“The ‘new’ wave of antisemitism in the West clarifies to Israeli Jews too that they cannot escape their fate in Israel by relocating to Europe or America. They too cannot escape antisemitism by distancing themselves from Israel.” - Providence
Read the series.
What does it mean to stand with Israel? My wife Lynnette and I were challenged to think about that question in a completely new way on Friday, June 7, when we heard a firsthand account of the terrorist massacre that Hamas unleashed last October 7.
Presenting were two survivors of Kibbutz Be’eri, an avocado farming community situated roughly two miles from Gaza. It was Hamas’ first target on that horrible morning. For the sake of caution, I will use only the first names of the speakers, Yarden and Mika.
Read the series.
What are some specific things that we can do to stand with—that is, bless (Gen. 12:3)—the people, nation and land of Israel?
As we documented in the previous installment, we certainly have good reason to desire to do so. As Jesus told the Canaanite woman, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). And as He reminded the Samaritan woman, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).
Read Part 1.
What are we really calling for when we entreat people to stand with the people, nation and land of Israel?
We’ve been pondering that question during this period of unprecedented, frightful and downright dangerous antisemitism—the worst that the world has witnessed since the dreadful days of the Holocaust.
We began last time by considering some of major concepts that I am not intending to convey when I talk about standing with Israel. Now we turn our attention to how we should positively approach this objective.
“All three of these are true. Behind the death on the cross is the Father, the Son, and you and me. We should be careful, however, in how we talk about these realities.” - Kevin DeYoung
“the world is filled with state actors treating their own or neighboring populations in the most appalling ways, far worse than anything that Israel could remotely be accused of, without attracting anything like the passion and vitriol directed at Jews and Israel.” - Manhattan Contrarian
“Today, when university protesters celebrate the death of Jews, shouting, ‘We are Hamas,’ it is time for Christians across the nation to speak up on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.” - Michael Brown
“Today’s anti-Semitism is a propaganda machine fed by religious hatred and misinformation. Christians not only must avoid being consumed by it, but also must stand against it.” - P&D
January 27 was “the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the biggest of the many concentration camps used by the Nazis during World War II to enslave and exterminate millions of Jews” - USA Today
“The survey of 51 public and private universities from The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University found a small number of ‘hotspot’ schools where Jewish students faced a hostile environment.” - RNS
