Is Stephen Hawking biting the hand that feeds him?

     This coming June, Israel will hold the fifth Israeli Presidential Conference on the theme of "Facing Tomorrow 2013: The Human Factor in Shaping Tomorrow". Under the leadership of Israeli President Shimon Peres, A long list of speakers includes key players, innovators, visionaries, scholars and leaders from around the world. Each year, not only it promises to introduce new products, services and inventions, but it delivers! Israel has been the cradle of world innovations for a while now, and continues to provide our global community very often with the future delivered today! The list is too long to publish here, and it keeps growing almost daily.
     The 2013 conference should have included British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking as one of the keynote speakers. Globally recognized as a genius, Hawking has also become the poster child for science over the last few decades. But in a move that has garnered him both some applause and some criticism, he chose to boycott the 2013 Israeli conference following the advice of Palestinian academics. This will undoubtedly help to vindicate the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) in their fight against "Apartheid Israel". On the English version of the Middle East media site El Arabiya, while some claimed that his health was what made him change his mind, Hawking's statement was made crystal clear:
“We understand that Professor Stephen Hawking has declined his invitation to attend the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow 2013, due to take place in Jerusalem on 18-20 June. This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.”

      The advantage of living in the free world, is that we can make our own decisions, and I certainly am not against anybody boycotting anything for any reason as long as their decision is based on facts and done with integrity, that of course in the case of Professor Hawking is not the case. I personally have and continue to exercise my right to boycott. So the question is not "why boycott"? but rather "why boycott inconsistently"?

     I find it pathetic that Hawking chooses to boycott the very country that is providing him with the technology to communicate with the rest of the world. The microprocessors used in the Speech Generating Device (SGP) that gives him a voice were developed in Israel (so were instant messaging, the flash drive, single-click computer translation and cell phone technology to name just a few)!      

     Hawking lives with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Israeli doctors and researchers are currently making great progress in the area and will soon be likely to provide more answers and better care if not a cure for ALS. How will Hawking react to the "oppressors' discovery"? Will he ignore it and discard all progress because it was from Israel? I sincerely doubt it, because like in most cases of boycotting, people are rarely consistent.

     Dr. Hawking's decision to boycott Israel is far from being based on the facts, but the facts on the Middle East crisis have ceased to be a criteria in the decision process for a while now. Political correctness abounds where tolerance reigns. But if tolerance isn't based on truth, how tolerant is it?

     His decision runs the risk of creating a snowball effect in the scientific and academic community. More people will follow suit, without checking the facts of course, but hey, if a genius like Dr. Stephen Hawking boycotts Israel, he must know better. Well, that's one of the problems, he doesn't! Genius doesn't guarantee common sense, and in the case of Dr. Hawking, it is painfully obvious as he has decided to bite the hands that feeds him!

     Additionally, in a very arrogant move on his part, Dr. Hawking has declared that God doesn't need to exist for the universe to have started, a statement that sounds a little bit like he [Hawking] feels like playing god. He has declared that: " the universe can create itself out of nothing" which of course is quite different than believing that God created the universe "ex nihilo" (out of nothing). As an agnostic, Dr. Hawking chooses to keep God out of the equation.

     The very God that Hawking chooses to reject is not impressed by his theories and discoveries because He in fact created the world (in six days to boot!). Hawking on the other hand will meet his maker one day and I believe that he will be impressed. My prayer is that he would come to a saving knowledge of Messiah before it is too late. I also hope that he would retract his decision to boycott the Israeli Conference because God has no patience for those who hurt the "Apple of His eye".

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

New Antisemitism: You Cannot Blame Hungary for Hypocrisy!

     At a time when all the anti-Semites of the world parade their deep hatred of the Jewish people in a disguise of anti-Israelism, anti-Zionism or whatever else they decide to call it next to rally all the ignoramuses around the planet, Hungary says it like it is: "We hate Jews"!

     To be sure, they are most definitely not the only European country showing signs of disdain for the Jewish people and Israel but they are one of the most vocal and creatively engaged to impair, demonize and even ostracize them.

     Additionally, not everybody in Hungary or its government is anti-Semitic, yet Jewish hatred comes from several fronts and shows us a shift or a certain evolution in the New anti-Semitism, creating a hybrid of both old and new.

     Hungary's far-right Jobbik Party (Movement for a Better Hungary) that was founded in 2003 out of a gathering of Catholic and Protestant Youth is a source of great concern (Christendom doesn't need any more bad rep when it comes to the persecution of Jewish people). In their 2010 elections, the Jobbik Party garnered 17% of the votes (more than the Socialists). This is the first Extreme Right victory of that size since Nazi Germany. They describe themselves as conservative, patriotic and Christian, somewhat reminiscent of the Nazi Party that went from 60 members in 1920 to 8.5 million in 1945. They target Jews and Gypsies.

     In November of 2012, Marton Gyongyosi, a prominent deputy of the party, proposed that Hungarian Jews be "accounted for" because of the "high risk" they pose to Hungary. Last time Jews were accounted for, they ended-up on the countless lists of places such as Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Auschwitz, but the counting didn't stop there and six million perished. One of them was my grandfather Maurice.

      Prior to that, in July of 2012, some 57 graves were desecrated in a Hungarian Jewish cemetery. This makes me wonder why this mostly happens to Jewish graves around the world and is often categorized as "vandalism". While I agree that it is vandalism, let's call a spade a spade and have enough chutzpah to call it anti-Semitism when we witness it. Additionally, Holocaust Memorial monuments were also defaced in 2009 and 2012. Not to mention the myriad of anti-Semitic graffiti.
     The situation is so grave in Hungary that the World Jewish Congress (WJC) that usually meets every four years in Jerusalem, decided to meet in Budapest for 2013 in support for the concerned Jewish community of over 100,000. This was quite an unusual move of support, but was it an overreaction from an over-sensitive Jewish community? Well, considering that Jobbik members had a rally (protected by Hungarian court) outside the JWC meeting place where statements like: "Only a show of strength is effective against the unscrupulous Zionist advance" were made by Marton Gyongyosi, you tell me! Statements like this are straight from the 1930s.
     The rally against the WJC was very troublesome and is without a doubt a sign of the renewed strength and arrogance of neo-nazis in Europe. What used to be a taboo fringe group that most people ignored in the decades after WWII, is coming back full force. This is at the core of this hybrid Newer Anti-Semitism that now has the beast of Jewish hatred attacking from all fronts. What do you expect when the Enemy (Satan) is behind it all?
     I wish that Hungary's Prime Minister Orban had been more precise in his statement of support to the Jewish community and his position to fight anti-Semitism in Hungary. He had plenty of opportunities to name people and specific events, but he chose to remain vague, and that to me is a sign of weakness that could further benefit those who want to destroy the Jews.
     Yet, in a day when all countries and people who hate the Jews and Israel pretend that they are anything but anti-Semitic, you cannot blame Hungary for being vague or hypocritical. In essence, the cry of the Jobbik Party and many Hungarians is "We hate Jews". They are very clear!
     At least Hungarian Jews KNOW where they stand and if I was one of them, I would stand anywhere but in Hungary.
     I will bless them who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. (Genesis 12:3)

Impact HolyLand 2013: Unity or One-Sided Vindication?

      In our age of Postmodernism and social justice, conferences on the touchy subject of the Middle-East abound. Like it or not, Israel is at the center of the world political arena. There is a great divide that exists between those who support Israel and those who don't, and that divide keeps growing, casting one side against the other in a chronically destructive case of "He said, she said". That chasm needs to be filled with biblical truth, but that forces many to face a reality that they would rather ignore, and that is the fact that God is a Zionist.

     Some of my readers will stop reading this article just about now as they might feel that I am guilty of exactly what I am accusing the other side of, but I have not accused anyone yet. All I am saying is that if one is to follow an agenda, it certainly will never be completely balanced for as long as it is one set by men, simply because man is not just. But God's agenda is balanced, fair and perfect.

     Coming this December in Philadelphia is a conference tilted: IMPACT HOLY LAND 2013. Per their site, the purpose of that conference is as follows: We seek not to solve the Israeli/Palestinian situation at this conference, but we do seek to convene a conversation where diverse brothers and sisters in Christ ~ Palestinian, Israeli, North American ~ can share honestly and lovingly in a space where their perspectives are respected, even as we know we will not agree on everything.

     I honestly do not see anything wrong with that statement, and their agenda–as vague as it currently is–appears to be fair and balanced. As such, it will attract many people from both side of the fence and so it should. But I wonder if the panel of speakers that will participate in such a conference will really be balanced and if both sides will truly be respected for their diverging views on the topic. 

     If we look at previous similar conferences, and while not two are the same, we can probably learn a few things. A great example is the CaTC Conference (Christ at the Checkpoint) that took place in 2012. Here is an biblical analysis of their manifesto. The next CaTC conference will be in 2014 (stay tuned for more on that event!)

     On the surface, IHL2013 is a conference that promotes unity and reconciliation through dialogue and even the sharing of the Lord's Supper or Communion. In essence, this should be very attractive to the parties involved being Palestinian Christians, Messianic Jews and other various evangelicals, yet I am very concerned that a hidden agenda (and often not so hidden) will be driving the conference. The current list of confirmed speakers should suffice to show us that the scale is tipping in favor of the Palestinian cause.

     But let me start with a few words about the organization that is behind the whole conference. IHL2013 is organized by Evangelicals for Social Action, an organization started in 1973 in Illinois when at the time, a group of concerned individuals drafted and published the Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern. They introduced the concept of a "social Gospel" to the evangelical community in a declaration that claims that: "By this declaration, we endorse no political ideology or party, but call our nation’s leaders and people to that righteousness which exalts a nation".

     Again, it sounds really good and straight forward in the text, but ESA's involvement in the last few decades have clearly showed its leaning to the left and obvious penchant for liberal theology, it even prides itself in fighting apartheid (a good thing in and of itself as expressed against true apartheid). 

     As the times are changing and Israel continues to be painted in a corner of shame and guilt by liberals, anti-semites and an increasing number of evangelicals, ESA found a worthy cause in organizing IHL2013. Additionally, Paul Alexander, ESA's new president as of June 2013 should be a concern to those who aspire to stand on biblical truth. In an article that he wrote for the July/August issue of ESA's magazine Prism, Alexander wrote about the three "Ds" that describe Israel and according to him Palestine as well: Demonization, Double-Standards and Deligitimization. In it, Alexander quickly draws conclusion about the Middle East that fly in the face of historical truth like the statement that: Delegitimizing rhetoric includes the claim that there really are no Palestinian people, that they didn’t take care of the land, and that they didn’t really exist until 1969 or 1963 or 1948 or 1931 or some date that seems to be less legitimate than Jewish identity. Those claims are not only false, they are attempts to delegitimize Palestinian aspirations. 

     Additionally, if one was to look into the credentials of the "confirmed speakers" of IHL2013, one would realize that under the veneer of a conference on unity and communion between brethren in Messiah, we really have a trap set for pro-Israel evangelicals. The platform is far from neutral, neither will be the agenda.

     But another real danger of such a conference, is that the pro-Palestinian factions are gaining momentum within evangelical circles, and while not all speakers are polished theologians, they are increasingly becoming better equipped at accusing Israel and are themselves guilty of demonization, double-standards and deligitimization. 

     The response from pro-Israel Evangelical too often demonstrates that they might just be ill equipped to fight such a pernicious monster. We simply throw a prophecy here and a verse there to defend our position in a political arena. Some of us will even claim that we should stick to the Bible and not get involved politically. This is a difficult decision to make. I believe that Yeshua made some of the most difficult political decisions of His time and that those who followed Him did likewise.

     If we get involved in the political arena, we absolutely must do it on a foundation of biblical principles, a position seldom adopted by most, and we must be fair and genuinely interested in the welfare of all, through the eyes of Yeshua but not at anybody's expense.

     The world has been fed a series of lies about the Middle East since the 60s and they have now simply become the accepted truth. Modern Israel–while not perfect–is the result of a move of God to set the stage for the rest of His program for mankind to be laid out. Like it or not, Israel is here to stay because God said so (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

     What worries me even more is the list of "also invited" speakers who include several pro-Israel speakers (half of them messianic Jews). It also includes names like John Hagee and Hal Lindsey who are very well known for they support of Israel and teaching on prophecies.

     I am afraid that their participation would only vindicate the already biased camp of pro-Palestinian speakers. Many Christians will see names like Hagee or Lindsey or even Messianic leaders such as David Brickner (Jews for Jesus) or Messianic Jewish scholar Michael Brown, and without checking further, give their unreserved seal of approval. That would be a grave mistake!

     If any believers are still sitting on the fence on the issue of the Middle East crisis, they will be pulled in by the roaster of "safe names" and swayed to the "pro-Palestinian" side before they can think it through and really check the whole thing against God's Word. The anti-Israel lobby seems far more equipped to defend and promote their views while the pro-Israel camp usually reacts.

     This being said, honest believers cannot escape the fact that the Bible clearly teaches that God is not done with Israel and the Jewish people today and in the future. We stand firm on a biblical foundation that is the only rock upon which we should ever build our social justice. If done ethically and according to Scripture, people on both sides might be surprised in finding out that God loves all people: Jews, Arabs, Christians and all those who don't even acknowledge Him, and that Yeshua died for ALL.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

The Combined Threat of the Three Intifadas!

     There is nothing positive attached to the word Intifada. In fact, since the first Palestinian Intifada of 1987, the word has been known to mean the "violent revolt of the people". The word itself is Arabic for "shaking off" and has commonly become synonymous with "uprising". There is a connotation of resistance against oppression that of course, in the case of the Palestinian intifada would be referring to the "Israeli oppression"; if indeed the accusation was factual.  

     Some might wonder what is meant by the three intifadas since there has only been two Palestinian uprising to date: The First Intifada of 1987 (1987-1993) and the Second Intifada of 2000 (2000-2005). The third one is not a reference to a more recent Palestinian uprising but to a different kind altogether.

     So, as I see it, Israel and the Jewish people at large are plagued by three kinds of intifadas that must be clearly defined if we want to understand them and better fight them. They are the people's intifadas, the academic intifada and the Christian intifada.

1. The People's Intifadas of 1987 and 2000

     When one hears the word intifada, the first thing that usually comes to mind is one of the two past Palestinian uprisings against Israel. 

     The first one started in 1987 and lasted over six years during which Palestinians lead a revolt against Israelis using all sorts of weapons from riffles to Molotov cocktails and from stone throwing to homicide bombings. The result was much more devastating to the Palestinians than to the Israelis (almost 10 to 1). It is believed that the First Intifada was somewhat of a catalyst for the drafting up of the Oslo Accords of 1993.

     The Second one, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada or the "Oslo War" started in September 2000 during Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. It quickly escalated and saw a final death toll of 3,000 Palestinians and about 1,000 Israelis. The targets, like those of the first Intifada were both military and civilian. Some claim that this second uprising was officially over after the death of internationally known PLO leader Yaser Arafat in 2004, while other feel that the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005 was the turning point during which Mahmoud Abbas vowed that violence would stop. By 2005, the uprising had subsided even though violence has continued to punctuate everyday life in the Middle East.

     Both Intifadas helped to create the false image of the "Palestinian victim" under the yoke of the "Israeli oppressor". The international press grabbed hold of copious footage of little kids throwing rocks at heavily armed IDF soldiers, and as result immediately garnered the world attention and compassion for the "Palestinian innocent victims" of the "Israeli invaders". The truth of course is far from what has been reported. In fact, much of the footage that has been shown over the airwaves and on the Internet was either staged or doctored-up after the fact as sites such as Honest Reporting , defending Israel against media bias or CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) can testify. But sadly, when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people, most of the world has long ceased to be interested in the truth. Ludicrous libelous accusations and anti-Semitic slurs have now become the leit motiv guiding the masses against the chosen people of God. Where the violent people's Intifadas left off, the next two picked up and the damage continues.

2. The Academic Intifada

     Since about 2005, people around the globe have gathered under the banner of IAW (Israeli Apartheid Week) to denounce the "Israeli Apartheid" policies. These events go hand in hand with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, in an effort to cripple Israel's economy and force its government to make outrageous concessions.

     College campuses have been a breeding ground for the left-wing postmodern agenda of tolerance and multiculturalism. Promoting social justice for Palestinian and other global "innocent victims" helps to rally those who hate Israel. Sadly, many of the causes that such groups might bring to the world's attention are worth taking note, because they often feature ethnic groups that are severely abused by others for political, geographic or religious reasons. Yet in the case of the Arab/Israeli conflict, victims and perpetrators seem to have been switched in what could be a great episode of The Twilight Zone if it was not such a xenophobic exercise. I have witnessed first hand some of that hatred on the campus of University of California Irvine, in my own backyard (see my May 9, 2012 article here).

     The most recent installment in this infamous attempt at demonizing Israel and the Jewish people comes from Ireland, where as recently as last week, the Teacher's Union of Ireland unanimously voted for a total academic boycott of Israel. Jonny Paul reported in the Jerusalem Post that: At its annual congress last week, the TUI voted unanimously to endorse Palestinian activists call for an academic boycott of the Jewish state, “including the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities, as well as all cooperation in research programs.”

     This move is the first of its kind in Europe, but I am convinced that it will only pave the way for more European countries to show their true colors, encouraged and vindicated by Ireland, to further stigmatize Israel.

     But, it is still reassuring to know that Christians wholeheartedly support Israel and the Jewish people as they hold hands against this injustice, all the media bias and the violence perpetrated against the chosen people worldwide. Think again!

     British Messianic leader Joseph Weissman so appropriately described this growing Christian illness as the "Evangelical Intifada". It is like a spiritual leprosy attacking the nerve endings of common sense and slowly gnawing at the limbs of proper biblical interpretation. 

3. The Christian Intifada

     Against all logic and certainly against anything the Bible teaches about Israel, there is a new camp within Evangelicals. They are committed to promoting Christian Palestinianism and erase Israel's true history from the pages of the Bible. The likes of Gary Burge (New Testament professor at Wheaton College) and current Vicar of Christ Church of UK, Stephen Sizer are doing a great disservice to the Christian faith. Under a crafty disguise of theological discernment, they convince their audiences that Israel is guilty of killing Palestinians and that the Christian duty is to expose them.

     Messianic teacher Louis Lapides takes on Gary Burges' false teaching and carefully lines it up against God's Word to find out that God isn't finished with Israel. In fact, the Bible tells us that Israel plays a crucial part in the end days, including the Second Coming of Messiah at the pleading of corporate Israel towards the end of the Tribulation (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 12:25-26).

     Men like Burge and Sizer are very dangerous. They have the ability to sweep away those Evangelicals who spend more time conjecturing than reading their Bibles. Lately they have been rather successful at turning the tides against Israel within the Evangelical community. People like Lynne Hybels (Bill Hybel's wife), Robert Seiple (former President of World Vision) and more, are being convinced of the validity of such a position.

     Stephen Sizer IS NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL and does not represent all Christians by a long shot, neither does Gary Burge. Yet, by virtue of their reputation and their statuses, they have an increasingly louder voice on the anti-Israel platform. The propaganda is growing stronger while nobody is checking for accuracy.

     It is time for Christians to read their Bible and confront such men and women with God's everlasting Word of truth. 

     The three intifadas might be very different in their fabric and do vary in intensity and delivery as they fluctuate between deeds, words and thoughts. Yet they all have in common the stigmatization and ostracism of Israel and the Jewish people. And when the real enemies of the Jews will go after them, most Christians would have again become by-standers if not perpetrators. These three intifadas feed each other in many ways.
     I fear, not for Israel that God has promised to never forsake, but her enemies that He has promised to destroy. Yet it is never too late to return to God and His truth.
     MAYBE IT IS TIME FOR A FOURTH INTIFADA, AN UPRISING AGAINST ANTISEMITISM. THAT ONE, I WOULD DEFINITELY SUPPORT!

Surely, thus says the LORD, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. “And I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 49:25-26     

3 Reasons to Observe Holocaust Remembrance Day!

    From the evening of Sunday, April 7th 2013 to the evening of April 8th, Jews worldwide will commemorate Yom HaShoah (the Day of the Catastrophe) also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yom HaShoah typically falls on the 27th of Nissan (April 8, 2013) and coincides with the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was inaugurated in 1953 by first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gourion as a memorial to the 6,000,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
     Yet to most people worldwide, Yom HaShoah is either a complete mystery, an irrelevant topic or a thorn in the flesh of their Anti-Semitic bodies. Yom HaShoah is a day that most of the world would rather not have to remember but the unfortunate and heavy truth is that the Shoah left a permanent scar on the Jewish people at best and an open wound at worst. IT CANNOT BE IGNORED!
     There are several reasons why not just the worldwide Jewish community should remember the Shoah, but the global community as well:

1.  IT REALLY HAPPENED!
     This might be seen by some as one of the most obvious truism, but the Holocaust really happened! Unfortunately, alongside of those who clearly know that the Holocaust is one of the worst historical events on record, there are plenty of others who are working hard at telling us that it NEVER DID. The reality of the Holocaust being indelibly stamped in the memory of many people doesn't seem to stop "Holocaust deniers" from propagating their lies. The physical evidence left behind as well as the copious records kept by the Nazis don't even persuade or even intimidate those on a mission to eradicate the Shoah from the chronicles of human history.
     Yom HaShoah serves to perpetuate the memory of an event that REALLY HAPPENED. It was real enough for my grandfather Maurice Weinzveig who perished in Auschwitz and the family he left behind, and it was real enough for the rest of the 6,000,000. Any attempt at re-writing history devoid of this human tragedy should be a crime, as it is in some European countries such as Germany.

2.  IT HAPPENED RECENTLY!
     Another factor to consider is the fact that it happened recently. The Second World War ended in 1945, which is only 68 years ago. With Germany's unconditional surrender, came the liberation of Europe and of all the concentration and death camps of Western and Eastern Europe. While most of the survivors of the Shoah have now passed away, some still remain spread out all around the world. In other words, it is still possible for one to sit down with a Holocaust survivor and get a first hand story of the nightmare they went through and survived. But this window of opportunity is quickly coming to an end.
     The world owes it to the remaining survivors of the Shoah to perpetuate the memory of the event and to promote the important message of "NEVER AGAIN" through education and testimonies. One of the few organizations serving that purpose in a most commendable way is Shadows of Shoah, a website built on the foundation of many sobering testimonies from a handful of worldwide Holocaust survivors. As the founder of Shadows of Shoah, Perry Trotter recognizes, it is important to treat the Holocaust in a way that exposes the human nature of the disaster. These are real people with real stories, not just another set of statistics. As the world gets used to hear the tragedy of the 6,000,000, it also builds a certain immunity to the carnage attached to that number. While it is impossible to remember al the victims by name, Shadows of Shoah does a superb job a connecting the site's visitor to the heart and soul of each survivor as they briefly share their story.
     My mother saw her dad taken by the Gestapo while she herself escaped the Holocaust and was sent to the southwest of France to hide on a farm. She is still alive today and it is very offensive and brutally insensitive to try to tell her that the Holocaust was a hoax. 68 years ago was not very long. As a matter of fact, almost prophetically,  General Eisenhower , after visiting the Buchenwald sub-camp at Orhdruf and ordering for photographs to document his discovery, was quoted saying: "I visited every nook and cranny...to be in a position from then on to testify about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief … that the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda." 
     Little did he know that just a few decades down the road, his greatest fear would become a tragic reality. 
    Yet my biggest concern is that Holocaust deniers, Holocaust revisionists, and even those who just ignore these events might be the catalysts for history to repeat itself. The signs are all here!

3.  IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN!
     It is ironic that the very people in the Middle East like Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud Abbas the leader of Fatah or even Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi who to different degrees all deny the Holocaust; also threaten Israel with their own version of a new Holocaust. Sometimes they even accuse Israel of committing "another Holocaust" against poor defenseless Palestinian victims. What "other" Holocaust are they talking about if the first one was indeed a myth, or even worse, a result of some "Jewish Propaganda" to make the whole world feel sorry and vote for the partition of Palestine in 1947.
     The level of Anti-Semitism that is currently plaguing the Jews worldwide is second only to the pre-World War Two era. Many scholars and experts on Anti-Semitism believe that we are experiencing a time of history very similar to the 1930s in Europe as it pertains to the rise of this new hatred of the Jewish people. My own research leads me to have to agree with them
     This renewed hatred for my people doesn't just come from the Middle East and/or radical Muslims; it is also fueled by the liberal left's agenda of tolerance and multiculturalism. We unfortunately also see some Anti-Semitism within the Evangelical Church, not to mention the Roman Catholic Church that has a long and deeply rooted history of Jew hatred.
     A few of us disciples of Yeshua of Nazareth are ready to defend Israel and the Jewish people at any cost, as we serve our Messiah who cares so much about the chosen people (Zechariah 2:8). God loves all people including the Muslims but biblically speaking, God is a Zionist.
     While many around the world increasingly speak of the Holocaust with words such as NEVER BEFORE, Followers of Yeshua have a biblical obligation to join in with the Jewish people in declaring NEVER AGAIN!
   

The Spiraling Down of Post-Christian Europe!

     I grew up in France in the 60s and 70s when it was at least 80% Catholic. Almost every town and village had a church and a priest. The church bells would regularly punctuate our days, calling the faithful parishioners to services. This was the normal sound of everyday life even for a Jewish person.

     It is hard to believe that almost 500 years ago, a Catholic priest nailed a list of reasons on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, explaining why he had to split from the hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church. in October of 1517, Martin Luther's 95 Theses were made public and the Reformation was born. Protestant Christians, Huguenots and other Bible believing individuals grew and shared the gospel on a continent that had been controlled by popes and bishops, not always with the most impeccable integrity. The results were felt and God's kingdom greatly affected for the better. 

But "the times they are-a-changin!"

     Over the last several decades, Europe's Christian community has been decreasing steadily while the Muslim influx has increased exponentially, bringing people from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey. Muslim integration into the European communities has been greatly unsuccessful at best. Mostly for the fact that Islam calls its followers to a strict ideology including religion, political life, judicial system, social fabric and dietary laws, keeping them from meshing with the locals even partially.

     Europe isn't just postmodern, it is frighteningly post-Christian and for many reasons, this post-Christian inoculation of tolerance and secularism isn't working. Europe's immune system went down when Christianity began to decrease, putting her further at risk.

     While I am not certain that this is a symptom of the death of European Christianity or a result of Islam's growth or a bit of both, the recent surge in the purchase of Christian churches by various Muslim organizations is very troubling.

     I have been worried for a while about the emigration of natives from several Western European countries where they no longer felt safe in neighborhoods where they once were the majority. Islamic influence in these neighborhoods is so intense that it forced the cultural tides to turn, and the natives to flee. But now we are starting to see unattended Catholic churches sold and transformed into mosques and this only adds to the growing problem at hand:

1. The death of Christianity: the beginning of the end for Europe

     In and of itself, the rapidly growing decrease of Christianity in Europe creates a fertile field for other religions to grow, and this is where Islam comes into the picture. With Christianity came biblical values and ethics. Even though it was always an upstream battle on such a humanistic continent, Evangelicalism brought a renewed sense of hope and purpose that attracted some. With the advent of postmodernism, secular humanism and tolerance became the measuring stick by which to calculate worth, outside of personal wealth of course. The more tolerant you are, the more respected you become, and this regardless of what your tolerance is aimed at. It appears that compromise and tolerance are the two new virtues of the 21st century. Biblical truth is irrelevant, or is it?

     With the death of Christianity, nobody will be willing or even available to spread the Gospel to the lost–including the growing Muslim community–and the master of lies [Satan] will easily plant more deception in a ground that has been fertilized by postmodern relativism.

2. The growth of Islam: Europe's demise rapidly approaching

     The decline of Christianity in Europe seems to have coincided with the rise of Islam, at least for the last 60 years. With the now obvious demographic imbalance between Muslims and Christians in most European countries, it is obvious that the population shift will only increase in favor of Islam, to eventually tip the scale and transform Europe into an irreversible Muslim continent, as author Bat Ye'or posits in her seminal work Eurabia. We might not be too far from that happening, as some predict the tipping of the demographic scale to occur between 2040 and 2050.

3. Christian Churches becoming mosques: The planting of Muslim strongholds across Europe

     While the mainstream media chooses to overlook it or under-report it at best, there is a growing phenomenon taking place in Europe that shouldn't be ignored even if it cannot be avoided. It is the selling of abandoned or sporadically attended Christian churches to Islamic organizations to transform them into mosques. The latest one can be found in Hamburg, Germany where a Lutheran church is about to undergo the transformation not without the concern of local Germans. It was sold in December 2012 to the Al-Nour Islamic Center. 

     I find it interesting that the Islamic center that purchased the church bears the same name as the newly formed "ultra conservative" Egyptian "Al-Nour" Party. The implementation of sharia being the party's unashamed goal, one is to wonder what the Al-Nour Islamic Center will aim to accomplish, once they are firmly planted! The Al-Nour Party is the largest Salafist group in Egypt and they are much more narrow-minded than the Muslim Brotherhood.

     This event is not the first of its kind as it is already happening in other countries of Europe such as France and the United Kingdom to name just a few. The French community of Vierzon is going through the same dilemma with the upcoming sale of the Church of St. Eloi.

     England has also being affected by the "church-to-mosque" transformation when they allowed a church in Clitheroe, England to become a mosque in 2007.

     It is unlikely that this trend will vanish or even slow down. All seems to indicate that the apathy of European Christians, who for the most part are nominal at best, will continue to make room for more mosques to be built and churches to be purchased and remodeled into Islamic centers.

     The spiraling down of Post-Christian Europe is well on its way. It seems that even if the proverbial frog in the water pot might not be boiling up quite yet, the water is already warm enough to numb it from jumping out.

     If nothing is done, next time you visit Europe you might be driving by Westminster Mosque in England or Notre-Mosque of Paris!
     Yet, it is never too late to share the Gospel of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) with the lost, including the first victims of Islam, the Muslims themselves.

     I am reminded of Yeshua's attitude towards the Twelve at His last Passover Seder in the Upper Room. As they were getting ready to wash His hands as per the ceremony of the Urchatz (washing of the hands), He chose to wash their feet instead in a perfect display of humility and servanthood, setting the bar for us on how we should serve and love those who do not know Him, while sharing the Gospel with them. Anything less is failing Him!

Now before the Feast of  the Passover, Yeshua knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world,  He loved them to the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Yeshua, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.  John 13:1-5