~ Thursday 25th February 2010 ~

Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810
E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength:"Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies; and the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, for which you have laboured. But those who have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts." Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples! Indeed the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world:"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.'" And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. (Isaiah 62:6-12)

'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,' says the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.' "
(Zechariah 2:4-5)

• Pointers for prayer:

• Stolen Identity: Once again, as we continue to stand with Israel, may all our actions, support & prayer be lead by the Holy Spirit. Please pray that we would have ears to hear, and hearts open to the areas the Lord wants us to be effective in. Please pray that many within the church would have a clear revelation regarding God's purposes for Israel. Pray that we would have many opportunities to share the truth regarding Israel within our churches and fellowships. Please pray for strength and wisdom for the leaders in Israel, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu to deal with the threats of Abbas regarding Israel's national heritage sites.

• On your walls O Jerusalem: Praise God for the constant reminders of the truth as to whom the land of Israel belongs to. As archaeologists unearth more proof of historical Israel, do pray that many in the Church would make the connection with the Israel of the Bible, and the Israel of today.

• Pray for truth: There continues to be much deception and propaganda surrounding the whole issue of Israel. This week, the controversial Respect MP George Galloway was speaking at a meeting in Haringey, London, to mark the "anniversary" of the 2008/09 conflict in Gaza Please pray that the truth will be revealed and that lies and deception will be cast down, wherever they are found.

Stolen Identity

George, a friend of mine, came to our home last week, and whilst entering the kitchen eagerly anticipating his cappuccino, he informed me that on awakening that morning, he had had his passport stolen. At first I just looked at him, thinking "why on earth would someone steal his passport", only then did I catch the cheeky sparkle in his eyes to realise that after reading my News Report, he was now winding me up. His reference of course was in connection with last month's assassination of a top Hamas operative in Dubai, and the world's press pointing their finger at Mossad, Israel's secret service. But in all seriousness, can you imagine waking up and upon getting out of bed you see your face on TV in relation to a murder? Worse still, you discover that your identity has been stolen? Identity theft is of course fast becoming something that many of us take as a great concern and likewise is a crime that is becoming more widespread in our society. The crime itself has become more popular in recent times especially with organised gangs from abroad who operate within the confines of the United Kingdom. What Constitutes Identity Theft? Well it could be a range of things, however most common these days is the theft of an individual’s details and their subsequence use in order to obtain money or goods by means of deception. Killing terrorists is generally well down on the "to do list".

Who is affected by Identity Theft? Well, apart from terrorists who hang out in posh hotels in Dubai... anyone really... especially anyone over the age of sixteen. If you are old enough to seek and gain credit or to have a bank account then you are likely to be a target of identity thieves. An identity thief’s primary objective is to use your identity – your name, your date of birth and other relevant information – in order to obtain money or goods by deception and preferably without your knowledge. As the twinkle in Georges' eyes disappeared into his coffee cup, this got me thinking (oh oh... that's dangerous!). What's the biggest identity theft today in the Middle East? It's certainly not passports! No... there is an identity theft which has been going on since a rather dashing young terrorist, by the name of Yasser Arafat, decided to take a redundant name, Palestine, and create something which now appears quite politically correct and acceptable, that being the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) or Palestinian Authority (PA) as it is known today. The theft???? That of the nation of Israel, its land, and ownership of Judea, Samaria, East Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and anywhere were the name Zion or Zionist is mentioned.

Someone once asked me if the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was a terrorists group or freedom fighters? Well, obviously it depends which side you are on. I guess you could say that they are both. The PLO fight for a "nation" to gain its freedom from another, but they also fight to remove the freedom of another nation (Israel) to exist. The main problem with that of course is, there has never been a "Palestinian State" from which it needed liberating. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization was formed, three years before the 1967 six-day-war. At the time, the Arabs controlled what is deemed "the West Bank". So what were they "liberating", and from whom? The PLO was only intent on the complete destruction of Israel without any of the causes or reasons they now claim are fundamental. Their emblem even includes a map showing that Israel is part of their concept of Palestine.

The PLO's founding congress took place in May 1964 in East Jerusalem, then annexed by Jordan. The organisation's charter ~ Palestinian National Covenant ~ called for the destruction of the Zionist state and for the establishment of a "Palestinian entity". The Arab League chose the word "entity" as a concession to the Egyptians and the Jordanians, who felt that a sovereign Palestinian state would threaten their own existence. Despite the use of the word Liberation, nothing and nobody was being liberated -- the only real goal was to destroy Israel, then and now. Later claims that the West Bank or Gaza are "historic Palestine" are demolished by their own admission. In article 24 of the PLO Charter (http://www.un.int/palestine/PLO/PNA2.html), it states: "This Organisation does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, [or] on the Gaza Strip..." This makes it crystal clear: the PLO views Israel as its target. Anything else, like the West Bank or Gaza, is merely a tactical sideshow.

However, it is a tactical sideshow with a potentially explosive element. Only this week, "moderate" Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas threatened war over Israel's decision to officially recognize the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb as national heritage sites. The Cave of the Patriarchs - the burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah - and Rachel's Tomb are both located in areas that are today controlled by the Palestinian Authority, namely, Hebron and Bethlehem. Speaking on Tuesday to European Union parliamentarians in Brussels, Abbas said that the Israeli cabinet's decision to add those sites to its list of national heritage sites is a "dangerous provocation" that will lead to "religious war." In practical terms, the decision will not affect any changes in the status of the sites, but rather will give them higher priority for refurbishment and preservation. "Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarch – the burial place for more than 3,500 years of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people – are certainly worthy of being refurbished and preserved," said Israeli government spokesman Nir Hefetz in a statement released to the press. Let's face it... what historical figures from the Koran can the PA claim to have in this place?
Well the Arab world try to change history... In 2000, after hundreds of years of recognizing the site of Rachel's Tomb, Muslims began calling it the "Bilal ibn Rabah mosque." Members of the Wakf used the name first in 1996, but it has since entered the national Palestinian discourse. Bilal ibn Rabah was an Ethiopian known in Islamic history as a slave who served in the house of the "prophet" Muhammad as the first muezzin (the individual who calls the faithful to prayer five times a day). When Muhammad died, ibn Rabah is said to have fought Muslim wars in Syria, was killed in 642 AD, and buried in either Aleppo or Damascus. The Palestinian Authority claimed that according to Islamic tradition, it was Muslim conquerors who named the mosque erected at Rachel's Tomb after Bilal ibn Rabah. The Palestinian claim ignored the fact that Ottoman mandates/decrees gave Jews in the Land of Israel the right of access to the site at the beginning of the nineteenth century*. The Palestinian claim even ignored accepted Muslim tradition, which admires Rachel and recognizes the site as her burial place.
So what can we do to protect ourselves from Identity Theft? In recent years the British government in conjunction with banking institutions and consumer organisations have laid down a series of guidelines which anyone concerned with the crime of Identity Theft should try – where possible – to adhere to. But what about the subject at hand here... how do we protect the nation of Israel from having its identity stolen? One way is to enable the church to understand to truth regarding Israel. You can help in this by helping your fellowship read the truth. There is a wealth of information on CFI's website here: http://www.cfi-interactive.co.uk/ then go to Downloads. Together, let's stamp out Israel's Identity theft, and give ownership to the rightful heir.
On your walls O Jerusalem

History will always have a valid testimony as to truth, and as a 3000-year-old wall dating back to the times of Solomon was found in Jerusalem on Monday, we can praise God that He is always unearthing the truth regarding this place. The wall that was discovered is located in east Jerusalem, which was re-captured by Israel in 1967. If the age of the wall is correct, the Bible’s saying that Solomon and David ruled from Jerusalem would be correct. However, for those who believe in the Word of God, proof is not needed. The wall is six meters high and is located on the outside of Temple Mount.

Ancient stone fortifications that were recently uncovered outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City date back some 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era, according to archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who spoke to a group of reporters at the site on Monday. If the age of the wall is correct, the finding would be an indication that Jerusalem was home to a strong central government that had the resources and manpower needed to build massive fortifications in the 10th century AD. "It's the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel," Mazar said on Monday. "And it means that at that time, the 10th century, in Jerusalem there was a regime capable of carrying out such construction." The section of the city wall revealed, which is 70 meters long and six meters high, is located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount.

An inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city was uncovered in the city wall complex, along with a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron Valley. According to a Jerusalem Post article, the excavations were carried out over a three-month period under the auspices of Hebrew University and with funding provided by Daniel Mintz and Meredith Berkman, a New York couple interested in biblical archaeology. "The city wall that has been uncovered testifies to a ruling presence," Mazar said. "Its strength and form of construction indicate a high level of engineering, and the city wall is at the eastern end of the Ophel area in a high, strategic location atop the western slope of the Kidron Valley. A comparison of this latest finding with city walls and gates from the period of the First Temple, as well as pottery found at the site, enable us to postulate, with a great degree of assurance, that the wall that has been revealed is that which was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the tenth century BC," she continued.

Mazar specifically cited the third chapter of 1 Kings 3, which includes the words "until he [Solomon] had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about." "The Bible tells us that Solomon built - with the assistance of the Phoenicians, who were outstanding builders - the Temple and his new palace and surrounded them with a city, most probably connected to the more ancient wall of the City of David" she said. A large, adjacent tower also stood at the site, covering an area of 24 by 18 meters, where it served as a watchtower to protect entry to the city (Isaiah 62:1). Today the tower is located under the nearby road and still needs to be excavated. Pottery shards discovered within the fill of the lowest floor of the royal building near the gatehouse also testify to the 10th-century-BC dating of the complex. On the floor, excavators found remnants of large storage jars that survived destruction by fire and that were found in rooms that apparently served as storage areas on the ground floor of the building. One of the jars shows a partial inscription in ancient Hebrew indicating it belonged to a high-level government official.

Aren Maeir, an archaeology professor at Bar Ilan University, said he has yet to see evidence that the fortifications are as old as Mazar claims. There are remains from the 10th century in Jerusalem, he said, but proof of a strong, centralized kingdom at that time remains "tenuous." I guess that even when the truth is served up on a plate, one will always have people who doubt the facts.

What Chutzpah! Galloway's at it again

The recent events of George Galloway (MP) have certainly kept him in the headlines, albeit generally for all the wrong reasons. In January 2010, Galloway was declared 'persona non grata' by Egypt after being kicked out of the country. The controversial Respect MP had been bundled into a van by police following a dispute as he tried to take an aid convoy through the Rafah crossing into the neighbouring Gaza Strip. He was then driven to Cairo and put on a flight to London. Recently, Galloway wrote to the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister and tabled Parliamentary Questions concerning the news that six of the suspects in the assassination of the Hamas Terrorist in Dubai were British passport holders. Known as a very controversial left-wing MP, George Galloway who was thrown out of the Labour Party, has often made rather offensive remarks against the State of Israel, and is seemingly always seen wearing a kuffiyeh (Palestinian scarf) around his neck.

Causing great embarrassment to the role of MP, Galloway tried to charge the taxpayer for the cost of Christmas cards sent from his constituency office. The Respect MP for the east London constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow – where many of his constituents are Muslim – submitted a claim on his Incidental Expenses Provision for the festive greetings cards. However, the claim was rejected by the Parliamentary fees office, who informed the MP it was against the rules. To further his credentials, Galloway appeared on the Channel Four programme Big Brother were viewers could see him acting like a cat. Why on earth would a member of Parliament want to be seen pretending to be a cat? I can't comment on that one.

This week, Galloway was speaking at a meeting in Haringey, London, to mark the "anniversary" of the 2008/09 conflict in Gaza. According to the local Haringey Independent (http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/) the event was organised by Haringey Justice for Palestinians and was hosted at the St John Vianney Church near Turnpike Lane. Commenting on Galloway's invitation to speak in Church on such issues, Christian Friends of Israel's Director, Geoffrey Smith stated, "What Chutzpah! Having been deported from Egypt as a troublemaker, George Galloway is at it again! Churches should not be so gullible as to give him a platform for demagoguery on Gaza. Israel demonstrated in Haiti the willingness and ability to help those in need who are not firing rockets into its sovereign territory. The suffering in Gaza was caused by Hamas leaders bent on confrontation. To those who mark the anniversary of that tragic conflict we say in words that headlined another late dictator and friend of George Galloway “silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.”

In related news, Israel Today (http://www.israeltoday.co.il/) reported that Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre (ITIC) has labelled London as the new international hub of Hamas political, legal and propaganda efforts. ITIC, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to uncovering the activities of Israel's enemies, wrote that Hamas today directs the bulk of its non-violent efforts against Israel via operatives and activists in London. That was evidenced recently in a string of attempted indictments against Israeli leaders in British courts. According to ITIC, Hamas was behind those legal actions. Hamas has found London a perfect centre for its operations due to the easily manipulated British free speech laws, an overly tolerant British legal system and the large Arab and Muslim population in the city.

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

*(At the Crossroads, pp. 48-52; Miginzei Kedem, Documents and Sources from the Writings of Pinhas Name, ed. Yitzhak Beck (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Tzvi, 1977), pp. 30-32 (Teudot u-mekorot tokh kitvei Pinhas, Miginzei Kedem, Yad Yitzkah Ben-Tzvi, 1977, pp. 30-32).