Author: David Mark

David Mark is the founder and editor of Israel Rising. Besides Israel Rising, he heads up outreach for Ateret Cohanim in Jerusalem's Old City and acts as the Managing Director for Pulse of Israel. On the side he teaches classes that blend minimalism, mindfulness, and ecology with the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
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Obama and the Coming Global Security State

“Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”

-1984, George Orwell

What does one do when the person they have elected views the office they hold as merely a means to gain even more power.  They can either dismiss the chorus of complaints as racist, conspiratorial, or downright mad, but the facts won’t change and the fleeing of self responsibility won’t reverse the course.

When Americans elected Barack Hussein Obama in 2008 and again in 2012, they made a choice between the sovereignty of the many  and sovereignty of the State.  For Obama it has never been about the Change he promised as that was a sugar coated pill for the masses.  The revolution Obama has wrought in the USA is the revolution of the State against its citizens. This is the bureaucratic dictatorship the founding fathers warned against.  It is the unseen hand that controls all, but cannot be found out for it is the state itself and not a single person.

Obama though is not satisfied with his revolution in the United States, because Obama has always aspired to more.  For Obama he is the revolution in and of itself.  For if he can so fundamentally transform America, why not be the great unifier of the world itself. Afterall, for Obama the USA has a flaw.  The Amendments the 13 original states agreed to ratify (after some wrangling between them) are too strong a component to the cultural ethos of the USA to disregard and complete the revolution Obama would like to see.

Breaking Israel News reports that Al –Jarida, an Arabic language Kuwaiti magazine, published an article on Friday claiming that US President Barack Obama has set his sights on becoming the next Secretary General of the United Nations when he leaves the Oval Office in one year.

For Obama the revolution will be complete, the global security state, the one that rights the wrongs of the past, equalizes the rich with the impoverished, and heralds peace at the expense of personal freedom will be his creation. Once again he is both the revolution and its goal.

Between the Rule of the Individual and the Rule of the State

The Torah teaches us that each individual is a Divine spark, a map of the universe in miniature.  We are in this world for a specific purpose only we can fulfill. It is true, the Kingdom Israel that is waiting to burst through the darkness will have a King, but the King and the Kingdom are not meant to rule over us.  They are meant as a means to give full freedom to the individual and at the same time provide the inspiration and motivation for each of us to attain our Divine goals.

Statists believe the State is the all powerful and it is the individual’s purpose and goal to pledge loyalty to the State. That allegiance and handing over of personal freedoms is the catalyst for global and societal transformation.

The coming conflagration is not really about Islam versus the West.  Rather, it is about the role of the individual in relation to the State.  Slavery comes in many ways.  Sometimes it is a Pharaoh and his task masters who rule relentlessly over a powerless Israelite people.  Other times it is the quiet rule of law administered, not for the sake of justice, but rather to uphold the power of the few and the system that serves them over the masses who have traded away their freedom for the short term injection of false happiness.

These are the times our sages spoke about.  Those of us who are G-d fearing must not give in to the false promises of politicians or the machinations of soon to be ex-Presidents who believe they are the Change everyone wants and needs. We in Israel and those of our supporters around the world who believe in the individual rights and freedom of thought must yearn and be prepared to defend the freedom of man and his divine mission against the totalitarianism of the State.

This war has no specific location, but rather it is a war over the hearts and minds of humanity itself.

 

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[Podcast] Leaving Our Mental Exile

Daniel Luria and I discuss the mental exile that plagues the leadership in Israel. We touch on security issues and the focus of Ateret Cohanim’s work in helping to reclaim stolen Jewish property and the settling of strategic areas in Jerusalem. Daniel and I also touch on some of the deeper and more positive facets of Jewish Nationhood.

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Iran and the USA: Partnering for Destruction

In the shifting sands of the Middle East, old alliances are crumbling and new ones are forming.  Nowhere do we see the evidence of this in the support the American government is giving Iran over Saudi Arabia in the growing feud between the two countries.

True, the American administration is playing it cool, but already the think tanks that lay various trial balloons have been working over time.  

“Saudi Arabia is in serious trouble, and they know it,” Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, told Business Insider on Sunday.

Bremmer added on Morning Joe that “I don’t know what legitimizes this regime [Saudi Arabia] going forward.”

The chorus is growing to let Saudi Arabia stew and in a sense the regime there understands it and that is exactly why they are ratcheting up the pressure. One of the arguments for going neutral or even subtly supporting Iran against Saudi Arabia is that eventually the theocrats in Persia will melt away and when they do Iran fits in far better with a future American foreign policy than Saudi Arabia.  

Whether or not there is some legitimacy to this is not the point, what the world is witnessing is a pendulum that is swinging so fast that it threatens to destabilize the remaining normative countries in the region.  This storm that is brewing between Iran and Saudi Arabia will almost certainly lead to a disastrous conflict that can and will bring in nations from around the world.

The Future is Now

Israel will have to act in a careful, but at the same time determined manner. Unfortunately the present leadership has allowed the threats to build up around Israel’s borders and may actually be much further in a corner than they want to admit.

Look for the next few months to be extremely volatile in the broader Middle East as countries jockey position before the opening shots of a much broader conflict.

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Can Russia Be Trusted?

The deconfliction mechanism that had been hailed as a stroke of geopolitical genius from the brain of Bibi Netanyahu seems to be a double edge sword. It is a sour pill that keeps on getting worse.  Especially now that Hezbollah is exploiting the agreement to prepare a forward attack on Israel’s North. It is true that Russia would prefer not to have an Israel that feels so threatened it destabilizes the Levant, but like I have insisted for a while, Putin is far more a tactical player when dealing opposing forces he wants to utilize in his broader strategy.

For Putin those that deserve his help are those that perform.  Israel will have to deal with an Iranian backed militia with free reign to attack, while delicately placating the Russian Bear who seems to be bending the rules of the deconfliction mechanism each week.

Trusting Putin is Mistake

The Israeli government has consistently made the same mistake throughout the decades.  It struggles to find players it feels it can put its trust in and by providing more assistance than anyone else it believes there will be reciprocity.

During the Cold War this strategy worked, simply because the tectonic plates of geopolitics demanded that it worked, but now in a multipolar world, putting trust in one country or another without strong leverage is a mistake.

Although Putin is a strong man, Israel is just another piece on his chessboard. Nothing should prove this more than Putin forcing us into a corner through niceties while Hezbollah and Iran have been able to build up on Israel’s borders.  It’s true Putin has allowed the Israeli Air force to attack arms convoys heading to Hezbollah. It is striking that the IAF did not attack in the latest skirmish, but rather Israel resorted to pounding the area with artillery.  This can only mean one thing.  Russia is holding Israel back from taking clear steps against Hezbollah.

Trust Only in G-d

Israel’s government needs to rely only on themselves and their faith in the Almighty  All else will fall into place.  The miracles that accompanied the Jewish people back to their Land are clear. If the Nation will increase their belief and trust in the Almighty as they did in the past then nothing will harm them.  Unfortunately the government seems to only mention themselves in reference to the situation without attribution to a higher power.

In the coming months the situation will continue to deteriorate. The question is who will stand up and lead Israel to victory.

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Iran and Saudi Arabia to the Death

The news on most geopolitical analysts minds is whether Iran will back up their harsh verbal response to Saudi Arabia’s beheading of a Shiite Sheik with something more militaristic. At the end of the day, Iran has a small window of time to put the squeeze on Saudi Arabia. Right now, Russia shields Iran from any backlash thrown at them if they choose to be more aggressive. Mix in Obama’s dismal mideast policy, the ingredients are there for Iran to make a move.

Saudi Arabia also has a short time frame to flex their muscles. Iran is building a superior ballistic missile program and Saudi Arabia cannot afford to let the Persians stabilize themselves and grow into a true regional super power.

This Year is it

The next four to six months are key as Sunni Islam is on the defensive against a resurgent Shiite Crescent backed by Russian firepower.  Each side will grow more bellicose both in verbiage and actual actions taken. Already, Iranians stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.  Expect much more.

Next Actions

Iran will attempt to foment organic uprisings in the gulf allies of Saudi Arabia.  They will also stir trouble in the Shiite dominated Saudi Southeast and once again in Yemen. Saudi Arabia will continue to financially back ISIS and other groups. All of these steps seem to be leading to a head on collision will have an explosive and devastating effect on the region and quite possibly the whole world.

The Israel Factor

So how does this affect Israel? With the government seemingly dozzy with the growing intifada, the real danger is are threats piling up on the border. Although Saudi Arabia and Israel are not freind in the slightest, in terms of Iran they are tactically ready to work together.  Look for more intelligence sharing as well as overt military maneuvers to increase. If there is a move towards open war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Israel may take direct action against Iran, that is if they don’t have their own flank to defend.