Merry Christmas from CAMERA's Partnership
of Christians and Jews!
Dear Christian Leaders,
On behalf of CAMERA and CAMERA's Partnership of Christians and Jews, we want to wish you and yours a very merry and meaningful celebration of Christmas!
We have so much to celebrate at this time of the year, even while we continue to persevere in the battle for truth and accuracy for the sake of Israel.
Our celebration of Christmas coincides with the Jewish celebration of Chanukah, the eight day festival of lights that memorializes the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek army, which occupied Judea in the second century before the birth of Jesus. The occupying Greeks attempted to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in the one true God.
In the face of incredible persecution and against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated the mightiest army on earth at the time. The Maccabees drove the Greeks from the land of Judea, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
In light of these historical events, it is worthwhile for Christians to think about the significance of Chanukah in the context of celebrating the birth of Jesus. If Judah the Maccabee and his Jewish army had not defeated the Greeks, it is entirely possible that the Greeks would have been successful in their efforts to wipe out Jewish identity and observance in the land of Judea before Jesus was born.
If that had happened, Jesus would not have been born as the recognizable, clearly identifiable Jew who is so clearly revealed throughout the Christian Testament. In other words, Jesus would not be who we know him to be and the events of his life would not have happened as revealed throughout the Scriptures! Indeed, there would be no Christmas without the events that are celebrated at Chanukah!
So at this time of the year, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us strengthen and renew our commitment to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people and in support of Israel's right to exist as the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
In order to continue to:
Inform you about current issues in relation to Israel and the Jewish people,
Equip you as Christian leaders with information that will enable you to counter efforts to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish State, and
Arm you with material that will help you protect those in your circle of influence from the veritable storm of anti-Israel propaganda,
We have made short two videos (six-seven minutes each) that address critical issues in relation to Evangelical support for Israel.
We hope you find the following videos informative and helpful.
We also hope you will share them with others!
For the sake of Israel,
Tricia Miller and Dexter Van Zile