Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Jerusalem undivided and unified for eternity

Jerusalem undivided and unified for eternity

Photo Friday: The Mysteries of God

(Photo: flickr/spindexr)
(Photo: flickr/spindexr)
Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7)
A lunar eclipse occurs over the wall of the Old City. Please pray to our Almighty for peace in Jerusalem, in Israel, and for all the world. Shabbat shalom, friends.
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Friday, November 7th, 2014 at 2:01 PM  | Stand For Israel

Standing Up to Intimidation

(Photo: flickr/ synnetonidas)
(Photo: flickr/ synnetonidas)
This week, amidst the East Jerusalem riots centered around the Temple Mount, a Jerusalem resident affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group tried to assassinate Rabbi Yehudah Glick in a horrific act of violence, singling out Glick for his religious and political beliefs and escalating the situation further. The Jerusalem Post writes that when violence is used to terrorize and bully a group into abdicating basic human rights, it becomes a threat to the foundations of democracy:
What makes this crime all the more tragic was the fact that Glick, who is a vocal activist for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, is also a strong defender of Muslims’ right to freedom of religious expression on what they call Haram a-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. Unlike some proponents of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount who call to destroy Muslim houses of prayer and replace them with a rebuilt Jewish Temple, Glick advocates joint Jewish-Muslim prayers on the site that is so sacred to both religions. …
The socioeconomic plight of Jerusalem’s Arabs is sometimes cited as the cause of violence, as is the “incitement” of Jews such as Glick who dare to demand to visit the Temple Mount, the holiest place on the earth for Jewish believers.
We must disabuse ourselves of the idea that innocuous acts such as Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are the trigger for Muslim rioting, stone-throwing, destruction and murder. Rather the Arabs who commit these offenses choose to lash out against Jews in order to intimidate them into ceding their rights. And this violent behavior does nothing to improve the socioeconomic situation of Jerusalem’s Arabs, it only deepens the rift between Jews and Arabs.
Permitting Jews – or members of any other religion for that matter – to visit the Temple Mount and even pray there should be a religious freedom that is carefully protected by a democracy. Many brave men and women have given their lives for this freedom and others, which we often take for granted. Caving in to the demands of militant Muslims out of a desire…
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Friday, October 31st, 2014 at 8:48 AM  | Stand For Israel

Fatah Calls for “Day of Rage” in Jerusalem on Friday

(Photo: flickr/ synnetonidas)
(Photo: flickr/ synnetonidas)
In today’s Daily Dispatch, we noted that Mahmoud Abbas declared that the closing of the Temple Mount – due to heavy Palestinian rioting in Jerusalem – was a “declaration of war.” Now The Times of Israel reports that Abbas’ Fatah party has called for a “day of rage” on Friday:
Fatah, the political party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, called for a “day of rage” Friday in the defense of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, after Israel closed the site Thursday amid continuing East Jerusalem riots and after the attempted assassination of a right-wing activist.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the call to action on Thursday.
“Fatah calls to its fighters and to the masses of the Palestinian people to aid the Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem,” Fatah said in an announcement that was translated into English by Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch.
Israel has since announced it would reopen the site for Friday prayers.
WAFA also reported that the Fatah Mobilization and Organization Commission had “called to set tomorrow as a day of rage throughout the homeland and in countries which are home to refugees, to express the Palestinian people’s opposition to any attack on the holy places and foremost among them the Al-Aqsa Mosque… And to consider desecration of Al-Aqsa as a declaration of a religious war against the Palestinian people and the Arab Islamic nations.”
The declaration came after Israeli police closed the compound early Thursday out of fear of clashes in the wake of the shooting the night before of Yehudah Glick, a right-wing activist who campaigns for Jewish access to the site, and as Israeli right-wing groups vowed to march on the Temple Mount.
Glick was left in serious but stable condition at Shaare Zedek Medical Center after being shot by an assailant on a motorcycle Wednesday night as he left a conference entitled “Israel returns to the…
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Thursday, October 30th, 2014 at 2:21 PM  | Stand For Israel

Sharp Rise in Jerusalem Attacks

(Photo: Noam Mosko/ASHERNET)
(Photo: Noam Mosko/ASHERNET)
Ever since Operation Protective Edge, the Holy City has seen a sharp increase in terrorist incidents, culminating in last week’s hit-and-run attack that left an infant and a young woman dead and injured several more. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has outlined the rising violence occurring in Israel’s capital:
“Even before Operation Protective Edge, the state of affairs in Jerusalem as regards riots, rock throwing and enforcement was shoddy. We were talking about 200 events of rock throwing [per month]. Even before Protective Edge, we held a discussion about the changes needed to bring back the rule of law in Jerusalem…
“Protective Edge began – and we jumped from 200 events to 5,000 events. Throwing rocks on cars is life-threatening, as is throwing firebombs at the homes of Jews who live in Arab neighborhoods. There is a huge mass of disturbances. The Jerusalem police fanned out with its available forces as defense. It defends Jewish homes and the seam line, and we all realize this cannot continue.”
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Monday, October 27th, 2014 at 10:59 AM  | Stand for Israel

Jerusalem: The Undivided Capital of Israel

(Photo: flickr/ agroffman)
(Photo: flickr/ agroffman)
Smiles and warm handshakes exchanged by Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu at their White House meeting yesterday quickly turned into jibes and snarky rebukes which have been the hallmark of the often hostile relationship shared by the two leaders, whose mutual dislike for each other is fortunately overcome by the bond of the two nations they lead.
The squabble which overshadowed the warm White House reception enjoyed by the Israeli premiere erupted when reports of a Jerusalem Municipality decision to approve construction of 2,500 apartment units in East Jerusalem was publicized by leftist NGO Peace Now, just hours before Obama and Netanyahu met in Washington. Shortly after the meeting, the White House issued some of its harshest condemnation towards Israel to date, warning that construction of these units would distance the Jewish state from its “closest allies” and declaring that Israel’s decision to build in East Jerusalem is “poisoning the atmosphere” with our supposed “peace partner,” the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu and mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat defended the building approval by stating that Jerusalem is Israel’s undivided capital and no construction freeze will be imposed based on race or religion. In fact, a third of the residential units in the new plans are intended to be used for Arab housing. Considering that Arabs make up roughly one third of Jerusalem’s residents, this new project equally benefits both Jews and Arabs living in an overcrowded metropolis in desperate need of new housing to meet the growing demands of its residents.
In general, Arab residents of Jerusalem enjoy far greater freedom to live anywhere in the city than their Jewish neighbors. Just this week, Jewish residents moved into legally purchased apartments in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, on the eastern side of the Western Wall, a mere five-minute walk from Judaism’s holiest site. Upon moving into their newly purchased apartments, the Jewish residents were greeted by their new Arab neighbors with a bombardment of stones and Molotov cocktails. Riot police had to be called in to calm the situation….
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Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 at 8:58 AM  | Stand For Israel

Watch: Rioters Attack Jerusalem Day Care Center on Mount of Olives

(Photo: Flickr/ IDF)
(Photo: Flickr/ IDF)
While the rocket attacks on Israel have ceased – for now – the Jewish state and its people are still experiencing many violent attacks. Arutz Sheva provides a disturbing video showing Arab rioters throwing rocks at Jewish children on the Mount of Olives:
Arab rioters hurling rocks, fireworks and molotov cocktails at a Jewish infant day care center on Ma’ale Hazeitim, the Jewish neighborhood on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, were caught on film on Tuesday in further testimony to the ongoing “silent intifada” in the capital.
The video, which was posted by Jerusalem Council Arieh King to his Facebook on Tuesday, shows four Arab criminals throwing various of projectiles with impunity for many long minutes from a protected nook on one of the rooftops, forcing infants to be rushed inside to bomb shelters.
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Wednesday, October 1st, 2014 at 10:57 AM  | Stand for Israel

Is a Third Intifada in the Making?

(Photo: Flickr/ IDF)
(Photo: Flickr/ IDF)
Throughout the summer, our attention was on Operation Protective Edge, while now the threat of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) is dominating headlines. But Israel Hayom’s Nadav Shragai reports that recent violence and rioting in Jerusalem suggest the beginning of an organized third intifada:
For weeks now, 740 Palestinians arrested during recent rioting in east Jerusalem have been under interrogation. These rioters have been gradually laying the groundwork for the third intifada in the capital. Whoever thought that the disturbances were spontaneous expressions of rage will certainly be surprised to learn that these riots are really an uprising that has the hallmarks and fingerprints of an organization …
So far, the violence has been limited to light arms — stones, rocks, and fireworks. Nonetheless, it’s a very fine line between the use of these weapons and the use of firearms and explosives, particularly in the neighborhoods and villages of east Jerusalem. There are some in the eastern half of the capital who have already crossed that line, particularly in the Shuafat refugee camp.
In each of the villages of east Jerusalem, there is at least one dominant player on the ground. In A-Tor, it’s Fatah. In Issawiya‎, it’s the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In Jabal Mukaber, it’s Hamas. In the Shuafat refugee camp, both Fatah and Hamas are in charge …
It was a group of Palestinians that ambushed the Cohen family as they made their way to the Western Wall last Friday. It was also a group that set fire to a gas station in the French Hill section of the capital in addition to hundreds of other instances.
The villages and neighborhoods are believed to coordinate their actions by using Facebook, fliers, and messengers to communicate the date, time, and location of gatherings and action plans. During their interrogations, some of the rioters said that there is another layer of leadership beyond…
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Friday, September 19th, 2014 at 8:35 AM  | Stand for Israel

Family Attacked on Way to Western Wall

While rocket-fire and terror attacks from Gaza have quieted for now, violence in Jerusalem continues to occur. Yediot Achronot reports that on Thursday evening, a Jewish family traveling to the Western Wall to attend an IDF ceremony was attacked by rioters:
(Photo: Flickr/ IDF)
(Photo: Flickr/ IDF
A family from Ramat Gan narrowly escaped a lynch attempt on Thursday evening when they made a wrong turn and entered the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, where rioters threw a volley of rocks and bricks at the vehicle they were travelling in.
The family had been on their way to a swearing-in ceremony of the Golani Brigade at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Fortunately, the father was the only one to sustain injuries, which were minor. This past week, riots have been taking place in the Arab neighborhood after residents heard that a local youth had died of wounds suffered in a clash with Israeli police last week.
“I’m still in shock from the experience we just had, we were almost lynched,” Eti, the mother of the Cohen family said in tears on Friday, speaking with Ynet.
“We were miraculously saved. I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was cry hysterically, not believing that we’re home and that we’re fine. I saw the pictures and couldn’t believe we were there and that it happened to us,” she added.
We are thankful for God’s protection over this family, and pray for His peace over Jerusalem, the rest of Israel, and the world.
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Friday, September 12th, 2014 at 2:41 PM  | Stand for Israel

Terror Attack in Jerusalem Leaves One Dead


(Photo: Youtube)
(Photo: Youtube)
The terrorist hit a pedestrian, a bus and a car before being shot dead by police. Images from the scene showed an overturned bus, and the the terrorist dead in the cabin of the digger.
Magen David Adom rescue service said that they received a report at around 1:35 pm that a tractor had apparently hit a pedestrian and then an empty bus. Its emergency personnel had treated a 25-year-old man and the 45-year-old bus driver at the scene, the service said.
Motti, an eye witness, said “I went outside and suddenly heard a large boom, and saw a bus upside down, and then heard two or three gunshots and someone jumping on the driver, so we understood they had killed him. We thought someone had blown something up, so we left the area. There was chaos.”
We have also received news of an IDF soldier being shot in Jerusalem, at the entrance to the Mount Scopus tunnel. We pray for the recovery of this young man, as well as those injured in the terror attack on the bus, and pray for God’s peace over Jerusalem and all of Israel.



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Monday, August 4th, 2014 at 10:05 AM  | Stand For Israel

Breaking News: Soldier Shot in Jerusalem

(Photo: flickr/lemele)
(Photo: flickr/lemele)
In today’s Daily Dispatch, we noted the excavator terror attack that occurred in Jerusalem, as well as the rioting at the Temple Mount. Arutz Sheva also reports that an IDF soldier was shot at the entrance of the Mount Scopus tunnel in Jerusalem:
An eyewitness named Eti said that the victim is a soldier. “I saw him falling backward,” she told reporter Moshe Nusbaum.
The wounded man is about 20, said the channel’s reporters, and he is in moderate to serious condition and received treatment on the spot. He was then taken to the nearby Hadassah Har Hatzofim hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that he was shot by a man who then got on a motorcycle or scooter and then drove off toward the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Joz. There may have been another man on the scooter as well.
Police are conducting a manhunt assisted by helicopters …
Major General Yosi Parienti, Jerusalem District Police Commander, said that the shooter was dressed in black and that he fired several shots at the soldier from close range. The man then ran toward a Vespa type scooter and drove off. A security guard fired at the scooter but apparently missed it.
We pray for the recovery of the wounded soldier, for the apprehension of the perpetrator(s) of this attack, and for peace in Jerusalem and all of the Holy Land.
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Monday, August 4th, 2014 at 9:15 AM  | Stand For Israel

Four Rockets Fired at Jerusalem, Two Intercepted

(Photo: ASHERNET/IDF)
(Photo: ASHERNET/IDF)
Even as Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza continue to launch rockets far into Israel, it is still shocking that so many are reaching the nation’s largest cities. Arutz Sheva reports that four such rockets were fired at Jerusalem on Thursday evening, with two of them being brought down by Iron Dome:
“Four rockets were fired at Jerusalem, of which two landed in open areas and two were intercepted,” an army spokesman told AFP, without giving further details.
Witnesses and Palestinian security sources told AFP one rocket struck near Maaleh Adumim, while a second hit close to an Israeli military prison near Ramallah.
Three loud blasts could be heard around the city shortly after sirens wailed, sending people scrambling for shelter …
We continue to pray for God’s protection over all the people of Israel as they lead their daily lives during this chaotic conflict.
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Thursday, July 10th, 2014 at 11:09 AM  | Stand For Israel

Fires Break Out in Jerusalem Hills

(Photo: IFCJ)
(Photo: IFCJ)
Three large fires have broken out in the hills near Jerusalem. Reporting for The Times of Israel, Lazar Berman says that the blazes are being battled and their cause is being investigated:
Police told The Times of Israel that they were looking into the possibility that the fires were deliberate.
Thirty nine teams and six aircraft are involved in battling the flames near Even Sapir, close to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. The main road to the hospital was closed to traffic.
We pray that all of those affected will find safety, and for the safety of the firefighters busy working to put out the fires and protect the public.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014 at 11:29 AM  | Stand For Israel

Netanyahu: Jerusalem to Remain United Forever

(Photo: wikicommons/ Juandev)
(Photo: wikicommons/ Juandev)
Today marks Jerusalem Day, the commemoration of the Holy City’s reunification after the Six-Day War of 1967. Speaking at a religious institution in Israel’s capital, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed demands to share what he called “the heart of the nation”:
Netanyahu said that in the 47 years since Israel wrested East Jerusalem from Jordanian control, the city has been united: “That’s how it’s been since and that’s how it will always be.”
“Jerusalem is also Mount Zion, Jerusalem is Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount), Jerusalem is the Western Wall, and Jerusalem is eternally Israel,” the prime minister said, cataloging sites of historical and religious significance to Jews in the areas of the city captured in 1967.
We stand with Israel today on Jerusalem Day – as we do every other day – and pray that her Holy City will remain united and under God’s protection.
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Wednesday, May 28th, 2014 at 9:57 AM  | Stand For Israel

Terror Cell Nabbed in Jerusalem

(Photo: wikicommons/ Justin McIntosh)
(Photo: wikicommons/ Justin McIntosh)
The Shin Bet (The Israeli Security Agency) and the Jerusalem District Police have arrested members of a terror cell that is responsible for numerous ongoing attacks against Israeli residents, including students of Hebrew University. Arutz Sheva reports that the authorities nabbed five suspected terrorists – the second such cell they’ve dismantled in the past day – who had carried out terrorist attacks against residents for years:
Attacks from Issawiya have become so violent over the past several months that students at nearby Hebrew University Mount Scopus Campus have declared the area a “war zone” …
Residents of the French Hill area stated earlier this month that they felt “abandoned” by the State and the IDF over the waves of terrorism in their neighborhood.
We thank God for the determined work of law enforcement and military to keep Israel safe, and pray to Him for their protection, as well as the protection of all those in the Holy Land.
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Wednesday, April 30th, 2014 at 12:25 PM  | Stand For Israel

Jerusalem Is Not Up For Grabs

(Photo: wikicommons/ Assayas)
(Photo: wikicommons/ Assayas)
Professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, writes that Western pressure is unlikely to make a difference on the issue of partitioning Jerusalem. Regardless of the failure of the international community to understand, there is no political consensus inside democratic Israel to support dividing the holy city:
The Palestinians and most of the international community fail to understand that the past offer by Ehud Barak to divide Jerusalem at the Camp David summit in 2000, which was repeated by Ehud Olmert in 2007, was divorced from the strong attachment a majority of Israelis feel towards the eternal city. This incredible concession has continually lacked the necessary domestic political support.
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Thursday, April 10th, 2014 at 8:28 AM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday: In Like a Lion

(Photo: Library of Congress, c. 1890-1900)
(Photo: Library of Congress, c. 1890-1900)
The old saying goes that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. As we prepare to bid a particularly lionlike March farewell, we give you this photo, of the Lions’ Gate into Jerusalem’s Old City, taken around the turn of the century and colorized. Shabbat shalom, friends.
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Friday, March 28th, 2014 at 2:12 PM  | Stand For Israel

Zeppelin over Jerusalem

The Graf Zeppelin — the largest airship of its day — along with its sister ship, the ill-fated Hindenburg, was the pride of Germany after WWI, carrying passengers in luxury and achieving many “firsts” during this time of aerial exploration.
On March 26, 1929, the Graf Zeppelin flew over the Holy Land for the first time. It carried and dropped mail for the city of Jaffa, and also soared above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This trip, however, happened at night, so no photographs are available to commemorate the scene. But the airship made a return trip in 1931, and luckily pictures of this flight still exist.
Graf Zeppelin over Mount of Olives and Gethsemane, c. 1931 (Photo: Library of Congress)
Graf Zeppelin over Mount of Olives and Gethsemane, c. 1931 (Photo: Library of Congress)

Graf Zeppelin over Tower of David, c. 1931 (Photo: Library of Congress)
Graf Zeppelin over Tower of David, c. 1931 (Photo: Library of Congress)
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2014 at 12:12 PM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday: The Holy Place Where the Most High Dwells

(Photo: Library of Congress)
(Photo: Library of Congress)
… the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts. (Psalm 46:4-6)
Taken in 1931, this view of Jerusalem from the air looks at the Temple Mount from the east. Shabbat shalom, friends.
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Friday, February 28th, 2014 at 2:26 PM  | Stand For Israel

Pretending Tel Aviv Is the Capital of Israel

(Photo: wikicommons/ Rubinstein Felix)
(Photo: wikicommons/ Rubinstein Felix)
Daniel Pipes includes a handy listing of some of the more amusing and ludicrous attempts by a wide variety of voices in the mainstream media and more than a few world leaders to pretend that Jerusalem is either not the capital of the Jewish state or that there is some level of ambiguity about the question:
An article on Jan. 23, “Israel PM urges European ‘fairness’ in Mideast,” states that four European Union states lodged “a formal protest against Tel Aviv’s drive to expand settlements on the West Bank.”
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Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 at 9:32 AM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday: Look on Zion

(Photo: Smithsonian/ Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey)
(Photo: Smithsonian/ Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey)
Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken. (Isaiah 33:20)
The Smithsonian has made available the first ever photographs taken of the Holy City – Jerusalem as seen in 1844 by French photographer Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey. Enjoy these historic images of the ancient and eternal city. Shabbat shalom, friends.
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Friday, January 31st, 2014 at 2:44 PM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday: The Snow Come Down from Heaven

(Photo: Oren Nahshon)
(Photo: Oren Nahshon)
 As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.(Isaiah 55:10-12)
Jerusalem, blanketed in snow, as seen from the Mount of Olives. Shabbat shalom, friends!
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Friday, December 20th, 2013 at 3:22 PM  | Stand For Israel

Celebrating Jerusalem Day in the Holy City

Yesterday thousands of people gathered in the Holy City to celebrate Jerusalem DayYom Yerushalayim. Here are a few fabulous photos of the joy-filled festivities!
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Thursday, May 9th, 2013 at 11:21 AM  | Stand For Israel

Jerusalem in 30 Seconds

As Jerusalem Day comes to a close at sundown today, we reflect on the beauty and wonder of this Holy City:
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Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 at 4:08 PM  | Stand For Israel

Har Habayit B’yadeinu

Photo: Ziv Koren
Photo: Ziv Koren
Forty-six years ago today, by the Hebrew calendar, Israeli forces took Jerusalem during the Six Day War – reuniting the city under Jewish sovereignty for the first time in 2,000 years.
This video (at the 16-second mark) includes the famous phrase broadcast by Gen. Motta Gur: Har Habayit B’yadeinu! The Temple Mount is in our hands!
It would be difficult to overstate the improbability, the historical significance, or the national importance of this event, which Israelis and Jews around the world celebrate as Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day. David Ben Gurion, Israel’s leading founder and first Prime Minister, said that Israel could not survive without Jerusalem just as a body could not survive without a heart. In the years since Israel reunified the city, it has enjoyed the only time in its history when all religions are practiced openly, freely, and under the protection of the ruling power. Unlike in the years before 1967, when the Jordanians systematically dynamited every synagogue in the Old City including some that were thousands of years old, Israel has protected the holy sites of all religions. (more…)
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Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 at 9:59 AM  | Stand For Israel

Jerusalem Day

Though it is officially celebrated this year on May 8th, Jerusalem Day already began at sundown in Israel, and will last until sundown tomorrow. Yom Yerushalayim is the commemoration of the Holy City’s miraculous liberation during 1967’s Six Day War.
And this truly is one of the most compelling stories in Israel’s history!
Photo: Ziv Koren
Photo: Ziv Koren
In 1967, Egypt blocked the straits of Tiran, putting a stranglehold on shipping in and out of Israel’s crucially important southern port, Eilat. The combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon were poised for attack on the borders of the tiny Jewish state. Israel was presented with a sobering choice: Wait to be invaded, or fight back in self-defense. Knowing that her very existence was in peril, she chose the latter course. The resulting battle, the Six Day War, ended in a stunning victory for Israel that led to the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule.
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Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 at 3:45 PM  | Stand For Israel

Terror Threat Places Jerusalem on High Alert

Just a few hours ago, Jerusalem’s threat level was raised to “high” by officials with intelligence of a terror warning for the capital city.
From the Jerusalem Post:
Emergency services in Jerusalem were placed on high alert on Tuesday due to intelligence reports of a terror threat to the capital. Police, firefighters and paramedics were all in a state of increased preparedness as a result of the alert.
Police gave no further details on Tuesday of what exact intelligence information led to the raising of the alert level.
Photo: bibleplaces.com
Photo: bibleplaces.com
Friends of Israel, keep the holy city in your prayers! “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels” (Psalm 122:6-7).
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Tuesday, February 12th, 2013 at 12:48 PM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday: A Visit to the Jewish Quarter

This great shot by photographer Noam Chen was snapped in the Jewish Quarter, one of four culturally rich areas (the others three Quarters are: Armenian, Muslim, and Christian) within the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.
This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.” (Zechariah 8:3)
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Friday, February 1st, 2013 at 2:03 PM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday goes to market

Mahane Yehuda outdoor market in Jerusalem sports more than 250 vendors selling produce, cheese, meat, baked goods, housewares, clothing, and a variety of other items to the hundreds of locals and tourists who visit daily.
Mahane Yehuda is usually bustling on Fridays as Jewish people stock up in preparation for Shabbat (Sabbath). As they enjoy Shabbat and we in the U.S. get ready for a long Labor Day weekend, may we all find rest and refreshment in our God who provides in beautiful abundance.
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Friday, August 31st, 2012 at 2:38 PM  | Stand For Israel

Whose Jerusalem is it?

The Israeli Declaration of Independence states:
THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
Israel has lived up to these values as well as – often better than – other countries espousing such beliefs. All countries miss the mark and so, of course, has the Jewish state. But few countries try so hard or feel so acutely and try to mitigate so thoroughly their failures.
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Monday, August 27th, 2012 at 9:58 AM  | Stand For Israel

Photo Friday at the Western Wall

Happy Friday everyone! This weekend, let us step back from our busy schedules and find time for holy conversation with the Lord. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
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Friday, August 17th, 2012 at 1:35 PM  | Stand For Israel

How the Palestinian UN Bid Was Defeated

(Photo: wikicommons/ Patrick Gruban)
(Photo: wikicommons/ Patrick Gruban)
In today’s Daily Dispatch, we report on the Palestinians’ failed bid for statehood – struck down yesterday by the United Nations Security Council – that called for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem being established as the Palestinian capital. Yediot Achronot’s Itamar Eichner analyzes just how the resolution was defeated, in large part due to the close bond between Israel and the United States:
“There was a clear message from the international community to the Palestinians: Do not try to use tricks to replace negotiations,” a top Foreign Ministry official told Ynet, but the American effort to torpedo the Palestinian’s UN Security Council resolution demanding Israel end its ‘occupation’ of the West Bank proved once again the importance of maintaining good relations with Washington.
Furthermore, the abstention by African nations also demonstrated the importance of the visits made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to the African continent. However, the change of power set to take place in the Security Council on Thursday will change the balance of power against Israel. 
The rejection of the Palestinian resolution by the UN Security Council on Tuesday night was a reminder of the great extent to which Israel-US relations serve as a critical factor in Israeli national security. It only strengthens the need for Israel to maintain good relations with Washington in general and more specifically with the White House, and prevent disagreements such as the one that occurred between Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Israeli diplomats say that the US played a crucial role in the effort to block the Palestinian resolution which sought to set a time table for Israel’s disengagement from territories for a future Palestinian state without direct negotiations.
“The US had a very significant role,” said a high-ranking official at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “Not only were they willing to veto, they also worked side-by-side with Israeli diplomats in order to prevent support for the decision within the Security Council. It’s not that they just said they would vote against it. They worked. There were phone calls and messages. The American diplomatic effort is noteworthy.”


Author: Stand For Israel | December 31, 2014

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