Sean Hannity was in Israel last week, talking to several Israeli officials. He also interviewed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Listening to the prime minister, and being aware of current events, especially regarding Israel, I was reminded of one of the first columns I had the privilege of writing for WND:
Last week, the leading topic by many of the WND commentators was the challenges facing Israel. Several years ago, I was asked by a TV journalist, "Sir, why do you think people hate Israel?" I thought, "Great question!" In all the enlightened pundits' ponderings, I had never heard anyone address that issue. Why DO the nations of the world hate Israel?
This is not just a recently observed, or Arabic-inspired, hatred; anti-Semitism has been rampant worldwide for centuries. Many of us are familiar with the virulent anti-Semitism of the Third Reich, Hitler's Holocaust and the seizing of Jewish assets by international bankers.
Why does Israel generate such a visceral response? There is no structured hatred against any Arabic nations that I am aware of. Some may consider the French rude, but no one disputes their right to exist. The English, often considered snobs, are not marked for annihilation. Even the "ugly Americans" who are hated around the world (according to many apologists for terrorists) are not targeted for genocide.
To my knowledge, no African, European or Asian nation is so marked for destruction. So, why Israel?
Massive armies have marched and powerful intrigues have been introduced against her. In the fifth century BC, according to the Biblical record, Mordecai and Esther appeared on history's stage to save the Jewish nation when "Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes, even the people of Mordecai" (Esther 3:6). Since the time of Abraham, there have been almost incessant attempts from many quarters to destroy his progeny.
Today, substitute almost any radical Islamic leader for Haman, and you will discover that the goal is identical – the total destruction of the Jewish state. Let us, for a moment, dispassionately consider the simple geography and demographics of the situation.
Israel is 7,200 square miles, or roughly the size of Massachusetts. It has approximately eight million people, more than 25 percent of whom are Palestinians (Arabs). Eight (out of 21) of the Arab countries that are closest to Israel have a combined area of more than 3.25 million square miles. The Muslims (and much of the world) want Israel to trade land for peace. This would be the equivalent of the U.S. government telling Massachusetts to "give up 25 percent of its tiny area to millions of poor, jobless, homeless, disenfranchised people from the other states." (Dick Corbeil, Apopka Chief …)
In 1948, the day after Israel declared its independence, five powerful invading armies – Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq – simultaneously attacked the embryonic nation. The so-called "Palestinian refugee problem" is the direct result of Arabs voluntarily leaving their homes on the eve of this invasion.
The invading armies promised them a quick return immediately after "jihad" – a war of extermination, a momentous massacre which would be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the crusades (Arab League Secretary Azzam Pasha). Haj Amin Al Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, declared "… a holy war, my Muslim brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!"
Some years ago, the queen of England asked Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli for proof of the existence of God. "What is there to prove the existence of God, Benjamin?" she asked. His response was simply, "The Jew, Your Majesty." A simple answer on the surface, but profound in its implications.
As minuscule Israel on a map seems to point like a dagger at the heart of radical Islam, the Jew points at the heart of every human being hostile to the concept of God. Man has tried scientifically to explain away creation and has altered history to explain away the Exodus. We can dispute almost every human evidence of God's existence, except one – the Jew.
In spite of every effort toward their deliberate extermination, from Haman to Hitler, Pasha to Hussein, the Jewish nation has survived. Despite the fact that Israel has fought several wars against numerically superior armies committed to her destruction, the tiny nation state remains.
The real war against Israel is not religious, economic or even territorial – it is spiritual.
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