Understanding The Conflict: We are hearing a revised history not based on fact.
By Robert Shillingstad
Anti-Semitic sentiment has infiltrated many American churches, both Mainline Protestant and Catholic, with leakage starting to seep into Evangelical churches too … allegedly as part of promoting “social justice,” “anti-racism,” and (lately) “decolonization.” That last one is just a fancy word for ethnic cleansing, aimed at Westerners, Jews included.
The name, “Palestine,” was originally invented for sinister purposes. In 135 AD, the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, in an attempt to sever all ties of the Jewish people to their homeland, not only changed the name of Israel to Palestine, but also changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitalina. The name, Palestine, is still being used as a propaganda tool today. The name has made its way into textbooks and even into some of the maps in our Bibles. And the term “Palestinians,” as applied to a group of people, is also an invented term and was never even used until 1964. It was no-doubt chosen to conform to the contrived name of the land. There is no Palestinian race. They are Arab immigrants from neighboring Arab countries. Arafat himself was born in Egypt, according to his own biographer. There never was a “Palestinian” nation or people group. The Arabs that were living in the area were advised to leave prior to the 1948 battle for independence that Israel fought after the British left and abandoned Israel to their fate. A West Point general once said that although they study wars from all over the world, they do not study the 1948 War for Independence or the Six-Day War of Israel because “West Point is interested in understanding strategy and tactics, and these wars don’t make any sense at all.”
In 1948, Israel and all its territory officially became a nation. Two years later (1950), Jordan illegally occupied the West Bank, but there was no outcry then, even from the Palestinians. But when Israel regained control of the land — that was already theirs — in the Six-Day War, somehow that was occupation.
God promised Abraham and his descendants the land (Genesis 15:18-21) and reaffirmed that promise to Moses about 600 years later. (Numbers 34:2-12) God reiterated the promise yet again some 800 years after Moses through the prophet Ezekiel, even while the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon. (Ezekiel 47:17-20) The boundaries of the land were very specific, and the most detailed description is the Numbers 34 account. When you overlay that description on a modern map, there are varying opinions by different scholars on the ancient landmarks. However, what’s clear is that Israel’s current borders make up less than half of what God promised them. Israel’s original inheritance was all of present-day Israel — including all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip — plus parts of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
Nolan Lewallen has written great articles about this history and his description of the return to Gaza by President George W. Bush is a classic. “The international community has pressured Israel to give up some of its “land for peace” for decades. It’s easy to be generous with another country’s land. In 2002, President George W. Bush promoted the “Roadmap to Peace” that outlined a two-state solution, which included giving away some of Israel’s land, such as the Gaza Strip. Part of Phase One was “End of violence by Palestinians.” I wonder if Bush raises unicorns on his Crawford, Texas, ranch. That was and is a pipe dream. The PLO’s founder, Arafat, reportedly once said he didn’t want his daughter to grow up knowing that her father had agreed to a peace agreement with Israel. Current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has said, “We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem.” Palestinians even name their schools and streets after suicide bombers who died bombing Israelis, and spend tens of millions of dollars every month rewarding their survivors.”
In 2013, Obama gave Iran $150 billion of which $1.7 billion was in cash and $400 million of that cash was flown to Tehran in the form of untraceable foreign currency. Biden just released $6 billion in frozen assets to Iran. Several reports suggest that some of the $90 billion in weapons Biden left the Taliban in Afghanistan have gotten into the hands of Hamas and are being used against Israel. Meanwhile, millions of illegal migrants stream across our border with little or no vetting. America has been a haven for those immigrants who wanted to become Americans and support their country. Over 90% of all Jews live in Israel or America and value our freedom and protection. This sanctuary is at risk with the leadership and decisions we are making. The corruption of churches reminds us that this is primarily a spiritual problem and will require primarily a spiritual solution. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122.6)