THE WAR IS OVER – OR NOT?

A few days ago one of my friends remarked, “Now that the war is over, we can get back to normal”. I was a little shocked. Is the war over? Yes, the missiles have stopped falling on our heads. The warning sirens haven’t sounded for a few weeks and yes, here in Israel, life has pretty much returned to ‘normal’, but it is, as we said during the Covid epidemic, a ‘new normal’, and one that is very fragile.

Our soldiers and airmen are still fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Hamas still holds the bodies of 4 hostages in captivity. Israel has not officially declared the war over, nor have there been any public celebrations. I don’t feel any sense of jubilation on the streets and most people I have talked to are cautious and doubtful about any lasting peace with our enemies. Under the superficial normality, there is a heavy and solemn atmosphere.

It is true that Israel’s enemies, especially Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis have all taken a serious hit during this war, and they may have been weakened militarily, but in boxing terms, they are ‘down but not out’.

The Peace Plan, brokered by the President of the U.S. Donald Trump, is predicated on the surrender of Hamas in Gaza, its disarmament and its displacement as a governing power. Hamas agreed only to the first phase of this plan, the return of the 20 remaining hostages in exchange for around 2000 Hamas prisoners held by Israel.

Hamas has not signed on to the second or following phases of the Plan, which require it to disarm.  Hamas has neither surrendered nor disarmed and has made it clear that it has no intention of doing so. And why would it? Its whole raison d’etre is the destruction of Israel. Without its weapons, Hamas is nothing.

 On the northern front, Hezbollah is busy rearming and building new infrastructure, already preparing for a renewed round of fighting with Israel. Iran just gave Hezbollah $US 1 billion for rearmament purposes, even though Iran’s own economy is in dire straits and the people of Iran don’t even have enough water to drink or a regular supply of electricity.

Iran is also rebuilding its nuclear program and they claim to still have around 400kg of enriched, near-weapons grade uranium that was not destroyed in the US/Israel attacks. It is boasting that it will fire barrages of 2000 missiles per day at Israel should we dare to attack, even though it probably doesn’t have enough launchers to do so. Iran is given to bombastic threats, but we do know that it has acquired launchers and other military equipment from China and Russia. There is no way that Israel, or the world, can permit Iran to have a nuclear weapon. It seems another war with Iran is inevitable and necessary.

Trump, is proclaiming that the Middle East is ‘now at peace’, but it will take more than a proclamation to bring any meaningful or lasting peace in the Middle East. If the Islamists, Iran or its terrorist proxies, have made agreements or ‘deals’, it is only because it is somehow in the interest of their cause to do so. Their cause is global jihad, the spread of extreme Shiia Islam, the imposition of Sharia Law and the downfall of Western civilization. They have made no secret of their goals, nor that they are currently taking advantage of the negotiated ceasefires to regroup and rearm.

The Trump Peace Plan is also based on the assumption that the actors in the Middle East want peace and western-style democracy and capitalism above all. This is a quintessentially western value, but not one held high in the Muslim world. The drive for global Islamization carries a much greater value. For the jihadis death and martyrdom is held in greater esteem than life and peace. This is an impossible idea for westerners to get their heads around, but we need to understand what we are dealing with here.

The Plan also depends on the international community, particularly the ‘moderate’ Sunni Muslim states of the Middle East. But they are not rushing to send troops to disarm Hamas, nor are they showing interest in being part of the coalition for the rule of Gaza. They have even come up with at least two alternative plans in rejection of the Trump Plan.

Around 200 Hamas murderers, released by Israel in exchange for our hostages, are currently living in a luxury hotel in Egypt awaiting asylum in a third country. No country has volunteered to take them in, and Egypt does not want them either. Surprise!

Now another 200 Hamas terrorists are trapped inside the Israeli controlled part of the Gaza Strip. Israel has agreed to allow them to leave unarmed, but they must be expelled from Gaza. Perhaps your country would like to grant asylum to 200 fanatical, hate-filled terrorists?

The Plan envisions a rebuilt Gaza controlled, at least initially, by a coalition of states headed and overseen by the USA. The US has already established a headquarters in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat to begin this process and it is reported that it will soon begin the construction of a large American base, housing at least 2000 US military and civilian personnel, in the Gaza envelope region within Israel. There are also reports of plans to establish a number of other US military installations along Israel’s other border areas. If true, these bases would contravene Israel’s long-standing policy of independence with regard to its security. Is this the first step of Israel becoming the US’s 51st state? The Gaza Strip is part of the God-given homeland of the people of Israel. Are the nations once more dividing the Holy Land? (Update: The US denies any plans to establish bases in Israeli territory)

The Trump Plan also involves the United Nations, which is extremely biased against Israel, and should not play any part in the reconstruction and control of Gaza. The UN UNWRA organization through its schools, from kindergarten upwards, has brainwashed at least two generations of Palestinians to mindlessly hate and murder Jews. Ask a Palestinian kindergarten student what he or she wants to be when they grow up, and they will tell you that they want to be a martyr and kill many Jews. It would take a totally purged education system and several generations to undo this atrocity. The UN should play no part whatsoever in the reconstruction of Gaza.

Trump also seems to want to involve Turkey and Qatar in the future governance of Gaza. The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made it clear that he desires to restore the Turkish Empire. A foothold in Gaza would be a step towards such an eventuality. Israel will never agree to a Turkish presence there. Qatar is playing a double game and cannot be trusted.

Perhaps I am being overly critical but for all these reasons, and more, I cannot see the Trump Plan working. Already today, US leaders are admitting that the implementation of the second part of the Plan, the disarmament of Hamas, has stalled.

I am not sure if Trump is naïve, delusional or somehow complicit. He has met with many of the Islamist leaders, including the leaders of Turkey, Syria and Qatar, and declared them to be “nice people” - “people he can work with”.  I wonder if Hitler or Stalin were ‘nice’, charming people too? After all abrasive or obnoxious people are not likely to rise into positions of political power. The Bible even describes Satan as an angel of light: “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness” ( 2 Corinthians 11: 14-15).

The war between Hamas and Israel that began on October 7, 2023, is just one battle in the greater war, the global jihad. Israel may have had amazing success in this current battle, with the help of God, but jihad is not over and has merely entered into a new phase. This phase will not be waged primarily with guns but in the minds and institutions of the people of the West. It may sound like a fantastic, apocalyptic movie or an exaggeration, but what we are seeing is truly a clash of civilizations, a clash between Islam and the Judeo/Christian-based Western civilization.

At this point it seems to me that Islam is winning. The Islamists have brilliantly mastered the art of propaganda and are using it to win over Western minds. In nearly every major western nation we have seen thousands waving banners and chanting antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans on the streets, even though most of those protesters have no idea what those slogans actually mean, nor their implications. They demonstrate because it makes them feel good. It puts them on the ‘moral high ground’ to scapegoat Israel with albeit, unfounded accusations of genocide or apartheid. They do not understand that they are being manipulated by the Islamists who are working to undermine, and eventually destroy, the very civilization that gives them the freedom to demonstrate and speak freely. If the Islamists win, they will not tolerate free speech, free thought, freedom of religion, dissension or demonstrations. Women will be relegated to the status of chattels belonging to the men, with fewer rights than the animals. Members of the LGBTQ community will be thrown off high buildings or hung.  

Expressions of antisemitism and acts of violence against Jews have once again become socially acceptable all over the world. The night of the 9-10 November was the 87^th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, when Nazis carried out pogroms against the Jews of Germany and Austria in 1938. I grew up thinking the world had learned its lesson. We thought the Holocaust would never happen again. But it is happening again and on steroids – not just in one region but all over the world. Holocaust survivors claim the atmosphere today is just like it was in 1938, on the eve of World War II and the Holocaust.

Western nations have been infiltrated by Islamic jihadists, who mingled with genuine immigrants and refugees from Islamic nations. Once in our midst they have set up charities, institutions and educational centers which subvert others. (Note: I am not saying that all Muslims promote or support jihad). Many cities and nations in the west now have political leaders who are antisemitic and support the jihadi cause, whether they do so consciously or not. Terror organizations have hundreds, if not thousands, of ‘sleeper cells’ waiting in every nation, preparing to carry out terrorist attacks designed to sow fear, hatred and chaos. Universities have been subverted by the injection of large amounts of finance from sources such as Qatar. The education of our children is being corrupted by ‘political correctness’ and ‘woke philosophy’, preventing critical thinking and healthy discernment.  All of this is intended to bring down western civilization replacing it with Islamic rule and Sharia Law.

So what can we do? Is it too late to stop this process?

I don’t know, but we must try, especially if we believe in the Bible, in Truth and Righteousness. Here are some suggestions on how we as individuals can help turn the tide.

1.      First and foremost – pray. Call out to God. He hears and it matters.

2.      We all need to educate ourselves. Know your enemy. Listen to what the Islamic jihadis are saying and believe they mean it.  They are not keeping their plans secret, but many in the West are refusing to take them seriously. Identify the threat, name it and decide to take action.

3.      Study the whole Bible exegetically and understand what is happening from a Biblical perspective and encourage others to do the same. Start a Bible Study group or a prayer group and spread the word. Educate your children and young people regarding the role of Israel in God’s redemption plan, his love for and promises towards Israel. Resist replacement theology.  Spread the gospel of salvation to the Jew first, and also to the ‘Greek’ (meaning all gentiles including the Muslims). The gospel is the only hope for a true and lasting peace on earth.  

4.      Speak up. The silent majority needs to make its voice heard. Remember that silence in the face of evil is complicity. Write to your leaders. Write on social media. Write comments.  Make videos. Tell your friends. Demonstrate.

5.      Pray for your governments, that they will understand the threat, stand against it, resist Islamist takeovers, and support Israel which is fighting in the vanguard of the war against jihad.

We know that one day all the nations of the world will come against Israel. God through the prophet Zechariah proclaimed, “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations” and “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling” (Zechariah 12: 3,2). We are not there yet, and much that has been prophesied is yet to be fulfilled, but it seems the stage is being set and we are hastening towards the day of the judgement of the nations.

In Joel 3 God declares, “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel... (Joel 3:1-2).