14. 4 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Political Analysis Dr Ron Weiser AM Hon Life Pres of the Zionist Council of NSW Prime Minister Bennett has now been in office for three months and the sky has not fallen. In fact what is remarkable is that in the macro, regarding many of the continuing challenges, the modalities for dealing with them also remain plus/minus the same. Other than in tone. Almost, but not entirely, regardless of who leads Israel. Changes, when they occur, are mostly in style, but not substance. The big issue for Bennett vis a vis the Palestinians, and a self-made one at that, has become his publically declared refusal to meet with Mahmoud Abbas. Wanting to prop the Palestinian Authority up, but refusing to meet with its leader presents its own complexities. No-one really thinks anything much can come from such a meeting, but has Bennett painted himself into a corner? Will he ultimately be able to resist the pressure to meet with Abbas? Instead of outcomes or results, holding the meeting itself has now become the issue. Generally, on the world stage Prime Minister Bennett and Foreign Minister Lapid are doing well. Israel’s most critical relationship is with the United States. In the current times of a democratic president in the United States, the case can be made that an antagonistic relationship such as existed between Netanyahu and Obama is less beneficial than a friendly one. Indeed, Bennett had a very successful visit to the United States. Obama constantly criticised Netanyahu and his policies. However, in his meeting with Bennett, President Biden made little mention of the Palestinians or settlement building and Sheik Jarrah was relegated to its true level of overall relevance. Importantly, one needs to remember that when it comes to this democratic president of the USA, Bennett has one very big advantage over Netanyahu. Biden wants Bennett and this coalition to succeed—whereas Obama wanted Netanyahu to fail. Obama openly wished for and sometimes worked towards toppling Netanyahu in his belief that any of the then successive opposition leaders such as Livni, Herzog et al would be more compliant with Obama’s world view. On the other hand, Biden knows that if he is unsupportive of Bennett and his coalition and if it should fall apart, then he might have to deal with Netanyahu and an Israeli government more clearly made up of right wing parties, rather than an Israeli coalition constrained by its own makeup. This week’s demonstration of the dangerous currents in dealing with the US was instructive. The so called ‘Squad’ led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, managed to have the additional support for Iron Dome of a billion dollars that had been promised by Biden, removed from a general budget related bill. The ‘Squad’ scored a temporary but significant victory with worrying signs for the future. Especially about the yawning gap between the up and coming younger progressives in the Democratic Party versus the more centrist but much older and soon to depart, current leadership. However, in a positive sign, the Democrats followed up almost immediately with another bill, solely on the aid for Israel, and which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 420 to 9. More widely Bennett and Lapid are also scoring other diplomatic advances, such as Bennett’s meeting with the very important Egyptian President al-Sisi in Egypt. The first such public meeting in a decade. The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere and Egypt is key to many of Israel’s security and diplomatic issues. Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman is the most experienced politician in the coalition leadership. He is also one of the toughest negotiators in the Knesset. Lieberman has remained completely and uncharacteristically quiet on almost every issue and well away from the public eye. The building and passage of the budget is his primary focus and the passing of the budget in November is critical to this government’s survival. There are two more readings to go and much can happen, but so far Lieberman is proving to be the government’s most effective operator. Presumably he will demand something for this down the track. Benny Gantz is the one coalition party leader who appears to not be afraid of acting independently. Or to put it another way, he is happy to place himself, quite deliberately, more outside of the coalition leadership consensus than anyone else. Rumours abound of his poor personal relationship with Bennett and around some historical animosity between them. Gantz also wants people to remember that he actually heads a party with more Knesset seats than Bennett. Elements of Likud believe Gantz is the rifest for jumping ship and joining Likud in a possible government. Previous experience with Netanyahu may put the kibosh on this, but the fact that rumours keep resurfacing is in itself dangerous for the current government. Overall, whilst there may not be great policy variations between Netanyahu and Bennett, there are big differences in style and approach. Perhaps the most outstanding and well appreciated difference in these first 3 months is that Israel has a government which is now functioning. And in a more regular manner. Not by way of radical policy changes, but simply by ministries returning to basic operational norms and dealing with their day to day issues. This goes a long way to explaining why the Israeli population by and large is not dissatisfied with the new government. In this case, a change in style has also proved to be one of substance. _______________________________________________________ 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 New Israeli Government Favouring Style over Substance? Recently elected Israeli Prime Minister Nafatali Bennett near the southern city of Beer Sheva, on June 24, 2021. Shutterstock.com Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks as he meets with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, on Friday, August 27, 2021, in Washington, DC. (GPO)

5. News 3 Jeremiah Rozman n The United States has definitively lost Afghanistan. US military power ousted the Taliban and prevented its return for 20 years. As forces withdrew, the product of two decades of nation-building melted away as if it never existed, save for the heaps of military hardware left behind. The collapse of America’s Afghanistan strategy highlights the risks that Israel would incur in creating a Palestinian state, as these projects hold key similarities. First, both the United States and Israel were involved in nation-building. The United States sought to build an Afghan democracy capable of governing Afghanistan and maintaining peace and stability. Since the Oslo Accords, Israel has been working with America to build a Palestinian democracy capable of governing a future Palestinian state and making peace with Israel. Both of these efforts involved building and training armies capable of suppressing terrorists. Both involved introducing Western-style democracy into regions without prior experience with it. And both sought to defeat and marginalise well-organised Islamic fundamentalist groups with a strong sense of purpose and robust support networks. Both attempts at nation- building ultimately failed. The corrupt US-backed government never had much legitimacy in Afghanistan, and its military quickly dissolved when US forces withdrew. The corrupt Palestinian Authority never enjoyed legitimacy either. Its US-trained forces were swiftly routed by Hamas when the Israel Defense Forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and it lost an election to the militant group in 2006. To the north, Israel’s forces in Southern Lebanon were quickly defeated by Hezbollah when the IDF withdrew in the spring of 2000. History demonstrates that organised, internationally supported, and motivated Islamist groups usually win in power vacuums. Both the United States and Israel had the military ability to defeat their Islamic fundamentalist enemies. Still, they only had sufficient political will necessary to keep them at bay and maintain a manageable status quo. For Israel, international pressure and low domestic tolerance for casualties drove it to risk its security by removing its forces from Gaza and Lebanon. The botched US withdrawal from Afghanistan was an unforced error. There was no major domestic or international demand for America to withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops immediately. In fact, international allies were left blindsided by President Joe Biden’s rapid pullout. No US soldier had been killed in combat there in more than 18 months, and the cost of maintaining an effective counter-terrorism base of operations was sustainable. The US decision to withdraw under minimal pressure bodes ominously for countries that are promised protection. Will that protection be rescinded when there really is pressure? After the United States appeared to flee before its own shadow, abandoning billions of dollars of sophisticated equipment to an enemy with no air force, no satellites and no nuclear missiles, are Taiwan and South Korea still truly confident in protection if nuclear-armed dictators come knocking? In 2014, US Secretary of State John Kerry offered Israel technology and promises of international protection if it withdrew its military from the strategically important Jordan Valley to allow a Palestinian state to include that territory. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan suggests that Israel was right to rely on itself. Both Democrat and Republican US administrations promoted the ‘two-state solution,’ which in essence sought to nation-build in the Middle East. The Trump administration was the first to break with that thinking, which had persisted since Clinton. The Biden administration is back to the old playbook. It officially supports the creation of a Palestinian state. From Clinton’s Oslo Accords to George W. Bush’s ‘roadmap’ and ‘disengagement,’ the United States has reassured Israel that a future Palestinian state would not pose a security threat. However, America’s poor track record at nation-building in the Middle East is mirrored by its poor track record predicting outcomes in that region. The Oslo Accords ended in a bloody intifada; disengagement from Gaza ended in Hamas capturing the coastal enclave and turning it into a terror platform. De- Ba’athification in Iraq ended in a bloody insurgency, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan yielded a rapid Taliban victory that apparently caught the Biden administration by surprise. The world now has one more fundamentalist Islamic state: the Taliban- run Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. There is little doubt a future Palestinian state would be the same. According to recent polls, Hamas would still win Palestinian elections, but in the Middle East, more important than ballots are bullets, as the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza clearly show. The US military kept the Taliban at bay in Afghanistan, and the IDF kept Hamas from taking over Judea and Samaria. While a fundamentalist Islamic victory is surely a tragedy for liberty, tolerance and human rights, it is first and foremost a security threat. A Taliban-run Afghanistan harboured Al-Qaeda, resulting in the attacks of 11 September 2001. Many fear that it will once again become a safe haven for terrorists and that the next big attack is only a matter of time. For Israel, a Hamas-run state bordering Israel’s major population centres, economic centres and an international airport would pose an existential threat. All of Israel would be within range of a variety of short- and long-range rockets, mortars and sniper fire and easily infiltrated through tunnels. In the 21st century, oceans are no guarantee of national security, but at least for now, the Taliban or Al-Qaeda cannot fire volleys of rockets at Washington, DC, from Afghanistan. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan tells the world’s dictators and terrorists that America is no longer interested in its post- World War II role as the military guarantor of freedom. Any country would be wise to understand that it can ultimately only rely on its own power. “The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” Suppose Israel severely weakens its ability to def end itself by withdrawing its forces to create a Palestinian state. In that case, it must understand that it will assuredly be left to suffer what it must when that state falls to Islamic fundamentalists, as history and the facts on the ground strongly predict. Jeremiah Rozman is a publishing adjunct at The MirYam Institute. He has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Virginia, focusing on strategic/security studies, counter-terrorism, conflict resolution, and asymmetric warfare. Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Short News Antisemitism on TikTok Social media app TikTok, which allows users to create short videos, has gained immense popularity. While most of the content is fun, there is a dramatic increase in antisemitism on the platform. A recent study by the University of Haifa shows that antisemitic content on TikTok increased by 912%. The huge increase consists of antisemitic comments, which grew from 41 in 2020 to 415 in 2021. The number of antisemitic posts grew from 43 in 2020 to 61 in 2021. Leader of the study, Weimann, said of the increase: “TikTok’s catering to young, impressionable and naive audiences, combined with bad- faith actors who are posting hateful content online, is something that should be taken very seriously.” | Photo: Unsplash Robots Dispense Medication An Israeli medical device company called RescueDose has developed a robot that automatically dispenses medication to patients, cutting down on human error that can occur when liquid medications are prepared. The robot software scans the required dosage from the patient’s original prescription — it can also be typed in — and the robot is then able to mix the medicated powders and liquids into the accurate dose, which is then labelled and ready to be delivered to patients. Israel-Jordan Ties by Rare Alignment As scientific warnings of dire climate change-induced drought grow, many in Israel and Jordan cast worried eyes at the river running between them and the critical but limited resources they share. In September, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed unequivocally that the climate is changing faster than previously feared, heaping pressure on finite water supplies even as demands grow greater than ever before. But experts say that instead of provoking an argument, Israel and Jordan could be poised for an unprecedented boom in water cooperation amid technological advancements, climate pressures, and stronger ties. Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division conduct security as they continue to help facilitate the safe evacuation of US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other at-risk Afghans out of Afghanistan, 25 August 2021 | Photo: Sgt. Jillian G. Hix/U.S. Army via AP

8. 6 Bring the Jews Home October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Sara van Oordt n Christians for Israel Netherlands It is Tuesday, 14 September 2021, 4.30pm. 130 Ukrainian Jews will, from this moment on, call Israel their new homeland: 90 teenagers and a number of families. They emigrated to the Promised Land thanks to the support of many Christians around the world. ‘Making Aliyah’ is what this is called in Israel. This moment marks the 25th anniversary of the Bring the Jews Home campaign. 25 years in which Christians for Israel has helped more than 150,000 Jews to make Aliyah. Here is the story of three of them. 25 Years of Helping Jews Home to Israel Ariel Dynin (14) We enter the home of the Dynin family in the city of Zaporozhe, eastern Ukraine. They live in a small Soviet apartment on the fifth floor. Ariel (14) opens the door; we are invited inside. These are the last moments before his departure to Israel. His mother, Nataliya, is making tea; she is stressed and cries a lot. It is a day of mixed emotions because a little later, she proudly shows us the pile of diplomas that Ariel has managed to obtain in recent years: for chemistry, music, mathematics, and even for 3D printing. Compared to his mother, Ariel looks relaxed. He is about to have a farewell party with his friends. The dream he has had his whole life is about to come true. He is determined to start a new life in Israel. His mother says: “In my head, I support and encourage him. But in my heart, I am his mother, and my heart breaks to have to let him go.” Ariel leaves on his own, without his two sisters or his parents. He is participating in the Na’ale programme, where children finish high school in Israel. The day before his departure, we pick up Ariel together with Igor and Alina from the Christians for Israel Ukraine team. After a twelve-hour drive, we arrive in Kiev. The plane leaves the next day at two o’clock in the afternoon. Ariel is tired and a little sad about having to say goodbye to his family. But he is hopeful and happy about what lies ahead. His dream is to be of significance to his new home: Israel. Chief Rabbi Jonathan Markovich of Kiev offers a prayer for a safe and blessed journey. He stresses: “When you arrive in Israel, go to the synagogue. Make sure you pray to Hashem so that you begin your new future in the right way.” Kjsushya Korotkova (13) It is noon when we take Ksushya to the Jewish school in Mariupol, an industrial city by the Black Sea with 500,000 inhabitants. In the distance, we hear explosions. Just a few miles away is the military front, where violence between the Ukrainian army and the Russian separatists flares up regularly to this day. The Jewish community of Mariupol is fairly small. Many Jews leave the area because of the hopeless situation and the lack of future prospe cts. At the Jewish school, the children are waiting because they know that Ksushya will leave today. Her friends are there to hug her and wish her a good journey. Later on, when we are at the synagogue, we meet Alisa, who assisted Ksushya for years: “When her mother, Victoria, became seriously ill and was unable to take care of Ksushya, there were no others who could take over her care. Therefore, with the help of the Jewish community, Ksushya was lovingly looked after for a year in a shelter for children coming from difficult home situations. When her mother was able to care for her again, she returned home.” Ksushya certainly did not make the decision to go to Israel alone. Mother Victoria: “Ksushya has no future here in Ukraine. I was also worried that she would have the wrong friends here, so I am glad that she is now taking this step.” In Israel, Ksushya will live at a boarding school in Jerusalem. As soon as her mother and stepfather have the right papers, the y will also leave for Israel to join Ksushya there. From Mariupol, it is an 850 km drive to the capital Kiev. From Kiev, she will leave for Israel. Ksushya at the airport in Kiev: “I cannot begin to describe how I feel right now. I am so grateful that this was made possible with the help of Christians for Israel, and I am really looking forward to Israel.”

21. 11 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Zac Waller Article continued... Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Placing blame on others is not going to build God’s kingdom. Taking responsibility for our own actions, and becoming active and vocal in whatever way we can, is the right thing to do. Prepare to come to Israel. Join whatever Israel-loving groups there are in your area. Study Israel. Get to know Jewish people. Learn from those who have been in the land. Financially support those who have their boots on the ground. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This is God’s heart, and He will direct you as you seek Him. Fear God, not the giants Don’t allow the obstacles to dictate your future. Yes; you may need to wait until the borders open to come to Israel, but if you begin planning and preparing now, God will open the doors in His timing. If we align ourselves with God, loving what He loves, hating what He hates, and accepting His word as the truth, we can expect His Kingdom to start taking shape. I believe we are on the brink of one of the greatest revivals of all time. Israel is being restored after 2000 years of desolation, fulfilling 3,000-year- old prophecies to the letter. God has removed the protection of the Arabs and is giving miraculous strength to the Jewish people. Archaeological finds in Israel are burying all anti-God claims and confirming the veracity of the Bible. People are realizing that immorality does not bring fulfillment and they are looking for a better way of life. Looking back throughout history, there have always been great trials just before the great breakthroughs. I believe the corona-virus pandemic is no exception. The struggles, pain, and heartache is a birthing process. Over the past 100 years, we have seen some of the most powerful moves of God in world history. The low point of the prophesied 2,000 years of Israel’s desolation was the Dark Ages. Israel was utterly wasted and her God-forsakenness reverberated throughout the world, bringing death, destruction, and spiritual darkness with it. Now, in our time, we are seeing the restorative prophecies begin to take place. The Jewish people are returning to their land, Hebrew is being spoken on the streets, the deserts are blooming, and once again the nations are feeling the spiritual ripples. Now is the time of restoration, and who knows what might be next up on God’s redemptive agenda! So, I encourage you, don’t let the giants scare you. Take heart! Stay connected to Israel. Keep pressing into God’s heart. Take an active role in the revival that is at our doorstep, and embrace what God is doing now. Prepare your heart to witness some of the greatest events of all time! —————————————————————— Zac Waller , Executive Director of HaYovel. www.hayovel.org If God says that He will do something, then He will do it. It doesn’t matter how big the giants are... God will fulfill His Word.

3. Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective October 2021 Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 25 Years of Helping Jews on their Way to Israel 3 Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel 9 Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast 15 ADI Offers Children a Chance On the 25th anniversary of our campaign, ‘Bring the Jews Home’, 130 Ukrainian Jews left for Israel on a special charter flight on 14 September. Among them were many young people. They were sent off by representatives of Christians for Israel: in the front row, Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International, Koen and Ira Carlier, who are leading our work in Ukraine, and Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands. Read more on pages 6 and 7 . | Photo: Christians for Israel “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7 25 Years www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA

19. 9 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 New SCAFI Online Event in October The images above are just a small sample of the many recent anti-Semitic messages being made and distributed in our own backyard of Australia—not to mention the unfortunate flourishing of anti-Semitic posts on social media outlets—many of which would be inappropriate for displaying in this publication. The German Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer lost his life resisting Adolf Hitler’s Nazism said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil, G-d will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Silence never helps the victim, instead silence encourages wrongdoers to continue their acts of violence, whether in word or in deed. In 2021, over 75 years after the horrors of the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Anti- Semitism has reared its ugly head once again. Today with the advent of social media this has become a worldwide phenomenon. Furthermore, it is a battle, that we as Jews cannot fight alone. Today we must reach out to our friends, particularly those in the Christian community with whom we share sacred Biblical values. We must say, in a united voice, “Say No to anti-Semitism”. After 3500 years, when Amalek tried to destroy the fledging Israelite nation, the time has surely come, that this evil, called anti-Semitism, the world’s oldest hatred, an affront to the Divine will, be utterly removed from the face of the Earth. —————————————————————— Rabbi Yitzhok Riesenberg is the Rabbi and Founder of Central Shule Melbourne and is committed to the fostering of relationships between Christians and Jews. Rabbi Riesenberg and travel agent, Steven Green (Director of Olive Tree Travel ) are offering a series of upcoming local day tours (in Melbourne, Sydney and possibly Brisbane) giving insights into Judaism whilst building bridges between the Australian Jewish and Christian Communities. These tours emphasise the Jewish and Biblical origins of many Christian traditions and celebrate our common Judeo-Christian values that we share. The next upcoming event is the Jewish Life Cycle Tour being held in Melbourne on 16th November. In early December, we’re running a Day Tour to celebrate Chanukah, giving insights into the Festival of Light and taking participants on a guided journey inside the Jewish Community to learn about the traditions of this joyous festival. Participants will learn all about the Menorah/Chanukkiah, partake in a range of interesting interactive activities, engage in stories about the “Righteous among the Nations” and get to indulge in all the traditional foods that symbolise Chanukkah. Places are strictly limited. Contact Steven Green at Olive Tree Travel to register your interest. steven@olivetreetravel.com.au or phone 1300 550 830

20. 10 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Biblical Insights from Heartland of Judea & Samaria Israel—The Epicenter of Struggle and Hope The Feast of Tabernacles is the climax of the biblical festivals. Joy runs sky- high as festive meals, music, dancing, praises to God, and smiling faces light up the atmosphere. Deuteronomy 16:14-15 puts it well: “You shall rejoice in your feast... For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” The Prophet Zechariah says that all this mirth is not reserved for the nation of Israel alone, but that all the nations of the world are invited to come up to Jerusalem and join in the celebration! (Zechariah 14:16-19) Unfortunately, for the past two years, the borders of Israel have been essentially closed to the nations, and going up to Jerusalem for the feasts of the Lord has been an impossibility. Only some of those from the nations who have acquired longer-term visas have been able to stay. This year, as we celebrate Sukkot, our cup of joy is diminished, knowing that the thousands from the nations who want to come up to Jerusalem are unable to at this time. As Jeremiah said in the book Lamentations 1:4: “The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival.” Bringing in the harvest is usually a large contributor to the joy levels of this season, as the above verse from Deuteronomy indicates. Due to not being able to bring in volunteers, the vineyard owners have had to resort to using a mechanical harvester. Some of the vineyard owners can’t afford to pay for the machine. For others, the rocky, mountainous terrain in their vineyards isn’t machine-accessible, and they are desperately seeking out local volunteers to help. This year is supposed to be the triple harvest before the shmita/ sabbatical year. Many of the farmers are overwhelmed and just trying to make the best of the situation. On top of these hardships, two of our vineyard-owning friends received court orders declaring that their fields were to be bulldozed before they could even bring in the harvest! Thank God, the demolition order was put off for some months, the harvest was saved, and hopefully, they have enough time to get the order revoked. This court order for demolition is unprecedented in that the area where the vineyards are located is not a contested area. The court ruled that there was insufficient proof of Arab ownership. The plot is also in area “C,” which is, in all other cases, allotted for Jewish development. One would think that with a right- wing prime minister like Naftali Bennett, Israel would be strong enough to resist the self-destructive tendencies of the left. Unfortunately, because of the many left-leaning and Israel- hating members of Bennett’s coalition, his hands are tied. Just getting a budget approved without the government falling apart was a big success. Moving forward with the Biblical mandate to declare sovereignty over and settle Judea and Samaria is not anywhere close to being on the table. These obstacles and challenges are overwhelming. It could be easy to point fingers at the Israeli government or those people and organizations with left-wing mindsets and talk about how they are to blame for all the craziness. We know that God has a plan, however, and that He orchestrates His plan through those who are willing to follow Him. God’s people have met with challenges before. Numbers 13 tells the story of the twelve spies going up into the land of Israel. When they came back and were giving their report, it looks like all of them gave the full report—the land and fruit is good, the cities are well fortified, and there are giants (vs. 25-29). Ten of the spies continued with a bad report, declaring that the people of Caanan made them feel like midgets and the land itself would eat the Israelites alive (vs. 32-33). Notice that Joshua and Caleb acknowledged the giants. They weren’t denying that real obstacles existed. But they also said this: “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:7-9) In these verses, we find the path to overcoming our obstacles. We need to: 1. Acknowledge that God ’s promises are true (“the land is exceedingly good”). 2. Acknowledge that God wan ts to fulfill His will through us (“if the Lord delights in us”). 3. Fear God, not the gian ts (“do not rebel against the Lord and do not fear the people”). God’s promises are true If God says that He will do something, then He will do it. It doesn’t matter how big the giants are; if there are pandemics, experimental vaccines, border closures, governmental issues, or all-out war, God will fulfill His word. He does not change and His Word does not return void. Jerusalem will be a praise in all the earth. The nations will come up to Jerusalem for the feasts, to pray, and to assist with the restoration of Israel. God wants to fulfill His will through us God’s faithfulness to His word includes your redemption and enabling you to bring His kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. As John Wesley said, “Without God, man cannot. Without man, God will not.” And in the wise words of Edmund Zac Waller Executive Director of HaYovel two of our vineyard- owning friends received court orders declaring that their fields were to be bulldozed

16. 6 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Something to thinc. about with our new C4I strategic ministry partner More than 35 countries, including the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Israel, the UK and the US, decided to boycott the “Durban IV” conference held in New York in late September. They did so because, as Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag informed the Dutch House of Representatives, they “do not intend to participate in the Durban IV meeting, given the historical burden of the Durban process, the risk of a repeat of the misuse of this platform for anti-Semitic expressions and the disproportionate and one-sided focus on Israel as reflected in the original Durban Declaration.” In recent months, many governments have been pressured to participate in the ‘Durban IV’ conference to be held in September 2021 in New York, which is intended to mark the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration. The ‘Durban Declaration’ of 2001 laid the foundation for the current ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ (BDS) movement. The countries that boycotted Durban IV all realised that the Durban Declaration was morally reprehensible. They were right. It is also deeply problematic under international law. Durban The NGO Forum of the UN World Conference against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 (‘Durban’), was designed to combat racism and discrimination. This forum turned into a manifestation of open antisemitism and Israel-hatred. Israel was accused of racism, genocide and apartheid policies. Subsequent Durban conferences in 2009 and 2011 also saw their anti-Semitic incidents, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declaring in 2009 that “world Zionism is the personification of racism”. The NGO Forum statement and action programme explicitly called for the use of legal procedures and economic measures to advance the political war against Israel. One of the resolutions at the end of the conference read: “the imposition of a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel as an apartheid state, as in the case of South Africa, which means the imposition of compulsory and comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, the complete cessation of all ties (diplomatic, economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training) between all states and Israel.” With this statement, the current BDS movement was, in fact, born. The BDS movement The BDS movement was officially launched in 2005 by 171 Palestinian NGOs. Relying on Durban and the precedent of the successful anti-apartheid movement that overthrew the white regime in South Africa, they called for economic and diplomatic pressure on Israel until it submits to Palestinian demands for self-determination, “...in accordance with international law.” The core idea of the BDS movement is that Israel is an illegal state because it was founded on an injustice, namely a racial distinction between Jews and other people, as expressed in the 1975 UN resolution “Zionism is racism.” The BDS movement denies the legitimacy of Zionism as an expression of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. Their method is to encourage and/or pressure governments and businesses to boycott products made in occupied territories, divest from Israeli businesses, and impose sanctions on Israel. The ultimate goal of the BDS movement is thus the dismantling of the State of Israel as an expression of Jewish national identity. Essentially, the BDS movement seeks to “turn back the clock” to the situation as it existed in 1918. This is not possible; in the meantime, based on a series of binding international instruments, the Jewish State of Israel has come into existence, which has the right to be treated as a sovereign state, entitled (inter alia) to political inviolability and territorial integrity, just like other states. International law The BDS movement claims that boycott, divestment and sanctions are necessary to pressure Israel to comply with international law, but international law does not support the claims of the BDS movement. On the contrary, both the BDS movement and the actions of states under the influence of the BDS movement violate the fundamental rights of Israel and the Jewish people under international law. Here we highlight some of the issues. “Apartheid” It has become popular to accuse Israel of being an apartheid state. In April 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report titled “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution”, in which HRW “concludes” that Israeli leaders should be prosecuted for “apartheid” and “persecution” because of the oppression and discrimination against Palestinians by Israel, both in Israel itself and in the ‘West Bank’. Apartheid is a crime against humanity under the ‘Rome Statute’ (the Statute of the International Criminal Court), where it is defined as “widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with knowledge of the attack ... inhuman acts ... committed in the context of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any another racial group or groups and committed with the intention to maintain that regime” (Article 7, Rome Statute). No person or state has been prosecuted for the crime of apartheid as it is defined in the Rome Statute, so there are no precedents. The definition sets a very high bar. The HRW report created its own definition of ‘apartheid’, which differed from that in the Rome Statute. The HRW report basically created its own definition of apartheid. Even if it were established that there is widespread and systematic discrimination between Jews and others in Israel (which is highly questionable), the claim that Israel maintains an “institutionalised regime” of “systematic oppression and domination”, with the intention of oppressing non-Jews, in no way takes into account the history and context of Israel itself and Judea and Samaria. Another important point is that the Jewish people do not constitute a “racial group” within the meaning of article 7 of the Rome Statute. Jews come from a diversity of racial backgrounds, so the Jewish people as a whole cannot be regarded as a “race”. The “Palestinian territories” The BDS movement is based on the idea that Israel is illegitimately occupying “Palestinian territory”. This is false. The international community decided that based on the San Remo Resolution (1920), the Mandate for Palestine (1922) and the Covenant of the League of Nations (1922), that the Jewish people should have their own “home” in the land of Palestine—a home which would respect the civil and religious rights of all communities in the land. This decision covered the whole territory of Palestine, including Jerusalem and what was later called the ‘West Bank’ (Judea and Samaria). The Arab people (of whom the Arab Palestinians claim to be a part) were granted the rest of the Middle East. In fact, in 1921, even part of Palestine was carved out to become a home for specifically (and exclusively) the Arab Palestinians (Transjordan). Article 80 of the UN Charter ensured that the rights granted under the Mandate with respect to establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine remained valid, despite the termination of the Mandate itself and the replacement of the League of Nations by the United Nations. Why “Durban” and the BDS Movement are fundamentally wrong Andrew Tucker and Pieter Hoogendoorn Directors of thinc. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a high-level meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration during the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, on September 22, 2021. (John Angelillo/Pool Photo via AP)

15. 5 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Biblical Commentary Through Jewish Eyes Enoch Lavender Pastoral leader of Shalom Israel and Assistant Pastor at Living Way Christian Network. The number 5782 may not appear to carry any specific meaning to our western mindsets, however in Hebrew any number correlates with each own Hebrew letters, which in turn carry within themselves a range of meanings. Does the meaning of the year 5782 carry prophetic insights into the year ahead? Examining 5782—back to the 80’s According to the Jewish way of reckoning time, we are in the decade of the ‘5780s’— symbolised by the Hebrew letter Pey (the number 80). The letter Pey symbolises an open mouth and has to do with our words and our language. The number ‘2’ in 5782 correlates to the 2nd letter of the Hebrew Alphabet— known as ‘bet’. The Bible begins with the letter ‘bet’ and the Rabbis have noted that as you read the Bible in Hebrew from right to left, it appears that all of the Scriptures come out of what appears like the open ‘mouth’ of this first letter bet. Interestingly, the Jewish sages have concluded that God used the letter bet to create the world and that the entire creation came out of this one letter. While this idea might seem foreign to us as New Testament believers, it begins to make sense as we understand that this 2nd letter of the Alphabet points us to the 2nd person of the God head, the Son of God. The letter bet is used in the word ‘ben’ meaning ‘son’, and according to John, the Son was there with God ‘in the beginning’ and ‘all things were made through Him’ (John 1:1-3). It seems that the Rabbis aren’t too far off when they say that all things were made through the letter bet! 5782: The Mouth + the Son Applying what we have learned so far, we see that the year 5782 speaks of our conversation and the Son of God. What we keep talking about ultimately reflects the contents of our hearts (Matt 12:34). Some Christians are currently spending most of their time talking and thinking about Covid. Christians are becoming increasingly divided by conflicting Covid narratives, and behind it all lies an increasing level of fear that is affecting many hearts. I believe that 5782 teaches us that God wants our conversation to be dominated by faith instead of fear, by Jesus rather than by Covid. But to be able to change the words that we are speaking, we must first change what is filling our hearts and minds. If you are among those whose heart has been affected by fear in the last year, I would encourage you to take time away from the sources of fear in your life (for example secular news media or social media). Keep reminding yourself instead of how God has protected you in the past, and of His promises to you, and as you make this your habit in the year ahead, I’m sure it won’t take long before your heart and mouth are both in a much better place. The Shmita Year—A Year of Faith Furthermore, this particular Jewish New Year also marks the beginning of what is known as a ‘Shmita year’, a sabbatical year of letting agricultural land lie fallow (see Lev. 25:2-5). What lessons can we draw out from the Shmita as we approach the coming year? The rabbis describe the Shmita year as a year of faith, as they rightly recognise the faith of farmers who choose to rest their land for the entire year. God has promised provision to His people who follow this command (Lev. 25:20-21) and indeed many Israeli farmers can testify of God’s miraculous provision in past Shmita years. One famous example is the story of the Agricultural settlement of Komemiyut in 1951/52. Having kept the Shmita the year before, these orthodox farmers looked to be in trouble as they only had access to mouldy, worm-infested seed for the year after the Shmita. Furthermore, the timing of the Shmita dictated that the Komemiyut farmers had to wait until November to sow their fields. By contrast, the surrounding farms were all sowing their fields in September in anticipation of the usual September rains. However, that year no rain fell during September nor during the month of October. In November, the Komemiyut farmers sowed their fields, and the very next day the heavens opened! A few months later the result was clear for all to see: the surrounding secular farmers ended up with a lacklustre crop, while the religious farmers enjoyed a miraculous bumper harvest. Today many farmers in Israel are keeping the Shmita, and even secular farmers have been inspired by the story of Komemiyut. Applying the Shmita The rabbis don’t believe the Shmita regulations apply to non-Jews, however the principle of faith in God and obedience to Him applies to all of us, and especially at this time in history. Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has written at length about how almost every global financial upheaval of the past century has been connected to the Shmita cycles. Especially noteworthy is the Great Depression of 1930/31, and the stock market crashes of 2000/2001 and 2008/2009 that all occurred during Shmita years. Could the year ahead feature further economic turmoil? The financial conditions brought into play through our government’s record spending during Covid, as well as the financial down turns suffered by so many businesses, are certainly pointing us to choppy waters ahead. If there is trouble ahead, then a very natural human approach is to respond in fear and try to protect ourselves. Yet the Shmita teaches us a different lesson. It teaches us to simply trust God and follow His commands, and as we do, God Himself will take care of our needs. Summary We have seen how the Shmita year teaches us to trust and obey God. The year ahead may well be a challenging year, and it is therefore increasingly important that we learn the lessons of 5782—of filling our hearts and mouths not with the fear so prevalent in our world today, but with faith and trust in Almighty God. —————————————————————— Ps. Enoch Lavender is the Pastoral leader of Shalom Israel and serves as Assistant Pastor at Living Way Christian Network . The Prophetic Meaning of the Hebrew Year 5782 God wants our conversation to be dominated by faith instead of fear, by Jesus rather than by Covid.

28. 10 Theology Recommended Reading Johannes Gerloff n Theologian, Journalist, Lecturer & Author This is the first of a series of articles on Romans 9-11, based on the book Rejoice, You Gentiles, with His People by Johannes Gerloff, which is expected to be published in early 2022. In this first article, Johannes Gerloff explains why he wrote the book. It was in the beginning of the 1990s. The Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe into East and West for as long as we could remember, had come down. The Velvet Revolution had changed Czechoslovakia. We lived near Prague. My wife Krista and I studied theology and taught at a newly founded Bible school in the Czech capital. The air was full of hope. We experienced freedom and saw new opportunities in a society that had been dominated by atheist Socialism for four long decades. As a young family, we had prepared ourselves to preach the gospel, build the Church and help people grow in their relationship with God. Church ministry in Germany or the Czech Republic or teaching in Europe or Africa were the obvious options. However, we did not wish to follow our own imaginations. We waited for the call of the Lord to know specifically where He wanted us to go. To make it more difficult, I had been pondering Acts 13. There, the Holy Spirit had spoken to the Church in Antioch: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (verse 2). Even though Paul had had a direct encounter with the risen Lord, when he had been thrown off his high horse on his way to Damascus a few years earlier (see Acts 9), the Holy Spirit apparently had to speak directly to the Church in order to get the two apostles moving. So, we waited for the Holy Spirit to speak to the Church. But the Holy Spirit did not speak to the churches we were connected with in Germany and Czechoslovakia. Or the Church did not listen to Him, so it seemed, during the last decade of the 20th century. In any case, the call I so longed for did not come. When the call of God finally did come, it was not to Germany, the Czech Republic or Tanzania, as we had expected. In a quite clear manner, we were called to Israel. And, we were not called to preach the Gospel there but to comfort the people of the Lord. We were asked to get to know the situation in and around Israel – and to explain the significance of Israel to the Gentile nations in Europe and beyond: “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd’.” (Jeremiah 31:10). That was the commission we received. I was puzzled. As a German, I felt a special obligation to the Jewish people and their State of Israel after all that had happened in the Holocaust. Right after high school, I had spent a year in Israel working as a volunteer with Holocaust surv ivors. But overcoming the past was not the issue now. Those of my teachers who had helped to prepare me for ministry reacted with incomprehension at best. Some were angry. “What is this Israel fantasy all about? What do you want there?” were some of the questions that were thrown at me. That is the reason I started my study of Romans 9-11. The answers I received to my questions are in this book. I also share some insights that I never even asked for. What started as a puzzling situation in Czechoslovakia and Germany nearly three decades ago has become our life’s calling. We, as a family, are firmly rooted in Israeli society. We are richly blessed. And over the years, the theological puzzle has given way to amazement. What struck me at the very beginning of my journey into Paul’s theology regarding Israel was his confession in Romans 9:3 : “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ (the Messiah) for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen (blood relatives) acco rding to the flesh.” Having defended myself and my love for Israel for years, I have been ashamed and humbled to discover that I would never be able to love Israel like the Apostle Paul loved her. I had assured those that questioned me that I would never put this calling to Israel above Jesus and the great commission! The well-intentioned admonition “don’t forget Jesus for the sake of Israel” had been sort of nagging at me. But now, I discovered that Paul was not only not defending his irrational love for this nation, but even stating on-record to the Church in Rome (and consequently to future generations of Christians all over the world!) that he was even ready to give up his very salvation through Messiah if that would save his beloved people. To be honest, to this day, I have not found an intellectually satisfying solution to this riddle. Emotionally, it still impacts me very deeply. “Rejoice, You Nations, With His People” – the English title of this book – is a quote from Romans 15:10 where Paul picks up on what Moses said to the Israelites preparing to enter the Land of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:43). To the very end of his writings, and in spite of all emphasis that in certain respects “there is no difference”, Paul keeps contrasting Israel with the Gentile nations. This differentiation, however, does not lead to degradation of one compared to the other, but rather to unity in praise to the one and only living God. Just a few sentences before, in Romans 15:7, Paul admonishes his readers to “accept one another as the Messiah has accepted you for the glory of the [one, true] God.” That means especially accepting those who are not the same but different. The Creator has created differences from the very beginning – changing dark chaos or disorder into ‘the cosmos’, i.e. order (see Genesis 1). Without differences, the creation cannot bear fruit. This is true for the difference between males and females and the difference between Jew and Gentile. Together we are destined to rejoice over the fruit He will bring forth through us for His glory. October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Mediterranean olive field with old olive tree ready for harvest. | Photo: Shutterstock Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with My People The Challenges of Resolving the Israeli-Palestine Dispute - an Impossible Peace? Australian political scientist Bren Carlill’s new book The challenges of resolving the Israeli-Palestine Dispute – an Impossible Peace? (Springer 2021) is a timely and fascinating study. Carlill’s main thesis is that “one of the reasons that the Israeli Palestinian dispute hasn’t been resolved is because the West has trouble realising that multiple Israeli-Palestinian conflicts exist - for two related reasons. The first is, the West hasn’t fought a religious conflict for centuries. And Westerners don’t quite believe it when people tell us they are fighting a religious conflict - we discount their reasons (though the rise of groups like Islamic State has made the concept easier to understand). The other reason is, the West doesn’t fight existential conflicts. We haven’t actively fought such a conflict for centuries.” “Our natural inclination is to think that all conflicts are territorial, and all conflicts are resolvable. In the West, many think that every conflict, no matter how hard, no matter how intractable, can be resolved one day. Almost all the conflict literature says that! But it’s wrong. Existential conflicts cannot be resolved.” The book contains a detailed history of the conflict and analyses the many (failed) peace proposals (including the Oslo process). Carlill argues that “Western policymakers need to understand that multiple conflicts exist in the Israeli–Palestinian dispute.” Some of the conflicts are territorial; others are existential. Existentialists – those who want to destroy the other side - exist on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. This means “There cannot be simply a policy to address the dispute. We need to create individual policies to address each conflict in the dispute. And we have to understand that the dispute’s existential conflicts cannot be resolved for as long as they remain existential. Since we cannot resolve those conflicts, we must win or manage them.” The author argues that only the parties themselves can create an agreed end to the conflict by marginalising the ‘existentialists’ within their ranks. All attempts by the international community to “impose” a solution (such as the “Two- State Solution”) will be doomed to fail. Highly recommended reading.

32. 14 Modern Israel October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 A Modern-day Mordechai Kay Wilson n Israeli Tour Guide | Author | Cartoonist Most Israelis knew Shlomo Hillel as Speaker of Israel’s Knesset, Minister of Police, and Minister of Internal Affairs. Few realised he was one of the most daring spies the country has ever known. It is thanks to Shlomo Hillel that over 120,000 Iraqi Jews escaped safely from Iraq and went home to Israel in the middle of last century. Iraq has always been historically central to the Jewish people, whether it be the genesis of Abraham and Sarah, the Rivers of Babylon where the Jewish exiles sat down and wept, the land of Esther and Mordechai, or the greatest centre of learning the Jewish world has arguably ever seen. Unlike the diaspora of European Jewry, no matter how successful Iraqi Jews became, they chose to live separately from their Muslim and Christian neighbours. In doing so, they maintained their ancient and distinct traditions. In to such a home, Shlomo Hillel was born in 1923. He was one of eleven kids. It was a happy and Zionist home, but with Hitler’s rise to power, the pro-Nazi sentiment was rising in Iraq. When it became illegal to teach Hebrew in Iraqi schools, Shlomo and his family moved to Eretz, Israel. At 23, he joined the Haganah, the underground prototype for what would become the IDF and later fought in the War of Independence. After the war, he was sent clandestinely to Iraq and tasked with preparing the groundwork for Iraqi Jews to come to Israel. Shlomo helped smuggle out some of his fellow Jews by disguising them as British soldiers and putting them into the back of army trucks that took them to Israel. Next, he found some veteran American pilots of WWII and made it clear that people in Israel were willing to pay a lot of money for Iraqi Jews to come home. Shlomo’s job was to make sure the pilots landed in the desert, way out of sight of the Iraqis, where the Jews could then get on the plane. But the desert was vast, unsafe and unsuitable. The pilots knew it was impossible to carry out the mission. Plan B was needed. That same day of disappointment was the very day he came up with the idea of having Jews hide at the end of the mile-long Iraqi runway. Just before the plane would take off, the Jews could rush over and jump onboard. The ridiculous plan worked! Full to capacity, the plane carried 50 Jews to Israel and dropped them off in the dark under the nose of the British soldiers before they were even awake. The Mossad met the American pilots, thanked them and handed them over a heavy sack of cash. The plan was so successful it was repeated time and again. It was even adopted to bring Italian Jews to Eretz Israel. Shlomo’s next move was to disguise himself as a Frenchman and check out the Iran-Iraq border. Jews could escape Iraq to Iran and from Iran leave for Israel. Iranian police were only too happy to help turn a blind eye in exchange for an enormous amount of money, which the Mossad were also happy to supply. His greatest numerical success was witnessing 104,000 Jews leave Iraq with the permission of the Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Siwaidi. ‘Surprisingly,’ the Prime Minister’s next-door neighbour just ‘happened to be’ Shlomo’s cousin. Worried that the exodus of Jews made Iraq look bad, the prime minister persuaded his Jewish neighbour that because it’s only a small number of ‘disgruntled’ Jews who want to leave, it would therefore be prudent to let them go. To do so puts the Prime Minister in a good light. Al-Siwaidi took the mysterious neighbour’s advice and issued a decree that permitted any Jew to leave should they so wish. Within a handful of months, it was not a disgruntled few who registered to leave, as he was led to believe, but a whopping 104,000. Shlomo continued his work over the years using his connections and cleverness, bribery and brilliance, plans and plots and twists and turns. In doing so, he brought more than 120,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel. Without a doubt, a Jewish man like him has not been seen in Persia since the days of Esther and Mordechai. Kay Wilson grew up in the United Kingdom, but made Aliyah to Israel where she worked as a tour guide, among other things. In 2010 she survived a horrific attack in which her friend, Christine Luken, was killed. Today she is mainly active as a speaker and writer. Subscribe for Free Israel Prayer Calendar October - November 2021 Israeli diplomat Shlomo Hillel. | Photo: Flash90 Unlike the diaspora of European Jewry, no matter how successful Iraqi Jews became, they chose to live separately from their Muslim and Christian neighbours, and in doing so they maintained their ancient and distinct traditions. 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30. 12 Arab Christians Roger van Oordt n Christians for Israel Netherlands Last June, together with the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binjamin Jacobs, I attended the commemoration in Enschede (in the east of Holland) of the mass murder of 580,000 Aramean Christians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Enschede is home to many Aramean (Syriac) Christians who fled the violence directed against them in the 1970s and 1980s. One of them connected me with Shadi Khalloul, an Aramean Christian who lives in Israel. He is in his mid- forties and of Aramean Maronite descent. He lives with his wife and two children in the village of Tish in the north of Israel, near the Lebanese border. I visited him in July. It was a special encounter with a brother with a big heart for Israel. Warm Welcome Tish has a mixed population of Muslims and Aramean Christians. It is also the place where the grave of the prophet Joel is located. The Aramaic-Maronite community is one of the oldest church communities in the world. Their language of worship is Aramaic. This was probably also the language of communication in Galilee at the time of the Saviour. Aramaic is now being taught again as a living language in Israel, partly on the initiative of Shadi Khalloul. When I drove into Tish and found the right street, Shadi’s house was easily recognisable by the Israeli flag. It was a warm welcome. Shadi has been committed to the Aramean community for decades. Of the 170,000 Christians in Israel, about 12,000 belong to their community. However, many other Christians in Israel have the same Aramean background and suffered from Islam in the past centuries. Shadi Khalloul comes from a lineage that has its roots in the village of Baram, an entirely Aramaic-Maronite village near the present-day border with Lebanon. The village was destroyed after the 1948 war, and the refugees were dispersed and partly ended up in Tish, an Arab village not far from their original village. Recognition Shadi Khalloul is committed to preserving and strengthening the Aramaic Christian tradition in Israel. Until 2015, Aramean Christians were not recognised as a population group, as was the case with the Druze, Arabs and Jews. Thanks to his tireless efforts, this changed six years ago. The Aramean origin of these Christians is now recognised. He proudly showed me his new registration at the civil registry. The Aramean Christians consider themselves as a brother people of the Jewish people. Abraham, Rebekah and Rachel were all Arameans. King Hiram lent and donated a lot for the construction of the Temple of Solomon and received ten cities in return. According to tradition, he too belonged to the Aramean people group. Own Curriculum The wish of the Aramean population of Israel is that the once Aramean village Baram will be rebuilt and that the Aramean Christians, now that they are officially recognised in Israel, can also have their own curriculum for education. Many Aramean Christians still follow the Arabic school system based on the Koran and Arabic history. Shadi’s two children and 25 other children from Tish go to kibbutz Sasa to receive a Hebrew education. Milestone In the recent Israeli elections, Shadi Khalloul was on the list of Yisrael Beiteinu, Lieberman’s party. He just missed out on gaining a seat in the Knesset but will probably become a Knesset member after one of the party members has to give up his seat. According to Shadi, right-wing and religious political leaders in Israel have always shown more understanding of the interests of the Aramean Christians than left-wing politicians. Once, the Supreme Court in Israel ruled that Baram must be rebuilt and given back to the Aramean Christians. For many, this is not realistic, but for Shadi Khalloul, it would be a milestone and an example for the whole world when it comes to cooperation between Jews and Christians. Letter from the Archbishop Shadi showed me an extraordinary document from 1947. In 1947, the United Nations set up a commission to advise whether and how a Jewish state was possible in Palestine. The UN did not think it worthwhile to hear the opinion of the Archbishop of the Arameans on this. He was furious about this and wrote a letter to the commission. Some citations from the letter. “It is an incontestable fact that Palestine was the home of the Jews and of the first Christians. None of them were of Arab origin. By the brutal force of conquest, they were forced to become converts to the Moslem religion... To include Palestine and the Lebanon within the group of Arab countries is to deny history and to destroy the social balance in the Near East...The Lebanon has always been and will remain a sanctuary for all the persecuted Christians of the Middle East...The Lebanon and Palestine must continue to be the permanent home of minorities: a Christian home in the Lebanon, as there has always been; a Jewish home in Palestine. These two centres ... will form the necessary bridge between East and West, from the viewpoint of culture and civilisation. The neighbourly relations between these two nations will contribute to the maintenance of peace in the Near East and will lessen the persecution of minorities, which will always find refuge in these two countries. Behind the closed doors of the Sofar Hotel, you were able to listen only to the words dictated to our so- called legal representatives by the lords and masters of the neighbouring Arab countries. The real voice of the Lebanese was smothered... The Lebanon demands freedom for the Jews in Palestine as it desires its own freedom and independence. Signed Ignace Mobarat, Maronite Archbishop of Beirut.” Shadi Khalloul - an Aramean in Israel October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Total number of inhabitants: Total number of Arabs (with full civil rights): Facts Speak Israel Apartheid State? 9 million 1.9 million Israel Syria Libya Tunesia Total number of inhabitants per country Number of Jews in that same country 11 million 1500 6.8 million 0 Egypt 100 million 10 Lebanon 7 million 100 17 million 0 Jordan 10 million 0 Iraq 39 million 4 Iraq 83 million 10,000 Saudi Arabia 34 million 0 Yemen 29 million 0 Left: Shadi Khalloul and Roger van Oordt. Middle: Remarkably, above the doorpost there is an image of two mezuzas, to which Roger points with his hand. Right: The destroyed village of Baram, with the church still in tact, used by Aramean Christians on special occasions. | Photos : Roger van Oordt

10. 8 C4I Events Raphael Jordan n National Leader | Christians for Israel Fiji In the recent months between July to September, Christians for Israel (C4I) Fiji has been excited to explore opportunities that have opened up during this pandemic. In the distribution of our bi-monthly newspaper, Israel & Christians Today, it has become a bridge to meet new Christians who have come to support Israel. Our fortnightly zoom prayer meetings see the fluctuation of numbers of attendants due to varying reasons. C4I Fiji forges ahead with our zoom prayer meetings regardless because we recognise the need to remain consistent and united in our prayers for Israel. We take comfort in the word of God, for it states in scripture (Matt 18:20), “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them”. An ongoing activity that has increased momentum is the promotion and distribution of C4I Fiji merchandise creating awareness about Israel, such as caps, face masks, t-shirts, embroidered polo shirts, bumper stickers, all tagged with Magen David Israel table flags and car flags. We also contributed to the C4I International initiative to work with the International Coalit ion for Israel and the European Coalition for Israel and be part of the Worldwide Celebration for Israel Marathon to wish the Jewish State a Happy New Year (Rosh Hashanah; 5th September 2021). A 15-minute video was compiled and made up of Fijian individuals and families who expressed their blessings to Israel and her people for the above project for ‘God Loves Israel’ (Deuteronomy 7:8; Isaiah 43:4). C4I Fiji was also blessed to speak to the Global Network Discipleship (GND). Ana and I were really encouraged to talk to young adults about Israel for God’s everlasting covenants with Israel, God will fulfil for Israel (Jeremiah 32:37-41) and the need to deny oneself to follow Christ. The audience was mainly from Fiji and across the South Pacific Islands and Alaska. It was an excellent opportunity to encourage young people to support and stand with Israel in this time, where both anti-Semitism and Replacement Theology are on the rise. The feedback we got from this meeting was positively overwhelming. We learnt that the idea to form GND came to the founders when they were visiting Jerusalem. From the Ends of the Earth C4I Fiji team with Member of Parliament and SODELPA Party Leader, Viliame Gavoka. | Photos: C4I Fiji October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 ...Continued from page 5 Iran and Israel Closer to an all-out-war Israel then launched a media campaign to convince the world community that the PLO leader had never intended to pursue peace after signing the Oslo accords. However, the campaign made no impression. The other ships with weapons reached Lebanon, and from there, the weapons were shipped to Hamas in Gaza, Naji said. Soleimani and Hamas The Palestinian rocket and weapons industry was developed on Soleimani’s orders in cooperation with ‘the brothers in Syria’. The military training needed to use the weapons was also given in I ran, Syria, and Lebanon. Soleimani oversaw the whole operation and ordered the Palestinian terrorist movements to be able to produce weapons and rockets independently. The weapons and rockets that Soleimani sent to Gaza were packed in waterproof containers and thrown into the sea. Soleimani worked closely with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and also arranged for the anti-tank missile to be made available to Hamas. This was used in the more recent wars against Israel. Iranian Warships Iran has also converted commercial ships into warships, which are now used to patrol the Mediterranean. The two large vessels carry helicopters, UAVs, and speedboats that the IRG also used to carry out attacks and piracy against Western nations and Israel ships. According to Lenny Ben-David, the two ships were most recently spotted in the Strait of Gibraltar, where they were escorted in dense fog by Russian warships. Ben- David is a retired Israeli diplomat and researcher for the pro-Israel American lobby organisation AIPAC and The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). Iran’s Nuclear Programme Then there is I ran’s nuclear weapons programme that is advancing steadily. Since the talks with the Biden Administration about a revised nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic stalled in June, Iran has made significant progress in its drive to produce a nuclear warhead for its long-range ballistic missiles. The Iranians stopped cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and are enriching uranium hexafluoride up to 60% now. The Iranians did this by breaching the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with six world powers and installed hundreds of advanc ed centrifuges in their nuclear facilities. The Iranians now also produce uranium metal, the material needed to make the core of a nuclear warhead. Producing uranium metal makes no sense if your nuclear programme is for civil purposes only, as Iran claims all the time. The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced at the end of September that the negotiations about the nuclear deal would be resumed within weeks. This must be regarded, however, as another ploy to buy time and nothing else. Since Iran’s new extremist president Ibrahim Raisi came into office at the beginning of August, expectations about a restart of the negotiations between the US and Iran have hit a snag. Raisi, like Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not in favour of returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the nuclear accord. Meanwhile, Israel continues to warn the world community that Iran is a little more than a half-year away from developing the nuclear warhead. We are not talking about enriching uranium up to 90%, something that will be the first step to producing the bomb. After that, it will take another half year to finish the process of assembling a nuclear warhead , according to Israeli experts. Israel will retain its right to do whatever is needed to prevent Iran from producing a nuclear weapon and has warned that it will act alone if necessary. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel will launch airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear faciliti es. Through its spy agency Mossad, the Jewish state has already proven that it uses other means to frustrate the Iranian nuclear weapons programme. The past year, Mossad assassinated the head of this programme via a remote-controlled Belgium rifle that was assembled on a truck and launched cyberattacks that destroyed parts of Iran’s nuclear facilities. All this makes it clear that Iran is working hard on its plan to wipe Israel off the map and establish a second Persian empire and that Israel will do whatever is necessary to prevent this evil Iranian plan. Bryce Turner n Executive Director | Christians for Israel New Zealand It is a privilege to bring you an update on the work taking place in New Zealand. Even though we find ourselves on the very bottom of the world (well, almost), we – along with our brothers and sisters in the Pacific islands – are still very much alive and well, despite Covid19. As this article is being written, New Zealand is again in the grip of a lockdown. Auckland (the largest city) remains at a ‘level 4’, the most secure level of restrictions, in an effort to stamp out the Delta variant. This means working from home and no meetings or events. Whilst this makes life somewhat difficult, our passion for Israel does not diminish. We are grateful for the modern technology that allows us to keep informed and continue to communicate with thousands of faithful supporters. Just starting to return to a normal schedule of speaking engagements and meetings, the latest lockdown once again sees us having to think through new ways of communicating our message, ‘social media’, whilst ensuring ‘social distancing’. These words, unheard of only a couple of decades ago, are now prominent topics of discussion. Hours spent on internet meetings, poring over books and articles, followed by what seems like days typing on computers, has become the ‘new normal’. We have recently been involved in a social media campaign, for example, encouraging New Zealanders to voice their opposition to the ‘Durban 4’ fiasco in New York when the New Zealand government refused to state their position. We were delighted when the minister finally announced that NZ would again boycott the event, acknowledging the sham of racism and anti-Semitism that the conference has continued to be. Our main work continues to be the production of the Israel and Christians Today paper. The team produce this publication from Auckland, coordinating with our editorial panel around the world. Thousands of printed copies are distributed throughout NZ and the Pacific Islands, as well as being adapted for circulation in other English-speaking countries and published online. Although on the opposite side of the world from our Israeli cousins, Christians for Israel New Zealand continues to advocate and inform, encouraging people to understand a true biblical understanding of Israel. We long for the day when we can once again take New Zealanders to visit the Holy Land in person. C4I Down Under

22. 12 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Pastoral Insights: A Series on Tabernacling with God Keith Buxton Sixth Encouragement: Sukkot rejoicing is to be linked with Scripture reading We live in what many would call a “postmodern” age. What that means, when all is said and done, is that all truth is regarded as relative. And so, according to this view, there are no longer any absolutes in life. Postmodernists have been described as generally “skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races.” Right and wrong are viewed as subjective values—if it’s right for you, then it’s right, and if it’s wrong for you, it’s wrong. We are told that we should not force our values upon anyone else. The trouble with all that, of course, is that saying there are no absolutes in life, in other words, no fixed and unchanging values, is itself an absolute. The Bible makes clear reference to such a breakdown in fundamental life values in the very sad closing verse of the book of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Few people today would question that in many aspects of our contemporary Western society there is a similar disregard for authority, and people in general are set on doing that which is right in their own eyes. All this is to be linked directly with an increasing loss of a sense of the claim that Almighty God has on the lives of all whom He has created, and a consequent self-focus in life that can in the end only spell moral and social ruin. That is why the account in Nehemiah of the rediscovery of the teaching in the Book of the Law about the great Jewish feast days is highly significant. God was calling His people back to their spiritual roots. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, amazingly in just 52 days, despite significant opposition and ridicule. We need in these days to be intentional about rebuilding the wall of God’s unchanging truth both around and within us—His holy Word! I hardly need to tell you that there are many around who in their postmodernist fervour—or through simple apathy or misguided ignorance and misinterpretation—oppose and ridicule the Word of God! But God has the last word on that: “Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:7b-8). So let us see what happened in Nehemiah’s day—it really does make for fascinating reading. Ezra the priest was reading aloud to the gathered people of God from the Book of the Law of Moses. He was reading from daybreak till noon, “and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:3). Amazing—think about it! Hour after hour standing and listening to the Word of God read out and clearly explained to them! We read in Nehemiah 8:9— “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.” Now let us see what happened when they all opened their ears and their hearts to God’s Word. “And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.’” “Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.” “Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner” (Nehemiah 8:14-18). Yes, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with great joy. But we should note that at the very centre of their celebration was God’s Word—every day! The Israelites were rediscovering their ancient roots as the people of God. Are there some ancient roots that you need to rediscover and return to? Have you allowed the Word of God to be replaced by the word of the TV reporter, the word of the press journalist, the word of the most recent popular social media influencer, the word of today’s “politically correct” social engineer? Do you need to rediscover the power and relevance of the Word of God in your life? Then the recent Feast of Tabernacles may be a timely incentive for you to put things right. Let your Sukkot rejoicing be linked with a renewed and intentional commitment to Scripture reading. I say that because the final day of this festival season is in many ways its climax, known as the “Simchat Torah”, which means “Rejoicing with the Torah”—in other words, celebrating the joy of God’s Word. On this day everyone completes the yearly cycle of Torah reading with Deuteronomy 34, and then starts again at Genesis 1. It is traditionally an especially joyous time. It is a day of completion, but also a day of recommencement—a day of new beginnings in God’s Word. Perhaps the challenge comes to some of us today to renew our commitment to regular, planned Bible reading—in effect a return to some ancient roots. Don’t put it off! Like the Israelites in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, you never know what you will discover... Jewish people often celebrate Simchat Torah by taking the Torah scrolls out to the street and dancing publicly as a way of showing their pride as Jews. A Christian writer once made an intriguing observation on this practice: “In Israel, the neighborhood streets are filled with people as whole congregations pour out of the synagogues carrying their Torah scrolls high in the air as they sing and chant in celebration.” “Can you imagine the effect on the neighborhood if your congregation did the same thing with your Bibles raised in the air? People would ask a lot of questions, and you could share with them the joy of serving the Lord God of Israel. Are we ready to put our lives on the line for God? He is inviting us to a celebration. Let’s start today.” —————————————————————— Keith Buxton is an ordained pastor. He currently serves on the C4I Australia management committee and is a liaison with C4I Oceania Island affiliates Former National Director of Bridges for Peace Australia Ezra reads God’s laws at the Watergate (Nehemiah 7-13). FreeBibleimages.org Have you allowed the Word of God to be replaced by the word of the TV reporter..? Do you need to rediscover the power and relevance of the Word of God in your life?

2. Informs • Inspires • Comforts / Other Easy Ways To Donate Name on card: My Donation Today: $ Exp Date The 3 digits of the reverse of your credit card. (4 digits if using Amex) Card No Visa Mastercard Amex (Payable to Christian’s for Israel Australia Inc) Cheque/Money Order Credit Card *CVC Cardholder’s signature: Over the Phone 07 3088 6900 (during office hours) Securely Online c4israel.com.au TEL. 07 3088 6900 EMAIL info@c4israel.com.au www.c4israel.com.au Visiting address: 3398 Pacific Highway Springwood QLD 4127 P .O. Box 1508 Springwood QLD 4127 Australia ABN: 79 941 819 693 Christians for Israel Australia Inc. Bank Transfer BSB: 014-279 ACC: 405318551 REF: Member Number that history is not a circle that endlessly keeps spinning round and constantly repeats itself. History is a line, with a beginning and an end. History is coming to a climax with a final goal. From creation t o re- creation. From Paradise to the Kingdom of God. Where are we today on this timeline of history? How close are we at this moment that the divine liberation of planet earth and its mankind becomes true reality? As a Christian charitable ministry we want to make the newspaper freely available so we can continue to inform and inspire more believers to comfort Israel and her people during these distressing and uncertain times. So for you donation of $50 or more I would like to send you your own copy of this new book ‘ Until...’ while stocks last. God bless you as you give generously and prayerfully in Jesus Name. Ian Worby, National Leader And the Christians for Israel Australia team. P.S. This special edition of Israel & Christians Today celebrates 25 years of bringing the Jews home to Israel. I trust you will be encouraged by the stories enclosed of the faithful work and support of those who have been participating in the prophetic fulfilment of aliyah (Ezekiel 11:17-18)—as well as those who have benefited from such practical love. Please consider partnering with the various aliyah causes, as well as other Israeli projects to bring comfort to the Lord’s people. Your practical financial gifts go a long way to demonstrating the love of God to those in need—details are on the back page of your Newspaper.

18. 8 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 A Special Report on the Rise of Jewish Hatred The story is told of Louis Brandeis who graduated from the Harvard Law School at the young age of 20, with the highest- grade point average in that school’s history, who was later appointed to the USA Supreme Court, as a Judge. When Brandeis was studying law at Harvard, an anti-Semitic professor by the name of Peters always displayed animosity towards him. One day Professor Peters was having lunch at the University dining room when Brandeis came along with his tray and sat next to him. The professor said, “Mr. Brandeis you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat.” Brandeis looked at him and calmly replied, “Don’t worry professor, I’ll fly away,” and he went and sat at another table! When it comes to responding to anti- Semitism one needs to understand which response is appropriate for that individual or occasion, it’s not one size fits all. We see this very idea given in the Torah where Moses provides two totally different responses to Israel’s enemies at that time. In the days of Moses, the Israelites had two enemies the Egyptians and the Amalekites. The Egyptians enslaved and oppressed the Israelites for 210 years. When hearing from Astrologers that a Redeemer will be born to the Jewish people, Pharaoh commanded that every male Israelite child be drowned. Yet at the end of his life, Moses in his parting address to the Jewish people, commands; “Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were strangers in his land” . (Deut. 23:8). There in Egypt, they sustained you and your families with shelter, food, and clothing. This is in stark contrast with the Amalekites who did no more than attack the Israelites on one occasion, an attack that was successfully repelled. Moses commands, “Remember and do not forget what the Amalekites did” (Ex. 17:13). Furthermore, the Torah says that “God shall be at war with Amalek for all generations” (Ex. 17:16). Why did Moses make this distinction, as he told the Israelites, in effect, to forgive the Egyptians but never the Amalekites? To share one perspective on this Biblical narrative. Psychologists teach us that when hate is rational, based on fear, logic, or reason, (justified or not) then this can be debated and discussed, at times brought to an end. However, when there is irrational and baseless hatred, there can be no rational discussion and there is nothing one can do to put this to an end. This was the difference between the Amalekites and the Egyptians. The Egyptians’ hatred and fear of the Israelites was rational. At the outset of the oppression of the Hebrews Pharaoh said to his people. “The Israelites are becoming too numerous and strong for us. We must deal wisely with them. Otherwise, they may multiply, so that if there is war, they will join our enemies and fight against us, driving [us] from the land.” (Ex. 1:9-10) The Egyptians feared the Israelites because they were numerous. They constituted a potential threat to the native Egyptian population; this was a rational fear for the Egyptians. They saw the Hebrews as a separate people and population who were strong and a potential hostile threat from within, in the event of an attack by outsiders. The Egyptians’ fear, in this case was unjustified as the Israelites did not want to take over Egypt. Quite the contrary, they would have preferred to leave. Not every rational emotion is justified, however every rational emotion (however unjustified) can, in principle, be cured through reasoning and discussion. With rational hate it is possible to reason, and Truth can prevail. Precisely the opposite was true of the Amalekites. The Jewish people had just experienced one of the greatest manifestations of divine power in history. Ten supernatural plagues had compelled the mightiest nation on earth to free them from their servitude. The Reed Sea had split before them, and manna had rained from the heavens to nourish them, and they were on the way to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Midrash portrays this attack vividly with the following parable. To what is the episode of Amalek comparable? To a boiling tub of water which no creature was able to enter. Along came one evil fool and jumped into the tub proclaiming, “the water is not hot!”. Although he was burned, he cooled the intensity off the heat of the bath for the others. So, too, when Israel came out of Egypt, and G - d split the sea bef ore them and drowned the Egyptians within it, the fear of them fell upon all the nations. However, when Amalek came and challenged them, although he was utterly defeated, he cooled the awe for Israelites from the nations of the world. The evil Amalek was at heart a pagan, who detested the Jews, their G-d and all what they represented. As such, he constitutes the archenemy of the Jewish people, their G-d, and their mission. Therefore, Moses proclaimed following the war with Amalek, “G - d has sworn by H is throne; G - d is at war with Amalek for all generations.” The hatred, symbolised by Amalek, lasts “for all generations.” All one can do is to remember and not forget, to be constantly vigilant, and to fight it whenever it surfaces. In today’s world, we are witnessing once again an unprecedented rise in anti- Semitism, both here in Australia and around the world. We must discern that not all hostility to Jews, or to Israel is irrational. Indeed, some of the proponents can be reasoned with and engaged in discussion for a good outcome. However, there are others, who are repeating and reimagining the myths of the past, from the Blood Libel to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In these cases, all we can do is to highlight this, confront the evil and defend ourselves. We would be remiss to ignore that for centuries, many of the abuses suffered by Jews were at the hands of Christians. Jews were the first victims of the venomous atmosphere of hatred in Christian Europe. We saw that hatred and bigotry, culminate in the Holocaust; the ultimate descent into evil, which demonstrated to the world that hate, bigotry and persecution will eventually affect and destroy everyone. Yet today, we have also seen an unprecedented number of members from the Christian community and their leadership who have expressed remorse and regret over past actions of the Christian Church. Furthermore, they have articulated, G-d’s continued purpose of the Jewish people and the centrality of the Land of Israel for all of Humanity as “a light unto the nations” (Isaiah 49.6). Therefore, Jews must extend a hand of friendship and acknowledge these righteous people, particularly their leadership and encourage them to speak out against the evils of anti-Semitism. Particularly because that in the Torah the treatment of strangers, the seminal outsiders, and the oppressed is not merely the subject of a solitary legal command but an imperative of the Divine will. The Rabbis in the Talmud (Bava Mezia 59b), write that the Torah admonishes us about the treatment of strangers no fewer than 36 times, “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the Land of Egypt.” (Exod. 23:9). No other commandment is repeated so often, therefore we as believers in the Truth of the Torah, cannot remain silent when a people, particularly the Jews are being oppressed. In a post-Holocaust world, we must take to heart, one of the key lessons of that period. That any decent human being, how much more so, Christians, who are believers in the Truth of the Torah, must respond to the cries of the persecuted. Just say No, to Anti–Semitism Rabbi Yitzhok Riesenberg Rabbi and Founder of Central Shule Melbourne In today’s world, we are witnessing once again an unprecedented rise in anti-Semitism, both here in Australia and around the world.

25. 15 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Geocultural Analysis Pandemic is a Greek word meaning something relating to all people, not just a limited area, but stems from the god Pan, who was not just a god for some of the aristocracy but for all people. Pan was the god not of the city (he had no temples) but of the countryside, woods, wild places. He was also the god of sheep and shepherds and of rustic music (pan pipes). He was depicted as being half goat (waist down) and half human (humanism stemming from Greek thinking), with goat’s horns on his head (human/Greek knowledge). Greece was depicted in Daniel as a goat (Dan 8:21). He was ugly, like Satan himself. Pan was shrewd and deceiving (Dan 8:25). He could turn inanimate objects into a different form. There has been much deception about this virus and the vaccines, and it has transformed itself into several variants. Pan was strong, fast and could run long distances (Dan 8:24), and so is this virus. Pan could teleport himself from earth to Mt Olympus. The virus has been transported across the globe. In Dan 8:25, the ruler of Greece who would destroy to an extraordinary degree, and oppose the Prince of princes, is broken without human agency. There is a story about Pan ( www. greekgodsandgoddesses.net/gods/pan ) that during a war, he helped a friend survive a vicious struggle by letting out a piercing cry that frightened the enemy and caused him to flee. From this story, we get the word ‘panic,’ the definition of which is, ‘the sudden, uncontrollable fear that leads people into irrational behaviour.’ That sounds rather like what has happened in this pandemic also! In ancient Israel, Pan was worshipped at Caesarea Philippi, situated at a spring which is one of the sources of the Jordan River. There is a large cave there, where children were thrown in to their death in sacrifice to Pan. Because of this, it was known as ‘the Gates of Hell/Hades’. It was here, told in Matt 16:13-19, that Jesus took His disciples to ask them ‘Who do people say that the Son of man is?’ and ‘Who do you say I am’? Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. God promises to build His church upon this confession and the gates of Hell/Hades would not overpower it. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were given there to bind and to loose—in other words, to make legal decrees, in line with God’s will, that affect people (and nations). In the face of this Pandemic, it is the responsibility of the ‘ekklesia’ according to 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 and Ephesians 3:10 to use the authority God has given us to rule with Him to bind the power of this Pan-demic and loose people’s lives and our land from its destruction. “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron 7:13-14 NIV). “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Eph 3:10 NIV). God’s desire to heal our land and its people has not changed and He has given us the keys—humble ourselves (in Judaism that is to repent and fast), pray, seek His face (not just His hand) and turn from our wicked ways. We have prayed, but have we really met the other three requirements? Are we content to wait for human answers or will we press in for God to break through and bring revival in our land? All creation is waiting... “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:19-21 NIV). —————————————————————— Jill Curry is author of ‘The Anzac Call.’ Jill Curry Jewish & Israel Prayer Focus Cooordinator Pandemic and the god Pan God’s desire to heal our land and its people has not changed and He has given us the keys Pan’s characteristics COVID-19 characteristics Goat/Greece in Dan 8 Shrewd, deceiving Much deception V 23, 25 Insolent, skilled in intrigue, shrewd, arrogant, destructive, opposes Prince Could change form of objects Several variants Strong, fast and could run long distances Fast moving, virulent and long-running V 24 Strong, destructive Could teleport himself Spread across the globe Caused panic Caused panic The Banias Nature Reserve (aka The Gates of Hell) with the ruins of the old Greek and Roman temple complex of the Greek god Pan, god of the forests and shepherds, Golan Heights, North Israel.

24. 14 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 The Collapse of Afghanistan and the Implications for the West and Israel The mortal danger of losing the will to fight If there was ever a lesson we must learn from the disaster of Afghanistan it is this, victory comes from motivation from within not support from without. The Afghan army had the firepower and support from arguably the greatest military power on earth so why did they fall quicker than a snowman in a sudden heatwave? President Biden rightly said, “it was because they had no will to fight ”. The threat to Israel There is no doubt the forces of militant Islam have been greatly emboldened by their victory in Afghanistan and they have made clear their intentions regarding Israel. To make matters worse, a huge amount of sophisticated weaponry left behind by the Americans is finding its way already into Iran the arch enemy of Israel. Fortunately, all Jews have now been extricated from the country but the large and growing Christian population will have to take cover according to Lt. Col Richard Kemp. They are desperately in need of our prayers, as the “cleansing purge” of the Taliban has already begun. There is every chance of a blood bath occurring and if some reports are correct, it may have started already. Rest assured, like Covid, “Islamic Holy War” is here to stay. The threat to Australia and the war against God My great fear is that we in Western democracies will cave in to the ever constant assault on our freedoms and values by the Socialist Marxist forces of the left. This ideology has been marching through our universities for years undermining steadily the Judaeo- Christian values that have been the bulwark of Western democracy. The important thing to realise is that there is a powerful spiritual dimension to this, in short, it is a revolt against God. Karl Marx revealed his allegiance with the enemy of God in his dark poem. ‘The Fiddler’. “With Satan I have struck my deal. He chalks the signs, beats time for me, I play the death march fast and free”. Another line from the ‘Pale Maiden’ states; “Thus heaven I’ve forfeited, I know it full well. My soul once true to God, is chosen for hell.” We may feel outgunned and out numbered, but take heart from the lessons of history. Gideon with just 300 defeated the great Midianite Army. Fast forwarding to 1948, the small Israeli army armed with not much more than Lee Enfield rifles, defeated six heavily armed Arab armies. In a different arena men like Wilberforce, Shaftesbury and other slavery abolitionists, although greatly outnumbered, took on the might of the prevailing powers and won. There is a common dynamic here and it is this, they all had an unshakeable belief in the rightness of their cause and above all a willingness to fight to the end. They did not live with their heads in the clouds, they knew that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26 NKJV). In America they sent petitions to Congress, ran for political office and inundated people of the South with anti-slavery literature. Wilberforce did the same in the UK parliament. The great cosmic battle between good and evil is spilling out onto the stage of human history as never before. It is so easy to get conditioned by the Marxist influences which are designed to do just that, condition us slowly but surely to accept their Godless worldview. Marxists know how to manipulate a crisis to achieve their own agenda, and I believe we are seeing this happening before our eyes. We are at war Rod Dreher remarked, “The future of Christianity depends on the ability of believers to find effective ways of living out our faith in an increasingly hostile and chaotic culture.” Does this just mean we turn the other cheek and accept our lot? I think not, the New Testament uses military terminology to a great extent in describing the Christian life. We have lost the ability to travel freely, meet with loved ones even at a funeral, and even when State boarders are open, passports will no doubt be required. Religious freedom is also under attack, as the “left” see that “freedom” as code for anti-gay bigotry and are campaigning strongly against it. Our ANZAC history and indeed history in general, tells us freedom comes at a cost. The apostle Paul encourages us to “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men and be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NASB). If we lose the will to fight, all will be lost. That is the lesson of Afghanistan. —————————————————————— Barry Rodgers OAM, President of Beersheba Vision . Website: www.beershebavision.org Email: admin@beershebavision.org Barry Rodgers OAM President of Beersheba Vision Opinion Piece from Beersheba Vision The great cosmic battle between good and evil is spilling out onto the stage of human history as never before. Gideon choosing his soldiers: Picture from The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments books collection published in 1885, Stuttgart-Germany. Drawings by Gustave Dore.

11. Dear Faithful readers and friends (Chavorim), Welcome to this October-November Edition of our Australian Israel and Christians Today Newspaper. I’m writing this in the middle of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles or “Sukkot” as its better known by our Jewish brothers and sisters. This is one of the 7 main feasts of Israel. It is to celebrate and remember how the Lord sheltered and protected the children of Israel during their wandering in the wilderness as they made their exodus from slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land of Israel. It is a time of introspection, and to repair our relationships with one another and with God. In preparation for the Holiest day of all, the day of atonement or Yom Kippur. When God gave the law and the day when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat for the atonement of the people. During the feast of Sukkot they start praying for the early rains to come after the long dry season, so they’ll have a good harvest and plenty of water in their cisterns to survive the coming year. You may recall from the Gospel that Jesus attended the last and greatest of the 8 days of Sukkot which is called Hoshana Rabbah , it was the final and most important day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Every day during the feast there was a water ceremony (Isaiah 12:3). The crowd would shake their lulavs and sing the Hallel Psalms, Psalms 113-118. Rabbah means ‘great’ and Hoshana (Hosanna) means ‘God save us please!’ This was also a prayer for salvation from sin, for Hoshana Rabbah was understood by the Jews to be the absolutely final chance to have one’s sins for the year forgiven. Though Hoshana Rabbah was not mentioned by name in the Old Testament, it is mentioned in the New Testament in John 7:37-38. On Hoshana Rabbah, in the midst of this water pouring, trumpet blasting, palm waving, psalm chanting, and joy on the part of people seeking forgiveness—and in the presence of all 24 divisions of the priesthood—that Jesus cried out in the Temple courts and spoke, Here is what John recorded... “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet. Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. Finally, the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” ( John 7:37-45 NKJV) As we continue reading through to Chapter 8, the Priests and Pharisees try to trap Jesus by bringing a woman caught in adultery to see if He’d convict her. There are a number of issues with this charge made by the Scribes and Pharisees on Hoshana Rabbah. Is the woman married or betrothed to another man? Because a betrothed woman who is sexually unfaithful to her fiancé was to be stoned to death along with her lover, see John 8:5 / Deuteronomy 22:23-24. So where was the man? Why wasn’t he bought out as well? Unfaithful wives were likewise killed (see Lev 20:10 / Deut 22:22), but the Law didn’t indicate the method of death. The Mishnah, which was oral law in Jesus’ day, specified unfaithful fiancés should be stoned, but wives strangled (Sanhedrin 7:2). So, here we are in John 8, it’s the last day for these Scribes and Pharisees to have their sins forgiven, and Jesus says, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (Jn 8:7-10 NKJV) What did Jesus write on the ground? We are not sure what Jesus wrote in the dust (John 8:6-8). Many believe that He began to write in Hebrew some verse from the Law, or sins committed, or names. However; two Scriptures do talk about God being the source of ‘living water.’ The first in, Jeremiah 2:13 and again in Jeremiah 17:13 Please note the context of the second time Jeremiah uses the phrase ‘living waters’ but also mentions that those who rejected God’s Spring of Living water (Jesus) their names would be written in the dust or ground! Wow, I never saw this before. “Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.” Jer:17:13 NKJV Because Jesus must have been sitting and the woman standing, He now raises Himself up and speaks to her for the first time in John 8:10. His questions do not imply that the woman is innocent since in John 8:11, He warns her to cease a sinful life that has been her habit—rather his questions reflect His power to forgive sin. The account of the woman in this story is powerful. Jesus judgment on her accusers and His mercy mixed with exhortation sets her free in a manner she never expected. And what Jesus did for this woman, caught in sin, He can do for you and me as well. So in conclusion; these Feasts are a timely reminder that thanksgiving is an important part of our daily lives. Sukkot and Tabernacles says, be thankful for what God has given you and bring them to Him and wave them in hand, as an offering wrapped in your personal lulav thank Him. In this edition, we have a great line up of rich and informative content from our wonderful contributors. Starting with a touching update from Ukraine on our adopt a Holocaust survivor program, to bring comfort to those poor Jewish survivors and their families 80 years on. Get the latest political analysis of the new Israeli Government by Dr Ron Weiser. Discover the prophetic meaning of the Hebrew year 5782 with Pastor Enoch Lavender, something to thinc about with international lawyers Andrew Tucker and Pieter Hoogendoor on why Durban and BDS is wrong. A special report on the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism here in Australia by Rabbi Reisenberg and the Southern Cross Alliance for Israel . The latest Biblical updates from the Israel Guys at HaYovel , and more pastoral insights on Sukkot from Keith Buxton. Our Jerusalem Watchman and Tour Guide, Stan Goodenough provokes us with another thoughtful opinion piece on the creation of Palestine. Barry Rodgers from Beersheba Vision looks at the collapse of Afghanistan. While Jill Curry brings us a new perspective about the connection between the Covid Pandemic and the ancient pagan god Pan from the Gates of Hell where Jesus taught in Israel. And finally I’m pleased to announce the latest book by our International President Rev. Willem Glaushower— ’Until...Fourteen Prophetic Horizons.’ This is an extremely encouraging Bible study that shows we are moving towards a divine liberation and climax and where we’re on God’s timeline. God bless you all as you continue to pray and support the Lord’s work in bringing love, comfort and hope in these very uncertain and troubled times. ____________________________________ Ian Worby National Leader & Regional Director for Christians for Israel Australia & Oceania. PS, Our application for DGR status as a Public Benevolent Institution hit a roadblock with the assessors, but we are confident it will soon be cleared. Please continue to pray for favour. October 2021 Report From Our National Leader Comforts Informs Inspires Ian Worby C4I Australia National Leader and Regional Director for Oceania Ian and Mandy Worby in Jerusalem, Israel. John 8:2-11 – The account of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. www.LumoProject.com

9. 7 Bring the Jews Home October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Yegor (40), Elena (37), Angelina (12) & Emilia (18 mths) Pismichenko For Yegor and Elena, moving to Israel is a logical step: they are the third in line. They follow his younger brother and sister, who made Aliyah before them. Yegor and Elena are used to carefully planning everything. But this is a step into the deep: they have never been to Israel, but they know that this is where their future lies. In Israel, they will spend a year at First Home in the Homeland, an integration project whereby families live in a kibbutz for a year and receive intensive language training and a warm welcome from its residents. Elena: “Of course, it is a big step. We leave our friends here, and our parents, and Yegor’s grandmother. But we want to do this for the children because they will have far more opportunities in Israel.” Daughter Angelina shows that she is already busy learning Hebrew words. She proudly shows her notebook in which she has written some Hebrew phrases. They make one last visit to grandmother Ludmilla Yefimovna (90). The old lady is in tears as she realises that this might be the last time s he sees her grandson and great-granddaughter. Yet, she is determined to let them go since it was her idea. She chose to accept her own sadness so that her grandchildren will have a hopeful future in the Jewish homeland. My father was an inveterate communist,” says Ludmilla. “At home, it was never mentioned that we were Jewish. Later in life, it became much more meaningful to me. I never dared dream this when I was young, but now my grandchildren are going to their new homeland.” Emotionally, Ludmilla gives a Hanukkah menorah to her great-granddaughter Angelina. A reminder of her ‘babushka’ who stays behind in Ukraine. After an emotional farewell and the long drive from Zaporozhe to Kiev, the family arrives at Boryspol Airport. A short panic ensues, as the date on the certificate of the mandatory PCR test is incorrect. Fortunately, the error is quickly corrected, and the Pismichenko family can finally leave. A long-cherished dream finally comes true for them. 25 Years Bring the Jews Home A quarter of a century ago, Christians for Israel launched the Bring the Jews Home campaign. They found inspiration for this in the Bible, which speaks countless times about the return of the Jews to the land. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, millions of Soviet Jews went on Aliyah. But also Jews from many other countries worldwide are also returning home. Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International: “God is bringing His people home, prophecies are being fulfilled. We are grateful that we can be witnesses of this.” Koen Carlier has been the coordinator of Christians for Israel in Ukraine from the beginning: “We have a dedicated team of twenty people in Ukraine who visit Jewish communities on a daily basis, comforting the people and helping where they can. We assist Jews who want to make Aliyah with the necessary documents, trips to the embassy and the airport. We support poor families and Holocaust survivors with food parcels and a special sponsorship programme. But above all, we want to listen to them and stand by their side. Because of the support of many Christians around the world, we have been able to do this for 25 years now. And we are highly motivated to continue doing so! Will you join us? Help with the Return Through your faithful support over the years, Christians for Israel has been able to help Jews from many countries return to Israel. Thank you for supporting this work both with your prayers and financially. Ukraine For A $3 5 0, Koen Carlier and his team can help Jews in Ukraine with transportation to the consulate and the embassy, and later to the airport. Time and again it turns out that all these people find it very special that there are people who are willing to help them selflessly. India Jews in the north-east of India are also returning to Israel, the Bnei Menashe. We help them with the tickets for their journey, which consists of many layovers. The difference in purchasing power between Israel and India is so large that, without your help, they would never be able to go to Israel, because they simply cannot afford the A $1 4 6 0 trip themselves. Other Countries We help Jewish people from other places to make Aliyah as well, but because of security issues in some of these countries we cannot report on them. You may contribute a general donation to support this work. If you would like to make a donation, Please complete the coupon on page 16. Our driver Igor helps one of the youngsters checking final details. | Photo: Svetlana Soroka Arriving in Israel. | Photo: Jewish Agency for Israel Emotional moments as parents say goodbye to their children. | Photos: Svetlana Soroka

33. Help Us Help Them Ability. Inclusion. Diversity. ADI (formerly ALEH) has grown into a global community founded on the principles of sensitivity, inclusion, commitment and kindness. Join ADI in making a real difference in the lives of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens – children, adolescents and adults with severe disabilities and complex medical conditions. Everyone is familiar with it - and maybe even more so after working from home - that one chair which you use and it doesn’t sit well. It irritates, takes you out of your concentration, and you may even have back pain at the end of the day. The same applies to wheelchair users, but often with a far greater impact, because they cannot do without that chair. This can be remedied with wheelchairs that have an adjustable seat, and this gives children the chance to follow the lessons much better. And this is possible thanks to your help! This spring, the organisation ADI (formerly ALEH) in Jerusalem approached us with a request for five wheelchairs with adjustable seats. The children who come to ADI for help are multiple disabled and often wheelchair bound. It is also much more difficult for them to make it clear that a wheelchair is not a good fit. However, the teachers and therapists do notice in the long run. The children have difficulty concentrating during the lessons. It is even harder for them to move around. Or they constantly have to make an effort to keep themselves upright in the chair. And all this costs energy, a lot of energy. Visible Effect A wheelchair with an adjustable seat solves many of these problems. It provides support, freedom of movement where necessary, stability. And the effect? “The children eat better, it is better for their digestion, it gives them more independence. Their concentration at school improves, which means that they are able to pick up more of the lessons. All this is a huge benefit for these children who are faced with a lot of limitations.” Not all children get such a wheelchair. In Israel, the government can be quite bureaucratic from time to time, which means that children who need such a wheelchair cannot get one. This is why ADI asked us for help in purchasing five wheelchairs. We have already paid for the wheelchairs in advance since the purchase was urgent. Your contribution towards these wheelchairs, several thousands of dollars each, is welcome! Please complete the coupon on page 16. 15 From Our Projects Part of our mission is to comfort Israel and the Jewish people through prayer and action. If you would like to support one of our projects you can complete the coupon on page 16 or make an online donation. Thank you very much for your support! Aliyah Aliyah is the Hebrew word for the return of the Jewish people to Israel. We support Aliyah mainly from Ukraine (and the former Soviet Union), but also from India and France. Furthermore, we help new immigrants (in Hebrew: olim ) to integrate into Israeli society. Hineni"Soup"Kitchen We help the poor of Israel, by providing them with food. We do this in partnership with the Hineni Center in Jerusalem, headed by Benjamin Philip. Your gift for the soup kitchen goes directly to the purchase of food. Holocaust"Survivors We support impoverished Holocaust survivors in Israel and Ukraine through various projects which provide assistance to survivors of the Holocaust. Those survivors are elderly and will not be among us for long, and there is a growing demand for practical assistance. Christian"Friends"of"Israeli"Communities" (CFOIC) You can support the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the heart of Biblical Israel. The main purpose is to encourage the people in the Biblical Heartland and to show them that there are Christians throughout the world who support them and share the belief that the areas of Judea and Samaria are part of Israel’s inheritance. Food"Parcel"Campaign"Ukraine We distribute food parcels amongst Jewish people in Ukraine. These parcels are handed out to Holocaust survivors, needy families, and the sick. Those food parcels are a sign of friendship that demonstrates your support for our Jewish brothers and sisters and that they are not alone. Arab"Christians Life for Christians in Bethlehem is often not easy. Christians for Israel supports the First Baptist Church of Rev Naim Khoury in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The members of this church spread the gospel among Arabs and share their love and heart for Israel and the Jewish people. For country-specific or further information on our projects, go to our website, www.c4israel.org.nz Overview of our projects ADI Offers Children a Chance October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782

23. 13 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Opinion Piece from the Jerusalem Watchman Unstoppable: The Creation of Palestine Surrogate Europe is in labour. The baby will be named Palestine. The due date: 2030 On September 20, 2021, an article was published that should stop us in our tracks—and spur into action—every Christian who understands that there is a fight raging to reverse the restoration of Israel to her Land. It was headlined: EU plans to spend 3 billion Euros creating a de-facto Palestinian state by 2030. ( www.worldisraelnews.com/eu-plans- to-spend-3-billion-euros-creating-a-de- facto-palestinian-state-by-2030/ ) The European Union, reported World Israel News (WIN) staffer Donna Rachel Edmunds, has elected to circumvent the stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and take it upon itself to build the state on the Arabs’ behalf. Substantiating the report, quotes from both Israeli and Arab sources reveal that: • Europe is activel y promoting and bankrolling the construction of Palestinian Arab settlements in the parts of Judea and Samaria designated as ‘Area C’. (As agreed to by the Palestinian signatories to the Oslo Accords, these areas are under exclusive Israeli control.) • The EU has assigned segments of the J ews’ ancestral land in Area C to individual European states, tasking each with drafting plans and allocating budgets for construction there. • Compl etely ignoring the Israeli government, which is the legal authority, these European states have dispatched architects and contractors to their areas to facilitate the building. • So far, 120 million E uros have been poured into Arab construction in Area C, with Germany this past September 13 announcing its intention to plough 100 million more into Palestinian projects, including in Area C. • The Palestinian A uthority—whose frayed political fortunes are being frantically propped up by nations fearful of a Hamas takeover of “Palestine”—thanked “the government and people of Germany for their... continuing commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people...to establish their independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital....” • Europe ’s blatantly criminal intrusion into Israel’s affairs has gone on for years. According to the Israeli NGO Regavim, by 2015 the EU had constructed more than 400 buildings in 27 locations throughout Samaria and Judea. Called ’the EU settlements’ by locals, the structures flew EU flags to dissuade Israel from demolishing them. • The Israeli monitor Ad Kan, states that the EU decided this year “ to move from pilot plan to implementation, and then wait to see the Israeli response to actual construction.” • Europe ’s conduct is illicit, arrogant and blatantly one-sided, as the article notes. An argument often resorted to by Israel’s multitudinous critics is that the Jewish state is establishing facts on the ground with its own settlement construction—and that this is illegal under international law. This is a lie. International law in fact supports Jewish close settlement of all the region west of the Jordan River. At the same time, these anti-Zionists completely ignore the EU’s barefaced funding of proscribed Palestinian construction that entrenches the Arab occupation. Palestine’s tentacles are spreading over the Mountains of Israel, across the Samarian and Judean hills and into its valleys. It is proliferating on both sides of Highway 60—“The Way of the Patriarchs” walked by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Towns are mushrooming, their glittering new mosques surrounded by mansions, villas, and transplanted date-palm groves. Apartment blocks abound, many of them shells without windows or connected utilities—erected solely to affirm the Arab proclamation, “We are here and we will build.” What the WIN report uncovers is that the birth of the illegitimate State of Palestine (a birth, not a rebirth, because it’s never existed before and has no historical or legal leg to stand on) is well underway, with the EU its surrogate mother. The child is in the birth canal; the contractions are intensifying; the due date is now marked on the world’s calendar. Eight years from now—unless God intervenes—the nation that has never been a nation will have its independent state; right in the heart of the Land of Israel. Drive from Jerusalem’s northern suburbs, through the checkpoint, and head past Gibeah, Bethel, Ai and Shiloh. As you journey, a shocking fact becomes inescapable: It is now both politically and physically impossible to prevent the establishment of this state . Twenty years ago the door could have been slammed on it. The Second Intifada , from September 2000, demonstrated the unworkability, immorality and sheer, wishful-thinking stupidity of “Land for Peace”. The Israeli left was a mass casualty of that war—its ethos exposed as delusional. The 9-11 attack gave Americans a taste of the terror so often inflicted on Israel. It didn’t last, but for a little while there was some understanding, some comprehension, a little empathy across the Atlantic. Even 10 years ago—almost a decade after the US enslaved itself to the notion of a “Two State Solution”—some hope remained of scuttling it. Binyamin Netanyahu was at the helm of a right-leaning Israel, while the violence-fomenting Arabs were divided between the inept PA and a widely- abhorred Hamas. The Arabs’ century-long spurning of the Jews’ outstretched hand gave rise to the adage that “the Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” For as long as this was true, it guaranteed the stillbirth of their state. The thing is, it remains true. Israel has no “partner for peace”. It hasn’t for years. The Arabs are more deeply divided than ever; split between the ascendent Hamas, volubly promoting itself as the defender and protector of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa, and the increasingly unpopular PA leadership, whose last election was in 2006 and which is reluctant to hold another for the very real fear that Hamas would win. ( www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/12/ hamas-wants-to-be-crowned-the- guardian-of-jerusalem/ ) The new coalition government in Jerusalem is critically dysfunctional. Negotiations remain gridlocked. So, we have this intensifying situation on the ground, where the EU has picked up the ball, taken up the ‘Palestinian cause’ and decided that they will drive it and will birth this state. Israel has no say in the matter. The EU is succeeding—and here is the upsetting truth: they are succeeding and they will have victory not least because so many Christians who are Israel-aware (a sad minority in the Church to begin with) have had their attention arrested by diversions. We are fighting other battles, battles against things that affect us, our countries, our societies. Covid and Climate Change preoccupy us. Gog and Magog and “the Rapture” excite our expectations. The Enemy, however, is not diverted. He is totally focused; his forces are fully engaged. A cry goes up from Jerusalem: “Where are the watchmen on my walls?” “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent...” (Isaiah 62:6) —————————————————————— Stan Goodenough is an Evangelical (Gentile) Israel-accredited tour guide who for 30 years called Jerusalem home. After Covid-19 collapsed tourism to Israel, he moved with his family to the Czech Republic from where he is closely following events tied to the unparalleled wonder of Israel’s unfolding rebirth. When the borders reopen, he plans to return to guiding God’s Land. www.jerusalemwatchman.org Stan Goodenough Journalist and an Israeli-accredited tour guide Eight years from now...the nation that has never been a nation will have its independent state; right in the heart of the Land of Israel.

12. 2 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Two Holocaust survivors from Nikolayev share Two Holocaust survivors from Nikolayev share their story 80 years after the massacres in Ukraine This year the world commemorates not only the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union 80 years ago, but also the massacres of the Jewish population following suit. Ukraine was one of the main sites of terror. On Sept. 29 and 30, 1941, the German occupational forces shot 33,771 Jewish residents in the ravine of Babi Yar on the outskirts of Kiev. The timing was chosen on purpose—it was Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday. Apart from the widely known site of Babi Yar, estimates speak of another 2,000 Jewish mass graves in Ukraine, where similar atrocities happened. When we push the doorbell, we hear Yuri approaching in his felt slippers. We are in the Ukrainian harbor city of Nikolayev. The antique lift has taken us to one of the upper floors of a typical Soviet-style apartment block. Yuri is overjoyed to see us, such a surprise! Yuri has to manage on his own, we notice immediately as we set down a bag with fresh food items in the hallway. His wife died six months ago. The two of them had shared half a century in this city. The Jewish Community in Nikolayev on the Black Sea has existed for some 200 years. One Czar expelled the Jews, the next one brought them back, keen on developing grain trade with the help of his entrepreneurial Jewish citizens. The gruesome pogroms increased in frequency toward the turn of the century just before World War I, costing many Jewish casualties. The Bolshevik Revolution forced Jewish religious life underground, synagogues were gradually closed. Under Soviet rule, the Old Synagogue became the House of Atheists. Between the wars, Nikolayev had 25,000 Jewish residents, with more Jewish refugees flooding in from Poland after the outbreak of the war there. When German Wehrmacht troops occupied Nikolayev following the attack on the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Yuri was five years old. “Father went to the battlefront immediately,” Yuri says. “We never saw him again. He was killed in action.” After the first few statements I realize that Yuri has a dramatic history, so I ask him if he could share the whole story from the beginning, while I record. Yuri cringes. “I can’t... it’s too hard.” After a while, he gives it a try. “I remember everything as if it was yesterday. We were taken to the county prison in Pervomaisk. Half of the people were immediately shot. And in front of my eyes...,” Yuri breaks out into a sob. “In front of my eyes they also shot my two sisters.” The men were “useful” enough for the occupational forces. They were left alive and forced to clean up the city, which had been heavily hit by bombing, including the train tracks. But there was not much little Yuri could contribute, along with his brother and mother, and the three of them were taken to a death camp. “It was secured by barbed wire. We were not given anything to eat or to drink. The young Ukrainian police guards, who worked for the fascists, constantly beat us...” After one year, a group of people including Yuri’s family succeeded in digging a tunnel under the fence and escaped. But not for long—they were caught and taken to a nearby ghetto, a type of labor camp guarded by less brutal Romanian soldiers. That was where Yuri, having to grow up by the time he turned eight, saw the day of liberation by the Red Army in March 1944. “We returned to our hometown, only to find out that we were no longer welcome there, either,” Yuri continued. “We were even advised not to tell anyone that we had been in a camp, otherwise we might end up in prison again. The Soviet Union constantly put people in prison...” —Stalin would accuse the survivors of having collaborated with the fascists to survive, taking them to the next camp. “Then came the hunger years,” Yuri remembers. “People ate whatever they could find. Mom would go to the cemetery and collect the snippets of ceremonial bread people had laid on the tombs for their deceased relatives, and she would give those to us to eat. That’s how we survived.” Yuri worked odd jobs wherever he was needed. Later he joined the military. Actually, Yuri is not his real name, we learn after a while. “My real name is Izya—short for Izrail” Yuri confides to us. “But what did life hold for an Izya in the Soviet Union?” Yuri asks, as a rhetorical question, pointing to the deep-seated anti-Semitism under the Soviet regime. “Nothing. So, I changed my name to Yuri.” Deeply moved by Yuri’s story I kneel before him and ask forgiveness for the suffering caused by Germans for him and his family. Then I place a small gift sachet with a heart-shaped waffle baked by my mom in his hands. And Yuri— presses a kiss on my hand. The prayer Irina lives not far from Yuri. She is five years older and grew up in a town of German settlers that had been joined by many Jewish families who felt drawn to My Name is Izrail, Actually Yuri receives a heart-shaped waffle from Germany. Photo: Alina Gryadchenko, C4I Ukraine Yuri, a Holocaust survivor, receives a visit by C4I team member Anemone. Photo: Alina Gryadchenko, C4I Ukraine Anemone Rüger Christians for Israel Coordinator for Holocaust Survivors & Elderly Sponsorship Program in Ukraine

6. Palestinian Media Watch n A suicide bomber murdered 15 people, including seven children, and wounded 130 when he detonated his bomb in the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem on 9 August 2001. The Terror Attack On 9 August 2001, 20-year-old Ahlam Tamimi and 22- year-old Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri drive to Jerusalem, both Palestinians but dressed as Jews. Tamimi drops off suicide bomber Al-Masri at 2pm at pizza restaurant Sbarro, which is filled with families at the time. In addition, the streets are bustling; the location, the corner of Jaffa Street and King George Street, is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in Israel. Al Masri steps into the restaurant and detonates his bomb, which contains explosives, nails, nuts and bolts. The Victims In the attack on Sbarro, fifteen Israelis are killed, seven of them children. More than 130 people are (seriously) injured. Chana Nachenberg, 31 years old at the time of the attack, is still in a vegetative state twenty years later. Among the dead are five members of the Dutch-Israeli family Schijveschuurder: Mordechai (44), Tzira (42) and three of their children Ra’aya (14) Avraham Yitzhak (4) and Hemda (2). Daughter Chaya, 8, survived the attack: “We were hungry, so Mommy said we could go to a restaurant to eat. In that restaurant, you have to pay first, and only afterwards do you sit down to eat. When we were at the cash register, we suddenly heard an explosion. I ran out as fast as I could. I didn’t look at anything. I just ran out. A medic took me to an ambulance, and that is where I saw Avraham Yitzhak for the last time. I said to him, ‘Avraham Yitzhak.’ But he didn’t say anything. Three o f my brothers were not with us in the restaurant, and they found me first. After that, they found out that our parents, one of my sisters, my little brother and my little sister were killed. My little sister was always happy. I remember her so well. She used to laugh all day long. Now our parents are not alive either. But soon the Messiah will come, and all the people who have died, and all the people killed in wars and terror attacks, will come back to life.” The Terrorists and their Rewards Abdallah Barghouti made the bombs for terrorist attacks in which a total of 67 people were killed. Israel sentenced him to 67 life sentences. Barghouti comes from an influential Palestinian family, which also includes BDS- founder Omar Barghouti. Barghouti and thousands of other terrorists receive a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority while in prison. The amounts they receive are set out in Palestinian law. Since his arrest in March 2003, Abdallah Barghouti has received over 900,000 shekels (US $285,571) from the Palestinian Authority. His current salary of 7,300 shekels per month will increase to 12,300 shekels per month as his imprisonment progresses, about 8.5 times the minimum wage in the Palestinian Authority. Like Barghouti, Al-Tamimi was arrested by Israel for her involvement in the attack. She was sentenced to 16 life terms but was released in 2011 together with 1026 other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. She was paid until her release, and now she leads a free life in Jordan. News 4 PA Salary Payments to Terrorists Sbarro pizza restaurant suicide bombing - Jerusalem October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 UNRWA reacted rather upset to a report by UN Watch, an independent human rights group based in Geneva. The report states that over 100 UNWRA educators and staff have posted a message on social media that promoted antisemitism and violence. UNRWA is the UN organisation for aid to Palestinian refugees and their families. The UN Watch report mentions several examples. For instance, there is the message from the math teacher Nahed Shrarawi. She posted a video of Hitler along with inspirational quotes, which according to Shrarawi, will “enrich and enlighten your minds and thoughts.” Husni Masri’s message is also mentioned. He lists himself as a teacher at UNRWA in the West Bank. Masri shared a post promoting conspiracy theories about Jews, including the idea that Jews want to rule the world and destroy Islam and that Jews are created the coronavirus. Statement UNRWA confirmed in a statement ten employees who will be subjected to further investigation and that the other twelve people mentioned in the report are not ‘associated with the Agency’. Furthermore, the organisation states: “We are concerned that some of the posts violate our rules and policies, and should misconduct be found, UNRWA will take immediate administrative or disciplinary action.” And it continues: “UNRWA’s mandate is to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to ove r five million Palestine refugees, a responsibility the agency takes very seriously.” Missing the Point UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer reacted to this statement: “UNRWA’s reply misses the point entirely. If the agency employs dozens of teachers and school principals who quote Hitler and praise Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist attacks, the issue isn’t their social media posts and their so-called ‘neutrality breaches,’ but rather the fact that UNRWA’s education system is repeatedly hiring and putting in the classroom teachers that admire Hitler and propagate hatred a nd terrorism.” (...) [The Agency] needs to show minimal transparency and accountability by publicly detailing which charges they reject, and to explain why they are not firing UNRWA teachers who publicly propagate antisemitism and support for terror. UN Watch asks for transparency from UNRWA Report ‘Antisemitism Among UN Personnel’ Palestinian students at the Dheisheh Girls School, at the UNRWA Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, August 2018. | Photo: Flash90

1. Please send mail-in donations to: Christians for Israel Australia PO Box 1508 Springwood QLD 4127 AUSTRALIAN EDITION EMAIL: info@c4israel.com.a u PHONE: 07 3088 6900 ABN: 79 941 819 693 Thanks for your financial sup port See over for credit card and other giving options My Gift Your latest edition of Israel & Christian’s Today is enclosed. We hope you enjoy and are greatly encouraged by the latest News articles and stories. Simple. Just visit myaccount.c4israel.com.au and login with your username and password. Haven’t setup your online account? Go to myaccount.c4israel.com.au/ web/signup and follow the instructions. Need to change your address or Newspaper order? 13 October 2021 continued over... LeN1021 Wisdom and maturity in times of uncertainty Dear friend, Our world seems to be going endlessly from one chaotic moment to the next. Wars and rumours of wars abound, unrest is everywhere—even earthquakes are being experienced in our own backyard! Yet we are encouraged by our Lord not to be fearful of such things as they must come before His return (Mark 13:7). We are also told not to be deceived (Mark 13:5)—a sign of spiritual maturity that can only come from a serious study of the Scriptures. Our response then to such events ought to be like that of the Bereans (Acts 17:11) and the people of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32)— both relied on the Word of God for wisdom to understand the signs of the times and how to respond. In the spirit of developing such maturity it is with great pleasure I recommend the latest book from our ministries president, Rev. Willem Glashouwer— ’Until... Fourteen Prophetic Horizons.’ Until is just a little word but has a far-reaching prophetic meaning. All events, everything that happens in the world seem to continue endlessly. History seems to move forward in circles. Or continues as a long line without an end. However, it is a process... until! And then everything changes! Finally, a turn for the good, even for the better! Yes, there is hope! The Bible mentions many of these divine, prophetic ‘untils’. In this book, Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer has closely examined fourteen of these prophetic horizons. The result is extremely encouraging. It shows $ ____________ MY TOTAL DONATION TO: Christians for Israel Australia Inc. Name: ___________________________________________________ Member Number: ______________________________________ Yes Ian, I’d like to give a special one-off donation towards... $__________ Aliyah: $350=1 person $1250=5 people $6250=25 people $__________ One-off Holocaust Survivor Donation ($30-$50 or your best gift) $__________ for Newspaper Printing & Postage *please don’t use staples*

17. 7 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 thinc. Article from Tucker and Hoogendoorn continued... Have you downloaded the FREE C4I app yet? • Read the latest editions of Israel & Christians Today , plus 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 secure messages via a simple form. DOWNLOAD TODAY! Inspiring and informative content, wherever you are. SEARCH: ‘C4I’ in your app store Under these instruments of international law relating to Palestine, Israel has a legitimate claim to sovereignty beyond the ‘Green Line’ and the right to negotiate this territorial sovereignty with another entity. Indeed, Israel and the PLO committed themselves in the ‘Oslo Accords’ to negotiate on issues such as borders, the status of ‘settlements’ and Jerusalem. Israel’s sovereignty Israel is a State and a member of the United Nations. Like all other UN Member States, Israel has the right to territorial integrity and political independence and deserves to be treated equally with all UN Member States. This right is enshrined in the United Nations Charter and customary international law. Israel’s right to territorial integrity and security is also expressed in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. These resolutions prescribe peace negotiations based on “the cessation of all claims or states of war and respect and recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised borders, free from threats or acts of violence”. The PLO—now “officially” Israel’s negotiating partner—consistently denies the right of the Jewish people to exist as a sovereign nation and insists on using violence and terrorism against the Jewish people. Both are contraventions of international law. Until an agreement is reached with the PLO, Israel has the right to retain control of the ‘West Bank’ and the Golan Heights and defend itself against threats to its national security, territorial integrity and political independence. The Palestinian “right to self- determination” The right of the Arab Palestinian people to self-determination does not constitute a “right to a state”. Whether or not the Arab Palestinians will have their own state depends on many factors. A Palestinian state can only come about if a peace treaty is first concluded in which a balance (compromise) is reached between the claimed Arab Palestinian right to self- determination and the pre-existing rights of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, including the right to secure borders. The Palestinian “right of return” The Palestinians insist on a “right of return”,, i.e. the right of all (now over 5 million) Palestinian “refugees” to return to the homes their ancestors left (forcibly or otherwise) in the 1947-1949 war. Persons who are considered refugees under general international law do not have the right to return to the areas they fled. Rather, the host countries have certain obligations to take them in. Thus, even if Arab Palestinians were considered “refugees” under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention (which is not the case for most of them), they have no “right of return” under general international law. Neither does the special UNRWA refugee system (established specifically for Palestinian refugees) confer a “right” of return. UN General Assembly resolution 194 (1948) states that “the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible”. This is a non-binding resolution expressing a political perspective; it does not confer a legal “right of return”, as is often claimed. Antisemitism The BDS movement and the claim that the Jewish state of Israel is a racist “apartheid state” are forms of antisemitism as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA). The IHRA working definition states: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/ or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” According to IHRA, this includes “[d]enying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.” BDS—far and near Although a number of countries formally reject the Durban Declaration, and with it the BDS movement, ‘Durban’ is today approved by a majority of UN member states. The Jewish State of Israel is increasingly accused of apartheid and discrimination, and pressure is mounting to isolate and punish Israel for its “violations of international law”. Banks, pension funds and other companies do not want to do business with Jews living in Judea and Samaria or with parties associated with them. In recent months, there has been much ado about Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling ice cream to shopkeepers in Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, on the basis that all settlements are illegal under international law. These examples show that ‘Durban’ today enjoys popular support in many Western countries. More and more people believe that Israel is guilty of systematic oppression of Palestinians. Zionism—problem or solution? It is important to realise that the BDS movement is not just about removing the Israeli military regime in the ‘West Bank’. It is also not about creating a viable “Palestinian state” adjacent to Israel. It is about challenging Israel’s fundamental right to exist as an expression of Jewish national identity. The ultimate goal of the BDS movement is the replacement of Israel as a Jewish state with one state in which Palestinian Arabs will be in the majority. That is why the right of return is a central tenet of the BDS movement. It is clear that this would mean the end of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in which there is room for all inhabitants regardless of their ethnicity or religion. This overlooks two important facts. First, Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East. It protects freedom of religion and provides a safe haven for all minority groups. If Israel were to disappear, it is likely to be replaced by an Islamic regime that will be hostile to the rights of Christians, Jews and others. Christian Arab minorities in East Jerusalem have already expressed fear of becoming a persecuted minority within an Islamic Palestinian State. Second, Israel has not only generated wealth for all of its citizens (Jewish and Arab), it has become a motor and facilitator of growth and development in the region. A reflection of the region’s changing dynamics is that several Muslim countries (UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan) entered into the “Abraham Accords” with Israel in 2020, committing to peace, normalisation of relations and economic, religious and cultural cooperation. —————————————————————— Andrew Tucker and Pieter Hoogendoorn are Directors of The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation ( thinc. )—a global initiative to advance the fair and just application of international law in the middle east. For more information: www.thinc.info If you feel inspired to support the initiative of fighting misinformation and “lawfare”, defending the rights of Israel and the Jewish people, and promoting a new legal framework for peace in the Middle East, please consider donating to assist Andrew and the team at thinc. Your gift of $30, $50 or your best gift will help them be a powerful and credible voice to the nations including the International Criminal Court in the Hague where Israel is often unfairly attacked and marginalized. See the back page or visit www.thinc.info

27. 9 Analysis Israel Kasnett n One year since the establishment of the Abraham Accords—agreed to by Israel and the United Arab Emirates on 13 August 2020, and then officially signed on the White House lawn on 15 September—the Middle East is business as usual, but now greatly improved. The accords established normalised ties between Israel and the UAE, followed soon after by Muslim-majority countries of Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. There was no catastrophic backlash from extremists, as predicted by so-called experts, and the Palestinian issue is still somewhat on the regional backburner. And in the time since, trade between Israel and the UAE alone has reached nearly $600 million; it’s expected to reach $1 billion by the end of the year. For many observers, the accords are an example of leaders in the Middle East establishing a new reality based on peace and prosperity. Asher Fredman, CEO of Gulf-Israel Green Ventures (GIGV), has invested his energies in bridging the greentech leadership in Israel with the robust development in Gulf countries to further sustainable development in the region. As the UAE and Bahrain are transitioning from traditional sources of greentech and cleantech, Fredman and GIGV are working to pair interested users with innovative technologies and expertise. Fredman told JNS his goal is “to connect between the green tech and cleantech ecosystems because these are areas in which both countries are focused.” He said the Emirati leadership adopted a vision “to transform the country into a leader in sustainability and innovation, and obviously, there are lots of exciting Israeli companies in that space.” He noted that ‘there are some differences’ that exist between the two countries. For example, the Emiratis are more used to dealing with large multinational corporations and not small Israeli startups. “We are very active with our Emirati partners to overcome those barriers so that we can realise the full potential of this cooperation,” he said, adding that the Emiratis “are great people; it’s fun to work with them.” Fredman also pointed out that Emirati business people ‘are smart,’ but they ‘also prioritise trust and personal relationships.’ Alongside his work with GIGV, Fredman also established the Israel-E mirates Forum, a grassroots organisation for people from different backgrounds to encourage dialogue, understanding and cooperation. A number of recent developments have highlighted the success that the Abraham Accords have brought to the Middle East and North Africa. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met mid-August with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat, where he inaugurated Israel’s mission the following day. Lapid’s was the first visit by an Israeli foreign minister since 2003. Earlier that week, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs signed a historic agreement for cooperation between the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) headed by Bahrain’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Dr Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, and the Jerusalem Center President, former director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dore Gold. Before the signing, Gold said his think-tank decided to “create a network of research institutes in the Persian Gulf region and other countries.” “Our goal is to create an array of cooperation agreements with the countries of the Abraham Accords and to convey a message to the United States, Europe and other countries of a realistic understanding of the challenges that we share—the danger of Iran’s policies in the region and the world,” he said. The Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy at the IDC Herzliya has also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with the Derasat Institute. ‘We created something new here.’ Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahum said she was involved in some under-the-radar joint projects with the UAE and decided to set up the UAE-Israel Business Council (of which Fredman is also among the founding m embers), which, according to its website, aims ‘to build mutually beneficial relationships between Emiratis and Israelis that advance business ties, investment, and understanding.’ She told JNS she was “caught completely by surprise” when the accords were announced but created an online platform within a few short days. Hassan-Nahum said she didn’t even realise the true value of webinars she conducted between Israelis and Emiratis until an Arab from eastern Jerusalem told her he was in a webinar and had met Emirati and Israeli partners with whom he plans to build a business. “People were thirsty for it,” Hassan-Nahum said of the connection between Israelis and Emiratis. “People needed it; it filled a very important need.” If the past year was any indication, Israel could be looking at a very lucrative future together with its newfound business trading partners. The coronavirus got in the way of incoming tourism and a defence trade show usually held in the Gulf. If Israel can succeed in overcoming the challenges posed by the global pandemic, the country could see billions more in trade and revenue. Hassan-Nahum is also responsible for tourism in Jerusalem. She said she has started to create the infrastructure for ‘a new type of tourist’ Israel has rarely seen, meaning visitors from Gulf countries. “If we managed to create so many relationships during a global pandemic,” she said of the last year, “I think it bodes well for a future of mutual prosperity.” “We created something new here,” she said. “We are creating the model for a new type of peace.” Originally published by JNS.org. Republished with permission. https://www.jns.org/how-the-abraham-accords-have-already-impacted- the-middle-east/ Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast Signs of Faith By Kees de Vreugd Former President Donald J. Trump, joined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, acknowledge applause and wave to the crowd at the Abraham Accords signing 15 September 2020. | Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks, Flickr October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Kippah In this series, ‘Signs of Faith’, objects that express Jewish faith are explained and discussed. Jewish boys and men cover their heads. Orthodox men always wear a head covering. More liberal Jewish men do this less often, but at least during prayer, study and while eating. Often, a small round cap is used, the kippah, also known by its Yiddish name, yarmulke. The use of the kippah is not a Biblical prescription. But several passages in the Talmud (the so-called Oral Teachings in Judaism) provide reasons for covering the head: “Cover your head, that the fear of Heaven will be on you.” The kippah reminds you that there is a Power above you. Therefore, a Talmudic scholar like rav Huna, the son of rav Yehoshua (4th century), claimed that he never walked more than four cubits with an uncovered head: “The Shechinah, the Divine Presence, is above my head.” Therefore, your doings and dealings and thinking should always be filled with awe for the Most High. Since the Middle Ages, it has been the custom for Ashkenazi and Sephar di Jews to cover their heads outside the home. For men, as a sign of holiness, for married women as a sign of modesty. Wearing a kippah inside the home is a relatively young custom, going back only a century or so. The skullcap is somewhat reminiscent of the calotte worn by Roman-Catholic clergy. Some even suppose that this might be the origin of the kippah. If this is true, there is a symbolic layer to it. In the Bible, priests had to cover their head. Again, according to the Bible, Israel is a nation of priests, and she is that on behalf of the nations. In this way, the kippah could be seen as a silent undermining of replacement theology. There are kippahs of many different varieties. Often, you can tell, by the style of kippah, which branch of Judaism the wearer currently associates himself with. Orthodox men wear the black velvet kippah. Some Hasidic groups, however, wear large white yarmulkes. Even the form, round or rather angular, tells something about the origins of the wearer. In Israel, the knitted kippah (Hebrew: kippah serugah ) became the mark of the religious Zionists. You often see yeshiva (Talmud academy) students wearing a small flat, suede kippah in Jerusalem.

26. 16 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective October 2021 Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 25 Years of Helping Jews on their Way to Israel 3 Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel 9 Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast 15 ADI Offers Children a Chance On the 25th anniversary of our campaign, ‘Bring the Jews Home’, 130 Ukrainian Jews left for Israel on a special charter flight on 14 September. Among them were many young people. They were sent off by representatives of Christians for Israel: in the front row, Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International, Koen and Ira Carlier, who are leading our work in Ukraine, and Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands. Read more on pages 6 and 7 . | Photo: Christians for Israel “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7 25 Years www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA Massisve Forest Fires Raged in Israel in August Biblical Harp Workshop in Ruins Massive forest fires raged in Israel in August. After three days of battling the wildfires, the biggest fire in over 10 years, the fire was finally under control and residents could return. More than 2,000 people had been evacuated. The huge wildfire destroyed 6,200 acres of land in the Jerusalem Hills. There are growing suspicions that the fire was deliberately started. Houses were destroyed by the fire, others lost their life’s work. Micha and Shoshanna Harari Micha and Shoshanna Harari, residents of the small moshav of Ramat Razel, discovered that their Biblical Harp workshop and gallery, King David Harps, with all the instruments that were made by hand over the past 40 years, had been completely destroyed by the fire. “Everything was burnt, the gallery and the workshop. There is nothing left of it,” Micha told Channel 12 News. Harari had to flee for his life as the flames raced towards the community. “When the fire broke out, I was in my workshop, which is 150 meters away from the house,” he said. “I saw the flames getting closer. My wife and I immediately fled. We didn’t even have time to pack a bag, or bring clothes or food. We had to leave as soon as possible.” No compensation He posted images on his Facebook page of the approaching flames and the devastation left behind. “When I saw my life’s work burn to the ground, I was crushed,” Micha said. “Everything is completely gone; nothing is left of it.” Soshana explains about their work: “For these past 40 years we have been building the Biblical Harps of David according to the information of the Bible, archeology, and the ancient Jewish writings. When we first started to build them, they were declared to be the first Biblical harps to be made in 2000 years. They are our national instrument and one of the recognizable symbols of Israel.” The insurance company had refused to insure the workshop because of its proximity to the forest and the fire risk that entails. “They understood before the disaster that there was a risk that such a fire could occur here”. For this reason, the Harari’s will receive no compensation for their destroyed life’s work. The Harari’s are determined to rebuild their workshop: “With hope in our hearts, we are now moving into a renewal phase to make this, instead of a tragedy, a new opportunity... to bring King David Harps back in an even better way.” We would like to help the Harari family make a new start in their life and help them to fulfil their calling. In total, the damage amounts to around AU $161,000. Any amount, no matter how small, is much needed. Will you help this family to make a new start? If you’d like to give towards this project please use the back page of this Newspaper. Alternatively you can make a general donation online at www.c4israel.com.au/donate and note in the form: ‘Biblical Harp Appeal.’ May God bless you as you give generously. Shoshanna and Micah Harari at their burned workshop in Moshav Ramat Raziel, near Jerusalem. Photo by Yonatan Sindel | Flash90 Article compiled by Christians for Israel Until... Fourteen Prophetic Horizons By Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer $25 (includes p+h) PAPERBACK Until is just a little word but has a far-reaching prophetic meaning. All events, everything that happens in the world seem to continue endlessly. History seems to move forward in circles. Or continues as a long line without an end. However, it is a process... until! And then everything changes! Finally, a turn for the good, even for the better! Yes, there is hope! The Bible centions many of these divine, prophetic ‘untils’. In this book, Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer has closely examined fourteen of these prophetic horizons. The result is extremely encouraging. It shows that history is not a circle that endlessly keeps spinning round and constantly repeats itself. History is a line, with a beginning and an end. History is coming to a climax with a final goal. From creation to re-creation. From Paradise to the Kingdom of God. Where are we today on this timeline of history? How close are we at this moment that the divine liberation of planet earth and its mankind becomes true reality? NEW! To get your copy use the form on the back page or to place your order instantly go to: c4israel.com.au/store

7. 5 News Short News A Skin Sticker that can Diagnose TB Researchers at Israel’s Technion have developed a revolutionary method of diagnosing tuberculosis without blood samples, X-rays or other invasive procedures. The new method, A-Patch, uses a sticker that absorbs compounds released by the skin upon contact, which are then analysed by an artificial intelligence-based system. This can determine whether or not an individual has tuberculosis quickly and accurately. 58% US Jews Target of Hate Crimes Jews in America are the target of 58% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the US despite constituting a mere 2% of the population, newly released FBI statistics for 2020 have shown. The data also showed that Jews constitute the third-largest target of hate crimes out of all minorities in the entire country, more than, Hispanics, Muslims, Asians, and virtually all other groups. Israel Celebrates 9 Paralympic Medals Israel, which sent 33 athletes to compete across 11 sports, won 9 medals at the Games, its highest total since 2004 in Athens when it took home 13 medals. Six of Israel’s medals this year were gold, which is the highest figure since the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul. All but one of Israel’s Tokyo Paralympic medals came in swimming, where three Israeli swimmers — Mark Malyar, Ami Dadaon, and Iyad Shalabi — dominated the waters and the podium, each shattering world records along the way. Jewish Man Attacked Recently a 48-year old Jewish man was punched and abused in a Brisbane city street during broad daylight while on the way to the synagogue with his 11 -year old son. After seeing the Jewish communal member wearing a kippah, the unknown attacker started shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ and giving Nazi salutes. “At first, I didn’t realise what he was shouting, but when I looked into his eyes, they were filled with hate towards me,” the victim said. “I could feel his hatred directed at me right down into my bones. He punched me in the face and then just walked away.” This attack comes as reports of hatred against Jews in Australia, is increasing. Yochanan Visser n Christians for Israel Correspondent | Israel Certain developments are going on in Iran’s largely covert war against Israel that are largely hidden from the public. The developments make it clear that a military confrontation between Israel and Iran seems inevitable in the long run. Also, the United States is now more aware of the fact that under no circumstances should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon. The current US administration now seems more open to paying attention to Iran’s bellicose activities in the Middle East. Until recently, it seemed that President Biden’s administration focused exclu sively on ‘nuclear programme. According to Prime Minister Bennett’s statement after his meeting with Biden in late August, this now seems to have changed. In the presence of Biden, Bennett said that Iran is the world’s biggest exporter of terror. He also said that he had discussed his plan of action against Iranian aggression in the region with the US President. Bennett said that this aggression must be stopped and added that Israel is now virtually surrounded by allies of Iran. These are the Palestinian terror movements in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Shiite mili tias in the Golan Heights that are armed and supported by Iran. Israeli military and security experts had held extensive discussions with Biden prior to Bennett’s official visit about Iran’s aggressive activities in the Middle East. These experts also discussed the growing threat that Iran poses to Israel’s survival. Iran’s Military Advance Ehud Yari is one of the most experienced TV commentators in the Middle East. At the beginning of September, he revealed that Iran and Hezbollah, despite repeated Israeli military action, have managed to control the Syrian Golan Heights. In fact, Iran is now handing out orders to the Syrian army. Since June, an Iranian-led offensive against Sunni rebels in the Dara district bordering the Syrian Golan Heights. The city of Dara was under siege until the rebels had to accept a humiliating cease-fire that didn’t last for a long time. The uprising against the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad began in 2011 in the city of Dara. The rebels there never gave up their resistance against the Bashar regime and the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC). The resistance against Assad and Iran also continued when the Syrian army returned to the south in the summer of 2018. In principle, the Russian army in Syria should have stopped Iran’s advance. However, in practice, the agreements between the Assad regime, Russia, and the rebels turned o ut not to be worth the paper they were written on. King Abdullah II Worried Abdullah II, the king of Jordan, is seriously concerned about the activities of the Iranian coalition on the Golan Heights. Abdullah, therefore recently travelled to President Putin for urgent consultations with the Russian leader in Moscow. Abdullah would like to restore relations with the Assad regime to gain more influence over what is happening along Syria’s border with Jordan. Under no circumstances does the King of Jordan want the IRGC and Hezbollah to have a foothold along the kingdom’s border. The king knows that the IRGC’s Quds Brigade commands the fourth and seventh divisions of the Syrian army. The same applies to the supreme command of that army. Iran, together with Hezbollah, has succeeded in controlling the Syrian Golan Heights and is now handing out orders to the Syrian army there. So far, the Iranians have refrained from a massive military build -up on the Golan Heights. They have limited themselves to flying in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and setting up look-outs and intelligence facilities along the border with Israel. However, Yari expects the next phase to begin once the main road to the city of Dara’a is fully in the hands of the IRGC and the Syrian army. That phase will be when the Iranian axis completely takes over the border area with Israel and Jordan. Israel’s Dilemma IIsrael has a dilemma here. It has an agreement with Syria regarding the demilitarised zone on the Golan Heights that dates back to 1974 and was reaffirmed by both sides in 2018 after the Syrian army regained control over the Golan Heights. The agreement provided quiet until 2015, but then Iran began its drive to use the Syrian war for its grand scheme of establishing the ‘Golan Liberation Brigade’ and began to heat up the Syrian Israeli border. This was done by launching mortar shells and rockets at the Israeli Golan Heights and, later, by sending armed UAVs into Israel. The latest Iranian ‘suicide drone’ was sent into Israel during the eleven-day war between the Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and the Israeli military last May. Despite the reaffirmed ceasefire agreement, Israel’s military repeatedly took preventative action over the past three years to prevent Iran and its proxies from setting up camp on the other side of the border on the Golan Heights. To this end, the Israeli air force (IAF) repeatedly bombed Hezbo llah positions and the look-outs used by the Lebanese terror organisation to spy on the Israeli army. However, this didn’t prevent Iran from slowly taking over the Syrian Golan Heights. The latest news by Israeli media like N12 (20 September) is that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has given Iran the green light to take over the area along the Israeli border completely. If Hezbollah and the Quds Force start the military build-up on the Syrian Golan Heights, Israel will have to take military action and could launch a ground offensive. In that case, the Americans will not intervene, nor will the Russians, although the Russian army could frustrate such an offensive. Bennett made it clear in Washington that Israel wants the full support of the Biden administration in its ‘war between the wars’ against Iran. However, he also made it unequivocally clear that Israel does not expect US military intervention if it decides to take military action against Iranian aggression. Ten Ships with Weapons For years, Iran has been arming the terrorist groups that threaten Israel. Iran also trains them in producing missiles and UAVs. These groups include the various Shiite militias in Syria and the Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). This was once again confirmed by Talal Naji, the Secretary-General of the central command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP). Naji gave an interview to the Iranian TV station Al- Alam on 11 August this year and said that Qassem Soleimani had sent ten ships with weapons to the Pa lestinian terrorist movements. Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Brigade of the IRGC until he was assassinated by the US army in the Middle East on 5 January 2020. Only one ship sent by Soleimani, the Karina A, was intercepted by the Israeli Navy. The weapons it was carrying were destined for Arafat’s Fatah movement. Iran and Israel Closer to an all-out-war October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Members of the Iranian Jewish community demonstration to support Iran uprising, Israel. | Photo: Flash90 Continued on page 8... Palestinian Media Watch n A suicide bomber murdered 15 people, including seven children, and wounded 130 when he detonated his bomb in the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem on 9 August 2001. The Terror Attack On 9 August 2001, 20-year-old Ahlam Tamimi and 22- year-old Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri drive to Jerusalem, both Palestinians but dressed as Jews. Tamimi drops off suicide bomber Al-Masri at 2pm at pizza restaurant Sbarro, which is filled with families at the time. In addition, the streets are bustling; the location, the corner of Jaffa Street and King George Street, is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in Israel. Al Masri steps into the restaurant and detonates his bomb, which contains explosives, nails, nuts and bolts. The Victims In the attack on Sbarro, fifteen Israelis are killed, seven of them children. More than 130 people are (seriously) injured. Chana Nachenberg, 31 years old at the time of the attack, is still in a vegetative state twenty years later. Among the dead are five members of the Dutch-Israeli family Schijveschuurder: Mordechai (44), Tzira (42) and three of their children Ra’aya (14) Avraham Yitzhak (4) and Hemda (2). Daughter Chaya, 8, survived the attack: “We were hungry, so Mommy said we could go to a restaurant to eat. In that restaurant, you have to pay first, and only afterwards do you sit down to eat. When we were at the cash register, we suddenly heard an explosion. I ran out as fast as I could. I didn’t look at anything. I just ran out. A medic took me to an ambulance, and that is where I saw Avraham Yitzhak for the last time. I said to him, ‘Avraham Yitzhak.’ But he didn’t say anything. Three o f my brothers were not with us in the restaurant, and they found me first. After that, they found out that our parents, one of my sisters, my little brother and my little sister were killed. My little sister was always happy. I remember her so well. She used to laugh all day long. Now our parents are not alive either. But soon the Messiah will come, and all the people who have died, and all the people killed in wars and terror attacks, will come back to life.” The Terrorists and their Rewards Abdallah Barghouti made the bombs for terrorist attacks in which a total of 67 people were killed. Israel sentenced him to 67 life sentences. Barghouti comes from an influential Palestinian family, which also includes BDS- founder Omar Barghouti. Barghouti and thousands of other terrorists receive a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority while in prison. The amounts they receive are set out in Palestinian law. Since his arrest in March 2003, Abdallah Barghouti has received over 900,000 shekels (US $285,571) from the Palestinian Authority. His current salary of 7,300 shekels per month will increase to 12,300 shekels per month as his imprisonment progresses, about 8.5 times the minimum wage in the Palestinian Authority. Like Barghouti, Al-Tamimi was arrested by Israel for her involvement in the attack. She was sentenced to 16 life terms but was released in 2011 together with 1026 other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. She was paid until her release, and now she leads a free life in Jordan. News 4 PA Salary Payments to Terrorists Sbarro pizza restaurant suicide bombing - Jerusalem October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 UNRWA reacted rather upset to a report by UN Watch, an independent human rights group based in Geneva. The report states that over 100 UNWRA educators and staff have posted a message on social media that promoted antisemitism and violence. UNRWA is the UN organisation for aid to Palestinian refugees and their families. The UN Watch report mentions several examples. For instance, there is the message from the math teacher Nahed Shrarawi. She posted a video of Hitler along with inspirational quotes, which according to Shrarawi, will “enrich and enlighten your minds and thoughts.” Husni Masri’s message is also mentioned. He lists himself as a teacher at UNRWA in the West Bank. Masri shared a post promoting conspiracy theories about Jews, including the idea that Jews want to rule the world and destroy Islam and that Jews are created the coronavirus. Statement UNRWA confirmed in a statement ten employees who will be subjected to further investigation and that the other twelve people mentioned in the report are not ‘associated with the Agency’. Furthermore, the organisation states: “We are concerned that some of the posts violate our rules and policies, and should misconduct be found, UNRWA will take immediate administrative or disciplinary action.” And it continues: “UNRWA’s mandate is to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to ove r five million Palestine refugees, a responsibility the agency takes very seriously.” Missing the Point UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer reacted to this statement: “UNRWA’s reply misses the point entirely. If the agency employs dozens of teachers and school principals who quote Hitler and praise Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist attacks, the issue isn’t their social media posts and their so-called ‘neutrality breaches,’ but rather the fact that UNRWA’s education system is repeatedly hiring and putting in the classroom teachers that admire Hitler and propagate hatred a nd terrorism.” (...) [The Agency] needs to show minimal transparency and accountability by publicly detailing which charges they reject, and to explain why they are not firing UNRWA teachers who publicly propagate antisemitism and support for terror. UN Watch asks for transparency from UNRWA Report ‘Antisemitism Among UN Personnel’ Palestinian students at the Dheisheh Girls School, at the UNRWA Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, August 2018. | Photo: Flash90

13. 3 October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 their story 80 years after the massacres in Ukraine the German culture and language. She experienced the war quite differently. Her story sounds like a movie script. “Dad worked here in Nikolayev in the harbor,” Irina tells us. “After the war broke out, all the equipment was transferred to the east, to the rear— anything that could be useful for the war effort. Dad went along as a specialist.” Irina’s family initially decided to wait and see, but eventually mother and grandmother left with 10-year-old Irina. “We fled from place to place, finally ending up in Northern Caucasus, in the Chechen town of Novo-Troitsa,” Irina shared. “But then, the German troops invaded there as well. The local population was forced by the occupational forces to dig trenches. Then a rumor went around that on a particular day, the Jews were to be executed.” Irina remembers all the details, her voice getting hoarse. “That’s when Grandma took me by my hand, walking me 15 kilometers to the next town where the German military command had set up their headquarters. I was only 10 at the time, and I didn’t even have shoes. When we arrived at the casern gate, Grandma demanded to see the commander. The guard was surprised she spoke such good German and immediately accommodated her request.” “The commander invited us into his office. As instructed by Grandma, I fell on my knees starting to pray, ‘Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.... ‘ Do you see my hands shaking? I say this prayer in German every night. I can only say it in German.” Then came Grandmother’s part. “Grandma begged the commander saying, ‘There are rumors that the Jews will be shot. I have a Jewish family. Please, save us!’” We barely dared breathing as Irina continues. “And then, an incredible miracle happened. The heart of the commander opened up to us. ‘Good it’s a girl,’ he said in my direction. ‘But you have to get out of here. Where can you go?’ “Grandmother mentioned our hometown in Ukraine. Then the commander issued German passports for our entire family and added a note saying, ‘travel authorized for the purpose of family reunification.’ Then he had us taken to a train by military motorbike, and whenever we were controlled, we presented our travel permit. This is how this German commander saved our lives. Fäustling was his name. We tried for many years to find him so we could thank him—to no avail.” Estimates say 5,000 Jews were murdered that same fall of 1941 in Nikolayev. Irina’s family, however, was not touched, thanks to the German passports issued by this commandant. After the war, the Jewish community of Nikolayev quickly grew again as the harbor offered jobs. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, most Jewish residents left the country; many made Aliyah to Israel. The military conflict with neighboring Russia, which has been ongoing since 2014, has created further economic hardship. It’s the old and sick who stay behind—those who don’t have anybody who could help them start anew somewhere else. Yuri and Irina now receive regular visits and support through the sponsorship program run by Christians for Israel , reminding them they are not forgotten, but loved and appreciated. _______________________________________________________ Please see the back page of this Newspaper or www.c4israel.com.au/ adopt for details on how you can sponsor a Holocaust Survivor like Yuri and Irina today! Irina’s family was saved by a German commandant in Chechnia. Photo: Alina Gryadchenko, C4I Ukraine 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: ________________ P ostcode: __________ Friends Full Name: _________________________ Address: _________________________________ _________________________________________ State: ________________ P ostcode: __________ Number of Newspapers Bi-monthly: c 1 c 2 c 5 c Other: ______________________ *1 Magazine or DVD per person. limited offer. while stocks last. SEND DETAILS TO: Christians for Israel, Australia , PO Box 1508, Springwood, QLD, 4127 Israel 70 Years Commemorative Magazine OR Please choose ONE of the gifts (left) 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. ...there was not much little Yuri could contribute, along with his brother and mother, and the three of them were taken to a death camp.

4. October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 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, P resident 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 - Korea Rev Paul Wonil Jung, Director Suite 3, 37 Railway Parade, Eastwood NSW, Australia 2122 Tel: +61 410 430 677 email: c4israelkorea@gmail.com www.c4israelkorea.org Christians for Israel - USA Fred J van Westing, CEO PO Box 2589, Manteca, CA 95336, USA Tel: +1 925 984 6671 usa-info@c4israel.org www.c4israel.us DISCLAIMER - Articles printed in Israel & Christians Today expr ess 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. ©Christians for Israel International Repro duction, 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/c4israelAUS Arab Christians Say No to Islamic Palestinian State Prayer Points By C4I Prayer Team Israel l “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13. God’s faithfulness reaches to the skies (Psalm 36:5). Praise God for His faithfulness to Israel and us. When we are unfaithful, God remains faithful. That is a great miracle! l “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.’” Jeremiah 30:18. Give thanks that this prophecy became reality for the people of Israel and that there is now a Homeland where Jewish people can go when antisemitism in other countries is increasing. Israel"&"the"Nations l Iran is rapidly expanding its power in areas bordering Israel. For instance, Iran has gained more and more power over the Syrian Golan Heights; it has converted merchant ships into warships and uses them to patrol the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, it trains Palestinian terrorist groups in the production of rockets. Pray for the protection of Israel against the increasing danger from Iran. l The new Israeli government is seeking to improve relations with the European Union. Pray that the European Union will become a better ally of Israel. Pray also that the relationship between Israel and the United States will remain strong, especially now that the danger from Iran is increasing. Christians"for"Israel l Give thanks for all the opportunities that Christians for Israel has had recently to spread the message worldwide of God’s faithfulness to Israel. C4I Nepal was able to start up a WhatsApp messaging service, and in Russia, one of our partners is setting up a new internet TV channel focusing on Israel. Pray for a blessing on these developments. For daily Prayer Points, go to our website www.c4israel.com.au Andrew Tucker n International Editor | Christians for Israel The ‘international community’ is allowing the further ethnic cleansing of the Middle East of Jews and Christians. The West’s ‘Two-State’ policy not only undermines the position of the Jewish State of Israel, but it also imposes an Islamic state on the remaining Palestinian Christians who have clearly stated that they don’t want to be part of an Islamic state and exposes them to great danger. ‘East Jerusalem’ is often spoken about as being ‘Arab’. It is important to appreciate that ‘East Jerusalem’ encompasses the Old City (and its environs, often known as the ‘Holy Basin’) – everything that constituted Jerusalem before it expanded in the 20th century. It is the traditional home to both Jews and Christians. Jordan ethnically cleansed East Jerusalem of Jews when it controlled it in 1948-1967. Since then, the ‘international community’ has ignored the precarious position of the Jews who have returned, as well as the 16,000 Christians who live in Jerusalem. 12,600 of these Christians in East Jerusalem are ‘Arab’ Christians. About 9% of Israel’s Christian Arab population lives in Israel’s capital, making it the third- largest concentration of Christian Arabs in all of Israel. The city with the largest Christian Arab population is Nazareth, with Haifa coming in second place. Elias Zariana represents the Jerusalem Initiative, a non-profit organisation established to empower Arabic-speaking Israeli Christians. According to Zariana, Christian Arabs living in Israel e njoy full religious freedom under Israeli law. The Arab Christians in East Jerusalem do not want to be part of the Arab Palestinian state that the EU and many other states want to establish, with ‘East Jerusalem’ as its capital. In his submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2020 on behalf of the Jerusalemite Initiative, Zariana wrote that “Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem extends over several important Christian holy sites, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Via Dolorosa and the Church of All Nations. The State of Israel protects these sites according to the Protection of Holy Places Law.” Zariana was responding to the arguments made by the ICC Prosecutor that the Palestinian Authority should be recognised as having jurisdiction over East Jerusalem. The Prosecutor argued that, under international law, East Jerusalem is ‘occupied Palestinian territory’, and Israel is not allowed to administer the city or change the status it had when it was under Jordanian occupation (and later annexation) between 1949 and 1967. Zariana told the Court that most Christians in East Jerusalem much prefer to be under Israeli governance and do not want to be part of a ‘Palestinian’ state. He continued: “Opinion polls demonstrate that large percentages of Arab residents of Jerusalem, Christian and Muslim alike, would prefer to remain under Israeli control, as opposed to being transferred to PA jurisdiction. Subjecting them to PA jurisdiction would not be likely to respect their right to self- determination. Jerusalem’s Arab residents would face severe human rights violations under PA jurisdiction. For example, Palestinian law forbids the sale of land to Jews, and those convicted of that crime risk severe punishment and even death. Zariani’s pleas fell on deaf ears. In February 2021, the Court decided that ‘Palestine’ is a State for the purposes of the Court’s own constitution (the Statute of Rome) and that the ‘territory’ of that state includes East Jerusalem. The Court preferr ed the legal and historical narrative presented by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the left-wing and Arab lawyers who agree with them, over the views presented by Zariani, countries like Germany, Austria, Australia and Israel, and the more conservative lawyers who agree with them. This is deeply troubling. Over the last century, the Western world has gradually acquiesced in the Islamisation of the Middle East. The victims are peace-loving Muslims and all non-Muslim minorities – especially Jews and Christians. Afghanistan is just the latest example of a long and tragic trend. The attempts by Western governments over recent decades to build Islamic states in the Middle East has failed. Instead , they should be giving more attention to the protection of human rights of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that does exactly that. Although it is not perfect, its sovereignty should be supported, not undermined. Birds eye view of the Old City of Jerusalem; the Dome of the Rock is seen in the background and the Jaffa gate in the foreground. On the left is the Jewish quarter and on the right, the Christian quarter. | Photo: Flash90

29. 11 Biblical Reflection October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Kameel Majdali n Director | Teach All Nations Inc. Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Turkey, and more ... the Middle East is ever in the news. If you understand the subject of ‘world trends’ and ‘Bible prophecy,’ this should be of no surprise. Most of the Biblical narrative, past and prophetic, is based in the Middle East. It is the cradle of civilisation, starting with Mesopotamia, where history began and, according to Scripture, it will culminate. The change of administrations in Washington and Jerusalem have definitely upset the balance of power in the region. Things were looking hopeful for the war-torn region: The October 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab countries: Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco, was absolutely historic. It had been twenty-six years since the last peace treaty was signed with Israel, namely by Jordan, in 1994. Prior to that, it was the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979. Never have so many Arab Muslim-majority nations queued up to make peace with the Jewish state, all at once. Now that Washington and Jerusalem have new, dovish, leftist governments, it is ‘business as usual’ with proposals to divide the land (including Jerusalem), kick- starting the Iran nuclear agreement, and renewing financial remittance to the Palestinian Authority - with no strings attached. Jordan’s recent tilt towards Iran, considered a Shia menace to the Sunni Arabs, reflects the consternation at what’s happening in the US and Israel ... pragmatism dictates making peace with the adversary while you can. And all this was before the controversial, even chaotic, American and Allied Coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. When we consider the signs of the times and Bible prophecy, here are some trends to watch: 1. The great universal shaking (Hebrews 12:25-29); 2. The theoretical possibility of worldwide destruction (Matthew 24:22); 3. Global or world wars, which only began in the 20th Century. Arnold Fruchtenbaum says that the phrases, ‘Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom’ (Matthew 24:7) are idioms for ‘world wars.’ 4. Famines, pestilence, and earthquakes (Matthew 24:7): Despite Covid-19, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918- 1919 was still the greatest yet. 5. Increased deception (Matthew 24:4). Though lying and mendacity are as old as time, there is an unprecedented spirit of strong delusion in the world today (2 Thessalonians 2:11); 6. Increase of knowledge and mass travel (Daniel 12:4); 7. Global attention and obsession with Judah and Jerusalem (Zechariah 12, 14). When considering these ‘signs,’ bear in mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:6 : “See to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” Considering that some of these signs are troublesome and scary, what is the basis of our fearlessness? How can we keep from being troubled and afraid? Answer: Invest in your spiritual life, accept the spiritual fruit of peace (Galatians 5:22), and walk with the Prince of Peace. Meet the Prophets To understand Biblical prophecy and its relation to current events, it is important to ‘meet the prophets.’ Here are two key prophets you may not have considered. Abraham: The Lord told Abimelech, king of Gerar, to restore Sarah to her husband Abraham ‘...for he is a prophet’ (Genesis 20:7). David: While preaching to the multitudes on the Day of Pentecost, Peter made a bold announcement that David the king was a prophet (Acts 2:30). Chances are you never considered that Abraham and David are prophets. After all, they do not appear to have recorded prophecies. Yet, consider thi s: What do you think the Messianic psalms like Psalms 16, 22, 110 are, if not prophetic? How about Daniel? In the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible - also known as the Old Testament), the Book of Daniel is not listed among the prophetic books but among the writings. Why did the rabbis do this? Because Daniel interpreted dreams and had a few of his own, but he actually gave no known written prophetic pronouncements. Yet we rightly consider Daniel a prophet and for a very simple reason: Jesus Christ Himself called him a prophet in Matthew 24:15. If it was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Moses in Genesis and Peter in Acts respectively accredited Abraham and David as being prophets. So we need to look at them in that light. If you want to understand Israel, the Middle East, world trends they influence and end-time Bible prophecy, it really starts with these two men: Abraham and David. Think about it: the New Testament begins with them and ends with Jesus. Matthew 1:1: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Next time, we will learn how both men were impactful prophets. Signs of the Times - Meet the Prophets Isreality By Peeber Koelewijn Many Christians around the world believe the people of Israel are God’s people and need our special attention. Other Christians doubt or even oppose this idea. In conversation with other Christians about this topic, tensions arise very quickly. What is the best way to speak about Israel with Christians around you? Maybe the strongest way to show the ongoing importance of Israel is to talk about how Israel blessed the world. In this article, you will find five blessings Israel gave to the world, showing their special place in world history and their meaning for us as Christians. Here are some of the blessings Israel gave to the world: Ÿ They wrote and preserved the Bible. Ÿ They have shown how good God is. Ÿ They brought forth the Messiah. Ÿ They gave us the good news about the Messiah. Ÿ Their return gives us hope for the future. Let’s face it. Without Israel, without the Jews, we wouldn’t have the Bible. As far as we know, all the writers of the Bible were Jewish. The Old Testament, the Tanakh, is certainly written by Jews; however, the books of the New Testament are written by Jews as well. It is uncertain who has written the book of Hebrews, but the name of the book already reveals that the writer must have known the ancient scriptures in-depth, so presumably, he was a Jew. Secondly, the Bible gives hope and gives us examples of how God is acting in relationships with people. How do we know what God is like? By looking into the history of Israel and seeing how He acts. We can tell by the way He created them, how He loved them, how He cared for them, how He judged them, how He helped them, what kind of God He is. He is a good Father. Thirdly, they brought forth the Messiah. God chose the Jewish people as the place in which the Saviour of the world (the snake crusher – Genesis 3) would be born. Jesus is born into the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So out of this family, the blessing flows into the world. The Messiah defeated death and sin once and for all, and we will soon see our victory when He returns in glory. Fourthly, without the Jewish people, the world would still be in darkness. But because of their task in salvation history, the good news reached the ends of the earth. As I mentioned, the first followers of Jesus were mostly Jewish. It is only later in the history of the church that we find gentiles coming on to the scene. Think of the eunuch from Ethiopia and Cornelius the Roman centurion. It’s because of Jewish people that the good news of the Messiah of Israel started to spread. Because of them, we now know Jesus. The last blessing Israel gives us is a sense of hope for the future. The return of the Jewish people to the land is a forebode of the coming of Messiah. The Messiah brings back His people from the ends of the earth. In the New Testament, it is said that Jesus will not return until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled and until His people cry out: ‘Baruch Haba b’shem Adonai’, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. This gives us hope about the times we live in. The Jewish people will be the first to meet their Messiah and will be the ones that welcome Him into His new kingdom. The fact they are now getting ready for Him in their own land is a blessing. Messiah is coming soon. And almost everything seems ready for His coming. Five Blessings Israel Gave to the World | Photo: Shutterstock 10 Theology Recommended Reading Johannes Gerloff n Theologian, Journalist, Lecturer & Author This is the first of a series of articles on Romans 9-11, based on the book Rejoice, You Gentiles, with His People by Johannes Gerloff, which is expected to be published in early 2022. In this first article, Johannes Gerloff explains why he wrote the book. It was in the beginning of the 1990s. The Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe into East and West for as long as we could remember, had come down. The Velvet Revolution had changed Czechoslovakia. We lived near Prague. My wife Krista and I studied theology and taught at a newly founded Bible school in the Czech capital. The air was full of hope. We experienced freedom and saw new opportunities in a society that had been dominated by atheist Socialism for four long decades. As a young family, we had prepared ourselves to preach the gospel, build the Church and help people grow in their relationship with God. Church ministry in Germany or the Czech Republic or teaching in Europe or Africa were the obvious options. However, we did not wish to follow our own imaginations. We waited for the call of the Lord to know specifically where He wanted us to go. To make it more difficult, I had been pondering Acts 13. There, the Holy Spirit had spoken to the Church in Antioch: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (verse 2). Even though Paul had had a direct encounter with the risen Lord, when he had been thrown off his high horse on his way to Damascus a few years earlier (see Acts 9), the Holy Spirit apparently had to speak directly to the Church in order to get the two apostles moving. So, we waited for the Holy Spirit to speak to the Church. But the Holy Spirit did not speak to the churches we were connected with in Germany and Czechoslovakia. Or the Church did not listen to Him, so it seemed, during the last decade of the 20th century. In any case, the call I so longed for did not come. When the call of God finally did come, it was not to Germany, the Czech Republic or Tanzania, as we had expected. In a quite clear manner, we were called to Israel. And, we were not called to preach the Gospel there but to comfort the people of the Lord. We were asked to get to know the situation in and around Israel – and to explain the significance of Israel to the Gentile nations in Europe and beyond: “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd’.” (Jeremiah 31:10). That was the commission we received. I was puzzled. As a German, I felt a special obligation to the Jewish people and their State of Israel after all that had happened in the Holocaust. Right after high school, I had spent a year in Israel working as a volunteer with Holocaust surv ivors. But overcoming the past was not the issue now. Those of my teachers who had helped to prepare me for ministry reacted with incomprehension at best. Some were angry. “What is this Israel fantasy all about? What do you want there?” were some of the questions that were thrown at me. That is the reason I started my study of Romans 9-11. The answers I received to my questions are in this book. I also share some insights that I never even asked for. What started as a puzzling situation in Czechoslovakia and Germany nearly three decades ago has become our life’s calling. We, as a family, are firmly rooted in Israeli society. We are richly blessed. And over the years, the theological puzzle has given way to amazement. What struck me at the very beginning of my journey into Paul’s theology regarding Israel was his confession in Romans 9:3 : “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ (the Messiah) for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen (blood relatives) acco rding to the flesh.” Having defended myself and my love for Israel for years, I have been ashamed and humbled to discover that I would never be able to love Israel like the Apostle Paul loved her. I had assured those that questioned me that I would never put this calling to Israel above Jesus and the great commission! The well-intentioned admonition “don’t forget Jesus for the sake of Israel” had been sort of nagging at me. But now, I discovered that Paul was not only not defending his irrational love for this nation, but even stating on-record to the Church in Rome (and consequently to future generations of Christians all over the world!) that he was even ready to give up his very salvation through Messiah if that would save his beloved people. To be honest, to this day, I have not found an intellectually satisfying solution to this riddle. Emotionally, it still impacts me very deeply. “Rejoice, You Nations, With His People” – the English title of this book – is a quote from Romans 15:10 where Paul picks up on what Moses said to the Israelites preparing to enter the Land of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:43). To the very end of his writings, and in spite of all emphasis that in certain respects “there is no difference”, Paul keeps contrasting Israel with the Gentile nations. This differentiation, however, does not lead to degradation of one compared to the other, but rather to unity in praise to the one and only living God. Just a few sentences before, in Romans 15:7, Paul admonishes his readers to “accept one another as the Messiah has accepted you for the glory of the [one, true] God.” That means especially accepting those who are not the same but different. The Creator has created differences from the very beginning – changing dark chaos or disorder into ‘the cosmos’, i.e. order (see Genesis 1). Without differences, the creation cannot bear fruit. This is true for the difference between males and females and the difference between Jew and Gentile. Together we are destined to rejoice over the fruit He will bring forth through us for His glory. October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Mediterranean olive field with old olive tree ready for harvest. | Photo: Shutterstock Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with My People The Challenges of Resolving the Israeli-Palestine Dispute - an Impossible Peace? Australian political scientist Bren Carlill’s new book The challenges of resolving the Israeli-Palestine Dispute – an Impossible Peace? (Springer 2021) is a timely and fascinating study. Carlill’s main thesis is that “one of the reasons that the Israeli Palestinian dispute hasn’t been resolved is because the West has trouble realising that multiple Israeli-Palestinian conflicts exist - for two related reasons. The first is, the West hasn’t fought a religious conflict for centuries. And Westerners don’t quite believe it when people tell us they are fighting a religious conflict - we discount their reasons (though the rise of groups like Islamic State has made the concept easier to understand). The other reason is, the West doesn’t fight existential conflicts. We haven’t actively fought such a conflict for centuries.” “Our natural inclination is to think that all conflicts are territorial, and all conflicts are resolvable. In the West, many think that every conflict, no matter how hard, no matter how intractable, can be resolved one day. Almost all the conflict literature says that! But it’s wrong. Existential conflicts cannot be resolved.” The book contains a detailed history of the conflict and analyses the many (failed) peace proposals (including the Oslo process). Carlill argues that “Western policymakers need to understand that multiple conflicts exist in the Israeli–Palestinian dispute.” Some of the conflicts are territorial; others are existential. Existentialists – those who want to destroy the other side - exist on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. This means “There cannot be simply a policy to address the dispute. We need to create individual policies to address each conflict in the dispute. And we have to understand that the dispute’s existential conflicts cannot be resolved for as long as they remain existential. Since we cannot resolve those conflicts, we must win or manage them.” The author argues that only the parties themselves can create an agreed end to the conflict by marginalising the ‘existentialists’ within their ranks. All attempts by the international community to “impose” a solution (such as the “Two- State Solution”) will be doomed to fail. Highly recommended reading.

31. 13 History Short News 7irtuallZ Invisible A new camouflage technology developed in Israel can make soldiers virtually ‘invisible’. The Kit 300 uses thermal, visual concealment material that combines metals, microfibers, and polymers to reduce soldiers' detectability by the human eye and thermal imaging equipment. | Photo: The Media Line/YouTube )ospital & Aerospace InEustries 6nite Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and the nation’s largest aerospace and defence company will run an innovation centre together. The aim is to make defence technology usable for the medical world. The idea for this new center arose during the corona outbreak, when the Israeli Ministry of Defense developed a monitoring cockpit to supervise patients who were on ventilators. 'ourth-CenturZ Coins 'ounE A lump of 1,700 year-old coins was discovered on the beach near Atlit by a family during a camping trip. Yotam Dahan, an Israeli tour guide, was the one who found the 6kg bundle of coins right behind their tent. The coins had been in the water for hundreds of years and may have belonged to an ancient ship sailing the Mediterranean Sea. Dahan handed the coins to the Israel Antiquities Authority and received a certificate of appreciation. | Photo: Ofir Hayat IsraelŐs Population Rises to  million On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, it was reported that Israel’s population topped 9.3 million this year, growing by 146,000 people from the year before representing a rise of 1.6%. There are now 9,391,000 people living in the Jewish state, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics figures published ahead of Rosh Hashanah. The number is expected to pass 10 million by the end of 2024. The population comprises more than 6.94 million Jews, or 74%; over 1.98 million Arabs, who account for 21%; and another 466,000 people of other ethnic groups, 5% of the population. October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Deborah Fineblum n JNS.org With the arrival of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish world was thrown headlong into the leap year of 5782. But the leap year of the Jewish variety may not be exactly what you think a leap year is. In the Gregorian calendar, the leap year is no big deal, just an extra winter day. But the Jewish people are not ones to do things in half-measure, so we add an entire month to our leap year. And, what’s more, whereas the rest of the world has a leap year every four years like clockwork, it’s not so simple in the Jewish world, where it comes, well, whenever it’s needed, seven times in 19 years (more on the math later). Here are five fascinating facts about the Jewish leap year: 1. Why is it Necessary? Passover in July and Rosh Hashanah in January (northern hemisphere) ? That’s what could happen were it not for the ingenious invention of the Jewish leap year. That’s because lunar calendars like this one work beautifully until the end of the year, when the 12 lunar months will inevitably miss the solar year by an 11-day shortfall. It wouldn’t take long for such a disparity to wreak havoc with the holidays; hence, the spectre of a snow- covered Rosh Hashanah. And the Torah makes it abundantly clear: Passover must be ‘in the month of springtime’ (Deuteronomy 16:1), and Sukkot must fall at harvest time when ‘God will have blessed you in all your crops and in all your handiwork.’ (Deuteronomy 16:15). But why do these holidays need to be timed in these ways? Ours is an agricultural tradition, says Rabbi Rachel Ain, religious leader of the Sutton Place Synagogue in New York City. “So, on one level, the pilgrimage holidays all refl ect the agriculture cycle of the year.” But there’s another layer of meaning here, too, says Ain. “Just as spring is the coming out of the darkness of winter into the sunshine, Passover celebrates our people’s sense of renewal, emerging from the darkness of slavery into the bright light of freedom.” 2. Who Can We Thank? Tradition has it that the great sage Hillel, head of the Jewish ‘supreme’ court—the Sanhedrin from 320 to 385 C.E.—created the Jewish calendar through some pretty sophisticated mathematical and astronomical calculations. The result: A 19-year cycle with seven leap years to anchor the holidays in their rightful place. In the far distant past, the Jewish people relied on nature to tell them when a leap year was needed. If the weather, the animals and the crops weren’t yet acting ‘spring-like’, and if the spring equinox didn’t arrive before mid-way through the month of Nissan, then the judges of the Sanhedrin knew the leap year with its extra month would be needed to keep Passover in its rightful place. The extra month, Adar I, was added to the third, sixth, eighth, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. “This is as relevant today as it was nearly 2,000 years ago,” says Rabbi Morrie Wruble, a longtime Jerusalem-area Torah teacher for both teens and adults. “And only two peoples have a lunar calendar: us and the Arabs.” But unlike the Jewish calendar, the Arab one doesn’t adjust the dates to keep holidays in place, “which is why Ramadan can be in the winter, fall, spring or summer,” explains Wruble. “We can’t do that because we’re guided by our Torah, which says Passover must come in the spring when we plant, and that things need to be growing during the time of Shavuot and harvested during Sukkot. Hillel realised that, if we stayed st rictly lunar, things would soon get out of kilter, and he put in a system to fix that with the leap year.” 3. How Did Thet Do It? (Calling on Math and Physics Buffs) Since, unlike the Gregorian, the Jewish calendar relies on three factors: the Earth’s rotation (24 hours), the moon’s revolution around the Earth (29 ½ days) and the Earth’s revolution around the sun (365 ¼ days), by factoring them all in, Rav Hillel and friends came up with a 19-year cycle containing seven leap years of 13 months each. But without an advanced degree in mathematics or physics, you may not be able to predict when they will arrive (hint: The last one was three years ago). So, what’s the only way to know if a certain year is destined to be a leap year? It’s by knowing the year’s place in the current 19- year Metonic cycle. Try dividing the number of the Jewish year in question by 19 and find the remainder. If that number is a 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 or 0 (representing the 19th year), then y ou’re looking at a leap year. “Hillel and his friends were pretty good at math,” says Mitchell (Yochanon) Bogart, a New Haven, Conn.-based engineer and avowed ‘physics buff.’ “Nearly 2,000 years ago, they were sharp enough with their calculations to realise the Jewish calendar had to have a 19-year cycle to keep that 11-day difference at bay. It was the only way to stop the holidays from shifting more than a couple of weeks here and there, nothing significant.” All done without a calculator. 4. How is it Like Being a Little Bit Pregnant? Why exactly is the Jewish leap year called shanah me’uberet, literally ‘a pregnant year’? That’s because it’s simply fuller—and longer—than any other year. Instead of the standard 365 days, the Jewish world is looking at anywhere from 383 to 385 days, depending on whether in a given year the months of Cheshvan (in the fall) and Kislev (at Hanukkah time) each have 29 or 30 days. The upcoming year 5782, for instance, will have 384 days. Among those most profoundly impacted by this ‘pregnant’ year are the farmers in Israel who are keeping the Torah commandment of shmita —stopping all cultivating to let their fields rest for a year as a Sabbath for the land. And though the mitzvah (only in effect in the Jewish homeland) rolls around every seven years, this time it happens to fall on a leap year, prolonging the farmers’ time away from working the land from the typical 12 months to 13. 5. What’s the Leap Year’s Biggest Blessing? And, due to the nature of the month that gets added—an extra Adar —one thing the leap year is pregnant with is an extra helping of joy, blessing and mazal (’luck’) for the Jewish people. As the sages taught, “When Adar enters, we increase in joy.” “We know that the 30 days of Adar are the happiest of the year for the Jewish people, so in a year when we double the number of Adar days to 60, we’re also bound to double our joy and our good fortune,” says Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles, co-founder of the Ascent seminar centre in Tzfat, Israel. More than 2,000 students attended a ceremony ending the ‘shmita’ (sabbatical) year, in Efrat, on 11 Oct. 2015. It is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel. During ‘shmita’, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Jewish law. | Photo: Flash90. Five fascinating facts about the Jewish Leap Year

34. 16 From our Projects Valeria Zakharova n Project Manager | First Home in the Homeland The charter flight with the olim families and Na’ale students from Ukraine landed in Israel on 14 September. Among them, seven families started their life in Israel through the First home in the Homeland programme. Every year we welcome many olim (immigrants) from Ukraine. Most of them are assisted by the Christians for Israel team in Ukraine, who help them prepare emotionally, practically and financially for their return to the Promised Land. September is a good month to take this big step. The special plane will carry the new olim from Ukraine to Israel right before Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year in Judaism. We spoke to two of the families right before their departure from Ukraine: “I am sure my grandfather would have been proud of me”... Alena Goncharova from Kremenchug has been waiting for this day all her life. Since her childhood, she and her grandfather were sharing a dream about going to the Holy Land. “My grandpa was a Jew, so I was raised in Jewish traditions. He believed that a big ship would take us to Israel one day. He saw that picture clearly despite being blind. Well, my grandpa died, but our dream is coming true, and I can hardly believe it. I will make Aliyah together with my husband and three children. As my grandfather envisioned, there is no need to go from Odessa to Haifa by sea for three days. Our Homecoming will be much faster as it will just be a 3 hours flight from Kiev to Tel Aviv. I have been waiting for this day for so long. Although I did not realise until recently that it would be like a restart. We are happy and nervous at the same time. I can’t but worry about my children’s integration and our professional future. That’s why any kind of support is vital. So, we feel immense gratitude for everything you do!” says Alena. “Returning home is exciting”... Pavel Kramarenko from Odessa will make Aliyah with his wife Anzhelika and a 7- year-old daughter Amina. Many of their relatives and friends live in Israel. “We have been considering moving to Israel for several years, but because of Covid-19, our plans changed. What was the main reason for making aliyah? Our friends and family members live in Israel. And we also want to start a new life there because we feel we belong to this land. My daughter completed her first grade at the Jewish school in Odessa, and my wife and I are learning Hebrew and Jewish traditions. We are looking forward to our encounter with Israel. We are glad that so many people are helping us on the way – the Jewish Agency, the coordinators of the First Home in the Homeland programme and, of course, Christians for Israel who help us here.”, Pavel Kramarenko said. In total, First Home in the Homeland welcomed 24 people on 14 September. Apartments were prepared for the families; children enrolled in kindergartens and schools. With your assistance, these olim received a warm and soft landing in Israel! Costs to assist a family for one month in the First Home in the Homeland programme is A $350. Homecoming October 2021 | Israel & Christians Today Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Goncharov family from Kremenchug – Alena, Evgenii and their children – Dmitrii, Kira and Egor. Pavel Kramarenko with his family. Watch the recently released video about the First Home in the Homeland project! www.c4israel.org/first-home Yes, I would like to make a donation towards... C4I MINISTRY 1 TEACHING RESOURCES & PREMIUM GIFTS DONATION PRICE inc GST 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) Thinc. 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(BOOK) by Willem Glashouwer $25 each ____________ Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective October 2021 Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 25 Years of Helping Jews on their Way to Israel 3 Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel 9 Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast 15 ADI Offers Children a Chance On the 25th anniversary of our campaign, ‘Bring the Jews Home’, 130 Ukrainian Jews left for Israel on a special charter flight on 14 September. Among them were many young people. They were sent off by representatives of Christians for Israel: in the front row, Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International, Koen and Ira Carlier, who are leading our work in Ukraine, and Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands. Read more on pages 6 and 7 . | Photo: Christians for Israel “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7 25 Years www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective October 2021 Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 25 Years of Helping Jews on their Way to Israel 3 Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel 9 Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast 15 ADI Offers Children a Chance On the 25th anniversary of our campaign, ‘Bring the Jews Home’, 130 Ukrainian Jews left for Israel on a special charter flight on 14 September. Among them were many young people. They were sent off by representatives of Christians for Israel: in the front row, Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International, Koen and Ira Carlier, who are leading our work in Ukraine, and Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands. Read more on pages 6 and 7 . | Photo: Christians for Israel “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7 25 Years www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective October 2021 Cheshvan - Kislev 5782 Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 25 Years of Helping Jews on their Way to Israel 3 Afghanistan’s Lessons for Israel 9 Abraham Accords Impact on Mideast 15 ADI Offers Children a Chance On the 25th anniversary of our campaign, ‘Bring the Jews Home’, 130 Ukrainian Jews left for Israel on a special charter flight on 14 September. Among them were many young people. They were sent off by representatives of Christians for Israel: in the front row, Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International, Koen and Ira Carlier, who are leading our work in Ukraine, and Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands. Read more on pages 6 and 7 . | Photo: Christians for Israel “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7 25 Years www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA 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. 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