Judith Mendelsohn Rood

Jewish Christian Author, Consultant, Professor Emerita Biola University ME Studies. VP The Blackstone Center on Facebook.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Since writing my book, I occasionally get invited to do events at bookstores, which I decline. After declining an offer to do so today, the owner of a Christian, veteran owned bookstore wrote back, “I completely understand that you are on a tight budget right now, and that's perfectly okay. I simply wanted you to know that we took the time to study your book and its message, and it genuinely stood out to us among the many books we review. What caught our attention was not only the subject matter, but also the sincerity, conviction, and purpose behind your writing.”

Later, he wrote, “You know what I love most about your book?”

“The message that even in the midst of war and unimaginable tragedy, faith can transform ashes into beauty. That perspective really resonated with me because it reminds readers that God's grace and redemption can still shine through even the darkest moments.”

What a gift.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

https://t.co/u5qlkxoaIA

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

It is important to understand and repudiate the Islamist project embraced by Mamdani and his ilk. My book shows that October 7 & 9/11 are both the poisoned fruit of the Muslim Brotherhood’s twisted anti-Western post colonialist ideology. https://t.co/lAaUbmQuui

[Amir Tsarfati @beholdisrael]

I believe the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people that we are witnessing today - even among people who identify as Christians and politically conservative - is the result of several things coming together at the same time.

First, we have witnessed an extraordinarily effective information and influence campaign on social media, particularly among younger generations. Platforms such as TikTok have allowed emotionally charged, historically distorted, and sometimes completely false narratives about Israel to spread at enormous speed.

Complex history has been reduced to slogans. Images are stripped of context. Lies are repeated until they are accepted as facts. And an entire generation that often knows very little about the Bible, Jewish history, or the history of the Middle East is being discipled by an algorithm.

Then came the podcasters and influencers.

Once well-known and trusted voices began repeating some of these narratives, they gave them a stamp of approval. Ideas and accusations that would once have been immediately recognized as antisemitic, conspiratorial, or historically false suddenly became acceptable in circles where they previously would have been rejected.

And then political forces recognized an opportunity.

Politicians, governments, and movements discovered that hostility toward Israel could generate attention, followers, votes, and political support. Israel became an easy target because attacking it carries enormous political currency in certain constituencies.

But as a Bible believer, I believe there is something much deeper behind all of this.

Above all of it, I believe we are witnessing a dark spiritual cloud gathering around Israel and the Jewish people.

The Bible tells us that behind what we see taking place in the physical world there is also a spiritual battle:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12

This is why I don’t believe we can explain what is happening merely through politics.

How do people who claim to believe the Bible suddenly embrace ideas that fundamentally contradict what their own Bible teaches concerning Israel and the Jewish people?

How do people who call themselves Christians find themselves repeating some of the same accusations against the Jewish people that have followed them for centuries?

A major part of the answer is biblical illiteracy, bad teaching, and complete ignorance concerning God’s purposes for Israel.

For generations, many Christians have not been taught the whole counsel of God concerning Israel. Some have been taught, directly or indirectly, that God is finished with Israel, that the church has replaced Israel, and that the promises God made to the Jewish people have somehow been transferred to someone else.

Yet Paul could not have been clearer:

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Romans 11:29

And God Himself said:

“For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”

Malachi 3:6

Political conservatism is no protection against biblical ignorance.

Calling yourself a Christian is no substitute for knowing the Word of God.

If your worldview is being formed more by TikTok, your favorite podcaster, or your political movement than by Scripture, eventually you can find yourself opposing the very things God says He will accomplish.

And this brings me to something I believe is extremely important:

Israel is a test - and many are failing it.

Throughout Scripture, God reveals what is in the hearts of individuals and nations by how they respond to what belongs to Him - His Word, His purposes, His people, and His land.

[U.S. Central Command @CENTCOM]

🚫 CLAIM: Over the past 48 hours, multiple media outlets have reported several false claims related to USS Abraham Lincoln's (CVN 72) deployment to the Middle East. One report alleged seven Sailors died in a brawl aboard the aircraft carrier and others have recently suggested a spike in suicidal ideations. These reports are FALSE. 

✅ FACT: USS Abraham Lincoln has maintained among the highest crew reenlistment rates (84.4%) of all aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy. The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended. No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one Sailor who fell overboard Aug. 3 was quickly and safely recovered. The rampant misreporting on Abraham Lincoln's historic deployment is a disservice to our men and women in uniform and their loved ones.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Lindsey Graham is an American Hero. Today is the anniversary of the death of Alexander Hamilton. I bet they’re talking together, now. May we all experience the depth of their faith. Here’s a draft of a chapter in my forthcoming book. https://t.co/tu0B0mQDo3

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Deeply saddened to lose this great man. Sincere condolences to his family, the people of South Carolina, and all who mourn him. May his legacy of bold leadership and moral clarity inspire the next generation of Americans. Rest in peace, Senator — you will be greatly missed.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@tomweg I thought it was an acronym!

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@tomweg What does Aftab mean?

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@MarioNawfal Maybe partly because of the terrible writing out there! People want to read for enjoyment and to learn. It’s an art. But so much writing today is uninspiring and wrong-headed. Publishers have lost their way. Garbage is choking readers who are hungry for meat, not milk.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Tyndale New Testament

The invention of the printing press in 1454 stimulated the beginnings of mass literacy. The printing press would eliminate copyist errors and make the Scriptures more easily available in quantity editions.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Tyndale New Testament

After the Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople, Greek language studies of the classics increased in Europe, and the Scriptures began to be studied in the original Greek rather than the Latin Vulgate.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Tyndale New Testament

In May, 1453, the Ottomans stormed Constantinople. The sparks that flew because of the hammer of war soon ignited a reawakening in the West that would spread to the Americas in 1492. Modern history had begun.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@BishopBarron @JDVance I pray you have helped him understand theological antisemitism and introduced him to the wonderful work of the Catholics writing about Israel and Jews in Catholic theology. It is very inspiring to hear you and them speaking against the terrible thinking of Tucker and Candace.

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@marcorubio Love you Marco but couldn’t you have included women? We need to do better, Republicans! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🎇🧨🎊🧨🎆🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Ted Cruz @tedcruz]

Spectacular! 🇺🇸���🇸🇺🇸

[Dirk Varkenshuid @kosherronin]

@VerminusM The rescue of Fawzia Sido from Gaza.
https://t.co/om9QBWxkr0

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

@GadSaad Is this satire? Sadly it’s all too believable!

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

For June 26, 2026. https://t.co/xGyH5wWldN

[Judith Mendelsohn Rood @ProfJMRood18]

A Review of Judith Mendelsohn Rood’s ‘Beauty for Ashes’

In the wake of the tragic events of October 7th and the  Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, the contemporary public succumbed to a battle of competing narratives. Rather than fostering clarity, the media and commentators often relied on simplistic, black-and-white rhetoric from the outside looking in, which ignored historical and cultural context.
Into this fog steps Dr. Judith Mendelsohn Rood with her seminal work, *Beauty for Ashes: Understanding the Israel-Hamas War: Volume One and Volume Two. Written from a deeply committed Judeo-Christian perspective, Rood’s book is a timely insider deep analysis. It is a profound and indispensable guide that lifts the fog of war to reveal the deep historical, religious, and human roots of this ongoing conflict.

What immediately distinguishes *Beauty for Ashes* from the modern landscape of political commentary is the unparalleled scholarly and personal authority that Rood brings. As an academic historian who conducted research in the Islamic Court archives in Jerusalem, Rood possesses a command of source materials across linguistic and cultural divides. Her analysis is reinforced by lived experience alongside the search for knowledge of Israelis, Palestinian Muslims, and Christians. Her journey equips her to dismantle secular narratives that mistakenly ignore religious thought.
At the center of Rood’s thesis is the introduction of a "generous theology of history." She connects the contemporary geopolitical landscape with the religious promises of the Jewish people's return to the holy land.
Rood honors Biblical scripture and covenantal promises without weaponizing them against the other. Her framework respects those—whether Christians, Jews, or Muslims—who do not share her philosophy of history. She sets a vital example that a biblical worldview should not be used as an excuse for indifference or cruelty toward human suffering.
Furthermore, Beauty for Ashes catalyzes reconciliation. Writing at a historical moment marked by a global rise in anti-Semitism, Rood challenges future generations of Christians and Muslims to reignite Holocaust studies in defense of historical truth. This does not come at the expense of Palestinian humanity. Instead, Rood models a dual heart of flesh that holds the traumas of both communities, fostering compassion and shared humanity.
Beauty for Ashes functions as an educational tool for peace and reconciliation. Rood urges her readers to engage their intellect alongside their hearts. She offers optimism, hope, and a plea to extricate both communities from the devastating cycle of hatred and revenge by heeding Yeshua’s command to love one's enemies. Beauty for Ashes is an academic scholarship that will be an essential resource to scholars trying to understand this complex conflict.