We all know the story of Purim. A beautiful Jewish girl is taken from her family and married by the foreign, occupying king. Her cousin warns her that the king’s right-hand-man is plotting to exterminate the Jewish people. The girl boldly faces the king, risking her life to expose the conspiracy. Her people are saved, the evil man executed, her cousin promoted, and all is right in the end.
October 7 was supposed to be a nice day.
It was supposed to be a day for concluding the Feast of Sukkot, resting for Shabbat, and enjoying a day with family.
Instead, I woke up to see a message from my father: “Israel caught off guard; under attack.”
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And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant…—for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:5-6, esv)
The State of Israel, while perhaps unique among the countries in the Middle East, is hardly remarkable on the world stage. If not for her placement among so many Islamic neighbors, she might barely be a footnote. Seven million Jews live in a liberal, secular paradise in the middle of the desert, showing little distinction from the rest of Westernized society. Dispersed across the world, eight million more Jews lead quiet lives—some maintaining a private religious practice, some abandoning their Jewish heritage altogether, but both largely indiscernible from the people that live around them. Like their ancestors before them, who begged for a king so “that we also may be like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:20), today’s fifteen million Jews—God’s chosen people—choose day after day to continue looking as much like the world around them as they can, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves.
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In the shadow of the modern-day Holocaust that was October 7, 2023—when Palestinians from Gaza slaughtered, raped, mutilated and kidnapped 1400 Israeli men, women and children—Jews worldwide are facing an onslaught of anti-Jewish propaganda, which claims that the Palestinians were justified in carrying out such inhumane, immoral and evil atrocities. So pervasive is this disinformation that even many liberal Jews and Christians maintain that the Palestinians are merely fighting for their freedom from the State of Israel’s oppressive apartheid—that the Palestinians are the true victims. But is the propaganda true?
“In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” –David Ben-Gurion, first Israeli Prime Minister
This year, the modern State of Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, a truly monumental event. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has once again shown immense favor to His people, and it is only by His hand that Israel exists today. But can this revived Jewish nation continue to expect God’s blessing and protection?
With the recent war in Israel, the clash between Arabs and Jews in the region is once again a hot button issue. While many onlookers on both sides continue to rail against one another, this time, the conflict has also spilled over into cities around the world, with anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence ticking up to even more dangerous levels than before. Given the abundance of misinformation, false accusations and questions surrounding this explosive topic, here are some facts about the tumultuous history of the holy land, and how this recent bout between Israel and the Palestinians got started.
A recent exchange on social media highlighted a shifting view of Yeshua/Jesus among the Jewish people—a change that can both encourage us and remind us to be ever-vigilant.
As you may know, Linda Sarsour is a first-generation Palestinian-American political activist. Formerly the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, she was co-chair of the 2019 Women’s March until the organization recently broke ties with her over her anti-Semitic activity.
Yair Netanyahu is the eldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An Israeli Jew as well as a conservative social media activist, he is an ardent defender of both his father and the State of Israel. He publishes on Internet websites such as Twitter—a service which allows people to post information and interact with each other through short messages limited to about 50 words each.
I remember when Senator Joe Lieberman ran as Vice President on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000. As a Jewish believer in Yeshua, this created a bit of a predicament for me, albeit short-lived. How should I, as a Jew, respond to a potential Jewish vice-presidency? And more specifically, how should I, as a Messianic Jew, respond to a potential Jewish liberal vice-presidency?
Now two decades later, with the recent entrance of Michael Bloomberg into the presidential race (though things can turn on a dime in today’s political climate), for the first time in American history, there are two serious Jewish candidates for president of the United States. While this time around I have no internal turmoil whatsoever, it is nevertheless a unique situation worth reflecting upon, as we see two prominent, influential Jews with deep Jewish ties who have lost virtually all connection to their heritage and their God.
A Messianic Israeli kindergartener set off sparks recently when she declared before the other children in her class that “Yeshua is the Messiah and He will deliver us.” As reported by Kehila News Israel (KNI, kehilanews.com), citing an interview with Israel’s Channel 7, the mother of one of the girl’s classmates immediately complained to the school for allowing such “hypocritical” and “brainwashing” speech and, upon two rabbis’ recommendations, withdrew her child from the institution. The mother of the Messianic kindergartner, on the other hand, maintained that the whole episode had been blown out of proportion, and all three of her children continue to be welcomed by the school and other parents.
For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. … And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
(Zechariah 2:8-9, 12, ESV)
On December 23, 2016, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the State of Israel and demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement activity in the so-called Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 (including East Jerusalem), saying that continued construction is a “flagrant violation” of international law. In other words, the resolution declared that the pre-Six-Day War borders are unchangeable, thereby making any Israeli building behind those borders illegal. By abstaining from the UN vote and refusing to use its veto power, the US went against its long-standing policy of protecting the Israeli State in the UN Security Council.
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