TEN FACES OF ANTI-SEMITISM - Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

THE TEN FACES OF ANTI-SEMITISM

            It's almost inconceivable that a mere 67 years after the Holocaust, the ugly face of international anti-Semitism is again rearing its head.  A recent study of this phenomenon was done by the Belgium author Joël Kotek.  Kotek, in studying political cartoons, has outlined ten “motifs” which he discovered has characterized the reemergence of this pernicious evil.  In capsule form, these ten motifs are:

1.      The first theme is the oldest – characterizing the demonized Jew as “an inferior human”. This is especially effective in Muslim countries which have the concept of dhimmi – or second class citizen. However, it is not only Jews who fall under this rubric.  Any non-Muslim is a dhimmi in an Islamic controlled country.  Characterizing the Jew as sub-human was also the tactic used during the beginning of the Nazi genocide in Germany.

2.      The second theme is that of “God-killers”.  This is a particular favorite of the Church – especially those denominations steeped in “Replacement Theology”.  The Jews are thus characterized as being responsible for killing the Messiah, and have therefore been rejected by God, who has, in turn, replaced them with the Church.  This is the theme of an entire article (or two) all its own!

3.      Israel as a Nazi state is the third motif being seen more and more these days, especially by the liberal world news media.  News outlets like the BBC, CNN, and the Huffington Post (to name only three) practically bend over backward to make the Israeli government look like the cold-blooded Gestapo whenever Israel attempts to defend itself against one form of terrorism or another.

4.      The forth strategy is called “zoomorphism” – that is, changing a hated enemy into a horrible beast.  Examples are picturing Jews as vampires sucking the life blood of other nations or characterizing the Jews as an octopus with tentacles circling the globe and strangling the world's economies.  Zoomorphism lends itself especially well to anti-Semitic cartoons of all types.  Snakes, pigs, and cockroaches are used extensively as caricatures of Jews.

5.      A fifth common anti-Semitic technique is to picture Jews as Masters of the World.  In other words, everything that goes on in the world today is all part of an enormous Jewish conspiracy.  Either the Jews are (a) attempting to control the world, or – in some circles – (b) they already do control the world.  American anti-Semitism (such as the neo-Nazi groups) is especially fond of the latter.  This is particularly fascinating when one considers motif #1 above.  It baffles me how one can see the Jew as both an “inferior sub-human” and at the same time, as a master of the world.  The sheer stupidity of such mental gymnastics boggles the mind.

6.      Seeing the Jews as a Corrupting Force in world politics is a sixth motif.  American presidents (especially Republican presidents) are seen as connected to Jewish organizations such as AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) or the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) who in turn give huge amounts of money to their campaign funds.  The fact that most American Jews are liberal and vote Democratic seems to be of no consequence when it comes to this particular brand of anti-Semitism.

7.      The “Blood Libel” is another very old characterization of the Jews.  They are portrayed as blood loving or blood thirsty, a belief that also has its origins in the Church.  The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches taught their congregations that the Jews required the blood of Christian children to drink during their Pesach (Passover) Seder services.  Such beliefs were responsible for many of the terrible pogroms which took place in Russia and the Eastern-Block countries during the Easter season.  Muslim countries, such as Egypt, have also taken up this caricature in recent years.

8.      The eighth anti-Semitic ploy is one which should also be broadened to be called anti-Zionism.  This is the statement that it is the Arabs who want peace, but Israel does not. This motif is gaining favor and supporters from sources which would otherwise seem to be “strange bedfellows”.  Clearly the Islamic world likes this one, but amazingly, so does Hollywood, and even denominations of the evangelical church.  The anti-Zionist rhetoric that can be seen in such such songs as “Freedom for Palestine” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NA19FpmvQ4 or during the recent “Christ at the Check-Point” conference in Bethlehem this past March, are but only two examples of this insidious perversion of the truth.

9.      Calls for the murder of the Jews, and the total elimination of Israel, especially in the Arab Muslim countries, are being seen in songs, speeches, and even in Arab children's textbooks. In fact, in Jerusalem, at an Arab Children Center and a health care facility where I made a visit on behalf of Christian Friends of Israel, I personally saw – in their “art therapy room” – a map of Israel, made by a Palestinian child in art class.  The map was the outline of modern Israel and the West Bank – but it was entirely filled in with the colors of the Palestinian flag.  Israel had been entirely eliminated!  And this travesty was hanging proudly on the wall outside the art room!  Worse yet, this is an organization supported by many Christian denominations!

10.  The most hideous and extreme of the anti-Semitic themes is that of Infanticide.   This demonic theme claims that the Jews are not only blood-thirsty murders, but that they actually delight, and prefer the murder of children.  World propagandists ignore the hundreds of thousands of children killed in Sudan, Bosnia, Chechenia, Algeria, the lake countries of Africa, and focus on the Palestinian children.  To be sure there have been children inadvertently killed in the cross-fire of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.  But to depict the Jews and the IDF has gleefully killing children is unconscionable and reprehensible!  During the recent Israeli counter-strike into Gaza, following the launch of over 200 rockets from Gaza into Israel during the weekend of Purim, the Western media coverage was telling.  One article I read was accompanied by two photographs – both of destroyed building in Gaza and children walking helplessly through the rubble. Were there any photographs of the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage caused by the 200 terrorist rockets into Israel – which were the reason for the retaliatory strike in the first place?  Where there any photographs of terrified Israeli children quaking in fear outside their bombed out school building or their totally destroyed playgrounds?   Not a one!

            Mr. Kotek concludes his report with these chilling words:  "In the collective sub-conscious of many Christians, and now Arabs, anti-Semitic myths cannot be eradicated. They present the Jews as 'the Eternal Jew,' a warmonger and a danger for the world. This is no longer just an Arab concept. Many recent polls in the European Union confirm how strong these prejudices have permeated this continent."

            And I might add, they have permeated the Church in America as well.  John Hagee was in Jerusalem recently and he summed up the situation very well.  He said, “It's time for the Church to get off the fence” concerning its position with Israel and the Jewish people.

            God's Word is unambiguous.  He will bless those who bless His people.  He will curse those who do not.  The choice, and the consequences, are entirely up to each of one of us.

            Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

            Asheville, NC

For further reading: Cartoons and Extremism -- Israel and Jews in the Arab and Western Media, by Joel Kotek, is available on Amazon.com   http://www.amazon.com/Cartoons-Extremism-Israel-Western-Media/dp/0853037523

Shabbat - Shabbath ceremony

Article below by Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

Shamar Shabbat – Keeping the Sabbath

In Deuteronomy 5:12 we read -- “Keep (or observe) the Sabbath day

to keep it holy…” In Hebrew this sentence reads --

Shamar et yom

ha-Shabbat

l'kad'sho.

I want to direct your attention to the first word of Deuteronomy’s

passage above. The word is

is often translated “keep” as in the example above. However,

“

picture of a watchman in a watchtower guarding a field, or guarding a

fortress or city. Why is this distinction important?

Let me share just two brief points, as to why

to the Sabbath.

First, it is the one day which God devoted to

Life! It is to be a day of renewal and refreshing. Remember that the

weekly day of rest had no parallel in any other ancient civilization.

In ancient times, leisure was for the wealthy and the ruling classes only,

never for the serving or laboring classes. The very idea of rest each

week was unimaginable. The Greeks and the Romans thought Jews

were lazy because they insisted on having a "holiday" every seventh

day

seven and He created the Sabbath.

Jesus said it this way – “

The second point is one I’ve mentioned before – the Hebraic concept

of the “sanctity of time”. The Sabbath may have been the last thing

created, but it was the first thing that God sanctified and called “holy”.

In the Ten Commandments, there is only one thing that God calls

שמר . Pronounced “sha’mar”, the wordshamar” could more appropriately be translated as “guard”. It is the“guarding” is so aproposלחים (“L’Chaim” ) – to. But God knew man must rest from his toil at least one day inShabbat was made for man; not man for Shabbat.” (Mark 2:27).

קדוש

I have heard it said by theologians that “mankind was God’s purpose of creation”. Mankind may have been the “purpose”, but Shabbat was the climax! To theShabbat is a Palace of Holiness in Time. God’s “Mo’edim” (His

Appointed Times

Leviticus 23 without that truth coming through loud and clear.)

) are very important to Him. (One cannot read

Shabbat

important even than Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. To those

who observe

joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when one can set

aside all of one’s weekday concerns and devote one’s self to higher

pursuits.

In Jewish literature, poetry and music,

bride or queen. In fact, there is a popular Hebrew

that says

beloved to meet the [Sabbath] bride.” And what husband does not

want to protect and “guard” his bride? What monarch does not want

to “guard” his palace? Likewise, God admonishes us to

is the most important ritual observance in Judaism; moreShabbat, it is a precious gift from God, a day of greatShabbat is also described as aShabbat hymnLecha Dodi Likrat Kallah which translates, “Come myשמר שבת

(

 

The Bread

“challah”, you can easily make your own using Pillsbury refrigerated

bread dough. Challah is braided bread and typically looks like this:

Here in Israel you can get “challah” made with a wide variety of

ingredients – white flour, whole wheat, oats, rye, etc and similarly with

a variety of coatings – egg wash, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and

so forth. This link will tell you more...

. If your community does not have a bakery which makes

http://www.jewishrecipes.org/jewish-foods/challah.html

The challah is traditionally covered, when sitting on the table before

the blessing, with a special “challah cover” – often with the word

“

 

The Wine

or other kosher wine is preferred, but at home we often will use a

berry wine such as Blackberry Merlot. Grape juice, of course, can be

used as well.

: A red table wine (such as Manishewetz or Mogan David)

The Candles:

traditional, although any two candles will do. In Israel many folks buy

the small flat throw-away “votive-type” candles in their own individual

aluminum holders and use those for

 

The woman's shawl:

during the candle-lighting ceremony, is fine.

Any type of shawl, to be placed over the head

The Ceremony

When all are gathered at the table, the mother or oldest woman

covers her head with the shawl and proceeds to light the candles.

She then stretches her arms around the candles and brings her

hands back toward her face, as if she is gathering the light toward

herself. She does this three times.

Finally, she brings both hands up to her face, covers her eyes

and says the following blessing:

“Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King of the Universe,

who has sanctified us with Your commandments,

and instructed us to kindle the candles of Shabbat.

In Hebrew the blessing is...

“Baruk atah ADONAI Elohaynu, Melek HaOlam,

asher kidi'shay'nu be'mitz'vetov vitzi'vaynu

le'hawd-lick nair shel shabbat.”

Everyone at the table responds with “

 “Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King

In Hebrew the prayer is:

“Baruk atah ADONAI Elohaynu, Melek HaOlam,

ha motzi le'chem min ha'eretz.”

Everyone at the table responds with “

 “Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King of the

In Hebrew the prayer is:

“Baruk atah ADONAI Elohaynu, Melek HaOlam,

bo ray pre ha'gafin.”

Everyone at the table responds with “

Amen”.

The husband then takes a large piece of the challah, breaks it

into smaller pieces and passes the pieces to each person at the

table. Each challah piece is dipped in salt and each person eats his

or her portion together with the others. (Salt is used to commemorate

the grain offerings in the Temple, which were always required to be

used with salt. – Leviticus 2:13)

Finally, the husband lifts his glass of wine and recites the

following blessing:

Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

Amen”.

Next, the husband or oldest man lifts the challah bread and

says the following prayer:

of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.”

Amen”.

Two tapered candles in matching candlesticks isShabbat.

Shabbat” in Hebrew is on the cover – but this is also optional.

One needs only a few things to perform the Sabbath service as we do

it...(1) a loaf of bread (preferably “challah”); (2) red wine (or grape

juice); (3) two candles; and (4) a shawl or similar head covering for

the woman. (A prayer shawl (tallit) or other head covering for the

man can also be used. I have one, but as I understand it, for a non-

Jewish man, such a head covering is optional.)

Shamar Shabbat) – to guard the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Jew,

“qadosh” – holy – and that is Shabbat.

What’s the big deal about a Palestinian State? - Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

What’s the big deal about a Palestinian State?

            A recent letter to the editor of the Portland Oregonian asked this question – “If Israel was created by a U.N. resolution, what’s the big deal about another U.N. resolution creating a Palestinian State?  This question reminds me of a famous quote by the 18/19th century philosopher  Georg Hegel -- “What history teaches us is that people…never learn anything from history...”

In point of fact, the Palestinians already have their own State and have had since 1922; but I’ll come back to that in a minute.  First, let’s take an abbreviated trip through history, and maybe – despite Hegel’s cynical remark -- we can learn something.

Prior to the Allied victory which ended World War I, all of the Levant (what is today Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel) as well as Egypt, Sudan, Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, and Armenia were part of the Ottoman Empire.  (It is important to understand that there were no independent “Palestinian Peoples” at this time, nor have their ever been.  All peoples living in the Levant -- whether Arabs, Jews, or Christians -- were “Palestinians” by definition.) 

During WW-I the Ottoman’s had aligned themselves with Germany in the pact called the “Ottoman-German Alliance”.  At the end of the war (1918) the Allies occupied Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire essentially collapsed.

Prior to the Allied victory, in 1917, Lord Balfour, Prime Minister of Great Britain wrote the now famous Balfour Declaration, which said – in part -- "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object…”

In an effort to fill the governmental vacuum caused by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne sought to chop up the remains of the Empire into several different zones of influence and control.  By 1923 this had resulted in Thrace going to Greece, the expansion of Armenia, the creation of Kurdistan, and the independence of Persia and Ottoman Turkey.  In addition, the French controlled Syria and Lebanon (the French Mandate) and the British controlled Iraq (the British Mandate for Mesopotamia) and Palestine (the British Mandate for Palestine).

In 1922, the British divided the Palestinian Mandate into two administrative areas.  East of the Jordan River this area of Palestine was called Trans-Jordan. Originally the plan called for the territory west of the Jordan to go to the Jews, and the Trans-Jordan would go to the Arabs.  Remember that Arabs, Jews, and Christians lived on both sides of the Jordan River at this time.  In that same year the League of Nations recognized Palestine Trans-Jordan as a state under the British Mandate, with Emir Abdullah as the titular ruler of the state.  (This was Abdullah’s reward from the British for working in league with Lawrence of Arabia in bringing about “the Great Arab Revolt” against Ottoman rule during WW-I.)   The country remained under British supervision until 1946, when the United Nations recognized the new Palestinian Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as an independent country, and Abdullah went from being Emir to becoming King.  Here then, was the birth of the Palestinian State; an independent nation which exists to this day!

However, during this same twenty six year period, on the west side of the Jordan River, the Mufti of Jerusalem was refashioned into the Grand Mufti of Palestine, and the office was held by one Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini.  In the 1920s and 1930s El-Hussenini actively opposed both the British rule in Palestine and the renewed Jewish Zionist immigration.  He instigated Jewish massacres in 1921 and again in 1929.  The Grand Mufti allied himself with the Germans during WW-2 and also opposed Emir Abdullah for his efforts to expand Trans-Jordan as the Palestinian state at the expense of the Mandate territory west of the Jordan River.  After the Second World War the struggles between Arabs and Jews continued, with the British – generally siding with the Arabs – caught in the middle of the escalating conflict.

By 1946 Great Britain had been dealing with nearly three decades of continual unrest and had decided to end the Mandate.  However, it was unclear what to do with the territory west of the Jordan River – now generally called “Palestine” – conveniently forgetting that Trans-Jordan / the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was also “Palestine”!  The British turned the “Question of Palestine” over to the United Nations and the eleven nation UNSCOP committee.  Despite the fact that the Palestinian Kingdom of Jordan already existed for the Arabs and that the Jews had originally been promised the territory west of the River, UNSCOP recommended two independent states – one Arab, one Jewish –  with Jerusalem to be placed under international administration.  On 29 November 1947 the U.N. General Assembly voted 33 to 13 (with 10 abstentions) in favor of the Partition Plan.  The Jewish Agency accepted the Partition.  The five Arab nations who were voting members at the time, unified under the League of Arab Nations, voted against the Partition, and refused to accept it.  Meanwhile, the British government announced that the Mandate would end at midnight on 14 May 1948.

On the afternoon of Friday, 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion announced the creation of the Jewish state, to be called Israel, effective at midnight following the end of the British Mandate.  The United States, the Soviet Union, and eleven other nations immediately recognized the new nation.  The Arab nations did not.  Within days the new nation of Israel was invaded by Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan.  Interestingly, the Jordanian troops were led by 38 British officers who resigned their commissions in the British army in order to fight for King Abdullah!

During those initial months of war in 1948 and 1949 – now known in Israel as the War of Independence – approximately 750,000 Arabs fled what is now Israel and entered surrounding Arab countries.  At the same time, about 600,000 Jews fled those same Arab countries and entered Israel.  The Jewish immigrants were immediately absorbed into Israeli society.  The Arab immigrants were placed in refugee camps and held as political pawns for decades.  The decaying remains of some of these despicable refugee camps – those which were under the control of Jordan between the 1949 Armistice and the 1967 Six Day War – can still be seen today in areas of Israel.  It was these camps which became the breeding grounds for terrorist organizations such as the PLO, Hamas, and Hezbollah.  But that’s another history lesson for another time.

So…what about the “Palestinians”?  Shouldn’t they have their own state?  In reality, they already do.  It’s called Jordan and it is more than three times the size of all the territory west of the Jordan River, both Israel proper and the “disputed territories” of the West Bank and Gaza combined.  And those are the facts!

Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

Asheville, NC