Since the re-birth of the modern state of Israel in 1948, conflicts and peace talks have come and gone, oft-repeated with a sense of hope and reconciliation. Borders have moved and settlements have risen over the last 65 years in a piece of land that is about the size of the state of New Jersey. Since I am not a political analyst, I will not even attempt at getting into the head of Secretary of State John Kerry and his recent involvement in this new round of peace talks, yet despite an appearance of renewed hope, I am very skeptical. Mr. Kerry’s public announcement in the presence of Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat at the State Department on July 30th appeared to be nothing more than a cocktail of clichés and platitudes aimed at appeasing the media and the public (as if there was even a need to appease a group of people who have clearly showed more of their allegiance to one side, being the Palestinian side of course).
Don’t quote me wrong, I think it is good to talk about peace and compromise for the future, as long as that compromise leads to a true win/win situation. Are we really talking about compromise if as a pre-condition to the peace talks, Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to order the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners (some of them serious offenders in the area of terrorism), while Hamas continues to send rockets to Israel as we speak. Not to mention Mahmoud Abbas statement that: “In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands,”
Mr. Kerry is not the first American Secretary of State who has tried to disentangle the Gordian knot of the Middle East crisis. Just about every Secretary of State since Henry Kissinger in 1973 tried their diplomatic hand at it. While some of them achieved some degree of success, one component was ALWAYS missing from the table and it is of course the perspective of the most important player in the Middle East: The Creator of all things, God Himself. I understand that my Utopian dream of a modern biblical land of Israel has little or no chance of happening (at least for the time being), but that doesn’t and will not change the facts that:
• The Land will see real peace only when Yeshua the Messiah returns (Ezekiel 39:25-29)