21 May, 2023, Samaria: Around the late morning, these messages came in:
Terrorists infiltrated village of Psagot, Samaria
Chomesh can stay, government agrees
18 May, 2023, Chomesh, Israel: Lead politicians Gallant and Smotrich have reached an agreement to officially confirm the village of Chomesh:
It’s always a blessing when the government of modern Israel officially affirms a Jewish village in Judea and Samaria.
Without going into the specifics about every village, here’s an overview of the complexity:
Some Jewish villages were built on parcels of land that was bought and paid for, to an Arab family that had claimed ownership.
Some were authorized by an prior Israeli government – and trouble may come if a subsequent government chooses to not uphold their agreements with Jewish citizens.
Generally, land in Judea and Samaria was won in defensive military conflicts, in which International Law states that the defender keeps land that they win, while following strict rules to establish who is the aggressor and who is the defender.
Please pray, as we seek to accomplish our work in troubled times and places.
Gaza suddenly fires hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians
Update 11 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Second rash of missiles just fired this afternoon:
10 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Israel Defense Forces recently surgically killed three top leaders of Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, an organization in Gaza that competes against Hamas for warfare and governance. Rather than respond against Israeli military targets, as is permissible by law, Gaza armies have instead fired missiles at civilian “soft targets” in population centers such as Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, and Bat Yam.
Related:
2 May, 2023: Sudden barrage of rockets
Pray for us as we seek to do our work in a troubled Land.
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Terrorist who murdered Dee Family has been apprehended
5 May 2023, Israel: In Nablus, about 20 minutes from here, the terrorist who murdered members of the Dee family while driving to their Pessach (Passover) vacation site, was apprehended by Israeli security forces. He resisted arrest, initiated combat against the Israelis, and was eliminated in the process.
Palestinians in Nablus claim that these (pictured below) are Israeli undercover agents who apprehended the terrorist in the PA-controlled town of Nablus (aka Shechem, the burial place of Joseph):
The front-page headline: “In the heart of the terrorist nest: The account is closed.”
Pictured below: This terrorist had killed these women who were driving north on Highway 90. The Dee family, who are dual British-Israeli citizens, was in a 2-car convoy towards their Pessach vacation spot in the north:
Father in Heaven, we pray in Y’shua’s name that You comfort and provide for the Dee family in their time of mourning.
And pray for our needs, as we do our work in a troubled land.
Related articles:
Sudden barrage of rockets
3 May 2023 Update: Ok now we know the reason. A convicted terrorist committed suicide in Israeli prison and the Arabs blame Israel. However, it is clear that the “administrative detention” is criticized internationally.
2 May 2023, Israel: Out of the blue, at least six rocket attacks against Jewish civilians in Israel:
Related:
10 May 2023: Gaza suddenly fires hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians
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It’s the Economy, not Judiciary, that’s important to Israelis
1 May, 2023, Israel: Thousands of protestors in the streets regarding the proposed judicial change bill. And yet polls show that the high cost of living is the big issue–by a long shot–for Israelis. As for the judicial reform issue, I’ll post my take below:
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Update 2 May, 2023: Judicial reform: Most Western nations which aim for liberty-based self-governance seek for balance between three centers of power: Namely, the Legislative branch, the Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. The three-way tug-of-war ideally results in a fair situation for the benefit of The People.
The Legislative branch – chosen by The People – writes the laws.
The Executive branch implements policy and takes action according to the laws.
The Judicial branch judges transgressors of the laws.
In Israel, for many decades this has not been the case. The Judicial branch has possessed an outsized power to strike down laws which were written by the Legislature (the Knesset). In short, right now the Knesset has debated a bill which would make the process more fair by balancing out the committee which chooses judges: a portion of the committee would be made up of duly elected Knesset members.
Similar systems already exist in recognized Western governments such as Ireland, for example. And yet the global media has castigated Israel for departing from democracy. Actually, the Judicial branch has had too much power for all this time, and the proposed bill would merely reduce that power down to an equal footing with the other branches.
So that’s the main issue. The Left has been in control of the selection process for judges. Meanwhile, ever since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the populace has been steadily moving from the Left to the Right. Thus, the Knesset has also moved rightward. And yet, the High Court and the court system at large has remained frozen in a leftward position.
Two other issues on the side: First, Israel’s Jewish population has a bitter divide between the Religious minority which trends toward the Right, and the Secular majority which is mainly on the Left. As I wrote, the secular majority has been giving up its voters as the nation moves toward the Right, as can be seen by the distribution of the Knesset’s 120 seats since the 1970’s. This long-standing rift complicates the issue a bit.
Secondly, over the years, Israel has successfully judged several politicians for crimes and placed them in jail, including Arye Deri, former Minister of Interior (which oversees immigration, visas, and citizenship issues), Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister, and several others. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has several court cases in proceedings, and he certainly would be highly motivated to reduce his chances of guilty verdicts–by any means necessary. I don’t see this as a deciding factor in the issue. The main issue is the current Knesset members goal to build a democratic system with a better balance between the three Branches.
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Let us pray and contend for righteousness to prevail in Israel.
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Pray about your support for our work here in the Land.
75 years as a nation
My suffering contains its reward
24 April, 2023, Israel: Have you ever made yourself vulnerable, to share your struggle with another, only to have them say “Well, you think THAT’s bad…” You’re not alone. I’ve experience the same thing often, when I’ve expressed what are the needs. This kind of response also seems to belittle the need, as if I ought to feel guilty for bringing it up.
Whenever I speak of a need, my request is that people will pray about it. It’s never for manipulation: “Not under compulsion,” 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Today, one of JTOD’s monthly Partners sent me the below article, to encourage me. I’m so thankful that they show the time and care to understand my challenges and heartbreaks in this work.
It’s such a blessing, that I decided to feature it as a special insert below: “Don’t Tread on My Suffering,” from sufferwell.org:
Source: Sufferwell.org
Peaceful Demonstration
24 April, 2023, Israel: Two articles: Peaceful demonstrations, and what American Jews think of Israel protecting its citizens by law. First, a brief summary with excerpts from both articles; full articles below the fold.
Day of Remembrance ’23: Sunset 24 April until Sunset 25 April.
Independence Day ’23: Sunset 25 April until Sunset 26 April.
Sixteen consecutive saturday nights of demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other Israeli Jewish cities, and the world is wondering what is happening over here. Mind you, these demonstrations are peaceful, a bunch of flag-wavers, and it’s having an effect. The Israeli politicians know that they cannot just ignore it, and they have made adjustments to their plans.
Why haven’t the Palestinians, with their list of grievances, turned to peaceful demonstrations? Worse yet, why doesn’t the world demand they do so?
Certain powerful American organizations seem to have such a problem with Israel enforcing its laws against terrorists, that they have lobbied for HR 2590 – a bill by Rep. Betty McCollum which would officially criticize and sanction Israel for exercising its laws against terrorists in Israel. So – when Jews are attacked by antisemites in the USA – it’s fine for the police to arrest them. But when antisemites attack Jews in Israel – that must be sanctioned. Who are these organizations? “Americans for Peace Now” (that’s the Quakers), and “J Street,” (that’s Jews).
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Article excerpt:
Full articles:
