Christian Cult - Japanese

April 3, 2025

l イントロダクション

マタイ 24 章・ルカ 21 章のオリーブ山の訓戒でイエスさまは偽教師、偽預言 者、偽クリスチャンに関して警告されました。 私が救われて間もなかった頃、 その箇所を読むと私の頭の中にはエホバの証人やモルモン教などのことが浮か びました。今世紀になって、また特に過去この 20 年間でカルトが急増している ことは紛れもなく聖書の預言した通りであり、そのことに疑問はありません。 ですが、それはイエスさまが主に警告していた偽教師や偽預言者ではありませ ん。イエスさまは終わりの時代に現れ、選ばれた者たちをも騙そうとする者た ちのことを語っていました(マタイ 24 章 24 節)。 

もちろん選ばれた者たちが騙されるなんてあり得ないという人たちがいます。 ですがそれ自体が嘘です。起こりもしないことをイエスさまが何度も警告する ことはありません。それはそうとして、イエスさまはクリスチャンを騙す人た ちに関して警告していました。モルモン教やエホバの証人に騙される人がいる なら、それは救われて間もない人か、物事を何も知らない人たちです。救われ て 3 年、4 年、5 年経った人たちはそのような人たちの犠牲にはなりません。

l 人から始まる カルトにも神学的な「カルト」と社会的な「カルト」があります。ですが、

この二つはどこかの時点で必然的に合流し、ひとつとなります。

あなたがたはめいめいに、「私はパウロにつく」「私はアポロに」「私 はケパに」「私はキリストにつく」と言っているということです。 キリストが分割されたのですか。あなたがたのために十字架につけ られたのはパウロでしょうか。あなたがたがバプテスマを受けたの はパウロの名によるのでしょうか(1 コリント 1 章 12 節-13 節)

人々は「パウロにつく」、「ケパにつく」、「アポロにつく」と言っていました。

「私はキリストにつく」と言っていた人たちは「どんな指導者をも認めず、指

導者の必要性も感じない。イエスが私たちのリーダーだ。牧師の権威など認め ない」と考えていました。人々は「私はあの人につく、あの人につく」と言い、 人を教祖に祭り上げてしまいました。

カルトの行うことは、関心を人間に向けること、時には死人に向けることで す。今日のカルト――福音派のカルト――でも創始者が生きていた時より、死 んだ後のほうが人気のあるカルトが存在します。

アッセンブリーズ・オブ・ゴッドはウィリアム・ブランハム(William Branham ※1)が生きていた時にも彼の考えを退けました。E・W・ケニヨン

(E. W. Kenyon ※2)の考えはペンテコステ派主流にとっては忌むべきもので した。「神の子たちの現れ・後の雨運動」、「再建主義、神の国は今」などのよう

なものは、40年代から50年代のアッセンブリーズ・オブ・ゴッドを含め、ペン テコステ派主流によって一般的に退けられていました。カルトと見なされてい たのです。これらかつてはカルトや異端と見られていたものは、現代急激に台 頭してきており、今日でもブランハムを信奉する者たちがいます。

カルトのリーダーは死んだ人物であることもあります。それはエホバの証人 やモルモン教のようなカルトのことではなく、真実の福音を信じる人たちのカ ルトです。人がそのような団体の中で救われると問題が発生します。モルモン 教徒が救われても何ら問題はありません。ジョセフ・スミス(Joseph Smith) は偽預言者だと分かっているので、モルモン教全体も偽りの道に入っているこ とが分かります。エホバの証人が救われても何ら問題はありません。チャール ズ・テーゼ・ラッセル(Charles Taze Russell)も偽預言者だったので、ものみ の塔も終わっています。ですが「クリスチャンカルト」を通して人が救われる と大きな問題が発生します。クリスチャンカルトとは神学的には「教会」です が、社会的に「カルト」である団体です。

そのように神学的にだけ「教会」で、社会的にカルトである団体は次第に異 端的になってきます。背教的な教えに引き込まれていくのです。ですがそのよ うな団体も最初は真実の福音をもって始まりました。

このような団体を通して救われると、人は真に新生したために、指導者が霊 的、心理的な影響を強く持ち、指導者からコントロールされるようになります。

私は「神の子ら(The Children of God)」という団体を通して新生しました。

クリスチャンになって最初の 5 年間はそのような団体と関わっていました。も うひとつは「聖書を理解する教会(The Church of Bible Understanding)」と いうものでした。また別のクリスチャンカルトは「聖書は語る(The Bible Speaks 別名 Greater Grace)」というものでした。そのようなカルトがなぜそ れほど危険かというと、真実の福音を伝えているからです。エホバの証人やモ ルモン教を排除する方法でそれらは排除できません。大きな問題がそこにはあ

ります。その団体に属している人と、そのような団体を通して救われた人は束 縛の下にあります。霊的に、そして心理的にも縛られてしまうのです。

l カルトの第一のしるし パウロなど使徒たちがこのような精神に反対していたことに注目してくださ

い。パウロがあなたを救ったのでしょうか?救いをもたらしたのはイエスであ って、福音であり、教会ではありません。ローマ・カトリック教会は救いの道 具だと自称し、司祭によって執り行われた秘跡によって、人が救われると教え ています(エクス・オペレ・オペラート)。これらの団体はキリストを宣べ伝え ますが、キリストとその団体との区別はつけません。

パウロは後にガラテヤ人への手紙で「肉の行ない」(ガラテヤ 5 章 19 節)「党 派心(20 節)」と呼んだカルトの第一の性質を非難していました。

「党派心、分裂、分派」(ガラテヤ 5 章 20 節)カルトの第一のしるしはパウ ロが「党派心」と呼んだものです。党派心の罪は、特定の団体が自分たちだけ が聖書の真理を握っていると主張するところに発生します。党派心を生むもの のひとつにグノーシス主義があります。グノーシス(Gnosis)とは「神秘的知 識」を表すギリシア語から来ています(1 テモテ 6 章 20 節「霊知」)。

ローマ・カトリック教会内にあるグノーシス主義は「センサス・プレニア

(sensus plenior)」――聖書の「完全な意味」というものです。聖書にはより 豊かな意味があることは事実ですが、ローマ・カトリック教会の主張している ことは、教皇がペテロの後継者であるために、みことばの意味を間違いなく定 義でき、それを基礎に教理を作ることが出来るということなのです。

グノーシス主義においては、聖書の釈義が大事なのではなく、聖書について 語る指導者の言葉が重要視されています。

ジョン・ウィンバーの運動である「ヴィンヤードムーブメント」は初代教会 にも存在したクリスチャンのグノーシス主義に基づいています。例えば、ヴィ ンヤードや後の雨運動、カンザスシティーの預言者などの基本的な教えは、再 建主義であり、「ヨエルの軍隊」と呼ばれるものです。

「町を襲い、城壁の上を走る。 主の命令を行なう者は力強い」

これはいなごに譬えられています。歴史的な背景からこれはネブカデネザル の軍隊で、悔い改めないユダを裁くために神が用いた軍隊です。ですがこれは また黙示録に登場する反キリストの軍隊の象徴でもあります。ヨエル書に登場 したいなごは黙示録でも再び現れています。それゆえ、この軍隊が何であれ、 終わりの時代に登場する反キリストの軍隊であり、ヨエル書 2 章 20 節には「わ たしはこれを滅ぼす。その臭いは天にまで立ち上る。それを西の海に追いやろ う」とあります。ヴィンヤード運動はこれが自分たちだと教えています。神に 裁かれ、滅ぼされる軍隊に入りたいと思う人たちがもしいるなら、ヴィンヤー ド運動に入るべきです。神の子たちの現れや後の雨運動もしかりです。

彼らにとっては聖書が何を語っているかは問題ではありません。神秘的知識 が語ることだけが重要なのです。「神さまが私だけに見せてくださった」という ようにです。

コープランドとヘーゲンは共にケニヨンの教えに頼っています。イエスさま が十字架上で「完了した」(ヨハネ 19 章 30 節)、また「父よ。わが霊を御手に ゆだねます」(ルカ 23 章 46 節)と言ったにもかかわらず、ケニヨン信奉者たち は「十字架上ではイエスさまではなくサタンが勝利を得たという啓示を、私は 受けた。イエスさまは三日三晩地獄で拷問を受け、サタンとひとつの性質とな り、そのサタン付きのイエスさまは地獄で新生し、死人からよみがえった」と 主張します。このようなものはイエスと全くの別人物であり、買い取ってくだ さった主をも否定する偽りの福音です。

繁栄の説教者たちもそうです。「神は私に 啓示を与えて下さった」と言いま すが、これらはみなカルト的です。

それには何よりも次のことを知っていなければいけません。すなわ ち、聖書の預言はみな、人の私的解釈を施してはならない、という

ことです。なぜなら、預言は決して人間の意志によってもたらされ たのではなく、聖霊に動かされた人たちが、神からのことばを語っ

たのだからです(2 ペテロ 1 章 20 節-21 節)

この節の直後に「パレイサズーシン(pareisazousin)」――「偽りの傍に真 理を置く」というギリシア語が登場します。そのような人たちは聖書預言の解 釈などを自分の解釈次第であるかのようにみなしてしまっています。それゆえ 聖書が何を語っているかが大事なのではなく、その指導者がどう語っているか が重要視されているのです。

l 人の上に立とうとする者たち これらの二つの特徴(党派心とグノーシス主義)が重なれば、第三のものが

来るのも時間の問題です。

イエスさまはニコライ派の行いを憎みました(黙示録 2 章 6 節)。ニコライ

派がどのような人たちであったか歴史から知ることは出来ません。使徒 6 章に 列挙されている執事たちのうちの息子がニコライで、ニコライ派は彼に従って いたのではないかという推測がありますが、誰も分かりません。このような話 は伝承から来たものです。ですが私たちが知ることが出来るのは「ニコライ派」 のギリシア語における意味です。「ニコス(nikos)」は「抑圧」、「ラオディクー ス(laodikeus)」は「民」という意味です。彼らは自分たちを支配層に押し上げ たのです。

次のような主のことばが私にあった。「人の子よ。イスラエルの牧 者たちに向かって預言せよ。

(ヘブライ語で「羊飼い」と「牧師」とは同じ言葉です)

預言して、彼ら、牧者たちに言え。神である主はこう仰せられる。 ああ。自分を肥やしているイスラエルの牧者たち。牧者は羊を養わ なければならないのではないか。あなたがたは脂肪を食べ、羊の毛 を身にまとい、肥えた羊をほふるが、羊を養わない。弱った羊を強 めず、病気のものをいやさず、傷ついたものを包まず、迷い出たも のを連れ戻さず、失われたものを捜さず、かえって力ずくと暴力で 彼らを支配した。彼らは牧者がいないので、散らされ、あらゆる野

の獣のえじきとなり、散らされてしまった。(エゼキエル 34 章 1

節-5 節)

聖書的なリーダーシップは模範によるものであり、他者を支配するものでは ありません。イエスさまはこのことでパリサイ人を強く非難しましたが、これ が初代教会にも入り込んでしまっていました。

「党派心」のあるところには大抵の場合、「グノーシス主義」があります。人々 は「あの先生は私たちより聖書に精通しておられるから」と言います。

ある時、本当におかしなことを語る人がいて、完全に異端でした。ですがそ の人は聖書に関して非常に深い洞察力を持っていました。自分の知名度を気に している指導者たちに気をつけましょう。本当に賜物のある人が、自己崇拝す る人々を容認している時には警戒しましょう。人はそのような人に関して「私 たちは先生のしていることが理解できないが、先生は私たちよりも神に近いお 方だ。深い洞察力を持っておられる」と言います。深い洞察力を持っているの は事実かもしれませんが、聖書の語ることと正反対を行っているなら、「あなた がたが仕えようと思うものを、どれでも、きょう選ぶがよい」という状況と同 じです(ヨシュア 24 章 15 節)。ですがそのような時点になると、従っている人 たちはもうすでに強い束縛の下に置かれています。

次に来るものはニコライ派の行い、重いくびきを負わせることです。「我々に 異議を唱え、我々に挑戦するとは君は一体何様のつもりなんだ。君は反抗的な 霊を持っている」と指導者は語ります。

l カルト指導者の人格 法医学の精神科医も同じことを言うと思いますが、カルト指導者の人格は独

裁者の人格とほぼ同じものです。アドルフ・ヒトラーやジョセフ・スターリン を含む多くの独裁者たちに関して、法医学の精神科医による評価が下されまし た。精神科医の一団が 1940 年代のイギリスやアメリカ連合軍に対するアドル フ・ヒトラーやジョセフ・スターリンの人格評価を行った際、彼らはあること について意見が一致しました。それはヒトラーやスターリンは、スターリング ラードの戦い(1942・1943 年)やバルジの戦い(1944・1945 年)で戦う勇気 は持っておらず、強制収容所の人々に強制したことを自分たちが行うのは明ら かに耐えられなかっただろうということでした。

カルト指導者は独裁者のようなもので精神的に不安定です。カルト指導者は 人格的に精神不安定であり、より精神不安定な者たちを回りに集めることによ り、その人たちをコントロールし、彼らを通して人々のもとに行きます。カル ト指導者は、一緒に怒鳴りつけてくれる者無しには、ほとんど誰かと関わろう としません。カルト指導者は基本的に自分の言うことを繰り返すだけのオウム のような人物を送り出します。カルト指導者は精神不安定であり、その部下、 代理人もまた精神不安定で容易に操作されてしまう人たちです。

すべての人が同じ訳ではありませんが、ひとつのことは確実に言えます。あ る人が新生したなら、その人は霊的に変化し始めます。そして霊的に変化する と、心理的に変化してきます。神は人を内から外へと変えていきます。イエス にあって成長するにつれて、その人はキリストにあって安定していき、共にキ リストにある者たちと和合するようになります。クリスチャンのカルトではこ れが起こりません。クリスチャンのカルトとは神学的には「教会」ですが、社 会的に「カルト」である団体です。その人たちはキリストにあって安定するこ とがありません。彼らの安定は指導者との関係性に基づいてしまっています。 程度の差こそあれ、カルトに属する者はすべて同じです。

再建主義神学に陥っている大半の「ハウスチャーチ運動」は、どの程度カル ト化しているかで差があるだけです(1990 年代から始まったハウスチャーチ運 動は、新使徒改革を通してキリストが再臨する前に、この世に神の国を打ち建 てることを目指してきました。その中で悪名高いのがピーター・ワグナー、シ ンディー・ジェイコブス、リック・ジョイナー、ビル・ジョンソンです)。みな 同じ道をたどっています。そのようなハウスチャーチ運動とエホバの証人やデ イビッド・コレシュが違う点は、ただ彼らの方がより深く堕ちて行ってしまっ ているということだけです。神学的には「教会」であっても社会的に「カルト」 である教会は時間が経つと確実に異端の教えを持つようになります。ささいな 誤りではなく、根本的な誤りです。「神の子ら」もそれをし、「聖書を理解する 教会」もそれを行いました。時間が経つとそのようなものは教理的誤りに陥る のです。しかしそれはただの始まりに過ぎません。

このような人たちは精神的に不安定なので、自分たちが知らないことを知っ ている人を恐れます。

私たちは教育を崇拝すべきではありません。アポロとパウロは正式な学問が

ありましたが、ペテロとヨハネはそうではありませんでした。そうであっても ペテロとヨハネの持つ使徒の権威はパウロのものに劣ることはありませんでし た。しかしながらペテロは手紙の中で「これらのことは複雑だ。パウロがそれ

らを説明するほうが良い」と語っています(2 ペテロ 3 章 15 節-16 節参照)。

ある人の知性が十字架にかけられ、知性に頼らず、キリストに頼ることを学 べば、知性はとても良いしもべとなります。「知性」は良いしもべですが危険な 主人です。ですが「無知」は死をもたらす主人です。「知性」は良いしもべです が悪い主人です。「無知」は悪いしもべであるだけでなく、死をもたらす主人で す。

このような人たちが神学校や聖書学校、ギリシア語を読める人々を無意識の うちに貶めるのが見受けられるでしょう。彼らはその人々を恐れるでしょうか ら。彼らは自分の知らないことを知っている人々に出会うと、自分の団体の中 でその人々を貶め、卑下し、笑い者にせずにはいられないでしょう。彼らは原 語のギリシア語やヘブライ語を読め、神学校に行った人たちが自分たちにとっ て脅威であると知っています。それは独裁者たちと同じです。彼らは自分が持 っていない知識を持つ者を恐れるので、結果その人たちを貶めるのです。「そん なもの必要無い」と彼らは言います。そしてそれ自体は事実であることを言い ます。「大学には博士号を持ち、ギリシア語やヘブライ語が読める者が多くいる が、彼らは地獄へ向かっている。彼らは救われてもいない」彼らはその点を強 調しますが、コインの裏側を見ようとはしません。彼らは人をコントロールす るのに見合うことだけを強調します。

独裁者やカルト指導者たちを見ると、彼らは自分自身が精神不安定であるた めに、人々を同じく精神不安定にすることによってだけコントロールすること が出来ると分かります。

l 教理の誤りを越えて 最終的に彼らは教理の誤りに陥ります。ですが必然的にある時点からふたつ

の事柄――両方同時とはいかなくとも――が起こります。最初のものはエゼキ エル 34 章に記されたような金銭的不祥事です。「あなたたがは私腹を肥やすた めに羊をほふるが、彼らの生活を見てみなさい」(エゼキエル 34 章参照)

ひとつの例が、ネズミが出るような犯罪率が多いスラムに信徒たちが住む一

方で、5 機の飛行機を保有し、バハマで二人目の妻と休日を楽しんでいる指導者 です。ある人はニューヨークシティーの劣悪な地域に住み、一日 14 時間カーペ ットを掃除し、すべてのお金をそのカルトに寄付しています。その寄付の名目

はハイチに住む子供たちに与えるためだといわれています。もしかすると寄付 金の一部がそこに届いたかもしれませんが、確実にそのお金はその指導者と彼 の妻しか乗らない 5 機の飛行機のために使われたことでしょう。

金銭的不祥事が最初のものです。そこには大抵の場合、格差が見受けられま す。奉仕は仕える立場であるはずなのに、牧師たちは「先生」と呼ばれる栄誉 と、世俗社会では得られない金銭的な地位を得ようとしています。世界的に見 て、これらのことはペンテコステ派の牧師たちの中に見られ、神学的な理解は ないがしろにされ、お金や繁栄が強調されています。(このようなことは、仏教 カルト「幸福の科学」にも見られるものです。神道の神官でも家から霊を追い 払う振りをして、人を恐れさせ、お金を巻き上げています)

このような人たちの中に多くの場合、見受けられる二つ目のものは性的不祥 事――性的不品行です。それは明らかになるまで、ある期間は内密に行われま す。

短期的にカルトを見ると、これらが脱出するための警告です。そこにはある 形でグノーシス主義と関連した「党派心」の罪があります。そして他者が気付 いてこなかったとする教理の偏りがあり、支持者たちはそれに傾倒しなければ なりません。その時点で脱出しなかった場合はその次に金銭的不正があり、金 銭の搾取があります。非常に多くの場合、金銭の搾取を行うためにその人たち は什一献金などの聖書の教えを歪曲します。そしてそこには不品行――大抵の 場合性的なものがあり、異常な性的嗜好を持つ者までが時には存在します。

l どのようにして生じるのか 新約聖書から読み取れるサタンの最初のトリックは、4 世紀に教会を異教化

する以前、教会をユダヤ教化することでした。といってもこれは教会を「ユダ

ヤ化」することとは違います。教会は事実神学的にユダヤ的なものだからです。 イスラエルは本来の根です(ローマ 11 章)。聖書はヘレニズムの観点から理解 されるべきではなく、ユダヤ・キリスト教の観点から理解されるべきです。主 はみことばをご自分の民、文化を持つ国を通して啓示されたため、私たちはそ れを理解しなければなりません。聖書的キリスト教を理解するためには、聖書

的ユダヤ教をまず神学的に理解することが必要不可欠です。イエスさまは律法 を成就されました。サタンの最初の誘惑は人々を律法の下に置くことであり、 本来キリストを指し示すものとしての律法を違った形で用いることでした。

これは慣習とは違います。イスラエル系ユダヤ人の家族を持ち、ガラリヤで 生れた子供を持つ者として、私たちは文化のためと、未信のユダヤ人への証の ために過越の祭りを守っています。ドアにはメズザーもあり、家庭でヘブライ 語を話しています。ハヌカを祝えば、プリムも祝い、ユダヤの祭りの多くを祝 います。私たちは日曜に教会に行き、土曜日――安息日にはメシアニック系の 交わりに参加します。従ってサタンが教会をユダヤ教化したということは、自 分の文化の中でユダヤ人に福音を伝えようとして文化を守ることとは違います。 これは間違っていません。また第一コリント人への手紙 9 章でパウロが語って いるような、証のために文化を採用した人たちによるユダヤ人への伝道も同じ です。問題となってくるのは律法を守ることが、救いや聖化に必要不可欠だと 誰かが主張する時です。そのような人たちは「あなたたちは恵みによって救わ れたけれど…」と言います。

律法を守ることが救いに不可欠だと言われる時にはそれは「律法主義」に陥 っています。聖化のために不可欠だと言われる時、また救われた人があれやこ れをしなければならないと言われる時、それは「ノミアン主義(Nomianism)」 と呼ばれます(その言葉はギリシア語の「ノモス」から来ています)。

今日、二つの契約の下で生きようとしている二種類のグループに気をつけな ければなりません。ひとつはメシアニック運動の過激派です。これにはアーノ ルド・フルクテンバウム(Arnold Fruchtenbaum)のようなメシアニックの良 い教師や、新約聖書のユダヤ的背景の理解を助けている人たちなどは含まれて いません。またユダヤ人に伝道するためにユダヤ的文化の枠組みで礼拝してい る人たちもこれには含まれません。問題なのは、律法を守ることが義務だと教 える人たちです。

デイビッド・クリス(David Kriss)という人がメルボルンにいますが、彼は 危険な人物です。しかし彼だけが過激派メシアニックではありません。イング ランドでは最終的に刑務所に入れられたフィリップ・シャープ(Philip Sharp) という人がいます。彼はイスラエル人の妻と子供を捨て、集会で自分を王なる メシアとして崇めさせていました。彼は「メシアニック・ジューイッシュ・ラ ビ」でした。ある人たちは狂っています。クイーンズランドにはある種のハラ

ハー共同体がありますが、私はそこに近づくことさえもしたいと思いません。

再度強調しますが、これにはアーノルド・フルクテンバウムやアルト・カッ ツ(Art Katz)のような人は含まれていません。私は良い人たちのことを言っ ているのではなく、おかしな人たちのことを指摘しています。ですがメシアニ ック・ジューだけが隔ての壁を再建しようとしているのではありません。二つ の契約の下で生きようとする人たちが他にもいます。それはセブンスデイ・ア ドベンチストです。デイビッド・コレシュ(David Koresh 信者の集団自決を 引き起こしたカルト指導者)の信奉者たちの大半がセブンスデイ・アドベンチ ストでした。

二つの契約の下で生きるような、深刻で根本的な教理の誤りに陥ると、人は さらに深刻な誤りに陥りやすくなります。いったん根本的な教理の誤りに陥る と、自動的にその人はより深刻で、より危険な誤りに対して無防備になります。 ただそこにあるのは程度の違いだけです。

デイビッド・コレシュについて記された記録を読むと信じ難いものですが、 福音派のカルトでも不可解な事を人々に行わせた



October 12, 2026
Written by - Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Examples abound in history of how the responses to innovations in technology that disrupted and transformed the nature of warfare have taken a delayed time to be adapted. Chain mail and armour had to be altered and bolstered to repel arrows from the English Longbow in Medieval Europe, but this didn't occur in time to the dismay of the French at Agincourt. It took the Spanish decades to redesign their cumbersome Galleons that lay prey to the swifter English ships. Napoleonic era field tactics were still being employed during the American Civil War, with mass charges mowed down by the Gatling barrel machine gun. Trench warfare was only later embraced during WWI. With the cheap manufacture of drones and the advances in AI a new chapter has opened in how war is waged in our own time. The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have demonstrated how asymmetric warfare has become as much an economic calculation as a game of cat and mouse. Drones (and relatively cheaply manufactured ballistic missiles by Iran) are being shot down at great expense. AI which has been extensively deployed for target identification in Gaza is also proving to be a vital tool in hunting incoming drones. But as in the delayed development of military countermeasures historically, drones are ahead of AI in the battlefield. This is reflected in the enormity of Russian military casualties that have fallen victim to Ukrainian drones. AI is able to cut through the 'background noise' of distracting projectiles, birds and other debris to home in efforts to eliminate the actual drone target. The magic formula is speed and precision. Humans can detect and assess a threat, but AI can process radar, cameras and other sensors almost instantly, and with increasing accuracy predict where a drone intends to strike. When swamped with a wave drone attack, AI acts to identify and track the multiple threats. AI can also help decide how to respond. Depending on the system, the response could involve electronic warfare, an interceptor drone, a missile or a gun-based system. Ukraine has installed automated machine gun turrets instructed by AI to protect Kiev. In some cases, humans still make the final decision to engage, while AI handles the calculations and tracking required to make that decision quickly. More broadly, drone warfare is becoming a contest between autonomous systems. The challenge is no longer simply building a better missile or a better drone. It is building a system that can see the threat first, understand it quickly and respond before the drone reaches its target. In that sense, AI is becoming a critical part of air defence. The advantage may increasingly belong to whoever can make the fastest and most accurate decisions—not necessarily whoever manufactures the most expensive weapons. AI's pace of progress is exponential. It is beyond comprehension what capacity could be realized in even the next 2-3 years. The combination of drones, robotics and AI may render the traditional military hardware of tanks, frigates and fighter jets almost functionally obsolete. The development of AI's course of military application will be largely directed by the conflicts where it is deployed. In the pre-AI world of 1987, the black Friday market crash during the Reagan Administration saw a dangerous drop in the Dow, where computer analysis issued sell orders against a background of Reagan's massive budget deficits. Amidst Reagan's budget deficits this created an environment where social security was looted to fund defence spending. A supposed conservative President ran a fiscal policy with simultaneous increases in the Pentagon budget, coupled with tax cuts. The computer generated sell off was beyond the functional control of brokers and market makers, while the Soviets attempted to engineer market irregularities affecting the American economy which had further global ramifications due to massive American trade deficits with Japan under Reagan. The current Securities exchange environment is at best no less complex now. Given the spectre of what transpired in 1987 with computerised over control of stock exchange trading, and a shadow hanging over the bond market we are left to ponder could another such scenario be triggered in the age of AI? And even more illuminous prospect over shadows us now with the question can AI gain a decision-making operational capacity over command-and-control decisions. Certainly, for tactical weapons systems or even a doomsday scenario with Russia, China, India or Pakistan placing nuclear launch control in the hands of AI that could result in an exchange that either the US, Britain, France or Israel would be forced to react to. Without scaremongering it is necessary for strategic planners to prevent the nuclear powers that be from arriving at the precipice of such an abyss.
September 21, 2026
The interlinked nature of third-party involvement in the ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine has increasingly come to the fore in recent weeks. It emerged that China has not only been providing Iran with radar systems, navigation tools, and electronic warfare technology, but also high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial data to direct its rockets. The same great-power relationships that are shaping the Middle East are affecting the conduct and constraints of the war in Ukraine. It is apparent that a reciprocation in kind is dictating Russia's conduct towards the US in Iran. Intelligence and targeting support mirror similar U.S. assistance to Ukraine. But this picture becomes murkier when considering the backroom accommodations Trump is willing to give Putin. Recently, Trump pressured Zelensky to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying the attacks were causing a shortage of the fuel that is "hurting the world." The U.S. national average price for diesel, which is used by trucks, trains, ships, and farm equipment, rose above six dollars a gallon for the first time last Thursday. Such interventions demonstrate how developments on the battlefield in Ukraine can no longer be considered independently of wider economic and geopolitical calculations. China has been using tankers that are already at sea, when that runs out the American blockade will create shortage problems for the Chinese economy, as China no longer gets Venezuelan oil and is reliant on Iran and international spot market prices. The war with Iran is now spreading to Yemen, with the Houthis attempting to replicate the Iranian chokehold model perfected in the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic importance of controlling or threatening critical maritime chokepoints is central to the wider contest. What happens in the Gulf can therefore have consequences for shipping, energy markets, and military calculations far beyond the immediate theatre. So far, the US has declined Saudi requests to slow the Houthi advance. Neither Turkey nor Egypt seems inclined to come to Saudi Arabia's aid. This is despite the signing of a very recent mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. More developments can happen in these conflicts on an average day than can be afforded mention, but they should be increasingly understood as interconnected parts of a wider geopolitical confrontation. Assistance in one theatre triggers reciprocal action in another. Consequently, these cease to be discrete, containable conflicts and are extending into prolonged multinational conflicts. There is a distinct possibility that these may become frozen conflicts over time. A more terrifying eventuality is something more akin to the Thirty Years' War, which was fought in the first half of the 17th century in Europe. It is important to remember that this calamity, which ravaged Europe, began as a localized rebellion that gradually drew in more and more powers. The initial religious nature of the fighting gave way to political struggles. The mechanism by which a localized conflict becomes a multinational struggle offers a historical warning worth considering. The danger today is that a collection of individually distinct conflicts could become sufficiently interconnected that containing any one of them becomes increasingly difficult. Iran, Ukraine, Russia, China, the United States, and the conflict involving the Houthis are already linked by military assistance, intelligence, energy, trade, and strategic competition. The question, therefore, is no longer simply how any one of these conflicts ends. It is whether they can remain separate conflicts at all.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore • September 12, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for our sister in Jesus - Wendy Blomkamp, widow of Brother Fred Blomkamp (now with The Lord), the founder of Moriel South Africa Branch (not to be confused with Moriel's Ebyown Aids Children's Mission in South Africa founded by David Royle). Wendy, (an equestrian rider of all things) is originally from West Yorkshire, England but has lived most of her life in South Africa and is currently in retirement in the USA. Unfortunately, Wendy is diagnosed with inoperable pre terminal cancer with cardio pullmonary complications. The Lord will either intervene supernaturally or call her home. We request prayer for Wendy and her beloved family and wisdom for her physicians. In Christ, All at Moriel
By David Passmore • September 7, 2026
The US midterm elections are around the corner and the results could have profound effects on US foreign policy concerning Israel. Much has been said about this vote being a referendum on Trump's unpopular war with Iran. But it can equally be said to be about Trump's other foreign policy engagements that are viewed rather more favourably like the overthrow of Maduro in Venezuela and his replacement with a pro-American regime. With Israel the picture is less clear. It used to be a given that Israel enjoyed bipartisan support on the Hill. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of politicians opposed to supporting Israel - the occasional fringe Democrat representing a singular Michigan constituency with a high Arab origin demographic, or a rare odd ball Republican preaching strict isolationism. This dynamic has shifted quickly in the last decade. The Democrats have all but abandoned any inclination of a pro-Israel position. Even establishment figures like Chuck Schumer have been pressured to side with the Party's radical left wing. With 60-80% of Democrats now anti-Israel, Israel can no longer rely on Jewish Democrats to oppose anti-Zionism or antisemitism. The most outspoken Democratic member of the Senate advocating a pro-Israel position, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is being pressured to resign and leave the party even by Pennsylvania's Jewish Governor Shapiro and Soros sponsored Philadelphia Prosecutor Krasner. This is happening concurrently with mass endorsement from 170 leading Hollywood Jewish actors writing a letter of support for Mark Ruffallo - despite his antisemitic comments naming Jewish investors supporting a Hollywood studio mega merger as being associated with apartheid genocide. However most shocking, were the comments by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel who stood before an audience of Jewish Democrats last weekend telling them they may need to sacrifice the safety, and even the future, of their own people in exchange for saving the rest of humanity. Such rhetoric is contrary to basic human instincts of survival and self-preservation. If any other nation were suggested this course of action, I wonder what their response would be? On the Republican side the foreboding sense of an altering course towards Israel no longer seems so distant. The anti-Israel faction in the Republican party led by Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes are now being supported by Vice President Vance. Jewish kingpins in the Trump Administration such as Witkoff and Kushner have been tied to business dealings in N.Y. with the Muslim Brotherhood controlled Qatari government through its business holdings. Should Republicans lose control of the Senate while Democrats take the House, Israel could find itself having to drastically re-access its relationship with Washington. We wouldn't see an immediate break in ties. American military, intelligence, technological and strategic cooperation with Israel is too integrated into the core of US institutions and corporations that would take a protracted period to dismantle. However, the power of Congress is in no way feeble. Congress controls funding, foreign-assistance legislation, sanctions, arms-related legislation and, perhaps most importantly, the political milieu in which an administration operates. A Democratic House combined with a Senate no longer controlled by Republicans could place enormous pressure on Trump to alter his attitude towards Israel. Practically this could entail demanding further accountability from Israel over military operations in Gaza, and the West Bank Settlers causing civilian casualties and property damage. Military aid could face more conditions or restrictions, but an immediate cutoff is unlikely. Israel has historically depended upon the presumption that regardless of who was President, there would be a robust enough bipartisan coalition in Congress to prevent a major deterioration in the relationship. Now the opposite appears true. Israel is taking the gamble of solely relying on a friendly President like Trump getting elected to maintain cordial relations. With the erosion of even much of Jewish American support for Israel and the hijacking of the Democratic party by a pro Islamist socialist left seen in Mamdani and others, Israel is forced to confront the inescapable reality that the last strong bastion of support for it is the Republican Party's evangelical base. But even younger voters in this key demographic are beginning to question support for Israel. The hostility displayed by the Haredim in Jerusalem and elsewhere against Christians including evangelicals, is to say the least counter-productive to the national interest. To attack the one friend Israel has left with a proven track record of loyalty and is vital to pro-Zionism internationally, is particularly detrimental to the national interest. It is Iran with its Mahdiist interpretations of jihad and sharia as a religious ideology that drives its hatred of Israel and the USA, and The West, to the detriment of the interests of the majority of the Iranian populace who want non hostile co-existence.  Such religious fanaticism and ideologically fuelled hatred ought not be given place in Israeli Judaism. It too, will generate adverse consequences for the majority of Israelis, including religious moderates, who desire an ongoing friendship with Evangelical Christians whose theology is not one of anti Semitism, but of proven Philo-Semitism and pro Zionism.
By David Passmore • August 21, 2026
Don't bite the hand that feeds you - Irish hypocrisy towards Israel Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Amongst European nations, Ireland in recent years has gained the reputation as being the leading anti-Zionist country. The Irish Republic has never been favourably inclined to Israel. It only established an Embassy in Tel Aviv in 1996. In poll after poll the vast majority of the Irish public have indicated hostility towards Zionism and strong support for Palestinian Statehood. The curious aberration to this is that in British Ruled Northern Ireland support is demarcated along sectarian lines. Catholic Republican areas predictably tend to ardently support the Palestinian cause, while Protestant Unionist communities are overwhelmingly pro-Israel. Perhaps some credence can be given to sentiments of traditional Catholic antisemitism hardwired into the Irish psyche as contributing towards this disposition. It was certainly odd that the Irish government promptly sent a delegation to the Nazi German Ambassador in Dublin to convey condolences after news of Hitler's suicide broke at the end of WW2. But more concretely if you were to ask the average Irish protester on a pro-Palestine march the basis of their empathy for the Palestinian cause, they would point to the ostensible parallels between the Irish experience of fighting for independence from British colonial oppression to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Further remonstrations on a diplomatic level concern the actions of the IDF interreacting with Irish Peace Keepers in Southern Lebanon that have caused the deaths of several Irish Peace Keepers over the decades in friendly fire incidents. Ireland has contributed the most peace keepers to this mission per capita and the government has condemned Israel for these deaths that they view as avoidable. This animosity towards Israel is unbalanced. There are reasons to consider that Ireland and Israel have a shared experience of national liberation. Both countries fought the British in the pursuit of independence. Both countries made great efforts to resurrect their ancient languages for modern wide scale use. Both the Irish and Jews form major diaspora communities in New York. Despite all this Ireland ranks as Israel's second largest export market after the US. The preponderance of Israeli exports to Ireland comprises electronic integrated circuits, micro-assemblies, and tech manufacturing components. American multinational colossal tech corporations like Intel are substantially engrossed in this trade through the chain of supply. Ireland and Israel are hubs for design and manufacture of high-tech hardware components for US corporations. So, due to the nature of the most prosperous and competitive sectors of their respective economies, Israel and Ireland are inextricably bound in bilateral trade ties. Resolutions from the Irish government to impose sanctions on West Bank originating produce is merely perfunctory rhetoric. Such actions amount to a drop in the bucket in terms of impact to overall trade. The stark reliance of Ireland on advanced Israeli aviation equipment recently caused a spectacle when Ireland's new government jet struggled to land in heavy fog due to it being ordered without an advanced Israeli made navigation system. This was directly due to a short-sighted government decision not to buy Israeli military technology. There is a marked disparity between the official position of the Irish government designed for domestic public consumption and the economic policies that it actually pursues towards Israel. The government is acutely aware that the US is massively invested in the Irish economy and they don't want to do anything to jeopardise this. Washington demands that their enterprises in Dublin are intertwined with operations in Israel. The Irish government dare not even prevent US military supply flights refuelling at Shannon Airport on their way to Tel Aviv. The Irish government knows that times change and now the gripping social issue is the anti-immigrant/anti-Islam popular street protests. Soon the anti-Israel protests could become a mere side show only really promoted by Sinn Fein given the pressing ramifications of mass migration. So, in the meantime certain politicians will rile against the occupation, purported genocide and pass paltry sanctions against insignificant produce from the West Bank. All the while making hand over fist in money with the Israelis where it really matters in tech.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore • July 31, 2026
The Tide Has Changed Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The America that Netanyahu touched down on is a changed America. The death of Lindsey Graham represents a changing of the guard. Graham was a staunch Israeli ally who will most probably become an increasingly rare breed in Washington. Sixty percent of Americans now hold a unfavourable view of Israel which politicians are finding difficult to ignore. It was once unthinkable to believe that New York City with such a strong Jewish electoral base and influence on all sectors of economic and cultural life would have a mayor that is so hostile to Israel to such an extent that he is calling for the arrest of its Prime Minister. From all accounts Netanyahu was cordially welcomed at the White House. The official press release stated that the talks were constructive. What is more telling is what was left unsaid particularly concerning the proposed sale of F35's to Israel's new regional adversary -Turkey. Trump is keen to find a swift resolution to the Iran War, while Netanyahu is opposed to a premature departure. When the US and Israel initiated their attacks on Iran over five months ago, Trump and Netanyahu appeared united in the War's goals and purpose. But as the protracted conflict has staggered to topple the Iranian regime fractures have emerged. Much has been said about the imminent political realities both leaders face. The Republicans could take a big hit in the November midterm elections should the war continue and global energy markets be negatively impacted. Netanyahu is anxious to demonstrate a big win to the Israeli public with the upcoming October election. In Israel, the Iran War is not viewed in isolation, but rather as an extension of the response to the colossal disaster of the October 7th massacre. Netanyahu must rehabilitate his reputation as a competent steward of national security having had the greatest loss of civilian life in an attack happening under his watch. Aside from the Iran issue, Trump is being pressured by Erdogan to insist upon Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory pre-emptively seized by Israel following the toppling of Assad. Trump has also indicated disapproval of the extent of continuing Israeli measures against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, questioning the proportionality employed. Netanyahu is not in an envious position. Throughout his tenure and political career, he lauded his ability to engage successfully with the American public by zealously advocating Israel's position. Yet under his government Israel's reputation has plummeted in the US. Trump may be the last US President to extend such overwhelming bilateral support to Israel. The days of politicians like Lindsey Graham are fast ending. While John Fetteman and Marco Rubio appear to be remaining more solid, even some of the most warmly inclined leading Republican and Democrat voices like Donald Trump and Rahm Emanuel have nuanced their support for Israel. The tide has shifted and will at best level off if not continuing to shift further.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore • July 24, 2026
The Saudi Nuclear Deal: An attempt to alter the Regional Balance of Power Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The initiative to develop a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia with US assistance isn't new. There were concrete plans discussed towards these ends during the first Trump Administration. The recent announcement to actualize this deal follows the geo-political regional tumult in the wake of the Iran War. Several dimensions of motivation underlie the US decision. An overarching US strategic agenda is to keep the Saudis firmly in the American sphere of influence. Washington knows all too well that the Chinese and Russians are eager to offer their nuclear technical assistance to the Saudis in order to draw them closer to their camp. On a personal note, the nuclear agreement is a significant achievement for Bin Salaman. The Saudis have long had designs to diversify their energy supplies. Having a civilian nuclear program also adds prestige to Saudi Arabia as an emerging market economy. For the US, a monopoly on contracting companies for the requisite construction offers lucrative economic opportunities. Although the Civilian Nuclear deal does not allow the enrichment of Uranium, the Saudis will be in a position to do so if Washington gives the green light. This will act as a counterbalanced threat hanging over the Iranians. After the recent flare up of renewed fighting with Iran due to their lack of adherence to the moratorium of understanding, something had to budge in Trump's estimation. A reconfiguration of the power balance in the Gulf by introducing the potential of Saudi Arabia to be able to acquire nuclear weapons shifts the dynamic and places further pressure on Iran to strictly abstain from nuclear proliferation. Despite Israeli concerns about the agreement, Trump sought to assuage their alarm by making it contingent upon Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with them. Given the inherently unstable nature of an autocratic Saudi regime Israel views a diplomatic relationship with the Saudis as being on precarious footing in the long term. Israel is already forced to contend with the implications of one nuclear armed Muslim state - Pakistan and it will further weaken its own deterrent capability if another similarly capable hostile neighbour were to emerge in the future. The roles of Turkey and Qatar in all this foray are a wild card. Officially Turkey is served under the NATO nuclear umbrella for defence that is subject to US control. However, its civilian nuclear program remains in its infancy. Now with the Saudi deal, Erdogan may be inclined to exert pressure on the US to help accelerate his own nuclear program. Just as Erdogan's efforts to acquire F35 fighter jets from the US greatly disturbed Israeli military planners, a heightened Turkish nuclear ability will intensify this fear. Qatar views itself as pursuing its own independent foreign policy that has managed to remain rather neutral during the current war, thereby escaping the ire of Iran's strikes on US regional assets. Overall, the Qatari government has grown closer to the Turkish vision for the region and so likely isn't particularly amiable to the Saudi agreement. Ultimately the Saudi deal is a gamble. Many will see it as throwing more fuel on the fire which will further imperil the tinder box region and heighten tensions. But Trump finds himself at a continuing impasse with a stubborn regime in Tehran that is leveraging their geographic hold on the straits of Hormuz to inflict damage on the global energy markets. Iranian strikes upon US Arab regional allies have underscored the de facto alliance between Israel and the Arabs against Iran and its Shia proxies. The US hopes to use the Saudi nuclear deal as a means of making this alliance official by having Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords as a pre-condition.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore • July 14, 2026
Circling the wagons Ruben Rothler LLB, LLM Israel is a society riddled with tension and division. It is sociologically, if not politically miraculous that a country drawing Jews from all over the world is able to exist at all. The army affords a degree of integration as a melting pot. But this is only a marginal source of national unity in the overall scheme of things. More so are the myriads of external threats that face this small country. In the former generation the Ashkenazi (Jews of European descent) - Sephardic (Jews of Oriental descent) divide was far more pronounced. The dominant Ashkenazi establishment held the reins of political and economic power which was resented by the Sephardim. However, due to a combination of inter-marriage and political accommodation much of the chasm that separated these distinct groups was forged. Menachem Begin (an Ashkenazi politician) in 1970 successfully ran on the Likud Party ticket with a campaign that brought Sephardic Jews under his conservative political umbrella. Later the immigration of Russian Jews following the end of Communism would add a whole new dimension to the Israeli demographic milieu. The younger generation of these immigrants tended to adapt well to Israeli society and contributed much to the economy. The wider division in Israeli society that crosses ethnic lines concerns that between religious and secular Jews. This can be further bifurcated to the clash between the secular and specifically ultra-orthodox Jews (Haredim) as distinguished from the national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Secular and the Religious generally part on what they envisage a Jewish State to entail. Religious Jews desire the State to strictly adhere to the stipulations of Jewish Law (Halacha), while at present Halakhic influence is largely limited to certain areas of Family Law concerning Jewish citizens. Wider considerations of promoting a socially conservative political agenda would also be forefront amongst the religious mindset broadly. Secular Jews view the imposition of such proposed measures as a serious infringement of their civil rights. With regard to the Haredim, the bone of contention looms larger, in that this group is fundamentally opposed to participating in society at large. This is acutely manifested in diminished contribution to the work force and a refusal to be conscripted into the army. The 2023 judicial reform protests posed a significant threat to social civil order. The nation appeared to be bitterly divided into two opposing camps. This split reflected broader divisions concerning visions of how the country should be governed. The judicial reforms would have weakened the Supreme Court's ability to render the Executive branch accountable. However, the Supreme Court was also accused of using its considerable powers to promote a socially liberal agenda. Left wing secular Israelis tended to oppose the proposed reforms while those on the right (which included the majority of Religious Jews) supported the reforms. Every weekend droves of protesters were brought onto the streets causing major disturbances to traffic. The polarising nature of this impasse threatened the future of Israeli democracy. It was the October 7th attack that brought a swift end to this public debate and civil strife. The nation instinctually united in response to this common existential threat. The judicial reforms were shelved for a future point when the urgent security threats subsided. However, as the war dragged on the enduring issue of Haredi refusal to conscript into the army became more pronounced. Mounting casualties combined with ever increasing manpower demands to field troops on the multiple theatres of action on which the IDF is engaged has depleted the ranks, and the army is now in much need of fresh conscripts. Haredi belligerent refusal to participate in the pressing national defence has escalated from being a political debate to a matter of very practical vital importance. Overall we can observe that the challenges to national unity in successive generations since the establishment of Israel has recurrently been ameliorated by the common necessity of defence towards outside threats. Most recently we can see this happening with regard to the global anti Semitism and anti-Zionism that has been raging since the October 7th atrocities. These hostile attitudes have paradoxically acted as a force which promotes nationalism and a sense of national cohesion in Israel that otherwise might not functionally exist.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore • July 8, 2026
A Divided Nation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The Haredi community has had a complicated, paradoxical relationship with the State since its founding. Rooted in a Talmudic precept that the Jews are forbidden to resettle the land of Israel en masse by force before the coming of the Messiah, the secular democratic State of Israel presents itself as blasphemous by its mere existence. Yet due to practical considerations such as the need to obtain funding for its religious academies the Haredi leadership reached a settlement with the State's founders that exempted Haredi men from being conscripted for military service. This was at a time when the Haredi population in Israel was relatively small. Over the past decades this demographic ballooned until the point that soon the majority of Jewish children in Israel will be born into Haredi families. Such a situation is clearly unsustainable. Recently the Knesset's (Parliament's) Haredi parties have pressured their coalition partners in government to codify Torah Study as part of the Country's Basic Laws. This was purposefully done to elevate the status of their institutions to be on parity with service in the IDF. Israel is yet to promulgate a written Constitution, so legislation classed as a Basic Law holds Constitutional status for all intents and purposes. These moves by the religious parties represent a back door power grab to enshrine in law very significant hurdles to prevent the enlistment of Haredi men. The burden of Israel's defence is comparatively massive for a country its size and it is vastly disproportionately shouldered by the secular population. Until now there have been political initiatives to conscript the Haredim. But given the huge manpower shortages emerging in the wake of near continual conflict on multiple fronts since the events of October 7th this matter has become urgent and not merely a theoretical discussion of what is fair and equitable. It is important to draw a distinction between the Haredim and national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Haredim adhere to a lifestyle entirely committed to observance of Jewish Law and Talmudic study. This is embraced to the exclusion of gainful employment and participation in wider society. They are either outrightly opposed to Zionism or consider themselves non-Zionist. Conversely, followers of the national religious movement in Israel although being observant of Jewish law and learning would alongside this pursue secular professions. Furthermore, they are ardently Zionist and disproportionately serve in IDF combat units. This is often done within the framework of a program called Hesder Yeshiva that combines religious learning with military service. Efforts to cater a similar model for accommodating Haredi participation in the IDF have so far failed to make substantial gains. Such measures designed to override Haredi objections to service based upon modesty concerns by strict segregation of the sexes in these specially formed units have failed to appease the Haredi leadership. For them, any form of military service is considered a dereliction of their duty to fully devote themselves to a Torah lifestyle. They argue that their Talmudic learning and prayers are in itself a form of national service and act to protect the Jewish people spiritually from enemy attack. It is as if two parallel societies exist within Israel. And the trajectory of separation between the two is only growing. The Haredim are cloistered away in their Yeshivas, immersed in lives devoted to adhering to the stipulations of Jewish law. While the particulars of actually running the State is left to the Secular. The Haredim desire all the benefits of subsidizing their lifestyle without contributing to society. What we really have going on here at source is two profoundly different and opposing ideological visions of what is important in life and what is the purpose of a Jewish State. At the State's founding these divergent perspectives were more manageable. Ben Gurion only had to contend with one religious party –the National Religious Party. Later in 1970 Begin aligned with the NRP to form a coalition government that also brought Sephardic Jews under the Likud umbrella which had the effect of bringing unity to the country by bridging the Ashkenazi-Sephardi divide. However, over time Israeli politics has seen a proliferation of religious parties, gaining further leverage as king brokers in forming governments due to the proportionate representation voting system which secular Israelis not uncommonly view as political blackmail. (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).