Our New Website URL
http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com
For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes


http://www.raptureready.com/rap15.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Facebook Page Rapture Bible Prophecy Forum: Please Check it out:LIKE it!




Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth?

Ariel Sharon told me once that he expected peace with the Arabs “in 500 years.” I thought then that his assessment was pretty accurate. From time immemorial, the Jews’ cousins have fomented violence in the region, and today they have infected seemingly the entire international community with a hatred of Zionism.

But I am cautiously optimistic.

I spoke this week with two people who personify the hope that can come to this tortured region. They are part of a new generation that from all indications is serious about moving past ancient blood feuds. Perhaps there can even be rapprochement among factions in the Arab League. Wouldn’t that be a miracle and a blessing?

My dear friends at the America-Israel Friendship League (AIFL) have been sponsoring young people on trips to Israel for a quarter-century. Michael Watts, who lives in Washington DC, visited with me this week about his delegation in 1989, as part of the League’s “Youth Ambassador Student Exchange” program. Here’s the really interesting part: at the time, as a teenager, Watts came from a religiously blended family: a Muslim mother and a Christian father (today he is about to become a licensed Christian minister).

Watts is president of the Michael Watts Project, which specializes in organizational development and executive coaching. He credits his trip to Israel as a catalyst for what he does today.

“It was part of my classroom,” he remembers. “The experience shaped my career, and my philosophy of working with others.”

Although Watts took his trip to Israel at the beginning of the First Intifada, he had a delightful experience and maintains to this day a positive impression of the Jewish state.

Kathleen Kim is a recent graduate of Syracuse University, where she majored in journalism, and was an editor with the school’s newspaper. She is obviously part of the “Generation Y” demographic—college-age citizens who seem especially interested in impacting the world in a positive way. I believe I can say with some knowledge that Kathleen and her fellow travelers appear more engaged with helping others than accumulating “stuff” for themselves—certainly more than my generation. Although multi-culturalism has to have checks and balances like anything else, it is the vehicle by which Generation Y hopes to drive to a better future.

Kathleen told me that this was her first trip to Israel, and that several things impressed her, especially the devotion to country she saw from young members of the IDF.

“Their love of country and patriotism was very impressive,” she said.

I see this as an important perspective that acts as a counter-weight to the propaganda put out by a growing number of American Christian leaders that seem drunk on the false view that Israel is an apartheid state. Folks like Jim Wallis could learn a thing or 80 from the participants in the YASE program (who, by the way, receive a well-rounded trip, which includes plenty of opportunity to have private dialogue with Palestinians).

One can think back to the environments in which, for example, a young Yasser Arafat emerged, and recognize that that cauldron of xenophobia and racism produced nothing but tragedy. The AIFL trips are the antithesis of that dark period, bringing together Muslims, Jews, and Christians who can see each other as human beings.

Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the AIFL, is frankly a power-broker in New York, Washington, and Jerusalem. He counts heads-of-state among his friends. Yet he is passionately devoted to bringing youth into the future in a positive way. Ken understands that Christians especially are true friends of the Jewish people:

“Working with Christian evangelicals is more than rewarding—it is inspiring. It is inspiring because it is not unusual to find friendly reception from Jewish people, and so when non-Jewish people see the merit and the justice in Israel’s situation, we know it reflects thought and reflects study and understanding. Which is what gives me a great sense of comfort.

“In fact, given the current political environment, it is becoming more likely that Jews we encounter because of their political leaning are somewhat less sympathetic to Israel than Christians who have taken their learning and study of these issues more seriously.”

Bialkin recognizes the genuine value in building bridges of understanding, and in this I am optimistic that extremist views can be blunted.

When I attended last fall the annual meeting of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU), I was of course dismayed by the anti-Christian Zionist fervor of the Western speakers. Yet it was the Arab speakers who seemed to understand reality. Several even found one or two positive things to say about Israel, and I found those like Nazareth attorney Botrus Mansour possessing a discerning grasp of human nature.

All this makes me somewhat hopeful that younger generations will not wake up too frequently to terrible news of death in the Middle East. Bible-believing Christians know where Ultimate Peace comes from, but in the meantime, there is nothing wrong at all with extending a hand of kindness to those who come from different experiences.

That is an effort that makes me cautiously optimistic that Sharon’s gloomy view was too pessimistic.

jim@prophecymatters.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Disclaimer: Rapture Bible Prophecy Forum, ( http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com ) does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article posted on this site. We do however, encourage a healthy and friendly debate on the issues of our day. Whether you agree or disagree, we encourage you to post your feedback by using the reply button.

If you are new to this site and would like to post articles, opinions, youtube videos that are appropriate for this site just e mail me at

stevensandiego@ymail.com

I will send you a PASSWORD

Ybic

Steven

Our New Website URL
http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com

Facebook Page Rapture Bible Prophecy Forum: Please Check it out