Friday, December 18, 2015

PCG's Appalling Coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

(May peace soon come to the Holy Land.)


Discussing the terrible wave of violence that began to afflict the Holy Land from October 1 onward PCG's Stephen Flurry wrote an article ("Why Jerusalem is Bleeding") in the November-December 2015 issue of PCG's recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet all about it. Let's take a look.
The recent rash of horrific attacks by Palestinians in Israel is not leading to an independent state—it is leading to Jerusalem being cut in half. 
What about attacks by Israelis against Palestinians? So far about 120 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in the round of violence that has wracked the Holy Land since October 1? There is no speculation about what the families and friends of those 120 Palestinians must be feeling after going through the violent death of beloved family member or friend.

But PCG blinded by racism and dogma regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. PCG's false doctrine of British Israelism made the predominantly white PCG to project their own white identity onto Israeli Jews. Thus PCG has labeled Israeli Jews as white like themselves. Palestinians are defined as not white. PCG supports the State of Israel because they think the Israeli Jews are white like themselves. Therefore PCG view one side as good. The other side as bad. So for them it is irrelevant that about 120 Palestinians have been killed since October 1 since they are not white "like us". That is racism. PCG supports the State of Israel for racist reasons.

(Many others support the State of Israel without believing the nonsense of British Israelism. So I would not use that argument against them. This argument is directed at PCG.)

We now continue with Stephen Flurry's article.
Yes, outraged Israeli settlers have burned olive trees and beaten Palestinians. Yes, Palestinian bystanders have been killed as Israeli police, troops and airmen have conducted raids and strikes against Palestinian terrorists (who not only target Jewish civilians, but also hide among and behind Palestinian civilians). But why is the State Department equating that with a man who plows his car into people at a bus stop, or a child who stabs away at another child, or terrorists who aim their rockets at civilian areas, or murderers who shoot unsuspecting parents to death in front of their young children?
White violence is excused or justified. Violence by non-whites such as Palestinians is not justified or examined in such a way. But if they can be excused could it be possible that Palestinians may also have similar motives to do such things. But PCG is blinded by racism and dogma so the contradiction is ignored.

Many authoritarian religious groups teach their followers to view events in simplistic black and white terms. PCG has used that in discussing the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One side is good. One side is bad. One side is white. One side is not white. One side is justified. One side is never justified.

One can only wonder what Stephen Flurry would say about an Israeli mob murdering an innocent Eritrean man, Habtom Zarhum, who was mistaken for a Palestinian.




But such a ghastly happening does not fit PCG dogma so such an event is ignored.

Stephen Flurry then condemns a statement from the US State Department that he insists is too harsh towards the State of Israel. He mentions an exchange between a journalist and a US State Department spokesman.
Lee then asked what the United States expects from the Israelis to reduce the violence in Israel. Toner responded that they should “[uphold] the status quo in Haram al-Sharif and [the] Temple Mount.” That is exactly what the Israelis have been doing for decades. By emphasizing it, the State Department was responding to, legitimizing and perpetuating a lie from Arab propaganda: that Jews are plotting to desecrate Muslim holy sites and to blow up mosques.
But Stephen Flurry fails to mention that the Israeli authorities have in recent times forbade certain Muslims from entering the Temple Mount. Imagine if back in the 1970s some WCG members had been forbidden from entering Ambassador College by the authorities. No doubt they would be furious, upset and humiliated and justifiably angry. That is what many Palestinian Muslims have endured recently when Israeli authorities restricted Muslims entering Al Aqsa Mosque. That is a major reason why this round of violence began. Stephen Flurry is not explaining what is happening.

Also when the State of Israel acquired East Jerusalem after the Six Day War of 1967 the Israeli authorities made an agreement that among other things said that only Muslims were allowed to pray at Al Aqsa Mosque. Others were allowed to visit but only Muslims can pray there. The State of Israel agreed to this arrangement.

At the same time that many Palestinian Muslims were forbidden from entering Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli authorities increasing numbers of Israeli Jews were visiting Al Aqsa Mosque.
According to data provided to Israeli daily Makor Rishon, the number of Jewish Israelis visiting Temple Mount annually has steadily but significantly climbed in recent years: from 6,568 visits in 2009 to 8,528 in 2013 to 10,906 in 2014. (The Times of Israel, August 31, 2015.) 
And some of these Israeli Jews even prayed there contrary to the agreement made by the State of Israel.  



Stephen Flurry insists that Palestinians are just using a trick in bringing up Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israel has consistently upheld a decades-old policy of protecting and preserving all holy sites in Israel—whether they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. Contrary to insinuations by the State Department (not to mention Palestinian terrorists), Israel has upheld that status quo since 1967, when it took control of East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
So according to Stephen Flurry the status quo seems to be "protecting and preserving all holy sites". This conveniently ignores the Israeli authorities' restrictions on Palestinian Muslims entering Al Aqsa Mosque and that at the same time more Israeli Jews were visiting Al Aqsa Mosque. This important issue that was so instrumental in setting off this latest round of violence is carefully ignored.
The Palestinians themselves have called this uprising the “hibat al-Quds”—the “Jerusalem awakening.” The terror is coming as a response to a false conspiracy about a Jewish takeover of Muslim holy sites. At its core, it is a religious war based on hatred of the Jews!
Stephen Flurry is ignoring the problem of Third Temple Extremism within the Holy Land among some extremists. These extremists have constantly called for the construction of a third temple. Israel's deputy defense minister was recently reported by Haaretz of sending donations to a Third Temple organization.

One such protest by some of these Third Temple Extremists in October 1990 led to a Palestinian protest being brutally suppressed by Israeli police resulting in the violent deaths of at least 16 Palestinians. The constant proclamations of these Third Temple Extremists add fuel to the fire and help further persuade some Palestinians that such a move might happen.

Third Temple Extremism on a shirt.
(Ma'an News Agency.)

It is most unlikely that the Israeli government will do such a thing. They say they are no intention of doing so and there is no reason not to believe them. But it is wrong for Stephen Flurry to insinuate and ignore the issue of Third Temple Extremism with the Holy Land.
International coverage has been muted if not outright biased. It has primarily focused on the number of deaths on either side of the conflict, or on the “disproportionate” Israeli response. But what proportion do you use, exactly, when people are inspiring their children to pick up a knife and go after your children?
Notice how Stephen Flurry condemns media coverage that focuses "on the number of deaths on either side of the conflict". The vast majority of deaths in this ongoing round of violence are Palestinians. So far about 120 Palestinians have been killed and about 20 Israelis. But it seems Stephen Flurry does not want his readers to notice or care about this fact.

Notice how Stephen Flurry vilifies Palestinian children. Even the Palestinian children are feared and vilified.

Stephen Flurry then insinuates that Palestinians are somehow influenced by Satan alluding to a stabbing attack that was committed by a couple of young Palestinians aged 15 and 13 years old on October 12.
Wouldn’t you describe a 13-year-old Palestinian trying to murder another 13-year-old simply because he is Jewish as satanic?

Satan hates God, hates His plan, and hates the people He commissioned. He inspires anti-Semitism. And he wants that hatred to explode.
What if Stephen Flurry spoke like this about Jews or African Americans? Would it not be condemned? It is wrong to talk about Jews or African Americans in such a way therefore it is wrong to talk of Palestinians that way as well.
The Israeli government has put more police and soldiers onto the streets. It has deployed soldiers to Jerusalem, a very rare occurrence. It has taken the major step of setting up checkpoints in East Jerusalem and reportedly may close those routes completely. Soldiers are guarding buses. Troops are on the streets. Palestinian areas are being partially blocked off. 
What is not mentioned is that Israeli military maintains many checkpoints within the West Bank that restricts Palestinians' movement and economic activity. It appears this practice committed in the West Bank is being extended into East Jerusalem.




Stephen Flurry then insists that these events will lead to something even worse than the Holocaust committed by the Nazis.
Studying that prophecy in combination with several others, you see that this event will plunge the Jewish state and many other nations into a crisis more horrifying than the Holocaust. It will be a tragic period when Jewish lives won’t matter.
PCG teaches that the State of Israel will be conquered by a future European Empire just before Christ returns to set up a world government that will rule all the world for a thousand years in peace and prosperity.

Stephen Flurry ends his article with the following words.
Christ will end the days of people viewing those of another race with hatred and contempt. Because of Christ’s coming rule—and only because of that—the “Days of Rage” in Jerusalem are about to become days of peace.
Stephen Flurry insists that violence and mayhem of this sort are destined to be the lot of Palestinians and Israeli alike until Christ returns. Any hope that this ghastly political situation can be solved is emphatically denied by Stephen Flurry.

Nagtegaal's Trumpet Article

PCG's Brent Nagtegaal describes the stabbing attack committed by a 15 year old and a 13 year old in an accompanying article ("The Holy City’s Child Terrorists").
This was the third knife attack of the day around the Holy City, and the 22nd over a span of 13 days. But the most startling fact was the age of the child’s would-be murderers: two Arab cousins, just 13 and 15.
It is a frightening thing. But it is also clear that Nagtegaal is utterly baffled by it all. Stephen Flurry and Brent Nagtegaal have both live in lands of peace. So the intense polarization along lines of nationality in the Holy Land is utterly foreign to them. But they do not seem to have any self awareness that they might be unaware of what is really happening.
What motivated these children to kill? Was it their parents, absorbed in Palestinian media that distorts events and demonizes Israelis?
It is very unlikely that the parents caused this. It is most likely that the parents knew nothing and if they did know would have done all they could to stop it. The fact that Nagtegaal would slur the parents in such a way shows that he does not understand what is happening. He sees these things but he is blinded by PCG dogma.

But while Nagtegaal is so horrified by a 15 year old and a 13 year trying to stab an Israeli Jew when he sees bad behavior by an Israeli Jew he minimizes it and tries to explain it.
Police confronted the 15-year-old, who was still holding the machete. He charged, and was fatally shot. The 13-year-old was hit by a car. As he lay on the pavement, squirming in blood, paramedics tried to save his young life. An Israeli passerby videoing the boy shouted, “Die! Die! You son of a whore!”...

But what about the Israeli who saw a heap of quivering, broken flesh crumpled on the street and shouted at him to die? His outrage is understandable. But his reaction reveals that he too carries a terrible hatred.
So it seems that accusing a Palestinian mother of being a "whore" while she in all likelihood had absolutely no idea what is happening to her beloved 13 year old son crumpled on the ground after being hit by a car is "understandable" to Brent Nagtegaal.

No such exploration of motives is ever given for Palestinians by the PCG leadership. Anger within Palestinians is portrayed as unjustified, religious in nature. But when PCG talks about an Israeli's crude words it is minimized as "understandable." Nagtegaal brings it up in an attempt to present himself as even handed on this issue but it even this mild condemnation shows the simplistic favoritism in favor of Israeli Jews.

This is because in PCG's eyes Israeli Jews are white and Palestinians are not white. Israeli Jews as viewed as like us but Palestinians are not. Israeli Jews are viewed as people driven to desperation but Palestinians are influenced by Satan the Devil. What a strange world PCG's leaders live in.

Because PCG favors one side they do not notice information that happen to contradict their simplistic black and white view of the conflict. For PCG one side is good, the other side is bad. But reality is messy andoften fails to fit neatly defined black and white thinking.







And to think PCG seems to have no idea why some Palestinians should unfortunately happen to embrace violence and have even labeled Palestinian violence as satanic. Palestinian violence only seems inexplicable because PCG fails to notice these things. None of these things justifies violence. It is unfortunate PCG chooses to not notice such things in order to watch events to see if that the end times will soon begin.

Nagtegaal's Earlier Article

Nagtegaal's article is based on an earlier article by Brent Nagtegaal ("Youth Terrorism Takes a Knife to Prospects of Israeli-Palestinian Peace," October 14, 2015). It is written differently.
What motivated two children to grab knives, lay in wait, and then begin stabbing a Jewish child? What kind of home life taught them it was OK to take a human life?
In all likelihood the parents had no idea they would do this and if they knew they would stop. The fact that Nagtegaal assumes this might be the case shows he does not know what is happening.

Then Nagtegaal says "we can certainly understand Jewish anger" and then condemns Palestinians as "the murderous enemy" and of having "a rotten society". For PCG one side is good, one side is bad.
But what about the Israeli? The one who saw a collapsed heap of quivering, broken flesh and bones crumpled upon the street and shouted at him to die. Of course we are outraged by the cold-blooded killers. And we can certainly understand Jewish anger at the murderous enemy who seeks their destruction. But surely this 13-year-old was the result of a rotten society rather than part of its cause. Obviously, the Israeli also carries a hatred that reveals “peace in the Middle East” as the cliché it is.
Nagtegaal mentions the Israeli calling for the young Palestinian to die and insulting the child's mother in order to present himself as being even handed. He even says that particular "Israeli also carries a hatred". But does he say that particular Israeli belongs to a "murderous enemy" or belongs to "a rotten society"? Of course not. Because PCG supports the State of Israel and thinks Israeli Jews are white. This is just badly performed camouflage to obscure just how slanted their coverage of events actually is.
When an Israeli walks to the other side of the street because an Arab is walking toward him, how much hope can we have for a broader peace between Palestinians and Jews? Doesn’t this go deeper than summits and meetings and negotiations? Don’t we need a healing of minds in the Middle East?
And what about the Palestinians? They have suffered 500% more fatalities than Israeli Jews. What must they be thinking? Surely they must be scared and fearful and fearful as well. Yet Nagtegaal seems to have no sense of curiosity about what the Palestinians must be thinking or feeling after enduring such things. Why is there no sense of sympathy for those Palestinians who must go through life without their family member or friend? But they are not white according to PCG so it is ignored. It is not worth mentioning.

Strangely the same sentence appears in both Nagtegaal's first article and Stephen Flurry's article. The emphases on "timely" and "accurate" are the same as well.
The more you scrutinize Bible prophecy, the more shocked you will be at how timely and accurate it is about the situation in Israel. This ancient book not only predicted Israel’s current situation, but it predicts it’s future as well. And if the Bible can correctly forecast the existence of the Jewish state, the division of Jerusalem, the terror afflicting the Middle East, can it correctly forecast what happens next? (Brent Nagtegaal, "Youth Terrorism Takes a Knife to Prospects of Israeli-Palestinian Peace," October 14, 2015.)

The Israelis don’t know. The Palestinians don’t know. The media don’t know. But the Bible reveals where this is heading. We are about to see Jerusalem split down ethnic lines between east and west! These are the early stages of that division.
The more you scrutinize Bible prophecy, the more you realize how timely and accurate it is about the situation in Jerusalem.
The violent trend we see today is leading to the fulfillment of a critical and surprisingly specific prophecy.... (Stephen Flurry, "Why Jerusalem is Bleeding," November-December 2015.)
What stellar reporting to just use another man's writing for one's own.

***

In the current round of violence PCG remains true to form in viewing one side as good and the other side as bad, even satanic. Stephen Flurry complains that news reports mention that about 500% more Palestinians are being killed than Israelis so far. Stephen Flurry portrays Palestinians as motivated by an unlikely myth about the construction of a Third Temple without mentioning the many other issues that has created this dreadful current situation of violence. But PCG is blinded by racism so they view one side as good and the other side as bad, even satanic. PCG says Jews are white. PCG supports the State of Israel for racist reasons.

Violence is abhorrent and terrible. May this terrible time of violence end soon. But the current violence is a symptom of the severe political crisis between Israelis and Palestinians. Only courageous political decisions can possibly end this most terrible cycle of violence that afflicts the Holy Land.

The people in the Holy Land, Palestinians and Israeli Jews, desperately need peace now. Not after the second coming. Now. They need peace right now.

This is a most dreadful situation. Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and safety.  May peace soon come to the Holy Land.
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