Israel - Ancient and Modern

In my experience, most liberal pastors seem to be uncritically pro-Arab, and often virulently anti-Israel. Indeed, anti-Semitism in general seems a hallmark of the left in all its manifestations. I'm not sure why, given that Israel is the only democracy in a region of kleptocracies and totalitarian terror states. Israel was our only Mideast ally during the cold war, when Arab states courted the favor of the Soviet Union. Surrounded by nations which have pledged its destruction, left-wing politicians and clergy continue to give moral equivalency to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which honor no peace aggreements, and continue to attack Israel, kidnap its citzens, and without provocation lob rockets into its cities. Clearing out southern Lebanon of terrorists seems a common-sense action, akin to our eliminating the Taliban threat in Afghanistan. I never heard much criticism of that action, given that it was in our interests, despite the thousands of innocent deaths which occurred.

Now we have folks keeping score of the war dead in Lebanon and Israel, as if numbers alone conferred righteousness or evil. The same writer complains of conservatives using the Genesis 12:3 verse as a banner (which this blog does). The simple answer to his query is that God's covenant promises with Israel were not abrogated by the first century diaspora, or the coming of Christ. The Apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear in chapters 9-11 of the book of Romans. Israel is the cultivated olive tree, the Christian church is the wild branch grafted onto that tree, and one day all of Israel will return to full covenant blessing through faith in Christ. Therefore, Christians have a unique relationship with Jews (including Israelis!). They are our fathers in faith, and our future brothers in Christ. The welfare of Israel is thus of great importance to evangelicals, and the survival of Israel far outweighs any squeamish hand-wringing by pro-Arab liberals. In my estimation, Israel has manifested an amazing restraint in dealing with the Palestinians and other Arab states. The present crisis, a proxy war of aggression against Israel by Iran, is a time for evangelical Christians to show their prayerful and political support for the nation of Israel. It is not a time for silly body counts and absurd claims that Israel is not engaged in a war of survival. Liberals need to remove their rose-colored glasses viz. Islamic states, and take a hard look at the anti-Semitism lurking obtrusively in their hearts.