by Tom Brennan
Israel: religious and cultural liberty. Respecting the past, even if you don’t agree with it.
The ongoing atrocities of the expanding Caliphate in Iraq and Syria (and now Libya, Yemen and other nations being threatened), include obliterating the nation’s past. In Afghanistan some years ago the Taliban destroyed several monumental sculptures of Buddha which dated back to the pre-Islamic time. The world fretted in frustration as the millennia old sculptures fell. Never mind the war against women, girls and non-adherents to Sharia. So it is today as the Caliphate Jihadists slaughter Christian and Muslim alike, brutally execute pilots, and destroy churches, libraries, Muslim shrines and archaeological sites and museums. As the Museum in Mosul was looted and destroyed and now the site at Nimrud is bulldozed, the art and culture writers writhe in horror about the loss to the world of ancient cultures. Christians, through Israel’s Babylonian exile share a cultural link to Iraq’s sites. The Caliphate’s plans for destruction of Israel and other nations surely include elimination of any non-Islamic (the Caliphate sect’s version) sites, books or culture.
During the Holocaust, the Nazi’s looted the possessions of many rich Jews who were sent to the extinction camps. Uncounted Torahs were burned in the planned termination of a people, culture and belief. This tactic is being faithfully followed by other single-minded troops. The looted art wound up in the personal collections of high ranking Nazis, some was sold under cover. The Jihadist state is obviously skimming off artifacts for the underground art market to fill their coffers for conquest expenses.
Israel is home to many cultures past and present. The Hebrews were told to make or worship any graven image. However the cultures before and during their times did worship idols and occasionally righteous kings destroyed idols, arbors, groves and high altars. Today Israeli museums shelter and display these “graven images” as a part of the immense history of Israel. They preserve the past to better tell the story of Israel’s continued faithfulness to G-d. Israel is secure in its faith and does not need to feel any competition from others. How different from the raging Jihadists.
The competing Mahdist force in Iran tolerates no competing views: Muslim and Christian apostates are cruelly imprisoned and usually executed. Iran spares no effort in making sure its view of the world is the only one and works to spread it beyond its current borders through outward support of militant groups and surrogates. The goal is the same as the Iraq/Syria Mahdists, only through a different path. An eventual linkup is the obvious result.
Egypt and Jordan both allow a generous degree of religious freedom; Israel guarantees it by law. As the Jihad spreads worldwide, now to Indonesia and Europe, all must remember that ‘I am a jealous G-d”… (Exodus 34:14) and He fears no competitors. Israel preserves its multi cultured relics to tell a story without any rival, no bulldozers or pickaxes are needed to declare the One Whom Israel and its supporters serve.
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