15. 7 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Political Analysis Dr Ron Weiser AM Hon Life Pres of the Zionist Council of NSW We’re in the silly season between election number three and the festival of Purim. So many things may change by the time this article is read and if it wasn’t so serious, we could call the current events in Israel a Purim spiel. Despite predictions of voter fatigue— turnout has steadily increased over the three elections to a now 20 year record of 71.32%. But currently we have a stalemate. The election results need to be looked at in two ways. In the first instance, Netanyahu deserves the accolades of ‘political magician’ and ‘campaign genius’. Despite all of the legal issues facing him, he increased both Likud’s vote of September last year from 32 to 36 seats and his coalition now has 58 seats out of 120—but he needs 61. A win, but not a win. Gantz, essentially looking and feeling like a three times loser now, but not necessarily being one in a few weeks’ time, has a block of 40 (44 last September) with his coalition partners. That’s 58 to 40—a loss for Gantz, but maybe not a loss. The Israeli Arab party—the Joint List—has gone from 10 seats in April last year, to 13 in September and 15 now. More on that later. And the 4th faction is Lieberman with 7 seats. One down from September. On this metric, President Rivlin should have little option but to ask Netanyahu to form a government and one could expect that he might be able to pick off 3 members of Gantz’s block to give him a majority. Certainly on the policy front that presents little obstacle, as there are some members of Gantz’s block whose natural home is really the Likud and who are to the right of Netanyahu. However... The other way of looking at the results is the second metric. 58 seats for Netanyahu and 62 seats for the “anyone but Bibi” block. It may be inconceivable to imagine Lieberman and the Arab Joint List joining together on anything, as they detest and fear each other. The real question is whether Lieberman hates Netanyahu even more. And enough to allow a temporary union/ non-union with the Israeli Arab party, to oust Netanyahu. How can this union/non-union work? Just one way, but there are others, is to support common legislation. Lieberman said his party is “to move forward with the promotion of two laws: The first law which will limit the tenure of a Prime Minister to two terms. The second law will prevent an MK facing indictment from forming a government.” Both have as their target —Netanyahu. Parties on the ultra left and right continue to fail electorally. The Labor/Gesher/ Meretz parties have gone from a combined 10 seats in April, to 11 in September and now, united as one party, to a mere 7. A tragedy for the original founding party of the State, but an indication of how irrelevant they appear to the electorate. Notwithstanding that some Jewish diaspora groups ridiculously elevate them to hero status, carrying the torch of the supposed ‘real Israel’. Naphtali Bennett and his parties on the far right continue to perform poorly. Bennett just failed to pass the threshold in April last year but together with the other Union of Right Wing parties, let’s say they achieved a nominal 8 seats then. In September led by Ayelet Shaked – 7. And now just 6 seats. There is a trend here. Bennett has however succeeded in hanging in for the longer run. His strategy or self- belief, being that he will be the natural leader of the right wing block in the post Netanyahu era. Mmmmmm. There’s going to be a lot of talk about what democracy actually is and the “will of the people” vis a vis the “will of the ‘unelected’ courts”. What these words mean and how to define these concepts and resolve the dynamic between a democratic election and the operation of the legal system, will form much of the debate to come. The one dramatic change in electoral strength as outlined above, has been the rise of the Israeli Arab vote. Today, the third largest party in the Knesset as represented by the Joint List— an amalgam of quite different from each other Arab parties, led by the charismatic and politically savvy, Ayman Odeh. It means that Arab citizens of Israel are increasingly participating in Israel’s democracy and choosing to be part of the fabric of Israel. Their vote increased for 3 main reasons: principally the rising percentage of Arab Israelis deciding to vote, from 49% of those eligible in April to 67% this time; the decision by Arab voters to vote more exclusively for the Joint List rather than for mainstream Jewish parties; and some Jewish voters disillusioned with Meretz and Labor voting for the Arab party. It is well past time that some Jewish groups both here in Australia and elsewhere—to emphasise, we’re talking about Jewish groups doing this—cease describing Arab Israelis or Israeli Arabs if you prefer, as Palestinian Arabs. They are not. They are citizens of Israel. And want to be. Ironically it is these Jewish groups that try to create the idea of a separation that Israeli Arabs do not actually seek. If anything the Trump plan pushed Israeli Arabs out to vote in larger numbers precisely because their worst nightmare is one element of the plan—something it should be noted which has been rejected by Israeli Arabs, Netanyahu and Gantz. This is the notion that Israeli Arabs will find themselves, by the redrawing of final borders, inside a future Palestinian State and outside of Israel. As one Israeli Arab leader is reported to have said: “We prefer to suffer in the Israeli hell than to enjoy the Palestinian paradise”. ________________________________________________________ Dr Ron Weiser AM is a Life Member of the ZFA Executive, Past President of the ZFA and Hon Life Pres of the Zionist Council of NSW. the third largest party in the Knesset [is] an amalgam of ... Arab parties Political Deadlock and the Rise of the Israeli Arab Vote Jerusalem - March 01, 2020: Two campaign billboards in Jerusalem, Israel, supporting Likud party. Slogan in Hebrew: “No government for Gantz without Ahmad Tibi”. gali estrange / Shutterstock.com

21. 21 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast 9 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) is a prayer movement initiated and chaired by the former Knesset Member Robert Ilatov and co-chaired by the former US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. It started with the approval of Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, who received the founders of the movement in his residence on the Jubilee of the reunification of Jerusalem. Each year the JPB brings together government leaders and influential Christian leaders from all walks of society for a gathering in Israel’s capital city to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. JPB Director Albert Veksler is originally from Estonia. In addition to being the founding Director of the JPB movement, Veksler is also Director of Global Aliyah, an organisation helping olim from Eastern Europe come home to Israel. As the Founding CEO of JPBM Consulting, Albert writes and advises on Israeli lobbying policies and is currently enrolled as a PhD student in Public Policy at the Technological University Dublin. Veksler: “The JPB is a global mobilisation of the Church, gathering the nations to align themselves in prayer with God’s purposes for Israel and Jerusalem. The movement was commenced in 2016, to answer God’s command and the Knesset’s call to the nations to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the prosperity of Israel.” “With the increasing discussion and tension regarding the power and control over the city of Jerusalem, prayer for this capital of capital cities is appropriate, urgent, and, even more importantly, Biblical. Those who are aware that this stumbling block for the nations will prove to be a cornerstone for the world, are standing up together as one to take a stand in prayer.” The inaugural Prayer Breakfast in 2017, was attended by 570 delegates, representing 58 countries. In 2019, there were over 650 representatives attended from 64 nations. In 2019 President Trump praised the Prayer Breakfast as an expression of ‘our greatest hope for peace.’ According to President Trump, “Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and peopl e of all faiths are free to worship according to their conscience and beliefs.” JPB gatherings are also held in other strategic cities throughout the world. So far, JPB events have been held in London; Accra, Ghana; Singapore; Orlando, FL; Basel; San Antonio, TX; Kampala, Uganda; The Hague; Helsinki; Canberra; and Bloemfontein, South Africa. These national events help Christian and secular leaders of these countries to recognise the Biblical and historical significance of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to consider moving their embassies there. The next JPB event in Jerusalem will take place on 2-4 June 2020. The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast Angus Buchan Matthew Thorn n Christians for Israel Australia Hosted by the Hon. Senator Eric Abetz, the inaugural Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (‘JPB’) in Canberra, held on 25- 26 February 2020, was a significant opportunity for a broad range of Christian leaders representing various parts of Australasia, to come together with Jewish representatives and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Over 200 people gathered in Canberra’s Old Parliament House for worship, networking, breaking bread in fellowship, and prayer. Some sessions were held in the current Parliament House. We prayed for Jerusalem, Israel, and the Jewish People – and discussed current issues affecting Israel including Aliyah, 100 years since the San Remo Conference and its implications: anti-Zionism/anti-Semitism, innovation and trade. The JPB was the brainchild of Robert Ilatov when he was a member of the Knesset and chairman of the Christian Allies Caucus, and Albert Veksler, an influential Christian Zionist and long-time resident in Israel – who both came to Australia especially for the event. The local organising committee was led by Jane O’Neill and Jamie Pryor. Attendees included numerous members of Parliament including Senator Eric Abetz, Minister Stuart Robert, Assistant Minister Zed Seselja and Julian Lesser. There were also state politicians from Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Especially welcomed were leaders from New Zealand, indigenous communities and Pacific Islands including Fiji, the Solomon Islands and the Cook Islands. Israel’s Deputy Ambassador Ron Gerstenfeld participated on behalf of the State of Israel. The Zionist Federation of Australia was represented by Dr Ron Weiser. ZFA President Jeremy Leibler was unable to attend but sent a letter of support. “Your outpouring of love, support and prayers over many years for Israel and the Jewish people is profoundly moving and deeply appreciated”, Mr Leibler wrote. “As you know, Israel often feels that it has few friends among the nations. It is attacked on its borders and in the UN. “Anti-Semitism is rising around the world. Synagogues are being attacked, and many Jews in Europe are no longer displaying outward signs of their Jewishness. “In these times, the rock-solid support of Christian Zionists in Australia and around the world is a genuine source of comfort for Israel and its supporters. I thank you for your sincerity and friendship.” There was a wonderful spirit of support and friendship for Israel emanating from the event. The Jewish community can derive great strength and comfort from these strong friends of Israel and the Jewish people. The JPB has been running for a couple of years in Israel and has also been held outside of Jerusalem including in London and Seoul. The organisers describe the JPB as follows: îThe $erusalem Prayer reak=ast Canberra gathers Christian leaders =rom Australia, (ew 4ealand, -outh Paci”c and - Asian nations in solidarity with $erusalem and #srael and their eternal destinies. estinies that are =ounded on the coMenants Hashem has made with the &and and the $ewish people. We meet in Canberra to honour the $ewish people, the nation o= #srael and her eternal undiMided capital $erusalem.í JPB in Australia for First Time rom le=t: Major General Sitiveni Rabuka MP (Leader of the Opposition, Parliament of the Republic of Fiji), John Kuku MP (Parliament of the Solomon Islands), Sisilia Kennedy, Rabbi Moshe Gutnick (Senior Dayan – Sydney Beth Din), Albert Veksler (Director, Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast) Attendees at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast which was held in Australia for the first time.

8. 20 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 C4I Events 8 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Mandy Worby n Christians for Israel Australia We’ve just completed our latest tour to the Holy Land, and despite the coronavirus threat, it was an outrageous success. Twenty-nine of us travelling through Israel and Jordan, with a smaller contingent continuing to Greece, to walk the land of the Bible, learn about the mission of the Jewish people, and the Messiah who would come to the world through them and then the outgoing spread of the Gospel to the Gentile world. Two really significant take-home lessons became evident from our tour: firstly, God’s Word is true! God laid out very clearly what His plans are regarding the redemption of fallen humanity, and that His plans would come to fruition through a particular people group. That people group is the Jewish people, and we learned about their beginning, their calling, their struggles, their punishments and how they’ve been a light to the nations despite their short failings over the past four millennia. From this people, we have God’s unfailing Word, the prophets, the patriarchs, the Holy Spirit, the Messiah Himself, and His apostles who then took the Good News to the rest of the world. We are the beneficiaries of all this, blessed to be grafted into God’s family as a result. Secondly, context and the cultural environment is essential to understanding the Word of God. We’re so used to interpreting the Word of God through the 21st century, a post-modern filter that we all too often misunderstand and therefore, misinterpret what the Bible actually says. Standing in the places where Biblical events unfolded, learning about the society at that time, and understanding the definition of words that were spoken can often lead to very different understandings. It was enlightening, to say the least. Who would have thought that understanding Greek mythology would bring greater clarity to events detailed in the book of Acts? It’s true. The Apostles, all Jews, spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an overtly pagan and idolatrous Gentile world, bringing the truth of monotheism to them, shining the light of God’s truth into their darkness and exposing their vain belief in gods invented in their own imaginations. In doing so, they paid with their lives. Again, we are the beneficiaries, because the Gospel has spread to the uttermost parts of the world, where we live. Our time in Israel, Jordan and Greece were fantastic and our desire to understand the Word of God, delivered in and through the cultures of the ancient world, is more real and significant to us now than it was before we left our Aussie shores. And...we beat coronavirus every step of the way. God was so incredibly good to us. A photo of our Australian tour group at Ein Gedi springs in the wilderness near the Dead Sea where David had his encounter with King Saul as we read in 1 Samuel 24 C4I Australia Tour to Israel We are the beneficiaries of all this, blessed to be grafted into God’s family as a result. Bryce Turner n New Zealand Executive Director Reaching virtually every corner of the world, all countries are facing their own struggles with the coronavirus. Strangely unifying, the virus seems to be completely blind to race, colour or creed. Mankind faces a timely reminder of its own frailty as the pandemic spreads exponentially, fast. Christians for Israel New Zealand recently came face-to-face with this on its Israel Study Tour 2020. Departing New Zealand – where, at the time, people were only just starting to learn what the virus was – the group transited overnight in Seoul, Korea, where there was no sign whatsoever of any travel warnings or restrictions. Departing the following day for Tel Aviv – again, no sign of any travel warnings or restrictions – the group excitedly looked forward to setting foot in the Holy Land. How quickly things can change. Somewhere past half- way through the flight, the world learned of some Korean travellers who had just returned from Israel – and tested positive for the virus. Immediately the Israeli borders were closed to our aircraft. So close, but so far away! After a few hours stranded on the tarmac, our aircraft was refuelled, resupplied, and sent back to Korea. After a brief hour in Korea, the tour group found itself on another flight back to New Zealand, tour over. An amazing group of people, the kiwis, took the bitter disappointment in their stride. We pray that safe travel will resume soon and that we may be able to take our intrepid explorers to reach the Holy Land in 2021 finally. As the whole world faces isolation and quarantine – New Zealand is now in a state of emergency, full lockdown – it is a great time to make sure we are right with the only reliable, dependable thing in the whole universe; God is in control. Kiwi’s Returned Home Passengers aboard a Korean Air Boeing 777 were denied deplaning due to coronavirus fears. | Photo: Getty Images

24. 24 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Call to Prayer 12 Condemnation of Israel - A Call to Solidarity April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Facts Speak 2019: Terrorism in Israel Annual distribution of significant terrorist attacks Types of attacks in 2019 IED’s Vehicular Shootings Stabbings Other Distribution of rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza strip Source: Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Dr Leon Meijer and n Rev Cornelis Kant Christians for Israel International In the first decades of its existence, Israel was treated with enthusiasm and respect by both Church and State. But in recent decades, we have seen a tendency to denigrate the State of Israel, and even deny its legitimacy. A few weeks ago, Ms Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced her intention to investigate the commission of war crimes by Israeli and Palestinian leaders ‘in Palestine’. In her opinion, Palestine is a ‘state’ for the purposes of the ICC Statute; ‘Palestine’ consists of the whole ‘West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza’; and there are ‘reasonab le grounds to believe’ that Israeli leaders have committed war crimes by enabling settlements to be built ‘in Palestine’. The matter is currently being examined by three judges of the ICC. This means that the mere fact that Jews are allowed to live in their historic homeland is considered to be a heinous crime worthy of international condemnation and prosecution. For decades, the United Nations institutions have become a platform where Israel has continuously been criticised and condemned. For example, in the last few years, UNESCO has effectively denied the Jews’ historical connection with the Temple Mount. While mentioning that Jerusalem and its Old City walls are holy to all three religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity), the Temple Mount is referred to in these resolutions exclusively by its Arabic name ‘Al-Haram Al-Sharif’ (meaning ‘the Noble Sanctuary’). Countless UN resolutions portray Israel solely as a perpetrator of crimes that are an obstacle to Palestinian self-determination. Much reporting about the Israel- Palestine conflict makes a caricature of Israel and even demonises this sovereign nation. The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanction campaign (BDS) has, fortunately, in some countries been recognised for what it is: anti-Semitism. The endless criticism of Israel that manifests itself as ‘anti-Zionism’, is in practice nothing less than a form of anti-Semitism. It denies Jews any place in the land that God has promised to them. All of this completely ignores the achievements of the State of Israel, including the fact that it is the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Jews and adherents of other religions have freedom of religion and worship. At the same time, Jews in other countries, where they have been living for centuries, are increasingly being threatened and stereotyped as so often has happened in the past - with disastrous results. We see all of this as part of a process wherein, step by step, the history of Israel is ignored and the Biblical and historical connection between the Jewish people and the land, and thereby the legitimacy of the Jewish State, are denied. The very existence of the Jewish people in the land is thereby being threatened, not just by military force but also through international politics and public opinion. The State of Israel and the Jewish people are not perfect. But they are still the apple of God’s eye. In the same way, the Church is not perfect, but despite its faults, it is and remains the body of Christ. God is faithful to His covenants with His people. He is bringing the Jewish people home to the land of their forefathers, as He promised through the prophets He would. That affects us as Christians. As the body of Christ, we are one with Jesus, who suffered as King of the Jews in Jerusalem, died and rose again for the salvation of His people Israel and the whole world. “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glor y, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!” (Romans 9:4-5) “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29). Israel needs our support, and we are called as the people of God to give that support. We are convinced that we cannot sit by silently while Israel and the Jewish people are being condemned and attacked. We need to be alert and to speak up in their defence. Above all, we urge you to remember the Jewish people and the State of Israel in your services of worship and in your prayers. Dr Leon Meijer is Chairman, and Rev Cornelis Kant is Executive Director of Christians for Israel International. Panoramic view of Jerusalem | Photo: Shutterstock

14. 6 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Political and Biblical Commentary Alex Ryvchin Author and co-Chief Executive Director — Executive Council of Australian Jewry Lest we forget? 75 years after Auschwitz, too many do A new study released on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp has found that a quarter of French millennials haven’t heard of the Holocaust, while an earlier study of American millennials found that 66 per cent did not know what Auschwitz was. The findings come at a time of surging anti-semitism 1 in both countries, with incidents targeting French Jews rising by 74 per cent, while the US has seen a series of lethal attacks 2 against Jewish gatherings and places of worship, the latest involving a machete attack 3 at the home of a Rabbi in upstate New York. In Australia, serious cases of anti-semitic verbal abuse 4 , intimidation and harassment rose by 30 per cent 5 , from 88 to 114, in the past year. The fact so many young people have no knowledge of a genocide conducted in the heart of enlightened Europe, in part through the operation of the most lethal and efficient killing facility in human history, is disturbing in itself. The consequences of this absence of knowledge will surely be felt for years to come. It is a challenging story to teach, harder still to fully imbibe, but one that is critical to understanding man’s destructive capacity, the endpoint of the relentless debasing of a people, and the misery that racism can unleash on the world. More than 1.3 million people were murdered at Auschwitz, 90 per cent of them Jews. By the time the genocide of the Jews across Europe had ended, more than 3 million Jews had been wiped from existence in the death camps. The total Jewish dead stood in the vicinity of 6 million. They died in all corners of Europe, from disease in ghettos, from poison gas, mass shootings, live burial, beatings, incineration. Seventy eight per cent of the Jews who had lived in territories that fell to the Nazis, perished. In comparison, between 1.4 per cent to 3 per cent of the non-Jewish population in the same territory was killed. Dynasties and entire families, great sages and common workers, Nobel laureates and humble students, whole villages and communities, all disappeared. Thriving Jewish intellectual and cultural centres like Krakow and Vilnius that had bustled with Jewish life, now reduced to rude husks, urban memorials of human depravity. How many more Freuds and Einsteins, Chagalls and Primo Levis were among them we can never know. A million Jewish children were killed. A million Anne Franks vanished in a pit of suffering. But the numbers obscure the millions of individual stories of cruelty, misery, and unbearable loss. While the precise manner of the killings was so bestial that it forces one to reconsider the very nature of humanity. The Jews were taken to the camps in train wagons used for transporting cattle in which they would ride across the continent for days on end, completely without food or water, sometimes given a pause so that the corpses of loved ones could be tossed out of the wagons before continuing onward to the camps. In some camps, the fit were put to slave labor until their bodies gave out while the very young, the old and the sick were selected for gassing immediately. The process of selection would take place on the platform immediately upon arrival. Nazi doctors looked over the human cargo, sending them to one queue or another, forever tearing sister from sister, mother from child. The ones selected to die immediately were led into chambers which were sealed behind them before canisters of poison were released through chutes in the ceiling. When the victims ceased their writhing and their nervous systems succumbed, other inmates were charged with transferring the dead to the crematoria, clearing the chamber of visible signs of distress like bodily waste and fingernails clawed into walls, to ensure the next batch of victims would enter the chamber without disorder or resistance. At the peak of the killing, the Jews were killed at a rate of up to 15,000 people a day. At Auschwitz, human experiments were conducted on the living, including determining the time to death from injection with various poisons, the effect of removal of organs without anaesthetic; and freezing victims to see how close they could be brought to the point of death and still be revived. If they survived the torture that masqueraded as science, their only salvation was the gas chamber. Those who were able to survive for any length of time in the camps existed in a realm somewhere between life and death, but surely closer to death. They ate virtually nothing, slept in barns and worked outdoors in the freezing Polish winter wrapped in rags, and were rife with diseases like dysentery and typhoid from malnutrition and the absence of clean water. Such was the deathly pall about them that rats sometimes attacked the still-living, mistaking them for corpses. In the perfect crescendo to centuries of gradually reducing the humanity of the Jewish people, they were exterminated in purpose-built camps, industrial factories of destruction, using a common pesticide, Zyklon-B. The seemingly infinite stories of infinite evil and suffering that together form the Holocaust have been presented to us over and over again in dispassionate historical texts, in Hollywood films, novellas and memoirs. All seek and all fail to fully explain why human beings would act this way to their fellow man. What discord exists in the hearts of ordinary men and women that they would shed their humanity entirely, and seize with unrelenting fury and purpose the opportunity to dispossess, humiliate and destroy their neighbours simply because they were Jewish? This is the imponderable at the heart of the Holocaust. And yet as incomplete as our powers to fully comprehend this story may be, through the study of it, we develop an empathy, a greater humanity and an awareness of our own capacity to destroy. Perhaps then, stories of Australian schoolchildren taunting their Jewish peers as “vermin” or of the insignia of Nazi killing squads being proudly displayed at nationalist rallies, or the flag of the Nazi regime being hoisted in a Victorian town for all to see, can be consigned to the dustbin of history. NOTE: This piece is based on a chapter of his new book, ‘Zionism – The Concise History’. 1. www.smh.com.au/world/europe/more-prejudice- in-general-creeping-anti-semitism-stalks-europe- 20180907-p502d2.html 2. www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/for- american-jews-their-worst-fears-have-come-to-pass- 20181028-p50ci5.html 3. www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/five- stabbed-at-rabbi-s-home-in-new-york-20191229- p53ngo.html 4. www.smh.com.au/national/racist-bullying- incidents-are-a-call-to-action-20191004-p52xt7.html 5. www.ecaj.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/ uploads/2019/11/ECAJ-Antisemitism-Report-2019.pdf ________________________________________________________ Alex Ryvchin is the co-Chief Executive Officer for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Australia’s premier representative and advocacy body for the Australian Jewish community. His first book is the internationally acclaimed, ‘The Anti-Israel Agenda—Inside the Political War on the Jewish State’ (available from c4israel.com.au/store or order using backpage) . www.alexryvchin.com The fact so many young people have no knowledge of a [Jewish] genocide...is disturbing in itself. May/June 1944. Jews undergoing selection on the ramp. Visible in the background is the famous entrance to the camp. Some veteran inmates are helping the new comers. This is the “selection” of Hungarian Jews, chosen either for work or the gas chamber. Photograph from the Auschwitz Album. Wikipedia.com

11. 3 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Opinion Piece I knew Tim Wainwright and his father Chris as distant acquaintances via work related matters. Tim is a professional fire fighter and the Director of Fire Safety and Training Fire Support NSW . Chris serves the A ustralian Defence Force as the Sydney Team Leader in the Everyman’s Welfare Service , specifically serving in philanthropic areas during fire and other crises in which the ADF is engaged. In 2013 a terrible fire tore through the Blue Mountains town of Winmalee, leaving 200 families homeless. As this town was very close to my home I prepared to leave to spend time with my family nearer Sydney. As I was backing out of my driveway with mixed feelings of leaving my home, my mobile phone rang. It was Chris Wainwright advising me that he and Tim were on their way up to the Mountains as “God had told them to come to defend my home!” I was both amazed and overjoyed at this revelation. What a literal God-send. I moved out and these two men of God moved in to my home to defend it, should it come to that. They stayed for a week during which they had opportunities to share the Gospel with other fire-fighters and emergency service personnel over cups of coffee they had prepared from their “brew truck”, during changes of shift. The fire did not come my way on that occasion but it gave me such a sense of the Lord’s protection and care for His own. In the same way, God is watching over Israel and placing in the hearts of men and women an increased longing to become involved. As God brings His people home from the Diaspora, He continues to ‘lift His banner to the gentiles’ to assist His sovereign work in bringing comfort and practical support to His still-chosen people. God calls to us in the “far off isle of Australia”, inviting us to take part in His magnificent, unstoppable plans; “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’” (Jeremiah 31:10). The next time I met Tim Wainwright was in Israel in March 2019. I had led my tour group to Poland and Ukraine and we were then travelling through Israel specifically visiting Christians for Israel projects. We were in Beersheba and separately visiting the new Light Horse Museum at what was obviously God’s perfect timing. Tim told me that he was there to assist Israelis, specifically with training in how to fight the fires that had started in their fields by fire balloons and incendiary kites released from Gaza by Hamas-backed terrorists. These vicious devices, hidden in brightly coloured balloons to attract Israeli children, were creating terror and wreaking havoc on farmers’ crops. The hot dry conditions were very similar to Australia’s bushfire seasons and Tim felt the call of God to share his skills with the Israelis. Tim was extremely concerned at how ill-prepared the Israeli civilians were in fighting fires and he longs to go back this year, but requires funding. He lists some of his concerns as follows: • Israeli farmers and young folk were fighting intense fires having positioned themselves dangerously in front of a fire, with uncovered arms, legs and feet, with no helmets, eye protection or breathing masks. Tim had some equipment with him but could not carry enough from Australia. • With the IDF defending the nation, civilians are left to mainly fight these fires. With the defence budgets of necessity being used for the protection of Israel from rogue nations, fire fighting uniforms for civilians are vital but are not being provided. Many civilians in a Kibbutz or Moshav fight fires in tee- shirts and shorts, which is perilous. • Training is essential but is not being provided. Most people have never had any training. Fire equipment is in short supply and requires improvement in design, quality and type. • There is no organisation of rural communities in regards to fire-fighting. Only the cities and major towns have fire trucks. In an emergency most rural communities are simply on their own with no support. Tim was sponsored last year by ICEJ Australia to train and equip Israelis in the southern regions of Israel and went on to train many heads of security and responders as well as the youth at Kfar Silver school. Whilst the Israelis continue to be supported by ICEJ donated fire trucks and other equipment, Tim was alarmed to see how unprepared the Israelis were for fighting this type of terrorism because of the lack of skills required. The IDF is among the best prepared in the world for battle but they had to leave this type of fight to non-professionals. At my invitation Tim spoke of his visit to Israel, with Dan Steege of the ICEJ Australia, at a Christian Worldview Forum in the NSW Parliament House, Sydney. Both men told of the horrific battle being waged by Hamas-inspired terrorists in Gaza upon the Israeli communities, communities which also continue to be assaulted by rockets fired from Gaza in addition to incendiary kites and balloons. Tim believes the coming summer will see dangerous conditions return as Hamas continues to use hate-infused riots to stage confrontations with Israeli troops and to hurl incendiary devices from Gaza upon Israel. As Christians we are not all called to travel to Israel in such dramatic ways, however we are all called to comfort, to love God’s people and to respond in any way the Lord speaks into our hearts. Gentiles have been given specific Scriptural directives regarding God’s expectation for them to reach out to their older Jewish brethren, particularly comforting and assisting them home to Israel and then to support them as they rebuild towns and cities and make the land blossom, under Almighty God’s hand. Tim is specifically praying for the means to establish a fire support body to assist Israelis to become proficient in the type of protection in which he has expertise. Israel is being hampered by the enemy as they seek to once again plant their vines on the mountains of Samaria as God prepares the land for Messiah’s coming. Not all can go into the field but all can pray for equipping and blessing for those who can go. Will you join Tim in prayer? ________________________________________________________ Judy Russell is an advocate for Christians for Israel Australia. You can contact Judy at judy.russell@iinet.net.au Judy Russell Christian’s for Israel Advocate and host of popular worldview meetings, Parliament House, Sydney Supporting an Aussie Firefighter to Train Israelis in the Incendiary Fire Balloon Crisis Tim was alarmed to see how unprepared the Israelis were for fighting this type of terrorism Photo, supplied by Tim Wainwright, of two Israeli boys demonstrating their delight with the fire jackets and equipment gifted to them. Photo supplied by Tim Wainwright of Israeli men fighting fires with farm implements and little water.

4. 16 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 News 4 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 San Remo Centenary April 1920-April 2020 How the Zionist Vision Became International Law Continued from page 1 Actually, the separation of Jerusalem from the proposed Jewish state would have been a breach of the Mandate and therefore of international law. Under the final Mandate instrument, all but only the territory called ‘Palestine’ west of the Jordan River was designated for the Jewish national home. This was reconfirmed by Churchill immediately following the British Colonial Office’s Middle East Conference in Cairo in 1921, where the unilateral decision was made to ‘partition Palestine’ at the Jordan River, despite the Zionist claim at Paris, which clearly and unambiguously included that part of Eretz Yisrael on the east bank of the Jordan, historically inhabited by ancient Israeli tribes, as generally understood at San Remo. Following the failure of Resolution 181, Britain announced to the United Nations that it would be terminating its role as Mandatory Power, and accordingly, on 14 May 1948, evacuated the territory. The same day, David Ben-Gurion declared the State of Israel, to take effect at midnight. The following day, the armies of five surrounding Arab nations attacked the new Jewish State (the ‘Arab-Israeli War’). The Arabs met defeat, though Jordan illegally occupied and afterwards annexed Judea and Samaria, renaming them the ‘West Bank’ (including the eastern part of Jerusalem, the historic ‘Old City’), to convey the sense of contiguity with Jordan’s east bank. The annexation was never recognised by any government other than that of Great Britain, Iraq and Pakistan—not even by the Arab League itself. Nonetheless, it was nearly twenty years before Israel gained full control over her legally mandated territory, in a war of self-defence (the 1967 ‘Six-Day War’), again involving her surrounding Arab neighbours. Israel once again prevailed, with a swift and decisive victory, at last enabling her to exercise full sovereignty over those parts of the Jewish national home that had been captured in 1948/1949 in an illegal war of aggression. To sum up: the primary foundations in international law for the ‘legal’ claim based on ‘historic rights’ or ‘historic title’ of the Jewish people in respect of Palestine remain the Covenant of the League of Nations of 28 April 1919 (Art. 22), the San Remo Re solution of 24 April 1920, and the Mandate for Palestine of 24 July 1922. And despite the fulfilment in May 1948 of one of the Mandate’s fundamental objectives, namely, the ‘reconstituting’ of the Jewish national home, ultimately as a ‘self-governing’ political entity — i.e., a sovereign state — the Mandate’s relevant provisions remain valid and legally binding to this day. Dr. Wallace is an international lawyer with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. She has held various posts in academia as well as in various international agencies of the United Nations, including the top diplomatic post for an American in the UN Economic Commission for Europe, as Senior Adviser to the Executive Secretary. She is the author of Foundations of the International Legal Rights of the Jewish People and the State of Israel and the forthcoming book: Israel in the Crosshairs: Legitimacy under Fire. (cdwallace@bluewin.ch) Actions Speak Louder than Words Dr Emilie Noteboom n Director of Outreach, European Coalition for Israel There is a thought-provoking parable recorded in Matthew 21:28-32. It speaks of a father who asks his two sons to do work for him that day. The first answers that he will not do the work, but later changes his mind and goes to work after all. The second son answers that he will do the work, but then never does. To Jesus’ question as to who of the two sons did what the father wanted, the answer is the first one. The actions of both sons, not their words, determine the essence of their response to their father’s request. Actions speak louder than words. Applying the principle that actions speak louder th an words has a really straightforward way of bringing into focus what people and situations are really like. It removes the noise of rhetoric and the distraction of mere intentions. Listening to actions more than words results in interesting conclusions when we look at Israel. Take, for example, the recent demonstrations by Arab citizens of Israel shortly after President Trump’s ‘Peace through Prosperity’ Plan was revealed. Thousands of Arab Israelis living in what is called the Triangle took to the street to protest the Peace Plan’s proposal that their communities become part of the State of Palestine. The protesting action of these Israeli Palestinians clearly contradicts rhetoric that suggests that all Palestinians clamour to live under Palestinian as opposed to Israeli rule. Or consider the initial responses to the Peace Plan. While leading Israeli politicians and leaders of neighbouring Arab nations were present at the unveiling of the Peace Plan in Washington DC, thus signalling their willingness to at the very least consider the plan, Palestinian leadership refused to attend altogether. Even before the content of President Trump’s Peace Plan was made public, let alone any negotiations had started, the actions of Palestinian leadership spoke loud and clear that there is no interest to discuss any plan or any peace. The Peace Plan includes a $50 billion stimulus to build the Palestinian economy and state-infrastructure. Palestinian leadership, however, is not willing to even explore having their people benefit from such an enormous sum. Just how shocking this refusal is, is brought home by imagining the response o f the Kurdish or Yazidi communities, two groups whose claims and grievances could be argued to show similarities to those of the Palestinians, if even a fraction of this mind-boggling amount were offered to them to build their respective economies and state-infrastructures. The malicious actions of Palestinian leadership towards their people speak louder than any of their supposedly good intentions. The track record of elections, or lack thereof, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip speaks volumes as well. Whereas Israel’s two million Arab citizens have been able to exercise the right to vote in general elections three times in the last year, and every four years since 1949, the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have not had free elections since 2006, and can only remember voting once before, in 1996. Not only the true feelings of Arab Israelis towards Israel or the true face of Palestinian leaders are demonstrated by a study of their actions over their words, so do those of Western nations, betraying a certain schizophrenia. The European Union is a case in point. While, on the one hand, hate speech and incitement to violence are not compatible with European values, the EU has nonetheless for decades financed textbooks that expose Palestinian schoolchildren to violent depictions, hatred — especially towards Jews — and the glorification of jihad and martyrdom across all subjects. Here, too, actions speak louder than words, even if, thankfully, the EU voted in October 2018 to freeze its €15 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority until such incitement and hatred is removed from school books. Similarly, the EU has not applauded the condition made in the Trump Peace Plan that terrorist groups like Hamas and Fatah disarm and cease their aggressive and terrorist activities. Perhaps it is easier to see the splinter in another’s eye than the plank in my own. Applying the concept of ‘actions speak louder than words’ as a prism to bring into focus what I am really like is not easy medicine. What do my actions, divorced from the good intentions of my words, really say — in general, and specifically with regard to Israel? If support for Israel were made illegal, for instance, would there be enough hard evidence found to convict me? What about you? Palestinians protest against the US Middle East peace plan, in Gaza City on 18 February 2020. | Photo: Flash90

20. 12 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Biblical Insights Now, having come to the entrance to the Tabernacle with an offering to the Lord, the repentant sinner had to lay his hands on the pure, unblemished sacrifice, in order to impute (symbolically transfer) his sin to the animal. Then he had to kill the animal himself, and the priest would collect the blood that poured out into a bowl of some sort. The priest would then enter into the courtyard, approach the sacrificial altar, and pour the blood all around and on the altar. There are 5 types of sacrifices that God detailed to Moses in Leviticus chapters 1-7. Leviticus 7:37 lists them as: This is the Law of 1. the Burnt offering 2. the Grain offering 3. the Sin offering 4. the Trespass offering 5. the Peace offering The middle three are called ‘Most Holy’ of the offerings to the Lord made by fire, Lev.2:11; Lev.6:25-30; Lev.7:1. There will be a more detailed study of the sacrifices on berean-to-berean.com , but here I’ll just do a summary. The Burnt offering is a voluntary sacrifice where everything was totally consumed by the fire on the altar, except for the skin. We looked at the dynamics of sacrifices last time regarding life exchange and payment for sin. The copper covered altar of sacrifice and the fire represent God’s wrath that totally consumes sin. In Genesis 3:21 it states that God made tunics of skin and clothed Adam and Eve. God made the first sacrifice to judge their sin and to clothe them with the skin of the sacrifice (to cover their sin). Messiah is the Whole Burnt sacrifice and we are clothed in Him. Eph.1:6 The next is the Grain offering which is a freewill Thanksgiving offering. Also, it is a First Fruits offering. The grain offering was to have no leaven or honey (fermenting agents representing the work of sin fermenting in our lives). It was fine flour seasoned with salt (representing God’s covenant), Lev.2:13, with oil and frankincense. It could be flour, or cakes, or wafers baked by various methods, with oil mixed in or poured on, accompanied by frankincense. The priest would take a handful or portion to burn on the altar with all the frankincense, as a memorial to the Lord, as sweet aroma. Messiah is the First Fruits offering. Rom.8:29; Rev.1:5 (Rom.11:16 refers to the Messiah, first fruits and root) Then the Sin offering for unintentional sin against the commandments of God. When it becomes known to the sinner what he has done and that he is guilty; then he needs to bring his pure sacrifice to the Lord, lay his hands on its head and kill it. When a priest or the congregation sinned, the sacrifice had to be a bull (the most expensive animal), and the blood had to be sprinkled in the Holy place before the curtain and on the horns of the incense altar. The priests then poured out the blood and burnt all the fat of the animal on the sacrificial altar, then carried the whole body out of the camp, to where they put the coals from the sacrificial altar and burnt the body completely. The other sin sacrifices where the blood did not enter the Holy place, could be eaten by the priests. Messiah is the Sin Sacrifice. Heb.13:11-13 Next is the Trespass offering that has various aspects to it, including bringing an offering appropriate to the wealth of the sinner. For spoken or physical uncleanness, a female lamb or kid, two young turtle doves or pigeons, or 1/10th of an ephah of fine flour. For unintentional sin towards the holy things of God and /or His commandments; also classed as a trespass against the Lord, was lying, extorting or stealing from another person, a ram without blemish (and returning the item or extorted things along with an additional 1/5th of the value of the item) The animal sacrifices were treated the same as for the sin offering both with the beast or the bird. Messiah paid for our Trespass. Col.2:14. Last is the Peace offering, which is also classed as a thanksgiving, vow or voluntary offering, not to pay for sin or trespass. A pure male or female from cattle, sheep or goats. If it was for thanksgiving, then it had to be accompanied with a grain offering. The animal sacrifices followed the same pattern as laying on the hands, killing, blood and fat on the altar. Then the breast and right thigh were to be waved or heaved before the Lord and given to the priests as food. The rest could be taken home and eaten the same day and no leftovers. For a vow or voluntary offering, they could eat leftovers on the second day, but after that it had to be burned up with fire. Messiah is our peace offering. Eph.2:14. The fire on the Altar of sacrifice was sent by God, Lev.9:24, and was to be kept burning and never go out, Lev.6:9, 12-13; Ex.30:7-8. God’s wrath against sin is always burning. Notice it is when the sinner became aware of what he had done. God doesn’t reveal all our myriad of sins at once; it would destroy us. Once we have come to the Messiah, confessed our need for a savior, accepted His payment on our behalf and proclaimed He is Lord of our lives, then, when the Holy Spirit convicts us of a specific sin, we need to confess and repent. If we don’t, then we remain in that sin. Messiah has completed all the sacrificial requirements, but we still face temptation daily. James 1:12-16 “ But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).” Every time the priests went to do a sacrifice or enter into the Holy place to do their duty, they had to take water out of the wash basin (which had no measurements, no limits; and had to hold living water) to wash their hands and feet. We are out in the world facing challenges and learning to discipline ourselves to listen to God’s voice and not our old man or Satan. We need the unlimited water of the word, the Messiah, every day. Yeshua said in John 13:10, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean;” 1 John 1:9 “ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Gods word is sure and steadfast. Believe in The Lord Yeshua HaMashiah and be saved. Acts 16:31 ________________________________________________________ Alison Marshall is a New Zealand born believer in Jesus and has been a Tour Guide for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness since 1999 at Timna Park in Israel. www.berean-to-berean.com The Effectual Provision of God — An Overview of the Tabernacle - Part 3 Alison Marshall Tour Guide for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness at Timna Park in Israel God doesn’t reveal all our myriad of sins at once; it would destroy us. Model of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness in Israel with a replicar of the Sacrificial Altar in the foreground.

6. 18 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel News 6 Johannes Gerloff n Theologian, Journalist, Lecturer & Author Seek, and you shall find. This is true also for those who enjoy accusing the Jewish state of Israel of racism. And the political drama that has blessed the Israeli people with three parliamentary elections within twelve months provides ammunition in abundance. Yes, there is racism in Israeli society. This can never be excused, covered up or ‘put into perspective’ by inappropriate comparisons. But not everything is racism that is described as such in heated political debates in Israel. A close look is crucial if one does not wish to become a victim of oriental emotions or fairy tales of the Arabian nights. Jews and Gentiles in the Land First, let us consider what the Bible says. Scripture paints an astonishingly nuanced picture of the Promised Land in which non-Israelites and the chosen people lived side by side and even in harmony with each other. Abraham’s calling is inconceivable without Gentiles. After all, God’s basic mission for Abraham is to be a blessing to ‘all families on the earth’ (Genesis 12:2-3). Abraham exemplified this. He sets standards with his life, for example, through the close relationship with the brothers Eshkol, Mamre, and Aner in which one was willing to risk his life for the other (Genesis 14:13,24) . Abraham knew and respected the spiritual and human authorities that he found in the land, as we can see, for example, in his relating to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). All of Israel’s ancient law, the Torah, is designed so that Israelites and Gentiles live together in the Land of Israel. The vision of the Creator in his dealings with and through the people of Israel is a coexistence of Jews and Gentiles. Together God promises them a future. It is only one aspect that the prophet Isaiah sees in Jerusalem a ‘house of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7). However, this applies to both Israelites and non-Israelites alike: only he has a future in the Land of Israel who asks for the will of the one and only, true, living God and then also practices it (Leviticus 18: 24-30). But does this require the government of the Jewish State of Israel to cooperate with those who deny its legitimacy as a nation-state of the Jewish people – and even want to dismantle it? I don’t think so. Pro and Contra Netanyahu In the power struggle within the Knesset, two camps face each other. On one side there are the followers Benjamin Netanyahu, who is undoubtedly not only the longest- serving head of government but also the most popular prime minister the Jewish state has ever had. Netanyahu’s admirers include quite a few Arab citizens of Israel and even Palestinians. Netanyahu is also Israel’s most hated head of government of all times. The face of Netanyahu’s opponent is Benny Gantz. The big winner of the March 2020 election is the Joint List of Arab parties. With 15 seats, it is the third-largest party in the 23rd Knesset. What distinguishes the MKs of the Joint List is their decidedly anti-Israeli stance. The Joint List demands that Israel give up the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and uproot all Jewish settlers in these areas. As a condition for his support of a Gantz government, Joint List chairman Ayman Oude demands that Jews will from now on be prohibited from visiting the Temple Mount. Non-Muslims are already banned from praying there. The Joint List demands that all ‘political prisoners’ be released, including mass murderers such as Abdullah Barghouti, who killed 67, and Abbas A-Sayed, who killed 29 Israelis. A number of statements in the programme of the Joint List cannot be understood other than to support Palestinian terror against Israel. Ahmad Tibi, one of the most distinguished members of the Joint List, has praised the well-known terrorist Marwan Barghouti and described the state of Israel as ‘colonialist’. Tibi sees firing rockets at Israeli civilians as legitimate resistance. At the same time, the Joint List demands that Israel abolishes its nuclear arsenal. Two days after the election in a speech to his own right- wing block, Benjamin Netanyahu once again accused Gantz of wanting to form a government with the help of those who ‘do not recognise the State of Israel’ and ‘attack our soldiers’. Such people, according to Netanyahu, cannot be part of the political equation. Foreign Minister Israel Katz went on to describe the Joint List as ‘terrorists in suits’. The Joint List answered that “the Likud were losers with ties.” Jewish MK Ofer Shelah (Blue-and-White) countered on Facebook that Netanyahu had declared war on Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. After all, the founding fathers of the Jewish state had imagined a country in which Arabs and other non-Zionists were citizens with equal rights. Shelah is right to point out that labelling all Arabs as ‘terrorists’ or anti-Israel is wrong and unfair. But this does not mean that the government should be compelled to allow those who seek to destroy the Jewish nation to join the government. That is not racism, just common sense. Should the Arab Joint List be Included? April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem in March, 2020. | Photo: Flash90 Shmuel Aharon Brodman n Chief Rabbi of Munich and Bavaria | Savyon Center, Israel Everyone recognises that this period is special. After all, there is hardly any person in the world whose lives have not changed in some way because of the Covid-19 epidemic. The results of this medical crisis are still unknown, and so the fight against the virus is being waged in various forms. Many people feel helpless. They only now begin to realise that the world is ruled by the Creator. He shows us right now that he is the true ruler of our lives. What message does he want to teach us? We do not know the accounts of heaven. We do not know how and why we got this epidemic which is so frightening and undermines all the normalcy of the world. But one thing is clear: although the modern world is so technologically successful and scientifically soaring, the world of medicine and science is also almost helpless and we have nothing left to do now but to refer our hearts and eyes in prayer to God. This is an opportunity to strengthen our confidence in the Creator of the world, who is sending us a clear message that everything that happens to us is in his hand. Let us also note that this is a rare opportunity: all the energies of all countries are devoted to the war against one common enemy. This has hardly happened in recent years: the whole world is united against the Covid-19. This unity has important lessons and messages. The world can, if only there is a will, work together. There are disagreements, but there are no differences at heart. Beyond that, there is a clear message here that our fate is hardly in ou r hands. There is a supreme leader in the world who is the Almighty. So let us not trust too much in the ‘power and might of my own hand that made all this plenty for me’ because everything is in the hands of heaven. Each community and its culture treat this issue differently. As believers, we know that whenever we have questions we must turn to our sacred teachings. As always, we find different clues. In the Bible we find that there was an epidemic while Korach and his men were rebelling against Moshe and Aaron. The plague stopped only after Aaron offered the incense. That is why some people have adopted the custom to recite the biblical verses concerning the incense to combat Covid-19. During the reign of King David in Jerusalem there was an epidemic in which a hundred people died. King David then enacted the law that everyone should bless God with a hundred blessings per day and thus the epidemic was stopped. Therefore some have begun to observe the 100 blessings a day programme. Others strengthened the charity for the poor. It is also known that Psalm 91 has the power to help against an epidemic. The great scholar Rabbi Chaim Kaniewsky from Bnei Brak encourages everyone to recite Psalm 70 before going to sleep every evening. As always, it is very easy to find points to correct in others, but it is much more difficult for any individual to make their own account. Everyone should think carefully about what he needs to improve in his own behavior, what he could improve. When we do this we show that we have understood the wake-up-call from God. Then God will hopefully take the virus away from us. Rabbis all over the world call to obey all instructions of the authorities. They also called out to continue to keep the commandments alongside these instructions. The study of Torah takes place by means of a joint study without human gatherings. Also weddings are hold only at private houses with the minimum amount of people present. 150 years ago the famous Rabbi Chaim Palagi lived in Turkey. He writes that in times of an epidemic there are three important rules: Be optimistic! Don’t be sad! Don’t get angry! When we do all this, please God we will be strong enough to overcome these difficult times. I bless all of us that we should be strengthened by uniting in the love of one another, and by improving our actions in all spheres. When all of this will pass we shall be much stronger and better people, in a much better world I take this opportunity to thank Christians for Israel for their financial support for so many years and their ongoing support and the love and brotherhood they show to the Jewish people in Israel and in the Ukraine. We appreciate and cherish your friendship. Covid-19 from a Jewish Perspective

17. 9 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Biblical Commentary Through Jewish Eyes Enoch Lavender Pastoral leader of Shalom Israel and Assistant Pastor at Living Way Christian Network. Jesus – the True Passover Lamb The word co-incidence is, according to the rabbis, not a kosher word. Indeed, as we examine the striking parallels between the Passover and Jesus’ death for us on the cross, we can see nothing less than the very hand of God at work orchestrating the details according to His sovereign plan. A Divine Appointment After their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt, Israel was commanded to commemorate what God had done for them in the Feast of Passover. The word ‘feast’ is from the Hebrew word ‘moed’—which doesn’t exclusively mean a ‘celebration’, but rather carries the deeper meaning of a ‘divine appointment’. As Israel remembered this very day for 1500 years from the time of Moses, it was also foreshadowing the greatest act of salvation which was yet to come. A First Century Passover At the beginning of His ministry, John the Baptist prophetically identified Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ (John 1:29). Yet it was really only in the final week of Jesus’ life that His identity as the Passover Lamb would have become increasingly clear to observant onlookers. Let’s begin by taking a fresh look at the events of Palm Sunday. That very day as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem to an exuberant welcome, hundreds of thousands of lambs were being brought into the Temple in preparation for the annual Passover sacrifice. And these lambs did not come from just any old place in Israel—they came from Bethlehem, the city that raised lambs for the temple sacrifices. So as these Passover lambs arrived in town, Jesus—the true Passover Lamb from Bethlehem—also entered the city in preparation for the greatest Passover Israel would ever see. Examining the Lambs The lambs for the sacrifice were commanded to be ‘without spot or blemish’ , and having been brought into Jerusalem they would be carefully checked in preparation for the sacrifice. During the very time when these lambs were being examined, Jesus faced tough questions from some of the very same people who were in charge of examining the lambs. Ultimately no fault was found in Him, qualifying Him to fulfil His role as the Passover Lamb. Pontius Pilate succinctly summed it all up by saying ‘I find no fault in this man’ (Luke 23:4). Passover Eve Contrary to our way of measuring time, the Jewish day goes from evening to evening. Like Jesus and His disciples, many Jewish families would therefore gather to eat the Passover on Passover eve, while the following day was when the lambs would be sacrificed for the nation. Why is this night so different? As Jesus and his disciples gathered that evening, it would have been customary for the youngest person present (in this case, possibly John), to ask the question ‘why is this night so different from every other night’? What a question to ask on the night of Jesus’ betrayal! As Jesus and His disciples finished the traditional Passover meal together (which itself is rich in prophetic symbolism), Scripture records that they sang a hymn (Matt 26:30). What did they sing? In all likelihood, they would have sung what Jewish people had already been singing for generations on this very special night— Psalms 113-118. The final lines Jesus would have sung would have included these words: “(v22) The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone....(v26) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!.... (v27) Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.” Can you imagine Jesus, the disciples and the rest of Israel singing these words that night? Jesus knew well what was about to happen, yet He would also have sung the words from verse 24 saying “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it...” How could Jesus find joy in this moment? Hebrews 12:2 explains that He fixed His eyes on “the joy that was set before him. ” In other words, He looked forward to the reward—and that reward was our salvation and our reconciliation to God. Many believers sadly walk through life struggling with a poor self-image and feelings of worthlessness. Yet Jesus paid the highest price possible—with joy—for you and I to be saved. Far from being worthless, you and I are truly precious in God’s sight, so let us remember with gratitude what He has done for us. There were 3 Lambs On the day of the Passover, three main lambs would be sacrificed. The first was at the third hour (equivalent of 9am) – and it was at this very time that Jesus was crucified. Then at the 6th hour (or 12 noon) right at the time of the second lamb being killed, darkness began to cover the entire land as Jesus hung on the cross. This darkness lasted until the final sacrifice was completed in the 9th hour (or 3pm). According to his custom, as the High Priest now finished his final sacrifice of the day, he would stretch out his hands in the sight of the people and declare with a loud voice “it is finished.” And at the very same time at Golgatha, as Jesus completed the ultimate Passover sacrifice for all mankind, He cried out in agony those very same words— “It is finished!” More Divine Appointments We have seen how the Passover in great detail set the stage for Jesus’ death on the cross as the Lamb of God. Furthermore, the Feasts of God also predicted Jesus’ burial (feast of Unleavened Bread), His resurrection (on the Feast of First Fruits), the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) and His return in glory (the Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles). If God kept His appointment of Passover in such detail through the death of Jesus, then I expect that He will also keep and quite literally fulfill the remaining feasts. So as we remember Passover this year, let us remember that God keeps His appointments, and that He will surely come again! For more teaching on the passover and the Jewish feasts, get the new DVD series ‘ The End times Through Jewish Eyes.’ See backpage to order your copy or go to www.c4israel.com.au/store Ps. Enoch and Sarah Lavender Enoch is the Pastoral leader of Shalom Israel and serves as Assistant Pastor at Living Way Christian Network. Sarah is a graduate of the Caleb Company training program and has led a ministry tour to Israel and been involved in many aspects of local church ministry. Jesus paid the highest price possible—with joy—for you and I to be saved. The Amazing Foreshadowing of the Passover

19. 11 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 New Biblical Documentaries + Resources To order from our READERS BOOK & DVD CLUB , see page 16 of this paper or for even more resources see c4israel.com.au/store The End Times Through Hebrew Eyes by Ps Enoch Lavender The Final Countdown by Ps Enoch Lavender Anti-Israel Agenda by Alex Ryvchin Israel: Covenants and Kingdom by Rev. Willem Glashouwer The Jewish Feasts foretold Jesus’ first coming in detail – what do they have to say about His return? This teaching series will challenge you a fresh to be ready for the dramatic days which are ahead – when the King Himself will return to earth. May we all learn the lessons from these feasts and be ready for that great day! How are events in Israel and the Church ushering in the End of Days? Israel and the Church have both experienced momentous changes in the past 100 years. Join Ps Enoch Lavender in the TBN Pacific TV Studio as he examines how the stage is being set for the Lord’s return. Powerful and timely, this expose reveals how the conflict with Israel has shifted from the battlefield to the corridors of power, media and the campuses we attend. Engrossing and authoritative, ‘ The Anti- Israel Agenda’ is essential to understanding war and conflict in today’s Middle East. In his latest book Rev. Willem Glashouwer shows how the everlasting Covenants fit like hand-in- glove with the Biblical concept of the everlasting Kingdom, offering some conclusions from his earlier ‘Why Israel?’ Trilogy. 2 DVD SET 2 hrs teaching $20 DVD 90 mins teaching $15 PAPERBACK 500 Pages $30 PAPERBACK 200 approx Pages $15 NEW NEW inc P&H inc P&H inc P&H inc P&H THE RED SEA MIRACLE Part 1 & 2 Tim Mahoney investigates one of the greatest miracles of the Bible. Did a mighty sea split? What secrets will be revealed? After leaving Egypt, the Bible describes the Israelites crossing a deep sea that was miraculously split with walls of water on their right and left. When the Egyptians and their chariot force pursued, the water came crashing back down to destroy the entire army. Are miracles of this kind even possible? Skeptics contend that no evidence has ever been found for huge numbers of people crossing the wilderness or a mighty sea. Does the lack of evidence at the traditional sites mean the events didn’t happen, or might we have been looking in wrong places all along? Join Timothy Mahoney in the next chapter of the series as he retraces the steps of Moses and the Israelites, looking for answers in Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle Part 1 & 2. Hear ideas from all sides of the debate as you journey back to the lands of the Bible in search of answers to one of the Bible’s biggest mysteries; where is the lost sea of the Exodus, and what really happened there? Can a patterns approach help to solve the problem?

10. 2 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Commentary Ron Ross Author and Middle East correspondent and commentator San Remo 1920, A Zionist Magna Carta – Part 2 Last issue I reported the milestone decision from the international conference held in San Remo, Italy, April 25, 1920. Britain’s Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon described the San Remo conclusions as ‘the Magna Carta of the Zionists.’ The story of modern day Israel is traced back to Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah and Zechariah. Jeremiah also had a vision of hope. He saw scattered Israel gathered and Judah returning to their land. (Jeremiah 23; 30-31, 33, 46-51) Theodore Herzl founded the political form of Zionism with the specific goal the birth of a Jewish national home in Israel. He issued a pamphlet ‘The Jewish State’ in 1896. “Oppression and persecution cannot exterminate us. No nation on earth has survived such struggles and sufferings as we have gone through,” Herzl declared. “The idea which I have developed in this pamphlet is a very old one: it is the restoration of the Jewish State ... We are a people—one people,” Herzl said. The expansive, corrupt and oppressive Ottoman Empire stood in fierce opposition. Only the hand of God would deliver the Israel dream. The open door came with the courage and audacity of the Australian 4th Light Horse at Beersheba, October 31, 1917. A rabbi in Jerusalem told me he believed Australia suffered at Gallipoli but that defeat led the ANZACS into Israel and into divine destiny. The Lighthorse Beersheba victory opened the way to Jerusalem. It was as Moses parting the sea and bringing forth the plan of God. The British War Cabinet ruled for ‘the establishment in Palestine (A name designated by the British military) of a national home for the Jewish people.’ This was the Balfour Declaration passed November 2, 1917, two days after Beersheba. Interestingly the War Cabinet was debating the Balfour issue even as the Lighthorse went into action. That historic victory, some say, swung the debate. “The Anzac victory in Beersheba is symbolic of how Australia’s history has been entwined with Israeli history even before the Israeli state was established in 1948,” wrote Sharyn Mittelman, for the Australian/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. (Anzac charge at Beersheba, just as relevant today, Sharyn Mittelman, November 2, 2017. aijac.org.au ) Miitelman continued: “According to official war historian H.S. Gullett, Australians in particular, out of all the allied forces, were welcomed with special affection by Jewish residents of the areas which later became British Mandate Palestine and then Israel.” “Historians have recorded how General Allenby had given each of his soldiers a Bible, and he was often found on his knees looking for direction from above,” said Benjamin Glatt. (Comment: Balfour’s Real Victory came at Beersheba, Benjamin Glatt, Jerusalem Post, October 30, 2017) Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum wrote a detailed report ‘Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People: From the San Remo Conference (1920) to the Netanyahu-Abbas Talks.’ (JCPA, September-October, 2010). He quoted from the British Peel Commission Report of 1937: “The fact that the Balfour Declaration was issued in order to enlist Jewish support for the Allies and the fact that this support was forthcoming are not sufficiently appreciated in Palestine. The Arabs do not appear to realize in the first place that the present position of the Arab world as a whole is mainly due to the great sacrifices made by the Allied and Associated Powers in the War and, secondly, that, insofar as the Balfour Declaration helped to bring about the Allies’ victory, it helped to bring about the emancipation of all the Arab countries from Turkish rule. If the Turks and their German allies had won the War, it is improbable that all the Arab countries, except Palestine, would now have become or be about to become independent states.” He observed: “The historical connection of the Jews to the Land of Israel was clear to the international community, as manifested in the League of Nations mandate which recognized the ‘historic connection of the Jewish people with Palestine’ and their right to reconstitute ‘their national home in that country.’” Apart from Israel other nations emerged after the demise of the Ottoman Empire.... Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen. The British Zionist leader Chaim Weizman spoke of the breakthrough made by the Balfour Declaration. “There is a British proverb about the camel and the tent,” he said. “At first the camel sticks one leg in the tent, and eventually it slips inside. This must be our policy.” Jewish intellectual Arthur Koestler described the Balfour Declaration as ‘one of the most improbably documents of all time.’ Jewish National Fund CEO Dan Springer led a delegation of Australians to Israel to acknowledge the historic victory by the Australian and New Zealand Lighthouse. “ It is an incredible historical coincidence that the British War Cabinet’s decision, which became known as the Balfour Declaration, was made in the same hour that the Light Horse Charge took place,” Springer said. “This mission really has been a part of a unique event to bring together Australia and Israel,” Springer said. When the milestone decisions made by the British War Cabinet, the confirmation achieved at San Remo and then confirmed by the League of Nations the Lighthorse contribution can never be underestimated. Maybe it was a David verses Goliath moment which continues its impact today. David Ben Gurion issued the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv on 5 Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948) It begins: “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.” Interestingly the Declaration closes by saying: “We trust in the rock of Israel...” The day after this declaration was made was a sabbath. David Ben Gurion agreed to the terminology ‘rock of Israel’ to connect with biblical history and tradition. It is an interesting choice of phrase when we read Jeremiah. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called:  The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5.6) When the Balfour Declaration was confirmed at San Remo (1920) Israel received a legally binding right to exist. God moves in mysterious ways. _______________________________________ Ron Ross worked as a newsman in Jerusalem, broadcasting Middle East reports internationally. He is the Middle East correspondent for Vision Christian Radio and a popular speaker. www.ronross.org | ronandyvonne@mac.com This photo taken in 1925 shows Arthur Balfour (C), former British prime minister, and Chaim Weizmann (3rd-R), the then future first President of Israel, visiting Tel Aviv. — AFP

1. 13 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 5 Why Covid-19? 2 Our Citizenship Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective & Christians Today ISRAEL April 2020 Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 10 Sorrow Followed by Joy 14 Walk Through the Land The Principal Allied Powers of World War 1 at the San Remo Conference 25 April 1920. | Photo: Alamy San Remo Centenary April 1920-April 2020 How the Zionist Vision Became International Law Dr Cynthia D Wallace n Senior Fellow | The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.) It is widely believed that the State of Israel was born as a result of United Nations Resolution 181 of 1947 (the UN Partition Plan). The truth is that the legal rights of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation find their foundations solidly embedded in international law well before the very existence of the United Nations. This dates back to international legal instruments agreed by the Principal Allied Powers of World War I, meeting at Villa Devachan in San Remo, Italy, from 18 to 26 April 1920, as a follow-up to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. It was at this place and time that the historical claim to a ‘Jewish national home’, as set out in the Declaration of Lord Balfour, became ‘essentially legal in character.’ The transformation of a British political document into an international legal instrument was given impetus through its incorporation into the submission of the World Zionist Council to the Paris Peace talks. The issues regarding the break-up of the Ottoman Empire being too complex to resolve at the Peace Conference itself, an extension of the peace talks was arranged at San Remo for the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers (Britain, France, Italy and Japan, with the newly-appointed, non- interventionist United States as an observer). One of the primary aims of the four members of the Supreme Council — who had the power of disposition over the territories that made up the defeated T urkish Ottoman Empire — was to consider the submissions of the claimants at Paris and to deliberate and make decisions on the legal recognition of each claim. This conference resulted in the codification of the Balfour Declaration in two binding international legal instruments, the San Remo Resolution of 24 April 1920 and the Mandate for Palestine, as unanimously adopted on 24 July 1922 by the Council of the League of Nations, whose 51 Member States represented the international community of nations at the time. The Mandate actually went beyond the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by adding the concept of reconstitution of the Jewish national home. The Mandate system had been set up under Article 22 of the Covenant of the newly formed League of Nations that had arisen out of the Paris peace process to deal with such post-war emerging territories. At San Remo, the Mandate for Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain as a ‘sacred trust of civilisation’, and the language of the Balfour Declaration was enshrined in both the San Remo Resolution and the League Mandate, which stand on their own as valid international legal instruments with the full force of treaty law. The League of Nations proved largely ineffective, and with its dissolution in 1946, the provisions of all League Mandates were explicitly protected under Article 80 of the Charter of the newly formed United Nations. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1947 passed Resolution 181, recommending the termination of the British Mandate and its replacement by a Jewish and an Arab State. The Resolution, inter alia, would have made Jerusalem a corpus separatum under a UN-administered ‘special international regime’. Nonetheless, as Resolution 181 represented the first official proposal of a State of Israel, the Zionists accepted the Resolution. The Arabs did not, desiring rather the whole of the territory and responding almost immediately with an armed attack against the Jewish population, th us rendering the Partition Resolution a ‘dead letter’. Continued on page 4 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au

16. 8 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Book Review + Free App To the pro-Israel newbie, it may come as some surprise to learn that Israel’s formation was initially championed not primarily by religious conservatives, but by Eastern Communists and the Western Union movement. The first state to offer legal recognition to the State of Israel was the USSR; the British Labour Party in 1944 so extremely supported Jewish aspirations that Ben-Gurion was compelled to temper them, imploring consideration of local Arabs; and the US Communist Party called Israel “an organic part of the world struggle for peace and democracy”. Amazing! How different many US Democrats, Labor in Britain, or sentimental Soviet sympathisers on university campuses sound today. Thrilling, precise and digestible, Alex Ryvchin’s ‘Zionism: the concise history’ connects the dots from far flung cities and historical events of the Diaspora to succeed in sharing a coherent narrative of Jewish ambitions for establishing a national homeland in Palestine. It’s easy-to-read and a good tool for the Christian who will soon visit Israel or who has recently returned and is seeking to “put it all together.” Ryvchin does well to begin by defining Zionism, which he summarises as ‘a precise political concept derived from a belief in or support for the right of the Jewish people to exercise national self-determination in some part of their ancient homeland’. His summary of ancient Israel’s history is brief: Greeks and Romans lording over a people inexorably connected with their Promised Land. The temple destroyed. The people dispersed. Ryvchin picks up the modern origins of Zionism by zooming-in on and giving voice to the Jews of Europe—who after so earnestly assimilating were rocked by the late 19th Century Pogroms—in his note on Leon Pinsker. Pinsker, a Russian trained lawyer and practicing physician became disillusioned with Liberalism’s promise of integration and tolerance, beginning to write of the Jews’ lack of “geographic cohesion” , meaning that, “since the Jews are nowhere at home, nowhere regarded as a native, they remain aliens everywhere...” The diplomatic quests of Herzl and Weizmann quicken the pace: being strong wills who embodied their people’s spirit and acted truly in times of opportunity. Sensitively, Ryvchin is wary to avoid dubious overestimations of Jewish influence on international affairs and tackles the improbability of Israel’s self-assertion from a number of fascinating and varied angles. In this vein, he demonstrates a fairly good grasp of Christian Zionism when describing pockets of support within the elite as from “those British statesmen of the old school... (who) understood as a reality the concept of return. It appealed to their tradition and their faith...” Similarly, Ryvchin shows how the idea of the ancient people of the book again taking their place among the world’s nations fit snugly into President Woodrow Wilson’s contemporary American meta-political visions in such a way as to facilitate the birth of the modern Jewish state. Ryvchin does not describe such developments as the hand of God, but does quote Ben-Gurion, who said that “in order to be a realist, one must believe in miracles.” Shying not away from the internal twists and turns since 1948, Ryvchin introduces the complexity of spiritual, religious, ethnic, ideological and political ideals together becoming material reality. Once you’ve read it, you’ll agree, any Zionist would be most grateful to receive this valuable introduction or refresher: it is a must-have in preparation for the campus, kitchen table or boardroom! Alex’s book ‘Zionism’ is available online at www.alexryvchin.com _______________________________________ Matthew Thorn is the coordinator of Isreality. He is an undergraduate Arts/Law student at Monash University and currently works as a Paralegal. Book Review—Zionism: the concise history, Alex Ryvchin Matthew Thorn Isreality Coordinator and Law Student Have you downloaded the FREE C4I app yet? • Read the latest editions if Israel & Christians Today, as well as past editions. • Easily access all current and past topical articles. • Listen and watch teaching resources about Israel and the Church from a Biblical perspective. • Access current and past prayer calenders , so you know what and how to pray for our ministry. • Make secure online donations towards Israeli Projects, C4I Australia and teaching resources. • You can also stay in touch by sending us secure messages via an easy-to-use form. SEARCH: ‘C4I’ in your app store DOWNLOAD TODAY! Inspiring and informative content, wherever you are.

18. 10 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Biography / Obituary Peter Kentley has been a wonderful campaigner for God’s Kingdom purposes in many spheres, including over the last few years for Israel. Peter was a pilot for 37 years. He got his pilot’s licence at 16 and flew for Ansett, Air Mauritius and Singapore Airlines until a heart attack at age 53 cut his career short. He then turned his passion to raising up Marketplace ministries and his aerial view has led the nation to see a bigger vision for God’s kingdom than just the local church. He richly shared his revelation of Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King—High Priest over His church and King over the nations. With his apostolic calling, he initiated a fellowship for those in the aviation industry and mentored many in workplace ministries as well as gathering thousands for the River of Life conference in Melbourne in 2013. He initiated Christian Federation and Beersheba Vision organisations and sought to bring unity in the Body of Christ and teach our Middle Eastern ANZAC story and values. He also served on the board of the Graeme Clark Foundation and Spirit of Australia . Peter’s father was Jewish, although he barely knew him, as his parents separated when he was just 6 years old. Over the last few years Peter has visited Israel several times including helping to organise and ably acting as Master of Ceremonies for two Lighthorse commemorations in Israel at Semakh, as well as filling the Scotch College School Hall (Monash’s school) in Melbourne for a November 11 2018 event to remember Monash, Chauvel and the Aboriginal troopers in WW1. When traditional marriage came under threat, he organised the flowers for family on the lawns of parliament house, to come in the opposite spirit to those who were trying to destroy God’s biblical marriage covenant. He also joined the Liberal Party and in a couple of years had made quite an impact—so much so that he was sent a letter of thanks from Scott Morrison in January. In late 2019, he was invited by Jewish radio to host a one hour program talking about the Christian groups supporting Israel. Unfortunately, due to his illness this had to cease after only six programs. Perhaps God will raise up someone to fill his shoes so this can continue. At his 70th birthday he summed up his life in three words— faith, family and flying. After being diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in December 2019, Peter has been an absolute testimony of the joy and presence of the Lord. He rejoiced in the assurance of meeting the Lord face to face and drew his daily strength from Him. He departed this life on February 11 and has left a legacy as a lover of God and fighter for righteousness, having touched many lives along the way. We thank God for you and know you are now safely in Jesus’ loving arms. You will be sadly missed and fondly remembered, Peter. May God comfort your wife, Robin, children, Tim, Chris and Nicole and their families. ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.’ – 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ________________________________________________________ Jill Curry is author of ‘The Anzac Call.’ Jill Curry Jewish & Israel Prayer Focus Cooordinator A Tribute to Peter Kentley – 5/3/46-11/2/20 [Peter] summed up his life in three words— faith, family and flying Captain Peter in his Airbus A340, 2007 Peter Kentley speaking at the ‘Nations Bless Israel’ event at the Central Community Center in Melbourne, Tuesday 14 May 2019. DVD 7+ hrs teaching 115 pages PAPERBACK DVD + BOOK PACK SAVE $7 $25 $12 $30 The Signs of the Times Looking at the future from a Biblical Perspective by Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer NEW NEW Are we standing at the beginning of the end of mankind and planet earth? Or are we rapidly approaching the dawn of a splendid new future? Is Israel a sign of hope? Rev. Glashouwer looks at fifty- two signs of the times mentioned in the Bible— a perfect companion to his 115 page, 52 chaptered book! For our complete range of our products or to place an order, complete the coupon on back page and post or email it, or go online: c4israel.com.au/store Please include payment with the coupon or pay by internet banking (put your name and item as reference). inc P&H inc P&H inc P&H

7. 19 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel News 6 Johannes Gerloff n Theologian, Journalist, Lecturer & Author Seek, and you shall find. This is true also for those who enjoy accusing the Jewish state of Israel of racism. And the political drama that has blessed the Israeli people with three parliamentary elections within twelve months provides ammunition in abundance. Yes, there is racism in Israeli society. This can never be excused, covered up or ‘put into perspective’ by inappropriate comparisons. But not everything is racism that is described as such in heated political debates in Israel. A close look is crucial if one does not wish to become a victim of oriental emotions or fairy tales of the Arabian nights. Jews and Gentiles in the Land First, let us consider what the Bible says. Scripture paints an astonishingly nuanced picture of the Promised Land in which non-Israelites and the chosen people lived side by side and even in harmony with each other. Abraham’s calling is inconceivable without Gentiles. After all, God’s basic mission for Abraham is to be a blessing to ‘all families on the earth’ (Genesis 12:2-3). Abraham exemplified this. He sets standards with his life, for example, through the close relationship with the brothers Eshkol, Mamre, and Aner in which one was willing to risk his life for the other (Genesis 14:13,24) . Abraham knew and respected the spiritual and human authorities that he found in the land, as we can see, for example, in his relating to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). All of Israel’s ancient law, the Torah, is designed so that Israelites and Gentiles live together in the Land of Israel. The vision of the Creator in his dealings with and through the people of Israel is a coexistence of Jews and Gentiles. Together God promises them a future. It is only one aspect that the prophet Isaiah sees in Jerusalem a ‘house of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7). However, this applies to both Israelites and non-Israelites alike: only he has a future in the Land of Israel who asks for the will of the one and only, true, living God and then also practices it (Leviticus 18: 24-30). But does this require the government of the Jewish State of Israel to cooperate with those who deny its legitimacy as a nation-state of the Jewish people – and even want to dismantle it? I don’t think so. Pro and Contra Netanyahu In the power struggle within the Knesset, two camps face each other. On one side there are the followers Benjamin Netanyahu, who is undoubtedly not only the longest- serving head of government but also the most popular prime minister the Jewish state has ever had. Netanyahu’s admirers include quite a few Arab citizens of Israel and even Palestinians. Netanyahu is also Israel’s most hated head of government of all times. The face of Netanyahu’s opponent is Benny Gantz. The big winner of the March 2020 election is the Joint List of Arab parties. With 15 seats, it is the third-largest party in the 23rd Knesset. What distinguishes the MKs of the Joint List is their decidedly anti-Israeli stance. The Joint List demands that Israel give up the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and uproot all Jewish settlers in these areas. As a condition for his support of a Gantz government, Joint List chairman Ayman Oude demands that Jews will from now on be prohibited from visiting the Temple Mount. Non-Muslims are already banned from praying there. The Joint List demands that all ‘political prisoners’ be released, including mass murderers such as Abdullah Barghouti, who killed 67, and Abbas A-Sayed, who killed 29 Israelis. A number of statements in the programme of the Joint List cannot be understood other than to support Palestinian terror against Israel. Ahmad Tibi, one of the most distinguished members of the Joint List, has praised the well-known terrorist Marwan Barghouti and described the state of Israel as ‘colonialist’. Tibi sees firing rockets at Israeli civilians as legitimate resistance. At the same time, the Joint List demands that Israel abolishes its nuclear arsenal. Two days after the election in a speech to his own right- wing block, Benjamin Netanyahu once again accused Gantz of wanting to form a government with the help of those who ‘do not recognise the State of Israel’ and ‘attack our soldiers’. Such people, according to Netanyahu, cannot be part of the political equation. Foreign Minister Israel Katz went on to describe the Joint List as ‘terrorists in suits’. The Joint List answered that “the Likud were losers with ties.” Jewish MK Ofer Shelah (Blue-and-White) countered on Facebook that Netanyahu had declared war on Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. After all, the founding fathers of the Jewish state had imagined a country in which Arabs and other non-Zionists were citizens with equal rights. Shelah is right to point out that labelling all Arabs as ‘terrorists’ or anti-Israel is wrong and unfair. But this does not mean that the government should be compelled to allow those who seek to destroy the Jewish nation to join the government. That is not racism, just common sense. Should the Arab Joint List be Included? April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem in March, 2020. | Photo: Flash90 Shmuel Aharon Brodman n Chief Rabbi of Munich and Bavaria | Savyon Center, Israel Everyone recognises that this period is special. After all, there is hardly any person in the world whose lives have not changed in some way because of the Covid-19 epidemic. The results of this medical crisis are still unknown, and so the fight against the virus is being waged in various forms. Many people feel helpless. They only now begin to realise that the world is ruled by the Creator. He shows us right now that he is the true ruler of our lives. What message does he want to teach us? We do not know the accounts of heaven. We do not know how and why we got this epidemic which is so frightening and undermines all the normalcy of the world. But one thing is clear: although the modern world is so technologically successful and scientifically soaring, the world of medicine and science is also almost helpless and we have nothing left to do now but to refer our hearts and eyes in prayer to God. This is an opportunity to strengthen our confidence in the Creator of the world, who is sending us a clear message that everything that happens to us is in his hand. Let us also note that this is a rare opportunity: all the energies of all countries are devoted to the war against one common enemy. This has hardly happened in recent years: the whole world is united against the Covid-19. This unity has important lessons and messages. The world can, if only there is a will, work together. There are disagreements, but there are no differences at heart. Beyond that, there is a clear message here that our fate is hardly in ou r hands. There is a supreme leader in the world who is the Almighty. So let us not trust too much in the ‘power and might of my own hand that made all this plenty for me’ because everything is in the hands of heaven. Each community and its culture treat this issue differently. As believers, we know that whenever we have questions we must turn to our sacred teachings. As always, we find different clues. In the Bible we find that there was an epidemic while Korach and his men were rebelling against Moshe and Aaron. The plague stopped only after Aaron offered the incense. That is why some people have adopted the custom to recite the biblical verses concerning the incense to combat Covid-19. During the reign of King David in Jerusalem there was an epidemic in which a hundred people died. King David then enacted the law that everyone should bless God with a hundred blessings per day and thus the epidemic was stopped. Therefore some have begun to observe the 100 blessings a day programme. Others strengthened the charity for the poor. It is also known that Psalm 91 has the power to help against an epidemic. The great scholar Rabbi Chaim Kaniewsky from Bnei Brak encourages everyone to recite Psalm 70 before going to sleep every evening. As always, it is very easy to find points to correct in others, but it is much more difficult for any individual to make their own account. Everyone should think carefully about what he needs to improve in his own behavior, what he could improve. When we do this we show that we have understood the wake-up-call from God. Then God will hopefully take the virus away from us. Rabbis all over the world call to obey all instructions of the authorities. They also called out to continue to keep the commandments alongside these instructions. The study of Torah takes place by means of a joint study without human gatherings. Also weddings are hold only at private houses with the minimum amount of people present. 150 years ago the famous Rabbi Chaim Palagi lived in Turkey. He writes that in times of an epidemic there are three important rules: Be optimistic! Don’t be sad! Don’t get angry! When we do all this, please God we will be strong enough to overcome these difficult times. I bless all of us that we should be strengthened by uniting in the love of one another, and by improving our actions in all spheres. When all of this will pass we shall be much stronger and better people, in a much better world I take this opportunity to thank Christians for Israel for their financial support for so many years and their ongoing support and the love and brotherhood they show to the Jewish people in Israel and in the Ukraine. We appreciate and cherish your friendship. Covid-19 from a Jewish Perspective C4I Events 7 Jos van Westing n Development & Special Projects | Christians for Israel International For the fifth year Christians for Israel Uganda, under the leadership of the Pastors Sarah, Asher and Victor invited me to teach at their annual Israel Conference for nine full days for 5 – 6 hours a day. Again it was a great joy to see how the participants, including many pastors and church leaders (275 during the daytime, up to 600 at night and on Saturday and Sunday) absorbed the message about God’s plan for Israel, the Church and the Nations like a sponge until it dripped out to bless their congregations in turn. For the first time, even 11 pastors from Kenya joined the conference, returning home with a heavy loaded package of knowledge. God is at work; also in Africa! The people are hungry for the Word and the truth, casting out replacement theology and prosperity teaching. One benefit of repeating this Israel Conference every year in January, has been to raise curiosity among other pastors and church leaders in Uganda. Last year a bishop, overseeing 200 Pentecostal churches and founder of a private university, sent two people for three days, to see and hear what was going on here. This year he got in contact with us, inviting two of us for an audience in his office for 15 minutes. That became an interesting and spontaneous conversation of one hour and 20 minutes. As a result we will work together in the future, organising Israel conferences for larger crowds and lectures on a university level. The meeting was so well received, that the bishop invited us the next day to teach for two hours at night as an introduction, addressing 75 quickly gathered pastors. So, God willing, next year a big Israel conference will be organised in a central place in Kampala to learn, and to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! God’s Plan for Israel Heard in Uganda April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Jos van Westing meeting with Bishop Oyet. Attendees at the Israel Conference in Kampala. Cornelis Kant n Executive Director | Christians for Israel International Have you ever heard of Nagaland? Until a year ago I hadn’t. A pastor from Nagaland – a state in the north- eastern part of India – attended our Christians for Israel regional conference in Nepal in 2019. He was touched by the message and invited us to come to his country and organised a pastors’ conference about Israel in the city of Dimapur in Nagaland, India. Over 180 pastors attended the 3-day conference. Rev Willem Glashouwer, Rev Conrado Lumahan, and Christians for Israel Regional Director Wilson Ng and I taught about Israel from a biblical and historical perspective. India is a predominantly a Hindu country, but over 90% of the population is Christian in Nagaland. Nevertheless, for most of the pastors, the message about Israel was totally new, and a real revelation. One of the church leaders, who closed the second day of the conference with a prayer, expressed his feelings in his prayer as follows: ‘Lord, I used to read the Bible, but this truth I could not understand, even though it was in the Bible. I ask you, God, to create an open mind and heart within me so that I can understand it fully’. We were all deeply impressed by this prayer. Another pastor told us: ‘It is a very challenging conference for us; it breaks my mind. I should have honestly interpreted the Bible in my ministry’. After the conference, a pastor told us that we should come back for at least a full week of solid teaching and Bible study in order to achieve a deep and more complete understanding about Israel in our faith. On Saturday, we were privileged to share about Israel in a Bible school. Over 180 young students attended three hours teaching about Israel. On Sunday we were all invited to preach in four different churches in Dimapur. They were wonderful blessed days in Dimapur. We pray that the Lord will bless and guide the Nagaland pastors in the coming days. C4I Holds 8th Asian Conference in India Attendees at the 8th Asia Pacific Training & Leadership Conference in India Students from the Servanthood Bible College

25. 25 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Call to Prayer 12 Condemnation of Israel - A Call to Solidarity April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Facts Speak 2019: Terrorism in Israel Annual distribution of significant terrorist attacks Types of attacks in 2019 IED’s Vehicular Shootings Stabbings Other Distribution of rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza strip Source: Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Dr Leon Meijer and n Rev Cornelis Kant Christians for Israel International In the first decades of its existence, Israel was treated with enthusiasm and respect by both Church and State. But in recent decades, we have seen a tendency to denigrate the State of Israel, and even deny its legitimacy. A few weeks ago, Ms Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced her intention to investigate the commission of war crimes by Israeli and Palestinian leaders ‘in Palestine’. In her opinion, Palestine is a ‘state’ for the purposes of the ICC Statute; ‘Palestine’ consists of the whole ‘West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza’; and there are ‘reasonab le grounds to believe’ that Israeli leaders have committed war crimes by enabling settlements to be built ‘in Palestine’. The matter is currently being examined by three judges of the ICC. This means that the mere fact that Jews are allowed to live in their historic homeland is considered to be a heinous crime worthy of international condemnation and prosecution. For decades, the United Nations institutions have become a platform where Israel has continuously been criticised and condemned. For example, in the last few years, UNESCO has effectively denied the Jews’ historical connection with the Temple Mount. While mentioning that Jerusalem and its Old City walls are holy to all three religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity), the Temple Mount is referred to in these resolutions exclusively by its Arabic name ‘Al-Haram Al-Sharif’ (meaning ‘the Noble Sanctuary’). Countless UN resolutions portray Israel solely as a perpetrator of crimes that are an obstacle to Palestinian self-determination. Much reporting about the Israel- Palestine conflict makes a caricature of Israel and even demonises this sovereign nation. The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanction campaign (BDS) has, fortunately, in some countries been recognised for what it is: anti-Semitism. The endless criticism of Israel that manifests itself as ‘anti-Zionism’, is in practice nothing less than a form of anti-Semitism. It denies Jews any place in the land that God has promised to them. All of this completely ignores the achievements of the State of Israel, including the fact that it is the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Jews and adherents of other religions have freedom of religion and worship. At the same time, Jews in other countries, where they have been living for centuries, are increasingly being threatened and stereotyped as so often has happened in the past - with disastrous results. We see all of this as part of a process wherein, step by step, the history of Israel is ignored and the Biblical and historical connection between the Jewish people and the land, and thereby the legitimacy of the Jewish State, are denied. The very existence of the Jewish people in the land is thereby being threatened, not just by military force but also through international politics and public opinion. The State of Israel and the Jewish people are not perfect. But they are still the apple of God’s eye. In the same way, the Church is not perfect, but despite its faults, it is and remains the body of Christ. God is faithful to His covenants with His people. He is bringing the Jewish people home to the land of their forefathers, as He promised through the prophets He would. That affects us as Christians. As the body of Christ, we are one with Jesus, who suffered as King of the Jews in Jerusalem, died and rose again for the salvation of His people Israel and the whole world. “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glor y, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!” (Romans 9:4-5) “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29). Israel needs our support, and we are called as the people of God to give that support. We are convinced that we cannot sit by silently while Israel and the Jewish people are being condemned and attacked. We need to be alert and to speak up in their defence. Above all, we urge you to remember the Jewish people and the State of Israel in your services of worship and in your prayers. Dr Leon Meijer is Chairman, and Rev Cornelis Kant is Executive Director of Christians for Israel International. Panoramic view of Jerusalem | Photo: Shutterstock Rabbi Jonathan Sacks n Former Chief Rabbi of England How can anti-Zionism be the new anti-Semitism? Surely there’s no connection between them? Anti-Semitism is hatred of Jews as a people, a race, an ethnic group. Anti- Zionism is an objection to a country, a nation, a state. What’s the connection between them? Anti-Semitism is a virus that mutates so that new anti- Semites can deny they are anti-Semites at all because their hate is different from the old. In the Middle Ages Jews were hated for their religion. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, they were hated for their race. Today they are hated for their nation-state, Israel. What then is the connection between Jews as a people, Judaism as a religion, and Israel as a state? The connection between the Jewish people and Israel goes back long before the birth of either Christianity or Islam. Jews created a society there in the days of Joshua, a kingdom in the days of Saul, and a nation with Jerusalem as its capital in the days of King David: all this more than 3,000 years ago. Jews are the only people who ever created a nation-state there. At all other times in the past 3,000 years, it was merely an administrative district in an empire whose centre was elsewhere: the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Alexandrian, Roman and Byzantine empires, the Crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire, the various Muslim empires such as the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Mamluks and Ottomans, and finally the British. Jews are the only people who have maintained a continuous presence in the land. They are its indigenous, original inhabitants. The November 1947 United Nations vote to bring Israel into existence was a momentous reversal of imperialism. It gave back to the Jewish people the home taken from them by empire after empire. Israel was the only non- artificial creation in the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The rest ¬– among them Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – were artificial creations that hadn’t been states before, which is why most of them still exist in a condition of ethnic, religious and tribal strife. Only Israel had previously existed as a nation-state. That’s the unbreakable connection between Israel and the Jewish people. The connection between Israel and Judaism is equally ancient and fundamental. It is more than just as Robert Frost said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” Read the Hebrew Bible, and you’ll see immediately that it isn’t about the salvation of the soul. It’s about creating in the hol y land a society based on the biblical ideas of justice, welfare, the sanctity of life – and caring for the stranger “because you know what it feels like to be a stranger.” Judaism began with two journeys to the land, one by Abraham and Sarah, the other by the Israelites in the days of Moses. At least half of the 613 commandments of the Bible are only applicable to the land of Israel. And though in the centuries of exile and dispersion Jews lived in almost every land under the sun, Israel has remained a focus of their prayers and the only place where they have been able to do what every other nation takes for granted, construct their own society in the light of their own ideals. Judaism differs from the other Abrahamic monotheisms, Christianity and Islam, in that it is the only one of the three that never created or sought to create an empire. It was the imperialism of the Roman emperor Hadrian that led him in the 2nd century to change the country’s name to Palestine, one of the first, but certainly not the last, deliberate falsifications of history by those who seek to deny the Jewish people’s right to their land. There are 56 Islamic nations and 159 in which Christians form the majority. There is and only ever has been one Jewish state, tiny and vulnerable though it is and always was. That is why anti-Zionism, denying Jews the right to their one and only collective home by misrepresenting Judaism, is the new anti-Semitism, every bit as virulent and dangerous as the old. Anti-Semitism 13 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Abraham Abraham was the first patriarch of Israel. Originally his name was Abram. He received his new name when the Lord made His covenant with him (Genesis 17). A new name indicates a new position. God has taken him into his service. As Abraham, Abram received a new task. This is how God says it: “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” That is to say that Abraham is appointed a father. He is not a father because he has children. He will have children because he is a father. His new name expresses the essence, the function, the purpose of his life. First and foremost, of course, is that he will be the progenitor of Israel. The apostle Paul, however, hears in Abraham’s name all those who walk in the same faith, too. Abraham is, as the father of a multitude of nations, father of all who believe, who follow in his steps to serve the God of Israel. The names Abram and Abraham have yet another special meaning. Both names originally mean: the Father exalts. God the Father exalts Abram as the father of a multitude of nations. Multitude in Hebrew is hamon. The ‘r’ is, in fact, superfluous. But rabbinic tradition understands that this indicates that originally, he was only to be the father (chieftain) of Aram, where he came from. But now, he will be father of all nations. Abraham is thus the name that is connected to the covenant the Lord makes with him. That is how he is referred to throughout the Old Testament. Psalm 105 sings that God remembers his covenant, which He made with Abraham. This is always for Isra el a ground to plead on before God. In Nehemiah 9, the Israelites confess their sins and appeal to God: “You gave him the name Abraham... and made a covenant with him” (verses 7-8). Again and again, God shows mercy to Israel because of the fathers. They remain beloved for the sake of the fathers. Biblical Names By Kees de Vreugd | Photo: Shutterstock Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism Definition Anti-Semitism is the belief or behaviour hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews. Hostility toward Jews dates to the beginning of Jewish history. From the days of the Bible until the Roman Empire, Jews were punished for their efforts to remain a separate religious group — one that refused to adopt the values and the way of life of the non-Jewish societies in which it lived. | Photo: commonwealmagazine

5. 17 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Biblical Reflection 5 Short News Rev Willem Glashouwer n President | Christians for Israel International Suddenly it hit us all: COVID -19 (coronavirus disease 2019). It disrupted our lives, crashed the economy and caused thousands of people to die around the world. Fear gripped us all. “Why did this happen?” many people asked themselves. And religious people asked themselves: is God involved in this? Does the Bible speak about these things? And actually, yes, it does. The Bible speaks about the ‘Signs of the Times’. Jesus expects us to understand these ‘Signs of the Times’. In Matthew 16:2-3 he compares them with the weather forecast: “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times?” One day his friends ask Him: “Please help us to understand these ‘Signs of the Times’.” What follows is one of the longest teachings of Jesus that we have in the Bible. We find it in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13 and Luke 17 and 21. It is about the end times. About the climax of the end times. He mentions many signs – most of them not very pleasant ones. Among them: contagious diseases. Luke 21:11 “Then He continued by saying to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues [in Dutch translation: contagious diseases] and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from Heaven.’” Also, the Book of Revelation probably speaks about contagious diseases. In Revelation 6:8, we read: “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come.’ I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Who are these ‘wild beasts’? The pale /ashen colour ‘chloros’ is also translated as green, the colour of grass. The pale colour has to do with leprosy (see Leviticus 13:49 and 14:32). A very contagious disease indeed. And the rider on this apocalyptic horse has a name: ‘Death’, and death and the realm of the dead (Hades) follow him. The four apocalyptic horsemen ride out one after the other but also alongside each other. And these last three horsemen are given the power to afflict a quarter of the earth with death, war, hunger, pestilence, infectious diseases and the wild beasts of the earth. War leaves a trail of destruction behind it. War is followed by hunger as its first effect, followed by infectious diseases. One can, therefore, think of these ‘wild beasts of the earth’ as microscopically tiny ‘beasts’ like germs, bacteria, viruses and other ‘living’ causes of disease - the smallest living ‘wild’ animals. Earthquakes scourge planet earth. The statistics of the ‘killer-quakes’ – earthquakes and tsunami’s that take thousands of lives - are steeply on the rise. Weapons of mass-destruction, the so- called ‘ABC’weapons: Atomic, Bacteriological, Chemical – are being produced even by smaller nations and are ready to be used as weapons of war. Terrorist groups are trying to get hold of them. Radical Islam is globally on the rise. Faith in a personal God is rapidly declining in the Western world. Anxiety and fear for the future are increasingly laming the lives of many, in a deadly stranglehold. Is planet earth heading for an all-devastating World War III? The world economy is stagnating. Diminishing sources of energy, pollution of water and air, shrinking areas of fertile lands to grow crops, expanding arid regions and deserts, and the average temperature on planet earth increasingly on the rise resulting in global warming; are just some of the problems facing the world today. More and more species of animals and plants are becoming extinct. Is mankind on its way to destroy herself? Jesus’ teaching about the Signs of the Times tells us that the situation is not getting out of His hands. We know the Kingdom is coming soon because the Jews are coming back to the Promised Land of Israel and Jerusalem, as He promised. Although the birth pangs will be increasingly painful, the end result will be the birth of the baby. Right through baffling and bewildering end-times events, He will ultimately reach His goal: the Kingdom of peace and righteousness and the renewal of all things. Surely Jesus is coming to make all things forever new. Why Covid-19? People pray in enclosed areas allowing prayers of ten people in a time, at the Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 15, 2020. | Photo: Flash90 Lectures | Excursions | Seminars | High-Level Meetings Are Israeli Settlements Illegal? www.thinc.info/summer-school-2020/ Join international law experts in Israel to find out! Summer School on International Law and the Israeli-Palestine Conflict 21 June - 3 July 2020 th i nc. THE HAGUE INITIATIVE for INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Gilad Shalit Engaged The Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas in Gaza from 2006 till 2011. Almost daily there was something in the news about him because Israel unitedly demanded his release, and all kinds of diplomatic and political means were deployed to achieve it. Ultimately over one thousand Palestinian terrorists were exchanged to bring Gilad home again. How did it go for Gilad? Israel mostly left him in peace so that he could lead a normal life. But last month his picture again showed up on social media, and many people were delighted to hear that Gilad has found a new life and is now engaged to be married. | Photo: Instagram Israel’s Borders Where exactly did the Israeli borders lie in Biblical times? A short while ago, in the northernmost part of Israel near Abel Beth-Maacah, an inscription was discovered on broken pots in a building from the Iron Age. A restorer studied the inscription and believes that one part is the word ‘lebenayau’, which means ‘property of Benayau’. The last part of the word, ‘yahu’ , points at the God of the Israelites. If further investigations show that the inscribed pot really comes from this place and this era, it will help prove that this remote city was part of the kingdom of Israel. Dead Sea in Bloom It rarely happens, but when it does happen, it is extraordinary. The abundant rain of the last couple of months made the coast along the Dead Sea, usually a barren and dead landscape, bloom again. Wildflower seeds that can wait years for rain, germinated and gave colour to the otherwise barren slopes and plains. | Photo: Avner Rinot Fire-Fighting at Night Until now fire fighters couldn’t deploy fire-fighting aircraft at night. In order to take careful aim, these planes need to fly low, and that has not been possible during the night because of security considerations. Now, Israeli company Elbit has developed a system that enables water to be aimed at a fire accurately from high altitudes, and thus also during the night. Coronavirus Permitting - Watch our website Nitai Eliash See Willem’s latest DVD resource ‘The Signs of the Times’ on page 10 of the Australian Insert.

9. Dear faithful readers, partners and friends (chavorim), We are certainly living in very uncertain and unprecedented times. I do hope and pray you and your family are living well as the nation goes into lockdown and as we see very disturbing events unfold with our way of life as businesses, travel and social actives we take for granted are being scaled down in an effort to halt this new unseen enemy—the COVID-19 virus. As I write this, my wife Mandy and I are presently on our second week of a 2 week mandatory self isolation quarantine at our home, because as you will read from Mandy on page 8 of the International Pages, we just returned from our annual Bible Lands tour to Israel, Jordan and Greece. Praise God, all of us are well, and to the best of my knowledge so are all of our travel guests! Because of the global shut down in all international travel, I was unable to attend this years Global Executive Council meeting or the C4I European Conference in the Netherlands. Many other conferences, speaking engagements and even church and synagogue services have been cancelled, or moved to virtual meetings via online video streaming. We give thanks that while we are restricted in our movements and physical interaction we can still remain in touch and be informed and fellowship in these new virtual settings. I would like to remind you of our website c4israel.com.au and our Facebook page facebook.com/c4israelAUS and our free mobile app (see promo on page 8 ) are free and easy ways to keep up to-date on all things relating to our connection with Israel, especially during the during these troubled times of disruption and upheaval. The breaking news as I write this report is that it would seem Prime Minister Netanyahu has survived what many saw as an attempted coup, to oust him from office with the formation of an emergency unity government with Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz agreeing to work with Netanyahu and his conservative Likud party for the sake of the welfare of the nation during this global crisis. Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as Prime Minister and Benny Gantz will serve as Foreign minister until September 2021 after which they will swap roles. We can see this perhaps as divine intervention for what could have been an ongoing political deadlock, forcing Israel back to a forth Election. I am reminded that Daniel Chapter 2:21 tells us that God is sovereign and in control ‘... He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; but it is God who judges; He brings one down and exalts another.’ We have seen a lot of political upheaval and tension across many of the worlds nations including America, UK and Australia but it seems for the most part this current crisis has forced many to set aside their political differences and come together in a spirit of unity for the common good of our people. (Psalm 133 says God commands a blessing when people live and work together in unity). Another impact closer to home for our team in the current disruption is that we have not been able to secure a new long term premises for us to operate from as the organisation we had been dealing with have had to focus on their own operations because many of their planed activities had all been cancelled or postponed. So we are also in a bit of a holding position, trusting the Lord to go before us and make a way where there seems to be no way. Fortunately one of our dear supporters and his wife has generously offered to accommodate most of our resources and answer our phone 07 3088 6900   and clear our email enquiries info@c4israel.com. au and process our letters sent to PO Box 1508 Springwood QLD 4127 . So from that perspective, I am pleased to say we are still open and operating with the help of our small but faithful team of volunteers, and our committee of management who will continue to hold regular quarterly meetings as we prayerful monitor and manage the current situation. We are now living in very challenging and uncertain times, especially for those who have lost their livelihood and are stuck at home. I want to acknowledge this and say we understand the disruption and hardship many Australians are currently facing. However a deepening economic crisis means Christians for Israel and this regular “free” newspaper’s future is also at risk. Over the past 6 years since I took on the leadership role and introduced the Australian insert and expanded our ministry out to the neighbouring Islands, God through the faithful and generous support of just a few of our nearly 4000 subscribers have enabled this paper to be put together, printed and posted without charge to help Inform, Inspire and Comfort you and the Lord’s people, Israel. As you can imagine we’ve received quite a few emergency requests from Israel in the last week. Besides the fundraising for projects we’ll do in this newspaper edition, I thought it would be good to inform you of new emergency funds that will be sent to Israel in the coming week. To give you an idea of what kind of assistance with your help, C4I is offering to Israel at the moment. • Keren Hayesod/Jewish Agency: Pesach  Project and other means for Holocaust survivors and elderly in Israel • Shavei Israel, help new immigrants Bnei Menashe from Asia (Michael Freund). • Jews from Yemen,   Yigal Ben Shalom, Pesach (passover) packages.  • Hineni: for pesach packages. • First Baptist Church Bethlehem and Jericho to help to poor families for food during the corona crisis. • Jaffa Institute, help Holocaust survivors and elderly and also refurbishing  rooms at the boarding school for disadvantaged students. • Reuth, respirators for elderly, often Holocaust survivors fighting corona virus. In total over AUD $250,000 is being delivered to these needy communities of Israel as we comfort the Lord’s people according to Jesus admonition in Matthew 25 in their time of distress. We do this as unto the Lord Himself. So because of all of this , I am unapologetic in saying we like Paul in asking non– Jewish believers in those early churches who owed the Jews a debt of gratitude. In his words: “Indeed [the non–Jews] owe it to [the members of the Jewish church in Jerusalem]; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things” (Romans 15:27) asking the Church in Macedonia (themselves impoverished) to go the extra mile in helping their brethren in Jerusalem as we read his emphatic account in 2 Corinthians 8. So during this virus crisis, we will continue to ask for your support, especially for our immediate costs for printing and postage and to support the important Aliyah and humanitarian projects. That said, I want to say what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 that we are not expecting those facing financial challenges to give at this time, we are not insensitive to your circumstances. So, if you are unable to give, please simply pray for us each time you see an email or other message relating to our needs—that will be more than enough. We are thankful of your prayers. God knows our needs and has supplied us up to this point. His will shall prevail. If you are struggling in any way and would like to pray with someone, please call our friends at Vision on 1800 PRAYFORME (1800 772 936) and one of their team will be honoured to pray with you and for you. On the other hand, if your financial circumstances are not significantly affected by COVID-19, please prayerfully consider your support for organisations like Christians for Israel and Vision Christian Media who rely on donations over the coming months. These truly are extraordinary times, that also create new opportunities for ministry. Here are a couple of final points I want to share with you: offering practical support for us and practical ways of equipping you and strengthening your personal faith and preparedness for these uncertain and perhaps perilous end times, before the coming of the Lord. We have with the help of C4I Romania and the C4I International President Rev. Willem Glashouwer put together a new companion DVD set ‘ The Signs of Times’ together with his book of the same title. There are 52 short video teachings (average 5-6 minutes each) matching the 52 chapters of the book. This 2 DVD set with over 7 hours of teaching is now on offer for your gift of $30 including local postage while stocks last. The proceeds will help keep us going during these difficult times, and encourage you in your faith and understanding the times to come. Or you can order the DVD set for $25 Dollars and the Book for $12 dollars separately including P&H (see the promotion inside on page 10 , order form on the back page or go to c4israel.com.au/store ) I’ve also extended our newspaper subscription promotion, so if you have family and friends or church leaders that don’t yet receive the newspaper every 2 months, give us their name and address (with their permission) and we will send them a free copy and send you a complimentary copy of our limited edition ‘ Israel 70 Years’ magazine as our way of saying thanks. Or if you already have the magazine you can tick the box for the new ‘Signs of the Times’ DVD instead—see page 5 . Please allow up to 4 weeks for postage as we know Australia Post is not as fast during the current crisis. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and heart for Israel, and as the Lord leads and enables for your continued generosity and practical partnership with me and the Christians for Israel Australia team. Blessings in Messiah. _____________________________________ Ian Worby National Leader & Regional Director for Christians for Israel Australia & Oceania. April 2020 Report From Our National Leader Comforts Informs Inspires Ian Worby C4I Australia National Leader and Regional Director for Oceania Ian & Mandy Worby, Judean Hills, Israel.

12. 4 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Profile Feature Meira Weber Assistant Director, Israel Office for CFOIC Heartland Keith Buxton: Shoulder to Shoulder with Israel March 11, 2011. Shabbat night. What should have been a night of quiet and peace was shattered forever when 12-year-old Tamar Fogel returned home to a scene of horrifying carnage: Her house had been trashed and her parents, two brothers, and infant sister had been ruthlessly, brutally murdered. Extremist Arab terrorism had lunged at the Fogel family, and life in Israel—for everyone—would never be the same. It was on the heels of this unspeakable tragedy, amid the international eruption that followed, that Keith Buxton found himself in Israel with CFOIC Heartland, standing on a hilltop deep in Samaria just outside the community of Itamar. This was not his first time in Israel, but it was the first time he’d come to the Biblical Heartland of Judea and Samaria. He and his group stood at the Three Seas Outlook, and looked out over the green, rock-studded hills of Samaria. Keith saw the budding green of the Oak of Moreh, the twin mountains of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and the city of Shechem cradled in the valley between, and listened as Sondra Oster Baras read from Genesis 12: ‘And Abram passed through the land, to the place of Shechem until the plains of Moreh... and God appeared to Abram and said, “To your children I will give this land.”’ Keith felt a shiver go through him. “It was a profoundly significant occasion for me,” Keith recalls. “I remember thinking, if there is anywhere where I feel I stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel, it’s here on this hill. Here, it is all about the promise of the land, where Abraham looked and saw the land that God had promised to his offspring. This is truth.” Keith’s connection to the Land of Israel was cultivated later in his life. Keith and his wife Trixie had taught Bible in the Pacific Islands and then pastored in Australia for over twenty years, but “Like many other pastors, I didn’t have any understanding of —or recognition for—God’s love for Israel; it just wasn’t taught in theological college.” It wasn’t until Keith was in his early fifties, as a pastor in Queensland, Australia, that he “really came to understand the depth and passion of God’s heart for the Jewish People and for Israel.” Through a series of guest speakers that came to lecture at his church, Keith’s knowledge grew, and his worldview rapidly shifted. Keith’s first visit to Israel was in 1999, and it changed everything for him. This new discovery filled Keith with excitement. “Israel was an area that was new to me,” he says. “It wasn’t that I had an anti-Israel attitude before, but I never recognized just how important Israel was to us as Christians.” He began to study, and over time became far more aware of the modern issues facing Biblical Israel, and the important role that Christians play in supporting the state. One of the many guest speakers who were hosted at Keith’s church told Keith about the organization Bridges for Peace, and Keith gradually gravitated towards the organization. Before he even joined them, though, he had been hanging the Israeli flag beside the Australian flag in his church. In 2004, five years after his first trip to Israel, Keith officially joined the Bridges for Peace board in Australia, and by 2006 he had left his church and become the National Director. When he first began to learn about the Christian movement of supporting Israel, Keith was floored to discover that it had been written in his Bible all along. References to Israel abounded in the text, and “It was just a question of God opening my eyes.” Keith says that it changed his life, and that discovering the truth was akin to “a supernatural revelation.” It took him a few years, but the more he discovered, the more he saw how true it all was. He feels very strongly that his mission now is to “help Christians all over the country recognize the truth, and to understand what the Bible actually says.” People say to Keith, “Why haven’t we heard this before?” And he says to them, “Because no one is telling you.” One of the most difficult parts was learning just how untrustworthy and untruthful the world media’s representation was of Israel. Says Keith, “It is not only the people who seek to destroy the Jewish People, but also the international community itself that wants to deprive the Jews of their homeland. I think it’s something that is critical for Christians to understand.” According to Keith, many people simply need to visit Israel in order to recognize the legal, historical, and Biblical foundation of Israel. Keith first met Sondra through Bridges in 2003, and now every time he visits Israel he spends at least one or two days with CFOIC Heartland, touring around Judea and Samaria and visiting various Israeli communities. “I think the Israelis in Judea and Samaria are lovely people with incredible resilience,” says Keith. “They are there because they know that God has called them there, and even though terrible things have happened, they are not about to move anytime soon. It’s a joy for them to be in the land that God has promised them.” Keith is now retired from his position at Bridges for Peace , but his work is far from over. “It’s a passion for me,” he says. “It’s why I continued to be in touch with CFOIC Heartland, which does amazing work, and why I continue to teach, to bring tour groups into Judea and Samaria, and to get involved politically.” Keith also uses his political pull and knowledge to garner Australian support for Israel in the government, because he “can’t just stand by and let the UN do what it does.” On top of his political and advocacy work, Keith keeps returning to Israel, to that fateful spot at the Three Seas Outlook that changed everything for him. Every visit, he stands there and looks out over the Samarian hills, to Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, to Shechem and the Oak of Moreh, and the place where God promised the land of Israel to Abraham’s descendants. He remembers the Fogel family, and thinks about the English meaning of Shechem—shoulder—and he renews his own covenant with himself: that he will always stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish people of the Biblical Heartland, and continue to spread God’s truth about Israel. ________________________________________________________ Meira Weber , with her deep love of Israel and a rich background in video production, creative writing, and social media management has brought a fresh new voice to CFOIC Heartland as the Assistant Director. She now lives in Karnei Shomron with her husband, and fills her free time with writing and filmmaking. You can say hello to Meira at meira@cfoic.com I never recognized just how important Israel was to us as Christians Keith at Itamar two months after the massacre of the Fogel family. Given Keith’s close association with CFOIC and his current involvement with C4I, it would be timely to encourage readers to support our CFOIC projects as advertised on the back page of this bi-monthly newspaper and on our website under projects to support.

22. 22 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Commemoration 10 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Jewish Festivals Pesach Passover, the Feast of the Unleavened Bread 8 - 16 April 2020 Passover (Hebrew: Pesach) commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Pesach begins at sundown on Wednesday 8 April 2020. Yom Hashoah Holocaust Memorial Day 21 April 2020 Yom Hashoah, is observed as Israel’s day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day and public holiday. It was inaugurated on 1953, anchored by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion and the President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. It is hel d on the 27th of Nisan (April/May), unless the 27th would be adjacent to Shabbat, in which case the date is shifted by a day. Yom Hashoah begins at sundown on Monday, 20 April 2020. Yom Hazikaron Israeli Memorial Day 28 April 2020 Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s official remembrance day, enacted into law in 1963. While Yom Hazikaron has been traditionally dedicated to fallen soldiers, commemoration has also been extended to civilian victims of terrorism. Yom Hazikaron begins at sundown on Monday, 27 April 2020. Yom Ha'atzmaut Israel Independence Day 29 April 2020 Israeli Independence Day commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948. Yom Ha'atzmaut begins at sundown on Tuesday, 28 April 2020. Yom Yerushalayim Jerusalem Day 22 May 2020 Yom Yerushalayim is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to thank God for victory in the Six-Day War and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’. Yom Yerushalayim begins at sundown on Thursday, 21 May 2020. The Fruit of the Vine Kees de Vreugd n Theologian | Christians for Israel International & Editor | Israel & the Church In the night in which the Lord was betrayed, He took bread (1 Corinthians 11:23). The gospels tell that Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples that night. The Passover meal is celebrated according to a specific order (Hebrew: seder). Therefore, in Jewish tradition, it is also called the seder meal. Although the order has undergone many changes and elaborations during the centuries, the basic structure goes back to the time of the second temple. It is no surprise, then, that we find reflections of that order in the accounts of Jesus’ last supper. Most notably, the celebration is opened with a cup of wine, and another three cups of wine will follow in the course of the celebration. Matzah, unleavened bread, is broken and eaten. And the celebration concludes with a ‘hymn’ – in two parts: Psalms 113 and 114 are sung before the grace after the meal and Psalms 115-118 and 136 after the grace. So even on the last evening before His trial, Jesus consciously and fully participated in the Jewish life of His time. Even Jesus’ words to His disciples at the table hint to His Jewish practice, e.g. when He says to them: “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Why does He say: fruit of the vine, and not simply: wine? We find the answer in the traditional Jewish blessing over the wine: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.” Wine is the essential beverage in ancient Israel, a symbol of joy and blessing and therefore receives a special blessing. When we celebrate the Lord’s supper, we should bear this in mind. Wine and bread not only unite us with the Lord but also connect us to His people, Israel. Israeli soldiers salute at the graves of IDF soldiers for Yom Hazikaron. | Photo: Flash90 Sorrow Followed by Joy Marie-Louise n Weissenböck Christians for Israel Austria Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s official day of remembrance for fallen soldiers of Israel and victims of terrorism. It falls exactly one week after Holocaust Remembrance Day. As casualties are very close to home in this small country, the day is extremely solemn. Commemoration ceremonies are held across Israel and TV and radio are devoted to the commemoration of those who have fallen. Flags throughout the country are lowered to half-mast. Public transport for those going to military cemeteries is free of charge. Two sirens sound during the 24-hour period when people respectfully come to a standstill in honour of those who died in order to gain and preserve the freedom of the nation. It is not a public holiday but has been an official Remembrance Day since it was enacted into law in 1963. In a way which is unique to Israel, Remembrance Day flows straight into Yom Ha'atzmaut, which commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948. As is often customary in Judaism, Jews remember the heartbreak together with the joy. An official ceremony is held every year on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on the evening of Independence Day. It includes the ceremonial lighting of twelve torches, one for each of the Tribes of Israel. Many cities hold outdoor performances in city squares featuring leading Israeli singers and fireworks displays. This year Yom Hazikaron begins on the evening of 27 April and ends on the evening of 28 April when Yom Ha’atzmaut begins. It ends on the evening of 29 April 2020. Two Sirens Yom Hazikaron begins at sundown (8.00pm) when a siren is sounded across the country for one minute. Everybody stops what they are doing, including cars driving on the highway, and observes the silence to show their respect and remember the fallen. The following day, a siren sounds for two minutes, at 11.00am and again the country stops to remember. Following this, memorial ceremonies take place across the country – either public or private, to remember the country’s fallen. | Photo: Flash90

26. 26 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Walk through the Land 14 Thief Returned Ancient Relic Fearing End of World Coronavirus fears has led an Israeli to return a 2,000-year-old ballista stone taken in Jerusalem 15 years ago. The man explained that the coronavirus crisis made him feel “the end of the world was near” and he wanted to clear his conscience. He explained that he had been a teen when he and some friends toured a display of ballista stones at the Jerusalem Walls NaƟonal Park in the City of David. The stones were used by the Romans in fierce baƩles against the besieged residents of Jerusalem around 70 CE – the year of the destrucƟon of Jerusalem. | Photo: Israel21c Israelis Invent Colour- Blindness Contact Lenses Two Israeli researchers report that they can correct deuteranomaly, a form of red-green colourblindness, with customisable contact lenses by incorporaƟng ultra-thin opƟcal devices into off-the-shelf contact lenses. Test subjects saw their colour percepƟon improve up to a factor of 10. “Problems with disƟnguishing red from green interrupt simple daily rouƟnes such as deciding whether a banana is ripe,” said Karepov, from the university’s department of physical electronics at Tel Aviv University. The contact lenses use metasurfaces based on nano-metric size gold ellipses to create a customised, compact and durable way to address the deficiencies. This marks the first Ɵme Ɵny opƟcal devices have successfully been fused to curved surfaces. Magical March Migration Every spring and autumn, half a billion birds touch down at Agamon Hula Lake in the Upper Galilee nature reserve to rest and refuel. It’s a stunning sight. At least 500 million birds of 300 different species fly across Israel twice yearly on their way to and from Africa, Europe and Asia. Birds such as common cranes are joined by many other feathered friends such as white storks, liƩle egrets, barn swallows and black caps. | Photo: Israel21c Short News Kameel Majdali n Director | Teach All Nations Inc. We continue our ‘Walk through the Land’ series (Genesis 13:17) with our fourth article. Our goal is to help you understand the Bible better by knowing about the land where the Bible was written and where most of the events recorded in the Bible took place. Just as learning Hebrew and Greek can give more in-depth Scriptural insight, historical geography of the holy land does the same. It will also enhance your next visit to Israel. In our previous article, we focused on specific areas of the coastal plain, known in Hebrew as Mishor HaHof. The plain is divided into th ree distinctive parts: Philistia (south), Sharon (centre), and Acre (north). In this article, we examine the Plain of Sharon, known as Ha-Sharon, ‘the Sharon.’ I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys (Song of Solomon 2:1). Sharon is a Biblical region, though it is only mentioned seven times in Scripture: I Chronicles 5:16; 27:29; Song 2:1; Isaiah 33:9; 35:2; 65:10; Acts 9:35. Rabbinic literature refers to it more frequently. First, Sharon, the central region of the coastal plain, begins at the Yarkon River in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area in the South to Mount Carmel in the North. Its dimensions are 90 kilometres (56 miles) by 15 kilometres (9.3 miles). Sharon is framed by Tel Aviv (south), the Samarian hills (east), Carmel (north), and the Mediterranean (west). For the ancient world, Sharon’s value came from being a key section of the Via Maris (called in Isaiah 9:1 the ‘way of the sea’) or the international highway that linked Egypt/Africa with Mesopotamia and Eurasia. The same highway that brought trading caravans also made way for conquering armies. As such, the Via Maris was mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions by King Thutmose III (15th century BC). Joshua conquered Sharon ’s kings (Joshua 12:8). Napoleon (1799) and General Edmund Allenby (1917-18) also invaded Palestine via Sharon. When we hear the word ‘Sharon,’ it conjures up images of romance, roses, parks and gardens. The Old Testament reality was very different. It was sparsely inhabited and much neglected. Sharon is a flat alluvial plain that is trisected by three parallel North-South kurkar ridges. They prevented river water from flowing to the sea which, when backed up, could cause swamps, especially during the rainy season. During the Roman period, outlets were cut through the ridges to give water passage to the Mediterranean. Thick ‘haunted’ oak forests called y a’ar, and the swamps inhibited agriculture. The Sharon plain was suitable for grazing sheep and cattle (I Chronicles 5:16; 27:29). Small ports along the Sharon included Dor, Apollonia, and Strato’s Tower. The plain lacked proper freshwater, deep ports, and good roads. Herod the Great & Caesarea By the New Testament era, Sharon had a massive transformation: it became a capital territory. Today, it is the most densely populated region in Israel. How did all these changes come about? Herod the Great was the key. He dredged the port at Strato’s Tower, built proper roads, and piped water through Roman Aqueducts from Mount Carmel 20 kilometres away (remnants of this aqueduct are still with us to this day). In addition, he built a magnificent city that res embled a miniature Rome itself, with a palace, theatre, hippodrome, temple, and deep water port. He named this metropolis after his patron: Caesarea-Maritima. In one stroke, this once lonely and neglected region was transformed into a capital territory, which it remained from 6 to 639 AD. The Roman procurators, like Pilate, Felix, and Festus, had their headquarters in Caesarea. The Book of Acts mentions it 15 times: as the residence of Philip the evangelist, who had four prophetic virgin daughters (Acts 21:8-9); Cornelius the centurion also lived here and became the first official Gentile convert to the Christian faith, thanks to the preaching of Peter (Acts 10). In addition, Gentile Pentecost first happened in heathen Caesarea (Acts 10:44-46). King Herod Agrippa I, a fierce enemy of the early church, gave an oration here and was struck down by God (Acts 12:21-23). Paul spent over two years in prison (24:27) and testified to Herod Agrippa II, whom he almost persuaded to become a Christian (Acts 26:28). From here, Paul sailed to Rome and into history (Acts 27). Eusebius (260-340 AD) the church historian became a bishop here, and during the Middle Ages, it was a prominent Crusader city. Modern Times Jewish settlement in Palestine in the 20th century put a particular focus on the Plain of Sharon. It’s red sandy soil, called Hamra, made it suitable for agriculture, particularly citrus groves. Thus the s wamps were drained, and cultivation commenced in earnest, with vegetables, cotton, vineyards and poultry. Therefore, as in the days of the New Testament, the Plain of Sharon became a key region, in fact, the most densely inhabited of the entire country. Today major cities of Sharon and Israel include parts of greater Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya (the largest city in Sharon), Hadera, and Kefar Saba. ‘Resurrected Caesarea’ has become a technological park, golf course, upmarket residential area, and a renowned archaeological site with remains from the Herodi an and Crusader periods. Rose of Sharon Back to the Bible, we look at the term ‘the rose of Sharon.’ Though not technically a rose, the term applies to several species of plants in the Hibiscus family. It is known for its tender beauty. The phrase has been applied metaphorically to Jesus. However, in Song of Solomon 2:1, it is Solomon’s bride, the Shulamite woman, not the king, who is called by that name. We know in the New Testament that Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church, the bride. More accurately, it is we as believers who go from being a ‘weed’ to a ‘rose’ by our acceptance of the gospel. When this happens, Isaiah 35:2 comes to pass: It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carm el and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. Rev. Kameel Majdali, PhD (Melb) is Director of Teach All Nations (tan.org.au). His MA degree is ‘Historical Geography of the Holy Land’ from the Institute of Holy Land Studies. The ancient aqueduct at Ceasarea built by Herod the Great along the Mediterranean shore. | Photo: Shutterstock The Plain of Sharon April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Swamp at HaSharon. | Photo: Flash90

13. 5 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Ways to Intereact with and Promote C4I Australia Sign up a friend to ‘Israel & Christians Today’ Newspaper and receive the ‘ Israel 70 Years Magazine ’ or the new ‘ The Signs of the Times DVD ’ FREE * ! Your Full Name: ____________________________ Address: _________________________________ _________________________________________ State: ________________ Postcode: __________ Friends Full Name: _________________________ Address: _________________________________ _________________________________________ State: ________________ Postcode: __________ Number of Newspapers Bi-monthly: c 1 c 2 c 5 c Other: __________________ *1 Magazine/DVD per person. limited offer. while stocks last. SEND DETAILS TO: Christians for Israel, Australia , PO Box 1508, Springwood, QLD, 4127 ‘The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast is a prayer movement initiated and chaired by former MK Robert Ilatov, co-chaired by US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and administrated by the JPB director Albert Veksler. This is a global movement called for by the Knesset to gather government leaders and key influencers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The inaugural breakfast was held in June 2017 and was attended by 570 delegates representing 58 countries. The second JPB, dedicated to the 70 Anniversary of the State of Israel, brought 650 delegates from 64 countries. The third JPB held in June 2019 brought 700 delegates from 65 countries to Israel to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Today we see how the JPB is spreading to the key strategic cities of the world. So far events have been held in London, Accra, Singapore, Orlando FL, Basel, San Antonia, Texas, Kampala, The Hague and Helsinki. Canberra is the latest of these cities to have the privilege of holding a JPB’ (taken from the JPB booklet, which awaited each attendee at their place at the Breakfast table). Printed within the booklet were quotes from prominent people in history regarding the State of Israel and the lead- up to its re-birth. The following one really impressed me. It reads: “In my office in Jerusalem there’s an ancient seal. It’s a signet ring of a Jewish official from the time of the Bible. The seal was found right next to the Western Wall and it dates back 2700 years to the time of King Hezekiah. Now there’s a name of the Jewish official on the ring in Hebrew. His name was Netanyahu’. (Quote supplied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). It was an honour to represent Christians for Israel Australia , together with Jacqui Bakker and Matthew Thorn. It was a further honour to be invited to pray from the platform during a session of prayer on behalf of organisations present. Meeting up with so many friends and co-workers in the ‘pro-Israel family’ was splendid. Reuven Rivkin the President of Israel was in Canberra concurrently for talks, which called for all attendees’ conversations and prayers to be specific—upholding and undergirding the discussions of the President, our Prime Minister and Governor General, that God would have His way in our nations—Israel and Australia. Visiting Old Parliament House, the scene of so many past political tussles and a silent witness to the behaviour of both those desirous for power, and those who extended wise leadership and counsel for the good of the nation, was both bitter and sweet. I had visited this renowned building as a school child. All these years later, as I stood on those steps leading into the building where the late Gough Whitlam uttered those infamous words following his dismissal from the Prime Ministership on 11 November 1975, the Lord brought his bitter words to mind. His words had included the phrase ‘nothing will save the Governor General’. The Lord strongly brought to my mind the remembrance of how all things will pass away, except His inerrant Word. Whilst the former prime minister’s reactionary words remain legendary, and are often regrettably replayed on Remembrance Day, the truth of God’s word is gloriously and victoriously opposite to those sentiments uttered in 1975. This world, together with all parliaments, is passing away with its inherent pride, its arrogance, its hopelessness and its battles for power, but the Word of God will never pass away. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever’... ’As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life’. (1 John 2:-15-17, 25-25). The Prayer Breakfast was a wonderful event with over 13 nations represented. Enthusiastic welcomes were extended to leaders from New Zealand, the Indigenous communities and Pacific Islands including Fiji, the Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands and South East Asia. These events have the added element of bringing Jews and Christians together in wonderful union in order to pray for world events, particularly for the peace of Jerusalem and to encourage the host nation to continue to bless Israel. The local organising committee was led by Jane O’Neill and Jamie Pryor. During the Breakfast members of various Australian Parliaments including Federal and NSW, Queensland and Victorian State Parliaments joined together with elected members from other nations to read Scripture. Scriptures proclaimed included: Zechariah 8:20-23; Jeremiah 3:17; Isaiah 62:6-7; Psalms 132:13-15; 2 Chronicles 6:6; Ezekiel 20:35-37,40-41; Zechariah 2:10-13; Isaiah 40:1-3; Psalms 102-13-17; 2 Chronicles 7:12-16; Psalm 2; Psalms 122:6-7. It was a particular delight to hear from Senator Eric Abetz the host of the Canberra JPB. The Senator is a strong advocate for Israel and a fine voice to counter anti-Israel influences in Parliament and in other anti Semitic organisations in the wider community. Israel’s Deputy Ambassador Ron Gerstenfeld also participated on behalf of the State of Israel. It was also a great pleasure to hear at various times from men and women with a heart for the prophetic Scriptures and who share their God-given scholarship with others. Speakers included historian Kelvin Crombie, Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Dr Ron Weiser from The Zionist Federation of Australia; Pete Stucken and daughter Katie from the Ebenezer Operation Exodus with Dana Cohen; Rabbi Moshe Gutnik; General Rabuka from Fiji. A most significant incident occurred whilst we were arriving. Above us, stretching from the Old Parliament House to the new Parliament House, was the most beautiful double rainbow. Almighty God had come to the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast in Canberra! ________________________________________________________ Judy Russell is an advocate for Christians for Israel Australia. You can contact Judy at judy.russell@iinet.net.au Judy Russell Christian’s for Israel Advocate and host of popular worldview meetings, Parliament House, Sydney The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast Canberra 25-26 February 2020 Israel 70 Years Commemorative Magazine Please choose ONE of the below gifts to receive upon successfully signing up a new friend to ‘ Israel & Christians Today’ Newspaper. The Signs of the Times DVD ( 7+ Hours Teaching) The friend/church you nominate to receive the Israel & Christians Today Bi-monthly Newspaper will also receive a complimentary copy of ‘The Signs of the Times’ DVD as well.

27. 27 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Walk through the Land 14 Thief Returned Ancient Relic Fearing End of World Coronavirus fears has led an Israeli to return a 2,000-year-old ballista stone taken in Jerusalem 15 years ago. The man explained that the coronavirus crisis made him feel “the end of the world was near” and he wanted to clear his conscience. He explained that he had been a teen when he and some friends toured a display of ballista stones at the Jerusalem Walls NaƟonal Park in the City of David. The stones were used by the Romans in fierce baƩles against the besieged residents of Jerusalem around 70 CE – the year of the destrucƟon of Jerusalem. | Photo: Israel21c Israelis Invent Colour- Blindness Contact Lenses Two Israeli researchers report that they can correct deuteranomaly, a form of red-green colourblindness, with customisable contact lenses by incorporaƟng ultra-thin opƟcal devices into off-the-shelf contact lenses. Test subjects saw their colour percepƟon improve up to a factor of 10. “Problems with disƟnguishing red from green interrupt simple daily rouƟnes such as deciding whether a banana is ripe,” said Karepov, from the university’s department of physical electronics at Tel Aviv University. The contact lenses use metasurfaces based on nano-metric size gold ellipses to create a customised, compact and durable way to address the deficiencies. This marks the first Ɵme Ɵny opƟcal devices have successfully been fused to curved surfaces. Magical March Migration Every spring and autumn, half a billion birds touch down at Agamon Hula Lake in the Upper Galilee nature reserve to rest and refuel. It’s a stunning sight. At least 500 million birds of 300 different species fly across Israel twice yearly on their way to and from Africa, Europe and Asia. Birds such as common cranes are joined by many other feathered friends such as white storks, liƩle egrets, barn swallows and black caps. | Photo: Israel21c Short News Kameel Majdali n Director | Teach All Nations Inc. We continue our ‘Walk through the Land’ series (Genesis 13:17) with our fourth article. Our goal is to help you understand the Bible better by knowing about the land where the Bible was written and where most of the events recorded in the Bible took place. Just as learning Hebrew and Greek can give more in-depth Scriptural insight, historical geography of the holy land does the same. It will also enhance your next visit to Israel. In our previous article, we focused on specific areas of the coastal plain, known in Hebrew as Mishor HaHof. The plain is divided into th ree distinctive parts: Philistia (south), Sharon (centre), and Acre (north). In this article, we examine the Plain of Sharon, known as Ha-Sharon, ‘the Sharon.’ I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys (Song of Solomon 2:1). Sharon is a Biblical region, though it is only mentioned seven times in Scripture: I Chronicles 5:16; 27:29; Song 2:1; Isaiah 33:9; 35:2; 65:10; Acts 9:35. Rabbinic literature refers to it more frequently. First, Sharon, the central region of the coastal plain, begins at the Yarkon River in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area in the South to Mount Carmel in the North. Its dimensions are 90 kilometres (56 miles) by 15 kilometres (9.3 miles). Sharon is framed by Tel Aviv (south), the Samarian hills (east), Carmel (north), and the Mediterranean (west). For the ancient world, Sharon’s value came from being a key section of the Via Maris (called in Isaiah 9:1 the ‘way of the sea’) or the international highway that linked Egypt/Africa with Mesopotamia and Eurasia. The same highway that brought trading caravans also made way for conquering armies. As such, the Via Maris was mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions by King Thutmose III (15th century BC). Joshua conquered Sharon ’s kings (Joshua 12:8). Napoleon (1799) and General Edmund Allenby (1917-18) also invaded Palestine via Sharon. When we hear the word ‘Sharon,’ it conjures up images of romance, roses, parks and gardens. The Old Testament reality was very different. It was sparsely inhabited and much neglected. Sharon is a flat alluvial plain that is trisected by three parallel North-South kurkar ridges. They prevented river water from flowing to the sea which, when backed up, could cause swamps, especially during the rainy season. During the Roman period, outlets were cut through the ridges to give water passage to the Mediterranean. Thick ‘haunted’ oak forests called y a’ar, and the swamps inhibited agriculture. The Sharon plain was suitable for grazing sheep and cattle (I Chronicles 5:16; 27:29). Small ports along the Sharon included Dor, Apollonia, and Strato’s Tower. The plain lacked proper freshwater, deep ports, and good roads. Herod the Great & Caesarea By the New Testament era, Sharon had a massive transformation: it became a capital territory. Today, it is the most densely populated region in Israel. How did all these changes come about? Herod the Great was the key. He dredged the port at Strato’s Tower, built proper roads, and piped water through Roman Aqueducts from Mount Carmel 20 kilometres away (remnants of this aqueduct are still with us to this day). In addition, he built a magnificent city that res embled a miniature Rome itself, with a palace, theatre, hippodrome, temple, and deep water port. He named this metropolis after his patron: Caesarea-Maritima. In one stroke, this once lonely and neglected region was transformed into a capital territory, which it remained from 6 to 639 AD. The Roman procurators, like Pilate, Felix, and Festus, had their headquarters in Caesarea. The Book of Acts mentions it 15 times: as the residence of Philip the evangelist, who had four prophetic virgin daughters (Acts 21:8-9); Cornelius the centurion also lived here and became the first official Gentile convert to the Christian faith, thanks to the preaching of Peter (Acts 10). In addition, Gentile Pentecost first happened in heathen Caesarea (Acts 10:44-46). King Herod Agrippa I, a fierce enemy of the early church, gave an oration here and was struck down by God (Acts 12:21-23). Paul spent over two years in prison (24:27) and testified to Herod Agrippa II, whom he almost persuaded to become a Christian (Acts 26:28). From here, Paul sailed to Rome and into history (Acts 27). Eusebius (260-340 AD) the church historian became a bishop here, and during the Middle Ages, it was a prominent Crusader city. Modern Times Jewish settlement in Palestine in the 20th century put a particular focus on the Plain of Sharon. It’s red sandy soil, called Hamra, made it suitable for agriculture, particularly citrus groves. Thus the s wamps were drained, and cultivation commenced in earnest, with vegetables, cotton, vineyards and poultry. Therefore, as in the days of the New Testament, the Plain of Sharon became a key region, in fact, the most densely inhabited of the entire country. Today major cities of Sharon and Israel include parts of greater Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya (the largest city in Sharon), Hadera, and Kefar Saba. ‘Resurrected Caesarea’ has become a technological park, golf course, upmarket residential area, and a renowned archaeological site with remains from the Herodi an and Crusader periods. Rose of Sharon Back to the Bible, we look at the term ‘the rose of Sharon.’ Though not technically a rose, the term applies to several species of plants in the Hibiscus family. It is known for its tender beauty. The phrase has been applied metaphorically to Jesus. However, in Song of Solomon 2:1, it is Solomon’s bride, the Shulamite woman, not the king, who is called by that name. We know in the New Testament that Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church, the bride. More accurately, it is we as believers who go from being a ‘weed’ to a ‘rose’ by our acceptance of the gospel. When this happens, Isaiah 35:2 comes to pass: It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carm el and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. Rev. Kameel Majdali, PhD (Melb) is Director of Teach All Nations (tan.org.au). His MA degree is ‘Historical Geography of the Holy Land’ from the Institute of Holy Land Studies. The ancient aqueduct at Ceasarea built by Herod the Great along the Mediterranean shore. | Photo: Shutterstock The Plain of Sharon April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Swamp at HaSharon. | Photo: Flash90 Our Projects 15 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Danielle Mor n Vice President | Israel & Global Philanthropy | Jewish Agency for Israel I recently wrote an update about Aliyah during the outbreak of coronavirus. I wrote with concern and yet with a feeling of strength in being part of the State of Israel - acting responsibly and wisely and with a sense of pride - in being part of The Jewish Agency for Israel, serving our country and people around the globe and continuing to welcome Aliyah. Indeed the past few weeks have passed in a whirlwind: children at home with no school, new instructions on further isolation coming out almost daily and all the while, one compelling Aliyah story after another. From a single mother arriving on a late-night flight from Ukraine 1 with her two-year-old daughter, all alone; to the family from Brazil, with the six-year-old violin prodigy already proudly learning to play Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem, 2 on his violin; to the elderly mother, a cancer patient, arriving recently from Ukraine with her son, desperate to receive lifesaving treatment in Israel, which, despite the coronavirus, Israel’s health ministry has promised she will receive. She made Aliyah at the last minute; the ‘green light’ received 19 March - the day of her arrival, all in cooperation with Rabbi Mendel Cohen from Mariupol, Christians for Israel Ukraine, and the Jewish Agency. 3 What a beautiful cooperation in saving lives! All are being warmly welcomed in our Aliyah centres (First Home in the Homeland). From north to south, they are being given shelter in the storm: a safe, fully equipped apartment, in which they will spend the next 14 days of quarantine. This entire process is led by dedicated people; angels that I am so proud to call my colleagues. These Aliyah workers leave their own children at home and do everything from preparing the needed paperwork to ensure that the bank account and health insurance are provided, to furnishing the apartment, shopping for food in the supermarket and fully stocking the apartment – they think about every small detail: Is there wifi in the apartment? Are the blankets warm enough? What toys will the two-year-old child play with? For me, it is now Thursday evening, the ‘end’ of my work week. After hearing all these stories, talking to the olim, encouraging my colleagues and working on ensuring that they have the financial resources they need at this time; I simply feel like crying. Is that okay, I wonder? There is sadness over the trials and tribulations faced by the olim, by my colleagues, by all of us; but there is also joy, for simple reason, and without an ounce of cynicism, for the privilege of being in this place, at this time. At this time, I wish to thank you, our great friends, that despite your own difficulties, have reached out to us and offered help: providing much needed funds for food, toys and equipment for the olim. Funds so that these new olim can soon celebrate Passover – the holiday of freedom – even for the olim in quarantine. In a recent message, I quoted from the Book of Esther: For Such a Time as This. I never prayed for such times, but thank God we have the strength to face them, even if we allow ourselves to shed a tear. Wishing you faith, health and strength. Is it Okay to Cry? Letter from Jerusalem Hineni Soup Kitchen’s Situation We received this serious and at the same time encouraging letter from Benjamin Philip, Hineni’s director. This soup kitchen can provide many poor citizens of Jerusalem with a nutritious meal, thanks to your generosity. Dear friends of Christians for Israel, The situation in Israel has become very difficult as a result of the necessary measures the Israeli government took against the coronavirus. Daily life is disrupted because in public establishments and other sites no more than ten persons are allowed to gather, who at the same time also must keep a distance of at least two metres in between. Events and family celebrations like weddings, engagement parties and circumcisions must be cancelled to the great chagrin of all those involved. The schools are closed, public transport is restricted and visiting elderly people and hospitals is no longer allowed. Visiting a physician is allowed only in case of high fever and emergencies. In short: it is very difficult for the inhabitants. We at Hineni are also confronted with all kinds of problems. Problems Firstly, there are no more than ten people simultaneously allowed in our restaurant, which forces us to pack all meals as take away dishes. Furthermore, all our Dutch volunteers have made their way homeward and most of our employees are unable to come because of lack of childcare, limited public transport and closed districts. Also, the delivery of goods is problematic, because in Israel people began stocking up food supplies. Resulting in many products being sold out. And as a consequence, especially the elderly and weakest get the short end of the bargain and have a greater need to come to us for meals. We at Hineni receive cries for help from amongst others the social workers to deliver meals at the homes, for those who are not able to come because of fear, or governmental measures and advice not to travel with public transport. Something that is a tough job because of lack of staff, volunteers and means of transport. Help In any event, we will make sure that a group of eighty Holocaust survivors are provided with daily meals at home as long as possible. There are other requests as well, but our few employees are stressed because of having to wear special masks, aprons and head covering, while every visitor has to wash his hands with the means supplied by us. In spite of all discomforts, I want to thank you, especially now for your support that enables us to help so many affected and anxious people. Trust In a period that coincides exactly with the Purim and Pesach feasts, two special events, at which the Jewish people was threatened in her existence and the Eternal One in the face of all nations intervenes to offer salvation. Especially now we must have trust in God and endure these difficult times with full confidence in Him. Knowing that our prophets have already foretold these events to take place before Messiah will come and redeem Israel and the nations. Therefore, we experience these difficult times as a bridge leading to better times. Many thanks, Benjamin Philip A hot meal at Hineni costs A $10. Please support Hineni’s humanitarian restaurant by completing the coupon on the back page. 1 3 2 3

2. 14 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Editorial 2 Colophon Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel Mission Our mission is to bring Biblical understanding in the Church and among the nations concerning God’s purposes for Israel and to promote comfort of Israel through prayer and action. Editorial Team Andrew Tucker International Editor-in-Chief atucker@c4israel.org Cathy Coldicutt Managing Editor newspaper@c4israel.org Marloes van Westing International Communications Manager international@c4israel.org Ian Worby, Bryce Turner, Rita Quartel, Marie-Louise Weissenböck and Marijke Terlouw Scripture references: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. C4I Offices Christians for Israel International Leon Meijer, Chairman Rev . Willem J.J. Glashouwer, President Rev . Cornelis Kant, Executive Director P .O . Box 1100 | 3860 BC Nijkerk, The Netherlands | Tel: +31 33 422 0405 info@c4israel.org | www.c4israel.org The English Edition of Israel & Christians Today is published by the following English speaking branches: Christians for Israel - Australia Ian Worby, National Leader PO Box 1508, Springwood Queensland, Australia 4127 Tel: +61 7 3088 6900 , info@c4israel.com.au www.c4israel.com.au Christians for Israel - New Zealand Bryce Turner, National Executive Director PO Box 12 006, Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand 1642 Tel: +64 9 525 7564, info@c4israel.org.nz www.c4israel.org.nz Christians for Israel - South Korea Tel: +61 410 430 677 email: wijung@gmail.com www.c4israel.org/korea Christians for Israel - USA Fr ed J van Westing, CEO PO Box 2589, Manteca, CA 95336, USA Tel/Fax: +1 209 665 4280 fredvanwesting@c4israel.org www.c4israel.us DISCLAIMER - Articles printed in Israel & Christians Today express the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editors or that of the Board of Christians for Israel. The printing of articles or advertising in Israel & Christians Today does not necessarily imply either endorsement or agreement. © Chr is tians f or I srael Int ern a tiona l Reproduction, or storage in a retrieval system or in any other form, is prohibited without permission. Please contact the Managing Editor should you wish to syndicate or republish any articles or materials appearing in Israel & Christians Today. www.facebook.com/c4israel Prayer Points By Pieter Bénard Israel l New elections were held in Israel on 2 March. Pray that a new government can be formed which can effectively govern Israel. Above all, pray that the government trusts in God and knows that God watches over Israel and builds Israel. l ‘Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings’ (Psalm 17:8). Following the release of Trump’s peace plan, there has been unrest in Israel. There have already been several attacks by Palestinian terrorists. Pray for peace and protection for Israel. l Pray for the Arab Christians in Israel. They are facing all kinds of challenges. Pray that the Arab Christians will be a blessing to the people around them and that they may be encouraged in their faith. l ‘He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He provides rain for the earth; he sends water to the countryside’ (Job 5:9-10 ). Give thanks for all the rain that has already fallen in Israel this winter. It was quite dry in the fall, but water levels have now mostly been replenished by the winter rains. Israel & the Nations l Israel has for many years generously welcomed home Jewish people from around the world. There are many elderly and vulnerable olim who have ‘come home’ only to face the current coronavirus crisis. Let us pray for the protection of these vulnerable people and for Israel who have brought so many blessings to the world. l Trump’s peace plan contains a number of favourable provisions for Israel. For instance, Jerusalem is to be the undivided capital of Israel. As was to be expected, this has been strongly criticised by mainly Islamic countries, but also by European countries. The Palestinians immediately rejected the peace plan right away. Pray for peace for Jerusalem. Christians for Israel l ‘Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone’ (Colossians 4:6). Pray for all the speakers of Christians for Israel. That they can convey the message of God’s faithfulness to Israel to many and that people will understand God’s plans and purposes with Israel and the Jewish people. l Much of the work of Christians for Israel is done through the internet. Pray for protection against cyber- attacks, and pray that there will be no technical problems. For daily Prayer Points, go to our website www.c4israel.com.au Andrew Tucker n International Editor | Christians for Israel The Coronavirus is dominating the news at the moment. Israeli PM Netanyahu has stated: “We are in the midst of a global event unlike anything else in the history of the state’s existence,” comparing the situation to the 1918 Spanish Flu, which infected some 500 million people and killed between 17 and 50 million people. Crisis follows crisis. More and more problems are arising that are greater than our capacity to solve. On page 5, Rev Willem Glashouwer helps us to understand these developments in light of God’s prophetic plan with the world. In Israel, a political crisis is unfolding that (many argue) threatens the character of Israel as a democracy serving all its people. The Parliament (Knesset), Executive (i.e. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his supporters) and Judiciary (High Court) are engaged in a fierce battle. Yochanan Visser (page 3) explores this further. Johannes Gerloff (page 6) discusses the additional complexities caused by the success of the anti-Zionist Arab political parties (Joint List) in the last elections. There is little doubt that these crises are part of the ‘birth pangs’ leading to the birth of the new Kingdom – the ‘Kingdom of heaven’ - when Christ returns. Another symptom of these birth pangs is the increasing hostility towards the Jewish State of Israel. As God continues His miraculous work of bringing His people home, the nations are faced with a choice: whether to support or oppose this modern miracle. In this edition, we reflect on the significance of the San Remo conference exactly 100 years ago. There, in the tiny Italian town, the leaders of the most powerful nations in the world at that time decided to reconstitute the Jewish homeland in Palestine. This decision was approved by the whole League of Nations, and implemented in the Mandate for Palestine - which recognised the unique connection between the Jewish people and the land, and guaranteed the right of Jews to return to the land and ‘settle’ in it. In this edition, international lawyer Cynthia Wallace explains the significance of the ‘San Remo Resolution’ in 1920 for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Today, it is argued that it is illegal for Jews to live in the Old City of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Instead, a Palestinian State is to be recognised on that territory – a State that, almost by definition, will be judenrein. How is it possible that the nations of the world can reverse the decision they made only 100 years ago? Is this just politics, or is there a spiritual dimension to this? This is the subject of an article on page 12 by C4I International leaders Dr Leon Meijer and Rev Cornelis Kant. This 40-day period before Easter is a good time for us as Christians to reflect on what is happening in the world. In these days, we remember Jesus fasting and praying in the desert, tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-13). The forty days refers back to the 40 years the Israelites spent in the desert before they could enter the Promised Land. We too are in the desert, waiting the true heavenly Promised Land: the kingdom of heaven, that will come when Jesus returns. Our calling is a heavenly calling; we are to be looking for and expecting our Saviour to return, who will transform our earthy bodies into the likeness of His resurrection body (Philippians 3:20-21). As a church, we are a people called out of the Gentile nations (who are not part of the ‘commonwealth of Israel’: Ephesians 2, King James version) - in order to become, through Jesus Christ, ‘fellow citizens with God’s people’, and thus a blessing back into our nations. Therefore, in addition to prayers for ourselves and our nations, let us pray, especially at this time for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. May the Lord protect all who live in the land – Jew and Gentile - and use this crisis to reveal His glory in and through them as He continues to bring the Jewish people home. ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’ (Psalm 91) Our Citizenship | Photo: Shutterstock ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’ (Psalm 91)

3. 15 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Editorial 2 Colophon Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel Mission Our mission is to bring Biblical understanding in the Church and among the nations concerning God’s purposes for Israel and to promote comfort of Israel through prayer and action. Editorial Team Andrew Tucker International Editor-in-Chief atucker@c4israel.org Cathy Coldicutt Managing Editor newspaper@c4israel.org Marloes van Westing International Communications Manager international@c4israel.org Ian Worby, Bryce Turner, Rita Quartel, Marie-Louise Weissenböck and Marijke Terlouw Scripture references: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. C4I Offices Christians for Israel International Leon Meijer, Chairman Rev . Willem J.J. Glashouwer, President Rev . Cornelis Kant, Executive Director P .O . Box 1100 | 3860 BC Nijkerk, The Netherlands | Tel: +31 33 422 0405 info@c4israel.org | www.c4israel.org The English Edition of Israel & Christians Today is published by the following English speaking branches: Christians for Israel - Australia Ian Worby, National Leader PO Box 1508, Springwood Queensland, Australia 4127 Tel: +61 7 3088 6900 , info@c4israel.com.au www.c4israel.com.au Christians for Israel - New Zealand Bryce Turner, National Executive Director PO Box 12 006, Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand 1642 Tel: +64 9 525 7564, info@c4israel.org.nz www.c4israel.org.nz Christians for Israel - South Korea Tel: +61 410 430 677 email: wijung@gmail.com www.c4israel.org/korea Christians for Israel - USA Fr ed J van Westing, CEO PO Box 2589, Manteca, CA 95336, USA Tel/Fax: +1 209 665 4280 fredvanwesting@c4israel.org www.c4israel.us DISCLAIMER - Articles printed in Israel & Christians Today express the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editors or that of the Board of Christians for Israel. The printing of articles or advertising in Israel & Christians Today does not necessarily imply either endorsement or agreement. © Chr is tians f or I srael Int ern a tiona l Reproduction, or storage in a retrieval system or in any other form, is prohibited without permission. Please contact the Managing Editor should you wish to syndicate or republish any articles or materials appearing in Israel & Christians Today. www.facebook.com/c4israel Prayer Points By Pieter Bénard Israel l New elections were held in Israel on 2 March. Pray that a new government can be formed which can effectively govern Israel. Above all, pray that the government trusts in God and knows that God watches over Israel and builds Israel. l ‘Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings’ (Psalm 17:8). Following the release of Trump’s peace plan, there has been unrest in Israel. There have already been several attacks by Palestinian terrorists. Pray for peace and protection for Israel. l Pray for the Arab Christians in Israel. They are facing all kinds of challenges. Pray that the Arab Christians will be a blessing to the people around them and that they may be encouraged in their faith. l ‘He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He provides rain for the earth; he sends water to the countryside’ (Job 5:9-10 ). Give thanks for all the rain that has already fallen in Israel this winter. It was quite dry in the fall, but water levels have now mostly been replenished by the winter rains. Israel & the Nations l Israel has for many years generously welcomed home Jewish people from around the world. There are many elderly and vulnerable olim who have ‘come home’ only to face the current coronavirus crisis. Let us pray for the protection of these vulnerable people and for Israel who have brought so many blessings to the world. l Trump’s peace plan contains a number of favourable provisions for Israel. For instance, Jerusalem is to be the undivided capital of Israel. As was to be expected, this has been strongly criticised by mainly Islamic countries, but also by European countries. The Palestinians immediately rejected the peace plan right away. Pray for peace for Jerusalem. Christians for Israel l ‘Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone’ (Colossians 4:6). Pray for all the speakers of Christians for Israel. That they can convey the message of God’s faithfulness to Israel to many and that people will understand God’s plans and purposes with Israel and the Jewish people. l Much of the work of Christians for Israel is done through the internet. Pray for protection against cyber- attacks, and pray that there will be no technical problems. For daily Prayer Points, go to our website www.c4israel.com.au Andrew Tucker n International Editor | Christians for Israel The Coronavirus is dominating the news at the moment. Israeli PM Netanyahu has stated: “We are in the midst of a global event unlike anything else in the history of the state’s existence,” comparing the situation to the 1918 Spanish Flu, which infected some 500 million people and killed between 17 and 50 million people. Crisis follows crisis. More and more problems are arising that are greater than our capacity to solve. On page 5, Rev Willem Glashouwer helps us to understand these developments in light of God’s prophetic plan with the world. In Israel, a political crisis is unfolding that (many argue) threatens the character of Israel as a democracy serving all its people. The Parliament (Knesset), Executive (i.e. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his supporters) and Judiciary (High Court) are engaged in a fierce battle. Yochanan Visser (page 3) explores this further. Johannes Gerloff (page 6) discusses the additional complexities caused by the success of the anti-Zionist Arab political parties (Joint List) in the last elections. There is little doubt that these crises are part of the ‘birth pangs’ leading to the birth of the new Kingdom – the ‘Kingdom of heaven’ - when Christ returns. Another symptom of these birth pangs is the increasing hostility towards the Jewish State of Israel. As God continues His miraculous work of bringing His people home, the nations are faced with a choice: whether to support or oppose this modern miracle. In this edition, we reflect on the significance of the San Remo conference exactly 100 years ago. There, in the tiny Italian town, the leaders of the most powerful nations in the world at that time decided to reconstitute the Jewish homeland in Palestine. This decision was approved by the whole League of Nations, and implemented in the Mandate for Palestine - which recognised the unique connection between the Jewish people and the land, and guaranteed the right of Jews to return to the land and ‘settle’ in it. In this edition, international lawyer Cynthia Wallace explains the significance of the ‘San Remo Resolution’ in 1920 for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Today, it is argued that it is illegal for Jews to live in the Old City of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Instead, a Palestinian State is to be recognised on that territory – a State that, almost by definition, will be judenrein. How is it possible that the nations of the world can reverse the decision they made only 100 years ago? Is this just politics, or is there a spiritual dimension to this? This is the subject of an article on page 12 by C4I International leaders Dr Leon Meijer and Rev Cornelis Kant. This 40-day period before Easter is a good time for us as Christians to reflect on what is happening in the world. In these days, we remember Jesus fasting and praying in the desert, tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-13). The forty days refers back to the 40 years the Israelites spent in the desert before they could enter the Promised Land. We too are in the desert, waiting the true heavenly Promised Land: the kingdom of heaven, that will come when Jesus returns. Our calling is a heavenly calling; we are to be looking for and expecting our Saviour to return, who will transform our earthy bodies into the likeness of His resurrection body (Philippians 3:20-21). As a church, we are a people called out of the Gentile nations (who are not part of the ‘commonwealth of Israel’: Ephesians 2, King James version) - in order to become, through Jesus Christ, ‘fellow citizens with God’s people’, and thus a blessing back into our nations. Therefore, in addition to prayers for ourselves and our nations, let us pray, especially at this time for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. May the Lord protect all who live in the land – Jew and Gentile - and use this crisis to reveal His glory in and through them as He continues to bring the Jewish people home. ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’ (Psalm 91) Our Citizenship | Photo: Shutterstock ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’ (Psalm 91) News 3 Ancient Roman Square Reopens A square from the Roman era, located beneath today’s Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, was recently reopened. The Old City is sometimes like a layer cake, and each layer shows different periods of history. This place underneath the Damascus Gate is 2,000 years old; you can still see the bases of the arches that were once here and Roman inscriptions. The Ottomans built today’s Damascus Gate in the 16th century. | Photo: Flash90 Al Jazeera: Israel Successful Project You wouldn’t expect it, but an Arab television host of Al Jazeera called Israel the most successful project in the 20th and 21st century. Faisal al-Qassem also tweeted: “All of the Arabs’ projects, especially that of Arab nationalism, failed. So... before you use the term ‘Zionist’ as a curse, you must first come somewhat closer to what Zionism has accomplished and then we will talk.” Drinking Water in Gaza Palestinians in Gaza tap drinking water from a machine developed by the Israeli company Watergen. The device can condense water from the air with the aid of solar energy and convert it into drinking water. Each day the machine can produce some eight hundred litres of water. Gaza is coping with a drinking-water problem because the underground water has been pumped too intensively in the past few years, and now it is reported that there is salinisation of the underground water. In association with some Israeli and Palestinian organisations, Watergen supplied one of its machines that was installed in the Abasan Al-Kabira district. | Photo: Damour For Community Development Solving Eye-Problems Recovery from a damaged or infected cornea is often quite difficult, and transplantation can be required. An Israeli invention has made it possible to be donor-independent. By implementing an instrument that looks like a contact lens, the swelling in the eye can be reduced, improving visibility. Short News April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Yochanan Visser n Christians for Israel Correspondent | Israel The political stalemate in Israel continues unabated after the latest election which took place on 2 March despite an unprecedented crisis caused by the coronavirus that has sent the country into lockdown. After the official election results were published, no political bloc appeared to be able to form a majority government except for the centre-left bloc that suddenly opened up to the idea of establishing a minority government with outside support from the Joint Arab List that won a record 15 seats in the new Knesset. Blue and White, which lost the election to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party by a margin of three seats, decided to break an election promise that it would form a Jewish or Zionist coalition and, instead, opened negotiations with the Arab parties. This happened after Blue and White leader, Benny Gantz, quickly gave in to all the demands of Yisrael Beiteinu leader, Avigdor Liberman, who demanded all so rts of legislation that would effectively end the delicate status quo in relations between the religious sector and the state of Israel. The status quo has existed since the founding of the State of Israel in May 1948, but that did not prevent Blue and White from reaching a deal that would enlist Yisrael Beiteinu, a right-wing party, into Gantz’s minority coalition and promising Liberman to introduce legislation to draft all ultra-orthodox yeshiva students into the IDF. The Joint Arab List is a merger of four anti-Zionist parties which often behave like Israel’s enemy and have political views similar to the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Likud calls the members of the Joint List ‘terror supporters’. A look at the political platform of the Arab coalition shows that the party (Likud), that won the latest election with 36 mandates, is right. The Joint Arab List want a peace process with the Palestinian Arabs that must be based on the so-called Two-State-Solution and what the Arabs call the 1967 borders, the indefensible 1948 armistice lines. Jerusalem must be re-divided, and the eastern part of the city should become the capital of a Palestinian state if the Joint Arab List has its way. Israel must also annul the so-called Nation-State law, that defined Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, according to the Arab parties. Israel must also announce the annulment of the Kaminitz Law, a 2017 amendment to the Planning and Building Law, which was aimed at strengthening ‘enforcement and penalisation of planning and building offences.’ The amendment of the law was meant to end rampant illegal building in the Israeli Arab sector, but the Joint List claims the law is discriminatory. Blue and White will have to break another pre-election promise, namely applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, if it wants the Arab parties’ support for Gantz’s government from the outside. The Arab parties also demand an end to the ‘occupation of all Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories captured in 1967’ and also demand Israel ‘uproot all the settlements and the racist partition fence’ a reference to the security fence Israel built to stop the wave of suicide bombings at the beginning of this century. Israel must also free all ‘political prisoners’ meaning Palestinian terrorists who are serving sentences in Israeli jails. The Joint List calls Palestinian terror a ‘struggle for freedom’ and rejects US President Trump’s new plan for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. As for Gaza, the Joint List demands Israel ends the non-existent land blockade of the Hamas-run enclave, and also demands Israel stop reacting with military retaliation to terror emanat ing from the Gaza Strip. It is those virulent anti-Israel views that caused Tzvi Hauser and Yoaz Hendel, two Blue and White MK’s, to voice their opposition against the idea of a minority coalition with Arab support. Hauser and Hendel later got support from Orly Levy-Abecassis, the leader of the Gesher faction, in the left-wing merger with Labor and Meretz. Levy Abecassis says she is no longer bound to cooperate with the far-left Meretz party and claims that Labor leader, Amir Peretz, forced this cooperation upon her. Without the three rebel MK’s, Gantz would not be able to form a coalition since the other (right-wing) parties in the new Knesset are in favour of forming a Netanyahu-led government. Political leaders, including Liberman and Netanyahu, then started to call for setting aside political and personal differences in order to form a national unity - or a national emergency government after which Likud and the Blue and White negotiation teams met several times and even reached some understanding about a rotation of the Premiership. Two Blue and White leaders Moshe ‘Boogie Ya’alon, a former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, as well as Yair Lapid a former TV- host, however, weren’t able to overcome their hatred for Netanyahu. They said that their number one priority remains dethroning Netanyahu, not the coronavirus or the political crisis. As things stand now the negotiations about a unity - or emergency government are stuck, and if nothing changes soon, Israel could be heading to a fourth election that is going to strengthen Likud even further according to the latest polls. Gantz will now have to decide if he will be the true leader of the Blue and Whites and stand up against Ya’alon and Lapid in order to save Israel from a new disaster. Political Stalemate in Israel Continues After Third Election Israelis count the remaining ballots of Israelis under home qua rantine after returning from Coronavirus infected zones. | Photo: Flash90 If nothing changes soon, Israel could be heading to a fourth election...

23. 23 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Commemoration 10 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Jewish Festivals Pesach Passover, the Feast of the Unleavened Bread 8 - 16 April 2020 Passover (Hebrew: Pesach) commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Pesach begins at sundown on Wednesday 8 April 2020. Yom Hashoah Holocaust Memorial Day 21 April 2020 Yom Hashoah, is observed as Israel’s day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day and public holiday. It was inaugurated on 1953, anchored by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion and the President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. It is hel d on the 27th of Nisan (April/May), unless the 27th would be adjacent to Shabbat, in which case the date is shifted by a day. Yom Hashoah begins at sundown on Monday, 20 April 2020. Yom Hazikaron Israeli Memorial Day 28 April 2020 Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s official remembrance day, enacted into law in 1963. While Yom Hazikaron has been traditionally dedicated to fallen soldiers, commemoration has also been extended to civilian victims of terrorism. Yom Hazikaron begins at sundown on Monday, 27 April 2020. Yom Ha'atzmaut Israel Independence Day 29 April 2020 Israeli Independence Day commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948. Yom Ha'atzmaut begins at sundown on Tuesday, 28 April 2020. Yom Yerushalayim Jerusalem Day 22 May 2020 Yom Yerushalayim is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to thank God for victory in the Six-Day War and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’. Yom Yerushalayim begins at sundown on Thursday, 21 May 2020. The Fruit of the Vine Kees de Vreugd n Theologian | Christians for Israel International & Editor | Israel & the Church In the night in which the Lord was betrayed, He took bread (1 Corinthians 11:23). The gospels tell that Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples that night. The Passover meal is celebrated according to a specific order (Hebrew: seder). Therefore, in Jewish tradition, it is also called the seder meal. Although the order has undergone many changes and elaborations during the centuries, the basic structure goes back to the time of the second temple. It is no surprise, then, that we find reflections of that order in the accounts of Jesus’ last supper. Most notably, the celebration is opened with a cup of wine, and another three cups of wine will follow in the course of the celebration. Matzah, unleavened bread, is broken and eaten. And the celebration concludes with a ‘hymn’ – in two parts: Psalms 113 and 114 are sung before the grace after the meal and Psalms 115-118 and 136 after the grace. So even on the last evening before His trial, Jesus consciously and fully participated in the Jewish life of His time. Even Jesus’ words to His disciples at the table hint to His Jewish practice, e.g. when He says to them: “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Why does He say: fruit of the vine, and not simply: wine? We find the answer in the traditional Jewish blessing over the wine: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.” Wine is the essential beverage in ancient Israel, a symbol of joy and blessing and therefore receives a special blessing. When we celebrate the Lord’s supper, we should bear this in mind. Wine and bread not only unite us with the Lord but also connect us to His people, Israel. Israeli soldiers salute at the graves of IDF soldiers for Yom Hazikaron. | Photo: Flash90 Sorrow Followed by Joy Marie-Louise n Weissenböck Christians for Israel Austria Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s official day of remembrance for fallen soldiers of Israel and victims of terrorism. It falls exactly one week after Holocaust Remembrance Day. As casualties are very close to home in this small country, the day is extremely solemn. Commemoration ceremonies are held across Israel and TV and radio are devoted to the commemoration of those who have fallen. Flags throughout the country are lowered to half-mast. Public transport for those going to military cemeteries is free of charge. Two sirens sound during the 24-hour period when people respectfully come to a standstill in honour of those who died in order to gain and preserve the freedom of the nation. It is not a public holiday but has been an official Remembrance Day since it was enacted into law in 1963. In a way which is unique to Israel, Remembrance Day flows straight into Yom Ha'atzmaut, which commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948. As is often customary in Judaism, Jews remember the heartbreak together with the joy. An official ceremony is held every year on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on the evening of Independence Day. It includes the ceremonial lighting of twelve torches, one for each of the Tribes of Israel. Many cities hold outdoor performances in city squares featuring leading Israeli singers and fireworks displays. This year Yom Hazikaron begins on the evening of 27 April and ends on the evening of 28 April when Yom Ha’atzmaut begins. It ends on the evening of 29 April 2020. Two Sirens Yom Hazikaron begins at sundown (8.00pm) when a siren is sounded across the country for one minute. Everybody stops what they are doing, including cars driving on the highway, and observes the silence to show their respect and remember the fallen. The following day, a siren sounds for two minutes, at 11.00am and again the country stops to remember. Following this, memorial ceremonies take place across the country – either public or private, to remember the country’s fallen. | Photo: Flash90 Theology 11 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Kees de Vreugd n Theologian | Christians for Israel International & Editor | Israel & the Church “They are not all Israel...”? (Romans 9:6) When you are searching the New Testament for what it says about the position of Israel, very soon you will arrive at the chapters 9-11 of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Nowhere else, is ‘Israel’ such an important theme as in those chapters. First and foremost, the first five verses of Romans 9 are well known, and speak about the ‘privileges’ of Israel. As a matter of fact, I think that we better speak of the calling or the task of Israel here. Paul has mentioned the privilege, or ‘benefit’, of Israel already in Romans 3:2: “First of all, that they were entr usted with the oracles of God.” Now, in ‘Israel circles’, we often tend to immediately jump from verse 5 of Romans 9 to chapter 11 , the chapter that has both the metaphor of the olive tree and the expectation of the future salvation of all Israel. That is what we can get by in our Israel theology. Verse 6 of chapter 9 , and especially the second sentence, is a lot harder: “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” Critics of our Israel theology immediately say: “You see? Paul is not concerned with ‘national Israel’. From now on, ‘Israel’ in fact, means ‘those who believe in Jesus’, whether they are Jews or gentiles.” When read in this way, however, the sentence is awkward, and the logic of Paul’s argument is distorted. For in the following verses (7-13) Paul uses precisely the genealogy of Israel to show what we have to understand by the true Israel. Israel is the nation that originates from the line Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paul lays all emphasis on the fact that this has all to do with God’s choice and with His promise, rather than the choice or the action of humans (“the children of the flesh”: Ishmael and Esau, verse 8). Further on, in Romans 10, it will appear that, though Israel has fallen short in its calling to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom that has come in Jesus to the nations, the Lord holds fast to His promise and all Israel – the twelve tribes – will be saved by the coming of the Deliverer. How can this be? We noted that Paul started by summarising the calling of Israel. And then, somebody has an objection: “Yes, but that is past. They ignore Jesus.” Then Paul says: “As if the word of God has failed. Definitely not!” “For – and here we have it: - are not all Israel who are descended from Israel?” We have to understand this sentence as a rhetorical question. That is possible, for the ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament do not have punctuation. We have to add them ourselves. As a rhetorical question, this sentence forms a logical transition from the preceding to the next part of the argument. In that way, God’s word is affirmed. And Israel is – and remains – Israel. How is it Written in the Bible? | Photo: unsplash Book Review By Robert Bezemer “Ephesians and Colossians explicitly locate themselves and their readers within the ongoing dynamic of Paul’s divinely appointed apostolic mission to preach Christ to ‘the gentiles’.” This is how Windsor introduces his recent study of these two letters of Paul. The core of the book is the connection between Paul’s mission and the relationship between Israel and the nations. There is no preaching of the gospel without taking this relationship in stock. The book is theologically strong meat. On the other hand, it makes a pleasant read, because of the explicit treatment of passages in the letters, and through the introductions at the beginning and the short summaries at the end of every chapter. Windsor emphasises the strong connection to the promises to Israel and the dynamic from ‘us’ (Israel) to ‘you’ (the gentile nations) through the preaching of the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is crucial to Christ’s work of reconciliation between Israel and the nations. Believers from the nations may now come ‘near’ in Christ, who is our peace and gave himself as a sacrifice. In this way now, the nations, too, may be built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Windsor then shows that Eph. 4-6 is, in fact, a ‘halakha for the believers from the nations’ (halakha is the instructions for the practice of life in Judaism). In this way, gentile believers give expression to their unity with the early Jewish apostolic community from which the gospel has come to the nations. That unity is fundamental, at the same time leaving much room for diversity. Windsor applies his findings of Ephesians to a number of passages in the letter to the Colossians to give a different and consistent interpretation of texts that have often been explained in a negative sense with regard to Jews and the law of Moses, like circumcision (2:11) or ‘the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us’ (2:14). In short, this commentary is an inspiring study, that for many will throw new light on often well-known Scriptures, pointing at new ways beyond supersessionism. Robert Bezemer is a member of the Jules Isaac Foundation, www.julesisaacstichting.org. Lionel J. Windsor, Reading Ephesians & Colossians after Supersessionism. Christ’s Mission through Israel to the Nations. Wipf & Stock publ. 2017. ISBN 978-1- 4982-1906-8 (paperback. Also available as hardcover and e-book). Reading Ephesians & Colossians After Supersessionism by Gerald McDermott Mandy Worby n Christians for Israel Australia After Pentecost, the early years of the church saw very rapid growth and the first believers were Jewish. When Peter preached the Gospel in Jerusalem during the feast of Pentecost, all those who repented that day were Jews. In the Temple, the people who came to faith when they heard the preaching of the Gospel were all Jews. The community of faith (almost exclusively Jewish) continued to grow exponentially and spread, especially after persecution erupted with the murder of Stephen (Acts 2-7). Eight years after Pentecost, Gentiles began believing the Gospel. Among them, was Cornelius, the centurion. When he came to faith, it took a supernatural visitation with a message to Peter, that he was no longer to regard as unclean, any object that God had now called clean. That was the purpose behind the vision he saw of a sheet, filled with unclean animals, being no longer treated as unclean. It was an allegory about Gentiles, not food. That understanding only came after he saw the vision three times, making it clear to Peter that the Gospel was for Jews and Gentiles alike. (Acts 10) The mind set of Jewish people 2000 years ago is really important to understand. Their history is marked by repeatedly ignoring God’s commands and embracing Gentile ways, followed by judgment. The importance of remaining faithful to God’s Laws was a hard-learned lesson. One such law was circumcision. God commanded Abraham and all the males of his line to be circumcised. Jumping forward to Moses who was circumcised as an infant, but on his returning to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, Moses had not circumcised his own son born in Midian. God almost killed him over it (Ex 4) . Remember, God told Abraham that the males in his family were to be circumcised; no exceptions. So it is important to understand that circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant with the Jewish people in their physical bodies, was absolutely non-negotiable. In fact, God warned His people that if a male among them wasn’t circumcised, that man would be cut from his national people because he had broken God’s covenant with them. (Gen 17:14) Circumcision was that serious and that non-negotiable. Do Gentiles Have to Become Jews to be Saved? Part 1

28. 28 April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 2 3 Koen Carlier n Aliyah Fieldworker | Ukraine In Ukraine, where Koen Carlier and his team are normally active helping Jews return to Israel, severe restrictions have been imposed because of the coronavirus. The Aliyah work has come to a standstill for now. However, Koen and his team are not waiting around. In recent years we have built up good relationships with Jewish communities all over Ukraine. In many places, we regularly come with food parcels. But these communities also organise their own food services for the poor, often from small soup kitchens in the synagogues or community centres. As Christians for Israel, we also support them. Now that corona restrictions forbid opening these soup kitchens, many communities are faced with a challenge: how can they still provide for the poor members of the community – often Holocaust survivors – in these circumstances? Meals on Wheels Our team in Ukraine has responded to this need. Now that most of the nine vans of the Aliyah work are not being used, we can just as well use them to help the Jewish community. In various places in Ukraine, food delivery services have started. In Vinnytsia, for example, food has been delivered three times a week to twenty elderly people in the city, but this will be increased to 100 deliveries at the end of March. Everyone receives two pre- packed meals with each delivery. Because it is quiet on the streets, this can be done relatively easily. Support It remains to be seen how the measures against the virus will develop, but Koen and his team are creative and will use every opportunity to continue to support the Jewish communities in Ukraine. In the coming two months, our goal is to deliver over 300,000 Meals on Wheels. For A $10 a nutritious meal will be delivered at the home of an elderly member of the Jewish community in Ukraine. Please support Meals on Wheels by completing the coupon below. Our Projects 16 Shifting Gears in Ukraine April 2020 | Israel & Christians Today Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Cities in Ukraine where soup kitchens are located that we will be helping in the coming weeks with their meal deliveries. Top photo and above: Ira Carlier delivers two nutritious meals for an elderly lady in Vinnytsia. PLEASE COMPLETE FORM & RETURN TO: Christians for Israel Australia, PO Box 1508, Springwood, QLD 4127 or you can donate securely online c4israel.com.au/donate Yes, I would like to make a donation towards... C4I MINISTRY 1 SOCIAL WELFARE PROJECTS ALIYAH - BRING THE JEWS HOME TEACHING RESOURCES & PREMIUM GIFTS DONATION DONATION SEE OUR FULL RANGE AT: C4ISRAEL.COM.AU/STORE QUANTITY SUB TOTAL $___________ SUB TOTAL $___________ MY TOTAL DONATION $___________ $___________ My donation for general admin costs (inc print & post) $___________ $___________ $___________ $___________ Hineni soup kitchen ($10 per meal) First Baptist Church Bethlehem ($10 or your best gift) Meals on Wheels Israel ($10 per meal) Holocaust survivors ( $30 a month per survivor for meals and warm blankets etc) $350 One Person* $6250 One Busload (25 persons)* $1460 Bnei Menashe - Asian Jews (1 person) $___________ First Home in the Homeland ($350 pp) $1250 One Family (5 persons)* $______ ___________ Israel and Christians Today Paper (free or by donation) Israel: Covenants and Kingdom (BOOK) by Willem Glashouwer $30 each NEW! The Signs of the Times (BOOK) by Willem Glashouwer NEW! The Signs of the Times (DVD) 7+ Hours Teaching NEW! The Signs of the Times (BOOK+DVD PACK) Save $7 ___________ ___________ ___________ $25 each ___________ Anti-Israel Agenda (BOOK) by Alex Ryvchin NEW! The Final Countdown (DVD) by Enoch Lavender NEW! The End Times Through Jewish Eyes (DVD) by Enoch Lavender $___________ Food Parcels ($15 per parcel) $12 each ___________ $15 each ___________ $20 each $30 each $15 each ___________ 5 Why Covid-19? 2 Our Citizenship Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective & Christians Today ISRAEL April 2020 Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 10 Sorrow Followed by Joy 14 Walk Through the Land The Principal Allied Powers of World War 1 at the San Remo Conference 25 April 1920. | Photo: Alamy San Remo Centenary April 1920-April 2020 How the Zionist Vision Became International Law Dr Cynthia D Wallace n Senior Fellow | The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.) It is widely believed that the State of Israel was born as a result of United Nations Resolution 181 of 1947 (the UN Partition Plan). The truth is that the legal rights of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation find their foundations solidly embedded in international law well before the very existence of the United Nations. This dates back to international legal instruments agreed by the Principal Allied Powers of World War I, meeting at Villa Devachan in San Remo, Italy, from 18 to 26 April 1920, as a follow-up to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. It was at this place and time that the historical claim to a ‘Jewish national home’, as set out in the Declaration of Lord Balfour, became ‘essentially legal in character.’ The transformation of a British political document into an international legal instrument was given impetus through its incorporation into the submission of the World Zionist Council to the Paris Peace talks. The issues regarding the break-up of the Ottoman Empire being too complex to resolve at the Peace Conference itself, an extension of the peace talks was arranged at San Remo for the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers (Britain, France, Italy and Japan, with the newly-appointed, non- interventionist United States as an observer). One of the primary aims of the four members of the Supreme Council — who had the power of disposition over the territories that made up the defeated T urkish Ottoman Empire — was to consider the submissions of the claimants at Paris and to deliberate and make decisions on the legal recognition of each claim. This conference resulted in the codification of the Balfour Declaration in two binding international legal instruments, the San Remo Resolution of 24 April 1920 and the Mandate for Palestine, as unanimously adopted on 24 July 1922 by the Council of the League of Nations, whose 51 Member States represented the international community of nations at the time. The Mandate actually went beyond the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by adding the concept of reconstitution of the Jewish national home. The Mandate system had been set up under Article 22 of the Covenant of the newly formed League of Nations that had arisen out of the Paris peace process to deal with such post-war emerging territories. At San Remo, the Mandate for Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain as a ‘sacred trust of civilisation’, and the language of the Balfour Declaration was enshrined in both the San Remo Resolution and the League Mandate, which stand on their own as valid international legal instruments with the full force of treaty law. The League of Nations proved largely ineffective, and with its dissolution in 1946, the provisions of all League Mandates were explicitly protected under Article 80 of the Charter of the newly formed United Nations. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1947 passed Resolution 181, recommending the termination of the British Mandate and its replacement by a Jewish and an Arab State. The Resolution, inter alia, would have made Jerusalem a corpus separatum under a UN-administered ‘special international regime’. Nonetheless, as Resolution 181 represented the first official proposal of a State of Israel, the Zionists accepted the Resolution. The Arabs did not, desiring rather the whole of the territory and responding almost immediately with an armed attack against the Jewish population, th us rendering the Partition Resolution a ‘dead letter’. Continued on page 4 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au 5 Why Covid-19? 2 Our Citizenship Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective & Christians Today ISRAEL April 2020 Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 10 Sorrow Followed by Joy 14 Walk Through the Land The Principal Allied Powers of World War 1 at the San Remo Conference 25 April 1920. | Photo: Alamy San Remo Centenary April 1920-April 2020 How the Zionist Vision Became International Law Dr Cynthia D Wallace n Senior Fellow | The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.) It is widely believed that the State of Israel was born as a result of United Nations Resolution 181 of 1947 (the UN Partition Plan). The truth is that the legal rights of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation find their foundations solidly embedded in international law well before the very existence of the United Nations. This dates back to international legal instruments agreed by the Principal Allied Powers of World War I, meeting at Villa Devachan in San Remo, Italy, from 18 to 26 April 1920, as a follow-up to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. It was at this place and time that the historical claim to a ‘Jewish national home’, as set out in the Declaration of Lord Balfour, became ‘essentially legal in character.’ The transformation of a British political document into an international legal instrument was given impetus through its incorporation into the submission of the World Zionist Council to the Paris Peace talks. The issues regarding the break-up of the Ottoman Empire being too complex to resolve at the Peace Conference itself, an extension of the peace talks was arranged at San Remo for the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers (Britain, France, Italy and Japan, with the newly-appointed, non- interventionist United States as an observer). One of the primary aims of the four members of the Supreme Council — who had the power of disposition over the territories that made up the defeated T urkish Ottoman Empire — was to consider the submissions of the claimants at Paris and to deliberate and make decisions on the legal recognition of each claim. This conference resulted in the codification of the Balfour Declaration in two binding international legal instruments, the San Remo Resolution of 24 April 1920 and the Mandate for Palestine, as unanimously adopted on 24 July 1922 by the Council of the League of Nations, whose 51 Member States represented the international community of nations at the time. The Mandate actually went beyond the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by adding the concept of reconstitution of the Jewish national home. The Mandate system had been set up under Article 22 of the Covenant of the newly formed League of Nations that had arisen out of the Paris peace process to deal with such post-war emerging territories. At San Remo, the Mandate for Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain as a ‘sacred trust of civilisation’, and the language of the Balfour Declaration was enshrined in both the San Remo Resolution and the League Mandate, which stand on their own as valid international legal instruments with the full force of treaty law. The League of Nations proved largely ineffective, and with its dissolution in 1946, the provisions of all League Mandates were explicitly protected under Article 80 of the Charter of the newly formed United Nations. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1947 passed Resolution 181, recommending the termination of the British Mandate and its replacement by a Jewish and an Arab State. The Resolution, inter alia, would have made Jerusalem a corpus separatum under a UN-administered ‘special international regime’. Nonetheless, as Resolution 181 represented the first official proposal of a State of Israel, the Zionists accepted the Resolution. The Arabs did not, desiring rather the whole of the territory and responding almost immediately with an armed attack against the Jewish population, th us rendering the Partition Resolution a ‘dead letter’. Continued on page 4 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au 5 Why Covid-19? 2 Our Citizenship Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective & Christians Today ISRAEL April 2020 Nisan - Iyyar 5780 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 10 Sorrow Followed by Joy 14 Walk Through the Land The Principal Allied Powers of World War 1 at the San Remo Conference 25 April 1920. | Photo: Alamy San Remo Centenary April 1920-April 2020 How the Zionist Vision Became International Law Dr Cynthia D Wallace n Senior Fellow | The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.) It is widely believed that the State of Israel was born as a result of United Nations Resolution 181 of 1947 (the UN Partition Plan). The truth is that the legal rights of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation find their foundations solidly embedded in international law well before the very existence of the United Nations. This dates back to international legal instruments agreed by the Principal Allied Powers of World War I, meeting at Villa Devachan in San Remo, Italy, from 18 to 26 April 1920, as a follow-up to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. It was at this place and time that the historical claim to a ‘Jewish national home’, as set out in the Declaration of Lord Balfour, became ‘essentially legal in character.’ The transformation of a British political document into an international legal instrument was given impetus through its incorporation into the submission of the World Zionist Council to the Paris Peace talks. The issues regarding the break-up of the Ottoman Empire being too complex to resolve at the Peace Conference itself, an extension of the peace talks was arranged at San Remo for the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers (Britain, France, Italy and Japan, with the newly-appointed, non- interventionist United States as an observer). One of the primary aims of the four members of the Supreme Council — who had the power of disposition over the territories that made up the defeated T urkish Ottoman Empire — was to consider the submissions of the claimants at Paris and to deliberate and make decisions on the legal recognition of each claim. This conference resulted in the codification of the Balfour Declaration in two binding international legal instruments, the San Remo Resolution of 24 April 1920 and the Mandate for Palestine, as unanimously adopted on 24 July 1922 by the Council of the League of Nations, whose 51 Member States represented the international community of nations at the time. The Mandate actually went beyond the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by adding the concept of reconstitution of the Jewish national home. The Mandate system had been set up under Article 22 of the Covenant of the newly formed League of Nations that had arisen out of the Paris peace process to deal with such post-war emerging territories. At San Remo, the Mandate for Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain as a ‘sacred trust of civilisation’, and the language of the Balfour Declaration was enshrined in both the San Remo Resolution and the League Mandate, which stand on their own as valid international legal instruments with the full force of treaty law. The League of Nations proved largely ineffective, and with its dissolution in 1946, the provisions of all League Mandates were explicitly protected under Article 80 of the Charter of the newly formed United Nations. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1947 passed Resolution 181, recommending the termination of the British Mandate and its replacement by a Jewish and an Arab State. The Resolution, inter alia, would have made Jerusalem a corpus separatum under a UN-administered ‘special international regime’. Nonetheless, as Resolution 181 represented the first official proposal of a State of Israel, the Zionists accepted the Resolution. The Arabs did not, desiring rather the whole of the territory and responding almost immediately with an armed attack against the Jewish population, th us rendering the Partition Resolution a ‘dead letter’. Continued on page 4 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au Please post cheque or money order to: Christians for Israel Australia Inc (don’t use staples) NEW INTERNET BANKING DETAILS: BSB: ANZ BANK – 014-279 Account No: 405318551 Ref: Your name & donation purpose. Please confirm by emailing info@c4israel.com.au MY DETAILS Name: _________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email: __________________ Christians for Israel Australia ABN: 79 941 819 693 ICT0420 *NOTE: Certificates for individuals and families from the Ukraine only. 4 $___________ CFOIC (Judea and Samaria) Heartland ($30 or your best gift) NEW! NEW! NEW! NOTE: NEW DONATION AMOUNTS DUE TO $ US EXCHANGE New Phone Number: 07 3088 6900