Our stand on the question of Israel is a matter of life or death
By Charles Gardner
When a Turkish member of parliament rounded off a fiery speech with a strong condemnation of Israel, he was struck down with a heart attack and later died in hospital.
“You will not escape the wrath of Allah,” were the last words spoken by 53-year-old Hasan Bitmez before he collapsed to the floor, much to the shock of fellow assembly members who rushed to his aid.1
I believe the entire world should take note of this incident. I have also come across videos of rants from imams, mullahs and others calling for the wholesale murder of Jews. What chance is there of peace amidst this kind of hate talk?
Many Christians are also taken in by this deceit
The Bible has much to say about blessings and curses. The former comes from obedience to God’s laws, the latter from disobedience. There is also the golden rule of Genesis 12:3 – that if you bless the seed of Abraham, you too will be blessed; but if you curse them, you will come under the judgement of God.
Sooner or later, those who curse the Jewish people will hang from the rope they have made for their enemies, as Haman did at the time of Queen Esther.
The now global Palestinian narrative accusing Israel of stealing their land is an outright lie. The land belongs to Israel, according to the Bible and international law – check out, for example, Genesis 17:8 and the San Remo Treaty of 1920.
Politicians who keep promoting a ‘two-state solution’ need to wake up and smell the coffee. What chance is there of such a solution when Palestinian leaders and their supporters insist on destroying the only national home for Jewish people?
Many Christians are also taken in by this deceit. They too must beware, for lying followers of Jesus will also be judged, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5:1-11).
We must avoid colluding with the lies of genocidal maniacs like Adolf Hitler. It’s time to bless, not curse. As Jesus put it, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
As two contributors to Evangelicals Now2 have both stated, evangelical Christians in the UK have been largely silent on Israel in the wake of 7 October. Joel Barder, a Jewish believer, asked: “Is it because we have somehow become so divorced from the heritage and origins of our faith that, as the wonderful [comedian] David Baddiel phrased it, ‘Jews don’t count’?” Joel asserts that Israel is fighting on our behalf for our freedoms against the evils of terror.
Revelation TV presenter Regan Blanton King, in the same issue, points out that there was much church response to the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, and to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but relative silence following the 7 October massacre in Israel.
As soon as we withdrew our commitment in 1947, our empire began to collapse
“This is a matter for discipleship,” he wrote. “To remind people of the promises God made to ethnic Israel… to reflect on the historic evangelical support for a Jewish return to the land of Israel (including C H Spurgeon, J C Ryle and R M McCheyne).”
Britain ruled the world when they blessed Israel by promising, and then preparing, them for statehood in their ancient land. But as soon as we withdrew our commitment in 1947, our empire began to collapse as, first India, then many others under our influence, sought and gained independence.
While we were spreading the Gospel and blessing Israel, our star shone brightly, but as soon as we cut ourselves off from our Judaic roots, our empirical tree began to wither and die.
Niall Ferguson, in a Daily Mail essay, wrote: “Most of us have strongly held but casually informed political opinions on the Middle East.”3
That neatly sums up the problem pertaining to the propaganda to which so many have succumbed. But I love the way Messianic author Steve Maltz succinctly described the dilemma: “The reason that the Jews have survived for so long is that a great power has been protecting them, and the reason that they have been hated for so long is that another great power has been attacking them.”4
Lying prophets – often disguised as priests and politicians – have consistently been telling us that there is “peace, peace, where there is no peace”
Meanwhile lying prophets – often disguised as priests and politicians – have consistently been telling us that there is “peace, peace, where there is no peace” in the words of Jeremiah.
Peace will not come through political negotiations designed to placate and appease, but through the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace will not come through political negotiations designed to placate and appease, but through the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ
Whether they realise it or not, the Jewish people over the years have inadvertently followed the path of their Messiah who, like them, was falsely accused, misrepresented, hated and persecuted, largely friendless and alone, and finally crucified. For the Holocaust was something of a picture of what Jesus suffered for us all. And yet, also like their Messiah, they were raised from the dead when a re-born nation came to life 75 years ago.
Bless, and do not curse, Israel. It’s a matter of life or death!
1God Reports, 14 December 2023
2Evangelicals Now, January 2024 edition
3Daily Mail, 23 December 2023
4www.premierchristianity.com 20 October 2023
New president backs Israel
Newly elected Argentinian president Javier Milei, a 53-year-old Catholic, has vowed to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem. And meanwhile he has made the rabbi with whom he has studied Torah his ambassador to Tel Aviv.
As major western cities kicked off the new year with their usual fireworks display, Hamas did their bit by sending 20 real rockets into Israel just after midnight!
Samaria move by island nation
In an unprecedented move, Papua New Guinea has announced its intention to open a diplomatic consulate in Samaria, the northern half of the area sometimes referred to as the West Bank.
The intended location is Ariel, about 25 miles east of Tel Aviv and one of 127 Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. The news was welcomed by Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who praised the island nation for its friendship and support.
Hamas wants global rule
While Hamas presents itself as a Palestinian movement aiming to eliminate Israel and establish an independent Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, it is also part of the Muslim Brotherhood whose ultimate goal is the establishment of global Islamic rule.
Suspected arson on MP’s office
After his office in a historically Jewish neighbourhood was hit by a suspected arson attack, Conservative MP Mike Freer revealed that a ‘troll’ later emailed him to say that he deserved to burn alive. Representing Mrs Thatcher’s old constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, Freer subsequently issued a public warning over the abuse and intimidation of politicians. He added that the ‘polarised’ debate on Gaza had made things worse. Read the full report here.
BBC report remains secret
It’s now 20 years since the BBC commissioned a report to review its coverage of Israel following persistent allegations of anti-Israel bias.
But the 20,000-word Balen Report has been kept under wraps ever since despite petitions, requests under the Freedom of Information Act and lengthy legal wrangles costing an estimated £400,000 of taxpayers’ money (excluding costs for the BBC’s in-house legal staff).
The report was compiled by then director of BBC News Malcolm Balen, who examined ‘thousands of hours’ of the BBC’s Israel coverage.
“IDF soldiers are working for peace”
Arab atheist Fred Maroun blames decades of lies and a false narrative about Jewish history for the war in Gaza.
A Canadian who lived in Lebanon during ten years of civil war, Fred says the world has failed both Israelis and Gazans by allowing Hamas to transform the enclave into a terror machine using civilians as shields.
“The world has failed both Israelis and Gazans by allowing Hamas to transform the enclave into a terror machine using civilians as shields”
Although an atheist, he prays for the IDF soldiers, his main concern.
“They were thrown into a war they did not want,” he wrote in a blog for the Times of Israel. “Many of them have left regular civilian jobs to risk their lives in a land full of booby traps where ruthless murderers could be popping up at any time out of a multitude of tunnels.”
It was naïve to think Hamas had any intention of living at peace with Israel, he says.
“Israel and the rest of the civilised world needs the IDF to demolish the formidable war arsenal Hamas and its allies have built… And it is the IDF soldiers who are doing the necessary work of peace.”
South Africa’s unhappy choice
Witnessing the worldwide frenzy of hatred for Jews stirred up by the war in Gaza has left many of us feeling sickened and distraught.
At the dawn of my journalistic career, back in the late 1970s, I was based in Fleet Street as a correspondent for the South African Press Association, an associate of Reuters and committed, like them, to impartial reporting of the facts.
As a South African citizen still, I am equally appalled by our government’s ridiculous move in taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged war crimes in Gaza. For what it’s worth, so are all those South African friends with whom I keep in touch. South African churches also released a joint statement distancing themselves from their government’s ‘lawfare’ against Israel.
On the day the case was heard in the ICJ, Brazil and Colombia also announced their support for South Africa’s claim.
At the hearing, Israel was refused permission to play the 50-minute video of Hamas’s 7 October atrocities against civilians.
Bible teacher Amir Tsarfati commented: “Three months after 10/7 and it’s Israel who stands for a trial at the politically biased international court. How I long to be there and watch the ultimate bringer of justice – the God of Israel – judging all the nations that come against us (Joel 3:1-2)!”
And after taking Israel to the International Court of Justice for alleged war crimes in Gaza, South Africa has threatened to prosecute its citizens who have chosen to serve in the IDF, saying such action could potentially contribute to the violation of international law. There was an outcry when the captain of the multi-ethnic nation’s junior cricket team was sacked, simply because he is Jewish.
Former Miss Iraq on Hamas ‘barbarity’
United States congressional candidate and former Miss Iraq Sarah Idan has visited Kfar Aza, one of the Israeli border communities ravaged by Hamas terrorists on 7 October.
“Not even amidst the terror of ISIS, have I seen such barbarity”
A Democrat running to represent California’s 30th congressional district in place of Adam Schiff, who is vying to enter the US Senate, Sarah tweeted: “I brought my old uniform from Iraq to be mentally prepared, but I was still shocked and at a loss for words. Never in my life, not even amidst the terror of ISIS, have I seen such barbarity. What was once a vibrant community now echoes with a haunting silence of tragedy.”
The uniform to which Sarah refers was that she wore as a translator for US-led coalition forces in Iraq.
British ban on violent “settlers”
Amidst a war sparked by the mass slaughter of Jews and in a move apparently coordinated with the United States, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced a ban on violent Israeli ‘settlers’ entering the UK. He was referring to ‘extremist’ Jews living in the so-called occupied West Bank whom he accuses of targeting and killing Palestinian civilians.
Newly ennobled Lord Cameron said they are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. But Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has since described reports of a growing phenomenon of “settler violence” a “blood libel” and “a lie disconnected from reality”.
No condemnation from MSF
The neutrality of the international organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has been called into question. Writing for the Gatestone Institute, Alain Destexhe says such independence is clearly not the case in Gaza.
For despite being extremely active on X and constantly railing against Israel, MSF has not issued a single tweet denouncing Hamas war crimes since 7 October.
Other recent articles by Charles Gardner, which can be found at www.heartpublications.co.uk, include: Resisting the devil!; The ultimate prisoner exchange; Grandchildren on the frontline; Once a ‘violent savage’; The sanitising of violence; Tears of gratitude
Charles is a regular contributor to Israel Today at www.israeltoday.co.il
and is author of ‘To the Jew First’, ‘King of the Jews’, ‘A Nation Reborn’, ‘Israel the Chosen’ and ‘Peace in Jerusalem’, variously available from Christian Publications International, Amazon and Eden Books (Eden.co.uk).