Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Plight of the Jews - Jim Croft

The Plight of the Jews

Part 2 of a 4 Part Series



Jim Croft



I apologize that this piece is lengthy. The length is necessary to give Gentile Christians an elementary understanding of the plight of the Jews throughout the past 2,000 years. It is important for every believer to know the extent to which ignorance caused our spiritual ancestors to persecute the Lord's ethnic kinsmen, the Jews. The article's introduction is in the body of this email. The rest is the MS Word rtf attachment. Hopefully you will read the download.

I will begin with a capsulated version of the testimony of a dynamic minister friend of mine. His name is Cesar Leyva Nieto and he pastors the Church on the Rock of Harrisonville, MO. He introduced himself as a Mexican until about a year ago. It was then that he discovered that he is actually 100% Jewish. His story confirms much of what is stated in this article. That is especially so of how his family immigrated to the sector of Mexico that is now called Texas; and how he came to the revelation of Christ while alone in style of the Apostle Paul.

A Jewish historical society was doing a series of articles on successful Hispanics who have Sephardic Jewish roots. When they contacted Cesar, he vehemently and truthfully denied any knowledge of Jewish lineage. He explained that he was a 6' 5'' Mexican preacher who prophesied and spoke in tongues. The interviewer disclosed the history of both of his parent's family names assuring him that he was a Jew. In disbelief he told his mother about the call and she spilled the refried beans.

She explained that his paternal and maternal ancestors had fled Spain on the heels of another phase of the Spanish Inquisition that began in 1492. As usual, the Catholic Church played a heavy hand in authorizing clergymen to assist and accompany arresting officers. Cesar's forefathers had been tormented and tortured and their properties confiscated. They barely escaped to the New World with little more than their lives.

The same Church was there to meet them in Mexico/Texas with all of its prejudice and cruelty. One of his maternal grandmothers was publically beaten by Americans because she had born a brood of despised Jews to contaminate the culture. He had a grandfather who met discrimination and racial slurs as a Military Policeman in the US Army. Therefore, the family decided to hide their ethnic identity. The only remnant holdover was a curious lighting of candles on Friday nights. Throughout his childhood, Cesar never had a clue about the candles' announcement of Sabbath Eve.

It was customary for Sephardic Jews that immigrated to Mexico to attempt to keep low vocational profile. However, blessed cream has a way of rising to the top. In spite of their efforts, many became wealthy. A few chose organized crime. Cesar Nieto's father, Abel was one who did so and became one of the region's most powerful drug lords.

Cesar had a keen academic mind, but carried tough guy ways prior the first stages of his salvation process. His first encounter was through an angelic visitation. The angel walked into his room when Cesar was 17 years old. The visitor told him that he needed to “obey.” He did so and was converted. Later on he was translated into heaven and found himself plastered in a prostrate position between two sets of feet. The set on his right glistened with a gloriously white light. The set on his left were human feet. An angel picked Cesar up and placed him immediately in front of the human feet. The revelation of what was happening permeated his entire being: He had no right to approach the Father's feet without the necessity of obedience at Jesus' feet.

I am so glad that Cesar Leyva Nieto has been faithful to the implication of that divine encounter. After his Jewish discovery, he adopted the middle name of Leyva in respect for his mother's Levitical family heritage. Incidentally, Cesar married a Jewess and his married siblings all married Jews. God has a way of guiding His chosen in every path of life.

History

Abraham's grandson, Jacob complained of ill treatment by his uncle Laban in Genesis 31:36, 38-42. His complaint was that Laban had changed the terms multiple times over a twenty year period for the exchange of Jacob's labors for the right to wed Rachel and to earn a livelihood. Jacob rebuked Laban by telling him that had it not been for God's intervention that Laban would have sent him back to Israel empty-handed.

Throughout the past 3,500 years of Jewish history, the treatment of Jacob's descendants in countless Gentile nations has been far harsher than what Jacob experienced. Jews have experienced incidents of divine interventions, but they have been far and few between after the birth of the Church. Though they have been instrumental in blessing Christianized employers and societies, the terms for them to be accepted have never been firmly established. Without question, the Jews have been persecuted more extensively and for a longer duration than any other single ethnic group.

The Old Testament testifies that the Egyptians enslaved the Jews for 430 years. The Babylonians did so for 70 years and the Persians for 84 years. That totals 584 years. That is considerably longer than the indignities suffered by Africans who were sold by fellow Africans into the hands of European slave traders for export to the Americas.

In addition, the Jews have undergone excessive persecution, prejudice and job discrimination in every nation they have inhabited since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their properties and fortunes have been confiscated. Their homes and synagogues have been torched and their families brutalized, raped and slaughtered. In the majority of cases these political/religious motivated injustices culminated with Jewish expulsion from those nations. Time after time, Jews were forced to wander as refugees into other nations only to undergo a similar plight.

Persecuted Assets

Yet, in every nation and culture the Jews have consistently been a blessing. The God of Abraham has always faithfully empowered them to be creative and innovative in the midst of adverse circumstances. Brilliant Jews have never failed to enrich their persecutors through their God given abilities in the sciences, medicine, the arts, and business. A candid examination would reveal that wherever there have been advances in any society graced with a Jewish presence, the key figures responsible have been Jewish more often than not.

The Nobel Prize has been awarded to at least 139 Jews. It is likely that the number of Jewish recipients exceeds that of any other single religious group. They certainly leave Muslims sitting in the dust. Muslims represent 20% of the global population and Jews represent 0.2%. Muslim recipients of the Nobel Prize number under a dozen and most of them were educated in the universities of Christian nations.

It is often said that the most important commodity that one can possess is his health. We have the Jews to thank for many of the advances that have been made in the field of health. On a per capita basis, their lead in medical innovations is disproportionate to those of any other ethnicity.

Here are just a few of their accomplishments: Vitamins; the concept of a balanced diet for health; the Schick test for diphtheria; scratch test for allergies; the first doctor of pediatrics; the Salk polio vaccine; the March of Dimes; the antibiotic streptomycin; the drug Salvarsan to cure syphilis; appendicitis surgery and pioneering the study of human psychology. In addition, America's system of public school nursing, city playgrounds and public bath facilities to promote health were launched by the efforts of Jewish citizens. Surely we can make it through life without Jewish help, but not in health!

In the area of religion they gave us: The Scriptures; the concept of a Loving Heavenly Father; the covenant promises of the blessings of prosperity, healing and harmonious marital relationships; our prophets and apostles; and most of all, our Eternal Savior. We owe the Jewish people a tremendous debt of love and respect for all the contributions that they have made to our spiritual, financial, and physical well-being.

Spiritual DNA Hinders Christian Conversion

God has two covenant people, the Church, and the Jews. The Christian Church is presently incomplete in fulfilling its description as the true Zion or Israel of God. Jesus, when speaking to the Jews, said that He had sheep that were not of their fold. (John 10:16) The implications are that Jesus has one flock, but two folds. The two folds are the Jewish fold and the Gentile fold. He will ultimately draw them together into one flock for His glory. Individuals who are permitted to come into His flock must come to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, The Father's timing and manner of wooing people to the Cross is different for those of the two respective folds.

Historically, God blesses the Gentiles through the Jews. They gave us our Savior and the revelation of His Lordship through the preaching of Jewish apostles and prophets. These men penned the Bible that directs us to the path of repentance, faith, and salvation. Non-Jewish converts often testify as to how they met the Lord through the witness of the Christian Bible, evangelistic preaching, or another believer's testimony. This is rarely the case with Jews.

Most Jews will not read the New Testament and are seldom impressed by a Gentile's testimony of salvation. The thought of exposure to Christian evangelistic preaching is shunned. In the isolated instances where Jewish hearts are opened by the Holy Spirit to receive the testimony of others, it is most often that of a Messianic Jew. For most of them, only the testimony of a fellow Jew would have the remote potential to be deemed as credible. Normally when a Jew finds Christ it is commonly reported that he has experienced a direct, personal, spiritual encounter with Jesus while alone.

Why?

Why is it that Jews reject the evangelistic efforts of Gentiles that use the truths of salvation based upon the Scriptures written by Jews? They find it difficult to comprehend the messages as credible because the Lord has often historically used the Gentiles as instruments to judge them for their disobedience. In biblical times they were judged at the hand of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Romans. During more recent history it has been Czarist Russians; Nazi Germans; and Muslim and Communist regimes.

It is interesting to note that the truth of Jesus' warning that we are justified or condemned by our words is born-out by the persecutions of the Jews at the hands of the Romans, Russians and Germans. They chose Barabbas to be released and opted that their own Messiah would be crucified in his place. In addition they said, “His blood be on us and on our children” and “We have no king but Caesar” (Matt. 27:15-26, Mk. 15:6-15, Lk. 23:1-25, Jn. 19:15) This was a self-inflicted curse.

Barabbas was a murderer and political agitator. In 70AD the Romans destroyed Herod's Temple and lined the streets of Jerusalem with crucified Jews. The Russian word Czar is derived from the word Caesar. The Czars instigated the Pogroms that mercilessly wiped out thousands of the Jewish inhabitants of Russia. Adolph Hitler based Mien Kampf on a book titled, The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler. One of its themes was that the world needs another Caesar. Hitler comprised his elite SS henchmen from the murderers and political activists that he freed from German prisons.

It should also be noted that what goes around comes around. The Bible says that whoever curses the Jews will be cursed in return. (Gen 12:3) The Roman Empire collapsed. The Czarist rule of Russia was ruthlessly ended by Bolshevik Communists who had been inspired by the writings of Marx and Engels who were both Jewish. The Communist leader Stalin butchered millions of Russians. The two World Wars coupled with pro-abortion policies have put the German nationality in danger of extinction. In a sense, they are threatened with the eradication that they intended for the Jews. In an attempt to counteract this, the German government pays those who have children “kinder-gilt”. It is a benefit awarded only to German citizens who have children.

Many contemporary evangelicals find it difficult to understand the Jew's aversion to the Christian faith and the Name of Jesus. They are often mystified as to why their syrupy expressions of Jesus' love are met with a cold shoulder and in some instances mocking hostility.

I believe that there are two reasons for this. One is the brutal inhumanity that those who call themselves Christians have demonstrated against the Jews for the past 2,000 years. The other is the timing of God's plan for a mass in gathering of the Jewish people prior to the Second Advent of the Lord.

Most Gentile Christians are oblivious to the negative imprint that the Church has made in the name of Christ on the collective Jewish psyche over the past two millennia. Historically, Christians have demonstrated anything but the love of God to the Jews. Under the banner of the Church and our love for Jesus we have either actively participated in or ignorantly allowed the persecution of the Jews in nearly every nation that calls itself Christian. Our unscriptural, anti-Semitic theology has paved the way for habitual expressions of animosity, social degradation, and forced baptisms. The histories of Christian nations reflect the shameful practice of awarding custodial rights of Jewish children to Gentiles; and the unjust persecutions, torture and exiles of Jewish citizens. For centuries misguided Gentile Christians chose the Holidays of Christmas and Easter as occasions to perpetrate barbarous crimes against the Jews who lived among them. Because of this, one could say, that it is as though there is something in most every Jew's historical and spiritual DNA structure that interprets the Cross as a symbol of disaster.

When they are confronted with the Gospel, especially through a Gentile, there is often something that is alerted within them which says; “Danger, danger, fight or flee”. This phenomenon could be compared to the ability of various species within creation to adapt to their environments. If there is a poisonous plant indigenous to an area, the wildlife adapts and over time learns to avoid it. Once the adaptation is secure, an alarm imprint within animal DNA causes all future generations to have an aversion to that which their ancestors found toxic.

The following is a brief overview of what has caused the negative imprint in the Jewish mind that hinders them from embracing Christianity. This overview features some overlaps where persecutions by Christian, Communist and Islamic regimes occurred simultaneously.

The First Century - There was a war between the Jews and Rome. At that time there were well over 50,000 Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. When the Romans assaulted the Holy City, the Christians interpreted it as the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy of Matthew 24:15-17. As a result Messianic Jewish Christians refused to defend their homeland and fled to the city of Pella that is in modern day Jordan. Israel's fighting forces were diminished by the exodus of Messianic believers. Jerusalem was captured, 600,000 Jews were butchered; 115,000 were exported as slaves and their national temple was burnt to the ground. This particular Roman siege took more lives than all the bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokyo combined.

The Second Century - A Jewish nationalist named Bar Kokohba led a revolt against Rome. He was defeated in 135 AD and the emperor Hadrian vindictively decided to wipe out the name and memory of Israel. Therefore he renamed Israel after their age-old enemies the Philistines. He called the area Syria et Philistia. Up until that time, it had always been known as Israel or Judea, the home of the Jews.

The word Palestine is a corruption of the word Philistine. Every believer with Bible knowledge understands that God delivered the land of Israel from the Philistines and gave it to the Jewish descendants of Isaac. During the years in which the world maps of Christian nations labeled Israel as Palestine it was a subtle insult to the Jewish people.

The Fourth through the Sixth Century - St. John Chrysotom, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Hilary of Poiters, and many other noted church leaders preached that synagogues were the caverns of brigands and the dens of wild beasts. Jews were denounced in hundreds of sermons as greedy, lustful, inveterate murderers who were possessed by the devil. Jews were forbidden to serve in any public office and marriage to a Jew was considered a filthy union punishable by death.

Islam from the Seventh Century onward - The Arab, Mohammed instituted the political religious system of Islam in 610AD. He envisioned that Christians and Jews would adopt his faith. He was enraged when they resisted. Since that time, Islam has waged discrimination, war and genocide against Jews and Christians in every nation where Islam has dominance. The subjugation and eradication of Christianity and Jews is Islamic policy. Modern leaders of Islamic stronghold nations such as Iran and Egypt are calling for wiping Israel and the Jews from existence. As recently as the summer of 2012 the Muslims of 14 nations burned down churches and synagogues and thousands of Christians and Jews were forced to flee their homelands.

The Twelfth and Thirteenth Century - In England all Jews and their properties were considered the property of the king. A wealthy Jew of Bristol refused to pay exorbitant taxes. His punishment was to have a tooth extracted for each day that he withheld payment. Between 1262 and 1279AD there were 1,780 Jews executed in London alone. King Edward I ordered every living Jew to leave his realm by All Saints Day of 1290.

The Catholic Church incited thousands of its members to make Crusades to the Holy Land to liberate it from the hands of Islamic and Jewish infidels. In England, France and Germany civilians demonstrated their support for the troops by rioting against the Jews at home. They torched homes and synagogues and thousands were killed.

For instance, when Richard the Lion-Hearted left England it is estimated that Londoners slaughtered 1,500 English Jews. On their way to Jerusalem the Crusaders raped and pillaged their way through the Jewish communities of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Their justification for killing thousands and impaling infants on their lances was that they were of the hateful race that had killed Jesus.

In reality the Jews were not solely responsible for the death of Christ. It was actually the Romans who crucified Him due to pressure from the religious sect of the Pharisees. They, in turn were being motivated by satanic influences that were permitted to fulfill the pre-determined plan of God.

The Fourteenth Century - The Black Death plague hit Europe and the Jews were blamed. In Spain, Jews were coerced through torture to confess to poisoning wells with a concoction made of lizards, frogs, spiders, human hearts, and the sacred hosts. The story spread like wildfire throughout Christendom. In Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Austria the pattern for sending thousands of Jews to be burned at the stake were similar. False accusations were followed by trials, torture, forced confessions, and then the flames. The “Christians” of Europe were so blinded by hundreds of years of anti-Semitic propaganda that they were unable to recognize that Jews were dying from the Black Death alongside Christians. The Church was too ignorant to perceive that it would have been suicidal for the Jews to poison the wells from which they too drew water.

The Fifteenth - Seventeenth Century - The Catholic Church in Spain and Portugal had vicious Inquisitions. Jews and Marranos (Jews who had converted to Christianity, but were suspect of secretly practicing Judaism) were tortured and killed by the thousands. Those who refused baptism died, their properties were confiscated and their kidnapped children were raised as Christians in homes throughout Europe. Under the leadership of Martin Luther came the reformation and the Protestant Church. Luther began his ministry with high hopes that the Jews would join his new denomination. When they did not, he became enraged and began to preach and publish scurrilous sermons accusing them of being doomed to hell as anti-Christ devils who were guilty of ritualistic murders. In his last sermon before his death he called for all Jews to be expulsed from Germanic provinces.

1648-58 AD - This decade was perhaps the bloodiest in Jewish history until the Holocaust. Czarist Cossacks incited by the Eastern Orthodox Church blitzed through 700 Jewish communities of the Ukraine and Poland. It is estimated that at least 500,000 Jews died. Historians report that victims were skinned alive and left to the agony of a lingering death. Infants were slit like fish before their mother's eyes. Pregnant women were ripped open and then sown back again with live cats thrust into their wombs.

The Nineteenth and Twentieth Century - Czarist pogroms or purging of Jews from Russian cities caused thousands to flee to other nations as synagogues and homes were plundered and burned.

1939-45 AD - 6 million European Jews perished in the Holocaust. When Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, he appealed to German Christians whose minds had already been polluted by hundreds of years of anti-Semitic Lutheran and Catholic theology. He wrote: “I believe that I am today acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jews I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”

After the war it was inconvenient for the European nations to have Jews wandering about as displaced persons. Therefore, the Allied Forces returned scores of thousands to the very camps from which they had been liberated. In reality, the only things that had changed were the nationality their captors and the amount of food supply. The Nazis had killed them. The United Nations would not allow them to live as free human beings. Tragically, the Jews were not actually completely liberated from the concentration camps of Europe and Cyprus until 1947.

The victorious Allied Forces discovered the Nazi's cache of gold bullion. Much of it had been cast from the fortunes and dental work of Jews who had perished in the work camps. Conscience would dictate that these resources rightfully belonged to the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. It could have been a tremendous asset to help resettle European Jews in new homes and vocations. It would have gone a long way in helping establish the State of Israel as a homeland for Jewish people. However, the Allied Forces shamefully opted to give $44 million of Jewish fortunes to the Gentile industrialists of the nations that had sided with Germany during the war in order to help them rebuild their economies.

1960-Present Day - The sentiments of Europeans and their governments remain anti-Jew and anti-Israel. To their own hurt, they reject the Jews and welcome Muslims. They have most definitely chosen the wrong group of the sons of Abraham. Immigrate Muslims have been draining the socialistic welfare systems of European nations dry for the past 50+ years. Muslim birth rates outpace that of Europeans and they are now empowered to take Europe over politically. It is estimated that the entirety of Europe will be under Shariah Law by 2050. That will intensify everything related to anti-Semitism.

An Important Question

Is there any hint in the Scriptures that there was a potential for something like the Holocaust to happen? I think so. Jeremiah 16:15-18 it says that fishermen and hunters would pursue the Jewish people to get them back to their own land. The fishermen could be the Zionist beginning with Theodore Herzl who entreated the Jews of Europe to return to Israel. The hunters could be the Nazis who relentlessly hunted them down. Without question, had it not been for the population growth within Israel spawned by those two movements, Israel would not have the strength to thwart the intents of Islamists today (Rom. 8:28).

The Twenty-first Century - In America and Europe anti-Semitism flourishes through the efforts of the Klue Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, and Aryan purist groups. They label Jews as Christ-killers who manipulate the world's economy for their greed. More often than not they use the Gospel of John and other New Testament passages as their proof texts. Using isolated texts like John 9:22, 19:38 they punctuate that the true Christians were apprehensive of reprisals from “the Jews.” They fail to discern that the authors of the texts were themselves Jews who were referring solely to the Jewish clergy and political leaders who had rejected Christ.

Contemporary anti-Semitic groups also erroneously assert that the Jews, the Hebrews, and the Israelites are separate, distinctive people groups. They try to persuade their adherents that Christians are the true Hebrews. They assert that the Church, independent of a future massive ingathering of Jews, is the sole true Israel of God and that Jews are despicable enemies of God.

The Apostle Paul certainly had an excellent understanding of the terms Jews, Israelites, and Hebrews. He claimed to be all three. Though he was born of the tribe of Benjamin he proclaimed that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, an Israelite and a Jew. (Rom. 11:1, Philip. 3:5, Acts 21:39) In reality, the words Jew and Jewish refer to religion and culture. Hebrew and Hebrews refer to a language and a genealogy which can be traced back to Abraham and Isaac. And, Israelites are those born to citizens of Israel or within Israel's borders.

With this horrendous history how can we Gentiles expect to win Jews for Christ? The truth is that it is unlikely that most Gentile believers will be primary participants in the process through any means beyond intercession and the support of Messianic Jewish ministries that are effective in reaching their kinsmen. In most circumstances, Jewish evangelism is a privilege that the Lord has reserved for Himself. He will bring the Jews into His flock, in His own time through a global sovereign move of the Holy Spirit on Jewish hearts.

When this happens it is unlikely that it will be Gentile missionaries who can claim the credit. We can pray for that day and soften Jewish hearts through acts of gratitude and kindness. However, it is doubtful that our preaching will be a common factor in the conversion of the majority of Jews. The Lord will meet them in divine visitations as He did Jacob and the Apostle Paul. He will begin to take them aside individually to reveal Himself to them as their Messiah.

These private encounters will be much like that of Joseph when he made his identity known to his brothers in Egypt. As the Messiah's identity is made known to their spirits they will look on Him whom they pierced and mourn. Jesus will comfort them by telling them that even though they ignorantly meant it for evil, that God meant it for good. In a relatively short time millions of Jews will pass under the rod and into the bond of the New Covenant.

Ezekiel 20:33-37 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. [34] I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. [35]And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. [36] Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you," says the Lord GOD. [37] "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

The Jews, as the natural branches of the olive tree will be grafted in among Gentiles who are the wild olive branches. Their initial rejection of the Gospel brought us salvation. Their acceptance will usher in life from the dead or the resurrection of all deceased believers from their graves and the Second Coming of the Lord to planet earth. (Rom 11:11-12, 15, 23-29) 
 
jcm888@comcast.net

Clinton Hopes Cairo Committed to Israel Treaty

Clinton Hopes Cairo Committed to Israel Treaty

 
JERUSALEM, Israel -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hopes that Cairo will be committed to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Clinton wrapped up a nine-nation tour in Israel early Tuesday.

Many analysts here saw her stopover in Israel as a political move coming just two weeks ahead of a visit by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Clinton told reporters in Jerusalem about her time in Cairo, where she met with the newly elected Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

"The United States and the international community look to the new leaders of Egypt to play a constructive role in advancing regional peace and security in particular by upholding their international agreements, including the peace treaty with Israel," Clinton said.

"It's obvious that both Israel and Egypt, along with the region and indeed the world, all share a strong interest and commitment to this treaty, which has served as a backbone for regional stability for more than three decades," she said.

The Muslim Brotherhood has sent mixed messages about the treaty with Israel -- the first treaty that Israel had ever signed with an Arab nation.

There have been increased attacks from the Sinai Desert along Israel's southern border with Egypt during the last year. Israel has stepped up construction of a border fence there to help prevent infiltrations of both terrorists and migrant workers.

While in Egypt, Clinton's motorcade was pelted with tomatoes and shoes. The secretary of state said she was sorry for the wasted tomatoes but not particularly bothered by the protests.



Monday, July 16, 2012

Obama team creating traffic jam in Israel

Obama team creating traffic jam in Israel


By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY



By Lior Mizrahi, Getty Images
During the last months of George W. Bush's administration, the State Department and the president himself tried valiantly to help make peace in the Middle East.
President Obama's team might not think they have only months left in office, but their attention toward Israel is definitely on an uptick.

Witness the traffic jam the administration is creating in Jerusalem: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is there today, on the last leg of an exhausting trip that has taken her to France, Afghanistan, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Egypt.

She's not alone. National security adviser Tom Donilon was there over the weekend, meeting with many of the same Israeli officials on Clinton's itinerary. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is due there soon.

And not to be outdone, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney is scheduled to be heading there later this month.

Whether all this activity adds up to progress on the peace agenda remains very much in doubt. There has been little of that during the Obama administration. In fact, Clinton's trip was her first to Israel in 22 months. Her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, took nearly two dozen trips there in pursuit of peace.

Clinton's agenda is broader. In meetings today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, she is discussing the civil war in Syria, the nuclear program in Iran and the recent political changes in Egypt, her last stop.

"It is a time of uncertainty but also of opportunity," Clinton said today. "It is a chance to advance our shared goal of security, stability, peace, and democracy, along with prosperity for the millions of people in this region who have yet to see a better future."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/07/obama-team-creating-traffic-jam-in-israel/1


Friday, July 13, 2012

The Truth About the Peace Process - with Danny Ayalon

Clinton moves to bear-hug Egyptian leader

Clinton moves to bear-hug Egyptian leader

By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN / THE MEDIA LINE, Jerusalem Post
07/13/2012

Secretary hopes to garner pre-US-presidential election support by sweep through Israel

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Brazil
Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Cairo this weekend for a two-day visit that aims to give a hearty handshake to the new Islamist president and move to temper any radical moves by his government.

Clinton will be the highest American official to visit Egypt since President Mohamed Mursi was sworn in as president last month, ending six decades of rule by former military strongmen. She will then fly to Israel for a two-day visit, her first in two years.
Clinton has dispatched her deputy William Burns to Cairo and Jerusalem ahead of her visits. State Department officials stressed on Thursday that Burns had set the scene for Clinton’s meeting with Mursi by confirming the American commitment to a partnership with the “new, democratic Egypt,” a statement said.

In Israel on Thursday, Burns was leading a high-level security delegation to the US-Israel Strategic Dialogue. The dichotomy of the topics revealed just how different Washington’s relationship is between Egypt and Israel.

“Clinton’s visit to Egypt is going to be a significant one because it represents a major, maybe desperate effort, to salvage American efforts in Egypt,” Prof. Eytan Gilboa, who teaches political science at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, told The Media Line.

“Clinton wants to make sure that Egyptian foreign policy will be compatible with American interests and I think she will press on the new Islamist president of Egypt to provide assurances that he would not temper with the peace agreement with Israel,” Gilboa added.

In contrast, the US Secretary of State’s visit to Israel, coming just weeks before a tour by presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, will be more of a political visit rather than a diplomatic one. “This close to the election in this part of the world there is always a little bit of both,” Ari Fleischer, a former spokesman for President George W. Bush and today senior strategist for the Republican Party, told The Media Line.

“When she’s over here, she’ll of course talk about what she’ll describe as President Obama’s unshakable commitment to Israel, so I think you’ll hear the usual platitudes,” Fleischer said. “President Obama has a real weakness in the Jewish community… He has been weak in his support for Israel and he’s suffering from it,” Fleischer said.

US President Barack Obama has formally invited president Mursi to visit Washington in the fall. This move reportedly came in contrast to promises Obama gave to American Jewish leaders who met with him recently. Some present claim they said Obama assured them that an invitation to Mursi was contingent on the Egyptian leader’s public affirmation of his country’s commitment to the peace treaty with Israel.

So far, Mursi has not specifically mentioned the peace treaty with Israel but has moved to gain credibility as he sets a statesman-like tone, assuring his “commitment to international treaties and agreements.” He will be meeting Clinton after making his first trip as president abroad, to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The former Muslim Brotherhood leader sought to assure Saudi leaders that Egypt’s new government was interested in stability and not exporting revolution.

So far, Clinton has been cautious in taking sides in public in the current dispute between Morsi and the Egyptian military, the latest over whether the country's legislature should reconvene after a court ruling last month dissolved it.

“We strongly urge dialogue and concerted effort on the part of all to try to deal with the problems that are understandable but have to be resolved in order to avoid any kind of difficulties that could derail the transition,” Clinton said during a visit to Vietnam on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Israeli-Palestinian issue remains on the back burner. This was obvious following the meeting last week in Paris between Clinton and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Even though Clinton said at a press conference afterwards that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was of “critical importance,” no one in the media asked any questions relating to it and all the focus was on other issues, like Syria.

“The Israeli-Palestinian issue has been put in the right place in the last year because other issues are more significant, including Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons and the so-called Arab Spring,” said Gilboa, an expert on US-Israeli relations.

“(Clinton) will repeat standard American requests from Israel and from the Palestinian side simply because this is needed to show the Palestinians that the United States is doing something at least verbally to promote negotiations. But everybody knows nothing will happen on the negotiations until after the (US) elections,” said Gilboa. Still, some analysts foresee a collision course between Egypt and Israel, particularly due to the Palestinian issue.

“Israel is interested in maintaining the status quo with Egypt, which would help it to carry on with its colonial military schemes in Palestine and its aggressive policies in Lebanon and throughout the region. Egypt is unlikely to allow that reality to continue for much longer, particularly once the power struggle within Egypt is settled and a new political discourse is fully articulated,” Ramzy Baroud, editor of PalestineChronicle.com, wrote in Foreign Policy Journal.

Still, after more than three-decades of close cooperation with Egypt’s authoritarian leadership, Washington’s close ties with Egypt’s military have been tested somewhat by its persistent demands for seeing through the much championed democratic changes, while trying to safeguard American interests.

“The United States is making many mistakes, because the only body in Egypt that would be interested in maintaining close relations between Egypt and the United States is the military and yet we hear time and again how the United States is condemning the military council and military leaders for doing one step or another. Somehow, there is this naive American belief in elections and parliamentarian politics and they equate elections with democracy and of course this is false,” Gilboa said.

http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=277367

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Israel’s greatest asset and best friend

Israel’s greatest asset and best friend

By EARL COX, Jerusalem Post
07/12/2012

Evangelicals use their political, financial and spiritual leverage to help Israel withstand whatever attack might come next.

FRIENDSHIP FLOTILLA T-shirt
Photo: Courtest Danny Danon

Since its reemergence as a nation in 1948, Israel has suffered opposition on nearly every level possible. It has been attacked repeatedly in the military arena by its Arab neighbors, in the public relations arena by the world media, in the political and diplomatic arenas by the United Nations and the European Union, and in the religious arena by mainstream Christians and their Replacement Theologians.

In recent years, however, a groundswell of support for Israel has arisen, creating a new and powerful friend for Israel in the form of Evangelical Christians. From all over the world these Evangelical Christian believers, including many Americans, are proud to be labeled as “Christian Zionists.”

They use their political, financial and spiritual leverage to help Israel withstand whatever attack might come next.

Without the Evangelical Christian community standing in the breach with both prayer and action, the United States may have entered a free-fall in its foreign policy that would have ended in a far more hostile environment for Israel.

The current White House has encouraged, aided and facilitated the destabilization of the Middle East, as evidenced by its use of either diplomatic or military assets (or both) in Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt and now Syria. Amidst all this political and social upheaval in the name of democracy, the underlying result has been the elevation of Islam, Islamic-centered constitutions, and Islamists being “elected.”

The longstanding tradition of the US being Israel’s closest ally is arguably being dismantled by policies detrimental to Israel. But there is one ally that is steadfast... the Evangelical Christian.

In America, members of Congress, various pro-Israel Christian organizations, conservative Christian media and Evangelical Christians in positions of influence have at least put a check on the policies of this administration.

Imagine, for example, if there had not been a public outcry in response to the remarks of then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who sought to tie the US pressure against Iran’s nuclear program to an Israeli unilateral land-for-peace giveaway? This “blackmail foreign policy” may have been far more severe if those remarks, said behind closed doors, had not been widely reported.

Evangelical Christians have been quick to expose this administration’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, even as close as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s closest aide, Huma Abedin. And it has been Evangelical Christians who shout the loudest about lack of foreign policy balance toward Israel at the United Nations.

While America continues in a recession, and the economy may well be the center stage issue of the upcoming election, Evangelical Christians will also be moved to the polls by each candidate’s stance regarding Israel.

Obama’s policies and dealings are well known. And Republican challenger Mitt Romney has already vowed that his policies toward Israel would be the opposite of Obama’s. Speaking before the Faith and Freedom Coalition last month, Romney said of Obama, “He almost sounded like he’s more frightened that Israel might take military action than he’s concerned that Iran might become nuclear.”

Given both candidates’ blemishes, Israel is the one issue that may coalesce and energize the Evangelical Christian vote more than any other. If events continue to spiral out of control in the Middle East, and this administration continues to add fuel to the flames of discontent rather than lending its undeniable support to Israel, Evangelical Christians could play the key role in the November election.

In the event of an Obama reelection, Evangelical Christians arguably would again be the most valuable asset Israel could have in America. It is this courageous and vocal group that makes up the hedge and stands in the gap for the nation of Israel.

Many people will remember back when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself acknowledged that Evangelical Christians are “Israel’s greatest friends.” Following a meeting he had in Washington with a large group of Evangelical Christian leaders, he told then-US president Bill Clinton, “Mr. President, you know that Israel has very few friends, and these Evangelical Christian leaders are the best friends that Israel has in all the world.”

Many Evangelical Christian organizations in Israel, with support from Evangelical Christians around the world, are providing food and other assistance to thousands of Israeli immigrants and poor families.

Others have provided portable concrete bomb shelters to protect Israeli residents living along the Gaza border and elsewhere in Israel.

A good number of Evangelical leaders in America have been hosting events and rallies across the United States to promote support for Israel. These rallies are attracting crowds as large as 12,000 strong. Tens of thousands of Evangelical Christians visit Israel each year helping boost the economy. Soon some 2,000 bulletproof backpacks will be distributed to children living in southern Israel.

Christian radio and television networks in America are broadcasting Israel’s message around the world. Millions of Evangelical Christians are proud to be considered Israel’s best friends and supporters.

They are not ashamed to speak out against the pro-Muslim and pro-Arab actions of Barack Obama and they are bold enough to encourage the US Congress to stand strongly with Israel.

The God of Israel does not need anyone to support Israel, but He tends to work through the hands, hearts and voices of men. One voice Israel can count on is the heart-felt cry of the Evangelical Christian, who stands with God with Israel, whose voice is loud in the politician’s ear.

Earl Cox writes for numerous Christian publications and hosts a popular radio show.
 
 
 

The Sabbath Walk to the Western Wall --

The Sabbath Walk to the Western Wall --
An Ancient Custom Interrupted for 19 Years


Jews at Western Wall (circa 1917). Note presence of women,
Ashkenazi Jews with the fur hats, and Sephardi Jews with the fez.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
From the earliest days of photography, the Western Wall has been a favorite subject for photographers. The Wall or Kotel was always a magnet for Jews who came to pray at the remnant of the Temple retaining wall. On the other side of that Wall once stood the Holy of Holies.

During Arab riots in the 1920s and during the Arab revolt (1936- 1939) Jews were often attacked in the Old City. 
Orthodox Jews on the way to
the Western Wall (1934-39) and here

That's why this set of the American Colony's photographs of the Old City is so unusual. It shows Jews walking to the Western Wall between 1934 and 1939 "on their usual Sabbath* walk to the Wailing Wall," according to the caption.

The subjects hide their faces because of their desire to avoid being photographed on the Sabbath.
Little girl at "Jews wailing place" (1934-39)




Possibly because of the dangers there are few women or non-Orthodox worshipers in this set of pictures. Yet, one little blond girl appears in two of the pictures.
Little Jewish girl walking in the Old City
(in circle)










 
Click on picture to enlarge. 


To maintain order in the Old City, the British police established gun positions and built walls to separate Arabs from the Jews. In 1929 and again in 1939 the British evacuated Jews from the Old City.
"Sand bags used by police in Jewish
Street" in the Old City


Sealed passageway in the Old City and here










But the American Colony photographers still found pious Jews who continued to flock to the Western Wall, and their pictures are presented here.
Jews in the Old City, walking back from prayers at the
Western Wall (1934-1939) and here

Sabbath walk in the Old City and here

The Western Wall deserted during visit
of British General, 1936 "Palestine
Disturbances"




In 1948, the Jordanian Legion captured the Old City of Jerusalem, imprisoned or expelled all of the Jews, and destroyed the Jewish Quarter. Jews were not permitted to visit the Western Wall until 1967 when the Israel Defense Forces reunited the city.

*(Actually, the pictures were probably taken on a Jewish festival. Many of the worshippers are carrying prayer books and bags which some wouldn't normally do on the Sabbath.)

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6139670746694843000#editor/target=post;postID=4305794797356583911
 
 
 

Israeli History Photo of the Week

Israeli History Photo of the Week: The Valero Family Property in Damascus Gate

By LENNY BEN-DAVID, Jerusalem Post
07/12/2012

JPost special feature: A Library of Congress collection of photographs that document Israel before the creation of the state.

The domes of the Hurva and Tifferet Yisrael
synagogues are on the horizon on the left of the picture. (circa 1900).


Damascus Gate and the Valero property
Photo: American Colony-Jerusalem-Photo Dept.

The Library of Congress has recently digitalized a collection of over 10,000 photographs, taken by the "American Colony" in Jerusalem, a group of Christian utopians who lived in Jerusalem between 1881 and the 1940s. The photographers returned to the US, and bequeathed their massive collection to the Library of Congress in 1978. The collection includes Winston Churchill's visit to Jerusalem, Jewish expulsions from the Old City during riots, and the building of Tel Aviv.

By some accounts, the Valero family arrived in Jerusalem in the 18th or 19th centuries from Turkey. Researchers have even suggested that the family were once Conversos - secret Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity in Spain. They later traveled to Turkey and returned to their Jewish faith.


In Jerusalem, the family took up residence in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to a monograph by Hebrew University's Prof. Ruth Kark and Joseph Glass, Ya'akov Valero arrived in Jerusalem in 1835 from Istanbul. Originally a ritual slaughterer, Valero opened a private bank - the first in Palestine - in 1848, located inside Jaffa Gate in the Old City. When Ya'akov died in 1874, the banking and real estate enterprise was eventually taken over by his son Chaim Aharon.

Among the Valeros' land holdings were tracts outside of the Old City on Jaffa Road, the area that eventually became the Mahane Yehuda market, the grounds of the Bikur Holim hospital, and several acres around Damascus Gate, a hub of commerce in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Prior to World War I Chaim Aharon built and leased stores at the entrance of Damascus Gate, seen in the pictures above.

In the 1930s, the British authorities ruled that the area should be zoned for use as "open spaces" and they demolished the shops in 1937. The Valeros were not compensated.

More photos can be viewed at http://www.israeldailypicture.com

http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=277254

Israel to Annex Judea and Samaria?

Israel to Annex Judea and Samaria?

Ministers, MKs to call for applying Israeli law on Judea and Samaria at a conference in Hevron.
 
By Gideon Yisrael, Israel National News
First Publish: 7/12/2012

Ramat Gilad in Shomron
Ramat Gilad in Shomron
Israel news photo

It was the late Yitzchak Shamir who declared from the Knesset podium that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, "and why? Because!"

Thursday afternoon, the second annual conference calling for the application of Israeli law on Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron) began at the Visitors Center in Hebron. The conference is attended by government ministers, Members of Knesset and other public figures, who will discuss a variety of issues concerning Judea and Samaria, including the legal, economic, demographic, security and ideological aspects of application of sovereignty.

One of the sponsors of the conference is Women in Green,a group that has been constantly working for advancing Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Nadia Matar, head of the organization, said, “Women in Green has come to the conclusion that working on solving local problems is not enough. In the past, the organization has protested in reaction to different initiatives from the left or the Arabs trying to expel Jews from a hilltop or a house bought in Arab village, and vandalizing or stealing Jewish property, but now the time has come to deal with the root of the problem, which is applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Enough with the local problems!”

A problem that faces anyone attempting to apply Israeli law over Judea and Samaria is how to deal with the local Arab population. This initiative would, at the very least, add more than a million Arabs to the State of Israel. To address this problem there will be a range of ideas suggested ranging from giving them full citizenship immediately, waiting a few years and letting them prove loyalty before gaining citizenship, and others.

“However, applying Israeli law over Judea and Samaria needs to be complemented by a wave of aliyah,” declared Matar.

The conference will be held in Hevron because that was the capital of the Jewish state before Jerusalem, according to Matar. She said, however, that there are plans in the future to hold the conference at other venues across the country.

“Geula Cohen once said that when we annex Judea and Samaria, we will be connecting Tel Aviv to Hevron, and not the opposite. This conference which is being attended by MKs and public figures will be part of continued efforts by the Knesset lobby for the Land of Israel and other organizations in promoting the goal of applying sovereignty on Judea and Samaria, which should have been done 45 years ago. We will all pledge at the conference to keep working toward this goal because we know there is a lot of work ahead. Maybe it is mishamiym (from heaven) that the Levy report came out only a few days before the conference.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157788

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

MEDIA ALERT! - Israel Boycott Rejected


MEDIA ALERT!


PROCLAIMING JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS FOUNDER BRINGS  NATIONAL ATTENTION TO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTE AGAINST DIVESTMENT EFFORT

Laurie Cardoza-Moore


July 11, 2012 - (Nashville, TN) Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder and President of Proclaiming Justice To the Nations (PJTN) issued a statement today commending the Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly for rejecting an effort to boycott a slate of US companies doing business in Israel.  She went on to voice a note of condemnation for their vote to boycott Israeli products.

Last Thursday, the Presbyterian Church USA's Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) was hoping to complete a process, which began at the 2004 General Assembly to recommend the PCUSA divest itself of stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, suggesting that they are "profiting from non-peaceful pursuits in Israel-Palestine." On Friday the General Assembly voted in favor of a boycott of "all Israeli products coming from 'occupied' Palestinian Territories."

"As a Christian leader, I am extremely disturbed by the blatant lies and misrepresentation of the facts on the ground coming from leaders of the Presbyterian Church USA," noted Ms.  Cardoza-Moore in a press statement. "The Bible is very clear, Israel is living in the land that God gave to her ancestors dating back to the time of Joshua."

Ms. Cardoza-Moore, who serves an appointment as a Special Envoy to the UN for the World Council of Independent Christian Churches (WCICC) last week encouraged the over 44 million members and congregants of PJTN and the WCICC to contact the Presbyterian Church leaders to voice their opposition to this issue.  "Clearly, our efforts to mobilize our base and add our voices to other pro-Israel organizations who lobbied against this effort is what tipped the scales in our favor, but we still have more work to do," she noted.

Further commenting on the action, she added:

"It further illustrates how vitally important our work is at PJTN.  The growing lack of Biblical understanding is threatening our Jewish and Christian brethren in the region and is an affront to Almighty God.  We cannot pursue efforts that are antithetical to God's Word and His Covenant.  In doing so, we are not just condemning our Jewish brethren, we are standing in direct opposition to God's Covenant."

Cardoza-Moore gave a further word of caution on a growing global trend. "We are once again witnessing a rise of a "new" form of anti-Semitism against our Jewish brethren and Israel by Christian churches," she observed.

Noting the Presbyterian vote in particular, she commented: "Ironically, what wasn't on the MRTI agenda is the persecution of Christians who are being slaughtered in places like Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Syria and Nigeria.   Neither are they addressing Moslem women who are being raped and stoned to death by their Moslem husbands, brothers and fathers. And this is the Committee that addresses Middle East peace for the Presbyterian Church?  It seems obvious that this agenda is not to defend Human Rights, but a blatant attack on our Jewish brethren."

Resource PJTN online:  www.pjtn.org

Media Contact for PJTN:

Jackie Monaghan

Morningstar PR-Nashville

(615) 646-5990-Direct

morningstarpr@comcast.net