John Kerry and Moshiach? Closer than you think

Two weeks ago, Israel Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon set off a twenty-four hour fire-storm with a single remark. He called  US Secretary of State John Kerry ‘obsessive’--and ‘messianic’ (“Yaalon criticized for reportedly calling Kerry ‘obsessive, messianic’”, Jerusalem Post, January 14, 2014).

The remark was supposedly a reference to how Kerry has managed current Arab-Israel peace negotiations. The remark was part of a private conversation. It was not meant for publication. It was certainly far less offensive than the ‘Netanyahu’s a liar’ comment from another private conversation, this one between the then-President of France Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama, in November, 2011.

Do you remember that incident?

That 2011 conversation between two heads-of-state was not reported by an overly-aggressive newspaper or by someone who violated an understanding of what was ‘private’ (as might have been the case with the Yaalon comment). That 2011 comment became public because a microphone between the two men (or close to them) had not been turned off. Sarkozy told Obama, "I cannot bear Netanyahu. He's a liar”.

Obama didn’t just listen. He joined the insult. Not realizing that the microphone was still ‘live’, he responded to Sarkozy, “You're fed up with him. But I have to deal with him even more often than you" (“Sarkozy tells Obama Netanyahu is a "liar", Reuters News Service, November 8, 2011).

The White House refused even to discuss the matter. Obama did later acknowledge the incident. But he refused to comment on the disparaging remarks he and Sarkozy had exchanged (“Obama acknowledges gaffe over Netanyahu insult but refuses to elaborate”, Haaretz, November 14, 2011).

Israeli officials did not express ‘outrage’. They did not condemn the remarks.

Israel did not demand an apology. Obama did not volunteer to apologize. 

When American officials reacted to Yaalon’s remark, they clearly did not remember that whispered insult—or Obama’s refusal to apologize to the Israeli head-of-state. Perhaps they did remember—but didn’t care.

Instead, American officials expressed anger at Yaalon’s comment. They were shocked. They were outraged. They condemned it as ‘offensive’. They demanded an apology.

Next day, Yaalon apologized.  

How curious. The US President participates in an insult to the Israel Prime Minister and then does not apologize; but when an Israeli Defense Minister (not the head-of-state) describes the US Secretary of State (not the head-of-state) in a private remark, he so offends the Americans that an apology is necessary. Why?

Why do American officials condemn ‘messianic’? What part of ‘messianic’ don’t they like? More important, why should an Israeli official’s truly private remark stir such anger when the US President’s own insult is to be ignored?

Is this how a double standard works? The Jewish Tanach teaches that double standards are immoral (the same justice must be applied to all, evenly). Do the Americans act immorally by demanding an apology for an offense they refuse to apologize for?

The American response seemed unnaturally aggressive. Do Americans know something about the Jewish Redemption story they prefer to ignore? Why do they object with such passion when Jews use a word associated with, ‘Messiah’? Indeed, why does ‘messianic’ provoke the Americans to perform what might be an immoral act?

How curious.

Do you know the Jewish Redemption story? It’s a story of powerful nations counselling together to attack Jerusalem. It’s a story of the powerful seeking to strip Judaism’s Holy City from the Jews. It’s a story of Jew-haters conspiring to destroy what is Jewish.

It’s a story we hear today. It’s a story of an immoral—perhaps anti-moral—world attacking Israel. It’s the story of an Arab-Israel conflict managed by the EU and the US for the Arab’s benefit.

The Jewish Redemption story is today’s modern history. It’s the history of Arabs demanding Jerusalem—and the EU and the US assisting them. The ancient Jewish Redemption story is the tale of powerful enemies joining together to divide Jerusalem (at the very least) and to carve up the Holy Land for others.

The Jewish Redemption story is an ancient prediction of the machinations of Edom (the US and the EU, according to many) and Yishmael (the Arab) causing trouble for Israel. To see these machinations, read Zohar Va'era 32a, as quoted by breslev.co.il, March 4, 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry might not be ‘messianic’. He might not even be Jewish (he isn’t). But he might well be one of the major players on the international stage who helps to ‘throw the switch’ that starts the final act of the Jewish  Redemption.

In his own way, Kerry might be a lot closer to the Jewish Moshiach than we think. Yaalon’s comment might be prescient. It might suggest why the Americans (descendants of immoral Edom) reacted as they did. It might even suggest what the Arab-Israel conflict is all about.