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In this issue:
-- IRAN MAKES MAGOG A PRESENT- DAY REALITY
-- RABBIS INVITED FOR PRE-ANNAPOLIS TEMPLE MOUNT TALKS
-- PASTOR FLEES PA AFTER THREATS ON HIS LIFE
-- DIMONA DEFENSES ON HIGH ALERT
-- ARAFAT MAUSOLEUM UNVEILED
A PERSONAL WORD FROM SHIRA: It was a real blessing to meet with the
Light to Israel Team last week as they were in Jerusalem working on a
special project. We had a wonderful time of sharing and praying together,
and I enjoyed showing them one of my favorite places to have lunch. After
being here and seeing what I am involved in, they will now be able to pray
for me and my ministry with greater insight and understanding.
(Editor's Note: Plan to join us on our next tour in May 2008. For
more details
click here.)
IRAN MAKES MAGOG A PRESENT-DAY REALITY
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said: "The Jewish
State is the front line of the Christian West. As soon as Islam has broken
through the Jewish front line in the Middle East, it will conquer the West.
Israel is the Christian West's security wall."
US President George Bush's recent warning of a possible third world war in
connection with Iran's atomic program caused worldwide unrest. Only a few
months earlier, Israel's former Mossad chief, Ephraim HaLevy, also warned of
a looming outbreak of a third world war.
In Europe, politicians barely give credence to the threat of a World War III
and say instead that "rhetoric," such as HaLevy's comments, endangers a
peace process. Meanwhile, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls UN
sanctions against his country useless.
"The resolution of the UN Security Council is not worth the paper on which
it is printed," Ahmadinejad shouted on the Iranian TV while publicizing that
his country is capable of firing 11,000 rockets per minute on Israel.
Israeli politicians and scientists warn that a world war in the atomic age
would spell the end of mankind. Israeli combat jets had bombed a Syrian
atomic reactor, whose construction began three years ago with the help of
North Korea and was held under strict secrecy, according to reports in the
foreign media. Six weeks later, the Israeli army called on the people of
Israel to prepare security rooms and bunkers just as during the first gulf
war of 1990. Even though the army emphasized repeatedly that there was no
imminent threat of war, a state of preparedness seems to be necessary.
Israeli physician and former general Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel believes
that the first Iranian atomic bombs will be ready for use within three to
five years - three years earlier than predicted. Israel Today spoke with
leading politicians, rabbis, academics and Messianic Jews about the
possibility of an end-time world war. All three religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, mention a great war of nations under the names Gog
and Magog. In the Bible it is mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 12-14,
Jeremiah 30, Daniel 11-12, Joel 2, Obadiah 1 and Revelation and in the Koran
in Suras 18, 97 and 21,96. (Aviel Schneider of Israel Today)
RABBIS INVITED FOR PRE-ANNAPOLIS TEMPLE MOUNT TALKS
Israel's Chief Rabbis and the Chief Rabbi of Haifa have been invited to the
White House for pre-Annapolis talks to explain the Jewish connection to the
Temple Mount.
Chief Rabbis Yonah Metzger and Shlomo Amar, as well as the Chief Rabbi of
Haifa and Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Communications Committee Rabbi
She'ar-Yashuv Cohen departed last Saturday evening for a series of meetings
to clarify to US leaders that the Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site.
Ahead of the Annapolis Conference, the Bush administration is trying to
gauge Israel's "red lines" and examine the possibility of relinquishing the
Temple Mount to Islam.
Despite the fact that many rabbis both visit and encourage other Jews to
visit the Temple Mount in the manner permitted by Jewish law, the chief
rabbinate says that Jews should not visit the Temple Mount. A large sign is
affixed to the path leading to the Mount saying it is "forbidden for Jews to
visit the Mount according to Jewish law."
All three rabbis agree that the Temple Mount must remain under Jewish
sovereignty. However, the chief rabbis believe the mount should be closed
to all since a special level of ritual purity must be obtained before
ascending to the site of the Jewish Holy Temple. Rabbi Cohen believes the
Temple Mount should be open to Jewish worship and a synagogue should be
constructed there.
Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen reports that a secret meeting on the matter took
place two weeks ago during one of the recent visits by U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to Jerusalem. The meeting dealt with Jerusalem's holy
sites and was attended by Rabbi Cohen, as well as Muslim and Christian
religious leaders. The meeting lasted over two hours.
Muslim leaders aired their claim that "the Jews want to destroy the Al-Aksa
Mosques" and their oft-heard denial that there was ever a Jewish temple at
the site. The chief [Muslim] Mufti has already declared that Jews should not
be allowed to pray at the site. Recent archeological finds from the First
Temple have not tempered Muslim denial of pre-Islamic history on the mount,
as well as the Western Wall.
Rabbi Cohen responded to those present: "It is forbidden to deny that the
Jews had our Holy Temple at that site. It is forbidden to forget that King
David purchased the Temple Mount, King Solomon built the Holy Temple and
Ezra the Scribe rebuilt it as well [after it was destroyed - ed.]. All who
come afterward must recognize the rights of those who came first. Although I
do not propose the demolition of the mosques, the Muslims must remember that
they are there due to us."
Rabbi Cohen also recalled the historical fact that the Muslim Caliph Omar
Suleiman built a synagogue on the Temple Mount where Jews prayed, and that
it was later destroyed by another Caliph.
In summation, Rabbi Cohen told Rice and the other religious leaders that he
is completely opposed to any withdrawal from the Temple Mount and site of
the Holy Temple.
Rice reportedly responded: "Honorable rabbi, I understand you well. I am the
daughter of a priest and the granddaughter of a priest, I learned the Bible
and know what is written there."
Rice said, at the conclusion of the meeting that she understood that
religious matters were at the root of the disagreements ahead of the
conference. "If this matter is not solved, then nothing will be solved," she
said. Those at the meeting reported her demeanor as tense.
As a follow-up, the invitations to the Chief Rabbis to the White House for
three days of meetings were issued. The meetings, which will be attended by
members of the Islamic Wakf and Christian leaders, will reportedly deal with
a proposal similar to that floated by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon (Kadima).
According to the proposal, the Jerusalem - "Holy Basin" - meaning the Old
City and surrounding areas - would be administered by a joint committee and
not remain under Israeli sovereignty. According to Ramon's plan, the Western
Wall and Temple Mount would remain under Israeli control, but the Americans
are reportedly pushing to see the Temple Mount relinquished as well.
Sources connected to the Chief Rabbinate say there is great significance to
the inclusion of Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, who has declared publicly that
he will fight such a plan and not just take part in the inter-religious
arrangements being planned for the Holy City. Rabbi Cohen's position that
the Temple Mount must be opened to Jewish prayer is well known, as well as
his call for the establishment of a synagogue on the Mount.
Also joining the rabbinic delegation are Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate
Oded Weiner and Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland and the
head of the World Committee for Jewish-Christian relations.
The meetings resemble similar discussions by the British Shaw Committee that
took place 80 years ago. Those meetings aimed to determine to whom the
Western Wall belonged. Former Israel Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen
Kook went before the committee to offer his perspective, while the committee
honored the Muslim Mufti by coming to his office adjacent to the Temple
Mount.
Rabbi Kook presented the committee with arguments for Jewish rights to pray
at the site and emphasized its holiness. When asked to bring supporting
proof, Rabbi Kook responded: "By relying on documents, we are liable to
weaken this truth, which is among those that are so well known that it is
not in need of proof. It is similar to one who raises a candle to increase
the brightness of the sun's light... It is known that this site is enwrapped in
the same holiness of our Holy Temple."
Later in the deliberations, the heads of the Zionist establishment agreed to
relinquish claims of ownership of the Western Wall and receive only the
right to pray at the site. In response to the initiative, Rabbi Kook
responded: "G-d forbid we give up the Western Wall; we have not received
power of attorney from the Nation of Israel!" (Ezra HaLevi of Arutz Sheva)
PASTOR FLEES PA AFTER THREATS ON HIS LIFE
Moslem hatred of Christians in Palestinian territories has intensified since
the Iraq War and the terrorist attacks in the US on Sept. 11, 2001 to the
point of open acts of persecution, threats and violence.
With the dirt still fresh over the coffin of a Palestinian martyr in Gaza,
another evangelical pastor in Palestinian territories fears he may be the
next target of persecution against Christians and is taking no chances.
Isa Bajalia, who is a pastor in Ramallah, fled to Jerusalem after receiving
several threats against his life and was refused protection by Palestinian
officials.
These latest threats underscore the growing violence against Christians,
particularly evangelical Christians, in Palestinian territories. Less than a
month ago a Palestinian Bible Society worker in Gaza, Rami Ayyad, was
kidnapped and killed.
"I was told, 'The same things that happened to Rami in Gaza would happen to
you,'" Bajalia recounted. "They said, 'We can catch you in the US;' 'We're
going to break your arms and legs;' 'Beyond the fact that you can't see
well, you're also not going to walk;' and, 'Just like Hamas did to Fatah,
we're going to shoot you in your knee caps.' (Nicole Jansezian of Israel
Today)
NOTE FROM SHIRA: Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in the
Palestinian areas. They do suffer greatly for their faith in the PA where
probably 97 percent of the people are Muslim.
DIMONA DEFENSES ON HIGH ALERT
According to London's Sunday Times, the defensive missile shield around
Israel's nuclear facility [in the desert town of] Dimona was placed on red
alert 30 times last week out of concern over a possible Syrian air strike.
The British newspaper said that a battery of US-made Patriot anti-aircraft
missiles had been moved to the Negev site following intelligence that
Damascus may launch a raid in retaliation for the September 6th strike on a
suspected nuclear installation in northern Syria.
The Times quoted the deputy commander of the battery as saying, "We're ready
to launch the missiles in seconds, once we're on full alert.
"Every civilian aircraft en route from Cairo to Amman, or from Jeddah to
Cairo and vice versa, which deviates even slightly from its route, sets off
an alarm and risks a missile being fired."
The newspaper quoted a defense source as saying, "The fact that the Syrians
didn't launch an immediate strike against Israel doesn't mean that they
won't retaliate in due course. Dimona is on the top of their list.
(Jerusalem Post)
ARAFAT MAUSOLEUM
UNVEILED
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas unveiled a $1.75 million mausoleum for
Yasser Arafat on Saturday, in a pomp-filled ceremony that helped him draw on
the continued popularity of his iconic predecessor as he headed into peace
talks with Israel.
The mausoleum, made of glass and beige Jerusalem stone, is surrounded on
three sides by water, and a piece of rail track is entombed underneath
Arafat's grave. The water and piece of track are meant to symbolize the
temporary nature of the grave, officials said, with Palestinians planning to
rebury their leader one day in Jerusalem, their hoped-for capital.
Arafat died Nov. 11, 2004, in a French military hospital and was buried on
the grounds of his West Bank headquarters, now used by Abbas. The mausoleum
measures 11 meters by 11 meters (120 square feet) to mark the day of his
death. A mosque was built next to the tomb, and an Arafat museum is to open
next year.
The exact cause of Arafat's death remains unknown, fueling persistent rumors
that he was either poisoned or died of AIDS. Palestinian officials in the
past have called for a UN investigation of his death, alleging that he was
poisoned by Israel.
During the ceremony, Abbas laid a wreath in the colors of the Palestinian
flag on the tombstone and honored his one-time rival with a moment of
silence.
In a brief speech, Abbas pledged to reclaim part of Jerusalem for his
people.
"We will continue on the path of the martyred President Yasser Arafat to be
reburied in Jerusalem, which he loved ... Jerusalem, which he tried to make,
and which all our people are trying to make, the capital of the Palestinian
state," Abbas said.
In another reference to Jerusalem, the tower of the mosque next to the
mausoleum is topped by a laser light pointing to the city, just a few miles
away, said Mohammed Ishtayeh, head of the Palestinian Economic Council for
Development and Reconstruction, which built the site.
Drawing on the legacy of the charismatic Arafat can give a boost to Abbas as
he heads to the Annapolis conference, expected to begin Nov. 26.
In Saturday's speech, Abbas drew on the Palestinians' strong emotional ties
to Arafat. "We are continuing the path, continuing the pledge, to establish
an independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, God
willing," said Abbas. (The Associated Press and YNetnews)
News sources: Arutz Sheva, the Associated Press, Israel Today,
jerusalemonline.com, the Jerusalem Post, Sunday Times, and YNetnews.com.
Compiled and edited by Shira Abrams.
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