What was supposed to be one of the holiest days on the calendar of the Eastern Orthodox churches took a chaotic turn when some 10,000 local and Palestinian Christians, along with pilgrims from Russia, Greece and Armenia, faced off with hundreds of Israeli soldiers and police on Holy Saturday. Police set up barriers in and around Jerusalem’s Old City and at all entrances to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional place of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Holy Saturday, or the Sabbath of Light, is a major observance of the Orthodox Easter, which took place a month later than the Western Easter this year. Beginning at sunrise, pilgrims waited at police barriers for a chance to get into the church. But many never made it to the church plaza.
The large police presence was intended for crowd control and to prevent expected brawls between the 14 denominations in the church where relations are tumultuous. A week earlier, Greeks and Armenians scuffled over rights to the tomb.
All the denominations came prepared—several laymen dressed as priests so they could have access to the church and defend their denominational territory. The Assyrian Orthodox contingent came to blows with police inside the church.
In stark contrast to the respect of Evangelical supporters of Israel who pilgrim to the Holy Land throughout the year, traditional Christians see access to the church as their right and resent Israeli interference.
“My father and mother told me that 60 years ago there were no Israelis, no Jews, no police and people came from around the world and there was no problem,” Nicola Pavlov, a Greek Orthodox resident of Jerusalem, told Israel Today. “The Jews, the Israeli police, have no right to stop us from going to our church.”
Father Joseph Marquis, who led a group from his Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Church in Livonia, Michigan, lambasted police for drinking water while pilgrims passed out from the heat. “We were treated like criminals,” he said.
Police privately expressed their distaste with the behavior of Christians on this day. “It’s insane,” said one policewoman. “But it’s their holiday.”
Today about 14 denominations claim some degree of rights in the Holy Sepulcher and six are allowed to hold daily services including the Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Syrian Orthodox. The troubled relations between the denominations have created the ironic situation in which a Moslem family holds the keys to the holiest place in Christendom.
Apr 30, 2008
Apr 1, 2008
Shekel Soars as Dollar Plunges
Israel’s economy is booming, the value of the shekel is soaring and investors are flocking to Israel for its comparatively higher interest rates. But that is not entirely good news for a small country where many companies rely on exports and the international marketplace, which account for 45 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) warns that a surging shekel could cost companies billions of dollars in profits, cause thousands of job losses and slow overall growth. MAI spokesman Danny Laish told Israel Today that the government needs to intervene and make some changes or the export industry will be headed for disaster.
The shekel is one of the best performing currencies in the world so far in 2008 with a gain of 7 percent against the dollar over the first two months. The Israeli currency has managed to reach a 10-year high against the dollar, dipping below 3.5 shekels to the dollar. It is more than 16 percent higher than in July when $1 bought 4.3 shekels. And the shekel is not just showing prowess against the weakened dollar but is also strong against the euro and the British pound.
Booming Economy
Last year, Israel’s economy grew by 5.3 percent, and it is forecast to grow by more than 4 percent this year. In the second half of 2007 alone, the Israeli economy grew by 6 percent, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
This vigorous growth can partly be attributed to former premier Benjamin Netanyahu who, as finance minister in 2003, cut taxes, lowered welfare spending and implemented privatizations and capital market reforms.
“Israel is considered a very good economic success story, and is attracting capital from abroad,” said Leonardo Leiderman, chief economist at Bank Hapoalim and an economics professor at Tel Aviv University.
The Bank of Israel has maintained higher interest rates in order to counteract inflation. Citing the slowing global economy and its probable effect on Israel, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, an American immigrant, cut interest rates in March. But he also said that in light of the new challenge of a thriving shekel, exporters will have “to find ways to adapt to this new situation by cutting costs and focusing on innovation.”
Globally Traded
The shekel has made its presence known in the international market as well, becoming one of 17 currencies traded in the global currency market, joining the 15 currencies currently traded, along with the Mexican peso.
This means that Israel’s shekel will be available at all major commercial banks in about 80 developed and developing nations around the world and can be traded in global markets in exchange for any of the other convertible currencies of the developed nations.
The shekel joins the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Danish krone, Euro, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, Korean won, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Singapore dollar, South African rand, Swedish krona, Swiss franc and the US dollar as globally traded currencies.
The head of the New York-based CLS Bank made the decision to trade the shekel after visiting Israel in 2006 to gauge the strength of its economy and currency. The decision improves Israel’s status among institutional and private investors and international credit rating agencies.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also gave the shekel the nod, rating Israel’s economy as “developed,” rather than “emerging.” The FTSE Group, a major securities-index operator, surprised world markets last year, upgrading Israel, rather than South Korea, from an “advanced-emerging” economy to developed.
The Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) warns that a surging shekel could cost companies billions of dollars in profits, cause thousands of job losses and slow overall growth. MAI spokesman Danny Laish told Israel Today that the government needs to intervene and make some changes or the export industry will be headed for disaster.
The shekel is one of the best performing currencies in the world so far in 2008 with a gain of 7 percent against the dollar over the first two months. The Israeli currency has managed to reach a 10-year high against the dollar, dipping below 3.5 shekels to the dollar. It is more than 16 percent higher than in July when $1 bought 4.3 shekels. And the shekel is not just showing prowess against the weakened dollar but is also strong against the euro and the British pound.
Booming Economy
Last year, Israel’s economy grew by 5.3 percent, and it is forecast to grow by more than 4 percent this year. In the second half of 2007 alone, the Israeli economy grew by 6 percent, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
This vigorous growth can partly be attributed to former premier Benjamin Netanyahu who, as finance minister in 2003, cut taxes, lowered welfare spending and implemented privatizations and capital market reforms.
“Israel is considered a very good economic success story, and is attracting capital from abroad,” said Leonardo Leiderman, chief economist at Bank Hapoalim and an economics professor at Tel Aviv University.
The Bank of Israel has maintained higher interest rates in order to counteract inflation. Citing the slowing global economy and its probable effect on Israel, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, an American immigrant, cut interest rates in March. But he also said that in light of the new challenge of a thriving shekel, exporters will have “to find ways to adapt to this new situation by cutting costs and focusing on innovation.”
Globally Traded
The shekel has made its presence known in the international market as well, becoming one of 17 currencies traded in the global currency market, joining the 15 currencies currently traded, along with the Mexican peso.
This means that Israel’s shekel will be available at all major commercial banks in about 80 developed and developing nations around the world and can be traded in global markets in exchange for any of the other convertible currencies of the developed nations.
The shekel joins the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Danish krone, Euro, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, Korean won, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Singapore dollar, South African rand, Swedish krona, Swiss franc and the US dollar as globally traded currencies.
The head of the New York-based CLS Bank made the decision to trade the shekel after visiting Israel in 2006 to gauge the strength of its economy and currency. The decision improves Israel’s status among institutional and private investors and international credit rating agencies.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also gave the shekel the nod, rating Israel’s economy as “developed,” rather than “emerging.” The FTSE Group, a major securities-index operator, surprised world markets last year, upgrading Israel, rather than South Korea, from an “advanced-emerging” economy to developed.
Mar 30, 2008
Messianic Boy Wounded in Targeted Bomb Blast
Doctors are calling the continual improvement of Amiel Ortiz’ condition miraculous after the 15-year-old Messianic Jew was nearly killed in a bomb blast at his home in the settlement of Ariel.
“They’re using the word ‘miracle’ a lot,” David Ortiz, Amiel’s father, told Israel Today.
Amiel was critically wounded when he opened a basket delivered to his home during Purim. Since neighbors traditionally exchange baskets of treats on the holiday, he thought nothing of it. But when he pulled candy out of the box, a pipe bomb hidden inside exploded in his face. Officials told David Ortiz that it was most likely the work of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
“[The police] knew right away it wasn’t a Palestinian bomb,” David said. “Palestinians use [primitive] bombs, this was professional.”
Police are tight-lipped about the investigation. The blast was so powerful that it blew out all the windows in the apartment, sent shrapnel flying into the walls and through the refrigerator. The table where Amiel stood was obliterated. Authorities were shocked that Amiel’s hands weren’t blown off.
David Ortiz is a pastor of a Messianic congregation in Ariel, a Jewish town of 17,000 in Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”). Ortiz is openly evangelistic among both Jews and Palestinians. In fact, the Grand Mufti (Moslem spiritual leader) of Jerusalem issued a fatwa (death sentence) on Ortiz for his work among Moslems.
An American who immigrated to Israel with his wife Leah 23 years ago, Ortiz and all of his five older children have served in the Israeli army. Ami is the couple’s youngest son.
He has had two toes amputated and a few skin grafts. But several early assessments including loss of a lung and an eye have been rescinded as doctors note his miraculous improvement.
“The doctor said he feels Amiel will make a full recovery,” Ortiz said. “The doctor told me, ‘I feel you son is going to walk out of this place.’”
Ortiz asked believers to pray for Amiel’s emotional healing as well: “Pray that God will give him the power to forgive.”
“They’re using the word ‘miracle’ a lot,” David Ortiz, Amiel’s father, told Israel Today.
Amiel was critically wounded when he opened a basket delivered to his home during Purim. Since neighbors traditionally exchange baskets of treats on the holiday, he thought nothing of it. But when he pulled candy out of the box, a pipe bomb hidden inside exploded in his face. Officials told David Ortiz that it was most likely the work of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
“[The police] knew right away it wasn’t a Palestinian bomb,” David said. “Palestinians use [primitive] bombs, this was professional.”
Police are tight-lipped about the investigation. The blast was so powerful that it blew out all the windows in the apartment, sent shrapnel flying into the walls and through the refrigerator. The table where Amiel stood was obliterated. Authorities were shocked that Amiel’s hands weren’t blown off.
David Ortiz is a pastor of a Messianic congregation in Ariel, a Jewish town of 17,000 in Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”). Ortiz is openly evangelistic among both Jews and Palestinians. In fact, the Grand Mufti (Moslem spiritual leader) of Jerusalem issued a fatwa (death sentence) on Ortiz for his work among Moslems.
An American who immigrated to Israel with his wife Leah 23 years ago, Ortiz and all of his five older children have served in the Israeli army. Ami is the couple’s youngest son.
He has had two toes amputated and a few skin grafts. But several early assessments including loss of a lung and an eye have been rescinded as doctors note his miraculous improvement.
“The doctor said he feels Amiel will make a full recovery,” Ortiz said. “The doctor told me, ‘I feel you son is going to walk out of this place.’”
Ortiz asked believers to pray for Amiel’s emotional healing as well: “Pray that God will give him the power to forgive.”
Mar 13, 2008
The ‘Messiah’ is Coming Again, this time in Hebrew
One of the world’s most popular oratorios, Handel’s Messiah, is going to be performed in Jerusalem in the Bible’s original language—Hebrew—for the first time. It is the brainchild of Messianic Jewish believers who were born in Israel and who, like many Israelis, grew up with a deep connection to the Hebrew Bible.
“Three years ago I saw the Messiah performed by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra,” recalled Efrat Gerlich, a sixth generation sabra (native-born Israeli). “I thought, ‘Wow, this is something we must do in Hebrew.’”
Ammikam Tavor, a translator and teacher, had been thinking the same since 1964. “When I heard this musical for the first time I was just infatuated with it,” he told Israel Today. “Some of the music demanded to be translated.”
But it wasn’t until two years ago that Irene Levy, a tireless 87-year-old Christian resident of Jerusalem, asked Tavor to officially translate the music so it could be performed in Hebrew, a lifelong vision of hers. “Most of the translation was already in my mind, but to sit down and do it systematically, I didn’t do until this year,” Tavor said.
It took him a month to hammer out his first official version—about the same amount of time it took George Frideric Handel to compose the classic. Tavor took the words from the Hebrew Bible. “I tried not to make any changes from the Hebrew Bible unless it was absolutely impossible not to [musically],” he said, although he allowed himself more leeway with the New Testament, which was translated from Greek.
Translation in hand, the visionaries needed a conductor and a choir. Arie Bar David, a classically trained musician, conductor and pioneer of Israeli Messianic music, was asked by Levy numerous times over the years to take on such a feat, but he had repeatedly refused. “As a musician it frightened me. I know how important language is to the composer,” he said. “I thought, ‘Impossible! I will have to ruin the Hebrew, or the music or the Bible!’”
But a veiled “threat” from Levy finally got Bar David moving: “She told me, ‘In three years I will be 90 years old. Before I pass to the Lord, I want to hear it in Hebrew!’”
The first translation had to be adapted to fit the music. Tavor and Bar David smoothed the Hebrew words into the English-written music, while the team suggested solutions for problem parts. The most difficult piece, they said, was the Hallelujah chorus despite the fact that “hallelujah” is a Hebrew word.
One of Bar David’s first tasks—while he was still working fulltime as a tour guide—was to transliterate the Hebrew into Latin letters so it would read from left to right with the music.
“What was amazing, as I started working with the text, is that it was so easy to adapt,” he said. “And when we sing it as a choir, all the singers say they feel as if it was originally written in Hebrew.”
Bar David, Gerlich, Levy and Tavor amassed a 45-voice choir and secured two performances in the capital.
Despite its references to Yeshua, the Messiah is extremely popular in Israel as a classical work. Gerlich hopes that its message will be even sharper in Hebrew.
“It can touch the hearts of many people in Israel especially because it is already in our Bible,” Gerlich said. ”Now when they hear the New Covenant in Hebrew, they will say, ‘Maybe we have to check this out, maybe we have to read about it.’ They will have to search.”
The performances will be during Passover, a fitting tribute, Bar David said, to Yeshua’s resurrection. “Messiah is about the life of Yeshua,” he said, “from the beginning, to His death, to His resurrection, to His reign.”
Jan 2, 2008
Gaza Christians Face Growing Persecution
Reports from Gaza indicate that the Hamas-ruled territory is becoming a Taliban-style state with forced conversions to Islam and increasing persecution, forcing many Evangelical Christians to flee to Bethlehem and other Palestinian cities. Christians who have chosen to remain in Gaza or can’t get out are growing beards in order to look Moslem, dressing so as not to be noticed and keeping a low profile, Palestinian Christians told Israel Today, asking that their names not be used.
“It has reached a new point,” said Justus Weiner, a Jewish Israeli human rights lawyer who represents Arab Christians persecuted by Moslems. “If I were a Christian in Gaza, I’d be worried.”
The behavior of Moslems in the Palestinian territories “shows a lot of audacity,” Weiner said. Extremists are even threatening Western Palestinians. Weiner cited Isa Bajalia, a Palestinian pastor interviewed by Israel Today last month, who was threatened and forced to leave Ramallah. Bajalia, unlike most Palestinians, is also an American citizen and appealed for help to the US Consulate. Most Palestinians have no recourse.
“No one expects any justice to be done vis-à-vis Rami’s killers,” Weiner said referring to Rami Ayyad, a Bible Society worker who was kidnapped and shot, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children (see Israel Today, November).
Palestinian security officials arrested a member of the Hamas military wing in connection with the murder, but he was released with a reprimand, according to several members of the Christian community. The word on the street is that the leaders of the Gaza Baptist Church could also be targeted and that their lives are in danger.
Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of the radical Jihadia Salafiya group, has warned that Christians must accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, if they want to continue living safely in Gaza.
Christians number only 2,000 among the more than 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“The remaining Christian community is in a panic. They’re keeping their heads very low,” Weiner said. “Christian institutions don’t have anything on the façade that would identify them.”
“It has reached a new point,” said Justus Weiner, a Jewish Israeli human rights lawyer who represents Arab Christians persecuted by Moslems. “If I were a Christian in Gaza, I’d be worried.”
The behavior of Moslems in the Palestinian territories “shows a lot of audacity,” Weiner said. Extremists are even threatening Western Palestinians. Weiner cited Isa Bajalia, a Palestinian pastor interviewed by Israel Today last month, who was threatened and forced to leave Ramallah. Bajalia, unlike most Palestinians, is also an American citizen and appealed for help to the US Consulate. Most Palestinians have no recourse.
“No one expects any justice to be done vis-à-vis Rami’s killers,” Weiner said referring to Rami Ayyad, a Bible Society worker who was kidnapped and shot, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children (see Israel Today, November).
Palestinian security officials arrested a member of the Hamas military wing in connection with the murder, but he was released with a reprimand, according to several members of the Christian community. The word on the street is that the leaders of the Gaza Baptist Church could also be targeted and that their lives are in danger.
Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of the radical Jihadia Salafiya group, has warned that Christians must accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, if they want to continue living safely in Gaza.
Christians number only 2,000 among the more than 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“The remaining Christian community is in a panic. They’re keeping their heads very low,” Weiner said. “Christian institutions don’t have anything on the façade that would identify them.”
Jan 1, 2008
A Light Dawns in Bethlehem
DEHEISHE REFUGEE CAMP– It’s called a “drop and run.” The van rolls to a stop, an aid worker bursts out, hands a box to a person sitting nearby, jumps back into the van and peels out.
But it didn’t quite work out that way this time.
Foreigners are such a rare sight in the refugee camps that curiosity begets questions and an instant crowd. Members of Father’s House Bethlehem, the only NGO in the Bethlehem refugee camps, were swarmed by children and curious mothers who had nothing to do but gawk as the van maneuvered through the narrow streets of Deheishe.
They are advised to keep rolling, Father’s House Bethlehem director Joanna Watson explained, because a new terrorist group in the camps is ready and waiting to abduct foreigners. Plus, there is a Bible and a DVD of the movie Jesus in Arabic nestled amid the food and clothing in the boxes. Moslem extremists might seek to retaliate. Thus, the drop and run concept.
Despite the dangers and increased persecution of Christians at the hands of the Moslem majority, some believers are making their way to the area bringing support and a glimmer of hope to a beleaguered people.
“Even Moslems say, ‘You’re not going to the refugee camps! Why?’” Watson told Israel Today. “I tell them we go because ‘no one else goes to the camps and they’re human beings too. Jesus created everyone.’”
Moved by the need of Palestinian refugees in Bethlehem, Lisa Bourland, cofounder of Father’s House International in Kentucky, set up a permanent branch of the ministry here. They work with the Living Bread ministry of Karen Dunham, who heads up outreaches to the refugee camps.
In addition to bringing aid to the camps, the team is also establishing the Bethlehem House of Prayer just a five-minute walk from Manger Square. An around-the-clock house of prayer in Jerusalem, Succat Hallel, will lend worship leaders while the “BHOP” gets off the ground.
“I believe revival is going to burst out in Bethlehem,” Watson said. “You can see how open it is here.”
The team has transformed dingy rooms into offices and meeting space with peaceful yellow walls and wood trim. They painstakingly turned filthy, dilapidated bedrooms into an adequate hostel for volunteers and they are now renovating the prayer room, a large open space that overlooks more of Bethlehem and an Israeli neighborhood over the security barrier.
While helping Palestinians, this aid organization is atypically pro-Israel. Generally, ministries in Bethlehem teach replacement theology while antagonism against Israel runs deep due to years of tense relations and closed borders.
“We believe in the truths and promises for Israel, but we believe that the Arab people are entitled to the promises of God through Ishmael,” said James Edwards, who works full time for Father’s House Bethlehem. Edwards said people should come over the border to learn and pray, thus breaking down the walls dividing Israelis and Palestinians.
Bethlehem, a thriving tourist town until the second intifada (uprising) prompted Israel to seal the borders and cut off work permits for many Palestinians, used to be predominantly Christian. But the Christian population has plunged from an 85 percent majority in 1948 to just 12 percent of the town’s 60,000 residents in 2006.
In the past seven years, many restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops have been boarded up. Unemployment runs at 65 percent and higher in the refugee camps. If residents in Bethlehem proper are financially strapped, the camps’ residents are in dire poverty—even fellow Palestinians don’t go there.
“We want help—sugar, rice, food to eat,” Aziza Il Masri told us from her home in Deheishe. “The small children need milk. There’s no work here. My husband worked in Israel, but he died. I need medicine, but sometimes there isn’t any.” The United Nations used to help, she said, but for the past six months, no one has been by.
Aziza’s neighbor received an aid box, which looked awkwardly small in her two-room apartment where she lives with her son, daughter-in-law and their son. Their belongings are sparse: a stove top of two burners balanced precariously on a rickety table, a refrigerator and a mattress in one corner of the living room.
At the top of the hill in Deheishe, Im-Nabil stood outside her small home with her nine-year-old daughter who is handicapped. Hope rarely finds its way to her doorstep. Her husband Taleh is an invalid and can’t work. Sometimes friends or their grown children bring them money, but it’s never enough to get proper healthcare for Taleh.
Receiving a box of shoes, clothing and food was a pleasant surprise in the middle of winter. “Thank you,” she said, tears clouding her eyes. “Thank you.”
But it didn’t quite work out that way this time.
Foreigners are such a rare sight in the refugee camps that curiosity begets questions and an instant crowd. Members of Father’s House Bethlehem, the only NGO in the Bethlehem refugee camps, were swarmed by children and curious mothers who had nothing to do but gawk as the van maneuvered through the narrow streets of Deheishe.
They are advised to keep rolling, Father’s House Bethlehem director Joanna Watson explained, because a new terrorist group in the camps is ready and waiting to abduct foreigners. Plus, there is a Bible and a DVD of the movie Jesus in Arabic nestled amid the food and clothing in the boxes. Moslem extremists might seek to retaliate. Thus, the drop and run concept.
Despite the dangers and increased persecution of Christians at the hands of the Moslem majority, some believers are making their way to the area bringing support and a glimmer of hope to a beleaguered people.
“Even Moslems say, ‘You’re not going to the refugee camps! Why?’” Watson told Israel Today. “I tell them we go because ‘no one else goes to the camps and they’re human beings too. Jesus created everyone.’”
Moved by the need of Palestinian refugees in Bethlehem, Lisa Bourland, cofounder of Father’s House International in Kentucky, set up a permanent branch of the ministry here. They work with the Living Bread ministry of Karen Dunham, who heads up outreaches to the refugee camps.
In addition to bringing aid to the camps, the team is also establishing the Bethlehem House of Prayer just a five-minute walk from Manger Square. An around-the-clock house of prayer in Jerusalem, Succat Hallel, will lend worship leaders while the “BHOP” gets off the ground.
“I believe revival is going to burst out in Bethlehem,” Watson said. “You can see how open it is here.”
The team has transformed dingy rooms into offices and meeting space with peaceful yellow walls and wood trim. They painstakingly turned filthy, dilapidated bedrooms into an adequate hostel for volunteers and they are now renovating the prayer room, a large open space that overlooks more of Bethlehem and an Israeli neighborhood over the security barrier.
While helping Palestinians, this aid organization is atypically pro-Israel. Generally, ministries in Bethlehem teach replacement theology while antagonism against Israel runs deep due to years of tense relations and closed borders.
“We believe in the truths and promises for Israel, but we believe that the Arab people are entitled to the promises of God through Ishmael,” said James Edwards, who works full time for Father’s House Bethlehem. Edwards said people should come over the border to learn and pray, thus breaking down the walls dividing Israelis and Palestinians.
Bethlehem, a thriving tourist town until the second intifada (uprising) prompted Israel to seal the borders and cut off work permits for many Palestinians, used to be predominantly Christian. But the Christian population has plunged from an 85 percent majority in 1948 to just 12 percent of the town’s 60,000 residents in 2006.
In the past seven years, many restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops have been boarded up. Unemployment runs at 65 percent and higher in the refugee camps. If residents in Bethlehem proper are financially strapped, the camps’ residents are in dire poverty—even fellow Palestinians don’t go there.
“We want help—sugar, rice, food to eat,” Aziza Il Masri told us from her home in Deheishe. “The small children need milk. There’s no work here. My husband worked in Israel, but he died. I need medicine, but sometimes there isn’t any.” The United Nations used to help, she said, but for the past six months, no one has been by.
Aziza’s neighbor received an aid box, which looked awkwardly small in her two-room apartment where she lives with her son, daughter-in-law and their son. Their belongings are sparse: a stove top of two burners balanced precariously on a rickety table, a refrigerator and a mattress in one corner of the living room.
At the top of the hill in Deheishe, Im-Nabil stood outside her small home with her nine-year-old daughter who is handicapped. Hope rarely finds its way to her doorstep. Her husband Taleh is an invalid and can’t work. Sometimes friends or their grown children bring them money, but it’s never enough to get proper healthcare for Taleh.
Receiving a box of shoes, clothing and food was a pleasant surprise in the middle of winter. “Thank you,” she said, tears clouding her eyes. “Thank you.”
Dec 13, 2007
Palestinian Pastor Flees after Death Threats
With the dirt still fresh over the coffin of a Palestinian martyr in Gaza, an Evangelical pastor in Palestinian-ruled Ramallah fears he may be the next target of persecution against Christians and is taking no chances. Isa Bajalia fled to Jerusalem after receiving several threats against his life and being refused protection by Palestinian officials.
The threats underscore the growing intimidation against Christians, particularly Evangelicals, in the Palestinian areas. In October, a Palestinian Bible Society worker in Gaza, Rami Ayyad, was kidnapped and killed by Islamic militants.
“I was told, ‘The same things that happened to Rami in Gaza will happen to you,’” Bajalia recounted. “They said, ‘We’re going to break your arms and legs. We’re going to shoot you in your knee caps.’”
Two men in Ramallah, one of them a low level Palestinian Authority (PA) official, have been attempting to extort land and money from Bajalia. One is a Moslem and the other a nominal Christian. Bajalia brought these threats before the PA where one official said he didn’t have time for him and a police officer said that for $5,000 he could promise protection. Instead, Bajalia left Ramallah for now.
“It made me so cautious that I started to always watch around me and behind me,” he told Israel Today. “I am sure Rami was sitting in the same position as I am now not long ago.”
Moslem hatred of Christians in Palestinian territories has intensified since the Iraq War and the terrorist attacks in the US on Sept. 11th, 2001, Bajalia noted.
“There was always some element of hatred toward Christians, hidden perhaps, but now we are seeing acts of persecution, threats and violence,” he said.
Bajalia, who was born in the US and is an American citizen, moved to Ramallah—where both his parents were born—16 years ago. He brings in humanitarian aid, pastors a church and focuses his work on the Moslem community.
“There is openness among Moslems, much more than we’ve ever seen,” but the radical element of Islam is also active, he said.
Bajalia, 47, was the first of his four brothers and parents to get saved growing up in Birmingham, Ala. and later went on to Rhema Bible Training School in Oklahoma for his seminary degree. His parents were shocked when he decided to go back to the Land they left, but he said it was a calling he couldn’t deny. When Balalia arrived in Ramallah in 1991, it was his first trip to his parents’ homeland.
“I was amazed at how historic, how rustic the appearance of the landscape and housing was,” he said. “I had come from a society where things were always moving forward. Here it was like time was frozen.”
The threats began after visiting doctors and nurses from abroad volunteered at Bajalia’s medical clinic and prayed over some patients. Apparently some of the patients were plants who reported that the outreach was attempting to convert Moslems. The two men harassing Bajalia told him to stop evangelizing and also demanded he give them a plot of land his family owns plus $30,000.
The PA’s lack of response to his case isn’t necessarily because he is a Christian, Bajalia said, but because “I am a nobody on the landscape of society.” He feels the same way about the American consulate which has received his case but has only been in touch with him once with one suggestion: Don’t go back to Ramallah.
Ramallah was once known for its thriving Christian population. Now, of 70,000 residents in the city and its outlying villages, the Christian population has dwindled to just 1 percent. Of that, Bajalia estimates that at most, 400 are Evangelicals.
“You definitely feel like a minority in terms of the numbers,” Bajalia said. “But that’s the type of challenge I like. These are untouched territories in terms of the gospel and it is an opportunity for God’s light to shine through.”
Bajalia has fostered good ties with Messianic pastors in Israel during his time here. He said that his church prays for the nation of Israel and for the Jewish people.
“I believe loyalty to God’s sovereignty is more important than loyalty to a nation,” he said, stressing that he stays out of politics. Bajalia said he sees the suffering on both sides: the struggle with poverty, checkpoints and the security barrier among Palestinians, and Jewish lives torn apart in suicide attacks.
“We hurt when we see Israelis hurt,” he said. “We want to be a part of the healing process.”
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