From our Israel Desk – Sep 2022

The Queen never visited Israel

Not because she did not want to but because the Foreign Office prohibited such a visit. In a moving speech, Lord Polak paid tribute to the Queen in the House of Lords – but levelled searing criticism at the Foreign Office for preventing her from visiting Israel.

The Tory peer, who was director of Conservative Friends of Israel for more than 25 years, criticised the convention that forbids the Monarch from visiting the Jewish state.

He then recalled a conversation he had with Princess Anne, in which he said,

Lord Polak wrote in the Jewish Chronicle, (16/9/22):

Lord Polak said that one way to encourage work in this direction is for the Foreign Office to lift its ban on the Monarch visiting Israel. He concludes his JC article by saying

‘It was a sad loss for the Queen that she was never able to visit Israel and for the people of Israel that they were never graced with Her Majesty’s presence. King Charles must be allowed to visit.’

Is Islam the obstacle to true peace in the Middle East?

It’s called the “religion of peace,” but that label was forcibly applied after the massive jihadist attacks of September 11, 2001, lest people begin to think that all Muslims were terrorists.

The Abraham Accords so far seem to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims can successfully and peacefully coexist in this region, though more pious Muslims would likely argue the genuineness of the faith of the more secular leaders of the United Arab Emirates.

It was believed when the Oslo Accords were signed that the more secular, and thus pragmatic PLO led by Yasser Arafat would prevent Islamists like Hamas from making a mess of things. But this approach exposed the naïveté of the Western power brokers behind Oslo, as well as the like-minded Israeli politicians who eagerly signed on. Islam was still there, just below the surface, waiting to scuttle the best-laid plans of our most esteemed “experts.”

Earlier this week, a Palestinian Authority police officer, participated in a shooting attack that resulted in the death of an Israeli army officer. That’s worrying enough for those who had placed all their eggs in the Oslo basket.

But far more concerning should be the will left behind by this man, Ahmad Abed. According to a report by MEMRI, Abed left a written will in which he explained that he had decided to die as a martyr for Allah’s sake because this is the highest ideal, as well as the best way to obtain Allah’s favour and elevate Islam.

A translation of the letter reads:

Anyone who still thinks that Islam isn’t the primary driver behind Israel’s foes is sticking his or her head in the sand. This is a religious war plain and simple.

Ryan Jones – Israel Today

Will a new Iran deal redefine the US-Israel relationship?

At this stage, it’s likely that not even those American diplomats most immersed in the ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran know what the outcome of their efforts will be. For the last 20 months, since President Joe Biden was sworn into office, the expectation has been that Tehran will sooner or later agree to re-enter the weak nuclear accord it concluded with the administration of former President Barack Obama in 2015.

Yet if, as most observers still believe, a nuclear deal is reached, it will set up a new and potentially divisive chapter in U.S.-Israel relations and a dilemma for the government of the Jewish state. It will set in motion a series of events that could lead to a situation in which past assumptions about the alliance will be thrown to the winds.

Such a scenario will be bad for both Israel and the United States—not least because a nuclear Iran, which is more or less guaranteed to eventually be the result of a new deal, will undermine both nations’ security and undermine alliances in the Arab world. The Iranians believe with good reason that time is on their side. Given the pressure from the Europeans to get Iranian oil flowing at a time of shortages caused by the sanctions on Russia, few people involved doubt that sooner or later, the Americans will agree to some sort of “compromise” that will finally end this dispiriting example of weakness.

When that happens, it will force Arab states to make a choice. Their only options will be to surrender to Iran as the nation anointed as the “strong horse” in the region by the retreating American superpower or to throw in their lot with an Israeli effort to stop Tehran’s inevitable push for a weapon in spite of certain American opposition.

Any Israeli effort to attack Iran after an agreement will place it in a direct confrontation with Washington. And even if they don’t, the undermining of Israeli security by such a deal will inevitably lead to scenarios in which terrorist groups—funded and directed by Iran—will seek to take advantage with new confrontations and an upsurge in Palestinian terrorism.

All of this has the potential to overturn the progress made towards peace under the Trump administration and the Abraham Accords it jump-started two years ago.

Jewish News Syndicate

Hezbollah threatens Israel

Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist militia has issued a threat of war should Israel fail to surrender to Lebanon the Karish natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address that his organisation is now entirely focused on Karish and “all gas fields across ‘Palestine’.” He warned that if Lebanon is not permitted to extract gas from Karish, “we’ll flip the table on the entire world. Going to war would be more honourable if the other choice is for the Lebanese to starve.”

Many Lebanese, however, say they are starving not because of Israeli policies, but because of Hezbollah itself. The Shiite jihadist movement operates a powerful private army that rivals that of many states in the region and enjoy veto power in the Lebanese government.

But given that it is effectively a proxy of Iran, Hezbollah rarely, if ever has at heart the best interests of all Lebanese, most of whom are Sunni Muslims and Christians.

The Iranian terrorist proxy has brought the once-prosperous Arab state to the brink of collapse.

Does the arrival of five red heifers in Israel signal third temple, end times?

The five cows – bred by a Christian rancher in the U.S. – landed in Israel on 15^th September.

Five rabbi-approved red heifers arrived from Texas on Thursday to a ceremonious welcome at Ben-Gurion Airport – and touched off a whirlwind of speculation as to the prophetic significance of their presence in Israel and whether we are moving toward a third-temple period or the “last days.”

The cows have been inspected by rabbis and were found to be red and unblemished, which means they are ritually pure for sacrifice as stipulated under the law of Moses. In order for someone following Mosaic law to become ritually pure, the ashes of a red heifer are required, according to the Book of Numbers:

The farmers, in Texas, knew enough of the requirements and did not tag the ears of these cows leaving them unblemished. The presence of these heifers in Israel means that if the temple were to be rebuilt – or if it comes down from the sky, as some believe – sacrifices could already begin, and temple service could be restored. 

This signifies to many Jews that redemption is now possible. Jews believe that the ashes of a red heifer are needed for purification. Christians believe that Jesus became the once-and-for-all sacrifice needed for salvation.

The Christian organization, Boneh Israel, located the cattle and, along with the Temple Institute, was responsible for getting them to Israel. Earlier in the year, rabbis from the Temple Institute went to Texas to inspect the cows.

While Christians and Jews believe that the third temple signals the End Times or a Messianic era, the third temple is also associated in the New Testament with the “man of perdition,” or the anti-Christ, who will be manifested at that time and help build the temple. (2 Thessalonians 2.4)

Upon landing in Israel, the cows entered a 10-day quarantine.

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