Watching over Zion" (The weekly News Report & Prayer Update)
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01642 469663
E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

~ Thursday 19th January 2012 ~

The Word: And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. (Exodus 14:10)

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way… (Psalm 107:4-7)

• Pointers for prayer: When dealing with the issues of the Middle East we must always examine our own heart and let compassion be our motive. As you read through this report, please do so with a prayerful heart. Please pray that where we see injustice, we would beseech the LORD to break through. Where we see deception ~ especially within the political world ~ God would bring correction. Where we see pain, God would bring healing. Where we see trouble, God would bring peace. Above all, may we lift the people and nation of Israel before the LORD God, and remain faithful in our calling to His Covenant people Israel.

• As many are preparing for the end of January Holocaust Memorial Day, let us "look up" and remember not only the struggles, the pain, and the horror, but also the promises of God. Praise God that even in the darkest night, His light can shine. As I mentioned in last weeks report, Corrie Ten Boom once said, "There is no pit too deep that He is not deeper still". We must never be allowed to forget the evil of the Holocaust. In remembering, there is hope it will not be allowed to happen again. Please pray that all events throughout the country around 27 January will be well supported. Remember too, the thousands of Survivors still alive today. May they, even now, find comfort, strength, and the LORD's blessing on their lives.

Thoughts, faith and crying out to God Reading through the book of Exodus, nobody had ever seen as many supernatural works as the Israeli people of that day. The Lord God provided miracle after miracle for them—and yet each move of God left the people as faithless and unbelieving as before! Imagine living in those days… wouldn’t you think that the ten plagues on Egypt would have produced faith in the hearts of the Israeli’s? When the Egyptians were afflicted with flies, none were found in Israel's camp. When Egypt fell under total darkness, there was no darkness in Israel. Yet it would appear that none of these plagues produced faith of any kind for those following the Lord God. Even after God performed the amazing miracle of opening the Red Sea, Israel's faith lasted only a few days. The Scriptures read: “They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the Red Sea" (Psalm 106:7). Here, the psalmist is declaring: "They even doubted God at the Red Sea ~ the very place where God performed His greatest miracle!"

Needless to say, we can be quick to judge, but have we, the Church, acted any different? We want God to bring revival, or speak a word, grant us a miraculous deliverance, quickly meet our needs, heal us… etc etc… In fact, you may be saying right now, "If God would just get me out of this mess, I would never doubt Him again!" Yet, what about all the times He answered our prayers? Have these times produced in us the faith to help us in our present trouble?

I read this week that Tel Aviv has become the Gay capital of the world! It topped New York to be named the “best gay city” in the world, in a recent survey conducted by American Airlines and Gay Cities.com. The Israeli city was named City of the Year 2011 with a massive 43 per cent of the popular vote - far outstripping those of the next closest city, New York which had 14 per cent. Other contenders including Toronto with seven per cent, Sao Paulo with six per cent and Madrid and London five per cent each - San Francisco, popularly known as the gay capital of the US, was nowhere to be seen. Does this shock you? I hope so… but where is God in all this? Wasn’t this the reason He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24)?

On my last trip to Israel, I felt a heavy burden upon my shoulders of the responsibility to the people of Israel. I questioned the Lord, “Could I really bring anything worthwhile and lasting to these people who carry the burden of being ‘God’s chosen’? But chosen for what? With Holocaust Memorial Day only days away, thoughts again turn to the thousands of Holocaust survivors CFI minister to… many times I have heard the same response from these survivors who left the death camps of Europe to battle for a life in Israel yet witnessed their Father’s, Mother’s, friends, family and the rest of the six million Jews massacred in the Holocaust at Belsen, Auschwitz etc. What were these people chosen for? Chosen only to die?

Yet at the end of the day, God reigns, and no solution to the problem of suffering that questions this will ever satisfy the heart of a saint. In Israel, the words of Job 12:13–16 became very real for me: ‘With God is wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding. If He tears down, none can rebuild; if He shuts a man in, none can open. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; if He sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With Him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His.’ What right have I to judge the real situation within Israel? The Lord God could easily burn with anger and demand, “Who is this who darkens My counsel by words without knowledge?” And yet with American support for Israel waning and the rest of the nations seemingly opposing every move Israel makes… how long before they will be left alone to cry out to the Lord God to rescue them and redeem them? May our cries continue to go before the Lord regarding this people and Nation of Israel.

With or without you A few days ago, I awoke to a tune in my head by one of my favourite bands – U2. Taken from their hugely successful album ‘The Joshua Tree’ the dulcet tones of the bass line boom out as Bono sings, “See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side, I wait for you… with or without you.” Well, last week Israel were waiting for the US to join the battle ahead as the Obama led USA appeared to have their eyes set like stone in their military support of Israel. However less than a week later, there has been a twist in this thorny tale as the US appear to have gone back on their word. In last week’s report I stated that the US military were preparing a massive military campaign against Iran, sending thousands of American troops, warships and weaponry to Israel. However now, the headlines read: US, Israel in open rift over Iran: Big joint military drill cancelled. But will Israel be prepared to take on Iran with or without the US?

Sources last week said that the military deployment of US anti-missile ships and accompanying support personnel will occur in January and later this spring. The Jerusalem Post also confirmed that Washington and Tel Aviv have planned to hold what they called the largest-ever joint military exercise this spring. This had all been corroborated by news media including the Washington Post as well as friends in Israel (including our Jerusalem office), and it appeared that some 9,000 U.S. troops were either in Israel or on their way. And on top of this, as reported last week, Britain were also warning Iran it may resort to military action if Tehran attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane for much of the world's oil supplies. Most major national news stations in the UK reported this too. Since then, regarding US/Israel relationships, it would appear things have gone sour, and Iran must be laughing at the strange goings-on.

US-Israeli discord over action against Iran went into overdrive on Sunday 15th January when the White House called off Austere Challenge 12, the biggest joint war game the US and Israel have every staged in reprisal for a comment by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon in an early morning radio interview. Yaalon said the United States was “hesitant over sanctions against Iran's central bank and oil for fear of a spike in oil prices.” Due to this, it would appear Washington has spat its proverbial dummy out, undoubtedly causing celebrations in Tehran.

Nothing was said about the 9,000 US troops who landed in Israel for a lengthy stay. Neither was the forthcoming visit by Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff mentioned. The exercise was officially postponed from spring 2012 to the last quarter of the year over what the US called "budgetary constraints" – an obvious diplomatic excuse for cancellation if ever there was one. According to debkafile, the order was issued urgently at a very unusually early hour (Washington time), to underscore the Obama administration's total disassociation from any preparations to strike Iran and to stress its position that if an attack took place, Israel alone would be accountable.

Israel's Deputy Prime minister further inflamed one of the most acute disagreements in the history as he went on to say: "A military operation is the last resort, but Israel must be ready to defend itself." The friction was already fuelled last week by the resentment aroused in Israel by Washington's harsh condemnation of the assassination last Wednesday (11th January) of the nuclear scientist Prof. Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, and absolute denial of any US involvement. Although Tehran has since accused the United States of the attack, the White House treated it as the defiant sign of an approaching unilateral Israeli military operation against Iran to which the administration is adamantly opposed. On 13th January, the Pentagon announced the substantial build up of combat power around Iran, stationing nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait. And so, with or without the US, Israel must now weigh up her options and rethink her plans regarding any action against Iran.

Meanwhile, Russia reached out to protect Iran from the West on Wednesday, warning that sanctions would "stifle" the Iranian economy. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters at a news conference that Western nations should instead return to focusing their efforts on reviving talks with Iran. Lavrov warned that any efforts to impose additional sanctions against the Islamic Republic would cause a "stifling effect on the Iranian economy... in the hope of provoking discontent."

Nick Clegg: Israeli Settlements Are “Deliberate Vandalism” Nick Clegg, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, welcomed PLO President Mahmoud Abbas to London for high level meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague this week. Before the meetings, Clegg and Abbas held a joint press conference, where the Deputy PM condemned Israeli “settlement” building and went further, calling it vandalism. Following his statement condemning “settlement building in the strongest possible terms”, Clegg said, “once you’ve placed physical facts on the ground that make it impossible to deliver something that everyone has for years agreed is the ultimate destination, it is an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise on which negotiations have taken place for years and years and years. And that is why we have expressed our concerns as a government.” I wonder if Mr. Clegg and “physical facts” actually go together!

Following Nick’s negligent facts, an Israeli minister called Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Clegg “irresponsible and ill-informed”. Danny Ayalon said Clegg's comment gave the Palestinians an excuse to set pre-conditions for entering negotiations with Israel on a Middle East peace settlement. "I think it was unfortunate, I think it was gratuitous, I think it was ill-informed, I think it was somewhat irresponsible," Ayalon said when asked about Clegg's comment. Speaking during a visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to London on Monday, Clegg said expanding Jewish settlements was "an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise upon which negotiations have taken place for years". Clegg leads the centre-left Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Britain's Conservative-led coalition. Ayalon told Reuters in an interview that Clegg's comment was "far from the truth". Israelis and Palestinians had begun exploratory talks in Amman, Jordan, on resuming full negotiations on a peace accord. Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel's expansion of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, where Palestinians are demanding yet another Islamic state.

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the non-partisan London based organisation, Henry Jackson Society, stated, “Deputy Prime Minister Clegg’s concern that settlements in the West Bank undermine a two state-solution represents a fantasy worldview which makes no effort to highlight the ways in which the Palestinian Authority and Hamas continue to undermine that solution themselves. Hamas continues to adopt an anti-Semitic charter that calls for the extinction of the Jewish state in the Middle East, and the PA continues to advocate, via its print and broadcast media, maximalist fantasies about a Palestinian state that encompasses all of Israel.”

If Cleggs outspoken comments weren’t bad enough, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also added wood to the fire by calling Israeli communities or “settlements” as illegal and called for an end to the “occupation” AFP reported. Speaking at a conference on democracy in the Arab world (???) in Beirut, Ban said that “the Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories” and “violence against civilians” must end. “Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work against the emergence of a viable Palestinian state,” the UN chief stated.

The UN secretary general also addressed the wider Arab world, calling on Syrian President Assad to “stop killing” his people. Ban then angered Hezbollah during his visit to Lebanon, when he called on the Shi’ite group to give up its weapons. Ban said he was “deeply concerned about the military capacity of Hezbollah and the lack of progress in disarmament.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told Ban Ki-moon in no uncertain terms, “We want you [the UN], the US and Israel to be concerned.” Not exactly the UN Secretary-General’s most diplomatic week then! It’s a shame neither Ban Ki-Moon nor Nick Clegg commented on Hamas’ latest “democratic move…” Sources from the Palestinian Islamist terror militia Hamas and the even more violent Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group have announced this week that they are in negotiations to merge into one faction. Previous attempts to merge the groups have failed but the current effort is being conducted at the highest levels of leadership in the two groups, including the leaders being held in Israeli jails. The group stated that this is "in the interests of both the Palestinian cause and the future of the Palestinian liberation movement, particularly in light of the Arab Spring."

Finally… New resource from CFI As mentioned last week, my new booklet “Crimes Against Humanity” has been published and is now in stock in our UK Head Office. If you would like to order copies - especially if you are holding a Holocaust Memorial Day event - or are part of such an event, then please contact CFI UK. This booklet is a gathering of written works and personal testimonies from survivors which try to reflect something of the horror of the Holocaust and beyond. My heart's desire is that, from any aspect of this work, even one person's conscience might be awakened to the horrors that continue to face mankind today, and that that reality would show itself in a more compassionate and tolerant society, bringing peace and God's love into our world of much need. A royalty from the sale of this publication will aid survivors of the Holocaust as administered through CFI Jerusalem’s “Project Forsake Them Not”. Crimes Against Humanity ~ Item Code: BT99 ~ UK Price (incl. p&p): £4.00 If you would like to order copies, please contact our UK Head Office on (44) 01323 410810 or email them at: info@cfi.org.uk with your details.

David Soakell

(CFI Church Liaison Officer (UK) & Writer & Producer of the CFI News Report & Prayer Update)
Tweet me @David_at_CFI

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