In a recent op-ed piece, Globe and Mail columnist Shira Herzog offered her readers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between Jews, particularly those who have a more conservative outlook on life, and Evangelical Christians.

If I were a Christian, I might have been offended by her remarks. Instead, as an Orthodox Jew, I found them merely comical.

Ms. Herzog clearly hasn’t a clue what she is writing about. She might as well have argued that the bogeyman really does sleep in her closet at night, or that the best cure for malaria really is to use leeches to suck the blood out of those who suffer from that disease. Her grasp of the subject is that weak and her so-called analysis, that child-like.

Evangelical Christians believe the Bible (Genesis 12:3) when it relates God’s promise that He will “bless those who bless thee (Israel) and curse those who curse thee.” To Evangelical Christians it is inconceivable that any of their co-religionists could pray for the blessings of the God of Israel, and then curse His people.

The accusation that evangelical Christians believe Jews will die in the battle of Armageddon is false. As with the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion (a book written by the Russian Czar’s secret police that was used to “prove” a Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world), this fraud is disseminated by ignorant people who believe in it because it conforms to their narrow view of the world, confirms their stereotypical views of committed Christians, and appeases their insecurities.

Christian Scriptures never say the “Jews will die in the battle of Armageddon”. On the contrary, they teach that the Messiah will appear and to do battle for Israel and then set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem for 1,000 years with Christians and Jews. Anyone who takes one hour to read the book of Revelation would know this.

Do Evangelical Christians believe that Jews, like everybody else, will come to recognize that Jesus was and is the Messiah? The answer is yes. But what is conveniently forgotten, or worse, purposely ignored, is that Jews believe the converse, to wit that Christians, along with the entire world, will come to recognize that Jesus was not, and is not the Messiah and more, that the God of Israel is the one true God. We both base our belief on the Biblical statement that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9), which is, by the way, a Jewish prophesy, not a Christian one.

Indeed, if Ms. Herzog was better acquainted with her own professed religion, she would know that most of the apocalyptic prophesies are found in the Tanach – what Christians would call the Old Testament – and that those found in the New Testament have their source in these older Jewish prophesies.

How do Evangelical Christians and committed Jews manage to reconcile these differing theological positions and work together? The answer is that we don’t, nor do we have to.

We have found that if we acknowledge and respect our differences instead of quarreling over them we are able to embrace our commonalities and work together for the common good. (That, in fact, is what true diversity entails, in contrast to the fake diversity of the radical secularist left that has misappropriated the word to justify its campaign to suppress opinions that fail to conform to their own narrow-minded and increasingly narcissistic world view.)

It is this pursuit of the common good – as much as theology – that fuels Evangelical Christian support for Israel and the Jewish people. As a friend of mine insightfully put it: conservatives (I refer here to the philosophy and not the political party) support Israel for the same reason that they support common sense domestic policy – because they are the last repository of the belief that there is such a thing as right and wrong, and that we ought to choose to do right.

It is also our commitment to the common good that informs and motivates our shared desire for sensible domestic policy.

We believe in open, honest, and accountable government, with policies that encourage self-respect and self-reliance, that promote family and community, that protect the weak and vulnerable, that defend freedom, and that embrace and celebrate life in all its forms.

Margaret Thatcher was known to say “I’m always happy when they resort to name calling. It means that they can no longer argue with my policies and the principles from which they are derived.”

If Ms. Herzog and the Globe and Mail believe that support for Israel or a domestic policy agenda that adheres to the principles above are bad for Canada and Canadians, then they should say so and they should say why.

The fact that they don’t is a good sign. It means that in the war of ideas, our side is winning.

No surprise there.