Making the Obvious Explicit
Shalom all,
For some folks, it doesn’t matter what a particular person says or does. For them, it is always wrong, simply because of who is saying it or doing it. Rightness or wrongness is irrelevant. There will be the giving of a modicum of praise and a multitude of condemnation. Fault-finding and finger pointing will once again rule the day.
So it is with the latest action of U.S. President, Donald Trump. Some will vehemently argue that he should not have made the announcement. Others will say that it was not the right time to do so, but will hesitate to add that for them there would never be a right time, as long as such an announcement is made by Trump. Still others will say that it was insensitive and did not take into consideration the “feelings” of the Arabs and the possible fall-out to the United States. Those voices who laud the President for what he did are shouted down by those who assert that Trump can do no right, irrespective of how good it is or how well it may turn out. But, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that no matter how we look at it, the man did what needed to be done and should have been done a long time ago, and he said what needed to be said. He cut through the lies and went against the strong current of anti-Israel prejudice when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital. In short, he made the obvious explicit.
The anticipated reactions were not slow in coming. That has-been, “un” organization, the United Nations, as well as a multitude of its member states, were quick to condemn his pronouncement without equivocation. They think that they have the answer to the millenia-old conflict involving Israel and her neighbors. They think that they can force an agreement that will make both sides to the conflict happy. Those who have pushed forward resolution after resolution accusing Israel of just about every evil under the sun that they can think of, are once again plotting to produce yet another security council resolution that will not be favorable to Israel.
Just the mention of “Jerusalem” evokes strong emotions and expectations among Jews, Moslems and Christians. Opposition to the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was swift. From the so-called “Palestinian” side came a multitude of condemnations of America and Israel, while ignoring the reality on the ground among its own people. Politics gets mixed with religion and one “Palestinian” spokesperson repeated the false narrative that the “Palestinians” were the original Christians and owners of the land. That statement came after sentence upon sentence of accusations, with hardly a word mentioned about “Palestinian” incitement to violence and encouragement of terrorism. The immediate reponse to the President’s statement was a call for three days of outrage amongst the “Palestinians”. This went into immediate effect as was and is evident to anyone who has unbiased news about events in the Middle East and, particularly, Gaza and the Administered Territories. I hesitate to give a site reference to such comments, so that no one else would become disgusted with the unending rhetoric of the “Palestinian” narrative.
Among the many so-called “leaders” who are not happy with the declaration of the U.S. President is Ismail Haniya, one of the senior leaders of Hamas, in Gaza. In his statement against the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he laid out the following:
The “P”s are calling for a “P” intifada to fight against the occupation;
There are no half solutions. We (the “P” leadership) are calling upon the “P” people to prove and emphasize their right over all of “Palestine”;
All of the sanctions imposed on the [Gaza] Strip should be cancelled and [we should] stop the cooperation with the occupation in the West Bank;
He errs who thinks that the “P” people will submit to the American decision;
“I call upon the Arab and Islamic countries to put all of their disputes aside and to become unified for the sake of Jerusalem, to stop the cooperation with the American government and to stop everything for the sake of Jerusalem”;
The internal struggles and pressures of the American government and the occupation are what caused the government to make that decision;
We gave instructions to give notice of a general, internal call-up [i.e., recruitment] in order to deal with the demands of the coming period;
This is the time for the people in the Strip and the West Bank to gain control of the situation;
Hamas is directing all of the power which it built for itself against the Jewish Zionists;
We are calling for uprisings and national intifada in Palestine under the title “Intifada for freedom of Jerusalem and the West Bank”;
The uprising must continue until the Trump administration regrets its decision.
So, the immediate reaction to President Trump’s pronouncement, by those with whom Israel is supposed to make peace, is a call to rage, a call to express violence and a call to carry out a third intifada. This was already followed by two missiles being sent into southern Israel from Gaza.
The United States was quick to realize that our Arab neighbors will not quietly accept the President’s announcement about Jerusalem. The U.S. Embassy, presently in Tel Aviv, issued two security messages for U.S. citizens, as it does whenever it believes that there will be Arab violence resulting from a particular event in this region.
Somewhere along the line, the opposition to his statement of recognition overlook the fact that Trump, and Netanyahu, continue to speak about pursuing peace. But, as the Arab nations around us, as well as leaders around the world, continue to echo, they don’t see peace happening if East Jerusalem is not the capital of the desired “Palestinian” state.
However, the issue of Jerusalem is a misleading one. Whether or not there will be an independent “Palestinian” state somewhere is not the focal point of the conflict. The bottom line is the unwillingness of the Arab states to recognize and allow a Jewish state to exist in their midst. Iran desires to re-establish the Persian caliphate. Turkey wants to re-establish the Ottoman Empire. ISIS wants to establish an Islamic caliphate and usher in the Third Imam. None of these things are possible as long as Israel is in the land of its forefathers that was promised to it by the God of all the earth. To the Islamic mind, the Jew is an infidel, whose presence in the midst of the Arab nations prevents the coming of the Islamic messiah. Therefore, the struggle to remove Israel will continue, whether or not Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, or East Jerusalem will be the capital of a future “Palestinian” state. Real peace will not be based on possession of any particular stretch of desert sand, but upon a recognition and personal acceptance of the Prince of Peace, Messiah Yeshua.
But, in a real sense, Trump’s pronouncement hasn’t changed anything on the ground. The demographics in Jerusalem remain unchanged. The holy sites of all of the religions will continue to be protected. Any talk of an immediate move of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is not realistic. The logistics of moving the embassy and its personnel are staggering – not insurmountable, but not immediately doable. Still, it provides another opportunity for “Palestinians” to express their frustrations. They cannot do so freely against their own leadership, for fear of their lives. So, they readily vent their anger by expressing it towards Israel.
Still, not all countries are opposed to President Trump’s courageous step in going against the grain and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Czech Republic and the Phillipines came alongside and followed suit. May they both be blessed in accordance with Genesis 12:3. Now, if people would only stop talking about a two-state solution, which requires the dividing of the land and the displacement of a multitude of Israelis, maybe, just maybe, there would be an opportunity for discussing peace. On second thought, that is not Biblically realistic.
The only question I have at the moment is “What price is Israel going to have to pay for this announcement?”
The only question I have at the moment is “What price is Israel going to have to pay for this announcement?”
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:1-2)
Thank you for your prayers.
Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,
Marvin
The Week That Was 