Go West Bank, Young Man!

The astonishing developments in Israel continue. Today, it became clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has won a fifth term as prime minister of Israel, as he overcame a formidable challenge from General Benny Gantz.

This on the heels of President Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and if that isn’t enough to send your head spinning, some details of his much-touted peace plan are emerging. We’ve heard reports ranging from a limited Palestinian state in Gaza, to the Jordanians and Saudis absorbing millions of Palestinians.

This last possibility is one I’ve long championed. There is plenty of wide open spaces for the Palestinians to continue shooting themselves in the foot, away from the industrious and successful Israelis.

And in the past two days, reports are that Netanyahu will fulfill a pledge made to his right-wing partners in the Knesset: annex the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). From a Times of Israel report:

“Netanyahu’s promise Saturday came a day after he told Channel 13 news that he had told US President Donald Trump he would not evacuate ‘a single person’ from any of the settlements, and amid reports that he believes Trump will back him on settlement annexation if the Palestinians reject the much-anticipated Trump Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

“When asked if he knew the details of Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century,’ Netanyahu said he knew what he had told Trump to include in the agreement. ‘I know what I said: I said there can’t be the removal of even one settlement, and [that Israel insists on] our continued control of all the territory to the west of the Jordan,’ Netanyahu said.

“Asked in the interview, which was recorded on Wednesday, whether he had specified this to Trump personally, Netanyahu said he had set out the same positions to Trump and former US president Barack Obama.”

A delicious side story to all this is, Obama must be squirming mad that his attacks on Israel failed.

Whatever Netanyahu decides to do about the West Bank, we must admit that we are living in tumultuous times, and my how times change: from the fiendish Obama to the most heady days for Israel since the Six Day War.

However, prophetically, this all should tell us this: keep your eyes focused on what Scripture says, not the changing headlines. These are good days for Israel and her supporters, but everything—everything—is being shaped for that Ultimate Showdown prophesied in Scripture.

We know (just as we know on a smaller scale in the U.S.) that our enemies globally will never give up on their pressure schemes against Israel, vis a vis the Palestinians. International diplomats and politicians, no matter how mad their schemes are (Oslo, Wye, etc.), will never rest until they have Israel in the crosshairs.

So enjoy these moments. Enjoy these few days.

Something bigger is coming.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Wish You Were Here…?

British anti-Semitism has always been a sight to behold, made all the more ironic since it was British politicians in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries that loved the Jewish people and worked for them to re-settle Palestine.

But now, roughly since the conclusion of World War 1, anti-Semitism in Britain is at a fever pitch. It doesn’t help that London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan (of Pakistani lineage), is an anti-Semite. Other British politicians such as George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn also join the frenzy.

But it is perhaps most disappointing that a music artist is firmly in their camp.

Roger Waters, founding member of the iconic British rock group Pink Floyd, simply hates Israel. His push of the wicked BDS (“Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions”) campaign to financially hurt Israel, has made him almost as famous as his music career. Roger is clearly no longer a 60s-era peacenik.

Now comes a funny story from April 1 (hint, hint, April Fools). Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry announced on Twitter that Waters would perform in Tel Aviv on July 16.

“Mark your calendars!” seemed almost a taunt to Waters, who of course would not set foot in Israel to play music.

His profanity-laced response was not surprising:

“HO! F******* HO! EXCEPT THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER.”

He then took to Facebook to continue his rant:

“THE MURDER OF UNARMED CHILDREN AND PARAMEDICS AND JOURNALISTS AND OTHER PEACEFUL PROTESTERS BY COWARDS IN UNIFORM WITH HIGH POWERED SNIPER RIFLES FROM BEHIND FORTIFIED POSITIONS IS NOT A MATTER FOR JEST.

“YOU DISGUST ME, AND YOU DISGUST THE WHOLE OF THE REST OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD.”

One man, Arsen Ostrovsky, replied on Twitter:

“Oh c’mon, lighten up ‘ol chap! It’s was just an April Fool’s Day prank. Or at very least, crawl back under your racist, Antisemitic rock. No one here wants to see you anyway!”

The twitter announcement by the Israelis was pretty funny, I think. It also exposed the extreme views of people like Waters.

One has to think that the decline of Christianity in Europe in the past few hundred years has a lot to do with this.

There is a fascinating mini-series on Netflix now, “Traitors,” about British and American counter-intelligence efforts as World War 2 was ending. A subplot is the question of what to do with Palestine.

There is clear spotlighting of anti-Semitism in the British government at the time.

One wonders how many realize the true nature behind it all. It seems clear to me that Jew-hatred is ancient and supernatural in origin. Even my secular friends who might otherwise laugh at such a statement admit to being flummoxed by it. Apart from the Bible, anti-Semitism doesn’t make sense.

Why would an aging British rocker rant and rave like a madman about a small joke?

What’s inside him is the heart of the matter.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com