The Burden of Arrogance

Hard to believe it’s coming up on a decade that I’ve been writing for RaptureReady. I was looking for something to do when Todd and Terry so kindly asked me to write for them; the column would be titled “Israel Watch.”

I hope you’ll indulge me this week, as I get personal.

I have been actively engaged in advocating for Israel for 20 years. In that time, I’ve attended conferences, published books, written articles, networked, and researched like crazy. I’ve been blessed to visit Israel several times. My friends in the pro Israel community—both Christians and Jews—are precious to me.  The whole endeavor is multi-layered and at once simple and complex.

The foundation for all this was laid many years ago. My father was a strong Bible believer and taught me early on the importance of Israel and the Jewish people. I grew up in the era of the Six-Day War and Entebbe.

In 1995 I met Avi Lipkin, the indefatigable researcher, writer, and speaker. It was at a conference in Dallas that Avi helped me learn to pronounce the name of a rising Israeli politician:

Net-ahn-ya-hoo.

It has been my joy to support Israel in my own small way. This global community is amazing and multi-faceted, from grizzled veterans like John Bolton to young social media mavens (see Simone Valdary, Chloe).

One of my favorite memories is being invited to a Hanukkah celebration at the home of a friend near Washington D.C. There I met many neo-conservatives.

Another is meeting Ariel Sharon, with David Lewis, in 1998 in Tel Aviv.

So many memories.

I recently reflected on all this after a conversation with a friend—a long-time veteran of the pro Israel community.

I was telling my friend that something felt “off” to me of late, regarding some relationships and activities I’d been involved in with the pro Israel community. In short, I’ve lost work, friends, and other opportunities. I have been told several times that I need to back-off some strong reporting about, for example, how the Palestinian Narrative has made deep inroads into American churches, thus harming traditionally strong pro Israel support.

“Also, you are perceived in some circles as a Rapture guy,” my friend said.

I like information. I like knowing where I stand with people. That way I can make informed decisions.

My friend graciously told me a lot in one or two sentences.

You see, within the varied pro Israel community globally is a segment that is what I’d call highbrow. They identify as intellectuals who are embarrassed by, for example, the Bible prophecy enthusiasts.

I think we’re all aware of the excesses of the prophecy community. These range from the very unfortunate emphases on fringe topics (just this week I saw a post on Facebook that speculates we are all part of a video game produced by aliens. It’s frankly depressing to see this kind of stuff.), to the very public scarecrows our opponents love to tie us to, such as Harold Camping.

Overall, though, some of the most sophisticated thinkers I’ve ever known are folks in the prophecy community. I recently had a remarkable after-breakfast conversation with Todd Strandberg at a prophecy conference. Scholars like Andy Wood enrich us all. I could go on and on.

A couple years ago I listened to a conference address by Hal Lindsey, who has been vilified by many in the Christian community over the years. Some minor criticisms of him are valid, I suppose; anyone could say at least the same things about any of us.

Yet, if push came to shove, I’d rather stand with Hal Lindsey than with all the highbrows who sniff and turn their backs on us at dinner parties.

And if push really came to shove, I’m happy to stand completely alone. Because at the end of the day, any Israel advocacy is ultimately limited if it doesn’t include some mention of the biblical promises to the Jews.

I so appreciated hearing this a few years ago from the peerless (literally) Bill Koenig, my friend who is a White House correspondent. Bill stood at a press conference and asked the organizers to include such teaching. He was politely dismissed, of course.

And of course, he was totally correct in his assessment.

A few years ago, Porter Speakman Jr. (producer of the Christian Zionist-bashing film “With God on Our Side”) referred to me publicly as a RaptureReady “tool.”

Again, I’ve been told that my alliance with RaptureReady removes me from consideration for speaking at certain conferences, publishing opportunities, etc.

Good.

When the smoke clears, I will still be standing with my friends. I am so proud to be able to write for RR, and I hope that when Jesus returns, I will be in mid-sentence for a new “Israel Watch.”

My real friends are much smarter than my sometimes-friends. When my sometimes-friends chatter about Rapture folks and then marginalize me as well, I think of the phrase: They are too clever by half.

So I will double down—check that, quadruple down—on remaining loyal to the community that has been loyal to me.

I could tell you stories that would curl your hair regarding the cowardice at top levels of pro Israel Christian support. Cowardice when it comes to naming names and identifying the real problems with the erosion of Israel support in the American Church.

So often, such leadership and activists call me, email, text…each time wanting information, which I provide. Then publicly they stand quite a few miles away from me because, after all, I’m a RaptureReady tool.

Boy, could I tell you stories.

Maybe someday I will.

Meanwhile, the ones consistently standing for the Word (which is where Zionism originated, after all) will remain the ones I admire.

My sometimes-friends are no friends at all. One day, I will feel sorry for them. I don’t disparage their work; how sad they don’t return the courtesy.

Arrogance must be a terrible burden to bear.

What Up, Bibi?

Things have gotten weird(er) in Israeli politics of late. The Knesset is notorious for its volatile exchanges from time to time. Add to the mix Arab representatives that hate the state, and you have the recipe for some real trouble.

The Likud Party, the one that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads, is sort of the equivalent of the Republican Party in the States (at least, the former perception of the GOP as the “conservative” party). In fact, Likud and Republican officials have been chummy for years. The Likud’s national platform has always been Zionist in its foundations, and remember, it was the party that Menachem Begin rode to power in Israel in 1977. Until then, Israel had been ruled by the socialist-leaning Labor Party.

When Netanyahu won the chairmanship of the Likud in the 1990s, and then the prime minister’s seat in 1996, he was in his mid-40s. His staunchly Zionist father, Benzion, had instilled in his sons a love for Zion.

But when one moves full-time into politics, one is forced to compromise. I’m speaking of conservative politicians. The Left never moves one centimeter to the right, always demanding concessions from the Right.

When Netanyahu assumed power in 1996 (after a razor-thin win over Shimon Peres), he was forced to go along with the recently enshrined “Oslo Accords,” whereby Israel agreed to a staged plan that would eventually see a Palestinian state.

(I once asked a former aid to Yitzhak Rabin why the wily old general-turned-politician had ever agreed to Oslo; Rabin had been the architect of the Six Day War victory and was one tough old hombre. The aid replied that the PM’s wife, Leah, pressured him to accept it. Leah Rabin was a hardcore Leftist. Interesting perspective.)

Netanyahu always knew the Palestinian leadership was corrupt and duplicitous. He knew what Yasser Arafat was: a cold-blooded killer never interested in nation-building. That George H.W. Bush forced the Israelis to the negotiating table is a travesty that will go down as a dark moment in American diplomacy.

By the end of the ‘90s, as Palestinian terror brought new horrors, Netanyahu dug his heels in. This infuriated the Clinton team, and in 1999, Ehud Barak defeated Netanyahu in elections.

Interestingly, Barak’s willingness to give the PLO almost everything it officially claimed made him look weak and in 2001, he was defeated by Ariel Sharon.

The old “Bulldozer” then followed the pattern all major Israeli leaders eventually find themselves in: appeasement. His 2005 pullout from Gaza paved the way for Hamas rule in the Strip.

It became clear many years ago that the Palestinian society, raised for generations on Jew-hatred, is nowhere near ready to live in peace with Israel.

And when I visit with Israeli friends, those on the Right and the Left, they are more unified against Palestinian demands than their leaders usually are.

So…in the past week, Netanyahu announced a bombshell: he would support the 2002 Saudi Peace Plan, which calls for normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, in exchange for Israel withdrawing to the 1967 lines.

This has always been thought of as suicidal for Israel. The truth is we cannot know at all what is in Netanyahu’s mind. We can guess.

My guess is he never supported Oslo and he doesn’t really support the Saudi plan. My guess is, he’s hoping that one day, the international community will wake up and realize a new paradigm is called for regarding a Palestinian homeland.

Maybe the Saudis can come up with a plan to relocate the Palestinians in their territory.

On the heels of Netanyahu’s announcement came an equally surprising announcement by brand-new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman that he would support the Saudi plan, too!

Liberman has been a hawk for a long time, and supposedly recently said that within 48 hours of being appointed Defense Minister, he would order the assassination of Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh.

As of this writing, Haniyeh is still breathing.

On the one hand, Israel has navigated an impossible environment remarkably well over the years. On the other hand, their concessions are seen as weakness by their enemies, and so the whole pattern repeats itself endlessly.

I do not believe that America’s top political and diplomatic leadership cares for Israel at all. They know their constituents do, so they lie to us and the Israelis when proclaiming their support for Israeli security.

Where this will all end up is anyone’s guess. However, I do not believe that when it gets right down to it, any Israeli leader will put a gun to his nation’s head. I believe the Saudi nonsense is just that, and I’ve always believed Israel will never allow Iran to get nukes.

Few realize that Iran’s real nuclear ambitions began more than 40 years ago, under the Shah. The plan then was to build 20 nuclear reactors. Of course, when the mullahs took over in 1979, all that became super scary.

And in the bizarro world we now live in, Iran is fighting against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Fallujah…even as the Americans have joined the Iraqi army in this effort, along with both Sunni and Shia militias!

According to a report from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

“Since  the  beginning of  the  Fallujah  campaign  reports  published  by

the Iranian media have emphasized the participation of Iran and the Iraqi Shi’ite militias operating under Iranian direction in the fighting.

“According to the reports, Qasem Soleimani,  commander  of  the IRGC’s Qods  Force,  is  present  in  the  Fallujah area and plays a central role in conducting the campaign.”

Welcome to geopolitics in the Age of Obama.

Israel has to navigate all this insanity, while still growing their economy and maintaining security.

What exactly Bibi is up to is anyone’s guess.

But something tells me he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Not at all.