A Nuclear Israel

Uzi Arad is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top national security expert. Holding a doctorate from Princeton, the former Mossad agent is, not surprisingly, of like-mind with his hawkish boss.

A profile on Arad in a recent issue of the Jerusalem Report was quite revealing, given the international curiosity with Israel’s nuclear capabilities.

Israel has long been coy about its nuclear capability. No one knows how many nukes Israel has, but the nation’s leaders have always insisted that they “wouldn’t be the first to use nuclear weapons in the Middle East.” This is a way of letting hostile neighbors know that the dog has some seriously sharp teeth.

In fact, Israel’s capabilities in this all-important area are sometimes referred to as the “Samson Option,” that is, the Jewish state, if faced with annihilation, would use every weapon at its disposal.

I have long advocated that Israel itself is not in ultimate danger, or existential danger, as the folks like to say. It is true that Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and others have done the same: Egypt comes to mind in the Six Day War.

All have failed.

And this is where, again, the Bible comes into play. Whether it’s Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, American preachers, or Washington policy wonks, it seems everyone is worried that Israel might…end. I am constantly amazed by this.

I’m so afraid for Israel.

The Iranians have threatened to destroy Israel.

Do you worry for Israel’s safety?

No, I don’t.

An interesting point about Uzi Arad’s appointment by Netanyahu is that he has already constructed models of how “limited” nuclear warfare might work in the Middle East. That is, at what point would Israel use its nukes?

This is interesting because it is a very important topic for our present world, and because it shows us once again that the Bible is rooted in reality. Zechariah and Ezekiel both, in particular, describe what must be nuclear warfare involving Israel.

Almost amusingly, Iran this week issued another (veiled) threat. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of the Americans “upgrading” the defensive capabilities of the countries in the region, thus in theory blunting the effectiveness of a bellicose Iran, possessed (pun intended) of a nuclear weapon, and threatening Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hasan Qashqavi said there’s no need for such protection of the Saudis, etc., it is just important for Israel to dismantle “its own 200 nuclear warheads.”

Israeli Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor actually criticized Clinton’s statement, pointing out that it sounds as if Washington has resigned itself to the Iranians having the bomb. He is correct.

No American arming of Iran’s neighbors will prevent the mullah psychos from using the bomb against Israel.

And here is where the Bible is very practical, and not the irrelevant fairy tale its critics claim. Zechariah revealed quite a bit of detail toward the end of his prophecy. In it, he recorded that one day, in a battle for Israel, a weapon will be used that will melt people while they stand on their feet.

Ezekiel, of course, tells us that after an attack against the end-times Jewish state, the Jews will bury what we must assume are radioactive bones.

Israel’s nuclear facility, at a small city called Dimona (southwest of the Dead Sea), was developed in the 1950s. Various American presidents, most especially John Kennedy, leaned on the Israelis not to “escalate” a Middle East nuclear arms race. Thank God they have taken the steps to protect themselves.

Through Isaiah, God declared that “no weapon formed against” Israel would prosper, would work. Iran might nor might not get nukes. It doesn’t really matter.

I believe these things written in the Bible. And it’s no accident that men like Uzi Arad are in positions of influence in these last days