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.”

The Church that cried 'Wolf'

Here is just a thought. I have been dismayed and frustrated at many things during this run up to the presidential elections.

One of the things that has really been bothersome to me are the multitude of emails that I get from Christians circulating false accusations against Barack Obama. Not only have I received more of those emails than I can even count over the past year, but every conversation about the elections that I have sat in on with any group of Christians, one or more brought up the false accusations about Barack Obama, and clung to them as if they were true even after being told the specific accusation had been conclusively disproved.

It doesn't take much internet research time to confirm or disprove the strong accusations that circulate against someone via emails. It should be standard procedure to do so before passing it along.

Here's how not doing that has complicated these elections. There are real reasons to be concerned about positions Barack Obama holds and will act according to if he is elected president. But because the false accusations have been so many and so unfounded, no one will listen to the facts about him anymore.

Literally, the Church has been like the little boy who cried "wolf!' so often that no one listened when a wolf really was on the scene.

You may say that it is not fair to lump the whole Church into this, but it is shameful how many Christians have participated in the unsubstantiated circulation of lies against Barack Obama. I am very concerned about Obama's true problematic positions on the issues but unfortunately the barrage of lies against him have served only to erect a deflecting shield around him against any questioning.

As believers, we may not be able to penetrate that shield that brings Obama's positions into accountability until we repent for all the false witness that we have borne against him over many months. Like the boy who cried 'wolf' when there was no wolf, we may find ourselves eaten up by this if we do not repent now for our bad acts against him that had no basis in truth.

Unfortunately, we have been following the lead of many conservative talk radio pundits who do not exhibit any conscience about making insinuations about political enemies that they know well are untrue. It is just a political game to them even though many of them also claim to be believers. Their conscience must be hardened by the delight of their listeners to the outrageous comments they make against political enemies.

We need to realize that we have an ethical bar to rise to as believers, even in the election cycle. We must repent for violating a commandment the God felt important enough to include in His 'top ten' list, Exodus 20:16: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

When we repent and turn from such evils, then maybe others will listen to the true concerns we have about the candidates.

Otherwise, we have no credibility with God or man.

Wake Up! Tsunami Obama is coming!

Those watching the presidential nominee primary elections should zero in on something that is barely being spoken of in the news media, and that is the staggering numbers of voters that are coming out to vote for the Democrat nominees in contrast to Republican nominees.

My own assessment of this is that the media is not talking about this because they don't want the more conservative voters roused from their drowsiness in time to respond to the tsunami of support for Obama.

For instance,
in the Potomac primaries just held:
Democrat votes cast: 1,827,000
Republican votes case 778,000

in the Feb 5 Super Tuesday vote in 19 states brought out:
Democrats 18.3 million votes cast
Republicans 12.3 million votes cast

6 million more Democratic voters! Those are numbers that indicate that our nation is about to be run the next four years by someone who is so liberal that in the national security arena alone, our efforts to combat Islamic terrorist and our safety as a nation could be set back twenty years!

When I see how the leading voices of the Conservative movement are defending their holdout of backing the Republican candidate who already has the numbers to have won the nomination--BECAUSE they want to 'teach Republicans the lesson that you don't own our vote'--I am just appalled at the short-sightedness and self-importance they are displaying.

What? They think it is just a political game and 4 years of liberal leadership cannot severely damage this nation--especially from the security standpoint? It is appalling to see people that I have respected and agreed with over so many years on the issues, those with conservative and faith-based views, suddenly staging a mutiny from the conservative political party when such a groundswell of idealism is thrusting Barack Obama far into the lead of votes.

These self-absorbed conservatives are sacrificing this election to make the point they will not be under-valued in this election. (Hey-they could have put their great candidate forward at any time! Is it the fault of the Republican party that they did not get the vote out and McCain now has the numbers to take the nomination?) Truly this is a case of the proverbial cutting the nose off to spite the face!

To me this is like believers who argue point of theology without ever realizing that actual people are affected. It's not just politics. It's not just a game. This is about the future of the United States and our security is really on the line with this vote.

Whether you agree with what I've written here or not, we can agree that there is much disunity in the country at a time when there is a great deal at stake. Let's continue to pray for the unity among God's people and an awakening for those who are drowsy in a time a great spiritual warfare. Let us pray that none of those who have voices of influence among us will place their own ambitions and self-interests above the welfare of the nation--and if they do, that their constituency will not follow them into foolishness.

I have stood against Christians spreading of falsehoods about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I'm totally against that. But the reality is that our national security, and the U.S. alliance with the State of Israel, is hugely threatened by an Obama presidency (because of things on the record by his foreign affairs adviser, among other things).

God can redeem any situation, but if we can dodge the bullet of spending the next four years going in the opposite direction of our national security, then we sure ought to reach for that with great vigor. Otherwise, we are going to look up and find ourselves in the same vise grip as the European nations find themselves. Maybe this is the course we are getting set for...but I am going to personally wage war against that, in Yeshua's name!

State of the Union: Politics as Usual

This is just an observation from the State of the Union address by President Bush last night. It really doesn't have much to do with his address as much as it has to do with the dynamics going on in the fight for who will be the Democratic candidate for President.

Who could help noticing how forlorn Hilary Clinton looked in the several audience shots that focused on her. I felt a little sorry for her because it looked like it was taking everything within her just to sit there with an emotionless expression....except the giveaway sadness in her eyes.

Who could blame her if she was feeling down? Ted Kennedy delivered a power punch to Hilary's bid for the Democratic nomination yesterday.

Even the conservative pundits were jazzed about how awe inspiring the 3-Kennedy stamp of approval on Barack Obama had been earlier in the day. The return of "Camelot." (Oy veh. Pure fairytale.)

Now Obama sat listening thoughtfully to the State of the Union address with Senator Kennedy at his side, the senior senator's message loudly stating: 'I am protecting Obama now! Watch out, junior, a real power broker is in the house.'

Politics as usual. That's what is really scary to me. We let some of them stay there so long that they have far too much personal power. Senator Kennedy was teaching Bill Clinton a lesson: 'You can't ignore me because I still have the power to squash your dreams.' I don't think it was about what is best for the nation, but was a personal power trip by Kennedy.

I have no doubt that the Clintons will fight back. They still have their friends. Senator Biden seemed to console Hilary sitting to her side.

Still, it is a little sickening to me to see the manipulation of the public in such an important matter as the presidency all for the sake of some old politician's sense of personal power. If Bill Clinton had heeded Ted Kennedy's warning to lower the rhetoric, then we probably would not have seen three Kennedys come out yesterday to throw their backing behind Obama. Bill played his own game, however, and Teddy decided to show him he still had some major weight to throw around.

I don't want Hilary as our next president. I don't want Obama in that seat either. Neither one of them have the guts or the vision to chart the course of our nation through the shark infested waters of the international war on terrorism. But I hate seeing what politics as usual is capable of like we were seeing yesterday.

If the American people would like to see real change take place, then in the next three years they would throw the bums out who are locking up all movement in Congress because they've been there too long and amassed the political power base to keep anything from happening! We might be amazed at how much would get done with a clean sweep of deadbeats from the congressional halls. (Deadbeats being those incapable of compromise for the good of the nation.)

The biggest problem in the United States government today is the deadlock going on politically. We are like those people who were trapped in the burning nightclub a few years ago sardined in so tightly that even though they were right in the doorway, they couldn't emerge from the burning building to save themselves. That is a hell of a place to put ourselves.

DoD Fires Top Terrorism Expert

What is Going on in the State Department and the Intelligence Agencies?!?

Here is more evidence of what we knew already—there are forces within the U.S. State Department and Intelligence Agencies who are committed to the ostrich approach to the war on terror that is against us. We are as the Germans were, poised in willful ignorance before the Nazi dam broke and they lost their ability to resist.

Last week the top Islamic Terrorism expert in the Defense Department was informed that his contract would not be renewed after submitting a report on court evidence that emerged in the Hamas/Holy Land Foundation case last year, that a Department of Defense outreach to the Muslim community was actually bringing in several groups to the DoD program that are front organizations in the pro-Jihad Muslim Brotherhood.

The Defense Department Muslim outreach program is headed by Hasham Islam, a close aide to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England.

The dismissal of the Islamic terrorism expert will effectively “halt the career of one of the U.S. government's most important figures in analyzing the nature of extremism and ultimately preparing to wage ideological war against it.”

Officials said Stephen Coughlin was let go because he became “too hot” within the Pentagon. On January 4, the Washington Times reported that Major Coughlin was being fired for his work and was "accused directly by Mr. Islam of being a Christian zealot or extremist 'with a pen,' according to defense officials." The report noted that after a meeting with Hasham Islam, Coughlin was being pressured "to take a softer line on Islam and Islamic law elements that promote extremism".

After the ambush of President Bush by several hostile bureaucrats within the national intelligence agencies emerged last month in the NIE report saying Iran was probably not still pursing nuclear bomb-making, and the CIA leak while President Bush was in Israel last week disclosing a 30-year old top secret assessment of Israel’s nuclear capabilities, there can be little doubt that domestic saboteurs of the U.S. administration’s war on terror are actively undermining our ability to protect ourselves from stealth tactics of radical Islam within the United States.

Other nations have awakened to the threat and changed course, including France and Germany. If Christians will not awaken to the threat before them and begin to listen to the leaders who are telling them the hard truth of the ongoing nature of this warfare we must engage in and not try to pretend is not in full swing, then we will find ourselves swamped by the floodtides of an internal enemy that overtook the German people sixty something years ago.

Wake up American Christians, a great stumbling is at the door and its desire is for you.

Read Stephen C. Coughlin’s July 2007 thesis “To Our Great Detriment”: Ignoring What Extremists Say About Jihad submitted to the faculty of the National Defense Intelligence College in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence.

In comments made at the National Defense University on 1 December 2005, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace explained to his audience the importance of “understand[ing] the nature of the enemy” if we hope to defeat jihadi extremists. Comparing our situation today, with that faced by an earlier generation who had to deal with the reality of the Nazi threat, General Pace suggested a simple solution to complying with his injunction: “read what our enemies have said. Remember Hitler…. He said in writing exactly what his plan was that we collectively ignored to our great detriment (emphasis added).” Just as we ignored Hitler’s articulation of his strategic doctrine in Mein Kampf, so too are we on the verge of suffering a similar fate today, if we fail to seriously assess the extremist threat based on jihadi strategic doctrine.

Introductory Quotes from Coughlin's paper:

The Chairman’s Charge

However absorbed a commander may be in the elaboration of his own thoughts, it is sometimes necessary to take the enemy into consideration.

Sir Winston Churchill, as quoted in FM 34-130,
Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield.

And I know there is an international jihadist movement that desires to do us harm and they have territorial ambitions. The reason I know that is that's what they've told us. And part of their territorial ambition is to have safe haven in Iraq. That's what they've said. That's what the enemy has clearly said. And it seems like to me that the Commander-in-Chief ought to listen to what the enemy says.

President George W. Bush
Rose Garden Press Conference
June 14, 2006

Bush visits Israel Holocaust Museum

For everyone who has heard bad things about Bush toward Israel, please read this touching article from an Israeli report on his visit to the Holocaust Museum yesterday.

Bush visits Yad Vashem museum

While touring the museum Bush asked why the U.S. had chosen to refrain from bombing Auschwitz to stop the mass murdering of Jews and Sec of State Rice explained to him they made their decision based on not wanting to be seen in the war just to be helping the Jews. Which Bush answered, "We should have bombed it."

A top Israeli Holocaust scholar says it is the first time an American president has made this acknowledgment.

Bush was seen misty eyed several times during the tour of the overwhelming evidence of the demonic hatred of the Jews experienced last century in Germany.

This is a friend of Israel who has not been given his due for stands taken with God for the Chosen People. At least in Israel, many--even a majority--recognize this leader as the friend of Israel that he truly is. God bless President Bush, and God bless the United States of America who has been safe harbor for Jews from throughout the Diaspora (exile).

At the end of the re-election of George W. Bush to serve a second term, the Holy Spirit spoke in our local Israel Prayer meeting that it was not too early to begin to pray for the person who would enter the White House next to lead our nation, and to be the most powerful leader in all the nations of the world. We were to pray for someone who could take the stand that President Bush has begun for the United States and carry it forward in the will of God--continuing to be a true friend and ally to Israel, and not to shrink back from the battle that is hard against us in Islamic terrorism.

Please continue to pray that God will make His choice of man to lead the United States into the future, to safeguard our freedoms and stand as beacon of justice to the oppressed of the world. There is nothing impossible with God. He can take our current divisions and melt our hearts behind His chosen vessel to lead this nation in His purposes. Pray that those who call on the name of the Lord would hearken to His leading in this important national election.