Jerusalem: A Cup of Trembling

Jerusalem:
A Cup Of
Trembling
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a
cup of trembling unto all the people
Round about ... In that day will I
make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people...
Zech 12:2-3

         By now everyone probably knows the results of the elections in both Israel and Russia. The U.S. administration was not happy over the election of Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel but was overjoyed that Boris Yeltsin soundly defeated his Communist party challenger, Gennadi Zyuganov in Russia. Both elections could have profound impact on international relations over the next few years.
         The election in Israel was extremely close. The incumbent, Shimon Peres, (who’s name means ‘divided”) was thought to be the winner throughout most of the night. It was not until the early morning hours that Netanyahu (who’s name means “given of YHVH”) began to inch ahead. He was finally declared the winner by less than 30,000 votes out of a total of 3 million cast! It is said that Israeli Arabs (yes, there are Arabs who are Israeli citizens and vote in the elections) cast at least 31,000 blank ballots for Prime Minister. If these people had voted for Peres the outcome would have been very different. In total, there were about 150,000 blank ballots cast for Prime Minister. These were people who were, in essence, voting for ‘none of the above.’
         This was the first election in Israel where the Prime Minister was elected on a ballot separate from the Knesset (parliament) vote. In the past, citizens would cast one ballot for the party of their choice, the votes were totaled, and Knesset seats were assigned based on the percentage of votes each party received. The party with the most votes was usually able to appoint their leader as Prime Minister after making a coalition with enough small parties to gain a majority of Knesset votes. It was the number of Knesset seats controlled which determined which major party would hold the office of Prime Minister.

         This year the Prime Minister was elected on a separate ballot. This made for a more ‘American’ style campaign, since the Prime Minister was being chosen by the direct vote of the people and not through the party system. It also resulted in both of the major parties (Labor and Likud) losing seats in the Knesset. Because voters could vote separately for Prime Minister they were more likely to support a party that was more in tune with their particular political beliefs, rather than have to vote for a major party in order to support their choice for Prime Minister.
         While Netanyahu received only 50.49% of the total vote cast for Prime Minister, he received 55% of the Jewish vote. Thus, among the Jewish Israelis Netanyahu was a landslide favorite. However, the Arab vote went 95% for Peres but it was not enough to pull him in to victory.
         On the Knesset side of the election, Netanyahu’s Likud party actually received two less seats that Peres’ Labor party. Both major parties lost several seats to the smaller parties.
         The breakdown of Knesset seats by political philosophy and party is as follows:

On the Left

• Labor
• Meretz
• United Arab
• Hadash (Arab)

34 seats
9 seats
4 seats
5 seats

On the Right

• Likud
• Moledet
• National Religious
• Shas
• Torah

32 seats
2 seats
9 seats
10 seats
4 seats

Neither the left or the right has the 61 seats needed to form a government. This year there are two new parties that fall in the center of the political spectrum. They are:

         In order to form a government, Netanyahu will have to balance the wishes of the extreme right with those of the center. This could prove to be difficult. Only time will tell if he will be successful.
         To give you an idea of the spectrum of political belief in Israel let us explore the various parties and their backgrounds.
         Labor was the original dominant party in Israel beginning with the first elections held in 1948. David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel was the leader of the Labor party for many years. Labor is secular by nature and most of its members are liberal when it comes to religion. They have been the ones who have brought Israel to prominence in the world and wish Israel to be an accepted nation of the world.
         Meretz is to the left of Labor. They are ready to give the Palestinians whatever they want to achieve peace.
         United Arab is an Islamic party that supports the Arab causes.
         Hadash Arab holds communist leanings. They are devoted to the peace process, and to other Arab concerns.
         Likud is the major party of the right. They were the chief minority party for many years until Menachem Begin became the first Likud Prime Minister. They are more traditional than the Labor party in their religious views, but are generally not Orthodox. They see the land of Israel as being their birthright, given to them by God as stated in the Scriptures. They are opposed to giving up any land that was part of what God gave to the children of Israel.
         Moledet is a party that is to the right of Likud. They too are religious but not Orthodox.
         National Religious is an Orthodox religious party made up mai5ly of European Jews (the Ashkenazi).
         Shas is an Ultra-Orthodox religious party. They represent the Sephardic (Oriental Jews) community. They caused a stir in the elections by giving away thousands of free amulets which bore the likeness of the 106 year old Rabbi Kaduri. Kaduri is a master of Jewish mysticism, from the writings known as Kabbala. (The Kabbala is sometimes called the Jewish occult.) It was claimed that Rabbi Kaduri had blessed the amulets and that people who received them and voted for the Shas party would have good luck. A National Religious Party official accused Shas of pandering to the superstitions of the less educated. Many were said to be afraid to vote against Shas for fear of the ‘evil eye.’ Shas party leader, Aryeh Deri, who was a former Minister of Interior and who caused much trouble in Israel for the Jewish Believers, is currently on trial for corruption. Another Shas leader was convicted and sent to jail. Shas is a growing force with whom Netanyahu will need to reckon, since they are part of his government.
         United Torah Judaism is another Ultra-Orthodox party that represents the Ashkenazi or European Jews. The two centrist parties that hold the swing votes in the Knesset are:
         Immigrants Party which is led by Natan Sharansky. He became world famous in the 1980’s when, against all odds, he was released after nine years in a Soviet prison. He immigrated to Israel in 1986. He has watched the way Israel handled its immigrants, and felt that the nation was wasting a great reservoir of talent. He founded a new party and was able to gather 7 seats. His main agenda is domestic. He supports free market economics and social reforms. He does not go down well with the Orthodox community since he supports a relaxation of the stringent rules concerning non-Jewish spouses who wish to immigrate to Israel. The Orthodox community wants to make Israeli citizenship even more stringent than it already is. Some of the Orthodox would like to see Reform and Conservative Judaism banned from the country.
         The Third Way is also a new party that believes there is a ‘third way’ to achieve peace with the Arabs. They do not want to give up the Golan Heights but feel that a compromise position between what Labor and Likud propose is a better way to resolve the situation.
         One reaction to the recent election is the submission of two bills into the Knesset to abolish the direct election of the Prime Minister. One was submitted jointly by a member of the Labor party and a member of the Likud party.
         Meanwhile, the Arab world has generally condemned the election of Netanyahu, some even calling it a declaration of war. The Syrian press has likened Netanyahu to Hitler. Meanwhile, Netanyahu condemns both Syria and Iran for harboring and supporting terrorists.
         One thing to remember, if Israel were to give all of the pre-1967 war territory back to the Arabs they would find themselves in a very difficult defensive position should the Arab nations (now with an armed Palestinian army) decide to once again attack. At one place Israel would be less then ten miles from border to border. Such a war could have disastrous consequences. Israel might be tempted to use the bomb in order to defend themselves. This would constitute an international crisis that could be a trigger to World War III, and might very well signal the beginning of the end time prophetic events found in the Scriptures.
         Other problems related to the election of Netanyahu deal mainly with Israel’s relationship with world leaders. A recent U.S. poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe U.S. aid to Israel should be cut if Netanyahu’s policies hinder the so-called ‘peace process.’ What most Americans do not understand is the precarious position in which Israel finds itself Probably no nation on earth desires true peace more that Israel. Yet they are in a constant battle for their very existence. Many Israeli’s are just plain tired. Many put their hope in the Rabin/Peres peace process because they were tired of the constant struggle. Yet more Israelis died in terrorist attacks in the spring of 1996 than in any other similar period of time. But now that the peace process has progressed as far as it has, it will be very difficult for Netanyahu to back off.
         In the end, everything is in God’s hands. “...For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” (Rom. 13:1). Surely God has allowed Binyamin Netanyahu to become the Prime Minister of Israel at this very crucial time. Whether he remains in power very long is also up to God. It is interesting to note that Likud and Netanyahu came to power just as Labor and Peres were reportedly getting ready to divide up Jerusalem.
         The magazine, Jerusalem Report, has a feature article in its July 11, 1996 issue on the religious revival going on in Israel. Many of the young people are turning to Orthodox Judaism in a effort to find meaning in their lives. Still others (although a very small minority by comparison) are finding their Saviour in Yeshua HaMashiach. The Messianic community in Israel continues to grow and seems ready to become more visible in an effort to bring the Gospel to the people of Israel. Expect there to be big trouble if this happens. Many in the Orthodox community will be in favor of expelling the Jewish Believers if they begin a systematic program of proselytizing. The only way a true revival of belief in Yeshua as Messiah can take place is if God Himself brings it to pass. This is prophesied to happen, but in God’s time and in God’s way. Before it happens there will be much trouble and affliction for all the people of the Middle East.
         This column begins with a quote from Zechariah chapter 12. Let us take a look at some of the other scriptures in this passage:

In the meantime, we can watch what is happening and be thankful that ultimately God, not man, is in power over all the earth.
Some Israelis are calling Binyamin Netanyahu “Israel’s first American Prime Minister.” Bibi spent a great deal of his life in the United States. He was raised in Pennsylvania and was educated at MIT. He speaks flawless English and his demeanor is very American. He also seems to have much in common with President Clinton even though they are at different poles politically. They are near the same age. Clinton is the first U.S. president to be born after World War II. Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born after the founding of the nation in 1948. Both have had their campaigns marred by questions of personal character. Both are pragmatic politicians who seek to find a middle ground. While Netanyahu talks a strong position concerning the peace process, only time will tell if he will hold to that position or move ahead along the same lines already established by Rabin and Peres. Some say that Bibi talks a good fight but is quick to back down. But do not forget that it was the seemingly virulent anti-Communist, Richard Nixon, who opened up relations between the United States and communist China. The same thing could happen in Israel, paving the way for future conflict.