How the West was lost or why are Israel's friends abandoning her in her hour of need

One of the things that is disturbing Israelis and Jews worldwide since the terrible massacre of October 7, and the ensuing war between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran, is the drastic rise in antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the phenomenon of the pro-Palestinian “From the River to the Sea” demonstrations. On the days following October 7 we were pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of support for Israel, but this very quickly gave way to an even louder chorus of accusations and blame directed against Israel, not only by radical activists, but by an ever-growing sector of Western society and governments. Even some who would identify themselves as Christians have joined this outcry.

Where did this wave of hatred for Israel come from? I have identified six primary causes and discuss them below, in no particular order of significance. They are all intertwined and feed off one another.

1. Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism

The roots of antisemitism go far back, at least as far as Cain and Abel. God accepted Abel’s offerings but rejected those of Cain. Cain was jealous and this turned to bitterness and hatred, ultimately leading to murder. Israel is God’s chosen people, something that arouses jealousy among those not chosen. Jealousy leads to resentment, resentment to hatred and hatred to murder. We have seen it over and over again throughout history. Since the beginning of the nation of Israel, she has again and again been attacked by the peoples around her. And who are these neighboring peoples trying to destroy Israel? Those ‘not chosen’, the descendants of the Canaanites, Lot, Ishmael and Esau, for example.

Satan hates the people of Israel. In nearly every generation he has tried to destroy them. If he can succeed in doing this, Satan can derail God’s plan for the redemption and salvation of mankind, which he (God) has chosen to carry out through the people of Israel. God made Israel into a nation, and through them came the prophets and the Holy Scriptures, and ultimately the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) himself. Satan knows that the final completion of God’s redemption plan will result in his (Satan’s) eternal torment in the ‘lake of fire and brimstone” (Revelation 20:10). Satan will therefore do anything to stop this from happening and to this end he stirs up the haters, the haters of God and the haters of His people, and this leads to wars against God’s people. Satan does this by perpetrating lies and false accusations against Israel. Jesus called Satan the Father of Lies (John 8:44).

Tragically much of the modern antisemitism has grown out of the erroneous teachings of sectors of the so-called Christian church. Large branches of the church, even some evangelical churches, teach Replacement Theology, which claims that the people of Israel have been replaced by the church. Even a cursory reading of Romans 9,10, and 11 will show the error of this doctrine. The church and the people of Israel have different callings and roles in the Redemption Plan, and they each have a present and future role. As a new believer being discipled in Bible-believing, evangelical churches, I was taught to interpret the word ‘Israel’ where it appears in Scripture as the ‘church’ or ‘the individual believer,’ even though Replacement Theology was not overtly promoted. I would challenge all believers in Yeshua, when reading the Scriptures, to understand the word Israel as literally meaning Israel. The principles expressed may also apply to the church, but this should not be the primary interpretation.

Historically some churches also taught that the Jews killed Yeshua, and therefore were to be opposed. It was indeed the Jewish leaders who handed Yeshua over to be crucified by the Romans, but this occurred again because of jealousy in that the multitudes of Jews at the time were ready to crown Yeshua as king. Theologically, however, we all killed Yeshua because he died in order to bring us forgiveness of sins and salvation.

True Christian believers should love the Jews, since after all Yeshua was a Jew, and we owe the Jews our Holy Scriptures, in which are recorded the words of the prophets and the revelation of God through history. What is more the New Testament was written mainly by Jews and it was mainly Jewish believers who founded the church in the first century.

I have lumped the concepts of antisemitism and anti-Zionism together because I do not believe they can be separated, as some claim. When God founded the people of Israel, according to the Book of Genesis, He gave them the Land, and promised it to them as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8). I cannot go into depth here, but the political and spiritual nation of Israel cannot be separated from the Land of Israel. Even when in exile, Jews longed for the Land, and always looked to return here. A remnant of Jews always lived in the Land, even when the majority were in exile. In our generation, we have seen the miracle of the restoration of the political and geographical nation of Israel. Jews were welcome nowhere else in the post-WWII world, and therefore part of the God-given land of Israel was granted to them by the United Nations, and we have since recreated a thriving and vibrant nation. The Israeli people have nowhere else to go.

2. Apostasy and the loss of Judeo-Christian values

Western civilization as we know it was founded on Judeo/Christian values and laws. When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s nearly every child went to Sunday School, whether or not their parents were believers. In elementary school, we had ‘Bible in Schools.’ At my state-run high school, we sang hymns, had Bible readings and prayers every morning in Assembly. Those old hymns still resonate with me. Every child grew up knowing that it is wrong to steal, cheat, kill, and commit adultery, even if they sometimes disobeyed. We had a common moral code based on Biblical values.

I have taught American students in schools here in Israel for more than 30 years and it distresses me that, as the years have gone by, more and more students think it is normal to cheat, lie and steal. There are no consequences in our school systems (and many homes), consciences have become dulled, and we have raised a generation or two that is largely lacking a moral code. It has even become common to promote the attitude of doing or believing ‘whatever seems right to you’. In the time of the Book of Judges, Israelite culture devolved to a situation in which “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6), and it ended in disaster, until God raised up godly Judges to rescue the people.

A civilization without a moral compass will collapse. Order will devolve into chaos and anarchy. We see this happening already in the West. The people are rising up against their own elected governments and attacking law and order. God-given Biblical values have been replaced by ‘finding your own truth’ and everyone is doing their own thing. Right has become wrong and good has become evil.

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! - Isaiah 5:20

It is no wonder the Muslim world is offended by the moral depravity of the West. They see it as great weakness and as an opportunity to attack Western society, with the aim of first destroying the “little Satan,” Israel, and then the ‘Big Satan,’ the USA and Europe. All of what we call Western Civilization is in great danger.

3. Apostasy in the churches and ignorance of Biblical teaching.

I am greatly encouraged by the support for Israel of many Christians in recent times. This is seen and greatly appreciated by most Israelis. I believe that the prayers of Christians everywhere on behalf of Israel are being heard by God and are instrumental in the miracles of His grace at this time. Perhaps the greatest of which was the amazing defeat of the 300-plus missiles fired at Israel from Iran two weeks ago.

Sadly however, there are large sectors of the church, even amongst Evangelical born-again, Bible-believing churches, that have been seduced by replacement theology, antisemitism and the pro-Palestinian narrative of the media. Jesus taught that in the end times, there would be a time of apostasy in the church. I believe we are seeing that happening now. Many churches, even those that claim to be Bible-believing churches, have neglected to study the Bible in any depth and disciple new believers soundly. As a result, believers and even their leaders lack the ability to discern truth from lies, and consequently, many churches and para-church organizations or movements are preaching outright heresy or a wishy-washy social gospel far removed from the true gospel of the Bible.

I have heard it said that the majority of Christian believers and, indeed the populations of Western countries, do support Israel, but it appears that these are by and large a silent majority. There have been some pro-Israel demonstrations but those who claim to support Israel in this time of war, need to raise their voices loud, speak out and make their presence felt, not just for their own sake or for Israel’s sake but for the sake of their own nations and the entire Western civilized world. God bless those who have dared to do so, even at risk to themselves.

4. The internet, false news and propaganda

In all wars propaganda and psychological warfare have played a great part. In this current Israel-Hamas war, however, it has become a major strategical weapon. Most people today glean their knowledge of world events from the Internet. Anyone can post just about anything on the internet these days. It is chock full of fake news, rewritten history, distortions of the truth and outright lies. Unfortunately, the way the internet works is that once you click on something, say a pro-Palestinian newsfeed, then you will be fed a diet of similar ideas leading you down that particular ‘rabbit hole’. You will never get a balanced input of information. The Palestinian propaganda machine is using this to great effect and has captured the Western media. It is essentially brainwashing those who are lacking critical analysis skills and a Biblical base for assessing truth.

In Islam, it is considered permissible to tell lies in times of war, if it is expedient. In Judaism and Christianity we are constrained to always tell the truth. This gives the Muslim world a great advantage over us and they have no compunction against spreading false news, lies and pure fiction. Today’s technology enables the making of convincing false videos and photos. We can no longer believe our eyes. Muslim propagandists distort truth and rewrite history. They know how to manipulate and use the Western propensity to favor the ‘underdog,’ and they do it very well.

Israeli society values life and the dignity of its people. For this reason, the Israeli media refrains from publishing dead and mutilated bodies or the photos of the injured. This is done out of respect for the individuals concerned and their families. The Palestinian media has no such compunction. They even fabricate mutilated bodes and fake corpses to serve their lies.

The gullible, and often naïve, Western mind is easy to deceive.

5. Ignorance of the Middle Eastern Mentality

It is wise in times of war to know one’s enemy. But the average Western mind has little or no understanding of the Middle Eastern mentality. In the West, we value life, peace and believe that everything can be solved by negotiation. In Muslim societies, especially those influenced by fundamentalist Islamic Jihadist theology, death and martyrdom are held in much higher regard than life, the conquest of the world by force of arms overrides any desire for peace or any possibility for compromise, and therefore there is no possibility of peace by negotiation, except in order to attain short-term tactical advantage.

In the West we are horrified by the kindergarten child who says he wants to be a terrorist and kill Jews when he grows up. We don’t understand how a mother can rejoice that her child aspires to be a martyr and kill Jews, and then blows himself or herself up, or gets shot and killed, while actually killing Jews. Nor can we comprehend such things as honor killings and the endless cycle of revenge that takes place in a shame-based society.

Another factor that kicks in is the Western concern for the underdog. It has been very obvious in this war. Whenever Israel is seen to be coming under attack, suddenly there is an outpouring of support for us, but whenever we go on the offensive (which is sometimes necessary in order to defend ourselves) we not only lose that support, but are even accused of terrible things, such as attempted genocide. Although I understand this mentality to some extent, having been brought up in it myself, from my current viewpoint I see it is naïve and two-faced, and smacks of willful ignorance. We Westerners, owe it to ourselves, the world, and to God, to educate ourselves. There is no real excuse today. We have so much access to knowledge, if we have the discernment to sift the truth from the lies.

If you still think that Islam is a religion of peace, I challenge you to read the Koran and study Islamic history. (Of course, there are many peace-loving Muslims, mainly those who know little of their claimed faith, history or holy writings).

Seyed Saied Alavi, a Muslim academic, claimed that “During the 9 years of The Holy Prophet's life after Hijrah - depending on the definition of battle - between 80 to 100 counts of Battle between Muslims and non-muslims are recorded in history...The Holy Prophet ... was personally present and leading the Army in 27 of these Battles that are called Ghazwah (1)

Islam is fundamentally a violence-based religion and historically was spread across the world by force of arms. In the 7th Century Jews were massacred by Muslims in Khaybar, an Arabian oasis north of Medina. These battles resulted in the subjugation, mass expulsion, or slaughter of the area’s tribal Jewish communities. The chant, “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed will return,” has been heard recently at numerous anti-Israel demonstrations around the world (2). Do these chanters even know what these words refer to, any more than those who chant ‘From the River to the Sea’ have any idea that they are supporting the intended expulsion or genocide of Israelis?

6. Freedom of Speech

Finally, I must touch on the issue of the ‘freedom of speech.’ This is a term much loved in the USA and the protection of ‘freedom of speech’ in college campuses and elsewhere in the US is driving much anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment. The amendment of the US Constitution which grants citizens the right to ‘free speech’ was intended to protect the religious freedom of minority groups. Unfortunately, the amendment was not couched in terms that prevented the abuse of this right, and this means it can be invoked when perpetrating hatred, false news, racist tropes and downright lies.

Children will often cruelly speak the bare truth in a hurtful way, but as we mature most of us learn to control our tongues and keep our opinions to ourselves when they will cause hurt or harm. We learn that tactless ‘freedom of speech’ destroys relationships. Civilization depends on cooperation, and we need to nurture good relationships. A society that protects unrestrained freedom of speech, without checks and balances, lays itself open to self-destruction. It can also spread these poisonous ideas far and wide, as we are seeing in the case of the USA today.

In times of war, we especially need to watch our tongues. During WWII in the USA, there was a saying “Loose lips, sink ships”. Every Israeli knows we have to be careful about what we say, especially on the internet. We don’t want to give away military plans or secrets, and we understand that our media is controlled and censored by the State. That is right and proper. There are times when ‘freedom of speech’ is not appropriate. It can be not only unkind, but dangerous and even deadly.

Universities have always valued intellectual freedom and the freedom of the expression of ideas, but this was normally tempered with respect for others and the formal and informal rules of debate and discussion. What we are seeing in some American universities goes way beyond any decency of expression. That much of the anti-Israeli rhetoric is emanating from certain US universities is not surprising in that those universities are largely funded by Muslim interests opposed to Israel. The administrators of those universities are afraid to speak against the anti-Israel protestors for fear of losing their financial support.

Western individuals and nations would do well to take very seriously the pronouncement of God, when He said to Abraham (and by implication to his descendants,

“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you.” - Genesis 12:3

We know that it is prophesied that in the end times, all nations will turn against Israel, but God will destroy them.

And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it...
It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. - Zechariah 12:3,9

We also know that the nations will be judged according to the way they have treated Israel.

I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. - Joel 3:2

All nations that turn against Israel at this time lay themselves open to judgment and ultimate destruction. Those of us who identify as God’s people need to make sure we stand on the right side of God’s judgment. We need to support and pray for Israel and our own nations, and have the courage to speak out.

Talia Voice