A ‘SILENT’ BETHLEHEM

The night Jesus was born, was a night where time stood still. The Christmas eve, in Bethlehem is again silent in 2023. “In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the Church of the Nativity and all churches across the city have cancelled Christmas events due to the humanitarian crisis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the assault on Gaza.” [CNW Group, news from Canada]

How should we see it, and how should we understand it? Some of my best loved and respected friends and brothers are on both sides of the argument. My ONLY intention, through today’s “THINK ABOUT IT” is to present the accepted facts, and leave the conclusion to the reader. Please do read the whole devotion.

Dr. Avi Shlaim, an accomplished Jew, a Fellow of St. Antony’s College, and a Professor of International Relations, at the University of Oxford says – ‘My duty as a public intellectual, and as a student of this conflict, is to give the public… an account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is as truthful as possible, as honest as possible, and as fair-minded as possible.’ So here under are the facts, verifiable and can be cross-checked.

THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN JEWISH STATE as said by Dr. Avi Shlaim
“The visionary of the Jewish state was Theodore Herzl, a Viennese Jew, who wrote a pamphlet outlining his idea for a Jewish state in Palestine, and the rabbis of Vienna got together, collected some money, and sent two of their members to Palestine to check out Herzl’s idea and the two rabbis sent a telegram which became famous. It said that “THE BRIDE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT SHE IS ALREADY MARRIED TO ANOTHER MAN.” In other words, “Palestine is beautiful but there were already other people living there.”

HISTORICAL RECORDS OF JEWS FROM 70 AD
– After 70 AD there is no Jewish kingdom nor state.
– Jews abandoned their kingdom and migrated to other lands.
– The Jews came back in late 1800’s and more in early 1900’s.
– In 1917, the Jewish population was a mere 2% of the natives living there.
– From ages the natives were living in this piece of land.
– Even after 70 AD, the natives continued to live there.
– The natives are still living three.
– The natives are being called Palestinians today.
– Whether it was the Ottomans or the British – whoever ruled the Holy Land, the people who were ruled over, were always the natives, in large numbers living there, and not the Jews, for about 2000 years now.
– According to UNO records – In 1918, the Jewish population in Palestine was 56,000, and went upto 88,000 in 1922; while the Palestinians were 700,000 plus. 
–  In 1939, the Jewish population had increased to 445,000. While the Palestinians were more than one million.

The website of “J J Travel in Israel” says, “On May 14, 1948 Israel was reborn as a nation after 2,000 years. No one can deny that this was truly a unique event in human history. Never have a people who lost their statehood later become a nation after such a long period of time!”

Consider the words of David Ben-Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister – “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs….”
“Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves … politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves… The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country….” [as quoted by Nahum Goldmann, and also Naom Chomsky in their respective books.] David Ben-Gurion is no dove advocating peace and harmony. At least he is honest enough, nay brutally honest, to acknowledge the facts on the ground.

Consider the following verses from the Bible, which reveal the heart of the God of the Bible – Leviticus 19:33-37 – “33 ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the LORD.’ ”

Jeremiah 7:3-8 – “3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’
5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.”

Ezekiel 47:21-23 – 21 “Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord GOD.”

The LORD has clear words about how the ‘People of God,’ be it Israel, or the Church, have to treat strangers or foreigners…those who are not ‘US’ – those who are powerless and weak…those who depend on us, and who cannot defend themselves.

There are people of Jewish origin, who think differently than the more popular views – Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Norman Gary Finkelstein, Dr. Avi Shlaim, Sir Gerald Kaufman [a Jewish British MP] Dr. Sarah Roy, Miko Peled, Gideon Levy, Katie – a Jewish PhD Scholar, Mrs. Nurit Peled Elhanan, Dr. Naomi Wolff, Max Blumenthal.

President Jimmy Carter, Dr. N. T. Wright, Rev. Mae Elsie Cannon – are Christians.

Some opinions, yes, personal opinions – need not be taken as the gospel truth. But good to listen to their perspective…
1- PIERS MORGAN’s Interview of Dr. GABOR MATE
2- SIR GERALD KAUFMAN – a Jewish British MP, speaking in the Parliament, UK.
3- PIERS MORGAN’s Interview of Dr. NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

There are many on the other side too. All of us, ought to respect, all sides and all opinions. May the LORD bless Israel, its people, just as He sees and loves the Palestinians, and the rest of the world – “29…is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,” “22…there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”* Therefore, *”16…God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” “26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” – Romans 3:29; Romans 3:22b-23; John 3:16; Galatians 3:26-29.