"Never Forget. Never Again."

Have you ever wondered why there is so much turmoil in Israel?  If you listen to someone on one side of the fence, they will tell you that Israel is occupying Muslim land and has caused millions of Arabs to have no place to call home.  But how true is this when we consider that all of Israel’s Arab-controlled bordering countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, combined with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, comprise a whopping 499,206 square miles¹ of “home” land, yet Israel is only 8,550 square miles; about the size of the state of New Jersey.  That means that of the total lands, Israel is currently living in only 1.68% of the land.²

When all Middle Eastern nations are combined with the bordering countries of Israel, it shows that Muslims live in and control 4,485,887³ square miles of the 4,494,437 possible square miles to choose from. Basically, Muslims own 99.91% of the Middle East, leaving only 0.19% for Israel to “occupy.”  So, knowing that Israel is living in less than two-tenths of a percent of the land should make it abundantly clear that this is not a land portion issue at all.

Chants of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” can be heard all over the globe at the time of this writing. However, when protesters are asked what that statement means, most are totally ignorant concerning the ramifications of this chant were it ever to become a reality.  The “river” mentioned in the chant is the Jordan River, which comprises most of the eastern border of the modern nation of Israel along the country of Jordan.  The “sea” is the Mediterranean Sea, which comprises the entire western border of Israel.

“From the River to the Sea” is literally a call for the entire annihilation of the Jewish presence in the land now known as Israel.  There is no cry for a two-state solution built into the chant heard “’round the world,” as some would want us to believe.  Eerily, this global chant is reminiscent of Psalm 83:4, where “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’ ”  Seriously though! Does anyone really believe this issue is about some homeless Arabs when 99.91% of the land is available for them to live in?  It really has nothing to do with a spec of land amongst the Muslim nations but is all about hatred for God’s chosen people, the Jews!

In a speech given at a Holocaust remembrance event on January 27th of this year (2023), German Ambassador Frank Hartmann said, “It is our duty as a nation and as humans, to keep the memory alive and make sure that history does not repeat itself. Never forget, and never again.”⁴ Since then, “Never Forget“ became a popular mantra from January until October 7th of this year.  Then, on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Yom Kippur War, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a well-planned attack against the nation of Israel.  Terrorists knew exactly where to go, when to move, and how to execute a plan that would devastate the Jewish people.

On that fateful day, over 1,200 people were slain at the hands of the Hamas terror organization, along with approximately 240 hostages who were taken back to the Gaza Strip, which has become the base for the Iranian-backed regime.  This article will avoid highlighting any more details into the barbaric ways these animals killed, raped, and set on fire their victims that day, which would only serve to feed into the Hamas agenda.  Plenty of information can be found by a simple search online if you are interested.  

On that day, the world was challenged to see if we would say, “Never Forget, Never Again,” and we failed.  Within days of the attack, anti-Israel protests were breaking out all over the world, especially on U.S. college campuses.  Unwavering support for Hamas began to surface as people cheered and danced in unity for what Hamas did to Israel.  

As the days passed, and Israel began to defend itself, so did the ramping up of support for Hamas through even more demonstrative protests, with even louder voices and bigger signs communicating “End the occupation!”―“Free Palestine!”― “Kill the Jews!”―“Death to Israel!”  It is especially sad to see this happening after a time like the Holocaust.  For decades we wondered how Hitler got the support to do what he did―the wonder is now over.  We are literally seeing history repeat itself with an anti-Semitic push to eliminate Israel’s right to exist in their own land.

I was in Israel not too long ago, and let me tell you something that may need to be heard.  The Jewish people do NOT want this conflict!  This was not what they asked for to happen.  When I was there, you could walk the streets of Jerusalem at night and find many young kids walking and riding bikes through the streets unattended because of how safe Jewish people felt in their homes.  On any given Friday night after sundown, you would find the most peaceful atmosphere as Jews walked to their synagogues to start the Shabbat.  At the Western Wall, you would find thousands of joyful Jews singing and dancing, celebrating the peace and tranquility of Israel.  I repeat; this is NOT what they want.  Just as on the infamous dates in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, or 1981, the Jewish people were not the instigators of what happened on October 7, 2023.  This was not what they wanted; however, what they must do now is respond and act with enough force to hopefully end the torture, rapes, and murders of their own people.

Just like Israel, you would fight for your family.  You would go to battle to stop something like this from ever happening again.  You would understand what happened to your great-grandparents and that you swore to them you would never forget.  You promised your children this would never happen again.  You never wanted to be in this situation, yet here you are.  How would you respond? May we pray like David did in Psalm 137:5: “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!” 

¹I researched each country and compiled their square mileage: Lebanon: 4,036; Syria: 71,498; Jordan: 34,495; Egypt: 386,900; West Bank: 2,263; Gaza Strip: 140.
²The map shown here gives a clear picture of the land of Israel versus Arab-controlled nations.
³Again, the statistics were individually tabulated first. Turkey: 302,535; Iran: 636,000; Iraq: 169,285; Saudi Arabia: 830,000; UAE: 32,300; Afghanistan: 252,071; Libya: 700,000; Sudan: 728,215; Yemen: 204,634; Oman: 120,000; Kuwait: 6,880; Bahrain: 293; Qatar: 4,468.
⁴For more information, please go to https://eg.usembassy.gov/never-forget-never-again-germany-and-the-united-states-mark-holocaust-remembrance-day/ 

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