The Peace Activist Oxymoron

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The Peace Activist Oxymoron

Israel - Middle East
Friday, June 27, 2014
Alf Cengia

''Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.''

As the saying goes - I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard or read that. In context of this column, I've lost count how many times I've seen Matt 5:9 cited by Christian critics of Israel. Then there are the obsessive Israel stalkers who identify themselves as Peace Activists.

These people are inclined to see themselves as quintessential opposites to Christian Zionism. They understand their roles as a necessary balancing power to the evils of Zionism. Their mission statements typically center on championing justice, human rights and dignity.

According to vicar Stephen Sizer; the "new heresy" that is Christian Zionism may be defined as such:

Quote :: 'Christian Zionism is essentially Christian support for Zionism. Zionism is a political system based on ethnic exclusivity giving Jews preferential political rights which are denied to Palestinians. The United Nations has defined Zionism as a form of racism and apartheid. Nevertheless, in the words of Grace Halsell the essential message of the Christian Zionist is this: “every act taken by Israel is orchestrated by God, and should be condoned, supported, and even praised by the rest of us.”'

In other words the peace activists are on a mission from God to correct the Zionist heresy.

No offense to Halsell (or hyper-Calvinists for that matter) but Christian Zionists generally do not believe that every action taken by anyone (including Israel) is orchestrated or sanctioned by God. And let's not get into that Free Will versus God's sovereignty thingy.

These critics intentionally cherry pick erroneous statements made by misguided fringe Christian Zionists. I once suspected that this was an honest mistake caused by squeaky wheel syndrome. Some popular Zionist supporters have made unhelpful statements. One might conceivably believe these to be representative of the movement.

I no longer believe that this is the case. These detractors know exactly what they're doing. They consciously avoid interacting with the sober elements of the Christian Zionist movement so that they can continue attacking it and, subsequently, Israel. They are just as political as their Christian Zionist antagonists allegedly are (BDS movement).

Furthermore, many of them are acutely aware of what the Bible teaches about Israel and have devised justifications for rejecting it (Sizer, Burge, and Chapman et al).

Is Israel squeaky clean? Is everything they do, or have ever done, above question? Nope. No nation stands up to the close scrutiny applied to Israel, least of all Israel's neighbors.

If that's the case, why do thy focus solely on Israel? Why do these peace activists typically ignore the suffering of Christians around the world and under the Palestinian regimes?

Let's call a spade a spade. These self-identified peace activists are willful agitators who stalk Israel. You might even call them Anti-Israel Paparazzi. Christian suffering largely falls outside their radar screen. It doesn't matter as much in their grand scheme of things.

When three Israeli teens were kidnapped recently, two Christian activists shared the following tweet:

Quote :: "The abduction of three yeshiva students in the West Bank last Thursday was ordered in advance - by Israel."

The tweet was shared by Sizer who, in turn, received it via Alice Bach. There was no formal evidence submitted. It was an unfounded proclamation accusing Israel of willful agitation.

As it turns out, a cursory glance of self-described Christian Bach's Electronic Intifada reveals where her focus lies. Moreover, biblical authority is not one of her strong points. In fact her notoriety has not escaped the attention of Case Western University Campus Colleagues who have called her out on her bias.

In another recent incident, pro-Zionist Christian writer Brian Schrauger was paid a visit by the Palestinian Authority and told to leave the city "in no uncertain terms." According to Schrauger:

Quote :: “It was innuendo, a thinly veiled threat, all done with impeccable politeness. Afterwards, I talked to several very knowledgeable people and they all said, ‘You need to leave.’”

However he received little compassion from Sizer who tweeted: "...did you enjoy Palestinian hospitality?" Presumably Sizer is aware of the nature of PA hospitality and saw no need to correct it.

Assiduous Christian blogger, Richard Edmonson, calls himself a journalist, poet, novelist, and peace activist. His work is exclusively dedicated to finding fault with the Jew and Israel while ignoring atrocities perpetuated in the name of Islam.
Edmonson recently griped about the possibility of the construction of a Jewish Temple, implying that such a thing would be anAbomination:

Quote :: 'Should Jews succeed in getting their temple built, then perhaps, rather than “the Holy Land,” we might more appropriately begin referring to it as the un-Holy Land.'

That sheer, myopic irony is reminiscent of Barbara Rossing's fawning over the beauty of the Mosque which stands on the Temple Mount today (The Rapture Exposed page 59). That Mosque carries inscriptions denying Jesus Christ. If a Jewish Temple is to be considered an abomination, in what sense is The Dome of the Rock not to be similarly considered? The answer must be that it's not Jewish.

How does that axiom go again? "Blessed are the peace makers....."

Not all critics are spiteful antagonists. Some may simply be gullible.

Jim Fletcher relates the example of Elisabeth Elliot whose husband was tragically murdered by a tribe in Ecuador. Elliot had visited Jerusalem after the Six day War and admitted in her book that Israel's prophetic significance had been "obscure" to her.

Fletcher observes that she eventually sided more with the Palestinian view and that her visits were dominated by conversations with Arabs. In response to Zionist elation in Israel's war victory she said:

Quote :: “I wanted to know whether Israel was on God’s side. Was Israel really for Him?”

Shouldn't we also ask whether Israel's attackers are on God's side? Do they have a God-given claim to the land if we use Human Rights as a criterion?

As Jim Fletcher correctly notes, people like Elliot fall into the trap of thinking that Israel has to get its house in order before establishing a state. In fact Ezekiel 37 and Hosea 5:15 reveal the opposite process is true.

Charles Feinberg wrote on anti-Semitism:

Quote :: What, then, is the true and only cause? In a word, it is Satan. The solution is to be found in Revelation 12. Satan hates the nation through whom has come so much blessing to the world, especially the Savior. First, the dragon is incensed against the child of the woman (Jesus Christ), then he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed, Israel. Moreover, when Satan is angry against Israel, it always culminates in defiance against the Lord Jesus Christ. The two are inseparable. ~ The Cause of Anti-Semitism

Some Israel critics may well be gullible. As I grow older writing this column I believe Feinberg nailed the problem of anti-Semitism; protests notwithstanding.

Christian Peace Activists will claim that criticism of Israel does not correlate to anti-Semitism. These are the very people who forge careers of exclusively stalking Israel while ignoring the suffering of brothers and sisters under Islam.

They may have deluded themselves and their readers.

But they haven't fooled the God they claim to serve.

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