Shalom from a nation which is once again on the brink of war! Another week has passed as Israel has remained in a holding pattern while other people posture over our fate. No matter what is decided between the United States and Iran, we will be affected. If America strikes, we will be drawn into the ensuing conflict. If President Trump settles for negotiations, then it will be left to Israel to do what’s necessary to protect ourselves against an Iranian assault. Undoubtedly, an Iran left restrained only by words and promises will eventually come against us. We will not sit back idly and wait for that to happen.
There is an irony to the timing of all of this. Next Monday evening will begin Purim, an annual reminder of how the Jews were threatened with annihilation by the evil Haman. But one woman, Queen Esther, risked her life exposing the plot, thereby saving her people. The term “Purim” refers not to the genocidal plans, but the lots that were cast to select the date. To Haman and the Persians, it was never about the many lives that would be lost. It was just the Jews, no big loss. Instead, they were more concerned about the proper timing for the slaughter so that it could be done right.
When the October 7 attack was planned, the same pattern of thought was followed. The question was never whether to massacre the Jews. That was a given. The strategic calculation revolved around timing and coordination. When Hamas launched early, the ayatollahs’ regime was not upset about the deaths and brutality. They were angry that their broader plan that involved many of their other proxy militias was undercut. In other words, they weren’t upset at how many had been killed, but at how few.
Now, 2,500 years after the events of the book of Esther, the Jews are alive and thriving. We survived the plans of ancient Persia carried out through Haman, and we survived the plans of modern Persia (Iran) carried out through Hamas. And now, it is the ayatollahs who find themselves on the chopping block. I am a man who can appreciate poetry, and there is a beautiful poetic justice at this turn of events.
So, Happy Purim to you all! Am Israel Chai!
War by the Weekend?
We are coming upon a critical weekend. Today, a third round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva have already temporarily halted. Both sides say they want negotiations to work. I wouldn’t put money on it. Abbas Araghchi, foreign minister of Iran, said they will not give up their “peaceful” nuclear purposes. He went on to threaten the targeting of US bases in the region, “even if they are on the territory of Arab countries.” On the American side, President Trump, in his State of the Union address, said he will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon. As US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, Iran is a threat to the US, not just to Israel. “Many Americans don’t think about it because Iran is thousands of miles away from them. But for 48 years Iran has brought death to America, killed thousands of Americans, and is working to build a global nuclear threat,” said the ambassador.
In the State of the Union, the president also demanded a limitation to Iran’s ballistic missile program. Currently, Tehran’s military has missiles that can reach Europe. Soon, their range will extend to the United States. When asked if President Trump sees Iran as a threat, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Iran chants ‘Death to America’. You tell me if that’s a threat.” On Iran’s side, they’ve said that they will not even discuss ballistic missiles. They are totally off the table. To me, that sounds like an impasse.
That brings us to now. All of America’s needed forces have arrived in the area. Countries around the world have pulled their people from Iran. Tehran is rapidly loading their oil into tankers at a clip three times quicker than this time last month. For the past five days, protesters are back out in Iranian universities in the tens of thousands, calling out “Death to the Dictator!” The time for the ayatollahs’ stall tactics is coming to an end. When today’s Geneva talks collapse, as they inevitably will, is that the moment that Trump will finally pull the trigger?
This is a time for prayer, my friends. Pray for wisdom in Washington and a reality check in Tehran. Pray for the US military stationed in bases around the Middle East. Pray for those of us in Israel, because thousands of Iran’s missiles are pointed at us. Pray for the Iranian people who desperately want this Islamic regime gone and who, once more, may become innocent victims of the ayatollahs’ sins.
War Worries in Lebanon
Amongst those hoping that war does not break out in the Middle East are those within Lebanon’s government. It’s not because they are worried that something bad might happen to Israel or America, nor do they hold any love for the Islamic regime in Iran. Their fear derives purely from self-preservation. If Iran goes to war, the ayatollahs will activate their proxies. Suddenly, Hezbollah’s rockets will all begin flying toward Israel.
The Lebanese government has seen how that turns out. So, to avoid the heavy toll that Israel will exact from their country as they destroy the terrorist militia, the administration is pleading with Hezbollah not to join the fight if war indeed does break out. Youssef Raiji, Lebanon’s foreign minister, said in Geneva that the administration has received warnings that any involvement by Hezbollah would push Israel to strike infrastructure.
“We are acting by all means to prevent this,” he added.
Trump’s State of the Union
Apparently, the Democrats were a little unhappy at some of the things that President Trump said in his annual State of the Union address. Texas congressman Al Green had to be removed from the congressional floor, while Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib heckled the president throughout. For Trump’s part, he heckled them right back calling them cheats and terrible people and blaming them for the rough shape that United States was in when he took office. At one point, it appeared that Speaker of the House was about to bring the gavel down on the unruly Democrats, but he ultimately decided to stay his hand. “I thought, you know, let them put that on display,” he said. He made the right move. The partisan antics were churlish and childish.
The theme of the speech was very patriotic and extremely “America First”, as a presidential speech should be. As an outsider, there are some things I wish had been said differently, and I would have preferred he had emphasized Iran’s ballistic missiles to a greater extent. But his goal was America First, not Israel First, as it should be. It was a very smart move to leave the Iran situation to the latter part of the speech. In Iran, it is “the” thing that is going on; in America, it is “a” thing. While the ayatollahs are sweating while they are being surrounded by a third of the US’s military, the American people are more interested in celebrating war heroes, brave rescuers, and their gold medal hockey team. That is the kind of arrogant attitude that speaks to the Middle East mind. “Yeah, we may level your country tomorrow, but before we get to that we want to recognize this 10-year-old girl for doing some cool AI stuff in her school.”
It’s interesting to note that Israel wasn’t mentioned even once when the president talked about Iran. This is because the potential conflict is not about Israel anymore. It’s about America as a superpower that promised the protesters that help is on the way. It’s about an America that wants a quiet and prosperous Middle East. It’s about an America that doesn’t want the country that calls it the “Great Satan” to have missiles and nuclear warheads that can reach its shores. Israel has already shown that it can strike its enemies when necessary. Now, America is being watched by its own adversaries to see whether it has the chutzpah to do the same.
IDF Launches AI Task Force
Speaking of cool AI stuff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, IDF Chief of Staff, unveiled a five-year plan focusing on AI, robotics, and space defense. Already, Israel is among the technology leaders when it comes to defense, and our knowledge and hardware are being sought out by other nations. On the positive side, this will help revolutionize the way Israel defends itself. On the negative, for countries like Russia, Turkey, and Iran, it shortens the timeline they have for dealing with Israel before technological advancement makes their weapons obsolete. Which takes us back to the positive side, the Ezekiel War may be sooner than any of us think. I recognize that AI can be a controversial topic.
The Blossoming Friendship Between Israel and India
On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousingly warm welcome as he stood before Israel’s Knesset. Modi is the leader of the most populous country in the world, with 1.44 billion people, and he oversees the fourth largest national economy. In the past, India found itself leaning more toward nearby Russia and Iran. But Modi has brought a new focus to his nation with a view to a new “Silk Road” that will help to make his country even more prosperous. The time Modi and Netanyahu have spent together on this trip thus far has already been very productive with the two of them signing 16 memoranda of understanding on bilateral matters.
Called the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), this trade route brings goods manufactured in India to the United Arab Emirates, from where it travels through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and into Israel. Eventually, these goods will be loaded onto ships in Haifa destined for ports in Europe. This alternative to the traditional Suez Canal route is safer and allows goods to arrive at their destinations 40 percent faster. As you can imagine, this does not sit well with Russia, Turkey, and Iran who are left out of the process and, thus, out of the money. Once again, we see a motivating factor for these nations to come up against Israel, a country that keeps getting safer and growing more prosperous.
The Huck vs. the Hack
Rarely have I witnessed such a mismatch of intelligence, deportment, and class as I did when I watched Tucker Carlson conduct his “interview” with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Carlson came with a long list of traps in which he hoped to catch the ambassador, but Huckabee not only dodged them all but turned many around on his interviewer. At times, it was embarrassing to watch Carlson default to his trademark laughter as he attempted to think on his feet. What quickly became evident is that facts don’t matter to Tucker; the narrative does. His narrative is that the Israelis of today are not the Jews of the Bible. He went so far as to suggest a 23-and-me style inquest in which all Israelis would submit to a DNA test in order to prove their semitic ties to Abraham.
In Nazi Germany, Jews were accused of not belonging in Europe because they were Jews. To Tucker, Israelis don’t belong in Israel because they are not Jews. This is the antisemitic, anti-Zionist rhetoric of a growing portion of the conservative right. If Republicans hope to have a chance of maintaining power in the November elections, they need to get a rein on this quickly. I can say the same thing to the Jew-hating segment within Christendom. If Christians ever hope to make a true impact on this world, this doctrine of hating that which the Bible clearly states God loves must be left behind.
