In July of 2003, I met Walid Shoebat. I was listening to a live broadcast from Israel National Radio, The Tovia Singer show. This was Walid’s very first interview he had done as an invited guest. While I was listening I knew that he would be an important person to help in exposing the truth to millions if his voice was heard in the mainstream media. I looked his name up on Google and found 15 references with one of the web sites being answering-Islam.org. There I found an article by Walid he had written that included his personal email address placed at the bottom. I wrote to him and said that his voice needs to be heard by the world and I said to him that I would get his message out (semi-bluff at the time).
That was nearly ten years ago. I look back over the last ten years and see the challenges, the hard work, the accomplishments, the major media on which Walid has been an invited guest and all the hundreds of churches, synagogues and civic events at which he has spoken. I look back and ask what has driven me and who inspired me to work so hard to get Walid’s voice heard. Obviously there is the desire that the truth be heard but the odds of a person like me who had no contacts or experience in the media and no major financial assets to purchase that expertise, seemed long indeed.
Early on in my quest to pursue the exposing of truth, an Israeli acquaintance that lived nearby gave me a book. He said I had to read this amazing book. Pierre Van Paassen, who was a famous journalist from the 1920s until his death in 1968, wrote the book “The Forgotten Ally”. His courage to speak the truth would be on par with Walid but in doing more research I found out during that time there was an unsung hero whose name was Hillel Kook aka Peter Bergsen. Bergsen initially came to America from Mandatory Palestine to advance the cause of setting up a Jewish army in Palestine but as he came to be aware of the slaughter of the Jews in Europe he set up a different organization – “the Emergency Committee to Save the Jews of Europe.” The Jewish community leadership during the war was impotent. During the war, they were more afraid of offending President Roosevelt and failed to make strong protests or exert the right pressure to save their brethren in Europe. Not only did they fail to advance the cause but instead used their influence to attack the one man (Peter Bergsen) and his organization who were doing the right thing to help save the Jews.
If you would like to learn more about Peter Bergsen and his work you can get the film “Against the Tide” by clicking here. In many ways the work we do we have faced the same problems and issues as Peter Bergsen. Walid and I have been attacked, our characters defamed and slandered not only by the left-wing media but also by both the Jewish and Christian establishments. We take comfort in the fact that others before us who also fought for justice and truth have faced the same hurdles and we know that if they could do it so can we.
To those who helped us financially last year, we thank you but we also wish to say that the resources you have provided have saved hundreds of lives in Pakistan. The money that you have contributed has literally given the gift of life to other Christians who suffer from persecution. Today, sadly, we are a relatively small organization that is dealing with a gargantuan problem. We decided nearly three years ago to set up the Rescue Christians operation because to our horror, not one other Christian organization in the United States was dealing with this issue. We contacted many other organizations prior to setting up Rescue Christians and all refused to help Christians who were in need of rescue; it’s hard to believe but true. We consulted with our people in Pakistan recently who confirmed that Rescue Christians is the only organization from the USA or internationally, that provides resources to rescue people in need.
This leads us to also mention our people in Pakistan who take the real risk and literally put their lives on the line each day to save the persecuted. Our leader (code-named RW2) was shot twice in one incident last year. They do unbelievable work but they could not have done the work without your contributions. Again, thank you for the blessing of life you have provided.
As 2012 draws to a close, I want to speak in terms of stark reality. I wish to be optimistic and have hope for a better new year in the world but based on what is happening both in our country and internationally, dark clouds are gathering both on the economic front and with respect to the threat of war. As a student of history, it is very obvious our leaders are making the very same mistakes our leaders made in the 1930s, with appeasement being the policy of the day. Israel is facing serious threats and over a hundred million Christians are either facing or are already under the threat of persecution. The Christians in Syria and Iraq face wholesale slaughter with another Armenian genocide quite probable. Christians in Nigeria, Kenya and other parts of Africa are facing increased attacks. In Pakistan, the persecution is also increasing from already high levels. The Copts will face more serious persecution.
On the eve of a new year, please consider making a tax-deductible donation and possibly setting up an affordable monthly pledge, which will automatically debit from your credit or debit card. If we can get thousands of people to part with a small donation each month, we can help perform miracles each day in Pakistan and other countries as we expand. Last year we saved over a hundred people on a tiny budget, next year we will need to save many more.
“To save a life is to save the world.”
Blessings to you and all your families for 2013.
Keith Davies
Executive Director