After the Ceasefire: What is really going on in Israel

Happy Memorial Day to those of us in the States!

I heard an INCREDIBLE podcast yesterday between Susie Larson and Tom & Joann Doyle of Uncharted Ministries about the impact of the recent conflict in the Middle East. 

If you like podcasts, I highly recommend listening to this! I think they did a great job of highlighting the tension and impact in a balanced and Biblical way, showing us how believers should pray and support Israel and all peace-loving people. I'm sharing this here because the international media basically spent weeks saying that Israel attacked Gaza without provocation, and has spread so many lies. This podcast refutes those lies (and there is evidence for the truth). I like to listen to podcasts while cooking or driving long distances, so if you are like me and do that too, please take time to listen!

Click HERE to listen on Apple podcasts, HERE for Google Play, HERE for Spotify, and HERE for audible!

Also, there is unsourced tv claim that Naftali Bennet and Yesh Atid have reached a deal to create a coalition and oust Prime Minister Netanyahu from his position:

This would be a deal between Israel's right-wing party and center-left. If it is true, the two men will share the position, with Naftali Bennet being PM until 2023 and Yair Lapid until 2025. In a telegram message on Saturday, Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati said, "Bennet, only having 6 seats in the parliament, promised until the day of the elections to his voters that he would never sit with or under Lapid, nor would he ask to be PM if he got less than 10 seats. He broke 2 promises. If these reports are accurate, Benjamin Netanyahu's term as PM is over".

We'll see in the next few days if this will happen... Bennet would need to be signed in within the next 10 days. 

Ceasefire in Israel!

This news has already made its way around the world, but I was on vacation last week and unable to update this blog. But no time like the present!

On May 20, 2021, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu signed a unilateral ceasefire, that began at 2am the next morning.

As Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati says in this video, ceasefire is always significant (and good news), but what is important to note here is that this was a unilateral decision. Despite what the media says, it was not negotiated by a 3rd country (like Egypt). Israel did not make any agreements with Hamas. They did not give territory or permission for anything, and by this being a unilateral decision, they retain the right to future operations if needed. Israel not only won, but showed its autonomy in a way it hasn't been able to in the past. 

Here are some important things to know:

• Up until 7pm on Thursday (with still 7 hours to go), Hamas had launched 4340 rockets at Israel. At least 640 of those actually fell in Palestinian territory, killing civilians and decimating more homes. Unfortunately, that civilian death toll (more than 100) is counted against Israel, instead of the ones firing. Over 1,900 civilians were injured and 200 Hamas terrorists were killed.
• 12 Israeli's were killed, one soldier and 11 civilians. 2 were children.
• There were over 320 miles of tunnels under the Gaza strip, under homes, hospitals, and schools, so Hamas could hide behind women and children while moving around. Over half of this network has been destroyed by laser-directed bombs, in order to minimize civilian casualties.
• Israel's Iron Dome held- it stopped over 90% of the bombs sent its way. The ones it didn't stop were going to unpopulated areas/non-strategic areas. 
• Humanitarian aid has already entered Gaza.
• The Temple Mount, where this all started, as the Al-Aksa mosque was used to house rocks for people to throw as Jews celebrated 'Jerusalem Day' at the Western Wall (which led to Hamas firing 5 rockets at Jerusalem- which started this whole thing), is now open to Jews again.
• On May 23, as previously announced, Israel opened to 20 tourist groups from specific countries (with approved vaccines). This is the first big step to opening the international tourist industry.

This has increased relational division between the 2 races throughout the land, as there were demonstrations and protests in other areas. The pain of these past 12 days is incalculable, added to the weight and pain of the past 73 years. 

More than ever, peace is needed in Jerusalem. 

Latest Update from Israel (From Sunday, May 16)

Yesterday was the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) in Israel, and like last year, people celebrated close to their homes. Last year, it was because of a pandemic; this year because of violence.

The most recent number I've seen at the time of writing this blog post, since last Monday, Hamas has fired over 3,000 rockets at Israel. 

The best summary I've seen so far for what's happening now is from Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati. He gave this update last night from his home in the Galilee, steps away from his bomb shelter, with flashes in the background and the sound of F-16's taking off nearby.

Click here or on the image above to watch. I guarantee it's worth it!

Oh, and as Amir points out at the end, Shavuot comes 50 days after Passover. It's a celebration of when God gave the Law to Israel through Moses. And it was being celebrated almost 2000 years ago when the Holy Spirit came to the Upper Room with flaming tongues of fire. Which means one thing:

Happy birthday, Church!!!

(thanks for that reminder, Amir!)

What is going on in Israel?

Israel has filled the news the last couple of days, so this is a special post about what is going on. 

First of all, current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a unity government within a month's time. Now, Yair Lapid, a member of the centrist party, Yesh Atid, has been given the mandate to try to form one over the next 28 days. If he is unable to do so, the Knesset will try to do so. If this fails, then Israel will have its 5th election in 2 years in August. 

The headlines that have filled our screens, however, are of unrest in Israel. There's so much going on with this situation that instead of trying to write it out here, I'm sharing a Middle East Update from Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati. This was streamed live earlier today, May 12, 2021, and has a clear explanation of the situation, gives thorough background/context, and even explores the prophetic significance of what is going on. 

Click on the link above or on the image to watch it on youtube!

Israel and the Church by Amir Tsarfati

Last month, Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati released his third book: Israel and the Church.

I really enjoyed this book, as I thought it was an interesting, well-developed, and Biblical read. And I love Tsarfati's sense of humor. He fully explored the connections and contrasts of the Church and Israel and what the Bible says about each. Most of all, I appreciate his insight as a Messianic Jew who has dedicated his career to teaching about current events, the end times, and how they all line up according to God's Word.

Tsarfati organized his book by talking about both subjects, Israel and the Church, as 

1) two chosen peoples with 

2) 2 distinct plans by God for them, having 

3) 2 different paths in Revelation and finally, 

4) while being 2 peoples, they are part of the same family. 

The way he did this was clear and thorough. And I'm so glad he wrote this book, because there's so many false beliefs growing it daily about the nation of Israel and its people—God's chosen people. Over the past few years, we've seen a dramatic increase in anti-semitism (I say this in reference to recent decades, keeping in mind the horror the Jewish people endured in the 20th century beyond anything we have words for in English), and it breaks my heart. It's wrong to speak and act that way towards or about any group of people, FULL STOP. The fact that it is happening to this beautiful nation (and has really throughout its history) is overwhelming in scope. As someone who loves Israel and wants to learn everything about its language, culture, and history, I can't understand it, honestly.

Oh, there is one thing I wanted to highlight that is actually just an aside in the book. It reminded me of this post from a few years ago. In a section talking about God's powerful presence on behalf of Israel, Tsarfati references the Red Sea Crossing: "There is an underwater land bridge between the 2 sides of the Red Sea connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It is a geographical feature that no one can explain. On the shore at either side of the land bridge are places that once had columns—from the time of King Solomon—that marked where the crossing of the Red Sea took place. So when the children of Israel passed through, they didn't have to walk all the way to the bottom of a deep ocean and then back up. They went across the land bridge that was much higher than all the underwater terrain around it. Even before the Israelites knew they had a problem, God had led them to the exact place where He would solve that problem for them" (pages 20-21).

For more on this, check out this INCREDIBLE documentary by Fox News' Ryan Mauro. It was mind- blowing to me then, and is still mind-blowing to me now!

That's it for this post on Amir Tsarfati's Israel and the Church. You can get it on Amazon and basically anywhere else you buy books, but I'm going to post the link to where you can get it from Behold Israel here. Let me know what you think!

Apeirogon by Colum McCann

 Can you say this word?

Yeah, I can't either. An apeirogon is a shape with an infinite number of sides. And this book is aptly named. Apeirogon isn't written or formatted like a typical book. It follows the story of two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who lose young daughters in the conflict. Written in 3 parts, there aren't even chapters so much as sections—a many different sides making up the shape of the story. 

I'm sure there's so much symbolism I missed in reading this book, but a few I picked up on: flowers, birds, and the name of the story.

Again, what I picked up on while reading this story is how much I have to learn. McCann did a masterful job in showing the similarities between the two fathers, their humanity and their shared heartbreak—which in turn leads them to an unlikely friendship.

This story will definitely make you think and will challenge the reader. You can check it out here on Amazon if you are interested!