Iranian Jews Leave Their Silent Nightmare, Come Home to Israel

Jewish life in Iran. Via INN:

Ten Iranian Jewish families – 40 Iranian Jews in all -- began new lives Tuesday night when they came home to Israel. "How they were brought to Israel and information about who they are is classified information, " Jewish Agency spokesman Michael Jankelovitch said in an exclusive interview with Israel National News.

"This is a new initiative," said Jankelovitch, "a joint project of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and the Jewish Agency for Israel."

A total of 200 Iranian Jews made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) this year, triple the number from just a year ago, when only 65 Jews made Aliyah to Israel from Iran. According to Jankelovitch, the majority of the Jews who left Iran permanently this year came to Israel.

One million dollars – fully half of the budget for this year's project, came from the Fellowship, said Jankelovitch, adding that the entire sum has been exhausted. "The organization is now embarking on a new campaign to raise funds to continue the work for 2008," he added.

Why Iranian Jews, and why now?

"Because their lives are at stake," answered Jankelovitz simply. "They are in a unique situation because of the regime. There are increased cases of discrimination. Learning the Hebrew language has been banned. Jewish day schools have been closed down – all of them. There are no more Jewish day schools in Iran," he said.

Jewish children have to go to school on Shabbat, and on all Jewish holidays including Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

"They come with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a small suitcase with almost no money at all," said Jankelovitch. "Their money is worthless because of the exchange rate. People live in a beautiful house which they sell and it is not even worth $10,000."

In order to balance that hardship, each new immigrant from Iran, including the children, receives a grant of $10,000. A family of five thus receives a total of $50,000 with which to begin their new lives in addition to the usual basket of new immigrant benefits received by everyone else who comes to make Israel their home.

Update: About 40 Jews who left Iran in secret arrived in Israel yesterday — one of the largest such defections — and got a Christmas present of $10,000 per person from U.S. evangelicals.

To whomever those Christians are, I want to personally thank you. May G-d Bless you and your families.

"Amen" for Israel, Say Christian Zionists

From "Amen" for Israel, Say Christian Zionists:

Paul McCaleb, 73, from Tennessee, and some 7,000 mostly evangelical Christians from across the world flocked to the Holy Land this week to celebrate the Jewish festival of Sukkot and to show support for Israel. "Coming here just does something inside of me," McCaleb said at Shilo, a holy Jewish site in the West Bank where the Bible says the Ark of the Covenant once rested. "This land belongs to God, and God gave it to the Jews." Some pilgrims toured army bases and donated gifts to Israeli soldiers, while others gave money to buy mobile bomb shelters for communities near the border with Gaza, which are often targeted by rockets from Palestinian militants.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, which organizes the annual festival, argues that Christians and Jews share the same spiritual roots and says it wants to help erase the legacy of anti-Semitism. "There is no dark agenda," David Parsons, ICEJ media director said. "Christians are realizing that God still loves the Jews and their return to Israel is of great biblical significance."

Evangelicals and Other Loving Christians

Ruth Matar is one of my heroines. I have heard her speak, I've read of her passionate advocacy for our beloved Israel, how she has been on the frontlines of Zionism risking her life and family in defense of Israel's sovereignty and legitimacy, and just recently, I listened to a brief interview with her and Walter Bingham - who I also love by the way - on this terrific broadcast of Walter Bingham's Radio Show, taped on Erev Tisha B'av. Now Naomi has written an excellent article on why Jews should love Christian evangelicals, something I have been writing about for years.

Click here to read Ruth Matar's passionate instruction to her fellow Jews.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Her Career and Agendas

Read this article to learn about Hillary Rodham Clinton: Her Career and Agendas. Don't be one of those dumb Jewish democrats who Julia Gorin accurately described as having paid a thousand dollars a plate to hear Bill Clinton speak — after he sold Israel down the river (by rewarding genocide bombings with more land) or one of those Jews who are still loyal to a political party whose members pass out 9/11-Israel conspiracy literature at public forums or one of those Jews who heard that most Muslims would be voting for John Kerry and so they voted for John Kerry. Please read this article and do not resuscitate the Clinton presidency.

Christian Zionists: Ahmadinejad Is New Hitler

From Christian Zionists: Ahmadinejad Is New Hitler:

Thousands of members of Christians United for Israel headed to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby Congress on behalf of Israel. The group's founder, the Reverend John Hagee, called on President Bush to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He also called for American divestment from Iran, which he compared to Nazi Germany as a threat to the Jewish people. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Salai Meridor told the group, "We must make it clear to the Iranians that all options are on the table and that there is no way they will be allowed to hold nuclear weapons."

Why do Christians support Israel?

Via Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME):

After thousands of years of anti-Semitism, persecution and genocide at the hands of Christians, it’s no surprise that many Jews question the motivations of Christians who support Israel today. Most Jews simply cannot understand how the tiger could change his stripes---and many Jews harbor more than a small suspicion that pro-Israel Christians have an unspoken ulterior motive, that their support of Israel primarily serves “selfish” interests.

After attending a number of sessions featuring pro-Israel Christians at the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Annual Policy Conference a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., I came away with a radically different understanding. (Of course Christian support of Israel is nothing new to us at FLAME---a large proportion of our contributors are Christians---and we have always heartily welcomed their blessings.) At AIPAC, for the first time, I heard a methodical explanation of why Christians do and should support Israel. Note that these reasons have nothing to do with hastening the Apocalypse, a myth often repeated in Jewish circles, but which has no part in the thinking of most Evangelical Christians.

In fact, a major source of the misunderstanding Jews have about pro-Israel Christians stems from ignorance about the many sects within the Christian community. Most Jews do not understand the profound difference, even occasional enmity, between Catholics and Protestants---they can’t comprehend why many Protestants would sooner vote for a Jew than a Catholic. Even fewer Jews understand the variations among Protestant sects---the huge difference between an Episcopalian and a Baptist, and the substantial chasm between most mainstream Protestants, like Methodists and Presbyterians, and Evangelicals, or born-again Christians. Suffice it to say, Evangelical Christians are by far the most assertive in their support of Israel because of their strict interpretation of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Evangelicals are important to the pro-Israel movement because they number some 50 million in the U.S. alone, compared with five million U.S. Jews, many of whose support for Israel is tentative at best.

One of the most moving speakers at the AIPAC conference was the Reverend John Hagee of the John Hagee Ministries out of San Antonio, Texas. Hagee is a powerful orator, whose declaration of love for Israel and the Jewish people provoked numerous standing ovations. I urge you to view a segment of this speech right now by going to http://www.jerusalemonline.com/specials12.asp.

When you’ve listened to Hagee’s inspiring address, please return to this letter.

Click here for a detailed, seven-point explanation by Hagee, based in Torah and New Testament texts, as to why Christians should support Israel. Hagee also heads up an organization called Christians United for Israel (www.cufi.org), which advocates and lobbies Congress on behalf of the Jewish state.

Whether you’re a Jew or a Christian, I think you’ll find Hagee’s exegesis eye-opening and useful.

Knesset Christian Allies Caucus: First Ever 'Jerusalem Assembly' to Be Launched in Jerusalem

Over 200 Christian Zionists from around the world to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, repent for wrongs committed against the Jewish people, swear allegiance to Support Israel

Jerusalem - The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC), in conjunction with the Texas-based Christian organization Covenant Alliances, will host the first ever Jerusalem Assembly in Jerusalem from Tuesday, March 27, 2007 to Wednesday, March 28, 2007 in Jerusalem.

Celebrating the nearly forty years since the reunification of Jerusalem, Covenant Alliances will bring a delegation of more than two hundred Christian Zionist leaders for the U.S., Canada, England Africa and Israel who will highlight their love and dedication to the State of Israel.

Kicking off the 'Jerusalem Assembly', Covenant Alliances will be leading an all day conference at the Jerusalem Regency Hotel on Tuesday, March 27th, 2007. Beginning at 8:30AM, this event will include a variety of seminars, worship sessions and fellowship gatherings. Top Evangelical leaders will speak about the Jewish-Christian relationship throughout the day, along with Members of Knesset Effie Eitam and Elhanan Glazer. The days events, taking place from 8:30 to 17:30, will be followed by a gala banquet dinner beginning at 18:45. Member of Knesset Elon, Chairman of the KCAC, will address the group during this dinner.

On Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 12:30 in the auditorium of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), Covenant Alliances and the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus will join together for a monumental ceremony.

Top Evangelical pastors will take this opportunity to present a "Love Letter to Israel", a document pledging their "undying love" for the Jewish people and acknowledging their so-called position "as the Called Spiritual Nation of the Almighty." They will then present the "Letter of Repentance" to the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, in which they they will request forgiveness for the crimes Christians have committed against the Jewish people throughout history. The letter reads,

On behalf of millions of Christians who love Israel and pray for her, we would like to repent before you for crimes committed against the Jewish people throughout history in the name of Christianity. We have sinned against G-d and against you...

Accepting these two documents will be Members of Knesset Benny Elon, Gilad Erdan and Orit Noked.

The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus of the Israeli Parliament, which is co-hosting this event, serves as a multi-partisan caucus made up of Members of Knesset from the entire political spectrum. Established in 2004, this body works to open formal and direct lines of communication between Israeli Members of Knesset and Christian leaders worldwide. Member of Knesset Benny Elon, Chairman of the KCAC, and Member of Knesset Gilad Erdan will accept the "Letter of Repentance" on behalf of the caucus.

All 'Jerusalem Assembly' events are open to the press.

For more information:
Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Miya Keren, Office Administrator
Tel. 054-697-4172
Email: Christianalliescaucus@gmail.com

Ruth Matar: Freedom of religion for whom?

Folks, I don't like to publish long posts because I know that people, myself included, enjoy reading short sound bytes which get to the point so that they could move on quickly to their other favorite blogs, video games, and families. But this time I am going to publish something and, yes, it is lengthy but it is important to read.

What is the following all about? Jews who backstab Jews, and in this particular case, it's about the Jews of Machsom Watch, a radical organization of leftist Israeli women.

Here's a must-read letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green), Jerusalem:

Dear Friends,

My blood is literally boiling!

On the front page of today’s Jerusalem Post there is a huge ad by MACHSOM WATCH, a radical organization of some leftist Israeli women (including Dana Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister’s daughter), but with a large contingent of imported radicals from abroad. The Hebrew word ‘machsom’ refers to ‘checkpoint’. These women have made it their life’s mission to “watch” all checkpoints in Israel, so as to interfere with the work of the Israeli soldiers, whose duty it is to guard against Arab terrorists entering from the territories. They continually incite the Arabs against our soldiers, and even try to bodily prevent them from doing their duty. Tragically, some soldiers have lost their lives as a result of the activities of the Machsom Watch organization.

The ad of Machsom Watch is chock full of falsehoods. Is it possible that these people honestly believe their own fabrications in this ad? What is their motive in presenting the Israeli people as violently intolerant of other peoples’ religion?

I want you to be able to judge for yourself. I am, therefore, including the entire ad.
-------------------------------------
FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE FOR ALL

“The State of Israel will guarantee freedom of religion…will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions…will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

Declaration of Independence

Muslims are observing the month of Ramadan. Upon the conclusion of the fast, next week, they will celebrate their holy festival, Id el-Fitr.

The State of Israel PREVENTS tens of thousands of Palestinians from reaching their holy sites to pray.

The State of Israel FORBIDS Muslim men under the age of 45 from praying at the el-Aksa Mosque, one of the three holiest sites in Islam.

The army prevents the passage of crowds of observant Muslims, pushing them back behind checkpoints and fences - by threats, shouts, shoving and tear gas.

Let the Palestinians pray at the holy sites in Jerusalem.

RESPECT THE FREEDOM OF OBSERVANCE FOR ALL

MACHSOMWATCH
Women Against the Occupation and for Human Rights
www.machsomwatch.org 054-5300385
machsomwatch@hotmail.com
-------------------------------------
Dear friends, I know that you are too sophisticated to be taken in by this leftist-inspired propaganda. Unfortunately, it is the Muslims who prevent others, such as Jews and Christians, from reaching their holy sites to pray.

Here are only a few of the true facts:

*The Tomb of our forefather Joseph was assaulted by a turbulent mob of Arabs on October 7, 2000. They completely demolished the millennial-old holy site in a matter of hours. They hacked, chopped, smashed and destroyed one of the most hallowed sites belonging to the Jewish People. The Arabs set alight holy books and other sacred religious objects. Two Israeli soldiers were murdered in this pogrom.

*On many occasions hundreds of Arabs, after prayers at the el-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount, hurled stones and blocks onto Jewish worshippers praying at the Western Wall below.

*The ancient synagogue in Jericho, Shalom al Israel, was vandalized and almost completely destroyed. Israelis now have to obtain a permit from the Arabs to visit what’s left of it. This ancient synagogue was built during the time of the Second Temple.

*Worshippers have to go in bulletproof buses to the tomb of Mother Rachel near Bethlehem to avoid being stoned. The tomb itself is now protected by a security wall.

*Immediately after the Jews were expelled from Gush Katif, the Arabs desecrated all the synagogues and victoriously danced on the rooftops of the religious institutions before burning them down.

*The Arabs attempted to build a mosque in front of an existing Christian church in Nazereth, this was meant to obstruct the entrance to this historical church.

Finally, the composers of the Machsom Watch advertisement asks us to “respect the freedom of religious observance for all”. The advertisement ends with an impassioned plea to let the Palestinians pray at the holy sites in Jerusalem.

What hypocrisy! It is the Jews and the Christians who are prevented by the Arabs from praying at their holiest sites!

In this regard, I want you to carefully read a shocking article about a well-known Christian leader who was arrested and expelled from the Temple Mount for praying.
* * *
Christian leader expelled from Mount for praying
Islamic intolerance and incitement permitted on Israel’s holiest site
jnewswire.com, October 14 , 2003

Israeli police escorted one of the top leaders of the Jerusalem-headquartered international Christian Zionist movement off the Temple Mount Tuesday, [October 14, 2003] on the grounds that he had been silently praying in the area.

While Christians and Jews are forbidden from praying on the hill the Bible designates as a site holy to the God of Israel, Muslims are free to worship and preach incitement against Israel from the four mosques straddling the Mount.

Accosted while silently praying

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, founder of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and currently director of the International Christian Zionist Center, said he had been walking alone and “speaking to the Lord in his heart,” when a policeman demanded to know whether he was praying.

“I could have lied and said no,” Van der Hoeven told Jerusalem Newswire, “but of course I did not want to and so said yes.”

According to several eyewitnesses, three policemen had then handcuffed and escorted Van der Hoeven to the police station at the nearby Western Wall Plaza.

Police log prayer

Van der Hoeven said when he arrived at the police station the officer in charge asked what he had been praying. He replied that he had been praying for the Messiah to come and bring peace to Israel and to the world.

“The police noted my prayer down in their official report,” Van der Hoeven said.

He had been allowed to leave a short while later.

Putting their feet down

The incident took place after Van Der Hoeven led a group of about 40 visiting Christian Zionists onto the Temple Mount, a highlight of their weeklong celebration of the biblical Feast of Tabernacles.

Before ascending the hill, which the Bible describes as the place of Messiah’s future throne, Van der Hoeven had advised the pilgrims to separate into small groups and walk quietly around inside the walled compound, praying silently.

Reminding them of past instances of intolerance shown by the Muslim authorities on the Mount towards Jews and Christians, he urged the group to be “as wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” quoting the words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament.

“Every place where your feet tread, pray that it will be given back to Israel,” he added.

On the Mount

Before climbing the ramp to the compound, the pilgrims were instructed to leave all Bibles, Israeli flags and any other apparently provocative items at the security checkpoint.

The group entered at the so-called Mughrabi Gate, before spreading out and walking in twos and threes around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Golden Gate.

Apart from Van der Hoeven’s expulsion, the group reported no other incidents and departed the area after about an hour.

Unbridled Islamic incitement

While Christian and Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is not tolerated by the Islamic Authorities, Muslim clerics are free to foment hatred of the Jewish people and the State of Israel in weekly sermons in the mosques on the hill.

The Palestinian Authority-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, whose offices are situated inside the compound, has issued rulings upholding the longstanding practice banning the worship of any god other than Allah, the ancient Arabian moon god.

“It is forbidden for Muslims to permit non-Muslims to supervise, conduct services or pray in any part of the mosques or underneath them," he has said.

Sabri regularly stokes up rage against Israel and the United States while conducting Muslim Friday prayers for the thousands of Arabs freely permitted by Israel to attend the services.

Speaking in the Al Aqsa Mosque, Sabri has been recorded saying: “Oh Allah, destroy America! For she is ruled by Zionist Jews!! Allah shall take revenge on behalf of his prophet against the colonialist settlers who are sons of monkeys and pigs!! Forgive us, Mohammad, for the acts of these sons of monkeys and pigs, who sought to harm your sanctity!!”

Earlier this year, the official PA Radio broadcast live sermons from the Al Aqsa Mosque in which Sabri denounced the "criminal United States" and "rancorous Britain."

Sabri has appealed to Muslims everywhere “to stand as one rank, stop the aggression, and cleanse their territories of US military occupation…

“O Allah, make the plots of the aggressors backfire on them. O Allah, annihilate them to the last man. O Allah, protect Al-Aqsa Mosque from every evil. O Allah, protect Iraq and its people.”

While Sabri’s instatement as Mufti was in violation of the Oslo Accords, Israel has chosen not to make an issue of it.

* * *

Dear friends, I think it is very important that you distribute this particular Letter from Jerusalem as widely as possible to everyone you can think of, specifically including your government representatives.

All of us are responsible to disseminate the true facts, so that truth prevails over these printed deception of the Radical Left.

With Blessings and Love for Israel,

Ruth Matar
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:michael@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org

From ICEJ: The sufferings of our brethren in Gush Katif

received by email
=================
The persistent and courageous stand and struggle of all those who love eretz Israel – and especially those who have settled in Gush Katif and elsewhere – has already had some amazing results.

I. The cancellation of the planned international homosexual parade in Jerusalem this summer because of the Israeli police’s inability to handle both the difficult situation in and around Gush Katif and this international march of abominations at the same time.

II. The resignation of Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of this blind and wrong decision and the, consequently, strong likelihood that he will now take the leadership of the Likud from Ariel Sharon.

III. The increased sympathy with and awareness of the plight and ideology of the people of Gaza felt by multitudes of middle-of-the-road Israelis. This was vividly demonstrated in the tremendous turnout at the last public anti-disengagement events at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, where more than 200.000 Israelis came together to cry from their hearts to God, and to express their utter abhorrence of the plan to their government leaders.

IV. The uniting of the camp of the conservative, religious right in the face of undemocratic and cynical manipulation by the inner Sharon circle of the democratically-expressed wishes of Sharon’s own party, and the subsequent handing out all kinds of favors to those who could, for the sake of their own position and future, be willing to
go along with this inhumane plan.

V. And – and this might be the most serious of all these results – the complete turning over of the Gaza Strip to Mohammed Dahlan and his fellow killers and terrorists, which may well result in Gaza soon becoming a Las Vegas of all kinds of Islamic Terror – Al Qaida, Hamas, Hizballah, Islamic Jihad and Tanzim Fatah terrorism exploding on Israel’s cities, especially in the South – as soon Hizballah’s rockets will surely explode on Israel’s towns and cities in the North – proving to the general, still healthy, Israeli population the evil of all these unilateral withdrawals, and causing them during the coming elections to, in all likelihood, vote much further to the right so that a far more conservative government will replace this one.

My brothers and sisters from Gush Katif and elsewhere; you have not prayed, fasted, wept and demonstrated in vain. God has indeed heard your many cries and prayers, seen your tears and sorrows, and heard your outcry against the injustices perpetrated against you by your own leaders who told you to live where you were living, before they dragged you away.

Many Christians, and I am only one of them, have joined you in your battle, have stood with you, have prayed with you and still believe that God will at His own time answer this inhumanity caused to you.

You have been an example to us, with your willingness to stand in the cold as you did in February this year with 200.000 in Jerusalem, to suffer the heat, the lack of sleep and comfort as you stood with thousands of all ages in Kfar Maimon and Ofakim – your utter willingness to sacrifice for this one purpose: to be allowed to live on that land which your and our God promised to give you as an everlasting possession. Through your faith and perseverance you, of all people, have brought us Christians closer to you. You may well, through your sufferings and endurance, have caused a worldwide ally to arise which may, with you in the future, defeat the evil your many enemies still plan against you! You have deeply touched our hearts and you have become an example to us, as you battled heroically for your God-given land – strengthening the bounds between us Gentile believers - and you His chosen people – believing with you that indeed God, your God, will have the last and final word for your good!

May God bless you all. We from many nations are with you at this hour with love, respect and faith in your final triumph and destiny!

Yours for Zion,

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director
International Christian Zionist Center