Month: August 2019

Delusions and Drones

August 31, 2019 / admin

Today is the last day of August and the last day of the school holidays for more than two million Israeli children. The almost traditional start-of-the-school-year teacher’s strike has been staved off this year at the last minute, and one can almost hear the sigh of relief uttered by parents across the land. I am not so sure about the teachers.

Terry Wise comic — https://www.israel21c.org/back-to-school-israeli-style/

THE ‘GAME’ OF DRONES

This summer has seen the rise of a new style of warfare in the Middle East – the war of the drones. I don’t mean the kiddies toy or the camera drones, but drones equipped for military purposes. Cheap and easy to build, drones can fly low, evade radar and heat sensors, are difficult to spot visually and are almost silent. These weapons are already being used not only by national military forces but also by terrorist organizations including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria. Such weapons are capable of causing much damage and loss of life in a conflict situation. The Jerusalem Post put it this way, ” What started as a child’s toy has turned into a strategic weapon in the hands of militaries and non-state hostile actors across the skies of the messy Middle East.
From the crowded cities of Beirut and Gaza to the sandy deserts of Yemen and Iraq, weaponized drones have brought a whole new assortment of security threats to the forefront and have raised the stakes in the tensions between Israel and its enemies (1).

Israel too has drones of its own and for some time now has been using them to fight against the incendiary balloons flown into Israel from Gaza and to drop tear gas canisters on rioters at the border.

IDF soldier with drone that intercepted incendiary balloon from Gaza (Photo: Reuters) — **IDF soldier with drone that intercepted incendiary balloon from Gaza** (Photo: Reuters)
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5318598,00.html

Israeli companies have also been working on countermeasures to detect and shoot down drones. One recently unveiled by the company Smart Shooter is the SMASH2000 which attaches to military rifles and enables anyone to be able to track and very precisely shoot down a fast moving target on land or in the air, such as a drone (1). However a spokesman for the company, Dr Abraham Mazor, pointed out that “The threat of drones is a multilayer threat…There is not only one kind of drone that we have to defeat; there are many kinds, in terms of height, weight, velocity; and therefore there is no one solution for the threat posed by them” (1).

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are busy building up their drone arsenal and have already sent attack drones into Israeli territory. In May last year at least three drone attacks were made on Israeli towns in the south. None caused damage or injury but explosions were heard and fragments found. It is thought that this was probably a practice run for a larger planned attack in the future. It is feared the drones could attack Israel’s Iron Dome batteries, military bases or civilian towns. They can carry explosives and gas canisters. A drone dropping a chlorine gas canister could bring about multiple fatalities in a built-up area for example.

On Thursday (22/08) an Iranian UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), or drone attack from Syria was repulsed by Israeli forces. According to the IDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Iran’s Qud’s Force, part of the Revolutionary Guards had been preparing the attack for several months and had sent four Iranian drone operators to Syria to control the UAVs during an attack on northern Israel. Each drone was to carry several kilograms of explosives and crash into Israeli targets, serving as unmanned suicide bombers, or “kamikaze drones”. Fortunately for us, Israeli intelligence had discovered the plot and has been keeping track of the operation. Conricus did not explain how Israel had foiled the attack (2).

The following Saturday (24/08) Israeli aircraft attacked an Iranian military targets in the village of Aqraba, southeast of Damascus, where the drone operation was centered, killing at least 5 people including Hezbollah terrorists and at least one Iranian official (2).

The next day two drones crashed in Beirut, Lebanon. One exploded and damaged the Hezbollah Media Center and killed two Hezbollah terrorists. Hezbollah claim these drones were launched from Israeli gunboats, but the IDF has not commented. Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is nevertheless threatening to carry out a revenge attack, intending to kill at least 2-3 Israelis, within 72 hours, according to the Kuwaiti Al Rai newspaper and reported by the Israeli News Channel Arutz 7 this morning (3,4).

Broken windows are seen on the 11-floor building that houses the media office of Hezbollah in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, August 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/troops-in-north-gird-for-possible-reprisal-attack-after-hezbollah-threat/

The IDF believes that Hezbollah does not want to start a war with Israel at this time and will limit its attack to military targets. As a result Israeli forces in the north have been on high alert all week and all leave for soldiers in the region cancelled. The movement of military vehicles within a 5 km distance from the border has been limited and there are unconfirmed reports that IDF vehicles containing mannequins dressed in army uniform have been placed along the border presumably to confuse Hezbollah operatives (5). Civilians have been instructed to go about their daily activities as normal.

Although neither side wants a war only time will tell if this situation will escalate or not. Netanyahu has threatened dire consequences if even one Israeli soldier is as much as scratched.

DELUSIONS

Against this background of growing tensions between Israel and its enemies, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, President Trump has announced his intention of unveiling his ‘peace plan’ for Israel and the Palestinians, either before or after (he has said both on different occasions) the Israeli elections on September 17. This announcement came the same week Trump identified himself as both the “King of Israel” and “the Chosen One” (6). Trump is suffering from delusions of grandeur and sees himself as the savior of the world. I am very concerned that many Christian and Messianic believers (and others) here in Israel are enamored of Trump because of his pro-Israel stance, including the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Whilst I am grateful for Trump’s support for Israel, I am concerned about his Messianic delusions and his perception of himself as the savior of the world. I don’t usually comment on political matters but at the risk of becoming very unpopular I feel the need to speak out. I feel we need to exercise great caution in whom we support. Jesus warned us of a period of deception in the end times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzlxrPC_E_U

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

Matthew 24: 3-5

I don’t think many Israelis or Palestinians believe that peace is possible at this time. Just this week PA Prime Minister, speaking at the Jalazone Refugee Camp, threatened ‘we will enter Jerusalem as fighters by the millions‘ and that all the Israeli settlements and houses ‘will disappear, by the will of Allah’ (see video). This is our ‘partner for peace’?

Interestingly Abbas claims that the Palestinians are the descendants of the Canaanites, and therefore the land belongs to them. He should be aware of God’s judgment on the Canaanites. God called Abram to the land of the Canaanites and told him that He would give him this land. However when Abram arrived the iniquity of the Canaanites was not complete and the Israelites were sent into Egypt for 400 years until the time was ripe for the destruction of the Canaanite peoples (also referred to in the Bible as Amorites).

God said to Abraham, “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God”.

Genesis 17:8

Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it… Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Genesis 15: 7, 13-16.

God allowed the Canaanites ( sometimes called the Amorites in Scripture) to remain ‘until their iniquity was complete’. By identifying themselves as Canaanites (even though this claim has no historical basis in reality) the Palestinians may be sealing their own fate. How long will God allow the Palestinians to remain in the Land? Is their iniquity yet complete? Not yet, but it is getting close!!

APARTHEID STATE?

Having said that, many Palestinian Arabs are quite happy to live in Israel and cannot be counted as enemies. Living in the Jerusalem area I brush shoulders, quite literally, every day with my Arab neighbors. People who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state have no idea what they are talking about. In Israel Arabs, Jews and others shop in the same shops, swim in the same pools, use the same hospitals and buses and visit the same public toilets – a far cry from the Apartheid of South Africa. Everyday relationships between Arabs and Jews are usually friendly and helpful. Yesterday, for example, I had occasion to go to the after-hours medical clinic where I was received very warmly by the Arab receptionist and treated by an Arab doctor and nurse. Afterwards I traveled to the neighboring Arab town to fill my prescription. I was grateful to have Arab neighbors since Shabbat was about to start and all the Jewish pharmacies were already closed. For the same reasons thousands of secular Jews flock to eat in the excellent restaurants in this same Arab town on Shabbat. When I go shopping in my local supermarket I often see Jewish customers chatting warmly to the Muslim Arab lady who cuts the cheeses in the deli section. Yesterday I visited a Jewish friend in hospital. An Arab nurse directed me to her room. Another Arab nurse brought her her medicine. The other patient in her room was an elderly Arab woman. Her visitors greeted me and introduced themselves in a very friendly manner. It was an Arab family who helped me find my way to the exit afterwards. It just shows that at a grass-roots level peace is possible. It is really only a minority who want terrorism and war, but sadly they are the ones we hear about most. Here is an interesting video made by an Israeli-Arab Muslim woman :

References:

DOG DAYS

August 21, 2019 / admin

Israel is sweltering under the hottest part of our long, dry summer. With temperatures reaching above 30 degrees every day, it is too hot to do much outdoors and I am finding myself going a bit stir-crazy. I remember a rather corny TV weatherman in the 1980s who, around this time of the year, used to start a countdown until he had some weather to report. For 6-8 months a year, it is always hot and sunny in Israel and not a drop of rain will fall. Reporting the weather must be one of the most boring jobs in the Land, so it is no wonder that of late they have resorted to on reporting the height of the waves in the sea and the jellyfish count.

I am not attracted to the beach in summer. Dodging stinging jellyfish floating in a soup of 30 degree water, surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands of screaming people, does not tempt me at all. I much prefer a lovely cool swim followed by a laze on a grassy lawn under a shady umbrella at my local pool. I’ve been doing that a lot lately!

Image result for pics tel aviv beach — A Tel Aviv Beach in summer
https://igoogledisrael.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/justbeachy2small.jpg

The weather is not the only thing getting hot around here. Once more we are seeing an escalation of tension both within Israel and on the southern border.

Gaza

After a hiatus of almost a month residents of our southern communities were again having to run to their bomb shelters this last Friday night (17/08) as ‘code red’ sirens blared. A rocket was shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome system and no injuries or damage were reported. Israel responded by attacking two underground military targets belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Last night (18/08) many southern communities went on high alert as more rocket fire was expected, and the cities of Beersheva, Ashdod, Ofakim, Gan Yavne and Yavne opened their municipal bomb shelters. During the night the sirens sounded again as at least three rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli towns in the south. Two of the rockets were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome system and some of the shrapnel fell in the yard of a home in Sderot causing damage. One woman was treated in hospital for shock and several others sustained minor injuries as they ran for shelter (1).

Recently there have also been several infiltration attempts across the Gaza border. On the night of Friday the 9th, four heavily armed Gazan Palestinians crossed the border fence into Israel with the intent of killing many Israeli civilians. They were spotted and engaged by the IDF. One of the Gazans threw a grenade at the IDF soldiers who returned fire killing all four infiltrators.

This photo released by the IDF shows a collection on weapons, including rifles, RPG launchers, grenades, bolt cutters, and knives carried by four Gazans who tried to cross the border into Israel, August 10, 2019. (Israel Defense Forces)

Last night also another group of Gazan terrorists attempted to infiltrate Israel but they were discovered and an attack helicopter and tank fired at them killing all. It is unclear how many they were, reports vary between 3-5. Palestinian media also reported that the men were members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing, Saraya al-Quds, but this has not been confirmed (2).

TERROR

In recent days there has also been an upsurge in terror attacks in and around Jerusalem. Shin Bet, one of Israel’s security services, claims that “the (Hamas) operatives in the West Bank were instructed to form cells in order to carry out kidnappings, shootings and stabbings, purchase weaponry, and find and recruit additional operatives for terrorist activities” (3). Earlier this month Shin Bet captured one such cell which had prepared 3kg of explosives for a planned attack in Jerusalem. These explosive devices had been stored in a school next to the bomb maker’s house! The Shin Bet also claims to have thwarted several other similar cells in recent months.

Sadly the Shin Bet, as effective as it is, cannot stop all terror attacks, especially the so-called ‘lone wolf’ attacks. On Friday (16/08) two teenagers standing at a bus stop were intentionally rammed by a passing vehicle, injuring one seriously and the other moderately. The vehicle overturned and as the driver emerged an off-duty police officer on the scene killed him. The officer also managed to capture the attack on his dashboard webcam. You can see the video on https://www.timesofisrael.com/2-seriously-injured-in-suspected-car-ramming-attack-next-to-elazar-settlement/ .

Earlier on the same day two teenage Palestinian boys attacked with knives soldiers guarding the Old City of Jerusalem. In the attack a 40-year-old policeman sustained multiple stab wounds to his upper body and a bystander was lightly injured. One of the attacking boys was shot dead and the other shot and seriously wounded. He was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment. This attack was also captured on video, which you can see in the video on this site: https://www.timesofisrael.com/cop-injured-in-stabbing-attack-in-jerusalems-old-city-2-assailants-shot/ .

The tragedy of this attack is that the terrorists were just boys aged 14 years old. One must ask what kind of society so fills their children with hatred and violence that they would carry out such an act? A society that brainwashes them with lies and hatred for Jews from the cradle, one in which toddlers hero-worship terrorists, and who long to become shahids (martyrs) for the Palestinian cause.

Ex-Muslim, Jasmine Mohammed, founder of Free Hearts Free Minds organization, which provides psychological support for ex-Muslims, and author of “Confessions of an Ex-Muslim“, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post explained:

” that the general experience for Muslims is that of “pervasive hate for Jewish people – and this is learned from a young age. In Muslim communities, the word for Jew is not only used as a pejorative, it is used as a curse word. It is a hate that permeates so much so that it is invisible: It is just accepted.

“Never once, as a Muslim, did I stop to think about why we were to hate Jewish people so much. It’s like asking a child why they hate monsters. It is just a learned behavior that rarely gets questioned, and the hate of Israel is an extension of that. The hope to annihilate all Jewish people is based on the religion that teaches there will only be peace on earth once all Jews are killed by righteous Muslims (4).

On the 8th of August, just days before his 19th birthday, yeshiva student Dvir (Yehuda) Sorek was brutally stabbed to death just meters away from the entrance to Migdal Oz in the Gush Etzion settlement block, where his yeshiva was located. Dvir was enrolled in a program which combines military service with religious studies and was on his way home having gone into Jerusalem to buy a gift for his teachers. He was not wearing uniform and was unarmed.

Ironically Dvir was part of a group of young Palestinians and Jews who for two years have been meeting together in order to build understanding and a better future for both communities. The gift he had bought for his teachers was a book by David Grossman who champions the cause of the two-state solution”. He died clutching this book. Some of Dvir’s Palestinian friends wrote this about his murder, “

“Harsh reality hits us again. A few days ago, our yeshiva friend from Migdal Oz was abducted and killed, When I got the news that morning, I was shocked. I told my Palestinian friends what happened and they didn’t believe me.

Dvir Sorek, 19, who was stabbed to death in the West Bank….Dvir Sorek was one of the participants in this discussion group. In no way we can imagine that someone we met yesterday will be the victim of tomorrow.

We send our condolences to his family and our friends in the yeshiva.

And for us as a group, we condemn this kind of vicious violence that target us all for our residence place, religion, identity, citizenship. It is so sad we reached the point where we are talking about the right to not be killed.

We will stay in this way until we achieve the goal of freedom and the right to life. We are building a bridge between peoples on this land and we will continue to work on it (5).

In spite of all, there are those, albeit a minority, who are trying to make a better future.

The Shin Bet security forces have arrested two suspects for the murder, Nasir Asafra, 24, and Qassem Asafra, 30, cousins from the village of Beit Kahil in the southern West Bank (5).

Sister of Dvir Sorek: âI donât think his killers deserve to liveâ — Dvir Sorek
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/terrorism-news/soldier-found-stabbed-to-death-in-gush-etzion/2019/08/08/

Hamas has denied direct involvement in this spate of ‘lone wolf’ terror attacks claiming they were carried out by ‘rebellious youth’. In statements to the Palestinian news agency Safa, officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad said “The rebellion of the youth is a harbinger of an explosion,…We won’t tolerate the crimes of the occupation against our nation any longer” (10). Hours earlier an unnamed senior Hamas official made similar remarks to the London-based Palestinian newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed, justified the attacks saying, “Palestinians are disappointed by the difficult conditions caused by the Israeli occupation… Dozens of promises to improve conditions have not been kept. This frustration has become the legacy of 2 million Palestinians” (10). Of course Hamas and Islamic Jihad will blame Israel instead of accepting that they have brainwashed a generation of Gazan youth into a brutal culture of mindless hatred and murderous intent while they have diverted billions of aid dollars into acquiring munitions, building tunnels and other military infrastructure rather than using it to give the Gazan people a better quality of life.

Both Israel and Hamas however are concerned that the current wave of terror attacks, and the cross-border infiltrations will catapult us into a full-scale war. Hamas has warned of an ‘impending explosion’, and there is growing discontent in Israel with our lack of decisive action.

North

Hamas in the south has carried out thousands of arson attacks in Israel over the last two years and last Friday Hezbollah in the north began to emulate these attacks. Hezbollah lit fires along the Lebanese border, which fanned by strong winds, quickly spread into Israeli territory threatening the town of Margaliot and an IDF post. Vehicles belonging to the UN ‘Peace Forces’ in Lebanon reportedly passed through the area at the time but did nothing to stop the arsonists or put out the fires (6).

Iran

The greatest threat to Israel remains Iran. Last week Israeli naval forces participated in a joint training exercise with US forces in which they “exercised regaining control of a hijacked ship and extracting forces from enemy territory” (7). Although the IDF claims this was just a routine training exercise it comes “amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Persian Gulf and efforts by the Trump administration to set up a naval security mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”. Six oil tankers have been seized or attacked by Iran in the Persian Gulf in recent weeks. The US is trying to set up a coalition force to protect shipping in the Gulf.

Earlier this month (05/08) Iran threatened European powers that it would further reduce compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal in about a month’s time if they were still failing to protect it from crippling U.S. sanctions, reimposed after Washington exited the deal (8). Iran threatened “to block all energy exports out of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil traffic passes, if it is unable to sell oil as promised by the 2015 deal in exchange for curbing its uranium enrichment programme” (8). It has already violated the deal by enriching uranium and stockpiling heavy water beyond the levels allowed. It denies that it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb but there is no other legitimate use for uranium enriched to these levels.

Iran also appears to be preparing a third attempt to launch its Nahid-1 telecommunications satellite into space (9).

Elections

In the midst of all these threats to our existence, Israelis will go to the polls on September 17 in a second attempt to elect a government. This will perhaps be the most important election the nation of Israel ever held. Given the childish taunts and accusations being bandied about by every candidate, and the corruption and dishonesty that infiltrates the entire political world, it is hard to know how to vote. It is also hard to know how to pray. However I would recommend the prayer of Derek Prince outlined in his book, “Secrets of a Prayer Warrior“,

“Lord give us leaders such that it will be to Your glory to give us victory through them.”

Furthermore, it is written,

“THE EFFECTIVE FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN AVAILS MUCH”

James 5:16

References:

LOVE GROWS COLD

August 3, 2019 / admin

I have lived in Israel nearly 40 years and I have loved this nation with all my heart. For the most part I am incredibly proud of what Israel has achieved in the last hundred years or so. However from time to time I am puzzled by some of the things we do, and yes, even ashamed. It does not diminish my love in any degree, any more than a mother ceases to love a disobedient child. But like that mother, I am deeply disturbed when Israel ‘misbehaves’, and I believe that the God of Israel, who loves Israel unconditionally as a father, is also grieved when we do wrong.

Twice God expelled Israel from the Land because of her disobedience, and the main sins He accused us of through the prophets were three – idolatry, corruption, and the oppression of the poor.

Now that the people of Israel are returning to the Land it distresses me that we are still guilty of all these sins. It is true that we do not worship the Baals on the hilltops or burn our children alive to Moloch any more, but there are other forms of idolatry we commit. Many have turned away from the God of Israel and seek after enlightenment through Hindu/New Age practices such as the various forms of meditation and yoga, and many practice occult forms of witchcraft and sorcery, all of which are an abomination to the LORD.

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 13: 9-13

Others, rejecting religion, seek only after hedonistic pleasure, sexual abandon and covetous materialism, also a form of idolatry.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Colossians 3: 5-6

This week we were horrified to learn that 12 teenage Israeli boys were arrested for the gang rape of a 19-year-old British woman in Cyprus. Yesterday all 12 were exonerated when the woman admitted that her accusations were false. It would appear that the woman had had consensual sex with three of the boys and when a fourth wanted to have sex with her, she refused and he humiliated her. She had made the accusation of rape in revenge for her humiliation. Today these boys are coming home with big smiles on their faces and, so far anyway, none have expressed regret or shame for their acts. It grieves me that this kind of behavior has become something of the norm amongst our young people. It is the result of the over permissive and indulgent style of parenting that is common in all Western nations today (as a teacher I see this every day), and the rejection of the Biblical moral compass. Too many young people have no respect for themselves as moral creatures made in the image of God, and no respect for their parents or any other authority figure, or even respect for the law. I feel like an old fogey saying such things, and probably our parents said the same about my generation, but this does not detract from its truth. It is sad that our young (and not so young) people seek the cheap thrills of sexual abandon, and hedonistic pleasure, rather than true love.

While the secular often seek only materialistic hedonism, the so-called ‘religious’ practice a works-based religion based more on man-made rules and traditions than on the revealed Word of God. They add to the Torah hundreds of rules and regulations that proscribe every daily action – something God forbade:

See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Deuteronomy 12: 32 (in Hebrew Bibles it is chapter 13:1)

It is sad that the tight legalistic world of religion turns so many young people away from the loving God of Israel. No wonder they seek spirituality in New Age practices or happiness in the pursuit of pleasure.

I am also appalled by the rampant corruption and fraudulent dealing in our society and it stretches from the street merchants to the highest levels of leadership and government. It results in the oppression of the poor and much injustice. God warned Israel to repent of these things through the prophets prior to the two great exiles but they did not listen. They paid the price – exile.

For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.

Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
Hate evil, love good;
    maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
    on the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5: 12-15

There is another sin that I see everyday in Israel these days. It is the sin of arrogance and complacency. We are all very aware of all the threats against us. Every day our enemies boast that they will annihilate Israel. But we proudly assume that God will not allow that to happen. We trust in the power and strength of our army, and that of our friends – especially the USA, to protect us. We glory in our past victories with the assumption that we can beat any enemy because God is with us. I do believe that God is watching over Israel and has even in recent times supernaturally protected us many times over. I believe that no Enemy will have final victory over us but, that said, we must guard our hearts against the sin of presumption. We must remember to give all the glory to God with a spirit of thankfulness. I also believe that because of our sins God will bring a terrible time of judgement on Israel in which all the nations will rise up against us in a great battle for Jerusalem and Judah. This battle will result in tremendous loss of life and bring Israel to her knees. The battle would be lost but at the end God will step in and save Israel, and she will at last recognize her savior, Yeshua, and bow down before him (Zechariah 12, Joel 2, Isaiah 34 etc) . God has promised that no one would be able to stand against Israel but that promise has a condition – obedience:

If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him—then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.

Deuteronomy 11: 22-25

In our society love has grown cold. A headline in a Newsweek article this week read, ” FROM ISRAEL TO THE U.S., COMPASSION IS IN DWINDLING SUPPLY”. Our world is becoming brutalized. We are bombarded every minute of every day with violence, hatred and increasingly evil acts. One way to cope with this onslaught is to harden our hearts. We cease to care and we withhold compassion.

Several things have happened recently in Israel which demonstrates this. On Monday Israeli security forces demolished 13 buildings with 72 housing units in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood of Tsur Baher in East Jerusalem (1). Only two of those homes were occupied and the 17 residents were evicted prior to the demolition. Some of the units were still under construction. I find it hard to understand this action. Israeli sources claim the homes were built too close to the security fence and constituted a security risk. On the other hand, these buildings were constructed with permits obtained legally from the Palestinian Authority, and as far as I know no security incidents had emanated from them. I rather feel that demolishing peoples homes is creating a much greater security risk as it only serves to increase anger and hatred in a neighborhood already known as a hotbed of terror. However I do not know all the political or security arguments for or against. But I do ask, what about the people? Someone had paid for those buildings. Perhaps families had paid for those homes and are now left destitute. Does anyone care?

Marc Schulman, a Newsweek columnist put it this way:

“Monday night, after the buildings were eradicated, the Minister of Security, Gilad Erdan, posted multiple videos proudly showing off how the houses were being blown up. To further darken the picture, a video clip of Israeli soldiers celebrating the successful implosion of the largest building was widely shared. Those demolished buildings were constructed to house people; people who spent their hard-earned money to build new homes for their families”.

“Even if we have the legal right to destroy these buildings, human decency would suggest it only proper to show at least a bit of compassion, perhaps along with some sorrow over these actions that were deemed necessary. For instance — “We are sorry the situation has come to this. We would prefer to be able to build together, instead of having to destroy,” — or literally any statement that shows some sympathy for what the other side has endured “(1).

The following day, Tuesday, Israeli immigration police arrested two Filipino women and their 3 children and held them in a detention cell prior to deportation. Meretz Party chairman, Nitzan Horowitz, was present at the arrest and he tweeted this:”

“These children were born here and their only ‘crime’ was that they were born to a mother from the Philippines,”… “Now the police are packing up their few possessions and outside a few of their friends are standing and crying.”

“Here is such a cruel thing, … They are taking out the mother with tears and her two trembling children [with] two bags with a few clothes. This is how you end someone’s life.”

“They put the children, in total hysteria, into this sealed car, on the way to a detention cell. You can hear the crying and screaming inside.This is what you should do to criminals, not little children. There is no reason in the world to behave like this. It is much more than a shame and disgrace — it is abuse and it must stop.” (2)

Yesterday (29/7) one of the Filipina women arrested a week ago, together with her 11 month old baby, were deported back to the Philippines (3).

In spite of a national outcry against the practice, immigration authorities plan to deport in the coming days at least another 100 foreign workers and their children, most of whom were born in Israel (3). There are some 30,000 Filipino workers in Israel. They come legally to work, mainly caring for the elderly and handicapped, but many do not renew their visas and are classed as illegal over-stayers. 85% of these workers are women and some have given birth to children since their arrival. As a result there are now nearly 1500 Filipino children enrolled in Israeli schools (2). Children born in Israel are only given automatic citizenship if their parents are citizens, therefore these children, who were born and have grown up in Israel, are not considered legal residents.

Forcible deportation is legal but is it fair and morally acceptable, especially when it concerns children who have only known life in Israel and in many cases do not even speak Tagalog (the language of the Philippines)? These Filipino workers take care of our elderly and those with special needs with care and compassion and it is often because of this they chose to stay on when their visas expire, knowing there may not be anyone willing to take their place. They receive only very low wages and work 24/7 often in poor living conditions. Israelis are not willing to do this kind of work, and certainly not for the very low wages they would be paid. Perhaps the solution lies in creating a society that puts a much higher value on such work, and pays it accordingly, so that we do not have to import foreigners to do it for us. However, in the meantime, we owe a debt of gratitude to these workers who look after our needy relatives. Surely there is a better solution than arresting children like criminals and causing them life-long trauma. Where is our compassion?

A few days ago there was another horrifying incident when a squabble over a car park resulted in a man being shot and killed. The victim was Ofir Hasdai (40) and he was trying to park in a disabled parking space at the Ramle Azreli Mall, asked the killer, Victor Katan (74), to move his car that was taking up two parking spaces. Katan’s wife began hitting Ofir over the head with her handbag, and then Katan took out a gun and shot Ofir in the foot and then in the chest killing him in front of his wife and three children. Now Ofir’s wife, Dikla, who suffers from muscular dystrophy is left alone to care for her three daughters, one of whom suffers from cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair and another who also suffers from muscular dystrophy and requires a ventilator (4). I am glad to say that within just 48 hours donors had given 1.7 million shekels (=$US490,000) in a crowd funding platform for the support of the family (5). This shows that there are still many people out there who feel compassion. However the killing of a man over a parking space is a sign of the times. Is it the result of the saturation of our society with violence on the media, the consequence of overcrowding in our cities and the dire lack of parking spaces, or the outworking of the Ugly Israeli syndrome which dictates that if one gives in or cedes to another he or she is considered to be a ‘frier’ (a weak and detestable sucker). The Jerusalem Post put it this way: The incident that unveiled the rude, selfish and lawless Ugly Israeli we routinely meet driving recklessly on the highway, leaving a trail of garbage in the park, or shouting from this end of the airplane to that, also unveiled his inversions, the charitable Israelis who in this case raised NIS 1.7 million in a crowdfunding drive joined within 48 hours by 10,000 people who had never met Ofir or Dikla (5).

Jesus predicted that the time would come when love will grow cold, because of the increase in wickedness in the world.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24: 9-14

Jesus as he said this was talking to his disciples and is talking about the church in the end times. He exhorts us to ‘stand firm’ in love until the end. That is our challenge. Will we allow our hearts to be hardened like those in the world around us, or will we draw on his divine resources to withstand that tendency and walk in love by his spirit?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard

Isaiah 58: 6-8

And through the Prophet, Jeremiah, he warned the leaders of Israel saying,

This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: ‘Hear the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

Jeremiah 22: 1-5

Prayer points:

Pray against the brutalization of our society, that we will maintain compassion and righteousness action according to the will of God. Pray that the people will turn to their God and for a spiritual restoration, through Yeshua (Jesus), of Godly moral values.
Pray for righteous government that will lead us to a more just and righteous society. The party lists are now closed as we approach the new elections scheduled for 17 September. When God chose David to be king over Israel he instructed Samuel thus “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16: 7.
Continue praying for our security – the situation in Iran, with Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south and east continues to threaten our safety and very existence. The tension is still ramping up a notch pretty much every day. Pray too for the safety of our soldiers, police and border guards who every day put their lives on the line. Three Israeli soldiers were injured by an infiltrator from Gaza this week. Pray for their recovery.
Pray for the health and growth of the Messianic Body here in Israel, especially for local congregations. Pray for protection from, and the strength to withstand, the spiritual intensity of the attacks from the Enemy. Pray especially against deception and false teachings. Pray that the Lord will add to our number and that we can communicate the good news that is in Yeshua to the lost people around us.
Pray for protection from wildfires and arson. The last couple of weeks have seen more homes being destroyed by wildfires. We still have several months of hot, dry weather before us and as the Autumn equinox approaches the sharav season begins. The sharav is a strong hot, ultra-dry East or SE wind from the desert. This is the most dangerous time for fires. We’ve already had one unseasonably early sharav.

REFERENCES:

Month: August 2019

Delusions and Drones

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