Israel Becomes the Jewish State, and Erdoğan’s Perpetual State of Emergency
jerusalem
On Tuesday, the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency, Europol, signed an intelligence agreement with Israel.
Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich and Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle signed the agreement in The Hague.
In her speech at the signing ceremony, De Bolle said, “Today, I am signing the first-ever Europol working arrangement between Europol and a non-EU country. It is a major step forward in enhancing the relationship between Europol and Israel. The arrangement will multiply contacts at all levels and open doors to closer cooperation, making the European Union and Israel safer.”
De Bolle noted that this is the first police-to-police agreement the EU has signed with any nation outside the EU. This agreement will allow for “cooperation and the transfer of knowledge” to combat increased terrorism, fraud and cybercrime around the world.
For the EU, there is a real benefit to such an agreement, given Israel’s superior ability to track down terrorists and alert European nations to impending attacks. However, the agreement may also open up Israel’s security apparatus to European eyes—a dangerous vulnerability, should this friend become an enemy.
This agreement ignores the Israeli public’s suspicion that Europe has been and always will be an adversary of the Jewish state, no matter how the EU might spin it.
Look for more security pacts like this in the future. The Bible indicates that Israel will rely more and more on Europe. However, it also indicates that these security pacts will result in a European double cross against Israel. In Hosea 5, the Bible reveals that Israel (biblical Judah) will actually reach out to German-led Europe for security. You can read more about this subject in our free booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy.
Turkey Ends State of Emergency, but Erdoğan Retains Powers
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fulfilled a campaign promise this week by formally ending the state of emergency that had been in force since the failed coup in 2016. The state of emergency had granted him supreme powers that, among other things, allowed him to carry out the biggest purge in Turkey’s modern history, imprisoning about 80,000 people.
However, if you thought that ending the state of emergency meant that Erdoğan is relinquishing his power, you would be wrong.
By virtue of last month’s election and some new constitutional and legislative changes, Erdoğan will retain similar powers to those he held during the state of emergency.
According to the main opposition inside the Turkish parliament, the “anti-terrorism” legislative changes discussed this week will essentially amount to a new state of emergency.
The head of the opposition said this week, “With this bill, with the measures in the text, the state of emergency will not be extended for three months, but for three years,” a reference to the length of Erdoğan’s presidential term prior to the next election.
From now on, Turkish policy will continue to reflect the nature, character and will of President Erdoğan.
The Bible indicates that in the end time, a strongman like Erdoğan would lead Turkey. Based on prophecies found in Psalm 83 and the book of Obadiah, the Trumpet has been watching for a strong leader in Turkey who is capable of navigating powerful alliances, especially an alliance with a strong German-led Europe. The European double cross of Israel actually includes a role for the nation of Turkey. To read more about Turkey’s role in this prophecy, request our free booklet The King of the South.
Israel Passes Law Enshrining ‘National Home of the Jewish People’
Israel is now the Jewish state. Of course, that seems obvious, but the landmark bill passed in the Knesset on Wednesday night made it official that Israel is the “national home of the Jewish people.”
The controversial bill was seven years in the making, with revision after revision brought before the Knesset. Even on Wednesday, revisions were made to the bill that made it more palatable to the international community.
When the bill passed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the new law as “a pivotal moment in the annals of Zionism and the State of Israel.”
“We enshrined in law the basic principle of our existence,” he said. “Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people that respects the individual rights of all its citizens. This is our state—the Jewish state. In recent years there have been some who have attempted to put this in doubt, to undercut the core of our being. Today we made it law: This is our nation, language and flag.”
The law also declares that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, sets the Hebrew calendar as the official calendar of the state, and recognizes Israel’s Independence Day, national days of remembrance and Jewish holidays.
The bill makes the fact that Israel is the Jewish state an integral part of the nation’s common law, which is akin to its constitution. This new law underscores Israel’s biblical identity, which is critical to know in order to understand biblical prophecy.
The Bible records that the ancient nation of Israel consisted of 12 tribes. One of the most prominent tribes was Judah, whose members became known as “Jews.” The nation then split into two nations: The majority of the tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel, and the minority formed the Kingdom of Judah. When Bible prophecy refers to Israel, it almost always means the modern nations that descended from the Kingdom of Israel—not the modern Jewish nation called Israel. When Bible prophecy refers to Judah, it means the Jewish state, the nation-state of the Jewish people, the modern Middle Eastern nation called Israel.
Indirectly, the new Basic Law—Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people—confirms this fact.
