Yesterday, we celebrated Memorial Day with pride and patriotism. However, May 27, 1939 was a day of shame that highlighted a problem the United States is currently experiencing. Let’s take a trip back into history and set up some events.
World War II began on September 1, 1939. As events escalated to this point, Hitler’s Nazi regime was doing its best to oppress and exterminate the Jews. On May 13, the S.S. St. Louis had left the port of Hamburg, Germany with 925 Jews on board with proper visas that would have allowed them to go to Cuba to seek asylum. When they arrived, Cuba turned them away. They now turned to the United States.
Michael Barak was a child on board the ship. In 2002, he spoke of the “hospitality” afforded the passengers.
When approaching Miami of the “free” country, President Roosevelt sent the U.S. Navy to prevent any entry. On top of that, he warned any country in the region from letting any of the (expletive) Jews to land safely on their soil. In Canada, the head of immigration said, after being asked how many Jews of that ship could be accepted, “None is too many.”1
For three weeks, the passengers on board the St. Louis waited in hopes that some other nation would welcome them. The U.S. Coast Guard patrolled the waters to ensure no one tried to swim for freedom. Eventually, the ship headed back to the west, depositing passengers in England, Holland, France, and Belgium. Families were separated and eventually captured by Nazis. Once captured, many were taken to concentration camps where they were placed in gas chambers or executed by other means. Nearly six million Jews died during the Holocaust.
Today, we see antisemitism raging in our nation. As of May 2, 2024, at least 25 campuses have had protests and riots staged by students. Vandalism has escalated and over 1,000 students have been arrested. UCLA, USC, Indiana University, Ohio State, USC, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and NYU are just a few of the places affected by these riots. The president of Iranian Shiraz University in the Fars province has offered scholarships to all American and European students expelled for protesting. Hims founder has offered jobs to the anti-Israeli protesters, praising them for having moral courage.
Pro-Palestinian movements are emerging and our own government is showing its division over the issue. The Atlantic wrote on April 5, 2024, “A rift has opened between Israel and the United States. No breach between the two countries has been as wide or as deep since the mid-1950s, when the Eisenhower administration compelled Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula.”2
Let’s never forget what GOD has to say about Israel.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Zechariah 2:7-8 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. (8) For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
As Christians, we must love and support the Jews and the nation of Israel. They don’t need us, but we need them. And we need the blessings of God that comes from being a blessing to them.
The Psalmist gives us good instruction in Psalms 122:6. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Make that a part of your prayers today.
1Friends of Zion, April 2024 edition; Evans, Dr. Michael
2https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/04/us-israel-rift-war-palestine/677972/
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