Sanhedrin Petitions Caesar - 2008

To those representing the Sanhedrin, the New Jewish Congress, and the Temple Mount Movements, who petitioned President George W. Bush during his visit to Israel in January 2008, we reply with the following two letters. These letters were written separately, providing you with two witnesses from God confirming His thoughts regarding your written petition and what it says about Him.

Letter One:

My name is Victor Hafichuk and it is of little consequence, so far as I know, to any significant entity, portion or rulership of this world. Nevertheless, by the God of Israel and His understanding, I address the matters, notions and expressions in the letter presented to President George Bush on 28 Tevet, 5768 / January 6, 2008 by Rabbi A Even Yisrael Steinzaltz of The Sanhedrin, Dr. Gadi Eshel of The New Jewish Congress, and Rabbi Chaim Richman of “The Holy Temple and Temple Mount Movements.”

I will be direct. The letter contains great error and contradiction, proven so by the Torah Itself. It does not cease to amaze me how men so wise in their own eyes, presuming to represent the God of Israel, can be as darkened as they are in understanding. But then the Scriptures do testify that the wisdom of men is foolishness with God:

“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden” (Isaiah 29:14 HNV).

“He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Yisra'el, He will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured” (Isaiah 8:14-15 HNV).

The Holy Scriptures ever prove themselves true, and, after millennia, have yet to do otherwise. Is it any wonder, given the Perfect, Omniscient Author? I will address you according to the testimony of those Scriptures and not primarily according to my personal, human understanding.

Sirs, you say:

“…Any desire, plan or agreement that challenges the eternal sovereignty and active possession of the nation of Israel over her entire land is utterly worthless, and has no basis in reality.”

This statement is true. But if you believe your own words, they being true, then what need is there for your letter? Do you not contradict yourselves?

You say to President Bush:

“Before you is a choice: You can merit to eternal life, or be inscribed for eternal disgrace. Your fate and that of all those with you hangs in the balance of the destiny of our land.”

If your former words I quoted are true, then does Mr. Bush indeed have a choice? Will he not perform that which is appointed by the “eternal sovereignty”?

While men may have the power to choose what they like, do they have the power to do what they would? More than once, when the Pharaoh of Egypt would have let the children of Israel go, the Lord hardened his heart that he would not release them:

“Then Pharaoh sent for Moses, and said, Go and give worship to the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept here: your little ones may go with you. But Moses said, You will have to let us take burned offerings to put before the Lord our God. So our cattle will have to go with us, not one may be kept back; for they are needed for the worship of the Lord our God; we have no knowledge what offering we have to give till we come to the place. But the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he would not let them go” (Exodus 10:24-27 BBE).

And again he was willing to comply: “And he sent for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Get up and go out from among my people, you and the children of Israel; go and give worship to the Lord as you have said. And take your flocks and your herds as you have said, and be gone; and give me your blessing” (Exodus 12:31-32 BBE).

But again, the Lord hardened his heart: “And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and he will come after them and I will be honored over Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may see that I am the Lord. And they did so” (Exodus 14:4 BBE).

The Lord had forewarned Moses and Aaron that He would harden Pharaoh:

“And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and My signs and wonders will be increased in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 7:3 BBE).

“But Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said” (Exodus 7:13 BBE).

Why would God not permit the Pharaoh to do what might appear to be the right thing and let His people go? He, by the Scriptures, tells us why:

“And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants hard, so that I may let My signs be seen among them: And so that you may be able to give to your son and to your son's son the story of My wonders in Egypt, and the signs which I have done among them; so that you may see that I am the Lord” (Exodus 10:1-2 BBE).

Pharaoh is not the only one as clay in a potter’s hands. Did Cyrus of Persia, whom you extol, exercise his own choice? On the contrary, the Eternal One foreordained his course of action. Long before Cyrus was born, Isaiah spoke of him by the Spirit of God, saying:

“The Lord says to the man of his selection, to Cyrus, whom I have taken by the right hand, putting down nations before him, and taking away the arms of kings; making the doors open before him, so that the ways into the towns may not be shut; I will go before you, and make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two: And I will give you the stores of the dark, and the wealth of secret places, so that you may be certain that I am the Lord, Who gave you your name, even the God of Israel. Because of Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have taken for Myself, I have sent for you by name, giving you a name of honor, though you had no knowledge of Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me: I will make you ready for war, though you had no knowledge of Me” (Isaiah 45:1-5 BBE).

Why does the Lord do these things? Why is not man a “free agent,” as you propose? God goes on to say by Isaiah:

“So that they may see from the east and from the west that there is no God but Me: I am the Lord, and there is no other. I am the Giver of light and the Maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, Who does all these things. Let righteousness come down, O heavens, from on high, and let the sky send it down like rain: let the earth be open to give the fruit of salvation, causing righteousness to come up with it; I the Lord have made it come about” (Isaiah 45:6-8 BBE).

The Holy One of Israel, the Lord of hosts, goes on to say:

“Israel, you have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, ‘Why did you make me this way? Where are the handles?’ Children don't have the right to demand of their parents, ‘What have you done to make us what we are?’ I am the LORD, the Creator, the holy God of Israel. Do you dare question Me about My own nation or about what I have done? I created the world and covered it with people; I stretched out the sky and filled it with stars. I have done the right thing by placing Cyrus in power, and I will make the roads easy for him to follow. I am the LORD All-Powerful! Cyrus will rebuild My city and set My people free without being paid a thing. I, the LORD, have spoken” (Isaiah 45:9-13 CEV).

By your letter to Mr. Bush, in both letter and spirit, are you not striving with your Creator? Surely, you are. The Lord goes on to say:

“The Lord says, The workmen of Egypt, and the traders of Ethiopia, and the tall Sabaeans, will come over the sea to you, and they will be yours; they will go after you; in chains they will come over: and they will go down on their faces before you, and will make prayer to you, saying, Truly, God is among you; and there is no other God. Truly, you have a secret God, the God of Israel is a Savior! All those who have gone against Him will be put to shame; the makers of images will be made low. But the Lord will make Israel free with an eternal salvation: you will not be put to shame or made low for ever and ever” (Isaiah 45:14-17 BBE).

The Lord God Omnipotent reigns over all. He is the Father of spirits and the Lord of hosts.

So while you say to Mr. Bush, “Upon your arrival in Jerusalem you have the ability to make a declaration,” the Scriptures declare that he has the ability to do only that which is granted him, and no more, no matter what you or he may say or think or even purpose. As it is written:

“You may make your plans, but God directs your actions” (Proverbs 16:9 GNB).

You speak of “the full right of the Jewish people to reestablish their Holy Temple.”

Did Jews have the full right to rebuild their Temple before their 70 years of captivity was complete and Cyrus gave the decree? Have they had that right since Titus of Rome destroyed the second Temple until now? The answer is “no,” because the timing was determined from above. And why did you not have that full right? Why was Israel scattered to the four winds in the first place? Was it not because of its sins? Have not your prophets plainly said so? How then do you think to have any rights, other than those granted at any time by the will of the Righteous One, Who determines anybody’s rights at any time?

Daniel could tell you these things. Do you not believe the Scriptures, from where you presume to obtain knowledge and wisdom? If God so wills that anything is done by anyone at any time, only then will those concerned and appointed have the “full right” to do so. Is that not so?

You write: “The Land of Israel was bequeathed to the nation of Israel by the Creator of the world. Neither could I, as a son of my faith, nor the Muslims according to their faith, ever take away even the slightest grain from the Eternal's gift, which He gave to His people Israel, the eternal people.”

If you do not think you can “ever take away even the slightest grain from the Eternal's gift, which He gave to His people Israel, the eternal people,” then how do you suppose any other man can do so, be it Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Balaam, or President Bush?

Can any nation or assembly of nations do so? You address Mr. Bush as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Do you not insult the one whose aid you seek? Have you not red what is written of that prince and those with him (assuming Mr. Bush is that prince)? Here it is:

“And say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am against you, O Gog, ruler of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: And turning you round, I will put hooks in your mouth and make you come out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them in full war-dress, a great force with breastplate and body-cover, all of them armed with swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with body-cover and metal head-dress: Gomer and all her forces; the people of Togarmah in the inmost parts of the north, with all his forces: a great number of peoples with you. Be ready, make yourself ready, you and all the forces who are with you, and be ready for My orders” (Ezekiel 38:3-7 BBE).

You three identify Mr. Bush as the one to whom the God of Israel speaks by Ezekiel, yet you would presume to persuade him contrary to these orders the Eternal Himself purposes and declares to give him. Is that not the height of presumption and arrogance on your part? If not, what is?

Sirs, is not your letter to him one of manifest foolishness? Are you able to humble yourselves and admit so? I go on:

If Mr. Bush is the chief prince of Meshech and of Tubal, how is it you say of him, “who comes seeking the presence of the Most High God, to Jerusalem, city of God”? As well, you approach Mr. Bush with, “And thus if you truly desire peace and benevolence, and you would be counted in the company of the truly righteous….”

First, such a prince would not do so, at least not according to the Divine One’s testimony by Ezekiel:

“This is what the Lord has said: In that day it will come about that things will come into your mind, and you will have thoughts of an evil design: And you will say, I will go up to the land of small unwalled towns; I will go to those who are quiet, living, all of them, without fear of danger, without walls or locks or doors: To take their property by force and go off with their goods; turning your hand against the waste places which now are peopled, and against the people who have been got together out of the nations, who have got cattle and goods for themselves, who are living in the middle of the earth” (Ezekiel 38:10-12 BBE).

Does that sound like someone seeking the presence of the Most High God? We can hardly think so. Furthermore, Mr. Bush, we are informed, is a convert of the “Reverend” Billy Graham. If he has remained Mr. Graham’s convert, he will not personally be seeking the presence of the Most High God. Billy Graham himself never did so while he led Mr. Bush in the direction of his spirit and mind.

You say to Mr. Bush, “Or - Heaven forbid - you can choose the second option - to willfully aid in the destruction, under the guise of peace!”

What if Heaven does not forbid? And how many men or nations have destroyed without the guise of peace?

Given what God has said in the Torah by Ezekiel, which words apply to this last day, can you say, “God ordained that the role of the nations of the world is to strengthen the nation of Israel”? Does not the One in Whose Name you write contradict you?

However, eventually all nations will indeed do just what you say is their destiny. Moreover, and perhaps more accurately, Israel will be for the strengthening of the world, as it has been, only now much more so.

Speaking of Muslims, you say “…as is written in the Torah of Israel, which constitutes the very foundation of our faith, as well as that of Islam.”

You presume to be “loyal representatives of the Jewish people,” leaders in Israel, and you can make such erroneous statements? Do you indeed believe that the Torah is the very foundation of Islam? What are you smoking? Have you not red the Koran and the Hadith? Have you not seen and experienced, firsthand, the fruits of Islam? Are they not all around you, covering your very heads, filling the very air you breathe? Blind guides!

Since when did the Torah inspire Muhammad and Islam? Since when have Muslims honored the Torah and Its Author in their ways and words? The essential spirit of Islam is the antithesis of the Spirit of the Torah. While Muslims make reference to the “people of the Book,” they condemn them. While they make reference to the patriarchs, they dishonor them and their seed in all their ways, to the mutilating of their bodies. Read our site’s section on Islam. Acquaint yourselves with, and know, your enemy. But you are your own worst enemy.

Simple children ought to know better than to speak such things as I address of you at this point. Are you trying to flatter Muslims? Do you think it will work? Have you not tried? Do you not have the imposition of the abomination of desolation, of which Daniel spoke by the Most High, sitting where you would have your Temple? Does Islam not declare that it cannot surrender former territories dominated by Islam? Are they not your blood enemies? Why do you deceive yourselves, and in that deceit, foolishly try to persuade others according to your delusions?

You say, “He who denies this truth (that the Most High God has ordained the land of Israel for the Jews, etc.) endangers all life on earth.” In certain respects, this is true. Do you not recognize that Islam’s goal is total world domination, which makes no allowances for “infidels” (non-Muslims)? Are they then not denying “this truth”? What foolish words come streaming forth from your lips to the highest of rulers! Are you not liars?

And why do you look to “the arm of the flesh” for redemption, and to “Egypt” for salvation, or, most incredibly, to the one you surmise to be the prince of Meshech and Tubal? What darkness of heart and mind! Is it not because you do not believe the Lord God of Israel and of all His Creation? Is it not because you do not trust Him or understand His ways? Your faith is one of religion, but is it one of reality? Three blind mice, trying to believe a fable and frighten an elephant to do their fanciful bidding.

Is your God somewhat helpless, or even out of control? You seem to think He needs your help, or that you can somehow be Israel’s saviors. Who are you to help Him, as though you partook in your own creation? Make a hair, if you will. Use, as a pattern, one He has made, seeing you don’t have one of your own. Can you even copy one hair, much less an eye or an ear, skin, blood, bone, or any of our functions, like tasting, smelling, speaking, breathing or thinking? How sad that you should think so highly of yourselves that you can help the One Who made all things by the power of His Word before you existed!

Finally, learned men of authority among men, you say: “We cannot forget the deeds of our patriarchs, whose example guides us through every generation.”

Is it that you cannot forget, or is it that you cannot remember, or believe, or understand?

Your patriarchs were men of faith and not of knowledge only. They knew and trusted their Maker. Do you? Not at all! They did not petition world rulers to save them. They trusted in the Most High. As David said:

“I will have no fear, though ten thousand have come round me, putting themselves against me” (Psalms 3:6 BBE).

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; who is then a cause of fear to me? The Lord is the strength of my life; who is a danger to me? When evildoers, even my haters, came on me to put an end to me, they were broken and put to shame. Even if an army came against me with its tents, my heart would have no fear: if war was made on me, my faith would not be moved” (Psalms 27:1-3 BBE).

Yes, yes, we know – the Jews have been persecuted and slaughtered throughout these many centuries, even millennia. How then can one believe David’s words and take them literally? You don’t, and you will not, until God has completed your judgment. Then will you see Him, Whom you have pierced, stand up for you, which He, in faithfulness, has done in small measure here and there all along, in order to save a remnant, which has been His custom and way. But in these days, you will see Him stand up for you in a mighty way (you have seen some already – you have your nation back), even as He did for the faithful of old, the patriarchs, David, Daniel and many others, in spite of your unbelief. He will reveal Himself to you and you will know that He has been there and here all along. When the payment for, and the judgment of, your sins have been accomplished, you will be free to go, sow, grow, glow and flow. It will happen.

“Give comfort, give comfort, to My people, says your God. Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins. A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley, and the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it” (Isaiah 40:1-5 BBE).

Read The SIGN: The Book of Jonah, the Book of God.

Blessed be the God of Israel, Who has determined for this day to save and to prosper His chosen people mightily, not only in body, but also in soul and in spirit, making them truly His by writing His Law in their hearts.

Will you be among them? We will see.

Victor Hafichuk

Letter Two:

You write in the name of the Jewish people to President Bush, but we (Victor Hafichuk and Paul Cohen) write to you in the Name of the God of the Jewish people, Whom you have misrepresented in your letter because you do not know Him. He has not sent you and you have no business speaking for Him. He sends us to tell you and all that will hear what are His true words and sentiments.

You said to George Bush that he had the opportunity to make a declaration in his recent visit to Israel, similar to the one made by King Cyrus of ancient Persia, who gave orders for the Jews to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple. Did Mr. Bush truly have such an option? Is that the role God has created for him?

Is Israel not already in possession of Jerusalem? Most Jews in the world are already free to go there if they choose, even being welcomed by the government of Israel with automatic citizenship. There is hardly a situation like it anywhere else in the world. You make an analogy here overlooking obvious differences. You do not need men of God to tell you this.

Another difference is that you address Mr. Bush as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, who is made known in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel as a deadly adversary to Israel:

“And you shall come up on My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It shall be in the last days, and I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes” (Ezekiel 38:16 MKJV).

The United States of America has been one of the best friends of Israel in this world, the first to recognize her sovereignty and a liberal supplier of support of various kinds, both from the government and individuals. What kind of ingrates are you that you would overlook this and call Mr. Bush “Gog,” as if he is planning an attack on Israel?

Yes, it is wrong for the United States to pressure Israel, or anyone else, to accommodate lawless enemies bent on destroying her, but the problem is firstly that Israel herself is not clearly committed to or convinced of a proper course of action in this matter. Truly, you are, and have been, your own greatest enemies. Your own prime ministers have sought to accommodate enemies like the murdering liar and thief, Arafat. Don’t blame others for your wicked choices when they only follow your lead.

You have given Mr. Bush a choice, though, to be Cyrus instead of Gog. This is the main point on which you are in error. A man is assigned one role from God. Did either of these men you cite have a choice to symbolically fulfill the other’s role? Did Cyrus choose to be “the good guy,” while “Gog” chooses to be “the bad guy”?

God says this of Pharaoh, one you would no doubt consider “the bad guy”:

“But in very deed for this cause have I made you to stand, to show you My power, and that My Name may be declared throughout all the earth” (Exodus 9:16 JPS).

“And the LORD said unto Moses: 'When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21 JPS).

Pharaoh was not called to agree with God’s plan for Israel, but to oppose it, yes, mightily, thereby glorifying God in the sight of Israel and the world. The opposition was a good and necessary thing for the children of Israel. Even though, despite all the demonstrations of God’s power, they still fell in the wilderness because of their unbelief. That too was part of His foreordained plan for humanity.

The Tenach says that the LORD brings Gog against His land. As with Pharaoh, God raises up Gog to do His will and to fulfill His specific purposes. Who are you to oppose and contradict God’s work by your words? You are fighting against God.

If Mr. Bush is Gog, calling on him to not only help, but to save Israel, is no different than writing Mr. Ahmadinejad and soliciting him, in the Name of God, to come to your aid, too. This is the kind of confusion you are preaching and promoting in your rebellion against the sovereign will of God.

And what about Cyrus? Was he wise and righteous enough to take advantage of his “opportunity” to choose his destiny, or did God also assign him his role, as He did with Gog and Pharaoh? Cyrus was foretold by name and God’s specific purpose for him 150 years before his birth, by the words of the prophet Isaiah!

“Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and that the gates may not be shut: I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I am the LORD, Who calls you by your name, even the God of Israel. For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel Mine elect, I have called you by your name; I have surnamed you, though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is none else, beside Me there is no God; I have girded you, though you have not known Me; That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me; I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:1-6 JPS).

When the time came, the Lord did as He said He would with Cyrus through His prophets:

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying: 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD, the God of Heaven, given me; and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people - the LORD his God be with him - let him go up'” (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

But you men know better than God so you decide to do the calling yourselves. You disregard God’s present plan for Mr. Bush and instead try to stir him up according to what you want. You act as if Mr. Bush can determine his course according to your desires, which you disguise and present as the will of God. You demand that the clay makes itself into a pot that serves your interests, which you have mistaken for the will of God. You do not recognize that the Potter decides what to do with each lump of clay according to His desire and what is necessary.

Did Cyrus need to be coaxed with promises of reward and threats of doom to do what he did for Israel? A prophet of Israel is never seen placing carrots and sticks before rulers of this world to coax or induce them towards action. Daniel and Nehemiah, two who served such rulers, certainly did not do such things. Read their words and see their manner of speech. You speak very differently to Mr. Bush, presumptuously and disrespectfully, because you do not believe or honor God.

You tell Mr. Bush what to say, putting words in his mouth:

“I shall dedicate all my strength and resources towards settling the Jewish people throughout their entire land. I shall greatly encourage and empower the Jews all over the world to rise up to the Land of Israel and to settle it....”

Why don’t you do this yourselves? What is stopping Jews from going to Israel now? Does George Bush hold the key to greater emigration to Israel? Over the past 60 years of free access and opportunity in the West, the only inducement that seems to produce large numbers of immigrants to Israel has been hardship and persecution. Are you asking Mr. Bush to incite pogroms in the US?

You divine Mr. Bush’s motives:

“Who comes seeking the presence of the Most High God, to Jerusalem, city of God!”

Does George Bush come seeking the presence of the Most High God in Jerusalem? He would be wrong if he were doing so. What an unseemly hodge-podge of every religious claimant is found in the “holy” city! A multitude of conflicting voices that compete for the souls of men under different banners and man-made gods, all presuming to be the right and correct expression of the True God Who is nowhere to be found because He resides in Heaven.

No, sirs, Jerusalem is not the city of God, at least not the place where He is found. It is a stinking sewer of empty and self-righteous worship, for which you can take credit as its administrators, overseers and leaders in such worship. You cannot blame this on others. God holds you and those in charge responsible. You greatly need to repent of your wicked ways.

You ask of Mr. Bush what only God can do:

“Therefore it behooves you to declare: ‘I, George Bush, Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States of America, will instruct all of my troops to protect the Divine rights of the nation of Israel, and remove from her any threat.’”

In this, because you do not look to God as your Savior, you are found to be sinning against the commandments and warnings He gives in the Tenach:

“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen, because they are exceeding mighty; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1 JPS)

And do you not have your own army? Why don’t you emulate the deeds of the one you invoke, since you claim to be his children?

“Remember our forefather Abraham, who pursued the world's four greatest kings in order to redeem his nephew from captivity.”

You ask the impossible of Mr. Bush, and, if he does not perform as you require, you threaten him with eternal disgrace:

“Before you is a choice: You can merit to eternal life, or be inscribed for eternal disgrace.”

Who are you to be handing out eternal life or disgrace? How self-righteous of you to teach others they can gain eternal life on their own merits, as though you have already attained it on your own and can now perceive their destiny according to your self-serving criteria! Your arrogance knows no bounds!

Have you no idea of your history with God, and His teachings about the true state of your righteousness?

“But we are all as the unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as a menstruation cloth. And we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6 MKJV).

For more you must read Israel, Is Your God Unjust?

Don’t think that you are any different than the scoundrels you despise. In substance you are no different at all. Only God can make a difference according to His choosing, and, if this is the case, who can say he or she has merited anything? But you do not have anything from Him. What you fancy yourselves to be is vain deceit. Your words and attitudes reflect what you are, which creates a putrid stench in the nose of God because you presume to represent Him to others in your wretched self-righteousness. You make His Name stink.

Did Pharaoh, as one who, you would say, merited “eternal disgrace,” have a choice about doing what he was assigned from God? We have shown he did not. If Pharaoh did not chose his role, but God did so in order to do a wonderful thing for mankind, will He then leave Pharaoh in eternal (as you mean it, time without end) shame? If the choice is not man’s, but God’s, are you saying that God chooses for some men to suffer evil forever? You contradict the Tenach you praise but do not believe:

“And the LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto the LORD, and He will be entreated of them, and will heal them” (Isaiah 19:22 JPS).

“These shall Pharaoh see, and shall be comforted over all his multitude; even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 32:31 JPS).

Finally, you warn Mr. Bush that the fate of almost everything rests on his shoulders:

“Your fate and that of all those with you hangs in the balance of the destiny of our land.”

Does Israel’s destiny determine the fate of all? If so, then it is only because God has made it that way and He will conclude the matter for the benefit of all. It is not as you think, that you must solicit men to save Israel, putting the fate of mankind in their hands. That puts you, as those who steer them that save Israel, in the highest seat of all, even the throne of God. But you have things upside down. God, not you, is determining the fate of Israel (and all others), as it is written in your Holy Record Book:

“Yet I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; and you shall acknowledge no god but Me, and besides Me there is no savior” (Hosea 13:4 HNV).

Are the nations too big a matter for God to handle, that He needs you to step in and do traffic control for Him?

“With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight” (Isaiah 40:14-15 JPS).

What did God say to Gideon about gathering men and trusting in the arm of flesh?

“And the LORD said unto Gideon: 'The people that are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying: My own hand has saved me” (Judges 7:2 JPS).

The reason you try to control things, trying to pile up men and arms, is because you have made other gods for yourselves, in order to serve yourselves. That is why you do not have the knowledge of the ways of God or assurance of His Presence and omnipotence. That is why you apply a tourniquet to Mr. Bush’s conscience, which only backfires on you. It makes you odious in his sight and that of others, and rightfully so. They also smell your putrid self-righteousness.

It is not within Mr. Bush’s power to save Israel. God alone can save Israel. The problem for Israel is not that America is deficient in support, but that Israel is deficient in knowing Who is her true Support and Savior. Looking to America as her savior is the very reason God will not give America, or any other nation on earth, to play that role for Israel. Instead, Israel will discover that her only Friend in this world is, and always has been, God.

God will show Israel that He is the One in charge. Nothing has happened to Israel, good or bad, except He has done it. There is no other god. He has put Israel in her present situation, where it is impossible for her to please or to be acceptable to the nations except she sells her soul and cuts her own throat.

When God is done Israel will know there is a God Who rules in Heaven and on earth, and so will everyone else.

You must and will fail in your efforts to gain the cooperation of men to help you build a temple, which is another false god you look to for salvation. You use flattery and deceit to serve your efforts to erect this false god, which is already fashioned in your hearts.

For example, you say that the Torah “constitutes the very foundation of our faith, as well as that of Islam [my emphasis]....”

Islam is not founded on the Torah, and you full well know it. Islam refers to the Torah, the Word of God, to usurp the authority of Its Author by transferring that authority to an imposter named “Allah,” who now purports to complete God’s revelation. The voice of “Allah” in the Koran is another spirit altogether, one which readily violates and contradicts God’s ways. The voice reflects an insecure, tyrannical, and hateful being. (See Islam.)

The Koran falsely claims that Abraham’s spiritual heir was Ishmael, whom he took to sacrifice rather than Isaac. By this lie they try to steal Israel’s birthright and inheritance. Muhammad claims to be the “last prophet” and that he, therefore, presents the most current and applicable revelation for mankind, Jews included. Why do you give honor to a liar and thief? You should be bowing towards Mecca, and already do by your false spirits.

You honor lies and liars because you are liars. You lie because you are in fear of men. You have no fear of God. Because there are many Muslims among you and surrounding you, rather than speaking the truth, you deceitfully flatter them to get what you want. For this same reason you are bedfellows with so many vile religious organizations in your “holy” Jerusalem. You are just one among many.

Do you really think the Muslims will believe the Torah where it does not suit them, and will let you build your temple? Their whole religion has been founded on Muhammad’s quest to do what suits himself, a man, and not God, the Truth. You are no different than he was because you also use what is God’s to suit yourselves.

Appealing to Muslims by giving their religion credibility only makes things worse for you. They despise and hate you all the more. The fear of man has gotten you a snare (Proverbs 29:25).

While Islam is a power-grabbing concoction that has nothing to do with the Torah, we demonstrate that you have very little to do with it as well. You appeal to men because you do not believe God. If you do not believe Him, neither do you believe His prophets and their writings.

Your religion has as much of the true faith and Judaism of the fathers as there remains of the temple in Jerusalem, which is nothing. Why has God not allowed for another temple, if it is so important in bringing His Presence to men? The answer is because He is the Temple, made without hands, and is already Present in those who believe and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Your Messiah and King, Yehoshua, Jesus Christ, prophesied that the Temple would be thrown down, without one stone remaining upon another. He also said that He would raise up the Temple of His body in three days, after you put Him away by wicked hands as the Passover sacrifice for mankind. All these things came to pass, and He is now with us, and we with Him, as part of His Body, the Temple made without hands from above.

You are critical of secular Israel because they do not believe in God, but they are better off than you because at least they do not believe in and promote a false god that does not exist and cannot save them. They are not out pushing agendas in the Name of the God of Israel while serving their own interests, as you do. They do not walk in pride and deception, bloated like blimps and looking down on others.

Know this: Those of your own people to whom you think yourselves superior will receive the true Lord God and Savior of Israel, and will enter His peace, while you are yet perishing in your dead religion, too proud to admit your wrongness and to repent before God and man.

Paul Cohen

Original Letter:

28 Tevet, 5768 / January 6, 2008

In the Name of the Lord, Eternal God

To The Honorable Mr. George W. Bush,

President of the United States of America,

Who comes seeking the presence of the Most High God, to Jerusalem, city of God, Divinely chosen site of the Holy Temple, eternal capital of our land, "the joy of the entire earth (Psalms 48:3)," may it be rebuilt and established speedily and in our days, Amen!

Esteemed Mr. George W. Bush, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 38:1), leader of the west!

Upon your arrival in Jerusalem you have the ability to make a declaration, as did Cyrus, King of Persia - whose memory is honored - who in the year 538 BCE returned the exiled nations to their lands and recognized the full right of the Jewish people to reestablish their Holy Temple, the "house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7), and called upon them to return to their land,

And in the manner of Lord James Balfour of England, who in 1917, called upon the Jews to reestablish a national homeland in the Land of Israel.

And thus if you truly desire peace and benevolence, and you would be counted in the company of the truly righteous, we call upon you to declare to all the world:

The Land of Israel was bequeathed to the nation of Israel by the Creator of the world. Neither could I, as a son of my faith, nor the Muslims according to their faith, ever take away even the slightest grain from the Eternal's gift, which He gave to His people Israel, the eternal people. Thus I call upon all the nations to save themselves from certain doom, to return and recognize That this land is the exclusive rightful inheritance of the people of Israel, as is written in the Torah of Israel, which constitutes the very foundation of our faith, as well as that of Islam; and is the basis for the decisions of the community of nations. He who denies this truth endangers all life on earth.

I shall dedicate all my strength and resources towards settling the Jewish people throughout their entire land. I shall greatly encourage and empower the Jews all over the world to rise up to the Land of Israel and to settle it, to establish God's sanctuary in Jerusalem, to distance strangers from it and thus, I believe, I will be making a major contribution towards world peace.

I cannot simultaneously support the establishment of a foreign state for an alien nation in the Land of Israel, and I will not lend my hand to this wrong.

Or - Heaven forbid - you can choose the second option - to willfully aid in the destruction, under the guise of peace!

You certainly know what the God of Israel did to Egypt and Assyria and to all Israel's enemies from time immemorial: Do you imagine that you will be able to save yourself if you have come to implement a plan that intends to steal the land of "the people that survived the sword" (Jeremiah 31:1), and to cut off those who survived the Holocaust, to rob the land that was given to them by the Creator?

All of the peace treaties and initiatives which have been based upon the decisions of the government of Israel, indeed the entire Oslo process, and the 'Disengagement,' and the establishment of a terrorist state within the Land of Israel known as 'Palestine' - regrettably, all of these agreements are the result of a lack of sufficient faith in the Divine promises that the Lord made to the patriarchs of our nation, and all that is written in the Torah of Israel.

Understand this well: the nations of the world cannot excuse their actions and their decisions on account of the weakness of Israel and her government. God ordained that the role of the nations of the world is to strengthen the nation of Israel. This will benefit all humanity and bring about world peace, as the prophets have foretold.

Do you imagine you can escape from the struggles in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, by offering up sacrifices of the Jews who are slaughtered daily by their enemies who speak of peace but live by the sword?

Upon your arrival in our land we would anticipate that you bring Jonathan Pollard home with you. Bring him home to Israel. He is an emissary of the State of Israel, and he acted on behalf of our people. Authorize his immediate release while you are yet in Jerusalem, before you return to the United States. This will be a positive step that will build confidence.

Remember our forefather Abraham, who pursued the world's four greatest kings in order to redeem his nephew from captivity. We cannot forget the deeds of our patriarchs, whose example guides us through every generation.

We are the loyal representatives of the Jewish people, the New Jewish Congress, and its court of law, the Sanhedrin, as well as the Temple and Temple Mount movements, but we merely reiterate herein what is public knowledge.

No government in Israel and no representative of the Jewish people has the power or right to alter, by even the slightest degree, our covenant with God and the words of our holy Torah, which are everlasting, as expressed by the prophets of Israel and even by the wicked prophet Balaam: "Then he looked on Amalek, and uttered his oracle, saying: 'First among the nations was Amalek, but its end is to perish for ever' (Numbers 24:20). Thus any desire, plan or agreement that challenges the eternal sovereignty and active possession of the nation of Israel over her entire land is utterly worthless, and has no basis in reality.

Therefore it behooves you to declare: "I, George Bush, Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States of America, will instruct all of my troops to protect the Divine rights of the nation of Israel, and remove from her any threat."

Before you is a choice: You can merit to eternal life, or be inscribed for eternal disgrace. Your fate and that of all those with you hangs in the balance of the destiny of our land.

"and you shall choose life!" (Deut. 30:19).

In Sincere Supplication - In the name of the Jewish people

Rabbi A Even Yisrael Steinzaltz
The Sanhedrin

Dr. Gadi Eshel
The New Jewish Congress

Rabbi Chaim Richman
The Holy Temple and Temple Mount Movements