11 Sep 2023

Telling children lies

The intense propaganda war against Israel continues. It started more than 100 years ago. Pre-state and now modern state, Israel is the victim of a smear campaign that has seemingly countless tentacles.

The “youth camps” in Gaza that indoctrinate Palestinian kids to hate Jews is one of the worst threats to the Jewish state, because it ensures future generations are corrupted. Long after the current political leaders are gone, today’s youth and future leaders will still be fighting a devil that isn’t there. The things Arab youth are subjected to should be criminal, literally, but with corrupt leaders on the ground and unhelpful international diplomats (and heads of state!), it is unlikely they will be freed from this deception anytime soon. I have long believed that pro-Israel Christians have a duty to remember these young people in prayer. They deserve a better life.

Twenty years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, north of Tel Aviv. It is the nerve-center of the early Israeli intelligence apparatus. Nestled under a thick bank of trees, the Center has a small theatre where fascinating films are shown of the early state of Israel (and incredible stories like the spy Eli Cohen), an outside tribute to the fallen agents that have protected Israel, and a fascinating collection of captured terrorist weaponry and propaganda.

It is the propaganda that is particularly disturbing. This section feels like a visit to a Holocaust museum, where one can see how indoctrination poisoned whole societies.

I remember the school notebooks, textbooks, and drawings that reflected the most odious anti-Semitic filth. All produced in Palestinian schools.

 

The Center just released a document detailing how the city of Jerusalem is portrayed in Palestinian school textbooks. These books also exist outside Gaza, in east Jerusalem and Judea/Samaria.

As the article states:

“Jerusalem’s image, as reflected in the books is strongly one-sided, in sharp contrast to its image in the Israeli schoolbooks, which emphasize its holiness to the three monotheistic religions and treat its Arab inhabitants as the city’s integral part (see in the Appendix). The PA textbooks never mention the fact that Jerusalem is a city holy to Jews as well, alongside its sanctity to Muslims and Christians. Nor are Jews mentioned as part of this city’s history or as its legitimate inhabitants in any of the schoolbooks examined for the purpose of this study (as well as PA schoolbooks for grades 11 and 12 which are not included in the PA schools). There are even expressed denials of these facts in the books, thus falsifying both history and reality.”

First of all, here is a strange detail: In the textbooks, Jerusalem is referred to as “Al-Quds,”most commonly used in Arabic for the city. The more official version, Madinat Al-Quds, is actually an ancient Arabic translation from the Hebrew “Ir Ha-Qodesh”! The Arabs must borrow from Hebrew culture, always.

The textbooks completely skip over Jewish history. Jerusalem is presented originally as part of the “Arab Jesus” and then hurtles forward to the Roman and later Muslim periods. This is unconscionable, and worse, for a generation, American tax dollars have been used to produce such garbage. But American presidents and their diplomatic corps do nothing to stop it. Cut off the money!

Even when Jesus Christi is mentioned in the context of Christian involvement in the area, nowhere are the Jews mentioned. The writers and producers of these horrible textbooks claim that the Israelis “forge” and falsify history, turning facts upside down. Of course, this is exactly what they doing—now part of a globalist tactic used even in the United States—and the origins of this are directly from old Soviet propagandists, who trained Yasser Arafat and his henchmen in the fine art of lying to advance political causes.

It’s all barbaric and we need to call it as such. Just another front in a long, long war.

 

 

 

 

4 Sep 2023

Propaganda is all the rage

Propaganda comes in many forms. Everyone engages in propaganda in some form or another, and in some measure of intensity or another. We might argue over Italian food vs. Chinese food. Or more importantly, what model of education is best?

In the end, the only real question is: Whose propaganda is true?

One of my areas of interest is studying how the early Soviet regimes emphasized propaganda and how they crafted what I believe was a satanic agenda to sway minds and hearts. Only recently, citizens of the United States have experienced some of what Russians a hundred years ago dealt with: the government lies all the time.

The Left has made a career out of manipulating language, images, and ideas. Shockingly, it works much of the time. By the way, the Soviet agenda to undermine America has continued all these years. I pray they will not be as successful as I think they have been.

A key plank in this evil agenda is to divide friends. That is going on right now with regard to Christian support for Israel. I admit to frustration sometimes when people can be so easily swayed.

The big thing now is to pry Christian Zionist support away from Israel itself. A recent column in the Jerusalem Post addressed this. The premise of the piece is that Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to defend Christian Zionists against opponents; in this case Jewish antagonists in Israel.

It’s no secret that in order to put together a ruling coalition, Netanyahu had to give concessions to ultra-Right groups, Orthodox parties and such. We can file this point under “Japs Bomb Pearl Harbor” headlines, as in, this is really, really old news. Netanyahu has been faced with this dilemma since he first got the top job in 1996. He always has to appease Jewish nationalist/religionist camps. Likewise (the propagandists don’t like you to think about), Leftist regimes must cobble together their coalitions by appeasing left-wing groups. It’s politics!

The column in the Jerusalem Post, written by Zvika Klein, cites recent incidents:

“A series of incidents, ranging in severity, have been reported since the new government was elected. One notable occurrence involved Deputy Mayor Arieh King leading a group of devout Jews to the Western Wall, chanting ‘Missionaries, go home’ as evangelical Christians attempted to celebrate Pentecost and pray for peace in Jerusalem.

“More recently, at the Kotel, a Western Wall Heritage Foundation employee asked a Christian abbot accompanying Germany’s education minister to conceal his cross – an incident captured by a German reporter and widely circulated on social media.”

Notice this was a rift with Germans. Can there be a more sensitive subject for Jews and Israelis than what the Germans think?

A Christian group dedicated to evangelizing appears to be the issue:

“The organizers explained in the invitation that the event ‘will mark the beginning of a decade of prayer, evangelism and discipleship, launching a ten-year journey of global collaboration between believers in Israel and the nations, churches of all denominations, mission organizations and ministries responding to the Commission of Jesus to see that all the world has an opportunity to hear the Good News of the Kingdom, hear and understand the Bible in their own language and be connected to a gathering of believers in a discipleship context by 2033.’

“This, as well as other texts published on the website, is what caused senior Israeli rabbis to call for their followers to demonstrate.”

This prompted rabbis to encourage their supporters to demonstrate.

I think what is going on here is really an effort to divide Christians and Jews.

Look, I’m aware there are differences between Jews and Christians concerning the identity of the Messiah. And so that you know, I always have told my Jewish friends, religious or otherwise, that I believe my faith.

I think that’s the answer you give to these questions. I am as committed to Christianity as one could be, because I believe the entire Bible is the Word of God. And it is about Christ from start to finish.

At the same time, I also recognize there are unique challenges when it comes to “evangelizing” Jews. I would bet that the vast majority of Christians have no idea about Jewish experience with Christians these last 1,500 years. The persecutions driven by the Church were and are ghastly. Forced conversions. Coordination with regimes hostile to Jews (Spain, Germany, etc.). Putrid theology that demonizes the Jews, especially when it comes to Christ’s death on the cross.

A pastor friend once was part of an evangelism effort in Israel, his first trip to the Holy Land. His first Sunday back he was sporting a black eye. When I asked what happened, he blurted out that he had set up a tent on the beach at Tel Aviv and was passing out gospel tracts. An Israeli came by and just punched him. Was that the right thing to do? No, of course not.

But did no one brief my friend ahead of time that this was a provocative act…in Israel? Plenty of people will not see my point, but I think it’s clear.

I do not agree with laws passed that ban evangelism. At the same time, I strongly believe Christians should educate themselves on this issue. Dive into Holocaust studies. Read about left-wing propaganda, that stirs trouble between Jews and their Christian supporters. Talk to Jews that have been persecuted by the Church.

The world is full of bad people. It’s full of good people. There are rude rabbis. There are rude preachers. If each could put aside their egos, the recent clashes in Israel between these two cousins would subside.

Just as we don’t recognize left-wing political efforts in our country (the U.S.), so too do we not see how desperately the Left is to foment tension between Christian Zionists and Jews. It’s obvious, which makes it even more aggravating.

I do not agree with religious Jews being violent against Christians. I do not agree with Christians having an aggressive evangelism agenda, as in pushing tracts on Jews in their own country.

The Spirit comes to those whom It will. I’ve had countless conversations in Israel, about Jesus. My friends know who I am. And I know who they are.

If we could all see we’re being played by leftists, these struggles between natural allies would end.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

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