Having spent the first 27 years of my life in France, I take pride saying that French people make the best pastries in the world, if not the best food overall. Culturally speaking, over the centuries, France has provided the world with some of the most talented artists, composers, writers, musicians and other creative minds. Frankly, even though I have now been an American citizen for almost eight years, I still very much appreciate my French heritage. There is truth in the statement”You can take me out of France but you can’t take France out of me!”.
This being said, there is one aspect of my heritage that I despise wholeheartedly, and that is the chronic anti-Semitism that has plagued the French people for centuries. Being born out of a Jewish family in Paris and having lost part of that family in the Holocaust, anti-Semitism has been a permanent dark cloud over my family and my people, and as it appears, the cloud is thickening and darkening on an almost daily basis in France. To be sure, France is a symptom of the disease and the rest of the world is certainly not imune.
We have heard from historians that before he was stopped, Hitler was only months away from acquiring the atomic bomb. Had he gotten his hands on the bomb, the consequences would have been catastrophic for Europe in general and Jewish people in particular. Then again if you ask me, for someone “without the bomb” he did a pretty thorough job in his attempt to completely annihilate European Jewry!
The question I have come to ask myself is: What would have Hitler done if he had the “cyber bomb” at his disposal?
Hitler might be long gone, but his disciples live on. Today’s anti-Semites might not be in a position to drop a nuclear warhead on the Jews (except maybe Iran on Israel if we don’t stop them very soon). Nevertheless, the advent of the Internet has allowed Jew haters to spread propaganda against my people at warp speed and to more people than Hitler could have ever dreamed of. The recruiting of a global army against the Jews has never been easier than in our age of world wide web, Internet and social medias. The technology is constantly moving forward, and the creative minds of those who seek to demonize the Jews are flowing with ideas. These ideas are translated into slander, libel and hate crimes faster than one can push the “enter” key on their keyboard. As the old monster of Jew hatred is getting a global face lift, anti-Semites around the globe gather in a constant virtual community where they congregate and conspire against Israel and the Jewish people.
On October 10, Twitter® was bombarded with tweets originated from France and connected to #unbonjuif, meaning “a good Jew”. A plethora of tweets were received, sent and re-tweeted and are now causing the authorities to discuss if and where the line was crossed between freedom of speech and hate crime. One is to wonder how much damage can be done in the short string of words constituting a tweet, I will let you decide as you read some of them here:
• A good Jew is a dead Jew
• A good Jew should be done medium/rare
• A good Jew doesn’t exist
• A good Jew is hard to cook
Of course, if that doesn’t convince you, maybe tweets linking to a picture of a concentration camp or to a picture of a pile of ashes will help you see the sickness in all this. Critics of the tweets were quickly told that the people behind the messages were “spoofing kindly”. I’d hate to see what they would say if they were really anti-Semitic?
Tweets are the cyber-graffiti of the 21st century. They allow people to express their opinions, but with much more danger than the old school spray paint on the building wall.
• While painted graffiti expressed an opinion that mostly remained anonymous, tweets are attached to people and always have an identity.
• While graffiti became disconnected from their author the moment he/she left the area where the slogan had been placed, tweets become instantly interconnected to a global network of millions. All we have to do is look at how the “Arab Spring” was kept informed to understand the power of the social media.
• While it is still possible (yet often difficult) to catch and stop the author of a graffiti in the act and charge him/her accordingly (including making them clean the surface they had defaced), it is somewhat impossible to stop Twitter® from spreading a tweet once it has gone viral.
Twitter® and Facebook® currently provide a platform that unfortunately is legally uncharted. Much remains to be discovered, monitored and controlled. In the meantime, the old monster of anti-Semitism will continue to tighten its grip on my people. Propaganda, recruiting and calls to action will only increase in occurrence and intensity.
Anti-Semitism has been viral in the hearts of many for centuries, and I am terrified to see the damage it could do once it really goes viral in cyberspace. I am afraid that it is well on its way already, and once again, it would behoove us to speak up against it. After all, if Twitter® and Facebook® can be used for evil, they certainly can be used for good. The choice is ours!
Christians Demand for Israel’s Hands to be Tied!
Israel’s foes have always been numerous. From the day God orchestrated the birth of the People and Nation of Israel, her enemies have been working overtime towards her complete annihilation. One creative way after another, the enemies of God’s people have attempted to eradicate Israel and the Jewish people from the face of the earth. Every angle imaginable, being historical, geographical, racial, political, has been used. I am always amazed at the energy consumed by the world to demonize Israel. The scapegoats of humanity continue to be the recipients of the world’s hatred (directed behind the scene by the ultimate enemy of God: Satan himself).
The Convergence of Israel’s Enemies
In 2007, as a result of 6 years of research and one year of writing, my first book on anti-Semitism was published (They Have Conspired Against You: Responding to the New Anti-Semitism). Back in 2000 when I started my research, I quickly was able to identify three different perpetrators of the New Anti-Semitism. All three were coming on the world scene as the Second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) was developing in the Middle East.
The source of anti-Semitism “Old” and “New” has never changed. The battle is not a historical, geographical or even a socio-political one, it is purely a SPIRITUAL battle to completely destroy the people that God chose to call The apple of My eye in Zechariah 2:8.
This spiritual battle has taken many forms over the centuries. It has undergone much morphing from a simple theological construct that created a disconnect between early Christians and Jews, to an all encompassing drive to destroy the Land of Israel and the Jewish People worldwide.
Yes, it has had many historical markers such as the Middle Ages, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Pogroms and the Holocaust to name just the main ones!
Yes, it has seen multiple battlegrounds in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East or North America to name a few!
And yes, it has “benefited” from the ideologies of various political factions over time, from extreme right to extreme left!
But at the end of the day the battle is between the enemy of God–Satan– and the chosen people of God–The Jewish People. Why, because Satan knows that he cannot hurt God Himself, but he knows that you can hurt people the most by hurting their loved ones. Thus God’s enemy will rejoice in the hurting and killing of the Jewish people, simply to hurt God.
As God’s enemy got organized to destroy the Jews, he always subcontracted his destructive work to different groups throughout mankind’s history. Early Christians under the leadership of Church Fathers such as Origen of Alexandria heard statements such as: “We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race…hence the city where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election.”[1]
John Chrysostom, “the Golden Mouthed Orator” provided early Christianity with additional perfidious diatribes such as: ” The synagogue is worse than a brothel…it is the den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts…the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults…the refuge of brigands and debauchees, and the cavern of devils. It is a criminal assembly of Jews…a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ… a house worse than a drinking shop…a den of thieves, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and a abyss of perdition.”…”I would say the same things about their souls… As for me, I hate the synagogue…I hate the Jews for the same reason… men who are lustful, rapacious, greedy, perfidious bandits…inveterate murderers, destroyers, men possessed by the devil,… they have surpassed the ferocity of wild beasts, for they murder their offspring and immolate them to the devil. [2]
These early Church Fathers (and many others) set a stage of faulty exegesis from which a play that could be titled “The Fate of the Jews”, has been playing non-stop for the last 2000 years. Different actors, different sets, different locations, but same director!
From the shaky foundation established by the Church Fathers, Jewish history was written, and to an extent continues to be written in blood and tears. From theological differences to the Crusades to the Shoah to the global Jihad.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and the same poison is being dispensed worldwide. It has simply been “repackaged” and it has received a new “Marketing strategy” catering to a much greater audience and thus appealing to a tremendous cross-section of people across the globe.
The three enemies of the Jewish people that I had identified at the turn of the 21th century were Radical Islam, Liberals and Christians. It goes without saying that each group is not equally responsible for the denigration, demonization and annihilation of the Jews.
Yet. it is also is very important to notice the recent shift in the way these three groups of perpetrators are now working together. There has been a convergence of the enemies of Israel happening in front of our very eyes.
When I first identified the new perpetrators, they all fed the beast that is the New Anti-Semitism, but for the most part, even though their hatred was fueling a somewhat similar goal, they were far from working together, at least knowingly. Three unlikely partners in crime were promoting their own agendas against the “perpetual scapegoats of humanity”.
Radical Islam was mostly interested in the COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE ISRAEL AND THE JEWS also described by them as “THE LITTLE SATAN” (America being the Big Satan, and next on their agenda).
Liberals were fighting ISRAEL AND THE JEWS in the name of SOCIAL JUSTICE, TOLERANCE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.
Christians continued to display a “not so subtle” jealousy for ISRAEL AND THE JEWS as they thrived to make God say something He never said and replace Israel in God’s program as the NEW ISRAEL.
Three threads of hatred and jealousy have been pulling individually the Jewish people and Israel towards ostracization and even destruction. The danger was great then and I believe it is greater now. It has become more serious because the three unlikely partners have teamed up. What they were good at accomplishing individually, they are becoming better at accomplishing corporately. These unlikely partners are currently teaming up against a common enemy, ISRAEL AND THE JEWS.
I started to notice some rather mind stretching partnerships recently.
• Liberals are pushing for Islam to become more accepted. The two vastly different ideologies will inevitably clash sooner or later, but hey, later is later so why worry?
• Christians who used to support ISRAEL AND THE JEWS are starting to change their views and are now unashamedly promoting “Christian Palestinianism” as was the case during the March 2012 “Christ at the Checkpoint Conference“. Further delegitimization of ISRAEL AND THE JEWS are on the way. For a superb exposé of Christian Palestinianism, (see this site).
• Muslims and Christians are contemplating a new hybrid faith labelled as “Chrislam“. In reality, Christians are compromising as they perform theological gymnastics to accommodate Muslims. Tolerance as a one-way street will only lead to cultural suicide! It is only a matter of time!
These three threads of hatred and jealousy were pretty strong individually, but now that they have been weaved together, they have picked up momentum and strength as they continue to pull ISRAEL AND THE JEWS towards oblivion. The rope of anti-Semitism appears to be indestructible as it keeps pulling.
THE CONVERGENCE OF ISRAEL’S ENEMIES HAS HAPPENED!
It is not over and I really don’t think that we have seen the worst yet, but even though much of the world is now teaming up against the Apple of God’s Eye, God’s hand is uncompromisingly holding the rope that ISRAEL AND THE JEWS appear to be pulling on their own.
God’s lovingkindness for ISRAEL AND THE JEWS is confirmed by His promise to never allow their complete destruction. We come into this picture as lovers of God and of His people and we have no other choice but to tell them about the salvation that only comes through the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
A tug of war between the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the enemies of ISRAEL AND THE JEWS , which side do you want to be on?
There is a way to make a difference and it can be done with E.A.S.E….. more on that later!
The Emancipation of Antisemitism: Towards a Post-Merah France!
Between March 11 and 19, 2012, France saw the murders of seven people in the Toulouse/Montauban region. The later part of these massacres included a rabbi, two of his children and one more young girl, all at an all-Jewish school in Toulouse. Within three days, the perpetrator had been identified as 23 year-old Mohamed Merah with ties to Al-Qaeda. Early in the morning of March 22nd, Mohamed Merah burst out his bathroom shooting his weapon all across the room at police officers as he jumped out of the window to his death.
The French government, possibly motivated by the nearness of a presidential election, was rather responsive. In fact, French President Sarkozy immediately gave a statement praising the police and French government and presenting his condolences to the families of the victims. He closed his statement by saying:” Our Muslim compatriots have nothing to do with the crazy motivations of a terrorist”.
Mr. Sarkozy is currently walking on the very thin ice of an election year in the European country with the largest Muslim population (between 5-6 million). As much as he might want to tighten the grip on Islam and its blatant refusal to integrate the French Republic and communities, he must use extreme caution so as to not polarize a potential voting block. Simply stated, Mr. Sarkozy is between a rock called INTEGRITY and a hard place called COMPROMISE, so the safest move is to avoid confrontation and speak against unjustified discrimination of Muslims. In the meantime, Mohamed Merah is slowly becoming a victim, possibly a martyr and even worse yet, a hero!
Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick, gives us a different perspective about Merah that I unfortunately agree with. I say unfortunately because it simply posits that “justice was not served”. In the case of Merah, instead of sending a rightfully sobering message to radical Muslims about France’s zero tolerance of such acts, it allows for the perpetrator to be praised, elevated and even–at least in people’s minds–exonerated. As a result, his actions have not become a red flag for the lethal components of radical Islam but an encouragement to follow Merah’s model. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the aftermath of Merah’s blood bath:
- March 23rd: One day after the death of Merah, a teacher in Rouen, Normandy told her 12th grade class that Merah was a victim and that his link to Al-Qaeda was invented by the media and Sarkozy. The teacher was immediately suspended, yet damage was done!
- March 26th: Five days after the massacre, a Jewish boy was beaten outside another Ozar HaTorah Jewish school in Paris.
- March 30th: Four days later, Actor/Comedian Jamel Debouze from arab descent finds justification for Merah’s actions in the difficult upbringing that his co-religionists have experienced in the Paris suburbs, while not a word is said by Debouze about the Jewish victims.
- March 31st: Merah’s brother, Rachid Merah is quoted telling the press: “You reap what you sow. They kill our children in Palestine, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, they should recognize their responsibility. The minister of the interior has said that Mohamed was a monster…but I reply that they have created this monster that killed children.” The French government is then held responsible by Merah’s brother.
- April 2nd: Only 11 days after the carnage and a man in Marseille is hit in the face as he exits a synagogue. Antisemitic slurs are yelled at him by his assailant.
- April 4th: Two days later in Marseille, an 85 year old man is attacked by a North African man. He is pushed around and the perpetrator rips his Jewish star medallion from his chest after putting a knife to his throat.
- April 5th: A 35 year old man wearing a yarmulke is shot in the leg as he was walking on the street in Villeurbanne.
- April 11th: Only 20 days have passed and in front of a synagogue in Garges les Gonesses, in the Paris suburb, an individual from the same origins as Merah screamed at Jewish worshipers:”Dirty Jews, I’ll kill you all you dirty race”. He then proceeded across the street towards a group of 3-year olds before being stopped and fleeing the scene. And on, and on and on!
I could continue adding to this tragic list of antisemitic acts in France and actually add to them those acts committed all over Europe. But France is the “litmus test” by which the new antisemitism is being defined. The apparently “unspeakable” actions of Mohamed Merah are already not being spoken of anymore, at least not as symptomatic of a deeply rooted problem of antisemitism. The Jew hatred displayed by Mohamed Merah has been brushed under the rug of political correctness, just in time for the elections at the end of April.
When Jews are Antisemitic!
I recently returned from the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism 2012 North American Conference in San Diego where I had the opportunity to present a paper on “the New Antisemitism: Perpetrators and By-Standers of the 21st century”. While I made an effort to categorize the 21st Century players on the current platform of Antisemitism, I did not include one particular group either in the perpetrators or in the by-standers. That group can be described as “self-loathing Jews”. It was and still is very painful for me to admit that my own people could turn against Israel and the Jewish people. Yet, as preposterous as it is, this wouldn’t be the first time that we witness Jews turning against their own people.
For instance, last year I shared about a strange group of “Orthodox Jews” known as Neturei Karta (although in that context, orthodox needs to be redefined as opposed to the standard definition meaning a rigorously practicing Jew). This anti-Zionist fringe group started in 1938 cannot be ignored and is a disgrace to Judaism, yet for the most part it is not taken too seriously by mainstream Jews.
What causes me some grief is the section of the “self-loathing Jews” that comprises mostly members of the Jewish left who vehemently lobby against Israel, the Land and the People. The organization known as JStreet, (founded in 2008), made mostly of liberal Jews (and some non-Jews as well) promotes itself as “The political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans”. They believe in and boldly promote a “two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. As anyone browses the JStreet website, it gives an appearance of peace seeking and reconciliation. In reality, they show contempt for anything Jewish and associate themselves with organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and personalities so despicably to the left like Ilan Pappé (son of German Jews who escaped the Holocaust), that they end up painting themselves in a politically correct and multicultural corner, using their own antisemitic brush.
JStreet receives the support of US House of Representative first Jewish woman member, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz who was recently appointed 52nd Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Wasserman-Schultz, who is also the Democratic Party Jewish Outreach liaison was caught in a controversial Facebook photo depicting her and other women as “Jewbags” kissing dollar bills. I sincerely doubt that mainstream Jews will have any desire to associate themselves with a “Jewish” woman ridiculing the Jewish people as lovers of money. We certainly don’t need anymore fuel added to the fiery diatribes of the last 2000 years!
“Self-loathing Jews” do not hate themselves as Jews but rather, they work hard at rejecting their customs and heritage in an effort to advance towards a more tolerant and “all encompassing” future. Mainstream Judaism appears way too narrow to leftwing Jews. They certainly wouldn’t consider themselves antisemitic but rather prosemitic (as in Jews AND arabs).
The tolerance they espouse is based on a very false premise that all groups tolerated equally reciprocate, which is hardly a fact when it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizbollah and the likes.
When it comes to the two-state or one-state solution including Palestinians, the outcome will inevitably be the takeover of Israeli government and institutions to the point where the annihilation of 6 million Israeli Jews would just become a simple bureaucratic move.
Dear self-loathing Jew, If you don’t want to recognize Israel’s sovereign right to the land and the Jewish people’s right to live in peace in the only democracy of the Middle East as well as the rest of the world, do the rest of us a favor, DON’T CALL YOURSELF A JEW because your are causing your forefathers to roll over in their graves!
Real Jews support Israel!
Real Jews support their Jewish Community!
And incidentally, I cannot help but proclaim that I have never felt more fulfilled as a Jew than since I have found my Messiah Yeshua (Isaiah 53:5, Romans 4:25, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Yeshua (Jesus) the Passover Lamb was sacrificed for us and any reconciliation between men will only come when men are first reconciled to God through Yeshua.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- …
- 77
- Next Page »