Hanukkah Part 1 - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

Hanukkah – Deel 1.

“Hanukkah” kom van die Hebreeuse term‐ “hanukkat” wat toewyding of “her‐toewyding” beteken.

 

Daar is vier aspekte van Hanukkah: Die eerste is die “tradisionele” een waarvan die meeste mense weet. Maar die mees belangrike is die historiese, die Messiaanse en die eskatologiese betekenisse.

  • Die historiese aspek van Hanukkah het betrekking met wat in die tyd van die Makkabeërs, ongeveer 160 jaar voor Jesus gebeur het.
  • Die Messiaanse weergawe van Hanukkah word geopenbaar in die tiende hoofstuk van die Evangelie van Johannes toe Jesus die fees herdenk het.
  • Die eskatologiese oorsig sien hoe hierdie dinge weer in die Laaste Dae met die wederkoms van Jesus afgespeel gaan word.

Ons hoof fokus is dan op die historiese? wat gebeur het; Die Messiaanse? hoe dit in Jesus vervul was ? en dan eskatologies? wat dit met Jesus se Wederkoms gaan beteken.

Die Tradisionele Aspek.

Baie mense sal soos volg argumenteer: “Wel, Kersfees was afkomstig van die Roomse fees van Saturnalia op die 25 Desember, dit was ‘n heidense fees tyd. Hanukkah was op die 25 ste Kislev van die Hebreeuse maand ongeveer dieselfde tyd.” Bykans al die Hebreeuse fees dae het ook ‘n heidense weergawe. Die heidene het hulle gode vereer aan die einde van ‘n landbou seisoen, hulle het ook hierdie gode gedank vir die son, die reën en die oes. Die Hebreeuse fees dae was dus ‘n polemiek teen die heidene. God (Yahweh) se opdrag is dat die Hebreërs die Ware God moet dank vir die reën en die oes ens. Maar wanneer jy sien dat mense oor hierdie dinge in ‘n argument betrokke raak soos: “Wel, dit en daardie was ‘n heidense dag”? dan raak hulle teologiese en historiese argumente baie twyfelagtig.

Die Apostel Paulus sê dat ons niemand moet oordeel oor ‘n fees of ‘n nuwe maan of ‘n Sabbat nie. (Kol. 2:16?17) Net so lees ons in Rom. 14:4?5: “??Die een ag die een dag bo die ander, die ander ag al die dae gelyk. Laat elkeen in sy eie gemoed ten volle oortuig wees.” Die belangrikste hier is dat hierdie dinge vir die Here gedoen moet word of glad en geheel nie. My groot probleem met die kersfees viering is dat nie vir die Here gedoen word nie. Ek sal graag wil sien dat dit nie gevier word soos wat dit gevier word nie. Ons het geen idee wanneer Jesus gebore is nie, ‘n geleerde raai kan wees gedurende die Fees van Tabernakels, maar niemand weet nie. God sê vir ons niks hiervan nie en dit is duidelik dat nie belangrik is nie, Jesus is gebore en dit is dit. Hanukkah is egter iets anders, daar is beide ‘n historiese en ‘n Bybelse weergawe? ‘n Nuwe Testamentiese voorbeeld vir die Fees van Hanukkah. Alhoewel, alles waarmee ons Hanukkah nou assosieer in die Joodse kultuur ? in “Yiddish kiten” – en baie Christene wat daarvan weet (As hulle iets daarvan weet?) kom uit die tradisionele sy daarvan.

Baie van die tradisies wat met Hanukkah geassosieer word het hulle oorsprong nie in die outydse wêreld nie maar in die Middeleeue, tot die woorde van die liedere wat geassosieer word met die Fees. Die mees bekende lied:? “Ma’oz tzury’shuati” het ontstaan uit Middel Eeu se Hebreeus en nie uit Bybelse of moderne Hebreeus nie.

Hanukkah tradisies sê dat die menorah se olie vir agt dae gebrand het. Daar was genoeg olie in die lamp? die Menorah? in die tempel vir ‘n dag of twee, maar dit het vir agt dae gebrand. Weereens, daar is geen historiese bewys daarvan in die boek van 1 en 2 Makkabeërs nie en sekerlik ook nie in die Skrifte nie, dit het later ontstaan. Dit is nie te sê dat nie waar is nie, miskien was dit so maar dit is nie in die geskiedenis opgeteken nie. Dit was nie deur Josephus in Antiquities beklemtoon nie. Mense wonder egter hoe Josephus daarvan geweet het, maar in sy Antiquities is baie dinge waarop daar vandag gefokus word wat nie deur hom beklemtoon word nie. Hanukkah is die Joodse Fees van Lig en Wonderwerke.

Die wonderwerk was nie gesien as die lamp wat vir agt dae gebrand het nie maar dat God hulle hierdie groot oorwinning oor die magtige vyand gegee het. En die lig was natuurlik toe hulle weer die tempel her?toegewy het, hulle kon weer die menorah in die tempel laat brand. Ons weet van Psalm 119:105: “U Woord is vir my ‘n lamp vir my voet en ‘n lig vir my pad.” Die brandende menorah in die tempel verteenwoordig dus die Woord van God vir die Hebreërs.

Die vensters van die tempel was egter uniek. Normaalweg word vensters wyd aan die buitekant gebou en dan smaller na binne toe om so die lig na binne te kan fokus. Maar die vorm van die tempel waar die Menorah gestaan het was wyd aan die buitekant en dan, om so veel as moontlik lig van die menora te vang, was dit so gefokus dat dit na buite oor? wat genoem word die “Millo” kon skyn vanaf die Tempelberg oor die Stad van Dawid daaronder.

Die idee wat in die argitektuur wat tempel ingebou was, was dat die Lig van Yahweh? die Lig van Sy Woord vanuit die tempel sou kom. Die argitektuur van die Tempel illustreer dat die Wet uit Sion sou uitgaan, dit sal na buite skyn. So was dit dan dat nadat die tempel her toegewy was, was die idee dat ons weer die menorah kon her belig.

Vandag is daar dinge soos tradisionele Hanukkah kos. Mense eet jellie donuts wat “sufganiot” genoem word. Ek dink nie hulle het dit in die ou tyd gedoen nie. Hulle het “latkas”? aartappel pannekoeke geëet, en spesiale soorte “knishes”, as jy van Joodse kos hou. En dan natuurlik, was daar die “dreidel”: ‘n Yiddish woord wat gebaseer word op die Hebreeuse woord? “tsvivon”, om te “spin”, en daar is ‘n akroniem aan dit gekoppel? “Nes, Gadol, Hya, Po”:? ‘n Groot wonderwerk het hier plaasgevind. Die dreidel was gespin en kinders het ‘n spel met die dreidel, ’n top gespeel. Wat ons hier sien is dat wat in die algemeen met Hanukkah geassosieer word dit baie min te doen het met wat dit histories beteken het. Dit het ook byna geen teologiese verbintenisse nie afgesien van dit wat die rabbi’s later aan bygedra het.

Daar is dan ‘n historiese Hanukkah en ‘n tradisionele Hanukkah. ’n Ander manier om daarna te kyk is om die geboorte te vergelyk soos wat dit opgeteken is in Lukas en Mattheus en met die tradisies van die

Kerk. Dit is nie net ‘n versiering nie; ‘n groot deel daarvan is net opgemaak. Tradisie sê daar was drie wyse manne, maar dit is nie in die Nuwe Testament nie, dit is opgemaak, net so is dit met Hanukkah.

Die Historiese Aspek.

Daniël is die enigste Boek in die Bybel wat al drie die oorspronklike tale bevat: Aramees (of Chaldee) Hebreeus en Grieks. Hier is Griekse woorde vir sekere dinge soos musiek instrumente en so voorts, wat deur heel waarskynlik Masedoniese handelaars ingevoer is.

Die gedeeltes van Daniël wat op die profetiese doelwitte van God fokus, in die besonders vir die Jode? is in Hebreeus. Die gedeeltes van Daniël wat fokus op God se profetiese doelwitte vir Israel, relatief tot die nasies, is in die “lingua franca” van die tyd wat Chaldeërs (Aramees) was.

Die opkoms en val van Assirië

Wanneer jy die Boek van Daniël lees onthou dan dat die Laaste Dae soos Daniël se dae gaan wees. Die Jode was vrees bevange oor Assirië, hulle was die slegte mense, die mense wat die tien noordelike stamme in ballingskap geneem het. Hierdie was die wreedste en mees magtigste heidene. Niemand het ooit kon droom dat Assirië eendag inmekaar sou stort nie en nadat dit gebeur het was daar ‘n valse gerustheid wat nie lank geduur het nie. Hulle het Babilon en sy meteoristiese opgang gekonfronteer wat baie slegter was as Assirië, en dit het ‘n outydse oorsprong gehad (verseker geestelik) wat terug gegaan het na die Toring van Babel.

Die opkoms en val van die Meders en die Perse.

Babilon het oornag ten gronde gegaan, en soos wat Daniël geprofeteer het, het die Meders en Perse in sy plek gekom.

Die Perse het met die Meders saamgewerk tot laat in die 20 ste eeu gedurende die regering van die Sha van Iran. As ons teruggaan na die profesie van Jesaja sien ons dat die Perse (Iraniërs) altyd van die Jode gehou het al was dit ‘n Islamitiese land.

Tot en met die val van die Shah in die 70’s het hy daarop aanspraak gemaak dat hy ‘n afstammeling van die Pou Troon van Kores (Cyrus) (Kowresh) die Grote was wat twee keer deur Jesaja geprofeteer was, en tot en met hierdie tyd het die Iraniërs van die Jode gehou. Hulle kultuur en taal was nie Arabies nie, maar “Zoroastriaan,” monisties vanaf Zoroastor maar beïnvloed deur die Jode.

Die magi was Mederse veld predikers vir die konings van die Meders en Perse, dit was die oorsprong van die Magi, die wyse manne. As gevolg van die monistiese invloede van Zoroastor en van die Jode in ballingskap (Wat Nebukatnesar beïnvloed het) het hulle gegaan om Jesus te sien. Daar sal altyd hierdie verbintenis met die Perse en die Jode wees tot en met die Laaste Dae. Die Sokratiese Grieke in die Weste het die meeste lig oor Monisme gehad, maar in die Ooste was dit Zoroastriaane wat die meeste lig van Monisme gehad het. Die Sokratiese Grieke was baie later in die Weste, maar die Perse – Zoroastriaane het die meeste lig gehad.

Die opkoms en val van die Grieke.

Die Persiese koninkryk het nie lank gestaan nie as gevolg van Aleksander die Grote, maar hy het ook nie lank gestaan nie, hy het tot by die woestyn van Belushistan gevorder, en ‘n groot gedeelte van die bekende wêreld oorwin en toe hy 36 jaar oud was het hy siek geword en gesterf. Sy koninkryk het opgebreek en was verdeel onder vier van sy generaals. Die mees belangrikste was Seleuces, wat Sirië, Lebanon, Galilee, en sentraal Israel gekry het – en Ptolemeus, wat Egipte en Suidelike Israel gekry het. Hulle is die belangrikste van die vier, histories maar ook in die Bybel. Die Seleukiede was Siro?Fenisiese Grieke, Grieke wat in die omgewing van Fenisië – van Lebanon en rondom Alippo in Sirië – af tot by die omgewing van Tirus en Sidon. Lukas die apostel was ‘n Siro?Fenisiër wat tot Judaïsme bekeer is. Antiogus Epifanus is een van die mees belangrike tipes of beeld van die Antichris in die Bybel. Hy kom uit die lyn van die Seleukiede wat geken word as die dinastie van Antiogus. Daar was Antiogus I, II, III, and IV. Antiogus IV is Antiogus Epifanus. Die Grieks sprekende Jode het sy naam verander na “Epimanus” wat die “mal een” beteken.

Hier het ons die historiese opset met die konings van die noorde en die konings van die suide. Assirië val, dan Babilon, dan die Meders en Perse. Persië val, dan die Grieke. Dan is daar ‘n wêreld wye chaos in die bekende wêreld en uit hierdie chaos die opkoms van Rome en in die middel van dit alles kom die Jode terug in hulle land. In die Laaste Dae gebeur dieselfde dinge.

Ooreenkomste met vandag.

Met die grootword in die Baby Boomer geslag was die grootse bedreiging die Sowjet Unie. Dit was hulle wat die Christene vervolg het, hulle het nie in God geglo nie en dogmaties was hulle Ateïsties. Niemand uit ons geslag wat die Kubaanse missiel Krisis en Viëtnam onthou het gedink dat die Sowjet Unie en die Berlynse muur sou val nie, net soos in die geval van Assirië het daar ‘n valse gerustheid van vrede gekom totdat teruggekyk is en die baie groter gevaarlike vyand gesien is naamlik? Islam.

Toe ek ‘n klein seuntjie was in New York gedurende die Kubaanse Missiel krisis, onthou ek dat Nikita Kruschev na New York gekom het en letterlik een van sy skoene uitgetrek het en daarmee in die U.N op die podium geslaan het en gesê: “Ons sal jou begrawe! Ons sal jou begrawe!” Binne ‘n paar maande het Brezhnev, Suzlov, en die Politburo van hom ontslae geraak, jy kan nie ‘n mal man wat lief is vir wodka en met sy vinger op die rooi knop vertrou nie.

Gedurende die Watergate Krisis was daar Nixon wat volgens sy mede kamerade? Colson, Haig, and Kissinger onder die invloed van verdowing middels en alkohol was.

Op ‘n stadium gedurende die Yom Kippur oorlog het hy ‘n stadium 3 kern waarskuwing teen die Sowjets uitgeroep in ‘n poging om sy nek polities te red en binne die volgende paar weke het hulle van hom ontslae geraak, die Amerikaanse gesag orde het teen hom gedraai. Jy kan nie so ‘n man met die rooi knop vertrou nie. Die Islamitiese en die Hindu wêreld dink nie so nie, die Hindu dink hy gaan gereïnkarneer word en die Moslem dink hy gaan deur “Shahadi.” Die enigste versekering van redding in Islam is om te sterf in ‘n Jihad. Dus, net soos wat die wêreld in ‘n baie meer onseker staat was nadat Assirië geval het, is dieselfde waar vir die tyd waarin ons nou lewe. Dit is ‘n baie meer gevaarlike onseker

stadium nou waar die Islamitiese lande nou verrykte kern materiaal in die hande kry om tot ‘n 50 megaton bom te kan maak.

So sien ons ‘n baie vinnige veranderde wêreld waar moondhede opkom en baie vinnig val en in die midde hiervan kom die Jode terug in hulle land? net soos wat dit gebeur het in die Boek Daniël. Om die Laaste Dae te verstaan moet ons verstaan wat hier gebeur het. Daar is ander waarna ons moet kyk wanneer gekyk word na die konings van die Noorde en die konings van die Suide. Die finale konflik kan nie Oos? Wes wees nie, dit moet ‘n Noord Suid konflik wees net soos in die dae van Daniël, en dit is wat ons gaan sien, ‘n Noord Suid konflik wat dieselfde soort chaos gaan veroorsaak as met die opkoms van Romeinse Ryk

Pompeii as ‘n Tipe van die Antichris.

Let op dat die figuur vroeër in die 11 de hoofstuk van Daniël, vers 16? ook in die Mooi Land ingekom het, en hy het ook ‘n valse verbond gesluit. Een van die probleme van die Laaste Dae is dat daar baie Antichriste gaan wees, dus, elke keer wanneer iemand gaan probeer om ‘n vredesverbond met die Midde Ooste te sluit? sal mense sê: “Dit is dit.”

Die uiteindelike Antichris gaan egter anders wees, hy gaan in die karakter? soos wat die teks vir ons sê? van twee persone wees. Die een is Antiogus IV Epifanus, en die ander een is: Generaal Pompeii. In die Bybel, wanneer iemand anders as die Hoë Priester op die dag van verootmoediging (of soos die Here Jesus Self in die boek Hebreërs ) in die allerheiligste ingaan, dan is dit ‘n tipe van die Antichris. Die Romeinse Generaal Pompeii het dit gedoen. Hy verteenwoordig die triumvirate, (drie hoofskap) van Rome wat ‘n ooreenkoms met die Jode aangegaan het en hulle ook bedrieg het en in die allerheiligste ingegaan het, hy is ‘n hoof tipe van die Antichris wat mense miskyk.

Antiogus IV as ‘n tipe van die Antichris.

Die Hasmoniese tydperk was tussen die tyd van die Makkabeërs en Pompeii. Die Hasmoniërs was afstammelinge van die Makkabeërs. Dit was ‘n voorspoedige tydperk waar hulle gedink het die troon van Dawid gaan weer opgerig word en die Messiaanse verwagting was ernstig uitgedra, die verhoog was opgestel vir Jesus se Wederkoms in hierdie Hasmoniese tydperk, hulle het egter goed begin maar sleg geëindig.

Antiogus IV het ‘n agenda gehad om kultuur te gebruik om so ‘n politieke beheer te verkry. Die Antichris gaan dieselfde doen, hy gaan probeer om iets multi kultureel en multi geloof te maak en hy sal kom in die karakter van Antiogus. Onthou dat ander mense voor hom dieselfde dinge probeer het. ‘n Belangrike ding wat onthou moet word is dat tot en met vers 36 van Daniël 11 was daar ‘n gedeeltelike vervulling, Antiogus het alles gedoen tot en met vers 36, maar vanaf vers 36 tot by hoofstuk 12 het niemand dit nog gedoen nie. Met ander woorde, die Antichris? die dier? gaan dit wat Antiogus gedoen het weer doen en ook die res daarvan. Hy gaan dinge doen wat Antiogus gedoen het tot en met vers 36 maar hy gaan verder. Antiogus het die Joodse kultuur verhelleniseer, hy het die populêre kultuur van die wêreld gevat en dit op God se mense geplaas wat in kompromie daarmee gegaan het. Hulle het daarmee saamgegaan tot op ‘n punt waar hulle dit nie meer kon stop nie.

Die gebruik van kultuur en godsdiens.

Alles in die Griekse kultuur was die diametriese teenoorgestelde van die Hebreeuse wêreld. Daar was die Griekse manier en die Joodse manier van dink. Die Hebreeuse manier van dink was gebaseer op ‘n konsep van die Theomorfiese man en vrou? ons is na die Beeld van God geskape. Die Griekse idee was gebaseer op ‘n antropomorfiese siening van God? die idee is: “Ons is gode.” Die Hebreërs was Monisties, (een God) die Grieke politeïsties? veelgodery? “ons is gode geskape na ons beeld.” Hulle gode het menslike kwaliteite soos jy kan hulle belieg en bedrieg, jy kan hulle mislei, jy kan hulle versoen. Dit was die onderliggende filosofie van die Grieke, totaal die teenoorgestelde wat die Jode geglo het. Daar is twee dinge wat filosofies meer onderling eksklusief is as Aristotelianisme (Aristotel se Filosofie) en Judeo?Christelikheid.

In die Middel Eeue het Thomas Aquinas iets geskryf wat die “Summa Theologica” genoem was, waar hy Christelikheid ver?Aristoteliaseer het. Maimonides (Rambam) kom toe en ver?Aristoteliaseer Judaïsme. Daar is nie twee dinge wat meer onversoenbaar is as ‘n Aristoteliaanse filosofie en ‘n Judeo?Christelike wêreld siening nie.

Daar is drie soorte mense in God se ekonomie: Jode, Heidene en die Kerk wat bestaan uit beide Jode en Heidene. So ver as wat dit die nasies aangaan is hulle alreeds mislei. Dit laat ons met twee soorte mense wat die Bybel God se uitverkorenes noem: Die Jode en die Kerk. Die Jode, behalwe vir ‘n getroue oorblyfsel wat die Messias aangeneem het, is alreeds mislei, dit laat ons die Kerk oor, wat bestaan uit Jode en Heidene.

Die Eindresultaat van Kompromie.

Wat ons sien wat in die geskiedenis met die Kerk gebeur het reflekteer dit wat in die tydperk van Daniël se profesie gebeur het, die Intertestamentiese Periode.

In die Griekse wêreld was Homoseksualiteit en biseksuele kultuurgewys kultureel endemies? ‘n siekte. Hulle was aanvaar as ‘n seksuele normatiewe gedrag. Seksuele misbruik van kinders was sosiaal gedeeltelik aanvaarbaar, maar perverse seks? homoseksualiteit en lesbianisme (Van die eiland Lesbos) – hierdie dinge was kultuurliks normatief!

In Griekse vermaaklikheid is daar ‘n mengsel van heidense godsdienstige filosofie en vermaaklikhede. Die probleem was nie sport nie, die probleem was in die Griekse idee van die Olimpiade: Dit was wellustig. Ek bedoel nie “naak” in die biologiese sin soos wat atlete soortvan naak meeding nie, maar “naak” in die vorm van seksuele uitstalling. In die Griekse wêreld, dinge wat ook later deur die Romeine aangeneem is? is wat die Romeine? Gladiators? swaardvegters? noem? geweld was gebruik as populêre vermaaklikheid.

Dit was die kultuur elemente van die Griekse wêreld wat Antiogus wou gehad het almal moes aanvaar, hy wou al die kulture verhelleniseer. Toe die Hebreërs daarmee saamgegaan het? het hulle vir hulleself groot moeilikheid bymekaar gemaak. Hulle het met alles saamgestem totdat daar wetgewing gekom het

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wat hulle geloof onwettig verklaar het. Laastens was die besnydenis ook onwettig verklaar en ook hulle dieet wette, (Kasrut) en ook die lees van die Tora.

Die Haftorah het gedurende hierdie periode ontwikkel omdat die Tora onwettig was. Hulle begin toe die Profete (Haftora) lees en probeer iets vind van die profete wat in tema korrespondeer na wat die voorgelese gedeelte in die Tora sou wees vir daardie week, dit het gewys dat jy die Haftorah besit het.

Dinge was progressief verban en die probleem was God se mense het stap vir stap daarmee saamgegaan tot op ‘n punt waar hulle dit nie meer kon stop nie, dit sluit die verbanning van die Levitiese Teokrasie in. Die priesters van die Levitiese Teokrasie was Sadokiete, die goeie priesters volgens Esegiël; die seuns van Sadok. Maar die Sadokim het die Sadduseërs geword, hulle het die slegte manne geword, maar hulle het reg begin. Die Hasmoniese tydperk het begin met die Makkabeërs en daarna het dit korrup geraak. Die Jode het kompromie aangegaan en dinge het onwettig geraak en dit kon nie gestop word nie.

Die groot probleem was nie die heidene nie, die groot probleem was die Jode wat meelopers geword het en die Jode wat dit geweet het? het niks daaraan gedoen nie.

In Brittanje was daar ‘n Eerste Minister wat gesê het: “In order for wicked men to triumph, good men must merely remain silent.” Wel hy was reg. As ons terug gaan na die 1930’s, die ekwivalente van die kern ontwapening, was die veldtog vir Kern ontwapening die Chamberlainiste.

Churchill en ‘n klein groep hoofsaaklik Torrey lede van die Parlement het gewaarsku en gesê: “Kyk, julle kan nie toelaat dat Hitler die Versailles Ooreenkoms so verontagsaam nie; ons sal hom vroeër of later moet beveg, vroeër is beter as later.” Hulle was gesien as Oorlog stokers en toe teken 10 miljoen mense ‘n petisie teen oorlog met Hitler en Sudaten was opgegee vir ‘n valse vrede. Maar iemand soos die kan nie deur ‘n vredes gebaar gestop word nie.

Dit was dieselfde as in die geval van die Kern ontwapening veldtog: “For wicked men to triumph, good men must merely remain silent.” Maar dit het in stilte heengegaan, hoe goed kon dit bly?

Die Makkabeërs.

Die apokriewe boeke van I en II Makkabeërs is nie in die Bybelse Kanon nie, maar hulle is betroubare geskiedenis boeke al skiet hulle te kort aan Goddelike inspirasie. Hulle vertel akkuraat die geskiedenis van die Joodse mense in die Intertestamentiese periode tussen die Ou en Nuwe Testament. (Lees dit gerus) Die Makkabeërs was ‘n priesterlike familie wat in dorpie buite Jerusalem gewoon het met die naam “Modein”. Een van hulle se naam was Menelaus, ‘n Hebreër wat met die vyand saamgewerk het. Die Makkabeërs het hom en een van Antiogus se offisiere doodgemaak en gevlug na een van die hoogtes van Juda naby Jerusalem wat geken was as die Shillah, tussen Jerusalem en die moderne Tel Aviv, of tussen die see en Jerusalem. Dit is interessant dat in die profesie van die Antichris hy ook sy tente in hierdie omgewing gaan opslaan, die Shillah. ‘n ander parallel is dat beide die Antichris en die Makkabeërs begin het met ‘n klein groepie en dan baie sterk geword het. Let op? hier het ons ‘n vader met vyf seuns. Ons het Eleazar, Jonathan, Jehuda (Judas) die Makkabeus, en Matatias, en twee van die

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vyf seuns was verraai deur hulle broeders. Weereens, in die Laaste Dae is dit dieselfde? Broer sal teen broer opstaan, baie sal afvallig raak en mekaar verraai.

Die eerste persoon wat hulle doodgemaak het was nie ‘n Seleukied nie maar ‘n Joodse samesweerder. Hulle het klein bendes gevorm, partygenote in ‘n guerrilla oorlogvoering tegniek en van uit die berge aanvalle geloods, so het hulle die Seleukied dag vir dag aangeval en teruggetrek. Verraad en omkopery was aan die orde van die dag maar uiteindelik het hulle die Seleukied oorwin.

Die Verontreiniging van die Tempel.

In die eerste hoofstuk van I Makkabeërs lees ons van die verontreiniging van die tempel, die klippe van die altaar was aan verskriklike dinge blootgestel: ‘n Vark was op hulle geoffer deur Antiogus en hy het ‘n beeld van Zeus (Jupiter) daar opgerig en sy eie kenmerke aan Zeus gegee. Nou, Zeus is ‘n verdraaiing van die woord “Theos” in Grieks, amper dieselfde spelling. In Grieks beteken Theos “god.” Die kenmerke is ‘n man wat probeer om homself te identifiseer as die groot god. Die was die Berg Olimpus teenoor die Berg Sion.

Die Makkabeër het Jerusalem bevry maar hy het ook ‘n groot probleem gehad: “Wat kan ons doen met die klippe van die tempel? Ons kan dit nie weggooi nie want hulle is “mei qodesh”? geheilig. Ons kan ook nie op hulle offer nie want ’n vark is op hulle geoffer.” Hulle het die altaar (Wat “misbeach” genoem word) afgebreek, en ons lees in die Mishna dat hulle dit buite Salomo se pilaargang op ‘n hoop gestoor het. Hulle het geglo dat of die Messias of Elia (Eliyahu ha?Navi) die profeet eendag op Hanukkah sal kom en vir hulle sal vertel wat om met die klippe te maak, en so het hulle ‘n ander altaar gebou.

Antiogus onder die krag van geestelike misleiding en deur om God se mense te verhelleniseer deur om die populêre kultuur te gebruik. Om op die rug van die populêre kultuur te ry was ‘n kompromie van moraliteit. So het dit die punt bereik waar dinge so veragtend in God se eie huis vir enige Jood geword het en die lees van die Woord van God was ook onwettig. Die Nuwe Testament noem die Kerk nie minder as sewe keer die tempel. Daar is verskillende woord in Grieks vir tempel: “naos”, “heikal ioudaios”, en? “heiron.”

Ek ontken nie dat daar mense is wat wil sien dat die tempel weer herbou moet word nie, ek sê ook nie dat dit nie sal gebeur nie. Ek sê ook nie dat daar ‘n afgodsbeeld beeld in dit opgerig sal word nie, wat ek sê is dit: Die fisiese reflekteer die geestelike. Toe Jesus aan die kruis gesterf het? het die voorhangsel (Velon) van bo tot op die grond geskeur.

‘n Werklike, letterlike fisiese gebeurtenis het plaasgevind in ‘n letterlike fisiese tempel? ‘n bonatuurlike gebeurtenis het plaasgevind. Maar dit was nie die mees belangrikste nie, wat belangrik was is wat dit beteken het. Sondige mense was nie langer van ‘n Heilige God geskei nie. Ons het nou toegang tot Hom deur die Bloed van die Hoë Priester. “As” die tempel weer opgerig sou word, ek sê nie dit sal nie, en daar ‘n beeld opgerig sou word sal dit net ‘n refleksie wees van die aanbidding van die Antichris deur die Christendom. Dit sal plaasvind soos wat dit nou besig is om te gebeur: Verhellenisering? God se mense word deur die populêre kultuur van die dag ingesluk? kyk om jou!

Om die Wêreld uit die Evangelie te hou.

Wat het met die Griekse kultuur gebeur? Homoseksualiteit en biseksualiteit was kultuurgewys ‘n siekte, en wat ‘n feit was, hulle het ‘n godsdienstige trappie vir dit gehad. In die geval van Tempel prostitusie was die vroue prostitute “hieros gamos” genoem. Die “hieros delphos” was die godsdienstige leiers.

In Swede en Kanada is daar alreeds bewegings wat die openbare lees van die Bybel met betrekking tot seksuele en homoseksuele sondes as “haat spraak” te klassifiseer ? Skrifgedeeltes soos: Romeine 1, of Levitikus. Jy kan die Koran lees maar die Bybel raak onwettig. Dit is presies wat met die Makkabeërs gebeur het, geweld was gebruik as vermaaklikheid. Nou, die Bybel praat baie van geweld maar nooit word dit goed gepraat nie, dit word weergegee vir wat dit is, ‘n nodige boosheid. Hele gemeenskappe begin so raak en hoe kan die Kerk die sout en die lig in ‘n gemeenskap wees as die Kerk met die kultuur saamgaan? “Vir die slegte mense om te triomfeer, is dit net nodig dat die goeie mense moet stil bly.” (“For wicked men to triumph, good men must merely remain silent.”)

Verlede April gedurende Lente het ek in ‘n Christelike tydskrif gelees waar aan verskeie Christene leiers gevra is oor hulle toegewyde boodskappe vir Lente. Nicky Gumble, die Alfa Kursus Ghoeroe, sê dat hy die werke van Rowan Williams gaan voorlees. Hierdie man is ‘n Druid wat homoseksuele as predikers aanstel! Dit is man na wie baie opkyk om Brittanje te evangeliseer! Daar is iemand in die Holy Trinity wat Druidse boeke aanbeveel, wat homoseksuele predikers aanstel en almal dink hy is ‘n pragtige mens! Dit is siek, kyk hoe verrot het die standaarde geword! Dit gaan nie gestop word nie en dit is presies wat gebeur het toe Makkabeus gekom het en die eerste persoon wat hulle uitgeroei het was Menlaus die samesweerder. Die mees uitstaande gevaarlike vyande van die Evangelie van Jesus Christus is Evangeliste wat met die vyand van die Kruis heul. Dit is presies wat in die dae van die Makkabeërs gebeur het, en die wat dit teen gestaan het was klein groepies mense wat in ‘n guerrilla aksie opgetree het, maar daar is ander wat by hulle begin aansluit.

Daar is mense wat uit hulle kerke padgee wat hierdie dinge sien, wat in huise begin saamkom omdat dinge ernstig verkeerd begin loop.

Ingesluipte Skynheiliges.

Maar iets anders het ook met die Makkabeërs gebeur, volgens II Makkabeërs 11:33?35; Het baie by hulle aangesluit , maar in skynheiligheid. Ons moet onthou dat as iemand teen dit is wat jy teenstaan, dit nie outomaties beteken dat hulle staan waarvoor jy staan nie. 90% van die mense wat saam met Moriel stem is opreg maar 10% van hulle gaan fout vind met alle kerke. Hulle sal by jou aan aansluit en iemand soos ek as ‘n klankbord gebruik om ander dinge aan te val. Daar is mense wat jy net kan verstaan as jy weet waarteen hulle is, jy kan nie ‘n gemeente bou op dinge waarteen jy is nie! Ja, ons weet baie dinge is verkeerd maar waarvoor staan ons? ? Ons weet Alfa is onbybels, maar vir wat staan ons, dit is die vraag?

Pasop vir mense wat sê hulle het ‘n onderskeidings bediening en al wat hulle doen is om dit wat verkeerd is aan te val terwyl hulle nooit sê wat reg is nie! Hulle wil niks te doen hê met Evangelisasie of Bybel studie nie of missies nie, pasop vir hulle. Daar is goeie onderskeidings bedieninge en ook slegtes, daar is goeie organisasies en ook slegtes. Maar jy kan nie die Liggaam van Christus bou op dinge wat

verkeerd is nie, net op dit waarvoor jy is. Onthou dat die beste verdediging teen dwaling altyd die kennis van die Waarheid is. Ons het onderskeidings bedieninge baie nodig omdat mense nie meer die waarheid ken nie. As mense hulle Bybel geken het sou hulle geweet het dat Nicky Gumble van die pad af is, hulle sou deur Benny Hinn en Creflo Dollar sien. As mense die waarheid ken sal hulle self dwalinge onderskei. Maar hulle ken nie die waarheid nie en die verdediging van die geloof is uiters belangrik.

Die wat insig het.

Maar in die dae van die Makkabeërs was daar mense net soos wat dit in die Laaste Dae sal wees, die verstandiges wat verstaan en wat baie tot regverdigheid sal lei. (Dan 11:3) Mense sal byeenkomste bywoon waar die Waarheid bedien en verdedig word en hulle sal die Waarheid uitdra. Met ander woorde, wanneer jy die rigting van die Ekumeniese beweging sien waar homoseksuele in die bediening opgeneem word dan sien jy die gruwel van verwoesting wat alreeds in die tempel opgerig is, hou jou een oog op Jerusalem en die ander een op die Liggaam van Christus. Kyk wat sien ons alreeds op die tempelberg waar die Moskee van Omar staan. Op hierdie Moskee is ‘n aanhaling uit die Koran wat sê “God het nie ‘n Seun nie.” Daar is alreeds ‘n gruwel van verwoesting en dit is alreeds in die Kerk.

Klein groepe.

Dit was die agtergrond, dit is wat toe gebeur het en dit is wat nou gebeur, ons het die tradisionele en die historiese en dan het ons die Eskatologiese. In die Laaste Dae sal dit dieselfde wees, ‘n klein groepie mense sal opstaan soos die Makkabeërs, diegene wat insig het sal vir ander ‘n lig wees en saam sal hulle vir God ‘n weermag oprig wat hierdie modderstortings gaan weerstaan. Baie sal in skynheiligheid aansluit, daar sal verraad in die binnekringe wees maar aan die einde sal hulle oorwin, aan die einde het die Makkabeërs gewen soos wat Daniël geprofeteer het.

Ek kan julle dit sê: Baie slegte dinge gaan gebeur, die twee diere gaan kom maar ek sien in die Boek Daniël dat aan die einde gaan ons oorwin, wat gebeur het gaan weer gebeur.

Die Makkabeërs, Jesus, Koning Dawid almal het dieselfde strategie gehad. Dinge het baie sleg geword onder koning Saul, dieselfde het gebeur onder die Seleukiede, dan baie sleg onder die Sanhedrin en die Romeine. (Herodiane). Maar wanneer dinge baie sleg begin gaan dan begin God iets nuuts gebaseer op klein groepe. Dit het Hanukkah geword, die Hebreeuse fees van lig en wonders wat in Hebreeus: “ Nesim v’ niflaot” genoem word.

Einde gedeelte een. †††


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).