August 17, 2009

An e-mail newsletter published by Light to Israel (Middle East Ministries. Inc)

In this issue: -- HUCKABEE:  WOULD ISRAEL TELL OBAMA WHO CAN LIVE IN THE BRONX? -- MOROCCO CHALLENGES MIDEAST HOLOCAUST MINDSET -- SERVING IN THE IDF FOR THE SAKE OF GOD AND JESUS   A PERSONAL WORD FROM SHIRA:  Currently Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate is visiting Israel.  Huckabee is one of the few American politicians who has given straightforward answers regarding his opinion of the proposed two-state solution, Israel's security, and other pertinent issues facing this part of the world.  Below is an article from Arutz Sheva, a conservative news outlet here in Israel:   HUCKABEE:  WOULD ISRAEL TELL OBAMA WHO CAN LIVE IN THE BRONX? Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday that the United States should not be telling Jewish people where they can and cannot live in Jerusalem, and he compared such a policy with racial segregation. "My question is how would the government of the United States feel if Prime Minister Netanyahu began to dictate which people could live in the Bronx, which ones could live in Manhattan, which could live in Queens, and say, 'We only allow certain people to live in those neighborhoods,'" he said.  "How would that go over?  It wouldn’t go over very well."  Huckabee spoke with reporters as he toured the ancient remains at the City of David (Ir David) in eastern Jerusalem Monday. NOTE FROM SHIRA:  These comments come on the heels of recent condemnation from the Obama administration for Israel’s construction of buildings in East Jerusalem. "The position that our government has taken recently is far harsher [than the previous administration's], even halting peace talks until there is compliance with these demands," he noted.  "I'm not sure where we would get the authority to demand of the Israelis what they should do in their own country." After touring the Pool of Shiloach and Hezekiah's Tunnel, the governor said, "I think that there is some concern that many of us have who have been coming to Israel for many years.  I'm not Jewish, so I am not trying to stand up for the Jewish people but for the freedom of the Israeli people who I feel have an organic relationship to the United States as the only democracy in the Middle East, as the only place where freedom and liberty and personal capacity to make choices really thrives.  It's in the vital interest of not just the Middle East but the world that freedom exists." Asked if he would support an Israeli military strike against Iran, the man touted as the leading candidate for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012 stated he "would support Israel doing whatever Israel needs to protect [itself]."  He added that the United States would never want anybody to tell it the boundaries of how it can protect itself.  "I think we can certainly advise as a friend to Israel," he explained, "but we have no right to dictate and outright tell another country what it should or shouldn't do.  Heck, we don’t do that with North Korea! "I'd like to think that the rights of Jewish people in their own homeland would be the same as the rights of American people in their homeland," Huckabee said.  "We take our rights very seriously." (Gil Ronen of Arutz Sheva)   MOROCCO CHALLENGES MIDEAST HOLOCAUST MINDSET   From the western edge of the Muslim world, the King of Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in the Middle East conflict - the Holocaust.   At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews "one of the most tragic chapters of modern history," and has endorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims.   Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little about the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews during World War II.  Some disbelieve it outright.  Others argue that it was a European crime and imagine it to be the reason Israel exists and the Palestinians are stateless.   Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must tread carefully.  Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted in 2003 by al-Qaeda-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that included Jewish sites.  Forty-five people died.   The king’s acknowledgement of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a ceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically different paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking.   Morocco has long been a quiet pioneer in Arab-Israeli peace efforts, most notably when it served as a secret meeting place for the Israeli and Egyptian officials who set up President Anwar Sadat’s groundbreaking journey to Jerusalem in 1977.   The speech was read out at a ceremony launching the "Aladdin Project," an initiative of the Paris-based Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah [Holocaust], which aims to spread awareness of the genocide among Muslims.   The Holocaust, the king’s speech said, is "the universal heritage of mankind." (Ynet)   SERVING IN THE IDF FOR THE SAKE OF GOD AND JESUS   NOTE FROM SHIRA:  You’ll be amazed that the following article was recently printed in a Friday weekend edition of the Jerusalem Post.   Jesus supports the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and he wants his believers to be the best soldiers they can be.   That was the message conveyed by members of the local Messianic Jewish community via sacred texts, prayer, and talks, to a group of 18-year-olds who took part last month in a pre-military program called Netsor.   "I am a soldier of God," said Boris, an intense redhead accepted to an elite combat unit, who is one of the 28 young men and women who participated in Netsor.   "I will do my best during my service in the IDF to serve God spiritually and physically.  Not for the sake of state authorities but for the sake of God and Jesus," added Boris, as we sat in the dining room of a guest house that overlooks Lake Kinneret [the Sea of Galilee].   Not far from here, according to Christian tradition, Jesus walked on water, healed the sick, and preached.  Now, nearly two millennia later, young "believers" as they call themselves, convinced they are walking in Jesus' footsteps, hope to become the next fighter pilots, reconnaissance soldiers, paratroopers, tank commanders, and sailors.   Some 150 highly motivated believers will join the IDF this year.  Many of them will serve in combat units.  Some of them have been through Netsor’s week of mental and spiritual preparation offered by the Messianic community.  Netsor is a Hebrew word that means "to guard" or "to stand vigilant."   The return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel with the establishment of the State of Israel brought with it a small but growing group of Messianic Jews, numbering today between 10,000 and 15,000.  These Christians celebrate their own version of Jewish holidays such as Pesach [Passover] and Succot [Feast of Tabernacles] and set aside Friday night and Saturday as a day of rest.   But they also believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is the only path to redemption.  Messianic Jews, who distance themselves from the more in-your-face proselytizing tactics of Jews for Jesus, are nevertheless very open about their beliefs, including their conviction that traditional Jewish faith is not sufficient for redemption.   Due to their religious beliefs, Messianic Jews have been subjected over the years to physical attacks and discrimination, including in the IDF.   M, a platoon commander in an elite demolition unit who is one of the founders of Netsor, asked the Jerusalem Post to leave out identifiable personal details of individuals who agreed to be interviewed out of concern that they would be singled out and blackballed by antagonistic elements with connections in the army.   "In the end, we believe that God opens and closes doors," said M.  "And if he does not want someone to advance in the IDF it won’t happen.  But we don’t want to make any mistakes that will hurt someone’s IDF career."   For Messianic Jews, military service in the IDF is not only a mandatory civil duty, it is a religious obligation.  Lacking an exegetical tradition but serious about the sacredness and relevance of the biblical text, "believers" learn this obligation to serve in the army right out of the New Testament.   Romans (13:1-7) warns not to resist political authority, because it is "the ordinance of God."   Colossians (3:22, 23) teaches that one must excel as a faithful servant of one’s superiors, not for personal aggrandizement but to serve God.’ (Matthew Wagner of the Jerusalem Post)    News sources:  Arutz Sheva, the Jerusalem Post, and Ynetnews.  Compiled and edited by Shira Abrams.

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