7. 5 News The Rabbi Sacks Legacy n Punctuality, said Louis XVIII of France, is the politeness of kings. Royalty arrives on time and leaves on time. So it is with Her Majesty the Queen, with one memorable exception. The day was 27 January 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and the place St James’s Palace. The Queen was meeting a group of Holocaust survivors. When the time came for her to leave, she stayed. And stayed. One of her attendants said that he had never known her to linger so long after her scheduled departure. She gave each survivor — it was a large group — her focused, unhurried attention. She stood with each until they had finished telling their personal story. It was an act of kindness that almost had me in tears. One after another, the survivors came to me in a kind of trance, saying: “Sixty years ago I did not know if I would be alive tomorrow, and here I am today talking to the Queen.” It brought a kind of blessed closure into deeply lacerated lives. We don’t always appreciate the Queen’s role in one of the most significant changes of the past 60 years: Britain’s transformation into a multi-ethnic, multifaith society. No one does interfaith better than the Royal Family, and it starts with the Queen herself. Already in 1952, the first year of her reign, she was patron of the Council of Christians and Jews, the organisation founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple and the Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz in one of history’s darkest nights ten years earlier. In England, almost uniquely, the Church stood alongside the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism. Royal recognition of the significance of this effort gave interfaith work a centrality and prestige it would not otherwise have had, and it helped to make tolerance the default option in British life. Americans in particular find this hard to understand. How, they ask, can you have real tolerance in a country with an Established Church? Doesn’t it relegate everyone else to the margins of national life? To this the answer is no. In her religious role, the Queen is head of the Church of England, but in her civic role she cares for all her subjects, and no one is better at making everyone she meets feel valued. That applies not just to individuals but to all Britain’s faith communities. In one of the first public occasions of her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen met at Lambeth Palace leaders of the nine leading faiths in Britain: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian and Bahai. Each showed her an object that held special significance for them. In return she praised their contributions to the nation. They helped the sick, the elderly, the lonely and the disadvantaged. More and more, she said, the Church of England was actively co- operating with other faiths to build a better society. Faith, not just Christian faith, reminds us of “the responsibilities we have beyond ourselves.” It was gently, deftly done. The royals — all of them, especially the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales — have done outstanding work with the faith communities. To see Prince Charles lighting Chanukah candles with children at a Jewish school, or being adorned with flowers by appreciative Sikhs at the Royal Albert Hall, or visiting the Hindu temple in Neasden for Diwali, is to see royalty at its best. No one doubts the duty of a monarch to defend the Established Church, but it is precisely those for whom faith is important who can best understand how important other faiths are for their adherents. Oddly enough, the religious dimension of the throne makes it better placed than secular institutions to value and unite Britain’s many faiths. Jews have deep respect for the Queen and the Royal Family. We say a prayer for them every Sabbath in synagogue. We recite a special blessing on seeing the Queen. We drink a toast to her at every communal dinner. Whether I am in America or Israel or the Far East one of the first questions I am likely to be asked is: “How was the royal wedding?” Something similar, in my experience, is true of other minority faiths in Britain. They value the Queen because they know she values them. She makes them feel not strangers in a strange land, but respected citizens at home. Her presence and her family’s role as the human face of national identity is one of the great unifying forces in Britain, a unity we need all the more, the more diverse religiously and culturally we become. Hers has been the quiet heroism of service, and in an age of self-obsession she has been a role model of duty, selflessly and graciously fulfilled. Recently, presenting the Queen with a loyal address, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews gave her the traditional Jewish blessing for long life, Ad meah ve-esrim, “May you live to be a hundred and twenty.” Not having heard this blessing before, she gave a quizzical smile. We had to explain that the figure was not meant to be precise. It was just our way of offering her our loyal thanks and our prayers that she may continue for many years in health and strength. She has been a blessing to us, the nation and the world. Article by the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks published 31 May 2012. Queen Elizabeth presented with a menorah by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. | Photo: Rabbi Sacks Legacy The Queen is Defender of Britain’s Faiths October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Continued from page 1 The Momentous Task Facing King Charles III He was constrained from below by the authority vested in priests, prophets and judges, and from above by the belief that the supreme ruler whose laws even the king had to follow was the Almighty himself. During the 17th-century English civil war, which led to the system of parliamentary government under the Crown, political thinkers looked to Judaism for the answer to many questions about the relationship between scripture, sovereigns and subjects. Under Oliver Cromwell, some even advocated turning parliament into a sanhedrin or supreme council patterned on the biblical high court of Judea. Just as Britain’s constitutional monarchy is generally not understood in republi can countries, nor is the relationship in Britain between church and state in which the Crown plays a central role. Britain has an established church in the Church of England. Because it is benign and tolerant, it acts as a protective umbrella for other minority faiths such as Judaism. It prevents a contest for power between faiths in which Judaism would be the loser. The monarch is the Defender of the Faith, meaning Protestantism. The Queen, who treated this role with the utmost seriousness, was a devout Christian. In 1994, when Charles was Prince of Wales, he caused no little consternation when he said he wanted to be not Defender of the Faith but ‘defender of faith.’ Long attracted by elements of Islam in particular, he believes that all faiths are linked by a common spirituality that promotes the unity of the natural world. This raised fears among many British Jews (and others) that he would promote a multifaith mishmash and thus undermine the protection that the Jews have enjoyed. However, he explained that he merely wanted to use his Christian standpoint to offer protection to other faiths. And in his first address to the nation after his mother’s death, he pledged to uphold the sovereign’s particular responsibility towards the Church of England. The King has shown much friendship and warmth towards British Jews. However, many Jews have interpreted the failure of his mother ever to visit Israel as a signal of antipathy towards the Jewish people within the royal family. This is a misunderstanding. The royals undertake no engagements overseas unless the UK Foreign Office wants them to do so. And British government ambivalence about the Jewish national home goes back to the Mandate period in the 1930s and 1940s, when Britain betrayed its obligation to settle the Jewish people throughout Palestine. In fact, first Prince William and then Prince Charles, as he then was, did make official visits to Israel in 2018 and 2020, which were almost certainly due to a shift in the government’s attitude. This was caused by an increasing number of pro-Israel ministers in the Conservative administrations of Theresa May and Boris Johnson, combined with the developing relationship with Israel by the Gulf states towards which the British government has long been obsequious. It is an irony that today’s State of Israel, the direct heir to the ancient Davidic kingdom, doesn’t have a monarchy. Maybe that’s one reason why its internal divisions are so raw—and potentially so dangerous to its long-term health. Although America was created by rejecting the British Crown, the Hebrew Bible is integral to foundational American institutions and laws. The Liberty Bell is engraved with an inscription from Leviticus: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” America’s founding fathers made repeated references to biblical sources. Few, however, acknowledge the central importance of biblical values, which have been under sustained assault for decades from secular ideologies such as moral and cultural relativism, in underpinning the West. Principles such as duty to others, humility and gratitude for the world’s many gifts originated in the Hebrew Bible. The Queen embodied and upheld these values. Unlike Charles, who took a stand on a number of issues as Prince of Wales, no one ever knew what his mother thought. Avoiding anything that might cause division, she thus simply embodied selflessness, stoicism and public service. And like Judaism itself, she also radiated hope for the future. That’s why she was so loved. That’s why there has been such terrible grief in Britain over the death of a 96-year- old woman—because people fear that, with her death, so, too, a Britain is passing that once stood for the principles and the society that she personified. We wait to see whether King Charles III, the latest British monarch in the Davidic tradition, will similarly rise to that momentous task.

8. 6 Anemone Rüger n Project Coordinator - Holocaust Survivors in Ukraine | Christians for Israel It’s a hot summer day in the pedestrian zone of West German Dusseldorf; the vendors are setting up their booths for the city’s popular Gourmet Festival. Yelena, our contact person from the Jewish Community in Nikolayev, has taken a few days off for the first time since the war started in Ukraine this spring, hoping to catch her breath with friends in Dusseldorf. Nikolayev, a port city, located on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, once claimed to have the Soviet Union’s largest shipbuilding wharf. Many seniors, supported by Christians for Israel, used to work there when they were younger. Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, Nikolayev – just like many other cities throughout the country – has seen most of its factories and plants go out of business. When the war started with Russia’s invasion on 24 February this year, Nikolayev immediately found itself a target due to its strategic location. Unlike the neighbouring port city of Kherson, Nikolayev has not come under Russian occupation, but the daily air raids are wearing people out. I meet Yelena and her husband Andrei at a Dusseldorf café. By the time we say goodbye, the sun has nearly set behind the horizon. Yelena instinctively cringes every time she hears an ambulance or another alarm. “Normally, you get an air alarm so that people can run for cover. But in Nikolayev, you either wake up the moment the bomb hits, or you don’t wake up at all,” says Yelena. “We are so close to Kherson. That’s where the Russian troops sit; that’s where they are firing from. By the time the air sirens go off, the next rocket has already hit.” At the beginning of the war, it looked like Nikolayev was going to suffer the same fate as Kherson. “The Russian tanks were already in the city, just a block away from us,” Yelena remembers. “Then there was a fight at the downtown World War II tank memorial; that’s where our troops pushed them back. The frontline has been pushed 40 kilometres outside the city since the end of March.” With the outbreak of the war, food supplies started disappearing from the supermarket shelves. “The first three weeks, we didn’t change; we were always on our toes,” Yelena says. “But where should we have run to? We have a small house in the city centre. There are no shelters there. In the beginning, they said we’d be safe in the centre as there are no military targets there. And then they bombed our city administration. There were so many casualties... “I sat in the dark hallway with all curtains closed and worked, with my laptop on my knees, the phone next to me and the hand-knitted scarf you brought last year around my shoulders. That’s what gave me comfort.” After a while, food supplies re-appeared in the city, but prices skyrocketed. People made panic purchases; the shops were not able to keep up with the demand. “And when Passover started, we had no water. We get our water from Kherson, but the city is occupied, and the pipes have been damaged. We couldn’t wash anymore; it was unbearable. Once in a while, a truck stopped in the street, bringing drinking water. People stood in line for three hours. “Now we get our water from the sea – it’s salt water. You can’t drink it; it’s just for household use. But the salt wrecks everything. We had to buy a new boiler because everything starts rusting.” Once a week, the synagogue distributes drinking water and food to the needy. “In the first weeks after the war started, we brought 800 people out of the city. Most of them continued via Moldova to Israel,” Yelena remembers. “When we distributed the first humanitarian goods, about 50 people responded. Now it’s about 500. We couldn’t understand where they were all coming from. ‘We were okay before,’ many said. But most factories have been closed for months; there is no work. Every day our city gets attacked. People now mainly live on humanitarian aid. When the curfew is lifted at 5 in the morning, the first people go and stand in line.” International solidarity is slowing down, Yelena has noted. “People don’t want to hear about the Ukraine war anymore. It has taken too long already.” Yelena works for a donations-based organisation. She hasn’t received her salary for a month. But her biggest concern are the two bridges across the Southern Bug River. “The centre of Nikolayev is like a peninsula. The two large bridges are our lifeline with Odesa and the rest of Ukraine. I hope they won’t get hit; that would be the end.” There is hardly anyone left at the synagogue except Yelena. But the work is still there. For the elderly, who have spent their entire lives in this city and who mostly have no younger relatives, it is nearly unthinkable to start anew somewhere else. Yelena continues taking care of them – now under constant danger of death. No one dares think about the winter. The heating systems have been damaged in many places; there are no construction materials to make the necessary repairs, such as replacing broken windows. Although Yelena would not describe herself as a religious person, she feels that she is not alone. “There is someone up there who is taking me by my hand, step by step. I’ve sensed that since the first day of the war.” Nikolayev on the Black Sea used to have a huge shipbuilding plant in Soviet times. | Photos: Anemone Rüger Update on Ukraine October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Someone Up There is Holding My Hand Several thousand Jewish people are still living in the city. Many receive regular support from C4I. | Photos: C4I Yelena and her husband Andrei in Dusseldorf. Nikolayev had 25,000 Jewish residents before World War II. Those who were not able to flee were murdered in the Holocaust.

5. Yochanan Visser n Correspondent in Israel Israel will go to the polls again on 1 November 2022, which will be the fifth time in three and a half years that parliamentary elections will be held in the Jewish state. This new election became necessary after current Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided in June that there was no future anymore for their coalition of left and right parties supplemented by the Arab Islamic party Ra’am. The government of Bennett and Lapid ruled for exactly one year before the decision was made to go to the polls again. The new election for the 25th Knesset was necessitated by a series of crises related to the make-up of Bennett’s and Lapid’s cabinet. The government that Lapid and Bennett had managed to cobble together a year earlier was a motley crew of parties with opposing political agendas. After it became clear that there was no majority in the Knesset for the extension of an emergency law that dealt with Israeli civil administration in Judea and Samaria since the 1967 Six-Day War, Lapid and Bennett decided to call new elections. However, it appears that the new election will again fail to resolve Israel’s deep political crisis that began with the fall of the government of Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021. Likud will remain the largest party with 32 seats according to the latest polls- up from 29 - but that won’t mean that Netanyahu will be able to form a majority government again. The same happened in 2021 when Netanyahu failed to form a government despite the right’s clear victory in the March elections. The so-called pro-Netanyahu bloc is currently at 59 seats in the polls against 54 for Yair Lapid’s center-left bloc while the rest of the seats are expected to go to the Arab parties. The deadlock in the political situation in Israel is mainly due to personal feuds and not political differences. Netanyahu had become an increasingly controversial figure in his 12 years as Israel’s Prime Minister especially since a lawsuit was brought against him for alleged corruption in the last two years of his term as PM. In the previous election, three right-wing parties refused to join a government led by the Likud leader because of resentment against Netanyahu. In all three cases, it was not about political differences but an aversion to Netanyahu who was accused of being a criminal and living a hedonistic life as leader of Israel. Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman, for example, is known as a hawk with ideas shared by much of Likud but his dislike of Netanyahu was stronger than his political agenda. The caretaker Finance Minister was actually the one who caused the current stalemate in Israeli politics when he stepped down as Defense Minister in November 2018 under the guise that Israel was acting too weakly against Hamas and the other terror groups in Gaza. In fact, it was more about the corruption lawsuit against Netanyahu and a personal antipathy towards the Likud leader. The same can actually be said about Naftali Bennett and Gideon Saar who, with their right-wing parties New Hope and HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish House), teamed up with the center-left Yes Atid party of Yair Lapid. Both politicians have also developed an aversion to Netanyahu during the time they served under him. On the eve of the new elections on 1 November, all kinds of things are going on that make it likely that it will again prove difficult to form a government in Israel. Caretaker Prime Minister Lapid tried to persuade the left-wing parties Labor and Meretz to form a joint list, but the attempt failed. As a result, it is now possible that both parties will not exceed the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold, making the formation of a center-left government, even with support from Arab parties, virtually impossible. Analysts now agree that the so-called ‘soft right’ voters will decide the upcoming elections. These are the voters who don’t feel at home in Likud or in the far-right Religious Zionism party. The decision of Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s current Interior Minister, to disband the newly formed Zionist Spirit (Ruach Tzioni) party and return to HaBayit HaYehudi made things even more complicated because this party too will not cross the electoral threshold, according to the polls. However, between now and 1 November, Shaked’s position may improve as she hasn’t started her campaign yet. Yoaz Hendel, Shaked’s partner in the already defunct Zionist Spirit party, has now decided to leave politics warning that internal divisions, tribalism, and even blind hatred pose a great danger to Israel. Shaked has not ruled out in principle that she will join a Netanyahu-led coalition after the election. With that, she is likely to take on the role of kingmaker. In the now outgoing coalition of Lapid and Bennett, that role was filled by the Arab Islamist Party Ra’am, which stands to lose the coming election according to the latest polls. To complicate matters for Lapid, the Arab parties in the Knesset failed to once again form a joint list and this will mean that he won’t be able to form a new government and remain Israel’s Prime Minister. However, the major stumbling block in the Israeli political landscape remains the obstruction of Benyamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to return to the Prime Minister’s residence in Balfour Street, Jerusalem. Analysis 3 Short News Fast Check-In In order to better handle the large flow of travellers, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport will install self-service desks as much as possible by 2023. This will allow outgoing passengers to check-in faster, and allows them to weigh their own luggage and print and attach tags for them. About 10 million passengers have used Ben Gurion Airport since the beginning of the year and 2.3 million of them passed through during the month of August. With this investment of 2 million Israeli Shekel, it is hoped that their check-in time will be drastically reduced. | Photo: Shutterstock Israeli-Palestinian Economic Summit Prime Minister Lapid has issued a green light for a summit on the Israeli- Palestinian economy. The summit has not convened in over a decade. The aim is to boost the Palestinian economy and promote economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Grant Packages for Immigrants Immigrants in Israel who plan to live and work in the northern or southern regions of Israel can expect a grant from the government. Those eligible to receive the aid are immigrants who recently settled in the Negev and Galilee regions and include healthcare workers and engineers. There is a need for people working in these sectors in these areas. To give an indication, doctors get over 14,500 US dollars per family and people in other professions almost 6,000 US dollars. | Photo: Flash90 170 Attacks Prevented Since the beginning of the year, Israel's security service Shin Bet has prevented at least 170 terror attacks. Prime Minister Lapid made this announcement mid-July. Even though quite a few terror attacks have been prevented, according to the Shin Bet report, there were 189 terror attacks in the month of June alone and 207 in the month of May. Most of these were firebombs. Attacks caused by throwing stones are not included in the figures. Political Turmoil Likely to Continue After Election Box with ballots at one of the previous Knesset parliamentary elections. | Photo: Shutterstock October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 ...it appears that the new election will again fail to resolve Israel’s deep political crisis that began with the fall of the government of Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021.

24. 14 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Open Letter from Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon My Heartfelt Gratitude Australia and Israel Standing Shoulder to Shoulder Returning from balmy Queensland to Canberra in the winter months is always an adjustment. Recently, upon landing at Canberra’s chilly and windswept airport, there was more on my mind than just the fine Sunshine Coast weather—I was still basking in the warm glow of the wonderful fellowship I had experienced during two remarkable evenings in the company of your members. I want to use this short message to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Christians for Israel for coordinating two “Australia Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Israel” events during August, and for inviting me to attend. The wonderful reception I received made a deep impression on me, and I was overwhelmed by the personal warmth you all shared. During both events, I was privileged to share some of my thoughts about Israel, as well as my personal story. I was deeply touched by your passion for the prosperity of Israel and your sincere interest in the wellbeing of its people. Being able to speak to you in person was very special, as was the opportunity to be interviewed on Vision Christian Radio’s “20Twenty” talkback show and to connect with even more people from your community. Recently, as the long tail of Canberra’s winter drags into springtime, every now and then I experience a wave of goosebumps—not because of the cold, but because I remember our joint rendition of “Kol Ha-olam Kulo Gesher Tzar Meod” , which we sang together that evening. My heart fills with warmth. This is an unforgettable memory that I share with you, and one that I will cherish forever. Speaking as an Ambassador, I want to thank you for your ongoing support and for fostering closer ties between the Australian Christian community and the State of Israel. Speaking now as your friend Amir—I cannot wait until my next visit to your lovely part of Australia and I very much look forward to seeing you all again soon. God bless you all. Your friend Amir A key part of Judaism is relationships— between us and G-d, our family, our friends, our people, and humankind. Coming together—shoulder to shoulder—as friends is so important when you consider the existential challenges Israel faces and the rise of antisemitism in Queensland, across Australia and the world. The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies is an organisation that was born in 1948—the same year as the establishment of the modern State of Israel. We represent more than 27 organisations and a community that has been active and part of the fabric of Queensland since 1865. Our community is growing. In the 2021 Australian Population Census our population increased 9% and we are now close to 5000 people but, in reality, we are probably closer to 7500, given there is a number of our community who will not include their religion on a government form. While the majority of our community lives in the south-east corner, we are the most decentralised Jewish population in Australia, if not the world, with residents in the far north, out west and south to Coolangatta. This is in contrast to Sydney and Melbourne, who are 5 or 6 times our size and in clusters of central suburbs. Despite our size, those who wish to practise their Jewish faith and express their culture are able to. In addition to our synagogues and temples, we have groups focussed on Zionism, welfare, women, youth, sport and social. Yet, a significant challenge we face is antisemitism. In a survey we undertook in 2021 as part of the Queensland Government’s review of hate crime and vilification laws, it was identified that 60% of our community had been victimised by serious hate crime—many incidents were in the workplace. Of those people, more than 90% said they didn’t report it for fear of more antisemitism. Antisemitism—or what it really is: Jew hatred—needs to stop. It’s growing in Queensland, across Australia and globally. We were encouraged by the leadership shown by the Queensland Government in accepting our position that Nazi hate symbols need to be banned and that hate crimes become a criminal offence. Meanwhile, in the hallowed halls of some of our major tertiary institutions, we are seeing and hearing that antisemitism is rampant. It may not be just a swastika— it’s most often a more modern-day form of antisemitism: the unjustified and vicious attack on Israel. Banners at both the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology carry the grossly offensive slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” , which greets Jewish students and make them fearful to display their Judaism and support for Israel. People don’t really understand what this slogan truly is expressing and that is: from the Jordan River on Israel’s east, to the Mediterranean Sea on Israel’s western coastline—there will be no Jews, not one. As our friends you need to know how bad this is. While our voice is heard, together our collective voices can have great impact in calling out anti-Israel, antisemitism and anti-Zionism; so people know those hate-fueled views have no place here. Your voice to politicians, on social media, with friends, and even at the water cooler condemning hate is very much needed. Together, we can make a difference. On a more positive note, and another antidote to stopping antisemitism, I wanted to share a short update on the planned Holocaust museum for Queensland. Today we don’t have a museum, unlike Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. However, that is about to change thanks to the funding secured from the Queensland Government, Federal Government and the Brisbane City Council. We are very close to being able to announce with our partners where the physical museum will be and how we will be helping to share what happened during the most evil period of human history with Queensland school students throughout this great state. It is also intended that the museum will be visited by Queenslanders of all ages, as well as tourists. Our mission is to inspire and educate Queenslanders and all visitors to stand up against antisemitism, hatred, racism and indifference, and promote multiculturalism, acceptance, tolerance and harmony. All Queenslanders will be able to interact with the museum in person, online or as part of a regional tour. Friends, kol hakavod for standing shoulder to shoulder with us and showing your solidarity with our community and the State of Israel. Amir Maimon Ambassador – Embassy Of Israel In Canberra Jason Steinberg President, Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies I was deeply touched by your passion for the prosperity of Israel and your sincere interest in the wellbeing of its people

25. 15 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Biblical Insights from Heartland of Judea & Samaria Christian Zionist Hero Training Heroes rise to the occasion and bravely fulfill their mission. Most of our Christian Zionist heroes stood against insurmountable pressure, and some gave their lives. Christian Zionist William Hechler was thoroughly convinced that the Jewish people would return to the land of Israel. When he met Theodore Herzl, he knew he must do all in his power to help him in his effort to establish a Jewish state in the land of Israel. He rose to the occasion, accomplished incredible feats, and is now our hero. Corrie Ten-Boom knew it was her Christian duty to rescue Jewish people during WW2. She and her family sacrificed dearly for their unconditional love and commitment to the Jewish people. Today, she is a Christian Zionist hero. Orde Charles Wingate, a captain and intelligence officer in the British army, served in Israel (then called “Palestine”) from 1936-1939. Because of his Christian love for God, the Bible, and the Jewish people, he trained Jews to fight against Arab marauders. Those he trained eventually became key members of the IDF. He is now one of our Christian Zionist heroes. Notice that all three heroes listed above stood in defense of Israel. They were Israel’s defense force before there was an IDF! The other obvious thing about all three of these heroes is that they did not just stand back and observe when they had an opportunity to bless Israel/ the Jewish people. Because of their firm foundation in the Bible, there was no question about what they should do when the moment arose. To identify a counterfeit, you need to memorize every detail of the original. These three heroes knew the Bible. They were not confused by the stealthy schemes that pulled many Christians into anti-semitism. Let’s take a closer look at how each of these Christian Zionists became the heroes we know today. Mr. Hechler leveraged his connections with high-ranking officials, influencing them to bless Israel. He spoke out in his country, community, and congregation. He even travelled to other countries, teaching and calling to action on behalf of the Jewish People. Speaking out should not be underestimated. We all have a country, community, and congregation. Don’t let anyone tell you to stop talking about Israel. The Prophet Isaiah commands us, “For Zion’s sake, do not be silent!” (Isaiah 62:1) The urgency is even greater today. The restoration of Israel has begun. (Ezekiel 36:24-32) The “fullness of the Gentiles” must be invited to be grafted into Israel. The door will only be open for so long. In his book ‘Floodgates,’ David Parsons parallels Israel’s modern restoration with the building of Noah’s Ark. It took Noah approximately 70 years to build the Ark. The building process was a merciful act of God, giving humanity the opportunity to repent. Today, Israel’s restoration is also a process that is spiritually rocking the world. It is a giant ark-like billboard proclaiming God’s faithfulness and inviting the nations to enter its door and receive salvation from the God of Israel. “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26) “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’” (Jeremiah 31:10) Ms. Ten-Boom found herself in a horrible situation right in her hometown. She was getting on in years, and she had no experience with the work of the underground. Yet because of her family’s efforts, approximately 800 Jewish people were saved. What is happening in your hometown? Is there anti-semitism? Will there be if you don’t act now? Anti-semitism is on the rise again. As a Christian Zionist, are you active in the fight and prepared for the worst? Corrie’s grandfather, Willem Ten-Boom, prepared his family by hosting a weekly prayer meeting to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and God’s chosen people. Mr. Wingate came to the land of Israel and offered his expertise to its citizens- to-be. He learned to speak Hebrew, and his Jewish friends affectionately referred to him as “HaYedid” - the friend. When harassed by his British comrades because of his love for the Jews, Wingate boldly responded, “I am not ashamed to say that I am a real and devoted admirer of the Jews.” The famous IDF hero, Moshe Dayan, who was Defense Minister during the recapture of Jerusalem in the six-day war, was one of the men that Wingate trained. Traveling to Israel is expensive, and fighting battles is not easy, but when you come, you begin to understand even more clearly why blessing, defending, and serving Israel is so important. Your effectiveness in striving to be a Hechler or Ten-Boom-like hero, will significantly increase when you visit; or better yet, if you become a short or long-term Wingate and throw your shoulder next to the Jewish people as they rebuild the nation of Israel. Perhaps we can learn just as much or more from our three heroes’ neighbors. They were in similar situations, but they did not rise to the occasion. They were just ordinary people living everyday lives. Apathy has kept many a would- be-hero pinned to the ground with incredible success. We are entering the season of Sukkot— the Feast of Tabernacles. During this festival, God commanded the children of Israel to go out of their comfort zones— their comfortable houses, rooms, and beds. They are to dwell in “sukkot”— temporary shelters—under the stars, for a whole week! Today, in this Sukkot season, God is inviting you to step out of your comfort zone. Don’t wait for someone else to take the hero position. The land and people of Israel are still under attack. Be a modern William Hechler and speak up boldly for Israel in your country, community, and congregation. Be a Corrie Ten-Boom and actively fight anti-semitism. Be an Orde Wingate—come put your heart for Israel into action and lend your hands to rebuild the nation. “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14) Zac Waller Executive Director of HaYovel Corrie Ten-Boon

14. 4 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Speaking Tour Update from the Heartland of Biblical Israel Reflections on my Visit to Australia As one of the hottest weeks of the summer drew to a close, I boarded a plane to cool Australia. Packing for the change of seasons was a challenge and I had to carry my winter coat to the airport even as temperatures soared in Israel close to 40 degrees, but I was so excited to go. It had been 2 1/2 years since my last visit to your wonderful country and I had missed it. As I boarded my plane in Ben Gurion Airport, I could not help but remember my last trip to Australia. It was February 2020 and COVID had already begun in Asia but was a distant threat for the rest of the world. My initial itinerary included a 5-day visit in Taiwan but that was cancelled two weeks prior to my departure because COVID had already struck there. Subsequently, my return flight was changed twice as Hong Kong and then Bangkok cancelled their flights. I ended up departing Australia in a hurry, canceling the last three meetings of my trip, in order to ensure I would get home safely. Arriving back in Israel in February 2020, I felt confident that I had left COVID behind. Little did we all know at that time that what began in Asia, would become a world-wide pandemic, shutting down vast areas of the world’s economy. And especially Australia. It is little wonder then, that my recent visit to Australia was a time to heal the wounds of the past 2 1/2 years. It was a time to reconnect with friends and supporters whom I had only been able to see via zoom for such a long time. But even more important, for me my visit to Australia represented a final good-bye to COVID. I was overwhelmed by the love and support I received from the audiences I met, in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Millaa Millaa, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. There were a few audiences that were totally new to me, churches that had only a minimal connection to Israel and were open to changing that for the better. Most of my meetings were hosted by people who have been involved with support for Judea and Samaria but were also opportunities to introduce our work to people who were totally unaware of the Biblical and strategic significance of Judea and Samaria. People were hungry for this renewed contact with Israel and for most of them, I was the first Israeli they had met in nearly three years. One of the most amazing things that had changed since my last trip to Australia was the very new route that was now open to me as a result of the Abraham Accords. I flew to Australia on Emirates Airlines, via Dubai, flying over Saudi Arabia. What a change that is! As I walked around the Dubai airport, I kept pinching myself – here I was, an Israeli Jew, in an Arab country, with some of the men even wearing the traditional white robe and kufiyah! And I felt welcomed. No one cared that I live in Samaria and no one was accusing me of persecuting the Palestinians. Things have changed dramatically in the Middle East and flying Emirates brought that home to me. I encouraged people to join our tour of Biblical Israel this coming November and many were very excited by the prospect of coming back to Israel. And while there are a number of Aussies who have already registered for our tour, I sensed a hesitation among some of the people I met. After more than two years with little or no travel, people were not sure what renewing travel would look like. I assured them that Israel does not have any restrictions anymore and that life has gone back to normal. But I appreciate that the idea of foreign travel may take some getting used to. Remember what it was like to visit Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall? Remember what it was like to be baptized in the Jordan River, take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, eat a Falafel at one of Jerusalem’s open markets. You may have visited the Biblical Heartland before where the ancient cities of Shiloh and Hebron enable you to relive Scripture. You may have joined me at the Three Seas Outlook as I taught about the connection between God’s promise to Abraham, the initial conquest of the Land of Israel under Joshua, and our current return to the Land. I am here, waiting for you and eager to help you enjoy these meaningful visits once again or for the first time. Please consider joining our tour or any other tour that will enable you to experience the Heartland of Biblical Israel like never before. Flying between Australia has always been long but it is not as long as before. And travel is good. It is good to visit each other in person and it is good to leave home and discover new horizons. I want to encourage you to take the plunge. Israel is waiting for you. Israel is eager to welcome you. When you come to Israel, you can recharge your spiritual batteries and reconnect to the place where both of our faiths began. I will look forward to seeing you in Israel soon! _______________________________________________________ If you would like to donate to help the people of the Biblical Heartland, you can do so by using our form on the back page and selecting CFOIC (Christian Friends of Israeli Communities) and once your donation is received it will be allocated towards Judea and Samaria automatically. A home meeting in Buderim with Sondra Oster Baras to benefit the people of Judea and Samaria For more information or to register for this tour, please contact Olive Tree Travel , PH: 03 8488 96 96 or 1300 550 830 , email: steven@olivetreetravel.com.au . Sondra Oster Baras Former Attorney, Bible Student and Director of CFOIC Heartland

20. 10 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Pastoral Insights This is the final part of a 3-part series on “lessons for life”, concluding our exploration of the Torah portion ‘Sh’lach’ or ‘Sh’lach Lecha’. This well- known passage in Numbers 13-15 recounts the mission of the twelve spies sent by Moses to explore and report back on the land of Canaan as a future home for the Israelite people. We have in this series been recognizing the reality that there are seasons in life when God clearly calls us to make a specific change in our personal circumstances—maybe to move to a new location, even perhaps to head in an altogether new direction in life. It is at such times that God’s Word so often proves to be especially helpful. Changes in life inevitably confront us with challenges. One specific challenge that we looked at in the previous article (part 2 in this series) is the need to confront and overcome the fear that so often accompanies the prospect of change. We saw how ten of the spies brought back what was in effect a negative report on the land of Canaan, a report that resulted in fear gripping the hearts of the Israelites in the wilderness. They declared that the Canaanite people were fierce and intimidating and described the land of milk and honey as “a land that devours its inhabitants.” Joshua and Caleb however saw things differently; they saw things from a different perspective—they factored God into the equation! They chose to believe in and focus on the promises of a good and strong God who they were confident would enable the Israelites to overcome the very real obstacles before them. They were true men of faith. Ultimately, the issue for us when confronted with significant changes in life isn’t ultimately whether we are competent or strong enough. The question is really this: Will we take God at His word, and will we trust Him with our problems? The problem with our fears is not fear itself, but what they reveal about our concept of God and our willingness to trust Him implicitly. Canaan always comes with Canaanites in it. Obstacles come with the territory. But let’s remember that no matter how big the problems are, God is bigger. Do you believe that? Are you a faith or fear person? I love how Dr. E. Stanley Jones puts it— “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. “In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath—these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely— these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, ‘We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.’ “But I, who am simple of mind, think I know. We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.” Caleb lived in reality! The reality that if God’s people in simple faith obeyed God’s word He would enable them to be overcomers—right there and then. And so we read: ‘Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”’ There is urgency in his voice and passion in his desire! Caleb knew that now, right now was the time to claim the victory. And so it may be for you, perhaps even today! Don’t put off moving forward into your God-given destiny! The fact that Caleb was ready to go showed the genuineness of his faith. Faith and action go hand in hand. As we are reminded in James 2:14-17— “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” That is real Jewish thinking. Following the complaining cries of the Israelites, Joshua and Caleb, still very positive, declared: “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” “They are our bread”—maybe today we would say, “Hey, this is a piece of cake!” Both Caleb and Joshua were just as confident of victory as the other ten spies were certain of defeat. They chose to put their faith in an all-powerful God. In Numbers 14:24 God specifically celebrates two things about Caleb— “he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully.” What an affirmation from the living God! In Psalm 119:2, the psalmist says, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” Caleb knew that a life of blessing was a life of total obedience to God. Keith Buxton Former National Director of Bridges for Peace Australia Lessons for Life Part 3: Facing Change, not with Fear but with Faith The problem with our fears is not fear itself, but what they reveal about our concept of God and our willingness to trust Him implicitly

16. 6 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Historical perspective On 31 October 1918—exactly one year after the Allied victory at Beersheba and the War Cabinet meeting that decided on the Balfour Declaration—the Ottoman Turks surrendered and World War One on the Eastern Front came to an end. At 11am on 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front, too, fell silent and the war finally finished. The War to End All Wars The carnage of the previous four years had been unprecedented. Many hoped that the Great War, as it was then known, would be ‘the war to end all wars’. To ensure that end, the victorious Allied powers called a peace conference in Paris, which commenced in early 1919, at which a series of treaties were signed, including the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Sèvres. On the eve of the Paris Peace Conference the leader of the Zionist Organisation, Chaim Weizmann (who would later become the first President of the State of Israel in 1948) met with the recognised leader of the Arab world, Emir Feisal, son of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. They came to an agreement that has since been virtually expunged from the annals of history—perhaps deliberately. Detractors of the concept of a Jewish national home in Palestine prefer to call attention to two agreements that are alleged to have been made before the Balfour Declaration – one from 1915 and the other from 1916. 1915: The McMahon- Hussein ‘Agreement’ In 1915, while Sir Henry McMahon was the British High Commissioner of Egypt, he entered into correspondence with Feisal’s father, Sharif Hussein, to bring about a universal Arab uprising against the Ottoman Turks. In return McMahon is alleged to have promised Arab independence in territory that was under Ottoman rule. The correspondence became known as the ‘McMahon- Hussein Agreement’. The Arab uprising, led by T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was only a partial one and, according to the late Professor Isaiah Friedman, the correspondence between McMahon and Hussein contained more disagreement than agreement, and was never finalised. Years later, Sir Henry McMahon wrote in The Times: ‘I felt it my duty to state, and I do so definitely and emphatically, that it was not intended by me in giving this pledge to King Hussein to include Palestine in the area in which Arab independence was promised. I also had every reason to believe at the time that the fact that Palestine was not included in my pledge was well understood by King Hussein.’ 1 1916: The Sykes-Picot ‘Agreement’ The other agreement, known as the ‘Sykes-Picot Agreement’, was made the following year. It was a secret memorandum between Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot, who were British and French diplomats respectively. The intention was to come to an agreement regarding the spheres of control that Great Britain and France would have over the defeated Ottoman Empire. In reality, it was a plan by Britain and France to colonise much of Ottoman territory. Palestine, under this plan which was counter-signed by then-British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey and later made public, would have been under international control. Absent from the agreement, which had no legal validity anyway, was any mention of a reconstituted Jewish homeland, even though the Zionist aspiration was well known to both governments. For this reason, the opponents of the right to self-determination for the Jewish people in their Promised Land like to promote this ‘agreement’ (as well as the one from 1915) in their attempt to discredit the Balfour Declaration. At the end of 1916, Prime Minister Asquith and Foreign Minister Grey resigned and were replaced by David Lloyd George and Arthur James Balfour, respectively. They abandoned the Sykes-Picot plan, although the maps that Sykes and Picot had drawn up were later influential in determining the boundaries of the Mandates. 1919: The Feisal-Weizmann Agreement The Paris Peace Conference commenced on 18 January 1919. The agreement that Chaim Weizmann and Emir Feisal signed in London on 3 January was crucial to what was presented in Paris (and decided on at the San Remo Conference the following year), even though Feisal and other Arab leaders later reneged on it. The preamble to the agreement acknowledged “the racial kinship and ancient bonds existing between the Arabs and the Jewish people, and [realised] that the surest means of working out the consummation of their natural aspirations is the closest possible collaboration...” Article 3 of the agreement stated: “In the establishment of the Constitution of Palestine, all such measures shall be adopted as will afford the fullest guarantees for carrying into effect the Centenary of the Mandate for Palestine: Part 2 – The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 Hugh Kitson Writer, Director and Producer of the Whose Land? documentary. A painting of the Arab delegation presenting its case at the Paris Peace Conference on February 6, 1919. Emir Feisal is standing near the left, US President Woodrow Wilson is seated second from the left, British PM David Lloyd George is second to his right and Arthur Balfour is seated extreme right. Photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum . Colonel Richard Kemp in the Quai D’Orsay presenting Episode 4 of the documentary of Whose Land? The exact same room that hosted the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The agreement that Weizmann and Feisal signed... was crucial to what was presented in Paris... even though Feisal and other Arab leaders later reneged on it

3. Understanding Israel and world events from a Biblical perspective Israel & Christians Today is the premier publication of Christians for Israel 6-7 Update on Ukraine 3 Political Turmoil Likely to Continue After Election 10 The Giving of the Torah 16 Keeping Israel’s Neediest Children Safe King Charles III, formerly the Prince of Wales, attends a ceremony at the residence of the President of Israel on 23 January 2020. | Photo: Flash90 Melanie Phillips n British journalist, broadcaster and author | JNS The British fear that with the Queen’s death, a Britain of priceless values may also be passing. Mid-September, normal life in Britain effectively has been put on hold as the country has undergone an astonishing catharsis. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, emotional scenes on the streets have been played out day by day as her casket has progressed, in full public view, from Balmoral Castle in Scotland where she died to her lying-in-state in London before her funeral on 19 September. At every stage of her final journey, vast crowds have lined the route to stand in silence as her hearse has slowly passed by. Now her casket—draped with the royal standard and bearing the crown and a simple wreath of white flowers—rests on a catafalque under the soaring Norman arches of Westminster Hall as the public, in lines snaking for many miles through London’s streets, file silently past, some bowing their heads, many in tears. The new King Charles III, who has been visiting every constituent nation of the United Kingdom, has touched many with his visible grief, his expressions of love for his mother and his pledge to emulate her example of selfless public service. The word that springs to mind from these affecting scenes is devotion: the late Queen’s devotion to the people, and their devotion to her. Devotion, of course, has a religious significance. In largely secular, godless Britain, there is a strong element of the sacred in this relationship between the people and the Crown. The monarch in Britain is consecrated to a higher king. At the coronation, which will take place next year, Charles will be anointed. The oath that he takes is not to the people but to God. That’s why his duty to serve the people is unbreakable. And that’s why the monarch is a unifying force and melds the people into a united nation. The royal family helps forge the country into a kind of national family. Citizens of republics often find it hard to appreciate the benefits of a constitutional monarchy. By enshrining the identity of the nation above and beyond temporal politics, the constitutional monarch acts as a focus for unity often denied to countries that have instead elected presidents as their head of state. Few also appreciate that the British monarchy is patterned on ancient Israel. It’s why the monarch is anointed; it’s why words uttered by ‘Zadok the Priest,’ taken from the first Book of Kings, have been sung at every English coronation since 973 CE. Some British monarchs in the past have even purportedly traced their line back to King David. True, ancient Israel was a theocracy and was also eventually destroyed by internal divisions. Nevertheless, it developed a concept of governance that was to serve as a template for both Britain and America. The genius of the monarchy invented by King David was that it brought together, as one governable nation, otherwise disparate and potentially warring tribes. Even more revolutionary was the ancient Israelites’ concept of limited governance. Their king didn’t enjoy absolute power. The Momentous Task Facing King Charles III October 2022 Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Continued on page 5 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA www.c4israel.com.au | info@c4israel.com.au

23. 13 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Biblical Commentary Through Jewish Eyes On September 25, 2022 we are entering the Hebrew year 5783. In Hebrew, every number is tied to a Hebrew letter, which in turn carries many shades of meaning through its name and its pictograph. What insights can we gain as we look at the Hebrew year 5783? Deciphering Gimmel and Peh To understand the Hebrew year 5783, we are going to focus on the Hebrew letter Gimmel (representing 3) and Peh (representing 80). For many of us, the last few years have been challenging financially, and the outlook may be even worse for the year ahead. In this context it is interesting that the meanings of Gimmel relate to abundance and overflow. For example, Ps 103:2-3 says “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (g’mul from gimmel). Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction...”. The psalmist is here reminding us of God’s abundant blessings in our lives. These blessings are not just financial, but also include salvation, healing and redemption. For the year ahead, let us take heed to the psalmists admonition and give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy in our lives. The Hebrew Sages say that the letter Gimmel resembles a man walking. Where is this man walking? He is walking in the direction of the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet—the letter Dalet. Dalet comes from a root word meaning weakness and poverty, in contrast to Gimmel that relates to abundance and blessing. Like Gimmel, we are all truly blessed in so many ways by God’s blessings. And in this year ahead, let us remember to be generous with those blessings and share with those who are less fortunate than ourselves. From the word Gimmel we also get the Hebrew word for camel. When a camel stops to drink, it can consume large amounts of water. This large reserve of water can keep a camel going for up to a week’s travel through harsh desert climates. The Holy Spirit is described in John 4 as a fountain of living water within us and a source that similarly satisfies us so that we ‘never thirst again’. In this year ahead, let us be like the camel and drink abundantly of God’s Spirit, storing up a reserve within us to handle any difficult times we might face. On the Day of Pentecost, the 3rd person of the God-head, the Holy Spirit (who is also connected to the letter Gimmel), was poured out in abundance on the disciples. Being filled with the Spirit to overflow, they began to speak in tongues and prophesy, and were filled with a new sense of boldness and power. Although many of us have had similar experiences in the past, Paul reminds us of the need to be continually filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). In other words, let us not just settle for our past encounters with Him, but let’s seek Him this year for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit. From the word Gimmel, we also get the word ‘to wean’. A weaned child is one who is no longer demanding food constantly from his or her mother, but can instead simply rest in the loving embrace of their parents. As young believers, many of us were constantly seeking for our own needs, and were like a very dependant unweaned child. In the year ahead, the Holy Spirit wants to bring us to maturity, so we are no longer just seeking God for our own needs, but are simply coming to enjoy His presence and to give Him the glory He deserves. The letter Gimmel also appears in the story of Aaron’s rod. The tribal leaders in Israel had become increasingly jealous of Aaron’s unique role as High Priest, and a test was arranged to see who God had chosen. The staff of each leader was placed in the Tabernacle of God overnight. In the morning, as they checked these staffs, Aaron’s staff had ‘gimmeled’. Gimmel here means that this dead piece of wood had come to life, sprouted blossoms, developed fruit and ripened them overnight. The story of Aaron’s staff is a picture for us of the Work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He has come to take us away from the selfishness of an unweaned child, and away from the deadness of our own selves, to ripening and bearing much fruit. And as we bear fruit through Him, this is the true evidence that we are anointed, chosen and called by Him. We have seen how Gimmel relates to God’s abundant blessings, to our responsibility of being generous, to finding satisfaction in God and bearing much fruit for Him. May we see this in the year ahead! Moving to The Hebrew Letter Peh (80) Returning to the Hebrew calendar year, you could say that we are currently in the ‘80’s’. This decade is symbolised by the letter Peh, which represents a mouth, speech and language. Jesus declared ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’ (Luk 6:45). In other words, you can often tell the contents of a person’s heart by the words they speak. Are we speaking words of complaint, bitterness and anger, or words of praise and thanksgiving? If our words are constantly negative, how do we break the cycle and change the words we speak? I believe the answer can be found by examining what we are allowing into our hearts. As we face the year ahead, let’s not allow ourselves to be consumed by the worries and cares of this world which are constantly being bombarded at us through mass media. Let us rather make sure we daily take the time to fill our hearts with God’s promises and enter His presence. Let our hearts be full of thanksgiving as we daily remind ourselves of His many benefits (Gimmel) in our lives. And as we do, I believe we will discover the secret to abundant living as we enter 5783. —————————————————————— Ps. Enoch Lavender is the director of Olive Tree Ministries (formerly known as Shalom Israel). The Hebrew Year 5783 Enoch Lavender Director of Olive Tree Ministries (formerly known as Shalom Israel) Let us make sure we daily take the time to fill our hearts with God’s promises... Rebuilding the Temple: Preparing for the Lord’s Return examines the key role of the Temple in Bible Prophecy. May the Church heed the message of this important sign of the Times and prepare herself for Jesus’ coming in glory. Order your copy today for $20 —use the form on the back page or order online at www.c4israel.com.au/store UPDATED

19. 9 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 “Hear my prayer, O Lord. And let my cry for help come to Thee.” Psalm 102 As we approach the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, Israel has been shaken with a series of terrorist attacks on soldiers and civilians around the country. The latest attack was a horrific drive-by shooting at a public bus. This was the sixth terrorist attack in less than one week and the 11th in the past month. Since May 2020 until now, there has been a relatively high level of violence. But such an event as a shooting attack from a passing vehicle has not been seen in a long time. Anne Ayalon President, CFMDA Two heavil y armed Palestinians opened fire at a public bus carrying soldiers in the Jordan Valley. One soldier was critically injured with neck wounds and the bus driver had gunshot wounds to his face, while four more had injuries from glass and shrapnel. The windshield showed more than a dozen bullet holes. A unit commander, seeing that the driver had been injured, jumped to the driver’s seat and brought the bus to a halt. He and other soldiers then fired out of the bus window towards the truck. The assailants also attempted to throw Molotov cocktails and flammable substances at the bus. Fuel that was carried inside the truck ignited, setting it ablaze. It’s perhaps thanks to this that the attack was not far more grievous. The Hamas terror group in Gaza is calling this “a heroic attack”. MDA and IDF Medics and paramedics treated the soldiers and civilian driver at the scene before evacuating them by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, and the nearby Afula Hospital. The three terror suspects, all residents of Jenin, were driving a pickup truck with Israeli license plates. Two suspects, including one with an Israeli ID were arrested. Israeli authorities have launched a manhunt for the remaining perpetrator. Roads in the area have been shut down to normal traffic, especially as this past week alone has seen a number of terror attacks. Palestinian gunmen have fired at multiple posts in the West Bank, and an IDF soldier was stabbed near Kiryat Arba. The IDF continues to crack down on Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, with a focus on the cities of Jenin and Nablus in “Operation Break the Wave”. “We are in a very complex period. Every month we arrest terrorists who could carry out attacks like these. This is a fact. We manage to thwart some attacks, but sometimes some slip through,” stated a senior IDF commander. These terrorist threats leave Israelis feeling exposed and vulnerable. As we pray, let us cry out for Israel’s peace and security. Magen David Adom is needing medical supplies and resuscitating defibrillators for their active medicycles and ambulances that must be available at any time. Donations will equip MDA with the needed medical care to attend the wounded in the field. Israel is grateful for friends and support from abroad. Christian Friends of Magen David Adom encourage Christians around the world to bless Israel in a tangible and meaningful way in a show of solidarity and faith. —————————————————————— If you would like to support your local CFMDA , please send a check or wire transfer to: Bank: CBA Account Name: Australian Friends of Magen David Adom Limited— Christian Friends BSB: 062124 | Account: 11389721 We look forward to seeing you here or in Israel and be part of this amazing blessing! Israel’s Month of Terror Christian Friends of Magen David Adom MDA airlifting victims to the hospital Tragic drive-by terrorist shooting of a civilian bus MICU, MDA’s Mobile Intensive Care Unit on the scene Bullet-ridden windshield of the bus Anne Ayalon Christian Friends of Magen David Adom

15. 5 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Political Analysis Dr Ron Weiser AM Hon Life Pres of the Zionist Council of NSW We are in a period of reflection during this month of Elul, and with the reminder from the daily blowing of the shofar, that we are approaching the Jewish New Year and the Ten Days of Awe. Whilst we concentrate on our own personal selves, introspection, repentance and so forth, it is also a time we should be thinking and dreaming on the national level. What is it that the Jewish People desire? How do we shape our future and what should or can that look like? If the State of Israel is the expression of Jewish self-determination—what is it that we are attempting to determine, so to speak? What is the national vision for how Israel should look internally and in terms of relationships with her neighbours, to be fit for purpose? These questions and the dilemmas and contradictions they raise, if and when they are actually discussed, are what makes Zionism so exciting and dynamic. Last month we marked 125 years since Theodore Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel in August of 1897. This August also saw the Zionist Federation of Australia’s Jewish Educators’ Conference , held biennially. A particular pleasure for me, as I initiated this conference a little over 20 years ago. To see it become the fixture it has, with over 400 educators participating, is the definition of nachat —pride, joy and satisfaction all rolled into one. As this year the Australian Zionist Youth Council’s Bog Sem (leadership seminar) was timed to overlap with the Educators’ Conference , there were an extra large number of young adults attending. There were many excellent sessions by both local and international talent. One of the sessions I had the privilege of presenting was titled “Two States—Myth or Reality?” Another was “Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, whereto from here?” Both these topics deal with external and internal issues important in attempting to define what Israel wants to be about. Less important than the answer, but more pertinent to the Jewish future, was a question asked by one young adult in the group. After presenting a series of scenarios and different maps from San Remo, to the United Nations Partition Plan , via the Clinton Map and right through to the Trump proposal—she saw the obvious conceptual shortcomings inherent in all of these plans. Although Israel had on the odd occasion suggested its own map, such as the Allon Plan (more than 50 years ago), most proposals put forward over the past 100 or so years, as the names confirm, were basically, someone else’s ideas. Before we can even contemplate what to do with the Jewish State, we, the Jewish People, need to decide what we think the Jewish State should look like? To agree on what her full purpose is. How does one ensure that this State will be secure and what are the acceptable trade-offs for that security? For we well understand that if she cannot be secured, all the rest is just theory. Herzl’s famous book, Der Judenstaat , with its fuller title— The Jewish State: Proposal for a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question —is not just a writing about establishing the Jewish State. It’s much more than that. It’s also about how she should look and behave. Herzl was dreaming of something that did not exist at the time, which makes his vision all the more remarkable. 125 years after the First Zionist Congress and with Israel now the dominant force in the Jewish world, demographically and in every other way, we really need to focus on what it is we desire and wish for. The Jewish State is strong, has critical mass and can put forward her own plans. Unlike in previous times, we have the luxury of being proactive. When we leave a vacuum, even of thought and desire, someone else will fill it for us. Rather than the bulk of the Israeli parties debating policies and platforms, they are once again running on personalities. Whether ‘for or anti Netanyahu’, is still the central question being put before the electorate and perhaps more importantly, in the coalition negotiations that will most likely follow the actual Nov 1st election. One might think that there are huge differences of opinions across the majority of the mainly Jewish parties on for example, the external situation. However, the general milieu is one of vagueness, undefined commitment to maintaining a Jewish majority within unspecified national boundaries, whilst at the same time presenting an undetailed resolve to somehow ensure and improve Israel’s security. Motherhood, without the much more difficult detail and substance. The so-called extremes, are at least much clearer. Smotrich and Ben Gvir on the right vowing to oppose any Two State or Two Identity plans. With Meretz on the extreme left, enthusiastic promoters of such ideas to wildly and irresponsible extents, whilst continuing its own ambiguity surrounding its status as a Zionist party. Meretz also insists on calling Arab Israelis, ‘Palestinian Israelis’, with all of the ramifications of such a loaded term, including ironically, somewhat disenfranchising Israeli Arabs. The Labor party primaries brought forth a new slate of candidates—with the exception of its leader Michaeli— interestingly, now mainly concerned about cost-of-living issues rather than their traditional focus on the Palestinians. Much of this unanimity amongst the major mainly Jewish parties comes of course as a result of Palestinian rejectionism and the ring of terrorist groups surrounding Israel, necessitating an almost total focus on security. With the High Holydays almost upon us, we should take some time for national reflection. A luxury afforded us for the first time in 2,000 years. At the next ZFA Educators’ Conference , will we be able to tell that young woman—yes, here is the Jewish plan for the Jewish State and the Jewish future? If we simply sleep too comfortably and do not engage in Herzl’s process of dreaming, we will wake up one day to yet another attempt by others to define our own future. That is surely the opposite of self- determination. Shana Tova U’Metuka _______________________________________________________ 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. Can Israel Awaken to the Reality of a Completely Revitalized Jewish State? Before we can even contemplate what to do with the Jewish State, we, the Jewish People, need to decide what we think the Jewish State should look like?

13. 3 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 With the passing of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth 2nd and her internment on Monday, September 19th at Westminster Abbey . I will share with you some anecdotes on The Royals, British Jewry, and Israel. A special prayer said for the Welfare of the Royal Family Every Shabbat Jews in their synagogues in all countries of the Commonwealth say a special prayer, “The Prayer for the welfare of the Government and the Royal Family.” This prayer is based on the words of prophet Jeremiah “Seek the well-being of the city... for in its peace shall you have peace” (Jer. 29:7). The Royal family visits to Israel Queen Elizabeth II never made an official visit to the Jewish State. In her six decades of reign, she has made hundreds of royal visits to 129 different countries, though never once been to Israel. Prince Philip made a personal visit to Israel in 1994 to honour his mother, Princess Alice of Greece, who is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Prince Charles visited Israel in 1995 and 2016 to attend the funerals of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Those stays were not, however, official royal visits. In 2018, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William went on the first official visit to Israel. We can only speculate the reasons why the foreign office did not allow her to travel to Israel. However, the queen hosted numerous Israeli leaders in Buckingham Palace. Notably the second Israeli envoy to the UK, Eliahu Eilat, was granted a rare sit-down dinner and overnight visit with the queen at Windsor Castle in 1959. In 2008 president Peres was knighted by Queen Elizabeth upon the invitation of the British government. Queen Elizabeth II, relationship with British Jewry Queen Elizabeth II, who sat on the throne for 70 years enjoyed a long and warm relationship with the British Jewish community, from the start of her reign in 1952 through her final years. Jewish officials—as well as the Israeli ambassador—were present at her coronation at Westminster Abbey on the 2 June 1953. On January 27, 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Queen Elizabeth hosted a group of Holocaust survivors in St. James’s Palace in the centre of London. Notably punctual, on this occasion the Queen threw protocol to the wind. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was present and later recounted: “When the time came for her to leave, she stayed. One of her attendants said that he had never known her to linger so long after her scheduled departure. She gave each survivor, her focused, unhurried attention. She stood with each until they had finished telling their personal story. “It was an act of kindness that had me in tears. One after another, the survivors came to me, saying: ‘Sixty years ago I did not know if I would be alive tomorrow, and here I am today talking to the Queen.” Prince Charles and Jewish traditions Queen Elizabeth II took an Orthodox Jewish mohel to circumcise her son Prince Charles. Rabbi Jacob Snowman (1871-1959) was a London mohel of great renown. The tradition of British royals to ask Jewish mohels to circumcise their sons goes back to King George I, who was born in Hanover, Germany, and reigned over England from 1714-1727. In Germany, some aristocratic parents hired Jewish mohels, and George I brought the custom with him to England. Years later his great great granddaughter Queen Victoria hired Jewish mohels to circumcise all her sons. King Charles III owns his own personalized kippah a blue velvet yarmulke adorned with the official royal crest of the Prince of Wales, his previous title, embroidered in gold and white thread. One of the first sightings of the royal kippah was at the installation of Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mervis in 2013. Charles was the first member of the royal family to attend an installation of a chief rabbi. King Charles deep friendship with the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks King Charles and the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of Britain, of blessed memory, forged a close bond, brought together by their public roles as community leaders in Britain and by their shared commitment to making the world a better place. When Rabbi Sacks died in 2020, Charles delivered an emotional eulogy for his friend and teacher. King Charles adds paintings of Holocaust survivors to the official Royal Collection In 2022 King Charles commissioned seven new paintings of Holocaust survivors to add to the official Royal Collection of art, displayed in Buckingham Palace. The project was part of the prince’s long-standing aim of educating future generations and ensuring that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten. King Charles himself wrote an introduction to the exhibit’s catalogue: “Behind every portrait is a unique story, of a life lived, of love, of loss. However, these portraits represent something far greater than seven remarkable individuals. They stand as a living memorial to the six million innocent men, women, and children whose stories will never be told, whose portraits will never be painted. They stand as a permanent reminder for our generation—and indeed, to future generations—of the depths of depravity and evil humankind can fall to when reason, compassion and truth are abandoned.” As Prince Charles, the new king has been at the forefront of promoting interfaith relations, for which he was honoured last year by the Council of Christians and Jews. Recently at a landmark meeting between The King and leaders of various faith communities at Buckingham Palace. The king brought forward the audience to allow Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to be able to return home in time for the Jewish Sabbath, which starts Friday. At his Coronation King Charles will be formally know as the defender of faiths, he has certainly shown a warmth, affinity and respect for Israel, Jewish leaders and traditions which augers well for the future. ——————-———————————————— Rabbi Isaac Riesenberg has spent four decades fostering Jewish Life, Learning and Living. He is the Founding Rabbi of Melbourne’s Central Shule—Chabad one the largest congregations in Australia. In recent years he has established The Lantern Foundation, an organisation committed to building bridges of understanding between Christian and Jews, promotion of tolerance through the dissemination of core biblical values. He may be contacted at rabbi.riesenberg@gmail.com Opinion Piece The Royals, British Jewry, and Israel Rabbi Isaac Riesenberg Founding Rabbi of Melbourne’s Central Shule—Chabad Prince Charles, speaks with chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis during a visit to Yavneh College, an Orthodox Jewish School, in north London, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Queen Elizabeth meets holocaust survivors Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge is the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Western Wall, June 28 2018. Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images. Prince Charles speaks with survivor Lily Ebert at an exhibition of Seven Portraits: Surviving the Holocaust, which were commissioned by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors, at The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace on January 24, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

10. 8 C4I News Ian Worby n National Leader | Christians for Israel Australia Christians for Israel Australia, together with several other pro-Israel Christian groups, held very successful Australia Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Israel events, in Brisbane and in Queensland’s Sunshine coast to welcome the new Israeli Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency, Amir Maimon. This initiative was the result of three months of planning in a joint venture among between Christians for Israel, Bridges for Peace, Southern Cross Alliance for Israel, Beersheba Vision, Pray for Israel, ICEJ, the Zionist Federation of Australia, and the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. The events were attended by about 200-300 at each venue. The Ambassador was warmly received with standing ovations, and some very moving musical renditions of a couple of well-known Jewish songs that brought a huge smile to the Ambassador, who joined in the singing and celebration. Short video clips introduced the Ambassador with a brief history of his family. Some of his ancestors were among the first immigrants to make the long and arduous journey from Yemen to Israel over 100 years ago. We also learned that the Ambassador left a very distinguished stellar career in the Israel military. He was the commander overseeing Operation Solomon that saw the world’s biggest airlift of nearly 20,000 Ethiopian Jews, bringing them back to the promised land of Israel, partially fulfilling one of the prophetic scriptures stating that God would bring home his people on eagles wings. Other speakers from the Jewish community and from the Australian Light Horse association gave encouraging addresses relating stories of Australia and Israel’s long and close relationships from the First World War up to the present time. We were reminded that Australia was the first nation to vote yes on Israel being recognised as a sovereign state in 1947. The ambassador later spoke on Vision Christian national radio, saying that he was deeply moved by so many supporting Australian Christians, and hoped to see more of these events continue across the nation. Indeed, as a result of these wonderful examples of solidarity and unity withi n the Christian and Jewish communities, moves are afoot to plan and organise similar events in other state capitals such as Melbourne and Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and perhaps even Hobart and Darwin. Australia Stands Beside Israel Ambassador Amir (in pink tie) with other Jewish and Christian leaders. On video screen, Amir at Australian Light Lorde Memorial in Israel October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Ambassador Amir with Peter Schuptar from Pray for Israel at the event held in Brisbane. Ambassador Amir presented with a painting: Charge of the Australia Light Horse at Beersheba by Peter Schuptar and Barry Rogers. Israeli Seminar in Denmark Marie-Louise Weissenböck n Christians for Israel Austria On Saturday, 17 September 2022, the Danish branch of Christians for Israel International, ‘Kristne for Israel Danmark’, hosted Reverend Willem Glashouwer, the President of Christians for Israel, for a teaching on Israel and the Church in Copenhagen. Other keynote speakers were Jenis av Rana, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Culture of the Faroe Islands and Max Meyer, the head of the Danish Zionist Federation. After introducing the mission and the vision of Kristne for Israel in Denmark, the Chairman, Per Nielsen, invited Minister Jenis av Rana to address the 60 participants, mainly pastors and church leaders of congregations in and around Copenhagen. In his speech, the Minister, a devoted Christian, spoke about his endeavour to open the Embassy of the Faroe Islands in Jerusalem. In both the Faroe Islands and Denmark, the political opposition to the idea of placing the diplomatic office in Jerusalem was very strong. As he didn’t want to lose the opportunity to open a diplomatic office by sticking to the idea of Jerusalem, it was opened in Tel Aviv on 22 May this year. Hoping that it will be moved to Jerusalem one day, he concluded that his staunch support for Israel stems from the fact that he loves Jesus and Jesus was a Jew. Max Meyer, who spoke as the head of the Danish Zionist Federation, reported his efforts to bring young Danish politicians and members of political youth movements to Israel. He speaks widely, teaches about antisemitism, being a Jew and the significance of Israel. To his great regret, most of the churches he contacted show no interest. The impact a visit to Israel has on young leaders motivates him to continue his work. After a wonderful lunch, Rev Willem Glashouwer delivered a thought-provoking teaching on the theme Israel and the Church, responding to the previous speaker that, indeed, the Church, for the greater part, had lost its interest in Israel. The early Church Fathers had mostly agreed that God had rejected the Jews and Israel, for they had rejected Jesus. The shock to Christianity came in 1948. To the utter amazement of the Church, Jews were returning to the promised land, the State of Israel was established, and in 1967 Jerusalem was reunited. This started a slow process of rethinking in the Christian world. What makes the Jewish people so special is that God chose them to bless the world – as an instrument to set the whole of Creation free. Jesus himself states (John 4,22) that “Salvation is from the Jews.” “You worship what you do not know. We (the Jews) worship what we do know”, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, implying that God had revealed His will to the Jewish people and gave them a deep understanding of who He is. He didn’t do it for their sake but for the sake of the salvation of the world. He created the Jewish nation and gave them His land to bless the world. Salvation was from the Jews, is from the Jews and will be from the Jews, Glashouwer continued. The return of the Jews to the land of their forefathers is the final wake-up call for the Church. This is not Israel theology. This is about the heart of God. Salvation was from the Jews when He revealed the Torah to the Jewish people. The Word of God was meant to direct to a healthy, prosperous, and righteous life. Herewith He blessed Israel. Salvation is from the Jews as Jesus himself is a Jew. He kept the law - made with Israel- perfectly and thus could take away the sins of the world. He had to be someone who had been born in the framework of the law. He had to be Jewish. And salvation will be from the Jews when Jesus returns, He will sit on the throne of Da vid, rule over Jacob, the nations will walk in the light of the Torah and there will be war no more. Participants at the seminar. | Photo: Marie-Louise From left to right: Max Meyer, Jenis av Rana and his wife, Per Nielsen, M-L Weissenböck and Rev W Glashouwer.

26. 16 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Stories from our Australian Heroes October 31st 1917 2 Samuel 5:20, “So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” The date, October 31st remains in the history books as “the last great cavalry, and the finest in history” as 800 heroic men and their courageous horses created a legend by achieving a near impossible military victory. But in the hearts and minds of those open to the ways of God, it was an amazing spiritual breakthrough, an opening of closed gates. Isaiah14:24 declares, “The LORD of hosts has sworn: ‘As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand’.” And the purpose of God was to bring His people back to their Homeland. “Tim Hall is one of Australia’s leading evangelists. Together with his wife Jacque, they have ministered extensively throughout the world. ICEJ Australia is honoured to have Tim serve as a Board Director. Tim’s great uncle, Major General George James Rankin (DSO and Bar), was second in command of those 800 men that broke through the buttress of the Ottoman Empire and released the Land of Israel to await its rightful inhabitants. In his book ‘Power Evangelism’, Tim speaks of the inspiration he received from the life and career of Major Rankin: “After an extraordinary military career, he retired from the army as a Major General. He then began a very colourful career as a politician. His fame came from one of Australia’s military achievements at Beersheba during World War One in the then Palestine. After enlisting in the 4th Light Horse Battalion George left Rochester Victoria, taking three of his own horses. The ‘Walers’ were a hardy, powerful Australian breed that had amazing strength and resilience. After time in Egypt the light horsemen, without their horses, were shipped to Gallipoli. There they suffered appalling losses especially at the battle of the Nek. He was wounded but proved to be a most impressive soldier. “By 1917 he was a Major and significantly involved in the battles that saw the Ottoman Empire defeated and dismantled. Amazingly, the Australian Light Horsemen, now with their horses, would face and defeat the same Turks that they had faced at Gallipoli. It was here, at the famous charge at Beersheba, that he won his first Distinguished Service Order. The citation for the award makes me immensely proud to be his relative. Here is the wording: Major George James Rankin, D5O and Bar, 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment “As second in Command of the 4th Australian Light Horsemen Regiment, he displayed great gallantry and judgement in the organization of the Regiment during the attack in BEERSHEBA on 31st October 1917 and the re-organization of the unit and consolidation of the position after the attack. Throughout all the operations he, by his personal bravery, and great coolness, considerably influenced all ranks by the splendid example set by him. Recommended for the DSO.” His second distinguished service order was won at the taking of Damascus. Here is the citation for this medal: Major George James Rankin, DSO, 4th Light Horse Regiment “For great gallantry, dash and initiative during operations, from El Kuneitra to Damascus. On the 30th September 1918, when his regiment acted as advance guard from Sasa to Kaukab, owing to his rapid movements, they captured 340 prisoners, one field gun, and eight machine guns. Kaukab was strongly held by the enemy, and when this officer was ordered to make a frontal attack, his leadership was excellent, and his regiment seized all objectives, capturing nine officers, over 70 other ranks, and eight machine guns. In this action the enemy’s cavalry were driven in disorder towards Damascus: On the morning of the 1st October, 1918, when ordered to seize Military Barracks in Damascus, he showed great skill and manoeuvring his troops in such a manner that he was largely instrumental in capturing the whole enemy garrison in Damascus, numbering over 11,000. Major George James Rankin was a soldier of soldiers.” Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Tim.1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” And throughout the scriptures we are exhorted to be ‘of good courage’, to ‘fear not’. Our ANZAC soldiers were examples of the attributes vital to all engaged in any kind of battle. Through Yeshua the Messiah, we are followers of the LORD of Armies and are required to stand against the principalities and powers that assail our lives, our families, and our culture as we are reminded in Ephesians 6:12-23, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Tim continues about his soldier uncle: ‘I love to read the description of him as a man of “great gallantry, dash and initiative.” I would like to be remembered one day for these qualities. He was described as a man of “personal bravery, and great coolness,’ and one who “considerably influenced all ranks by his splendid example.” What a testimony. I would like to achieve all of these qualities in my ministry for Christ. These are characteristics that should be woven into our Christian walk.’ Indigenous soldiers Even though they weren’t even recognised as citizens in their own country, more than 1000 indigenous soldiers managed to sign up to serve with Australian forces in World War I with many taking part in the battle for Beersheba, as well as later battles that saw the Holy Land freed to await its rightful inhabitants. Fulfilling Prophecy The return of the scattered Jewish people was set in motion that momentous day of October 31, 1917, and the amazing victories that the Jewish people have attained since, confirm God’s Hand over His people and His Land. _______________________________________________________ For more information about the work and ministry of ICEJ , visit at www.ICEJ.org.au Breakthrough Maxine Carlill Team Member of ICEJ Australia Major Rankin holding Walers, Australia’s battle horses Pastor Tim Hall Major Rankin on Horseback

9. Marijke Terlouw n Christians for Israel Netherlands Anyone who thinks that, now that the first stress of war in Ukraine is over, Koen Carlier can return to a quieter life, does not know him well. In fact, he is busy every day. Busy helping Jewish people in Ukraine leave for Israel and trying to help needy members of the Jewish community who remain in Ukraine for now. Recently I spoke with Koen Carlier about the current work in Ukraine, as well as reflect on those first worrisome months. First, we look back. Koen says: “We were actually already planning ahead from last November for what could possibly happen. At that time, we were saying: “We pray and hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” Our preparations included stockpiling food and fuel, arranging shelters and mattresses. So when the war started on 24 February, we were prepared.” What has stuck with you from the early days of war? “You can be prepared, but the situation is always different from the expected. Yet it was good that we could use all that we had prepared. We were able to stay - we didn’t have to leave the city, or flee. That allowed us to continue doing our work, even though circumstances were hard. Because you don’t know what the outcome will be. It was a very uncertain time. Among our team, there was some panic at first. Quite understandably. But together, we decided: we will continue as long as we can.” During the first weeks and months of the war, what did the work consist of? “It was impossible for us to distribute food parcels for a while. That is something we always do at set times. Fortunately, we had already distributed extra food parcels ‘just in case’ in those places we could no longer reach because of the war. But in the early days, we were working non-stop to take in refugees, who we managed to bring to safety via Moldova and Romania and get them to Israel. One of our drivers was, and still is, stationed in Western Ukraine to help Jewish families leaving via Poland to Israel in cooperation with the Jewish Agency.” How many people have you helped in the past few months? “From the beginning of the war, we have been able to help about 6,000 Jews. Actually, an unprecedented number if you consider that in 2021 a total of 6,000 Jews left from all over Ukraine, and we could help 2,500 of them.” How were you able to manage it all? “Because the opposite of what you might think happened: a huge number of local volunteers came to help us.” Meanwhile, we have entered the next phase of the war. What is the situation like now? “We continue to do our work. Of the Jews we help, about 50 per cent are refugees from war zones, and the other half are people who, under normal circumstances, would also leave for Israel. We are grateful that we could resume the other part of our work: visiting Holocaust survivors and distributing food parcels.” What’s next, Koen? Winter is coming, and the winters in Ukraine can be really harsh. “There are many uncertainties. Will there be gas soon? Will there be water? Frankly, I think we should expect a new flood of refugees, and I hear that from others around me as well. People are talking about perhaps two to three million refugees when winter comes. Especially if there is no more heating, hundreds of thousands are expected from the east and south. That is why we are already preparing. We are preparing the shelters. We ensure fuel is available. Our minibuses go to the garage for extensive maintenance, we stock food.” In light of the Bible, how do you see the present time? “For a long time, this was a closed region for Jews who wanted to go to Israel. Until December 1991, hardly anyone could leave. When the Iron Curtain fell, there was a massive exodus, mainly because people thought it would only be for a short period of time that they could leave. But in Zechariah 2 it says: ‘Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north!” declares the LORD’. Who says the borders will remain open? Look at Russia; departure for Jews from that country has now become extremely difficult. So we must remain watchful and prepared.” The supporters of Christians for Israel gave generously to the emergency fund for Ukraine. Therefore you could offer help without having to worry about finances. Did this help? “This is so very special and it absolutely helped. But I would like to put it differently. Dear readers, we, meaning the whole Christians for Israel team in Ukraine, truly experienced how important your prayers for us are. Your prayers have really been the fuel for our work and for our protection. We continue our fieldwork, and that goes hand-in- hand with your prayers.” 7 Aliyah - Ukraine Our Work in Ukraine Although the groups of people that leave the country are smaller, our team continues to help mainly Jewish elderly, mothers and children from the war zone via Moldova to Israel. Now that temperatures drop below freezing for many there will be a time to decide: “Will I try to survive without basic needs or do I choose to flee?” Especially for elderly it is hard to leave their familiar surroundings. We try to support them and encourage them to leave for Israel. It costs AU $265 to assist a Jewish person from Ukraine to make Aliyah. Any amount is welcome! To donate, complete the coupon on page 16. October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Every week we have a few trips with olim (immigrants) to Kishenov, Moldova, where they receive their visa for Israel and then leave for the airport. We Remain Watchful and Prepared Our team assisted 88-year-old Holocaust Survivor Leonid and brought him to Kishenov for his flight to Israel. The war forced him to make Aliyah. There were consta nt sirens and rockets not far from his apartment in Uman and he was worried that he would not be able to survive the war. Interview with Koen Carlier 7-year-old Kseniya fled the violence of war from Kherson (south-east Ukraine) and is now finally making her way to Israel with her parents and two little sisters via Kishenov assisted by C4 I. Although the Ukrainian army made gains especially in the north-east in Kharkiv Province, the Russian army’s rocket attacks on schools and civilian targets continue.

12. 2 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Opinion Piece from the Jerusalem Watchman ‘But They Did Not Know That It Was of the LORD’ Panic waves rippled across parts of Israel on September 21 at the news that PrimeMinister Yair Lapid was going to use his address to the UN General Assembly the following day to commit Israel to the Two State Solution (2SS). The consternation reached to the uttermost ends of the earth, bewildering Christian supporters as far way as Australia. How could an Israeli leader bind his country to a 30-year-old, wholly immoral scheme which has been repeatedly proven unworkable; which entails ceding the national cradle of the Jewish people, Israel’s Biblical heartland and the country’s strategic high ground to people openly hell-bent on destroying what would be left of the Jewish state? Simply by showing a willingness to give consideration to the 2SS would irreparably harm any future claim by the Jews’ that the land in question is theirs! No way—Christians said. Israel will relinquish all of this? Let it go? Give it up forever? Surely the Almighty—Who the Bible states is irreversibly committed to the restoration of the Land to its People, and the People to their Land—would never permit this? But He did. God allowed it. Lapid delivered his speech. I will not reproduce it here, but you can find it at this link: www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of- lapids-2022-speech-to-the-un-general- assembly There were those who found it quite powerful; moving even. Others said brilliant. Lapid was defended on the grounds that some of his predecessors, specifically Bibi Netanyahu, had likewise inferred in that forum the ultimate acceptance of a Palestinian state. Cynics said he was just electioneering—hoping to win a few more votes in the upcoming November 1 elections. The speech contained numerous falsehoods: That the UNGA had decided upon the creation of a Jewish state. That the Jews had chosen to forget their painful past. That they had returned and reclaimed the land in their own strength. That Jerusalem is holy to three religions. And this fantastic fiction, or outright deception: that “today a large majority of Israelis support the vision of this Two State Solution.” Just a few hours after his speech, Israel’s Channel 12 published a survey showing that, in fact, only 28% of citizens are in favour of it. Those protesting the speech rolled out one last desperate hope: That, as a caretaker prime minister, Lapid has no democratic credentials; no mandate from the nation of Israel to agree to the 2SS. Meaning that his words at the UN were the insignificant views of an individual; that Israel is not bound by them. Some analysts believe that Lapid’s very resuscitating of the Two State Solution would backfire on him and help bring a solidly right-wing government into office on November 1. In that event, it might be possible for a new prime minister with a solid mandate to simply unsay what Lapid has obligated Israel to. We shall see. But while I understand, and have shared, the concerns, there is something I believe we should remember as we pray into, and act to support Israel’s restoration. It is this: God does not think the way we do (and, it seems, we often do not think the way He does). He always initiates, never reacts, is never taken by surprise, and does not lose control for even a moment. When we hear of a development like this—Lapid’s speech—we should not be thrown and we should not fear; certainly not on Israel’s behalf. Our calling is to watch and pray, and to act as the Lord directs, not according to our own understanding. We, too, need not be reactionary. Mostly we need to trust Him. His eyes are always on this Land. This nation is His dearly beloved. And He is continually watching over His Word to see that what He has said will come to pass. A number of events recorded in the Bible can set a precedent for our thinking. • When the Kingdom of Israel was torn in two after Sol omon, and 10 tribes abandoned the House of David to follow Jeroboam (whose peculiar sin would plague all the northern kingdom and lead to its ultimate destruction), Rehoboam readied for war to prevent the schism. But God messaged him: “You shall not go up nor fight against your bethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” (1 Kings 12:24) • When Jehoshaphat, ha ving allied himself with Ahab in the war against Ramoth Gilead, inquired after “a word from the LORD” we learn something shocking: Because it was God’s purpose that Ahab be killed and Israel scattered (in consequence for their national sin), He instructed a lying spirit to enter the mouths of prophets and so deceive the kings: And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? (1 Kings 22:22) • When Samson, seeing a daughter of the P hilistines, instructs his parents to “get her for me as a wife” the couple— who had raised Samson as a Nazarite — were horrified. Had their son lost his mind? They tried reasoning. “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But he could not be dissuaded. Then, what do we read? ‘His father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD , because He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel’. (All above verse segments from Judges 14:1-4): It was “of the LORD” that Samson should flout God’s own instruction and marry outside of the faith (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). When we consider how to pray for Israel as we witness how our nations treat her; and also, as we weigh our responses to the actions of Israeli leaders, we should, yes, pray in line with Scripture concerning the reestablishment of this nation. But let us not forget that how the LORD chooses to fulfll His purposes may well be quite different from the “Christian way” we often expect or wish Him to. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) —————————————————————— 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 half of his family to the Czech Republic. Now that tourism has resumed, he commutes to Israel to once again guide Christian visitors to the Land God calls HIs own. Stan Goodenough Journalist and an Israeli-accredited tour guide God always initiates, never reacts, is never taken by surprise, and does not lose control for even a moment Prime Minister Yair Lapid addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 22, 2022. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

6. Andrew Tucker n International Editor | Christians for Israel Since the revolution in 1979, Iran has been promoting the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. How seriously should we take their threats? We recently discussed this in the studio at C4I’s headquarters in Nijkerk with Prof Afshin Ellian, who fled Iran as a political refugee after the revolution in 1979. After studying law in the Netherlands, he became Professor of Jurisprudence at Leiden University. Professor Ellian, welcome. Are the Persians enemies, or friends of Israel? The current Islamic regime’s hatred towards the Jews is an exception. Historically, there has always been a deep friendship between Persians and Jews. We read in the Old Testament that the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took millions of Jews into exile in Babylon. The Persians defeated Babylon, and their kings Cyrus and Darius enabled the Jews to return to Jerusalem and restore the Temple. Later, when Xerxes was king, a Jewish girl Esther became queen of Persia, which was then the mightiest kingdom on earth. So, we Persians had a Jewish queen, who is today buried on Iranian territory. Many Iranians do not realise this and are amazed and very proud when I tell them. Why is the book Esther important today? Haman almost succeeded in convincing King Xerxes to destroy the Jewish people in his kingdom. His plan was was totally irrational, but it was very real. The lesson is: what starts as antisemitism can end in a planned attempt at genocide of the Jewish people. Europe failed to heed that lesson in the 20th century. The world’s current leaders have the responsibility not to ignore this lesson today. Why is there so much hatred from Iran towards Israel? After the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini introduced a new project: he invented Israel as an enemy. Israel is of course not a threat to Iran. But Khomeini started to tell the people that Muslims must hate Israel. For example, he called on Muslims worldwide to celebrate the last day of Ramadam as Quds Day [Jerusalem Day]. Inventing the Jews and Israel as an enemy of Iran was a core part of the revolution, and a means to stay in power. Khomeini started killing people who opposed his regime, including those who questioned the war against Iraq. He said: “We must liberate Jerusalem, and the road to Jerusalem goes through Karbala, in Iraq”. At the time, we did not understand what Khomeni was saying. No-one knew where Jerusalem was, or why it should be liberated. We didn’t hate Jews. This idea suited Khomeni’s view – shared also by radical Sunni Iranian Muslims – that the Sharia [Islamic law – ed.] forbids a non-Muslim from governing Muslims in what has been Islamic territory. Jerusalem had been, of course, important Islamic territory. Iran calls Israel the ‘little Satan’ and the USA ‘the big Satan’. Why does Iran hate the United States? As leader of Western civilisation, the USA presents a real threat to the regime. Many ordinary Iranians simply want freedom, and this has to be suppressed. So, in order to stay in power, the regime portrays the West as a threat to Iran’s existence. What is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)? The IRGC is an autonomous organisation established by Ayatollah Khomeni to enable him to control the country, including the Iranian army. It is his instrument to mobilise the whole Muslim world to revolution. The foreign affairs department of IRGC (‘Quds Force’) undermines regimes in other countries that are opposed to its Islamic revolutionary ideology. It works through ‘proxies’, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and many other militias in Syria; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and West Bank; the Houtis in Yemen; and also organisations in Iraq and Bahrain and elsewhere. These global activities of IRGC are hugely expensive. They are mainly financed by Iran’s sale of oil and gas – its largest export product. In 2015, a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed between UN Security Council members (US, Russia, China, UK and France) plus Germany - lifting sanctions, in exchange for some sort of oversight regime over Iran’s nuclear project. President Trump withdrew from this regime in 2018. Now, the US Administration and EU leaders are trying to negotiate a new version of the JCPOA agreement with Iran. What is your opinion of these negotiations? There is nothing wrong in principle with negotiation. But there are many problems with these negotiations. The first is that the JCPOA agreement is for 15 years. Because the current negotiations are not for a new JCPOA, but for the old JCPOA to be revived, some of those 15 years have already expired. The window for influencing Iran’s nuclear policies is thus very short. This is a weak agreement that will enable Iran to achieve its revolutionary goals, by providing Iran with hundreds of millions of euros through sale of oil. The JCPOA also lifts sanctions that were imposed by the Security Council on sale of technology to help Iran develop ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. Iran is the only UN Member State that has an institutionalised plan to destroy another UN Member State. While there is no evidence at this stage that Iran has plans to make a nuclear weapon, it clearly has plans to develop the capacity to make nuclear weapons. Once it has the capacity to sufficiently enrich uranium, as well as the technology to build ballistic weapons, then it is just a small step to the creation of nuclear weapons that can be used to fulfil its plan to destroy Israel. The money that Iran will receive will also be used to finance Iran’s pro xies in other countries. I don’t know if Iran would ever use nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. They are not stupid. I think they will use nuclear weapons mainly as a threat to help them mobilise and equip its proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza to attack Israel using smaller weapons. There is another problem. If Iran develops nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles to deliver them, they will come into the hands of the fanatic elite in Iran. It is then just a question of time before radical regimes in other countries obtain the same capacity. This is deeply dangerous, because all the regimes are highly unstable. It is also naïve to think that making money available to Iran is going to enable development of democracy. The regime in Tehran will not use the money it earns from lifting the sanctions to help its own people. Rather, it will use this money to suppress all opposition. Does Israel have a right to attack Iranian targets? The regime in Tehran promotes the killing of Jews and destruction of Israel and enables regimes in other countries to attack and wipe Israel from the map. Those two facts entitle Israel to defend itself, including attacking targets on Iranian territory that threaten its existence. Europe has a refugee crisis. Half of the asylum seekers in the Netherlands in 2021 came from Syria and Yemen - both countries where war is instigated and maintained by Iran. Is Iran responsible for the refugee crisis in Europe? Yes. Without Iran’s interference there would be no wars in these countries. Iran’s support for Assad enabled him to stay in power in 2011/2012 and was responsible for the civil war that erupted in 2012. Is there hope for peaceful cooperation in the Middle East? My biggest dream is that the regime in Tehran will stop the aggression against Israel and start solving its own internal problems. On that day, we will discover that we can help Israel and the Palestinians to talk rather than fighting each other. The Abraham Accords give hope for the future. Afshin Ellian (born 27 February 1966 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam. He is an expert in international public law and philosophy of law. Interview 4 Prof Dr Afshin Ellian: Iran and Israel Prof Dr Afshin Ellian being interviewed by Andrew Tucker. | Photo: Christians for Israel October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Without Iran’s interference there would be no wars in these countries. Iran’s support for Assad enabled him to stay in power in 2011/2012 and was responsible for the civil war that erupted in 2012.

17. 7 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 British Government’s Declaration of 2nd November, 1917 [i.e. the Balfour Declaration].” Article 4 began by stating: “All necessary measures shall be taken to encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants on the land...”. Feisal added a proviso to the agreement in Arabic in his own handwriting: “Provided the Arabs gain their independence, else I shall not consider myself bound by one word of this agreement.” The Paris Peace Conference On 6 February 1919 the Arab delegation, led by Emir Feisal, presented their claims to the Principal Allied Powers at the Paris Peace Conference. In presenting the territorial claims for the Arab independent states, he left Palestine out, saying: “Palestine for its universal character, he wants to leave to one side for the mutual consideration of all parties interested.” So, at that point Feisal was complying with the agreement he had made with Weizmann. Three weeks later, on 27 February, Chaim Weizmann and the Zionist Organisation presented their claim for the Jewish right to re-constitute their ancient homeland. Their territorial claim included all the territory to the west of the Jordan River, as well as a strip of land on the east of the river where the ‘two-and-a-half tribes’ of Israel had historically dwelt. The eastern boundary of the Jewish homeland, according to Weizmann, would be immediately west of the Hejaz railway, which ran from Damascus through Amman and down to Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 went on for the whole year. A series of treaties were signed, including those previously mentioned. As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to renounce its title to all conquered territory as well as all of its colonies outside Europe. The treaty also decimated Germany’s military power and required it to pay punitive war reparations. Many (especially the Germans themselves) believed that the conditions imposed on Germany were unfair. Many also believed that this was a factor in the rise of the Nazis that resulted in World War Two. The Treaty of Sèvres – the Dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire The Treaty of Sèvres disbanded the Ottoman Turkish Empire and required it to surrender title to all territory outside Turkey itself. The Principal Allied Powers were well aware of the genocidal policies of the Ottoman Turks towards the racial and religious minorities living within its empire. During the Great War the Turks had massacred well over a million Armenians, Syrian Copts and Maronite Christians, as well as expelling 11,000 Jews before the outbreak of the war. The Principal Allied Powers recognised that the dismembering of the Ottoman Turkish empire was essential for the safety of its population, especially non- Turkish minorities including Christians and Jews. The Turks later refused to ratify the Treaty of Sèvres and, in 1923, it was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne. The Principal Allied Powers adjourned dealing with the former Ottoman Empire territories to a special conference to be held in San Remo, Italy, in April 1920. References 1 Obtained from interview with Dr Denis MacEoin in ‘Whose Land?’ quoting a letter by McMahon published in The Times, July 23, 1937 —————————————————————— Hugh Kitson is a documentary filmmaker who has made many films about Israel. His films about the British Mandate for Palestine include “ The Forsaken Promise” —a three-part series (Hatikvah Film Trust 2006) and “Whose Land?” Part One , presented by Colonel Richard Kemp (Title Deed Media 2017)—see www.whoseland.tv . Part Two is still in production. This article is the second in a six-part series exploring the significance of the British Mandate for Palestine for today. Part 3, ‘The San Remo Conference of 1920’ , will follow. To contact Hugh Kitson please email him: hugh.kitson@titledeedmedia.com Hugh Kitson Article continued... Watch Episodes Online: c4israel.com.au/whose-land A Daily Devotional by Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer Get daily readings in your inbox Did you know the Book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible to give a special blessing to those who read, hear and apply its message? (Rev 1:3) Study God’s roadmap for the future, step-by-step. You only need a couple of minutes each day to study one or two verses of the Book of Revelation to come to a clearer understanding of its major themes and messages. Subscribe Free Today at www.beholdhecomes.life

33. 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.com.au Overview of our projects October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Valeria Zakharova n Project Coordinator | First Home in the Homeland The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of Sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work but present a food offering to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:24 All Jewish people around the world are celebrating Rosh Hashanah – one of the main holidays in Judaism, which name literally means ‘Head of the Year’. This is the time to start from scratch and sum up what was done in the previous year. Last year was extremely challenging. But despite all obstacles Israel keeps its traditions to make Jewish people even more cohesive and strong! That’s why our important mission as a program is not only to provide our families with intensive Hebrew classes, housing and necessary assistance but also introduce them into a local culture and history. Elvira, a recent arrival at kibbutz Revivim, explains: “We are new here, therefore it is very important to feel that everyone wants to help us become part of this country. I really enjoyed the pleasant and friendly atmosphere of our Rosh Hashanah meeting, which was interesting, informative and warm. We learned a lot about the holiday, its history and traditions. I suppose it will be very useful for the main celebration next week.” Every year First Home in the Homeland participates from different countries celebrate Rosh Hashanah together and learn about the holiday from their coordinators and educational workshops, while children do the same at school and kindergartens. So, all of them know what they should do with apple and honey, why the shofar (horn) sounds and what our wishes in this holy evening are. For Lyubov who participants in the programme at kibbutz Zeelim, it was a great introduction to the holiday: “It was not something grand, but cosy and family. Our Hebrew teacher told us about Rosh Hashanah, we listened to songs together, sang them, and, of course, ate apples with honey! Our celebration was really good and sweet!” Have a look at how we are meeting. A Good and Sweet Year Preparing for Rosh Hashanah at school, Jordan Valley Kibbutz Merhavia Eshkol Regional Council (kibbutzim Beeri, Ein Hashlosha, Zeelim) Eshkol, Rosh Hashanah Preparing for Rosh Hashanah at school, Jordan Valley Shofar blowing, Dmirtii Smirnov and Kharchenko Maxim Celebration in kibbutz Yagur Since the beginning of the 2022, First Home in the Homeland programme welcomed more than 220 families. There are over 100 Ukrainian immigrants among them, mostly mothers with children. The participants are spread throughout Israel from the South to the North. The integration of a new immigrant in Israel through First Home in the Homeland costs $675 per person. You can support the programme by filling out the coupon on page 16.

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 States of America, and Yes, even from Australia. Many Jews are making Aliyah and returning Home to Israel! Right now in Israel the people are celebrating the High Holy da ys including the Feast of Tabernacles and thousands of Christians have trave lled to wave flags and blow Shofars and to sing and give praise to the God of Israel as He continues bringing His children back home. New Matching-Gift Campaign The other important message I wanted to share with you is about our new matching-gift Fund-raising Project. Our latest initiative is to help raise $40,000 to purchase a much needed Rapid Response Vehicle for Magen David Adom —which is Israel’s ambulance and first responders organisation. Everyday these amazing volunteer paramedics save lives regardless of a person’s race, religion or social status. The tiny narrow and often crowded streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are hard to navigate in a normal sized ambulance so these specially equipped smaller rapid response vehicles can get help quickly. In most instances they take less than a few minutes from the time an emergency call has been received. We want to send a very strong and practical demonstration of our love and support by matching every dollar our readers and supporters give with another two dollars. So for example, if you give $50 we will give an extra $100 making the total gift raised to $150. We are looking at having the doors of the new Rapid Response Vehicle suitably signed so the locals will see the vehicle has been lovingly supplied by Christians for Israel Australia ... just like you and me. And of course the extra good news is that all of these donations are now tax-deductible! Please use the response form below, or see the coupon on the back page of the newspaper, or donate securely online: c4israel.com.au/rrv Every blessing in Yeshua—the Messiah and coming King. Ian Worby, National Leader And the Christians for Israel Australia team. A new Rapid Response Vehicle costs AU $40,000. With your support we can help raise the funds needed to show practical aid to those most in need.

11. Dear Faithful readers and friends (Chavorim). Shana Tova, Happy Jewish new year to you all and welcome to this October edition of Israel & Christian Today. The Queen has passed on, long live the King Lots of things have happened since our last edition. The Biggest one perhaps is the passing of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, after serving as the longest reigning monarch in modern history. I’m sure many of you, like me and 4.1 billion others watched with great interest and emotion the historic state funeral service which celebrated her life of faithful service and legacy. Regardless of whether you are a monarchist or not, we can all agree the Queen led a remarkable scandal free life of service as the head of our Commonwealth and the defender of The Faith for millions of Christians around the world. According to the wisdom in Daniel Chapter 2:21, Romans 13:1 and 1 Timothy 2:14, let us pray for Wisdom and success for Her son, King Charles III. I also encourage you to read the excellent article The Royals, British Jewry and Israel by Rabbi Issac Riesenberg on page 3 . Christians for Israel Australia has been successful in getting DGR tax deductibility. After the last year’s long and expensive attempts and rejection and re-lodgement and with God’s good grace and answer to our prayers, I am very pleased to announce that Christians for Israel has finally been accepted and awarded as a registered charity and with deductible gift recipient status. A couple of things to update you on as our loyal and faithful readers and supporters. And we can from the first of October, issue tax-deductible receipts for all donations over $2 or more with the exception of retail purchases of things like books, DVD’s and gifts. But for everything else including your regular donations in supporting our many humanitarian projects, like Aliyah, food and shelter and sponsorship of holocaust survivors and all of our benevolent activities in bringing comfort to Israel and Her people we are happy to now be able to issue a tax receipt. For many of you who are paying income tax this will be of interest and could result in you paying less tax or perhaps even getting a refund. For details you need to consult with your financial advisor or visit the Australian Tax office website www.ato.gov.au and search deductible gift recipient or DGR. We are presently updating our website and online systems and you will see some small changes to the giving coupon on the back page to clearly show what is, and what is not, tax-deductible. Tax receipts will be provided after the end of each financial year. If you send anonymous donations, or don’t tell us your name and address or specify what the donation is for, it will be hard if not impossible to send you a receipt. So please help us with your clear communications. If you are in doubt please contact us and our volunteers will do their best to help. Contact details on the back page. If you wish to send a gift to help cover our printing and postage costs in informing and inspiring many other to Comfort the poor and needy people of Israel and beyond we would very much appreciate your partnership and generous and prayerful support. Australia Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Israel Events gives birth to more good fruit. Last edition, I told you of our initiative to hold two very successful “Australia Standing Shoulder to shoulder with Israel” in August events on the sunshine coast and in Brisbane with our special guest Amir Maimon—the Ambassador of Israel. Over 400 local Christians and some Jewish brothers and sisters attended these which was an expression of solidarity and open friendship between the Christian and Jewish communities. The events were organised and coordinated by a number of different pro-Israel organisations including Bridges for Peace, The Australian light Horse association, ICEJ, Prayer for Israel, Beersheba Vision and The Southern Cross Alliance for Israel , QLD Jewish board of Deputies, the Zionist federation of Australia and Christians for Israel Australia. The result was so positive and inspiring that I want you to read the letter of appreciation we have received from our friend the Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon on page 14. New Matching Gift Fundraiser Also over the two nights events some $4,000 was raised by free will donations collect to help fund the amazing work of Israel Ambulance and first aid organisation Magen David Adom . As you can read on page 9 , this organisation run by some 30,000+ volunteers save lives every day in Israel and around the Globe. We have recently become very good friends of MDA here in Australia and with the International president of Christian friends of Magen David Adom Mrs Anne Ayalon and her well known husband Danny Ayalon (former Israeli Ambassador to America and the UN). As a result, I am very pleased and excited to launch our new matching fundraising campaign, where Christians for Israel will match every dollar with two more dollars as we raise the funds to pay for a much needed rapid response vehicle to quickly get lifesaving help in the often crowded and narrow streets of Jerusalem and other cities in Israel. These special vehicles are small enough to quickly and safely navigate the narrow streets of these ancient cities, but equipped with high tech equipment and medical first aiders to give lifesaving help within minutes of an emergency call going out. The new vehicle will proudly display a brief message letting the citizens of Israel know that the vehicle was given with love and care by you as part of Christians for Israel Australia and we know this will be such a positive message that we are standing with them in their time of need. (see picture above) The goal is to raise $40,000 . So if you can give $100, with the matching gift that will be $300. If you or your business can give $1,000 we will match it with $2,000 more making it $3,000 in total. That is how I believe God can help us reach this goal quickly and together we will send a great blessing to our friends in Israel. And the good news is that each donation is now tax deductible. Please see the back page for how to make a donation or visit our website www.c4israel.com.au/donate I hope you enjoy all the other great articles in this edition. Also, don’t forget to download our free mobile app and get our new daily devotional reading Behold He Comes sent to you free see pages 7 and 11 . Every blessing in Messiahs great Name. ____________________________________ Ian Worby National Leader & Regional Director for Christians for Israel Australia & Oceania. October 2022 Report From Our National Leader Comforts Informs Inspires Ian Worby C4I Australia National Leader and Regional Director for Oceania Ian Worby at The Light Horse Memorial in Semak A New Rapid Response Vehicle costs AU $40,000

18. 8 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 The History of the “Yellow Star” This year is the eightieth year since the Nazi introduction of the yellow star for European Jews. Being called yellow even today is a derogatory and demeaning term. However, this practice of identifying and dehumanising Jews was nothing new and went back a long way. This article does not have the space to chronicle all the occasions this practice was carried out, as there were dozens in multiple countries over the last two millennia, but I will start by outlining just a few. In the year 887 of the CE , Aghlabid Governor of the Emirate of Sicily ordered Jews to wear on their garments and put on their doors a piece of cloth in the form of a donkey and to wear yellow belts and special hats. 1274 The Statute of Jewry in England, enacted by King Edward I, enforced the regulations. “Each Jew, after he is seven years old, shall wear a distinguishing mark on his outer garment of yellow felt in the form of a rectangle, the length of 150ml and breadth of 75ml.” 1321 Henry II of Castile forced the Jews to wear the yellow badge. 1415 The Papal Bull of the Antipope Benedict XIII ordered the Jews to wear a yellow and red badge, the men on their breast, the women on their forehead. 1555 Pope Paul IV decrees, in his Cum nimis absurdum , that the Jews should wear yellow hats. 1710 Frederick William 1 abolished the mandatory Jewish yellow patch in Prussia in return for a payment of 8,000 thaler (about $75,000 worth of silver at today’s prices). If the above directions were not carried out, hefty penalties were involved, incarceration or worse. The Nazis resurrected this practice as part of their persecutions during the Holocaust. Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Main Security Office, first recommended that Jews should wear identifying badges following the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9 and 10, in 1938. Shortly after the invasion of Poland in September 1939, local German authorities began introducing mandatory wearing of badges. Bit by bit the yellow star got introduced to newly conquered territories. By 1942, Germany, its satellite states and occupied territories adopted standard, brutally enforced regulations stipulating that Jews must wear identifying yellow star badges. Non wearing of the star would most likely involve the offender being shot. One brave King makes a stand Only in Denmark, where King Christian X is said to have threatened to wear the badge himself if it were imposed on his country’s Jewish population, were the Germans unable to impose such a regulation. The German government’s policy of forcing Jews to wear identifying badges was but one of many psychological tactics aimed at isolating and dehumanizing the Jews of Europe, directly marking them as being different (i.e. inferior) to everyone else. It allowed for the easier facilitation of their separation from society and subsequent ghettoization, which ultimately led to the deportation and murder of 6 million Jews. The stars varied from country to country but all followed the basic pattern. In a few countries yellow armbands were used instead, or as well. Antisemitism is still alive and well , and this ancient hatred of the people of God fuelled by the Evil One, is gathering pace in these days. Especially from the “intelligentsia” despite their claim of acceptance and tolerance. May we have the courage of King Christian X of Belgium to stand against the enemy and say not on our watch will this or anything like it happen again. —————————————————————— For more information on Beersheba Vision visit www.beershebavision.org Barry Rodgers OAM President of Beersheba Vision Insights from Beersheba Vision forcing Jews to wear identifying badges was but one of many psychological tactics aimed at isolating and dehumanizing... Jewish children being forced to wear the yellow star If you would like to get a copy of this book, it can be purchased from the author for $25 (postage included) —simply email barry@emugully.com.au Make sure you include your address. Social media and marketing adviser required for Beersheba Vision Inc. This a part time position requiring a few hours per week. For more details contact Barry Rodgers on 0428 662528 NEW! “Wow! what a book, much more than a story for the family, it will have much wider implications...” – Neville Clark MC. OAM

21. 11 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Keith Buxton Article continued... And so Caleb, together with Joshua, acted in obedience to the Word of God, knowing that God would be with him whatever the outcome. And God’s promise to be with us in every situation remains true for every believer. Our part is to have faith and obey. Writes author Eileen Guder: “A ship wrecked off the New England coast many years ago. A young member of the coast guard rescue crew said, ‘We can’t go out. We’ll never get back.’ The grizzled old captain replied. ‘We have to go out. We don’t have to come back.’” It’s so true—we really don’t know the future. But we know the One who holds the future in His hands! The command by the Lord at the end of our passage for the Israelites “to make tassels on the corners [fringes] of their garments” is a powerful reminder that the One who holds the future in His hands calls us to be like the two spies Caleb and Joshua, who refused to hold back from obeying the Lord. Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. “And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, “and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.” The tassels, or tzitzit, are an outward reminder of what God in His Word requires of me— “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Rabbi Jonathan Cohen tells the story of a person thrown from a boat into the sea. “The captain stretches out a rope and tells him to take firm hold of it, for his life depends on it. The rope is like the tzitzit [tassels], and the captain is like God. The tzitzit provide a lifeline.” Fringe benefits, if you like! It just may be that, for some of you reading this, obedience to God’s Word and stepping out into the exciting and even scary future that God has prepared for you, will be the very thing that will cause all fears to flee. I don’t know what changes or challenge or difficulty you may be going through right now, or will face in the future, but ultimately you must make the choice. It’s really an “either-or” thing or, put another way, it’s an “I can’t” or “God is with me” situation. You may feel that you have blown it completely.... that you are no longer worthy of God’s forgiveness because of your negative outlook on your circumstances.... that your fear of embracing God-inspired change has disqualified you from His blessing. Don’t go there! As a Christian you are a son or daughter of the King of Kings! I love the worship song “No Longer Slaves” , featuring Jonathan and Melissa Helser, which really speaks to my heart about the importance of facing any fears or doubts that I may have by affirming my faith in who I am as God’s forever child. “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God” —so go the words of the chorus of this song. Never forget that as Christian believers we are defined by who we are as His children. And hold on to the unchanging truth that He is a forgiving and gracious God, as Moses well recognized when he interceded to God for the people as they complained bitterly at the thought of entering into the land of Canaan: “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression’” —Numbers 14:18. When fear causes you to baulk at embracing changes that God is calling you to make, never underestimate or undervalue the depth and extent of His forgiving mercy, which as Christians we see demonstrated supremely in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Are you facing changes in your life, even significant and perhaps scary changes, that you have come to recognize come from the heart of God, who only ever wants to bless you? Then declare “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God” — and resolve like Joshua and Caleb to move forward in confidence and faith as the forever child of God that you are! —————————————————————— Keith Buxton is an ordained pastor. He currently serves on the C4I Australia management committee and is a liaison with C4I Oceania Island affiliates 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! SEARCH: ‘C4I’ in your app store Inspiring and informative content, wherever you are.

22. 12 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 The Shema – שַמעָ Deuteronomy 6:4 “ Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart. And you shall teach them (diligently) to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” This very special set of verses is called simply ‘The Shema’ ( ָשמעַׁ ). The term ‘Shema’ comes from the first word of the first verse. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God; the Lord is one. In Hebrew it is: ‘Shema Yisra’el, (Adonai) Eloheinu, (Adonai) echad.’ For the Jewish people, this is the first Bible verse a child learns to say and are the last words a person recites before dying. In the days of the Tabernacle/Temple, the morning and evening burnt o ff erings were the focal poin t for morning and evening prayers. Some 1950 years after the destruction of the Temple it is a practice which still continues. And it is the ‘Shema’ which is the basis of the morning and evening prayers for every Jewish person. In 1945, Rabbi Eliezer Silver headed up the search for thousands of displaced Jewish children across Europe hidden from the the Nazis on farms, convents, and monasteries. A monastery in southern France had taken in Jewish children but the priest in charge thought that all of their children were Christians—their family names were all German. Rabbi Silver could produce no records but some of the children may be Jewish. With permission to visit the wards, he began singing “Shema Israel, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad.” (Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.) Some of the children immediately raised their hand to cover their eyes and recited the Shema with him and he immediately knew who the Jewish children were. Interestingly, Jesus when asked what the greatest commandment was answered, “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.’ Some of us may have missed that Jesus is quoting the Shema. ‘Shema’ is the first word of this series of scriptures and it simply means ‘hear’ or ‘listen’. ‘Shema Yisra’el’ means ‘Hear, O Israel’. The recitation of the Shema is considered to be the primary obligation of the daily prayer service. But if you look very closely you will notice that the Shema is not actually a prayer at all but a series of commands from the Lord (including the greatest command of all—to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength’ ). Therefore reciting the Shema every morning and evening has become one of the most e ff ective memory verses of all time of God’ s heart for us to keep the command to never lose sight of Him as the first priority in our lives and to obey all of His commands. Traditionally the Shema consists of three separate passages of Scripture which are all recited twice daily. These three passages are: • Deuteronomy 6:4-9 - H ear, O Israel ... Shema Yisra’el • Deuteronomy 11:13- 21 - And it shall come to pass ... Ve Hayah • Numbers 15:37-41 - And the LO RD said ...VaYomer HaShem • But my f ocus is on the first of these passages - Hear, O Israel ... Shema Yisra’el. Hear, O Israel Vs 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one. The word Shema, ( ַשמעָׁ ) is the essential form for the word ‘listen’. ‘Shema, O Israel’. The rabbis referred to the daily recitation of the Shema as ‘taking on the yoke of the kingdom of heaven’. (Talmud Berachot 13a-14b) The imperative charge ‘Hear, O Israel’ can be understood as saying, ‘Obey, O Israel!’ When God tells us to ‘hear’ something, He is calling for our obedience. Here Moses tells Israel, ‘Listen to this! Get ready to obey’. When you have tried to get your child’s attention when you have seen them headed for trouble, have you ever said ‘Listen to me’. It means ‘obey me’. The Shema is really a command to obey God—as He is the One true God. Walking WITH God and experiencing Him therefore is the aim, NOT just knowing ABOUT God. By learning and obeying God’s commands we get to know Him and what He is like. In other words, learning about God, leads me to obey Him and determines how I behave otherwise I DON’T have genuine faith in God. There is a possibility that you could be one of the world’s most knowledgeable Bible scholars and yet still live in disobedience to God and His commands. Even some of the world’s most brilliant Bible scholars of the first century said to Pilate ‘crucify Him’ and so condemned Messiah Jesus to die on the cross. The lesson from this first verse of the Shema is that we must NOT allow our esteemed knowledge about God and the Torah stop us seeing its beautiful outworking in our lives. The Shema reminds us NOT to just gain knowledge, but to obey God so that we come to know Him and walk with Him. (Did you know that the expression ‘Walking with God’ simply means obeying God’s commands’)? Hearing Is Followed By Seeing The word Shema, ְשמעַָׁ with the letters Shin — שׁ Mem — מ Ayin — ע which means ‘to hear’ starts with the letter ‘shin’ which is the letter used for God’s Name (Shaddai) and ends with the letter ‘ayin’ which means ‘eye’ or ‘see’ and by extension ‘to understand’ or ‘to know’. The idea is that one first HEARS about God—ie His commandments and only then does he SEE God and KNOW God. The apostle Paul teaches this principle: Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Our faith in God, or in other words ‘seeing’ God or ‘knowing’ God, comes first from hearing His commands. Hearing His commands (which also by extension means obeying His commands) causes us to know Him and what He is like; that He is totally devoted to His covenants and is a God Who keeps His promises. This consequently brings faith into our hearts that He will be the same promise- keeping God to us. Shema O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. —————————————————————— For more information on The Torah Portion visit www.thetorahportion.org Greg Cumming The Torah Portion www.thetorahportion.org Teaching from the Torah A young Jewish man recites the “Shema Yisrael” prayer (translates to: hear o’ Israel prayer) while covering his eyes with hand

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 $ ____________ MY TOTAL DONATION TO: Christians for Israel Australia Inc. See over for credit card and other giving options My Gift Thanks for your financial sup port 19 October 2022 <<Addressee>> or <<CompanyName>> Member Number: <<MemberNum>> LN1022 Yes Ian, I’d like to give a special one-off tax-deductible donation towards... $ __________ Aliyah: $350=1 person $1250=5 people $6250=25 people $ __________ Rapid Response Vehicle (Matching Gift Campaign) $ __________ General Donation (Admin, Print + Post Costs) *please don’t use staples* “Donations Are Now Tax-Deductible!” Dear friends , Welcome to this October edition of your enclosed Israel & Christians Today newspaper. It’s full of inspiring and informative articles encouraging you to pray and support the land and the people of Israel as we find in the Scriptures. To begin, I’d like to share some great news. After nearly 2 years of unsuccessful attempts we have finally been given Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status by the Australian Charities And Not for Profit (ACNC) authority and the Australian Tax Office (ATO). This means that as of October 1st this month all donations you and others give to support this ministry are tax-deductible. So we are very excited and optimistic this will provide extra incentive and blessing to those who continue to generously sow and invest in the various humanitarian projects like Aliyah—to bring the scattered Jewish people back home to God’s promised land, just as the prophets said God would do in these later times: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.”‘ – Isaiah 49:22 Within all the disruption and turmoil going on around the world right now, God is at work fulfilling His promises. It’s so amazing that the God of the universe and of Israel has enlisted us gentiles (non-Jewish believers) who love God, to be His hands and feet in bringing His sons and daughters from the distant nations of the North like Russia, and Ukraine and from the lands of the South like Ethiopia and the Sudan, and from the East like the Beni Menasha (the lost tribes of Manasseh) in India and the Orient, and from the West like France, the United Kingdom, the United continued over... Koen Carlier helping Ukrainian Jews at the airport to complete making Aliyah to Israel—all thanks to supporters like you!

31. 13 History Joanna Moss n Christians for Israel New Zealand | Contributor As the 0th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre loomed, Germany desired to make amends. However, there was a major sticking point. The victims’ families who were seeking a proper apology, answers and adeHuate compensation, were planning to boycott. Time was running out, making the event untenable. Spokeswoman Ankie Spitzer, widow of Andre Spitzer, who, along with Ilana Romano, has devoted her life to seeking justice, wrote, “0 years of insults, lies, humiliation and rejection by the German government, and especially the Bavarian au thorities are more than enough”. Israeli President Hertzog was given the difficult task of brokering a deal before the anniversary to ensure participation. Ironically, around the same time PA President Mahmoud Abbas came to Germany and declared that Palestinians had suffered 0 holocausts. This was far too much for Germany to stomach as holocaust remembrance is a delicate matter. Olympic Hostage Recap The Munich Olympics opened in West Germany on 26 August 1972 with 7,173 athletes from 121 countries. It was supposed to be the cheerful, peaceful games of a new Germany drawing a line under the Nazi, military precision of the 1936 Berlin Olympics where Hitler and racism dominated. Security was light and being only 27 years after WW2 ended, Germany didn’t have much of an army nor a developed police force used to coping with security incidents. Munich was a provincial city coming of age. The Israeli team of twenty-two athletes included Shaul Ladany, a survivor of Bergen Belsen. It was comprised of weightlifters, wrestlers, fencers, sharpshooters, sailors and track athletes some of whom had been born in Europe. For many Israelis, the return to Germany was a victory over the Nazis all over again and they were proud to see their distinctive blue and white ¼ag paraded in front of the world to cheers from the crowd. Here was this ¼edgling Jewish state that had arisen out of the ashes sporting Olympic athletes. On the evening of the 4 September the Israeli team had attended Fiddler on the Roof. Here was the new Germany staging a Jewish masterpiece. Little did they know that in a matter of a few hours, the plight of European Jewry was to be revisited upon them. At 4.30am eight gunman disguised as athletes entered the compound where the Israeli team was housed. They were members of the Black September group. They first entered the room housing team coaches and officials, including wrestling referee Yossef Gutfreund, who barricaded the door. Next, wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg was attacked and the terrorists took additional wrestlers and weightlifters hostage, nine in total. Weightlifter Yossef Romano was the first to die followed by Weinberg. Both bodies were left bleeding beside the hostages, then eventually tossed outside for all to see. Ladany jumped out of a second-story window, ¼ed to the American compound and raised the alarm. Other teammates hid and managed to escape later. Terrorist Demands The hostage takers demanded the release of 234 primarily Palestinians jailed in Israel and two in West Germany. PM Golda Meir poignantly remarked that they were killing Jews in Germany again. She refused to give in to the terrorist demands citing that to do so would endanger Israelis worldwide. Then began the negotiations by West German authorities who offered the terrorists huge sums of money and substitutions of high-ranking Germans to release the hostages, but the offers were refused. Fencing coach Andre Spitzer spoke ¼uent German and was used in the negotiations. After a failed ambush, the terrorists and hostages were transported by helicopter to a Munich airfield where many more errors occurred that led to the demise of the rest of the hostages and some of their captors plus a German policeman. What followed were moments of intense grief and disarray. Relevant Factors Ÿ Israeli Chef de Mission Shmuel Lalkin had expressed concerns to Germany about the housing of the Israeli team and positioning by a gate. He was told extra security would be provided. No evidence suggests this was done. Ÿ In preparation, Olympic organisers had asked German forensic psychologist Georg Sieber to create 26 terrorism scenarios in advance. One of which accurately forecasted what was to follow, highlighting that the authorities should have been prepared. Ÿ Israel offered to send a Special Operations team, but the Germans refused. The former Israeli intelligence head, Zvi Zamir, concluded the German police “didn’t make even a minimal effort to save human lives.” Ÿ In 2012 German newspaper, Der Spiegel , contained a reference that the German authorities received a tip off from a Beirut informant weeks prior to the event. Ÿ Paradoxically, filming by international media allowed the terrorists to watch the West German police take up position via their TV screens. None had terrorist experience. Ÿ Many aspects of the ambush were bungled including not acting on updated information on the number of terrorists, failure of gear and personnel to arrive, poor planning, insufficient staffing, inadeHuate eHuipment and poor execution. There is even a suggestion that some of the hostages were shot inadvertently by the Germans. Ÿ Official reports suggested the hostages had been rescued, adding to the grief. Ÿ Following public criticism of the Olympic Committee’s actions, a memorial service was held with 80,000 spectators and 3,000 athletes. Yet the IOC President made very little mention of the murdered Israelis, saying the Games must go on, adding insult to injury. Ÿ The terrorists were never brought to justice and no inHuiry was ever held, yet it was then the worst terrorist event in West Germany’s history with possible links to far-right German groups. Ÿ The terrorists were handed over within a few months and a large sum paid. Ÿ Whereas paltry compensation sums had been paid to the families by the German government and Red Cross. Ÿ For 20 years Germany refused to release information, locked files away and refused to accept responsibility. Ÿ A tiny memorial plaHue was placed outside the team’s Olympic lodgings. Only in 2016 were the athletes remembered during the Rio Olympics despite repeated reHuests. A proper memorial ‘the Shelter’ was only unveiled in 2017, 4 years afterwards. Multiple Parties Affected It was not just the families who were affected. At stake was the reputation of Germany as a democracy, the historic Shoah wrongs and its special relationship with the State of Israel. Then there are the German Jewish communities facing ongoing antisemitism. Munich and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stand in the middle as the host of the event and the facilitator. On the other side lie the State of Israel, surviving athletes and team members, the families of the deceased, and also the Germans involved, particularly those at F„rstenfeldbruck Air base, such as those working in the control tower, police, army or snipers, many of whom suffered ongoing nightmares and faced the same silence. Commemoration Ceremony At the German Memorial event on  September of this year at F„rstenfeldbruck Air base, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier re¼ected upon the miracle of reconciliation with Israel over this matter. He issued a detailed, heart-felt apology and acknowledged the families’ lengthy pain, suffering and trauma coupled with Germany’s silence, obstruction and host responsibility. He said that the victims’ families deserved dignity and to be heard. Then Steinmeier signaled that a joint German- Israeli historian taskforce will be formed to review documentation to find out what caused the catastrophic failure and investigate the many unanswered Huestions. The President acknowledged that Germany had a special duty to protect the Israeli athletes after the Shoah and this made them culpable. “We wanted to be good hosts, but we were not able to live up to the trust that the Israeli sportsmen and their families placed in Germany,” he added. In an emotive address, Israeli President Hertzog spoke of Israel’s pain and that Germany and the IOC had failed to remember the event, creating ongoing pain from indifference. IOC’s Thomas Bach called it, “the darkest day in Olympic history” and commended Israel for continuing to participate in the Olympics despite the indifference shown. Ankie Spitzer, who led the ongoing case for remembrance, re¼ected in Englis h upon her commitment to her late husband and on Conrad Ahlers, (the German government’s representative) statement that it was “an unfortunate interruption of the Games that would be forgotten in a few weeks”. Those factors cemented her determination to go on. Compensation More than 28 million euros were paid in compensation, with the vast majority coming from the German government with the state of Bavaria, and a small sum from the city of Munich. The new agreement provides 1.2 million euros for each of the 23 eligible family members. This is a far cry from compensation for international acts of terrorism which usually range from 3.-22 million per victim, according to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The IOC is not involved in paying compensation. However, President Thomas Bach said the IOC will help with the investigation. Conclusion Ironically 0 years from the Munich massacre, the Israeli marathon team won gold at the European Athletic Championships in Munich, paralleling the marathon effort made by the widows to obtain the details of what really happened and seek compensation. October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Germany Makes Amends for Munich The Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany . | Photo: Shutterstock

29. Kameel Majdali n Director | Teach All Nations Inc. In Part 1, we learned that there is a war going on against the truth - God’s truth. You cannot win a war until you know you are in one. We learned some of the aspects of deception out there today: disinformation, misinformation, gaslighting, post-truth, etc. The war on truth was prophesied. In Part 2, we focus on what the Bible says about this war. The Bible Says Let’s face it, we have never seen such a concerted attack on truth - absolute truth - God’s truth. Yet it should not be a surprise to students of the Bible. If we are in the last days - and we are (1 John 2:18) - then one of the most fundamental signs is that deception will be manufactured and disseminated on an industrial scale. Jesus’ warned His inner circle “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). This is a divine command. Deception does not merely distract and divert people from the right path - it can be utterly destructive. That’s why it is to be recognised, repudiated, and avoided. How do you avoid following the ‘fake Christs,’ while seeking the real One? Become very familiar with the Jesus of the Bible: Son of David, Son of God, Saviour. Just as ancient heresies presented a distorted picture of Christ, we have some bad ones today - everyt hing from the ‘all love-no judgement’ sentimental Jesus, the ‘love is love’ Jesus; the ‘social justice Jesus;’ ‘New Age Jesus;’ and ‘life-coach Jesus.’ Three Types of People In a related warning, 1 Thessalonians 5:7-8 speak of three types of ‘last days’ people. These include: 1. Sleepers: These people are awake to the things of this fallen world and its carnality, yet they are fast asleep to the things of God. Until they are born again, they cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). 2. Drunkards: This is far more than overindulgence in alcohol. Last days ‘drunkards’ live in deception, delusion, denial, and escapism (including life-controlling substances). Both sleepers and drunkards will be totally caught off guard when the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night and there is no escape (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). 3. Children of the light and of the day (1 Thessalonians 5:5): These are the true followers of Jesus Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12). They understand the ‘times and the season’ and ‘know perfectly about the “day of the Lord’” (verse 1). Watch and Be Sober One caveat: the children of the light and day are given a simple command in verse 6: Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. Now is not the time for spiritual slumber, lethargy, or distraction - but to ‘watch’ and ‘be sober.’ The command to watch is found in Matthew 24:42, 25:13; 26:38; Mark 13:35, 37; 14:34, 37; Acts 20:31; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 2 Timothy 4:5; Revelation 3:3. The command to ‘watch and pray’ is found in Matthew 26:41; Mark 13:33; 14:38; Luke 21:36. Are we getting the message? If we are to avoid deception and be thoroughly equipped for last days living, we need to ‘watch,’ ‘pray,’ and ‘be sober.’ Let us understand that in the last days’ war on truth, it is not that lying, and falsehood are anything new; they first appeared in the Garden of Eden! What makes last days’ deception distinctive is its size and intensity, including a spirit of strong delusion. It will be like gale-force winds. Only if you build your ‘house upon a rock’ (Matthew 7:24-25) can you keep standing. The apostle Paul gives us a detailed prophetic warning of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not t he truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The man of sin, son of perdition, will demonstrate satanic power through ‘signs and lying wonders.’ These do not point to the real Christ, but the ‘fake Christ,’ known also as the ‘antichrist.’ Those who sleep and are drunk will be ensnared by this wicked deception. God, in His sovereignty and wisdom, is sending a strong delusion that they will believe the lies and be condemne d. Since truth is so fundamental to building your life on a sure spiritual foundation, and the lack of it is a disaster, remember that we are personally responsible for whether we are in the truth or deceived. Yes, there is intense spiritual warfare out there today and the spirit of delusion is strong. Yet we have a choice to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the truth. We can blame Satan, like Eve did in the Garden of Eden, but God held her accountable; after all, she should have known better. Truth is readily available but you need to seek it, embrace it, and love it. In summary, deception is very real and dangerous. A lot of fantasy, fiction, fairy tales, and falsehood is being peddled in the public square. No matter how outlandish, it is conveyed with a straight face. We must watch and be vigilant so that we don’t fall for the web of lies . Deceived people choose deception due to their lack of ‘the love of the truth.’ Failure to believe the truth results in b eing lost. Thank God there is an antidote because God’s truth, which is found in the gospel, will always counteract the poison of deception. To be continued. 11 Theology Winning the War on Truth - Part 2 October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 | Photo: Shutterstock Short News IDF Base Guards Torah Scrolls The thinking was probably: no place is as safe as an Israeli army base. More than 400 Torah scrolls are stored at an army base in Israel. Some are centuries old; others have a special story because they belonged to vanished Jewish communities. The scrolls are sacred and are therefore not displayed in a museum. The storage area at the army base is now basically a large holy ark (cabinet in which Torah scrolls are kept). | Photo: Flash90 Bird Migration Pose Flight Safety Risk The narrow airspace of the Jewish state, sitting on the crossroads between Africa and Eurasia, is crossed twice a year by 500 million birds on one of the world's largest global migrations. Experts at the Jewish National Fund are now warning that having birds and planes share the same flight path poses a serious safety risk to travellers. In extreme cases, a collision with a bird could lead to an engine failure. Therefore, experts said, aviation authorities should change commercial flight routes in and out of Ben Gurion airport for the months of September and October. Commitment to Jewish Community Morocco made a commitment to the Jewish community in its country. The goal is to strengthen Jewish culture and historical ties and impr ove ties with Jews of Moroccan descent. Nowadays it is estimated to number 3,000 people, the largest in North Africa. Around 700,000 Israelis claim Moroccan descent and maintain strong ties with their country of origin. Sharing Holocaust Archives Israel and Argentina will start exchanging records from their Holocaust archives. This will give Israel access to data about Jews who fled to Argentina during the Holocaust. The countries also agreed to further develop educational programs about the Holocaust for Argentina. | Photo: Flash90

27. 9 History of the Church Believing Without Israel | Photo: Shutterstock Signs of Faith By Kees de Vreugd The Sukkah In this series, ‘Signs of Faith’, objects that express Jewish faith are explained and discussed. Four walls and a thin thatched roof... That’s all it is – that’s all it is. Our little house is crafted swiftly; Some reeds, some nails and a bit of wood Joined together, done and dusted Lo and behold: the Sukkah is crafted! In May 1918, Dutch teacher and poet Clara Pinkhof wrote this nursery rhyme about the Sukkah. One time it is said in Torah: “All native-born Israelites are to live in temporary shelters for seven days” (Leviticus 23:42). The reason is provided as well: “so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters...” (Leviticus 23:43). What is a Sukkah? What does it mean to live in the Sukkah? The oral Torah or Mishna answers these and similar questions. The oral Torah makes practical what is assumed in the written Torah. The Hebrew word ‘Sukkah’ is related to a verb that means ‘to cover’. So, what is really important is the rooftop. The Sukkah recalls living in the desert under God’s care. It is also a symbol of the transience of existence. The used materials all have a temporary quality. The rooftop (Hebrew: Schach ) is plant material, like branches, leaves or bamboo stems, but so sturdy that it will hold for a week. When is the rooftop fully- fledged? If you have more shade than sun inside the Sukkah. But through the rooftop, you must still be able to see the open sky. The Sukkah should not be under a canopy or a tree or something similar. The Sukkah must have at least two solid walls, one partial wall and a door. But mostly it is built with four walls. Contrary to the rooftop, the walls can be made of anything, like boards or canvas, provided the canvas is attached properly and doesn’t flap in the wind. It is customary to start the preparations for building the Sukkah immediately after the conclusion of Yom Kippur. There are ready-made kits available. But it is much more fun to collect the materials yourself as a family. Rev Cornelis Kant n Executive Director | Christians for Israel International How Israel disappeared from our Christian faith. In this new series of articles, Rev. Cornelis Kant, explains how it happened that the role of Israel was seen as insignificant in the development of our Christian faith and in the history of Christian theology. How and why did ‘replacement theology’ come into existence? What role does Israel play in our faith and in our church life? During the centuries that li e behind us, Israel has hardly played any significant role in our Christian experience of faith. At most, Israel was the land where Jesus was born and where He lived. But for most Christians, the land of Israel was not of any significance, nor were the Jewish people. Even today, Israel is hardly relevant for many churches and in the religious experience of many Christians. Yet Israel appears hundreds of times in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old and New Testaments, we read a lot about the everlasting covenant between God and His people Israel. Israel’s significance in the Bible The prophet Zechariah says: “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. The Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem” (Zechariah 2: 10-12). And in Luke 1 the angel Gabriel says to Mary: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1: 31-33). These passages speak impressively about a great future for Israel. So how and why did Israel disappear from Christian faith and theology? Why was Israel increasingly seen as replaced by the Christian church? Gradually, Christian theologians came to the view that all the promises for Israel had transferred to the Christian church. Israel as a people and as a country disappeared from the church’s focus. Israel’s role was played out, except that the judgements were often still applied to Israel. In this series of articles, we will try to clarify how certain passages in the Bible were gradually interpreted in a completely different way than their writers intended. And we will explore the position Israel and the Jewish people deserve when we read the many Bible passages about Israel again as they were originally intended. Israel in the Early Church With the Great Commission in Matthew 28 , Jesus sends His apostles into the world. The Gospel is to be proclaimed worldwide. In Jerusalem, the first congregation consists mainly of Jews who believe in Him. Outside Israel, it was increasingly Christians from the Gentiles who formed the first congregations. Consider the congregations in cities such as Ephesus, Laodicea, Thessalonica, Corinth, Athens and Rome. These Gentiles exchanged their lives with the Roman gods for a living relationship with Jesus Christ, inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. Most of those new Christians had little interest in Judaism. At the same time, there were also believers with a J ewish background in the early churches who believed that these new Gentile Christians should be circumcised and live according to the Jewish law. For Jewish believers in Christ it was a shock to discover that God would create a people for Himself outside the Jewish people and outside Jewish life. Hence, in Paul's letters, there were often discussions about circumcision. Gradually, a distance grew inside the congregations between the believers from the Gentiles and the Jewish believers in Christ. The Jews were not well regarded in the Roman Empire anyway, because they were seen as a rebellious and stubborn people. This had everything to do with the fact that Jews did not want to adapt to the Roman religion but wanted to continue their own worship to God in the temple according to the guidelines of the Old Testament. And so a chasm developed between Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus. October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Even today, Israel is hardly relevant for many churches and in the religious experience of many Christians.

30. n Rabbi I. Vorst Christians for Israel Netherlands As a child, Rabbi Itzhak Vorst B Eng (Rotterdam 1938), survived Nazi concentration camps Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen. His father was the chief rabbi of Rotterdam. After his engineering studies, he went to Israel to help build up the city of Haifa. There, he encountered the Chabad Chassidic movement. He was sent back to the Netherlands to rebuild Jewish life there. He introduced Chabad to the Netherlands. His characteristic teachings, based on Chassidic teaching, are appreciated by Jews and many Christians alike. To Exist or Not to Exist Let me start with a question: do we exist or do we not exist? In Ten Sayings the world was created (Mishna Avot 5:1). God said and there was. These Divine Words and Letters, these Ten Sayings through which everything was created and through which everything we experience as a world exists, these Ten Utterings are always and still ‘within the Speaker’ and are spoken by God over and over again. In Jewish thinking, this means that we are a manifestation of God ‘within God’, without perceiving it – without being able to perceive it. “For no man can see Me and live” (Shemot – Exodus 33:20). Or in other words: we exist, but in a different kind of existence, an existence that is not our own. With these words God manifested Himself at the Sinai revelation: “Anochi Hashem Ellokeicha - I, the Lord (the Divine four- letter Name that Jews do not pronounce) – elevated above Time and Space – am your God in Time and Space.” Something of God’s concealment in relation to the world was lifted. And so King David could declare - and so it is said or sung before the reading of the Torah in the synagogue: “Lecha Hashem hagedulah”. You reveal Yourself in Greatness, Power, Glory, Victory and Honour; to You belong all that is in heaven and on earth. You manifest Yourself in Your Kingship” (1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 99:5 and 9). These are the Seven Divine attributes or properties that God has ‘given’ Himself, to create, maintain, lead, judge the world with. Seven Divine attributes. Seven is therefore a holy number, to be found in the worldwide seven-day week and in the Torah cycles of seven years (Sabbatical year) and seven times seven years ( Jubilee year), in the seven days of Pesach, in the seven weeks towards the Feast of Weeks Shavu’ot. And so on. Dependency This brings us to the seven days of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day of this seven-day feast, seven circumambulations are made in the shul (synagogue). On the last day of this seven-day feast, seven circumambulations are made in the shul-room, whereby each time one of the above mentioned Divine Attributes is proclaimed. Seven days of Sukkot is first of all seven days of staying in the sukkah. This is usually a less sturdy structure, with a leafy roof, through which you should be able to see the stars at night. This is to become aware that the world is not a solid building in itself. The world is a hidden manifestation of God and therefore we remain completely dependent of God. Four Kinds In what way do we also experience our dependence on God? In what way can we feel that we literally need God as bread? By holding four different kinds of plant material with our hands. The lulav palm branch, the etrog-citrus fruit, the three myrtle branches and the two willow branches. All of them vegetative; for the rainy season is about to begin, we hope, with God’s help in the land of Israel. Only with God’s Help. Everything vegetative needs this rain and needs therefore God’s help. Of course, in Israel you feel this more strongly than in the Diaspora. Plus in Israel this dependence on God is experienced extra strongly during this Sukkot harvest festival in the realisation that the right to the land is not based on the decision of the UN in 1947, but in essence only on God’s decision to give Erets Yisrael to the Jewish people forever. The fact that God is everywhere – He is, after all, the only Real Existence – is expressed by moving the Four Species in all six directions; horizontally and vertically, forwards, to the right, backwards, to the left, upwards and downwards. Intense Joy Feeling this dependence on God, experiencing it, brings joy, intense joy. Z’man Simchateinu - Time of our Joy is the appropriate name for these days. Including the following days of the Closing Feast. Then, on the day of Simchat Torah - Joy of the Law, seven circumambulations are made in the shul again. Dancing, with the Torah scrolls in their arms! On that day the Torah is read out, after which the reading of Bereshit-Genesis is started immediately. This is a kind of circumambulation in itself. The series of special days, started with Rosh Hashanah, is thus ended in joy, relieved and recharged as we are for the coming dark days of autumn and winter. 12 Biblical Reflection Sukkot - Feast of Tabernacles Orthodox Jewish men pray in front of the Western Wall on the holiday of Sukkot. | Photo: Shutterstock October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Facts SQeaL | Photo: Shutterstock The Population of Israel 9,449 million people Growth of 1.7% compared to previous year 184,000 babies born 27,057 new olim (immigrants) 93.2% of the population of Israel is urban Source: Central Bureau of Statistics; December 2021.

4. October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 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 JJ Glashouwer, President Rev Cornelis Kant, Executive Director PO 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 David Sudlow, Chairman PO Box 400, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA usa-info@c4israel.org www.c4israel.us DISCLAIMER - Articles printed in Israel & Christians Today express the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editors or that of the Board of Christians for Israel. The printing of articles or advertising in Israel & Christians Today does not necessarily imply either endorsement or agreement. ©Christians for Israel International. Reproduction, or storage in a retrieval system or in any other form, is prohibited without permission. Please contact the Managing Editor should you wish to syndicate or republish any articles or materials appearing in Israel & Christians Today. The Complexity of British/ Anglican/Israel Relations Prayer Points By C4I Prayer Team Israel l As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore. Psalm 125:2 Give thanks that the God surrounds His people forever. Pray that Israelis will be confident in this. l US President Joe Biden visited Israel in July. During his visit he signed the Jerusalem Declaration promising to do everything possible to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. It was also announced that Saudi Arabia has opened its airspace to Israeli flights after the Biden administration helped to broker the deal. Give thanks for these decisions and also pray that the US will always be an ally of Israel. l Pray for all children in Israel. Many in southern and northern Israel grow up with the sound of air raid sirens going off regularly. Pray for God’s protection and comfort for these children when they are afraid. Pray that they may know they can always take refuge in God. Israel & the Nations l Amnesty UK announced a new line of merchandise titled ‘End Israeli Apartheid’. This action will probably lead to even more hatred and misunderstanding towards Israel. Pray that this campaign will be stopped. l In early August, there was a brief war between the terror group Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and Israel. After a few days, a ceasefire was agreed. Pray that the ceasefire remains in force and pray for Israel’s protection against the continuous threat from the Gaza Strip. Christians for Israel l Pray for the staff and volunteers of Christians for Israel worldwide. Pray for unity and good cooperation and that good ideas will continue to emerge to spread the message of God’s faithfulness to Israel. l “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Pray that God will restore the Kingdom of Israel in our days. For daily Prayer Points, go to our website www.c4israel.com.au Andrew Tucker n International Editor | Christians for Israel Watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, one cannot fail to be deeply moved by the images of the slow procession of the hearse from Westminster to Windsor Castle. Accompanied by hundreds of staff and military, attended by heads of state from around the world, surrounded by millions of ordinary people, Queen Elizabeth approaches her final resting place. She awaits the resurrection. Queen Elizabeth is succeeded by her son, King Charles III. An era has ended, and another begun. What will it bring for UK/Israel relations? Under a constitutional monarchy, the B ritish Sovereign is both head of state and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth had a deep Christian faith. That in part explains her love for the Jewish people. Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and his successor Ephraim Mirvis have spoken beautifully about the deep mutual affection between the Queen and the Jewish people in the UK. It is understood that King Charles and his heir Prince William share that connection and sympathy. When it comes to the State of Israel, however, the picture is more complicated. As head of State, the King has a major challenge. Queen Elizabeth made about 250 offical overseas trips, to 129 countries. But she never visited Israel. This was because of unwritten Foreign Off ice policy banning British monarchs from visiting the Jewish State of Israel. To some extent, this was remedied by unoffical visits by Prince William and his father Prince Charles from 2018. But the fact remains that, fed by deeply rooted antisemitism and pro-Arab sentiments, the Foreign Office has a long history of antipathy towards Jewish sovereignty in Palestine. Can King Charles change this culture? There is hope. One of Queen Elizabeth’s last official acts was to invite Liz Truss to become Prime Minister. Truss has publicly stated that she wishes to change British policy towards Israel. She is is even prepared to contemplate moving the British embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Whether she is able to break down the strong walls of anti-Jewish policies within the Foreign Office remains to be seen. But it is his role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England that may present the most difficult obstacle facing King Charles should he wish to translate his love o f Jews into support for the Jewish State of Israel. It must be acknowledged that parts of the Anglican church have played a very positive role in relation to the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Think, for example, of the contribution of the Anglican Church’s Ministry Among the Jewish People (CMJ) and other Anglican evangelicals in the 19th century leading to the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Today there are prominent Anglican clergy and lay leaders in many countries who urge support for the modern State of Israel based on theological principles (see Prof. Gerald McDermott’s New Christian Zionism). Officially, however, the Anglican Church is highly critical of Israel. It denounces Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. Anglican Synods and Committees regularly condemn Israel for oppressing the Palestinians and infringing international law. The Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) publicly condemns the ‘occupation’, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and promotes establishment of an Arab/Islamic Palestinian State in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. This was reflected in a controversial Op- ed published last December by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Hosam Naoum, an Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. Reminding readers that the first Christmas took place against “the backdrop of the genocide of infants”, thus evoking toxic libels about the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians, the authors blame Israel for “driving out” Christians for the region – despite the strong evidence that the Christian churches in Israel are growing and thriving. The cause of these kinds of statements would appear to be a deeply rooted replacement theology. Institutionally, the Anglican Church has never adopted a statement along the lines of the Roman Catholic Church’s ground-breaking Nostra Aetate (1965). Adhering to the idea that the church has replaced the Jewish people, it does not accept that the literal ingathering of the Jewish people and their restoration to the land have any abiding Biblical significance in God’s economy. Should they speak out favourably about the modern State of Israel, King Charles and Prince William will face opposition from within the Anglican church. Let us hope and pray that they will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to understand God’s purposes with the Jewish people, and have the courage to speak out God’s truth without fear or favour. London, England - 10 September 2022: Tributes, cards, messages, flowers and gifts left for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Green Park and around Buckingham Palace following her 70 year reign. | Photo: Shutterstock www.facebook.com/c4israelAUS

28. 10 Theology Recommended Reading Johannes Gerloff n Theologian, Journalist, Lecturer & Author This is part seven in a series of articles based on the book Rejoice, You Nations, with His People, by Johannes Gerloff (due for release in 2022). Already in the first part of his Letter to the Romans, Paul had mentioned this advantage of the Jewish people: “To them the words of the [one and only] God were entrusted” (Romans 3:2). Beginning with Israel’s fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then at Mount Sinai and then “in manifold and diverse ways... through the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1) God revealed Himself to the nation of Israel. Norbert Baumert correctly emphasises: “The giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai is a personal gift of God to Israel, by which the people came of age and became legally responsible persons”. The Torah is primarily a gift, not a demand. It is not principally meant to be a ‘fence’, limitation or even restriction, but rather liberation from the curse of chaos. The Torah sets an objective and thus is the redemption from disorientation. The psalmist confesses (Psalm 147:20): “He has not done so to any other nation”. The Greek ‘nomothesia’ occurs only here in the New Testament. It means much more than just the content of the Torah. Literally translated, it means ‘giving of the law’ or ‘institution of the law’. This word signifies the act of transmitting God’s instructions. God chose and empowered the people of Israel in a unique way, in order to give ‘the imperishable light’ of the Torah to the world through them. All the writings of the Bible including the New Testament were authored by Jews. Over the centuries, the Jewish people kept the Hebrew language – the ‘tongue of the prophets’ – alive. Because of that fact, they have a much more immediate and living access to God’s word. In the field of interpreting Scripture, we, as non-Jews, can learn a lot from the Jewish people. Maybe there is a spark of truth in the explanation of Exodus 24:12 as transmitted by the Babylonian Talmud (Berachot 5a). There, Rabbi Levi bar Hama says in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish: “What is the meaning of the verse: ‘And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written that thou mayest teach them’? – the ‘Tables of stone’ are the Ten Commandments; ‘the Torah’ refers to the Pentateuch; ‘the commandment’ refers to the Mishnah; ‘which I have written’ refer to the Prophets and the Hagiographa; ‘that thou mayest teach them’ refers to the Gemara. It teaches [us] that all these things were given to Moses on Sinai”. Part of the nomothesia, the giving of Torah, is the historic timing, the cultural environment and the geographical location of the revelation of the word and character of God. All of this is inseparably connected to the Jewish people. If the explanation of the Torah belongs to the Israelites, it would be good for us ‘believers from the Gentile nations’, “to sit under the fig tree” (see John 1:48) – which in the Bible is also a picture for the Jewish people – and listen to our Jewish friends with an attitude of learning, instead of ‘hovering above it’ in a know-it-all, self- opinionated way. After all, it is written even about our future that instruction shall go forth from Zion, “and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Jesus said in Matthew 23:2-3: “In the seat of Moses sit the scribes and Pharisees. Everything they tell you practice and preserve”. Perhaps the Apostle Paul only wanted to reiterate and underline these words of Messiah Yeshua by emphasising that the transmission of God’s Torah belongs to the Israelites? The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan in the Middle East By Caroline B. Glick (Crown Forum, 2014) All efforts over recent decades to create an agreement between Israel and the PLO resulting in an independent Palestinian state existing ‘side by side with Israel in peace and security and mutual recognition’ have failed. Today there is very little support for a two- state solution. Commentators across the political spectrum, in Israel and Palestinian society, are discussing alternative solutions. These include the creation of one ‘unitary’ state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Other alternatives that are discussed include a federation, a confederation, and a Jewish state containing a territory on which Palestinians would have a limited autonomy. Journalist Caroline Glick’s The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East fits in the latter categ ory. She calls for Israel to annex the West Bank and to offer citizenship to Palestinians while ensuring Israel remains a Jewish state. Glick calls the two-state solution a ‘bipartisan pipe dream’. The conflict is really about the right Jews have to self- determination in their ancient homeland and about Israel’s right to protect itself from terrorism. Glick does not believe Palestinians are interested in peace with Israel. The so- called peace process has failed because of insincere efforts on the part of the Palestinians who continue to teach their children to hate ‘God’s chosen people.’ Glick believes anti-Israeli violence is not rooted in the occupation but in Palestinian opposition to Israel’s existence and anti-Semitism. The Giving of the Torah October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 | Photo: Shutterstock Biblical Roots By David Nekrutman Sermon on the Mount: Jesus as Legal Decider When I first read the expression, “You have heard it said..., but I say to you...” within the Sermon on the Mount in my Jewish-Christian relational training at the Israeli Consulate in New York 21 years ago, I immediately connected the expression to a famous teaching within Judaism that dates sometime between 410 BCE and 310 BCE: The Men of the Great Assembly said three maxims: Be measured in the legal process', raise up many disciples, make a fence for the Torah. Understanding the power and attraction of sin, these sages, which included Ezra, Malachi, and Mordechai, began to introduce a network of institutional directives to prevent the nation from violating the biblical commandments. The basis of institutional directives can be inferred from the Nazarite text in Numbers 6:1- 21. Although the vow is to distance oneself from the intoxicating beverage of wine, the Bible prevents the Nazarite from eating rais ins or tasting vinegar. Although raisins and vinegar never get a person drunk, the possible association with these items might ignite a chain reaction which could shortly lead to drinking wine and violating this sacred oath. The idea of abstaining from raisins and vinegar was a fence. Making a fence also applied to other areas of national Jewish life and practice. It is important to note that in the time of Jesus, the Tanakh (Old Testament) was the only Bible. Furthermore, besides the Essenes and Sadducees, there were many Pharisaic and other Jewish movements during the ti me of Jesus. Judaism was not a monolith during the end of the Second Temple period. Therefore, the expression “you have heard it said..., but I say to you...” is Jesus acting as legal and ethical decider for his followers in a time when different schools of Judaism were expounding on Jewish law and ethics. To highlight the above idea, let's address the topic of the justifiable grounds for divorce. While the biblical source for divorce is contained in four verses in Deuteronomy (24:1-4). The justifiable grounds for separation is how one interprets Deuteronomy 24:1 which states, “If a man takes a wife and is intimate with her, and she becomes unfavorable to him because he discovers in her an unseemly matter (ervah davar) ...” Focusing on the expression of ervah, the term’s association with sexual immorality (Leviticus 18), the House of Shammai says divorce is only allowed when infidelity is suspected. However, the House of Hillel honed in on the term ‘davar’ and permitted divorce even in a case as trivial as a wife burning dinner. However, Rabbi Akiva focuses upon the earlier part of the verse, “she becomes unfavorable to him,” as separate grounds for divorce. Even if she has done nothing wrong, he may divorce her if he desires another woman. The Bible allows divorce, but it is unclear as to the justifiable grounds for it. The rabbis are also aware of the tragedy of a failed marriage where even the altar in the Temple sheds a tear. When governing a nation in times when spouses may not be living the most exemplary life of Torah and commitment to the sacredness of the covenant of the marriage bond, the question remains on how to properly legislate. In the mainstream of Second Temple Jewish governance, divorce was allowed beyond suspicions of infidelity. However, to protect the covenantal bond of marriage and for his followers to live to a higher standard, Jesus enacts a fence around the Torah (Matthew 5:31- 32). He does not abolish divorce, rather Jesus, within the context of Jewish law, follows within the contours of the House of Shammai and allows divorce when there is suspicion of infidelity. Matthew 5-7 did not take place in one day at one setting. The author of Matthew is presenting the greatest hits of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount as well as an introduction into the Gospel message. However, to grasp the Sermon on the Mount teachings, in high definition, one must hear as first century Jews heard within the Judaisms of the day, the geographic location, and cultural mindset. Ther efore, I conclude when reading the, "You have heard it said..., but I say to you...," a bracket should be added for Jewish legal and ethical context: "You have heard it said [in the discussions of this subject within different Jewish movements] ..., but I say to you [as legal (or ethical) decider]..." David Nekrutman is an Orthodox Jewish Theologian involved in the sacred calling of Jewish-Christian relations for over two decades and currently serves as the Israel Director for The Isaiah Projects. In 2018, Mr. Nekrutman received his master's in biblical literature from Oral Roberts University.

32. 14 Modern History October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Marie-Louise n Weissenböck Christians for Israel Austria Sigd: The Ethiopian Jewish feast that became an official Israeli holiday Sigd is an Amharic word meaning ‘prostration’ or ‘worship’ and is the commonly used name for a holiday celebrated by the Ethiopian Jewish community (Beta Israel) on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. This date is exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur, usually falling in late October or November. According to Ethiopian Jewish tradition it is also the date on which God first revealed himself to Moses. The word itself derives from the Aramaic word ‘sged’ which means to prostrate oneself, as in prayer. The holiday symbolises the covenant, entered into between God and the Jewish people when the Torah was given and accepted at Mount Sinai, together with the reacceptance of the Torah , led by Ezra the scribe, before the construction of the Second Temple. Its date is analogous to the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot, when the Torah was given on Mount Sinai. Over many generations, the Jewish community in Ethiopia did not even have a Torah-scroll of its own and relied only on what is written in the Book of Nehemiah to maintain its Jewish traditions. Throughout the Middle Ages, the community fended off recurring attempts to force Christianity onto it and managed to maintain its Jewish identity. Sigd is, in part, a celebration of this – commemorating the commitment to preserving the Torah and keeping their Jewish identity throughout centuries of exile in Africa. Celebrating Sigd in Ethiopia Traditionally on Sigd, members of the Ethiopian Jewish community would fast for a day during which they would meet in the morning and walk together to the highest point on a mountain, symbolising Mount Sinai. An Ethiopian Jewish religious leader is known as a Kahen, from the Heb rew word Cohen, which means priest. A married Kahen is known as a Kes. The ‘Kessim,’ the spritual leaders of the community, would carry the ‘Orit’, the Ethiopian Torah, which is written in the ancient Geez language and comprised of the Five Books of Moses, the Prophetic writings, and other writings such as Song of Songs and Psalms. On top of the mountain the Kessim would recite parts of the Orit, including the Book of Nehemiah. In turn, members of the community would recite Psalms and remember the Torah, its traditions, and their desire to return to Jeru salem. In the afternoon they would descend back to the village and break their fast, dance and rejoice in a sort of seder reminiscent of Passover. Celebrating Sigd in Israel The Ethiopian community in Israel has been regularly celebrating the holiday by holding a mass ceremony on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, topped with a procession to the Western Wall. In February 2008, MK Uri Ariel submitted legislation to the Knesset that would see Sigd established as an Israeli national holiday. In July of that year the Knesset followed Ariel’s suggestion and added Sigd to the list of State holidays. The law states that in addition to being a state holiday, the Sigd would also be marked in a special assembly organised by the Ministry of Education. The holiday’s history, traditions and ceremonies today are included in the educational system’s curriculum and going to work during the holiday is optional. Sigd is now typically celebrated in a ceremony at the residence of Israel’s president and attended by thousands of Ethiopian Jews and dignitaries. Short News Enriched Algae with Extremely High Nutritional Value Researchers at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute in Haifa have developed an innovative technology that enables the growth of ‘enriched algae’ fortified with nutrients, proteins, fibre and minerals for human and animal consumption. According to the researchers, the state-of-the-art technology significantly increases the growth rate, protein content, healthy carbohydrates and minerals in the algae’s tissues. This makes the ‘enriched algae’ a natural superfood with extremely high nutritional value that can be used in the future for the health food industry and to secure an unlimited food source. Breakthrough for Heart Disease A team of Jewish-Arab doctors at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem/Jerusalem repaired a life- threatening aneurysm in a patient's aortal arch - in the immediate vicinity of the heart - using catheter surgery for the first time in Israel in May. Since then, other operations of this type have been performed. This eliminated the need for otherwise risky open-heart surgery. An implant is guided to the heart via arteries in the leg and/or arm and covers the balloon-like aneurysm in the aorta, which then no longer needs to be removed. Several hundred patients in Europe and New Zealand have been treated in clinical trials with the delicate Dacron implant called Nexus, which was developed by the Endospan company in Herzliya Pituah. It now also has certification from the European CE authority. Turkey & Israel Conclude Air Transport Agreement The Israeli Cabinet has ratified the air transport agreement recently concluded with Turkey. The agreement is among the measures taken as part of the normalization of relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv and paves the way for Israeli airlines to resume flights to Turkey after a 15-year absence. President Reuven Rivlin, at the prayer service marking the Sigd holiday, the main Ethiopian celebration in Israel. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons Ethiopian Jewish Feast People of the Book Tal Hartuv n Israeli Tour Guide | Author | Cartoonist Right on the corner of King George and Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem is Pomeranz, the most frequented English book shop in Israel. Desperate for decent bookstores selling English volumes, hundreds of Anglo Israelis come from all over the country to the shop every month. The astonishing pokey bookstore has the largest selection of Jewish-themed books under one roof in the world. Both clients and time have a knack for getting lost in the 2-story store whose shelves are piled with books from floor to ceiling. There are even some - so rumour has it - who will mark aside a whole day in their diaries to browse through the thousands of volumes. No surprise then that when the shop’s founder, 68-year-old Michael Pomeranz, passed away a few weeks ago, thousands mourned - yet gave thanks for his life. It was nearly forty years ago when American-born Michael hopped on a plane to Israel after visiting Poland to pay homage to his family murdered in the Holocaust. When he arrived in Israel, he got on a bus and immediately felt as if he had come home. In the States, he had worked as an undercover narcotics officer, followed by several years in the fire service, where he even won a gold medal in the fireman’s Olympics for powerlifting. It was at an international gathering of second-generation Holocaust survivors in the USA that his Judaism took a turn. He received an Artscroll Bible as a present and began studying. It wasn’t long before he found himself to be the president of a synagogue which meant he had to deliver a s ermon on a regular basis. This meant more study. Michael was hooked on the wonders of Jewish history. Michael knew it was time to come home to Israel. Upon making Aliyah with his family, he soon saw that the books for the then small Anglo-Jewish Israeli community were mostly for the ultra-Orthodox. Wanting to supply books for every Jew, no matter their denomination or affiliation with a synagogue, he and his wife took a risk. They emptied their pockets, rented a small basement, and purchased a few hundred books that would be for a wider audience. At night time, when not manning the store , in order to advertise the shop, he hung flyers up in apartment buildings in areas where English speakers lived. He ran his store with dedication and vision, always looking to make accessible to customers, books about the likes of Zionism, the Bible and spirituality. The business grew so fast that they soon had to find larger premises. But Pomeranz was known to the locals as much more than a business or bookstore. It was a meeting place, a place to come and ask the wise man for guidance and advice. It was also a place of outreach to Jews who had no real connection with their Jewish heritage. Many a time, a stranger walked into the shop and ended up having a Shabbat meal with Michael and his family. Although Michael passed away recently, the “spirit” of the man remains on the cover of every book that he sold. Pomeranz is the largest Judica English bookstore in Israel. | Photo: Facebook page @mpomeranz bookseller

34. YES, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TOWARDS... C4I Ministry 1 Teaching Resources Price inc GST Quantity SUB TOTAL $ _______ MY TOTAL $____________ $___________ $___________ General donation (inc costs for Israel & Christian’s Today ) thinc. (countering anti Israel “lawfare” ) $30-$50 ____________ ____________ $________ The End Times Through Jewish Eyes (DVD) by Ps Enoch Lavender Why Israel? $15 (BOOK) $30 (DVD) $35 (DVD + Study Guide) $5 (Study Guide) $5 (Facilitators Guide) by Willem Glashouwer $36 each ____________ Behold He Comes (BOOK: 800 pages) by Willem Glashouwer Living A Life In Victory (BOOK) by Willem Glashouwer $20 each ____________ $20 each ____________ UPDATED Rebuilding the Temple – Ps Enoch Lavender $20 each Until... (BOOK) by Willem Glashouwer $25 each ____________ CHEQUE OR MONEY ORDERS: Please make out to: Christians for Israel Australia Inc (don’t use staples) INTERNET BANKING: BSB: ANZ BANK— 014-279 Account No: 405318551 Ref: Your name & gift purpose Please confirm by emailing info@c4israel.com.au MY DETAILS: Name: __________________________________________ Christians for Israel Australia ABN: 79 941 819 693 ICT1022 4 3 Social Welfare Projects $___________ Hineni soup kitchen Jerusalem ($10 per cooked meal) $___________ $___________ Holocaust Survivor Comfort Ukraine ($50 or best gift) MDA Rapid Response Vehicle (every donation will be doubled) $___________ Meals on Wheels Ukraine ($10 per cooked meal) $___________ $___________ Help Ethiopian Jews make Aliyah ($875 per person) First Home in the Homeland in Israel ($675 pp - new cost) $___________ $___________ Food Parcels Ukraine: $25 (new cost) per parcel for 1 month/pp ADI (for children with disabilities) $30 or your best gift $___________ CFOIC (Judea and Samaria) Heartland ($30 or your best gift) 2 Aliyah—Bring the Jews Home $350 One Person from Ukraine* $6250 One Busload from Ukraine (25 persons)* $1460 Bnei Menashe—Asian exiles (1 person) $1250 One Family from Ukraine (5 persons)* *NOTE: Certificates for individuals and families from Ukraine only. MEMBER ID (IF KNOWN) : C4IA + while stocks last 16 From Our Projects October 2022 | Israel & Christians Today Tishrei - Cheshvan 5783 Keeping Israel’s Neediest Children Safe Marie-Louise Weissenböck n Christians for Israel Austria For 40 years, the Jaffa Institute has met a great need by providing after-school care and education to thousands of underprivileged children in Israel. They receive educational, social and material support to escape the cycle of poverty. The children come from different religious, cultural, ethnic and national backgrounds. The Jaffa Institute operates in some of the most deprived and poverty-stricken parts of Israel’s cities, where 50% of the population live below the poverty line and 30% regularly receive local welfare benefits. Around 1,000 needy children and young people at eight schools in the Jaffa area are provided with a sandwich package every school day. Many young people from difficult backgrounds become street children due to negligence. To address this problem, the Jaffa Institute operates a campus with three dormitories in Bet Shemesh. Here, children and youth at-risk can experience a safe environment with trained educators. The campus has a sports field, a library and a large dining hall. The Jaffa Institute operates 19 out-of-school educational centers in Jaffa, South Tel Aviv, Bat Yam and Yehud. The children receive a hot lunch and participate in an educational, therapeutic and recreational programme designed to close the educational gap between at-risk children and their better-off peers and to develop the children’s social skills and sense of self-worth. The centers provide participants with a safe and nurturing alternative to being unsupervised on the streets and are open every weekday after school during the school year. A camp programme is offered during school holidays. Rachel’s mother is a drug- addict. Her three older siblings were born addicted to narcotics and Rachel recognises that she is ‘lucky’ that she was born healthy. Until the age of five, Rachel was raised by two aunts and moved around frequently. At six years old she was relocated to an ultra- Orthodox orphanage /boarding school. While Rachel progressed with her studies, the ultra-Orthodox environment proved trying. Though Rachel’s mother is Jewish, her father is an Arab. At the age of 14, Rachel started rebelling in school. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, she turned to the streets. At Beit Ruth Girls’ Hostel, Rachel is part of a community that accepts her for who she is and helps her to achieve her goals. Rachel receives therapy, counseling, academic tutoring and life skills training. She is shown that she can have a future of promise, love and security. Rachel desperately longs to be reunited with a ‘mother’ and takes to the streets to search for her drug-addicted birthmother during every home visit. Nonetheless, when she returns to Beit Ruth after her visits she says: “It feels good to be back home”. Rachel is bright, charming, and a gifted singer. When asked about goals for the future she is quick to recognise the mistakes of her parents and exclaims: “My dream is for me to raise my own children”. Rachel, aged 15 You can donate to help the children at risk through the Jaffa Institute by completing the coupon below. IF YOU DON’T KNOW OR HAVE YOUR MEMBER ID PLEASE INCLUDE: Address: _____________________________________ _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________ Email: _______________________________________ PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND RETURN TO: Christians for Israel Australia, PO Box 1508, Springwood, QLD, 4127 or donate securely online c4israel.com.au/donate For enquires: 07 3088 6900 SUB TOTAL $____________