Perplexed non-Jewish Supporters of Israel

by Steven Shamrak

It might surprise some Jews, considering the disproportional anti-Israel coverage in the media and from international political pressure on Israeli government, that there are many non-Jews who sincerely and resolutely support the State of Israel. What is even more surprising is that many of them enthusiastically approve the idea of the reunification of all Jewish land and creation of Eretz-Israel (Land of Israel), even more than most Jews do, as it was designated by the League of Nations in July 1922!

Quite often, I receive messages of disbelief and surprise from our non-Jewish friends. They are unable to understand Jewish passivity and inadequate responses to Arab aggression and terror.  Many of them have never experienced continual persecution and violence because they belong to a national or religious minority!

Although most of them are Christians, they are still struggling to grasp the Jewish concept of love and respect for life, even at the time of existential threat from their mortal enemies. They ask:

Q1: How on Earth do Jewish people put up with this injustice?

Jews are used to it, and we must be very careful with what and how we do things. Before WWII, Jews, facing genocide, were not allowed to leave Europe by international anti-Semites and the current leading democracy played a main part in it! During the war, Jews were betrayed and killed by their neighbours and friends. After the war, the British did everything possible to disallow the establishment of Jewish homeland on the land which was legally designated for Jews, in spite of the fact that many Arab and Muslim countries were recently created as a result of the same mandate system, established by the League of Nations after collapse of the Ottoman empire,

Q2: Why some Jews turn their backs on Israel, and help haters of Israel and Jews?

For too long Jews suffered persecution and were told “you can’t do this or that.” And we started to believe this lie! Many of us are suffering from the Stockholm syndrome or some form of PTSD. For thousands of years we learned to survive by appeasing our oppressors. It is difficult to break bad old habits (the Galut mentality), especially when there aren’t many truly supportive friends around.

Q3: There is non-stop world-wide Islamic violence and terror against the Western world and the state of Israel! Why is the international hatred focused on Israel and Jews, and there is no real reaction against Muslim or Arab states?

Welcome to the world of the Jew-hating reality – the cancer of humanity! Anti-Semites love to hate Jews, while conveniently disregarding the fact that Islamists hate Christians and any other religions, Communists, Socialists and nice democrats even more than they hate the existence of Israel. Israel is the front line of the world defence against the Islamic assault, whose goal is to achieve global domination by Islam!

Jews and Jewish leadership must realize that the horrors of our past should not destroy the future of the Jewish people. We achieve what most people had considered impossible - creation of the Jewish state in 1948 in an utterly hostile international environment. We are still in danger of squandering this great achievement! The time has come to understand that Jews will never get full approval for anything we do, or do not do, from anyone. Therefore, it is better to do what is right for the future Jewish people!