Levitt Letter Extra News

By Joe McCain (brother of U.S. Senator John McCain)

There is a lot of worry popping up in the media just now — “Can Israel Survive?” Don’t worry about it. It relates to something that Palestinians, the Arabs, and perhaps most Americans don’t realize — the Jews are never going quietly again. Never. And if the world doesn’t come to understand that, then millions of Arabs are going to die. It’s as simple as that.

Throughout the history of the world, the most abused, kicked-around race of people have been the Jews. Not just during the holocaust of World War II, but for thousands of years. They have truly been “The Chosen People” in a terrible and tragic sense.

The Bible story of Egypt’s enslavement of the Jews is not just a story, it is history, if festooned with theological legend and heroic epics. In 70 A.D. the Romans, which had for a long time tolerated the Jews — even admired them as ’superior’ to other vassals — tired of their truculent demands for independence and decided on an early “Solution” to the Jewish problem. Jerusalem was sacked and reduced to near rubble, Jewish resistance was pursued and crushed by the implacable Roman War Machine — see ‘Masada’. And thus began The Diaspora, the dispersal of Jews throughout the rest of the world.

Their homeland destroyed, their culture crushed, they looked desperately for the few niches in a hostile world where they could be safe. That safety was fragile, and often subject to the whims of moody hosts. The words ‘pogrom’, ‘ghetto’, and ‘anti-Semitism’ come from this treatment of the first mono-theistic people. Throughout Europe, changing times meant sometimes tolerance, sometimes even warmth for the Jews, but eventually it meant hostility, then malevolence. There is not a country in Europe or Western Asia that at one time or another has not decided to lash out against the children of Moses, sometimes by whim, sometimes by manipulation.

Winston Churchill calls Edward I one of England’s very greatest kings. It was under his rule in the late 1200’s that Wales and Cornwall were hammered into the British crown, and Scotland and Ireland were invaded and occupied. He was also the first European monarch to set up a really effective administrative bureaucracy, surveyed and censured his kingdom, established laws and political divisions. But he also embraced the Jews.

Actually Edward didn’t embrace Jews so much as he embraced their money. For the English Jews had acquired wealth — understandable, because this people that could not own land or office, could not join most of the trades and professions, soon found out that money was a very good thing to accumulate. Much harder to take away than land or a store, was a hidden sock of gold and silver coins. Ever resourceful, Edward found a way — he borrowed money from the Jews to finance imperial ambitions in Europe, especially France. The loans were almost certainly not made gladly, but how do you refuse your King? Especially when he is ‘Edward the Hammer’. Then, rather than pay back the debt, Edward simply expelled the Jews. Edward was especially inventive — he did this twice. After a time, he invited the Jews back to their English homeland, borrowed more money, then expelled them again.

Most people do not know that Spain was one of the early entrants into The Renaissance. People from all over the world came to Spain in the late medieval period. All were welcome — Arabs, Jews, other Europeans. The University of Salamanca was one of the great centers of learning in the world — scholars of all nations, all fields came to Salamanca to share their knowledge and their ideas. But in 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella, having driven the last of Moors from the Spanish Shield, were persuaded by the righteous fundamentalists of the time to announce “The Act of Purification”. A series of steps were taken in which all Jews and Arabs and other non-Christians were expelled from the country, or would face the tools and the torches of The Inquisition. From this ‘cleansing’ come the Sephardic Jews — as opposed to the Ashkenazis of Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe, the sporadic violence and brutality against Jews are common knowledge. ‘Fiddler’ without the music and the folksy humor. At times of fury, no accommodation by the Jew was good enough, no profile low enough, no village poor enough or distant enough.

From these come the near-steady flow of Jews to the United States. And despite the disdain of the Jews by most ‘American’ Americans, they came to grab the American Dream with both hands, and contributed everything from new ideas of enterprise in retail and entertainment to becoming some of our finest physicians and lawyers. The modern United States, in spite of itself, IS the United States in part because of its Jewish blood.

Then the Nazi Holocaust — the corralling, sorting, orderly eradication of millions of the people of Moses. Not something that other realms in other times didn’t try to do, by the way, the Germans were just more organized and had better murder technology.

I stood in the center of Dachau for an entire day, about 15 years ago, trying to comprehend how this could have happened. I had gone there on a side trip from Munich, vaguely curious about this Dachau. I soon became engulfed in the enormity of what had occurred there nestled in this middle and working class neighborhood.

How could human beings do this to other human beings, hear their cries, their pleas, their terror, their pain, and continue without apparently even wincing? I no longer wonder. At some times, some places, ANY sect of the human race is capable of horrors against their fellow man, whether a member of the Waffen SS, a Serbian sniper, a Turkish policeman in 1920’s Armenia, a Mississippi Klansman. Because even in the United States not all was a Rose Garden. For a long time Jews had quotas in our universities and graduate schools. Only so many Jews could be in a medical or law school at one time. Jews were disparaged widely. I remember as a kid Jewish jokes told without a wince — “Why do Jews have such big noses?”

Well, now the Jews have a homeland again. A place that is theirs. And that’s the point. It doesn’t matter how many times the United States and European powers try to rein in Israel, if it comes down to survival of its nation, its people, they will fight like no lioness has ever fought to save her cubs. They will fight with a ferocity, a determination, and a skill, that will astound us.

And many will die, mostly their attackers, I believe. If there were a macabre historical betting parlor, my money would be on the Israelis to be standing at the end. As we killed the kamikazes and the Wehrmacht soldaten of World War II, so will the Israelis kill their suicidal attackers, until there are not enough to torment them.

The irony goes unnoticed — while we are hammering away to punish those who brought the horrors of last September here, we restrain the Israelis from the same retaliation. Not the same thing, of course — We are We, They are They. While we mourn and seethe at September 11th, we don’t notice that Israel has a September 11th sometimes every day.

We may not notice, but it doesn’t make any difference. And it doesn’t make any difference whether you are pro-Israeli or you think Israel is the bully of the Middle East. If it comes to where a new holocaust looms — with or without the concurrence of the United States and Europe — Israel will lash out without pause or restraint at those who would try to annihilate their country.

The Jews will not go quietly again.

By Jonathan Garthwaite
www.townhall.com

September 11th was a confusing day for all Americans, but especially for our youngest citizens. Children were confused. Teachers were unprepared. Kids all over America had questions as they headed home early. Living so close to the Pentagon made it seem personal to my children. My daughter’s first question to me was, “Dad, why do they want to kill us?”

Back on September 11th, most of us hadn’t been studying up on al-Qaeda or really even considering the possibility of terrorism happening on American soil. I fumbled around for a few minutes trying to think up something to say that would be profound yet sensitive to the emotions of a young child. I can’t remember my exact words, but the blank gaze on my daughter’s face made it obvious that I hadn’t eased her confusion. I tried to explain religious fanaticism and suicide bombers, but I didn’t succeed there either.

It was all too simple to her young mind though: “They don’t like us, do they?”

How could I explain to a child how an eighteen-year-old boy could strap a bomb to his waist, casually walk into a cafe filled with women and children, and blow himself to bits? My daughter had no ability to grasp that degree of hate and insanity.

For the past five years, our children have been shielded somewhat from further images of terror, but our friends and allies overseas haven’t been as fortunate.

In 2002, over 200 died in Bali. In 2003, nearly 60 died in Istanbul. In 2004, nearly 200 died in the Madrid train bombings. In 2005, nearly 60 died in the London subway and nearly 90 died in bombings in Egypt. And these were just the big ones.

September 11th wasn’t a fluke, once-in-a-lifetime event. It just was up-close and personal for America that day. Some may say that our allies are just collateral damage in a war between America and the Islamic terrorists. They’re not. They are the target, just as we are, because they share the ideals of democracy, freedom, and prosperity that the enemy hates.

For the past few years, appeasers have argued that it is our presence in Iraq that motivates further terror attacks. The evidence proves otherwise. Our enemies don’t attack us because we’re an “empire.” They attack because they want an empire of their own. One without us.

This week nearly 200 Indians were killed by bombs aboard commuter trains in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). These weren’t soldiers in the war on terror. They were simply innocent men and women coming home from a long day’s labor to see their families. They were crowded by the hundreds onto train cars thinking about their evening plans instead of the War on Terror. They were helpless victims of a vicious enemy that follows no rules of combat and shows no mercy. Yet our own Supreme Court recently granted al-Qaeda prisoners the rights of the Geneva Convention, a treaty that terrorist organizations have never signed and certainly weren’t following when they videotaped beheadings of innocent people.

Even American adults are unable to comprehend this degree of irrational hatred, though we spend hours listening to experts and pundits explain the complexities of the terrorist mindset.

Perhaps we could learn from our youngest citizens. Perhaps there are people out there who simply just hate us. Sometimes it really is as simple as it first seems.

The images of the Mumbai bombings are on the television now and it’s impossible for children to miss them. I wish I had a better answer five years later. Our enemies still don’t like us and that won’t change. In fact, this is a war that our children — and our grandchildren — will probably have to wage as well. For their sakes, we must never try to rationalize the hatred directed against us.

www.omegaletter.com

We set out yesterday on the resumption of our road trip, headed for Illinois. This time, we were as ready as we could be.

I have three separate ways to connect to the internet. At a campsite, I can usually get wireless internet, so Mike rigged up a ‘repeater’ of sorts to ensure a usable signal. If there is no wireless, I have my Cingular aircard as backup.

If not, I have my Directway Satellite dish, which sets up in less than fifteen minutes and I am good to go. Plus, my Dish network satellite dish helps keep up to date with what is happening.

I was so proud — I thought of EVERYTHING. So when we pulled in to an RV camp just outside Sturgis, MI, the only amenities I was really concerned with were septic and water.

I never banked on the trees. Never even considered it. The trees were so thick I couldn’t get a signal from the campsite’s wireless. They were so thick I couldn’t get a signal on my Directway dish.

My last backup is my Cingular Aircard. Two bars. Enough to log onto Yahoo Messenger, but not enough to be able to open a web page. I couldn’t even watch the news to keep up with events in the Middle East. Sigh.

So, this morning, we headed to a roadside rest area where I could get a Cingular signal and fired up the generator.

And we learned a new lesson. Never underestimate the enemy’s capacity for evil. In his hands, even the trees can be a weapon against the Kingdom.

Assessment:

One of the principle objections offered by Bible skeptics is that if there were a loving and all-powerful God, then, why is the world such an evil place?

There is no doubt that evil exists. In fact, evil is the default state of humanity. (Babies have to be taught not to bite, after all.) Did God create evil?

God is both loving and all-powerful. Despite this, He seems unwilling or incapable of preventing the vast amount of evil and suffering in this world.

The skeptic argues that either God is not loving or all powerful, or that He does not exist at all, because if He DID exist, then does He allow so much evil to exist?

The simple fact is, the universe is created in a balance. In order for there to be darkness, there must first be light. Darkness is a measure of the absence of light. Without the prior existence of light, darkness could not exist.

In order for there to be cold, there must first be heat. Cold is a measure of the absence of heat. Without heat, cold could not exist. Evil is a measure of the absence of good. Without good, evil could not exist.

Evil is not a creation of God, since it cannot exist outside of the creation of good. But it does exist, because good exists.

Think of it like a battery. It takes both the positive and negative poles to create power. Good would have no power to effect change without evil, just as evil has no existence without good.

How could one choose good if there were no evil against which to measure it? In His creation, God never pronounced the universe ‘perfect’ — He found some of His creation to be ‘good’ some of it to be ‘very good’ and even some of it that He pronounced, ‘not good’.

“The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Both the Bible and science tell us this present universe was designed to be temporary. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics proves there is not enough matter in the universe to cause to contract.

That means the universe will continue to expand indefinitely and all the stars will eventually burn out and life would not be possible for the entire rest of the history of the universe.

The Bible says the universe was designed to be temporary, and it will eventually be replaced by a perfect universe that will be permanent. Why would God create a temporary universe instead of creating a perfect, permanent one in the first place?

God created the universe as it exists for the express purpose of allowing free will spiritual beings the opportunity to choose to have fellowship with Him, or to reject Him. Those who choose to have fellowship with Him will do so in some future, perfect creation.

And if His purpose is to have free-will fellowship in some future creation, then there must also exist some means by which these spiritual beings can make a choice whether or not to enter into this relationship with Him. “…I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” (Genesis 8:21)

The Bible tells us that humanity is desperately wicked and sinful (Romans 3:10-18,23). God allows human beings to commit sin because if He were to prevent it, the human race would not truly be free.

The Apostle Paul outlines God’s fourteen-point indictment against the human race;

1. There is none righteous, no, not one.
2. There is none that understandeth,
3. there is none that seeketh after God.
4. They are all gone out of the way,
5. they are together become unprofitable;
6. there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
7. Their throat is an open sepulchre;
8. with their tongues they have used deceit;
9. the poison of asps is under their lips:
10. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
11. Their feet are swift to shed blood:
12. Destruction and misery are in their ways:
13. And the way of peace have they not known:
14. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)

It takes an incredible capacity for self-deception for one not to see themselves mirrored in that list. Think back to before you were saved. That is the condition of every lost person you meet. Paul goes on to point out that ” all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” (3:23) but that there is an offer extended to us to be “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (3:24)

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (3:27-28)

So God allows evil to exist in order to allow free will to exist. The Scriptures tell us that God is the Creator and the source of all good, and it reveals that, during this present dispensation, Satan is the god of this world and the source of all evil.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Much of the suffering that exists in this world is a direct result of evil choices made by free-will human beings that impact others. Natural disasters — hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., are part of the cycle of power required by this imperfect universe in order for it to exist in balance.

In the new creation, there will be some limits on our free will, since the new creation will not contain evil. We exist in this life to give us a chance to agree to give up some of that free will in the next. That is what it means to turn one’s life and will over to Jesus Christ. It is a choice to surrender our will to God.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Those who refuse the opportunity in this life will not be forced to in the next life, but will instead exist separately from the new creation, and apart from God. The place set aside for those who reject God is the place originally prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41).

Bad things happen in this universe, because that is how it is designed. No human being has in himself ever been righteous. Even Adam was not righteous: he was innocent–not knowing good and evil.

Ultimately, there is not an answer to these questions that we can fully comprehend. We, as finite human beings, can never fully understand an infinite God (Romans 11:33-34). Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought. We look at things from an earthly perspective.

God looks at things from an eternal perspective; “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).

It is impossible for us finite human beings to understand the ways of an infinite God (Romans 11:33-35). Second, we must realize that God is not responsible for the wicked acts of evil men.

God had to allow the possibility of evil for us to have a true choice of whether to worship God or not. If we never had to suffer and experience evil, would we know how wonderful heaven is?

We don’t know everything, but we can be confident of knowing this:

“And we know that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Even the existence of evil trees.