ISRAEL TODAY: May, 13, 2010

ISRAEL TODAY: May, 13, 2010

I thought I should send you an update on Israel today. By now most of you know that a unity government will form tomorrow. It will have 72 out of 120 parliament seats. Amazingly, it looks like the right-wing religious Zionist party, Yamina, under Naftali Bennet, will not join the government. They claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu simply is not offering them significant portfolios. They are angry. However, to accommodate all the parties that are joining, Netanyahu will increase the number of cabinet/portfolio positions to 36. 17 is the usual and recommended number. It is sad to see that this has to happen.

However, it gives two opportunities. One is for Bibi to annex the settlements of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the Jordan Valley. Secretary of State Pompeo of the United States is in Israel today to discuss the Trump peace plan and annexation. Some European leaders are apoplectic about this possibility.

I hope that this government can address social issues, housing, the cost of living, and equal justice in services for Arab Israeli citizens. On having the ultra-Orthodox work and be productive citizens economically we will still have to wait. They are too powerful. For justice on citizenship issues for Messianic Jews and status for Russian Jews, we will also have to wait.

On another front, Israel’s progress in the Corona Virus is stunning. We are down to 4,104 cases and only 54 intubated. Israel is opening up the economy. The biggest problem is El Al which looks to go out of business without massive government support (this is in the balance). I love flying El Al and dearly hope this does not happen. Secondly, tourism is a huge economic engine here and it is dead right now. I hope it comes back in the late summer and early fall.

The Messianic Jewish community seems to be stronger for the whole trial. Internet services have been amazing throughout the Land.

Israel’s Most Unusual Independence Day

In years passed, we have been amazed and greatly moved by Israel Independence celebrations. The great show in the evening in Jerusalem is full of processionals, pageantry, children’s choirs, youth presentations, speeches, poetry, and more. In the side streets and main avenues, the Israeli flags are everywhere. Cars are decked with flags. People celebrate by hitting one another on the head with the soft blow of specially made plastic hammers, which we first experienced on our tour in May 1979.

One of the strange aspects of the Israeli calendar is that Israel’s Memorial Day is only the day before the celebration. (In the United States it is separated by more than a month.) Memorial Day is a somber day of gatherings, at cemeteries and the main military burial ground at Mt. Herzl, equivalent to Arlington Cemetery across from Potomac River in Washington, D. C. This produces an almost whiplash emotional effect where grief and morning for the many who have died in Israel’s wars is for some too soon followed by the joy of celebration.

This year, the observances will be like no other. The government has ordered greater restrictions than those we are normally following due to the virus plague, even requiring staying at home. This was also done at Passover. Why? The government fears that without greater restriction there will be too many who are not self-controlled and will gather in unsafe ways. The day after on Thursday we are told we will be less restricted. More stores will be open and the 500-meter rule for exercise will be lifted. This year, there will be no gatherings for memorials and no great celebration in the stadium. Instead, we will see online presentations that will not have near the effect. It will be the most strange and somewhat sad situation whereby we are cheated out of this most important time, both our unity in national mourning and the joy of in-person celebrations on the next day. Like America, barbeques in the park are amazing here but will not take place this year.

However, let us recall the amazing events of these days. The Greatest Generation in Israel is not just the one from World War Two times or in Israel’s case the War of Independence. In a sense, the great level of greatness has to be maintained in war after war and the willing sacrifice in the years since independence has been characteristic.

There is no story in History that compares with the story of modern Israel. The beginnings are from a modest movement with settlements in the 19th Century. Then there was an endorsement of the idea that this ancient Land is the home of the Jewish. This was first in the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and then in the San Remo Conference of the League of Nations in 1920 that called for Jewish self-determination in our ancient Land. Our numbers in the Holy Land continued to grow. This continued in spite of the change of British policy from the mid-1920s to the 1940s (Pharaohs who did not know Joseph came into power). Our people in the Land were swelled by survivors from the Holocaust the terrible devastation beyond words.

The United Nations partition plan gave Israel a very small territory for the Jewish State, but Israel accepted it this partition. She had to then defend herself against five Arab Armies and somehow win the 1948 War of Independence. Israel controlled more territory by the armistice lines. This was most amazing. Holocaust survivors fought side by side with those who had been here before the Holocaust and grew up in the Land. This was our greatest generation, but not the only great one.

Then came the ‘67 War. Israel again defended herself and gained more territorial control, the Old City of Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Sinai. Then came the ‘73 War which was perilous. Again Israel won. Many lives were lost in these wars. Then many smaller wars came; Lebanon twice and then Gaza. Then came terrorist battles, the Intifada, and withstanding terror attacks. Somehow Israel thrives. The response to this amazing history is not a point of universal agreement. Here are the basic responses to this history.

For Messianic Jews, the return to the Land and Israel’s self-government is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and preparation for Israel coming to repentance and embracing Yeshua as King and Lord. (Ezek. 36:24 ff.) Messianic Jews are patriotic, join the Army, and fight for Israel, but know that we do not receive the fullness of the promises for Israel including her full borders and more until the Messiah comes.
For Nationalist Zionist Orthodox Jews, the return to the Land and Israel’s independence is also a fulfillment of prophecy that prepares the way for the coming of the Messiah. However, these Orthodox reject the idea of a Palestinian state on any part of the territory from the Jordan Valley through the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and seek Israeli sovereignty for all of the territory. This battle is fought in Israel today. The Trump peace plan to give 70% of the West Bank and Gaza for a Palestinian State is rejected by these nationalists. However, Benjamin Netanyahu will accept this peace plan with the certainty that the Palestinians do not really want peace and a two-state solution and will reject it.
For the Ultra-Orthodox, some are positive toward Israel, but the majority believe that Israel’s independence is a mistake. Israel should not be self-ruled until the Messiah comes. Zionism that fosters self-determination in our own state delays the coming of the Messiah. It is a “good deed” mitzvah) to live in the Land but not to have self-determination.
Finally, for the great majority of Israelis, secular or traditional but not Orthodox, Israel is an amazing story and they are patriotic and very committed to the nation.

All of these responses are brought to the fore every Independence Day, but the great dominant thrust is one of grand celebration. This year, we forego the celebration but will stand amazed. The story of how the Americans gained their independence from Britain is a grand and amazing story. The Israel story is more amazing by far.

Unity Government Forms!

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi)and Benny Gantz signed an agreement just two hours ago as of this writing to form a unity government. Finally, Israel will have a functioning government. To form this government, compromises and even some unhelpful directions were taken, but at this point, I believe it is an answer to prayer and may be the best that is now possible. Bibi will be Prime Minister for the first 18 months and then Gantz for the second 18 months.

For those who think that Gantz caved, the prospects for the opposition in another election do not look good, and this might have been his best chance to bring some positive change. If the Supreme Court rules that an indicted person cannot be the Prime Minister, then there will be elections. I do not think it is likely that the Court will do this since Israel’s Basic Law does not speak on this subject. It does say that cabinet members who lead cabinet level government divisions do have to resign if indicted. The right will control the judicial appointments committee, but in my view not by so much. A former Blue and White Party member is the majority tipping vote for the right and the committee will generally seek agreement. However, there will be no legislation to lessen the power of the Supreme Court. Bibi will still have to face a trial. I have not read anything that says what will happen if he is convicted, but I would think it would mean that Likud would elect someone else to serve out his term. I don’t think there would then be the votes to dissolve the government. The trial could take a long time.

In this agreement, if the Palestinians do not come to the negotiation table, Bibi will have the opportunity to annex the towns in Judea and Samaria, to make them part of Israel. The European Union will scream and shout to no avail. The Security Council of the U. N. will seek to condemn Israel, but the United States will veto any condemnation. I see this as a primary reason why Bibi is still in power and a key reason as to why Trump is in power. These towns (some are small cities) should not be up for negotiation as if their populations can be transferred. This is why the Trump plan is a plan of realism. The Palestinians have never dealt with matters in a realistic way. Most of the world is wildly unrealistic as well.

The government will have 36 cabinet members, totally bloated and costly. It is the price of all being on board. The Ultra-Orthodox Shas Party will probably keep the Interior Department. This is the saddest part of this. However, Ultra-Orthodox in general would lose their extortion power since their threat to leave the government would not bring down the government. It is possible that that in the approval of budgets that there will be an incentive for more men to work since Israel cannot afford their demands for welfare so men can study Talmud and Rabbinic arguments all day.

This is not all I desire, but it is a step in the right direction. Gantz’s former partners say he caved, but he looked at the situation in Israel realistically. That situation included that of the percentages of the Jewish vote in the Land. Bibi and his right wing parties have 59 votes out of 120 in the Knesset, and the Jewish parties that were in opposition only included 46. The Arab Party had 15. Therefore, I think Gantz made a hard but correct choice. The opposition might still empower Gantz for key issues. The right wing Yamina, including the modern Nationalist Orthodox has lost power and may not join the government. I don’t think that will make much difference one way or another. If they are in the government, they will not have key portfolios like Defense and Justice which they recently had. What a saga. After three elections, we have a government. I wonder if the threat of Gantz to pass legislation making it illegal for a person under indictment to be the Prime Minister finally brought Bibi around. He also saw that got the best that he could under those circumstances. Praise God.

Israel Still Does Not Have a New Government but is going to Lift Corona Restrictions

Israel shares with most countries the fact that there is a limit of time to which you can shut down an economy without destroying the country. You can indeed overcome the virus and destroy the country. With the virus having peaked in terms of new hospitalizations, as the United States, Germany and other countries, Israel will now seek to exit the severe restrictions. Amazingly with both the United States and Israel, this is the week for this to be done. Some still believe that shutting down was not the right approach. The right approach would have been to isolate the vulnerable population and to have younger healthy people continue to keep the economy going, but to take more than normal precautions against catching the virus (facemasks, washing hands and not allowing any sick to be at work). Now we look to massive testing in both countries and opening up areas of the country that are less affected. In our town of 23,000, on the border of Jerusalem, there are new cases of people sick with the virus.

The progress on fighting the virus is going according to the best of mature prophetic discernment. I wrote a summary on this a few weeks ago. Things are working out very much as was noted. There are now more and more hopeful treatments short of a vaccine that are in the process of being tested.

In the midst of this, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) and Benny Gantz are still negotiating for a unity government. We don’t know if there will be a solution, but we do pray for a unity government. Right now, the big issue is that Bibi seeks relief form a possible Supreme Court decision that would say that an indicted person cannot be prime minister. However, he wants more than that. He wants a law that would say that when Gantz would become Prime Minister in a rotation in 18 months and he would be the deputy Prime Minister, that the law requiring cabinet ministers to step down if indicted would not apply to a deputy Prime Minister in this situation. Gantz is reluctant to give this guarantee. However, we have to note that almost half of the voters voted for parties that they knew would give their support to Bibi to be Prime Minister. That has to count. I do not think that the Supreme Court would decide that an indicted person cannot be Prime Minister, but the issue of a deputy is something else. I think Gantz should yield on this point in deference to those who voted for Bibi and his allied parties.

We either are very close to a new government or may be close to failure. Gantz may also have the power in the Knesset as speaker to pass legislation that says an indicted person cannot serve as Prime Minister. Then Bibi’s party, Likud, would have to pick someone else. That is Gantz’s primary leverage to force Bibi to make a real deal with real compromises. Let’s hope and pray for a unity government.

One last thing. We now know that China, by covering up the virus and letting many thousands fly from Wuhan after they sealed Wuhan off domestically is primarily responsible for the spread of the virus. All now know that they spent a week of denials which itself has cost the world several trillions of dollars. (Associated Press laid this out fully) More and more evidence is coming out that this virus originated not in a wet meat market but in a laboratory. This would be one more reason for the cover up. It is also clear that the World Health Organization leaders enabled the cover up. We will soon have a great world controversy over what to do about all this.

The End of the Blue and White Party

In an unbelievable end to the saga of the Israel government stalemate, Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White decided to join with Likud in a new unity government and allow Benjamin Netanyahu to continue as the Prime Minister. This is a stunning development. It has led to the breaking up of the Blue and White Party. Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapide, and Moshe Yaalon are angry and disappointed, but they did not have a path to a government with two of the Blue and White members refusing to vote for a Gantz government if it depended on getting the votes of the Arab Party, the Joint List. Lapide will go into the opposition. This is less like a unity government than Gantz joining a Netanyahu government. I think that Gantz did this due to the emergency situation with the virus and the danger of being discredited for not seeking unity at this time. Bibi has promised him that he would become the Prime Minister in 18 months. It appears that in this arrangement the Ultra Orthodox will keep their power, but with Gantz’s faction and Labor joining the government is it possible that the power of the Ultra-Orthodox will be less. I don’t think it is likely. The only possibility Gantz had, and it was a very slim chance, was that he would have stuck to his guns and voted in the new parliament to pass a law that a person could not serve as Prime Minister if under indictment. Then he would hope that Likud without Bibi would not carry out its threat of no unity government if they did this. He could then keep have kept Blue and White together. Gantz decided to not take this chance. Bibi survives again, the cat of nine lives. Will he survive his trial for bribery etc.?

I have lived in ambivalence through this whole time. I saw Bibi as the better candidate re: the Land, the Trump peace plan and annexing the settlements. Now the settlements have to be taken off the negotiating table with the Palestinians. Removing the West Bank Israeli cities and towns is no longer possible. Bibi is stronger on this. Gantz had qualified his support for the Trump plan as needing international support. If this was the standard, you could kiss the Trump plan goodbye. Trump has indicated that Israel can annex the territories of the settlements and the Jordan valley if the Palestinians do not come to the negotiating table.

However, my other issue was the Ultra-Orthodox control and oppression in Israel. Bibi is in their pocket. If Lapide and Avigdor Liberman of Israel Batainu had been in the government, the power of the Ultra-Orthodox, who bleed the state of needed funds, and who control immigration to the detriment of qualified people, would have ended. This control will not likely be ended soon. I voted for Blue and White so they would be large enough so that in coalition with Bibi the Ultra-Orthodox would have to give up power. I also hoped for equal spending for the Arab Israelis for hospitals, roads, police and education. Defunding the Ultra-Orthodox welfare society where men don’t work and only study Talmud all day could be key to this justice. But this looks like it is not to be at this time.

Well, stay tuned. We have not heard from Liberman, but he is not needed at this point and will probably go into the opposition. What will the government be like in 18 months. Bibi has said, no tricks and he will keep his word. Time will tell. It is possible that there are not enough Knesset votes to fund the welfare society of the Ultra-Orthodox. Let’s hope so.

Corona Virus: More Questions & More Political Intrigue in Israel

Some in Israel are questioning the national restrictions to fight the Corona virus. Are they really based on science or alarm which goes too far? For example, who is it dangerous for someone to take a walk outside for more than ten minutes if they keep six meters away from those they pass? How is ten minutes safer with this two meter rule than 30 minutes? We are allowed to go to the grocery store or to take out stores, other food stores and pharmacies. That is more dangerous than a walk outside. Some people are required by their health conditions to go for walks.

Or here is another question. Why wouldn’t it be more prudent, once there is sufficient testing to know virus location spots, to put the strict restrictions on cities and towns that have the virus and allow those within a town without any cases to have freedom, but to not leave the town except to commute to a safe workspace. We know where the hot spots are. There are places with no infections. Within those enclaves, there could be more freedom. In the United States, why wouldn’t this work really well for small cities and towns with no cases, rather than restricting the whole country? In Israel there are places with no infections. Should they be under the same standards as the areas where there are infected people?

In the midst of all this the political chaos in Israel continues to be even more amazing. I am asking my Facebook constituents to be praying for us, especially this week. Here is a little summary. Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu’s (Bibi) justice minister (Ohana) unilaterally postponed the trial of Bibi until May 24^th. The corona virus was the given reason. However, many pointed out that at this point the trail would be sharing information and dealing with preliminaries that could have been done safely. It seems that this will not be challenged in the Supreme court.

The second amazing thing is the speaker of the Knesset (Parliament), Yuli Edelstein, shut down the Knesset. The virus was given as the reason. However, most believe that the reason was political. If the parliament meets, though there is not yet a new executive government with the ongoing stalemate, the Knesset can vote to remove Edelstein and choose a new speaker that is not Likud. There are probably 61 votes, a one vote majority, to do this. The big issue then would be to form an arrangements committee. If the anti-Bibi 61 have require a one vote majority on this committee than they can arrange for laws to be voted on. The big fear from Bibi and Likud is that they will then arrange the passage of a law stating that an indicted person cannot serve as Prime Minister. President Reuven Rivlen (Likud) has called on Edelstein to open the Knesset and said democracy is at stake. The legal advisor to the Knesset has given the same opinion. Blue and White lead by Benny Gantz says that they will go to the Supereme Court to see that the Knesset is open. Now Edelstein is relenting and says he will open the Knesset on Monday.

In the midst of all this, the Times of Israel says that Gantz is now open to serving in a unity government with Netanyahu leading for either an emergency 6 months or in a three year unity with Bibi serving 18 months, but then having to relinquish leadership to Gantz after that. This would have to be made law so Bibi could not back out. However, two of his Blue and White partners, Boggie Yaalon and Yair Lapid, say they are against this, and if Gantz does this, it will break up the party.

All this is going on in the midst of the virus plague. I think Gantz is seeking to be a stateman and wants the best for Israel in this plague situation. He is willing to give up his pledge to not serve with an indicted Prime Minister for the sake of Israel’s present need. Of course, if Bibi is found guilty (who knows how long the trial would take) he would have to step down.

Israel is now in a terrible situation politically and economically. Sectors of the government can not function without a normal government. Major sectors of the economy are shut down. People are in isolation. Businesses are going out of business and many people do not have back up funds to survive. We have people in our own congregation who are in very difficult straits. Meanwhile we, in our connected network, pray for revival. Do pray much with us!

Israeli Politics and the Coronavirus

It is most amazing to note that Israel is in the midst of its third political stalemate after inconclusive elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, Likud, is already talking about another election! At the same time, Israel has embraced the most severe restrictions of any country to try to manage the threat of the virus. The planes are not flying, and the schools will now be closed. Closing the schools will be a terrible trial for working parents! There are to be no meetings of over 100 people. The hotels are mostly empty. Israel’s tourism industry is suspended. The economic consequences are terrible. All this is happening at the same time as the United States is holding its presidential primaries. History may note them as the virus primaries. The United States itself is embracing greater and greater restrictions. Even the National Basketball League has suspended games!!

What is God up to in allowing this terrible situation worldwide? Could revival follow? Some are praying for this.

It seems amazing that in the midst of such a plague that Israel is in political limbo. We really need to see our helplessness and our need for God, for we cannot even form a government. It is not only that the vote failed to put either the Likud or the Blue and White, the two largest parties over the top. A government could be formed but for the rigid positions taken by some politicians, an amazing stubbornness. My two favorite Israeli English language newspapers, the Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel are in agreement, and I agree with them. Just where are the points of stubbornness?

Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) bears responsibility by insisting on remaining the head of his party though under indictment. The trial procedures begin on March 17^th. There are several things that could be negotiated. Blue and White would be in a unity government with Likud if not led by Bibi due to the indictment. They say they will not be in a government led by him due to the indictment. Several solutions could be found. Likud could choose a new leader and even say that after his trial, if found innocent, Bibi could return to leadership through a new party vote. Likud could commit to this.
Benjamin Netanyahu insists that all his right-wing partners be included in any government. This is a non-starter. This right wing includes the Ultra-Orthodox who have a stranglehold over the government. I have written many times on how their welfare state within the state is bleeding the government. They also say that they will not be in a government with Blue and White. My view on this? Good. Let there be a unity government without them. This would be very helpful.
There are two Blue and White Party members and one Labor-Gesher member who will not allow a government to form through the votes of the Joint List Arab party because the Arabs are not Zionists but want a bi-national state. This seems really foolish on the part of these three members, since after the vote, Bibi will be gone and there could be a unity government. At any rate, the Joint List will not be part of the government but only give the vote to end Bibi’s reign. All they are asking is parity in government services spending. Indeed, this coalition could pass a law that a person under indictment could not serve.
Blue and White could change their position and accept Bibi in a rotation for Prime Minister with Benny Gantz due to the very bad situation of not being able to form a government and to avoid a fourth election. It seems dire enough to defend such a change. They could promise pardon to him for allowing General Gantz of Blue and White to lead the government in the first rotation. Bibi can lead again if found innocent. For this to happen, Bibi has to let the Ultra-Orthodox go. Shas cannot control the interior department. There has to be a cut in welfare for men to study Talmud and Rabbinic arguments all day!
The Joint List, including Balad, the more anti-Israel faction, could vote to form the government with Blue and White and accept that only some of their demand can be met since the budget will cannot immediately provide all their demands. The government can take significant steps. How about a cut in Ultra-Orthodox welfare to finance classrooms, roads, police and hospitals in the Arab areas! Balad refuses to support a government and has an all or nothing stand.

There are many possible solutions, but so many are being stubborn. It is amazing! And some speak of a fourth election which again would likely be inconsequential. Can Bibi stay in power by having elections forever?

Meanwhile, the country is in turmoil not only in politically but with the virus. What a time for us to pray, exercise faith, heal the sick and share the Good News! What a great time for the Spirit to be poured out.

The Bizarre Israel Political Situation

On the night of the Israel elections, the exit polls and early counting gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party and the other parties that would join his coalition 60 Knesset (Parliament) members. It looked like he would be able to flip one vote somewhere to gain the 61 votes necessary to form a government. With these results, we went to sleep that night. The next morning Bibi had slipped to 59 and then the next day to 58. These are now the official results. The certainty that he would form the next government evaporated. Amazing!

Now another new and strange twist is taking place. With the Arab Joint List Party, the opposition has 62 votes. They will not form a government together since the centrist Blue and White Party will not join with the Arab Party in a government since they are not Zionists. However, they are now putting forth the idea that they might vote to pass legislation to preclude Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a government. Blue and White under General Benny Gantz has said they are willing to form a government with Bibi’s Likud Party but not with him as the leader because he has been indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. They could pass a law stating that an indicted Prime Minister cannot form a government. If this happens, it could solve the dilemma for many Messianic Jews. I will explain.

Messianic Jews in Israel are ardent Zionists. They like the idea of annexing the towns in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). They think that Bibi can now do this because the Trump peace plan has been rejected by the Arabs and negotiations are rejected as well. This opens the door for unilateral annexation. The right parties are correct that the old two state solution making the ‘67 armistice lines the border is no longer possible. The Zionist left is not facing reality. Yes, their rational position of separation and two states is reasonable in that it seeks to keep a large Jewish majority though a separation of populations and the elimination of the many towns except for the larger cities. They hope that the Palestinian Arabs would accept such a plan but they have proven by the past peace offers that they would. The Trump plan does this separation but with Israel keeping the West Bank towns and cities. Some still oppose even the limited state that Trump proposes. Since the Arabs have rejected the plan some other solution for the West Bank Arabs needs to be found. Some still wait for them to have citizenship in Jordan and residency in Israel. This is unlikely in the near future.

Messianic Jews, however, are ambivalent about Bibi for other reasons. It is that he is fully in bed with the Ultra-Orthodox and especially the Sephardic Shas Party that controls the Interior Department and opposes Messianic Jews. The Ultra-Orthodox control conversion, weddings and Jewish status issues which makes life very hard for 400,000 Russian Jews who are not accepted as Jewish by Rabbinic law. They make their conversion too hard, and they cannot marry in Israel! Plus, the Ultra-Orthodox do not serve in the army. Most of their men do not work. They receive welfare so they can split hairs on Rabbinic discussions and arguments in the Yeshivas. This will someday lead to bankrupting the country, and it presently undercuts funds for services and salaries in Israel.

However, if Likud has a new leader who would apply the same policies on the Trump plan and could join with Blue and White, and Liberman’s Russian Jewish anti-Ultra Orthodox but conservative party, Yisrael Bateinu, then we could see policies that most Messianic Jews would support. This includes both the issue the Land in Judea and Sumaria, and on the issue of the control of the society by the Ultra-Orthodox. This is a possibility but not at all certain.

I for one was disappointed by Gantz saying that he supported the Trump plan but would want international support plus support from Jordan and Egypt to implement it. Well, that would be the end of the plan. But if Likud leads the next government without Bibi, it could solve the problem. Bibi’s indictment is not political as he claims. How do we know this? Because the indictment comes from his former supporter who did not want to do this, Attorney General Mendelblit. This Likud conservative did not want to do this, but the evidence forced him into it. Bibi has served his country well, and I believe he would get a pardon from the Knesset if he stepped down before such a law would pass. This is where things stand this evening. Amazing! What a saga!

THE THIRD ELECTION

This Monday, March 2st, we will go to the polls to vote for the Parliament (the Knesset) for the third time. Twice we had inconclusive elections, and no coalition could be formed.

Amazingly, after all this, and with his trial set to begin for bribery, it appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is gaining on Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party. It is still my contention that the best government for Israel would be a coalition with Likud and Blue and White. That seems more remote but not impossible. Recent events have been disappointing to me.

First, the leader of the Arab Joint List has made statements that are so extreme that it now may preclude even their support to form a Blue and White government in a parliamentary vote even though they would not be in the government. He has made conditions that require Blue and White to abandon the Gaza defense operations and West Bank anti-terrorist operations. His demands for money for the Arab sector are beyond what Israel can accept (though they deserve much more funding). He has actually empowered Netanyahu.

Another thing that is disappointing is that Benny Gantz has said that he supports the Trump Peace plan but will only move forward on it with international support. If he means more than the U. S., Britain, Brazil, and a few others, then he won’t implement the plan. Bibi is already moving in accord with the United States to apply sovereignty to the areas outlined as being part of Israel in the Trump plan. I think this has lost votes for Gantz and am surprised that the strong conservative, Moshe Yaalon, Bibi’s former defense secretary, did not coach on a better position.

I still believe that we need to have a government where the ultra-Orthodox are less powerful. They are an existential threat to Israel since their population growth in is great, and most of the men do not work and have to be supported by the State. The Ultra-Orthodox Shas Party controls citizenship and precludes important ways forward for some 400,000 Russian Jews and Messianic Jews. The Ultra-Orthodox want to study hair-splitting Talmudic arguments all day and are not productive. This cannot go on, but Bibi’s right-wing government will give them what they want.

We need a lot of prayer. I would like to see a Likud government with Blue and White, may be led by another Likud leader like Gideon Saar. Despite Bibi’s reputation as Mr. Security, I think others in Likud are stronger. In this week’s weekend Jerusalem Post a recent head of the National Security Council in Israel, Uzi Arad, noted as I have said in the past, that Bibi talks strong but acts weak, allowing Hezbollah in Lebanon to re-arm with powerful missiles. He as well not acted strongly enough to deter Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. I do have a sense that God is involved and his providence will eventually work this out.

Israel’s Orthodox Jewish Crisis

When I first came into Jewish ministry (June 1972), I had very little knowledge of Judaism. I had the best of Evangelical Christian education and also studied at a liberal Christian Seminary. My professors taught about Jewish backgrounds for understanding the New Testament, but not about post-New Testament Judaism. I thought I should study Judaism; how else could I be in Jewish ministry. I read books on Judaism. Then someone gave me an old copy of the Talmud in English translation by Rodkinson. The Talmud is the primary foundation of Judaism; volumes that define the requirements of Judaism based on the debates in the early Jewish schools, Yeshivot. It claims to preserve the Oral Law given to Moses. This very inadequate abbreviation of the Talmud in 10 volumes did not have the classical pagination so I could not look up references. Therefore, I took a copy of the Soncino Talmud in English and went through the Talmud page by page in both editions and added the page numbers to Rodkinson. As part of this, I browsed through the Talmud and more carefully read some parts. I was amazed! I concluded at that time that the Talmud could be divided into four evaluation aspects. First was the most incredible level of legalistic extension and minutia in legal requirements that the world had ever seen. This was the dominant bulk of the Talmud. Secondly, was good wisdom in some applications of the Law. Then there were stories that did sometimes bring out good moral inspiration, and finally some amazing superstitions. I also studied the worship texts of the Jewish people, attended a Jewish college and took a full course on this. This part of Jewish tradition was an accurate reflection about God, his mercy, grace, and redemption based in the Hebrew Bible. It points to Yeshua. God had not left himself without a witness among our people even after our leaders led us astray in the rejection of Yeshua.

Recently I decided to again read through the first part of the Talmud, the Mishnah, which was written down about 200 C. E. I was even more amazed by the arguments and the detailed conclusions by which life is to be regulated in classical Judaism. There were some who were able to relate well to the larger world despite the restrictions Judaism required (Maimonides as a case in point) but the preoccupation with things that are really irrelevant is again amazing. Some will take issue with me and defend this first aspect of the Talmud. My conclusion is that this aspect of Judaism is the result of our leaders in the first century rejecting Yeshua. In a sense, it is a punishment that locks our people into this very restrictive structure. As Yeshua said, the Pharisees already were teaching as precepts the traditions of men. (Matthew 15:9). The punishment was God giving our people up to their choice whereby the precepts of men became multiplied into volumes of unbelievably detailed irrelevant material. One cannot read through the Mishnah with a biblically formed mind and heart and think it shows God’s ideal for His people. It is a great departure from the biblical path.

Orthodox Judaism, the Judaism that seeks to be true to classic Judaism is now established in Israel. Both Sephardic (Eastern and North African) and Ashkenazic Judaism from Eastern Europe maintained the standards of rigid legalism. When the Zionist movement began, Jewish religious leaders rejected it. The Orthodox rejected it due to the teaching that we were not to have a state until the Messiah came and led us back to the Land. Reform Judaism was seeking to break from the Orthodox legal restrictions and be a universal religion. The Zionist nationalism did not fit their desire for Judaism to morph into a universal religion. Only as Zionism succeeded did Orthodox thinkers arise who saw in the re-establishing of Israel a prophetic fulfillment and a foreshadowing of redemption. Rabbi Abraham Kook led in the establishment, in the 1930s, the formation of a nationalistic modern Orthodoxy that would fully support Zionism and the idea of a state. Modern Nationalist Orthodox today fight in the army, seek to be in the professions and to be interacting with the larger society. Modern Orthodoxy in America, as in Yeshiva University in New York, has the same orientation. These folks seek to follow Jewish strictures, but in a way that allows for cultural relevance. What is the problem? The problem is that in Israel they are more and more of a minority. Recent statistics indicate that they are not growing. Young people exposed to the larger world can be convinced to leave the world of Orthodoxy. What is growing greatly is the Ultra-Orthodox. The Ultra-Orthodox have displaced the Modern Orthodox in political power in Israel, though most are not Zionist. The National Orthodox are shrinking in power in comparison. The Ultra-Orthodox lose very few of their children and have large families. Here are some important points.

The Ultra-Orthodox, for the most part, refuse Army service. They claim to be studying Torah and should be exempt. They mean studying Talmud and Jewish debates on the application of Jewish law (Halakah).
They reject courses in their schools that could prepare them for the workforce. Yet the state must pay for these schools.
The men in large numbers do not enter the workforce. Therefore these large Jewish families require enormous expenditures of welfare. The women work to support the family but at low wages.
A very large number of the Ultra-Orthodox are poor.

Article after article in the Jewish press, Hebrew and English, claims that the Ultra-Orthodox are an existential threat to Israel. Why? Because Israel cannot forever support this growing segment of the population that is projected in future decades to be 30% of the Jewish population. The present government (Netanyahu) does not respond to this threat, but gives in to them, to stay in power. This is very shortsighted. The Ultra-Orthodox passed the 1 million mark in 2018. Unless they are economically productive, they will destroy the economy. There is nothing in Jewish Law historically that requires a Jewish observance contrary to personal economic responsibility and productivity. When this battle is finally engaged, it could lead to devastating conflict in Israel.

The thought comes to me. Isn’t it amazing that Judaism, as it developed and now is rooted in Israel, is one of the greatest threats to the State of Israel? And isn’t it amazing that this Judaism grew from out of that ancient Jewish tradition in Talmud that results from the rejection of Yeshua? It is also amazing that the only answer to the paradoxes of the state of Israel and the secular/Orthodox divide is to look back to where this wrong trajectory was set, back to the first century and to embrace Yeshua. The continuing rejection of Yeshua has many causes. Anti-Semitism is one. However, before Anti-Semitism from Christians, there was the Jewish rejection of Yeshua. Other Judaism that is not Orthodox and the secular reject Him in part due to their roots in the formation of classical Judaism between 70 and 600 C. E.