~ Thursday 3rd June 2010 ~
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea... And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah…Then he said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? ...Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah... in the midst of the assembly. And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. (Edited version of 2 Chronicles 20:1-16)

Pointers for prayer: Let us once again approach the Throne of Grace, to desire truth in our soul and seek wisdom in knowing how to pray regarding the issues in the Middle East and in particular, regarding the recent troubles around Gaza. As the enemy presses in, please continue to pray for those who stand with Israel, and for the people of Israel themselves, that they will not fear but put their trust in God! (Isaiah 41:10-11)
Since the IDF's raid on the Gaza flotilla, it seems the entire world is against Israel, and many Israelis have tried to counter this in creative ways, from Facebook to Youtube. Others decided to get out into the streets of Israel to raise the national morale and demonstrate their support for the IDF. This is fine and encouraging, but until the people of Israel get before the LORD God of Israel in the way King Jehoshaphat did in the above Scripture, they will always lack the ultimate protection. Please pray for the leaders and all of Israel to desire to get back to the One Who has called them into being. Please continue to bring the whole area of the media before God. Pray that lies and deceit would be proven for what it truly is.
Earnestly intercede for the Jewish people as they face much spiritual warfare aimed at thwarting their divine destiny. Pray for their protection and for their spiritual preparation as they continue to face a difficult future. Cry out too for the Arab people struggling under the heavy restraints of Islamic oppression. Pray that they may find freedom in following the Lord God. Please pray for all the children living under Islamic rule in Gaza. Pray for their safety and salvation. (Matthew 19:14-15)

Gaza ~ The headache of what we knew was to come

If only everything could be resolved with a couple of pills and a glass of water! What a headache these past few days have been with the situation in and around Gaza... and to be truthful... I don't even know where to start with this report. As you will have seen, the news this week regarding Gaza is not good, and reporting this isn't easy. Needless to say, the world's media have had a field-day, and the majority of the reports do exactly what they always do, and get a distorted and biased view on things that took place, so that Israel are shown as an evil people, doing their utmost in attempting to make the Palestinians suffer. And for the everyday man on the street, who can blame them for getting angry and venting off on live Radio chat shows. After all, they are only reacting to what they see on our media channels. As I was getting ready for work on Tuesday morning, I listened with horror at the comments against Israel being vented on BBC Radio 5 Live. However, I do understand their anger. I would be just as angry if all I had to feed me was the BBC etc. And I have to admit... I am angry... what's more, I'm angry with Israel for not having the wisdom to deal with this volatile situation better than they did. The story is there for everyone to read about... the fact that between nine and fifteen people died (depending on whose reports you believe) as a result of Israeli troops storming ships which were trying to reach Gaza... this is not good news. And this is only portraying Israel in an even darker light.

However, we still need to check the stories, and find out what really happened and why? And of course, there are some very big questions that demand an answer. Questions like "why did this flotilla of eight ships really need to sail to Gaza?" And, "Why is the true picture of life in Gaza not broadcasted by the media?" Some of the answers to these questions were written in my report last week, and I don't want to re-write last week’s report, but why is it that the BBC and other prominent Western media regularly lead their viewers and readers astray with accounts of a non-existent "mass humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza? As I said last week, what they won't report are the fancy new restaurants in Gaza, the Olympic style swimming pools, or the wind surfing competitions on Gaza beaches, or the Strip's crowded shops and markets. Many Palestinians in the “West Bank” and Gaza live a middle class lifestyle that Western journalists refuse to report on because it doesn't fit with the simplistic story they were sent to write. Yet there has to be a deeper reason as to "why" they report the way they do.

ONLY AID? Another BIG question that demands an answer is the following: If this flotilla of eight ships sailing to Gaza was only to deliver aid, then why did they have 700 people on the boats? They could have put much more aid in the boats if they hadn't taken so many people... Why 700? And why were they armed? I know "we all know" it is just a 'game' being played out by the Muslim world, but why are the naive people in the West falling for it? And why didn't the media report the people of Gaza celebrating after the IDF raid? After the incident and people were killed, the Gazans had a celebration in their streets, handing out candy. They had won the Public Relations and Media war and couldn't care less about the people who died. Of course, the press didn't print this! And of course it has all gone the way sponsoring NGO's planned it... an eight-ship armada of activists sailing from Cyprus to break the "siege" of Gaza. Timed for the slow news cycles of the Memorial Day weekend in the United States, organisers, led by "peace crusaders" from Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Britain, Sweden and North America would attempt to unload 10,000 tons of construction material, school and medical supplies. The organisers knew that Israel wouldn't allow this to happen as Israel had already notified the Irish, Turkish and Swedish ambassadors that the flotilla would not be allowed to disembark in Gaza. The "peace activists" were counting on it so they could YouTube images to the world of the Israel Navy's barbaric manoeuvres to thwart the SS Rachel Corrie, named after the anti-Israel American activists dispatched by the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to Gaza. She died needlessly 'confronting' an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, another useful martyred poster child for "peace and justice."

Islamic leaders and the lynch mob: Another issue which should be raised is that the launch in Turkey was attended by Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who has links to Hamas. His visceral conviction of Jew-hatred is often based on ancient blood libels. He is renown for his hate speech stating that the Jews are "butchers of pregnant women and babies... Thieves, you are the bacteria of all times... The Creator meant for you to be monkeys and losers... Victory is with the Muslims, from the Nile to the Euphrates." So before anyone starts defending the innocent "Peace activists" being attacked by Israeli soldiers and Gazans being "under siege" by callous Israel, let's have a reality check about the carefully nurtured narrative not only in the Arab and Muslim world, but in mainstream Western media.

According to French, Danish and Israeli sources, some of the Turkish-backed left-wing activists on the boats had connections to terrorist organisations, including al-Qaeda and Hamas. As mentioned, the Israeli government had made it clear in advance that the boats would not be allowed to enter Gaza directly but would have to bring any humanitarian aid they carried to Israeli ports. Israeli commandos ordered the boats to stop, but the flotilla refused. The Israelis then forced the boats to stop and boarded them in part to determine if the activists were trying to smuggle weapons into Gaza. The Israeli's were then attacked by the activists and the Israelis defended themselves. Several activists were killed and several more were wounded, along with many Israeli's being wounded. Arriving on the boats, the Israeli soldiers were mobbed, then clubbed, beaten and stabbed, and there was even reports of gunfire. And so the soldiers had to defend themselves. However, some Israeli naval commanders I feel should be dismissed. Watching the scenes of Israeli soldiers coming down ropes into a violent lynch mob who beat the Israeli’s mercilessly with clubs and iron bars, shouldn’t we be asking, “where were the normal items to break up a riot, like tear gas and tazer guns… items that even British Police are forced to use today? Instead, the soldiers went armed with paintball guns and a few pistols! In response, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Our policy was and will continue to be that Israel would let humanitarian aid, any kind of goods that are meant for peace, to the civilian population of Gaza…We have no problems with the people of Gaza. We do have a conflict with the terrorist regime of Hamas, supported by Iran. We want to maintain a situation where we prevent weapons and war materials from coming into Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid to go to the population of Gaza."

On the day before the Gaza flotilla confronted the Israeli navy, Al-Jazeera TV documented the pre-battle atmosphere created by men on board the flotilla, who chanted a well-known Islamic battle cry invoking the killing and defeat of Jews in battle: "[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!" Apparently, Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army in 628 AD. Many Jews were killed in that battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see that as a precursor to future wars against Jews. At gatherings and rallies of extremists, this chant is often heard as a threat to Jews to expect to be defeated and killed again by Muslims. Al-Jazeera also interviewed a woman who said that the flotilla participants' goal was "one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza." Click here to view Islamic battle cry on Gaza flotilla.

No win situation One of the biggest problems with this whole situation, especially as the international community is once again condemning Israel for its action, is that Israel are in a "no win situation". As mentioned, Israel had agreed to deliver all the aid if the boats would dock in Israel and do it through the legitimate channels. This offer was rejected. And thus Israel was put in to a very difficult position. They certainly could not act at all... and do nothing. If they did something, the protestors, both the violent ones and the innocent ones, would certainly get hurt or even die as is what happened. This would of course lead to a hypocritical diplomatic fall out. And so Israel picked the least worst option, but the protestors were far more violent than anybody thought and of course people died. Yet, no matter how bad this seems, this is not really a significant world event. Let's face it, in Jamaica, far more deaths happened when Jamaican police confronted violent protestors. And all over the world, this sort of thing happens regularly. But for some reason, people and the media in particular, have an unhealthy obsession with Israel and appear to single her out whenever the opportunity arises. Can anybody even imagine a special session of the UN Security Council being called and an ambassador withdrawn if this happened to any other nation?

I know what many people reading this News Report might be thinking. First of all, we are Christians... should we really be thinking this? Well... life is hard, and we can't run away from the brutal facts. Others could argue, "Well Israel could have let the boats through". Well, if this was to happen, it would become almost impossible to stop other items like weapons etc getting into the hands of Hamas, then the terrorist organisation would smuggle bigger weapons into Gaza and more Israeli's would die. Some of you could argue, "Well then Israel should end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza". Well of course, that is a massive argument. First of all, Israel are not occupying Gaza. They brought all the Jews (even the dead) out of Gaza. In fact the only Jew left in Gaza in Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists, and who I'm sure would love to leave Gaza. As for the West Bank ~ this is the heartland of Israel ~ the very Mountains of Israel as the Bible calls it. It is Judea & Samaria. It belongs to Israel. If the Arabs who dwell in this area would choose to live under Israeli sovereignty, then they would experience a far better quality of life. Also, if Israel should end what the world calls "the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza", the Islamic Palestinians would still not stop trying to kill Israelis, as this is a spiritual battle, not just one of flesh and blood.

There was an interesting comment from Barry Shaw this week. He stated on facebook, "Turkey demands the UN Security Council condemn Israel. Turkey was one of the central provocateurs of this week’s naval incident and they preach human rights? Let them examine their massacre and torture of the Kurdish people. Add to that the Turkish genocide of the Armenians. And Israel gets lectured to by the Turks? Those on board the ships were not peace activists. They were Hate Israel extremists in support of the Hamas Islamic terror regime in Gaza. What hypocrisy!" If you study this film clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LulDJh4fWI you will see very violent action from the so called "Peace activists". IDF photos of two dozen knives, including a machete, plus clubs, chains and metal rods used against Israeli Navy commandoes in the flotilla clash contradict Turkish claims that the passengers did not carry weapons on board. After this... make up your own minds, and do pray into this difficult situation.
Humanitarian aid despite Hamas As mentioned, if this flotilla of ships sailing to Gaza was only to deliver aid, then why did they have 700 people on the boats? They could have put much more aid in the boats if they hadn't taken so many people... Why 700? And why were they armed? Yet, the question should also be raised... Why bother at all? For despite attacks by Hamas, Israel maintains an ongoing humanitarian corridor for the transfer of perishable and staple food items to Gaza. This area of humanitarian aid is used by internationally recognized organisations including the United Nations and the Red Cross. Well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months equalling nearly a ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza. Millions of dollars worth of international food aid continually flows through the Israeli humanitarian apparatus, ensuring that there is no food shortage in Gaza. Food and supplies are shipped from Israel to Gaza six days a week. Large quantities of essential food items like baby formula, wheat, meat, dairy products and other perishables are transferred daily and weekly to Gaza. Fertilizers that cannot be used to make explosives are shipped into the Strip regularly, as are potato seeds, eggs for reproduction, bees, and equipment for the flower industry.

In 2009 alone, more than 738,000 tons of food and supplies entered Gaza. As mentioned last week, pictures in local newspapers show local markets aplenty with fruit, vegetables, cheese, spices, bread and meat to feed 1.4 million Gazans. In the first quarter of 2010 (January-March), 94,500 tons of supplies were transferred in 3,676 trucks to the Strip: 48,000 tons of food products; 40,000 tons of wheat; 2,760 tons of rice; 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear; 553 tons of milk powder and baby food. Are you beginning to get the picture? In a typical week the IDF coordinates the transfer of hundreds of trucks containing about 15,000 tons of supplies. This is EVERY WEEK... What was the "peace crusaders" flotilla of ships from Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Britain, Sweden and North America doing? Even if it was "JUST" a delivery of humanitarian aid, they only carried 10,000 tons. The IDF deliver 15,000 tons of supplies every week!!! During the week of 18th May 2010 there were more than 100 truckloads of animal food, 65 trucks of fruit and vegetables; 22 truckloads of sugar, some 27 truckloads of meat, poultry and fish; and 40 trucks of dairy products. At holiday times, Israel increases transfers. During the Muslim holy days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, Israel shipped some 11,000 heads of cattle into the Strip. Why is none of this told by the western Media? Questions need to be asked and dare I suggest... supporters of Israel need to get a little more pro-active.

Dead Sea mud, Palestinian blood And finally... Did you know, about 40 anti-Israel protesters turn up every other Saturday without fail at midday for a noisy two-hour demonstration outside Ahava’s London store? They chant “Dead Sea mud, Palestinian blood” incessantly and call on shoppers to boycott Ahava. They display their twisted version of the Israeli flag: The Star of David is replaced by the word “apartheid.” The blue ribbons are now barbed wire, and the white background is spattered with dashes of red to signify blood. The aims of the protesters are both to force the store into closure and to demonise Israel to passers-by. They hand out leaflets sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, International Solidarity Movement and Boycott Israeli Goods. Ahava isn’t, of course, the only legitimate trading organisation that feels the wrath of the protesters. British supermarkets are regularly invaded by organised protests. The protesters dump Israeli produce into shopping carts and take them to the customer service counter for a sit-down demonstration and anti-Israel speeches. According to one report I read this week, WAR ON WANT, a registered charity that receives large donations from BBC’s Comic Relief, conducted such an invasion recently at a Waitrose in central London. You can view War On Want’s video of the protest at www.waronwant.org. And, according to sources, when the protesters are challenged about this, one quickly realises that, just as with WOW in Waitrose, the protests aren’t about the settlements at all; they are about Israel itself. The protesters talk of the “ethnic cleansing” of 750,000 Arabs in 1948, the Gaza “siege” and the “miserable existence” of the 1.2 million Arab Israelis.

According to reports, the protesters have even tried to sue Ahava for mislabelling, but to no avail so far. Now they have found their most effective weapon: noise. There is a right to peaceful assembly but these protests are not peaceful. Their regularity is a nuisance and they are discriminatory. These “peace activists” would not stand outside a Palestinian owned business protesting Hamas’s atrocities against not just innocent Israeli civilians but Palestinian opposition activists. Britain is a country that respects the human rights of al-Qaida suspects and argues that they should not to be deported. There is also the human right to work, which includes those who wishing to carry on a legitimate business. That should apply to Ahava and to workers in neighbouring stores. Why do we allow this to happen in the UK? And where is our voice of protest?

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