This month I am bringing you a TV series entitled “A Christian Response to the Israeli War.” This is becoming a controversial issue in the United States and in other countries. Although our guest, Dr. Jeff Myers, wrote his book based on research in the United States, his conclusions also reflect the current situation in Canada.
Dr. Myers visited Israel 103 days after October 7 when terrorists slaughtered 1200 Israelis and took nearly 250 hostages of 20 nationalities and 5 different religions. Among them were several elderly people and a small baby. Eight Canadians and 33 US citizens were also killed by the terrorists.
While he was in Israel, Dr. Myers met with journalists, educators, military officials, an intelligence officer, survivors, and hostage families. He met with Jews and Arabs, with people on the left and on the right, and with peace activists and soldiers. He said, “What I learned is not at all what I expected.”
I am sure that you’ve seen coverage on all the major news outlets about the protests and demonstrations taking place at numerous American and Canadian college and university campuses, where large numbers of students are protesting Israel’s war against Hamas. They believe it is unjust and inhumane that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has killed so many Palestinians versus the number of Israelis that have been killed.
In his book, Dr. Myers points out that while most Americans have consistently expressed support for Israel, polls reveal a surprising split between younger and older Americans.
An April 2024 Summit Ministries/RMG Research poll revealed:
“Young adults 18 to 24 are more than 3 times as likely as the general population to deny that Israel even has a right to exist.”
Myers believes young Americans instinctively sympathize with the underdog. The problem is, he believes this sympathy is easily manipulated.
He reported that a Harvard/CPS poll two weeks after October 7 revealed that 51% of Generation Z (those who are 12 to 27 years of age) believe that:
“The killing of 1200 Israeli civilians and the kidnapping of another 250 civilians can be justified by the grievances of Palestinians.
“By December that figure had risen to 60%.”
Dr. Myers, a philosophy professor for 14 years, writes that “Even before October 7, there were disturbing signs that anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment were more popular among generation Z than any other beliefs, with the possible exceptions of unrestricted abortion and socialism.”
He cites the Anti-Defamation League’s numbers that antisemitic behavior is at the highest number since they began charting such incidents in 1979.
And the situation is even worse in Canada. The World Zionist Organization reports that Canada has experienced a staggering 670% increase in antisemitic incidents since last year. This is nearly double the 340% increase seen in the United States during the same period. In fact, despite representing only 1.4% of the Canadian population, Jewish people are now the victims of 70% of the country’s religiously motivated hate crimes. Clearly this is a trend that should be of concern to Christians in both countries
Sadly, the Anti-Defamation League concluded: “There is more support for Hamas on US campuses than among Arabs in Israel.”
Dr. Myers and I are very concerned about Generation Z Americans and others who have become antisemitic. Thus, our programs. Since Dr. Myers has done his research in the United States, we will concentrate our discussion around what is happening there. But Christians in Canadian can also benefit from what we say.
Myers said, “The New York Times poll in December showed that generation Z consistently sees Israel as unserious about peace and an intentional killer of civilians, an evil power unworthy of US support” (New York Times, December 19, 2023).
In our series I will ask, how can we prevent antisemitic views and answer current allegations? And what is a biblical worldview that can help us in the situation we now face?
To demonstrate how to approach the questions that apply to the Israel/Palestine conflict, in the TV programs with Dr. Myers we will tackle these topics which arose from his visit to Israel. He talks about:
(1) Israel in Wartime – A First-Hand Account;
(2) The Israel You Haven’t Heard About and The Israel of Your Bible;
(3) Palestine and the Rise of Islam and Hamas
(4) Is Israel’s War Against Hamas Just?
(5) Is Israel Committing Genocide in their War Against Hamas?
(6) What Do We Do Now? Lessons in Resilience and Hope for our Time.
Meanwhile, Iran and Lebanon are threatening to attack Israel before we play this series, which could prompt us to add another program.
But since we covered the most important topics of the moment, I am going to offer you all the programs of my interview with Dr. Myers in our series, “A Christian Response to the Israeli War,” along with his new book, “Should Christians Support Israel?”
I also want to offer you three other books about Israel and the End Times which would be helpful to you.
The first book is “Northern Storm Rising” by Dr. Ron Rhodes, which lists the nations the Bible says will attack Israel in a massive coalition in the end times. Second is Jeff Kinley’s book, “Is This the End of America?” Will Christians in America face widespread persecution? And
third, a book by Dr. Ed Hindson and Dr. Mark Hitchcock entitled, “Can We Still Believe in the Rapture?”
Please see the enclosed card to request the DVDs of our series as well as these helpful books.
One last thing. I know many of you enjoyed Anne Graham Lotz’ programs on the book of Revelation, and you enjoyed watching Dr. Stephen Meyer talk about how the new scientific evidence proves the existence of God. Now you’ve been enjoying Dr. Jeff Myers’ information about “A Christian Response to the Israeli War.”
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Until the whole world hears,
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