Reprinted from Wallwritings
Jesus told his disciples they must learn to "discern the signs of the times" (Matthew 16:3).
In the Iowa caucuses, Monday, February 1, voters will offer their secular versions of political signs for the future when they select two potential presidential candidates.
Democrats will choose between an establishment leader who seeks to become the nation's first female president, and a declared Socialist Senator from Vermont, who could become the nation's first Jewish president.
Republicans have many choices for a future president, led by a raging bully named Trump, a "non-politician" who has so far outrun all the politicians lined up against him.
Which 2016 political signs are there for discernment? For voters concerned about guns, ISIS, God, wages, and health care, signs abound. But don't look for signs to discern the end of Israel's continued military control over the people of Palestine.
There are none. Unless, that is, the total absence of signs, is a sign in itself.
Don't look to the Iowa caucus results for any grasp of reality on the Palestine-Israel issue. Look instead, to corners of Israel's media. Begin with the editor-publisher of Jerusalem's major moderate Ha'aretz publication, Amos Schocken.
Schocken began an editorial in his own publication with these clear and cogent words:
"There are many differences between conditions in South Africa during the apartheid era and those current in the land from the Jordan River to the sea, especially in the territories that Israel controls beyond its internationally recognized borders. However, there is one important feature they share: two peoples living on one piece of land.
"One people has all the rights and protections, while the other is deprived of numerous rights and lives under the former's control. Israel determines the fate and day-to-day life of millions of people who have no influence over its decisions.
"The government of Israel is the party that will debate whether or not to accept the Israel Defense Forces' recommendation to ease policies toward the Palestinian Authority and its people.
"In South Africa, there were similar discussions about easing apartheid for blacks.
"Israel as an apartheid state is not a viable situation, not only because of the corruption of values but also because this predicament is liable to lead Israel, like South Africa in its time, to banishment from the family of nations."
This is from a highly respected Israeli publication. Remember how the American media and the Democratic party leaders denounced President Jimmy Carter for even his use of the term "apartheid" in the title of his 2007 book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
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