May 2, 2012

The Convergence of Israel's Enemies

Olivier MelnickBy Olivier Melnick
New Antisemitism

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In 2007, as a result of 6 years of research and one year of writing, my first book on anti-Semitism was published (They Have Conspired Against You: Responding to the New Anti-Semitism). Back in 2000 when I started my research, I quickly was able to identify three different perpetrators of the New Anti-Semitism. All three were coming on the world scene as the Second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) was developing in the Middle East.

The source of anti-Semitism "Old" and "New" has never changed. The battle is not a historical, geographical or even a socio-political one, it is purely a SPIRITUAL battle to completely destroy the people that God chose to call The apple of My eye in Zechariah 2:8.

This spiritual battle has taken many forms over the centuries. It has undergone much morphing from a simple theological construct that created a disconnect between early Christians and Jews, to an all encompassing drive to destroy the Land of Israel and the Jewish People worldwide.

Yes, it has had many historical markers such as the Middle Ages, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Pogroms and the Holocaust to name just the main ones!

Yes, it has seen multiple battlegrounds in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East or North America to name a few!

anti-Semitism

And yes, it has "benefited" from the ideologies of various political factions over time, from extreme right to extreme left!

But at the end of the day the battle is between the enemy of God—Satan—and the chosen people of God—The Jewish People. Why, because Satan knows that he cannot hurt God Himself, but he knows that you can hurt people the most by hurting their loved ones. Thus God's enemy will rejoice in the hurting and killing of the Jewish people, simply to hurt God.

As God's enemy got organized to destroy the Jews, he always subcontracted his destructive work to different groups throughout mankind's history. Early Christians under the leadership of Church Fathers such as Origen of Alexandria heard statements such as:

"We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race...hence the city where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election.” [1]

John Chrysostom, "the Golden Mouthed Orator" provided early Christianity with additional perfidious diatribes such as:

"The synagogue is worse than a brothel...it is the den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts...the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults...the refuge of brigands and debauchees, and the cavern of devils. It is a criminal assembly of Jews...a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ... a house worse than a drinking shop...a den of thieves, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and a abyss of perdition."..."I would say the same things about their souls... As for me, I hate the synagogue...I hate the Jews for the same reason... men who are lustful, rapacious, greedy, perfidious bandits...inveterate murderers, destroyers, men possessed by the devil,... they have surpassed the ferocity of wild beasts, for they murder their offspring and immolate them to the devil. [2]

These early Church Fathers (and many others) set a stage of faulty exegesis from which a play that could be titled "The Fate of the Jews", has been playing non-stop for the last 2000 years. Different actors, different sets, different locations, but same director!

From the shaky foundation established by the Church Fathers, Jewish history was written, and to an extent continues to be written in blood and tears. From theological differences to the Crusades to the Shoah to the global Jihad.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and the same poison is being dispensed worldwide. It has simply been "repackaged" and it has received a new "Marketing strategy" catering to a much greater audience and thus appealing to a tremendous cross-section of people across the globe.

The three enemies of the Jewish people that I had identified at the turn of the 21st century were Radical Islam, Liberals and Christians. It goes without saying that each group is not equally responsible for the denigration, demonization and annihilation of the Jews.

Yet. it is also very important to notice the recent shift in the way these three groups of perpetrators are now working together. There has been a convergence of the enemies of Israel happening in front of our very eyes.

When I first identified the new perpetrators, they all fed the beast that is the New Anti-Semitism, but for the most part, even though their hatred was fueling a somewhat similar goal, they were far from working together, at least knowingly. Three unlikely partners in crime were promoting their own agendas against the "perpetual scapegoats of humanity".

Radical Islam was mostly interested in the COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND THE JEWS—also described by them as "THE LITTLE SATAN" (America being the Big Satan, and next on their agenda).

Liberals were fighting ISRAEL AND THE JEWS in the name of SOCIAL JUSTICE, TOLERANCE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.

Christians continued to display a "not so subtle" jealousy for ISRAEL AND THE JEWS as they thrived to make God say something He never said and replace Israel in God's program as the NEW ISRAEL.

Three threads of hatred and jealousy have been pulling individually the Jewish people and Israel towards ostracization and even destruction. The danger was great then and I believe it is greater now. It has become more serious because the three unlikely partners have teamed up. What they were good at accomplishing individually, they are becoming better at accomplishing corporately. These unlikely partners are currently teaming up against a common enemy, ISRAEL AND THE JEWS.

I started to notice some rather mind stretching partnerships recently.

  • Liberals are pushing for Islam to become more accepted. The two vastly different ideologies will inevitably clash sooner or later, but hey, later is later so why worry?
  • Christians who used to support ISRAEL AND THE JEWS are starting to change their views and are now unashamedly promoting "Christian Palestinianism" as was the case during the March 2012 "Christ at the Checkpoint Conference". Further delegitimization of ISRAEL AND THE JEWS are on the way. For a superb exposé of Christian Palestinianism, (see this site).
  • Muslims and Christians are contemplating a new hybrid faith labelled as "Chrislam". In reality, Christians are compromising as they perform theological gymnastics to accommodate Muslims. Tolerance as a one-way street will only lead to cultural suicide! It is only a matter of time!

These three threads of hatred and jealousy were pretty strong individually, but now that they have been weaved together, they have picked up momentum and strength as they continue to pull ISRAEL AND THE JEWS towards oblivion. The rope of anti-Semitism appears to be indestructible as it keeps pulling.

THE CONVERGENCE OF ISRAEL'S ENEMIES HAS HAPPENED!

It is not over and I really don't think that we have seen the worst yet, but even though much of the world is now teaming up against the Apple of God's Eye, God's hand is uncompromisingly holding the rope that ISRAEL AND THE JEWS appear to be pulling on their own.

God's lovingkindness for ISRAEL AND THE JEWS is confirmed by His promise to never allow their complete destruction. We come into this picture as lovers of God and of His people and we have no other choice but to tell them about the salvation that only comes through the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

A tug of war between the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the enemies of ISRAEL AND THE JEWS, which side do you want to be on?



Endnotes
[1] http://web.archive.org/web/20060427150628/http://duke.usask.ca...
[2] Bareille, J: Oeuvres Complètes de Saint Jean Chrysostome, Tome 1er (Librairie de Louis Vivès, Editeur, Paris, 1865) Pages 514-582. http://ia700402.us.archive.org/20/items/ChrysostomeOeuvresCompltesT1/ChrysostomeT1.pdf