For Such a Time as This: Understanding Antisemitism Today

by David Brickner, Executive Director

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Chants of this slogan have echoed loudly across college campuses and throughout the streets of major cities across Europe and North America. But many who chant this don’t know which river or which sea is being referenced, and what that implies.* Nor do they realise that Hamas has claimed, “Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north.” Yet behind the protests are dark forces that are well aware that the chant calls for the dismantling of the State of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people.

The Jordan River is the eastern border of the Jewish state – the State of Israel – and the Mediterranean Sea is the western border. More than half of the 13 million Jewish people in the world today live between those borders. Hamas literally sees no room in what is now Israel for a Jewish state or the Jewish people. Intentionally or not, those who support Hamas are joining in a call for genocide. Many Jews and Christians alike wonder, How can so many people rise up in homicidal hatred of the Jewish people so soon after the Holocaust? But there is historical precedent for this kind of hatred.

This March 23 marks the start of the celebration of Purim, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Jewish people as recounted in the book of Esther. At that time, “Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus” (Esther 3:6) – a kingdom extended “India to Ethiopia” Esther 8:9). What a remarkable parallel this is to our present crisis in the Middle East.

Have you ever wondered why Haman’s personal antipathy toward the Jewish people became so pervasive? Haman started out resenting Mordechai’s refusal to pay him homage, but he leveraged his personal animosity into a malevolent movement as he persuaded the king to “destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions” (Esther 3:13).

Something far more sinister than one man’s wrath was at work. Such comprehensive hatred toward the Jewish people was inspired by the enemy of the God of the Jews: Satan himself. Thankfully, Haman’s intentions came to nothing, and he ended up suffering the fate he had intended for the Jewish people (Esther 7:10).

God fought to preserve His chosen people but notice that He used human beings to do it. Without the moral clarity of Mordechai and the courage of Queen Esther, this story could have ended very differently. Think about what an impact the destruction of the Jewish people would have had. God had chosen the Jewish people to be the vehicle through which He would bring His story of redemption to fruition.

Without the events of Purim, Messiah Jesus would not have been born to sacrifice His life for us, and we would not be preparing to celebrate His resurrection. That is exactly why Satan has continually inspired such a visceral hatred. He didn’t want God’s redemptive plan to come to pass. Though he failed to prevent it, he keeps trying to undermine God’s ability to keep His promises, even to this day. Remember that God’s promises to the Jewish people are tied to His purpose to redeem people from every nation, Jews and Gentiles alike.

Satan often cloaks his evil intentions by twisting the truth and exploiting those who lack knowledge. We need to point to God’s Word to expose his lies. The words “from the river to the sea” are literally God’s promise to the Jewish people concerning the borders of the land He gave to them (see Joshua 1:4; Ezekiel 47). Satan wants to use God’s own words to deceive the world and promote hatred of His people.

For followers of Jesus today, standing with the Jewish people means putting our faith and energy behind the promises and eternal purposes of God yet to come. That takes biblical knowledge of passages like those cited above, as well as moral clarity and courage.

At times, such moral clarity and godly courage have been sadly lacking among many of God’s people. During the reign of Hitler, with relatively few shining exceptions, Christians remained silent. Could the same thing happen in our time? Will clarity and courage fail in the face of the onslaught of Hamas as well? I pray that this time around, followers of Jesus will continue to stand with Israel.

Mordechai told Esther that God had positioned and called her to stand up for the Jewish people “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). And for such a time as this, God is still calling for His people to stand. How can Christians stand with the Jewish people at such a time as this? We can do so with the courage of Esther and the moral clarity of Mordechai. And we can do so with empathy for the suffering of all innocent victims, both Jews and Arabs.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Jews for Jesus is blessed with partners like you who love God’s Word; we need you to share your love and biblical knowledge with those in your sphere of influence.

2. If you hear people draw a false equivalence between Israeli self-defence and Hamas’ murderous intent, remember that some might honestly not understand what they are chanting. Respectfully ask questions that will bring to light the true and deadly nature of the threat against Israel.

3. Courageously maintain support for the Jewish people around the world through such things as calling for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza, and blessing Jewish people in need through acts of service and generosity as God enables.

4. Share without fear or apology the good news of the gospel to the Jewish people wherever they are. This is the most important point!

Yeshua, Israel’s Messiah, is the only path to God’s greatest blessing for the Jewish people. That’s why sharing the gospel is the very opposite of antisemitism. And the opportunities to do so now are greater than ever, as you can see by this month’s field reports.

Since the start of the war last October, Israeli requests for the Hebrew New Testament have more than doubled. There is a real hunger for the Word of God, and those of us who truly believe that Word must choose to take a stand now for the salvation of Israel for such a time as this.

*Ron E. Hassner, “From Which River to Which Sea?” Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-which-river-to-which-sea-anti-israel-protests-college-student-ignorance-a682463b.