Religious Persecution: Coming to a town near you!

According to an article in Israeli religious newspaper Arutz Sheva, "US State Department Accuses Yad L'Achim", there is "no significance on practical level" to the U.S. State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report citing them for abuses.

Yad L'Achim's Joel Rebibo is quoted saying, "We've been asked to come to America and set up shop there, to help American Jews fight missionaries.... We're concerned that if the State Department has us down as troublemakers, they might get in the way of allowing us to set up operations there."


For the fifth time since 1999 the 2007 International Religious Freedom Report issued by the US State Department has cited abuses by Israel's Yad L'Achim, an anti-"missionary" group.

The organization targets any person or group which they consider "missionaries" including Messianic Believers, Christians who support Messianic Believers, and organizations or individuals who support Messianic Believers in sharing their faith. Yad L'Achim raises most of the funding for its activities in the United States, and based on its successes in Israel, plans to expand its activities to the States.

The "anti-missionary" organization conducts a relentless campaign to harass, terrorize and assault believers of Yeshua/Jesus in Israel through various acts such as: blacklisting believers from employment opportunities, intimidating believers and their children by phone, posting flyers and advertising against believers, preaching hate and inciting violence against believers, vandalizing believers' properties, vandalizing ministries' properties, disturbing believers' meetings, and placing pressure on politicians against believers.

Yad L'Achim has deep roots within the law making and political infrastructure of Israel, leaving little recourse for justice to the victims of the organization's religious persecution. Attempted murder, arson and other terroristic activities against Messianic Jewish and Christian ministries languish in lackluster investigations. Cases filed in the courts against them are pushed to the back burner on judicial dockets.

In one case, the court ordered the believers who have the pictures of Yad L'Achim members who committed acts of violence against them to find out who these people are on their own with limited time.

In the case of the bombing of Ami Ortiz, the police did not move the investigation forward until international pressure was brought to bear months after the murder attempt. Even so, the case is moving at a snail's pace and police report "no progress" in the case.

Police also do not follow up on behalf of the believers to defend them from the on-going victimization and violence.

In an appeal this article is based on from David and Leah Ortiz of Ariel, Israel, they write:

"We feel it's important for believers to contact the US State Department or your country's American embassy to enforce actions based on their findings. This is needed in order to halt most of Yad L'Achim's funding which comes from the US. "

The State Department 2007 International Religious Freedom Report is at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90212.htm

Contact the State Department at
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=TlnC

Also, you can view two parts to a video on the persecution of believers in Arad, Israel:
PART I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EII5Km3jN3U
PART II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J7iqMO4EaQ

Negotiating with Terrorists

The following is a spiritual perspective on the news from one of the leading elder statesmen of the Messianic Jewish movement, Israeli Dr. Daniel Juster. This view is information I wish every Christian knew. This should give intercessors excellent target-acquisition for the times.

The Debate on Negotiating with Terrorists

By Daniel Juster

JERUSALEM/July 2: Last May, a verbal firestorm erupted between President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. The occasion was President Bush's visit to Israel and his address to the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset). The speech was very well received. In spite of his poor approval rating in the States, the President is very popular in Israel. In his speech, the President sharply criticized those who believe that we should negotiate with terrorists; he equated this orientation with appeasement. The Israeli leadership applauded his stand. However, a few days later (much to Israel's embarrassment), the Jerusalem Post revealed that Israel had been negotiating via Egyptian mediation with Hamas for a cease fire.

Senator Obama took issue with Bush; he reacted as if he was the object of the President's criticism. Democrats cried, 'Foul!' countering that the President used a state visit to Israel to play politics and unfairly criticize Senator Obama. They asked John McCain to repudiate what Bush had said. Senator McCain, however, stood with President Bush and said that Senator Obama was naïve in saying that he would negotiate with sponsors of terrorism without preconditions. McCain asked, what would Obama say to convince them that their behavior was wrong and that they should change? Obama's position would undermine the public stand of the United States and European powers not to negotiate with Hamas as long as they do not accept the existence of srael. Negotiations would surely empower Hamas. The President believes that political isolation, economic boycotts and military intervention against terrorists is the right policy.

Senator Obama responded eloquently by stating that negotiation was neither weakness nor appeasement. Reagan negotiated with the Russian communists as did Kennedy, with respect to the Cuba missile crisis. However, Russia was at that time the leader of a communist empire that controlled one third of the world. Kennedy's negotiations with Russia included an ultimatum! I do not think that Obama has this in mind. Obama criticized the President for the predicaments to which the United States is currently exposed: the Iraq war, Iran becoming more of a problem and political and military failure in Afghanistan. He then went on to argue that a significant reason for these problems was the U.S. lack of strong engagement by negotiations. Surely, this topic will be a central part of the campaign in the fall.

Is the Problem Lack of Negotiation?

My view of the situation is at odds with Senator Obama; living in the Middle East has clarified my perspective on the issues. I do not believe that the problem is lack of negotiations. Rather, the issue is primarily an unwillingness to enforce standards. This is an endemic problem among Western powers. In addition, many Westerners do not believe that Islamic radicals really act primarily out of religious convictions; they assume they are motivated by politics as they themselves are. However, these convictions are unshakable. Any negotiated position, cease fire, etc., legitimizes the terrorists, proclaims Western weakness, emboldens Islamic radicals, and is only a temporary lull for the sake of building a more fierce and violent Islamic offense. This view has been confirmed in public by Hamas spokesmen. The religious motivation of Islamic fascism simply will not compromise, split the difference, or embrace long term peace.

I believe there is only one answer to Islamic fascism and that is to defeat it. The reason we have not made progress is not for lack of negotiation. There is plenty of that; a good example is the European carrot and stick diplomacy being attempted with Iran. The real problem is that the carrot is large and the stick is very small. The large carrot is not working, because Iran wants nuclear weapons. So far, the sanctions have been very limited and strong sanctions have been rejected by the U.N. Security Council, largely due to Russian and Chinese pressure.

Recently the Swiss and the Austrians have made significant business deals with Iran for gas production and trade. The United States howled, as did Israel, but to no avail. Iran is able to buy weapons, arm Hamas and Hezbollah and wreck havoc in Lebanon. When Reagan negotiated with the Russians, it was from a place of real strength, because the Soviets were in severe decline. They accepted an agreement that benefited the U. S. in order to save themselves from economic disaster. No such situation exists in Iran today.

Really, the central issue is not of talking or not talking; though I do not think we should lend credibility to terrorists by talks without preconditions. Rather, the issue is standing up to the terrorists and enforcing very strong sanctions. If that does not work, the Western powers should be prepared to use strong military action. Radical Islam despises the weakness of the West. The spread of radical Islam is partly fueled by the perception that they are winning against the weak and fearful West. President Bush's failure to de-fang Iran and Syria is not through lack of negotiation, but because the Western allies are not willing to grasp the nettle and take strong measures. So we talk tough and act weak. The President has not acted according to "cowboy diplomacy." Toughness has not been tried and found wanting. It has not been tried!

The Response of the West

The history of backing down before Islamic radicalism is not pretty and has produced a very dangerous world. President Carter failed to stand up to the terrorists who kidnapped the U.S. embassy staff in Iran. This only served to embolden the radicals. At the time it may have seemed as if they could not truly be players on the world stage but the West's lack of fortitude has allowed a rogue nation to export terrorism across the globe. The Shah's regime had many flaws but is far preferable to the Islamic fascist dictatorship under the Ayatollahs. During the Reagan administration the U.S. failed to act in Lebanon. After the terrorists bombed the U.S. marine barracks and killed over two hundred personnel, defense secretary, Casper Weinberger, unilaterally disobeyed Reagan and refused to convey the order to retaliate. Reagan backed down!

I watched this with grief and dismay. The U.S. should have retaliated and demonstrated to the terrorists that their actions would bring swift and painful consequences. Instead, the U.S. pulled out. Lebanon was meant to be a safe haven for Arab Christians - half of them have now fled the country. It was a truly lovely country but the U.S. did nothing to counter the radical Islamic agenda.

The same lack of resolve moved the U.S. to push for Palestinian elections. The consequences were a disaster, with Hamas being elected. When will the Western politicians learn that absolute democracy is not necessarily just? 51% can vote to destroy the 49%. Political parties that espouse terrorism should be illegal. The Nazi party is illegal in Germany and other parts of Europe. Why did the U.S. force elections on Israel where Hamas could run? How foolish!

How Dangerous is Islamic Fascism?

When Senator Obama says that the threat from Iran and Islamic radicals is less than the former threat posed by the Soviet Union, he is really missing the main issues. The Russians were interested in preserving the world. In addition, they were a disciplined world force with centralized power in Moscow. If Moscow had fired a nuclear missile, there would have been an assured and instant retaliation. The calling card would be clear. This prevented Russia from doing so.

Would Iran send a nuclear missile against Tel Aviv if they acquire the ability? Perhaps, but that would be dangerous for them, since the world would know who was responsible and retaliation would be swift, certain and punitive. But here is the danger: the Islamic radicals are decentralized and fight an asymmetric war of terror. They would be glad to secretly plant a nuclear bomb in New York, Washington or Tel Aviv. A whole city and more could be destroyed. Against whom do we retaliate? Iran could as easily arrange for one of their proxies to put a device off shore from Tel Aviv and set it off, or plant a suitcase bomb in Washington. Terrorist nations would deny involvement. Who do we bomb? Do we bomb Tehran? Do we bomb the Al Qaeda camps? The danger is enormous.

Has President Bush Acted with too much Belligerence?

President Bush has stood up against Islamic terror more than any world leader, but he has had little support from Congress and the Western allies. The issue is not too much bluster, but too much bluffing. The U.S. cannot even get significant military contributions from Europe in the Afghan theater. The radicals know the West is weak. Unless we wake up and realize that we are in World War III, we will soon be in deep, deep trouble. We should heed Islamic terror scholar Steve Emerson on these matters. Emerson explains that the goal is not just to destroy Israel, but to conquer the whole world and establish a global Muslim caliphate. The vilest methods are acceptable. Western nations are mired in relativism and do not act with strength.

Islamic Hatred for Israel is a Source for Hope!

The central focus of Islamic terror and hatred is Israel, all other foci - the U.S., the West and India - are secondary, and yet we have great hope. Why? Because the destiny of Israel is to be a supernatural power to break the back of Islamic terror. This will lead to a great harvest in the Muslim nations of the world. We live in an impossible situation in Israel but in these difficult days, more and more Israelis are finding their Messiah, eshua of Nazareth. This is the situation that the prophets foresaw long ago. Whatever plans men or demons may have they are not taking the One who sits in heaven by surprise. The sure Word of God will prevail - this is our unyielding anchor of hope.

Prayer Surge for Capture of Bin Laden

Do you know the word "kvetching"? It means complaining.
IsraelWatcher is about to do some:

A few weeks ago Francis Frangipane published a word about it being timely to join in a Prayer Surge for the Capture of Bin Laden that Dennis Cramer put out on behalf of an intercessor in Indiana. Two weeks after that a London Times article confirmed that indeed a multi-national push was on at the behest of President Bush to find Bin Laden. This is NOT a coincidence. Spiritual warfare is not disconnected from physical warfare.

So I wonder why so few are running with this? I just did a Google search and couldn't find a handful mentioning it on web sites.

Today I got notice of another prayer movement that is citing 9/11 as a wakeup call and calling for Christians to join in prayers on their courthouse steps this coming 9/11. I love that idea, but if 9/11 was a wakeup call - it would have to be a wake up call about Islamic terrorism - and seeming few are awake to the battles that are being fought on that battlefront.

Praying for the capture of Bin Laden would be one strong response that says, 'I'm awake about how important this is, Lord!'

We have terrorism trials going on all the time in th U.S. and most of the recent trials have ended up in mistrials. Over the last few months there have been several that have ended that way and I have to wonder, is anyone out there praying for justice in these trials? I mean, the counter-terrorism forces are working hard to bust and bring these people to the courts and then the juries can't even come to a decision that they mean us harm!

This is spiritual! Just like in the prayer points for praying for the capture of Bin Laden, it was pointed out that there there occult/demonic forces hiding and guiding Bin Laden in escaping capture. These same kind of forces come into play to blind U.S. citizens to the truth who are sitting on these juries in terror trials.

As I sat there last summer in the terrorism trial against the Holy Land Foundation defendants - a retrial that is set to be retried Sept 9th - I was so sure that as those jurors watched videos of kindergarteners in Gaza and in the United States act out being Hamas terrorists killing Israeli Jews and proclaiming death to Israel, that surely they could get it that this was an evil organization. Yet the trial ended in a mistrial.

If 9/11 was a wake up call to the U.S. - and I believe it was - it was NOT a general wake up call about general sins in America.

It was very specific: Wake up, children of the Living God because Islam is setting ambushments against you and you are dead asleep! Wake up and turn the tide in the Spirit. If My People are not standing in the gates, then the enemy will continue to flood in through the open doors of the United States without resistance! Wake up for yourselves and wake up for the sake of the world!

This is a prayer request for the wake up call to actually wake a few believers up. As Francis wrote in his article the following week about how we have to wake up to live our dreams:

There is a subtle activity of the enemy that dulls our perception and seduces our zeal. Our vision takes a backseat to other less important aspects of life. From the beginning, the voice of Satan has had this lulling effect on mankind. Eve’s excuse for disobedience was, "The serpent hath caused me to forget" (Gen. 3:13 Young’s Literal Trans.).

This applies to responding to the wake up call of 9/11. That was no general "judgment" of American sins. It was a wake up call because we have been asleep as the specter of Islam has been looming larger and larger in our world and our nation. We let Hamas raise funds for their cause in the United States from at least 1993 until the aftermath of 9/11 when President Bush said, Stop 'em and bring them to trial!

It is time those with understanding of the times spiritually began to intersect with the war that is being fought physically. These two are not two different fights, they are the same fight - we who wage spiritual warfare just haven't been in it with those waging the physical counter-terrorism war.

If you are an awake believer, here are some prayer points for the Bush Push to Capture Osama Bin Laden:

1. He has been protected by strong demonic powers who have actively worked to conceal his location and to prevent his capture.

2. He has been assisted by a type of demonic foresight which has allowed him to know the location of troops searching for him, allowing him to evade them.

3. God is going to destroy the demonic power that has been assisting him. This power will continue to dwindle until he is no longer aided and assisted by these demonic forces.

4. The Lord Himself is going to arrange Osama's capture - he will be found and taken much like Saddam Hussein was taken.

5. He will be jailed and not killed.

6. The Lord has already chosen His instrument, the man who will lead the mission to capture him.

7. The Holy Spirit is alerting the intercessors to pray for this. It is a God given burden to pray through in faith, until we see his capture.

8. We are to fight against the demonic powers in the spiritual, while the troops battle the enemy on the ground in the physical. There is a new warrior anointing the Lord is placing upon intercessors to specifically pray through this event.

9. Now is the season of his capture. It is time for militant intercession against the demonic powers concealing his location and providing him with foresight of troop movements. We are to understand, claim and proclaim the victory that Christ Himself has already provided. We are to be the enforcers of the victory God has already chosen to give.

10. We are to pray for the revelation of his location to the troops and authorities. God already knows where he is at this very moment and we are to pray for divine revelation of that location to those who will go get him.

11. We are to pray that God would bring this man and his organization to justice. The justice of the Lord will be brought to bear against him and his organization.

Prosecuting Terror Bombers

The following is the response of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a letter from a Christians-for-Israel organization urging Israel to find and prosecute the religious Jews who planted the pipe bomb that blew Messianic teen Ami Ortiz to bits in April.

Clearly they are blaming the victims and do not have a serious intent to bring the perpetrators of this attempted murder to trial. Obviously, there has not been sufficient outcry in the Christian community to move Israel to execute justice.

Communicated via the Israeli Embassy of a foreign nation which I am choosing not to name here. I have added the bold emphasis:

Following your letter with regarding to the Ami Ortiz incident in Ariel, we submitted your comments to the relevant Israeli Authorities. Please find below information that the Embassy received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.

A. The police are investigating this case and due to the fact that there main force is intelligence the details are classified and they can't reveal any details on this issue.

The officer that is in charge of this area could only give information related to the background that led to the incident.

B. There are approximately 20 people in the Jewish Messianic community of Ariel. The head of this group act in a provocative way among the Jewish and Muslim in this area and try to convince them to convert their religion. Both communities are unsatisfied from his behaviour even though Ortiz's family lives in a good relationship with the Jewish neighbours.

C. The investigation of this matter is very complex and this is why it takes a long time to reach to a conclusion.

D. However, the police maintain a preventive activity that this case wouldn't repeat itself. The officer emphasised in general that the Messianic Jews need to change their approach towards other communities to prevent extreme actions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform the Embassy once the investigation is completed.

Let me just add that the Ortiz' ministry is hardly "provocative." They live a godly life and operate in loving ministry to people in need on both the Jewish and the Palestinian sides of their region. For this good, they infuriate the anti-missionaries who hate Jewish believers in Jesus.

This letter tries to justify the attempted murder of the Ortiz family by religious fanatics in Israel by blaming the Messianic Jews for "provocative" conduct. DO NOT ACCEPT THIS LIE. Please pray for the Messianic Jews of Israel who are reporting a dramatic increase of persecution incidents by religious and anti-missionary groups over the past months.

This is a very serious situation for all the believers of Israel. Let's not fail our brothers and sisters again by remaining silent.



I just received an additional piece of information from David and Leah Ortiz:

A video report has been done on Ami and the bombing which will air on Channel one in Israel at 8PM our time this Friday May 30th..

The police tried to stop this report from being aired and brought Channel one into court twice!! However they were defeated twice.

They say that they don't want details of the case revealed for their investigation but 9 weeks have passed with no arrests and no suspects.

This is something that needs much prayer, but please pray for the perpetrators of this attempted murder and hate crime to be apprehended and for justice to be done.


Ami still faces many surgeries, continual pain and up to the next two years in a full body stocking to repair all the damages done by the bomb blast. What if he were your 16-year old? This is a cloud hanging over the head of every believers in Israel.

Cry Out for the Children (Breaking for Local News)

This is a break from IsraelWatching for local news

Cry Out for the Children
by Donna Diorio

Today's Dallas Morning News headline read -
"Appeals court: State had no right to seize children from polygamist compound"

May 23, 2008 Who can explain what it is about a news story when the Spirit puts His finger on your heart to not just pass it by like so many other sad and outrageous news stories we are exposed to day after day?

The news story about the children the state of Texas removed from the FLDS polygamous sect ranch is like that for me. The finger of God is in my heart about it.

I know the message on my heart is that if the people of God will not cry out for the children, thousands of FLDS children across North America are doomed, never to escape their abused captivity under an abominable perversion of the Word of God. This is a spiritual battle first and foremost, and that is not to say that we should pray only, but we should pray and then cry out in the public arena.

For hours and hours I have researched what is being written in newspapers and by the new grass roots ‘free press’ of blogs and commentary websites. Sadly, the voice of the people of God is simply not being raised in the public square for the protection of these children.

Overwhelmingly the articles and reader talkbacks, web page and blog commentaries are more interested in preserving the “civil rights” of the children (not to be removed from their polygamist families) than they are seeking to protect the children from systematic sexual child abuse.

Everybody knows what the FLDS is doing in their isolated, fortressed compounds in the Western United States, Canada and Mexico. Sexual relations with minors is illegal in all those places, but the educated, engaged voices in America are crying out AGAINST the authorities in the State of Texas and Child Protective Services for removing over 400 minors from the Eldorado, Texas compound.

It is discouraging that so few believers have spoken out on behalf of the real issue at stake here - protecting the children of the sect. Marci Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel says the FLDS sect is a “conspiracy of adults to commit systematic child sex abuse.”

That is decidedly not the message of most commentaries and news stories the public is being bombarded with concerning these children. Few are the stories that give voice to women who have escaped life in the FLDS polygamist system. They are out there speaking up and trying to get the truth out, but pundits and reporters would rather major on the violation of civil rights angles straight out of the liberal relativism legalese playbook.

Maybe there would be a spiritual intercessory outcry and public outcry from Christians:

If Christians were exposed to interviews of Elissa Wall, victim in the Warren Jeffs trial and author of Stolen Innocence; or Polygamy’s Rape of Rachel Strong; or 17 other FLDS survivor testimonies detailed in Andrea Moore Emmett’s book, God’s Brothel; or the book Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer, who at 16 years old became the second wife of an FLDS cult leader, who was also her brother-in-law; or Carolyn Jessop’s Escape, or Susan Ray Schmidt’s His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy.

If Christians would hear the cry from FLDS survivor and rescue advocacy websites, like Rowenna Erickson’s Tapestry Against Polygamy site. If Christians were aware of the work of Debbie Palmer (Keep Sweet: Children of Polygamy) and Daphne Branham (The Secret Lives of Saints) who has investigated the genetic family tree ties between minor girls in the FLDS compound in British Columbia and adolescent girls from the Eldorado Texas compound.

If Christians knew that watchdogs in Colorado are reporting recent Jeffs’ family purchases of large tracts of land in remote Colorado places. If Christians knew the history of unsuccessful attempts in the past by other states for legal intervention on behalf of children in the FLDS polygamist sect and how the public opinion war was won by the sect playing on public sympathies of their right of religion – and the public ignorance of the true nature of minor sexual abuse and brainwashing that is the reality of life in the FLDS sect.

Some Washington politicians have shown interest in the case but the U.S. Attorney for Utah and the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office head say there is no need for a federal polygamy task force.

As one of the few high placed newspaper editorial writers to speak out on behalf of the FLDS sect children, Ellen Goodman of the Washington Post writes in an article entitled, Sex Abuse in the Name of Religion Isn’t a Lifestyle – It’s Sex Abuse, that there has been enormous concern generated by the story but it says something about our culture that the concern has primarily been “of children taken from parents, of families wrenched apart….Is this a rescue operation or a state-sponsored attack on parents?”

“Nevertheless,” Goodman asks “what are we to make of an entire sect that has sexual abuse at its very heart?

This is the critical question, and I believe it is the question from the very heart of God for us.

Yesterday the Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the San Angelo court was wrong to give CPS custody of the children because the evidence presented was "legally and factually insufficient."

Unfortunately, this is the same Appeals court where the only faith-based court brief was filed (that I’m aware of) on May 2^nd, appealing to the court to be careful not to set a “dangerous precedent” for religious liberty and parental rights in the “cases over allegations of sexual abuse alleged in the polygamist ranch raid.”

This also says something about us that the case has caused Christians to voice concern and ask for prayer about potential legal precedents that might cause religious liberty issues for Christians in the future, without voicing much concern for the sect children themselves.

At times we are so on watch with self-protection, we are actually foiling the best attempts of our government to protect all us.
A salient point that was brought by a Counter-Terrorism expert, Jeffrey Breinholt in Polygamy and Terrorism: The Religion Factor in Texas, who wrote: “The question is whether a state or federal government can define what constitutes a crime, and whether that crime can be enforced where the alleged conduct is religiously-inspired.”

Since returned to a Department of Justice post, Breinholt noted, “…the Texas case involves a common issue in counterterrorism - the ability of the government to take action against religiously-inspired conduct.” Muslim defendants in terrorism prosecutions, Breinholt explains, also claim that their planned violence should be excused because it was mandated by their faith.

In the end, it is the public that decides what it is going to put up with and what it will not. We may believe that we can live with granting illegal expression of religious belief to polygamists, but can we live with that precedent being extended to jihadists?

The most critical concern is to ensure the freedom of FLDS children from sexual predators, but there are farther reaching ramifications to how the public, the media and the courts ultimately view this case.

As Ellen Goodman wrote, “… in the end, what we have on that ranch in Eldorado is not a lifestyle. It's a pedophile ring. If we cannot rescue children from that, we've already destroyed their village.”

In the end, if Christians cannot put in first priority the thousands of FLDS children currently, as well as the older generations of FLDS members who have been raised in and held captive by a gross perversion of the Word of God, then we are in default. If we don’t stand up for the weak and the oppressed now, we will not long hold onto our own strength, liberties and freedom.

Pray for the Supreme Judge of the whole Creation to arise on behalf of the FLDS children represented in the Texas case. Authorities and advocacy groups in several western states, as well as Canada and Mexico are watching carefully the developments in this case. If the state of Texas prevails in intervention to set the captives free and prosecute the illegal polygamists, then others will take courage and act in their jurisdictions. If the state of Texas fails, everyone will throw up their hands and give up on these victims of institutionalized child sexual abuse.

On behalf of the children, the girls and women, and even the “lost boys” and men who have been excommunicated by the alpha males of the FLDS, let us cry out to God for justice in this case… Then we must follow our intercession with our public outcry to holding up the arms of the authorities and sending a message to the judges: Protect the victims, not their abusers.

Terrorist Purim Bomb Severely Wounds Messianic Teen

Terrorist Purim Bomb Severely Wounds a 15-yr old Messianic Jewish Boy in Israel. The Investigation is Pointing to a Religious Jewish “anti-missionary” Sect. Justice for the Amiel Ortiz, son of David and Leah Ortiz of Ariel, Israel, may require activism from the worldwide Christian community for a thorough investigation and a just sentencing of the perpetrators. This is a call to alarm for the Church on behalf of the Messianic Jews of Israel.

Please give this the widest Christian circulation possible by forwarding to all those you know who care about God's blessing upon Israel. This is a call for the Church to activate by contacting the Israeli Embassy immediately and to keep it up until the perpetrators of terrorism against the believing family in Ariel, Israel are brought to justice. This is the first Messianic Action Committee alert that has been issued since around 1997 when so many bills were being attempted in the Knesset to imprison believers who share the gospel.

The Messianic Action Committee (MAC)
Report 82--March 2008

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you,
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matt. 5:11)

“…in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you
will think he is offering a service to God.” (John 16:2)

Dear Friends,

On Thursday, March 20^th, the eve of the feast of Purim here in Israel, fifteen year-old Ami Ortiz eagerly opened a brightly wrapped “Purim basket” which had been left anonymously on the family’s doorstep. The transparent cellophane wrapping showed a collection of candies within, the traditional contents of such gifts given and received by families throughout Israel at the holiday. Suddenly, with a deafening blast, the pipe bomb hidden beneath the sweets exploded, throwing Ami backwards into the kitchen and perforating his young body with hundreds of metal shards, nails, and screws which had been imbedded in the bomb for maximum killing power. Critically injured, Ami’s survival of the initial explosion was already a miracle, as the main force of the blast (and shrapnel) went up, down and out away from him, wreaking devastation on the ceiling, walls and furniture of the apartment.

Alone in the apartment, Ami had stayed home from school while his parents, Messianic Pastor David and Leah Ortiz, traveled to Jerusalem for the day. A friend who had just left the home after cleaning the apartment rushed back in to find Ami hanging between life and death and heard him murmur, “Yeshua, I need your help now.” Emergency medical personnel arrived quickly and initiated life saving procedures as they rushed him directly to 8 hours of surgery at the closest major hospital.

A team of surgeons took turns caring for massive open wounds on his limbs and torso, serious burns from the blast, a collapsed lung (with several screws and bolts lodged within), and damage to his right eye. Only after five days of surgeries and intensive care—and the medical staff’s repeated exclamations of “it’s a miracle!”—were the doctors able to say that Ami had a good chance of survival. Just this morning (March 28^th), following surgery on Ami’s right eye for the removal of more shrapnel, the Ortiz’s were informed that it looked like Ami would be able to see out of both eyes. Praise God! Nevertheless, Ami has a very long road ahead of him, including tremendous pain and significant risks due to his wounds and burns and the possibility of infection. Please pray for Ami and his family (including 5 older siblings), that the Lord would continue to work miracles of healing, and give them grace and supernatural comfort and strength.

Israeli police and security services investigating this murderous attack are keeping a very tight lid on leads and potential suspects in this case, hoping to uncover the conspiratorial ring behind the one who planted the bomb. It is clear, however, that David and his wife Leah were the intended targets, their patterns of activity being well known and often observed. David has been active for many years in outreach to Palestinian Muslims throughout the West Bank region surrounding the town of Ariel when the family lives, and David pastors a home congregation of Jewish believers there, also the fruit of his ministry. He has received threats and harassment from both fundamentalist Muslims and Orthodox Jews, including slanderous claims that he is part of “the missionary cult of Messianic Jews”—an accusation which would justify murder in certain radical religious circles.

Such slanders have been disseminated against many believers and congregations in the Land, and have resulted in threats, personal attacks and even violent demonstrations against Messianic congregations in Arad and Beersheba. To date, police efforts have been minimal at best in protecting the rights and safety of believers, once again because they are perceived as “missionaries” who are assumed to ‘prey upon the poor, young, and ignorant, using every underhanded trick (including bribery) in order to steal their souls from the Jewish people via conversion to Christianity.’ Unfortunately, even the public media in the country promote this prejudice and unwittingly justify the attacks with statements such as, “where there are missionaries there will be anti-missionaries” (Channel 10 television news on the evening following the attack on the Ortiz family). Internet ‘talk-backs’ responding to the few journalists who have spoken out clearly and strongly against the attack have included claims that the attempted murder was a legitimate act of self defense against a spiritual assault on the Jewish people! (See http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3522911,00.html).

Please pray for those believers who are being interviewed in the media as a result of this attack and who must deal with inquiries into our faith and practices which are often intended to portray believers as some kind of secretive and suspect cult. Pray that the believers’ responses will be clear, uncompromising, and yet gracious, and that Israelis will be drawn to learn about Yeshua the Messiah as a result.

As believers in the Messiah Yeshua, we have a command from our Lord to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). This we do, entreating the Father that He might give to those who have been blinded by the ‘god of this world’ “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah” (II Cor. 4:6)—as He gave to the persecutor Saul on the Damascus road. At the same time, we take our example from Saul/Paul, who demanded that the municipal officials in Philippi, who had wrongly beaten and imprisoned him and Silas, personally and publicly release them, in order to demonstrate to all that the believers in Yeshua had done no wrong in proclaiming Him (Acts 16:35-40). Living in a democratic society, we have every right, in fact we have the responsibility, to use the law and our rights as citizens to protect ourselves from illegal abuse and thus to protect our right to proclaim Yeshua as Messiah and Savior to our people.

There is good reason to believe that, if the perpetrators of this attempted murder were in fact Jewish religious extremists, there will be great pressure on the police and courts to “go easy on them” given the alleged severe “provocation” of the “missionaries.” Ultra-orthodox religious politicians, who wield considerable power and influence in Israel’s Knesset and government ministries, have been key propagators of the slanderous misrepresentations of Messianic believers in Yeshua through their bills to outlaw the free expression of Messianic faith in Israel. We would urge you to pray that justice—complete and uncompromising justice—will be done in this case; that a precedent will be clearly established rejecting totally and unequivocally any violence or incitement against believers in Yeshua simply because of their faith in Him and their obedience to His commands.

In addition, we would ask each of you to contact your elected officials and to urge them to contact their Israeli counterparts or the Israeli embassy in your country and to express their concerns both over the attack on Ami Ortiz (who also holds an American passport) and also regarding the possibility of a half-hearted prosecution of the perpetrators of this hate-crime. Communication between government officials as suggested will help bolster the forces of freedom and democracy in our country and to counterbalance the influence of the anti-democratic minority who do not accept or respect equal rights for all under the laws of the State of Israel.

Also consider contacting your local Israeli embassy or consulate directly by fax, phone, and/or email as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Public Safety in Israel, as this also has a cumulative effect on Israeli policy makers (for a model letter and links to contact information, see end of report). It is important that your request be communicated in a spirit of genuine love and support for the people of Israel, and of deep respect and concern for the country’s democratic nature. The people of Israel generally are appalled by attacks such as these, even if the media often under-reports or reframes the issues in a negative way towards us. Many of Israel’s politicians are embarrassed and dismayed by the lack of internalized democratic values among some of Israel’s citizenry.

Thank you for “standing in the gap” with us in response to this serious development in the situation of the Body of Messiah in Israel. The implications for all of us who live and serve in the Land cannot be underestimated.

We urge you to keep the Messianic Action Committee in your prayers for wisdom, as we continue to monitor anti-religious freedom legislation in the Knesset, and as we consider how to deal with both latent and blatant discrimination against the believers in Israel.

MESSIANIC ACTION COMMITTEE

Noam Hendren, Chairman
Israel Harel, Vice-Chairman
Eitan Kashtan
Charles Kopp
Marvin Kramer, Esq.

themac@netvision.net.il

**The MAC's continued work depends on contributions from our friends and partners. Those interested in helping may send donations to our mailing address at the bottom of the page, or by wire to:

Bank Leumi, 32 Maskit Street, Herzliya Pituach, Israel
Telephone: 972-9-970-6333, Fax No. 972-9-970-6355
Branch/Account No. 864-12986-16 ABA No./SWIST CODE LEUMILIT864

99000 The MAC P. O. Box 697, Beit Shemesh 99000 Israel

E-mail: themac@netvision.net.il

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Feel free to use the following as a model for your own letter, or to copy and paste it into a new document:

Dear Israeli Ambassador/Minister,

As a Christian friend of Israel, I am appalled at the recent terrorist attempt to murder the Ortiz family in Ariel during Purim. I am deeply saddened that young Ami Ortiz has to fight for his life in an intensive care unit due to this heinous hate crime against Messianic Jews in Israel. I am counting on the Israeli government to make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this attack and to prosecute them as you would any other terrorist (for that is what they are). Anything less will simply give a signal that believers in Yeshua/Jesus are “fair game” and that acts of persecution and terror against them are somehow tolerable.

Your government’s reluctance to take decisive action against those who have attacked Messianic Jews and their congregations in Arad and Beersheba during recent years appears to have emboldened those with no respect for Israel’s democratic tradition of equal rights under the law. Inaction or compromise at this critical juncture will inevitably damage Israel’s well-deserved reputation as the only true democracy in the Middle East and could seriously undermine the strong support for Israel which Evangelical Christians around the world maintain. I pray that your government and judiciary will not let such a thing happen.

Please urge your government to take whatever steps are necessary insure the safety of Messianic Jews and other believers in Jesus throughout Israel and to uphold their religious freedom and democratic rights, as promised in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. This will guarantee that Israel will truly fulfill her calling to be “a light to the nations.”

I am praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122).

Yours Truly,

Contact Information:

Israeli Embassies and Consulates abroad: http://www.science.co.il/Embassy.asp)
MFA link: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Structure+and+departments
**Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs is Ms. Tsippi Livni

Ministry of Public Security, email address: sar@mops.gov.il
**Israel’s Minister of Public Safety is Mr. Abraham Dichter

Would Jesus seek to convert the Jews?

Would Jesus seek to convert the Jews?
More to the point:
Would Yeshua call Jews to return to the Lord?

Tshuvah

A few days a great controversy was stirred up by the World Evangelical Alliance which published a statement in the New York Times affirming their love and friendship for the Jewish people, but unapologetically stating that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

Although they may have softened the blow somewhat by using His Hebrew name and title, Messiah Yeshua, nevertheless it was a statement bound to make waves in religious circles.

Fairly immediately many in the Jewish community – especially those who have fostered inter-faith alliances with the Christian community – cried, Foul! Asking publicly, “Would Jesus seek to convert the Jews?”

Before Israel-supporting Christians beat a hasty retreat from the backlash of the WEA statement we must understand what the word “convert” means to Jewish ears and what it meant to those Jews, including Jesus, who spoke about it in its Hebrew context in the first century.

When Jews today hear or say the word “convert” in relationship to a Jew placing faith in Jesus, what they think is, this is a Jew who has ceased being Jewish and has become a Christian…like they forced Jews to do in the Spainish Inquisition, for example.

The sense of the word “convert” or “conversion” in these days is bound up in the Jewish mind as the forced conversions of Jews to Christianity in the past. As Christians we need to understand that heavy baggage we carry with Jews but we also need to address the sense of the word in its root form, and in the meaning it was given by the biblical speakers.

It is not a "conversion" to Christianity for Jews to recognize Israel's Messiah. It is instead a return to the God their fathers. As Yeshua said in John 8:53, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Few of us wanted people bothering us with the gospel before God quickened our hearts with the knowledge that Jesus was the son of God. Jews are no different from us in that, with the exception of a history of Christian coercion of Jews to see the Light that God had not yet shown them.

It is good that the WEA statement acknowledged that fools rush in unprepared to understand where the Jewish people are really coming from on the issue of Yeshua, whose very name means salvation in Hebrew. It is good that the WEA has made a distinction that both upholds the good news of salvation to every nation, tongue and tribe in the world, without compromising on the good and FREE will of all to see Him and choose Him.

There will be a lot a pressure applied because of this WEA statement to compromise the gospel by saying Jews have their own special way to God that does not need Jesus. It is better for these evangelicals to keep their alliance with Yeshua and the Father God, than to try to keep alliance with unsaved Israel.

The WEA made the very important statement that there is an anointing to reach the Jewish people that they would leave up to those with the anointing, which would be the Jewish and Palestinian Arab followers of Yeshua who are Israeli citizens. Some 10-15,000 Jews believers in Israel carry the testimony of the Lord in their daily lives, which is were all valid testimony is demonstrated.

The WEA is doing its part just by recognizing and supporting the anointing that is on the Jewish believers of Israel to be witnesses for the Lord to their own people.

Those who refuse to make this acknowledgment, and who compromise on the need of Jews for Yeshua's salvation, are not merely trying to keep peace within the context of the Jewish-Christian alliance, they are also compromised with regards to the gospel of Messiah Yeshua, or as they refer to Him, Jesus Christ.

In the true sense of the word, it is not “conversion” for Jews to come to faith in Yeshua.

James 5:19 uses the word in the same sense as the Hebrew word tshuvah – to turn, to make a turnaround.

Matthew 13:15, Yeshua says of Israel, ¹⁵For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Again, it is used the word in the same sense as the Hebrew word tshuvah – to turn, to make a turnaround.

In every case of use in the New Testament, it is used in the same sense as the word tshuvah, to make a turnaround. We are walking the wrong way, then we see Yeshua and make a turnaround and follow Him in the right path. That is what the word “convert” means, which has taken on a religious meaning that is alien to the true meaning as it was spoken and written the Lord and His first century apostles who understood the meaning of tshuvah – and the call of God throughout the ages to “Tshuvah!”

As in Psalm 80:7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

"Turn," which is from the root Hebrew word “shub,” to turn back, to return to the starting point.

Salvation is coming to the Jewish people. It has already begun. There is great warfare that surrounds it, but it is promised by God to come and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Support the Body of Messiah in Israel who bear the witness and testimony of God’s salvation to the Jews through Messiah Yeshua.

As Yeshua told His countrymen at the temple in Jerusalem just before the crowd became a mob picking up stones to throw at Him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”