The Bible Teaching Ministry of David Hocking
“The Word of our God shall stand forever” Isaiah 40:8

Archive for March, 2008

BIBLE CLUB RESTORED?

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

In the early years of Israel’s existence under the leadership of the late Prime Minister David ben Gurion, he established a “BIBLE CLUB” for the leaders of Israel that was one of the best things Israel’s leaders have ever done. Later, it was dropped from the agendas of the political and military leadership. Some have continued Bible studies with their individual rabbinical teachers. Consider this interesting bit of recent news!

ISRAEL GOVERNMENT BIBLE CLUB REVIVED!
(reported by Israel Today)

Israeli President Shimon Peres has revived a monthly Bible club attended by top Israeli officials, albeit with a twist that those familiar with the Bible club originally founded and hosted by David Ben Gurion may find unsavory.

After decades of only sporadic meetings, Peres this week jumped on the opportunity to reintroduce the club that, as Ben-Gurion’s right-hand man, he originally helped establish, reported Ha’aretz.

However, Peres appears to have turned the event into something of a flashy biblical production, in stark contrast to the more solemn and scholarly debates presided over by his mentor in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Wednesday’s meeting of the government Bible club at President House in Jerusalem featured lectures by prominent rabbis, poetry readings and a musical production entitled “Jerusalem Blues.”

When he first started the club, Ben-Gurion intended it to be a vehicle by which to train Israel’s leaders to relate to the Bible as their divine heritage in the national sense, as well as a universal document in terms of how God expects man to live. He openly rejected the idea that Rabbinical Judaism had a monopoly on how the Bible was to be interpreted, and used the Bible club as a platform to emphasize that position.

The idea was a success, and the club was regularly attended by Israel’s leading professors, judges, lawmakers and government ministers, who would gather to read scripture and heatedly debate its modern meaning, much in the fashion of ancient synagogues.

BBC GUILTY OF FALSE REPORTING!

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Once again the BBC is guilty of false reporting and revealing its anti-Israel bias. Here is the article from Israel National News:

BBC CAUGHT RED-HANDED ON ANTI-ISRAEL, FALSE COVERAGE!
by Hana Levi Julian

A media monitoring organization and a British citizen forced the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to apologize for blatant anti-Israel news coverage. They caught the network “red-handed,” reporting falsely.

The BBC has frequently been accused of biased coverage slanted against Israel; Israeli government officials have summoned the BBC to explain itself in the past.

The “red-handed” false report in question was caught by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). CAMERA revealed that BBC used an old file photo to depict the alleged bulldozing of the home of the terrorist who slaughtered eight young yeshiva boys in Jerusalem this month.

“Hours after the attack, Israeli bulldozers destroyed his family home,” reported the BBC – but it was untrue. The home of Ala Abu Dheim continued to stand unharmed, as did the mourning tent in which his family greets people who come to console and congratulate them on his achievement and subsequent ”martyrdom.”

That, despite the fact that the Hashemite Kingdom refused to allow the Jordanian branch of the terrorist’s family to erect such a tent or otherwise hold public mourning events for the murderer in their village near Amman. Jordanian officials explained that public mourning in this case would encourage violence, which would in turn constitute a threat to national security

Another well-documented false and biased BBC report, detected by a Jewish resident of Manchester, England, quoted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as condemning Israeli attacks on Gazan civilians..

The BBC used the quote several weeks later, out of context, to tie it to a specific IDF attack on Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza.

The news report in question stated that Israel had deliberately attacked Gaza civilians. In the report, BBC refrained from reporting the intensified attacks on Israeli civilians, in some weeks more than 100 rockets were fired at western Negev communities by terrorists hiding among women and children in Gaza.

Israel’s counterterrorism operation “Warm Winter” in Gaza came after an eight-year-old Sderot boy lost his left leg in a Kassam attack that almost cost him his life, as well as that of his 19-year-old brother, who was also seriously wounded by the rocket.

The collateral damage to civilians in Gaza, noted Israel, was caused by the terrorists who chose to launch their attacks from playgrounds and areas between residential buildings in densely populated civilian areas.

The BBC did issue an official statement of apology for both incidents in which the organization had been caught.

ABOUT BARACK OBAMA

Monday, March 24th, 2008

We have had many questions about Senator Barack Obama, the current front-runner for the democratic Presidential nomination. He has captured the hearts of many young people and voters on both sides of the political spectrum. Here at HOPE for TODAY we do not take political positions; we will speak out when moral and spiritual issues are involved and when the issue of Israel is at stake.

Senator Obama’s recent speech about his faith and his relationship to his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has brought a new onslaught of questions concerning his positions. We are impressed with his ability to speak and bring hope to the minds and hearts of millions of Americans. However, because of the relationship to the Nation of Israel, we felt that our readers should know a few facts about his thinking on this matter. Perhaps we will hear more in the near future. This past week Senator John McCain, the “front-runner” for the Republican Presidential nomination, has been in the Middle East, and in Israel. He has stated his support of the Nation of Israel, but has also confirmed his support of US President George Bush’s plan to establish a Palestinian State. Israel is becoming a very important issue in the politics of the present time.

ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVIST SAYS OBAMA HIDING ANTI-ISRAEL STANCE
by Gil Ronen (Israel National News)

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama is currently hiding his anti-Israel views in order to get elected, according to a well-known anti-Israel activist. The activist, Ali Abunimah, claimed to know Obama well and to have met him on numerous occasions at pro-Palestinian events in Chicago.

In an article he penned for the anti-Israeli website Electronic Intifada, Abunimah wrote:
“The last time I spoke to Obama was in the winter of 2004 at a gathering in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. He was in the midst of a primary campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat he now occupies. But at that time polls showed him trailing.

“As he came in from the cold and took off his coat, I went up to greet him. He responded warmly, and volunteered, ‘Hey, I’m sorry I haven’t said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. ‘Hey, I’m sorry I haven’t said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race.’ I’m hoping when things calm down I can be more up front.’ He referred to my activism, including columns I was contributing to the The Chicago Tribune critical of Israeli and US policy [and said:] ‘Keep up the good work!'”

Abunimah’s report included a photo of Obama with his wife Michelle seated at a table with virulently anti-Israeli Professor Edward Said and his wife Mariam, in what Abunimah said was a May 1998 Arab community event in Chicago at which Said gave the keynote speech.

In an interview earlier this year for the leftist radio show “Democracy Now!,” a daily TV and radio news program hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Abunimah said he knew Obama for many years as his state senator “when he used to attend events in the Palestinian community in Chicago all the time.”

“I remember personally introducing him onstage in 1999, when we had a major community fundraiser for the community center in Deheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank,” he recounted. “And that’s just one example of how Barack Obama used to be very comfortable speaking up for and being associated with Palestinian rights and opposing the Israeli occupation.”

The Arab-American activist went on to say: “In 2000, when Obama unsuccessfully ran for Congress I heard him speak at a campaign fundraiser hosted by a University of Chicago professor. On that occasion and others Obama was forthright in his criticism of US policy and his call for an even-handed approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

“Obama’s about-face is not surprising,” Abunimah wrote. “He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected and he will continue doing it as long as it keeps him in power.”

When Obama first ran for the Senate in 2004, the Chicago Jewish News interviewed him on his stance regarding Israel’s security fence. He accused the Bush administration of neglecting the “Israeli-Palestinian” situation and criticized the security fence built by Israel to prevent terror attacks: “The creation of a wall dividing the two nations is yet another example of the neglect of this Administration in brokering peace,” Obama was quoted as saying.

NETANYAHU WARNS ABOUT IRAN!

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Netanyahu: JERUSALEM WITHDRAWAL WILL BRING IRAN TO CAPITAL
by Avi Tuchmayer (Israel National News)

Opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that an Israeli withdrawal from any part of Jerusalem would lead to the creation of an Iranian base in the heart of Israel.

“The Iranian threat (must be neutralized) before it arms itself with a nuclear bomb. In addition, Iran must be prevented from building its main bases in the region, from Gaza to Lebanon, and particularly in Jerusalem,” he said.

Netanyahu has been warning about Iran’s nuclear ambitions for more than a decade. His 1995 book ‘Fighting Terrorism’ contains a chapter entitled “The Specter of Nuclear Terrorism” that focuses largely on the Islamic Republic, and outlines the history of Iran’s nuclear installations at Bushehr and Isfahan and concludes with a chilling warning about terrorist groups and states obtaining nuclear weapons: “(They will) invariably deploy them in the service of their aggressive purposes.”

In addition to security issues, Netanyahu told US Vice President Dick Cheney that basic religious freedoms for non-Muslims would be endangered by ceding parts of the capital to Iran and its latest prodigy, the Hamas terrorist organization.

“Hamas, Iran and other forces affiliated with them will take control of it. They will threaten Jerusalem’s wellbeing, Israel’s security and the freedom of worship for millions of pilgrims and members of the different religions who visit the city today,” he said. Cheney replied that the US administration understood the situation.

Netanyahu also reiterated his call to the Shas Party to quit the government over ongoing negotiations over Jerusalem with the PA, which Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed on Friday. Earlier this month, the Shas party received some 185 million shekels in government funding for its institutions as part of its coalition agreement.

MCCAIN IN ISRAEL

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

MCCAIN VISITS SDEROT, ENDORSES STRONGER ACTION!
by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)

Visiting U.S. Senator John McCain (R., Arizona), all but assured of his party’s nomination for President, says the U.S. would not take rocket attacks on a city lying down.

McCain’s visit – together with fellow Senator Joseph Lieberman – formerly of the Democratic Party and now a self-declared “independent” – has included stops in Jerusalem and Sderot. McCain expressed sympathy for the people of Sderot, saying, “The residents obviously live under very severe stress… Living under a 15-second [rocket] alert is no way to spend Purim” – a reference to the usually ultra-joyous holiday that begins Thursday night.

Asked how he thinks Israel should respond to the Arab rocket attacks from Gaza, the future Republican candidate for U.S. President said he could not “give a good answer.” But, he added, “I can tell you that I believe that if rocket attacks came across the border of the United States of America, that the American people would probably demand pretty vigorous actions in response.”

On the topic of Hamas, McCain said, “Someone is going to have to answer me the question of how you are going to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extinction.”

McCain was accompanied by Lieberman, an observant Jew, to the Western Wall on Wednesday, with both Senators sporting white knitted kippot (yarmulkes) for the occasion. Earlier, McCain visited Yad Vashem, and met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu.

At a joint press conference with Sen. McCain, Prime Minister Olmert said that Hamas is armed and sponsored by Iran and Syria. It is possible to stop the Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza “even without conquering Gaza,” Olmert said, but did not elaborate.

The senator said that as President of the United States, he would be active in trying to achieve peace between the sides in accordance with the principles agreed upon by the U.S. and Israel. He also had words of support for PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whom he called the President of the PA. “I believe wants to gets the [peace] process started,” McCain said, adding his confidence that Abbas “does not support the [terrorist] activity taking place in Gaza.”

Twelve people have been killed in and around Sderot by Kassam rockets, the most recent being Roni Yihye, 47, a father of four, less than a month ago. Five weeks ago, 8-year-old Osher Tuito lost his left leg, and his 19-year-old brother Rami suffered serious wounds to his legs as well, in a Kassam rocket attack in Sderot. The Victims of Arab Terror International Organization (VAT) honored Osher on Wednesday with a visit to his hospital bed, a Purim food package, and financial help “to ease the plight of this suffering family and in recognition of his great courage,” VAT founder Shifra Hoffman said.

TEMPLE HALF SHEKEL FOUND!

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

SECOND TEMPLE HALF-SHEKEL FOUND IN JERUSALEM DIG
by Ezra HaLevi (Israel National News)

A half-shekel coin from the Second Temple was found in excavations in the City of David, just below and east of Jerusalem’s Old City. The upcoming Purim festival features the half-shekel prominently in its observance.

The ancient silver coin was discovered in an archaeological excavation that is being conducted in the main Second Temple-era drainage channel of Jerusalem. The foreign coin is of the denomination used during the turbulent Second Temple period to pay the Biblical half-shekel head-tax.

This coming Thursday night (Saturday night for Jerusalemites), before reading the Megillah (Scroll) of Esther, Jews worldwide will contribute a sum of money to charity in remembrance of that half-shekel command.

“Just like today when coins sometimes fall from our pockets and roll into drainage openings at the side of the street, that’s how it was some two thousand years ago – a man was on his way to the Temple and the shekel which he intended to use for paying the half shekel head-tax found its way into the drainage channel,” theorized archaeologist Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The excavations are directed by Shukron and Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa. They are being conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation.

The commandment to pay the half shekel to the Temple is in the Torah portion of Exodus 30:11-16:

“And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: When you take the sum of the children of Yisrael after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to the Lord, when you count them; that there be no plague among them, when you put a number to them. This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are to be counted, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, (a shekel is twenty gera), a half shekel shall be the offering for the Lord. Every one that passes among them that are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall give the offering of the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give the offering of the Lord, to make atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Yisrael, and shall designate it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial to the children of Yisrael before the Lord, to make atonement for your souls.”

At the time of the temple’s construction, every Jew was commanded to make an obligatory donation of a half shekel to the edifice. This modest sum allowed all Jews, of all economic levels, to participate in the building the Temple. After the construction was completed, they continued to collect the tax from every Jew for the purpose of purchasing the public sacrifices and renewing the furnishings of the Temple. The collection occurred every year on the first day of the month of Adar when the “heralding of the shekelim” took place, that is to say the beginning of the collection of the money and it ended on the first day of the month of Nissan, when ‘there is a new budget’ in the temple and the purchase of public sacrifices was renewed.

The annual half shekel head-tax was later donated in shekels and half shekels from the Tyre mint where they were struck from the year 125 BCE until the outbreak of the Great Revolt in 66 CE. At the time of the uprising, the tax was paid using Jerusalem shekalim, which were specifically struck for this purpose. In the rabbinic sources, the Tosefta (Ketubot 13:20) states: “Silver mentioned in the Five Books of Moses is always Tyrian silver: What is Tyrian silver? It is Jerusalemite.” Many have interpreted this to mean that only Tyrian shekels could be used to pay the half shekel head-tax at the Jerusalem temple.

The shekel that was found in the excavation weighs 13 grams and bears the head of Melqart, the chief deity of the city of Tyre (equivalent to the Semitic god Baal) on the obverse and an eagle upon a ship’s prow on the reverse. The coin was struck in the year 22 CE.

Despite the importance of the half-shekel head-tax for the economy of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period, only seven other Tyrian shekels and half shekels were heretofore found in the excavations in Jerusalem.

TERRORIST ATTACK AT DAMASCUS GATE

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

YESHIVA RABBI STABBED NEAR JERUSALEM’S DAMASCUS GATE
by Hana Levi Julian

Rabbi Yechezkel Greenwald, father of four, is in Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital after being stabbed in the neck by an Arab terrorist near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old Beit El resident is a teacher at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. A student who was accompanying the rabbi reportedly fought off the terrorist, preventing the rabbi from being more seriously hurt.

Rabbi Greenwald was treated by Hatzalah-Ichud medics on the scene, and was evacuated to the hospital by a Magen David Adom ambulance. His condition improved as the hours passed, and by early afternoon he was reported to be in light condition. The Greenwald family has asked that people pray for Rabbi Yechezkel ben [son of] Zahava.

Security cameras at the gate captured the attack on tape. The face of the terrorist was quickly isolated and distributed to police searching the area. The Damascus Gate is the central open-air market in the area and is usually quite crowded.

Jewish residents of the Muslim Quarter – the largest part of the Old City — have been instructed by police not to walk through the area without an armed guard.

Tuesday’s stabbing was the second terrorist attack in Jerusalem in less than two weeks. Eight young students at the Merkaz HaRavYeshiva in Jerusalem were slaughtered in cold blood by an Arab resident of the Jabel Mukabar suburb in the eastern section of the capital. Eleven other students were wounded, and two of them are still hospitalized.

The murderer, Ala Abu Dheim, holds an Israeli ID card, as does his family, enabling them to move freely within pre-1967 Israel, including Jerusalem. They also are entitled to all Israeli benefits enjoyed by citizens of the Jewish State, with the exception of participating in national elections – as they chose not to accept official citizenship. The Abu Dheim family votes in PA elections instead.

Witnesses said the terrorist chased down the eight boys he murdered, shooting most of them in the yeshiva library at point-blank range after they had already been wounded. Bullet holes in the floor where they lay in a pool of blood attested to the truth of the account.

A full closure will be placed on the Palestinian Authority areas of Judea and Samaria on Wednesday, and will last until Monday. The closure covers the holiday of Purim, a three-day period this year, which starts Thursday evening.

The closure stems from intelligence information that terror attacks are being planned to coincide with the close of the 40-day Muslim mourning period for the Hizbullah terror organization’s second-in-command, Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh was assassinated in Syria. The 40-day mark is a favorite among terrorists for carrying out revenge attacks.

Israel’s General Security Service (Shin Bet) also released a statement to the media warning of seven concrete threats of terrorist attacks over the Purim festival period. Police have already raised the terror alert in response to the information.

Palestinian Authority Arabs and Israeli-Arabs who live in Jerusalem will still be able to travel freely throughout the territorY.

HAMAS OFFERS DEAL ON CEASEFIRE!

Monday, March 17th, 2008

Once again, Israel’s enemies (Hamas & Fatah) offer a “peace deal” that has been done so many times before now. Israel should be very careful about such a “deal.”

HAMAS: SWAP CEASEFIRE FOR SECURITY-FREE GAZA, JUDEA, SAMARIA
by Hana Levi Julian

Hamas terrorist organization has put out feelers to arrange a ceasefire with Israel in the wake of an intensified counterterrorism campaign by the IDF in Gaza two weeks ago.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza region, has said it will halt its rocket attacks on western Negev communities, but only on condition that the government orders the IDF to halt all counterterrorist operations in Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza.

Israel previously has totally rejected the proposal.

Hamas spokesman Iman Tara told the London-based Arabic language newspaper Asharq al-Alawsat that the proposed ceasefire also is conditioned on Israel’s re-opening Gaza crossings, which Israel closed following the terror group’s takeover of the region.

The government has allowed humanitarian shipments to pass through the crossings. Tara also charged that the Olmert administration’s refusal to compromise is delaying a deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped almost two years ago in a cross-border terrorist attack.

Hamas has periodically blamed its refusal to release Shalit on various actions by Israel. Numerous deals brokered by Egyptian security officials and allegedly “agreed to” by the terrorists since Shalit’s abduction in June 2006 were torpedoed at the last minute by the group.

Numerous attempts by International Red Cross representatives and other foreign officials to visit Shalit and ascertain his condition have failed. Although Hamas released a video of the 20-year-old soldier last year and prior to that, an audio recording, Shalit’s whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

TERROR BOMB FACTORIES ACTIVE IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA
PA Arab terrorists are also increasing their efforts to smuggle dangerous materials into Fatah-controlled Judea and Samaria, many of which can be used for manufacturing rockets and other weapons, according to IDF spokesmen.

IDF soldiers confiscated a truck carrying 12.5 tons of fertilizer at a Samaria checkpoint on Monday morning. The fertilizer in question is often used to prepare bombs. The truck was stopped following a joint operation involving the IDF, the Border Police, and the Civilian Administration.

Security forces have thwarted 14 attempts in the past several days to smuggle that substance and other dangerous materials as well as others in containers of merchandise hidden in five trucks.

Authorities have detected more that 1,600 attempts to transfer prohibited material, and police are investigating nine different incidents. The United States has insisted that Israel remove dozens of checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.

WHY BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION?

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

All around the world Christians will celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Yeshua! Most call it “EASTER” – however, we prefer “RESURRECTION DAY” or the Jewish festival of “FIRSTFRUITS.” The word “EASTER” comes from the Babylonian goddess of sex and fertility – ISHTAR! We are not into “bunnies” and “eggs” but into the celebration of the glorious resurrection of our blessed Lord! Here is a possible Bible study that can be used – feel free to use any or all of it to share the good news with others – HE IS ALIVE!!!!

Subject: “WHY BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION?”
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-20

Because of specific PASSAGES in the Old Testament.

Job – Job 19:25-27
David – Psalm 16:9-11 cf. Acts 2:25-32
Isaiah – Isaiah 25:8 cf. I Corinthians 15:51-58
Ezekiel – Ezekiel 37:11-14
Daniel – Daniel 12:2-3, 12-13

Because of the clear PREDICTIONS of Yeshua.

John 2:18-22 – to the Jewish leadership
John 11:25-26 – to Martha
Matthew 20:18-19 – to the 12 disciples

Because of the POWER of Yeshua to resurrect the dead.

A widow’s son – Luke 7:11-16
Lazarus – John 11:38-45; 12:9-11
His own claims – John 5:21, 24-29; 6:39-40, 54
His own resurrection – John 10:17-18

Because of the Biblical PRESENTATION of facts relating to the resurrection of Yeshua Himself as recorded in the New Testament.

The INCIDENT regarding his burial – Matthew 27:57-66; Mark 15:43-47;
Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42

The INFLUENCE of the empty tomb

Upon the WOMEN – Matthew 28:8 – “and they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy”

Upon PETER AND JOHN – John 20:2-8

The IMPACT of His post-resurrection appearances – Acts 1:3 – “seen…40 days”

To Mary Magdalene – John 20:11-18
cf. Mary Magdalene – Mark 16:9 – “He appeared first to Mary Magdalene”
To the women – Matthew 20:9-10
To Peter – Luke 24:34 cf. I Cor. 15:5
To two on the road to Emmaus – Luke 24:30-35
To His disciples – John 20:19-20; Luke 24:36-32
To Thomas – John 20:24-29
To 500 people at once – I Corinthians 15:6
To James – I Corinthians 15:7
To all the apostles – I Corinthians 15:7
To Paul – I Corinthians 15:8-11

Because of the PREACHING of His disciples.

Peter – Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15; 4:8-12; 10:40-41
The apostles – Acts 4:33; 5:29-32
Paul – Acts 13:30-37; 17:31-34; 23:6-8; 26:22-23; Romans 1:1-4; 6:4-5, 9; 8:11

Because of the PROMISE of His return.

To His disciples – John 14:1-6
To the church in Corinth – I Corinthians 15:12-23, 51-52
To the church in Thessalonica – I Thessalonians 4:13-18

MAY THE MESSAGE OF OUR LORD’S DEATH FOR ALL SIN AND HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD BE DECLARED AND PREACHED WITHOUT COMPROMISE IN EVERY CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD!

INTELLIGENCE REPORT!

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

ANNUAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: HIZBULLAH IS THE KEY!
by Hillel Fendel

The annual intelligence report, prepared by the IDF Intelligence Branch, with the help of the Mossad and the Shabak (General Security Service), warns of another round of warfare with the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. It could occur, the experts state, in the coming year or two.

The report, which was submitted to the government this week, shows that 1) Lebanon is crumbling and falling into the hands of Hizbullah, 2) Syria remains a threat, and 3) Israeli-Arabs are joining the fray. The report also notes Gaza and the world-wide Jihad movement as threats to Israel, but the most significant danger of all lies in Iran’s nuclear program.

Neither the neighboring Arab states nor Iran are expected to begin a major offensive against Israel in 2008 on their own. However, the situation in the north is highly-flammable, and it is possible that if Hizbullah attacks Israel, this will ignite other Arab fronts as well.

“There are five hostile operative fronts,” explained a senior diplomatic source to Maariv-NRG: “Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, and global Jihad. Iran, the main one, is advancing in its nuclear program and is leading the extremist axis. It continues to develop enrichment capabilities and long-range rockets, and blatantly violates the international decisions.”

Syria is not expected to attack Israel with ground forces and bombing raids, but rather with long-range ground-to-ground rockets, the report states. The price of avoiding this is straightforward: the entire Golan Heights, and U.S. help in de-radicalizing Syria.

Last year’s report correctly predicted low chances that Mahmoud Abbas would succeed in forming a government with Hamas to run the Palestinian Authority. The government was, in fact, short-lived, falling apart when Hamas conquered Gaza from the Fatah-run PA in the summer of 2007.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eyal Reuven, who served as IDF Deputy Commander of the Northern Command during the Second Lebanese War in 2006, told Army Radio, “This type of report, by its nature, concentrates on what our enemies can do, and therefore it looks bad. But the bottom line is that our regional deterrence is better than it was and is getting stronger. In addition, we have international legitimacy for our actions against terrorism, and economically we are much stronger than any of our neighbors.”


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