The deadly Ebola Virus is being tackled 

by Israeli Researchers [2]

US Pastors Visit Israel During Operation Protective Edge

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12:3)

Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the pro-Israel organization with 1.8 million members (founded by Christian pastor John Hagee), came to Israel for a three-day trip last week, with 51 pastors—one from each state and the District of Columbia. At a time when airlines and tour agencies have cancelled flights to Israel, the pastors came to show their support for the Jewish People and to offer encouragement to Israeli soldiers fighting for the existence of Israel. "There are still people in America who can distinguish morally between Israel and Hamas.  There are still people in America who appreciate what Israel is doing—not just to protect their own citizens, but we believe deeply that when Israel battles Hamas they're also protecting us in America," CUFI executive director David Brog said.  (CBN)

CUFI's Central Regional Coordinator, Pastor Lyndon Allen of Woodmont

Bible Church in Nashville and an Israel Defense Forces soldier.  (Twitter)

During their visit, the pastors were briefed by high Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pastors then visited Sderot, the southern war-weary city, which has endured around 7,000 rockets launched toward it from Beit Hanoun in Gaza since 2000.  Only 1,800 yards from Beit Hanoun, a Qassam rocket travelling at 200 yards per second will take only 9 seconds to reach the people of Sderot. Arriving 24 hours into the 72-hour ceasefire, the pastors experienced two incoming rocket red alerts, which turned out to be false alarms.  They were an immersion experience into the realities of life in Israel, nonetheless. After lunch and a bird’s eye view of the region, they came face-to-face with the Iron Dome missile defence system and the soldiers that man it in Ashdod. The pastors also visited the wounded, as well as the father of Gilad Shaar, one of the three teens kidnapped and killed two months ago by Hamas.

Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach were abducted and killed

on June 12 while on their way home from their yeshivas (Orthodox Jewish

high school) for no other reason than their being Jewish. 

“While Israel's been at war, our pastors and leaders have wanted to do something concrete to demonstrate their support and solidarity,” Brog said.  (globenewswire) Brog emphasized that the intent of the trip is to not only lend moral support to the soldiers but to show the world that not everyone agrees with those “shouting ‘death to the Jews’ on the streets of Berlin and Paris.” The trip follows the pro-Israel organization’s ad campaign, which ran full page ads on July 31 in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and August 1 in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Denver Post, Chicago Sun Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and USA Today. Banner ads on major news websites have also been running, such as on Fox News and the Christian Post. The ad campaign had two purposes.  One was to help the US media understand Hamas’ true goals, and the second was to help Secretary of State Kerry see the true nature of Israel’s situation. CUFI's website encouraged readers to email Kerry and tell him that “now is not the time to ease the legal and justified blockade of Gaza.  Now is the time to destroy Hamas’ terror tunnels, remove Hamas’ missile stockpiles, and to demilitarize Gaza.”

New York Times CUFI ad encouraging support of Israel.

Treasure Trove of Temple Era Coins Found

"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple for sacrifices."  (2 Chronicles 7:12)

Last week, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of a treasure trove of 144 bronze coins dating from the fourth year of the Jewish Revolt against Rome. The coins are decorated with the image of a chalice that may have been like those used in the Temple, as well as the Arba Minim (Four Species) that are relevant to Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).  (Leviticus 23:40) The Four Species are traditionally known as the lulav (palm, myrtle, willow branches) and etrog (citron fruit).

 

The Arba Minim or Four Species (traditionally palm, willow, myrtle and citron)

are four plants mentioned in Leviticus 23:40 as being relevant to Sukkot. 

The coins were uncovered during excavations of a small Roman-era Jewish village at a site known as Hirbet Mazruk, prior to the expansion of Highway 1, the main highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  When pottery shards were found there several months ago, the IAA expanded excavations. This site is located near the modern town of Abu Ghosh just outside of Jerusalem. The coins were uncovered amid the ruins of a small ceramic box and are identical in size and value.  They are thought to have been minted at the same time only months before the fall of the Second Temple. Judea District chief archaeologist Pablo Betzer, who is co-leading the team that discovered the coins, estimates their value at a quarter or one-eighth of a shekel.  (Times of Israel) Each coin bears the marking, “For the redemption of Zion” and “year four,” meaning they were created during the fourth year of the Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire that began in AD 66.  That would place their manufacture between spring of 69 and the spring of AD 70.The Great Revolt ended with the Temple’s destruction as well as the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in AD 70. “Evidently someone here feared the end was approaching and hid his property, perhaps in the hope of collecting it later when calm was restored to the region,” explained Betzer.  (CBN)

 

On Tisha B'Av, the fast that commemorates the destruction of the Temple,

the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced a 2,000-year-old trove of

rare bronze coins from the Late Second Temple Period.  (Photo: IAA)

The village in which the coins had been stored was one of those that had refused to submit to the Roman authority and had been destroyed.  It is believed that they were hidden in a wall or floor of the building being excavated. The announcement of the discovery was made Tuesday in order to coincide with the Ninth of Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD 70. The finding of this trove of coins follows shortly after the discovery of an ancient coin at Bethsaida, north of the Sea of Galilee, where a team led by Professor Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska at Omaha uncovered a Roman coin minted during the years following the revolt with the words Judea Capta (Judea has been conquered). That coin, which dates to AD 85, celebrated the victory over the Jewish rebellion and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  It was issued by Agrippa II, the great-grandson of Herod the Great, who supported the Romans during the revolt.

Highway 1 exit to Abu Gosh, which is near the site where the coins

were discovered.