Friday, November 30, 2007

Annapolis means "I am the police."

Can anything good come from Annapolis?

Before the meeting it was seemingly unanimous that nothing good could issue from the meeting but only disaster. What a difference 24 hours makes.

Now the Israeli media—which along with most believers had been predicting only dire consequences of even meeting in Annapolis—is almost unanimously pleased with what was accomplished. It is so easy to say, “Washington is pressuring Israel,” even when nothing could be farther from the truth.

GOD help us to recognize who are friends are and not to mistake any of them for enemies. Our prayer is for discernment and understanding of the times.

I thought this was an astute observation from the Hebrew press:
“The Jerusalem Post agrees with President Bush, when he claims that the battle for Arab-Israeli peace has become part of the battle against Islamic "extremists." This means that 2008, the year in which
Arabs and Israelis are aiming to reach agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state, must also be the year that the Iranian regime's bid for nuclear-backed hegemony is repelled.”

Another astute observation, this time from the Arabic press:
Arabic commentators have "made much of a linguistic coincidence:
In Arabic, ana polis means "I am the police."

"President Bush's message, former Lebanese Cabinet minister Essam Norman wrote in that country's opposition Al-Akhbar newspaper, is: 'I am the policeman of the Middle East, responsible for your safety and security. Beware devious troublemaking. Israel isn't the enemy, Iran is."

By "opposition" the Washington Post writers meant, Syrian-backed, Hizballah-leaning political forces within the Lebanese government.

It's ironic that the enemies of peace and freedom all see President Bush's Annapolis meeting as a challenge to Middle Eastern radical Islamic extremism, while so many pro-Israel Christians and far right Israelis think Bush is just out to destroy Israel.

From my perspective the enemies of Israel have far better discernment of the character and motives of President Bush. Thank you, Mr. President, for not basing what you do on the personal favor or displeasure of the crowd.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Getting Started

First entry.

This is an experiment. MySpace was not a good fit for me. I need a quick in-and-out place to write about things going on in the realms I'm engaged in. Technical hassles are not something I want to deal with. So we'll see how this works out.

Every week I put out a summary of prayer requests from the indigenous ministries of Israel to my mailing lists. This gets done if nothing else does. Secondarily, I do a news launch to news items that I believe are important for Christians in regard to Israel. This is where my 'second opinion' really diverges from the majority view. That news launch goes out to a mailing list and is also posted on my web site www.israelprayer.com

More than likely this blog will serve as a place to relay what my thoughts are on the news I'm reviewing for the news launch or current events surrounding the believing Jews and Arabs in Israel and the Palestinian controlled areas.

This may end up being a perfect outlet. Who knows?