On the very eve of 'celebrating' the centenary year of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the British Government has once more betrayed the Jewish people.

The pledge made through Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour 100 years ago this coming November, promising to do all in its power to re-settle God's chosen people in their ancient land, was repeatedly broken in the 1920s and 30s as Britain kowtowed to Arab opposition.

Nevertheless, we had set the ball rolling towards the re-birth of the Jewish state - thanks to a combination of Zionist lobbying and evangelical Christian influence – and for that we can justly be proud.

Tragically, however, giants of the faith such as William Wilberforce, Charles Spurgeon and Bishop JC Ryle don't appear to be around these days. But thank God for Melanie Phillips,¹ one of Britain's most highly-respected journalists, who has vented her fury over the country's latest betrayal of the Jews in an open letter² to Prime Minister Theresa May.

British Betrayal...Again

Voting for a United Nations resolution³ effectively delegitimising much of Israel amounted to a "declaration of diplomatic war" and an act of anti-Semitism against the Jewish state, she wrote.

In a much-needed history lesson for the Prime Minister, Phillips points out the irony of backing such a resolution at a time when Mrs May has been hailed as an ardent friend of Israel.

Britain had signed up to propositions that repudiate law, justice and truth, she said. And it had put itself "firmly behind the attempt to exterminate the State of Israel under the cowardly cover of vacuous pieties about supporting two democratic states and opposing terrorism and incitement. It has done this by endorsing the inflammatory falsehoods and legal and historic fictions deployed by those whose purpose is to destroy the State of Israel."

"By declaring that Israel's borders should be established on terms demanded by its mortal enemies, the British government has backed coerced surrender to aggressors bent on Israel's extermination."

Shrewd commentators point out the irony of Britain backing such a resolution at a time when Mrs May has been hailed as an ardent friend of Israel.

They had further shown "contempt for international law" which entitled Jews to settle in land now in dispute. There was no such thing as Palestinian territory or a Palestinian people, she pointed out. It was an artificial creation invented solely to destroy Jewish entitlement to their own homeland.

And in supporting this resolution, Britain had made itself party "to the proposed racist ethnic cleansing of the Jews from their own ancient land."

Rewarding and Incentivising Arab Aggression

Phillips raged:

The Arab-Israel impasse continues principally because Britain, Europe and America have consistently sanitised, rewarded and incentivised Arab aggression against Israel while punishing it for trying to defend its right to the land.

Britain bears primary responsibility for this. In the thirties, it betrayed its Mandate⁴ obligations by reneging on its treaty obligation to settle the Jews in the land and instead rewarded genocidal Arab aggression by offering the Arabs part of the Jews' own entitlement to the land. Voting for UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolution 2334 merely continues that history of British infamy.

Phillips concluded that if Mrs May continued to support such moves, "it will be a dreadful irony that someone who is so obviously well-disposed towards the Jewish people should go down in history as one of its most bitter enemies".

Not many weeks ago we reported with some hope on Mrs May's positive attitude towards Israel, evident in her speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel, whilst noting her less savoury comments about 'illegal' settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Now since the UN vote, her increasingly inconsistent attempts to please everyone have earned her criticism for being, at best, foolish, at worst downright duplicitous.

Earth-Shaking Impact

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world the effect of the shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN has, it seems, been quite literally earthshaking. The 14 November earthquake in New Zealand – one of the most powerful ever to strike the Pacific nation – came just minutes after a closed meeting at which a draft of the resolution was allegedly discussed between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister John Key.⁵

It was New Zealand who co-sponsored the resolution (with Senegal, Venezuela and Malaysia), which saw 14 out of the 15 Security Council members vote in favour, with the US abstaining rather than casting its veto as it usually does on issues relating to borders, thereby giving it added credence. The Obama administration is widely believed to have been behind the motion, which condemned all Israeli settlement activity as illegal and even delegitimised Jewish claims to Jerusalem's Old City, which has had an unbroken link to Judaism over thousands of years.

Elsewhere in the world, the effect of the shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN has been quite literally earthshaking.

Now it seems that the Judge of all the earth has sent tremors to the proposers as a warning to those who would touch the 'apple of his eye' or divide up his land (Zech 2:8; Joel 3:2). My friend described it as "Genesis 12:3 in action" – the Bible verse reading: "I will bless those who bless you [the seed of Abraham], and whoever curses you I will curse..."

Another friend, from north of Auckland, pointed out that New Zealand was given the 'ignominious honour' of fronting the resolution when Egypt (once an enemy of Israel) stepped back from doing so after intervention from Donald Trump. The Bible does teach that in the last days, Egypt will become a friend of Israel (see Isaiah 19).⁶

Support Israel Like Never Before

The resolution effectively legitimises the Palestinian narrative that Israel has no entitlement to land that is historically theirs – the same line taken by the butchers of Islamic State and similar terror groups who have caused such mayhem over Christmas in Cairo, Berlin and Istanbul.

Israel's Education Minister Naftali Bennett issued a defiant response to the UN action from a snowy Mt Hermon in the Golan Heights: "Five minutes from here, the Syrian government and ISIS have butchered over half-a-million men, women and children. The UN resolution suggests that this is occupied territory and should be handed over to those enemies...You have Israel thriving and a terror state five minutes from here in an abyss of murder. We will prevail."⁷ Mike Evans, of the pro-Israel Jerusalem Prayer Team which boasts 14 million members, said: "The events foretold by ancient prophets are unfolding before our eyes – the nation of Israel, miraculously reborn (in 1948), is surrounded by enemies on every side. And the Jewish people are in need of our love, help and support as never before."

The Story Continues: Next Dates for your Prayers:

• 15 January: representatives from 70 countries will meet in Paris to discuss a possible 'two state solution' for peace in the Middle East. There is considerable fear in Israel that this will begin the process of establishing a permanent Palestinian state.
• 17-20 January: world leaders will meet in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum – but will doubtless also use the opportunity to discuss other political matters.

N.B. Both of these meetings will occur prior to the inauguration of Donald Trump (22 January). There is concern that Obama will use them for further last-minute manoeuvres that will harm Israel.

References

1 A former columnist for the Daily Mail, Melanie Phillips now writes for The Times, Jerusalem Post and Jewish Chronicle. Although Jewish, she does not identify herself as religious, but has long been an indefatigable campaigner for Judeo-Christian values. She is also author of The World Turned Upside Down (Encounter Books), a brilliant commentary on the cancerous undermining of Western civilization.

2 For the full transcript, click here. Phillips has since also published a response to the May Government's inconsistent criticism of John Kerry's vitriolic anti-Israel speech last week.

3 The resolution condemned Israel's settlement enterprise and declared all disputed territories as 'occupied' including Jerusalem's Old City and Temple Mount, historically tied to Israel for thousands of years.

4 Britain was given the Mandate to govern what was then known as Palestine following the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, with the goal of preparing the region for Jewish repatriation and statehood.

5 This quake, of a 7.8 magnitude causing extensive structural damage, struck just after midnight on November 14 near Christchurch, which suffered a devastating tremor five years ago. Just a week later, a second quake struck central New Zealand, with the epicenter some 200km north-east of Wellington, the capital. Although this measured 5.6 on the Richter scale, my sister Penny, who lives over 100 miles away on the west coast, felt the earth shaking – a truly frightening experience. Click here for a spiritual analysis of the quake.

6 To be fair, many New Zealanders have protested their country's role in this debacle and the nation has become a favourite destination for young Israeli tourists.

7 Jerusalem News Network, 30 December 2016, quoting Arutz-7.