A Challenge For American Intelligence

In the USA today, many of the citizens are busy with life in general, including getting to work, paying their bills on time, putting food on the table, taking care of family, and nowadays, even struggling with unemployment and a bad economy, where all of the above is becoming more difficult.

So it does behoove us to know other ideas from people about what is going on in this world today, outside our own land. It is all inter-related, so if we can be aware of other issues in other nations, it would help us to learn to protect ourselves here in this nation.

As mentioned before, there is a book that I have been reading, "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL," by Nonie Darwish, who is the daughter of a man who was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer. She chose to move to America during the late 1970s or early 1980s, to start a fresh life. She has a web site now called "Arabs for Israel" which you can find at www.ArabsforIsrael.com. In her book, even in the last chapters, she shares a huge amount of information about what she truly knows regarding the Middle East mentality. I would like to encourage anyone to check out her book, or order it on-line, because you would be amazed at how much is in this one memoir. The book is entitled in full: "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL -- Why I Renounced Jihad For America, Israel, and the War on Terror." (by Nonie Darwish).

Let me share some quotes from her book, just to give you an idea. She explains a trip to Israel for a speaking engagement during November 2004. Here is what the book states on page 234-235: "I was invited to speak at the second annual Jerusalem Summit held at the historic King David Hotel overlooking the Old City. Visiting Israel is a major taboo in all Arab countries and part of the boycott of Israel. Israel's neighbors, the twenty-two Arab countries that oppose the Arab League, forbid their people to visit or do business with Israel and its citizens. Even Arab Christians have been forbidden to visit their holy sites in Israel."

This is true, from what information I could gather from my own experience also. At one time, I was looking up the possibility of job openings as an English-speaking Medical Transcriptionist in Saudi Arabia, where the beautiful hospitals use many doctors, nurses, and other personnel from the English-speaking nations to provide health care for their citizens. So I located job openings, and discovered that they do prefer medical employees who have been trained in the USA and Canada. Women Medical Transcriptionists must be single, with no children and no husband. The salary package includes their apartment. There are many perks, including going on vacation to some of the most fabulous places all over Europe and the Middle East, which most Americans can only dream of going to visit. We can see those photos in the travel magazines, places like the Taj Mahal, or a possible trip to Paris, France, or getting to go see London, England, perhaps visiting Stonehedge, as well as the chance to go see the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and other opportunities.

However, if one has ever been on a vacation to Israel, for any reason, the Arabs will check your passport and will not approve of you entering their country, from the information I could gather from my own Internet search. They will assume that if you have ever been to Israel, even merely on vacation, that you are some kind of a "spy" and this will put you under a great deal of suspicion in the Arab countries.

In her book, Nonie Darwish goes on to explain on page 235: "I flew to Israel on El Al airlines because I wanted to have the total Israel experience from start to finish. El Al has always needed to be very security conscious, and the employees of El Al were very thorough, very polite -- and somewhat apologetic -- when it came to searching my luggage. I told them to please do their job and that searching my luggage thoroughly did not bother me in the least."

Continuing on in "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL," she goes on to say: "My trip to Israel began on the beautifu Mediterranean coast, at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, one of the most beautiful airports I have ever been in. My heart was pounding with excitement after landing in Israel; a land that was so close physically, yet so far mentally from where I lived as a child in Gaza. Here I was, a fifty-six-year-old woman, the daughter of a man who died fighting Israel, now extendng my hand to this country in peace and love. I sat in a taxi for the half-hour it took to travel from the east side of Israel to Jerusalem, the ancient holy city. In the taxicab, I looked around me. This is Israel! The forbidden country, I said to myself. I lived thirty years of my life on the other side of the southern border with Israel. Gaza was just a few kilometers to the south, and Cairo, less than one hour's flight. I thought about how incredible it was that this country had survived, let alone thrived, with my homeland and the whole Arab world doing all they can to blame, boycott, spread propaganda, attack militarily, and terrorize this small country. It must be God's protective hands over this little state, I thought. The sight of a sign on the road that said JERUSALEM gave me chills in anticipation. As we drove into the city, a sense of awe came over me. I felt a deep sadness for everyone in the region."

At this point, the author of "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL" goes on to explain further: "When I was growing up I did not know the history of Jerusalem. We were taught that it was a city taken away from the Arabs by Jewish invaders. I was never taught that Jerusalem was the ancient capital of the Jews, that King Solomon built the first temple in 957 B.C., that it was destroyed in 586 B.C. and the Jews taken into exile in Babylon, that the temple was then rebuilt seventy years later, that the city was conquered and reconquered over the many thousands of years, until finally, in A.D. 70, the Romans utterly destroyed the second temple and dispersed the Jews, scattering them to the far-flug edges of the Roman Empire -- Spain, Arab lands, and Europe. Jews everywhere, over the ages when they celebrate Passover, have said the words, "Next year in Jerusalem," longing for their homeland. Furthermore, historically, when things did not go well between Jews and Arabs in Arab countries, Jews were often told by Arabs, 'Why don't you go to Jerusalem, your holy land' -- a fact now conveniently forgotten."

Nonie Darwish explains even more on page 236: "Many Arabs also ignore the fact that the land of Israel is also the birthplace of Christianity, the land where Jesus walked and taught. Jerusalem was the site of his crucifixion and resurrection. Therefore, indeed Jerusalem is the historically pivotal holy city for both Christians and Jews."

By the time we get to page 238 of her book, in "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL," the author writes: "Israel is not perfect, but it has passed a test of amazing endurance, surviving and thriving in a sea of hatred, violence, and terror. Its people remain optimistic, but they desperately need relief from the fear and violence that dominates daily life. I wish the Arab world could see what I saw in Israel -- a harmless state that just wants to live in peace with its neighbors."

She goes on to write: "As I traveled across the small country of Israel and met its people, I continually asked myself: What are the Arabs afraid of? Why are Arab governments going to such extensive efforts to conceal Israel from being seen for what it is in the eyes of regular Arab folks? Furthermore, why does the world stand by and do nothing to stop the terrorism against Israel? Worse, why do they condemn Israel when it attempts to defend itself? Even during the worst of times, Jews never flew airplanes into German buildings; they never terrorized the world even when they were being expelled, tortured, and exterminated. I cannot understand how Israel tolerated all this abuse without completely losing its moral standards, faith, and optimism. After my visit, I am even more committed to supporting Israel, a country that has been terrorized since its existence in 1948 and yet has refused to be dragged into the evil and darkness surrounding it."

There is also an author named Mike Evans, who supports Israel and has written a number of books regarding the Middle East situation. You can look up his web site. His latest book is "CURSED," regarding how he feels about the people who are against the Israelis, in the eyes of God. I have donated to his organization, and have received follow-ups through the mail. The photos he sends of the older Jewish citizens from Israel who receive his assistance reminded me of one thing: They are people, just like us! The picture of him handing a coat to an older lady was moving, because all these women in that little group reminded me of my own grandmother! With their white hair, and their expressions of love on their faces, they are people just like us! And there, if not for the grace of God, it could be us!

On page 239 of the book "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL," the author continues: "In September 2005, I was invited to speak in South Africa. In Johannesburg I was stunned to discover one of the most radical and anti-Semitic Muslim groups I have ever encountered. When I was interviewed by a radio show, I was angrily attacked by Muslim callers who accused me of loving the enemy of Islam, the Jews! I stood firm against a barrage of lies and provocations the callers threw at me, answering each question honestly. I did not flinch from defending Israel. The truth is the world is getting increasingly more anti-Semitic. Decent people should speak out against those who perpetuate these lies. To this day, Arab agitation is reviving anti-Semiticism in Europe and around the globe -- even in Africa. What are we afraid of? We have elevated a fear of Jews to a level that has never existed before in the history of the Middle East. Why? What is so difficult about accepting the presence of five million Jews in an ocean of a billion and half Muslims?"

She goes on to write, "As an Arab, I often feel deep sadness and shame over what my people have done and are still doing to Israel. Islam should symbolize generosity and aiding the needy. Jews are not alien to our culture. We are connected through history, language, culture, and religion. Our cousins needed protection after World War II; we were obligated to give it to them. We had a golden opportunity to show the world that Islam is truly a religion of peace, compassion, and tolerance by doing the right and gracious thing in 1948, and that was accepting the UN mandate and welcoming the tiny state of Israel to our region. But instead, my people chose to emulate Hitler's defeated monstrous mission to annihilate the Jews. We rejected Jews and denied them any right to their historical homeland. Even Middle Eastern Jews, whose culture and language are Arabic, and who now compose the largest proportion of the population of Israel, apparently did not deserve our sympathy or kindness."

At this point, on page 240 by now, the author of "NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL," goes on to state: "For more than fifty-eight years, Arabs have been blinded by hatred, arrogance, envy, narcissism, and groundless fear. In the process of destroying Israel, their perceived enemy, they are also destroying themselves. I sincerely want to bend on my knees and apologize to the Jewish people on behalf of my people. I am only one person, but I am encouraged by the many e-mails from Arabs who are also sickened by Arab wickedness toward Israel."

At this point, it is necessary to say that the readers must pay attention to their own ideas and prejudices, regarding what they think or what they have been taught, back when they were young. My own mother always made rude statements about the Jews. However, by the age of fifteen, when I got my birth certificate, I noticed that the doctor who delivered me at my birth had been a doctor with a Jewish last name, actually from the Tribe of Levi. Even though I was born in a Catholic Hospital, the physician was Jewish, and I have been grateful to that man for his effort. My mother was a real "piece of work" who had worked as a nurse's aide at that hospital, Madonna Hospital before I was born, and there is no doubt in my mind that those Catholic nuns at that hospital really had their hands full, keeping her in line.

However, back to the problems in the Middle East, there will actually come a time when the Catholic Pope does have to set up shop in Jerusalem someday, to make peace in the region, due to the violence and the antagonism and the terrorism that so many of the Arabic people do have against the Jewish population in that region. This is just my own idea, based on what I have learned over the years, from my own studies.

There is a CD that is produced by a minister, called "Culmination of Prophecy," and it goes over many of the issues regarding the Middle East situation, and what it holds for OUR FUTURE! Yes -- US here in the USA, the ones who are living here safely in America at this time! That web site is for the Garner Ted Armstrong ministry, and you could see his web site at www.GarnerTedArmstrong.org. If you do order that CD, it would not hurt if you could give a donation to that ministry, even though the information is free of charge, because they can use all the help they can get, but they will send it to you free anyway. This situation in the Middle East is something that could blow up in ALL OF OUR FACES. Please do not just sit back and rest on your laurels, and fool yourself into complacency, believing that it will never happen to us. It is all inter-related. I have been studying much of this information since the 1960s, when we first got THE PLAIN TRUTH magazine, which I started reading at the age of nine, and I encourage all the readers to please be aware of the danger of "getting too comfortable." At this point in time, it is NOT the time to "just relax." There is too much danger on the world scene now. No one is completely safe. I am up at 3 a.m. in the morning typing this, because I cannot sleep. I am not doing this "just for drill." Thank you for letting me share some of my strength, hope and experience with you. I encourage you to PAY ATTENTION and USE YOUR HEAD, regarding what is going on in this world today.

Saudi Arabia is spending a lot of money, which they have plenty of, paying for these religious fanatic leaders of the mosques to come to the USA and teach hatred and religious fanaticism, here in our own country. Due to all of our laws on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech, they get away with this. Please do not be fooled. I have learned about the hypocrisy of the oil-rich nations from the Middle East. They sit back and watch the Palestinians live in a ghetto, and they do not lift a finger to help them, and then they turn right around and criticize Israel, no matter what the Israelis do. Let me tell you, many of the Arabs do NOT WANT PEACE in the Middle EAST! And you cannot GIVE A DEMOCRACY to any people who do not WANT IT! We have had to work for everything we have, here in America! Nobody just gave it to US! I was picking cotton in the fields at the age of eight years old! They did not have child labor laws then!! So please, just pay attention. God gave us the ability to be able to think and figure things out for ourselves. Use your Own Intelligence. Thank you again for letting me state these opinions.