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Israel’s Tremendous Restraint
Townhall.com ^ | May 24, 2014 | Larry Provost

Posted on 05/24/2014 10:08:04 AM PDT by Kaslin

A trip to Israel will show anyone the tremendous restraint that nation has towards Islam; restraint that is not reciprocated by most of its neighbors and that sadly does little to douse the flames of Islamic fascism.

After departing the aircraft, visitors to Israel receive a blue card instead of getting their passports stamped. Part of the reason is that if the visitor will someday visit an Islamic country, such as Kuwait, that state will not allow the person to enter in simply because that person has visited Israel. In fact, an Israeli passport holder is not even allowed to buy a ticket, even in the United States, from Saudi Arabian airlines. There is no option to select Israel when requesting tickets from Saudi Airlines, much like Israel does not exist in Palestinian and Arab textbooks.

A visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, at The Temple Mount, shows the cultural sensitivity that Israel has. The Temple Mount was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War; a war that happened because multiple neighbors of Israel’s were going to launch a sneak attack against her, such as happened a few years later in 1973. Included in the 1967 capture was the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which includes the Western Walll and the Islamic Dome of the Rock. What Israel has done with the Wall and Dome is remarkable.

Israel allows Christians and others to visit the Western Wall with the only stipulation being that males cover their head. Visitors are also allowed to enter the area where Torah study and prayer takes place. For that matter, anyone is allowed to enter a synagogue in Israel. Israel even allowed administration of the Dome of the Rock to be handed over to Islamic entities after they captured it. However, the Islamists do not treat Jews and Christians in the same fashion at the Dome.

Non Muslims cannot enter the Dome of the Rock. If you are not a Muslim, you cannot pray on The Temple Mount. Non Islamic articles of faith are prohibited, especially if written in Hebrew. Regarding a larger area, Jerusalem is mentioned consistently in the Jewish and Chrsitian Bible. It is not named in the Koran. The Dome of the Rock was only placed there after Islamic conquest of the Holy Land.

With that being said, the situation at hand shows the tremendous religious diversity and restraint that Israel has in this situation despite the overwhelming case that could be made for only Jewish administration of the Temple Mount and the larger area of Jerusalem. Jews, Christians, and Muslims can visit and even live in Jerusalem. Non Muslims cannot legally set foot in Mecca.

A visit to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, offfers more insight. Tours are offered in Hebrew, English, and many other languages including Arabic. Interestingly many non Jews, including many Arab Christians and Muslims, have served in the Israeli parliament. A few years ago Ghaleb Majadele became the first Muslim minister in the Israeli government.

For the Islamic nations of the Middle East, a similar balance does not apply to their government. Some Christians are in the Iraqi National Assembly, courtesy of the United States influence in Iraq, but Jews were mostly forced out of Iraq in the 20th Century. The Iraqi example of Christians in their National Assembly is more like a red herring than everyday reality in the life of the rest of the Middle East.

Much of the world looks down upon Israel, a tiny nation surrounded by enemies, when instead they should be looking to it as an example of virtue and restraint. It is also worth noting that despite all this restraint, often called tolerance, other nations not reciprocate on even these basic human levels. The reality is many of those nations will never have enough tolerance and concessions. Their goal is the complete destruction of Israel, a nation they teach their children does not even exist.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Israel
KEYWORDS: israel

1 posted on 05/24/2014 10:08:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

The answer for Israel, as America, will be found in the biblical God of self sacrifice and salvation, and not the raging parody of Him that Islam worships.

In a word: the world needs evangelists, and nervy ones. Ones that aren’t afraid to be scorned and abused for the sake of the Lord.


2 posted on 05/24/2014 10:13:20 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Kaslin

Can’t wait for the Israelis to take back full control of Har HaBayit, bulldoze the Dome of The Crock and the mosque that is there, and build the third Temple.


3 posted on 05/24/2014 10:20:39 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: Jack Hydrazine

When Christ comes back, all this and more.


4 posted on 05/24/2014 10:25:38 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Kaslin

The Israelis have been too patient for too long.

Surrounded by foaming bloody savages who want all Jews dead, you’d think Israel would exact payment in kind for decades gone.

The savagery is spread all across the Arab Muslim world. Except, how seven million Jews continue to hold at bay three hundred million plus Arabs can only be explained by the power of G-d. Not only that, but did He not promise Abraham,

“I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.”

For behold, G-d is not mocked. The Arab world stretches across millions of square miles of empty, useless desert. This massive climactic shift is a matter of recent history.


5 posted on 05/24/2014 10:27:47 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("In the modern world, Muslims are living fossils.")
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To: elcid1970

A bit of an aside — to refer to Deity with an expression that is sometimes used profanely to ask for His damning is a bit shocking to see... though I understand the original origin, which was a symbolic way of showing that one will not erase the name of the Lord (and by not spelling it out fully one obviously can’t erase it). But the Lord is larger than these baby games.

The answer is found in the promises of God, which never went away and are patiently waiting to be accepted. But they have to be scriptural, not made up by man.


6 posted on 05/24/2014 10:31:33 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Everyone needs a rabbi.


7 posted on 05/24/2014 10:37:16 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: Kaslin

Recently, the Israeli Army has made a push to recruit Christian Arabs. This was met with rejection by the Orthodox Christian leaders of the area, whose attitude was that they were “Arabs first, Christians second”, at least as relates to Israel.

However, it does raise a very interesting possibility.

Instead of recruiting among Arabs, the Israeli military should recruit among pro-Israel Christian *Americans*, to stand with Israel against the Muslim threat.

Importantly, Jewish Americans can join the Israeli army because they can have dual citizenship. And while Israel would likely not extend citizenship to Christian Americans, it might create something like a “green card dual citizenship”, so that they could legally be part of the Israeli army, if not directly, then in an American auxiliary. That would not be violating US law.

There are a *lot* of American Christians who would be quite happy to belong to an Israeli army auxiliary, in that they both love Israel (even if for Christian reasons), or see that the Jews are unfairly oppressed by the Muslims while remaining a strong US ally, or that they respect Israel as a democracy in a sea of tyranny. Or perhaps a combination of the three.

And whatever their rationale, that they are willing to fight for Israel should be enough. Even if they cannot be on the front lines, they can perform rear area duties that would free Israeli soldiers to defend their country.


8 posted on 05/24/2014 10:41:35 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

Those Christians follow the long tradition of ANTISEMITISM. In fact many Christians in the Middle East are rabid Antisemites.

In Egypt, right at the time when many of the Christians there were being persecuted by Muslims, the leader of the church said that anyone who traveled to Israel to observe a religious holiday there, would be excommunicated from the church!


9 posted on 05/24/2014 10:53:16 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Kaslin

Israel is very pragmatic with their Muslim neighbors. They actually “work with them” politically, although those countries don’t admit it to the public. Israel has no qualms against working with their Muslim neighbors, and they understand this.

And ... about 20% of the population of Israel (not the territories) is Muslim. They have full citizenship rights and also legislators representing them in the Knesset.


10 posted on 05/24/2014 11:01:16 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: HiTech RedNeck; Kaslin
When Christ comes back

I hope it is before He comes back, I would love to be around when it happens!

11 posted on 05/24/2014 11:18:48 AM PDT by Former Fetus (Saved by grace through faith)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
to refer to Deity with an expression that is sometimes used profanely to ask for His damning

Are you referring to “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you” ? That's straight out from the Bible, Gen. 12:3. As for the Jewish custom of not writing the Holy One's name, why should that bother you? Yes, He is greater than anything man makes. But a little bit of respect to the Jews has never killed anybody! BTW, I am not a Jew, but I love them like I would love an older brother.

12 posted on 05/24/2014 11:25:54 AM PDT by Former Fetus (Saved by grace through faith)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Thanks Kaslin.
A trip to Israel will show anyone the tremendous restraint that nation has towards Islam; restraint that is not reciprocated by most of its neighbors and that sadly does little to douse the flames of Islamic fascism. After departing the aircraft, visitors to Israel receive a blue card instead of getting their passports stamped. Part of the reason is that if the visitor will someday visit an Islamic country, such as Kuwait, that state will not allow the person to enter in simply because that person has visited Israel. In fact, an Israeli passport holder is not even allowed to buy a ticket, even in the United States, from Saudi Arabian airlines.

13 posted on 05/24/2014 11:54:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

IIRC, for many years Americans have been able to serve in the IDF in a support role, with the understanding that as long as they do not take up arms unless in self defense, their U.S. citizenship is not jeopardized.

Not something to be done openly especially given the current regime, but IMO discreet contact with the Israeli embassy could be productive.


14 posted on 05/24/2014 12:55:41 PM PDT by elcid1970 ("In the modern world, Muslims are living fossils.")
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..
Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

15 posted on 05/26/2014 5:04:52 AM PDT by SJackson (the Democrats take back control, we donÂ’t make (this) kind of naked power grab, J Biden)
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