Via this Newsletter I want to address a subject that is very close to my heart: Israel.
I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Israel many times. I’ve walked the streets of Jerusalem. I’ve stood on the Mount of Olives. I’ve looked across the Kidron Valley toward the Old City. I’ve been in Galilee. I’ve stood where Jesus walked. When a person’s had the opportunity to see those places with his or herown eyes, something happens.
The Bible stops being merely words on a page. You begin to understand that these weren’t imaginary places. These were real places. Real people. Real history. And that history continues today. That’s why when I talk about Israel, I’m not simply talking about foreign policy. I’m not talking about a political party.
And I’m certainly not suggesting that Israel is perfect. No nation is.
I’m talking about something much deeper. I’m talking about truth, history, faith and friendship. And today I want to make a very simple case: Israel deserves to be judged by the evidence—not by the slogans.
And that’s why I want to bring into this discussion a remarkable new book by Judge Roy Altman called Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law.
Judge Altman does something very interesting. He essentially says: Let’s put Israel on trial. Let’s hear the accusations. Let’s examine the evidence. Let’s look at the historical record. Let’s look at the law. And then let’s decide whether the charges have actually been proven. I think that’s a pretty good idea. Because if we’re going to put somebody on trial, we ought to actually have a trial.
THE SIX ACCUSATIONS: Today Israel is accused of some very serious things.
- Israel is accused of being a colonial enterprise.
- Israel stands accused of stealing somebody else’s land.
- Israel is accused of preventing the creation of a Palestinian state.
- Israel is accused of turning Gaza into an “open-air prison.”
- Israel is accused of being an apartheid state.
- Israel is accused of genocide.
Those aren’t small accusations. Those are among the most serious accusations that can be made against a nation. But here’s the problem:
An accusation is not a conviction. And a slogan is not evidence. If you and I were sitting in a courtroom, and somebody came in and said: “Judge, I’ve heard that this man committed a terrible crime.” The judge would say: “Where is the evidence?” We would expect that. We wouldn’t convict someone because a crowd outside the courthouse was angry. We wouldn’t convict somebody because somebody posted something on Facebook. We wouldn’t convict somebody because the accusation had been repeated thousands of times.We would examine the evidence. So, let’s do something unusual.Let’s apply that same standard to Israel.
CHARGE NUMBER ONE: “The Jews are colonizers in the Land of Israel.”
Now, I want you to think about that statement. A colonizer is generally somebody who comes from somewhere else, takes control of another people’s homeland and establishes a settlement or political system there. So, let’s look at the evidence. Where did the Jewish people come from? Abraham.Isaac. Jacob/Israel. Jerusalem. Judea. Samaria. Galilee.
The Jewish connection to that land isn’t something invented in 1948. It isn’t something invented by the United Nations. It isn’t something invented by modern politicians. It goes back thousands of years. The Jewish people have an extraordinary historical relationship with that land. And the Bible documents it.
But what’s fascinating is that the historical evidence doesn’t stop with the Bible.
Archaeology has uncovered evidence of ancient Israelite and Jewish civilization. Inscriptions. Coins. Buildings. Tombs.Ancient texts. And Jerusalem itself is inseparable from Jewish history.
So. when somebody says: “Jews are foreign colonizers who suddenly arrived in Palestine in the twentieth century”— we have to ask:
Does the historical record support that? And the answer is much more complicated than the negative slogan.
THE MIRACLE OF SURVIVAL - Here’s what amazes me.The Jewish people were scattered across the world for centuries.They were conquered. Exiled. Persecuted. Expelled. Murdered.And yet they never disappeared. Think about that.
The ancient world was filled with peoples and civilizations that are now gone. But the Jewish people maintained their identity.They maintained their Scriptures. They maintained their traditions. They maintained their language. And they maintained their connection to Jerusalem.
For centuries, Jewish people prayed: **“Next year in Jerusalem.”**And then came the Holocaust. Six million Jews murdered. And three years after the Holocaust ended: Israel was reborn as a modern nation. May 14, 1948. That isn’t the end of the story.It’s the beginning of the modern chapter.
CHARGE NUMBER TWO: “ISRAEL HAS NO LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO EXIST”
Again, let’s look at history. The Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I. The Middle East was reorganized. The League of Nations established mandates. The international community wrestled with the question of what would happen in the territory known as Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations proposed partition. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal. Arab leadership rejected it.Then Israel declared independence. And surrounding Arab states invaded. Israel survived.
Now, I want to be very careful here. Recognizing Israel’s right to exist does not mean saying Israel has never made a mistake.Of course, Israel has made mistakes. Every nation has. America has. We have made enormous mistakes. But nobody says:
“Because America has made mistakes, America has no right to exist.” Criticizing a government is not the same thing as denying a nation’s right to exist. That distinction is absolutely essential. Then came October 7, 2023. Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. Families were attacked. People were murdered. People were taken hostage. And suddenly the world was reminded of something that had become increasingly easy to forget:
Israel wasn’t dealing with an ordinary political disagreement.Israel was dealing with terrorism. And I want to say something very clearly: There is no moral equivalence between murdering innocent civilians and defending innocent civilians. That doesn’t mean every military action Israel takes is automatically right. It means the context matters. If we want to understand Israel, we have to understand what Israel is fighting.
CHARGE NUMBER THREE: “ISRAEL PREVENTED A PALESTINIAN STATE”
History is complicated. There have been negotiations. There have been peace proposals. There have been territorial disputes.There have been Israeli political failures. There have been Palestinian political failures. There have been wars. There have been terrorist attacks. There have been opportunities that were accepted by one side and rejected by another. The history cannot honestly be reduced to: “Israel doesn’t want peace.”
And I believe we need to say something else. I want the Palestinian people to have a future. I want Palestinian children to grow up without fear. I want Palestinian families to have homes. I want Palestinians to have economic opportunity. I want Israelis to have those same things. I want Jewish children and Arab children to grow up without being taught to hate one another. But peace cannot be built upon terrorism. And peace cannot be built upon the destruction of Israel.
CHARGE NUMBER FOUR: “GAZA IS AN OPEN-AIR PRISON”
Now we come to Gaza. This is where emotions run especially high. And they should.
When innocent people suffer, we should care. As a Christian, I cannot look at a photograph of a suffering child and say: “That’s somebody else’s problem.” It isn’t. Human life matters. And truecompassion requires us to understand the whole picture.
Who governed Gaza? Hamas. What did Hamas do? It built a terrorist infrastructure. It launched attacks against Israel. It took hostages. And it embedded military capabilities within civilian areas. Again, that does not mean that every Israeli action is justified. It means that war has a context.
And Judge Altman’s approach is important here. He asks us not simply to look at photographs or headlines but to examine the evidence and apply the actual legal standards. That’s what courts do.
CHARGE NUMBER FIVE: “ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE”
Now let’s take the word “apartheid.” That’s a very powerful word. But words have definitions. Apartheid was the legally enforced racial system that existed in South Africa. So, if we’re going to accuse Israel of apartheid, we should be able to demonstrate that Israel operates a comparable system of racial domination.
And again, the evidence deserves examination. Israel has Arab citizens. Arab citizens vote. Arab citizens serve in government.Arab citizens have served in Israel’s parliament. Arab Israelis have served as judges. There are Arab doctors, professors, business owners and professionals throughout Israeli society.Does discrimination exist? Of course. Human beings discriminate. America has discrimination. Every society struggles with discrimination. But discrimination isn’t automatically apartheid. Words matter. Definitions matter.Evidence matters.
CHARGE NUMBER SIX: “ISRAEL IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE”
And now we arrive at the most serious accusation: Genocide.
I want to slow down here. Because genocide is not simply another word for “war.” Genocide is a specific legal concept. It involves an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected national, ethnic, racial or religious group. So, the question becomes: What is the evidence of intent? Civilian deaths are tragic. Every innocent life matters. But civilian deaths alone don’t establish genocide. The question of intent matters.
And Judge Altman’s argument is that Israel’s conduct must be examined against that actual legal standard. We need to look at Israel’s military objectives, at warnings given to civilians, at evacuation efforts, at individual military decisions and at statements: we need to distinguish what individual people say from the official intent of a government.
And we need to remember: **The burden of proof matters.**That’s what we expect in an American courtroom. And it ought to matter when accusations are made against Israel.
Why does this matter to me?
Now let me bring this home. Why am I talking about all of this?Why does Dennis Mansfield care? Because I believe my generation has a responsibility to tell the truth. I’ve spent much of my life working with people who were hurting. I’ve seen what happens when people are given up on. I’ve seen what happens when society decides somebody isn’t worth saving.And I’ve learned something: Every human being has value.
That’s one of the many reasons I care about Israel. And it’s one of the reasons I care about Palestinians. I don’t have to hate one people in order to love another. I don’t have to diminish Palestinians to stand with Israel. And I don’t have to diminish Israel to care about Palestinians. That’s not the choice. The choice is whether we will pursue truth.
Why Israel Matters to Christians
I’m a Christian. Jesus was Jewish. Mary was Jewish. So were the apostles and the prophets. The Scriptures came through the Jewish people. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth. He ministered around Galilee. He walked into Jerusalem. He taught in the Temple. He was crucified in Jerusalem. And He rose from the dead. The story of my faith is geographically tied to Israel. That’s why when I walk through Jerusalem, I don’t just see ancient stones. I see the backdrop of the greatest story ever told.
God's Covenant with Israel
Go back to Genesis. God calls Abraham. God establishes a covenant. And God says: “I will bless them that bless thee.”Now, I don’t interpret that verse as saying Christians must blindly agree with everything any Israeli government does.That’s not what it says. It doesn’t mean Israel is perfect. It doesn’t mean Israelis are perfect. It means that Christians should take seriously God’s covenantal relationship with Israel. The Apostle Paul addresses this directly in Romans 11. He asks:“Hath God cast away his people?” And his answer is: “God forbid.” Then Paul says: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That’s powerful. Because Paul is telling the early church: Don’t forget Israel. Don’t become arrogant. Don’t assume God’s purposes have suddenly disappeared. Remember where your faith came from.
Why America Should Stand with Israel
But let’s take the Bible out of the conversation for a moment.Suppose you’re not a Christian. Suppose you don’t believe the Bible. There’s still a compelling reason for America to stand with Israel. Israel is an American ally. Israel shares intelligence with the United States. Israel works with us on counterterrorism. Israel is a leader in cybersecurity. Israel is a leader in technology. Israel is a leader in medical innovation.Israel is a leader in agriculture and water technology. Israel contributes to American security and American innovation. This isn’t simply about America giving something to Israel. It’s a partnership. And in one of the most unstable regions in the world, Israel is a democratic ally. That matters.
The Danger of Antisemitism
And we need to be honest about another issue. There is a difference between criticizing Israel and hating Jews. A person can disagree with an Israeli government policy without being antisemitic. But when criticism becomes: “Those Jews.” When Jewish students are harassed because of what happens in Gaza. When Jewish businesses are targeted. When synagogues are threatened. When Jewish people are told they don’t belong. That’s something different. That’s antisemitism. And Christians should have no part in it. History has shown us where antisemitism can lead. We should never forget.
So, let’s return to Judge Altman’s title: Israel on Trial.
I like the title because it forces us to ask a question. If Israel is on trial— who is the jury? Is it social media? Is it television commentators? Is it college protesters? Is it politicians? Is it the United Nations? Or is it evidence? I want evidence to be the jury. I want history to testify. I want archaeology to testify. I want international law to testify. I want the actual record to testify. And then I want every accusation examined. Not because Israel should be above criticism. But because no nation should be condemned without evidence.
PERSONAL WORD: Sometimes doing what is right isn’t complicated. Sometimes it’s simply deciding that you’re not going to turn away. You see somebody hurting. You see somebody being attacked. And you decide: I’m going to stand there.
That’s what I believe America should do with Israel. Not blindly. Not without criticism. But faithfully. Israel doesn’t need America to pretend that Israel is perfect. Israel needs America to remember that friends don’t abandon friends when the situation gets difficult.
THE VERDICT: Israel has a right to exist. The Jewish people have a historic connection to the Land of Israel. The Jewish people and the Palestinians deserve security. Terrorism must be condemned. Innocent civilians must be protected. America should stand with its democratic ally. Christians should reject antisemitism and I believe Christians should take seriously God’s promises concerning Israel.
ONE FINAL THOUGHT: I want to take you back to Jerusalem. Imagine standing on the Mount of Olives. Look across the valley. Look at the ancient walls. And think about everything that has happened there. Empires have risen and fallen. Kings have come and gone. Armies have conquered.Armies have disappeared. But Jerusalem remains. The Jewish people remain. And the story continues. That’s why Israel matters. It matters historically, strategically and morally. And for millions of Christians around the world it matters spiritually.
So, when someone says: “Israel is on trial.”
My answer is: Yes, it is. Let’s have the trial and let the evidence speak.
All the best,
Dennis
PS: Please keep me in your prayers as I head to Poland and to Israel in early November with Christian United For Israel (CUFI) leading a group of pastors to research and study the historical roots of antisemitism. I travelled there last year at this time, was DEEPLY impacted and when the organizers of the trip asked me to step up as the (www.CUFI.org ) state rep for Idaho, I agreed; hence this second trip with many leaders who want to know more about Israel.
PPS: 2027 is right around the corner – and it will be Susan’s and my 50th year of being married!! We are inviting people to join us on a Mediterranean Cruise in late March 2027 and would love to have you join us. It’s a “Footsteps of the Apostle Paul” cruise. We’ll walk where he walked and culminate our trip with four days where Jesus walked in Jerusalem (and other parts of Israel.)
It’s long been on Susan’s “bucket list.” Mine, too. How about you?
Visit www.NextYearJerusalem.com asap and start your journey with us NOW.
PPPS: Click here to purchase the book.
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