Dear Judy, Last week the UCLA student council rejected a divestment resolution and CUFI was the only Christian pro-Israel voice in the room. This divestment resolution is a part of the larger Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to demonize and delegitimize the state of Israel. The attack coming from those demanding divestment consisted of lies, hysterics, and curse words. Those demanding divestment far outnumbered those opposing it. But, the pro-Israel speakers were armed with facts, history, truth, and justice. I watched the hours tick by without hearing one pro-Israel student identify themselves as Christian come to the defense of Israel. The Jewish student body was alone in their defense. I came to observe a BDS hearing, but the outrageous lies and unmitigated hatred against Israel compelled me to step in line to wait five hours to offer my own two-minute defense of Israel. At 12:30 AM it was my turn to speak. “My name is Jessica Marzucco and I am neither Arab nor Jew, Palestinian nor Israeli, but I support peace, I support equality, and I support human rights, and that is why I support Israel and I am against this divestment.” I told them if they were going to remember one thing that night, it should be that the greatest enemy of the Palestinian people is the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist organization Hamas. I told them that the Palestinian people have been offered a state five times, but five times they turned it down. I told them if peace in the region was the true goal, and not just demonization a people group, then this evening was a waste of time for everyone in the room. Time and energy should be put into bringing a true partner for peace to the negotiation table. This divestment is anti-Semitism. I kept it short, what else can you do with two minutes. A Jewish friend caught my attention and said, “Thank you for what you said for my people.” As CUFI on Campus works to build a presence at universities like UCLA, I am struck with one of the most important things Christian students need to do. We need to show up. Just show up! The people God uses to make a difference are the people who show up. The role of sympathetic observer while anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred escalates is not an option for Christians. We need to be Christians cut from the same cloth as Dietrich Bonheoffer who opposed Hitler and his Nazi regime, a choice which eventually cost him his life. We need to be Christians of the same sort as Corri Ten Boom who was sent to a concentration camp for hiding and smuggling Jews to safety. And we need to be people like our Lord who laid down his life for his friends. And we need your help to enable Christian students to show up. We need to equip young Christian leaders with the knowledge and ability to show up. We need to train young Christian leaders how to present a compelling case for American and Christian support for the Jewish state. We need the financial support to provide the training and resources to enable this volunteer army to compete against a powerful and wealthy anti-Israel coalition. Your support today can ensure the next time BDS rears its ugly head (and sadly its coming to a campus near you) I won’t be the lone Christian voice standing up for Israel. May God Bless You and Those That You Love, JessicaMarzucco CampusField Organizer – Western Region HELP CUFI DO MORE FOR ZIONS SAKE (210) 477-4714 | PO BOX 1307 San Antonio, TX 78295-1307 | [email protected] Copyright © 2014 Christians United for Israel. All Rights Reserved. Forward | Unsubscribe Unsubscribe from receiving email, or change your email preferences. nonprofit software
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 23:19:01 +0000