Embassies Be Movin’!

After Donald Trump presented his “Lead from the Front” model (as opposed to his predecessor’s “Lead from Behind”) by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, other statesmen gathered their courage.

(Israel has recognized Jerusalem as its capital since 1980, but the anti-Semites in the international community detested this, and still do.)

This morning, Moldova’s Prime Minister Pavel Filip tweeted the following:

“Today we adopted the decision to relocate the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It was a long overdue commitment to support our allies.”

Good on Moldova! The small, eastern European country (between Ukraine and Romania) is the latest to follow Trump’s lead. The official government website said it thusly:

“The Government decided in its today’s session to transfer the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the State of Israel to Jerusalem.

“At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to approve the Agreement on the sale of the plot of land for the construction of the Embassy of the United States of America in the Republic of Moldova.

“’We are in the situation to urgently adopt these decisions taking into account the political instability and uncertainty in the country, but also the latest political developments whereas one of the political parties that constantly blocked these 2 projects is attempting an illegal takeover of power. These are two commitments that we have previously undertaken and we want to make sure they will be respected, regardless of what happens after the snap elections’, said Prime Minister Pavel Filip.

“Both projects are commitments undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government acted in order to avoid their long term blockage by the political crisis in the country.”

I am fascinated that these former Soviet national hostages are siding with Israel. Romania has also made a declaration to the same effect.

Guatemala has moved its embassy, as well. President Jimmy Morales—a friend of Benjamin Netanyahu—cannot run for re-election, and his political opponents have vowed to undo the move. Other countries considering the move have been Honduras, the Czech Republic, and Paraguay. Political disagreements are also present in those countries, and even if the embassies are moved now, they could be moved back after the next election.

(All this comes on the heels of Israel’s growing relationship with India. Netanyahu’s ability to forge friendships for the Jewish state have been astonishing.)

According to The Times of Israel:

“A full-fledged Czech embassy will likely not open in the near future. The country’s Foreign Ministry last year stressed that it ‘fully respects common policy of the European Union, which considers Jerusalem as the future capital of both the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine.’

“Indeed, it is Brussels’ desire for consensus on foreign policy matters that appears to be preventing some member states from relocating their embassies.

“An internal EU memo from March states that, if pushed by journalists on the Romanian prime minister’s vow to move, officials should reply by saying that the EU and its member states ‘will continue to respect the international consensus on Jerusalem.’”

Europe’s deep-seated Jew hatred continues. This story is a metaphor, I think, for the broader battle between good and evil. One can see the glorious potential with countries warming to Israel. The economic and cultural benefits would be amazing. And yet, at the same time, evil forces continue despising Israel, and in this we cannot help but see supernatural sources at work. There is no other rational explanation.

This tension is seen in prophetic scriptures, such as Zechariah 14:16-19—

“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.”

The Nations might be dragged kicking and screaming to Jerusalem, but come they will.

Praise God!

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Old Demons Resurface

It’s no secret that anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide. Even here in America, horrifying realities are in play.

But in France, the problem is multiplied by the growing Muslim stranglehold on an ancient European country. One writer has suggested that the “old demons” are coming out again.

It is with this in mind that I want to write this week about the role of Jewish resistance fighters in France during World War 2. We are celebrating today the 75^th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Ahead of the invasion, much work was done to undermine the Nazi regime, along with the puppet Vichy regime.

The Jewish Resistance was called Organisation Juive de Combat, OJC, and played a big part in disrupting the Nazi agenda. Of course, they were literally fighting for their lives.

The Germans, upon conquering France in 1940, set up two zones: the northern section was Nazi-ruled, while the southern (headquartered in Vichy) was under the puppet government. According to an article from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs:

“The persecutions of the Jews, in which the Vichy regime played a dominant role in its collaboration with the Nazis, started shortly afterward and followed a similar pattern to the persecutions in other occupied countries. First came ‘Aryanization’ measures, then the creation of detention camps, and finally massive deportations of Jews to the concentration camps in Eastern Europe. Out of a community of about three hundred thousand Jews in France on the eve of the war, 75,721, including 10,147 children, were deported. Most perished in the camps. Only about 3 percent returned. The consequences could have been even worse if not for the Jewish Resistance.”

(One could see in this story the beginnings of the move to Palestine, as one of the nine Jewish resistance groups was called the “Movement of the Zionist Youth,” MJS.)

The work of the resistance groups involved forging papers and organizing convoys to Spain and Switzerland; organizing guerrilla groups in the mountains and cities; and funneling money for the Resistance.

The 2,000 Jewish resistance fighters also helped provide intelligence that aided the Allies in the lead-up to D-Day. Of course, Israel continues this practice today, providing us with literally invaluable intelligence from their neck of the woods.

Let us celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the greatest invasion in history, led by the Greatest Generation. That celebration also includes a deserved nod to the Jewish Resistance in France.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com