Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Showing posts with label Zionism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zionism. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Sunday, February 1, 2015
'I Have a Dream,' Israeli Pres Tells Black Christians
'I Have a Dream,' Israeli Pres Tells Black Christians
Sunday, February 01, 2015 | Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY
On his first visit to the United States, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin chose to make his first speech not to Jewish leaders, but to Black Christian leaders in Brooklyn's Christian Community Church. None of the previous nine Israeli presidents has ever addressed non-Catholic Christians inside a church outside of Israel. This unprecedented gesture was poorly covered by the media.
Short as Rivlin's speech was, it was nonetheless a landmark event worth much more attention than the short, cordial reports in the Jerusalem Post and on Brooklyn News. Worth noting was Rivlin's emphasis on learning history.
Lest one forget and assume history is important, former President Shimon Peres repeatedly asserted there was no need to study the past. The reasoning behind Peres' contempt for history was his vision of a world where land no longer mattered in the formation of national identity, which in itself he viewed as unimportant. This explains his enthusiasm for the idea of "land for peace."
Rivlin thinks otherwise. In quoting his host, Pastor A. R. Bernard, the Israeli president indirectly justified the existence of modern Israel by insisting, "We must celebrate the past. We must rehearse it in the ears of our children and the world, from generation to generation so that history does not become myth."
Rivlin's embracing of this profound approach to history as espoused by a wise African-American Christian leader should not be surprising. Jews have been doing this from time immemorial, and those like Peres will ultimately change nothing.
Rivlin certainly used the occasion to express much needed Israeli empathy with the American black community, but also to send a clear message to the world about the purpose of Zionism, a word increasingly associated with imperialism, occupation and injustice.
"I also have a dream," said our president, "that once again God will knock on our door. I dream that Jerusalem, which is a microcosm of the world, will serve as a model for coexistence between different communities and religions. Jews and Arabs were not condemned to live together, but destined to live together. We are all the children of Abraham, and as the prophet Isaiah said: 'It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it … For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'"
Amidst all the lies, disinformation and contempt thrown at Israel, Rivlin correctly presented Zionism as an effort to create a society that will be a light to the world.
Though by no means perfect, Israel is at least attempting to achieve Isaiah's vision, and our president believes that Zionism as it was intended to be will one day become a reality. This is a far cry from the bad press Israel receives, and it may be why this particular visit did not fit the agenda of the major news agencies.
PHOTO: Rivlin with Pastor Bernard in New York
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Monday, July 21, 2014
France: Anti-Semitism Fuels Violent Criticism of Israel
France: Anti-Semitism Fuels Violent Criticism of Israel
Monday, July 21, 2014 | Israel Today Staff
Senior French government officials this week were pulling no punches as they stated with perfect clarity that the violent anti-Israel demonstrations on the streets of Paris and elsewhere around the world are fueled by a racist hatred of all Jews.
Last weekend in Germany, demonstrators in Berlin hurled stones and rioters in Frankfurt vandalized a local synagogue as they protested Israel’s military operations in Gaza; in Los Angeles and Boston, pro-Palestinian protestors assaulted rival pro-Israel demonstrators; and while direct violence was more subdued in London rallies, anti-Semitism slogans were used as an estimated tens of thousands took to the streets in support of Hamas-ruled Gaza.
But nowhere was the situation worse than in Paris, which some noted had come to look a bit like Gaza as Muslim and other pro-Palestinian rioters rampaged through the streets.
After anti-Israel protestors wounded 15 French police officers, Prime Minister Manuel Valls forcefully addressed the issue:
“Traditional anti-Semitism, this old disease of Europe is joined by a new anti-Semitism that cannot be denied or concealed, that we must face. It happens on the social networks and in workers’ neighborhoods, among ignorant young men who hide their hatred of Jews behind a façade of anti-Zionism or hatred of the State of Israel.”
Those riots quickly turned into an anti-Semitic affair, as businesses in the largely Jewish neighborhood of Sarcelles were attacked and burned.
Those riots quickly turned into an anti-Semitic affair, as businesses in the largely Jewish neighborhood of Sarcelles were attacked and burned.
Standing outside a Sarcelles synagogue that was violently besieged by demonstrators, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve decried the anti-Semitism sweeping his and other nations.
“When you head for the synagogue, when you burn a corner shop because it is Jewish-owned, you are committing an anti-Semitic act,” Cazeneuve told reporters.
Anti-Israel activists like to claim that they have nothing against the Jews personally, and are only protesting “Zionism.” The same assertions are often made by Hamas officials when addressing an international audience.
But in the cases of both the anti-Israel activists and Hamas itself, the constant references to Jews in the context of “protesting Zionism” belie their true intent and the spirit behind their movement.
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Monday, June 23, 2014
The Presbyterians and Anti-Christ
The Presbyterians and Anti-Christ
Monday, June 23, 2014 | Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY
The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) continues its spiritual and social war against the people of Israel.
In my article "The Impossible People and PCUSA" (subscribe now to read it in the next Israel Today Magazine), I talk about this Church's new educational resource called "Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide." This booklet should have created a loud Christian protest, particularly after the praise it received from White Supremacist leader David Duke.
I do not know if there were institutional Christian protests against PCUSA, but even if there were, the Presbyterians remained resolute in sticking to their defiled theology that denies not only the existence of Israel, but the existence of the people of Israel.
The 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that was held from June 14-21, 2014 at the COBO Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan, generated a lot of Twitter posts that protested its resolution "to divest from three corporations – Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions."
Though this resolution clarifies that it does not constitute divestment from Israel itself, the justification for boycotting specifically these three corporations seemed to be a bit evasive.
The explanation that these specific corporations are supporting "non-peaceful pursuits" is hardly satisfying, and raises suspicion that, for example, Caterpillar is not being targeted because its bulldozers are moving earth in Syria, but because they are used by the IDF. Likewise, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard are targets not because they sell cellphones and printers to Iran, but because they have large operations in Israel.
The problematic element is, therefore, not what the PCUSA calls "non-peaceful pursuits." The problematic element is Israel.
That Israel itself is the target can be seen in another resolution, brought to my attention by the "Elder of Zion" blog. Though voted down, the suggestion and the reaction to it can teach us what's happening within the Presbytery's bowels.
The item under discussion, submitted by the Presbytery of Chicago, was "On Distinguishing Between Biblical Terms for Israel and Those Applied to the Modern Political State of Israel in Christian Liturgy." Though no resolution was reached, the General Assembly nevertheless recommended distinguishing between ancient Israel and the modern political State of Israel.
The General Assembly suggests that its new hymnal replace "the unfortunate heading: 'God's covenant with Israel'" with "God's Covenant with Ancient Israel," or even with "Our Covenant with the Oppressed."
It further instructs the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Mission Agency as follow:
"Note that in using these texts that the biblical and liturgical 'land of Israel' is not the same as the State of Israel established in 1948, which is a contemporary nation state. The Bible contains differing descriptions of the parameters of Israel. Promises of land generally come with obligations to God for justice to be practiced with all inhabitants. Later in Scripture, the Gospel is to be preached to 'all nations'; in Jesus Christ all peoples are included in God's promise. Similarly, 'Zion' is frequently used in the Bible as a reference to the city of Jerusalem, but in Christian tradition this does not refer primarily to a specific geographical location or political entity but to 'the city of God' found throughout history and to the completion of God's purpose in the age to come."
Let no one be fooled. The motion to erase Israel from the Presbyterian vocabulary is a motion to erase Israel, and boycotting Caterpillar is one way to achieve this anti-Christ goal.
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Russia's Putin Cozies Up to Jews
Russia's Putin Cozies Up to Jews
Thursday, May 08, 2014 | Yossi Aloni ISRAEL TODAY
Amidst mounting tension between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened official government facilities to host the largest conference of Russian-speaking Jews to discuss the topics of Zionism and Judaism. Over 1,200 young Jews from all over the former Soviet Union gathered in Moscow for the “Limmud FSU” (Learning FSU) conference. Now in its ninth year, Limmud FSU is a festival of Jewish learning that includes lectures, workshops, roundtable discussions, music and a variety of cultural events in Russian, English and Hebrew.
The conference was addressed by Prof. Zeev Hanin, the chief scientist at Israel’s Ministry of Absorption, who lectured on a new emerging identity among young Jews living in the former Soviet Union.
According to Hanin, these Jewish youth can be labeled as the “first post-Soviet generation.” As such, this generation, while maintaining a deep connection with Jewish culture and the Jewish state, are also beginning to identify more with the land of their birth.
In the latest issue of Israel Today Magazine, we explore burgeoning ties between Russia, Israel and the wider Jewish world. Local experts and politicians told us that this phenomenon is greatly complicating relations between Israel and America, but also said this might not be a bad thing, considering the Obama Administration’s fumbling of major international crises.
CLICK HERE to subscribe and read the full analysis.
PHOTO: Young Russian-speaking Jews attend ‘Limmud FSU 2014’ in Moscow
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates FROM ISRAEL TODAY.
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates FROM ISRAEL TODAY.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)