Bennett Learning on the Go

Word is that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. Mediating between Ukraine and Russia?

That would be a weighty task for the still-young Bennett. He is the first Western leader to meet with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

(I still will not get over Bennett’s central role in toppling Benjamin Netanyahu. I wish the new government well, but that will always be a stain on Netanyahu’s political opponents.)

We must keep in mind that Putin has never faced such weakness in Western leaders before. Think of that! Trudeau? Johnson? Biden*? Macron?

(*Biden is another coup leader that is illegitimate.)

This I think explains the main reason Putin would go to such extraordinary lengths to marginalize himself internationally. Just remember though, people will squawk and make angry statements about his decision. But actually doing anything to stop him? I’ll believe that when I see it. NATO is only barely more of a threat than those vaunted UN peacekeeping forces that thrown down their weapons and run at the first sign of real trouble.

Bennett also met with Putin a month ago. And make no mistake: a former special ops officer, Bennett is no shrinking violet. His personal courage is not to be questioned.

According to the Jerusalem Post:

“The meeting comes as Israel has been trying to balance the national security importance of coordination with Russia before airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, where the Russian Army is the dominant force, with Israel’s strongest strategic alliance with the US and support for democracy and international order.”

Just imagine what Israel is balancing here. Managing a regional semi-war in Syria and the broader Middle East. At the same time, Bennett and his advisors might just play a key role in hampering World War 3, as Europe once again stupidly stumbles into hostilities.

Apparently, Ukrainian president Zelensky asked Bennett directly for help with Putin.

“Israel condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and a vote in the UN General Assembly, but Bennett has been reticent to say anything about Russia. In his recent statements he has expressed support for the Ukrainian people and called for negotiations.”

To further complicate matters, new sanctions on Russia hamper the Mother Country’s efforts to trade with Iran. This in my view makes Russia even nastier to deal with.

Bennett will earn his pay in the coming weeks. Let’s hope that a proposed cease-fire takes hold. And that Israel’s security efforts in Syria are not hampered.

Since Russia in effect took over Syria a few years ago (I think their presence there is permanent), rival terror groups have continued to push for confrontation with Israel. Several times Israeli jets have taken out installations designed to do Israel harm.

Let’s pray specifically this week that Bennett and his advisors will have wisdom from the Lord to meet the specific threats to Israel at this time.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Complexities

Today’s world is nothing if not complex.

In the extreme!

You know this as well as I do, every day. Added to the complexity is a sometimes-disorienting system in which our media are lying 24/7. This makes it enormously difficult to understand what is truly going on.

I have a strong, strong feeling about this as we watch the Ukraine situation unfold. Do we really know or understand what’s going on?

I doubt it.

An added complexity is the geopolitics involved, in close coordination with military objectives. One such issue is Russia’s relationships in the Middle East. A Jerusalem Post report this week is fascinating, as it outlines how the Russians will continue to coordinate with Israel on security issues in Syria!

Wow.

Syria’s civil war erupted more than 10 years ago (under the watch of the treacherous Barack Obama; I believe his goals were to foment unrest in the Middle East between Muslim factions). Over time, Putin saw an opportunity to move in and secure a footing in the region. Russia has long wanted a warm-weather port in the Middle East. Syria has given them that, as Bashar Assad has lengthened his own life by embracing his Russian benefactors.

As an aside, I am aware that people in our community are asking questions about the chances that we are witnessing the opening moments of the Gog-Magog War. Although my view might not be popular, I must tell you that I think we should be ultra-cautious in saying that that is the case. I even saw one prophecy teacher this week that speculates Gog is not Russia. Frankly, I tire of this kind of stuff. Why? It detracts from the mission of evangelizing people; Bible prophecy is the perfect vehicle to do that, but if we constantly speculate about how today’s headline fits prophetic things, it’s counterproductive. End of rant.

What makes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hotter is the fact that Israel comes into play. It seems incongruous that the Israelis would work in close coordination in Syria with the brutal Putin, but there it is. Israel’s security is in play.

According to the Post:

“Russia sees its military coordination with Israel over Syria continuing, the Russian embassy said on Saturday, after Moscow signaled displeasure with Israeli statements about the Ukraine crisis.

“Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a ‘deconfliction mechanism’ with the big power to prevent them from clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighboring Arab state.”

You know of course that during this time, Israel has engaged in covert actions to knock-out Syrian installations. Russia does nothing to stop that.

Obviously, the Russians are not really concerned with Israel’s security, but for practical, pragmatic reasons, they continue this system of coordination.

For its part, Israel condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine:

“Israel, whose main ally is the United States, condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday as ‘a serious violation of international order’ and has since remained largely muted on Moscow’s actions.”

I well remember David Allen Lewis’s personal investigations into the 1982 Lebanon War, in which Israeli advances into Lebanon—to root-out the murderous PLO. David learned that Israeli forces had found caches of Russian weapons at various locations in the tortured country of Lebanon. It seems the Soviets at the time had plans for expanding their influence in the Middle East. At the time, countries like Egypt were client states of the Kremlin. This impacted Israel’s actions to such a degree that we probably will never know how close all-out war came to being implemented.

Let’s pray that tensions cool in Europe, which will lead to greater Israeli security. One very cool outcome of this latest aggression by Russia is that Israel has moved Ukrainian Jews out of harm’s way and to Israel.

Proof positive that God is still watching over His people. No matter the danger in our world today.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com