https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/B1IWSoEuU
Life has been somewhat restricted of late, first because of the health restrictions due to the Covid-19 virus, and now because of an unprecedented heatwave, but it is far from boring. These wild boars in Haifa are making the most of it anyway!!!
As has been reported in numerous places around the world, the wildlife in Israel has just loved the absence of human activity in our cities. While the wild boars are wandering about Haifa, and ibex have taken over the promenade in Eilat, swifts have claimed the Western Wall here in Jerusalem. For you nature lovers, take a look at this video – it is just so beautiful. We have swifts here in Mevaseret too and after the sun sets I love to lie out in my recliner on the deck and watch them swirling overhead swooping up all the insects for their supper.
It is more than a month since I last updated my blog. The problem is that so much is happening here and around the world I don’t know where to start. Today (16 May) we in Israel are sweltering in a severe heatwave which is forecast to continue at least until the end of the week. The temperature here in the Judean Hills reached 37 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) today but in Tel Aviv and elsewhere it topped 40 degrees or more. It is not unusual for us to get heat like this at this time of year (I can remember it once hitting 45 degrees in Netanya for 3 days in a row) but it is unusual for the sharav winds that bring this heat to last so long (around 8 days). I cannot remember a sharav as long in all the 40 years I have lived here. It is not unpleasant here in Mevaseret as the humidity is only about 12% and my home, shaded by trees, has not yet lost its winter coolness. Others are not so fortunate.
Needless to say, thousands of people are flocking to the beach to cool down even though the beaches are still ‘closed’ due to the Corona virus restrictions. The beaches will not officially reopen until Wednesday this week.
Kindergartens and the lower grade schools reopened last week, and the remainder of elementary grades and the high schools opened their doors this week, under strict restrictions and hygiene requirements. One of the requirements is that children wear masks and windows are left open. In this heat it became not only very uncomfortable for staff and children wearing masks but also dangerous to their health, so today the requirement for the wearing of masks was temporarily lifted until the end of the week.
With the heat comes the risk of wildfires breaking out in the forests. The heavy winter rains mean there is abundant undergrowth which is now drying off and already tinder dry. The pine and cypress trees which dominate the forest here exude flammable vapors and even a bit of glass in the sun is enough to start a fire. Yesterday one moshav not far from here, north of Beit Shemesh, was evacuated when threatened by a fire but fire fighters managed to bring it under control before it reached the houses. There were reported 1300 fires around the county the same day, and this is only the beginning of the fire season.
This morning I ventured out to one of the local shopping malls to stock up on cat food and a few other items. It was strange to go there after being in lockdown for over two months. There were few people inside, and even fewer actually shopping, but all the shops seemed to be open. This is the first week the indoor malls have been allowed to open.
Israel is slowly, slowly opening up for business, though there are still many restrictions in place. We can now move freely around but we must wear masks in public spaces. Businesses are reopening but many, such as the restaurants, theaters and sports clubs, are still not permitted to work. Many businesses will probably never reopen as the enforced closure and the lack of access to markets, not to mention the absence of tourists, has hit them hard. Our unemployment figures went from around 4% before the virus struck to a maximum of 27%. This has now decreased since the return to work has begun but it still hovering around 24-25%. That means that more than 1 in 4 workers are out of employment, and this figure does not include the self-employed or those, like myself, who were part-time workers being paid by the hour, and who do not qualify for the unemployment benefit.
Its hard to see how the economy can recover and in the months to come many will be going hungry here in Israel (like in many places around the world). Fortunately Israel as a nation is better off than most in that we were in a good economic state at the beginning, but many individuals and families are in dire straights. Even at the best of times many in Israel live from one pay packet to the next and now, with nothing coming in, credit is running out. Even if you qualify for unemployment benefit, it only lasts for around 5-6 months, and it provides only a monthly payment of 80% of your last pay packet. For most, that is not enough to make ends meet. If the government does not step up and provide more significant aid many will be going hungry in the months to come. Even before all this, one in three children in Israel were going to bed hungry and now there will be many more. Worst hit is the tourist industry and in Eilat, for example, unemployment is currently at 70%. There is some hope that internal tourism will help out but with the future uncertain and prices very high, I don’t think many will be rushing to fill the hotels.
I too have joined the ranks of the unemployed. I was fortunate to be able to keep working by teaching online until this past Thursday ( 14 May) when our semester finished. Our school is now closing down for the foreseeable future as there will be no intake of new students (who come from the USA) in the Fall and possibly in the Spring of 2021 either. We do not know if or when we will be able to reopen. All the teaching staff have been laid off. I have a small pension but it is not sufficient to live on. I will have to try, like so many others, to find other work to supplement it, but I am confident that God will provide. He always does.
24 May 2020 – update. Thankfully the heatwave has at last broken and the temperature here dropped from a max of 38 degrees to a mere maximum of 17 degrees today – a drop of 20 degrees in 24 hours! It is lovely though to be able to breathe fresh air again and it is even raining in the northern parts of the country – something unheard of at this time of year. This heatwave was the longest and hottest on record.
Here are some figures relating to the Corona crisis in Israel. The total number of reported cases to date (24 May) are 16,712, with 14,093 recovered, and 279 deaths. Israel has one of the lowest death rates per number of infections. It may be because of our excellent medical staff, the Mossad managing to locate and purchase planeloads of medical gear, including ventilators, the cocktail of drugs being used to treat the ill, but I do know that none of that would have been of any use were it not for all the prayer going forth and the will of God. Thank you for all your prayers.
It is now two weeks since we started our return to ‘normal’ or to the ‘new normal’ and so far there has not been an upsurge in new cases except in a very few localized places. We are all praying that this will continue and a second wave does not eventuate, so please keep praying for us here (as well as for your own countries and all the world of course).
IN MEMORIAL
Since the beginning of the corona crisis we here in Israel have marked several holidays focused upon commemoration. First there was Purim, the commemoration of the rescue of the Jews of the Persian Empire by the intervention of Queen Esther. Passover followed, with the commemoration of the first Exodus from Egypt, and then we marked Holocaust Day in remembrance of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. A little later was Memorial Day when we remembered the 23,816 fallen soldiers and the 4,166 terror victims who have been killed in the modern State of Israel, and the next day, we celebrated Israel’s 72nd Independence Day. This last Friday (22 May) we celebrated Jerusalem Day , which commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.
This year there was a somberness to all these days of remembrance. We could not gather in extended family groups, attend our congregations nor participate in the normal ceremonies or festivities. Passover and Independence Day were spent in strict lockdown confined to our own homes, instead of gathering with our families and friends. Though sad, I felt that this made these days even more poignant and meaningful somehow. We had time to pause and reflect instead of frenetically rushing about shopping, planning menus and travelling (or sitting stuck in traffic jams). We were separated physically from each other but perhaps we were more together in spirit. I think of the words of Psalm 46,
“Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth…
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
God has brought us all to a halt, and given us precious time to reassess our lives, to reset our priorities and to know that He is God. It is also a time to remember all that God has done in the past. One day this pandemic will also pass into our collective memory and become part of our history, but until then, we can choose to make the most of this opportunity to pause and draw nearer to our God and to exalt Him among the nations.
During this time, my home country, New Zealand, and Australia also celebrated ANZAC DAY, which commemorates the thousands of brave soldiers from those countries who fought and died in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and more recently in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I have just finished reading a book which examines the pivotal contribution the ANZAC (New Zealand and Australian Army Corps) soldiers made to the reestablishment of Israel as the national home of the Jews. In WWI they were instrumental in the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the liberation of the Holy Land from Turkish rule. In WWII they played a central role in the prevention of the plans of the Nazi army to conquer the Holy Land and Jerusalem. We here in Israel owe them a huge debt and I am proud of my small nation who sent these young men into the battle so far from home. Few of them had any idea of the importance of what they were fighting for, and so many of them died ignorant of the role they were playing in God’s plan of redemption for the world. It made me think how we foot-soldiers in the spiritual war also often have little idea of the role we play in that warfare. Sometimes all we can see is the blood, the heat, the sand and the suffering in the trenches. We may die not knowing the value of the role we played, but the important thing is that we play it. I strongly recommend this book – it is scholarly, well researched and yet very readable (though not a light read). It is called “Anzacs, Empires, and Israel’s Restoration 1798-1948” and is written by Kelvin Crombie, an Australian who lived here for many years in Jerusalem and was the historian at Christ Church in the Old City. It is available as a paperback on Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Anzacs-Empires-Israels-Restoration-Crombie/dp/0646352989/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Kelvin+Crombie&qid=1589896634&sr=8-3
At the outbreak of World War I, New Zealand was only about 60 years old as a nation and had a population of only 1.1 million people – about the size of Jerusalem today. In that war alone, 18,166 New Zealand soldiers were killed or went missing in action, and 41317 were wounded. In World War II, 140, 000 NZ men and women served and 11,928 of them never came home. New Zealand’s ratio of soldiers killed per million of population (at 6684) in WWII was the highest in the Commonwealth (with Britain at 5123 and Australia, 3232). One person died for every 150 New Zealanders. This must have been a serious blow to the fledgling nation but it served to bind us together and bring us into maturity as a nation. Every town in New Zealand has its War Memorial which lists the names of those lost. It never meant much to me growing up but I now realize how important it is to remember. Just as we as individuals are so largely made up of our memories (imagine who you would be if you could remember nothing of your past), so too is a nation.
Israel has a strong national memory stretching back thousands of years. Memory is reinforced by holding memorials. God again and again in the Bible tells us to remember, to remember all he has done. The annual cycle of all of Israel’s festivals is based on the concept of remembrance. They are designed to remind us, and every generation, of what God has done. This builds our faith and binds us together as a people. It also serves as a witness to the faithfulness and power of God. Jesus too, when he was about to die on the cross for our sins, instituted the Lord’s Supper telling his disciples to “do this in remembrance of me“(I Corinthians 11:24-25)
This week, on Thursday night-Friday, we will be celebrating here another feast – the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost)- also known as the Feast of First Fruits and the Feast of the Ingathering (Leviticus 23:15-22, Exodus 34:22, Numbers 28: 26-31, Deuteronomy 16:9- 12). This is a feast of thanksgiving for the ingathering of the first fruits of the winter wheat harvest, and a reminder of the goodness of God and the good land He has given to Israel. Deuteronomy 16:12 says ‘”.. and you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt”. The Torah (the Law) was given to Moses on Mt Sinai on this day, and of course, for Christians and Messianic believers we remember that it is the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
It is always good to remember the blessings God has given us throughout our years. Perhaps this year, as many of us (and perhaps some of you my readers) are having to face unemployment and loss of income, it is even more necessary to remind ourselves of God’s provision in the past as it builds our faith in trusting him for our future. For me personally, I remember that in 1984 I arrived (for the second time) in Israel with just 50 NZ dollars in my pocket, no return ticket, and no surety the authorities would allow me to stay in the country, much less work and earn a living. Here I am, still here, 36 years later and I have never gone hungry even one day, nor suffered from the lack of a roof over my head, nor clothes on my back. God has provided for my every need (if not for my every want) and this gives me faith He will continue to do so until the end.
COVID-19 IN PALESTINIAN AREAS
You may be wondering what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza with respect to the corona virus epidemic. In both regions the number of infected and dead has remained very low, because of the lack of tourism coming into those areas, and the closed borders between them and Israel and the strict measures implemented by both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority with the cooperation of Israel. We are glad that this has occurred because if the virus was to have taken hold there it would have spread quickly with devastating results because of the dense population, especially in Gaza, and inadequate medical resources. Pray that this continues and no ‘second wave’ spreads in these areas. This past week, in a first-ever flight from the United Arab Emirates into Israel, a plane brought 14 tonnes of medical equipment, including ventilators, intended for the Palestinians. In yet another classic ‘shoot-yourself-in -the foot’ move the Palestinian Authority refused to accept this generous, and much needed, aid as a protest against the warming relations between the UAE and Israel (and no doubt as an appeasement to Iran, their sponsors). Hamas has threatened a massive missile strike on Israel should there be a major outbreak of the virus in the Gaza strip, this in order to extort Israel to provide economic and medical assistance.
ISRAEL HAS A GOVERNMENT (AT LAST)
Last week a government was sworn in in Israel, after 3 elections and months of wheeling and dealing. The government is a broad-based coalition government (I almost said ‘a unity government’ but that would be somewhat inaccurate) involving the right wing Likud Party under Netanyahu and the Blue and White Party under Gantz. It was sickening to listen to the various MKs vying for ministerial positions like kindergarten kids saying “but I deserve this or that post”. Ministries were handed out, or even created, to broker political deals rather than considering who was the best man or woman for the service of the country, we now have an unwieldy, expensive, inflated and possibly unworkable government of sorts. It remains to be seen if it will be able to function.
The Prime Ministership will be shared between Gantz and Netanyahu, with the latter taking the first half of the term. This makes sense from the point of view of continuity but we have the bizarre situation of having a Prime Minister in power while he is being tried in the criminal courts on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The trial began today with Netanyahu claiming the charges are trumped up and political in nature . With the trial set to continue for months if not years, one wonders how he will manage to fulfill his role as Prime Minister while juggling court appearances. One also wonders how he can get a fair trial with it all being so politically charged and with so much public exposure and debate. Please pray the judges will make an unbiased judgment based on truth, law and righteousness.
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I Timothy 2: 1-4
SECURITY
During the period of lockdown we have enjoyed something of a respite from terror attacks, largely due to the restrictions of free movement, but nevertheless there have been a number over recent weeks. On Memorial Day, just minutes after the sounding of the memorial siren, a 62 year old woman was attacked and stabbed by a Palestinian teenager in the town of Kfar Saba near Tel Aviv. The woman was moderately to seriously injured, and the attacker, who was shot by passers-by, lightly wounded before being arrested. Here is a video of another attack, a car ramming attack, at a border post outside Maaleh Adomim (east of Jerusalem): https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-border-guard-hurt-in-ramming-stabbing-attack-outside-jerusalem/. The soldier was first struck by the car and then stabbed with a pair of scissors and suffered moderate injuries. The terrorist was shot and killed by other soldiers on the scene. These attacks, like many others, appear to have been spur-of-the-moment opportunistic attacks born out of simmering hatred and anger, but others are a result of organized cells which plan and attempt to carry out much more serious attacks,
The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) revealed that it, in collaboration with the IDF and the Israeli Police, arrested three terrorists and thwarted their plan to bomb the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, and IDF positions and roads in Ramallah and the Binyamin area (north of Jerusalem). This is just one of many major terror attacks that have been thwarted recently, making it clear that Hamas has remained highly active in recruiting operatives and planning terror attacks in the West Bank. The arrested terrorists were recruited and financed by a Hamas student organization, know as the “Kutla Islamaiya”, that operates at Birzeit University near Ramallah.
Please continue to pray against these plots to massacre Israeli civilians and security personnel. The fight to protect Israel from terror is ongoing and requires massive manpower and resources. In 2019 alone the Shin Bet foiled some 500 major terror attacks. I thank God for all the courageous men and women who do this job. May He protect them and continue to protect us through their work. Pray too for the young men and women who get drawn into becoming terrorists, having been brainwashed into a culture of hatred and violence which idolizes martyrdom for ‘the cause’. So many lives ruined, both those of the terrorists and their victims, – and for what?
ANNEXATION
I had to learn a new Hebrew word recently, ‘sipuach‘ which means annexation. As the first step in implementing Trump’s ‘Pleace Plan’ Netanyahu plans to annex a the Jordan Valley and exchange this area for the ‘Triangle’ a predominantly Arab enclave in Israel. On the surface could be seen as a fair land swap since the Jordan Valley is populated mainly by Jews and the Triangle by Arabs. The problem is that it is a deal that is being imposed unilaterally and what is more, the Arabs of the Triangle do not want to lose their Israeli citizenship and the far better standard of living than they would have under Palestinian Authority rule. Expressing his anger, Mahmoud Abbas the leader of the Palestinian Authority, has threatened to cease all security cooperation with Israel and the peace treaty with the Kingdom of Jordan, which is predominantly Palestinian, seems also to be crumbling. Instead of peace this move could well bring about a new war and/or a new Intifada. Is the annexation God’s will? I do not know. I know the Jordan Valley is part of the land that God promised to the people of Israel forever, but I do not know if this is the time or the way to take possession of it. Personally, I do not know how to pray about this issue except to echo Jesus’ prayer – “ Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven“.
IRAN
Iran is battling with a serious outbreak of the Covid-19 virus with 135,701 reported cases and 7,417 deaths as of today (25 May). With this, and on top of the economic crisis resulting from the sanctions against it, you would think they would have other things to think about rather than attacking Israel. But not so. Three days ago, on Jerusalem Day, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his annual speech in support of the Palestinians described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed“. Such rhetoric is hardly new and we hear it just about every day coming out of Iran.
According to Ynet News (1) Israel has spent more than a billion shekels in the last three years attacking Iranian positions in Syria in an effort to prevent Iran from turning the Israel-Syrian border into their frontline from which to attack Israel. These Israeli sorties have continued even during the corona lockdown. There are now rumors that Iran is withdrawing from its positions nearest to Israel. We should not interpret this as any kind of victory since it is undoubtedly merely a strategic withdrawal allowing Iran to redirect its military resources in a different way, particularly to the cyber war against Israel.
On the night of April 24th, six of Israel’s water and waste water treatment facilities were subjected to a cyber attack which has been identified as coming from Iran. The attack was largely foiled by our cyber security forces and caused no interruption in water services, but it represents an escalation in the cyber war, since it targeted civilian infrastructure, and this is considered a red line. A few days later a major port in Iran was attacked by hackers and this is being blamed on Israel. An Israeli cyber expert and former senior defense official told Al-Monitor (2) that it “was a first-of-its-kind attack and they were not far from inflicting human casualties”.
Less than two weeks later Iran’s major port, the Shahid Rajaee terminal in Bandar Abbas, suffered a massive cyber attack which many have attributed to Israel. This port which handles 60% of Iranian trade was “paralyzed for at least three days, with most of its computer systems crashing, lengthy lines of trucks observed outside its gates and a giant traffic jam of vessels blocking entry from the sea” according to a senior Israeli intelligence source (2). An anonymous Israeli cyber expert expressed the opinion that “Someone used a sophisticated cyber weapon prepared well in advance for D-Day…This was not a spur-of-the-moment draw. It activated strategic cyber weaponry that reflects the capabilities of a cyber power and was prepared in advance for an all-out cyber clash. Someone wanted to convey a clear message that included a warning, a deterrent and a display of capabilities. It seems to have succeeded.”
A few days ago, on the eve of Jerusalem Day, hundreds and some say even thousands of Israeli websites were hacked. Victims opened their screens to find a faked video of Tel Aviv being bombed and the words in Hebrew and broken English saying ” Be ready for a big surprise“, and “The countdown of Israel destruction has begun since a long time ago” and more threatening phrases with links to anti-Israel YouTube videos (3). This attack was carried out by an international group of hackers who call themselves the “Hacking Saviours”. No government or military websites were affected, but many businesses and private individuals were affected.
This latest cyber attack was attributed to Iran by some but according to cyber security expert, Noam Rotem in an interview with Calcalist (4) “Defacement attacks are considered the lowliest type of hacks and there exists a range of automated tools to deflect them. There is little technical knowledge needed to conduct them and often they are carried out by teenagers…Such attacks have little value beyond propaganda and should be taken in proportion. There is very little likelihood that this rudimentary attack is part of a significant, state-backed effort.” Other cyber security experts seem to agree that this was a very rudimentary attack carried out by amateurs intent on harming Israel and probably not linked directly to Iran, but it is symptomatic of a paradigm shift in the nature of modern warfare, which threatens not only Israel but the whole world. It is an especially attractive method of attack for terror organizations and states which may not have powerful armies, the arms or finances to carry out more conventional attacks. Israel is investing massive amounts of money and personnel into fighting this cyber war.
The corona virus crisis has revealed our modern civilization’s vulnerability. Not only did a tiny, invisible virus bring us all to our knees but have you thought what would have happened, and still could, if something were to destroy the internet? How many of us enjoyed keeping in contact with our family and friends, doing our shopping or carrying out our jobs using the internet while under lockdown? What would happen if the internet, or even our electricity supplies, went down? The world would simply grind to a halt. We have come to depend on electricity and computers for just about everything from our water supplies, our food growth and distribution, transport, trade and medicine. It would not take much to destroy civilization as we know it.
The current corona virus epidemic sweeping the world has brought many people literally to their knees in prayer. I want to share with you this beautiful song sung by Messianic believers Yair Levi and Shai Sol, and which is based on the prayer of Moses for his sister, Miriam, when she was struck down with leprosy (Numbers 12:13) ” Al na refa la” (God, please heal her). It goes on with the words ” az nithazek v’nitrape” (Then we shall be strengthened and we will be healed). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CISaQO5sdQ. This song has swept the world and been sung and translated into many languages. I feel it has a special anointing on it and it expresses our deep need and longing for God to heal the world. Yair said this about the response to the song, “Getting so many messages from people all around the world is incredible. If I have the privilege to spread prayer around the world, to me it’s just crazy. When people from all over the world translate and sing a prayer for health, it feels like it is literally the end of times.”
SHELANU – A MESSIANIC TV CHANNEL IN ISRAEL
There is much darkness in the world but I want to end with a report of a ray of light in that darkness. Miraculously, and I mean that very literally, a Messianic TV channel has been permitted to broadcast in Hebrew on Israel’s main cable television service, Hot. This would have been unthinkable just a few years ago but here it is broadcasting the gospel in Hebrew, a sign of the changing attitudes and increasing openness in Israeli society. Of course there is a kickback and much controversy is raging in the Press (5) with many up in arms because of its perceived evangelistic intentions. Some powerful organizations and people are attempting to have the Broadcasting Authority revoke its permit to broadcast, claiming that it is aiming to proselytize minors (which is illegal in Israel). Please pray this channel, called Shelanu (Ours), will be able to continue to broadcast freely and also pray that the content of the programming will be doctrinally and theologically sound, and present a clear and correct gospel message in a way that will reach many hearts.
REFERENCES:
- https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ry8M8ZlqI
- https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/israel-us-iran-mike-pompeo-aviv-kochavi-cyberattack-port.html https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/cyberattack-on-israeli-websites-says-countdown-to-destruction-has-begun/
- https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3825492,00.html
- https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3825571,00.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/israel-threatens-to-pull-evangelical-christian-tv-station-aimed-at-jews https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/preaching-about-jesus-is-who-we-are-were-christians-says-god-tv-627578