One Sunday God decided to visit a small church in Pennsylvania to see what kind of people were coming to His house to worship Him.
The sign on the church said that services started at 10:00, so He got there at 9:30 just to make sure He would get a good seat.
But as it got closer to 10:00, He realized that He had been needlessly worried. The church was less then half full and all the people that were there were sitting in the not-so-good seats in the back. He was all alone in the front row, which is where the best seats are because that’s the best place to hear clearly what the pastor is saying during the message.
At 10:10 the pastor, who had apparently been waiting to see if a few more people would come in before starting, gave a small shrug and told the music director to start the worship songs. The songs were beautiful but God noticed that some people weren’t singing along and others were simply singing along without really thinking about the words very much.
After the worship, everyone sat down and the pastor made a few announcements about Bible study and prayer meetings, as well as a trip for the children’s group to the city zoo. When he asked for volunteers to help with these activities, God couldn’t help but notice that the pastor’s wife and a mother of several children who was always volunteering for things were the only ones who raised their hands, and very few people had written down the information about the meetings.
Then the pastor began his message, based on a passage from the Old Testament. God was very interested in the message, but He was having a hard time concentrating because there were a couple of people in the seats behind Him who were snoring.
People continued to trickle in long after the pastor had begun his message and by the time he was finished the church was almost three quarters full, but God was still alone in the front row.
After church there was cookies and coffee in the lobby while the pastor and his wife stood by the door and bid people a good day as they were leaving. People were loudly talking about many things, including some things which made God very sad, but He only heard one person talking with the pastor about the message he had given.
God was greeted warmly by a few people, but most of the people either ignored Him or looked at Him out of the corners of their eyes wondering what He was doing there.
While He was speaking to the pastor and His wife as He got ready to leave, a middle aged woman who had been coming to the church for many years walked up and joined the conversation. Under her arm was a well worn Bible, the gold coating around the edges long gone, the pages dog eared and a bit tattered in places, with notes scribbled in the margins and a few precious passages underlined.
A younger woman, who was the sister of the first woman and only occasionally came to the church, walked up and looked at her older sister tiredly, finally exclaiming;
“Leah, why do you carry around that ugly old Bible?! Why don’t you get a pretty new one like mine?”
Thinking she would impress the Pastor by doing so, she held out her Bible which had beautiful gold trimming around the pages, which were immaculate and didn’t have any scribbling on them.
God took the brand new Bible (which the woman had actually owned for many years) in His left hand and the other woman’s well worn Bible in His right hand, looked from one to the other, and then handed them back to their owners, saying;
“The Bible of Leah is not ugly. It’s one of the most beautiful Bible’s I’ve ever seen. When I see a Bible like that, it brings tears of joy to my eyes, because I know that that is a Bible which has been read!”
Now that you’ve read this little story, I have two questions for you.
If God were to visit your congregation, what would He see and would it be what you’d like Him to see?
The other question is, what does your Bible look like?
If this message has been a blessing to you, pass it on to others so that they can be blessed too.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Opportunity to suffer for the Kingdom, and have a little fun along the way.
Greetings!
Below is a link to a story about an upcoming meeting of the Presbyterian Church USA, where they will be voting on endorsement for a document condemning Israel for a wide variety of crimes and misdemeanors.
Please read the story (it's short) at the link and then forward this message to everyone you know who is Pro-Israel so that they can pray into the situation and if they live in and around Minneapolis (where the meeting will take place) they can go there and protest. I've been to a few street protests in my time, and I assure you they are a LOT of fun.
In this case, there's the added bonus of it being in the service of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ. Shaming Christians who are openly supporting terrorism against innocent Israeli civilians, correcting them in love, is a righteous and worthwhile thing to do, even if you are not 100% in favor of everything Israel does all the time, which of course you shouldn't be.
Here is the link;
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=178658
Also, if you can't come to protest the meeting, you can call the Presbyterian Church USA at 1 (800) 872-3283 to tell them what you think about the idea. Please call them AFTER you have read the article so that you will know what you're talking about when you call.
If you want to write them a letter with lots of Bible verses, etc. their mailing address is;
PCUSA Office of the General Assembly
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396
(888) 728-7228
(502) 569-5000
Fax: (502) 569-8005
Remember when you call and/or write to be LOVING in your correction, do not be nasty, snarky, etc. Be polite but firm, and avoid getting emotional, as hard as that might be. Also, I recommend you keep letters short and to the point, otherwise they won't be read.
God bless you all.
Below is a link to a story about an upcoming meeting of the Presbyterian Church USA, where they will be voting on endorsement for a document condemning Israel for a wide variety of crimes and misdemeanors.
Please read the story (it's short) at the link and then forward this message to everyone you know who is Pro-Israel so that they can pray into the situation and if they live in and around Minneapolis (where the meeting will take place) they can go there and protest. I've been to a few street protests in my time, and I assure you they are a LOT of fun.
In this case, there's the added bonus of it being in the service of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ. Shaming Christians who are openly supporting terrorism against innocent Israeli civilians, correcting them in love, is a righteous and worthwhile thing to do, even if you are not 100% in favor of everything Israel does all the time, which of course you shouldn't be.
Here is the link;
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=178658
Also, if you can't come to protest the meeting, you can call the Presbyterian Church USA at 1 (800) 872-3283 to tell them what you think about the idea. Please call them AFTER you have read the article so that you will know what you're talking about when you call.
If you want to write them a letter with lots of Bible verses, etc. their mailing address is;
PCUSA Office of the General Assembly
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396
(888) 728-7228
(502) 569-5000
Fax: (502) 569-8005
Remember when you call and/or write to be LOVING in your correction, do not be nasty, snarky, etc. Be polite but firm, and avoid getting emotional, as hard as that might be. Also, I recommend you keep letters short and to the point, otherwise they won't be read.
God bless you all.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
War in Israel this summer vs. Ezekiel 38-39 Gog Magog scenario.
Rumors and speculation are flying all over cyberspace about the possibility of war this summer between Israel and one or more of her enemies. Some well respected Christian leaders, as well as some prominent rabbis in Israel, have said that this could be the "Gog Magog" war prophesied about in Ezekiel 38-39.
The recent controversy surrounding Israel's interception at sea of a convoy of ships attempting to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the threat by Iran, Turkey and others to continue sending ships to attempt to break the blockade has heightened tensions which were already high.
Israel could, theoretically be at war as early as next week, when two ships are scheduled to be dispatched from Iran to try and break the blockade of Gaza. If violence breaks out during any Israeli attempt to stop those ships (one is being dispatched from Istanbul Turkey along with a few others and the other is scheduled to approach from the South, where it might be prevented by Egypt from moving through the Suez Canal) then Iran might use that as an excuse to order Hizbullah and Hamas to attack Israel with rockets as Hizbullah did in the summer of 2006.
As I've said in this forum before, Israel faces a wide array of threats, most of them originating in Iran. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) arms, funds and trains Lebanese Hizbullah, Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jhihad and is openly cooperating with Syria against Israel as well as encouraging Shiite populations in several US allied Arab countries all over the Middle East/North Africa.
They do this for religious as well as strategic reasons. Their leaders are convinced from their reading of the Koran that in order for the Human Race to be saved from Satan, Israel and the Jews must disappear. They believe that they have a mandate from heaven to do this.
You cannot negotiate or even have a rational conversation with people who think like this. All you can do is pray for them, and for the Iranian people (including over 1 million believers) who are essentially hostages to a deranged government most of them don't want but which they lack the power to change.
On top of all of that, Turkey is quickly moving into an anti-Western, Islamic stance that puts it into an alliance with Iran against Israel and the West. Until a few years ago, it was difficult to imagine that Turkey, which is mentioned prominently in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy by its ancient name of Gomer, could participate in that end times prophetic alliance against Israel since modern, secular Turkey was such a close ally of Israel. But due to a wide variety of internal factors, Turkey has been drifting away from Israel and the West and towards Islam and the East and we have arrived at a point where Turkey has all but declared itself an enemy of Israel.
As serious as such a situation would be, I believe the pieces are not yet all in place for the Ezekial 38-39 scenario, and I also believe that Iran, which is the brains behind the entire operation, will wait to launch a serious attack against Israel until it can score a knockout blow. There are some very good reasons, from their perspective, to wait until next summer, and I list them for you here to pray about and to inform others who pray.
1) The Iranians do not yet have nuclear weapons. They are smart enough to wait for a knockout blow when they can finish off Israel and chase the Americans out of the Middle East once and for all. They'll wait till they have the Bomb to launch their knockout blow.
2) The US military will be all the way out of Iraq by August of 2011,and well on their way to being out of Afghanistan as well. Even weakened as they are, the US military is still much to strong an opponent for the Iranians to take on, which they would have to if they tried to destroy Israel as they are threatening to do.
3) Gabi Ashkenazi is currently the Chief of Staff of the IDF and he's a real tough customer. The Iranians know that he would be a much stronger opponent then anyone who replaces him, and he is being forced into retirement by our brilliant Defense Minister (Ehud Barak) early next year. The Iranians would be smart to wait for him to be out and perhaps attack Israel during the transition period when his replacement is still new at the job.
4) Israel is still not completely alone in the world. The US President has pleasantly shocked me and many others by not piling on to Israel along with most of the rest of the world in the wake of this flotilla mess. That could, and probably will change, but the Iranians would be smart to wait until it does.
5) Turkey has still not COMPLETELY made the transition to being an enemy of Israel. They have cut many diplomatic ties but there are still some business, commercial and military ties and there is still a significant number of Turks,especially in the military, who are not ready to attack Israel in concert with the Iranians. The same is true of Russia, which is also specifically named in the Ezekial 38-39 prophecy and Etheopia, which I believe represents the black moslems of Africa. These players are not yet ready for the role they are prophesied to play. Turkey will have elections in August of 2011 and we can expect the Islamist AKP Party currently in power to beat the drums of war with Israel during the run up to that election, which might trigger a conflict all by itself.
6) The Islamists are currently engaged in a propaganda war against Israel and they have learned that violence and terrorism are not useful in such a war. Their aim is to frame themselves as the victims and the Israelis as the aggressors in order to isolate Israel in the international community and set them up for a knockout blow. This is why Hamas has mostly held back from firing rockets into Sderote and
launching suicide bombers into Israel in the last 18 months.
There are other factors in play, but these are some of the main elements that I can see. Please use them to inform your prayer life and share this with others who also pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
God bless you all!
The recent controversy surrounding Israel's interception at sea of a convoy of ships attempting to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the threat by Iran, Turkey and others to continue sending ships to attempt to break the blockade has heightened tensions which were already high.
Israel could, theoretically be at war as early as next week, when two ships are scheduled to be dispatched from Iran to try and break the blockade of Gaza. If violence breaks out during any Israeli attempt to stop those ships (one is being dispatched from Istanbul Turkey along with a few others and the other is scheduled to approach from the South, where it might be prevented by Egypt from moving through the Suez Canal) then Iran might use that as an excuse to order Hizbullah and Hamas to attack Israel with rockets as Hizbullah did in the summer of 2006.
As I've said in this forum before, Israel faces a wide array of threats, most of them originating in Iran. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) arms, funds and trains Lebanese Hizbullah, Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jhihad and is openly cooperating with Syria against Israel as well as encouraging Shiite populations in several US allied Arab countries all over the Middle East/North Africa.
They do this for religious as well as strategic reasons. Their leaders are convinced from their reading of the Koran that in order for the Human Race to be saved from Satan, Israel and the Jews must disappear. They believe that they have a mandate from heaven to do this.
You cannot negotiate or even have a rational conversation with people who think like this. All you can do is pray for them, and for the Iranian people (including over 1 million believers) who are essentially hostages to a deranged government most of them don't want but which they lack the power to change.
On top of all of that, Turkey is quickly moving into an anti-Western, Islamic stance that puts it into an alliance with Iran against Israel and the West. Until a few years ago, it was difficult to imagine that Turkey, which is mentioned prominently in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy by its ancient name of Gomer, could participate in that end times prophetic alliance against Israel since modern, secular Turkey was such a close ally of Israel. But due to a wide variety of internal factors, Turkey has been drifting away from Israel and the West and towards Islam and the East and we have arrived at a point where Turkey has all but declared itself an enemy of Israel.
As serious as such a situation would be, I believe the pieces are not yet all in place for the Ezekial 38-39 scenario, and I also believe that Iran, which is the brains behind the entire operation, will wait to launch a serious attack against Israel until it can score a knockout blow. There are some very good reasons, from their perspective, to wait until next summer, and I list them for you here to pray about and to inform others who pray.
1) The Iranians do not yet have nuclear weapons. They are smart enough to wait for a knockout blow when they can finish off Israel and chase the Americans out of the Middle East once and for all. They'll wait till they have the Bomb to launch their knockout blow.
2) The US military will be all the way out of Iraq by August of 2011,and well on their way to being out of Afghanistan as well. Even weakened as they are, the US military is still much to strong an opponent for the Iranians to take on, which they would have to if they tried to destroy Israel as they are threatening to do.
3) Gabi Ashkenazi is currently the Chief of Staff of the IDF and he's a real tough customer. The Iranians know that he would be a much stronger opponent then anyone who replaces him, and he is being forced into retirement by our brilliant Defense Minister (Ehud Barak) early next year. The Iranians would be smart to wait for him to be out and perhaps attack Israel during the transition period when his replacement is still new at the job.
4) Israel is still not completely alone in the world. The US President has pleasantly shocked me and many others by not piling on to Israel along with most of the rest of the world in the wake of this flotilla mess. That could, and probably will change, but the Iranians would be smart to wait until it does.
5) Turkey has still not COMPLETELY made the transition to being an enemy of Israel. They have cut many diplomatic ties but there are still some business, commercial and military ties and there is still a significant number of Turks,especially in the military, who are not ready to attack Israel in concert with the Iranians. The same is true of Russia, which is also specifically named in the Ezekial 38-39 prophecy and Etheopia, which I believe represents the black moslems of Africa. These players are not yet ready for the role they are prophesied to play. Turkey will have elections in August of 2011 and we can expect the Islamist AKP Party currently in power to beat the drums of war with Israel during the run up to that election, which might trigger a conflict all by itself.
6) The Islamists are currently engaged in a propaganda war against Israel and they have learned that violence and terrorism are not useful in such a war. Their aim is to frame themselves as the victims and the Israelis as the aggressors in order to isolate Israel in the international community and set them up for a knockout blow. This is why Hamas has mostly held back from firing rockets into Sderote and
launching suicide bombers into Israel in the last 18 months.
There are other factors in play, but these are some of the main elements that I can see. Please use them to inform your prayer life and share this with others who also pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
God bless you all!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Death on the way to Gaza.
Greetings!
This morning, Israeli commandos forcibly boarded a convoy of ships filled with Pro-Palestinian activists who were attempting to bring supplies to Gaza, which Israel has not allowed for the last three years since Hamas took over there.
Over the last several days, the activists have received several warnings that they would not be allowed to approach the coast and that the Israeli Navy would board the ships and forcibly deter them from approaching the Gaza coast.
During the boarding the activists on the ships violently attacked the Israeli commandos and a battle ensued which left several activists dead and several dozen wounded, including several Israeli commandos.
Obviously this was a one sided battle since the Israelis had guns and the activists on the boats were mostly armed with iron clubs and knives. There is an unconfirmed report that one activist managed to grab a rifle from one of the commandos and fired at them with it.
Prior to the violence this morning, Israel had repeatedly warned the activists not to approach the coast of Gaza and had offered to allow them to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod or the Egyptian port of El-Arish and unload their humanitarian cargo so that it could be inspected and then passed on to Gaza under the auspices of the United Nations. They refused this option and insisted on attempting to run the blockade. Therefore, they are the ones who are responsible for this mornings violence.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that has either fired or allowed other terrorist groups to fire thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel over the last ten years. No one in the international community recognizes their occupation of the Gaza Strip, not even the Palestinian Authority. The blockade of the Strip is legal under international law, and Israel sends thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies into Gaza via truck crossings every single day. Israel has a perfectly legal and legitimate right to insist on inspecting anything that goes into Gaza to make sure that cargo does not include weapons or other material that Hamas can use to target Israeli civilians.
Additionally, it's worth noting that many of the "peace activists" on the ships were in fact high ranking members of Hamas and other Islamic groups who make no secret of their hatred for Jews and Israel. Israel knew this and that is why the commandos who boarded the ships were armed.
These are the bare facts.
I have no doubt that the international media (to say nothing of the Arab media) will use this incident to paint Israel in the worst possible light and make it look like we're Nazis who brutally assaulted a ship full of perfectly innocent and inoffensive people who were minding their own business.
The truth, as usual, is very complicated and involves an extensive history, whereas most people don't have the time, patience, inclination or desire to pursue it.
So what I'm asking of all of you is two things.
1) Pray about this. Pray that God will open the eyes, hearts and minds of people who hear about this and make them zealous for the truth, especially government leaders.
2) Call in to local radio talk shows in your area, write letters to the editor of your local paper and otherwise get the facts of the case out into the public eye. This might expose you to physical danger from those who want to tell a different story and don't care about the truth, but if you feel brave enough to expose yourself to this then please do so.
God bless you all.
This morning, Israeli commandos forcibly boarded a convoy of ships filled with Pro-Palestinian activists who were attempting to bring supplies to Gaza, which Israel has not allowed for the last three years since Hamas took over there.
Over the last several days, the activists have received several warnings that they would not be allowed to approach the coast and that the Israeli Navy would board the ships and forcibly deter them from approaching the Gaza coast.
During the boarding the activists on the ships violently attacked the Israeli commandos and a battle ensued which left several activists dead and several dozen wounded, including several Israeli commandos.
Obviously this was a one sided battle since the Israelis had guns and the activists on the boats were mostly armed with iron clubs and knives. There is an unconfirmed report that one activist managed to grab a rifle from one of the commandos and fired at them with it.
Prior to the violence this morning, Israel had repeatedly warned the activists not to approach the coast of Gaza and had offered to allow them to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod or the Egyptian port of El-Arish and unload their humanitarian cargo so that it could be inspected and then passed on to Gaza under the auspices of the United Nations. They refused this option and insisted on attempting to run the blockade. Therefore, they are the ones who are responsible for this mornings violence.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that has either fired or allowed other terrorist groups to fire thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel over the last ten years. No one in the international community recognizes their occupation of the Gaza Strip, not even the Palestinian Authority. The blockade of the Strip is legal under international law, and Israel sends thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies into Gaza via truck crossings every single day. Israel has a perfectly legal and legitimate right to insist on inspecting anything that goes into Gaza to make sure that cargo does not include weapons or other material that Hamas can use to target Israeli civilians.
Additionally, it's worth noting that many of the "peace activists" on the ships were in fact high ranking members of Hamas and other Islamic groups who make no secret of their hatred for Jews and Israel. Israel knew this and that is why the commandos who boarded the ships were armed.
These are the bare facts.
I have no doubt that the international media (to say nothing of the Arab media) will use this incident to paint Israel in the worst possible light and make it look like we're Nazis who brutally assaulted a ship full of perfectly innocent and inoffensive people who were minding their own business.
The truth, as usual, is very complicated and involves an extensive history, whereas most people don't have the time, patience, inclination or desire to pursue it.
So what I'm asking of all of you is two things.
1) Pray about this. Pray that God will open the eyes, hearts and minds of people who hear about this and make them zealous for the truth, especially government leaders.
2) Call in to local radio talk shows in your area, write letters to the editor of your local paper and otherwise get the facts of the case out into the public eye. This might expose you to physical danger from those who want to tell a different story and don't care about the truth, but if you feel brave enough to expose yourself to this then please do so.
God bless you all.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
BOOK REVIEW; The Lonely Tree, by Yael Politis
BOOK REVIEW; The Lonely Tree, by Yael Politis
“The Lonely Tree” by Yael Politis is a novel about the early days of the state of Israel as seen through the eyes of its protagonist, Tonia Shulman. Throughout the novel, one is moved to wonder if the author was trying to write the Israeli version of “Gone with the Wind” or whether it’s just a coincidence that the Tonia is so easily comparable (for good and bad reasons) to Scarlet O’hara.
The story begins in 1946, immediately after the end of the Second World War and, in the story, 12 years after Tonia and her family flee Poland to come build a new life in Eretz Israel. Told in flashback mode, the first several chapters of the book tell the story of how Tonia’s father Josef is not content to begin a new life with his young family, but instead aspires to build an entire new society and a new identity for the Jewish people.
A vociferous advocate for the Labor Zionist movement, Josef spends many years caucusing his fellow Labor Zionists to take the Jewish Agency’s offer to found a new kibbutz in the rugged hills between Jerusalem and Hebron, known to history as Kibbutz Kfar Etzion.
Josef’s wife Leah and his daughter Dina are long suffering but ultimately enthusiastic followers of their husband and father, while Josef’s only son Natan is moved by loyalty to his father to go along also.
Only Tonia is angry and resistant. In fact, from the opening sentence of the book Tonia’s anger at her father, the situation he has forced his family into and the world at large are palpable in the extreme. All she wants to do is finish high school so she can get a job and leave Palestine for America, where she hopes to buy a house like the one in the picture she keeps by her bed over several years and living in different places.
As time passes and Israel’s War of Independence draws closer, another man enters Tonia’s life. Amos Amrani is a Yemenite Jew whose family has been in Palestine much longer then Tonia’s. He is a tireless worker for the Zionist cause and a fighter in the illegal underground organization Irgun. Tonia falls in love with Amos, despite her fierce desire to flee everything he represents, while Josef Shulman takes an instant dislike to him, partly because they are so much alike and partly because he has a hard time sharing Tonia, who is his favorite child, with any other man.
The story is violently disrupted by the novel’s other main characters, war and fear.
The heroic resistance of the resident’s of the Etzion Bloc to the attack from the Jordanian Arab Legion is vividly and accurately described, as is the “Battle for the Roads” which Amos barely survives.
Through the rest of the novel Tonia goes to America and fulfills her dream, only to discover that it doesn’t make her happy. Returning to Israel and marrying Amos she builds a family and a life, only to have it once again violently disrupted by the Six Day War, which sets up the books final, heart rending yet satisfying scene of a reunion with her father who reminds her of the vision which caused him to bring his family to Eretz Israel in the first place.
Often sad, sometimes funny and always melancholy (making it a good metaphor for the Israeli life it depicts), “The Lonely Tree” by Yael Politis is the story of the first generation of Israelis, a stereotypical (in a good way)love story between Jews from vastly different ethnic backgrounds and a rejection of the widely held view that all Israelis want to flee to America where they can have a better standard of living. It is also a reminder that not all Israelis of that first generation were the selfless, brave pioneers our collective memory has made them into, but rather ordinary (yet complicated) people with hopes, fears, loves and flaws.
It is also a story about the importance of family that is, in my humble opinion, a badly needed reminder in our increasingly secular, disconnected world.
Last but not least it is the story of a group of people who hate war and take up the sword only because their Arab neighbors refuse to let them live in peace, and a reminder that the most powerful weapon Israel has, is hope.
“The Lonely Tree” is available from Holland Park Press.
More information can be acquired by sending an email to enquiries@hollandparkpress.co.uk
“The Lonely Tree” by Yael Politis is a novel about the early days of the state of Israel as seen through the eyes of its protagonist, Tonia Shulman. Throughout the novel, one is moved to wonder if the author was trying to write the Israeli version of “Gone with the Wind” or whether it’s just a coincidence that the Tonia is so easily comparable (for good and bad reasons) to Scarlet O’hara.
The story begins in 1946, immediately after the end of the Second World War and, in the story, 12 years after Tonia and her family flee Poland to come build a new life in Eretz Israel. Told in flashback mode, the first several chapters of the book tell the story of how Tonia’s father Josef is not content to begin a new life with his young family, but instead aspires to build an entire new society and a new identity for the Jewish people.
A vociferous advocate for the Labor Zionist movement, Josef spends many years caucusing his fellow Labor Zionists to take the Jewish Agency’s offer to found a new kibbutz in the rugged hills between Jerusalem and Hebron, known to history as Kibbutz Kfar Etzion.
Josef’s wife Leah and his daughter Dina are long suffering but ultimately enthusiastic followers of their husband and father, while Josef’s only son Natan is moved by loyalty to his father to go along also.
Only Tonia is angry and resistant. In fact, from the opening sentence of the book Tonia’s anger at her father, the situation he has forced his family into and the world at large are palpable in the extreme. All she wants to do is finish high school so she can get a job and leave Palestine for America, where she hopes to buy a house like the one in the picture she keeps by her bed over several years and living in different places.
As time passes and Israel’s War of Independence draws closer, another man enters Tonia’s life. Amos Amrani is a Yemenite Jew whose family has been in Palestine much longer then Tonia’s. He is a tireless worker for the Zionist cause and a fighter in the illegal underground organization Irgun. Tonia falls in love with Amos, despite her fierce desire to flee everything he represents, while Josef Shulman takes an instant dislike to him, partly because they are so much alike and partly because he has a hard time sharing Tonia, who is his favorite child, with any other man.
The story is violently disrupted by the novel’s other main characters, war and fear.
The heroic resistance of the resident’s of the Etzion Bloc to the attack from the Jordanian Arab Legion is vividly and accurately described, as is the “Battle for the Roads” which Amos barely survives.
Through the rest of the novel Tonia goes to America and fulfills her dream, only to discover that it doesn’t make her happy. Returning to Israel and marrying Amos she builds a family and a life, only to have it once again violently disrupted by the Six Day War, which sets up the books final, heart rending yet satisfying scene of a reunion with her father who reminds her of the vision which caused him to bring his family to Eretz Israel in the first place.
Often sad, sometimes funny and always melancholy (making it a good metaphor for the Israeli life it depicts), “The Lonely Tree” by Yael Politis is the story of the first generation of Israelis, a stereotypical (in a good way)love story between Jews from vastly different ethnic backgrounds and a rejection of the widely held view that all Israelis want to flee to America where they can have a better standard of living. It is also a reminder that not all Israelis of that first generation were the selfless, brave pioneers our collective memory has made them into, but rather ordinary (yet complicated) people with hopes, fears, loves and flaws.
It is also a story about the importance of family that is, in my humble opinion, a badly needed reminder in our increasingly secular, disconnected world.
Last but not least it is the story of a group of people who hate war and take up the sword only because their Arab neighbors refuse to let them live in peace, and a reminder that the most powerful weapon Israel has, is hope.
“The Lonely Tree” is available from Holland Park Press.
More information can be acquired by sending an email to enquiries@hollandparkpress.co.uk
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Hoax letter about Israel being WIDELY distributed on the Internet.
Dear People,
Please be advised, the letter below, which I have been asked about several times in the last few days and which a LOT of people are getting VERY upset about, is a hoax.
It is, in point of fact, complete and utter rubbish.
If someone sends you this letter and asks you to forward it, respond by telling them that you are not in the habit of forwarding internet conspiracy theories that have no relation whatsoever to reality and that they should also get out of the habit.
I cannot be certain, but I think, because of the style this letter is written in and it's general tone, that the source of this letter is a website called DEBKAfile.
DEBKAfile claims to be a website that reports on things that the mainstream media ignores and/or is afraid to report on. They also claim to have a network of highly placed sources in Israel and Washington that feed them information no one else has.
The truth is, about 40% of what you see on DEBKAfile is accurate and is probably gleaned from other news sources. Another 20% is intelligent speculation, another 20% is WILD speculation and the rest is sheer fantasy from the deepest regions of outer space. The letter below is textbook example of their work, which is why I'm pretty sure it came from them.
Needless to say, I don't take anything DEBKAfile says seriously and I advise everyone who asks me to not take it seriously either. They claim to be Zionist and Pro-Israel but the truth is that by fueling hysteria and spreading rumors and false information they are doing a tremendous amount of harm to this country.
I cannot even begin to imagine what motivates people to write and distribute this mindless drivel but there's no way to stop them so the only thing we can do is refuse to cooperate by not forwarding (or believing in the first place) anything which comes from them.
So, if you get a letter like this in the future that quotes unnamed "high sources" in the Israel and/or American governments and then goes on to enumerate a bunch of highly disturbing things that sounds just a little hard to imagine, do yourself and everyone on your email list a favor and DON'T FORWARD IT!
God Bless you all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From someone who moves in high circles in Israel
Tonight I heard very disturbing information – we heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White house. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the USA and it is not pretty:
1. Israel during the Bush and Clinton Administrations – had landing rights in Turkey , and in the USA bases in the middle east and more recently under George Bush, in Iraq . This was in case they were invaded by Iran , or Saudi or any other Arab country. Obama has withdrawn those landing rights. Israel now has nowhere to refuel in the middle east.
2. Netanyahu was instructed to come to the white house for a meeting. He was brought in through a servants entrance – the only head of state ever in US history to be given that disgraceful treatment. He was not offered even a cup of tea – but was lectured to by Obama who told him that he is not permitted to attack Iran and that he has to withdraw all forces from the West bank and may not build any more settlements ( neighbourhoods) in East Jerusalem.
3. Israel found out that there were four terrorists meeting in Dubai . As they have done for the past 62 years, they informed the US of that and said that these terrorists had to be dealt with. Obama said under no circumstances. Israel decided to go ahead. They killed the one terrorist who showed up. However the CIA was sent there to film the entire event by Obama – and then a concerted PR campaign was waged by the White house to discredit Israel and what they did – this kind of action has taken place with US support for the past 62 years since we have common enemies.
4. Obama has refused to oppose Syria ’s re arming of Hezbollah and Hamas – Israel now sits in imminent danger from the amounts of missiles that can be sent into her territory.
5. Israel will never tell the US again of its plans – since they cannot trust us.
6. Israel intends to attack Iran – there are over 30 installations of which 4 have underground bunkers that contain nuclear weapons. Israel cannot wait any longer. The US is no longer supporting Israel ’s self defence.
7. This is the same man that gave the White House a full file on the 9.11 attack – his warnings and proof were laughed at.
8. He believes that the next attacks in the USA will be mass transportation – subways and malls – especially the largest malls where the most people can be killed - and that Vegas and wherever there are conventions of employees will be a huge target. We are not prepared and are naïve in our lack thereof.
9. Once Israel attacks Iran, every Jew and Jewish institution will be at risk – temples, religious schools etc. We must be prepared.
10. This kept a room of 200 people spellbound. It is not fiction. It is fact.
What can be done?
It is essential that everyone who doesn’t know yet, now understands that the protection and survival of Israel is not on Obama’s list – and he is now taking ACTUAL steps to move all protections away – no more landing rights, negotiating with Iran and Syria, making nice to the Moslem World in the face of allies of long standing and he is no friend of the Jewish people and Israel.
We must be sure that we elect politicians who protect Israel as well as the USA – our interests are intertwined. Please forward to everyone you know.
Please be advised, the letter below, which I have been asked about several times in the last few days and which a LOT of people are getting VERY upset about, is a hoax.
It is, in point of fact, complete and utter rubbish.
If someone sends you this letter and asks you to forward it, respond by telling them that you are not in the habit of forwarding internet conspiracy theories that have no relation whatsoever to reality and that they should also get out of the habit.
I cannot be certain, but I think, because of the style this letter is written in and it's general tone, that the source of this letter is a website called DEBKAfile.
DEBKAfile claims to be a website that reports on things that the mainstream media ignores and/or is afraid to report on. They also claim to have a network of highly placed sources in Israel and Washington that feed them information no one else has.
The truth is, about 40% of what you see on DEBKAfile is accurate and is probably gleaned from other news sources. Another 20% is intelligent speculation, another 20% is WILD speculation and the rest is sheer fantasy from the deepest regions of outer space. The letter below is textbook example of their work, which is why I'm pretty sure it came from them.
Needless to say, I don't take anything DEBKAfile says seriously and I advise everyone who asks me to not take it seriously either. They claim to be Zionist and Pro-Israel but the truth is that by fueling hysteria and spreading rumors and false information they are doing a tremendous amount of harm to this country.
I cannot even begin to imagine what motivates people to write and distribute this mindless drivel but there's no way to stop them so the only thing we can do is refuse to cooperate by not forwarding (or believing in the first place) anything which comes from them.
So, if you get a letter like this in the future that quotes unnamed "high sources" in the Israel and/or American governments and then goes on to enumerate a bunch of highly disturbing things that sounds just a little hard to imagine, do yourself and everyone on your email list a favor and DON'T FORWARD IT!
God Bless you all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From someone who moves in high circles in Israel
Tonight I heard very disturbing information – we heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White house. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the USA and it is not pretty:
1. Israel during the Bush and Clinton Administrations – had landing rights in Turkey , and in the USA bases in the middle east and more recently under George Bush, in Iraq . This was in case they were invaded by Iran , or Saudi or any other Arab country. Obama has withdrawn those landing rights. Israel now has nowhere to refuel in the middle east.
2. Netanyahu was instructed to come to the white house for a meeting. He was brought in through a servants entrance – the only head of state ever in US history to be given that disgraceful treatment. He was not offered even a cup of tea – but was lectured to by Obama who told him that he is not permitted to attack Iran and that he has to withdraw all forces from the West bank and may not build any more settlements ( neighbourhoods) in East Jerusalem.
3. Israel found out that there were four terrorists meeting in Dubai . As they have done for the past 62 years, they informed the US of that and said that these terrorists had to be dealt with. Obama said under no circumstances. Israel decided to go ahead. They killed the one terrorist who showed up. However the CIA was sent there to film the entire event by Obama – and then a concerted PR campaign was waged by the White house to discredit Israel and what they did – this kind of action has taken place with US support for the past 62 years since we have common enemies.
4. Obama has refused to oppose Syria ’s re arming of Hezbollah and Hamas – Israel now sits in imminent danger from the amounts of missiles that can be sent into her territory.
5. Israel will never tell the US again of its plans – since they cannot trust us.
6. Israel intends to attack Iran – there are over 30 installations of which 4 have underground bunkers that contain nuclear weapons. Israel cannot wait any longer. The US is no longer supporting Israel ’s self defence.
7. This is the same man that gave the White House a full file on the 9.11 attack – his warnings and proof were laughed at.
8. He believes that the next attacks in the USA will be mass transportation – subways and malls – especially the largest malls where the most people can be killed - and that Vegas and wherever there are conventions of employees will be a huge target. We are not prepared and are naïve in our lack thereof.
9. Once Israel attacks Iran, every Jew and Jewish institution will be at risk – temples, religious schools etc. We must be prepared.
10. This kept a room of 200 people spellbound. It is not fiction. It is fact.
What can be done?
It is essential that everyone who doesn’t know yet, now understands that the protection and survival of Israel is not on Obama’s list – and he is now taking ACTUAL steps to move all protections away – no more landing rights, negotiating with Iran and Syria, making nice to the Moslem World in the face of allies of long standing and he is no friend of the Jewish people and Israel.
We must be sure that we elect politicians who protect Israel as well as the USA – our interests are intertwined. Please forward to everyone you know.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
"No weapon formed against you will Prosper."
This week I attended a conference in Tel Aviv on the threat to Israel from Ballistic Missiles, mostly having their origin in Iran. Israel faces a threat from the south in the form of Iranian supplied short and medium range missiles in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. You've all heard about Sderote, the town just on the border of the Gaza Strip which has been hit by several thousand Qassam rockets and mortars fired by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza over the years, but Beer Sheva and Ashkelon, which are much further away, have also been hit.
From the north Israel is threatened by Iranian supplied missiles in the hands of Hizbullah, which if you recall in the summer of 2006 Hizbullah fired over 4,000 missiles into Israel from south Lebanon. Since the end of that conflict, the Iranians have re-armed Hizbullah and Israeli intelligence now estimates that Hizbullah has close to 45,000 short, medium and long range missiles aimed at Israel.
Add to that the threat of long range missiles from Iran itself and there is no place in this country that is not under threat. While the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been building this threat, Israel is coming under tremendous international pressure to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and dismantle our nuclear weapons arsenal, which we neither confirm nor deny that we have, but if we do have nuclear weapons we only have them to deter attacks against us and have never given anyone any reason to think that we would use them for any other reason, while the Iranians have repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel and continue to build the means to do it.
Below are three links. One is to an article in today's Jerusalem Post newspaper and the other two are to organizations here in Israel which are attempting to find solutions to the problem. I ask you to read the article, check out the websites to the organizations and use the information you find there to inform your prayers for Israel this weekend and in the future. If you know other people who pray for Israel please share these links with them.
Thank you, and God Bless you.
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=174957
http://imda.org.il/imdaRoot/english/video/video.asp
http://operationlifeshield.com/
From the north Israel is threatened by Iranian supplied missiles in the hands of Hizbullah, which if you recall in the summer of 2006 Hizbullah fired over 4,000 missiles into Israel from south Lebanon. Since the end of that conflict, the Iranians have re-armed Hizbullah and Israeli intelligence now estimates that Hizbullah has close to 45,000 short, medium and long range missiles aimed at Israel.
Add to that the threat of long range missiles from Iran itself and there is no place in this country that is not under threat. While the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been building this threat, Israel is coming under tremendous international pressure to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and dismantle our nuclear weapons arsenal, which we neither confirm nor deny that we have, but if we do have nuclear weapons we only have them to deter attacks against us and have never given anyone any reason to think that we would use them for any other reason, while the Iranians have repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel and continue to build the means to do it.
Below are three links. One is to an article in today's Jerusalem Post newspaper and the other two are to organizations here in Israel which are attempting to find solutions to the problem. I ask you to read the article, check out the websites to the organizations and use the information you find there to inform your prayers for Israel this weekend and in the future. If you know other people who pray for Israel please share these links with them.
Thank you, and God Bless you.
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=174957
http://imda.org.il/imdaRoot/english/video/video.asp
http://operationlifeshield.com/
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