March 2024
Dear Friend of Israel,
In 1964, US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously remarked, while struggling to strictly define the term “obscenity” in a landmark Supreme Court ruling, “I know it when I see it.” This very phrase espoused by Justice Stewart encapsulates the difficulty often encountered when attempting to delineate certain issues that are so blatantly problematic. You find yourself at a loss explaining how something is so obviously bad, yet you instinctively “know it” and “see it” as such. Many of us, me included, are experiencing this very phenomenon today. Over the last few months, you and I have seen countless instances in which antisemitism has clouded itself under the veneer of “antizionism.” Yet we see antizionism for what it truly is. And most recently, some in the international community are using October 7th and its aftermath as an opportunity to impose a “two-state solution.”
Throughout history, the specific motives driving anti-Semites have alternated from one generation to the next. When the Seleucid Greeks sought to expunge Judaism, they were primarily fueled by clashes over religion. In more recent centuries, political and economic factors associated with the status of Jews in society played much larger roles. Most abominably and gruesomely, Nazi Germany utilized pseudoscience to justify the worst forms of persecution. The very nature of anti-Semitism often makes it difficult to pinpoint its exact origins or motivations. Yet, its presence is tragically undeniable even today.
The lessons we all should have gleaned from antisemitism throughout history are most pressing regarding the latest push for a “two state solution.” How can those who, on October 7th, launched the most devastating attack against the People of Israel since the Holocaust be rewarded with the “prize” of a Palestinian state? You and I may very well see and know, now more than ever, the extent to which our enemies will seek to carry on the bitter torch of anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, far too many in the west still fail to grasp that no truly peaceful “solution” can come with unacceptable and unreasonable preconditions demanded on the People of Israel such as the “right of return” for Palestinians, the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Judea and Samaria and the existence of a militarized Palestinian state in the Biblical Heartland. As we speak, the IDF continues its campaign to fully neutralize Hamas’ underground terror tunnel network in Gaza that spans hundreds of miles. How, in retrospect to everything that has happened in Gaza since we left in 2005 could the People of Israel ever be expected to leave the Biblical Heartland?
Recent developments compel a call to action for all Christian friends of the People of Israel and the Biblical Heartland. History serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of staying silent whenever antisemitism surfaces. We all know what antisemitism is whenever we see it. Let us work together to stop all unjust and unwarranted demands on the People of Israel and the Biblical Heartland.
Shalom,
Shmuel Junger
Director
Christian Friends of Israeli Communities
P.S. , the holiday of Passover is fast approaching! We need your help to give food vouchers to families in need and to help provide Passover camps to children with disabilities. Your support is greatly appreciated and makes a difference in so many lives. Thank you for standing with Israel.
P.P.S. Please note that our office number has changed! The 800 number is no longer in service. You can always reach us (the American office) at the regular office number: 719-683-2041.
