I wanted to inform you on the internal issues in Israel. Most supporters who pray for Israel have little understanding of our domestic issues. My friends in Israel who do not know Yeshua have a similar understanding and share these concerns. Prayer should be offered for these matters as well. I hope this is helpful to you all.
While everyone knows that Israel has to deal with hostile enemies from Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iraq, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen, maybe Turkey, and Pakistan, my points here do not deal with that. The present government is dealing with it well, and any other right-of-center or centrist government will probably follow similar policies. I want to outline the major domestic issues, which, if not dealt with well, could be existential threats to Israel. The present government of Israel is not seriously engaged in solving these problems. Of course, we believe God will preserve Israel for the return of Yeshua.
- The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Challenge I. The majority are not Zionists but depend on the Zionist state for their survival through an amazing and unfair benefits setup. Challenge I is that they refuse to do army or national service. They make up 14% of the population now and will be 16% by 2030. Their idea is that Torah study should exempt them from service (by Torah they really mean Talmud). Israel’s manpower needs and the injustice of their exemptions has enraged the rest of the Jewish population. At least they can do national service. The Supreme Court has found their exemption to be contrary to Israel’s Basic Law.
- The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Challenge II. The government supports their school system beyond the support of other schools, but they do not teach basic knowledge courses that would prepare them for work. They live on massive welfare support, with the women working, as if a state within the state. This is not sustainable.
- The Haredi Challenge III. This point is related to #2 above. The state cannot afford to not have them working and paying taxes. Except for clergy and rabbi leaders, all should be required to enter the work force and be educated to do so. Those Haredi who do train for work excel in the work force.
- The Education Challenge. Israel’s education system is in steep decline. Test scores are abysmal, teachers are underpaid, and classrooms are overcrowded. Israel’s place as a start-up hi-tech nation is in jeopardy. The present government does not focus on this. The level of ultra-Orthodox education support undercuts support for the rest of the schools.
- The Challenge of Orthodox Nationalist Extremism. The national Orthodox are distinguished from the Ultra-Orthodox. They serve in the armed forces out of proportion to their percentage of the population. But a minority of them are messianic extremists and violent. They attack Arab villages in the West Bank, burn cars, tear up their agriculture, and kill flocks. While the present government says it disagrees with such actions, under the despicable radical Ben Gvir, the present government will not fight this with resolve, prosecutions, etc. This is serious lawbreaking. These extremists start new settlements with modular units. These settlements are illegal. Again, the government does little, for the same reasons: Ben Gvir’s party and Smotrich’s party. Whatever one thinks of the two-state solution (which is now dead in my view), new settlements should be legally approved before such squatting. Some are planted to displace Arabs. The spirit is similar to the first-century Zealots.
- The Challenge of the Cost of Living, Especially Housing. If Israel is to keep its Jewish population in the Land, young families need to be able to afford to live here. Housing supply and affordability have been badly managed. A three-bedroom apartment in most places costs more than a large house in many parts of the U.S. Food, automobiles, and more are so expensive.
- The Challenge of an Independent but Accountable Judiciary. The present judiciary system and the Supreme Court are weighted toward the self-perpetuation of judges appointing judges. It is not like in the United States, where judges have to be appointed by the executive and then approved by Congress. The reforms proposed by the Netanyahu government under Simcha Rothman and Yariv Levin are extreme and will end the independence of the court, opening Israel to international courts that step in on war crimes if there is no independent court system. These extreme reforms make the court subject to the veto of the legislature. These proposals produced big national protests before the October 7th war broke out.
- The Challenge of Justice for Arab Israeli Citizens. Because Arab Israelis form parties that are represented in the Knesset (Parliament) but are not part of governing coalitions, they have little political power. The exception was Ra’am, which joined the previous government under Naftali Bennett. But this is beside the point in regard to morals and ethics. Arab towns and cities should get the same funding as Jewish cities and towns for services, police funding and crime fighting, road building, housing permits, etc. Yes, there are mixed cities like Haifa where this does not apply. But the Arab Israeli towns are the issue. This injustice opens them to radical Islamic ideas and identification with the West Bank Palestinians.
- The Challenge of Justice for Arab Villages in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). I will not write about Gaza, which is being managed under President Trump’s plan. The justice issue was covered in part in regard to the extremism of the radical religious in #5. Though Israel will no longer support a two-state solution, Israel can foster business development and agricultural progress in these villages, giving them autonomous local rule.
- The Challenge of Diplomacy and Israel Promotion. Israel has done an abysmal job. Its diplomatic corps is weak, understaffed, and underfunded. Qatar spends billions funding anti-Israel propaganda on social media and programs in American universities. They are pro-Hamas. The blood-libel lie of genocide and human rights violations is a constant drumbeat. Of course, there are human rights violations, and I noted them above. To be convincing, Israel has to clean up its act. But the lie that Christians fare poorly in Israel is a lie. Yes, some radical religious people disrespect the historic churches and priests in Jerusalem. These are decried and prosecuted. But compare the human rights record of Israel to any Muslim country, to Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan, and Israel wins hands down. You would never know this from social media. Leftists identify more with Muslims! One thing needed is to break through the massive Stockholm syndrome among Arab Christians who, in fear, do not tell the truth. They say their hardship is due to Israel and not Islam, but if they are speaking the truth confidentially, they will tell you it is persecution under the Muslims. Bethlehem was an 80% Arab Christian city before it was given to the Muslim Palestinians to rule. Under Israeli rule they prospered, but after, they fled. So also the decline of Nazareth due to Islam. Israel needs to mobilize wealthy donors to fight the propaganda from Qatar. Hamas soldiers age 14-17 are enlisted as terrorist soldiers and should not be counted as child casualties that are Israel’s fault. Israel seeks to prevent civilian deaths in war; Hamas intentionally puts them in harm’s way. As the lie is told over and over again, the effort to repeat the truth over and over again in short videos, testimonies, and fact presentations is needed. This is a massive undertaking that will cost billions. The present government has hardly made the effort, aside from occasional statements by government spokesmen.
- The Challenge of the Yordim. This is the challenge of those leaving Israel — 270,000 in the last three years. They are not religious. The cost of living, extremism, and war have discouraged them. Facing the challenges enumerated here is key, but there should also be strong outreach to them.
- The Challenge of Citizenship Justice from the Interior Department. The Interior Department resists those who apply for citizenship who do not have synagogue connections, which is not according to law. They resist those who are qualified by law, such as descendants of Jews (one grandparent) who follow other religions, and especially those who believe in Yeshua. They resist the spouses and children of citizens. These are not missionaries, though for them, believing in Yeshua defines one as a missionary. The court standard is clear. The department is run by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, extremist Sephardic Jewish Orthodox. This is part of coalition power politics. The head of Shas is a convicted criminal who served jail time. This is another sick aspect of the present coalition. Israel needs all the loyal citizens who apply. The court decision that disqualifies a halakhic Jew (Jewish by Orthodox definition) who comes to believe in Yeshua should be reversed.
I hope and pray for a change in government — a moderate conservative government without extremists that can face and make progress on these challenges.