Next-Generation Zionists

One of the gratifying things to watch in this period of increasing global chaos is the rise of new Zionists to defend Israel. Some are particularly inspiring.

A Millennial Zionist making somewhat of a name for himself—on his own terms—is Yair Netanyahu, the son of Benjamin and Sarah Netanyahu. He has a brother, Abner, and the family appears to be continuing the legacy of Zionism.

I follow Yair on Twitter and he isn’t shy about defending his country. Honestly, I’ve been a little surprised he’s as political and fearless as he is. His tweets tweaking his father’s political opponents are nothing short of amazing. His knowledge of history and culture is similar to that of his father and uncles.

And his grandfather.

Many of you know that I knew Benzion Netanyahu. I met him through publishing contacts in Jerusalem and the times spent at his home, listening to the professor describe pivotal history he lived through, continue to amaze me. He was of course friendly with such seminal figures as Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and Benzion’s brand of fierce Zionism was to the right of even the right-wing.

Many times over the years—since Benjamin first became prime minister in 1996—Benzion made his own headlines with his views on now to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Let’s just say they were considered archaic, even brutal, by the diplomatic set in the West. Benzion though understood the stubbornness of the Arab culture and knew that the Oslo Accords were a disaster not only for Israel, but for the West in general, and even the Arabs themselves.

He was a hardliner, and I respected him totally.

Yair seems to have much of that spirit.

This week he got into a spat on Twitter with the reprehensible Linda Sarsour, a Brooklyn-born (“AOC,” anyone?), the anti-Semite who advocates for the Palestinians day and night. Sadly, she is a darling of even Christian Millennials, who have bought into historical revisionism.

A few days ago, Sarsour repeated the odious lie that Jesus is a Palestinian. This was first proposed by the arch-terrorist, Yasser Arafat.

Sarsour isn’t that stupid and she’s not a poor student of history. She’s a propagandist. She is a liar. Her wish to see Israel eradicated is not out of the mainstream, anymore. Just as our overall political and religious leaders stood down in the past decades, as Leftist thought permeated the culture, Sarsour’s sick views are tolerated.

But not by everyone.

Yair Netanyahu tweeted this in response to Sarsour:

“Are you that stupid? Bethlehem was a Jewish city! It means “house of bread”. It’s the city where king David – the most famous king of the Jews were born! On the cross above Jesus’ head was the sign “INRI”- ‘Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm’, which means in Latin-Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews! The Bible say that Jesus was born and raised in Judea!”

Ha! This young man is not afraid. He has the same blood coursing through his veins that drove his father, Uncle Jonathan, his father, and his Uncle Iddo.

These men, and the women in their lives, love their country and are the best defenders of the Jewish state.

When I think of “the old man,” and then think about young Yair, I know that Israel is in good hands going forward.

On to victory!

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Some Different History                             

This week, I’m taking the liberty of sharing with you the journal travels of my friend, Brian Schrauger, founder and editor of the Jerusalem Journal. I’ve written before about Brian and his work; he is truly unique in that he is a Bible guy who happens to live in and report from Israel.

He’s also one of the finest people I know.

I knew he was taking an unusual trip to Iraq and I’ve been fascinated by his dispatches. He is going into territory most of us will never see with our own eyes, even those of us who’ve been to Israel. But the places he’s visited this week are also part of the Bible story. Very much so.

(For those of you on social media, his Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/BrianSchrauger)

With his own eyes(!) he has seen the places where the Assyrians took the captive Israelites, far from home.  Enjoy Brian’s observations below, and be sure to check out his work.

THE RIVER REMEMBERS…

When the 10 tribes of Israel’s northern kingdom were taken into exile in 722 BCE, the Bible says they were “carried away into exile to Assyria, and settled in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”

Today that river is called the Khabur. It runs wends its way through the city of Zakho in northwest Iraq where it nudges Turkey’s border and knocks on Syria’s back door.

We don’t know what happened to those 10 tribes. In the ensuing 2,600 years or so, we do know that today’s Zakho became a popular home for Jews.

Yesterday I visited Zakho. Intending to explore it last night, I found the streets heaving with people. Going to bed early at my hotel there, I was out by 6am. Because the sun came up at about 4:45am, it felt like mid-morning. But unlike the night before, the streets were almost empty, making it easy to explore.

Although there was a strong Jewish presence there until the 1940s, I could not find where they lived or worshiped. It’s possible there are remaining footprints, but no one there with whom I spoke knew where they were.

But the river to which they were led captive by the ruthless Assyrians is impossible to miss.

We do not know what those exiles did when they were deposited on the banks of the Khabur. But we do know what the Judah’s exiles did when they landed on the banks of Babylon’s Tigris River. According to Psalm 137, “we sat down and wept.”

It is not difficult to imagine that exiles from the northern kingdom did the same on the banks of the Khabur.

Those tribes might be lost and Jews from the area erased…

…but the river remembers, bearing witness to judgment, tragedy and suffering.

At the same time, however, it is a body of flowing water that, like God’s Spirit, washes dirt away, cleanses and restores.

As such, it is a witness, both to the past and to the future. Redemption and restoration will come.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com