Joel Rosenberg: Netanyahu Wants to Annex Parts of West Bank, Pro-Israel Evangelicals in U.S. Are Not Paying Attention

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Israel is successfully managing the COVID-19 crisis, and beginning to reopen the society and reboot our economy. But we may create a new crisis if we move forward with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to annex large swaths of Judea and Samaria as early as next month.

This is a huge story here and reporters keep asking me how Evangelicals are reacting.

Here are excerpts from the interview I did with Amir Tibon, Washington correspondent for the Israeli daily, Haaretz:

•  “Joel Rosenberg, an evangelical author and analyst who lives in Jerusalem, believes that annexation isn’t going to make much of a difference for most evangelical voters. ‘This is driven by Israeli politics, not American politics,’ he says. ‘Most evangelicals in America are focused right now exclusively on domestic issues: the COVID-19 crisis, the race tensions, unemployment and the fact that churches are not yet open. I don’t think most evangelicals have even heard about annexation.'”….
• “Rosenberg has taken several groups of evangelical leaders to meet heads of Arab states in recent years, and tells Haaretz his contacts in the Arab world are struggling to understand the logic behind an Israeli annexation move at this time. ‘The relationship between Israel and the Arab world is as good as it’s ever been,’ he says, ‘and my contacts are asking me: why risk that right now? What’s the urgency?’”…..
• “There are definitely evangelical leaders who will be happy about any opportunity to incorporate biblical lands into Israel. But I don’t agree with the analysis that Trump will benefit politically with the average evangelical voter by supporting annexation. If you believe Trump is pro-Israel, you’ve already been convinced by the embassy move and his pressure against Iran. Annexation isn’t going to change your view on this issue.”…..
• “Rosenberg says he believes the main motivation behind the annexation push ‘has nothing to do with evangelicals,’ but instead is based on ‘fears [in Netanyahu’s sphere] that Trump won’t win a second term. But my question to people who make that argument is: If that’s what you’re predicting, how does Israel benefit from punching Joe Biden in the nose?”

Note: I made these comments in my private capacity as a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, not as the founder and Chairman of The Joshua Fund, which is a non-profit organization that takes no positions on political or legislative issues.

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(Jerusalem, Israel) — This is the huge story here in Israel today.

It confirms what I reported in my column in The Jerusalem Post last week, that if Israel moves forward with plans to annex large swaths of the West Bank this summer this will severely damage and possibly destroy the rapidly warming ties between Israel and the Gulf States.

The big question now is: How will Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz respond?

Here is the short video of the UAE Ambassador speaking in English to Israelis.

Here is the English version of the op-ed that was published in Hebrew by Yediot Aharonot, that everyone is talking about today. I encourage you to read it in full.

• Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba: Annexation will be a serious setback for better relations with the Arab world — A unilateral and illegal seizure of Palestinian land defies the international consensus on the Palestinian right to self-determination, will ignite violence and send shock waves around the region, especially in Jordan whose stability is often taken particularly Israel. (Ynet News)

Here are just two of the front-page news stories in Israel covering these developments:

• UAE: Annexation could destroy Israeli normalization with Arab world: In an effort to directly reach out to Israelis, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S., Yousef al-Otaiba, published an opinion piece in the largest Hebrew daily, Yediot Aharonot. (Jerusalem Post)
• In first-ever op-ed for Israeli paper, UAE diplomat warns against annexation: Yousef al-Otaiba says much of Arab world wants to believe Israel ‘is an opportunity, not an enemy,’ but the ‘great potential of warmer ties’ is threatened by Netanyahu’s plans (Times of Israel)

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• To order THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN in hardcover, e-book or audio formats, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE KREMLIN CONSPIRACY, please click here.

____________________

• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? At this unprecedented moment of crisis, would you help us bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, care for the poor and needy and those unemployed and shut-in’s in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, teach the Word of God, answer spiritual questions, educate the Church about the importance of Bible prophecy and strengthen struggling congregations and ministries in the Epicenter? The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.