The month of September 2011 may well go down as one of the most pivotal moments in Israel’s modern history, as the entire Middle East is convulsing before our very eyes.

September was already earmarked as a key date on the regional calendar due to the looming diplomatic showdown over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. The Palestinian Authority has refused to back down from its reckless unilateral push for a state along the pre-1967 lines, and thus decided to take a very dangerous path given the volatile political climate in the region. The PA’s official calls for mass marches on Israeli towns and checkpoints in support of this effort is already inviting chaos and bloodshed.

But then suddenly last week, Israel’s ambassadors in both Egypt and Turkey were unceremoniously chased from Cairo and Ankara within days of each other. Each nation is a regional power with long-standing security ties and shared concerns with Israel. Yet decades of prodigious efforts to forge close relations, often against the popular will of their peoples, may now be down the drain.

Only time will tell if this is indeed a rubicon moment for Israel, as the Palestinians sow the seeds of another intifada and strategic ties built up over many years with Egypt and Turkey now face the risk of being irreversibly severed. Even worse, the region could be slipping towards an unthinkable war.

Read complete article, click here.

http://int.icej.org/sept2011

[Note from G&L:  Isaiah 62… “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out brightly and her salvation like a blazing torch.”