On Thursday, December 5, 2013, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela passed away at the age of 95. It goes without saying that the world just lost an important figure, some will even say an iconic figure or a legend in his own time. To anyone who grew up in the latter part of the twentieth century, Mandela was a hero and a key player in the freedom of the South African people. Seldom do political figures spend over two decades in prison to end-up being released and become the leader of a nation–the opposite is more often the case.
It is not my intention to go on a posthumous witch hunt like some will choose to do. I personally take no satisfaction in this kind of behavior. So first and foremost, my condolences and prayers of comfort go out to the Mandela family for the loss of their loved one.
But by the same token, it is also not my intention to idolize Nelson Mandela and blindly place him in the pantheon of world peace next to Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. It seems that Mr. Mandela, who already was an icon the world around, almost got promoted to “sainthood” overnight. Again, while I do not wish to minimize the loss, I also want to have a balanced and unbiased view on a man who most likely will make the cover of Time magazine as “Man of the Year” amongst other accolades.
All important world figures like Mr. Mandela have a burden that can turn into a lifelong struggle. Each struggle has a cost and in the case of Mr. Mandela, it cost him 27 years of his life in prison from which he was released in 1990. It was only a few years, in 1993, later that he and F.W. de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly, for their efforts at peace, reconciliation and non-violence. In 1994 he was elected as South Africa first black president.
Mandela and apartheid are two words that are almost impossible to separate. The late South African leader pioneered and championed the struggle against apartheid and racial injustice, a feat that will remain in history books for generations to come. This aspect of Mr. Mandela’s character garnered him a reputation of peacemaker that facilitated the furtherance of his cause.
I am afraid that beyond his well deserved reputation, Mr. Mandela might have also been used by other groups and even countries to further a similar cause, that was really only similar in appearance but not in substance. While Mr. Mandela was not a blatant enemy of Israel and the Jewish people, his allegiance to the cause of the Palestinians might have tipped the scale in favor of a cause and a people that had little to do with the struggle of South Africa.
A quick review of Mr. Mandela’s relationship with Israel and the worldwide Jewish community between 1985 and 2008 will show somewhat of a love/hate relationship. While I am certainly not willing to accuse Mr. Mandela of Anti-Semitism, I believe that at the very least he was blinded by his desire to extend the concept of apartheid to the Middle East crisis between Israel and the Palestinians. Was his involvement in Middle East policies and accusations of apartheid of his own volition or as a result of crafty Palestinian manipulation? This will remain hard to prove, but the results have already weighed heavily on Israel. The fact is that Mr. Mandela was no expert on the Middle East. In a short speech in 2004, he spoke of Yasir Arafat in terms that clearly show his lack of understanding of the man, and it is no secret that even though Mr. Mandela always tried to be balanced, he favored the Palestinians over Israel.
Today is not the day to scrutinize apartheid and compare the struggles between blacks and whites in South Africa with the struggles in the Middle East, yet there is nothing in Israel that compares to the ills of South African apartheid.
Mr. Mandela was like all of us, an imperfect man in a fallen world. His contribution to our world cannot and should not be ignored, and his legacy will live on for generations to come. This being said, Mr. Mandela’s admiration for Arafat and the Palestinian struggle leaves me with an uneasy feeling. Mr. Mandela’s background was Methodist, so it is very possible that he had a personal relationship with Yeshua. Only God knows our hearts. We mourn the loss of an important world figure who came yesterday before his maker.
Mr. Mandela’s was part of history in a very powerful way until yesterday, but as of now, He has entered eternity for a new chapter in his history. My prayer is that he spends that chapter on God’s side.
Are Israeli Children the New Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East?
The Middle East conflict continues to be punctuated by terrorist attacks, unilateral demands on Israel and the rise and fall of various settlements. Few politicians or diplomats have any hope of the Oslo Accords being resurrected, let alone amount to any progress in the direction of a solid peace agreement.
This doesn’t stop worldwide antisemitic factions from pointing the finger at the perennial Jewish “perpetrators” and feeling “Oh-so-sorry” for the Palestinian “victims”. The message from liberals remains the same:” If only Israel would put down their weapons, we would see peace!”
Israel has been painted as the threat for so long that no longer do we need to see facts to believe reports from the media or the United Nations. The “displaced, abused and underprivileged Palestinians” continue to fight for their freedom against the “oppressor”. And rightfully so the world tells us!
While I agree that the situation in the “disputed territories” is less than ideal, most people in the West have a preconceived notion that Palestinians live in huts, tents and slums, as they constantly get evicted from their homes. THIS IS SO FAR FROM THE TRUTH! Gaza has malls, hotels and restaurants that rival many worldwide urban areas.
So the saga continues as the evening news report of more clashes between IDF soldiers bent on hurting Arabs and innocent Palestinian victims caught in the fire. Many will say that this justifies the violence, comparing the Middle East conflict to the South African Apartheid of yesteryear. Others compare the Palestinian plight to the Civil Rights Movement in America as documented–albeit falsely– in the 2010 movie Little Town of Bethlehem. Of course, evangelicals have their word to say in the matter and so, under the guise of reconciliation, a one-sided “Christian” conference takes place in the Holy Land every couple of years under the name of Christ at the Checkpoint.
While I strongly disagree with any form of violence, I understand that once somebody feels cheated, abused and victimized, they might resort to an armed struggle, violence and even killings. This is where the Palestinians are today, convinced that they belong in the land of Eretz Yisrael that once was the land of their forefathers. Of course the fact that most of the world is helping them to promote a re-writing of history is very helpful to their cause (even though it only became popular through the crafty dealings of Yassir Arafat in the 60s).
So the Palestinians believe that they are “freedom fighters” and so they go against IDF soldiers. But recently, it was also in the West Bank town of Psagot that little Noam Glick was shot in the neck. The question I would like to ask to those who support the “Palestinian victim syndrome” is this: Why would a Palestinian sniper shoot a nine-year old Israeli girl playing in her backyard?
Where is the danger there? What is the rationale for shooting an innocent child? Of course, the Palestinian Authority not only refused to condemn the act but instead decided to praise the shooter.
How in the world is anybody supposed to negotiate peace with people that not only kill innocent children but also receive praise from their leaders for doing so? This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who keeps garnering the world’s attention and compassion for his people.
There are no excuses for such an act NO MATTER WHICH WAY YOU LOOK AT IT!
If I didn’t believe in God and wasn’t a follower of Yeshua (Jesus), I would see absolutely no hope for the Middle East and the whole world for that matter. But in spite of the continuous hatred displayed against my people, in spite of the constant role reversals between the victims and the perpetrators, and the numerous killings, I HAVE HOPE!
My hope doesn’t rest in a fallen world rebelling against God but it rests in the very God that the fallen world is rebelling against. If Israeli children have become the new obstacles to peace in the Middle East and if the “increasingly-not-so” civilized world remains silent about such an act, I am brought down to my knees even more so, and I am compelled to pray for both Israelis and Palestinian to meet the Jewish Messiah without whom they will never be able to reconcile.
Israeli children are not an obstacle to peace in the Middle East anymore than Israel is. Palestinian blindness and generational indoctrination against the Jews IS THE OBSTACLE.
The Two Roads to our Destruction: Appeasement and Enablement!
It has now become pretty obvious to the civilized world that the “Arab Spring” has not accomplished the somewhat Utopian emancipation expected by the Muslim world. Shortly after the people’s revolts in various countries such as Lybia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and others, we found out that the Muslim Brotherhood, Al- Qaeda or subsidiaries of either had taken over.
Just days after Lybian dictator Colonel Gaddafi was killed, the Al-Qaeda flag was flying high in Lybia. Egypt ousted Mubarak to quickly find itself under the Qur’anic grip of Mohammed Morsi. Even though Morsi was recently deposed and the Muslim Brotherhood banned from all operations, it is very likely that underground operations from Islamists will only increase in intensity and frequency. The Syrian civil war is no exception. Assad desperate attempt at retaining or regaining power has seen the loss of so many innocent lives. Yet we see another dictator fighting rebels who are nothing but Al-Qaeda operatives. Islam continues to advance and erode the very foundation of Western civilization.
Islam was last officially defeated in Europe 150 years ago at the Battle of Vienna that took place on September 11, 1863. It is the date that most serious historians agree upon as the start of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. But if one knows anything about Islam, it is clear that their only viable outcome is Islamic world domination under a global caliphate. For that goal to be attained, the West, Christianity and the Jews must be eradicated, end of story! The Qur’an is clear about Islam’s superiority over “all other religions” (Suras 61:9, 48:28, 9:3) as we can read from this translation (approved by Saudi Arabia):
61:9 He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islamic monotheism) to make it victorious over all (other) religions even though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad) hate (it). (Hilali and Khan, The Noble Qur’an, Riyadh: Darussalam, 1996).
So how much involvement should the West have in the Middle East blood bath towards hegemony? How thin do the United States want to spread themselves militarily before we become a totally indefensible country, or are we already there? How do we go about stopping this ideology of destruction from taking deeper root in the Western soil of democracy and tolerance? Two things have to stop in order for Islamism to fail:
• APPEASEMENT: For one thing, we cannot afford to continue appeasing countries like Iran. Diplomacy didn’t work with Hitler. Well, at least not for the Allies and certainly not for the Jewish people. Diplomacy WILL NOT work with Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t have been clearer in his recent address to UN when he said:
36 “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.”
37 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.
The Cowardice of Israel’s Enemies!
The summer of 1942 was not a good time to be a Jew in Europe, especially one without any papers. This was the case of Maurice Weinzveig, my maternal Grandfather who had been living in the small suburban town of Saint-Mandé on Paris’ East side with his wife Berthe and only daughter Evelyn (my mother). Little did he know that the road to escape the Russian Pogroms would lead to the Holocaust for him and many European Jews.
As he was hiding in the coal cellar under their apartment, his wife and daughter received an unexpected visit from two Gestapo officers looking for Maurice who had apparently been denounced by a neighbor. Berthe’s first answer was of course to deny any knowledge of her husband’s whereabouts, claiming that he had left the house and the area days ago. The two officers warned Bethe that they would return the following morning expecting Maurice to be ready to go with them or they would take her and her daughter instead.
After the Gestapo’s departure, Berthe signaled her husband to come upstairs and shared what had just taken place. Maurice’s initial reaction was indeed to leave immediately and seek a better hiding place. But he was soon made aware of the two officers’ ploy to get him. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Should he escape and put Evelyn and Berthe at risk or should he surrender and secure their safety?
Maurice was the victim of the Gestapo officers’ cowardice who knew very well that the best way to hurt someone who could possibly sustain pain otherwise, is to hurt the one(s) they care about. Because he loved his family, he had no choice and so the next morning he was ready when they returned and left with them. That was the last time that my mother saw her father. Maurice perished in the horrors of Auschwitz.
Cowardice is often linked to hatred, it is devious and can be very devastating. It resulted in the death of my grandfather and many others and continues on its destructive path as we see it being used by Israel’s enemies on the eve of a strike against Syria by the United States and possibly some of its allies.
Israel has the right to defend itself as all sovereign nations do. Israel doesn’t seem interested in striking Syria unless in an act of retaliation. But it doesn’t matter because regardless of what Israel decides to do or not do, they are caught in the cross hairs. So for the time being, the pressure is on and Israelis are on high alert as they stand in line to receive gas masks from their government. As Israelis are minding their own business and bracing themselves for the worst, Israel’s enemies can’t find anything better than to threaten her destruction if Syria is attacked by the US. This is the epitome of cowardice! Countries are lining up to express their disdain.
• Algerian TV host Yahya Abu Zakariya said on Lebanese TV: “If Syria is attacked, we will annihilate the Zionist entity”.
• Iran said that:” “No military attack will be waged against Syria,Yet if such an incident takes place, which is impossible, the Zionist regime will be the first victim of a military attack on Syria.“
• Syrian army officials told Iranian news agency Fars on Tuesday that: “If Damascus is attacked, Tel Aviv will become a target and a full-scale war against Syria will essentially justify an attack against Israel,” then they added that “If Syria is attacked, Israel will also be set on fire and such an attack will, in turn, engage Syria’s neighbors.”
• Lebanon is sharply divided on the issue of a strike on Syria and while not threatening Israel openly, we must not forget that they are a country hosting the terrorist organization known as Hezbollah (not exactly a friend of the Jewish state).
• Egypt, currently led by an interim and fragile military government, has her hands full with their own revolution. They stated that they do not support a strike on Syria yet they do agree for punitive actions against the perpetrators of the recent internal chemical warfare. The state of affairs in the Sinai region renders the Egypt-Israel border very volatile as well, while Egypt fights Hamas in the region. And the list could go on and on and on!
So, at best, many of the countries surrounding Israel do not support a strike on Syria, but I still wonder what side they would take if push comes to shove. We have seen over the years that Islamic ideology turns out to be a common denominator that can easily create a situation where two or three arch-enemies end-up holding hands against a common enemy of them all, and it is clear that it is Israel that they hate in common.
At worst, several Middle East countries have vowed to strike back at Israel if and when the US, Great Britain and/or any other nations decide on a preemptive strike against Bashar al Assad and his government.
While I wouldn’t put it past them to even activate some sleeper cells in the respective countries that joined to strike Syria, I find it very cowardly that they would retaliate on Israel no matter what. Of course, a lot of this might just be idle threats and empty talk to intimidate the West. Let’s face it, the enemies of the Jewish state have a lot more to lose than to win from a full blown attack on Israel, so all of this might only be antisemitic rhetoric. Yet many of the countries of the Middle East are unpredictable at best and very unstable at worst, so who really knows?
So the threat is out on the table as we are again reminded that the best way to hurt someone who could possibly sustain pain otherwise, is to hurt the one(s) they care about. I have no doubt that Israel can defend herself and I have even less doubt that God is on her side. Her enemies are always looking for new reasons to destroy her and when the Syrian conflict will no longer be on the forefront of the news, the perpetual scapegoat of humanity will assuredly face another existential crisis.
On the other hand, if Israel retaliates and attacks any country of the Middle East for the wrongdoings of another one, it is not cowardice but it is as a result of these countries conspiring to destroy Israel. Their subtle and secret “covenantal” relationships renders them all guilty by association, and that is very different than hurting Israel simply because Western allies hit Syria. In the case of Israel, striking back would be a strategic necessity for survival.
Peace in the Middle East or a “Piece” of Middle East History?
Since the re-birth of the modern state of Israel in 1948, conflicts and peace talks have come and gone, oft-repeated with a sense of hope and reconciliation. Borders have moved and settlements have risen over the last 65 years in a piece of land that is about the size of the state of New Jersey. Since I am not a political analyst, I will not even attempt at getting into the head of Secretary of State John Kerry and his recent involvement in this new round of peace talks, yet despite an appearance of renewed hope, I am very skeptical. Mr. Kerry’s public announcement in the presence of Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat at the State Department on July 30th appeared to be nothing more than a cocktail of clichés and platitudes aimed at appeasing the media and the public (as if there was even a need to appease a group of people who have clearly showed more of their allegiance to one side, being the Palestinian side of course).
Don’t quote me wrong, I think it is good to talk about peace and compromise for the future, as long as that compromise leads to a true win/win situation. Are we really talking about compromise if as a pre-condition to the peace talks, Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to order the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners (some of them serious offenders in the area of terrorism), while Hamas continues to send rockets to Israel as we speak. Not to mention Mahmoud Abbas statement that: “In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands,”
Mr. Kerry is not the first American Secretary of State who has tried to disentangle the Gordian knot of the Middle East crisis. Just about every Secretary of State since Henry Kissinger in 1973 tried their diplomatic hand at it. While some of them achieved some degree of success, one component was ALWAYS missing from the table and it is of course the perspective of the most important player in the Middle East: The Creator of all things, God Himself. I understand that my Utopian dream of a modern biblical land of Israel has little or no chance of happening (at least for the time being), but that doesn’t and will not change the facts that:
• The Land will see real peace only when Yeshua the Messiah returns (Ezekiel 39:25-29)