As pro-Palestinian protests spread to college campuses across America and around the world, three conservative Christian activists staged a “United for Israel March” at Columbia University last night.
“It’s time to take a stand against the rampant antisemitism that is plaguing our nation,” said polémico “worship warrior” Sean Feucht in a Tuesday social media correo announcing the counter-demonstration. Also engaging in the march were fellow culture warriors Eric Metaxas, the radio host and author, and Russell Johnson, pastor of Pursuit Church in Seattle.
Feucht and his fellow march organizers equate anti-Israel protests with antisemitism, which is a growing danger in the U.S. and worldwide. Specifically, the march took aim at pro-Palestinian protestors at Columbia University, who have been active since April 17. In that time, more than 100 protestors have been arrested, and classes have been moved online.
Many protestors say they are against Israel’s campaign in Gaza, not Jews. Since the brutal Oct.7 Hamas attacks, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage, Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza.
Videos, however, show protestors at Columbia chanting, “Zionists not allowed here,” “We’re all Hamas,” and some students calling for “10,000 October 7ths.”
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“Columbia has been taken over by radical Pro-Hamas protestors,” said Feucht in his post. “On April 25, that changes.”
Videos released by Feucht and otros show a group of a few dozen people carrying American and Israel flags gathering before marching to Columbia’s gate, accompanied by a snare drum. The group then stopped to make statements over a bullhorn and sing songs, accompanied by Feucht on acoustic guitar.
“All of America needs to see this,” said Feucht through the bullhorn. “We’re not backing down.
Tonight, America is going to see a bunch of joyful believers” and “faith-filled warriors.”
Metaxas, who wrote a book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, carried a poster of the German pastor and cited him in his comments.
“Jesus was a Jew, and if you love Jesus, you stand with every Jew, just as Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood with the Jews in his time,” Metaxas said. “We bless those who curse us.”
Johnson wore a RHUDE baseball cap and shouted slogans and Bible verses through the bullhorn.
When announcing the march, Feucht said, “Partner organizations are joining us from across the nation.” The march was also promoted by the Christian network CBN, James Robison’s La corriente, y right-wing media figures Laura Loomer and Andy Ngô.
“Every Christian and person of faith across America should be absolutely horrified at what we’re seeing take place right now on these university campuses that have become hotbeds for antisemitism and hatred of the Jews — an annihilation of an entire nation,” Feucht told CBN in a segment entitled, “Sean Feucht Brings Gospel to Hostile Antisemitic College.”
"We stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters"
People gathered outside Colombia University to proudly stand with Israel. 🇮🇱🇺🇸
Video: @seanfeucht pic.twitter.com/ThZ2NmnnlH
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) April 26, 2024
The protests at Columbia have spread across the country. The University of Southern California in Los Angeles has canceled commencement ceremonies due to protests over the school’s decision to cancel a Muslim student’s commencement speech.
Other protests have sprung up at Brown University in Rhode Island, Ohio State University, Emory University in Atlanta, the Austin and Dallas campuses of the University of Texas, and campuses in Cairo, Paris, and Sydney Australia, de acuerdo a Los New York Times.
In response, Brandeis University, a private school historically linked to Judaism, announced Monday that it would extend its deadline for transfer students. The university specifically encourages Jewish students feeling unsafe at their current schools to apply.
Thursday’s planned march follows U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s visit to the Columbia campus on Wednesday. Johnson, who met with Jewish students, called the school’s president an “inept leader” and said she should resign if she can’t quell the disturbances.
Johnson also said Congress should consider revoking federal funds for universities that can’t control student protests, but he did not say if legislation is pending.
The Family Research Council is among conservative evangelical groups saying believers should show “uncompromising support for Israel,” and it hopes 20,000 churches will participate in its May 19th nationwide initiative “to pray for and stand with Israel.”
Cornerstone Chapel Pastor Gary Hamrick shares a biblical worldview on why Christians must support the state of Israel. pic.twitter.com/eBNbrUulC5
—Tony Perkins (@tperkins) April 25, 2024
“It is imperative that we, as believers within the body of Christ, visibly demonstrate our unwavering support for Israel anchored in the word of God,” said a Thursday email from FRC, the pro-family D.C. group founded by Focus on the Family four decades ago.
In his CBN interview, Feucht said, “These are the End Times . . . we’re living in the midst of it.”
The 1948 creation of a new nation of Israel set prophetic clocks a-ticking for many American evangelicals.
Dispensationalist interpretations of biblical prophecy give Israel a central role in end times beliefs popularized in Hal Lindsey’s bestselling Late Great Planet Earth, los Dejado atrás novels, and the Scofield Reference Bible.
“At the center of the dispensational system was the belief that before any of the prophesied end times events could take place, Jews would have to reestablish their own state in the Holy Land,” wrote Timothy Weber wrote in his 2004 book, On the Road to Armageddon: How Evangelicals Became Israel’s Best Friend.
Black evangelicals often don’t share white evangelicals unalloyed support for Israel. In February, leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church released a declaración calling on U.S. leaders to “immediately withdraw all funding and other support from Israel.”
A lot of focus on this Pew survey on US perspectives on Israel and Hamas focuses on the distinction between Muslims and Jews. However white evangelical protestants differ substantially from black protestants and even Catholics. https://t.co/0Wpw28llUN pic.twitter.com/CVoD3ZvcOP
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) March 22, 2024
The AMEC’s Council of Bishops said: “Since Oct. 7, 2023, in retaliation for the brutal murder of 1,139 Israeli citizens by Hamas, Israel has murdered over 28,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The United States is supporting this mass genocide. This must not be allowed to continue.”
Religion News Service’s Adelle Banks reported that leaders of the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Sojourners, and the National African American Clergy Network asked U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to require funding for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in any Israel aid package.
On Wednesday, President Joseph Biden said America’s commitment to Israel remains “ironclad” as he signed legislation that provides some of the humanitarian aid the religious groups requested.
The legislation House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to pass last week with Democrat support includes $14 billion in aid for Israel and $10.5 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Steve Rabey es un autor y periodista veterano que ha publicado más de 50 libros y 2000 artículos sobre religión, espiritualidad y cultura. Fue instructor en los seminarios Fuller y Denver y en la Academia de la Fuerza Aérea de EE. UU.
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What are Christians around the nation waiting for!? HOP ON THE BANDWAGON!! We ought to be engaging in this initiative in every city and college campus nationwide! Kudos to these three for initiating the process.
Let’s face it. Pro Israel Zionism is one of the most effective glues to hold together a voting/donor block in the modern era. Thought leaders grandstanding grants a super vicarious sense of reprisal for the masses who feel helpless to score points against groups they feel are the enemy despite the messge on behalf of the victims of collateral damage. However this phenomenon can happen on all sides of the issue.
The protests at Columbia have brought together many students, some of whom are Jewish, to oppose the massive killing that is going on in Gaza. Feucht’s statement that if you love Jesus you stand with every Jew may include the students who attacked the Columbia demonstrators in January with a foul smelling spray that made people sick and may have been a chemical weapon, as well as Israeli defense forces that shot aid workers. The Columbia protestors who are Jewish are certainly not supported by Feucht, neither is Milene Klein, the former editorial page editor of the Columbia Spectator who is Jewish and reported a campus that was not out of control. The decision of the president of Columbia to call NYPD on campus the day after she was questioned in Congress placed students at risk, including Jewish students among the protesters, especially in view of the killings at Kent State, the killing of Eric Gardner by an NYPD officer who was only removed from the force five years later, with opposition from NYPD members, or the recent removal by Mayor Eric Adams of the chairwoman of the police oversight board after she criticized a fatal shooting investigation. Lets support actions that protect human life and a safe educational environment for all. Lets also support truth.
Let’s support obeying administrators and the police that verbally asked protesters and non-student/staff trespassers to leave repeatedly, and to follow the approved protocols that these schools have provided.
Safety risk SOLVED.
no. I don’t support obeying administrators and especially not police when they are unjust in their requests- and in many cases violating constitutional rights. we live in a democracy, not an authoritarian police state, and protest is one of the rights we are given to affect change. the “protocols” are intended to quash protest, missing the entire point of protest, which is shining light on injustices.
Robert Leland:
Your words:
“Lets support actions that protect human life and a safe educational environment for all. Lets also support truth.”
1) Protect Human Life
I agree with your statement. For that reason, I cannot support ANY student who calls for the divestment of Israeli businesses in our nation. Nor can I support ANY student who believes Hamas, a terrorist organization, is in the right when it comes to the war in Israel. Hamas supports a culture of death, not human life. Indeed, if you have been paying close attention, they call Palestinians who are killed “martyrs.” Even Haniyeh’s 3 sons, killed by Israeli troops, were called “martyrs.” They could care less about human life and would not hesitate to kill American students wrapped in kafiyehs and carrying the Palestinian flag.
2) Safe Educational Environment for all
I agree that all students deserve to feel safe. When Jewish students are spat on, blocked, and told that Palestine should be “free,” it translates into harassment. It is wrong and should be eradicated immediately. The University of Texas sent the first strong message against it.
3) Support Truth
Agree. That is why this article, stating figures given to reporters by Hamas, should be read with a mountain of salt. Statistically and in reality, the reported death figures we see parroted by the news media are highly unlikely. And any nation that attempts to eradicate a terrorist organization cannot be accused of genocide when it takes out that organization’s supporters.
Turns out that Netanyahu and his inner circle have supported Hamas for the purpose of creating disunity within Palestinian politics. There’s plenty of sin to go around with this issue with innocent men , women and children paying the price.
As for deaths and casualtiy figures. Independant bodies – who are not affiliated with Hamas – have put forward numbers that are not easily disputed.
And though I would not agree with all the protestors in this matter, I do admire those people who genuinely feel when others suffer and who seek to see such suffering come to an end.
Appreciate this reply, Ian. It has baffled me how blindly pro-Israel so many Americans (and evangelicals) are, completely skipping over Netanyahu’s many inhumane war crimes.
I am not “anti-protest” – even when I don’t fully agree with the cause (as is this case) – because the concept and spirit of protest has been a catalyst for changes throughout history all over the world (e.g., women’s suffrage, civil rights movement, end of apartheid, etc). And MANY protests – and entire movements – were led by young people, so I’m not surprised this is happening on college campuses, as college is a phase of life when young people are figuring out who they are and what they believe in an environment where they are exposed to many new beliefs, lifestyles, faiths, cultures and people for the first time.
I also believe we aren’t going to move forward towards any sort of resolution, because our society has lost the art of nuance. Everything must be “all or nothing”: if you think Israel has done ANYTHING wrong, then you’re antisemitic; if you belive Palestinian civilians deserve to be treated in a humane manner, then you’re “pro-Hamas.”
I hate staying silent amidst suffering, but society’s inability to embrace nuance, and understand what’s happening in Gaza is very complex amidst MANY shades of gray, has me keeping my mouth shut.
If anything, I admire the bravery of those who are speaking out.
Being pro-Israeli doesn’t automatically equate with being pro-Netanyahu…just as being a patriotic American doesn’t equate with supporting Biden’s policies…especially if you are concerned with society’s ‘inability to embrace nuance’.
I would suggest that these pro-Palestinian students learn to embrace nuance and refrain from pejorative attacks on their Jewish classmates. Calling for a global intifada or for death to Israel doesn’t create an environment for any resolution.
Amen. I feel the same way. This nuanced, 3rd way…. seems to me to be the only Christian response. The kingdoms of this world (US & Israel & Hamas) follow the ways of satan… someday they will all crumble and bow the knee to the Way of Jesus… which according to the Gospels is rife with nuance…
Yes Marin, though not overlooking the reality that no protest group is, ‘pure as snow’. It seems that the protestors in this crisis – where innocent men, women, and children are being killed and maimed for life – are being vilified and labeled as naive youth or anarchist in a similar manner to those who protested the bombing of Vietnam and Iraq. Sadly, history has proven the protestors of those terrible actions to be right, while the antagonists unapologetically move on.
Also, after perusing a number of comments and responses, to say the least, I’m somewhat perplexed how Old Testament scriptures are lifted and utilized for the advocacy of aggression – in the guise of defense – with little thought given to biblical history and theological context. Added to this, is the ignorance, or perhaps willing dismissal, of the eschatological age which has graciously emerged through Jesus. Jesus – who he truly is, what he had done and will do, and what he clearly reveals to us concerning the will and nature of God – is now the controlling narrative for God’s people.
I have to push back on a couple of statements: First, saying that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic, or that wanting Palestinians to be treated humanely is “pro-Hamas” is absolute nonsense! Second, these protests are not about caring about the innocent Palestinian civilians. It’s about hating Jewish people and eliminating Israel. “From the river to the sea” means no more Israel! Like it or not, it is God’s Will for Christian believers to love and support the Jewish people and Israel, despite their waywardness from God. It does not require agreeing with everything they do.
Hi Ian,
Your words: “As for deaths and casualtiy figures. Independant bodies – who are not affiliated with Hamas – have put forward numbers that are not easily disputed.”
Could you share what “independent bodies” have provided figures and what the figures are?
Gracias.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UNICEF are just a few of the many welfare and human rights ‘bodies’ that have not only raised the immense death toll and horrific injuries that have occurred. But also, the sad fact that thousands of men, women, and children are presently being deprived of basic necessities for any quality of life. Apart from these ‘organizations’, many independent individuals such as Professor Leslie Roberts who has done research and field measurements of mortalities in crisis situations – E.G Rwanda 1994, Democratic Republic of Congo 1999, 2022, Iraq 2004, Zimbabwe 2007, Central African Republic 2009, 2018, 2022, and Sierra Leon 2000, 2014, – have openly said that the evidence and science with this present crisis is in. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and seriously injured.
Considering that many official apologists for the IDF are no longer pushing back on high civilian casualty figures, rather saying that such numbers are the result of, “operational matters” or the result of Hamas being entrenched within civilian locations. It’s surprising that for some, ‘numbers’ need to be confirmed.
Nevertheless, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UNICEF are just a few of the ‘bodies’ that have not only raised the high death toll and horrific injuries. But also, the fact that thousands of men, women and children are being deprived of the basic necessities for any quality of life.
Apart from that, many independent professionals who research and do field measurements of mortality in crisis situations, such as Professor Leslie Roberts – Rwanda 1994, Democratic Republic of Congo 1999-2022, Iraq 2004, Zimbabwe 2007, Central African Republic 2009, 2018, 2022, Sierra Leon 2000, 2014 – have openly stated that the science is clear. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and seriously injured.
There was a ceasefire on October 6. Bring home the hostages and there will be another one. I question the Christianity of anyone who defends Hamas.
I too would question a person’s ‘Christianity’ – which of course entails faith in Jesus, ethics, morality, empathy, love, compassion, – if they approved the terrible actions committed by Hamas on October 7. In fact, such a person should be resolutely corrected, and if recalcitrant, ostracized. But no doubt, one must also question the ‘Christianity’ of anyone who is indifferent to the decades of negativity and poor treatment directed towards the Palestinian people.
Those ‘Christians’, who do speak up for the welfare of men, women, and children in Garza and the Westbank, do so not just because they are Palestinians. Rather, they do so like the righteous Christians who spoke up for the Jewish men, women, and children prior and during WW2, because they identify with their circumstances and see them as people created in the image of God.
Jesus was a Jewish man who stood against the Jewish authorities. This should give evangelicals pause for thought.
Bryson Cole:
Jesus stood against SIN, regardless of where he found it.
Agreed. Jesus taught to love your enemies and pray for them that persecute you. Nothing about bombing them.
“When Jesus said love your enemies…I’m pretty sure He means we shouldn’t kill them. I haven’t found a way to love my enemies and simultaneously prepare to kill them. You can’t carry a cross in one hand and a weapon in the other.”
Shane Claiborne
Wilma:
Your words: ” ‘You can’t carry a cross in one hand and a weapon in the other.’ ”
“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” Matthew 10: 14-15
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Matthew 10: 34-36
Jesus’s exhortation to love our enemies has nothing to do with defeating evil. We are to fight against evil in all its forms. When Hamas declares Israel needs to be eradicated, it means we are to FIGHT to protect Israel. Jesus does not condone evil and never will.
The great irony in your prooftexts is that these polemics were directed at Israel. Paul was very specific that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood and we don’t wage war as the world does.
Loren:
Sometimes, we do wage war “as the world does.” If we didn’t, the world would be a very different place indeed. Take the Nazis, for instance…
Take Hamas, for instance…
and it is evil to murder Palestinian children and civilians, too. It’s not ONLY evil to murder Jewish/Israeli children and civilians.
It should be ok for us to say that.
Loren, Marin and Tim:
Perhaps a definition of “murder” is in order.
Also, it might be good for all of us to remind ourselves that God has ordered the annihilation of entire nations and groups of people in the past, including women and children.
Do you somehow think that God has changed?
Isaiah 14: 28-32
This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
But your root I will destroy by famine;
it will slay your survivors.
31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.
32 What answer shall be given
to the envoys of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”
Marín,
You are right. It is wrong to murder, as the Bible makes clear. What is NOT clear from your comments, however, is what you mean by “murder.”
Was God a “murderer” when he asked the Israelites to wipe out the Canaanites?
Or is he a righteous God who wants sin destroyed?
¿Qué opinas?
Cynthia – I mean murder as in killing; there’s no other way around it.
Yes, the God of the Old Testament did demand nations be wiped out, often as part of providing for and protecting His people. There are also a LOT of other Old Testament commands – killing adulterers comes to mind – are you in support of that?
While God’s standards have not changed, God sacrificed us His Son so that we can live under the New Testament covenant, not go around stoning and killing one another (or other nations) according to Old Testament law. The Bible is a complete text, and is to be read and understood as so; let’s not pick out ONLY the Old (or New) Testament to try to make God look like someone He is not.
I also BEG of you not make comments that come PAINFULLY close to implying the killing of Palestinian civilians and children is being ordered by God, or that He is ok with it. We are NOT to justify or turn a blind eye to what is happening Gaza under the guise of “well in the Old Testament, God ordered things like this to happen.”
VERY dangerous ground, there.
Dr. N
God does not change but our understanding of God does. The Christian understanding of God is ultimately revealed in the person of Christ (Heb 1:1). The bible is not a “flat” book, but a progression of images and vocabulary that find their fulfillment in Christ, in whom the wrath of God is satisfied. If you think “herem” trumps the sermon on the mount, you’re misreading your bible and neglecting the primary source for Christian ethics.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Wilma:
Proverbs 25: 21-22
“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
Jesus was not referring to anihlation of the Jews! There’s a difference when it’s a matter if murder and the threats of murder brother. No need to point that out . Read context when reading the Bible!
Brandeis University is named for Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice. He is famous for saying “sunlight is the best disinfectant” meaning open meetings are better than closed.
The author of this article seems to have missed this significance.
Most people have not been forced to deal with irrational actors, whether they be individuals, military, or political entities. Irrational actors do not have the same values and motivations as the rest of us. They don’t care if they have to burn down the house with grandma in it to achieve their goals. To them, it doesn’t matter. I saw individuals like that in jail and they were always dangerous and always untrustworthy. Israel and the Jewish people face irrational enemies in Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Iranian leadership, Isis, Taliban. All of these groups are committed to the destruction of Israel as a country and the genocide of Jewish people. That is what the saying “from the river to the sea” means. Anyone who says that endorses the genocide of Jews. The residents of Gaza and the so-called West Bank are mere pawns in the game. Culpability for the tragic loss of non-combatant lives rests on the shoulders of Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the leadership of Iran. They refuse to abide by international rules of engagement. Don’t try to deflect the blame onto Israel.
Well said, Daniel. Your words reflect reality and, I believe, TRUTH.
From what I can read, no one is trying to “deflect blame” onto Israel, but rather claim that no side is completely innocent. I don’t even think there is a SOLE country or entity to blame for 100% of what is happening (why is saying anything else “antisemitic” or “pro-Hamas”?). This conflict is complex and multi-layered, with many players on both sides having served as provacateurs at various points over the last several DECADES. We can’t boil everything down to the horrific accounts in October, as if that’s “what started it”.
I weep for the civilian casualties of both Israel, and – gasp – Palestine. I hate that it’s so taboo to say that last part.
Marin, I too weep for the residents of Gaza. I too have followed the events in the region for many years and have read extensively about the history, the conflicts, and the actors. My wife and I were in Jordan and Israel just a few weeks before the war started. One must understand the difference between rational actors who sometimes behave badly and irrational actors. There is not a moral equivalence here. Hamas started this installment of the on-going conflict to satisfy their own irrational and perverse purposes. Instead of using all the resources provided to them to improve the lot of their people, Hamas chose to dig tunnels, buy weapons and train their young men to be terrorists. Their billionaire leaders live in luxury OUTSIDE of Gaza. Those facts should be acknowledged without qualification. The numerous attempts to create a two-state solution have all been torpedoed by the PLO and Hamas because they refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Thus the saying, “from the river to the sea.” https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/banking-and-finance/article-780813
Question: is Netanyahu rational or irrational? I can see a case for either side….
These college kids are audibly chanting, “WE ARE ALL HAMAS.” The Hamas charter clearly declares the aim to erase the Jews from the entire world (not just Israel). So yes, the anti-Israel protest is a cover for Jew-hatred – which is reportedly becoming violent against Jewish students. But it won’t stop with them. The jihadis have a saying: “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.”
Sean Feuct is a grifter, happy to twist scripture and agitate christians to make a profit. there’s not a tragedy he’s unwilling to try to capitalize on.
Amos 5:
“21 “I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
23 Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.”
He and Eric Metaxis… definitely not who I would want representing my faith and not who I would see as shining the light of Christ.
Wilma, Eric Metaxas has spent an amazing amount of his lifetime “shining the light of Christ.” I only wish the rest of us could say the same.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”
Agreed. I was once a huge fan of Eric but he has become a bully in my opinion. In the same category as James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll and the likes. Their scent doesn’t smell like Jesus. I say too bad he’s spending the latter part of his life not representing Christ well.
he also writes childrens books about trump, makes wildly unfounded claims in his “history” books, and punched a reporter. So maybe not shining the light of Christ so much anymore, as just plain grifting.
Unless Feucht, Johnson, and Metaxas are students, faculty, or staff at Columbia, they should go home. The university doesn’t need more unaffiliated persons on campus, regardless of their views on the subjects under debate.
Sean Feucht is not my favorite person either. However, they were not on campus. They utilized the streets of NYC as any freedom loving American is allowed to do…Many Jewish residents of NYC accompanied them. The crowd was estimated in the thousands by the NYPD.
I was very glad to see them lead this march as Jewish people need the support of Bible believing Christians at this time.
“bible believing christians” have been the catalyst for anti-semetic horrors for the last 2000 years. we are not “the good guys” in this narrative, at least not to any Jewish people I know.
Paul loved his fellow jews immensely (Romans 9:1-5). The hearts of believers in Christ, echo his…or should.
Just Jews? Immensely love just Jews? I was always taught that God loved all His creation, immensely. I would assume that would include the Palestinians.
“Paul loved his fellow jews immensely”
Titus 1:10-16:
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
O
“1 Thess 2:14-15
14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:”
Chomping at the bit for this war in the church. Why have biblical supercessionists not named Stephen Sizer sat quietly on the sidelines for so long? Time for this proud, racist, self righteous idol to fall and get back to red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight!
I have a genuine, sincere question for Sean Feucht, and for others who share his fervor, leading to statements like, “If you love Jesus, you stand with every Jew.”
How does that apply to something like this, that claims. “Israel has been called the ‘gay capital of the Middle East?'”
https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/israel-reform-judaism/lgbtq-life-israel
Maybe you missed the rest of that quote: “…. just as Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood with the Jews in his time.” That statement was not about condoning sin. The Jews of Bonhoeffer’s country were threatened with extinction. So are the Jews of Israel. The Jews of America will be next. Will you find reasons to look away?
“34,000” have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza. You need to add “according to Hamas’s health ministry”.
Hamas is a terrorist organization KNOWN for its casual relationship with the truth.
Even mainstream media sympathetic – some would say PARTIAL – to the Palestinians always add that these figures have not been and CANNOT BE verified because no foreign journalists are allowed in Gaza.
“By the mouth of two or three witnesses” is Biblical: Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1.
Taking the word of murderers as gospel truth is certainly not.
So I followed the link for the articles source claiming Israel has killed 34,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7. The source is CNN, and here is what they say-
“After 200 days of war, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access.”
So TRR sourced CNN, who can’t verify their source, Hamas.
Is the enclave’s health ministry Hamas? Genuinely asking, as it seems that anything Palestinian is being labeled as Hamas.
Marín,
Their health ministry is run by Hamas. Apparently, some Israeli hostages were actually held by Hamas in “hospitals” run by the very same “Ministry of Health” currently providing death statistics.
Trust those numbers if you wish. I don’t trust ANYTHING they say. They lie better than most to present a picture to the world that hides their torture, rape and murder of both Jews and their own people.
So you’re arguing that killing of people isn’t going on over there? Do you think all the US bombs that Israel is sending are just hitting corn fields? What on earth? It’s a war. People are dying by the thousands!
Well, the IDF claims to have killed 11,000-13,000 “combatants”, and roughly 2 civillians per combatant, so that’s 33,000-39,000- you can get there with Israel’s numbers too. not that the state of Israel has proven to be a reliable source- they lie about everything too. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-says-least-13000-terrorists-among-palestinians-killed-2024-03-10/
Jen Manlief,
I read your link. No mention of civilian deaths was made by Netanyahu or the IDF in the article at all. Did I miss it? If so, I apologize.
I’m not sure why you are trying to compare Hamas, a terrorist organization, with Israel, the Middle East’s star democracy.
Moral equivalency cannot be applied here. You will need to choose a side.
Cynthia – Please read up on the war crimes committed by Netanyahu, while leading “the Middle East’s star democracy”; I wouldn’t put all my confidence in what he says either. Jen is right to question.
Neither side has their hands completely clean, so we must be careful with an “all or nothing” approach to this conflict. THAT is what will draw us into (yet another) war.
Marín,
Unfortunately, when it comes to War, an “all or nothing” approach is all there is. On the battlefield, it is not possible to discuss whose hands are more clean. One chooses a side and fights. It always makes me think of the OT, when Joshua asked the Israelites to make a choice:
“Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
It’s possible that Sean Feucht was staging this march as a publicity stunt. Perhaps he is “controversial” as well. But the statement, “It’s time to take a stand against the rampant antisemitism that is plaguing our nation,” is not controversial. It’s no secret that these anti-Israel protests are laced with dark Jew-hatred, especially since Oct. 7. Congress heard confirming testimony from Jewish students months ago. For example: https://youtu.be/b-YEXMYsCNQ
I can agree with this “It’s no secret that these anti-Israel protests are laced with dark Jew-hatred, especially since Oct. 7.” Some of the chants/attitudes by the protesters on campuses are horrible – BUT – it is also true that Netanyahu/Israel gov/IDF have maimed and killed innocents… and that’s just as horrible.
Both are true at the same time… and I for one can actually hold both at the same time! Because Jesus is Lord over all and He will judge both evil movements/govs which include Hamas and the current Israeli gov. Someday He will destroy both because both are wicked. Hamas, but not all Palestinians, will someday be brought to nothing… Israel/gov (Not Jews!) will also be brought to naught for its wickedness (And note to twisted-Scripture reading american evangelicals… He will not be rewarding their or your wickedness by setting up His millennial kingdom on their land and inviting you there for a 1,000 year frolic! If the Israeli gov – abetted by the US continues this wickedness, it will reap judgement upon itself as every worldly kingdom has throughout human history! – as Hamas is now!)
What will survive all of that? Jesus and His children/church/those He saves who seek His ways and His light. That’s the camp we should side with…
Well said, Andrew. Sums up my thoughts on how both sides have dirty hands.
Andrew Zook:
No. You will actually have to pick a side at some point. Neither side is perfect, but one is most definitely superior to the other, both intellectually and morally. God always takes a stand on one side or the other. He does not equivocate. He is against the powers of darkness, wherever they are found.
And WE are to get on HIS side by confronting evil, wherever it is found.
When we try to get (or put) God on OUR side, we are out of order.
Marín,
You are right: As believers, we are to stand on God’s side. That is precisely why I stand with Israel and against Hamas. I do not believe using civilians as human shields is something God condones. I do not believe treating women as chattel is something God condones. I do not believe building tunnels in order to attack one’s neighbors is something God condones. I do not believe using a Jewish holiday, when young people are celebrating at a concert, to attack, rape, murder and kidnap Jewish citizens is something God condones. I do not believe torturing young men captured as pawns is something God condones. I do not believe raping women in captivity is something God condones. I do not believe brainwashing children to believe that Israel and the USA are the enemy is something God condones.
If you stand with Hamas, you most definitely do NOT stand on God’s side. Period.
There’s is standing against Hamas, and then standing against Palestine. These two are being conflated, which is leading to the demonizing of all Palestinians as terrorists and the justification for the torture and killing of innocent Palestinian civilians and children.
I notice that you are leaving out that Netanyahu is facing charges for war crimes and corruption, dating back to 2014 (kudos to South Africa for calling for accountability), often in provocation of Palestine. Remember when he showed that doctored video of Abbas to try to get US leaders his side?
Let’s not conflate the state of Israel (in politics) with the nation of Israel (in scripture) in attempt to justify everything Israel does.
I stand against Hamas, but believe Palestinians have a right to live in peace.
I am no fan of Netanyahu, but believe Israelis also has a right to live in peace.
Well… the example of Jesus confronts your binary choice…. Jesus lived in similar times btw and everyone was saying to Him exactly what you’ve just said. And He refused to pick 1 of the 2 choices that people tried to foist on Him because He knew there were actually more choices than two.
“God always takes a stand on one side or the other” – NO, He doesn’t… He doesn’t pick from our categories. God is not lead around the nose by Our choices / categories or Our notions of which side is “superior” or not. What new doctrine is this? No wonder christians are so muddled in the US – But maybe it explains a lot actually. You Dr CN, Do Not Know what side is “superior”… (“intellectually” – Seriously? You want to play that card as well?)
Read the Gospels again. He is our example in even this circumstance as complicated as it is. He loved both sides and He condemned both for their evils and then went His own Way, inviting others to follow His way. Those who didn’t eventually found ruin. Read Matt 24 in the light of 1st century history and the Romans and the Jewish revolts… His Church lives on. The Romans came to naught. The make-Israel-great-again Zealots, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herods etc, complete and utter ruin! They should have chosen His way.
Andrés Zook,
Your words:
“Read the Gospels again. He is our example in even this circumstance as complicated as it is. He loved both sides and He condemned both for their evils and then went His own Way, inviting others to follow His way.”
Are you actually suggesting Christians who love Jesus should simply ignore what is going on in the Middle East because both sides are sinners? Are you actually equating Hamas, a terrorist organization, with Israel?
We don’t have to “make Israel great again.” It already shines in the Middle East even though it is a very tiny land mass surrounded by enemies on every side.
Would you have allowed Jewish families to ride past you on the way to concentration camps simply because they were “not following God’s way”? Simply because they were sinners like the Nazis?
Wow. That’s all I can say. My faith tells me to follow in Christ’s path, and that path leads me to combat evil wherever it is found. Israel is the birthplace of Jesus, and for that reason alone, it is a special place and always will be.
In a war, there are two sides. Both sides are always sinners. It’s a matter of discernment, wisdom, and prayer to determine which side represents the most good.
Andrew, How do you know that “it is also true that Netanyahu/Israel gov/IDF have maimed and killed innocents”…?
You (and the UN, and the Western media) have only the word of Hamas spokesmen, who always claim such deeds after the fact. And they’ve been exposed as liars several times.
They will keep doing it, because unlike Biblical faith, lying is permitted in Islam. See a good summary by Algemeiner: https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/01/08/hamas-lies-its-time-we-start-acknowledging-it/
However, since you pronounced the actions of Israel’s current gov’t “just as horrible” as the jihadi rampage of Oct. 7, which was recorded in sickening detail, you must have seen some equally damning documentation.
TRR is all about standing with the truth, so let’s do that here.
Please share a video link showing some of that IDF “wickedness” going on for the last 6 months. Just one example will do.
Then we can talk about God’s judgment on those who do not love the truth (2 Thess. 2:11-12).
“It’s possible that Sean Feucht was staging this march as a publicity stunt.”
The guy DOES have a track record of grandstanding.
Remember his antics during COVID?
It’s also possible that Sean Feucht had this march because he wants to oppose the horrific hatred of Jewish people that has been exploding in our country! As for his “antics” during Covid, he was asserting the right of believers to gather when governments were using Covid as an excuse to shut the church down (and enjoyed their power in doing so). Of course, there was no effort to shut down liquor stores, strip clubs, or abortion clinics.
Marín,
Your words: “I mean murder as in killing. There’s no other way around it…”
I have to disagree. My position aligns with the following article:
“Murder is “the premeditated, unlawful taking of a life,” whereas killing is, more generally, “the taking of a life.” The same Law that forbids murder permits killing in self-defense (Exodus 22:2).
All murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. Killing must be unlawful in order for it to be murder. When God commands killing, it is never unlawful, because of the shocking (at least in our culture today) reality that all have sinned (broken God’s law – see Romans 3:23) and the punishment (or penalty) for this sin is death (Romans 6:23).” https://www.communicatejesus.com/post/how-could-a-loving-god-command-acts-of-violence-as-described-in-the-old-testament
I believe Israel has a right to defend itself. In my opinion, that is not murder. What Hamas did to Israeli citizens on October 7 was premeditated and unlawful. Hence, MURDER.
The IDF and Mossad knew about the October attack a long time before it happened. They did nothing to stop it. They did nothing to bolster border security. They did nothing to warn the border civilians in Israel. Why? Was it just some bureaucratic oversight? If you know anything about the Mossad or the IDF, you know the answer: not a chance. LORD JESUS asked us to follow his example. LORD JESUS asks questions. So should HIS CHURCH. We do not have blind faith. We have a reasoned response to revealed truth.
Fine. Then may I suggest you wait with your “reasoned response” until the truth IS revealed!
Believe it or not, the Israeli people know quite a bit about the Mossad and the IDF… and they are far more determined to get answers to those questions than bystanders like you are.
But they can’t do that in the middle of a war.
The priority right now is two-fold — to get back 100-plus hostages which include babies, and to make sure Hamas will never be able to repeat the Oct. 7 carnage “again and again” as they have publicly promised.
I also think what happened on October 7th is tragic and unlawful. I also believe Israel has a right to defend itself and live in peace. I don’t think that should involve torturing and murdering Palestinian civilians and children.
You are still talking about the God of the Old Testament as if the New Testament didn’t exist – as if He didn’t sacrifice Christ so that we DON’T have to live under OT law, and that He’s commanding the killing of Palestinians. Again, very very dangerous.
Marín,
Israel is doing everything in its power during a time of war to protect civilians. I wonder if you have been reading about what’s going on there as I write? They have been warning civilians where to go and when to leave almost every day. Hamas is standing in the way and often involved in the murder of its own civilians. Several misfired rockets were initially blamed on Israel, and it was later determined they were fired by…HAMAS.
God is not commanding the killing of anyone in the Middle East. He is not willing that anyone should perish, particularly before they know Him.
So, stop implying that is my position. It is not. My position has been clearly stated: Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. Unfortunately, war often results in the deaths of innocent civilians in the wrong place, at the wrong time. If you feel the need to blame anyone, blame those who started this mess. That would not be Israel.
And, when it comes to the OT versus the NT, did you forget?
John 1: 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…”
God and Jesus are one and the same. God still hates sin and promises punishment to those who engage in it. Jesus makes that very clear. We don’t get a free pass to continue sinning.
Eric Metaxas is a Trumpet. He has been trumpeting Trump’s lies about the 2020 election for four years. Amazingly, he wrote a book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but now 100% supports our own Adolf.
How can anyone claim to be a follower of LORD JESUS while supporting Trump? He is the epitome of hatred. Please remember what Trump proclaimed in his CHRISTMAS address: “I hope my opponents burn in Hell.” Or his statements about undocumented immigrants: they are “not human”; they are “poisoning the blood of America”. Remember JESUS was an undocumented immigrant. Please carefully research who you support. I pray it is LORD JESUS.
As to the war in Gaza. HAMAS started it. HAMAS has had numerous opportunities to stop it. However, the people of Gaza are victims, also. HAMAS uses them as human shields. They cannot escape. They are, for the most part, innocent women and children being held prisoners to HAMAS’ terrorism. They are also hostages.
Now for an unpleasant truth. The Israeli Governmental Intelligence Agencies knew well in advance of the HAMAS October raid. The Israeli Defense and Security Agencies knew it was coming and did nothing to stop it. They did nothing to bolster border security. They did nothing to warn the border communities. Do you really think it was just some bureaucratic oversight? Remember, LORD JESUS asked questions. So HIS CHURCH should also ask questions and not give blind support.
The protesters are for the most part naive young people reacting to the massacre of thousands of Gazaen civilians. As followers of LORD JESUS, how should we react, especially in light of the above facts? JESUS was not political. But LORD JESUS died for Gazeans also. LORD JESUS did not preach “kill your enemy.” HE preached “love your enemy.”
Eric, have you read anything Dr Cynthia Norbeck has written? If not, I strongly suggest you do.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those who love you be secure “.
Thank you for your words of truth, albeit blunt. It needs to be said.
It´s not trth at all. It´s re-proclaiming the propaganda lies of terrorists who are not ashamed to use any lie and deception for their goals. They launched a murderous, horrific attack, raping girls, beheading babies, kidnapping people – and now they play the victims. They are the ones aiming for genocide of the Jewish people and now tell the world, that Israel would commit genocide against them, when they are defending themselves, fighting for their existence and protecion of their citizens. Hamas itself had to recently correct their numbers of deaths in Gaza! They don´t have any evidence for the claim that mostly women and children have been killed. That´s an outright lie and we shouldn´t be surprised about an islamist terror group lying to the world! No, Israel is not murdering anyone in Gaza, it´s precisely fighting terrorists. Not even mentioning that big parts of Gazan population supported and celebrated the massacre of Oct. 7. And on the other hand, Israel is supplying the Gazans with tons of humanitarian aid… they retrieved from Gaza in 2005 – just to be shot at with rockets. They have saved Gazan people providing medical treatments for them in Israel. The Palestianian population is ever just growing… there is no genocide of so called Palestinians. But there are Muslims who have it written in their charters that they want to destroy Israel.
Eric, it is erroneous to say thousands of Gaza noncombatants have been massacred. First of all, no one knows for sure how many noncombatants have died. Many of the dead are Hamas fighters. Hamas’ counts don’t differentiate between combatants and noncombatants. The people of Gaza elected Hamas as their leaders. Now they are paying the price. Massacre means an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people. That isn’t the case in Gaza. You yourself admit Hamas uses noncombatants as human shields. And Hamas uses non-military spaces like hospitals and schools for military purposes. Where do you think all those rockets and other weapons were stored? What about the miles and miles of tunnels? The IDF has taken far more care to avoid or reduce the noncombatant deaths than just about any combatant force has. The responsibility for noncombatant deaths in Gaza rests solely on the shoulders of Hamas. “Despite the devastation, 57% of respondents in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believe Hamas was correct in launching the October attack, the poll indicated.” https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514
The author is stating a lie from Hamas about the deaths in Gaza as fact. He describes the killings in Gaza by Israel military as “murders”. That´s horrendous! Israel is fighting a war! Big part of these deaths are militant people. The ratio of combatant to civilian death is less than 1/1. It´s the lowest ratio of civilian casualties in ANY war fought in modern history! An this while Hamas is hiding behind it´s own people, beneath mosques and within hospitals. There is no genocide in Gaza! The one´s aiming openly for Genocide are the islamic terror groups around Israel.
And by the way, come on… how ridiculous to put the “controversial” badge on Sean Feucht, because of some minor crimes in hunting and taking care of his property.