Displaying items by tag: Middle East

UNPRECIDENTED ROCKET ATTACK, GOVERNMENTAL RESIGNATIONS, A GOVERNMENT POISED TO FALL—RECOVERED, BUT HOLDING ON BY A THREAD.          

Hamas rained down almost 500 rockets on Southern Israel over a two and a half day period. Netanyahu sat 7 hours with his cabinet discussing whether or not to go to war.        

Some of his cabinet felt there was no other choice except to go to war, as these last months of terrorism - sending fiery balloons over the border burning up farmland and forest areas, hordes of Palestinians trying to break through the border, etc., etc., etc. were bringing a living hell to the Israeli citizens in the south.            

Others believed that because of the certain loss of many lives in the IDF that would occur, and the world's condemnation that would surely come, if Egypt could help put together a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, that would be the best direction.        

Netanyahu chose the latter.  Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was furious and resigned, taking his party of 7 Knesset seats with him.  That left Netanyahu with 61 Knesset seats in his coalition.  Netanyahu needs 61 out of 120 to lead the nation.            

Naftali Bennett, who also felt the nation must go to war to defeat Hamas and give relief to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the south, told Netanyahu he wanted to take Lieberman's place as defense minister - or he would leave the government with his 8 Knesset seats.  Netanyahu refused and Bennett says he is also leaving the government. That means elections are here.            

It would seem logical that Netanyahu believes he can win a snap election, or he would not have let his government fall.  He would have given Bennett the job.            

Netanyahu is the most popular politician in Israel.  The issue is that he has the entire group of ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, as he bends towards the religious.  That means the Haredim (ultras) have tremendous power in Israel.  They basically let Netanyahu do whatever he wishes to do, as long as he fills their coffers with shekels to support their men of whom the majority won't work or serve in the army.  Aside from the harassment and persecution against Messianic Jews and Messianic congregations, the Haredim take far more than their share of finances, and give back little to Israeli society.

Yet, there is no other strong leader in any of the other parties that stands out who the Israeli public have faith that he or she can keep Israel in survival mode. Israel lives in the most dangerous neighborhood in the world.            

So let us pray for God's will to be done in this upcoming election (2019).            

Lord, we pray, in the awesome Name of Yeshua, that You will hear the prayers of Your people who have a personal relationship with You and Your Son, and give us relief from the Haredi persecutors. We pray that You will put together the coalition that You desire.  Hear the words of our hearts, because we don't know who we should pray for or how to pray.  But You have a plan.  You have a plan to save all Israel and to bring revival to the nations of the world.

Use Your people here in Israel that love You. Give us opportunities and freedom to spread the Word of God more and more here in Israel. 

SHIRA SORKO-RAM

PLEASE PRAY:  

• That God will “redeem Israel out of all of his troubles” (Psalm 25:22).  That a government will be put in place which is not out of alignment with those redemptive purposes!
• That while it is time for the present government to stand, it will stand; when it is time for it to be replaced, that it will fall.
• That with the resignation of Defense Minister Lieberman, a man or woman of courage, integrity and wisdom for that job will be chosen to take his place.
• That, as Shira mentions above, the ultra-Orthodox members of the present government (or one which may arise in its place), will not be allowed to work injustice nor take unfair advantage of their positions to coerce the government in a direction which is unrighteous and unjust.
• That God minister strongly to Prime Minister Netanyahu during this time.  That he humble himself before his God, and allow himself to be led in ways which are truly aligned with God’s purposes for Israel this year.  That he fulfills the length of days God has ordained for him to lead.   That a godly, strong God-fearing leader be being nurtured to be raised up to take his place.
• That the warm, strong relationship between the governments of Israel and the United States which God has brought into place during this season would not be threatened or adversely effected by a shake-up in the Israeli government outside of God’s timing. 

Martin and Norma Sarvis

Jerusalem

49% of Jordanian mothers do not want to give birth again, according to a survey of 19,000+ households. The study results were shared on Facebook, generating mixed reactions. While some raised concern on feminist issues, most comments took a financial turn. More than often, men and women agreed that ‘the challenging financial situation’ is enough of a reason to stop them from having more than two children. Pray for these mothers to find the means to provide for their children (Mark 7:27). We can praise God for parents who have the heart to protect and keep them safe. Pray also that all children will receive help and assistance for their education.

A Syrian SAT-7 team recently found churches full of displaced people learning about Jesus for the first time. Almost a thousand children, including hundreds from non-Christian backgrounds, gathered in Tartus, Bloudan, and As-Suwayda to see ‘Family of Jesus’, a children’s show of music, teaching biblical values and prayer. In Bloudan 200 children were so excited and happy to see the team they didn’t want to leave, but church leaders made them go straight after the service for their safety. The congregation in As-Suwayda was almost entirely Druze people, most of the Christians having fled Syria. In Tartus the team sang, prayed and filmed with 300 Alawite children, hungry for the word of God. The churches are crowded with new believers.

Syria has re-opened two border crossings, one at Nassib on the Jordanian border and another on the divide between Syrian- and Israeli-controlled areas of the Golan Heights. Travellers expressed their joy. Nassib will once again be a major trade artery for the region. Its reopening had been anticipated since pro-Syrian government forces took the area from rebels in July. The Syria-Jordan crossing was a major link for direct trade between the neighbouring countries as well as longer-distance transit, which was a significant source of revenue. Its closure cut all land trade routes between Lebanon and the Gulf. Imad Sariheen, a Jordanian taxi driver, called the crossings reopening a source of ‘great happiness for all of us’ which will help ease ‘economic hardships’. Druze living in the Israeli-controlled area can now use the crossing to visit family, attend Syrian universities, or sell apples and other local produce.

On 14 October Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s advisor on religious and Islamic affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habash, declared on TV that ‘Islam’s religious war to destroy Israel’s “culture of Satan” has begun’; and ‘Jerusalem is the arena of conflict between us and the colonialist project (Israel)’. He described the fight as ‘a war between Islamic culture in all its splendour and the culture of Satan, oppression and aggression’. See On 17 October a predawn rocket attack from Gaza struck an Israeli home, and another rocket landed off the coast near Tel Aviv. ‘There are only two organisations in Gaza with this calibre of rocket - Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’, said the IDF. Later the Israeli military bombed twenty Gaza Strip areas including weapons factories, military bases and Hamas’s tunnel-building efforts.

On 28 September, the IDF neutralised 100+ explosives thrown at them by over 20,000 people rioting at five locations along the Gaza Strip frontier. At the border fence protesters, encouraged by Hamas, burned dozens of tyres, using the thick black smoke as a screen to throw rocks and explosives at Israeli troops. IDF soldiers responded with tear gas and gunfire ,and Israeli aircraft carried out two airstrikes on Hamas positions in the Strip. A statement said, ‘With armed terrorists only minutes away from Israeli families, it is the IDF’s duty to protect them’. A tweet said, ‘Imagine a mob of 20K people, throwing bombs & grenades, attempting to reach your home. The people of southern Israel don’t have to imagine; this is happening right now, regularly, on Israel’s border with Gaza.’

Virtually all media outlets are unaware of the protests in Gaza by opponents of Hamas. Palestinian media in the Strip do not dare to publicise the underground protests against the terrible injustice imposed on Palestinians by Hamas since it took control of Gaza by force in 2007. Al-Monitor has learned that recently dozens of Palestinians have demonstrated in different refugee camps, claiming Hamas had taken the Strip back to the Middle Ages and accusing leading Hamas officials and activists of corruption and of favouring their supporters over the general population. They called on Hamas to take care of its people or ‘disappear’. A few waved signs against what they termed Gaza’s ‘dictatorial regime’. Similar protests took place in 2017; they were violently suppressed by Hamas security forces.

During the Hebrew month of Elul, Jewish people mark God's creation of the world. This year’s celebration included an event its organisers believe could be a fulfilment of biblical prophecy. The sound of shofars, scripture projected onto Jerusalem's Old City walls, and music from an orchestra and choir marked the World Creation Concert. The Sanhedrin's spokesman hopes that the annual concert will spread throughout the world to usher in peace, blessing and health, with similar concerts in other venues and with people praying towards Jerusalem: ‘this is our prayer to the entire world’, he said. The organisers are already preparing for next year - the Temple Mount, a house of prayer for all nations.

Several deals have been struck across Syria over the years of the civil war, but few have made significant differences. Pray that the agreement between Russia and Turkey to create a military buffer zone in Syria's Idlib holds fast and is successful in preventing further deaths as Syria’s last remaining opposition stronghold is included in a demilitarised zone. Turkey's foreign minister declared that only terrorist groups, not civilians, will be removed from Idlib province under the deal. EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic stressed that the Turkish-Russian deal must protect civilians.

Most Israeli Jews believe in God. The US is the most God-fearing country in the West. The figures for faith in God are almost identical for the two nations, leaving other ‘Christian’ countries far behind. At a time when Jewish settlers and evangelical Christians appear to run foreign policies in both Jerusalem and Washington, it is hard to escape the conclusion that religion has a pivotal role in the special relationship between them. Also the tense political relations between Israel and the EU and between the EU and Washington are defined by religious beliefs. Israelis and Americans view Europe as godless and decadent, while Brussels believes Israel and the USA are drifting into fundamentalist crazy-land. These specifics come from a recent poll by the Dialogue Institute that surmised, ‘Religious beliefs are also a reliable marker for political views’.