NOTE FROM BRIAN KOOIMAN, Global Harvest Ministries Brian's email: briank@globalharvest.org

We are forwarding you below a report sent out last week by Reuven Doron of "Embrace Israel" ministries.

We feel that it contains much accurate historical information which will better equip many in the evaluation of news reports, many of which seem increasingly to reflect a new "revisionist" historical perspective, often quite at odds with the facts concerning which Pastor Doron writes.

In submitting this for your reading, we are aware that the author is writing from the perspective of a Sabra (i.e. native born) Israeli Jew; his emphases will likely be different than they would be were he an Arab living in the territories.

REUVEN DORON - A SEASONED PROPHETIC VOICE IN ISRAEL TODAY

As with any writing on such sensitive subjects, it should be read prayerfully, asking the Wonderful Counselor to be our teacher, the One who nourishes our understanding with truth. However, we would add that we believe Reuven (with whom we are personally acquainted) to be one of the strong, compassionate, and seasoned prophetic voices in Israel today.

Before returning to Israel, he was for a number of years a pastor at River of Life congregation in Cedar Rapids where he worked closely with Frances Frangipane. He has also led many conferences throughout the U.S. on the subject of "The Mystery of Israel and the Church," and in addition to his many responsibilities both in Israel and abroad, he regularly leads tours of intercessors throughout the land, visiting and supporting both Jewish and Arab congregations and leaders. We believe his thoughts on the present situation to be timely, informative, and of great assist in viewing the present unfolding events from a Biblical and historically sound perspective.

EMBRACE ISRAEL MINISTRIES eMAIL TO EMBRACE ISRAEL: prayerfocus@embraceisrael.org Friday, October 20, 2000

The Embrace Israel Prayer Focus from Jerusalem is prepared regularly by Pastor Reuven Doron, director of Embrace Israel Ministries. This is provided free of charge and sent via e-mail to a select group of intercessors around the world. If you would also like to receive our printed bi-monthly newsletter, please contact us via phone, FAX, e-mail or postal mail as indicated at the end of this transmission. Please include your name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address with all correspondence. Thank you!

PRAYER FOCUS 10-20-2000 REUVEN DORON

"Why do the nations rage and imagine a vain thing?" (Psalms 2:1)

Life in and around Israel these days, for the intercessor, is an emphatic model of the life, which is called to be connected to both earth and heaven simultaneously. The person who lives in the gap, that distance between the way things are and the way things could be if God had His perfect way, is fully subject to the downward pull of the pain and wickedness which flood the natural creation, while at the same time never compromising on the hope and glory of heaven.

Such dichotomy is too much for any human heart, and only the life of the Messiah, God's chief intercessor, is sufficient for the task. Pray for us to so abide in the holy vine that no matter how horrifying and discouraging the surroundings may be, our eyes will still behold the King upon His throne!

Thank you for the many prayers, notes, and inquiries. The intercessory support from the nations is priceless, and all of us who serve God in this region know how depressing life here would be without that bright cloud of witnesses surrounding us. This is indeed a good time to sow faith, hope, love, and financial aid into the fields of harvest in our part of the world, as times of distress always produce a harvest, and the Lord of the Harvest is calling for His workers to be in position, ready, and equipped. Thank you for remembering us in your mission giving, especially after the "summer slump."

Many have written to us in recent days, following my latest prayer report of Oct 8, requesting more information and commentary of this kind. I thank you for your commitment and love. However, I have neither the time nor the grace to produce a daily news report, though the unfolding events in our part of the world are indeed significant and weighty. Rather, I will continue to provide the intercessors with timely articles sent in regular intervals addressing both natural and spiritual dynamics in our region that we deem important for the purpose of prayer.

However, for you who desire daily, reliable, and unbiased reporting of events, I recommend the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem's E-bulletin that can be subscribed at: <>, as well as the Jerusalem Post E-version that can be found on the net under Jerusalem Post. Remember to pray as you read.

HARD TRUTHS

"Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter." (Isaiah 59:14 NASB)

In light of the significance and speed of the events that erupt and surface in our region daily, I want to shortly address in this writing some of the fundamental hard truths that have often been neglected or altogether forgotten in the avalanche of images, trauma, and deception. In this writing, for the sake of brevity, I will not expound on these points. A fuller examination of these and other neglected truths, can be found in a list of recommended books that can be obtained from our office.

The truths I will address here, as unpopular as they are, are nevertheless the seeds which produce the harvest we are now reaping in the Middle East, and the longer they are ignored, the worse the consequences will be. These truths will not go away, but rather continue to hold the plumb line over the crookedness of mankind, exacting the full price of dishonesty, lust, and pride.

"Middle East on fire." "Palestinians Spark The Arab World." "Arab/Israeli Conflict May Turn Into A Full-Scale War." "Is World War Three On The Horizon?" "World Leaders Convene For Desperate Attempt To Restore Middle-East Peace." These past weeks' headlines seem like chapter headings from an apocalyptic novel, only without the person of the anti-Christ to save the world. I believe that at this last Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), September 30, we crossed over into a new chapter in God's unfolding history, and I am afraid that there is no way back.

BEWARE OF COMPROMISE

Israel is a "light to the nations" in spite of herself, even in her blindness and distress. Israel's national history and God's dealings with her were always meant to be lessons and reminders of God's existence, truth, and purpose. Likewise, our present trials can teach all who have ears to hear, and especially the Church, an essential truth that is a warning to the wise.

Plainly, Israel's present suffering points to the painful lesson of compromise. Whenever truth is compromised, even for the noblest of reasons or the most humane of causes, the end result is not good. In fact, as this lesson will painfully prove in time, it is far better to remain in an unresolved yet "honest" conflict, rooted and grounded in reality, than to form unreliable alliances and enter into deceptive agreements.

The church in the nations should heed this warning. A political spirit has been drawing many in the Lord's body into unholy alliances, agreements based upon mutual benefits, and treaties anchored in joint interests. None of these please the Lord. They will not produce the fruit of His Kingdom, nor stand in the day of trial. All such bonds that are born of the mind and the heart of man, even for the best of intentions, face the risk of turning into soul-ties, selfish manipulations, and even demonic unions. Remember how seriously the Lord took the unsanctified unity of the builders of the Tower of Babel.

In her blindness toward God's purpose and her desperation to reach a peaceful existence with her neighbors, Israel is now awaking from a long nightmare of compromise and humanistic wishful thinking. She has been compromising her dignity, her cause, her character, and her destiny for acceptance among the nations. As a person heavily engaged in and committed to the cause of reconciliation, I, too, find it painful to track the recent events, draw the necessary conclusions, and call for honest applications.

ARAB VERSUS MUSLIM

To my Arab/Palestinian friends and brothers I extend my hand and my heart, as always, with a sincere desire to find each other in the Lord. Some of you occupy a special place in my heart, which neither political strife nor national interests can take away. However, we cannot sustain genuine relationships at the expense of the truth, and compromising essential truths at this strategic crossroad will only lead us further into the inevitable dead-ends we looked into these last weeks.

In fact, I am deeply concerned for my Arab Christian brothers and friends who, in the flood of ethnic passions and national frenzy, have become blinded to the reality surrounding them. This reality is that the moving force and controlling agenda of what is taking place in the Palestinian camp today is entirely and exclusively Muslim, and the most militant Islamic groups which are supported and associated with the Islamic terrorist state of Iran, are the ones leading the campaign.

Christian Arabs must know that they are not going to be treated any better than the "despised Jewish Zionists" the Islamic world so detests. The flags waved by Palestinian mobs on our television screens are the flags of the Islamic Revolution, the Hizballa Islamic terror organization, and other militant Islamic groups, not the flags of freedom or equality for the Christian. The same spirit, which haunts Israel in the political arena, is presently at work maiming Christians in Ethiopia, crucifying them in Egypt, enslaving their children in Sudan, and beheading them in Saudi Arabia.

Only a complete fool or a bewitched man will throw his lot with the Islamic camp. I hope and pray that our partners in the Faith in the Arab community will not forget the simple fact that God and His word are our only basis for fellowship, and should we be led by either politicians or mobs, we will lose our only foundation for unity which is the Word of God and His Spirit.

Considering the arguments for either the Israeli or the Palestinian positions from an undiscerning human viewpoint, they seem to cancel each other out. It is only as we view the conflict from God's perspective, as revealed in His covenant promises, without compromising the historical truths examined below, that we have a clue as to the ultimate solution for our region's ills. In the meantime, those opposing God's way must be contained.

PALESTINIAN CAUSE IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE

Before we look any further, we should recall that the Palestinian tragedy, though all encompassing and heart breaking for the Arabs who are caught in it, is but another episode of hardship and warfare that the Hebrew nation has to endure in her long and difficult journey. Our Palestinian neighbors, from a historical Jewish perspective, are but another flash point where the powers of the age come into direct conflict with the people of Israel, God's elect nation in the earthly domain.

While we acknowledge the pressing immediacy and pain of the Palestinian tragedy, a people group who only recently developed any sense of national identity and aspirations, still, from Israel's historical point of view the Palestinians are but a short chapter in the Hebrew nation's long tale of suffering, persecution, and hatred which long preceded the Palestinian cause, or even the modern Arab/Israeli conflict.

The fact is that the Hebrew nation, or Israel in modern times, since her divine inception 4500 years ago, has been in continual conflict with the powers of darkness and their representatives on earth. Isolation, persecution, humiliation, and warfare have been our daily bread for millennia. Chosen and called to testify of God's existence and truths, the Hebrew nation, even in her imperfection and sin, was time and again targeted for annihilation by Satan. Silence the messenger, the reasoning goes, and you get rid of the message.

And so, as painful and pressing as the Palestinian cause appears today, decorated with much international rhetoric and watered with the blood of martyrs, it is but a small case in point given Israel's total experience and age long mission. Arafat, his thugs, and the raging Islamic mobs come at the end of a very long line of oppressors and foes who have had their day, releasing the demonic fury against the nation of Israel. In fact, Arafat and the Islamic agenda (which hitched a ride on the legitimate Palestinian cause) dwarf in comparison to Hitler's nazism, Rome's globalization, Greece's hellenism, Haman's treachery, and Pharaoh's slavery, all strategically aimed at Israel's annihilation. And so, if we are to learn the lesson of history, this trial too, will pass.

Another truth that must be remembered is that of the vast difference between Arab and Muslim. One is an ethnic term that relates to language, culture, and society. The other is a demonized religion that opposes God, His word, and His purpose. It's a principle difference, which not only enables the intercessor to keep a clear head in the battle for souls, should also help our Arab/Christian brethren keep away from the rage and deception, which so often characterize Islamic approach to both Jew and Christian.

Having placed the Palestinian issue in perspective, let us now take an honest look at the actual claims and case in point: According to most media coverage and popular international opinion, the Palestinians want a homeland and the Muslims want control over the sites they consider holy. That sounds reasonable, even reasonable enough for most Israelis to support a peace agreement with such articles included in it. But is it really that simple? Or are these but shallow excuses for a deeper, spiritual agenda, which produces the violence, unending hatred, and lust for the land?

THE LAND

When my grandparents pioneered their way into the Promised Land in the early years of this century, the territory was named "Palestine." The origin of the name is traced to the Roman Emperor Hadrian who changed the name of the land from Judea to "Syria Palestina" after the final Roman victory in A.D. 135. At that time, half a million of the Jewish inhabitants were massacred and thousands exiled and sold into slavery. Their property was confiscated, national life and worship were forbidden, and territory was renamed and designated to the Roman district of Syria (which was not Arab at the time, as the Arab tribes were still a nomadic people group in the area of modern day Saudi Arabia). Jerusalem itself was razed and rebuilt as a Roman city named Aelia Capitolina.

All these steps were taken as a deliberate attempt to obscure the truth, distort the facts of biblical history, and erase the Jewish territorial claim to the land of Israel. However, this diabolic plan, carried out through Roman policy to void the Word of God, was not successful. In fact, throughout all future centuries of foreign domination, there remained a Jewish presence in the land that often constituted the majority of its few inhabitants.

Foreign powers dominated the land of Israel in succession for centuries. After Judea was destroyed by the Romans and her name changed, the Roman rule continued until the breakup of their empire and the rise of the Byzantine Empire in A.D. 315. The region was then ruled by the Byzantines until the advent of Islam and the capture of the land in A.D. 637. From this point to A.D. 1072, the land was ruled by various Moslem caliphs whose capitals were established in other lands.

The Seljukes ruled for a brief period, then the land fell to the Crusaders in A.D. l099, and was under their general rule until A.D. 1291. From this point until A.D. 1516 the land was dominated by the Mameluks from Egypt. After them, the Ottoman Turkish Empire took over and ruled the whole region until they were removed by the British in l918.

Great Britain, which was commissioned by the League of Nations (the U.N. predecessor) to prepare part of that region as a national home for the Jewish people, ruled the region for a short period between WW1 and WW2, a period called the British Mandate. After much debate, struggle, and the horror of the holocaust, Israel was declared a sovereign independent state on May 14, l948. Indeed, empires and kingdoms had their season; mighty armies rocked the whole region under their campaigns, yet they are all gone.

During the entire period of recorded history, the land called Palestine was never ruled by Palestinians. The fact is, that apart from the continuing Jewish presence in the land from A.D. 135 to l948, its inhabitants consisted of the soldiers of each conquering army and their slaves. Century after century, the culture, social fabric and identity of these inhabitants changed as the rulers changed. The Jewish residents, on the other hand, were the sole survivors of the ancient population of the land, and they alone have maintained an uninterrupted national link with the land since the dawn of recorded history.

Israel's claim to the land goes back 4,000 years with many centuries filled with vital and consistent national life, which is supported by undisputable biblical and archeological proofs. For 3,000 years Jerusalem was the capital of the Hebrew nation, and the 35-acre Temple Mount summit, currently the center of the dispute, was rightfully purchased by King David from Ornan the Jebusite. In time, this became the site of the first and second Temples and the center of Jewish life and identity.

Zechariah, as he unfolds the prophetic scenario of God's great deliverance of Israel at the end of the age, said, "In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sights in Jerusalem" (Zech 12:6). This last phrase in the original Hebrew text simply says that Jerusalem shall dwell where Jerusalem always was.

THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

Though there were agrarians Arab communities scattered in the territory of biblical Israel during the last hundreds of years, there was never a nation called Palestine in the region, or anywhere. So who are the real Palestinians? History tells us that during the same time period, the Jewish communities living in the land also became known as Palestinians as this was the territorial title, and were consistently called Palestinians until the second half of this century.

My own father, blessed be his memory, a Jewish pioneer who arrived in the land in 1920 from Russia, carried a Palestinian identity card (provisional passport under the British Mandate) until 1948 when Israel was declared a sovereign state and all her residents became Israeli citizens.

During World War II, the British army drafted and operated a Palestinian Brigade made up entirely of Jewish troops. The Palestinian Symphony was all Jewish, and the Palestine Post (later named the Jerusalem Post) was an all Jewish newspaper. In other words, being a Palestinian had no bearing whatsoever regarding one's nationality, religion, or ethnic background. It merely pointed to the geographical point of residence and no more.

The ancestors of many of the Palestinian Arabs arrived in Palestine only within the past two centuries. It is well documented that Arab masses flooded into the region from all over the decaying Ottoman Empire, seeking jobs provided by Jewish commercial and developmental activities, which began in the late 1800s. The myth of a coherent national Arab Palestinian population which goes back for generations is a fallacy. And while there are Arab families and clans who can prove their roots in the land for many generations, they represent only a fraction of the whole of the Arab Palestinian population of today.

Palestine was never an established Arab nation wrestled away forcefully by the Zionists, as is so often presented by Arab propagandists. Rather, the Arab families who came for work felt no political ties to the land and, until the l920s, no national community at all had even existed in Palestine. This is the reason why both the Balfour Declaration of England in 1917 and the League of Nations' Mandate following World War I charged the Jewish population in Palestine with guaranteeing the civil and religious rights of minorities in the land. No mention was made, whatsoever, of any distinct national rights of these minorities, as it was clearly recognized by all parties that the only national claim to the area was that of the Jewish population.

In fact, the Arabs themselves, in the first quarter of the century, recognized the land as being a home for the Jews and expressed, in general, a very cordial acceptance. This was demonstrated in an agreement between Emir Feisal of Arabia and Dr. Chaim Weizmann of the World Zionist Organization. The Emir, a respectable spokesman for the Arabs at the time, spoke with much favor of the future cooperation between the newly carved out Arab states and the Jewish one. In Article 1 the Emir said, "The Arab state and Palestine (the Jewish state), in all their relations and undertakings, shall be controlled by the most cordial good will and understanding."

The Emir identified and welcomed the emergence of a Jewish nation in Palestine, parallel to the emergence of Arab nations in the region such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, etc. under the British and French mandates. In his letter to Felix Frankfurter, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, in l919, the Emir further wrote, "We feel that the Arabs and Jews are cousins in race, having suffered similar oppression . . . and by happy coincidence have been able to take the first step toward the attainment of their national ideals together. The Arabs . . . look with deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement . . . We will wish the Jews a hearty welcome home." Unfortunately, these sympathetic notions did not last long.

THE REFUGEE PROBLEM

In 1948, following the U.N. declaration of Israeli sovereignty and Israel's own declaration of independence, five Arab nations neighboring Israel attacked the young state. Closing in on Israel, they called for the Arab residents of the area to get out of the way in light of the anticipated invasion, promising them a quick plunder of Jewish property and homes following their victory. However, after eight months of fighting, tiny Israel prevailed, a tense cease-fire was established, and the Arabs who left their homes due to the fierce battles and their leadership's appeal were unable to return. This was the unfortunate beginning of the notorious and tragic Palestinian refugee problem.

Following the war, Jordan and Egypt took control over the West Bank and Gaza strip, with Jordan annexing the region illegally (without any outcry in the international community ). The Palestinian population, most living in their own villages, and some in U.N. constructed refugee camps, were in fact under the authority of neighboring friendly Arab countries, living in the very territory which was allotted them for statehood by U.N. resolution #181 of 1947 which apportioned them a land next to the Jewish state. This would have been an excellent time to establish the hoped for Arab Palestinian state, but it was never done. Why?

Cruelly and contrary to basic human compassion, the Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza strip were kept as refugees by their own brethren in Jordan and Egypt, following the l948 Arab defeat. For the purpose of political manipulation, the neighboring Arab states kept these Arab Palestinians underprivileged and unable to improve their conditions. These refugees who fled Israel, never to return to loot and spoil the abandoned Jewish communities as their leaders had promised, were now locked in a prison of dirty politics, selfish tyrants, poverty, and abuse. They were given no economic opportunities, little education, and no industrial infrastructure whatsoever. They had become a political card in the hands of evil men trying to deceive the world and pressure Israel into compromises.

Why were they kept in such impoverished conditions until l967, when Israel captured those territories? Why were they not allowed to blend into the Arab societies surrounding them with which they were comfortable and familiar? Why did Jordan never establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank during the nineteen years she ruled the territory? All these and more are questions that must be answered. The tragedy and suffering of the Palestinian people could have been averted if handled properly by Arab leaders at the time. In fact, even if statehood was not permitted them, this could have been the simplest refugee problem of our century, given the fact that these refugees could have been easily absorbed into neighboring populations of like culture, religion, language, and customs.

We deal, however, not with human reasoning, but with demonic powers and principalities, which oppose God and His plan for the region. The chronic nature of the Palestinian cry, the intensifying pressure and stress it creates, and the deep deception surrounding it, all testify to the demonic force that hitched a ride on their tragedy. As Christians, we must maintain a heart of compassion and an attitude of intercession toward these suffering people, while at the same time realizing that further deception will not provide for them, or for Israel, a way out.

PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

The fact is that the myth of the historic Palestinian state, so cleverly constructed over the years, has gained global authenticity, fooling even those who should know better. This mythical state has already been accepted and given observer status in the United Nations; Yasser Arafat has been named its president and, in several nations around the world, this mythical state has ambassadorial status.

However, there is a legitimate side to the Palestinian cry. Parallel to the emergence of Jewish national life in the region during the early years of the century, nationalistic aspirations in the Arab Palestinian community were also budding. In fact, as some would say, two national movements were maturing simultaneously side by side. I fully believe that, apart from the demonic rage bewitching the Arab masses, the two ethnic groups could have, and possibly will, in the future, coexist peacefully side by side.

Britain, under its mandate, made two sets of territorial promises, one to the Moslems and the other to the Jewish residents of the region. These official promises were originally fully reconcilable and attainable. However, British promises to the Arabs in the region were generously fulfilled, while their promises to the Jewish population were constantly violated. The Arabs were favored, as nearly twenty Arab sovereign states (such as Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, etc.) were artificially carved out and established by the British from the former Turkish Empire.

However, the development of the part of Palestine allocated by the major powers to the Jewish people took a different course. The first "land for peace" agreement took place when four-fifths of the promised Jewish homeland was given to the Hashamite family, an Arabian royal line imported from Saudi Arabia by the British. They were established as the ruling family in the present kingdom of Jordan in 1946, and were handed seventy-eight percent (78%) of the original land promised to the Jewish people by the League of Nations. In fact, the state of Israel today exists on the remaining one-fifth of the land originally promised. Yet, this loss of land provided no peace.

During the l930s, as Hitler was rising into power in Germany, nearly 100,000 German Jewish refugees found shelter in Palestine. This caused great agitation among the Arab leadership, accompanied by murderous anti-Jewish campaigns lasting three consecutive years. The British, anxious to draw the Arabs away from Nazi Germany, put an absolute stop to the Jewish immigration. Europe was ready to snare and destroy its Jewish population, and there was nowhere for them to go.

As millions of Jews were trapped in Europe, the leaders of the Jewish community in Israel demanded the end of the British Mandate. The Arabs, on the other hand, demanded that all of Palestine should become one nation with an Arab majority. And as the matter was debated and decided in the newly formed United Nations, the vote was cast for a sovereign Jewish state to be established.

However, there were serious problems with this U.N. plan, as this small territory, comprised only twenty-two percent of the original promised area, was further partitioned into two states, Palestinian and Jewish. This newly formed Jewish state was, in fact, made up of three disconnected regions, most of which were desert. Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and much of the Galilee were lost, while Jerusalem was to become an international city within the Palestinian state. Yet, in spite of this grim offer, after much agonizing debate, the leadership of the Jewish population accepted the U.N. plan, and on May 14, l948, the new state was declared sovereign and was named Israel. However, this sacrifice of land did not produce the desired peace either.

While the Jewish population painfully accepted the international ruling, the Arabs rejected the U.N. partition plan, demanding the entire land, and on May 15 the armies of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq invaded the one-day-old state of Israel as the Mufti (an Arab religious leader) of Jerusalem who was Yasser Arafat's uncle, proclaimed, "I declare a holy war, my Moslem brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!"

Ironically, these five neighboring Arab states, totaling an area of 1,200,000 square miles, attempted to swallow up tiny Israel consisting of 8000 square miles! Yet, after almost a year of fierce fighting, the small Jewish community in Israel, fighting at great odds, won back parts of the Galilee, Judea, Samaria, and liberated half of Jerusalem. In fact, many of the fighting soldiers were fresh arrivals from the European concentration and death camps with hardly any training and no command of Hebrew. Indeed, the victory of this untrained and poorly equipped army was the Lord's.

As the Arab armies retreated and agreed to an armistice, Jordan annexed Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem as its own, an illegal act which was never dealt with by the U.N., and these territories soon became breeding grounds from which to launch terrorist attacks against Israel's civilian population. Ironically, Jordan and Egypt now occupied the West Bank and the Gaza strip, the very territories allotted to the Arab Palestinians under the U.N. Partition Plan of l947, which they earlier rejected. Thus, the Arab inhabitants of these territories were virtually taken over by their own Moslem brethren and kept as subjugated people from that point on.

The "land for peace" formula never worked. It appears that the spirit, which is behind the territorial lust of Arab expansionism, is not at all interested in land, but in the total annihilation of the Jewish state. Thus, it will never be satisfied with partial settlements. The fact is that God, in His love for the Arab people, granted them great tracts of land. The territory of the sons of Ishmael is 672 times the size of the state of Israel. It is twice the size of the United States as it embraces all of Northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula, and has vast treasures of oil. Still, the driving spirit behind the blinded masses continues to push for and pursue the destruction of Israel. Land is not its goal, and peace is not an option!

JERUSALEM

Another truth which must be acknowledged is that Jerusalem was never an Arab or Palestinian capital, and that it was, until the Jewish settlers revitalized it in this century, a dusty provincial city that hardly played any economic, social, or political role in the region. Jerusalem is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible and has been the center of Jewish identity and faith ever since David wrestled it from the Jebusites three thousand years ago. Not once is Jerusalem mentioned in the Koran.

As to "East Jerusalem," there is East Chicago, East Hampton, and there used to be East Berlin, but, until the Arab propaganda machine created the concept, there was never an East Jerusalem, let alone "Arab East Jerusalem." The eastern part of Jerusalem, which is now predominately Arab, became so because the Jordanians, who occupied this part of the city for nineteen years, destroyed all traces of Jewish presence and drove all the Jewish residents out.

ISLAMIC HOLY SITES

There are none in Jerusalem. You will ask, "what about the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock? Aren't they the reason Jerusalem represents Islam's third most holy city?" The plain fact is that the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca and Medina hundreds of times, but not once does it mention Jerusalem. And as for Muhammad's mystical visit to the city, there is no historical evidence to suggest that Mohammad ever visited Jerusalem.

So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs " In the seventh century, Muslim mystics identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem, and started the legend. This "evidence" is as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets; myth, fantasy, and deception.

All Islamic claims to "holy sites" are based, therefore, on the unfounded claim of Muhammad, a demonized lunatic who opened the spring of this satanic deception. Most, if not all, Islamic mosques and religious places in the entire land of Israel are built on top of the ruins of Jewish synagogues, just as the Dome of the Rock was strategically erected where the Temple was. This is normal Islamic pattern whereby they raise their holy sites on top of the conquered people's ruined temples to display their spiritual superiority and valor.

THE ISLAMIC FAITH

I will not deal here with the origin and history of the Islamic religion. Its demonic conception and wicked precepts can be easily researched as well as Muhammad's insanity and perversity. However, for our purpose here I will shortly bring out the deep-seated hatred and vindictiveness of this religion toward the Jewish nation, as this is the force that is behind the military and political dilemma in the Middle East.

A basic premise of Islam is that it is the religion which Allah, the great God, has raised up to replace both Judaism and Christianity. Both religions, the Koran teaches, failed Allah, and he therefore raised the Arab race to replace these inferior groups and to bring the world into submission, which is the meaning of the word Islam. It is impossible to be a good Muslim and make peace with Israel. This is the main problem in the Middle East.

The Koran (Sura 9:19) says that there are three things that attract more rewards than all others: belief in Allah, belief in the Last Day, and Jihad, holy war. It is recorded in Hadith, the book covering Muhammad's precepts, actions, and life, which is second in authority only to the Koran, that "the last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them." It goes on to say that Jihad (holy war) is "the best method of earning (blessings) both spiritual and temporal. If victory is won, there is enormous booty If there is defeat or death, there is everlasting paradise." The least one in the Muslim "paradise" is promised eighty thousand servants and seventy-two virgins for perpetual sexual pleasure.

Martyrdom is a great way out from the hopeless existence of many Palestinian, so they are told. The Palestinian leadership encourages the youth and children to be in the front of the clashes and, we were told, pays the families $300 for a child that is wounded, and $2,000 if they die. We need to pray with wisdom and compassion, and especially for the Arab youth as daily propaganda from Palestinian television and radio broadcasts feeds them statements like that of the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran who said, "The purest joy in Islam is to kill and be killed for Allah," accompanied with images of street fighting, burning tires, and angry mobs.

Islam is a militant bloodthirsty religion, and the end of Islam will be destruction, probably through the humiliation of a crushing military defeat. As some say, only then will the demonic hold be broken off the Arab masses, and the harvest will come in earnest.

THE ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP

Yasser Arafat was a terrorist, is a terrorist, and probably will always be one. His career is long and bloody, so bloody in fact, that he was driven out of Arab countries and placed on their wanted lists. He committed his first murder at age 20, masterminded the biggest hijacking (four aircrafts at once), the largest number of hostages (3,000 at one time), the largest ransom extorted ($5 million from Lufthansa) and the greatest number and variety of targets (40 civilian aircrafts, five passenger ships, and 30 embassies, diplomatic missions, and schools). He has never apologized or condemned any of these actions.

It would not be far from the truth to say that Israel made Arafat. Desperately needing a negotiating partner for the envisioned peace process, which so many Israelis longed for, Israeli diplomatic efforts actually raised Arafat from a lowly place, being an aging terrorist who was on the run for years, to a position of statesman and head of a national movement. Sadly, he wasn't able to make the transition and remained a terrorist whose word is as deceptive as his motives, and who resorts to violence as soon as he does not get his way.

The events that are taking place now in the Middle East are not spontaneous outbursts of anger. These events of violence and deadly anger are the fruit of evil seeds planted by Arafat and his thugs for years in the hearts of the suffering population, and the suffering was not exclusively Israel's responsibility. Much of it was a result of a selfish dictatorial leadership that used great sums of money for their own Swiss Bank accounts and palaces in the capitals of the world. Arafat reportedly has palatial homes in Amman, Bethlehem, Gaza, Jericho, and Paris.

In fact, some of the havoc in the Palestinian street is directly due to the fact that many do not trust nor like Arafat. His leadership was forced upon the Palestinian population through "mafia style" democratic procedures, and is maintained by sheer terror. His administration is grossly inflated, and too much of the funds that arrive at its treasury from international and Israeli sources vanish into private pockets.

Yasser Arafat has totally failed to inform his people that a final peace accord with Israel, if one is still possible, will not satisfy all Palestinian aspirations. Israeli leaders, on the other hand, have consistently made clear that the road to a permanent peace is inevitably paved with "painful concessions," such as abandoning control over much of Israel's biblical heartland. Despite intense protest from many, the Israeli leadership has gone far in implementing those difficult concessions when the new uprising exploded.

The news programs in Arafat's official Palestinian television broadcasts are still filled with mild to severe anti-Israel sentiment. Even more interesting, though, are the fillers that are frequently shown between regular programs. They feature graphic scenes of the original Palestinian uprising and the tunnel riots of 1996. Mournful female singers extol the virtues of the "jihad martyrs and heroes" who are seen hurling stones and firebombs at armed Israeli soldiers. Thus, it takes very little to get contemporary fighters out into the streets when it suits Arafat's whim. And, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak refusing to sign over the Temple Mount, it seems Arafat felt it was necessary to unleash his shock troops once again.

OUR PRESENT SITUATION

The "cease fire" agreement reached at the recent summit in the Sinai Peninsula is under daily assault itself. The land continues to be plagued with Palestinian violence, daily clashes, and civilian casualties. I will not burden you with the depressing details. Even though Arafat has now agreed to take "concrete steps" to halt the violence --however reluctantly-- it may be too late. With over 100 Arab funerals and several thousand wounded, Arafat's youthful warriors seem eager for vengeance.

The apex of the release of the spirit of perversion and murder came when two Israeli soldiers wandered into Palestinian controlled Ramallah by mistake, were taken in by the Palestinian Police force to their headquarters, beaten to death and mutilated on live TV with pictures of the murderers' blood covered hands waving in gleeful victory. During this mob "lynching" which was documented by foreign TV coverage, the wife of one of the murdered men called on his cell phone, only to hear the violent screams in the background and an Arab voice announcing to her, "we are murdering your husband!"

The Israeli military response was "conservative" at best, as "surgical" air to ground missiles were fired upon Palestinian Authority military and official targets, and that only after first warning the residents to evacuate the sites. Not one Palestinian was reported killed or wounded in these attacks.

As in previous days, the young jihad warriors continue to make their way outside of their cities and towns to attack Israeli positions located in relatively remote locations (IDF troops evacuated most parts of the Gaza strip in 1994, and most towns in the Judean and Samarian hills in 1995). The story is replayed in Ramallah, where daily clashes take place on the southern outskirts of town. That's the only place one can find Israeli soldiers since the city itself is under full Palestinian control.

Such is also the case in Bethlehem. No "Israeli occupation forces" patrol in the biblical town. Demonstrators must hike up to the northern outskirts of Bethlehem to find any IDF soldiers. And so they do, armed with fresh supply of children and youth leading the parades, and, of course, the TV crews. The only town where IDF soldiers are stationed is a small part of Hebron with its small Jewish enclave, which is there since this location is very precious to the Jewish people and is second only to the Temple Mount.

It will be wonderful should the land calm down, the spirits cool off together with the early winter rains we are presently receiving, and sane negotiations resume. However, it is likely to go the other way. How much time before the inevitable, no one knows. Meanwhile, however, our eyes are upon the Lord who always brings in His harvest during times of distress. And the harvest is plentiful around us.

As you pray, don't become lost in the Middle East "black hole." Our drama will go on for a while longer, and meanwhile God is busy on other fronts as well. Remember to watch and pray for the upcoming American elections as they are extremely important and will determine the entire direction this great nation will take in the coming generation. And pray for the workers in the Muslim world as their "work environment" is intensifying daily with the demons of Islam smelling blood. And, above all, pray for your own soul and family, as the coming days will test all of us, and we must take a clear and decisive stand in the spirit.

From Jerusalem Reuven Doron and family

----------------------------------- Embrace Israel Ministries PO Box 10077 Cedar Rapids, IA 52410-0077 USA Voice: (319) 393-1096 / Fax: (319) 393-2912

SPECIAL PRAYER INITIATIVE

We are asking intercessors to join in a special prayer initiative: "One Million Hours of Prayer for Israel." Please contact Liz Rhodes and request your prayer card today. You may contact Liz directly via e-mail at mailbox@echad.org or visit the Echad Ministry web site at http://www.echad.org. Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address in your correspondence.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and contact information for Embrace Israel Ministries is included.