I am sorry its been a long time since I updated this. It’s not because I haven’t tried. I have started it several times already. I will keep what I have already written but I will update.
Yesterday (some time in February) when I was out walking in the forest I saw that all the wild almond trees were bursting forth in all their pink and white glory. February is the depths of winter in Israel, our coldest and wettest month, but even so, it is the month that the almonds break forth into blossom. They signal to us that even though we are still in the darkest grips of winter, spring will come, and it will come soon.
The prophet Jeremiah also saw an almond tree, and to him it signalled that God was about to execute judgement both on the people of Israel for their idolatry, but also upon those who come against them.
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
Then the Lord said to me:
“Out of the north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
For behold, I am calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because they have forsaken Me,
Burned incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own hands.
Jeremiah 1: 11-16
We know that shortly after this word was given to Jeremiah, the armies of the Babylonian Empire attacked and conquered the Kingdom of Judah and carried off many of the people to Babylon. But it was not for ever that they were cast out of the Promised Land. Seventy years later the LORD brought them back to the Land of Promise, and the Babylonian Empire declined and failed.
A few days ago I saw the following headline: “Iran, Russia, China to conduct joint naval exercise in Indian Ocean” (1). It made me think of that passage in Jeremiah. The almond tree is in blossom. This alliance in the north is amassing their troops and preparing for war, and together these three armies represents a formidable military force second to none.
According to Israel’s military intelligence Iran is continuing to advance its nuclear program and could have sufficient enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb within two years (2). Israel will not stand by and allow that to happen. No one here wants war but there may come a time, and soon, when Israel will be forced to take pre-emptive action to defend itself. If Israel was to launch a major attack on Iran, the northern axis of Russia and China may well come to Iran’s defense propelling us all into a world war centered on Jerusalem, such as prophesied in the passage above.
Yesterday the Jerusalem Post reported that, ” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi warned that he had ordered operational plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program to be ready if necessary, although whether to use those plans and under what circumstances was a decision for the political echelon. A week later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kochavi, the Finance and Defense ministers and financial and military officials took part in a large meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the budget required for a potential strike on Iran if it is deemed necessary, according to KAN news“.
There are concerns here that the new US President, Joe Biden, will cause the US to rejoin the nuclear deal of 2015, although he has stated that he would not release sanctions until Iran stops enriching uranium. His administration is pushing for a longer and stronger agreement that prevents Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon and that also deals with Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region (2). Although Biden’s policy of diplomacy is the preferred option, it has almost zero hope of success given the adamant belligerency of Iran towards Israel and the US.
There is no doubt we are living in uncertain times with many threats hanging over us: wars, civil unrest, earthquakes, plagues and other natural and man-made disasters. Whether we find all this depressing, hopeless and frightening or see it as a hope that our redemption draws near, depends upon whether we can see the ‘almond tree’ or not.
God has promised that He will, at the end, send judgement on Israel first, and on all mankind, and then his redemption will be revealed. Nothing much has changed in Israel since the time of Jeremiah. We call good evil, and evil good. We are wise in our own eyes and reject the law of God. We are mighty at drinking wine and justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice for the righteous (Isaiah 5: 20-23). But these things God sees, and He will judge,
“Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people;
He has stretched out His hand against them” …
He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly” (Isaiah 5: 25 – 26).
God will use the nations to bring judgement upon Israel, but they in turn will face judgement for this action, just as happened to the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, not to mention the Greek, Roman and Nazi Empires. Every nation that rises up against Israel will be destroyed in the end. That judgement will be terrible, but it will herald the coming of the new heaven and the new Earth and redemption. We may be entering the darkest period of human history but the almond tree of promise reminds us of our great hope. According to the Book of Revelation, many wars, plagues and earthquakes and other terrible things will culminate in God’s final judgement on the world, the War of Armageddon, but after that comes the Millennium, the thousand year period in which the Messiah will reign on Earth leading up to the final defeat of Satan and the ushering in of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Corona in Israel
In the meantime we continue our struggle against the Covid-19 virus. We have begun to come out of the latest lockdown which was imposed in mid- December. Shops, shopping malls and most businesses have reopened. Some schools have reopened for up to 4th grade and for 11-12th grade, and the rest of the grades are to be opened tomorrow (07 March). Theatres, gyms, pools, restaurants and other places of entertainment are now allowed to open but only for those who have been vaccinated or who have recovered from the disease. ‘Green passes’ have been issued for the vaccinated.
As of 5 March, 4.9 million Israelis, about 80% of the eligible population, have received at least the first shot of the vaccine and 3.6 million are fully vaccinated. As a result of this and the rather ‘leaky’ lockdown, the daily infection numbers have decreased from a peak of more than 7,000 per day to less than 5,000. This is far less than hoped as a result of the fact that now most of the newly infected are infected with the more virulent UK variant. The other factor is a result of the failure of many to obey the lockdown regulations.
Below is a photo of one such instance, when around 10,000 ultra-Orthodox men attended the funeral of Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik (99), who had died from the virus. During the funeral it was announced that Rabbi Rabbi Yitzhok Scheiner, 98, had also died of the virus (3). Thousands also attended his funeral later that day. This was in direct disobedience to the lockdown rules which, at that time, limited outdoor gatherings to 10 people!
blob:https://www.ynetnews.com/11d31fcd-c3b5-453f-ab46-34c32da4f833
(Photo: Rafi Rudnick)
In this instance the police did little to try and stop this gathering, fearing that it could erupt into violence. There have been many incidents when violence has occurred. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak a bus was set alight by a mob of ultra-Orthodox demonstrating their opposition to government regulations. The driver barely escaped with his life.
The ultra-Orthodox are not the only ones who are violating regulations. Many young secular people are also guilty of gathering for parties and otherwise ignoring the government directives. As a result there has been an increase in the number of young people falling seriously ill.
The good news is that the vaccine seems to be working very well with a 98-99% success in preventing death and serious illness in those vaccinated. There is also around 93-95% success in preventing infection. No serious side effects have been experienced from the vaccine except for a few cases of people who experienced allergy reactions (but this was no higher than for other vaccines such as the regular flu shot). The government is cracking down on misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the vaccine and carrying out education and offering incentives to those who are nervous about being vaccinated. We still do not have enough data to know if the vaccine is effective in preventing transmission by vaccinated individuals so we still have to wear masks in public places and maintain social distancing.
Our borders remain closed and only 200 Israeli citizens per day are being allowed entry and those are required to obtain special authorization. Flights are only entering from New York, London and Frankfurt. This means there are thousands of Israelis trapped in various countries unable to return home. (Update – as of tomorrow (07/03) up to 2000 citizens will be permitted entry per day). Of course, this also means that no tourists have been able to enter Israel for almost a year now, and this is causing much distress in the tourist industry.
There is a glimmer of light showing at the end of the tunnel but the end is still far off and there may be set backs especially if new strains prove resistant to the vaccines. We also do not yet know how long the vaccine will remain effective.
PURIM and PASSOVER
Last week we celebrated the festival of Purim. Traditionally Purim is celebrated by large gatherings of people in the synagogues and in street parades and parties. Last year, the Purim celebrations pushed the nation into the first lockdown which lasted around 6 weeks. This year, in an effort to prevent the same thing happening, the authorities put us into a nighttime curfew for the three days of celebrations. Sadly all that did was cause people to shift their parties to the daytime or to the day before or after. There were reports of large street parties happening in various places around the country (4). Towards the end of this month we will be celebrating Passover. Last year we were in lockdown and were not allowed to celebrate with anyone not in our own households. We are hoping that this year we will be able to meet together at least with family members and friends.
ECOLOGICAL TERRORISM?
Last week a large oil slick washed ashore in Israel and it is affecting 160 of our 190 km of Mediterranean coastline. It is also affecting the coast of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. It is the worst ecological disaster that Israel has experienced. Huge numbers of marine creatures have died, including many sea turtles and a young whale that washed up on Palmachim Beach. The fishing boats cannot go out and the beaches are closed. Thousands of volunteers are doing their best to clean up the black tarry deposits and to rescue seabirds and turtles (5,6). There are other slicks out at sea and there is a possibility they may also come ashore in the coming days. The oil has been traced to an Libyan-owned oil tanker that set sail from Iran carrying pirated oil to Syria, in violation of the embargo on Iran’s oil exports. According to the Israeli Environmental Protection Minister, Gila Gamliel, “The vessel sailed through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea without radio contact, switching its tracking devices back on before passing through Egypt’s Suez Canal …
It turned the devices off again before entering Israeli waters in the eastern Mediterranean, and it dropped oil into the sea February 1 or 2, she said, naming the vessel as the Panama-flagged oil tanker Emerald” (7).
Israel is accusing Iran of ecological terrorism but of course Iran denies all responsibility.
In the same week Israel and the US accused Iran of an attack on an Israeli-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. Explosions ripped two holes in the side of the ship, above the water line. Such damage is consistent with that caused by limpet mines, that can be attached magnetically to the hull of a ship (8). The crew was unhurt and the ship was able to return to a nearby port for repairs. Of course, Iran also denies responsibility for this attack.
ELECTIONS
On 23rd March Israel will hold its 4th round of national elections in the past two years. Polls show that Netanyahu’s Likud party is still well in the lead but Yair Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party is gaining strength in second place. Netanyahu seems likely to win the most seats but the important question remains, will he be able to stitch together a coalition government with the ultra-Orthodox, religious, and far-right pro-settler parties, including the Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Power) spiritually linked to the late Rabbi Meir Kahane (who was once banned from politics in 1980s because of his radical, anti-Arab stand). A potential coalition of a bloc of parties committed to ousting Netanyahu has a razor-thin lead, but it remains to be seen if they can agree enough to join forces. According to some commentators, Yair Lapid has at least a chance of being Israel’s next Prime Minister (9). A lot can happen in the two weeks before the elections and it is anyone’s guess what the result will be.
Israeli society has become increasingly fragmented and spiritually lost in recent years, and this is reflected in our political life. One cannot help but wonder if there is more than some truth in the words of French philosopher Joseph de Maistre who, in 1821, said “Every nation gets the government it deserves“. We can only keep on praying for a just and righteous government, and hope for God’s mercy. For a (not very) amusing and (only slightly) cynical take on the situation read https://www.jpost.com/opinion/israel-elections-is-god-giving-up-on-israel-opinion-661013
May the LORD bless us all!
References:
- https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/02/iran-russia-china-naval-drill.html
- https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israeli-intel-iran-is-two-years-away-from-nukes-but-hasn-t-decided-on-breakout-1.9525099
- https://www.ynetnews.com/article/B1rBeZNl00 https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-expected-to-attend-funeral-of-ultra-orthodox-rabbi-killed-by-virus/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-january-31-2021/
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/coronavirus-hundreds-attend-party-in-tel-aviv-ahead-of-purim-curfew-660120
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/several-people-hospitalized-following-tar-cleanup-operation-off-israeli-coast/
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-israel-mayonnaise-proves-a-miracle-for-tar-covered-turtles/
- https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/israel-accuses-iran-link-oil-spill-its-shores
- https://www.npr.org/2021/02/26/971854484/explosion-damages-israeli-owned-ship-in-gulf-of-oman
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/05/israel-yair-lapid-netanyahu-elections/