Differing analysis articles were published last week in Germany’s Die Welt, and Monday in the New York Times, drawing opposing conclusions about Israel’s military capability to cripple Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

While the New York Times voiced serious doubts about Israel’s chances of success, Die Weltexpressed confidence that the Israeli air force could decimate Iran’s principal nuclear installations.

The contrasting views could well hasten Israel’s decision to seek defense assistance from Germany.

The views disagree on two key areas: the number of Israeli jets and bombs needed to take out Iran’s main nuclear facilities, and the question of refueling Israel’s jets so they can complete the 1,000-mile flight into Iran and back to Israel.

U.S.: Sorry, Israel. You Don’t Have What it Takes.

The Times called its bleak analysis “Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets.” It said Israel would require at least 100 fighter jets to destroy Iran’s nuclear complexes. The article expressed the viewpoint not just of one American expert, but rather from several leading U.S. military analysts. The consensus was that it would be a monstrous challenge for Israel to breach Iran’s airspace and attack its nuclear facilities.

The article quoted Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, who served as the U.S. Air Force’s top intelligence official until last year, as saying, “All the pundits who talk about ‘Oh, yeah, bomb Iran,’ it ain’t going to be that easy.” It also cited Michael Hayden, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as saying that annihilating Iran’s nuclear facilities is “beyond the capacity” of Israel. Regarding Israel’s ability to refuel its jets, the Times said, “Israel would have to use airborne refueling planes, called tankers, but Israel is not thought to have enough.”

Germany: We Believe in You, Israel!

In stark contrast to the Times outlook, Hans Rühle, former director of the German Defense Ministry’s planning department, said that Israel is militarily capable of setting Iran’s nuclear weapons program back by a decade or more.

In an analysis titled “How Israel can destroy Iran’s nuclear program,” Rühle cited German defense experts to defend his optimistic view. “Israel’s air force is first class,” wrote Rühle. “Their pilots are conditioned from the history of Israel and the constant dangers faced by the Jewish state.”

Rühle identifies the refueling of fighter jets to be an obstacle that Israel can surmount, explaining that Israel’s air force has expertise in the “buddy refueling” process, and discussing the possibility of temporary landings in Syria, Turkey or Iraq.

Israel is taking note of these differing viewpoints. On Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post published an article juxtaposing the U.S.’s bleak outlook on the matter with Germany’s optimistic perspective.

Bible prophecy makes plain that as the U.S. declines—leaving Israel more and more isolated in the increasingly Islamizing Middle East—the Jewish nation will turn to Germany for defense help. But this decision will not end well for Israel.

The Jews celebrate and reverence the Old Testament and their history with the prophets recorded within it. But they ignore the message God delivered through these prophets. More than 2,500 years ago, the Prophet Hosea wrote about Germany’s impending double-cross of Israel: “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (Hosea 5:13).

This scripture is discussing the relationship between Germany and Israel today, and the devastating German double-cross it will culminate in. Israel’s leaders remember that the German nation destroyed the lives of 6 million Jews only 70 years ago, yet they refuse to trust God—the only source of true help for all of mankind—so they are gearing up to place their trust instead in Germany. Bible prophecy says the result will be catastrophic for the Jewish nation. To prove this, request free copies of The United States and Britain in Prophecy and Hosea—Reaping the Whirlwind.