World News and Trends: Geneva peace plan rocks Israel
An unofficial "Geneva Accord" was recently signed by Yossi Beilin (now a private citizen of Israel but formerly a prime architect of the Oslo Accords of 1993) and former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo.
This peace plan has gained global attention partially because U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell apparently agreed to meet with these two principal parties. Three million copies were printed with the goal of delivering one to every Israeli home. Israel's government and the Palestinian Authority had no direct part in these proceedings.
One particular aspect of this unofficial accord has inflamed many Israelis, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Mr. Sharon called the whole accord "the Swiss golden calf." The key sore point involved the ceding of the sacred Temple Mount to the Palestinians.
Noted columnist Charles Krauthammer summarized the offending part: "Beilin gives up the ultimate symbol of the Jewish connection and claim to the land, the center of the Jewish state for 1,000 years before the Roman destruction [A.D. 70], the subject of Jewish longing in poetry and prayer for 2,000 years since—the Temple Mount. And Beilin doesn't just give it up to, say, some neutral international authority. He gives it up to sovereign Palestine ... This is not a treaty; this is a suicide note ... That it should get any encouragement from the United States or its secretary of state is a disgrace" (Nov. 28, emphasis added).
Also, according to an article in The Times (Nov. 30), this new unofficial peace bid even has the tacit support of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Columnist Jeff Jacoby of The Boston Globe (Dec. 4) further commented: "The international applause greeting the so-called Geneva Accord—the unofficial Israeli-Palestinian 'peace' agreement formally presented in Switzerland this week is a vivid illustration of the world's contempt for the Jewish state." This astute journalist compared the unofficial agreement to the Munich Accord of 1938 when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proclaimed "Peace in our time" after appeasing Germany's Adolf Hitler by ceding Czechoslovakia to the Nazis.
The Middle East is sstill the earth's principal source of petroleum and, since 1948, home to the state of Israel—a primary target for world terrorism. This area is central to the fulfillment of many major biblical prophecies. You cannot afford to be in historical or prophetic ignorance of this part of the world. For further understanding, please request our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Times [London], The Boston Globe.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2004
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
