Ongoing judicial reform protests are taking place in Israel. While not the mass protests we saw on previous days, people are still in the streets. Israeli nuclear scientists are stating that they will be boycotting work because they disagree with judicial reform, and thousands of Israeli reservists in the IDF are essentially refusing to report for duty for the same reason. There is no doubt that Israel is internally divided.
This all comes on the anniversary of The Ninth of Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Jewish temples. The First Temple (Solomon’s temple), which was destroyed in 586 BC, and the Second Temple (known as Herod’s temple), where Jesus taught and chased out the money changers, which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD—both met their end on the same day of the Hebrew calendar.
It’s the darkest day on the Jewish calendar, and it arrives at a time when Israelis are more divided than at any time in my recollection.
Thinking back to the Second Temple destruction as the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem, at that time, there was a Jewish civil war happening on the temple mount as the Romans were at the gates.
It is definitely intriguing timing for the Ninth of Av this year, with everything going on and disturbing timing for Israel’s enemies who are gloating about all this internal dissension inside the world’s one and only Jewish state.
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Let’s start with the Iranian regime. Surprise, surprise, Israel’s greatest foe reportedly convened a meeting last week between members of the IRGC Quds Force and Hamas leaders at an undisclosed location to discuss how to capitalize and take advantage of the ongoing political turmoil and division in Israel. According to reports, their decision was to stand back, see how it all plays out, and how it weakens Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran, Hamas, and of course, Hezbollah are saying that if they intervene and capitalize on the division, then Bibi may be able to rally and unite the country against a common foe.
Now, if you talk to the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli leaders like I have, they acknowledge the current division but say it is a sign of a vibrant, free democracy and open society. They go on to say that at the end of the day, no matter how divided they are, perhaps more divided than at any time since the miraculous rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948, they will come together when the rubber hits the road if there is an external threat gathering. I hope that is the case because Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas smell weakness, and they mean business.
Over the past few months, Iran and its proxies have been probing more bold and daring confrontations with Israel.
Hezbollah planned a bombing a few months ago in northern Israel and is becoming bolder in its incursions across the Lebanese border into the Jewish State. About a week ago, elite Hezbollah fighters were patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border in plain view.
Monday was the big day when the so-called “Reasonableness Law” passed. It was the first piece of legislation in the judicial reform. There were massive protests in the streets. Israel’s opposition boycotted the vote in the Knesset. It was a tough day, no doubt, but the bill was passed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has plans to pass more bills like it, believing that Israel’s judiciary has too much power, is too left-wing, and is biased against conservatives. They want to change that.
Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the pinnacle of gloating by one of Iran’s proxies, said Monday that Israel is on the “path of collapse, fragmentation, and disappearance…” He said there is no going back now, that Israel is eating itself from within and tearing themselves apart.
In Nasrallah’s words, the day the first judicial reform bill passed was the darkest in Israel’s history because he believes it hastens the demise of the Jewish state.
I will remind you that Israel is not going anywhere. The people of Israel have returned to their ancient ancestral homeland, never to be uprooted. The word of God is very clear about that from cover to cover.
Israel is going through a very tough time, and in many ways, prophecy tells us that things are certainly going to get tougher in the days to come. There may be bumpy roads ahead, but Israel will survive, and Israel will thrive.
The God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. That has to be mentioned when discussing Iran’s enemies boasting and expressing their confidence that they have a golden opportunity to take advantage. Not so fast… You can try, but at the end of the day, God Almighty will have something to say about that.
