Can Israel Survive

This may seem like a no brainer.  Of course, Israel will survive.  God promised to return the Jewish people to their homeland.  The prophet Amos specifically says, “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God.”  Yet, many Israelis ask the question above, “Can Israel survive?”  Israel faces three looming threats, one external and two internal.  The external is the most obvious. 

Not since the founding of the modern state in 1948 has Israel been surrounded by such sworn enemies.  Lebanon to her immediate north is now controlled by the terrorist organization, Hezbollah. The last confrontation between these two failed to produce a clear winner, resulting in a huge morale boost for Hezbollah.  To Israel’s southwest is Gaza, controlled by another terrorist organization, Hamas.  Both Hezbollah and Hamas have been supplied serious rocket technology from Iran, and as such, are essentially proxy states for this budding regional power.   One of the nations that kept Iran at bay was Egypt, the first and most important Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel.  However, the fall of the Mubarak regime has caused Israel great consternation.  While Mubarak was no friend of democracy for his own nation, he was a credible peace partner with Israel and assisted in preventing the transfer of weapons to Hamas through the Sinai Peninsula.  While it’s unclear what Egypt’s government will look like in the future, most Israelis fear the turn to the worse.  Clearly, the current Egyptian government has loosened restrictions into Gaza.  Finally, no one knows what will happen when the United Nations takes up the Palestinian state cause in late September.  The United States openly has said it will veto a declaration of Palestinian statehood within the Security Council.  Yet, how will a favorable vote from the UN General Assembly impact the state of affairs?  No one really knows, but again Israel fears the worst. 

The second threat to Israel relates to demographics.  When Israel was established, it was formed as a safe haven for Jews.  The Holocaust convinced much of the world that Jews needed their own homeland.  Israel is a democracy, and as such anyone born in Israel is a citizen.  Approximately, 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab. The Arab birthrate far exceeds that of Jews.  In addition, Israel currently controls lands, such as the West Bank, consisting of millions of Arabs.  Israel seeks to maintain a significant majority of Jews in her own homeland.  If she were to lose that majority, Israel, as a nation whose primary purpose is to safeguard the Jewish people, will cease to exist.  Thus, most Israelis are willing to trade substantial portions of the West Bank for peace with the Palestinians and the surrounding Arab nations.  But one issue remains a game changer, the so-called “right of return.”  The Palestinians claim that Arabs who fled or were forced out of Israel during the 1948-49 war should have the right to return to their own lands.  The lands the Palestinians speak of are not lands that would be incorporated into a new Palestinian state but rather into Israel proper.  Furthermore, the Palestinians insist that this “right” be applied to the descendants of those who owned these lands, now numbering in the millions.  If this concept were realized, suddenly Israel would become a Jewish minority state. 

The final threat to Israel is the religious/secular divide. Between 20-25% of Israelis belong to ultra-Orthodox sects. While their commitment to keep God’s laws (Torah) is commendable, the reality is these groups are anti-democratic, intolerant of anyone outside of their communities and many do not even support the existence of the modern state of Israel.  Most refuse to serve in the military, yet happily receive significant government stipends to their schools.  The vast majority of Israelis find these groups’ behavior appalling, but the ultra-orthodox gain strength through high rates of birth, unlike the rest of the population.  The ultra-orthodox already hold a disproportionate share of power in the government. Because Israel’s parliament (Knesset) consists of so many parties, rarely does any one party have sufficient members to control the government. Consequently, Israel’s government is formed by a coalition of parties. Typically, the ultra-Orthodox are included in the coalition. Because their interests tend to be narrow, they vie for control over immigration, education and religious affairs and are usually rewarded by being given responsibility over these areas.  Thus, millions of dollars of limited government funds are channeled into religious schools where most students focus on ancient religious texts rather than subjects needed to benefit society as a whole.  Sadly, in much of Israel today, when the ultra-orthodox move into a new community, others leave.  Additionally, these groups are the most vociferous opponents of Messianic Jews, often leading to personal violence, destruction of property, loss of jobs and homes and targeting Messianic Jews through posters claiming that Messianic Jews will finish what Hitler began.  Many Israelis are disillusioned about the country’s future with a growing ultra-Orthodox population.

Countering this grim state of affairs is the remarkable friendships Israel has found in the Christian world, helping to undo the long history of Christian anti-Semitism. Israel’s economy has been energized by extraordinarily high rates of Christian tourism in the past few years. Christian political support of Israel has caught the attention of Israeli governments, who, in response, have formed special government outreach groups to Christian leaders, particularly in the United States. Yet, there’s one critical group often ignored, to which the Bible suggests Israel’s very survival hinges upon, i.e., Messianic Jews.  The Apostle Paul refers to this group as the saved remnant of Israel (Rom. 11:5). The idea of a remnant of faithful people causing God’s blessing upon the larger community is embedded in the Scriptures and finds expression in the dialogue between God and Abraham regarding the future of Sodom and Gomorrah.  God promises to save the cities if even 10 righteous people are found.  Joseph tells his brothers who banished him years before, “But God has sent me a head of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth…” (Gen. 45:7)  During a crisis the prophet Isaiah declares to King Hezekiah, “Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.” (II Kings 19:30)  Isaiah also prophesies, “A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the mighty God.” (Isaiah 10:21) God’s righteous remnant in the land of Israel today are those Jews who call on the name of Yeshua (Jesus), numbering approximately 15,000 and who worship in about 150 congregations.

Yet, most Christians are completely unaware of these groups. Well meaning Christians, who have a God given burden for Israel, donate millions of dollars to popular Christian and Jewish organizations that channel money into secular and/or Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel, completely circumventing the Messianic Jewish groups in the land. Many Messianic Jewish organizations in Israel provide for the poor and needy, Holocaust survivors, drug and alcohol addicts, women with unwanted pregnancies and even sponsor reconciliation dialogues with the Arab community.  If these groups could receive the very same donations that Christians already give to Israel, Israeli society would be revolutionized, the Messianic Jewish community in the land recognized and Israel’s survival preserved. 

A few years ago, a few of us in the Messianic Jewish community formed an organization that would accomplish the above – the Hope for Israel Relief Fund. We have built strong relationships with and have funded numerous Israeli Messianic Jewish organizations.  Check us out on the web – www.hfirelieffund.org.   Israel needs you in these perilous days.  We need you to consider channeling money through us to benefit the righteous remnant in the land.  Israel’s survival may depend upon it.

Jamie Cowen 2012

Chanukah and the Modern State of Israel

            Despite the fact that Chanukah (the Festival of Lights) is considered a minor holiday in Jewish tradition, it’s possibly the most significant Biblical holiday to the modern state of Israel.  The Maccabean victory over the Greeks in 164 BCE, celebrated by Chanukah holiday, ushered in a 100 year period of independence for the nation of Israel.  This period ended with the Roman conquest in 63 BCE.  Independence was not realized again until the recent 1948.  Regardless, large Jewish populations remained in Israel through the 3rd century CE and occasionally rebelled against the Roman occupation, most notably in 66-70 and 131-135, but each time ending in significant defeat.  Following these periods Jews migrated to the four corners of the earth, unified only by religion and traditions, maintained by the Rabbis.  Because Jews lived at the mercy of national rulers, through the Rabbis, Jews utilized the principle of appeasement to protect their communities.  This often meant paying huge sums to rulers, moving from territories, accepting severe restrictions upon lifestyles and occupations to simply survive.  Ironically, modern Israel, the nation of Jews, presents a very different face of Judaism, better expressed through the Chanukah rebellion. 

            Jews remained as cloistered communities until the 18th century with the rise of the Enlightenment in Europe.  For the first time Jews were allowed to become citizens of the nations in which they resided.  As they did the principles of the Enlightenment began to influence Jewish religious thought, permitting Jews to assimilate into larger society while they maintained certain limited religious observances unique to their faith.  This allowed Jews of Western and Central Europe to flourish in the rapidly changing societies.  Eastern Europe, however, was still locked in by the medieval Russian Empire where most Jews lived.  But the Enlightenment ideas infiltrated some of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe.  This occurred simultaneous to the rise of Socialist ideas in Russia in the mid to late 19th century.  While Jews were experiencing increasing freedom and prosperity in Western Europe, the Jews of Eastern Europe were heavily discriminated against.  Some of these Jews began to write about the need to find a permanent national home, and the most likely place was Palestine (Israel). 

            In the late 19th century as persecution increased in the Russian Empire, some “enlightened” Jews from Russia immigrated to Palestine.  The community grew from 25,000 in 1881 to 100,000 by 1920, later leading to the establishment of the modern nation.  Most of these Jews were unique.  They tended to be secular.  Why?  The ultra-religious Jews of Eastern Europe believed only the coming of the Messiah would usher in the return of the Jews to the promised land, and thus most refused to come.  In Western Europe, where Judaism was more moderate, most Jews were finding success in assimilating into Western culture and had no desire to relocate to a more primitive land.  The only group taking advantage of the settlement of Palestine were the “enlightened” Jews of Eastern Europe, influenced by secularism and socialism.  They rejected many of the values of the rabbis, and saw themselves as direct descendants of the Maccabees of the Chanukah era.  These groups valued nationalism, military training, land development and practical skills, most of which were absent from Jewish history following Jewish dispersion to the nations in the early centuries.  Consequently, today in Israel, most Israelis are secular and have little use for the rabbinic traditions developed during the time of Jewish dispersion around the world.

            However, that doesn’t mean the Jews of Israel are not spiritual.  Many, especially the young, search for deeper meaning beyond a national identity.  But for many rabbinic values seem irrelevant and defeatist.  Interestingly, Messianic Judaism (Jews who believe in Jesus while maintaining Jewish identity), which is growing quickly in Israel, is a faith that essentially disappeared when Jews were forcibly relocated in the first two centuries of the common era.  Hence, while Messianic Judaism is still intertwined in the minds of most Israelis with the history of Christian Anti-Semitism, it is a unique form of Judaism, not directly connected to the traditions of the Rabbis, but more in line with the Judaism of the Maccabees - a form of Judaism reflecting both a national and messianic hope.  As Christians continue to show support for Israel and the Jewish people, the barrier of prejudice against Jesus diminishes among Israelis, opening them to a more Chanukah version of Judaism - the Judaism of Jesus or Messianic Judaism.  

Jamie Cowen

Chanukah and Messianic Jews

I was recently asked by a newspaper reporter how Messianic Jews celebrate Chanukah.  In one sense it’s a curious question because there are many different branches of Judaism and rarely would any individual branch be asked that type of question.  On the other hand, since Messianic Judaism is a relatively new phenomenon (40 years in the making) and it’s a controversial movement, especially within Judaism, the question is understandable.  The short answer is, by and large, we celebrate Chanukah in the same manner and for the same reasons that other Jews celebrate it.  The festival remembers the retaking and cleansing of the 2nd Temple in 165 BCE from the Greeks.  As tradition explains, after the retaking of the Temple, only a small cruse of oil was found to maintain the eternal light, but miraculously it lasted for eight days until a new batch was concocted.  Consequently, a special eight candled menorah (chanukiah) was designed to remember the eight days the oil lasted.  More importantly, the original event marks another unsuccessful  attempt to stamp out the Jewish people and their practices. 

Yet, Messianic Jews do celebrate the days somewhat differently.  Remember, Yeshua (Jesus) was Jewish, and he celebrated all of the Jewish holidays, including Chanukah (John 10:22). In fact, Yeshua often connected the various festivals to himself.  Therefore, when Messianic Jews celebrate the holidays we typically point out Yeshua’s relationship to the particular holiday.  In this case, we use the practice of lighting the Chanukah candles to emphasize Yeshua’s role in our lives.  Traditionally, one takes the candle that is segregated from the others, called the Shamash or servant candle, lights it first and then uses it to light the others.  We do the same, but we also suggest that Yeshua is the Shamash candle, which is lit first.  Then he lights the other candles, so the candles not only represent each of the days of Chanukah but they also represent us.  So, in a sense, Yeshua lights us in order for us to be lights to the world, as he commanded. 

Jamie Cowen