Evening To Honor Israel annual celebration.
Lincolnton, NC April 27, 2012
Beit Yeshua, Highway To Zion, One New Man, Love For His People
(Photos by Steve Martin, Love For His People.)
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.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Netanyahu thanks Israel's friends - Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu thanks Israel's friends
04/25/2012 10:30
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the opportunity ahead of Independence Day on Wednesday to acknowledge Israel's "millions of friends," both Jewish and non-Jewish, and thank them for "their unwavering support" of the Jewish state.
In a special YouTube video posted on the eve of Israel's celebration of 64 years of Independence, the prime minister said in English that Israel is "unique" for having such "passionate friends... for whom the well-being, security and future of our country are so important."
"This passionate support, along with Israel’s strong army, free economy and dynamic society, is the pillar of our national strength," he said.The minister spoke about Israel's other unique qualities, saying that the Jewish state is unparalleled regionally for "having a vibrant, liberal democracy where women are equal, minorities are free and where all are subject to the rule of law."
And while the modern state of Israel on Thursday commemorates less than a century of independence, Netanyahu said the Jewish state can celebrate having restored sovereignty and provided self-defense for the Jewish people, who lived previously in the diaspora for 2,000 years, "stateless and powerless."
"Israel is unique in in gathering to an ancestral homeland an exiled people who had been scattered around the globe," the prime minister explained, saying Independence Day is a "time for us to consider what makes Israel truly unique."
In a special YouTube video posted on the eve of Israel's celebration of 64 years of Independence, the prime minister said in English that Israel is "unique" for having such "passionate friends... for whom the well-being, security and future of our country are so important."
"This passionate support, along with Israel’s strong army, free economy and dynamic society, is the pillar of our national strength," he said.The minister spoke about Israel's other unique qualities, saying that the Jewish state is unparalleled regionally for "having a vibrant, liberal democracy where women are equal, minorities are free and where all are subject to the rule of law."
And while the modern state of Israel on Thursday commemorates less than a century of independence, Netanyahu said the Jewish state can celebrate having restored sovereignty and provided self-defense for the Jewish people, who lived previously in the diaspora for 2,000 years, "stateless and powerless."
"Israel is unique in in gathering to an ancestral homeland an exiled people who had been scattered around the globe," the prime minister explained, saying Independence Day is a "time for us to consider what makes Israel truly unique."
Monday, April 23, 2012
Israel Independence Day - Snapshots
Independence Day: Snapshots through the decades - Jerusalem Post
04/21/2012 07:33
Photo: State of Israel National Photo Collection
In honor of Israel’s 64th birthday, JointMedia News Service takes a look at the major events that shaped each decade in Israel’s history since 1948. The emerging picture shows that despite continuous political turmoil and violence, Israelis always found a way to grow and innovate.
1948-58
In November 1947, three decades after the Balfour declaration favored “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and three years after the Holocaust, the United Nations General Assembly voted 33 to 13 for two “independent Arab and Jewish States.” The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, and David Ben-Gurion became the nation’s first prime minister.
The day after the proclamation, Arab countries invaded and the war for independence began, but the newly formed Jewish state came out victorious by 1949.
After the establishment of the 1950 Law of Return, about 680,000 mostly European and Mediterranean Jews settled in Israel by 1951.
In the 1956 Sinai Campaign, Israel launched an attack against Egypt, together with France and Great Britain, capturing the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Shortly afterward US pressure forced Israel to relinquish the territories.
1958-68
This decade was strongly defined by the kibbutzim, the collective communities created throughout the Jewish state. Kibbutz members were considered the best of Israeli society, and many pursued elite careers in the government and military. The Kibbutz culture yielded the development of drip-irrigation, a system that can directly water a plant more efficiently than the sprinkler.
After armies from surrounding Arab nations began threatening Israel during the Six Day War of 1967, the country exacted a major victory in a surprise offensive, gaining control of the Golan Heights, Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. Israel also gained East Jerusalem, unifying the city. Violence and war didn’t stop Israeli arts from flourishing. In 1964, “Sallah Shabati,” a film about the struggles of a Mizrahi immigrant family, was nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award. In 1966, renowned writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon won the Nobel Prize in literature.
1968-78
In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Jewish state was surprised with an attack by Egyptian and Syrian armies on the holiest day of the Jewish faith, narrowly escaping defeat. A year earlier, 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO) terrorists during the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
In 1972, Japanese gunmen recruited by the PLO opened fire at Lod’s Airport near Tel Aviv (now Ben-Gurion International Airport). Twenty-eight people were killed, including Puerto Rican Christian pilgrims and Israeli scientist Aharon Katzir. In 1974, Palestinian terrorists attacked the town of Ma’alot, including an elementary school, ultimately killing 22, mostly children. But when an Air France plane with Israeli and Jewish passengers was hijacked in 1976 by Palestinian terrorists and forced to land in Uganda, the IDF flew commandos to a daring rescue mission in which they killed all the terrorists and freed the hostages.
Also in this decade, four Israeli films were nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
1978-88
In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords, driven by US President Jimmy Carter. Sadat and Begin won the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize, and a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed the following year.
In this decade PLO terrorists seized a bus from Israel’s coast highway, killing more than 30 civilians. A series of reprisals on both sides followed, and villages close to Lebanon were frequently shelled with mortars. In 1982, Israel attacked Lebanon in an effort to remove the terrorists. Though Israel drove the PLO out in the first Lebanon War, many soldiers died in the process. Israel also bombed and destroyed the Osirak nuclear complex in Iraq to prevent the building of nuclear weapons.
By 1987, the First Intifada uprising began, bringing with it thousands of Israeli casualties through Molotov cocktail, grenade, bomb and other attacks. Nevertheless, Israel won the Eurovision song contest for the second time in 1979, and another film was nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 1984. More than 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were secretly airlifted to Israel in Operation Moses.
1988-98
This decade saw Israeli society change fundamentally, primarily spurred by a mass immigration of Jews from the Soviet Union. More than a million Russian Jews arrived in Israel, many during the height of the Gulf War, when the Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was shelling Israel with missiles. Though at first struggling to assimilate both socially and economically, many ultimately became politically active and exacted enormous influence on culture, music, science and technology. Russian Jews notably founded the “Gesher” theater, which at first staged plays only in Russian, but soon transitioned into Hebrew.
Israel signed a 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. In the 1993 Oslo Accords—for which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize—Israel and the PLO signed an agreement primarily focused on Palestinian self-governance in the territories of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Israeli society was deeply divided over the agreement, but the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir traumatized and united Israelis of all political persuasions.
One of the worst terrorist attacks of the decade occurred in 1996, when two Jerusalem buses were bombed, killing 26 people and injuring about 80.
1998-2008
In 1998, an Israeli woman was crowned Miss World. The Second Intifada started in 2000, and by 2005 more than a thousand Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks. The bombing of the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv killed 21 teenagers. A major bombing of a Netanya hotel on the eve of Passover killed nearly 30 and injured 140.
In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, and the 2006 Second Lebanon War saw Israel fight Hezbollah forces. That same year, Hamas captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Notable high-tech Israeli inventions and start-ups in this decade include the Disk-on-Key, a precursor to the now ubiquitous flash drive; wireless capsule endoscopy, a pill-sized camera that can pass through the digestive tract and detect diseases, and the instant messaging service ICQ. Four Nobel prizes were awarded to Israelis in the fields of economics and chemistry. The first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, famously participated in the international Columbia Shuttle space mission in 2003, but was tragically killed when the shuttle exploded.
2008-2012
Gilad Shalit’s release in 2011 again polarized Israeli society because it required the release of about 1,000 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons.
Three more films were nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award, most recently “Footnote” in 2012. Also in 2012, Tel Aviv was named Best Gay City in an international competition. Two more Nobel prizes were awarded to Israelis in chemistry.
Information from TIME, BBC, the Forward, Yedioth Ahronoth, the Chicago Tribune, ADL, the Jewish Virtual Library and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs was used in this report.
1948-58
In November 1947, three decades after the Balfour declaration favored “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and three years after the Holocaust, the United Nations General Assembly voted 33 to 13 for two “independent Arab and Jewish States.” The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, and David Ben-Gurion became the nation’s first prime minister.
The day after the proclamation, Arab countries invaded and the war for independence began, but the newly formed Jewish state came out victorious by 1949.
After the establishment of the 1950 Law of Return, about 680,000 mostly European and Mediterranean Jews settled in Israel by 1951.
In the 1956 Sinai Campaign, Israel launched an attack against Egypt, together with France and Great Britain, capturing the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Shortly afterward US pressure forced Israel to relinquish the territories.
1958-68
This decade was strongly defined by the kibbutzim, the collective communities created throughout the Jewish state. Kibbutz members were considered the best of Israeli society, and many pursued elite careers in the government and military. The Kibbutz culture yielded the development of drip-irrigation, a system that can directly water a plant more efficiently than the sprinkler.
After armies from surrounding Arab nations began threatening Israel during the Six Day War of 1967, the country exacted a major victory in a surprise offensive, gaining control of the Golan Heights, Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. Israel also gained East Jerusalem, unifying the city. Violence and war didn’t stop Israeli arts from flourishing. In 1964, “Sallah Shabati,” a film about the struggles of a Mizrahi immigrant family, was nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award. In 1966, renowned writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon won the Nobel Prize in literature.
1968-78
In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Jewish state was surprised with an attack by Egyptian and Syrian armies on the holiest day of the Jewish faith, narrowly escaping defeat. A year earlier, 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO) terrorists during the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
In 1972, Japanese gunmen recruited by the PLO opened fire at Lod’s Airport near Tel Aviv (now Ben-Gurion International Airport). Twenty-eight people were killed, including Puerto Rican Christian pilgrims and Israeli scientist Aharon Katzir. In 1974, Palestinian terrorists attacked the town of Ma’alot, including an elementary school, ultimately killing 22, mostly children. But when an Air France plane with Israeli and Jewish passengers was hijacked in 1976 by Palestinian terrorists and forced to land in Uganda, the IDF flew commandos to a daring rescue mission in which they killed all the terrorists and freed the hostages.
Also in this decade, four Israeli films were nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
1978-88
In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords, driven by US President Jimmy Carter. Sadat and Begin won the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize, and a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed the following year.
In this decade PLO terrorists seized a bus from Israel’s coast highway, killing more than 30 civilians. A series of reprisals on both sides followed, and villages close to Lebanon were frequently shelled with mortars. In 1982, Israel attacked Lebanon in an effort to remove the terrorists. Though Israel drove the PLO out in the first Lebanon War, many soldiers died in the process. Israel also bombed and destroyed the Osirak nuclear complex in Iraq to prevent the building of nuclear weapons.
By 1987, the First Intifada uprising began, bringing with it thousands of Israeli casualties through Molotov cocktail, grenade, bomb and other attacks. Nevertheless, Israel won the Eurovision song contest for the second time in 1979, and another film was nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 1984. More than 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were secretly airlifted to Israel in Operation Moses.
1988-98
This decade saw Israeli society change fundamentally, primarily spurred by a mass immigration of Jews from the Soviet Union. More than a million Russian Jews arrived in Israel, many during the height of the Gulf War, when the Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was shelling Israel with missiles. Though at first struggling to assimilate both socially and economically, many ultimately became politically active and exacted enormous influence on culture, music, science and technology. Russian Jews notably founded the “Gesher” theater, which at first staged plays only in Russian, but soon transitioned into Hebrew.
Israel signed a 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. In the 1993 Oslo Accords—for which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize—Israel and the PLO signed an agreement primarily focused on Palestinian self-governance in the territories of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Israeli society was deeply divided over the agreement, but the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir traumatized and united Israelis of all political persuasions.
One of the worst terrorist attacks of the decade occurred in 1996, when two Jerusalem buses were bombed, killing 26 people and injuring about 80.
1998-2008
In 1998, an Israeli woman was crowned Miss World. The Second Intifada started in 2000, and by 2005 more than a thousand Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks. The bombing of the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv killed 21 teenagers. A major bombing of a Netanya hotel on the eve of Passover killed nearly 30 and injured 140.
In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, and the 2006 Second Lebanon War saw Israel fight Hezbollah forces. That same year, Hamas captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Notable high-tech Israeli inventions and start-ups in this decade include the Disk-on-Key, a precursor to the now ubiquitous flash drive; wireless capsule endoscopy, a pill-sized camera that can pass through the digestive tract and detect diseases, and the instant messaging service ICQ. Four Nobel prizes were awarded to Israelis in the fields of economics and chemistry. The first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, famously participated in the international Columbia Shuttle space mission in 2003, but was tragically killed when the shuttle exploded.
2008-2012
Gilad Shalit’s release in 2011 again polarized Israeli society because it required the release of about 1,000 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons.
Three more films were nominated for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award, most recently “Footnote” in 2012. Also in 2012, Tel Aviv was named Best Gay City in an international competition. Two more Nobel prizes were awarded to Israelis in chemistry.
Information from TIME, BBC, the Forward, Yedioth Ahronoth, the Chicago Tribune, ADL, the Jewish Virtual Library and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs was used in this report.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Evening Honoring Israel at Beit Yeshua
Beit Yeshua will be hosting an Evening Honoring Israel, along with Highway To Zion and Love for His People, on Friday, April 27, 2012, in Lincolnton, NC. This is an opportunity for you to take your stand for Zion's sake by honoring this nation chosen by God for the revelation of His glory and our Messiah Yeshua!
Here are the details!
Date: Friday, April 27th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Beit Yeshua (gym of Covenant Bible Church - 2168 Gastonia Highway, Lincolnton, NC)
Special Speakers:
Warren Marcus, Pastor of Steele Creek Church/One New Man
Bill Duerfeldt of Christian Friends of Israel
This will be a joyous evening honoring Israel and commemorating the fulfillment of prophecy with the birth of the modern day nation in 1948!
Below is a link from last year's celebration - such a blessing!
http://curtis.loftinnc.com/2011_An_Evening_Honoring_Israel.htm
All are invited. No charge.
Israel remembers the Holocaust - Israel Today
Israel remembers the Holocaust
Thursday, April 19, 2012 | Ryan Jones
Israel on Thursday was the scene of solemn silence and piercing cries as every man, woman and child remembered the Holocaust, the most devious and the most successful attempt in history to destroy the Jewish people.
No matter how many times one hears it, the emotions stirred by the nation-wide siren blast at 10 AM on the morning of Holocaust Victims and Heroes Remembrance Day never diminish. It is humbling, and heartbreaking, to realize that at that exact moment, six million fellow Israelis are all standing together in tear-inducing silence in honor of six million European Jews whose lives were mercilessly snuffed out.
In Auschwitz, Poland a group of hundreds of Israelis and Diaspora Jews, including 50 Israeli soldiers, marched through the preserved remains of the largest of the Nazi death camps, as a squad of Israeli F15s roared overhead, a symbol that despite the best efforts of history's most notorious villains, the people of Israel not only live, but are stronger than ever.
Back in Israel, the nation's leaders presided over memorial ceremonies, insisting that such an atrocity would never again befall the Jewish people so long as there was a Jewish state to defend them. But in the back of everyone's minds is the growing concern that in less than a generation from now, the Holocaust will be redefined by Israel's antagonists, if not forgotten completely.
Already today, foes like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas and British author David Irving deny that the Holocaust ever happened, or try to paint it as a Jewish conspiracy. It is difficult for these revisionists to gain much mindshare at present as there are still Holocaust survivors living among us. But what happens when the last of those poor souls to personally experience the Nazis' "Final Solution" is laid to rest?
When there are no more Holocaust survivors left, and one of the blackest chapters in human history is no longer a living memory, will any nation besides Israel continue to remember it for what it was? Will any nation besides Israel continue to believe that the spirit behind that horrific act of genocide remains active in the world today?
No matter how many times one hears it, the emotions stirred by the nation-wide siren blast at 10 AM on the morning of Holocaust Victims and Heroes Remembrance Day never diminish. It is humbling, and heartbreaking, to realize that at that exact moment, six million fellow Israelis are all standing together in tear-inducing silence in honor of six million European Jews whose lives were mercilessly snuffed out.
In Auschwitz, Poland a group of hundreds of Israelis and Diaspora Jews, including 50 Israeli soldiers, marched through the preserved remains of the largest of the Nazi death camps, as a squad of Israeli F15s roared overhead, a symbol that despite the best efforts of history's most notorious villains, the people of Israel not only live, but are stronger than ever.
Back in Israel, the nation's leaders presided over memorial ceremonies, insisting that such an atrocity would never again befall the Jewish people so long as there was a Jewish state to defend them. But in the back of everyone's minds is the growing concern that in less than a generation from now, the Holocaust will be redefined by Israel's antagonists, if not forgotten completely.
Already today, foes like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas and British author David Irving deny that the Holocaust ever happened, or try to paint it as a Jewish conspiracy. It is difficult for these revisionists to gain much mindshare at present as there are still Holocaust survivors living among us. But what happens when the last of those poor souls to personally experience the Nazis' "Final Solution" is laid to rest?
When there are no more Holocaust survivors left, and one of the blackest chapters in human history is no longer a living memory, will any nation besides Israel continue to remember it for what it was? Will any nation besides Israel continue to believe that the spirit behind that horrific act of genocide remains active in the world today?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Why Fold the Napkin?
Why Fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this....
The Gospel of John 20:7 tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.
[ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:7&version=YLT ]
The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see... The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.
The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table,
because.........
The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'
He is Coming Back!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Gil Amelio: The Face of Christ
Gil Amelio: The Face of Christ
Watch as gifted sculptor Gil Amelio recreates the final moments of Jesus' life and the sacrifice that changed eternity.As seen on CBN's 700 Club: Gil Amelio: The Face of Christ
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Chris Christie Says N.J. 'Stands with Israel'
Chris Christie Says N.J. 'Stands with Israel'
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
He met with several high profile Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, who called the governor an "outstanding friend of Israel."
The trip has triggered speculation that the governor is positioning himself for a run for a national office. Israel is a popular stop for U.S. politicians seeking to strengthen their political credibility. But Christie said the trip is aimed at strengthening ties between Israel and The Garden State.
Christie in Israel on 1st official overseas trip meets Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pledged Wednesday that he and his state would stand with Israel "in all its endeavors." The rising Republican star is visiting the Jewish state on his first official overseas trip.
Messianic Worship Band
In March the newly formed "Messianic Worship Band" led the time of praise and worship at the two Highway To Zion assemblies. Band members included: Steve & Laurie Martin (lead vocals), Ron Bowen (drums), Gid Anthony (electric and acoustic guitars), Patty Paquette (keyboard) and Wane Daroux (bass).
The speakers were Chuck Cohen and David Dolan, both of Jerusalem. Cathy Hargett is the Director of Highway To Zion, and hosts these assemblies quarterly in the Charlotte, NC area. We bless Yeshua's name as we gather to honor Him. All are welcome to come and celebrate with us, and hear the Word shared. (Thanks to Curtis Loftin of Beit Yeshua for these photos!)
For a complete overview of the meetings, along with links to the teachings by Chuck Cohen and David Dolan, please check here and scroll down on the left to Highway To Zion ASSEMBLIES: http://curtis.loftinnc.com/2012a.htm
Chuck Cohen
David Dolan
Cathy Hargett - Director of Highway To Zion
Curtis Loftin (on left) leading dance during worship.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
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
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
Epic Chronicles of Hope: Amitza
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
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