Archives for October 2013

October 26, 2013 By Olivier Melnick 3 Comments

The Many Faces of Anti-Israelism are Just a Mask for Antisemitism!

On October 21, 2013, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a new report titled: The Top Ten anti-Israel Groups in the US, in which it identified the most virulent of antisemitic organizations in America. While I do not always endorse the ADL’s methods and/or tone in their reporting, or even some of their conclusions, I do find their research always very useful.

In order for people of good faith to be able to fight antisemitism properly, they must be aware of the enemy and its posse. The newly published ADL list sheds some light on the source of anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism that, as I have explained before, are simply “antisemitism repackaged.”

The list in question includes these ten organizations that most people probably have never heard of, yet they are very influential in reshaping today’s worldview on Israel. The list in alphabetical order is as follows. I have added a brief summary of who they are (for more details, you can read the full report linked above):

• Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER)

Under the banner of a respectable anti-war and anti-racism coalition, ANSWER often militates against Israel in no uncertain terms. They have often supported Hamas and Hizbollah and have equated Zionism with terrorism.

• American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

This anti-Zionist organization focuses on helping college students organize anti-Israel events on American Campuses. They are partially responsible for a newest trend known as “Campus Intifada” and work in cooperation with another group further down the list known as “Students for Justice in Palestine”. They also are strong supporters of The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS).

• CODEPINK: Women for Peace

Here is another organization that promotes world peace in general, yet they go out of their way to disrupt pro-Israel rallies and conferences. They also push the BDS agenda. They are very connected with many liberal factions helping promote a leftist approach to fight war, injustice and of course the “Israeli occupiers”.

• Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA)

Started in 1997 by Naïm Ateek, this organization plays the “Palestinian Christian” card so well that it is now garnering the support of many Evangelicals against Israel. Naïm Ateek promotes what is known as “Christian Palestinianism” that is nothing less that revisionism to strip Israel and the Jewish people of any connection to the Holy Land historically, geographically and politically. Several Christian denominations now support and invite FOSNA representatives to their congregations.

• If Americans Knew/Council for the National Interest (CNI)

Both organizations merged in 2010 under the leadership of former journalist Alison Meir. Meir is a staunch anti-Semite pushing for the US government to only get involved in the Middle East when it serves our interests (that is already an issue with me in and of itself). Because of the “Israel Lobby” Weir insists that US interests should exclude any partnership with or help to Israel. She claims that US help to Israel is very costly and damaging.

• Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)

This one is the most influential group in the USA with a budget of almost $1,000,000. They are largely responsible for the popularity of the BDS movement. They try to brainwash uneducated masses with movies about the Israeli occupation of Palestine. JVP claims to have Jewish roots and be proud of Jewish culture in a crafty attempt at appearing pro-Jewish when in fact they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

• Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

In existence since 1988, MPAC claims–according to their mission statement– that they exist to enhance and promote Muslim involvement in all aspect of everyday life, especially political and civil. Of course, they are not concerned if their goal is achieved by throwing Israel “under the bus” as they have boldly militated against Israel and been very vocal regarding the recent Gaza Flotilla. They recently co-sponsored an event with FOSNA in a Presbyterian church in California, continuing to make progress within an uninformed –sometimes unwilling to be properly informed–Christian community.

• Neturei Karta (NK)

The oldest on the list, New York based Neturei Karta (Aramaic for “Guardians of the Gate”) was started in 1938, 10 years before the re-birth of the modern state of Israel. They believe that they are the final religious authority about Israel and Zionism. They are virulently against Zionism. They have met with officials from Hezbollah as well as with ex-president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other anti-Semitic governments and entities. They appear to simply be a sect of Hassidic Judaism but they turn out to be Jewish anti-Semites. If one could ever associate the two terms together, it would be to describe Neturei Karta.

• Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)

A growing movement of American students started on the campus of Berkeley in 2001 and now present on about 100 campuses. Their goal is to further disseminate anti-Israel propaganda on campuses by organizing pro-Palestinian events, inviting anti-Semitic speakers and promote BDS. They are behind most of the US campus led anti-Israel events.

• US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (USCEIO)

Started in 2001 and based in St Louis, MO, USCEIO is a well funded organization that uses some of its resources for billboard campaigns trying to convince the US to end its aid to Israel. They are involved on American campuses. They also organize a yearly anti-AIPAC convention to fight the influence of the “Israel Lobby”.

Many other organizations could have been included here. For the sake of space and time, the ADL as well as I will limit to the top ten. While many of us might never hear of these organizations, we must be aware of their existence as they all work in the name of justice, peace and tolerance, towards the same goal: THE COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF ISRAEL.

Our quick perusal will show that they have infiltrated all aspects and all levels of our society. They are present in government, education, Judaism, politics, women’s movements, and many Christian denominations. The virus is everywhere and the antidote is based on education.

Anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism have many faces yet all of them are just masks hiding the ugly face of anti-Semitism. A thorough study of God’s Word would reveal to any honest student that Israel is not Palestine (It is never called that in any version, except on the maps at the end of the Bible and last time I checked, the maps are not inspired!). Israel is Israel, and Israel is God’s Holy Land as we see in Leviticus 25:23:‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.

The fate of those who hate Israel is clear throughout the Bible but maybe even clearer in Psalm 83:13-18 where we see that in spite of God’s hatred for Israel’s enemies, He still leaves room for them to come to their senses and have a change of heart before destruction. Knowing my gracious and merciful God, this is always a possibility and it continues to be my prayer for those who loathe Israel and my people.

O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind.

Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire,

So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm.

Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.

Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish,

That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.

October 18, 2013 By Olivier Melnick 3 Comments

Holocaust Deniers are Gaining Momentum!

It was only seventy years ago that my Jewish paternal grandfather who fought in the Great War of 1914-1918 as a French soldier was asked to bring his bicycle and his radio to the local police station. It was only seventy years ago that my mother was forced to wear a yellow star on all of her garments when she left her house. It was only seventy years ago that the Gestapo snatched her dad from under her eyes in the summer of 1942 to send him to Auschwitz where he perished with the rest of the 6,000,000.
The Holocaust left an indelible stain on the Jewish psyche and much baggage on a large cross-section of the global community. It cannot be forgotten, it cannot be avoided, and yet if we are honest with ourselves, it cannot really be explained.
As if the numbers were not horrendous enough, a recent series of documents released by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) after years of further research showed that original death estimates were way off.
How can the horrors of the Holocaust be any worse than what had been gathered for the last seventy years? The new findings are absolutely mind boggling as the team of researchers just reported:
“There were more than 42,500 Nazi ghettos and camps throughout Europe from 1933 to 1945.

There were 30,000 slave labor camps; 1,150 Jewish ghettos; 980 concentration camps; 1000 prisoner of war camps; 500 brothels filled with sex slaves; and thousands of other camps used for euthanizing the elderly and infirm, performing forced abortions, “Germanizing” prisoners or transporting victims to killing centers. The best estimate using current information available is 15 to 20 million people* who died or were imprisoned in sites controlled by the Germans throughout the European continent.

This chilling report from recent findings based on years of research and fact finding should undoubtedly reinforce the idea that the Jewish Catastrophe was the worst human genocide of all times. And in the mind of decent people around the world it is, and it compels them to never forget. Many of them rightfully join the ranks of Jews everywhere already united by the post- Holocaust motto “NEVER AGAIN”.

While the additional evidence about the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust keeps piling up, another group of people is gaining momentum. They are the Holocaust deniers whose agenda is to change “NEVER AGAIN” into “NEVER HAPPENED”. How can these people possibly live with themselves as they claim that the Holocaust was a “myth”, a “hoax” or was “grossly exaggerated”?

Why is it that in spite of all the evidence AND of the recent new findings, Holocaust deniers seem to be gaining momentum? I see four factors contributing to these people’s despicable attempt at erasing or re-writing history:

• The Time Factor

Depending on whom you ask, the number of Holocaust survivors today fluctuates between 250,000 and 500,000 worldwide. Steven Spielberg, who started the Shoah Foundation after making the movie Schindler’s List in 1993, estimated that there were 350,000 survivors in 1994 (20 years ago). Some estimate the numbers at 260,000 in 2012, others as high as 500,000 in 2012. It is hard to tell, considering that many survivors have been so physically and mentally affected that they haven’t even spoken of their ordeal. But one thing is for certain, whatever the numbers were after the war, they are rapidly decreasing. Consider the fact that a child born in the camps during the last year of the Holocaust in 1945 would be 68 today had he/she survived. The vast majority of survivors today are in their 80s and dying. Very soon, all the eyewitnesses of a terrible era will be gone forever.

• The Communication Factor

The 21st Century is the epitome of fast communication. Hand-written letters benefited from the typewriter, then came the computer and word processor, the email, texting, Facebook, Twitter and hashtags. Each bringing our civilization a step closer to a brand of fast communication further and further distilled into just a few characters. Philosophies, Ideologies and concepts became phrases, then just words or even characters.

This makes for an amazing ability to communicate globally in real time, but what are we really communicating? How can we convey fully developed ideas with just a few words? How can we teach history or any topic for that matter, without full testimonies, journals, reports and documents? I am afraid that we can’t. This morphing of the way we communicate has been detrimental to proper teaching in schools and this of course includes the Holocaust, because the way we communicate today has created a generation of people with a very, very short attention span.

• The Apathy/Illiteracy Factor

The short attention span created by our postmodern communication methods runs the danger of further leading this new generation to apathy and illiteracy. It is a fact that Americans are learning much less in school today that they were several decades ago. A recent survey done with college students in Pennsylvannia, showed that many of them couldn’t explain what the Holocaust was and where or when it took place. Some didn’t even know what country Hitler was the leader of. We are talking college students here, not junior High! They might be wearing a pair of Tom’s shoes because they feel good about providing a free pair of shoes to a needy child somewhere in the world (and there is nothing wrong with that), but they live for today in complete ignorance of yesterday and utter apathy about tomorrow. If our current audience is disconnected from reality, who is left to be taught about the Holocaust?

• The Antisemitism Factor

In his new book The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Antisemitism, Daniel Goldhagen posits that anti-Semitism is the only form of racism that, against all logic, transcends time, geographical boundaries and cultural differences to target the Jews as the unwanted scapegoats of humanity. But Jewish people are so different from one country to the next and sometimes from one community to the next that it defies logic to have a hatred for them unless it is based on a fabricated approach to who they are. Holocaust deniers are plagued by xenophobic tendencies as they try their hand at historical revisionism. They militate in favor of the eradication of an event of history that should instead be taught to all age levels throughout our educational system.

These four factors greatly contribute to the growth of Holocaust denial globally. Deniers will continue to gain momentum if those of us who know the truth just throw our hands in the air. They benefit from an audience too often uneducated and apathetic. But we do not have the right to complain unless we do our part to wake a generation up from their postmodern journey towards irrelevancy.

Holocaust deniers are gaining momentum because the next generation is moving through life on cruise control, oblivious of their heritage and too often ignored by the current generation.
We know that the Holocaust is far from being a myth, yet we might not be so far from it becoming a myth. Wake up people!

* These new numbers include all people not just the Jewish people.

October 11, 2013 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Are Israeli Children the New Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East?

The Middle East conflict continues to be punctuated by terrorist attacks, unilateral demands on Israel and the rise and fall of various settlements. Few politicians or diplomats have any hope of the Oslo Accords being resurrected, let alone amount to any progress in the direction of a solid peace agreement.
This doesn’t stop worldwide antisemitic factions from pointing the finger at the perennial Jewish “perpetrators” and feeling “Oh-so-sorry” for the Palestinian “victims”. The message from liberals remains the same:” If only Israel would put down their weapons, we would see peace!”
Israel has been painted as the threat for so long that no longer do we need to see facts to believe reports from the media or the United Nations. The “displaced, abused and underprivileged Palestinians” continue to fight for their freedom against the “oppressor”. And rightfully so the world tells us!
While I agree that the situation in the “disputed territories” is less than ideal, most people in the West have a preconceived notion that Palestinians live in huts, tents and slums, as they constantly get evicted from their homes. THIS IS SO FAR FROM THE TRUTH! Gaza has malls, hotels and restaurants that rival many worldwide urban areas.
So the saga continues as the evening news report of more clashes between IDF soldiers bent on hurting Arabs and innocent Palestinian victims caught in the fire. Many will say that this justifies the violence, comparing the Middle East conflict to the South African Apartheid of yesteryear. Others compare the Palestinian plight to the Civil Rights Movement in America as documented–albeit falsely– in the 2010 movie Little Town of Bethlehem. Of course, evangelicals have their word to say in the matter and so, under the guise of reconciliation, a one-sided “Christian” conference takes place in the Holy Land every couple of years under the name of Christ at the Checkpoint.
While I strongly disagree with any form of violence, I understand that once somebody feels cheated, abused and victimized, they might resort to an armed struggle, violence and even killings. This is where the Palestinians are today, convinced that they belong in the land of Eretz Yisrael that once was the land of their forefathers. Of course the fact that most of the world is helping them to promote a re-writing of history is very helpful to their cause (even though it only became popular through the crafty dealings of Yassir Arafat in the 60s).
So the Palestinians believe that they are “freedom fighters” and so they go against IDF soldiers. But recently, it was also in the West Bank town of Psagot that little Noam Glick was shot in the neck. The question I would like to ask to those who support the “Palestinian victim syndrome” is this: Why would a Palestinian sniper shoot a nine-year old Israeli girl playing in her backyard?
Where is the danger there? What is the rationale for shooting an innocent child? Of course, the Palestinian Authority not only refused to condemn the act but instead decided to praise the shooter.
How in the world is anybody supposed to negotiate peace with people that not only kill innocent children but also receive praise from their leaders for doing so? This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who keeps garnering the world’s attention and compassion for his people.
There are no excuses for such an act NO MATTER WHICH WAY YOU LOOK AT IT!
If I didn’t believe in God and wasn’t a follower of Yeshua (Jesus), I would see absolutely no hope for the Middle East and the whole world for that matter. But in spite of the continuous hatred displayed against my people, in spite of the constant role reversals between the victims and the perpetrators, and the numerous killings, I HAVE HOPE!
My hope doesn’t rest in a fallen world rebelling against God but it rests in the very God that the fallen world is rebelling against. If Israeli children have become the new obstacles to peace in the Middle East and if the “increasingly-not-so” civilized world remains silent about such an act, I am brought down to my knees even more so, and I am compelled to pray for both Israelis and Palestinian to meet the Jewish Messiah without whom they will never be able to reconcile.
Israeli children are not an obstacle to peace in the Middle East anymore than Israel is. Palestinian blindness and generational indoctrination against the Jews IS THE OBSTACLE.

October 4, 2013 By Olivier Melnick 3 Comments

The Two Roads to our Destruction: Appeasement and Enablement!

It has now become pretty obvious to the civilized world that the “Arab Spring” has not accomplished the somewhat Utopian emancipation expected by the Muslim world. Shortly after the people’s revolts in various countries such as Lybia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and others, we found out that the Muslim Brotherhood, Al- Qaeda or subsidiaries of either had taken over.
Just days after Lybian dictator Colonel Gaddafi was killed, the Al-Qaeda flag was flying high in Lybia. Egypt ousted Mubarak to quickly find itself under the Qur’anic grip of Mohammed Morsi. Even though Morsi was recently deposed and the Muslim Brotherhood banned from all operations, it is very likely that underground operations from Islamists will only increase in intensity and frequency. The Syrian civil war is no exception. Assad desperate attempt at retaining or regaining power has seen the loss of so many innocent lives. Yet we see another dictator fighting rebels who are nothing but Al-Qaeda operatives. Islam continues to advance and erode the very foundation of Western civilization.
Islam was last officially defeated in Europe 150 years ago at the Battle of Vienna that took place on September 11, 1863. It is the date that most serious historians agree upon as the start of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. But if one knows anything about Islam, it is clear that their only viable outcome is Islamic world domination under a global caliphate. For that goal to be attained, the West, Christianity and the Jews must be eradicated, end of story! The Qur’an is clear about Islam’s superiority over “all other religions” (Suras 61:9, 48:28, 9:3) as we can read from this translation (approved by Saudi Arabia):
61:9 He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islamic monotheism) to make it victorious over all (other) religions even though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad) hate (it). (Hilali and Khan, The Noble Qur’an, Riyadh: Darussalam, 1996).
So how much involvement should the West have in the Middle East blood bath towards hegemony? How thin do the United States want to spread themselves militarily before we become a totally indefensible country, or are we already there? How do we go about stopping this ideology of destruction from taking deeper root in the Western soil of democracy and tolerance? Two things have to stop in order for Islamism to fail:

• APPEASEMENT: For one thing, we cannot afford to continue appeasing countries like Iran. Diplomacy didn’t work with Hitler. Well, at least not for the Allies and certainly not for the Jewish people. Diplomacy WILL NOT work with Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t have been clearer in his recent address to UN when he said:

“Ladies and gentlemen, Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map. Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself. I want there to be no confusion on this point. Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet, in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others” (full transcript here).

Netanyahu’s assessment of Iran’s president Rouhani is spot on when he says that:“Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf’s clothing but Rouhani is a wolf in sheep’s clothing”

Appeasement will never work with those who live AND die for the day of our complete annihilation.

• ENABLEMENT: Worse than appeasement is enablement. Why in the world did the United States commit to finance Muhhamed Morsi with $1.5 billion in aid ($1.3 for armament)? No matter which way you look at this, it is a case of the United States enabling the Muslim Brotherhood to further their agenda that includes the destruction of America. The Obama administration is currently reviewing the possibility of stopping our financial aid to Egypt, but that would mean that the US endorsement of Morsi’s election as a democratic move within the Arab Spring was a mistake. We know how much our current president loves to be proven wrong.

A similar scenario is under way with Syria, where we are caught between a rock and a hard place. It looks like we have chosen to support the rebels (Al-Qaeda operatives) against the evil dictator Assad. The problem is that those rebels will not miss a beat when the opportunity comes for them to hit Americans either in the Middle East or on US soil. That is of course after they have done all they could to eradicate Israel from the map (Good luck with that if you read Jeremiah 31:35-37):

35 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name:
36 “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.

But there is something more we can do to impair the progress of the enemies of the West, and it can be learned from the recent move made by Tunisia, where the Enahda Party, which is part of the global Muslim Brotherhood has agreed to step down from the Tunisian political scene as the ruling party. Yes, you are reading this properly – a Middle Eastern country taken over by a “Sharia imposing” political party is actually regaining ground towards a balanced government. The question remains: “How did it happen?”

It seems that it was because of the unity of the people against the repressive government. There was enough interest from the people to unite against their common enemy and set aside their differences, and it seems to be working, at least for now. Several unlikely political factions chose to join forces to put an end to the Islamist ruling in Tunisia.

Unity cannot happen if some believe in appeasement and others don’t, and likewise, it is bound to fail is some are enabling and some are not!

We must all have the same agenda in unity against the oppressors. We must also realize that the opposite of dictatorship is not necessarily democracy as we see that in the Middle East most dictatorships have been replaced by intolerant and violent theocracies.

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