A Memorable Christian Zionist

Israel has just celebrated her 65^th Birthday and in doing so remembered the amazing work of the early Zionists, the most famous of whom was Theodor Herzl. Herzl a journalist had covered a trial in France involving Captain Alfred Dreyfus a young French artillery officer who in 1894 was wrongly convicted of passing on military secrets. Herzl realised from the anti-Semitic nature of the trial that it was not safe for the Jews of Europe and he began the Zionist movement. 

Herzl wrote;           

We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted to us. In vain are we loyal patriots, sometimes super-loyal. In vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens? In vain do we strive to enhance the fame of our native lands in the arts and sciences, or her wealth by trade and commerce. In our native lands, where we have lived for centuries, we are still decried as aliens, often by men whose ancestors had not yet come, at a time when Jewish sighs had long been heard in the country.

It was clear that after nearly two thousand years God was moving to fulfil His numerous promises that He would gather His people, the Jews, back to The Land of Israel. By doing so it would make sense that He would use, not only Jews to fulfil His promises but also Christians. There were many Christians who helped in the work of re-establishing the state of Israel between 1894 and 1948 none more important than Rev. William Henry Hechler a German Anglican Clergyman who was also a passionate Zionist and who came alongside Herzl in his Zionist vision and supported him in his work.

However I want to remind us all of the amazing contribution to the Zionist movement by Major General Orde Charles Wingate, who was a British Army officer known for creating special military units in Israel during the1930s.Orde Wingate who had spent his early years studying the Old Testament in the Plymouth Brethren was a passionate Zionist and a fully committed Christian. Wingate saw his support and work in the establishment of the state of Israel as both religious and moral and believed in every promise God had made the Jewish people.

In 1936 Wingate became a staff officer for the British Mandate and transferred to Israel where he became an intelligence officer. He saw the creation of a Jewish in Israel as being a religious duty toward the literal fulfilment of prophecy and he immediately put himself into alliance with Jewish political leaders. He later wrote;

“I thought about the Jewish problem and came to the conclusion that the only solution is the Zionist solution. Long before I reached Palestine I knew what the Jews were seeking, understood what they needed, sympathised with their aims, and knew they were right”.

During the few years prior to Wingate’s arrival in Israel the Jewish communities were under constant attack from the Arabs. In 1928 there were 590,000 Arabs living in the land and only 150,000 Jews who worked hard to create a living in the poorest of conditions. These communities were restricted from holding arms and were ill equipped to withstand Arab attacks. By giving you some examples of these Arab attacks you will understand Wingate’s difficulties in fulfilling his duties to both God and his country.

On 23^rd August 1929 a thousand Arabs attacked any Jews who were found in the Old City. The British army refused to allow Jews to arm themselves or to set up any defences. By nightfall on that day 133 Jews had been murdered by the Arab mobs. On 24^th August 1929, 23 Jews were slaughtered in one house in Hebron. Their bodies were dismembered and many other Jews in Hebron were tortured and maimed.   

During the 1030’s, as a result of Hitler gaining power, Jews fled to Israel and the population of Jews in Israel grew, but so did the violence against them and in May 1936 Arabs continued to kill Jews in terrorist attacks. These attacks involved not only the murder of Jews but also the destruction of their homes, crops and orchards. In that one month 21 Jews were killed and 6 Arabs. The Arabs were shot by Police and not one Arab was killed by Jews. In June, 7 Jews were murdered by Arabs who also destroyed 15,000 trees belonging to Jewish communities in an attempt to remove their livelihood. During July, August and September 33 Jews were killed and hundreds injured. The British army killed 100 Arabs who had killed 33 British soldiers. The Palestine Royal Commission reporting on this period wrote regarding the Jews that “under great provocation, they have shown a notable capacity for discipline and self-restraint”.  

You can see the difficulties Wingate faced when he was assigned to Israel but he believed that the poorly equipped Jewish community should be trained in defending itself and he set about training Jews to defend themselves by using guerrilla tactics. Yigal Yadin a future chief of Staff of the Israeli Army described the Jews who defended themselves from Arab attacks prior to Wingate’s input as;

“Amateurs who had little knowledge of the professional side of combat”

Wingate had a great deal to do and wrote;

“I count it as my privilege to help you fight your battle. To that purpose I want to devote my life. I believe that the very existence of mankind is justified when it is based on the moral foundation of the Bible”.

Orde Wingate created special night squads to pre-empt Arab attacks on Jewish communities and in doing so prevented the slaughter of many innocent Jewish communities. There are some who have no Biblical or a Christian understanding of Gods promises to the Jewish people and lack any real knowledge of the of the period who would suggest that Wingate himself was a terrorist but frankly that view is without substance. The truth is that Orde Wingate helped defend the Jewish communities of that period from violent Arab attacks and without men like him many more innocent Jewish men women and children would have been murdered.

The great Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan wrote of Wingate;

“I thought him a genius, an innovator and non-conformist. There were times when he would march on, driven by an iron will. He had an unshakable belief in the Bible. Before going on an action he would read the passage in the Bible relating to the places where he would be operating and finding testimony to our victory-the victory of God and the Jews”.

Between 1936 and 1939 Arab terrorists had murdered over 600 Jews and there can be no doubt at all that without the efforts and vision of Orde Wingate many more would have been murdered.

I want to conclude by saying that Orde Wingate was an amazing man of God who was clearly chosen by God for that very period in the fulfilment of Prophecy concerning the re-establishment of Israel. He was a Christian Zionist who gave God the Glory for his life and his abilities and should be remembered today in that way.

Note; for more information on the History of this period you should read “The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict” by the world’s most renowned historian on such matters Sir Martin Gilbert. ISBN 978-0-415-46029-3 Or,  for a further glimpse at the lives of more Christian Zionist British Military personnel of that period try Yanky Fachlers’s book “2 Lions,6 officers and 750 Mules” ISBN 9781908.417343.

May The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob Bless you.

Michael Fryer

A Memorable Christian Zionist