What a balagan (Hebrew for “mess”) this is, on the face of it.
Israel’s 4th general election, held in March, left the country even more stuck than it was under the previous three governments that came in, and collapsed, in just two years.
It is hard, at present, to see the way forward. But even as this morass has been solidifying, Israel’s enemies have been busy; racing with on-the-ground efforts towards establishing Palestine on the Mountains of Israel, with a defiant, deeply anti-Semitic, European Union in the lead.
But first, for the unacquainted, a brief explication of this country’s electoral system.
Israel is a multi-party democracy; its citizens vote for their chosen party (not for the prime minister). They elect 120 lawmakers to the unicameral parliament (only one house) – the Knesset.
A working government needs 61 seats, but no single party gets close. The election outcome is always fragmented, and the leader considered most likely to succeed is tasked with cobbling together a coalition with some of the smaller fragments.
On March 23, 39 parties ran the race; 14 won enough votes to enter the Knesset.
The interests represented by these 14 parties criss-cross Israel’s political playing field on multiple levels, diverging and intersecting at every turn: Right and left; secular, religious and ultra-religious; Zionist and anti-Zionist; religious Zionist and secular Zionist; Jew and Arab; Muslim Arab and Christian Arab; socialist and free market….
Significantly this year, dividing this conglomeration into two blocs – whatever their differences, and albeit that no votes are actually cast for the prime minister – is the matter of who wants Binyamin Netanyahu to remain versus who wants him gone for good.
Worryingly, it is apparent that only of secondary importance is the extremely critical question of whether Israel will have a right wing government, or a left wing one; that is to say, a government that opposes the creation of Palestine on the Jews’ ancestral national land or a government supporting this “Two State Solution”; a government that fully rejects any engagement with Iran, willing to go it alone and forcefully confront this nuclear threat, or a government that is more concerned with currying American favour by agreeing to dealings with the mullahs, and so forth.
The outcome of the election debacle, again, is gridlock, against which the following resolutions are being proposed:
* That New Hope Party leader, Gidon Sa’ar, be persuaded to renege on his promise never to sit under Netanyahu, and that he enter the coalition to ensure a right-wing government.
* That a 5th election be held later this year or early in 2022. This is universally seen as a bad idea.
* That Netanyahu step aside, vacating the Likud Party leadership and so enabling the “Never Bibi’ers” to join a right-wing coalition.
By the time you read this, we will know if one of these solutions, or perhaps another, has been pursued. For the people of Israel, the situation is distressing and perplexing. They are experiencing a heaving, uncertain present.
But, while most attention is fixed here, it is not the worst of it. Let me be very clear about how serious this is:
While Israel has been tangled up in political disarray; and as the world (including the Christian world) has been almost entirely focussed on the new realities brought to bear by Covid-19 and the outcome of the last US election, the European Union has – with utter disregard for the Israeli authorities – been investing huge amounts of money to systematically aid and abet the Palestinian Authority in robbing the Jews of their land.
The EU’s verbalised goal – by open, brazen, unrepentant theft – is the creation of a State of Palestine on the mountains of Israel.
Billions (and I do mean billions) of euros have been earmarked by Brussels – with hundreds of millions already spent – to fund the illegal construction of hundreds of thousands of homes and other infrastructure for Arabs in Area C of the land Israel’s foes call The West Bank.
(This is the EU whose leading nations, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands on March 24 signed on to a UNHRC resolution that condemned Israel for “possible war crimes and crimes against humanity” – an authentic blood libel on the very eve of Passover.
This is the EU whose condemnation lends credence to the intent of the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for war crimes.)
It is widely said that the Abraham Accords nullified the ‘Palestinian veto’, that the PA has lost the power to hook its demand for statehood on the gateway to Middle East peace. That may look so for now, but the hard, cold reality is that the ongoing effort to physically forge Palestinian statehood without diplomacy is making extremely good headway – and is not being stopped.
We must stay informed, and weaponise our prayer to target this threat, this illegal land grab that is attempting to white ant the matter of Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
As we do, let our eyes stay fixed on this nation’s Bible-guaranteed, Bedrock-solid future.
This is not to hold, as the Australian saying goes, that “she’ll be right, mate”. That is not a stance that the Lord will bless. Israel’s battle is ours.
At the same time, let us not forget amidst all the unknowns, as we gear up for, and engage in this fight, the things we do know for sure:
That the LORD God is actively accomplishing all that He has set Himself to do concerning the only nation that is called by His name. That He is committed to the complete and irreversible restoration of Israel. That He will do it, no matter what or who tries to oppose Him.
His calling on Israel is irrevocable. The advance of their divine destiny is unstoppable.
For over 140 years, God has been gathering the Jews from the four corners of the earth.
From all sides, to no avail, storms have raged and pounded against this, trying everything to prevent it.
No one could or can stop it. Not the Turks, not the British, not the Germans, not the Arabs, not the USSR, not the United Nations, not the European Union, not the Quartet, not the ICC, not the USA; not the wars, not the terrorism, not the diplomats, not even the ‘progressive’ liberal Israelis themselves.
Israel’s restoration continues on and through all obstacles. It is resolutely on course.
God has planted the Jews in their own Land (Ezekiel 36:24) with all of His heart and with all of His soul (Jeremiah 32:41). Here they will stay.
He is rejoicing over them to do them good and He will not cease from doing so (Jeremiah 32:40). See how they have thrived!
He has promised them that once He has brought them home, He will keep them safely here (Jeremiah 30:10; 31:10). War after war has failed to destroy or dislodge them.
His plan for them is still unfolding. Once He has firmly established them, He will sprinkle clean water on them and will cleanse them from all their iniquities. He will take out their heart of stone and will give them a heart of flesh. He will put His Spirit within them and cause them to walk in His statutes. They will dwell in the land that He gave to their fathers. They shall be His people, and He shall be their God. (Ezekiel 36).
This is Israel’s glorious, certain future. The road has been rocky, rough, sometimes unclear, often uncertain. But the Jews are headed towards their nation-wide reunion with their God.
Exactly how He will bring them all the way there we cannot be sure. But that He will, we can be.
I am. And like Ruth, whatever happens, I have taken hold of them and will never let them go.
Thank you for the update on God’s chosen people and state.
We are certainly living in uncertain times, but as Scripture states He will bring the Jews home from the four corners of the globe, never to be uprooted again.
I stand with Israel, the people He chose for Himself. I pray for peace.
How awesome that we serve a God who can do the seemingly impossible.
Thank you Jim for keeping us informed.
This is a great reminder that we need to continue to pray for Israel. We also need to be informed as to what is taking place…