Israel – What Can We Do?
I was reading Psalm 89 this morning. It mentions God’s faithfulness to His covenant with David. This Psalm is a powerful description of how God holds His covenant with King David.
My heart breaks for all that is going on between Israel and Hamas. Israel is fighting for survival – it is not invading just protecting itself from this evil aggression that threatens all of civilization. Our media makes Israel out as the aggressor – it is not.
As Christians we are grafted into the Jewish family – we are deeply connected to the soul & soil of Israel. We need to be in earnest prayer for them. (See my last post.) Israel is at the very heart of God and His people.
My friend, Lydia, has suggested we read the book of Deuteronomy. A marvelous, reassuring book for these days and made me aware of some excellent organizations that are working to aid those suffering in this tragic conflict in Gaza –
a) CMJ – has begun”Operation Respite” at all their guest houses in Israel to offer shelter and relief to families (Arab and Jewish) who are being bombarded by Hamas rockets. Pray for these efforts and funds to support the loss of income at the guest houses.
b) Fellowship of Christians & Jews – This group provides relief of every kind from bomb shelters, food, medical care, humanitarian & spiritual assistance.
c) Christians United for Israel – Is having their annual Conference in Washington, DC, to promote relations between Israel and America as well as between Christians and Jews. A Night to Honor Israel will held tonight, July 21. They will contact our senators, representatives and political leaders.
We can too…call write…your representatives. They need to hear from us. Our voice can be heard. And will be in heaven!
Thank you, Ruth, for this blog post. I too share a real heart for Israel. My great-grandmother was Jewish. I wanted to add that there are also Messianic Jewish organizations that aid and support Israel:
MJAA’s Joseph Project (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America)
Joel Rosenberg’s Joshua Project
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM ISRAEL
A project of Shorashim of the Old City, the Biblical Shop
To Israel’s Critics
by David A. Harris
First appeared in Jerusalem Post
Speak up now while literally millions of Israelis live from one alarm to another, or remain forever silent.
Want to be taken seriously by Israel and its friends?
Here’s your moment to demonstrate your bona fides.
If you really mean what you say about criticizing Israeli policies but not questioning Israel’s inherent right to live in peace and security, then raise your voice right now.
Not tomorrow, not the day after, but today.
Speak up and say that the scores, if not hundreds, of rockets being fired from Gaza at Israel are an abomination. Say there can be no justification for such acts of terror.
Say that that this assault is a brazen violation of fundamental human rights.
Say that Israeli women, men, and children have the right to live in peace in their homes, and not be on permanent, 24/7 alert.
Say you empathize with Israelis, as they have no more than 15 seconds to reach a bomb shelter, and to make sure that their young children and elderly relatives also find protection.
Say that Hamas is a terrorist organization, precisely what the United States and European Union declared it to be years ago.
Say you’ve read the Hamas Charter and understand the group’s goal is not to end Israel’s settlement policy, but Israel, period. Say you’re aware that Hamas uses civilians in Gaza, including children, as human shields.
Say you know that Hamas is linked to Iran, from which it gets funding, weapons, and training.
Say you see a clear moral distinction between the arsonist, Hamas, and the firefighter, Israel.
Say there’s a fundamental difference between a despotic regime, Hamas-ruled Gaza, and a democracy, Israel.
Say you know that Hamas trains children to glorify death and “martyrdom,” while Israel educates children to affirm life and advance the frontiers of human knowledge.
Say you know that Hamas opposes any Palestinian effort to reach peace with Israel, and will do everything possible to sabotage efforts in that direction.
Say you know that no country, neither America nor the European nations nor anyone else, would tolerate volleys of deadly rockets fired at them with the aim of causing murder and mayhem.
Say you know that Israeli hospitals, in response to more than 12,000 rockets over the past 14 years alone, continue to provide life-saving medical care for residents of the Gaza Strip.
Say you know that Israel not only has a right, but an obligation, to defend itself, which means going after the terrorist infrastructure and its leadership.
Say you hope that the world will understand and support Israel at this precise time, when half the Israeli population lives within range of Hamas weaponry.
Say you know how to prioritize your concerns, and, whatever your other issues with Israel might be, its ability to end the deadly attacks now tops the list.
Say you’ll avoid the temptation to invoke mealy-mouthed and misplaced comments about “restraint” and “moral equivalence” and “cycles of violence,” as if you were playing both sides off against the middle.
Say you know that Israel left Gaza, lock, stock, and barrel, in 2005, giving this strip of land the first chance in its history to govern itself. Say you know that no one before Israel, not Egypt, not the British, not the Ottomans, no one, offered Gaza the opportunity that Israel did to chart its own destiny.
Say you know that, in 2005, Gaza had the chance to choose whether it would seek to emulate Singapore or Somalia, and chose the latter.
Say you know that Hamas took over power in Gaza by ousting the Palestinian Authority, killing many in the process.
Say you know that there is no way peace can be advanced for the Palestinians – or the Israelis – if this very same Hamas is allowed to share governance with the Palestinian Authority.
There are moments in life that define us. We don’t always get to pick and choose them. They come, often unexpectedly, linger for a time, and then move on.
This is one such moment.
Speak up now – unambiguously, credibly – while literally millions of Israelis live from one alarm to another. Don’t worry. There will be other occasions to voice your ongoing concerns about, and criticisms of, Israel.
But if you choose to remain silent or resort to ambiguity, please don’t expect to be taken seriously the next time you preface your critique of Israel with those familiar words, “As a friend of Israel…”
Thank you for posting this article and encouraging active support of Israel.
July 21-25, 2014
Another article received from CFI (Christian Friends of Israel)that you probably won’t see in the main press. God bless Dr. Hamid for telling the truth!
Ceasefire Fails, Rocket Barrage Intensifies
The Toll in Gaza and Israel
Sources: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Palestinian deaths);
Israel Defense Forces (Palestinian rocket attacks, Israeli airstrikes, Israeli deaths)
The brief ceasefire proposed by Egypt was accepted by Israel, but rejected by Hamas. In the six hours Israel ceased firing on Gaza, Hamas launched at least 50 rockets. After the six hours the rocket
barrage continued with Hamas launching at least 140 rockets from the Gaza Strip. This in turn drew dozens of Israeli air strikes. In the new barrage, Hamas hammered Tel Aviv with the heaviest bombardment yet (Debkafile July 16). Perhaps Hamas leaders saw themselves losing (with Egypt also against them), and opened up with new vigor. In the new bombardment, one Israeli was killed. Israel bombed 60 targets, most of them in northern Gaza, after warning 100,000 residents to evacuate their homes by 8 a.m. via leaflets, text messages, and automated telephone calls. Thousands in Israel have been subjected to trauma as sirens wailed again and again, sending people to their bomb shelters. I personally know the trauma, remembering the First Gulf War and how we had to run for our sealed rooms multiple times.
Much has been made of the suffering of the Palestinians. Now and then an Arab musters his courage and tells the truth about what is really happening. In a recent interview Dr. Tawfik Hamid, an Egyptian freethinker who opposes Islamic extremism, explained the real source of Palestinian suffering:
“You asked me what I think about the Palestinians and their situation now. I have no doubt, and I don’t disagree, that the Palestinians are suffering, but what is the cause of their suffering? It is not Israel—it is Hamas. If Hamas tomorrow said ‘We accept the existence of the State of Israel, we will not allow terrorist attacks against them, we accept our previous agreements and commitments’ – the suffering of the Palestinians [would] stop. So who is to blame here?
“You have one million Israeli Arabs living in Israel with the Jews, and they are not suffering like the Arabs who are actually controlled by Arabs. So now you deal with the situation where there is suffering—you can’t deny there is suffering, but to be honest, you have to say that the suffering of the Palestinians is because of the leadership and the wrong decisions of leaders like Hamas—not because of Israel.
“The moment the Palestinian leadership stops its arrogance and its barbaric attitude toward the Jews, then things will change, and you will see no Palestinian will be suffering there. So I think the solution is in the hands of the Palestinians now. They have to take the decision to stop the suffering of their own people, by giving a handful [sic] of peace to the Israelis. You remember President Sadat? President Sadat wanted Sinai back. He gave a handful of peace and love to the Israelis and he got Sinai back.
“But the Palestinians didn’t do this. Hamas just wants to kill every Jew—they promote this—I’m asking them to stop this and give a handful of peace to the Israelis, and try it for once and be sincere about it, and they will see the results.
“I have been to Israel twice, and I’m telling you—the Jews do not hate the Arabs. It’s us—we’re causing the problem and we have to change.”
That pretty much sums it up. “Palestine” at one time was a part of Islam. That being the case, as I have noted before, Islamic doctrine is adamant that the whole of it must be regained for Islam; it must again come into the Dar Islam—or House of Islam. That keeps the fighting going. But Dr. Hamid believes Islam must undergo a reformation based upon modern, peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic core texts. If it does, it will have to include a re-thinking of the classical Islamic doctrine of world dominance by military force, and they will also have to come to the realization that God has given Israel this land, and they are here to stay.
Yes, God has given this land to His people Israel.
Ruth- Thank you so much for your support of Israel – the land of our forefathers in the faith – the land of our Savior- the land of His people! It is an amazing place and amazing people. People with moral integrity to defend its people while fighting against evil. Love ya
To do nothing and to say nothing is still to choose.