Iran snookered the Biden administration!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

PLANT AN APPLE TREE!

by Steve Fair

     The situation between Israel and Hamas has prompted the Defense Department to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) to the Middle East.  Two U.S. aircraft carriers and 2,000 Marines have also been deployed to the region.  Iran backed terrorist group, Hezbollah has threated to join the fight against Israel, but Israel has vowed to ‘cut off the head of the snake,’ should that happen.  Countries across the world are picking sides and WWIII could be right around the corner.

     The present conflict started on October 7^th (a Jewish holiday- Simhat Torah) when Hamas fired over 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel in the span of 20 minutes.  That attack killed 1,400 people and injured 3,300 more.  Both Jews and Palestinians were killed.  Hamas, who occupies the Gaza Strip, is upset over the expansion of Israeli settlements in Gaza and general Israeli policy, especially their recent attempts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.  Three observations:

     First, the U.S. has historically been a strong supporter of Israel.  The state of Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid.  U.S. taxpayers send $2.67 billion each year to help Israel with their military defense. The United States is Israel’s largest trading partner.  The U.S. has used it’s UN veto power 42 times against resolutions condemning Israel.  That’s more than half the vetoes the US has exercised.    In 1948, when Israel became a nation, the U.S. was the first country to recognize the new state.  Since the attack, President Biden has repeatedly stated his support for Israel, but his actions just a month ago likely help fund Hamas.

     In September, Biden arranged a prisoner release deal with Iran, which saw five Americans exchanged for five Iranian citizens held in the U.S.  Part of the deal was the transfer of $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions.  Prisoner for prisoner wasn’t enough to seal the deal.  Iran snookered the Biden administration and, in the process, helped get money to Hamas.  

     Second, are we living in the last days?   Biblically, the last days are the period from Christ’s ascension to His return, so we are definitely living in the ‘last days.’   But are we seeing the book of Revelation playing out before our eyes?  It’s certainly possible.  All the players are on the stage.  But Christ said no man knows the hour when He would return.  His command was for believers to ‘occupy’ until He returns.  Martin Luther was asked what he would do today if he knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow.  Luther responded, “I would plant an apple tree today.”  It’s human nature to gander into the future, but being obsessed with signs and wonders accomplishes little.

     Third, God gave Gaza to Abraham.  Some 4,000 years ago, Abraham traveled from the Chaldean city of Ur (present day Iraq) to Canaan.  God then told Abraham, the land was his and his offsprings.  Therein, lies the problem.  Both the Jews and the Palestinians are the offspring of Abraham.  The descendants of   half-brothers- Isaac and Ishmael- have been fighting for centuries over this same piece of ground. 

     The land in dispute is the Gaza Strip, a narrow piece of land on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  It borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.  It has a total land mass of 141 square miles- an area about the size of Seattle, Washington.  Over 2 million people live there- both Jews and Palestinians.  It is the third most densely populated area in the world.  Since 2007, Hamas, a militant Islamist group, has ruled Gaza.  Because Hamas invaded Israel, expect Israelian ground forces to counterattack.    

     U.S. foreign policy should always include support for Israel.  Two thirds of the American people agree with the US supporting Israel, according to a recent poll.  No nation has stood with Israel more consistently or been a better friend than America.  That is- until September 2023, when President Biden was out negotiated by Iran.  Unsettling times, but while the rapture may be tomorrow, today plant an apple tree.