Reconsidering the ‘Christian’ crusades of the Middle Ages

Recalling the Jewish expulsion from Arab lands

Accusations of apartheid against Israel are unfounded

San Remo trumps all subsequent Middle East peace efforts

The San Remo Conference of April 1920

The Paris Peace Conference of 1919

Hugh Kitson on Britain’s divine call to support Israel.

Official EU policy has been to sacrifice Israel for oil

The secret is out. Britain has been locked into an anti-Israel agreement ever since we first entered Europe in the early 1970s – a policy likely to consign us to the dust of history.

But a successful Brexit could allow us to repair the damage.

Writing for Heart newspaper,¹ which circulates in churches throughout the south of England, film-maker Hugh Kitson has revealed the real reason for the mess we’re in over Europe.

In a devastating article, he says that Britain, along with its European allies, has effectively sacrificed Israel on the altar of expedience and economic survival.

By signing up to the so-called Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD), we capitulated to the Arab political agenda in exchange for oil, literally allowing the rich Arab nations to hold us ‘over a barrel’.

Economic Blackmail

The historical background to this little-known arrangement was Arab frustration at Israel’s resilience in surviving a succession of wars against the odds. Having failed yet again to defeat Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, they dispensed with brute force in exchange for undermining the political will of the West by imposing an oil embargo.

This led to severe restrictions that brought Britain to its knees, as a result of which European countries led by France agreed to the EAD agenda which ensured that Israel – the Middle East’s only democracy (holding elections again on Tuesday) – would have her actions and borders constantly challenged.

Shockingly, we agreed further that Islam and its human rights abuses could not be criticised, while Muslim immigration into European society was to be welcomed.

The EAD has changed shape over the years, but has continued to meet to this day; its most recent gathering, in February, was attended by Theresa May.

By signing up to the so-called Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD), we capitulated to the Arab political agenda in exchange for oil.

Distortion and Deception

Hugh Kitson writes: “This explains the anti-Israel bias in the Western media, which leads to a completely distorted view of the Arab-Israeli conflict…”

See Photo Credits.And he adds: “This policy is obligatory on member states of the EU to this day if they are to have favourable economic relations with the Arab world. Basically, the European nations decided that there has to be a Palestinian state with ‘East Jerusalem’ as its capital, no matter what, even if it means the demise of the Jewish state.”

The push for a so-called ‘two-state solution’ has been part of this mantra for years. Yet it flies in the face of international acknowledgement of Israel’s right to the land, particularly through the San Remo Treaty of 1920, and brazenly provokes the judgment of God, who states in his word: “When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and…enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).

So it seems that our 45-year dalliance with Europe has been marked by deception – not only that the liaison was never intended to be more than a trade agreement, but also over Middle East foreign policy, which the electorate will have trusted the Government to enact in good faith and for the benefit of both parties.

But this has clearly never been the case with Israel, whom we have betrayed – not once, not twice, but three times. First, we reneged on our 1917 pledge to prepare a home for them in their ancient land; then we refused immigration to many who were desperately trying to flee Nazi-occupied Europe and now, we discover to our horror, we have been sacrificing them relentlessly to the god of oil.

Deliberate Policy

Such a policy has long been suspected, as it has effectively been our practice, but it has only now become more widely known that this had been the agreed course of action all along, to which our Government has been committed.

This disgraceful treatment of God’s chosen people has sent us sliding down the slippery slope of godlessness, hopelessness and despair amid the chaos and confusion surrounding Brexit – unless, of course, we see the error of our ways and act upon it.

Our 45-year dalliance with Europe has been marked by deception.

Speaking of the future glory of Zion, the word of God says: “For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined” (Isa 60:12).

Although seen as a means of our short-term economic survival, the reality of the policy we have pursued over Israel is that it will ultimately lead to our destruction. We have cursed rather than blessed them, and will be judged accordingly (see Gen 12:3).

We’ve Lost the Way

And the result is that much of what we see happening in the Middle East is being replicated here – the death of democracy, for instance, seen in the huge crowds descending on London calling for a second referendum because they didn’t like the outcome of the first. They were, of course, reflecting the views of their politicians, foolishly ignoring the will of 17.4 million people.

Another feature of Middle East politics is the blatant propaganda which seeks to portray Israel as the unwilling party in peace negotiations, whereas in reality neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas is interested in securing a peace deal that doesn’t involve driving the Jews into the sea. The fact is, they don’t want part of the land; they want all of it.

In Britain too we are being bombarded by propaganda. It’s not enough that homosexuals have been ‘normalised’ into society. No, the government’s Department of Education email signature line now embeds a large rainbow flag with the logo ‘I’m an LGBT+ Champion’.²

We now hear how the general populace has fallen out of love with our politicians, but they only reflect the selfish, sinful and confused state of the electorate.

In a passage about wisdom, the Book of Proverbs offers us the choice of life or death: “For whoever finds me finds life and receives favour from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death” (Prov 8:35f).

Jesus is the way, the truth and ‘the life’ spoken of here (John 14:6). We have lost our way as a nation; we need to find Jesus again!

References

1 Heart newspaper, April/May 2019.

2 Christian Concern, 29 March 2019.

Arab family links up with Jews to spread gospel in the region

When the Israeli town of Nazareth is mentioned, most people immediately think of Jesus. It’s where he came from.

But when Nathanael, one of Christ’s first disciples, heard that the Messiah was from Nazareth, he responded rather sceptically with the question: “Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).

The same question is sometimes asked today, as the Galilean town is now an entirely Arab community with very few Christian believers.

Discovering Forgiveness

Step in the Sakhnini family. Although part of the town’s minority Christian-Arab population, there was a time when being ‘Christian’ merely described their culture – it just meant that, unlike most of the Arab world, they were not Muslims.

That is until 2007 when Bishara, a barber and head of the family, was betrayed by a close friend – and soon afterwards received news that his sister-in-law was dying of cancer, with only a month to live. In the midst of it all, his wife Sarah was found to be expecting their fourth child.

A pastor from Haifa then befriended Bishara and began to share what the Bible teaches, especially about forgiveness. As a result, Bishara forgave his friend and received true forgiveness for his own sins.

Not only that, but his whole family, including his three pre-teen sons, agreed to fast for three days as they prayed for their stricken relative, who subsequently walked out of hospital completely healed! And Sarah had a healthy baby soon afterwards despite an initial scare.

When Nathanael heard that the Messiah was from Nazareth, he responded rather sceptically: “Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).

One New Man

Bishara and Sarah Sakhnini and their four sons pose for a selfie on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. Picture courtesy of maozisrael.org.

Having witnessed such miracles, including the power of fasting and forgiveness, the family’s transformation sent shockwaves through the community. But they were scorned by their Arab neighbours, just as Jesus had been at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders.

And their world understanding was further rocked when some Jewish believers came to visit. The family hadn’t even realised Jesus was Jewish, let alone that an increasing number of Jews believe in him. Now they worship together with their Jewish brothers on a regular basis.

“Seeing us sing and dance together as we worship the same God,” writes Messianic musician Shani Ferguson in Maoz Israel’s January report, “was mesmerizing to outsiders and always elicited questions.”

She adds that “there is no greater testimony to unbelieving Jews that Yeshua [Jesus in Hebrew] has power over all than when Arabs embrace them as the people of their Saviour.”

It’s a little known fact that Arabs and Jews are meeting together at an increasing number of fellowships all over Israel, demonstrating the truth of the Gospel that true peace and reconciliation can only be found through what Jesus has done on the Cross.

The Apostle Paul wrote: “For he himself [Christ] is our peace, who has made the two groups [Jew and Gentile] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” (Eph 2:14).

Arabs and Jews are meeting together at an increasing number of fellowships all over Israel, demonstrating the Gospel’s power of true peace and reconciliation.

Worship Initiative

The Sakhnini brothers at home in their music room. Picture courtesy of maozisrael.org.The Sakhnini brothers – Adeeb, Eliya and Yazid – are particularly skilled musicians and are now engaged on a project to reach the Arab world with a blend of Arab and Jewish sounds as part of the Israel Worship Initiative.

They are currently working on a unique album – including some original and some old Arab hymns – which will cost about $20,000 to complete.

• If you wish to help reach the Middle East with Arabic gospel songs, contact www.maozisrael.org or their UK branch at www.maozisrael.uk/.
  
• For Shani Ferguson’s full story on the Sakhninis, click here.
  

Maoz Israel Ministries is a non-profit organisation founded by Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram and dedicated to reaching Israel with the good news of Jesus as well as providing humanitarian and other aid. Ari is a former film actor who has also played professional rugby and football.

• For more information on Arab-Jewish reconciliation, read my book Peace in Jerusalem (available from olivepresspublisher.com as well as from Amazon and Eden Books) or access the excellent Highway19 project.

Foreign Secretary regrets our turning back refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s apology over Britain’s treatment of Jews during the Mandate of Palestine is an encouraging development to be greatly applauded.

But it has been a long time in coming. Not from him, I mean, but from successive British Governments. He is believed to be the first holder of this office to have acknowledged our criminal behaviour over the plight of Jewish refugees trying to escape the Nazis.

Described by Mr Hunt as a ‘black moment’ in history, it involved denying entrance to the very homeland we had pledged to help recreate for the Jews at the time they needed it most. And Britain has been under a curse ever since, fulfilling the negative part of Genesis 12:3 – that those who curse the seed of Abraham would face judgment.

Mr Hunt was addressing the annual Parliamentary reception of Conservative Friends of Israel, hailing the “very strong relationship” between Britain and Israel and declaring Israel’s right to self-defence as being “absolutely unconditional”.

But he added: “There have been some black moments when we have done the wrong thing such as the 1939 White Paper which capped the number of visas issued to Jews wanting to go to the British mandate of Palestine.”¹

A Step in the Right Direction

Anne Heelis, who heads up a group² dedicated to comforting those who suffered as a result of British Mandate policies, said this “wonderful development” had come just a day after confession for our role was made during a Holocaust memorial service in Northern Ireland.

“Hundreds of thousands of Jewish people could have escaped death in the Nazi concentration camps if they had been allowed free entry into their ancient homeland, but Britain cruelly blocked this way of escape by severely restricting Jewish immigration,” Anne said.

Those who had been praying for a change of heart were “deeply grateful” for this development, but though Mr Hunt’s remarks were “most welcome”, they did not amount to an apology.

The Foreign Secretary’s apology over Britain’s treatment of Jews during the British Mandate is an encouraging development to be greatly applauded – although it is just the start of what is needed.

“They are indeed a wonderful answer to prayer and a great encouragement to continue praying with broken hearts for our Government to make a full apology to Israel. There is still a deep wound in the heart of many Israelis as a result of Britain’s misconduct of the Mandate.”

Rosie Ross, whose organisation Repairing the Breach has also been working with those who suffered under the Mandate, said Mr Hunt’s statement was “a major breakthrough” that was clearly an answer to prayer, some of which has been specifically targeted at the Foreign Office.

She plans to thank Mr Hunt personally and also looks forward to a full apology.

Reneging on Our Promise

The Atlit detention camp, near the port of Haifa, where many ‘illegal immigrants’ were held by the British. Photo: Gemma Blech.

Because the 1917 Balfour Declaration – promising to do all we could to aid Jewish repatriation – had subsequently been legitimised both by the 1920 Treaty of San Remo and the League of Nations in 1922, Britain had all the delegated power she needed to rescue many thousands of God’s chosen people from disaster.

But she failed to act because of Arab opposition, choosing to pursue a policy of appeasement that had never worked with Hitler. And we are still suffering the consequences, with the Middle East up in flames, the rest of Europe in turmoil and Britain in particular in a state of utter chaos and bewilderment.

We lost our empire, beginning with India in 1947, along with much of our power and influence and, as we succumbed increasingly to secularisation, we broke loose from our moral moorings. We also lost our sovereignty as we got sucked into the godless European whirlpool which further weakened our Judeo-Christian foundations.

All this leaves us frantically splashing about in an ocean of confusion with our political elite engaged in a desperate bid to avoid carrying out the people’s wish of regaining our national pride.

Blessing or Curse?

I pray that Mr Hunt will stick to his guns, and I would like to encourage him by emphasising the undeniable link – at both an individual and a national level – between political longevity and treatment of the Jews.

It is worth noting, for example, that the three longest-serving British Prime Ministers of the modern era – Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair – were unflinching in their support for the Jews. I mentioned Wilson last week (see The Forgotten Friend of Israel). Mrs Thatcher not only helped save a Jewish girl’s life from the Holocaust but also served her strongly Jewish constituency faithfully throughout her Parliamentary career. Mr Blair inaugurated the annual Holocaust Memorial Day to help ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Britain had all the delegated power she needed to rescue many thousands of God’s chosen people from disaster, but she failed to act because of Arab opposition, choosing to pursue a policy of appeasement.

Others, including Neville Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, James Callaghan and even Winston Churchill, disappeared from the political scene after letting God’s ancient people down.³

Where are the great empires of the past – Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman – who have treated the ‘apple of God’s eye’ (Zech 2:8) with disdain? They are buried in the dust of history.

Operation Mordechai

With this in mind, Christians United for Israel UK has launched ‘Operation Mordecai’ to highlight the threat to Israel and the West posed by Iran, with the primary aim of ensuring that Britain positions itself on the right side of history by defending Israel against tyranny.

The campaign takes its inspiration from the biblical account of Esther’s cousin Mordecai who, having heard of a plot to annihilate the Jews, sought the Lord, warned about what was planned and took action.

Let’s not go the way of Ireland, Amnesty International or Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. Ireland is currently pushing through legislation designed to boycott the sale of Israeli products from so-called “illegal settlements in occupied territories”.⁴ They are referring to Judea and Samaria, which is the heart of Israel though obviously disputed by those who oppose the Jewish right to the land (which, as I said, is theirs by international treaty as well as God’s sovereign word).

Amnesty International is calling for a boycott of Israel’s tourism industry in the same region, accusing them of “occupation, human rights violations and war crimes”.⁵

Paul Charney, chairman of the Zionist Federation of the UK and Ireland, said the humanitarian organisation thus demonstrates its lack of neutrality by whitewashing any Palestinian culpability for the conflict.

“Amnesty must recognise the incitement, the children’s television programmes encouraging violence and terrorism, and the salaries to convicted terrorists under the Palestinian Authority’s ‘Pay to Slay’ policy, to name but a few of the many disgraces which bear much responsibility for the current situation.”

He added that such boycotts harm the very people they wish to help.

Friend or Foe?

Returning to our relationship with the Jewish state, Labour ties with its sister party in Israel were officially cut last year over its handling of anti-Semitism, which bodes ill for any potential Labour-led British Government.

It was in 2016 that Mr Corbyn refused an invitation from Isaac Herzog, then leader of Israel’s Labour Party, to visit Israel and tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

Herzog, now Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, is reported to be “extremely distraught” by what is happening in Britain’s Labour Party.⁶

Christians United for Israel UK has launched ‘Operation Mordecai’ to ensure that Britain positions itself on the right side of history by defending Israel against tyranny.

So should we be. And our Foreign Office has a bad record of dealings with Israel; so let’s hope Mr Hunt’s statement signals a turning of the tide.

For we do not wish to be numbered among Israel’s enemies, of whom the Psalmist wrote: “’Come’, they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’” (Ps 83:4).

And Psalm 146 adds: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing” (verses 3-4).

References

1 United with Israel, 1 February 2019.

2 Nachamu Ami (Comfort ye my people – Isaiah 40:1).

3 Pawson, D. Defending Christian Zionism. Terra Nova Publications, p152/3.

4 Haaretz, 29 November 2018.

5 United with Israel, 30 January 2019.

6 Jerusalem News Network, 30 January 2019, quoting the Jerusalem Post.