Why the Violence in Israel? A Theory

Almost daily we hear of violent attacks in and around the city of Jerusalem.  IDF soldiers are shot.  A young couple traveling to their home are murdered in front of their children.  A rampaging car leaps a curb while the driver attempts to hit as many people as possible standing at the bus stop.  Men and women, often with children in tow, are suddenly attacked with knives or machetes.  And, as they seek to defend themselves, Jewish authorities have killed many Palestinians. 


Why, all of a sudden, the violence?  What has changed?  The central feature in this renewed violence is the status of the Temple Mount - a place within the Old City of Jerusalem that is held sacred by both Jews and Muslims.  The Muslims claim that it was from here that the Prophet Mohammed ascended one night into heaven; it is the third most holy site in Islam.  Atop the Temple Mount today stands the Dome of the Rock, a structure built 691, along with the Al Aqsa Mosque, from which sermons are preached on Fridays, often laced with vitriolic words.  Since the end of the Six Day War in 1967, the Muslim Waqif has controlled the access to the Temple Mount. 


Along the western side of the Temple Mount lies the Western Wall, or, sometimes called the Wailing Wall.  It is the only part of the Temple that remains from the Second Temple period, remembering that the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD.  This place is the holiest site for Jews.  Daily, hundreds of Jews come to the Western Wall to meditate and to pray.  I have been to the Wall many times and it is quite an experience. 


So, you are saying, why all the commotion now?  Earlier this summer, Muslim youth, attending services at the Al Aqsa Mosque, were seen carrying rocks, catapult-like machines, and knives into the Mosque with the purpose of using hurling those rocks upon the Jewish pilgrim worshiping below at the Western Wall.  Jewish Authorities gave the Waqif a period of time to clean out the weapons, which they refused.  So, Israeli authorities sent in police that stood in front of the Mosque.  This created a call that the Jews had assaulted the Temple Mount.  And thus the violence began. 


That incident may have been the catalyst for the present violence, but I believe there are two deeper factors that are keeping the violence alive.  First, back in September, in his address before the United Nations General Assembly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinians would no longer honor any agreement that had been reached with the State of Israel, thus nullifying the Oslo Accords which had been the legacy of the Clinton Administration.  He further stated that the Palestinians would destroy Israel , even so far as encouraging violence.  And since that speech, President Abbas has been reported as using inflammatory words to keep the Palestinian anger riled against the Jews. 


Second, I believe what we are seeing in Israel is an aftermath of the Iranian Nuclear Accords which were signed this past Sunday and now are in effect.  Suddenly the Iranian regime is being blessed with the receipt of $150 billion as sanctions are lifted.  It does not take a rocket scientist's mind to calculate what they plan to do with much of that new-found wealth.  We know that Hamas (Gaza Strip) and Hezbollah (Southern Lebanon) are proxies of Tehran.  The leadership of those two organizations committed to the annihilation of Israel are now competing for funds and weapons from Tehran.  How could you prove your value than to encourage violent attacks upon Israeli citizens.  You don't need just rockets any longer; you can use knife-wielding or truck-driving terrorists.  Last night I had the privilege of being a gathering with a Jewish Rabbi who was visiting from Israel.  I shared with him my theory and he concurred as to its possibility. 


And then there is the added presence of ISIS in the region.  I was reading an article this morning from The Israel Project website that cited a series of "ISIS propaganda videos released on Sunday praising the latest terror attacks and calling for more.  The videos urge Palestinians to 'return terror to the Jews' and to use any means at their disposal to carry out attacks, including knives, vehicles, poison and explosives.  The terrorist responsible for the attack on Sunday at the Beersheba central bus station that killed an IDF soldier and injured 11 people was inspired by ISIS. The title of one of the videos released by ISIS is 'Project Behead the Jews' and in another video, the speaker says, 'we will not enjoy our lives or take pleasure with a lavish abode until we liberate Al-Aqsa from the defilement of the sons of apes and pigs.'"  This is hardly rhetoric that defuses an already dangerous climate. 


Then, to add fuel to the proverbial fire, I read yesterday that the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) would be voting on a petition presented by six Arab States (Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates) on behalf of Palestine that would "fold the Jewish Western Wall into Islamic domain on the Temple Mount."  Friends, this is another attempt by the Muslim world to rewrite history, to purge every vestige of Jewish presence from the past in and around Jerusalem.  But how can one erase history?  The evidence of Jewish presence is almost insurmountable.  I have walked through some of the archaeological digs just outside the walls of the Old City.  It is an amazing journey back into time - not Muslim time, but Jewish time.  Ancient synagogues, ancient water systems, and ancient walls tell the stories of an ongoing Jewish presence for centuries before Mohammed was even born.  Thankfully, I read this morning that the UNESCO Committee did not adopt that portion of the petition that called for the ceding of the Western Wall into Muslim control.  But, mark my word, the Palestinians will try again and again. 


The Bible instructs us to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6).  And so we do.  But real peace will only come when King Jesus returns to accept that throne that is rightfully His there in Jerusalem.  Then, and only then, will there be true peace.  So, as we "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" today, yes, we are praying for the violence to end, but we are also praying that Jesus would come soon.  Yes, come quickly, Lord Jesus!