Lately we have been reading about many acts of anti-Semitism taking place throughout the world. It might be understandable in countries that are not Christian, but it's hard to understand why this is taking place in Christian communities, especially in the United States. People who profess to be Christian and praise ancient Jews such as Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, David, Abraham and Moses - and then profess a hatred for the present Jews, just does not make sense. What some Christians seem to forget is that Christianity came to the world through Jewish people.
I understand that 500,000 Jews fought for the United States during World War 2. That constituted an incredibly high percentage of our Jewish population, putting their lives on the line for this country. In John Hagee's book, "Final Dawn Over Jerusalem," he writes how Jewish influence has permeated all corners of the globe and every page of history, including American history.
"Jews were very involved in Columbus's expedition to find the new world. Levi Ben Gershon, a Jew, invented the sea quadrant, used for navigation. Jewish cartographers drew most of the sea charts of the age. And centuries before Columbus, Jews had disproved the notion that the world was flat. In the Zohar, written 200 years before Columbus, Moses de Leon, a Jew, stated that the earth revolves like a ball and is covered by daylight on one side and darkness on the other.
Jewish influence extended far beyond the discovery of America. During a particular dark time of the American Revolution, George Washington and the Continental Army were freezing and starving in the snows of Valley Forge. Without food, arms, or ammunition, it seemed that the fledgling nation was doomed to die. But Haym Salomon, a Jewish banker from Philadelphia, arranged for the Jews of the thirteen colonies to respond with financial aid that turned the tide of the war and enabled General Washington to defeat the British. Salomon believed that until Jerusalem would once again welcome the children of Israel, America could be the promised Land for the Jews.
"It can be documented," writes David Allen Lewis, "that Salomon gave his personal fortune, and in addition raised huge sums of money through business transactions, buying financial papers and leverage accounts on various European and American markets. He could have made himself rich and left a fine estate for his lovely wife and children. He died sick and penniless at the age of 45. . . . He had given all he had, and now his body lies in a lonely, unmarked, forgotten grave in Philadelphia."
No one is certain exactly how much money Haym Salomon loaned to our infant country, but reports range from $600,000 to $800,000. If we assume the loan amount was $700,000, compounded quarterly at 7 percent interest over a period of 222 years, conservative estimates indicate that the United States owes over $2.5 trillion to Haym Salomon heirs. America's foreign aid to Israel doesn’t come close to paying our debt to the Jewish people.
Washington was so appreciative of the Jewish contribution to the birth of America that he instructed the engravers of the American one-dollar bill to engrave a tribute to the Jewish people over the head of the bald eagle."
There may not have been a United States as we know it today without the Jewish assistance. This country has enjoyed the world's greatest economy and freedom for many years. And why? It's simple!
1. We opened the doors to Jewish immigrants. They have a freedom here that's unequaled anyplace else in the world.
2. We are Israel's protector. We stand up for Israel in ways that no other country in the world has.
When God told Abraham in Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you ..." He wasn’t kidding.
All Christians, no matter how you were raised, or what you heard in the schoolyard or workplace, should think twice before making any derogatory remarks about Jews or Israel. Remember that Eye in the sky that watches you 24/7, and knows every move you make, every remark you utter, and even the number of hairs on your head - is a Jewish Eye.
By George Konig
August 7, 2005
www.georgekonig.org
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