(Day 546) Swords of Iron – “Egyptian Army at Passover”

Chaim starts by talking about the situation in Turkey, where President Erdogan has arrested the main opposition candidate who had a decent chance of defeating him in the upcoming Presidential elections in that country. Massive crowds have come out into the streets of Turkish cities to protest against this move, but the Turkish Army is also moving aggressively to try and take control of key points in Syria, including in areas where they could potentially threaten Israel’s northern border.

Chaim says that Turkey has long been a key member of the NATO alliance and an anchor of Western civilization in the Middle East. But Erdogan has changed this and has a vision of restoring the Ottoman Empire under an Islamist banner.

Erdogan sees himself as a messianic figure within Islam, destined to unite all Moslems against the common enemies, starting with the Jews and then moving on to the Christians. But there are other forces in the Moslem world, including Egypt and the UAE, who are pushing back against this agenda. France is also opposing Turkish moves in Libya, Syria and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. Chaim says that there are many levers to push on to contain Turkey’s regional ambitions, including military means but also financial, diplomatic and cultural means.

With all this in mind, Chaim mentions that Turkeu is prominent among the nations mentioned in the Prophetic passages of Ezekiel 38-39.

For Israel’s part, the main goal right now is to demolish what’s left of Hamas while also remaining vigilant against other threats, including Hezbollah and the other members of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance.”

Part of that is trying to assist Gazan Strip civilians who want to leave the Gaza Strip, making sure those who want to leave, who have had enough of Hamas and don’t want to live under their tyranny anymore, can do so.

There is also an effort being made to enlist the support of Arab states to rebuild the Gaza Strip and there is also a continuing effort to rescue the remaining hostages. This includes diplomacy, but Chaim says that there’s probably no point in pursuing diplomacy with the Ayatollah regime, which rules in Iran. They’ve got their eyes on the prize of nuclear weapons, they’ve very close to achieving their goal and they’re not going to be dissuaded at this point through diplomacy.

Therefore, Chaim believes that military strikes to demolish this threat once and for all are probably imminent.

He says that all over the world, people are taking side, including in New York City which has seen a massive increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Chaim says that anyone who is a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people needs to stand up now and make their voices heard. This is not a time to be quiet or shy, or try to hide behind “progressive values” or even “liberal democracy” because those terms and those concepts have been hijacked by those who simply hate Israel for existing, and this is a spiritual issue.

In this context, Chaim quotes Zecheriah 10:5; They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame.