~ Thursday 11th August 2011 ~

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

The Word: People will oppress each other-- man against man, neighbour against neighbour. The young will rise up against the old, the base against the honourable... Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. O my people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path. The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. (Isaiah 3:5-13)

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. (Isaiah 59:14-15)

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thess 2:7-11)

• Pointers for prayer: As September draws near with the demand for another Islamic State, please continue to pray against this situation. In this week's report there are also some practical areas you can do by taking action with some suggestions from the people at ICEJ.

• As you read through this week’s Watching over Zion News Report please proclaim the Word of God over these issues. Please pray in line with the Scriptures: "Arise, O Lord. Do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." (Psalm 9:19,20) "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever... The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." (Psalm 33:10-12) Please pray for those within Israel and throughout the world who plan evil against the Jewish nation. As the United Nations Security Council decides on whether or not Israel's land will be seized in September 2011 and Jerusalem divided by the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state, please continue to pray against this plan. Pray that the Israeli government would not give in to the world's demands, and would scrap any plans of giving up Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

Truth has fallen in the street What is the definition of lawlessness? One thesaurus states- "Without law or control; The system of economically inefficient and politically anarchic; contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law; Unlawful measures". The Word of God speaks of this in the above Scriptures. In Isaiah chapter 59 we read, "Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey."

The UK is a tiny island that has, thankfully, demanded its independence of the Euro monetary system by hanging on to sterling, yet at the same time pretends to be in Europe... however we appear to be a dim shadow of the past when ‘Rule Britannia’ rode strong throughout the world. From a nation that took the truth of the Bible to many shores, we have fallen well short of the ‘Great’ that prefixes our nation’s name. Maybe, Britain's fall started in the mid 1940’s when we turned our back on the fledgling Jewish State, divided God’s Land of Israel into two, thus creating Trans-Jordon, and then arming the Arabs with weapons whilst turning our backs on the Jewish people and literally turning back the Jewish refugees who were fleeing the horrors they’d witnessed within Nazi Europe. From being a nation blessed by God, we have become an island of insanity in a sea of hatred, lies and confusion, whilst Islam grows stronger by the week and the anarchist has his day. How pervasive is the evil right now in this world, and indeed in our nation? In my prayer time recently, my mind flashed through a number of events where the depravity of man showed its ugly face. While all sin is lawlessness, the sin against our fellow man typically gets the media's attention. Is there any doubt we are in the very end times?

These past few days has seen England catch up with much of the rest of the world in lawlessness and thuggery. As you will have been watching on News channels, on Monday, violence broke out for a third consecutive day in London, with riot police deployed and fire-fighters tackling blazes across London. Shops were looted and buildings set alight as police clashed with youths. Trouble first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police. Meanwhile... Cars were set on fire in Lewisham; A bus and shop were set alight in Peckham; Several fires broke out in Croydon, including one at a large furniture shop which spread to neighbouring buildings. In Hackney, 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were located around Mare Street where police cars were damaged. Looters have raided stores in Clapham and many other towns. Then in Birmingham, police said officers had made 87 arrests on Monday evening. By Wednesday, the violence had spread north as far as Leeds and Manchester. Last night, three men were run over by a car and killed as they protected property in a second night of violence in Birmingham. And as if to make things better, the prime minister, David Cameron returned home early from holiday to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee "Cobra". Some 16,000 officers are policing London's streets after many days of violence, with rioters warned they will feel the "full force of the law", and in one report talks of "rubber bullets" being issued were heard. Could our nation be reaping the fruit of the God-less society we have been breeding these past few decades?

It would appear the UK has indeed caught up with all the other nations who, whether rightly or wrongly, justified or otherwise, have allowed lawlessness to run a mock and cause as much damage as possible to Miss World’s dreams of a “world of peace and harmony”. Over the past four months I have reported extensively on the Middle East mayhem, which I believe is leading to the fulfilment of Zachariah 12, when a huge attack on Israel strikes forth and more Bible prophecy comes true in the headlines. Indeed the turmoil across the Middle East could ultimately lead to the fulfilment of Psalm 83, in which nations immediately surround Israel, joining together for the first time in history, to attempt to eradicate the Jewish state. Of course they will fail. In case you didn’t know, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) will have His "Day in court”, and Allah will crumble, showing yet again that the Islamic god is false. But... in the meantime big trouble is brewing. I suspect that any hope of democracy dawning in the Arab nations is just nothing more than a pipedream. Islam and democracy are incompatible. For example, the only organised opposition body in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood ~ and along with Hamas etc. they are the source of the river of much of the Islamic terrorism and trouble being fermented in many nations.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago in an earlier 'Watching over Zion' News Report, one of the Muslim Brotherhood who could rise to power in Egypt is cleric Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi. The Muslim Brotherhood is the god-father of all Jihadists that exist within Islam today. Obviously, this does not bode well for Israel. The governments of both Israel and the United States must recognise that there is no possibility of meaningful negotiations with the Muslim Brotherhood and its proxies. Of course, as ever, the media will blame Israel for all the woos and the potential third-world-war will all be the fault of the Jewish race. Just to prove the point, media groups have already pointed the blame on a 'Zionist' and some stating Israel was behind the Norway massacre and “the Mossad’s fingerprints” are all over the attack. Ah, those Hebrews... nothing but trouble since falling out with Pharaoh in Egypt. And you wonder why there is no peace in the Middle East! Meanwhile back in Washington, USA, President Obama once again mismanaged a crisis and then blamed everybody apart from himself and his people for the U.S. financial quagmire. It really is a mad, mad world out there... and our only hope is in turning to the LORD God Almighty, who is certainly still in control, even as He shakes the heavens.

Israeli's march on the streets If street battles with the authorities wasn't bad enough in the UK and most Middle East countries, though not connected I must stress, Israel too has seen mass demonstrations this week ~ though peaceful in nature. About 250,000 Israelis have marched for lower living costs in an escalating protest that has catapulted the economy onto the political agenda and put pressure on the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli PM named a cabinet-level team on Sunday to address demands by the demonstrators, who in under a month have swollen from a cluster of student tent-squatters into a diffuse, countrywide mobilisation of Israel's burdened middle class.

Israeli Police said at least 250,000 people took part in Saturday's march in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, a greater turnout than at marches on the two previous weekends. Demonstrations on such a scale in Israel have usually been over issues of war and peace. The demonstrations have actually upstaged Netanyahu's standoff with the Palestinians ahead of their bid to lobby for UN recognition of statehood next month (more on that shortly). Protests also deflated his celebration of Israel's stability as citizen revolts rock surrounding Arab states across the Middle East and north Africa. The Likud coalition government has vowed to free up more state-owned land for development, build more low-rent housing and improve public transport. It also wants to lower dairy prices with more imports and boost medical staff numbers to address demands by striking doctors. But the demands submitted by the National Union of Israeli Students go much further in calling for an expansion of free education and bigger government housing budgets.

Our chance to oppose Palestinians bid to lobby for UN Back on the 16th July I sent out an emergency report asking for people to pray and take action against certain groups who were promoting the Palestinian cause for a statehood. This was also repeated in my News Report on the 28th July. You may remember in the Watching over Zion News Report 28th July 2011, I wrote: "At Midnight last Saturday night, I sent out an emergency plea for the church to pray against Avaaz. For those who replied with encouraging words, and all who prayed with us, thank you. For those who didn't read it, I have printed it again here, as I feel this is so important: "After viewing the following webpage, I feel this is highly important and we need urgent prayer against this website and its campaign.
http://avaaz.org/en/independence_for_palestine_9/?slideshow The website Avaaz.org states: “To the leaders of France, Spain, Germany, the UK and the High Representative of the EU and all UN member states: We urge you to endorse the legitimate bid for recognition of the state of Palestine and the reaffirmation of the rights of the Palestinian people. It is time to turn the tide on decades of failed peace talks, end the occupation and move towards peace based on two states..."

Since then, the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem has been approached and asked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem to help the State of Israel with the upcoming vote on Palestinian Statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September. As reported in the past few weeks, when the UN holds its annual Opening Assembly in New York this September, the Palestinian Authority appears determined to seek a UN General Assembly resolution that would endorse a Palestinian State along the pre-1967 lines. This action now has the support of the Arab League, but PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas will first submit the proposal to the UN Security Council, where it could face a veto by the United States. The PA will likely also be pressing for a UN condemnation of Israeli communities or "settlements" as the world calls them and a declaration that they are illegal under international law.

The ICEJ group state, "There is huge worldwide support for the establishment of a Palestinian State… We therefore urgently ask you to lobby our government and political leaders so that the UK will NOT vote in support of a Palestinian State. Please make every effort to contact your MP in this regard. The people who have influence in this decision, whom you should approach, are: 1.) The Prime Minister - Mr David Cameron 2.) The Foreign Minister - William Hague MP, 3.) The FO department head for the Middle East - Alistair Burt MP, 4.) Your Member of Parliament (http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/)"

The ICEJ also suggest that you write to and/or visit your MP at his/her constituency office and explain that Israel has legal rights to the whole land (Try and research the situation first - here are two very important resources that may help: http://vimeo.com/16094246 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGYxLWUKwWo&feature=youtu.be). Christian Middle East Watch have their Parliamentary seminar for MP's entitled: "Are the Palestinians ready for statehood?" on Tuesday 13th September, from 3-5pm in Committee Room 17, House of Commons, sponsored by David Burrows MP. The speakers are Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch and Matthew Sinclair of the Tax Payers Alliance. PLEASE inform your MP of this and encourage them to attend. A PDF flyer invitation for MP's is available from info@cmew.org.uk or ljg@mail.com - This is not a public meeting but for MP's and invited guests. In that Palestinian statehood is a currant topic MP's should be strongly encouraged to attend. The ICEJ state, "As the pressure on Israel grows in the days to come it is important that we who see Israel's existence as God ordained, turn our words and prayers into action and not allow complacency creep into our lives. The State of Israel has asked for assistance - we mustn't let them down at such a time as this. Please act swiftly and promptly as time is running out."

The pressure is indeed growing on the Israeli state, not just from the direction of the UN, but also from the Palestinian Islamic militant groups. According to a report on the Media Line (http://www.themedialine.org/) a new Gaza based terror group which claims to have links to the "modest" Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (the very ones pushing for a State) has emerged claiming to have thousands of followers and wanting to bridge gaps between Fatah and Hamas. "We have hundreds if not thousands of members in Gaza and the West Bank and we expect to grow now we are a new faction which is independent and works towards a free Palestine," said Abu Bilal, claiming to be a spokesman for the group, which he called Ansar Al-Mujahidin. "We have successfully executed many jihad missions against Israel, our enemy, and we have given so many souls to Palestine because the Israeli enemy has assassinated many of our leaders and leading members. Both Hamas and Fatah and other factions are a part of Palestine, the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian process. We should all unite for Palestine." Israeli security sources conjectured that the group is probably part of the ultra-violent Salafi movement of Islamic militants that seeks to replace all existing Arab regimes with an Islamic caliphate.

One interesting comment which might encourage us to press in with our intercession is a report that the Palestinian leadership appeared increasingly unsure of itself over the past week when questioned about its unilateral statehood bid at the UN in September. Various Western and Arabic news agencies suggested the regime of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was rethinking its plan to request membership as a sovereign nation in the UN General Assembly. According to reports, former Palestinian Authority Information Minister Nabil Amr said that is precisely what he is advising Abbas to do.

Nabil Amr, speaking to the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, warned that "the Americans have not hidden their position and threats to impose sanctions not only against us, but also against those who would vote in favour of the statehood plan." The US Congress has threatened to cut all ties to the Palestinian Authority if it goes forward with the unilateral statehood bid, which includes asking the Security Council for official recognition. The Obama Administration has allegedly said it will veto the Security Council vote, but can do nothing to stop a majority of the General Assembly nations from recognising "Palestine" in a non-binding decision. A senior Western diplomat on Wednesday reiterated to The Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian stunt at the UN next month will "make it harder for the US to have relations with the Palestinian Authority." The biggest risk the PA will be taking will be direct US financial aid to the Palestinian government and American training of Palestinian security forces. Despite these warnings, and signs that the Palestinian leadership is getting scared, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat this week insisted that the UN bid is scheduled to go forward.

CLAN. A worthy cause Having grown from a small annual conference, CLAN Gathering (Christian's Linked Across the Nation http://www.clangathering.org.uk/) began in the summer of 1998 with over 300 people meeting throughout the week in the Assembly Hall of Madras College, St Andrews. However, linking in with their partnership with New Wine, under the leadership of Kenny Borthwick and Chairman Andrew Lawson Johnston, the team’s vision was to see the nation changed as the church in Scotland was resourced and renewed, and the next seven years saw rapid growth. The main venue moved from the Assembly Hall to a marquee erected across the college car park, to accommodate the 4000 people who attended in 2005. Since then, it has kept growing. This year, as has been the case for the past four years, Christian Friends of Israel was represented along with PFI and Ebenezer, and jointly manned under the 'Yachad' stand at the CLAN Gathering at Strathtyrum (agricultural land) in St. Andrews. Our CFI Scottish Reps Elspeth Masson (Inverness) and Donald McDougall (Perth) worked with other ministries to enable the Scottish Church to understand the Hebraic roots of our faith and other issues relating to Israel.

In a very brief summary of their time at CLAN this year, CFI's Elspeth Masson writes, "The Marketplace was in an excellent position - with delegates having to pass through it on the way from the main venue to both the coffee areas and the bookshop - and Yachad had been given probably the best position in the Marketplace - a large stall facing the entrance. The theme of the stand was "The Jewishness of Jesus". Donald had loaned his beautiful prayer shawl and shofar which, with a menorah, matzos and glass of wine formed the main display. We had printed and laminated several verses from the New Covenant which referred to the Lord and circumcision, the synagogue and so on which, with the poster of Jesus' face in the Wailing Wall, formed the backdrop. The whole drew many admiring comments." CFI booklets and Hatikvah DVDs were sold, and Yachad had purchased several copies of 'Israel, God's Servant' which has been anointed to speak to the clergy in Scotland and these were given to ministers who visited the stand. Elspeth states, "There were some really valuable and fruitful conversations... it was good to have been there."

David Soakell
Sources: Unless otherwise stated: Personal sources throughout Israel along with The Jerusalem Post, BBC News, CFI Jerusalem, Arutz-7 News, Israeli Embassy London & Israel National Radio.