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** "I will cause many people to live on you - yes, all of Israel"
| Update 14 February |
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A weekly reflection on current global affairs concerning Israel and
the Jewish people from a Biblical perspective.

There is an increasing tension between the word of God and the way nations treat the Jewish people and the land. God has promised that He will bring the Jewish people home and plant them in the land – to be a blessing to all nations, and a sign (banner) of His holiness. In Ezekiel Chapter 36, God says:

‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel.


At the moment a number of legal cases are running before international tribunals in Europe. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, are all places where God’s word is being put to the test.

Will the nations of the world allow God to bring the Jewish people home and plant them in the land as He promised?

Strangely, so many people seem to be obsessed with the idea that Jerusalem should not come under Jewish sovereignty.

The issues are complex, when looked at it from a worldly point of view. It is debatable whether Israel has absolute, uncontestable rights, or that it should “annex” land prior to a peace agreement. (The latter, in my view, at least for the time being, would be premature.)

International law – the “law of nations” - on these issues is unclear, perhaps even does not provide an answer to this complex and unique situation. But it is strongly arguable that Jewish people who choose to live in the land (even the occupied territories) do so legitimately, and Israel definitely has strong and reasonable claims to the land, claims that need to be taken seriously. (By the way, a nation cannot “annex” land it already claims to be its own. But that is another story …).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is considering prosecuting Israeli leaders for even allowing Jews to live in the Biblical homeland of their forefathers. In a bizarre twist of law, the Prosecutor Ms. Bensouda has made up her mind, after deliberating for five years. She believes that Palestine is a state (even though she admits it doesn’t satisfy the normal criteria of statehood), that Judea, Samaria and the Old City of Jerusalem belong to the Palestinian people (not Israel), and that it is illegal for Israel to allow Jews to live there.

Her views are controversial. This week, a small number of nations have spoken out clearly that they do not agree with this approach, and that the only way to reach true peace between Israel and the Palestinians is through negotiations: Germany, Australia, Austria, and Czech Republic being the most significant.

Is it decision time for the nations?
Berlin tells ICC it supports Israel’s position against war crimes probe

Like Czech Republic, Germany argues the ICC in The Hague has no jurisdiction in West Bank, Gaza as Palestine cannot be considered a state; Austria expected to speak out as well.
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In Jerusalem, settlement leaders protest Netanyahu annexation delay

Hundreds of demonstrators gather in capital to demand PM extend sovereignty to West Bank communities ahead of March 2 election.
Read more.. ([link removed])

UNHRC worked with terror-tied NGOs to compile settlement blacklist
The UN Human Rights Council’s blacklist of businesses working in settlements was compiled with the help of organizations affiliated with terrorist groups, the Strategic Affairs Ministry said on Thursday, after the list was made public. Minister Erdan argues that the blacklist will end up hurting the livelihood of thousands of Palestinians with Israelis in the West Bank.
Read more.. ([link removed])

Read Rabbi Jonathan Sacks latest parashat reflection

It’s love that guides our feet along the path to joy.
Click here.. ([link removed])
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“Focus on the future” -
Video teachings by Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer

Rev. Willem Glashouwer helps us understand God’s prophetic word, and how prophecy is being fulfilled in our generation.

Volume 3 episode 3: When the disciples ask: "Lord, how will we know that You come back in glory?" Jesus starts telling about these events. Some of the events are still unfulfilled prophecies. For example Isaiah 17:1 about Damascus. And Isaiah 19:16 about Egypt. Rev Willem Glashouwer explains about all these prophetic events in the future and about the rings of nations that surround Israel. What is it that the Bible is telling us about the way we should prepare ourselves for these events? What can we do, and what will be the outcome if we take the right decisions?

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“And Abram went” -
Video teachings by Johannes Gerloff

Watch this series of teachings by Israeli-based Bible teacher and journalist Johannes Gerloff:

Episode 12: Abram was seventy five years old, when he left Haran together with a lot of people who joined him. And they got to know the Promised Land. They walked the land of Israel.

Shabbat shalom,

Andrew Tucker
Editor-in-Chief - Israel & Christians Today


** SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
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** Ezekiel 36:8-15
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^8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.
^9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, ^10 and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ^11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ^12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.
^13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,” ^14 therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. ^15 No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

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**
Newspaper Israel & Christians Today
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The goal of Israel & Christians Today is to help Christians to take God’s Word seriously, and study current events in the world in the context of the Bible.

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