Maoz Israel Report: I Stand With Israel - Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram Dec. 2017

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December 5, 2017	Follow Maoz Israel Ministries
I STAND WITH ISRAEL:     HELPING TO BUILD     ISRAEL'S MESSIANIC COMMUNITY                One of the things we love to do most in our beautiful        Land is to help other people! And you are going to see in        this issue, exactly HOW we have done that this past 12        months.  Read the article...
FINDING THE GOD OF ISRAEL     IS ALSO THE GOD OF THE    IMPOSSIBLE                     God calls us to stand with those in need, and here        we were able to bless a family whose lives were        completely changed by their faith. Here is their        amazing story:                "My name is Yacov Koifman. I am 25 years old        from Ashdod. I am a professional chef, and I studied        culinary at Ha'Chef College. Today I work at a coffee        shop located in a gym in Ashdod...  Read Yacov's story...
MESSIANIC FAMILIES    PUTTING ROOTS DOWN                 While many believing families' greatest desire is to        plant roots in the Land, financially this is almost        impossible for them due to the high prices, super-large        down payment requirements and lower than average        salaries in Israel. We are witnessing your investments        multiply as more and more believing families grow and        establish themselves in Israel!             "We are Rustam and Alyssa, new immigrants from        the Ukraine.             I am 33 years old and we have a four-year-old        daughter Moriel.  Continue reading...
BEING A SOLDIER IS PART OF OUR    DESTINY; PROTECTING OUR    NATION IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY                   IstandwithIsrael is proud to stand with the soldiers        who bravely serve our country and support them as their        journey continues to higher education and their        professional pursuits through the organization "Yachad        L'Maan haHayal."             Thanks to your donation to "Yachad L'Maan HaHayal"        ("Together for the Soldiers"), we continue our activities        for the well-being of the IDF and Border Police soldiers        —education and welfare projects, care for thousands of        lone soldiers [whose parents do not live in Israel], support        of soldiers from poor families, etc. Together with you we'll        continue to give them a warm and loving hug...        Continue reading...
WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES,    GOD'S PEOPLE CARE                  As part of our mission to meet the needs of the        hurting believers in Israel we are so grateful for your        donations which made it possible for us to distribute        funds to widows, orphans, special needs children and        needy Israeli believers. As the body of Messiah grows in        Israel many are leaving their past lifestyles of drugs,        gambling and addiction and are blessed by help from        IstandwithIsrael as they leave the past behind them.        We offer help when their pastors verify their complete        commitment to Yeshua as Savior and Lord.        Read the story...
HELPING OTHERS    FULFILL THEIR DESTINY               Maoz and IstandwithIsrael have always considered        it a great opportunity to help Israeli believers fulfill        their destiny. We desire to further and expand His        kingdom by equipping and advancing His children in        Israel. Here are two of the testimonies of Israeli        believers who received scholarships to pursue a career        while glorifying Him!  Read the stories...
HELPING MINISTRIES             Makor Ha'Tikvah (Source of Hope) Messianic school,        Katzir (Harvest) youth camps, Yeshua Israel Ministries        and Beit HaYeshua (House of Salvation) are just four of        the 17 different ministries we partner with and support        in Israel.        Read more...
A PASTOR PARTNER    SPEAKS OUT                It's been almost thirty years since God opened our        eyes and our hearts to his ongoing plans and purposes        for the Jewish people and the intrinsic connection of        this understanding to our Christian faith.             As founding leaders of a church we were therefore        keen to root it in God's love of his covenant people.        Continue reading...

Don’t Cancel Your Trip to Israel - Calev Myers

Don’t Cancel Your Trip to Israel

Calev Myers 

Oct 14, 2015  

Many people have asked me about the current wave of violence between Jews and Muslims in Israel. Why is it taking place? Is it the beginning of a new intifada (uprising)? Could it have been avoided? Does it create a risk for tourists visiting Israel?

First of all, it certainly could have been avoided. These attacks are not random, spontaneous acts of frustrated people. They are the result of many years of systematic Palestinian education in UNRWA schools, funded by the US and the EU, through which a whole generation of Palestinians have been taught that the very existence of the state of Israel in Dar al Islam (house of Islam) is illegitimate, and the only way to destroy it is by concerted violent jihad (holy war).

There is a constant explosive mixture of radical Islamic indoctrination fermenting under the surface and held back only by the security squads of Mahmoud Abbas. All that it takes for the explosion to be ignited is a green light, a “head-nod”, from President Abbas and his dictatorial regime.

The West should take this into account, stop funding incitement to violence and start pre-conditioning its massive funding on serious Palestinian education system reforms.

Each intifada always has more to do with inner Palestinian politics than the Israeli-Arab conflict. When Hamas is losing popularity in the streets, it starts firing missiles at Israel. When the PLO loses popularity, it unleashes an intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Unfortunately, killing Jews is an easy way to gain political capital in the Palestinian street; it may be easy but it comes with a terrible price. Before the first intifada, a Palestinian from Gaza could easily travel to work at a bank or hospital in Beer Sheva and an Arab from the West Bank could freely drive with his family to a beach in Tel-Aviv on any weekend. With each wave of Palestinian violence, the movement, the commerce and the livelihood of Palestinians has been decreased significantly. Intifada always backfires.

Over the past few months, Mahmoud Abbas has been portrayed in the regional media as old, ineffective and illegitimate. The most widespread dialogue has been conjecture as to “who will replace Abbas?” As a very timely, carefully contemplated response, Abbas traveled to the UN a few weeks ago, stood before the world, and declared that the Palestinians “cannot continue to be bound” by their political and security agreements with Israel. Most of the world did not understand what was novel about this declaration. The Palestinian street, however, understood quite well: the limitations have been lifted. You are free to release your fomenting rage without fear of retribution from the PLO security forces.

Following the Abbas UN declaration, attacks on Israeli citizens ensued, mutual acts of violence followed, and Abbas has yet to publicly condemn any of it. His silence is deafening. Several of Abbas’s government leaders have actually vocally supported the civil unrest. PLO Executive Committee Member, Mahmoud Ismail, declared that killing Israelis is a “national duty” and PLO Central Committee Member, Jamal Muhasim, stated that killing Israel settlers is “legitimate and legal”.

In light of this, we should applaud Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s explicit condemnation of recent Jewish retributive attacks on Muslims and his call for the Israeli Police to crack down on all acts of violence from both communities.

This recent escalation could come and go quickly like rain clouds which blow over the horizon, but it could also develop into a longer term drawn-out intifada. It is too early to say. What we know is: when it is all over, many will try to ascertain which side “won” in this conflict. Such calculations are asinine. When human life is lost, nobody wins. The destruction of any life, Israeli or Palestinian, is the destruction of a whole world. In order to support Israel, we should not harm Palestinians and in order to support Palestinians, we should not harm Israel. We should advocate for the improvement and protection of life and livelihood for both peoples on both sides of the conflict. As mentioned above, I believe this starts with education reform.

For those who may be planning to travel to Israel in the near future, I would not change my travel plans. These are very targeted criminal acts being carried out against specific Israeli Jews and Muslim Arabs, in specific geographic locations. None of the attacks have been directed against tourists. Tourism is equally important to the economies of the Jews and the Muslims. Furthermore, the international media tends to exaggerate the tensions. Regardless of current events, Israel continues to be safer and have a lower crime rate on average than the safest major city in the United States.

I look forward to seeing you in our beautiful city.

This article originally appeared on Jerusalem Institute for Justice, October 14, 2015.