#8 Patterns of Prophecy-American-Israeli Relations

Patterns of Prophecy Session 8 American-Israeli Relations Promises of Blessing or Cursing 1. Promises to Preserve Israel (Lev. 26:44; Psalm 106:46; Is. 41:10-11; 49:14-16; Jer. 30:11; 31:35-37) 2. Promises to Bless those who Bless Israel (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 27:29; 28:14; Ex. 23:22; Num. 24:9) 3. Promises to Curse those who Curse Israel (Genesis 12:3; Ex. 23:22; Num. 24:9; Deut. 32:26-43; Jeremiah 2:3; 30:16; Isaiah 41:10-11; 45:24; 49:14-16, 26; 54:17; Joel 3:1-8; Mic. 4:11-13; Zech. 12:3) Premise for Cursing • God’s standard for judging the nations is two-fold: 1. Personal evil of the nations (Hab. 1), based upon God’s covenant with Noah (Gen. 9). God created government to promote good and restrain evil (cp. also Rom 13). When a government ceases to do this, they ultimately inherit God’s judgment. 2. Personal attack on God’s special nation, will bring a special attack by God upon that Gentile nation (Genesis 12:1-3; Jeremiah 2:3; Amos 1-2). Biblical Examples of God’s Curse Laid Upon Nations 1.Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-19) 2.Phoenicia (Joel 3:1-8) 3.Syria (Amos 1:3-5) 9.Spain? 4.Philistia (Amos 1:6-10) 10.Britain? 5.Edom (Amos 1:11-12) 11.Russia? 6.Amon (Amos 1:13-15) 12.Germany? 7.Moab (Jer. 48:26-27) 8.Babylon (Jer. 50:9-11, 17-20) Jews in America America has a long tradition of being a harbor for the Jewish people, wherein the Jews have never suffered the sort of government organized persecution that they have experienced in almost every other country on earth. The first Jews to come to America fled from Brazil to New York City (then “New Amsterdam,” a Dutch colony) in 1654 when Holland lost the colony to Portugal, which had antisemitic policies. George Washington Great Britain renamed New Amsterdam to New York City when they defeated the Dutch in 1667, yet the Jews were permitted to stay. This sowed the seed of a long tradition of tolerance of the Jews in North America. When the American Revolution broke out in the late 1700s, the Jews took a leading role in not only joining the American cause as soldiers, but also financing the Revolution. A Jewish money lender, Haym Solomon, was largely responsible for raising funds for the American cause, and is largely credited with saving the American Revolution. Jewish merchant ships also served as blockade runners. Aaron Lopez of Newport, Rhode Island, used his 130 ships to supply the American army. Even George Washington’s personal physician, Dr. Philip Moses Russel, was a Jew. Statue in Chicago with Robert Morris, George Washington, and Haym Solomon. George Washington In fact, when George Washington became President of America in 1789, many Jewish communities around the nation sent him letters of congratulations. His letters in response set the tone for American policy toward the Jews from there forward. Many of these letters have survived, and are kept in the Library of Congress. Washington’s Letter’s to the Jews at Newport “May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from the Egyptian oppressors, planted them in a promised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of heaven [Genesis 27:28] and make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is Jehovah.” –President George Washington to Jews in Savannah, Georgia (1789) “May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while everyone shall sit under his own vine and fig tree [allusion to Micah 4:4], and there shall be none to make him afraid.” –President George Washington to Jews of Newport, Rhode Island (1790) Martin Van Buren America continued to receive a steady flow of Jewish immigrants so that in the mid-1800s somewhere around 200,000 Jews lived in America. Many of these Jews excelled as merchants, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and educators. American support of Jews even extended to foreign affairs. American President Martin Van Buren (pictured on right) wrote the Ottoman Empire in 1840 to plead the case of persecuted Jews in the region of Syria, who were suffering because of another accusation of Blood Libel. You can find this letter at jewishvirtuallibrary.org Jews in American Society Praise for the American Constitution and the freedom that it provided for the Jews came from the London Jewish Chronicle in 1862. “We now have a few words of the Jews of the United States in general… The constitution having established perfect religious liberty, Jews were free in America… They, therefore in a comparatively short time, prospered, and thrice there in a degree unexampled in Europe. Jews were found in all positions of life filling offices from the highest to the lowest.” Jews in American Military Jews have always been part of the influential fabric of American society including the military, even reaching the higher echelons of the military such as generals and commodores. One influential Jewish commodore, Uriah P. Levy, who served from 1812-1862, is largely responsible for the abolition of flogging in the United States Navy. Both a WWII destroyer (USS Levy DE0162), as well as the Jewish chapel at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis were named after this Commodore. Uriah P. Levy Jews in American Military As the American Civil War approached Samuel Mayer Isaacs, the editor of The Jewish Messenger, wrote a moving article entitled “A Day of Prayer.” He accounts how blessed the Jews had been in America, enjoying freedoms and equality never enjoyed in the history of any nation. In this editorial Isaacs quotes George Washington’s letter to the Jews at Newport. After the Civil War started, Isaacs wrote another article entitled “Stand By the Flag,” wherein he called upon Jews to support the United States and the Constitution, which he described as “the admiration of the world,” and the reason why Jews enjoyed such equality. Jews in American Military After the American Civil War, the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) was founded (1896). This organization continues to list the proud achievements of Jews throughout the history of the American armed forces. Their contributions are extensive, and illustrate the unique integration of Jews into the fabric of the United States. Washington D.C. hosts the “National Museum of American Jewish Military History.” You can find a fascinating resource for this history in a downloadable pdf [http://seymourbrody.com/military/ brody_military.pdf] Jewish Immigration to America Just 16 years after the end of the American Civil War, America would experience another flood of Jewish immigration as a result of the Russian pogroms of 1881. A census in 1877 listed the Jewish population in America as 250,000. Yet just 30 years later the Jewish population reached 2 million. This tidal wave of Jews coming to America was largely due to the Russian pogroms (1881-1921). No country in the world wanted the Russian Jews except American, which became nicknamed “the famous land,” among many Jews. Jewish Immigration to America Mary Antin was a Russian Jew who escaped to America. These are her words. “America was in everybody’s mouth. Businessmen talked of it over their accounts; the market women made up their quarrels that they might discuss it from stall to stall; people who had relatives in the famous land went around reading their letters for the enlightenment of less fortunate folks… Children played at emigrating; old folks shook their sage heads over the evening fires and prophesied no good for those who braved the terrors of the sea and the goal beyond it. All talked about it.” This political cartoon was published in November, 1881 by an American/German newspaper called Puck. The cartoon shows the Atlantic opening and the Jews coming through it to America. Uncle Sam in the cartoon was labeled “The Modern Moses.” Jewish Immigration to America The famous poem written at the base of the Statue of Liberty was written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus, a Jew… “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Jewish Immigration to America After the Russian Pogroms, and throughout the World Wars, America became the center of world Jewry in that the majority of worldwide Jews lived in America. American maintained this status until just recently. Though estimates vary, many believe the country of Israel passed America as the new center of world Jewry in 2008. Yet throughout American history, even up unto the modern day, Jews continue to integrate into every part of American life. American Christian Zionism The massive immigration of Jews to America after the Russian Pogroms, seemed to awaken American Evangelicalism to the plight of the Jews, and led to a major surge in American love for the Jewish people. This brought in turn a huge American influence upon Zionism, which would later contribute to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. McTernan [Author of As America has done to Israel] traces the “roots” of Christian Zionism back to the revivals of the 1-2 Great Awakenings, and the work of D.L. Moody and other great preachers of the 1800s. American Christian Zionism One such preacher was William E. Blackstone, who became perhaps the most outspoken leader of Christian Zionism in America. He published a book entitled “Jesus is Coming.” He then began traveling the country speaking on the end times. He chaired a conference in 1890, which focused on the past, present, and future of Israel. This conference sent resolutions to the Russian Tsar on behalf of the suffering Jews, yet Blackstone didn’t think this was enough. So he met with American president Benjamin Harrison, and Secretary of State James Blaine in order to ask them what they would do for the Russian Jews. American Christian Zionism Blackstone suggested that America take the lead in calling upon the wealth of world Jewry to purchase land from poverty-stricken Turkey and allow Jews to immigrate to Palestine. This suggestion by Blackstone came 6 years before Theodore Herzl wrote his earth-shattering book “The Jewish State” (1896), and held the first Jewish Zionist Conference at Basel, Switzerland in 1897. The point is that “Zionism” as a movement actually had deep roots in American Christianity even before the Jewish world took up the cause. 1st Zionist Conference 1897 American Christian Zionism Blackstone’s suggestion, which he presented to President Harrison was written up and signed by over 400 highly influential American leaders, which included the mayors of Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, & New York, as well as the governor of Massachusetts, a Supreme Court Justice, and Congressmen. In this document, Blackstone cites the promises of Genesis 12:3, and prophecies from Isaiah & Ezekiel as reasons for action. Though President Harrison did not act directly, the idea was planted. Jewish Zionism would soon begin, and find strong support in America. 1st Zionist Conference 1897 American Christian Zionism Blackstone would continue to spread his ideas and would later meet with president Woodrow Wilson in 1916 proposing the same thing. The British Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917, which officially allowed Jewish immigration into Palestine. This became a huge stepping stone for Blackstone’s ideas to actually take shape. Yet before Arthur Balfour issued this declaration, he came to American President Woodrow Wilson to seek support, which he received. Thus Britain confidently allowed the beginning of Jewish immigration. The United States Congress passed a resolution on June 30, 1922 in official support of a Jewish State. That same year would bring the League of Nations decision to give the British responsibility for a future Jewish State. President Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson & WW1 America officially joined WW1 on April 4, 1917, by declaring war on Germany and Austria, but they did not declare war on Turkey. This was highly unusual, but it was a calculated move by Woodrow Wilson. He did this in order to maintain diplomatic relations with Turkey, and thereby be able to plead for the cause of persecuted Jews and Christians within Turkish territory. Turkey not only allowed America to bring food and other aid to these persecuted peoples, but they took a gracious stance toward Jews and Christians for the remainder of the war out of fear that if they did not, then America would declare war on Turkey. President Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson & WW1 In Late 1914-Early 1915 Turkey demanded all Jews in her realm to renounce their original citizenship and swear allegiance to the Turkish government. When many refused, President Wilson came to their aid. Turkey allowed America to rescue tens of thousands of Jews from Turkish territory, and grant them safe passage to other countries. This rescue had a huge impact upon Jewish history in that multiple future leaders of Israel were saved at this time. In fact David Ben-Gurion himself was part of this evacuation. USS Tennessee at Jaffa Port American Impact on Israel’s Rebirth If the Central Powers had won WW1 then Palestine would have remained under Turkish control and the status quo would have been maintained. Yet American involvement in the war assured an Allied victory and set the stage for the future restoration of Israel. After WW2 and the Holocaust, the world voted on November 29, 1947 for the formation of a Jewish state by the United Nations Partition plan known as Resolution 181. Though this was highly controversial, the State of Israel declared her independence on the day the British mandate ended. Recall that America was the first country to recognize Israeli independence. Though America & Israel have a long tradition of cooperation & alliance, American foreign policy toward Israel began to shift dramatically in the late 1970s. Land for Peace? The philosophy applied throughout modern history has been that the creation of the state of Israel has been the largest roadblock to peace in the Middle East. The muslim countries around Israel would be appeased if Israel were to give up some of their land. Though the British Mandate (1920-1948) clearly evidenced this philosophy, U.S. Policy since 1979 has also conspicuously evidenced this philosophy via the Camp David Accords, the Madrid Peace Process, and the supposed “Road Map for Peace.” The Obama administration in particular, evidenced great coldness toward Israel. Consequences for America? God has His Way in the Whirlwind “The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet” (Nahum 1:3). God gave this prophecy through Nahum, right before God providentially used a storm to swell the Tigris, and bring down the mighty city of Nineveh. Scripture gives many examples of God using storms to either help His people, or hinder His adversaries, all to accomplish His purposes. God has His Way in the Whirlwind YHWH declares His total sovereignty over the weather patterns of earth. These patterns would include storms, rain, wind, waves, & earthquakes (Dt. 11:10ff; 1 Kings17-18; Job 40:6, 10; Ps. 18; 29; 77:16; 97:2-5; 104; Isaiah 45:8; 55:10; Jer. 10:13; 23:9; Nahum 1:3; Zech. 9:14; Amos 4:7). Biblical examples of storms used by YHWH for his purposes abound (Genesis 6-8; Josh. 10; Judges 4-5; Jonah 1; 1 Kings 19; Isaiah 29:6; Ex. 9:13; Rev. 16:21; Ezek. 38:22). If we see this throughout the Scripture, might we also see historic examples of God using storms to accomplish His purposes??? Supernatural Storms? John P. McTernan in his book “As America Has Done To Israel,” records 32 separate events where dramatic storms, which cause great damage to the U.S., correspond directly to U.S. involvement in the Peace Process of the Middle East. In his book “Eye to Eye,” William Koenig catalogs 127 separate events of disasters correlating with U.S. involvement in Israel. McTernan makes the interesting observation that most of these storms hit America within 24 hours of America’s involvement with Israel. In fact many of these stories were reported side by side on the same front page of a given newspaper. This may be coincidence, or it may be providence… Summary Between 1992-2006 (when McTernan’s book first came out) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has identified 47 separate billion or multibillion dollar disasters. Several of these disasters were droughts, which stretched over a long period of time, so are not considered in this equation. Several of the other disasters, interestingly enough, connect to abortion and homosexual events. However, American pressure upon Israel to give up her covenant land can be directly tied to 20 of these disasters. The total estimated cost for damages in these top 20 natural disasters is $334.8 billion. Supernatural Storms? On page 17 of his book McTernan says this, “The facts reported in this book are irrefutable, but my interpretations of these facts are open to question.” He goes on to document his sources carefully for anyone who is willing to track them down. I take the same posture as McTernan in sharing these facts with you. The when and where of these storms and their correlation to the involvement of America in the affairs of Israel are irrefutable facts. However, whether these events are related or not is up to you to decide. October 1991 After the Gulf War in 1991, while President Bush Sr. was speaking at the Madrid conference suggesting that Israel give up more land for a Palestinian pledge for peace, a storm was brewing. On October 30, a powerful storm developed off of Nova Scotia, catching the National Weather Bureau completely by surprise. The unusual weather patterns, which produced this storm, are believed to occur only once each century. This storm was rare in the additional sense that it traveled for 1,000 miles in a westward direction, which is opposite direction for storms of its type in this region. October 1991 Meteorologists called this storm “extratropical” because it did not originate in the tropics as most hurricanes do. On October 31, this storm, hundreds of miles wide, smashed into New England. It created waves over 100 feet tall, which are still among the highest ever recorded. The storm traveled down the East Coast into the Carolinas, creating millions of dollars of damage from Maine to Florida. The National Weather Service later nicknamed this hurricane “The Perfect Storm.” A best-selling novel, and later a movie were made about this storm, going by the same name. October 1991 President Bush owned a home along the East Coast in Kennenbunkport, Maine, that was heavily damaged by the Perfect Storm. Eyewitnesses said that waves as high as 30 feet rose from the ocean to smash the Presidents seaside home. When he returned from Madrid, President Bush canceled speaking engagements to inspect the damage done to his house. This storm hit the President’s home the same day he initiated the Madrid Peace Conference. Coincidence? August 1992 August 24, 1992 the Madrid Peace Conference moved to Washington D.C. Nations involved felt the U.S. was a better location for the continuing negotiations. The New York Times quoted the U.S. representative of these talks, Eagleburger, (pictured on the right) as having said that the peace talks were resuming in the context of “an Israeli Government that is prepared to be far more forth coming.” He predicted that “the issue of Palestinian self-rule in Israeli-occupied territories would be the focus of discussion.” August 1992 On that same day, August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed in the southern Florida, hitting Louisiana a few days later. This hurricane was the worst natural disaster to hit America up to this time. This storm left 180,000 people homeless in Louisiana, and cost an estimated $30 billion in damages. On August 24, the front page headlines of USA Today contained several articles that made a visual link between the hurricane and the Madrid Peace Process. The August 26 headlines read, “Israel Offers Plan for Arabs to Rule in Occupied Lands,” & “Thousands Homeless in Florida.” January 1994 On January 16, 1994, President Clinton met in Geneva with Syria’s dictator Assad in order to discuss peace between Israel and Syria. This peace agreement included Israel giving back the Golan Heights, which it won from Syria in the Six Day War. The newspapers quoted Clinton as saying, “Israel must make concessions that will be politically unpopular with many Israelis.” On January 17, 1994, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Los Angeles. The quake was so powerful that in caused the Sant Susanna Mountains to rise one foot, and L.A basin to shrink. This earthquake cost an estimated $25 billion in damages. January 1994 What is interesting about this earthquake was that scientists failed to identify the fault that actually triggered the quake. Scientists also found that this earthquake appeared as two separate quakes. The first quake movement was a powerful upward thrust followed by a violent shaking of the earth. The upward thrust was so powerful that is lifted buildings off of their foundations. Scientists described this quakes as having a “one-two punch.” May 1999 On May 3, 1999, starting at 4:47 p.m. Central Time, the most powerful tornadoes to ever hit the U.S. fell on Oklahoma and Kansas. Meteorologists officially measured winds at 316 mph, making it the fastest ever recorded. Meteorologists classified this tornado as an F-6. There had never been an F-6. This storm also included many F-4 & F-5 tornadoes (F-5 winds reach 260 mph and are themselves very rare making up only 1% of all tornadoes). 50 confirmed tornadoes with nearly 200 tornado warnings hit the mid-west. One of the F-5 tornadoes was a mile wide and traveled 80 miles in 4 hours. May 1999 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated, “This in as outbreak of historic proportions, no doubt about it.” The tornadoes destroyed over 2,000 homes in Oklahoma city alone. Some small communities disappeared entirely, and the federal government declared large sections of Oklahoma and Kansas to be disaster areas. May 1999 This event occurred within 24 hours of a personal letter from President Clinton to Yasser Arafat, which encouraged Arafat regarding his own aspirations for his “own land.” Clinton stated further that the Palestinians had a right to “determine their own future on their own land.” Based upon these views, Clinton had already declared the city of Jerusalem to be negotiable as the capitol city of a Palestinian state. As such, Clinton refused to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, as would his successors till recently. September 2001 August 9, 2001, a suicide bomber killed 19 people in Jerusalem, and wounded over 100. Later on that day President Bush made a speech condemning the terrorist attack, and then demanding that in spite of this attack, Israel abide by the Madrid Peace Process (initiated by his father), the Mitchell Plan, and U.N. Resolutions 242 & 338. In case you are unaware, these U.N. Resolutions called for Israel to retreat back to the pre-Six-Day War borders. This would mean they give up East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank. September 2001 The United States pressure upon Israel began in 1991, but climaxed in July 2000 when the U.S. convinced Israel to officially offer to withdraw from East Jerusalem and most of the West Bank. The only reason this offered failed is because the Palestinians rejected it. During the President’s speech, Israel was in the middle of the second Intifada (i.e. Palestinian uprising, which lasted from 2000-2005 wherein Palestinians were committing constant acts of terror and murdering Israeli civilians). Yet amidst this tumultuous time for Israel, America demanded that Israel retreat back to borders, which in and of themselves are indefensible from a strategic standpoint. September 2001 According to The Washington Post, President Bush and other U.S. officials were cooperating with the Saudis to produce the most comprehensive offer of Israeli land to the Arab world that any U.S. President had yet proposed. Most of this work was completed by September 10, 2001, and U.S. Secretary Powell planned to present the plan to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2001. September 2001 On September 11, 2001 America got a small taste of what it is like for the normal Israeli everyday. The “terror” caused by the 9/11 attacks, the estimated $40 billion in damages and the stunting of the American economy, the feeling of vulnerability, the entrance into a long, low-grade war against largely hidden enemies, all seems to be eerily similar to the experience of Israel. Journalist Mike Evans speaks of an interview he had with Mossad Chief Isser Harel in 1980. He published this conversation in an article on September 30, 2001 in the Jerusalem Post. “I sat with former Mossad chief Isser Harel for a conversation about Arab terrorism. As he handed me a cup of hot tea and a plate of cookies, I asked him, "Do you think terrorism will come to America, and if so, where and why?" Harel looked at his American visitor and replied, "I fear it will come to you in America. America has the power, but not the will, to fight terrorism. The terrorists have the will, but not the power, to fight America - but all that could change with time. Arab oil money buys more than tents." As to the where, Harel continued, "New York City is the symbol of freedom and capitalism. It's likely they will strike the Empire State Building, your tallest building [he mistakenly thought] and a symbol of your power." September 2001 America has clearly taken the posture of appeasement toward the Islamic acts of terrorism perpetrated upon Israel. Israel has suffered hundreds, even thousands of terror attacks upon its citizens, yet America says to Israel, “give them land and they will give you peace.” Could it be that this posture of appeasement was interpreted by Islamic terrorists as a sign of weakness? August-September 2005 In 2005 President Bush succeeded in pressuring Israel to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank in a unilateral agreement. Jewish settlements were evacuated, and 12,000 Jews lost their homes. 40,000 Israeli soldiers forced the relocation. Most Jews left willingly, some were forced out. The Israeli army then demolished 21 Gaza settlements. In addition to this, Israel had to give up one of its richest agricultural centers known as Gush Katif, which produced about 15% of all Israel’s vegetables. In other words, these settlements were not primitive, but small modern cities. This formed the largest evacuation of Jews in modern Israeli history since 1948. August-September 2005 Though 21 settlements were entirely demolished, the synagogues were left standing, because according to Israeli law, a house of worship of any religion cannot be destroyed. Yet when the Palestinians came in, their first order of business was to destroy all the synagogues left standing. Palestinian mobs then looted and destroyed the agricultural installations left them by the Israelis. This same strip of land is now considered totally worthless for agriculture. After the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the terrorist organization Hamas took control of the area, and have only increased attacks upon Israel. August-September 2005 President Bush was extremely happy, mentioning the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in two separate speeches on August 22 & 23. Then on August 23, the same day as President Bush’s second speech and the same day the last Israeli settlers were removed from Gaza, a tropical storm over the Bahamas upgraded to a massive hurricane we named Katrina. Bill Read, meteorologist tracking Katrina, stated, “The energy, the near-record low pressure in the storm’s core, and its huge dimensions add up to an inevitable disaster. That’s why they’re basically forecasting Armageddon when it goes inland.” August-September 2005 On August 24, Katrina became a category-one hurricane. On August 25 she hit Florida causing about $1 billion of damage. The storm weakened over Florida and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but then it moved into the Gulf of Mexico and rapidly intensified. By August 29, it was a massive categoryfive storm about 375 miles in diameter, and was heading to New Orleans. The coming storm caused 1.5 million people to evacuate their homes and flee inland, and nearly destroyed the Port of New Orleans, which is the 5th largest port in the world. August-September 2005 Katrina has been hailed as the greatest disaster in a major American city since the destruction of San Francisco by earthquake and fire in 1906, or the great hurricane of 1938. The federal government declared a 90,000 square mile chunk of land as a disaster area. This square mileage is the equivalent size of Great Britain! Just as one of the major southern cities of Israel was given up and evacuated, so one of the major southern cities of America was evacuated and destroyed. 1. Prior to removal, the Israel 1. government called on Jews to evacuate their homes. 2. 2. August 17, Israel ordered mandatory evacuation. 3. The evacuation of 12,000 3. Jews made it the largest evacuation in Israeli history since 1948. 4. Israel sent 40,000 troops to 4. aid evacuation. 5. Many Jews went to their roofs 5. to try and delay evacuation. 6. 6. Gaza is on Israel’s southern coastline. 7. 7. Evacuation destroyed thousands of Jewish homes. U.S. government called on residents to evacuate their homes prior to Katrina. On September 7, the mayor of New Orleans ordered mandatory evacuation. The several million Americans that fled Katrina made it one of the largest in American history. U.S. sent 80,000 troops to aid disaster relief. Thousands of Americans ran to their roofs to avoid drowning. New Orleans is on America’s southern coastline. Disaster destroyed around 500,000 American homes. 8. When Katrina hit, her 35 ft. tidal 8. The day Katrina hit America, wave uncovered hundreds of Jews were digging up their bodies from Gulf coast dead to re-inter them in graveyards. cemeteries outside of Gaza. 9. U.S. government barred 9. The Israeli government American citizens from their barred citizens of Gaza from homes in the disaster areas of their own homes. Katrina. 10. Many Jewish people felt 10. Many Americans felt abandoned by their government’s failure to betrayed & abandoned by respond quickly to the storm. their government. 11. Gaza refugees were bused to 11. Katrina refugees were bused to shelters all over America. other locations all over Israel. 12. New Orleans Port was the major 12. Gush Katif was a major agricultural shipping center for agricultural center for Israel. the U.S. 13. Bush promised $2.2 billion 13. Bush spent around $200 billion to dollars to help relocate Jewish help rebuild or relocated refugees. American refugees of Katrina. Coincidence or Providence?