"Watching Over Zion" (The weekly News Report & Prayer Update)
~ Thursday 1st October 2009 ~
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the house of Israel to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give... Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." (Exodus 25:1-2, 8-9) "My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." (Ezekiel 37:27-28)

But Messiah came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Messiah Yeshua, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-14)

• Pointers for prayer: As we continue to monitor events in and around Israel and pray into these situations, may we know at all times that the LORD God is in complete control irrespective of what we see. Even so, please do continue to cry out to God for the situations many Israelis and Arabs find themselves in. As we come before the throne of grace this Tabernacles, may we boldly approach the Lord for His blessing upon the nation of Israel. The ongoing conflict in the Land of Israel has done terrible damage to the relationships of Jew and Arab, especially amongst the younger generation. Pray that ordinary Jewish and Arab people, whether living in Israel proper or in the so-called "Territories", will have a desire for reconciliation and to live side by side in peace and harmony. Pray for those groups and ministries seeking to break down barriers, especially among the youth.

• Please pray against the Goldstone report, which has been released and unfairly and very strongly condemns Israel for her actions against Hamas in Gaza in January. Pray for people like H.E. Aharon Leshno Yaar, the Israeli Ambassador, whose speech below exposes the lies and unfair comments of the Goldstone report. As rockets continue to be fired from Gaza in Israel, and Iran "test" more rockets, do pray for the protection of the whole nation of Israel.
Tabernacle with me awhile Is it really October already? Do you ever feel as is life is a speeding car and that as it whizzes past you, you can't help but feel a little nervous? Or am I just suffering mid-life crisis? Yom Kippur has been and gone, the Shofar has sounded once and the congregation again have proclaimed - "Next year in Jerusalem." And next year will be upon us before we know it, and we will indeed be in Jerusalem as Christian Friends of Israel celebrate 25 years in May 2010.
No sooner has Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) come to a close when one is preparing for Sukkoth. As I was pondering on Yom Kippur in which the Torah calls for affliction of the soul and the shedding of blood to remove the guilt of sin, most Jewish people would have been fasting and resting. But how do we have our sins atoned for on this most Holy Day? In many ways, it’s almost impossible to underestimate how the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD changed the idea of Torah for the Jewish people. With the loss of the sacrificial system, nearly half of the 613 commandments of the written Torah ~ the duties of the Priests given in the book of Leviticus, required radical reinterpretation in order for Judaism, as a non-Temple based system, to survive. Hence the teaching of Yochanan ben Jakkai, the Jewish sage of the first century, being credited with the dogma that animal sacrifices could be replaced with prayer and acts of loving-kindness.

But how could nearly half of the 613 commandments of the written Torah require radical reinterpretation? As soon as Yom Kippur draws to a close, many Jewish families go outside on the evening and hammer the first nail into their sukkah (tent/booth) as preparations start for the festive Feast of Tabernacles, which starts this year on Friday evening. With this in mind, don't we have a great opportunity to pray? As they hammer the first nail into their sukkah, may the LORD God of Israel awaken their spirit to the Messiah. For Yeshua has fulfilled the blood covenant, by having their (and our) sins nailed to the tree… and, according to the Bible, He alone can atone for sin. (Romans 3:25)

Having been purified of sin, we can now tabernacle with God. The feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in memory of the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, and lasts for 7 days. It takes place from the 15th of Tishri, and so the sukkah (tent/booth) is erected. The reason for living in "huts" is that this resembles the way the Jewish people were living during the 40 years of wandering in the Sinai. On the last day of Sukkoth, the yearly cycle of reading the Torah starts again in festive surroundings. May we pray that the people and nation of Israel would truly tabernacle with their God during this period.
Now before we move on and get depressed by the latest news items... here's something for you to ponder on... While much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, many believe December was the time of the conception of Yeshua (Jesus). It is notable here that the first day of the Jewish festival of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, and Yeshua is called the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). Is this a mere coincidence? Since Yeshua was possibly conceived during the Chanukah period, we need only move nine months on to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Yeshua. And what do we find around this time? It is the festival of Tabernacles! In Isaiah 7:14 we read, …Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. The name Immanuel means "God with us". The Son of God had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people. John 1:14 states, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The word in the Hebrew for dwelt is succah and the name of the Feast of Tabernacles in Hebrew is Sukkoth, a festival of rejoicing and celebration! So what are you waiting for already? Come on... let's celebrate!

But can we really celebrate? This must surely be a question Israeli's are asking... "Can we really celebrate with the threat of war looming?" On Monday, Iran fired some of its most powerful missiles as they continued to dismiss any possible sanctions the UN may throw at Iran. Among the missiles tested, according to Iranian state media, were the Shahab-3 and Sajjil. Both these missiles have a range of more than 1,000 miles, and are capable of hitting Israel, Europe, and United States military bases. This past Sunday, Iran fired a number of short-range missiles. Military leaders said they had also tested a multiple missile launcher for the first time, and had successfully fired two missiles at once.

The announcement of the "two-day war games" was made at the same time as Iranian leaders admitted the existence of an alleged secret uranium enrichment site. “Allah willing, this plant will be put into operation soon, and will blind the eyes of the enemies,” the Supreme Leader's Office said in an official announcement. Iranian officials said the exercises were unconnected to the discovery of the site, and had been planned for some time. Government-run media quoted military leaders as saying the exercises would serve as a message for “arrogant countries which intend to intimidate.” On Monday, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi appeared on state television to threaten Israel with destruction in case of an Israeli strike on Iran. “If this happens... its ultimate result would be that it expedites the Zionist regime's last breath,” he said. Vahidi claimed that Israel is “on a slope of destruction,” and that its “lifespan is today coming to an end,” whether or not it attempts to strike Iranian nuclear sites.

On Friday, 25th September 2009 Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it had a second uranium enrichment plant under construction. Suspicions concerning a parallel, concealed enrichment program were in fact circulating for some time before the announcement. Iran reportedly disclosed the information to the IAEA because it discovered that Western intelligence agencies became aware of this parallel program and wanted to avoid further embarrassment. The main question is, of course, what is the purpose of this construction. According to the information released by the US, this hitherto unknown facility is located inside a mountain near the ancient city of Qom and designed to hold some 3000 gas centrifuges, the machines that perform the enrichment process. Iran's main enrichment plant, located at Natanz, can accommodate some 54,000 gas centrifuge machines. Britain played a key role in gathering intelligence to expose Iran’s secret nuclear facility, according to Western diplomatic sources. Officials in Pittsburgh said that the British intelligence services played a “big part” in the hunt for concealed uranium enrichment capacity in Iran. French and US intelligence agencies were also involved in the operation that led to exposure of the secret underground plant. Israel was among a number of other countries aware of what was being built.
Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists? In view of the above article, and the problems Israel have had over Yom Kippur (see next article) I thought it would be good to hear what the Israeli Ambassador had to state to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday 29th September 2009. I felt it was also very important to include as much of the Israeli Ambassador's speech as possible, in view of the Goldstone report, which I'm sure other media channels such as the BBC, CBN etc will pick up on and only report the very negative and condemning report on Israel's actions in the Gaza war. In the statement by H.E. Aharon Leshno Yaar, the Israeli Ambassador stated, "Mr. President, yesterday, on Yom Kippur, Jews all over the world - in Jerusalem, Sderot, here in Geneva - commemorated Yom Kippur, the most holy day of the Jewish calendar. It is the day when, according to Jewish tradition, our fate is determined for the coming year: "Who will live and who will die, who will be raised up and who brought low". Not only for individuals but also for States, this is a decisive time. In the words of our prayers: "Which for war and which for peace, which for famine and which for plenty"."

The Israeli Ambassador continued, "…Five years ago, in a remarkable gesture reaching out for peace, Israel removed every one of its soldiers and over 8000 civilians from the Gaza Strip. We withdrew hospitals and kindergartens, synagogues and cemeteries, leaving only the greenhouses we had struggled to build in the hope that these would be the start of a productive Palestinian society. And you, the States of this Council, applauded this unprecedented measure. You told us in no uncertain terms that in the nightmare scenario that terror would take root, you would back us in our inherent right to self-defence."

Aharon Leshno Yaar continued, "Five years later, the greenhouses had been ransacked by Hamas thugs, over 8000 rockets and mortars had been fired on schools and kindergartens in Sderot and other Israeli towns, and an unceasing supply of weaponry was being smuggled through tunnels into Gaza from terror-sponsoring states like Iran. Israel's urgent appeals to the international community were to no avail, and our attempts to extend a fragile cease-fire were met with new, increased barrages of missiles from Hamas. And all the while the range of the attacks was increasing. Now Ashkelon and Beer Sheva were within reach. One million Israeli children, women and men had to live every moment of their lives within seconds of a bomb shelter. The decision to launch a military operation is never an easy one. It is even more challenging when we have to face an enemy that intentionally deploys its forces in densely populated areas, stores its explosives in private homes, and launches rockets from crowded school yards and mosques. These are new and horrendous challenges, and we sought to deal with them responsibly and with humanity. Yet when we dropped millions of leaflets and made tens of thousands of phone calls to warn civilians in advance of operations, we were witness to the callous and deliberate Hamas tactic of sending women and children onto the roofs of terrorist headquarters and weapons factories. In such cases, again and again missions were aborted, letting the Hamas terrorists escape, Israel protected Palestinian civilians that Hamas had put at risk."

In grappling with these dilemmas, the Israeli Ambassador sought the guidance of his hearers. He stated, "We may not have all the right answers but we struggle to ask the right questions. And in discussions between officials charged with securing the lives of their civilians we hear genuine admiration for our restraint. For example, when Colonel Richard Kemp, Commander of British forces in Afghanistan was asked about Israel's conduct in Gaza, he replied: "I don't think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF in Gaza." Israel struggles to deal with these tough questions, raised by terrorists acting within civilian centres. Sadly, these are questions which also occupy many other democratic countries and which they and we will have to continue to grapple with. But these questions, apparently, do not occupy the authors of the shameful Report which has been presented to this Council. Like many of the States in this Council, we could not support a resolution which only addressed one side of the conflict, and which established four separate mechanisms to condemn Israel and not even one to examine Hamas."

Israel aims to curb a recent wave of calls to prosecute Israeli leaders and top IDF officials for alleged war crimes, after the release of the Goldstone Report. In relation to this, Aharon Leshno Yaar stated, "Like many of the distinguished individuals who rejected invitations to head the fact finding mission with its one-sided mandate, we objected to a mission which, in the words of Mary Robinson, was "guided by politics not human rights". While Israel has cooperated with dozens of inquiries and investigations from international organizations and NGO's into the events in Gaza it refused to cooperate with this Mission. And the Report presented today fully justifies that decision. Even prior to the start of any investigation one member of the Mission went on public record stating that Israel's defence of its civilians against Hamas' attacks was "aggression not self-defence". The document submitted today simply reiterates that prejudice. Mr. President, this is a report - 575 pages - in which the right of self defence is not mentioned, in which the smuggling of weapons into Gaza through hundreds of tunnels deserves not a word. A report based on pre-screened Palestinian witnesses, not one of whom was asked about Hamas terrorist activity or the abuse of civilians, hospitals and mosques for terrorist attacks. A report which is based on carefully selected incidents, cherry picked for political effect. As Justice Goldstone revealed in an open correspondence: "We did not deal with the problems of conducting military operations in civilian areas. We avoided having to do so in the incidents we decided to investigate."

Apparently, the Goldstone Report gives credibility to every allegation or hearsay against Israel, and none to even direct admissions of guilt by Hamas leaders. According to Israel Radio, senior Israeli officials said that as the Goldstone report is full of lies and distortions, Israel should probe how Richard Goldstone and the other members of the commission reached their conclusions. The report, which was released two weeks ago, concluded that Israel should be brought before the International Criminal Court if it did not conduct internal investigations and begin prosecutions within six months. In response, Aharon Leshno Yaar stated, "The authors of this "Fact-finding Report" had little concern with finding facts. The Report was instigated as part of a political campaign, and it represents a political assault directed against Israel and against every state forced to confront terrorist threats. Its recommendations are fully in line with its one-sided agenda... Unlike the Hamas terrorists who rejoice with every civilian death, Israel regards every civilian casualty as a tragedy, Israel is committed to fully examining every allegation of wrongdoing. Not because of this Report but despite it. For let there be no doubt. This Report will do nothing to ease the lives of those in Sderot and Gaza City, Kiryat Shemona and Jenin. In providing support and vindication for terrorist tactics, it is a betrayal of Israelis and moderate Palestinians alike."

In conclusion, Aharon Leshno Yaar stated, "This report broadcasts a troubling - and legally unfounded - message to States everywhere confronting terrorist threats, that international law has no effective response to offer them, and so serves to undermine willingness to comply with its provisions. At the same time, it signals an even more troubling message to terrorist groups, wherever they are, that the cynical tactics of seeking to exploit civilian suffering for political ends actually pays dividends. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want to find a way to live in peace with our neighbours. This is the ultimate question that Prime Minister Netanyahu asked the General Assembly in New York last week: "The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defence now accuses us ... of war crimes? And for what? For acting responsibly in self-defence? Israel justly defended itself against terror. This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists? Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace."

Still the rockets come Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have continued to cause problems for Israel this week by firing a number of rockets and mortar shells at communities in southern Israel on Monday, as Israelis were trying to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Several of the rockets made direct hits on small communities in the Negev region, while most fell in open areas between towns. There were no reports of injuries in any of the attacks. The following day further rockets were fired into southern Israel on Tuesday evening. One of the rockets landed just outside the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, the first direct attack on that city in over two months. Israeli warplanes responded to the rocket fire by attacking Palestinian smuggling tunnels running under the Gaza-Egypt border early Wednesday morning. Israeli security officials have noted a marked increase in violence emanating from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip over the past month. Many fear a return to the daily attacks that plagued southern Israel prior to the Gaza war in January.

David Soakell

Sources: Unless otherwise stated: Personal sources throughout Israel along with The Jerusalem Post, BBC News, Arutz-7 News, Israeli Embassy London, Independent Media Review and Analysis & Israel National Radio