Reflections on the recent UK riots

Lawyer exposes mixed messages behind Labour leader’s denial of anti-Semitism

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is playing with fire over his mixed messages on Israel. He denies being anti-Semitic while at the same time openly supporting a terrorist group committed to wiping Israel off the map.

Meanwhile his party continues to be embroiled in controversy over anti-Semitism with a police investigation now underway over allegations of “anti-Semitic hate crimes”.¹

Acceptable Anti-Semitism

Mr Corbyn reacted sympathetically to the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, though a Labour Party branch in Stockton voted down a motion condemning it after members criticised that there was too much emphasis on “anti-Semitism this, anti-Semitism that”.²

A Manchester-based Times of Israel blogger, commenting on Corbyn’s apparent compassion, said he believes it is because the attacker was a white supremacist rather than an Arab shouting ‘Allah Akbar’.³

Solicitor Robert Festenstein wrote that the shootings in America, which left 11 dead and six wounded, reminded him of a visit three years ago to a friend’s Jerusalem synagogue where, the previous year, two men had run in one morning with guns and knives and killed four congregants.

Corbyn denies being anti-Semitic while openly supporting a terror group committed to wiping Israel off the map.

He was particularly struck by Mr Corbyn’s tweet on the latest tragedy: “My thoughts are with those killed or injured in this horrific act of anti-Semitic violence, and with their loved ones. We must stand together against hate and terror.”

Festenstein wrote: “This was the first time I had heard him make any comment about any incident concerning attacks on Jews where he expressed a specific opinion and furthermore some support. At which point the penny dropped.

“Mr Corbyn, when he speaks of fighting anti-Semitism, is being mischievous, at best. It appears that he is deliberately misleading his listeners. He is not interested, as I am, in the identity of the victim. His motivation and those of his supporters…is based on the identity of the perpetrator.

“In other words, he is at the outset only interested in the person who pulled the trigger. In his world, therefore, and those of his supporters, it appears that a Jew can only be a victim of anti-Semitism if their attacker is white and crucially a neo-Nazi or white supremacist.

“If, though, the attacker is not white and is left wing, the attack cannot possibly be anti-Semitic…”

Festenstein went on: “Here in the UK, the writing is not only on the wall about the risks of a Labour Government; it is in letters of fire. What Mr Corbyn has now made perfectly clear is that he will not protect the Jewish citizens of this country if they are attacked by anyone other than a white neo-Nazi. Since the threats against us are mostly from the left, including from some members of Mr Corbyn’s party, we will not be safe if he becomes Prime Minister.”

Appeasement Doomed to Fail

It is by now well known that Mr Corbyn once referred to Hezbollah and Hamas as ‘friends’, but few will be aware that, when making that comment, he went on to say that labelling Hamas as a terrorist organisation was “really a big, big, historical mistake”.⁴

Hamas, he declared, were dedicated to a peaceful solution!⁵ Yet they have openly, and consistently, vowed to destroy Israel and ‘reclaim’ all the territory “from the river to the sea”, as their slogan goes – a mantra also heard at this year’s Labour Party conference.

So he is trying to convince all who will listen (which includes a vast swathe of our young people) that Hamas and Hezbollah are people with whom we should be negotiating for peace – because they are purportedly interested in peace; though of course there is scant evidence of this.

Corbyn is trying to convince all who will listen that Hamas and Hezbollah are interested in peace, though there is scant evidence of this.

Neville Chamberlain tried to persuade the British Parliament – and public – that Hitler was interested in peace. But Chamberlain was playing with fire. And 50 million people died in the fallout, a tally which included the unspeakable murder of six million Jewish civilians.

Claiming that Hamas are interested in peace clearly amounts to playing with fire – quite literally – as we have seen for the past seven months on the Gaza border, where protestors have engaged in murderous mayhem as they vent their fury with kite and balloon firebombs and Molotov cocktails while, behind them, Hamas keep up their constant volley of rockets into southern Israel (this was even replicated in New York last Friday where an arsonist attacked Jewish schools and synagogues at seven different locations while ‘Kill all the Jews’ graffiti was found daubed elsewhere⁶).

As I write this on 5 November, when we give thanks for the uncovering of a religiously-motivated plot to blow up Parliament, it seems that Mr Corbyn is engaged in something even more sinister – support for those who want to destroy Israel, the very source of our civilisation.

Holy Fire

It is paramount that we don’t get too close to the fire, as I was reminded yesterday on our return from a weekend away when, after running the gauntlet of rocket fire down the half-mile stretch of our road before turning into our drive, I saw what looked like a house on fire nearby and promptly dialled 999.

It turned out that neighbours were ‘enjoying’ a bonfire right beside a half-completed house, with huge flames appearing to lick the exposed wooden beams of the roof. The Fire Brigade paid a visit, and the bonfire was soon snuffed out.

And yet, while fire destroys, it can also turn the wheels of industry; it can even be redemptive and is among the symbols of the Holy Spirit. When Elijah called down fire in his great contest with the false prophets on Mt Carmel, it burnt up the sacrifice and sparked a turning back to the God of Israel (1 Kings 18).

The devil wants to destroy Israel and the Jewish people, but the Lord “whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem” is more than a match for his enemies (Isa 31:9; see also Zech 2:5).

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6).

References

1 Jerusalem News Network, 5 November 2018, quoting INN.

2 Christians United for Israel, 23 October 2018.

3 My Friend David, Times of Israel blogs, 31 October 2018.

4 See note 2.

5 What he actually said was: “The idea that an organisation that is dedicated towards the good of the Palestinian people and bringing about long-term peace and social justice and political justice in the whole region should be labelled as a terrorist organisation by the British government is really a big, big historical mistake and I would invite the government to reconsider their position on this matter and start talking directly to Hamas and Hezbollah…”

6 JNN, 7 November 2018, quoting INN.

Why American Jewish attitudes need to change.

The results are in – and everyone is talking about how the mid-term elections have affected the balance of power in Washington.

Amongst Jewish communities in the US and abroad, understandably, questions are being asked about how the results affect Jewish interests: for instance, five Jewish Democrats were elected to senior House of Representatives positions, and the House’s leadership looks likely to remain staunchly pro-Israel, despite the election of some pro-BDS candidates.¹ And so on, and so on.

This is all interesting in its own right, but for those of us who take an avid interest in Israel and the Jewish people, there is a broader dimension that matters more than who is heading up the House Committee on Appropriations: the state of American Jewish political culture in general, and how this intersects with God’s purposes for the Jews, Israel and the whole world.

American Jewish Politics

Despite the obvious commitment of the Trump administration to Israel, American Jews notoriously lean left, with upwards of 70% identifying with the Democratic Party. This outstrips the general US public and starkly contrasts Israeli Jews, historically socialist, but who now lean to the centre and right.

American Jewish liberalism is strongly secular and includes a stereotypical left-wing rejection of Trump. Indeed, a poll caught my eye this week: 72% of American Jewry reportedly blame Trump for October’s awful synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, believed to be the deadliest anti-Semitic atrocity in US history.²

Their logic is much the same as that of Corbyn and much of the left-wing in Britain (see Charles Gardner’s article this week): anti-Semitism is seen as a purely far-right phenomenon; right-wing populism is seen as fanning the flames of the far-right; therefore, right-ring populists like Trump are solely and directly to blame if anti-Semitism is on the increase.

American Jewish liberalism is strongly secular and includes a stereotypical left-wing rejection of Trump.

But, there is an important difference emerging between the situations in Britain and the USA. In Britain, the penny is dropping amongst Jews that the left-wing is not immune to anti-Semitism either. The all-too-plentiful, high-profile scandals within the Labour Party have exposed this, and British Jews are getting the message: 90% now associate Labour with anti-Semitism and 40% are considering leaving the country, fearing for their own safety.³ The Campaign Against Antisemitism poll showed that British Jews now fear the far-left more than the far-right, with its chairman Gideon Falter remarking: “Many British Jews are mentally, if not physically, packing their bags.”⁴

In the US, however, no such comparable scandal has yet erupted on the left, and despite left-wing support for BDS and problems of anti-Semitism at left-wing rallies and on university campuses, American Jewry remains fixed upon the threat posed by the neo-Nazi far-right, though a comparatively tiny number of people. This is not to belittle the far-right’s capacity to wreak terror – as the Pittsburgh massacre shows – but it is to say, along with other commentators recently,⁵ that American Jews need to wake up to the fact that anti-Semitism can be found on both sides of the political spectrum, and that the left-wing isn’t necessarily their natural home.

Indeed, that American Jews embrace liberalism so unconditionally is cause for real concern. They end up blinding themselves to left-wing anti-Israel/anti-Semitic animosity and boosting a Party that has “embraced the identity politics, grievance culture and enraged narcissism that threaten to destroy American society”⁶ – and we might add, has brought the world the Iran Deal and repeated attempts to carve up Israel in the name of a ‘two-state solution’.

In the name of ‘authentic’ Jewish values they are actually embracing “the very antithesis of Judaism”, putting themselves “on course to destroy themselves as a community while aiding the left in the undermining of America”.⁷

This is the domestic picture. But there is another dimension to which all this matters even more: the global.

In Britain, the penny is dropping amongst Jews that the left-wing is not immune to anti-Semitism.

God’s Redemptive Purposes

We live in an extraordinary, unique period of human history: we are the generation chosen by God to witness the miraculous and final restoration of Israel to her historic homeland. In the last 150 years, we have seen wave upon wave of Jewish immigration back to the Land, legally signed over to them in 1948. As we write frequently in Prophecy Today UK, Israel’s journey since has been one of truly divine restoration, protection and blessing, despite enemies all around.

We also make frequent mention in Prophecy Today of how this fits with God’s covenant purposes for the Jewish people and his redemptive purposes for all Creation. While we will not discuss these in depth here, suffice to say that we believe it to be God’s purpose that the majority of the world’s Jews now return to their homeland, and that he is at work in the political and social affairs of the nations to this end.

Last year, we reached the tipping point: now, the majority of the world’s Jews do reside in Eretz Israel, in fulfilment of biblical prophecy.

Meanwhile, the largest group of diaspora Jews remains in the USA, and their political attitudes and voting habits bely a group that is highly secular, ultra-liberal and astonishingly out of touch with both domestic and global realities. Populous and prosperous, it is unsurprising that rates of American Jewish aliyah to Israel remain relatively slow. For this reason, I believe that God’s focus will be particularly on American Jews in the next few years.

Aliyah Rates Too Slow

At the current (relatively stable) rate of some 3,500 American Jews making aliyah per year, it will take well over 1,500 years for most of America’s 5.7 million Jews to transfer to Israel. If they are to be persuaded to uproot from a country that has been so welcoming and supportive for so long, the Lord might need to jolt them out of complacency.

Historically, he has done this in other countries by permitting anti-Semitism to proliferate until the Jewish people start to get the message – as we see at present in Britain. Far from anti-Semitism being a good thing, of course, it is woeful and a deep curse for those countries who fan its flames. However, that doesn’t mean that it does not have a stimulating side-effect on Jews that is ultimately positive, encouraging emigration back to the Land. There is a Christian parallel here: times of persecution are terrible, but they also classically unite, strengthen and grow the Church, furthering God’s purposes.

If our reading is correct, we may see many more events like Pittsburgh over the next years, as well as worsening anti-Semitism on campus, in the media and in US corridors of power.

Cultural Sea-Change Needed

Putting all these jigsaw puzzle pieces together, the emerging picture is very sobering: if our reading of the situation is right, then we are likely to see many more events like Pittsburgh over the next years, as well as worsening anti-Semitism on campus, in the media and in US corridors of power.

We cannot possibly rejoice in this. But we can at least pray that it would stimulate a cultural sea-change amongst American Jewry and a resurgence of conservative, biblical values, which (the statistics bear out) predispose greater support for Israel. This would lay the groundwork for the Lord to work his purposes out amongst this last great Jewish diaspora group, and one day lead them safely home.

References

1 Post-midterms: With Democrats retaking the House, Jewish leaders still see strong Israel support. JNS, 7 November 2018.

2 J Street poll: 72% of US Jews find Trump partly to blame for Pittsburgh shooting. Times of Israel, 7 November 2018.

3 Poll: 40% of British Jews Consider Emigration, 90% Cite Anti-Semitism. Breaking Israel News, 25 September 2018.

4 Ibid.

5 E.g. Jonathan S Tobin at JNS, Abraham H Miller for JNS, and Melanie Phillips.

6 Phillips, M. Jews and Conservatism: an idea whose time has come. 1 November 2018.

7 Ibid.

Hungary’s populist victory and the disintegration of Europe.

The re-election of Viktor Orban in Hungary’s presidential election last week came as no surprise, but it has caused dismay in Brussels where there is a real fear that Orban’s trashing of the EU rules may spread to other states within the European Union. His campaign was built on fear-mongering and anti-immigration which gave his right-wing populist party a vastly increased majority.

Orban’s victory is a direct challenge to the core values of the European Union which, according to Christian Ultsch in the Austrian press,¹ has caused some to claim the EU is being “shaken to its foundations”.

Many Christians may be happy to see the secular humanist ‘core values’ of the EU being shaken and all those who respect the Christian values that have formed the foundation stones of Western nations will have some sympathy for Victor Orban’s endeavour to protect his country from a large influx of Muslims. He has seen the difficulties that have arisen in Germany following Angela Merkel’s opening the door to one million Muslims and within months some of them became involved in highly publicised terror attacks and sexual attacks upon women and girls.

In France the latest Islamist attack that has shaken the nation was the murder of Mireille Knoll, an 85-year-old Jewish woman and Holocaust survivor. She was stabbed 11 times before her body was set on fire in an anti-Semitic crime that brought 30,000 people onto the streets in protest.

Equality and Tolerance?

Those who uphold the politically correct EU core values of ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’ believe that over a period of time integration will take place as people live together and accept one another as equals. But this secular humanist, atheist, Marxist dream of a tolerant society is utterly unachievable and simply reveals the ignorance of those who are the driving force behind the secularisation in Brussels that is seeking to remodel Europe.

They simply do not understand Islam, whose Qur’an specifically forbids Muslims to make friends with Jews and Christians: “O ye who have believed, do not choose Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends to each other; whoever makes friends of them is one of them” (Qur’an 5:51).

Those who uphold the EU values of ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’ believe that over a period of time integration will take place as people accept one another as equals.

Integration is not on Islam’s agenda. Islam’s short-term objective is to rule Europe and the long-term intention is to dominate the world.

There is no compromise in Islam: which is why there is total deadlock between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The Palestinians do not want peace with Israel: their sole objective is the total destruction of Israel! In Britain we have seen the result of politically correct town councils and secular humanist social workers refusing to believe poor white girls being abused by gangs of immigrant men, so we can understand the widespread indignation in France where similar things are happening and Islamists are particularly targeting Jews.

Islamic Anti-Semitism Exposed

Protests in France against the murder of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll. See Photo Credits.

A letter signed by more than 300 French dignitaries (including former President Sarkozy) denouncing the new anti-Semitism in France has been published this week in a Parisian newspaper.² It calls attention to the alarming surge in Islamist radicalism that is driving a string of attacks upon Jews.

The French Jewish community of more than half a million - the largest in Europe - has seen a wave of emigration to Israel over the past 20 years at least partly driven by the virulent anti-Semitism of Muslim immigrants. The letter highlights the “quiet ethnic purging” that is taking place in working-class city neighbourhoods.

Against this backdrop, the rise of far-right populist parties is understandable. But it is not just the EU’s values that are being shaken. Orban’s victory in Hungary is linked with divisions that are destabilising the whole of Western society – it represents the rise of a new kind of nationalism that has its roots in racism.

Self-Destructing Society

It is strange how wherever you look in the Western world today, division and hatred are on the rise. It is as if our societies are tearing themselves apart from the inside out. While immigration into the West has imported a plethora of new prejudices, home-grown hatreds are also flourishing - at both ends of the political spectrum.

Wherever you look in the Western world today, division and hatred are on the rise.

In the USA, right-wing populism brought President Trump to power, but already his presidency has seen a rise in anti-black racism as well as a spike in anti-Semitism.

In Britain, the populist movement that brought about the Brexit vote has coincided with a rise in racist incidents. But the focus recently has been upon left-wing anti-Semitism in the Labour Party since Jeremy Corbyn became leader. In a meeting last week with representatives of Jewish communities Corbyn was challenged to do something to eradicate the racism that has become apparent in the Labour Party.

Behind the Division

What is it in human nature that drives people to hatred of other human beings?

The answer can only be that we have turned our backs on God. We have rejected the biblical values that have formed the foundation of Western democracy for centuries. Once we depart from these core values the cracks in the structures of society begin to show and it’s not long before all our social institutions, such as the family, begin to crumble.

In the absence of love, justice and unity that stems from God, humans soon turn to hatred. Barely one generation passed in Genesis before mankind turned to murder, brother against brother. The lesson of history is that rebellion breeds hatred and violence. Today, from end to end on the political spectrum, we see people trying to build a world without God – just like at the Tower of Babel. We cannot be surprised to see hatred and division on the rise as a result.

The Litmus Test

The litmus test of the health of a society is the poisonous presence of anti-Semitism, the “oldest of all hatreds”. Whereas other racisms regard hated groups as ‘inferior’ (e.g. anti-black racism), anti-Semitism strangely blames Jews for being ‘superior’ because of their achievements in finance, business, banking and the arts. Whereas all other racisms have definable roots, anti-Semitism transcends time, geography, politics and social class.

In the absence of love, justice and unity that stems from God, humans soon turn to hatred.

It also transcends religion. Islamic anti-Semitism is widespread around the world, stemming right back to Mohammed who turned on the Jews and viciously slaughtered them when they refused to accept his new religion. Christian anti-Semitism has flourished through the ages as Jews have been blamed for killing Jesus and punished for rejecting the Gospel, while Replacement Theology has been manufactured by the Church to write Jews out of God’s purposes altogether.

When people rebel against God and reject his word, this manifests most virulently in a spiritual hatred for the Jews as the covenant people of God, through whom he chose to reveal his nature and purposes to the world. But the Bible says that “The word of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples” (Isa 2:3-4). This has never been rescinded; and is still God’s intention to fulfil.

The cracks and divisions in our society today have one common root: rebellion against God. This is surely the major problem of our humanity that only the Gospel can cure.

References

1 Die Presse, Vienna, 9 April 2018.

2 Click here for the original letter (in French) or here for the translated page. Please also see this article from Jihad Watch.