Date: Tuesday, November 26, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer, Director

Day Of Rage

Thousands of Palestinians are participating in protests and riots today after various groups, including President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party, called for a "Day of Rage." What has so outraged Palestinian sensibilities? The Trump Administration's position that homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria are not illegal.

Israeli forces are on "high alert," and there are dozens of injuries so far from minor skirmishes. I pray that is the worst of it.

Once again, we are seeing the fundamental reason for why peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains so elusive. The Palestinian knee-jerk reaction to virtually every situation is denial and violence.

Rather than seriously negotiate for peace, Palestinians deny the historic Jewish connection to the land of Israel and riot on demand.

The Palestinians have repeatedly rejected generous Israeli peace offers. They subsidize terrorism against innocent Israelis. They teach their children to hate Jews.

Out of curiosity, I googled the phrase "Israelis Call For Day of Rage." No results were found.

When I googled "Palestinians Call For Day of Rage" more than 1,700 results turned up. That speaks volumes.

Chief Rabbi Sounds Alarm

As we have repeatedly warned, anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world. But to the surprise of many, it has been especially evident in Great Britain where the left-wing Labour Party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, have been embroiled in a series of anti-Semitic scandals.

As you may know, the nation is two weeks away from a critical election that will likely decide many important issues, not the least of which is whether Great Britain remains in the European Union.

But today many British voters are talking about anti-Semitism due to a bold opinion piece by Ephraim Mirvis, Britain's chief rabbi, warning against the rampant anti-Semitism that is now so pervasive within the Labour Party. Below are some excerpts of Rabbi Mirvis's column.

"Convention dictates that the Chief Rabbi stays well away from party politics --and rightly so. However, challenging racism is not a matter of politics, it goes well beyond that. . .

"A new poison -- sanctioned from the top -- has taken root in the Labour Party. Many members of the Jewish community can hardly believe that this is the same party that they called their political home for more than a century. It can no longer claim to be the party of equality and anti-racism.

"How far is too far? How complicit in prejudice would a leader of Her Majesty's opposition have to be to be considered unfit for office? Would associations with those who have incited hatred against Jews be enough? Would describing as 'friends' those who endorse the murder of Jews be enough? It seems not. . .

"I regret being in this situation at all. I simply pose the question: What will the result of this election say about the moral compass of our country? When December 12 arrives, I ask every person to vote with their conscience. Be in no doubt, the very soul of our nation is at stake."

The chief rabbi's words of warning were supported by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, who declared:

"That the Chief Rabbi should be compelled to make such an unprecedented statement at this time ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews. Everyone in our country is entitled to feel safe and secure. . . As a Church, we are very conscious of our own history of anti-Semitism. None of us can afford to be complacent."

Indeed, none of us can afford to be complacent. We must always be vigilant and ready to resist anti-Semitism whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head. As Christians United for Israel founder Pastor John Hagee recently put it:

"Anti-Semitism is not just a Jewish problem, it's everyone's problem. And it is not just the world's oldest hatred, it is sin, and Bible believing Christians must respond accordingly."