Henry Herskovitz, a man worthy of respect for founding the Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends, and for faithfully leading demonstrations for some six years in front of a synagogue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was himself once a member, writes:
Hi Chuck,
I need it to help rebut those who bring up the quote given by the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor:
"This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I will give it to your offspring." [Deuteronomy 34:4]
Chuck Carlson answers:
The Bible passage often quoted by Christian and Jewish Zionists to justify building settlements on top of Palestinian villages reads:
"This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I will give it to your offspring."
However, Zionists who quote this passage probably cannot in honesty take it seriously, because it continues in the very same verse, “I HAVE CAUSED YOU TO SEE IT WITH YOUR EYES BUT YOU SHALL NOT GO OVER THERE.” (Deut. 34:4)
The well known story in context relates that the offspring of Abraham's tribe had become so corrupt that God punished them by making their leader, Moses, look at the "promised land" from afar but die in the wilderness without setting foot on it.
Further, in verse 34:9, we learn that Joshua took over Moses' authority and then led the remainder of the tribe into the “promised land.” From a strictly Old Testament point of view, assuming you believe the story to be more than a fable, God's promise was already fulfilled in Chapter 21 of the Book of Joshua:
43) The Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he swore to give their fathers
44) The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands
45) The Lord did not fail to perform on any promise; “all came to pass.”
-King James Version
So, if God promises you a candy bar and gave it to you, but you ate it or lost it, and now, 300 generations later your grandchildren, want another candy bar, does God owe it to them? No.
Zionists’ abuse of their own scripture is much worse than the candy bar analogy. None of it means a thing because not a Jew in a synagogue can prove he is a grandson of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. However you choose to view the stories of the Old Testament, it is meaningless to apply them to Jews from Poland or the Ukraine. Where is their DNA link to anyone in the Bible?
The New Testament (the whole book of Galatians for one place) deals with this question of who is Abram's "seed" from the only prospective a Christian can honestly take, which is Abraham is part of the history of a new faith. But the Jewish Federation people Henry is dealing with will not accept the New Covenant because, (1) they don't believe there was a Jesus, and (2), if they did accept the new covenant they lose their argument for the land. Christian Zionists must also ignore many of Jesus’ words in order to continue their worship and support of political Israel. Thus they stop being Christ followers for the sake of Israel.
Only Zionist could have written a certain footnote that appears in the origional, 1908 Scofield Reference Bible, on page 250, altering the meaning of Deuteronomy by interpretation,
“1(30:3) The Palestinian Covenant gives the conditions under which Israel entered the land of promise. It is important to see that the nation has never as yet taken the land under the unconditional Abraham covenant (see Genesis 12:2) nor has it ever possessed the whole land.”
This man made note directly contradicts the before-mentioned statement in Joshua, who says the ancient Israelites, whoever they might have been, did indeed get all the land and every promise God made. They presumably wasted it, abandoned it, or were killed off. Judeo-Christians incuding Zionsit ones, first swear the bible is God inspired and literally true, and then they turn about and refute clear statements in it. This only demonstrates how far Zionists have gone to boondoggle Christians.
A word of advice for my friend Henry, learned from talking to many Christian Zionists at churchs across this land. Before making this valid scriptural argument, and so you are not wasting your time arguing with deliberate, pragmatic usurpers of Abraham's genealogy for the Zionist cause, I suggest you demand to see DNA evidence...the Jewish Federation can no more prove they are “Abraham's seed” than I can prove a genetic link to St. Olaf, or the Thor, gods of the Norsemen.
-Chuck Carlson
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
How the Vigils Started
"Sol Metz and Henry Herskovitz first traveled to Palestine in 2002. Shocked at the treatment decent Palestinians were receiving at the hands of Zionist army, and impressed with the decency, courage and humanity of the Palestinian people, both men returned to Ann Arbor desirous of telling their stories. Henry had meetings with Rabbi Rob Dobrusin of Beth Israel Congregation, Rabbi Bob Levy of Temple Beth Emeth, and Rabbi Aharon Goldstein of Chabad House. All three Rabbis denied Henry access to their congregation at a time of their choosing. Frustrated, Henry gathered Jewish and non-Jewish activists in the Fall of 2003, and decided to take our message to the congregants. Beth Israel was selected (a) because their name literally means “House of Israel”, and (b) this was Henry’s synagogue of choice for 15 years attending Yom Kippur services. We continue to seek dialogue with the Jewish community of Ann Arbor."
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