Dear Friends:

Ordinary people make a difference. Whether it’s one vote that decides an election, or a grassroots movement working to overturn an unjust law, every one of us can and should get involved in the cause of right, especially when Biblical principles are involved or God’s own people are fighting for survival.

During our battle this past summer with American Airlines over their renaming Israel the “Held Territories,” we discovered that our campaign against the company’s policy garnered national and international attention. And you were vital to our success.

I see a pattern in the way AA and other groups—namely, the seminaries—have responded to our confrontations about the truth. First is stage one: denial and lies.

American Airlines denied that this incident was intentional, or that it was a big deal, or that it needed attention. Moody, Dallas and other seminaries deny the fact that they are teaching errant doctrine (e.g., Progressive Dispensationalism), or that they have wayward professors, or that they are failing to teach all the Bible content they claim, as in Moody’s minimal diet of Bible instruction.

Unfortunately, I think we can add George W. Bush to our list. Despite the overwhelming Republican election victory in November, he continues to skirt the real issues when they involve Israel and the Arab world. Depending on who’s beside him during a press conference (a Saudi prince or an Israeli prime minister), Bush denies and misrepresents the other side of the conflict. This tendency invariably is detrimental to Israel.

An example of this occurred recently when Bush signed into law a bill that required him to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move our embassy to that city. The White House stated that the matter was for the president to determine, not Congress. In other words, President Bush is denying the truth about Israel…again. Why? No doubt for the sake of some imaginary “coalition” with his Saudi and other Arab “friends” who have been denying this same fact for centuries.

Dr. Mark Bailey, president of Dallas Seminary, fell into this same pattern when he published an article criticizing Israel for defending itself against Palestinian terror (see our September 2002 Levitt Letter).

And then there’s stage two: kill the messenger.

American Airlines simply tried to relegate our complaint to insignificance. However, Christian organizations were more direct, telling donors and others who wrote them that Zola Levitt and Tom McCall are just troublemakers.

Friends, these organizations have a Scripture problem. And unfortunately, the theological infection plaguing these campuses is contagious. Other once-great institutions have now become diseased, and it’s spreading like cancer! Killing the doctor doesn’t make the illness go away.

President Bush continually demonstrates this same attitude by scolding or placing blame on Israel and those who support her. He resists any attempt by others to persuade him to express in public the rightness of Israel and the wrongness of the Arab world, particularly that of Yasser Arafat and his terror squads. While he orders our own troops to root out terrorism on foreign soil, he chastises the Chosen People for doing the same in their own backyard. Until Bush stands up for Israel and its fight for justice, he will never succeed with any lasting Middle East peace plan.

The final stage in this pattern I’ve observed in many cases is gratifying: changing the policy. American Airlines did this, but only after our coverage of this story was picked up literally around the world. A Paris-based newspaper interviewed our good friend Dr. Gerald Schroeder, as well as our own Levitt Letter editor, about the AA fiasco. Below are excerpts from a French article we had translated:

American Airlines sends a letter to “Jerusalem, Held Territories”
By Anne-Elisabeth Moutet, Proche-Orient

…When Professor Gerald Schroeder received his May frequent flyer statement from American Airlines, he did not immediately notice the address written on the envelope: “Jerusalem, Held Territories.” “I almost threw it away,” he explains to Proche-Orient.info. “When I realized the disappearance of any reference to Israel, I contacted the company’s customer service department.” They replied that it was a “computer error.”

…Gerald Schroeder sent a copy of this statement to his friend Zola Levitt, an evangelical Protestant pastor…. Zola Levitt is emblematic of some 40 million or so American evangelicals who exert a growing political influence, and whose leading representative is President George W. Bush.

Levitt’s assistant…discovered on the American Airlines internet site that the menu for countries contains Israel, but also offers three choices for Palestinians: Gaza, Held Territories, and the West Bank, even though the only route offered by AA for those 3 destinations lands in fact at Ben Gourion Airport in Lod [just outside of Tel Aviv; Lod is the ancient city of Lydda].

“We then received an astonishing letter from Mrs. Simmons, dated June 28,” Levitt’s assistant stated.

In answer to your question in regards to our future plan as far as mailing addresses in Jerusalem are concerned, we certainly understand that there is an argument in favor of the generalized use of Israel [as a country of reference]. However, in regards to past practices, we want to be precise that we are attempting to establish a worldwide-accepted appellation [name] to update our databank.

In other words, American Airlines has its own foreign policy. And it is distinct from the U.S. foreign policy. In fact, the Internet site of the State Department names Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“Evangelical Christians hold dear the existence of Israel as the nation of the Jewish people,” explains Professor Schroeder…. “Evangelicals see the existence of a Jewish state as a necessary prerequisite to the Messiah’s return. As a practicing Jew, I have no difficulty finding a common ground and a common language with them.”

When the so-called glitch became an international incident, our communications with American Airlines accelerated rapidly, and they did an about-face. Your phone calls and letters, along with our programs and articles, forced the world’s largest airline to make a change.

Why can’t Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Seminary and the other Bible schools promoting aberrant theology about the Chosen People and the Promised Land do as this enormous secular company did? Why can’t the presidents of these institutions own up to their schools’ neglect of Israel in their prophetic teaching and throw their full support behind Israel, from whom our Lord was brought to us, from whom the Scriptures were given to us and to whom belong all of God’s eternal promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David?

It’s time for these schools—and their leaders, like Dallas Seminary President Mark Bailey—to get back to the Bible and keep political correctness about the Middle East out of their teaching, and never, ever again say to Christian people that they should not care about Israel.

Sometimes we receive letters complaining about our “battle” with the seminaries. Believe me, we find no pleasure in confronting these once-respectable schools with their error; it actually takes up time and space that should be reserved for teaching other important doctrines. But are you ready to give up completely on our future pastors and teachers? Your children and children’s children will sit under the teaching of men and women instructed today on these campuses. Aren’t these great schools worth preserving? Someone has to speak up. And I’ll continue to do so until the Lord tells me, “Enough, let them be.”

I am only one voice. But you, my friends, are many. You must take the baton and sound the alarm to any organization that you see stepping dangerously into error. Your voice counts. Your donations (or the withholding of them) speak loudly to these institutions that seem to spend so much of their time and energy fundraising. Do your part and then let the Lord handle the results.

This is true with President Bush, too. Send him a letter of congratulations for his election victories in November. But remind him that you’re one of the 40 million evangelical Christians who love Israel and don’t appreciate him politically abusing her. Tell him to pay attention to the war on terrorism—not just Iraq—and to go after those who support, harbor and encourage terrorism, like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and the Palestinian Authority, to name a few. And tell Mr. Bush that it is insanity to dither around with Saddam Hussein and impotent weapons inspectors; it places the United States and Israel at terrible risk. And may God bless you as you continue to stand up and be counted for the truth!

This is the season to give thanks, and I’m grateful to God for His giving me breath these 64 years (half of which have been as a child of God). Our recent 75th anniversary tour to Israel was simply a delight for me and the other pilgrims who joined us in the Holy Land. I’ll be giving you more details in our double-edition December Levitt Letter, but let me just give you a synopsis here of this wonderful tour.

Because of our many tours to Israel over these past 30 years, several which have taken place during two intifadas and the Persian Gulf War, the government of Israel wanted to bless us with special recognition upon our 75th tour to the Promised Land. During our formal dinner, we were honored by the presence of many in the tour industry in Israel, as well as speeches by the Israeli directors of tourism in both America and Europe. Mayor Ehud Olmert of Jerusalem also addressed us. Gary Cooperberg, a frequent guest on Zola Levitt Presents, set up a nice program, and friends from many quarters of the country joined me for this honor. What a blessing to see so many faithful friends, and how overwhelmed Sandra and I were at this recognition!

Right now I am in Florida, leading pilgrims on a marvelous journey through the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando. We still have one tour left on December 27-29 and you can join me for worship, teaching and touring. Call Tony right away at (214) 696-9760 with your reservation. Visit online www.theholylandexperience.com to see the breathtaking sights you’ll experience when you join our tour.

I’ve also been contacted by a number of churches along the Gulf Coast and in Florida to teach about End Times prophecy and Israel. If your church would like to take advantage of this opportunity when I’ll be nearby in December and January, then have them call Claudia at (817) 417-0059 for scheduling.

Please don’t ever think that you’re too small or insignificant for the Lord’s service. Think of the widow with her mite. The Lord praised her. Think of the many martyred missionaries, whose deaths at the hands of their enemies have literally motivated thousands to service here and abroad. All of us have gifts suitable for the Lord’s service. And just as you did with American Airlines, you can be effective in standing up for the truth in many other areas important to God’s heart. Ask the Lord what He wants you to do, and then apply yourself with all diligence to that task. My prayer is that many of you will work for the evangelization of the Chosen People. And may God fulfill Genesis 12:3 in your life as you do.

Your Messenger,

Zola

Zola Levitt Ministries is ECFA approved and has Charity Navigator’s top rating of 4 stars.

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