Nazareth Priest: In Israel, Christians Have Freedom

Thursday, November 20, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff

Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Nazareth-based Greek Orthodox Christian priest of Aramean background, has become a symbol and vocal witness of the situation for Christians in Israel, and how that differs from the way Christians are treated everywhere else in the Middle East.

Speaking before US congressional leaders in Washington, DC this week, Father Naddaf explained:

“In the Middle East today, there is one country where Christians are affectionately granted freedom of expression, freedom of worship and security. It is Israel, the Jewish State. In Israel, Christians enjoy good education, employment, welfare, healthcare, and high socio-economic standing. In Israel, Christians have freedom, which no Muslim power has ever offered us.”

In telling the American lawmakers about his own journey of faith, Father Naddaf recalled moving as a young man to the mixed Arab-Jewish city of Haifa, where, in the course of meeting and working with Jews, he discovered that “the idea that I needed to be scared of Jews, or that there was something dangerous about them was simply not true. The myth was shattered.”

It is this same hate-filled misinformation about Israel’s Jews and their intentions that is fueling the current violence centering on Jerusalem.

Father Naddaf is currently in the US on a speaking tour on behalf of The Face of Israel organization.

Father Naddaf and his efforts amongst and on behalf of the Aramean Christian community in Israel is the focus of a feature story in the upcoming December issue of Israel Today Magazine. Don’t miss it - SUBSCRIBE NOW >>

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"This is The Gate of Heaven" ✡ Shabbat Shalom!

And he was afraid, and said: 'How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'  GENESIS (28:17)   וַיִּירָא וַיֹּאמַר מַה נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה  אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם בֵּית אֱלֹהִים וְזֶה שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם בְּרֵאשִׁית   כח:יז va-yee-ra va-yo-mar mah no-ra ha-ma-kom ha-zeh ayn zeh kee im bayt e-lo-heem v'-zeh sha-ar ha-sha-ma-yim

Shabbat Inspiration The ground upon which Jacob spends the night and encounters God, recounted in today's verse, was none other than the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. When Jacob awakens, he realizes that it is no ordinary place, but “the gate of the heavens”, the most propitious place for prayers to ascend to God and the site where the Temple will later stand. According to Rabbi Chaim Clorfene, the Temple is referred to as a house “because in the Temple, God's revealed presence - the 'shechina' - dwells with His people, just as a husband intimately dwells with his wife in their home.”   Get more Shabbat inspiration with our Shabbat Shalom Book » Love In The Face of Terror The widows of the Har Nof massacre have asked that this Shabbat be dedicated to 'ahavat chinam' - love for no good reason.  In the words of the super-talented Portnoy Brothers, in a single they just released from Jerusalem, "Learn to love the ones who love you less."   Watch here » Demolition of Terrorists’ Homes Begins in Jerusalem The destruction of terrorists’ homes sends a sharp, clear message to those who wish to harm Israeli civilians and security forces. That message says; terrorism and causing harm to innocents carries with it a heavy price.   Read more » Shabbat Shalom Book Get inspired each week by the Torah portion with this book by Sondra Oster Baras, who has been teaching Scripture to Christians from a Jewish point of view for over a decade. Edited by Rabbi Tuly Weisz, with beautiful photographs of the heart of Biblical Israel. Get this Great Deal » Today's Israel Photo The skies of Israel really do seem like the gates of heaven.  In today's picture, by Daniel Malkiel, we can feel the spirit emanating from the inspiring sky over Israel's lush farmland.   View more scenes of Israel » Thank You Please help us continue to spread the beauty and significance of the Land of Israel! Sponsor a day » “Your Daily Messages Help Us So Much” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » Hi Rabbi Tuly, Greetings from South Africa. Thank you so much for your daily messages. They mean so much to me. I am part of a group of Christian people studying the Torah, and your daily messages help us so much. Thank you, Pat B. The Blessings we get from the readings and scriptures are indeed awesome and superb. They have brought light and inspiration in this part of the Pacific. Regards and God bless! Seva Nauru Secondary School. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Tel Aviv Named World's 'Smartest City'

Thursday, November 20, 2014 |  Yossi Aloni  ISRAEL TODAY

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Tel Aviv this week beat out 250 cities from across the globe to receive the World Smart Cities Award, a competition launched as part of the Smart City Expo World Congress.

The Smart City Expo, held this year in Barcelona, is considered an important conference in the city innovation industry.

At this year’s event, Tel Aviv set up a booth showcasing the city’s various digital projects, such as city-wide WiFi service, location-based technology tools, adaptation for smart phones, and the activation of public round tables, discussions and a collaborative budget.

The Tel Aviv Municipality said its urban digital campaign also includes a new resident card that has been used by 90,000 locals to date.

The card enables residents to receive services and information by e-mail, text message and a personal website customized by place of residence, interests, marital status and more.

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Muslims Chant to Remove Jesus at Washington’s National Cathedral

Thursday, November 20, 2014 |  David Lazarus  ISRAEL TODAY

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It looked like a chilling scene from a Last Days, anti-Christ-takes-over-the-world disaster movie. Hundreds of Muslims take over America’s most notable church, prostrate on their prayer rugs as their unified chant echoes out in full volume: “There is only one god, he begets not and I bear witness that Muhammad is His only servant and Apostle."

Only this was not a movie. This was the scene, last Friday, for the first time in history, at the iconic National Cathedral in Washington, where orthodox Muslim clerics were invited to lead an Islamic prayer service. A congregation of hundreds were lead by an Imam in declaring that “god has no son, that Jesus Christ cannot be his son, and that there is no god like Allah.”

Only a single middle-age woman jumped up in the middle of the service and shouted, “America was founded on Christian principles. . . . Leave our church alone!” She was escorted quickly out of the church by security guards.

The National Cathedral in Washington, DC has been an extremely important symbol of the Christian roots of the United States. The cathedral was designated by Congress as America's "National House of Prayer." The church has hosted a number of inaugural presidential prayer services, including Franklin Roosevelt and both presidents Bush.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, took to Facebook in reaciton to the Muslim prayer service:

“The National Cathedral in Washington, DC–one of the most prominent Episcopal churches in America–will host a Muslim prayer service to Allah. It’s sad to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything other than the One True God of the Bible, who sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to save us from our sins. Jesus was clear when He said, 'I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me' (John 14:6)."

As of this writing, 80,000 people had “liked” Graham’s post.

The Islamic service at the cathedral was ostensibly intended to promote interfaith dialogue. Its organizers said that they hoped the service would “help correct some Americans’ misperceptions of Muslims as extremists and reinforce tolerance among faiths.”

However, it is hard to understand how a Christian church opening its sanctuary for Islamic prayers that renounce Jesus Christ contributes to interfaith tolerance. Muslims would never allow a Christian to preach the Gospel in a mosque. Palestinian Muslims continue to ban all Jews and Christians from praying at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It would appear that “interfaith dialogue and tolerance” are just more code words calling for Muslims to rise up and conquer.

The Washington Post reported that the Islamic prayer service was closed to the public because of security concerns. Armed guards checked every person and every bag of those in attendance.

Islam is growing rapidly around the world, and is now the third-largest religion in the United States, behind Christianity and Judaism, with an estimated 2.6 million American Muslim citizens.

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Love For His People Editor's Note: Thank the Lord for Franklin Graham. He has been one who has spoken the truth. I hope other Christian leaders do also! 

Steve Martin, Editor

Eyewitness Accounts from the Slaughter in Jerusalem Synagogue

Eyewitness Accounts from the Slaughter in Jerusalem Synagogue 

  

UNITED WITH ISRAEL  11.19.14

An extremely brutal moment on Tuesday morning left many people scarred for life after witnessing the worst terror attack Jerusalem has seen in years.

Emergency medical personnel at the site of a Jerusalem massacre on Tuesday by Palestinian terrorists. (Photo: ZAKA Spokesperson)

Just seven minutes of terror indelibly transformed the lives of many Israelis who were witness to the horrendous terror attack on Tuesday in which two Arab terrorists barged into a Jerusalem synagogue, hacking and shooting to death four Jewish worshipers and, later, a responding policeman. Several others were severely wounded.

Worshipers, medics, policemen – anyone present at the attack described what they experienced in one word: Massacre.

Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and Firing

Shmuel Goldstein took his 12-year-old son to pray at the synagogue. The terrorists seriously wounded Goldstein, but his son Mordechai managed to escape unharmed – physically, at least – by crawling out the door.


“He crawled on the floor so that nobody would notice him and escaped,” renowned educator Tzipora Heller, Goldstein’s mother-in-law, told Israel’s Ynet. “The boy has been traumatized, he repeats over and over again how Arabs tried to kill everyone who was there. He arrived at his house, knocked on the door, his mother opened it and he told her everything that happened.”

“It is a difficult experience for an adult, so of course it would be for a child. He spoke with a social worker from the hospital. He talks and looks okay but he does not talk of his feelings,” Heller said.

Goldstein, 43, a father of nine, is in serious but stable condition. He suffered wounds to his head, chest, hand and ear. “We spoke to him before he was taken to surgery. We told him the boy was able to escape because he was probably very worried, and [he] said, ‘thank God,’ and then he was sedated,” Heller added.

Yaakov Amos was praying in the synagogue at the time of the attack. “During the prayers, I heard shots and saw a worshiper wearing Tefillin (phylacteries) lying on the floor. The bastard [terrorist] passed me from the right while shouting Allahu Akbar and firing. Three people fell immediately, and I saw him keep on massacring people,” Amos toldYnet. “One of the terrorists did not waste bullets and aimed directly at people. He fired and then looked at me, and chose people closer to him, shooting them at point blank range.”

Tehila, a woman in her 20s, saw the attack unfold from her window. She told Tazpit News Agency: “I was asleep and heard many people screaming. I jumped out of bed and saw policemen, some not even wearing uniforms, running around in what looked like a crazy way. I also saw some injured people. One was full of blood. Afterwards, all the police forces came and I saw what sounded like a firefight. The police yelled at us to go inside and close the windows, since they hadn’t yet captured the terrorists.”

“It’s an hour later, and we are still shivering…The synagogue is a central one, it has a large congregation. You never dream something like this could happen in Har Nof,” she said.

Yehuda Grossbard, an eyewitness, told Tazpit News Agency: “My wife heard shots…I ran downstairs and saw people running out of the synagogue; some were covered in blood. I went next to the synagogue and I heard gunshots, I saw someone outside whose head was full of blood. Then I heard more shots, and that’s when the police came. They told people to get on the ground, and then the terrorists jumped out from the stairs and they shot them there.”

‘I Asked God to Save Me’

Yossi Barzani, one of the worshipers, recounted to Ynet the horrifying experience. “In the middle of prayers, two terrorists entered, shouting Allahu Akbar. The synagogue was in panic, and I tried to flee. At one point, one of the terrorists approached me with a knife, and there was a chair and a table between us. I drew back and ran from him and fled outside. In those moments, I asked God to save me. My prayer shawl got caught. I left it there and escaped. On the way out, I saw terrible sights and bodies.”

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Ofer, whose brother was wounded in the attack, told Ynet his brother had been struck in the head by a meat cleaver and was undergoing surgery. He initially heard about the massacre after receiving a message that there had been a terror attack, and he rushed to the scene. He used to live in the neighborhood and his brother was still a resident there. “I didn’t think he would be there,” said Ofer, “but unfortunately he was apparently the first to be stabbed and shot.”

“We all love him,” Ofer told Ynet. “He is an outstanding person; he loves to help people and would never take a shekel from anyone. We hope that my brother will come out of this and keep on teaching and being a righteous family man. My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Bravery Under Fire

Israeli security forces arrive at the scene of the attack. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Superintendent A., who serves as a Forensic Laboratory Specialist in the Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS), was the police officer who eliminated the two terrorists.

“It began as a regular morning for me,” he said. “I was sitting in my car when I heard the report from dispatch. We drove as fast as we could. It was absolutely clear to me that this was an unusual event.”

“When I arrived at the scene I saw two policemen at the entrance to the Yeshiva and continued to hear shooting. It was clear to me that if I stay outside people will be murdered inside,” he explained. “The policeman standing near me was shot and wounded and I understood I was in the line of fire. I saw two Arabs; one was holding a gun and a butcher’s knife, and the other one was holding a knife drenched in blood. I understood it was me or them, and I shot them both.”

Superintendent A. entered the building to continue his search for more terrorists. “One look inside and I saw lots and lots of blood. Ultra-Orthodox Jews lying on the ground. Massacre. And basically this is when my role in the incident ended.”

Reminiscent of Scenes from the Holocaust

Medical teams at the scene of the terror attack. (Hillel Maeir/Tazpit News Agency)

Aryeh Shavit, one of the first emergency medical responders to arrive at the scene, said that “two terrorists entered a synagogue and slaughtered the worshipers as they were praying, donning their prayer shawls and phylacteries. We provide initial medical treatment to the wounded with various degrees of injuries; unfortunately, several of them were severely wounded. A quick response by Israel’s police neutralized the terrorists. It was a combined knife and handgun attack.”

One of the worshipers present during the attack described how the terrorists “continued to try and harm anyone who was in their way or who tried to escape.”

Another eyewitness commented that the scene of the terror attack with bloodied bodies of Jews wearing tallitot and tefillin (prayer shawls and phylacteries) was reminiscent of scenes from the Holocaust.

Author: United with Israel Staff
(With files from YNET)

Massive Weapons cache Headed for Jerusalem Uncovered Among Christmas Decorations

Massive Weapons cache Headed for Jerusalem Uncovered Among Christmas Decorations

Click here to watch: Massive Weapons cache Headed for Jerusalem Uncovered Among Christmas Decorations A massive amount of fireworks, knives and Tasers police believe were meant in part to be used by rioters clashing with police were seized last week by Jerusalem District detectives and officers from the Tax Authority and the Ashdod Port Customs, police announced on Thursday. Police said the seizure came after Jerusalem detectives ran an undercover investigation along with the tax and customs officials, during which they were able to track and seize two shipping containers which came to Ashdod by way of China. The fireworks were hidden among Christmas decorations inside the containers, which were intended for Arab residents of the largely Christian east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. Last Tuesday, three of the suspects arrived at the Ashdod Port and claimed the containers, and then drove with them on trailers to a storehouse in Afula, where they planned to unload the merchandise. They were then arrested at the spot before unloading the containers, as was the owner of the storehouse. Inside the containers police said they found 18,000 fireworks of the restricted 20mm variety, as well as 5,200 commando knives, 4,300 flashlights that can be modified into improvised Tasers, 5,500 Tasers, and 1,000 swords. Watch Here Fireworks have become a highly popular tool of rioters facing off with police and soldiers during riots in the Arab sector, in particular in East Jerusalem. The firecrackers, including large roman candles, are pointed horizontally towards police and soldiers and fired like ammunition. Some of the larger gauge fireworks can penetrate police protective gear at close range, including their plastic shields. All can cause severe burns and if some of the larger ones hit on the right spot, such as the neck, they can potentially be fatal. On Tuesday, the Knesset Economics Committee voted to ban the import of fireworks throughFebruary 15th, noting that the explosives had been used as weapons against security forces in clashes. "Fireworks have become a significant danger to the security forces and we must eliminate their use as a weapon," said committee vice chairman MK Karin Elharar (Yesh Atid). The expiration date on the limitation was put in place to ensure the ban did not excessively hurt importers, but the Yaron Mor, who chairs the forum of firework importers, noted that the ban might not be effective in and of itself. In testimony before the committee, he said that there were smuggled containers of fireworks in the country that could still fall into the wrong hands. Source: Jerusalem Post

Praying...for Jerusalem

We pray for our friends in Jerusalem and all of Israel. May the good Lord Yeshua watch over you and draw you to His peace and protection from all evil that surrounds you.

Love For His People,Inc.