Christianity

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 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!

June 18, 2020 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

The Proper Way to Support BLACK LIVES, and Why it MATTERS!

Growing up as a Jew in France in the 60s and 70s wasn’t without its challenges. My own mother who had lost her dad in the Holocaust at age 15, had developed a fear about telling people that we were Jewish. So much so that she even forced me to learn German in school as a second foreign language, just in case the Germans would invade France again, so that I could get by. It was not until she was in her early forties before she was comfortable telling others that we were Jewish. But all this never stopped me from making friends of different backgrounds at school. Two of my earliest buddies were Vietnamese and African. Every time I told my mother about a new friend, this fearful question always arose, “Do they know we are Jewish?” to which I always answered that they didn’t care and neither did I. Racism never had a foothold in my life. It never made sense to me to hate somebody based on color, race or creed. It didn’t when I was a teenager and it doesn’t today as a middle age adult.

When I moved to the United States in 1985, it quickly became evident that there were racial tensions between blacks and whites on many levels. Economically, culturally, politically to name just a few. Blacks and whites were clashing. Inter racial relations have not improved, they have actually gotten worse, to the point of injustice and wrongful deaths that we have witnessed in 2020. There is a serious problem affecting America today that cannot be ignored, and that is a reason why the movement known as Black Lives Matter–founded in 2013– has gathered so much momentum and picked the interest of so many. Such a movement appears to be giving the African American community the voice and momentum that they need to push reform forward. Philosophically, this is a good thing, but practically, the BLM ideology sends a very different message–if you know where to look. To be sure, I am not saying that black lives do not matter. Of course they do, as all lives matter. I am simply saying that before we blindly join and support the BLM movement based on somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction, from a mix of compassion, rightful indignation and misplaced guilt, we should investigate who the BLM supports and promotes. It is not always the easiest thing to do as a lot of the connections are no longer evident from their website. But let’s consider the following:

To put it simply; Black Lives Matter supports BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions). I have tried my best to expose the false narrative used by BDS proponents for several years. The BDS movement (officially co-founded in 2005 by Mahmoud Abbas and Omar Barghouti), has been pushing for a total boycott (academic, cultural and economic) of Israel and those who support Israel and Israeli products and companies. It has made great strides towards convincing people across the globe that Israel was the perpetrator of crimes against humanity, oppression, invasion and persecution. The BDS movement is not interested in social justice in general or they would also call for the boycott of many other countries that truly commit crimes against humanity such as Venezuela, China, Iran, Sudan and many others, but they don’t. Their only agenda is Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. They are not even hiding it as California University Professor Asad Abu Khalil said, “The real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel….That should be stated as an unambiguous goal. There should not be any equivocation on the subject. Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel.” Likewise, BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti stated, “A Jewish state in Palestine, in any shape or form, cannot but contravene the basic rights of the land’s indigenous Palestinian population…definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian – rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian—will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

While it is challenging to find the connection between BLM and BDS, it is not impossible. BLM is part of a larger network known as M4BL (The Movement for Black Lives). Dots become a lot easier to connect once we realize that M4BL is an umbrella organization under which you can find other groups such as Black Lives Matter. Once this is established, it takes no time to find out that M4BL supports BDS. They claim that “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.” or “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.” They even propose some actions to be taken against Israel as they encourage people to “Fight the expanding number of AntiBDS bills being passed in states around the country. This type of legislation not only harms the movement to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, but is a threat to the constitutional right to free speech and protest.”

Additionally the Movement for Black Lives cites as resources: www.BDSmovement.net and www.blackpalestiniansolidarity.com. Both these websites are clear supporters of the BDS ideology and the flawed Palestinian narrative. So, the connection between BLM and M4BL is undeniably clear, and their antisemitic slant is also very obvious. I do not want you to miss the irony here: A movement that claims to fight racism of all sorts and promotes social justice, is also promoting the destruction of Israel and the hatred of Jewish people. So before we support BLM and donate to the cause, we must examine our hearts. Is it OK to fight for justice and equality for African Americans while supporting the oppression and destruction of Israel? Whichever way you look a it, it is hypocrisy. Not to mention the global support for BLM including anti-racism gatherings in Paris where some people were shouting dirty Jews to the crowd. Again, where is the connection? So, where do we go from here?

Inequality can only be remedied by true reconciliation and true reconciliation only comes from God. The problem that seems to arise out of the BLM movement is that reconciliation is spoken of, but submission is what is meant. There are some strong similarities between the “reconciliation” promoted by BLM and the one promoted by groups like “Christ at the Checkpoint (CaTC.) claiming to seek reconciliation between Israel and Palestinians in the name of Christ. When reconciliation is simply a word spoken to force the other side to submit unilaterally, then we have a problem. Reconciliation is a two-way street that includes compromise and humility. I have seen very little of that coming from BDS promoters as well as those who defend the BLM movement. What I am even starting to see, is more and more parallels drawn between the tragic murder of George Floyd and the deaths of Palestinians. Some people are even borrowing visual elements such as the Middle East head scarf worn by Arafat and the Palestinian flag, to incorporate them into images of George Floyd. There is absolutely no foundation for this connection, but that doesn’t stop people from drawing it.

As a French/Jewish immigrant to America, I have come to realize that injustice and inequality is very real all around us, and that is a tragedy. I have been speaking and writing against antisemitism for over twenty years, and I know that it is very real, as Satan infuses that hatred daily in the heart of men. Racism will continue to exist everywhere, but it doesn’t mean that we have to adhere to it. As God’s word tells us that through the blood of Messiah, Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled into one new man, without any separation between them. Racial reconciliation is not something we have to work on, but something we need to grab hold of and believe in, in complete faith, because of what Yeshua did on our behalf; Jews and Gentiles, blacks and whites.

Ephesians 2:11-16 drives the point home better than I ever could,” 11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Messiah Yeshua you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”

So, I support black lives today as much as I have supported them my whole life, but not through a manmade movement that has a shaky foundation at best. I support black lives because of my Messiah who supported all lives, enough to die for them. We all should support black lives and it definitely matters how we do it!

June 3, 2020 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Is Israel the “One-Size-Fits-All” Response to the Ills of the World?

Early in 2020, everybody was talking about impeachment, and just like that, by March COVID-19 became the sole topic in the News, and again, just like that, at the end of May, the virus took second fiddle to the George Floyd death/race riots. What a year this has been so far! For many people, these events are all related to a plan to stop President Trump from re-election at any cost. While the anti-Trump agenda could very well be a driving force in the current events, my desire is not to get political at this point.

The virus is very real and has tragically taken many lives, and the last thing I want to do is to appear as if I am trying to minimize its devastating effect on us all. As to the protests, they are justified from the standpoint of the frustration and reaction to injustice and the wrongful death of George Floyd. There is no way to look at what happened to him and not declare foul play. I am disgusted by the tragedy that took place against Mr. Floyd and my prayers go to his family. The protests are justified and something must be done in America to solve our racial inequality and police brutality.

A peaceful protest is one thing, but when it turns into violent riots coupled with uncontrolled looting, it affects many people and businesses that have no connections to the issue, and it will ruin them… some for good! we must stand against that. As a matter of fact, standing up against riots and looting as one American people regardless of color or creed might be a great starting point to initiate dialogue and hopefully, reconciliation.

But there is another common denominator to these events that I need to bring to your attention, and that is the fact that they have all been linked one way or another to Israel and/or the Jewish people. The proverbial “Scapegoat of Humanity” can be found as the responsible party–partially or fully– in any of these crises. Even though they might appear as childish, ludicrous and unsustainable theories to most people of goodwill, these are circulating in the news and are being believed by more people than you would expect.

President Trump’s Impeachment: At the apex of the embarrassing impeachment scheme against President Trump, a Christian Pastor–and we should use the term very loosely regarding that particular individual– claimed that the impeachment was a “Jew Coup.” Rick Wiles, who has been known to be a virulent antisemite, was blasting that conspiracy theory from his church pulpit, doing much damage to the real Bible-believing Christians who read their Bible properly and cannot help but love Israel and the Jewish people. Wiles has since been banned from YouTube, but his videos can still be found circulating on the web. Wiles was also described as a Trump supporter and his site had mistakenly and tragically been accredited by the White House. Rick Wiles is a shameful individual who does not represent biblical Christianity and is only helping to further the 2000-year old divide between Christians and Jews. Does he know that the Messiah he claims to believe in, follow and serve was a Jew, as well as all of His disciples and all the writers of the Bible (except for Luke)?

The Corona Virus: Posts have gone viral on the web regarding the fact that the virus was a hoax invented by Jews to profit from it, or worse, that it was created by Jews for profit as well. And then, there are those who call it “The Jew-flu”, claiming that Jews spread it more than anybody else on the planet. This has contributed to a lot of antisemitic hate speech, not that we needed any more of that! Israeli politician and human rights activist Nathan Sharansky said “’They are blaming the Jews [for coronavirus], accusing us of trying to destroy the economy in order to make money.’…In Iran, the state-controlled media is blaming “Zionists” for the epidemic and warning people not to use a coronavirus vaccine if it is developed by Israeli scientists.” The Website NGO Monitor, keeping NGOs accountable, listed a myriad of NGOs that posted antisemitic tropes linking Israel, global Jews and COVID-19. Unbelievably, 20% of Britons believe that Jews are behind COVID-19. They obviously completely ignore the massive numbers of deaths in various Jewish communities because of the virus, especially in orthodox/Hasidic circles. They also ignore the fact that these very same Jewish communities that were hit very hard are now turning around to donate plasma.

The George Floyd Death: While there is no way on earth that the death of Mr. Floyd could be seen as accidental, there is still a way for antisemites to profit from it and link it to their anti-Israel agenda. It didn’t take very long for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) proponents to compare the method used by the police officer who murdered George Floyd to the methods used by the IDF on Palestinians. In reality, neither American cops nor the Israeli Defense Force use these methods. Simon Wiesenthal Center Director, Abraham Cooper remarked very wisely, “We Jews know all about antisemites connecting non-existent dots to denigrate our people.” Additionally, rioters chose to vandalize a synagogue with graffiti saying, “F*** Israel, Free Palestine!” What does the death of George Floyd have to do with the Jewish people? Nothing at all, but don’t let that fact stop the irrational hatred against my people! And then there are those who literally say that “The police violence happening tonight in Minneapolis is straight out of the IDF playbook,” claiming with zero evidence that US police officers train in Israel.

This Israel “One-Size-Fits-All” response to the ills of the world is dƒespicable. It continues to plague our Jewish people wherever they live. It is groundless and yet it feeds into the agenda of Jew-haters. I am not saying that there were no Jewish people supporting the impeachment proceedings. I am not saying that not one Jewish person profited from some business opportunity created by the pandemic, and I am not saying that Jewish people are always accused of ills they are not responsible for. What I am saying is that mankind can be found responsible for many things hurtful and destructive, but it is because as a human race we have rebelled against God and taken matters in our own hands. It is not because we are black, Jewish, white, or whatever else!

Like the Amalekites of old, the Pharaoh who enslaved our people, Haman who schemed to destroy all Jews and all the other people who made it their personal struggle to hurt Israel and the Jewish people, our enemies are influenced by a false narrative that Jews are evil, blood-sucking creatures hell-bent on taking over the world. This comes straight from Satan’s playbook, and that playbook IS the “One-Size-Fits-All” for all the ills of the world. It is time to give credit to whom credit is due!

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