In the last 2000 years, we have seen much human history! There has been great progress in invention, new medicines that have helped wipe out disease that ravaged the world, great Empires that have come and gone, leaving their print upon civilization. We have also seen great tragedy, terrible wars that have seen countless millions of people perish! Nations rose, and then fell. But, in the midst of all of this, one small little nation has awakened! Awakened in 1948, and seems to be holding on. That nation of course is Israel! A nation that is the size of New Hampshire, or better still, 1/15th the size of California, or even better then that, the size of San Bernardino County! If you include Judea/Samaria, Israel is barely one hour wide! Without Judea/Samaria, she is 9 miles wide!
After four major wars with invading Arab armies, (1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973), and several minor wars against terrorists – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PLO; with the UN, and the EU’s condemnations, the Arab lobby’s boycotts, and an unsure alliance with the United States and its Government, it is miraculous that such a tiny nation like Israel has existed at all! And in these last 2000 years, with the Jewish people scattered among the European nations, those so called Christian or Catholic nations were guilty of unspeakable horrors. Massacres perpetrated by roving Catholics and later Christians, were done against helpless Jewish people, men, women and children. Butchered in the name of Christ against the Christ killers, the Jews! Pogroms, persecutions, the Inquisition, crusades, all were done to deal with the Jewish problem. Later the Nazis, who came to power in Germany from 1933 to 1945, would take Jewish persecution to another level.
What the Catholic Church and later the Christian Reformation did against the Jews in Europe, would be far exceeded by Adolf Hitler and his thugs to the death of over six million Jewish souls. Close to 80 million people would also die in WWII! What I don’t understand is, why has not the thousands of Christian denominations with its hundreds of thousands of Churches not group together and apologize to the Jewish people for its Anti-Semitic past. It doesn’t matter if a Church today loves, prays, or even supports the Jewish Nation. Jewish people do not forget what Catholic or Christian people did in the name of Jesus Christ the last 2000 years!
The Rabbis teach in the Synagogues across Europe and the U.S.A., to never forget the past, to never forget who slaughtered us, and in whose name it was. This history cannot be changed, no matter what a person’s opinion might be! Don’t get me wrong, We have several Christian Pastors and Churches who not only have asked forgiveness for the terrible past of either theological replacement theology, or the physical persecutions that were done by deceived Christians or religious people thinking they were doing G-d a favor! They stand by our Synagogues, support us financially, pray for us and have unity services embracing the Hebraic roots of their faith, recognizing that the Messiah, was an Orthodox, Torah observant Rabbi, and who is also the Son of G-d! But, there is clearly far to many Churches and denominations who make excuses and say that’s the past, we were not there, its not our business! And all the while, the terrible wounds, the indifference, and suspicions by Jewish people will continue to remain until Christians embrace their past, and are willing to do something about it.
Chief Rabbi. Yosef Hilbrant.
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