A False Hope …

January 22, 1995 was a day that changed my life forever; it was a day that 21 soldiers and 1 civilian were killed by a double suicide bomber at the Bet Leid junction in Israel. Some of the young men and women who died were close friends of mine. That attack occurred during a time when the Israelis and Palestinians were trying to figure out a way to stop the bloodshed and, once again, “peace talks” were in the air. I clearly remember during that terribly difficult time, the prevalent mentality among us Israelis was that, in order to have peace, a price had to be paid.  As difficult as that sounds, most Israelis were prepared to pay that price in the name of “peace”.

The reality here in Israel is that people are tired of war; the toll of war and constantly fighting for our survival amongst hostile neighbors can be seen in every part of Israeli society. This exhaustion in our spirits has brought many of us to a point that we are willing to make painful concessions for “peace”.  I think it is safe to say that most people are blinded by the false hope for a human solution for peace here in Israel. It is not uncommon to hear people say that, while it is hard to see your dear ones lose their lives to terror, a price must be paid to see peace.

We have bought into the lie that if we only give up more land for peace, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will be solved.  Israelis are willing to give up more land for peace, yet refuse to see the sad reality that all we get in return is simply much more terror. In fact, the latest release of convicted terrorists from Israeli prisons as a goodwill gesture in restarting the latest round of “peace talks” is again putting Israel’s safety in jeopardy. Just as the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange revealed, many (if not most) of those prisoners go straight back to their old ways of terror after their release.

The world continues to demonize Israel as we continue to build in what the world is calling “the occupied land or territories”.  Yet we know it is biblical Judea and Samaria, and that is land that Israel legally reclaimed after the 6-Day War in 1967.  While the USA and the EU blame Israel’s “occupation” of this disputed territory for the setback in peace talks, they choose to ignore some very important and simple facts:

1. Who will Israel make the peace with? Does Israel have a viable peace partner?  In order to make peace, there must be two willing sides.  The reality is that the PA Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, has no say over what happens in the Gaza Strip, since Hamas is in power there.  In fact, Abbas’ people from the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) were expelled from the Gaza Strip. So do you make peace with only those who live in the so-called “West Bank”? What then do we do with the terrorist hotbed, Gaza? The last time Israel gave land for peace (i.e., the total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005), Israel was left to deal with Hamas, the terrorist entity that controls the Strip, and is wholly dedicated to destroying the Jewish state.

2. In peace talks, both sides must recognize the legitimate right of both sides to live and be considered as a people group. The reality, however, is that the Palestinians do not recognize the right of the Jewish people to the Land … not even any part of the Land.

3. Israel has already given up land for peace, and in turn, it got only more terror.

4. In dealing with such issues, one needs to first focus on the core of the problem.  In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Jerusalem is at the heart of the issue. These talks always deal the surrounding issues, and leave the most important issue for last…and then it all falls apart, leaving much death and destruction as the result.

I can continue on and on with these kinds examples, but I hope that those who have any common sense will understand that any man-made solution to the problem in Israel will fail; one needs to be blind to not see this.

My goal in writing this blog entry is not to create more anger. I want to encourage the Body of Messiah that, as we continue to see prophesies being fulfilled in our days, we have no choice but to draw closer to God, spend more time in prayer for the lost, spend more time reaching out to the lost with the Good News, and stop putting our hopes in false, man-made efforts for peace.  The time is growing shorter…let’s make the best use of it.

Blessings,

Moran