Shalom Friends,

Please forgive me for this overdue newsletter. Recent events have been extra taxing on me in both time and energy. I do hope that you are following what is happening here in Israel by reading the news and praying along with us via Intercessors for Israel's Friday Prayer Alerts. Writing those alerts and the intensity of constantly leading prayer meetings about Israel's situation and then summarizing in the alerts how we prayed, so that others like you can intercede with understanding, is both exhausting and challenging. While that is true at any time – it is even more so as we continue to watch and pray about the war against Hamas in Gaza that Israel is fighting.

Are we having fun yet?

It is a struggle to live in Israel today – physically, emotionally, mentally, and for believers spiritually. The Oct. 7th massacre by Hamas' demon-driven terrorists was the most heart-wrenching event I've lived thrugh. Also, the rage I felt, at the world's hypocritical, twisted, anti-God, anti-Israel response was was piled on top of all of the emotions already broiling inside of me.

Israel's so-called "friends" among the nations, especially America, have pressured the Jewish nation since Oct. 8th to work out a ceasefire with Hamas. Most of the world seems to approach this war as if Israel woke up one morning and decided to make life even more miserable for the civilians in Gaza – most of whom still firmly support Hamas [see below] – than it already was for them. Yet a ceasefire only helps Hamas catch its breath and live to fight another day towards their goal of seeing Israel and every Jew on earth eliminated.

Western nations in particular are so racist when it comes to the Palestinians that even when Hamas puts in its charter its goal of making the world Judenrein [Jew-free], they just refuse to believe them, or make excuses for why they do not really mean it, or treat the Palestinians as if our expecting them to act like decent human-beings is impossible [Read the Hamas charter here - Article 32 and 33 in particular relate to the Jewish peoples destruction.]

Either that, or are most people today, including the extreme left-wing and woke mob in the West, so infested with anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that they would actually welcome a world that was Judenrein?

Church, wake up and speak up!

Very disappointing, yet not really surprising, is how much of the Church, especially in the West, has basically been silent over this attempted destruction of its biblical root (Rom. 11:16-18). Why are believers so blind to the biblical reality that if Islam destroys the "Saturday people" [the Jews], then the "Sunday people" [the Christians] will also be destroyed? After all if God cannot – or worse, will not – keep His many promises to the Jews based on His eternal covenants with Israel (Jer. 31:35-37; Rom. 11:1), including swearing to give them His land (Gen. 13:15; 15:18; Ex. 32:13; Psa. 105:5-11), promising to gather them from their captivity in the nations (Psa. 147:2; Jer. 31:10), and saving a significant remnant of them (Jer. 31:31-34; Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:26-27), then what kind of "blessed assurance" do we believers have that He will keep His covenant-promises to us?

Frustrated and furious – yet our God reigns

With what I have just related to you, and there is much more that I could add, I am very grateful for how often the Bible records the frustration and anger of its writers as they dealt with life's often inexplicable situations. At times, they were even frustrated and angry with the God who they fully believed reigns over all.

If only I could believe that Satan is the god of this world – yet that is a mistranslation of the original Greek which actually says he is the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4) – then it would be so easy to blame Hamas' brutal attack on him, and vent my frustration and rage against the Devil. Yet if like Job (and my struggle is nothing compared to what that giant of the faith went through) I do not make excuses for what God has allowed, and instead I argue with Him over what I perceive is His lack of care and protection for His nation, then I am conceding that I still believe He reigns. And this is the testimony we read from the people in Scripture who always looked to God as the Ultimate Cause (Isa. 42:9; 44:7-8; 46:9-10; Jer. 1:5; John 6:6; Acts 15:18).

And even when my reaction is out of my frustration and anger and discouragement, I can look at examples of many biblical authors who were also upset and frustrated and questioned the God whom they loved and served and in whom they trusted (2 Cor. 10:11).

Here are a few of the many examples from the book of Psalms where the writer cries out to God to get His attention – as if He were unaware of what His precious child, or His chosen nation, were going through. While some of these are not in the spirit of how our Lord would pray, they are expressions of the deep anguish of the writer. Also, in the imprecatory Psalms where there are requests for evil to strike one's enemies – we always find that the ultimate goal of the author is for the God of Israel to be vindicated and glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

Arise, YHWH, in Your anger; lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies, and wake up for me the judgment that You have commanded.

Psa. 7:6

Arise, YHWH; let not man prevail: let the nations [+gentiles] be judged in Your presence.

Psa. 9:19

Stir Yourself up, and wake up to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord.

Psa. 35:23

Arise for our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your covenant-love [+ faithfulness].

Psa. 44:26

YHWH God of hosts, the God of Israel, wake up to visit all the nations [+ gentiles]: do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

Psa. 59:5

Arise God, judge the earth: for You shall inherit all the nations [+ gentiles].

Psa. 82:8

If I choose to faithfully stand with what I know the Bible clearly teaches – that despite what I see or hear or feel, God is in control (Psa. 99:1; 103:19; Isa. 52:7) – then I cannot take the easy way out. It makes things much more difficult to not have Satan as my scapegoat, yet as Scripture is still the only ultimate truth in this world I must stand on His Word and trust in God while not trusting my own understanding (Prov. 3:5).

In the past, at times someone would see me for counseling and confess, "Pastor Chuck, I am very upset with God, but I have not yet told Him!" But God knows the heart (Jer. 17:9-10), so He already knows what we feel towards Him before we tell Him, and often before we admit it to ourselves! Why keep it bottled up leading to all sorts of emotional, physical and spiritual problems? Better to openly confess to Him what is in our hearts. Then He will draw us near and as a loving Father either comfort or convict us – or both.

So I thank God for the record of His people who dared to complained to Him or how they confessed their sins, fears, frustrations, angers and other emotional turmoil, as that means I can also be honest with Him and not have to pretend I am a spiritual giant totally unaffected by life's realities (Psa. 55:1-8; 61:2; 77:3; 2 Cor. 4:7-18).

I expect things to get worse

Zechariah 12:2-3 is very clear that in the last days just before all Israel is saved (12:10) and the Lord's return (14:1-4), that God who reminds us that He is the Creator (12:1) sets up Jerusalem, which as Israel's capital represents the whole nation, as His bait to trap nations who curse the Jews. Are we beginning to see now?

God's fulfillment of prophetic events is occurring more frequently and with increasing intensity, which is to be expected as the Scriptures compare end-time events to a woman in travail, with birth pangs drawing closer together and with increasing pain, until the child is born (Isa. 13:6-11; Jer. 49:24; Mark 13:8 ["sorrows" = Gk. pain of childbirth]; 1 Thess. 5:3).

When major events happen globally, we can guess whether this is that which was spoken of by the prophet, but the fulfillment of prophecies concerning Israel will be much more literal and specific. This can been seen in the fact that, at least since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, if not even before, God has shifted from watching over those Deuteronomy 28 curses against His land and people to watch over and fulfill the blessings of that chapter. This is obviously based on His grace and His faithfulness to His Word because Israel is not yet a totally righteous or obedient nation to God. Still, as Paul reminds us, it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4b).

Here are a few of the current blessings from that chapter that we see clearly in Israel today.

Deut. 28:4 and 11 mentions a blessing on the fruit of the womb. Israel has the highest rate of child-birth per family in the Western world and it is not just limited to the Haredi – the ultra-Orthodox. Israelis of "secular" persuasion are also filling the land with children – hallelujah!

Deut. 28:5, 8 and 11-12 indicates a robust economy, which is exactly what Israel had before the war against Hamas. We do pray that His supernatural provision for Israel at this time will continue and when the war is over we will see how He has once again multiplied the "loaves and fishes" for the people of Israel.

Deut. 28:7 declares that Israel will have an exceedingly great army (cp. Ezek. 37:10). Considering how many have tried to destroy the Jewish nation since 1948 and the victories which Israel has won in every major war, we already see this coming to pass. Of course, the reality facing Israel is this: if Islam and the Arabs lose 99 wars against Israel they will survive to fight another day; if Israel loses one war, it is finished. Yet that will not happen because of God's promise in Jeremiah 31:35-37!

Deut. 28:9-10 points to the day, sooner than many think, when "all Israel" will be saved (Zech. 12:10).

Deut. 28:13 is starting to appear in many areas, such as scientific, technological and agricultural advancement, as well as military weapons development – but it will be completely filled when Yeshua as King sits on King David's throne in Jerusalem and the nations come up to worship him (Zech. 14:16).

Concerning the curses in the rest of Deut. 28, most have already come upon the Jews up to the time when they began to return to the land in the 1880s and definitely before 1948 when Israel declared its independence. Also, it is imperative to see that God's ultimate judgment on His people is not their destruction – but their being cast out of their land into captivity among the gentiles (Deut. 28:63-68).

So let's rejoice as we watch God bless His pre-saved, not 100% holy nation. And if you think this is just not fair, I suggest you take a honest look in the mirror because while you are saved – you, as all of the rest of the members of His Body, are far from perfect, yet His continues, by His grace to love and to bless us.

Western anti-Palestinian racism

Are you fed up with the demeaning and racist attitude of most of the world, especially in the West, towards the Palestinians, who are treated as if they cannot – because of Israeli oppression of course – act like civilized folks, but must be excused for their savage and demonic behavior? You should be as these deceived racists hardly ever hold those poor Palestinians to account for their deadly acts of terrorism, which has become the normal way for them to express their unjust rage against the Jews and the nation of Israel.

Palestinian culture is saturated in extreme anti-Semitism, from their leadership down to their school system, and the results are obvious for all to see – if only most of the world were not also filled with Jew-hatred in their hearts and minds. By the way, Jew-hatred is a fruit of hating God (Psa. 83:1-4).

Right after the Hamas Oct. 7th pogrom, Bassam Tawil, a Muslim Arab in the Middle East [ME] wrote that while there was condemnation against Hamas, "the PA and its leaders also bear responsibility for the carnage. The PA's rhetoric and actions actively paved the way for the hell that Hamas unleashed on Israel," adding that there is virtually no difference between them "when it comes to spreading hate against Israel and inciting the murder of Jews."

Hamas called its attack, "The Al-Aqsa Flood," with Al-Aqsa being the name of the mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. They brutally murdered, raped and decapitated "Israeli women, children and the elderly because of Israeli 'violations' against a mosque in Jerusalem?" What are these "violations" and who called "Palestinians to sacrifice their lives to defend the holy Islamic site?"

The first is the "peaceful visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism where the First and Second Temples" once stood. These visits have been ongoing since the 1967 Six Day war, but were stopped after the Palestinians initiated the 2nd Intifada in 2000 with thousands of deadly terror attacks against Israelis – both civilians and military personnel. A few years ago, Jewish visits were resumed, yet as Tawil brings out, "Jews who tour the holy site do not set foot inside any mosque or disrupt Muslims' access to the site."

The PA's Holocaust-denying President Abbas was "the first Palestinian leader" to reject the right of Jews to visit there. In 2015 he said, "The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours… [The Jews] have no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We shall not allow [Jews] to do so…We salute every drop of blood spilled for the sake of Jerusalem. Every martyr will be…rewarded by [Allah]." When Hamas' terrorists invaded Israel's communities near Gaza, they likely "had in mind the pledge made by Abbas, that those who murder Jews will become 'martyrs' and end up in Paradise."

Abbas and the PA leaders always seek for chances "to repeat the blood libel that Jews are desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque…" PA officials and its media label Jews ascending up there as "incursions by Jewish extremists" and lie about Jewish plans "to demolish the mosque" and replace it with a synagogue, if not the 3rd Temple itself.

Weeks before Oct. 7, one of Abbas' senior advisors accused "racist [Jewish] extremists of holding Jewish rituals and prayers inside the mosque," and added, "The desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attack on its sanctity is tantamount to a religious war against Muslims." Clearly provocative statements like this encourage "Palestinians to carry out terrorist attacks against Jews."

Even after Oct. 7th, the PA wants "to legitimize Hamas," stating that in any future Palestinian State Hamas will have a prominent place, yet the blind West still perceives the PA as "moderate".

"Besides its anti-Israel rhetoric, the PA's refusal to rein in terror groups" in Judea and Samaria where it has total control, "emboldened Hamas." Many of these groups are allied with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ], both of which are Iranian proxies. Their success "in murdering dozens of Jews through shootings and car-ramming attacks increased the appetite of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip to attack Israel."

And there is the PA's' "Pay-for-Slay" program, which "financially rewards terrorists who murder Jews," to the tune of more than $340 million yearly! Unbelievably, today the PA is willing to "pay stipends to the families of Hamas terrorists who were killed during the Oct. 7th invasion and salaries to those who were captured and are now being held by Israel." Yet US President Biden's administration and other Western nations continue to financially support the PA. ("The PA's Responsibility for Hamas' October Massacre," B. Tawil, Gatestone Institute, 31 Oct. 2023)

In another article, Tawil exposes the attitude of most Palestinians which makes peace with Israel impossible. As opposed to the West's deceived leaders, PA's leaders know that their people support "any group whose goal is to murder Israelis and destroy Israel," and that most Palestinians oppose "the deluded Western fantasy of a 'two-state solution'."

A public opinion poll by the Arab World for Research and Development of Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and in Gaza taken late 2023 "showed that 75% of Palestinians support Hamas' murder spree," while only 13% did not. A shocking result was how "support for Hamas and its military operation" was higher under the PA than it was even in Gaza.

In the past couple of years, the area under the PA has given rise to "several terrorist groups affiliated with" both Hamas and PIJ. Yet this area is exactly where Biden and the EU "want to establish a Palestinian state." Since a huge majority there support Hamas it is safe to assume that any "Palestine" would quickly be taken over by Hamas, just like they did in Gaza.

The poll showed that "68% of Palestinians" in Judea and Samaria backed "the butchering of Israelis," while almost 15% looked favorably upon it. Also, "80% of Palestinians reject both the 'one-state' and 'two-state' solutions, and instead demand all the territory, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea" as the final boundaries of any Palestinian State.

These results destroy the claims of Biden and US Secretary of State Blinken, who still declare that "Hamas is not representative of most Palestinians." These results also show how clueless the US leadership is "about the anti-Israel sentiment" among most Palestinians, and it reveals how US and EU leaders "are engaging in extreme self-deception when they talk about the need to promote the concept of a 'two-state solution'."

Other recent polls have exposed the same anti-Israel attitude. A month before Oct. 7, a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll "showed that 67% of the Palestinian public" is against the "two-state solution," and 53% supports "an armed struggle against Israel." Also, in any new presidential elections, "Hamas leader Haniyeh would" win in a landslide.

Tawil: "How can any rational person talk about a 'two-state solution' when a majority of Palestinians believe there is nothing wrong with burning, beheading and raping Jews, or baking a Jewish baby to death in an oven?"

He concludes, "The results of the poll confirm…that the only solution most Palestinians are willing to accept is one that leads to the murder of all Jews and the destruction of Israel." ("Palestinians: 'Extreme' Support for Terrorist Group Hamas, Israel's Destruction," B. Tawil, Gatestone Institute, 20 Nov. 2023)

As of today, as you will read in the next section, most of the world, led by the West, still pushes this solution which – even if the Palestinians were good neighbors – is totally unbiblical as it would scatter God's people from their biblical heartland and from areas in and around Jerusalem, and it would divide His land (Joel 3:1-2).

The blasphemous push for a "two-state solution" today

What type of insanity would cause supposedly smart people to pressure Israel into creating a Palestinian State in the midst of our biblical homeland while the trauma of Oct. 7th is still fresh in our minds and hearts? The war is still ongoing and over 100 hostages are still in the hands of the Hamas terrorists! On top of that, how can these so-called "brilliant" people be totally ignorant of what is revealed by the polls mentioned above? Or do they just not care because they also are imbued with Jew-hatred?

I am very grateful that PM Bibi Netanyahu, along with 99 out of 120 Knesset members, acted like Sons of Zion (Zech. 9:13), and decreed that Israel will not accept any unilateral move to bypass its stubborn refusal to accept this, and that for there to be any chance of a Palestinian State in the future, it must be by negotiations without pre-conditions between Israel and the Palestinians themselves.

Again I liked what Tawil wrote as it is insightful and bold and points the finger at Israel's very dangerous "ally" America, under Biden. "As Iran and its proxies in the ME are continuing the jihad (holy war) to murder Jews and eliminate Israel," the Biden administration pushes for the establishment of a "terror state that would destabilize security and stability" throughout the ME, as well as "pose an existential threat to Israel."

Over the past few years, the world has seen Iran "working non-stop to export its Islamic Revolution. With the help of Iran's proxies in the Gaza Strip (Hamas and PIJ), Lebanon (Hezbollah), Yemen (Houthis) and Iraq and Syria (multiple militias operating under various names), Iran's mullahs have consistently targeted not only Israel and the US, but Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE." Also, since Oct. 7th Hezbollah has used southern Lebanon "as a launching pad to fire missiles into Israel." This could lead to a major war unless Hezbollah can be mollified diplomatically, and so far there seems very little chance of that.

Tawil notes that without Iran's financial backing, "much of which came from the Obama and Biden administrations," Hamas and PIJ in Gaza, "would not have been able to accumulate so many weapons and build a vast and unprecedented network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip." And they are not yet finished, as Hamas official G. Hamad promised, "We will repeat the Oct. 7 attack, time and again until Israel is annihilated ….Everything we do is justified." Yet even today, the world wants Israel to halt its war and let Hamas survive!

Israel has revealed that Iran is also "arming and funding Palestinian terrorist groups" in Judea and Samaria, but as it battles Iran-backed terrorists internally and in Lebanon and Syria, Biden and company still search "for ways to reward, rather than stop, the regime of the mullahs in Tehran and their proxies."

The deceived US administration thinks today's ME wars are because the Palestinians do not have their own state. As Blinken said when speaking to reporters in Egypt, the ME is facing "two paths;" the first sees "Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and the US, and a Palestinian state…" The other is the path of terrorism, and "destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah, all backed by Iran." He insisted that the first path is the "best way to isolate, to marginalize Iran and the proxies…"

When Blinken was in Israel, he repeated this theory which Tawil sees as totally false, as a "Palestine" will not bring peace to the ME. By obsessively harping on this, the US is actually telling "Iran and its terror proxies that terrorism pays – that if they inflict more pain and casualties on Israel, the Americans will reward them with a state of their own next to Israel to facilitate their mission of continuing their Jihadist murder spree against the Jews" in order to finally annihilate Israel.

All signs indicate that a future "Palestine" would be ruled "by Palestinians who reject Israel's right to exist," as the recent polls noted above show that a majority of Palestinians see desire Hamas to rule over them. Therefore if a "Palestine" is created, as the US hopes, "it will be ruled by Hamas and its masters in Iran."

Tawil concludes, that what Blinken and Biden seem unable, or unwilling, "to grasp is that there are still too many people among the Palestinians, and many other Arabs and Muslims, who have yet to come to terms with the right of a nation that is not Islamic" to exist in the ME. In essence, the US would be rewarding "Hamas and the Palestinians for committing genocide." ("Biden Administration's 'Pathway' to a Palestinian Terror State," B. Tawil, Gatestone Institute, 18 Jan. 2024)

EU foreign policy Chief J. Borrell has been very anti-Israel in his attitude and policies. He recently showed how quickly Zechariah 12:2-3 can come to pass. The day after Tawil's article, Borrell said that only by creating a "Palestine" is there any hope for peace, adding that the "spiral of hate will continue" for generations, making it impossible for Israel and the Palestinians "to reach an agreement autonomously," so if the world believes in the two-state solution, "the international community will have to impose it."

Global pressure to advance this non-solution has intensified since Oct. 7th, but Israeli leaders have said "that the attack highlighted the extreme danger of an autonomous Palestinian entity near its population centers." Also with support for Hamas on the rise among Palestinians, most Israelis are not interested in a renewal of peace talks at this time. Also, Israel rightly fears that any benefit to the Palestinians will only give Hamas a victory, and show that "violence and terror produce results".

It is alarming to hear the US support for dividing God's land, as that invites God's judgment (Joel. 3:1-2). Yet State Department's spokesperson Miller told reporters, "There is no way to solve [Israel's] long-term challenges [for] lasting security…without the establishment of a Palestinian state."

He was reacting to Netanyahu who told Washington that he objected to any Palestinian State which placed Israel's security in jeopardy. Bibi added that in any plan "in the foreseeable future, with an accord or without an accord, Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River." In other words, from the River to the Sea, Israel will protect its security! ("EU’s top diplomat: Palestinian state may need to be imposed on Israel from outside," Times of Israel, 19 Jan. 2024)

Some weeks later, Miller told reporters that the US was "actively pursuing" the creation of "an independent Palestinian state, with real security guarantees for Israel, because we believe that is the best way to bring about lasting peace and security for Israel, for Palestinians and for the region…" Obviously, he either does not know God's Word – or worse, rejects it (Lev. 25:23; Jer. 32:41-44; Joel 3:1-2).

Those comments confirmed a report of the previous day that Blinken "asked the State Department to conduct a review and present policy options on possible USA and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza." ("State Department: A Palestinian state is the best way to bring about lasting peace," Arutz 7, 1 Feb. 2024)

British commentator Melanie Phillips also focused in on this perverse pressure on Israel, writing that the UK is in one accord with the US, as recently UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron made a stunning declaration that his "government was considering formal recognition of a 'state of Palestine,' including at the UN," adding that, "This could be one of the things that will help make this process irreversible."

Phillips wrote that once the war in Gaza started, the US and the UK have seized "on the turmoil to advance their obsession with a 'two-state solution'." Yet threatening to do this by unilateral recognition crosses a red line. "Official recognition of a 'Palestine' that doesn't exist is part of the strategy of diplomatic warfare against Israel promoted by those who want to see the Jewish state destroyed." This move would recognize a 'state' without physical form or boundaries, and it would erase "the necessity for the Palestinian Arabs to agree to live in peace alongside Israel. Instead, it would incentivize further their rejection of Israel's right to exist."

Up to this time, both America and Britain have "opposed unilateral recognition of a Palestinian Arab state as an act of malicious aggression against Israel. Now they are proposing to join in." Also, their timing is abysmal "as Israel is in the throes of a war for its existence after the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. While the IDF is making painful progress towards dismantling Hamas, Britain and America have now given the terror outfit an enormous incentive to keep fighting."

Palestinians have been offered a state several times, either by Israel or with its agreement, but have constantly "said no and turned to terrorism and war instead. The reason Israel has no security is because the UK, the US and the EU have mischaracterized the war of extermination against Israel as a conflict over territory." Thus they pushed Israel into making many concessions, which has weaken its security. They also continue "to fund the PA despite the genocidal agenda against Israel and Jews that it shares with Hamas, and with which it indoctrinates" Palestinians with a Jew-hatred that results in Oct. 7-style pogroms.

Both nations have sent much needed military aid to Israel. Both also criticized South Africa's accusation of Israel committing genocide at the International Court of Justice. But their fixation on the "two-state solution" reveals a "staggering political blindness and stupidity. They propose to declare the existence of a Palestine state that Palestinian Arabs have always refused to accept." They treat Hamas and other Palestinians as if there is no connection. Yet as was shown in the polls mentioned above, Hamas reflects the mindset of most Palestinians. ("America & Britain: blind stupidity or malevolence?" M. Phillips, Arutz 7, 2 Feb. 2024)

The JP's Herb Keinon, who is not very right-wing in his thinking, expressed shock at how four months after Hamas "launched its savage attack on Israel…the world is abuzz with renewed talk about a Palestinian state."

He continued, "Never mind that Gaza has…been an independent Palestinian entity since Israel withdrew in 2005 and removed every army installation and soldier, every settlement and Jew…that Hamas expelled the PA in 2007 in a murderous coup and used the territory, to build "an Iranian-backed launching pad for attacks on Israel, with an unprecedented maze of underground tunnels from which to attack the Jewish state," and that Hamas just used that territory to commit the worst atrocities on Jews since the Nazis.

Let's ignore all that as the "world is once again convinced that the panacea to the problems in the ME is a Palestinian state." However, for most Israelis this plan is surreal. "If the mini-Palestinian state of Gaza led to Oct. 7, what would a full-blown Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank lead to?"

UK Foreign Secretary Cameron said recognition of a state would give Palestinians hope of a "better future," yet notes Keinon, this is "reminiscent of the rhetoric" heard right after "the mind-numbing terror of the 2nd Intifada [uprising in Arabic]," as the Bush Administration and others called on Israel to give the Palestinians "confidence-building measures." Yet they ignored the psychological trauma on Israelis that the terror of that period had, and that "it was Israelis who needed their confidence restored, so that they could believe a peace process would lead to peace, not to increased terrorism." And Israel still waits.

While Israel is "known for its national resilience, and for its ability to bounce back and do so swiftly," yet the world misreads this "ability to move on as if all is forgotten." The 2nd Intifada caused Israel to be very reluctant to resurrect "the Oslo Accords and its voting patterns since then bear that out."

Israeli President Herzog stressed this in Dec, 2023, telling the AP, "My nation is in trauma. To get back to the idea of dividing the land, of negotiating peace or talking to the Palestinians, one has to deal first and foremost with the emotional trauma that we are going through and the need and demand for a full sense of security…"

Herzog, who is center-left in his political attitude, then told the Davos Economic Forum in Jan. 2024, "Israelis lost trust in the peace process because they could see that terror is glorified by our neighbors."

Keinon added that those who think "opposition to a Palestinian state is only Netanyahu's position, and that if he were just removed from office, it would be easier to move forward," are dead wrong. This talk of two states is offensive to Bibi, and "also to Herzog and millions of other Israelis who are stunned that Hamas launches" a horrendous attack, and in response, nations push "to recognize a Palestinian state to give the Palestinians a positive horizon." Yet for Israelis, a 'Palestine' is a deadly horizon.

Late in 2023, Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, revealed the ungodly nature of this rush to create a Palestine. In an ABC interview, he said, Israelis "just suffered the equivalent of 20 9/11s. I think the last thing you want to do is send a message to any terror group that the way you're going to achieve some sort of aim is to perpetrate a massive terror attack." ("Palestinian state talk is surreal, so soon after October 7," H. Keinon, JP Analysis, 4 Feb. 2024)

Raise up Your Sons of Zion, O God

In Zechariah 9:13 God says He would lift up the Sons of Zion against the Sons of Greece. Sons of Zion fear God and trust in His Word, while Sons of Greece fear man and reject God's Word. This was a direct prophecy about the wars of Chanukah, when the Maccabees fought against the Greek army who were trying to conquer the land of Israel and had already taken over and desecrated God's House on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Maccabees won, but also had to resist those Jews who, as Sons of Greece, rejected their God and His Word and became full-blown humanists.

If I recall correctly, the Lord led us to pray for the Sons of Zion to be promoted in all areas of Israeli society shortly before Oct. 7th and we are seeing results – especially with PM Bibi Netanyahu. He has become in many ways a Churchill, despite his many flaws, of which Churchill had his fair share. Bibi is God's man for this hour for Israel. Here are some examples.

In March, speaking to The American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] via the internet, he objected to the international community's "double standards when it comes to IDF actions during the Israel-Hamas war…"

He declared, "You cannot say you support Israel's goal of destroying Hamas and then oppose Israel when it takes the action necessary to achieve that goal.

"You cannot say that you oppose Hamas' strategy of using civilians as human shields and then blame Israel for the civilian casualties that result from this cynical Hamas strategy. For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. For Hamas, every civilian death is a strategy. It is wrong and immoral to hold Israel to a standard for avoiding civilian casualties that no other country on Earth is held to."

As of this writing, there is a marked increase of tension between Israel "and the Biden administration over Israel's policies concerning the Hamas war." In fact, many "friendly" nations are increasing pressure on "Israel to halt the war, even though it has not achieved its goal of destroying Hamas," a goal that many of these nations have supported.

There is also the world's concern for the number of Gazans killed, as Hamas claims an unverifiable 31,000 plus, while "Israel has said that over 13,000" of those deaths were Hamas terrorists. Before the Gaza war, the UN had said that in modern-day conflicts "90% of wartime casualties are civilian." Yet US National Security Adviser J. Kirby emphasized "that one civilian casualty is unacceptable and UN experts have spoken of an unusually high casualty count in this war." Then Biden in his Ramadan message, stated that "more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including thousands of children."

Netanyahu, in defense of Israel's actions vis-a-vie civilians told AIPAC that the IDF has "taken measures to minimize civilian casualties that no other army has taken in history."

He continued that Israel was determined defeat Hamas via a final military operation in Rafah, Hamas' last stronghold on the Egyptian-Gaza border. "To win this war, we must destroy the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. If not, Hamas will regroup, rearm, and reconquer Gaza and then we're back to square one. And that's an intolerable threat that we cannot accept," ("Netanyahu: Wrong to hold Israel to standard no one else held to," JP. 12 Mar. 2024)

A few days later, Bibi blasted Israel's allies over their increased pressure on Israel to stop the war before Hamas is defeated. "Since the beginning of the war, we have been fighting on two fronts – the military and the political front…" Israel has succeeded in releasing its "forces to fight in an unprecedented manner for five full months. But it is no secret that international pressure against us is increasing."

He, and most Israelis, is upset with those nations and NGOs "who are trying to stop the war now," before all of Israel's goals are achieved. They do this "by hurling false accusations against the IDF, against the Israeli government," and against Netanyahu himself. They push for "elections now, in the midst of the war… because they know that elections will stop the war, and paralyze the country for at least six months."

Yet the reality is that if Israel stops "the war now, before all of its goals are achieved," then Israel has lost and it cannot afford to do that. Bibi continued, "Therefore, we must not give in to these pressures, and we will not give in…No international pressure will stop us from realizing all goals of the war: eliminating Hamas, freeing all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat against Israel."

For this to be accomplished, the IDF will "operate in Rafah," as that "is the only way to eliminate the rest of the murderous battalions of Hamas, and this is the only way to exert the military pressure necessary to release all our hostages."

Bibi then sent a bold Son of Zion-type message to the world: "To our friends in the international community I say: Is your memory so short? So quickly did you forget Oct. 7, the most terrible massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust? So quickly are you ready to deny Israel the right to defend itself against the monsters of Hamas? Did you lose your moral conscience so quickly?"

He added, "Instead of putting pressure on Israel…direct your pressure against Hamas and its patron – Iran. They are the ones who pose a danger to the region and the entire world." ("Netanyahu to world: 'Did you lose your moral compass so quickly?'," Arutz 7, 17 Mar. 2024)

The UN versus the Jewish State

It's should be obvious by now that the UN is an anti-Christ, anti-Israel, organization that persecutes the world's only Jewish State every chance it gets. While some quotes below are from right after Oct. 7th, the UN today has become even more anti-Israel. It was months before it condemned Hamas' sexual atrocities, and today it still defends its own UN Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA], despite the fact that Israel has proof that hundreds of its employees took part in the Hamas massacre.

Also, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with people supposedly lacking food – although we see photos telling a different story – and being homeless, is all blamed on Israel when not only did the majority of Gazans vote for Hamas, but they are Hamas' responsibility. Yet Hamas leaders say the monies they received go to build tunnels to protect their terrorists, and that their civilians are the responsibility of the rest of the world.

At the end of Oct., Israel's fantastic UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan spoke to the UN Security Council [SC] and urged the global community to fulfill their commitment of "Never Again." He recounted that his grandfather, a farmer in Transylvania, had a wife and eight children. But in the spring of 1944, his village ceased to exist, and the Nazis forced his whole family into cattle-cars going to Auschwitz where the wife and seven children "were murdered in the gas chambers and turned to ash."

Erdan said this was once "a horror story of a different era, of a distant time of unfathomable hatred," a time which was referred to as 'Never Again'. Yet 'Never Again' happened again!" Peaceful agricultural villages in southern Israel were invaded; "entire communities were exterminated" by Hamas-Nazis. Israeli families were turned into smoke and ash," no different than the fate of millions of Jews in Auschwitz."

Hamas also shares "a common ideology," with the Nazis. "Einsatzgruppen Nazi death squads were committed to exterminating the Jews, just as Nukhba Hamas terrorists are committed to exterminating the Jews and Israel." Hitler's Nazis aimed for a Judenrein, a Jew-free Europe. Hamas aims for a Judenrein Israel, which they call Palestine. "The only solution Hamas is interested in is the Final Solution, the annihilation of the Jewish people."

Erdan noted that Hamas' leader Haniyeh is no Hitler, but Iran's Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Khamenei, its real leader is "hell-bent on world domination." Hitler envisioned the 3rd Reich as a 1,000-year reign dominating vast continents, just as Khamenei sees his radical Shia hegemony stretching across the ME and beyond. His army includes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp and many ME proxies. Instead of shouting "Sieg Heil," these Islamists scream, "Death to Israel!" and "Death to America!" while they sow death and ruin everywhere.

People in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, endure horrific "bloodshed and terror at the hands of Iran's Jihadist Nazi forces." Ukrainian civilians are "murdered from the skies with Iranian Nazi weaponry," and the Houthis attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Iran supports terrorists globally and aims to destroy "every value our civilized world holds dear." While the world sees the rise of this Shia Islamist Reich today, yet like with the Nazis, "the world is silent…"

Erdan recounted some of the horrific atrocities Hamas committed on Jewish men, women and babies, and reminded the UNSC that about 150,000 Israelis have been "displaced since the war began," with millions living "under constant indiscriminate rocket-fire," from Hamas and Hezbollah in the north, yet the UNSC had not – and until today still has not – condemned this vile situation.

Bringing up the Israeli hostages, he asked, "Why are the humanitarian needs of Gazans the sole issue you are focused on?" He also stressed Hamas' exploitation of Gazan civilians, and shamed calls for a ceasefire. Until today, this condemnation of Israel – not of Hamas – is still regularly spewed forth from the UN.

Erdan concluded, "Israel will no longer live with brutal Nazis on her borders. We will not have savage ISIS-Hamas death squads invading our homeland again…Israel's operation in Gaza is not a response to Oct. 7th. It is an act of self-defense to ensure our future." ("[Israeli UN Ambassador] Erdan wears yellow star: 'Israel will no longer live with brutal Nazis on her borders'," Arutz 7, 31 Oct. 2023)

At a November UNSC meeting about Gaza's women and children, Erdan blasted the UN's Women Group "for its malicious disregard of the rape and murder of Israeli women by Hamas terrorists" and scorched "UNICEF for its disregard" of Hamas' brainwashing of children and its use of them "as human shields."

He asked UNICEF's Director, "Are you unaware of the terror summer camps that Hamas runs every year in Gaza to indoctrinate children to murder?" They are brought up in "a culture of hate…that glorifies violence" and are "taught that the murder of Jews and Israel’s annihilation is their life goal." Yet there has not been even one UNICEF report exposing this child-abuse!

Erdan revealed that rockets were "found in children’s bedrooms…And caches of assault rifles were found in UNRWA schools." Concerning using "Gazan children as human shields," he showed a recent photo of terrorists "walking around in broad daylight armed and in uniform surrounded by kids." This is the face of Israel's enemy. ("Amb. Erdan: UN Women maliciously disregards Hamas rape and murder," Arutz 7, Nov. 22. 2023)

Also in November, Shin Bet [Israel's Security Agency] head R. Bar wrote a letter to UN Sec.-Gen. Guterres, saying, "We are determined to complete our mission in Gaza. All those who aspire to see a safer world should refrain from interfering or stopping us."

Bar said while the IDF never targets civilians, in Gaza it is forced to fight in an urban setting against Hamas who hides behind its civilians and is thus the entity responsible for their deaths. He then reminded Guterres that Hamas' head in Gaza, Y. Sinwar "was sentenced to five life sentences in Israel for murdering Palestinians – not Jews. Gaza should be freed from Hamas, not from Israel."

He condemned Guterres for comparing Hamas' "acts of cruelty and the violation of human rights" with Israeli actions. "Crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed against Israel…Additional war crimes were committed when Hamas shot and injured [Gazan] civilians who tried to leave the northern Gaza Strip…War crimes were committed when Hamas used hospitals as combat headquarters and humanitarian aid as a cover for terrorist operations…" It is a distortion of justice "to compare acts of murder and torture of children and babies to the unfortunate but necessary suffering of civilians who are cynically used by Hamas as human shields."

Then, writing prophetically, although Bar was likely unaware of it, he said, "on Oct. 7th the reality of the free world changed dramatically." I am in total agreement, yet I wonder how many believers are aware of the huge leap closer to the return of our Lord Yeshua that this crisis has brought us.

Bar sums up his letter, expressing Israel's frustration with the world's blindness which cries over the death and damage in Gaza as if it was instigated by Israel. "This is…a fight between the good and the bad. Israel stands on the frontline, as the last line of defense for…the free world, standing between darkness and light, barbarism and humanity. We are the protective layer between those who mourn death, and those who worship it." ("Israel security chief in letter to the world: 'Do not interfere'," JP, 12 Dec. 2023)

Dror Eydar explains the anti-Semitic workings of UNRWA, which is one of the major contributors to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians: "The UN has two refugee organizations: one for refugees from all over the world (UNHCR), and the other (UNRWA) only for Palestinian refugees (the nearly one million Jewish refugees from Arab countries do not have an organization; Israel absorbed them)." UNHCR only recognizes as refugees the person deported and forbids "the transfer of refugee status to his descendants. Once the refugee has settled in another country and received citizenship, his rights expire." Over the past century, "tens of millions of refugees have settled in countries outside their homeland," yet Palestinians are allowed to pass on their rights as refugees basically forever, "even if they have received citizenship in another country." Thus, the half a million Palestinians who fled Israel "in 1948 has been inflated to more than five million today."

Also, other refugees are only those who lived "in their home countries from time immemorial until they were expelled or exiled," yet UNRWA claims that a Palestinian who lived "in Palestine only two years or more before the establishment of Israel," is a refugee.

"Why do they have more rights than the 11 million Syrian refugees over the last decade…? It's the Jews. The world doesn't care about Muslims being killed by Muslims. It's the racism of low expectations." But when Jews refuse to be the victim, and instead fight back, the world is angry. So UNRWA was "turned from an aid agency to an agency that perpetuates the conflict and channels hated against us." Also, Hamas uses UNRWA to launder terrorism funds and hundreds of their terrorists are UNWRA employees. ("You are the ram and the thicket," D. Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 8 Mar. 2024)

Genocide vs. actual civilian deaths in Gaza

Harvard Law School Prof. Alan M. Dershowitz exposed the lie that Biden and so many others have placed upon Israel, that it is killing too many innocent Gazan civilians. "You wouldn't know it from the hectoring decision just rendered by the International Court of Justice [ICJ] against Israel, but the death toll among civilians in Gaza, even including children and women, is among the lowest in the history of comparable warfare."

Even the usually anti-Israel The NY Times noted that the recent reductions in civilian deaths which Israel has accomplished "have been 'somewhat overlooked' by the media and critics." In fact, they have been "totally buried and ignored," as Israel's harshest critics continue to "accuse it of wanting to maximize civilian deaths."

Dershowitz says the reason this has been "somewhat overlooked," is because "Israel is subject to a discernible double standard when it comes to covering its military actions." Even before the recent reduction, the IDF recorded "far fewer deaths and a far lower ratio of civilian-to-combatant deaths than in any comparable urban warfare." This is especially noteworthy as "Hamas deliberately increases civilian deaths by using women and children as human shields and by hiding its military personnel and equipment among civilians."

Also Hamas never distinguishes" combatants from what they consider civilian deaths" when they report their death numbers. They never give the ages of 'children' they claim are killed, while "they regard anyone under … 19 as a child, even if they are active combatants." Their figures also "do not count the Gazans…killed by errant rockets launched by terrorists," or those Hamas has killed "for refusing its orders not to move to safer locations."

The NY Times' conclusion that this data proves it is "wrong to accuse [Israel] of wanting to maximize civilian deaths" is very relevant to the blasphemously false "charges of genocide" being considered at the ICJ. "Nations engaged in genocide do not go to such great lengths trying to reduce civilian casualties," nor do they put their own soldiers in more dangerous situations "by employing focused ground forces instead of relying exclusively on air and sea bombardments."

Israel's behavior in this defensive war lines up with "international standards, and its effort to minimize civilian deaths while accomplishing its legitimate goals has generally been successful."

It's time "for the world to stop imposing a double standard" on Israel. "Double standards are a form of bigotry, and when bigotry is addressed to the only nation-state of the Jewish people, it becomes a form of international anti-Semitism against the Jew among nations. It must stop." ("Civilian Deaths in Gaza: Relatively Low," A. Dershowitz, Gatestone Institute, 28 Jan. 2024)

The land of Israel and God's people

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski brings out a very interesting point. "One of the wonders of Israel is its uncanny ability to take the center stage of global attention irrespective of how significant or insignificant" are the events there. For example, Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza should not be getting "the level of attention it is currently receiving from world leaders, the media, and the average person." Even America's Presidential elections are "affected by Israel's actions. Millions of people around the world take to the streets to support or demonstrate against Israel and her enemies. World and business leaders fly into Israel to offer us their support and advice. The world's interest in Israel is not commensurate with its size."

Yet as the focus of the world is on Israel, "it's important that the truth about Israel be told." The lies spread about Israel by the "extreme right and left wing anti-Semitic" groups have infiltrated not only social media but are also carried by the mainstream media. Yet "Israel is a well-established successful nation," which is today "older than half the countries in the world and its economy is growing faster than many of the biggest nations in the world. It doesn't need to defend itself against false accusations, but it should stand for the truth."

He reviews Israel's modern history, noting that the early "Zionist leaders aimed to build a Jewish state on the historical land of the Jewish people." Its exact borders were not clear, but its location "would closely match the historical borders of the land of Israel. Creation of Trans-Jordan," today the Kingdom of Jordan, "restricted the borders of British Mandate Palestine from the Jordan River in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West."

In 1947, the UN's Partition Plan divided "British Mandate Palestine into a proposed Arab and Jewish state," with both sharing the land between that river and that sea. "The Jews and Zionist leaders accepted" it but the Arabs did not, "preferring to go to war and annihilate the Jews than to compromise and earn their own state."

This Arab action ended up with them being defeated and losing any chance of having the proposed state. So today, when Palestinian supporters chant "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free," they – knowingly or unknowingly – want "the annihilation of the State of Israel and its people."

He said, "Israel is a small country with many enemies, and it has fought more wars than normal for any nation of its size and age." These wars make "it easy for Israel's enemies to paint Israel as a warmongering country." Yet, from its creation, "Israel and its leaders have wanted nothing more than peace with" its neighbors.

He explained how in the past, "Powerful empires sent their militaries to conquer faraway lands and conquer native peoples and rule over them. In today's world of egalitarianism and respect for native peoples, colonialism is an evil notion. Israel's enemies love to characterize Zionism as a colonial movement that was created to rob the Palestinians, who they claim are the natives of the land, from their homeland.

"Zionism was the opposite of a colonial movement. Jews are the true indigenous people of the land of Israel. While many ancient and far gone nations have lived and ruled the land, there are no people around today that have an older claim on the land of Israel than the Jewish people. The Jews have lived in Israel for over 3,000 years. No one sent the Zionists to colonize the land of Israel; the Zionists came to liberate the land from non-native people who had no rights or connections to the land." ("Recognizing the truth about Israel and Jewish connections to the land," U. Pilichowski, JP Op-ed, 10 Dec. 2023)

Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion: for, behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says YHWH.
And many gentiles shall be joined to YHWH in that day, and shall be My people,
and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that YHWH of hosts has sent Me unto you.
And YHWH shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again'.

Zech. 2:10-12

Blessings from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen