By: K.J. Kruger

After the death of six million of our people, in a moment in history, in 1948, the Jewish people were granted a sliver of land in the Middle East in which to build a country.  The Arabs were also granted a land. The vision was to live side by side, in peace and prosperity.

However, the Arab countries did not accept the fledgling state, and fighting for our very existence, we triumphed, were not obliterated, and began to build.  Since the establishment of the State, (actually, even before the establishment of the State), we have been plagued by terrorist attacks and wars. There were years of bus bombings, stabbings, shootings and cars ramming into civilians at bus stops. No bus stop now is unprotected by large pillars meant to prevent a car from hitting waiting pedestrians.

Though anti-Semitism had been somewhat dormant in the years following the Holocaust, it would, occasionally rear its ugly head in various incidents in America and in Europe. Recently, however, the instances have increased.

According to the Anti- Defamation League, which fights anti Semitism, there is a growing “New Anti-Semitism” which now posits itself as “Anti-Zionism”.

In October 2018, 11 people were killed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as they were worshipping. Anti-Semitic instances are rising alarmingly which indicate something very troubling within a society. The Jews are not the only ones to suffer in the wake of these attacks. Christians and other minorities also pay a price. The elderly, the young, the handicapped, those who are, in any way, different and thereby appear to threaten the “status quo”, or the existing power structures are all victims. The Jewish people have been called, “The canary in the coal mine”. Whenever anti-Semitism rises, the non-acceptance of other minorities follows. This was true in the days of the Holocaust and is equally true today.

In the wake of the brutal atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, world opinion was one of shock and horror. This lasted until Israel retaliated, one day later.  Not only were 1,300 innocent people slaughtered on one of Judaism’s holy days, but over 250 people, including children, women and elderly were kidnapped and dragged off to Gaza, to be abused and confined. The sovereign and sacred duty of any country is to defend its citizens. This, Israel attempted to do by a military response. The response of the world was staggering. Now, instead of being accused of being Communists or Capitalists, we are accused of being Colonialists and using disproportionate responses to free our people. Anti-Israel/Pro Hamas protests have erupted in a staggering degree all over college campuses in the United States. Masked people who have no idea of the realities existing in Israel are chanting slogans calling for our destruction. Many Jewish students feel unsafe. What was once denounced as inappropriate, is now championed.

Part of this can be attributed to the sheer amount of money flowing into universities and other institutions of “higher learning” from Muslim nations. Billions of dollars have been donated to Cornell, Harvard, NYU and Georgetown Universities. Is it any wonder, therefore, that these were the institutions in which protests “spontaneously broke out”. The far left as well as the far right seem to view it as a moral imperative to denounce Israel for our simple right to exist.

How are we to understand this and furthermore, how are we to respond?

Fundamentally, we must respond spiritually. Though I am all for education and dialogue, the issue here is a misunderstanding of the role of the Jew in history and in the spiritual realm. Why have we been so hated and vilified throughout history? Why is it that “the Jew” is seen as a threat to the very fiber of society, and as vermin that must be eliminated? What is behind this inexplicable hatred? This hatred has existed for centuries throughout so many different countries and societies and is now finding voice again, in the “educated” and “civilized” within society?

To begin, God has chosen the Jewish people “to be His treasured possession” Deuteronomy 7:6. He also determined that Yeshua would come through this particular people. Many prophecies were fulfilled to bring Yeshua to His people. Genesis 12 says that God will show us the Land He had promised to us and would make us a great nation.

Additionally, there are numerous promises in the Bible indicating that our nation was to be reborn and rebuilt.

The following is one of them:

….The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess, says the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:3

Additionally, there are promises which indicate that God has chosen the Jewish people to be a “light to the nations” and to show His character. This is not because He loves us more, nor are we more worthy. It is, as is everything with God, to show us and the world His faithfulness.

In Genesis 12: 1-3, God promised to Abraham to make him a great nation, to bless him (a promise which continued to Issac and Jacob), and give them a specific piece of land forever. He said he would bless Abraham and his descendants, and all the nations of the world would be blessed through Him.

This is not to indicate that Israel is perfect, that human rights violations do not occur or that there is no room for improvement within Israeli society. In every society, as in every individual, there are areas that need to change. There are laws that do not serve the public good and there is inequality. To deny this would be inauthentic. However, the sovereign calling of the Nation of Israel is to exhibit the faithfulness of God, despite our failings and shortcomings.

Anti-Semitism, therefore, in its myriad incarnations, is fundamentally the denial of God. It is fundamentally a denial of the sovereignty of the Master of the Universe, who is the Creator. God is a promise keeper. And even when we are unfaithful to our calling, He remains faithful  (2 Timothy 2:13).

God’s design, therefore, is a “divine reversal”. In this topsy/turvey universe, far from being the one who killed God, we are the people from whom the human representation of God has been produced! Yeshua Ha Mashiah came through a Jewish woman, lived in a Jewish way and had Jewish disciples. He created no “new religion”. Rather, he displayed the love of God in human form.

The existence of the Jewish people today shows the very existence of the God who created the Universe. Because He exists, we exist. And because He is eternal, so, therefore, are we.

To understand this important truth, is to stand firm on a solid rock and not to be swayed by the winds and storms of voices calling for our destruction. These voices are a well-orchestrated and well-funded long-term plan to undermine the very existence of our Nation and thus prove God to be a liar.   May God continue to give us clarity, strength and resolve, in these turbulent days.