By Mark Ellis –
What do these three men and one terror organization have in common, other than each name begins with the letter h?
H does not stand for hell, but in their time, they brought a measure of hell upon the Jewish people. Each represents a thread of antisemitism running through history, from ancient times to the present.
They each sought to perpetrate harm against the Jews. From biblical times to some of the darkest chapters of the 20th century — and the most recent massacre of October 7th — the spirit of antisemitism has shown its ugly face in different forms.
The tale of Haman unfolds in the Book of Esther. Haman, a high-ranking official in the Persian Empire, harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Jewish people, particularly directed toward a man named Mordecai.
Haman’s plan was to annihilate the Jewish population, and he cast lots (purim) to determine the date of this genocidal act. However, his sinister plot was thwarted by the courage and wisdom of Queen Esther, who revealed Haman’s intentions to King Xerxes. The Jews were saved, and Haman faced the consequences of his wicked scheme when he was hanged on the 75-foot-tall gallows he constructed to hang Mordecai.
In the New Testament, Herod the Great, a vassal king appointed by Mark Antony to govern Judea on behalf of the Roman Empire, was responsible for the massacre of Jewish infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate any future threat a newborn king might pose to his (and his family’s) rule.
Haman and Herod were both descendants of Esau (Edomites), which takes us back to the earliest roots of antisemitism:
“Jacob and Esau, who began warring in their mother’s womb, continued their battle throughout history,” noted Jon Courson, in his Application Commentary. “The war began between the sons of Jacob – Israel versus the sons of Esau – the Edomites…we find them still at war in Matthew 2 as a son of Esau, Herod, is trying to slaughter a Son of Jacob, Jesus.”
Hitler: The Face of Modern Antisemitism
The 20th century bore witness to the most egregious and systematic manifestation of antisemitism in the form of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. Hitler’s ideology, described in his twisted diatribe “Mein Kampf,” vilified Jews as the architects of societal ills. The Holocaust stands as a horrific testament to the depths of hatred that can be unleashed when antisemitism takes hold of a nation.
While some have made unproven claims that Hitler had semitic blood, would it be any less shocking to discover his bloodline leading back to the Edomites?
The Nazi regime orchestrated the systematic genocide of six million Jews, perpetrating mass atrocities in concentration and extermination camps. Hitler’s antisemitism was not only ideologically driven but also became a central tenet of state policy, resulting in unimaginable suffering for millions.
The thread between Adolph Hitler and Hamas runs through the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Amin al-Husseini. As early as 1920, he actively opposed Zionism, and led the 1920 Jerusalem riots during the Nebi Musa Easter Festival.
He also was a leader of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine against British rule, and later fled to Nazi Germany where he met with Hitler.
“When Husseini eventually met with Hitler and Ribbentrop in 1941, he assured Hitler that ‘The Arabs were Germany’s natural friends because they had the same enemies… namely the English, the Jews, and the Communists’. Hitler was pleased with him, considering him ‘the principal actor in the Middle East’ and an Aryan because of al-Hussaini’s fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes,” according to Wikipedia.
Husseini died in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1974.
His relative, however, Faisal Abdel Qader Al-Husseini, carried the torch forward, as a founding member of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) in 1959. Later he joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Liberation Army.
“Israel, from 1982 to 1987, repeatedly placed him under house and city arrest. He was imprisoned several times from April 1987 to January 1989, but remained active in the First Intifada,” according to Wikipedia. Faisal Al-Husseini died in 2001.
Today, the Hamas movement, designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, is known for promoting antisemitic ideologies. While Hamas primarily identifies itself as a Palestinian political and militant group, its charter contains language that espouses conspiracy theories and perpetuates stereotypes about the Jewish people.
Hamas’s charter, adopted in 1988, includes references to the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” The document accuses Jews of controlling the media, finance, and global institutions, echoing historical tropes that have fueled antisemitism for centuries.
In leading the October 7th attack against Israel, the full weight of their antisemitic and genocidal furies were unleashed upon the Jews, the most deadly assault since the Holocaust.
The antisemitic spirits that animated Haman, Herod, Hitler, and Hamas can only be fully understood from a biblical perspective.
Why the Jews?
“After failing to destroy the nation that was to give birth to Christ when he came as a babe to Bethlehem, is Satan now attempting to destroy the place (Israel) where he will rule in his Second Coming? I believe so. I believe if a skeptic studies Jewish history, he’ll become a believer, for not only will he see the attempts to destroy God’s people, but also His miraculous power to preserve them,” noted Jon Courson.
