Israel is a Jewish State

Two news items from Israel surfacing today seem to me to be related. In the first, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced he had offered to extend Israel's moratorium on building in the disputed territories for an additional two months if the Palestinian Authority would publicly acknowledge Israel as a Jewish State. The Palestinians refused. The second news item concerns the proposed "loyalty oath" for new citizens being debated within Israel. So how are these items related?

At the center of the matter on both is the question of whether or not the Jewish people have the right to a state in which they can have their own national identity...and the question about how this impacts the 20% of Israel's population that is not Jewish. Can Israel be a Jewish state and still grant full rights to its non-Jewish population?

The framers of Israel's loyalty oath have made it clear that the oath is pledging loyalty to a "Jewish and democratic state." From its very beginning Israel has recognized the rights of its non-Jewish citizens. From my travels throughout the Middle East I believe there is more freedom of religion--and more civil rights for minorities--in Israel than in any other country in the region. Yes, the state is Jewish in character. (The Star of David on the flag makes this clear!) But it's also a state that has sought to promote democratic values in ways that cannot be matched by other countries in the region. For example, from its very founding, Hebrew and Arabic were designated as the two official languages of the country.

But doesn't a loyalty oath sound overbearing, like some relic from the Cold War? I don't think so. Growing up, I stood with my classmates and recited the Pledge of Allegiance: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of American and to the republic for which it stands...." The Pledge of Allegiance is a loyalty oath, and I'm proud to have recited it. When someone becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States, they are required to pledge an oath of allegiance to this country. That oath says, in part, "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same...."

I personally don't see anything wrong with asking someone to declare his or her loyalty to the state as a requirement for obtaining citizenship. If our government requires all naturalized citizens to swear an oath of allegiance as part of the process for obtaining citizenship, can't Israel expect the same level of commitment on the part of its naturalized citizens, especially those who are not Jewish?

Once one gets past the rhetoric, I think the issue over the existence of a Jewish state--and the debate of the loyalty oath--is rather straightforward. Israel is a Jewish state and should be recognized as such by the Palestinians. Israel has as much right to identify itself as a Jewish state as Iran does to call itself an Islamic republic...or Saudi Arabia does to emblazon the shahadah (Islamic declaration of faith) on its flag. And just like the United States, Israel has a right to expect those wanting the privileges of citizenship to be willing to declare their loyalty to the state granting them those privileges.

Syrian Scud Missile Base?

Today's edition of Ha'aretz has a fascinating article on "Hezbollah militants training in Syrian missile base." The article provided enough clues to allow me go on Google Earth and find the base. (I'm attaching a screen shot of the base that includes the longitude and latitude, should you wish to search for the base yourself.)

Two thoughts came to mind as I read the article. First, I don't believe the Ha'aretz reporter used Google Earth as his primary source for the article. Though he provided enough details (including the March 22, 2010 imagery date) to allow others to verify the story, there are some details in the story that can't be verified through Google Earth. The Google Earth imagery is detailed enough to see buildings, tunnel entrances and even vehicles, but the resolution isn't detailed enough to identify individuals. And the imagery wouldn't allow someone to determine if the people at the sight are Hezbollah trainees. I don't write that to cast doubt on the article's assertion that Syria is training Hezbollah to use such missiles. But I am saying that the reporter must have come to this conclusion based on more than just Google Earth photos and scattered reports from Arab newspapers.

Second, I suspect there must be a reason for the release of this information right now. Could it be related to rumors of a Syrian/Iranian/Hezbollah takeover of Lebanon? Could it be related to Ahmadinejad's impending visit to Lebanon? Could it be a warning to these countries not to provoke a conflict with Israel lest they want to have their weapons destroyed? (If Israel knew the location of these weapons in Syria, one can also assume Israel has also monitored the transfer of any such weapons into Lebanon. A thirty-five foot rocket cannot be hidden in the trunk of a car!)

To much of the world, Israel seems to overreact to any provocation on the part of its neighbors. But then, most of the world doesn't have neighbors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, and Iran!

Happy Birthday...Jericho!

This Sunday, October 10, is going to be a special time of celebration in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian Authority is launching a year-long campaign to celebrate the founding of Jericho...10,000 years ago!

Okay, so the exact day...or year...or century...or millennium of Jericho's founding isn't really known. But the city has had an amazing, though checkered, history. It was destroyed by Joshua...who placed a curse on the man who would eventually rebuild it (Josh. 6:26; 1 Kings 16:34). The city was home to Rahab, who is highlighted in the Hebrews 11 "hall of faith" and one of only five women singled out by name in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:5).

Jericho is the "City of Palms" where Ehud, the left-handed judge, delivered Israel from Eglon of Moab (Judg. 3). And when Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Judah's last king was captured "in the plains of Jericho" after fleeing from Jerusalem (Jer. 39:5). After the Babylonian captivity 345 men from Jericho returned home (Ezra 2:34) and helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:2). In the New Testament, Jericho was the city where Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) and where the "wee little man" Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore-fig tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).

Personally, I love visiting Jericho. The Old Testament ruins might not be that impressive, but it's a wonderful spot to open God's Word and read about the events that took place here. Little details in each story--details we have overlooked before--jump off the page and help bring the events to life.

I also enjoy visiting friends I've made in Jericho over the years. I watched Waleed--who works at the Mount of Temptation restaurant--grow up, and now I get to see Waleed's son following in his father's footsteps. And if you have ever eaten the kanafeh served at that restaurant, you know why it's my favorite desert in all the Middle East. I'm drooling right now just thinking about it!

So happy birthday Jericho! Your date of birth--and exact age--are open to debate. But I'm not about to quibble over such minor details. I hope you have a wonderful start to your celebration on October 10...and I hope to stop by for a visit before your year-long party comes to an end!

But if someone tries to light all the candles and sing "Happy Birthday," don't stand too near the cake!

Thoughts on a Settlement Freeze

Israel's 10-month moratorium on construction in disputed territory has passed, and she is now being pressured by the United States to extend the moratorium for an additional two months. The two major questions one should ask are (a): why did the Palestinians wait until there was only one month remaining in the initial moratorium before beginning talks and (b) why has the U.S. been pushing for an additional two-month extension?

These two questions lead me to be somewhat cynical about the process. If there is a reasonable expectation for achieving a breakthrough within two months, then why didn't the U.S. push the Palestianians to begin talking immediately after Israel began it's moratorium? And if there is not a reasonable expectation that an agreement can be reached quickly, why a tw0-month extension? Could the new deadline be prompted by the upcoming U.S. election--giving voters the illusion of peace and progress until after the election is over?

I'm also concerned that Israeli settlements are said to be the key obstacle to an agreement. An article appeared September 30 that illustrates my concern. The article, from Radio Netherlands Worldwide, was titled "Dutch expert maps Israeli land grab." The article cites this so-called expert who said, "Jewish settlers account for just one percent of the population of the West Bank...but are claiming 60 percent of the land." Unless someone has traveled in this area--and most people have not--this sounds like solid evidence from a reputable expert showing that Israel is indeed stealing land that belongs to the Palestinians.

So what is the truth? Having traveled throughout the West Bank, I simply find claims like the one made above impossible to believe. The reality is that large portions of the region are not inhabited by anyone. I found an op/ed piece ("Settlements not the issue") written by Shoula Romano Horing to be far more representative of reality when it comes to the issue of settlements. I will quote part of what she wrote, but I urge you to read the entire piece.

The amount of territory taken up by the built-up area of all 121 settlements in the West Bank, with approximately 290,000 residents, is estimated to be just 1.7% of the territory. Two thirds of the settlers reside in five major blocs, and half of the settlements have 500 or less settlers. Four of the blocks are very close to the 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) and many of them are suburbs of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Ninety eight percent of the Palestinian population lives within roughly 40% of the West Bank, in six major cities and 450 villages. Consequently, 60% of the West Bank is empty of any buildup. You can drive for a long while in the West Bank and find no Jewish settlements or Arab cities, or people.

So do the settlements comprise 60% of the West Bank...or 1.7% of the West Bank? Horing doesn't appear to have included land appropriated for settlements but not yet built on, so the total land for settlements is more than 1.7%. The Palestine Monitor suggests the total land appropriated by Israeli settlements amounts to 3%.

So is the amount of land taken up by Israeli settlements 1.7%, 3%, or 60%? Why the huge variation in numbers? The answer brings us back to the complexity of the problem--and the danger of giving a simplistic answer. When someone refers to "Israeli settlements," to what are they referring? If they are speaking about the actual communities within the West Bank proper, then the land taken up by these settlements is less than 3% of the total area. But if someone is including land used for infrastructure (new roads), the security wall, and military bases--as well as other restricted areas and those parts of Jerusalem that have been annexed by Israel--then the percent is higher. But even then it's hard to reach anything approaching 60%.

But back to the issue at hand. When most people think of Israeli construction in the West Bank, we are looking at less than 3% of the land in question. And most construction is taking place in towns near the 1949 Armistice border or in the immediate suburbs of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. That is the reality that is being lost in the rhetoric. If there is a two-month moratorium on construction in these areas, I struggle to believe it will make a substantive difference in the outcome of the talks.

But we shall see!

Pardon me, but is that Akkadian you're speaking?

Today's post probably falls under the category of "useless fun facts" for most readers, but it's really quite fascinating. If you have ever seen ancient cuneiform inscriptions, like the one pictured to the left, you might have wondered how anyone could make sense of the confusing array of symbols. How did someone first translate these inscriptions? And what might such a language have sounded like?

If you have questions, Dr. Martin Worthington from the University of Cambridge has answers! He is leading a team of scholars who are reading and recording ancient Babylonian texts and poems and posting them online. The language being spoken is Akkadian, and it sounds a bit like its more modern Semitic cousin, Arabic. You can also view a transliteration--and translation--of the texts while you listen. This helps give a sense of the natural rhythm and pacing of the language.

Some of the texts already recorded include portions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer, and the Law Code of Hammurabi. If you are interested in "hearing" more about this fascinating project, click here!

Reliable News Sources on the Middle East

Where can one go to find reliable news about events in the Middle East? The reality is that there is not a single comprehensive source. I read a number of different news sources to try to get a balanced perspective on what is happening. Below are links to some of the online sources I visit on a regular basis.

Let me hasten to add that I do not consider all of these to be reliable. I definitely trust some more than others to provide a balanced coverage of events within the Middle East. But I believe you ought to look at all the sources and then bookmark the ones you feel provide the most objective approach to events. (Trust me, I think you will be able to determine this on your own!)

For news from a Jewish perspective:
Jerusalem Post — One of my favorite sites, it provide a good perspective on events
Haaretz — A good news source, though from a more liberal perspective
Arutz Sheva — A third solid source for news from Israel

For news from an Arab perspective:
Al Jazeera — A news organization similar in style to CNN, but from an Arab perspective
Jerusalem Daily — A daily news source from a Palestinian perspective
Jordan Times — A daily newspaper from Amman providing a Jordanian perspective on events

Other news sources to visit:
CAMERA — Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is a site that seeks to expose some of the excesses and inaccuracies in reporting on the Middle East
Ynetnews — An online site that seeks to collate other online sources
OliveTreeNews — An online site that seeks to collate sources from a variety of perspectives
The Palestinian Information Center — A site collating events from a Palestinian perspective

Governmental sites to visit:
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Israel's official position relating to current events
Islamic Republic News Agency — Iran's official news agency

I hope you find these sources helpful!

Iraq's Proven Oil Reserves Grow

Iraq's oil ministry announced today that their country's proven oil reserves have grown by 25%. Iraq now possesses over 143 billion barrels of extractable oil. That number is too large to be meaningful to most people. So here are three ways to help you put that number in greater perspective. First, at today's price of oil (approximately $80 per barrel) Iraq possesses about $116 trillion in oil assets. In 2009 the U.S. government took in just over $2 trillion in total tax revenue and spent just over $3.5 trillion. Iraq's proven recoverable oil reserves could have covered the entire 2009 U.S. budget 33 times over.

Second, the entire U.S. national debt currently stands at approximately $13.5 trillion. (That's nearly $44,000 owed by every single man, woman, and child in the country!) Iraq's proven recoverable oil reserves could pay off that entire debt about 9 times over.

Third, the United States consumes just under 21 million barrels of oil per day. At our current rate of consumption, Iraq has sufficient oil reserves to supply all the oil needed by the United States for the next 18 years.

That's a LOT of oil! And the amount is likely to grow.

From 1991 until just last year Iraq had done virtually no oil exploration because of the restrictions imposed on Saddam Hussein following the first Gulf War. The 25% growth in proven reserves is the result of new exploration that has begun since the end of the second Gulf War.

Perhaps this helps illustrate the picture of Babylon (the region of present-day Iraq) presented in the Book of Revelation. When this region is finally judged by God "the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more" (8:11). John then lists the luxury items being imported to feed the appetite of this nouveau riche nation. The businessmen cry out "The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered" (18:12). And "every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off" (18:17) and cry out when they see the destruction of this place on whose wealth they will have come to depended for their livelihood.

For centuries John's words seemed overly dramatic...too amazing to be taken literally. Now, however, it's easier to visualize how this area can possess such economic wealth and influence over the world.