bank are and always will be.

It would be absolutely no different than the United States disallowing American citizens to visit the Statue of Liberty. Instead, allow only the French who gave us this monument as a gift of appreciation for creating and continuing life, liberty, and equality in the New World.

Or permitting only the British to step foot on the grounds of the Washington Monument. Or only those who (still) support the Confederate idea and principal of succession from the Union, to visit the Lincoln Memorial. Or, to return the eastern half of Washington D.C. to England, because we believe too much was taken from the British in the Revolutionary War; or that we should have remained under the ethnic domination and control of England to begin with. These are not merely exaggerations for effect. They are precise parallels to what the Palestinians already have in part and want even more in full … to expel all Jews from all of Israel.

The Real Palestinian Mindset and Motive

We all need to understand one glaring grotesque fact. Since the United Nations in November, 1947 granted nation status to Israel and the Jews declared that statehood in May, 1948, Muslim nations surrounding Israel (then later Arabs within Israel that adopted the appellation Palestinian, previously applied primarily to Jews living in the territory called Palestine), the Arabs have had one ultimate objective: Ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Israel.

That malicious mindset and motive has never changed. Only their methods to achieve these gruesome goals have changed.

Israel fought four major against Muslim Arab nations: 1948 War of Independence; 1956 Suez War; 1967 Six-Day War; 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In each of these wars, Arab leaders said something to the effect (paraphrasing), “We will drive the Jews into the Sea.” Or, “We will annihilate Israel.” Or, “Not one Jew will be left.”

When the Muslims finally realized they couldn’t eradicate the Jews or even defeat Israel by conventional warfare, they resorted to terrorism—mostly by Palestinians from within Israel. This included thousands of mortars and missiles lobbed into Israel from the Gaza Strip after the Israeli government evicted its own people from the Gaza (with the proposed purpose of better protecting them). And thousands more rockets launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon into northern Israel. More recently, dozens of “lone-wolf” assassins killing Israelis with axes, knives, guns, and cars.

Make no mistake. Even these individual lone-wolf attackers (most of them very young in age) were doing their sordid part to rid Israel of Jews, one, two, or three at a time. All the while, Palestinian propaganda (lies) convinces their own people and most of the Western world that the obstacle to peace are Jewish settlements in the West Bank! Thus, the only solution is to cleanse the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, of all Jews. Of course, that’s not enough. Which explains why many of the lone-wolf attackers also murdered Jews in “West Jerusalem” and Tel Aviv and other Israeli towns.

If anyone thinks that “cleansing” is too harsh of a description, I will once again quote the words of Palestinian Authority President Abbas, as cited in a couple of previous Eye of Prophecy articles. “We must not permit the filthy feet of the Jews to desecrate our holy places.” He was referring first and foremost to Temple Mount. Do you see the connection, the irony? Clean those filthy feet of the Jews by removing them completely … ethnic cleansing.

(Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas)

In a recent Eye of Prophecy article, Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison, I quoted US State Department John Kirby’s latest tirade against Israel in general and West Bank Jewish settlements in particular. The earlier mentioned quote from State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau mimics Kirby’s words.

Said Kirby (which he has said before as noted in a previous Eye of Prophecy article) in denouncement of the Israeli government that they were, “…systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution by engaging in settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace.”

I then quoted Alan Baker, former Israeli ambassador to Canada, who, along with others, justifiably criticized our State Department’s shortsighted, uninformed, and warped perspective of the Israeli, Palestinian conflict. Here is his quote:

“Reading the statement (Kirby’s statement) … An average reader having landed from space, would only conclude that Israel’s settlement activity is the source of all evil in the world, and the United States is waging a massive war of Armageddon against this evil. No international terror, no ISIS, no Iranian nuclear threat, no Syria, no Hezbollah, no Hamas, no hunger, no global warming. Only Israel’s settlements!”

Although Alan Baker’s statement was melodramatic, it was nonetheless accurate. Our US Presidential Staff doesn’t want to take the time and effort needed to fully investigate and comprehend the veiled Palestinian plan, which is no different than surrounding Muslim nations who want the Jews out of Israel. Thus, our State Department has reprehensively replaced the real source of Palestinian animosity toward in Israel in particular and Muslim hatred of Jews in general, with the preposterous supposition that a handful of Jewish settlements (compared to the large number of Arab settlements) in the West Bank is the sole cause of all Palestinian woes.

Instead, of catching up on the true history of the Middle East and coming to terms with the real agenda of not only the Palestinians but virtually all Muslim nations, our US State Department is determined to leave their executive head in the sand, and continue to blame Israel for a few Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

That is why Benjamin Netanyahu believed it was finally time to make a tougher statement so that the world would stand up and take notice of the true intentions of Israel’s enemies. To make sure that all interested parties fully grasp the underlying short-term agenda and long-term objective of the Palestinians and all Arab countries. Which is complete elimination (cleansing) of all Jews in Israel, whether a Palestinian State is created or not.

Things to Ponder

As said several times in past Eye of Prophecy articles, and as some of you know: The real strife between Arabs and Jews goes back to ancient Biblical times, all the way to Ishmael and Isaac. Then Esau and Jacob. Both of these older brothers hated the younger, as did their descendants. That brutally baseless and incessantly irrational “anti-Semitism” spread to Middle East countries, then to the whole world.

However, it’s deeper than racial hatred of the Jews. It is defiance, rejection, and replacement of the God of the Bible—the Creator of the universe and mankind who chose the Jews for a special purpose—in favor of man-made religions and gods and totalitarian state systems.

And so the Psalmist pleads with God for Israel:

“O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence’” (Psalm 83:1-4).

We need to astutely understand God’s plan for the human race: The Kingdom of God will one day be established on this earth.

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever … We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign” (Revelation 11:15-17).

Yet Scripture is abundantly clear that there are two parts to God’s providential plan of personally dwelling with mankind in his kingdom on earth.

1. Personal Salvation of both Jews and Gentiles through the Son of God, Messiah Jesus: The Kingdom of God is used interchangeably in Scripture with the Kingdom of Heaven. But an up close analysis of the different passages and contexts and applications shows that the Kingdom of Heaven more specifically relates to God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) establishing their spiritual residence in the hearts and lives of all who believe and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, through the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life … There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16, 18). [See John 14:15-17 & John 16:5-15 on the Holy Spirit’s action of leading people to salvation and then indwelling those whom Christ has saved].

Yes, our great and glorious God and His majestic Son, Messiah Jesus loves you and me and the Jews and the Palestinians equally. The eternal destiny of every human being depends upon whether we choose everlasting life through Christ or eternal death by rejecting him as Savior.

2. The Kingdom of God will be literally established in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in the Holy (Promised) Land of Israel: From there the entire world will be governed by Messiah Jesus. There is a heavy price to be paid by those who mistreat God’s chosen people—set apart to bring the Messiah and God’s Word to the whole world—and who seek to divide the land of Israel.

Concerning God’s plan for Israel:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

Those who devise boycotts and sanctions against Israel; those who hate the apple of God’s eye; those who desire to “clean” the House of David (Israel) by removing all Jews from their homeland (or anywhere else), should take heed.

“At the time of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming by people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:1-2).

God has already disciplined Israel for her disobedience. It was a severe and long punishment—exile to foreign nations lasting for some 2,500 years … ending in 1967.

Thus, no one should ever seek to harm or divide Israel, or to side with her enemies.

“The day is near when, I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads” (Obadiah 1:15).

Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be?

27 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Peace Conference

Peace in Israel or a Palestinian State?

In one of the most curious proposals for Middle East peace ever made, France recently presented Israel and the Palestinians with an invitation to participate in an international conference in Paris this coming summer. The idea of a peace symposium is not unique and certainly not strange, as many powerful nations including the United States have repeatedly tried to establish an all too elusive reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians, between the Jews and Arabs. The last such attempt, mediated by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, disintegrated in April 2014.

Yet, this one-sided plan from France borders on the bizarre. Some might even consider it preposterously pathetic. I would agree with that assessment, were it not for the potentially ominous consequences of France’s comply-or-else summons. Although the fine print details of the proposal have not yet been publicized, the basic agenda imposed by France has been clearly explained by the French ambassador to Israel. Which is: If Israel refuses to participate in the conference; OR, even if Israel does attend and diplomatic efforts fail to presumably reach some sort of agreement for some kind of peace, then France will by default recognize the existence of a Palestinian State within the borders of Israel.

Strangest of all, the French seem to be saying that it’s either peace in Israel or a Palestinian State … one or the other. The validity of this deduction is underscored by the fact that France knows all too well that Israel would never agree to a Palestinian State under the current pre-negotiated conditions imposed by the Palestinian Authority Fatah in the West Bank and certainly not by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Likewise, the Palestinians have shown absolutely no inclination whatsoever to relax their hard-core demands.

Demands such as: East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian State, Israel’s return to pre-1967 territorial borders, and full right of return of all post-1948 Arab refugees. But most significant of all: persistent Palestinian refusal to even recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish State—the only such state in the world and one that is officially recognized by the United Nations collectively and virtually all non-Muslim countries individually.

Even the most uniformed on Middle East affairs would probably recognize that this is a unilateral ultimatum that heavily favors the Palestinians and unequally places Israel at a huge disadvantage in the collective eyes of practically every nation on earth. Never mind whether it would be the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank or Hamas of the Gaza Strip who would be the governing authority of this recognized Palestinian State or what the boundaries would be … all particulars could be sorted out later between the two rival Palestinian factions.

But could they be sorted out? Perhaps, but not without guns and knives. As it stands right now, there is no indication at all that either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority is willing to allow the other to be the ruling administration of the current territories occupied by their people, let alone a Palestinian State. However, neither France nor virtually any other nation really cares about the gory details, as long as a Palestinian State is achieved. (The details would be gory, because civil war among Arabs in Israel would be the inevitable result of the formation of a Palestinian State, unless Israel has a say in who will govern the Palestinians. Moreover, it’s crystal clear that Israel would not condone Hamas as this administrative body).

All the Pressure is On Israel

Thus, it would be a win-win for the Palestinians and a lose-lose for the Israelis.

Why? Because any “peace conference agreement” between the Palestinians and Israelis undoubtedly would be heavily slanted toward Palestinian demands, whether a Palestinian State was agreed to or not. The harsh reality of this implausible proposal is that the Palestinians have no incentive whatsoever to reach any peace agreement with Israel. Why would or should they, when France will unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State, “if the peace negotiations fail.” Or, perhaps even if Israel refuses to participate in the first place.

(This is the Palestinian State Desired by Palestinians)

The Palestinian Authority and/or Hamas can impose impossible conditions on Israel for “peace,” as they having nothing to lose by not negotiating in good faith. With everything to gain if no peace accord is reached; because France’s intention is to recognize a Palestinian State absent any agreement and presumably absent any negotiations at all. Doesn’t matter in the eyes of the French (and all nations who now or will later support France’s proposal) whether this potential lack of agreement is Israel’s fault, or the Palestinian’s fault, or both. Yet, given France’s support for the “Palestinian cause” most assuredly it will be Israel’s fault.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu called the French initiative, “mystifying.” That’s the classical understatement. In response to France’s untenable proposal, Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon affirmed Israel’s continuing support for, “direct negotiations with the Palestinians.” But that Israel is against, “…attempts to predetermine the outcome of negotiations.”

That statement is as diplomatic as a diplomat can get, while still getting the point across that the conditions imposed by France for such a proposal disproportionately favors the Palestinian position, while relegating Israel to the status of culprit should the peace conference fail. And, rest assured, the Palestinians will see to this failure.

Also, Israeli Foreign Minister, Alon Ushpiz met with France’s ambassador to Israel, Patrick Maisonnave; but refused to discuss the details of that meeting, i.e. whether Israel would comply with the French plan and join the Palestinians in such a peace conference.

What makes the French proposition even more ludicrous, if not hypocritical, is that before the peace conference offer was made, France knew what the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister, Riad Al-Malki had said just the day before while visiting Japan with PA President Mahmoud Abbas: “We will never go back and sit again in a direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.”

To appease France and other nations who have or will undoubtedly support such a convention, and also to consider all options that would unilaterally force Israel into an ostracized corner of world criticism (in keeping with the political strategy of Palestinian propaganda/lies to demonize Israel), Palestinian official, Ahmad Majdalani immediately contradicted Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Al-Malki’s statement of no more negotiations with the Israelis.

According to Majdalani, the Palestinians support the French initiative!

In one day’s time, the Palestinians reversed their position of no more negotiations with Israel for any reason, to a professed willingness to attend this biased (my way or the highway) forum under the pretense that if a powerful nation like France suggests more negotiations, then why not attend? But with the clear implication that the Palestinians need not make any concessions whatsoever during this conference.

Why should they when the United Nations has already granted the Palestinian Authority (and the Palestinians in general) non-member observant status in the UN. Much like other nations were eventually granted full UN membership after beginning with observer status. And, for example, Sweden, accepting in principle a Palestinian State, even though such a state does not exist. And now France adding its proposed recognition of a Palestinian State, with the obvious inference that it will do so if Israel doesn’t cooperate.

(Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu at a News Conference While in Berlin, Shortly After Hearing of France’s Proposed Peace Conference. His Expression Matches His Response that France’s Proposal Was Baffling)

Anti-Semitism is unfortunately alive and doing well all over the world, especially in Europe and most glaringly in France. Although the French government periodically issues purported support for Israel, the large Muslim population in France as well as many of the French, themselves, still harbor a strong and virulent animosity toward the Jews. Enough so that the French are now willing to confront Israel with our way or the highway ultimatum.

*Note: As with any generalization, my observation of France’s hostility toward Jews and Israel certainly doesn’t include all of the French, as there are some who truly support the existence of a Jewish State in general and Jews in particular.

Do the Palestinians and Israeli Arabs Really Want a State of Their Own?

The answer: Yes and No. With the, “yes,” side of the answer only requiring a short and not so sweet explanation: Most Palestinians want a Palestinian State in place of a Jewish State, not alongside Israel.

With the answer of, “no,” involving more elaboration, which will be done in the remainder of today’s article.

The majority of Palestinians do not (at least yet) really want or need a state of their own. Unless as indicated, it could somehow replace the State of Israel. As explained in a few prior Eye of Prophecy articles, especially one devoted to the subject almost exclusively, there are several reasons for Arab reluctance for a state of their own. One reason: They wouldn’t know what to do if they did become a State … seriously. At least not the so-called moderate among them. Conversely, the radical Palestinians, especially those in the Hamas camp, would know exactly what to do: Begin a series of coordinated attacks against Israel, while seemingly protected by statehood status.

What the Palestinians want most of all is simply for the international community to take sides against Israel. This would give more credibility to their underlying objective of a Palestinian State not just within certain borders of Israel, but a state replacing all of Israel. Because to the Arab and most non-Arab Muslims, there is no such thing as Israel. All one needs to do is talk to any Palestinian on the street, or listen to their prolific propaganda, or read their school curriculum, or examine their maps of Palestine. For example, some Palestinian officials have recently demanded that all Jews in Palestine should be required to return to the country from which they immigrated (to Israel).

Practically speaking, however, the Palestinian have no answers to some heavy-duty questions should a Palestinian State be recognized by France (or other nations), potentially followed by a United Nations resolution to declare a state of Palestine within Israel’s borders.

As already alluded, one such question is who would govern such a country. If today, or tomorrow, or the near future, or even years from now, a Palestinian State was actually approved by the UN or even by the P5 + 1 (United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), there would be an immediate power struggle (civil war) between Hamas of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank.

Another huge hurdle would be the actual territorial boundaries of such a Palestinian State. Which is why Israel must agree to such borders for purpose of their national security and national heritage and identity. That means that Israel would not surrender the Golan Heights, nor ever accept an official partition of West and East Jerusalem. Certainly, not to allow the Palestinian capital to be East Jerusalem, which includes Temple Mount. So, if France recognizes a Palestinian State, will they arbitrarily define these borders? Will they demand that the Jews vacate all settlements within the West Bank, including East Jerusalem? Would they unilaterally declare East Jerusalem as the Palestinian State Capital? Will they insist that Israel return the Golan Heights back to Syria? And, if Israel did, who or what in Syria would control the Golan Heights … given the fighting and anarchy already taking place in that war-torn country.

(Valley Beneath One of the Golan Heights Strategic High Points)

But the biggest obstacle of all: For years and years neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority has agreed to just two basic conditions requested by the Israeli government in order for the Jews to consider approval and acceptance of a Palestinian State: (1) Recognition of Israel itself as a sovereign Jewish State. (2) No Palestinian capital in (East) Jerusalem. It’s that simple. Israel is saying that a Palestinian State is feasible if the Palestinians would merely acknowledge the sovereign State of Israel, and agree to put a Palestinian capital anywhere in such a state except Jerusalem. Without these two concessions, all other negotiable issues are irrelevant.

Because the Palestinians refuse to even contemplate these two conditions but also because they continue to make other impossible demands, such as right of return of all so-called Arab refugees from the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948, 1967, and 1973, it’s little wonder that their leaders refuse to, “sit again in direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.” Unless, that is, prominent nations like France agree to recognize a Palestinian State should peace conference negotiations fail. It’s obvious that such a proposal gives the Palestinians a great deal of incentive to see that such negotiations do, in fact, fail.

*Note: This “right of refugee return” would result in millions of Arabs inundating Israel with the understandable result of making it untenable for a Jewish State to exist. The fact of the matter is that many Arabs who left Israel during these wars did so voluntarily. Others left because they were so ordered by their own Arab armies attacking Israel. Because most of them had nowhere to go, they were placed in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon and Syria. They were NOT forced out of Israel by the Jews.

Here are some (italicized) excerpts from the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, A Palestinian State (No, say many Arabs!) that dovetails with today’s article. Posted on 4-11-14.

In today’s world, news flows from the Middle East, especially Israel, like water through a ruptured dam. United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, just returned from his 11th shuttle diplomacy trip to Israel, and plans on returning in the next few days. Although both the Israeli and Palestinian sides are showing signs that Kerry is wearing out his welcome, our administration continues its’ relentless march toward a two-state “peace agreement” solution between Israel and the Palestinians. At the core of such an arrangement is a not so hidden agenda within the framework of the US proposals that would require Israel to return to 1967 borders. To the Israelis this is unthinkable, and irony of all ironies, it is also a serious problem with the majority of the 1.5 million Israeli Arabs living in Israel!

Why would so many Arabs NOT want a Palestinian State? Isn’t that what all Arabs long for in Israel? Isn’t that the reason for past terrorist attacks on Israeli Jews? Or, the incessant demands by the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas and its rival counterpart Hamas in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian rights? Or the greater majority of world opinion to end so-called Israeli settlement occupation of certain territories within Israel? What is so problematic about a Palestinian State that is mapped along what many refer to as pre-1967 borders, that are not really borders at all … in the sense of a border between the US and Mexico, or France and Germany, or even between Israel and Jordan. Rather, these internal borders are more like cease-fire lines.

Who knows exactly what (how many) issues must be resolved before a final roadmap to peace is finished? Who can predict exactly what boundaries will encompass a Palestinian State; if, indeed, that is even possible in the first place? Who could possibly imagine that Israel would divide its capital by granting total sovereignty of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians or seriously jeopardize its security by yielding the Golan Heights to Syria? But there is one thing that Israel seems prepared to do up front, in response to non-stop Palestinian and international demands, including US plans, that Israeli West Bank settlements be evacuated (after the fashion of the Gaza Strip extradition).

From an article in an Israeli daily newspaper, Ma’ariv, we read that Israel has responded to the American proposals, by suggesting that Israeli Arab communities currently within Israel and under Jewish sovereignty be transferred to the Palestinian Authority as part of any future land swap; which, in turn, would return Jewish settlements of the West Bank to total Israeli sovereignty. Actually, this idea is not all that new, but it tends to fit with future boundaries suggested by Secretary John Kerry.

And as Palestinian journalist, Khaled Abu Toameh writes in his article for Gatestone Institute, “It was hard this week to find even one Israeli Arab who publicly supported the proposal.” Khaled goes on to say, “Arab Knesset members … do not want to wake up in the morning and discover that they are citizens of a Palestinian state. It is much easier for them to accuse Israel of racism than to admit that they do not want to be part of a Palestinian state.”

I have seen first-hand this inexplicable, almost bizarre dichotomy between the real-life benefits experienced by so many Arabs with Israeli citizenship, juxtaposed with their historical (ancient) anger toward Israel that (irrationally and illogically) simultaneously floods their heart and soul.

On the last day or next to last day of a trip to Israel that my sister and I made in March, 2006, we returned from the Western Wall and Temple Mount to our hotel in Jerusalem via a taxi. The taxi was driven by an Israeli Arab who I estimated to be about 63 years of age.

As with many Israeli taxi drivers, he was talkative and asked what brought us to Israel. My response was that I was doing research for a book (what at that time was my first book, a novel, called O Israel, and published in 2007). One thing led to another and I asked him whether he and his people the Arabs were better off under Jordanian rule or Palestinian authority or under Jewish government. I’ll never forget his answer. He replied that things were definitely better living in Israel (as an Israeli citizen) than under the old Jordanian government and (implying) under the PLO in the West Bank. He cited such things as jobs, schools, goods, freedom to move around, and opportunities in general. But then he abruptly halted his modest praise of this freedom in Israel, and said emphatically (a close paraphrase), “The Jews are wrong. This is still our land. They took it from us.”

The fact is that, with the exception of the aforementioned regions captured by Israel in 1967 (most of which were given back to Palestinian functional control), Israel has not taken any land from the Arabs. The Jews purchased nearly all the land where they currently reside, despite the evidence that it was given to them by the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and again by the UN in 1947. For that matter, any land captured in war, even by means of aggressive expansion has historically been conceded to the conqueror. None of Israel’s wars had anything to do with a deliberate attempt to annex more property and/or displace Palestinians. They were all conflicts of self-defense and national survival. Yet, they still returned most of the land gained through the blood of their soldiers and civilians. Think for a moment about our own Revolutionary War against the British. We gave not a single acre back to England; instead we went Westward Ho and accumulated millions of more acres all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Yes, the views expressed by our taxi driver exactly mirror the mindset of the Arabs in Israel, even the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (if they would admit it): We know we’re much better off as citizens of Israel, but they are still our eternal enemy.

Summary

With regard to a Palestinian State, it’s vital that we dispel two myths: (1) The Palestinians want a Palestinian State alongside of Israel. They do not; they want a nation to replace Israel. If they cannot have such a state, then they really don’t want or need sovereignty that would be a constant source of friction, not only with Israel but among their own people vying for supremacy to rule.

(2) That Israel is the main obstacle to a negotiated peace and/or a Palestinian State. Also, not true, although most of the Western world is under that impression … thanks to Palestinian propaganda in particular and Arab hype in general. But also responsible for this falsehood is leaders of prominent nations including, unfortunately, the United States; that is to say the current Presidential staff.

How much influence, then, would France exert and on whom, should the French government unilaterally recognize the two separated territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as an undivided Palestinian State? When, in fact, they are two distinct geographical areas in Israel, separated by a crucial corridor of Israel itself, and headed by two heated rivals … Palestinian Authority Fatah and Hamas.

Concerning Israel, herself, such a declaration or recognition would have little national impact. Meaning that Israel will not and cannot allow any foreign nation or even the United Nations to arbitrarily and capriciously create a Palestinian State unless a firm agreement is reached on the boundaries of that state, the capital of that state, and a few other less significant but nevertheless important conditions that Israel can at least tolerate.

Regarding the Muslim nations of the world and countries who support (in varying degrees) those Islamic nations, such a declaration would have a profound influence. If for no other reason than France is one of the three most powerful nations of Europe. France is also on the Security Council of the United Nations and one of the influential P5 +1 group of nations.

Such recognition by France would probably not generate any international legal backing; nor would an independent (of Israel’s input) acknowledgment of a Palestinian State mean that such a country would actually exist. It would, however, once again put incredible unwarranted global pressure on Israel to support such a recognition or bear the consequences of more intensified, but unjustified criticism and erroneous accusation that Israel is, for example, an apartheid state.

I agree with the clearly accurate analysis written in an article about France’s outlandish proposal, as posted in the online news source, United with Israel (not just because the article tracks with my assessment of what’s really taking place):

“The Palestinians are hoping that Israel encounters heavy international pressure, while they concede nothing in direct negotiations, which they have been systematically avoiding.”

That article concludes with: “France has threatened that if its diplomatic efforts fail, it will unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State. Israel says such a move provides an incentive for the Palestinians to refuse to compromise or negotiate directly. It insists a Palestinian state can only come about through direct negotiations, which the Palestinians consistently refuse to enter.”

Things to Ponder

We all need a solemn reminder what God Almighty has to say about the Promised Land of Israel. Not only will the Lord have the final say, but it goes without saying that peoples and nations would do well to heed his promises and warnings.

Long after God bequeathed the land of Israel to Abraham, then to Isaac, and then to Jacob, he divinely affirmed this everlasting land covenant to Moses and the Hebrews. Read with me the Lord’s declaration to Moses:

“Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’” (Exodus 6:6-8).

“I am the Lord,” says it all. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the lower court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of heaven and earth.

Most know the story of what happened after God issued this decree to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage and bring them to the Land promised to their ancestors and to them. Nothing less than some of the greatest miracles ever recorded … the ten plagues of Egypt. Followed by splitting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven for forty years, a river gushing from solid rock, the very presence of God on Mount Sinai and in the Tabernacle Holy of Holies, and the finger of God literally writing the Ten Commandments on solid stone tablets … and more!

May I ask a question? If the only true and living God rescued the Jews from Egyptian oppression and brought them to the Promised Land of Israel through a series of miracles and judgments against those who sought to destroy the Hebrews, why wouldn’t he judge peoples and nations in today’s world who also seek to destroy Jews in Israel and Israel itself? Based on hundreds of prophecies and promises in Scripture, the answer is absolutely obvious. God will defend and protect the Jews now that they are fulfilling the Lord’s magnificent plan to reinstate them to the Promised Land and restore them as his special possession from all nations of the world. Those who seek to destroy or even oppose Israel will answer to God, himself.

The Palestinians, Arab nations, Islamic countries, Europe, the United Nations and, yes even the United States would do well to sit up and take notice that God’s promises to Israel are just as valid today as they were when he brought Pharaoh and Egypt to their knees.

The stunning prophecies of Israel’s physical and spiritual restoration are unfolding before our 20^th and 21^st century eyes. God’s people have returned to the Land of Israel and have made it beautiful and prosperous again. Graciously, they have allowed the Palestinians to occupy (yes, it’s the Palestinians who are the occupiers) territories that are truly a significant part of the Promised Land of Israel … Judea and Samaria (called the West Bank) and the southwest coast, currently called the Gaza Strip.

Moreover, on the authority of Scripture and on peril of God’s wrath, this land must not be divided into two states or divided at all. All of it belongs to Israel, not the least of which is Jerusalem, the city that the Bible says God loves above all cities of the world. In that regard, even the Jews must be cautious about giving away any part of the land (permanently). To do so would be to deny the divine title-deed given to Israel in perpetuity.

Listen to the words of God Almighty to a prophet of Israel:

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history. But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance…

“Then my people living in the Negev will occupy the mountains of Edom. Those living in the foothills of Judah will possess the Philistine plains and take over the fields of Ephraim and Samaria. And the people of Benjamin will occupy the land of Gilead. The exiles of Israel will return to their land and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath…” (Obadiah 1:15-20).

(Map of the Promised Land Given by God to the Jews … Includes Portions of Modern Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan)

The places listed in these verses represent and comprise all of modern-day Israel and more … as the original Promised Land was much larger than today’s Israel. And so it will be again.

“…And the Lord himself will be king!” (Verse 21).

Can A Murderer Be A Martyr?

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Knife intifada, lone-wolf attacks, Palestinian Authority

(How) Can a Murderer Be A Martyr?

Sometimes an Eye of Prophecy article will begin with a quote; or a question or the title itself (like this article) will be a question leading into the main theme of the post. Most of the time the question will be answered gradually, postponed in full detail until later in the article with anticipation to hopefully build interest.

Occasionally the query will be rhetorical. In which case the question will be answered almost immediately, mostly because the subject matter is somber or controversial enough to be explained and expanded on forthwith.

So, let’s get right to it: Can a Murderer Be a Martyr? Obviously, it’s as much of a rhetorical question as can be. The answer is as obvious as it should be.

Answer: No.

Emphatic Expanded Answer: No Way.

No more than a martyr can be a (past) murderer, unless that person has expressed deep remorse for his actions and changed directions in her life.

Let’s begin by defining the terms from Webster’s Dictionary.

Murder (murderer): “To kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice.”

“Thou shall not kill,” is probably the most well-known of the Ten Commandments. In the clear context of this command in God’s Word and society’s understanding of it, the precise concept is that of murder, not killing in general. In fact, the New Living Translation of the Bible, that I use most often, accurately translates the Hebrew word and meaning: “You must not murder” (Exodus 20:13, italics for emphasis).

Nearly all laws of every land fully recognize the right of self-defense or “justifiable homicide.” As well as the lesser offense of manslaughter, which is not deemed to be malicious and premeditated; nevertheless, an offense that should not have occurred in the first place. Likewise, most people readily distinguish between cold-blooded murder and the need to take human life during wartime, especially if the conflict is waged as a “just war.” Moreover, preemptive (justified) strikes that invariably involve necessary killing can be initiated by a nation; such as the campaigns God ordered the Israelites to wage against Canaanite nations who were completely corrupt, irreversibly immoral, and unashamedly ungodly in their conduct … including killing of their own children through human sacrifice.

Which, as we will see shortly, is tragically what the Palestinians are doing with their children. Frankly, it’s even worse: these children are first murdering Israelis. This diabolically distorted and demented diatribe currently known as the “knife intifada” (although the attacks are also made with guns, cars, and rocks) inevitably results in the Palestinian Authority pathetically classifying the murderers as martyrs, which is another way Islam glorifies death.

Martyr: (Noun) “One who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce his religion. One who sacrifices his life or something of great value for the sake of principle.” Then Martyr as a Verb: “To put to death for adhering to a belief, faith, or profession. To inflict agonizing pain on.”

Immediately we see the (obvious) paradox: The person who is a true martyr (noun form) cannot also be one who martyrs (action verb form) someone else.

One who unlawfully and immorally takes the life of someone else (especially for the race or religion of the victim) cannot be called a martyr, when they, in turn, are killed for their crime(s). This would also apply to intent … whether the killer succeeds or not.

Thus, it is incomprehensible that an unrepentant murderer could ever be a martyr for any cause whatsoever … because the concept of martyrdom cannot exist in a vacuum. Meaning that in order for one to be a martyr or be martyred, there must first exist a condition that is inherent in the concept and understood within any rationale, reasonable, logical, and most of all moral framework. Which is that the person killed for their belief must first be innocent of murder, not only by actual commission of the crime, but also by intent. By simple definition and common sense morality, a martyr must be innocent of shedding human blood of otherwise innocent victims.

Unless, that is, you are a Palestinian. Or, in the broader scope of this wicked world in which we live, you are a militant Muslim who indiscriminately murders innocent people (mostly Jews and Christians). This includes less aggressive adherents to Islam, who nevertheless condone and even celebrate the death of innocent Jews and Christians and sometimes other Muslims.

The Horrendous Murders Continue in Israel

The death count is now thirty Israelis, most of whom were stabbed by Palestinian children, some as young as twelve or thirteen, both boys and girls. Moreover, these atrocious attacks are now taking place in what normally are considered society’s sanctuaries, i.e. neighborhood grocery stores, in their cars, in synagogues, at community bus stops, at the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem, and even in their homes. No place is safe anymore.

The last three attacks have been against Jewish women, one of whom was pregnant (fortunately, she survived). One of the victims was Dafna Meir, biological mother of four children and foster-mother of two more children. In an Israel Hayom news article, journalist Annika Hernroth-Rothstein writes:

“Dafna Meir was murdered by a terrorist in front of her children on Sunday (January 17^th, 2016). As she went about her everyday chores in her modest Otniel house, a terrorist came to her door and stabbed her repeatedly. Meir fought him until her dying breath, preventing the terrorist from attacking any of her six children before he fled, leaving her to die in a pool of her own blood.”

In the on-line news source, Aish.com. Article, Adina Hershberg wrote: “An investigation revealed that Dafna had opened her front door to the terrorist (who was working at a nearby construction site) while three of her six children were home with her. The terrorist stabbed Dafna and a struggle ensued in which Dafna attempted to close the door. Renana, Dafna’s 17-year old daughter described the horrifying event, ‘I saw the terrorist stab my mother and she struggled with all her might so he would not come into the house and hurt us. At one point the knife got stuck and the terrorist could not get it out. Our eyes met. He looked at me and I looked at him. He kept trying to pull out the knife and it was clear to me he wanted to come and hurt me too.’

“Renana was screaming at the terrorist, and when he failed to retrieve his bloody knife, he ran away. After a two-day manhunt, police arrested a 16-year old Morad Bader Abdullah Adais.”

(Dafna Meir, with her husband, Natan)

Shortly after the brutal murder of Dafna Meir, another Israeli woman was murdered in her community. In a January 26^th article in Israel Hayom, author Emily Amrousi writes:

“Meanwhile, Beit Horon, the community where a young woman was killed in a terror attack Monday, is well fortified with a physical fence. But the terrorists came up from the wadi, climbed over the fence, and within minutes were right there next to the shopping carts inside the neighborhood grocery store.”

Previously in the article, Ms. Amrousi wrote: “But now, as we recently witnessed, a vow to avoid leaving the settlement is not enough anymore. Islamist terrorists armed with Nazi ideology have been invading our homes, backyards and even the local grocery store—they are right at our doorstep.

“In a small community, people go to their neighborhood grocery store in their slippers and pajamas. It is a place where they can catch up on what their neighbors have been up to between the milk cartons and the ketchup bottle…. On Monday afternoon, that safe, inviting place turned into a bloodbath. Just like the home of Dafna Meir who was murdered in her home in Othniel last week, or the clothing store where Michal (woman) was stabbed in Tekoa, and countless other examples of terrorists trying to infiltrate Jewish communities in recent weeks. Everywhere you look, boundaries are being breached.

‘Stay inside the safety of your own home and don’t go anywhere,’ they told us during the Second Intifada when buses were exploding day in and day out. Today, even staying at home is frightening.”

Yes, what is happening to Jewish men, woman, and children in Israel is, indeed, frightening.

Author and columnist, Ruthie Blum, in her article published in Israel Hayom on January 19, 2016 wrote about these attacks, but in the context of U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro’s speech in Tel Aviv. Referencing the murder of Dafna Meir and the serious wounding of Michal Froman, Ms. Blum states:

“These two attacks were by no means the only attacks against Israelis, even in the 24-hour period during which Shapiro made his speech, they were just the most blatant and bloody ones. But they were par for the course in the current Palestinian “lone-wolf” uprising, which has come to be called the ‘knife intifada.’

“This is a misnomer, of course, because the surge in Palestinian violence that began in September has been characterized by many other forms of aggression against innocent Jews. Car rammings … rock throwing and Molotov cocktail hurling, too, are popular methods of attack. And let’s not forget the shootings. Whether committed by drivers, snipers or point-blank gunslingers, these acts of terrorism are also part and parcel of the war against Israel being waged by young Arabs living under Palestinian Authority rule, some of whom are even Israeli citizens.

“Like the other speakers at the conference, Shapiro (whose boss is Secretary of State, John Kerry) condemned the above. Briefly, that is, until getting to the real purpose of his talk: to chastise Israel. Naturally, he did this in perfect Obama pitch, professing his country’s great friendship and alliance with Israel, while calling on the Jewish state to stop causing all the trouble.”

Here, let me quote and comment on part of Dan Shapiro’s speech in which he brashly criticizes Israel for a so-called double standard by falsely exaggerating that there are, “…Too many attacks on Palestinians (that) lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities; too much vigilantism goes unchecked; and at times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law; one for Israelis and another for Palestinians…”

Murderers Hailed as Martyrs

I’m going to get even blunter that Ruthie Blum by saying that Dan Shapiro as a representative of our executive staff is deliberately ignoring and blatantly falsifying the real reasons for these attacks, which has nearly nothing to do with alleged Israeli settlements or (false) reported desecration of Temple Mount by Israelis. Rather, it has everything to do with the hate instilled by parents into their children for Jews, and the need to eliminate all Jews from Israel by killing as many as possible so the rest will leave out of fear. It has everything to do with the daily denigration of Jews on Palestinian television, in their school curriculum, and through incessant public incitement by Palestinian religious and political leaders to (as an example) keep the Jews “filthy feet” from walking on holy sites in Israel. This quote to incite especially Jewish children was from none other than Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas.

Despite Mahmoud Abbas’ denial, his speech to the United Nations last fall and subsequent rhetoric to his people has directly inflamed mostly teenage Palestinians to commit murder. With nearly all of the parents of these children not only excusing the actions of their offspring, but praising them for it. Not only the parents, but the Palestinian leaders have glorified the “heroic” actions of their child martyrs.

Here is what the father of 16-year old Morad Adais, who killed Dafna Meir, said: “I am proud of my son.”

That says it all. All fathers are or should be proud of their sons, right? Even when they commit murder, right? Of course not. It’s as wickedly wrong as anything can be.

Earlier this month, the Facebook site of the Fatah organization (the military wing of the Palestinian Authority) published a photograph of another proud Palestinian parent who was flashing the victory sign (“V”) with her right hand. The subtitle of the photo read: ‘How great you are, O mother of the Martyr.”

Her 22-year old son, Muhammad Shamasneh was shot and killed by Israeli police shortly after he stabbed three Jews near a Jerusalem bus station on October 12, 2015. His was one of the first of what has become hundreds of unprovoked and deadly attacks against innocent Israelis.

Additionally, the website of Palestinian Media Watch is replete with testimonials of parents whose terrorist’s sons and daughters have killed Jews. Nearly all of these assassins are under the age of thirty, and many of them are 18 years of age or younger.

It’s common knowledge, with no denial from PA President Abbas, that the Palestinian Authority makes monthly compensation to Palestinian families whose child was “martyred” after killing Israelis. Also, stipends to parents or spouses whose family member was not killed, but apprehended, tried, convicted, and put into prison.

Frequently, photos of Palestinian terrorists who were killed during or shortly after (resisting arrest) their murderous rampage are posted on billboards throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Even streets are named after them.

(Murderer or Martyr?)

Although the vast majority of Muslim parents support and praise their children for their “heroism,” and glorify their ugly acts of murder, not all parents do. But that can be dangerous for the parent. For example, a few weeks ago the Muslim mother of a young ISIS recruit pleaded with her son not to stay with ISIS. For this love and concern for her son, she was killed. And, yes, it was her son who killed her … on the orders of an officer; but reportedly the son was honored to have killed his mother who had apparently betrayed Islam.

What about the average Palestinian mother? Well let’s read what the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Women’s Affairs, Haifa Al-Agha boasted about the distinctiveness of Palestinian women, posted in the Palestinian “moderate” newspaper, Al-Hayay Al-Jadida in November, 2015: “The Palestinian women’s uniqueness differentiates her from the women of the world, as only she receives the news of her son’s Martyrdom with cries of joy.”

Thanks to the true and living God, that all mothers are not so unique! Seriously.

It never ceases to amaze me that our US President and his staff refuse to see through the ultimate agenda of the Palestinian Authority in particular and the majority of Palestinians in general. But they don’t. Because of today’s politically correct misspeak, they can’t. Consequently, the US continues to send hundreds of millions of dollars to the corrupt Palestinian Authority.

Did you know that The Palestinian Health Ministry actually keeps a register of “martyrs” who kill Jews? That’s right, the Health Ministry! The names of these martyrs are kept alongside of the recording of patients, diseases, injured or wounded during clashes with Israelis, but only for murders of Jews or events occurring within the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In a recent dispute over whether or not to include an Israeli Arab, Nashat Milhem (who was killed after murdering Jews in Tel Aviv on January 1, 2016) in their register, because the attack occurred outside of the West Bank, a spokesman for the Health Ministry nevertheless said:

“We are proud of our Palestinian people in the 48 territories, and are proud of their sacrifices that have gone down in history … Their profound affiliation with their motherland, Palestine, cannot be denied under any circumstances.”

The praise of those who murder Jews, those who then become “martyrs” is repulsively rampant. It is much too flagrant for the United States Executive Staff to overlook it as though it doesn’t matter, and certainly not to deny it, after the fashion of an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. But, for all practical purposes, they do. Instead, our government constantly berates Israel for their alleged settlements and for not doing more to reach an agreement for a Palestinian State alongside Israel. When it’s actually a Palestinian State instead of the State of Israel that Arab Muslims want.

As Judith Bergman writing for Israel Hayom stated in an article posted on January 19^th: “Anyone left with any illusions of the official intentions of the PA … is truly delusional. Not only are the murders of Jews praised—in accordance with the intense incitement against Jews and the State of Israel for decades on PA TV, in schools and kindergartens, mosques and on the streets—but it is evident beyond any doubt that the PA considers all of Israel ‘Palestine.’”

(A Palestinian Map of Israel … Shows very few Jewish cities)

Although they may not realize it or even care about the repercussions, our government’s current disposition and attitude toward Israel is beginning to shape up as one of, if not the most, devastating mistakes this country has ever made or will make. I say this, exclusively on the authority of Scripture, i.e. the blessings and curses for nations that bless or curse Israel, respectively (Genesis 12:3 & other passages).

Immoral (Amoral) Equivalency?

Although these murderous Palestinian assaults on Israelis are perpetrated by individuals (as opposed to known terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas), in my opinion they can no longer be classified as “lone-wolf” attacks. If for no other reason than there have been over 300 such incidents just in the past four months or so, resulting in the death of 30 Jews and wounding of dozens more. In other words, the sheer number of the attackers can now be classified as a concerted group of individuals in a cruel combined effort to instill terror among Jewish communities, no different than a terrorist group or grouping of terrorists with a collaborative mindset and a callous communal cause of killing Jews.

As such, this makes them vastly different from the “ordinary” murderer in the United States or anywhere in the world who kills someone for any number of different reasons, but certainly not just because their victims are Jews (or Christians). Surely the parents, families, national leaders, and fellow citizens don’t glorify the murderer in these kind of killings. Conversely, they are appalled.

Not so with the Palestinians. If they, in turn, are killed in the commission of their hideous crimes, their own people (including parents and leaders) and religion can call them martyrs to their heart’s content. But by all the universal laws of morality, of right and wrong, of good and evil, there’s no way that a murderer or would-be murderer (in case they don’t succeed) can be considered a martyr for a cause that is anything but righteous or a religion that is anything but peaceful.

Which is another compelling argument that there must be (and is) a universal standard of law and truth that can objectively define right and wrong. Moreover, these universal truths have, in fact, been given to us by the true and living God through the Bible.

Otherwise, we are left with the moral and spiritual dilemma that a murderer is actually someone’s martyr. That a terrorist is another one’s activist. If that were true then all Nazis (participating in Jewish genocide) who were killed during the Second World War or who were tried and executed for war crimes after the war could be designated as martyrs “for their cause.”

(Terrorists or merely Activists?)

Thus, when our own President and most of his staff ignore the true history of Israel, and the acrimonious (no longer hidden) agenda of the Arab Muslims living in Israel, they also apathetically disregard the insidious (but no longer subtle) and all too real objective of Arab Palestinians and Muslims the world over: To eliminate Israel as a State and the Jews as a race. All the while, taking out as many Christians as they can.

When I refer to global (blind and irrational) animosity toward the Jews, I mean just that; as exhibited by the repeated United Nations sanctions against Israel—vastly outnumbering the sanctions against such rogue nations as Iran, North Korea, and many other countries that oppress their people, not the least of which is Syria.

For example, on January 26^th, one day after 23-year old Shlomit Krigman was murdered by a Palestinian teenager in Beit Horon (I alluded to this earlier in today’s article), United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon made this unconscionable statement: “Palestinian frustration is growing under the weight of a half century of occupation and the paralysis of the peace process. As oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism.”

Is it human nature, meaning the typical or average response, to react to occupation by killing innocent people whether or not they are truly occupying (the Jews are not the occupiers as I’ve written about in prior Eye of Prophecy articles)? That rhetorical question plus at least two more things are terribly wrong with the Secretary General’s thinking and statement.

First, this part of his speech to the UN Security Council directly referenced the recent killings (murders) of Jews in Israel. Which demonstrates beyond any doubt that Ban Ki-moon believes that even murder can be understood, rationalized, and possibly accepted if the murderer is doing so in reaction to “occupation.” It is a transparent insinuation that Palestinian murder of Jews in Israel is justifiable homicide.

Second, it’s unmistakable that the majority of the terrorists’ murderers couldn’t care less about so-called Israeli occupation. What is clear from interviewing those who were captured and by monitoring the daily Palestinian media is that these children (and young adults) are motivated by the incitement spread through media propaganda and by constant rhetoric from their leaders that elimination of Jews is the only solution. Not two states, that the Palestinians have rejected repeatedly, i.e. the terms of. Or a solution to the so-called occupation of the West Bank, in which the Palestinian Authority has turned down two incredible offers from prior Israeli Prime Ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert to retain only about 5% of the so-called West Bank for existing and future Jewish settlements.

Not as a legal requirement, but as an accommodation to the Palestinian Authority following the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel withdrew from most Arab cities in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria (now called the West Bank). And, of course, the glaring fact that Israel removed all of its citizens from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Yes, if the Secretary General bothered in the least to learn about real facts of Israel’s history since 1948, especially since 1967, he would not (or perhaps he would if he is being dishonest and/or patently biased against Israel, i.e. anti-Semitic) have also said in his speech: “Continued settlement activities are an affront to the Palestinian people and to the international community. They rightly raise fundamental questions about Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution.”

(Ban Ki-moon)

Said Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the UN Secretary General’s incredibly inaccurate and inflammatory comments: “The remarks by the secretary-general encourage terrorism. The UN has long lost it neutrality and moral power, and the secretary-general’s statements do not improve the situation.”

A Comparative Perspective on What’s Happening in Israel

Despite the massive attacks against Israel by Arab armies in 1948, 1967, and 1973; suicide bombers during the Second Intifada that began in 2000; 21^st century missiles and mortars raining down on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip; and military battles with Hezbollah and Hamas; it is painfully evident that Israel has never faced a “knife intifada” in their national history.

Americans are appalled and distressed by the occasional mass murders that take place in our schools and other public places, and rightfully so. But for the most part we process these hideous homicides in the context of the vast size and large population of our country. We emotionally and mentally and morally empathize with the victims and their families. But unless we live in or close to the vicinity of these brutal crimes, we generally think in terms of being safe just because of the distance, for example, between living in Arizona or New Jersey.

Not so in Israel. Using both New Jersey and Arizona (my home state) as an example, let’s digest the following statistics to see just how terrifyingly up close and perilously personal these attacks are in Israel.

Israel’s land mass is 8,630 square miles. That is very close to the size of New Jersey, at 8,729 square miles. However, the state of Arizona, alone, is 113,998 square miles. Which means you could fit thirteen states the size of Israel in Arizona, with 1,700 acres to spare! Even if the equivalent number of attacks and murders committed in Israel were confined to a certain geographical section of Arizona (say 1 county), 93% of the State’s area/population would still feel/be safe. And that’s just one state in our country a long way from New Jersey.

If, however, the residents of New Jersey were experiencing what Israel is going through, then we (they) would have a totally different perspective on the problem. But even a comparison to New Jersey doesn’t fully represent or depict what the Jews are experiencing in their own nation.

Why?

Israel’s minuscule land mass shrinks even more when you eliminate the areas where Jews are not permitted to or (even if permitted) choose not to live. Combined, these two areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip comprise approximately 25% of land within Israel’s borders.

The Jewish population of Israel is about 6.3 million people. The Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (non-Israeli citizens) is roughly 3.5 million, of which 1.7 live in the West Bank. Plus there are another 1.8 million Arabs who are citizens of Israel. Technically, they are called Israeli-Arabs, not Palestinians. However, both tragically and disgustingly, many of these “lone-wolf” murderers are Israeli Arab citizens. They can travel throughout Israel virtually unimpeded. Accordingly, these Palestinian attackers often gain easy access to Jewish communities in or near the West Bank, including East Jerusalem … but even West Jerusalem and all of Israel.

(True Map of Israel)

Thus, the saying, “there’s no place like home,” has become fatefully irrelevant and immaterial to both the murderer and the murdered. Nowhere in Israel is a Jew safe from these ghastly attacks; not in their stores or synagogues, not even in their own homes.

You can rest assured that the Israeli government, the Shin Bet, and the IDF are deeply troubled about this new form of (mass) homicide against their people. You can also rest assured that they have already responded and will continue to carefully weigh all options to deal with the problem.

Furthermore, many Palestinians are fully aware of the consequences of their actions. For example, one response was that of Israeli businesses dismissing (whether temporary or permanent … remains to be seen) some 27,000 Palestinian laborers in and around the West Bank area of Hebron where Dafna Meir was murdered by the 16-year old Palestinian construction worker. In addition, Israel has established more checkpoints, closed some roads, and deployed additional troops to thwart these attacks. With the ripple effect of disrupting Palestinian businesses and access of Palestinians who have permits to work at Israeli companies.

Sadly, however, the Palestinians will continue to honor and glorify the absolutely needless death of their sons and daughters. They will continue to hate the Jews more than they love their own children. They will continue to celebrate the deaths of Jews at the hands of their heroic young martyrs, who are doing nothing more than what their parents and leaders train, prepare, incite, and even expect them to do … kill Jews. All Jews, no matter who they are or where they live. The softer the target and more defenseless the victim, the better.

Things to Ponder

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have identified clear signs that we are in the last days leading up to the apocalyptic Day of the Lord. Twelve of those milepost indicators have been listed in the articles, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I & II (posted 7-11 & 7-18-15). Such as: The rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation; the increasing strife and controversy over Temple Mount and a rebuilt Jewish Temple; alignment of the Gog/Magog nations that will attack Israel, amazing increase in natural disasters, and others.

One of those signs that we don’t often think about or correlate to the last days—but one that also fits within the last generational time-frame specified by Jesus—is the moral and spiritual decline of the final generation, especially the young. We are experiencing an exponential increase in brutal crimes in this 21^st century and last part of the 20^th century being committed by children, some as young as eight. Of children killing other children and even their parents. Of, as we’ve seen in Israel, teenagers randomly stabbing and shooting women and children.

Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul describing these days, which are already upon us:

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God” (II Timothy 3:1-4).

Little wonder when so many (parents) of this generation twist and pervert the very truth and meaning of words and actions. When they scorn the sanctity of life and the value of every human being. When they blindly follow a religion that pursues hatred and death of those who cherish peace and life. When they despise the kind of things that are produced in the lives of those who have been wonderfully redeemed and reborn by the all-sufficient Grace of God through the atoning sacrifice of his awesome Son, Messiah Jesus.

Things that are produced by the Holy Spirit such as: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22)

God’s Justice will prevail, as will his Love: “What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone (even terrorist murderers) who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life … There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (John 3:16, 18-19).

	garybowers on Two Thirds of the Jews Killed…
	James Choate on Two Thirds of the Jews Killed…
	garybowers on The Incomparable Power and Aut…
	garybowers on Times of & Fullness of the…
	garybowers on Two Thirds of the Jews Killed…
	Lawrence Bishop on The Incomparable Power and Aut…
	Sylvia Reynolds on Times of & Fullness of the…

eyeofprophecy … watch and wait

~ "For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus" (Rev.19:10)

Tag Archives: Palestinian Authority

Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda

Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be?

Can A Murderer Be A Martyr?