I Can Dig It

Is there a greater fantasy for biblical Christians than to visit the Holy Land and…TAKE PART IN AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG?

Wow. I have not, but it’s on my bucket list. My trips to Israel have usually been business-oriented, but one of these days…

Now I’ve learned that Israel’s Tourism Ministry is hatching a plan to include evangelicals in digs around the country. Needless to say, anywhere one “puts a spade in the ground,” there is the possibility of finding an ancient treasure. This has accelerated greatly since the Six Day War.

After that seismic event, one of the positive outcomes is that Israeli archaeologists had access to the biblical heartland and they took full advantage in digging up the past.

(It’s important to point out that the so-called “Palestinian history” never was. The PLO/Palestinian Authority worked mighty hard in the 1990s to invent that history, but when you don’t find “Palestinian” ancient villages, religious structures, etc., it’s hard to con the public. Conversely, since the days of William Albright, biblicists have confirmed the accuracy of Scripture by unearthing scores of ancient Hebrew sites.)

According to the Jerusalem Post:

“In addition to excavations, the tourist package will also include tours and expert lectures, with the aim of allowing bible enthusiasts to ‘take an active part in the historical story of the Jewish people.’”

This will kick off in spring 2023, to coincide with the miracle of Israel’s 75^th Independence Day. Glory!

It causes me to recall digs I’ve seen from a distance. Once in downtown Jaffa, traffic had to be re-routed due to a giant hole in the street! Archaeologists were uncovering evidence of an ancient presence. Another time, I was driving through the new tunnel at the north end of Jerusalem’s Old City, and I wondered what it was like to launch a new project like that while at the same time preserving the artifacts that were no doubt uncovered.

But my favorite archaeological site is another spot outside the Old City walls, In 2017 I was strolling along with a friend and he pointed out the famous fortress of Antiochus Epiphanes; some had felt (much like the Hittites) that this was mere legend, but here it was, uncovered under a parking lot!

By contrast, the Palestinians have decimated much of the Temple Mount by constructing two underground mosques (that can supposedly seat 10,000!). By hollowing-out under the upper plateau, they had compromised the structural integrity of the site and almost caused its collapse. Only intervention by Israeli and Jordanian archaeologists saved the site and, ironically, the Dome of the Rock. I looked on in disgust at piles of debris dumped on the Temple Mount, clear evidences of Roman occupation and First and Second Temple artifacts.

Back to the evangelical initiative.

“’Our wonderful history in this land attracts many tourists, people who love Israel, who want to discover with their own hands the hidden treasures we have here,’ Tourism Minister Yoel Razbozov said.

“In addition, a visit of Christians that combines archeology, conservation and assistance in uncovering findings related to the biblical legacy of the State of Israel will improve Israel’s image overseas and spread the legacy of the People of the Book to the Christian world.

“‘Strengthening the relationship between Christians who love Israel through incoming tourism also helps support Israel’s economy,’ the minister noted.”

Imagine digging in the soil at Megiddo, or in the Galilee, or, yes, near the Temple Mount. As I said earlier, I’ve often thought of these things as I’ve walked around the country. As you stroll past the Old City walls, it’s always fun to think of what might be buried just a few feet away. And in fact, regularly we read of amazing finds found right there. Artifacts that confirm the culture and political environments of various stages of biblical history. There one might find an Egyptian inscription, or a Roman road. One of the most stunning things I’ve ever gazed on is a section of Roman road extending out from the Old City walls, and meeting the modern street on the west side of Jerusalem. Absolutely staggering.

Walking through the Jewish Quarter and seeing an ancient wall from the time of the Babylonian invasion is a surreal experience. I’m so glad the Foreign Ministry has come up with this project, so that Christians can have a stake in what happens in the field of archaeology.

The Bible is all true, and archaeology confirms that often in today’s Land of Israel.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

A Working Plan?

One wonders how an Israeli security chief can be naïve when it comes to the Americans, but with this week’s report that Benny Gantz had “intimate” and “positive” interactions with Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan…one can wonder.

Sullivan apparently gave Gantz what he said Israel “needed,” that being a credible military threat to Iran, in the face of ongoing negotiations over Barack Obama’s sinister “Iran Deal.” The “deal,” which fails because it doesn’t hold Iran’s feet to the fire, has been widely panned as giving the mullahs time to develop nuclear weapons—something the deal is ostensibly supposed to prevent.

You see, in today’s American diplomacy, the regime in Washington lies both to its own citizens and to its best allies.

I do not believe Jake Sullivan about anything.

A Times of Israel report went like this:

“The official said Israel has two main concerns with regard to the potential deal: the so-called sunset clause, which will lift limitations on Iran’s nuclear program when the accord expires; and sanctions relief that would allow Iran to increase funding to its proxies.

“The official added that Israel has attempted to influence the deal in certain aspects as much as possible, but ‘as of now, it is far from serving Israel’s interests as it sees it.’ Israel seeks to make the deal ‘longer and stronger,’ the official said.”

And here is a key comment:

“Provided a new deal is signed, Israeli officials say they expect Iran to significantly ramp up funding for its proxies in the Middle East, including the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group on Israel’s northern frontier.”

This to me is madness. The West shows weakness by proposing open negotiations with the Iranians, who have done nothing in response but threaten both America and Israel. Who deals with enemies like this? I’ve read that Obama genuinely thought he could talk in good faith with Iran. This proves one of two things: he is either a clueless dupe, or he is complicit in helping terrorists threaten the West.

What the above quote shows is that even if a “deal” is signed, Iran will continue to spread terrorism worldwide.

The excellent ambassador Danny Danon rightly signals that a deal with Iran is a bad thing. He lives in reality.

“Tensions are high in Israel, as it is felt that once again the most disastrous of deals, the Iran nuclear deal, is being rushed to conclusion, its timing coinciding with the uncertain political situation in Israel. Despite persistent warnings from Israel and the region’s moderate Arab countries, the deal’s signatories, the P5+1 — namely Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany — are insisting on hurtling into an agreement that in just a few years will legitimize the very nuclear activity that the deal is meant to be preventing. Moreover, with Iran all but having achieved nuclear capabilities, the Iran nuclear deal, which was supposed to grant Iran sanctions relief in return for a tight rein on its nuclear program, is now futile.

“What makes it even more disastrous in 2022 is that not only is it a shorter and weaker deal than ever before, all known violations by the Iranian regime are being brushed aside. The deal also entirely ignores Iran’s obsession with terror and its funding of terror proxies in the region and turns a blind eye to Iran’s development of long-range ballistic missiles. Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, funding regional terror groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and (Palestinian) Islamic Jihad. Just this August, Iran was instrumental in training, smuggling weapons and sponsoring the most recent attack on Israel by Islamic Jihad when over 1,000 rockets rained down from Gaza.

“All this will be conveniently whitewashed by the deal’s signatories.”

Danon then gets to the heart of the matter, the utter insanity inherent in this deal:

“Most worryingly, and to make a disastrous deal even more horrifying, the Iranian terrorist regime will be presented with billions of dollars, estimated to be in the region of over $200 billion, that will undoubtedly be plowed into subsequent terror attacks region-wide. In essence, this illogical agreement will enrich and empower Iran and unshackle it to continue its export of terror and step up its atrocities.”

Why do we fund our enemies? It makes no sense. Danon knows full well that Israel is better off going it alone against Iran, although the country’s strengthened ties with Arab states—themselves threatened by Iran in the ongoing Sunni-Shia conflict (much like the Hatfields and McCoys). He said that the West feels that Iran’s threat is not really existential, since those nations’ borders are so far from Iran.

But an enemy as implacable as Iran cannot be dealt with in this way. The Islamic terror state must be utterly defeated.

America currently does not have the leadership/will to do that. I believe in the end, Israel will have to act alone.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com