Whatever you believe about the people of Israel, nothing can justify what happened on October 7. See the film Screams Before Silence.
Before listening to what some Jews have to say about the most famous Jew of all time, I think it is important to hear what one of the captives has to say about her experience in Gaza.
Christians should call out antisemitism whether its source be Christian or Islamic (see Antisemitism in the Church and Christian-Muslim Relations: Implications for Jews and Israel).1
Because many Christians are opposing antisemitism, God is removing the wall of hostility between the Church and the Jewish people. (See the Bible Project’s Does the Church Supersede Israel?, the article ‘Tertium Genus or Dyadic Unity? Investigating Sociopolitical Salvation in Ephesians’ and Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death by Andrew R Rillera.)
If a Jew starts following Yeshua, should they observe the laws of Moses?
‘When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law....’ (Acts 21:17-24)
“Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.”2
“It needs a clean heart to have pure hands, all the power of a live soul to keep the law—a power of life, not of struggle; the strength of love, not the effort of duty.” ~ George MacDonald
If you are a Jew, what do you think would have happened if after Jesus was crucified, the Jewish leaders realised that they had asked the Romans to put an innocent man to death, repented of that sin, embraced Jesus' teaching, and encouraged the Jewish people to treat the Roman occupiers kindly? Do you think Rome would have destroyed Jerusalem in 70A.D.? Unfortunately, the Jewish religious leaders—thinking they were righteous—did not want to be saved from their sins. They only wanted to be saved from the Romans. (See Why Don't Jews Believe in Jesus: A Jewish-Christian Unfolds the Great Mystery by Eitan Bar.)
But don't the rabbis say that the Messiah will be a political leader? Many do. And yes he will be. When he returns, he will rule the world from Jerusalem. Who did Jesus say he was?
Israelis must listen to the Palestinians!
Why the GERMANS (and Europeans) don’t understand the Arab-Israeli conflict
'If Israel had genocidal intent...'
Israel persecuted at The Hague. Why the nations rage against Israel
The Nakba (I’m famous! But also wrong?)
The REAL Reason The World is Obsessed With Israel
Turn the Other Cheek? Is Pacifism Right?
Lecture I – Understanding Israel Biblically
EXPOSING HAMAS: The Religion Beneath The Violence
Arab Muslim Speaks About Her Life in Israel
Does Israel Occupy the West Bank?
Why Trading Land For Peace Is Destroying Israel | Thomas Sowell
A Prize for Genocide | Our Middle East
Kanye West, Antisemitism, and Candace Owens
Why You Should Care About Passover
Purim and the Cross of Mordecai
Pentecost special! - The Harvest of the Feast of Weeks
Why is Israel so Wealthy? (For a detailed look at why Jews have been so successful economically, see Wealth, Poverty and Politics by Thomas Sowell.)
Why has America pursued such disastrous policies in the Middle East? See About Bernard Lewis
1. For a good example of a Christian calling out antisemitism in the Islamic world see Raymond Ibrahim's video (YouTube) "How Muslims Exploit the Bible to Justify Hate for Christians & Jews."
2. Jews and gentiles should both be free to follow their customs and laws. God wants a Church where Jews and Gentiles respect, love, and honour each other. For an in-depth look at how gentile believers should view Torah observant Jewish believers see ‘Tertium Genus or Dyadic Unity? Investigating Sociopolitical Salvation in Ephesians’ by Andrew R Rillera. See also “The Hope and the Jews” in The One Purpose of God by Jan Bonda. Much of the antisemitism in the Church has been driven by a misunderstanding of the relationship between Jewish and gentile customs within the Church (see ‘Tertium Genus or Dyadic Unity? Investigating Sociopolitical Salvation in Ephesians’ by Andrew R Rillera).
Paul observed the laws of Moses and encouraged Jewish believers to live in obedience to the Torah, but he knew that no one could be justified before God through simply trying to keep those laws. (See here and here. And even though gentiles are not bound by the Torah, we can learn much from those laws; which is not such a bad idea, considering that western society has gone so astray. See here. See also By This Standard by Greg L. Bahnsen and The Quest for Cosmic Justice by Thomas Sowell.) Christians can learn much from the Jews. See here. See also The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy by Dennis Prager.
According to the Rabbis, who is the Messiah?