ISRAEL PUTS ITS STAMP ON ITS BIBLICAL HOMELAND

By Paul Tatham 

tatham47@hotmail.com

This week (June 5, 1967) marks the 50^th anniversary of one of modern Israel’s most important wars—the Six-Day War.

Presently, God’s chosen people, the Jews, are not the lead players in God’s grand scheme of things. They have been placed on the back burner since their nation as a whole rejected Christ—“away with Him!” And they have rejected Him ever since. We now live in the age of the gentiles who, as a whole, have been far more receptive to the Savior than the Jews.

  

But even though some evangelicals believe that God is finished with His people, Israel’s day is coming. It will take center stage again. Israelis will embrace their Messiah, and God has a major role for them to play in the upcoming

Tribulation and Millennium.

So let’s take a look at where modern Israel stands today, especially how it has survived such horrific persecution and attacks. You’ll see God’s hand at work

 The Rebirth Of Israel in 1948

·         

  The Jewish diaspora (“scattering”) happened in several waves—722 BC, 586 BC, and 70 AD.

• Before 1948, the land we now called Israel was known as Palestine.
• In the early years of the 20^th century, Jews worldwide began yearning for a homeland, a quest called Zionism. The valley of dry bones (Ezek 36-37) was beginning to show signs of life.
• WW I (1914-1918):

Allied Powers          Central Powers
Britain                     Germany
France                    Austro-Hungarian Empire                 
Russia                    Bulgaria
Italy                        Ottoman Empire
Japan
US
 
Lawrence of Arabia fought for the British in WW I and sought to unify the disparate Arab tribes against the Ottoman Turks.

After WW I, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine (formerly part of the Ottoman Empire). Jews worldwide began migrating to their former homeland. The Holocaust of WW II spurred more Jews to do the same.

As Jews began to stream into Palestine, purchasing property, the Arabs become increasingly upset. (Please note that the Jews did not steal land from the Arabs.) 

There were several attacks. The Jews formed defensive forces. The British became fed up with the infighting and withdrew from Palestine. 

The newly formed United Nations, which had superseded the League of Nations, divided up Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs. After centuries as vagabonds, Israel now had its homeland back.

 The 1948 War

• AKA “The War of Independence”
• The day after Israel announced its rebirth as a nation, it was attacked by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Other hostile Arab nations soon joined in, bent on strangling newborn Israel in its crib.
• Though vastly outgunned and outnumbered, Israel managed somehow (can you say “God”?) to not only survive the onslaught but to actually end the war with more territory than it had originally been allotted by the United Nations the year before.
• Mastermind: Yadin
• Israeli PM: David Ben-Gurion

 The 1956 War

·         AKA “The 100-Hour War”

·         Fought mainly in the Sinai and mainly against Egypt Mastermind:

·         Dayan’ Israel won quite handily

·         Israeli PM: David Ben-Gurion

The 1967 War

• AKA “The Six-Day War”                                  
• Mastermind: Rabin           
• Nasser (Egypt) starts the war by blockading the Straits of Tiran, then threatening to “drive Israel into the sea.” Lots of bluster.
• Israel realizes that its only hope of survival is a pre-emptive strike.
• The morning of June 5, Israel wipes out three Arab air forces—Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel has only 300 jets, mainly French Mirages. They each fly several sorties a day.
• The Israeli air force is widely considered one of the world’s best. Flying in under the radar, under radio silence, and too low for SAM missiles, they catch their opponents off guard and on the ground.
• Battle of Mitla Pass.
• Israel ends the war with far more territory than when it started. Later returned Sinai to Egypt
• The IDF actually managed to deceive at least one enemy jet into landing in Israel itself, where it was summarily commandeered.
• Israeli PM: Levi Eshkol
• Abba Eban’s speech to UN
• A prophetically significant war, almost on par with the rebirth of Israel itself; Old City of Jerusalem captured by Israel, opening the possibility of building another temple on the Temple Mount (Mt. Moriah—Abraham and Isaac)

The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich

• Massacre of Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists
• Begged the Germans to take over the operation
• Mossad later tracked them down

The 1973 War

• AKA “The Yom Kippur War”
• Mastermind: Laskov
• Egyptians caught Israel napping, resting on its laurels; surprised by attack on holiest day of Jewish calendar—Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• The only war Israel came within range of losing; considered going nuclear; Dimona; Nixon sends war materiel
• Israel’s PM: Golda Meir
• Israel ends up with more land than when it started, crossing the Suez Canal

The 1976 raid on Entebbe

• Air France plane hijacked by Arab terrorists, taken to Uganda
• Mostly Jewish passengers
• Amazing rescue mission carried out by Israel; a model for other nations
• Israel knew the layout of the airport, since they had built it
• Idi Amin
• C-130s
• Amin’s Mercedes
• Netanyahu’s brother only Israeli soldier killed in raid
• Took place on America’s bicentennial, so didn’t get much ink that day
• Still recognized as a feat of military brilliance

 Sadat assassinated—1981

• For making peace with Israel

 The 1981 raid on Iraqi reactors

• Iraq had been working on its nuclear-weapon capability for years, made possible by building a nuclear reactor. Just before its reactor went operational, a surprise surgical air strike by Israel destroyed it.

“The Bekaa Valley Turkey Shoot”—1982

• Israeli jets vs Syrian jets over a valley in eastern Lebanon
• Air battle lasted one month
• One of the largest jet battles ever fought
• Syria also had SAM missiles
• Syria lost 87 planes, Israel 2

The 1982 Lebanese War

• Israel drives the PLO (Arafat) out of Lebanon
• PLO relocates in Tripoli
• Mastermind: Sharon

 The 2008 and 2014 Gaza Conflicts

• After absorbing countless rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israel launches its forces to shut it down
• Israel’s “Iron Dome” goes operational

 The 2012 cyber attack on Iran

• Although much of operation remains classified, it is highly likely that Israel, in consort with the U.S., implanted a computer virus into Iran’s nuclear facilities, thus rendering Iran’s weapons capabilities ineffective

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