Why Are Arabs and Jews Enemies?

Why do the Arab nations want to destroy Israel? Where did Arab – Israel conflicts begin? Why do the nations seem to persecute the Jews?

Why do the Arab Nations Want to Destroy Israel?

Actually not all of the Arab people want to destroy Israel – it just seems like it. Although the tensions between Israel and the Arab nations go back for thousands of years, the origin of the modern tensions dates back to the end of World War II. After the war, the British held Palestine and they designated this land as a place where Israel would be repatriated. The Jews had been scattered all over the world and for centuries, the Jews had been despised by many nations. Great Britain allowed the Jews to settle in Palestine because many of them had no homes after World War II. After they were given the land of Palestine – which was predominantly empty and a veritable wasteland, the Jews called it home and reestablished the nation of Israel. The Arabs were furious, even though they had no historical claim to the land and 96% of the Mid East was already held by Arabs. There was simply no place else for Israel to go to at that time. Most of the nations would not accept them as citizens.

The Germans blamed the Jews for the economic collapse of their nation in the 1930’s. They also falsely blamed the Jews, as many people have and still do today, for the death of Jesus Christ. During the Dark Ages, some accused the Jews of being responsible for the Black Plague that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and Western Asia. The Russians persecuted the Jews openly.

Some have said that the Muslim’s Koran directs faithful Muslims to destroy the Jews but after examining the Koran, I could find no such specific orders for the Muslims to do so. Even so, the Koran speaks of Christians and Jews as enemies and considers them to be bound for hell.

Where Did Arab – Israel Conflicts Begin?

Although it seems odd to us today, nations are actually families grown large. God told Abraham that a multitude of nations would come from his lineage. Abraham’s sons could not have been more different. Ishmael is the father of the modern Arabs while Isaac is one of the patriarchs and fathers of Israel. Isaac was the son of promise of which the Messiah would eventually descend (Jesus Christ). Ishmael was angry that Isaac would receive Abraham’s blessings (Gen 16:1-16). When Ishmael mocked his younger brother, Abraham’s wife Sarah, sent him away with Ishmael’s mother Hagar (Gen 21:9-21). Because of this, an angel prophesied that Isaac and Ishmael’s descendents would be enemies. This prophecy has proven true almost 4,000 years. The roots of these animosities go back thousands of years and are still prevalent today even though most of the modern day Arabs and Jews have no idea of the origin of their animosities.

Why Do the Nations Seem to Persecute the Jews?

Psalm 122:6 says that we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Ironically, Jerusalem means King (Jeru) of Peace (Salem), but it has been anything but peaceful. The fact is that Jerusalem has seen more wars and suffered more destruction than any other single nation or city on earth. The Jews have been targets of racial prejudices, targeted for genocide, treated as bigots and attempted to be exterminated. Some of the stereotypes of the Jews are created by their many enemies. Some say that they control the purse strings in the U.S. and hold the real power behind the World Banks – both of which are untrue. Yet others believe the Jews want to wipe out the Arabs even though it is thought that the Arabs (and Muslims) want to wipe the Jews (and Israel) off the face of the earth.

It seems that ever since the dispersion of the Jews through captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem, they have been received with suspicion and viewed as subversive. The Jews have been the most persecuted people in the history of humanity, yet they still survive today. God is not finished with Israel. He will ensure that a remnant remains until the day of Christ’s Second Coming. Many of the other ancient nations like the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Amalekites are all gone from the face of the earth. The Book of Revelation shows that God remembers each and every individual tribe of Israel, as it is written in Revelation 7:4-8:

“Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.”

At Christ’s return to earth, all nations will come to worship God. All differences, animosities, hatred and rivalry will be buried in the sea of forgetfulness. People from every tribe, every nation, and every tongue will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord of lords and King of kings. The Apostle John sees “the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev 21:10-14). Then, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it” (Rev 21:24).

Some day the hostilities of the world against the Jews and the Arab-Israeli conflicts will be no more, as it is written, “He [Jesus] will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, nor the LORD Almighty has spoken“(Micah 4:3-4). Amen to that. What God has spoken and what He has written, will surely come to pass. Then, even the Arabs and the Israelites will put down their swords and be enemies no more, for the old things will have passed away and behold, all things will be new (Isaiah 43:18, 65:17).

Tagged as: Arabs, Enemies, Fighting, Israel, Jews