Olivier Melnick

October 12, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

The Perennial Scapegoating and Demonizing of the Jews

The Jews make the only people group that has been accused of almost all the ills of the world in the last 2000 years. They have been accused of killing Christian children at Passover, poisoning the wells of Europe to cause the Black Plague, lending money at high interest rates, not to mention the Crucifixion of the Messiah.

There is a unique predicament that Jewish people find themselves in. Not only have they continually been accused of many ills, but they are often equally found guilty on either side of an issue. In the first half of the twentieth century, Jews were accused of being communists and socialists and while, some adhered to the ideology by personal convictions, Communism was never exclusive to the Jewish people. At the same times, the Jews were also accused of being capitalists. Again, while Capitalism has definitely benefited Jewish people and we can honestly say that many Jewish people have a shrewd sense of business and profit, Capitalism isn’t exclusive to the Jews.

Strangely enough, when it comes to scapegoating the Jews, common sense has no place in the rhetoric of the antisemite. Irrationality reigns in a world dominated by those who seek to fault the Jews, any chance they have.

A recent example is the confirming of Supreme Court Justice Brent Kavanaugh. The process by which he was confirmed was a painful reminder of how far we have gone with the polarization of America. It had nothing to do with any Jewish conspiracy focused on taking over the world, and yet the Jews have recently been accused of being behind it. This takes us back to the “global Jewish takeover” hoax known as “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.” first published in 1904 by Russian Sergei Neilus. It was and continues to be believed as truth by antisemites.

Days after Brent Kavanaugh was confirmed, people at both UC Davis and Berkeley in California, posted antisemitic flyers accusing Jews of being behind Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The text said, “Every time some anti-white, anti-American, anti-freedom event takes place, you look at it and it’s Jews behind it.” Around the text, you can see mugshots of Jewish members of Congress with stars of David on their foreheads, George Soros and a few Gentiles with “Good Goy” written on their foreheads were also part of the design. The posters were apparently produced by the “Daily Stormer Book Club”, a neo-nazi organization. They were quickly removed and the schools denounced the antisemitic actions.

What most people missed though is the fact that the “Jews” accused of being behind the confirmation were all Democrats, and as liberals, they fought against Judge Kavanaugh, not in favor of him. Even billionaire George Soros who has Jewish blood is known for financing a lot of anti-conservative events.

Once again, ignoring the truth, antisemitism’s goal is to demonize the Jews. Those who fought Brent Kavanaugh to the end included all kind of people. Some were Jewish some weren’t, but those who were Jewish instantly became guilty. Guilty of what, you might ask since they actually supported the people who didn’t want Kavanaugh to become the next Supreme Court Justice? Guilty of being Jewish, which in the eyes of the antisemites seems to be all they need!

September 19, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Can a Biblical Zionist Love the Palestinians?

Whenever one puts biblical, Zionist and Palestinian in the same sentence, definitions are in order. Unity might never be fully achieved, but it should never be because of lack of clarity. First, what I mean by biblical is “in accordance with the biblical record” that as far as I understand includes the sixty-six books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. As far as a fair definition of Zionism, lest I’d be accused of any bias as a Jew, I prefer to give a plain dictionary definition of the word as, “a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann.”

Now, for the definition of who is a Palestinian, it gets a little tricky. Again, for the sake of clarity, I will say, “any physical descendant of the various Arab inhabitants of the Land of Israel known as Palestine prior to 1948.” While I do not believe that tracing the Palestinian people historically is possible, we must recognize that Arabs born in the Land of Israel when it was still known as Palestine are real people, not responsible for the conflict in which they were born. We must not forget that Palestine as a word was introduced by the Roman empire at the time of the Bar Kohba Revolt in AD 132 (A failed Jewish revolt against Rome.) To humiliate the Jewish people, Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina and Israel became known as Palaestina. Unfortunately, the word stuck and until 1948, “Palestine” was the word used to describe the geographical area that has always been known as Israel before. Eventually, under the leadership of Yassir Arafat and subsequent “Palestinian” leaders, the etymology of the word was expanded to mean both a land AND a people, a political claim that cannot be proven historically, archeologically, culturally or biblically.

Logically, we now need to look at what defines a “biblical Zionist.” We often hear the words “Christian” and “Zionist” put together to describe someone who would consider himself a follower of Yeshua (Jesus) and a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people’s right to the land. I prefer the term “biblical” to “Christian” as it pertains to those who love and support Israel. Unfortunately, in the last few years, many people who call themselves Christians have displayed quite a bit of antisemitism and have supported faulty views like Replacement Theology or Christian Palestinianism. We also need to mention the recent upsurge of support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement from several mainline Christian denominations.

The biblical Zionist position is usually taken as a result of one’s eschatological (End-Times) perspective and/or theological approach. Many evangelical Christians have supported Israel over the years, seeing that God is not finished with the Jewish people and has never fully fulfilled His promise given to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:1-3. That same promise was ratified as a covenant known as the Abrahamic Covenant with a promise of a seed, a land and a blessing. At the signing of the covenant made between God and Abram (Genesis 15:7-19,) no conditions were made, but specific land boundaries were given, that incidentally are much larger than current Eretz Yisrael. When God specifically gave Abram the boundaries of the land He was giving him, He simply stated, “To your descendants, I have given this land.” When Abraham’s son Isaac settles in Gerar instead of moving to Egypt God repeats the promises of the Covenant He made with Abraham (Gen 26:1-4,) Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
Furthermore, in Genesis 28:13-15, the Abrahamic Covenant is reconfirmed through Isaac’s son Jacob where the same land (vv. 13, 15) spoken of prior, is promised to Jacob and his descendants, as it was promised to Isaac before. It continues to be unconditionally given as we know through the biblical record that Jacob lied to his father about his birthright. Apparently, it was in God’s plan to have Jacob and not Esau inherit the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant from Isaac. So biblically speaking, the descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and through Jacob can only be the Jewish people.

The biblical Zionist’s love for Israel and the Jewish people is a result of his understanding of the eternal, unconditional and unilateral Abrahamic Covenant and its three promises made that were later amplified in three other unconditional covenants known as the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Ezekiel 16:53-63,) the Davidic Covenant (II Samuel 7:11-16,) and the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34.)

But the great love that biblical Zionists display for Israel and the Jewish people should not be exclusive, and it should extend to all, even those who have been indoctrinated to hate and destroy Israel. In the words of Yeshua in Matthew 5:44, we read, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This absolutely doesn’t imply that all Palestinians today hate the Jews, as we should never paint with broad strokes. Yet, as difficult as it might be to fulfill that command, for those who take the Bible seriously, it is a command nonetheless.

So YES, a biblical Zionist not only can but should love the Palestinians. Over the years, I have found that to love Israel one doesn’t have to hate the Palestinians, but sadly, the opposite is seldom true!

August 25, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

UNHRC: Actions Speak Louder Than Words!

Recently, the United States decided to leave the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council.) United Nation US Ambassador Nikki Haley shared the reason in a statement where she said: “For too long, the Human Right Council has bee a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.” Many have seen the move as a retreat, but Miss Haley clearly stated that the move was anything but a retreat. It was because the United State would no longer be part of a hypocritical UN organization that allows for a myriad of human rights violations, elects human rights violators to the UNHRC and has a chronic bias against Israel.

The UNHRC was created by the UN General Assembly in early 2006 through UN Resolution 60/251. It comprises 47 seats from five different regional groups. Commendable aspirations were laid out in the text of the resolution: “Emphasizing the responsibilities of all States, in conformity with the Charter, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language or religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” In reality, the UNHRC was a hypocritical body bent on finding fault with Israel at any chance they had. The UNHRC has proven over and over again that actions speak louder than words.

In its first year of business, the Council only found fault with Israel and did not condemn one other of the 193 countries of the world. According to UNWatch.org, Israel is the only country that is on the council’s permanent agenda, almost as if the UNHRC was created with the sole purpose of demonizing Israel. The council has found fault with Israel repeatedly while blindly exonerating Hamas and Hezbollah. It could be argued that not only are they anti-Israel but that they possibly support terrorism.

In leaving the UNHRC, the United States made a bold move signifying that the days of letting Israel being accused of human rights violation while looking the other way when obvious violators act with impunity are over. Some politicians including John Kerry had spoken against the bias on occasions, but these apparently were just words. Over 50% of the governments sitting on the council are considered repeat offenders when it comes to human rights violations. Like China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, to name just a few, they are either totalitarian regimes or “non-democracies.”

Actions speaking louder than words actually works both ways. The United States took a stand a few weeks ago when it decided to leave the UNHRC. Some called it a cowardly move or a move that would be detrimental to human rights, I beg to differ! Miss Haley, representing the United States was led by integrity and ethics in a genuine effort to unmask the hypocrisy, especially when it comes to Israel, the only democracy of the Middle East. But while walking out sends a message, defunding will go much deeper.

In another blow to the UN, US National Security Adviser, John Bolton just announced the United States decision to defund the UNHRC. According to John Bolton, the US pays 22% of the UN budget and it would calculate how that relates to the funds given to the UNHRC and defund them. Hopefully, the world will start taking notice of the anti-Israel bias from the UN and the UNHRC and speak up.

The current administration has been one of the strongest friends of Israel in decades. With the recent decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, President Trump received praises but also a lot of criticism. Undoubtedly, the UNHRC walk-out and defunding will generate a lot of criticism, especially from those who loathe Israel. It was the ethical thing to do and time will show it. It is time for the hypocrisy to end!

August 8, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

How “Jewish Christian” became an oxymoron!

There are words that just don’t co-exist very well, and “Jewish Christian” is definitely one of these dysfunctional couples that we call oxymorons. People say that you cannot be Jewish and Christian at the same time, because the two terms are mutually exclusive. Christians are often confused about Jewish people who have placed their trust in Yeshua (Jesus), while most Jews are simply upset that other Jews who trust Yeshua would dare to continue calling themselves Jewish, so definitions are in order.

We first hear the term “Christian” in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. A simple definition of the term would be “a follower and disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth.” The word Christian comes from the word “Christ” which is the English translation of the Greek “Christos”, or Hebrew “Mashiach”, meaning “Messiah” or “anointed.” Becoming a Christian involves a decision on the part of the person to follow the teachings of Yeshua (Jesus) and obey His commands. One is not born a Christian since it requires an act of the will to become one.

As to who is Jewish, many interpretations have surfaced over the centuries, trying to define who is a Jew. From having two Jewish parents to just one, particularly a mother who is Jewish, or even just grand-parents. Some say that you have to be religious or live in Israel or even both. What about one who converts to Judaism, does that act make them Jewish?

Biblically speaking, a Jewish person is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the Bible, the lineage went through the father or both parents. The change to being Jewish if the mother is Jewish was a medieval rabbinic decision made at a time when many Jewish villages were pillaged, men killed and women raped. In fear of losing their Jewish identity and the Jewish people as a whole, rabbis decided that if a woman was Jewish, the child from their womb had to be as well. This wasn’t a bad decision from the standpoint of preserving the Jewish people, but it departed from the biblical definition when for some Jewish people it became exclusive.
Regardless of being from one parent or both, or even just through the mother, were are faced with a further need for defining who is a Jew, simply because too often people confuse Judaism and Jewishness. A clear understanding of both terms will help us with many misconceptions.

When one speaks of being Jewish, it is implied that they speak of their Jewishness which is an ethnic identity carried through the bloodline and coming from Jewish biological parents. There is nothing one can do to lose their Jewish bloodline connection. One is born a Jew and regardless of their level of observance, they will die a Jew. It could be argued by some that a “good Jew” is one that practices Judaism, but logic dictates that by these standards, even if you are not a “good Jew”, you remain a Jew. This leads us to the need for defining the word “Judaism.”

Judaism is a religion or a set of spiritual beliefs that one adheres to, to the best of their ability. Within Judaism, there are different levels of observance from very nominal to ultra-religious, and everything in between. The practice of Judaism isn’t simply reserved to those who were born ethnically Jewish (Jewishness), but rather it is made available to all who choose to place themselves under the regulations of the Mosaic Law. So, you can be a Jew practicing some level of Judaism or a gentile doing the same, without ever losing your ethnic identity. By the same logic, A Jewish person can also choose to practice Hinduism or Buddhism and continue being Jewish ethnically.

Over the years, the only faith that has become taboo for Jewish people is Christianity, and frankly, this has a lot to do with what happened to Jewish people over the centuries in the name of “Christ.” Consider the names that my people were called by some of the early Church Fathers who–while they helped structure and protect early Christianity–also left a stain on the Jewish psyche. Jewish people have been called:
• MURDERERS (Origen)
• CHRIST KILLERS (St Hyppolitus)
• POSSESSED BY THE DEVIL (Chrysostom)
• DEGENERATE (Chrysostom)
• CURSED BY GOD (Hilary of Poitiers)
• DEMONS (Gregory of Nyssa)
• REJECTED AND CONDEMNED (Martin Luther)

To add insult to injury, my people have also been accused of many ills over the centuries. We have been accused of using the blood of Christian children for Passover rituals, poisoning the wells of Europe to start the Black Plague, attempting to take over the world, controlling the banks, having horns and a vile stench. All these false accusations can easily be debunked, even though people an increasingly less interested in factual truth when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people.
So the word Jewish Christian did become an oxymoron for two reasons. First, because people do not have a clear understanding of the difference between Jewishness and Judaism. Second, because much harm has been done to my people over the centuries in the name of Christianity. But just because many have misrepresented true biblical Christianity to the Jews, it doesn’t take away what real Christianity stands for.

The Jewish Messiah can be found all over the Tanach (Old Testament) in places such as Genesis 3:15; 49:10, Psalm 22, Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 52:13-53-12 and Zechariah 12:10 to name just a few. True Christianity is simply a healthy and balanced fulfillment of biblical Judaism.

So maybe “Jewish Christian”–not my favorite choice of words to start with– isn’t such an oxymoron after all! Remember that Jewishness is on the inside and Judaism is on the outside, and they are not necessarily connected. Christianity is a faith and Jewishness is an ethnic state. They absolutely do not have to be mutually exclusive!

July 16, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Haman, Hitler and BDS: We should know better!

What do the book of Esther, the Nuremberg Laws of 1933 and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement have in common? A lot more than meets the eye! There is a theme found in Esther about Haman’s disdain for the Jewish people that is quite unique in the biblical record. We find the first step in Chapter 3 where Haman puts his curse against the Jews in motion, and because of one Jew, namely Mordecai, Haman seeks to destroy all of them. We start seeing the irrational behaviors promoted by an anti-Semitic heart. Haman seeks to destroy all the Jews of the Persian Empire (at that time the vast majority of the Jews lived in the Persian empire, thus Haman sought to kill ALL THE JEWS). In a sense, Haman tries to make anti-Semitism a government-sanctioned policy

After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. (Esther 3:1-2, 6-5)

Furthermore, he proceeds to give the reason why the Jews are not wanted in Ahasuerus’ kingdom, and that is simply because they are different from everybody else and Haman feels that they just don’t fit.

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. (Esther 3:8)

Haman realizes that his endeavor will require some logistical finesse, so he asks the king to issue a decree for the destruction of the Jewish people. He even offers to finance the carnage.

“If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business,…And letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.
(Esther 3:9-13)

Fast forward to 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced and Jewish people lost their citizenship. Marriage and/or sexual relations between Jews and Aryans were prohibited and severely punished. Additionally, guidelines were created to determine who in Germany would qualify as a “mischling” (half breed) and who wouldn’t. The Nuremberg Laws would set the stage for the final delegitimization of the Jewish people before the Final Solution could be implemented. By 1935, Hitler was solidly established in power. Few, if any, would dare to contradict him. His obsession with the “Jewish problem” would soon lead him to the next step in his attempt at the destruction of European Jewry. While the outcome was unfortunately different in each case, the process by which Haman sought to annihilate the Jews as seen in various verses of Esther 3 and the one used by Hitler have many similarities:

One Man’s jealousy led into uncontrolled hatred (Esther 3:5) – Hitler was obsessed with the destruction of all Jews.
Targeted hatred became global hatred (Esther 3:6, 13) – Nazis would go out of their ways and way beyond Germany to go get Jewish people and bring them to the camps.
Hatred was apparently caused because of non-conformity (Esther 3:8) – The “Aryan race” and the now debunked science of Eugenics very precisely categorized the Jews as a sub-human race.
Attempted annihilation of the Jews was structured and organized (Esther 3:9-13) – “The final solution to the Jewish Question”– a euphemism for the Holocaust, was a very well oiled machine that took the life of 6,000,000 in a very short period of time. Nazi Germany utilized the European railroads to go find Jews as far as the trains would allow them to go.
Funds were spent and financial wealth was provided for the perpetrators (Esther 3:9, 4:7) – Hitler used a lot of his resources to get the Jews, to the point where he lacked many of them during the Russian campaign at the end of World War Two.

We can clearly see the correlation between Haman’s attempt to annihilate the Jews and Hitler’s evil agenda of death, but what about the current BDS movement? BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti doesn’t even hide the fact that the ultimate goal of BDS is the eradicaton of Israel. BDS is another way to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the global community in the name of human rights and social justice. Yet, under this self-righteous veneer of human rights activism, is a new brand of antisemitism. Whole countries are now starting to follow suit. Ireland just passed a law to Boycott Israeli products from Israeli settlements.

Just like Haman and Hitler, BDS proponents are:

• Trying to make anti-Semitism a government-sanctioned policy

• Painting the Jewish people as misfits of society as Israel “occupies Palestine.”

• Recruiting the help of willing promoters and seeking financial back-up anywhere they can find it.

Satan, the ultimate enemy of the Jews is constantly re-inventing himself to further demonize and ostracize Israel. Ideologically, BDS is an extension of Hitler’s agenda which was parallel to Haman’s agenda. BDS is a lot more than an economic, academic or entertainment boycott. People need to dig a bit deeper to see the real motives of that sick movement.
Incidentally, when we are told by BDS to stop buying Israeli products, we should do the exact opposite and support Israel’s economy. How? It is quite simple. Go to a BDS website and buy the exact products they tell you to stay away from. They’ve done all the work for you!

Subscribe to our Daily Devotions

Archived Articles

Tags