Category Archives: Middle East

Special 2024 Election Essay: Understanding the Moment: A Call to Courage, Discernment, and Wisdom

October 30th, 2024 | Dr. Charlie Self

Political propaganda and partisan passions aside, next week’s election is very important at all levels (local, state, and federal). We are in a moment of contention and polarization, yet there are signs of hope and moderation as people pause and think about what really matters.

We do not elect messiahs. Jesus Christ alone holds this title. We do not elect kings and queens, for our Constitution prohibits royal titles. We do elect women and men to represent and serve. We bear great responsibility in our free society. We also have an unelected bureaucracy that wields real influence but is ultimately subject to elected officials.

Writing as a thoughtful Christian, my hope for our country (and all countries) rests upon a spiritual awakening that renews church and society, welcoming many to faith and seeing virtue influence all spheres of the public square. Prayer, unselfish service to others, and thoughtful conversation about serious issues are all part of seeing every neighborhood and nation renewed.

With these thoughts in mind, here are some of the obvious and sometimes hidden issues that we must consider as we make the wisest choices for our world.

Families matter and parents have primary responsibility for the worldview of their children. Far too many people are yielding control of their children to governmental agencies that may not align with their enduring values.

The economy matters and there are policies and principles that can help life be better for many. But underneath the daily issues of work and shopping is a debt crisis of historical proportions. We must elect leaders that will steward the public trust and present balanced budgets and more efficient administrations.

A hospitable and secure border is possible. It will require more security, streamlined immigration processes, and deportation of criminal elements. There must be courage from both political parties, eschewing cheap labor and cheap votes in favor of safe and welcoming policies.

We must have compassion for all people, from conception to coronation. This means no to most abortions and active euthanasia, as well and making sure the needy are cared for and our veterans are served well.

Poverty alleviation must focus on access, empowerment, and opportunity in free markets. Neighborhoods are only renewed when all sectors (church, business, social services, education, government, etc.) cooperate and create the conditions for flourishing. And ever-increasing welfare apparatus is not enough.

Peace in the Middle East must be rooted in Israel’s safety and prosperity for all. We need to remember that the only place where a rainbow flag flies safely is in Israel. When local Arab leaders courageously acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and renounce violence, there will peace.

We must reaffirm that human beings are made in God’s image and come male and female. Though there are rare intersex individuals and some truly struggle with body dysphoria, these afflictions must not be allowed to overrule nature and science. If adults want to alter their chemistry and physiology on their dime, they can; however such life-altering and permanent changes should not be allowed for children.

True toleration means living peaceably with our differences, without coercion, cancellation or threats of violence. Toleration does not mean celebration. I can disagree and still be a good neighbor.

Freedom must be rooted in virtue. We are not free to do anything we please without regard for others. We are free to follow our conscience and help build a thriving society on first principles affirmed by all thoughtful women and men.

Love must be founded upon unselfish attitudes and actions, not just passions. The phrase, “Love is Love” is meaningless. We can differ on how people arrange their lives and fulfill their desires without intolerance.

Freedom of conscience/religion is the first freedom that anchors all other (speech, assembly, redress of government) First Amendment rights. There should never be a state religion or coercion in matters of faith. At the same time, people must bring their finest values to their public lives. Religion is never, “left at the door.” Proselytizing at the wrong times and not forcing one’s faith on others are important decisions for peace in a pluralistic world. At the same time, publicly expressing convictions and quietly praying must not be subject to prosecution.

I am certain there are many more issues bearing on this moment. Global empires such as China and Russia are uniting against the West and the USA. More than 300 million Christians face severe persecution around the world. Our VUCA (volatile, uncertain, chaotic, and ambiguous) world needs faithful and forthright, holy and humble people who will worship only God, hate only sin, and desire that all find peace and purpose in Christ.

Sanity about the Middle East: A Historical Overview, Part One

April 26th, 2024 | Dr. Charlie Self

Over the last two decades, I have spoken and written extensively on the conflicts in the Middle East, especially between the State of Israel and her enemies. The horrors of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent explosions of antisemitism around the world and in the USA demand a response that is thoughtful and offers solutions for peace.

There have always been haters of Jews and of Israel…even some self-loathing anti-Zionist Jews. And there have been courageous Arab leaders willing to make peace. Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco are enjoying the economic and social benefits of peace, with Saudi Arabia and others quietly moving toward peace with Israel. Formal peace agreements and frameworks for a new Palestinian State have been presented from 1978 (Camp David I) all the way to 2015. Each time the world hopes, and each time the Palestinian leaders and Islamic radicals change the terms and declare a new “Intifada” or “Jihad.”

What makes current antisemitism so heinous is the complete delegitimizing of the Israel as a nation. We are not talking disputes over borders, capitals, or military forces. This new generation of protestors is siding with radicals and declaring that the entire history of Israel since 1948 is nothing but a “White Settler Colony” or an imposition of the West committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

In this essay and the one next week, I will offer historical facts and frameworks of hope that are contrary to the deluded crowds shooting, “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free.” The same evil forces animating the Holocaust are at work again and must be opposed. Here are some important facts giving context for current events:

The Jewish people have resided in Jerusalem and this region for over 3000 years.
“Palestine” was an artificial creation of the Roman Empire after they defeated the Jews in a second rebellion in 135 AD. The Romans deliberately named the region (trying to erase Judea and Samaria) after the Philistines, the enemies of Israel who settled in Gaza and came from Crete.
From the second century all the way to the 19^th century, this land has had a succession of empires, while always having a Jewish population. The Crusades briefly brought Christian rulers (1099-1178), but after 1291 and until 1917, it was ruled by the Seljuk Turks and then the Ottoman Empire.
In response to persecution in both Europe and other regions, Zionist movements (religious and secular, conservative and liberal) arose in the mid- and late-19^th century, calling on Jewish people and their sympathizers to create a safe homeland in the Middle East. From the 1850s to the early 1900s, many Jewish groupie legally purchased land for farms and villages from local landowners and began to transform deserts and swamplands and create lively places like Haifa and Tel Aviv. There were some instances of violence, but they were few.
In the wake of World War I (1914-1918), calls for accelerating a homeland increased, with British and international support between 1917 and 1923. Various Zionist groups were open to enclaves within the Transjordan Kingdom, or semi-autonomy under Great Britain, or a small nation with good relationships with Arab neighbors.
But along with increasing desire for this well-deserved homeland, the 1920s saw the rise of Arab nationalism and jihadism, the birth of the Muslim Brotherhood, and radical leaders calling for an end to colonialism. No Arabist movement wanted any kind of increased Jewish presence and violence toward peaceful, legal Jewish communities increased.

Next week we will continue the narrative from World War II to the present. It is vital that honest people see that Jewish longings for peace and safety in their ancient homeland are legitimate biblically, historically, and affirmed by international law. As we will see, the idea that the modern state of Israel is a genocidal imposition is an outrageous projection of the jihadists’ desire to eliminate Israel.

One more topic must be touched on. There are anti-Israeli protestors claiming they only oppose Israeli policy but are not anti-Jewish. This is a lie for 99% of the agitators. Israelis themselves live in a contentious, pluralistic democracy. The only place where a rainbow flag flies safely in the whole region is in Israel! Israel has over two million Arab citizens; the current Palestinian leader insist that their future state will be, “Jew-free”. The PLO, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad all have charters calling for Israel’s destruction. Disagreeing with Israeli policy is fine, denying the legitimacy of a nation created in the shadow of the Holocaust is evil.

Peace in the Middle East

November 7th, 2023 | Dr. Charlie Self

Every day I hear and we read in various articles, “If only Israel would stop building settlements, welcome back 5,000,000 Arab refugees, and treat the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza well, there would be peace.” After all, it was the UN, Europe, and the USA that imposed a Jewish state on a peaceful land.”

Every point in the above paragraph is wrong. The people advocating these ideas (with a few naïve followers as exceptions) know they are outright fabrications. There CAN be peace in the Middle East, but the price cannot be the destruction of the State of Israel.

“OK, OK, let’s go back to the 1949 Armistice Lines and negotiate from there.”

Friends, Israel has come close multiple times to doing just that. She has offered a shared capital in East Jerusalem, up to 92-97% of lands acquired in 1967 for a new Palestinian State, and given the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, Gaza back to the Palestinian Authority, and made many other overtures. Every time (1978, 1993, 2000, 2008, 2015) peace is offered, Palestinian leaders find a reason to refuse and call for more terror.

“What about the descendants of the thousands of refugees from 1947-1949? Shouldn’t they be able to return to their original villages? After all, they were exiled by war.”

Well, the number of direct refugees is disputed (400,000 were displaced, half by war, half by believing they would return in weeks after the Jews were destroyed). Israel cannot absorb millions of hostile Arabs into her nation. This is why a new Palestinian State should be created! The Arab nations have deliberately refused to assimilate these refugees, working with the former KGB to fabricate a Palestinian national identity in the 1960s. By the way, Palestinian Authority President Abbas has already declared that a new state will be, “Jew-free.” (Echoes of the Nazis) This is in contrast to the two million Arab citizens in Israel.

Is there any hope?

Yes.

The hope is that a handful of courageous and influential Arab leaders will build on the Camp David Accords and the Abraham Accords, and call for recognition of Israel as a legitimate home for the Jewish people, renounce terrorism, and negotiate a way forward.

“This sounds great! There must be peaceful Muslims ready to do this!”

Here is the catch: the moment Arab Muslim leaders renounce Hamas and Hezbollah, dismantle the Palestinian Jihad, and say yes to a Jewish nation, they are targets for assassination. The West forgets a few inconvenient facts about Islamic history:

Islam has never produced a true pluralistic society where women and men of all faiths or none are complete equals.
Anwar Sadat made peace in 1978 and was killed in 1981 by radical Islamists.
Generations of Muslims in the Middle East have been brainwashed concerning the Jews, seeing them as inveterate enemies and less than human. Reading the school curricula is chilling.
Antisemitism is a demonic stronghold that reappears globally every generation. Jihadists are emboldened by Western criticisms of Israel and underlying Jew-hatred.

Is there a way forward? Yes! If millions of people of conscience rise up in support of Israel’s right to exist in safety and condemn all forms of antisemitism. If every person of conscience will refuse to accept a symmetry of evil and call out the evil found in Hamas, Hezbollah, and all that justify the killing civilians, it will make a difference. It is time to hold the USA government accountable for their wishy-washy policies and have our State Department end its century of institutional antisemitism.

Courageous Muslim leaders, with the support of millions of freedom-loving allies, and the full economic and military support of the West, can create a new era of peace.

Praying today for the Peace of Jerusalem.

It is 1938-1948 Again

October 31st, 2023 | Dr. Charlie Self

I am deeply disturbed by the anger, deliberate deceptions, and outright evil of those that advocate, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free.” These are all echoes of the horrific events of 1938-1948, as the Jews of Europe were systematically corralled, exiled, stripped of their livelihoods, gathered in ghettos, and ultimately industrially exterminated. From the events of Kristallnacht on November 8-9, 1938, to the blood-curdling jihadist calls for death in 1948, the world stood by far too passively, making excuses and then being shocked when a new Israeli state was victorious.

We have pagan-secular progressives joining with Islamic jihadists on behalf of the “oppressed” Palestinians, forgetting that Israel is a pluralistic democracy (with Tel Aviv among the friendliest cities to the LGBTQ+ communities), the only safe haven for Jews world-wide, and ready for peace at any time. Like the Nazis of the 1930s and 1940s, today’s evil axis projects their intolerance, antisemitism, and anti-liberty ideology onto the only democracy in the region.

I have been asked by many friends to offer a historical perspective on the current war in the Middle East. In this essay, I will offer some context for the current events. At the outset, a few things must be clear:

This is not a “both sides are equally good/bad” moment. There is no comparison between Israel’s treatment of her citizens and the populations under her control and the indiscriminate, inhuman killing of innocents by terrorists dedicated to killing every Jew on the planet.
For years, people have been subject to the agitation propaganda and phrases like, “the cycle of violence” or “Israel is an apartheid state” or “The Israeli government is fascist or Nazi.” This is absurd on its face, and the ultimate projection of the intolerant ideologies of Israel-haters.
The greatest deception of all is, “We don’t hate Jews, just the government of Israel…and Israel is a White, Western, Colonial-Settler invasion of peaceful Palestinian lands”. Israel is a safe haven for Jews from over 80 nations, has over two million Arab citizens, and offers true freedom while surrounded by a sea of Islamic intolerance.

Some important historical markers as we assess the current situation:

There has been continuous Jewish presence in Israel for over 3000 years, verified by archeology, artifacts, historical accounts outside the Bible, and the biblical accounts themselves.
In 135 A.D., after a failed Jewish rebellion against the oppressions of the Roman Empire, Jews were exiled (again) and the entire region was relabeled, “Palestine” by Roman leaders seeking to eradicate Jewish history and add insult to injury by renaming the land after the Philistines, enemies of Israel from Crete that settled in Gaza.
Jerusalem was conquered by Islamic armies in the 7^th century, and became a third holy city in the tradition. Jerusalem is NOT mentioned in the Qur’an, but any land conquered by Islam is considered forever Islamic.
The Crusades (1096-1291) were the reaction of the West to centuries of Islamic conquest and oppression, including persecution of pilgrims in the Holy Land. These crusades included horrific anti-Jewish campaigns as well.
From the 1600s to the end of World War I, the Holy Land was under the rule of the decaying Ottoman Empire, with local chieftains exercising influence.
In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, a growing Zionist movement called for Jews to return to their ancestral home, and thousands did, legally buying land at exorbitant prices. This movement accelerated with the rise of European antisemitism from the 1880s to 1930s.
The Mufti of Jerusalem, Husseini, called for the destruction of the Jews from the 1920s to the 1950s, including serving as Hitler’s voice from Berlin and giving approval to the genocide of the extermination camps. His most fervent disciple? Yasser Arafat.
In 1947-1948, In the shadow of the Holocaust, the United Nations carved out a tiny Jewish enclave and a huge Arab state in “Palestine.” Immediately, every Arab nation called for Israel’s destruction.
From the Six Day War of 1967 to the present, Israel has offered land for peace (1967, 1978, 1993, 2000, 2008, and even in 2015), relocated thousands of Jewish settlements, and hoped for an end to war…and she is always refused. She gave Gaza to the Palestinian Authority years ago. Instead of a jewel of trade, tourism, and vibrancy, it is an armed camp for Hamas.
Yes, Israel has real security measures, including multiple fences. No, Israel is not committing genocide. When you are surrounded by people calling for your destruction, you are just a bit cautious. Israel does not target Palestinian civilians for terrorist attacks. Thousand are allowed to live and work in areas overseen by Israel, and they earn higher wages and receive better medical care.

In light of this history, our first position must not include appeasement, false cease-fires, or capitulation to progressive pressures. We must stand with the nation of Israel, and all Jews, with gratitude for their moral and spiritual legacy, current affirmations of freedom, and that fact that Israel is a beacon of hope in a land of intolerance and radicalism. We must love life more than death, virtue-based liberty more than extremism, and truth over propaganda.

We Know Better, Part 6: Israel as a Gift to the World

July 26th, 2022 | Dr. Charlie Self

This year, on May 14, the Nation of Israel celebrated her 74^th birthday. In the shadow of the Shoah, and against all military and political odds, this small country has survived multiple invasions, continual terrorist attacks, and generations of global leaders seeking her destruction or delegitimization. Although the United Nations approved Israel’s creation in 1947, she has uniformly persecuted this democracy since the 1950s. For a century (from the 1920s to the present) key State Department leaders in the USA have been anti-Semitic and opposed any policies supporting Israel. During WWII, such sentiments kept millions of Jews from emigrating to the USA and other Western nations.

Today’s university students in the USA and Europe are subject to a barrage of agitation propaganda that accused Israel of “apartheid” policies, “war crimes” and being a European or White, “settler-colony” displacing native Palestinians. Some even question significant historic Jewish presence in the region. The BDS campaigns to cripple Israel economically and the well-funded Arab/Middle East Study centers on hundreds of universities means that most students are getting a very one-sided narrative.

Islamist and other radical politicians are proposing that the US congress declare the creation of Israel a “disaster” or “tragedy” and they encourage eliminating any aid to Israel until she relinquishes all the “occupied territories” from her 1967 Six-Day War victories.

Let’s set the facts straight and get a balanced view of historical and contemporary reality.

The Jewish people have a continual presence in the Holy Land for over 3000 years. This is verified not only in the Bible, but by numerous archeological finds.

“Palestinian” is a created national identity in the wake of pan-Arab failure to destroy Israel in the 1950s and 1960s. Arabs displaced by the war suddenly have an identity as refugees and victims, with no Arab states welcoming them as citizens. I am not minimizing their suffering, but with all the wealth available from Arab states, there should be no one in poverty.

Israel has agreed to numerous plans (1949, 1956, 1967, 1976, 1999-2000, 2010, 2015) for peace and offered 92-96% of the territory gained in 1967 in exchange for recognition, diplomatic exchange, and an end to state-sponsored terrorism. Israel is not the aggressor and her measured responses to continual terrorist attacks are models of restraint.

Israel has more than two million Arab citizens integrated into all facets of society. Contrast this with current Palestinian leaders calling for a “Jew-free” (echoes of the Shoah in Germany) state next door.

Israel is the only democracy in the region, with freedom of conscience and religion, and numerous political parties and social activists. The joke in Israel is, “Five Israelis, six political parties.” The only place in the entire Middle East where LGBTQ+ people have any liberties is in Israel.

Israel is dubbed, “start-up nation” and leads the world in many areas of agriculture, water reclamation, energy technology, medical advances, and information sciences. In fact, Israel’s sworn enemies quietly go to Jewish doctors for critical medical procedures, and Israel is exporting oil and natural gas to her neighbors.

Israel is not perfect and her own citizens are the most critical. There are Left and Right parties, and much discontent. She is working on economic and security alliances with her neighbors and remains open to peacemaking, if Arab leaders and Western elites will face the realities that she is here to stay and a good partner for freedom.

Israel is a gift to our world and we should celebrate her surviving and thriving under such adverse pressures.