Israel's New Direction

Ehud Barak decisively won Israel's general election last May, and came to office as Prime Minister with policy objectives very different from his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. In particular he was committed to urgent initiatives for the acceleration of the Middle East Peace Process, which had reached virtual stalemate through Netanyahu's obstructive tactics.

Like the late Yitzhak Rabin, his political mentor, Barak had been a senior military figure in the Israeli armed forces, and is distinguished as the country's most decorated soldier. He therefore commands respect in his handling of such sensitive security issues as withdrawal of Israeli troops from the so-called 'security zone' in southern Lebanon, or giving back control of the strategic Golan Heights to Syria; issues which are crucial to progress in any peace agreements with those countries.

Ambitious plans for peace agreements

Shortly after taking office Prime Minister Barak visited Washington for personal talks with the United States President. They established a cordial rapport. Barak outlined his ambition to conclude early peace agreements with Syria and Lebanon, and to pursue negotiations with the Palestinians. He also insisted that he wished to handle negotiations directly rather than have them brokered by American diplomats; a welcome change for the Americans from having constantly to pressurize the rival parties to maintain the momentum of the peace talks. For Ehud Barak his well publicized reception by the President of the United States had helpful political effects back home. Strong positive support from the most powerful leader of the western world will encourage Israelis more readily to accept the risk of necessary concessions in the cause of peace.

From the Syrian capital, Damascus, President Assad publicly welcomed Ehud Barak's electoral victory, describing him as a strong and honest man who would have a real desire for peace. This favourable comment was of course in the knowledge that it was Barak's declared intention to negotiate for the return of the Golan Heights to Syria. In return Barak will doubtless require a stiff price - a comprehensive peace treaty with Israel, and exchange of ambassadors; also pressure on Syria's vassal state of Lebanon to stop terrorist groups attacking Israel's northern border from bases in southern Lebanon. This in turn would leave Israel free to withdraw troops from the 'security zone' in south Lebanon, a military commitment which has become intensely unpopular since Israeli casualties have mounted.

Concessions and goodwill required

There remains also the thorny Palestinian problem, including their demand for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The October 1998 Wye River Agreement was scarcely implemented at all by the Netanyahu government because the Palestinians allegedly failed to meet their security obligations. The new administration will be keen to fulfil the terms of the Wye River Agreement, and carry forward negotiations towards other Palestinian objectives. Yet the status of Jerusalem and the future of Israeli settlements within Palestinian territories are both fraught with great difficulties. These could only be resolved by concessions and goodwill on both sides; and goodwill has so far been a very rare commodity! Yasser Arafat hopes for the establishment of a Palestinian State by May 2004, an ambition which at the moment seems highly optimistic.

Exit Benjamin Netanyahu; enter Ehud Barak; and within about twelve months the present United States President will complete his term of office. We watch with fascination as individuals of such differing personality, ability and outlook briefly appear on the world stage, all too soon to hand over power to someone else. The maze of political intrigue, the interplay of personalities, the involved motivations and policies, appear to us like tangled threads beneath a tapestry. Yet to the Lord the tapestry is fully in view, the pattern being developed by His infinitely skilful overruling and control of seemingly confused events. As when 'both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass' (Acts 4:27,28). Still today events in the Middle East are being shaped under divine control towards the great end-time crisis and the return of God's anointed King.

Ehud Barak bears the names of two great Bible heroes, both saviours of God's people in their day. Ehud (meaning 'strong') who slew Eglon, king of Moab (Judg. 3:12-30); and Barak (meaning 'lightning') who with Deborah's help led Israel against Sisera (Judg. Chapters 4 and 5). Israel's present Prime Minister has lived up to the name Ehud as a strong modern soldier; his ambition is to take lightning action in attempting to secure peace with Israel's neighbouring states. How welcome any progress would be if it brought relief from the strains of terrorism and war to all peoples in the region! Yet Scripture reveals that still darker days lie ahead under the shadow of Antichrist's power, before 'the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings' (Mal. 4:2).

unknown | Nov 1999
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