Israel has the Right to Defend its CitizensIsraeli consul general to the Southwest Since fall, Israel's citizens have been exposed to a particularly virulent wave of terrorism to which Israel has been forced to react. Every state has the obligation to protect the life and liberty of its citizens. That right to self-defense is a foundation of international law and is enshrined in the United Nations charter. Although there has been a loss of life on both sides, there is absolutely no equivalence between the actions of Palestinian terrorists and the reaction of Israel, the target of their violence. The dissimilarity between the two can be clearly demonstrated by examining the overall motivation behind each side's actions. Israel seeks to end the violence in order to enable the negotiation of a mutually acceptable solution. By comparison, the Palestinians have decided to employ violence as a means of promoting a unilateral solution.
For the past few years, the Israeli army hasn't been deployed in Palestinian-populated areas. For children to initiate clashes with the Israeli soldiers, they must walk, or in some cases are bused, to within "a stone's throw" of Israeli units on the out-skirts of town. Yes, some Palestinian children killed in the violence are totally innocent. But in each of those cases, the children never were the intended target of Israeli actions. For example, 5-month-old Iman Haju was unintentionally killed in Israeli return fire, which was directed at positions used by a Palestinian mortar crew to bombard an Israeli community a few minutes before. Those terrorists deliberately locate their mortars within schoolyards and other civilian areas, hoping not only to injure Israeli citizens with their bombs but also to injure Israel's public image, when it is forced to respond. Collateral civilian casualties are a deeply regrettable, but often unavoidable, consequence of all armed confrontations. By contrast, Israeli children have been shot by the terrorists when driving with their parents on the open road or maimed by suicide bombers while shopping in the neighborhood mall or even riding on public buses. Just several days ago, two 13-year-old Israeli boys were brutally stoned to death and their bodies mutilated by terrorists as they were hiking in a riverbed close to their home. The deaths weren't cases of unintentional civilian casualties. The boys, and other Israeli children, were killed because they were targeted by their Palestinian persecutors. The heinous actions of Palestinian terrorists don't come in a vacuum. In recent months, the Palestinian Authority has been orchestrating a campaign of hate and incitement through its official newspapers, TV and radio stations. Palestinian Authority spokesmen have praised violence and confrontation, the Palestinian Authority has freed known terrorists from detention, and Palestinian police and security men have joined in the attacks with impunity.
Israelis are asking: What are the Palestinians seeking to achieve?
Israel, on the other hand, seeks only to protect its citizens and end
the violence in order to return to negotiations and reach a mutually
acceptable settlement for both peoples.
Legitimized GangsterLetters to the Jerusalem Post Editor
The Palestinian Authority is not a responsible government. The real
tragedy of the Oslo peace agreement is that it legitimized an exiled,
anti-democratic, terrorist cell as the Palestinians' official voice.
Yasser Arafat is no Mandela, no Nehru. Think of Saddam Hussein, Robert
Mugabe or Al Capone, and you have a clearer picture.
"Do as we say, not as we do."In 1989, a pair of U.S. soldiers in Panama made a fatally wrong turn, with similar consequences to what happened last year, when two Israeli reservists (not armed soldiers) mistakenly turned into the Palestinian-controlled town of Ramallah. In each case, the misdirected trespassers were killed. In retaliation, after forewarning, Israel bombed three vacated Palestinian Authority buildings. Question: What was our nation's response to Panama's "enormous outrage," in the words of President Bush, Sr.?? Bear in mind that the U.S. routinely polices Israel for use of excessive force. Answer: We invaded Panama with —
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" (Matthew 7:3)
We have run several of Joseph Farah's articles in the past. He is an Arab-American with a clear view of Middle East events. Farah is the editor and CEO of the Internet news site WorldNetDaily.com.
Antisemitism, by GeorgeThe International Jerusalem Post Were America's Founders Antisemites?Yes, if you are to believe the vicious propaganda increasingly seeping into periodicals and speeches in the Arab world. In December, Egypt's General Hassan Sweilem authored a two-part series in the weekly October titled "The Jewish Personality and the Israeli Action." The series was translated by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (www.memri.org). Here's an excerpt: "Historians, race-studies professors and sociologists agree that humanity, throughout its long history, has never known a race such as the Jewish race in which so many bad qualities — base and loathsome — have been gathered." "The Jews had a quality which distinguished them from others: whenever they gathered in a particular place and felt comfortable there, they turned the place into a den of evil, corruption, incitement to internal strife and the spreading of wars," the reserve wrote. "The Jews took advantage of the lack of attention by the people and rulers to the plots and traps designed by the Jews." Sweilem then retraces his version of 'history' right up through the Holocaust, which he proclaims is a lie. "This is a huge lie which they managed to market around the world," Sweilem writes.
Of course, anyone who has read the precious writings of George Washington can instantly recognize from the style alone, not just the substance, that this statement is a forgery through and through. But Sweilem continues to libel another of America's early statesman. "American President Benjamin Franklin said in his speech to the 1789 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia: "A great danger threatens the United States — the Jewish danger," Sweilem writes. "When the Jews settle down, we will discover that they are weakening the determination of the people, shaking up the ethics of trade and establishing a government. When they meet resistance, they will suffocate the nation economically." There's more, but you get the idea. You might be wondering which US history textbook Sweilem used to find this quotation from Franklin, who, of course, never served as an American president. It turns out the forgery first appeared in 1935 in German in the Nazi Handbook on the Jewish Question. There's a rising strain of antisemitism in the Arab world's popular press, its schools, and its official and unofficial rhetoric. As an Arab-American Christian, it repulses and offends me. Moreover, it makes me wonder how peace — true and lasting peace — can be achieved between Jews and adversaries with such enmity in their very hearts and souls. As America nears Washington's birthday, it might be a good time to recall what Washington actually wrote about the Jews, a people whose history he studied in the Scriptures for clues about building a new civilization in the New World. In an August 1790 letter to Moses Seixas, the warden of the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, the president wrote: "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support." Washington then concluded with a quotation from Micah 4:4: "May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, there shall be none to make him afraid."
Sadly, that is a Washington quote you're not likely to see reproduced
anywhere in the Arab world today.
Zola's Bulletin Board
"Soon, and very soon, we're going to see the King" are words from a chorus that celebrates our Lord's soon return. See the "Kingdom" now! Our Fall Tour has four options:
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State of Israel Bonds
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"When I see a Jew before me, I kill him. If every Arab did this, it would be
the end of the Jews."
MSNBC.com executives decided to dump their photo-of-the-year contest.
They posted a notice saying, "It became clear that individuals, through
technical means, were voting for the same image hundreds, if not thousands,
of times." The photo depicted a Palestinian man, Jamal al-Dura,
and his 12-year-old son, Mohammed, caught in the crossfire between
Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. In this regard,
please see
Zola's introduction
to an article which shows that Palestinians probably shot the boy.
A Note From ZolaDear Friends,
Orlando was simply wonderful! Our folks had a terrific time going through The Holy Land Experience, a kind of first-century Israel theme park, and asked many good questions on-site and also in our intensive study sessions in the evenings. They reacted so like a group of tourists going to the Holy Land itself that I was honestly taken aback. It appears that the Orlando copy is so good that the spiritual effect on the pilgrims is the same! We plan to go again on the weekend after Thanksgiving. This time — if we have the kind of enrollment we expect — we will include a second tour the week following and possibly even a third tour on the second weekend following. We will know more about these details as the time passes, but remember: this Thanksgiving you can see "Israel," at least the Israel they have copied in excellent replica in Orlando, Florida. For an experience like that you can really give some thanks. I still, though, highly recommend our tour in September, since Jerusalem, Galilee, and the other sites we visit in the real Israel are less dangerous than Orlando. It is almost funny, but I want to relate an incident that happened when my wife and I went to dinner one evening in Orlando. When we stepped out of the front of the hotel, we were confronted by police officers and a squad car. Behind the hotel, where we walked to get to the restaurant, we found more officers and two more squad cars. Finally, when we arrived at the restaurant one block away, there were two more police cars with many police inside and outside of the restaurant. My wife, not one to let these things pass, inquired of the police inside the restaurant about just what was going on. She was told, "Nothing that should concern you, ma'am." We learned from the local news later in the evening that an armed robber had been seen in the area, the police had staked the place out, and they finally did catch him. Let me say this loud and clear: I've taken 70 tours to Israel in thirty years and I have never even seen a policeman on duty, other than directing traffic, in all that time. There are no fugitives in the streets of Jerusalem, for heaven's sake! And no armed robbers to speak of. In fact, there are almost no crimes against persons at all. The Israeli Jewish society is one family, and they simply do not abuse and rob each other. What about the Palestinians, you may well ask. There are letters to that effect in this and in many past issues of our newsletter. People who "know better" than I do — informed by CNN and the other networks — tell me that Israel is dangerous, even though I stood there on my own two feet not three weeks ago and with my own eyes observed that it was perfectly peaceful. Yes. Yes. Yes. There is some unrest in the Land. Yes, it's true that people shoot mortars and blow up bombs here and there, and that's very sad. I'm sorry that it is happening, but it also happens in America. It is part of living in a democracy. If you want a completely trouble-free environment with no crime at all, then you need to live in Beijing, China, or Havana, Cuba, or Pyong Yang, North Korea. As long as people are free — and the Palestinians are a free people privileged to live in a democracy (the only such Arabs in the Middle East) — they can protest, they can riot, and if they want to try their luck, they can even shoot at soldiers (though they usually prefer civilians). In no case has a tourist to Israel — out of millions of them — ever been harmed in a terrorist action! In not one of our seventy tours have I ever seen any event that you could even begin to tie to the political situation. In no year, and no month, and no week, has Israel ever been any where close to being as dangerous as any American city. If you want to parrot CNN to me, then I think you're misinformed. This network and most of the other media have a vested interest in supporting the Arab causes. They are some of their best advertising customers, and that's all there is to that. If you believe the gibberish they pass out as news, then I feel sorry for you. But if you want to write to me and tell me what's going on in Israel, then at least be someone who was there on the ground as I was. Then tell me what you saw. To this date, I have not had a testimony of any eyewitness to violence in Israel (other than money-making news reporters). Concerning the situation in Israel: The Israelis are accused of killing civilians (when, of course, it is the Arabs who typically target civilians with their bombs and their snipers), but when civilians choose to be combatants — when they actually attack — they become targets as well. One has only to think of the war in Vietnam, of the various situations that arose of our troops killing Vietnamese civilians. The usual defense was that the civilians were untrustworthy and dangerous, and they sometimes attacked, and that is certainly the situation in Israel. When you think about it, Moslems everywhere are creating trouble wherever they live. Almost any conflict in the world that you read about somehow has Moslems on one side of it. God prophesied way back with Ishmael: "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him" (Gen. 16:12). That 4,000-year-old prophecy has certainly been borne out. The only gifts that Arabs seem to give to the world are outrage and airport security! Arafat's ragtag forces, putting up some show of a battle with Israel, are reminiscent of Saddam Hussein and his "Mother of all Battles" with our own troops in Iraq. It was a very sad affair in which Hussein sacrificed untold numbers of his own citizens (although we never saw anybody die in the news coverage). Actually the Israelis are being much more gentle than our own armies were, although Saddam Hussein was much more of a threat to his region than Arafat is. Saddam hardly mentioned the 100,000 soldiers who were killed by American munitions within 100 days by cruise missiles and other bombardments. Arafat, on the other hand, trumpets every casualty as some kind of badge of honor while he sends his civilians into battle against the most competent army in the world. Hal Lindsey told me a funny story during a recent speaking engagement. I had remarked to him that the people called "Palestinians" start by making up lies, and later on believe their own lies. He supplied a story of an Arab trying to take a nap while children were playing outside his bedroom window. He finally yelled, "Children! Go over to Ishmael's house! He's giving away candy!" Then he rolled over. Sure enough there was silence. But five minutes later the Arab got up and dressed to leave the house. His wife said, "I thought you were taking a nap." And he said, "No. I'm going to Ishmael's and get some candy." On to another subject: I'm not going to take space in my Note to discuss the seminaries again, but know that our new book, Battles with Seminaries, explains it all. I think this will be very informative for everyone who cares about correct Bible teaching, or wonders why their pastor isn't doing it, or wonders whatever happened to Israel in prophecy. It also covers a great many of the letters we've received, from the most humble viewers to the presidents of the seminaries. It makes for a riveting read and covers nearly ten years of — not squabbling — but truly constructive criticism of the various schools we've mentioned. I highly recommend it. An interesting analogy occurred to me of how to explain what is wrong with Progressive Dispensationalism — which places a Kingdom event (Christ seated on the throne of David) in the Church Age. Suppose you were painting a picture of the Exodus. Would you put airplanes overhead? That would be about the same error and just as absurd. Speaking of the Exodus, how about making one of your own before you go at "government expense" in the coming Kingdom? For many, a trip to the Holy Land is the dream of a lifetime. Nothing can really match the thrill of seeing with your own eyes the very Land our Lord's footsteps trod. I will personally be guiding our fall tour of Israel and hope you will consider making this genuinely spiritual pilgrimage with me. This tour will be in Israel before Rosh Ha-Shanah, which is the Jewish New Year and a quite beautiful time of year. Our Ultra Grand Tour includes options to also tour Greece and Petra with dates running between August 30th and September 18. Once again, let me reassure you that safety concerns should not hold anyone back from a tour of Israel! Safety has not been an issue in the last 70 tours we've conducted and we're confident this tour will not be an exception. Please take note this will be our final tour to Israel until April — so don't miss out on this opportunity! Of course, if there are other factors that limit you from going on an Israel tour, please consider joining us for our after-Thanksgiving tour of The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. We had such an uplifting time during our spring tour of the site that we have decided it's a must to "winter in Florida!" For more details dial 1-800-WONDERS any-time, or during office hours, our travel manager, Tony, at (214) 696-9760, has all the specs and can also book tour reservations. And in any case, please remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Only IsraelApril 18, 2001: The U.S. would not tolerate terrorist attacks launched from safe havens in neighboring countries. If terrorists fired missiles at American citizens and farms, kindergartens and schools, it would strike. And if the terrorists operated with the approval of other states, the American people would demand that their government confront the offenders. When Israel retaliates — as it did against a Syrian radar site in Lebanon and against terrorist sites in Gaza — it does only what the United States would do in similar circumstances. Israel must defend itself. The other day Israel's Defense Forces hit a Syrian installation in Lebanon. Syria encourages and supports Hezbollah's terrorism. Israel struck a legitimate target. The incident also draws attention to a reality that somehow manages to escape censure: Syria occupies large swaths of Lebanon as an aggressive, imperial power. Damascus considers Lebanon its own. It deploys soldiers to Lebanon not to defend the Syrian heartland (Lebanon poses no threat) but to extend its reach — and to torment Israel. The U.N. and other international bodies miss few opportunities to berate Israel and to blame Israelis for violence directed against . . . Israel. Syrian mischief goes on unremarked. Israel apparently should shrug off terrorism as though nothing happened. Soon after the radar raid, the web-site for Time/CNN carried a story explaining "Why Syria Strike Could Make Matters Worse for Israel." While conceding they understood Israel's position, other sources of enlightened opinion — The New York Times, for instance — added the inevitable "but."
Ah, with Israel it's always, "Yes, but." And the but implicitly shifts
blame from the miscreants (terrorists, Syria, the PLO) to an Israel
acting in self-defense.
USA Today and other publications have detailed the faith of George W. Bush. It is said that he reads the Scriptures every morning before guiding the nation and the world, and I hope that's true. On the other hand, his staff is not so spiritually oriented. The following article, edited for space, ran in the Asheville, NC, Tribune recently. — Zola
Testing the FaithWhite House — No-Pray ZoneSecret Service Boots Out Students Who Asked God to Bless PresidentEleven high-school students, two parent escorts and a teacher were abruptly escorted out of the White House this week after stopping during a tour to pray for President Bush. The students from Merrimon Christian School in Asheville, NC, were touring the White House State Floor. After the group ahead of them had lingered for about 10 minutes before moving on, the MCS students decided to pray off to the side of the big room. They had been there less than a minute (praying quietly) when a Secret Service agent began pounding on one of the parent's shoulders, yelling, "MA'AM! MA'AM! MA'AM!" Aldrich, one of the teachers, says that the official then "rudely" began ordering the group to "take it outside" and that they couldn't stay in the room. When they mentioned that the group before them had stayed in the room a full 10 minutes, the security officer yelled, "I make the rules here, and you obey them!" Asked if Aldrich might face any consequences with the school upon her return, MCS's Headmaster, Scott Thompson said, "None whatsoever!" In fact, when Aldrich asked Thompson if she could draft a letter of complaint against the White House, he gave her immediate approval to do so. The White House Visitor Center referred calls to the White House Press Office. Jeanie Mamo of the White House Press Office had "no comment" and referred the Tribune to the Secret Service. Jeff Banocy, White House Watch Commander, had "no comment" and referred this reporter to the Secret Service Press Office. There, Mark Connolly, spokesman for the Secret Service, told the Tribune, "We're not aware of any specific incident." He continued by saying that it is very routine for Secret Service officers to keep people moving and to keep them out of restricted areas.
In response to the group's claim that they weren't in a restricted area,
Connolly said, "If a group was asked to keep moving, the officer is
focusing on keeping the tour moving." In regards to the claim that the
group in front of MCS had loitered about for 10 minutes and was never
asked to move on, yet they were told to leave in less than a minute,
Connolly stated, "I can't comment on any specifics because I can't
confirm whether it happened or didn't happen."
The death of Mohammad al-Dura, a 12-year-old ostensibly shot by Israeli fire in a gunfight with the Palestinians, has been utilized by Arafat's government as a key PR initiative. Never mind that the Israeli army recreated the incident and established that the fire that killed the youth could not have come from the Israeli side. The story below details the cynicism of this totalitarian regime. Palestinian TV Urging Children to Kill and Become MartyrsWorldNetDaily.com
According to Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch, "examination of the TV clips aired extensively on PA (Palestinian Authority) television" reveals "incessant broadcasting" of programming that "extols and glorifies the dead and especially their willingness to be killed, and portrays their afterlife as idyllic." One particular film, he says, "openly and explicitly tells the children to seek death by portraying the most famous child 'Martyr,' Mohammad al-Dura, calling other children to join him, in his idyllic afterlife. . . ." Indeed, many Palestinian children are taught almost from birth to hate Jews and to glorify 'jihad' (holy war) — even to embrace and pursue their own death and 'martyrdom' while attacking Jews — as an essential part of their culture. As WND has reported, Sheik Ikrima Sabri, the mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, has openly expressed his admiration for child 'martyrs.' "I feel the martyr is lucky because the angels usher him to his wedding in heaven," the mufti, the city's highest Muslim religious authority, told the Egyptian weekly, Al-Ahram Al-Arabi. He was referring to the common teaching that martyrdom gains a young warrior instant acceptance into heaven, where he is given a harem of virgins. Since the tragic shooting, says Marcus, "the child's death and funeral have been broadcast thousands of times on PA TV, usually tens of times a day." And while songs have been written in his honor — a recent article, notes Marcus, wrote of such a collection of 395 poems covering 1700 pages — one particular video clip frequently broadcast shows the boy in paradise. "Al-Dura's afterlife is portrayed idyllically and opens with him supposedly calling other children to join him, with the following writing over the full screen," says Marcus.
"I'm not waving 'goodbye,' I'm waving 'come, follow me.'" The clip opens with a scene of Mohammad al-Dura's death, played by actors. The child playing Mohammad al-Dura is shown, after his death, in a sprawling green field. Throughout the clip, which blends many bloody scenes of confrontation with the Israeli army, the boy is always shown peaceful and happy, frolicking in various beloved places: flying a kite in the green pasture, running on the beach and running through the plaza of the Al-Aqza mosque. His environs include beautiful water fountains spraying columns of water high in the air. In one scene, the boy is approaching, from a distance, a giant, illuminated ferris wheel. "The children," says Marcus, "are being told that death in conflict with Israel will bring them into a child's paradise. Mohammad al-Dura is already in this paradise, tranquil and playing, waving on to the children in the PA: 'Come follow me here.'" Accompanying the visual portrayal is a reinforcing sound-track, depicting the slain boy speaking to his father thus: "Til we meet, my father! Til we meet! I go with no fear, with no tears, how sweet is the fragrance of the Martyrs! I shall go to my place in heaven, how sweet is the fragrance of the Martyrs!" A choir of children responds: "Til we meet, O Mohammad!" The credit at the close of the clip reads: "Produced by: The Ministry of Information and Culture — The Palestinian National Fund."
Palestinian officials have consistently and adamantly denied encouraging
children to 'martyr' themselves in attacks against Israelis. However, as
WND has previously reported, one popular Palestinian Sesame Street-type
children's show called "The Children's Club" openly taught toddlers and
school-aged children to become terrorists and suicide bombers. The
"Children's Club" video can be viewed online, with English subtitles,
from a link within the WorldNetDaily report.
The story below illustrates a "successful" peace deal with the Arabs. Egypt and Israel, of course, signed a peace treaty with President Carter at Camp David in the late seventies. Now check the results below. A Torch Song?Electronic Telegraph (UK) 14 May 2001: EGYPT'S top music censor has claimed to have put the vitriol in the chart-topping song I Hate Israel, which has swept across the country. Madkour Thabet, whose office of song censorship within the highly secretive Arts Censorship Bureau has the power to ban tapes deemed politically or morally offensive, said he persuaded the songwriters to toughen the original lyrics. According to the censor, the lyrics originally read "I don't like Israel" and were changed to "I hate Israel" only after his "strong recommendation." He said: "We didn't actually order that the lyrics be changed or provide the exact words, but we recommended that they be changed to better express the common feeling of the Arabic people." The tune, which repeats the line "I hate Israel, Shimon and Sharon," has proved extremely popular for its unusual mix of politics and popular music. Shaaban Abdel-Rahim, the singer, has become an overnight sensation with the song, which jumped to the top of the charts several weeks ago. The censor's claims underline the government's role in guiding anti-Israeli sentiment, despite the Camp David agreement which has kept the peace between the two countries for more than 20 years. Public expression of anti-Israeli feeling has been permitted to grow dramatically in recent months during the latest round of violence in Israel. Other prominent Egyptians have also claimed credit for the song. Awad Badawi, a poet and songwriter, said: "Abdel-Rahim stole this phrase and the idea and made a song out of it." He promised legal action to recoup lost earnings on the song.
Mr. Badawi claimed that he was overheard discussing the lyrics at a
party. The singer's spokesman denied that the words had been stolen from
the poet, claiming that another composer dreamed up the anti-Israel
song.
 Dear Zola, In all love this note is sent. One of my parishioners provides me with your material which I faithfully read. But something is quite disturbing that I feel constrained to pass along to you and your staff. I keep reading your declarations that the situation in Israel isn't really as serious as some may imply. Please consider this direct quote from the Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, of March 27, 2001. "We have a war here." I realize your intentions are good, but may I remind you that to hide our head in the sand as regards FACTS isn't the wisest policy. Respectfully, Pastor M.F.C.
Dear Zola, I just cannot understand how Mr. Levitt can say the media is projecting a false image of the violence in Israel. This country is quite similar in size to many states in the U.S. and we hear about terrorism EVERY DAY in Israel! Now, please do not misunderstand me; I do NOT think people should cancel trips to Israel if they feel led to go, but to use his air time to say that it is all a big deception by the media and really is not a danger to anyone is naive. If I had an opportunity, I would go to Israel in a second, but I am aware that a WAR is taking place. When 10-month-old children are shot in the head while playing on a playground or two buses at once are blown up, this is WAR. I love your ministry, just disagree. Wish all of you a very blessed Passover. Sincerely, M. A. S.
Dear Pastor M. F. C. and M. A. S.,
I thought war was when 150,000 people were killed, as in Algeria, or
200,000 as in Bosnia, or 3 million as in the Congo war. I don't really
know the context of the mayor's remark, but isolated terrorist incidents
do not mean war in Israel any more than they mean war in the United
States. Unfortunately, this kind of unrest simply comes with democracy
in this day and age, and Israel is no different from any other
democracy. I think the key phrase in the letter above is, "We hear about
terrorism every day." That's true, we're hearing a lot of things from
CNN and the other networks. But if you have done what I have done —
stood on the ground in Israel and looked in all directions — you
would have seen a perfectly peaceful society with the occasional
eruption in all ways similar to our own. Just think how your city would
look to the world if the news crews stayed outside of the most dangerous
bars in the most dangerous neighborhood, filmed every night and simply
presented that footage all day long on international television. That's
what Israel, a blameless young democracy, has to put up with. Once
again, let me repeat that since the founding of modern Israel in 1948,
no tourist has ever been injured in a political action. It would be
insane for the Palestinians to abuse an American and therefore lose the
support of our government, the mainstay of their very existence.
— Zola
For the folks who wondered why I became so upset by Progressive Dispensationalism, as taught at Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Seminary, etc., the letter below is a perfect example of how a doctrine that removes Israel from End-Times prophecy and distorts the rest of prophecy can be used by God's enemies. — Zola Dear Zola and Staff: I cannot tell you how dear your website and newsletter are to me. I am a member of the Free Republic (www.freerepublic.com), which is an open forum — anyone can pick a handle (code name) and join. Recently on Free Republic, we Messianic Jews and Spirit-filled Christians have had a time disputing the claims of the Arabs and pro-Palestinians. They have been using Progressive Dispensationalism against us. They post whole articles by progressive dispensationalists on the site to back up their hatred for Jews and Israel. Truly this doctrine is an instrument of Satan. I can't tell you how much of your website and newsletters I have posted against their arguments. I have tried to give you credit as much as possible; however, in the heated moments I have not always had time to credit. Thank you so much for your information on Progressive Dispensationalism. . . . Best regards, N. V.
Dear N. V.,
I'll add this point to the above letter: Anti-semites flock
together. I'm afraid, in my heart of hearts, that what
causes strange doctrines like Progressive Dispensationalism
and the others to invade Moody, Dallas Seminary,
etc., is an aversion to Jews and to their homeland. Both
institutions had a marvelous attitude toward Israel until
the 1970s, and then, with the Arab boycotts, they turned
away. If you write to, particularly Moody, about this
issue, you'll get a soothing letter from President Joseph
Stowell bragging on their "Jewish Studies program," but
we have been informed otherwise.
Here's a quote from a recent letter from one of our inside
people at Moody. It details in theological language that
Moody faculty members "spiritualize" Messianic prophecies.
It mentions "the presence of Faculty who treat Isa. 7:14, 9:6, Ps. 22,
and Zec. 12:10 as non-Messianic in orientation. Unwilling to incorporate
a premillennial hermeneutic, this treatment sees the author's intent to
be describing only local 'sitz im leben' issues. What became of the Holy
Spirit's role in inspiration that looked ahead to the suffering and
glory of Christ to follow?"
— Zola
C'mon guys, I.
Dear I.,
Well, if the Jewish scriptures said it was enough to think
the Messiah was "cool" or that all of us are creations of
God, then I would be happy to leave you in your conceits.
And I don't think that I'm holier than thou, just more
forgiven than thou.
— Zola
Dear Zola, You really gave the Greek Orthodox Christians a bad name when you said, "Don't confuse those people with Christians." I watch your show, and I felt betrayed and slandered — me, my family, and all my Greek ancestors that have lived and were Orthodox for the last 2,000 years. Do you know anything about the Orthodox people at all? Let me tell you what I do:
I do all this and yet you say I'm not a Christian. I'd like to talk now on a different subject. I'm glad you told us that three w's is three 6's in Hebrew. You should tell the people more often to remind them. But, you also should not have a website, and I'm surprised you have one. People who don't know that www is 666 also have web sites. But you should know better. That's how the Devil catches people. They say there's no harm in having a website. All TV evangelists have one. But none of them know Hebrew. I could make a lot of money, too, on a website, and sell a lot of my artwork there. But I won't sell my soul to the Devil. You and the other prophecy teachers on TV should get together and pool all your knowledge and make sure you all preach the same thing regarding prophecy. Watch "Prophecy in the News," "God's News Behind the News," "The King is Coming," "Howard Estep," and "Today in Bible Prophecy." On "Prophecy in the News" they said that u is 6 in Hebrew, and the land of Gomer was Germany. But I know that you said w is 6, and Gomer was Serbia. You should go on your show and remind the people that www is 666, and also tell the people that we Greek Orthodox are Christians. From T.V.
Dear T. V.,
Well, if the Greek scriptures said that your particular list of good
points was adequate for salvation, then you are indeed a Christian. I'm
certainly impressed with the list of your virtues. Other than #4 and #8
(I paint my holy pictures on television), I don't have any of those
virtues. But when they ask me if I'm a Christian, I say, "I believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation."
Now I really didn't say that you are not a Christian. My experience with
Greek Orthodox people was gathered in Greece and in Israel, and they do
not have the same reputation with those around them as do born-again
believers. (Some Greek Orthodox priests were convicted of gun running to
the Palestinians in Israel, for example.)
I'd like to add that web sites are not evil; the people who program them
can be good or evil, but web sites are simply neutral communicators. Our
web site programmers are all believers who volunteer their time. While
we offer our Bible study materials on our web site, no part of our
ministry is devoted to "making a lot of money."
I suspect that all the ministries you mention are teaching the same
things as we are. There is no "u" in Hebrew. They must have said that
"v" is "6"— which it is (and the Israelis use their "v" for our
"u"). Gomer is located in Eastern Europe and the boundaries for Germany
and Serbia were very different at the time the prophecy was made.
Your list of good points would look better if it contained
ten virtues, instead of nine, and I'd suggest the tenth be
"I do not judge people."
— Zola
Dear Zola, Thank you for the recent issue of the Levitt Letter. For some reason, maybe because of my moves, my subscription ended about seven years ago or so. In the April 2001 edition of the Levitt Letter, I was surprised to read about your problems with Moody and others. However, the compromises of Moody and other "cemeteries" are to be expected when the dollar rules the hearts of men instead of God. Dr. Stowell has never impressed me. I've listened to his radio program for years and discovered that he led a sheltered academic life — no "real" life experience. Therefore, I place little value on his teachings. I am critical of those — especially scholars — who KNOW better but still inculcate the tradition falsely called "orthodoxy." Keep up the wonderful work and continue your stand against the compromise of certain "cemeteries." — God is One, C.LD.
Dear Zola,
RE: "Shaking off the Dust" You say you believe the Bible and prophecy. What does IT say about spiritual wickedness "in high places," and the blind leading the blind, and "false witnesses" and "false prophets?" If you were the devil, logically, what would your M.O. be? Where would you congregate to get mankind away from believing God and His Word? My husband and I left the Presbyterian church in Wichita Falls in 1951 because of the Sunday School literature the denomination was putting out for the children. The literature our church was buying ($1,500 a year) was actually planting doubt as to the very existence of God, the Divinity of Jesus, and the validity of the Ten Commandments! And we couldn't even get the elders to even look at the evidence we tried to show them in the curriculum! And the diabolical fact was that the Preacher was giving excellent, Bible-based sermons from the pulpit to the parents of the children who were being brainwashed with blatant apostasy! In subsequent years, my husband and I came to believe that it is Jesus, and not organized "Religion," that is the "way." Might it not be to your peace of mind and purpose to consider the possibility that what is happening to you has happened to the rest of mankind with regard to the hierarchy of heresy? I am quite sure you will not change the devil's mind! Shalom! A. A.
Dear A. A.,
My peace of mind and purpose are to correct what I can and object when
people are going away from the Kingdom, rather than to it. I'm aware
that heresy has always been with us. I'm not trying to change the
devil's mind, but the minds of some men.
— Zola
Dear Zola, I very much look forward each week to seeing your (God's) program and have been mostly on your mailing list for 15 years or more. Frankly speaking, an unsaved world had taught me to be quite anti-Semitic. But now at age 45, your ministry has shown me (as well as through the past 20 years or so of Christian life) that our salvation comes through the Jews. My whole view has changed about so many things. I think that the true essence of Christian living and Bible understanding is revealed very clearly in your teaching in a way that gives a much bigger picture of Christ, the Church, history, and many like things. When I watched your program on March 23rd, Friends of the Rabbi, I cried through much of it, as the Spirit of God touched me deeply. I felt great peace and comfort within. There truly is working a Heavenly Power to set men free in Christ if we will only open up to it. You and your staff are doing a great work to help usher in the Kingdom, and I believe it is gold, silver and precious stones. Thanks again for all the help on getting this pilgrim through this world. Sincerely, In Christ, W. C.
I am currently reading your notebook The Bible: The Whole Story and am
taking notes as I go. Very enlightening, indeed, and life-changing.
Last month, Kevin Parker, one of our two missionaries to Israel, gave his impressions of the completed trip. Below, our ministry theologian and other missionary, Todd Baker, adds to the story. Todd's remarks about helping carry out this much-needed mission to Israel inspired us to begin a new fund for this vital ministry. Donations to the fund should be marked payable to "To the Jew First," and we will continue these efforts. Thanks. Two Witnesses to Israel (Part Two of Three)
Therefore, our witness began with the Jews of Jerusalem because the Great Commission given by the Lord was to begin in that Jewish city. Evangelism was to start with the Chosen People exactly where the epochal events of the Gospel (the death and resurrection of the Messiah) occurred (Luke 24: 18, 28-29, Acts 1:7-8). Not only does the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) command this, but also the Tanakh (Old Testament). In Isaiah 40:9 the Lord tells us to "speak good tidings" (in the Hebrew, "speak" is an imperative indicating a command given by God, and of course "good tidings" means the Gospel) to Jerusalem with boldness and strength. And to that end, the Holy Spirit empowered us with boldness and strength to do this very thing in Jerusalem, Galilee, and throughout all Israel for seventeen days from early morning until late at night. We had several divine encounters and providential opportunities with the Jewish people of Israel. There are too many to fully relate in this article, but the following paragraphs below are a few examples of how God is working in the midst of the Chosen People again as they return to their ancient homeland, just as Moses and the prophets predicted in preparation for the return of the Messiah to Israel to establish His 1,000 year kingdom from Jerusalem (Deut. 30:1-3; Is. 11:11-12; 66:7-9; Hos. 3:4-5; Amos 9:14-15). Through it all, Kevin and I were both humbled and greatly moved as we saw their response of openness to Y'shua's message of comfort and encouragement.
Please pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes and hearts to accept Y'shua as Lord and Messiah. Another incident in Jerusalem involved an intense debate between three Sephardic (Middle-Eastern Jewish) students of a Torah school. Later, we found out that our discussion with them had taken place just outside four synagogues joined together. The hour-long debate centered on who Y'shua was, and how only by a blood sacrifice can the sinner be cleansed and forgiven in the sight of God (Lev. 17:11). When they admitted that keeping the Law and following rabbinical tradition was not sufficient enough for salvation, and that only an acceptable blood sacrifice could save, they acknowledged their nation was in trouble, having no Temple, priests, or sacrifice for nearly two thousand years! Then we preached to them about the reality of the New Covenant, which has already been ratified with the house of Israel through the once-for-all perfect sacrifice of the Messiah (Jer. 31:31-34; Matt. 26:27-28). Sadly, they rejected this saving truth, stumbling over the simplicity of it and taking offense at a crucified Messiah (1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Pet. 2:8).
Todd's report will continue in the next issue.
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Copyright © 2001 by Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.
While the world is characterizing the unrest in the Holy Land as
some kind of aggression by brutal Israelis, Israel is actually in a
defensive posture. Other than in pure retaliatory actions, Israel
has never attacked an Arab or anyone else in its modern history.
All the PR gimmicks in the world cannot establish that Israel, for
any reason, wants to harm its Arab citizens or the Arabs of the West
Bank and Gaza any more than the United States would make war
on any of its own minorities. Below, the excellent remarks by a
competent Israeli spokesman clarify the situation. — Zola
Regrettably, both Palestinian and Israeli children have suffered injury
in recent months. But here again, a basic distinction exists between the
two. In most cases, the injury of Palestinian children results from
their participation in violent confrontations against Israeli forces.
Palestinian gunmen often hide behind young stone throwers, using them as
human shields.
Return to Index
The U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from the northeast tip of Gaza
was unfortunate and dangerous. It furthers the legitimacy of the use of
terror against Israeli civilians with impunity by the Palestinian
Authority.
Well, those kinds of claims have been made before by many prominent Arab
leaders, as Joan Peters documents so well in her history of the region,
From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over
Palestine. But what is particularly noteworthy about the Sweilem slander
is his use of false 'quotations' about the Jews from America's founding
fathers. "The first American presidents warned against the danger of
Jewish hegemony over American life," Sweilem claims. "First and foremost
was President George Washington who warned in 1788: "It is troubling
that the. . . nation has not purified its land from these pests. The
Jews are the enemies of America's well-being and the corrupters of its
prosperity." Further, Washington writes about the Jews: "They operate
against us in a way much more effective than the enemy's armies. They
endanger our liberty and our interests one hundred times more than the
enemy. It is most troubling that the states have not begun long ago to
follow them, because they are a plague (threatening) society."
Mohammad al-Dura, the 12-year-old Palestinian youth whose shooting death
made him the poster boy of the "intifada," is now — courtesy of
Palestinian television — speaking to an ever-angrier generation of
Arab youths from beyond the grave, beckoning them from paradise to
become terrorists and suicide bombers —in a word, martyrs.
For some time, Kevin and I had felt strongly called by the Lord and
compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to Israel and share the Gospel to the
Lord's ethnic brothers and sisters for the simple reason that this
salvation message originally came from the Jews and must go to them
first (John 4:22; Romans 1:16). The Church subsequently confirmed this
calling when Zola and Shalom, Shalom Messianic Congregation sent us out,
as Kevin related in his article last month. Our authoritative basis for
this evangelistic mission to the Jews of Israel and Jerusalem comes from
both the mandate of Scripture and the command of Christ. Y'shua and His
Jewish disciples set this pattern for the Church to follow. Both made it
a point to go to Israel and the Jew first with the Gospel's saving
message
(
While in Jerusalem, we went to Mt. Zion where the tomb of David and the
Upper Room are closely situated. There is a small synagogue in the room
with David's tomb. There on the Sabbath day, Kevin and I were led to
talk with two Yeshiva (Jewish seminary) students, studying to be rabbis,
about how Y'shua of Nazareth fulfilled many of the Messianic prophecies,
with special emphasis on the Messianic Psalms. By the way, one of the
young men, named Menachem, was reading the Psalms from the Hebrew text
before we came into the room! We shared with them from the Hebrew text
about prophecies that foretold the Messiah's virgin birth
(