2nd Feast of Trumpets Alarm on the Teitel Trial

Part two of the previously posted Rosh HaShana 5771 feast of trumpets alarm comes to us from David and Leah Ortiz in Ariel, Israel.

David writes:

As you know, our case is a precedent setting case in Israel. It is the first time in Israel's history that a Jew put a bomb in another Jewish person's home because of ideological differences. It is called a hate crime.

We as a family have forgiven Jack Teitel, but just as the Lord fully forgave King David of his sin with Bathsheba, restitution and the law of reaping and sowing still followed. As was prophesied to him - the sword shall never leave your house. (2Samuel 12; Gal. 6:7)

It's been two and a half years since the incident, and the Lord has given us total victory and continues to do so in the lifting up of the name of Yeshua in the Israeli and international Jewish media where it really counts. However, there are three points why we continue to pursue a trial and jail sentence;

1. For the sake of Justice;

2. That others who might have been behind the bombing besides Teitel will be captured and stopped in order to avoid more bloodshed. At this time, just as Paul the Apostle claimed his rights under Roman Law in several instances (Acts 16:35-39, 22:25-29 , 23:25-26, Romans 13:1-7) we also want to take advantage of our legal rights to protect others against such people.

3. So that those who hate Israel will not be able to use this case for their advantage.

A law enforcement officer explained to me from the beginning after the bombing, "Sir, you have three problems; criminal, religious and political".

On September 4, we were hoping to receive a decision on whether Jack Teitel is mentally competent to stand trial, however the decision was postponed until December 2nd. I, as an ordinary non-legally trained person, came to the same conclusion as others who were present. The prosecutor was intimidated and lacked experience and skill before the judges and the Defense team.

If Teitel is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and is deemed not responsible for his past actions, and is sentenced only to do time in a psychiatric institution, as of yet uncovered facts as to how he plotted his crimes and who helped him will not be revealed and as such, will endanger all Messianic believers in Israel and will embolden others to follow in his footsteps with no fear of due process of law.

REQUEST FOR ACTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today we are urging you once again to use the power of the pen, and to send emails and faxes to Government Ministries in Israel, since this is a political problem also. We need a mass mailing to these Government offices and to newspapers in Israel to ensure that Teitel stands trial and goes to prison. If you would consider forwarding this email to your mailing lists, or contacts, we would greatly appreciate it.

Also, please view the latest CBN interview taken on Sept. 4

We appreciate any effort and help on this important matter, and of course, please continue to pray.

Yours in Yeshua,

David Ortiz


Contact:

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman
2nd address is to the ministry of foreign affairs
aliberman@knesset.gov.il and/or sar@mfa.gov.il

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu bnetanyahu@knesset.gov.il

Editor of the Jerusalem Post feedback@jpost.com

Write to the Editor of the HaAretz newspaper from this website: http://www.haaretz.com/contact-us

Editor of Ynet, online newspaper of Y'diot Ahronot, most widely read Hebrew newspaper in Israel, but is in English on the internet as well news@ynetnews.com or editor-in-chief@y-i.co.il

Ministry of Justice Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
29 Salah a-Din Street, P.O.B 49029, Jerusalem 91490
Telephone: 011-972-2-6466332 011-972-2-646-6648
Fax: 011-972-2-646-7023

Rosh HaShana 5771 Sounding an Alarm for an Anti-Missionary Conference in Jerusalem Sept 14th

Rosh HaShana 5771 – is actually one of the prophetic feasts, the Feast of Trumpets. Throughout the Old and New Covenants, trumpets are a symbol of prophetic warning.

In the Arrows from Zion & Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries list this week our Priority Prayer Focus is an actual sounding of the alarm. We are issuing a shofar blast, a trumpet to rally in intercessory prayer for the believers of Israel as next Tuesday, Sept 14th an anti-missionary conference is being held calling all activists against Messianic believers to meet together with the leaders.

This is a grave threat and ominous gathering which leaders in the Weekly Summary are asking us to join in prayer about.

The anti-Messianic leaders have called for activists throughout Israel to come to conference in Jerusalem next Tuesday 9/14. Pray for a spirit of division in their ranks and that what the enemy means for evil, the LORD will use for good!

In the late 1990’s when Netanyahu was Prime Minister, there was a mean drive to legislate against the gospel and the Messianic believers in Israel to outlaw all sharing of faith. This will be one element of the strategy in the upcoming conference, plus a release to persecute more strenuously. Pray for the threat to be made known to the Israeli public – for a blind eye to cease among government, legal and law enforcement authorities.

In the late 1990’s as activists were trying to legislate against the gospel and Messianic believers, a young ultra-Orthodox stood up and said, “I am only waiting for the Rabbis’ Approval to Kill Them” (source: Haaretz coverage of a meeting held by Rabbi Deri against the Beer Sheva Messianic congregation). That approval has been recently given by West Bank rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yitzhak Ginsberg.

Anti-Messianic believer activism is heating up in Israel, even as rabbis with superb relationships with Christians encourage Christians to reject any Jewish believers who share their faith in Jesus with fellow Jews. This is the valley of decision for many Christians: will we compromise our faith by rejecting the Jewish members of the Body of Messiah/Christ. Pray many will find the courage to stand united as one body.


Anti-Missionary Conference
The following is being reprinted here by permission of the author, Messianic pastor in Jerusalem, Eddie Santoro of Zion's Glory Ministry and Ahavat Yeshua (Love of Yeshua) Congregation.

Unity and division are powerful spiritual realities which can impact situations for the good or for the bad. In Luke 11:17, Yeshua declared that "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall". In Genesis 11:9, when speaking of the Tower of Babel, God declares the power of unity when he says; "if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." And Paul exhorts in Ephesians 4:13 that "unity of the faith" is one of the prerequisites to "becoming mature, and attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Messiah."

In every situation, unity brings about great power and division will cause a house to fall. As I have pondered recent events in Israel, I have been impressed with the need for us to pray either for unity or division, depending on the different events.

Anti Missionary Conference
Next week in Israel's largest national conference center in Jerusalem, the enemies of the Gospel will be gathering in unity to address the growing problem of "Missionaries" in Israel. Their translation of the word "missionaries" is "Messianic Jews".

The problem the religious community is addressing has arisen because the Messianic Jews are succeeding in bringing Israelis to faith and are ever more visible to the Israeli public. Recently, there have been major outreach events in the towns and cities of Israel, articles written about us in major Israeli newspapers and several television interviews.

This past week in synagogues throughout Israel, leaflets were handed out advertising the coming "anti missionary" conference and encouraging people to come. No doubt those interested will be bused in from throughout the country. Many of Israel's leading anti-messianic organizations along with important area rabbis will be taking the opportunity to "educate" the people on the "impossibility" of being Jewish and believing in Yeshua, as well as informing them of the great danger Messianic Jews are to traditional Judaism.

This is the first time that there has been (such) a concerted effort by numerous anti messianic organizations against us and this new unity could increase the intensity of the daily persecution that we face.

Please pray that a spirit of division would be on this gathering of religious Jews. Pray that their house would be divided and that no effective strategies would be achieved in their intensifying battle against those of us who believe. Also, please pray that we would know the right strategy in response to this event. Pray that in God's mercy, even as they speak against Yeshua, that some hearts would be touched by his great mercy and love.

Israelprayer also got this information update in from Yeshua's Inheritance pastor Howard Bass in Beer Sheva.

Howard writes, "Two of the main speakers at the big 'The Missionary Enemy' in Jerusalem next Tuesday, the 14th, are the eminent Beer Sheva Chief Rabbi Yehuda Deri, and the director of Yad L'Achim, Rabbi Lifshitz.

This is not actually the first time such a conference has been held, but it may be the first time at such a large venue in Jerusalem. After the 1998 demonstration against us, they had one at the hotel in Beer Sheva, which is where the comment was made about 'waiting for them to tell us to kill them'.

"Another time they had one in a synagogue in Beer Sheva, where I went to try to listen from outside. Another time they did it in Arad, and using Beer Sheva as an example of their effectiveness.

"In every case, only their own religious community came, despite inviting 'the public'. At one, they claimed to have proof of their accusations against us, but produced absolutely nothing, not even the parents of the children which we supposedly had kidnapped to baptize. It was all a 'show' to get support. The 'public' for them does not include gentiles, nor any recognized Jewish believer in Yeshua."


This input also from Asher Intrater, of the Love of Yeshua Jerusalem congregation and Revive-Israel Ministry

Asher writes: The conference most likely has three primary aims.

The first is to raise money for the anti-"missionary" missionaries.

The second is to convince Jewish organizations not to receive money from Christian Zionists (a goal that we are not necessarily opposed to).

The third is to stop all efforts of evangelism to our people. This third goal is what brings them into conflict with us.

Please pray with us that

1. the forces of Satan would be divided (Luke 11:17),
2. what was intended for evil will be turned to good (Genesis 50:20),
3. the grace of salvation would be poured out on religious Jews (Romans 10:1; Zechariah 12:10),
4. the local body of Messiah would be more united than ever in the face of the growing attacks against us (Acts 1:14; 2:1; 4:32),
5. we would have wisdom on how to react to "anti-Messianic" groups (Matthew 10:16-25; Acts 4:29).

In relation to this growing opposition of religious forces against the Messianic believers in Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin who has been under great pressure lately from the anti-messianic activists for his relationships with Christians wrote an Op-Ed for the Jerusalem Post encourging Christians to distrust the Messianics who share their faith. Messianic Asher Intrater Answers Rabbi Riskin's Jerusalem Post article "Dialogue: The Messianic movement"

On August 31st the Jerusalem Post ran an Op-Ed by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin title "Dialogue: The Messianic movement". The sub-head to the title read, "There is a minority who use deceptive proselytizing practices to win Jewish converts."

It is easy to say the Messianic community is a monolith and all wish to bring the Gospel to every Jew. The truth is that many just want to practice their faith in private and have no active agenda in missionizing other Jews.

However, there is a minority who use deceptive proselytizing practices to win Jewish converts.

This is spiritually offensive and says those who practice Judaism in its current state are not living a salvific expression of the covenant.

Riskin also denied that any persecution against believers is taking place in Israel. This was an article meant for the consumption of Israel-supporting Christians, so the Messianic believers in Israel would be discounted.

Here is an answer to Rabbi Riskin's JPost Op-Ed by Messianic Jewish minister, Asher Intrater, as it was submitted to the newspaper last week. So far, the editors have chosen not to publish Intrater's response article.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin's recently published article ("Dialogue: The Messianic Movement," Jerusalem Post, 8-27-2010) describing his assessment of Messianic Judaism demands a thoughtful response by someone who is part of this community.

Rabbi Riskin is well-respected in both Christian and Jewish circles. He is dynamic, intelligent, spiritual, and has great leadership abilities. We respect him as well for those qualities.

Furthermore, there are many issues in which we are in total agreement. - He promotes dialogue between Christians and Jews. - We should emphasize common ground in interfaith dialogue. - Cooperation between Israel and the Church is a national duty. - Pioneers of reconciliation face a barrage of criticism. - We are under attack from Islamic Jihad and secular materialism. We Messianic Jews are not asking anyone in either Orthodox Judaism or Christian Zionism to agree with us. We believe our position is correct, just as they do. We ask others to examine our beliefs with the same respect that we give to theirs.

Having said that, there are certain points in which we would disagree with Rabbi Riskin's statements. While he says that he does not believe our community has been persecuted, we know otherwise. Our community is not persecuted by the State of Israel. However, it cannot be ignored that a fringe minority of Ultra-Orthodox Jews do execute pre-meditated attacks against us.

Please consider:

1. The Ortiz family whose son Amiel miraculously survived an attempt of murder upon his life.
2. Mrs. Conforti, whose bakery business in which she has worked from pre-dawn to post-dusk for years was deliberately destroyed.
3. The Beer Sheva Messianic congregation was ransacked by a mob (an attack recorded on film).
4. The smaller Messianic congregation in Arad has been physically attacked repeatedly.
5. Dozens of new immigrants have been denied citizenship simply because of their faith (all of whom are Jewish enough to have been slaughtered in the Holocaust, and have relatives who were).
6. Numerous Messianic Jews have been beaten, attacked, kidnapped, spit upon, cut off from families, and so on.

The list could go on, but this should be enough to make the point that one should not be "astonished" (in Rabbi Riskin's words) when asked about persecution against Messianic Jews. These attacks were perpetrated by extremist elements of the Ultra-Orthodox (who do not represent mainstream Judaism in our eyes). The ONLY reason these attacks took place was because the victims were Messianic Jews.

Rabbi Riskin compared us with the Mormon Church in America, which is not received by most of the Evangelical Christian community. The example, however, is not relevant for two reasons: First, Judaism is not solely a religion; it is also a people group. Secondly, Orthodox Judaism has religious monopoly in Israel, which Evangelicals do not have in the United States.

While many Evangelical Christians would not agree with the tenets of the Mormon faith, they would not deny their right to be Americans, nor their right to be part of the religious spectrum that exists in the United States. Mormons have full legal rights to conduct all religious and social duties, from birth to burial. Riskin has denied our God-given right to be Jews. We are denied legal rights to perform religious duties necessary within our community. Therefore, the comparison to the Mormons is not at all parallel.

We are also accused of "proselytizing" (a claim we deny by our very insistence to remain Jewish and live a Jewish lifestyle). Disseminating our beliefs is a basic right of freedom of expression, thought, religion, and the press. In fact, we do not disseminate our faith as many Ultra-Orthodox missionaries do, who approach cars in the middle of traffic, ask people to lay tefillin in shopping centers, and drive mission-mobiles around the city with loudspeakers in their "proselytizing" efforts.

Rabbi Riskin accused us of being "deceptive." Yet our beliefs are openly stated to anyone who asks. There is no hiding or pretending. It is virtually impossible to join our gatherings for more than a few moments and not understand who we are. Expressions of Jewish practice, from circumcision to Shabbat to Feasts of the Torah to Bar Mizvah to Chuppa, are an essential part of our faith. There are differing levels of expression of those customs within our communities. However, each person's religious expression is inherent to his or her faith. We have stood with integrity for those values despite criticism from both Christian and Rabbinic circles.

Finally, if our view of the Messiah is said to put us out of the realm of Judaism, then what about the Chabad movement which has invested millions of dollars in advertising campaigns to proclaim that their Rebbe is the Messiah? (Their "Meshichist" stream even believes that he was raised from the dead and answers prayers of his followers from heaven.) Are Lubavitchers not Jews? What about the Tel Aviv "Messiah?" What about those who proclaim that reciting the name of Nachman brings world redemption? What about professors of Tanakh in Israeli universities who do not believe in God? What about Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, New Kabbalah and New Age? All of those above differ from Orthodox Judaism "mainstream." Are they also “out of the realm of Judaism?”

My point here is not to try to convince anyone to believe what we believe. We simply wish to stop the "de-legitimizing" of our community. We are Jewish by birth and Jewish by choice. We pay taxes, serve in the army, believe in the God of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Messiah of Israel.

Sincerely,
Asher Intrater Congregational Leader – Ahavat Yeshua, Jerusalem
Love of Yeshua Messianic Congregation


We ask you to pray over these things, even as the entire focus of many are upon how anti-Israeli forces in the nations are heating up. We agree the latter needs prayer intercession – but first, our prayers must be for the household of faith who are expanding the Lord’s kingdom in Israel & the Middle East.

Jack Teitel: Psyched Out? or just Psyched Up by Radical Ideology?

SPECIAL NOTICE July 15 2010
FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
May be copied for use in Prayer Gatherings

There have been several developments over the past 24 hours that will impact the case against Jack Teitel. Teitel, who confessed to Israeli law enforcement worked with the anti-missionary group Yad L'Achim, is the Jewish terrorist who attempted to murder Messianic pastor David Ortiz in Ariel. Instead of the gift basket bomb killing Pastor David, it was open by their teenage son, Ami, who miraculously lived through the blast but was severely injured. Ami has just completed his 14th surgery to repair his damaged body as a result of the blast that nearly killed him on Purim in 2008.

First Development to Report: The hearing in the trial against Jack Teitel that had been scheduled to take place on Wednesday July 14th was postponed until September. The hearing was set for the court psychiatrist to report on whether Teitel was mentally fit to stand trial. Leah Ortiz wrote in an update on 7/13:

We were informed today by our lawyer that the hearing scheduled for tomorrow to determine Yakov Teitel's ability to stand trial has been postponed again by the psychiatrists until the beginning of September! There could be many reasons for this, but at any rate it is clear that the court psychiatrist is continuing to re-evaluate. Our lawyer said that the term - "psychotic state" which is what the psychiatrist has determined that Teitel is in, is like the flu in psychiatric terms - something that comes and goes, easily. All we can do is wait - since God is always working, we will give Him the glory and assume that it is all in His hands, and that no matter what the plan or scheme of the enemy of our souls, all things will work together for good. We continue to pray for Teitel and his family's salvation, for our lawyer, the judges, the families of the other victims, and all concerned with this case. We pray that what needs to be brought out into the light will be revealed, because we believe that the Lord wants to do something bigger than what we can see at this time.

Second Development to Report: There is breaking news in Israel on 7/15 that the Israeli security service Shin Bet has arrested another Jewish terrorist from the extreme right-wing settlers for a series of shooting attack murders of Palestinians on West Bank Roads. As a media report in an Israeli newspaper put it,

"A Jewish suspect is brought to the Shin Bet for questioning while he enjoys significant backing from the right: there is an organized group of activists, defense attorneys, and media handlers, all making an effort to extricate him from the hands of the law unscathed." Source: Ha'aretz

There are several similarities involved in this most recent arrest and the arrest of Jack (Yakov) Teitel and this latest arrest should make it even more difficult to get the Israeli public to buy into the notion that Teitel's murderous actions were caused by mentally instability rather than an extremist right wing ideology.

Third Development to Report: There is a lengthy new profile article on Jack Teitel published Wednesday in a Jewish online magazine, Tablet - A New Read on Jewish Life. "V" is for Victory is a fair article, with interviews by the Ortiz family included written by a non-Jewish Polish reporter in his 30's. Tablet Magazine was going to publish the story in installments, but instead published the full profile in one article.

Please read this article - it is important because it is going out before a wide Jewish readership and the article is not steeped in denial of the truth of Teitel's radicalism.

Now that another radical settler has been arrested in almost the exact same circumstances as Teitel - except that he is not charged with the attempted murder of a Messianic or a Leftist - it shows that Teitel is radical, not mentally defective in the psychiatric sense, but radicalized to extremist violence.


Donna Diorio
Arrows from Zion - A Ministry of Israelprayer.com
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Slippery Slope

As someone well versed in how Islamic terrorists are making such gains globally by presenting themselves as victims fighting oppressors, I can't tell you how it grieves me to watch the same dynamics occurring in religious persecution against Jewish believers in Jesus. Like the Peacenik Left sides with Hamas & Friends, many Christians can't face up to the truth in their alliances.


Religious persecution of believing Jews doesn't just happen in Israel. I know of a young man - a virtuoso pianist - who was targeted after participating in the Dallas COUNTER-protest of the "Free Gaza" Flotilla supporters.

It wasn't the Hamas supporters that targeted him, but the guy who is supposed to be the voice of the anti-defamation of Jews. Word has it this Jewish leader took it upon himself to go after the young man's Jewish connections at college - 'reporting' him for not being a 'real' Jew because he was Messianic. So much for anti-defamation.

This kind of stuff happens all the time. The same man, whenever there is an anti-Semitic hate crime against the Messianic synagogues, invests his efforts in making a point to the press that the persecutors made a big mistake, because Messianic Jews are not "real" Jews.

When a crowd was whipped up in Beer Sheva to invade, disrupt, damage property, cause harm to several individuals and generally intimidate the Messianic congregation, the courts refused to hold the rabble rousers accountable.

In Israel, of course, the persecution intensity is much worse because law enforcement and the courts do not enforce the protections afforded to every other group. When there is not legal accountability, persecution increasingly spirals out of control.

As someone well versed in how Islamic terrorists are making such gains globally by presenting themselves as victims fighting oppressors, I can't tell you how it grieves me to watch the same dynamics occurring in religious persecution against Jewish believers in Jesus. Like the Peacenik Left sides with Hamas & Friends, many Christians can't face up to the truth in their alliances.

Many of my Messianic friends don't like the story told, but I consider it enabling the persecutors not to speak out. After a decade of speaking out it is personally frustrating, even disillusioning, to try to tell the truth about these things to Christians who just are unwilling to accept it...or even hear it.

Those Jewish believers who don't want the story told are afraid it will cause Christians to turn on Israel. They also worry it will create a rise in anti-Semitism. So they steel themselves to take it on the chin while the majority of Israel-supporting Christians remain in a fantasy world about the persecution Jewish believers are enduring.

I have two major focuses: the Israeli Body of Messiah and Islamist terrorism. It is really a sad revelation to me how often the persecution of the believers in Israel parallels with the same dynamics surrounding Islamist persecution.

For example, how the strangest bedfellows are formed between the persecutors and their supporters.

In Islamist terrorism, their supporters are peaceniks and other Leftist radicals who are anti-war, big on freedom of speech trumping national security, anti-immigration controls or securing our borders. These folks never saw an Islamist terrorist they didn't think was innocent.

In religious persecution of Jews who believe in Jesus, this is more the reluctance of Christians to understand that the same spirit that opposed Jesus and His disciples in the first century, are still in full operation today. Instead of listening to ANYONE that tries to tell them the truth, they cling to a fantasy view - 'Persecution may be happening, but NOT from the Jews I'm dealing with." Yeah right.

In terrorist circles, the public image is everything. That is why at the "Free Gaza" rally in Dallas the Hamas supporters were shouting slogans like, "Stop the Hate" or "One, two, three, four! We don't want your bloody war!" or "Free Palestine!"

It is all about making the aggressors look like the victims. That message plays well with people who are willing to stay on the surface emotional response level.

I could say the same about Christians who refuse to listen, year after year and approach after approach from different leaders in the Messianic community attempting to educate Israel-supporting Christian leaders about what is really happening to Messianic Jews. These Christians believe that what they are doing in Israel is so 'valuable' to the Lord they will not listen to the Jews the Lord has already saved!

What that speaks to unsaved Jews is that we Christians don't really value Jews, even when they are our spiritual brothers and sisters. This is NEVER going to make unsaved Israel jealous, fellow Christians. Not ever. How we treat the Jews who believe speaks more loudly than how we treat unsaved Israel. You better believe it!

I know of countless Messianic leaders who have been shunned, ignored, accused of just being jealous or even publicly and ferociously attacked by Christian leaders who did not want to hear the truth about who they were supporting in the traditional Jewish community.

It would be easy to name names. But the Lord rebuke them. There is such a thing as WILLFUL ignorance.

If those in the Israel-supporting community don't think it is a test how long The Church staves off coming to grips with the truth and throwing our support behind our spiritual brothers and sisters in Israel, I believe you are mistaken. It is a test we have been failing miserably.

One of the favorite quotes of Israel-supporting Christians is how God is going to judge the nations by how they treated Israel. So what do you think that means for Christians who supported the Israelis who persecuted the Body of the LORD? Think God doesn't care about that?



Okay one already-public example (only one of several I'm aware of) David Brickner of Jews for Jesus put out a letter to JFJ supporters around 2004/5, about how many top Christian leaders were supporting Rabbi Eckstein's Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Rabbi Eckstein who opposes Jewish evangelism.

In a Washington Times article:

"There are those who have worked both overtly and subtly to demonize Jewish believers in Jesus and to make the work of Jewish evangelism seem unacceptable," David Brickner, president of Jews for Jesus, wrote in a six-page letter titled "The War on Jewish Evangelism" sent to 110,000 donors.

"If you press [certain evangelicals], they will say, 'We believe everyone needs Jesus to be saved, but we don't want to be offending people,' " Mr. Brickner said in an interview.

FOR HIS TROUBLE, Brickner was accused at the end of the article by Rabbi Eckstein of only being envious of the money involved. Brickner was also ferociously attacked at the time by Jerry Falwall and Gary Bauer.

They are by far not the only Christian leaders to respond to Messianic concerns in this way, nor was David Brickner the only believing Jew to be harshly dismissed for relating our concerns. Many have been accused of jealousy and worse when raising the legitimate concerns about Christians circumventing the Jewish vision for Jewish salvation.

Rabbi Eckstein is not the only person to accuse Messianic Jews or Jews for Jesus of "just being jealous". Far from it. The same accusation has been leveled against any believing Jew who tries to educate the major Israel-supporting Christian leaders about groups that are in hostile to Jews bringing the Good News to other Jews. Leaders of mega-ministries, heads of Christian TV. Many of these leaders court some of the most gospel-hostile Israeli religious crowd on their TV sets while calling our spiritual Jewish brothers and sisters "just jealous." It is the scandal of our times.

"Some well-known pastors and Christian leaders have either endorsed those who oppose Jewish evangelism or have CAREFULLY AVOIDED endorsing anyone who DOES engage in effective gospel outreach to Jewish people," wrote Jews for Jesus president David Brickner. Because of such endorsements, he added, "the cause of Christ among Jewish people is being hurt." source

It is not just about the money, but let's face it, money is the necessary fuel for almost all spiritual vision.

The $84,281,498 that Rabbi Eckstein collected in 2008 did a lot of good things in Israel. What it did not do is fuel a single vision from God for the salvation of Israel.

The most well-funded believing ministry in Israel, by comparison, was $2,547,354. The majority of Israeli ministries receive far less in donations.

$84,281,498
2,547,354

That is an inkling of how much in dollar terms the Church is ignoring the vision of Jesus for the salvation of Israel.


Wake up Church. If you want to make Israel jealous of our faith, just try blessing the Body of Messiah in Israel with your donations to bless the people of Israel. They do every single outreach ministry that you have ever been prompted to give to do to help Israel - from tree planting, to feeding the hungry, and from helping Jews make aliyah to taking care of Holocaust survivors and terror victims.

There is not a single good project you could donate to help Israel that could not be channeled through the believing ministries of Israel.

Except maybe paying the salaries of anti-missionaries paid to persecute believers...and this is what is happening way more often than you can fathom.



For an example of my PARALLEL activism on the Islamist Terrorism front, here is an example last week of rebuttal to the Dallas Morning News Op-Ed of Mohamed Elibiary "a national security policy analyst and one of three civilian members on the Advisory Board of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He recently testified in Congress on disrupting terror plots before the Homeland Security Committee’s Intelligence subcommittee." Op-Ed

and rebutting comment.Donna Diorio 10:03 AM June 25 2010

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A Soldier's Story

An Arab pastor, the frequent guest speaker at a Tel Aviv Messianic congregation, is seen here blessing the IDF soldiers from congregation who are about to enter the 2008-09 Gaza War.


Over the past 9 years of receiving the weekly prayer requests from the ministries of Israeli Jewish believers, we have seen countless requests for prayers for the children of ministry leaders and congregants serving in the Israeli army right out of high school.

Sometimes these prayers were expressed with anxiety that only a parent who sees their... See More child going into an extremely dangerous assignment knows. We've had prayer requests for children being sent into some of the most dangerous terror nests in the Palestinian territories, and prayer requests for children sent into combat zones, like Lebanon and Gaza.

One thing I know about all the believing parents who ever requested prayer for their children, they believed with all their hearts that the Israeli military is the most ethical, moral fighting force in the world. I believe that as well.

Much of the world believes the myth of Israeli Defense Forces as dirty, rotten b%st#rds killing everything that moves. Those are lies from the accuser of the brethren, and if you believe the terrorist propaganda over what the Body of Messiah in Israel testifies to be the truth, then you need to do some serious soul and fact searching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuCzHQB1sks&feature=player_embedded

Please watch this video which corresponds with the testimony we have received from the believers of Israel for many years concerning the military their children serve in.

Also, we recommend you read the book by Mosab Hassan Yosef, "Son of Hamas".

The son of a founder and spiritual leader of the Hamas terror group, Mosab became a counter-terrorism spy for the Israelis after witnessing for himself the difference between Hamas and the Israeli military. His story is one that Christians who sympathize with Hamas need to read. FACEBOOK: Son of Hamas

Serious Ramifications in the Beer Sheva Verdict Extend to the Messianic Jewish Community throughout Israel

The mob scene outside the Beer Sheva congregation on Dec 24, 2005

There are serious ramifications to the verdict handed down in the case of the Beer Sheva Messianic congregation that was overrun by an angry religious mob in 2005. The mob was stirred up by the anti-missionary group Yad L'Achim with the cooperation of the chief rabbi of Beer Sheva Yehuda Deri. The crowd was under the false understanding that the congregation was about to commit an illegal act by baptizing 10 busloads of Jewish children under the age of 18.

Judge Iddo Ruzin did not think this was grounds to hold Rabbi Deri and Yad L'Achim responsible for what happened that day, December 24, 2005. When justice is not upheld crimes increase. It is that simple. Judge Ruzin has in effect declared 'Open Season' on people who were already targets of widespread and often violent religious persecution. What this will mean for the Jewish believers in Jesus in Israel is EVEN MORE acts and attacks of persecution by religious opponents who know they are not going to be held accountable for their crimes.

Police Speaking to Agitators in the Mob

This is the same judicial issue involved in the case against Jack Teitel who attempted to murder the Ortiz family and who did murder at least two Palestinians. When Israeli judges balk at prosecuting the religious criminals brought before them, it only emboldens the religious to increase the 'quality' and quantity of their crimes.


Ami Ortiz was blown to bits opening a package bomb delivered by a man who has confessed to police that he was with Yad L'Achim and was trying to kill Ami's father for his faith in Yeshua/Jesus.

THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL MUST NOT REMAIN SILENT IN THE FACE OF THIS TRAVESTY OF INJUSTICE AGAINST OUR ISRAELI SPIRITUAL BROTHERS & SISTERS. You may think you are doing enough by defending Israel against her enemies in the world, but you are doing NOTHING if you will not rise up and defend the Body of the Lord in Israel against legally unhindered religious persecution. If you think it is okay with the Lord to shut your eyes to this injustice and do nothing, say nothing, then you are about as deceived as you could possibly be.

We hope that an appeal will be filed and that the Israeli Believers will not just accept this unjust verdict. Whatever the community in Israel decides, the Christian community must pull its head out of the sand and rise to the defense of the Body in Israel. That much is clear. Like Mordechai told Esther, Don't even think you can just go on enjoying your sweet life in the palace while your family is destroyed by the order of the palace! If the American Church does not arise on to demand justice and safety for the believers of Israel, then God will raise up deliverers elsehwere and the American Church will just have to bear the disgrace of being salt that has lost all savor.

The mob scene inside the Beer Sheva congregation on Dec 24, 2005

Here is the notice sent by the pastor of the Beer Sheva congregation of the verdict rendered by Judge Ruzin.

A verdict has been handed down by Judge Iddo Ruzin in our lawsuit filed against the Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yehuda Deri, and against the anti-Messianic organization, Yad L'Achim. The judge did exactly what we have been praying and hoping . . . that he would not do! Judge Ruzin has determined that the two defendants are innocent of any wrong-doing concerning the events before, during, and after 24 Dec 2005, and that we did not produce sufficient evidence to prove any personal liability on their part in our civil suit against them.

Judge Ruzin has ordered that we pay 1000 ILS to each of the defendants, and that we pay the legal fees of each of their advocates, which will come to tens of thousands of shekels. (We have not yet been notified of this amount.)

We express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you for your encouragements, prayers, praises to God, and financial contributions throughout this lawsuit to date. We believe, with many of you, that we were led by the Lord to enter into this lawsuit, and we have sought to honor the name of Yeshua. We believe that, at least in this latter regard, we were successful: even the judge in his decision referred to the Lord as "Yeshua", and not by the acronym commonly used by many in this land. We understood from the outset that there was a risk involved in taking these particular defendants to court for what we still know they are liable.

We would greatly appreciate you prayerfully considering assisting us with further donations to help us with the large financial burden we are now obligated to pay. If we decide to file an appeal of this decision, we will do so only after consultation with other Messianic leaders from around Israel, just as we did before going to trial.

Glory to the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel,

Howard Bass - Pastor - Kehilat Nachalat Yeshua (under amutat Nichalim BaNegev)
Olavi Syvanto - Elder, and Board Member

Adv. Marvin Kramer
Adv. Kevork Nalbandian
We always believed, and still believe and accept, that the verdict is the Lord's, and it is for us to discern what He is saying to us through it.

The Gaza Flotilla and the Maritime Blockade of Gaza

The following was emailed to me by Eddie and Jackie Santoro of Zion's Glory a couple who minister in the Jerusalem area associated with Tikkun Ministries. They thought it was important to pass along and so do I. The email reads:

I woke up this morning to the horrible news of the tragic loss of life as Israel stopped the "humanitarian aid flotilla" as it attempted to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. The entire operation was a deliberate provocation against Israel and its primary goal was to cause the very events that occurred. The Israeli soldiers boarded the boats peacefully and acted in self defense when the "peaceful activists" attacked the soldiers as they came aboard.

Attached is the official Israeli Government justification, based on international law for this morning's action against the flotilla. We felt it is very important for those who love and support Israel to be aware of this legal justification as the resulting international attack and condemnation will be very strong. Please pass it on to as many as possible as there will be few voices supporting Israel at this time.

Although Israel was legally and morally justified in exercising its right of self defense against both the flotilla and against the precedent that allowing it would have established, this whole situation is at best a public relations nightmare for our nation and could be far worse. Please be in prayer that righteousness and justice would prevail.

We are living in a day in which we see the prophetic word of the Lord being fulfilled. The nations are turning against Israel and bad is being exalted as good and wrong as right.

Following is the official diplomatic release by the government of Israel giving the legal justification for this morning's action.

We send you our love from Zion,
Eddie and Jackie


The Gaza Flotilla and the Maritime Blockade of Gaza
Legal Background – 31 May 2010

1. A maritime blockade is in effect off the coast of Gaza. Such blockade has been imposed, as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly bombed civilian targets in Israel with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza via the sea.

2. Maritime blockades are a legitimate and recognized measure under international law that may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea.

3. A blockade may be imposed at sea, including in international waters, so long as it does not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral States.

4. The naval manuals of several western countries, including the US and England recognize the maritime blockade as an effective naval measure and set forth the various criteria that make a blockade valid, including the requirement of give due notice of the existence of the blockade.

5. In this vein, it should be noted that Israel publicized the existence of the blockade and the precise coordinates of such by means of the accepted international professional maritime channels. Israel also provided appropriate notification to the affected governments and to the organizers of the Gaza protest flotilla. Moreover, in real time, the ships participating in the protest flotilla were warned repeatedly that a maritime blockade is in effect.

6. Here, it should be noted that under customary law, knowledge of the blockade may be presumed once a blockade has been declared and appropriate notification has been granted, as above.

7. Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats can enter the blockaded area. That includes both civilian and enemy vessels.

8. A State may take action to enforce a blockade. Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law. The US Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations sets forth that a vessel is considered to be in attempt to breach a blockade from the time the vessel leaves its port with the intention of evading the blockade.

9. Here we should note that the protesters indicated their clear intention to violate the blockade by means of written and oral statements. Moreover, the route of these vessels indicated their clear intention to violate the blockade in violation of international law.

10. Given the protesters explicit intention to violate the naval blockade, Israel exercised its right under international law to enforce the blockade. It should be noted that prior to undertaking enforcement measures, explicit warnings were relayed directly to the captains of the vessels, expressing Israel's intent to exercise its right to enforce the blockade.

11. Israel had attempted to take control of the vessels participating in the flotilla by peaceful means and in an orderly fashion in order to enforce the blockade. Given the large number of vessels participating in the flotilla, an operational decision was made to undertake measures to enforce the blockade a certain distance from the area of the blockade.

12. Israeli personnel attempting to enforce the blockade were met with violence by the protesters and acted in self defense to fend off such attacks.