Israel's Land Rights: Truth In History

Last Updated: 05/07/2008 15:15 |

Ezekiel 36:1-8
Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, "Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:" Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

Ezekiel 37:21-23
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

You'll see and hear a lot of propaganda out there about Israel. Don't trust all that you hear. God gave Israel the land as an everlasting covenant and fulfilled that promise to return Israel to that land, which we read in Ezekiel 36. God has placed them there and Zechariah 12 explains what will happen to those who try to divide it and take it away from them. I think that means that according to the Creator, the land is Israel's. Besides, it was a desolate wasteland that nobody wanted until Israel was given the land. You can get the truth in history right here:

Bible Passages Attesting to Israel's Right to the Land

Eye To Eye by Bill Koenig - Makes a good case for the connection of certain catastrophes that hit the United States on the days that events happened that took land away from Israel.

10 Essential Facts About the Mideast Crisis

10 Prophecies Fulfilled in 1948

"Pallywood" - True facts about Palestinian fake news.

Ex-Fatah fighter for Yasser Arafat asks forgiveness (February 1, 2006) - This is a transcript of a message by Taysir (Tass) Abu-Saada that reveals how God can reach all people regardless of past. He has seen the truth that Yeshua is the only way to peace in the middle east. Very good post.

Walid Shoebat - Walid was a Palestinian terrorist. He grew up learning the propaganda of hatred for the Jews from everyone around him and bought into it. He set bombs and the whole deal. Then he heard about Christ and his whole life changed. He now is close friends with some of those he used to kill and the loving response from those Christian/Jews is a sight to behold. All is forgiven and as far as the East is from the West and they talk together and make plans to reach those who have been deceived and tell them the Truth. Among those Truths, that Israel has full right to the land and the propaganda the world relies on to determine rights to the land is just that. And most importantly, that Yeshua is the Messiah and the only way to salvation. By accepting His grace, you are no longer held under the law, but rather follow the rules out of respect for Him and the sacrifice He made to pull you from the clutches of evil and into His Righteous Light. Walid's story is amazing and I recommend you click on the link above and find out for yourself. Hear him speak with Zola Levitt here. Click on the show entitled 'Age of Terror Series: "Rewriting History"' and the 'Age of Terror Series: "History of the Mount"' is an interesting show on the real in-the-history-books answer to who's land Israel is.

Zachariah Anani - Zachariah was once a militant Muslim who was taught to hate Israel, Zachariah Anani is now one of the state's most ardent supporters. According to Israel National News , an ex-Muslim terrorist who became a Christian and later, noting all that the Jews have been through in history, began speaking out on behalf of Israel. Zachariah Anani was recently interviewed by Israel National Radio . "I was brought up to hate Jews and Israel. That was my first raising, my first attitude," he explained. "In the 70's, I became a Christian, but even as a Christian, Jews didn't mean anything to me. One day, someone asked me a question regarding Jews, and I really didn't know the answer. I started studying Jewish history. I was shocked and amazed at how much the Jews had suffered, how much they had endured. That's what made me have a change of heart," said Anani. "Thank G-d, I spent most of my short, militant life fighting against my own kind. Fate never put me against the Israeli army." Anani shared his strong opinions in opposition to the Gaza withdrawal saying, "I have no clue why Israel left Gaza, why the righteous owner of a land would give up part of their inheritance and freedom. It would be another big blow if Israel gave up the West Bank." The former Muslim spoke of the amazing Divine protection that has surrounded Israel from the beginning. "G-d is with Israel. If every Arab country were to send a million soldiers to surround Israel, which would be 23 million soldiers, Israel would be doomed. How did they win five wars in the past? Because G-d was there," he said. Because of his controversial stance, Anani has suffered numerous attempts on his life, resulting in his moving to Canada and becoming a Canadian citizen. But he is not afraid to speak out for Israel; he will be joining a panel discussion at Princeton University on December 8th, where he will be speaking on Israel, Lebanon, the Hizbullah and the illusive peace in the Middle East. To hear the entire interview from Israel National Radio, click here.

From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine by Joan Peters $18.95 Education/Cultural

This monumental and fascinating book, the product of seven years of original research, will forever change the terms of the debate about the conflicting claims of the Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East.

Dumped Temple Mount Rubble Yields Jewish Artifacts
(April 14, 2005)

A historic excavation has been taking place in an eastern Jerusalem valley for the past six months: the first-ever archaeological examination of the Temple Mount. Arutz-7's Ezra HaLevi has taken an exclusive inside look into one of the most important and unique archaeological explorations in history - currently in danger of going unfinished due to lack of funding.

In November 1999, the Islamic Wakf carried out an illegal construction project on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. The unsupervised digging caused irreparable damage to the important site, as well as to untold priceless artifacts contained in rubble removed during the construction and dumped clandestinely in the Kidron Valley. Though the archaeological remains were no longer in their original contexts, they held enormous potential to shed light on the undocumented human history of the Temple Mount, as systematic archaeological excavation or scientific study have never taken place there. The mounds of dirt in the Kidron Valley therefore contained the only available data from the Temple Mount to which modern archaeologists have ever had access.

During the illegal excavations and dumping on and from the Temple Mount, the police and the government Antiquities Authority refused to interfere, citing concerns of violence by Muslims who deny that Temples ever stood on the Temple Mount. Tzachi Zweig, then an archaeology student, called a press conference to publicize the extent of the archaeological havoc being perpetrated. Zweig caused a stir in the media by displaying an assortment of artifacts that he had easily scooped out of the piles.

The story elicited outrage across the political spectrum in Israel, and this was followed by temporary restrictions on the free access of heavy construction equipment on the Temple Mount. The dirt itself into which the Waqf had mixed garbage was meanwhile ignored, and the Antiquities Authority refused to fund an examination of the tons of rubble.

Prominent archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkai decided to undertake the task of sifting through the 70 truckloads of Temple Mount dirt in order to rescue as much archaeological information from the destruction as possible.

“What they did was an archaeological disaster," Barkai told Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher. "That material is the only material available from the Temple Mount."

Private donations were gathered, and Zweig and Barkai proceeded to bring truckloads of earth to the Tzurim Valley National Park, located on the western slope of Mount Scopus, just below Hebrew University and the Maaleh Adumim tunnel.

The work was done quietly. "Anything in Jerusalem is politically charged," Barkai said. "Anything connected with the Temple Mount is even more sensitive. If our activity would have been known at the beginning, our work might have been jeopardized by unfriendly elements."

Using a mechanical sifter, the rubble was first separated into heaps consisting of material of differing sizes. The piles were then sifted by hand.

The work at the site was at first conducted primarily by volunteers who heard of the project by word of mouth and through Jerusalem-based email lists. Soon, groups from schools or other programs began pitching in for a few hours at a time. Eventually, Zweig began paying some of the more dedicated volunteers to work full-time, and since then, progress has increased significantly. “The very act of spending time and making the effort to examine debris just because it originates from the Temple Mount transmits a very powerful message to the general public and to the world as a whole about the importance of the place,” Dr. Barkai said, likening the painstaking examination of the Temple Mount rubble to the respect given to a dead corpse by burying it. He said the project is of particular importance due to the Islamic Waqf efforts to perpetrate something that he says is worse than Holocaust denial. "There is a phenomenon of Temple denial," Barkai said. "I just heard [Arab] MK Dahamshe this week in the Knesset denying that there were ever temples on the Temple Mount. It is a part of the cultural Intifada. I think it is just as serious as Holocaust denial. This intifada started in Joseph’s tomb and is trying to deny Jewish rights to the country."

The sifting and examinations have already yielded important artifacts from various periods, starting from the First Temple period until today. Among the discoveries so far:

During the first days of the project, a coin was recovered from the time of the Great Revolt against the Romans, preceding the destruction of the Second Temple. It bore the Hebrew phrase L’Herut Tzion, “For the Freedom of Zion.” The find was particularly meaningful, as the Temple Mount itself was one of the focal points of the Revolt.

A few days later, on the eve of Chanukah, workers discovered the “pinched style” spout of a Hasmonaean lamp.

Several weeks later, on the Tenth of Teveth - one of the fast days commemorating events that lead to the destruction of the First Temple - a crusader arrowhead was discovered. Though this was from a later period than the Temple’s destruction, arrowheads were subsequently recovered from earlier periods.

An unexpected find, due to the Waqf’s removal of almost all large artifacts, was a large segment of a marble pillar’s shaft - one meter tall and 60 cm in diameter, streaked with purple veins and white spots. There is another segment of a column shaft with a similar texture lying in a heap of various marble column shafts near the southern wall within the Temple Mount. Both fragments seem to be from the same pillar.

A large amount of pottery shards were discovered. Some 10-20 percent of it stems from the time of the First Temple period, and a small amount comes from the Second Temple period.

Animal bones - remnants of sacrifices.

A number of mosaic tiles and prehistoric flint implements.

An inscription chiseled on a jar fragment of the First Temple period, with the ancient Hebrew letters “Heh,” “Ayin” and “Kof.”

A seal impression from the Hellenistic period showing a five-pointed star with the ancient Hebrew letters spelling “Jerusalem” spaced between the points. About 30 such impressions have been found in Jerusalem on handles from the Hellenistic period (3rd century BCE). This was apparently a kind of official stamp from a period about which very little is known.

Numerous ceramic oil lamps were found. The most common among them are “Herodian lamps” from the time of the Second Temple. Another frequently found lamp is the “sandal” type, characteristic of the late Byzantine period (6-7th century CE). Many are decorated menorah patterns.

About 100 ancient coins, including several from the period of the Hasmonaean dynasty. One of the Hasmonean coins bears an inscription “Yehonatan High Priest, friend of the Jews.” On the other side is a cornucopia with a pomegranate in the center. Another coin is of Alexander Jannaeus. One side has the design of an anchor and the other side a star.

A fragment of a figurine from the First Temple period.

A Scytho-Iranian arrowhead, of the type used by the Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar that destroyed the First Temple in 586 BCE. Very few such arrowheads have been found in Jerusalem.

A bronze arrowhead from the Hellenistic period, possibly a remnant left by the Seleucid forces that were stationed in the Akra fortress, or by soldiers of Shimon the Maccabee, who liberated the Temple Mount.

An ivory comb, apparently from the Second Temple period. Similar combs have been found at Qumran, and it is probable that they were used as preparation for ritual purification in a mikveh (ritual bath), prior to entering the Temple courts.

“Our prime intent is to collect all man-made relics so that later we will be able to conduct a more intensive study based on quantitative analyses,” Barkai said. “By these studies we may learn more about the level of activity on the Temple Mount during the different periods, and the characteristics of each period. Another plan is to sort the bones, identify the various animal species, and date some of them by Carbon-14 analysis.”

Because such a sensitive excavation of material had never before taken place, and because the material had been purposely mixed with garbage and other matter, Zweig and Barkai had a difficult time estimating how much time the excavation would take. Despite six months of work, to date only 15% of the rubble has been examined.

“We had to develop the work methods ourselves as we progressed,” Zweig said. They now estimate that it will take four more months to finish sifting all of the material, but their initial grant of $65,000 has nearly run out. $61,000 more is needed to finish the project, something the two say could be accomplished by the end of the summer using the methods they now use.

1,400 Years of Christian/Islamic Struggle: An Analysis - By Richard C. Csaplar, Jr. This isn't so much specifically about Israel/Muslim relations, but it shows the heritage of the Muslim faith. 'I was very disappointed to see that U.S. News would publish a clearly false article, adopting the world's clearly false, politically correct (PC) view of the place of the Crusades in history. What makes it even worse, the article hides its views under the additional headline falsehood, "The Truth About the Epic Clash Between Christianity and Islam."'

Whose Land Really Is It? Out-of-Zion Ministries

As the day of the Lord’s return draws closer we should expect to see an intensifying of the controversy over Israel, and more specifically Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. This has indeed been the case since the outbreak of Palestinian initiated violence known as the Al Aksa Intifada. However, the root cause of the animosity goes much further back than the visit to the Temple Mount by the Israeli government minister, Ariel Sharon late September 2000.
The current situation was supposed to have been prevented by the Oslo Peace Treaty brokered between the Israelis and the Palestinians in 1993. For several years after the sides began to negotiate, the issue of Jerusalem was set aside, to be dealt with after the other issues had been resolved. For several years negotiations centered on the general conditions for a broad based Middle East peace treaty. For their part, the Israelis committed to, and carried out major withdrawals from much of the territory Israel had occupied since the Six Day War of 1967.

Even in light of the fact that Israel had abided by the Oslo Agreement, the radical Palestinian militia groups continued to attack innocent Israeli citizens. In 1995 and 1996, a series of terrorist bus bombings claimed the lives of dozens of innocent Israeli men, women and children. A period of relative quiet followed the bus bombings, however many here in Israel were pessimistic of the real motives of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Early in 2000 the Oslo negotiations began to focus on the one point that threatened to derail all that had been achieved thus far – Jerusalem. The relations between the two sides began to deteriorate as no compromise could be arrived at. Then in late September Ariel Sharon made his now infamous visit to the Temple Mount. Even though Sharon had asked for, and received, permission from the PA security chief, Arafat used this visit as a pretext to ignite the Al Aksa Intifada. Sharon received condemnation from around the world, but several in the PA leadership acknowledged that the uprising had been planned for some time before Sharon’s visit.

Months earlier, when Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon, the terror organizations Hizballah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad saw it as a victory. The suggestion was made by Hizballah that the Palestinians should try the same approach of continual violence, to gain a similar victory over the Israelis. Could this have been what inspired Arafat to call for and support the Al Aksa Intifada?

At the time of the completion of this book (May 2002) the Al Aksa Intifada is now in its 20th month. More than 2500 Palestinians have died, the majority of them in the course of attacking Israeli citizens and soldiers. During the same period, more than 450 Israelis have been killed, by far the majority being innocent men, woman and children who were murdered by misguided Palestinians who were under the impression that these despicable acts of terror will secure them a state with Jerusalem as its capital. These dreadful acts of terror climaxed in March 2002 with one of the lowest acts of terror ever perpetrated against the Jewish people. On the eve of the Passover festival, a demonically inspired Palestinian terrorist exploded himself in a restaurant in Netanya, taking the lives of 27 Jewish people who were guilty of nothing more than celebrating the liberation of their forefathers from the same demon inspired Pharaoh in Egypt 3500 years ago. The fact that they were celebrating the Passover in the very country that God promised to their ancestors, cost them their lives.

The Netanya Passover massacre, as it has come to be known, was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. The Israeli people and the government of PM Ariel Sharon had been pushed too far. The patience of the Israelis ran out. As we say in the Pesach Seder, “Dayenu!“ (Enough!) During April and May 2002, the Israel Defense Forces were involved in a large scale military offensive code-named “Operation Defensive Shield” against the terrorist network of the world’s No 1 arch terrorist, Yasser Arafat. The Middle East and the whole world is on the verge of what could be the regional war that will reveal the man who will sign a seven year peace treaty and start the count-down to the second coming of the Messiah.

As New Covenant members of the household of the God of Israel, and having been called to be His fellow workers we must be sure that we know the truth concerning the situation in the Middle East. The secular media, radio, TV and newspapers lie under the control of the Devil. Satan is currently (and temporarily) the God of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and the whole world lies under his influence. (1 John 5:19). He is the one who deceives the whole world. (Revelation 12:9)

The Biblical Perspective

Christians have no business turning to secular sources for the answer to the question Whose Land Is It? The Bible is the only legitimate authority on this matter. Follow me through the following verses and we will know for sure the answer to that question.

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 115:16
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Acts 17:26
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Psalm 105:6-11
O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

If you look at an older Bible map and then at a newer map, you will see that the land once called Canaan, is exactly the same land now known as Israel. And you will also see that the above verses that constitute this eternal land deed there is no mention of Ishmael. The Arab / Jewish conflict which has continually been the cause of untold death and destruction, and now threatens to engulf the entire world, can never be resolved until the Arabs and the rest of the world come to the realization that the Creator of the universe has decreed that all of Israel and beyond (Genesis 15:18) legitimately belongs to the Jewish descendants of Abraham.

“Yes”, some may say, “but Israel broke the covenant.” No she didn’t. If we look at the story as it unfolds in Genesis 15:17 the Lord put Abraham to sleep. The procedure in cutting a covenant was that the two parties would walk backwards and forwards in the body parts and the blood, speaking out their covenant promises. When God made the Abrahamic covenant, Abraham was asleep, God promised Abraham the land, but Abraham promised nothing. The Jews have no covenant promise to break!

Israel or Palestine - 20 Interesting Facts

Here is a list of some conveniently overlooked facts in the current Middle East situation.

Nationhood and Jerusalem Israel became a nation in 1312 BC, two thousand years before the rise of Islam.

Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BC the Jews have had dominion over the land for 1000 years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E. lasted no more than 22 years.

For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied the city of Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Jewish Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.

King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.

Arab and Jewish Refugees. In 1948 the Arab refugees were encourage to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.

The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.

The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.

Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Of the 100 million refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.

The Arab - Israeli Conflict. The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.

The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land autonomy under the Palestinian Authority and has supplied them with weapons.

Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.

The U.N. Record on Israel and the Arabs, of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.

Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.

The UN was silent while 58 Jewish Synagogues where destroyed by the Jordanians.

The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives

The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. These are incredible times. We have to ask what our role should be. What will we tell our grandchildren we did when there was a turning point in Jewish destiny, an opportunity to make a difference?