Wednesday, July 11, 2018


ISRAEL MOSAIC

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
 See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
 Nations will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Isaiah 60: 1-3

 Dorcas Gazelle, Yotvata Hai Bar Reserve (Photo: Talia Good)
Israel is a fascinating land, the land the Bible calls the Land of the Gazelles. These delicate, hardy and beautiful animals were once common in Israel, but hunting and habitat destruction brought them to the brink of extinction. Now protected by law, and with the help of breeding programs, they are making a comeback in many parts of the country. Occasionally I am delighted to see a small herd trotting along the trails in the forest across from my house. 

Israel is a mosaic of natural habitats ranging from tropical oases, deserts, wooded mountain heights and coastal sand dunes to everything in between. Consequently, its natural flora and fauna are varied and surprisingly rich considering the millennia of human impact. No less fascinating is the mosaic of human life in Israel. With people immigrating from over 70 nations, speaking a plethora of languages and influenced by a myriad of cultures, it is amazing that we, in just a hundred and fifty years, have sustained and built a cohesive and thriving Israeli society and identity. Of course, at times these different cultures clash and ruptures occur. 

False Messiah
One of the main stress points in Israeli society is the tension between the religious sector, particularly the more extreme ultra-orthodox sects, and the secular, with the gap between these growing with every year. Last week this gap came to the fore when the annual Lubavitcher Chabad "Messiah in the Square" rally was almost canceled over the issue of the separation of women. The Tel Aviv municipality tried to prevent the rally from taking place following pressure from secular women's groups. In the end, the District Court ruled in favor of the rally and it took place as planned, although there were a few scuffles and arrests as secular feminists tried to break through into the men's section  (1). 

The focus on the issue of the separation of men and women missed the point as far as I can see. The real issue should have been the identity of the 'Messiah' they were celebrating. It was not the true Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), but Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the last Lubavitcher Hassidic Rabbi.  Schneerson died in 1994 and was expected to rise again within 4 years. He did not, but his followers still revere him as Messiah and expect his imminent return. 
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson Billboard
Picture by Monica Almeida, The New York Times 2/25/96
http://www.realists.com/messiah-truth-vs-myth/
Schneerson is just the latest of a long line of false messiahs. It is very sad that those who follow these false messiahs do not read the Bible which prophetically outlines the 'qualifications'  for the true Messiah. Only Yeshua (Jesus) fits all the Biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah. He was of the kingly line of David, of the Tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem, fled for a time to Egypt, grew up in Nazareth, healed and performed many miracles, proclaimed himself to be the Son of God, died and rose again after 3 days just to mention a few. For a good summary of Biblical prophecies concerning the Messiah go to  https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/top-40-most-helpful-messianic-prophecies/

While internal tensions sometimes threaten to tear us apart as a nation it is often the external threats that draw us together. These are continuing to increase in severity. 

The South on Fire
Today (Tuesday 10/7) marks the 103rd day since the 
first incendiary balloon flew over the Gaza border and started a fire in Israel. What began as a dangerous gimmick has now become a daily threat to the communities living close to the border. So far some 678 fires have been ignited burning 9160 dunams (= 2263 acres) of natural woodlands and, 6000 dunams of agricultural produce (mostly wheat), and thousands of dunams of open fields. Over 15,000 dunams of national forest land have also been burned (2).  Hundreds of balloons and kites, carrying incendiary devices and explosives, are carried daily by the prevailing westerly winds across the Gaza border and into Israel setting fire to the tinder-dry farmland and nature reserves.

Yesterday alone some 33 fires were ignited (2) and, in recent weeks, an average of between 20-30 fires per day have been caused by incendiary balloons or kites. Reserve soldiers have been called up to assist civilian firefighters in putting out these fires. New technology has been developed to spot them and direct firefighters to fires (3). 

Opinion is divided in the government and defense establishment as to how best to stop this phenomenon without escalating the situation to all-out war with Gaza.  They are treading a fine line. The defense forces have increased deterrent measures, such as shooting at empty vehicles that have been used to transport incendiary devices and firing warning shots over those preparing them, but they have as yet not shot at the perpetrators themselves since many are children (4). The latest measure is the closing of the Keren Shalom border crossing which will prevent the import and export of goods to the Gaza Strip thus bringing its economy to a halt.  Only humanitarian aid will continue to be allowed to pass through. Gaza's fishing zone will also revert to a maximum distance of 11 km (6 miles) from shore after it was temporarily expanded to 17 km (9 miles) (6). These measures are intended to force Hamas to rein in those sending incendiary devices across the border, and prevent the escalation of the situation into all-out war. 

Israeli civilians living along the Gazan border area are feeling the effects of pressure as their daily lives are being severely disrupted, livelihoods lost and children traumatized.  A new law has just been passed recognizing sufferers of PTSD resulting from chronic on-going trauma, in addition to those who have suffered a specific terror or wartime incident. This will enable sufferers, particularly in the south, to receive aid and treatment (7). Following an assessment of the escalating security situation in the south, the IDF this week increased the Iron Dome deployment around southern communities to protect them, not only from the short-range rockets, but also from projectiles as small as medium-sized mortars (8).

The North 

In the north, the situation is also becoming increasingly dangerous. As the Russian-backed Assad regime is attacking rebel-held towns in south-western Syria, near Israel's border, an estimated 330,000 refugees have fled their homes. Jordan, which has already taken in some 660,000 Syrian refugees, is understandably refusing to take any more. Denied entry to Jordan, the refugees are amassing on the Israeli border in the hope of entering Israel. There is no way Israel can allow the entry of such a massive number of refugees from an enemy country, still technically at war with us.  The refugees are therefore trapped at the border, in the midst of the hottest summer we have experienced for some years, without water, electricity, adequate shelter, food or medicine. 

Israel is doing what it can to ease the humanitarian crisis. One day last week Israel under cover of darkness took in 300 tents, 13 tons of food, 15 tons of baby food, 3 pallets of medical equipment and 30 ton of clothes. Last weekend, six wounded Syrians, four of them children, were brought into Israel for treatment. Since 2013 over 3,500 wounded Syrian men, women and children have been smuggled into Israel by the IDF and treated for free in Israeli hospitals (6). Meanwhile, the Golan Regional Council has spearheaded a grass-roots campaign to collect from communities in the north, clothes, food and 'care packages' of toys and games for the children (9).  In 2016 the IDF launched Operation Good Neighbor and since then has provided among other things, over 1524 tons of food, 250 tons of clothes, 947,520 liters of fuel, 21 generators, 24,900 palettes of medical equipment and medicine for Syrian civilians (10). Once our enemies many of these Syrian residents now express the desire to live in the Israeli Golan knowing they would be treated better by Israel than by those in control in Syria. Of course this is not an option, however we do hope that our generosity and care for the people of Syria will undermine the military threat from the Assad regime as it gains control of the neighboring areas. 

As Assad's Syrian army advances on rebel-held regions in the country's south-west it is also drawing closer and closer to the Israeli border. This is raising red flags of concern. There are indications that one of its next targets will be the currently rebel-held city of Quneitra, just 3 miles from Israel's border. This city was abandoned during the Yom Kippur War in 1974 and now lies in ruins. It is within the 25 km demilitarized zone agreed between Israel and Syria at the conclusion of the 1974 war, and if Syrian forces were to enter this area, Israel would view it as a serious infringement of the agreement, and it could precipitate war with Syria (10). Israel does not want this to happen but, just in case, the IDF has strengthened its defensive forces along the border and troops are prepared to defend Israel's border 'to the last millimeter', according to Captain Tsur Goldman of the 401st Armored Brigade (10).


Israel Syria border
IDF tanks are seen along the Golan Heights border with Syria. (photo credit: REUTERS)
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-troops-prepared-to-defend-northern-border-to-the-last-millimeter-561744

Quneitra from Har Bental in Israel  2006 (Photo: Talia Good)
On Friday a Russian-brokered deal was made between Assad's government forces and the rebel army. The rebels agreed to lay down their arms in return for the cessation of the Assad bombardment of the towns of the Dera'a province thus allowing the refugees to return to their homes (11).  This means that now the Assad regime will turn its focus onto the Quneitra region over which it hopes to regain control. 


Map showing rebel held enclaves (in purple) in Syria as of March 2018
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034

Earthquakes

As if the north has not enough to contend with there has been a swarm of earthquakes centered around the Sea of Galilee area over the past week, the 9th strong enough to be felt was recorded just last night. While none of the earthquakes have been severe, the strongest about 4.5 in magnitude, some damage to buildings has been reported and there are fears that a major earthquake could occur. Israel situated on the East African Rift Valley is prone to earthquakes. In 1837 a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Galilee region and killed around 6,000 to 7,000 people. the last major earthquake occurred in 1927 measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale and killed 500 people (12).

As always when we experience earthquakes there is a flurry of activity in the government and security authorities, which generally results in very little action being taken. We are woefully underprepared for the event of a large earthquake. 
A report in 2016 by Israel's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees Home-Front Readiness Subcommittee warned that if  " Israel were to be struck by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, an estimated 7,000 people would be killed, another 8,600 injured and 377,000 expected to be left homeless. In addition, the country could face damages of up to NIS 200 billion.

In addition to buildings being destroyed, the damage to critical infrastructures such as electricity, water and communication is expected to be great. According to Israel’s National Emergency Authority, there are 80,000 buildings, including schools and hospitals, over three stories high that were built before 1980, and not constructed to current standards" (13).

 (Photo: Roi Rubinstein)
Earthquake damage in Tiberias this week.
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307738,00.html

Israel is stealing the rain   :)

Now for a little light relief!  This past week the head of the Iranian Civil Defense Organization, Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, claimed that  Israel is "working to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain" and insisted that this was supported by scientific studies. Historically Jews have been blamed for pretty much everything, but this must be a first. I nearly wet myself laughing.  If this is true, then I wonder what we are doing with the clouds?  We, like Iran and all of the Middle East, are in the grip of a severe 5-year drought. I wonder who stole our clouds! Thankfully there are still some sane people in Iran (most of them actually) and the head of Iran's meteorological service contradicted Jalali saying "it is not possible for a country to steal clouds".  

Satan the Father of Lies
Although I found this silly accusation hilarious it is also a serious reminder of the lies that our enemies are trying to spread about Israel, lies that are easily believed by the undereducated masses of the Middle East, and the gullible West. 

One of the most powerful and successful weapons being wielded against Israel these days are the lies being spread in the media, either consciously by those generating them as a propaganda weapon, or unconsciously by naive and biased reporting.  

Some time ago a popular TV show host, Andrew Marr, when discussing the use of chemical weapons in Syria, interjected a totally irrelevant and factually incorrect comment about Israel 'killing lots of Palestinian kids' further south at the Gaza border confrontations. Initially the BBC tried to defend Marr but, following complaints from the public, changed their mind and censured his statement, saying that "In the absence of any evidence to support the reference to ‘lots’ of children being killed at the time of transmission, it seems to us to have risked misleading audiences on a material point. We therefore propose to uphold this part of your complaint" (15).

This incident highlights the power of public opinion. I want to encourage you to complain to your newspapers, TV stations etc when you see erroneous or biased reporting against Israel. You may feel that you are only one small voice, but especially in the world of the media, which depends upon public support, even one small voice can have an effect. Many small voices are powerful. 

Iran
Tensions between the US, Israel and Iran have heightened since Trump announced that the US will pull out of the 2015 nuclear accord. European nations are trying to save the agreement but already Iran is making preparations for restarting (if it ever stopped) its program to produce nuclear weapons, should the deal collapse. To this end, it has reopened a plant for the production of UF6, the feedstock for enriching uranium for nuclear weapons (16). 

Last week the nation of Israel was shocked to learn that one of our former Knesset Ministers, Gonen Segev, was being tried for spying for Iran, following his arrest in May. According to his indictment, he transferred dozens of reports to the Iranians with the intention of assisting Iran in its war against Israel (17) 

BDS and the Presbyterian Church
Another headline this week was about anti-Israel resolutions passed by the Presbyterian Church USA in its general assembly. Among the 11 resolutions passed on Friday (22 June) was one opposing anti-BDS legislation, another referred to Israel as an apartheid state. It also voted against resolutions that "were not sufficiently critical of Israel because they also mentioned Palestinian Authority transgressions, particularly of the terrorist group Hamas" (18). 

As someone who was brought up in a Bible-believing Presbyterian church this grieves me greatly. All I can say to Christians everywhere is to read your Bible and see what it says about Israel and God's plans for her. Be careful to not be found opposing God. 

at a kibbutz swimming pool - does this look lie an apartheid state to you???
Photo: Talia Good

SOME VIP'S VISIT ISRAEL


On the other hand, I am glad to say that during the last couple of weeks we have seen some important people come to Israel, if not actively in support, at least ignoring the BDS calls for sanctions. One of these was Ringo Starr who performed two concerts to thousands of fans of all ages in Tel Aviv (19). Good on you, Ringo!

We were also blessed by the first ever official visit of a member of the British Royal Family, Prince William, to the modern state of Israel. His 5 day Middle East tour was " intended to celebrate the UK’s bilateral ties with Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but otherwise remain strictly apolitical" (20).  His tour began in Jordan, continued for a 3 day stay in Israel and ended with a visit to the Palestinian Authority. While in Israel, Prince William stayed at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, visited Yad Vashem, met with Holocaust Survivors, viewed a soccer match involving a joint Arab-Jewish team, and interviewed Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs. He also laid wreaths on the tomb of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg,  and another ancestor,  the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, in the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives (21). 

On his last day here, Prince William visited the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah where his car was stoned by a group of Palestinian youth. He was unhurt. This incident was not widely reported in the international media (22). One must ask why?

Israel on the Moon

In December this year the Israeli non-profit organization, SpaceIL, will launch a spacecraft which will land on the moon on February 13, 2019. If successful Israel will become the fourth country to plant it's flag on the Moon, after the US, Russia and China.  The spacecraft was originally intended as an entry into the $20 million Google LunarX competition, but the competition was canceled.  The spacecraft cost around $90 million and was funded by private donors. While on the Moon it will collect data about the Moon's magnetic field for the Weizmann Institute and it is hoped that this project will stimulate the aerospace industry in Israel (23).  

The first Israeli spacecraft (Photo: Alex Polo)
It ain't pretty -  but it's going to the Moon - Israel's first spacecraft
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307792,00.html
This project exemplifies the phenomenal entrepreneurial skills of the people of Israel. Israeli's lead the world in so many ways largely because it is a nation of risk takers. Not a great quality on the roads but in the business and scientific world it pays dividends. According to the US News and World Report survey published this last weekend, Israel was ranked the 8th most powerful country in the world, for the second year running (24). This is an amazing result for this tiny country of fewer than 9 million people, only 70 years old and constantly fighting for her very existence. 

Humanitarian Aid

When disaster strikes anywhere in the world Israel's rescue teams are usually among the first to arrive. This past week the world's attention has been focussed on the 12 boys and their coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. Divers from several countries participated in the daring and dangerous, but ultimately successful rescue of the boys. Israel helped out too. Emergency communications technology developed by the Israeli company Maxtech Networks was used to maintain communications in the complex cave system where no other existing form of communications will work (25). Without this technology, the cave rescue would have been much more difficult or even impossible. 

Earlier this month three Israeli doctors, Sion Houri, Lior Sasson and Akiva Tamir, of the "Save a Child's Heart" foundation received the UN Population Award for saving young lives in war-torn areas. The non-profit organization "Save a Child's Heart" was founded in the 1990's and since then has performed free-of-charge, life-saving heart surgery on nearly 5,000 children, including 2,000  Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, and 300 from Iraq and Syria. Other children treated came from  Africa, South America, Europe, Asia and throughout the Middle East. The organization is now training new teams to work in the West Bank, Ethiopia, Kenya, China, Romania, Moldova, Kenya and Tanzania (26).

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.

Genesis 12: 1-3 
References
1. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5296264,00.html
2. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307517,00.html
3. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/The-electronic-eye-on-the-sky-to-battle-terror-kites-561718
4. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5304427,00.html
5. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307076,00.html
    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307164,00.html
6. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5304495,00.html
7. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5299264,00.html
    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5300466,00.html
8. https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-said-to-boost-iron-dome-deployment-in-gaza-vicinity/
9. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-communities-collect-toys-candy-clothes-for-syrian-refugees/
10. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5304872,00.html
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-troops-prepared-to-defend-northern-border-to-the-last-millimeter-561744
11. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5305240,00.html
12. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Emergency-meeting-to-be-held-on-earthquake-preparedness-562001
13. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Emergency-meeting-to-be-held-on-earthquake-preparedness-562001
14. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5302428,00.html
15. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5295085,00.html
16. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5297991,00.html
17. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5304394,00.html
18.  https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/247964
19. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/culture/177876-180624-ringo-starr-s-makes-israel-debut-rousing-beatles-nostalgia
20 https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5296172,00
21. https://www.timesofisrael.com/prince-williams-visit-was-a-pr-coup-for-israel-and-a-royal-pain/
22. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/34310/Default.aspx
23. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5307792,00.html
24. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ranked-8th-most-powerful-country-in-the-world-survey/
25. https://www.israel21c.org/rescuers-turn-to-israeli-tech-to-help-save-trapped-thai-boys/
26. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5299926,00.html