Sermon Central
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The Palestinian Problem, Pt. 1
Contributed by Dave Kinney on Aug 10, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: I want to try to my best ability to set the record straight about the issue at hand between the Jews and Arabs in the land named “Palestine” and the problem with the so-called “Palestinian refugees”.
“The Palestinian Problem” Pt. 1
Today I want to try to my best ability to set the record straight about the issue at hand between the Jews and Arabs in the land named “Palestine” and the problem with the so-called “Palestinian refugees”.
There are many myths to this problem and as Joan Peters writes in her incredible book, “From Time Immemorial” about this problem, “It is perhaps the most pervasively misconceived image of any political situation in the world.”
But first…
Why is Israel Such a Unique Nation in The Middle East?
a. Because only Israel can claim that they are God’s creation.
No other nation in history can make that claim!
Zechariah 2:8 “…for he who touches you (Israel) touches the apple of His eye.”
“Apple” = pupil
b. Because virtually every nation considers Israel as an obstacle to peace.
Just listen to the world diplomats, journalists, world leaders and television personalities! Their bias come through load and clear!
c. Because Israel has the strongest democracy and human rights in the Middle East.
The Arab countries that surround Israel are kicking and screaming to the democracy table! Not only that, but they are years behind in proper treatment of their people. Human rights are rarely a right given to most Arab countries!
Before Saddam Hussein was driven from his palace and pulled out of his pit, a Western Journalist once asked him how he felt about his nickname “The Butcher of Baghdad” because of his treatment of the Kurds in the northern part of Iraq. He said, “I reject any criticism of my use of gas against civilian populations. No one has come to me and said they are personally bothered by these gases. Frankly, I’m sick of having these self-righteous…types infringe on my personal freedom.”
President Hafez Assad of Syria is also on record for killing over 20,000 fellow Syrians when his army surrounded the city of Hama. His lynch men sealed the houses, pumped in cyanide gas, and later buried the city under a mound of dirt.
And the atrocities just go on and on!
Think about this…most of these Arab nations have been around since at least the first half of the 20th century, why are they still some of the most deadliest neighborhoods in the world?
Fact: The Middle East has spent more on weapons, fought more wars and suffered more causalities than any other region of the world in the last 70 years! Since the break up of the Soviet Union, nuclear weapons are now finding a new home in many of these hostile Islamic regimes. In fact some put the figure at 1 trillion U.S. dollars worth of destructive weaponry from 1973 to 1995!
In case you are wondering what the “Palestinian problem” is...in a simple definition, it’s the Arabs that live in refugee camps in Israel and the pressure they and the world body are putting on Israel to give them more land that makes up modern day Palestine. The argument also says that the Jews stole this land from the Arabs in 1948 and so the land really belongs to the Arabs.
This is a problem that has been written very little about in the last 30 years. But the books that are written the evidence supporting Israel in this issue is overwhelming to say the least. But there is much bias, ignorance, and anti-Semitism that has clouded the minds of many people.
My goal in this sermon is to just touch the very fringe of this problem and give you a snap shot of evidence to prove that the Palestinian problem is not because of the Jews but rather a huge propaganda campaign on part of the Arabs surrounding Israel.
As a 5th century B.C. historian Thucydides once wrote, “Most people will not take the pain to get at the truth of things, and are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.”
How true!
This is not an attack against the Arab but rather setting the record straight in my view over this 60-year-old problem that has caused so much blood shed through the streets of the Middle East.
2 books that will help you further your study on this topic:
· “Philistine: The Great Deception”, by Ramon Bennett
· “From Time Immemorial”, by Joan Peters
1. The Origin of The Word “Palestine”.
Fact: The word “Palestine” cannot be found anywhere in the Bible!
We know that the official use of this word goes all the way back to the Roman Empire about 135 A.D. It was a substituted word for the biblical word “Judea”. The intention was to begin to erase historic Jewish identity and history! Since then, the land has been called “Palestine” or “Palestina”.
Now watch…The N. T., which was written while the Romans were in charge, mentions “Judea” 45 times and “Samaria” 12 times. Matthew 2:1 records that “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea”. Matthew 2 tells us that Jesus came out of Egypt “into the land of Israel”. John 4 records that “He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.” In Acts 1:8 he told his disciples “to be witnesses in all Judea and Samaria.”
