As we enter a new year, let’s make some commitments:
to eat healthy (more fruits and veggies);
lose some weight (fill in the blank) ______lbs;
to spend more time with family (be specific);
to be more patient (especially with _______ and _______);
to be more giving (be specific);
and to save more money for retirement, college, or a rainy day (fill in the blank) $_______per week.
These are all very worthwhile, and I highly recommend these kinds of new year’s resolutions for a better (and maybe even longer) life.
Beneficial though they are, here are two better new year’s resolutions found in the Bible:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NRSV)
Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 when he gave these two great commandments. So let me suggest that we commit to treat others as we would want to be treated, using as a guideline what God, through the Apostle Paul, tells us:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4, NRSV)
This, and all the other new year’s resolutions, aren’t going to happen unless we put God first in our lives. We need God’s help to do the right thing, and we need God have a more fulfilled life. So if God isn’t in your life at all, there’s bound to be a significant void in your life, an emptiness that only a relationship with God can fill.
One first step on this new path might be to go to church. No, the building isn’t going to collapse when you enter it. No, people aren’t going to stare at you like you came from outer space. Who knows? You might even like it: the music, the teaching on a Bible passage, the fellowship.
However you start off the new year, make sure God is made an important part of 2014. May you have a blessed new year.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Heartless Congress
I don’t know how they live with themselves. Members of Congress accomplish little yet collect large salaries and have generous benefits. Their inability to act has caused a government shutdown, delays in appointments, and other problems. How can they look themselves in the mirror?
Now Congress has proven, once again, that they don’t care about the people they are supposed to be representing. As President Obama was in Hawaii playing golf and members of Congress went home to enjoy their large salaries and perks, many hard-working Americans lost their unemployment benefits. These people, through no fault of their own, have been unemployed for a long time. Because of the actions of the executives of banking and other financial institutions, who make huge salaries and enjoy large bonuses despite their actions, these “regular people” (who could be you or me) are out of work, may soon lose their house, and have drained their savings.
The incredibly lame excuse we hear from Congress is that they have to find the funding for any extension of unemployment benefits. Nobody has to “find funding” for disaster relief and other emergencies. Nobody has to find funding for pork barrel projects like bridges to nowhere. This country gives away billions of dollars in “corporate welfare,” billions to deadbeat people who don’t want to work and never made an effort to learn a skill, and we give billions to countries like Egypt. But we can’t give an extension to these people who did all the right things: got an education, acquired skills, worked most of their lives, paid their taxes, and have been solid citizens. And how does Congress take care of them in a time of need?
This is not a political issue but a moral one. That’s why I’m writing this – to wake people up to the reality of just how morally bankrupt Congress is. Shame on Congress! And shame on us if we continue to vote in these bozos. We’ll continue to get the kind of government we deserve.
Now Congress has proven, once again, that they don’t care about the people they are supposed to be representing. As President Obama was in Hawaii playing golf and members of Congress went home to enjoy their large salaries and perks, many hard-working Americans lost their unemployment benefits. These people, through no fault of their own, have been unemployed for a long time. Because of the actions of the executives of banking and other financial institutions, who make huge salaries and enjoy large bonuses despite their actions, these “regular people” (who could be you or me) are out of work, may soon lose their house, and have drained their savings.
The incredibly lame excuse we hear from Congress is that they have to find the funding for any extension of unemployment benefits. Nobody has to “find funding” for disaster relief and other emergencies. Nobody has to find funding for pork barrel projects like bridges to nowhere. This country gives away billions of dollars in “corporate welfare,” billions to deadbeat people who don’t want to work and never made an effort to learn a skill, and we give billions to countries like Egypt. But we can’t give an extension to these people who did all the right things: got an education, acquired skills, worked most of their lives, paid their taxes, and have been solid citizens. And how does Congress take care of them in a time of need?
This is not a political issue but a moral one. That’s why I’m writing this – to wake people up to the reality of just how morally bankrupt Congress is. Shame on Congress! And shame on us if we continue to vote in these bozos. We’ll continue to get the kind of government we deserve.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
You Never Know...
You never know when you get out of bed what the day holds for you. There could be an unexpected life-changing event, or even a life-ending event. You just don’t know, but you should be prepared.
I was shocked when I heard the news of the derailment of the Metro North Hudson Line train at Spuyten Duyvil in The Bronx. I live along the Hudson Line and take the train when I go into New York City, so I am familiar with the turn where the derailment occurred. Four dead and 60+ people injured at a place that is named “Spitting Devil.” An uneventful train ride early on a Sunday morning turns into a nightmare. You just never know.
You never know when you get on that train, board that airplane, start the engine of your car, step onto a crosswalk, or even send your kid off to school. Life is full of surprises, not all of them pleasant. So what’s my point?
My point is that you should be in relationship with God so that when the unexpected happens, God will give you the strength to deal with it and get through it. Being right with God doesn’t inoculate you from life’s tragedies, but it will help you in and through them. And if one of these tragedies happens to be a life-ending event, having that relationship with God gives you the assurance of being with him when your earthly life is ended.
The world is a dangerous place, with most of that danger resulting from people’s wrongdoing. Texting while driving puts others in jeopardy, as does impaired driving due to alcohol (DUI) and drugs. This callous disregard for others is sin. Punching innocent people on the street is sin. Notice, by the way, that these low-lifes punch old people and women mostly.
The world isn’t going to change very much, but you can change. While the rest of the world is deteriorating, you can rise above it by getting closer to God and living your life according to biblical principles. Just think of how much better the world would be if more people did that.
I was shocked when I heard the news of the derailment of the Metro North Hudson Line train at Spuyten Duyvil in The Bronx. I live along the Hudson Line and take the train when I go into New York City, so I am familiar with the turn where the derailment occurred. Four dead and 60+ people injured at a place that is named “Spitting Devil.” An uneventful train ride early on a Sunday morning turns into a nightmare. You just never know.
You never know when you get on that train, board that airplane, start the engine of your car, step onto a crosswalk, or even send your kid off to school. Life is full of surprises, not all of them pleasant. So what’s my point?
My point is that you should be in relationship with God so that when the unexpected happens, God will give you the strength to deal with it and get through it. Being right with God doesn’t inoculate you from life’s tragedies, but it will help you in and through them. And if one of these tragedies happens to be a life-ending event, having that relationship with God gives you the assurance of being with him when your earthly life is ended.
The world is a dangerous place, with most of that danger resulting from people’s wrongdoing. Texting while driving puts others in jeopardy, as does impaired driving due to alcohol (DUI) and drugs. This callous disregard for others is sin. Punching innocent people on the street is sin. Notice, by the way, that these low-lifes punch old people and women mostly.
The world isn’t going to change very much, but you can change. While the rest of the world is deteriorating, you can rise above it by getting closer to God and living your life according to biblical principles. Just think of how much better the world would be if more people did that.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Obamacare and the Govt Shutdown
In response to this ridiculous shutdown of the government, I sent the following email to our to NY senators and our congressman:
Again we are seeing the dysfunction of Congress impacting the people negatively. What makes this government shutdown even more galling is that Congress continues to receive pay while hundreds of thousands of hard working people don’t.
Politics is the art of compromise, but Congress and the President have lost the ability to negotiate in good faith and compromise. As a result, the people suffer.
Lastly, I wish the Democrats would work towards fixing Obamacare’s many flaws rather than continuing to battle the Republicans to preserve a terribly imperfect plan that could eventually bankrupt this country. One of the major problems with Obamacare is that it doesn’t address tort reform. If Congress would introduce tort reform into the plan, costs would drop dramatically and the plan might be more acceptable to those who are currently opposed to it. See articles written by Bobby Jindal to get a good idea of what needs to be fixed.
Fraud is rampant in Medicare and Medicaid, and I can’t imagine what it will be like under Obamacare. Congress must introduce better controls into the plan to prevent costs from getting out of control due to fraud.
Let’s start working for the people and stop the dysfunction we are seeing in Washington.
Again we are seeing the dysfunction of Congress impacting the people negatively. What makes this government shutdown even more galling is that Congress continues to receive pay while hundreds of thousands of hard working people don’t.
Politics is the art of compromise, but Congress and the President have lost the ability to negotiate in good faith and compromise. As a result, the people suffer.
Lastly, I wish the Democrats would work towards fixing Obamacare’s many flaws rather than continuing to battle the Republicans to preserve a terribly imperfect plan that could eventually bankrupt this country. One of the major problems with Obamacare is that it doesn’t address tort reform. If Congress would introduce tort reform into the plan, costs would drop dramatically and the plan might be more acceptable to those who are currently opposed to it. See articles written by Bobby Jindal to get a good idea of what needs to be fixed.
Fraud is rampant in Medicare and Medicaid, and I can’t imagine what it will be like under Obamacare. Congress must introduce better controls into the plan to prevent costs from getting out of control due to fraud.
Let’s start working for the people and stop the dysfunction we are seeing in Washington.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Historical Truth vs. Revisionist Fiction (Part 3)
This is a continuation of a post on how we are being deceived by revisionist history, particularly regarding American and Israeli history. However, I also want to briefly look at The Crusades, another misunderstood historical event.
The Crusades
One could certainly question why the Church got involved in waging war, as it did with the Crusades. We also know there were atrocities done by the Christian forces, although such things seem to happen in most wars – even by “the good guys.” Today Muslims, and those unfamiliar with the history and background of The Crusades, portray them as wars of aggression and imperialism, with evil Christians attacking peaceful Muslims in a kind of Christian jihad. To this day, Western nations seen as interfering in Muslim regions are referred to as “crusaders” by Muslims. This reveals that the Muslims view struggles with the West as primarily religious in nature: Islam vs. Christianity.
While the Muslims cry out “God is great!” (Allahu Akbar) we in the West are pushing God out of our society. Many no longer attend church, and some are abandoning (and even denying) our Judeo-Christian heritage – even at the highest levels of government. I wonder, will God bless us in our struggle against Islamic terrorism? Should God bless and protect a people who are rejecting him? Take a look at the Bible, especially Israel’s history, and you’ll get the answer.
Getting back to The Crusades, they were more geo-political than religious, although there was certainly a religious aspect to them. By the early 1000s, the Islamic armies had taken over a huge amount of formerly Christian lands in the eastern Mediterranean. The Byzantine Empire had grown smaller and smaller as a result, and it wouldn’t be too long before the Muslims were at the door of Constantinople. If that city fell, Europe lay wide open.
So the Byzantine Emperor asked the Pope if he, the most powerful man in western Europe, could organize an army to help the beleaguered Byzantines keep the Muslims from taking more of their land and eventually reaching the gates of Constantinople. In addition, it would be an opportunity to take back from the Muslims the Holy Land with all of its religious sites, sort of a fringe benefit. Knowing the risk of the Islamic armies breaking through into Europe, the Pope convinced the European kings to contribute to this “Crusade” to take back the Holy Land and protect Europe.
After initial conquests and occupation, the European crusaders were eventually pushed out of the Middle East by the Islamic armies. As predicted, the Islamic armies continued to whittle away at the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople fell to them in 1453. They continued into the Balkans and got to the gates of Vienna. Much of Europe rallied to the cause and defeated the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Some of the Balkan countries are Muslim to this day as a result of their occupation by the Islamic Ottomans.
So the Crusades were primarily campaigns to halt Islamic conquests and to regain Christian lands lost earlier to Muslim armies. They were not wars of imperialism to take land from innocent and peaceful Muslims as they are popularly portrayed. Although there was certainly a religious element to the Crusades, the main aim of these military campaigns was to defend the weakened Byzantine Empire from further loss of lands and protect Europe from Islamic conquest.
The Crusades
One could certainly question why the Church got involved in waging war, as it did with the Crusades. We also know there were atrocities done by the Christian forces, although such things seem to happen in most wars – even by “the good guys.” Today Muslims, and those unfamiliar with the history and background of The Crusades, portray them as wars of aggression and imperialism, with evil Christians attacking peaceful Muslims in a kind of Christian jihad. To this day, Western nations seen as interfering in Muslim regions are referred to as “crusaders” by Muslims. This reveals that the Muslims view struggles with the West as primarily religious in nature: Islam vs. Christianity.
While the Muslims cry out “God is great!” (Allahu Akbar) we in the West are pushing God out of our society. Many no longer attend church, and some are abandoning (and even denying) our Judeo-Christian heritage – even at the highest levels of government. I wonder, will God bless us in our struggle against Islamic terrorism? Should God bless and protect a people who are rejecting him? Take a look at the Bible, especially Israel’s history, and you’ll get the answer.
Getting back to The Crusades, they were more geo-political than religious, although there was certainly a religious aspect to them. By the early 1000s, the Islamic armies had taken over a huge amount of formerly Christian lands in the eastern Mediterranean. The Byzantine Empire had grown smaller and smaller as a result, and it wouldn’t be too long before the Muslims were at the door of Constantinople. If that city fell, Europe lay wide open.
So the Byzantine Emperor asked the Pope if he, the most powerful man in western Europe, could organize an army to help the beleaguered Byzantines keep the Muslims from taking more of their land and eventually reaching the gates of Constantinople. In addition, it would be an opportunity to take back from the Muslims the Holy Land with all of its religious sites, sort of a fringe benefit. Knowing the risk of the Islamic armies breaking through into Europe, the Pope convinced the European kings to contribute to this “Crusade” to take back the Holy Land and protect Europe.
After initial conquests and occupation, the European crusaders were eventually pushed out of the Middle East by the Islamic armies. As predicted, the Islamic armies continued to whittle away at the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople fell to them in 1453. They continued into the Balkans and got to the gates of Vienna. Much of Europe rallied to the cause and defeated the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Some of the Balkan countries are Muslim to this day as a result of their occupation by the Islamic Ottomans.
So the Crusades were primarily campaigns to halt Islamic conquests and to regain Christian lands lost earlier to Muslim armies. They were not wars of imperialism to take land from innocent and peaceful Muslims as they are popularly portrayed. Although there was certainly a religious element to the Crusades, the main aim of these military campaigns was to defend the weakened Byzantine Empire from further loss of lands and protect Europe from Islamic conquest.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Historical Truth vs. Revisionist Fiction (Part 2)
This is a continuation of a post on how we are being deceived by revisionist history, particularly regarding American and Israeli history. The earlier post looked at Israel and the Palestinians, so now we’ll look at the United States.
The United States
In the United States, we see some aspects of our history distorted and the Constitution misinterpreted. While these misrepresentations are happening in a number of different areas, it is especially disturbing in those areas in which God and religion are being marginalized.
Most Americans don’t understand our own history, and so we end up believing the lies or the omissions by which our history is being distorted. It is now widely taught that America is not, and never has been, a Christian nation. That is a topic for another post, but America was settled by Christians, and is still a Christian nation because that’s the majority religion. That doesn’t mean other religions are excluded – it just means Christianity is the dominant belief system and the basis of our morals and ethics.
Historically speaking, the Pilgrims and others crossed the ocean to America, not always to escape persecution, but more often to establish Christian settlements free from outside influences. These settlements were to be guided by biblical principles. Our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution do, to a large extent, reflect biblical principles.
The second item I mentioned above is the misinterpretation of the Constitution, particularly the First Amendment. Again, this is a lengthy discussion for a different post, but ever since 1947 (Everson v. Board of Education), the Supreme Court has been moving away from the traditional understanding of the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment that goes back to its framers. Once that door was opened, the courts have continued to interpret the First Amendment to mean freedom from religion, that religion has no place in the public square, and that God and religion are to be marginalized in our society. This is also involves an interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation” completely opposite from what he intended in his letter to the Baptist Church in Danbury, Connecticut, where he used that phrase). We have been so brainwashed by the anti-God anti-religion forces that very few Americans are aware of the truth.
I recommend Americans make the effort to learn their own history as well as the 20th century history of Israel and Palestine. Once you understand these, your outlook becomes quite different and you will see how we are being deceived.
I highly recommend talks on these subjects by Michael Medved (available on CDs or as a download). They are informative and very helpful.
In a future post I’ll explore another event that has been misunderstood, The Crusades, which has been the subject of revisionist history.
The United States
In the United States, we see some aspects of our history distorted and the Constitution misinterpreted. While these misrepresentations are happening in a number of different areas, it is especially disturbing in those areas in which God and religion are being marginalized.
Most Americans don’t understand our own history, and so we end up believing the lies or the omissions by which our history is being distorted. It is now widely taught that America is not, and never has been, a Christian nation. That is a topic for another post, but America was settled by Christians, and is still a Christian nation because that’s the majority religion. That doesn’t mean other religions are excluded – it just means Christianity is the dominant belief system and the basis of our morals and ethics.
Historically speaking, the Pilgrims and others crossed the ocean to America, not always to escape persecution, but more often to establish Christian settlements free from outside influences. These settlements were to be guided by biblical principles. Our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution do, to a large extent, reflect biblical principles.
The second item I mentioned above is the misinterpretation of the Constitution, particularly the First Amendment. Again, this is a lengthy discussion for a different post, but ever since 1947 (Everson v. Board of Education), the Supreme Court has been moving away from the traditional understanding of the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment that goes back to its framers. Once that door was opened, the courts have continued to interpret the First Amendment to mean freedom from religion, that religion has no place in the public square, and that God and religion are to be marginalized in our society. This is also involves an interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation” completely opposite from what he intended in his letter to the Baptist Church in Danbury, Connecticut, where he used that phrase). We have been so brainwashed by the anti-God anti-religion forces that very few Americans are aware of the truth.
I recommend Americans make the effort to learn their own history as well as the 20th century history of Israel and Palestine. Once you understand these, your outlook becomes quite different and you will see how we are being deceived.
I highly recommend talks on these subjects by Michael Medved (available on CDs or as a download). They are informative and very helpful.
In a future post I’ll explore another event that has been misunderstood, The Crusades, which has been the subject of revisionist history.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Historical Truth vs. Revisionist Fiction (Part 1)
Sadly, history is being distorted to fit certain agendas. We see this happening with respect to Israel and the Palestinians, and with certain aspects of American history. These subjects are too big to discuss in depth here, but I want to touch briefly on some key parts of history that are being distorted. I believe it is important for us to be aware that this is happening since people’s perceptions and government decisions are based on what is understood to be fact. Since most people are willing to believe what they hear about history in the media, anecdotally, and in school textbooks, these lies have become “fact” because no one bothers to verify what they are hearing. You tell a lie often enough, just about everybody will eventually believe it. I hope that after reading this you will be motivated to explore these subjects in more detail and learn the truth.
Israel
Yasser Arafat is the author of many of the lies concerning Palestinian and Israeli history. He portrayed the Jews as invaders of the Palestinian/Arab homeland, and the Palestinians as innocent victims of that aggression. However, claiming that Palestine is Arab ignores the fact that there has been a continuous Jewish presence in that area for over 3,000 years. If you are a person of faith, look at the Bible. You can see in many places in the Scriptures that God tells and even promises the Patriarchs and the Israelites that the land is theirs in perpetuity.
Arafat also denied the Holocaust, one of the most documented events in the history of the world. As a matter fact, he pretty much invented the concept of Palestinian nationhood. Technically, there had been no such thing as a Palestinian as it is understood today.
Until World War I, Palestine (the region, not a country) was sparsely populated. Jews from Europe started settling in their ancient homeland in the 1800s, joining the scattering of Jews who already lived there. They purchased land from the few Arabs living there, often at inflated prices. After World War I and the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire, the British ruled Palestine. During this British mandate Arabs from all over the Middle East were invited by the Brits to settle into the area. This was an act of anti-Semitism and helped lay the foundation for the problems we face today in that region.
After World War II, the United Nations divided that area, creating Arab and Jewish nations (Israel and Jordan). When Israel was created by the UN in 1948, those Arabs living in Jewish areas were told to leave by their Arab brethren in the surrounding nations. They were assured that the Jewish state would be annihilated soon, and they would be able to return to their homes. Many Arabs followed this bad advice and left, and they were put in refugee camps “temporarily.” Some Arabs chose to stay in the Jewish state, being assured by the Israelis that they would be safe. Today there are about 1 million of their descendants living in Israel. They are Israeli citizens, have representation in the Knesset, and are reasonably prosperous compared to the descendants of those Arabs who left in 1948.
Meanwhile, the Arabs who left the Jewish state in 1948 were never absorbed into other Arab countries once it became obvious Israel wasn’t going away. To this day, their descendants languish in refugee camps or in squalid settlements. Of course we feel sorry for these people, but we have to realize they are not the victims of Jewish imperialism. They were mistreated and misled by their own people, and they were not even invited to settle back in their homelands. They became people without a country, despite the fact that Jordan was established as the Arab counterpart to Israel.
Of course the Arab nations and those who do not know this history persist in blaming Israel for the Palestinian problem. Yes, it is a serious problem, but it is not the fault of Israel. Israel was legally created by the United Nations and has a right to exist. Moreover, it has the right to keep any land that it gained in the wars it fought. These were not wars of aggression on the part of Israel. They resulted from unprovoked attacks by Israel’s Arab neighbors (1948-1949, 1967, 1973) causing the Israelis to defend themselves. In the process of pushing back the invaders, Israel gained some land. The Arabs started the wars, and Israel finished them! What nation on earth would ever be told by the international community to give back land that they gained as a result of defending themselves from unprovoked attacks by nations that are dedicated to annihilating them? Yet, that’s what Israel is being told to do!
Israel did in fact give back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the interest of keeping the peace. Moreover, it has also given land for a Palestinian state, removing thousands of Jewish settlers in the process. And what thanks did Israel get from the Palestinians? Rockets being launched daily in an attempt to kill innocent Israeli civilians. After years of this Israel had enough and it attacked the Palestinians. Predictably the world was “shocked” at the aggressiveness of Israel against the poor Palestinians and condemned it for those actions. How ridiculous!
To show you how ridiculous such criticism is, what do you think the United States would do if Mexico shot off rockets from Tijuana into San Diego on a daily basis? I don’t think we would put up with it for very long. We would bomb or attack the sources of this outrage to stop it once and for all. But when Israel does the same thing, they get condemned. Like I said, it’s ridiculous.
What astounds me is how many Jewish people in the United States don’t understand this history and are quite willing to condemn Israel. Either they don’t know the history, or they prefer to be politically correct rather than standing with their own people. Interestingly, a good number of devout Christians are sympathetic to Israel, both from a practical as well as a biblical aspect. That doesn’t mean we believe Israel is correct all the time, but it does mean that we believe it has a right to exist, to defend itself with force, to protect itself (with a large wall, for example), and to keep the land that it won in these wars. All Christians and Jews should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Israel is special in history and in also is the place where the Messiah will return.
In another post I’ll explore American revisionist history.
Israel
Yasser Arafat is the author of many of the lies concerning Palestinian and Israeli history. He portrayed the Jews as invaders of the Palestinian/Arab homeland, and the Palestinians as innocent victims of that aggression. However, claiming that Palestine is Arab ignores the fact that there has been a continuous Jewish presence in that area for over 3,000 years. If you are a person of faith, look at the Bible. You can see in many places in the Scriptures that God tells and even promises the Patriarchs and the Israelites that the land is theirs in perpetuity.
Arafat also denied the Holocaust, one of the most documented events in the history of the world. As a matter fact, he pretty much invented the concept of Palestinian nationhood. Technically, there had been no such thing as a Palestinian as it is understood today.
Until World War I, Palestine (the region, not a country) was sparsely populated. Jews from Europe started settling in their ancient homeland in the 1800s, joining the scattering of Jews who already lived there. They purchased land from the few Arabs living there, often at inflated prices. After World War I and the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire, the British ruled Palestine. During this British mandate Arabs from all over the Middle East were invited by the Brits to settle into the area. This was an act of anti-Semitism and helped lay the foundation for the problems we face today in that region.
After World War II, the United Nations divided that area, creating Arab and Jewish nations (Israel and Jordan). When Israel was created by the UN in 1948, those Arabs living in Jewish areas were told to leave by their Arab brethren in the surrounding nations. They were assured that the Jewish state would be annihilated soon, and they would be able to return to their homes. Many Arabs followed this bad advice and left, and they were put in refugee camps “temporarily.” Some Arabs chose to stay in the Jewish state, being assured by the Israelis that they would be safe. Today there are about 1 million of their descendants living in Israel. They are Israeli citizens, have representation in the Knesset, and are reasonably prosperous compared to the descendants of those Arabs who left in 1948.
Meanwhile, the Arabs who left the Jewish state in 1948 were never absorbed into other Arab countries once it became obvious Israel wasn’t going away. To this day, their descendants languish in refugee camps or in squalid settlements. Of course we feel sorry for these people, but we have to realize they are not the victims of Jewish imperialism. They were mistreated and misled by their own people, and they were not even invited to settle back in their homelands. They became people without a country, despite the fact that Jordan was established as the Arab counterpart to Israel.
Of course the Arab nations and those who do not know this history persist in blaming Israel for the Palestinian problem. Yes, it is a serious problem, but it is not the fault of Israel. Israel was legally created by the United Nations and has a right to exist. Moreover, it has the right to keep any land that it gained in the wars it fought. These were not wars of aggression on the part of Israel. They resulted from unprovoked attacks by Israel’s Arab neighbors (1948-1949, 1967, 1973) causing the Israelis to defend themselves. In the process of pushing back the invaders, Israel gained some land. The Arabs started the wars, and Israel finished them! What nation on earth would ever be told by the international community to give back land that they gained as a result of defending themselves from unprovoked attacks by nations that are dedicated to annihilating them? Yet, that’s what Israel is being told to do!
Israel did in fact give back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the interest of keeping the peace. Moreover, it has also given land for a Palestinian state, removing thousands of Jewish settlers in the process. And what thanks did Israel get from the Palestinians? Rockets being launched daily in an attempt to kill innocent Israeli civilians. After years of this Israel had enough and it attacked the Palestinians. Predictably the world was “shocked” at the aggressiveness of Israel against the poor Palestinians and condemned it for those actions. How ridiculous!
To show you how ridiculous such criticism is, what do you think the United States would do if Mexico shot off rockets from Tijuana into San Diego on a daily basis? I don’t think we would put up with it for very long. We would bomb or attack the sources of this outrage to stop it once and for all. But when Israel does the same thing, they get condemned. Like I said, it’s ridiculous.
What astounds me is how many Jewish people in the United States don’t understand this history and are quite willing to condemn Israel. Either they don’t know the history, or they prefer to be politically correct rather than standing with their own people. Interestingly, a good number of devout Christians are sympathetic to Israel, both from a practical as well as a biblical aspect. That doesn’t mean we believe Israel is correct all the time, but it does mean that we believe it has a right to exist, to defend itself with force, to protect itself (with a large wall, for example), and to keep the land that it won in these wars. All Christians and Jews should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Israel is special in history and in also is the place where the Messiah will return.
In another post I’ll explore American revisionist history.
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