October 7, savages from the terrorist group Hamas went on a killing spree targeting unarmed civilians in Israel and murdering over 1200 Jews in cold blood.  The barbaric nature of the killings shocked the sensibilities of anyone with a conscience, which means it didn’t shock or even bother such vile antisemitic Jew-hating radicals like Rashida Tlaib or most of the faculty of Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.  In fact, leave it to the far left to try and blame Israel for the psychopathic behavior of Iran-sponsored Hamas and their Palestinian enablers.

Large rallies in cities across the world like New York, London, Paris, and Washington, DC showed support for Palestinians and ignored the atrocities suffered by innocent Israeli civilians.  The horrors inflicted upon them such a placing live babies in ovens, ripping open the womb of an Israeli woman who was 4 months pregnant, raping women repeatedly and violently in front of their children, or setting elderly people on fire while they were confined to wheelchairs are just some of the acts these precious souls were subjected to.  Some have called the beheading of babies in their cribs as that of animals, but animals don’t viciously kill for sport or for the purpose of causing unspeakable pain.  There is something else going on here.  And it’s not new.  Jews have been targeted for extinction going back to the time of Abraham when God chose the descendants of Isaac to inherit the land and to be designated as God’s chosen people. 

Hating and wishing to annihilate Jews is irrational.  There are only about 16 million Jews in the entire world, making up 0.2% of the world’s population.  Just over 7 million Jews live in Israel and slightly more Jews than that live in the US.  So why would such a small minority of people be so hated and targeted not merely for isolation and harassment, but for systematic elimination?  There is no rational answer.  But there IS an answer:  It’s not political, geographical, economic, or religious.  It’s the result of spiritual darkness that originated in the very bowels of hell.  It’s the ultimate enmity between God and Satan, and we need to see it for what it is and be willing to resist this manifestation of sheer evil.

I’m not a Jew, but without hesitation or reluctance, I stand with the Jews and oppose the attempts to marginalize or murder them.  I recognize that the hate toward them is really hate toward God for having chosen them and blessed them.  Hate crimes against Jews just in the US are up 200%. 

After the Battle of the Bulge in WW II, a group of over 1000 US troops were captured by the Nazis and placed in the Ziegenhein Stalag.   In January of 1945, the Nazi commandant ordered the America Jewish soldiers to separate from the other captives.  The ranking American in the camp was Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds who hailed from Knoxville, TN.  He ordered everyone of the American soldiers to fall out in formation when the Jews were ordered to report.  The shocked Nazi Major demanded that Sgt. Edmonds identify which ones were Jews.  Sgt. Edmonds said, “We are ALL Jews here.” 

The incensed German commander took a pistol and held it tight to Edmonds head and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t identify the Jews who would surely be murdered if identified.  Sgt. Edmonds gave his name, rank, and serial number and told the Nazi Commandant that he could shoot him, but unless he shot everyone of the over 1000 soldiers, he would be held responsible for the war crime and they all knew who he was and he would pay for his crimes when the Allies won the war.  The Nazi officer then withdrew.  The courage of Sgt. Edmonds to declare that all of the soldiers were Jews had saved the lives of 200 of actual Jews in captivity.  Sgt. Edmonds risked his life when he defied the order to identify the Jews and boldly declared, “We are all Jews here.”  70 years later, Sgt. Edmonds would be the first ever US serviceman to be named a “Righteous Among the Nations” at Yad Vashem.  There are now thousands of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of those 200 Jewish soldiers who instead of being turned over to the Germans to be murdered, were instead saved by the heroic act of a farm boy from Tennessee turned soldier who ultimately came home, led a good life and was father to Chris Edmonds, who became a Baptist Pastor in Maryville, TN.

So as we witness the unspeakable evils being inflicted upon Jews in Israel and around the world, I pray we will all summon the courage to stand with those who Satan has targeted and defy the evil and say, “We are ALL Jews here.”