MIDEAST UPDATE: 11.5.16 - Cursing and Robbing Israel

Cursing and Robbing Israel - Alf Cengia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8331

 

It seems this world is forever cursing and robbing Israel in some way or other.

 

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Gen 12:3

 

Perhaps it's just me, but the King James language's authoritative tone captures this warning better than most translations.

 

While Gen 12:3 is a favorite of those who love Israel, it rubs non-premillennialists the wrong way. See my previous article Blessing and Cursing Israel. I'm re-addressing the topic and chosen a stronger title this time around. I believe the subject warrants it.

 

First of all I want to mention the UNESCO Jewish-history-denial farce. I searched for stronger words to use: charade, sham, travesty etc. Farce fits nicely. The United Nations Organization is knowingly robbing Israel of its history.  There's a mountain of archeological and historical evidence supporting Jewish history and UNESCO is fully aware of it.

 

What motivates this flagrant denial, aside from kowtowing to Islam? At its root level, it is anti-Semitism. Mitch Glaser rounds up the driving force behind anti-Semitism very well:

 

Why has there been such widespread Jew hatred throughout history? And why have the Jewish people been singled out? The reason is theological. To put it simply, [anti-Semitism] is the most critical arena of spiritual warfare there is... [It] has one cause - Satan. Israel plays a crucial role in God's redemptive plan for the world. Therefore, Satan seeks to thwart God's plan by concentrating his efforts on destroying the Jewish people. (Emphases mine)

 

Ironically, UNESCO's activism is likely to provoke Israel to embrace the very history the UN wants to cover up. Could Jews also react by striving harder for a future Temple? I think we may be seeing indications of this already.

 

Returning to theology: there have been innovative approaches aimed at rejecting the notion that Gen 12:3 refers to Israel. It bothers supersessionists and doesn't sit well with pro-Palestinian anti-Zionist activism.

 

Objectors insist that Gen 12:3 points to Jesus Christ by citing Gal 3:16. They mention Deut 28, which contains warnings to Israel regarding disobedience. They stress that Israel's blessings are conditional. They'll cite Romans 2:11 noting there is no partiality with God. In other words, Israel blew it for all time by disobeying God and rejecting the Messiah.

 

I appreciate the deep Christology of our Reformed brothers. They capably defend the inerrancy of the Bible; the doctrine of the Trinity, God's sovereignty, election, grace and mercy. Yet they've dropped the ball when it comes to God's eternal promises to ethnic Israel. They've shut these inside a padlocked chest and labeled it "Fulfilled in Christ."

 

Progressive Covenantalist, Stephen Wellum claims the Abrahamic land promise finds fulfillment in Christ and in the new heaven and earth. A reformed pastor (who I greatly respect) remarked that there's nothing special about physical Jerusalem - probably because of the recent UNESCO debacle in the media.

 

They're both wrong.

 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you." Psalm 122:6

 

Physical Jerusalem is important to God. Forms of the word Jerusalem appear at least 773 times in the Bible, while Zion appears 160 times. You can't disassociate Israel from Jerusalem without doing injustice to the straightforward sense of Scripture.

 

It's true that the last portion of Gen 12:3 refers to the nations being blessed through Christ. However, the blessing and cursing portion applies to Abraham's physical descendants (Jacob-Israel). Genesis 27:29 is stark and unambiguous proof. Numbers 24:9 again affirms that Jacob is the recipient of the Gen 12:3 blessing.

 

In response to Deut 28 (above), dispensationalists note that Deut 30:1 speaks of the blessing and cursing of Israel. Supersessionists can't have it both ways. If there's a curse, there will also be a blessing. The rest of Deut 30 sets out how God will restore Israel when it repents (vv 1-8). Carefully note verse 7:

 

Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

 

Leviticus 26:27-33 warns Israel of desolation and discipline as a consequence of disobedience. Then in verses 44-45 God says that even when they are dispersed in the land of their enemies, He will not cast them away, or destroy them. God will remember His covenant with them for He is the Lord their God.

 

Our Reformed brethren champion the doctrines of election, grace and mercy. Why don't they consistently apply them to ethnic Israel?

 

Isaiah 43:1-7 affirms Jacob-Israel as a chosen nation, precious in God's sight. In Deut 7: 6-7 Israel is called a holy and chosen people loved by the Lord. They are called chosen in Isaiah 45:4 and 1 Chron 16:13. 2 Sam 7:23-24 confirms that Israel's status as an elect nation will be forever. Israel is also called chosen in Acts 3:12, 13-15, 25 and Rom 11:26-29

 

Space prevents an exhaustive study but here's just a smattering of verses from Psalms: Psalm 122 associates the blessing with Israel and Jerusalem (esp. v 6). He who keeps Israel shall not slumber or sleep (Psalm 121:4). In context to Israel, Psalm 136 uses the term "For His mercy endures forever" 25 times! Compare it with Jeremiah 33:25-26.

 

Psalm 135:4 calls Jacob-Israel chosen and God's special treasure. Psalm 105:6 connects Jacob to Abraham's seed and God's chosen ones. God remembers His covenant forever (v 8). The covenant made with Abraham was an oath to Isaac and confirmed to Jacob-Israel (vv 9-10). This same everlasting covenant gave Israel the land of Canaan (v 11). Psalm 106 continues with similar themes. God's mercy endures forever (v 1). He saves Israel for His name's sake because of His covenant promise (v 45).

 

There's much, much more to plumb (or spiritualize away), but we should be getting the picture by now.

 

An amillennial pastor recently noted that eschatology isn't reason to divide over. I agree. However, the tendency in reformed circles is to dismiss dispensationalism, prophecy and Israel. In fact many amillennialists, postmillennialists and preterists vigorously defend their eschatology. So should we.

 

In order to defend a predetermined theology, many have robbed Israel of its biblical eschatology. They've turned the interpretation of prophecy into a complex science out of the reach of the average reader. Dispensationalists believe God means what He says and that He expects us to understand His word.

 

It's a grave mistake to dismiss Israel's connection to Gen 12:3. The warning exists for a purpose. Ask yourself why the world has historically heaped curses upon Israel. And why is this still all the rage among the nations?

 

As a final warning, note the following promise:

 

This is what your Lord says - Yahweh, even your God, who defends His people [Israel] - "Look, I have removed the cup of staggering from your hand; that goblet, the cup of My fury. You will never drink it again. I will put it into the hands of your tormenters, who said to you: Lie down, so we can walk over you. You made your back like the ground, and like a street for those who walk on it. Isaiah 51:22-23

 

Are we comfortable re-interpreting these verses in the same fashion many spiritualize Zech 14:4?

 

God is disciplining Israel. But that isn't our role. For the sake of God's Word and our own sake, let's not curse or rob Israel of its blessings.

 

Maranatha!

It has never been about the 'occupation' - http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/It-has-never-been-about-the-occupation-471343

 

Next year will mark many important anniversaries in the history of Zionism, Israel and its conflict with our neighbors.

 

It will be 120 years since the First Zionist Congress, held in Basel in 1897, which formulated the Zionist platform and plan of action for the implementation of its goals.

 

It will also be 70 years since the United Nations Partition Plan, which won the support of the UN General Assembly for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in Mandatory Palestine.

 

Significantly, it will also be 50 years since the miraculous victory by Israel against five Arab nations intent on extinguishing the Jewish state. However, after only six days Israel not only defended itself, it liberated Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, the cradle of Jewish civilization.

 

One would assume that given Israel's opponents' and detractors' claims, this date will be the focal point of activity against Israel over the year ahead, as we are constantly being told that the root of the conflict and the lack of peace is a result of the so-called occupation. However, last week, at the House of Lords in the British Parliament a panel discussion was held to commemorate another important milestone, the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration was a letter written by British minister Lord Arthur James Balfour recognizing the rights of the Jewish People to their ancestral homeland. The declaration was then adopted by the international community at the League of Nations, the predecessor to the UN.

 

The event at the House of Lords took place under the auspices of the Palestinian Return Centre and was hosted by the vitriolic Baroness Jenny Tonge, who was forced to resign from her political party because of her previous anti-Israeli, and some might argue antisemitic remarks. This event was the beginning of a hostile drive, led by the Palestinian Authority, called the Balfour Apology Campaign, which has called the letter "a crime."

 

What this obsessive focus on a letter written 100 years ago, as opposed to the liberation of Judea and Samaria 50 years ago, tells us very clearly and distinctly is that this has never been about the "occupation"; it is, however, about opposing any recognition of the Jewish People's rights to sovereignty in their ancestral homeland.

 

The PA, led by Mahmoud Abbas, is sending a message to Israel and the international community, one that they express frequently in Arabic, that ending Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria is not their primary objective, rather their target is Israel itself.

 

This objective is consistent with almost a century of Palestinian rejectionism.

 

The Palestinians rejected the Peel Commission recommendations of 1937, which would have given them the overwhelming majority of what is now Israel, the Partition Plan of 1947, the Clinton Parameters of 2000 and the offers of former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert in 2001 and 2008 respectively.

 

If the Palestinian leaders had accepted any of these offers they would have had a state, and Israel would have little or no presence in Judea and Samaria. The fact that they didn't means that it is not about what was liberated in 1967, but what was recognized in 1917.

 

The Balfour Declaration was the first modern international recognition of Jewish historic and legal rights in the Land of Israel, which had been conquered, colonized and occupied for 2,000 years since its indigenous people were expelled.

 

The Palestinians know that the Balfour Declaration was a pivotal point in the recognition of Jewish national rights by the international community, and that this, in turn, led to the majority support for the reestablishment of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel. They believe if they unravel this recognition they can undermine Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic nation and move a step closer to its demise.

 

Of course, this is an absurd notion, especially for a people which hadn't even formulated their current self-identity until many decades later.

 

Nevertheless, it is a part of a pattern of deep insecurity by a regime that seeks not just to reverse history but distort it, as the recent Palestinian-led resolution at UNESCO denying Jewish historical ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount amply demonstrate.

 

The UNESCO resolution, which has no discernible political or diplomatic significance, is another layer in this battle, a battle which elements of the international community are starting to awaken to.

 

That this conflict has never been about the "occupation" or the creation of a Palestinian state. It was and remains about the undermining and denying of Jewish history, rights and international law in order to undermine and seek the destruction of the State of Israel.

 

 Back into Bed with Hamas - by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9228/palestinians-abbas-hamas

 

This has become predictable. Given two minutes of breath, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas resorts to the old tactic of courting Hamas as a way of hiding from the disaffection of his own Fatah faction. The overtures towards Hamas are a smokescreen for what many Palestinians are beginning to perceive as the beginning of a revolt against Abbas.

 

Last week, Abbas held a surprise meeting in Qatar with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal. The meeting reportedly considered ways of ending the longstanding dispute between Fatah and Hamas and achieving "national reconciliation."

 

Abbas aides said the meeting also dealt with the possibility of forming a Palestinian "national unity" government and holding long-overdue presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

 

The unexpected meeting was held under the auspices of the rulers of Qatar, a country that has long been the Number One sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, of which Hamas is an offshoot.

 

The surprising nature of the meeting between Abbas and the Hamas leaders makes sense: for one thing, the two sides had, prior to the encounter, denied that it would take place.

 

Moreover, the meeting came only weeks after Fatah and Hamas traded allegations over the cancellation of the Palestinian municipal election, supposed to be held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on October 8. Tensions between the two rival parties have since been mounting over the cancellation of the local election, with each side holding the other responsible for "foiling the democratic, electoral process."

 

So what is really behind Abbas's latest decision to throw himself into the open arms of Hamas? Is the PA president suddenly smitten with genuine concern for "national reconciliation", or did something else prompt him to rush to Qatar?

 

The timing of the meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha is most telling.

 

Abbas's chat with Mashaal and Haniyeh coincided with an unprecedented wave of violent protests that have erupted against him in a number of Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank. In the past few weeks, scenes of armed clashes between PA security forces and gunmen have become a daily scene in the refugee camps of Balata, Jenin and Al-Amari in the West Bank.

 

Palestinians say the confrontations are the worst in many years and pose a serious and open challenge to Abbas. The most recent clashes took place last week in Balata, when hundreds of PA security officers stormed the camp in an attempt to arrest "outlaws" and "criminals." At least four people were wounded during the exchange of gunfire between the gunmen and policemen.

 

Similar clashes have also occurred in the Al-Amari camp (near Ramallah) and the Jenin camp.

 

Abbas aides claim that ousted Fatah strongman Mohamed Dahlan is behind the latest unrest in the refugee camps.

 

They claim that Dahlan and his supporters are seeking to overthrow Abbas as part of a "wider conspiracy" to appoint new leaders for the Palestinians.

 

They also claim that some Arab countries, particularly Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are backing the alleged conspiracy to remove Abbas from power.

 

Abbas's paranoia has reached the point that he has begun expelling or arresting any Fatah member whom he suspects of being affiliated with Dahlan. Hardly a day passes without the Palestinian Authority's expulsion of yet another unruly Fatah official.

 

According to Palestinian sources, at least thirteen Fatah officials have been run out of the faction in the past few months, most of them on suspicion of being linked in one way or another to Dahlan.

 

The most recent target of Abbas's crackdown is Jihad Tamliyeh, a top Fatah operative from Al-Amari, who was accused of trying to convene a meeting of Dahlan loyalists in the camp. After breaking up the gathering and threatening to arrest participants, Abbas signed an order expelling Tamliyeh from Fatah. The decision to ban the meeting and the subsequent expulsion of Tamliyeh from Fatah sparked a wave of violent protests and widespread condemnations in the West Bank.

 

Later, Abbas ordered his security forces to arrest Ra'fat Elayan, a senior Fatah official from East Jerusalem, also on suspicion of being affiliated with Dahlan.

 

Dahlan, who has denied any connection to the recent turmoil in Fatah, has accused Abbas of running Fatah and the PA as his private fiefdom.

 

"Since when was Fatah a company or a fiefdom from which people are expelled in accordance with personal agendas?" Dahlan wondered. He also denied that he has ambitions to replace or succeed Abbas.

 

Further evidence of the expanding turmoil in Abbas's Fatah faction emerged last week with a report that claimed that the PA security forces had uncovered a plot to assassinate three top Fatah officials: Ghassan Shaka'ah, Jamal Tirawi and Amin Maqboul - all critics of Abbas. According to the report, three of the suspects are PA security officers.

 

The rising tensions and skyrocketing discontent with Abbas's autocratic rule in Fatah are yet another sign of the failure of the PA president to control his own faction. Fatah is the dominant party in the PA; thus, the way it goes, so goes PA establishment.

 

Most, if not all, the members of the PA security forces are Fatah loyalists. So are most of the PA's civil servants. Many PA security officers and senior Fatah officials are said to be unhappy with the way Abbas is cracking down on suspected Fatah dissidents.

 

"The Palestinian Authority has violated the Palestinian law by raiding Palestinian refugee camps to prevent conferences," said top Fatah official Sufyan Abu Zaida. "What is happening in the refugee camps (in the West Bank) is dangerous and unacceptable."

 

Some PA officials have privately criticized Abbas for failing to realize the degree to which his Fatah faction represents a threat to him. They expressed surprise that he has not yet abandoned his globe-trotting habit and remained in Ramallah to tackle what they call the "Camp Intifada" against him.

 

The officials also pointed out that the increased tensions in Fatah could spoil efforts to convene Fatah's seventh conference to elect new members and discuss reforms in the faction. Abbas is hoping to convene the conference before the end of this year. The last time Fatah held a conference was in 2009.

 

Under the current circumstances, the likelihood that the long-awaited conference will actually take place appears to be nearly nil. The internecine fighting in Fatah and the growing challenges to Abbas's leadership are to thank for those poor odds.

 

Meanwhile, the 81-year-old Abbas is busy searching for ways to escape from the most recent fire to have broken out in his back yard. And the best way to do so, he remembers from eruption to eruption, is to appear to be getting his Fatah faction back into bed with the Islamist movement.

 

The prospect of a Fatah-Hamas unity certainly gets the world salivating. Only the very na�ve, however, could ever imagine such a union, at least in the foreseeable future. Just as only the foolhardy could imagine Hamas relinquishing its goal of the destruction of Israel for the sake of a tryst with Fatah.

 

If the Fatah-Hamas rift was once considered the major obstacle to Palestinian statehood, today it has become obvious that divisions among Fatah pose even a bigger threat to Palestinian aspirations.

 

If Abbas is unable to make peace inside his own Fatah faction, how will he ever be able to end the dispute with Hamas? And the more crucial question: How can Abbas ever be expected to make peace with Israel when he cannot even control his own Fatah loyalists? The Palestinian political situation, plagued with anarchy on all fronts, is deteriorating on a daily basis.

 

Israel and the rest of the world are currently facing two Palestinian camps: one (Hamas) that does not want to make peace with Israel because it believes Israel ought not to exist, and the second (Fatah) that cannot make peace with Israel because it is too weak to do so. The next US administration, whatever political persuasion it may be, would do well to mark this reality.

 

Israel Greatly Concerned Over Quality, Quantity of Russian Weaponry in Region - By Ruthie Blum - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=761

 

The IDF is in a panic about the Russian military's presence and deployment of sophisticated weaponry in the region, Israel's Channel 2 reported on Sunday.

 

According to the report, though the IDF is not admitting this openly, high-ranking officers have said behind closed doors that the "surprising" quality and quantity of Russian systems in the area is dramatically hampering the way the Israeli Air Force and Navy are able to operate.

 

Both these branches of the IDF, according to Channel 2, were used to flying and sailing wherever and whenever they saw fit, with no real threat to their movement. But since Russia began to intervene in the Syrian civil war last year in an attempt to protect the regime of President Bashar Assad, things have changed.

 

One particular worry, the report said, was the impending arrival of the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's flagship aircraft carrier, which is on its way from the North Sea to the Middle East, and is expected to anchor off the Mediterranean coast of Syria in the coming weeks.

 

The Kuznetsov force is made up of some 1,900 sailors, more than 50 advanced fighter jets, the latest aeronautical defense systems, radars and among the world's best electronic warfare capabilities. The force has anti-submarine capabilities and boats with a wide range of missiles for aerial photography and intelligence-gathering.

 

The report said Israeli defense officials admit that the Russians know about every movement Israel makes in its air and sea space, as there is no way to elude Russian radars, and thus Russia has been able to collect massive amounts of information.

 

As was reported by The Algemeiner in April, the Russians announced several months ago that they were leaving Syria. Since then, however, according to Channel 2, they have been dispatching more ground troops to the area; they have increased their air power; and they have brought in ground-to-air missiles -- with a range of more than 200 kilometers - and are capable of employing cruise and ballistic missiles, planes and drones. 

 

At present, they are also reinforcing their naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, in parallel with a decrease in the presence of the US  Navy there.

 

In addition, a spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry recently issued a veiled threat, presumably to Israel, by stating, "If anyone thinks he can hide behind stealth technology, let him think again." This, said Channel 2, was in reference to the F-35 stealth planes that Israel is acquiring from the US.

 

Meanwhile, the Russian parliament approved an unlimited time frame for the deployment of the country's air force, which means that Israel could face having the bulk of its areas of interest covered by S-300 and S-400 advanced missile defense systems for decades to come. 

 

And it is this understanding that spurred Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fly to Moscow in the spring with the commander of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, to discuss military coordination with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

As was reported in The Algemeiner, Netanyahu made this trip to create a mechanism for avoiding unwanted collisions between Israeli and Russian planes.

 

Despite the arrangement agreed upon between Netanyahu and Putin, however, two Russian drones were shot down, which nearly caused a confrontation between Israeli and Russian planes, Channel 2 said. In addition, two ground-to-air missiles were fired at Israeli jets, though Russia claimed they belonged to a Syrian battery.

 

In an interview with The Algemeiner in June, Mideast and Russia expert Zvi Magen said that the ties between Netanyahu and Putin involve realpolitik, with Israel protecting its interests, chief among them ensuring that sophisticated weapons do not fall into the hands of the Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and allied with Russia in the fight to keep Assad in power.