Victorious or Not Victorious - that is the question...

 

Barrage of rockets coming out of Gaza on left, Israeli Iron Dome taking out incoming rockets on right.

So - a ceasefire has been agreed on by both Hamas and Israel.  But first a few images from Israel in the past week and a half....

Fence infiltration into Israel on the Lebanon border.

Iron Dome (right) taking out incoming missiles (left).

Rockets (left), Iron Dome (right).

Iron Dome up close.

Israel explains why it demolished so many buildings in Gaza.

Not all the fighting has been in Israel and Gaza - Also very troubling is the anti-Israel protests and openly, violent attacks against Jews, especially in the past week, all over America and around the world.  Many countries in the world have shared their opinions, condemnations and financial support for either Israel or Gaza.  

Newspaper in the UK

Note that some Arab leaders are trying to draw "Christians" into the battle....

So what is the outcome of this ceasefire after 11 days of war - a war that Hamas started, and now claims victory??

Israel and Hamas are agreeing on a ceasefire with supposedly "no conditions." Before the ceasefire was imposed, about 70% of Israelis wanted the operation to continue, especially those in the communities surrounding Gaza (there was a similar percentage during the war in 2014).  We have to wonder what pressure/threats were placed on Israel by international leaders, especially in America.  Some government leaders in America were against financing the missiles for the Israeli Iron Dome to be replenished - these are not missiles used against Gaza, these are missiles that protect Israeli citizens from rockets fired from Gaza. 

One reason for Israel to choose now for a ceasefire is that it was getting to the point where if Israel was going to continue, they would most likely have to go in on the ground, which would definitely endanger soldiers lives (and possible kidnapping, which is a goal of Hamas as a pawn).

Hamas is lying about any victory. They are making claims that Israel gave into their conditions (concerning the Temple Mount and Sheikh Jarrah), which is not true. But that’s what they do.  They are needing to “save face” because Israel did a lot of damage to the Hamas info-structure/leaders in Gaza.  They have to make it look like they succeeded in their mission.  They did fire about 4,400 rockets at Israel in 11 days, but hundreds of those landed within Gaza on their own people, and the Iron Dome had a 90% success rate.  And remember, this is at least the 4th time Hamas asked for a ceasefire, but Israel kept saying not yet… until now.

Israel did accomplish a lot, much more in the past 11 days than they did in the 40 days of fighting during 2014.  They especially caused much damage with demolishing about 100 kilometers of the huge Hamas tunnel network in Gaza, but it will just get built back up again. Countries are already pouring in tons of money, including the US.

Just after the 2 am ceasefire began, Palestinians in Gaza, Israel and around the region began to celebrate their "victory."  There were parades throughout the streets with handing out candies.  Even in our neighboring Arab village they were shooting off fireworks at 2:15 am.  

As is common amongst the Palestinians, they called for yet another "day of rage" today (Friday).  With today being the Friday Muslim prayers, there were tens of thousands that made their way to the Temple Mount in the Old City Jerusalem.  What may have caught them off guard, was that the Israeli police were still there to attempt to squelch their riots - proving that Israel had not given into their demands concerning the Temple Mount.

Very early Friday morning before sunup on the Temple Mount, Old City Jerusalem.

What is the ultimate goal of Hamas, Iran and many of the Palestinians? "From the river to the sea" is the phrase that is constantly the motto heard throughout the Muslim world and now in many countries in Europe and North America.  Their goal is not a two state solution, it is to remove Israel and the Jews completely from this Land that God Himself deeded to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel).  For those of us who believe in the Bible, the end story of this battle has already been written - GOD WINS - His plans and His purposes will succeed.  HE is VICTORIOUS.  In the meantime, we trust in His promises knowing that His Eye is on the Land that He loves, and He will protect it. Amen.

Iron Dome protecting Israel against Her enemies.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve your going out 

and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 121

OPERATION GUARDIANS OF THE WALL - DAY 3

Picture of the Iron Dome anti missile defense system.

 OPERATION GUARDIANS OF THE WALL - DAY 3

As many of you know, Israel is in the midst of its first large scale operation since the war in 2014 (known as Operation Protective Edge).  Things are happening rapidly and have been nonstop since the rockets began Monday at 6 PM Israel time, when Hamas, the terror organization in Gaza, began its rocket assault on Israeli civilians.  But how did we get to where we are now?  It is complex, but here are a few reasons for this recent attack:

1 - Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) has not allowed elections since he became president 15 years ago.  The first elections since that time were going to be held soon and Hamas had a good chance of winning the election.  In Middle East, pre-election style, they began their "campaigning" by putting Israel in the middle of it, trying to show who had greater strength.  Hamas began sending rockets periodically toward Israel, and Fatah riled up protesters in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount.  This rioting served a specific purpose, if Israel would not allow Palestinian elections in Jerusalem due to rioting, Abbas could postpone the elections and stay in power.  This is exactly what happened, and Hamas was not happy about it.

2 - Contention in a neighborhood in north eastern Jerusalem called Sheikh Jarrah in Arabic and Shimon HaTzadik in Hebrew.  Over 70 Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah are set to be evicted in the coming weeks, to be replaced by Jewish Israelis or pay rent to the Jewish owners. The Palestinians live in houses built on land that courts have ruled were owned by Jewish religious associations before the establishment of Israel in 1948.  This has caused much rioting in this neighborhood, on the Temple Mount and at Damascus Gate of the Old City Jerusalem.

3 - Rioting on the Temple Mount - they are claiming their mosque is under attack, which is obviously not true.  Israeli police have been challenged with trying to stop the unrest on the Temple Mount without a lot of success.  

4 - We have been in the middle of Ramadan (Islam's holy month).

5 - Monday was Jerusalem Day - celebrating 54 years since reuniting Israel with its capital.

Key dates this week:

Monday, May 10th - Jerusalem Day (celebrated in Israel, according to Hebrew calendar)

Wednesday, May 12th - last day of Ramadan 

Friday, May 14th - Israel Independence Day (according the the Gregorian, world's calendar)

Saturday, May 15th - Nakba Day ("day of catastrophe" - Arabs lamenting Israel Independence)

    

Monday night at 6 PM Israel time, we were in our apartment when 6 rockets came at Jerusalem from Gaza, when we heard the explosions in the distance.  We made our way to a lower floor in the stairwell which is fortified until the 10 minute waiting period was over.

At this point, about 1100 rockets have been shot at Israel from Gaza in the past 48 hours. The death toll is at 6 with dozens injured, some seriously. Ashkelon has been the most targeted city, but Tel Aviv and other cities around it have now come under intense fire. The Israeli Air Force is striking targets in Gaza and have successfully eliminated a number of senior terrorists so far. No ground troops have been sent into Gaza yet, but 5000 reservists have been called up and the Golani Brigade is reportedly being transported to the area.

Israeli Arabs who live in cities alongside Jews have been rioting and attacking Jews and Jewish religious buildings throughout the country.  This is a very distressing new situation. In Lod (near the Ben Gurion Airport), the situation is being compared to Kristalnacht by the Mayor of Lod, and Israeli President Rivlin has called the riots in Lod a pogrom.  PM Netanyahu has declared a state of emergency in Lod and sent in backup security forces.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gantz and other high level security officials are meeting to discuss how Israel will be moving forward tonight with this operation - by air or land? With a ground operation as in 2014? Hamas has asked for a ceasefire, and Israel has replied no - not yet. This is good, Hamas does not start this conflict and then get to decide when it's had enough.  Israel now needs to complete its mission.

Hamas has promised a new attack Israel in Haifa (North) and Eilat (South) - at 6 pm today Israeli time (Israel is 7 hours ahead of EST in the US).

We will share several pictures and videos below, please forgive it for not being in any order. We want to get this out quickly.

Inside the mosque on the Temple Mount, preparing for Israeli police.

Synagogue destroyed in Lod

Areas where rockets hit last night causing the airport to close for many hours
and flights to be diverted to Cypress.

Last night...

Home in Ashkelon where a rocket hit, killing the homeowner.

Nursery in a hospital in the South taking cover in fortified hallways.

Monday night - Jerusalem Day at the Western Wall just before the rockets began.

Last night - huge barrage of rockets against central Israel.

Posting on Facebook of people wanting to help - everyone is one big family here.

Another posting on Facebook of people wanting to help.

A little earlier today.

Tanks heading south towards Gaza.

Recap

Rockets during the Jerusalem Flag Parade

Arab rioters on the Temple mount caught a tree on fire to dispel Jewish worshipper below.

Rockets in Tel Aviv

Rocket lands near people on the street.

Rocket sirens at Ben Gurion airport.

Rocket hits a bus in Holon north of Tel Aviv.

Israel Air Force demolishes a building in Gaza. IDF warns before destroying any buildings with leaflets, calls, sms, or "knock on the roof" - this is an empty bomb dropped about 10-20 minutes before the real one as a last warning.  Each knock on the roof costs $20,000 USD.

Rockets at the airport.

Rioting in Lod.

Unrest in other cities

Arab Israelis in Lod set about 30 cars on fire.

Arab protesters in Haifa.

More unrest around the country.

Rioting and unrest

Have you ever heard of Pallywood? It is Palestinian Hollywood.

Under the String Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem last night. 

Am Yisrael Chai - The People of Israel Live!

If you would like to watch live Israel News in English, we recommend i24News broadcasted from Jaffa (just south of Tel Aviv). https://video.i24news.tv/page/live

PLEASE BEGIN PRAYING NOW FOR 

GOD'S HAND OF PROTECTION 

AND FOR HIS WISDOM FOR OUR LEADERS.  

Do not keep silent, O God!

Do not hold Your peace,

And do not be still, O God!

For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;

And those who hate You have lifted up their head.

They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,

And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.

They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,

That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

For they have consulted together with one consent;

They form a confederacy against You:

Psalm 83:1-5

~ Home Sweet Home ~

Shalom! As we are ending our 10th year in Jerusalem, we realized that we have never really shown you our home(s).  We say homes, because the apartment we are currently living in is our 4th since we arrived back in December 2010.  And we are happy to say it is also our favorite!  

Our first apartment was on the other side of town from where we live now.  It actually would be closer to our headquarters now that our offices are in the Central Bus Station.  But we only lived there for less than a year, then moved to the neighborhood where most of the other volunteer apartments are.  When we moved to our 2nd apartment we lived through a one month renovation/demolition, as some of you may remember.  We liked that apartment, but after being there for about 1 1/2 years, we moved to our 3rd apartment.  We lived in our 3rd apartment for the next 6 years.  We really liked it there a lot.  We lived on the 4th floor (top floor) and had an elevator.  We also had a large closed in balcony, 1 1/2 baths, and a really nice kitchen.  However, while we had great bus options, the building was on a 6 lane busy road and was very noisy.  We began to experience a few challenges there, and the owners were once again raising the rent, so the decision was made to release the apartment, and we then moved to our 4th and present apartment in May 2019.  The great thing is that this new apartment is actually cheaper than our last apartment!

Since our last move, our lives have become even more challenging and time consumed than we ever imagined - how can that even be possible?? But we're certain that God knew what was heading our way, and He provided this apartment as a peace haven for us to retreat to, for rest and restoration.  

We are now back on the same street as our 2nd apartment, but across the street.  We are on the 4th floor, just as our last apartment - but no elevator.  That's 6 flights of 11 steps each -- 66 steps of exercise each day. We are also quite close to the neighboring Arab village, which means we hear the muslim call to prayer (loudly) several times a day, including about 4am.  We only have one bathroom now, which we've had to adjust to, but it's bigger and we like it very much.  The kitchen also is not a separate room as we have been accustom, but it is also very nice, and we now love the open arrangement of the space.  Our landlord left much of the furniture, and the rest belongs to CFI, so we are truly blessed that we have not had to invest in too much of the furnishings.  Also, this is the first time since we've lived here that we've had air conditioning!  Yay! And the best part - we have a large open balcony full of roses and plants, with a table & chairs and a grill that was gifted to Jim for Father's Day/Birthday.  While we can't use the balcony so much during the cold & rainy months, it is truly our favorite space, especially on warm summer nights.  

Linda has joined a ladies group (called in short, "Rosebuds"), and they shared videos of their homes each week.  They're a bit detailed, but we thought it might be nice to share them with you.  We hope you enjoy these videos of our place of respite in Jerusalem, our ~ Home Sweet Home.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.  We love you!!

Foyer / Entryway

Living Room

Kitchen #1

Kitchen #2

Dining Room - note the dove that flies to the window :)

Master Bedroom, Bathroom, 2nd Bedroom

 

Give Thanks to the Lord For He is Good

For even if the fig tree doesn’t blossom,

and no fruit is on the vines,

even if the olive tree fails to produce,

and the fields yield no food at all,

even if the sheep vanish from the sheep pen,

and there are no cows in the stalls;

18 

still, I will rejoice in Adonai,

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

19 

Elohim Adonai is my strength!

He makes me swift and sure-footed as a deer

and enables me to stride over my high places.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

We could write this blog about the current events of 2020 taking place around the world, however, we know you have heard enough about that at every turn.  It will suffice to say that we too, in Israel have had our share of mandated restrictions disrupting the "normality" of our daily lives.  

For several weeks, from around Purim to around Jerusalem Day (mid-March to mid-May), our CFI offices were closed, and we worked as best as we could from home.  The two of us went to the office at least once a week as needed.  In May we slowly increased the staff back to the offices until we were all there back at our normal business hours.  We are following what the government has termed "purple badge" requirements - which includes (but is not limited to): no one is allowed to enter with a temperature of 38C (100.4 F) or more, logging our temperature daily, wearing masks, no meetings over 8 people, strict hygiene, etc... Similar restrictions apply for public transportation (which is common in Israel, especially Jerusalem), supermarkets, restaurants, etc.  Much the same as the rest of the world - we are grateful that in Israel we have had a "low" number of deaths from the virus (currently 315). 

Since being back at the offices, we are working hard to make up for the lost time while we were closed, having many meetings by Zoom, training new volunteers (who arrived not long before the shutdown), and meeting the needs of those whom we serve.  We are also paying close attention to the Jewish-Christian relationships we have been forming, as they are becoming more and more transparent as we have been able to speak openly with each other, sharing our thoughts and feelings about shared topics.  It is an honor to be trusted to even have these conversations, as the history (and sometimes the present) between our two groups has made it difficult to overcome.

Normally our ministry sends out a quarterly magazine, however, during this "time of corona", it was deemed necessary to send the May edition electronically by email instead.  If you did not receive the email, we have attached the link, as it includes updates pertaining to us (Jim & Linda) specifically.  Last year it was announced in our magazine that the Directors of CFI moved back to the United States to be with family, and a possible new director was being considered.  CFI did not ultimately move in that direction, and for the time being have formed a leadership team (including us both) continuing the work and vision of CFI that has impacted many lives and relationships over the past 35 years.  Presently Jim and Sharon are co-directing the ministry with Jim leading in Operations and Sharon leading in Development.  

2nd Quarter For Zion's Sake magazine link:

https://8fa4931a-5b04-4f8d-a4e9-072a154a4742.filesusr.com/ugd/d3a9e0_025200bbef924f97a3b7d28d17c17d2f.pdf

To read any of our previous magazines, you can do so on our website (click on Publications):

https://www.cfijerusalem.org/ 

Please be advised that donations made directly to Israel are not tax deductible in your country.  In the United States we have two representative offices that both have 501c3 non-profit status:

CFI USA  https://cfi-usa.org/

CFI America  https://www.cfiamerica.org/

For personal updates.... we were scheduled to travel to the United States at the beginning of June (We would have been there right now!), however, for several reasons we were unable to come. Firstly, our flight was cancelled - we were going to be flying to the States via Germany.  Also, Israel's borders have been closed for some time to anyone arriving other than citizens.  This means if we leave, we are not able to return until Israel allows non-citizens into the country again.  As of right now, they have set a date for August 1st to open the borders, but they have continually moved that date back, and we would need to be certain of our return.  Another snag in the plans is that our visa officially expired in April.  While the government has extended our visa date in their computer system (to the end of June), we would need to have a valid visa in our passports in order to avoid travel complications.  Needless to say, we aren't going anywhere anytime soon!  We will be celebrating our anniversary at the end of July, so we hope to go somewhere in Israel for a few days to relax (assuming restrictions allow).

We have now lived in our new apartment for one year!  Time has gone so fast.  It is in a neighborhood instead of on a busy street like our last apartment (we lived there for 6 years!).  We are still on the 4th floor, but without an elevator now - which promotes mandatory exercise. 😃 We do have a very nice balcony, where we are able to sit, relax and have fresh air (especially appreciated when we were in lockdown from the virus).  Sometimes we eat dinner outside, and many nights we sit out and look up at the stars and the moon and reflect on God's perspective of of things.  Our landlord surrounded the balcony with small rose bushes, so we have been learning the art of growing roses.  There's a lot to be learned from knowing when to prune and how much to water - and even the maintenance of the vessel that is holding the roses, cracks or leaks.  We are very grateful for the gift of a peaceful home, and we spend many weekends just resting.

Wish  you could smell this!!

Since we are unable to travel for a while, we decided it's time to take care of ourselves a bit.  In the 9 1/2 years we have been here, we have been on the go non-stop - including, to our detriment, personal maintenance. It's amazing what one will put up with instead of just getting it fixed.  In our case it's our dental needs that we have not been tending to, so beginning with Linda, we are rectifying that.  She went for a thorough evaluation, and has begun treatments over the next few months to get her dental needs taken care of.  Next will be Jim, if we can slow him down a bit to do so....

Sometimes, when we do take time to step back and to look up, we can't help but to continue to wonder, "Why us?" We didn't do anything to deserve to get to be in Jerusalem.  We don't have any special skills or abilities. Many days it is very difficult here, and the desire to give up is strong, but somehow we keep going.  It can only be The Lord.  Somehow just being a willing vessel for Him to work through is enough - by His strength, and your prayers & encouragement.  Please continue to pray for us - God will let you know when and for what.  It's certainly not fun and games all the time, and it's hard work - but we are blessed, and hopefully He is molding us into His image, that we can represent Him well.  We are humbled to be a participant.

During it all.... in spite of it all.... may we all....

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.   Psalm 136:1


Please join us as we give thanks in song along with Rabbi Shlomo Katz ~