CEASEFIRE?
You cease and we set fires!
As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.
and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.
Psalm 55 16-19
It is a beautiful summer morning (04/08) here in the mountains of Judah. The peace is broken however by the thrub thrub of a police helicopter circling overhead. Never a good sign! I wonder what is happening. I shall probably never know as only a small part of what truly happens ever reaches the news. Mostly our security forces just labor on gathering intelligence, catching terror cells and protecting us in diligent secrecy.
As always I marvel that men can plot wickedness and wage war on such a beautiful morning. And yet they do! It is just two weeks since my last update and so much has happened in that two weeks I don't know where to start. Oh, oh now I can hear heavy bombers in the sky. Where are they going? What is happening?
Gaza
After the events reported in my previous blog (see "Heat Wave") the UN and Egypt brokered a ceasefire with Hamas, but as usual, it was a case of we cease and they fire. Even the very next day 4 fires were started in Israeli territory as a result of incendiary devices from Gaza. Hamas claimed the ceasefire did not cover incendiary devices!
During that week Israel experienced record-breaking heat with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius in most of the country, accompanied by strong winds. On Wednesday (1 August) the heat reached its maximum and firefighters had to battle 170 fires throughout the country, including some 20 in the Gaza region. Although some of these fires were caused by natural processes many were caused by arson attacks (2). As airconditioners were working overtime, Israel also clocked up a record in the use of electricity that day.
This past week the incendiary attacks from Gaza have continued unabated. On Tuesday, 29 fires were started and on Friday, 24. On Friday too an incendiary balloon was found on the roof of a house in Beer Sheva, which is located some 40 km (25 miles) from the Gaza border. This was the second such device to land in Beer Sheva that week. Again this week another dead falcon with an incendiary device attached to its feet was found in a field near the Gaza border. Not content to use children's toys, balloons, kites, and inflated condoms to carry out these attacks. not to mention the children themselves, these evil terrorists are now using innocent animals as well.
In addition to the incendiary attacks, riots at the Gaza border have continued over the past two weeks and there were several border infiltration attempts and attacks on IDF personnel and equipment involving the throwing of Molotov cocktails and grenades.
After a house in Israel was damaged by a petrol (gasoline) bomb fired from Gaza, using petrol supplied by Israel, it was decided that enough was enough. Israel further tightened restrictions on goods entering Gaza by stopping the entry of petrol and gas into the Strip (3). This may seem harsh but why should we supply petrol to our enemies if they are just going to use it for making petrol bombs to attack us?
By the end of the week UN and Egyptian-brokered negotiations began between Hamas and Israel (4). As Israeli Transport and Intelligence Minister, Yisrael Katz, remarked "The situation in Gaza is nearing a decision. Either an arrangement, or a war" (5). As neither side wants war this may be the best chance of gaining a long-term settlement we have had for a long time. I hope and pray that a realistic and enforceable truce will be agreed upon, both for Israel's sake and for the sake of the Palestinians in Gaza. Today (06/08) hope for such a truce seems to be fading as the gaps between the sides seem unbridgeable. Israel is offering to open the border crossings for trade, including oil and gas, and re-extend the permitted fishing zones in return for a total cessation of the border riots, missile attacks and incendiary attacks. Israel however says it will not accept any agreement that does not include the return of 3 Israeli civilians and the bodies of several Israeli soldiers currently held by Hamas. Hamas, on the other hand, is demanding a prisoner exchange that would release some dangerous Hamas leaders and militants, something Israel is refusing to do. So what now? The status quo is intolerable for both sides. How long can the Palestinians hold out in the current situation? How long will Israel tolerate the continuing attacks on its citizens? Time and patience are running out. A limited military incursion of the IDF into Gaza is being mooted. No one wants this but what other choice do we have?
Syria
The situation in Syria is also just as unstable. Assad's forces have taken Quneitra and the region that had been occupied by ISIS (Daesh) affiliated forces further south, which means they now control the entire Syrian-Israel border area. As Assad's forces approached the ISIS-held areas, a series of suicide attacks took place in the Suweida area, south of Damascus, and in villages to the north and east. Militants also stormed homes and villages attacking and killing the occupants. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights some 221 people were killed, 127 of them being civilians (6). In addition 32 women and children were taken hostage. ISIS has claimed responsibility for these appalling and cowardly attacks. Yesterday one of those hostages, a young Druze man, Muhannad Dhouqan Abu Ammar, 19, was killed by his captors (7). Please pray for the safe release of the remainder of these hostages.
During this operation ISIS also fired two missiles into Israel in the hope of triggering an Israeli reaction that would distract Assad's forces. The two missiles fell into the middle of the Sea of Galilee, miraculously missing the hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis holidaying around its shores. No one was hurt.
Now that Assad's army has taken control of the area adjacent to the border with Israel, Israel is anxious that Assad will once more honor the 1974 armistice agreement which required a demilitarized zone of between 200m and 7km along the Israeli border. Last week UN and Russian troops moved into this area.
Russia is also working with Israel to push Iranian military personnel and installations back from Israeli territory. Israel is demanding that all Iranian military forces leave Syria. Naturally, they are reluctant to leave. Russia claims that they have convinced the Iranians to retreat to a distance of 85 km from the border and some installations have been dismantled. However, considering that the Iranians possess missiles that can travel much further than 200 km, this distance is nowhere near enough. Furthermore, there are claims that Iranian personnel have not left but have just switched uniforms. I do not know the truth of this but I am concerned that both Iran and Russia are still major players in the region, and Russia is gaining more and more influence. For now, they are working with Israel, at least in some ways, but what if that were to change? At the bottom line, Russia is really only interested in protecting its own interests. And what are they? Russia wants to be once again a major world power. What will they do to achieve that goal?
Idlib
Now that Assad has regained control of the rest of Syria, he is now turning his attention to the last rebel-held region, the city of Idlib and the villages and towns around it in the north-west. Some 2.5 million civilians are trapped here, under heavy bombardment, with nowhere to escape. Tens of thousands of rebel militants and their families also fled into this region as Assad's forces were taking the areas to the south. Many Christians have also taken refuge there. Please pray that there will not be another bloodbath as we saw elsewhere.
Iran
At midnight last night (06/08) the US-imposed sanctions on Iran began to come into effect. The intention is to intensify the economic hardship of the people of Iran in order to force the leadership to abandon its nuclear program. The people of Iran have already been suffering serious economic hardship for some time but the leadership has shown little concern for them as it continues to fund military operations via its proxies in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Iran, for example, currently provides 90% of the funding for the terror group, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
If Iran is forced to cut back its spending on military efforts and supporting terrorist organizations it would be a good thing for Israel and world peace as whole, however the non-participation of European countries, Japan, China and Russia in imposing sanctions seriously undermine their effectiveness.
Israel's Nation-State Law
At home here in Israel the hot issue this week is the Nation-State Law that was recently passed by the Knesset. Intended as a Basic Law, something akin to a constitution, it defines Israel as a Jewish democratic state and purports merely to codify the existing situation. On the surface, it does just that, but the problem is not what it says but what it does not say. It does not say that equal rights are to be given to minority groups under the law. Given that 20% of Israel's current population belong to minority groups, Christian and Muslim Arabs, Druze, Circassians, Armenians and others, this is raising concerns. Most vocal are the Druze who have served the State faithfully, serve in the army with distinction and have suffered a disproportionate loss of life in military operations. Sadly many Druze are resigning their posts in the army and others are refusing to enlist.
Some claim the controversy is a 'storm in a teacup' as they say the Law implies equality while other laws guarantee it, but others say that failure to express the principle of equality explicitly is a serious omission in a Law that is intended to be equivalent to a national constitution. It seems to me that it would be a simple thing to add a sentence or two to the Law stating that citizens of minority groups are guaranteed equality under the Law. This is not contrary to Jewish values. In fact, historically the Land of Israel, even when under Jewish control, always had a sizeable minority of non-Jews and, recognizing that, the Bible has quite a lot to say about how we should treat them, for example,
Gaza
After the events reported in my previous blog (see "Heat Wave") the UN and Egypt brokered a ceasefire with Hamas, but as usual, it was a case of we cease and they fire. Even the very next day 4 fires were started in Israeli territory as a result of incendiary devices from Gaza. Hamas claimed the ceasefire did not cover incendiary devices!
During that week Israel experienced record-breaking heat with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius in most of the country, accompanied by strong winds. On Wednesday (1 August) the heat reached its maximum and firefighters had to battle 170 fires throughout the country, including some 20 in the Gaza region. Although some of these fires were caused by natural processes many were caused by arson attacks (2). As airconditioners were working overtime, Israel also clocked up a record in the use of electricity that day.
This past week the incendiary attacks from Gaza have continued unabated. On Tuesday, 29 fires were started and on Friday, 24. On Friday too an incendiary balloon was found on the roof of a house in Beer Sheva, which is located some 40 km (25 miles) from the Gaza border. This was the second such device to land in Beer Sheva that week. Again this week another dead falcon with an incendiary device attached to its feet was found in a field near the Gaza border. Not content to use children's toys, balloons, kites, and inflated condoms to carry out these attacks. not to mention the children themselves, these evil terrorists are now using innocent animals as well.
 |
| Fast moving animals can sometimes escape the fires but others, here a tortoise, have no hope. Photo: Udi Israel https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5318528,00.html |
 |
| Before and After the fires at the Besor Reserve (Photo: Elisheba P Frenkel) https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5318528,00.html |
 |
| Besor Stream Nature Reserve after the fires https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5318528,00.html |
After a house in Israel was damaged by a petrol (gasoline) bomb fired from Gaza, using petrol supplied by Israel, it was decided that enough was enough. Israel further tightened restrictions on goods entering Gaza by stopping the entry of petrol and gas into the Strip (3). This may seem harsh but why should we supply petrol to our enemies if they are just going to use it for making petrol bombs to attack us?
By the end of the week UN and Egyptian-brokered negotiations began between Hamas and Israel (4). As Israeli Transport and Intelligence Minister, Yisrael Katz, remarked "The situation in Gaza is nearing a decision. Either an arrangement, or a war" (5). As neither side wants war this may be the best chance of gaining a long-term settlement we have had for a long time. I hope and pray that a realistic and enforceable truce will be agreed upon, both for Israel's sake and for the sake of the Palestinians in Gaza. Today (06/08) hope for such a truce seems to be fading as the gaps between the sides seem unbridgeable. Israel is offering to open the border crossings for trade, including oil and gas, and re-extend the permitted fishing zones in return for a total cessation of the border riots, missile attacks and incendiary attacks. Israel however says it will not accept any agreement that does not include the return of 3 Israeli civilians and the bodies of several Israeli soldiers currently held by Hamas. Hamas, on the other hand, is demanding a prisoner exchange that would release some dangerous Hamas leaders and militants, something Israel is refusing to do. So what now? The status quo is intolerable for both sides. How long can the Palestinians hold out in the current situation? How long will Israel tolerate the continuing attacks on its citizens? Time and patience are running out. A limited military incursion of the IDF into Gaza is being mooted. No one wants this but what other choice do we have?
Syria
The situation in Syria is also just as unstable. Assad's forces have taken Quneitra and the region that had been occupied by ISIS (Daesh) affiliated forces further south, which means they now control the entire Syrian-Israel border area. As Assad's forces approached the ISIS-held areas, a series of suicide attacks took place in the Suweida area, south of Damascus, and in villages to the north and east. Militants also stormed homes and villages attacking and killing the occupants. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights some 221 people were killed, 127 of them being civilians (6). In addition 32 women and children were taken hostage. ISIS has claimed responsibility for these appalling and cowardly attacks. Yesterday one of those hostages, a young Druze man, Muhannad Dhouqan Abu Ammar, 19, was killed by his captors (7). Please pray for the safe release of the remainder of these hostages.
During this operation ISIS also fired two missiles into Israel in the hope of triggering an Israeli reaction that would distract Assad's forces. The two missiles fell into the middle of the Sea of Galilee, miraculously missing the hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis holidaying around its shores. No one was hurt.
Now that Assad's army has taken control of the area adjacent to the border with Israel, Israel is anxious that Assad will once more honor the 1974 armistice agreement which required a demilitarized zone of between 200m and 7km along the Israeli border. Last week UN and Russian troops moved into this area.
Russia is also working with Israel to push Iranian military personnel and installations back from Israeli territory. Israel is demanding that all Iranian military forces leave Syria. Naturally, they are reluctant to leave. Russia claims that they have convinced the Iranians to retreat to a distance of 85 km from the border and some installations have been dismantled. However, considering that the Iranians possess missiles that can travel much further than 200 km, this distance is nowhere near enough. Furthermore, there are claims that Iranian personnel have not left but have just switched uniforms. I do not know the truth of this but I am concerned that both Iran and Russia are still major players in the region, and Russia is gaining more and more influence. For now, they are working with Israel, at least in some ways, but what if that were to change? At the bottom line, Russia is really only interested in protecting its own interests. And what are they? Russia wants to be once again a major world power. What will they do to achieve that goal?
Idlib
Now that Assad has regained control of the rest of Syria, he is now turning his attention to the last rebel-held region, the city of Idlib and the villages and towns around it in the north-west. Some 2.5 million civilians are trapped here, under heavy bombardment, with nowhere to escape. Tens of thousands of rebel militants and their families also fled into this region as Assad's forces were taking the areas to the south. Many Christians have also taken refuge there. Please pray that there will not be another bloodbath as we saw elsewhere.
Iran
At midnight last night (06/08) the US-imposed sanctions on Iran began to come into effect. The intention is to intensify the economic hardship of the people of Iran in order to force the leadership to abandon its nuclear program. The people of Iran have already been suffering serious economic hardship for some time but the leadership has shown little concern for them as it continues to fund military operations via its proxies in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Iran, for example, currently provides 90% of the funding for the terror group, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
If Iran is forced to cut back its spending on military efforts and supporting terrorist organizations it would be a good thing for Israel and world peace as whole, however the non-participation of European countries, Japan, China and Russia in imposing sanctions seriously undermine their effectiveness.
Israel's Nation-State Law
At home here in Israel the hot issue this week is the Nation-State Law that was recently passed by the Knesset. Intended as a Basic Law, something akin to a constitution, it defines Israel as a Jewish democratic state and purports merely to codify the existing situation. On the surface, it does just that, but the problem is not what it says but what it does not say. It does not say that equal rights are to be given to minority groups under the law. Given that 20% of Israel's current population belong to minority groups, Christian and Muslim Arabs, Druze, Circassians, Armenians and others, this is raising concerns. Most vocal are the Druze who have served the State faithfully, serve in the army with distinction and have suffered a disproportionate loss of life in military operations. Sadly many Druze are resigning their posts in the army and others are refusing to enlist.
Some claim the controversy is a 'storm in a teacup' as they say the Law implies equality while other laws guarantee it, but others say that failure to express the principle of equality explicitly is a serious omission in a Law that is intended to be equivalent to a national constitution. It seems to me that it would be a simple thing to add a sentence or two to the Law stating that citizens of minority groups are guaranteed equality under the Law. This is not contrary to Jewish values. In fact, historically the Land of Israel, even when under Jewish control, always had a sizeable minority of non-Jews and, recognizing that, the Bible has quite a lot to say about how we should treat them, for example,
One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
Exodus 12:49
Gay Pride Parade
Last Thursday (02/08) the largest ever Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem took to the streets. Estimates put the number of participants at somewhere between 20,000 and 35,000 (8). Since the stabbing of 16-year-old Shira Blanki in 2015 security for these parades has been high, but this year, fearing violence, security was strengthened and some 2,500 police were deployed. This year the parade took on more of an atmosphere of protest, rather than celebration, in the wake of the recently passed Surrogacy Law which denies male homosexual couples the possibility of having children by this means. In spite of counter-demonstrations and vocal protests, mainly by the religious sector, the parade passed peacefully.
Anti-Draft Protests
On the same day, the entrance to Jerusalem at the Strings Bridge was blocked off yet again by the ultra-orthodox, led by the fanatical Jerusalem Faction, protesting against the compulsory draft. Forty-six protestors were arrested and one female police officer was treated in hospital for injuries. Traffic flow around the city was once again seriously disrupted.
 |
| Police clear protestors blocking the light rail in Jaffa Road https://www.timesofisrael.com/37-arrested-as-ultra-orthodox-jews-block-main-jerusalem-road-in-draft-protest/ |
Many in Israel feel it is unfair that the ultra-orthodox should have this blanket exemption from military service, and the army is currently making great efforts to cater for their special requirements in order to attract ultra-orthodox recruits. This has been somewhat successful as there has been a tenfold increase in ultra-orthodox recruitment in the past ten years. Ultra-orthodox soldiers, however, are harassed and often assaulted when they return to their communities (9).
Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
11
Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets
Psalm 55: 9-11
Evangelical Christians and Israeli TV
Last week Channel 11 Caan TV broadcast a four (or maybe five) part series of reports on the relationship of Evangelical Christians and Israel. I was amazed that this happened as it was aired during the main 8PM News. On the whole, the report was very positive and reflected the appreciation of the contribution of Evangelical Christians in the support of Israel, particularly in political and economic realms.
Some concern was expressed that Evangelicals have an 'ulterior motive' namely to pave the way for the return of their Messiah Jesus and the ultimate 'conversion' of the Jews. I loved one Rabbi's response to this suggestion. He said "If their Messiah did come back, then no doubt the Jews would follow him"! (See Zechariah 12)
There was one thing that seriously concerned me about the reports, however. It was clear that in the Israeli mind the Evangelical Christian world was identified as being strongly right-wing politically, as evidenced by their support of Trump and the Republicans. I am sad to say that this seems a fairly accurate reflection of the reality, especially in the USA but also here in Israel.
In my mind, there is great danger in the entanglement of the gospel of Yeshua (Jesus) with politics. Yeshua took great pains not to involve himself in the politics of his time. Likewise, although we need to pray for good government and for our leaders, speaking out against injustice and sin, it is far more important to pray and work for the salvation of all people. Only Yeshua and the working of the Holy Spirit can change our hearts and bring peace and justice on Earth. Yeshua's message transcends human politics, and to link it to any particular political view robs it of its power and relevance, especially to those not sharing that view.
References:
2. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-hit-by-record-breaking-heatwave-fires-rage-throughout-country/
9. https://www.timesofisrael.com/37-arrested-as-ultra-orthodox-jews-block-main-jerusalem-road-in-draft-protest/
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