Showing posts with label Israeli Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israeli Army. Show all posts

Thursday, June 1, 2017

BDS Strikes Again - This Time in Lebanon - Thursday, June 01, 2017 | Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY


BDS Strikes Again - This Time in Lebanon

Thursday, June 01, 2017 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
Lebanese authorities banned the new Wonder Woman movie Wednesday hours before it was due to premiere in the capital Beirut following a campaign against its lead actress, Gal Gadot, who served in the Israeli army, a security official and activists said.
A premiere scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled at the last minute as the ban began to take hold.
Lebanon is officially at war with Israel as the two countries have faced off in a number of wars the latest in 2006 which left much of the Lebanese infrastructure battered and left hundreds dead.
"This time around the campaign bore fruit in contradiction to the previous campaign against the movie "Batman v Superman", in which Gadot also starred," said Rania Masri a campaigner against the screening of the movie.
Masri further said, "it was 'different' this time because of a major media push against the movie that has helped the ban."
The leading al-Akhbar newspaper had a front page article titled "The Israeli soldier has no place in Lebanon."
Gadot had praised the IDF's actions during the 2014 Gaza-Israel war sending prayers to, "soldiers who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas", she wrote on her Facebook page.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

VIDEO: How Does the Israeli Army REALLY Treat Palestinians? - Israel Today

VIDEO: How Does the Israeli Army REALLY Treat Palestinians?

Sunday, May 29, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff
Our friend in the Israeli army, Hananya Naftali, has produced another video clip aiming to bring some truth to the question of how Israeli soldiers treat Palestinian Arabs.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there in this regard, and it’s instructive to get some first-hand perspective from an Israeli soldier who also happens to be a fellow believer.
As Naftali points out in the video, where else in the world can a terrorist stab a soldier, be neutralized and then have the victim’s fellow soldiers provide medical attention to that same terrorist?
Naftali goes on to note that during his time at checkpoints, he has been cursed at, spit on and even attacked with stones. But, as he explains, the IDF trains its soldiers to continue to view the Palestinians as humans, and to treat them as such.
This is definitely a video that needs to be shared far and wide.
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Monday, May 2, 2016

Messianic Soldiers in the Israeli Army: BOLDER THAN EVER ABOUT THEIR FAITH - MAOZ Israel Report

0516 - Soldier Conference

Messianic Soldiers in the Israeli Army:
BOLDER THAN EVER ABOUT THEIR FAITH

Monthly Report: May 2016
Nisan - Iyar 5776
Open in PDF

Some of the Messianic Jewish soldiers who attended a conference for Messianic military personnel.
Even though they have limited free time from their units, over 100 believing soldiers were in attendance.


 Maoz Report Logo

(Kehila News Israel) All Israelis, men aged 18 to 21 and women aged 18 to 20, are required to do some form of military or community service. This means that thousands of Messianic Israelis - Jewish and non-Jewish, men and women - have shared in the Israeli army experience at one time or another. We are especially proud of our soldiers facing the challenges of today, which are more complex than ever before.

From survey results, it is clear that openness about Yeshua (Jesus) in the Israeli army is indeed the new “norm.” Of those Messianic soldiers polled by KNI, a remarkable 96% say fellow soldiers know of their belief in Yeshua as the Messiah.
Possibly even more remarkable is that 78% of their commanders and/or officers know of their belief in Yeshua. This is certainly a generation that is bolder than ever in sharing and living out their faith!

Equally encouraging feedback from the survey results is a largely supportive and pluralistic reaction from their fellow soldiers and officers, with 64% of them having a positive response, 22% having an indifferent response and only 14% expressing a negative response upon hearing about their faith in Yeshua.

Contrary to what older Israeli believers remember of their army experience, very few Messianic soldiers today face significant discrimination or persecution. Furthermore, a relatively high percentage (30%) responded that they have a fellow believer in their unit. As recently as fifteen to twenty years ago, it was a rarity for any two Messianic soldiers to be found serving together.

A statistic that has not changed over the years is the high percentage of Messianic IDF soldiers serving in combat. A vast majority of 57% responded that they are serving in combat units, with many serving in volatile areas, such as the Gaza border, Lebanon border, and Judea and Samaria. The believing community in Israel, both young and old, is known to be very Zionist, nationalist and law abiding, with a high motivation to serve God and Israel.

There is a long history, albeit unknown to many, of Messianic believers serving in combat units and elite special forces including Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) and Shayetet 13 (Navy Seals). Today’s Messianic IDF soldiers are no exception.

0516 - Soldier Training

In reading this encouraging information about Messianic soldiers, it is important to remember that over the past six months Israel has been facing a new type of terror in which lone attackers suddenly try to stab, shoot or run over unsuspecting Israeli citizens going about their everyday lives. However, their preferred targets are IDF soldiers.

In the midst of these terror attacks are hundreds of Messianic IDF soldiers, serving the State of Israel, defending its citizens, and most of all, being a tremendous blessing and testimony to their fellow soldiers.

Another aspect of understanding the significance of the boldness and openness of Messianic soldiers today is the effect they have on the way Israeli society views believers in general, but particularly relating to immigration or aliyah.

Those who are already Israeli citizens are not questioned about their faith by the IDF. Like all other Israeli recruits they are drafted and evaluated for their potential skill.

However, Messianic Jews wanting to immigrate to Israel can face difficulties because of their faith. It is noteworthy that even during the years when Messianic soldiers were still fighting for equal opportunities, a 1988 poll published in the Jerusalem Post found that 78% of Israelis were in favor of Messianic Jews immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return, as long as they could prove Jewish lineage - and were willing to serve in the IDF.

For three decades and more, Messianic Israelis have demonstrated that they can and do serve their country, not in spite of but because of their faith in Yeshua. This has resulted not only in more openness to accepting our service, but also more willingness to hear our testimony about Israel’s Messiah.

Kehila News Israel (KNI) brings you the first published survey online of Messianic Jews serving in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). KNI conducted the survey in cooperation with several local ministries that organize conferences and Bible studies on weekends for hundreds of Messianic soldiers currently serving in the IDF. There were 69 respondents to this survey by active duty IDF soldiers from a total population of several hundred Messianic soldiers. For more stories from Israel, check out (www.kehilanews.com).

0516 - Messianic Soldiers Statistics

Thursday, July 24, 2014

British Commander: IDF Most Moral Army World Has Ever Known

British Commander: IDF Most Moral Army World Has Ever Known

Thursday, July 24, 2014 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY
Col. Richard Kemp, the former commander of all British forces in Afghanistan, is in Israel this week to lend support to the military campaign in Gaza and to take on take on detractors who claim the Israeli army is perpetrating war crimes there.
“No other army in the world has ever done more than Israel is doing now to save the lives of innocent civilians in a combat zone,” Kemp said in an interview with Channel 2 News, adding that when world leaders demand Israel do more, “perhaps Israel should ask what more it can do.”
Having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Kemp is intimately familiar with exactly the kind of enemy Israel is facing, and the environment in which it is fighting.
“Islamic extremists around the world use very similar tactics,” the retired colonel explained, as he recalled Taliban using young children to attack his troops. “British soldiers have fought exactly this kind of enemy in Afghanistan and in Iraq. British soldiers understand what Israel is doing.”
Kemp went on to accuse some in the mainstream international media of culpability in Hamas’ war crimes.
“The media, in some cases, bear responsibility for the killing that’s taking place, because they are themselves projecting Hamas’ desired propaganda,” he said.
Asked if he felt Israel could achieve total victory, if it could force a Hamas surrender, Kemp sounded doubtful.
“Inevitably, Israel’s inexorable military force driving into Gaza will lead to the surrender of Hamas,” he stated, before going on to note that such an outcome depended on far too many external forces.
Could Israel accept the large number of soldiers that would die in such a war? Could Israel withstand international pressure long enough to achieve total victory? These are questions that many in Israel have long asked, and few believe that “yes” is the answer to either.
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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Israeli Army Celebrates Diversity - Israel Today

Israeli Army Celebrates Diversity

Sunday, March 02, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  
The IDF may be the army of the Jewish state, but that doesn’t mean it’s comprised solely of Jewish men and women. Many from among Israel’s minorities choose willingly to join the IDF and take part in the defense of this nation that has provided them with civil rights and freedoms unprecedented throughout the rest of the Middle East.
To celebrate this fact, the IDF last week marked its annual diversity week, “a celebration of the differences that unite Israeli soldiers,” according to the army’s official blog.
In fact, diversity for the IDF is not a simple concept, and has several different meanings. As the national homeland and haven for all Jews worldwide, Israel is home to Jewish immigrants coming from hundreds of different nations and cultures, all of whom must be meshed together into a unified and effective fighting force.
On top of that, Israel is home to various non-Jewish minorities, including Arab Muslims, Druze, Circassians, Armenians, and Aramean Christians. Excluding the Druze, these minorities are not required to serve in the IDF, but each year hundreds volunteer, anyway.
To accommodate soldiers from numerous different backgrounds, the IDF makes clear that while it is the army of the Jewish state, it is an army that is not only for Jewish people.
For instance, during their swearing in ceremony, IDF recruits can choose to pledge their loyalty upon either the Tanakh (Old Testament), the New Testament or the Koran. Soldiers of different religious backgrounds are also given different and appropriate holiday vacation days.
Diversity for the IDF also applies to gender. In the Israeli army, 92 percent of all available positions, including many combat roles, are open to female recruits.
During IDF Diversity Week last year (2013), the official IDF magazine BeMahane published a story on two Arab Muslim brothers from the Galilee who decided to break local societal norms and join the Israeli army.
Their account and reasons for serving their country are worth a read. Click here to do so.
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