Watch(wo)man

New Restaurant in Beirut

2008-07-02T09:10:00.001-07:00

I found an article about a new restaurant in Lebanon. The people of Beirut are in a culture of violence! How can we expect them to contribute to the peace process?

Beirut restaurant makes meal out of war
Tue Jul 1, 2008 4:38pm BST

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At "Buns and Guns" you can order a "Kalashnikov"
sandwich from a bullet-shaped menu, prepared by chefs in military
fatigues with the roar of explosions as background music.

This new fast food restaurant in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the
Hezbollah movement holds sway, was the brainchild of co-owner Ali
Hammoud....

Greet the Troops

2007-07-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

This morning my church went to the airport to meet the troops returning for R&R.

Aliyah

2007-07-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

220 new immigrants from North America arrived in Israel on July 10. See pictures here and also at the Nefesh B'Nefesh website. God is faithful! Read this article to find out how to help Bridges for Peace help new immigrants.

Zionism Equals Racism???

2007-05-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

Israel to Donate $5 Million to Aid Refugees in Darfur and Chad - Barak Ravid (Ha'aretz)

The Israeli Foreign Ministry intends to implement a $5 million aid plan for Darfur refugees in the near future.

Israel will transmit $4 million to four aid organizations operating in Chad.

The contribution will place Israel among the 10 largest donors to Chad refugees in the world in 2007.

Happy Resurrection Day!

2007-04-08T15:25:00.001-07:00

UN: "Useless Nations" or "United Nothing"?

2007-03-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

'UN is human rights nightmare'

Yaakov Lappin

Published:

03.27.07, 15:33 / Israel News

...In a speech given during a session of the Human Rights Commission on March 23rd, Hillel Neuer, Director of UN Watch, delivered a scathing attack on the commission's track record, describing it as a "human rights nightmare."

Responding to the speech, the Council President Luis Alfonso De Alba said Neuer's speech fell short of "minimum proper conduct," adding that Neuer's comments were "inadmissible."

"Six decades ago, in the aftermath of the Nazi horrors, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rene Cassin, and other eminent figures gathered here on the banks of lake Geneva to reaffirm the principle of human dignity," Neuer said during his address.
"What has become of this noble dream?" he continued, adding: "In this session we see the answer. Faced with compelling reports from around the world, of torture, persecution, and violence against women, what has this council pronounced, what has it decided? Nothing."

"Its response has been silence. Its response has been indifference. Its response has been criminal. One might say, in Harry Truman's words, that this has become a do nothing, good for nothing council," Neuer added.

"But that would be inaccurate," he continued. "This council has, after all, done something. It has enacted one resolution after another, condemning one single state: Israel. In eight pronouncements, and there will be three more this session, Hamas and Hizbullah have been granted impunity. The entire rest of the world; millions upon millions of victims, in 191 countries continue to go ignored," Neuer said.

"So yes, this council has done something. And the Middle East dictators who orchestrate this campaign will tell you, it is a very good thing…. But do these self-proclaimed defenders really care about Palestinian rights?" Neuer asked.
"Let us consider the past few months. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Palestinian forces. This is three times the combined total that were the pretexts of calling special sessions in July and November… Little three year-old boy Salam Balusha and his two brothers were murdered in their car by Prime Minister Haniyeh's troops. Why has this council chosen silence? Because Israel could not be blamed," Neuer declared.

"Because in truth, the despots who run this council couldn't care less about Palestinians or any human rights. They seek to demonize Israeli democracy. To delegitimize the Jewish state. To scapegoat the Jewish people. They also seek something else. To distort and pervert the very idea of human rights...."

"Welcome to Palestine"

2007-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Palestine - Caroline Glick

"A state of Palestine already exists. It was founded in the summer of 2005, when Israel removed its military forces and civilian population from Gaza and so established the first wholly independent Palestinian state in history. And it is a nightmare. In Palestine, 88% of the public feels insecure. The ratio of men-under-arms to civilians is higher than in any other country on earth. Worshipers in mosques are gunned down by terrorists who attend competing mosques. Ambulances are stopped on the way to hospitals and wounded are shot in cold blood. Terrorists enter operating rooms in hospitals and unplug patients from life-support machines. (Jerusalem Post)"

American Family Association Grassroots Efforts

2007-01-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

The AFA is an organization that provides online information and sends out e-mail alerts regarding important pro-family issues. Included in these alerts is always contact information for senators or whoever else can make a difference. They make it easy to get involved and make your voice heard. Below is the e-mail I received from them today. Please contact your senators and support them on this issue!

January 11, 2006

Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends.

Senate Tired of Your E-mails, Phone Calls; Expected to Pass Bill that Will Keep You From Getting Needed Information.

Dear J---,

Without a doubt, this could be the most important letter I have written you.

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), which would effectively keep AFA and every other pro-family organization in America from providing you information on bills in Congress. Under Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), we would only be able to provide you information on a bill at a high cost and at great danger of being penalized by Congress.

To put it bluntly, members of Congress are tired of getting your e-mails and phone calls, and Senate Bill 1(Section 220) is designed to keep information from you that might inspire you to call or write your senator.

Click Here to read AFA's review of Senate Bill 1 (Section 220).

The new Democratic Senate thinks that if it can keep you from getting information—which is what Senate Bill 1 (Section 220) would do—then it will not be getting e-mails and phone calls from you.

Senators favoring this bill are simply tired of hearing from you. That is the bottom line. They don’t want to hear from you. They don’t want you to be informed. They want to silence you. How? By simply keeping you from receiving information that AFA provides.

I know that language is strong, but Senate Bill 1 (Section 220) will do exactly what I’ve said.

Take Action

1. Send an e-mail to your two senators now!

2. Call your two senators at 202-224-3121. (Simply ask for one senator. Then call the other one at the same number. Ask your senators to vote against Senate Bill 1 (Section 220).

3. Please forward this to your friends and family. It is vitally important that they know what members of the Senate are trying to do.

4. Print this information, and share it with members in your Sunday School class and church and urge them to send an e-mail and call.

If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!

American Family Association | P O Drawer 2440 | Tupelo, MS 38803 | 1-662-844-5036
Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved

"Israel Grants License to Christian TV Channel"

2007-01-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

I found this article on the Bridges for Peace website. Praise the Lord!

Israel Grants License to Christian TV Channel

"Daystar Television Network, which owns and operates 50 television stations across the United States, will be the first Christian network to broadcast into every home in Israel with 100% Christian content. “This is a first. Never before has the nation of Israel granted a license for a 100% Christian channel to broadcast into all of Israel. Up until now, it has either been illegal, impossible, or impractical. The message of the Gospel will now be going into every home in Israel 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. This is a moment in time that we will always remember,” said a spokesman for Daystar.

"The opportunity came after a year of negotiations with Jewish leaders, and a six-month trial of Daystar’s flagship shows: Celebration and the Joni show. According to details provided to the media, Daystar can now be seen in Israel on the HOT Cable System on channel 98. That is a strategic placement, next to the Knesset Channel on channel 99."

(By Daystar Television Network, January 5, 2007)

Prayer Focus
"Pray the Lord’s blessing on Israel for their willingness to allow freedom of religion to such a generous degree. Praise God for this wonderful favor and blessing."

(By Bridges For Peace)

"It's Not About Israel"

2007-01-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

It's Not About Israel - David A. Harris

"British Prime Minister Tony Blair and outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan have been among the most prominent of those viewing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the root cause of many of the Middle East's problems. True, genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians would remove one of the long-standing conflicts in the Middle East. But to suggest that such a settlement would take the wind out of radical Islam's sails is unsupported by the facts.

"Even if Israel did not exist, would Iraq and Iran have chosen not to pursue an eight-year war that cost more than a million fatalities? Would Iraq have decided not to invade Kuwait in 1990? Would it have rethought its use of chemical weapons against both its own Kurdish population and Iran? Would Syria have refrained from slaughtering over 10,000 of its own citizens in Hama in 1982? Would it have relinquished its hold on Lebanon? Would Saudi Arabia have stopped exporting its Wahhabi model of Islam, with its rejection of non-Muslims as so-called
infidels? Would al-Qaeda not have attacked the U.S. in 2001?

"In reality, the destabilizing factors in the Middle East run far deeper than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The sad truth is that it is political oppression, intellectual suffocation, and gender discrimination that explain, more than other factors, the chronic difficulties of the Middle East. The writer is executive director of the American Jewish Committee. (Jerusalem Post)"

Aliyah

2006-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Aliyah literally means "to go up." It was originally used in connection with "going up" to Jerusalem, which is over 2700 feet above sea level. In order to reach Jerusalem, one must "go up" in elevation.

Today Aliyah can still mean "to go up." For example, when one "goes up" in the synagogue to read the Torah, they are said to be "making aliyah to the Torah." But "Aliyah" today is widely used to mean immigration to Israel.

According to the Israeli Government/CIA world factbook there are:

3 million immigrants to Israel since 1948
1.2 million from the former USSR
75,000 from Ethiopia
30,000 from the UK
76% of Israelis are Jewish

This week, Rachel and Simcha Gluck became the 10,000th immigrants brought to Israel from the US by Nefesh b'Nefesh, an American immigration organization founded in 2002. (See ynet news for the complete story.)

Aliyah from the nations, the USSR (the North), and Ethiopia was prophecied in the Old Testament:

Deuteronomy 30:3,5 says "That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee...And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers."
Ezekiel 34:13 "And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country."
Jeremiah 31:8,10 "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth...Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock."
Jeremiah 16:14-15 "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers."
Zephaniah 3:10 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering."

Jerusalem Forever

2006-12-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

2 Chronicles 33:4b - "...the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever."

2 Chronicles 33:7&8 - "...God had said to David and to Solomon his son... in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses."

Psalm 121:4

2006-12-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Psalm 121:4 - Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Kadosh

2006-12-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 6:3 - "...Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts..." (Hebrew = "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh ADONAI Tzvaot...")

The Hebrew word for "holy" is "kadosh" or another variation thereof. It means "set apart, separate, sacred, free from uncleanness.

Leviticus 10:10 says "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;"

According to Strong's Concordance, "unholy" means "common." God is holy. This means that He should be revered and not treated as commonplace.

Why support Israel unconditionally?

2006-11-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

1. God has promised to bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel.

Genesis 12: 1-3 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

2. God promised to bless Abraham's son Isaac, not Ishmael.

Genesis 21:12 "And God said unto Abraham...in Isaac shall thy seed be called."

3. God promised to bless Abraham through his grandson Jacob, not Esau.

Malachi 1:2-3 "I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness."

4. It is not "unfair" that God "loved" Jacob & "hated" Esau.

Romans 9:13-16 "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

5. God has not turned His back on His people.

Romans 11:1a,2a,29 "I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid....God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew....For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."

6. God's special relationship with the Jewish people is everlasting.

Genesis 17:1a,6-8 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God...And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

7. God's covenant with Abraham was not conditional on anything that Abraham did.

See Genesis 15. The ancient custom to confirm a pact between 2 people was to divide an animal and both parties would walk through it. In Genesis 15, God waited until Abraham fell asleep and then God walked between the pieces. The covenant is dependent only upon God's faithfulness, not upon anything the Israelis or Jewish people do.

8. God promised the Jewish people land in the Middle East to be theirs forever.

Nehemiah 9:7-8 "Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:"

Genesis 17:8 "And I will give unto thee [Abraham], and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

9. God promised Israel more land than she possesses today.

Genesis 15:18-21 "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,"

[Above photo from Partnership 2000 website.]

Beit Hanoun

2006-11-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

Nov. 17, 2006 - Press Conference by Israel
(Dan Gillerman, Israel's Permanent Representative at the United Nations)

"Asked about the fact that 300 Palestinians had been killed, including a family of 18 some days ago, he said the bloodshed could be stopped immediately. If Palestinians, while targeting Israeli civilians, used their own people as human shields, they had to expect a response. 'When we are targeting people, we are targeting people who are planning to execute terror attacks and launch Qassam rockets against our people,' he said. 'We are not planning to hit a single civilian.' For Israel, every dead Palestinian child was a mistake and a horrible tragedy, 'for them, every dead Israeli child is a victory and a cause for celebration.' The Palestinians killed were victims of the Palestinian Authority. Beit Hanoun, where the family was killed, had been used as a launching pad for 300 Qassam rockets."

Aliyah

2006-11-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

"Lost Tribe" of Indian Jews Migrates to Israel - Zarir Hussain (AFP/Yahoo)

"More than 200 Jews from India's northeastern Mizoram state have emigrated to Israel, religious leaders said.

"A total of 105 people left for Israel on Thursday, while another 103 people went Wednesday with the Israeli Prime Minister's office formally inviting them," said Israeli rabbi Hannoch Avizedek."

Terrorism

2006-11-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Angered by Rockets, Israelis Weigh Response - Joshua Mitnick
"With one Israeli dead and two critically injured from Palestinian rocket fire on Wednesday, the attack has ratcheted up pressure on the Israeli government to order an all-out offensive in Gaza. Advocates of an incursion say Israel must reoccupy a corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border to block smuggling of weapons with longer firing ranges and improved precision. Palestinians have fired more than 1,000 Kassam rockets into Israel in the last year, killing three civilians and wounding dozens."

Call Terrorists By Their Rightful Name - Ed Koch
"The people the New York Times refers to as "militants" in Gaza have been firing rockets daily from the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun at nearby towns on the Israeli side of the border, seeking to injure or kill Israeli civilians. Those who intentionally aim to kill civilians should be referred to as terrorists."

"Israel Stealing Land"

2006-11-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

In response to a comment made about Israel stealing land, I want to re-post this picture.

2006-10-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

This article is a bit lengthy but well worth the read!

What It Means to Be a Jew
-by an Israeli woman

I am not the least afraid to go any place, By bus or to a mall.

I didn’t change or stop doing anything I used to do before this mess began!

People tend to forget that twice the casualties from terror get killed on the roads!
More people still die from heart attack, cancer, and other things; They just don’t show them on TV.

Don’t misunderstand me, there is a war going on; It’s not pleasant, but, lets face it:

WE HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER OFF!

It’s only TV and the media that make people think that the end of the world is coming.

Only 60 years ago, they were leading Jews to their death like sheep to the slaughter!

No Country, No Army.

55 years ago!!
Seven Arab countries declared war on the small Jewish State, only a few hours old!!

We were then 650,000 Jews! Against the rest of the Arab world!
No IDF [Israel Defense Force]. No mighty Air Force; just tough people with nowhere to go.

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, attacked all at once.
The country the U.N. “gave us” was 65% desert.
The country started from scratch!

35 years ago!!
We fought the three strongest armies in the Middle East, and wiped them out in six days.

We fought against different coalitions of Arab countries, with modern armies, and masses of Soviet Russian weapons, and we still won!

We have today a country, an army, a strong Air Force, a Hi-Tech Economy, exporting millions. Intel — Microsoft — IBM develop their stuff here.

Our doctors win world prizes for medical developments.
We made the desert flourish, selling oranges and vegetables to the world.

Israel has sent its own satellite into Space!! Three satellites all together!!.

We sit proudly with the only countries in the world to shoot something into space!!

Israel is today in the world nuclear power family.

To think that only 60 years ago we were led shameful, with no hope, to our death!!

We crawled out of the burning ashes of Europe; We won our wars here with less than nothing in our hands. We built an “empire” out of nothing.

Who the hell was Mr. Arafat to make me Scared? To make me be Terrified? You make me laugh!

Passover was celebrated;
Let’s not forget what the story is all about.
We overcame Pharaoh,
We overcame the Egyptian Empire,
We overcame the Chaldean Empire,
We overcame the Babylonian Empire,
We overcame the Greek Empire,
We overcame the Roman Empire,
We overcame the Byzantine Empire,
We overcame the Spanish Empire,
We overcame the Ottoman Turkish Empire,
We overcame the British Empire,
We overcame the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
We overcame the German Empire,
We overcame the French Empire,
We overcame the Russia Empire,
We overcame the Soviet Empire,
We overcame Hitler,
We overcame the Germans,
We overcame the Holocaust,
We overcame the armies of the seven Arab countries,
We overcame Saddam.

Take it easy, folks; we will overcome the present enemies too.

No matter which part of human history you try! Think of it, for us, the Jewish people, our situation has never been better!!!

So, Let’s Lift our Heads High; Let’s Remember:

Any nation or culture that tried to mess around with us was destroyed — while we kept going!

Egypt? Anyone know where their empire disappeared to?

The Greeks? Alexander of Macedonia? The Romans? Does anyone today speak Latin?

The Third Reich? Anyone heard any news about it lately?

And look at us: the Nation from the Bible, from Slavery in Egypt.
We are still here, speaking the same language! Right here, right now.

The Arabs don’t know it yet, but they will learn that there is one God.

As long as we keep our identity, we are eternal.
So, sorry for not worrying… Not complaining… Not crying… Not being scared.
Things are O.K. here. They surely can be better, but still:

Don’t fall for the media junk; they won’t tell you that there are festivals going on, that people keep on living, that people are going out, that people are seeing friends.

Yes, our morale is low, so what? It’s only because we weep for our dead while they enjoy the blood. This is the same reason why we will win, after all.

Spread this to the whole Jewish community, and to people throughout the world.

They are part of our strength. It might help some of them to keep their heads up high.
Tell them that there is nothing to worry about. Tell them to think BIG, and to see the whole picture.

“See You Next Year in Jerusalem.”

Marty Goetz

2006-09-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the opportunity to hear Marty Goetz sing. He is a Messianic singer and his songs are incredibly beautiful! Check out his web site!

One of the songs that he has written is called "For Zion's Sake" and it is one of my favorites! He sang it last night. It says,

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," Hear Yeshua cry,
"How I long to gather you to me!"
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Messiah wept for you.
So should we not be weeping too?

For Zion's sake, I will not be silent.
For Zion's sake, I'll not hold my peace.
For Zion's sake, for Yerushalaim,
I will not rest, I will not rest.

I've set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem,
Who will never hold their peace.
Day or night, all you who call upon the Lord,
Call upon the Lord for Zion's sake....

Joke

2006-09-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

This joke is posted at http://www.aish.com/jewlarious/jokes/Iranian_Nights_.asp

Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad calls President Bush and tells him, "George, I had a wonderful dream last night. I could see America, the whole beautiful country, and on each house I saw a banner."

"What did it say on the banners?" Bush asks. Mahmud replies, "UNITED STATES OF IRAN."

Bush says, "You know, Mahmud, I am really happy you called, because believe it or not, last night I had a similar dream. I could see all of Tehran, and it was more beautiful than ever, and on each house flew an enormous banner."

"What did it say on the banners?" Mahmud asks.

Bush replies, "I don't know. I can't read Hebrew."

2006-09-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

I found a must-read article in the New York Post Online called "One Arab's Apology" (for 9/11). In it he does apologize for 9/11. More interesting, though, are his comments about Islam. Emilio Karim Dabul writes,

Every single 9/11 hijacker was Arab and a Muslim. The apologists (including President Bush) tried to reassure us that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam, but was a twisting of a great and noble religion. With all due respect, read the Koran, Mr. President. There's enough there for someone of extreme tendencies to find their way to a global jihad....

The men who killed 3,000 of our citizens on 9/11 in all likelihood died saying prayers to Allah, and that by itself is one of the most horrific things to me about that day....

Five years after that awful day, it's time for all Arab-Americans, and Arabs around the world, to protest against Islamic fascism, to raise our voices - and, where necessary, our arms - against these tyrants until their plague of terror has been driven from the face of the earth forever.

Terror

2006-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

On September 11, the Jerusalem Post reported that

A Palestinian youth was killed and his companion was wounded in an explosion in the Palestinian village of Na'ama near Ramallah. An IDF spokesperson said that the explosion occurred as the two were apparently handling an explosives belt, which belonged to one of the youth's father.

The Times Online reports that "Paintball imams spread militancy : Activity days are 'front' to recruit young Muslims." The story describes 15 "youths" paintballing in the UK.

During one game, a player said: “I’ve been shot.” His team-mate replied: “Don’t worry, the shahid [martyr] never dies.”

These stories are further proof that Golda Meir was correct when she stated "We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us."

[Above photo found at www.jtf.org]

I found a must-read article in the New York Post Online called "One Arab's Apology" (for 9/11). In it he does apologize for 9/11. More interesting, though, are his comments about Islam. Emilio Karim Dabul writes,

Every single 9/11 hijacker was Arab and a Muslim. The apologists (including President Bush) tried to reassure us that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam, but was a twisting of a great and noble religion. With all due respect, read the Koran, Mr. President. There's enough there for someone of extreme tendencies to find their way to a global jihad....

The men who killed 3,000 of our citizens on 9/11 in all likelihood died saying prayers to Allah, and that by itself is one of the most horrific things to me about that day....

Five years after that awful day, it's time for all Arab-Americans, and Arabs around the world, to protest against Islamic fascism, to raise our voices - and, where necessary, our arms - against these tyrants until their plague of terror has been driven from the face of the earth forever.

9/11

2006-09-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

Each year on September 10, Garland Fire Department puts up 343 crosses in memory of those who died from FDNY.

John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

"I believe that if the United States stands on principle, all the democracies will eventually join the war on terrorism. The easy route may be tempting, but it will not win the day. On September eleventh, I, like everyone else, was glued to a television set watching the savagery that struck America. Yet amid the smoking ruins of the Twin Towers one could make out the Statue of Liberty holding high the torch of freedom. It is freedom's flame that the terrorists sought to extinguish. But it is that same torch, so proudly held by the United States, that can lead the free world to crush the forces of terror and secure our tomorrow. It is within our power. Let us now make sure that it is within our will." -Benjamin Netanyahu (Sept 20, 2001)

"Let's roll." -Todd Beemer

"Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks.... These attacks of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is stong." -President George W. Bush (Sept 11, 2001)

"Thank You Israel"

2006-09-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

The following was written by Bridgette Gabriel at www.standwithus.com:

For the millions of Christian Lebanese driven out of our homeland, "Thank you Israel," is the sentiment echoing from around the world. The Lebanese Foundation for Peace, an international group of Lebanese Christians, mad the following statement in a press release to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert concerning the latest Israeli attacks against Hezbollah:

"We urge you to hit them hard and destroy their terror infrastructure. It is not [only] Israel who is fed up with this situation, but the majority of the silent Lebanese in Lebanon who are fed up with Hezbollah and are powerless to do anything out of fear of terror retaliation."

It is not only the Israelis that want Hezbollah out of Lebanon, but also the Lebanese. Do not blame the recent war on the Israelis. Israel was the victim, not the aggressor. And please do not try to paint Hezbollah as a charitable organization, citing the hospitals that they have built and the food that they have provided. If you have any doubt about the character of Hezbollah, the Lebanese, who are in the best position to know, state that those of Hezbollah are terrorists. Lebanon by and large does not support Hezbollah, but by their own admission, they are too afraid to speak out. Do the world a favor and get rid of Hezbollah once and for all.

Quotes by Arabs

2006-09-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

"There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not." -Philip K. Hitti

""It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria." -Ahmed Shukeiry

"We must lie when truth leads to unpleasant results." -Al-Ghazzali

"The Arab has no scruples about lying if by it he obtains his objective." Sania Hamady

"There is no such country as 'Palestine;' 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented!" -Auni Bey Abdul Hadi

"Palestine has never existed...as an autonomous entity. There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs..." -Joseph Farah
(Read these quotes and more here)

"The Jews have coame from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and foced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhis burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them." -Wafa Sultan when interviewed on Al-Jazeera TV (Read the transcript here)

Quotes by Israeli Leaders

2006-09-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

"We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us." -Golda Meir

"Jerusalem is Israel's capital, will never be divided, and will remain the capital of the State of Israel, the capital of the Jewish people, for ever and ever." -Benjamin Netanyahu

"Iran, Libya, and Syria are irresponsible states, which must be disarmed of weapons of mass destruction, and a successful American move in Iraq as a model will make that easier to achieve." -Ariel Sharon

"Israel has created a new image of the Jew in the world - the image of a working and an intellectual people, of a people that can fight with heroism." -David Ben-Gurion

"When I was first here we had the advantages of the underdog. Now we have the disadvantages of the overdog." -Abba Eban

"We extend our hands toward peace. Our people are committed to peace." -Ariel Sharon

"I am certain that I speak on behalf of my entire nation when I say: September 11th we are all Americans - in grief, as in defiance." -Benjamin Netanyahu

"Courage is... the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not be feared." -David Ben-Gurion

"...the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all." -Abba Eban

"I think that a strong Israel is the only Israel that will bring the Arabs to the peace table." - Benjamin Netanyahu

"...without proper force, we do not have a chance of surviving in this region, which does not show mercy toward the weak..." -Ariel Sharon

[Picture above from http://www.theraphi.com/terrorpics/]

One Book Meme

2006-09-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

One Book Meme

I've been tagged by Laura to answer this “One Book Meme.”

One book that changed your life: Don't Waste Your Life (by John Piper)
One book that you've read more than once: Christy (by Catherine Marshall)
One book you'd want on a desert island: The Bible
One book that made you laugh: Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul
One book that made you cry: Praying for Israel's Destiny: Effective Intercession for God's Purposes in the Middle East (by James Goll)
One book you wish had been written: a collection of true stories of firefighters & paramedics that did not contain profanity
One book you wish had never been written: Protocols of the Elders of Zion (All lies!)
One book you're currently reading: A Chance to Die (biography of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliott)
One book you've been meaning to read: Under the Shadow of the Almighty (by Elisabeth Elliott)
Tag 5 others: Jen, Shanna, Brad, Kendrick, Kathleen

The Iran Threat

2006-09-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

It looks like the world is finally waking up to the threat of Iran. It's about time! Why do people not understand that you cannot negotiate with terrorists?!! That defeats the point of terror. They terrorize to accomplish whatever their goal is, and when you give them what they want they only become stronger. They will continue to terrorize because it works! Don't think for a moment that they can be negotiated with. If you give in to a terrorist, the terrorist wins.

We saw where giving in got Israel. Israel pulled out of Lebanon and Gaza. Did that satisfy Lebanon or Gaza? Obviously not - they responded by kidnapping soldiers and lobbing thousands of rockets at innocent people. THE TERRORISTS WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED UNTIL ISRAEL IS WIPED OFF THE PLANET! How do I know this? The Palestinian National Covenant, drawn up by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), says so.

Don't be fooled. Terrorism is not about conceding land, or conceding anything for that matter. It is about a complete takeover. JUST SAY NO to terrorism.

What is a watchman?

2006-08-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

In his book Praying for Israel's Destiny, James Goll writes:

"Have you ever missed a strategic appointment? Or have you ever realized at the last minute that you were about to miss an important engagement unless you kicked into action right away? I have, and it is an experience I do not care to relive! It is like waking up out of a stupor; all of a sudden you remember your appointment...

Did you know that God has a calendar with appointments waiting to be fulfilled? Watchmen remind God of the appointments on His calendar that have not been fully met and fulfilled. The task of a watchman is by 'appointment.' It means being chosen for the divine privilege of composing history before the throne of the Almighty."

It is not that God has forgotten His appointments, but that He allows mere man to intercede and thereby change the course of history. Elijah prayed and God stopped the rain (James 5:17-18). When King Hezekiah was told by God's prophet that he would die, Hezekiah prayed earnestly and God allowed him to live for 15 more years (II Kings 20:1-6).

What appointments does God have left to fulfill?

The Aliyah [return] will be complete (Isaiah 43:5-7)
Jesus will come again (I Thessalonians 4:16)
Israel will welcome Yeshua as their Messiah (Matthew 23:39)
All Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:25-27)
Yeshua will bring peace (Isaiah 2:4)
Israel, Egypt, and Assyria will worship the One True God together (Isaiah 19:19-25)
Israel will possess all the land that One True God promised her (Genesis 12:7)
All nations will worship God in Jerusalem and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles there (Zechariah 14:16)

There are other appointments left for God to fill, but these are a few that pertain to Israel.

Isaiah 62:6b-7 is a command, not a suggestion. It says, "...ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Similarly, Psalm 122:6a says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

We are commanded to pray for Israel. Will you be a watchman?

Current reading

2006-08-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

There are several books that I am currently reading that I highly recommend to all believers. To love God is to love His chosen people. How can one have a heart after God's own heart (as King David did) if one does not love God's beloved land, city, and people? God's unfailing love for them endures forever.

Two Nations Under God: Why Should America Care About Israel and the Middle East? (by Tom Doyle)

His Names Are Wonderful: Getting to Know God Through His Hebrew Names (by Elizabeth L. Vander Meulen & Barbara D. Malda)

Praying for Israel's Destiny: Effective Intercession for God's Purposes in the Middle East (by James W. Goll)

Please visit: A Prayer for Israel to see a stirring music video taken from Psalm 83.

Bible Study

2006-08-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am currently studying the Bible using Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God's Word. I would definitely recommend the book. I was thinking about how much time I typically spend being "conformed to the world" (at my secular workplace, watching TV for hours) versus how much time I spend "renewing my mind." How do I expect to live a Godly, sanctified life? I can easily spend so much time feeding the flesh but it takes work to purposely nurture the spirit. I read my Bible daily. I figured that was enough. But when I calculated the amount of time I spend in the Word versus the amount of time I spend in the world, my time in the Word falls short. Believers must spend serious time studying the Bible, in addition to devotional time.

2006-08-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Daystar to see a taping of the Joni Show. Sandra Levitt & Jeff Seif of Zola Levitt International Ministries were interviewed about Israel. Sandra can speak very knowledgeably as she just returned from Israel and her son is still there. They actually taped 2 episodes that will be aired on August 17th & 18th. They were a blessing to me & I believe that you will be encouraged too. Tune in if you are able!

Today I received an e-mail from a Christian brother with a leprosy ministry in India. Please remember his ministry in your prayers. He & all his lepers desperately need our prayers, and yet he has them all praying for me & my family! To find out more about the needs of this ministry, visit Suffering Saints.

2006-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

It seems that everyone has a blog these days. I guess it's time to join the 21st century. So here goes. I don't know how much time I'll spend blogging, because right now I spend more time updating my personal website.

Check it out!!

Watch(wo)man

New Restaurant in Beirut

Greet the Troops

Aliyah

Zionism Equals Racism???

Happy Resurrection Day!

UN: "Useless Nations" or "United Nothing"?

"Welcome to Palestine"

Recent Reads

American Family Association Grassroots Efforts

Take Action

"Israel Grants License to Christian TV Channel"

"It's Not About Israel"

Aliyah

Jerusalem Forever

Psalm 121:4

Kadosh

Why support Israel unconditionally?

Beit Hanoun

Aliyah

Terrorism

"Israel Stealing Land"

Marty Goetz

Joke

Terror

9/11

"Thank You Israel"

Quotes by Arabs

Quotes by Israeli Leaders

One Book Meme

One Book Meme

The Iran Threat

What is a watchman?

Current reading

Bible Study