~ Thursday 11th March 2010 ~

Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810

E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; That you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory." For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem." When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the LORD shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. (Isaiah 66:10-14)

• Pointers for prayer: 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. As we look at the current circumstances within Israel, let us remain watchful and constant in our prayers, and continue to pray that the LORD God would place His Wall of Fire around the Nation and people of Israel. (For I,' says the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.' " Zech 2:5)

• As you read through this Report, please pray that Israel would be dependent on the God Who brought her into existence. Pray that the whole Nation, from the Politicians, through the IDF, to every woman and son, would look to the Lord their God to renew their vision. May the nation of Israel turn to the LORD God of Israel to wait upon Him and seek His face. 'But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.' (Isaiah 40:31)

• Pray for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Although he has encouraging words for the Christians who stand with Israel, pray that he would have words of rebuke for those within the Israeli government that are stopping the Christian ministries in the land from operating. Benjamin Netanyahu states, "I ask you all to join us in this battle to defend the truth. That's fine, and we should stand firm with them, however, pray that Israel would truly recognise who her true friends really are.

• Pray that Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & the Golan Heights would remain in Jewish hands, now and until the Messiah returns. But pray too, that the Arab communities would recognise and receive their blessing in wanting to live in harmony with Israel.

Netanyahu's latest address to Christians Imagine the scene... the British Prime Minister stands in front of a huge audience, and upon taking the microphone declares, "I ask you all to join us in this battle to defend the truth. Let us remind ourselves of Abraham... Isaac... and let's remind the world that the land of the Bible is not in the heavens but right here on earth." How would you feel? Would a sense of awe fill your heart? Would you be sat there thinking, "I knew I did the right thing in voting for this man"? Wouldn't it be awesome if this was true and our Government spoke from a Biblical understanding?

In Israel, this is exactly what happened when the Israeli Prime Minister took to the platform this week. Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "I ask you all to join us in this battle to defend the truth. Remind them of Abraham and Isaac, remind them of Joshua and Samuel, remind them of David and Solomon. Remind the world that the land of the Bible is not in the heavens but right here on earth. And that the people of the Bible, are on the land of the Bible... Today, Christians by the thousands, by the tens of thousands, by the hundreds of thousands, by the millions, by the tens of millions - today they have heard this call, and they stand with Israel. I salute you, the people of Israel salute you, the Jewish people salute you." The transcription that follows is an edited version of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on the 8th March 2010 at the Christians United for Israel Jerusalem summit. To read the full speech click here: Benjamin Netanyahu - News and Updates

Greeting the crowds, the Israeli Prime Minister stated, "Welcome to Jerusalem, the undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Your presence here today represents a profound transformation in the relationship between Christians and Jews. This transformation has its roots in the 19th century when the early Christian Zionists came to the Land of Israel and when they began exploring the land of the Bible, when they began to yearn for the Jewish restoration in this land, the restoration of our numbers, the restoration of our sovereignty. In fact, Christian Zionism preceded modern Jewish Zionism, and I think enabled it... It was time to take a stand with the sole democracy in the Middle East. It was time to take a stand against the lies and the slander and the vilifications. It was time to defend the Jewish state's right to defend itself."

Benjamin Netanyahu went on to state that time after time, through thick and thin, the Christian supporters of Israel stood shoulder to shoulder with the State of Israel, and that he had come to thank them for their unwavering support and friendship. "Today, that friendship is more important than ever because Israel faces unprecedented challenges to its security and its legitimacy" he said. On hearing this, I wanted to yell, "yes... but what of the Shas Party (The Shas party is made up of Sephardic Jews and stands for Mifleget Sfaradim Somrei Torah) and those within the government who are stopping the Christian workers from continuing their support in the land... what of those who are refused visa's?" I hope that the audience actually had the opportunity to address this, as it's no good telling us they need our support on one hand while taking our visa's off us with the other.

The Israeli Prime Minister then went on to speak of the threat of Iran. "No security challenge is more important to our common future than preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons" he said. He then went on to state, "I have said before and I'll say again, that the greatest threat facing mankind is the spectre of a militant Islamic regime acquiring nuclear weapons, or the spectre of nuclear weapons acquiring a militant Islamic regime. The first is dangerously close to happening in Iran, and the second may or may not happen in Pakistan. I believe that with the right policies both can be averted... If Iran develops atomic weapons, the world would never be the same. We would witness a cascade of terrorism across the globe as terrorists would operate under an Iranian nuclear umbrella. Look at how much havoc, how much terror they sow now, when there is no such umbrella, and understand what can happen if Iran, their patron, sponsor, supplier and supporter, if that Iran had nuclear weapons. Equally, the region's vital oil supplies could be severely threatened and efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would collapse as one regime after another would rush to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Worst of all, if nuclear weapons would be given to terrorists, or to terrorist states, a 65 year-old era of nuclear peace would be endangered for the first time."

Netanyahu then spoke of a different kind of threat, an unprecedented challenge to Israel's legitimacy. He stated that this assault on their legitimacy comes in many forms... "it comes from the so-called human rights bodies in the UN which would deny Israel its legitimate right of self-defence, it comes by falsely charging Israel's political and military leaders with imaginary war crimes, and it comes by the outrageous waging campaigns to boycott, divest and sanction Israel... But I think that there is an even greater assault on our legitimacy. I think it is the attempt to perpetrate one of the greatest lies of history -- to deny the connection between the people of Israel and the land of Israel; to cast the Jewish people as foreigners in the land of our forefathers. Make no mistake about it. The attempt to deny our history in this land is an attempt to deny our future in this land. That is why to defend our past is to defend our future" he said.

The Israeli Prime Minister concluded, "Let me tell you how I remind foreign officials of this connection of the Jewish people to our history and to this land... I say, would you come and look at this little signet ring that I was given on loan from the Department of Antiquities? It was found next to the Wall of the Second Temple, but it dates back to the First Temple. It goes back some 2800 years ago, to the period of the Kings. It is a signet seal of a Jewish official, and it has a name written in ancient Hebrew, which I can read. The name is: Netanyahu. Netanyahu Ben-Yoash. I say, that's my last name. My first name, Benjamin, dates back 1000 years earlier, to Benjamin the son of Jacob, who also walked these hills. That is our connection. And nobody can deny the connection of the Jewish people to the Jewish land. Israel faces great challenges. We must prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We must repel the assault on our legitimacy. We must find a way to achieve peace with our neighbours. We must all pray for the peace of Jerusalem. After centuries in exile, I have come here to assure you, the people of Israel have come home and no force on earth will ever make us leave our home again."

Islamic leaders demand third Intifada Benjamin Netanyahu's speech came hot on the heels of yet more demands from Islamic leaders to start another violent uprising. According to the Jordan Times (7th March 2010), the Islamic leaders have called on the Palestinians to start a third Intifada in response to "Israeli measures against Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem and Hebron". Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood gave their demands to hundreds of Arabs who chanted anti-Israeli slogans and called on the Jordanian government to end diplomatic relations with Israel. Several Islamic leaders addressed the gathering. Meanwhile, the Jordan Engineers Association committee on Jerusalem held a press conference on Israel's "acts of aggression" against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, the Jordan News Agency Petra, reported. So just what are these "acts of aggression" against Islamic and Christian holy sites? It is Israel's attempts to repair and restore ancient Jewish sites in Jerusalem and Hebron.

As potential mass riots have flared, Israel has conveyed messages to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over the past few days that it must contain the protests that have recently erupted in Judea & Samaria ("West Bank"), stop PA officials from participating in them and keep them from turning violent. Israel has also told the PA it must reduce incitement regarding the Temple Mount and Jerusalem and curtail its campaign against the use of Israeli products. Israeli officials said that if the PA does not cut down on the incitement and keep the protests and boycott campaign in check, Israel will reduce cooperation with the PA and increase its arrests in Palestinian-controlled areas, the Palestinian sources said. Over the past few months, arrests by Israel in PA areas have declined, and the Israel Defence Forces has been limiting the entry of troops into those areas.

No thanks... keep your aid After a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Turkey on Monday, Israel began preparing a relief-and-rescue mission to assist quake victims. This follows the exceptional work Israel have already achieved in Haiti. However, the Islamic regime in Ankara, Turkey has just as quickly declined Jerusalem's offer of support. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak instructed the defence establishment to put together an aid proposal for Turkey, but his office was informed by Turkey that it did not require any assistance.

The 6.0-magnitude quake shook the Elazig province in eastern Turkey earlier this week, leaving some 57 people dead so far. Over a decade ago, when a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and killed some 18,000 people, and Israeli search-and-rescue teams were instrumental in saving dozens of lives from collapsed buildings.

As we have seen recently, amidst the horror of the scenes in Haiti, Israel featured predominately on US and British TV for the response Israel provided in Haiti after sending over 200 Israeli Defence Force (IDF) troops to assist in the search and rescue for survivors, along with setting up the best field hospital the world has ever seen. What was amazing about this was the response from news groups who have often only portrayed Israel, and especially the IDF, in a bad light. Yet America's CBN and ABC news channels, along with the UK's ITN, showed unbiased footage, that certainly put Israel in a better light. At the time, in one report, CNN stated that, “No one except the Israeli hospital has taken any of our patients... I am amazed at what’s here. It’s like another world compared to the other hospital... the Americans were slow to respond, and yet the Israeli’s came from the other side of the world”. Watch the video here.

A few weeks ago, I posed the question, "why exactly have Israel been able to shame huge nations such as America in their quick, thorough, and highly trained skills?" Well first of all, I believe it is simply because the LORD God chooses to bless people through His people, Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is the sole creator of the world and all that is in the Universe has said that above all other nations Israel is His very own! In Isaiah 43:1, we read, "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee..." Secondly, I believe it is due to what Israel themselves have had to learn. When Israel became a state again in 1948, the landscape was very dry and arid. Where it wasn't dry, malarial swamps covered areas and clean water sources were scarce. All of this changed very quickly as the land that was once unable to be tilled, became a lush green farm. Thirdly, due to Israel's long history of enduring bomb and missile attacks from surrounding enemy nations, the IDF is one of the most experienced in the world in treating mass-injuries and using specially trained sniffer dogs to locate dying and wounded people in destroyed buildings.

As reported in previous Watching Over Zion reports, the IDF was one of the first on the scene in Haiti, sending considerably more troops than, for example, Britain and France did. One report by CNN described the Israeli Army as the “Rolls Royce” of medicine in Haiti. And yet here we have another nation, Turkey, refusing Israel's help. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak reportedly instructed his staff to find ways that Israel could help in the aftermath, but Turkey reportedly refused the aid. In August 1999, Israel sent a 250-member rescue and recovery team and a field hospital to Turkey following an earthquake measuring 7.4 that killed 18,000. Relations between Israel and Turkey have been strained in recent months, especially since the war on Hamas in Gaza last winter.

Honoured for their action... at last It only took 65 years, but at last Britons who saved the lives of Jews during the Holocaust are to be honoured for their actions. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced this week plans for an award that recognises the extraordinary acts of courage shown by a number of British citizens. Britons who made a difference during the Holocaust include Jane Haining from Dunscore in Scotland - who was sent to Auschwitz after caring for 400 Jewish girls in occupied Hungary - and 10 British prisoners of war who rescued a girl from a death march in Poland and hid her in their PoW camp.

Gordon Brown stated: “My visit to Auschwitz left me absolutely determined that we must learn from the past as we build our future. Part of this must be proper recognition for those who made extraordinary contributions to protect others during the Holocaust... These heroes, many of whom have now died, are a true inspiration to everyone in Britain. Their actions have already been recognised in part: some have been named as ‘Righteous Among Nations’ by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial authority, and others have had their stories commemorated in Britain in different forms." He went to say, "However, I believe that together their brave actions form a critical part of our nation’s wartime history and they deserve to be recognised through a special award.”
Secretary of State for Communities Hazel Blears said: "The Holocaust is one of history's darkest chapters. Against that background the courage of those who risked their own safety to save others stands out all the brighter. That we should now recognise their heroism is not only right: it will ensure that their stories of compassion and humanity inspire generations to come. I pay tribute to the Holocaust Educational Trust and everyone who has lent their voice to its powerful campaign." Another Minister, Liam Byrne said: "A small number of British people performed some incredible acts during the Holocaust but for too long their stories have gone untold. They are stories of great bravery, great humanity, but also great humility. Individually their stories are moving and inspiring and each deserve our recognition. But honouring these heroes also achieves a national purpose as their stories carry important lessons for us today. They help to ensure we never forget the horrors of the Holocaust. They help instil a sense of public service, showing that one person can make a enormous difference. And above all, they remind us how important it is to continue the fight against prejudice, injustice and intolerance.” The case for recognition was led by the Holocaust Educational Trust and supported by 127 MPs who signed an Early Day Motion calling for the heroes to be honoured.
Ahmadinejad will visit Afghanistan And finally....according to sources, Iran says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Afghanistan this week... however there appears to be complete mystery as to why. Tuesday's announcement coincided with a visit to Kandahar by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. Gates has accused Tehran of "playing a double game" in Afghanistan by trying to woo the Afghan government and undermining U.S. and NATO efforts by helping the Taliban.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters that "God willing, Ahmadinejad will go to Afghanistan on Wednesday.” Teheran says it supports the Afghan government and denies allegations that it helps the Taliban. I feel however that this is something we should keep watch on, and pray into.

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