Israel – where death and life meet
This week, the Jewish people commemorated two connected but contrasting events that go to the very heart of their identity as a nation. The first was Yom HaZikaron, Israel's official day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and terrorism victims. The following day was Yom Ha'atzmaut – Israel's national day, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948.
One event mourns the death of the nations loved ones, the other celebrates the life of their independent nation. Together, they show that Israel owes its existence and survival to those who have died for the survival of the Jewish nation in the face of hatred and antisemitism.
This is as true today as it ever has been. And the struggle for Israel’s survival has become the major stumbling block for the nations of the world, many of which are bitterly opposed to the creation of the Jewish state.
God himself said, through the prophet Zachariah, that the restoration of Jerusalem would be “an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” Indeed, today we see that Israel – and Jerusalem in particular – have become the main point of controversy and world conflict.
Will Hungary arrest Bibi?
On 12th April, the people of Hungary elected a new government. Viktor Orbán will hand over the reins to Peter Magyar, who caused some confusion when he confirmed at a news conference this week that he has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, but then added that Netanyahu might be arrested on arrival due to the International Criminal Court warrant against him.
Statue of Christ attacked by IDF soldier
There was worldwide outcry this week when pictures were released of an IDF soldier in Lebanon violently attacking a statue of Jesus Christ.
The issue was sensitively addressed by David Nekrutman, an orthodox Jew with long experience in Jewish-Christian relations, who condemned the act, but noted that this was a clear violation of Israeli law and IDF standards.
- “The rush to condemn on social media often bypasses the only thing that actually matters: Accountability. If the IDF has it on its legal books that such an infraction is cause for a dishonorable discharge, then it should proceed with it immediately. To wear the uniform is a privilege. By treating a religious icon as a prop for digital clout, these soldiers have stripped themselves of the honor that comes with service. They should be removed from the ranks—not because of the “optics,” but because they have proven themselves unfit for the responsibility of bearing arms.
- We must resist the urge to let a 15-second clip define a nation. While we must demand the harshest legal consequences for these individuals, we should not feel compelled to apologize for a crime we did not commit, under a code we do not follow, for a state that did not authorize it. The measure of our society isn’t found in a social media post, but in the cold, hard justice meted out to those who betray our values.”
Israeli Foreign Minster Sa’ar appointed this week George Deek as Special Envoy to the Christian world. A distinguished veteran diplomat who most recently served as Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Deek is a prominent member of the Arab Christian community in Jaffa. His father, Youssef Deek, long served as chairman of the Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa.
Iran
The US President Trump agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Iran on 8 April. On 13 April he imposed a US blockade on Iran-linked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran continues to breach that blockade, all the while limiting access to commercial shipping to use the Strait. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US Navy would “shoot and kill” any boat mining the Strait of Hormuz, and claimed “infighting” has hobbled Iran’s ability to respond to peace proposals, even as The New York Times reported that hard-line generals had consolidated power under the new supreme leader.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was ready to renew the fighting with Iran and was awaiting a “green light” from the US to target Iranian energy sites and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father and predecessor Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war.
Lebanon
President Trump presided over the second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House yesterday. He announced a further three-week extension of the ceasefire between the two countries. Israel insists on its right to take whatever military action is necessary to remove Iranian proxy Hezbollah from Lebanon.
According to Times of Israel, “the Iran-backed terror group still holds significant sway in Lebanon, where roughly one-third of the population is Shiite. Previous attempts by the government to disarm Hezbollah have proven wildly unsuccessful, as it continued to fire repeatedly at northern Israel.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Washington Post, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said this week that Beirut is urging the United States to press Israel to moderate its demands and withdraw from southern Lebanon. Salam says Lebanon cannot accept any deal that does not include a “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces, rejecting Israel’s plans for a security zone. “We cannot live with a so-called buffer zone,” he says, describing it as “an Israeli presence where Lebanese displaced people are not allowed to return, where destroyed villages and towns cannot be rebuilt.”
President Trump announced this week that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lebanese President Aoun would meet in Washington “in the near future”.
Children Return To School Following The Ceasefire In The War With Hezbollah | Photo: Michael Giladi/Flash90
Israel and Europe
Attitudes toward Israel among EU member states, hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, have worsened since Israeli ground operations were launched into Lebanon last month. The Knesset decision to adopt a new law on the death penalty for Palestinian terror convicts in the West Bank has also met with much opposition in Europe.
This week, Spain, Slovenia and Ireland pushed for the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Israel “violates international law” and therefore “cannot be a partner of the European Union… it’s as simple as that.”
Belgium is also very critical of Israel. However, Germany and Italy both pushed back, saying they oppose suspension of the Association Agreement.
This week, let us pray for the leaders of Israel and Lebanon as they negotiate a durable peace between their nations. Let us pray that the regime in Iran as well as their proxy Hezbollah will fall soon.
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and above all for the speedy coming of the Messiah of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He alone can usher in a kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Iran: Heading for Another Ceasefire?
Amir Taheri at Gatestone: “The problem with talking to Iran today is that it isn't a normal nation-state. It is an unusual structure built around a charismatic personality with absolute power that uses a more or less formal government as a façade. In it, nobody can claim to be anybody unless endorsed by the "Supreme Guide" for a specific mission and a limited period. In that system, there is no normal circulation of information even within the organs of the regime.”
The Lebanon Desecration: Moral Outrage vs. the Trap of ‘Viral Optics’
David Nekrutman at Times of Israel: We live in an era of “viral optics,” where a single frame can outpace a thousand truths. The recent social media post showing a soldier in an IDF uniform deliberately smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon, while a comrade records the act for digital consumption, is nothing short of sickening. For any person of conscience, the footage is a gut-punch. It is a vile, senseless act of iconoclasm that serves no military purpose and violates every ethical pillar the State of Israel claims to uphold. Yet, as the digital world erupts, a difficult question remains: Do we need to rush to publicly condemn this in our own social media posts?
Iran: Complete Regime Change for Permanent Peace
Con Coughlin at Gatestone: “While the world's attention has been focused on diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war, the Iranian regime — whatever is left of it, that is — has been busy doing what it does best: brutalising its own people.”
The dawn of a new world order
Melanie Phillips at JNS: An increasingly hostile public in the United States has little idea of the necessity and importance of the war against Iran.
Israel appoints its first Christian ambassador as envoy to Christian world
JNS: The newly created role at a time of global international turbulence seeks to buttress Israel’s relations with the Christian world.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Zachariah 12:1-9The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the LORD. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’ 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. 7 “The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
