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[Walid] EMEU : Let's look at the Log in Our Eye
EMEU
Let's look at the Log in Our Eye
The Palestinian Christian view on Israel, is it really Christian?
"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the
captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to
the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My
people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also
divided up My land." (Joel 3)
On Christs Second Coming there will be a judgement of the nations
for dispersing the Jews and for dividing Israel. The division is taking place. The
judgement is coming. Dont be found guilty!
From the time of the early church fathers until Messiahs return,
many unbiblical and anti-Semitic ideas will enter the church that seek to deceive
Christians from a true view of the Bible and Gods relationship with Israel. The
Christ Killer label is taking a different shape today in what is promoted as
the "Arab Christian" view of circumstances in the Middle East. Close examination
however reveals that they are rather speaking from a position of hatred towards Israel
based in Islam and in Palestinian politics. Hatred of true Christian believers and Jews
has always been promoted by groups who are outwardly Christian. Taking as an example of
such groups one called EMEU, a committee claiming to call for peace and Middle East
understanding. They and several other Palestinian Christian groups, through books, web
sites, and publications like Al-Bushra, bring to the attention of American Christians the
different stereotypes and misunderstandings of the Palestinian people. They claim to speak
for the Arab Christians on the political and religious situation in Palestine. When one
examines their materials, however, one will find that this Arab Christian view
is no different to the Arab Muslim view. Al-Bushra is written by EMEUs
Mr. Labib Qubti, Al-Sabeel, and Abuna Chacour. A quick glance at these materials shows
their call for unity with Muslims. The statement of faith posted on one of their web-sites
states, "Al-Bushra stands pro-Truth, pro-Justice and pro-Peace and prays God, Allah,
Hashem, the Most Holy for Mankind. Al-Bushra is asking you to pray for Peace and Justice
in the World. Its purpose is not a political purpose but a prayerful purpose. So please go
to your church, synagogue, mosque or temple and say a private prayer on behalf of Peace
and Justice. As we believe in ONE GOD, that GOD, ALLAH, ADONAI, HaShem, the Most Holy is
One for all of us." (Labib Qubti, Al-Bushra).
"Bushra walks the streets of the World with every Human Rights Peacemaker calling
for BROTHERHOOD and Love."
Many Christian organizations distort biblical truth for the cause of
unity with Islam. They believe that your prayers are answered without the need of Jesus
Christ. Ignoring the spiritual need for salvation in an attempt to find unity among
religions, these writings would address Allah, the God of Islam, as the same God, Jehovah
God of Israel. Allah of Islam is so different from Jehovah. He is deceiving 1 billion
Muslims worldwide by denying the trinity. In fact, Allah inspired Muhammad, the prophet of
Islam to prophecy the destruction of the Jewish people: "The Last Hour would not come
till the Muslims fight against the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews
hide themselves behind the stones and trees, and the stones and trees would speak up
saying: O Muslim! O slave of Allah! There is a Jew hiding behind me; come and kill
him. The -Ghardaq- tree would speak, for it is the tree of the Jews." (Muhammad
the prophet of Islam, narrated by Abu Hurraira)
In contrast, the true God of Israel, Jehovah God, speaks his words of
love and promise to his people Israel over and over in the Bible. In Jeremiah 31: 3 God
speaks his love to Israel saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting
love." The covenant of love and promise he made to Abrahams descendants is
meant to last forever. "He remembers his covenant forever, the word He commanded,
for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant
" Psalm
105:8-10
Another glance at EMEU materials uncovers their religion, convictions,
and goals. They go as far as to support the Catholic idol worship of Mary. "Eastern
Churches were the first to discover the love of Mary. Eastern Marian theology leads us to
discover the real face of Mary". (John Samaha, Al-Bushra), "For Christians she
is the all-holy Theotokos, the mother of God". (Cardinal William Keeler, Al-Bushra).
True Christians however, know that God alone and his Son Jesus are the only ones to be
worshiped. Mary was human and sinful like the rest of us.
In their view, since Abraham is the father of all three religions,
Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the main goal should be religious unity and not
evangelism. In their writings are things like: "They [the Muslims]adore one God,
living and enduring, merciful and all powerful, maker of heaven and earth and speaker to
humankind.... They also honor Mary, his virgin mother; at times they call on her too with
devotion. What a propitious moment it is, therefore, that finds Christians and Muslims
together on a major feast of the Virgin Mary to celebrate the mutual esteem for one
another which befits men and women in the faith tradition of Abraham." (Cardinal
William Keeler, Al-Bushra). As far as Gods calling to evangelize Muslims, all you
see in their literature are spineless compromises, claiming to carry out Gods
calling. Mr. Emil Salayta, a speaker at EMEU was asked: "Do you evangelize the
Muslims in your school?". He responded with: "No, because evangelizing would not
be respecting the convictions of others and creating a problem for the other side.".
Knowing Gods command for believers, to go throughout the world and preach the gospel
to all nations, the question Christians should ask is "What would Christ say?".
If his agenda is not to evangelize Muslims, then what are his religious goals and
convictions? In reality, the main goal of EMEU is to support the establishment of a
Palestinian state to unite Arabs and divide Israel. They are aiding the Palestinian
Authority government to carry out its master plan, to destroy the Jewish people in Israel.
Do Not Be Fooled
While on the one hand EMEU denies that it has any political agenda
(saying that it has a prayerful agenda), a glance at the pages of their material reveals
a very political agenda. The political agenda matches that of Arab Muslims in regards to
Palestine. Their material calls everyone to: "Please, stand with the Right of the
Palestinians to have their own independent Country Palestine and their Capital
East-Jerusalem." (Al-Bushra, What is the truth). In cooperation with the Palestinian
Authority lead by Yasser Arafat,
they are engaged in what they call The Phased Plan, which calls Palestinians
to accept any peace proposal in order to gain as much land as possible. In one statement
they cry out to Yasser Arafat saying: "WE CALL UPON ARAB GOVERNMENTS AND THE
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY to unify their positions concerning Jerusalem, a historical trust
for the Arabs and all people of faith throughout the world, and to intensify their defense
of the Arab character of Jerusalem and its religious pluralism raising it to the
stature befitting this blessed city" (Al-Bushra, 7th issue, Aug 1996). This idea is
written in the Palestinian Charter and spoken by all Palestinian government officials, who
also call for the division of Israel first, and then its destruction.
Clinging to the Palestinian-Arab rights to the land, EMEU deliberately
ignores the anti-Semitic history of all the Arabic countries where Jews were a minority.
While they cry out for justice and law, they shed no tears for all the Jews who were
butchered and abused in Arab countries, causing their extradition in mass out Arab lands.
Jews were forced to immigrate to Israel. The EMEU program in America includes conferences
for Christians that claim to speak for Arab Christians in Palestine, they claim that
Christians in the Holy Land are being persecuted by Jews
The fact of the matter is
that Christians in the Holy Land are being persecuted by Muslims, and not by Jews. The
Jews of Israel have never persecuted Arab Christians, though it has served Palestinian
propaganda purposes to pretend that it has happened. Jews never persecuted Arab Christians
for their faith in Christ. What has happened when the Israelis have had to close their
borders due to Palestinian terrorism, is that it has affected everyone in the Palestinian
territories, Christian and Muslim alike. This security measure should not be confused with
a specific targeting of Christians for oppression.
Following are some examples of slander against Israel;
"Israel is distributing food containing cancer-causing material
and hormones that harm male virility and other spoiled food products in the Palestinian
Authority's territories, in order to poison and harm the Palestinian population. We
absolutely feel it is an organized plot and conspiracy under the auspices of the Israel
Defense Forces -- this is a planned and initiated war against the Palestinian
people." (Muhammad Dahlan, head of Arafat's Preventive Security Service in Gaza, in
an interview with the Hamas newspaper Al-Risallah, cited in Ha'aretz, 15 June 1997)
"Israeli authorities...infected by injection 300 Palestinian
children with the HIV virus during the years of the Intifada." (Palestinian U.N.
representative Nabil Ramlawi at a session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
in Geneva, Jerusalem Post, 17 March 1997).
These kinds of accusations have been going on for centuries in order to
condemn the Jews! As a former Palestinian myself, having grown up in Bethlehem, I know
that these are lies. Russian Pogroms, Nazi, and Arab propaganda have always used sinister
schemes in order to promote hatred of the Jew. These schemes are and always have been
expressed in the political, educational, and religious entities in Palestine.
To the American public, Arafat may appear to have made moves toward
peace. For example, the Oslo Accords were signed as a peace treaty, however, later Arafat
was questioned, "Do you feel sometimes that you made a mistake in agreeing to
Oslo?" Arafats response: "No... no. Allah's messenger Muhammad accepted
the al-Hudaibiya peace treaty and Salah a-Din accepted the peace agreement with Richard
the Lion-Hearted." --- Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in a newspaper
interview.
Americans might not realize what was implied in his response, for both
of the treaties he mentioned had been broken. What Yasser Arafat was referring to is the
permission by Allah to break treaties and agreements made with any enemy since the
ten-year pact was broken by Muhammad within two years, when the Islamic forces, having
strengthened during the cease-fire, conquered the Koreish. Salah a-Din was a Muslim leader
who, after a cease-fire, declared a jihad against the Crusaders and captured Jerusalem.
This is the idea and the plan behind the peace accord with Israel the enemy of Allah. It
is all a guise.
In reference to the possibility of changing the PLO Covenant, which
calls for the total destruction of Israel, Tayseer Qaba responded, "We have no
intention of changing or nullifying the Covenant, rather, we will adhere to it until our
last breath since it embodies the essence of our demands." (Tayseer Qaba, deputy
chairman of the PLO's Palestine National Council, A-Nahar, 19 September 1995, page 16)
"Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Palestine whether
someone likes it or not, and whoever does not like it, let him drink from the sea of
Gaza." (P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given at a party to celebrate the
birth of his daughter, Palestine Broadcasting Corporation, 6 August 1995)
"The Israelis are mistaken if they think we do not have an
alternative to negotiations. By Allah I swear they are wrong. The Palestinian people are
prepared to sacrifice the last boy and the last girl so that the Palestinian flag will be
flown over the walls, the churches and the mosques of Jerusalem." (Yasser Arafat, in
a speech given on 6 August 1995 at a party to celebrate the birth of his daughter,
Haaretz, 6 September 1995; The Jerusalem Post, 7 September 1995).
"Jenin is the first nail in Israel's coffin. We will agree to
leave here only the dead Jews who are buried here. Like all Palestinians, I am happy that
Arafat is here today in a liberated Palestinian city. With the help of Allah, all the land
of Palestine will be liberated. The Jews must return to where they came from, to their
Diaspora.... Abu Ammar [Yasser Arafat] visited us and spoke with us...Abu Ammar also
thinks as I do. In the long run - he will get all of Palestine. He will not give up on one
inch of Palestinian land... I don't want to continue living in Gaza or Jenin. My place is
in Palestinian Beersheba." (Suleiman Adwan, a PLO policeman and member of the
"Al Quds" Brigade, which is stationed in Jenin, Davar Rishon, 20 November 1995,
page 2)
Referring to the liberation of Palestine, Arafat states, "The
struggle will continue until all of Palestine is liberated." (PLO Chairman Yasser
Arafat, Voice of Palestine, 11 November 1995)
Labib Qubti, Salayta, Chakour and the others in leadership at EMEU, do
not represent any Born Again believer in the Holy Land, but follow the commands of the
Pope who is favoring Arafat over Jewish administrators of Israel. In fact, he always has.
The Vatican ignores Muslim persecution of Arab Christians in Israel and elsewhere. Instead
the Pope kowtows to an Islamic terrorist. He recently publicly told Israel to keep their
hands off of Jerusalem. Biblically the Jews are Jesus Christ's own family. The Muslims
have no relationship with Him whatever. These key people who speak to you from EMEU are
simply a tool in the hands of Arafat and the Vatican. Arafat and his cabinet, pockets 40%
of all monies donated by American tax dollars and the United Nations. "Almost all of
it is stolen or dribbled away. The Palestinian Authority's own auditors reported last year
that nearly 40 percent of the annual budget $323 million was wasted, looted,
or misused, in President Arafat's regime, bribery is endemic, services are nil,
connections are everything, and might is the only right there is". (THE WASHINGTON
POST, Wednesday, December 2, 1998).
There is no difference between the so-called Arab Christian point of
view and the Arab Muslim point of view. Both Muslims and so-called Christians alike in
Palestine are called to fight against the main enemy, the Jew. They are willing to set
aside their differences to achieve victory against the enemy. Mr. Emil Salayta, a speaker
at EMEU, a Parish priest of Bir-Zeit Palestine, and the General Director of the Latin
Patriarchal Schools for all of Palestine was asked, "Do you face persecution as a
Christian here in a Muslim context?
Mr. Salayta responded, "I think what the West thinks is part of a
Western propaganda against Islam. We've lived with Islam for centuries and
centuries." (Interview with Emil Salayta, April 9, 1997) Mr. Salayta avoids
rocking the boat of peace. He also felt fully free to condemn Benjamin
Netenyahu, calling him a "liar", and accusing Israel of suppressing the freedom
of speech. If Mr. Salayta had expressed such an opinion openly in any Arab country the way
he does in oppressive Israel, he would possibly be condemned to death for
calling any Arab leader a "liar".
Mr. Salayta does not share the true history of persecution committed by
Islam, instead he lifts up Islam, he intentionally forgets that Islam declared, "The
necks of thimmis(Jew and Christians) are to be sealed when collecting the Jezzieh(tax
imposed on Jews and Christians). The method of sealing is to bind the necks of the person
with a collar, in it is a piece of lead, stamped on it the amount of his payment, the
collar is not to be broken until the payment is completed. This is in accordance to the
Quranic verse 'Until they pay the Jezzieh by an upper hand, may they be subjugated
(humiliated)'... And if the person was a Jew, he must wear on his shoulder a red or yellow
banner, so he is recognized as a Jew. And if the person is a Christian, he needs to wear
harsh clothes, with a large pocket in the chest area like women. As for Christian women,
they must wear shoes with different colors, one black and the other white. And if a Jew or
a Christian goes into a public bath, he must wear an iron, copper, or lead made collar
around his neck so he can be identified from Muslims. Never a Jew nor a Christian can
build a house higher than a Muslim. They are not to crowd public roads but need to use
narrow alleyways, and small streets. They are not to be saluted, nor their graves can be
extended beyond the surface of the ground". (Omar bin Al-Khattab, Islams second
Chalif after Muhammad the prophet of Islam, reference Faqeeh Al-Muluk, volume 2, pages
124-136, The Omar covenant).
This covenant was literally carried out by Islam from time immemorial.
Yet Mr. Salayta deliberately ignores this, claiming that for "centuries and
centuries" Christians lived in peace and harmony with Muslims. He ignores the one
million Armenians butchered by Muslims in Fez, Turkey where blood flowed throughout the
streets. Instead of concentrating on the 1.5 million Sudanese Christians who have been
tortured and annihilated in the past few years by Muslims, or those killed in Bosnia, or
the persecution of millions of Christians around the world, EMEU and the Arab Christian
leaders expect that we should drop everything and be in an uproar when Jews build 6,500
houses in Jerusalem.
Do not be fooled
Besides their political outcry for an Arab nation to replace Israel,
these groups go as far as changing history to support their claims. EMEU teaches
Christians in America to abandon their interpretation of Bible Prophecy concerning the
Jews, since supporting Israel is offensive to the original church, the 2% Arab-Christians
in Palestine. They hold to extreme Replacement and Liberal theology.
The majority of Palestinians cling to the idea that their origins are
from the Canaanites and Jebusites. The Arab Christian view also interprets Gods
promise to Abraham concerning the land of Israel as for all the children of Abraham
including the Arabs. They say that Israel was inhabited by Arabs for thousands of years
before Israels recent establishment. To them any Christian who uses Bible Prophecy
to support Israel is considered a Christian Zionist liar. Labib Qubti writes, "The
Christian Zionists are not truthful about the Holy Land or Jerusalem. A simple reading of
history shows their claims are not well founded." (Labib Qubti, Al-Bushra).
We ask, are these accusations and claims valid? Are the Palestinians
who they claim to be? Are they Canaanites, are they the original church? Is Israel the
monster they try to draw? Are we liars and they the truthful? Let us examine these issues
in light of the Bible and History.
In Exodus 33:1-3 it reads;
"Then the LORD said to Moses, Leave this place, you and the
people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants".
The promises are clearly to Isaac via Abraham, not to Ishmael.
"Then the Lord said, I will send an angel before you and
drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites."
Clearly, no Canaanaites or Jebusites will remain.
Again in Numbers 21:2-3 it says;
"Then Israel made this vow to the LORD, If you will deliver
these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities. The LORD listened
to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them
and their towns; so the place was named Hormah."
Clearly, Palestinians are not the descendants of Canaanites or
Jebusites.
Despite what God said, the goal of these groups is still to change the
worlds perspective on biblical and historic truths in order to link the land with
anything other than its Jewish roots. This is done to support their political agenda
implemented by the Palestinian Authority. In an interview between Zola Levitt, an American
messianic Jew, and Mr. Husseni, a right hand man to Yasser Arafat, Mr. Husseni bluntly
claimed that the Palestinians originated from the Jebusites before Abraham moved to
Israel. Similar to the Arab Christian view, he clearly changed the historic fact to an
American audience who lacks knowledge of Eastern History. Actually today's Palestinians
are recent immigrants of many nations. Its like saying that all of todays
Americans are the original Native American Indians.
The Arab Christian point of view disconnects the Jews from the land of
Israel, when in fact history shows that the opposite is true. There is little connection
between the roots of todays Palestinians with the land. Todays Palestinians
are an interesting blend and mix of nations and peoples: "Balkans, Greeks, Syrians,
Latinos, Egyptians, Turks, Armenians, Italians, Persians, Kurds, Germans, Afghans,
Circassians, Bosnians, Sudanese, Samaritans, Algerians, Motawila, Tartars, Hungarians,
Scots, Navarese, Bretons, English, Franks, Ruthenians, Bohemians, Bulgarians, Georgians,
Syrians, Persian Nestorians, Indians, Copts, Maronites, and many others" (DeHass,
History p. 258. John of Wuzburg list from Reinhold Rohricht edition, pp. 41, 69).
Jesus himself prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed and left
desolate. After the time of Jesus, the Jews were dispersed from Israel. Known as "The
Diaspora", this left Israel a land of desolation. This prophecy proved to be true and
was confirmed by history. Besides small spots of population by the above groups, Palestine
was mostly empty. Historians agree to a major fact that the Bible had already predicted
long ago; that the land of Israel would be in desolation.
De Hass writes, "The real source of the interest in the problem
was the condition of Palestine; empty, silent, waste, ruin between 1840 and 1880" (De
Haas, History, p. 407).
Carl Herman Voss writes, "In the twelve and a half centuries
between the Arab conquest in the seventh centuries and the beginning of the Jewish return
in the 1880s, Palestine was laid waste. Its ancient canal and irrigation system were
destroyed and the wondrous fertility of which the Bible spoke vanished into desert and
desolation... Under the Ottoman Empire of the Turks, the policy of defoliation continued;
the hillsides were denuded of trees and the valleys robbed of their topsoil." (The
Palestine Problem Today, Israel and Its Neighbors, Boston, 1953, p. 13) There were
no Cannanites or Jebusites, only parasites.
In his book, Ernst Frankenstine states, "It was in 1878, harsh
conditions forced many groups to immigrate to Palestine; Circassian, Algerians, Egyptians,
Druses, Turks, Kurds, Bosnians, and others. 141,000 settled Muslims living in all of
Palestine (all areas) in 1882, at least 25% of those 141,000 were new comers who arrived
after 1831 from the Egyptian conquest."(Ernst Frankenstine, Justice for my people,
London, Nicholson and Watson, 1943 p. 127)
Even the American author Mark Twain recorded, "Palestine sits in
sackcloth and ashes.... desolate and unlovely...it is a dreamland." (Mark Twain, The
Innocents Abroad, pp. 349)
In a Jerusalem Commerce report it states, "1840, Jerusalem's
population of 15,000 of whom 8,000 Jews, 4,500 Muslims, and the rest
Christians." (No. 238, report of Commerce of Jerusalem during the year 1863, F.O.
195/808, May 1864). Please note, that the population of Jerusalem was always majority
Jews.
Most of Palestine was desolate for almost 2000 years as the Bible
predicted. All of the current Palestinian people came no less than 150 years ago and were
not even Arabs. Even the Arab immigrant clans like Al-Nashasheebi, Al-Khalidi, and
Al-Husseini settled in Palestine in this same period. Yet they were given the status of
"Efendi," which made them an upper class. They took over the lands while the
rest of the lower class, "Falaheen," were exploited. These families like
"Al-Husseni" produced individuals like Haj Al-Ameen Al-Husseni, the religious
leader Mufti of Jerusalem. He was a staunch friend of Hitler who coordinated with Hitler
the "final solution" to the "Jewish Problem." He was with Hitler at
the eve of the "Final Solution" November 21, 1941. A letter by Al-Husseni
stopping the immigration of Hungarian Jews was honored. 500,000 Jews from Hungary were
sent to their deaths during the Holocaust.
EMEU and groups like them usually emphasize what was done to
Palestinians by Israel during the Intifada. They never mention what Palestinians do to the
Jewish people. They also ignore the numbers of Palestinians killed by Palestinians during
the Intifada, which happens to be is more than all Palestinians killed during all the
Palestinian-Israeli conflicts. Clinging to the Palestinian-Arab rights to the land and
pointing to the disbursed Palestinians, they deliberately ignore the anti-Semitic history
in all the Arab countries. While they cry out for justice and law for displaced
Palestinians, they shed no tears for all the Jews who were butchered, abused, and
extradited in mass out of all Arab lands, forcing them to immigrate to Israel.
The so-called Palestinian Christian point of view, filled with
fractions of truths mixed with pure propaganda, argues that Israel kicked out 4 million
Palestinians, that Israel tortures Palestinians, and prohibits education. Instead of
looking for the spec in the Jewish eye, it is time for EMEU to remove the scales from
their own eyes. The fact is that Israel was created due to Arab bursts of brutality, and
mass extradition of the Jews from all the Arab lands. The Nazi Arab hate, the Russian
Pogroms, along with the Holocaust, were the main causes of the creation of modern Israel.
In the Arab World, "Of more than 850,000 Jews in Arab lands fewer than 29,000
remained forced to leave to Israel" (American Jewish Yearbook, 1983, George Gruen,
editor, New York).
History records the manifestation of evil that took place all over the
Arab world. In Yemen, the Jews who lived there for thousands of years fell under the
previously mentioned Omar Charter which called for the severe fanatical edicts
of the most intolerant Islamic sects. In Adan, the Arab riots and pogroms erupted in 1947,
killing Jews, ransacking houses, and robbing every single Jewish store, burning every
Jewish synagogue and home in the country. The only Jews who were spared were at an area
called "Steamer Point". They were all forced to leave in 1958. In Iraq, all the
Jews were forced to leave between 1948 and 1952 and to leave everything behind. Jews were
publicly hanged in the center of Baghdad with enthusiastic mobs as audiences. In Egypt
Jamal Abdunnaser stated: "Our sympathy was with the Germans".. During the 6 day
war the Jews of Egypt were rounded up and thrown into concentration camps. Egypt had no
place for Jews.
It was pure hate fed through schools and Arab media that caused severe
persecution of Jews in the Arab world. The prominent Egyptian, Anis Mansour who is well
respected by the Palestinian Christians once wrote: "People all over the world come
to realize that Hitler was right, since Jews are bloodsuckers." (Anis Mansour ,1973).
President Nasser of Egypt declared, "Our basic goal is the
destruction of Israel". (Laqueur, op. cit., pp. 175-185) In Morocco, nothing
was worse than the slaughter of 120,000 Jews in 1146 in Fez. In 1948 mob violence and
hostilities forced the Jews to leave to Israel.
In Algeria, Jews were accused of sorcery. They were slaughtered and
plundered continually. The Algerians were inflamed with Nazi influence. Jewish diplomats
were kidnapped and killed. The Jewish population in 1948, diminished in a few months, was
forced to leave to Israel. In Tunisia, the Jews had the title of detested
"Dhimmi." Having to pay heavy taxation, and forced to wear separate clothing
different than the Moors, they had to wrap yellow banners around their necks, and the
women could never wear shoes. Daring to change these rules would result in public stoning.
Forbidden to carry arms or repair their synagogues, they were subjected to mass extortion,
rape, mass murders and extreme Arabization. This forced 50% of the Jews to flee to Israel.
The other 50% left to France.
In Syria, the status of "Dhimmi" gave the Jew no rights at
all, only the right not to defend himself. During 1944 - 1945 intensified persecution of
the Jews took place forcing the Jews to flee to Israel. The same status was for the Jews
in Lebanon and Lybia.
Along with what was foretold of the diaspora, persecution and
regathering of the Jews of Israel, history as well confirmed it. Should there be any
question or doubt that the Bible always agrees with history?
Christians should wonder why EMEU and other groups never mention any of
the atrocities in their supposed peace and reconciliation seminars? Where are the
centuries and centuries of peace Mr. Salayta is speaking of? Could it be that
they want you to listen to one side of the story? A good judge must always hear the
"other" party.
The idea that the Jews forced the Palestinians out is from a well known
lie and perversion of history past down by the Arabs who were defeated in 1948 and 1967.
It is called "The political influence of tradition", when all the people who
fled away and ran across the Jordan River. They left out of fear imposed by the Arab media
themselves, who told the Palestinians to leave because the Jews would slaughter them. It
was pure Arab propaganda against Israel, which made the Palestinians leave out of fear.
One should wonder why EMEU would never blame anything on the Arabs themselves?
The Arab leaders promised the Palestinians that they would soon be able
to return following Israels destruction. In some cases the Jews, including Israel's
first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, urged the Arabs to remain, promising that they
would not be harmed, (Irving Howe and Carl Gershman, Israel, the Arabs and the Middle
East, New York: Bantam, 1972, p. 168) Those who remained became full and equal
citizens of Israel, while those who chose to leave went to neighboring Arab states.
Instead of welcoming their Arab brothers, and integrating them into the mainstream of
their societies, the Arab states kept them in squalid refugee camps. They used these
Palestinian refugees as political pawns in their fight against Israel. (See, for instance,
The Economist, Oct. 2, 1948, for a description of Jewish efforts in Haifa to
persuade the Arabs to stay)
Israel is also blamed for creating the Refugee problem in Jordan,
Syria, and Lebanon. The problem however, was created by the Arabs who insisted on keeping
the camps; using the Palestinians for political exploitation. In 1982, 65,425 Palestinian
refugees were put in camps in Syria, 123,442 in Lebanon, and 192,392 in Jordan. This was
reported by UNRWA, while the Arabic propaganda lied and inflated the number to 4,000,000.
ALL of them had fled of their own will and without any force.
In contrast, the Jews were forced to leave Arab lands and arrived
destitute in Israel. But they were absorbed into the society and became an integral part
of the state. In effect, then, a veritable exchange of populations took place between Arab
and Jewish refugees. Thus the Jewish refugees became full Israeli citizens, while the Arab
refugees in Arab lands remained "refugees" according to the wishes of the Arab
leaders.
The Arabs not only rejected partition, but attacked Israel from all
sides. On the day that Israel declared its independence, the Arab League Secretary,
General Azzam Pasha declared "Jihad", a holy war. He said, "This will be a
war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian
massacres and the Crusades." (Howard M Sachar, A History of Israel New York:
Knopf, 1979, p. 333. 1)
The Mufti of Jerusalem, friend of Adolf Hitler, Haj Amin Al Husseini
stated, "I declare a holy war, my Muslim brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them
all!" (Leonard J. Davis and M. Decter. Myths and facts 1982; a Concise Record of
the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Washington DC: Near East Report, 1982, p. 199) The armies
of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded the tiny new country with the intent of
destroying it.
Unlike the call of Arab leaders to kill every Jew, Jews showed respect
towards Arabs during the 6 Day War. There were no civilian Arabs attacked by the Israelis,
no stores robbed, no homes looted, and no women raped. The Israelis announced to
everyone that if they put a white flag on their gates no one would be harmed.
In response to the fact that Israel has extradited some individuals to
Jordan and Lebanon, we must first study what these individuals did to the Jews in Israel.
Most of them were terrorists who committed crimes against Israel in the name of
independence from Israel. In fact one of these terrorists, the well known father Elarion
Cappucci, a Catholic Arch-Bishop of Palestine, was caught smuggling hundreds of kilos of
explosives aimed to kill Jews. He was a terrorist who was supported by all Palestinian
Christians and who holds the Arab Christian view on Israel.
Replacement Theology
Replacement Theology which EMEU advocates and promotes is a misguided
systematic approach to the Bible that has not only led millions of Christians astray over
the years but it has in addition birthed evil of the most horrific proportions.
Replacement Theology played a role in the persecution of Jews by the church through the
centuries, including the Holocaust.
Replacement theology is the opinion' that Israel, having failed
God, has been replaced by the Church. The Church is now seen as spiritual Israel and
spiritual Jerusalem. This theology claims that all the promises and blessings, in fact
Israel's entire inheritance, now belongs to the Church. Israel, however, gets to keep the
curses. Replacement Theology was first established at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, but
the idea was preached as early as the late first century AD by some of the Church
Fathers'. During the last 1600 years, reformations and revivals have come and gone, new
denominations have sprung up, but this root of Replacement Theology which continues to
produce its anti-Semitic fruit, has not been cut off. This is a great stumbling block to
the Jews as it prevents them from recognizing their own Messiah, Yeshua. As the prophet
Isaiah says, "Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." Isaiah
57:14b
Christians need to sever themselves from this lie and be grafted into
God's true Olive Tree; a tree which is deeply rooted in the unconditional Covenants of God
to Israel. Replacement Theology robs us from understanding the heart of God. It robs us
from the security of truly trusting in His faithfulness. By understanding God's
everlasting commitment towards Israel, we understand something of who God is. Gentile
believers in Christ are not supposed to be an entity outside of, or instead of Israel, but
are to become part of the Commonwealth of Israel. God does not have two frameworks. He has
only one; Israel - His everlasting possession. He has given His Name to no other. This is
the 'Framework of the Bible', in which Christ was born and in which the early believers
operated. The true Bible observant Christian Community is within the Household of Israel.
To believe in Replacement Theology is to sever oneself from the root
and to become part of another framework instituted originally by Rome. This is a false
institution, founded on anti-biblical doctrines. God has in no way either rejected or
replaced Israel and the Jewish people. His covenant with them is unconditional and
non-transferable. God's covenants and promises were never based on Israel's good behavior,
but were based on God's faithfulness toward His people. Although the Jewish people have
suffered the consequences of breaking God's Laws, just as all do, they have not been
replaced or rejected. They remain forever the only witness to the one true God. The
scriptures make that quite clear.
"But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, you
descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest
corners I called you. I said, You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not
rejected you." Isaiah 41:8,9 Jacob was chosen, not Ishmael or the Arabs.
"Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and
the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who divideth the sea
when its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before
Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before
Me forever. Thus saith the Lord, If heaven above can be measured, and foundations of
the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that
they have done, saith the Lord". Jeremiah 31:35,36
"How can I give you up Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
For I am God and not man." Hosea 11:8,9.
"I have loved you with an everlasting love
"
Jeremiah 31:3.
"O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen
ones. He is the LORD our G-d; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his
covenant for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham; the oath he swore
to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting
covenant..." 1Chronicles 16:13-17.
"For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted
inheritance." Deuteronomy 32:9
"He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a
thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He
confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant..." Psalm
105:8-10
"He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to
Israel. He has done this for no other nation." Psalm 147:19,20
"The LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his
inheritance." Psalm 94:14
"I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!"
Romans 11:1
"Remember that at one time you were separated from Messiah,
excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise...
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's
people and members of God's household
" Ephesians 2:12 &19
"The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the
covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the
inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his
grace gave it to Abraham through a promise." Galatians 3:17,18
EMEU, and organizations like it, fully support the division of Israel
and the creation of a Palestinian state. They should fear for their evil plan angers God.
He said
"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the
captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to
the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My
people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also
divided up My land." (Joel 3)
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