Antisemitism

August 8, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Israel and Palestine: Understanding the Difference!

Most people today have the wrong understanding of the terms Israel and Palestine, and this leads to much confusion, not to mention allegiance to the wrong groups of people, based on a false narrative. The first thing to understand is that Biblically speaking, Israel can mean the Jewish people or the Land of Israel. When referring to the geographical boundaries of a piece of land given by God to Abraham and his descendants, it is called by many names including “Israel,” “Land of Promise,” “Canaan,” “the United Kingdom” and “the Divided Kingdom.” Specifically, when referring to the Northern Kingdom, the name Israel is used. For instance, in 2 Samuel 2:9, we read “He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel.” Additionally, in Hosea 5:3, we also read “I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself.”

The same Abrahamic Covenant from which we draw the definition of a Jew, also tells us that God has promised a land to the Jewish people with some very detailed boundaries. In Genesis 12:7, God is brief and to the point: “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” He repeats that promise in Genesis 13:15 and gives the details in Genesis 15:18-21:”On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

Based on the fact that the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional AND eternal, that promise is still intact today. Following the biblical boundaries of Genesis 15, it is clear that Israel’s biblical makeup has yet to be fulfilled. The current borders based on 1948, 1967 or any other “agreements” come nowhere near God’s promised real estate boundaries found in the Bible. Based on these biblical facts, I disagree with the term “Occupied Territories” and prefer to call them the “Disputed Territories.” Israel today is about the size of New Jersey and when its full borders will be fulfilled in the Messianic kingdom, it will be as large as twice the state of Texas.

Biblically speaking, Israel is also the name given to Jacob after he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord at Bethel; and, incidentally, this passage in Genesis 35:9-12, is another place where God re-confirms His promise of a Jewish people and their own land: “Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. “The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you.” (The same promise is also reflected in Genesis 32:28, 1 Kings 18:31 and 2 Kings 17:34.)

Since its modern rebirth as a State, Israel as a piece of land has become a bone of contention for the whole world. The modern Palestinian people, in particular, claim historical ownership of that land reaching back prior to the Jewish people. The current issue lies with the idea that the Palestinian people ARE an ethnic group, something that is no longer disputed by the vast majority of the world, but is it true? Is it based on facts or fiction? Further investigation is needed to establish the meaning of the word “Palestine” and to assess the validity of such a claim.

To better understand the true meaning of Palestine, we must go back in history quite a bit earlier than the mid-1960s. While the exact origin of the name Palestine is still debated, there are aspects of the word’s meaning that we can know for sure. It possibly once described a people group known as the Philistines, but that people group was in no way connected to the current era Palestinians – not ethnically, not linguistically, not historically and not culturally. In A.D. 132, a Jewish revolt took place against the Romans. It was known as the Bar Kochba revolt (Bar Kochba was a false messiah in Israel at the time ). In a nutshell, things didn’t end well for the Jewish people; and in addition to a bloodbath of gigantic proportions, Israel was renamed Palaestina by the Romans. The rebranding of the Land with the name of their enemies, the Philistines, was an effort to undermine Jewish history and humiliate the Jewish people further. Additionally, at the time, Jerusalem was also renamed Aelia Capitolina by emperor Hadrian. The name Palestine stuck and continued to be used after that time. It is nowhere found in the Bible except for the maps section at the end of each Bible; but, of course, these are not inspired.

When the British were in control from 1922 to 1948, the area was governed under what was known as the British Palestine Mandate. In the original text of the Mandate itself, dated 1922, we can read:”Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”

I must clarify that I do not have an issue calling Israel “Palestine” as long as it is a description of the landmass of Israel prior to 1948. Up to that time in history, the term “Palestine” simply described a piece of land in the Middle East. Even after Israel became a State in 1948 and the name Eretz Yisrael started being used, the word “Palestine” was not an issue for anybody; it was more or less an outdated name for the land of Eretz Yisrael. It is after that time, and under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, that the definition for Palestine went from geographical to political, in an attempt to describe a displaced people group named “the Palestinians”, in need of their “ancestral” homeland. Before the 1960s, historical documents were replete with descriptions of Israel as Palestine, such as the British Palestine Mandate already mentioned. Israeli stamps, coins and newspaper said “Palestine” and nobody cared.

If we take a look at article 4 of that Mandate, we also find two words in the same passage that any modern-day Palestinian would be hard pressed to associate in a positive light: Palestinian and Zionist. Yet, in the context of the original Mandate, it was to the current leaders of the Zionist movement that the administration and government of Palestine were entrusted, as we can read: “An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognized as a public body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the Administration to assist and take part in the development of the country. The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty’s Government to secure the cooperation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.”

So, until the early 1960s, Palestine was always synonymous with Israel, the Jewish State. Arabs in neighboring countries never called themselves Palestinians, but rather Syrians, Lebanese, Jordanians, Egyptians, etc. Most Arabs in the early 1900s would have argued that Palestinian Arabs were simply Syrians as Mitchell Bard documents in his well-researched book Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He writes: “Prior to partition, Palestinian Arabs did not view themselves as having a separate identity. When the First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations met in Jerusalem in February 1919 to choose Palestinian representatives for the Paris Peace Conference, the following resolution was adopted: We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds.”

While God uses different names for the Land of Israel such as “The Land of Canaan” (Genesis 17:8), “The Promised Land” (Genesis 50:24) or even “The Land” (Exodus 6:8), nowhere in the Bible is Israel ever called Palestine even once.
As a matter of fact, even the Qur’an (Sura Maida 5:21-22) mentions the “Holy Land” in the context of Moses and the spies preparing to enter the Land of Canaan; but never does it call it Palestine. Jerusalem isn’t even mentioned by name in the Qur’an.

Until the mid-1960s, the name Palestine was always synonymous with Israel in one way or another. It described the same piece of real estate that became the Jewish State in 1948. As we just saw, Palestine, as a legitimate country for a displaced people known as the Palestinians, was introduced and heavily promoted by the late Yasser Arafat, who started and headed the Palestinian Liberation Organization until his death in 2004. Somehow, a revived anti-Jewish agenda was growing fast globally. This was partially as a response to what was seen as a Zionist existential threat to the Arabs, where Jewish settlers and pioneers were perceived as land grabbers willing to stop at nothing – including the killing of many Arabs – to colonize Palestine. This is a false claim since many Jewish settlers bought malaria-infested swamps at a price up to ten times the price of fertile land in America. Jews were accused of stealing land from local Arabs, but only 45,000 acres were acquired without a sale – through governmental agreement – out of 463,000 acres acquired. The rest was purchased and much of it at a very high price.

Today, nobody questions the etymology of the word “Palestine” and that is a shame. What is really sad, is that the Arab refugees who were forced by their own countries to remain in Israel post 1948, ended up having children who then had children. These innocent subsequent generations have been labelled Palestinians for political gain. They are real people who deserve a real home and a decent life. Backtracking to pre-198 “Palestine” would connect them all with one or another of the neighboring Arab countries, but that doesn’t serve the world’s current agenda of Israeli occupation, colonization and ethnic cleansing, does it?

August 1, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

There is a precedent for blind conformism, and you won’t like it!

The dictionary defines a conformist as:“A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group”, and conformism as:” the tendency to adopt the attitudes, behavior, dress, etc, of the group to which one belongs.” In and of itself, conformism is neutral, it is just an action by someone in an effort to fit within a certain community, movement or group. When conformism becomes very dangerous, is when people conform to ideals or rules that are anti-constitutional or totalitarian.

People will conform for many reasons. Some will conform to fit in and be accepted by their community and peers. That is when conformity meets compromise. Others will conform simply by personal choice because they desire to make a change in their lifestyle that they deem necessary. There is yet another group of conformists; those who conform in fear for their lives as they are being forced by some sort of authority to do so. Fear is a powerful deterrent. When people conform out of fear, they usually do not realize that they are being conditioned for something bigger or for a later crisis. Are we being conditioned and if yes, for what? I understand that some people will think that I am over-reacting or seeing things that are not real. But please, bear with me!

There is a saying that goes like this:” Everybody called Noah a conspiracy theorist…until it started to rain!” Let me explain conditioning and conformism in a way that should clarify why I am very concerned about the current situation.

During the early stages of WW2, most of the world wouldn’t even believe that the Nazi war machine would be capable of such a carnage as the Holocaust. European Jews were slowly asked to comply with local authorities. “It is for your own safety!” They were told. So, as my paternal grandfather (who fought the great war of 1914-1918) did in Paris, Jews started to comply with the local authorities and slowly brought their radio sets to their police stations, not fully realizing that they were willingly disconnecting themselves from the world and the news.

Soon after that, my grandfather followed his people and brought his bicycle to the nearest police station, conforming to what was expected of him and the Jewish community “for their own safety”, again not fully realizing that their movement were being crippled as they all became forced pedestrians. The radios and bicycles were two of the many thin slices cut off the long salami of freedom. You cut enough thin slices one at a time and people don’t really notice until the salami is all gone. Pardon the analogy!

Then came the bolder moves. Jews had to have their ID cards stamped in red with the added name of “Sarah” for women and “Israel” for Men, as an easier way to identify them on the streets of Europe. But eventually, this was not enough. The authorities needed a way to identify Jews at a glance, so the 12th century French yellow circle known as “la rouelle”, previously used to identify Jews during the Middle Ages, was re-introduced. This time the color was the same, but the shape shifted. Enter the yellow star with the word “JEW” on it. But not to worry, it was for their own safety! My mother remembered having to take the last car on the subway as she was forced to display the infamous yellow patch that she had sewn on all her garments. I remember her telling me that at the risk of getting caught and possibly killed, she always worked hard at covering it up with a scarf.

Yet again, keeping Jews in their homes crippled and uninformed wasn’t enough, so we started to see the organizing of large, forced Jewish communities, contained behind walls. The Ghetto was reborn (it originally was created in Venice, Italy in 1516.) Jews became segregated in large numbers in various Eastern European ghettos in cities like Lodz and Warsaw. But it was for their own safety! Yeah right! Ghetto life was unhealthy, dangerous and infested with diseases. Death was running rampant.

But the answer to “the Jewish question” wouldn’t come until the Wannsee Conference when Hitler and his people decided to implement the Camps. First internment, then forced labor and eventually, the gas chambers and crematoriums. Was it still for our own safety? “Just bring in your radio sets”, they said. How did we get to the gas chambers from there? Conformism, compliance and blind obedience! But what does it have to do with 2020?
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that as the world is confining and conforming, we are being conditioned and prepared for the coming of the Antichrist and the New World Order. I have believed that this was coming since my early days as a believer in the mid-80s, but I didn’t think that I would live through its birth pangs.

I feel that it is important at this point to re-iterate the fact that as a Bible believing follower of Yeshua, I also am convinced that the event known as the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:15-16; 1 Cor. 15:52), will take place before the event known as the seven-year Great Tribulation and the 1,000-year long Millennial Kingdom (also known as the Messianic Kingdom.) This being said, there is no indication in the Bible that things will not become increasingly difficult and even violent before the events of the Great Tribulation. Current world events seem to indicate that.

What I see happening around the world in general, and in America in particular, is a conditioning of the people through fear. Covid-19 showed up and we were all told to stay put for 14 days. Don’t quote me wrong, I do believe in the real danger posed by the virus, but how it has been handled is cause for great concern The first shelter-in-place order was in California on March 16, 2020. The 14 days of confinement and social distancing have turned into 123 days SO FAR, with no sight of return to normal in sight. Each state has its own regulations, but for the most part, people are being forced to conform “for their own safety and the safety of others.”

First they asked us to stay home for two weeks for our own safety. Then we were asked to social distance for our own safety. Then we were told to wear masks in public places “for our own safety” to the point where some stores will refuse service if you do not wear a mask, not to mention the stink eye you get from people for not wearing one. Over 90% of people are wearing masks that offer zero protection from any kind of virus, let alone Covid-19. It is akin to throwing sand at a chain-link fence, most of it will go through. I see the masks as pure conditioning of the people.

So, when a vaccine is finally available, will you take it? what if the vaccine becomes the way you receive service from businesses, stores and restaurants? Remember, “it is for your own safety!” They closed the country, shut down the schools, churches, public gathering, and all this while instilling the fear of death and the fear of law-breaking in all good citizens. There is no sign of this changing at the very least until November 4th, but that’s a topic for another post.

We need to use common sense and be prudent. Social distancing is a good idea and washing hands has been a good thing since germs were discovered a very long time ago. Nothing new here! I am not certain that we can truly express our opinions and our freedom of choice anymore, but we must not be swayed in to thinking that this whole thing is for our own safety. It is much bigger than that. Not to mention the witch hunt against our current administration.

The Rapture and the Tribulation are real events. They will introduce a new player on the scene who is also spoken of in the Bible, that is the Antichrist. He too is very real and extremely dangerous, especially to the Jews but also to anyone who hasn’t placed their trust in Yeshua as their Messiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, John 3:16.) For believers today, we need to be reminded of Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

I only want to be conformed by the Holy Spirit to become more like Yeshua until I receive my eternal glorified body. In the meantime, my prayers for you and I is that we would use common sense and be bold about who we serve, who we bend the knee to and where we want to spend eternity.

July 25, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Black Lives Matter…Time to Connect the Dots!

A few weeks ago, I felt it necessary to expose some of the BLM agenda, and to also make it clear that the George Floyd murder was a tragedy. All along, I have supported equality and fought xenophobia. My commitment to fighting antisemitism has now entered its third decade. Being a French Jew who immigrated to America, I understand minorities and I understand racism. So, when the Black Lives Matter (BLM) started to come to the forefront of the News and picked up momentum, I originally agreed with the concept, even though as a strong believer in the message of the Bible, I am more than convinced that all lives matter. Unfortunately–as true as it might be– responding to the BLM people with an “All Lives Matter” answer, can sees simplistic and even offensive at times.

Let’s get passed the “Black Lives” versus “All Lives” debate for a mom and take a look at some of the connections that the BLM proponents have with other organizations. You might be surprised by what we discover. As I always explain, I am not interested in character assassination, but I simply want to expose the very words that BLM people are saying as well as the organizations they support and line-up with. After that, you will have to make your own decision as to the validity of the BLM movement in the current crisis. I will try to expose and connect the dots, and you will decide if it is only about bringing the overdue equality and justice to the black community. Time to connects some dots!

BLM is part of the larger M4BL: BLM is one of more than 150 organizations within the coalition known as Movement for Black Lives (M4BL.) M4BL was formed in 2014 to organize black communities in response to violence and inequality against them.

M4BL is antisemitic to the core: On their website, under invest/divest, they publish an article in their resources titled Cut Military Expenditures Brief that clearly tells it like it is. They promote cutting US military expenditures and reallocating the funds elsewhere. Interestingly enough, their second point reads: 3 billion dollars in US aid is allocated to Israel, a state that practices systematic discrimination and has maintained a military occupation of Palestine for decades.
Further in the document, they state: “The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people. The US requires Israel to use 75 percent of all the military aid it receives to buy US-made arms….The results of this policy are twofold: it not only diverts much needed funding from domestic education and social programs, but it makes US citizens complicit in the abuses committed by the Israeli government. Israel is an apartheid state with over 50 laws on the books that sanction discrimination against the Palestinian people. Palestinian homes and land are routinely bulldozed to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli soldiers also regularly arrest and detain Palestinians as young as 4 years old without due process. Everyday, Palestinians are forced to walk through military checkpoints along the US-funded apartheid wall.”
What we see here, is an adherence to the pro-Palestinian narrative of “ethnic cleansing” when they write about “the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.” Are any of these people aware that there are more Arabs inside Israel today than there were in 1948, when Israel was re-born as a modern nation. Incidentally, there are still less Jews in the world today than there were before the Holocaust (16,728.000 in 1939 and 14,700.000 in 2019.)

M4BL openly promotes BDS and Palestinianism: On the same document, titled “A Vision for Black Lives”, they offer some resources such as www.BDSmovement.net that makes you wonder what the connection is between BLM, M4BL and the Palestinian/BDS cause. They also offer another site linking the suffering of blacks at the hands of American police to that of Palestinians at the hand of Israeli soldiers at www.blackpalestiniansolidarity.com where you can read “In the course of resilience against the merciless edge of state-violence, protesters in Ferguson held up signs declaring solidarity with the people of Palestine. In turn, Palestinians posted pictures on social media with instructions of how to treat the inhalation of tear gas. …Since the devastating attacks on Gaza and in Ferguson, the assault on Black and Palestinian bodies has continued unabated. …We are making connections between the systems of violence and criminalization that makes Black and Palestinian bodies so easily expendable.

BLM participates in Pro-Palestinian rallies: On July 1, 2020 a BLM demonstration took place in Brooklyn, NY where both slogans “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were chanted. BLM proponents openly make connections between the “Palestinian struggle” and the “Black struggle”, clearly comparing apples to oranges. There is a desire for a strong intersectionality between the two groups, at the expense of the Jewish people and Israel.

BLM people accuse Police of being trained by IDF and using their anti-Palestinian methods on black people: After the tragic death of George Floyd murdered by a corrupt police officer, accusations started to come against the Police for brutality. It wasn’t long before the link was made between American police officers and IDF soldiers, claiming that the American Police had been trained by the Israeli Defense Forces on how to forcefully and brutally restrain people. There is no truth to that statement, it is pure libel.

BLM fights against anti-BDS laws: Up to 32 states have passed anti-BDS laws in the USA. They boldly denounce the hypocrisy and antisemitic agenda of the BDS movement and passed various laws to stop people from supporting the boycott and divestments against Israel.

Some BLM leaders are clearly showing their true colors: While the BLM movement claims to exist for the purpose of fighting racism, they don’t hesitate to partner with people whose definition of racism must not include antisemitism. A good example is Melina Abdulah who is a supporter of antisemitic nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. She has appeared at several of their rallies. She even went as far as defending his antisemitic actions. Ms. Abdulah was leading the BLM Los Angeles chapter when a few weeks ago the Fairfax Jewish community experienced what could only be described as a modern day pogrom.

BLM has a genocidal ideology: Some BLM proponents have recently voiced their support for “Free Palestine and the eradication of Israel, which pretty much means a Jewish genocide.

I could go on and connect more dots, but you get the ideas. What I get from all this, is that black lives seem to matter ONLY at the expense of other lives. It is not about true equality; it is about superiority! Frankly, I would not be surprised if the whole Jewish community would distance itself from the BLM movement, but it is not the case. I cannot for the life of me understand why the BLM movement gets the support of the National Council of Jewish Women. On their webpage, they express their support in words like, “For now, it is important to support Black and Brown communities and the leaders spearheading the peaceful, anti-racist responses unfolding.” There is nothing peaceful or anti-racist about much of the BLM actions.

None of us can truthfully claim that we are color blind when it comes to race, more should we. I have African, Asian, Hispanic and Middle Eastern friends. Sure, I see the color of their skin as they see the color of mine, but the color of one’s skin should always be trumped by the condition of one’s heart. It is only when we humans look at the heart that we can see who someone really is and what fruit they produce in society. When I look at the fruit produced by the BLM movement, I see mostly hatred, violence, racism, antisemitism and abuse.

The sad thing is that many people have no idea about the root of bitterness and anger that is feeding the BLM movement, so they support it blindly, convinced that they are doing it for a good cause. If the cause is equality for the black community, it is a great cause and I am so sad that it would even be a fight we need to fight in 2020. Unfortunately, I don’t see the BLM movement doing that. It divides, it hurst and it denigrates. Before you give BLM your support, please connect the dots!

July 17, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Defund the Police, Cancel the Culture and Eradicate Western Civilization!

When I see the on-going erosion of America, I am saddened, grieved and fearful for us all. Recently, each new day has had the potential of bringing more drama than the previous one, and from that standpoint it has succeeded. At the forefront of the news is the Black Lives Matter Movement. If you don’t support it, you are a racist and if you support it too strongly you are guilty of cultural appropriation. In places like Seattle (where I live), white people are being asked to “renounce their whiteness”. What is that supposed to mean? The corrupting and politicizing of the BLM Movement has taken over our country and is running wild. The original protests had great value, but we are so far removed from that now!

As a Jew, allow me to reflect on what my people have gone through and continue to go through. This is in no way an attempt at “one-upping” the African American community, but I simply wish to bring a little perspective to the whole issue of racism and inequality.

Let’s be real, the Jewish people have never been a people to take the streets and protest in ways that have been done by other minority groups. Outside of a few occasions like the Maccabean Revolt of 167-160 BC or the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, and maybe a few other isolated incidents, we don’t become belligerent, let alone violent, at the drop of a hat. In fact, the opposite might be true. During WW2, In an attempt at crippling their movements and communication, Jewish people were asked to bring their radio receivers to the police stations in Paris, they complied. When asked to bring their bicycles, they also complied. When confronted with the horrific news of the concentration camps at the beginning of the war, they refused to believe than human nature could be so evil…until it was way too late to reverse the Nazi death factories.

We have been persecuted, dehumanized, demonized, vilified and murdered for the last 2000 years and beyond. Over the years, we have been called many names, by many Church Fathers and blatant antisemites: 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), VERMIN and SUB-HUMANS (Hitler). Then, the modern Jew-haters continued to paint a picture that goes along the same lines as they call us OCCUPIERS, COLONIZERS, APARTHEID PEOPLE, BLOOD SUCKERS, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS, MURDERERS OF PALESTINIANS and NEW NAZIS OF THE MIDDLE EAST.

It is worthy to bring up the fact that the Bible calls the Jewish people by a very different set of names. We are called “The apple of God’s eye” in Zechariah 2:8, “the Daughter of Zion” in Zephaniah 3:14, “God’s chosen people” in 1 Kings 3:8, “A treasured possession” in Deuteronomy 7:6, “A holy people” also in Deuteronomy 7:6, “God’s hidden ones” in Psalm 83:3, “A great nation” in Genesis 12:2 and “Beloved” in Romans 11:28, to name just a few. This is not to imply that that because we are called “the Chosen People”, we are also chosen unto salvation and intern elite position. Tevye the dairyman from Fiddler on the Roof, said it well when he looked up in the sky and cried out to his maker, “God, I know that we are the Chosen People, but once in a while, could you chose somebody else?”

So, what if the Jewish people had started a Jewish Lives Matter movement? There is no doubt that we have a strong case for such a movement, because Jewish lives do matter, as do black lives and all lives for whatever it’s worth! But when I look at the way the BLM movement developed in the recent past and where it is going, I cannot help but think that it has increasingly less to do with the value of ALL black lives than the agenda of a few black lives and of those who exploit the whole “movement” for political gain.

America does have a history of racism, segregation and violence against the African American community. Nobody is denying that. Not only do we have a history, but in some places in the USA, racism against black still goes strong. I have personally experienced it when I heard some people I knew describe African Americans using the “n*****” word. I was livid! There is NO EXCUSE for that! Additionally, what has happened to African Americans recently because of some corrupt, vicious police officers is tragic, but it doesn’t warrant the defunding or cancelling of all police forces. By the same logic, if a few surgeons were guilty of lethal malpractice on people, we should defund all hospitals or at least prevent all surgeons from abusing people. The mistakes of the few should never force the resigning or bringing down of the many. There is always going to be a better way, through common sense, education, communication and true accountability, unless of course, the true agenda is hidden behind the veneer of social justice and reform. Frankly, I think that the BLM movement has ulterior motives.

Mind you, if the Jewish people decided to start a JLM movement and take it peacefully to the streets, they would be received with shouts of “Go back home”, “Jews to the ovens” or “Hitler didn’t do enough!” Why? Because these are exactly the words screamed at Jewish people when they are found peacefully marching on some streets of America, to show their support for Israel. It is actually a global phenomenon. Sadly, it appears that for a large segment of the American people–not to mention the rest of the world– Jewish lives do not matter that much. We are used to it, but that doesn’t make it right. You also will never see Jewish people on the streets of America defacing buildings, looting businesses or toppling down statues. Why? because these destructive acts do not solve anything. They might satisfy the animal instincts in some people, but they are simply destructive at best. Trying to erase history doesn’t solve the problem, teaching it properly might take us in the right direction. Again, the protests for justice and equality for the African American communities are justified and I would always support that, but the way they have been vastly infiltrated and politicized to destroy America from within is a disgrace. We are in grave danger of losing the “Land of Opportunity” that I moved to in 1985 as a legal immigrant from France. This breaks my heart!

If people were to seek what would constitute a worthy manifesto for the BLM or JLM movements, men of good will would inevitably converge onto the same body of work that has the strongest precedent for legal, spiritual and moral values; the Bible. Many people will actually quote principles and ideas taken straight from the Bible without even knowing that it is their source. When it comes to the value of human life, no literary work in the history of mankind, does even come close to the Bible. It is in this inspired book that we learn that:

• Humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)
• Human life is precious (Jeremiah 1:5; Leviticus 19:32)
• We are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18)
• God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34)
• All of us are in need of the same Redeemer (John 3:16)

To all those who are looking for change in America and are not necessarily handling the situation very well, I would like to remind them of a simple truth that comes from the Bible. Even to an agnostic or an atheist, that truth still stands. Matthew 7:12 tells us, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Could people ponder on that statement? Then, could anybody honestly say that breaking, looting and assaulting is what they also wish on themselves and members of their families? Of course not!

“Defund the Police” led to “Cancel the Culture” and could lead to “Eradicate Western Civilization!” We are imploding and all of our global enemies are watching us destroy each other with a huge smile on their faces. We are doing their work. Is this what America wants? I think not!

July 3, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Israel’s Right To The Land: Mystery Solved!

When the world struggles with a pandemic and increasing racial/cultural riots, Israel takes second place on the news. Don’t quote me wrong, there is still plenty of antisemitic rhetoric to be heard, and acts against Jews still abound. But, somehow, there had been a bit of a respite. That was until the approaching deadline for Israel’s annexation of territories from the West Bank became news. The day for the move was July 1st, but Benjamin Netanyahu decided to delay it a bit.

People have argued about the legitimacy of Israel in the land, pretty much officially since May 14, 1948, but the saga started way before. The 1917 Balfour Declaration followed by the 1920 San Remo Conference really made it clear that the land then known as “Palestine” belonged to the Jewish people. This led to the November 1947, United Nations vote to partition Palestine between Jews and Arabs. Palestine was only a name for a geographical area that comprised “Palestinian Jews” and “Palestinian Arabs” living in harmony or at the very least tolerating each other. And that was fine–not that I ever cared for the renaming of Eretz Yisrael to Palestine by the Romans in AD 135. But, for all intents and purposes, Palestine was just the name of a piece of land in the Middle East from AD 135 to 1948.

Eventually, it became a politically charged word, synonymous with the country of origin for a people known as the Palestinians. Yasir Arafat mastered that narrative to the day he died, and the baton was passed to Mahmoud Abbas who has shared the burden of promoting the same lies with Hamas. So, today, people around the world are buying into the narrative of “the Palestinian victims of occupation and ethnic cleansing by Israel.” It doesn’t matter if it is not true, it has become the new truth about the Middle East, and most people are OK with that. But, for those who really care about the truth, I would like to offer three reasons why Israel ownership of the whole Land is the only viable and legitimate solution.

Biblically, Israel owns the whole land: Going back to the book of Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. At that time, it was actually more of a promise. He promised him a great multitude of descendants in Genesis 12:2, “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing.” That promise also happened to be unconditional and eternal. The unconditionality of the Abrahamic covenant is a critical factor that cannot be ignored. In essence, there is nothing that Israel can do or should do to fulfill their part and keep the land. God simply said, “I will” and not” I will if you do”, and that is huge.

Later, God ratified the covenant in Genesis 15:18-21. In that passage, the list of people groups that God decided to turn into the “land of Canaan” (a euphemism for Eretz Yisrael) add up to a land mass that makes Israel the size of twice the state of Texas, as opposed to the current Israel that is about the size of New Jersey. These boundaries have never been fulfilled anytime that has been recorded in the Bible, and we know that it is an unconditional and unbreakable promise from God, so there is a guarantee that it will come in the future. Most Bible students believe that this will be fulfilled when Messiah (Yeshua) establishes His kingdom on earth at His return. The Jewish prophet Daniel speaks of that future time in Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Israel’s ownership of the land never negates the fact that God Himself declared that He is the ultimate owner, passing the deed down to the Jewish people as read 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.” Israel’s ownership of their ancestral, biblical land also doesn’t negate the rights of Arabs to exist and flourish in the region–not that Israel has ever been guilty of antagonizing the Arabs. They are welcome as Arabs if they opt to live in peace in Israel. The fact that many countries of origins for the Arabs that resided in pre-Modern Israel “Palestine” never wanted them back in 1948 is beyond the scope of this article.

Prophetically, Israel needs the whole land: There is an important factor that plays out in the future of the Jewish people. It is known as the Law of Return, that was passed in 1950 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament.) It allows Jewish people from all over the Diaspora to return to the land with certain [limited] benefits. Modern Israel has experienced various waves of emigration’s over the decades. Jewish people made Aliyah from the former Soviet Union as soon as a ban on Jewish refuseniks was lifted in 1971, and they continue to pour into Israel to this day. Then you have the Ethiopian Jews known as Falashas who started their emigration to Israel in 1977. A myriad of Jews from many countries have emigrated over the years and they form the unique fabric of the Israeli people. Most of these Jewish people are not necessarily religious. Only 15% of global Jews are religious all together.

Regardless of a lack of a biblical connection, the Jewish people are also promised by God that in the future they will all return to the land, even in unbelief. In other words, a Jewish person’s spiritual connection of lack of, to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has no bearing on God’s promise to bring the Jewish people back to the land in the last days. He will do it because of His holy name. The prophet Ezekiel told us of these days in Ezekiel 36:22-28, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went….For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land….You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

The Jewish people have started to return in large numbers over the last 10 years. Especially from Western Europe. Now, we need to understand that Western Europe is the home of many Jewish people who have live very comfortably there for decades. They have property, investments, wealth and even some deep roots and history. Yet, this is not preventing them from selling all and moving to Israel, France being at the forefront of these Jewish communities. Why? just one word: Antisemitism! The longest hatred has been on the rise as I have been documenting for the last 20 years. It is becoming increasingly unsafe for Jews anywhere in the world except Israel. As the Jews are currently making their way back home, Israel needs every square mile of land to accommodate for their return. Now is not the time to give away more land!

Geopolitically, Israel runs the whole land better: With their proverbial head in the sand, most people do not realize how much better life in Israel can be for all people. This tiny sliver of land in the Middle East truly is a beacon of light in a very dark place. It is recognized as the only true democracy in the whole region. Not that I would agree with every move that the Israeli government makes, but it is by far the healthiest group of political leaders in the region. Start with the fact that the Israeli Parliament is made of many political parties that have to always form a coalition to legally govern. Sure, this can get complicated as we have seen in the last series of elections that ended in an odd partnership between Gantz and Netanyahu. Add to that the fact that the Knesset includes Arab members. Yes, Arab members in the Israeli government…Now you have the Israeli government!

Where else in the Middle East can you find Jews in any of the other governments? Nowhere! Let’s be real, Arabs who live and work in Israel are often better treated than in their own countries, included the “Palestinian Territories.” Women have rights in Israel. Arab women have rights in Israel. Gays have the right to live in Israel without risking their lives (Tel Aviv is home to one of the largest Pride Parade in the world.) A wonderful example of that true “coexisting” is the story of the Israeli drink company SodaStream. Until they were forced by BDS people to move their factory to the south where the “Palestinians” couldn’t go work anymore, they employed Arabs, Jews and Bedouins in the same facility. Every single day, they all came to work in perfect harmony. Even some Arabs where the very supervisors of Jewish workers. SodaStream is the perfect example of how things can work in Israel for all parties.

No matter which direction the annexation of the West Bank goes and how long it takes to accomplish it, the only viable and legitimate solution for Jews and Arabs is an Israel where Jews can live in peace. If Jews can live in peace, they are the kind of accepting people that will allow anyone to live in harmony with them. Land for peace has never worked and the Oslo Accords are dead. The corrupt “Palestinian” leadership worships death in the midst of a vibrant culture that values life. There is a serious dichotomy here that doesn’t appear solvable. But, with God everything is possible. He also promised through the prophet Jeremiah to never forsake Israel or allow for its destruction in Jeremiah 31:35-37, “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: “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. 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.

So, what is so compelling about Israel ‘s right to the land? Any way you look at it, Israel owns the land, needs the land and manages the land better for all people in the region. That is of course if you are interested in the truth. If you believe otherwise, I have a very large and tall steel tower in Paris to sell you!

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