Five home truths on Israel and the Jews

Some brief considerations on this contentious and controversial issue:
My main beef is this: The number of people claiming to be Christians and conservatives who incessantly spew their hatred of Jews and Israel is utterly shocking to behold.

Their ugly antisemitism is on full display, whether or not they try to cloak it under theological jargon and the like. So I offer five short points about how we might navigate all this:

One. Consider the common traits of the ‘true believers’. What do we find in common with the following groups?

• Angry atheists
• Gung-ho climate alarmists
• Those with ugly Trump Derangement Syndrome
• Those with ugly Israel Derangement Syndrome
• Woke wonders and radical progressives

They all have their minds made up (and/or closed) and will not consider any evidence and facts to the contrary. You cannot easily reason with them, as they tend to run on hate and bitterness, so you can only pray for them in most cases. I have had so many of these folks just unfriend me or block me on the social media – including those who claim to be Christians. One recently even got mad at me when I said I would keep her in prayer. She said she did not want my prayer and she blocked me!

Two. How often do you hear these folks exclaim, ‘We are not Jew-haters; We are not antisemites’?

Um, when they:

• Refuse to condemn the satanic assault by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023;
• Refuse to recognise that Israel has a right to exist like every other nation;
• Refuse to recognise that Israel has a right to defend itself like every other nation;
• Refuse to condemn jihadists and Islamist terrorists;
• Refuse to ever condemn the actions of all the hostile Arab/Muslim nations surrounding Israel;
• Refuse to ever acknowledge that Israel is the only pluralistic, democratic nation in the Middle East;
• Refuse to acknowledge ANYTHING good that Israel has ever done;
• Blame Israel and Jews for all the evils in the world;
• Rehash all the lies and propaganda that have been refuted time and time again;

Then guess what? They ARE Jew-haters, Israelophobes and antisemites.

Three. To see how unhinged all this is, and why it cannot be countenanced, just imagine if people treated you in just the same way they treat Israel and the Jews:

• They forever criticise and find fault with you.
• They refuse to admit that you might have some good points.
• Their continuous demonisation of you simply intensifies hatred of you by others.
• So strong is their animus against you that they are happy to lie about you and bear false witness against you.
• Would you still consider them to be your friends if that is how they always treated you?

When I find so-called Christians and conservatives treating Jews and Israel in this way, I do not consider them to be reasonable, sensible and moral sparring partners, but just haters who have serious issues.

Four. As to theology, eschatology and Scripture:

• One can have differing views on these matters. There are legitimate areas of disagreement when it comes to how we might understand Israel, the Church, and their relationship.
• One can even believe that there is no longer a place for ethnic Israel in the purposes of God and still not hate on Jews and Israel.
• But too often one’s pet theology CAN cover a multitude of sins when it comes to this irrational dislike of Jews and Israel.
• Although the two are related, one can make a completely secular case as to why Israel has a right to exist and defend itself without exploring all the biblical and theological issues.
• That is, one can leave to one side the various eschatological and theological debates, and still come out with a rational and moral case for supporting Israel over against those who are seeking to wipe it out.

Five. A good part of the secular case for standing up for Israel would involve these various factors:

• Israel is a tiny country (the size of New Jersey) consisting of just 22,000 square kilometres, or 8,600 square miles.
• It has a population of just 9.8 million people, of which 7.2 million are Jewish.
• All up there are some 15.7 million Jews living in the world, with most in America and Israel.
• Jews comprise just 0.2 per cent of the global population of 8 billion people.
• Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab League nations, with some 473 million people, and so many of these nations have made it clear that they want to see it wiped off the earth.
• All up there are some 50 Muslim-majority nations in the world, totalling almost 2 billion people.
• There is just one Jewish state.
• The Islamists not only want to destroy Israel, but they want every Jew in the world killed as well. And then they want to go after Christians: “After Saturday comes Sunday”.
• It is completely monstrous and idiotic to claim that Israel cannot exist and defend itself in such a situation.

Needless to say, these brief remarks all need to be buttressed by much more in-depth and detailed explanations. And as I have so often said, tiny little comment boxes in the social media are NOT ideal for dealing with complex and difficult issues that need to be carefully discussed and debated.

That in part is why I have 139 articles in the “Israel and the Middle East” section of my website, and 654 pieces in my “Islam” section. It is there that fuller documentation and argumentation for my views can be found. I don’t expect folks to read them all of course, but if they are even somewhat serious about getting another point of view, they might want to check out some of those articles.

In sum, there have always been serious divides among those in both the conservative camp and the Christian camp. How one views Israel and the Jews is certainly one of those major issues. As noted, one can have differing views about how to think about the Jewish people and the modern state of Israel.

But far too many folks simply make clear their ugly and senseless hatred of both. I for one cannot really claim them as friends. And whether they like it or not, I WILL keep praying for them. One thing we ALL need here – and in other areas – is humility and a teachable spirit.

May we all seek the full measure of those spiritual goods as we think about and discuss these weighty matters and debate these contentious issues.

Bill Muehlenberg teaches ethics, apologetics and theology at several Melbourne Bible Colleges. His independent blog, Culture Watch, has over 5,000 articles commenting on the major cultural, social and political issues of the day.