Eric the Half a Rabbi Explains

Top story today: Leah Friedman is doing better. She is awake and reacting to people, and she is regaining control of her body. Thanks, all who said a prayer for her. Don’t stop now.

More news from Israel, forwarded by Aaron: there are indications that Jews in Israel are coming to accept a couple of important truths. American “Christian Zionists”–a phrase that needed to be coined at this point in history–are their friends. And Jews should be armed.

Here’s a quote (when did we stop saying “quotation”?) from the first article, from Yesterday’s Jerusalem Post: “Israel has no better friends in the world than Christian Zionists, Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.”

It turns out evangelist John Hagee has put together something called the Christian Aipac. This is an organization that enables American Christians to funnel money to Israel, and which does not proselytize. I can’t recommend this organization, because I don’t know if it has been investigated the way other pro-Israel charities have, and because there have been a lot of truly disgraceful charities operated by conservative Christians. But it sounds like a fantastic idea. The International Federation of Christians and Jews is safe, so there is no reason you can’t support Israel and help unite Jews and Christians right now.

Regrettably, hidebound throwbacks want to sabotage Christian support for Israel, and with it, God’s promise to the chosen people. Here’s a bit from another article:

“What [Hagee and his allies] mean by ‘support of Israel’ and what we mean by ‘support of Israel’ are two very different things,” Yoffie said. “Their vision of Israel rejects a two-state solution, rejects the possibility of a democratic Israel, and supports the permanent occupation of all Arab lands now controlled by Israel.”

“If implemented, in fact, these views would mean disaster for Israel, and would lead to diplomatic isolation, increased violence, and the loss of Israel’s Jewish majority,” Yoffie said.

That’s leftist rabbi–what a concept–Eric Yoffie, the leader of reformed Judaism in America. In Israel, he’s considered a layman. His brand of Judaism is so far-out, it isn’t recognized there. He’s a gun-grabber and a gay rights crusader, who somehow feels qualified to teach people about the Mosaic laws. I think I’ve said all I need to.

Why call him a throwback, then? Because his views are rooted in the reflexive, self-hating, God-opposing, Christian-fearing Jewish leftism of the 20th century.

His remarks are absurd. What Hagee means by “support for Israel” is 1. sending money, and 2. praying a lot. That’s the bulk of it. American Christians can direct their money toward people in Israel who will do things of which American Christians approve. But we can’t give marching orders. Hagee’s willingness to remove proselytizing from the package reflects the fact that Christian Zionists will work to find ways to support the Jews, even if it means compromising the overall agenda of Christianity.

It appears that what Yoffie wants is to choke off funds to people in Israel with whom he disagrees. He wants to limit foreign support to money aimed at leftist-approved efforts. My bet? American leftists donate about as much money to Israel as they do to Bob Jones University. I’d be willing to bet that Christian donations to Israel far outweigh those from American liberals. Liberals are generally stingy when it comes to charity, in comparison to conservatives. And given the increasing anti-Semitism of the left, I would be shocked to learn that this imbalance does not apply to money for Israel. I wasn’t even aware that charities for poor Jews existed until I came across the IFCJ.

On top of that, leftists never donate money without attaching strings. Money is the fuel of social engineering.

Choking off donations from the God-fearing would probably mean a gigantic reduction in Israel’s foreign support. I just can’t see Moveon stepping in to fill the void. If leftists were supporting Israel to any significant degree, why would Israel need Christian money so badly?

How can a man call himself “rabbi” and support the destruction of Eretz Israel? Is God real or not? Is His promise a joke? Is Yoffie saying, “I believe God made the promise, but I’m smarter than God, so I’m repealing it”? Is he saying, “The promise is a myth”? “By the authority of God’s equal, Eric Yoffie, Jewry is turning the promise down”? I don’t get it.

I’m thrilled to see Netanyahu supporting the acceptance of Christian Zionism. Take the money. Just take it. Manufacture weapons. Guard your borders. Feed your poor. Pay lobbyists all over the world. Take it. Take it. Take it. Once in a while, a Christian may mention Jesus to you. You’ll get over it.

Hagee can be annoying; no doubt about it. So what? Take the damn money. John Hagee is not going to run for mayor of Jerusalem. He is not going to be an MK. Christians do not think of themselves as the real Jews, and we are not going to move to Israel and boot you out. Take the money, grow crops, move Jews to Israel, and don’t worry about John Hagee. He would probably keep sending the money even if you put billboards up all over Israel, calling him a jerk.

The second article is about the way many Jews in Israel are accepting the fact that they need to be armed so they can defend themselves. It turns out the armed Jews who subdued the terrorist morons at Kibbutz Kfar Etzion were trained by an organization called Mishmeret Yesha, founded by Brooklyn-born Jew Israel Dantziger. Mishmeret Yesha trains Jews in rapid response tactics. They ought to put an Amazon tip jar on their website.

Here’s a great QUOTATION:

“It takes at least 10 minutes for the IDF to respond when an infiltration incident occurs. An armed terrorist can kill a whole lot of people in 10 minutes,” says Rabbi Moshe Hager-Lau, a reserve colonel who serves as assistant division commander for reserve forces in Judea and Samaria. He is also head of the Yatir pre-military yeshiva in the southern Hebron Hills, and goes everywhere with an M-16 slung over his shoulder.

Hmm…something about that sounds familiar. I guess the authorities in Israel are just as human as the ones right here. They are somehow unable to materialize instantly at the scenes of crimes, put down their doughnuts (or hamantaschen), and prevent killings.

It looks like they have an uncomfortable relationship with the IDF. They cooperate, but every so often the IDF confiscates weapons. Which is completely justified, because Jews commit so many acts of terrorism.

Sorry, did that sound sarcastic?

I think what Israel really needs is for Eric Yoffie to walk unarmed through the Gaza Strip, helping Palestinian terrorists to understand that Jews are their warm, fuzzy liberal friends. That would help a lot. Sheryl Crow once said the United States should solve its problems by not having enemies. Maybe she’d volunteer to go with him and explain how to do that.

I remember the passage in the book of Joshua, where God told Joshua to go to Jericho and offer the inhabitants cookies and apologize for being Jewish. Oh, wait. Is that not in the Bible? Well, it will be soon. Because as some liberals tell us, the Bible is “an open book.” You can just get out the Liquid Paper, white out the stuff you don’t like, and write things in which are much groovier. I wonder how much Liquid Paper Eric Yoffie’s followers go through in a month.

Christian money for Israel, yes. Guns for Jews, yes. Eretz Israel, yes. Appeasement, no. That sums it up for me.