“A human being would never do such a thing to another human being.”
“These stories of Jews being gassed and burned are not true!”
These are the kind of statements that were circulated within the Jewish communities of Greater Europe in the 1930s and 40s. These are the kind of stories that my parents and grandparents heard come back to them in France from Eastern Europe, and nobody wanted to believe those tales of horror. How could they?
By the time the Jewish communities realized that their family members had been slaughtered, except for a few fortunate ones who could escape, it was too late. Eventually, European Jews reacted to the Holocaust, and with the birth of the modern State of Israel in 1948, the return of many Jews to the ancestral, biblical homeland and the start of a new generation, Eretz Yisrael would flourish again to become what it is today. Being reactive was better than to be in denial or indifferent, but we will never know how many of the six-million Holocaust innocent Jewish victims could have been spared if our people had been proactive.
We are still processing the very recent Washington DC murder of two Israeli diplomats. They were killed by a Hamas sympathizer, screaming “Free Palestine” and “I did it for Hamas.” He wasn’t an Islamist from the Middle East but a radical Leftist from Chicago, promoting the lies of global antisemites. The Intifada (uprising) has truly become globalized. Words have morphed into actions and Jewish people are now being killed.
Then the Boulder attack happened. An illegal Egyptian national started to set Israel supporters on fire. While nobody died, eight people got burned (two of them badly.) The man’s intent was to “kill Zionists” Incidentally, the Boulder chief of police couldn’t come out and mention the word “antisemitism” in his initial reporting. Seriously!?
When will the next attack take place? Nobody knows, but it most certainly will, and it could be a lot more lethal. So, now what? Time to be proactive, but, what does it mean to be proactive in 2025? I believe it can be done one of three ways: Speaking up, teaming up and possibly picking up and leaving.
Speak Up: Have you noticed that the enemies of Israel are always vocal and very loud. They show up at gatherings with banners, signs and pro-Palestine garb. We live in an era of fast visual clues, scrolling and Internet memes. People are bombarded with modern Palestinian flags, keffiyehs and other anti-Israel symbols. We need to be more present at gatherings, more vocal–while always respectful of others–and more intentional in how we share the truth about Israel, the Middle East and the Bible. Jewish people have always had a propensity for subdued behavior. We try to fit in society without making waves. We don’t push agendas, and NO, we are not trying to control the world. Get your facts straight before you “Rothschild, Khazar, or Protocol” me! It is time for Jews and the friends of Israel to speak up.
Team Up: The Jewish community in America needs to understand that some of their best allies are Evangelical Christians. Will Jewish people hear about Yeshua (Jesus) salvation plan for all, and the fact that He is the Messiah of Israel? (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) Probably, Yes! Evangelicals live to see other people become part of God’s family for eternity, so it is in their DNA to share the hope that they live with. Some evangelicals might be a bit awkward when they share, but when you connect with a Gentile Christian who takes the Bible seriously and, as a result, loves Israel and the Jewish people, as a Jew, you are in good company, and you are safe. While Israel supporting Evangelicals are becoming a minority, they exist, and they can be trusted.
Pastors need to reach out to the local Rabbis and Christians need to reach out to their Jewish neighbors, friends and co-workers to let them know that they have their backs.
Pick Up and Leave: Speaking up and teaming up will require a certain amount of chutzpah, because people have to be intentional and possibly move outside of their comfort zones to do so. Evidently it is not for everybody, but Jewish people have arrived at an existential crossroads. As Jews we can no longer be silent or uninvolved. We cannot be indifferent or act as if the events in front of us shall pass and better days will return soon. The Bible teaches the opposite, especially as we are inching our way into the End Times. The prophet Zechariah warned us in chapter 12, verse 3: ” But it will be in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who heave it up will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.“
So, for Jews around the world, the time might have come to return home to Eretz Yisrael. As a French Jew, son of Holocaust survivors, I grew up hearing about Israel and Zionism, but neither I nor my family members ever felt a desire or even the need to move to Israel and make alyiah. Times have changed. It sound so surreal, but it is true; the only place that is safe for Jews today is the place that is at war on seven fronts… eight including the media, that is the land of Israel!
Regardless of what the Jewish community decides, being silent is no longer an option, and being armed might become a necessity.
If you are Jewish, please reach out to the Christians you personally know and trust. If you are a Christian, please reach out to the Jewish people within your sphere of influence and tell them that they can count on you for rescue and shelter, if and when needed.
Keep in mind that the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people are also the enemies of Christianity and Western Civilization. We are all in this together. If Radical leftists and radical Muslims who have nothing in common ideologically can hold hands against the Jews and Israel, Jews and Evangelicals who have a different theological outlook on Yeshua (Jesus) should be able to team up against the spewers of the antisemitic venom, and it can only happen if we are proactive!
