'Anti-Semitism Infects Mostly Democracies'

Thursday, June 25, 2015 |  Yossi Aloni

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Anti-Semitism

No fewer than 150 million Europeans believe that Israel is an apartheid state, and many even equate the Israeli government with the Nazi regime. This worrying data regarding a rise in anti-Semitism was recently debated at the Knesset’s Immigration and Diaspora Committee together with foreign ambassadors.

“It’s not just about anti-Semitism, but a Jew-phobia with the intention of demonizing Israel,” explained renowned author and educator Prof. Gustavo Daniel Perednik. “Foreign governments, which claim to fight anti-Semitism in their countries, are actually partners in a blood libel against Israel.”

American activist and former head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, noted that as delegitimization of Israel escalates, those who are identified with the Jewish state come under attack. “Israel must constantly grapple with hostility, which aims to destroy its right to exist,” Foxman told the Knesset.

The phenomenon is growing on university campuses, even as traditionally supportive Protestant churches start to join the anti-Israel boycott and the Obama Administration threatens to stop backing Israel at the UN.

The deputies of both the German and British embassies in Tel Aviv, Monika Iversen and Rob Dixon, respectively, both told the committee that the situation was no better in their countries, where a significant rise in anti-Semitism was registered over the past two years.

Dutch Ambassador Caspar Veldkamp concurred, and stressed that his country rejects any boycotts of the Jewish state.

Gidon Bachar, head of the department charged with fighting anti-Semitism in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, noted with interest that anti-Semitism was most pronounced in democratic countries. “Political statements promising to combat anti-Semitism are important, but without enforcement by the government nothing will change,” Bachar insisted. “We have to intervene, because the Jewish communities in Europe have lost confidence in the European governments.”

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VIDEO: The road from Jericho to Jerusalem

Thursday, June 25, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was the scene of various biblical events. From David's escape from the clutches of his son Absalom, to the story of the "Good Samaritan" and even trips that Jesus made including one when he healed the blind man Bartimaeus.

Watch the biblical accounts come to life with this docu-video including intriguing drone footage.

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Jerusalem Hills under Threat

BLOG: Jerusalem Hills under Threat

Thursday, June 25, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

Topics:

Plant the Holy Land

On the slopes of the hills surrounding Jerusalem blooms a forest, the Jerusalem forest. Again and again, this unique habitat, the hills and the forest, are threatened. The latest threat comes from eight projects comprising 25,000 new housing units. The housing project is planned for the hills west of Jerusalem. A new highway would also lead through a now forested area. According to information from the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) provided on their website, the SPNI is currently taking action to stop the projects and the environmental damage they would cause. They cooperate with local municipalities, regional councils and other environmental organizations like the Jewish National Fund, Green Course and Life and Environment.

The Jerusalem forest covers parts of the south-western Jerusalem hills. The Jerusalem forest was planted in the late 1950s by the Jewish National Fund, financed by private donors. The very first tree was planted in 1956 by the second President of Israel, Itzhak Ben Zvi. The forest consists mostly of pine and cypress trees as well as oak, terebinth, carob, olive, fig and pomegranate trees. At its largest, the forest extended over about 4 square kilometers. Due to urban expansion it has shrunk and today covers about 1.2 square kilometers.

The western hills of Jerusalem have a great value for the environment. One can hear birds singing, insects buzzing, and small animals rustling through the leaves. But the hills not only constitutes a habitat for a variety of animals, trees and plants, it is also the “green lung” of Jerusalem. The plants and trees clean the air of the crowded city, there are a plenty of hiking tracks through the forest that allow the residents to enjoy the views and recreational areas. The hills of the Jerusalem Forest also have a historical significance as remains of ancient farming implements, burial caves, winepresses and cisterns are also dotted throughout the area.

According to the SPNI the proposed projects would encompass 18,000 dunams in the hills. Some of the area has recently been designated as nature reserves.

This was a blog post from "Plant the Holy Land" from our "Support Israel" section. We appreciate every donation. In order to help the Land of Israel and her residents see "Support Israel".

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Europe’s Jews decry ‘beast’ of anti-Semitism overtaking continent

Europe’s Jews decry ‘beast’ of anti-Semitism overtaking continent

Community heads bemoan increasing prevalence of anti-Israel efforts and a Europe ‘fed up’ with the Holocaust

BY AMANDA BORSCHEL-DAN June 24, 2015 Times of Israel




WRITERS

Amanda Borschel-Dan

Amanda Borschel-Dan is The Times of Israel's Jewish World editor.


European Jewry is all in the same boat, and that boat is slowly but surely sinking. That, at least, is the impression one gets from a roundtable conversation Tuesday at the Jerusalem Press Club with leaders from 25 of the continent’s Jewish communities.

During the hour and a half lunch in a picturesque hall overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, even those leaders who claimed their countries are without anti-Semitism today were pessimistic about the future of Europe. The obliviousness to a looming Nazi regime pervasive in 1930s Jewish communities was referenced, as were the increased Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) efforts that have taken over Scandinavia and elsewhere.

The 30-odd leaders were assembled under the banner “A Time for Action” for the fifth Israeli Jewish Congress (Hakhel) Gathering and Solidarity Mission to Israel of senior European Jewish leaders. The IJC was founded as a conduit for Diaspora-Israel dialogue in 2011 by Russian businessman Vladimir Sloutsker, a former senator in the Russian Federation Senate.

Among the intensive three days of events, the leaders were taken to the Knesset on Tuesday morning. There they met with Speaker Yuli Edelstein and other senior ministers and MKs, and addressed a special emergency hearing on anti-Semitism by the Diaspora Affairs Committee.

In a late lunch following their morning at the Knesset, between bites of eggplant salad and carpaccio, the leaders took turns at the microphone in describing their escalating concerns — and the need for an emergency contingency plan should Jews in danger need to be evacuated.

Musician Peter Gyori, the vice president of the Jewish Community of the Czech Republic. ‘I know that if something would happen to me, nobody would protect me.’ (courtesy)

Musician Peter Gyori, the vice president of the Jewish Community of the Czech Republic, said his country doesn’t suffer from anti-Semitism, nor are there any calls for BDS. He said he can be openly Jewish, and appears widely on radio and television. But he has no utopian illusions.

“I know that if something would happen to me, nobody would protect me,” said Gyori.

For her part, Gkratsiela Sofia Bourla, wife of the president of the Greek Jewish community, Moses Constatinos, said she cannot believe leaders, such as the delegates from the Czech Republic and Portugal, who say their countries do not have any anti-Semitism.

“I think the beast is sleeping in their countries,” said Bourla.

Continuing with anti-Semitism as beast imagery, the Serbian Jewish community’s president Ruben Fuks said no one is dealing with the monster itself, only its manifestations, such as anti-Semitic slogans or BDS.

Gkratsiela Sofia Bourla from Greece said she cannot believe leaders who say their countries do not have any anti-Semitism. ‘I think the beast is sleeping in their countries.’ (courtesy)

“Seeing what’s around, how the beast is waking up, raising its ugly head, I’m worried,” said Fuks.

Born in Ostend, Belgium, in 1939 and hidden as a child during the Holocaust, Baron Julien Klener, the immediate past president of the Consistoire Israelite de Belgique, said he too is anxious in today’s Europe.

As if relating a parable, he told a story of when he was a boy during World War II in his parents’ shop. Two German soldiers entered and in the midst of completing their transactions, Klener said they realized that the business was run by a Jewish family. One of the soldiers turned to Klener’s mother and astonishedly asked, “What are you still doing here?” and told her the family should flee.

Klener’s mother shrugged and answered, “Nothing will happen to us because we’re Belgians.” The rest, said Klener, is of course known.

“I love it when leaders say their countries cannot be their countries without the Jews. I love it when they love us,” he said, implying that this has not been, and may not always be, the case.

“We cannot forget the Holocaust,” said Ruth Gertner Frohman, the honorary president of the Jewish Foundation of Belgium. “But the people of Europe are fed up with hearing about it.”

“When they’re nice, they’ll listen and say, ‘But in Israel, today you’re doing the same thing to the Palestinians,'” said Frohman.

A June 23, 2015 trip to the Knesset was part of the fifth Israeli Jewish Congress (Hakhel) Gathering and Solidarity Mission to Israel of senior European Jewish leaders which brought together 36 delegates from 26 European countries under the banner ‘A Time for Action.’ (courtesy)

And it is this anti-Israeli sentiment, which can easily escalate into anti-Semitism, that is most worrisome to these Europeans. For to the less educated angry masses, when the Holy Land is at war, the distinctions between the people of Israel and the country of Israel are blurred.


‘We can’t put roses around a situation which might get very nasty and dangerous’

Although Gibraltar’s Jewish community only boasts 750 members, its vice president Suzanne Levy, who referenced its close proximity to Muslim Morocco, said there must be a contingency plan in place.

“We can’t put roses around a situation which might get very nasty and dangerous,” said Levy.

“We have to be realists: What if it doesn’t get better? What if it gets worse?” she said. “Let’s get a plan in case we need to quickly run home.”

"God of Israel is their Inheritance" ✡ Where the Bible Comes to Life

But unto the tribe of Levi, Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke unto them JOSHUA (13:33)   וּלְשֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי לֹא נָתַן מֹשֶׁה נַחֲלָה  יְ-הוָה אֱ-לֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא נַחֲלָתָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם יהושע יג:לג u-l'-shay-vet ha-lay-vee lo na-tan mo-sheh na-kha-la a-do-nai e-lo-hay yis-ra-ayl hu na-kha-la-tam ka-a-sher  di-ber la-hem

Today's Israel Inspiration The tribe of Levi is the only tribe not given a physical piece of the Holy Land. God is to be their inheritance, and they will have the special role of serving in the Holy Temple and teaching God’s Torah. The Jewish People as a whole have the obligation to help support them with special gifts from all produce grown in the Land of Israel. To this day, Jews separate a small amount of all produce grown in Israel, as a constant reminder of the sacred obligation to make sure that all members of society have sufficient food. Join with Karmey Chesed ("Vineyards of Kindness"), providing food baskets, used clothing and recycled basic furniture to those in critical need. Support the poor in Israel » Where the Bible Comes to Life The City of David, located south of the Temple Mount, is rich with archeological treasures that map out the stories of the Bible and the Jewish kings. Watch here » Rabbi Tuly Weisz Meets U.S. Students on Mt. Zion Last week on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Rabbi Tuly Weisz met with a group of American Christian college students visiting Israel in an eye-opening experience.   Read more » My Country Stands with Israel Bumper Sticker Show the world that you are proud to stand with Israel! Choose your country flag and we'll personalize it for you. Get this Great Bumper Sticker » Today's Israel Photo A family hikes along the Old City walls of Jerusalem, by Elad Matityahu.   See more photos by Elad Matityahu » Yesterday's Photo Trivia Yesterday's trivia featured Mount Arbel in northern Israel near Tiberias. Arbel was a Jewish town from antiquity and is mentioned in Hosea (10:14).  It is notable for the ruins of an ancient synagogue from the 4th century CE, one of the oldest synagogues in the world. Thank You Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Jan Roman in honor of peace for Israel and its people. Toda Raba!   Sponsor a day in honor of a loved one » “I Just Found Your Site and Love It!” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » Hi Rabbi Tuly- Today is my first day of receiving Israel365. I was excited to receive it! I just arrived home from my trip to Israel with a small group of us from Malibu, California (Los Angeles). It was an incredible experience and I will be praying for the peace in Jerusalem and for blessings to Israel. Shalom!- Nancy Lorde Alge Shalom, I just found your site and love it! I have never been to Israel but feel a love for it that I can't explain! Thanks from Pennsylvania!!! God Bless! Nora C. Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Filled to Overflowing or Lost for Words by Elaine Tavolacci

Filled to Overflowing or Lost for Words 

by Elaine Tavolacci

Identity Network

 

The Holy Spirit showed me a metaphor of "speech balloons."  A speech balloon (or word balloon) is a graphic used most commonly in comic strips. They reveal the words representing the speech and thoughts given by the character.

 

The Lord showed me speech balloons coming out of people's mouths, but they had no words in them. The Lord said, "Some people are lost for words because they are spiritually barren. They are stunting their spiritual growth and maturity by not filling themselves with spiritual things. As they fill their thoughts with My word, their minds will be renewed from their old nature. As they fill their mouths and hearts with prayer and intercession, their lives will be transformed as well as the lives of those for whom they are interceding. Their conversation will always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that they may know how to answer and minister to others."

 

The Second Group

 

Then I saw a second group of people. They had the speech balloons proceeding out of their mouths that were filled with negative words. Their words were filled with criticism and judgment, as well as anger, jealousy and regret. They had unforgiveness in their hearts from people that had hurt them, and plans that did not go as they had desired. Some had bitterness that was caused by past relationships, which they are having a difficult time letting go of. When they hear something familiar from their past, it triggers something inside of them that makes them respond and react in a negative way.

 

The Third Group

 

The third group that I saw were people who had word balloons filled with words of encouragement, edification and exaltation. Words of thanksgiving and praise were on their lips. Although many of them were facing difficult situations in their lives, they refused to give in to defeat. They would not come into agreement with the accuser by acknowledging his lies with their words. They would not repeat the words of the enemy as they refused to give voice to his plans and strategies. They spoke words of blessing to those who cursed them, and prayed for those who despitefully used them. The words of their mouths and the meditation of their hearts were pleasing to the Lord.

 

Don't Nullify My Word

 

The Lord says, "Do not speak anything that would nullify or devalue My word. Never speak what is contrary to what you believe. Don't contradict that which I am birthing within you with words of doubt or dishonor. Store up My words within your heart as a treasure. As you do this, you will soon discover that you are bringing glory to me through ordering your conversation aright. Although you don't see things manifested in the natural yet, continue to speak My word. Speak words of life, and speak words in love. Let the words of your mouth and the mediation of your heart be pleasing to Me. Your words will define you as you speak words of faith and put your trust in Me," says the Lord.

 

Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

 

Isaiah 50:4 The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.

 

Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

 

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

 

Elaine Tavolacci

www.awordinseason.info

www.TheVoiceOfBreakthrough.com

www.TheVoiceOfProphecy.com

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'We Can't Forget' Pastor Saeed's 1,000 Days in Prison

By Abigail Robertson

CBN News Reporter

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

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Pastor Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith for 1,000 days, June 23.

To commemorate the day, supporters of the imprisoned pastor gathered in Washington, D.C., to host a prayer vigil and to place a thousand flowers in front of the Capitol. The tribute is in honor of Saeed and other Christians around the world being persecuted for their faith.

"We can't forget, we need to pray and to remember and that's what we're doing here," Rev. Robert Schenck, minister to top government officials in D.C., said.

A thousand days have gone by since Saeed, an Iranian American, has been separated from his wife and two children. During the last few months, multiple reports have surfaced claiming Saeed is being brutally assualted by fellow inmates in prison.

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, lead pastor at Church on the Hill, emphasized the urgency for Saeed to be released before a nuclear deal is signed with Iran.

"We cannot move forward with an Iranian nuclear deal while Pastor Saeed sits in prison as well as three other Americans," he said.

Mahoney also called upon Christians around the world to come together in prayer.

"Pray for Saeed and his family, pray for safety for our brothers and sisters around the world, and also pray for our elected officials and President Obama that they would not be silent," Mahoney urged. "We believe that as Christians pray around the world, we can see Pastor Saeed's release."

Israel: UN Gaza Report 'Morally Flawed, Biased'

Israel: UN Gaza Report 'Morally Flawed, Biased'

By Julie Stahl and Chris Mitchell

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israel has rejected the U.N. Human Rights Council report on last summer's war in the Gaza Strip, which says both Israel and Hamas may have committed war crimes.

Israel says the 200-page report was "politically motivated and morally flawed from the outset."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the council.

"The United Nations Human Rights Council has a singular obsession with Israel," Netanyahu said. "It has passed more resolutions against Israel than against Syria, North Korea, and Iran combined."

"In fact, it has passed more resolutions against Israel than against all the countries of the world combined," he continued. So, Israel treats this report as flawed and biased, and it urges all fair-minded observers to do the same."

Last week, senior generals from the U.S. and NATO countries released their own independent report. They said Israel not only met international standards regarding the laws of armed conflict, but in many cases significantly exceeded that standard.

Some are saying Israel's standard is so high it challenges other Western nations.

During the 50-day conflict, the U.N. commission said 1,462 Palestinian civilians were killed, a third of them children. It criticized Israel for disproportionate force and failing to change its tactics during the war when civilians were killed, even though Israel warned civilians in several ways.

"But it's hard for me to see how Israel could have done better," Reserve Lt. Col. Advocate David Benjamin told CBN News.

Benjamin is the former IDF chief legal advisor for the Gaza Strip.

"In other words, what could it have done more than warn the people like they did? What could they have done more than make phone calls to individuals inside buildings about to be attacked?" he asked.

While the report says Hamas launched more than 4,800 rockets and 1,700 mortars at Israel, it stops short of blaming Hamas for starting the war.

"…it kind of puts the blockade against Gaza as being the root cause. It doesn't suggest that actually the blockade is there because of Hamas terrorism," Benjamin explained.

Ironically Hamas also rejected the findings of the report because of its comparison between Israel and Hamas.

"I think that a fatal mistake and [a] big problem [in] this report that all the time they tried to make kind of comparison between the victims and the murderers," senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said in Gaza City Monday.

Mary McGowan Davis, chair of the commission, said they don't have the evidence to prove war crimes were committed.

"It's a great source of regret that on this occasion we could not travel to Israel and the occupied territory to meet them face-to-face," she said.

But Benjamin said the worst part is the pressure that Israel committed war crimes when it's clear that Hamas did. He said cooperating with the UNHRC wouldn't have made a difference.

"There's a built-in problem, [which] is that most of the decisions to attack certain buildings or targets are based on secret intelligence and that secret intelligence you can't have the enemy knowing about, certainly as long as the conflict is still ongoing," he said.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs noted that Israel had preempted a massacre inside Israel by discovering a network of sophisticated cross-border tunnels; that the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries intercepted 735 rockets fired from Gaza, averting an "incalculably higher" Israeli casualty count; and that 875 Hamas rockets actually fell inside Gaza, without reporting the number of casualties from the misfires.

Hamas also rejected an Egyptian ceasefire on July 15 when there were less than 200 Palestinian casualties, thereby making the terror group responsible for more than 1,800 deaths.

Experts say Palestinians intended to use the report when they file claims of alleged war crimes against Israel at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Benjamin said it's a great propaganda tool for them, even if it doesn't have much substance.