"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-7] 

A Sderot family narrowly escaped being injured when they made it to their safe room just before their family home was hit by a Gaza missile.

Israel Warns Hamas to End Barrage of Rockets

"For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.  When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  (Psalm 11:2–3)

                 

Since the June 12 abduction of three Israeli teens, more than 150 Gazan rockets have been launched at Israel, resulting in damaged property and emotional suffering in Israel's south. In response to the escalation of rockets within a 24-hour period on Wednesday and Thursday, with about 40 rockets launched at southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have given Hamas a 48-hour ultimatum on Thursday night: stop shooting rockets into Israel or face an escalated Israeli attack on Gaza. "We are looking for calm, not escalation, but if Hamas chooses to act against us, we shall be ready," said Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz.  (IsraelNationalNews) Despite the warning, rockets continued to fall on Friday and over the weekend, andresidents of the south continue to remain in their safe rooms.  Several Israelis have been treated for shock and others are suffering from anxiety due to the constant rocket attacks.

 

Israeli President Peres met with Sderot residents who continue to endure the ongoing rocket barrages from neighbouring Gaza.

The damage included a summer day camp when a Kassam rocket fired by terrorists hit the building moments before children were set to arrive.

One family called it a miracle that they survived a direct hit to their home, which happened just after they emerged from their safe room to prepare breakfast. At 8:30 a.m., the Code Red siren went off as Tami Jorno was cooking, and she and her two children barely made it back to the safe room before the house was hit. She realized how narrowly they had missed perishing when she emerged from the shelter. “I burst into tears from the fear,” she said.  “If we hadn’t made it into the safe room, I don’t know what would have happened.”  (JPost) Also on Thursday night, a rapid grouping of more than 15 rockets sliced into targets in the Sderot industrial zone and next to a Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council kibbutz (communal farm).  (Times of Israel) "Four of the rockets landed in urban areas, causing damage to civilian infrastructure and houses," an Israel Defense Forces Spokesman said, adding that “an IDF soldier was lightly injured by shrapnel after a projectile landed in the Eshkol Regional Council.” Another rocket a few days earlier, on June 28, burned a Sderot paint factory to the ground at the cost of millions of shekels to the bereft owner.  Four residents were wounded.

 

A Sderot factory burns to the ground after taking a direct hit from a Gaza bomb.

Israel retaliated with surgical air strikes targeting weapons manufacturing, warehouses, and launchers throughout the week.

Some Israelis are calling for a large-scale operation in Gaza to end the bombardment. Hamas warned Israel against launching such an offensive, saying that Israel had not yet seen the kind of conflict that such a move would result in.  They also told Israel to stop their arrests in Judea and Samaria, which are related to the murder of three teenage boys by Hamas. "I promise you that one stupid move by your leaders will be enough to make us turn all of your communities, even those you might not expect, into targets and burning coals," a Hamas Kassam Brigades spokesperson told a Gaza press conference. Meanwhile, last Monday, just after a barrage of terrorist rockets hit southern Israel, damaging two homes, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal asked Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to find a way to prevent Israeli strikes on Gaza's rocket launchers.  (JP)

"At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still."  (Psalm 76:6)

 

Israel Defense Forces Gaza Rockets Graphic

Israeli Embassy in Cameroon Helps Vaccinate 10,000 Refugee Children 

“All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12:3)

Using funds that were originally set aside for an Israeli Independence Day reception, the Israeli Embassy in Cameroon established a five-day vaccination program from June 8 to 12 that treated over 10,000 refugee children from the Central African Republic (CAR). The Embassy worked together with the Cameroon Pediatric Association to set up the health clinic in the Gado Refugee Camp, located near Garoua Boulai in eastern Cameroon. During the clinic, 5,000 were vaccinated against polio and 5,000 others against measles. The camp holds 19,000 people fleeing the violence in the neighboring CAR, most of them Muslims. Of the 19,000, 12,000 are children under 15, many of whom suffer from malnutrition that leaves them vulnerable to disease.

Refugees in Africa, such as this mother who lost the use of her legs due

to polio, depend on the goodwill and charity of others.

Local doctor, Tchakoute Collins said that malnutrition is a major problem both for children and adults.  (Jewish Press)“Even the parents are malnourished, including breastfeeding mothers.  It is a situation that demands the shedding of tears,” Collins said.  (All Africa) Doctors also provided both free medication and consultations, mostly to Arab youth under the age of 15.  The team of doctors included four pediatricians. Dr. Ehouzou Marcelle Nina, another doctor who participated in the program, emphasized the dire need for the project saying 5,000 refugees are arriving every day. “As a result of the conflict in CAR, vaccination campaigns have not been carried out regularly; thus the refugees are exposed to these health hazards.  There is therefore a high risk of contaminating people in host communities,” Dr Ehouzou warned.  (All Africa) “The Israeli program was well received by the local Cameroon health system as well as by the international aid agencies with which we worked.  The project had an educational and perceptual value as well as it showed the people [local doctors and other service professionals] that they can help themselves, and need not rely solely on international aid,” Israel’s ambassador to Cameroon, Nadav Cohen said.  (MFA) Cohen said he is exploring the possibility of raising funds for similar projects to assist the refugees and also expressed hope that other diplomatic missions and local pediatricians would take a cue from this to volunteer other services.

Please do pray for the peace of broken and scattered people!!!

"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-6] 

 

A YouTube capture of a poster of Mohammad Abu-Khdair, who was
burned alive on Wednesday in Jerusalem.  While officials investigate his
death, most assume that he was killed in revenge of the murder of Naftali
Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach.

Israel was quick to condemn the murder, demands for revenge, and expressions of hatred among Israelis and Palestinians. Although most people immediately concluded that the murder of the Palestinian teen was nationalistic revenge in response to the deaths of the Jewish teens, the motivation for the killing is still unknown, and some suspect that it may have been an honour killing. Israeli President Shimon Peres promised Sunday that Israel would get to the bottom of Abu Khdair's killing and bring whoever is responsible to justice. "If Jews are becoming killers, they will be put to court like any killer," he told journalists.  "Whoever was killed, for us was murdered; for us [he] is a victim."

One of the Jewish extremist youths confessed to the Crime

Six Jewish suspects were arrested in connection with the murder of Abu-Khdair, and a Palestinian was arrested in connection with the murder of the Israeli teens.

 Israeli President Peres told journalists that Israel would get
to the bottom of Mohammad Abu Khdair's killing and bring the murderers
to justice.

After intensive questioning by the Israeli Security Agency, (Shin Bet), one of the arrested young Jewish extremists confessed to the murder and incriminated the other youths involved. Prime Minister Netanyahu pronounced that "Israel is a nation of laws and everyone must act accordingly to the law." Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of the Samaria region made a bold statement regarding the punishment of these Jewish youth if they are found guilty.  He stated that both the Arabs who murdered the three teens, and the Jewish youth who murdered the Arab boy deserve the death penalty. He went on to say that even though Israel does not have the death penalty, "Jewish law does not have mercy when it comes to brutal murder." 

In a Previous statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the police to "swiftly investigate who was behind the loathsome murder [of Khdair] and its motive." Netanyahu urged the country to be restrained in both actions and words. “Our security forces continue to investigate the background to the shocking murder of the boy whose body was found in the Jerusalem Forest.  Whatever the motive may be—this murder must be strongly condemned and we will bring those responsible for this crime to justice,” he said. “I appeal to all the citizens of Israel and ask you:  Please exercise restraint in your actions and words.  Our hearts ache, our blood boils, but we must remember that we are, first and foremost, human beings and we are citizens of a law-abiding country.  We are making decisions in a responsible, cool-headed and considered manner.”

Palestinians clash with Israeli police and throw rocks in protest of the
horrendous murder of Mohammad Abu Khdair.

Israeli President Shimon Peres also called for cooler heads and an end to incitement.

“We weren't born to hate, we weren't born to speak in a hateful language.  A few days ago we all behaved as one with dignity, even during our sorrow but together we called for restraint, we called for investigation, we were careful with our words,” Peres said. “It's time to stop incitement, it's time to be respectful and to respect the law. It's in our hands.  People who are engaged in incitement are not always aware where it can lead, to more sorrow, to more dangers.  It's time for all of us to show restraint, to show understanding and let us as human beings, all of us, be true to our morality, to our hope to live together in peace.”

Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat also forcefully condemned the murder of the teen.

“This is a horrible and barbaric act which I strongly condemn.  This is not our way and I am fully confident that our security forces will bring the perpetrators to justice.  I call on everyone to exercise restraint,” Barkat stated. The family of murdered Israeli teen Naftali Frenkel, almost immediately released a statement condemning revenge killing. "We do not know exactly what happened overnight in east Jerusalem,” the statement emphasized.  “The police are investigating the matter.  But if it turns out that an Arab youngster was killed for nationalistic reasons, then that is terrifying and shocking.  There is no difference between blood and blood.  Murder is murder, no matter what the age or nationality is.  There is no justification, forgiveness or atonement for such a murder."

Palestinians burn tires in protest of the gruesome murder of Mohammad

Abu Khdair.

A few strong Palestinian and Arab Israeli voices have resounded for peace, including Abu Khdair's father, Hussein, who stated, "I am against kidnapping and killing.  Whether Jew or Arab, who would accept that his son or daughter would be kidnapped and killed?  I call on both sides to stop the bloodshed." Hundreds of Israelis rallied in downtown Jerusalem to call for peace and non-violence. "It’s time to raise a different voice—one which I believe is more common, even if more quiet—saying, 'We don’t take revenge.  We deal with things like a civilized country,'" Rabbi Uri Ayalon said at the peace rally. Nadav Rothberg, 22, who came to Jerusalem from the southern Jordan valley to attend the demonstration, condemned the outpouring of hatred and violence, stating, "What's happening goes against my conscience and is also wrong from a Jewish perspective.  Violence is wrong, whether directed at us or at the Arabs."  (Times of Israel)

"… and bloodshed follows bloodshed.  Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away."  (Hosea 4:2–3)

  

Please pray for the healing and comfort of the broken-hearted parents who have lost their sons, as well as for peace and an end to hatred and the cycle of violence.

"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-5] 

Israel's three kidnapped teens, Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal
Yifrach, were found murdered on Monday, June 30.  It is believed they
were killed shortly after being abducted.

Israel Heartbroken as Kidnapped Boys Laid to Rest

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."  (Psalm 46:1–3)

                                                                                                                        

The entire nation of Israel remains brokenhearted and united in grief with the devastated families of the three kidnapped Israeli boys, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, whose bodies were found. Eighteen days after the teens were abducted and killed, their bodies were discovered at about 5 p.m., bound and partially buried in an open field less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from where they had been abducted. Israeli security forces had been conducting extensive searches in the area, which had been sealed off and declared a closed military zone.

The Israel Defense Forces pour over maps as they scour the country searching for
the abducted teens.  Their bodies were found Monday evening not far from Hebron,
which is in Judea and Samaria.

Ahead of a massive, joint funeral for the three murdered youths on Tuesday, Bat-Galim Shaar eulogized her son Gilad on Monday during a ceremony in their hometown of Talmon. “I sit in your room and I can’t accept that our worst nightmare came true,” she said. Ofir Shaar, Gilad’s father, said dejectedly, “I sit in your room, I look at your bar mitzvah photo album, and refuse to digest it.”“God’s ways are mysterious, and I don’t know why you have left us so young,” Avi Frenkel, Naftali’s father, said at his son’s service at Kibbutz Shaalvim.  “But your death has led this entire nation forward, and there is some comfort.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres comforts one of the parents of the
kidnapped teens.

Uri Yifrach spoke to Eyal in eulogy, saying, “You had a special kind of love for any man ...  What else do you need?  You told me many times, 'if someone asks me for something, I can't refuse.’”

He continued, "Your siblings want you near them, for you to come and give them a big hug.  For you to hug mom.  Mom said that you are now right by God's side.  She asked you to whisper to God, ask Him to give her strength, to give all of us strength.  It'll be hard without you.  We need strength." Yifrach said to the murderers, "You are wrongdoers, the nation of Israel promises that your day will come. ... We are humanitarians, we have love and it will triumph.  We will not break.  We will not give up.  We're here, and you can't change that.  We're a strong nation."  (Ynet)

In an outpouring of national grief on Tuesday, tens of thousands of Israelis from all walks of life gathered to bid farewell to the murdered victims of last month’s terrorist abduction.

 They were buried side by side in central Israel in a cemetery that is within a 15 km radius of their homes. Their shroud-draped bodies, covered in Israeli flags, were transported to the cemetery after separate funerals in each boy’s hometown of Talmon, Nof Ayalon, and Elad.

Israeli President Shimon Peres speaks at the massive, joint funeral for
the three Israelis found murdered last week Monday.

"We prayed for a miracle, unfortunately a tragedy occurred," President Shimon Peres said at the ceremony. “Gilad, Naftali, Eyal,” Peres said.  “Wonderful boys, sons of the whole nation.  Rest in peace.  We will bow our heads but our spirit will not break.  Dear families, I know your suffering and I also know how you dealt with [it]; you turned your grief into a source of hope for the whole nation.  May you find comfort in the building of Zion and Jerusalem.  May you know no more grief.  May their memories be blessed for eternity.”  (Jwire) Netanyahu also spoke at the funeral, saying, “In the last 18 days the figures of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali were carved on our hearts.  We were charmed by the magic of their smile, their kindness, their joy of youth.  Today became a day of national mourning,” Netanyahu said. “The moral chasm that separates us from our enemies is deep and wide,” the Prime Minister said.  “They revere death and we life.  They revere cruelty and we, pity.  This is the secret of our strength, it is also the base of our unification.” “Life has its own strength, like a river that drags us forward, and gives us hope,” concluded Netanyahu.  “An entire nation cries and embraces you. … They will be a source of comfort.”

             

Until the end, Israel held hope against hope that the teens would be found, and last week Sunday, less than 24 hours before the bodies were found northwest of the city of Hebron in Judea, as many as 100,000 gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to dance, sing, pray, and call for the release of the abducted youth. Avi Frenkel had high praise for the event and spoke of the national “unity of fate and a very basic feeling of mutuality.  Many people wanted to come here and we barely have time to see them, we barely have time for ourselves, and it’s an opportunity for us to do something with everybody.”  (Ynet) It is believed that the boys were shot to death close to the time of their kidnapping, perhaps in a panic after Gilad managed to call the police hotline in a desperate plea for help, saying quietly in Hebrew, “I’ve been kidnapped.” The two-minute call that was finally broadcast on Tuesday in Israel was initially considered a prank by police. On the recording, one of his captors can be heard saying in Hebrew, “Head down!”  In Arabic, he orders him to hand over the phone.  After that, there are noises that sound like gunshots and cries of pain.

The kidnappers can also be heard singing.

The parents of the three Israeli teens sit side-by-side during a joint
funeral for their sons in Modiin, not far from their homes.

The Shin Bet (Israeli Internal Security) had found a bullet casing, blood, tefillin (phylacteries), and other forensic evidence in a burnt, abandoned Hyundaiclose to the time of the kidnapping that pointed to the boys’ death, but there was still hope that they might be found alive.  (JPost) Several police officers were dismissed in the wake of a probe that found severe misconduct in the handling of the emergency hotline center on the night three teens were kidnapped. Authorities have named two prime suspects, Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha, who are confirmed members of Hamas. The two have been missing from their homes since the kidnapping.  According to the Times of Israel, the land where the boys' bodies were found was recently purchased by the Kawasme family.

Tens of thousands gathered Tuesday for the joint funeral of Eyal, Gilad,
and Naftali. 

Israel Calls for Restraint as Murder of Palestinian Teen Is Investigated

"Do not pollute the land where you are.  Bloodshed pollutes the land … Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites." (Numbers 35:33–34)

Israeli authorities are working to cool the red hot climate in Israel following the brutal murders of three Jewish teens, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, and one Palestinian teen, Muhammad Abu Khdair, 17, whose body was found July 2. Palestinian residents reported seeing Abu Khdair forced into a vehicle outside a supermarket in the Shuafat section of Jerusalem on Wednesday.  His body was found just hours after his abduction in the Jerusalem Forest.  It was charred and showed signs of violence.  Post-mortem reports suggest the lad was burned alive. Just one day before, the Jewish teens had been laid to rest; their deaths brought the nation to its knees in united grief and mourning.

                      

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered united in grief at the small

cemetery in Modiin last Tuesday to bid farewell to the three yeshiva

(Jewish seminary) students after the boys' bodies were discovered in

a shallow grave the day before.  All Israel had been praying they would be

safely returned to their parents.

Just prior to the funeral held in Modiin for Frenkel, Shaar and Yifrach, anti-Arab mobs railed through the streets of Jerusalem, conflicting with Arabs on sight as well as with the Israeli police force standing guard. When one teenage protester was asked why she was protesting, she answered, “We are very angry and we came here to protest the terrorists.  We don’t want to live in fear and we don’t want war with the Arabs, but we want the terrorists to stop doing this because we are Jewish.  This is our country!”  (JPost) As news of the Palestinian boy's death began to spread among Palestinian neighbourhoods, Palestinian protests broke out and continued to expand. On Friday, before and after the Palestinian youth was laid to rest, violent protest once again erupted in Jerusalem as Palestinians clashed with Israeli police.

The clashes continued overnight in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and spread to Israeli-Arab towns in northern Israel.  Protesters threw stones, burned tires, and attacked Jewish drivers and torched their cars.

"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-4] 

Day of mourning in Israel!

From Mourning to Joy

“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.”  (Isaiah 65:18)

              

The Talmud (Ta'anis 30b) states that “all who mourn over (the destruction of) Jerusalem merit to see her in her joy.” In other words, all of those who mourn the destruction of the Temple and appreciate the enormity of its loss will share in the joy of seeing it again re-established in all its glory. We know that in the coming Messianic age, the Messiah will reign from the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem.  Today we wait for the imminent return of the Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) and the establishment of His Messianic age. The Talmud teaches the Jewish People to have hope because following the future redemption of Israel, for which we pray daily, and the rebuilding of the Temple, to which we look forward with great expectation, the fast days will become days of rejoicing and festive occasions.  The summer will become a joyful time. And although Tammuz 17 is obviously not a fast that God instituted through Moses,Zechariah prophetically mentions it as a day that will be transformed into a day of gladness.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘The fasts of the fourth [Tammuz], fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace.’”  (Zechariah 8:19) God will turn our mourning into dancing and clothe us with joy (Psalm 30:11).  Just as the prophet Zechariah prophesied, the 17th of Tammuz will become a feast day of joy.

Jerusalem from its ancient walls.

During this dire period, as Israel seeks to end the siege against her, we must not be overcome with discouragement or fear due to the troubles we see mounting in Israel and around the world.

Although, this three-week period of serious teshuvah with bombs falling, There is also have a sense of joyful expectation knowing that God hears the prayers for the peace in Israel, and for the Jewish people—that they might find their Messiah—will be answered.For the next three weeks especially, those prophetic watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, making intercession for Israel and the Jewish People.

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth."  (Isaiah 62:6–7)

"Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the LORD your God
when He led you in the way?"  (Jeremiah 2:17)

Do you believe in coincidence?, on the 17th of Tammuz, the Jewish People are remembering a tragic coincidence. On this day in both 586 BC and in AD 70, the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Babylonians and the Romans respectively. And in yet another remarkable coincidence, the First and Second Temples were destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and by the Romans in AD 70 three weeks later on the 9th of Av. In Judaism, the breach of Jerusalem's walls and the subsequent destruction of the Temple are considered no mere coincidence.

These great tragedies were the result of rebellion and idolatry. "And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them....  Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’  And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods."  (Deuteronomy 31:16-18)

The current walls that surround Jerusalem where built between AD 1535 
and 1538 during the Ottoman Empire.  Around 1000 BC, David and Solomon
extended the original walls that were built by the Jebusites.  Ezra and
Nehemiah rebuilt the walls destroyed by the Babylonians.

Observant Jews are fasting until nightfall in order to mourn the breach of Jerusalem's walls. Also begins a three-week period of teshuvah (repentance) called Bein ha-Metzarim (Between the Straits) or The Three Weeks.  During this period, Orthodox Jews will limit celebrations—not carrying out marriages and avoiding other expressions of joy, such as playing musical instruments and reciting songs of praise.  Although this is a time of mourning, it is also a time of hope since Zechariah prophesied that the 17th of Tammuz would be transformed into a day of joy. "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace."  (Zechariah 8:19)

An Jewish man prays at the Western (Wailing)
Wall, the last remnant of the Holy Temple.

The 17th of Tammuz, therefore, is a minor fast that carries the hope of a major promise: Throughout The Three Weeks, the Jewish People look forward tothe coming Third Temple and the Messianic Era when the Sar Shalom(Prince of Peace) will reign in Jerusalem. However, about 99.9% of God's Chosen Jewish People here in Israel do not yet recognize that Yeshua (Jesus) has fulfilled the Messianic prophecies regarding the suffering Messiah (His first coming).  They also do not know, therefore, that He will be returning to rule in Jerusalem as King Messiah.  "I have placed My chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on My holy mountain."  (Psalm 2:6)

This 17th of Tammuz, please partner with our ministry here in Jerusalem to share the Good News of Yeshua, who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, with Jewish people everywhere.
Time is short.  He is coming soon!