Kechol Hagoyim: "Then We Will Be Like All the Other Nations" (1 Sam 8:20)

Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the father of the state of Israel, was reported to have said: "I won't be satisfied until we Jews have our own country, complete with Jewish thieves, and all the other trappings of a modern state." Well, Herzl got his wish. Today Israel is a vibrant, modern state with all the accompanying social ills.

With a population of just a bit more that six million, there are currently 1.8 million vehicles on Israel's roads, including 1.4 million private vehicles. Each year there is a six percent increase in the number of vehicles on the country's roads.

Israel reported 20 fatalities on its roads last week. (By way of comparison, one Israeli civilian and two Israeli soldiers died over the past week as a result of terrorist incidents.) During the past month, 57 Israeli citizens were killed in traffic accidents, the highest monthly total in five year.

"There are 12,000 Israeli prostitutes, plus another 3,000 prostitutes imported to Israel from the former Soviet Republics. Prostitution is a 25 to 50-million dollar industry in Israel" (from a 1Mar01 Voice of Israel radio report on a conference on prostitution held in Israel).

"There are 20,000 abortions performed in Israel each year. Since a great many abortions are performed illegally, it is estimated that the true figure is closer to 40,000 abortions per year" (from a 26Feb01 Voice of Israel radio program).

Theodor Herzl's prophecies have been fulfilled: a Jewish state with all the accoutrements of a modern state, including beggars, prostitutes and robbers--and all of them Jewish. This is cause for reflection on the Jewish people in the land of Israel in Jesus' day. Who were the bad people? The answer: Jews. Who were the good people? Also Jews! Who rejected Jesus' messianic claims? Jews. Who accepted Jesus' messianic claims? Jews! With a stage on which all the characters are Jewish, the bad guys are Jews, but so are the good guys! Hopefully, this insight is sufficient to drive away any anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic notions still held by Christians.