Displaying items by tag: Middle East

When Kobani was under siege by IS most of the city was destroyed and thousands fled. But IS’s violence caused a re-examination of Islam by the Kurds. When Christian Kurds are asked, ‘What made you change?’ they reply, ‘What IS did opened our eyes.’ When they saw first-hand the death and destruction wrought by radical Islam, they revised their beliefs, saying, ‘Islam in theory is different to Islam in action’. Brother Rachid said, ‘When we read “Kill the infidels” it’s only a sentence, but when you see the blood - it changes your attitude. The Lord has used these circumstances to bring people to faith. It is still growing like this (pointing upward), accelerating, huge numbers.’ About twenty families (80 to 100 people) now worship at Kobani’s new church. ‘We meet on Tuesdays and hold a service on Fridays. It is open to anyone who wants to join’, he said.

Elections in Israel were yesterday.  This afternoon (Wednesday) with some 97% of votes counted, the Likud with Benjamin Netanyahu and the Blue and White party with Benny Gantz were tied, each having received 35 seats each in the new Knesset. 

However, because the two religious parties, the Sephardic Shas and the Ashkenazy United Torah Judaism, received an astounding eight seats each, and have vowed to join a Netanyahu government—and there are still several other right-wing parties expected to do the same,

Netanyahu is being seen as winner (President Rivlin will almost certainly give him the task of forming a coalition after the final military and write-in votes are counted tomorrow).  This will be Netanyahu’s fifth term.  It means that Israel will go into this next season with a proven, strong defense stance against the threat from Iran.  It will continue with a leader whose prowess as a statesman is respected (if not always loved) in the international community.  There should continue to be a government with strong feelings for Israel’s right to a presence in the Covenant Land of the Mountains of Israel—Judea & Samaria—the West Bank.  And, extremely important for the present time, the relationship forged between Prime Minister Netanyahu and U.S. President Trump continues in a realm of mutual favour no new Israeli leader could hope to imitate.

On the other hand, a coalition so strongly impressed with the religious parties means one which will likely continue with a “double standard” related to religious and civil responsibilities of citizens (most ultra-Orthodox demand to be allowed to study Biblical commentaries of rabbis rather than to fulfill those responsibilities).  And the Shas party will almost certainly demand to maintain control of the Ministry of the Interior and other offices related to immigration—thus deciding who is considered a “Jew”, and discriminating against Messianic Jews and others it considers not lining up with its narrow religious views. 

In general, a far-right government is far less concerned with civil rights of Israeli citizens.  Any overtures the government might wish to take, for example, towards allowing other streams of Judaism to have access to their own portion of the Western Wall, can (as happened two years ago) be nipped off at the bud by a threat from one of the religious parties to leave and bring down the government.

Another question mark relates to the “Deal of the Century” for solving the Israel/Palestinian questions, which President Trump is due to release within a few weeks after the new government is on its feet.  Will it “allow” Israel to annex portions of the Mountains of Israel, and for Jerusalem to remain undivided?  Will the present relationship with Mr. Trump and America be able to remain close if there are tenets of the plan which Israel finds impossible to accept?

The Prime Minister Elect will have a month to put together a coalition; if that fails, he may ask for one short extension.  That failing, the country goes again to new elections.

PLEASE PRAY:

• That the God of Israel will watch over and guard the building of the new government. That none will be allowed to be formed which would restrict His path of mercy for his covenant land and people during the coming season.
• That grace will rest upon Mr. Netanyahu—a grace which leads to humility, and to seeking heavenly counsel for his governance during this term.
• That no occult powers would be able to influence the forming of the new coalition.
• That the most recent Shas leader (a convicted felon) will not be allowed to again hold the office of Ministry of the Interior. That the anti-Messiah spirit would not be allowed to reign over that office.

Martin & Norma Sarvis

Jerusalem

Over 3,000 police will be deployed across Israel, with a focus on Jerusalem, in preparation for and during the Passover holiday, which begins on 19 April at sundown. A spokesman said that tens of thousands of people are expected to arrive in Jerusalem for the first day of the holiday, and another 100,000+ on the second day for the High Priest prayer service at the western wall. This mass priestly blessing only takes place twice a year, once during Sukkot and again on Passover. Attendees receive the historic blessing from hundreds of Jews of priestly lineage as they face the congregation, hands stretched forward, chanting in one voice. The increase in security, involving border police, undercover officers, and members of special patrol units, is necessary due to a history of increased risk during the holiday period.

Christians across the Middle East are now experiencing or preparing for Holy Week (those churches that follow the Eastern Christian calendar being a week behind the West). Streets and squares overflow with believers celebrating Palm Sunday in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Iraqi Christian towns in the Nineveh Plain, along with believers in Lebanon and the Holy Land. Thus they demonstrate the deep faith of the region’s Christians as they worship a Saviour who showed strength through love, service and sacrifice.

On 10 April Benjamin Netanyahu emerged as the winner in Israel’s election, supported by right-wing and religious parties. However, one right-wing party, led by former education minister Naftali Bennett, seems not to have passed the electoral threshold; it demanded a recount, claiming ‘someone is cheating the right-wing out of votes’. The vote was split: Netanyahu's Likud and the Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz, received 35 seats each. The prime minister, however, secured his path to re-election by having a clear right-wing majority bloc in the Knesset. Many believe the political storm created by soft-spoken Mr Gantz has not blown over. Netanyahu recently said he would declare Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank if he won the election. This would be fiercely opposed by the three million Palestinians living there, and by much of the Arab world. See

The Iranian Church is growing with increased momentum, with daily encouraging reports. Despite persecution, Christians are courageously preaching Christ. Hundreds who have received training through mission agencies are teaching the Gospel. Over one million Scriptures have been distributed to Iranians since 2003. Christian TV is beamed into millions of homes, reaching families who otherwise may never have heard the Gospel. Thousands respond to programmes every month. An estimated 28 million have access to satellite TV as dishes (officially banned) are hidden in upper rooms and lofts. ‘Underground’ house churches serve people from all segments of society. Former hard-line Islamic mullahs and drug addicts worship Jesus together. Highly educated university professors, lawyers, taxi drivers, street vendors, and nomads follow Christ together.

Israelis will vote in national elections on 9 April. The campaign has been divisive, confusing and ugly, yet our prayers can declare the fundamental truth that our God reigns. The Friday prayer points sent by Intercessors for Israel can inspire our prayers for God’s chosen leader for His nation at this time. ‘Lord of all, rule over these elections so that the government of Your choice will be chosen. May Your will be done in Israel as it is already done in heaven. Raise up righteous men and women to lead this nation. Remove all confusion and bring clarity to Your people. Let there be light to guide Israelis as they decide who to vote for. Overrule any plans of the enemy that are trying to manipulation these elections for his demonic schemes. Protect all Israel from manipulation and witchcraft. Move the Arab-Israelis to vote against Arab politicians who are more concerned with the Palestinians that with their own constituents.’

Many Christians have fled Syria’s violence. Before 2011 Christians made up 8-10% of a 22 million population. By 2017 80% of them had left. Pastor Abdallah chose to stay and care for his congregation. He said that there are questions around the fate of kidnapped Christians, including three members of his church. The media focus on the disappearance of high-profile church leaders, but many ordinary Christians were abducted or disappeared during IS occupation. Hope is that more will become known about their situation soon. They could have been moved outside the area. As pastor Abdallah helps the Aleppo community rebuild, his main problem is securing long-term funding. NGOs are stopping aid throughout Syria, and many are suffering. He has now heard that banks have stopped transfers, and he said that the media don’t shed much light on the difficult situation citizens are enduring.

Following New Zealand’s terror attack, there have been six recorded incidents in just seven days. In Israel two rockets launched from Gaza terrorised residents around Tel Aviv; explosions and sirens were heard throughout the region. Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. Two Israelis were killed in another terror attack, and two days later a shooting attack on an Israeli bus traumatised passengers. In the Netherlands a gunman opened fire inside a tram, killing three and injuring others. In Kashmir 44 soldiers were killed and dozens injured by Pakistan terrorists. In Stanwell, UK, a far-right terrorist was arrested for attempted murder and racially aggravated public order. American experts say white nationalist threats are growing. Prayer leader Brian Mills says, ‘Satan undermines truth, is full of self-importance, is vehemently anti-Jewish and anti-Christian, seeks to interrupt our communication with God, and is a terrorist! We see a spirit of violence, intrinsic within Islam, being turned outwards.’

A few militants defending a Syrian river bank are all that is left of IS’s ‘caliphate’. 40,000 foreigners from 110 countries joined it; many have gone home, creating security challenges. Thousands are in Kurdish detention camps awaiting relocations. Distinguishing between regretful and repentant hangers-on and truly dangerous fighters is a legal and political nightmare, creating relationship cracks between Europe and US. Meanwhile IS’s black flag flies over an enclave on the Philippine island of Basilan, where a cathedral was bombed. IS-linked groups are still active in Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and stretches of northern Africa and the Sahel. While they may not have access to the oil revenues that enabled IS to claim to be an actual state, they remain a security threat. IS is also alive and well on the web, with gruesome and well-produced propaganda.