Shalom friends,

In John 13:19, Yeshua told His disciples, I am telling you this before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am He. [cp. Matt. 24:25; John 14:29; 16:4] This explains why God gives prophecies to mankind. It is not to know the future – but in order that when God's prophetic word is fulfilled, we can declare like Peter did on Shavuot, This is that which was spoken of by the prophet… (Acts 2:16) In this way, we bear witness to the truth that our God is all-knowing, faithful and powerful enough to watch over His Word to fulfill it (Num. 23:19; Isa. 55:11; Jer. 1:12).

Consider just a few prophetic fulfillments surrounding Messiah's birth: Messiah comes out of Bethlehem (Mic. 4:2; Matt. 2:5-6); He is called out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1; Matt. 2:15); and He will be from Nazareth (Zech. 6:12; Matt. 2:23). Today we see how these three prophecies that seem to be in such conflict actually were not, but no one could have possible perceived how they would all fit together back then.

Therefore, let's be very careful before declaring with God's authority that "this is that", especially when one of the major errors in discerning prophetic fulfillment is taking prophecy out of its biblical context.

Context

Preachers, teachers and ordinary believers who take prophecy out of its biblical context can come up with all sorts of exciting – but biblically false – conclusions. One of these issues is Jacob's Trouble, which if read in context was the Holocaust [WFJ teaching: Jacob's Trouble - Past or Future]. Two other topics pulled out of context today are the mark of the Beast – the symbol for the Anti-Christ in the book of Revelation – and Gog and Magog.

If the Covid-19 vaccine was the prophesied mark of the Beast, the Anti-Christ must already be revealed to the world as a result of his miraculous recovery from a deadly head wound (Rev. 13:3), which causes much of the world – except for born-again believers – to worship him (13:8). Also his false prophet needs to be around and active as well (13:11-18). While the suddenness of the global restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus and the vaccine having been mandated in certain areas is a definite foreshadow of this mark – yet to say "this is that" is to take the context of Revelation 13 and ignore it.

Similarly, to say that Russian President Putin is Gog and we are seeing the beginning of the Gog and Magog war (Ezek. 38-39) is again taking certain verses that might apply to today's events out of the context in which it was given. Does Israel live in total peace (Ezek. 38:8-12)? Is Ethiopia in league with Magog/Russia (38:5)? In fact, is Russia actually Magog or is it today's Turkey?

A new world order [NWO] today

A new world order is now a reality; America is no longer the world's super cop, and while God is the One orchestrating all of history, including the rise and fall of nations (Dan. 2:20-21; 4:17b; 25b), yet without a super cop the world faces a vacuum, and a nation like China is trying to fill the gap. Of course, at some point God will anoint Israel to be the head of the nations (Deut. 28:1, 13), most likely at the start of Messiah's reign over the whole world from Jerusalem (Psa. 2:8-12; Zech. 14:16; Rev. 19:11-16). Until then I suspect we will probably see regional agreements in which various nations band together for security.

Was this what we saw in the Negev at the end of March as Israel hosted the foreign ministers of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt? And while US Secretary of State Blinken was there also, he was the only one to visit Ramallah to talk with the Palestinians. The other foreign ministers ignored them, focusing on developing stronger relations with Israel.

Meanwhile, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed the fear that Western nations have of a nation which possesses nuclear weapons. Yet many of these same nations support an Iranian nuclear deal allowing Iran to develop atomic bombs with international backing in less than three years. Today it seems that only Israel and most Sunni Arab Middle East [ME] nations see how insane this is.

America has gone from being a superpower to eating itself from the inside out and becoming the laughing stock of much of the world. If one wonders why, consider that for the last 30+years God has put up with one US president after another – including Trump – putting pressure Israel to divide His land. And when you do that, you are eventually driven by God into the Valley of His judgment (Joel. 3:1-2).

Yet it is not only America; most of the West is under God's judgment. Read Romans 1:18-32 which describes these wise-in-their-own-sight humanistic nations which reject God and His Word, and worship God's creation and His creatures instead of the Creator. His judgment is very frightening as He removes His hand of protection and restraint and lets' mankind's wicked heart lead them to destruction (Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9).

In February, The Jerusalem Post's [JP] Seth J. Frantzman wrote, "The continued failure of western democracies to come to a clear consensus on how to deter Moscow a few days after it invaded Ukraine is showing that the US-led world order is coming undone." Even after "months of warnings, Russia went ahead with its unprovoked attack without fear of consequences." And the US was "unwilling to really sanction Moscow, even fearing Russia could profit because it is an energy exporter…"

The West looked to diplomacy to thwart war-crimes and human-rights abuses, but that has not worked, as we see that diplomacy "is an empty shell; bombs go right through it." All talk of a "'rules-based international order," is vain when no one enforces the rules (Shocking failure of West on display in not preventing Ukraine war," S. J. Frantzman, JP Analysis, 26 Feb. 2021)

This NWO is very evident in the ME. Ryan Jones linked it with Israel's reluctance to join "the US in condemning and sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine." Historically, Israel has backed US "global policies", not wanting to have any tension between itself and "its most committed ally and benefactor. But today, it's not only Israel "that is loosening ties to the US. A chorus of Arab voices is warning that America is losing its grip on the entire ME due to reckless, contradictory and even hypocritical policies."

M. al-Yahya, former editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab, Saudi-owned news network Al-Arabiya, in a JP op-ed wrote, "The Saudi-US relationship is in the throes of a crisis." The fact that this op-ed was not written in an American paper but an Israeli one, shows how "the Arabs are looking to diversify their alliances, and see in Israel as worthy a partner as any other to whom to air their grievances."

Al-Yahya said, "while the White House still fails to fully comprehend what's happening," Gulf Arab States see themselves in the midst of a "divorce". This began with US President Obama's "previous Iran nuclear deal," which paved the way for Iran to develop nuclear bombs.

Today Biden is following Obama's dangerous footsteps, and "when these concerns were raised" at the Negev summit, US Secretary of State Blinken papered "over the rift that the nuclear deal has created by presenting an image of regional solidarity, but the region is not deceived." Arab nations have concluded that the US would not in any real sense "protect them from Iranian aggression."

Jones: "Israel has reached much the same conclusion, even if it doesn't say so in such explicit terms." Instead, today we hear its leaders declare that Israel can only rely "upon itself for its defense." It is this realization that has shaken up the Arabs to seek other, "or at least additional, allies, including Israel." As al-Yahya said, "If Americans won't side with Israel against Iran, what's the chance they will side with us?"

Also many in the ME wonder "why the US is so adamant that Israel and the Arab Gulf states join it in directly opposing Russia, rather than maintaining a balance that suits their own national interests." Or again as al-Yahya asked, "Why should America's regional allies help Washington contain Russia in Europe when Washington is strengthening Russia and Iran in the ME?" ("America is losing the ME," R. Jones, Israel Today, 3 Apr. 2022)

Israel & the Russian-Ukrainian war

It is important for believers to understand why Israel has taken a neutral stance in this conflict and some of the urgent lessons Israel needs to learn from the world's response to this war. So while some of these articles are from the beginning of the war, the truths they bring out are significant. Also, I am aware of how some believers are very skeptical of the media's portrayal this war, what follows is how some Israelis – who are not Messianic yet – view what is happening.

In late February, discussing the war, Ronn Torossian noted, "Just like that, the world is a different place," and it is vital for Israel to learn the lessons of Russia's action, as Ukraine is on its own in this fight. No Western nation, not even NATO, stood with them militarily. Seeing this, Israelis are reminded once again "that Israel was created so that never again would Jews be dependent on anyone else for their security".

Torossian then quoted from a few past Israeli officials, like Menachem Begin who in his first speech to the Knesset as Prime Minister [PM] addressed the question of whether Israel has a right to exist. "We were granted our right to exist by the God of our fathers…4,000 years ago. Hence, the Jewish people have an historic, eternal and inalienable right to exist in this…land of our forefathers. We need nobody's recognition in asserting this inalienable right…"

Begin told US President Carter to strike all references to "Israel's right to exist" from a US statement, saying "our Jewish state needs no American affirmation of our right to exist. Our Hebrew Bible established that right millennia ago. Never, throughout the centuries, did we ever abandon or forfeit that right. Therefore, sir, we alone, the Jewish people – no one else – is responsible for our country's right to exist."

In the early 20th century, one of Zionism's right-wing fathers, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, said that the most evil of all traditions is that Jewish blood should be seen as so cheap that "there is no prohibition" nor any penalty to shed it. ("Israel alone will protect Israel," R. Torossian, Arutz 7 Op-ed, 25 Feb. 2022)

Again in February, Attorney Stephen M. Flatow whose daughter was killed by Palestinian terrorists in 1995 wrote that while Russia's invasion of Ukraine had just begun, "the lessons for Israel are already obvious and they're not very encouraging."

#1: No nation will rescue you. "If ever there was a situation in which the international community would be totally justified to come to the armed defense of a beleaguered ally, this is it." Ukraine is a democracy, a victim of aggression, and its location makes it "strategically vital to the West. Yet, none of that matters." No nation is willing to help Ukraine militarily. Each reason already mentioned and "more would apply if Israel was again invaded by its Arab neighbors." Yet no nation, not even Israel's closest allies, "would pick up a gun if Israel faced annihilation."

For years, left-wing Jews and the US State Department pushed for "peacekeeping troops" to be stationed in Judea-Samaria and on the Golan so that Israel could surrender these areas and feel secure. But US peacekeepers would be pulled out as soon as "war seemed imminent," like the "UN peace-keeping troops were from the Sinai on the eve of the 1967 war…" Or else, they would be as completely useless "as UN troops in southern Lebanon … in the face of Hezbollah's de facto control of that region".

Israelis watching Ukraine recall their "own bitter experiences with international indifference in the face of Arab aggression. When Arab armies invaded the newborn Jewish state in 1948, the [US] Truman administration declared an arms embargo and refused to give Israel a single bullet. When Arab armies surrounded Israel in 1967 and prepared to attack, the [US] Johnson administration refused to lift a finger." And when in 1973 "Arab armies prepared to invade Israel," US Secretary of State Kissinger pressured Israeli to not strike pre-emptively, "and then withheld weapons for ten days in order to prevent Israel from achieving a decisive victory.

"When Israel defended itself against mass rocket attacks by Hezbollah in 2006 and by Hamas in 2008, 2014, and 2021, the US pressured the Israelis to end their operations prematurely, thus granting de facto victories to the terrorists." [Chuck: As America is supposed to be Israel's closest ally, is there any question as to why God is judging the US in such an obvious way today (Ezek. 29:6-7)?]

#2: Hypocrisy never ends. Regardless of Russia's behavior, "Russia and its allies will continue to falsely accuse Israel of illegally occupying Arab territory." While Israel's right to Judea and Samaria is "fully supported by history and international law," yet accusations against Israel continue, from so-called human rights groups, the UN and many of the world's nations.

#3: Who your neighbors are does matter. Historically, dictators assault their neighbors. Whether "motivated by religion or nationalism", or wanting "to distract their own population from domestic problems…authoritarian regimes often turn aggressive." So Israel is correct "to be concerned…that the Palestinian Authority [PA]" in Judea and Samaria and Hamas in Gaza are corrupt dictatorships. "Democracies tend to be peaceful neighbors, dictatorships tend not to be."

The Ukraine crisis shows Israel what can happen "when you have a hostile, fascist dictatorship next door. And when a hostile Palestine and its Arab allies prepare to attack, nobody will come to Israel's rescue." ("Ukraine crisis shows Israel the international community won't rescue you," S. Flatow, JP Op-ed, 26 Feb. 2022)

Amnon Lord wrote that after the Russia invasion, many of Israel's American friends were confused and upset as they did not "understand Jerusalem's interests in relation to this war…" Yet Israel today faces "a fundamental problem beyond the sentimental ricochets in the media. Historians and strategists are united in the sense that the US is weak and ineffectual, which has sparked considerable concern in the Far East and the ME. Israel knows who its enemies are but is concerned about its friends… To put it bluntly: Israeli leaders understand Putin better than" they understand US President Biden.

Israel and many ME Arab nations are shocked that America has not changed its thinking about the nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna. "While the world is freezing Russia's financial assets, it is unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian funds. The deal will allow Tehran to re-enter the oil market in full force…" [Chuck: Iran is also much more dangerous to the world than Russia, as the Islamic Shi'ite regime has as its stated goal not only the destruction of Israel and America, but the establishment of a Shi'ite Caliphate over the whole planet.]

Iran's "military aspect of nuclear capability and ballistic missile development" is not dealt with in this deal, so Israel must "determine its own rules in the fight to eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities." Yet if the US agrees to a new deal, Israeli action can be seen as going against America's foreign policy decisions.

Israelis are also confused as to why Americans treat "Iran like a preferred customer over Saudi Arabia or Russia. Indeed, the assassination of journalist Khashoggi turned Saudi Arabia into a leper state in the Biden administration's mind – but in Iran, there are hundreds of Khashoggis every day and the US turns a blind eye. Israel can take solace in the fact that it knows where its enemy, Iran, stands. It does not know where its friend, the US, stands, and what is driving its decisions." ("The Americans have become a conundrum for Israel," A. Lord, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 6 Mar. 2022)

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger wrote, "Irrespective of the final outcome of the Russian invasion," it must be "a wake-up call for Israeli and Western policy-makers and molders of public opinion," as it has uncovered "the flawed nature" of many assumptions which impact the Western establishment's worldview." For example:

"The illusion that most of the world subscribes to the Western worldview of a new world (and new ME) order, which is supposedly more stable, predictable, tolerant and trending toward peaceful-coexistence, focusing on butter rather than guns;

"The ostensible end to the era of major wars and massive ground force invasions;

"The self-destruct notion that a military posture of deterrence can be effectively replaced by peace accords, security guarantees and generous financial and diplomatic packages…

"The delusion that peace and security agreements" are more important for a nation's security than its military capabilities, and geographical and topographical factors. "This delusion ignores the fact that while peace accords and security guarantees are tenuous, topographic dominance (e.g., the Golan Heights and the mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria) and geographic depth are everlasting."

Ignoring the reality that gradually reducing a "defense budget is interpreted by most of the globe" as a loss of deterrence which then encourages "terrorism and wars;

"The alleged subordination of national ideologies and strategic visions to a cosmopolitan/universal peaceful-coexistence state of mind;

"The presumed superiority of the diplomatic option as a more effective negotiation tool than the military option in settling conflicts with rogue regimes," which have historically shown themselves to be liars.

"The illusion that" the conduct of rogue regimes "(e.g., subversion, terrorism and wars) is despair-driven, rather than ideology-driven.

"Western policy makers have attempted to induce/coerce Israel into a withdrawal from the topographically dominant mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria – in return for a peace accord and security guarantees." Yet the world's current situation reaffirms "the centrality of the military-driven posture of deterrence in the shaping of national security." ("The Russian invasion: a wake-up call for Israel & the West," Y. Ettinger, Arutz 7 Op-ed, 9 Mar. 2022)

The Iranian threat

As of this writing, there is still no clarity as to whether a renewed Iranian nuclear deal will be signed. Our prayers have been against it being signed, because if it is, then Israel will face more international obstacles if and when it needs to attack Iran.

Also, if a deal is signed, then in a very "brief period of time" Iran will have a huge sum of money from the sanctions relief, perhaps "as much as a $90 billion instant influx seemingly without oversight and restrictions of use" and will then be "fiscally capable of implementing its spoken threat for Israel's demise by unleashing a coordinated" massive attack. "If so, what can we expect Israel's ally, the US, to do? Would it be more than what it has done for Ukraine – simply offering cash and supplies to tide it over?" ("After Ukraine, can Israel trust US against Iran?" B. Portnoy, JP Op-ed, 17 Apr. 2022)

I again am reminded of Micah 4:11-13 and as Israel today is that "exceedingly great army" that comes out of the graves of the Holocaust (Ezek. 37:1-10), my hope and confidence remains in God alone. After all, He has promised that when He regathers His scattered people – He Himself will guard them (Jer. 31:10).

International hypocrisy

Ben-Dror Yemini defended Israel's neutral stance on Russia as a moral necessity, noting that CNN's Christiane Amanpour, "like other progressive voices," was angry with Israel for not openly standing with the US against Russia. Yet this is "dangerous moral grandstanding that frankly lacks any morsel of morals."

For years, the West has bowed before Iran "although it is the most murderous actor in the ME…" Iran's actions and proxies have slaughtered hundreds of thousands and displaced millions from Yemen to Syria. It also caused the collapse of Lebanon "through its Hezbollah proxy," and employed pro-Iranian militias which brought further ruin in Iraq. All this is besides Iran's oft "stated goal to destroy Israel…" Yet the West strives "to sign a new nuclear deal with Tehran" which would make it much more dangerous.

Unbelievably, current trade between the EU and Iran is "about four billion euros in exports and about seven hundred million in imports…In 2017-18, that figure stood at about 20 billion euros." This reduction is not a result "of any moral reasoning, but crippling US sanctions. A new nuclear deal will restore Iran's economic might, which will, in turn, augment its destructive power."

What is much worse, and extremely dangerous to Western nations, is how on the world's stage they constantly side with "abject condemnations initiated by shady regimes" against Israel. "In the UN Human Rights Council alone, Israel has been condemned 95 times since 2006 as opposed to 11 condemnations of Iran," and the UN General Assembly has "condemned Jerusalem 125 time since 2015, compared to just six for Tehran."

Today, Israel resists Iran only "with the backing of Sunni Arab states," so, it likely has "secret understandings with Russia" allowing the IDF to attack Iranian forces trying to embed themselves in Syria. But Amanpour wants to "undermine those understandings under the guise of 'morality'." Apparently it doesn't matter that her 'moral' stance only makes Iran's "axis of evil much more powerful," or "if Hezbollah obtains precision missiles" this 'moral' stance will end up causing greater damage and death to Israel.

"The West is rightly concerned about Russia," yet it seems blind to the Iranian threat. They have effectively abandoned "the people of the ME – Muslims and Jews alike." Is this moral? While the West must resist Russian aggression, why are they "waving a white flag when it comes to Iran?"

Yemini concludes, "Israel must continue in its fight against the most murderous actor in the ME. This is not just an Israeli interest, it's also an American interest and of every decent human being in the ME and the West.

As an ally, the US is supposed to understand this and that freedom of action that allows undercutting Iran's might is a moral imperative that Jerusalem simply cannot give up on, and if it means the Israeli government must walk on eggshells vis-à-vis Moscow, so be it." So in essence, faced with "these circumstances, Israel is taking the moral approach." ("In the face of the Iranian threat, Israel's prudence on Ukraine is the moral choice," B-D Yemini, Ynet Op-ed, 4 Mar. 2022)

Palestinians: Terrorists kill everybody; let's celebrate!

Frantzman reported that as the news of a recent terror attack in Israel spread, "Palestinian Arabic-language media and social media accounts began to celebrate," saying Israeli "settlers" were killed. This is confusing for people who think "settlers" are Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. Yet in the Palestinian media and on their social media, "settlers" refers to anyone living in Israel, and it is not even limited to "Jewish Israelis or Jews in general. It also refers to foreigners who live in Israel or tourists." In the attack B'nei Brak in late March, "two Ukrainian victims living in Israel" were labeled "settlers."

This is how evil "the populist, nationalist, pro-terror, far-right Palestinian narrative has sunk"; it approves "the murder of anyone in Israel…Jewish, Arab or Ukrainian." Frantzman emphasized that "There is no other place in the world, and no other cause, that celebrates mass killing as 'heroic'."

Statements by terror groups are open for all to see. No one rejects these Palestinian or pro-Palestinian Arabic media posts. This is what Frantzman calls the "privilege of the hate crimes of terrorism. This kind of hate crime goes beyond our notion of what might be called a 'nationalist' crime, or even an anti-Semitic, racial, religious or ethnic-based crime. This is the mindset of hate-filled criminals and their supporters, who have taken on a genocidal 'right' to kill whomever they want – and then be celebrated as 'heroes'. To murder a person randomly is a new definition of 'heroic', but this is what years of excusing these crimes as 'resistance' have done."

What Israel faces is no longer "a conflict between two groups or states: a conflict in which a man…sets off to shoot people at random because they are living in a state he doesn't like goes beyond the concept of 'conflict'." And terror attacks like this cannot be labelled as a "military" action. "A man with a rifle killing an unarmed man sitting and eating falafel isn't involved in any kind of 'military' action. He's committing a hate crime and a crime against humanity." Without a doubt these are hate crimes. "The Ku Klux Klan lynching people was not a 'conflict'," or a "military" operation. "It was hate-based criminality."

Palestinians who celebrate these attacks "even when they know the victims are not Israeli is an example of how low and depraved this populist hate trend has become. The shifting of the term 'martyr' from someone who targeted a military target to a person blowing up a bus to a person stabbing people to a person shooting random foreigners is part of the process. It is a process not just of dehumanization, in which the other is called 'settler', but also a privilege afforded the hate criminal who is told from a young age that if he decides to kill random people, he will be a hero."

The Palestinians' "praise of murder is a cult of genocidal hatred. It is no different from that of the KKK or Nazis, in which a supremacist ideology has accorded itself a right to murder all whom it considers other." ("Pro-Palestinian social media celebrates murder of Ukrainians in terror attack," S. J. Frantzman, JP Op-ed, 30 Mar. 2022)

Nadav Shragai correctly discerns that "lone wolf" terror attacks are actually not "lone", but part of the larger Islamic wolf-pack. They are not born in a vacuum, but the "atmosphere that creates them" and from which these terrorists "draw inspiration for their solo actions" is found in Islam's tradition of holy war [jihad], especially when it results in "spilling the blood of Jews and Israelis. The incitement and hatred don't belong to any one organization," but as most terrorists are Muslims… well, you get the picture.

For years, "lone wolves" have drunk of the same jihad Kool-Aid, making "them and the people who assist them a collective…" Here are examples of how the PA brainwashes its entire population: Its 7th grade textbook, Our Beautiful Language, teaches children that "We will sow the land of Palestine with the skeletons and skulls [of shahids – martyrs]…" In the PA media, terrorists "al-Baset Odeh, who murdered 31 people" at a Passover Seder in Netanya, and D. Mughrabi, who orchestrated "the coastal highway bus attack that killed 37," are held up as "heroes and role models." PA leaders lie about Israeli crimes against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and then, while "parades of joy are held and sweets are handed out after terrorist attacks," they shout "A million shahids are marching to Jerusalem."

The hypocritical PA helps Israel to catch murderers and Hamas members, but it refuses to "take action to stop the cult of death and the glorification of martyrdom," nor halt its "incitement to murder Jews." It gives "money to terrorists' families and commemorates them. Psychologically, it raises terrorists from infancy," and nurtures them on a "culture of bloodshed and incitement…rooted in hatred for anything Jewish and Israeli…"

All of the above applies to Hamas as well. "Dr. S. Bartal found that the overwhelming majority of lone wolf attackers in the 2008-2015 terrorism waves were actually identified with Hamas, or came from families that identified with Hamas…Of the 74 terrorists who carried out attacks in Jerusalem from Oct. 2015 to May 2016 (the stabbing intifada), 61 had ties of one sort or another to Hamas."

Professor G. Weimann, "a veteran researcher of online terrorism," said even back then that there was no such thing as a "lone wolf": "The lone terrorists are part of a virtual pack. Tracking them online indicates that they feed off similar sources." Each "lone wolf" may make "decisions and carry them out on their own, but they all drink from the same poisoned well," which teaches them that anything is legit "in the name of Islam and/or Palestinian nationalism: incitement, lying, libel, and murder." ("'Lone wolves' are part of a murderous mental pack," N. Shragai, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 8 Apr. 2022)

Warren Goldstein, South Africa's Chief Rabbi, chimed in on the constant hatred aimed at Israel, noting that the "murderous attacks in Tel Aviv, Beersheba and B'nei Brak were not acts of terrorism designed to achieve a specific political objective…only the general objective issued in countless public statements and enshrined in the Hamas charter: the eradication of the Jewish state and the elimination of Jews from every inch of Israel."

He reminded us that the "word for violent, unprovoked attacks against innocent Jews" is a "pogrom." All of this is most disconcerting as the creation of "a Jewish state was meant to end antisemitism." Theodor Herzl created "the modern Zionist movement after realizing the intransigence of European antisemitism," thinking that if the Jews had their own state, the hatred would end. But instead, ironically, "the Jewish state has become the new focus of anti-Semitic hatred."

This intense hostility "toward Israel is incomprehensible" on a human level. It has fought wars and against terror attacks just to survive, and has "been the target of more UN Human Rights Council resolutions" than all of the rest of the world combined! It is also the only nation fighting against "a global movement denying its right to exist." There is "no rational explanation" for this, as it defies "any law of history or political theory."

Goldstein: "We need to place it in context of the miraculous origins of our people: born in slavery, freed by God. At the heart of our story lies a foundational truth that Jews for thousands of years understood with absolute clarity: Jewish destiny defies the laws of history because we are a miraculous nation with a Divine mission… No nation in history has survived what we have: 2,000 years of violent exile, dispersion and oppression. Yet, despite impossible odds, we have survived and thrived beyond any rational expectation because of our God-given destiny. Jews had always understood that we are a nation unlike any other."

But many of the state's founding fathers rejected this, thinking "the modern State of Israel would evade Jewish destiny and become a country like all others; that it would normalize the Jewish people – and by doing so, end antisemitism. Now we are waking up from that dream to the cold reality. Their dream was an illusion."

Still Israel prospered, developed "a strong army and flourishing economy," absorbed millions of Jews coming home from over 100 different nations "fulfilling the prophecies of the ingathering of the exiles…" It has had "supernatural success as the world's 'Start-Up Nation', while withstanding irrational, disproportionate animosity from within the region and beyond." This is all miraculous. "Both the adversity and the success of Israel defy the norm."

Goldstein notes that many Jews reject his analysis, and try "to deny the obvious – that Israel, and the Jewish people are a state and nation unlike any other" end up blaming themselves. "We have to…because, if not, then why the hatred? A Jewish state was meant to end the hatred, not attract it. The only alternative to this narrative, is to accept that we have a Divine mission and destiny that we received at Sinai; to recognize that all the supernatural suffering and success our people have experienced for millennia was predicted in the Torah; to understand that the story of our people is taking place on another plane, living proof of the presence of God."

He concludes, "Now is the time to rethink the assumptions of the Zionist dreams of the founders. We need to realize that if we want to hold onto the Divine gift of the land and our modern state, we need to see it as part of our Divine mission." ("It's time to rethink the Zionist dream," W. Goldstein, JP Op-ed, 14 Apr. 2022) I am in total agreement, and yet despite this excellent analysis Rabbi Goldstein himself remains in exile.

Prophetic signposts

David M. Weinberg said the "discourse about Israel in some Western circles," compared to what is "now common in most Arab capitals couldn't be more different…Westerners are stuck in a ruinous time warp."

For example, in Geneva and New York, a UN Human Rights Council report in mid-March "accused Israel of apartheid," as part of their "annual debate on 'Agenda Item 7'," which focuses exclusively on Israeli "human rights abuses" against Palestinians. This is the latest in a long list "of one-sided, baseless reports, vilifying Israel and engaging in a full-scale lawfare assault on Israel's very existence as a Jewish state." Before this, in February Amnesty International also released a very libelous and lengthy "report accusing Israel of apartheid."

Then there was a proposed UN resolution "sponsored by Pakistan on behalf of the 56-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation," which wants to "declare Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria" as "colonial occupation." This distortion would "deny Jews their history by labeling them as foreign invaders… as opposed to being indigenous to the Land of Israel."

Then the historically consistent anti-Israel US State Department needed to stick their nose into the mix by offering one million dollars in grant money to help various NGOs report on "Israeli human rights violations."

Yet in the Sinai, in mid-March, UAE Crown Prince bin Zayed, Egyptian President el-Sissi, and Israeli PM Bennett held "two days of discussions…to solidify their new regional alliance for peace and security."

Also at that time, "the first Emirati sovereign wealth fund entered the Israeli market, planning to invest $200 million in Israeli companies in 2022," with similar sums yearly for 10 years; "an Emirati think tank published book on Zionism written by Tel Aviv University researchers; UAE-based retail giant Lula began talks on operation in Israel; and Morocco signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel Aerospace Industries for a joint research and engineering center."

Then as Weinberg's op-ed was written, "foreign ministers of the Abraham Accord countries plus Egypt and the US" were meeting in the Negev. "This is the new ME blessedly created by the Abraham Accords!"

Israel exists today "in two parallel, contradictory worlds." One is "a false, hackneyed, out-of-date, and threatening universe that extends from Ramallah to NY, Geneva, and other unfriendly places." It is dominated by "Western 'progressives' in cahoots with Arab/Islamic radicals." It rejects the Abraham Accords while remaining "stuck in a time warp where Israel is an evil actor. It is a malign universe where recalcitrant and violent Palestinian leaders are venerated, and admirable Israeli leaders are criminalized."

The other "is marked by a peace dynamic that runs from Jerusalem to Dubai, Manama, Rabat, Cairo, and Amman; and from Jerusalem to the most important leaders in the world."

Today the conversation about Israel "in corrupt international institutions" and in the West "couldn't be more different than the discourse in Arab capitals…It's confrontation vs. cooperation, demonization vs. solidarity. It is time for more Western leaders and democratic activists to discover the true, new ME, and the real Israel: a force for peace, progress, security, and stability." ("Israel: A tale of 2 parallel universes," D. M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 28 Mar. 2022) Of course, this scenario could easily foreshadow that prophesied Isaiah 19 highway.

Herb Keinon reported that the demographic figures Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics [CBS] put out in late April "shows the cataclysmic changes the Jewish people have undergone over the last 83 years, since the eve of WW II in 1939, and also illustrates the transformative power of Zionism on the Jewish condition."

Today there are still less Jews in the world than before the start of WW II and the Holocaust, "as the world Jewish population at the end of 2020 stood at 15.2 million." By contrast, in 1939 it stood at 16.6 million. This represents a 9.2% decrease, yet by comparison, the global population "has gone from 2.3 billion to 7.9 billion in that same period, an increase of nearly 250%."

Yet the good news is that during this same period, "the Jewish population in Israel…went from 449,000 in 1939 to 6.9 million today." This miraculous increase "has changed Jewish life and the Jewish condition beyond recognition…While in 1939 only 3% of world's Jewish population resided in what is today Israel, which grew to 6% (650,000) on the eve of the establishment of the state in 1948, today that number stands at 45%. And this despite the wars, the terrorism and threats of annihilation; this despite fears over the years that no one would want to come to a country under constant threat, or warnings that having to live constantly by the sword will chase away those already here. This despite a drumbeat of reports over the decades that the difficulty of life here will lead to massive yerida (emigration), that limited opportunities will lead to a 'brain drain', and that the high cost of living will force people to look for greener pastures and cast their lots elsewhere. But rather than a shrinking Jewish population in Israel, what has shrunk is the Diaspora."

The early Zionists aimed to create "a new type of Jew in Israel: self-reliant, strong, proud and unapologetic," and they succeeded. "If Israel has altered how the world sees the Jew… it has also altered the Jews' image of themselves as well." A short while ago, the continually anti-Semitic threats from today's leaders of Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah "would strike fear into the heart of the Jewish people." But today, Jews who have settled in Israel since 1939 have become "an exceedingly great army (Ezek. 37:10). And because of Israel's existence, the sting has been removed from the world's anti-Semites.

"Current calls for Israel's destruction as well as antisemitism that never die show that some attitudes toward the Jews have not changed. What has changed…is the Jews themselves." The recent CBS figures clearly show this. "The Jewish population of Israel has grown from 449,000 to 6.9 million since beginning of WW II. That figure, an increase of 1,437%, is astounding, and the major factor responsible for the radical transformation of the Jewish people and the Jewish condition since the Holocaust." ("Jewry demographics report: A transformation in small stats," H. Keinon, JP Analysis, 26 Apr. 2022)

Anti-Israelism is a global phenomenon today

Daniel Greenfield exposed the demonic nature behind the anti-Israel movement. "A war is raging 3,000 miles away from Jerusalem, between two nations that share no borders with Israel and in which it has no troops, no interests and no involvement. Yet somehow, the war between Russia and Ukraine has come to be about Israel."

A Foreign Policy Magazine op-ed wrote that, "Israel needs to make up its mind on Ukraine," as if Israel is "a major player in a war between two much larger countries thousands of miles away." Also, US Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time supporter of Israel, said, "Ukraine asked Israel…for Stingers, and apparently Israel said no …So I'm going to get on the phone with Israel…" Greenfield questioned why Graham "is demanding that Israel supply US missiles to Ukraine. Isn't that his job?"

Greenfield said that despite "Israel delivering 230 tons of humanitarian aid, including bulletproof ambulances, setting up a field hospital and taking in thousands of refugees, the pressure campaign insists that it isn't doing enough. And that the war not only involves Israel, but that the outcome depends on it."

This Catch 22 hypocrisy is as blatant as the hatred of the Jewish State. "If Israel is involved in a war, it's evil, but if it's not involved in a war, it's also evil." Israel-hatred has nothing to do with the "Palestinians," the "Arabs, Muslims, or anyone in the ME."

Many pundits also used the typical lies to blame Israel for not resolving "a war it didn't start," although Israel's PM Bennett tried to bring "peace to people who don't want it." First was "Holocaust inversion," as Ukraine's President Zelensky and other critics portrayed "Ukraine as the new Jews facing a new Holocaust," with Israelis seen as "the unfeeling bystanders…" The NY Times complained that Israel was not taking in "enough refugees after it took in 15,000." Yet France only took in 26,000 "refugees despite being 10 times the size of Israel…

"Ukraine's government has colluded in the international hate campaign against Israel," as they berated Israel, abused the Holocaust and "demanded everything from the Iron Dome (designed to stop rockets fired by terrorists, not a full assault by a world power) and the Pegasus cyber-warfare tool (it won't stop Russian tanks)," while pushing for Israel to sanction Russia although Ukraine refuses to stop doing business with Iran!

Greenfield concluded, "This exciting new hatred of Israel is not about Ukraine, any more than the old variety was about the 'Palestinians'. Hating Israel is… always about one thing and one thing alone: hating the Jews." ("Ukraine shows hating Israel isn’t about the Palestinians," D. Greenfield, Arutz 7 Op-ed, 30 Mar. 2022)

Bunyan on prayer

"The nearer a man comes in any work that God commands him, to doing it according to God's will, so much harder and more difficult it is; and the reason is, because man, as man, is not able to do it. But prayer … is not only a duty, but one of the most eminent duties, and therefore so much more difficult: therefore Paul knew what he said when he wrote, 'I will pray with the Spirit'." Prayer, John Bunyan

Behold, I am YHWH, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?Jer. 32:27

Blessings from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen