My family and I had the privilege of traveling to Israel twice with Eagles Wings.
Dear Bruce and Rebecca,
NOT ON OUR WATCH! EW Leads Protest of Thousands at the United Nations
As world leaders gathered in New York City for the UN General Assembly and the "Durban III Review Conference on Racism" sponsored by the UN, another strategic, international event was taking place only a block away. Eagles' Wings led a coalition of Christians, Jews, and other faiths to recognize the importance of standing with Israel, and participants came from near and far to protest the UN-Sponsored Durban III Conference.
While this conference espouses itself as anti-racist, it sadly is the exact opposite. Its bigoted agenda is to single out the democratic nation of Israel and condemn it as a "racist and apartheid state." Though Durban III was boycotted by nations including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Israel, it was supported by many others. More than an hour before the rally was to start, hundreds began to fill the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside the UN. High school and college students, mothers, businessmen, and grandmothers came to make their voices heard. By 12 noon, more than 2,000 people flooded the plaza - coming from across the U.S. as far away as California, Georgia, and Florida, and from many countries including New Zealand, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Finland, and Israel - all uniting together to stand for Israel.
Robert Stearns led the rally, his voice booming through the plaza, "How dare the Durban Conference, this United Nations sponsored event, supported by American tax dollars, single out the one nation in the Middle East which has the most progressive human rights record of all, and routinely and systematically ignore human rights abuses of other member states?" He went on to proclaim the true record of freedom and human rights enjoyed by all the citizens of Israel, reminding those gathered that “there are decisive moments in history when people of basic decency, common sense, and goodwill have to step outside the comfort zone of their daily routine, and step into the uncomfortable place of speaking truth to [those in] power.”
A sea of Israeli flags waved in the cool breeze of the day, peppered with hundreds of signs reading, "Israel We Stand with You" and "Stop the Durban Lies", with the crowd lifting up a cry to those who would try to subvert true justice, by saying, "Not on our watch!"
The crowd cheered as speakers from a broad spectrum of ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds attested to the record of the State of Israel.
Rabbi Yaacov Kermaier, of the 5th Avenue synagogue in NYC, spoke on behalf of the Jewish community by saying, "I want to say to the broader Christian community, thank you. ...Israel and the Jewish people feel that the world is closing in on them. But …it gives us so much courage … and strength when we know our Christian brothers and sisters are there as friends…"
Sudanese former child slave Simon Deng also addressed the rally, challenging the UN leaders who are completely ignoring the genocide in his country and are instead paying heed to falsified accusations against the only viable democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and underscored the illegitimacy of the Durban III Conference.
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset in Israel, MK Danny Danon was on hand and spoke to the cheering crowd, "I am very honored to be in New York City, in front of the UN with real lovers and supporters of the Jewish people…and…the state of Israel, and I want to thank you and bless you for coming here today and standing for the people of Israel who are watching what happens at the UN today."
The protest was hosted by a coalition of more than 30 organizations led by Eagles’ Wings, including StandWithUs, The Jerusalem Institute of Justice, EyeOnTheUN, Human Rights Coalition against Radical Islam, the Hudson Institute, Americans for a Safe Israel, National Conference of Jewish Affairs, and Z-Street, as well as dozens of Christian leaders including Bishop Carlton Brown of Bethel Gospel Assembly in Harlem who addressed the gathering.
Robert Stearns closed the rally by leading in the singing of the national anthem of the State of Israel, the “Hatikva” or “the Hope”, with the song echoing across the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside the UN for all to hear.
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Christians in the Muslim World
News from Jerusalem (Vision for Israel) about the horrific persecution of Christians in the Muslim world. Let's not be ignorant but informed. These events are happening now. Please don't turn your eyes away thinking this is happening so far away. These precious ones are part of the Body of Christ, and a part of us who call ourselves Christian. Please pray.
FIRST THE SATURDAY PEOPLE, THEN THE SUNDAY PEOPLE: Islamic terror groups have long had a favorite taunt which says, first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. This means of course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targets for terrorist persecution, subjection and elimination. Vision for Israel, in an ongoing endeavor, plans to keep you informed of growing Christian oppression across Islamic controlled lands that you may pray for both the victims and their persecutors. Persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is endemic, on its way to reaching epidemic proportions.
A SUMMARY OF MUSLIM PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS DURING SUMMER 2011: The vilest anecdote to surface in July comes from Pakistan, a hotbed of anti-Christian sentiment, even though Christians make up less than 3% of the population. A two-year-old Christian girl was savagely raped when her father refused to convert to Islam. Because her anatomy has been disfigured, she has undergone five surgeries and suffers several permanent complications. Her family lives in fear and hiding. Though this report surfaced days ago, it occurred four years ago. (AINA) Pray for this emotionally and physically tortured family and their child – that they may be healed, comforted and delivered from fear and from those who have so brutally caused them to suffer.
AFGHANISTAN/NORWAY: An Asylum seeker in an immigration center in Norway had boiling water poured over him after he converted to Christianity and would not comply with Ramadan fasting rules. He and the other converts at the center now fear for their lives. "If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you," was the message from the Islamist asylum seekers at the reception center in Norway. The victim refuses to disclose his real name for fear of further reprisals. If Afghan authorities found out about the incident and he were to be subsequently deported he would risk being sentenced to death by stoning, he claims. He survived the incident, but has been left with a severely disfigured back. (Mohabat) Pray for the healing, protection and godly consolation of this young man.
EGYPT: Muslims who were angered by the installation of a church bell, (under Sharia law, churches must not offend Muslims by ringing bells), went on a violent spree, attacking a 5-month pregnant Christian woman and others who were "beaten with iron rods and pipes." Additionally, Muslims "severely sexually harassed" a Christian woman in front of her husband at a bus terminal. When her husband tried to defend her honor, he was violently beaten. Soon after, thousands of Muslims in the region began looting and torching Christian property, screaming "Allah Akbar!" and cursing the Cross. Also, last month, a Muslim gang using sexual coercion to convert Christian girls was exposed. (WCN) In recent months there have been numerous injuries and murders visited upon Christians in Egypt. Muslims who once restricted themselves to preaching hate against those who are different, today feel free to act on their words and have been beating and torturing Christians throughout the country. Egyptian Islamist sects have been known to burn churches and destroy other property in their zeal to wipe out the minority population.
INDONESIA: Christians were forced out of a church building and severely harassed- even as they then tried to worship at the side of the road. Also in August, the mayor of Bagor, Indonesia announced a new reason not to allow churches to open: If the name of the street on which a church desires to establish a new building bears an Islamic name, it may not be constructed . (ACT)
IRAN: The Islamic Republic in August seized 6,500 copies of the Bible in northwest Iran in what appears to be the latest onslaught by Iranian authorities against Christianity in the country. Tehran has been cracking down on its tiny Christian minority of late, so much so even the EU has noticed. "In the past six months," the EU reported, "the crackdown has led to the arrest of 285 Christians in 35 cities. In one instance, Yusef Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor and the father of two, had been sentenced to death for converting from Islam, and the Iranian Supreme Court continues to uphold the decision. For many Americans, evidence of how Iran treats its Christian minority is an indicator of the kind of uses to which it would put nuclear weapons. On a positive note, which again reveals the power of prayer, Iran has released a Dutch-Iranian pastor who was jailed for 359 days on charges of spreading Christianity among Farsi-speaking Iranians. (Bos News)
IRAQ: Kirkuk police, Aug 24, reported they had deactivated an explosive device left near the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Almass district of Kirkuk. (WCN) Latest UN figures show that more than a quarter of the refugee population violently forced out of their homes in Iraq since 2003 are Christians. The number of Christians in Iraq has plummeted from 1.4 million in the 1980s to an estimated 200,000 as of July 2011.
IVORY COAST: Muslims crucified two Christian brothers on "the example of Christ" and in accordance to Koran 5:33: The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes. (Gateway Pundit)
JORDAN: A Jordan-based group on September 2, threatened to file a lawsuit against Israel in the International Criminal Court over its opening of the baptismal site Qasr al-Yahud near the Jordan River. The group, which calls itself “The Arab Union to Resist the Expulsion of Arab Christians,” is headed by the speaker of the Jordanian senate, Taher al-Masri, and includes officials from around the Arab world. The group is upset over the fact that on July 12, Israel held an official ceremony to mark the opening of Qasr al-Yahud, the site which is known as the place where Yeshua was baptized by John the Baptist and which is considered the third holiest site in Christianity. (INN)
NIGERIA: Earlier this summer two churches were bombed simultaneously; at least three Christians died, and several were injured. Muslim extremists with the alleged aid of Nigerian soldiers killed 24 Christians during August in Nigeria's central Plateau. (Front Page Magazine)
PAKISTAN: Under accusations of blasphemy, and with the help of a local politician, Muslims last month attempted to annex a Christian hospital established in 1922 by missionaries. Additionally, two Christian men were seriously injured by young Muslim men in Karachi when they refused to convert to Islam. They were returning home after an early-morning prayer service at their church on August 14. Six youths started questioning them about their faith and later tried to force them to recite the Kalma (Islamic conversion creed) and become Muslims, but the two refused to renounce Christianity. The Muslims got out of the car armed with iron rods and attacked the two young men shouting that they should either recite the Kalma or be prepared to die. They severely beat the two Christians seriously injuring both. The young Muslim men then left, assuming they had killed both Christians, although they have subsequently recovered. The family has not registered a case with police, fearing reprisal by the Muslims. Christians make up only 2.45% of Pakistan’s population, which is more than 95% Muslim. (Alina)
SAUDI ARABIA: On August 12 it was reported that a captured Christian pastor is set to be deported to Muslim Eritrea, where he faces the death penalty. (RSL) Pray for the reversal of any death threat and for the freedom of this unnamed pastor.
TANZANIA: August 12, Muslims burned down two churches to cries of "away with the church - we do not want infidels to spoil our community," and vows not to befriend "infidels." (Front Page Magazine)
UGANDA: A 14-year-old girl in western Uganda is still unable to walk 10 months after her father tortured her for leaving Islam and putting her faith in Yeshua, according to area Christians last month. (J.Post) Pray for this young girl not to abandon her faith, also that she may escape the brutality of her father and other family members who might add to her sufferings for the name of Yeshua.
UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan is reportedly a place where fines, abuse and the destruction of religious literature are unceasing. On August 31, police who raided a Protestant family's home in Fergana also beat the husband as they confiscated a Bible, an Uzbek New Testament and the Proverbs of Solomon. (WCN)
THE SAD, SAD LACK OF SOLIDARITY AMONG CHRISTIANS: A recent study shows 105,000 Christians are killed every year because of their faith. In other words, every five minutes a Christian is killed because he or she believes in Yeshua. It is shocking to see how little other Christians do about it. The most natural thing to do as a Christian, a Christian leader or organization, would be to demand that Islamic leaders and organizations call for a stop to religious violence against Christians. They should demand that imams declare void the many Koranic verses preaching hatred and for the murder of followers of Yeshua. Many people expected many more Christians to write letters to the editor, demonstrate in front of mosques, call for the media to report more about the problems, etc. Local congregations should write open letters to local Islamic organizations, urging them to publicly renounce any religiously motivated violence -- including the relevant portions of their own written religious texts. I will not say "shame on you" for not standing up for your sisters and brothers. Present and future generations of Christians enjoying less security than you are enjoying now will do that. Looking the other way may not be harmful for oneself, if one lives in a safe setting. But letting people in need down -- even fellow Christians -- is embarrassing and cowardly, and it makes Christianity look useless in situations where things are less rosy. Protecting fellow believers from oppression and violence should be the least of what we do. The sad, sad lack of solidarity among Christians must come to an end, even if taking a stand involves personal risk or going public offends those who want to harm you. Christianity is the largest religion in this world. It laid the cultural basis for the richest, freest and most compassionate society in this world. It is time for this giant to wake up. (Nicolai Sennels /Jihad Watch)
“Remember those who are in bonds as though you were bound with them, and those who suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Heb 13:3
JOL SUNDAY PEOPLE SUMMER UPDATE
News Update September 7th 2011
JNN NEWS, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel
“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” Ps 18: 28-29
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” Ps 18: 28-29
FIRST THE SATURDAY PEOPLE, THEN THE SUNDAY PEOPLE: Islamic terror groups have long had a favorite taunt which says, first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. This means of course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targets for terrorist persecution, subjection and elimination. Vision for Israel, in an ongoing endeavor, plans to keep you informed of growing Christian oppression across Islamic controlled lands that you may pray for both the victims and their persecutors. Persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is endemic, on its way to reaching epidemic proportions.
A SUMMARY OF MUSLIM PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS DURING SUMMER 2011: The vilest anecdote to surface in July comes from Pakistan, a hotbed of anti-Christian sentiment, even though Christians make up less than 3% of the population. A two-year-old Christian girl was savagely raped when her father refused to convert to Islam. Because her anatomy has been disfigured, she has undergone five surgeries and suffers several permanent complications. Her family lives in fear and hiding. Though this report surfaced days ago, it occurred four years ago. (AINA) Pray for this emotionally and physically tortured family and their child – that they may be healed, comforted and delivered from fear and from those who have so brutally caused them to suffer.
AFGHANISTAN/NORWAY: An Asylum seeker in an immigration center in Norway had boiling water poured over him after he converted to Christianity and would not comply with Ramadan fasting rules. He and the other converts at the center now fear for their lives. "If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you," was the message from the Islamist asylum seekers at the reception center in Norway. The victim refuses to disclose his real name for fear of further reprisals. If Afghan authorities found out about the incident and he were to be subsequently deported he would risk being sentenced to death by stoning, he claims. He survived the incident, but has been left with a severely disfigured back. (Mohabat) Pray for the healing, protection and godly consolation of this young man.
EGYPT: Muslims who were angered by the installation of a church bell, (under Sharia law, churches must not offend Muslims by ringing bells), went on a violent spree, attacking a 5-month pregnant Christian woman and others who were "beaten with iron rods and pipes." Additionally, Muslims "severely sexually harassed" a Christian woman in front of her husband at a bus terminal. When her husband tried to defend her honor, he was violently beaten. Soon after, thousands of Muslims in the region began looting and torching Christian property, screaming "Allah Akbar!" and cursing the Cross. Also, last month, a Muslim gang using sexual coercion to convert Christian girls was exposed. (WCN) In recent months there have been numerous injuries and murders visited upon Christians in Egypt. Muslims who once restricted themselves to preaching hate against those who are different, today feel free to act on their words and have been beating and torturing Christians throughout the country. Egyptian Islamist sects have been known to burn churches and destroy other property in their zeal to wipe out the minority population.
INDONESIA: Christians were forced out of a church building and severely harassed- even as they then tried to worship at the side of the road. Also in August, the mayor of Bagor, Indonesia announced a new reason not to allow churches to open: If the name of the street on which a church desires to establish a new building bears an Islamic name, it may not be constructed . (ACT)
IRAN: The Islamic Republic in August seized 6,500 copies of the Bible in northwest Iran in what appears to be the latest onslaught by Iranian authorities against Christianity in the country. Tehran has been cracking down on its tiny Christian minority of late, so much so even the EU has noticed. "In the past six months," the EU reported, "the crackdown has led to the arrest of 285 Christians in 35 cities. In one instance, Yusef Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor and the father of two, had been sentenced to death for converting from Islam, and the Iranian Supreme Court continues to uphold the decision. For many Americans, evidence of how Iran treats its Christian minority is an indicator of the kind of uses to which it would put nuclear weapons. On a positive note, which again reveals the power of prayer, Iran has released a Dutch-Iranian pastor who was jailed for 359 days on charges of spreading Christianity among Farsi-speaking Iranians. (Bos News)
IRAQ: Kirkuk police, Aug 24, reported they had deactivated an explosive device left near the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Almass district of Kirkuk. (WCN) Latest UN figures show that more than a quarter of the refugee population violently forced out of their homes in Iraq since 2003 are Christians. The number of Christians in Iraq has plummeted from 1.4 million in the 1980s to an estimated 200,000 as of July 2011.
IVORY COAST: Muslims crucified two Christian brothers on "the example of Christ" and in accordance to Koran 5:33: The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes. (Gateway Pundit)
JORDAN: A Jordan-based group on September 2, threatened to file a lawsuit against Israel in the International Criminal Court over its opening of the baptismal site Qasr al-Yahud near the Jordan River. The group, which calls itself “The Arab Union to Resist the Expulsion of Arab Christians,” is headed by the speaker of the Jordanian senate, Taher al-Masri, and includes officials from around the Arab world. The group is upset over the fact that on July 12, Israel held an official ceremony to mark the opening of Qasr al-Yahud, the site which is known as the place where Yeshua was baptized by John the Baptist and which is considered the third holiest site in Christianity. (INN)
NIGERIA: Earlier this summer two churches were bombed simultaneously; at least three Christians died, and several were injured. Muslim extremists with the alleged aid of Nigerian soldiers killed 24 Christians during August in Nigeria's central Plateau. (Front Page Magazine)
PAKISTAN: Under accusations of blasphemy, and with the help of a local politician, Muslims last month attempted to annex a Christian hospital established in 1922 by missionaries. Additionally, two Christian men were seriously injured by young Muslim men in Karachi when they refused to convert to Islam. They were returning home after an early-morning prayer service at their church on August 14. Six youths started questioning them about their faith and later tried to force them to recite the Kalma (Islamic conversion creed) and become Muslims, but the two refused to renounce Christianity. The Muslims got out of the car armed with iron rods and attacked the two young men shouting that they should either recite the Kalma or be prepared to die. They severely beat the two Christians seriously injuring both. The young Muslim men then left, assuming they had killed both Christians, although they have subsequently recovered. The family has not registered a case with police, fearing reprisal by the Muslims. Christians make up only 2.45% of Pakistan’s population, which is more than 95% Muslim. (Alina)
SAUDI ARABIA: On August 12 it was reported that a captured Christian pastor is set to be deported to Muslim Eritrea, where he faces the death penalty. (RSL) Pray for the reversal of any death threat and for the freedom of this unnamed pastor.
TANZANIA: August 12, Muslims burned down two churches to cries of "away with the church - we do not want infidels to spoil our community," and vows not to befriend "infidels." (Front Page Magazine)
UGANDA: A 14-year-old girl in western Uganda is still unable to walk 10 months after her father tortured her for leaving Islam and putting her faith in Yeshua, according to area Christians last month. (J.Post) Pray for this young girl not to abandon her faith, also that she may escape the brutality of her father and other family members who might add to her sufferings for the name of Yeshua.
UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan is reportedly a place where fines, abuse and the destruction of religious literature are unceasing. On August 31, police who raided a Protestant family's home in Fergana also beat the husband as they confiscated a Bible, an Uzbek New Testament and the Proverbs of Solomon. (WCN)
THE SAD, SAD LACK OF SOLIDARITY AMONG CHRISTIANS: A recent study shows 105,000 Christians are killed every year because of their faith. In other words, every five minutes a Christian is killed because he or she believes in Yeshua. It is shocking to see how little other Christians do about it. The most natural thing to do as a Christian, a Christian leader or organization, would be to demand that Islamic leaders and organizations call for a stop to religious violence against Christians. They should demand that imams declare void the many Koranic verses preaching hatred and for the murder of followers of Yeshua. Many people expected many more Christians to write letters to the editor, demonstrate in front of mosques, call for the media to report more about the problems, etc. Local congregations should write open letters to local Islamic organizations, urging them to publicly renounce any religiously motivated violence -- including the relevant portions of their own written religious texts. I will not say "shame on you" for not standing up for your sisters and brothers. Present and future generations of Christians enjoying less security than you are enjoying now will do that. Looking the other way may not be harmful for oneself, if one lives in a safe setting. But letting people in need down -- even fellow Christians -- is embarrassing and cowardly, and it makes Christianity look useless in situations where things are less rosy. Protecting fellow believers from oppression and violence should be the least of what we do. The sad, sad lack of solidarity among Christians must come to an end, even if taking a stand involves personal risk or going public offends those who want to harm you. Christianity is the largest religion in this world. It laid the cultural basis for the richest, freest and most compassionate society in this world. It is time for this giant to wake up. (Nicolai Sennels /Jihad Watch)
“Remember those who are in bonds as though you were bound with them, and those who suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Heb 13:3
JOL SUNDAY PEOPLE SUMMER UPDATE
News Update September 7th 2011
JNN NEWS, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel
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