Forgot

I guess I'm a giant idiot. I forgot to tell everyone that June 2 was Jerusalem Day. It's the day when Jews celebrate the 1967 reunification of Jerusalem, much of which had been off-limits to Jews since the 1948 attack by Israel's relentless, savage, and unprincipled enemies. I assume the date is solar, not lunar.

I'm not sure why they celebrate, since they give back every piece of God-given land their enemies force them to conquer. They gave much of Jerusalem back. Sooner or later, though, the world will have a better Jerusalem Day to celebrate, because the entire Holy City will be controlled by the Jews. And so will Israel--the real Israel, not the little sliver we call "Israel" today. And it will stay that way.

In a related matter, Ed Koch reveals a mind worthy of a good yeshiva, as he explains why it is stupid and completely backward to accuse John Hagee of anti-Semitism.

Hagee thinks God played a part in the Holocaust. Perhaps he's wrong. But either way, why do people get upset every time a preacher says God may have been involved in something resembling punishment?

Read the Bible before you react without thinking. The Babylonian captivity, the Egyptian captivity, the siege of Jerusalem, numerous failures in battle, famine and plagues in Egypt...the Bible says God caused or allowed these things. Where is it written that He has changed?

And before you claim that ended with the Old Testament, ask yourself when the last temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and who predicted it.

Hagee thinks the Holocaust ultimately had a purpose. Is it somehow better to believe it was absolutely meaningless?

One of the big tactics enemies of religion use is the denial that God could do or consciously allow anything that would cause anyone pain. One goal: it helps them deny that sin exists. It excuses all human behavior and contributes to touchy-feely moral relativism. And the worst thing is, many issue this denial from pulpits, while claiming to be Christians.

I don't think Hagee claims the Holocaust was punishment. But I think people are trying to twist his words and make it look as if he were blaming the Jews for their pain. Not all misfortune is punishment. I'm sure John Hagee knows that. The Egyptian exile was not a punishment, for example.

It irritates me, seeing people try to drive a wedge between Jews and their most powerful allies, American conservative Christians. But it doesn't surprise me. To the enemy, we are a dangerous combination. The slanders tend to suggest that the threat has been recognized.

If only more Jews understood. I still can't believe there are American Jews who think the anti-Semitic left will protect them from the Israel-loving right.