"Anti-Semitism is not simply a pernicious evil of hate and intolerance, nor simply a threat to the Jewish people as a whole and to the State of Israel in particular. The greater danger, as expressed so succinctly by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is that 'Those who would hate and destroy the Jewish people would ultimately hate and destroy the rest of us as well.'"
Michael Curtis, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, January 30, 2015
Last Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the American Congress. In his address, he urged the United States government not to negotiate with Iran on that country's nuclear capability. Netanyahu disagrees with U.S. President Obama that negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran will prevent them from building a nuclear arsenal. In fact, Netanyahu said it will only fast track Iran in building its bomb. President Obama's administration believes it can achieve a measure of peace in the region by striking a deal with Iran by getting the country to agree to sidelining its nuclear ambitions in exchange for an easing of sanctions. The temptation is strong. Who doesn't want long-lasting peace? However, it is a pipe-dream. Peace is not possible when one of the players has a deep-seated and fevered hatred of another player, meaning Iran's hatred of Israel.
In the fable of the frog and the scorpion, the latter approached the former with a request. The scorpion needed to cross a river but couldn't swim. The frog could swim so the scorpion asked if he could cross the river on the frog's back. The frog asked why he would place himself in such a vulnerable position since the scorpion might sting him half way across the river causing the both of them to drown. The scorpion replied that he wouldn't do that because he would only be hurting himself. This seemed reasonable to the frog so the two of them set out across the river, the frog swimming deftly with the scorpion on its back. Sure enough, half way across, the scorpion stung the frog and both began to sink to their deaths. Just before going under, the frog asked why the scorpion did it. The scorpion replied, "I can't help it. It's my nature."
There is no negotiating with inherent viciousness, and anti-Semitism is just that - irrational, inherent and ultimately self-detrimental viciousness. Benjamin Netanyahu knows this while Barack Obama, I fear, has yet to learn it.
In his address, Netanyahu stated that while the U.S. seeks security for its country, Israel seeks its very survival. It is a country with many enemies and despite its ingenuity in self-preservation, Israel needs an ally like the U.S. The question is "Why do so many people hate Jews?" I don't know. There are many theories out there like they are successful in the business world which causes jealousy among the not-so-successful. However, there are poor Jews as well as rich Jews just like in any other people group. I've heard it said among religious circles it's because they are God's chosen people and that raises the ire of non-Jews. Perhaps it's because the Jews gave the 10 Commandments to the world and in a world that hates God, His people become the target. Personally, I think the conflict between Isaac and Ishmael, both Abraham's sons, is still going on, unresolved, and Isaac's stability and legitimacy is despised even today in Ishmael's descendants. Other opinions are welcome on that.
Religion is man's attempt to reach God and there's no religion more dedicated to that than Islam. Islam is the extension of the cry of Ishmael's heart, rejected and deeply wounded centuries earlier (see Genesis 21:8-21). When dealing with real or perceived rejection, people adopt attitudes and coping mechanisms that are mostly unbeneficial. Bitterness takes over causing strife with everyone. This is why Muslims have just as much conflict among themselves as they do with the Jews and the rest of the world. The Lord foretold this in Genesis 16:11-12.
In his book The Haj, bestselling author Leon Uris wrote the following narrative of a young boy named, perhaps not coincidentally, Ishmael. "Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel."
Life is about relationships. People were made for them and they have always mattered. And we pay a terrible price when we live as though they don't.
"You were made by God and you were made for God; until you understand that, your life is never going to make sense." Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church.
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