Have you been watching the news on Lebanon lately? What has surprised me is the number of foreign nationals currently there. I am curious, why are there so many Americans, Canadians, British, and French there? I mean, 25,000 Americans, 40,000 Canadians, and over 25,000 Australians?
In a country of only 4 million people that is a lot of tourists and visitors?
Another question; why is there no evacuation from Israel when rockets are falling down all over the cities there? Could it be people have no confidence in the government of Lebanon. Would you, when they have obviously succumbed to the influence of Hezbollah?
If a nation wants to maintain sovereignty, they must keep control of any unlawful organizations in their country. Can you imagine if our government did not keep a tight lid on the Hells Angels?
The truth of the matter is that there is strong support for Hezbollah among the populations of the Arab nations. Why? Because they are venting an anger that the nations are unofficially willing to commit. They would rather finance and support the terrorist groups under the table than openly confront them and risk the wrath and military might of Israel (and for that matter, America).
Now, our western bleeding hearts media seems to only look at the current conflict through the narrowest angle, forgetting the historical context of this struggle.
At the heart of this conflict are two opposing religions and philosophies. The Arab nations with their strong Islamic beliefs and practices, and the Jews with their God given claims to the land of Israel.
What the media continually fails to acknowledge is the fact that all the Arab nations are silently working towards the extinction of Israel as a nation and the Jewish people as a race. Lately, Iran's president has voiced these same intentions with unveiled hatred and contempt. No wonder Israel's resolve to root out this militant arm of anti-Israeli sentiment.
As Christians what should our response be? We know from scripture that God is calling people out of all nations, tribes, and tongues. Therefore He desires even Palestinians, Lebanese, and every other Arab nation to come to Christ. Sadly, these people are blinded by the lies of a false god named Allah, and the writings of the prophet Mohammed. Conversely the Jewish nation has also been blinded to the truth of the gospel. Let us pray that the Lord would be pleased to open the blind eyes, and call many out of darkness into His marvelous light.
6 comments:
I read this in Time magazine, I think for once they understand the problem correctly:
"[some blurb here, about palestine wanting Israel to draw back to 1967 borders].....Recognizing Israel, though, is anathema to Hamas' hard-liners, who believe that God gave all the lands of the Middle East to Muslims and that the Jewish state therefore is accursed. For those hard-liners, any moves toward accommodation threaten the reason Hamas came into being in the first place."
Bada Bing, Bada Boom.
Yes Frank, I think you are right. The problem is really more simple and yet complex than people realize or care to understand.
What the media continually fails to acknowledge is the fact that all the Arab nations are silently working towards the extinction of Israel as a nation and the Jewish people as a race.
Well put! It is great to know that no matter how hard the Arabs work, they will not be able to accomplish this extinction.
You are right - we need to be ready and willing to tell both peoples of the Messiah, the true God.
It is my opinion that Israel will eventually prevail. Hopefuly, this is the beginning of the end of Hamas and Hezbahlah.
I am curious, why are there so many Americans, Canadians, British, and French there?
I am not sure what the percentages are, but as I understand it, many of these numbers have dual citizenship - that is, they are Lebonese by birth, but have obtained citizenship in other countries. Most of these are "home" visiting family, and many of these have been living primarily in Lebanon for years. So the numbers are a little misleading.
I don't have the statistics, but I would be very curious to know how many of these numbered represent "dual citizens" who live either full time or part time in Lebanon, and how many numbered actually represent visiting tourists.
It is easy to generate sympathy for poor, stranded, and otherwise blissfully ignorant tourists who simply timed their vacation poorly, or got caught up in some struggle that was unforseeable. But it is much harder to garner that same sympathy when you paint these people as savvy, "opportuntist," nationals who moved elsewhere to obtain dual citizenship so that when they moved back to Lebanon (to live permanantly or semi permanently) they would have a way to get out of the country the next time war broke out.
It would be a little naive to paint too many with that brush, and I am not suggesting we do that - my point is that the numbers do not reflect the number of unfortunate tourists in Lebanon - but rather how many people with foreign citizenships are presently there. My suspicion is that the number of actual tourists is quite small.
Daniel, I think you are probably quite correct here.
I have watched a few reports and the young people do seem to have American and Canadian accents, so I think they are probably westernized in their culture but perhaps still connected by family and history to Lebanon.
It could also be the summer school months that everyone was over there visiting.
However, I think you are right in that a lot of people from many different countries abuse the privileges of Canadian citizenship to aid them in averting the problems of their home countries.
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