Most Israel supporters believe that, far from failing, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has gallantly passed a serious test.
By EARL COXBibi Netanyahu(photo credit: AP)
Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit with US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, many in the mainstream media came out with headlines like "Failed Peace Talks" or "Netanyahu Fails." But most Israelis believe that, far from failing, their prime minister gallantly passed a serious test; he withstood the US administration's all-out pressure to divide the historic Jewish capital city of Jerusalem.Most other Israel supporters, such as evangelical Christians around the world, also feel that Netanyahu passed a test when he refused to disavow the justified, God-given rights of the Jewish people. The Obama administration's attempts to force Israel to accept the division of Jerusalem as a prerequisite for peace talks are not surprising since it has been pressing this issue for some time. But now it has claimed that Israel's resistance is creating a crisis in US-Israeli relations.The White House seems to expect the Israeli government to bow to its every wish; failure to do so constitutes a "crisis." We should remember that Netanyahu proved susceptible to such pressure some years ago when he gave up West Bank land to Arab control. But this time, despite his reluctance to confront the US president, he strongly resisted.Obama obviously delighted in trying to humiliate and embarrassNetanyahu during his recent visit. He treated him as someone far lessin stature than the head of government of one of America's mostimportant and strategic allies. He provided no state accommodations,gave no state luncheon or dinner, allowed no reporters or photo ops,and held no joint press conference. It undoubtedly took specialcharacter on Netanyahu's part to keep his mouth shut about all that.Netanyahu probably took his stand knowing that 70 percent of the Jewish people in Israel stand with him. Add to that a large and clear majority of the American people and both houses of the US Congress. Given that support, one has to wonder why the Obama administration is pressuring Israel to divide its historic capital city.More and more, we are all realizing that Obama's foreign policymindset is definitely unfair toward Israel. In fact, his overallforeign policy approach seems to be one of estranging American allieswhile appeasing anti-American dictators, especially Muslim ones.The Palestinian claim to Jerusalem is so weak it is ridiculous. There has never been a Palestinian state with any capital at all. The Jewish people have always been the majority in Jerusalem - and their presence predates the Arab one by 1,500 years. Jerusalem is mentioned more than 900 times in the Bible but never once in the Koran. Moreover, numerous polls have revealed that the Arab residents of Jerusalem, if given their choice, in all probability would prefer to live under Israeli sovereignty rather than become part of what would most likely be a corrupt and incompetent Palestinian state.In 1967, the Jews were exhilarated to regain possession of their beloved historic capital and, along with it, their holy Temple Mount. It was a special, national, emotional experience for the Jewish people - second only to their jubilation on Independence Day, which marks the restoration of their ancient nation after 2,000 years. The fortunes of the eternal city still strike an emotional chord for every Jew, and we Christians share their feelings.Both Israel's government and people are well aware of their need for America's friendship and support, but they have obviously become frustrated with Obama. After all, the Palestinians continue to deny the rights of the Jewish people to exist as a nation, they continue to glorify terrorism and honor terrorists who kill Jews, and they have grossly ignored the generous land-for-peace offers made by Ehud Barak in 2000 and by Ehud Olmert in 2008.The Obama administration seems to deliberately ignore the results ofthe Jewish "disengagement" from Gaza in 2005, when the Arab-controlledarea was converted into a launching pad for thousands of missile androcket attacks on innocent Jewish communities and villages. How cananyone act as though none of that happened?
While Obama continues to pressure Israel to divide its historic capitalcity and to insist on freezing construction of new housing, Netanyahuhas told the world that the Jews have returned to where King Davidestablished their capital 3,000 years ago - and that they intend tostay there. I say, "Yahoo, Netanyahu!" And we in the EvangelicalChristian community know that the God of Israel is saying "Amen!" tothat.
