Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s comments came on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday marked by tens of thousands of Israelis marching through the city singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in June 1967, marking the unification of their ancient capital.

However the Palestinians consider the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. They anticipate East Jerusalem to be the capital city of a future Palestinian state. Israel has pledged that Jerusalem will remain united as their capital city.

Jerusalem lies within Israel’s boundaries.  Mayor Nir Barkat added that the city’s boundaries are “nonnegotiable” according to Aol.News.

Holy sites

Jerusalem is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  For the Jews, the Western Wall, which is part of Solomon’s Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD, is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

For Christians the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional burial place of Jesus and a regular pilgrimage place.
For Muslims, the gold-topped dome of the Rock, is believed by them to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven, Aol News reported.

Also, the Al-Aqsa mosque makes Jerusalem the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

However, the Al-Aqsa mosque stands on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples, according to Reuters.

In the international community a united Jerusalem under Israel is not recognized.

Many countries agree that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a future Palestinian state.

Indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed this month after one to one and a half years of U.S. trouble-shooting.

However, the Israel and Palestine remain at odds over the issue of Israel which Palestine refuses to formally recognize as a Jewish state, Reuters reported.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Netanyahu’s recent comments, “I find it very distasteful, this use of religion.

East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian town, and East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace,” according to Reuters.

Netanyahu promised that while Israel would retain control over all of Jerusalem, they would ensure freedom of worship at its holy sites.

However, Palestinians over the last decade have had limited access to al-Aqsa.  Christians in the West Bank also note similar problems in Jerusalem churches, Reuters reported.

There are 750,000 people in Jerusalem, two in three of them Jews with the remainder mostly Muslim Palestinians.

Some Palestinians are aligned with the Islamist Hamas, while those who would like peace blame Israel for sabotaging peace prospects because they insist East Jerusalem is a Jewish birthright, Reuters reported.

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Persecution, conversion and healing continue in Israel, even as some dwell on the possibility that Jesus may eventually come to be a uniting force for peace in the Promised Land.

Persecution of the Levin family began when they held prayer meetings in the house they were renting.  The landlord filed charges to oust them, but the Levins stayed, confident the law is on their side.

Still, neighbors isolated them.  Sugar was placed in the tank of their minivan and eventually both of the Levin’s vehicles were burned, according to The Christian Telegraph.

Another story is told in Christianity Today is of Muslim teenagers threatening a teen for wearing a cross.

Most Arab Christian men stay silent when Muslims heckle their wives for not wearing a veil.  They fear their families will be harmed.  One Arab Christian complained, “We always have to suck up to the Muslims,” the report said.

Stories also abound in Israel of conversions, or at the very least of Jews or Muslims  looking towards Christians with a kinder eye.

Christianity Today tells of Maoz Inon who founded the Jesus Trail in Israel after he had a vision, though he is not religious.

Still, Inon says the Jesus Trail boosts understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.  “I believe in the power of Jesus. In our day, he can still change the world and make it a better place for us and our children,” Christianity Today reported.

The same report says there are many anonymous Arab Christians.  Conversion stories are compelling, for example Rani Espanioly talks of a figure of light approaching and clothing him in light, as he heard the voice of God.

“We Arab Christians can be ambassadors for reconciliation and peace in this country,” Espanioly says.

There are also a growing number of Jewish conversions, with some 10,000 to 15,000 Messianic Jews.  Yossi Ovadia, a Messianic Jewish pastor, said he was converted while walking along the Sea of Galilee.

He was surprised when a British Christian said God loves Jews—Yossi thought everyone hated Jews.  He envied the close personal relationship Christians had with Jesus, so he got what they had.

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U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will meet today with Israel leaders with hope to revive peace talks between Israel and Palestine after almost a year of deadlock.

Mitchell is expected to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak.  The visit comes after a row broke out between Israel and the U.S. recently over home construction plans by Israel in East Jerusalem.

Both Israel and Palestine are reportedly willing to resume indirect peace negotiations, meaning at present, Mitchell will broker indirect talks by speaking to each leader individually as a middleman, until the two reach the point where they will agree to meet personally.  Mitchell is scheduled to go to Ramallah in the West Bank after his Israel meeting.

Negotiations met a snag early this month when Netanyahu announced plans to construct 1,600 houses in East Jerusalem.  One of the conditions set on the table for the peace talks is to halt all construction in that area.  Netanyahu responded with outright rejection saying, “There will be no construction freeze in Jerusalem.  There should be no preconditions to talks.”

Netanyahu pointed out that he is following a four-decade-old policy of his predecessors.  However State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “We understand that the Israelis have a longstanding position, but … the status quo is not sustainable.”

East Jerusalem is the most explosive issue that divides Israel and Palestine.  Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war.  However, their annexation of the area has never been internationally recognized.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal capital.  Some 180,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, mostly in Jewish neighborhoods surrounding the area. But one cause of friction is some 2,000 Israeli nationalists who live deep inside Arab neighborhoods.  Some 250,000 Palestinians live in the Arab neighborhoods.

Benny Begin, a senior Cabinet minister, said in a Thursday meet with media and diplomats that Netanyahu would have a hard time selling even limited concessions to his government, a coalition dominated by hard-line nationalist parties.

“It is just impossible and unacceptable that people try to impress us that we should limit construction in Jerusalem,” Begin said.  Netanyahu so far has curbed West Bank construction in a temporary freeze.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the Netanyahu position on Jerusalem “very unfortunate.”  The Palestinians have said they will not hold face-to-face talks with Netanyahu until he freezes all settlement activity in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Other proposals that were given to Israel include release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, turning over more West Bank territory to Palestinian control, and possibly curbing Jewish construction in the heart of Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.

Last week Obama assessed the situation, saying the U.S. couldn’t force its will on Israelis and Palestinians if they weren’t interested in making needed compromises in order to end their decades-old conflict.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100422/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians;_ylt=Ar8iv5t7GCXzAAUzvv43iiOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFibDNqaHVjBHBvcwM1MwRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3dvcmxkBHNsawNpc3JhZWxyZWplY3Q-

http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=6381

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The Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace appealed for harmony after the Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamic group, set off two bombs in the Philippines Tuesday, killing 14, injuring 15 and destroying a Catholic Cathedral.

The IRSMP joined forces with the civilian Peace Advocates Zamboanga and the Consortium of Bangasamoro Civic Society  in their appeal for peace.

Of the total deaths, seven were civilians, three soldiers, three Abu Sayyaf men, and one policeman.  Another bomb that was found in front of a judge’s house and near a bus terminal was detonated by the military.

Even as the military claimed recently that Isabela, the city in which the attacks took place,  is now clear of Abu Sayyaf terrorists and that life in the Philippine province of Basilan is starting to normalize, questions are being raised as to why the attack took place, and who or what is behind the bombing.

An editorial by the Philippine Daily Inquirer  quoted senior superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan police chief as saying, “Based on some accounts, they were hired, forced to wear the police uniforms and were directed to implement some attacks.  And of course, there’s money involved.”

However the PDI also noted that it is possible the police chief’s sources are at least two captured Abu Sayyaf members who could lying.

Reportedly, the two mentioned prominent political personalities behind the attack, which could be a ruse to conduct terrorism by other means or could be the truth.

Political feuds are not uncommon in Basilan, including the assassination of Rep. Wahab Akbar (himself a former Abu Sayyaf member) in Quezon City which is believed to be traced to political enemies.

Another very plausible possibility was raised by Rear Adm. Alex Pama who speculated that, based on the likely operations plan the Abu Sayyaf attempted to carry out, the objective of the group may have been to replicate the 1995 Ipil raid (now Zamboanga Sibugay) which left 50 people dead, a billion pesos looted from banks and a town center in ruins.

Pama said the Isabela attack was “a major, well-planned attack that luckily went bad in their own hands.”

The Abu Sayyaf started in the 1990s.  It is well known in America as the group that kidnapped American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Upon the Burhamms’ rescue Martin was killed in the crossfire, while Gracia survived and now lives with her children in Kansas.

Sources:

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20100416-264492/Behind-the-raid

http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue9496.html

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=566936&publicationSubCategoryId=200

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It’s hard to separate what’s going on in the world today from Bible prophecy and eschatology, because it all seems to be coming true.

With the constant enmity between Israel and her Middle Eastern enemy nations, we could easily be taken in by the ranting of a sensation-hungry media that seems to cater to the likes and dislikes of Islamic terrorists. Our most recent example is the scrambling to come up with every excuse in the world for the attack on Fort Hood beside the fact that it may have been an act of extreme terrorism. Some evolving facts point in that direction. Hopefully, we will conclude for certain it was not.

When can we have peace?
Although God did say He would curse those who come against His chosen people, Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:3), God never said that region would be peaceful or that it would always be in the hands of Abraham’s Jewish descendants. Nor did He say those problems wouldn’t expand to reach other shores. All those who believe in Christ are Abraham’s seed and heirs to the promise (Galatians 3:28-29). We are also heirs to the suffering (1 Peter 4:12-13). Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites disobeyed direct orders from God through Moses and their prophets, who declared they must remain separate from the pagans in the lands where they lived. They were not to intermarry or observe customs of other faiths. Time after time they disobeyed and fell into the hands of their enemies. Therefore, the Promised Land would not belong to the Israelites continually.

Similarly, America has had several great falling away periods from God—present time included. The lines of faith have been muddled by Christians who’ve willingly become unequally yoked with those of other faiths through marriage; and society allowing God to fall by the wayside not only to other gods, but to the god of political correctness and the idol of tolerance. 

And we keep making excuses for this: The world is changing; there is no longer any absolute, or right or wrong or good or bad; we must be tolerant to a fault, we mustn’t judge, etc., etc. These are all bandages on the surface of what is a problem in the heart.

The one thing America has not yet done—beginning with God’s people—is to observe 2 Chronicles 7:14 by turning from our wicked ways, seeking His face and begging His forgiveness for so many things. Only then will He heal our land. But instead, we are currently trying to paint the porch while the house is already on fire.  

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). There will be no real peace until Jesus returns.

(All Bible verse links are at www.BibleGateway.com  and scriptures are from the HOLY BIBLE, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.)

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