Is Israel Protecting the Rights of ALL It's Citizens?

Here’s the Good News & the Bad News

The good news is that over the July 4th weekend the Jerusalem Post ran two honest reports by journalist Larry Derfner about the on-going persecution of believers in the Negev Desert region by the ultra-Orthodox. Praise God for Derfner’s, 'Watch out, missionaries!'

Religion can certainly get ugly and it has been this ugly many times over the past 5 and half years in Arad.

Lura and Eddie Beckford of Arad. Eddie has been under house arrest for over a year - seemingly the court's only 'solution' to the ongoing ultra-Orthodox harassment and persecution against the couple.

The bad news is that while the news article about Eddie and Lura Beckford, Christians in Arad was prominent in the online English JPost weekend magazine, Derfner’s article about the court case against the Chief Rabbi of Beer Sheva and anti-missionary activist organization Yad L’Achim by the Messianic Jewish congregation in Beer Sheva article was buried.

With an obscure title (‘Within the Law’) and Lord knows where they hid this article in the lineup of article choices – both editorial decisions not the decision of the journalist who wrote it – this article probably not seen by many English speakers at all. In fact, I have been informed that there has been NO HEBREW language coverage of this story at all!

The Jerusalem Post editors would like their English speaking Christian readers to see they are reporting on mistreatment of Christians in Israel, but they don’t want you seeing the mistreatment of our spiritual brothers and sisters, the Messianic Jews.

Heaven forbid, they don’t want the story to waft out into the Israeli public who would actually be concerned about things like injustice against Israeli Jews for their religious faith!


Howard Bass sitting outside of hospital room of Purim basket-terror bomb victim, Ami Ortiz, with dad David. The attempted murder of the Ortiz family in Ariel has not even seen an arrest in the case for almost a year and a half, despite surveillance footage of the religious perpetrator placing the shrapnel loaded package at the door. Howard Bass' Beer Sheva Congregation was the target of a religious mob invasion in December 2005. The mob was stirred by false accusations of child baptisms.

I suspect that Howard Bass’ Op-Ed, A nation under law? was also obscured in the Jerusalem Post online edition, based on the unbelievable fact that there are only 14 talkbacks attached to this major story (a trial that brings the Chief Rabbi of Beer Sheva to court for fomenting a riot against the Messianic congregation).

In contrast, talkbacks for the article on the Supreme Court declaring that the kosher certification that was pulled from Pnina Pie based on the owner’s faith in Yeshua/Jesus is not legal is registering a whopping 196 comments. Court declares Jew for Jesus ‘kosher’ There is no way this story is more controversial than the Bass Op-Ed, which means it did not see much light.

One footnote on the Derfner article on the Beer Sheva trial story about the testimony of Yad L’Achim’s Alex Artrovsky – a fact brought to my attention by Howard Bass: “Artrovsky, is not telling the truth when he says he was not at Deri's consultation with Deri the day before the riot. Deri's own affidavit says that he was!”

(Deri is the chief rabbi of Beer Sheva, and brother to Aryeh Deri, a Shas religious party politician who was imprisoned for various corruption charges. Pray that the judge presiding over this case is just and allows the truth to come to light. )

On the morning of Jul 7, as I would begin editing this Weekly Summary down into the key prayer points for Arrows of Zion, a Caspari Media Review has come in with yet another development:

The anti-missionary activists Yad L’Achim have made false accusations against the wife of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon that Ann Ayalon is a “convert who is actively engaged in preaching Christianity.” This was reported on the popular Hebrew TV news show “Fact” (Uvda) and is further indication of the stepped up level of inflaming the public and criminalizing Jews who believe in Yeshua/Jesus in Israeli public opinion.

Anyone who reads the Israeli newspapers online can see that the ultra-Orthodox are feeling quite 'empowered' lately rioting against many issues like parking lot openings in Jerusalem on Shabbat, or the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox mother for starving her son. The riots have been ugly and covered extensively by the Israeli media and therein lies the problem. It is the same ugliness rioting in the streets that has been rioting against the believers in the Negev Desert, but the media exposure is certainly different!

If the media is not reporting the offenses of the ultra-Orthodox against Messianic Jews in Hebrew, what does that tell you? They don't want the public to know. If the Israeli newspapers are willing to publish stories about this ultra-Orthodox persecution against Christians in Israel - in English - what does that tell you? They want you to believe they are telling you everything...only they aren't because they are not telling you about the persecution of JEWISH believers in Yeshua/Jesus that is ongoing.

Ami before the blast.
When 15-year old Ami Ortiz found the Purim basket the housekeeper had brought into the family apartment and placed on the kitchen table, he was expecting candies and treats. Instead Ami was blown to bits and it is a miracle the boy survived. Doctors did not expect he would.
Bomb blast, Ami's blood on the floor where a medical passer-by saved him from dying at the scene. This healing has been nothing short of miraculous but it is an ugly story that must be told - not only to Christians but also to Israelis. Ami's story is one that Christians must sit up and take notice of and one that Israelis would sit up and take notice of if they knew ultra-Orthodox violence has crossed this line.

The perpetrators of violence against Yeshua's inhertitance in Israel must be held accountable...or their violence will continue to escalate in all Israeli society.

Shame on the Arad, Israel police who stand by as if nothing is going on

Ultra-orthodox station themselves next door to Eddie and Lura Beckford in Arad as part of a backlash from the honest article written by Jerusalem Post journalist, Larry Derfner about the 5-year persecution of believers in Arad by the religious.

Read up on what this couple and others in Arad have been going through - plus many other videos.

Important Lebanon Win

The all important vote in the government has gone in a most praiseworthy direction: Lebanon Votes Democracy. The vote of the Lebanese people was NOT with the terror group Hezballah. Praise God!

Hezballah is a terror group, backed by the Shia Muslim leaders of Iran and aided by next door neighbor Syria, which74% Sunni Muslim. (Syria also shelters the exiled top leaders of the Hamas terrorist group, Meshaal and Marzouk.)

When politicians talk about Iraq having upset the "balance of power" in the Middle East they are talking about the Shia Muslim nations versus the Sunni Muslim nations. [See my break down of those nations here.]

Yet Shia Iran and Sunni Syria are invested in the Hezballah terror group because Hezballah's main reason for being is to a northern attack front on Israel. Yes, Hezballah seeks to gain political power in Lebanon and had been making great inroads, but that is not the top priority. The terrorist opposition to Israel is the origin of birth of this terror group and its over ridding mission.

Israel had enough of Hezballah firing rockets for months and months indiscriminately into its northern cities and countryside in July of 2006, when Hezballah crossed its border and killed three Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others. Prime Minister Olmert moved the Israeli Defense Forces to attack Hezballah inside Lebanon.

My point for the background brief is to say that there was much hand wringing over the action Israel took against Hezballah in Lebanon. Now the citizens of Israel were literally shell-shocked by dealing with the rockets that were coming down on their city streets, in their forests, in the countryside, so they were not hand wringing until AFTER the conflict ended and much damage had been done to the Hezballah infrastructure in Lebanon. That's when all the second-guessing set in.

Everyone said and everyone was worried that Lebanon would become even more radicalized by the Israeli war on Hezballah, that it would only serve to turn the pro-Western citizens into Hezballah supporting terrorist sympathizers.

This election ends that argument.

The proof that Israel did the right thing in the 2006 halting of Hezballah attacks on Israel's northern countryside is proven two-fold:

# 1. Now in the elections of 2006, Nasrallah and the bully terror leaders of Hezballah did not get the vote of citizens to take over the Lebanese government.

# 2. Guess what: the Israeli action halted rocket attacks terrorizing their citizens in the north.

The nay-sayers complained that Hezballah just rebuilt their infrastructure and gained even more popularity, but it sure didn't get them elected and it sure hasn't resulted in the cities of northern Israel being under the constant stress of an unpredictable rain of rocket fire.

Sometimes it just pays to stand up and fight against evil, and not be passive hoping to not make it worse.


Once again, the position that President George Bush took with Israel - that Israel must be allowed to defend itself - has been proven the correct stance.

I have heard a couple of prophets now make mention of how everyone thinks that Obama is chin-up confident, and that is the face he is keeping in public although in private he is very afraid that there will be a terror attack on his watch and he will be blamed. This word has borne witness to me.

This may be why Obama has been making such obeisant moves and statements towards the Muslims - trying to pacify so as to avoid terror attacks he will be blamed for.

Even in the eight or so hours between when I wrote this and when I posted it here, the Saudi King has come out with several demand statement about what Obama must do to tighten the screws on Israel in order to please the Arab nations. Obama thought his charm offensive would work on the Arabs like it did on the Americans. Think again.

This is exactly the wrong strategy for America to take. President Bush did have it right, and will be vindicated in the long run for having taken the courageous moral stand that he did in relation to terror and in the backing he gave our democratic and moral ally, Israel.

Declaring the word of the Lord from the Acco Sea Wall near the Lebanon border

Pray for Barack Obama to awaken to the truth and his need for fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit to lead him in all his decisions. Some people do not believe Obama is a Christian; I do, but I don't believe he is a Christian who has tasted of the heavenly gift, and has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and has tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Pray that he will, and it will burst into his life quickly for the sake of the United States of America.

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turns it whichever He wills. Pro 21:1

Will be believe with our natural eyes from what we see, or will we believe with the eyes of faith that even at this time, it is possible for God to change the course and direction of Barack Obama like the course of a river?

5 decry jail terms in Holy Land case

Jason Trahan's initial coverage of the sentencing in the Holy Land Foundation trial was page 1 online yesterday before the court broke for lunch. After that, to find his updates I had to do a key word search of "Holy Land Foundation" on the Dallas Morning News site because editors chose to bury the coverage.

Same with his final report filed, 5 decry jail terms in Holy Land case
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News 12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, May 28, 2009

Maybe they are burying the story out of fear of being sued again by the supporters of the HLF 5, including fellow named co-conspirators, CAIR - the Council of American Islamic Relations.

As the successful prosecutor in the first World Trade Center bombing, Andrew McCarthy recently wrote, "Radical Islam’s apologists abuse courts to shut down criticism," Combating Libel Lawfare

Fear of lawsuit would make sense. I did a cruise of all the Google news stories covering the sentencing yesterday of the HLF 5 and one thing is for sure: they are counting on doing a hard public relations drive with an eye toward the appeal process to chalk these convictions up to a miscarriage of justice. As one who sat through both trials, I can tell you that the evidence was overwhelming. There is no miscarriage of justice here.

The only problem is that with few exceptions both trials were only attended by Hamas and Holy Land Foundation supporters. The public only knows what they are told, and with the exception of Jason Trahan's coverage and a handful of expert watchdog counter-terrorism sites, most of the commentators on this trial are selling fantasies of innocence to the public.

It was pretty amazing to me that there was more interest shown from overseas news outlets than of U.S. news sources. Even the outlets that conservatives count on are low balling the coverage, not only of the second trial but also the powerful statement sent by federal court Judge Solis yesterday. This should not be. When we have victories in the war on terrorism, we should be shouting it from the roof tops and making sure the public understands the convictions were solid and the sentencing just.

Even a Palestinian news source out of Bethlehem, Ma'an News Net, clearly identified the HLF 5 with Hamas most tip-top leaders, Khalid Mash'al and Musa Abu Marzouk. "Mufid Abdulqader, 49, the half brother of exiled Hamas leader Khalid Mash’al" and "Mohammad El-Mezain, 55, a relative of Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq."

The Palestinian news agency wrote that Abdulqader was, "sentenced to 20 years in prison for aiding the group that the US deems a 'terrorist' organization." This is also why the five could stand up in court yesterday claiming innocence, because they do not even regard Hamas as a "terrorist" organization. They are pure in their own eyes, although tell that to the little children who have been blasted out of this life by Hamas suicide bombers while their strollers were parked outside of neighborhood Pizza parlors.

US District Judge Jorge Solis nailed it when he told the condemned yesterday, "Your function in life was raising money to support Hamas."

"You stated it was to help people, but the motive was to support Hamas," the judge said. "You state that you are innocent, but the evidence shows the opposite."

The evidence in the courtroom was overwhelming and clear, but that does not mean that lies will not prevail in the court of public opinion. That is why it is so disconcerting that there is barely any discussion of the victory of this trial in the current news cycle.

We are losing a perfect opportunity to educate the public in the facts with this trial victory. We are fools if we let it pass us by.

These five men can stand up with great conviction claiming that they are innocent because for a long time the world legitimized their terrorist acts against Israel as the war tactic of the weak. That is over.

Now that the reality of terrorist acts has been felt and faced in the American mind, the public is not so quick to give a pass to any who try to sell their innocence with the claim that terrorism is a legitimate ‘war’ tactic. Terrorists aren’t “freedom fighters” they are mass murderers.

Any who, like these five, have dedicated their lives to facilitating terrorists have made it possible for horrific terror strikes against men, women and children DESERVE to be recognized and shamed as cogs in the terror network that they are. It is time that public voices like Bob Ray Sanders, the Dallas Peace Center and the ACLU QUIT serving the interests of the terror networks by making so much noise about the “innocence” of Hamas terror network operatives like these five.

It is pure hypocrisy to say enhanced interrogation techniques are "torture," yet legitimatize terrorist acts by Hamas, Hezballah and other terror networks. The U.S. public should quit giving the benefit of the doubt to anyone who claims that terrorist acts are in any way legitimate. Terrorism is mass murder, not just another tactic of war.

Those who facilitate terrorism – including those who speak out for them trying to convince the public they are just victims of political witch hunting – deserve to be shamed and shunned by the good people of this land from shore to shore.

Sentences handed down in Holy Land Foundation 5 Trial

Holy Land Foundation defendant sentenced to 65 years


Graphic by http://www.heartlight.org

The Judge has rendered the first sentence against the Holy Land Foundation Five this morning. Shukri Abu Bakr got 65 years. The sentencings are expected to take most of the day.

Breaking News on the Cover of the Dallas Morning News online site:
Holy Land Foundation defendant sentenced to 65 years
by Jason Trahan

“I did it because I cared, not at the behest of Hamas,” Shukri Abu Baker, 50, of Garland, told the judge during a long address to the court where he explained why he founded what was once the nation’s largest Muslim charity organization.

U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis, after cutting him off over the objections of his defense attorney, told the convicted man, “You didn’t tell the whole story. Palestinians were in a desperate situation, but that doesn’t justify supporting Hamas.”

Read the full story and updates online

I wrote this at 7:45 AM today: This day marks the end of a particular watch for me that has lasted since 1993 when I learned that our government knew Hamas was fund raising in the U.S. The most intense times for me were in the pre-9/11 summer & after the attacks in Sept of 2001, when we began actively encouraging the local Dallas newspapers not to wither under the protests over their investigations into the Holy Land Foundation.

Finally in 2007 the first trial of the HLF5 began in Dallas. It ended in a mistrial and was retried in federal court here in Dallas in 2008. Guilty verdicts were handed down all five defendants and much evidence of the deep tentacles of the Hamas terror organization were revealed in court evidence. Prayer teams pushed through this outcome.

Today, no matter how Judge Solis sentences each of the five, it is a victory that we had a part in and a day many experts believed in their hearts they were never going to see. Thank God that these men were held to account, may all their appeals before human courts be denied.

Donna Diorio

A Pharaoh who did not know Joseph.

Israel has a new Prime Minister and the U.S. has a new President - a man who has indicated he will not be as supportive of Israel as his predecessor President Bush was. Beginning in June the arm twisting will likely begin to kick into high gear.
Don't be fooled by the cordial face of the meetings between Netanyahu and Obama earlier this week. The main issues have already been clearly defined: an intent to carve up Jerusalem and an insistence on stopping all Israel building in the disputed areas.

This is a President who does not have a grasp of the depth of American alliance with Israel, just as he is a president who does not have a grasp of the common sense the majority of Americans have regarding terrorism and national security issues. Obama is about to step into a big pile with his intentions in forcing Israel into an unwise position with its Arab neighbors.


Above is a photo I took in 2007 of Har Homa, which is a development just on the east entrance to Jerusalem coming from the Dead Sea. The last time Benjamin Netanyahu was Prime Minister, Har Homa was the battle ground, Arafat was the Palestinian head and Clinton was the man who wanted more than anything to deliver a final peace negotiation in the conflict.

It didn't happen but there was intense international pressure applied to Israel the whole time. Expect more of the same now that there is not a President who understands Israel's rights.

Mr. Netanyahu Goes to Washington

For praying people who love Israel, it is time to pray for the Israeli Prime Minister who will hold his first meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.

Several high level representatives of the Obama administration have made strong (and unreasonable) comments towards the Israeli leadership in the weeks leading to this meeting.

Pray that Netanyahu will not blink when faced with Chicago-style, strong arm politics. (Israel has had to strand strong against terrorists to survive, will a gangster-political style intimidate Netanyahu? I do not think the approach will yeild expected response.)

To many of my Israel-loving friends who never ceased to complain about George Bush and accused him of being less than a friend to Israel, I have to say, Now you will find out what a real 'less than a friend to Israel' looks like.

That being said, let's stand in faith declaring the promises of God toward Israel. At this point, we are going to have to mine a whole new, far more aggressive set of scriptures to pray over the U.S. relations with Israel than were necessary with President Bush. Here are some:

"The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the decrees of the deceitful." Pr 22:12

"I will wait on the Lord who hides His Face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. Here I AM & the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs & wonders in Israel from the LORD of armies who dwells in Mount Zion."
Is 8:17-18

"Therefore says the LORD who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
'Jacob shall not be ashamed,
nor shall his face now grow pale;
But when he sees his children,
the work of My hands in his midst,
they will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob
and fear of the God of Israel"
Is 29:22-24

In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious....when the LORD has washed away the filth of the daughter of Zion....Then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion and above her assemblies, a cloud and a smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For upon all, the glory shall be a defense.
Is 4:2-5

Ro 11:19-24 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Now these first few scriptures are promises of God toward the generation that God restores the natural branches (Israel) through faith in His Messiah, Yeshua Jesus.

They may seem out of context in praying for protection of Israel as it negotiates a new reality with a new U.S. President who does not recognize the right and plight of Israel in the midst of those who would harm her. (Sound like Exodus 1:8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph?)

But these promises of a Remnant of Faith in Israel must be fulfilled - whatever the politics of man than come and go, God still has business in Israel - and that family business is salvation.

Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn innocent blood.
But the LORD has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall cut them off in their own wickedness;
Ps 44:20-23

For I, says the LORD, will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst. Ze 2:5

Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around....2 Kings 6:16

“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD.
Is 54:16-17

That we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men....the LORD who is faithful, will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thess3:2-3

So He became their Savior; in all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them.
Is 63:9 (The Angel of His Presence is Jesus.)

I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Is 45:19