A Surprising Announcement

On October 9, 2018, Nikki Haley (age 46) unexpectantly resigned as United States Ambassador to the United Nations but will remain at her post until year’s end.

Amid rumors regarding her reasons (including possible preparation for a presidential bid in 2024), Haley simply said that she needed, “to take a little time off.” Citing her six-year tenure as South Carolina Governor and what will be almost two years as U.S. Ambassador, she also explained: “I have given everything I’ve got these last eight years. And I do think it’s good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it.”

Whether they acknowledge it or not, the giant world organization known as the United Nations lost an ambassador for truth and justice. And Israel—one tiny nation among the 193-member nations of the UN—has lost a watchman (watchperson if you prefer!) who often defended Israel during UN General Assemblies and against anti-Israel UN organizations such as UNESCO, UNRWA, and the Human Rights Council. Supported by many anti-Semitic NGOs, these agencies have sponsored baseless resolutions against Israel for decades. Including a UN resolution (silently) endorsed by former US President Obama just weeks before he left office.

See Eye of Prophecy article, United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334) Posted 1-7-17.

In fact, Haley presided over the recent U.S. departure from Israel-bashing UNESCO and the hypocritical Human Rights Council of the United Nations, both of which continually refer to Israel as Palestine and make fraudulent claims that distort the true heritage (sites) of Israel. Ironically, UNESCO is the agency that identifies and declares “heritage” sites all over the globe. They constantly rewrite history by, for example, alleging that Jewish sacred sites (like the Patriarch’s Tomb) belong to the Palestinians because they are within “occupied Palestine.” Even going so far as labeling some of these Jewish fixtures with Arabic names.

*Note: Seriously! The Patriarchs buried in that tomb are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who are Jewish through and through. Which also proves that the Jews of Israel were there LONG before the Arabs … by some 2,500 years.

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article: UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel. Published 10-29-16. Also: What Is Palestine & Who Is a Palestinian? Posted 12-2-17.

Nikki Haley understood that her job was to first and foremost represent the United States. She also skillfully used her ambassador platform to defend Israel whenever the opportunity arose.

(Ambassador Nikki Haley at her United Nations seat)

Haley rigorously defended our Executive Staff’s rulings on international issues such as the Iran Nuclear Deal, despite not being in full accord with President Trump on some matters. She staunchly supported Trump’s decision to shutter the Palestinian Liberation Organization Office in Washington D.C. as well as reduced funding of the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which illegitimately and illogically expands the definition of refugee to successive generations of the original Palestinian refugees. With considerable doubt that Arabs in late 1940’s Israel were refugees at all, as they were not forced from their homes by the Jews. Instead, they voluntarily left Israel at the behest of the five Arab countries that attacked the Jews the day after Israel declared Statehood on May 14, 1948.

Moreover, Israel’s sovereign right to statehood had been approved by the United Nations resolution (back when the UN was not antagonistic toward Israel) of November 29, 1947. And not to forget that the Arabs rejected their right to autonomy afforded by that same UN declaration because they would not under any circumstances consider a state alongside a Jewish nation. That mindset has not changed to this very day.

See Eye of Prophecy article: Palestinian Refugees … Are They Really Refugees? Published 1-27-18. Also, The” Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews? Posted 4-7-18.

Referring to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ constant tirade against the United States for declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and for the soon to be released U.S. drafted Middle-East peace deal (without Abbas even knowing the details of that deal) that Abbas alleges will favor Israel, Nikki Haley said: “All they’ve done is have their hand out asking for money … badmouthing the U.S.”

Said Haley during an interview with Fox News: “(The Palestinians) have not come to the table on the peace deal—why should we have a PLO office. Why would we continue to fund the Palestinians?”

Early into her position as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley launched American support of Israel on a global level. In a March 2017 address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, she boldly declared herself as the (United Nations) “new sheriff in town … the days of Israel-bashing are over.”

In a subsequent 2018 speech to AIPAC the audience warmly welcomed Haley, with standing ovations for her unwavering support of Israel. In that meeting, she said: “Some people accuse us of favoritism towards Israel. There’s nothing wrong with showing favoritism towards an ally… Our approach to Israel is tied to one major idea—the simple concept that Israel must be treated like any other normal country.”

Regarding a trip Haley made to Israel in June 2017, accompanied by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, she commented: “I went to Israel to see firsthand the country the United Nations spends half its time on. Unfortunately, I’m not kidding—it’s ridiculous. It seems like the rough breakdown at the UN is half the time on Israel and half the time on the other 192 countries.”

Haley’s assessment is an understatement. For example, since 2009, UNESCO has passed 71 resolutions condemning Israel and only two criticizing other nations. That elevates the theater of the absurd to a whole new level.

International Praise for Nikki Haley

President Trump applauded her performance as Ambassador, saying that, “she’s done a fantastic job … we’re (still) in the process of solving a lot of problems.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often praised Nikki Haley’s unequivocal promotion of Israel. Regarding her resignation, he said: “I thank Ambassador Nikki Haley for leading an uncompromising struggle against the hypocrisy at the UN and on behalf of the truth and justice of our country.”

(Nikki Haley & Benjamin Netanyahu)

Israel’s President, Reuven Rivlin said that Haley’s ambassadorship, “…will be remembered as a turning point in the U.S.’s approach to international organizations and the bias they often show against Israel.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres published a statement expressing “deep appreciation” for Nikki Haley.

Despite some disagreements (undoubtedly over Israel!), French UN Ambassador Francois Delattire gave Haley a glowing accolade: “Nikki Haley is one of the most talented, most authentic U.S. government officials that I have ever met.”

Naturally, there were dissenters such as Amnesty International, whose representative brooded: “We hope that Nikki Haley’s shock resignation will bring an end to the current low point in relations between NGOs and the U.S. mission to the U.N. and that her successor will work to repair the relationships. Under her tenure, human rights organizations like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch were singled out by her simply for having a different opinion, including on the importance of the Human Rights Council.”

Indeed, Haley did offer a singled-out alternative! However, one dramatically diverse from these and other organizations whose opinion is anything but different. In fact, theirs’ is the same old opining of anti-Semitic groups, anti-Israel nations, and NGOs on a global scale. In a nutshell, their perpetual pathetic position and cleverly couched opinion is that Israel as a Jewish State shouldn’t exist in the first place.

On behalf of Israel, which has precious few allies in the United Nations, Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN said about Haley: “We appreciate the new spirit of ambassador Nikki Haley; she has been very important and helpful. We work very closely with ambassador Haley and her team. We see similar issues and understand the challenges and threats. That’s why you see the cooperation because we come from the same values.”

(Israeli Ambassador to UN, Danny Danon)

Speaking on behalf of the huge Christian evangelical support for Israel, Pastor John Hagee exclaimed: “Nikki Haley has been an example of a shining city on a hill for the nations of the world to follow. Her uncompromising leadership will be missed by lovers of peace and friends of Israel. She was a voice and not an echo. We are very grateful for her service to America and for her unwavering support of U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Other tributes came from U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsay Graham, from Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Ambassador Haley didn’t eulogize Israel just because her boss, President Trump, did. In fact, her defense of Israel often exceeded the U.S. President and his Executive Staff’s support for Israel.

With sincere gratitude for her tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations as a platform to defend her country and the one and only democratic nation (that just happens to be Jewish) in the entire Middle-East, Nikki Haley stated: “All I’ve done for Israel is tell the truth.”

Let’s examine more closely what that truth concerning Israel is all about. But first:

What is Truth?

Not to worry. This isn’t going to be some complicated philosophical dissertation. It’s going to be profoundly simple.

Either there’s a universal (source of) truth or there isn’t. If there isn’t, then what’s true for me may not be true for you. If so, truth does not objectively exist. It’s subjectively reduced to perception and preference. If I perceive something to be cold that is (in reality) hot, then the independent truth that it’s hot is irrelevant. It’s cold to me … that’s all that matters. I perceive and prefer it that way. Moreover, such an analogy pales in comparison to such things as good and evil.

Truth becomes what each person thinks is true; or wishes to be true. And so on….

Do you see how precarious this relative approach to truth is? More than that: it’s dangerous. For example, see Eye of Prophecy article: Can a Murderer Be a Martyr? Posted 1-30-16. Which relates to Palestinian Lone Wolf Attacks on Israelis, publicly praised or privately approved by most Palestinians because they presuppose the lies about Jews to be true. And either from ignorance or deliberate distortion of the truth about Israel, they make up many of these lies themselves.

As best they can, most people of this world vigorously defend their right to freedom (to the death if necessary), especially the right to choose actual truth or even perceived truth. Yet so many also disregard, or criticize, or reject outright the Bible and the God of the Bible (who gave us free will) when He declares that this liberty comes with a responsibility to choose … eternal life or death. That eternal life comes from believing and receiving God’s Son, Messiah Jesus, as personal Savior and Lord. Eternal death—separation from God forever—results from rejecting Jesus as The Way, The Truth, and The Life—no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6).

(Patrick Henry along with many of our founding fathers acknowledged the God of the Bible and Biblical principles including parallels between the formation of ancient Israel and the United States. Several publicly professed personal faith in Messiah Jesus).

Let’s simplify even more. The God of the Bible begins His Word to humanity by declaring: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Then, on the sixth day of creation: “So God created human beings in his own image … male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

Therefore, the right to life comes from and belongs to the Creator. The created (being) has the God-given privilege to believe as he/she chooses. But we do not have the inalienable right to (eternal) life with our Creator God apart from the conditions that He has revealed to us as absolute truth in His Word. Truth that we can accept or reject; with the choice determining our eternal destiny, as well as the course of human events on earth. Concerning such things as life-giving birth or life-ending abortion, blessings or curses, liberty or tyranny, peace or war—all under Scripture’s umbrella truth of good and evil.

The God of the Bible asserts: “…I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power… (Isaiah 44:6-7a).

And, “This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer and Creator: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with me when I made the earth! I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers… But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! … When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple’” (Isaiah 44:24-28).

Which is exactly what the yet unborn Persian King Cyrus would do some 150 years later! He would authorize the Jews exiled by Babylon to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple.

Truth (fact): Only the God of the Bible has performed mighty miracles (still does); and has foretold the future hundreds of times with 100% accuracy to prove that he alone is God. Is there any other religion or god or prophet who can do that? If there were, then the so-called sacred texts of man-made religions like Islam would have said so. But they don’t, because they can’t.

Truth is God. God IS Truth. And the God of the Bible IS God. Either we believe Him, or we don’t. If we don’t then the only alternative is to try to manufacture our own truth.

Which is exactly what Pontius Pilate did when he facetiously asked Jesus, “What is truth?” With the clear inference that this kind of truth is whatever fits the moment or is manipulated to justify a life of doing things our way, apart from God and absent His Truth.

Inevitably, however, we do not make the Truth. It makes us … into believers or unbelievers. The choice is ours, but we must choose. According to God, neutrality is not an option.

Truth or Consequence?

Truth: “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life…” (John 3:36a)

Consequence: “…Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36b).

The Bible is replete with such truth as found in hundreds of passages, both Old and New Testaments. Just one more for today’s article:

One of these magnificent rewards is eternal life in heaven (John 3:16). Another is the awesome realization that there is absolute truth upon which we can stake our lives and eternal destiny while on this earth and after leaving it. There is a universal standard of right and wrong, good and evil. God has given us this truth beginning with the Ten Commandments and then extending to God’s marvelous plan of salvation for mankind, as found in God’s Word, the Bible.

What Is the Truth about Israel?

Getting back to Nikki Haley’s statement regarding the truth about Israel. Certainly, she is no prophet. Nor has she supported Israel by necessarily referring to the Bible as proof of God’s Promised Land Covenant with Abraham—Israel’s God-given right for the Jews to inherit and inhabit Israel forever. However, she has defended Israel’s heritage based on these Biblical patterns and principles.

Please see recent Eye of Prophecy article, Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law. Posted 8-11-18. Which explains in detail why Israel was, is, and always will be a Jewish nation. A nation that affords equal rights to her minority citizens as well as self-governing authority to her Palestinian non-citizens.

To that end, this week’s article is not primarily about Nikki Haley. It is, like several prior Eye of Prophecy articles with emphasis on varying aspects of Israel’s birthright as a sovereign nation, a condensation of those articles that explain the truth in contrast to the lies about Israel.

Nevertheless, I believe Haley could be considered a Watchman for Israel after the pattern of prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel. Not on that level, only in that fashion. Not unlike those of us who have taken on the mantle of Watchman: reminding the whole world that God’s eternal plan and consummate destiny for humanity goes through Jerusalem … His Holy City in the Holy Land of Israel. As Jerusalem goes, so goes the world.

“O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth…. Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see” (Isaiah 62:6-7 & 10, italics for emphasis).

(Israel’s national flag. Another specific example of not only symbolic, but literal fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, as the last phrase of the above quoted verse states)

Prayer on behalf of Israel—including salvation to the Jew first (Romans 1:16) which is an integral part of God’s work in and for Israel—is the most important attribute of being a Watchman for Israel.

Israel has been reborn as a nation! Some are needed to defend this rebirth and to explain the whys and wherefores of such an amazing fulfillment of prophecy. Against insurmountable odds, the Jews have returned to Israel in great numbers and made Israel to bloom and grow again, literally and metaphorically. No other people or nation on earth that was completely crushed has been restored like the Jews and Israel. Just as the Lord God said long ago (not once but dozens of times) would happen.

For example: “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! … Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people… O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 36:8-11).

Watchman on Israel’s walls are needed to preserve and promote Israel’s right to those foundations and walls that house their government—the Knesset. On the land which they have built sacred synagogues, beautiful galleries, grand theatres, contemporary concert halls, modern restaurants, seaside skyscrapers, and luxurious beach hotels. Exemplified in and by Tel Aviv … the modernization of Israel to rival the large cities of the world in kind and quality.

Facts on the ground truth that Israel’s miraculous restoration in/as the Promised Land can no longer be denied. No matter how big the lie that Jews do not have a right to this land or how often the lie is told that they are merely “occupiers” in Palestine—a nation that never existed in the first place. Nor were the Arabs called Palestinians until the Palestinian Liberation Organization under Yasser Arafat began referring to themselves by that appellation around 1964.

Palestine is Israel. More accurately: Israel is Israel! Period. Not just Israel’s geographical boundaries with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. But the full scope of the original Promised Land as described in the Bible. The entire chronicle of Israel, both Biblical and secular, clearly demonstrates and documents that truth. To ignore these fundamental facts is both an affront to the true and living God as well as a denial of the extraordinary evidence of God’s unfolding plan and purpose for Israel.

Such truth as God’s enduring promise and warning: “I will bless those who bless you (Israel) and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you (Abraham and his descendants as a people and nation)” (Genesis 12:3, parenthesis mine).

Or when the Lord, who is called the Holy One of Israel, solemnly speaks against those who would dare to destroy Israel: “…There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:2).

And then there is rural Israel and Old Jerusalem, the “ancient city.” There you will find the long, storied past of Israel, with its patriarchs, judges, prophets, kings, and divinely appointed destiny of land and people.

Old Jerusalem divided into four quarters: Armenian, Muslim Arab, Christian, and Jewish. And Temple Mount, the most holy place of Judaism where the temples once stood. Where now the Islamic Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque stand, built by Muslims for the sole purpose of replacing Jewish history with Arabic tradition, some of which is myth. Despite the glaring fact that Jerusalem is not once mentioned in the Koran. I repeat for emphasis: Not once! How then could Jerusalem be the third holiest site of Islam, or a holy site at all to Muslims?

Please see Eye of Prophecy article, The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque (4-16-16).

Which deals with Muhammed’s alleged visit to Jerusalem and ride to heaven on his steed. Plus, the misleading myth that the Al Aqsa Mosque was the “farthest mosque” or that this alleged mosque was even in Jerusalem, because (once again) Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Koran. This is just one of many lies about Jerusalem foisted on an all too gullible world to distort the truth about the historical existence of Solomon’s Temple and later Herod’s Temple on Temple Mount. In fact, the Al Aqsa mosque was built decades after Muhammed died.

Other Truths (Facts) vs Lies (Myths) about Israel

Both Palestinian factions (bitter rivals that claim they want a Palestinian State with both groups demanding rule over that state) Hamas of Gaza and Palestinian Authority of the so-called West Bank have adopted the sinister strategy of the perpetrator assuming the role of the victim. Making the offender the offended.

This is especially true concerning the appalling accusations (lies) against Israel most often heard from Palestinians, Muslim nations, and even several non-Muslim countries: (1) Jews are “settlers occupying” Palestine; (2) Israel is an apartheid state; (3) Israel and the Jews are racist.

Another myth is that Israel is constantly “murdering” Palestinians. With the disturbing deception and warped logic that when Palestinians are killed while murdering Jews with knives, guns, vehicles, mortars or while trying to infiltrate Israel by breaching the border fences of Gaza, the Palestinians are the victims and Israelis the criminals.

In addition to the ones already addressed, there are multiple mutually exclusive truths/lies about Israel, nearly all (if not all) of which I’ve covered in several prior Eye of Prophecy articles. For purpose of this week’s article, we’ll look at only one more of those:

Ethnic Cleansing/Apartheid

Myth (lie): Israel and Jewish Israelis are engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs via an apartheid mentality.

Both concepts can lead and have led to genocide, the worst of which was the horrendous Holocaust. And who was it that suffered by far the most innocent civilian deaths at the hands of the Third Reich, hell-bent on achieving the diabolical Final Solution. Easy answer: The Jews … six million of them. Which makes it inconceivable that anyone, even Israel’s worst enemies, would compare modern-day Israel to World War II Germany or Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler. More than that: This comparison is manifestly evil.

Let’s pause for a moment and look at Webster’s definition of Apartheid which literally means, separateness: “racial segregation: a policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of So. Africa.”

The first feature that should grab our attention is the last part of the definition relating to what took place in South Africa years ago. In fact, the very idea of apartheid related to South Africa; however, subsequently became a generic term applicable to other regions of the world. Intrinsic in the concept of separateness and those practicing discriminations and segregation is that apartheid is administered by a minority race or ethnic group (by economic power and military might) over the majority race of a country.

(One of many segregation signs posted in South Africa before apartheid was eliminated)

Truth (fact): Israel isn’t remotely guilty of ethnic cleansing or apartheid.

Immediately we see that apartheid could not apply to Israeli Jews, for they are the majority. But even if they were in the minority of Israel’s total population, there is NO evidence whatsoever of discrimination, segregation, or intentional economic deprivation of the Israeli Arab citizens of Israel. Nor of Arab non-Israeli citizens—now called Palestinians.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip do not have the right to vote in Israeli elections or to hold office, only because they are not citizens … no different than any other democratic country. They have chosen not to be citizens of Israel, primarily because they loathe Jews and hate the very existence of Israel. On the contrary, the 1.8 million Arabs who are citizens of Israel have the right to vote and to serve in the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) and other administrative positions. They can attend Israeli schools and have freedom of movement throughout Israel. They work in Israeli businesses (as do tens of thousands of Palestinians who have work permits). They can start and run their own businesses or farms … on and on we could go.

If Israel is apartheid or guilty of ethnic cleansing, then I simply don’t understand the meaning of those terms.

For decades I have studied both Biblical and secular Middle-East history and current events. With due humility, I can honestly say that I am not prejudiced concerning race or ethnicity, and that includes Palestinians. I’m sure much of that (if not in its entirety) has to do with being a born-again believer in Messiah Jesus, the Jewish Savior. Two good friends of mine through the years were Chinese and African-American, respectively. Two of my best buddy fellow Caucasians were the least bigoted men I’ve ever known.

My expose of the Palestinian agenda is simply that of stating the facts and declaring the historical and contemporary truth in much detail (as did Nikki Haley in a more limited way, albeit on a much bigger platform) of what Israel is all about, and what’s really happening in the Middle East—including but not limited to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. To that end, dozens of Eye of Prophecy articles provide an abundance of Scripture and secular documentation and commentary.

For example, The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism, posted 9-30-17.

Also: Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda (9-17-16). Here is an excerpt from that article (in italics):

Benjamin Netanyahu is a consummate diplomat in all of the positive connotations of political diplomacy. He is firm but fair; passionate in his pursuit for true peace in Israel but objectively realistic of the obstacles to peace; completely committed to Israel, but considerate of any reasonable coherent demands made by the Palestinians and by surrounding Arab nations. When it comes to a matter of Israel’s survival, which is still an all too real threat facing the only Jewish nation in the world, Benjamin can tell it like it is.

Nevertheless, I was dumbfounded as I watched this video and listened to his words. My incredulity was not of being aghast that he would characterize the actual Palestinian agenda—whether it be from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas—of “ethnic cleansing” of all Jews in Israel. Rather, it was astonishment of how bravely accurate and daringly appropriate the phrase is to explain the real reason why Palestinians have rejected a two-state proposal on any terms but their own.

Personally, I would not have used the phrase, ethnic cleansing, because it conjures up the more common image: forced removal of ethnic or religious groups of people from a given territory. Yet, the more I thought about Netanyahu’s use of the term, the more I realized how it reliably reflected the true Palestinian narrative.

Later, to validate my eventual agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s choice of words (ethnic cleansing) exposing the fact that it is the Palestinians who harbor an apartheid mentality against the Jews, I provided the following evidence and quotes:

For example: In 1996, just three years after his farcical participation in the Oslo Accords (signed on September 13, 1993) with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (moderated by US President Bill Clinton), PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat uttered these words at a public press conference:

“We Palestinians will take over everything … You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel, and establish a purely Palestinian State … I have no use for the Jews, they are and remain Jews.”

Can anything be more callously clear? It’s equally clear to this very day: The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have every intention to continue Arafat’s atrocious agenda.

Then later in that article:

If anyone thinks that “cleansing” is too harsh of a description, I will once again quote the words of Palestinian Authority President Abbas, as cited in a couple of previous Eye of Prophecy articles. “We must not permit the filthy feet of the Jews to desecrate our holy places.” He was referring first and foremost to Temple Mount. Do you see the connection, the irony? Clean those filthy feet of the Jews by removing them completely … ethnic cleansing.

Summary

Mahmoud Abbas, who replaced Arafat as President of the Palestinian Authority also has said that if a Palestinian State is established alongside Israel, then no Jews would be allowed to live within those borders. If that isn’t ethnic discrimination and racist bigotry, then I don’t know what is. Furthermore, it’s the exact opposite of what the Jewish Nation-State of Israel currently is and allows: Arab residency throughout Israel to include Arab Israelis (and Palestinians) working in Jewish offices and factories.

(One of several Israeli businesses in the Barkan Industrial Park of Judea/Samaria–the West Bank–that employs thousands of Palestinians and Jews working together. On 10-7-18, a former Palestinian employee of one factory shot and killed two Jewish employees and wounded a third. The woman killed was a mother of a young child, the man killed a father of three)

One last excerpt from the above quoted Eye of Prophecy article:

A subtler strategy of ethnic cleansing is the removal, desecration, or denial of physical and cultural evidence that the targeted group has any valid historical existence in the land in question. The Palestinians have done all these things to Israel by excavating and then removing valuable Jewish artifacts from and around Temple Mount, Hebron, and Bethlehem. Also, the rewriting of Israel’s history in Palestinian school curriculum, maps that depict Israel as “Palestine” (a state that never has existed), and in daily rhetoric denial of Israel’s legacy and heritage in the land.

During a trip to Israel in 2006, my sister and I drove a rental car throughout the land; also took several taxis. Two of them stand out in my memory. Each of those two taxi drivers were independent, i.e. they owned their own taxi business. One was half Jew and half Egyptian, a citizen of Israel who supported the existence of the state of Israel, the Jews, and even knew much about Biblical prophecy concerning Israel. Another driver was an Arab Israeli (citizen of Israel). I asked him several questions. In one response, he acknowledged that the Arabs were better off (standard of living) in the State of Israel.

However, he, like so many other Israeli Arabs and nearly all Palestinians, still disdain Israel and the Jews simply because they are Jews and have done what the Arabs never came close to doing: renovate, replenish, and restore the land of Israel.

I developed some admiration for this 60 some year-old Arab taxi driver in the short visit with him, if for no other reason than his demeanor and balanced bluntness. Nonetheless, one thing was clear in his words and written on his face: despite his preference that Israelis govern Israel, he was envious of their success. I left his taxi with the understanding that he reflected the mindset of most Arabs and Palestinians in Israel. Minus (in his case) the radical hatred.

Things to Ponder

Temple Mount is the highest point of Old Jerusalem, with the higher hills around Jerusalem (like the Mount of Olives) part of what is called Mount Zion. Read with me what the true and living God has to say about Zion:

“…I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her. Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain’” (Zechariah 8:2-3, NASB).

Then, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they will be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness’” (Zechariah 8:7-8, NASB).

As for me, I have staked my salvation and eternal destiny on the God of Israel and His Son. The Lord willing, I shall continue to give a clear witness for Messiah Jesus (Revelation 19:10). I will confirm and defend the truth of the Good News—the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:7).

And I will with the prophet Isaiah shout to all who have ears to hear:

I will keep my place on Jerusalem’s walls as a Watchman for Israel.

Will you join me? If all you do is pray, that’s more than enough. In fact, it’s, by far, the ultimate way to watch over Israel.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).