"Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people" 
21 December 2020

A weekly reflection on current global affairs concerning Israel and
the Jewish people from a Biblical perspective. 

The restoration of the twelve tribes to the land continues unabated. God is fulfilling His promises. 
 
As the articles below show, this return is being met with much opposition. 
 
The struggles both within and around Israel can be seen as signs of the 'birthpangs': signs of the difficult process of giving birth to the new kingdom. 
 
As the Christian world celebrates Christmas, we do well to remember that God is in control of history, and that He will fulfill all that He has promised.  
 
We do not believe in some ephemeral, nebulous kingdom, but in the firm and unshakeable covenants entered into by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He gave His only-begotten Son to confirm the promises to the patriarchs. Many of the promises have been fulfilled. But Israel has not yet been restored. Christ has not yet claimed His kingship over the nations. The Kingdom of peace and righteousness on earth promised to Mary has not yet been fulfilled.
 
The best is yet to come. 
 
We wish all our readers a blessed Christmas season. 
 
Maranatha. 
 
The Editorial team
Israel & Christians Today

The arrival of the Bnei Menashe is a Hanukkah miracle

Michael Freund writes: “It is fitting that the Bnei Menashe aliyah took place this past week during Hanukkah, when we celebrate the Hasmoneans’ discovery of the miraculous flask of pure oil which somehow managed to remain untainted. In this sense, the rediscovery of the lost tribe of Bnei Menashe, which maintained its fidelity to the God of Israel despite 27 centuries in exile, is a modern day version of the Hanukkah miracle, of Jewish faith and survival against all the odds.”
Read more..


European Court allows Belgian bans on kosher slaughter
 
Dr. Matthijs de Blois at thinc.:  “On 17 December 2020 the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that a Decree by the Flemish Region that requires animals to be stunned prior to slaughter to reduce their suffering does not contravene European law. This judgement is a serious threat to the freedom of religion in Europe. Against the dark background of European history, which is full of examples of the suppression of Jewish religious practices, including the prohibition of ritual slaughter, this is a sad observation.” Read more..
 

COVID in Israel 
 
JPost reports: “The COVID-19 Public Emergency Council called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the corona cabinet to change the way the nation is dealing with the pandemic.” Read more..
 
 
Politics in Israel 
 
Times of Israel: “With Knesset set to dissolve Tuesday night, Blue and White propose legislation for a two-week stay on budget deadline to allow more time for talks to stave off new elections” Read more..
 
 
Israel, Iran and the region  
 
Dr. Mordechai Kedar at BESA: “The 10 years of the so-called “Arab Spring”—the last of which is the year of COVID-19—have brought many Arab countries to the edge of the abyss. The worst may be yet to come if President-elect Joe Biden takes expected steps that would be in the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Read more..
 
Farhad Rezaei and Jason M. Brodsky at BESA: “In 2021, Iran will be preparing for a presidential election even as it faces an unprecedented economic crisis. Some conservatives argue that a military figure could turn the country around by virtue of his “jihadist spirit” and “military charisma.” While the allure of such a person as president is attractive to some in Tehran, structural impediments remain. The power of the Office of the Supreme Leader will prove a formidable obstacle in the path of any military figure who hopes to ascend to the presidency in the near term.” Read more..
 
 
Israel and the US elections 
 
Eric James Bordenkircher in Middle East Quarterly: “While Obama cannot be faulted for every calamity befalling the Middle East during the eight years of his presidency, his policies undoubtedly did much to make a bad situation worse. They exacerbated ongoing conflicts, damaged relations with key regional allies, weakened U.S. regional position and interests, and exposed the inherent weaknesses of multilateralism. President-elect Biden would be unwise to look back in time to the Obama era for his Middle East policies and should rather rethink certain core assumptions about the region so as to adopt new policies that take into account the region's longstanding trends and dynamics as well as new realities.” Read more..
 

Israel, Europe and Islam
 
Dr. Mark Durie writes: “Regrettably Macron, even as he attempts to shore up France’s resolve, has misunderstood the depth and extent of the problem. Some of his proposed measures can no doubt help strengthen France’s grasp on its secularity, and he is right to focus on the key role of imams in advancing the separation of Islamisation, but his hope of “forging a type of Enlightenment Islam in France” will prove to be a vain one. French Muslims will not allow Islam to be patronised by being turned into a client of the secular state. They will discern the hypocrisy of trying to interfere in Islam for the sake of upholding a separation between church and state.” Read more..