Reprint of a commentary published by Israeli National News 21/08/05
With the recent victory of Benjamin Netanyahu and the recognition of Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel and President Trump's refusal to give up the Golan Heights, we are truly witnessing comfort going to and being joyously received by the people of Israel. As we enter the Passover season may the friendship between these two nations be celebrated and solidified.
21/08/05 20:05 Reprint of a commentary published by Israeli National News.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/5458
Comfort From America
Many Christians in the US hear the cries of Israel, and stand with the people of Israel who have bought, with blood, sweat and tears, this strip of land covenanted to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and most recently returned to Israeli sovereignty by the conquest of 1967.
Many Christians in the US hear the cries of Israel, and stand with the people of Israel who have bought, with blood, sweat and tears, this strip of land covenanted to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and most recently returned to Israeli sovereignty by the conquest of 1967.
Chris Noonan Funnell August 21, 2005 Israeli National News
Chris Noonan Funnell, is a free lance writer who lives in the Boston Area.
"Nahamu, nahamu, 'ami" is a Hebrew phrase usually sung in English or German during Christian holiday chorales in America. This verse, from the fortieth chapter in the Book of Isaiah, inspired Handel's masterpiece, The Messiah: "Comfort ye, Comfort ye My people! Speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare has ended." This moving and lovely musical piece so enjoyed at Christmastime in America has apparently been falling upon deaf ears. Do we really hear the cry of God's heart for His people?
This past week, we have witnessed the forced removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. As thousands of Gaza inhabitants and supporters are evicted by Ariel Sharon's "peace plan", another trail of tears and blood stain sandy soil.
Radicalized youth, with commitment like those in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, have vowed to never leave their land. This past week, we saw them carried off in tears. It is unfortunate that resistance became ugly, and soldiers and settlers were injured. We pray the sympathetic soldiers will continue to "talk them off the ledges", because Israel needs these noble young pioneers more than ever.
Many Christians in the US hear the cries of Israel, and stand with the people of Israel who have bought, with blood, sweat and tears, this strip of land covenanted to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and most recently returned to Israeli sovereignty by the conquest of 1967. The Palestinian question is a separate issue with a different set of solutions. It is not an either/or solution, but a question of right or wrong. It is wrong to put these families off their land. Two wrongs never make a right. When will we learn?
The history of the Holy Land is complicated and few, if any, can claim to know all its implications. It does not take a Supreme Court Justice, however, to see the wrong in the recent US decision to seize private property in New London, Connecticut by eminent domain, for instance, as was decided recently. We can expect more unfair rulings here in America if we ignore our neighbor's cries - at home and abroad.
My son asked some questions seeing my concern for this Gaza expulsion. We looked at some maps in the back of a Bible and had a little geography lesson. These maps show the changes in land holdings at various times over several thousand years. He pulled out our 1965 Encyclopedia Britannica World Atlas. It has served two generations of students in our family and, ironically, will be accurate again, at least for a season.
Can a miraculous war and forty years of living on the land be undone? Can the burning and bulldozing of homes be undone? Can the trauma felt by the young - both settler and IDF - be undone?
America has participated in this sort of land grab, taking from the Natives and breaking treaties. We have tasted the bitter fruit of these crimes and seen the devastation, especially felt by the youth. The expulsion in Gaza is only to be the beginning, as lands are scheduled to be ceded in the West Bank, and the Palestinian Authority has its eye on Jerusalem and, eventually, all of Israel. Great injustice is being inflicted upon the observant Jews in Israel, with the US government's support, in the name of peace.
There is no time like the present to cry out for true peace and justice for Israel and her neighbors. This would be a great comfort to the exiles of Gaza. Martin Luther King said, on his road to peace, "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Yes, Israel, we are watching and praying with you.
This past week, we have witnessed the forced removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. As thousands of Gaza inhabitants and supporters are evicted by Ariel Sharon's "peace plan", another trail of tears and blood stain sandy soil.
Radicalized youth, with commitment like those in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, have vowed to never leave their land. This past week, we saw them carried off in tears. It is unfortunate that resistance became ugly, and soldiers and settlers were injured. We pray the sympathetic soldiers will continue to "talk them off the ledges", because Israel needs these noble young pioneers more than ever.
Many Christians in the US hear the cries of Israel, and stand with the people of Israel who have bought, with blood, sweat and tears, this strip of land covenanted to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and most recently returned to Israeli sovereignty by the conquest of 1967. The Palestinian question is a separate issue with a different set of solutions. It is not an either/or solution, but a question of right or wrong. It is wrong to put these families off their land. Two wrongs never make a right. When will we learn?
The history of the Holy Land is complicated and few, if any, can claim to know all its implications. It does not take a Supreme Court Justice, however, to see the wrong in the recent US decision to seize private property in New London, Connecticut by eminent domain, for instance, as was decided recently. We can expect more unfair rulings here in America if we ignore our neighbor's cries - at home and abroad.
My son asked some questions seeing my concern for this Gaza expulsion. We looked at some maps in the back of a Bible and had a little geography lesson. These maps show the changes in land holdings at various times over several thousand years. He pulled out our 1965 Encyclopedia Britannica World Atlas. It has served two generations of students in our family and, ironically, will be accurate again, at least for a season.
Can a miraculous war and forty years of living on the land be undone? Can the burning and bulldozing of homes be undone? Can the trauma felt by the young - both settler and IDF - be undone?
America has participated in this sort of land grab, taking from the Natives and breaking treaties. We have tasted the bitter fruit of these crimes and seen the devastation, especially felt by the youth. The expulsion in Gaza is only to be the beginning, as lands are scheduled to be ceded in the West Bank, and the Palestinian Authority has its eye on Jerusalem and, eventually, all of Israel. Great injustice is being inflicted upon the observant Jews in Israel, with the US government's support, in the name of peace.
There is no time like the present to cry out for true peace and justice for Israel and her neighbors. This would be a great comfort to the exiles of Gaza. Martin Luther King said, on his road to peace, "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Yes, Israel, we are watching and praying with you.
