Hundreds of Thousands of Terrorists Ten Miles Away

Just a few days ago Israeli citizens watched television broadcasts of the return of former exiled Hamas leader Khalen Mashaal’s return to Gaza to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the terrorist group.  Literally hundreds of thousands of Hamas members and Arabs living in Gaza assembled to hear Mashaal and Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh shout insults, epithets, and warnings to the nation of Israel.  Even children were dressed in Hama military uniforms.

Now stop thinking like an American and start thinking like a Jew living in southern Israel.  Start thinking about what it would feel like to be watching live TV and seeing hundreds of thousands of your worst enemy being incited to conquer your country and kill you – and they are only ten miles away.  That is not just a nightmare.  That is reality.  Seriously, stop reading for a minute and just try to imagine it.  It is not just a reality, it is a frightening reality.

Mashaal not only said that Hamas will “never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation,” but that “Jihad and the armed resistance is the only true path to liberation.  We kill the Zionists because they are conquerors and we will continue to kill anyone who takes our land and our holy places.”

Before we discover more of what Mashaal said, let’s review:

·         Gaza was taken from Israel by Egypt in the War of 1948

·         Gaza was taken back by Egypt in the Six Day War in 1967

·         Israel subsequently allow Palestinian refugees (from their own Arab countries) to live in Gaza as a separate entity.

·         Hamas has repeatedly and almost continually wrought terror in the south of Israel.

Okay.  Now that we know that Mashaal is another maniacal Islamic terrorist leader molded in the likeness of Ahmadinejad and Arafat, we can keep his tirades in proper perspective.  Things like, “Liberating Palestine, all of Palestine, is the duty and right and goal of all Arabs and Muslims.”  When he says, “Palestine” he is including Israel.  He went on to say that “From the sea to the (Jordan) river, from north to south, we will not give up any part of Palestine.  It is our country, our right and our homeland.”  That is patently not true, but it is what he believes to be the truth.

Israeli Vice-Premier wrapped up the situation, describing the difference between Mashaal and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas it that the latter wraps his extremist ideology in pretty words.  He is absolutely right.  Israel is not only surrounded enemy countries, but it borders two very large terrorist threats with the PA/PLO in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

By the way, Hamas thinks that it won the eight-day war a couple of weeks ago, because Israel agreed to a ceasefire rather than invade Gaza.  This is a clear example of the twisted Islamic propaganda machine.  They could not tell the truth if it hit them in the face.

Our friends in Israel need our prayers.  They are in a desperate situation.  Normally it would be described as an impossible situation, but “with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

Our prayers can shake the very heavens because our God is Jehovah.  He is the protector of Israel.  People have tried to eradicate the Jews, but that will never happen.  Even if the situation gets worse, and it will, the Protector of Israel will always save them from oppression.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)

Foundational information for this article can be found at the Times of Israel, International Business Times, and Israel National News.

Israel Monitors Egyptian Rhetoric

The Israeli government and a human rights organization are keeping an eye on new expressions of anti-Semitism coming out of Egypt in light of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in that nation. There is also anxiety because the Obama administration has yet to speak out about it.

Fueling the latest concern was Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s reaction to an Imam’s prayer calling for the destruction of Israel. Last week influential Imam Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour prayed, “Oh Allah ... grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters.” Morsi was seen mouthing the word “Amen” to that prayer.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center points to Morsi’s action as just another example of a disturbing trend since Morsi took over the Egyptian presidency from predecessor Hosni Mubarak. “The rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood has prompted open expressions of anti-Semitism in ways that were never publicly expressed during the Mubarak period," the center’s Efraim Zuroff  told Fox News, adding that the Obama administration “is treating this far less seriously than it should be.”

With their expressed goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa (Golden Dome) Mosque, the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie, told his followers, “Every Muslim is obliged to wage Jihad in order to restore it (Jerusalem) to Muslim rule. Allah would free the world of their (Jewish) filth and corruption...Jerusalem will be regained only through Jihad, not through negotiations.”

The Israeli government is also paying attention to the talk coming out of Egypt. “We have no illusions about the Muslim Brotherhood ideology," a senior Israeli diplomat told Fox News. "There is a sense of wariness here and an additional injection of uncertainty.”

The Wiesenthal Center’s Zuroff  says he’s troubled by the Obama administration’s inattention to the Brotherhood’s rhetoric. "They are giving Egypt’s new leadership tremendous latitude when it comes to things like this, despite the fact that these are the type of issues on which they should be held accountable,” Zuroff said.

History is littered with nations and people groups who have aligned themselves against the Jewish people. Such action is predicted in Zechariah 12:3: “

It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” While this verse may look toward a future day of Armageddon, it has certainly seen its fulfillment in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Pray today for the nation of Israel and their protection from forces that would destroy them.

To read the original Fox News article, click.

Egypt's Mursi Speaks of Peace - On Islamic Terms

“Peaceful statements released from Egypt over the next few years should not deceive observers into believing that the (Muslim) Brotherhood has abandoned its religious ideology and its comprehensive Islamic vision.  Talking peace, while preparing for  Jihad, is an integral part of Jihad.”

This startling statement made Itamar Marcus and Jacques Ziberdik of the Palestinian Media Watch should be read by every non-Islamic person in the world.  Defining for us what the terrorist organization The Muslim Brotherhood means when they speak of ‘peace’ should shake us to our very core as we have a clear understanding that they are not saying the same thing that most of us are.

As Marcus and Ziberdik pointed out this week, the peace talk that the Muslim Brotherhood uses is very narrowly defined.  This is increasingly important as Egypt’s new president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, says “we carry a message of peace to the world.”  It also applies when members of the Muslim Brotherhood are invited by our own president to meetings at our White House.  It may even apply to members of the Brotherhood or relatives of members of the Brotherhood who are working in the current administration.

The Muslim meaning of peace is interpreted by the former president of the Brotherhood, Mustafa Mashhur, in his book Jihad is the Way.  The title alone ought to provide a foreshadowing of what is to come.

The book is an attack on Israel and the Jews, saying that the problem of Israel occupying “stolen land” is not a starting point for negotiations.  That they must leave is considered non-negotiable.  Mashhur clarified for the Brotherhood that the problem of Israel “can be resolved neither by negotiation nor by recognizing the enemy’s right to the Islamic land he stole.”

The principle that Mursi and the Brotherhood espouse as ‘peace’ is known as ‘sabr’ or a kind of patient resolve.  It is taught as a part of the theology of jihad which says that it is important to patiently plan and quietly await the best possible timing for the final and actual acts of ruthless destruction of Islam’s enemies.  “It is not necessary for the Muslims to repel every attack or damage caused by the enemies of Allah immediately, rather when ability and the circumstances allow for it.”

So, Mursi does not really abandon his extremist beliefs when he speaks of peace.  He is merely embracing sabr.  He is talking about waiting for the right time.  He is talking about stabilizing the Egyptian government and economy until the country is in a position to defeat Israel without fear of losing.

Satan’s chief tactic is always deception.  The Islamist extremists know that we will not understand their pronouncements of peace.  We cannot afford to be ignorant.  We most certainly cannot afford for our leaders to be ignorant.  Tell your friends about this article.  Post it on Facebook.  And pray that we will be able to discern what is really being said, being planned, and being done.  And pray for the lasting peace of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

To read more about this topic, go here.