A Peculiar People Unto The L-rd |
Written by Victoria Radin |
“Thou art an holy people unto the L-rd thy G-d, and the L-rd hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2) The L-rd described the Israelites, and later all the people of G-d, as peculiar, i.e. different. G-d’s people are to be distinguished from the people of the world (i.e. non-believers). The L-rd has not allowed the Jewish people (formerly known as Israelites) to assimilate with the nations because He has a covenant with them that involves the restoration of the earth. In response, the nations have historically tried to force assimilation or carry out the destruction of G-d’s people. At the time of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the years following, most of the Arab population of the area that is now the State of Israel fled [alleged to have been between 420,000 and 910,000 people]. In almost equal numbers, Jews were expelled or fled from Arab lands [between 758,000 and 866,000 people] during that same period, leaving behind much property and great wealth. Within a few years after the Six Day War (1967) there were only remnants of Jewish communities left in most Arab lands. Two thirds of the Jewish refugees were assimilated into Israel, while the bulk of Palestinian Arab refugees ended up in the Gaza Strip [controlled by Egypt], in Jordan, in Syria and in Lebanon. These ‘host’ nations placed most of them in refugee camps rather than assimilating them into their societies. Recognizing the separateness of the Jewish people and addressing the ‘refugee’ issue, the non-Jewish American social philosopher, Eric Hoffer, wrote [in part] the following in a Los Angeles Times article one year after the Six-Day War in Israel: “The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchmen. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese––and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab…Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
An online encyclopedia, Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_transfer> defines population transfer as “the forced movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion.” The international community, to allegedly solve ethnic and religious problems or to prevent or stop war, has used population transfers. Often the affected population is transferred by force to a distant region, perhaps not suited to their way of life, causing them substantial harm. In addition, the loss of all immovable property, and often the loss of substantial amounts of movable property results. The precedence for population exchange worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries fills the pages of history:
Israel is the only nation that has ever been demanded to receive back relocated peoples. But, that is not unusual. The international community has always treated Israel differently. For instance, Hoffer points out that when a nation is victorious on the battlefield, they have the right to dictate peace terms––but not Israel. In each of the wars in which Israel engaged with its hostile neighbors, the international community did nothing until Israel appeared to be victorious. Only then did they demand a cease-fire and Israel had to sue for peace with their defeated foes. In his Los Angeles Times article, Hoffer declared, “The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts, and Jewish resources…We [the U.S.] can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.” But Israel is NOT alone. G-d has declared that He will rescue Israel when all the nations surround her to destroy her. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem…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 12:2, 3, 9) Eric Hoffer’s final word in his article should be taken as a prophecy to America: “I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the holocaust will be upon us.” |