Dear Friend:
Space considerations necessitate leaving out some articles I prepare for the Levitt Letter. We then either post them at www.Levitt.com, or we save them for this personal letter. Below are two stories of that kind, one of which concerns the amazing rise of Hamas, and the other looks at 2006 in general.
The terrorists of Hamas have won the election in “Palestine,” but they will only get to rule over utter confusion. The place is in total disarray, close to real anarchy.
Certain publications are fair about news from Israel, and some are invariably critical of that nation. The New York Times has been one of the more constant critics of Israel for as long as I can remember. While the paper has predictably deteriorated, now ranked sixth among newspapers internationally, instead of first as it formerly was, it still influences a lot of people. Its drumbeat of derision about Israel almost matches its endless criticism of Washington.
With all that said, I was bowled over to read a truthful report about the Palestinian situation in Gaza back on January 8. In a front-page story above the fold, the Times, longtime cheerleaders of Arafat and the succeeding thugs that comprise the “Palestinian” “government,” suddenly became accurate on that touchy subject.
They began with Ariel Sharon’s stroke and the impending end of his leadership, and continued: …but the Palestinian Authority itself is in such disarray that it may be incapable of negotiating on terms any leader could accept.
There is spreading chaos, a sense of deterioration, and growing concern among both Palestinians and Israelis that the Palestinian Authority, nearly bankrupt and facing a huge budget deficit, may look like a failed state even before it becomes one.
Life for ordinary Palestinians is becoming harder, with less security and optimism than a year ago. The Israelis pulled out of Gaza—a thrilling moment for many Palestinians—but the territory has become practically lawless, not a model for a future state, and Palestinian voters seem set to punish the divided Fatah movement that monopolizes the Palestinian Authority.
The article goes on to detail the rise of Hamas, although Fatah itself is a criminal-enough regime for any dictatorship. The shock here is that the Times actually reported the truth on this subject of such bias. (Isn’t this what our Levitt Letter has been saying for 25 years?!)
We are commenting while Ariel Sharon remains under medical care. If the prime minister cannot continue, which seems likely at this point, he has several competent associates who will continue his policies. Basically, those comprise a unilateral separation from the Palestinians, in view of having utterly no one to negotiate with. This may involve certain withdrawals from territories in the West Bank but maintenance of the larger Israeli settlements there.
Such is life and the normal affairs in a democracy. With the Palestinians, the death of Arafat ultimately created the chaos we are now seeing. He had chosen no successor apart from the ineffective Abbas. Hamas can only make things worse. So far, they are carrying on their usual bravado about never giving up their principles and throwing out the occupiers, blah, blah, blah. One cannot help but be reminded of Saddam Hussein and his stirring prediction about “the mother of all wars,” which actually turned out to be the mother of all surrenders.
I feel certain that any thinking person, looking at Gaza, would fully understand that it would be utter insanity to create a Palestinian state. Regardless what the Roadmap says, or the pronouncements of the State Department, the U.N., Europe, Russia, and all the rest of the anti-Israel world, we just do not have a real need for another terrorist state.
Newscasters on the major networks have switched from rehashing the year 2005 to making predictions for 2006. Some of those seem very reasonable.
Charles Krauthammer wrote that Fidel Castro will at last die in the coming year and this Caribbean island will return to being one of America’s favorite resorts. Prosperity will ensue again.
Castro’s not getting any younger. But what really is illustrated here is that people suffering under a dictator really do not often organize and turn against him. Here the Cubans have sat for more than forty-five years, living in abject poverty, under a muddle-headed revolutionary and communist clap-trap. They have one of the island paradises of the Caribbean, but they’ve spent two generations trying to keep ’53 Chevys in repair and subsist in buildings where the ceilings fall in.
And then, if by magic this loony old dictator meets his maker, they are expected to recover overnight and turn against their secret police and whatever powers that the despot has left behind. They may or may not be successful at that, but the point is made: while the strongman has the power, the millions suffer day by day.
So it is with twenty-two Arab nations that are more or less owned and operated by single totalitarians (like Syria, Egypt, etc.), or by “families” (the Iranian mullahs or the Saudi “royal family,” consisting of 30,000 unrelated thugs). The Arabs sit, century after century, under the heels of such incompetence, while their agriculture, medical care, general advancement to civilization, and all the rest, languish hopelessly.
Every winter when Sandra and I speak throughout the southern states, we have the Orlando Sentinel delivered to our RV. That paper makes me as mad as The Dallas Morning News and almost as mad as The New York Times. But they, too, had an editorialist look ahead at 2006. This pie-in-the-sky prophet suggested that the Iranian people overthrow their dictators and simply make a democracy—wouldn’t that be nice? He also said that Iraqis ought to settle their differences and come together under one benign government. These things are so easy to write.
Finally, in a real flash of insight, he advised Israel to “show restraint” in the face of Iran’s nuclear threat. That would also be nice.
But the U.N. is not going to stop the Iranians, and I don’t believe that our country will. The other powers, Europe and Russia for example, are all but helping that totalitarian regime with technology and every sort of encouragement. And so it goes.
The problem with Israel “showing restraint” is that one inch of too much restraint will be the end of Israel and all around them when this psychotic priesthood attempts their nuclear massacre.
It’s a comfort to know from prophecy that no one from here to eternity will ever succeed in defeating Israel, though so many would like to. Ultimately God’s promises always work out, and the particular promises to Israel of its security, the Kingdom, and so forth, are such that if the Bible contained only those prophecies, it would be a valuable book of prophecy.
In any case, any tour of Israel is better than no tour of Israel. See the Holy Land for yourself in this life! Our next tour is the always-popular Discovery Tour, scheduled for June 6–16. You may discover treasures while on our “dig for a day,” where you will join archaeologists at a working site. Those treasures, however, will not compare to the spiritual treasures you will discover while soaking in the inspiration of God’s Promised Land!
I would like to recommend a new tour that we are offering with our friend Harvey Zion, a Messianic Believer who has helped with our tours for years. September 1–3,
Harvey will lead a weekend tour at The Holy Land Experience in Orlando. See theatrical presentations as well as the biblical displays that have made The Holy Land Experience a “must see” in Orlando, Florida.
Of course, I would love for you to join me for our Fall Tour. The tentative schedule is as follows: The Deluxe Tour (Israel only) is scheduled for October 29–November 8, Grand Petra (Israel & Petra) October 29–November 12, Grand Athens (Greek Isles & Israel) October 24–November 8, and our all-inclusive Ultra Grand Tour (Greek Isles, Israel & Petra) is October 24–November 12.
To request a brochure on any of these tours, please call Tony at 214-696-9760 during regular business hours, 1-800-WONDERS (800-966-3377) anytime, or visit www.levitt.com where you can download a brochure from the website or request a brochure be sent by mail.
This could be the last newsletter that you receive via our old computer system, which we have been working for months to replace. Please “keep a watchful eye” to see that your letters from me continue just to help me make sure that everyone’s name and address stays intact through this complicated transfer of data. Please pray for this transition to go smoothly, particularly in light of how much these letters mean to our readers. This ministry continues to rely on your loyal support financially as our growth has yielded a new level of expenses that would have frightened us in years past. Thanks for making a profound difference in the work we do to God’s glory.
Please join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem.
Your messenger,
P.S. My Christian birthday is March 14, 1971, so PTL—I’m 35 years old in the Lord!
