I was recently invited to the Christian Media Summit, hosted by the Israeli Government Press Office. About 130 journalists and leaders of various Christian organizations attended to experience Israel and to deliver accuracy in reporting about the Jewish state, amid the pervasive lies and propagandist terms that too often describe it, including “apartheid state,” “occupiers,” “baby killers” and the like. The truth is that Israel has been under attack since the day of its birth. Prior to that, there were concerted efforts by Arab nationalists to prevent any Jewish settlement from the land of its historic origins. Also to be remembered is the conquest of the region, from the aggressive period of the “four rightly-guided caliphs,” the Rashidun Caliphate, onward. The expansion of that period alone saw Islam spread beyond Arabia into Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia.
International Christian Concern reports:
“What most American Christians don’t realize is that the ‘Islamic World’ was once the Christian world.” Sadly, Christians are nearly extinct, and usually greatly persecuted in many of the cities and countries where Christianity once began and thrived.
Islamic supremacists deem the very existence of a tiny Jewish state in such a region to be an affront. Dr. Tawfik Hamid of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies gave insight in my book, The Challenge of Modernizing Islam, when he told me:
For Muslims, the ability to show power gives them the psychological satisfaction that the religion is correct and is coming from God. When Muslims start to question the reality of their religion and whether it is truly from God or not, this creates psychological frustration. It is a deep psychological phenomenon and it is all about supremacy.
The day after the State of Israel was proclaimed, the armies of the surrounding Arab states attacked it; they were bent on obliterating it. That effort has not stopped, as the Palestinians continue it, but it is now disguised as a “resistance” and accepted as such by the United Nations, despite the Charters of the leading Palestinian organizations, including the Palestinian National Charter, the Hamas Charter, and the Fatah Charter. Add in other threats, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a main funder of all of these, Iran.
The history of jihad against the kaffirs of the Middle East and the continuing war against Israel has not stopped the Jewish nation from focusing on life and advancement. My account of the Christian Media Summit is below. It first appeared in World Net Daily.
With the goal of strengthening ties between Christians around the world and the State of Israel, the 2022 Christian Media Summit (CMS) convened in Jerusalem from Dec. 11-14 for dialogue and to experience Israel firsthand. Following my last attendance in 2019, I wrote at WND “Israel: World leader in tech, diversity, human development.” Israel’s culture of life and progress radiates, despite its coexistence with deadly enemies, its fight for survival and an effective propaganda war against it that propagates anti-Semitism. It is a country united by an inviolable collective determination that transcends partisanship, a determination that characterized this year’s summit.
The summit launched with a Gala Event featuring a warm welcome by Nitzan Chen, director of the Israel Government Press Office (who openly acknowledges that Jesus was a Jew) and speeches that included Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, who captured the essence of Christian-Jewish relations today: “We are living in the golden age of Jewish-Christian relations with some serious flaws and challenges. … We have never had a relationship with the Christian world as good as the one we have now.”
One disappointment drew some local media attention: the absence of a scheduled welcome by Benjamin Netanyahu, a favorite among evangelicals. Sentiments were split amid whisperings, yet an understanding prevailed that Netanyahu was under extreme pressure to form a coalition, and quickly. Yair Lapid could have greeted us, as could have Naftali Bennett or Isaac Herzog, but Israel’s government was in a crisis moment – in the face of global realignments to boot. Netanyahu’s absence, though felt, was hardly viewed by most attendees as a mortal sin given the political climate.
Amid the presence of inescapable Israeli politics, we were regaled with a comedy performance and a local ABBA band that saw some of the most devout evangelicals dancing in their chairs as they recaptured the sensation of the ’70s Swedish super-group.
Throughout the summit, a strong fellowship between attendees, our Israeli government hosts and featured speakers was apparent, despite divergences of opinion on Israeli politics or the Palestinian dilemma.
The Palestinian people are pleasant in daily encounters, so it is perplexing to grasp that an active Palestinian jihad “resistance” is being waged. For many, a cognitive dissonance is amplified by the near invisibility of an ever-present war (save for the news) that threatens the lives of Israelis. The only real physical evidence of threat is the high visibility of armed Israel Defense Forces.
We visited the Tze’elim IDF base where we were briefed by Brigadier-General Bentzi Gruber – the deputy commander of the IDF Armored Division – who laid out the ethical challenges of combat in Gaza. Imminently challenging to IDF is the protection of life, which includes Palestinians. Rapid assessment of collateral damage in the face of confrontations must be proportional to the immediate threat. Gruber emphasized that “remaining sensitive” is most important for the IDF. Particularly difficult is the fact that jihadists have no ethics. They use women and children as human shields, and target civilians.
To jihadists and supporters, martyrdom is the highest calling. Vast rewards are boundless for the Shahid (martyr) in the afterlife (Quran 3:169-172, 2:154, 55:72) so death is gloried. The Shahid receives a crown of dignity, 72 virgins, all is forgiven, and he is permitted to intercede for 70 relatives (Abu Dawud 2522).
It is a misconception that Palestinians who sacrifice their children as human shields and martyrs do not love their children. Martyrdom is deemed a glorified, great call.
A recent poll found that an overwhelming majority (70%) of Palestinians support the actions and formations of more terror groups like the Lions’ Den; while nearly 80% opposed any surrender of jihad armed group members and their weapons. Iran also pours in billions to promote the erasure of Israel from the map – a “cancerous tumor” they call the Jewish State.
Some civilians who addressed the summit viewed Palestinians as “just wanting the same things as us.” Although well intentioned, there are consequential differences. Palestinian children are brainwashed by their leaders to revere martyrdom. Palestinian Media Watch, whose founder Itamar Marcus also spoke, is promoting the hashtag #SavePalestinianChildrenFromTheirLeaders.
After Gruber’s briefing, we visited “Mini Gaza,” the IDF’s Warfare Training Center. We explored a Hamas tunnel simulation before proceeding to the nearby Nirim Kibbutz, which has seen large numbers of Hamas rockets. Its residents are meters away from the Gaza perimeter fence, where I stood in contemplation. Residents have seconds to escape to shelter when red alert alarms warn of incoming rockets. As one speaker noted: “We don’t focus on trauma. We focus on resilience.”
We dined at the Eshkol Regional Community Center with residents, including Gadi Yarkoni, head of the Eshkol Regional Council who lost his legs from rocket-fire during Operation Protective Edge. His zeal for life still shone.
The Jewish faith and cultural tradition embrace Tikkun Olam. It means “repair/heal the world.” Tikkun Olam is evident in the DNA of Israeli society, reflected in the richness of its life, its embracing of diversity, developments in every field that benefits humanity – from medicine, field hospitals, science, agriculture and tech to the arts.
For Christians, God is love, and His light shines in darkness. Should Israel put down all of its weapons, its light and existence will cease to exist. Israel’s Christian friends recognize this fact all too well.