No. 418B
THE JEWS
“Jerusalem – A Brooklyn-based rabbinical leader hailed as a miracle worker by thousands of Jews, says Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be the forerunner of the Messiah and a sign that the day of judgment is approaching. In a weekly message to his organized followers worldwide, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 87, said Jews should not fear mounting conflict in the gulf that secular analysts have said could spill over to Israel. ‘There is nothing to fear or worry about in the events now taking place. They should not affect the spiritual or bodily peace of any Jew because these events are a preparation to bring Messiah very soon,’ the rabbi said. The Jews believe the coming of the Messiah will be accompanied by the resurrection of the dead and establishment of the Kingdom of God for the righteous of all nations.” (The Orlando Sentinel, August 20, 1990)
“Israel From Curse To Blessing: – Down the centuries the Jews were dispersed, abused, persecuted, disowned, expelled, robbed and murdered in pogroms, crusades and the Holocaust. The cup of curses prophesied in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28 has been drunk to the full. However, the Jews now have a land – their land given to Abraham. They have a language – their own as spoken by the prophets of old, and they have their capital Jerusalem plus a new blessing – waves of new Jewish immigrants from Russia! May Almighty God in His infinite mercy now witness a new Israel – one which can be healed in accordance with His promise.
“Let me state simply that united Jerusalem is, has always been and will forever be the capital of Israel and the Jewish people. Jerusalem is not a subject for negotiation. We will not be party to any action that brings into question the status of Yerushalayim as Israel’s capital and the heart and soul of the entire Jewish people. Yerushalayim was united, and will never be divided again.” By Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir. (Second Quarter 1990, Christian Action for Israel, P.O Box 5242, Cape Town, Africa)
Israel has always been God’s Chosen people (Deut. 14:2; Psa. 135:4) even though they have been scattered among all nations and been abused, murdered, etc. However, her past sins have been pardoned (Isa. 40:2), and we should comfort His chosen people. Pastor Charles Taze Russell was a friend of the Jews and gave them the “comfort of the Scriptures.” He predicted that the Jews would be back in Jerusalem after 1914 and become a state, which they have.
God has promised to cleanse Israel after her return. This hasn’t been done yet. But God is faithful that promised (Heb. 10:23). Israel is suffering with the rest of the world during this Time of Trouble (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:7, 21) – although not for her past sins. But Israel will rise and never fall again, but the Gentile nations will be removed and never rise again. (Isa. 24:20; 25:7) “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 25:8 – also see Rev. 21:4 and Rev. 22:3) Jerusalem will not only be the capital of Israel but will be the capital of the whole world in Messiah’s Kingdom.
“Israel – A New Government: – Mr. Yitzhak Shamir has formed a new (Likud) government with a slim majority. Arabs are labeling it as a ‘war cabinet.’ Tough action is promised to end the 3-year–old intifada. The USA sternly opposes excessive violence as well as any expansion of West Bank settlements. Israel appears set for a rough ride. She needs US political and financial support. She does not need renewed ‘Peace Now! demonstrations and calls for a PLO state on West Bank. The pressure will mount. Many voices in the Christian Church will no doubt be raised in strident condemnation of Israel.” (Second Quarter 1990, Christian Action for Israel, P. O. Box 5242, Cape Town, Africa)
“Anti–Semitism On The Rise: – At its weekly session Sunday, the Israeli government heard a report submitted by the inter-Ministerial follow-up Committee on Anti Semitism. The report speaks of a rising tide of anti–Semitic acts and publications all over the world.
“The official report also states that the desecration of Jewish gravesites – a fashionable modern expression of practical anti-Semitism – has reached epidemic proportions ... The Cargantras horror stunned public opinion and touched off a wave of strong protest in Europe and elsewhere. President Francois Mitterand participated in almost spontaneous demonstration of over 200,000 people in Paris ... But the loud and vigorous condemnation did not have an effect on the anti-Semite criminals. Vandalizing the Jewish cemeteries was reported in Britain (where this type of ‘fun’ seems to be more popular than anywhere else), in France, both Germanys, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden as well as in Canada, some Latin American countries, the Soviet Union, Hungary and Poland ... Many incidents of physical anti-Semitic acts were also reported in Latin America as well as some in the U.S., South Africa and New Zealand.
“The ‘ideological’ grounds for the anti-Semitic approach in the Soviet Union has been well known for many generations in Czarist as well as in post-revolution Russia. The extreme nationalist factors put the blame for Russia’s ‘deterioration to Communism’ on the ‘Cosmopolitan’ Jews.
“Concluding the debate that followed the report at the government session, Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir said that even though there is no chance to entirely root out anti-Semitism, that it is as old as the Jewish People, a constant fight against it is essential so that it remains in the framework of the shameful and illegitimate, and be deplored in every enlightened society.
“‘But our foremost, best and only answer to any form of anti-Semitism everywhere,’ said Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, ‘is the one word: Aliyah.”’ (The Jewish Press, September 28, 1990)
The Lord will bless all who are fighting anti-Semitism, even though all man can do will not stop it. Only the Lord can do that. He will! The Messianic Kingdom will be Israelitish, and all will have to become proselyte Jews to get the blessings. And those who do will gain eternal life. It will be humiliating for Jew-haters.
“To Admit Wrong & To Be Right: – The ability to admit error and to alter one’s course in kind is a prerequisite for the legitimate soul searching that is expected of us at the dawn of the New Year. If ideas or actions are existentially beyond reproach then self-introspection would be an exercise in futility and the meaning of Rosh Hashana would be lost...
“The world’s attention has most recently been drawn once again to the Middle-East where yet another mustachioed madman is holding the world hostage through threats of war, chaos and bloodshed. While the reaction of the free world this time seems altruistically noble and so far, correct, there still seems to be something missing.
“Some admission of error, and some regret. When in 1981 Israeli pilots sent Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear rector into early retirement, Israel was roundly condemned by all. It is not difficult to imagine just how serious the situation would be today if the world was facing a Saddam Hussein with nuclear capability. Israel is to be thanked that this is not the case. The condemners should say ‘we are wrong.’
“In its war with Iran, Iraq received arms and technology from Western Europe and more than tacit support from the U.S. Saddam’s aggression against Iran, his mass murder of the Kurds, and his sponsorship of terrorism were ignored. No admission of responsibility or sense of regret has been heard.
“If there is no admission of error and there is no regret, there is no determination not to repeat these mistakes in the future. Several policies employed by the U.S. in the Gulf Crisis seem to prove this point.
“The PLO perceived as a legitimate interlocutor has squarely aligned itself with Iraq against the U.S. Some of their chief henchman such as Abul Abbas, George Habash and Abu Nidal now reside and operate from Baghdad. There has not been a policy reversal on the part of the administration.
“Syria, under Hafez el Assad, whose fetes in savagery do not pale to those of the ‘Butcher of Baghdad’ has become an ally of the U.S. His despotism, crimes against humanity and mortal hatred for Israel are being ignored, or wished away, but accepted, recognized, and lived with. That is the message the U.S. should be sending to its friends.
“To be right though is at times more challenging than the admission of wrong. That is the message of Avraham Avinu-Haivri, from the other side – and is why we read about his life in the Torah portion of Rosh Hashanah. As in Abraham’s life, the courage to say no when the world wants to hear yes has been Israel’s crucible and it has in most cases passed valiantly.
‘Let us hope that the New Year shall bring with it added resolve and courage of conviction to stand apart and do what is right.” (Yechiel M. Leiter, Executive Director – Hebron Today, issue 10, Fall 5751)
Jeane Kirkpatrick And Ruth Moore Speak Up! United Nations (WUP) – Former Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick and Author Ruth Roberts Moore of Kansas City have come out with sharp criticism of the recent Security Council condemnations of Israel and of America’s role in it.
“This is the way it works for Israel and the United Nations: Sentence first, investigate later,” Dr. Kirkpatrick declared in her recent syndicated column.
“We here in Kansas City, have been disturbed about the action of our Government in condemnation of Israel,” stated Ruth Roberts Moore, a leading publicist active in a Christian pro-Jewish group. “I felt so strongly about it that I wrote my views down and our Church membership concurred with me to draw up a petition entitled ‘The UN Does Not Speak for Us!’ It opens thus:
“We, the undersigned, are citizens of the United States. We support a Democratic government and believe in the basic laws of this land. Yet, today, October 13, we hung our heads in shame at the acts of our leaders. How can we support a condemnation of the nation of Israel in the United Nations? Is it possible that we have become arrogant to the point of taking the attitude of ‘King of the World?’
“The first nation to greet the new State of Israel, back in 1948, was the United States. President Harry S. Truman congratulated the new nation and promised support. From that time to this, Israel has been a faithful ally of the United States, sharing many technological discoveries, medically and otherwise. It is the only true democracy in the Middle East...”
Dr. Kirkpatrick, voicing the view which this writer believes is held by the majority of the American people, explains her criticism thus:
“First the Security Council votes to condemn Israel for ‘excessive violence’ of security forces at the Temple Mount. Next it votes to ‘deplore the refusal of the Israeli Government’ to cooperate in a UN investigation of the ‘excessive violence.’ Neither resolution takes note of the stones literally showered on Jewish women worshiping at the Temple Mount, nor of the subsequent murder of Jews in Jerusalem.
“The U.S. joined in both resolutions, making them unanimous... Sources said Bush feels heavy pressure to take a firm stand against Israel to preserve the alliance he has organized against Iraq... In fact, there is not even a superficial resemblance between Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the Israeli army’s firing into rioters at the Al Aksa mosque. The one is a case of invasion and occupation of a whole country, a systematic deprivation of rights of a whole people, of torture and murder of many thousands. The other involves a single instance of excessive use of violence...”
In referring to the constant pressure which the Arabs and their many supporters are exerting on the U.S. and the Security Council members, Dr. Kirkpatrick notes, to the shame of the Administration and these members, that “it has not mattered much that Arab nations have been implacably hostile to Israel, have doggedly refused to make peace with Israel, and have ostracized Arab governments which broke ranks,” adding that “if Arab states back an attack on Israel, most other member states of the UN do so also.
“No clearer example of this double standard can be found than in the UN treatment of violence in Lebanon. More than 750 Christian soldiers were killed in Lebanon by Syrian and local Moslem forces in Syria’s latest push to consolidate power... The failure of the Security Council even to call for Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon mocks that body’s stated concern with national self-determination and with aggression. Its silence concerning the many Lebanese victims of Syria’s expansion mocks its concern for excessive violence in Israel.”
We salute Jeane Kirkpatrick for this her forthright statement, and we hail Ruth Roberts Moore for having gotten the Kansas City Gospel Tabernacle Membership to issue the special petition which adds further:
“We are fellow Christians and Jews. We believe righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. How dare the leaders of America join with the cutthroats, murderers and terrorists of the world, only for selfish gain! What kind of a leadership would back such an act, and in the world community of the United Nations?”
Jeane Kirkpatrick knows the United Nations. Ms. Ruth Roberts Moore knows the feelings of Middle America. Why does our Government refuse to learn from them both? (By David Horowitz – Behind the Scenes, 22 November 1990)
“The PLO Response To ‘Exodus Ii: Open fire on the new Jewish immigrants – be they from Soviet Union, Ethiopia or anywhere... I want you to shoot on the ground or in the air, at every immigrant who thinks our land is a playground, and who thinks that immigration to it is a vacation or a picnic... It makes no difference whether they live in Jaffa or Jericho. ‘I give you explicit instructions to open fire. Do everything to stop the flow of immigration. I will jail whoever refuses to do this. My words are not just a threat, they are a reality.”’ A statement made by Yasir Arafat, quoted in ‘Al Muharrar’ 10th April, 1990. (The Vinyard, July 1990)
“Zionist Affairs: Throughout the Middle East crisis Israel is showing restraint and dedication to principles of decency and humanity. It is part of our heritage. We glory not in war. We glory in helping the oppressed all over the world... Surely the terrible happenings will be explained in the weeks to come. Meanwhile we are being asked to write President Bush, our senators and representatives to advise them of the following FACTS:
“1. Aid to Israel is a cost Effective Expenditure for U.S. Security. 2. Current aid to Israel is less than 2% of U.S. expenditures for NATO’s defense. In addition, Israel has never asked the U.S. to deploy its troops in Israel. 3. Most aid to Israel in the U.S. generates 60,000 American jobs for every billion dollars of assistance. 4. A strong U.S./Israel relationship is vital to U.S. foreign policy objectives in the Middle East and U.S. strategic, diplomatic and moral interests, as Israel is the only politically stable, democratic U.S. ally in that region. 5. U. S. assistance to Israel is essential to ensure Israel’s continued survival against Arab states which remain committed to its [Israel’s] destruction.”
“JULY 7, 1990 – Heard on CSPAN discussion by Middle East experts: Natan Scharansky, well known Soviet Jewish refusenik who spent 12 years in prison and is now in Israel, that he expects not one million but two million Soviet Jews to leave for Israel! This commentator said that it will be a ‘bonanza’ for Israel. He added that it is so very important to the Israel Government that these Soviet Jews be allowed to come, despite desperate efforts by Arab Countries and the PLO to put a stop to it, that the Shamir Government will be agreeable to many U.S. demands, such as that no new immigrants be settled in the West Bank or Gaza.
“He also said that the break-up of Communism in Europe is proving a real benefit to Israel. Russia is no longer bankrolling the PLO, nor other Eastern European countries which heavily supported the PLO.” (By Elva Lanowick)
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We express our thanks to the brethren and friends for the many beautiful Christmas cards received. We are grateful for the love and prayers expressed. We were unable to send as many cards as we would like to have due to the general work and other hindrances. Nevertheless, our warm Christian love and prayers are with you. We wish all our readers a prosperous and blessed 1991.
“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” (Psa. 34:15) “For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” (Psa. 91:11)
THE PROPER DATE for the Memorial for 1991 is March 28 after six p.m.