Giving thanks for the Jews’ most precious gift to us

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust in perfect fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy of dry bones coming back to life, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

Shocked and devastated by the destruction of their home city of Darmstadt through the RAF bombing of 11 September 1944, which saw 12,000 killed and many more made homeless, Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary founder Basilea Schlink saw it as judgment for her country’s mass murder of the Jews.

But it stirred her heart to repentance and sorrow, as a result of which the movement was dedicated to confessing the sin of her nation and to making restitution with God’s chosen people, chiefly by loving and serving them in whatever way they could.

Now an international organisation with branches all over the world, they continue to bless the Jewish people as, full of the joy of Jesus, they demonstrate unbounding gratitude for their gift of the scriptures and, most of all, of their Messiah.

Solidarity and Reconciliation

My wife Linda and I have just attended the golden anniversary of the UK branch, based in a Hertfordshire village near London, when they looked back with amazement at the reconciling power of the Cross modelled beautifully by the current residents – Sister Thekla from Germany and Sister Glory from England – representing the nations once at war with each other.

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

A measure of the impact they have made is apparent in the way they have been embraced by the local Jewish community, who have not only accepted invitations to their many events but have also in turn welcomed the sisters into their synagogues!

One of the sisters’ annual 'Israel Day' events included the testimony of the son of a Nazi now reaching out in love to the Jews as part of his role as a disciple of Jesus. Half the audience on that occasion were from the Jewish community, one of whom later wrote: “We were overwhelmed by the event.”

Sister Thekla explained that, in sharing their shame and sorrow for the guilt of the nations, Jewish groups are greatly moved. “The smallest sign that we recognise what they went through touches them deeply.”

Maranatha

Bearing in mind that the name of their UK home is Jesus’ Return, the weekend theme was, appropriately, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (Rev 22:17) – a reference to the Second Coming. And as their house name implies, their focus is very much on Jesus himself and his soon return.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, their irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Against the background of Christianity’s guilt towards the Jewish nation, guest speaker Sister Verita (currently based at their Jerusalem branch and originally from New York) challenged us from Romans 11:11: “That is the call of the Church – making the Jews jealous, causing them to ask what is the source of the faith, hope, love and joy that we have in the Messiah” (see Psalm 126).

Above all, the sisters point to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). But we have lost our way as a nation, and need to rediscover our true destiny.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, the sisters’ irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Jesus is the Way

This was brought home to us when we temporarily got lost after losing our GPS signal en route to the event. Even the road sign we were looking for was covered in foliage, an increasingly common sight across the country, causing Linda to remark: “In a year’s time, no-one will know where to go.”

A prophetic statement indeed for where we are today – lost in a fog of pointless activity as we struggle through a maze of no-through-roads, disconnected from the true source of life and direction while blindly taking wrong turns.

We desperately need to rediscover how to find our way through life, plugged into the Maker’s instructions rather than unreliable Satnavs. Jesus is the way!

Walking in Ancient Paths

We took a lovely walk in the Cotswolds on our journey back, but again got lost temporarily where the once well-worn path was overgrown. We needed to retrace our steps and get back on track.

As Jeremiah wrote, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls’” (Jer 6:16).

Jesus fulfilled that promise when he said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28f).

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.