BUS BOMBS and PASSOVER

 

Today (Saturday 23 April) is the first day of Passover and I have had a quiet day at home enjoying the peace and rest of a special Shabbat. The religious attended special prayers at the synagogues while many thousands of others flocked to the parks and reserves to enjoy the perfect spring weather and the beauty of our Land. Last night  families, often extended families and guests, all over Israel, and indeed Jews all over the world, gathered together to celebrate the Festival of Passover, commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, some 3,500 years ago, and their return to the Promised Land. I also was blessed to join a family and celebrate with some twenty others.

 

An Israeli family holding a Passover Seder
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/Portals/0/news/130331_haggadah.jpg

During the Seder, beautiful prayers are recited and songs are sung as we tell the story of God's deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, and how He brought us into the Promised Land, a  wide land of freedom and plenty. We are enjoined to celebrate the Passover, in every generation, as if we ourselves had been slaves in Egypt and have known first hand the LORD's deliverance from Pharaoh, the journey through the desert for 40 years, and finally the arrival in the Promised Land. We are also commanded to pass this knowledge on to our children, and Jews have faithfully kept this feast and passed on the story, generation after generation, for 3,500 years. The Feast of Passover is  rich in symbolism and meaning for all, but for Messianic believers and Christians everywhere it has even greater meaning as we celebrate the Passover lamb, Yeshua, that was sacrificed for our sins, to bring us out of slavery to sin and into eternal life.  Furthermore, for those of us who live in the land it has also an additional meaning. For two thousand years Jews have finished the Seder with the prayer  that they will be able to celebrate the Passover 'next year in Jerusalem'. What an incredible privilege and joy it is to be amongst those who have fulfilled this ancient longing and can today celebrate it in Jerusalem. The prophets of old told of an even greater exodus than that from Egypt: 

 

  Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’  but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

Jeremiah 16:14-15 

 

 It is my belief that the ingathering of Jews, and the remnant of Israel, from the four corners of the Earth to the Land of Israel that is occurring today is the fulfillment of this prophecy. How much we have to celebrate!!!

 

When I travel around this Land as I love to do, I am over and over again awed by its abundance and its beauty. It is truly a good Land and all the more so when you compare it with the searing deserts just a stones throw away all around us. 

A flock of sheep grazing in the meadows of Judah  in Spring 2016, with a field of winter wheat in the valley below.
Beit Guvrin, Judah.

 

On the Eve of Passover I read how God's deliverance of Israel came about because he heard their cries for help.

Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.  So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Exodus 2: 23-25 

 

 Although God is returning us to the Land as He promised the process is far from complete. We still have not entered into full freedom in the Land. We still have many enemies around us and within us. On the Monday before the Passover  I left work  in the afternoon and went to the supermarket for my weekly shop. On my way home I drove up the congested Moshe Bar'Am street in the rush hour traffic. Just seconds later, on that very street, a bomb went off on a number 12 bus, setting it, another bus and a passing car on fire. Miraculously all the passengers somehow got off, or were evacuated, from the vehicles and no one died, except the perpetrator of the attack, who died a few days later. Twenty-one passengers however suffered injuries, several of which are classified as serious to moderate. Apart from smoke inhalation, burns and shrapnel injuries, some passengers also suffered penetration wounds from nails and pieces of metal that  the terrorist had loaded into the bomb. When you see the photos of the inferno the bomb caused it is truly astounding that no one died. Even the emergency personnel remarked on that. That said the  people on this bus are my neighbors, and many of them have very grave injuries and their lives will never be the same. This bus line runs from my neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv ( also known as East Talpiot) to Haddassah Hospital, and would be the bus I would take to work if I did not have a car.

 



The scene of the bombing
http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/uploads/2016/04/20160418080831.jpg
 

This is the second attack in 6 months on a bus from my neighborhood. Another was boarded by two terrorists who opened fire on the passengers, and also attacked some with knives, killing 4 and injuring many others.  Yesterday's attack however was the first bus bombing in Jerusalem since 2011, when a suicide bomber attacked a bus near the Central Bus Station.  This latest attack raises the spectre of the Second Intifada (2000-2008) and the many suicide bombings of buses, markets, restaurants and other  crowded public places which took place during those years. We are waiting with bated breath to see if this is an isolated event or the beginning of a third intifada.  

The terror organization, Hamas, has claimed responsibility for the attack which was carried out by 19 year old, Abd al-Hamid Abu Srur, a resident of the Palestinian refugee camp of  Aida next to Bethlehem. The day he died of his injuries,  his family celebrated by handing out sweets on the streets and singing praises in honor of his martyrdom.

Hamas' martyrdom poster for Abd al-Hamid Abu Srur, the terrorist responsible for J'lem bus attack
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4794447,00.html

On the day before Passover another tragedy struck - this time a traffic accident. A bus drove into the wall of a tunnel near Haifa and 54 people were injured, some critically or very severely. The cause of the accident is not yet clear.


Emergency workers rescue the injured at the scene of the accident
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4794943,00.html

So it is that this Passover too our celebrations are shadowed by loss, fear and grief. Perhaps our LORD will hear again our groanings and come to our rescue for His Name's sake and for the sake of the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Please pray with me for our people as we celebrate the remainder of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which follows the Passover) over the next few days. May our roads, our celebrations and our gatherings be protected.  Many thousands are on the very congested roads travelling to parks, forests and beaches,  and the various holiday events happening around the country. Some 1.1 million travelers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport. Tensions are very high in Jerusalem especially around the Temple Mount, and are expected to peak during the Blessing of the Cohanim (the Priestly Blessing of the people) which takes place on the morning of  Monday, 25th. For this event thousands gather at the Kotel (Western Wall).



Birkat Hacohanim (The Priestly Blessing) Passover 2013
 (note the proximity of the Mosque of Omar with its grey/silver colored dome above the Kotel)
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rNkeRn8xSRo/maxresdefault.jpg

 

Now just a glimpse of one of Jerusalem's loveable eccentricities. In Jerusalem's narrow alleyways car traffic is often impossible so some of Jerusalem's police use horses. These horses are kept in beautiful condition. Here is a photo I took last week of some police horses taking a rest in the shade as their riders enjoy a coffee break in a quiet side street.

 

 



 This is a reminder to pray especially for the 3,000 police who are guarding our city over this holiday, and the thousands of soldiers, and border police all over the country. They are not at home celebrating with their families but are putting their lives on the line, day and night, so that we can.

 

CHAG SAMEACH - A HAPPY PASSOVER TO YOU ALL.



ISHMA'EL AND JACOB, BROTHERS IN THE LORD

It seems like wherever I go these days people are talking about the prophecy in Isaiah 19 which speaks of the future highway comprising Egypt, Israel and Assyria, and the acceptance of the God of Israel by the people dwelling along that highway.

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Isaiah 19: 23-25 

 

Below is a map of the region showing the Assyrian Empire of the time of Isaiah, and it comprises modern day Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, eastern Turkey, Iraq and part of Iran, in other words, the whole arc of the Fertile Crescent.
 

 

https://visualunit.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/assyria_empire.png
 

 

Most of the people in this region today are Muslim and are sworn enemies of Israel, so how can this prophecy ever come to pass? It seems impossible but there are many today who believe that it is already beginning to be fulfilled.  

 

On the one hand we are seeing the  Islamic world rising up with seemingly more arrogance and power than ever, with the promulgation of the philosophy of Jihad (world domination), and its expression in the form of infiltration, terrorism and  military conquest affecting the whole world.  However at the same time, cracks are appearing in the world of Islam.  Everywhere in the Middle East we are seeing civil unrest, wars between different streams of Islam, and Muslims brutally killing Muslims. We are now really seeing the true face of the Lie of Islam. This is causing many Muslim people to begin to question their beliefs.  We are hearing reports of many Muslims abandoning Islam, and in their search for a better way they are encountering Yeshua (Jesus), often directly in the form of dreams or visions, but also through the witness of those faithful believers, both locals and others, who are hard at work in the Muslim world bringing them the gospel. These workers are encountering a deep hunger for Bibles and for the truth of the gospel, such as has never been seen before. It is just a tiny stream so far, but it is gathering strength. We need to support these workers and the new believers however we can, and pray for them without ceasing. May the strongholds of Satan be brought down and our brothers, the descendants of Ishmael and Esau, be saved.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴ “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
⁵ Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory

Isaiah 60 : 2-7

 

 

This wave of spiritual awakening is not just happening in the Muslim world. Lately in conversation with friends here in Israel we have remarked amongst ourselves how things have changed in Israel over the last 20-30 years. When I first came to Israel over 30 years ago the name of Yeshua was anathema to the average Israeli. Yeshua was considered almost synonymous with Hitler, and Christianity with Nazism. Any Jew who became a believer in Yeshua was considered a betrayer of their own people. He or she would usually be ostracized by his family, sometimes to the extent of being disinherited and mourned as dead. We believers numbered only about 200 and we were fearful that if we spoke too loudly about Yeshua we would be expelled from the Land. Consequently we were often timid and circumspect.   Now however there is a much greater openness amongst Israelis, and more and more we hear influential people recognizing that Yeshua was a great Jew, and expressing curiosity about him. Now there are an estimated 15,000 Messianic believers in Israel and about 100 congregations, at least one in most major towns. Consequently most people seem to know about the existence of Messianic Jews in Israel, many have met and know Messianic Jews, and the media has from time to time even run positive articles and reports about us. It may even be that Messianic Judaism is beginning to be recognized as a legitimate stream of Judaism. A lively and on-fire second generation of young believers now exists and are moving into leadership amongst us.  These are young people who, born here,  have been through the Israeli education system, served in the army (often with distinction) and are now raising up families, fully integrated into Israeli society and its workforce, and speaking unaccented Hebrew as their mother tongue. No one can deny their right to be here. No one can deny their 'Jewishness'. They are endowed with much greater boldness than we of my generation had, and they are speaking loudly, eloquently and with great enthusiasm about their relationship with Yeshua. They are also more united in their vision and the expression of their faith. They cannot help but be heard more and more. This gives me great hope. The Isaiah 19 prophecy no longer seems far fetched.

 

 Meanwhile what else is happening in our 'patch'?  The so-called Intifada of Knives seems to have quite suddenly dropped off.  The last two weeks have seen , as far as I am aware, only one  attack, which resulted in an Israeli woman being lightly wounded, and the Palestinian teenage girl  attacker arrested.  There have been no attacks in Jerusalem, or surrounding areas. Is the 'Intifada' over, or has it just paused to lull us into a false sense of security - the lull before the storm? Time will tell of course but with Hamas in Gaza calling for a massive wave of terror during Passover, only two weeks away now, we need to keep our guard up. Today the Israeli Counter Terrorism unit is calling all Israelis to leave Turkey immediately as there is 'a high-level and concrete threat of an ISIS terror attack in the country"  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4789077,00.html.  Passover is a major vacation period for Israelis and many families travel abroad, especially to Turkey and to Eastern Europe to take advantage of the cheaper accommodation there.  ISIS and other terror organizations see this as an opportunity to attack Israelis as these countries do not have the tight security we enjoy here in Israel.

During the  Pesach holiday, which is also one of the main vacation periods for Israelis, some 1.1 million travelers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792309,00.html

A week has passed since I began writing and still the calm persists. On Thursday (14 April) an axe-wielding terrorist charged a group of soldiers in the Gush Etzion region and was shot to death, and in Jerusalem two teenagers were arrested carrying knives, and confessed their intention to carry out an attack (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4791790,00.html ). Apart from that, this week too has been quiet. Last Sunday the Shin Bet (Israel's equivalent of the American CIA), in a brief to the government, noted that there has been  "a significant and noticeable drop in the number of terrorist attacks committed by Palestinian terror elements, including significant attacks", which they attributed  to "the extensive thwarting efforts by Israel, the effective thwarting of attacked (sic) planned by Hamas - which significantly increased its efforts to execute attacks, including kidnappings and suicide bombings, effective deterrence efforts to prevent additional attacks and very strong actions taken against Palestinian incitement".

In the six months since the beginning of the "Intifada of Knives" (as it has been dubbed)  "Palestinian terrorists have committed some 270 attacks and attempted attacks that were defined as "significant" - most of them shootings, stabbings and vehicular attacks. Twenty-nine Israelis and four foreign nationals were killed in the attacks, while some 250 additional Israelis were wounded".  In March this year however there were 20 significant attacks compared to 78 in October, and in April there have only been 3 such attacks, so far.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4789511,00.html

It appears that the Palestinian population in general, and even the potential attackers themselves,  have come to realize that this so-called intifada is not achieving anything, and even perhaps doing more harm to their cause than good. If this is so, we might expect to see a new tactic arise. Hamas which rules the Gaza strip and has a degree of support in the West Bank is calling for a return to planned, mass-terror attacks such as suicide bombings and kidnappings.  So far their attempts to execute such attacks have been successfully preempted by our intelligence and security forces which have arrested several cells  in the act of preparing attacks.  I do not however get the feeling that a return to this sort of terrorism is supported by the majority of the Palestinian population in the territories, who long for stability and a decent standard of living.

I suspect too that the sidelining of the Palestinian -Israeli struggle by the larger events in the Middle East  means too that Palestinians are not feeling the support of the greater Muslim world. Today the results of a survey carried out by the Asda'a Burson-Marsteller Institute was published.  Based on face-to-face interviews with 3,500 young Arab adults, between the ages of 18-24, from 16 Arab countries, the survey concluded that
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be just the seventh most pressing issue for millennials in the region, after the rise of ISIS, terrorism, unemployment, political instability, the cost of living, and the absence of strong political leadership in the Arab world. "
Of those surveyed, only 13% said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict worried them. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4791552,00.html


This coming Friday evening is Passover Eve.  Police in Jerusalem are beefing up their presence around the Temple Mount and the Western Wall area as tensions increase leading up to the holiday. Thousands of Jews will be visiting the Wall compound over the 7 day holiday and there has been a significant increase in incitement in the Palestinian social media. On the Palestinian website, Sawt al-Watan, for example, Arab MK (Member of Parliament), Jamal Zahalka, called Palestinians to stop "in any way possible" Jews from going on to the Temple Mount, claiming that more and more Jews are going on to the Temple Mount every day. He went on to say that "During the al-Aqsa intifada, we sacrificed 4,000 martyrs( note this gross exaggeration!) for the al-Aqsa mosque, and the continuation of Jewish entry into the complex is what causes the current intifada ....The continuation of the intifada is depended (sic) on the decision of (Palestinian) organisations—if they will take up the popular fight or leave it to young people and individuals." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792046,00.html

Jordan plans to install security cameras on the Temple Mount in the near future in an attempt to defuse the lies and incitement. Posters went up this week on the Mount calling for Muslim worshippers to destroy these cameras. Why do they want to destroy the cameras? They do not want the truth to be revealed - that their reports of Israeli actions on the Mount are grossly inaccurate and exaggerated.

A poster calling for the destruction of the cameras
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792046,00.html

 

Photo: AFP http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792309,00.html

 Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem over these important holidays.  I went walking in the Botanical Garden of Mt Scopus campus of the Hebrew University today. It was so lovely and peaceful there. Everywhere I went on campus I heard Arabic being spoken. It was a reminder of how Arabs and Jews coexist in peace to a remarkable extent even in this troubled city.  Of the total population of around 800,000 in Jerusalem 20% (1 in 5 people) are Arabs. Arabs and Jews shop together and work together. We eat at the same restaurants and make barbecues in the same parks. Most of the time we not only coexist but we like and respect each other, even though there is currently a high level of distrust and tension. I believe we can live together, and in the Middle East, we must live together and we must find a way to do so.  I believe that only in Yeshua can we find the common ground, the forgiveness and compassion to do so.  Any other 'solution' is temporary and ultimately doomed to failure.

I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND PEACEFUL PASSOVER