Christian supporters of Israel getting nervous about Jerusalem
Jim Fletcher - Guest Columnist - 2/21/2008 9:00:00 AM
Recent statements about negotiations with the Palestinians over the future status of the Old City are disturbing, to say the least.
 
Since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak first made far-reaching concessions to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2000 (subsequently rejected by the godfather of international terrorism, Yasser Arafat), the famous Israeli red-line has been air-brushed. Today, another prime minister, Ehud Olmert, openly talks about the desire to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.
 
One wonders why leaders of the Jewish state feel a "need" to give a state to a culture that has a pathological hatred of Israel. It seemingly doesn't make sense.
 
This week, Palestinian negotiators made chilling statements about the status of Jerusalem. Saeb Erekat, a player since the Madrid Conference in 1991, displays the same blustering style the PA has been using since the First Gulf War. In 1997, U.S. diplomat Nicholas Burns praised the Palestinian effort in fighting terror and negotiating. This has been a consistent diplomatic position.
 
Please understand, the Palestinians have never shown positive effort in these areas. They are as intransigent as ever. Erekat has said that Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem like Gilo, and the nearby Har Homa, are "settlements."
 
It seems the malevolent ghost of Yasser Arafat is still around influencing his minions.
 
According to the Jerusalem Post: "Erekat's statement, if truly reflective of the Palestinian Authority's position, places a serious hindrance to any progress in talks. The neighborhoods he mentioned are all held in wide Israeli consensus and contain the bulk of the city's Jewish residents."
 
This is just the latest indication that the Palestinian leadership has no intention of moving from its extreme positions. After all, every Israeli pullout and concession only serves to further embolden the PA, Hamas, and various other terror groups.
 
If you ever have the chance to visit the Center for Special Studies, north of Tel Aviv, go. There you'll see that the Israeli intelligence community has extensively documented just how systematic the destruction of Palestinian society has become -- through their own leadership. The anti-Semitic indoctrination and propaganda is breathtaking. Textbooks, student journals, maps, and terrorist publications all speak to a society that will take a generation to fix.
 
Whenever I visit Jerusalem, a major priority is to walk around the Temple Mount. However, each visit depends on the whims of the Palestinian Wakf, the religious authority that in reality controls the famous plaza. It's an interesting dynamic: Westerners are not allowed to offend the sensibilities of the Arabs, but the Arabs see no end to perceived offenses.
 
Let a Dutch newspaper publish cartoons depicting Mohammed, and there are global riots from the Muslim communities. Yet the most vitriolic, rancid cartoons demonizing Israel and the U.S. appear daily all over the Arab world. No Christian riots. No Jewish riots. No Muslims threatened with murder.
 
It's inexplicable that a smart guy like Olmert shows such a weak hand in the Arab-Israeli conflict. What it tells me is that there are things going on that few of us know anything about. It's my opinion that enormous pressure is put on Israel by her ostensible friends. It takes little imagination to consider that after the photo ops in Washington and London, Israeli prime ministers are treated to masterful arm-twisting.
 
No doubt the Arabs are sometimes given a tongue-lashing as well. The difference is, they don't care. The narcissism displayed by people like Erekat is difficult to deal with for Western minds that covet the ability to compromise.
 
And what of a possible division of Jerusalem? Should we as supporters of Israel see our faith shaken? Would a man-made solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict knock God's plan off-track? On the contrary.
 
Hateful though a Palestinian state would be, with its capital in east Jerusalem, it wouldn't damage my faith in predictive prophecy or the Bible overall.
 
It would damage tourism. My level of interest in visiting, and staying in a PA-controlled east Jerusalem would sink out of sight. I visit now to see the historical/religious sites, and because Israeli soldiers and police patrol. I've been to PA-controlled cities like Bethlehem, and it's a spooky feeling.
 
In actual practice, I'm beginning to think that pro-Israel Christians have little impact on our government's foreign policy in the Middle East. Perhaps I'm wrong. But it could be that our efforts should be more in the direction of prayer and emotional support for our Jewish friends.
 
The Bible predicts that Jerusalem will be the flashpoint of world history in the last days. Let's use the fact that it is becoming that very thing -- in remarkable detail -- to show our circles of influence that God acts in history and controls it, not the other way around.
 
Jim Fletcher (jim1fletcher@yahoo.com) is a member of the executive committee of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel (NCLCI).
 
Opinions expressed in 'Perspectives' columns published by OneNewsNow.com are the sole responsibility of the article's author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of the staff or management of, or advertisers who support the American Family News Network, OneNewsNow.com, our parent organization or its other affiliates.