U.S Ambassador to Belgium: Israel to Blame for Islamist Anti-Semitism
By Steven Osborne | Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 | Catch-All, International, PoliticsYNet News published a shocking report this morning detailing a speech given by the American Ambassador to Belgium stating that the cause of Muslim anti-semitism is derived from Israel’s foreign policy. Ambassador Howard Gutman went on to say that he was convinced that if only Israel were to sign some sort of peace treaty with the Palestinians that anti-semitism in the Muslim world would greatly decrease. Ambassador Gutman is an Obama appointee.
It is offensive for Gutman to suggest that hatred for the Jew within the Muslim world is related to the policies of Israel. There are multiple Islamic writings dating back centuries which contain very harsh statements in regards to how Jews should be treated. He also seems to ignore incidents such as the Hebron Massacre of 1929 which happpend before Israel was declared a state in 1948.
If Ambassador Gutman was ignorant of these facts, it was probably willfully so. This seems to be a consistent theme of the Obama Administration, generally in regards to the Islamic world and specifically in regards to Israel and its history.
As President Obama begins to take throw his re-election effort into high gear, his appointments and their statements should not be forgotten.
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Steven Osborne is a grassroots conservative activist from Central Virginia. He is currently furthering his education at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. In addition to writing for Bearing Drift he is also a columnist for the Christian Law Journal.
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22 Responses to "U.S Ambassador to Belgium: Israel to Blame for Islamist Anti-Semitism"
Seems to me Ambassador Gutman is not far off.
Under current circumstances, Israeli settlements are allowed to continue to expand. Netanyahu claims he and Isarael are willing to meet for negotiations without preconditions. But there is one condition. The settlements must be allowed to expand.
That is one thing you can count on the Israelis for. In a peace settlement, they are going to insist on settlement expansion. If you disagree with that? No peace agreement and the settlements will continue to expand.
Actually, the Israeli hardliners have something to lose if a peace agreement with the Palestinians is reached. If an agreement is reached, they might not get all of it, and that is what they want, all of it. They want to ship the Palestinians out of Judea and Samaria in cattle cars if necessary because this land was promised to them by God and the Palestinians have no business getting in the way of their taking possession of it.
Am I wrong? OK, ask Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop expanding settlements during negotiations. That is what President Obama is asking him to do. He (Netanyahu) can’t do it because a strong portion of his coalition is based upon no compromise on that Judea and Samaria (West Bank) belongs to Israel and non-Jewish occupants should be deported. Say it isn’t so.
Ambassador Gutman’s speech is a timely reminder of the hostility to Israel that has permeated the Obama tenure as we head into election season. If my fellow Jews continue to vote for Obama and his Democrats in large numbers, we have only ourselves to blame as Israel’s survival is increasingly jeopardized.
American jewish democrats are Israels worst enemy. Yes I said that and I stand by my words, Lowell Feld.
Ken,
The Netanyahu administration does not think very highly of American Jews as exposed by this add campaign:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/netanyahu-cancels-controversial-ad-campaign-to-bring-back-israeli-expats-from-the-u-s-1.399264
The messages included “Before Hanukkah turns into Christmas, it’s time to come back to Israel,” and “Before Abba turns into Daddy, it’s time to come back to Israel.”
My gosh, how awful it must be when a Jewish child calls its father Daddy. I did not previously know this was considered bad, did you?
Read Dennis Prager’s book, “Why the Jews: The reason for Anti-Semitism”…….that will explain it all!
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren stated that this advertising campaign was conducted “without the knowledge or approval of the Prime Minister’s Office or of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Prime Minister Netanyahu, once made aware of the campaign, ordered the videos immediately removed from YouTube, and he ordered that the billboards be removed as well. The prime minister deeply values the American Jewish community and is committed to deepening ties between it and the State of Israel.”
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/netanyahu-cancels-controversial-ad-campaign-to-bring-back-israeli-expats-from-the-u-s-1.399264
And, btw, this has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Obama and his administration are the most hostile to Israel of any American administration in history.
Eugene- Great book, as are pretty much every book written by Prager and his frequent co-author Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
Ken,
My comment was motivated by yours, where you stated: “If my fellow Jews continue to vote for Obama and his Democrats in large numbers, we have only ourselves to blame as Israel’s survival is increasingly jeopardized.” Not even every Israeli citizen supports the Netanyahu coalition yet you expect every Jewish American to support his coalition no matter what its policies are.
I do not understand where you come up with that the Obama administration is the most hostile in history. That statement is most certainly inaccurate.
I believe former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a holdover from the George Dubyah Bush described it otherwise, that the Obama administration was providing a high level of assistance to Israel and was getting nothing in return.
http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2011/09/former-us-secretary-of-defense-robert.html
It says a lot when even someone like Robert Gates loses patience with Israel.
@ Little David
So the 1929 Hebron massacre happened because of a state that didn’t come into existence until 1948?
Steven,
I think you are barking up the wrong the wrong tree. I do not care for this conversation to devolve into just which side engaged into the greater atrocities. Let me just state that both sides can point to very specific atrocities.
Let us get beyond that and explore where we are right now. I attempt to follow the leadership of Jesus. I am not perfect in my ability to follow this perfect leadership, but I do not think I am too far wrong in saying that the leadership Jesus offered by dying on the cross is 180 out from the leadership of the Netanyahu administration.
Will Christians continue to support an Israel led by those who Jesus died on the cross to defeat?
@ Little David
The point I was making concerning the Hebron Massacre is that the Islamist hatred of Jews is not related to the policies of the state of Israel…it is deeper than that.
As to how Jesus would have addressed the subject of Israel and its leadership, lets examine that for a moment. Romans chapters 9-11 goes into extensive detail regarding the relationship of Jesus Christ to the Jewish people, and there are numerous New Testament scriptures which indicate that the promises made to the Jewish people by God are still in place. If you believe as I do that Jesus is the One God incarnate, then it would be a contradiction for Him to initiate an everlasting covenant with the Jewish people concerning the land of Israel in one era of history and then to insist that they relinquish even a prescence in that same land in another.
LD- Your blatantly antisemitic comment reveals that your long-standing hostility toward Israel is rooted in a hatred of Jews generally. At least you’re honest in admitting your bigotry.
LD – “Will Christians continue to support an Israel led by those who Jesus died on the cross to defeat?” Which Jesus are you talking about…. A “combat Jesus” which anti Semites and bigots invented to “defeat” the Jews or the Savior who most of us Christians believe died for everyone, including Jews, Muslims, atheists, Christians… and all he asked was to accept him? Our Jesus set an example of forgiveness and loving our Jewish brothers and sisters and all others including the ones who killed him. And oh by the way Jesus was a Jew, a detail that is lost in revisionist anti-Semitic mythology that those like Gutman and you are genetically programmed to spew.
Ken,
I have a high regard for many, and I would venture to say even most Jews. Just because I strongly disagree with some, does that make me anti-semitic? Jesus was a Jew, and I do not think he displayed anything showing he condemned all Jews. He just seemed to disagree with those in the positions of power within the Jewish society of the time.
I strongly feel that those in power in Israel are leading Israel down the wrong path. There is either going to have to be “Two Lands for Two Peoples” or Israel is going to have a demographic problem as the birth rate of Muslims are at a far higher rate then that of the Jewish population and eventually Jews will be a minority in Ersatz Israel. Some Israeli hardliners have solutions to this problem with some favoring forceful deportation and others favoring one or another version of a number of alternatives that can only be described as apartheid.
I would say that there are numerous Jewish people who are in agreement with me. But then, if you would describe me as anti-semitic, then I guess the term you would have for them is self hating Jew, right?
Tim J and particularly Stephen,
I hope I did not mislead you. I do not even qualify to be described as a Christian. I am not sure Jesus was God. I have a profound love for Jesus and I have no problem with those who wish to describe him as God, but I am uncertain. I settle for calling him Rabbi. According to some, that is not going to be good enough, and I am going to end up in hell. I figure that if I say with my mouth what I do not believe in my heart, it will not be worth a lick anyway, so I might as well be honest about it.
@ Little David
My point concerning the foundations of Christianity still stands. The Jewish leaders which Jesus confronted were appointed by Herod and were most likely puppets of Rome. Some of those same leaders would be killed during the Jewish Revolt…by other Jews. Crucifixtion was not a Jewish punishment…it was a Roman one and although some of the Jewish leaders of that day wanted Jesus crucified, it was the local Roman officials who had to give that order. For centuries the Jews have been falsely labeled as “Christ-killers” and that is simply inaccurate.
According to the Apostle Paul, the root of Christianity is Judaism, and he reminds us that we do not support the root, but that the root supports us (Romans 11:18).
There are numerous Scriptures that Christianity can point to, both in the Old and New Testaments which indicate that the Jewish people would regain their nationhood and that God would be the one to direct it.
I do not believe that it is accurate to compare the current leadership of Israel to the leaders which Jesus confronted, Christians have much more freedom in Israel than they do in surrounding states.
Steven,
If we support injustice, it does not matter which religion the oppressed belong to, the majority are going to recognize the injustice for what it is.
If you take a careful look at the Israeli policy of expanding the settlements as it ends up being then I must assume that you too will describe it as being unjust. Perhaps you should do a little bit of research about what you are defending before you try to defend it.
@ Little David
Is it unjust for a nation to build residences on land that belongs to it?
I know this issue quite well I assure you and I can tell you that the Jewish people have inhabited Judea and Samaria since ancient times. Sound archeology and historical study confirms this. In modern times, the original mandate gave ALL of Judea and Samaria to the Jews, the original mandate gave the Arabs, later labeled as “Palestinians” the land west of the Jordan river. Although Jordan and Egypt occupied Gaza and the “West Bank” respectively around the time of Israel’s war for independence, that mandate was not invalidated. Even if one believes that Jordan and Egypt had the right to the West Bank and Gaza respectively, Israel conquered those territories in the 1967 war. We have conquered territory before in war, should we have to give that land back?
Again I will repeat that Muslims living in Israel have religious freedom that Christians and Jews can only dream of in the Islamic world.
God is a God of justice and the cause of Zion is just.
Ah, so all of those Palestinians should then be deported? Is that what you are in favor of? You can not have both. You can not have an Ersatz Israel dominated by Jews without delivering injustice to the occupied people.
By the way, Samaritans would not describe themselves as Orthodox Jews. Samaritans as a religion exist even to this day. Even Jesus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan. So now why do we accept without question that Israel is entitled to Samaria?
Should the righteous Samaritan be cast aside to give power to the unrighteous Orthodox Jew?
Steven is correct in his historical recitation. And the Samaritans were Jews, as were everyone other than the Roman occupiers during the time of Jesus – including Jesus himself.
Ken,
And Jesus died on the cross. Do you have something else to add to this historically correct rendition of history? If Jesus were alive in the Holy Land today, what would you think he would have to say? Would his words be praises for Israel or condemnation? I think it would be the latter, but I am waiting with baited breath to hear how you will twist it into the former.
And the Samaritans are not Jews. They are alive and live within Israel today. If a young Samaritan woman marries a Jewish man, she is disowned by her family. Jews might claim ownership of them, but I will counter that Orthodox Jews do not even consider Reform Jews real Jews, so how will they then claim ownership to Samaritans?
I am going to triple post.
I support a robust right of self defense for the nation of Israel. What I do not support is an aggressive policy of expansion into the occupied territories that incites violence amongst those occupied.
It is my hope that when/if Jesus comes back, I am on the side he comes back to lead and that I am not on the side he comes back to vanquish.
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