No to Palestine

For some reason, this week the thought dropped into my head that only a reprobate mind could conceive of and nurture—over a long period of time if necessary—a scheme as evil as the Two-State Solution. Since preliminary negotiations began with the PLO in 1991, Yasser Arafat was propped-up by the West and held up to be a reformed terrorist, now statesman. As absurd as that prospect was, too many wanted to believe it. This included the Americans, who at the time seemed perhaps naïve. I now wonder.

Given what we now know about our own government, and intelligence agencies, I doubt it was naivete but rather coldly calculated interference in foreign governments. The pressure put on the Israelis during the administration of George H.W. Bush was withering. And, shameful.

The Two-State Solution, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel, is as insane a plan as could be conjured-up (an apt description). Never workable because of the duplicity of the Palestinian leadership, it was kept on the front-burner by successive U.S. administrations. Trump severely cut back on the plan, but of course he was deposed after four years. Sure enough, the whole diabolical plan came back into focus immediately.

I do not support a Two-State Solution, ever. The Palestinians have proven for three decades that they are not committed to living in peace with the Israelis. Further, I believe American politicians and diplomats have Jewish blood on their hands for advancing this murderous idea. The first time a Jew was murdered by terrorists, the whole plan should have been scrapped. If you’ll remember, among the conditions for statehood, the Palestinian leadership was supposed to stop the incitement. Arafat would do so for Western cameras, then incite in Arabic.

Like a bad penny, the “land-for-peace” scheme keeps showing back up. For some time, I have believed that it will play a very big role in the great end times battles predicted in Scripture. What better way to whip up antagonism for Israel than to continually blame them for the failure of the peace process? It’s all by design. And one day, the match that lights Zechariah and Ezekiel will be struck and put to the fuse.

This week in the Jerusalem Post, Michael Freund (heavily involved in bringing Jews to Israel as immigrants—a really good guy), has gone against the tide again. He calls for an end to the Two-State Solution fiasco. As he states at the outset of an op-ed:

“The potential emergence of a Palestinian terrorist rocket brigade in Judea and Samaria serves to underline just how foolhardy it would be to establish a Palestinian state in the area.”

“In a frightening development, Palestinian terrorists near Jenin in northern Samaria fired two rockets at the nearby Jewish community of Shaked. Fortunately, no one was injured, but that in no way diminishes the importance and severity of the incident, which demands an immediate Israeli military response.

“Simply put, the Jewish state must take action to prevent Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank) from developing an effective capability to fire rockets, which would further amplify the threat to Israeli cities throughout the center and north of the country.”

Now think of it. Rockets from Gaza are one thing. They are menacing and inexcusable. But rockets from the north? Into Israeli communities? I agree with Freund; this threat must be eliminated with overpowering force. Located due west from Jenin, in the northern West Bank, Shaked is of strategic importance because it is virtually in Israel proper.

As Freund notes:

“Consider the following: The distance from Jenin to Haifa is just 49 kilometers; to Tiberias it is 43 km.; and to Afula, it is less than 17 km. If the Palestinians in Samaria succeed in replicating the technologies developed by their terrorist comrades in Gaza, they could easily turn Israel’s North into a shooting gallery.”

The idea that Israel can be threatened by terrorist thugs in the south and north is not acceptable. These are obviously not standing armies that threaten Israel, but rather terror proxies of Iran and other bad actors in the region. Rocket attacks from both directions is a new and existential threat. Freund says correctly that it must be stopped “at all costs.”

Freund correctly says that unless Israel’s government gets serious about stamping out this threat (not merely attacking them), it’s only a matter of time before the rockets fly.

We are living in momentous times.

Jimfletcher761@gmail.com

www.patreon.com/TheGodThatAnswers

Where Was David’s Palace?

From time to time, I’ll take a break here from writing about current events in and about Israel. History and culture are interesting topics, as well. So it is I want to talk about another archaeological topic this week.

It’s in the news, anyway.

Only in the last several years have the Israelis been serious about excavating a section just across the street from Jerusalem’s Old City walls. The site goes all the way down a long hill and winds up in the Palestinian village of Silwan. Archeologists believe this site is the famous palace of King David, 3,000 years ago.

It’s quite an impressive place, although you really have to let your mind’s eye even begin to understand what you’re looking at. Incidentally, the area is also across a small street and a temporary white privacy fence, enclosing the fortress of Antiochus Epiphanes—also just recently discovered…under a parking lot!

David’s palace is now a major tourist attraction, named “The City of David.” I have the green ballcap to prove it. I was there a few weeks ago, as many of you know. Annually now, 400,000 people tour the ancient site. By the way, it’s very easy to see, at the summit, how David could have looked down the hill at Bathsheba.

All the way down the hill is the Gihon Spring (looks like a big ol’ mudhole!) and Hezekiah’s tunnel, created to bring water in during the Assyrian siege in the 8^th century B.C.

There has been a lot of speculation for decades as to whether David existed or not (what could be called an extreme “minimalist” position), and if he did, where was the great kingdom we read about in the Bible?

I recently read an article by an archaeologist that had a very good answer to this question. Of late, archaeologists like Israel Finkelstein have taken quasi-minimalist positions by saying yes, such a figure probably existed. He just wasn’t the glorious leader we think he was. Often, the “evidence” for such a position is that we don’t in fact find massive ancient structures around Israel.

But the article I mentioned explains that nicely. He basically said that a kingdom in that region, in that time period, would not have had such gigantic structures. At least not like we see in Egypt or even Babylon. Instead, King David could certainly have been everything the Bible says he was, and ruled from less-than-impressive buildings. The culture of the ancient Israelites was simply not ostentatious. Interestingly, Israelis today are famous for their lack of pretension. Even in the Knesset, it’s fairly rare to see a suit. Mostly open-collar attire.

In any event, the City of David is impressive. It commands a high view of the surrounding area below, and the extensive stone walls are anything but small.

I’m almost surprised that Christianity Today magazine has given a fairly positive view of David as a real king, in a June article. A very interesting comment comes near the end of the article:

“’If you don’t have David, you don’t have a lot of things,’ [Michael, of Southern Adventist University] Hasel said. David is mentioned around 1,000 times in the Bible. He’s credited as the author of 73 psalms. His history is tied with Jerusalem becoming Israel’s capital and the site of the temple. And through the line of David, the Messiah is promised.

“’Without David, that is all put into question,’ Hasel said. ‘He is a very significant figure not only for Israel but for the history of Christianity and Judaism. They all draw their identity back to that one person.’”

Herein lies a problem for the Church, specifically the American Church. Did you catch what Hasel said? In effect, he’s saying that if biblical figures like David were not real, then that calls into question the Messiah Himself, since He is from the line of David. On a broader scale, people well understand that if, say, Genesis is not real history, then why are you talking to me about Jesus? Did He exist? What about the Resurrection? The Atonement?

Hasel is exactly correct.

Meanwhile, a Popular Mechanics article had this gem:

“According to a new report from archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel, the biblical King David had a true kingdom. But not everyone agrees that was the case, as bickering continues over a debate that has become part politics, part theology, and part archaeology.

“In a new peer-reviewed article published in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology, the Hebrew University professor writes that ‘the earliest fortified sites in the kingdom of Judah in the early 10^th century BCE feature a casemate city wall lined with abutting belt of houses.’ Urban planning seen across multiple sites connected by roads shows that five cities were connected to Jerusalem, all dated by Garfinkel to the time of King David.

“’If you take all these sites, they have the same urban concept, they are all sitting on the border of the kingdom and sitting where you have a main road leading to the kingdom,’ he tells the Times of Israel. ‘These cities aren’t located in the middle of nowhere, it’s a pattern of urbanism with the same urban concept.’”

Very interesting.

In other words, if a person has a bias that says the Bible is largely myth, he or she will overlook certain evidences. If one is at least open-minded, compelling evidence springs forth.

I believe David existed. I believe every detail about him in the Bible. An objective person will see that the Bible confirms his existence, as well as archaeological evidence.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

www.patreon.com/TheGodThatAnswers