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** God sees history from end to beginning
17 June 2021
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A weekly reflection on current global affairs concerning Israel and
the Jewish people from a Biblical perspective.


Following the election two weeks ago of a new President (Isaac Herzog), last Sunday 13^th June, Israel swore in its 36^th government. Benjamin Netanyahu has left office after 12 years, and now heads the opposition, declaring his intention to bring down the new government.

It is the first time in history that such a diverse range of parties have formed a government. The new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (the 13^th Israeli Prime Minister since the State was established in 1948) is a conservative Jew, the cabinet includes an Islamist Muslim and secular Jews. Whether or not you think this is a good thing, as Alan Dershowitz notes, this puts paid to the absurd allegation that Israel is an “apartheid” state.

One of the challenges facing the new government is in the area of foreign policy. No-one knows at this stage how the government will manage the situation with Palestinian Authority and Hamas following the recent Gaza conflict, and relations with the Arab world.

Looking at Israel and the region, one may become optimistic, angry, confused, cynical or even despondent about the prospects of peace and security. But fortunately God is in control of history. He gives us free will to choose whether we accept His will or not. But He is leading all things towards His purposes: the coming of the kingdom. He promised to plant His people in the land where they will live in peace with their neighbors – and He will fulfil what He has promised.

The Editorial team
Israel & Christians Today


Israel's New Government Is Among the Most Diverse in the History of Democracies
Prof. Alan Dershowitz at Gatestone: “I challenge anyone to name a parliamentary democracy that has had a more diverse coalition government -- racially, religiously, ethnically, ideologically, politically, national origin -- than the current Israeli government. It includes people of nearly every color from Black Ethiopians to brown Muslims to swarthy Sephardim to pale Russians. It includes a modern Orthodox Jew as Prime Minister, along with fundamentalist Muslims and atheist and agnostics Jews. It has a gay cabinet member, a deaf member of the Knesset and people who trace their roots to Asia, Africa, Europe and America.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])


Poll finds dramatic rise in Palestinian support for Hamas
Israel Hayom reports: “A new poll released Tuesday has found a dramatic surge in Palestinian support for Hamas following May's conflict with Israel, saying that around 75% of the Palestinians believe the Gaza-based terrorist group won the battle against Israel to defend Jerusalem and its holy sites. The poll, by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, also found plummeting support for President Mahmoud Abbas, who was sidelined by the war but is seen internationally as a partner for reviving the long-defunct peace process.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])

Palestinians: The Battle to Steal Reconstruction Funds
Khaled Abu Toameh writes at Gatestone: “The message the Arabs and Muslims are sending to the Biden administration and other Western donors: Stop showering money on corrupt and failed Palestinian leaders whose stock-in-trade is purloining international funds. The Palestinians do not need money as much as they need new leaders whose commitment to the welfare of their people outweighs their interest in their own pockets.
> Read more.. ([link removed])

Incoherent US policy gives room for Russia and Iran in Syria
Jonathan Spyer writes: “The U.S. presence in northeast Syria is positive. Without it, Washington would lose leverage in Syria, and Russia and Iran would have a stronger hand in determining the future of the country, to the detriment of U.S. allies… But since the Biden administration appears to be abandoning this policy and seeking rapprochement with Iran, policy regarding this area is heading in the direction of greater incoherence.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])

New ICC Prosecutor – will he continue Israel/Hamas investigation?
Times of Israel reports: “British lawyer Karim Khan was sworn in Wednesday as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, pledging to reach out to nations that are not members of the court in his quest to end impunity for atrocities and to try to hold trials in countries where crimes are committed. One of his main challenges will be a recently announced probe into actions committed by Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since June 13, 2014.”
> Read more.. ([link removed] )

ICC prosecutor went after Israeli settlements, but not Cyprus
Yonah Jeremy Bob in JPost: Karim Khan’s predecessor Fatou Bensouda “turned a blind eye to Turkey's crimes in Northern Cyprus while pursuing the Palestinians' blood libels.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])

Germany’s Failed Hezbollah Ban
Soeren Kern writes: “In retrospect, Germany's much-vaunted Hezbollah ban appears to have been little more than a publicity stunt aimed at silencing critics of the German government's pro-Iran foreign policy.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])

Biden announces nomination of Thomas Nides as US ambassador to Israel
Former State Dept. official with ties to Blinken and Obama still needs to be confirmed by Senate, though no major opposition expected. Former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren says Nides is “a friend of Israel and a very funny guy.”
> Read more.. ([link removed])

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Two Promises | The Signs of the Times
with Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer

The Lord oversees history from beginning to end. Or vice versa: from the end, He looks back and oversees the present and the beginning. The Great End Goal is the magnet which draws history towards that end. The Great End Goal is the coming of the Kingdom and the coming of the King of that Kingdom.


** SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
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** Amos 9:13-15
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“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
^14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.

“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
^15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

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**
Newspaper Israel & Christians Today
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The goal of Israel & Christians Today is to help Christians to take God’s Word seriously, and study current events in the world in the context of the Bible.

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