Shalom friends,

In Watchmen #1 2013, we began to show why Israel's possession of her God-given possessions (Obad. 1:17) draws such rage from the nations. Clearly Satan stirs them up - but why? The Jewish nation is not serving their Messiah King yet and often has an unbiblical view of God. Still, Israel is targeted because the devil knows, better than many Christians, that God's goal in Israel's restoration is the return of Yeshua. If Israel is destroyed, Satan would make God's word a lie (Jer. 31:35-37), and prove God both unreliable and unable to do that which He said. This would destroy the foundations upon which God's Name (reputation), His Word and His kingdom are based. Can Satan show God's Word a lie by halting the restoration of Israel to its God-promised inheritance?

What's really at issue in the Middle East? God's Word

Paul reminds Timothy to keep trusting in God's promises in the Tanach [Old Testament], upon which our salvation is based. But continue in the things you have learned and been assured of… [and] that from a child you have known the Holy Scriptures [in context, the Tanach], which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Messiah Yeshua. (2 Tim. 3:14-15) Furthermore, what God promises about Israel's end-time restoration must also come to pass - or else our salvation, which rests on those same promises, would lose its assurance.

From the first, Satan has bent his cunning on raising doubts about God's Word. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field YHWH God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen. 3:1) Yet God shows His Word reliable since it is based on who He is and what He does. As He declared through Balaam, Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19b). Through Isaiah also, He says, So shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. (Isa. 55:11). King David understood, writing, …You have magnified Your Word above all Your name. (Psa. 138:2b) In the Hebrew, 'above' can be translated 'upon' - thus God's Word is made great because it is based on who God is!

Affirming that a literal fulfillment of God's Word is linked with our salvation, our resurrected Messiah confronts His disciples: Fools and slow of heart to believe all things that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary for Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures [Tanach] the things concerning Himself. (Luke 24:25-27, see also vs. 44-45) Yeshua says God's Word is the truth. Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth. (John 17:17)

Since the Tanach is the Word of God, and Yeshua and the New Testament writers use it to prove He is Messiah, then should we not expect the same with all its verses about Israel's restoration? God says, …I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel…You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria… (Jer. 31:3b, 4a, 5a) Samaria is part of what the world today calls 'the occupied territories'.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the peoples all around, when they shall be in the siege against Judah and also against Jerusalem. And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples. All who lift it shall be slashed, even if all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. (Zech. 12:2-3) Jerusalem and Judah make up the other part of the 'occupied territories'.

If God is not literally fulfilling these words concerning Israel - prophecies He commits to do with all of His heart and soul (Jer. 32:41), then what confidence do we have that He is willing or able to do all that He promised in regard to our salvation? Bringing unsaved Jews back to His/their land and protecting and prospering them is much easier than what He promises to His Bride: …to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before His glory, with unspeakable joy; (Jude 1:24-25)

President Obama's 'charm offensive' - was offensive

In March, Obama visited Israel for the first time as US President. His goal was to win over the hearts and minds of Israelis, since polls show that most of us do not trust him. The White House called this a 'charm offensive.' Some synonyms of 'charm' show what Israel faced: magic, talisman, amulet, bewitch, enchant, captivate, enthrall, spellbind.

On Obama's final day in Israel a strong east wind came off the desert, spiking temperatures and depositing lots of dust - the worst sharav here in decades. Visibility was low and some wore masks to protect their lungs.

The night before, Obama gave his main address, but declined to speak to Israel's elected officials in the Knesset (parliament). He wanted to speak to invited university students - unless the school, like Ariel, was in the 'occupied territories'. Obama brazenly told the students if they wanted change they had to pressure Israel's government to create 'Palestine' - a new Islamic/Arab Jew-free state on land God gave to Israel to fulfill His word, land God has warned Israel not to divide (Lev. 25:23). Yet Israel's new government does not even have this issue as part of their coalition agreement since most Israelis by now understand that creating a 'Palestine' would not bring peace.

We saw the sharav as symbolic of Obama's 'charm offensive'. It lessened visibility and light to see by; it hindered normal activity; and it left behind much dirt to clean up. If someone says he's your friend, yet presses you to act against God's will, you would rightly see that person as deceived. Obama is doing this with Israel and that creates a dangerous situation. We are not judging his heart - only his words and actions which we have a responsibility to judge (Matt. 7:15-20; 1 Cor. 2:15a).

Israel Today exposed Obama's mixed message. On arrival, he clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed the historical and biblical connection of the Jewish people to this land. A day later…at the Palestinian Authority's [PA] HQ in Ramallah, he said allowing Jews to build homes and live in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria was problematic, not constructive to achieving peace… So, which is it? Do Jews have an ancient connection to this land that entitles them to live here, or don't they?

Like most of the world, Obama sees the 'West Bank' differently from the rest of Israel, saying that it is OK for Jews to dwell in the latter, but taboo for them to build in the former. Yet Judea and Samaria are where most biblical events took place, including much of Yeshua's ministry as related in the gospels. Yet now we are being told that Jews cannot live there. ("Obama's mixed message: Jews…leave biblical heartland," Israel Today, 21 Mar. 2013)

Barry Rubin dissected Obama's speech to Israeli university students and his press conference with PA President Abbas. In his speech, Obama spoke at great length about Israel's history, concerns, and related matters to try to show that he 'gets it' when it comes to Israel. But he made several points that showed he really doesn't get it…

Obama tried to convince the students that peace is better than continued conflict and has many advantages. Well they already know that! They are the ones who have to serve in the military and risk their lives, the ones who know that they and their loved ones are the targets of terrorism and war.

Obama did not deal with any day after issues. For example, if Israel and the PA agree on a peace deal, what will prevent Hamas from taking over, as they did in Gaza? What will Israel do about the PA's demand that millions of Palestinians be allowed to come and live in Israel? Why should Israel believe in any guarantees and assurances from the US and Europe when such promises have been repeatedly broken…?

Finally, Obama did not take seriously the changed regional situation except to say that the US wants democracy in the Arabic-speaking world and will try to work for that and Egypt's continued adherence to its peace treaty with Israel. Yet he backs Islamists seeking or holding power, and still he wants Israel to make big concessions and take risks in the face of radical Islamist regimes rising up in the Middle East [ME].

In Ramallah, to the PA, Obama also preached the benefits of a two-state solution. He even referred to Israel as a Jewish state…a significant phrase. Yet Abbas said he would only negotiate with Israel if certain preconditions were met, including a new freeze on construction within existing Jewish settlements…and also Israel providing its final proposal for where the border should be. ("As Obama Continues Visit…," B. Rubin, RubinReports, 21 Mar. 2013)

Charles Krauthammer quoted from Obama in Jerusalem. I honestly believe if any Israeli parent sat down with Palestinian kids, they'd say I want these kids to succeed. Krauthammer: Very true. But how does the other side feel about Israeli kids? Mariam Farhat of Gaza is the most honored parent to Palestinians. Why? Her three sons died trying to kill Israelis…She gloried in her 'martyr' sons, wishing only for 100 sons to 'sacrifice' to Allah. She was venerated by Palestinians as 'mother of the struggle,' elected to parliament and widely mourned in her recent death.

The PA names streets, public squares, summer camps, schools, even a kindergarten…after suicide bombers and other mass murderers. So much for the notion that if only Israelis would care about Arab kids, peace would be possible. ("What Obama's visit really means for Israel," C. Krauthammer, Mercurynews.com,29 Mar. 2013) Or as former Israeli PM Golda Meir said, Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.

JP analyst Martin Sherman wrote that when you really listen to what Obama said in Jerusalem, a disturbing picture emerges… [of] a man so out-of-touch with ME realities one can only wonder if [his] positions…reflect appalling ignorance or artful ill-will.

For example, he said, You live in a neighborhood where many of your neighbors have rejected your right to exist. Your children grow up knowing people they have never met hate them because of who they are… And how should Israel deal with them? By making perilous concessions to the very neighbors who reject Israel's right to exist and who hate Israelis

Urging his audience to disregard disastrous failures of the past, he insisted that the only way forward was to make peace via establishment of a Palestinian state. Noting the rise of Palestinian extremists only briefly, Obama pressed Israel to engage an almost 80 year old Abbas, and his unpopular, unelected PM Fayyad as 'true partners' for peace, either not knowing or not caring that even if a deal is reached with them, there is little chance they could ensure its implementation. Update: Fayyad has tendered his resignation, and Abbas has accepted it - although America and the EU urged Abbas not to.

Obama acknowledged the changes sweeping the Arab world, the uncertainty in the region, the rise of religious political parties. Yet instead of counseling caution, to pause and take stock of the long-term impact on Israel's borders, he invokes them as a reason to push with even greater vigor the same two-state policy he promoted before they occurred.

Obama: As more governments respond to popular will, the days when Israel could seek peace with a handful of autocratic leaders are over. Peace must be made among peoples, not just governments.

Sherman: Could it have been absentmindedness that caused [him] to forget it is precisely those new 'non-secular' governments and those 'people in the streets'…that are the source of the hate… of Israel and Israelis…'because of who they are'? So despite all conditions which apparently made a 2-state approach previously desirable/feasible being washed away, it is now presented as being even more desirable/feasible precisely because they have been washed away.

Obama grieved over the Palestinians' situation, saying, It is not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands; to restrict a student's ability to move around the West Bank; to displace Palestinian families from their home, implying that this is all a result of some malicious, totally unnecessary Israeli initiative. What a distortion of truth! These hardships are a direct result of their leaders unflagging efforts to harm Jews…

How is Israel to interpret his censure of the Palestinian plight? How else… other than as disapproval of any coercive measure… that Israel may be compelled to undertake to protect its citizens from violence simply because of who they are? ("Obama in Israel: sinister subtext?" M. Sherman, JP Op-ed, 4 Apr. 2013)

Insanity: trying a two-state solution - again and again

Einstein said, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So are all attempts to solve the Israeli-Arab crisis by creating a 'Palestine' insane?

Israel's new government faces a world that once again strives for the elusive Arab/Israeli peace. Here's proof. At US Secretary of State John Kerry's confirmation hearing, he said, So much of what we aspire to achieve and what we need to do globally…is tied to what can or doesn't happen with…Israel-Palestine.

Muslims killing Muslims in Syria, Muslims killing Christians in Egypt, Muslims killing US officials in the ME, Islamic suicide bombers killing Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan - all of it, is a result of a lack of an agreement between Israel and Palestinians? ("Here comes the pressure," Josh Hasten, JP Op-ed, 30 Jan. 2013) Obsession with an Israel-Arab peace does lead to insanity.

Kerry met Jordan's Foreign Minister, who then said, Peace in the ME…is peace of mind for the rest of the world…This is a global conflict, with global ramifications… ("US, Jordan say 'window closing' on ME peace process," Israel Hayom, 14 Feb. 2013)

Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow for ME Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes about Kerry's goal of an Israeli/Arab peace agreement during Obama's second term. In recent talks, Kerry and his advisors have given the impression to European, Israeli and Arab officials that Kerry is determined to the point of obsession, to achieve this. One source even said, He sees it as the holy mission of his life. ("Kerry & the 'peace process'," E. Abrams, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 26 Feb. 2013) Kerry will fail because what he aims to do does not take God into account at all.

David Weinberg indicates that insanity might be contagious. After meeting Kerry, UK Foreign Secretary Hague repeated the hackneyed mantra that 'there is no more urgent foreign policy priority in 2013 than restarting Israel/PA negotiations.

Yet Palestinians are not shy about their goal to destroy Israel, as a PA negotiator told an America Jewish group in Weinberg's presence recently, We Palestinians will not, I repeat NOT with capital letters, ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state, because this is meant by Israel to block the Palestinian right of return to Jaffa, Haifa and Ein Karem. ("Chill out, Obama and Kerry," D. M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 28 Feb. 2013) Exactly!

Historian Dan Calic says a two-state solution has been tried and failed. In 1947, UN Resolution 181 divided 'Palestine' into two states for two peoples, but the Arabs refused to accept the UN vote and attacked when Israel declared independence. Since then, there have been numerous wars, two intifada, thousands of Israeli victims of terror attacks and a host of terror organizations birthed, all with a singular goal - the destruction of Israel… Until today, the Arabs have not compromised. They refuse a state if accepting the existence of Israel as a Jewish state is a requirement…

A 2012 joint Palestinian/American poll showed that, 61% of Arabs/Palestinians do not accept two states for two peoples; 66% would accept two states only as a first step toward one Arab-Palestinian state; 92% said Jerusalem must be Palestine's capital only. Even with irrefutable historical and archeological evidence …[72%] reject any Jewish connection to the land or Jerusalem…

A question for the Left is how do you make compromises or negotiate with people who don't believe you should exist? ("Why the Left isn't right," D. Calic,Ynetnews Op-ed, 13 Mar. 2013)

Palestinian youth - the lost generation

Israeli-Arab/Muslim Khaled Abu Toameh shows why Palestinians make it impossible for Israel to trust them or their next generation. In Gaza, thousands of schoolchildren receive military training… to prepare them for jihad [holy war] against Israel. A Hamas senior official said, Some 9,000 teens have been taught how to use various types of weapons and handle explosives, to train them, for the liberation of Palestine, from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, in other words, all of Israel.

Abu Toameh: How can anyone talk about a two-state solution when these teens are training to replace Israel with an Islamic state?

Not surprisingly, parents…have not protested against this form of child abuse…More disturbing is that only a few of the dozens of Western-funded human rights organizations [in Gaza] …have raised their voices against Hamas' abuse of children. UNICEF has not said a word about this evil.

Any hope of peace - other than in Messiah Yeshua - is lost by this poisoning of hearts and minds. …Hamas is raising an entire generation of Palestinians on the glorification of suicide bombers, jihad and terrorism. Pray that these demonically deceived children might be saved. ("Palestinians' Nazi-Style Youth Movement Prepares for Jihad," K. Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 1 Feb. 2013)

Is there any hope for the EU?

Scriptures warn repeatedly that nations are judged by how they deal with God's nation. So recent EU moves are dragging the EU deeper into Joel 3:2's Valley of Judgment.

In March, we read that diplomatic officials in Jerusalem are increasingly frustrated by…Brussels' pro-Palestinian tilt. An Israeli official said, while the EU talks continually about labeling products from settlements, or issues statements about Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails, or [diplomatic protests] over all the construction beyond the Green Line, it is unable to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization and was slow and [restrained] in condemning Turkish Prime Minister [PM] Erdogan's recent characterization of Zionism as a crime against humanity.

This biased outlook was seen when 2013's annual report of EU consuls-general in Jerusalem and Ramallah… was leaked to the press. The report called for EU nations to prevent all financial transactions…from within the EU, in support of settlement [Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem] activities, infrastructure and services.

The Israeli official said that yearly their report is critical of Israel. They never issue a report on problems inside the PA, the misuse of funds, or human rights abuses there. ("Israeli frustration with EU's policies on rise'," Herb Keinon, JP, 8 Mar. 2013)

One fruit of the EU's stand against Israel's restoration is seen in God judging its economy. Regrettably, Cyprus, which is on good terms with Israel, has become a victim. This could help set the stage for the rise of the Anti-Christ who solidifies his power through control of financial transactions (Rev.13:16-17).

A JP editorial on recent measures the EU took against Cyprus said, the euro-zone powers-that-be…demanded hefty levies on all Cypriot bank deposits. This is draconian, and unheard of in a free-market West. A dangerous precedent has been set by the fact that Europe's top financial authorities at all countenanced putting their collective hand into the savings of law-abiding depositors…

[The] 2008 credit crunch still haunts Europe. It is trying to assure anxious investors that the euro-zone's breakup is not a foregone conclusion…With one fell swoop of an incredibly ill-considered measure contemplated against its most defenseless member, however, Europe managed to unsettle the confidence in the existing order, both political and financial, of entrepreneurs and ordinary householders the world over…This is a recipe for instability such as the world has not known for a very long time… By proposing penalties directly on blameless individuals, Europe grossly crossed the line - not only morally but pragmatically. ("Crisis in Cyprus," JP editorial, 23 Mar. 2013)

Beware! Benevolent ethnocentrism ahead!

Only societies based on the biblical Judeo-Christian worldview - which sees humanity as made in God's image and to be respected and protected - have ever been successful in having 'democratic' and 'free' societies, which are otherwise not common in history.

Yoram Ettinger says that benevolent ethnocentrism, the assumption that other cultures are ready to embrace one's own standards and worldview, is often morally flawed and strategically self-destructive. History teaches that Free World leaders should avoid the delusion that most non-democratic societies would depart from their centuries-old values, preferring engagement to confrontation, peace over war, tolerance over fanaticism, freedom over oppression, if offered adequate diplomatic and economic incentives.

Free World leaders need to see that cardinal democratic values …life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, peaceful coexistence, and the belief that all men are created equal, are viewed by most non-democratic cultures as a lethal threat…They should avoid oversimplification and over-globalization in a highly diversified, conflict-ridden world, which has been afflicted for millennia by insoluble conflicts, unpredictability, instability, shifting policies and violent intolerance.

Ettinger gives examples of the dangerous fruit of benevolent ethnocentrism, including the US support for Ayatollah Khomeini and other anti-Shah elements in Iran. US leaders mistook the collapse of the USSR as leading to a New World Order, vying for democracy and producing 'peace dividends', instead, the New World Disorder that evolved culminated with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities and the proliferation…of Islamic terrorism. President Clinton and Israel's Rabin and Peres embraced Arafat as a messenger of peace, and the Oslo Peace Process as a door to a new ME. Instead, Oslo produced unprecedented Palestinian hate education, terrorism and non-compliance… US President Bush assumed that elections in [Iraq] a violent society could be 'free', leading to democracy. Instead, unprecedented terrorism has engulfed Iraq, accelerating the disintegration of the country, transforming Baghdad into an Iranian satellite…

In 2011, the Free World thought street riots would lead to an Arab Spring. Today, we see the rise of an Islamic Winter led by rogue entities, which are less familiar, less predictable, more treacherous, more violent and threatening to…the Free World.

Yet with Iran, the Free World still prefers diplomatic and economic engagement - rather than confrontation…The delusion that ayatollahs are vulnerable to inherently ineffective economic sanctions, responsive to the democratic values of negotiation… peaceful-coexistence and enhancement of civil liberties, defies reality as is evidenced by the fact that severe sanctions have not stopped N. Korea from developing nuclear weapons. ("…beware of benevolent ethnocentrism," Y. Ettinger, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 1 Mar. 2013)

Uri Heitner also touches on an aspect of Western thinking gone astray. He notes that this argument is often heard: What right do we have to complain about Iran when Israel itself…has nuclear weapons and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? This argument's hypocrisy and self-righteousness are part and parcel of a politically correct culture. According to this hypocritical standard, Israel and Iran are countries that should be measured equally.

The opposite of political correctness is morality, where there is a distinction between good and evil. [emphasis ours] There are good countries and there are bad countries. There are countries that drive humanity forward and there are those that hold it back. There is no equivalence between a liberal democracy and a fanatical fundamentalist dictatorship…

According to political correctness, British nuclear weapons are the same as N. Korean nuclear weapons. Yes, both nations have nukes, yet Britain's goal is to protect humanity from evil while N. Korea's goal is to threaten humanity in the name of evil…

Israel's nuclear option is meant, via deterrence, to prevent the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. It is considered to be a 'doomsday weapon' to be used only if there is no other choice. Many lives, both Jewish and Arab, have been saved over the years due to the prevailing assumption among Arab countries that Israel has such weapons.

The Iranian nuclear option…is meant for jihad, to threaten the free world and destroy the 'Zionist entity'. The free world must recognize this truth and commit to prevent Iran from reaching their demonically inspired goal. The time has come for Western democracies to stop attributing to fanatical countries like Iran and N. Korea the characteristic of responsible judgment that defines the free world. Nations like these must be seen for what they are. ("Learning the N. Korean lesson," U. Heitner, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 2 Apr. 2013)

Anti-Semitic doctrine of demons

In March, a Lebanese daily printed an article by a Lebanese who said that at Passover, Zionist Jews eat unleavened bread which during its preparation is mixed with blood - but that blood must be from a non-Jew! …

How can the world expect us to negotiate with people who crave the blood of human beings - not only in their wars, but even in their holidays? ("Lebanese Writer: Jews make…Matzah with blood of non-Jews," MEMRI, www.memri.org, 29 Mar. 2013) And how can the world expect Israel to negotiate with neighbors who actually believe satanic lies like this - and make efforts to spread them?

More Bible Studies in Israel

A while ago, PM Netanyahu restarted the PM's Bible Study group. Now the Knesset is also holding weekly bible study sessions. The initiative came from the new centrist Yesh Atid party, comprised of both secular and religious lawmakers.

Despite running an election campaign that emphasized an end to army exemptions for, and exaggerated welfare payouts to, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector, and subsequently being labeled anti-religious by ultra-Orthodox leaders, Yesh Atid has since the election been the most outspoken party about getting more Israelis to study the Bible. In mid February the first bible study was held with more than 30 Knesset members in attendance.

Yesh Atid's Rabbi Lipman said, There is a growing sense in Israel that the Bible needs to form the basis of the state's culture and policies, but the ultra-Orthodox must not have a monopoly on the biblical interpretation of what it means to be Jewish. ("New Knesset Bible study group off to strong start," Israel Today, 22 Feb. 2013)

In March we read that while Jewish Home and Yesh Atid were branded as 'anti-religious' by the ultra-Orthodox…the coalition deal that brought them into the government reads: The State of Israel recognizes the importance and centrality of Torah study as a central value of the Jewish people and the State of Israel…

Both parties also want more comprehensive Bible study in Israeli schools…What other nation today has as a central pillar of its ruling government the importance of studying the Bible? ("Israel's new gov't…the importance of Bible study'," Israel Today, 14 Mar. 2013)

Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.

Psalms 119:105

Chuck & Karen Cohen