The Combined Threat of the Three Intifadas!

     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.

     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.

     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. 

     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!