~ Thursday 17th June 2010 ~
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01642 469663 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: But this precious treasure-this light and power that now shine within us --is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Yeshua did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Messiah within [who keeps us safe]. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees." (Isaiah 21:6)
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me... (Ezekiel 3:17-18)

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die. " (Genesis 2:15-17)

• 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.' " Zechariah 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)

• Since the IDF's raid on the Gaza flotilla, it seems the entire world continues to condemn Israel. Please continue to pray for the leaders of the Israeli nation and for all of Israel not to give up against the barrage of attacks. 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.

• And please continue to cry out for the Arab people struggling under the heavy restraints of Islamic oppression. Pray that they may find freedom in following the Lord God. Please continue to 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)

Broken but not beaten

Shalom to you all. Before I start the news section of this report, can I please ask that over the next five weeks or so you be patient with me. If these reports are late in arrival, or slightly shorter than usual, it is due to the difficulty I'm having at present. Sadly, I fell in Cumbria whilst out walking in the English Lake District. So now I'm having to type with my left hand only, as I have broken my right hand and it's now in a plaster cast. Due to this, I'm also having to cancel my next six speaking engagements, so if this might affect you, could you please contact me on the above number. And before anyone asks... no this wasn't done on purpose so that I can watch the World Cup... after all, Israel didn't qualify!

Sha'ul/ Paul, writing to the Messianic community in Corinth stated, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit... We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Having failed to get my family out to Israel, and then myself for CFI's 25th Anniversary Conference in Jerusalem, then having to postpone a "retreat" that I was booked in for due to breaking my right hand, I can understand a little better these words of Paul. Likewise, Israel are hard pressed on every side by troubles; perplexed because they don't know why things happen as they do, but they don't give up and quit... neither should we. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.

How do we stop the beast?

I'm currently reading an excellent book by Derek Prince called "Husbands and Fathers" (ISBN:1-85240-273-3). Love, understanding, good communication, compassion and mutual support are all essential ingredients of a healthy Christian marriage that reflects the loving heart of God. Everyone deserves to experience these qualities in their marriage, and every child needs opportunities to enjoy the love and presence of both of their parents. But I know Christian men and women all over the world, including me, desperately fall short of this love, communication, support etc in their marriages. And how often have we men blamed the women, whether jokingly or otherwise, for allowing sin into the world. After all, it was the woman who ate of the fruit first... but was it all her fault? Well apparently not... In the above Scripture reading of Genesis 2:15-17, we read, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." However, according to Derek Prince, the English translation does not convey the full meaning of the word "keep". The modern Hebrew word for 'night watchman' is derived from this root. God held Adam responsible to 'guard' the garden. Guard it from what? From the entrance of any 'beast of the field' (Genesis 2:20) that had no place in the garden.

The very next chapter in Genesis reveals that Adam failed in his responsibility. After all, the "serpent" , who was a 'beast of the field', made his way into the garden. Only then, could the serpent (Satan) deceive the women! The Scriptures do not tell us where Adam had got to when Satan made his cunning attack... he could have been working in his shed, or "the garage of Eden", or having a drink at the "Euphrates Inn", but wherever he was, it is clear that he left Eve on her own. As I was pondering on this, I thought how easily this could be applied to the Church and Israel. Are we not called to be watchmen? But where has the church disappeared to in Israel's time of need? And how quick is the church to turn round and point the finger at the Jewish nation and say "it's all their fault"?

Today, the beast may try to enter into the garden disguised as many things, whether it be Humanitarian Aid ships, United Politicians, Islamic fundamentalists or dodgy media reports... however, our task should remain the same: To be faithful watchmen, calling out, crying out, interceding, proclaiming, and standing unconditionally with the Jewish people and nation of Israel. This is what Christian Friends of Israel is about. For all those who stand with us, let us take our responsibility seriously, and help stop Israel getting all the blame.

Another group also standing in the gap is that of respected former world leaders and academic figures. These came together in Paris earlier this month to establish the Friends of Israel (not to be confused with CFI) initiative to combat what they called the "delegitimation of the State of Israel." The group was led by former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar and included Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former First Minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble, former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo, Italian philosopher Marcelo Pear, British historian Andrew Roberts and former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton. In a press release prior to the Paris event, the group expressed its outrage over the "unprecedented delegitimation campaign against Israel, driven by the enemies of the Jewish state and perversely assumed by numerous international authorities."

Aznar, Trimble, Bolton and the rest said that while they view the Israeli-Arab peace process as important, they believe disproportionate attention is being focused on it, while Islamic terror and a nuclear Iran are far greater threats to world peace and stability. At the inaugural event in Paris, the group stressed that it is not wrong to disagree with Israel, but that such disagreements over policy should never "be used as an excuse to question Israel's right to exist, its legitimacy or its national rights." They concluded by declaring that "there is no West without Israel."

The pressure and the true picture

Two weeks on, and still the after effects of the flotilla clash can be felt throughout the region, and indeed the world, and this has resulted in unprecedented international pressure on Israel to end the "embargo", placed into effect three years after Hamas took control from the rival Fatah faction in a deadly militia war. Meanwhile, as reported in last week’s "Watching Over Zion", the British government has pledged to give £19 million in aid to Gaza and called on Israel to end the blockade. This week, the one and only Tony "war on terror" Blair made quite a bold statement to the press. Mr Blair described the current blockade on Gaza as "counterproductive" and said it could be lifted as early as next week. When asked whether he thought the blockade would be lifted within weeks or months, he said: "I think it's got to be pretty soon, as fast as the next few days because otherwise the pressure will build up."

Although Tony Blair said he understood Israeli security concerns, he stated that "the end game is to make sure that the items people need for daily life are let in." So it would appear that Mr Blair has no knowledge of the huge amount of humanitarian aid that Israel delivers every day to Gaza, nor of the recent statistics that Israel broadcasted to the world, or indeed the fact the Hamas steal much of the aid going into Gaza and continue to hold their own people under the heavy restraints of Islamic oppression. Mr Blair also said that there were significant differences between the way the Israelis and the Palestinians viewed the situation in Gaza and he encouraged Hamas to reconcile with Fatah and take part in peace process discussions. He said: "It would be so much easier if Hamas were in this process. It's not a problem of communication - Hamas has got a decision, does it want to be part of this process or not?"

What is strange about Mr Blair's opinion regarding the Hamas terrorist regime is how far removed it is from his comments made in 2004. Then, Blair promises 'relentless' war on terror (Read Tony Blair's speech in full). When Tony Blair was Prime Minister, he defended the doctrine of pre-emptive military action, promising to "wage war relentlessly on those who would exploit racial and religious division to bring catastrophe to the world". Surely Mr Blair, does not Hamas fall into this category? In his speech as prime minister in his Sedgefield constituency, Blair then warned of the "mortal danger" posed by Islamist terrorists and rogue states and insisted that "this is not the time to err on the side of caution... We surely have a duty and a right to prevent the threat materialising; and we surely have a responsibility to act when a nation's people are subjected to a regime such as Saddam's," he said. Is not Israel subjected to such a regime?

And it's not only Israel that opposes lifting the partial blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in the face of mounting international pressure. The Palestinian Authority and Egypt, too, recognize that such a move would be disastrous for the region. The EU was scheduled to meet on Monday and use the recent Israeli raid on a so-called "humanitarian aid" flotilla to Gaza to escalate pressure on Israel to lift the embargo entirely. Ahead of that meeting, Israel's Foreign Ministry published a document insisting that the embargo, and in particular the naval blockade, is working, and that Hamas is struggling to remain in power. Following this, Israel received unexpected backing from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas when he told US President Barack Obama last week that the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza should not be lifted. Abbas said that while he supports a slight easing of the embargo, removing it entirely, especially the naval blockade, would be seen as a victory for Hamas and boost the terror group considerably. Egypt has also made it clear that it opposed lifting the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, as doing so would make it impossible to verify what was entering the Hamas-ruled territory. Of course, both Egypt and the Palestinian Authority took advantage of the opportunity presented by the flotilla raid to condemn Israel as an oppressor.
What I don't really understand is, why don't all these intelligent politicians look at the plain facts? After all, they are there for all to see. One example of this is the latest YouTube link to the video report from Israel that was shown on Israel's Channel 2 on, 15th June. This is well worth watching, and needs to be passed on to everyone you know. Click here to view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i82SgbwJ62g&feature=player_embedded#!

Meanwhile... more terrorist activity

Following this week’s revelation of mounting international pressure in lifting the partial blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, terrorists in the farcical "Hamas government" continue to smuggle weapons into Gaza, and possess 5,000 medium-range rockets with a range of 25 miles, including several that can bomb Tel Aviv, Israel's security chief Yuval Diskin said on Tuesday. Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Diskin warned that lifting the maritime embargo on Hamas would “be a huge security breach.” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu already has rejected a proposal by the Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair that Israel allow aid to reach Gaza by sea after it is inspected at Cyprus.

Diskin also informed the committee that 80 percent of the Gaza rockets, or about 4,000, are in the hands of Hamas, while the remainder are scattered among the Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups. "Hamas also possesses several rockets that can reach central Israel," meaning Tel Aviv, he added. During last year's Cast Lead war against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure, missiles exploded as far north as Ashdod, several miles from Tel Aviv's suburban communities. Diskin said that although there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, an easing of the blockade could be implemented in order to allow the supervised transfer of a wider variety of goods and merchandise.

Again, I know I sound like a broken record, but there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As I mentioned in last week’s report, Israel itself has tried to counter the misinformation regarding the Gaza embargo by publishing figures showing how much aid enters the territory. In the first quarter of 2010 (January-March), 94,500 tons of supplies passed through Israel's border crossings with Gaza. That aid included 40,000 tons of wheat (equal to 53 million loaves of bread), 2,760 tons of rice (or 69 million servings), 1,987 tons of clothes (the equivalent of 3.6 million pairs of jeans), and 553 tons of milk powder and baby food. Over 133 million litres of fuel entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months; this is despite the fact that Israeli workers face threats from Hamas snipers as this procedure takes place. And, on top of this, Gaza itself produces a great deal of their own food including olives, citrus, vegetables, beef, and dairy products. The main exports from Gaza (no doubt taken from former Jewish Kibbutz) are cut flowers and citrus ~ their main purchasers being Israel and Egypt. During 2009, 7.5 million tons of flowers and 54 tons of strawberries were exported from Gaza with full Israeli cooperation. Let's face the facts, if a country can export 7.5 million tons of flowers and 54 tons of strawberries and then receive the vast amount of imported food, can there really be a humanitarian crisis?

Meanwhile, the terror continues. On Monday afternoon (14th June), Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) discovered a suspicious bag that was placed by an Arab Palestinian at the Hawwara security crossing, south of Nablus. The bag was taken for security examination by IDF sappers, and five pipe bombs were found inside. The explosive devices were detonated in a controlled manner, and the Palestinian was taken to security forces for questioning. Earlier the same day, a bomb exploded at the border of the southern Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Nirim. No injuries or damage were reported in this incident. On the same Monday morning, Israeli policeman Sgt. Maj. Yehoshua Sufer, 39, was shot dead by terrorists at the Al Fawar Junction south of Hebron on route 60. Another policeman was moderately wounded and two others were lightly injured in the shooting incident. And a group of armed terrorists infiltrated Israel north of Eilat; one terrorist was killed by IDF forces.

Following this, on Wednesday morning (16th June), IDF forces identified a group of armed terrorists infiltrating Israel from the Egyptian border, approximately 40 km north of Eilat. Israel Army Radio reports that one of the armed operatives was shot and killed by the IDF forces. The other suspects left an explosive device on Israel territory and returned to Egypt. The explosive device is currently being identified and neutralized by IDF forces.

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