“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8).
If, by the grace of God, you have lived nearly 100 years (94 to be exact), despite having survived Holocaust murders in your family, you have, unsurprisingly, experienced many important events. Some people will say, “That’s how it was in the old days, it’s unimportant to us,” while others see your knowledge as valuable and life-forming. Both groups are right. From my teenage years, for example, I remember the reprehensible slogans: “Not for Jews,” “Jews prohibited!” and “Jews out!”
Is it different internationally today? I’ll mention just a couple cases. At the Munich Olympics in 1972, 11 Israelis were killed. At the Paris Olympics in 2024, there was immense opposition to Israel’s participation. It is a clear international case of “Jews prohibited!”
Israel and Jews around the world have been subjected to denunciations for decades. Friendly states have typically warned Israel against defending itself. They have partially or completely stopped supplying Israel with defensive weapons and ammunition. This includes Canada, United Kingdom, USA and several European states.
The invasion by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, resulted in countless atrocities, 1,200 murders, hundreds of kidnappings of children and elderly, and hundreds of rocket attacks on civilian areas daily. Israel’s death toll continued to mount. It was a war against the Jewish state. The world initially saw Israel’s self-defense as justified. Soon, however, it was declared that the Israelis were defeating too many of their enemies. So when it comes to the right of defense, it is simply “Not for Jews.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress on July 24, 2024. Outside, thousands of demonstrators, bussed in from hundreds of miles away, turned up to denounce Israel. They made no secret of the fact that they supported the actions of Hamas and opposed Israel’s existence. Here too, “Not for Jews!”
The news media have completely distorted the events. I spoke on the phone with a woman from northern Germany. After a few words of greeting, she asked abruptly, “What are those Israelis trying to get away with?” I knew the sources of her news. Many spread the lie that the Jews are committing genocide (extermination) against the Palestinians. It should, in fact, be known that Israel’s defense forces are more concerned about protecting the civilian population than any other army in the world. I am reminded of the Israeli pilot who, during his approach on a targeted building, observed a number of civilians on the roof. At the last moment, he aborted that attack, thus saving their lives.
Our enemies launch their rockets from schools, hospitals and apartment buildings, aimed at civilian centers in Israel, in order to kill as many Jews as possible. But it is the Jews, ironically, and their land Israel, that supply our enemies with life-giving drinking water and electricity. We are for life and not for death.