Sha’alu shalom yerushalayim.

When I published my first post of 2017, I had not expected to be 'silent' for as long as I have. However, a combination of enjoying the hospitality of friends; sometimes having no internet access; and then, before leaving for home, having 'picked up' the virus that seems to have hit a lot of the UK; means that spending time online has been severely restricted!

Then comes the question - on which of the multiple topics of the past few days does one post? Not an altogether easy choice, but I have decided to make my own comment on the tragic murder of four young members of the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) on Sunday past. This was a calculated act, designed to kill and maim as many as possible - and sadly successful in its aim.

A Palestinian terrorist from eastern Jerusalem rammed his truck into a group of IDF (Israeli Defence Force) soldiers at Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv Promenade, murdering the four and wounding about 15 others, some seriously. Three of the dead victims: Erez Orbach, Yael Yakutiel, Shir Hajaj and Shira Tzur, one man and three women, were 20 years of age, and the oldest only 22 years old. The injured include soldiers and civilians. One eye-witness reported that, after mowing down the victims, the lorry was reversed over them! The terrorist, identified as 28-year-old Fadi al-Qanbar from the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, an apparent hotbed of terror, was shot dead at the site. It appears that he had connections to Daesh - the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

Any sane person is surely shocked and saddened at such an incident - and it is only one of far too many! However, reliable reports indicate that, while Israel and those who support the nation, were mourning, "Palestinians" were celebrating in the street - just as they did on the now infamous 9/11! Hamas, the terrorist organisation, held a massive midnight rally after news of the attack broke. In Gaza, people handed out candy to the occupants of passing cars. Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Abbas, celebrated the attack on its official social media. Palestinian leaders incite terror and the Palestinian Authority pays nearly US$140 million a year to terrorists and their families. 

All of this on the back of UN decisions that re-write recorded history by claiming that the Temple Mount is a Muslim site, and not a Jewish one! Of course, the motion was presented by a number of Muslim states - but that it was supported by the UK, and that the USoA abstained, is difficult to believe!

I make no apology for my personal support of Israel. I do not agree with absolutely every decision made by the Israeli government - but then, I don't agree with many of the decisions made by recent UK governments!  However, I never forget that the Jesus Whose disciple I am (however poorly!) was born into a Jewish family; was raised and trained as a Jew; was prosecuted as a Jew; and was crucified as a Jew. I recall that the earliest disciples of Yeshua were all Jews. I have learned, in just the past couple of years, how much the church was Hellenised ("Greek-ised") by Emperor Constantine, and separated from her Hebraic roots. I was reminded, earlier today, that Paul (another Jew!) made clear that it is Gentile disciples of Yeshua who "... have been cut from what is, by nature, a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, ..." (Rom.11:24). So I now see the Children of Israel as, at least, my 'cousins' - and certainly a part of the same family!

At the end of my e-mails is the brief phrase, in a transliteration of the Hebrew, that I have used as a heading for this post.  It translates as "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." (Ps.122:6).  I encourage you to do so!

Apartheid Israel!

It was a Facebook post by a friend of one of my former pupils, who had been on my own "Friends" list for a number of years.  It was, basically, a 'tongue-in-cheek' comment on the late Fidel Castro, using a reported quote from this former President of Cuba.

However, some of the following comments that appeared to be praising this "great humanitarian" led me to give some of "the other side" of the story!  This, in turn, led to the former pupil informing me that I am a "pro-Zionist" who supports the bombing of innocent civilians, including children, by apartheid Israel!

That probably wasn't a wise move on his part!  My response was as follows - in case any of my blog readers think as he does!  I typed:

If that is directed at me (I was absolutely certain that it had been - but one must be careful!), you need to do some serious research on the State of Israel - and not be hoodwinked by the pro-'palestinian' propaganda that is spouted by the MSM (main stream media, in case you are unfamiliar with the abbreviation).

Just to get you started - If Palestinians were to lay down their guns tomorrow, there would be no war. If Israel were to lay down its arms, there would be no Israel.  It would be so very helpful if the 'Palestinians' were to stop firing rockets at Israel; stop digging tunnels that are intended to enable their 'soldiers' to infiltrate Israel; and stop teaching their children to "kill the Jews" (that, of course, is not confined to 'Palestinian' authorities).

There is NO apartheid in Israel!  Have you ever been there? Have you seen, for yourself, this apartheid to which you refer? Do you know how many Arabs are Members of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament)? By the way, do you know how many Jews are involved in the political leadership of any Arab state?! (The answer to that question is easy - less than 1!!) Do you know how many Arabs are members of the IDF (the Israeli Defence Force)?  Do you know how many Arabs hold top positions in the Police, the Military, in Institutes of Higher Education (and as teachers in primary and secondary education - teaching Jewish children!), in Medical Institutions and Hospitals?

Do you know how many 'Palestinians' work in Israel - because the wages and conditions are better than anything they can obtain in 'Palestine'?  Do you know how many 'Palestinians' bring their children, and other relatives, to Israeli hospitals for treatment - free of charge? Can you provide a figure for these "innocent men, women, and children being bombed and daily harrasses or being evicted out of their homes"? Do you know how many rockets, bombs, sidearms, etc were found in 'Palestinian' hospitals and other public buildings? Are you aware of the 'Palestinian' strategy of firing their rockets, indiscriminately, at Israel - from areas of civilian population?  Do you really understand the definition of "apartheid"?  Indeed, do you know the meaning of "Zionist"?  You really should go beyond the Daily Record (a Scottish tabloid newspaper that caters for the less educated in Scottish society!) for your information about the world!

I then pointed out that, so far, 37 Arab Muslims (at least some of whom, and probably all of whom, are 'Palestinian' Arabs) have been arrested over the arson attacks that have destroyed hectares of forest in Israel.  I suggested, from another perspective, that he check out the Arab countries that do practice apartheid towards Jews!  For example, Jews are not even allowed to permanently reside in Saudi Arabia, Libya, or Jordan - and I suspect that any Jew would be refused entry to Iran!

If there ever was to be a "State of Palestine" (for the first time in the history of the world!), it has already been made clear that it would be "ethnically cleansed" of any Jews!

Well, I could have gone on - and could go on.  However, I do hope that anyone who has bought into this hype about Israel being a modern South Africa will begin to realise that nothing could be further from the truth.  There are no "Jews only" forms of transport. There are no "Jews only" beaches. There are no "Jews only" cafés or restaurants.  There are no "Jews only" washrooms.  Indeed, according to Kenneth Meshoe, a South African politician, any attempt to compare Palestinians’ experience in Israel with the former racist regime is offensive to individuals who suffered under the system of racial separation.  He said that, on a trip to Israel, "I deliberately looked for anything that looked like apartheid. I took a bus to the center of Jerusalem, but blacks, Jews, Arabs and everybody else all sat together. Swimming at the Dead Sea was mixed. I looked for the ‘black only’ beaches, but there were none. Arab school teachers stood in front of Jewish classes! That would never have happened under apartheid."

Apartheid Israel? - it simply doesn't exist!

Who really is the villain?!

According to a report in The Telegraph newspaper, Amnesty International have accused Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad of having committed war crimes by deliberately starving civilian inhabitants of a Palestinian refugee camp during the bloody three-year civil war.   The human rights group also accuses security forces of targeting doctors and medics while, at the same, it charges rebel groups of looting vital medical equipment in the sprawling Yarmouk camp, in the south-side of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

At the same time, BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) is an almost ten-years-old global campaign which uses economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement: The end of Israeli 'occupation' and colonization of Arab land; full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel; and respect for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

So, what is the connection?  The BDS movement came to the attention of many only recently when the actress, Scarlett Johansson broke ties with Oxfam because of “fundamental differences” between her and the NGO (non-governmental organisation) on the issue of Israel boycotts.  The full story is too long for a blog post, but the gist of it is that the actress supported SodaStream - whose factory is built on 'disputed' land; while Oxfam supports the aims of the BDS. 

Of course, the truth of the matter is that the Palestinian  employees of SodaStream have equal rights with the Israeli employees, and are better paid, and have better working conditions, than their fellow-Palestinians who work within Palestine.

It is also an incontrovertible fact that Israeli Defence Force soldiers are treating wounded Syrians, and provide emergency treatment to injured, and ill, Palestinians; and that Israeli hospitals are open to Palestinians who require some of the finest medical treatment in the world.

As one person has tweeted: "Syrians starve Palestinians but Israelis save Syrian and Palestinians lives. Who do we boycott?"

Last year, in Israel

Wherever I turn to in the popular media, I find the State of Israel being criticised and, indeed, demonised!   Increasingly, she is being isolated, internationally, as world 'leaders' cosy up to régimes that are the supporters of terrorists whose actions have a negative effect on the whole of the developed, and the developing, world.

It is regrettable that some of the news from Israel does not reach our western television screens, radio broadcasts, and newspapers.  However, in order to make some small attempt to redress the situation, I share the following, with gratitude to Michael Ordman, publisher of the popular blog “Good News from Israel – News of Israel’s Achievements and Heartwarming Stories of the Jewish State.”  It came to me through the website http://unitedwithisrael.org

"In May, doctors at Schneider’s Children's Hospital transplanted a kidney into a 10-year-old Palestinian Arab boy. The kidney came from 3-year-old Israeli Noam Naor who died in a tragic fall and his parents decided to donate his organs to save the life of others.  Following the operation, Noam’s mother said, “To see Yakub today is very exciting. I wish him only health, a full and speedy recovery.” In the same month, Hadassah Hospital doctors performed an extremely rare operation to deliver the conjoined (“Siamese”) twins of a Palestinian Arab mother. The babies weighed 4.9 pounds and shared a heart.

The Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) performs more life-saving surgery on Palestinian Arab infants than from any other part of the world.  In August, of the 22 children at SACH’s base in the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, seven were from the Palestinian Authority.  SACH works with Christian organization Shevet Achim which funds and transports PA and Gaza children requiring heart surgery to Israeli hospitals such as the Wolfson and to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.

In July, IDF (Israeli Defence Force) paramedics and Magen David Adom joined together with the PA police and the PA Red Crescent to save a Palestinian Arab who was hit by a car when riding his donkey near Nablus (Shechem).  MDA transported him to an Israeli hospital for further treatment.  And coming right up-to-date, in December an IDF emergency medical team rescued a 10-year-old Palestinian Arab boy whose head was cut open following a car accident and airlifted him to hospital.  The team also treated the boy’s mother, who suffered from shock after the accident.

In 2013, truck drivers from Israel were fully occupied making 64,783 deliveries of food, medicines, finished goods and building materials (some 1.3 million tons) into Gaza.  Unfortunately for Hamas, their leader Ismail Haniyeh was caught feeding orphans in Gaza with “boycotted” Israeli yogurts.  Meanwhile in July sixty Gaza farmers attended an agricultural seminar in northern Israel.  They completed workshops on cultivation methods, planting schedules, soil preparation, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides. In the following video, dozens of Gaza farmers are shown at an Israeli exhibition earlier in the year learning about innovative Israeli agricultural methods and new fruits and vegetables developed in Israel.

When the December storm struck, Israel intervened in Hamas’ quarrel with the PA by rushing in 1.2 million liters of diesel into Gaza to restart its power station.  And when the snow trapped a Palestinian Authority ambulance carrying a very sick woman, Israeli soldiers from the Kfir Brigade were there to help it back on the road.

The PA shuns normalisation of relations with Israel, but the 20,000 Palestinian Arabs working for Israelis in Judea and Samaria (25 percent more than in 2012) illustrate that the reality is quite different.  In August we also read about the hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs who have become business partners and colleagues in joint start-ups. For example Israeli startup Naked Sea Salt partners with a Palestinian Arab company to use eco-friendly methods to harvest salt from the Dead Sea.  And the massive project involving Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority will construct a pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to produce millions of cubic meters of drinking water for the region, hydroelectric power and replenish the critically dwindling Dead Sea.  Even Al Jazeera broadcast the news of the joint project."

There is much more.  It remains true that the first casualty in war, is truth.  Please take the time to access the Ordman blog, or the site
http://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-occupation-in-2013?inf_contact_key=0c73d6c9a69288c9bec0fd63a0ef0023826d49d9e537ecd6e3e8448c53058847