A Letter to Australia’s Leader of the Opposition that was also sent to the Prime Minister & Foreign Affairs Minister

By Terence Carpener

Wherever I stand,
                              I stand with Israel                                                                                                         KOINONIA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Geraldine & Terence Carpenter

GOULBURN NSW 258

Peter Dutton MP
Leader of the Opposition
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

JERUSALEM – ISRAEL’S ETERNAL CAPITAL CITY

Dear Mr Dutton.

I wish to comment on the latest Government decision concerning Jerusalem. Unfortunately due to the complexity of the matter, a brief response would not cover what I consider to be some of the key issues.

The announcement on Tuesday 18^th October last by Senator Penny Wong, Australia’s Foreign Minister, that the Australian Government would revoke former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to move our Australian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, is, I believe illogical, unfounded, uninformed, naïve and foolish. Senator Wong stated in her announcement that i.a.to proceed with our Embassy in Jerusalem was/is ‘…out of step with the majority of the international community…’ (sic.). There are 2 potentially conflicting issues to ponder on ‘the majority’…who says the majority are fully informed of the relevant facts? Secondly, the 2021 Australian Census identified 43.9% of Australians themselves as being ‘Christian’, the largest identified group stating their ‘Religion’. However, in the following I will endeavour to demonstrate that the ‘Christian’ viewpoint is the correct position concerning Jerusalem as being the Eternal Capital of Israel.

Firstly, there are 2 sources of information regarding Israel that clarify the dilemma experienced by many people: (1) The historical perspective, and (2) the Biblical perspective.

• Historical – In the period 740 – 720 BC the Jewish people in the ‘Northern Kingdom of Israel’ were taken into exile by the Assyrians. Then in 586 BC the Babylonians, having overrun the Assyrians, took the Southern Kingdom (Judea) captive. In 550 BC the Persian Empire overran the Babylonians until circa 500 BC when many of the ‘captives’ were allowed to return to Israel, re-establishing an active ‘Jewish‘ society. NOTE: When both the Assyrians and Babylonians took the Jews ‘captive’, they always left a behind remnant, generally the elder people and children….There has always been a Jewish presence in Israel. Then came the Greeks under Alexander the Great followed by the Romans, all ‘ruling’ over the Jews living in Israel, with Jerusalem being the undivided capital of the nation. It should be noted that, with the exception of the Persians, all those other nations that harassed the Jews declined and disappeared.

Following the embarrassing prolonged battle between the Roman Army and Jewish Zealots in Israel  132 – 135 AD, in 135 AD Emperor Hadrian changed the names of the various regions of Galilee, Judea, Samaria, Idumea, The Decapolis and Perea to ‘Philistina’ (Philistina – translated ‘Palestine’ in English) as an insult to the Jewish people, remembering the long term aggression of the Philistines towards the Jewish people. Unfortunately that ‘name’ has stuck in the minds of too many people. Emperor Hadrian also changed the name of the capital – ‘Jerusalem’ to ‘Alia Capitolina (Alia being one of Hadrian’s given names). With the passage of a short period of time, that ‘new’ name was dropped and the name Jerusalem was restored….and remains today as the name of the Eternal Capital State of Israel.

Moving along to recent periods of time several nations have experienced financial and other challenges following biased and false reporting against Israel. To name just a few lesser known examples:

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Prior to, during and following WW2, the various governments of the UK placed severe restrictions on the migration of Jews from Germany causing added grief and suffering for the Jews. Additionally from 1922 to 1948 several British Governments actively trained and armed Israel’s surrounding Arab nations. The former ‘British Empire’ fell apart as a consequence of the treatment of successive British Governments towards the Jews.
• France. Due to the involvement of France during WW2 in supporting the removal of Jews to the concentration camps and death chambers, France has experienced periods of civil unrest and economic problems, generally favouring Moslems over Jews for employment.
• New Zealand. During the 1970’s with Britain joining the Common Market, New Zealand lost their major lamb export market. They turned to Arab countries to continue their considerable source of foreign income. However the Arab nations demanded that the meat be treated following hallal slaughter practices. Many farmers objected to this process and consequently lost these market and experienced financial loss…pandering to the Moslems?
• Former Soviet Union. Following the repression of Jews living in the former Soviet Union over several centuries, the ‘mighty’ Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991.
• United States of America. In 2005 President Bush encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to surrender the Gaza Region to the Palestinians as a ‘peace initiative’. Instead of peace Israel now have a hotbed of violence perpetrated by Hamas and their terrorist partners in crime. Shortly following the forced evacuation of the Jewish farmers from Gaza, Hurricane Katrina devastated many areas of Florida resulting in 1,800 deaths and costing the US economy in excess of USD 125 million. The lesson – ‘Don’t interfere with Israel!’
• Israel and Arab neighbours. The 1948 War of Independence was initiated by 7 surrounding Arab nations (generally armed and trained by Great Britain), despite Israel losing some of the land determined by the Balfour Declaration (1917), the San Remo Conference 1920, the 1922 Sykes/Picot Agreement and the decision of the United Nations in 1947 ended with tenuous ‘armistice’ in 1949. Israel lost the regions of Judea, Samaria and the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel was attacked by up to 7 Arab Armies in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1992 and 2006 (not including the ongoing terrorism perpetrated by Hamas and Iran’s other proxies). In each and every instance the Israeli Defence Forces defeated the attacking Arabs. Admittedly in 1967 the Israeli Air Force initiated the attack of Egypt’s air force bases, but this was in response to provocation by Egypt’s President Nasser.
• In 1798 during his ‘Egyptian incursion’, Napoleon determined that the Jews should be given a homeland in their former land, at the time known as ‘Palestine’.
• In 1894 as a result of the ‘Dreyfus Affair’, Austrian journalist Theodore Herzl took up the initiative to establish a safe homeland for the Jewish people scattered around the world in a meeting in Basle in 1897…history tells the rest of the story!
• With the influx of Jews to ‘Palestine’, they diligently worked to restore the neglected and swamp land and thence commenced a significant agricultural/horticultural endeavour. This new opportunity for employment attracted Arabs from the region to migrate to the newly developed properties – hence an increase in the Arab population in ‘Palestine’.
• Biblical – The preamble of the Australia Constitution unambiguously states :

WHEREAS the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania,

humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God,…

I believe that this Preamble of our Constitution was/is still in force on/from 18^th October 2022.

I frequently ponder how Members and Senators respond when at the commencement of each day’s proceedings in the House and the Senate when the Speaker/President open with the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. I wonder how you personally respond (not a rhetorical question)? What do you understand by the words and Person of ‘Almighty God’?  The Christian Bible clearly states in Paul’s Epistle to the believers in Philippi: ‘…At the name of Jesus (God’s Son), every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father…’.

Independent of the previous ‘declarations’ (Balfour, San Remo, Picot/Sykes and the United Nations) – 77% of the original ‘Palestine’ east of the Jordan River was designated as being a home for the Arab Palestinians and 23% of the original ‘Palestine’ west of the Jordan River to be a home for the Jewish Palestinians. The ‘2 states’ have been in force since 1947! For further reference to the boundaries of Israel and the recognition of Jerusalem, I refer you to the Tanakh (the Jewish Scriptures) and the Christian Bible concerning Israel and Jerusalem: The following is a brief listing of some key Scriptures:

Genesis 12: 1-3: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 15: 18-21: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Genesis 26: 2-5: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you (Isaac) and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Genesis 28: 13 –15: And behold, the LORD stood above it (a ladder reaching up to Heaven) and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

NOTE: The Land was/is ‘covenanted’ to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob –

NOT the descendants of Ishmael and or Esau!

There are numerous other passages in both the Tanakh and the Christian Bible in support of Israel and Jerusalem, but I’ll just leave you with 3:

Psalm 105: 8-11: He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, ⁹ the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. ¹⁰ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ¹¹ “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

Psalm 2: 1 – 6: Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? ² The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together     against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ³ “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” ⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵ He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ⁶ “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” (My emphasis)

Zechariah 12: 1- 5: The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. ⁵ Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

So if the majority of Australians stated in the 2021 Census state that they are ‘Christian’, why should we not support them in recognition of the Christian Bible?

Further, it is recorded several times in the Tanakh and the Christian Bible that Jerusalem will be/is/and forever will be “God’s own City! 2 Chronicles 6: 5 -6 state: ‘Since the day I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over My people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there,…’.

In the interest of Australia being ‘blest’ by Almighty God, recognise Jerusalem as the only Capital of Israel, and the land covenanted to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is Israel. 

I could add a lot more, and would welcome future dialogue on the matter.

For your own edification and that of your Party, I recommend that you arrange for your ‘research officer’ to read the following texts, being just a sample of factual information available on the subject/s of Israel, Jerusalem, the Jewish people and the future of Global events.

The Tanakh (Jewish Scripture)

The Holy Bible

When Day and Night Cease. A prophetic study of world events and how prophecy concerning Israel affects the nations, the Church and you. Ramon Bennett. ISBN 965 90000 0 6

SAGA: Israel and the demise of Nations. Ramon Bennett.

Eye to Eye. Facing the consequence of Dividing Israel. William Koenig ISBN 0 9717347 0 4

The Rebirth and the State of Israel: Is it of God or of Men? Arthur W Kac ISBN 0548449937

ISRALESTINE The Ancient Blueprints of the future Middle East: Bill Salus. ISBN 978 0 981 4957 7 4

For your edification and consideration.

Terence Carpenter

22^nd October 2022

‘As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord’ Joshua 24: 15