Turning of the Tide

An Open Letter to Israel

The editors at ContraCelsum have no particular connection to the nation of Israel.  We do not see the existence of Israel as any representing any particular fulfillment of biblical prophecy, although the existence of Israel as a modern state surely falls under the decrees of God's providence.  But His purposes for His ancient people will be fulfilled whether Israel continues to exist as a nation, or not.

To say this begs a question.  Will Israel survive as a nation state?  We are not used to states going out of existence, but of course it has happened many times in human history.  It is highly likely, for example, that the state of Iraq might cease to exist.  Syria similarly.  If Israel were to cease to exist, why ought that to surprise us--as if such a thing had never happened before?  After all there are plenty of voices, some near at Israel's hand, calling for the annihilation of that nation and its expunging from human history.

Perhaps most significantly, Israel's strongest supporter (in a geo-political sense) has been the United States.  Yet under Barack Obama that support has not just waned: it has turned into near official hostility, with the President recently engaging in rhetoric that if any other Western state were to utter in an official, or semi-official capacity, would be deemed anti-semitic.
At present no-one is hitting the panic button because President Obama is now a "has-been" and will soon be gone.  But it must be making plenty of folk in the Israeli government think about the future of the nation--if an age were to come where the support of the US could no longer be counted upon.

If we were to write an open letter to Israel, we would counsel that continual reliance upon the United States, particularly for weapon systems and armaments, has made Israel weaker over time.  Therefore, the clear and present dangers faced by Israel ought to convince its leaders to move Israel more and more into the frame of armed non-alignment.  It is time to source military technology and hardware and capability from a number of suppliers, not just the United States.  This lessening of dependence upon the US would be a good thing in the long run.  It would make Israel stronger.

Secondly, we would urge Israel to continue to its remarkable restraint and attempts to protect civilian lives when engaged in military actions against Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.  Regardless of what facile political propaganda Israel's enemies seek to broadcast, the fact remains that Israel's policy in this regard is ethically right.  It is a generous assumption that the majority of citizens living in Palestinian territories have not fallen under the thraldom of Islamic fanaticism.  But it is the morally right assumption to maintain.  Remember that during World War II, Churchill always made the clear distinction between the Nazis and the German people.  It is a distinction-in-kind that has served, and will serve, Israel well.

There are two matters, however, which trouble us greatly and which we would like to see addressed.  The first is the Israeli version of the Nazi's claim to lebensraum.  We find this particularly odious--especially in Israel's case,  which should know better.  This policy--long standing in Israel--gives the automatic right of Israeli citizenship to Jewish people anywhere in the world.  It is a right which translates into the automatic right to migrate to Israel and be admitted as citizens.  In turn, this has created a demand for ever more lebensraum--at the expense of Palestinians' long claims to land, farms, houses, stretching back, in some cases, over centuries.

We believe this policy to be state-sanctioned theft.  It represents the spirit of Ahab and Jezebel.  It sets the prophet Elijah against modern Israel.  It makes the modern state of Israel guilty of the systemic crime of extorting the equivalent of Naboth's vineyard from its rightful owners.  We believe this policy is an offence to Yahweh, and risks bringing a divine curse upon Israel.

Imagine the foolishness and idiocy of any other modern nation state adopting the same policy.  Would Ireland be acclaimed if it said to all the Irish diaspora, return home and claim the infallible right of Irish citizenship?  Would it be celebrated if it then insisted that Northern Ireland accept the taking of its land from its citizens to accommodate the millions upon millions that might turn up.  To an impartial observer Israel has got locked into just such a foolish, nonsensical position.

Finally, we would urge Israel to do all it can be stop the persecution of Christian believers within Israel.  We gratefully acknowledge that this is not a policy of state, but it is the policy of  many amongst the Hasidim.  We urge Israel to defend those persecuted for their faith--for these Christians love and fear Yahweh, and honour your Mashiach, your Messiah.  We Gentiles who love the Lord, your God and our God are not your enemies.

In fact, we would urge you to consider that the  Mashiach is God's designated Prince of Peace.  He alone can (and will) bring peace to the whole world, including Middle East.  How long, how many bitter strokes need be borne, before Jewish and Islamic join Christian people and turn to Him?