CAFI Newsletter #97

[cafi-list@christianactionforisrael.org]

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* CHRISTIAN ACTION FOR ISRAEL NEWSLETTER  #97 *
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"ON YOUR WALLS, O JERUSALEM, I HAVE APPOINTED WATCHMEN"
Isaiah 62:6
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

               Friday, August 16, 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

        DEAR SUPPORTER OF ISRAEL;

  1.    CHRISTIANS AREN'T THE ENEMY
  2.    SADDAM WILLING TO FIGHT AMERICA
        TO THE LAST PALESTINIAN
  3.    A SUMMER QUIZ
  4.    THE DEER IN HEADLIGHTS
  5.    QUOTES TO NOTE
  6.    HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DEAR SUPPORTER OF ISRAEL;                            Fall, 2002

Dear Supporter of Israel;

 The Summer doldrums (by which we mean
"disengagement from normal living patterns for many")
are coming to an end; best described by an old negro
"spiritual":

 "Summertime, and the living is easy;
 fish are jumping, and the cotton is high;
 Your daddy's rich, and your momma's good looking;
 Hush little baby, don't you cry"

But, Jeremiah saw it through different lenses:

 "Summer is gone, and we are not saved"

Another Scripture that has regained my attention lately,
concerning Mordecai's (a "type" of the Holy Spirit)
warning to Esther (a "type" of intercessor), who was
called upon to save Israel from Haman's
(a descendant of Esau) hatred:

 "For if you altogether hold thy peace at this time,
 then shall their deliverance arise
 from another; but thou and thy father's
 house shall be destroyed; and who knows if
 THOU ARE CALLED TO THE KINGDOM
 FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS ?"

We are not Esther, nor are we Jewish, but as
professing Christian-Zionists, we had best examine
ourselves: Our priorities regarding time and resources;
regarding the Gospel; and the ultimate question: Should
Jesus return soon,
SHALL WE BE FOUND ABOUT OUR FATHER'S BUSINESS ?

CHRISTIAN ACTION FOR ISRAEL'S Website  keeps growing
in number of viewers, and expanding in influence:

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Ministry Cards, as shown on the Site, available upon
request for your creative use !

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     BLESSINGS……IN YESHUA

Alan C. Lazerte
President - CHRISTIAN ACTION FOR ISRAEL

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

   1.    CHRISTIANS AREN'T THE ENEMY

By Yechiel Eckstein  Wall Street Journal

Last week Saudi newspapers launched a concerted
attack on American Christians, who, in their eyes, are
too anti-Saudi and pro-Israel. "Christian fundamentalism
is no less dangerous to international peace and security
than extremists in other religions," the al-Watan
newspaper, which reflects Riyadh's thinking, stated.
"Rather it is more dangerous, especially if it controls
the policy of the United States."

Ironically enough, this might be the first time that
many American Jews would find themselves nodding in
semi-agreement with the virulently anti-Semitic,
anti-Israel press of Saudi Arabia. For although
conservative Christians are Israel's most steadfast
friends in America, many Jews remain deeply
suspicious of them.

The Jerusalem Report warned of an "apocalyptic
foreign policy" that, while superficially pro-Israel,
was designed to "bring on doomsday and, by the way,
the conversion of the Jews." The New Republic decried
what it termed the "Messianic" and "Manichean" nature
of Christian support for Israel, concluding harshly,
"Ultimately, if you don't love Israel for what it is,
you can't be trusted to love it at all." Columnist Frank
Rich of the New York Times promised to be "paranoid"
about Christians and their "theological self-interest"
in the Second Coming of Christ. And the executive
director of the American Jewish Committee charged that
"to affirm their own beliefs," conservative Christians
"have to deny the beliefs of others."

As a rabbi who has worked for 25 years to build
understanding between Christians and Jews, I have
found that these unfortunate sentiments are neither
new nor well-founded. I have not yet found any evidence
that Christian conservatives threaten American Jews,
but I have found plenty of evidence that they support
Jews both in Israel and elsewhere.

The Southern Baptist Convention this year passed a
resolution heralding the "historic connection" between
Jews and Israel. Led by House Majority Whip Tom DeLay,
and with strong backing from religious conservatives,
the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging
America to stand firmly behind our ally Israel. Perhaps
most significantly, President Bush, himself a devout
evangelical, has emerged as a strong backer of Israel
and a critic of terrorist violence directed against it.
Less visibly, but no less importantly, during the past
seven years American evangelicals have donated well over
$100 million in humanitarian assistance for Jews in
need worldwide, for such things as resettlement costs,
housing, food, and medical aid.

Christian solidarity with Israel, while much commented
upon recently, is not a new phenomenon. It traces all
the way back to 1948, when President Harry Truman defied
the foreign policy establishment to recognize the new
state of Israel. Truman's desire to win Jewish votes
no doubt played a part in his decision. But much more
significant was his own Christian conviction, steeped
in years of reading the Bible, that supporting Israel
was a moral imperative.

Reinhold Niebuhr, perhaps the most influential American
theologian of the 20th century, was also a tireless
proponent of the Jewish state. Niebuhr persistently
admonished his fellow Christians of the need to
create and sustain a Jewish homeland, and rallied
support for Israel during the dark early days, when
the young nation's very survival was at stake
 -- just as it is now.

Today America and Israel, Christians and Jews,
find ourselves allies in a struggle for the soul and
survival of our civilization. It is time to bury old
suspicions and fears, and unite in a new moment of
solidarity. I do not mean to suggest that we gloss
over or compromise the integrity of our very real
theological differences. But American Jews must realize
that we share a common moral inheritance with our
Christian friends. The Judeo-Christian ethic is
grounded in respect for the dignity of the person,
the sanctity of life, the pursuit of justice, and
the call of peace. Our mutual allegiance to liberty
binds us together, even while leaving us free to
maintain our distinctive identities.

In this crisis moment, it is time for the Jewish
community to shed some of its prejudices, to reflect
on just who really are its true adversaries -- and
its true friends -- and to seek genuine reconciliation
with the American Christians it has maligned. So
doing would provide one more powerful basis for Jews
and Christians to stand together, and to look ahead.

It is true that some Christians have firm views on
the end-times as they relate to Israel. Perhaps
these Christians need to consider carefully just how
they voice their support, and do so in a manner
grounded in respect, prudence and compassion. In a
nation as theologically diverse as the U.S., one
would expect nothing less than a range of religious
opinions; indeed American Judaism has its own pluralism.

But after my 25 years of working closely with American
evangelicals, I am more than ever convinced that the
overwhelming majority of Christian support for Israel
is based on the simple admonition of Psalms:

  "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
   may those who love you be secure."

Rabbi Eckstein is founder of the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews, and co-chairman of Stand for Israel.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

   2.   SADDAM WILLING TO FIGHT AMERICA
        TO THE LAST PALESTINIAN

By Julie Stahl - CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
August 13, 2002

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is trying to stir up
the Palestinians to perpetrate 'mega-attacks' against
Israel so that an Israeli retaliation will be so
strong that it will upset the entire region and
prevent America from attacking Iraq, an Israeli
analyst said on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Israel is preparing itself for the
possibility that the U.S. will attack Iraq and
Iraq will bombard Israel with missiles in return.

The war of words between Iraq and the U.S. was
heating up last week, with the Iraqi leader warning
that anyone who attacked his country would
"die in disgraceful failure."

The U.S. has warned that Iraq will face consequences
if it does not readmit U.N. weapons inspectors to
search for weapons of mass destruction unconditionally.
But Washington has had trouble gaining backing in
the international community for an attack on Iraq.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Knesset
Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministry on Monday that
Israel would not oppose an American strike against
Iraq and said that coordination between the U.S.
and Israel is at an unprecedented high.

Although, Iraq is the biggest threat to Israel at
this time, Sharon said Israel is not trying to
persuade the U.S. to launch an attack against Iraq.

Sharon advisor Dr. Ra'anan Gissin said that Israel is
supporting the overall policy of the Bush administration
in its worldwide campaign against terrorism.

"We're not in a position to give advice, [but] to
lend support," Gissin said.

According to Gissin, Iraq is not only a threat to
Israel but to the entire region because of Saddam's
involvement in terrorism and his development of
weapons of mass destruction.

"Iraq has always been a major destabilizing force
in the region," Gissin said. "The tentacles of Iraq
are spread throughout the Middle East."

In contrast to Israel's passive stance during the
1991 Gulf War, Israel would definitely respond if
it were hit with Iraqi missiles as a result of an
American offensive, Gissin said.

In 1991, at least 39 Iraqi Scud missiles rained down
on the Jewish state but Israel did not retaliate.
The U.S. had asked Israel not to become involved
because Washington was concerned that any Israeli
response would threaten its anti-Saddam coalition,
which included Arab nations.

"It's a different situation altogether," said Gissin.
"We are ready for that. We've learned the lessons
of the last attack against Israel."

Gissin would not confirm earlier media reports,
which had said that the U.S. agreed to give Israel
advance warning of an impending attack on Iraq. Nor
would he say what kind of retaliation Iraq could
expect. That would depend on the "nature of the
opening scenario," he said.

"With regard to strategic coordination...we have
all the necessary coordination and preparation to
be prepared to meet such an attack," he said.

     Iraq Wants To Avoid American Attack

Iraq will do everything it can to avoid an
American attack, said Professor Amatzia Baram,
director of the Middle East Institute at the
University of Haifa.

He might even agree to allow weapons' inspectors to
return to the country if he believes an attack is
imminent, in the hopes of averting trouble, but at
that point, Baram said, he doesn't believe it will help.

"America will go to war even if it's unilateral,"
Baram said. "[And] Israel will certainly be the
target of Iraqi missiles."

According to Baram, the Iraqi leader has only about
20 missiles, half equipped with biological warheads
and half equipped with chemical ones.

While launching them from the ground could prove to
be not very successful in hitting the target,
Saddam could load the missiles on planes sent
on one-way missions, Baram said.

Even if one or two planes managed to get through
Israel's defenses and crash on Tel Aviv, for instance,
that would be "good enough" for Saddam, he added.

"If any missile is launched toward Israel, Israel
will retaliate commensurate with the damage," he said.
Israel would respond by hitting targets most
cherished by the regime, such as the security
system, he said, declining to offer specific
suggestions as to what those targets might be.

In the meantime, Saddam is trying to prevent an
American attack by urging the Palestinians to carry
out a "mega-attack" in which Israel would lose a
few thousand people, provoking a massive Israeli
response, he said.

Saddam has been quite generous in his financial
support of families of Palestinians who have been
killed or wounded in fighting with Israel and he
has a lot of popularity in the Palestinian street.

Israeli officials have been warning that
Palestinian groups want to carry out mega-attacks.
Several have already been planned or attempted
but were foiled.

Until now, Baram said, Israel has refrained from
using all of its military might but if it lost
thousands of citizens in one day, its internal
inhibitions against a massive retaliation
would be "annulled."

"This is precisely what Saddam Hussein wants,"
he said. "The most effective way is to press the
Palestinians to do mega-attacks. Israel's inhibitions
will be switched off. He is hopeful that Israel
will kill many thousands
[of Palestinians in retaliation]. "

If such a scenario developed, Baram said, the Arab
countries would go "berserk," the moderate Arab
regimes of Jordan and Egypt would be in major
trouble from uprisings against Israel in the streets,
Europe would become "Hitler-style" in its
condemnation and America would be very critical.

"In an atmosphere like this America cannot attack
Iraq," he said. "Saddam Hussein is willing to fight
America until the last Palestinian."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

   3.    A SUMMER QUIZ

Who said the following:

     There is no doubt we have to repeople the country
     and the sooner we set about it the better. Some
     decision must be made to deed houses and land
     captured of the enemy... The civil power being
     insufficient to protect life and property ex
     necessitate rei, to prevent anarchy, 'which
     nature abhors,' the military steps in and is
     rightful, constitutional, and lawful. Under this
     law everybody can be made to 'stay at home and
     mind his or her own business,' and if they
     don't do that, can be sent away where they
     won't keep their honest neighbors in fear
     of danger, robbery and insult.

     Your military commanders, provost-marshals and
     other agents may arrest all males and females
     who have encouraged or harbored guerrillas and
     robbers, and you may cause them to be collected...
     and when you have enough, say 300 or 400, I
     will cause them to be sent... through their
     guerrilla gauntlet and by a sailing ship send
     them to a land where they may... make a colony
     with laws and a future of their own... I wish
     you to be careful that no personalities are
     mixed up in this, nor does a full and generous
     love of country... form a cause of banishment.


Hint: it was a General.

    According to biographer Lee Kennett, "the
    enemy was fast-moving rebel cavalry on raids,
    indigenous guerrillas and partisans, and to
    [his] way of thinking, the population that
    aided them and cheered them on..." He ordered
    a "security zone extending three miles on
    each side of the Line. No persons could live
    within the zone, towns excepted, unless they
    could establish their loyalty." He "extended
    his policy of punishing populations to include
    those living where [the] cavalry was active,
    for he concluded that they tolerated and
    sustained such raiders, just as they
    accommodated the guerrillas who thrived in
    their midst... He had exhausted his patience
    with [the] partisans, whom he now classified
    as 'wild beasts,' not covered by the laws of
    war. Anyone caught damaging the railway, the
    telegraph line, or army stores, especially if
    in civilian dress, 'should be disposed of
    finally and summarily.'"

Hint: This General never conceived of anyone blowing
up children eating pizza or snipers killing babies
in their fathers' arms.

    The guerrillas used "torpedoes," hollow logs
    filled with gunpowder, hidden among other logs,
    to blow up government railway cars and personnel.
    The General's response? "[It] is simply malicious.
    It cannot alter the great problem, but simply
    makes trouble. If torpedoes are found in
    possession of an enemy to the rear, you may
    cause them to be tested by wagon loads of
    prisoners, or if need be, by citizens implicated
    in their use. In like manner, if a torpedo is
    suspected on any part of the road, order the
    point to be tested by a carload of prisoners,
    or citizens implicated, drawn by a long rope.
    Of course, the enemy cannot complain of his own traps."

Hint: this General was never in Jenin.


If you guessed Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864,
you have our admiration.

The point is not to compare adversaries that cannot
be compared. It is to remind ourselves that:

 a) wherever Israel and we find ourselves in the war
against terrorists and their supporters, someone has
been there before;

 b) those that argue there is "no military solution"
are wrong; and

 c) the good guys won but it wasn't easy.

Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
JINSA.ORG
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

   4.    THE DEER IN HEADLIGHTS

By Arlene Peck/Jewsweek.com


For God's sake, how much longer must the State of
Israel appear like a deer in the headlights? How
many more empty houses must be bombed, until the
message comes through that more, much more, is
needed? The only thing these animals need to
understand is that they will be severely punished
if they even think of causing the wanton damage
that they continue to do.

Like puppets, Bush and his sidekick Powell speak
repeatedly about the peace process. Tell me? Is that
anything like making kosher sausage? Because, folks,
there ain't no such thing as the peace process. While
the citizens of Israel are being slaughtered, Colin
Powell urges President Bush to give the Palestinians
a light at the end of the tunnel by giving them their
own interim or provisional Palestinian state. While
they are busy glazing over this light, Bush somehow
neglects to describe the tunnel itself. Where is the
roadmap in his vision? Understanding the mentality of
the roach that sneaks into a college student union
and plants a bomb? There is no limit to their depravity.
So, excuse me if I don't try to understand the depth
of their anger. I'm still trying to deal with mine.
After the horrific bombing at Hebrew University,
suspicion arose that the bomb may have been planted
with the help of someone from within the school. What
I want to know is why those that could be terrorists
are working inside a Jewish university? Hadassah
Hospital has always prided itself on treating the
Arabs within them. Well, it's time to change. Let
them work and live amongst their own.

While the Palestinians, most of Europe, and much of
the press accuse Israel of a cycle of violence there
are some who know that equating terrorism and
cold-blooded murder of civilians cannot be in the
same breath as defense. These murderers are not
prosecuted or pursued by their own – ever. No one
from the United Nations or the surrounding Arab
states offer condemnation. Who would be the group
with which they make this elusive peace? Who in
this group shall share this family of nations?
They've made clear that the goal of the Arab is
the complete and utter destruction of the State of
Israel. Hamas leader Abdulaziz Rantisi said in an
interview, "We are sorry for the Non-Zionist victims.
But, they were in a place where they should not have
been. Everybody knows there is a war going on here
and they should not be in a war zone."

Does President Bush have any idea of the Middle
Eastern mentality when he goes on television talking
about his fury while in the same breath talking about
how there are a few fanatics who don't want to see
the peace process succeed? No, there is an entire
Moslem culture that wants to see the demise of the
Jewish state. Peace or the strip of land isn't really
the issue. It's the state they want to build from
the ruins of the Jewish state.

I've said it before but it bears repeating. For every
bombing that they succeed in, Israel should recapture
and immediately annex ten percent of the land that
they have been given. Give them a certain deadline
and move them out. Sharon has to know that the solution
is the philosophy of "It's either them, or us" and the
answer damn well better be "them". Bombing their homes
isn't enough unless the terrorist family is inside them.
That will get their attention. Then they might come to
accept that unless the terror stops they will be
collectively dead.

Well, folks, for once I agree with the enemy. Israel
is in a war, the same as we in the United States are
in a war. The enemy's goals couldn't be clearer. In war,
bad things happen -- hopefully to bad people. The time
for restraint has long gone. This is not the time for
political correctness either. This is the time for
defeating the enemy. This is the time for transfer.

All that seems to be happening now is the regular
murder of civilians, both Israeli and Americans and
the defense of them. Personally, I've always thought
that the best defense is a good offense. There is no
such thing as a political situation. Just like we
didn't go into Afghanistan and negotiate with Bin
Laden, the Palestinian murderers in Israel couldn't
even comprehend that. They have to be neutralized and
moved out. Period. Until these animals know that the
response to their terror is quick and overwhelming,
Israel will be forced to stand as the deer in the
headlights. I'm tired about hearing about peace. You
can't have peace with the animals of Hamas. These
monsters have a terror mentality that unfortunately
represents the bulk of the people living in the region.
I don't want to hear commentators speak, "Of course
the Israelis have a right to defend themselves, but…"

For years I've been writing about the farce of the
psychology of peace for land. There is no such thing.
There is perhaps peace for pieces if they continue to
chop the Jewish state like salami. Nor does it help
when Bush is filmed saying, "The Israeli occupation
that began in 1967 will be ended…with Israeli withdrawal
to secure and recognized borders." Which makes me
wonder. Does that mean that the hundreds of thousands
of Jews that are living there, will have to pack up and
move out of their ancestral land? So, if no one sees a
problem with moving out all the Jews that are living
there, then is it OK to move all the Arabs from Israel
proper into these new Arab land which would be
devoid of Jews?

While the world becomes hysterical over the "illegal
settlements" let me remind you that there are more
than 244 Muslim settlements, which are 100 more than
the publicized Israeli ones. They are on Jewish land
which has been taken over by Arabs who have been trucked
in from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other third
world countries while they give interviews on CNN
about their "Palestinian heritage".

Yeah right. Tell us more lies.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

     5.   QUOTES TO NOTE

Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi spokesman who's been all
over American TV of late, had this exchange with NBC's
Andrea Mitchell on yesterday's "Meet the Press":

   Mitchell: How can you expect Israel to participate
   in security discussions again after the Hebrew
   University bombing?

  Al-Jubeir: I think that we have to look beyond the
  violence. We have to look at the end result. There
  will be violence as we go through the process. Anyone
  who says it will not continue is not being realistic.
  We have to redouble our efforts in spite of it in
  order to find a final solution. We all agree what
  the final solution looks like in the settlement. It's
  withdrawal from the territories in exchange for peace
  and normal relations, and let's roll up our sleeves
  and work in that direction.

Given all the Muslim outrage last year over President
Bush's referring to a "crusade" against terrorism, you'd
think the Saudis would be more careful about using a
phrase like "final solution." Though come to think of
it, given what we hear in Saudi mosques and media,
maybe Al-Jubeir's word choice was quite deliberate.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

     6.    HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES ON OUR SITE

PALESTINIAN LIES & WESTERN COMPLICITY
The Arabs have successfully pilloried Israel in the
court of public opinion through the deft propagation
of two big lies. Relying on the sketchy historical
knowledge of most people, and on the propensity of
oft-repeated lies to become accepted wisdom, Arab
officials have fabricated a historical narrative that
has gained wide acceptance. It justifies Arab
aggression, even terror, as an understandable
response to cruel Israeli "occupation" and to the
"stealing of Palestinian lands." The charges often
stick, even though they are based on falsehoods.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/aug02/complicity.html

ANOTHER BARBARIAN SUNDAY PICNIC
Arab-Palestinians can tell their mesmerized world
audience that now their random Jew-killing rampages
are because Israel vanquished terrorist planner
Shehada, a vile barbarian by any civilized standard,
with the blood of hundreds of innocent Israelis on
his hands no less than the famous Arab lynch mob
that proudly displayed their blood soaked hands at
the police station window for the cheering crowds
below, before dragging the bodies through town,
whooping for all Muslims to come kick the dead Jews.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/aug02/picnic.html

ARAFAT'S NAZI CONNECTION
So, it is no wonder that Arafat has been so persistent
in his life-long career of killing Jews. For in him,
the hatred toward Jews of Adolph Hitler lives again.
And the same prince of darkness protects him.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/aug02/arafatnazi1.html

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Become a WITNESS TO THE NATIONS and let them know what
great things our Lord is doing for Israel and what great
things He will continue to do for her, His firstborn.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/witness/home1.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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