~ Thursday 24th June 2010 ~

Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01642 469663 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet... See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against Your people [Israel]; they plot against those You cherish. "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more." With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you- the tents of Edom...Moab... Philistia... even Assyria has joined them... Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm... Let them know that You, whose name is the LORD— that You alone are the Most High over all the earth. (Taken from Psalm 83) "Praise God, O heaven and earth, seas and all creatures in them. He will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and possess the land, the descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love him will live there" (Psalm 69: 34-36)

• Pointers for prayer: The Word of God is clear... and His promises to Israel are everlasting. 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.

• Pray for truth: 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. There is so much deception and propaganda surrounding the whole issue of Israel. God is concerned for truth and so should we. Pray that the truth will be revealed and that lies and deception will be cast down, wherever they are found. Pray that the Lord God will give Israel wisdom and divine assistance to deal with the media war! "In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue (Psalm 120:1-2).

• Pray for God's revealed purposes: As we often mention in these Reports, the Lord has clearly outlined His purpose for Israel in His Word ~ the Bible. Israel and the Jewish people are to be a testimony to God's existence, His character and His faithfulness. They prove that His Word is true. Pray that He will bless and use Israel for His glory and His Holy Name’s sake (Ezekiel 36:22).

• 25 years later: CFI are celebrating 25 years of ministry. Sharon Sanders states, "Everything we do... is so God receives the glory and His world is a better place. Every good deed or act of kindness is an act of restoration, of putting God’s world back into order the way He created it. We praise God for everyone who has stood with this ministry for over a quarter of a century. You are the real heroes of this work. We only take what you give and pass it on in His Name." (See full report later). As we continue to minister to and bless the Jewish people, and as we continue to edify the Church, please pray that we would always be in the complete centre of God's will. Pray that our hands would be His hands, our eyes His eyes, our speech His speech, and in every way, we would minister His way.

With cunning they conspire against Your people Since the Israeli Defence Force's (IDF) raid on the Gaza flotilla, it seems the entire world continues to attack and condemn Israel. As Believers in the Lord who unconditionally stand with Israel, we need to continue to pray for the leaders of the Israeli nation and for all of Israel not to give up against the barrage of attacks. Today, Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment, and in many ways, nothing has changed since 1948. After the Arab rejection of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) that would have created an Arab state and a Jewish state side by side, five Arab states invaded the territory of Israel. Yet Israel did not seek war in 1948. In many ways it was a repeat performance in 1967 and 1973, etc. Since then, the Sinai has been returned to Egypt, Gaza to Hamas, and if Assad had acted more as a peace maker, Syria might have taken the Golan ~ however this would have been a grave mistake on Israel's part. The Arab "Palestinians" also missed the Camp David and Oslo peace agreements because it chose war instead of peace.

With Iran's government "becoming a military dictatorship" (see next article), and a real threat to Israel, the Jewish Nation could be battling for survival on all fronts once again, very soon. And yet today, they are indeed battling on all fronts by the wave of the media's distorted reporting, which combined, looks not unlike a tsunami as the media's tidal wave sweeps common sense of its feet. One may describe Hitler as a “brilliant man” (which he apparently was, as he brought a lot of employment back to Germany) but he was still a genocidal Jew-hater whose relentless racism and imperial ambitions led to the death of more than 60 million people. One may also describe the Turks and other Arabs on board the “freedom flotilla” as “humanitarian activists,” but they are still pro-terrorist jihadists whose mission was to kill Jews, one way or another. This was a mission which aimed to further demonise the already tarnished reputation of the Jewish state. This mission planned to force a violent confrontation; were Israeli soldiers to dare defend themselves and if Muslims are therefore martyred ~ even better public relations, even better for international law-fare against Israel. As I reported in the last two News Reports, the so-called “peace activists,” at least on one boat, came armed with metal bars, guns and knives. They were terrorists, not pacifists, and they yelled out traditional Islamic battle cries: “[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!” (See Palestinian Media Watch).

Last year, Israel acted to stop Hamas from firing thousands of rockets into Israel’s towns and cities. Hamas was firing on Israel's civilians while hiding behind civilians. And Israel went to unprecedented lengths to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties. Yet it was Israel, and not the terrorist group Hamas, that was accused by the UN of war crimes. Well... the same thing appears to be happening again. The crazy truth regarding this whole issue is that Hamas is smuggling thousands of Iranian rockets, missiles and other weaponry - smuggling it into Gaza in order to fire on Israel’s cities. These missiles can reach Ashdod and Beer Sheva - these are major Israeli cities. Some of them can reach Tel Aviv, and very soon, the outskirts of Jerusalem. From the information Israeli intelligence has, the planned shipments include weapons that can reach farther and deeper into Israel. Under international law, and under common sense and common decency, Israel has every right to stop this weaponry and to inspect any ships that might be transporting them.

As we have witnessed, the news channels world-wide appear to ignore the plain facts, and desire to make Israel into some evil monster while selling their stories of how pitiful and starving the poor Arab people are, living in this wasteland of godless Gaza. Yet this is not the case, as again, I've mentioned over the past month of reporting on this in these weekly reports. And on top of this, here’s Israel's policy... it’s very simple: Humanitarian and other goods can go in to Gaza and weapons and war materiel cannot. Israel do let civilian goods into Gaza. There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Each week, an average of ten thousand tons of goods enter Gaza. There’s no shortage of food. There’s no shortage of medicine. There’s no shortage of other goods. I'm not the only one stating this, in fact most ministries and media organisations connected to Israel are all reporting the same thing... yet the world appears to be deaf. According to one source, it was worked out that with all the billions of dollars poured into the "poor" Palestinians, every man, woman and child would have 11.5 million dollars each? So where has all the money gone?

Another source this week sent me a report from Jonathan D. Halevi of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs, who has compiled a comprehensive report on the situation in Gaza including several quotes from the mainstream and Arab press that acknowledge Gaza is not starving, and is no worse off than anywhere else in the Middle East. In a report published on the 3rd June 2010, Janine Zacharia of the Washington Post wrote, "If you walk down Gaza City's main thoroughfare - Salah al-Din Street - grocery stores are stocked wall-too-wall with everything from fresh Israeli yoghurts and hummus to Cocoa Puffs smuggled in from Egypt. Pharmacies look as well-supplied as a typical Rite Aid in the United States."

Earlier in the year, the Palestinian Bethlehem-based news agency Ma'an reported that "Gaza markets are saturated with goods." To drive home the point, Halevi included a list provided by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories of what Israel sent into Gaza in 2009 (in addition to what was smuggled in or brought in by private business concerns): Health: 4,883 tons of medical equipment and medicines entered Gaza that year in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and international agencies; Electricity: Israel continued to supply electricity to Gaza from its power plant in Ashkelon. In addition, 41 truckloads of equipment were transferred for the maintenance of the electrical system in Gaza. Between April and October 2009, Siemens carried out maintenance work on the power system in Gaza, to which more than 100 million litres of diesel fuel were delivered for its operation. Communications: 45 truckloads of communication equipment were sent to Gaza at the request of the Palestinian Authority. Water and sewage: 95 truckloads of equipment for water and sewage systems, as well as 3,720 tons of chloride for water purification, were transferred during 2009. The private sector: 77 percent of the contents of trucks sent into Gaza in 2009 were for the private sector. 257 Palestinian businessmen exited Gaza to Israel, the West Bank, and abroad. 10,871 head of cattle were transferred to Gaza, mainly for the Ramadan and Eid al-Adha holidays. In preparation for winter, 3,607 tons of glass for windows was transferred to Gaza. Money: Over NIS 1.1 billion (approximately $300 million) was transferred to Gaza in 2009 to fund salaries and the activities of international organizations. In addition, NIS 40 million (approximately $10 million) in worn banknotes were replaced. Humanitarian aid: 141,390 tons of humanitarian aid was transferred by the international community through Israel, including 115,043 tons of food and 2,990 tons of medicines and medical equipment.

On every occasion when something "kicks off" regarding the nation of Israel, the Jewish government is told that it has a right to defend itself but is condemned every time it exercises that right. Israel has every right to prevent deadly weapons from entering into hostile territory. And Israeli soldiers have every right to defend their lives and their country. Israel should not be held to double standards, they have a right to defend itself just like any other state, anywhere else within the world. May we remain strong and faithful as we stand to defend Israel with Israel.

See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads There was an interesting comment made by US Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates over the weekend. Though I was slightly mystified at his timing, I have to agree that something needs to be established to bring down the Iranian dictatorship. Robert Gates said on Sunday that Iran's government "is becoming a military dictatorship". My question over the timing of his comments is in relation to "becoming a military dictatorship...”, hasn't the Iranian government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad always been a military dictatorship since coming to power? It's true however that the military dictatorship of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is getting stronger, with religious leaders being sidelined and, as a result, new sanctions could pressure Tehran into curbing its illegal nuclear program.

Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, US Defence Secretary Gates said, "What we've seen is a change in the nature of the regime in Tehran over the past 18 months or so... You have a much narrower-based government in Tehran now." He added, "Many of the religious figures are being set aside, and Iranians appear to be moving more in the direction of a military dictatorship." Regarding Iran's supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Gates stated, "he is leaning on a smaller and smaller group of advisers. In the meantime, you have an illegitimate election that has divided the country."

Since Iran's 2005 presidential election, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) expanded its control over the national economy. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former IRGC officer, has appointed many retired IRGC officers to posts in Iran's government bureaucracy. The IRGC also began to control more oil contracts and asserted itself in Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear technology. Much of this has been covered in previous News Reports, however I feel we need to keep one eye on the situation in Iran as we are facing a very uncertain future. Many people are also looking to Israel for an answer, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made clear, public threats against the Jewish state, and much talk has been directed towards Israel's army making a surprise attack upon Iran and attempting to take out any nuclear threat.

"There's no doubt that Iran's military and security forces are playing an active role in running the regime," said a U.S. official familiar with assessments on Iran. "Religious leaders like Khamenei continue to make key decisions and rely on the vast security apparatus to carry them out... Right now, the Revolutionary Guard is everywhere," said Mohsen Sazgara, a founder of the IRGC who now lives in the United States and backs Iran's democratic opposition, the Green Movement. "They control the economy, the news agencies, radio and television; they own several newspapers and the security forces and intelligence forces. They have secret prisons, and they control the puppet Ahmadinejad." Personally, I'm not quite sure that I'd describe Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "puppet"... I believe he has a strong say in what is happening in Iran, and we certainly need to keep our intercession up regarding this issue.

25 years later Has it really been 25 years? Back in the Autumn/fall of 1984, I became a Believer in Yeshua (Jesus). As soon as "the veil had been removed from my eyes", I felt the Lord lay Israel upon my heart. However, Israel was the last thing I wanted to know about, and even though I subscribed to what was then a brand new organisation ~ Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) and went on their mailing list in 1985/86, I did little with it... apart from learn quite a lot. Instead, I got involved in working with the former Soviet Union 'Underground' Churches in the late 80's ~ smuggling Bibles into what was then the Soviet Union. In 1990, my wife and I spent over three years with Romanian Children's Aid ~ helping children with AIDS in a purpose built Romanian Hospice. However, God's calling on my life to work and help the people of Israel grew ever louder, and I found I could run no longer... And so, I guess had I run away from God any longer, I might have found myself smelling of fish and being spat out of a whale or something similar on the shores of Whitby!!! And so, I took on the role, in a voluntary level, of Area Representative in the North of England for CFI in 1995. What an awesome time we've had since!

In 2001, my wife and I felt called to live by faith and move into this ministry full time, which we believe God had prepared us for in the many years before. In the time that has passed, the Lord has mightily increased the workload of this ministry and the fruit we have yielded has been very encouraging, both here and internationally. This year, CFI celebrates 25 years of ministry. In the latest For Zion's Sake, CFI's Sharon Sanders states, "Our acts of kindness in the name of the Lord are not always big things…but they are done with great love. Doing “tikkun olam” (repairing the world) for God’s Glory needs to be done while we can. We could never keep His love in a box and lose our opportunities."

Writing from Jerusalem, Sharon states, "Over the past years countless people have worn our clothing on the streets of Jerusalem which you have sent to us, they carried countless bags of goods from our Distribution Centre and received financial help from your giving – all which helps to relieve their burdens. Everything has been done so God would receive the glory and His world would be a better place. Every good deed or act of kindness was an act of restoration, of putting God’s world back into order the way He created it. We praise God for everyone who has stood with this ministry for over a quarter of a century. You are the real heroes of this work. We only take what you give and pass it on in His Name."

"For Zion's Sake" is our Jerusalem Office's quarterly publication which informs Christian Friends of Israel supporters of all that is happening from our International office in the heart of Israel. Included in every publication is a letter from the International Director ~ Ray Sanders; articles to edify the Church; updates on the work of CFI, and much more. The subscription rate is FREE to our supporters. You can also Download Full Color Magazine at http://www.cfijerusalem.net/pdf/FZSQ22010.pdf.

As mentioned, this year CFI are celebrating our 25th year of ministry to the people of Israel. In fact, people from all around the world were celebrating this milestone throughout the 25th anniversary conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem from 31st May to 3rd June. Later on in this Silver Anniversary year, we are pleased to announce that the special guest speakers at our UK Annual Celebration in 2010 will be Lance Lambert and Dr. John Garr. The venue is Victoria Baptist Church, Eldon Road, Eastbourne, and the dates are October 15th and 16th. More details will be in the next edition of In Touch - please mark the dates in your diary.

Regarding this work of CFI, Sharon Sanders states, "We have a long way to go to fulfil the command to “provoke to jealousy” but if we do not do it, who will? God has called us. Thank you for being a part of this monumental task. I will close as I started... Today the entire world continues to attack and condemn Israel. As Believers in the Lord who unconditionally stand with Israel, we need to continue to pray for the leaders of the Israeli nation and for all of Israel not to give up against the barrage of attacks. But we also need to remain faithful in our standing and calling with Israel. Please do seek the Lord as to how you might find ways of being a blessing to CFI, so that through this ministry, you can be a blessing to the Jewish nation.

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