Evening Update: Netanyahu Nearing Decision On Iran Strike; Holds Bible Study

There are several very interesting stories in the news tonight:

Netanyahu Nearing Decision On Iran Strike. Ready To Order Attack Last Fall, But Obama Pressured Against

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is nearing a decision on an Iran strike. As he does so, he will soon come to the United States. The Israeli leader and his top national security team will meet with President Obama at the White House onSeptember 30th. The premier will then address the U.N. General Assembly on October 1st.

The big question: Is Netanyahu’s real mission to prepare the world for war?

Admittedly, there has been talk of such a war numerous times in recent years. But few realize just how close Netanyahu was to ordering the attack.

Media reports indicate that Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak were ready to order a strike on Iran in 2010, but faced stiff opposition from the head of the Mossad and other top defense and intelligence officials, and thus backed off.

On August 2nd, 2012, readers of this blog will recall that I wrote this column: “COULD ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER? Ahmadinejad calls for ‘annihilation’ of Israel; Netanyahu warns U.S. time is running out to stop Iran.”

Just last month, a former senior Israeli official confirmed that Netanyahu was, in fact, extremely close to ordering an attack on Iran in the fall of 2012 — with the support of top Israeli defense and intel officials — but was pressured not to do so by President Obama.

In October 2012, then, Netanyahu famously declared before the U.N. General Assembly Iran would likely reach the “red line” between spring and summer 2013. He indicated if the world did not take decisive action, Israel would have to.

Since then, while the U.S. and Western powers have increased economic sanctions, the Iranians have not stopped enriching uranium. To the contrary, they have continued making nuclear weapons fuel, hardening their facilities, and moving steadily towards an arsenal of nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them.

I believe, therefore, that Netanyahu and his team have been steadily preparing — once again — for war with Iran. In July of 2013, as you may recall, I wrote a blog headlined:“Has the end game begun? Privately, senior Israeli officials now warning Iran war could come in 2013. Netanyahu preparing public.”

Jerusalem’s concerns have since been affected by two developments:

1. The emergence of new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in early August,which seems to be lulling the Obama team into a false sense that Tehran is moderating and becoming more willing to cooperate.
2. The use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad regime – and President Obama’s weak, dithering, vacillating approach towards the Syrian crisis — which has further worried the Israeli government, and caused them to believe that maybe they really have no choice but to act on their own.

Netanyahu and his team have never felt more alone. If President Obama is so distrusted by the American people and her representatives in Congress that he cannot build solid support for limited military strikes against Syria’s chemical-weapons facilities, the Israelis are coming to the painful realization that there is no chance for the president to pull together support for preemptive military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Zero. Nada. Zilch.”

This is the back drop for Netanyahu’s upcoming trip to the U.S. to meet with top administration officials, and address the international community. And despite all the talk in recent weeks about Syria, Netanyahu is signaling in advance his focus remains Iran above all else.

“In a week and a half, I will go to the United Nations General Assembly, and before that I will meet with President Obama. I intend to focus on stopping Iranian nuclear program. Really stopping the nuclear program,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, according to a report by the Times of Israel.

Will Netanyahu order an attack on Iran? This remains to be seen, but signs are pointing in that direction.

Yet again, we need to pray for peace, but be prepared for the possibility of another war in the epicenter.

Amid Iran And Syria Crises, Netanyahu Holds Bible Study Session With Jewish Scholars In Jerusalem

One of the most interesting but least known aspects in the life of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is that he has developed quite an interest in studying the Bible in recent years. The premier was not raised in a religious home growing up. But as he has gotten older, he has developed a noticeable curiosity in the ancient Scriptures. 

• Netanyahu occasionally quotes the Bible in major speeches (such as the time he spoke at Auschwitz and said Ezekiel 37 had come to pass).
• He once told Larry King that he likes to study the Bible on Saturday mornings with his son, Avner.
• Last year, he even started a Bible study with various Jewish leaders and scholars that meets every few months in his official residence, as I have noted in the past (see here,here and here).

Here’s the article from the Jerusalem Post:

Netanyahu puts Iran’s nukes on hold, spends a late afternoon discussing Moses

By Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post, September 18, 2013

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Syria can wait, Iran is not going anywhere. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu set aside two hours Tuesday afternoon to discuss with a group of rabbis and scholars why God did not let Moses pass over to the Promised Land.

“And  Moses went up from the plains of Moav to the Mountain of Nebo,” Netanyahu read in his baritone voice from the last chapter of Deuteronomy. “And the Lord showed  him all the land of Gil’ad, to Dan, and all Naftali, and the land of Ephraim and Menashe and all the land of Yehuda, as far as the utmost sea… I have caused thee to see it with thy eyes, but thou shall not go over there.”

Moses’s  punishment seemed so cruel, Netanyahu said to those gathered, which included the  two chief rabbis for the first time since he initiated a periodic Bible study circle in his home last year in memory of his father-in-law Shmuel Ben-Artzi, a noted Bible teacher and enthusiast.

“Because he hit the rock he was not allowed into the land. What is the logic behind that, it seems unjust?” 

One of the participants, Binyamin Ish Shalom, the founder of Jerusalem’s Bet Morasha, explained that Moses was not punished for any sin he committed, but  rather because one type of leader was needed to lead the Jews out of slavery and into freedom, and quite another was needed to lead them as a free, sovereign  people inside their own land.

Another participant, Prof. Zaki  Shalom of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said the saga of Moses’s death showed that leaders give to their people, but do not always get back what they gave in kind. Moses, he posited as Netanyahu listened intently, expected his people to entreat to God on his behalf, but no entreaties came.

Israeli Nuclear Chief Warns Of Iranian 'Deception'

The head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission accused Iran on Wednesday of “deception and concealment,” warning the international community that the Islamic Republic was looking to buy time for its nuclear program.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Shaul Chorev said, “The picture that the Iranian representatives are portraying regarding openness and transparency of their nuclear program … stands in sharp contradiction with Iran’s actual actions and the facts on the ground.”

The issue was not whether Iran has “modified its diplomatic vocabulary … but whether it is addressing seriously and in a timely manner outstanding issues that have remained unresolved for too long,” he told representatives.

The IAEA’s latest report on Iran said the country had further expanded its uranium enrichment capacity by installing a significant amount of additional centrifuges.

Chorev accused Iran of “deception and concealment, creating a false impression about the status of its engagement with the agency … with a view to buy more time in Iran’s daily inching forward in every aspect of its nuclear military program.”

Russia To Provide USNC With Data For Chemical Weapons Use By Syrian Rebels

Russia will provide the UN Security Council with data proving that the chemical weapons near Damascus were used by the opposition, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said. The materials were handed to Russia by the Syrian government of Bashar Assad.

“We have plenty of reports on chemical weapons use, which indicate that the opposition regularly resorts to provocations in order to trigger strikes and intervention against Syria,” Lavrov said. “There’s a lot of data. It’s widely available on the Internet. This data is presented in the report, which our experts put together in association with the use of chemical weapons in Aleppo in March this year. There’s also plenty of data on the incidents that occurred in August in Ghouta, near Damascus.”

“All of this will be considered in the Security Council, together with a report, which was submitted by UN experts, confirming that chemical weapons were used,” he added.

The minister stressed that “it’s yet to be established,” which side in the Syrian conflict – opposition or government – is responsible for the use of chemical weapons. 

The Russian FM said that the Syrian authorities handed the data to Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, who is currently on a visit in Damascus. 

“I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m sure that the experts are going to work with it and, of course, we’ll provide it to the security council,” he added.

Should There Be A Need