THE FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

http://www.mountmadonnaschool.org/userfiles/Fiddler.jpg

 

 

Have you ever tried to play a fiddle on a roof? I cannot say I have myself, but I suspect it is no easy task, keeping one's balance in such a precarious situation.

 

 As a Christian living in a Jewish State, in a mixed Jewish and Arab city (Jerusalem), torn daily with hatred, suspicion and fear, not to mention violence, it is no easy task to keep my balance. I have experienced at least 4 wars and three Intifada's, and have learned what it is to have enemies who want to kill me. It is very personal.  Every day as I set out to work or the shops, or just take a walk down the street, I do not know if it will be my last day on this Earth. The man walking behind me may pull a knife and stab me, the tractor pulling up behind me at the traffic lights may keep on going and crush my car, the worker at my school may be a suicide bomber, with explosives strapped under his jacket. It is hard not to fall prey to fear, which in turn gives rise to feelings of anger, hatred, revenge and violence.  And in such a climate, it is so easy to be influenced by the opinions and events around me, to allow the tiny seeds of hatred, prejudice and, yes, even violent thoughts creep into my thinking. I often have to check my balance. It is something I have to consciously do from time to time. I thank God, I have an anchor, a plumb line with which to correct my thinking and heart, the love of God for all mankind, Jew, Arab and Gentile alike. Yeshua (Jesus) taught us to love our enemies and pray for their salvation.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’   But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:43-45.

What a contrast this is to the spirit of revenge and hatred that rules this region.

A large part of the battle in the Middle East today is the battle of the mind. Truth is being distorted, history rewritten, and values overturned. One of the main battlefields lies in the minds of our children. A generation of children are being brainwashed, filled with fear, hatred and violence.

Last week Ynet News, the online version of one of the main newspapers in Israel, interviewed a group of young children, aged between 8-13,  who were taking part in the riots in East Jerusalem, choosing to burn tires, throw rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli police, risking injury or death, rather than attend school. Why?

 



Palestinian children who have skipped school to join the rioting in East Jerusalem. (Photo: Mohammed Shinawi)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4594812,00.html





“We are willing to die as martyrs, we have nothing else to lose,” says one. 

 

Another says,

“All of us are willing to sacrifice our lives and die as martyrs. We have nothing to lose. It is true we are kids but we have courage and strength to do many things like heroes. Israel attacks children and we will not let this happen quietly. Al-Aqsa is ours and we will not give up on it."

A third says, “Our blood is not cheap. This is the time to resist, it is more important than being at school or at work. If we do not respond they will eat us. Everyone always calls on students to join the struggle” .
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4594812,00.html

Who are these people who call the children to sacrifice their lives to save the Al Aqsa Mosque from 'the Israelis who are attacking it'?  Who is it who is feeding them the lie that Israel is 'attacking' the Al Aqsa Mosque? Who is it who dresses even the tots in the garb of a shahib (suicide bomber or martyr) and teaches them that this is their highest calling in life? Where are their parents? Why do they permit them to do this? Surely this is child abuse of the highest order!

https://themuslimissue.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/babyjihadicropped.jpg?w=610

http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1boy-hamas-big_0.gif



Sad to say prejudice and hatred are not to be found only amongst the Arabs. It is alive and well too amongst the Jewish population.  Not very long ago a Palestinian teenager was burned alive by Jewish teenagers in revenge for the deaths of the three Jewish students murdered near Hebron.  In recent months, Jewish extremists have carried out a whole series of 'price tag' revenge attacks on Arab property, slashing tires and spraying racist hate graffiti on mosques, churches and other buildings.

Thankfully there are those, and not a few, who are working to build bridges, to counter the prejudice and brainwashing on both sides, and working for peace and understanding. One such is the "Hand in Hand" organization that runs five mixed Jewish and Arab schools around the country. Last night one of those schools was set ablaze and anti-Arab graffiti sprayed on its walls. A first grade classroom was gutted before the fire brigade brought it under control. More than 600 students, equally divided between Jews and Arabs, attend this pre-school to high school bi-lingual institution.  I am glad to say that the school opened today and classes were held in spite of all.

Firefighters inspect a burned classroom at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School, Nov. 29, 2014. Photo by Tali Meir
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.629147

There are other similar mixed institutions around the city and wider Israel too, including the International School in which I work. Please pray for the staff and students of these schools which could now also become a target, by extremists from both sides of the conflict.

It is not only the Muslims and the Jews who are prone to losing their balance, Christian and Messianic believers in Yeshua may also fall.

This week  we saw the Pope praying with the Muslim Grand Mufti of Istanbul towards Mecca. Though not the first Pope to do so, it is nevertheless rather shocking. How can a man who claims to be the leader of the Christian Church worldwide pray to a pagan idol (a black meteorite) that was adopted by Islam, housed in the Kaaba  in Mecca? What is he thinking?  This is not the answer.

Pope Francis and Istanbul's Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran pray together in the Blue Mosque. Photograph: AP
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/29/pope-francis-turkey-pray-blue-mosque-islam-cooperation

There is an answer and the only answer lies in the person of Yeshua (Jesus). He came to bring peace to the world and only in Him is there hope for forgiveness, reconciliation and love between men, Jew, Arab and Gentile.  Only He can bring healing to this broken world. As Christians and Messianic believers we must not water down the gospel for it is the only hope of mankind. We must pray for our enemies as we pray for our friends. Love is the only antidote for fear and hatred.

Here in Israel I have often been saddened by the attitudes of some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord who suffer a kind of blindness with regards to God's love for Israel, either believing that God has rejected her in favor of the church, or loving her so enthusiastically that they forget that she has rejected her Messiah and needs salvation. Though God created Israel to be the vessel through whom he would bring the prophets, the Holy Scriptures,  and ultimately the Messiah himself, it wasn't for Israel's benefit alone, nor even principally, but rather so that he could bring restoration to the whole world. One of my Jewish friends put it eloquently in an email she sent me this week. She said we need to  come

"...  back to a focus on the only place where there will ever be any peace or rest -- I should say the only one, Yeshua -- and the only focus where we will we see with spiritual eyes to see how God is actually seen to be working out the fullness of his plan from before the foundation of the earth.

If I can speak honestly, I have found that focus sadly missing from much of what I see being shared by many who love and support Israel.  While I certainly am overjoyed that the church is awakening to the whole truth about God's intentions towards Israel and the Jewish people, and that he hasn't abandoned her, nor will he, and his supernatural deliverance in preserving the physical descendants of Abraham over and over and over again; I now find myself wondering if we haven't gone too far over to the opposite extreme or into a kind of tunnel vision where it concerns Israel  (as we human beings seem prone to do about so many things).  It seems like in the midst of this kind of renewal, we're losing sight that neither is God only concerned about the Jewish people -- and really never was.  His plan from the beginning was always so much greater than that -- to bring all things under the lordship of Yeshua -- to reach out to the whole lost world."

 

And though we know the ultimate outcome that God has for Israel's good, the reality right now is the Jews are still in a state of rejection and rebellion against our own messiah, and there are consequences to that, and it remains yet to be seen how God will have to bring things about to turn our hard hearts back to him.  There's even a teaching around by some well-known teachers that there's no need to bring the gospel to the Jews, because God's going to bring about their salvation some other way.

 

We need to keep that focus, because the only real hope for peace and reconciliation amongst men is in Yeshua. Only He can heal the hurts, the fear and the anger. Only He can give us love in our hearts for one another. Only He can bring about peace on earth.

I was thrilled to learn this week that our (Messianic Jewish) congregation is opening its doors to an Arab congregation which will be using our building for its meetings. We hope that we can fellowship together from time to time and demonstrate to our broken peoples that forgiveness and love is possible in Yeshua. It is sad that there are some believers in our city, and indeed  even in our congregation itself, who oppose our position in this matter.  

Which brings me back to the "Fiddler on the Roof". Whether we are Jewish or Arab or neither, if we are truly Christian or Messianic believers we have to keep our balance. We have to love all people, no matter who they are, even or especially our enemies.  We have to pray for the salvation of all mankind and the ultimate redemption of the world. Only when this is finally completed, will there be peace and love amongst men.

May the LORD God of Israel help us all  keep our balance on the roof!!!

 

 



 

 

TERROR IN THE SYNAGOGUE

Early on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem this week the 'thub thub' of helicopters circling overhead announced trouble in the city once more. Turning on the TV I learned that two Palestinian terrorists had entered a synagogue in the west Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof, armed with axes, knives and a gun, and had set about hacking and shooting the men inside who were at their morning prayers.  They killed four, three rabbis and another man, and injured 8 others.  Security forces were quick to respond and were there within seconds. In the shoot-out that followed a Druze policeman  was seriously injured, and later died, and an ambulance driver broke a leg while running for cover. The two terrorists were killed by police. 

The scenes in the synagogue after the attack were not for the faint hearted. Five Israeli citizens were dead, 8 injured and 26 children made fatherless.





http://www.algemeiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jerusalem-synagogue-attack.jpg

 

The terror organization, Hamas, immediately claimed that the attack was revenge for the killing of an Arab bus driver found dead by hanging in a bus on Sunday. Even though the autopsy report ruled the death as suicide, the belief that it was a murder perpetrated by "Israeli settlers" persists among Palestinians and is igniting many riots and violent acts around the city. Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas had called for a "Day of Rage" on the Tuesday  to avenge the bus-driver's death, which act makes his later condemnation of the synagogue massacre ring a little hollow.

 

Immediately after the attack, celebrations broke out in Palestinian areas, and especially in Gaza. The two terrorists were acclaimed as 'martyrs' and heroes, and sweets were thrown in the streets in celebration.

 

                                                        Celebrations in Gaza

 

                                  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/static/Resizer.ashx/News/468/282/547069.jpg

 

Within minutes the social media were flooded with cartoons and other propaganda celebrating the massacre, such as those below:

 

 

 

                                                  http://www.israeltoday.co.il/Portals/0/news/141118_cartoon.jpg

 



http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-affiliated-social-media-abuzz-with-cartoons-glorifying-Jerusalem-terror-attack-382152



http://media.cagle.com/180/2014/11/20/156519_600.jpg

The feeling amongst the Jewish population in Jerusalem is that, with this massacre in a place of prayer, a red line has been crossed. Although we have suffered months of rioting and terror attacks, this is a dangerous escalation, and has the potential of igniting the city in a whirlwind of religious war. On the night of the attack I received a recorded phone message calling me to participate in a protest at the Meitar Strings Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem, near the central bus station. I didn't go of course but around  300 did and were calling for  "revenge," and for Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich to be fired for failing to deal with the ongoing and escalating Arab violence. Scuffles broke out with the police and a number of protestors were arrested.





                                 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187610#.VHBmS5scRLM

 

The city is tense and the streets emptier than normal. People are fearful and we all wonder what will happen next. The sad thing is that most of the people in this city, Jews and Arabs alike, just want to get on with our lives. There are 300,000 Arabs in this city of 1 million and mostly we all get along just fine. We live cheek by jowl, work together, shop together, travel on the same buses and streets and even eat at the same restaurants. Contrary to the opinions of many, there is no apartheid here. The Arab population is as fearful as the Jewish population. None of us know who will carry out the next attack. Arabs can be killed in these attacks just as easily as others. Perhaps the next terrorist will be the man sitting behind us in the bus, or in the car stopped next to us at the stop light, or the shop keeper from whom we buy our groceries. In many ways this sort of warfare is worse than a conventional war because you cannot identify your enemy. He is amongst us and looks just like anyone else. Someone you have worked with for years, and have come to like and trust, can suddenly turn and sink a knife into you. (The two terrorists who carried out the synagogue attack worked in a shop in the same street).

 

This fear prompted  the mayor of Ashkelon to bar Arab construction workers at three kindergartens in his city, a move which was instantly criticized by government ministers and many others. However we all understand the fear. Even at my school we employ Arab cleaners and our school bus drivers are all Palestinians from East Jerusalem. This climate has led many Palestinians to fear for their jobs and this is only exacerbating tensions.

The two young men who carried out this horrendous act were from the Arab neighborhood of Jebel Mukaber, which abuts my own (Jewish) neighborhood of Armon HaNatziv. We have been subjected to a constant barrage of fireworks, rocks and Molotov cocktails for months from Jebel Mukaber and the adjacent village of Tsur Baher, but following this attack, the intensity of the rioting increased greatly. It has been difficult to sleep because of the noise. Residents of my neighborhood say they are afraid to walk the streets or shop at the shopping center, which has been bombarded with rocks on occasion.  Those who live close to Jebel Mukaber have had rocks raining down on their houses and breaking windows. Fortunately I live across the valley and feel quite safe in my own house, but it is very unpleasant for those affected. I used to drive to work past Tsur Baher but lately I have been taking a different route for fear of being a target.    

So far the rioting has involved rock throwing, Molotov cocktails and the firing of fireworks. It may sound fairly harmless but even these so-called light weapons can cause serious injury or even death. This week, just two days after the synagogue massacre, Israeli police captured a large shipment of fireworks and other weapons from China disguised as Christmas decorations and destined for Palestinian interests in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. Inside the containers confiscated police found 18,000 fireworks of the restricted 20mm variety, as well as 5,200 commando knives, 4,300 flashlights that can be modified into improvised Tasers, 5,500 Tasers, and 1,000 swords. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Police-Massive-weapons-cache-uncovered-among-Christmas-decorations-382393

 

 http://www.algemeiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Israel-police-weapons-capture-2.-Photo-Facebook-300x300.jpg

Watching the police unpacking these boxes of 'Christmas decorations' was a horrifying experience. Just imagine what could be done with such weapons. I thank God they were discovered in time but one cannot help wondering if other shipments have somehow slipped through. The Palestinian terrorists  of East Jerusalem may not have easy access to guns but they are very inventive and almost anything can be used as a weapon - including cars and JPG diggers (tractors) as we know only too well. Last night a group of Jewish students were attacked and injured on the Mount of Olives by a gang of Arabs armed with boards through which long nails had been driven.

The atmosphere of fear in the city is almost palpable. We are all aware of it. The problem with fear is that it easily breeds hatred and hatred breeds violence. And violence breeds revenge. It can all build in a vicious cycle and escalate out of control very easily. It is hard to know what can be done to break the cycle. For many months our security forces have taken a 'softly, softly' approach in the hope that things will calm down of their own accord, but the latest developments have raised an outcry against this policy and many are calling for stronger reprisals and a harsher response. A massive police presence in the hotspots, surveillance balloons overhead, concrete barriers and checkpoints have sprung up over the city.

The government has reinstituted the controversial policy of destroying terrorists' homes and the first such razing took place yesterday.  Many see this as a humanitarian crime and a kind of group punishment. However terrorists do not grow out of a vacuum. They are formed and educated by their families, who very often support and celebrate their acts. Even so, the efficacy of such a policy was doubtful during the second intifada and only inflames passions more in my opinion.

Is there any solution?  It seems likely that the situation will only deteriorate at least in the near future. So how can we pray? The Bible commands us to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" but conflict and warfare play a big part in the prophecies concerning Jerusalem and are apparently a necessary precursor to the ultimate redemption of the world. Nevertheless at the bottom line God does not want bloodshed, whether it be Jewish blood or Arab, or that of anyone else. We can and should pray for peace amongst all peoples and watch our own attitudes and beliefs, guarding our hearts against prejudice and hatred.  As a child I was taught in Sunday school a song that I still remember, and it goes like this:

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.... 

Songwriters
WILLIAM BRADBURY, ANNA WARNER, TOM FETTKE

Published by
Lyrics © ALFRED PUB CO INC

 

I am grateful to my teachers who instilled that sentiment into my young heart. Would that more  would do so for the present generation.

 
I believe that God grieves for all who die whether they be Jew or Arab or Gentile. He loves us all. This present violence is grievous to a loving God and he longs for a better world just as much as we do. It is hard for us to understand why he allows it, but we must trust his judgment in this and walk in faith that it is all ultimately for good, and as his Word promises,  one day peace and goodwill will reign on Earth. In the meantime we must play our part in the process, praying and acting in love towards all. After all, Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies, as radical an idea in his time as it is in ours. I am learning what that means in reality - to pray for the salvation of those who want nothing more than to kill me. After all they can only destroy my body. My eternal soul is safe in Yeshua's hands, but they face Hell and judgment and are thus to be pitied. Muslim teachers promise Paradise and 70 virgins to all martyrs in the cause of 'holy' Jihad, but I often wonder what a shock these young, people must get when they die and are confronted the Holy God of Israel and his wrath. I feel sad for them. They are the real victims of Satan's deception.  

So let's continue to pray for peace in Jerusalem, both in the material and in the spiritual realms and especially in our hearts and minds, and may we all know the 'perfect peace that passes all understanding' that can be found only in relationship with Yeshua (Jesus).

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 4:7 


STORM CLOUDS GATHERING

I awoke this morning to the lovely sound of rain falling on the trees outside. I can almost feel the joy of the trees drinking deeply of this bounty of fresh water. My cat is fascinated by this wet stuff falling out of the sky and is trying to catch the raindrops.  Here, so far, it is a gentle wetting rain but down on the coast it is not so - there, strong winds, thunder and lightning, and heavy rainfalls are wreaking havoc. Rush hour traffic is snarled as roads flood, homes in Bnei Brak are flooded, the rail line between Ashdod and Asquelon is closed, and people are having to be rescued from cars stranded in window-deep water. Two men were moderately injured when lightning struck the structure they were working on causing it to collapse and catch fire.

Lightning captured in a photo by a resident of Kiryat Bialik. (Photo: Eli Dagani)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4592259,00.html







Heavy traffic on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. (Photo: Eli Baabur)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4592259,00.html

 

 Just yesterday the whole country was bathed in glorious sunshine without a cloud in the sky. This winter storm came upon us very suddenly last evening. It made me think of our situation here in Israel. Just over the horizon storm clouds are gathering that could bring disaster upon us in an instant.

 

This morning I read an article in the Jerusalem post written by  Martin Sherman, the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-Fray-On-the-cusp-of-carnage-381787

 

Sherman quotes Winston Churchill's  first speech to the House of Commons as Prime Minister of the UK on May 13, 1940, in which he said,

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.

Sherman goes on to predict that  " if the Jews are to preserve their political sovereignty, all it bodes for the foreseeable future is one of Churchillian “blood, toil, tears and sweat.”  

Sherman warns that,  

 "A perfect storm is brewing for Israel. On virtually every front, ominous clouds are gathering, and should the menacing maelstroms they portend hit together, it is far from certain that the Jewish state will survive the destructiveness of their combined impact.

 In  December  2011, Sherman wrote: “By adopting a policy of continually trying to avoid confrontations in which it can prevail, Israel may eventually find itself forced to engage in a confrontation in which it cannot” and he says now "Precisely such a perilous predicament is now beginning to develop before our eyes".

Winston Churchill, in the first volume of his epic series on World War II, aptly titled "The Gathering Storm", put it thus,

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

 Sherman claims that "Although many will wish to deny it, this is the situation that could well emerge for the Jews of Israel if the policy of ruinous restraint continues. If they forfeit national sovereignty, now under unprecedented international assault, while they may not become “slaves,” Israelis could well be relegated to infidel dhimmi status in their own homeland".

 

If we look at Israel's situation through our natural eyes we will indeed have to agree with this assessment of the situation. Israel has never, in modern times, faced such a formidable assembly of foes. To the north lies Hezbollah with an estimated 200,000 missiles aimed at every city and town of Israel, to the south Hamas is rebuilding its arsenal and digging tunnels for the next war with Israel. To the east the Syrian civil war rages and the Islamic State conquers swathes of Iraq and Syria, and spreads its poisonous ideology far and wide. Even further to the east Iran continues to prepare an arsenal of nuclear weapons intended to wipe out Israel. The threats are not only outside our borders but inside too. Rioting and unrest is spreading from Jerusalem to all parts of the country, as a third intifada threatens to arise, becoming more a religious than a political confrontation as it is focusing more and more on the Temple Mount. Furthermore, Israel is becoming increasingly isolated politically, and the support of her erstwhile friends, especially the United States, is faltering. There seems little hope. If all these storm clouds collide and all our enemies, or even just a few of them, attack Israel together, we will be overwhelmed in spite of our military might. While our enemies by dint of their superior numbers, and the vastness of their territory, can sustain defeat, Israel cannot afford even to lose even one battle, that would be to lose everything, as Yigal Allon, when he was the Foreign Minister in 1976, said,

 

 "A military defeat of Israel would mean the physical extinction of a large part of its population and the political elimination of the Jewish state...To lose a single war is to lose everything..."

 

But thankfully this is not the whole story.  We are small in number, surrounded by millions of enemies, threatened by sophisticated weapons, abandoned by our friends, and vulnerable, but we have one great advantage.

 

This morning I read how  many years ago the King of Syria came up to the city of Dothan, in which the prophet Elisha was staying, and besieged it with an great army of horsemen and chariots. Greatly outnumbered and out-gunned the people of Dothan were dismayed. When Elisha's servant came to him in distress and despair, Elisha said to him:

 ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. 

 

¹⁸ As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, ‘Strike this army with blindness.’ So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

2 Kings 6 16-18 

 

How different things look when we see with spiritual eyes!  Things looked hopeless to the Elisha's servant, and all the people of Dothan, but the spiritual reality was very different. They were surrounded by the great spiritual army of the LORD. I believe that today too, though we be besieged all around by foes much stronger than ourselves, Israel is protected by the great armies of the LORD.

 

Time and time again, in every battle we have fought since the founding of the State of Israel there have been many reports of supernatural things taking place as God has fought on our side. It is the only way to explain how little Israel has prevailed until now. Unfortunately this has led to a perception of invincibility amongst the people of Israel and there is little room for complacency. Even Elisha, seeing the armies of the Lord with him, did not take the LORD's intervention for granted, he prayed asking the Lord to strike them with blindness and God did so. We too must not take God's protection for granted but must be faithful in prayer. Please do not forget to lift Israel up in prayer at this time. Your prayers matter. They matter far more than you might suspect.

 

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

 

 

 

 

A REQUIEM FOR THE SINAI

 

Mt Sinai
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/25500/Default.aspx
 

One of the greatest dangers of the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) is not so much that it is conquering territory, committing horrendous humanitarian crimes, practicing ethnic cleansing,  and imposing barbaric Medieval Sharia laws on the populations it rules, but that it has drawn the entire world's attention away from all the other threats to peace, especially Iran and its nuclear program, and the spread of radical Islam throughout the world.

 

One area which is largely escaping the world's awareness is the threat crouching in the Sinai Peninsula. When I first came to Israel in 1979, half the Sinai was still under Israeli control. I worked at the Eilat Field School for several months and on our days off we would freely wander and explore the Sinai. I often travelled alone on foot in the desert accompanied by my little terrier dog, and never felt any threat or danger at all from the local Bedouins. Quite the opposite. They always treated me with respect, hospitality and kindness. In those days, the Sinai was a mecca for Israeli holiday makers with the beaches being filled shoulder-to-shoulder with tents and the air filled with the aroma of roasting barbecues. The Bedouin too were enjoying the presence of the Israelis, who brought with them employment, hard dollars, healthcare and schools. The Bedouin drove Mercedes, had fat healthy flocks of sheep and goats, sleek camels and warehouses full of smuggled electronic goods. They had never had it so good. Then in 1982 Israel was forced to return the last of the Sinai to Egyptian rule, and the Peninsula became a neglected backwater, a kind of no-man's land. Over the ensuing years a series of terror attacks, and the absence of any effective law and order, eroded the tourist industry to the extent that no one, certainly no Israeli, will venture there any more. The local economy crumbled and the unemployed young men grew angry and discontent. A perfect recipe for the incursion of the ideology of the Islamic jihadists. A plethora of jihadi terror organizations moved in, recruiting as they came. Now the whole peninsula is a hotbed of terror.

 

The most active and most dangerous of the terror organizations operating in the Sinai is the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Supporters of the Holy House), a Salafi Jihadi group, which has been active since the Egyptian Revolution in 2011.Its activities escalated dramatically after the 2013 overthrow of  Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood controlled government in Egypt. It claims to be acting in retaliation for the consequent crackdown against Islamist supporters in which 1400 have been killed and around 15,000 imprisoned, hundreds of whom are sentenced to death http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/11/15/Ansar-Beit-al-Maqdis-militants-claim-deadly-Sinai-attack.html .  Over the last few years Ansar Bayt al-Maquis  has been responsible for repeated attacks on the pipelines that bring oil from Egypt to Israel (part of the Sinai return deal), a number of missile attacks on the Israeli city of Eilat, assassinations and bombings in Egypt,  and the brutal beheadings of so-called Israeli collaborators (none of whom were known to Israeli Intelligence). They have also attacked and killed scores of Egyptian police and soldiers. The deadliest attack occurred on October 24th  this year when an explosives-filled car was rammed into a military checkpoint , near the border with Gaza, killing 31 Egyptian soldiers.

 

Immediately following this attack, the Egyptian government created a buffer zone, 13 km long and 500m wide, on its side of the border in Rafah, the 'Palestinian' city that straddles the Egyptian-Gaza border, in order to stop the infiltration of terrorists and arms. In clearing this strip they evicted around 600 - 1000 families (estimates vary), with only 48 hours notice, and destroyed their homes. When they razed the homes they found hundreds of smuggling tunnels.  According to the Times of Israel, this buffer strip will be monitored by surveillance cameras and feature a water-filled trench that will extend to the Mediterranean Sea. (What an outcry there would be if Israel had dared to do such a thing!!!!).  

http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-steps-up-efforts-for-gaza-buffer-after-discovery-of-more-tunnels/ 



Homes being demolished in Rafah, Wednesday 29 October 2014
http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-steps-up-efforts-for-gaza-buffer-after-discovery-of-more-tunnels/

Today a video was posted on Twitter, purportedly by Ansar Bayt al-Maquis, claiming responsibility for the October 24th attack. This comes after a week of yo-yo-ing claims and denials that they had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) and renamed themselves the Sinai Province (of that State). http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Ansar-Bayt-al-Maqdis-posts-video-of-deadly-attack-that-killed-30-in-Sinai-381854.  In a statement cited by Reuters Monday this week,  a spokesman for Ansar Bayt al-Maquis said that they had decided to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (leader of ISIS), who has declared himself to be the Caliph of the Muslims in Syria and Iraq and in other countries. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/25500/Default.aspx . The next day, Ansar Bayt al-Maquis denied all involvement with the Islamic State. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187044#.VF-TXJscRLM  It is difficult to know where the truth lies but there is no doubt they share the same ideology and goals as the Islamic State, namely to ultimately destroy Israel and spread Islamic rule over the whole world.  If they have joined forces however, this will effectively bring the Islamic State right onto the doorstep of Israel.

 

Meanwhile, what are our other neighbors doing?   Hamas in Gaza is busy rearming itself and boasting that it will renew missile attacks on Israel very soon. It even boasts that it is rebuilding the tunnels and will carry out a massive terror incursion via those tunnels. Hezbollah boasts at least 200,000 missiles currently aimed at Israel, enough to virtually obliterate every Israeli city and town.  Iran, laughing at the West, continues its development of nuclear weapons,  and at the same time  is supplying  more and better missiles to Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria http://yalibnan.com/2014/11/14/iran-confirms-supplying-missile-production-plants-to-syria-hezbollah-hamas/. According to the Times of Israel today,

"A top Iranian military commander announced Wednesday that Palestinian terrorist groups and Hezbollah received Fateh-class missiles that are able to attack any target in Israel.

 

Tehran has also provided Hezbollah and Hamas with advanced rocket training, Revolutionary Guard Brigadier General Sayed Majid Moussavi said, according to the Fars News Agency.

 

If true, this would be the first public revelation by Iran that the Palestinians are in possession of Fateh missiles that have a range of 200 kilometers, according to the Israel Missile Defense Association.

“Considering the range of their missiles, they are able now to attack all targets from southern to northern parts of [Israel]” .

 http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-general-palestinians-have-longer-range-missiles/

As our enemies are busy arming themselves with the aim of obliterating Israel, our main ally, the USA, led by a vague, ineffectual  and seemingly ambivalent  President Obama, is faltering in its support. One student of the situation, Noah Beck, gives voice to how many Israeli's see the situation with the USA in a rather tongue-in-cheek article published today. Its worth a read. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/25522/Default.aspx ) 

http://yalibnan.com/2014/11/14/iran-confirms-supplying-missile-production-plants-to-syria-hezbollah-hamas/

Given the scale and malevolence of these threats to Israel's existence, is it any wonder we are feeling alone here in our fight against the jihadist Islamic threat?

  

But we are not alone.

 

 King David declared,

Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”

 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
 Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
  Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2

Addressing Jerusalem, the LORD God of Israel has this to say:

Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli....

 Terror will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;    whoever attacks you will surrender to you. ‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
   no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,’
declares the Lord.

Isaiah 54: 14-17

God raises up kings and rulers for his own purposes, sometimes in order to bring Israel to its knees in repentance, but those same rulers and kings will eventually be punished for coming against the LORD's anointed, and in the end, repentant Israel will be victorious.

The day of the Lord is near
    for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
    your deeds will return upon your own head.
Just as you drank on my holy hill,
    so all the nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink
    and be as if they had never been.
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
    it will be holy,
    and Jacob will possess his inheritance.

Obadiah 1: 15-17

The LORD stands for Israel, today as in the past, and though our enemies might rise up against us in immeasurable might, the LORD is greater than all the armies and all the weapons, and He will fight on our behalf. I pray that we all will be found fighting  alongside Him on the side of righteousness, and prayerfully doing battle against the powers of darkness, when that day comes.

 



 

 

 

A STORMY WINTER WEEK

The first well-developed winter cyclone visited Israel this week with hailstones the size of golf balls in Haifa, water-spouts off Tel Aviv, flooding in low lying areas and rain all over the Land. It was a steady, wetting rain that lasted 2-3 days and soaked deep into the soil, boding well for a good winter (which here in Israel means one with plenty of rain). 

A water spout off Tel Aviv
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4587425,00.html



It is not only the weather that has been stormy this week as Jerusalem has been rocked by yet another week of escalating violence. The rains helped to dampen the rioting in the early part of the week but on Wednesday afternoon, another terrorist drove his car into pedestrians at a light rail stop in East Jerusalem, not far from the previous week's similar attack, which had killed a baby and a 22 year old woman. In this week's attack two  more people were killed and around 14 treated for injuries in the city's hospitals. The terrorist, Al-Akari, a 38 year old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, plowed his car first into a group of Border Guard police officers, killing Chief Inspector Jadan Assad , a Druze officer. He continued to drive around running down pedestrians and a cyclist, Shalom Baadani, 17-year-old yeshiva student, who died of his wounds on Friday. Al-Akari had ties to Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The same evening a Palestinian registered vehicle rammed a group of soldiers near Bethlehem,  injuring three soldiers, one seriously. This incident may have just been a traffic accident as the driver claims, but nevertheless it added to the atmosphere of danger in the city, coming on the heels of the previous night's attacks.

That same night the Police in conjunction with the Jerusalem Municipality began putting concrete barriers at the light rail stops in East Jerusalem. While this will prevent attacks at those sites it adds to the feeling of siege in the city, and no doubt the terrorists will find another target.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Bennett-Concrete-barriers-to-prevent-ramming-attacks-are-a-prize-for-terror-380979

Meanwhile Palestinians were taking to the social media and proclaiming the "Intifada of Cars".  “From Palestine we brought to the world the intifada of stones. Now we are bringing from Palestine the intifada of running over (or trampling),” read a message on one popular Palestinian Facebook page.http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/25497/Default.aspx

These attacks are only one aspect of the current unrest in Jerusalem. Every day we are subjected to rioting in various places around the city, where scores of young men throw rocks, Molotov cocktails and shoot fireworks at Jewish homes, police and passersby. The editor of the International Jerusalem Post, described daily life in Jerusalem these days eloquently:

It is being called “The Silent Intifada,” but not by me. When bereaved families cry and emergency vehicles wail on their way to yet another terrorist incident in the capital; when police helicopters hover above hot spots in Jerusalem; shots ring out; and the sound of fireworks being thrown at Jewish homes can be heard almost every night, these are indications that there is an intifada going on and it’s not a quiet one, just lo-tech – so far.

In the early hours of the morning, the intifada is particularly noisy in my neighborhood, like so many others in Jerusalem.

It is then that the muezzin can be heard calling the residents of nearby Arab neighborhoods for prayers. The volume is much greater than that needed to wake the sleepy devout; in colloquial terms, it is loud enough to wake the dead. This is not an act of religious freedom – it is part of the ongoing psychological warfare. And the sermons sounding out oh-so-loud and clear in the wee hours are not calling for peace and quiet: They are adding fuel to the intifada flames, broadcasting the message of jihad.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/My-Word-No-golden-silence-in-Jerusalem-381072

What began back in April as the expression of anger by a few score disenchanted youths is becoming more and more focused as a battle for the Temple Mount, incited by Muslim preachers and political leaders. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad called for a 'day of rage' on Friday to protest what they claim is Jewish desecration of the Muslim holy sites. Ironically, if there is any desecration of these sites occurring, it is that caused by the daily violence of the  rioters who use the mosques as a base for launching attacks on Jewish visitors and police.



http://www.israelnationalnews.com/static/Resizer.ashx/News/468/282/490109.jpg

Also on Friday Hamas announced the creation of a new army in preparation for a new confrontation with Israel. A senior official with the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that this new "People's Army" would include 2,500 soldiers which were to serve as the vanguard "for the liberation of the al-Aqsa mosque and of Palestine".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589331,00.html

The Temple Mount as seen from the end of my street today

This all raises the question: whose mountain is it? In my last post I quoted a neighbor of one of the car terrorists who remarked  "Why do [Jewish] rightists enter Al-Aqsa every day? It's a Muslim mosque, no Temple Mount or anything. What kind of stories have you been telling yourselves? Don't get near Islam's holy places, it's playing with fire. We were here from before Israel was established, this is our land." This statement says it all. Muslims believe the Temple Mount, which they call Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary),  to be their holy site, theirs alone. They do not permit Jews or Christians to pray there.

The Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount is considered the third holiest place for Muslims. According to Muslim tradition Mohammed made a mystical night journey, either physically or spiritually,  on a winged white beast called Burqa to the 'farthest mosque' and ascended to heaven. This journey is referred to only once in the Koran:

Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). (Al-Isra 17: 1)

According to the Hadith and other Muslim writings Mohammed was then taken up into the seven levels of heaven, meeting other prophets including Jesus, Moses and Abraham.

Tradition has it that this 'farthest mosque' is the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, but this seems unlikely since the first Muslim mosque on the Temple Mount was built by the Caliph Umar, the second of the successors to Mohammed. At the time of Mohammed no building was standing on the Mount. The present Al Aqsa mosque was built by the Fatimid Caliph Ali as-Zahir in the year 1035 AD after a series of earlier structures were destroyed by earthquakes. Also on the Temple Mount stands an older structure,  the Dome of the Rock, which was completed initially in the year 691 AD, some 59 years after the death of Mohammed in 632AD.

The Koran does not identify the site of the 'farthest mosque' as Jerusalem, and in fact Jerusalem is not mentioned by name at all in the Koran. The early Arab historian and the biographer of Mohammed, Al-Waqidi, identified the 'farthest mosque' as being one of two located in the village of al-Gi'irranah between Mecca and Ta'if. The linking of 'the farthest mosque' with Jerusalem only appears much later in the Hadiths and other Islamic writings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamization_of_Jerusalem

Muslims believe that their claim to the 'ownership' of the Temple Mount however goes back much further, long before Mohammed, even to Adam.  Here is a summary of events as Muslim's see it:

• The Al Aqsa mosque was first built by the Prophet Adam
• Ibrahim (Abraham) rebuilt the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (as Ibrahim and Ishmael had rebuilt the Kaaba in Mecca)
• The Prophet Daud ( King David) began the rebuilding of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Prophet Suleiman ( Solomon) completed its building.
• Suleiman's mosque was destroyed in 587 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon
• The Jews rebuilt their Temple on the same site in 167 BC but it was destroyed in 70 AD and the Jews were banished from Jerusalem.
• The site remained barren and was used as a rubbish tip for nearly 600 years until the Great Caliph, Umar bin Khattab, liberated Jerusalem in 637/8 AD, and began the construction of a timber mosque on the site.
• The Umayyad Caliph, Abd' al Malik ibn Marwan in 691/2 AD began the construction of, Dome of the Rock
• Israel occupied the Al Aqsa Mosque in 1967

http://moonsighting.com/firstqibla.html

 

This insidious rewriting of history and the appropriation of the First and Second Jewish Temples of the Bible by Islamic scholars is the basis for current Muslim belief that the Temple Mount, or the Noble Sanctuary as they call it, belongs to Islam and neither Jews nor Christians have any claim. The Bible gives a very different story.

 

When Solomon completed and dedicated the First Temple he prayed to God and the LORD replied, saying  

 “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually"    

 1 Kings 9:3

Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion

           Isaiah 8:18

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
¹⁴ “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

                     Psalm 132: 13-14

The Temple Mount belongs to the LORD, the God of Israel, forever. He has chosen this place to manifest his presence on Earth until the end of days. However the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon's Temple in the year 586 BC because the Israelites of the southern Kingdom of Judah had abandoned the worship of the LORD and turned to the worship of idols. Seventy years later, God commanded Cyrus, the King of Persia, to send the Jews back to Jerusalem build Him a house there (Ezra 1: 1-2). This second temple was dedicated in the year 515 BC and stood for approximately 500 years. It was modest in comparison to Solomon's Temple but God promised its glory would exceed that of the former Temple:

In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: ² “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ³ ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? ⁴ Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’⁶ “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; ⁷ and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁸ ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

          Haggai 2: 1-9

In the years 20-18 BC Herod the Great completely rebuilt it  and the prophecy of Haggai was fulfilled as the 'Desire of All Nations', Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, came to it  (Luke 2: 21-24) , calling it his Father's house (John 13:2).

After Yeshua's  death, resurrection and ascension to his Father's house in Heaven, the Second Temple was totally destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Romans then erected on the Temple site a temple to their gods, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva,  the patron gods of the new city of Aelia Capitolina. At the beginning of the 4th Century, the Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and the pagan temples were destroyed. In 361 a pagan Emperor, Julian the Apostate, brought Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple but two years later the building, still under construction, was destroyed by an earthquake. During the Christian  period churches sprang up nearby but the Temple Mount was left vacant and became a rubbish dump. It was thus the Muslim invaders found it in the 7th Century when they invaded Jerusalem.

This is not the end of the story however. The Bible clearly speaks of a Third Temple from which the Messiah will reign at the end of days.

Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

¹⁴ “Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the Lord for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord.

 

Zechariah 6: 12-15

 

 I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of Yahweh of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain."   

 

Zechariah 8:3 

It is no wonder then that the Enemy of the LORD God of Israel, will try and derail the rebuilding of the Third Temple and the establishment of the reign of the Messiah on Earth. The anti-Christ wants to sit on the throne himself. This struggle will bring war to Jerusalem, the war when all the nations will come up against her as is prophesied in Zechariah 12:1-14,

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. ³ And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. ⁴ In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵ And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ ⁶ In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.⁷ “The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. ⁸ In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. ⁹ It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
¹⁰ “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. ¹¹ In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{[b] 12} And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

 

I do not know when these words will be fulfilled but it seems very likely it will be soon. The battle lines are being drawn and the Enemy is mobilizing his proxies to try and conquer Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. He will not succeed but only bring about the return of the Messiah. Hallelujah!

MARANATA , LORD,  COME!!!