Tag: Israel

From Israel, Yuli Edelstein in letter to Steve Jobs asking Apple to remove App called the “3rd intifada”

Jerusalem Post

By HERB KEINON 
06/21/2011 18:38

Yuli Edelstein in letter to Steve Jobs: “Application calls for uprising against Israel, iPad apps should not be instrument for incitement to violence.”

 Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein sent a letter Tuesday to Apple CEO Steve Jobs requesting that the computer giant remove an application called the “3rd intifada” that gives information about protest activities, some of them violent, planned against Israel.

The same organization, Edelstein wrote, opened a Facebook page three months ago “calling for an uprising against the State of Israel by use of lethal force, while using hateful material based on wild and groundless accusations.”

RELATED:
Facebook removes ‘3rd intifada’ page
Facebook ‘monitoring’ page calling for 3rd intifada

Edelstein said that Facebook removed the page after it became convinced of the page’s “harmful nature” and its potential of leading to the loss of life.

“I believe Apple, as a pioneering and progressive company, places the values of liberty, freedom of expression and creativity as a guiding light,” Edelstein wrote. “Also, as a leader in its area, I am convinced that you are aware of this type of application’s ability to unite many toward an objective that could be disastrous.”

 Edelstein called on the company to remove the application and continue in its tradition of applications “dedicated to purely entertainment and informative purposes and not serve as a instrument for incitement to violence.”

Iconic Israeli poet invokes Jesus in latest book

Israel Today – Sunday, June 19, 2011 | Tsvi Sadan

Iconic Israeli poet invokes Jesus in latest book

It is difficult to be certain why Haim Gouri uses New Testament motifs in his latest book of poems, entitled Eyval, named after Mount Ebal (Deut. 11:29).

Gouri is an iconic figure in Israeli culture—the personification of the ideal Israeli. Born in Tel Aviv in 1923, he joined the Palmach militia and was sent to Hungary in 1947 to assist survivors of the Holocaust making their way to Palestine. During the 1948 Israeli War of Independence he served as a deputy company commander in the Palmach’s Negev Brigade.

Although perhaps best known as a poet, Gouri is also a novelist, filmmaker, and journalist.

Eyval is a rebuttal of the prevalent tendency amongst so many Israelis to indulge in condemnation of their mother country. “Since…every leper opens up his mouth to frighten her,” Gouri “writes her glory and splendor, counts like a peddler her glories, [and] grinds Balm of Gilead, healing and remedy for her sorrows and illness” (Poem 59).

And in Poem 86, he quotes Jesus Himself: “Who amongst you has not sinned, let him be the first to throw stones at her.”

In Eyval, Gouri dialogues with the Messiah who endlessly tarries. In Poem 23, he seems to identify the Messiah as Jesus and commands Him as a military commander—much like God commanded Abraham before Him: “Move, move over. Get out by night to your land, to your family, through the stone, through the tiredness, through the silence and the shadow of death. Move, move as in a dream of the night. Remember that you have already been here, with the [crown of] thorns that have already became a familiar literary symbol that never lose their greatness.”

While one can understand this poem in various ways, the reader must face Gouri’s need to command Jesus to return immediately to His land and family.

’60 years of Zionism brought only humiliation, destruction’

Jerusalem Post

By HERB KEINON 
06/15/2011 12:54

Ahmadinejad launches brutal attack on Israel at Asian security conference, saying Zionism is one of history’s worst ills, also slams US, West for slavery, colonialization, World Wars, use of nuclear weapons.

  ASTANA – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched into a brutal attack of the West at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Wednesday, mentioning Zionism as one of history’s worst ills.

He said that 60 plus years of Zionism has brought only humiliation and destruction to the Palestinians and the region.

RELATED:
Iran accuses West, Israel’s allies, of meddling in Syria
‘Iran reiterates its desire to be Lebanese partner’

But Israel got off easy in Ahmadinejad’s tirade, viciously attacking the US and the West for a long litany that includes slavery, colonializations, the pillaging of Africa, World War I and II and numerous wars since then, dropping a nuclear bomb on defenseless civilians, and creating the atmosphere leading to 9/11 which he said was the pretext for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq which he said has cost some one million casualties

The other leaders at the conference, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,Tajikistan, India, Pakistan and Mongolia, sat impassively during his comments.

Each leader at the conference, marking the 10 years since the founding of the regional security organization that presents itself as counterbalance to NATO, spoke briefly and – with Ahmadinejad’s short exception – steered wide of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the current upheaval in the Middle east. The leaders also made no mention of Iran’s nuclear threat.

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are full members of the organization, which promotes economic, military and security cooperation. Iran, Pakistan, India, and Mongolia enjoy observer status.

Because of UN sanctions against it, Iran is presently barred from joining as a full member. 

Peres warns: Israel in danger of ceasing to exist as Jewish state

  • Published 03:01 17.06.11
  • Latest update 03:01 17.06.11

President says that Israel ‘doomed’ unless negotiations with the Palestinians leading to a peace agreement begin in the immediate future.

By Yossi Verter

President Shimon Peres is concerned that Israel might become a binational state, in which case, he warned, it would cease to exist as a Jewish state.

“I’m concerned about the continued freeze [in the peace talks],” Peres said to people who visited him this week. “I’m concerned that Israel will become a binational state. What is happening now is total foot-dragging. We’re about to crash into the wall. We’re galloping at full speed toward a situation where Israel will cease to exist as a Jewish state.”

peres - Tomer Appelbaum - June 17 2011 President Shimon Peres. “We’re about to crash into the wall,” he warned this week.
Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum

Peres celebrated four years as president this week. He has three years to go until he decides on his next career move. But people who met him this week found the president’s mood far from festive. He prophesied that Israel would be doomed unless negotiations with the Palestinians leading to a peace agreement began in the immediate future.

“Whoever accepts the basic principle of the 1967 lines will receive international support from the world,” Peres said. “Whoever rejects it will lose the world.” He was referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vehement objection to starting peace talks on the basis of the 1967 lines, which he called “indefensible” in both the Knesset and the U.S. Congress.

But Peres continues to reject the advice of friends and various political figures that he come out openly against Netanyahu’s positions. “I’m not the head of the opposition, I’m the state president,” he repeatedly tells them.

Peres also voiced fear that Israel might be subjected to economic boycotts and sanctions. There’s no need for boycotts,” he said. “It would suffice for ports in Europe or Canada to stop unloading Israeli merchandise. It’s already beginning.

“September is only a date,” he added, referring to Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition as a state then. “The question is what will happen before and after.”

Are many Palestinians really Jews?

Israel Today

Thursday, June 16, 2011 | Aviel Schneider

Are many Palestinians really Jews?

In the shadow of the conflict over the Promised Land more and more Palestinians are disclosing the truth: Entire families are considering conversion to Judaism. They claim that their ancestors were forced to choose between religion (Judaism) and remaining on the Land, and hence, they were compelled to convert to Islam.

On our forays into the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria we have met many Palestinians who have told us about their Jewish ancestry. For their own protection, we cannot publish everything that we were told.

These Palestinians are part of the seed of Israel and could be called “Palestinian Marranos” – like the “secret Jews” of Spain in the 15th century who were forced to convert to Christianity, but covertly remained observant Jews. By returning to the Jewish religion and nation, they foresee a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“My great great-grandparents immigrated to Israel from Yemen about 300 years ago,” Mohammed Sir told Israel Today. “My grandfather and my father told me that we are actually Jews. As Jews they would have been forced to pay protection money in order to live here under Islamic rule.”

Could Assad vent his wrath on Israel?

Jerusalem Post

By YAAKOV KATZ
06/10/2011 17:43

Security and Defense: In event of foreign military intervention in Syria, IDF is concerned Syrian president might decide to attack the Jewish state.

  Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”

President Barack Obama made this statement on March 28 in an address to the National Defense University, during which he explained America’s rationale for approving a military campaign to stop Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s violent crackdown on protesters.

The war in Libya is almost three months old and seems to be continuing, but one question that remains unanswered is why the above policy of not turning a blind eye to atrocities doesn’t apply to other countries in the Middle East – like Syria, for example.

By Thursday, the death toll in Syria was believed to have already reached over 1,500 people, but the international community, led by the US, could not even find itself in agreement over the language of a resolution censuring Syria that some countries in Europe wanted to push through the Security Council.

So why the difference? In a word: Israel.

Israel does not share a border with Libya, but it does share one with Syria, and there are fears in the IDF that in the event of foreign military intervention there, Israel would feel the brunt of Bashar Assad’s retaliation.

While Assad is already believed to be trying to divert attention from his lethal crackdown on protesters by encouraging Palestinians to raid the Israeli border, as occurred this past Sunday, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what Syria can do.

One intelligence assessment speaks of the possibility that, under extreme pressure – caused politically or militarily – Assad might decide to attack Israel with more than just angry Palestinians from the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus.

Instead, he would have available the thousands of ballistic missiles Syria has manufactured over the years, as well as an extensive chemical arsenal, bolstered as a replacement for the nuclear reactor Israel destroyed in 2007.

For this reason, Jerusalem is quietly warning about the potential consequences of Western military action aimed at toppling Assad. This does not mean, of course, that Israel wants Assad to remain in power; in reality, the opposite is true. But the concern cannot be ignored; what will happen the day after Assad falls, and into whose hands will the ballistic missiles and chemical weapons fall?

At the same time, senior IDF officers believe that there is no turning back for Assad and that after killing some 1,500 of his own people, he will not be able to rule again as he once did. What this means practically is still unclear, but the hope is that it will ultimately lead to a larger break in the Iranian axis that connects Tehran, Damascus and Beirut, and will further isolate Iran and cut off supplies to Hezbollah.

Syria’s close allies – Hezbollah and Iran – are also extremely concerned with the ongoing demonstrations in Syria and the potential impact on them.

Western intelligence agencies have raised the possibility that Hezbollah is trying to transfer advanced weaponry it reportedly maintains on Syrian soil to Lebanon due to the ongoing turmoil in the country.

The group is believed to have stored advanced arms in Syria – including longrange Scud missiles- as part of its logistical deployment along Israel’s northern border.

Iran is also not waiting for Assad, and just this week – in the midst of the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East – announced that it was implementing plans to triple its production of uranium. It also said that the secret nuclear facility it was caught covertly building near the city of Qom in 2009 would no longer remain empty and would be equipped with advanced centrifuges for the enrichment of higher-grade uranium.

The Iranian announcement came just two days after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano said the nuclear watchdog had obtained information that “seems to point to the existence” of possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.

Amano’s announcement came just a few weeks after the IAEA released its latest report on Iran’s nuclear program, pointing to a significant increase in the enrichment of uranium – up from 133 kilograms per month to 156 kg. – with a total of just over 4 tons of low-enriched uranium (LEU), enough for at least two nuclear weapons if enriched again to higher military-grade levels.

While Iran is still encountering some technological difficulties, overall it seems to have overcome the setback caused last year by Stuxnet, the virus that attacked its uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and is believed to have destroyed over 1,000 centrifuges.

In simpler terms, Iran is taking advantage of the current shift in the world’s focus from its illicit nuclear activities to the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East, and is moving forward with enriching uranium. The decision on Tuesday to send submarines to the Red Sea is another indication of Iran’s growing confidence and its belief that it will not pay a price for any of these provocations.

There are a number of reasons for the confidence. While the current sanctions in place against Iran have had some effect, they are overshadowed and undermined by the increase in the price of oil. In addition, while other tyrants in the Middle East are battling for survival, in Iran the protests have waned and almost disappeared.

According to Israeli intelligence assessments, Iran wants to wait until it has enough fissionable material to produce an arsenal of nuclear weapons, which means it will need several more tons of low-enriched uranium. From the stage when it decides to break out and begin enriching uranium at military levels, until the point that it has a testable nuclear device, it will likely be a year.

Iran’s confidence also appears to have received a boost from the recent media mayhem in Israel over former Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s comments about Jerusalem’s military option vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear issue. Dagan said it was a “stupid idea” to attack Iran, and pointed out the “impossible” regional challenge Israel would face following such an attack.

For Tehran, these comments fell on welcoming ears. For years, the Iranians have questioned Israel’s military capabilities. Now here comes Dagan – their archnemesis – and gives them a reason to. Dagan’s justification for doing this – his concern with Israel’s current political leadership – might be genuine, even though it was done with the awareness that it would eat away at the deterrence Jerusalem has tried for years to create in the face of the Iranian threat.

Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon has long spoken about the importance of creating a “credible military option” for Iran’s nuclear program. According to Ya’alon, it is not enough to speak about the option; it is also necessary to show the Iranians that it is real, viable and effective.

“They need to fear that the military option is real and can be used,” Ya’alon has said in the past.

To back up this argument, Ya’alon has referred to Tehran’s 2003 decision to suspend its enrichment of uranium and weapons program. That move was based on fear that after the US invasion of Iraq, it was next in line. President George W. Bush had already listed Iran has part of the “Axis of Evil” mentioned in his 2002 State of the Union address.

Judging by its recent decisions, Iran no longer feels threatened. As it continues to provoke the world without paying a price, there is unfortunately no reason it should.

Israeli police storm Temple Mount

Israel Today

Sunday, June 12, 2011 | Ryan Jones

Israeli security forces stormed Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Friday after Muslims there began hurling stones at Jews praying at the Western Wall below.

Non-lethal crowd control methods were used to disperse the dozens of Muslim rioters, and three young Arabs were arrested for taking a leading role in the violence.

No Jews were injured by the dozens of stones that were thrown down from the top of the Temple Mount.

Most weeks, Israel restricts access to Friday prayers atop the Temple Mount to Muslims over the age of 50 in order to avoid precisely this kind of violence. But, because the site had been quiet for many weeks, the police decided to lift the restriction last week. They likely won’t make that mistake again any time soon.

In related news, a Muslim mob raided and razed a small Jewish community in the Jordan Valley following Friday prayers at a local mosque.

Apparently whipped into a frenzy by an anti-Jewish sermon (which are all too common in Palestinian mosques), an estimated 200 Palestinian Arabs arrived at the Gaon Hayarden outpost armed with clubs and metal chains.

The few Jewish youth who were at the outpost (one of many set up without government approval and in defiance of international pressure) resisted briefly before escaping with their lives.

The Muslim mob burned several tents and small structures, including one used for prayer and containing numerous Jewish holy books.

One of the Muslim leaders told Israel’s Ynet news portal that the Jews of Judea and Samaria could expect more such raids in the future.

Syria massacres ‘rebels,’ Israel fears violence will cross border

Israel Today

Sunday, June 12, 2011 | Ryan Jones

Syrian forces brutally attacked a town in the north of the country on Sunday, accusing local residents of being “rebels” after they joined nationwide demonstrations demanding democratic freedoms.

Tens of thousands of residents of Jisr al-Shughour fled into neighboring Turkey after an estimated 150 tanks and several helicopter gunships invaded the town and began firing indiscriminately.

It is believed that at least 30 civilians have been killed in the fighting. The refugees in Turkey also described being beaten and raped at the hands of the government soldiers.

The fighting in Jisr al-Shaghour is only the latest in a string of atrocities that have marked the Syrian movement for open democracy, which was sparked by Egypt’s own democratic revolution earlier this year.

While Western governments have expressed muted condemnation, many Israelis are left wondering why the international community is not reacting more strongly. After all, when Israel responds to Palestinian terror in a far more restrained manner, it is a matter for UN Security Council resolutions and widespread criticism.

The response to the Syrian massacres has paled in comparison to the responses to Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon, the 2009 incursion into Gaza and the 2010 interception of a flotilla trying to break the Gaza maritime blockade.

Meanwhile, there is growing concern in Israel that as the situation in Syria intensifies, and international pressure slowly ramps up on Damascus, the ruling regime of dictator Bashar Assad could lash out at Israel as a last resort.

If Assad feels he is going down and has nothing left to lose, he may want to secure a legacy for himself by launching one final massive attack on Israel, according to some intelligence assessments.

Syria has an arsenal of tens of thousands of ballistic missiles that can reach every corner of Israel. It also has an extensive supply of chemical warheads to fit on those missiles.

Gas Field Confirmed Off Coast of Israel-December 30, 2010

December 30, 2010

JERUSALEM — Exploratory drilling off Israel’s northern coast this week has confirmed the existence of a major natural gas field — one of the world’s largest offshore gas finds of the past decade — leading the country’s infrastructure minister to call it “the most important energy news since the founding of the state.”

Houston-based Noble Energy, which is working with several Israeli partner companies, said that the field, named Leviathan, whose existence was suspected months ago, has at least 16 trillion cubic feet of gas at a likely market value of tens of billions of dollars and should turn Israel into an energy exporter.

“If it acts correctly, levelheadedly and responsibly, Israel can enjoy not only the benefit of using the gas, but it can also turn into a gas supplier in the Mediterranean region,” the infrastructure minister, Uzi Landau, said in a statement. “The large reserves of natural gas will enable Israel’s citizens to enjoy the benefit of clean and inexpensive electricity, as well as the expected profits for the state.”

The find means that Israel, with a long history of dependence on foreign energy, and hostility and boycotts from many of the biggest energy powers, could find itself in a much more advantageous position in the coming decade.

But the find has been accompanied by a heated debate over how much in taxes and royalties Israel will charge. A state-appointed committee headed by an economist at Hebrew University, Eytan Sheshinski, is planning to recommend substantially increased profit taxes, opposed by the companies and some on the political right.

Gideon Tadmor, the chief executive of Delek Energy and Avner Oil Exploration, partners in this venture with Noble, said the taxes could make the project prohibitively expensive. “The gas may stay in the ground because we will not succeed in obtaining from banks around the world the tens of billions of shekels for developing the reservoir,” he said in an interview.

He said that this new find could impel neighboring countries, including Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria, to explore and possibly develop their potential gas fields, and warned that Israel needed to move quickly to be the first to export its gas. Delek estimates that if it moves aggressively, it could begin producing gas from Leviathan in five to six years.

This year, the United States Geological Survey estimated that more than 120 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves, equivalent to 20 billion barrels of oil, lay beneath the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. That would put it in the same league as the Alaskan North Slope (about 22 billion barrels) but far short of Saudi Arabia, which has proven reserves of 262 billion barrels.

In reaction to the Israeli announcement, Lebanese politicians said they would move more quickly in exploring their country’s gas potential.

Professor Sheshinski said that Israel had among the very lowest energy tax rates anywhere and that it was time to update that.

“We have proposed a profit tax to be imposed after the firms earn an adequate return on their investment,” Professor Sheshinski said in an interview. “We have checked with the banks and we will be well within world averages. Anyone who knows the numbers can be assured of a proper return.”

Professor Sheshinski said that his report, due out on Monday, had already been endorsed by the governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer; the International Monetary Fund; and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which Israel recently joined. He said that the profit tax rate recommended by his committee would be 55 to 60 percent and that the O.E.C.D. average was 62 percent.

The committee’s recommendations require government and parliamentary approval.

Sever Plocker, an economic columnist for the newspaper Yediot Aharonot, said in a commentary on Thursday that it was far from clear that the new discovery could be developed profitably. Gas prices could fall, the techniques needed to extract the gas were likely to be complicated and expensive to develop, and exporting natural gas required enormous investment for pipelines or the means of transforming the gas into liquid to be moved on tankers, he said.

“Creative thinking is our great natural resource, not gas,” he wrote. “It is our obligation to guard it with utmost care.”

VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN THE EPICENTER AS RADICAL ARABS MARK “AL-NAKBA” DAY

Posted: May 15, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

(Jerusalem, Israel) — As The Joshua Fund held the first of two days of our 2011 Epicenter Conference teaching through the Book of Joel and how to live in light of the fact that “the Day of the Lord is coming,” violence erupted in and around Israel. The reason: Radical Arabs were marking “Al-Nakba” day, or “the catastrophe”, as they see it, of Israel’s prophetic rebirth in May 1948. Just before lunch time I got a report that an Arab Israeli had just driven a truck into a crowd of Jewish Israelis in Tel Aviv, killing one man and wounding 17 others. My colleagues and I immediately prayed for God’s mercy on all those involved and for healing for the injured and for the Israeli security forces to be able to effectively defend the country’s borders and streets. As the day progressed, we learned from a Reuters reports that “violence erupted on Israel’s borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, leaving at least eight dead and dozens wounded.” Thousands of Radical Muslims tried to penetrate Israel’s borders, but eventually were repulsed by IDF forces. Please keep praying for peace, and for the Lord’s grace and favor on the conference as we try to put current events in the context of the Bible.

HAMAS LEADER CALLS FOR PRAYER FOR AN END TO ISRAEL

Posted: May 16, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

(Jerusalem, Israel) — “Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh spoke to Muslim worshipers on Sunday morning, telling them to pray for an end to Israel,” reports the Jerusalem Post. “‘Palestinians mark the Nakba with great hope of bringing to an end the Zionist project in Palestine,’ Haniyeh told 10,000 people at Gaza City’s al-Omari mosque, AP reported. ‘To achieve our goals in the liberation of our occupied land, we should have one leadership,’ he reportedly said, praising the recent unity accord between Hamas and Fatah. Haniyeh added that Hamas would not recognize Israel.”

In that context, the Day 2 of the 2011 Epicenter Conference has just begun with the blowing of the shofar and Jewish and Arab believers leading the conference participants in worship to our Lord Jesus. In a moment, I will lead the conference in prayer for the Lord to protect Israel and bring great blessings to the people of this precious Land. Then we’ll begin a discussion on “Assessing the Threat of Radical Islam in the Epicenter.”

Please watch the messages at www.epicenterconference.com.

WARNING TO THE NATIONS: DON’T DIVIDE THE LAND OF ISRAEL

Posted: May 19, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

UPDATE: The President made an enormous mistake this week in calling for the Land of Israel to be divided and Jerusalem to be divided along pre-1967 borders. This is in direct defiance of the Bible. It won’t work, and it will bring judgment to the U.S., according to Joel chapter 3. Please pray that the President changes his heart and changes course very soon.

ANALYSIS: NETANYAHU GOES TO WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS “EPIC BATTLE” IN THE EPICENTER

Posted: May 25, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Will it work?

That’s the key question as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu finishes his high-profile trip to Washington, meeting with President Obama, addressing 10,000-plus pro-Israel activists at the AIPAC Policy Conference, addressing a Joint Session of Congress, and doing a flurry of major media interviews. Will his passionate case that Israel is America’s best friend, the only solid and secure democracy in the Middle East, endangered by Iranian nukes, and in need of unwavering American friendship and support in tumultuous times fully convince the President, the Congress and the American people to stand with Israel through the darkest of times that are steadily approaching?

I would like to believe this will be the case, but Bible prophecy says otherwise.

The Hebrew Prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Joel tell us again and again that Israel will be all alone in the last days of history. All the nations will eventually turn against her. All the nations will work to divide the Land of Israel. Jerusalem, too, will be divided. The New Testament reconfirms this. Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that the only hope for Israel is for her to turn fully and completely to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As the “time of Jacob’s troubles” approaches — as the Day of the Lord approaches — the Bible tells us that the nations will betray the Jewish people. Only the Lord will be faithful. The question is, when the dark times come will Israelis turn their hearts to the Lord?

The Hebrew Prophet Joel warned us that the Lord is going to judge “all the nations” because “they have divided up My Land.” (Joel 3:2) Yet Joel doesn’t call Israel to political activism, to international diplomacy, to military adventurism, or any other human endeavor. The Lord says through the Prophet Joel, “‘Yet even now, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments’…Now, return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:12-13) And if Israel does this, Joel tells us: “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.” (Joel 2:18, 27)

The Prime Minister’s speech to Congress was excellent in many ways. He rightly described the “epic battle” underway in the epicenter. He described a great shaking going on in the Middle East. He rightly warned that Iran and her nuclear program is the greatest threat, that Hamas is the new al Qaeda, and that in all of the Arab world, only Israeli Arabs have true safety, security, and fully protected human and civil rights. I’ve included some important excerpts from the speech below. However, it should be noted that Netanyahu never cited the Bible, never called on the name of the Lord, and never called the Jewish people to trust fully and completely in the God of Israel, but rather promised to divide the land of Israel as a concession to the Palestinians, even while promising never to divide Jerusalem. These were mistakes. He wasn’t the first Israeli Prime Minister to make them. But he is making them nonetheless. He was right to thank the U.S. for all our help and support of Israel over the years, and he was right to seek continued help and support from the American people and government. But neither he nor Israel should become dependent upon American help because the Bible tells us it won’t be there for long.

The Bible is clear: only the Lord will save Israel. It is time for Israelis to consider this very carefully. For time is short. “The Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” (Joel 2:1)

Excerpts of PM’s speech to Congress:

  • “An epic battle is now unfolding in the Middle East, between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar. The tremors have shattered states and toppled governments. And we can all see that the ground is still shifting….”
  • “These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo, evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989. Yet as we share their hopes, we also must remember that those hopes could be snuffed out as they were in Tehran in 1979. You remember what happened then. The brief democratic spring in Iran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny. This same tyranny smothered Lebanon’s democratic Cedar Revolution, and inflicted on that long-suffering country, the medieval rule of Hezbollah. So today, the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads…”
  • “Courageous Arab protesters, are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies. We’re proud that over one million Arab citizens of Israel (Note: Israel’s total population as of 2011 is approximately 7.7 million) have been enjoying these rights for decades. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of one-percent are truly free, and they’re all citizens of Israel! This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East….”
  • “When I last stood here, I spoke of the dire consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out, and the hinge of history may soon turn. For the greatest danger facing humanity could soon be upon us: A militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons. Militant Islam threatens the world. It threatens Islam. I have no doubt that it will ultimately be defeated. It will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. But like other fanatacisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact a horrific price from all of us before its inevitable demise. A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world. I want you to understand what this means. They could put the bomb anywhere. They could put it on a missile. It could be on a container ship in a port, or in a suitcase on a subway….”
  • “Now the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand. Less than seven decades after six million Jews were murdered, Iran’s leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people, while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state….”
  • “The Ayatollah regime briefly suspended its nuclear program only once, in 2003, when it feared the possibility of military action. That same year, Muammar Qadaffi gave up his nuclear weapons program, and for the same reason. The more Iran believes that all options are on the table, the less the chance of confrontation. This is why I ask you to continue to send an unequivocal message: That America will never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons. As for Israel, if history has taught the Jewish people anything, it is that we must take calls for our destruction seriously. We are a nation that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. When we say never again, we mean never again. Israel always reserves the right to defend itself….”
  • “Two years ago, I publicly committed to a solution of two states for two peoples: A Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state. I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace. This is not easy for me. I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish homeland. In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. We are not the British in India. We are not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace. No distortion of history can deny the four thousand year old bond, between the Jewish people and the Jewish land….”
  • “So now here is the question. You have to ask it. If the benefits of peace with the Palestinians are so clear, why has peace eluded us?   Because all six Israeli Prime Ministers since the signing of Oslo accords agreed to establish a Palestinian state. Myself included. So why has peace not been achieved?  Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state, if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it. You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state. It has always been about the existence of the Jewish state. This is what this conflict is about. In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews said yes. The Palestinians said no. In recent years, the Palestinians twice refused generous offers by Israeli Prime Ministers, to establish a Palestinian state on virtually all the territory won by Israel in the Six Day War. They were simply unwilling to end the conflict. And I regret to say this: They continue to educate their children to hate. They continue to name public squares after terrorists. And worst of all, they continue to perpetuate the fantasy that Israel will one day be flooded by the descendants of Palestinian refugees….”
  • “My friends, this must come to an end. President Abbas must do what I have done. I stood before my people, and I told you it wasn’t easy for me, and I said: ‘I will accept a Palestinian state.’ It is time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say: ‘I will accept a Jewish state.’….”
  • “As for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected freedom of worship for all faiths in the city. Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. I know that this is a difficult issue for Palestinians. But I believe with creativity and goodwill a solution can be found….”
  • “Hamas is not a partner for peace. Hamas remains committed to Israel’s destruction and to terrorism. They have a charter. That charter not only calls for the obliteration of Israel, but says ‘kill the Jews wherever you find them’. Hamas’ leader condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden and praised him as a holy warrior. Now again I want to make this clear. Israel is prepared to sit down today and negotiate peace with the Palestinian Authority. I believe we can fashion a brilliant future of peace for our children. But Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by the Palestinian version of Al Qaeda. So I say to President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas! Sit down and negotiate! Make peace with the Jewish state! And if you do, I promise you this. Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so….”

ISRAEL, PROPHECY AND THE “DAY OF THE LORD”: Understanding the Book of Joel

(Note:  I prefer to post the scripture that we are studying so that you can read and have the Holy Spirit interpret it for you.)
Joel 1
(New King James Version)

 1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
The Land Laid Waste

    2 Hear this, you elders,
      And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
      Has anything like this happened in your days,
      Or even in the days of your fathers?
       3 Tell your children about it,
      Let your children tell their children,
      And their children another generation.
       4 What the chewing locust[a] left, the swarming locust has eaten;
      What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
      And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
       5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep;
      And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
      Because of the new wine,
      For it has been cut off from your mouth.
       6 For a nation has come up against My land,
      Strong, and without number;
      His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
      And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
       7 He has laid waste My vine,
      And ruined My fig tree;
      He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
      Its branches are made white.
       8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
      For the husband of her youth.
       9 The grain offering and the drink offering
      Have been cut off from the house of the LORD;
      The priests mourn, who minister to the LORD.
       10 The field is wasted,
      The land mourns;
      For the grain is ruined,
      The new wine is dried up,
      The oil fails.
       11 Be ashamed, you farmers,
      Wail, you vinedressers,
      For the wheat and the barley;
      Because the harvest of the field has perished.
       12 The vine has dried up,
      And the fig tree has withered;
      The pomegranate tree,
      The palm tree also,
      And the apple tree—
      All the trees of the field are withered;
      Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.

Mourning for the Land

    13 Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
      Wail, you who minister before the altar;
      Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
      You who minister to my God;
      For the grain offering and the drink offering
      Are withheld from the house of your God.
       14 Consecrate a fast,
      Call a sacred assembly;
      Gather the elders
      And all the inhabitants of the land
      Into the house of the LORD your God,
      And cry out to the LORD.
       15 Alas for the day!
      For the day of the LORD is at hand;
      It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
       16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes,
      Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
       17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
      Storehouses are in shambles;
      Barns are broken down,
      For the grain has withered.
       18 How the animals groan!
      The herds of cattle are restless,
      Because they have no pasture;
      Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.[b]
       19 O LORD, to You I cry out;
      For fire has devoured the open pastures,
      And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
       20 The beasts of the field also cry out to You,
      For the water brooks are dried up,
      And fire has devoured the open pastures.
Footnotes:    Joel 1:4 Exact identity of these locusts is unknown.
    Joel 1:18 Septuagint and Vulgate read are made desolate.

Joel 2
The Day of the LORD

 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
      And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
      Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
      For the day of the LORD is coming,
      For it is at hand:
       2 A day of darkness and gloominess,
      A day of clouds and thick darkness,
      Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
      A people come, great and strong,
      The like of whom has never been;
      Nor will there ever be any such after them,
      Even for many successive generations.
       3 A fire devours before them,
      And behind them a flame burns;
      The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
      And behind them a desolate wilderness;
      Surely nothing shall escape them.
       4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
      And like swift steeds, so they run.
       5 With a noise like chariots
      Over mountaintops they leap,
      Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
      Like a strong people set in battle array.
       6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
      All faces are drained of color.[a]
       7 They run like mighty men,
      They climb the wall like men of war;
      Every one marches in formation,
      And they do not break ranks.
       8 They do not push one another;
      Every one marches in his own column.[b]
      Though they lunge between the weapons,
      They are not cut down.[c]
       9 They run to and fro in the city,
      They run on the wall;
      They climb into the houses,
      They enter at the windows like a thief.
       10 The earth quakes before them,
      The heavens tremble;
      The sun and moon grow dark,
      And the stars diminish their brightness.
       11 The LORD gives voice before His army,
      For His camp is very great;
      For strong is the One who executes His word.
      For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;
      Who can endure it?
A Call to Repentance
    12 “ Now, therefore,” says the LORD,      “ Turn to Me with all your heart,
      With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
       13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
      Return to the LORD your God,
      For He is gracious and merciful,
      Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
      And He relents from doing harm.
       14 Who knows if He will turn and relent,
      And leave a blessing behind Him—
      A grain offering and a drink offering
      For the LORD your God?
       15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
      Consecrate a fast,
      Call a sacred assembly;
       16 Gather the people,
      Sanctify the congregation,
      Assemble the elders,
      Gather the children and nursing babes;
      Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
      And the bride from her dressing room.
       17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
      Weep between the porch and the altar;
      Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
      And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
      That the nations should rule over them.
      Why should they say among the peoples,      ‘ Where is their God?’”
The Land Refreshed
    18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,
      And pity His people.
       19 The LORD will answer and say to His people,      “ Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,
      And you will be satisfied by them;
      I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
       20 “ But I will remove far from you the northern army,
      And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
      With his face toward the eastern sea
      And his back toward the western sea;
      His stench will come up,
      And his foul odor will rise,
      Because he has done monstrous things.”
       21 Fear not, O land;
      Be glad and rejoice,
      For the LORD has done marvelous things!
       22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
      For the open pastures are springing up,
      And the tree bears its fruit;
      The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
       23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
      And rejoice in the LORD your God;
      For He has given you the former rain faithfully,[d]
      And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
      The former rain,
      And the latter rain in the first month.
       24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
      And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
       25 “ So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
      The crawling locust,
      The consuming locust,
      And the chewing locust,[e]
      My great army which I sent among you.
       26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
      And praise the name of the LORD your God,
      Who has dealt wondrously with you;
      And My people shall never be put to shame.
       27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
      I am the LORD your God
      And there is no other.
      My people shall never be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
    28 “ And it shall come to pass afterward
      That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
      Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
      Your old men shall dream dreams,
      Your young men shall see visions.
       29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
      I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
       30 “ And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
      Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
       31 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
      And the moon into blood,
      Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
       32 And it shall come to pass
      That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
      Shall be saved.
      For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
      As the LORD has said,
      Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.Footnotes:    Joel 2:6 Septuagint, Targum, and Vulgate read gather blackness.
    Joel 2:8 Literally his own highway
    Joel 2:8 That is, they are not halted by losses
    Joel 2:23 Or the teacher of righteousness
    Joel 2:25 Compare 1:4

Joel 3
God Judges the Nations

 1 “For behold, in those days and at that time,
      When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
       2 I will also gather all nations,
      And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
      And I will enter into judgment with them there
      On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
      Whom they have scattered among the nations;
      They have also divided up My land.
       3 They have cast lots for My people,
      Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
      And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
       4 “ Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
      O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
      Will you retaliate against Me?
      But if you retaliate against Me,
      Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;
       5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
      And have carried into your temples My prized possessions.
       6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
      You have sold to the Greeks,
      That you may remove them far from their borders.
       7 “ Behold, I will raise them
      Out of the place to which you have sold them,
      And will return your retaliation upon your own head.
       8 I will sell your sons and your daughters
      Into the hand of the people of Judah,
      And they will sell them to the Sabeans,[a]
      To a people far off;
      For the LORD has spoken.”
       9 Proclaim this among the nations:      “ Prepare for war!
      Wake up the mighty men,
      Let all the men of war draw near,
      Let them come up.
       10 Beat your plowshares into swords
      And your pruning hooks into spears;
      Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
       11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
      And gather together all around.
      Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD.
       12 “ Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
      For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
       13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
      Come, go down;
      For the winepress is full,
      The vats overflow—
      For their wickedness is great.”
       14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
      For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
       15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
      And the stars will diminish their brightness.
       16 The LORD also will roar from Zion,
      And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
      The heavens and earth will shake;
      But the LORD will be a shelter for His people,
      And the strength of the children of Israel.
       17 “ So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
      Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
      Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
      And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
God Blesses His People
    18 And it will come to pass in that day
      That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
      The hills shall flow with milk,
      And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
      A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD
      And water the Valley of Acacias.
       19 “ Egypt shall be a desolation,
      And Edom a desolate wilderness,
      Because of violence against the people of Judah,
      For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
       20 But Judah shall abide forever,
      And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
       21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
      For the LORD dwells in Zion.”Footnotes:    Joel 3:8 Literally Shebaites (compare Isaiah 60:6 and Ezekiel 27:22)
———————————————————————
June 7, 2011 by joelcrosenberg

This week marks the 44th anniversary of the Six Day War, the historic reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish control, and the dramatic retaking of the Biblical heartland known as Judea and Samaria by the prophetically reborn Jewish State. It is a week of celebration for Israeli Jews, but a week of mourning and violent protests for Israel’s Arab neighbors. As I write this, Iranian leaders says the End of Days has come and the Twelfth Imam will emerge from occultation very soon. They are calling for the annihilation of Israel, sending an Iranian submarine to the Red Sea, and a new report says Iran could build nuclear weapons in just two months. Meanwhile, violence is spiking on the Syrian-Israeli border and the Egyptians have just legalized the Muslim Brotherhood as a political party.

A growing number of Muslims, Jews and Christians believe we are living in the last days of human history as we have known it. Are they right? Are the tumultuous events and trends underway in the Middle East and around the world signs that the Messiah is coming to Earth soon to judge and to rule and reign from Jerusalem? What is the “Day of the Lord”? What are the “last days”? What does Bible prophecy teach about such things? And how should we live in light of such prophecies?

Answering these questions was the focus of the 2011 Epicenter Conference, which took place in Jerusalem on May 15-16. One Day One, a group of internationally renowned Bible teachers and I taught through the Old Testament “Book of Joel” verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We then had a panel discussion on lessons for Israel and the Church drawn from the Book of Joel. One Day Two, we had a series of panels where highly-regarded Israeli, Palestinian, American, Iranian and Indian pastors and Bible teachers explored the implications of these Bible prophecies for Israel and the Church in more depth in light of current events.

I believe God wants all of Israel and all of the Church to turn our attention to the Book of Joel in the weeks and months ahead. There is a critically important message there that is on the Lord’s heart and it is deeply relevant for our time. Over the next few days, I’m going to share with you my own personal study and message notes from the Book of Joel. I hope you will find them helpful as you study the writings of this important minor prophet and teach them to others.

Let’s begin today with an overview. What follows are the notes I used to deliver the first message of the 2011 Epicenter Conference.

THE DAY OF THE LORD IS COMING: An overview of the Book of Joel

  1. The focus of this year’s Epicenter Conference is the Book of Joel. Today, we will go through the Book of Joel verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We’ll observe, interpret and begin to apply. What does this fascinating ancient text say? What does it mean? And what does it mean to you and I today whether we live in Israel or anywhere else around the world?
  2. Tomorrow, we will take the next step. We’ll explore a range of threats facing Israel and her neighbors and consider these threats – and how to respond to them – in light of what we learn from the Book of Joel and the rest of the Holy Scriptures.
  3. The question that might reasonably be asked is, “Why?” Joel is not a particularly popular book of the Bible. Some pastors refer to it. Some teach through it. But most don’t. Why, then, should we? It’s a good question and one I’d like to address before we dive in with our blessed line up of internationally renowned Bible teachers.
  4. Let me start by saying it’s not because it’s my favorite book of the Bible, though it is and it has been since I was in high school — and yet I have never taught the Book of Joel before today or ever attended a church or conference where I heard it taught cover to cover.
  5. And it’s not because my life verse comes from the Book of Joel, though it does, again since high school – Joel 2:11….“The Lord thunders at the head of His army; unlimited are His forces, and mighty are those who obey His command. The Day of the Lord is great and dreadful. Who can endure it?”
  6. And it’s not because my friend, Pastor Ray Bentley, called me one day a few years ago and said we really need to have an Epicenter Conference that teaches through the Book of Joel, though he did, and I thought He was right, and have been praying about it ever since.
  7. All these are contributing factors. But the reason is more simple and far more profound: the Lord told us to proclaim in 2011 in the message He proclaimed through the Prophet Joel thousands of years ago, and we are being obedient to that heavenly command. There is a message here that is relevant for our time. There are warnings here that we dare not ignore. There is a sense of urgency in the heavenlies we need to share. This is a book that is near and dear to the heart of the Father…there is a fallen world that is not listening…and a Church that by and large is not proclaiming. May we purpose in our hearts today to change course while we still can.

Basic Background

  1. WHO: The author is the Hebrew Prophet Joel (1:1)
    • “Joel” means “Jehovah is God” or the “Lord is God”
    • Joel was the “son of Pethuel” (1:1), which means: “vision of God”
    • We don’t learn much about the life and ministry of the Prophet Joel in this book or anywhere else in the Bible. Why? Because the Book of Joel isn’t about Joel – it’s about the coming of the Day of the Lord and God’s call on Israel and all men and women everywhere to repent, turn away from their sins, and get ready to meet the Lord face to face, before it is too late.
  2. WHAT: This small book of the Bible (three chapters in English; four chapters in Hebrew) is a book of End Times prophecy.
    • The Lord speaks to Israel, to the Church, and to all the nations through the Hebrew Prophet Joel, telling us details about the future and sharing His heart that all men and women everywhere would choose to turn to the Lord and let Him change and restore our lives.
    • The Book of Joel is referred or alluded to numerous times in the New Testament. A few notable examples:
      • The Apostle Peter quotes “the prophet Joel” directly in Acts 2:16-21
      • The Lord Jesus refers to Joel 2:10, “the sun and the moon [will] grow dark and the stars lose their brightness” before the Day of the Lord, when He describes the signs of the last days in Matthew 24:29
      • The Apostle Paul cites Joel 2:32, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved,” in Romans 10:13
      • The Apostle John alludes to Joel 2:10 when he describes events of the Tribulation in Revelation 8:12
      • The Apostle John alludes to the Book of Joel and language of the locust invasion in Revelation chapter 9
  3. WHEN: Unlike many other books in the Bible, the Book of Joel provides us with no clear, definitive time references regarding when it was written.
    • Some scholars say around in the 9th century B.C.
    • Some say 6th or 7th century B.C.
    • Some say in the 5th century, B.C.
    • The fact is, we simply don’t know for certain
    • Why doesn’t the Lord want us to know precisely when the book was written? Because the Book of Joel wasn’t written to get us focused on the past. It was written to get us focused on the future and the coming of the “Day of the Lord” and to get our hearts ready for that Day
  4. WHERE: The events described in these prophecies take place in Israel, Jerusalem, Judah and Zion
    • Israel is mentioned 3 times in the book
      • 2:27
      • 3:2
      • 3:16
    • Jerusalem is mentioned 4 times in the book
      • 3:1
      • 3:6
      • 3:17
      • 3:20
    • Judah is mentioned 6 times in the book
      • 3:1
      • 3:6
      • 3:8
      • 3:18
      • 3:19
      • 3:20
    • Zion is mentioned 7 times in the book
      • 2:1
      • 2:15
      • 2:23
      • 2:32
      • 3:16
      • 3:17
      • 3:21
    • The “fig trees” of Israel are referred to 3 times in the book. [NOTE: Figs and fig trees are often used throughout the Bible as symbols of the nation or state of Israel. In Matthew 24:32-33, the Lord Jesus referred to the “parable of the fig tree” to tell us that the State of Israel would be prophetically reborn in the last days and that in the last days the Jewish people would prophetically return to the Holy Land after centuries of exile. Other examples of Israel connected to fig trees can be found in Jeremiah 24….1 Kings 4:21-26 (“So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon”)….and in Habakkuk 3:16-17, to name a few.]
      • 1:7
      • 1:12
      • 2:22
  5. WHY: The Book of Joel was written for several reasons. Among them:
    1. To serve as a “wake up call” to the people of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem to prepare for and repent ahead of the coming “Day of the Lord,” judgments that would be similar to but far worse than the devastating plague of locusts Israel once experienced.
    2. To serve as a “trumpet call” to all those who love the Lord and His Word and profess to be the Lord’s followers to prepare for and repent ahead of the coming “Day of the Lord.”
    3. To serve as a warning to the nations that in the Day of the Lord they will face judgment for sins they have committed against Israel and the Jewish people.
    4. To highlight the importance of the “Day of the Lord.” Joel mentions the “Day of the Lord” in each chapter and five times in total (1:15, 2:1, 2:11, 2:30, 3:14). The “Day of the Lord” – and similar/related Biblical references such as “the day” and “that day” and others – are mentioned more than 70 times in the New American Standard translation of the Bible.
    • What is the “Day of the Lord” and is it different from the “last days”? 
    • The “last days” is the Biblical term describing the period of time filled with prophetic events of signs and wonders that lead up to the Rapture of the Church, the period between the Rapture and the Tribulation, and the Tribulation itself, all of which build towards the Second Coming.
    • The last days – characterized by:
    •  wars, rumors of wars,
    • revolutions,
    • natural disasters,
    • the rise of false messiahs/prophets/teachers,
    • apostasy,
    • lawlessness,
    • persecution of the believers,
    • the spread of the gospel to all nations,
    • the rebirth of Israel,
    • and similar signs described in the Bible – are a time of great trauma for the world as well as God’s mercy, for the Bible indicates that many will come to faith in Jesus Christ during the last days.
    • The “Day of the Lord” is the Biblical term describing the culmination of the last days of world history as we have known it — specifically, it refers to the actual, physical, literal Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the time when Jesus Christ wins the Battle of Armageddon and the Battle of Jerusalem and then His feet literally touch down on the Mount of Olives, splitting the mountain into two, as foretold by the Prophet Zechariah. The Day of the Lord is described throughout the Scriptures as a day of darkness, gloom, distress and judgment for the nations. The Day of the Lord sets into motion the setting up of the Millennial Kingdom in which Jesus Christ will reign from a new Temple in Jerusalem for a literal 1,000 year period, as described in the Book of Revelation.
  1. “The Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near” – “Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” (Joel 2:1) As we studied the biblical Book of Joel from the Old Testament verse by verse, chapter by chapter, each of the keynote speakers noted that “the Day of the Lord” is a the major theme. The Hebrew Prophet Joel mentions the phrase five times and explains some of the details of the coming series of divine judgments that are coming and the gravity of the apocalyptic future that is rushing towards us. In my introduction to and overview of the Book of Joel (which is the first 15 minutes of  the on-line video on Joel chapter 1 with Anne Graham Lotz), I noted that the biblical phrase of the “last days” refers to the signs and wonders and events that lead up to throughout the Rapture and the seven-year Tribulation, also known from the Prophet Jeremiah as the “time of Jacob’s distress.” The biblical term “Day of the Lord” refers to the culmination of the “last days.” It is a time of judgment for those who reject the Lord and refuse to follow Him, and also the time of the actual, physical, literal return of Jesus Christ to the Earth when He will win the Battle of Armageddon, win the Battle of Jerusalem, His feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives (splitting the mountain in two), and Jesus will set up His literal 1,000 year reign over all the Earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem during the Millennial Kingdom.
  2. “Return to Me,” says the Lord — “‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:12-13) Given that the Day of the Lord is coming soon, the Lord says through the Prophet Joel to anyone who will listen to repent and implore God for mercy and forgiveness of their sins before the judgments begin and the Lord comes back. Each of the conference speakers discuss the urgency of turning our hearts away from sin and back to the Lord, and several spoke about the process of repentance in very personal terms.
  3. Do not divide the Land of Israel — In my message about the final chapter of the Book of Joel, I explained the warning to the nations that the Lord gives. I focused in particular on Joel 3:2 (which is 4:2 in the Hebrew Bible) in which the Lord says, “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” The Bible is very clear: the Lord is going to judge all the nations for dividing up the Land of Israel. Let the United Nations and the United States and the European Union and the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government itself be warned. What appears like wisdom to the world — carving up the State of Israel like a Thanksgiving turkey — is direct disobedience to the Word of God and will trigger the most severe divine judgment. This is a hard truth for many to hear and to hold, particularly for Palestinian Arabs and others in the epicenter. But we do Israel’s Arab friends and enemies no favors by denying, obfuscating or trying to explain away the clear teaching of the Lord found in the Scriptures. We must teach the truth. We must do so gently and lovingly, but we must also be clear and firm.

On this last point, we had a special guest on Day 2 of the Epicenter Conference. I interviewed Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and we discussed the Iran threat, the latest violence in the region by Palestinian Arabs, and the future of the peace process. During our conversation, I drew his attention to these Scriptures and urged him not to divide the Land, and to share these verses with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

>> Anti-Israel leader and his party win elections in Turkey

Record breaking natural disasters keep happening around the world. The global economy remains in serious trouble. Millions are sinking into poverty. Islam is spreading around the world. Rumors of new wars in the Middle East are mounting. New threats to Israel are metastasizing. Yet as the world is being shaken and serious new threats and challenges are rising, so much of the world seems to be asleep. Alarm bells are going off, yet so much of the Church seems to be asleep as well, intoxicated by the pleasures of the world and unable or unwilling to respond to the call of God to pray, fast, and repent despite the fact that, as the Hebrew Prophet Joel wrote in the Bible, ”the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.”

“It is time to wake up.” 

As we read in Joel 1:14-15,“Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near.”

 I hope you will find these notes helpful as you study the writings of this important minor prophet and teach them to others.

Joel Chapter One: “A Wake Up Call”

  1. The first 13 verses of chapter one reference an actual, historic disaster, a literal plague of locusts that has just so devastated the “inhabitants of the land” of Israel that it will be remembered for generations to come. (1:2)
  2. The Hebrew Prophet Joel does not begin by describing a prophetic or metaphoric event. He is referring to an actual historic event. The Lord is saying to all the current inhabitants of the land of Israel, “Has anything (else) like this happened in your days or in your fathers’ days?” (1:2)
  3. The Lord is saying through Joel that the devastation that has been wrought foreshadows a future apocalyptic disaster coming to Israel in the End Times.
  4. Locust plagues are classic forms of God’s judgment in Scripture, both in times past and in End Times prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
  5. The Lord used Moses and Aaron to bring a plague of locusts as the 8th plague against the Pharoah and the Egyptian people during the events of the Exodus (Exodus 10:1-20)
  6. The Lord used Moses to warn the children of Israel to obey Him fully when they enter the Promised Land or one of the judgments they will suffer will be plagues of locusts who will consume their fields (Deuteronomy 28:15,25,38)
  7. King Solomon prayed to the Lord, asking if a plague of locusts ever came upon the children of Israel as a judgment and they should repent and pray and come back to the house of the Lord – the Temple that they were dedicating that day — that the Lord would hear from heaven and forgive them and heal their land (1 Kings 8:37-40)
  8. The Lord responded to Solomon’s prayer and said that if there were a plague of locusts due to judgment and the children of Israel repented of their sins and turned back to the Lord and truly prayed and sought His face that He would hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)
  9. The Lord used the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation to warn Israel and the world that during the terrible events of the “Great Tribulation” when the 5th of 7 trumpets of judgment sounds, He will unleash a plague of demonic locusts and bring about a terrible devastation. (Revelation 9:1-12)
  10. In the Book of Joel, chapter one, the Lord speaks through the prophet to various groups of people in Israel who have been devastated by the actual, historic locust plagues:  “Elders,” who are supposed to hear God’s Word (1:2); ”All inhabitants” of Israel, who are supposed to listen to God’s Word (1:2); ”Drunkards,” who are supposed to wake up (1:5); ”Wine drinkers,” who are supposed to wail (1:5); ”Virgins,” who are supposed to wail (1:8);  ”Bridegrooms,” who are supposed to wail (1:8); ”Priests,” who are supposed to mourn/wail/lament (1:9, 13); ”Ministers of the Lord,” who are supposed to mourn/wail (1:9, 13); ”Farmers,” who are supposed to “be ashamed” (1:11); and “Vinedressers,” who are supposed to wail (1:11)
  11. Interesting are some of those not mentioned: No mention of a king (the words king/kings/kingdom/etc are used 2,597 times in the New American Standard Bible, but not here);  No mention of government leaders of any kind; No mention of prophets (the word prophet is used 461 times in the NASB, but not here)
  12. Perhaps the most important verse of chapter one is verse 5 is “Awake!”
  13. This chapter is a wake up call for Israel, who should know better than to live in such sin because they have been given the Holy Scriptures and the prophets….and for the Church — people who say they are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ – who should know better than to live in such sin because they have the Holy Scriptures to teach and guide them
  14. The question is: Will we wake up?
  15. Do we see how far we are from the God who made us and loves us and is jealous for our love and affection?
  16. Do we realize how drunk we are — with alcohol, with illegal drugs, with legal drugs, with entertainment, with the “things of this world”?
  17. Do we realize how blind, deaf and dumb we are to what the Lord is trying to say to us through His Word?
  18. Do we realize that if we don’t turn around quickly, the Lord is going to come and rock our world, shake our world, devastate our world, until we choose to curse Him, or until we choose to fall at His feet and give Him the worship He so richly deserves?
  19. The good news is that the Lord tells the people through the Hebrew prophet what to do:
  20. First, we must wake up from our drunken, intoxicated stupor (1:5)
  21. Second, we are to consecrate a fast (1:14)
  22. Third, we are to proclaim a solemn assembly (1:14)
  23. Fourth, we are to gather the elders (1:14)
  24. Fifth, we are to gather all the inhabitants of the land (1:14)
  25. Sixth, we are to cry out to the Lord (1:14)
  26. What should we say when we cry out to the Lord? The rest of the Bible teaches us to cry out in repentance and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us, to help us, to heal us, to save us, to cleanse us, to adopt us into His family, to fill us with His Holy Spirit, and to teach us to walk in His ways. In John 1:12, we read, “But as many as received Him [Jesus, the Messiah], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” In John 3:16, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
  27. The Hebrew Prophet describes the urgency of getting right with the Lord — because the “Day of the Lord” is coming (1:15)
  28. It is near and will come as destruction from the Almighty
  29. There will be a horrific famine (1:17)
  30. There will be a horrific fire (1:19-20)
  31. Animals will suffer (1:18)
  32. People will suffer (1:19)
  33. Therefore, we should turn to the Lord now, before all these End Times judgments are unleashed.

Both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament teach that in the “last days,” severe military threats will mount against the State of Israel, yet the Jewish state will become more and more isolated internationally. Ultimately, the Bible indicates that no country will come to the defense of the Jewish people when the major prophetic battles unfold and Israel’s enemies attack. Rather, Israel will find herself all alone in the world. This makes recent headlines all the more troubling, for international pressure against — and isolation of — the modern State of Israel seems to be intensifying this year. Consider the latest key stories from the epicenter from just the past few days and weeks:

In light of such disturbing trends, I am posting some of my notes covering chapter two of the “Book of Joel.” In his second chapter, the Hebrew prophet gives us so much vital information about the future of Israel and how to live in the last days that I won’t be able to cover it all in one posting. But I hope you will find these notes helpful as you study the writings of this important minor prophet and teach them to others. I would also encourage you to watch the message delivered at The Joshua Fund’s 2011 Epicenter Conference by Pastor Ray Bentley, who taught on Joel 2:1-17. In a few days, Lord willing, I will post my notes covering the rest of chapter two.

Chapter Two: “A Trumpet Call for Israel and the Church”

  1. As the “Day of the Lord” approaches in the last days, those who know the Lord, follow the Lord, listen to the Lord, study the Word of the Lord, and teach the Word of the Lord are supposed to do a series of things:
  2. Understand that danger is coming and thus  ”blow a trumpet in Zion” and ”sound an alarm” on God’s holy mountain — that is, call people to action (2:1)
  3. We are to alert “all” the inhabitants of the land of Israel that the “Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near” (2:1)
  4. We are to let Israel know that the “Day of the Lord” will be a day of judgment, “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness”
  5. We are to let Israel know that that the Day of the Lord will be historic….”there has never been anything like it” – even the previous apocalyptic plagues of locusts described in Joel chapter one – “nor will there ever be again after it” (2:2)
  6. We are to explain that the Day of the Lord will come with devastating fire that consumes everything in its path (2:3)
  7. We are to explain that the run up to the Day of the Lord will be traumatic — the land of Israel will suffer an invasion unlike anything in its history….the text indicates that the land of Israel will be completely overrun and will suffer serious devastation, far beyond the locust invasion that described in chapter one.
  8. What’s interesting is that in the first 24 verses of chapter two, the word “locust” is never mentioned. Rather, we have images that are similar to a classic locust invasion, but far more devastating.
  9. The appearance of the invaders is “like” the appearance of horses (2:4)
  10. And “like” war horses (2:4)
  11. They run “like” mighty men (2:5)
  12. They climb the wall “like” soldiers (2:7)
  13. So the invaders aren’t exactly locusts – they’re “like” locusts
  14. The invaders aren’t human soldiers – they’re “like” human soldiers
  15. Over the years, some Bible expositors have suggested that what we are seeing play out in the Book of Joel is the “War of Gog and Magog,” as prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39. There are several reasons for teachers to suggest this:
  16. The Hebrew Prophet Joel describes events that will happen in the last days, as does Ezekiel
  17. Joel seems to describe a land of Israel that is fertile and fruitful, like a Garden of Eden (Joel 2:3), and Ezekiel describes a land that has essentially recovered from devastating wars and is secure and prosperous (Ezekiel 38:8, 12)
  18. Joel describes a threat to Israel that is unprecedented in her history, as does Ezekiel
  19. Joel describes the Lord saying, “I will remove the northern army far from you” (Joel 2:20), and Ezekiel 38-39 describes the main threat to Israel coming from the north but destroyed by the Lord
  20. Joel describes the Lord pouring out His Spirit after defeat of the enemy (Joel 2:28-29), as does Ezekiel (Ezekiel 39:29)
  21. I certainly believe that the”War of Gog and Magog” described in Ezekiel 38-39 is real, serious, and coming sooner that many people think. That said, despite some similarities, I do not see the primary prophetic events described in the Book of Joel as being focused on Ezekiel’s ”War of Gog and Magog.” I say this for several reasons:
  22. The Hebrew Prophet Joel describes Israel as being fully invaded and completely overrun by enemy forces, like a locust invasion; this is not, however, what is described in Ezekiel 38-39 where the enemy comes against the mountains of Israel but is then supernaturally destroyed, unable to completely invade and overrun the land.
  23. Joel describes the land of Israel being devastated by fire (from the enemies), whereas Ezekiel describes the enemies of Israel being devastated by fire (from heaven)
  24. Joel describes the judgment of “all the nations” (3:2) occurring after the enemy is defeated, whereas Ezekiel describes a limited coalition of nations being judged during their defeat.
  25. Joel singles out Egypt for such severe judgment that the text says “Egypt will become a waste” (3:19), whereas mention of Egypt is noticeably absent from Ezekiel 38-39.
  26. Joel also singles out Edom (See note below) for such severe judgment that the text says “Edom will become a desolate wilderness because of the violence done to the sons of Judah in whose land they have shed innocent blood” (3:19), whereas mention of Edom is noticeably absent from Ezekiel 38-39.
  27. To understand the End Times events that the Hebrew Prophet Joel is foretelling, we need to study the prophecies of Revelation 9:1-12 and the events that occur after the 5th of 7 trumpets are blown during the Great Tribulation. Consider the following points:
  28. In the Book of Revelation,we read that out of Hell (“a bottomless pit filled with the smoke of a great furnace”) “came locusts upon the earth” (9:2)
  29. But the Bible indicates that these are not ordinary locusts — they have power like scorpions to injure with their tails (9:2, 5,6,10)
  30. These creatures are “told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree” (9:4)
  31. These creatures are designed to attack mankind “who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads,” that is, those who are not born again followers of the Lord Jesus Christ (9:4)
  32. These creatures cannot kill but rather torment men for five months (9:5)
  33. Their appearance is “like” horses (9:7)
  34. They have faces “like” men (9:7)
  35. They have hair “like” the hair of women (9:8)
  36. They have teeth “like” the teeth of lions (9:8)
  37. They have armor “like” soldiers who have breastplates of iron (9:9)
  38. They sound “like” many horses rushing to battle (9:9)
  39. They have a king over them, “the angel of the abyss” whose name in Hebrew is “Abaddon,” and in Greek is “Apollyon”
  40. These are not really locusts, or human soldiers, though they are like both – these are demonic creatures ruled by a Satanic king
  41. They will come “upon the earth” with “power” (9:3)
  42. The Book of Revelation does not say these creatures will exclusively attack those in Israel – their attack will be global
  43. But the Book of Joel does indicate that such creatures will specifically invade Israel and bring great trauma and devastation — as Joel 2:11 says: “the Day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible; who can endure it?”

(Note: What is Edom’s name today?

The country of Edom was founded by Jacob’s brother Esau. He picked up the nickname “Edom” or “Red” when he sold half of his massive inheritance for a simple bowl of red bean stew.

Edom was located in the region to the southeast of Israel. Mount Seir was a notable landmark in this region.

Edom and Israel, the people who descended from Jacob, never got along with each other. Skirmishes between the people happened often. Edom never got over its hatred of Israel. “Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation!”” (Psalm 137:7). In other words, Edom was cheering the Babylonians on. When Israel fell because of their sins, Edom rejoiced at its fall and took the opportunity to raid the country. They even helped the Babylonians collect the stragglers left from the war (Obadiah 10-15).

God made several prophecies against Edom (Isaiah 35; 63:1-6; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Amos 1:11; Obadiah; Ezekiel 25:12-14; 35). However, the one that tells us what happened to Edom is found in Ezekiel 35.

In delivering punishments to various nations, we learn that God often turns the sin against the sinner. Edom rejoiced at the emptying of Israel and five years later, Nebuchadnezzar swept through again, destroying several nations and emptying their lands — including Edom. Here is what God promised Edom:

“Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, And make you most desolate; I shall lay your cities waste, And you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 35:3-9).

God promised that travelers would no longer pass that way; the country would be so litter with slain that people would avoid the stench. But most importantly, God states that the country would never be rebuilt. Just as Edom had perpetual hatred for Israel, their country would remain perpetually empty.

The country of Edom would remain perpetually desolate.

That has remained basically true. Various countries have controlled the territory that was once Edom, but Edom as a nation disappeared. When the edict was made allowing people to return to the homelands, Israel and many other countries rebuilt, but Edom never did. During the time of the Greeks and Romans, the region was known as Idumea, which is the Greek transliteration of Edom. The territory is currently controlled by Jordan.”He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5).    See: http://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVanswers/2005/09-24.htm)

Talk is cheap. In a time when economic, religious and geopolitical threats are rising….a time when so much of the world is turning against God…a time when so many have forgotten God in their daily lives….a time when so many think the Church is irrelevant and/or hypocritical….and a time when many have turned against Israel and God’s Chosen People, what we need are leaders at every level of society who are serious about crying out to the Lord for mercy and redemption. I’m not talking about a bunch of religious hot air  — slogans, bumper stickers or platitudes. What we desperately need is a bold and sincere and solid and revolutionary faith that moves us to action, that moves us to know God more deeply and serve Him more faithfully before the Day of the Lord arrives.

As we read in the New Testament Book of James, “faith, if it has no works, is dead” and “faith without works is useless” (James 2:17 and 20).

This is one of the reasons I love the Old Testament Book of Joel and why I’m grateful we studied it together at the 2011 Epicenter Conference — because it is a powerful call to action. Skip Heitzig, a dear friend and senior pastor of a wonderful Bible-teaching congregation of some 14,000 people in New Mexico, taught at the conference on Joel 2:18-32 (Joel 2:28-32 in English is actually divided as Joel chapter 3 in the Hebrew Bible) and did a powerful job. I would encourage you watching his message — and the other messages — for free on-line. Today, I’m posting Part Four of my personal study notes on the Book of Joel. I hope you’ll find them helpful as you seek a faith that changes your life and moves you to serve the Lord with more passion and conviction than ever before.

PART FOUR:

The Hebrew Prophet Joel indicates a day of severe and unprecendented judgment is coming upon the world. The question is: How should mankind in general – and the people of Israel in particular – prepare for such judgments before they come? Beginning in Joel 2:12, the Lord is very clear and specific. His people are to:

  • Blow a trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm on His holy mountain in Jerusalem
  • Consecrate a fast
  • Proclaim a solemn assembly
  • Gather the people
  • Sanctify the congregation
  • Assemble the elders
  • Gather the children and the nursing infants
  • Gather brides and bridegrooms
  • Urge the priests, the Lord’s ministers, to weep and ask the Lord to spare His people and not let them be a byword among the nations
  • Return to the Lord with all our heart
  • Return to the Lord with fasting
  • Return to the Lord with weeping
  • Return to the Lord with mourning
  • Rend our hearts and not our garments
  • Return to the Lord because we believe He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil
  • This is not just a call to a generic, run-of-the-mill prayer meeting — this is a call to get on our faces and beg and plead with the Lord to have mercy on us as individuals, as families and as nations

Two observations:

  • It’s interesting to me that the specific sins of the people are not enumerated — the Lord is concerned about all sin, not just a few certain types
  • It’s also intriguing to say that nowhere in the text is there a call to take up arms and fight against the enemy invaders — this isn’t to say Israel or America or other countries shouldn’t defend themselves against enemy nations or terrorist organizations; but when it comes to sin and judgment, there is no political or military solution; our only hope is to turn away from our sins and seek the Lord’s forgiveness; He will save us when we ask with humble, repentant hearts, and He’s the only One who can

Clearly, chapter two of the Book of Joel is a trumpet call — a call to action

  • To Israel – a national call to turn back to the Lord
  • To the Church – a global call to turn back to the Lord
  • To all of mankind — a personal call to repent, to get right with the Lord, before it’s too late, before judgment comes

The bad news: the Scriptures are clear that a terrible time of judgment and devastation is coming, worse than at any other time in human history.

The good news: The Scriptures are also clear that when individuals repent and return to the Lord – and by God’s grace when the nation of Israel repents and turns back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – then…..

  • “the Lord will be zealous for His land” (2:18)
  •  The Lord “will have pity on His people” (2:18)
  • The Lord will send His people “grain, new wine, and oil” (2:19)
  • The Lord will defeat the enemies of Israel, notably attacks from the North (2:20)
  • The Lord will do “great things” (2:21)
  • Israel will turn green again (2:22)
  • The fig tree and the vine will yield its fruit again in full (2:22)
  • The Lord will send “the teacher of righteousness” (the Hebrew translation in 2:23)
  • The Lord will make up to those who have repented for the years the locusts have eaten (2:25)
  • Those who have repented (“My people”) “will never be put to shame” and they will know that the Lord is in the midst ofIsrael, that “I am the Lord your God, and there is no other” (2:26)
  • The Lord will pour out His Holy Spirit “on all mankind,” Jews and Gentiles alike (2:28)
  • Sons and daughters will prophesy
  • Old men will dream dreams
  • Young men will see visions
  • Men and women of all classes and stations will be able to receive the Holy Spirit
  • “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered” (2:32) – Jew or Gentile.
  • NOTE: this is another critical point in the text: in the last days (beginning with Pentecost/Acts 2 but accelerating as we get closer to the Day of the Lord), we’ll see the Holy Spirit moving more powerfully and publicly and personally and persistently than ever before in human history…..this requires us to develop a much better, deeper, richer Biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role, how He works, how to be filled with the Spirit, how to walk in the Spirit, how to be careful not to grieve the Spirit, how to be more discerning of spiritual deception, etc.
  • The Lord will display wonders in the sky and on the earth (2:30)
  • The sun will turn to darkness (2:30)
  • The moon will turn to blood (2:31)
  • All these things will happen “before” the “great and terrible Day of the Lord comes” – that is, before the final judgments of the Great Tribulation (2:31)
  • This judgment is sure and certain – it is coming, it cannot be stopped, and many will suffer horrifically if they are not followers of Jesus Christ with the seal of the Lord on their foreheads

That said, the Lord will use these terrible judgments to shake people all over the world – and particularly in Israel – and cause Jews and Gentiles to deeply reconsider what they believe and what they are following.

This is how God works at key moments in history – He literally and figuratively shakes the world

  • Haggai 2:6-7 – “….in a little while I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations….”
  • See also Haggai 2:21-22 – “….I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations….”
  • Many will come to faith in Jesus during these times. Whoever will repent, whoever will return to the Lord, whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
  • Why not make that decision today, before these traumas come?
  • Yes, Jews are the Chosen People. But according to the Scriptures, it is not enough that the Lord chose the Jews — Jews must also choose the Lord.
  • Yes, God loves the Gentiles. But according to the Scriptures, it is not enough that the Lord loves Gentiles — Gentiles must also love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and love their neighbors as themselves.
  • The Lord said through Moses in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.”
  • Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
  • Now is the time to call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

The Bible is crystal clear: the Lord Almighty will judge all nations who divide the Land of Israel.

In Joel 3:2, the Lord says: “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (3:2)

A MESSAGE OF WARNING TO THE NATIONS: Book of Joel, Chapter Three

The Book of Joel is a wake up call and a trumpet call to Israel and the Church. It is also a message of warning to the nations – and a very sobering message at that.

Joel 3:1 – “in those days and at that time” – what time?

  • The last of the last days
  • The time of the physical, literal, actual Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
  • The end of human history as we have known it and the dawn of the Millennial Kingdom, the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the throne of David in Jerusalem
  • The time when God is going to fully and completely and graciously “restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem”
  • The time of the end of the nations crushing Israel and the Jewish people

Joel 3:2 – the Lord is going to gather all the nations – not some of the nations….not a few of the nations….the text says “all” of the nations….true, the Lord singles out a few specific nations with whom He is angry…..among them:

  1. Tyre and Sidon (Lebanon)  Joel 3:4
  2. Philistia (Gaza) 3:4
  3. Greece 3:6
  4. Egypt  3:19
  5. Edom  3:19

But let there be no doubt – He is going to judge “all” the nations…He will gather them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat….the valley of judgment…what we know today as the Kidron Valley right here in Jerusalem….“Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (3:2) 

 The Lord is going to judge the nations for at least six reasons:

  1.  For scattering Israel and the Jewish people among the nations (Joel 3:2)
  2. For dividing up the land of Israel, which the Lord describes as “My land” (3:2)
  3. For selling the Jewish people into slavery (3:3,5)
  4. For engaging in sex trafficking (3:3)
  5. For stealing treasures from the Lord (perhaps from the Temple), and from Israel (3:5)
  6. For murdering Jews and shedding Jewish blood (3:19, 21)

Some of these are atrocities that various nations and empires have committed against Israel and the Jewish people over the centuries. Yet some of these are atrocities that will be committed against Israel and the Jewish people during the “time of Jacob’s troubles” (30:7), also known as the Tribulation.

  • The Bible teaches us, for example, from the Book of Daniel that the Antichrist will invade the Beautiful Land and set up his reign of power here in Israel. (Daniel 11:41-45)
  • The Hebrew Prophet Zechariah tells us that under the reign of the Antichrist and his global, one-world, tyrannical government that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be murdered. (Zechariah 12:8-9)
  • As horrifying as this is, Jews will not be the only ones to suffer terribly during under the Antichrist’s global reign of terror. Anyone who resists the Antichrist will suffer. Many will perish. Indeed, the Bible reveals that this includes people who have become followers of Jesus Christ during the Tribulation and refuse to bow to the Antichrist. They will be beheaded. They will be martyred. En masse. [Read Revelation 6:9-11 – how long, O Lord, until you avenge….]

The good news is that Joel tells us a day of reckoning is coming….the Day of the Lord is coming….surely it is near.

  • “I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” (Joel 3:21)
  • Psalm 9:11-12 – “Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples His deeds. For He who requires (or avenges) blood remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.”

 Amen.

And then comes more good news – the Millennial Kingdom….during this time:

  1. The Lord will make Jerusalem holy and pure…..there will be no “strangers” there, Joel tells us in 3:17….only those who have been born again and made righteous by the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for the remission of sins….only those who have been adopted into His family by receiving Jesus as the Messiah
  2. The mountains of Israel will drip with sweet wine (3:18)
  3. The mountains of Israel will nourish cattle who flow with milk (3:18)
  4. The land of Judah will always flow with springs of water (3:18)
  5. A spring will actually burst forth underneath the Temple and flow into a river down to the Dead Sea, which will be resurrected (3:18 – see also Ezekiel 47)
  6. Israel/Judah/Jerusalem will be inhabited forever (3:20)
  7. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself will dwell in Zion (3:21)

The Hebrew Prophet Joel gives us a great hope…that God is sovereign and He will reign from this city and make all things new and beautiful by His grace and power.

There is so much richness to each and every verse of chapter three. I’ve taken most of the last year to study it and I’m still finding treasures I didn’t see before. But given the moment that we are in I want to focus on verse two.

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (3:2)

Consider these words carefully and completely….and let the United Nations be warned….let the United States be warned….let the European Union be warned….let the Arab League be warned….let the Palestinian Authority be warned….let Hamas be warned….let the Government of Israel, too, be warned.

It may look like a brilliant idea to divide the City of Jerusalem….to divide Judea and Samaria – a.k.a., the West Bank – away from the State of Israel….to give away the Golan Heights….as it seemed brilliant to some to give away the Gaza Strip in 2005….but let there be no mistake: the Word of God warns us in no uncertain terms that judgment is coming for all who divide Israel….and divide Jerusalem….and scatter, oppress and mistreat the Jewish people.

As I say this, the United Nations is preparing to hold a vote in the next few months to divide Jerusalem and the rest of Jerusalem and unilaterally declare a sovereign Palestinian state. For many, this seems wise and fair and just…..but willfully disobeying the Word of God is never wise….never fair….never just….and it comes with consequences.

I recognize that these Scriptures can be difficult for many Palestinian Arabs and many Israeli Arabs to read and accept, especially if they are Muslims and nominal Christians without a personal relationship with Christ….but even if they are born again brothers and sisters in the Lord. Most Palestinians long for a sovereign state of their own…many have been deeply hurt during the rebirth of the State of Israel and throughout the past 63 years….I am sympathetic with this pain and this longing.

The Bible indicates that Jews would be a sinful people when they return to the Land in the last days. Only after they return, the Bible teaches, will the Holy Spirit be poured out upon the Jewish people in an increasingly significant way (Ezekiel 39:29 and Joel 2:28-32 — or Joel chapter 3 in Hebrew Bibles). Only then will a growing number of Jewish people will repent and return to a personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that there would be “wars and rumors of wars” and “revolutions” and “lawlessness” in the last days. Certainly, the rebirth of Israel — while prophetic and God-ordained — has come with wars, rumors of war, revolutions, sins, and even crimes committed by some Arabs as well as some Jews.

The Bible doesn’t teach this period of the last days will be easy, and the Bible is right…..that said, while these are painful facts, they are facts nonetheless…..and each one of us must be true to the revealed Word of God….we do not please the Lord — or do our Arab brothers any favors, or do the nations any favors — if we ignore, deny or try to explain away the plain meaning of these verses, that Israel would be prophetically reborn and the Jews would come back to the Land that the Lord promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendents. 

Genesis 12:1-3 tells us that the Lord will bless those who bless the children of Abraham, and He will curse those who curse the children of Abraham. Those who have cursed Israel have, sadly, found themselves facing great pain and suffering. Those who have tried to divide the Land again and again have found themselves both causing but also experiencing great pain and suffering.

For many, these are not easy truths to hear or to hold…..but God in His love and fairness puts us on notice that there are consequences to rejecting these truths. 

At the same time, we who accept by faith what the Bible teaches about God’s divine love, plan, purpose and Land for Israel and the Jewish people must remind ourselves and each other of two other truths:

  1. First, how we communicate Biblical truth – how we say what we say in light of the Word of God – matters to God.
  2. Second, how we live out Biblical truth – how we do what we do in light of the Word of God – also matters to God.

What do I mean? Allow me to explain. 

First, our communication – consider John 12:49 (NIV), where Jesus said, “the Father commands Me what to say and how to say it.” What we say matters to God….but so does how we say it. It’s not enough just to communicate what is Biblically true….we must also examine how we communicate it….are we speaking the truth in love?….are we being gentle?….are we being humble?

  • Proverbs 12:18 – “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
  • Proverbs 15:1 – “A gentle turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
  • Proverbs 15:28 – “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer”
  • Proverbs 21:23 – “He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles.”
  • Proverbs 25:11 – “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.”

Yes, the Day of the Lord is coming….Yes, God is going to bless and save the nation of Israel….Yes, the nations are going to be judged for dividing the Land and shedding Jewish blood and for committing atrocities against the Jewish people….These are truths….they are from the Lord….they are just and true….But we must be careful in how we communicate these truths because they are so difficult for so many to hear…..especially our Arab brothers and sisters….Let us be wise and humble and respectful in how we teach what we teach lest we inadvertently sin with our callousness or insensitivity….lest we cause additional pain or even create a new stumbling block to our listeners being able to hear and truly receive the truth.

Second, our actions — Are we living out the fullness of the implications of Biblical truth, especially when it comes to the Book of Joel? Today, those of us who believe in the Abrahamic Covenant that God gave the Land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants as an “everlasting possession” and who agree with the Apostle Paul that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29) are at risk.

At risk of what?

At risk of being outflanked on the justice issue….at risk of being – and/or being perceived around the world as being – insensitive to the charges that we are blind to or callous towards injustice suffered by the Palestinian people….“Justice” can be a politically loaded word…..and it can be wielded for unscriptural ends. But it is a Biblical word….it is an important word….and we must embrace it and passionately pursue its true Biblical meaning.

As the Hebrew Prophet Micah taught us, “He has told you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) 

You and I are passionate advocates of justice for Israel because of what the Bible teaches. We must also be passionate advocates of justice from Israel because of what the Bible teaches. This does not mean Israel should divide the Land. This does not mean Israel should ignore her real and serious security needs. But too often, Christians who love Israel are not aware of — or sufficiently concerned about and responsive to — the plight of the Palestinian people, and particularly the struggles of the Palestinian believers.

  • Are some of the political, moral and historical charges of the Palestinians against Israel overblown? Yes. 
  • Is some of the rhetoric of the Palestinians against Israel, Jews and Christians who love Israel hyperbolic and unfair? Yes.
  • But are the Palestinian people struggling in real and very painful ways? Yes – the truth is they are. And we should care because Jesus cared.
  • Much of this struggle has been caused by the unwise and ungodly choices of their leaders….and their Arab and Islamic allies in the region….and by the terror groups in their midst.
  • But is some of this pain sometime caused by – or exacerbated by — Israeli mistakes….excesses….and even sins?  Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Again, this does not mean the Land should be divided…That does not mean a sovereign Palestinian state should be created….It does mean that followers of Jesus Christ should care about justice and mercy – for the Jews and for the Palestinians, and for all of Israel’s neighbors who are suffering in this fallen world….After all, while the Bible clearly explains that the Lord will bring the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel and allow them to reclaim their God-given ownership of the Land, nowhere in the Bible are Jews (or any group of people) given a license to commit injustice.

  • To the contrary, the Bible teaches Israel to love her neighbors (Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 19:19).
  • The Bible also teaches Israel to love her neighbors and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44).

The Jewish people do have rights to the ownership of the Land, but they also have responsibilities to govern justly and compassionately, in accordance with the Scriptures.

  •  In Leviticus 19:13, for example, the Lord says: “You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”
  • Leviticus 19:15 — “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.”
  • Leviticus 19:33-34 — “When a stranger [non-Jew] resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to  you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”
  • Exodus 22:21-24 – “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry and My anger will be kindled….”

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ need to not just preach but also to practice sound Bible doctrine regarding Israel and the Palestinians….We need to love both….bless both….pray for both….We need to stand with and encourage our brothers and sisters in the Messiah whether they are Jewish or Arab….The Bible gives us no freedom to ignore, deny, or oppose our brothers and sisters on either side….Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

We need to be pro-actively building relationships with Israelis and Palestinians….we need to be faithful ambassadors of Christ….we need to be true agents of reconciliation whenever and wherever possible….We do not have to agree with everything that our brothers and sisters believe — especially if those beliefs are unscriptural — but we are commanded to love them unconditionally and sacrificially….We are commanded to see struggle and suffering and respond in love and compassion, whether it’s a Jewish person in pain or an Arab.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) 

Jesus loves the Jews….Jesus loves the Arabs….Jesus loves the Iranians….Jesus loves the Druze, the Bedouins, and all who live in the epicenter….Jesus died for all….Jesus rose again for all….Jesus is coming back again to this city for all…The Day of the Lord is coming….surely it is near….Joel teaches us that the Day of the Lord is a day of great sadness and judgment for those who reject the Lord and disobey His Word….But Joel also teaches us that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”

Which leads me to my final point.

In addition to praying for Jews and for the Palestinians….

In addition to seeking real and practical ways to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus….

In addition to providing food, clothing, medical supplies and other humanitarian relief to the poor and needy on both sides of the security fence….of caring for widows and orphans….of caring for Holocaust Survivors and victims of war and terrorism….We need to make sure everyone from Tel Aviv to Tehran hears the good news of God’s amazing love and grace as revealed through Jesus Christ.

Let those of us who love Israel also love Israel’s neighbors and enemies enough to make sure they hear the gospel….to strengthen the Church in the Arab and Iranian world….to help them train pastors and plant churches and fulfill the Great Commission.

Precisely because the Day of the Lord is coming….surely it is near.

As the Apostle Peter taught us, “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief” and “the Lord is not slow about keeping His promise , as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:10,9)

Syrian civilians paid to assault Israel border

Israel Today – Monday, June 06, 2011 | Ryan Jones

The mass Arab march on Israel’s borders scheduled for Sunday was largley a dud, but nearly two dozens Syrians were reportedly killed while trying to infiltrate the Golan Heights, reported Syrian media.

It was apparently more difficult than expected to convince the Arab masses to gather and assault Israel’s borders. So, according to the Syrian opposition, the regime in Damascus paid poor farmers $1,000 to cross into Israeli territory and harass the Israeli army. Any who were killed in the stunt were promised $25,000 to their families.

The Reform Party of Syria wrote on its official website that Syrian farmers make less than $200 a month, so many were tempted by the offer. And, if Syrian government media is to be believed, at least 23 paid with their lives for accepting the bribe.

Israeli army officials noted that very few of the Syrian demonstrators were actually injured or killed by Israeli gunfire, and most were the victims of minefields stretching along the border region. The minefields are clearly marked.

The Reform Party of Syria was furious with the regime of dictator Bashar Assad for sending the poor farmers to their deaths, and accused the government of trying to create a diversion to take international focus off of the bloody pro-democracy uprising taking place in Syria. Thousands of Syrians demanding democratic freedoms have been massacred by government forces.

The largest march on Israel’s borders marking the anniversary of the start of the Six Day War in 1967 – which the Arabs refer to as “the Setback” – was to come from Lebanon. But it didn’t materialize.

Early estimates were that upwards of 100,000 Lebanese would try to cross into northern Israel. But the Lebanese army prevented most from reaching the border region.

The Palestinians were only slightly more enthusiastic. Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers north of Jerusalem, carrying signs that read “A million martyrs are marching on Jerusalem.” They seem to have miscounted, as in reality the numbers were far fewer.

Some 40 Palestinians were wounded when Israeli security forces used non-lethal crowd control methods to defend themselves against the rioters.

At least four Israeli Arab Knesset members took part in the violent anti-Israel demonstrations, once again prompting calls that they be stripped of their parliamentary immunity.

Arabs prepare to march on Israel’s borders

Saturday, June 04, 2011 | Ryan Jones

Arabs prepare to march on Israel's borders

The Israeli army this week was busy readying itself for the next pan-Arab assault on Israel’s borders, scheduled for Sunday.

Two weeks ago, Arabs from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza marched on Israel’s borders in an effort to infiltrate the Jewish state en masse. They were marking Nakba Day – the Day of Catastrophe when Israel was reborn as a nation-state.

The Nakba Day demonstrations saw at least 100 Syrians cross into the Golan Heights, where many clashed with Israeli soldiers.

The upcoming demonstration will mark “Naksa Day” – the Day of the Setback, the anniversary of the start of the Six Day War in 1967. Demonstrations are planned for Sunday and Tuesday. Sunday, which is the actual anniversary of the war, is expected to see the largest confrontations.

Israeli forces are determined that there will be no border breaches this time, but that the Arabs will also not score a public relations victory by baiting the IDF into killing demonstrators.

Israeli soldiers have been ordered to first shout for the demonstrators to halt if they approach the border. If the demonstrators continue to advance, the Israelis will fire warning shots in the air. If that doesn’t work, the soldiers are authorized to direct non-lethal fire at the demonstrators’ lower extremities.

Reports out of Lebanon suggest that some 100,000 may participate in Sunday’s march. But the Lebanese army has also suggested it will not allow any of them to reach the border.

Transcript: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress

Note: I have taken the liberty of bolding text that seems a good overall emphasis of this speech.

In a muscular and well-received address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the case for why his nation should not return to its pre-1967 borders as part of a future peace agreement with Palestinians — a question over which he has jousted with President Barack Obama in the past week.

Published: May 24

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BINYAMIN NETANYAHU DELIVERS REMARKS

TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

MAY 24, 2011

SPEAKER: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Vice President Biden, Speaker Boehner, distinguished senators, members of the House, honored guests, I’m deeply moved by this warm welcome. And I’m deeply honored that you’ve given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time.

Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time that we were the new kids in town?

And I do see a lot of old friends here, and I see a lot of new friends of Israel here, as well — Democrats and Republicans alike.

Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel.

We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism.

Congratulations, America. Congratulations, Mr. President. You got bin Laden. Good riddance.

In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.

My friends, you don’t have to — you don’t need to do nation- building in Israel. We’re already built.

You don’t need to export democracy to Israel. We’ve already got it.

And you don’t need to send American troops to Israel. We defend ourselves.

NETANYAHU: You’ve been very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own. Thank you all, and thank you, President Obama, for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security.

I know economic times are tough. I deeply appreciate this.

Some of you have been telling me that your belief has been reaffirmed in recent months that support for Israel’s security is a wise investment in our common future, for an epic battle is now under way in the Middle East between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar. The tremors have shattered states. They’ve toppled governments. And we can all see that the ground is still shifting.

Now, this historic moment holds the promise of a new dawn of freedom and opportunity. There are millions of young people out there who are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives.

They demand dignity. They desire liberty. These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989. Yet, as we share their hopes…

(A protester)

You know, I take it as a badge of honor, and so should you, that in our free societies you can have protests. You can’t have these protests in the farcical parliaments in Tehran or in Tripoli. This is real democracy.

Thank you.

So as we share the hopes of these young people throughout the Middle East and Iran that they’ll be able to do what that young woman just did — I think she’s young; I couldn’t see quite that far…

… we must also remember that those hopes could be snuffed out, as they were in Tehran in 1979.

You remember what happened there. The brief democratic spring in Tehran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny. And it’s this same tyranny that smothered Lebanon’s democratic Cedar Revolution and inflicted on that long-suffering country the Medieval rule of Hezbollah.

So today the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads. And like all of you, I pray that the peoples of the region choose the path less traveled, the path of liberty.

No one knows what this path consists of better than you. Nobody.

This path of liberty is not paved by elections alone. It’s paved when governments permit protests in town squares, when limits are placed on the powers of rulers, when judges are beholden to laws and not men, and when human rights cannot be crushed by tribal loyalties or mob rule.

Israel has always embraced this path in a Middle East that has long rejected it. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out. It is different.

And this was seen…

There was a great English writer in the 19th century, George Eliot. It’s a she. That was a pseudonym in those days.

George Eliot predicted over a century ago that once established the Jewish state — here’s what she said, “The Jewish state will shine like a bright star of freedom amid the despotisms of the East.”

Well, she was right. We have a free press, independent courts, an open economy, rambunctious parliamentary debates.

Now, don’t laugh.

Ah, you see, you think you’re tough on another — on one another here in Congress? Come spend a day in the Knesset. Be my guest.

Courageous Arab protesters are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies.

We’re proud in Israel that over 1 million Arab citizens of Israel have been enjoying these rights for decades.

Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights.

Now, I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of 1 percent are truly free and they’re all citizens of Israel.

This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong with about the Middle East; Israel is what is right about the Middle East.

Israel fully supports the desire of Arab peoples in our region to live freely. We long for the day when Israel will be one of many real democracies in the region — in the Middle East.

Fifteen years ago, I stood at this very podium. By the way, it hasn’t changed.

I stood here and I said that democracy must start to take root in the Arab world. Well, it’s begun to take root. And this beginning holds the promise of a brilliant future of peace and prosperity. Because I believe that a Middle East that is genuinely democratic will be a Middle East truly at peace.

But while we hope for the best and while we work for the best, we must also recognize that powerful forces oppose this future.

They oppose modernity. They oppose democracy. They oppose peace.

Foremost among these forces is Iran. The tyranny in Tehran brutalizes its own people. It supports attacks against American troops in Afghanistan and in Iraq. It subjugates Lebanon and Gaza. It sponsors terror worldwide.

When I last stood here, I spoke of the consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out, the hinge of history may soon turn, for the greatest danger of all could soon be upon us: a militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons.

Militant Islam threatens the world. It threatens Islam.

Now, I have no doubt, I’m absolutely convinced that it will ultimately be defeated. I believe it will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. It depends on cloistering young minds for a given amount of years, and the process of opening up information will ultimately defeat this movement.

But like other fanaticisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact an horrific price from all of us before its eventual demise. A nuclear armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world.

I want you to understand what this means, because if we don’t stop it, it’s coming.

They could put a bomb anywhere. They could put it in a missile. They’re working on missiles that could reach this city.

They could put it on a — on a ship, inside a container. It could reach every port.

They could eventually put it in a suitcase or in a subway.

Now, the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand. Less than seven decades after 6 million Jews were murdered, Iran’s leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people, while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state.

Leaders who spew such venom should be banned from every respectable forum on the planet.

Now, there’s something that makes the outrage even greater. And you know what that is? It’s the lack of outrage. Because in much of the international community the calls for our destruction are met with utter silence.

It’s even worse, because there are many who rush to condemn Israel for defending itself against Iran’s terror proxies.

Not you. Not America.

You’ve acted differently. You’ve condemned the Iranian regime for its genocidal aims. You’ve passed tough sanctions against Iran.

History will salute you, America.

President Obama has said that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The president successfully led the Security Council at the U.N. to adopt sanctions against Iran. You in Congress passed even tougher sanctions.

Now, these words, and these, are vitally important. Yet the ayatollah regime briefly suspended its nuclear weapons program only once, in 2003, when it feared the possibility of military action. In that same year, Moammar Gadhafi gave up his nuclear weapons program and for the same reason.

The more Iran believes that all options are on the table, the less the chance of confrontation.

And this is why I ask you to continue to send an unequivocal message that America will never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Now, as for Israel, if history has taught the Jewish people anything, it is that we must take calls for our destruction seriously.

We are a nation that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. When we say “Never again,” we mean never again.

Israel always reserves — Israel always reserves the right to defend itself.

My friends, while Israel will be ever-vigilant in its defense, we’ll never give up our quest for peace. I guess we’ll give it up when we achieve it.

Because we want peace. Because we need peace.

Now, we’ve achieved historic peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, and these have held up for decades.

I remember what it was like before we had peace. I was nearly killed in a firefight inside the Suez Canal — I mean that literally — inside the Suez Canal. I was going down to the bottom with a 40- pound pack — ammunition pack on my back, and somebody reached out to grab me. And they’re still looking for the guy who did such a stupid thing.

I was nearly killed there.

And I remember battling terrorists along both banks of the Jordan.

Too many Israelis have lost loved ones, and I know their grief.

I lost my brother. So no one in Israel wants to return to those terrible days.

The peace with Egypt and Jordan has long served as an anchor of stability and peace in the heart of the Middle East. And this peace…

This peace should be bolstered by economic and political support to all those who remain committed to peace.

The peace agreements between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Jordan are vital, but they’re not enough. We must also find a way to forge a lasting peace with the Palestinians.

Two years ago, I publicly committed to a solution of two states for two peoples: a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state.

I’m willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. As the leader of Israel it’s my responsibility to lead my people to peace.

Now, this is not easy for me. It’s not easy…

… because I recognize that in a genuine peace, we’ll be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland. And you have to understand this: In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers.

We’re not the British in India. We’re not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace.

No distortion of history — and boy, am I reading a lot of distortions of history lately, old and new — no distortion of history could deny the 4,000-year-old bond between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.

But there is another truth: The Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace…

… in which they’ll be neither Israel’s subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people living in their own state.

They should enjoy a prosperous economy where their creativity and initiative can flourish.

Now, we’ve already seen the beginnings of what is possible. In the last two years, the Palestinians have begun to build a better life for themselves.

By the way, Prime Minister Fayyad has led this effort on their part and I — I wish him a speedy recovery from his recent operation.

We’ve helped, on our side, we’ve helped the Palestinian economic growth by removing hundreds of barriers and roadblocks to the free flow of goods and people, and the results have been nothing short of remarkable. The Palestinian economy is booming. It’s growing by more than 10 percent a year. And Palestinian cities — they look very different today than what they looked just few — a few years ago. They have shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, banks. They even have e-businesses, but you can’t see that when you visit them.

That’s what they have.

It’s a great change.

And all of this is happening without peace. So imagine what could happen with peace.

Peace would herald a new day for both our peoples, and it could also make the dream of a broader Arab-Israeli peace a realistic possibility.

So now here’s the question — you’ve got to ask it — If the benefits of peace with the Palestinians are so clear, why has peace eluded us?

Because all six Israeli prime ministers since the signing of the Oslo accords agreed to establish a Palestinian state, myself included. So why has peace not been achieved?

Because so far the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it.

You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state. It’s always been about the existence of the Jewish state. This is what this conflict is about.

In 1947 the U.N. voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews said “Yes.” The Palestinians said “No.”

In recent years, the Palestinians twice refused generous offers by Israeli prime ministers to establish a Palestinian state on virtually all the territory won by Israel in the Six-Day War.

They were simply unwilling to end the conflict.

And I regret to say this: They continue to educate their children to hate. They continue to name public squares after terrorists. And, worst of all, they continue to perpetuate the fantasy the Israel will one day be flooded by the descendants of Palestinian refugees.

My friends, this must come to an end.

President Abbas must do what I have done. I stood before my people — and I told you it wasn’t easy for me. I stood before my people, and I said, “I will accept a Palestinian state.”

It’s time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say, “I will accept a Jewish state.”

Those six words will change history. They’ll make it clear to the Palestinians that this conflict must come to an end, that they’re not building a Palestinian state to continue the conflict with Israel, but to end it.

And those six words will convince the people of Israel that they have a true partner for peace.

With such a partner, the Palestinians — or, rather, the Israeli people will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise; I will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise.

This compromise must reflect the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967.

The vast majority of the 650,000 Israelis who live beyond the 1967 lines reside in neighborhoods and suburbs of Jerusalem and greater Tel Aviv.

Now, these areas are densely populated, but they’re geographically quite small. And under any realistic peace agreement these areas, as well as other places of critical strategic and national importance, will be (ph) incorporated into the final borders of Israel.

The status of the settlements will be decided only in negotiations. But we must also be honest. So I’m saying today something that should be said publicly by all those who are serious about peace: In any real peace agreement, in any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders.

Now, the precise delineation of those borders must be negotiated. We’ll be generous about the size of the future Palestinian state. But as President Obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on June 4th, 1967. Israel will not return to the indefensible boundaries of 1967.

So I want to be very clear on this point: Israel will be generous on the size of a Palestinian state, but we’ll be very firm on where we put the border with it.

This is an important principle; shouldn’t be lost.

We recognize that a Palestinian state must be big enough to be viable, to be independent, to be prosperous.

All of you, and the president, too, have referred to Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, just as you’ve been talking about a future Palestinian state as the homeland of the Palestinian people.

Well, Jews from around the world have a right to immigrate to the one and only Jewish state.

And Palestinians from around the world should have a right to immigrate, if they so choose, to a Palestinian state.

And here’s what this means: It means that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside the borders of Israel.

You know, everybody knows this. It’s time to say it. It’s important. And as for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected the freedom of worship for all faiths in the city.

Throughout the millennial history of the Jewish capital, the only time that Jews, Christians and Muslims could worship freely, could have unfettered access to their holy sites, has been during Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel.

I know this is a difficult issue for Palestinians, but I believe that with creativity and with goodwill, a solution can be found. So this is the peace I plan to forge with a Palestinian partner committed to peace. But you know very well that in the Middle East the only peace that will hold is a peace you can defend. So peace must be anchored in security.

In recent years, Israel withdrew from South Lebanon and from Gaza. We thought we’d get peace. That’s not what we got.

We got 12,000 rockets fired from those areas on our cities, on our children, by Hezbollah and Hamas.

The U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, they failed to prevent the smuggling of this weaponry. The European observers in Gaza, they evaporated overnight.

So if Israel simply walked out of the territories, the flow of weapons into a future Palestinian state would be unchecked. And missiles fired from it could reach virtually every home in Israel in less than a minute.

I want you to think about that, too. Imagine there’s a siren going on now, and we have less than 60 seconds to find shelter from an incoming rocket.

Would you live that way? Do you think anybody can live that way?

Well, we’re not going to live that way, either.

The truth is that Israel needs unique security arrangements, because of its unique size. It’s one of the smallest countries in the world.

Mr. Vice President, I’ll grant you this: It’s bigger than Delaware.

It’s even bigger than Rhode Island. But that’s about it.

Israel on the 1967 lines would be half the width of the Washington Beltway.

Now, here’s a bit of nostalgia. I came to Washington 30 years ago, as a young diplomat. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out: There is an America beyond the Beltway.

But Israel on the 1967 lines would be only nine miles wide. So much for strategic depth.

So it’s therefore vital, absolutely vital, that a Palestinian state be fully demilitarized.

And it’s vital, absolutely vital, that Israel maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River.

Solid security arrangements on the ground are necessary not only to protect the peace, they’re necessary to protect Israel in case the peace unravels. Because in our unstable region, no one can guarantee that our peace partners today will be there tomorrow.

And, my friends, when I say “Tomorrow,” I don’t mean some distant time in the future. I mean tomorrow.

Peace can only be achieved around the negotiating table. The Palestinian attempt to impose a settlement through the United Nations will not bring peace.

It should be forcefully opposed by all those who want to see this conflict end.

I appreciate the president’s clear position on this issue. Peace cannot be imposed. It must be negotiated.

But peace can only be negotiated with partners committed to peace, and Hamas is not a partner for peace.

Hamas — Hamas remains committed to Israel’s destruction and to terrorism.

They have a charter. That charter not only calls for the obliteration of Israel, it says kill the Jews everywhere you find them.

Hamas’ leader condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden and praised him as a holy warrior.

Now, again, I want to make this clear: Israel is prepared to sit down today and negotiate peace with the Palestinian Authority.

I believe we can fashion a brilliant future for our children.

But Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by the Palestinian version of Al Qaida. That we will not do.

So I say to President Abbas, “Tear up your pact with Hamas, sit down and negotiate, make peace with the Jewish state. And if you do, I promise you this: Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as the new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so.”

My friends, the momentous trials of the last century and the unfolding events of this century attest to the decisive role of the United States in defending peace and advancing freedom. Providence entrusted the United States to be the guardian of liberty. All people who cherish freedom owe a profound debt of gratitude to your great nation.

Among the most grateful nations is my nation, the people of Israel, who have fought for their liberty and survival against impossible odds in ancient and modern times alike.

I speak on behalf of the Jewish people and the Jewish state when I say to you, representatives of America, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support for Israel. Thank you for ensuring that the flame of freedom burns bright throughout the world.

May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

24 arrested, 3 wounded in Jerusalem Day skirmish

By MELANIE LIDMAN
06/01/2011 21:53

40,000 join flag parade marking anniversary of Six Day War; despite controversial route through Sheikh Jarrah, protesters face off near Old City.

Over 40,000 people marched through the streets of Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon in a show of patriotism honoring the 44th anniversary of the Six Day War.

Dozens were arrested during the annual Flag Day parade, which marched through the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in a departure from the route through the city center used in previous years.

RELATED:
Police increase presence for 44th J’lem Day events
Capital’s severe housing shortage highlighted on J’lem Day

Despite the more controversial route, police said the biggest problems were in the area of the Damascus Gate and Rehov Hanevi’im, which are part of the permanent route used in previous years.

A total of 24 people were arrested for disturbing the peace, the majority of them Jewish, the police reported.

Three people were wounded from rocks thrown on Rehov Hanevi’im next to the Damascus Gate and Sultan Suleiman Street, one of whom was taken to the hospital with a head injury.

“In previous years we have also had problems and violence between the Arabs and the Jews, but in our opinion the number of arrests [this year] was not small, it was quite large,” Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

“Things were completely under control and different units responded in the way that’s appropriate, considering there were 40,000 people taking part. The streets in the Old City are very narrow, and tensions were high,” added Micky Rosenfeld, National Police spokesman.

The police had increased patrols of policemen, border police, undercover police and mounted patrols starting Tuesday morning.

The main route of the parade began in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood near the Shepherd Hotel. Thousands of participants thronged down Highway 1, waving flags and chanting “Am Yisrael Chai.”

Some participants chose to march into the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on a parade route determined in cooperation with the police.

“This is what it needs to be,” City Councilor David Hadari (NRP-National Union) said of the decision to hold the main march inside Sheikh Jarrah.

“We need to celebrate and live and settle in every part of Jerusalem.

“I’m happy all the youth came here to celebrate our sovereignty in this area,” Hadari said, adding that he was working to expand the Jewish presence in Sheikh Jarrah.

Hadari said he was working with organizations who had already secured ownership of dozens of properties around the Shimon Hatzadik tomb, and that Jewish families would move into the neighborhood in as little as two years.

Even within Sheikh Jarrah, most of the march was peaceful, with ecstatic groups of young people cheering, singing and breaking into spontaneous dance.

Arab residents watched warily from the sides. “This year is much worse than other years,” said 37-year-old Sheikh Jarrah resident Samir, who watched the parade from his friend’s flower shop. “It sends a clear message.

Look at them, they’re celebrating…it’s a provocation. Why are they doing it in an Arab neighborhood?” he asked as a truck went by with a band of yeshiva students playing “Zeh Hamakom Sheli” (This is my place).

Samir said that in previous years, there had been small groups of young people who had marched around the neighborhood, but that this year was larger than any he could remember.

He added that Sheikh Jarrah residents did not know that the parade would be held inside their neighborhood until they saw police setting up barricades in the morning.

“There will be more problems, there will never be peace,” Samir said.

“They just came to make trouble, they scream ‘death to Arabs!’ and ‘Arabs are trash!’” The highest point of tension inside Sheikh Jarrah was at the tomb of Shimon Hatzadik, where 50 left-wing protesters, who demonstrated without a permit, faced off against 50 right-wing protesters while Jewish music blared from the speakers of the yeshiva next to the tomb. Police tried to separate the two groups.

Dozens of right-wing teenagers surrounded an Arab house after they said one of the children spat on them, and started hitting left-wing protesters who stood in front of the house with flag poles.

MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), denounced the left-wing protesters as “racist anarchists.”

“These racist Jews are fighting against Jews, and they should go home,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

Ben-Ari accused the left-wing activists of inciting the Arab residents and slammed the police for being too lenient with them.

In a separate incident, a marcher entered a mosque in Sheikh Jarrah with an Israeli flag and was arrested by police forces. The marcher was taken into custody for interrogation along with three others.

After the incident, Arab children climbed on top of the roof of a tall building next to the mosque and raised five Palestinian flags, prompting raucous boos from the thousands of demonstrators below.

Five marchers were arrested near the Damascus Gate for allegedly attempting to assault Arabs while calling out nationalistic slogans. A woman was also arrested in the area for yelling anti-Semitic epithets at marchers passing by.

Border police arrested seven people for throwing stones at police forces in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Wednesday, as well. The suspects were taken into custody for interrogation.

Increased patrols of police, border police and volunteers were put in place in the capital until the conclusion of events on Wednesday.

The Flag March has taken place annually since 1976, as traditionally thousands of people marched from the city center down Rehov Yaffo to the Kotel.

This year, the municipality refused to halt the light rail tests for the parade, forcing Am K’Lavia (Nation Like a Lion), the parade organizers, to take the case to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the parade was rerouted to begin in Sheikh Jarrah and end at the Kotel.

“This is not about the march making a controversial statement,” Meir Indor, an activist with Am K’Lavia and one of the parade organizers, told the Post before the parade. He said the route was decided as a “technical issue” due to the light rail, but that the parade organizers laughed when they saw how the parade would be rerouted.

“After all the protests from the anarchists, it’s time to show for once who this city really belongs to,” he said, referring to the weekly protests in the area by the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement.

“[The route] just shows how much Jerusalem is so tiny and so close to one another, if a big crowd wants to march, this is the place they choose. It shows how much the city is small and can never be divided,” Indor said.

He added that part of the route through Sheikh Jarrah would be following the path that the paratroopers took in 1967 on their way to Ammunition Hill.

Ben-Ruby said he did not know if the parade would use the same route in the coming year. He added that police would assess the security situation on Thursday to determine the additional patrols needed for Friday prayers and Sunday’s “Naksa Day,” when Arabs mark the “setback” anniversary of the Six Day War.

Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.

Largest underground water source discovered in J’lem

By OREN KESSLER
06/02/2011 03:32

The source was discovered 75 meters underground while workers were laying groundwork for the high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway.

An underground water source discovered recently near the Jerusalem International Convention Center is, experts say, the largest subsurface water resource ever discovered in Israel.

The source was discovered 75 meters underground while workers were laying groundwork for the high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway.

The cave appears to have developed after water seeped in from the surface and dissolved the underlying limestone.

“The cave is the largest and most impressive underground water channel ever discovered in Israel,” Prof. Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University told Channel 2 News.

Frumkin said the water channel can be preserved without compromising infrastructure projects for the railway route.

Netanyahu on Jerusalem Day: This city is ours!

                 Israel Today  – 6-1-11

As Israel marked the 44th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Israel would never allow the city to be again divided.

“Forty-four years ago, IDF soldiers realized the prophets’ vision and returned Jerusalem to its proper place,” Netanyahu said, referring to the liberation of the eastern half of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War.

Speaking at Jerusalem’s Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, which has long been at the forefront of religious Zionism, Netanyahu continued:

“Jerusalem will never be divided. There’s nothing more holy to us than Jerusalem, we’ll protect Jerusalem, it’s unity, and we’ll build and develop it.”

US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders have been pushing hard to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks based on Arab demands that Israel return to its pre-1967 borders.

For its part, the Palestinian leadership insists it will never sign a peace deal with Israel that does not include the full surrender of the eastern half of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount.

But a Jerusalem Day poll revealed that a strong majority of Israelis remain firmly behind Netanyahu’s policies, and do not agree to divide Jerusalem even as part of a comprehensive peace agreement.

Conducted by the Geocartography Knowledge Group on behalf of Israel’s Channel One News, the survey showed that 66 percent of Israelis oppose handing over any part of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority.

A 23 percent minority said they would be willing to surrender Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods, a compromise the Palestinian Authority has already rejected.

An even larger 73 percent majority opposed placing Jerusalem’s holy sites under international control, a proposal that first came up during former US President Bill Clinton’s oversight of the peace process.

Rather than talk about how to divide Jerusalem, 67 percent of Israelis want to simply get on with building up and developing the city as the capital of Israel.

Do you know Jerusalem’s history?

Israel Today  –  Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Across Israel today, Jews from every walk of life are celebrating the 44th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War.

But Jerusalem Day is about more than just reuniting the city after its eastern half was illegally occupied by Jordan in 1948.

Jerusalem Day is the long-awaited fulfillment of the ancient Jewish prayer to one day return to the city where the Almighty communed with the children of Israel, the jewel of the Promised Land.

For nearly two thousand years, Jews living in exile prayed daily for the return of their people to Jerusalem, and the return of Jerusalem to sovereignty of Israel.

Today, we no longer have to say that prayer, for it has become reality. But the world is determined to turn back the clock, to reverse the city’s divine restoration to the Jewish people.

Knowing and understanding the long and complex history of this magnificent city, the “city of the Great King,” is essential to properly defending Israel’s right to it.