Mar 15, 2010

Book it

I used to work with a fellow at a small-town newspaper, and he had a weekly column. Every week, the poor guy wrote about himself or his family. As the years dragged on, I knew readers were tired of his topics, even annoyed, but he kept cranking them out until he retired. Mercifully.

So it is, keeping that story in mind, that I risk doing the same thing this week as I discuss something personal.

I had intended to write about the claims to the Holy Land, by both Jews and Arabs, this week. But may I say, presumptuously, that just as Jude had meant to write on another subject before being prompted to write about the apostasy that would signal the end of the age, I too have been prompted in my spirit about something else.

For a couple weeks, I’ve tacked-on a short message at the beginning of my columns, alerting my friends at RaptureReady about the Balfour Books publishing company I’m privileged to be part of. Balfour Books is very close to my heart, and I’d like to make a real appeal to you, the reader, for your help in making BB successful. Terry and Todd have been quite wonderful about indulging my sometimes-quirky topics here at Israel Watch, and I enjoy talking to you through this forum. I love to hear from you every week, and have made many friends.

We developed Balfour Books at the publishing company I worked for, for many years. Two years after I left, the opportunity opened up to buy the Balfour Books division. I leaped, jumped into the deep end of the pool, and here we are. I finally have Balfour in a position to make a difference, to have an impact, with its Zionist foundation.

If you’ll go to www.balfourstore.com, look around, and call 877-887-0222, we’ll fix you up with some of the best pro Israel books in print today. I’ll profile a few of them in a moment.

Some of you know that my irritation with the current state of publishing is real. I have a love-hate relationship with the book publishing industry. The same arena that gives you the latest junk from Brian McLaren also gives you…Balfour Books.

We do this as a labor of love, because I can tell you that during the most routine moments, a crazy problem will erupt out of left field. Most chain bookstore buyers either give us the polite brush-off when we present Balfour titles for their consideration, or they don’t answer at all. Although we do sell to stores nationwide, that won’t be our best venue.

Our best venue is you.

I am going to ask you to do something: support us. Check out our online store and consider buying copies of our books. We do it because we love the Jewish people, and because we know the age we are living in. As John wrote 2,000 years ago, beloved, it is the last time.

We live in momentous times. The primary signal that we are in the end of the age is Israel. They have returned from the four corners of the earth, in direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

I have many Jewish friends, both here in the States and in Israel. A more courageous people I’ve never met. Not only are they surviving and thriving in the worst neighborhood in the world, they are a living witness to the Creator God. He is alive, active in our world today, and a personal God who loves each of us. Israel itself is a gargantuan sign of this.

So we publish books about them: history, culture, geopolitics, and counter-terrorism. I frankly need you to help us promote Balfour Books grassroots. It won’t happen any other way. The Lord has put this on my heart.

Allow me to acquaint you with some of our titles:

•Entebbe; written by Iddo Netanyahu, the youngest of this Zionist family. This is the account of the famous hostage rescue carried out in the heart of Africa in 1976. Israel sent her finest commandos to rescue 100 men, women, and children hijacked by PLO terrorists. If you are a fan of high-adventure books, or simply like everything Israel, this book is for you. Let me say it plainly: Entebbe is the best book I’ve ever read, period. The daring of the Israelis, the drama of the story, increasing with every turn of the page, is mind-boggling. Buy a case of them and give them away, discuss with friends! Call our toll-free number to order this sensational book, and tell them Jim sent you; E-N-T-E-B-B-E.

Muhammad’s Monsters; written by David Bukay of Haifa University. David is a brave man. He was studying and writing about the jihadists before most everyone else. This book is a collection of essays by experts in counter-terrorism studies. Not a recreational read, it is vital for a proper understanding of the history and of the players in this end-times drama. Completely absorbing and above all, educational, this is one of the best books I’ve read on terrorism, and I’ve read almost all of them.

The Roadmap to Nowhere; written by Yitschak Ben-Gad. A layman’s guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Ben-Gad has written an absorbing account of the motives and beginnings of the major players in the Middle East. This is the kind of book that can give you amazing firepower when debating a liberal friend. Ben-Gad analyzes why the various peace initiatives have failed. Again, this is absolutely perfect for a church Bible study group.

Cherished Illusions; written by Sarah Stern. A personal friend, this petite woman is one of the biggest obstacles to the hoped-for success of the jihadits. Sarah has been a force on Capitol Hill for many years, tirelessly educating politicians about the heinous intentions of the radical Muslims. Now director of Emet (www.emetonline.org), a fantastic think-tank in Washington D.C., Sarah has written an incredible novel about the Holocaust. Honestly, I’m not much of a fiction reader, but I couldn’t put this book down.

The Palestinian Right to Israel; written by Dr. Alex Grobman. Alex is one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars, and this book —a provocative title, yes — explains why the Jewish claim to the Holy Land is legitimate. In other words, there isn’t a Palestinian Right to Israel, and Alex has written one of the clearest defenses of this position I’ve ever read. The endorsements from leading terrorism experts like Steve Emerson and Robert Spencer attest to this. This book will be in print in three weeks, and I encourage you to promote this far and wide. A beautifully done book, it is a layman’s guide to the history of the Holy Land, complete with maps. In hardcover, this 330-page book, heavily documented, is a steal at $19.99.

These are just a few of the titles we have; we have more on the way, and we will keep you informed with regular updates.

You’ll notice by our sales prices that we are not in this for the money — if you know anything about the expense of publishing. This is a labor of love, and we feel, a real partnership with folks like you. I am asking you, again, to get on fire about this. Balfour Books is the only publishing entity devoted entirely to the defense of Israel. I am asking you to circulate this information as widely as you can: forward this column to all your like-minded friends, talk about it, write about it…buy our books! We will also offer very attractive discounts for case quantities, for those of you who can do that. Give them to youth, to your pastor, to family and friends.

I’d like to also ask that you do this for a sustained period of time. Call us, write us, I’ll even give you my email address (jimfletcher@iconpublishinggroup.com). Let us hear from you!

I can’t say it strongly enough: it’s important to get this information out to as many people as possible. It is our way to help embattled Israel, and honestly, to help ourselves. We all face a most vicious enemy in the jihadists.

I really am counting on your help.

Thanks,

Jim

Mar 8, 2010

I’d like to again make everyone aware of www.balfourstore.com; this is the home of the world’s only exclusively pro Israel book publisher. We have some exciting projects coming in the next few weeks and we’ll make you aware of those. In the meantime, check out our list of great titles and order today! If you are a supporter of Israel, let your friends know about Balfour Books!

A Thorny Problem

Americans are trusting people. We trust that our traditional institutions have our best interests at heart. That’s the American way.

The problem is, those heading the traditional institutions often don’t have our best interests at heart. Network news anchors, museums, classrooms…all today are steeped in leftist ideology. Do you think Walter Cronkite was a dispassionate reporter? Think again. Uncle Walter dispensed his worldview every evening, as viewers watched and thought The Most Trusted Man in America was simply giving the news.

Not even close.

I recently came into contact with another of those institutions, The National Geographic magazine. In an article entitled, “Bethlehem 2007 A.D.” the author, Michael Finkel, practiced what is known as advocacy journalism by sliding the Palestinian Victim propaganda past readers. The opening paragraphs were particularly odious.

Finkel took the usual path in describing the prison-like conditions (my description) that the Israelis allegedly have the Palestinians in; this largely hinges on the presence of Israel’s security fence, which has drastically cut down on the number of homicide bombers entering the country.

Finkel describes it thus:

“This is not how Mary and Joseph came into Bethlehem, but this is how you enter now. You wait at the wall. It’s a daunting concrete barricade, three stories high, thorned with razor wire.” (italics added)

Get it? Do you understand? Thorned. A word with piercing meaning.

For quite some time now, both Palestinian Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land have hijacked the Passion story to present a poignant story of their plight to the world. The story of Jesus and His brutal treatment at the hands of the Romans is used to overlay the current Palestinian situation.

By using the story of Jesus — complete with crown of thorns — Palestinians elicit the sympathy of a billion Christians around the world. It is a clever — and completely disingenuous — piece of propaganda ordered up by the serial killer Yasser Arafat. The killer PLO dwarf was a master of propaganda, and knew who his useful idiots were in the West: naïve leftists.

Further in the Geographic article, Finkel uses another bit of imagery that pulsates with meaning. In describing a steel door that allows some Palestinians to enter Israel, through the security fence:

“If you’re cleared to enter, a sliding steel door, like that on a boxcar, grinds open.”

Boxcar. Hmmm. Boxcar. Let’s see…

…oh yes, Jews were rounded up and sent in train boxcars to the death camps by the Nazis. One can see actual boxcars at Holocaust museums.

We see that the Arabs are even appropriating the Jews’ ghastly Holocaust experience, taking the imagery as their own. The reader will recognize, of course, that there is no comparison between Arab workers waiting at checkpoints, and Jewish children being wrenched from their mothers’ arms as they are all marched to the gas chambers.

None of us — none of us — will ever remotely experience what the Jews experienced in the satanic attempt to exterminate them from 1933-45. Let’s be clear about that.

The use of such imagery, through words, is grotesque, whether it’s used by talented writers, or PLO hacks.

This is another example of the extreme bias against Israel. It is growing and will only get worse.

We know that this kind of bias is going to be a given in, say, the United Nations. But people are generally not as likely to see it in National Geographic, or some other seemingly benign source. Rest assured, though, the bias is pervasive.

You as a supporter of Israel can use your education, learning facts about the Arab-Israeli conflict, to write letters to editors, organize discussions at church, etc. Get involved!

jim@prophecymatters.com

Mar 1, 2010

WARNING: SHAMELESS PROMOTION DEAD AHEAD

A Hammer on an Anvil

For the longest, it was a faint ping, ping, ping.

Like many of you, when I was growing up, I listened to preachers urge me to always support Israel. Perhaps like many of you, I believed it, but went on to other things in life: girls, college, the responsibilities of life.

Support for Israel was in my psychological makeup, but it was dormant. Other things contended for my time.

It remained so until the day I met Avi Lipkin, now a very popular speaker on the pro Israel circuit. Avi is passionately Zionist, an American who made aliyah many years ago. He was far ahead of the curve in discerning the danger that radical Islam poses to all of us, and so it was I met him after a seminar in 1995.

(By the way, I’d suggest you check out Avi’s website: www.vicmord.com. He would be a dynamic speaker for your church.)

Not long after, I made my first trip to Israel with the great David Lewis. David has since gone on to be with the Lord, but he was a lion in the Christian pro Israel community.

We went to Israel together in 1998 and it was there we met the great Ariel Sharon. The wily old general met with us only because he remembered David’s reporting during the Lebanon War of 1982, in which Israel was vilified internationally. David however was sending back dispatches that illustrated the critical situation the Jewish state found itself in, facing PLO terrorists.

But it was during a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that the faint, metal-on-metal sound I’d heard for years became deafening.

I would argue that the Jews are so monumentally important to us Gentiles, we won’t fully know how much until the next life. Israel has been forged on the anvil of God, who has pounded and shaped His people so that they would fulfill what He always intended for them: to be witnesses for Him.

Just by virtue of the fact that we can see them is proof that God exists.

I hear the hammer on the anvil every day now. Loud.

As we all move through this haze of general weirdness (don’t you feel this, as a Christian?) in our society, we see Israel — may I use a corny analogy? — that lighthouse at night, on the shore rock.

This is a theme that returns to my mind again and again, so much so now that it never really leaves.

As I’ve said so many times before, Iran poses no threat to Israel, if one believes the Bible is true. God has said that no weapon or nation can defeat Israel in the end. Why don’t we believe that? Isn’t it an indication of where our culture is? Even Christians worry that Israel will disappear! I find this astonishing in the extreme.

People can call me a Bible-thumping idiot if they want; I don’t really care.

It’s just that we see Redemption as if it were the rising sun.

Israel has developed a fleet of drones that can fly 20 hours and reach Iran! One gets the feeling that the Israelis could kill the Iranian dwarf without touching him.

The operation that seized the huge arms shipment on the Karine A a few years ago on the Red Sea is another indication that the IDF is deadly in multiple layers. When commandos stormed the ship, no doubt the terrorists onboard wondered where Allah was.

Palestinian “Prime Minister” Salam Fayyad (always amusing to hear terrorists addressed as if they were real diplomats in the international community) is complaining about IDF “incursions” into “Palestinian” territory. How amazing that IDF troops can pose as Palestinians, wait in homes for terrorists to return, then arrest them. I’m not sure another country on Earth can defend itself as Israel does.

And now we learn that U.S. Undersecretary of Political Affairs William Burns has met with the serial killer Bashar Assad in Syria. Burns has announced that a new ambassador, Robert Ford, will be appointed. Assad, like his diabolical father, is a brutal dictator who constantly lambasts Israel. One has only to visit the area to see how the Syrians, a generation ago, used artillery and small arms fire on the Golan Heights to make life miserable in northern Israel.

(Notice something here, too, that is constantly missed by the international community, politicians, and liberal Christian lackeys: Syrian citizens are never in danger from Israeli artillery.)

All this is a reminder to me that biblical prophecy is entering its final stages. I’ll admit to a bit of frustration, though. This weekend I was watching a prophecy teacher declare that “his sources” tell him that the ark of the covenant is ready to be moved to Jerusalem.

Look, forget the ark of the covenant! Israel itself, its existence, is much more dramatic than any biblical artifact could ever be. We should be going about, telling as many people as possible that the Jewish state is a remarkable miracle in our day, and proof positive that God is in charge.

It’s that approach that will grab the attention of the unbelieving masses out there, who go about their dreary, anxious lives like a glot of wriggling worms. They are so busy with the stresses of living on this fallen planet that they have not heard the distant sound of a hammer on an anvil.

It is our duty to tell them to stop listening to stupid reality shows, dim-witted celebrities, and other distractions. Tell them to be still and listen to the hammer.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Feb 22, 2010

Japs Bomb Pearl Harbor

It’s comforting to know that our brainy secretary of state believes Iran could turn into a military dictatorship.

Knock, knock. Madam Secretary, Iran is already a dictatorship, and the military and ruling mullahs go hand-in-grenade-launcher. They are two peas in a pod.

I will anxiously wait this week for Hillary Clinton to tell us that Washington did pretty well at Yorktown, and that we have established a beachhead at Normandy.

Where has Clinton been for 30 years? When hard-core Islamists took over Iran in 1979, on Jimmy Carter’s watch, the world’s knees buckled. Iran — Persia, if you will — turned back the clock. Transitioning from an educated, somewhat West-friendly state, Iran has become a relic of the seventh century.

A dangerous relic.

I should say that I was bitterly disappointed by George Bush’s decision to leave the Iran problem to fester.

Now, Benjamin Netanyahu claims that if Iran obtains nukes, so will Turkey; the Turks are long-time rivals of Greece. Expect Saudi Arabia and Egypt to also make a play for the ultimate weapon.

You know which neighborhood Israel finds itself in.

Although folks sometimes differ on the timing, Bible prophecy students understand that in particular, passages in Ezekiel 38,39, and the latter chapters of Zechariah discuss clearly a nuclear exchange in the Land of Israel. There is a key element in the story to keep in mind, however.

Numerous times, the Bible makes clear claims regarding nation states in what we call today the Middle East. Egypt is said to exist in the latter times and in fact, she does, albeit as an economic backwater. The Egyptians have been pitiful for at least 200 years when European powers entered the region. But, the key thing is, Egypt is here.

Damascus, today the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, is promised destruction. This is yet to happen, but the important thing to remember is that Damascus, Syria, is in place to play her end-times role.

My point is, as I’ve said many times, if one reads the Bible as if it is real history — past, present, future — then one can reasonably conclude certain things.

In other words, Israel is promised survival; her enemies are promised destruction.

All this plays into current geopolitics. As the nations rage and race to their nuclear stockpiles, they are ensuring their own destruction, not Israel’s. I seriously doubt Hillary Clinton has any real feeling for the Jewish state — narcissists care only about themselves — but her good Methodist upbringing has given her a flawed world view. She is far, far behind the times, but the Bible which she was taught to view as a human product meant for another time is infinitely far ahead of her office’s machinations.

The Bible is also fairly generous with details in the passages that discuss a coming nuclear exchange. We notice for example that in Ezekiel, an invading army is supernaturally killed once it reaches the mountains of Israel. This are would be what is known in the secular world as the West Bank. The eastern slope of the mountain range is a steep, 3,000-foot ascent. However, the western slope, which sweeps down toward the heartland of Israel’s population centers, is a gentler, 2000-foot descent.

I find it supremely ironic that at the very moment this invading army is poised to destroy Israel, God intervenes and kills it. This is another example that God is never late, always on time, and His timing is perfect.

In Zechariah, we are told that people’s eyes melt from their sockets and tongues melt from their mouths. There is a specific reference to a battle for Jerusalem.

Remember that the Palestinians officially claim east Jerusalem as the capitol of a future state (of course, they want all the land, but this plays well with the international community, which sees the division of God’s land as a reasonable peace deal).

However the details play out, we know that the Jews cannot be destroyed. Let the Turks and Greeks and Persians and Saudi clans and Egypt fight it out.

As our clueless, hapless secretary of state gropes about looking for answers, let us pray for her personally to have her eyes opened.

The last days are upon us.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Feb 15

It’s no Mirage

I was interviewed this week by a French writer who’s completing work on a Ph.D. A follow-up project is a book based on her dissertation, focusing on the pro Israel community. Her particular interest in me centered on Christian Zionism (of which I consider myself a proud, card-carrying member).

I was extremely encouraged that this writer wishes to bring a subject largely unknown to the French people to them in a way they can understand.

Her questions were insightful; she had clearly done her homework. She even understood the difference in worldviews between Christian Zionists and the Emergent crowd.

It all reminded me that the French haven’t always been at odds with Israel. After all, French-made Mirage jets have helped the Israelis defend themselves, perhaps most dramatically in the Six Day War.

My new friend seemed particularly interested in predictive prophecy. Specifically, she “got” the implications of my favorite phrase of all-time, “The Jews have re-entered history.” The presence of Jewish homes in the Land of Israel today is no mirage.

“The Jews have re-entered history” is the silver bullet we can use against the werewolves who stalk Israel.

One of the more relevant subjects we discussed during the interview was the fact that both the pro Israel and anti-Israel camps are growing stronger. I consider this to be significant. At least since 1967, evangelicals have become Israel’s best friends. Yet in the last few years, we see a flexing of muscle from those “evangelicals” who in their hearts wish Israel harm. They talk a good game, even being clever enough to mention a concern for Israel’s security. But when one in the next breath expresses support for a Palestinian state — which directly threatens Israel’s security — we know who is being disingenuous.

Still, I see hope in certain quarters. Not all of Europe is anti-Semitic. Important voices are showing strong support for the Jews. And I have made new friends as well in Central and South America. Likewise, support exists in Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

What we need now is for people everywhere to maintain a focus on Israel’s security. For example, the IDF recently foiled an attempt by five Hamas terrorists to kidnap another Israeli soldier. Where we see, for example, Americans being soft on Hamas, cite specific examples of their terrorist activity. My good friend, Yehudit Barsky of the American Jewish Congress, is an expert on this terrorist group, including its hatred for the United States.

We have a situation now where the head of the Hamas snake, Khaled Mashaal, is saying that the next war with Israel will not be limited to Gaza, but will engulf the entire region. He also “stressed” that Hamas does not want war; this tactic has been employed by other mass-murderers, including Hitler.

Of course they want war. Hamas and other terror groups fervently want to kill Jews and liquidate the Jewish state. It is in their literature, in their speeches, and in their actions.

A publishing friend of mine is preparing to release a book on Hamas, and overall Palestinian terrorism. He has been advised by people who know that a fatwa can be declared, thus endangering him and those around him. A fatwa, of course, is a “hit” ordered by an imam, many of whom glory in the concept of jihad.

My friend won’t pull the project. This kind of attitude is needed as we all confront the ultimate bully, Islamic terrorism.

It is why one hopes, with a great hope, that people heretofore on the fence — such as the French — will get in the game.

The mirage is real; Israel is here, a grain of sand rubbing her enemies the wrong way. The irritation grows, itself a dramatic fulfillment of predictive prophecy.

Israel can use all the friends she can get.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Feb 8

Calling Rand McNally

I think I’ll spring for one of those GPS systems. Like most men, I’ve always fancied myself as a fellow who could “tell directions.” Sure, I’ve been lost a few times, but overall, I’ve been to quite a few places, and I’m still here.

But the need for a navigation system stems from the fact that I have no idea where “Palestine” is. Several Christian leaders from a variety of denominations feel that they know for sure where it is, but I’m scratching my head here. I’ve looked at maps, Googled, and called a few people. Like the Spaniards who searched in vain for the fabled city of gold, I cannot find the elusive Land of the Palestinians.

Oddly enough (and this is almost comical), a growing number of Christians seem to know where Palestine is. They refer to it, long for it, nurture it. For FOPS — Friends of Palestine — there is only one impediment to realizing the dream.

Israel.

“Palestine” was the name of a region in the Middle East for almost 1,900 years. When the Romans expelled large numbers of Jews from what was known as Judea (originally, Canaan) in the second century, they renamed the area “Palestina,” a reference to the ancient Phoenicians. The aim was to erase any reference to the Jews.

Nothing has changed. Since the modern state of Israel was established in 1948, the Arabs have worked to convince a (shockingly) naïve West that the Jewish presence in the Middle East, down through history, was either sparse or non-existent. This was a favorite lie of Yasser Arafat, who used to say out loud in front of Bill Clinton that there never was a Temple in Jerusalem. The blood-soaked dwarf would allege that the Temple had stood in Hebron!

It’s one thing for an arch-terrorist to spout such sick revisionist history. It’s beyond sad that American Christians would hop onboard the Propaganda Train.

Take the Disciples of Christ, for instance. The liberal, mainline denomination is one of several (officially, the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) groups that refer to Palestine as if it exists. It’s really quite odd.

Imagine if I insisted that the eastern half of Missouri is really Twainistine. Would anyone believe me? No. So why do some people believe in Palestine?

Because it furthers their political agenda. There are plenty of people who so detest Israel that they fantasize about Palestine, which is intended to be an Arab state. There are already 22 Arab states.

Think about that. Palestine does not exist, has never existed as a sovereign entity. Yet significant groups virtually demand it. It is the height of arrogance to refer to “Palestine” when it doesn’t exist. Again, simply referring to Palestine, as if it were a state somewhere in or near Israel is mind-boggling.

In a press release late last year, the Disciples of Christ website announced that December 6 was “Prayer for Israel and Palestine” Sunday. In order to appear balanced, leftwing lovers of Palestinian Liberation Theology speak about Israel and sometimes express concern for Israel’s security.

But if you know what the Palestinians in fact intend for Israel, you’ll know that a two-state solution is a death sentence for the Jewish state.

According to the Disciples’ press release:

“In that spirit of humbleness and hope we come before your presence to intercede for the peoples of Israel and Palestine… For over sixty years these two communities have been trying to live together in peace, in the midst of violence, terror, deaths and wars! For more than six decades these two nations have been trying to discover the path of justice, in a world of aggressions, occupations, invasions and resentments! For over half a century these two peoples have been trying to create the necessary conditions to discover, promote, affirm and enjoy the results of a just peace!”

Right.

Notice first the reference to Israel and “Palestine.” I ask again: where is Palestine? Where is its seat of government? Where is its navy? What is Palestine’s GNP? What is the state’s chief export?

No one knows, because Palestine as an Arab state is a myth. It doesn’t exist.

The press release also refers to the “Sabeel Liberation Center,” a radical think-tank in Jerusalem. When someone positively references Sabeel, just as Germans once waxed enthusiastic about the National Socialists…you know where things stand. I encourage you to Google “Sabeel Center” and investigate for yourself just how “even-handed” this group is.

The fact is, the American Church in particular is so lost and groping when it comes to biblical truth that warming to “Palestine” seems like a perfectly good idea.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is not the only denomination that has it wrong on this issue. And here I’d like to say — because I get emails from Lutherans and Presbyterians and Methodists who take me to task for making blanket statements — I’m aware there are quite a few individuals in these denominations who do get Zionism.

My point is that on the whole, the mainline is almost hopelessly lost on this issue. Their obsession about the Arab-Israeli conflict is vexing.

Because I don’t know where Palestine is.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Feb 1

Israel’s Dear Christian Friends

I encourage you to visit the following link, an article written by Mark Tooley: http://frontpagemag.com/?s=Brian+McLaren)

Mark Tooley, one of the most courageous watchdogs around (he’s president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy; if you are a member of a mainline denomination please visit their website), has done a better job than I could articulating the damage being done to Israel by Emergent spokesman Brian McLaren’s recent visit to the region.

“’Emergent Church’ guru Brian McLaren is a key figure on the Evangelical Left who is trying shift Evangelicals, who are America’s most pro-Israel demographic, into a more neutralist stance. Currently, he is leading a delegation through Israel and ‘Palestine’ to broadcast the sins of Israeli oppression against Palestinians by ‘listening, learning, thinking, observing, reflecting.’ His blog is providing daily updates of his discoveries, all of which confirm his previously often declared bias against Israel.

“’I hope you will start questioning what you think you know about the situation here,’ McLaren warned on his blog recently, with the assumption that most readers are deceived by pro-Israel partiality. ‘I’ve been an avid reader on the subject for quite a while, but being here now, I see how many of my most basic assumptions were skewed from a lifetime of half-truths, unfair and imbalanced news, well-planned propaganda, and misinformation.’”

I knew McLaren would bash Israel during his trip. Here is the most stunning sentence in Tooley’s article:

“Amazingly, he has discovered a ‘lack of hatred’ and a thirst for ‘non-violent’ action among Palestinians, despite all the abuse from their Israeli ‘victimizers,’ and the mischaracterizations from the purportedly pro-Israel U.S. media.”

The idea that the Palestinians have a lack of hatred for Israel/Jews and a thirst for non-violent action is either from an infantile, naïve mind, or it is purposely disingenuous. There are no other options.

Israel has fought for its very life on a daily business for 61 years. For McLaren to claim otherwise is grotesque, and proves he has no regard for the Jewish state. He’s not stupid. He knows very well that he is spouting Arab propaganda.

And please note this: pro Israel Christians are constantly accused of visiting the region and engaging only with Zionists. Does anyone seriously believe that McLaren and his delegation actually look for balance? Are they going to sit down with Uzi Landau or have lunch with a group of IDF soldiers?

Of course not.

The goal was to go over and photograph Israel’s security fence and then come back home to describe it as an apartheid wall.

The goal was to go over and talk with Palestinians with ties to terrorism and then come back and present them as peaceniks.

The goal was to go over and drive past Jewish homes and then come back and present them as squatters-on-Arab-lands.

McLaren is a key member of a unique community. He moves through a community of folks who do not view modern Israel as a fulfillment of predictive prophecy. This thought ties together people from different backgrounds: lefties like McLaren (although he cleverly aligns himself with evangelicals), “right-wingers” like Pat Buchanan, and then more mainstream Christians who come from, say, a Reformed background.

These different groups would not normally make common cause about anything, but Israel-bashing is too good to pass up.

McLaren’s dispatches from Israel (which he longs to see called “Palestine”) are now circulated among students in America, liberal Christians, and seminary professors.

Let me be clear: these efforts are largely going to be successful. That can be a depressing thought, but it is realistic. What we must do, as Christian Zionists, is determine to push through and reach those who can be reached. It is a worthy and attainable goal.

It would have been wonderful if McLaren could have spent time with Benjamin Netanyahu and perhaps his father, Prof. Benzion Netanyahu, who would have given him a primer on Zionism. This great Israeli family, courageous and resourceful in defending the Land of Israel, are the antithesis of McLaren, whose smarmy leftwing worldview endangers people, because he doesn’t confront real threats.

McLaren and his friends will never seriously internalize the threat from the jihadists. For them, radical Islam doesn’t exist.

It’s been my experience that there are plenty of Israelis who understand who their real friends are, and that community is comprised mostly of Christian Zionists.

Not diabolical change agents like Brian McLaren.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Jan 25

Israel is Getting McLarened

(before we get into today’s discussion, I encourage you to join the Facebook community:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=432075225332&ref=mf)

From time to time, I log-on to Brian McLaren’s website. He is of course (I just typed “curse”!) the Emergent writer and speaker.

Sadly, he is in Israel now, until January 28; this doesn’t bode well for Israel in mainline and Emergent circles, who will have their Israel-bashing clubs strengthened by McLaren’s reports. They will have heavy doses of Palestinian suffering, with a sprinkling of “concern” for Israel’s security.

McLaren’s visit coincides with several interesting developments in the region, including the ascension of Muhammad Badee as head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Badee is “conservative,” which means he embraces the extreme views of this extreme group, which is spiritual father to Al-Qaida.

More disturbing news from Egypt is the assessment of military chiefs who warn Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Sinai is “porous,” meaning, terrorists are smuggling weapons at an alarming rate. Israel is confronted with constructing some sort of barrier there.

In the north, Syria has been emboldened by warmer ties with Turkey and Iran. And if anyone thinks Iraq in the east will be a peace partner better get a clue.

But I doubt McLaren will address these concerns. He will focus on the plight of the Palestinians, the foot-dragging of the Israelis, etc. Christian leaders like McLaren, Stephen Sizer, Tony Campolo and others routinely denigrate the Jewish state and her supporters, particularly Christian Zionists.

Also, a new report by Human Rights Watch bashes Israel, criticizing the country for actions in Gaza, to root-out the Hamas killers. It is popular for such groups to lump Israel with the worst form of terrorism.

"Local and international human rights groups working in Israel have experienced a more hostile climate than ever before after documenting abuses committed by Israel, as well as Hamas, during the December 2008-January 2009 fighting in Gaza and Israel in connection with Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza," according to Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW.

Back to McLaren. A new posting on his website is a guest blog from Greg Barrett; note the bias:

“Seeing the infamous Wall built by Israel to imprison the Palestinians, I was reminded of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. In it, Alinsky writes about ‘the rules pertaining to the ethics of means and ends.’ First among them is the belief that a person’s concern with the ethics of a social action correspond to one’s distance from the consequences of action or inaction. Alinsky quotes seventeenth-century French philosopher La Rochefoucauld, who concluded, ‘We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.’”

Barrett refers to the “infamous” wall (which is in reality a security barrier). He writes of the intent of the Israelis to “imprison” Palestinians.

Both charges are absurd, yet they make hay with certain American Christians who are already predisposed to anti-Semitism or what is more gently termed “Anti-Zionism.”

Further, McLaren, Barrett, and their friends of course refer to the region they are visiting as the “West Bank,” the term coined by Muslim dictator King Hussein of Jordan. Anything to erase the Hebrew history (in the Bible, the area is known as Judea and Samaria).

Barrett’s invocation of La Rochefoucauld also serves to make his high-brow friends giddy with intellectualism. It enables one to move away from a straight-forward reading of the Bible. This mindset infects seminary students, as well.

This kind of exercise makes it more difficult for a person to, say, simply take at face value to remarkable prophecies of Deuteronomy, where God tells the Jews exactly what will happen to them, even up to the “last days.” When we love philosophy and intellectual rabbit trails more than the Word of God, we don’t hear Him.

And that’s how a Christian pilgrim in Israel misses the breathtaking miracle of the rebirth of the Jewish nation, and instead chums around with those who seek to kill her.

Not a smart move.

jim@prophecymatters.com