Two Months After Election Earthquake, Tsunami Roils Israeli Politics. On January 19, Israel’s Supreme Court barred a member of the new Netanyahu government
Last July 19 the Israel Knesset passed the Nation-State Law 62-55. Opinion, argument and comments came quickly. Frankly, the wording of the Bill simply summed up values known for 70 years. The founding fathers proclaimed ‘the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz Israel May 14, 1948. It was to be known “as the state of Israel”’. Everyone who has become residents of the land since 1948 has clearly known the Jewish status and cultural significance of the Jewish national tradition. The Basic Principles are listed in the Law first. A) The land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established. B) The State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfils its natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination. C) The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people. No surprise there! It is also hard to argue with the ‘Symbols “ the Law lists next. 1). The name of the state is “Israel.” 2). The state flag is white with two blue stripes near the edges and a blue Star of David in […]
Over the last few years, in the lead-up to the Beersheba centenary, I have actively promoted the view that Australia—in timely fashion and emulating its famed Light Horsemen—could once again lead the charge, recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and place its embassy there. In 2016, I sat in the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv and asked then-Ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, why it was that his country would not take the initiative and do the right thing in Israel—as it had with every other one of its embassies and high commissions around the world—by placing its embassy in the designated capital. He replied that it was “not Australian statecraft” to do so. A few months later, I put the question to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott during a ‘chance encounter’ at Jerusalem’s Holocaust Memorial Museum. His response was very different: “If I was prime minister I would do it today.” Later that year, as we approached 100 years marking the Battle of Beersheba and the celebrated legacy of the 800 Light Horsemen, people around Australia responded to this voiced hope: that on this pivotal issue of the embassy move to Jerusalem, their nation might again show the maverick brand of […]
It was dawn October 31st, 1917. The Australian Light Horse were ready, behind a ridge 6 kilometres south-east of Beersheba. They started at a trot, rising to a gallop across a gently sloping field. Deep trenches were scattered to catch unsuspecting horse and rider. As I walked the length of that historic arena, my heart filled with admiration and respect for our gallant men. “The horses were shying aside from the shell bursts. A thin haze of smoke and dust began to rise, but the three lines of horses moved steadily forward. The first half-mile was the worst. After that, much of the fire seemed to be going over our heads. As we learned later, the Turks had ranged all their weapons on us but the sight of us Australians coming from an entirely unexpected direction and bearing down on them was demoralizing, and they had forgotten to bring their sights down as we advanced.” — One hundred years ago Australian Light Horseman Jim Henderson made that comment in his diary. Last February Prime Minister Netanyahu met at Admiralty House. When he responded to the warm welcome by the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Netanyahu said; “I’m honoured to be […]
Ruth clung to Naomi, saying: “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; where you go, I will go…” (Ruth 1:14-16) “In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall cling to the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” – Zechariah 8:23 Swathes of expectant Evangelicals are waiting to see—originating in their nations and sweeping all the way to Jerusalem to herald a coming King— a great End Times revival. But what if the groundwork for that revival is already being laid? What if its first signs have been evident, have been coming sharply into focus, for quite some time? What if these Christians are not looking in the right direction? Unless they are, it could take them completely unawares; even pass them by. Have they considered that this revival may go, not from their nations, but rather—as blessing does—to their nations, out of Israel? Do they at all comprehend that the power source for this last great move of God—into which we need to be plugged if we are to be a part of it—is God’s […]
Photo: Rabbi Yehudah Glick pictured with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The Terror Attack Which Galvanised the Temple Mount Movement October 29th, 2014 was just another day in the life of Temple Mount Activist Yehudah Glick. The soft spoken red-headed Rabbi was packing his bags into the boot of his car when suddenly a man on a motorcycle pulled up. With anger rising in his voice the man said in broken Hebrew “I am terribly sorry, but you are an enemy of al-Aqsa”. With that he pulled a gun and fired four rapid shots at point blank rage into Yehudah’s unprotected chest. We will hear more of what happened to Rabbi Glick later in this article. While this attack was intended to spell the end for the Temple restoration movement, we will see how it actually ended up galvanising the movement across Israel. A Dream of the Minority A few years ago, I attended a lecture by a practicing Jewish leader. After the lecture, a keen Christian asked him about his thoughts on rebuilding the Temple. His response —which took several of us Christians by surprise—was to explain that he was not at all interested in the rebuilding of the Temple. […]