Excellent article. I'm currently struggling with the ideological separation of what you call "Spiritual Israel" from "Zionist Israel." While I can see the distinction you're making, I'm not sure they are actually independent or divergent. Making a distinction is a bit unsettling for me because it seems like a way to dismiss Israel's crimes and warmongering as a product of "extreme" and/or orthodox factions or Netanyahu himself. I had the same feeling when watching, "The Bibi Files," promoted by Ian Carroll. Seemed like a limited hangout, meant to concentrate responsibility with what is portrayed as a minority.
While clearly some (probably many) people in Israel, including rabbis, are against Israel's military actions and the horrors they cause, the more I learn about the prophecies and what the Torah and Talmud actually says and the more supremacist and hateful stuff I hear from orthodox rabbis and even just your average person on the street, the more problematic I find their collective worldview--secular Jews included.
I actually have it on my idea list to write an article about how it is not possible for a certain group of people to be "chosen" or have a special relationship or covenant with God. That is a fabricated human construct, and the idea that Jews are supposed to be moral leaders is laughable in light of their actions in the real world. My mom has been to Israel and Palestine multiple times over the past several years and always comes back with horror stories about how the Palestinians are treated, even before the most recent events.
I have compassion for the Israelis, who are probably among the most programmed and manipulated people on the planet, who are raised within a construct that demands compliance with an exorbitant array of rules and customs, who feel like they are perpetual victims facing existential threats. Obviously your average Israeli is not directly responsible for the actions of its government, as is true here in the US and everywhere else. But it is seeming to me that it is actually some of the spiritual and cultural foundations that are the root cause problems, making everyone who ascribes to them complicit or culpable in some way. It is why a growing number of my Jewish friends are actually renouncing their culture and religion because they are seeing it for what it really is.
Lest anyone think my only problem is with the Judaic faith, I view all religion as a scourge on the planet, being invented primarily for purposes of control, including the suppression of consciousness.
Thank you for commenting on the post, Carolyn, and for Restacking it. You noted that distinguishing between Spiritual and Zionist Israel (the nation-state) might be seen as a way to dismiss Israel’s crimes and warmongering. I understand that concern and want to clarify why I drew the distinction.
It was to address the profound moral and theological confusion many—including myself—felt after the horrific events of October 7. The brutality of that day--as exemplified by the widely circulated phone recording, “Father, father, I killed 10 Jews…”--and the subsequent and ongoing slaughter in Gaza leaves many struggling to reconcile their view of Israel and its policies with the concept of God’s people.
I sought a way to condemn, rather than dismiss, the actions of the Israeli state without implicating all Israelis--especially those in Orthodox and other groups who oppose such policies (a cohort I refer to as Spiritual Israel).
There are theories circulating that the October 7 attack was a false flag operation, one that Israel allowed to happen. Hamas’ stated motive--invoking Israel’s declared plans to build a Third Temple on Al Aqsa (the Temple Mount)--was central to their “Al Aqsa Flood” campaign.
In a speech 100 days into the war, Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida accused Jews of “bringing red cows” to the Holy Land, referencing the five red heifers from Texas mentioned in my article. This rhetoric suggests that Hamas--and perhaps the broader Ummah--expected Israel to demolish the Dome of the Rock. It also implies that the Temple reconstruction narrative, and its widespread promotion, were probably part of a larger psyop.
Thanks for your response. And apologies if it came across that I was suggesting you were dismissing rather than condemning the current state of affairs. It was not directed at your article specifically but rather emerged from questions about whether we are being encouraged to see the problem as limited to Netanyahu and the government when there are broader enabling trends and factors at play.
No apology necessary. Here’s how I see it. The Middle East war is a difficult and emotionally charged issue. It’s impossible to separate fact from fiction. The overarching globalist objective is the preservation of hegemony. Iran, Russia, and China are obstacles. Accordingly, Israel, as both a nation-state and Western outpost, is charged with M.E. regional destabilization. Ukraine assumes that responsibility vis-a-vis Russia. Ultimately, neither will be successful in preventing some form of shared hegemony.
Dear Toney, For those who wish to delve *deeply* into the Spiritual Israel approach versus Zionism I suggest Rabbi Marvin Antelman's small 2-volume booklets called "To Eliminate the Opiate" (the 'opiate' of the Zionists is God), in which he explains the Marxist, communist mindset of the Zionists and the ultimate goal. The *deeper* yet dive is Rabbi Yaacov Shapiro's "The Empty Wagon" (1k pages of the history, the development, the politics, the aggression, etc., of the movement). Both were very intense reading that totally changed the programming we (I) had received as children....but if one is brave enough to delve into it, these two tomes are a goldmine of information. Blessings to you and your readers and yes, IMHO, God is very real, but Zionism is not about God or Judaism.
Thanks for those recommendations, Sandy! Something like 45% of Israeli Jews are secular and a whopping 86% of the population identify as Zionists. It's interesting to note that in the U.S., there are nearly 10-million Christian Zionists who belong to Christians United for Israel. That's more than the entire population of Israel (9.5 million).
I'm a fan of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (the Rebbe), who passed in 1994. The Rebbe taught that Jews in Israel deserved support and protection, just as Jews everywhere do, but he did not view the state itself as a fulfillment of messianic redemption or as having ultimate religious legitimacy, notions that form the basis for Christian Zionism.
Cognitive dissonance dissipates slowly, I found. On October 7, 2023, I was "Stand by Israel" 100%, as were many others. I was raised Anglican and converted to Catholicism. Even so, I regarded Israel, the nation-state, as fulfillment of prophecy. Perhaps it was. However, that does not immune it to the disease of radical nationalism.
The Mahdi could be seen as a precursor to the second Advent of Jesus, in the same way that John the Baptist preceded Jesus and also identified him, so it will be with the Mahdi. History repeating itself.
The Mahdi will pave the way for the eventual return of Jesus, and Muslims also see Jesus as the Messiah. In this respect, there will be an End-Time alliance between Christians and Muslims. This can be seen in the alliance between Russia and Iran.
The Ad-Dajjal Al Massih (the deceiving Messiah) will be Jewish (with the long side curls of an Orthodox Jew) as the Jews in the time of Jesus rejected him, thus, they are awaiting for their own Messiah.
Actually, a part of me thinks Israel is in the process of trying to hasten the arrival of their Messiah.
Thank you for your very interesting comment, Simon! I appreciate your engagement with the post. Your concluding thought is a case of synchronicity. I was just adding a link to a piece I wrote a year ago on Immanentizing the Eschaton and the Third Temple project. I'll add it here as well since you brought up Israel trying to hasten the arrival of their Messiah (Mashiach).
Just another note to add in regards to the Mahdi/John the Baptist connection - In Islamic belief, they believe Jesus will descended at the Umayyad Masjid (Mosque) in Damascus.
The Umayyad Masjid is allege to have the buried head of John the Baptist.
I believe the Syrian mosque is a destination for both Muslim and Christian pilgrims, likely because of the shrine, as you noted, is said to contain the head of John the Baptist. Thank you for adding this context, Simon.
It's interesting that John the Baptist is mentioned 5 or 6 times in the Quran and the Virgin Mary is mentioned over 30 times, and she is the only woman mentioned in the scripture.
Excellent article. I'm currently struggling with the ideological separation of what you call "Spiritual Israel" from "Zionist Israel." While I can see the distinction you're making, I'm not sure they are actually independent or divergent. Making a distinction is a bit unsettling for me because it seems like a way to dismiss Israel's crimes and warmongering as a product of "extreme" and/or orthodox factions or Netanyahu himself. I had the same feeling when watching, "The Bibi Files," promoted by Ian Carroll. Seemed like a limited hangout, meant to concentrate responsibility with what is portrayed as a minority.
While clearly some (probably many) people in Israel, including rabbis, are against Israel's military actions and the horrors they cause, the more I learn about the prophecies and what the Torah and Talmud actually says and the more supremacist and hateful stuff I hear from orthodox rabbis and even just your average person on the street, the more problematic I find their collective worldview--secular Jews included.
I actually have it on my idea list to write an article about how it is not possible for a certain group of people to be "chosen" or have a special relationship or covenant with God. That is a fabricated human construct, and the idea that Jews are supposed to be moral leaders is laughable in light of their actions in the real world. My mom has been to Israel and Palestine multiple times over the past several years and always comes back with horror stories about how the Palestinians are treated, even before the most recent events.
I have compassion for the Israelis, who are probably among the most programmed and manipulated people on the planet, who are raised within a construct that demands compliance with an exorbitant array of rules and customs, who feel like they are perpetual victims facing existential threats. Obviously your average Israeli is not directly responsible for the actions of its government, as is true here in the US and everywhere else. But it is seeming to me that it is actually some of the spiritual and cultural foundations that are the root cause problems, making everyone who ascribes to them complicit or culpable in some way. It is why a growing number of my Jewish friends are actually renouncing their culture and religion because they are seeing it for what it really is.
Lest anyone think my only problem is with the Judaic faith, I view all religion as a scourge on the planet, being invented primarily for purposes of control, including the suppression of consciousness.
Thank you for commenting on the post, Carolyn, and for Restacking it. You noted that distinguishing between Spiritual and Zionist Israel (the nation-state) might be seen as a way to dismiss Israel’s crimes and warmongering. I understand that concern and want to clarify why I drew the distinction.
It was to address the profound moral and theological confusion many—including myself—felt after the horrific events of October 7. The brutality of that day--as exemplified by the widely circulated phone recording, “Father, father, I killed 10 Jews…”--and the subsequent and ongoing slaughter in Gaza leaves many struggling to reconcile their view of Israel and its policies with the concept of God’s people.
I sought a way to condemn, rather than dismiss, the actions of the Israeli state without implicating all Israelis--especially those in Orthodox and other groups who oppose such policies (a cohort I refer to as Spiritual Israel).
There are theories circulating that the October 7 attack was a false flag operation, one that Israel allowed to happen. Hamas’ stated motive--invoking Israel’s declared plans to build a Third Temple on Al Aqsa (the Temple Mount)--was central to their “Al Aqsa Flood” campaign.
In a speech 100 days into the war, Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida accused Jews of “bringing red cows” to the Holy Land, referencing the five red heifers from Texas mentioned in my article. This rhetoric suggests that Hamas--and perhaps the broader Ummah--expected Israel to demolish the Dome of the Rock. It also implies that the Temple reconstruction narrative, and its widespread promotion, were probably part of a larger psyop.
I took it seriously at the time and even wrote a piece about it: https://open.substack.com/pub/rationalspirituality/p/immanentizing-the-eschaton-featuring?r=g6u5j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
P.S. "A History of God," by Karen Armstrong, a former nun and an academic, is a book I believe you'd enjoy.
Thanks for your response. And apologies if it came across that I was suggesting you were dismissing rather than condemning the current state of affairs. It was not directed at your article specifically but rather emerged from questions about whether we are being encouraged to see the problem as limited to Netanyahu and the government when there are broader enabling trends and factors at play.
No apology necessary. Here’s how I see it. The Middle East war is a difficult and emotionally charged issue. It’s impossible to separate fact from fiction. The overarching globalist objective is the preservation of hegemony. Iran, Russia, and China are obstacles. Accordingly, Israel, as both a nation-state and Western outpost, is charged with M.E. regional destabilization. Ukraine assumes that responsibility vis-a-vis Russia. Ultimately, neither will be successful in preventing some form of shared hegemony.
Dear Toney, For those who wish to delve *deeply* into the Spiritual Israel approach versus Zionism I suggest Rabbi Marvin Antelman's small 2-volume booklets called "To Eliminate the Opiate" (the 'opiate' of the Zionists is God), in which he explains the Marxist, communist mindset of the Zionists and the ultimate goal. The *deeper* yet dive is Rabbi Yaacov Shapiro's "The Empty Wagon" (1k pages of the history, the development, the politics, the aggression, etc., of the movement). Both were very intense reading that totally changed the programming we (I) had received as children....but if one is brave enough to delve into it, these two tomes are a goldmine of information. Blessings to you and your readers and yes, IMHO, God is very real, but Zionism is not about God or Judaism.
Thanks for those recommendations, Sandy! Something like 45% of Israeli Jews are secular and a whopping 86% of the population identify as Zionists. It's interesting to note that in the U.S., there are nearly 10-million Christian Zionists who belong to Christians United for Israel. That's more than the entire population of Israel (9.5 million).
I'm a fan of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (the Rebbe), who passed in 1994. The Rebbe taught that Jews in Israel deserved support and protection, just as Jews everywhere do, but he did not view the state itself as a fulfillment of messianic redemption or as having ultimate religious legitimacy, notions that form the basis for Christian Zionism.
Cognitive dissonance dissipates slowly, I found. On October 7, 2023, I was "Stand by Israel" 100%, as were many others. I was raised Anglican and converted to Catholicism. Even so, I regarded Israel, the nation-state, as fulfillment of prophecy. Perhaps it was. However, that does not immune it to the disease of radical nationalism.
The Mahdi could be seen as a precursor to the second Advent of Jesus, in the same way that John the Baptist preceded Jesus and also identified him, so it will be with the Mahdi. History repeating itself.
The Mahdi will pave the way for the eventual return of Jesus, and Muslims also see Jesus as the Messiah. In this respect, there will be an End-Time alliance between Christians and Muslims. This can be seen in the alliance between Russia and Iran.
The Ad-Dajjal Al Massih (the deceiving Messiah) will be Jewish (with the long side curls of an Orthodox Jew) as the Jews in the time of Jesus rejected him, thus, they are awaiting for their own Messiah.
Actually, a part of me thinks Israel is in the process of trying to hasten the arrival of their Messiah.
Thank you for your very interesting comment, Simon! I appreciate your engagement with the post. Your concluding thought is a case of synchronicity. I was just adding a link to a piece I wrote a year ago on Immanentizing the Eschaton and the Third Temple project. I'll add it here as well since you brought up Israel trying to hasten the arrival of their Messiah (Mashiach).
https://open.substack.com/pub/rationalspirituality/p/immanentizing-the-eschaton-featuring?r=g6u5j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thank you, Toney ☺️
Just another note to add in regards to the Mahdi/John the Baptist connection - In Islamic belief, they believe Jesus will descended at the Umayyad Masjid (Mosque) in Damascus.
The Umayyad Masjid is allege to have the buried head of John the Baptist.
I believe the Syrian mosque is a destination for both Muslim and Christian pilgrims, likely because of the shrine, as you noted, is said to contain the head of John the Baptist. Thank you for adding this context, Simon.
It's interesting that John the Baptist is mentioned 5 or 6 times in the Quran and the Virgin Mary is mentioned over 30 times, and she is the only woman mentioned in the scripture.