"Watching Over Zion" (The CFI News Report & Prayer Update)
~ Wednesday 11th November 2009 ~
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

Please Note: Due to the funeral of CFI's Rep Carol Edwards (Stoke), this report has been written and posted earlier than usual.

The Word: "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people." Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness-- Israel, when I went to give him rest." The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! (Jeremiah 31:1-4)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of The Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of The Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of The Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:2-4)

• Pointers for prayer: As we once again approach the Throne of grace in our intercession, may we continue to cultivate absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit. Let us again begin by entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise (Psalm 100:4). Let the high praises of God be in our mouths and a two-edged sword in our hands (Psalm 149:6).

• We will remember them: Let us remember before God, those who have died for their country in war; those whom we knew, and whose memory we treasure; and all who have lived and died in the service of mankind. May we pray for the healing of memories, for those who suffer as a result of war, for communities where past wrongs and violence persist, for all in pain or distress and those who care for them. They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

• Rapidly rearming Hezbollah: Please pray for strength and wisdom for the leaders in Israel, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu to deal with the threat from Hamas, Hezbollah & Iran. "I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counsellors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City." (Isaiah 1:26) As the world continues to oppose the nation of Israel, pray for a hedge of protection around Jerusalem! "'And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, 'and I will be its glory within.'" (Zechariah 2:5)

• Gaza's child abuse: Please pray for all the children living under Islamic rule in Gaza. Pray for their safety and salvation. Yeshua said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14-15)

• The Land remains, and rain falls: Israel have been blessed with heavy rain recently. Please continue to pray that Israel will receive abundance of rain this winter! "Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone." (Zechariah 10:1)

We will remember them The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, which dates back to the 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. The military technology of what some called "the war to end all wars" was primitive by today's standards, but its final toll was not - over 10 million were killed, at least 20 million were injured or maimed. Approximately 65 million served in the various forces. Like all wars before and since, there was nothing glorious about it. Anyone who thinks that war is glorious has either never been in one, or is a fool. Yet as soldiers stood in silence, in memory of lost comrades, a chill that had nothing to do with the cold November air could be felt throughout all who took the opportunity to remember the dead. Yet standing in grief and saluting our war heroes has become a regular event here in the UK. The heartbreaking scenes in the Cotswold village of Wootton Bassett that have appeared on our television screens in recent months, when the body of a soldier from Afghanistan or Iraq is returned home are sometimes almost unwatchable. On occasions, I have even done the cowardly act of leaving the room so as not to dwell on the event. Yet for those who have lost loved ones, the overwhelming grief of family and friends who stand along the main street and watch those coffins pass by is very visible.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II led Britain’s Remembrance Day ceremony on Sunday. She joined the thousands of onlookers in a two minute moment of silence. Along with the Queen were her two grandsons TRH Princes William and Harry, both in active duty in the military. Prince Harry laid a wreath on behalf of his father, Prince Charles, who is in Canada on an official visit. In past years, the onlookers were generally about 10-deep around the service, and thin out in the street. This year, an estimated 10,000 ex-service personnel and civilians joined the march after the official ceremony, taking 40 minutes to pass the Cenotaph. The effect of our troops fighting out in Afghanistan is having a huge effect upon our nation. Yet as I'm putting this report together, the bodies of another six UK servicemen - five of whom were shot by a "rogue" Afghan policeman - are being flown home. Guardsman Jimmy Major, Warrant Officer Darren Chant, Sgt Matthew Telford, Cpl Steven Boote and Cpl Nicholas Webster-Smith died in last Tuesday's incident. The coffins will arrive at RAF Lyneham, Wilts, along with that of Sgt Phillip Scott, who died in a blast on Thursday. After a private service for families, a cortege will then pass through nearby Wootton Bassett. Once again, hundreds of people are expected to line the streets to pay silent respects, as has become custom when fallen services personnel are returned.

The first two-minute silence, known then as The Great Silence, was held 90 years ago, one year after the 1918 Armistice, on 11th November 1919. Lloyd George’s Government, conscious of the massive struggle to accept the magnitude of the preceding years, thought that this symbolic act of remembering would provide a unifying opportunity to honour the dead. For the thousands who stood in silence this year, many will have had thoughts which were anything but silent. For it has been another horrific week in Afghanistan. Seven British soldiers have died, as well as countless civilians. Support for the war has fallen from just under half in September to a third. And with Gordon Brown's "shoddy letters of condolence" with wrong names of fallen soldiers given, any attempts on Monday to shore up support by laying out a renewed set of objectives by which success could be measured were undermined, as many criticised his conduct of the war. In their moment of silence, many more would at least be tinged with anger and bitterness.

At 11 am on 11th November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. Yet throughout the world since, guns in warfare have raged, none more so than in the last sixty years of Israel's rebirth of the Jewish nation... a nation born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, where six million Jews were murdered by the Nazi’s during World War Two. What British families have suffered due to the war on terror in Afghanistan, Israel has faced on a daily basis. Throughout the past century, many evil men have reigned, from Hitler to Hussein, Yasser Arafat to Ahmadinejad. The current president of Iran appears intent on developing nuclear weapons and has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. In the West he is at times portrayed as a madman, but few realize the real motivating force behind his dream of triumphant Islam. Israel is a small country that could be essentially wiped out with just one nuclear missile, whereas the Islamic world is spread across many countries on three continents. Even if Israel retaliated with its entire nuclear arsenal, it would merely harm the Islamic community of nations, not destroy them. This is why Israel must rely 100% upon the God of Israel.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is not the first powerful leader to try to exterminate the Jews. Seventy years ago Adolf Hitler succeeded in exterminating 6 million Jews. If Iran succeeds in a nuclear strike against Israel, once again the world could see 6 million Jews wiped out. Who would stand at the cenotaph in silence then? However, this is not the first time an Iranian leader has tried to wipe out the Jews. Almost 2,500 years ago many Jews lived in the ancient Persian Empire, whose modern successor state was renamed Iran after World War II. In the Old Testament book of Esther we read an account of an attempt to totally annihilate the Jews. However, the Lord God had other ideas. And according to the Word of God, He will always be their protector (Jeremiah 31:35-37). Haman failed to exterminate the Jews. Hitler, though he did kill vast numbers, also failed in his genocidal efforts. Similarly, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's stated goal of wiping out the Jews of Israel will also fail. God will ultimately deliver the Jewish people from this as He has delivered them many times before. In the meantime, for all those who have died fighting the evil, and still do today... we will honour them, and we will remember them.

Rapidly rearming Hezbollah As I mentioned in last weeks News Report, things are starting to "hot up" in Israel ~ especially on the northern border. If you attended one of the recent David Dolan engagements on his UK tour, you will have heard him speaking about the immanent threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Well, this past Sunday the Observer reported that Hezbollah is gearing up for war as Fighters (terrorists) rearm and reinforce positions amid alleged fears that Israel is about to launch an attack on the Islamic group. Mitchell Prothero and Peter Beaumont reported in The Observer (Sunday 8 November 2009) that the Hezbollah terrorist group is "rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel". The report, which can be read in full here: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/08/hezbollah-rearms-against-israel stated that Israel and the United States have long assumed that any military action against Iran's nuclear programme would draw a "muscular response from its close allies in Hezbollah. According to Israeli military and intelligence analysts, any move against Iran would require a move first against Hezbollah's capability to disrupt life in northern Israel with its rockets."

In a report from one of my sources in Israel recently, they shared on how the United Nations (UN) peace-keepers have totally failed in their attempts to stop the Islamic terrorist group from rearming over the last few months. My source stated that in a Lebanese village just 10 miles off the Israeli border, Hezbollah militiamen stood guarding a suspected weapons cache. Even though the militiamen appeared unarmed, their presence deterred the UN peacekeepers from even approaching one area where weapons were being stored, preventing the UN troops from fulfilling their mission, which was to stop Hezbollah from rearming. One Hezbollah militia member stated, “The UN can’t just come around here and go into people’s houses... our weapons are to defend Lebanon.”

Hezbollah of course has the full support of Iran and Syria, and is rebuilding its force in the south, undaunted by its loss in Lebanon’s June elections, in which a pro-U.S. coalition won a parliamentary majority. However things are moving very slow in the Lebanese political arena. On the 6th November 2009, the U N Special Coordinator for Lebanon met with the country’s Prime Minister-designate and its parliamentary speaker as he continued to try to help end the political deadlock that has prevented the formation of a government, five months after national elections were held. Michael Williams held discussions in Beirut with Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate, and with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Parliament, according to statements issued by the Special Coordinator’s office. “It is difficult to understand why an agreement has not been reached on this so far,” he said in a statement. “We are now at a point where the government should be formed as soon as possible to focus on tackling the many challenges facing the country... It remains absolutely critical for Lebanon to have a government, not least to continue with the implementation of resolution 1701,” he added, referring to the Security Council resolution adopted in 2006 that ended that year’s month-long war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The 12,000 UN soldiers were sent to Lebanon after a 2006 war with Israel that began when Hezbollah (which the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist group) kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

Last week, Israeli commandos seized a ship in the Mediterranean loaded with almost 400 tonnes of rockets and small arms - which Israel claimed was being sent from Iran to its Hezbollah allies. Ambassadors and diplomats from 44 countries, along with military attaches from 27 nations, were taken to the Ashdod port on Thursday to see for themselves the weapons and ammunition seized from the Antiguan ship Francop off Cyprus. Yet, despite the significance of the event in terms of the worldwide struggle against terrorism, the story received barely any coverage in the world media. Needless to say, if Israel had been guilty of trying to smuggle in 400 tonnes of rockets and small arms, it would have been front page news in all the national and international papers. Although the Hezbollah terrorist group denied that the weapons were intended for its use, senior commanders have done little to disguise the scale of rearmament.

In related news, Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday warned that if Israel does not negotiate with them and give the Golan Heights to Syria, his nation may turn to more violent methods of getting the very strategic Heights under their control. Speaking at an Islamic economic summit in Istanbul, Assad claimed to still want to reach a peace agreement with Israel, but said that if such an agreement is not based on Israel full surrender of the Golan, then "resistance" is an option he is seriously considering. It was not the first time Assad has threatened war should Israel not meet his precondition for peace talks by guaranteeing a full Israeli pullout from the Golan. Israel captured the Golan during the 1967 Six Day War after Syria had used it during the previous 19 years as a launching pad for repeated invasions of and attacks on the Jewish state. In the run-up to the Six Day War, the Syrian army had gathered en-mass on the Golan in preparation for yet another invasion.
Gaza's child abuse While the world's press continue to rip the heart out of the Jewish nation in relation to its war on Hamas in Gaza earlier this year, once again it appears to ignore other issues relating to Gaza. One of those issues is that of the child abuse the Arab children suffer. No fewer than 32 children have been killed over the past three years while "working" in Gaza arms smuggling tunnels, according to a new report released this week. The report, prepared by an organization called the Palestinian National Society for Democracy and Law, was released on Saturday. It deals with the child abuse perpetrated on child labourers in the tunnels used to smuggle weapons, arms and other items from Egypt into Gaza.

Amazingly, the report attempts to shift some of the blame to Israel (should we be surprised), emphasizing that it examined the period since mid-2006 when Israel “imposed a blockade” on Gaza and “restricted entry of goods.” It does not mention that Egypt, too, has imposed a similar blockade on Gaza. The study also focused on child labour. It revealed that children under the age of 18 work for 12 hours a day in the tunnels, and that some of the children take a painkiller called Tramadol, as well as energy-giving drugs. A total of 117 Arabs have been killed in the tunnels during the three years, mostly from cave-ins. The cave-ins are generally blamed on Israeli air raids, Egyptian detonation of tunnel-openings in the Egyptian-governed Sinai desert, and “natural circumstances.”
Hezbollah bans Anne Frank According to the Jerusalem Post today, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station has condemned the distribution of a textbook in a Lebanese English-language school because it contained excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank. Al-Manar claimed that the distribution of the book violated Lebanese law, which bans the import of Israeli goods and cooperation with Israeli institutions. On its Web site, Al-Manar reported the book as "focusing on the persecution of Jews during the war, but even more dangerous is the theatrical and dramatic method employed to narrate the diary entries in an emotional way." Naeem Qal'ani, a lawyer for the Hezbollah-backed Committee for the Boycott of Zionist Goods, also commented to the station on the school's use of the book. "This act is definitely punishable under the penal code, and the dealers and importers of the book will certainly be prosecuted," Qal'ani told Al-Manar. "It's a flagrant violation of the law and is a move towards normalisation with Israel. The Prosecutor-General's Office must take action immediately, for this is a criminal act." The school, which asked not to be identified, removed the textbook from its curriculum soon after Al-Manar's report.

The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, a New York-based umbrella organization, released a statement "denouncing this disgraceful act as a twin blow against decency. It is a blatant expression of Holocaust denial, and an assault on one of the great works of modern literature and civilization." But the condemnations have not led to the reinstatement of the book into the curriculum.

And finally... The Land remains, and rain falls... I read an interesting article by Lars Enarson (www.thewatchman.org) this week speaking on the recent heavy rain Israel have been blessed with. Lars states, "We need to thank God for his faithfulness to watch over his people and for answering our prayers! We do not believe that there is a coincidence that the so called "peace process", which is nothing but the process to destroy Israel "peace by peace," is on hold right now. The very same day that the last elections were held in February this year, the recent drought that began when Ariel Sharon decided to forcibly evict all Jews from Gaza, was broken. Since then no peace negotiations have been held with the Palestinians and right now the rain is pouring down." Well, there has indeed been a great amount of rain during the past week in Israel ~ of which we can praise God for. Please continue to pray that Israel will receive abundance of rain this winter! "Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone." (Zech 10:1)

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