Dear Editor,
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem — Psalm 122: 6.
Pray also for Prime Minister Natanyahu and that God will give him the wisdom he needs in making the many important decisions he must make in governing God’s chosen people in the land of Israel today.
The UN this September intends to unilaterally and officially proclaim a Palestinian State. This involves giving them the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and East Jerusalem, making it their capital. The Palestinians are Muslims and not once is Jerusalem mentioned in the Koran. Jerusalem is mentioned 800 times in the Bible.
Who owns the “Palestinian” brand name? Before 1948, Palestine represented the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people for their own state. (Irwin N. Graulich, Israel insider).
“Palestine” was the word used by secular Jews like Theodore Henzl and David Ben-Gurion because “Israel” was simply “too Jewish.” These early founders did not want to confuse “Israel,” a Biblical term for the Jewish people, with the name for a future Jewish state.
The term existed well before Islam or any Arab nation. “Palestine” as an idea over the past 500 years belonged to the Jews. Israel and Palestine were used interchangeable. (Graulich, Israeli insider),
Proclaiming a Palestinian State in September will be done for a group of Arabs who had Arafat as their leader, who in 1964 stole the name “Palestine” from Israel. Arafat showed a true streak of genius by stealing one of the most valuable brand names in  history. Israel did not protect or fight back. They did not recognize the ramifications of major word loss. In 1948 Palestine meant a homeland for Jews.
Today Palestine means an oppressed occupied homeless Arab people. (Irvin N. Graulich, Israel insider).
Incidentally, Arafat was forced to leave five countries. In every Arab country that he set foot, he tried to undermine the state authority and use terror as his political agenda. He had tried to do the same to Israel. And we want to make a nation of this group of Arabs?
After Israel became a nation in 1948, five Arab nations attacked Israel. The Arabs living in Gaza were told by their leaders to leave their homes and after the war, they could return to their homes, as well as the home of the Jews. A Jewish leader (can’t remember who) rode through Gaza on the back of a pick-up with a loud speaker, at the risk of his life, begging the Arabs to stay. Many left, but, some stayed and they, today, are citizens of Israel and treated better than any Arab living in an Arab country, in fact, they are treated as well as any Israeli. Some even serve in Parliament.
As we know, the Arabs lost the war and those who left Gaza are now refugees. The Arab neighbors of Israel have refused to absorb any of them, These refugees are used by the Arab world against Israel. About 500,000 Jews fled Arab lands at the same time and Israel absorbed all of them.
The Bible is the Jewish people’s land deed to Israel. God’s land is not to be divided. Zachariah 12:9 says “and that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” Zachariah 1:14 “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.” Leviticus 25:23 “The land must not be sold permanently because the land is mine.” God means what he says and says what he means. Let’s not test him? If we do, it may be at our own peril. Please pray for the “peace of Jerusalem” and stand with Israel! They are our friends.
LaVerne Reinhardt,
Great Bend