A JERUSALEM SPRING

 

I awoke this morning to see clouds of 'smoke' rising from amongst the trees around my building. Fearing a fire I leapt out of bed to investigate, and to my relief, saw that it was just clouds of pollen smoking off the cypress trees. Spring is here, almost a month early this year, and the pollen season has begun. Woe to all hay fever sufferers! 

Then I opened my Bible and read about how Solomon built the first temple. He bought cedar and cypress wood from the King of Lebanon and lined the stone temple walls and ceiling with beams and planks of cedar ('erez' in Hebrew). The floor was made of cypress ('brosh' in Hebrew) (1 Kings 6). 

The cedar (Cedrus libani)  and the cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) are both native to the Eastern Mediterranean region and reference to them is frequent in the Bible. Both produce a hard, close-grained resinous and fragrant wood that is naturally insect proof - ideal for building purposes. The cedar is popularly known as the Cedar of Lebanon and grows only above 1000m altitude. As such it is mostly confined to the high mountains of Lebanon, but in Israel a few can be found scattered on the slopes of Mt Hermon.  The cypress is more common and thrives in the mountains of Judah where it co-exists with the Jerusalem pine and many other shrubs and bushes.



Cypress trees in the Jerusalem Forest
https://whereintheworldarebillandcindy.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/image67.jpg

 God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah had this to say,

"I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
²⁰ That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it".

Isaiah 41: 18-19
 

The cypress and the cedar are then part of the promises of God regarding the restoration of Israel in her land. They speak of health and bounty and prosperity. How wonderful it is to see this once neglected and almost totally deforested land once again covered in green forest. Israel is the only country in the world where the forests are actually increasing! Israelis love their trees and revere every one that grows. It is almost impossible to get a permit to cut even one down. The prophecy of Isaiah quoted above therefore has truly been fulfilled.

 Last weekend  I drove out through the miles and miles of the Judean forest land and was so blessed by the trees and wildflowers along the way. This is truly a beautiful land- a land of milk and honey indeed.  Here are a few of my photos.



Anenomes  in the wildflower meadows

Judean bugloss and a crown daisy

Anenome and  dyers alkanet

Almonds - the first of the flowering trees to blossom  in late winter

Sheep and goats grazing amongst the  flowers of the Judean shepelah (foothills) with winter wheat growing in the valley

 On a day like today when the sun is shining, it is neither too hot nor too cold, and the flowers and trees are blooming in all this splendor,  I cannot understand how anyone can hate or kill or maim. Yet, sadly, they do.

Yael and Tuvia Weissman

The recent weeks have been no exception. Over the last two weeks there have been a number of terror attacks against Israeli citizens. On Thursday last week two 14-year-old Palestinian youths attacked and wounded a shopper in a supermarket in Shaar Binyamin, north of Jerusalem. An off-duty, unarmed soldier, Tuvia Weissman (21) heard the screams and ran to the rescue, and as a result was himself stabbed to death. He leaves behind his childhood sweetheart and wife, Yael and a four-month old baby girl called Neta.  The two attackers were shot, one fatally, by an armed civilian. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/28364/Default.aspx?topic=article_title 


This tragic event has led to the IDF changing its standing orders for off-duty soldiers, requiring them to carry their weapons even when on vacation http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4769554,00.html.  This makes sense at a time when even civilians are being encouraged to carry weapons. The quick intervention of armed civilians has on many occasions prevented additional casualties and neutralized attackers.

Sadly, things can sometimes go wrong. This last Wednesday a 26-year old Palestinian school teacher attacked with a knife an Israeli officer, Captain Eliav Gelman, at the Gush Etzion Junction. This junction has gained notoriety as the scene of at least 10  attacks in the last five months. A soldier nearby saw the attack taking place and opened fire on the terrorist neutralizing him. Sadly however a stray bullet hit Gelman also. Gelman later died of his injuries, leaving behind a wife in the seventh month of her pregnancy. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Terrorist-stabbing-attack-at-Gush-Etzion-Junction-one-injured-445937

In the early hours of  Friday morning a 48 year old,  unarmed security guard at a supermarket in Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, was attacked by a Palestinian wielding an axe. The attacker fled the scene and still has not been apprehended. The security guard was critically injured and is still fighting for his life.

Scene of terror attack in Ma'ale Adumim (Photo: Medabrim b'Tikshoret
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4771223,00.html

This brings the death toll as a result of terror attacks over the last 5 months to 33. In addition, over 300 have been treated for injuries by the Magen David Adom (The Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross). At least 30 of these sustained serious injuries. In addition many Palestinian terrorists have been killed or injured, some of them children. Such a waste, a terrible, tragic waste, and for what?

There are those who call the current wave of terror a Third Intifada. It is far from that. An Intifada is a general uprising of the whole population. The current violence is being carried out by a relatively small number of young men and women, many of them mere children.  In spite of calls for a third Intifada, the general population of the Palestinian areas has not risen up. In fact, a recent poll carried out by the reliable and prestigious Palestinian  research institute, Awad, indicated that only 42% of Palestinians today support a third Intifada, down from the 63% who supported it in December. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4763051,00.html

In another development this week the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Fathali, announced that Iran will support the "Jerusalem Intifada" by giving to the family of every martyr the sum of $US 7,000 and to every family, whose home is demolished by the IDF, $US 30,000 http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Iran-offers-financial-reward-for-families-of-potential-Palestinian-intifada-martyrs-445966. This will provide an added incentive  for Palestinians to carry out attacks against Israelis, and clearly demonstrates Iran's role in financing terror.


Meanwhile our eyes are also on the deteriorating situation on our borders, especially in Syria.  At midnight last night the US and Russian brokered partial "cessation of hostilities" came into effect. This temporary truce includes Assad's army and some 97 different rebel militias. It does not however include the Islamic State (ISIS), the Al Qaida linked  al-Nusra, and the Islamist groups, Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35643151. 

This fragile truce is perhaps the first sign of hope for the Syrian people in this awful 5-year old conflict in which more than 250,000 Syrians have been killed, and over 11 million driven from their homes. Will the 'cessation of hostilities' hold? It seems doubtful and already today there are reports of some violations, although the Russians have halted their airstrikes and relative quiet has fallen in most areas covered by the truce. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4771356,00.html

The conflict in Syria is extremely complex. There are about 160 different warring factions. At the core is the Syrian Arab Army loyal to President Assad and the government. This is supported by many paramilitary groups and militias trained and financed by Iran and Russia. Opposing them is a loose confederation of groups collectively known as the Free Syrian Army and these are backed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, France, the UK and the USA. In the north the Kurds, an ethnic minority in Syria, is fighting for autonomy and to protect its area from the advancing Islamic State (ISIS). They now hold a large region in the north of Syria. The Kurds are also fighting Turkey. The Islamic State has seized considerable tracts of Syrian and Iraqi land. They are also in conflict with the al-Qaida backed al Nusra fighters. Below is a map of the current situation on the ground as of the 8 February.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/25/middleeast/syria-civil-war-q-and-a/index.html

Here in Israel we view with great concern the developing situation around us, especially the cooperation of Assad, Russia and Iran, supported oddly enough by the USA. In the days leading up to the current cessation of hostilities Russia and Assad carried out a massive bombardment of rebel held areas in order to consolidate Assad's government and expand the territory under its control. This has not exactly sown the seeds of peace.   


On a more positive note, about 2000 Syrians have received treatment in Israeli hospitals over the last two years. Although some of these have been civilian women and children the majority have been young fighters. This has raised some debate here in Israel. Should we be using taxpayer's money to treat injured Syrians when our hospitals are already full to bursting point. However staff at the hospitals are adamant that they do not differentiate between patients. They treat everyone that crosses the thresholds of the hospital the same. They do not even know from which militia or army their patients have come. One doctor put it this way, "We don't know who our patients are — Jabhat al-Nusra, the FSA, the Syrian Army. We can't tell, and it wouldn't make a difference".
Another doctor had this to say, "When you are a doctor, you don't get to know who is good and who is bad. You treat everyone ... And as a doctor, you can't take a side...This is a humanitarian mission and I am very proud to do it." 

Apart from the humanitarian side there is also another reason why it is to Israel's advantage to treat these patients. Every healed person who returns to his village knows that Israel and Israelis are not the Arab-hating monsters they have been taught to hate. Some have even acknowledged that Israeli hospitals are the best in the world. I don't know if that is true but they certainly surpass those in Syria and Jordan, which often do not have X-ray machines, CT scanners or even electricity.  It is hoped that these acts of goodwill  will serve to undermine the Syrian desire to fight us.

A prosthetic limb and an external fixator on a Syrian patient. (Photo via Ziv Medical Center)

https://news.vice.com/article/inside-the-hospital-where-israeli-doctors-treat-syrian-patients

As Yeshua (Jesus) taught us:

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

Matthew 5: 43-48.

THE RUSSIANS ARE HERE - A NEW 'AXIS OF EVIL'

 

Life in Israel can be difficult and depressing at times, but it also has its compensations. When life gets too stressful I love to escape to nature and remind myself of the beauty of Creation and its Creator. I didn't update my blog last weekend because I took a little holiday in the Galilee. It was a wonderful break and we enjoyed the green winter landscape, the warm sunshine, the gentle rain, and Israel's marvelous wildlife. It was a wonderful reminder of the bounteous and beautiful land the LORD has given us. Here are a few of my photos to show you why I love this land so much:

 

An avocet catching his lunch - one of the 500 million birds that migrate over our skies twice a year





Some of the 70,000 Eurasian cranes that stop off  twice a year at Lake Agmon in the Huleh valley  to fuel up before and after crossing the Sahara, as they migrate between Europe and Asia, and Africa

Assorted ducks in the Huleh Valley

                 A giant rat? No, a Nutria - an introduced pest from South America - but they are so cute and photogenic, we love them anyway

A crane coming in to sleep in the last rays of  sunshine
 

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

 

 Jerusalem has been a troubled city of late and there is much sadness and stress. However Jerusalem also has another side - one you don't see on the news.  It is so full of wonderful and interesting things to do and see, and so full of life. Yesterday I saw an example of the vitality of this city. Some young people had set up a music player in the street and were dancing the jive - just for the sheer joy of it.

 

 

 

The other night I managed to get away from work before the sun set, and I decided to take a stroll in the Gazelle Park nearby. This Park is a triumph of nature and human 'quality of life' values over materialism and consumerism. As the city grew a herd of  some 30 odd wild Mountain Gazelles became trapped in the middle of the city by the encroaching developments. Developers eyed the valuable land, and a great battle arose between them and the local people who loved this herd. The herd was decimated by the motorway constructed nearby and by frequent poaching, some say by the developers themselves, until only 4 gazelles remained. Nevertheless the gazelle-lovers never gave up and eventually the city fathers decided to dedicate this 'prime real estate' for the protection of the remaining gazelles and for the enjoyment of the people. Now this 50  or so acres of 'wilderness' is home to  an augmented herd of some 13 gazelles and  is open, free of charge, to all the citizens of Jerusalem. A deer-proof fence has been constructed around the reserve and a live-in guard protects them 24 hours a day. A stream, with a waterfall and several ponds, runs through the park, and paths  have been laid out. A large part of the area is set aside and closed to the public, for the use of the gazelles alone, but even so it is possible to see the gazelles at close quarters. When I was there that evening I stood down by the lake, quite still, for a few minutes and a group of some 4 young surrounded me, quite unafraid, enjoying the lush winter vegetation. One came to within about 3 meters from me. This photo was taken, on my phone, without a zoom.



 

 

 

 

I went home feeling uplifted and relaxed. What a wonderful city this is! But as you know there is quite another side to life here. The relentless terror attacks grind on. We are no longer surprised or even pay much attention to them, unless of course directly involved somehow. We seem to have a perception that the frequency of attacks is decreasing, but it may just be that they are receiving little press attention these days, even here.

 

Two weeks ago, three terrorists carried out a combined shooting and knifing attack at the Damascus Gate. Border policewoman, Hadar Cohen, aged 19, died of wounds she received. Another border policewoman was seriously injured and a young man lightly wounded in the attack.  The three terrorists were shot dead by security forces.

Hadar Cohen
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4761536,00.html

I have often commented on the biased and inaccurate reporting of events in Israel by the world's media. The picture below shows how the US TV network, CBS News, reported the incident. The headline does not even mention the fact that these Palestinians had just carried out a terror attack, nor that Hadar Cohen, a young woman just doing her job, had been killed, and other innocent people wounded. Perhaps the article did go on to speak about this but many people only read the headlines, and it is the headlines that have the greatest impact.

 

CBS headline on Jerusalem terror attack, before being changed. (Photo: Screenshot)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4761809,00.html

 

In like vein here is how Al Jazeerra News tweeted the same incident:

 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4761809,00.html

 

Again this week the UN human rights expert,  Makarim Wibisono, accused Israel of using excessive force against Palestinan perpetrators of terror. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4765176,00.html

Although Israel may indeed commit human rights violations in its fight against the ongoing, relentless terror war, and there is always room for investigation and healthy criticism, we feel here that Israel is often singled out and held to a different standard than the rest of the world.  Perhaps that is fair enough since spiritually Israel is called to be an example and a demonstrator of God's justice and righteousness, nevertheless there is little understanding of the difficult balancing act we must walk, and the double-standard used against us hurts. 

 

 In war, civilians get hurt and human rights get violated. It has always been so and though it is horrible and regrettable, it is inevitable.  That said, I know of no other nation that takes such extreme measures to protect civilians of the enemy population as Israel does, often at great risk to her own civilians, and military and police personnel.

RUSSIA, IRAN AND SYRIA - the new axis of evil?

 

In September last year I entitled a post "The Russians are Coming". Now they are here - well and truly ensconced in the Middle East, and with the support and blessing of the United States, the UK and Europe.

Before the arrival of the Russian forces in September last year, the Assad regime was on the brink of collapse. Assad's forces, together with their allies, Hezbollah and Iran,  had been fighting the various rebel factions  and ISIS piecemeal without any overarching military goal except to keep the rebels away from areas of economic or moral importance. This approach clearly was not working.

At this point Russia entered the fray, not because of any love for Assad, but in order to protect its own interests in the region. At first Russia adopted the approach of the USA which has been conducting pinpoint attacks on strategic targets while attempting to minimize civilian losses. This also clearly was ineffective.

Consequently Russia has recently changed its tactics and is now blanket bombing the cities and towns which are the strongholds of the rebel forces, with no regard to civilian losses. Those civilians who can are fleeing in huge numbers towards the Turkish border and are becoming trapped there as Turkey is refusing to allow them entry. Those who did not manage to escape are trapped in their cities as Assad's forces, together with Hezbollah and Iranian ground forces, surround and impose a siege on those cities, starving the survivors of food, water and medicines. This amounts to a form of ethnic cleansing.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4765389,00.html

A Syrian refugee camp in Jordan
http://i.imgur.com/L6uddjw.jpg

Syrian refugees streaming towards the  Turkish border
http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1400299/turkish-soldiers-stand-guard-syrian-refugees-wait-behind-border-fences.jpg

 

Where is the outcry of the world against this? Why are the USA and Europe supporting the Russians? Do they not see that we now have a new 'axis of evil' arising in the Middle East, comprising Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Assad's Syria?

This coalition is extremely dangerous for Israel and now it is gathering strength on our borders. The assessment here is that once Assad's regime is stabilized and empowered again in Syria, the attention of this coalition will turn to 'freeing the Golan' from Israeli occupation, and ultimately "freeing the Muslim lands of the abomination of Jewish settlement".

 

Just as scary is the fact that there is now rising up a new world power, comprising Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Russia, under the leadership of Putin. This is a major shift in the balance of world power. The USA is weakening and has largely backed out of any significant role in the Middle East, and the UK and Europe are tottering under the weight of Muslim immigration and influence. The Western world seems to be caught up in materialistic hedonism, unaware that its way of life is under dire threat, as Islamic fundamentalism and jihad spreads unchecked in its midst. The Western world no longer seems to have the moral fiber to even protect itself.

 

Today I was studying the Book of Revelation. I learned that in the first verse of that book it says: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place".  I learned from a commentary by Siegfried Beck that the Greek word 'tachy', here translated as 'shortly', or in other translations 'soon', can also mean 'quickly'. Probably both meanings are intended. In other words the end-time events prophesied in the Book of Revelation  are not only near at hand, but when they happen they will take place quickly.

 

When I first came to believe in Yeshua (Jesus), back in the '70s, there was a strong belief in the imminent second coming of our Lord,  largely based on the verses that say:

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!   Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Matthew 24: 32-34 

 

 We saw great significance in the restoration of Israel to her Land in 1948, and interpreted this event as the first tender leaves of the fig tree.  As time passed this expectation waned to some extent but there seems now to be a feeling amongst many of us that events are accelerating, and that the stage is being set up for the fulfillment of the end times prophesies, leading to the Second Coming of our Lord. The generation that saw the establishment of the State of Israel is now in its 70s or older, and will soon pass away.

 

I don't know whether such an interpretation is correct, and I don't know the timing of the LORD, but I do know that these things will take place, and we, like all the generations before us, need to live as if they are indeed imminent. We need to be like the virgins with their lamps trimmed and ready (Matthew 25). I am reminded of the song published in 1989 by Larry Norman "I Wish We'd All Been Ready". You can hear it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPJpZdEOILQ

 

Here are the lyrics:



 

Life was filled with guns and war
And all of us got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

Children died the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

The Father spoke the demons died
How could you have been so blind

There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

I hope we'll all be ready. You've been left behind
I hope we'll all be ready. You've been left behind
I hope we'll all be ready. You've been left behind

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dctalk/iwishwedallbeenready.html

 

 

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour which the Son of Man is coming

Matthew 25: 13

MAY WE ALL BE FOUND READY!