Israel against the World (so what’s new?)
As the World stumbles on into uncertainty, some things – like hatred or indifference towards Israel – are a constant
“The watchman said, ‘The morning comes and also the night…'” (Isa. 21:11b-12a). In Isaiah 60:1-2, the prophet also said, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen on you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but YHWH shall rise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you.” We are in that time when morning, light and glory are shining in and through Israel and the believing remnant, while the prophesied “gross darkness” envelops many outside of God’s kingdom.
Other places in Scripture describe this dichotomy. As plagues came on the Egyptians, the children of Israel were protected (Ex. 8:22; 9:26). On Passover eve, the blood of the lamb protected all who applied it from God’s judgment (Ex. 12:12- 13), while the first-born of both man and animal, those not under the blood, died (Ex. 12:29). At the Red Sea, God’s presence between the Egyptians and the Israelites was “a cloud of darkness” to Egypt, yet gave light to His people (Ex. 14:19-20).
Paul tells us to expect such a separation in these last days and that we, the children of light, should not be taken by surprise as we see the gross darkness overtaking the world (1 Thess. 5:1-9). Take heed to what the Spirit says: “You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night, or of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober-minded.” (1 Thess. 5:5-6) This is an echo of our Lord’s command when we know He is at the door: “Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is.” (Mark 13:33).
The Bible – Israel’s land deed
It’s an answer to prayer when we read of Israeli officials using God’s Word to support Israel’s right to this land! What better place to hear it than in the world’s “lion den” – the UN. In April, when asked at a special UN Security Council session, to source the Jewish link to its land, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said, “the Bible, history, international law, and the pursuit of international peace and security.“
Then he donned a kippah [skull-cap], opened the Bible and read aloud God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants throughout the generations for an everlasting covenant, and I will give to you and your descendants all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.” He raised the Bible and told the council, “This is the deed to our land… From the book of Genesis to the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt to receiving Torah on Mt. Sinai, and to the realization of God’s covenant in the holy land of Israel, the Bible paints a consistent picture,” of the Jewish people’s connection to the land of Israel.
Danon said Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all “affirm” this connection, adding, “Real peace will be possible when these four pillars are realized. 1) Palestinians must accept and recognize the Jewish State of Israel; 2) Palestinians must end their campaign of incitement; 3) Regional cooperation; 4) Israel will never compromise our security.” (“‘…Israel’s Ambassador takes out Bible at UN to prove Jewish People’s claim to Israel,” CBN News, 1 May 2019)
His “biblical speech” went viral on social media and YouTube, translated to Spanish, Polish, French, Portuguese and Turkish. On Israel’s Independence Day, CNN asked Danon about this. He said, “The speech has resonated” because of the truth of Israel’s “eternal connection” to its land.
Asked about “peace”, he clarified that the 1948 armistice lines at the end of the Independence War are not international borders, and the Arabs even demanded that these lines “not be permanent borders.” Thus Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, aka. ‘the West Bank’, do not cross international borders. “They are built on strategic land for Israel’s security,” and as per the Oslo Accords, will be dealt with as final status issues.
He said the Arab chose violence before any settlements were built. The PLO was established in 1964, before the Six Day War of 1967. ‘What did they need to liberate before 1967? In 1964, not a single settlement existed in Judea and Samaria, and our right to exist was still rejected‘. (“Israeli Ambassador’s ‘Bible speech’ at UN goes viral,” JP, 18 May 2019)
In July, Israeli Prime Minister [PM] Bibi Netanyahu tweeted links to a DNA study proving that the biblical Philistines were from southern Europe, thus not linked to today’s Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority [PA] said he was lying and trying to erase the “national existence of the Palestinian people in its homeland,” and was turning a “political conflict into a conflict of a religious and ethnic nature.” (“PA outraged by Netanyahu’s statement,” Arutz 7, 9 July 2019) Yet the PA has been doing this for decades.
“Peace, peace – yet no peace” (Jer. 6:14; 8:11)
The world still demands “peace” between a disillusioned Israeli nation which has tried peace and received blood literally running in its streets, and an intransigent Palestinian leadership whose idea of “peace” is Islamic: if everyone submits to Allah then there is ‘peace’. Yet the proIsraeli US administration still aims for President Trump’s peace “deal of the century.” But this is God’s land and woe to those foolishly thinking they can do what they want with it (Lev. 25:23).
Ben-Dror Yemini recalls that J. Kerry, ex-President Obama’s Secretary of State, claimed “poverty leads to terror.” Just give them money and terrorism fades away. Unfortunately the Trump peace team’s recent moves prove nothing has changed. In June’s “Peace to Prosperity” economic summit in Bahrain, Jared Kushner, head of the US team, pushed that same failed policy, although intelligent people should know “this is an illusion.” Most poor people do not choose terror, while many Muslim terrorists are not poor.
Yemini says “brainwashing and incitement” have more of an impact than “money and prosperity…Kerry’s mistake was in his theory regarding poverty and terror.” Is Kushner repeating that same mistake? (“Kushner is repeating the same mistake,” B. Yemini, Arutz 7 Op-ed, 22 June 2019).
Israeli Arab Khaled Abu Toameh said, “The Palestinians are now incensed with Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states for agreeing to attend” that US-led conference whose goal is to help them build a prosperous and viable society by encouraging $50 billion worth of investments. Yet the PA boycotted that meeting, and rejected the plan, calling it a “‘bribe’ to entice Palestinians to relinquish their ‘national rights’.” While their rejection was no surprise, “their strong condemnations” of Arab nations who did attend is “an indication of the disdain in which the Palestinians hold Arab leaders and governments.”
PA President Abbas’ Fatah faction, said any who attend will be seen as “a traitor,” and called the Arab streets to protest in front of their nations’ Bahrain embassies. By inciting Arabs against their leaders, the PA redirected their attacks on “Trump and his ‘Zionist’ advisers, Kushner, Greenblatt and US Ambassador to Israel, Friedman,” towards Arab heads of state whom they see as “in collusion” with Israel and with Trump.
Yet at the same time, the PA begged “Arab states for financial aid.” So they condemn Arab nations “for attending a conference aimed at boosting the Palestinian economy and improving living conditions,” yet with blatant audacity they beg the same Arab nations for urgently needed finances, asking for $100 million monthly “to help them ‘face the political and financial pressure’ from Israel and the US administration…“
Abu Toameh says the Palestinians realize “key Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE, are no longer prepared to wait for them” and have chosen to move on with a plan of “prosperity and economic opportunities for both Palestinians and Arabs.” The Bahrain conference could see a “divorce” between Palestinians and the Arabs who have priorities other than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “such as the Iran threat and their own new economic uncertainty…” (“Palestinians & the Bahrain Conference: Condemning Arabs while asking for Arab money,” K. Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 24 June 2019).
University of Cincinnati political science professor, Abraham H. Miller, writes that history proves the Arab/Israeli conflict “is not about territory, boundaries, or finances…The Arab/Israeli conflict is about one thing: Jews.”
In 1948 when Jordan seized Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), there was no Arab outrage. Although this “land grab was illegal,” Jordan was not demonized for preventing a Palestinian state. “There were no demonstrations” to free ‘Palestine’. “Jordan is a Muslim country that took over another Muslim entity.”
The root of the problem is that Israel is a Jewish state. “Under hardline interpretations of Islamic law, land, once Islamic, is Islamic forever.” Muslim fundamentalists see “Israel’s very existence [as] unacceptable, non-negotiable, and forever a mark of shame in a culture of honor.” As Bin Laden once said, “We request of Allah …that the umma [Islamic nation] regain its honor and prestige, and raise again the unique flag of Allah on all stolen Islamic land, from Palestine to Andalusia [Spain].”
From the late 1930s the Arabs have consistently said no to the existence of a Jewish State on “Islamic” land. After the Six Day War, Israel was willing to negotiate some of the territories it conquered. The Arabs met in Khartoum, and declared, “No negotiations, no recognition, and no peace.”
Arafat and Abbas both rejected offers to create a Palestinian state. Their real goal was, and still is, “the elimination of the Jewish state, either by a war of attrition,” or by insisting on the “right to return” of four generations of “refugees”. (“The ‘Deal of the Century,’ D.O.A.,” A. H. Miller, Daily Wire, 26 June 2019)
We thought Israel had a new government
It seemed like God answered our prayers; yet, in His wisdom, a government was not formed. It is God who sets up kings and brings them down (Dan. 2:21; 4:25b). So why did He not allow a Netanyahu/Likud led government to be formed? We just do not know. Israel’s next national election was on September 17th. Continue to ask God to give Israel a government by which He can be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3). IFI’s weekly prayer alerts inform you of what we are hearing the Lord say to us as we pray in Zion (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Join us! [Sign up at www.ifi.org.il]
While Bibi failed to form a coalition, yet what Mati Tuchfeld wrote is still true. “The fundamental reason” Israelis see him as the best choice to lead this nation “is purely ideological.” He is the first leader in decades to make Israel “a force to be reckoned with on the diplomatic stage.” He has done this without holding any land-for-peace talks, proving “the Left’s paradigm that peace talks are key to diplomatic stature,” is just wrong. (“A victory for the Netanyahu paradigm,” M. Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 13 Apr. 2019).
By his faithfulness to guard Israel’s security, and in answer to many prayers for him, God has honored Netanyahu to be a major voice on today’s world’s stage (at the time of writing Ed) – able to stand between Trump and Putin and talk honestly with both.
Iran’s dark shadow over the ME
As we write, tension in the Persian Gulf region simmers. Iran makes aggressive moves, expecting the West to fear another ME war and refrain from responding. So far this is correct – and all this is before Iran has nuclear weapons!
Israel is the only nation resisting Iran’s aggression militarily. It has no choice but to continue to fight Iran’s declared threats to its existence. But when Iran is no longer the world’s terrorist bully, will the world turn on Israel, blaming it for a ‘disproportionate’ military response in places like Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, where Iranian proxies wait for the order to attack the Jews?
Harvard scholar, Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist and expert on Islam and US Foreign Policy, wrote that critics of Trump’s policy towards Iran condemned him for re-imposing sanctions, believing the most “effective policy” to deal with Iran’s Shi’ite leaders is to entice them: “in other words, appeasement.”
Yet “appeasement policies” were used during Obama’s eight-year presidency, and what was the result? As Obama removed sanctions, Iran received “global legitimacy” with most nations, which created “billions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s military institution, the [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as for Iran’s militia and terror groups.” Tehran used this money to expand its ME influence, in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.
Trump’s critics against his harsh Iranian policy are just “dead wrong.” US sanctions have “imposed significant pressure on the Iranian government to such an extent that” it cut funding “to their allies, militia and terror groups.” Iran’s President Rouhani admitted the Islamic Republic is suffering its “worst economic crisis” since its 1979 creation, thanks to US sanctions. This negatively impacts Iran’s “efforts to fund and sponsor terrorist and militia groups across the region”. (“The US sanctions on Mullahs are working,” M. Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute, 27 Apr. 2019)
Marking Israel’s Holocaust
Remembrance Day at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial museum, Netanyahu said Iran is always threatening Israel, so Israel uses military means to block “Iran’s attempts to entrench itself militarily near our border…Contrary to what occurred during the Holocaust, we are capable and intent on protecting ourselves…To those who wish us ill, I say in this of all places, we have returned to the historical stage…We have defeated our enemies before and God willing we’ll beat you too”. (“In Holocaust memorial address, PM denounces ‘systematic vilification’ of Israel,” TOI, 1 May 2019).