At the time of the end Divine prophecy pictures the tiny nation of Israel as virtually without friends In the time of Jacob s greatest trouble, Zechariah tells of the lonely position Israel will hold when all nations of the world take up a hostile posture against her After describing the purging process to which this nation is to be subjected, resulting in the survival of only one third of its inhabitants, the prophet reveals certain details leading up to the national crisis ‘ Behold the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee For I will gather All Nations Against Jerusalem to Battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city ‘ (Zech 14 1-2)
In a similar vein, Ezekiel foretells the invasion of the land by a foreign confederacy which finds little or no opposition from any contemporary power “After many days thou shalt be visited in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against The Mountains of Israel, which have always been waste but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee To take a spoil, and to take a prey, to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey ? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezek 38 8-9, 12-13)
Egypt’s Peace Probe
It has been recognized by the student of prophecy that some train of events or change in the policy of the nations would be necessary to place Israel in the singular position described by the prophets. Recent developments in the Middle East seemed for a while to lead in the other direction. Although the Palestinian problem and matter of withdrawal by Israel from the territories acquired in the October 1967 conflict have proven immovable objects standing in the way of peace, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of a possible solution with the surprise move of Egypt’s Sadat last November. Just six weeks before, in an effort to encourage the Arabs and Israel to reconvene the Geneva Conference before year’s end (recessed after the opening session in December, 1973), the United States and the Soviet Union issued a joint declaration, in which “all the parties in the conflict” were to “understand the necessity for careful consideration of each other’s legitimate rights and interests and to demonstrate mutual readiness to act accordingly.” The parties were urged to establish “normal peaceful relations” in the regions in dispute. The communique mentioned Palestinian “rights” and called for the security of borders between Israel and the neighboring Arab states and the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the 1967 conflict.” Though the joint statement did not name the Palestine Liberation Organization specifically, nor did it refer to an independent homeland for the Palestinians, it was rejected by the Israeli government as “unacceptable.”
The statement was quickly forgotten when the Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, announced that he would accept an invitation from Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel to visit Jerusalem and address the Knesset (Legislature). This invitation was made after Sadat made his spectacular gesture of offering to present personally, his views to the Israeli government and Legislature. The Egyptian president visited Jerusalem November 1921 of last year, at which time he affirmed that war between Egypt and Israel would never again take place. He also extended an invitation to Israel to visit Egypt. His peace probes, however, were qualified by his insistence that there must be a full withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories, including “Arab Jerusalem,” and the acceptance of Palestinian rule.
This surprise move by Sadat resulted in alienating some of Egypt’s strongest allies. To pave the way for further Geneva Peace talks, the Egyptian president issued invitations for preparatory talks in Cairo. Only Israel, the United States and the United Nations responded by sending representatives to Cairo. Arab criticism of Sadat’s new posture festered until the first week in December when a stormy four day meeting was held in Tripoli, Libya. The four Arab states of Algeria, Libya, Syria and Yemen (Aden) were joined by the P. L. 0. in issuing the Tripoli Declaration, proclaiming and calling for a freeze on political and diplomatic relations with Egypt.
Sadat’s reaction to the Tripoli Declaration was to break off diplomatic relations with Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria. He also closed down all cultural centers and some consulates belonging to the U. S. S. R., Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland because of their Communist support for the Arab bloc to his peace proposals to Israel.
Peace Talks Collapse
Just when it seemed that Egypt and Israel were actually moving ahead, the negotiations collapsed after two days on January 18th. President Anwar Sadat pulled his delegation from the talks in Jerusalem because of Israel’s negotiating tactics which angered him. Sadat was still insisting on the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab lands seized in the 1967 war, and the establishment of Palestinian self rule in the disputed West Bank. Begin responded that he was willing to grant limited self rule, but with the continued presence of his military forces. The Prime Minister contended that Israel needs the security of having troops present on the West Bank. He vowed never to pull back to its former borders. Begin’s reply to Sadat’s demands for the return of East Jerusalem was “preposterous.” In an interview, held later with Begin, it was reported in the United States News and World Report Magazine that the Prime Minister commented (concerning withdrawal from the West Bank) “To us, it is a matter of life and death . . . We believe that if Israel did relinquish these territories, the P.L.O. would take them over in 24 hours . . . They are the most blood thirsty enemy the Jewish people have had since the days of the Nazis.”
Both Israel and Egypt now look to the United States to bring order to the aborted peace talks. They are convinced that only the personal presence of President Carter can bring peace to the Middle East. In early February, at the invitation of the President, Sadat spent 5 days in Washington, making a determined bid for U.S. support and weapons. Before the Egyptian President left the U.S., Israel’s Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan arrived to launch a “counter offensive” against the Egyptian request for U.S. support.
Sale of Arms to Egypt—A First
During talks with Dayan, Washington contended that Israel had reigned on their promise to build no more new civilian settlements on the West Bank. New settlements have been built on the disputed territory. A very noticeable breach in U.S.-Israel relations is seen looming on the horizon. In mid-February a confrontation broke out (heard round the world) between President Carter and Israel’s Prime Minister Begin over peace terms and the sale of U.S. warplanes to Egypt and Saudi Arabia on the 14th of the month. Carter’s agreement to sell late model American warplanes to Egypt and Saudi Arabia has widened seriously the rift between the U.S. and Israel. The White house’s insistence that Israel settlements on the occupied lands should not exist has only served to intensify Israel’s suspicion that the United States is siding with Egypt.
Under the President’s proposal, as reported in the U.S. News & World Report, “Israel would get 15 F-15s, the most advanced U.S. fighter, to go with 25 sold earlier, and 75 F-16s, a smaller fighter-bomber. Total cost: 1.9 billion dollars. Israel originally had asked for 150 F-16s and 25 F-15s.
Saudi Arabia would be permitted to buy 60 F-16s for 2.5 billion.
Egypt would get 50 F-15s, a less-sophisticated fighter plane, with Saudi Arabia expected to pick up the 400-million-dollar tab. Although less than half of Egypt’s requested 120 F-5Es, the deal would mark the first time the U.S. has provided Cairo with ‘lethal’ military equipment.”
This situation has brought the most intense political headache to the Carter Administration since his presidency began.
These developments appear to be major steps in framing the political structure of the nations in the time of the end. If the United States continues in its insistence that Israel withdraw from the occupied Arabs lands, and that self rule be granted to the Palestinians, it will surely bring about further deterioration in U.S.Israel relations. This could lead to the very isolation of Israel as demanded by the prophecies already alluded to. Both Egypt and the United States have found Jerusalem to be a “cup of trembling” and “a burdensome stone for all people that burden themselves with it.” They have suffered political lacerations as the stone cuts in pieces those who choose to entangle themselves in its destiny.
As the Tidings goes to press, Israel’s Prime Minister Begin is enroute to the United States to confer further with President Carter on these matters.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One