[ May 6, 2024 ]
Please check out my article in today's American Thinker.
Glenn Beck and the Struggle for Israel's Survival Pamela Geller
Story continues below advertisementGlenn Beck has announced a “Restoring Courage” rally in Israel this August. He has been a singular voice of late in the defense of Israel. I am very happy to see someone with a huge voice taking a stand and speaking out for the good and for righteousness.
For this, I forgive his previous intellectual failings and indiscretions (his denunciation of Geert Wilders, for example). Because strong voices in defense of Israel are so urgently needed right now. The Jewish people are under relentless and unremitting attack from the Muslim world. The dictatorships in Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Gaza are redirecting the rage of their people to storm Israel’s borders and kill Jews. On Sunday, Muslims across the world marked May 15, 1948, the day of Israel’s birth, as the great “catastrophe” (nakba). Violent demonstrators stormed Israel’s borders on four sides. Only an ideology so evil and debased could declare such a righteous occasion as something horrible and catastrophic, but that is what the free world is dealing with (despite our reluctance to fight this evil or even call it by its name).
Glenn Beck is taking a stand and standing for the good. This is righteous. My only concern, and it’s a big one, is the context in which he’s framing his position. Glenn Beck is making a religious case for the defense of Israel. And I take exception to that. While of course the religious argument can be made, the defense of Israel is not a religious issue. This is an issue of shared values. This is an issue of humanity, decency, and morality. The case for Israel is plain for agnostics and atheists as well. Beck should not risk giving the impression that if you don’t buy religious arguments, then there is no reason to stand in the defense of Israel,
Adherence to the Golden Rule may very well be a religious notion, but it is a rational and reasoned premise, with or without a deity. The existential war that Israel is facing is our war. It is the war of the individual. The eternal struggle of man against state, of the individual against collectivism, of freedom versus slavery. Since man rose up and walked on two legs, from the ancient era to the modern era, the fight is still the same. It is a struggle as old as time.
That is what is really at play here: the struggle between good and evil.
The hatred of Israel is a hatred that in itself is reviled by good rational men. Islamic societies are among the least developed cultures, the product of nomadic civilization. Their culture is primitive and barbaric, and they hate Israel because it is the sole beacon of modern science and civilization and technology in the Middle East. Ayn Rand said that when you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter what.
Israel is the only democratic nation in an otherwise Islamic Middle East of dictatorships and repressive Islamic states. Only in Israel can citizens, including Israeli Arabs, dissent from the government’s line and exercise the freedom of speech — yet “Palestinians” have the gall to claim that Israel is a human rights abuser. Israel’s legitimacy is established by its political freedom as much as by any religious and historical claims. It is a free society; the Muslim countries are slave societies. There is no comparison.
Israelis have made something of land that the Arab Muslims had largely abandoned as a desert. That, too, gives them a right to it. Israel has again and again sought peace with its neighbors, yet they’ve attacked it five times, and fired rockets and sent suicide bombers to murder Israelis on buses and in restaurants during periods of “peace.” Israel doesn’t “occupy” any land — Judea and Samaria were captured in war, and that is Jewish land in the first place, anyway. Throughout history, countries have occupied territories they needed to protect them from aggressive neighbors. Only Israel is denied this right.
The only thing Israel has done wrong has been to give away land in a vain hope for peace and not be tough enough with the genocidal Jew-hating jihadists. If the U.S. can bomb al-Qaeda sites in Afghanistan and Pakistan, why can’t Israel bomb Hamas fighters in Gaza? Israel stands for peace, for freedom, for democracy, and for human rights. Its enemies stand for jihad and the subjugation of the kuffar, and the enslavement of women. This is not a nationalist struggle, it is a jihad, and all the people that want to be free from Islamic law should stand with Israel.
Traditionally, Judaism has taught the importance of peace, the value of study, the centrality of family life, and the necessity of benevolence. Meanwhile, Islam teaches the importance of using physical force to get what one wants, the value of brute strength, polygamy (which reduces women to commodities and destroys the family as we know it), and the necessity of being “harsh” toward the unbelievers (cf. Koran 48:29, 9:123). The Islamic jihadists, far from valuing life, love death, as they themselves say, inflict pain without remorse and lack any respect for other human beings if they are not Muslim.
Therefore the struggle for Israel is the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, life and death. If Israel dies, one of the primary forces for good in the world will have been overcome by evil, and evil will be that much closer to taking over the world.
The conquest of Israel would indeed be nothing more than the conquest of the good. That piece of beach, that narrow strip of land, holds no oil, gold, or any other valuable resources. It, however, holds the Jewish people. The Islamic world knows that getting control of that tiny patch of land is meaningless; it is getting the Jew out that will be the victory for the forces of evil. However, if the Jew dies, the Muslims will die as well: their survival depends on their constant jihad, because without it they will lose the meaning and purpose of their existence.
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27 Comments
12 years ago
Did he ever apologise to Gert Wilders? I agree with 90% of Beck, but watch out, I beleive there is a good chance he is a disinformation tool also.
12 years ago
Who needs evidence of the utter depravity of Euro cultural production workers? Kirsten Dunst sat silent at Cannes while the director of her latest movie admits to being a nazi, and attacks Israel. I won’t post youtube, even though his actual words are worse than those discussed in this news item.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/may/18/lars-von-trier-cannes-2011-nazi-comments
12 years ago
I almost agree with everything you’ve written Pam – except the religious bit. I believe that the battle between good/evil and Israel is almost entirely spiritual. The shared values, the decency and morality is all good, but I believe that there are forces at play that are way beyond these things. I believe, by the covenant to Abraham, that it goes well for a nation to honor God and Israel, and from that point of view I agree with Glenn Beck…
12 years ago
I tend to agree about the religious aspect. It is important for many. For me, the most important issue is how Israel is the front line in a war between a national government and Islamic law and government.
As we know, Islam is far more than just a ‘religion’. No other religion in the world is fielding an army to defend it’s ‘occupied’ land, or it’s ‘waters’. Israel is more like the United States than any of the ‘countries’ in the entire region. We could expect the same treatment if we were in that position. If missiles were being launched over the Canadian or Mexican (Or both) borders, I doubt that we would sit still either. A big difference is that Israel is not big enough to take their enemies out. The U.S. could, but Israel cannot. At least not by itself. And if Israel falls, we are next.
We can expect this war to continue to expand and become larger. After all, Islam does not recognize the authority or responsibility of ANY modern nation-state.
12 years ago
I am very grateful to Glenn Beck for standing with Israel.
We are on the edge of a cliff…with the world ready to push us off.
Along comes Beck and says “No, we cannot allow that to happen again”.
He’s putting a lot on the line coming here this August. I pray all goes well.
12 years ago
Yes Beck “and others” are controlled opposition operatives, those who don’t ever talk about Obama not being a natural born citizen thus ineligible (as are all his anti-israeli policies) are just anti-israeli themselves. They talk a good line, but when it comes to rubber meeting road, they’re deliberately set up to fail.
12 years ago
Pam,
You are 100% correct except for the religious angle. The issue of good and evil is ultimately religious. I am anchored in my Christianity. However, Jews and Christians have a common understanding of good and evil. It is not the same with Islam. We are in a struggle agains evil and Israel is the focal point. We can’t let the devil succeed by allowing Israel to fall.
Beck is leading us on an existential struggle and we’ve got to give him all the support we can. Thank you for supporting him.
12 years ago
I’m not Jewish, so I don’t think that Israel is that important. It is a great country, with a higher standard of living and better democracy than its neighbors. Kinda like America, its a nation of immigrants (mostly), and like America, it removed many inhabitants to make room for settlers of its primary culture.
But that’s okay, because a Palestinean state would be as corrupt as the Arab nations around it. Israel is good for the region, because eventually (I hope) they will be at peace with their neighbors. That, or one or the other will be destroyed. I don’t think the Arabs can destroy Israel, nor can Israel destroy (different from defeat) the Arabs.
But with this whole civilized versus savage example, given as you gave it, would justify the attempted extermination of the Native Americans. Now, today, how can anyone agree with that?
12 years ago
Sorry, Ms. Geller. Without a religious component the Jews have no claim to their homeland. Without the jewish religion there is no moral component to self-determination, defense and self-government in the Holy Land. And for those Israeli jews who do not practice the religion of their forefathers, not to mention that of their parents and great-grandparents, we find leftists who are more than happy to fight for palestinian rights to the land. Because they have no religious connection to the land.
12 years ago
You are right on, Pamela. The religious angle is irrelevant. It is a right versus wrong and good versus evil issue. I applaud Beck for finally coming to the show, but he is a late arrival who resisted for a long time. Maybe he finally had an epiphany, I don’t know, but I’d like to see an apology to Geert Wilders.
12 years ago
if israel were just a bunch of tent cities…i think the muslims would still hate and resent its ‘existence’ because of their warped need to have a caliphate that’s “juden-rein”. (no jews). it’s that jew hate that’s so close to their hearts that drives them. there is no respect only hate. they supposedly revere ‘yusuf’ or our ‘yosef’..but they destroy his tomb in shechem (not ‘nablus, a roman term). the temple mount is a holy place…but they let people play soccer up there!!! imagine a basketball game near the kaba? israel’s modernity and achievements may well make them more angry. but the very existence of jews who are not dhimmis rouses their foundational jew hate. the only love they feel is that they love to hate us. hey, it’s in their unholy book and the life of their demented ‘prophet’ (who slaughtered the jews of the arabian peninsula and whom maimonides called a “madman’.)
12 years ago
sorry, wolf. ms geller is making a general cogent point. it’s true that the leftists are willing to give up land because they lack a religious connection. but there are many ‘secular’ jews who have a strong religious connection even tho they don’t outwardly practice (they have shabbat dinners and some holidays). ms geller’s point is that the defense and standing with israel is a major human rights issue. an issue of basic morality. this properly invites people of any or no religious background to stand with israel because it is ethically and morally right. her point is brilliant.
12 years ago
the jews are more like the native americans than the arabs. it is our indigenous, sacred, historical, legal and ancestral homeland. we have many sacred burial grounds there. our entire sacred history is in that land.
12 years ago
hey mackie, you’re improving. no jew hate in this post. you do cast some dispersions on beck, which is really stupid. but hey, one step at at time.
12 years ago
@John P above.
here is the nazi lars at the cannes festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHKojTI-pNM
what is horrid is that people laugh…no one boos him or stops him.
typically at the end of the video(, where he has said he takes pleasure in knowing his family was nazi, sympathizes with the nazi leader, says israel is a pain/annoying, and proposes a final solution for journalists….this slime garbage….) some letoid obot idiot says “oh laaars, that was intense!”
sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiz. give me a frickin break. ef cannes. they should have booted him off the stage and taken back any award they gave him.
12 years ago
The context…
Paragraph 3 –
“Glenn Beck is taking a stand … .
“My only concern, … is the context … .
“Glenn Beck is making a religious case for the defense of Israel.
“And I take exception to that.
“… the religious argument can be made,
“the defense of Israel is not a religious issue.
“This is an issue of shared values. … .”
– – – – – – – –
With the deepest of respect to you Pamela, all Jewish people, theistic and atheistic, and my Christian fellow travellers on the “narrow WAY”… Jerusalem belongs to YaHoWaH, not to Israel… and definitely NOT to Islam. Yahowah himself is Israel’s best defense, secular AND religious.
What I am referring to is found in the tanack… speciically the books where the city of Jerusalem is associated with YaHoWaH Elohim.
Art
I stand with…
– the name of Yahowah (He [who] Is)
– the people of Yahowah (Judah / Israel – Joel 3:1, 2)
– the city of Yahowah (Jerusalem – 2 Chronicles 6:6; 33:4)
“… I Am** … .” (Exodus 3:14)
“… Yahweh** …
“… this is my name forever;
“… how I am to be remembered … .” (Exodus 3:15 – HCSB*)
I stand with the people of Yahowah –
“… Judah … My people, My inheritance Israel” (Joel 3:1, 2)
I stand with the city of Yahowah –
“But I have chosen Jerusalem
“so that My name will be there, … .” (2 Chronicles 6:6)
“… Jerusalem is where My name will remain forever. (33:4)
I stand with the name of Yahowah and his son Yahowsha vs. the name of Allah to
STOP! Islamization of America and Marxist “fellow travelers”
*HCSB – Holman Christian Standard Bible – 2010 edition
** “I Am” – 1 x OT translation of eh-yeh – first person singular of hayah (H-Y-H) v. 14)
** “Yahweh – He [Who] Is” – 6,828 x OT translation of yih-weh – third person singular of hawah (H-W-H) (v. 15)
See info boxes, pages 102 and 103
12 years ago
sorry vlparker, the religious angle is not irrelevant. If Pam fails to appreciate the magnitude of the situation from a spiritual perspective then she is in way, way, over her head.
12 years ago
Check yourself out for some hate Bro, I tell it like I see it. Jewicidal Jews are a bigger threat to Jews and Israel than ALL the Muslims. Muslims will kill ya given the chance, These secular Commie/Lib/socialist/BANKSTERS will destroy ALL that is decent in their quest for human/social evolution. They are stripping off ALL the strenght/protection our once Great Nation pocesses to weaken us for their definition of Utopia. They crack eggs by da million. Just look at TROTSKY.
How about Israel only for Jews to live in. NO Christians or Muslims. Deport them ALL? I beleive you wrote something that last week. Peace Out!
12 years ago
Israel is the only free state in the Middle East. They are being threatened and attacked from all sides by barbaric lunatics. That is evil trying to destroy good and that is why we should defend them. You don’t have to come at it from a religious perspective to recognize that.
Pamela said:
Glenn Beck is taking a stand and standing for the good. This is righteous. My only concern, and it’s a big one, is the context in which he’s framing his position. Glenn Beck is making a religious case for the defense of Israel. And I take exception to that. While of course the religious argument can be made, the defense of Israel is not a religious issue. This is an issue of shared values. This is an issue of humanity, decency, and morality. The case for Israel is plain for agnostics and atheists as well. Beck should not risk giving the impression that if you don’t buy religious arguments, then there is no reason to stand in the defense of Israel,
Adherence to the Golden Rule may very well be a religious notion, but it is a rational and reasoned premise, with or without a deity. The existential war that Israel is facing is our war. It is the war of the individual. The eternal struggle of man against state, of the individual against collectivism, of freedom versus slavery. Since man rose up and walked on two legs, from the ancient era to the modern era, the fight is still the same. It is a struggle as old as time.
That is what is really at play here: the struggle between good and evil.
THESE WORDS ARE 100% ACCURATE. YOU CAN TAKE RELIGION TOTALLY OUT OF IT AND WE STILL SHOULD STAND FOR GOOD AGAINST EVIL.
12 years ago
So then, how about if Israel gets its land back, the Natives get their respective lands back? If America supports the Jewish people’s right to a homeland, what about the occupied land America is on?
Not arguing against Israel here, just the injustice done to Native Americans.
12 years ago
Actions speak louder than words. We can debate whether this is primarily a difference of religion or political histrionics. It’s irrelevant. The argument is succinct and I’m not going to write a long diatribe on the issues. You stand with good or you stand with evil, light over darkness, civility over barbarism. For those who would like to support Israel, send money to Israeli charities and/or the IDF or the Israeli institution of your choice. I’ll repeat the first sentence of this comment; actions speak louder than words. Israel needs all the help you can send her. I am completely irreligious, but, I choose to stand and support the good. It’s your choice.
12 years ago
Whoa,you guys are going beyond the pale. Beck has ALWAYS said it is about good and evil. He has never even said it is about Israel. He stands by his stance that we have to take a stand. Do we stand with good or do we stand with evil? Is this a case of professional jealousy with other media persons who did not come up with this truly fantastic idea? I have not seen anyone with Beck’s courage and commitment for the good of Israel. He puts his money where his mouth is. How many others do??????????
12 years ago
I agree, her point is brilliant.
12 years ago
Of course Pamela sees the spiritual perspective! I think what she is trying to explain is that no specific religion can claim a monopoly on the truth (right from wrong, good or evil) ALL people regardless of their religious beliefs should have a good basic sense of ‘spirituality’ enough to know when they are seeing GOOD OR EVIL and to stand on the appropriate side, of GOOD, for the sake of good alone. No agendas are needed because The Truth stands on it’s own merit.
12 years ago
You wrote:
You don’t have to come at it from a religious perspective to recognize that.
and you also wrote:
THESE WORDS ARE 100% ACCURATE. YOU CAN TAKE RELIGION TOTALLY OUT OF IT AND WE STILL SHOULD STAND FOR GOOD AGAINST EVIL.
Indeed, you are quite correct. However I’m not talking about the ability to recognize it (or the moral duty to stand), but the ability to prevail against it. To a lot of Christian’s the spiritual dimension of what’s happening with Israel (and the whole world for that matter) cannot be understated or brushed aside – it is extremely significant.
So whilst I do respect your point of view – and would also encourage everyone to stand…I cannot – as you say – take religion totally out of it. Quite the contrary in fact.
Anyway, from what I understand GB is doing this for the sake of America as much as anything, and from a Christian point of view that makes a lot of sense to me too. God promises to bless those whom bless Israel..and likewise curse those whom curse Israel. I believe that is one of the reasons why America was a great country – and why the middle east is backward and barbaric.
12 years ago
Exactly.
12 years ago
I agree almost a hundred percent, with what you have posted here. My only real question regarding current events in, and about Isreal, Why does the American population of Hebrew peoples continue to support our president. Do they know something, I don’t? Perhaps more people should read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. When they do, everyone should pay specail attention to the part concerning “the night of broken glass” after which the german government wanted to benevolently move them to areas outside of greater germany, where they would be safe, from the german population. I think in Isreal people remeber this. When we in America try to forget, it is pure disrespect to those that lost their lives in the the concentration camps, and to that generation of our countrymen, who lost so many trying to secure their freedom. How many times do we have to repeat our mistakes before we realize that consoling an enemy who wants to destroy you, only put’s his knife closer to your own throat?
