Journalists and historians have warned about a “new antisemitism” in the twenty-first century United States comprising a repackaging of historic antisemitic tropes presented by the far right and the far left as part of a struggle between neo-fascism, anti-fascism, and anarchism. Both the far left and the far right are challenging the liberal world order established after World War II and targeting Jews as responsible for the ills during the post-war period. This has led to a worrisome trend of violent antisemitism such as the OCTOBER 2018 TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the APRIL 2019 ATTACK ON A CHABAD HOUSE IN POWAY, CALIFORNIA, the DECEMBER 2019 ATTACK ON A KOSHER MARKET IN JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, as well as an INCREASE in antisemitic hate crimes. To understand the modern incarnation of antisemitism requires an examination of the ROOTS AND EVOLUTION of institutional antisemitism and how it led to events such as the SPANISH INQUISITION AND THE HOLOCAUST where hundreds and thousands of Jews were killed and deported from Spain and Germany.
Jesus said, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. Many will come in my name. “You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then people will hand you over TO BE TREATED BADLY AND KILLED. All nations will HATE YOU BECAUSE OF ME.” (Matthew 24:4-9)
The persecution of Jews reached its most destructive form in the policies of Nazi Germany, which made the destruction of Jews a high priority, starting with the persecution of Jews and culminating in the killing of approximately 6,000,000 Jews during World War II and the Holocaust from 1941 to 1945. Originally, the Nazis used death squads, the Einsatzgruppen (the Nazi security forces composed of members of the SS, the “Security Police”), and the (“Order Police”) that acted as mobile killing units), to conduct massive OPEN–AIR KILLINGS OF JEWS who lived in the territories that they conquered. By 1942, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the Final Solution, the genocide of the Jews of Europe, and increase the pace of the Holocaust by establishing extermination camps for the specific purpose of killing Jews.
“Then I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Standing beside the sea were those (the Jews) who had WON THE BATTLE OVER THE BEAST. They had also overcome his statue and the number of his name. They held harps given to them by God. They sang THE SONG OF MOSES, who served God, and the song of the Lamb. They sang, “Lord God who rules over all, everything you do is great and wonderful. King of the ages, YOUR WAYS ARE TRUE AND FAIR.” (Revelation 15:2-3)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham