An article by Melanie Phillips in today’s Jerusalem Post bears reading. In it she discusses the UK government finally designating all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, not merely certain parts of it. She goes on to discuss Jeremy Corbyn‘s equivocal response to this designation, his previous dealings with Hezbollah, and the current crisis of antisemitism in the UK’s Labour Party.

The Labour Party earns about as much scorn from conservatives as the Democrats received from conservatives in the USA. This is not merely because conservatives prefer their governments to be fiscally responsible, but because the Labour Party is perceived by many conservatives as subversive.

Compassionate conservatives want to see the interests of the working classes supported and protected, but they distrust the Labour Party as a vehicle for that purpose. Many of us would prefer to see our politics return to the modus vivendi of the late 19th century, in which working class interests were represented by “One Nation Toryism“, with its social policies, and the interests of classical liberals and proto-libertarians were represented by the Liberal Party.

The old Labour Party, which had to self-fund its MPs in days when MPs did not receive salaries, is a far cry from the Labour Party today (although there was always an element of communism and socialism in the extreme fringes of the party). The modern Labour Party is split between followers of the Blairite model and socialists who want to control the means of production.

Meanwhile, further issues for consideration are apparent. Is there still a possibility of reconciliation between North and South Korea? With man, it looks as if that opportunity is close to vanishing; but with God, all things are possible.

In Israel, there will be elections for Members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in April. A merger between Yesh Atid and Resilience threatens to undermine Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances to form a new coalition government after the election.

President Trump’s administration has been quietly preparing a new peace plan. However, Benjamin Netanyahu asked that the details of the plan and negotiations with the Palestinians not be released until after the elections in April.

If Netanyahu falls from power (he himself is under investigation at the moment), then the plan may not proceed or may take a markedly different form. A new government may wish to alter relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (which, under MbS, is reportedly a significant partner in the peace plan preparations).

As a Zionist and bible-believing Christian, I do not agree with dividing the land of Israel. Nor do I agree with Islamic control of the Temple Mount. A peace plan that divides the land or poses any other affront to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be a sign of deterioration in the state of the world.

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. –Joel 3:2

Lastly, there will be elections to the European Parliament in May this year. It is expected that nationalist parties will make significant gains. Depending on the exact Brexit that occurs, the UK may or may not be participating in these elections. Whether representatives of these nationalist parties can work together to form a majority or significant majority that can reform the EU remains open to question. My personal view is that the EU is not likely to be reformed – more likely is a series of judgments in the form of demographic, cultural, economic, and religious woes.