Political Correctness

July 5, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 5 Comments

Is PC-USA Burning the Judeo-Christian Bridge Further?

When we look at the relations between Jews and Christians in the last 2,000 years it is not very difficult to see that the bridge between the two has been progressively burned. Whenever a yard of it was rebuilt, two yards were further destroyed. When Jewish people are approached by Christians, the Christians are almost always unaware of the baggage they bring into the conversation. My people’s history has been punctuated by acts of hatred, xenophobia and demonization, too often by people who claimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Christian baggage is filled with events such as the Crusades, the Blood Libel, the Inquisition, the Pogroms, Martin Luther and the Holocaust. It should not surprise believers in Yeshua (Jesus), that Jewish people are very reluctant to consider Him as the Messiah. Why would we want to believe in, follow the teaching of and serve the one whom Christians claim as Christ (Messiah) when so much harm was done to us in His name?

I am encouraged when I see Christians who love Israel and the Jewish people. It warms my heart to see how they are trying so hard to rebuild the bridge. I personally know quite a few pastors and Christian leaders who have tremendous love and burden for the Jewish people, and yet, today, they constitute a minority. The bridge is in dire need of solid rebuilding, so anything that weakens it weakens our chances to reach the Jewish people with the saving message of the Gospel of Yeshua.

Several denominations within Christendom have shown their true colors regarding Israel in the last few decades, but none as abrasively and as boldly as the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA.) My intentions are never to commit character assassination out of frustration or anger, but I still feel the need to expose their anti-Semitism for the benefit of other Christians and Jews. Keep in mind that the corporate decision of an entire denomination never includes all its members, so let us refrain from painting with broad strokes.

During their 225th General Assembly, the PC-USA passed Resolution INT-02 (28-3) stating that PC-USA must “Recognize that Israel’s laws, policies, and practices regarding the Palestinian people fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid. Apartheid is legally defined as inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them This occurs in Israel/Palestine through:

• Establishing two sets of laws, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians, which give preferential treatment to Israeli Jews and oppressive treatment to Palestinians.
• Expropriating Palestinian land and water for Jewish-only settlements.
• Denying the right to freedom of residence to Palestinians.
• Dividing the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the Palestinians.
• Denying Palestinians the right to a nationality.
• Urge members, congregations, presbyteries, and national staff units, including the Office of Interfaith Relations, to seek appropriate ways to bring an end to Israeli apartheid.
• Direct the Stated Clerk to communicate this action to all other PC(USA) councils.”

So, here we go again with the accusation of apartheid as a foundation for acting against Israel and boycotting the Jewish State. The Committee declared that they were hoping that recognition of the problem would lead to peaceful reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. No mention of terrorism was made. Only mentions of “occupation”, “apartheid” and ” the punishment of innocent Palestinians.”

PC-USA also recognized May 15 as the official date of the Nakba (catastrophe) for the Palestinians. It was picked as the day after Israel’s Independence date of May 14, 1948. This makes the strong statement that PC-USA recognizes that May 14, 1948, as the start of the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, without recognizing the biblical right of Israel to her ancestral homeland and ignoring the international weight of the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 San Remo Conference and without mentioning the November 1947 United Nations vote to partition British mandate Palestine.

Many Christians have left the PC-USA denomination over the last few decades and many of their churches have closed. The denomination seems like it is struggling to survive, but it still hangs on to its anti-Semitic approach to Israel, all the while claiming that they have nothing against Jewish people.

Unfortunately, even if their moves are political and not theological–something I sincerely doubt–the damage is done and the encouragement for anti-Semites becomes stronger.
We live at a time when anti-Semitism is rising exponentially all over the world. There is no doubt in my mind that Jewish people are in great need of a friendly and loving Christian Church. Paul’s statement in Romans 11:11, “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.” becomes a sober reminder of the Church’s failure in making the Jewish people jealous of their personal relationship with the Jewish Messiah. The last 2,000 years have made my people angry and eager to distance themselves from anything “Christian”. When PC-USA digs in its heels as a denomination and continues to delegitimize and demonize Israel, it is Christian anti-Semitism.

If PC-USA wants to throw Israel under the bus, let them; but somebody, please tell the denomination that their choice is not just anti-Semitic, it is also anti-biblical. As a result, the mistakes of a few who are under the banner of Christendom are affecting the many Christians who think otherwise. I would beg my Jewish people to consider the fact that the Christians who read the Bible and understand it properly absolutely cannot reject, ignore or replace Israel. Anything of the sort is a slap in the face of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is this thing called “accountability”, and when it comes to taking God seriously, PC-USA is not exempt.

For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.”
And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10:30-31)

June 24, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 4 Comments

Antisemitism in the Police Force: Condoned or Condemned?

A great test to determine if a thought, word or deed is antisemitic, is the test developed in 2003 by Russian refusenik turned Israeli politician Nathan Sharansky. The test is known as the “Three Ds” or “3D Test.” It comprises three components to help one determine if something is antisemitic. The three Ds stand for Delegitimization, Demonization and Double Standards. When it is all said and done, any antisemitic act will without fail fall under one or more of these criteria. So, how does it work when we look at the Cleveland, Ohio police officer who glorified Hitler, Bin Laden and Hamas?

Ismail Quran was hired by the Cleveland Police Department in 2018. In November 2021, he was named “Officer of the Year” and subsequently received the service medal that comes with the award at the Cleveland Division of Police Awards Ceremony. Officer Quran was praised for many good deeds he performed while on duty. In a day and age when police officers are being mocked, denigrated and even defunded, it is great to witness the recognition that an officer receives from his peers. Unfortunately, as it was first reported by Canary Mission, Ismail Quran seems to be bringing baggage to his job on the Police force. It is the kind of baggage that should disqualify anybody from getting an award of that kind, let alone being kept on the force on active duty.

It doesn’t matter how great a police officer might be, if they are antisemitic and cannot control their outbursts of hatred, should they really be protecting our communities? What happens when a Jewish person is involved as a victim of a crime? Will the officer be fair in his duty or will he use double standards? Let’s apply the 3Ds Test and my definition of antisemitism stating that: “Antisemitism is the irrational and satanic hatred of the Jews and Israel characterized by destructive thoughts, words and/or deeds against them”, to the officer’s recent nomination and let’s review some of officer Quran’s recent statements. I will let the reader connect the dots by themselves.

• Ismail Quran belonged to the Muslim Student Union (MSU) while he attended Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. The MSU is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood which founded Hamas in 1987. The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas founded the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in 1994. Muslim Brotherhood’s motto is: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” Both the Brotherhood and Hamas have terrorist connections and are very much anti-Israel and anti-Zionism (read “antisemitic”). This was at the very least an indoctrination against Jews and Israel, but did it stick?

• In 2014, Ismail Quran used Twitter to glorify Adolf Hitler. Mr. Quran posted a picture of Hitler with the caption, “LET ME SALUTE TO HITLER THE GREAT” followed by a quote by the Nazi dictator “I would have killed all the Jews of the world, but I kept some to show the world why I killed them.”

• Between 2012 and 2014, Ismail Quran used Social Networks to spread antisemitism. Mr. Quran posted a multitude of messages spreading antisemitic lies and conspiracy theories from “Jews controlling the world” to “Palestine shall be free” and much more including support for the terrorist organization Hamas.
It would appear that many of the posts gathered by Canary Mission have since been removed and some of the accounts even closed.

The first question I have is, “How can such a man even be hired by a United States police department? Are they checking their candidates or are they so desperate that they hire just about anybody with a few credentials? How would the police department have reacted if the candidate showed xenophobic tendencies towards African Americans or any other communities? Were his comments ignored by mistake, by choice, or worse…Were they condoned?

Then, we have to wonder how in the world did officer Quran make it to “2019 Officer of the Year?” I am already flabbergasted at the fact that nobody seems to care about Officer Quran’s hatred for Jews and for Israel, but I am also disgusted by the fact that now he is recognized as an exemplary employee of the Cleveland Police force. What kind of message is this sending to other public servants who also harbor antisemitic sentiments?

It appears that officer Quran’s story suffers from at least two of the three Ds, Double Standard and Demonization. Officer Quran should have never been hired and should have been disciplined for his behavior, not rewarded unless of course, the Cleveland police see no harm done in all that. At a time when antisemitism is again burning through the fields of Western civilization if various Jewish communities cannot even trust their local police, how are we to defend ourselves?

May 24, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 4 Comments

What is the “Nakba” and why it matters to Jews and Christians?

Historically and prophetically speaking, a very important event took place on May 14, 1948, as a result of a United Nations vote that took place in November 1947. Israel was reborn as a modern nation. This didn’t happen in a vacuum. The famous 1917 Balfour Declaration set the wheels in motion for British Mandate Palestine to be born again as the modern Jewish State of Eretz Yisrael. A lesser-known, but equally if not more important event, was the 1920 San Remo Conference. That Italian conference established a legal precedent for the existence of Israel beyond what the Balfour Declaration had provided. In an ideal world, this should have been a geopolitical and legal slam dunk. Well…Not really!

May 14, 1948, was an important date indeed for Jewish people worldwide. Three years after the end of World War Two and the horrors of the Holocaust, European Jews in particular finally had a place to call their own and immigrate to.

on May 15, 1949, the Dhikra an-Nakba, meaning “Memory of the Catastrophe” started being commemorated unofficially. It was later officially established by Yasir Arafat in 1998. It has now become known as the Nakba. This date serves as a reminder of the catastrophe that took place for the Palestinians when Israel became a modern nation. So, apparently, one people group’s independence became another people group’s catastrophe. Is there validity in that claim?

Any time there is a wave of immigration, it has the potential to create a crisis or at the very least, a challenge. Why should it be different when it comes to Israel becoming a nation and starting to receive olim (Jewish immigrants)? Yet, the Nakba rests on a faulty foundation. It assumes that Jewish immigrants came to “Palestine” and stole land that wasn’t theirs. It assumes that Israel is committing crimes against humanity. It assumes that Israel is an apartheid nation, and it assumes that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing. These myths are easily debunked when we look at the facts and I know of no better source to do this than the book by Mitchell Bard: Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab Israeli Conflict.

Before accusing Israel of all these terrible acts leading to the Nakba, serious historians, researchers and politicians should consider what really took place. Historian Benny Morris explains: “The international community proposed a compromise between the two movements, giving to each part of the territory, so they would each have a small state. The Palestinians said no and went to war.” I do not agree with a two-state solution, but had the Arabs accepted what was proposed in the 1937 Peel Commission, today, Palestine would be 80% of the land and Israel 20%, and we could be looking at two celebrations today: Israel and Palestine, but instead we look at a 75-year conflict between Arabs and Jews. The reason why? They want 100% of “Palestine” or nothing! So, the colonizing-occupying-ethnic cleansing-apartheid-human rights-abusing narrative continues in full force, and the indoctrinated politically correct masses buy it all; hook, line and sinker.

Capitalizing on the Nakba is always a good idea for the enemies of Israel, especially at a time when facts are ignored. Maybe this is why US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib recently proposed a congressional resolution to make the United States commemorate the Nakba that coincides with Israel Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day.) She was joined by other members of the “squad” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. Ms. Tlaib tweeted “Today, I introduced a resolution recognizing the Nakba (catastrophe), where 400 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed, over 700,000 Palestinians uprooted from their homes, and made refugees.”

The resolution will most likely receive very few votes if any, but it is a symptom of the longest hatred; the pandemic of anti-Semitism. It doesn’t matter if it is not moving forward because the narrative continues regardless as Institute for Middle East Understanding explains, “the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation (1947-49). The Nakba did not end in 1948 and continues to this day in the form of Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestinian land for illegal settlements and segregated communities in the Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem, its destruction of Palestinian homes and agricultural land, revocation of residency rights, deportations, periodic brutal military assaults that result in mass civilian casualties such as the one that took place in Gaza in the summer of 2014 and spring of 2021, and the denial of the internationally-recognized legal right of return of millions of stateless Palestinian refugees.”

Where is Ms. Tlaib’s rejection of terrorism? Why is she not mentioning what really takes place in Gaza with the hiding of weapons and shooting of missiles from hospitals, schools and civilian areas?

All of this also takes place after the tragic death of an Al-Jazeera journalist in Jenin. The Israeli authorities think that they have acquired the weapon that was used and they have been asking the Palestinian authority for the recovered bullet for ballistics. The Palestinian Authority is refusing to turn in the bullet. With both items, it would be very simple to determine where the lethal shot came from. What is taking so long? Ms. Tlaib is also capitalizing on the death of the journalist, connecting it to the supposed long thread of murders and other crimes committed by Israel since the start of the Nakba. At the same time, Ms. Tlaib completely ignores the 19 Israelis killed in several terrorist attacks in Israel during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

I am certain that the 1948 declaration of independence and the subsequent war of the same name were not without casualties for all sides. War always brings damage and unnecessary deaths, but since 1948, Israel has never started a war, but only responded to attacks.

The Nakba is simply more anti-Semitic propaganda to turn the world against the only democracy in the Middle East, because, from a biblical standpoint, Satan has always had the Jews in his crosshair. He wants to completely destroy those whom God loves (Zechariah 2:8b) and, towards that goal, he is the creator of anti-Semitism. I could almost hear God speaking to the Jewish people and saying:” I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you are my favorite people and the bad news is that you are my favorite people!”

So, let’s recognize that history continues to be re-written by Israel’s enemies and that nobody on that side cares to check for facts. Where are the Israeli/Palestinian conflict “fact-checkers” when we need them?

May 5, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 9 Comments

One Ship, a Few Horses But No Jews!

The year 2021 saw a big surge in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States. According to the Anti Defamation League, 2021 saw a 34% increase over 2020. This is only for the United States and this only tabulates the incidents that were reported, and only if they were filed as hate crimes against Jews. Needless to say, if we were to take them all into consideration, the number is guaranteed to be higher than 34%.

It still seems as if most people remain silent when anti-Semitism takes place. There is this eerie feeling of emotional disconnect. There will always be those who speak up against acts of xenophobia and social injustice, but when it comes to anti-Semitism, it still feels like too many people are looking the other way. There is a name for such people, they are called bystanders. For whatever reason and whatever justification is offered, those who do not react to, whitewash or ignore anti-Semitism are bystanders, and as justified as they might feel that they are, at the end of the day, a bystander always facilitates the crimes of the perpetrators one way or another. Unfortunately, history is replete with events that took place at the expense of Jews. These were events that show how humanity’s warped view of the Jews led some people to completely ignore their plight.

Some will remember “The Voyage of the St. Louis” which took place in the late 1930s. The ship sailed from Hamburg, Germany on May 13, 1939, with 937 passengers on board…Destination: Cuba. To put this in perspective, this was only six months after the pogroms and boycotts of Kristallnacht in Berlin (Nov. 9-10, 1938) which was the onset of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” Some Jewish people appeared to be seeing the proverbial handwriting on the wall and made arrangements to flee Germany before it was too late. They secured entry papers for Cuba and also applied for US visas. They were going to stay in Cuba until their papers came through. By May 24, the ship had arrived in Cuba, but all passengers were denied landing. Their landing certificates had been invalidated days before they left Hamburg unbeknownst only to them, but not to the organizers of the voyage.

The ship waited a while and then was forced to depart. It made it to the US Florida coast, but again, all passengers were denied landing. They tried further north in Canada to no avail. Eventually, the St. Louis turned around and sailed back to Europe. France, the Netherlands, Belgium and England each took about a quarter of the passengers as refugees. 254 of the passengers ended up perishing in the Holocaust. This was an avoidable tragedy. For the United States, it was about a decade past the Great Depression and immigration certainly wasn’t a popular topic with the people or within government, especially on the cusp of another presidential election for FDR. This is understandable, but during a world war, drastic measures should be considered if they are going to save many lives, unless they are Jewish lives, or so it appears!

If you think that this was unacceptable, you are not going to like the story of the Lipizzaner horses. Before we look at what happened to these horses during World War Two, we need to recognize their beauty, elegance and rich 425-year history. These unique horses were developed and bred by the Hapsburg monarchy (Austria) going back to the 16th century. They have been associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. They can be trained to perform prestigious moves no other horse could do. They are rare and unique protected animals. So, it is understandable that if their breed runs the risk of extinction, much would be done to prevent that from happening, and rightfully so!

In 1945, during the last few months of the war, as the Russian Red Army was pushing toward Germany, the Lipizzaner horses were in great danger of becoming food rations for starving Russian soldiers. An appeal for help was launched to the United States and General Patton (a horseman himself) was dispatched with a team to rescue the horses and bring them to safety, preserving the breed for the future. Their mission was very successful…Well, at least for horse lovers!

For almost a year, various Jewish organizations brought intel to the United States about the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. They repeatedly pleaded with President Roosevelt to either bomb Auschwitz-Birkenau or at the very least, the railroads leading to the camps. The stern and sobering response from the war department was that such a move would necessitate, “the diversion of considerable air support essential to the success of our forces now engaged in decisive operations elsewhere…” The real reason behind the decision not to bomb the areas was that FDR, again, didn’t want to end up with a large number of Jewish refugees on his hands. The United States did indeed divert resources and manpower more than once for various missions, but never to rescue Jews out of the camps during the war. In the Fall of 1944, the United States bombed factories less than 5 miles from the Auschwitz death camp but chose not to proceed with the destruction of Auschwitz or the leading railroad. The rescue of horses with a 425-year history superseded the rescue of the Jewish people with an almost 6,000-year history. Forget the history and just consider that animals were rescued but human beings were ignored and sent to their death.

These are two extreme cases of bystanders’ actions or lack of, sealing the fate of many Jewish people. Bystanders come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Sadly, it looks like we are not immune to making the same mistakes again today. So little is being said or done to speak up against acts of anti-Semitism or injustices against the Jewish people, that we could see more tragedies unfold. When the life of an animal ever becomes more important than the life of a human being, then we should look at ourselves in the mirror, because maybe just maybe, we are the ones who have become the animals?

April 21, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Meet Deborah Lipstadt: The New US Antisemitism Envoy!

Most Americans might not know who Deborah Lipstadt is, and yet, her new appointment as the US antisemitism envoy by President Biden shouldn’t be ignored. First, let us look at Ms. Lipstadt’s background and credentials. She is an American historian of Jewish descent and an expert on Holocaust history and antisemitism. In her 1993 book Denying the Holocaust, she exposed the views of historical revisionist David Irving who claims that the Holocaust never happened. David Irving sued Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books for libel, and in 2000, Lipstadt won the case. Incidentally, a great movie telling that story and titled Denial, was made in 2006.

Deborah Lipstadt wrote several other books on the topic of antisemitism and also has been a consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 1994 she was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by President Bill Clinton. In 2021, President Biden nominated her for the position of United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism, and on March 30, 2022, after a long delay, the US Senate confirmed her unanimously.

The position was created in 2004 and had several people at its head since. There is no doubt that from the standpoint of understanding antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt is qualified for the task, and it is a very difficult task requiring some hard decisions to be made. In her recent book Antisemitism Here and Now, she defines antisemitism as: “Antisemitism is not the hatred of people who happen to be Jews. It is hatred of them because they are Jews.”

She has a point. I agree that antisemitism is the hatred of Jews because they are Jews, and as a form of xenophobia, it is quite unique. The challenge for Lipstadt and others trying to define, expose and teach against antisemitism, is to define it properly. Make the definition too narrow and real acts of antisemitism will fall through the crack but make it too wide almost to the point of saying that any criticism of Jewish people and/or Israel is antisemitism, and when real antisemitism occurs, people won’t pay attention. Defining antisemitism requires a delicate balance between overreaction and nonchalance. My best attempt at crafting a definition is as follows: “Antisemitism is the irrational and demonic hatred of Jewish people and Israel characterized by thoughts, words and/or deeds against them.” Even my definition probably falls short of properly defining antisemitism, but I believe that it is critical to accept the fact that antisemitism is irrational and demonic. Once we understand that only Satan can make the irrational look and sound rational, it all fits!

As I have said before, any definition of antisemitism that doesn’t include a spiritual component will always fall short. It is truly impossible to understand antisemitism without including Satan’s hatred for the “apple of God’s eye”. He [Satan] is obsessed with destroying all the Jews so that not one will be left when it is time to say Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai (Zechariah 12:10)–the single event that will usher in the Second Coming of Messiah AND pronounce the demise of Satan.

I am not sure that Deborah Lipstadt includes the demonic criteria in her definition, nevertheless, the task that she has been entrusted with is so critical at this time in our history. She has become the spokesperson on the subject, and there is no doubt that the expectations will be very high as to how she will denounce, expose and fight the oldest hatred.

I wish I could be excited and hopeful about this appointment, but I am concerned about some statements she has made. I honestly don’t care if she is a liberal or conservative, as long as she is competent in her field. Unfortunately, I must disagree with her statement about Holocaust denial. In the aftermath of the lawsuit that David Irving brought on her and Penguin Books, she was quoted saying, “Generally, I don’t think Holocaust denial should be a crime. I am a free speech person; I am against censorship.” I couldn’t disagree more. Denying the existence of the organized, methodical genocide that was the Holocaust SHOULD constitute a crime! I too am in favor of free speech and I too am against censorship, but we must have moral boundaries and by making that statement, Ms. Lipstadt might have committed another–albeit different–sin of denial.

Holocaust denial is willful blindness to the facts of history. It is unfounded historical revisionism and should absolutely be punished as a crime. I understand that Ms. Lipstadt might be academically and scholarly competent to teach on the Holocaust and antisemitism, but she might also be blinded by liberal political correctness, and that would really be a shame!

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