Midrash - Japanese

April 3, 2025

ミドラッシュ

ジェイコブ・プラッシュ

新約聖書の著者が旧約聖書を扱った方法

ミドラッシュとは、イエスやパウロの時代の古代のラビが用いた聖書解釈の方法です。改革者たちが 16 世紀の人間主義から拝借した、西洋の聖書の解釈、つまり文法的・史実的な解釈を含んでいますが、ミドラッシュはそれを単に第一歩と見なします。

聖書の様々な文書のジャンル-物語、知恵文学、ヘブライ的な詩や黙示文学-を扱うときに、それぞれを考慮に入れて理解するため関係性を探求します。そのアプローチの方法は書かれた順序に従うというよりかは、テーマに注目した読み方です。(※最初に必要な第一歩は、書かれた順序に従って読むことです。例えばそれはヨハネの福音書を章ごとに学んでいく方法です。テーマに注目した読み方は、ヨハネ 10 章の「わたしは良い牧者です」

という箇所によって、詩篇 23 篇「主は私の羊飼い」やエレミヤ 23 章「牧者たちについてこう仰せられる」のような箇所を理解するということです)

最も明らかなミドラッシュの指針は、ラビ・ヒレル(Hilell) による七つの基準(七つのミドロット)です。ヒレルは「ヒレルのパリサイ派神学校」の創設者で、そこでパウロがラビとしてガマリエル(使徒 5 章 34 節) に教えられました。ガマリエルはヒレルの孫にあたります。

ミドラッシュは教理を例証し、教理を明らかにするために、たとえ話や象徴を大いに用います。しかし、象徴は決して教理の基礎となりません。それは聖書の本文にある複数の層のようになったより深い意味を見出しますが、象徴的な解釈をする、フィロン(Philo

20B.C.-50A.D.) やオリゲネス(Origen 185-254 A.D.) と関係のある、グノーシス主義やアレキサンドリア学派のようなものとは基本的に違っています。ヘレニズムの哲学観や神学観よりも、むしろヘブライ的なものを反映させます。

ミドラッシュは預言を、反復し、繰り返す、歴史的なパターンであると解釈します(預言が複数の成就を持っているということ)。そして、最終的な成就は、贖いの中心である終末と関連しています。ユダヤ教の中の古典的なミドラッシュの文献は、「創世記のミドラッシュ・ラッバ(Midrash Rabba)」ともう一つは「哀歌のラッバ」です。

ミドラッシュはある形式に従います。ひとつは、マシャル・ニムシャル

(Mashal/Nimshal)形式です。それは箴言に見られ、物質的なものが霊的なものを象徴するというものです。新約における比喩的なミドラッシュの説明は、例えば、ユダの手紙やガラテヤ人への手紙の 4 章 24 節から 31 節に見られます。ミドラッシュが、新約聖書が旧約聖書を扱う方法を明らかにしているのです。

もうひとつの形式はパラシヨット(parashiyot)です。これは注解が節の後に続いているものです。聖書を解釈するミドラッシュに加えて、説教のミドラッシュもあります。これらは福音書の中でイエスによってしばしば用いられた、イェランメデヌ・ラベヌ

(yelammedenu rabbenu)形式に従います。この二種類のミドラッシュはどちらもハガダー的なものです。広範囲に及ぶ、ミドラッシュ的な文献であるハラカーもありますが、新約を学ぶ上で、これはそれほど重要ではありません。

もし、ユダヤ教、ヘブライ語や神学の教育を受けていない人であれば、ミドラッシュを解説するよりは実際に適用することのほうが簡単です。モリエル・ミニストリーズではいろいろなテープやビデオを提供しています。それらの中で、みことばを読み解くときに、ミドラッシュ的な解釈を実際に用いて論証しています。そのひとつはヨハネ4章のミドラッシュ的な解釈である、『井戸のそばの女』です。これはローマ・カトリックに関して解説しているものです。

新約が旧約を引用している方法を見るなら、使徒たちが西洋プロテスタントの解釈や、 解説の方法を用いなかったことは明らかです。イエスはラビでした。パウロもラビでした。彼らはミドラッシュと呼ばれる手法にしたがって、他のラビも用いた方法で聖書を解釈し たのです。

ところが初代教会で問題が起こりました。そのユダヤ的なルーツから遠ざかってしまったのです。そして、多くの異邦人がクリスチャンになるにしたがって、パウロが警告していたこと(ローマ 11 章)が起こってしまいました。人々はそのルーツを失ってしまったのです。

世界観の変化がある時はいつでも、神学にも変化が起こります。その変化の肯定的な扱 い方は「再文脈化」と呼ばれるもので、否定的な扱い方は「再定義」と呼ばれます。ウィ クリフ聖書の翻訳者がイザヤ 1 章 18 節を、赤道直下のアフリカの部族のために訳したとき、福音を「再文脈化」しました。『たとい、あなたがたの罪が緋のように赤くても、雪のよ うに白くなる。』雪を一度も見たことが無い人たちのために、彼らはこの箇所を、「ココ ナッツのように白くなる」と訳したのです。これが「再文脈化」、同じ真理を誰かの言語、

文化や世界観の背景に合わせることです。再定義に対して、これは完全に有効です。メッ

セージに何の害も与えません。

「再定義」は聖書が何を意味しているかを、再び説明する代わりに、聖書の意味していることを変えてしまいます。これは間違っています。そして、これが初代教会で起こったことなのです。コンスタンティヌス大帝(272-337 A.D.) がキリスト教を国家の宗教に変えてから、人々は福音をますます、極端な方法で「再定義」し始めました。初代教会の教父たちの中には、トーラー(旧約聖書)がユダヤ世界にイエスの到来の道備えをしたように、ギリシアの神智学で最高のものだったプラトンやソクラテスの唯神論の考えは、ギリシア世界に対しての道備えであったと信じる人もいました。この点までは、もっともな意見だと言えるでしょう。

ギリシア(ヘレニズム)的な考え方があれば、ヘブライ的な考え方もあります。パウロは両方使いました。パウロがユダヤ人と話すとき、ヘブライ的な考え方を用いました。しかし、アテネのアレオパゴスで福音を伝えているときには(使徒 17 章 22 節-31 節)、ギリシア的な考え方を用いました。ユダヤ人はしるしを求め、ギリシア人は知恵を要求します。もし、聖書的に使われるならばどちらも有効なのです。

問題は人々がユダヤ的な信仰を、ヘレニズム化しようとするときに起こりました。ギリシア人のために福音を再文脈化する代わりに、ギリシア的な表現をもって、再定義してしまったのです。これは特に、オリゲネスの時代のアレキサンドリアで起こりました。しかし、それが大きな問題となったのはコンスタンティヌスと、ヒッポのアウグスティヌス

(354-430 A.D.) の教え、また彼に影響を与えたカルタゴのキプリアヌス(Cyprian 200?

-258 A.D.) やアンブロシウス(Ambrose 339?-397 A.D.) がやって来た後です。

ギリシア人はプラトンやソクラテスの教えから、人は神の御姿に似せて造られたというような真理を多く知っていました。しかし、ユダヤ・クリスチャンの背景や聖書とつながりを持っていない人でも、本能によって誰でも、ただひとりの神がおられることや、人が罪深いということは知り得ます。(ローマ 1 章 18 節-20 節)

私たちは聖書と一致する点まで、ギリシアの神智学と同意します。しかし、人々がギリ シア的な世界観の理解をもって、福音を再解釈し、再定義し始めるなら、それは問題です。ギリシア人は二元論、すなわち、すべて物質的なものは悪で、すべての霊的なものは善で あると信じていました。『初めに、ことばがあった。ことばは神とともにあった。ことば は神であった。』(ヨハネ 1 章 1 節)この言葉を読むとき、意見の一致はするでしょう。し

かし、ギリシア人は『ことばは人となって、私たちの間に住まわれた。』(ヨハネ1章 14

節)という主張に賛成することは出来なかったのです。ギリシア人はただそれが物質的であるというだけで、物質的なものは悪だと信じていたのです。聖書は霊的なものと物質的なものは、お互いの調和によって働くべきだと教えています。そこに何の矛盾や争いがあるわけではありません。確かに肉は堕落していますが、物質的な要素自体に悪いことは何もないのです。

アウグスティヌスが現れたときに、彼はキリスト教を再文脈化するのではなく、ギリシアのプラトン的な宗教として再定義してしまったのです。アウグスティヌスは次のようなことを言いました。「結婚について唯一価値のあることは、独身者になる者を産むことだ」結婚の関係が最初の罪であったと教える、マニ教がこの考えをギリシア世界に持ち込んだのです。そういうわけで、今日まで、ローマ・カトリックは性を扱うことが出来ず、多くの制限や悩みがあり、夫婦間の営みについてさえも、ためらいがあるのです。

人々はユダヤ的なミドラッシュの方法を用いずに、ギリシアの方法を用いて聖書を再解釈し始めました。ミドラッシュは型やたとえ話(象徴)を用います。それは教理を例証し、教理を明らかにするためです。たとえば、イエスは「過越の子羊」です。ユダヤ人の過越の象徴は贖いの教理を完璧に例証しています。しかし、決して、贖いの教理が象徴に基づいているわけではないのです。象徴は教理を例証し、その教理自体は、みことばの中のどこにおいてもはっきりと主張されています。ギリシア的な考えのグノーシス主義の世界では、反対のことが起こります。グノーシス主義は象徴に対して、自分たちが神秘的な洞察力(グノーシス 訳注…1テモテ 6 章 20 章)を持っていると主張し、そのグノーシスの理解を持って、本文の明らかな意味を解釈するのです。古代のユダヤの方法と違って、グノーシス主義にとって、象徴が教理の基礎なのです。

このような手法は初め、フィロンによって影響された人たちを通して、教会に忍び込ん できました。彼の教えはだんだんとローマ・カトリックに入り、アウグスティヌスが「も し、神がパウロを回心させるために暴力を使ったのなら、教会も人々を回心させるのに暴 力を使うことが出来る」と言うまでに至らしめたのです。その結果として十字軍やスペイ ンの宗教裁判などがあります。再文脈化の代わりに、彼らはみことばを再定義したのです。彼らはユダヤ的な本を、ギリシア的な本であるかのように読みました。これが誤りだった のです。

東はオリゲネス、西はアウグスティヌスから端を発したこの教えは、何世紀にも渡って、徐々に悪化の一途をたどりました。それはスコラ学と呼ばれるものと合わさって、中世に さらに悪化しました。アリストテレスの考えはイスラムに吸収され、後に十字軍がヨーロッパの中世ローマ・カトリックに持ち帰ったのです。モーセ・マイモニデス(Moses

Maimonides 1135-1204) はユダヤ教をアリストテレスの宗教に書き換え、トマス・アクィナス(1225-1274)もキリスト教をアリストテレスの宗教として、書き換えました。

宗教改革者が現れると、彼らは中世ローマ・カトリックの間違いを正そうとしました。残念なことに、宗教改革者たちは力強い性格の持ち主でしたが、思想家としては力強くなかったのです。宗教改革は人間主義と呼ばれるものから生まれました。(注:最初の人間主義者は無神論者ではなく、クリスチャンでした)人間主義者の中で名高いのは、トマス・ア・ケンピス(1380-1471)、ジョン・コレット(John Colet 1467-1519)やルフェーヴル・デタープル(Jacques Lefevre 1450?-1536)などです。しかし、その中で最大なのはロッテルダムのエラスムス(1467?-1536)でした。ルター、カルヴァンやツヴィングリなどはほとんど彼から意見を得たような人たちです。エラスムスと他の人間主義者たちは、中世ローマ・カトリックの行っていたみことばの悪用を防ぐために、聖書をその文字通りの意味で学び、教えようとしました。彼らは聖書を文学や歴史として読むことを強調し、今日のプロテスタント教会で使われるような、文法的・史実的な解釈のシステムを構築したのです。

改革者たちの問題は、そこまでしか行かなかったということです。彼らは中世ローマ・カトリックに異議を唱えるために、その文法的・史実的なシステムを適用するルールを作って、そのルールは現在まで神学校でも教えられているのです。そのようなルールのひとつはこれです。「聖書箇所の適用は多く存在するが、解釈はひとつしかない」全くくだらないことです!複数の解釈が存在するとタルムードは教えています。イエスは誰に賛成するでしょうか?改革者でしょうか?それとも他のラビでしょうか?

『イエスは答えて言われた。「悪い、姦淫の時代はしるしを求めています。だが預言者ヨナのしるしのほかには、しるしは与えられません。』(マタイ 12 章 39 節)「ヨナのしるし」とは何だったのでしょうか?ひとつの箇所でイエスは『ヨナは三日三晩大魚の腹の中にいましたが、同様に、人の子も三日三晩、地の中にいるからです。』(マタイ 12 章 40 節)と言っています。しかし同時に、ニネベの住民がヨナの説教によって悔い改めたことであると言いました。(ルカ 11 章 32 節)ユダヤ人が悔い改めなかったのに、異邦人は悔い改めました。これもまた預言者ヨナのしるしでしょう。イエスは、何がしるしかということに関して、共に有効なふたつの解釈を与えたのです。従って、プロテスタントの解釈がひとつだけで、あとは適用という原則はイエスの教えと違うものです。

もうひとつの聖書解釈学のルールは、聖書の簡単な言葉遣いが意味をなしているなら、 他の意味を探してはいけないというものです。文字通りにとって、そこで終わりなのです。

これもまた全くくだらない考えです!

一世紀や二世紀のユダヤ人クリスチャンがヨハネの福音書、1 章、2 章、3 章を読むと、

「新しい創造」の物語だと言ったことでしょう。創世記では神が地の上を歩いているのを見、ヨハネの福音書の「新しい創造」の中では、再び神が歩いているのを見るのです。創世記では、水の上を御霊が動いて被造物を生み出しました。ヨハネの福音書では、水の上を御霊が動いて新しい被造物を生み出すのです(ヨハネ3章5節『人は、水と御霊によって生まれなければ、神の国に入ることができません』)。創世記の創造では、小さい光と大きい光がありました。ヨハネの福音書の新しい創造では、小さな光であるバプテスマのヨハネがいて、大きな光であるイエスがいます。いちじくの木は、ミドラッシュ的に、ユダヤ人の象徴では、創世記の園、エゼキエル 47 章や黙示録にあるいのちの木を表わしています。なので、イエスがナタニエルに『あなたがいちじくの木の下にいるのを見たのです。』

(ヨハネ 1 章 48 節)と言ったとき、ただ単にナタニエルを、文字通りのいちじくの木の下

で見たということではなく、(それも含まれていますが)イエスは彼を園から、創造のときから、世の初めから見ていたということを言っているのです。

人間主義者たちがしていたように、文学や歴史として読むことによっては、聖書を部分的にしか理解出来ません。人間主義者たちはローマ・カトリックが基礎を置いていた、中世のスコラ学やグノーシス主義に反応していたのです。とはいえ、彼らの手法は人々がみことばの深みを理解するのを妨げたのです。文法的・史実的な方法によって、彼らは信仰義認やみことばの権威などの真理を発見したのですが、それが理解したことのすべてでした。その範囲を越えることは出来なかったのです。マルティン・ルターはローマ人への手紙を聖書の中で中心になる本だと言いました。そして、黙示録を完全に退けました。しかし、黙示録は終わりの時代のための本なのです。ルターも、その本をプロテスタントの考えでは理解出来ないと認めました。

何が問題なのでしょうか?黙示録が悪いのでしょうか?それともプロテスタントの考えが間違っているのでしょうか?よく注意してください。ダニエル(ダニエル 12 章 4 節)と

ヨハネ(黙示録 10 章 4 節)は終わりのときまで「このことを封じておけ」と書きました。神の時が満ちるとき、これらの本の解釈は忠実な者に明らかにされるのです。誰かが図や表を書いて、黙示録が示しているすべてのこと、すべての終末の計画を理解したと言うときは、用心してください。それは適切なときまで封じられているからです。神はみこころに合う方法とその時にそれを明らかにされます。しかもそれを段階的になされます。その第一歩は聖書をギリシア的な本としてではなく、ユダヤ的な本として読むことです。

書簡(手紙)は他の聖書の注解書です。それらは他の聖書箇所の実際的な意味について

教えています。書簡を文法的・史実的な方法を用いて、文学や歴史として読むことは構わ

ないことです。しかし、聖書にはさまざまな種類の文学があり、神さまがさまざまな理由のために、違った文学のジャンルをそこに置いたのです。詩篇(ヘブライ的な詩)や黙示録(黙示文学)、福音書(物語)、箴言(知恵文学)です。

あなたは詩を読むように手紙を読まないでしょう。ふるさとにいるナツ子おばあちゃんからの手紙を、ナルニア戦記(C・S・ルイス著)を読むようには読まないでしょう。あなたが書簡を読むとき、使徒たちは他の聖書箇所を、文法的・史実的な方法で解釈していなかったことが分かるでしょう。ヘブル人への手紙は、レビ人の祭司制度や神殿の象徴に関しての注解書です。ガラテヤ人への手紙 4 章 24 節を読み進めてみると、ふたりの女の話があり、それは律法の目的に対してのミドラッシュです。ユダの手紙はミドラッシュ的な文献です。使徒たちはみことばを、プロテスタントの文法的・史実的な方法をもって扱わなかったのです。

聖書にはさまざまな種類の預言があります。終わりの時代を理解するために、重要な二種類の預言は、メシアに関する預言と、これに関連した終末的な預言です。聖書の預言を理解するにあたって、これはとても重要です。なぜなら、16 世紀の人間主義に基づいた西洋の考えによると、預言は予告と成就で成り立っていると言うからです。古代のユダヤ人にとって預言は、予告されて成就するというものではありません。むしろ、彼らにとって預言とは、繰り返すパターンだったのです。預言が複数の成就を持つということです。そして、それぞれの成就、それぞれのサイクルは最終的な成就について教えているのです。例を挙げると、飢饉のとき、アブラハムはエジプトに下りました。(創世記 12 章 10 節-

20 節)神はパロを裁き、アブラハムとその子孫はエジプトの富を携えて、エジプトを出、

そして約束の地に入りました。アブラハムの子孫も同じ経験を繰り返しました。すなわち、飢饉でエジプトに下り(創世記 42 章)、神は邪悪な王であるパロを再び裁き、アブラハム の子孫はエジプトの富を携えて、エジプトを出、そして約束の地に入ったのです。

アブラハムに起こったことはその子孫にも起こります。そして、イエスにも同じことが 起こりました。『彼らが帰って行ったとき、見よ、主の使いが夢でヨセフに現われて言っ た。「立って、幼子とその母を連れ、エジプトへ逃げなさい。そして、私が知らせるまで、そこにいなさい。ヘロデがこの幼子を捜し出して殺そうとしています。」そこで、ヨセフ は立って、夜のうちに幼子とその母を連れてエジプトに立ちのき、ヘロデが死ぬまでそこ にいた。これは、主が預言者を通して、「わたしはエジプトから、わたしの子を呼び出し た」と言われた事が成就するためであった。』(マタイ 2 章 13 節-15 節)

マタイは、邪悪な王ヘロデが死んで、イエスがエジプトから出てきたとき、ホセアの預

言が成就したと言いました。『イスラエルが幼いころ、わたしは彼を愛し、わたしの子を

エジプトから呼び出した。』(ホセア 11 章 1 節)とてもはっきりと、ホセア 11 章はモーセに関して起きたこと、出エジプトのことを語っているのです。文法的・史実的な文脈において、メシアのことではなく、出エジプトのことを語っています。しかし、マタイはすべての可能な文脈から一節を取って、イエスに合わせてゆがめているように見えます。果たしてマタイが間違っているのでしょうか?それとも、プロテスタントの聖書の解釈の仕方に問題があるのでしょうか?

マタイにも、新約聖書にも何も問題はありません。プロテスタントの考え方に問題があるのです。ユダヤ的な預言の考えは、予告ではなく、パターンです。アブラハムがエジプトを出て、パロは裁かれました。彼の子孫もエジプトを出て、邪悪な王が裁かれました。そして、また別の邪悪な王が裁かれ、メシアがエジプトを出ました。預言には複数の成就があるのです。ミドラッシュ的には、「イスラエル」がメシアであるイェシュア(イエス)を暗に示しています。「イスラエルはわたしの栄光、わたしの長子」というような箇所を見つけたなら、ミドラッシュ的な隠喩なのです。

1コリント 10 章ではもうひとつのことがあります。パウロが言うには世の象徴である、エジプトから私たちは出てきました。エジプト人に神格化され、神として崇められていたパロは、悪魔、この世の神の象徴です。モーセが山に行って、血で契約をし、人々に振りかけたのと同じことをイエスはしました。モーセは四十日間断食しました。イエスもそうです。イエスこそ申命記 18 章 18 節に予告されたモーセのような預言者です。モーセがイスラエルの子らを、水を通してエジプトから連れ出し、約束の地へ導いたように、イエスも私たちをバプテスマを通してこの世から連れ出し、天に導くのです。これはパターンです。

そして、馬と乗り手は海に投げ出されました(出エジプト 15 章 1 節)。私たちは黙示録

の 15 章 3 節で、――馬と乗り手が海に投げ出されたことについてである――モーセの歌を歌います。なぜでしょうか?パロと彼の戦車が紅海に投げ出されたように、白い馬に乗った反キリストと彼の軍隊は燃える海に投げ出されます。それはパターンだからです。「エジプトから出ること」の最終的な意味は復活と教会の携挙です。出エジプト記でなされた裁きは黙示録で再現されます。なので、パロの魔術師たちがモーセとアロンの奇跡を真似ることが出来たように、反キリストとにせ預言者はイエスとその証人たちの奇跡を真似るでしょう。彼らはエジプトを出るときに、ヨセフの骨を携え上りました(出エジプト 13 章

19 節)。なぜでしょうか?なぜなら、キリストにある死者が初めに上げられるからです(1

テサロニケ 4 章 16 節)。パターンなのです。

新約聖書を生み出したユダヤ的な考え方は預言を、予告ではなく、パターンであると見

なします。未来に起ころうとすることを理解するには、過去にあったことを見る必要があります。複数の成就があり、その一連の成就は、最終的な成就に関することを教えているのです。

黙示録を理解するためには、プロテスタントの神学校で教えられているような、限定された聖書の解釈法によっては無理なのです。ミドラッシュはたとえて言うなら、二次方程式や、とても複雑な二階微分方程式、13 や 14 の手順を経て解ける方程式のようなものなのです。ある人は最初の文法的・史実的な解釈の段階を経て、方程式は解けたと考えるかもしれません。彼らのしていることに何も問題は無いのですが、彼らのしていない多くのことが問題なのです。方程式は解けていません。文法的・史実的な解釈に何も問題はありません。それは必要な最初の段階であり、必要な準備であって、書簡を読むには最適なのです。しかし、それだけなのです。

これらのことを理解するには古代の知恵が必要です。『思慮ある者はその獣の数字を数えなさい。』(黙示録 13 章 8 節)16 世紀の知恵ではなく、紀元 1 世紀の知恵が必要なのです。


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).