Parisians rally in solidarity with Israel

By NADAV SHEMER, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

11/21/2012

Over a thousand people gathered outside Israeli Embassy in a peaceful demonstration supporting Operation Pillar of Defense.

Photo: NADAV SHEMER

PARIS – A couple of thousand people gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Paris Tuesday evening in a peaceful demonstration supporting the country during Operation Pillar of Defense.

As dozens of policemen in riot gear patrolled the adjacent Champs Elysees, Jewish community leaders, local politicians and representatives of pro-Israel groups took to the stage to denounce Hamas rocket attacks and call for the French government to back the Jewish state.

The demonstration was organized by the French Jewish umbrella organization, CRIF, and several other community groups, including B’nai B’rith.

French Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim came to the microphone first, delivering a poetic speech about “friends and family living for years to the rhythm of missiles and sirens.”

Addressing all of France’s rabbis and imams, he said that if they chose to invoke the situation in the Middle East during their sermons, they must do so with respect for the gravity of the situation.

Claude Goasguen, mayor of the 16th arrondissement – an area of Paris with a large Jewish population – was one of several speakers to criticize French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for his alleged failure to back Israel unequivocally. Each mention of Fabius’s name elicited jeers from a large proportion of the crowd.

Other speakers included the president of the Society of Armenian Support for Israel, who declared that “Israel is not a terrorist state,” before shouting, “Am Yisrael hai!” (the people of Israel live) into the microphone.

The crowd, which numbered around 2,000 according to a local television crew, contained a diverse mix of young and old.

Many waved Israeli and French flags, or held placards with the message that France and other Western nations must support Israel and confront terrorism.

Annabelle Timsit, a recent high school graduate who works at the Paris Holocaust Memorial, told The Jerusalem Post that she hoped people of all religions would come to show their support for the fact that Israel was defending itself and not attacking poor civilians, “as the media would like us to believe.”

Meir Djeb was there along with several other members of the Federation of Black Jews, an organization representing Paris’s approximately 250 black Jewish families. The group’s members come mainly from Israel, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

“We are united behind the Israeli people and Tzahal [the Israel Defense Forces],” Djeb told the Post. “It is very important that all of Europe knows that the real terrorists are Hamas.”

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=292826

 

No Obama Veto on Ground Op, Says Ambassador

No Obama Veto on Ground Op, Says Ambassador

Michael Oren, Israel's U.S. ambassador, says Washington will fully support Israel, whatever it decides to do.

 

By Gil Ronen, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/20/2012

 

President Barack Obama

Reuters

 

Israel's Ambassador in the United States, Michael Oren, told IDF Radio Tuesday that there is no American veto on a possible ground maneuver by the IDF in Gaza.

"Washington's support in any step Israel takes is full," he said. "Obama spoke twice with the prime minister and called our situation 'unbearable.'"

Minister of Home Front Defense Avi Dichter refused to say Tuesday whether Israel and Hamas are headed toward a ceasefire or more intensive hostilities. "The probability of an arrangement in the face of requests and pressure is identical to the probability that the operation will be ratcheted up," he told the military station.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that "A ground incursion into Gaza by Israel would be a dangerous escalation and it should be avoided." He added, though, that "Israel has legitimate security concerns and they should be respected." 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162318

Hamas Targets Jerusalem Again

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

 

 

 

 

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem again Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. Israeli time.

 

CBN News Jerusalem Bureau staff reported hearing an explosion seconds after the sirens stopped.

The missile landed outside the city in Gush Etzion, triggering the sirens, but there are no reports of injuries or property damage.

An unconfirmed radio report said it landed in an Arab village in the area.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, as it did last week, claiming it fired an M75 missile with a 75-kilometer range.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Hamas-Targets-Jerusalem-Again/

Rocket Hits Gush Etzion, near Jerusalem

Rocket Hits Gush Etzion

Sirens wailed in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion to warn of incoming missiles. Rocket hits kibbutz home in Negev. One seriously wounded.

 

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/20/2012

People take cover as sirens sound in Jerusalem

Israel news photo

 

A rocket exploded in an open area near an Arab village in Gush Etzion around 2:15 p.m. as sirens wailed in Jerusalem during another barrage of rockets and missiles unleashed by Hamas.

The missile exploded in an open area, and no one was injured. Minutes before the sirens rang out, an AFP correspondent in Gaza City reported hearing the loud report of an outgoing rocket.

The attack was claimed by Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "an M75 rocket at the occupied city of Jerusalem."

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who spent the past two days in Egypt, had been scheduled to hold talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman shortly after noon.
At least one missile was aimed at Jerusalem last week and reportedly exploded in an open area next to an Arab village in Gush Etzion, located south of the capital.

Shortly earlier on Tuesday, three rockets hit a kibbutz, critically wounding at least one person. The early warning siren system did not operate, and there are fears that several young people, possibly children, are trapped in debris.

A Grad missile demolished a Be’er Sheva home. A woman in the house took cover in the reinforced shelter in the house and escaped injury.

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162304

Bostonians rally for Israel amid Gaza operation

By MELANIE LIDMAN, Jerusalem Post

11/20/2012 06:00

Joint effort organized by synagogues, schools, and Jewish NGOs show solidarity for Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense.

Photo: REUTERS

Approximately 1,000 people rallied in Boston on Monday evening to show their support for Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense – one of many pro-Israel solidarity events held across the region and across the country.

Boston’s event was a joint effort organized by a dozen synagogues, schools, and Jewish nonprofit organizations: the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, J Street, the Anti- Defamation League and AIPAC, among others.

“Part of the reason for the rally is there’s a battle for American public opinion and world opinion, and we play a part in that battle,” said Rabbi David Lerner of Temple Emunah in Lexington, one of the congregations co-sponsoring the event.

“It’s a statement to our sisters and brothers and cousins in Israel that we’re supportive and we feel your pain,” he said.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D), a close associate of President Barack Obama, also addressed the crowd.

Patrick visited Israel in March 2011 as part of an “innovation economy mission” to strengthen ties between hi-tech companies in the Boston region and Israel. He has attended many pro-Israel events in the past.

CJP president Barry Shrage did not attend Monday’s event as he rushed off to Israel on Saturday night to express his solidarity in person.

Shrage spent Monday driving around the South and paying a condolence call in Kiryat Malachi for the victims of rocket attacks killed last week.

“I like to have a presence here whenever Israel is in trouble,” Shrage said in a telephone interview ahead of the rally.

“A problem for them is a problem for us too. In my experience, when you are in Israel and visiting and talking to them, the broader nation appreciates that someone is coming to town and not staying away,” he said.

Jewish Community Relation Council executive director Jeremy Burton noted that American Jews have a responsibility to combat the skewed media coverage of the conflict, the day after news of the deaths of 11 members of a single family in an Israeli air strike against Hamas in Gaza dominated headlines.

“There is important work for those not in Israel about telling the world what is going on and the untenable situation that Israel is dealing with,” he said. During the rally, demonstrators heard from Israelis temporarily living in Boston about their experiences. Burton said he hoped to encourage demonstrators to engage on social media and to thank the political leaders who have expressed unwavering support for Israel, including members of Congress.

Burton added that the event, which was thrown together in two days, also allows Bostonians to feel like they're taking action during a time when they’re worried about friends and family in Israel.

“The community understands this is a time to stand with Israel,” he said.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=292653

 

Israelis Pray as Hamas Missile Barrage Intensifies

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Correspondent

Monday, November 19, 2012

MOSHAV BEER TUVIA, Israel -- Hundreds of Israelis gathered to pray for their country as Hamas continued to launch rockets into Israel and the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on terror targets.

 

The terrorist group intensified its missile barrages against southern Israel over the weekend. More than 560 rockets have slammed into Israel so far, with another 300-plus intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries.

Haim Gabo's house on Moshav Beer Tuvia was hit last week while his wife and children sat protected in their safe room.

"I don't want to think about what would happen if we didn't have shelter," Gabo said.

The Israeli army pounded Hamas buildings and weapons' storage facilities by land and sea over the weekend. They've targeted more than 1,350 terror sites in the last six days in what they're calling Pillar of Defense.

The air force has inflicted extensive damage on the terror infrastructure, including buildings, weapons launching facilities, and terrorist workshops.

In one case, Palestinians say a bomb killed 11 members of one family, including women and children. But Moshav Beer Tuvia resident Colleen Montgomery said the bad press against Israel isn't fair.

"Just remember, every time someone holds up a child who has been hurt in Gaza -- which we hope they aren't -- but if they are, somebody needs to place beside that pictures from Syria," Montgomery said.

"This has been a year and a half, two years going on, and nobody is getting in the middle of it, nobody's yelling," she added.

"I wish the yelling would stop at Israel," Montgomery said. "We are doing our best. We know our soldiers. They are not trying to do anything to the civilian population."

Meanwhile, Israeli public support for the ongoing military operation remains high.

Some 31,000 reservists have already been called up for a possible ground offensive. But some Western leaders are warning the Jewish state not to send their soldiers into Gaza.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Israel expects the world to stand behind its right to defend itself.

"We expect our allies to support us to use all our tools to bring peace to our people," he said. "So to say the least, we don't like these kind of reservations."

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall to pray for their nation and for protection for the army. They prayed Psalm 121: "He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps."

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Israelis-Pray-as-Hamas-Missile-Barage-Intensifies/

Watch: Why most Palestinians really support Hamas

Monday, November 19, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

 

 

As the Gaza war rages, international media has made a point of reporting that most Palestinians in Gaza continue to support Hamas, despite the fact that the terror group and its allies sparked the current conflict.

The picture painted by most media is that Palestinians may not be 100 percent happy with Hamas rule, but Israel's purportedly indiscriminate bombing of Gaza continues to drive most Arabs into the terror group's arms.

Last year a Palestinian Arab Christian created a YouTube video that clearly shows the real reason most Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas: Fear. Fear and indoctrination.

Those Palestinians old enough to think for themselves are too afraid to not support Hamas. And those too young to take their own stand are quickly taught that there is no way but the Hamas way.

Watch the shocking truth:

It is also quite telling to realize that all this and more took place without condemnation from the Arab world, without aid missions by foreign humanitarian organizations, and without emergency UN Security Council meetings.

Hamas terrorizes the people of Gaza regularly, and no one cares. Israel returns fire on Hamas terrorists hiding behind those same civilians, and suddenly the world is enraged. Folks, anti-Semitism has taken many guises in these days, and this is one of them.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23509/Default.aspx

IDF Rabbi tweets prophecy pointing to Messiah's coming

Sunday, November 18, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

 

 

As more and more Israelis get called up for active military duty in preparation for a possible invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the chief rabbi of the Israeli army (IDF) has been posting inspirational scriptures to his Twitter feed.

Among the scriptures posted yesterday was Zechariah 12:10, a passage Christians and Messianic Jews see as pointing to Yeshua as Messiah.

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication."

Due to Twitter's space limitations, the rabbi's post stopped there. The verse continues:
"They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."

The IDF chief rabbi has posted that verse before, but it seemed to many to be especially timely now as the battle in Gaza rages and the world howls against Israel. It is also timely because of the verse immediately preceding it, Zechariah 12:9:

"On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem."

The rabbi's posting from Zechariah came just a day after Gaza-based terrorists fired a missile at Jerusalem.

Editor's note: His Twitter account is @IDFrabbi. I receive his tweets.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23505/Default.aspx

Opinion: London 1940-Tel Aviv 2012. What's the Difference?

Opinion: London 1940-Tel Aviv 2012. What's the Difference?

There is only one precedent of a modern democracy besieged under rocket attacks. The similarities - and the difference - are striking.

 

By Giulio Meotti, Italy

Israel National News

First Publish: 11/16/2012

Katyusha Missile

 

There is only one precedent of a modern democracy besieged under rocket attacks.

During the afternoon of September 7, 1940, 348 Nazi bombers appeared over London’s skies. For the next two months, London was bombed day and night. Fires consumed many portions of the city. Residents sought shelter wherever they could find it - many fleeing to the underground station that sheltered as many as 177,000 people during the night.

Little is said or written about the incredible courage being shown by the civilian population of Israel, but it is reminiscent of events 70 years ago in Europe.

Like the Londoners, who endured the blitz stoically, with British aplomb and quiet courage, the people of Israel are equally valiant, going about their daily lives knowing that killers might explode a bomb or rocket in any public place at any time. Since the year of the founding of the state, more than 60,000 rockets have fallen on Israel.

Unlike those who believe in a peaceful and political solution to the "Palestinian" question, the Hamas' Covenant proclaims: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question, except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

Israel is like Guernica, the Basque town that in 1937 was the premature victim of the savage and merciless Nazi Blitzkrieg that was to sweep Europe.

But there is a big difference between the two historic situations.

The Allies during the war didn't hesitate to impose a collective punishment on the German people, while today we like to believe that the State of Israel is facing just individual murderers and isolated fanatics, and must pardon the society that nurtures them.

The Arab population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza is responsible for Hamas' terrorism. Collective punishment of that population by Israel is - when administered in proportion to the evils it is meant to combat - justified and required. The Palestinian Arab population is responsible for Hamas and the PLO.

An enemy society is exactly what the Jewish State is confronting. And in Kiryat Malachi, three residents, killed by Islamic terrorists, are just the latest victims in the war between Israel and that society.

Israel lost the battle during the first Intifada, when Jewish civilians on the roads were routinely assaulted with rocks and firebombs by Arab gangs, because it didn't combat the attacks with the force that may have prevented them from evolving into the terror of today that comes from Gaza.

Palestinian Arabs rock-throwers were met with a vehicle that sprayed them with pebbles. Soldiers were armed with rubber bullets and given orders not to attack when not under attack themselves.
The Jewish "settlers" at that time called on the government to take punitive action against the villages from where the attacks were launched, but the Jewish residents were demonized themselves and were answered with self-righteous hypocrisy decrying the immorality of "collective punishment".
This is how evil has grown to surround Israel.

Even Israel's supporters in the West like to believe that the Jewish State, granting de-facto immunity to the society that sponsors terrorist savagery, committed itself to a higher ethical standard. We like to discern the IDF's "purity of weapons". But preferring an illusion of peace to retaliating with the full force at Israel's disposal against the terrorists' home base - their communities and their ideological supporters, who bear collective responsibility for the terror - is a Jewish crime, not a Jewish virtue.

Terror is a collective punishment, the answer to it must include collective punishment.
Terror is a collective punishment, the answer to it must include collective punishment.

Twenty years after the first Gulf War, Israel remains the only “bunkered” democracy in the world and is now even more relentlessly demonized and ghettoized.

Israel is a small country. This is not to say that it’s destined for extinction; only that it can be.
Moreover, in its vulnerability to extinction, Israel is not just any small country. It is the only country whose neighbors declare its very existence an affront to God and make its destruction a paramount national goal.

But if in 1991, Israel responded with understatement and quiet civil courage, let's hope that today it will react differently to genocidal terrorism. Because, as Joe McCain wrote few years ago, “the Jews will not go quietly again.”

And there is another big difference between London in 1940 and Tel Aviv in 2012: while the West backed the British resistance against the Nazi monster, Israel is alone in fighting a battle for all of us.

As Israelis are heading to shelters these days, the questions in their minds are two: Will the West come to our aid? How many friends can the Jewish State really count on these days?
Take a step forward and say that you are one of those friends. I did.

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing, often the Arutz Sheva op-eds, appears in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He is at work on a book about the Vatican and Israel.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162141

 

Israel destroys Hamas government HQ, troops prepare for Gaza invasion

Israel destroys Hamas government HQ, troops prepare for Gaza invasion

Saturday, November 17, 2012 | Ryan Jones, Israel Today            

 

Israel on Friday night bombed and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters in Gaza City just hours after Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil visited the facility in solidarity with the Gaza terrorist regime.

The destruction of the Hamas government building was seen as sending a message to both Hamas and Egypt that Israel is not afraid to escalate the fight if the threat of rocket attacks on southern Israel does not cease.

Meanwhile, rocket attacks on southern Israel did continue throughout the night and into Saturday morning. Four soldiers were wounded in one rocket strike, and countless civilians were treated for shock.

Israeli military officials said the conflict is likely to last several more weeks. On Friday, the government approved the mobilization of 75,000 reserve troops in preparation for a possible ground invasion of Gaza.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23502/Default.aspx

 

Hamas Rocket Targets Jerusalem from Gaza

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Mideast Correspondent

Friday, November 16, 2012

 

    

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RISHON LEZION, Israel - Israeli security officials have confirmed to CBN News that at least one rocket fired from Gaza landed somewhere near the Gush Etzion community in the West Bank southwest of Jerusalem.

 

This is the first Gaza-launched rocket to reach the environs of Israel's capital.

 

Earlier, sirens sounded for the second straight day in the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv. The armed wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

 

No damage or injuries have been reported in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, and officials now say that the rocket near Tel Aviv did not land, suggesting that it was shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defense system.

 

How troubling is it that Gaza rockets have reached Jerusalem? CBN News' John Waage, who has spent years covering the Middle East in our Jerusalem Bureau, has more. And will Egypt stand with Israel as it has in the past? Sr. International Reporter Gary Lane explains what to expect this time around, following this report.

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian rockets continued to fall on southern Israel Friday as the Israel Defense Forces ramped up its bombardments of terror sites.

 

The key for Israel, say residents, is to allow the country to finish the job.

 

Panic in Tel Aviv

 

 

Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv Thursday for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War, snarling traffic and sending shock waves through the center of the country.

 

"The alarm -- some of us got panic (ked). I was in the street. I saw people run and trying to call their families. A few seconds later, it was normal," one Israeli teen, Adir Joseph, recalled.

 

"And in Tel Aviv it was also," Eden Kabaso, 16, said. "My sister lives there. When there was an alarm she got panicked. She cried. She was also in the street with her kids and it was not a comfortable situation."

 

One rocket reached farther north than ever before -- some 30 miles to the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Lezion.

 

What do Christians need to understand about the spiritual battle at play here? CBN News' John Waage has more on Christian World News below (link at bottom of this feature story.)

 

 

"Everybody freaked out. It was crazy. It was the first time here in Rishon LeZion," Rafi Mor, a Rishon Lezion shop owner, said.

 

The army says in the last 36 hours they've struck more than 500 terror sites. Israelis in Rishon Lezion say their country should keep up the pressure.

 

"There's no way the people from the south have to endure all those missiles day after day after day," resident Omer Shani said. "There is no country in the world that will have -- that could have -- understood it. It can't go on. It just can't go on."

 

Mor agreed. "I think we should have done this step a long time ago," he said. "I think we should solve the problem over there for a long time now. The army needs its time to do its job and finish the work over there."

 

Tel Aviv area resident Ayelet Shoshani said, "I think they need to do more. Now, after what happened yesterday, I can feel (it) -- I don't know how people in the south live, I don't know. I think I would get mad to live like that. I don't think we can get used to that kind of life. It's very difficult."

 

"Don't stop until they are quiet," Rishon Lezion resident Ruthi Schlosser said. "They should go on and beg for (a) ceasefire because it can't continue like that. We are very happy here you know in the midst of Israel, but poor people who are living there, their life must be hell.

 

Israel agreed to hold its fire during Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil's visit to Gaza on Friday, but rockets continued to slam into southern Israeli communities.

 

More than 300 rockets have hit Israel in less than 48 hours. Some 130 more have been intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile battery.

 

In the past, pressure from the international community has forced Israel to stop before it says it has accomplished its goals. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it won't happen this time.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Gaza-Renews-Rocket-Fire-as-Israel-Ramps-Up-Offensive/

Panetta to Barak: Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself

Panetta to Barak: Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, reaffirms that Israel has the right to defend itself.

 

By Elad Benari, Israel National News 

 

First Publish: 11/16/2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

AFP/Paul J. Richards

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak this week about the latest Israeli military moves in Gaza after increased rocket attacks from there, CNN reported on Thursday.

A senior U.S. defense official confirmed the conversation had taken place in the last few days while Panetta was traveling in Asia.

"They spoke about unacceptable attacks by Hamas and other groups in Gaza, and Panetta expressed the U.S. view that Israel has the right to defend itself," the official said, according to CNN.

The United States has given Israel the green light to go ahead with Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. President Barack Obama spoke to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu early Thursday. A White House statement said that “the President reiterated to Prime Minister Netanyahu the United States' support for Israel's right to self defense in light of the barrage of rocket attacks being launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians. The President urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
The statement said Obama and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas needed to stop attacks on Israel to "allow the situation to de-escalate."

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner also underscored Israel’s right to defend itself, saying, “We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence.

“There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties,” he added.

The UN Security Council, at an emergency closed session on Wednesday, discussed the situation in Gaza without coming to any decisions. During the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice strongly defended Israel, saying that said there was no justification for the violence that "Hamas and other terrorist organizations" are aiming at Israel.

“We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately,” Rice said, adding that the rocket attacks were harming efforts to end the Middle East conflict and create a PA state. “Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that does nothing but set back the Palestinian cause. Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza nor to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination and independence.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron also seemed to express an understanding for the IDF operation, when he told Netanyahu on Thursday "Hamas bears the principal responsibility for the crisis."

A Downing Street spokesman told AFP that Cameron told Netanyahu “the rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other armed groups were completely unacceptable and that the increasing frequency of rocket attacks in recent days was the immediate cause of the situation.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, however, slammed the IDF operation as an act of savagery.

"Another savage aggression against the Gaza Strip has begun. Once again, the state of Israel is bombing the Gaza Strip," Chavez, a close associate of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose country arms Hamas, told a cabinet meeting televised by state-run TV.

Venezuela broke off relations with Israel in 2009 during Operation Cast Lead.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162150

Ashton, Merkel say Israel has right to defend itself

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS

LAST UPDATED: 11/16/2012

German chancellor blames Hamas for escalation; EU foreign affairs chief calls for stop to rocket attacks.

Photo: REUTERS/Kimmo Mantyla/Lehtikuva

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both issued strong statements in support of Israel’s right to defend itself on Friday.

Ashton added that she hoped Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil’s visit to Gaza on Friday morning would calm the situation.

“The rocket attacks by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, which began this current crisis are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop,” she said.

“Israel has the right to protect its population from these kind of attacks. I urge Israel to ensure that its response is proportionate,” she said.

“I am deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip and deplore the loss of civilian lives on both sides,” Ashton said.

Ashton added that she had spoken with leaders in the region, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the office of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as to how best to de-escalate the situation.

“In my discussions, I made the point that we must move forward in finding a solution to the Middle East conflict so that million of people in the region can finally live in peace and security,” she said.

A German government spokesman said on Friday that Merkel is "very worried" about an escalation of violence in the Middle East and calls on Hamas to immediately stop shooting rockets from Gaza into Israel."

"Hamas in Gaza is responsible for the outbreak of violence," spokesman Georg Streiter told a news conference. "There is no justification for the shooting of rockets at Israel, which has led to massive suffering of the civilian population.

"The Chancellor urges those responsible in the Gaza Strip to immediately stop firing on Israel. At the same time she calls on the Egyptian government to use its influence on Hamas to limit the violence and bring it to an end."

Streiter said the Israeli government had the "right and obligation" to protect its population.

UN human rights chief urges Hamas, Israel to step back from brink

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced Israel's aerial attacks on Gaza as well as rockets fired by Hamas into southern Israel and called on both sides on Friday to step back from the brink.
"She's appalled that once again civilians are losing their lives... She urges both sides to pull back from an increasingly dangerous confrontation," her spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

"The High Commissioner has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and is deeply concerned by the recent major upsurge in the number of rocket attacks and that they are now being aimed at a major city such as Tel Aviv," he said.

"She is also extremely concerned by the sharp increase in aerial attacks by Israeli forces on the heavily populated Gaza Strip in the past two days," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=292162

Jerusalem Dateline - Fifteen Seconds

Jerusalem Dateline

Chris Mitchell

CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fifteen Seconds

What would you do if you had 15 seconds to find shelter from a rocket attack?

That's the reality people living in the southern Israeli city of Sderot have faced for more than 10 years.

When a Kassam rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip just a couple of miles away, it takes about 15 seconds for it to land. It doesn't pack a great deal of explosives but make no mistake, it can kill, injure, cause extensive damage, and terrify a population.

Living in Sderot is like playing Russian roulette. You don't know when a rocket or mortar shell will land or where. No wonder a large number of people suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Over the weekend, more than 120 rockets fell on Sderot and other towns and cities. Now with longer-range rockets, more than 1 million Israelis are in range of terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

This diagram shows the rockets and their ranges.




Their reach is getting closer to Tel Aviv and Israel's Ben-Gurion airport. It's hard to believe that any other nation would be expected to tolerate this kind of situation.

http://blogs.cbn.com/jerusalemdateline/Default.aspx

Netanyahu: Picture of Bleeding Baby Says It All

Netanyahu: Picture of Bleeding Baby Says It All

PM thanks Obama for understanding "Israel’s need to defend itself, and Israel’s right to defend itself."

By Gil Ronen, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/15/2012,

Baby injured in Kiryat Malachi

Reuters

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the international media Thursday afternoon, in which he said Israel would continue to do its best to avoid civilian casualties on the enemy side, despite the fact that the enemy is targeting Israeli civilians and hiding behind its own. He also thanked world leaders for "understanding" Israel's right to defend itself.

The way the operation unfolds will depend on the number of civilian casualties caused to Hamas and its ability to expoit that in order to create pressure on Israel to stop punishing it militarily. This pressure has proven highly effective in the past, especially given the Israeli press's tendency to highlight casualties on the enemy side, thus weakening national resolve to go on fighting.

This is the text of the statement:

"In recent days and weeks, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza have made normal life impossible for over one million Israelis," he said. "No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation. This is why my government has instructed the Israeli Defense Forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

"And this is why Israel will continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people.

"I want to remind you that seven years ago, Israel withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. Now Hamas, they took over the areas we vacated. What did it do? Rather than build a better future for the residents of Gaza, the Hamas leadership, backed by Iran, turned Gaza into a terrorist stronghold. They fired thousand of rockets at our cities, at our towns, at our civilians, at our children. They’ve smuggled thousands of rockets and missiles into Gaza, and they deliberately place these rockets and missiles in civilian areas: in homes, in schools, near hospitals. This year alone, they fired over one thousand rockets and missiles at Israel, including close to 200 rockets in the last 24 hours.

"I’m stressing this because it’s important to understand one simple point. There is no moral symmetry; there is no moral equivalence, between Israel and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. The terrorists are committing a double war crime. They fire at Israeli civilians, and they hide behind Palestinian civilians. And by contrast, Israel takes every measure to avoid civilian casualties. I saw today a picture of a bleeding Israeli baby. This picture says it all: Hamas deliberately targets our children, and they deliberately place their rockets next to their children. Despite this reality, and it’s a very difficult reality, Israel will continue to do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties.

"I have to say that from my talks with world leaders, I have the clear understanding that they have a clear understanding of this. Yesterday I spoke to President Obama and I briefed him on Israel’s operations. I want to express my appreciation once again to President Obama for his unequivocal clear sided support for Israel’s right to defend itself. I also want to express my appreciation to the other world leaders I’ve had a chance to speak to in the last 24 hours: to President Hollande of France, to UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, to EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and to Quartet representative Tony Blair. I want to thank them for their understanding of Israel’s need to defend itself, and Israel’s right to defend itself.

"In the past 24 hours Israel has made it clear that it will not tolerate rocket and missile attacks on its civilians. I hope that Hamas and the other terror organizations in Gaza got the message. If not, Israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162129

Canada throws unwavering support behind Israel in Gaza war

Thursday, November 15, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

The government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper once again demonstrated its unwavering support of Israel on Thursday when it unequivocally backed the Jewish state's military response to incessant terrorist rocket fire.

"We fundamentally believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens from terrorist threats," stated Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. "Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism, the great struggle of our generation."

Referencing the hundreds of terrorist rockets that sparked Israel's "Operation Pillar of Cloud" - a provocation much of the world has suddenly forgotten about - Baird said that Canada "condemns the terrorist group Hamas and stands with Israel as it deals with regional threats to peace and security."

The Obama Administration also issued a statement of support immediately following the start of Israel's surprise aerial campaign on Wednesday evening.

"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel," said US State Department spokesman Mark Toner. "We support Israel’s right to defend itself."

However, Toner also threw in what some might see as a veiled warning: "We encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties."

It has been reported time and again that Israel takes more care to avoid civilian casualties than any nation on earth, including the United States. Some Israelis view remarks like Toner's as an assertion of moral superiority, and a suggestion that Israel needs to be reminded to act in a civil manner.

Of course, many also take it as a friendly warning that the rest of the international community is likely to use every Palestinian civilian casualty as a weapon to attack not only Israel's military actions, but its legitimacy as a nation.

Meanwhile, Russia and the Arab world predictably condemned Israel's military response in Gaza while almost completely ignoring the Hamas rocket barrage that preceded it, and Europe registered its displeasure over the "disproportionate" nature of the Israeli action.

Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest, and Israel returned the favor.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23497/Default.aspx

Sderot Fourth-Grader Tells Peres, ’We Live in Fear’

Sderot Fourth-Grader Tells Peres, ’We Live in Fear’

“We were born 'children of red',” a Sderot child tells Peres, referring to Color Red siren that rules their lives under rocket attacks.

 

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/14/2012, 2:49 PM

Peres visits Sderot school

Israel news photo: Office of Preisdent/Amos ben Gershom

 

“We were born 'children of red',” a Sderot fourth-grade girl told President Shimon Peres Wednesday, referring to the Color Red siren that rules their lives and warns them of rocket attacks.

“We are children who live in fear that at anytime, we will hear a siren and have to leave the playground and our friends and run to bomb shelters,” sad Chen Malchiel, who spoke on behalf of religious school students during the president’s visit.

She told him, “We run to bomb shelters of four walls, without windows, which are very unpleasant.”

Chen thanked President Peres for coming to see their suffering first hand and took his hand to show him the shelters.

She concluded, “We look to G-d and to you, our honorable president, to do something so there will be peace and quiet and securiy.”

Peres told the children, “I come here as a grandfather who knows the pain of your mothers who do not know what it is to sleep at night. You should know that you are the source of strength and might of the People of Israel. You should know that all of the children of the country are proud of you. You are brave children who live in an abnormal situation.”

In a tour with foreign media, Peres said that Hamas is totally responsible for “the insufferable situation of missiles on Israel.”

“It is their responsibility to control terrorist cells that operate under their nose and with their quiet agreement,” the president said.

He added his voice to a growing number of political leaders who have called for a halt of funds to Gaza. “The world justifies transferring money to Gaza, led by the ‘generous’ emir of Qatar, [but] the world must understand that in the current situation, money is Gaza is equivalent to terror,” he charged.

The emir of Qatar recently became the first foreign leader to visit Hamas in Gaza since it took control of the region from the rival Fatah faction more than four years ago. The emir came with a $250 million check and a promise of more aid.

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162082

Calling on Jerusalemites:

Calling on Jerusalemites:
Can You Find These Buildings 110 Years Later?

"Jerusalem Famille Juive" by Charles Chusseau-Flaviens (Credit: George
Eastman House, circa 1900)

Reviewing the historic photos of Jerusalem in the George Eastman House Museum, we came across this wonderful 110 year old picture taken by a French photographer, Charles Chusseau-Flaviens. 

It bears the caption "Jerusalem Famille Juive" -- a Jewish family in Jerusalem.



From their dress, we presume it is a Sabbath or Jewish holiday, and some of the shops are shuttered in mid-day.  Their walking in the middle of the street suggests that they're in a Jewish neighborhood and are not worried about carriages or horses.  And they're walking down an incline.

Google "Street View" looking up Malchai Yisrael Street in Jerusalem



The challenge: Can anyone locate these buildings in Jerusalem today? 
Over the course of 100 years buildings have been torn down, second stories added, and streets widened.

Are they walking down Jaffa Road toward the Old City?  We checked, and the store on the right is not the Ma'ayan Shtub shop. 

Perhaps they're walking through the Romema neighborhood on Malchei Yisrael Street toward Meah Shearim and the Old City beyond.  Thanks to Google's Street View program, we offer the possibility that the building is this shop with the distinctive rounded window and the two story building behind it with the unusual stonework on the edge of the walls.

 

http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2012/11/calling-on-jerusalemites-can-you-find.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta+%28Israel%27s+History+-+a+Picture+a+Day+%28Beta%29%29

 

Balm for Dashed Election Expectations - Jim Croft

Editor's Note: I can relate to this, and so I share this word from Jim Croft. His mailing list received it on Nov. 13, 2012.

Steve Martin

 

Balm for Dashed Election Expectations

Jim Croft

I felt acute grief when Barak Obama was declared the winner of the 2012 Presidential Election. Sorrowful sensations intensified throughout the night and into the next morning. I searched within to discern why I felt so grieved.

I choked up when the Lord’s answer registered in my spirit. As a member of Christ’s Body, I was vicariously carrying the devastating disappointment experienced by Christians who had been led to believe their prayers would be the determining factor in the election’s outcome. (Rom 12:15-16)

Many equate widespread national troubles to judgments for forsaking the Christian principles on which our nation was founded. The innuendo is that national ills would significantly diminish with a President committed to the Christian sentiments of the USA’s founding fathers. Both positions have capacity to wound because they don’t fully consider biblical truth and the realities of Church and World History.

It is my prayer that this article will be an antiseptic that will encourage renewed confidence in God’s willingness to answer scriptural prayers for those with governmental authority. To provide understanding, it will be a necessity to give some unpublicized information about God’s dealing in human affairs. The good news is that the end of the matter is better than the beginning and provides good reason for joyful optimism.

Weighty Vote
Along with millions of other Christians, against hope, I chose to activate my faith to believe that Romney would win the presidency. Our hopes were not sufficient to overrule one element central to all elections. The key component was the will of Almighty God.

The underlying reason for Obama’s victory was not voter bloc failure; Governor Chris Christi’s sudden admiration of the President; and a terrible storm named Sandy. The plain truth is that God chose Obama over Romney to lead our nation during the next phase of bringing us closer to the end of the age. The Lord did so in spite of our disapproval of the administration’s stand on the redistribution of wealth; fiscal responsibility; entitlements; abortion; same sex marriage; Islamic issues; and Israel.

No matter what form of government, whether republic, democracy, monarchy, military or Islamic dictatorship; God has never relinquished his right to promote or depose whomever he wishes. (Psa 75:4-7) The Old and New Testaments confirm that it is God who appoints and sustains heads of State and governmental institutions.

What’s the use of Prayerful Voting

After Judas betrayed Christ and hung himself, the disciples sought his replacement. The choice was narrowed to spirit-filled Joseph and Mathias. God knew which man he had appointed for the office. To avoid argument about the Lord’s choice, the disciples prayed and then tossed dice to see whom the Lord had chosen. The lots landed in favor of Mathias. (Acts 1:23-26)

Thus it is with elections by ballot. Citizens participate by prayerfully casting their votes. The winner is the candidate that is the Lord’s choice.

Since God is in ultimate control, a stolen election is providentially impossible. If it does happen, its purpose is likely the eventual exposure, humiliation and impeachment of the cheater. At the same time, we must be mature enough to accept the fact that many rulers throughout history came to power and kept it by ruthless measures. There have been many situations where the actions of evil politicians were the slow train for what God eventually turned around for good.

Daniel 2:20-21, 4:17, 35; and 2 Sam 23:2-4 convey the following concepts: The Most High God rules in the kingdoms of men by installing and removing rulers by his sovereign choice. Some that he chooses are seekers of wisdom and some are the basest of men. God does as he pleases among the inhabitants of the earth and no one can restrain his hand or question what he does. The ideal is that Kings should rule justly in the fear of God, but remarkable numbers don’t.

There are no guarantees that intensity of prayer puts inept, cruel and unjust rulers on the fast track to removal from office and replacement by wise God-fearing rulers. This is evident by the caliber of Roman Emperors during the initial stages of Christianity; history’s Islamic regimes; and the 20th Century’s Hitler, Stalin, and Chairman Mao. All toll; tens of millions of believers were imprisoned and butchered by despots whose administrations often lasted decades. Many of the nations of Mediterranean and the Middle East that were Christianized by the Early Church were taken over by Islam by the 9th Century. They have been predominantly Muslim far longer than they were predominantly Christians.

The Bible promises that the godly will suffer persecution. (Matt 24:9; 1 Thes 5:4) We are possibly fast approaching the point when it is American believer’s turn to experience tribulations. It has nothing to do with judgment for sin and prayerlessness. It is a guarantee that accompanies the holy aroma of Christ within that has come upon myriads of Christians since the martyrdom of Stephen. (2 Cor 2:15-16)

Eye-Opening Principle

Why would God refuse to answer the prayers of his people to replace inept and unjust rulers? There are 2 interrelated reasons: First, wise and kind rulers and

those who are foolish and tyrannical are all denoted in the Scriptures as servants of God.

Secondly, as time advances toward the end of the age; heads of State are unwitting players in bringing about conditions most suitable to God’s plans for each generation. Principle – God favorably answers most prayers related to blessings for individuals. Nevertheless, prayers pertinent to the destiny of nations are often overruled by his will.

Nebuchadnezzar was the idolatrous king of the Babylonian Empire. He erected an image of himself to be worshipped by everyone under his authority. Nevertheless, Jeremiah prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant. (Jer 25:8-9) The Apostles Paul and Peter said the same of the administrations of the Roman Emperors of the First Century’s Christian Era and encouraged believers to comply with their regulations as best they could without violating conscience. (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:13-17) That was a difficult command to obey.

The Church was birthed in a hostile political, religious and economic environment. The 10 emperors of Christianity’s first century of establishment are best described as cruel tyrants of corrupt administrations.

On the Day of Pentecost Caligula was Emperor. He was infamous for addiction to hideous sex orgies. Few emperors of that period died natural deaths. Relatives that might have been successors for office were frequently assassinated before they could display ambition. Oposing senators were executed at whim. Food shortages and excessively high taxation were common. During the year of 68-69AD the power struggle for emperor was so confused that 4 emperors attained rule in a single year.

Titus burned Jerusalem’s Temple to the ground in 70AD and lined the streets with crucified Jews. A favorite pastime within the Roman Empire during the first century of Christianity was persecuting Christians. The last emperor of that period was Domitian and he outperformed all of his predecessors in murdering believers.

Perplexing and as trying as the times were, there are not any explicit New Testament examples of Christian leaders encouraging their congregations to pray for the removal of adversarial politicians. Believer’s response to political persecution was to pray for an increase in miraculous healings. (Act 4:23-31) The Apostolic mandate for every fellowship gathering was to give foremost place to prayers and thanksgiving for the salvation of all men, especially rulers. The objective was for believers to have sufficient peace to live quiet, godly lives for the sake of spreading the Gospel. (1 Tim 2:1-5)

Faulty Premise

Many wonderful Christians have been influenced by a teaching that sounds biblically sensible and historically on target. It asserts that the societal and

economic ills that have hit the USA would be healed if believers would pray and fast for a conservative government and for a return to Judeo-Christian values. The premise suggests that our nation was practically trouble free prior to 1972 when the horrors of abortion were legalized and the earlier decisions to remove prayer and Bible reading from schools began to be enforced.

The argument does not hold up under thorough investigation. Yes, our nation was supremely blessed prior to 1972. And though not everyone is willing to admit it, to a generous extent our country has continued to be blessed since.

What they don’t realize is that America’s history is a mixed bag of blessings and curses. The truth is that America has never been free of severe widespread trials and societal prejudice and injustice. Surfing the Internet would convince most anyone that they don’t want to go back to the good-ole-days-when-things-were-bad.

Exploration reveals a history of wars; epidemics; natural disasters; violent labor disputes; economic challenges; 80% of all business ventures failing within 5 years; gender bias and the oppression of minorities. Most present day Christian Conservatives might decry the nation under a curse if translated to live in former years.

This is a thumbnail sketch of what happened while abortion was outlawed; while we prayed and read Bibles in classrooms; and while greater percentage of conservative politicians ruled: Roughly 50% of the original super religious Jamestown and Plymouth Colony settlers died of exposure, starvation and disease within a year of arrival. Various intensities of Indian wars took lives and destroyed property in most every westward movement from 1607 until the final victory over the Paiutes in 1915. From its founding to 1972, Americans fought in 23 domestic and foreign wars; and there was a persistent line of spontaneous army and naval engagements with foreign powers to protect US interests. There was hardly a decade exempt of widows grieving loss of husbands and families disadvantaged by horribly crippled wounded warriors.

During the same centuries epidemics of smallpox, yellow fever, malaria, cholera, measles and polio struck hundreds of thousands in wave after wave of successive generation plague installments. For many generations quarantine signs regularly appeared on homes throughout America. From March through November of 1918, 500 thousand citizens died of the Spanish Influenza pandemic. Hundreds of thousands more were taken ill with it.

Then there was the stock market crash of ’29; and the dustbowl famine and Great Depression that hit in 1930 and lasted into the ‘40s to complicate every family’s life. And finally, I must mention the USA’s natural disasters of floods, earthquakes, winter storms, hurricanes, fires and the like. Single incidents of those

calamities took more lives and took longer to rectify prior to Roe vs. Wade than after it.

With history in mind, can anyone claim overwhelming proof that our citizenry was more blessed in the past than now?

Salt of the Earth

The Early Church believed that prior to the Coming of the Lord there would be a tremendous visitation of the Holy Spirit and an ingathering of souls into the Body of Christ. Therefore, Christians endeavored to live undisruptive lives that would draw secret admiration even from their persecutors. The concept was that many of the evil would be so shamefaced about God’s attestation of those whom they previously hated that their hearts would be opened to receive Christ. (1 Pet 2:11-17)

America is not God’s holy nation, but the Church of Jesus Christ is. Jesus described believers as the salt of the earth. We can regain our saltiness if we shift our focus of prayer and fasting from the healing of our land to the healing of the nation of the Church to become all Christ intends it to be.

Salt has 2 functions. First, it brings out flavor for that which is bland and unappetizing and it sweetens foods that are sour and bitter. Secondly, it preserves from corruption.

Our salt assignment from God is to believe that we can bring sweet flavor to bitter circumstance. We can do so by exercising faith to follow God’s instructions to Israel while in Babylonian captivity. We are to build businesses and homes; and choose to enjoy family life as though every aspect of existence were ideal. We are to pray for our cities and nation with full faith that as they prosper so shall we prosper. (Jer 29:4-7)

Our salt value will also be greatly increased as we pray for and receive more power for miraculous healing. There is hardly anything more appealing than coming up on a neighbor’s blindside and healing one of their loved ones of a wasting illness. It is especially so when done without showbiz fanfare and in the mode of being naturally supernatural.

The Lord is coming for a Bride without spot or wrinkle. To qualify we must be dedicated to embracing salt’s ability to hold off corruption. For believers, that demands that we challenge one another to live righteously.

One way or the other, Christians are often trodden under the feet of evil men. We deserve it if we continue to criticize sinners for acting like sinners when we so often are exposed as having secret lives of the same. (Matt 5:13) Only righteous salt can cause sinners to yearn for the fruit of salvation.

Believers activate salt’s flavor enhancing and anti-corruption qualities by being a people who refuse to incessantly grumble about the government. Prayers of faith for the salvation and welfare of governmental leaders is saltiness that has God’s approval.

Personal Word

For an entire year, I became feverishly preoccupied with the election via cable news. For me, it was a mistake to allow myself to become entangled with the affairs of this world as God's Kingdom is not of this world. (Jn 18:36; 2 Tim 2:4) I am not called to purposely antagonize the world. My brand of the scent of Christ from within keeps me on the front-burner of controversy without extra provocation.

At this juncture, politics and cable news are as disdainful to me as cheap wine after a teen’s first overdose of it. I bless God that my days feel as though they’ve been supernaturally lengthened for productivity in keeping with my calling.

jcm888@comcast.net 
Florida, USA