What does it mean for the West?

Part 4: Islamic anti-Semitism

Haggai's third message and the link with Chanukah (Hanukkah)

From rockets and rhetoric to revisionist history

David Longworth on the ultimate goal of Iran’s militant posturing.

On Ari Fuld’s loss and Palestinian incitement to kill.

Last Sunday, 16 September, a 17-year old Palestinian high-school student stabbed to death a 45-year old father of four who was shopping for groceries at Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem.

The father was Ari Fuld, an American Jew who had immigrated to Israel in 1994 and held dual nationality, living in the nearby settlement of Efrat.

In spite of his fatal wound, he prevented his assailant from then attacking the female shop assistant, saving her life by shooting and wounding the youth.

The young attacker, Khalil Jabarin, is from the village of Yatta, some five miles south of Hebron and is receiving treatment in Israel’s Hadassah hospital in Ein Kerem. His father had informed Palestinian authorities that he was missing following an argument about skipping school, whilst his mother had notified Israeli authorities of her fears that he was intent on making an attack somewhere.¹

The Fulds and the Jabarins. Just two of many devastated families in the ‘Land of Promise’.

Incitement with Money and Lies

Such attacks are encouraged by the long-term policy of the ‘cash-strapped’ Palestinian Authority of rewarding families of injured or killed perpetrators of violence (otherwise known as ‘martyrs’) with substantial sums. In this case, the Jabarin family is eligible for some £2,500.²

But the situation is also made far worse by incitement to violence from Palestinian leaders and media, wielding claims about Palestinian ‘heritage’ and Israeli ‘occupation’ that are blatant lies. Let’s consider this in more depth.

Such attacks are encouraged not only by the ‘pay-to-slay’ policy of the PA – but also by inciteful lies from Palestinian leaders and media.

‘Al-Aqsa Intifada’

Shortly after Sunday’s attack, Palestinian media claimed that it had been carried out in defence of Al-Aqsa. According to the news agency Donia al-Watan, Ari Fuld’s murder “is a response to warnings regarding the danger of what the occupation is currently doing, and what it intends to do at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”³ What, you may ask, was the connection with Al-Aqsa?

To understand this, we need some background. The so-called ‘Al-Aqsa Intifada’ began in 2015. Between 1 October and 31 December of that year there were 88 stabbings, 32 shootings and 14 car-ramming attacks. Allegedly ‘spontaneous’, it was accompanied by vicious incitement. In early October a Palestinian Member of the Knesset, Haneen Zoabi, had written in the Hamas-affiliated newspaper al-Resalah,

Hundreds of thousands of worshippers should go up to al-Aqsa in order to face down an Israeli plot for the blood of East Jerusalem residents. Today there are actions only by individuals, and what is needed is popular support. If only individual attacks continue without popular support, they will sputter out within a few days. Therefore the outpouring of thousands of our people will make these events a real intifada.⁴

On 9 October, in a sermon at Friday prayers in Rafah (Gaza) which was streamed online, imam Sheikh Muhammad Sallah called on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to “attack in threes and fours…cut them into body parts…stab the myths about the Temple in their hearts!”⁵

Around the same time, a slew of posts appeared on social media praising attacks and providing advice for how to make them effective. One Gazan, using the hashtag #Stab, posted an anatomical chart on Facebook showing which parts of the body to aim for. Using the hashtag #SlaughteringtheJews, another user posted a message addressed to "our brethren in the West Bank and all of Palestine" who wish to kill "pigs" (an Islamic epithet for Jews) in the quickest possible manner, including graphic advice.⁶

The official PA daily al-Hayat al-Jadida has acknowledged that in the first year alone of that intifada “250 [Palestinian] civilians died as Shahids [martyrs], 161 of them while carrying out stabbing operations against the occupation's soldiers and its settlers” (my emphasis).⁷

The allegedly ‘spontaneous’ Al-Aqsa Intifada has been accompanied by vicious incitement since it began in 2015.

False Claims of Excavation

This year, although the casualty rate is much lower, the Islamic rhetoric has been ramping up again.

In July a member of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem said on the Palestinian Authority’s official TV channel, "The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque has no foundations now...Al-Aqsa is now empty of the rocks and that which supports it, due to the Israeli machine that is excavating under it, as rats burrow under the ground only for evil and destruction."⁸

This is pure fabrication – the only excavators of the Temple Mount since 1967 have been Muslims! Yet, a few days later, this was broadcast on PA TV:

The Fatah Movement emphasized that Israel has prepared a plan - and began carrying it out a while ago - to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque through the ongoing excavations underneath the mosque…[and] that the Al-Aqsa Mosque – above ground, under it, and around it - is a completely Islamic site to which the Jews have no right.⁹

Muslim worshippers during Ramadan, earlier this year. See Photo Credits.The provocative nature of these and many more such statements is recognised by Samir Awad, a political scientist at Bir Zeit University north of Ramallah:

Al-Aksa is a place heavily charged with emotions, people are willing to die for it and become martyrs going to heaven. A lot of Palestinians feel they are defending al-Aksa on behalf of all Muslims. Palestinians consider al-Aksa the gem of their future state. It signifies Palestine itself.¹⁰

Denying History

Denial of the existence of a Jewish Temple is an essential part of the ‘Palestinian narrative’. For example, Mahmoud Abbas said in 2000:

[The Jews] demand that we forget what happened 50 years ago to the refugees – and I speak as a living, breathing refugee – while at the same time they claim that 2000 years ago they had a temple. I challenge the assertion that this is so. But even if it is so, we do not accept it, because it is not logical for someone who wants a practical peace.¹¹

Denial of the existence of a Jewish Temple is an essential part of the ‘Palestinian narrative’.

So much for ‘logic’! Speaking to a journalist at Die Welt in 2001, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri (then Grand Mufti of Jerusalem), said,

There is not the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish Temple on this place in the past. In the whole city, there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history…¹²

To make such statements is not only a denial of Jewish history and archaeology, but of Islamic history! The Brief Guide to the Al-Haram Al-Sharif, published in 1924 by the Supreme Muslim Council of Jerusalem, freely states, “Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute”, even quoting 2 Samuel 24:25. Much longer ago, Islamic historians and writers such as Abu Jafar Muhammad al-Tabari (9^th Century),¹³ Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi (10^th Century)¹⁴ and Nasir-I Khusraw (11^th Century)¹⁵ all acknowledged the same.

Western Perspective Change

In the West, there is still no official recognition of the ongoing anti-historical brainwashing and anti-Semitic incitement in the disputed territories, especially of young Palestinians, deceiving them into committing atrocities against ordinary Jewish people such as Ari Fuld.

Whether or not Jabarin was acting out of genuine concern for Al-Aqsa, as Palestinian media claim, the claim itself should not go unnoticed as yet another instance of incitement.

When 28-year-old American Taylor Force was stabbed to death in Tel Aviv in 2016, also as part of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the issue of ‘martyrdom’ payments gained widespread media and political exposure in the US, with direct consequences for US-Palestinian diplomatic relations and for PA funding.

In this extraordinary window in international politics, is it too much to pray that blind eyes in Western politics and Church life would also be opened regarding the vicious incitement to violence coming from Palestinian leaders and media? At root it is all part of an intense spiritual battle against God, his covenant People and Land, but if ever there was a time when a change of perspective in the West was possible, it is now.

In the West Bank, the best hope for Palestinian youths is that Almighty God would grant them access to the truth before they reach for a knife. Surely our prayers for “the peace of Jerusalem” should be oriented in these ways.

Postscript: As the latest example of the perversion of truth in Palestinian youth, readers are advised to read about Ahed Tamimi's media tour and compare it with an interview broadcast on Russian TV, translated by Palestinian Media Watch here.

Also recommended:

• This 2-minute video from Boomerang on Palestinian indoctrination of children.
• Melanie Phillips’ recent article for the Jewish News Syndicate about the Western media’s excusal of Ari’s murder and general complicity in Palestinian violence.

References

1 Terrorist’s parents say they alerted PA, Israel before deadly stabbing of Fuld. Times of Israel, 16 September 2018.

2 PA hasn’t yet paid family of terrorist who killed Fuld, but they’ll be eligible. Times of Israel, 19 September 2018.

3 Translation by Palestinian Media Watch.

4 Eldar, S. Bibi blames everyone but himself for recent violence. Al-Monitor, 12 October 2015.

5 Gaza cleric calls on Palestinians to stab Jews, ‘cut them into body parts’. Times of Israel, 12 October 2015.

6 Social Media As A Platform For Palestinian Incitement – Part II: Video Tutorials, Tips For Achieving More 'Effective' Attacks. MEMRI Special Dispatch No.6186, 14 October 2015.

7 Marcus, I and Zilberdik, NJ. Official PA daily admits 161 Palestinians did carry out stabbing attacks during Palestinian terror wave 2015-2016. PMW Bulletin, 6 February 2018.

8 See note 3.

9 Ibid.

10 Lynfield, B. Is the ‘stabbing intifada’ back? Jerusalem Post, 23 July 2018.

11 In Kul Al-Arab on 2 August. Hollander, R. The Battle Over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. CAMERA, 26 March 2010.

12 Ibid.

13 Friedmann, Y, 1992. The History of al-Tabari: Volume XII, The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine. NY: State University of New York Press, p195.

14 Jerusalem mufti: Temple Mount never housed Jewish Temple. Times of Israel, 25 October 2015.

15 Nasir i-Khusrau, Diary of a Journey Through Syria and Palestine. Translated and prefaced by Guy Le Strange. London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 1893.

Can Israel learn this lesson about not capitulating to intimidation?

The victory of National Trust volunteers who objected to wearing badges showing support for gay pride was as welcome as it was unexpected – given the current politically correct climate.

For those outside the UK, the National Trust is charged with looking after many of the nation’s great estates, particularly in cases where their upkeep is no longer economically viable for the original owners. Now, following an outcry to a new directive barring volunteers from public-facing duties at a Norfolk stately home if they refuse to wear the gay ‘rainbow’ symbol, over which dozens have quit, the Trust has backed down.

Unpaid staff at Felbrigg Hall had been offered behind-the-scenes roles after saying they were “uncomfortable” with the idea – part of a six-week ‘Prejudice and Pride’ event marking 50 years since the de-criminalisation of homosexuality.¹

As Trust members, my wife and I were already concerned about the trend shown in their magazine to promote the homosexual legacy linked with some of their country houses, so I suppose this ‘badge of honour’ was the next inevitable step. But the Trust has tripped up, fulfilling a biblical promise that “whoever leads the upright along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance” (Prov 28:10).

The Beginning of a Fight Back?

The BBC and other media are milking the ‘golden’ anniversary for all its worth, plaguing us with a veritable flood of gay propaganda - so much so that it seems hardly possible to find alternative viewing. Their clear agenda is to heap this new morality on millions of people, forced to pay for the ‘privilege’ with a hefty license fee.

That is bad enough, but when the national body entrusted with the immense privilege of looking after vast swathes of our magnificent cultural and historical heritage takes up the same baton, for which they have absolutely no mandate (neither does the BBC, for that matter), things have gone too far.

When the National Trust picks up the same baton as the BBC, for which neither have a mandate, things have gone too far.

The courage of the National Trust workers is to be applauded. It shows there is still a remnant of decent folk – whether Christians or not - who have decided against having their hard-fought freedoms, principles and consciences dictated to any longer. The shame is that our spineless church leaders failed to lead the way in what could be the beginning of a fight-back for a recovery of Christian standards.

Violence Closes Down Justice

Of course, it’s too early to say if a backlash has truly begun – and things could yet get worse. After all – riots, terror and intimidation seem to have successfully shut down justice in Israel, where murder and mayhem followed the killing by terrorists of two Israeli border policemen on the Temple Mount in July. These riots were not incited by Jews, whom you might have thought would have been justified in doing so, but by Palestinians.

Because of the slaying of the policemen, the Israeli Government installed metal detectors at several Temple Mount entries as an obvious safety measure – and this is what sparked the riots (said to have been inflamed by Israel’s arch-enemy Iran). To their shame, however, the Israeli authorities eventually backed off as tensions threatened to get out of control.

Bizarrely, Jews visiting the Mount – where their first and second Temples stood 2,000-plus years ago and which Muslims now claim as their own² – are not even permitted to pray on what is their holiest site! And they do not object to metal detectors, as they have no intention of harming anyone.

The Word of God is Clear

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to caving in to mob-rule in the ongoing battle between gay rights and God’s laws in Britain.

In Hull, Yorkshire – once renowned from its predominance of evangelicals including the legendary William Wilberforce – a Church of England minister has held a special service to mark the city’s homosexual pride celebrations. The event was addressed by a transsexual activist who was born male but lives as a woman and describes himself as a lesbian.³

There is still a remnant of decent folk who have decided against having their hard-fought freedoms, principles and consciences dictated to any longer.

Meanwhile, the Emmaus Group⁴ have launched a series of articles highlighting what they refer to as increasing acts of sedition⁵ against our most holy God. “One of the biggest challenges hitting the church right now is the storm of secularism and humanism with its LGBT and transgender movements,” they said, adding: “The word of God is clear, concise and unambiguous: no sexually immoral person will have a place in the kingdom of heaven.”

Also among those denied entry to God’s eternal dwelling, they point out, are “all liars” – and they will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). Such people “willfully pursue what is in opposition to God’s will and practice it with pride. So it should be no surprise the LGBT movements hold what they call ‘pride’ festivals…celebrating all that is abominable before God. And church leaders who advocate in favour of such iniquity will be judged more harshly.”

For the Joy Set Before Us

I nevertheless hope and pray that we have turned a corner. Ordinary, decent folk also have rights – especially to a quiet life devoid of manipulation, intimidation and interference from busybodies determined to force their agenda onto an unsuspecting world.

The words of King Solomon are so true of today – and they also give us hope: “When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall” (Prov 29:16).

Christians, meanwhile, need to shed their flabby compromise and start “training in righteousness” under the word of God (2 Tim 3:16). Like the first century Galatians, too many have been led astray by false teaching, earning the fiery rebuke of St Paul: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Gal 5:7).

The writer to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” – not to throw in the towel at the first sign of muscle strain or breathlessness, but focusing on Jesus who endured opposition, pain and suffering “for the joy set before him” (Heb 12:1-3).

Notes

1 BBC Radio 4 and Daily Telegraph online, 5 August 2017; Mail on Sunday, 6 August 2017.

2 Though temporarily handed over to the charge of the Jordanian-based Waqf (Muslim authority) in order to reduce tensions following the 1967 Six-Day War when Israel took back territory illegally annexed in 1948, the Mount is actually under Israeli sovereignty and has been linked to the Jews for thousands of years.

3 Hull CofE minister criticised for homosexual pride service. Christian Institute, 1 August 2017.

4 A forum seeking to reconcile the Church with her Hebraic roots while also highlighting the plight of Christians and Jews in the Middle East and challenging the body of Christ over obedience to God’s commands.

5 Dictionary definition: an offence that tends to undermine the authority of a state; an incitement to public disorder.

A UNESCO resolution was passed yesterday denying the Jewish claim to Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

The resolution, which passed with 24 votes in favour versus 6 against (with 26 abstentions), re-classifies Temple Mount in exclusively Muslim terms and fails to acknowledge its significance to Jews.

Whilst it acknowledges Jerusalem as significant to three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), the section on Temple Mount omits any reference to Judaism or Christianity and uses only Arabic place-names,¹ effectively re-writing several thousand years of history.

The resolution on 'Occupied Palestine' is in its second draft form (the first draft was voted on in April, with a similar result). Having now passed through the UNESCO committee stage, it will go to the Executive Board for approval next week. Unsurprisingly, it was tabled by several Arab states, including Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan, no doubt acting on behalf of Hamas. Interestingly, several heavyweight nations with supposedly positive relations with Israel also voted for the resolution, including Russia and China.

International Condemnation

The resolution's blatant defiance of the historical and archaeological record and its clear anti-Israel (many have already said anti-Semitic) bias has caused quite a stir, both in Israel and internationally. This morning Israel froze all co-operation with UNESCO until further notice, with Education Minister Naftali Bennett arguing that the vote will only encourage further terror attacks on Jews.²

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also criticised the resolution, describing UNESCO as an "absurd theater" and saying "To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China and that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids".³ Israeli President Reuven Rivlin responded to the result: "No forum or body in the world can say that there is no connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel and to Jerusalem. A body that does so is simply humiliating itself."⁴

The Western Wall of Jerusalem remains one of the most hotly contested spaces in the world.Further afield, Bulgarian Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova has signalled her clear disapproval of the motion, saying that it threatens to undermine the organisation's activities,⁵ which are supposedly to work for global peace and security. Criticism has also come at UNESCO from lawmakers at all points on the political spectrum, as well as pro-Israel lobbying groups worldwide.

Anti-Semitic Agendas

In broader context, the resolution represents the next stage in the Arab bid to delegitimise Israel and erase her claim on the Land, from the top down, through a concerted effort within the UN. The text of the resolution repeatedly refers to Israel as 'the occupying Power' and nearly exhausts the thesaurus with its cries for Israel to relinquish her presence and authority in the West Bank: it 'deplores', 'condemns', 'decries', 'disapproves of' and 'deeply regrets' Israel's authority over the contested areas, condemning "continuous Israeli aggressions" and "provocative abuses", with no mention whatsoever of Palestinian terror activity.⁶

Linguistically, it builds on the vote in 2010 to refer to various holy Jewish sites in both Muslim and Hebrew terms (with the Muslim term coming first, of course), e.g. 'al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs' and 'Bilal bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb' ,⁷ this time removing Hebrew terminology altogether.

The resolution on 'Occuped Palestine' is more than just a failure to acknowledge the Jewish claim on Temple Mount – it is a deliberate erasure of it, a bald-faced attempt to rewrite history in favour of contemporary Islamic agendas. It is the latest in a string of distorted, anti-Semitic judgments to emerge from the UN, adding to the international effort to demonise Israel's presence in the West Bank and her claim on Jerusalem.⁸

The resolution is the UN's latest bald-faced attempt to rewrite history against Israel and in favour of Islam.

Dangerous Games

But, thankfully, it is not all bad news. Aside from Russia, no European state voted for the resolution this time around, thanks to recent Israeli diplomatic efforts to improve relations with other Western countries. Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, has commented that the vote shows a loss of key Palestinian support ground in Europe (particularly significant is France's shift from leading the anti-Israel vote to abstention), compared to the vote on the resolution's first draft, in April of this year.⁹ It's not much, but it's a start – we are not yet at the stage of global war on Israel, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38.

God clearly states in Scripture that "I will bless those who bless [Israel], and whoever curses [Israel] I will curse". This promise has never been rescinded – it is as true today for modern individuals and nations as it was for ancient empires.

As Hatikvah's excellent documentary 'Abraham's Vision'¹⁰ helpfully unpacks, the Hebrew words for 'curse' differ in this verse. God promises to 'ârar' [bitterly curse] those who 'qâlal' [make light of, despise, treat with contempt] Israel. This includes the least form of mockery or denial.

Those who voted for the resolution are treading on dangerous ground, for "it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31). Thankfully, Britain voted against it!¹¹ But we should not be rubbing our hands with glee at the prospect of the Arab nations eventually getting their just desserts – we should be praying that God brings them into a full knowledge of the truth, about him and his people – and we should be standing up for this truth ourselves.

Thanks to Israeli diplomatic efforts, no European state voted for the resolution.

The Way to True Peace

UNESCO's mission is to build peace "in the minds of men and women". As its behaviour stands in such stark contrast to this goal, we must learn that we cannot rely on international institutions of 'peace' and 'justice' to promote the truth worldwide. Only those whose minds are being renewed by The Truth himself - Jesus Messiah, who makes "one new man" out of Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15), dissolving centuries of enmity - can show the world the pathway to true peace. And we don't have to be international diplomats or UN officials to do that – it starts where we are, with those immediately around us, today.

References

1 The Western Wall is mentioned only twice in the whole document, both times in quotation marks and after the Arabic name Al-Buraq, suggesting lesser legitimacy. The phrase 'Temple Mount' is missing from the entire document, replaced 15 times with the Islamic name Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif.

2 Hoffman, G. Bennett suspends Israeli cooperation with UNESCO after Temple Mount vote. Jerusalem Post, 14 October 2016.

3 Ravid, B and Khouri, J. UNESCO backs motion nullifying Jewish ties to Temple Mount. Haaretz, 13 October 2016.

4 Ibid.

5 Sharon, I and Arhen, R. UNESCO chief pans her member states on anti-Israel Jerusalem resolution. Times of Israel, 14 October 2016.

6 The full text of the resolution can be read here.

7 See Wikipedia's page on UNESCO.

8 Since 2013, Israel has been condemned in 45 resolutions from the UN Human Rights Council (nearly half of all the country-specific resolutions it has ever passed). See here.

9 Ahren, R. Outrageous as it may be, UNESCO's Jerusalem vote has a silver lining. Times of Israel, 14 October 2016.

10 Previously published as 'Blessing, Curse or Coincidence? Vol 1', see here.

11 Other countries voting against were Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United States.