Weekly Update: God sees history from end to beginning

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’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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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