Reconciliation Conference

For the second year in a row I was invited to a reconciliation conference between Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians. Last year was a challenging and eye opening affair, culminating in a joint statement of points of agreement and disagreement between the parties but with the commitment to treat each other with respect and love. The purpose this year was to listen to one another’s stories with the hope of building relationships and even working together on projects.

When I learned that this year’s meeting was to be in Athens, Greece, I asked the coordinators about the possibility of meeting and ministering to Syrian refugees, who flooded the shores of Greece over the past few years. Although it wasn’t specifically part of the agenda, I learned that one of the Arab pastors had started a ministry in Athens among the Syrians, and he was planning to bring some humanitarian goods to some of the families. I, Stacy, our daughter, Amy, who was a participant this year, and several others opted to join the pastor instead of touring historic Athens.

Most of the approximately 62,000 Syrian refugees still left in Greece reside in the north, hoping to be transferred to various European countries. Several thousand, however, ring Athens in refugee camps. I was told that the government forbids visitation to these camps. In addition, hundreds of larger families have government- subsidized housing in the city. This is the group that the pastor ministers to. Since there were about twelve of us joining him, he split us into three groups, each group visiting with one family. He explained the situation of the different families. When he said one family was headed by a former member of the Syrian parliament, I knew that was the one I wanted to meet.

It was a bitingly cold and windy day. We met another refugee, who had become a Christian and coordinated the pastor’s work in the city. Unlike the family we were planning to visit, he was from Iraq. In fact, his father had been a major general in Saddam Hussein’s army, responsible in part for battling the Iranians during an earlier war. Following the US invasion, Iranian-backed militias killed his father in front of his eyes. He fled to Syria, Turkey and now Greece, where he met the Lord.

We took the subway to a station near the refugee’s home. We stopped to buy groceries since we were told the father would not receive money, albeit the fact that he had none. When we entered this small apartment, it was packed with a large family eating a meal together. All the women were shrouded in Muslim garb. The father whisked us into another room. Apparently, he had become a Christian a few months ago, but his family was not, and Muslim neighbors were over. So, he would talk to us privately until the neighbors left. We introduced ourselves as Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians from Israel, and that rather than consider Syria an enemy, we prayed for the Syrians. We then asked him to share his story. He began to tell an incredible and heart breaking story of the family’s journey over the past several years.

He has a large family. They lived in Syria near the Turkish border. One of his daughters died in an accident at a young age. I said I had heard he had served in the Syrian parliament, and told him that I worked in the US Congress in the past. He explained that he also owned a prosperous trucking company that transported goods back and forth from Syria to Turkey. I then said interestingly that when my great grandfather came to the US from Russia, he also started a trucking company, in New York city. He said he hoped my life wasn’t as tragic as his.

He was elected into the parliament through an independent party. However, the Assad government was increasingly pressuring him to join its party. He refused and resigned. When the Arab Spring erupted and trouble started in Syria, he sent his family into Turkey. He then ran for parliament again and won again. He requested the government not mistreat the protesters. The government accused him of being a traitor, and he fled to Turkey. The Syrian government and ISIS confiscated all of his property in Syria, though he still had property in Turkey. Near his home in Turkey there was a hospital tending to the Syrian refugees. He said what he witnessed there was a horror show. The Turks raped and murdered the refugees in the hospital and sold their body parts on the black market.

He tried to expose the truth of what was happening by informing Turkish government officials. The result was that he was jailed, and all of his property in Turkey was confiscated. After being released, he traveled to Istanbul to expose the corruption and atrocities to various foreign embassies with the hope that the information would be shared with the International Criminal Court in the Hague. He was told to contact the embassy again in a few days, and the information would be passed on. The reality, however, was that the person who translated his report was a government informant. He decided to send his oldest son to Athens because he knew trouble was coming. That was the last he heard from his son, about fourteen months ago. He assumed his son was kidnapped and either jailed or killed. He went to the Turkish courts to demand justice. Shortly thereafter, Turkish security informed him to leave the country within 48 hours or his family would be killed. Thus, he and his family fled to Greece on a dinghy boat exactly a year ago.

In Greece, he had the opportunity to flee with his family to Europe, but he was told he needed to work through one of the humanitarian organizations. Because of delays within the organizations, he waited, and then the doors shut in Europe. Now, he and his family are stuck in Greece, with no work permits, and nowhere to go. He said he was incensed with Islam. He heard of a Christian organization and started attending a Bible study, organized by the Israeli Arab pastor who arranged the visit. As he read the Bible, he saw the radical difference in teaching between Islam and that of Yeshua, especially about loving your enemy, and thus he began to trust the Lord. It was at this point in his story that his wife and the rest of his children entered the room, the neighbors having left. They knew about his new faith but listened attentively as he shared the story. The children were extremely cute and well behaved. Of course, I had to make a bunch of sounds for the kids and even performed my famous coins in the eye trick (Euros, no quarters), which the kids loved. We asked if we could pray for the family, and they said certainly. When I think about this picture, it’s simply amazing. Here we are: a few Messianic Jews and a Palestinian Christian pastor from Israel praying for this family with the wife fully garbed in Muslim black. We prayed blessings, prosperity, hope and comfort, a future for them and that God would find their missing son. It was incredibly emotional and powerful. Even though I knew the father would not receive the money, I hid some behind a pillow on the couch.

Afterwards, we met with the rest of our group at a restaurant, and the other groups that visited other refugee families had very similar stories. Folks, this is what the love of God is about – bridging political and regional differences through listening to each other, working together and loving one another. Stacy and I are dedicating ourselves to fostering our relationship with our Arab brothers and sisters who were there at this conference, especially those who live in close-by Nazareth. We intend to help the Arab pastor, who has the outreach among the Syrian refugees. While the US government is freaking out about Muslim refugees and the Israeli government is making life more and more difficult for the Palestinians, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The Fires of Incitement

“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37). When we think of the judgment of God we rarely think of being judged for the words we speak. Rather, we think of avoiding judgment by our faith, or being judged by our works. But as you note, Yeshua makes it clear that we will be judged by our words. One of the real challenges in our day and age is to avoid speech that incites. Hear the Apostle James: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

All in Israel and many throughout the world are aware of the recent spate of destructive fires in Israel. This fall has been particularly dry, and last week the winds raged. Fires sprung up throughout the country, devastating sections of Haifa, some suburbs of Jerusalem and in the West Bank. Various countries provided firefighting assistance to Israel, including Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. Investigations are ongoing about who and what started the fires. Some Palestinians have been arrested. At this point it appears some fires started by accident, some through negligence and some through arson. Yet, many of those interviewed, including leading figures in the government, pointed to Palestinian terrorism. I’ve read several Messianic Jewish and Christian reports from Israel assigning blame for the fires on terrorism. These kinds of quick trigger judgments lead to incitement and, quite frankly, are ungodly.

Yeshua said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” When we participate or entertain or promote inciting speech, we oppose peace. Rather, through our speech, we demonize the other. Throughout the ages this form of demonization ultimately led to catastrophes, aka, the Holocaust. Inciting speech inflames passions, distorts reality, perpetuate falsehoods and causes people to do things completely contrary to their character. Take the recent US presidential election. So-called alt-right websites propagated extremist philosophy, enhanced by apparently Russian disinformation. In the past, everyone was aghast when it was discovered that Soviet disinformation attempted to influence US perspectives. Now, it seems if Russian disinformation reinforces one’s own distorted views of reality, then it’s okay.

The Apostle Paul claims that followers of Yeshua have the mind of Messiah. That means not only do we have access to the wisdom of God, but that our thoughts, ideas and analysis of evidence should be filtered through the lens of Yeshua’s teachings and example. Rather than parroting jargon and demonization of others, followers of Yeshua should critically examine everything spoken or written to determine its veracity first before passing it on. Even if something is true, if it unnecessarily demeans the character of someone else, we must be very careful about disseminating the information. This leads to lashon hara – or negative speech – the very thing Yeshua condemned in the Matthew text above.

Finally, with the proliferation of social media and the utilization of the internet to search for news, classical news reporting has suffered. While many applaud the collapse of well known news services because newspapers and news shows are perceived to have a liberal bias, the alternative is a world awash in falsehood. To publish a news story reputable news services seriously vet sources and material to ensure its accuracy. During the Watergate expose of the Nixon Administration in the early 1970’s, Washington Post editors blocked the publication of numerous stories written by the famous reporters Woodward and Bernstein until the information contained therein could be independently verified. They wanted to avoid the dissemination of false accusations and information. Today, unverified accusations and information flood the internet, and sadly many people adopt such views simply because they buttress their own biases and predilections. This can lead to the total breakdown of society.

Be prayerful about what you say, and please pray for the families who lost homes and property during the fires.

The Fall Holidays in the Promised Land

One of the most amazing things in history is to read the Bible and see the practices of the Jewish people in the land of Israel beginning 3300-3500 years ago and compare them to today. Following a 1300-1500 year history in the land, described in both Testaments, Jews were then barred from the land for almost 2000 years. They spread to all the inhabited continents, carrying with them their traditions. Along the way, they added new traditions, often influenced by their environment. Finally, they began to return to the land around 150 years ago and built the modern state of Israel. Nothing reflects the Jewishness of the state more than the various holidays. That, of course, includes the Fall holidays of Rosh HaShana (new year), Yom Kippur (day of atonement) and Sukkot (feast of tabernacles).

The meaning and the practices of these holidays changed over the millennia. Yet, all of them maintain traditions and certainly connections to the Biblical period. However, the practices of these holidays and their associated traditions significantly differ from the experience of Jews in the Diaspora (especially the US) and in Israel.

I grew up in a typical American Jewish home. We belonged to a synagogue. I went to Hebrew school to prepare for my Bar Mitzvah. I became a Bar Mitzvah at age 13. Afterwards, like most American Jews, we rarely attended synagogue except for the High Holidays – Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Honestly, I was never fond of those days. To me they were associated with long, boring services, capped off by the pleasant experience of fasting. After becoming a follower of Yeshua the Messiah and leading a Messianic Jewish congregation where we still practiced Jewish tradition, I tried to spice up the holiday experience with various innovations in our services. Still, the days were centered around the synagogue. In Israel, however, the experiences are quite different.

For Rosh HaShana the emphasis is on a big family meal on the first night. Except for the religious community (20-25%) of the population, most do not attend a synagogue. As I mentioned previously, Jews earlier had spread to all the continents and picked up unique traditions. For Rosh HaShana Sephardic Jews (Jews with Spanish origin) developed a seder meal, similar to but much shorter than Passover. We were introduced to it by some friends a few years ago. Like Passover, we use a small booklet to guide the service. Several types of food are utilized that represent certain things, e.g., dates represent peace, pomegranates – keeping the commandments and doing good deeds. For each element a prayer was constructed. For our family, I found a related New Testament passage for each element’s meaning, and we read that after each prayer. Most of our family was together for the holiday and on the second day, like many Israelis, we traveled to a local park – this one, Gan HaShloshah – a natural spring that spills into numerous pools. Some even say it’s the site of the original Garden of Eden. It’s a great and relaxing setting. Strangely, the small fish in the pools like to trim dead skin off of legs and feet. 

Yom Kippur in Israel is quite challenging. No one drives. There’s no law prohibiting driving, but it’s such a cultural no-no, that hardly anyone ventures out. For Yom Kippur, attendance at local synagogues is quite high. For Messianic congregations, Yom Kippur is an issue because few congregants live near enough to congregations to enable them to walk. Consequently, several Jerusalem congregations gather at Yad HaShmonah, a Messianic Jewish moshav and hotel, to hold services. We were privileged to attend a few years ago, but there’s limited space and priority goes to the congregational members. Our youngest daughter, Rebecca, and her family attend one of the congregations and reserved space at Yad HaShmonah. She then offered her place to us, and we could then walk to and attend the Yom Kippur service at the local Reform Jewish congregation, where our oldest daughter occasionally goes. Most congregations in Israel are Orthodox, and the services are grueling. We were then invited to our friends, the Katz’s, for the break the fast dinner. They also attend the Reform congregation, and David is one of the cantors. As it turned out, Rebecca’s daughter, Lily, was sick, and so we all stayed together in their small apartment. Later, we drove to the synagogue before sundown, where we would leave our car until the next evening. Following the service, we walked back to Rebecca’s home – probably about 2 miles. What we saw was amazing. The streets were filled with kids on bikes, scooters, strollers, anything. It was basically a long continuous block party. Because no one drives, the tradition is to fill the streets, play and ride bikes – honestly, a far cry from grieving over one’s sins in the synagogue services.

On Yom Kippur day, while most of us fasted, we decided to not attend service until the closing one (apparently, a popular tradition in Israel). Instead, we went for a short trek. We ended up on Route 1, the major highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Because no one drives, many were walking on the road. Imagine Rt. 95 in the US completely shut down for a full day. It would probably lead to an economic depression. As the sun began to set, only Ephraim (Amy’s husband) and I walked back to the synagogue for the closing service. Yom Kippur services always end with the final blowing of the shofar – pretty cool. We then jumped into our car again (yay – no more walking) and headed to the Katz’s for the break the fast meal. And there we ate on their balcony, overlooking Jerusalem and the Judean hills, pretty amazing really.

The next night, Sunday night, began Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. In the Biblical period, this was the most popular and celebrated holiday. During the 2nd Temple period it was called “The Feast.” One of the commandments is for everyone is to build a sukkah (booth) outside of their homes and to reside in it for seven days.  Only a small minority of Jews in the US actually even build one, much less reside in one. We never had one growing up. However, in Israel, it’s quite popular to build one, even with most people living in apartments. Many apartment dwellers, who have balconies, build one there. Last night we traveled to our friends, the Hillels, who hosted us in their balcony sukkah for a great meal. Apparently, earlier strong winds blew some of their decorations away. I’m guessing others found the decorations and added them to their sukkot.

Before our first Sukkot here in Israel, we had purchased the structure for our sukkah, and Stacy made the coverings out of sheets – I think we still sleep on some of them during the rest of the year. We’re planning on having some folks over during the week long holiday. Kids are off from school the whole week, and believe it or not, much of the government is closed during this period.  I must say the experiences here for the holidays are very different than what I was used to in the US. For the most part, I think I prefer the ones here.

Persecution of Messianic Jews Rises Again

With the formation of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, including the appointment of an ultra-orthodox leader to head the Interior Ministry, it was only a matter of time before Messianic Jews were targeted. The time has come. Three recent Israeli Supreme Court decisions will undermine attempts by Messianic Jews to immigrate to Israel. First, some background:

All Jews or those with Jewish heritage (minimum of a Jewish grandparent) can immigrate to Israel and become immediate Israeli citizens. The authorizing law is known as the Law of Return. It was first enacted in 1950 and has been amended a few times. The most recent amendment in 1970 excluded Jews who had converted to another religion. In a 1989 case, the Supreme Court found that Messianic Jews had converted to another religion and thus could not immigrate under the Law of Return. Throughout the years, depending upon which party controlled the Ministry of Interior (the agency overseeing immigration to Israel), the government’s enforcement of the exclusion against Messianic Jews was mixed. Now, it seems the government is aggressively investigating and pursuing Messianic Jews for exclusion.

Several years ago, the Supreme Court approved a settlement agreement between the government and a group of Messianic Jewish plaintiffs to permit the immigration of Messianic Jews where only the individuals’ fathers were Jewish. The reasoning was that since Jewishness is determined through the mother, an individual solely born of a Jewish father was not technically Jewish and thus was not converting to another religion if Messianic. (I realize the reasoning is pretty twisted). Our oldest daughter was one of the plaintiffs in the case, and she received her citizenship as a result of the agreement.

A few months ago that decision was undercut. The government had denied the immigration application of a Messianic Jew, whose father was Jewish. Upon petitioning the Court, even with the earlier precedent, the Supreme Court indicated interest in re-looking at the issue. In this case, the particular Messianic Jew was a well-known and active missionary to Jews in Israel. The Court agreed with the government that even in cases where the person is technically not Jewish (because of Jewish ancestry through the father only), the earlier ruling in favor of such individuals was not applicable because of the missionary activity of the Messianic Jew. Of course, the question then becomes what is missionary activity. According to statutory law, the only illegal missionary activity in Israel is seeking to convert minors or using bribes to lure conversions.

A second case was decided that potentially further limits the rights of Messianic Jews. In this case, the parties were not Messianic. Rather, the case was brought by an organization of Progressive Judaism. It’s unclear what religion or belief system the plaintiffs subscribed to, but the government denied their application for immigration based upon the fact that the Law of Return was designed to assist Jews to immigrate to Israel, not non-Jews. Once again the plaintiffs did have clear Jewish ancestry that normally would qualify them for citizenship. In a stunning development, the Supreme Court agreed with the government’s position and upheld the denial of citizenship. The organization bringing the case has appealed the decision to a larger body of Supreme Court justices (the normal case is heard by three justices but can be appealed to a fuller body).

The third case was heard last week. A young couple that we know, close friends of our girls, had applied for citizenship based upon the Jewishness of her father. Again, the Ministry of Interior denied the application, despite the fact that her father and mother had immigrated successfully to Israel several years ago and live here. Armed with the previous two precedents, the Ministry aggressively argued against our friends, claiming they were also missionaries. They pulled out of their hat an old email about reaching out to Jews. Nothing was shown about their activity in Israel over the past three and a half years that they’ve lived here. Based on the questioning and comments of the judges, our friends saw that the case was a lost cause. They withdrew their case just before a decision was reached. The Court then ordered them out of the country by July 1, with their three young children.

As a result of these decisions, Messianic Jews considering immigrating to Israel at this time must be able to fly under the radar or face exclusion, including those only with Jewish ancestry. The government is arguing that simply being a Messianic Jew means the individual is a missionary. This has been the standard argument of the Ministry of Interior for years, but now the Court seems to be in agreement. As I have shared numerous times, Messianic Jews and Christians should reconsider the unqualified support given to the Netanyahu government. As long as it agrees to a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties, Messianic Jews will be targets. It’s time for a governmental change. Please pray for the family who was recently denied citizenship. The decision created a huge family upheaval. Also, pray for a change in government, particularly as to which party oversees the Ministry of Interior. If you know of Messianic Jews contemplating immigration to Israel, please have them contact us first at jcohen@lawoffice.org.il.

Reconciliation

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:18). God’s heart is reconciliation. Yeshua said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” The Olam HaBa (age to come) is described as a place where the wolf lies down with the lamb. As many of you know, we just returned from the US with the most impacting and memorable time we’ve ever had. The theme seemed to be reconciliation.

Before we left for the US, I learned of the tragic death of the son of a member of our former congregation (Tikvat Israel) in Virginia. I knew the son well. When we arrived, I discovered the mother, an old friend of ours, had been wishing that I was around to do the funeral. I contacted her and said we were in the US, and I’d be honored to conduct her son’s funeral. I had conducted her husband’s funeral over 15 years ago. She was still a member of Tikvat and wanted to hold the service there. This created a problem because I had not been back to our congregation for four years. I have never written about this, but suffice it to say that I had huge differences with my successor at the congregation and would not return until he left. He left a year ago. Interestingly, I had contacted the elders of the congregation about possibly speaking there on this trip, and a meeting was scheduled with them a week following the funeral. My purpose was to seek to bring healing and restoration to the congregation. Now, I needed to conduct a funeral there, even before the meeting.

The elders graciously allowed me to do so. The funeral, while very painful for the family – her son was 34 and had three children – still brought a lot of healing for those in attendance. Some were members of Tikvat, and others were those who had left Tikvat. Stacy also sang at the funeral. The funeral was the bridge to reconnecting to our former congregation. The elders and I later had a long and successful meeting in discussing the past, and I was allowed to speak at the congregation. Stacy also played with the worship team. It was great to be back, and I was shocked to receive standing ovations at the beginning and end of my message. Only the Lord knows the future.

During the trip Stacy received a Facebook note from a former member of Tikvat, who left the congregation with her family many years before. They were very close friends, and their departure was very painful. She now sent us a long email apologizing for what happened and indicating that she had recently returned to the Lord. We were deeply moved by what she wrote, and as it turned out she and her husband were visiting Richmond the coming weekend. We ended up meeting over a very long lunch. We hadn’t seen them in over 20 years, and it was an incredible reconciliation.

In addition, we later spoke at a church where another former leader of Tikvat and his family were attending. They had also left the congregation around 20 years ago under difficult circumstances, and again we got together and had a wonderful time of reconciling. It was as if God had planned all along for this trip. Interestingly, on the same trip, Stacy and her brother had arranged a reunion of the members of her former neighborhood, who lived there over 40 years ago. While technically there was no reconciliation, still seeing folks she had grown up with and hadn’t seen in many years was incredible. Of course, I knew many of the people as well because we played softball games in the field behind the house she grew up in (I met Stacy when she was 16). However, the culmination of the trip and the reason for my visiting at this time was for my Dad’s 91st birthday.

My Dad

As many of you know, I was estranged from my parents for 28 years due to my faith in Yeshua as Messiah. A complete reconciliation with my father occurred 2 ½ years ago and a partial one with my mother just before she died 6 months later. Last year my Dad hosted a big party for his 90th birthday, although he held the party over a month later to enable me to attend. That was the last time I had seen him, although we talked at least once a month on the phone. This year I arranged to be there for his birthday. After we arrived, my sister said his health had deteriorated over the past several months, and he didn’t feel he would be up for a party. Instead, we arranged to visit him and bring cake to his apartment. When we arrived, it was pretty telling. He had changed dramatically from when we saw him last year. He was now bedridden, had lost a lot of weight, and I could tell this was probably the last time I would see him. My sister said that many days he was incoherent. Thankfully, the day we visited, he was completely lucid. We had a nice time together.

I planned to visit him one more time before we returned to Israel. I was also scheduled to attend a rabbis’ conference in Connecticut at the tail end of the trip. The day before the planned visit my sister called to say that for the past week he hadn’t been doing well, probably would not be able to communicate and possibly for Stacy to sing him a song and for me to pray for him. Stacy then sent out a prayer request to a group who prays for ours and others’ needs. When we arrived at his apartment, I heard a bunch of chatting from his bedroom. I wondered who was there. As it turned out, he was completely lucid and talking to my sister and her daughter. It was a miracle. We spent an hour and a half there. At one point I explained that Stacy had brought her guitar and could she sing him a song. He happily agreed. She played, “Lord of the World,” a derivative of a famous Jewish hymn, Adon Olam (Lord of the World). He loved it. My sister and her daughter left shortly thereafter.

We were getting ready to leave, and I asked my Dad if he wanted Stacy to play another song. He said yes, and Stacy played a modern version of “The Lord is My Shepherd,” from Psalm 23. After she was finished, he began clapping and clapping for the longest time. Finally, I asked if we could pray for him. He said absolutely. This, in and of itself, was shocking. He was never religious, and before we were estranged, anytime I brought up faith issues, it became a big battle. Even after our reconciliation, he was eager to read my updates, like this one, but instructed me not to send him anything with religion, to which I agreed.

I prayed, and then Stacy prayed. Then, he said that he also wanted to pray. I was completely dumbfounded. I didn’t even know he knew how to pray. He then prayed out loud as if he had been praying all of his life. At the end of the prayer, he thanked God for His forgiveness and His redemption. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Honestly, I have never seen anything like it.

Three days later, my sister called me and said the hospice nurse said death was imminent, and I needed to come. Stacy and I arrived late Saturday afternoon. We prayed for him again – I said the Shema (the most well-known Jewish prayer/declaration) and said when one is dying plus chanted over him the Aaronic benediction. Several hours later, while we were there, he passed.

The funeral was two days later. Two of our girls and our infant grandson came from Israel (my dad had met our grandson – his great grandson - last fall). The day before the funeral we met with a rabbi from my Dad’s congregation, who was preparing the eulogy. Stacy and I, my sister and her two daughters attended and recounted various experiences with him from over the many years.

At the funeral, my sister, one of her daughters, my Dad’s brother, one of my daughters, who also read something from the one daughter who couldn’t attend from Israel, and I spoke. Stacy again played, “The Lord is My Shepherd.” Last September when I was in the hospital I had written a long letter to my father, expressing my love for him and recounting both the years when we were in relationship and the years we weren’t. I apologized for a lot of things. After I wrote it, I knew I would read it at his funeral, which I did. It was hard because it was very personal, but I think it helped many in attendance to understand what happened and how complete the reconciliation had become. I found out later the service was videotaped. If you’re interested in viewing it, you can go to http://totalwebcasting.com/view/?func=VOFF&id=whc&date=2016-05-17&seq=1

Password: cowen2016. My dad was a remarkable man.

Throughout the years, I always hoped for reconciliation with my family. I had given up hope. Then, as I said, two and one half years ago, we reconciled. It was a miracle, and the ending was even more of a miracle. Just the fact that we were there for all of this was miraculous. I thank God for it, and I thank my Dad for his willingness to reconcile and for my sister, who facilitated it. Yet, upon reflection, we lost many years. Our girls really never experienced growing up with them. In conclusion, I would say this to my readers: if there is a breach between you and a member of your family, do what you can to heal the breach. The separation and pain are never worth it.

Israeli Wedding

I realize the title is not too exciting, especially because I’ve described other Israeli weddings we have attended. However, this was the first one we attended where neither the couple nor the parents were Messianic Jews. We had heard of the typical Israeli wedding, but honestly were not prepared for it. We were surprisingly invited by the parents of the bride, whom we had met when we arrived in Merchavia to first look at the development under construction. The mother of the bride was the salesperson for the development, and the father oversaw the construction of our home. We had hoped to befriend them further, but we haven’t seen either one for almost two years.

The wedding was held at the large event center in Afula. I often drive by from work in the evenings, and typically the place is rocking, the parking lot packed. From the street you can see bright, flashy lights from inside. When we entered the event hall on the evening of the wedding, it looked like a Las Vegas show. Lights were flashing everywhere. The stage opposite the chupah (wedding canopy) looked like it was set up for a rock concert, replete with smoke machines and massive speakers strewn throughout the hall.  A video camera was mounted on a boom that kept swirling around; it looked like something used for a pro football game. And then there was the sound. Oy! Techno music blared with a bass beat that shook my bones and overwhelmed my ears. I knew it was going to be a long evening. 

As we entered, we greeted the parents, and then headed to the food bar. Israeli weddings normally include several parts, the first of which is called the kabbalat panim – essentially hors d’oeuvres before the wedding. It was quite an array, and I figured it would be enough for dinner, which is later served in multiple courses. Since the actual wedding wasn’t scheduled until 8:30, I assumed we’d make a quick exit after the ceremony – too late for us oldies. We looked around and knew no one. One of our neighbors are the parents’ in-laws through another daughter, so we assumed they’d be there. Fortunately, they arrived and graciously sat with us – their English is quite good. The place was filling up with several hundred people.

Finally, around 9pm the wedding festivities started. I was already counting the minutes; we usually go to bed at 9:30. The sound volume increased. My head was now throbbing. People gathered around the chupah and formed a line for the wedding party to enter. An incredible singer (very well known throughout the country) started singing very dramatically “Bo-i, bo-I, kalah”  (Come, come, Bride),  somehow belting out the song over the already booming sound, all the while the bass beat was drumming on. An invisible door sprung open fifteen feet above and behind the massive stage, and out came the bride, descending stairs we hadn’t noticed before.  As she passed by, a group of men blasted their shofars – honestly, I could barely hear them due to the rest of the sound explosion. 

There were a lot of elements typical to Jewish weddings that were missing from the ceremony. But because the ultra-Orthodox have a monopoly on weddings in Israel, only one of their officiants are permitted to conduct a wedding. To me this is so odd. Here was a clearly secular couple being married by a rabbi of the strictest of Jewish sects. As he conducted various liturgical elements, almost all the wedding guests were either talking or eating, with hardly any focus on the ceremony. In fact, I was one of the few people in the hall to wear a kippah (head covering) and also not talking. Of course, I didn’t have anyone to talk to anyway. The couple themselves acted as if they had arrived on an alien planet and were just being nice to remain safe. Finally, the groom broke the traditional wine glass, signaling the end of the wedding. The couple were immediately surrounded by well-wishers, and then were whisked to the dance floor. Somehow, the sound volume increased, and the dancing began. The shofar blowers were now all pounding portable djembe-type drums in time to the music (because of course the music needed MORE bottom).  Stacy wandered over to watch, and was ultimately politely pushed out of the way by the videographer operating his twenty-foot boom camera. I was reeling from the flashing lights and booming sound.

As soon as she got back to the table, we exited stage left, profusely thanking our neighbors for sitting with us. I don’t want to sound ungracious because the fact that the parents invited us was quite touching, especially in light of the fact that no one else from the neighborhood apparently came.

I left the wedding thinking how disturbing the monopolistic control of the ultra-Orthodox is here in Israel. If the couple had real options, they may have chosen a religious figure more suitable to them, and thus more meaningful to them and their friends and family. It’s very possible that where a couple is more religious that the ceremony would be taken more seriously. When you consider this is the most important event in one’s life, it needs to be meaningful. As Adam said when he saw Eve in the Garden of Eden, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Family News

Throughout the years, I’ve avoided speaking of my family a lot to protect their privacy. This is especially important when in ministry, where one’s life is already in a fishbowl. Nevertheless, people genuinely want to know how our family is doing, particularly in light of the fact that our entire family moved to Israel, interestingly, independent of one another. So, here’s an update on them:

Our oldest daughter, Amy, and her husband, Ephrem, live outside of Jerusalem. Amy works for Israel’s Foreign Ministry in international development. Ephrem had been volunteering for an Israeli non-profit that assists Ethiopia in sanitation and health issues. In December the agency sent Ephrem to Ethiopia to do some on-site training of student volunteers in the areas of monitoring and evaluation. His background is in these fields.  Because of his work, they offered him a part-time job that began last month. It’s completely in his area of statistical analysis where he reviews data and drafts reports that enable the agency to more effectively administer their programs. Please pray for the job to turn into a full time one. His trip to Ethiopia overlapped Stacy’s birthday on December 24. On that particular day he was visiting one of the project’s schools. Because he couldn’t be at Stacy’s birthday party, he got the Ethiopian children to wish Stacy a happy birthday from Ethiopia. It made her day. 

Our middle daughter, Jennifer, her husband, Judah, and their children, Silan and Eshel, live not far from us in Shadmot Devorah, a moshav, just outside of the village, Kfar Tavor. Kfar Tavor is mostly known for it being located at the base of Har Tavor (Mount Tavor or Tabor). Har Tavor is where Barak defeated Sisera in battle as recorded in the Biblical Book of Judges, and where the judge, Deborah, guided the Israelites. It’s also viewed by many as the Mount of Transfiguration in the New Testament, where Yeshua revealed his divine nature to a few of his followers. Judah works as a wine-maker in the Golan Heights Winery. After maternity leave, Jennifer was able to resume her job with an American consulting company in IT consulting. She has worked for them for the past two years. Silan is in gan, kindergarten, on the moshav. She loves it and is rapidly learning Hebrew. The kids love her. They speak to her in Hebrew, and she speaks to them in English, and everyone gets along, the reverse of the Tower of Babel. Eshel, well, he’s hanging out. I’m prepping him for a baseball career, probably tough in Israel, though. They attend Ohalei Rachamim Congregation near Haifa, where Judah’s dad is one of the leaders.

Our youngest daughter, Rebecca, her husband, Jonah, and their daughter, Lily, live outside of Jerusalem, actually one block from Amy and Ephrem. Rebecca works for a medical laboratory in Herzliya, on the Mediterranean coast, and works for the cousin of a member of our former congregation in Virginia. She oversees drug protocols, as they test new, various drugs to combat diseases, including cancer. Jonah works as a tour operator for one of the largest tour agencies in Israel, Sar El, owned by a Messianic Jew. He’s responsible for the increasingly large Asian market. It’s always funny talking with him about what different Asian countries are looking for in a tour, and the types of demands they put upon those organizing the tours. Like Silan, Lily is also in gan, although hers is more like a pre-school. She also loves it. Because she’s still learning to talk, she often merges Hebrew from gan with English. So, she’ll say, “ayfoh Silan,” “where’s Silan.” They attend a Messianic Jewish congregation in Jerusalem.

Stacy is the savta (grandmother) of the children and will begin taking care of Eshel once a week, beginning this week, while Jennifer resumes her job. In addition, she’s busy sewing for the grandchildren and other folks, teaching English and piano and managing me, no small task. The girls started a What’s App family group for us to all be able to communicate with one another.  What’s App is an Israeli invention (phone app), where you can communicate quickly with text messages.   So my What’s App is continually pinging, even when I’m in meetings, because everyone is communicating about our latest plans, as well as discussing politics, both American and Israeli.   While life has its challenges here, it’s amazing to have our whole family together in this country.

Aliyah News

Aliyah is the term for the process of when Jews immigrate to Israel. The primary law of immigration to Israel is known as the Law of Return. This law enables anyone who can prove they have at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel and to immediately become an Israeli citizen. The one caveat to the law is where one has converted to another religion. According to a 1989 Israeli Supreme Court case, a Messianic Jew is one who has converted to another religion, and thus is not entitled to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. Regardless of the decision, thousands of Messianic Jews have immigrated to Israel. Most of the time immigration authorities are unaware of theirs or anyone else’s faith, for that matter.

From North America most Jews who immigrate to Israel go through an organization called Nefesh B’Nefesh (soul by soul), where the application is initiated in North America and where the organization assists the applicant to move to Israel. Several years ago Nefesh B’Nefesh instituted a policy that when someone applies for immigration through them, the agency asks whether the Jewish applicant is Messianic. If so, they would not approve the application. However, for those who sought to immigrate to Israel while in Israel, they would apply for immigration directly to the Ministry of Interior. Most Messianic Jews immigrated in this manner, including us.

Just two weeks ago, the situation changed. It actually occurred the very day one of my law partners accompanied a Messianic Jew to the Ministry of Interior to submit their application for Aliyah. While waiting for the interview, a Ministry of Interior clerk posted a large sign on the wall that said the Ministry would no longer take applications for Aliyah. Rather, the applicant was directed to the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem. This was a stunning and unprecedented development. My law partner confronted the manager of the local office and demanded the applicant’s case be considered there. The manager said they no longer had the authority to receive the application, but they agreed to review it to make sure all the paperwork was there. While discussing the application, the clerk said the Jewish Agency promised that cases of Aliyah would be decided in two weeks (instead of the normal six weeks or more). The clerk also said the motivation behind the change was to flesh out Messianic Jews through the interview process. These changes happen to coincide with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent appointment of Aryeh Deri, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi and convicted felon, to the Minister of the Interior. He is a well-known antagonist to Messianic Jews.

Of course, these changes also occurred concurrently with the flap over the Mike Bickle endorsement of Ted Cruz for Republican Presidential nominee. The report claimed that Mike Bickle made statements about God using the Holocaust as a form of judgment against the Jewish people. Naturally, in Israel’s media connections were made between Mike Bickle and Messianic Jews because he is supportive of Messianic Jews. Just to clarify, I don’t know Mike Bickle personally. However, I am familiar with him. Generally, he is very supportive of Israel and the Jewish people. But his theology, shared by others in Evangelical Christendom, sees some type of future holocaust of the Jews, as prophesied in the Bible. More importantly, however, his goal is to rescue Jews not harm them.  Additionally, adding insult to injury for the Messianic Jewish movement here, the last of the Oregon revolutionary holdouts proclaimed himself a Messianic Jew. Just what we needed. He’s not Jewish, however. But this type of publicity makes crackdowns against Messianic Jews in Israel seem sensible.

It’s too early to tell exactly what will happen to Aliyah cases filed in Israel. But clearly the situation has changed and for the worse. If you know of a Messianic Jew planning on making Aliyah, please have him/her contact us.

Is There Hope for Arabs and Jews

There were about thirty of us, split evenly between Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians, gathered on Cyprus at an idyllic location on the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, had the weather been warmer, we probably wouldn’t have gotten anything done. We were invited to participate in a discussion about building bridges between the two communities. In an ideal world, this would seem like a collegial group, but the Israeli/Palestinian crisis deeply affects how each side perceives and relates to the other.

I actually knew very few people, although I had heard of some. The one exception was a good friend of ours, who kept saying he was neither a pastor nor theologian but who contributed a lot. The groups also were almost evenly split between young people, dubbed the new generation, and the oldies but goldies, dubbed pastors and theologians. In fact, I may have been the oldest person there. I wanted to add in rabbis, but that would have further complicated an already very complicated situation and meeting. The meeting was sponsored by the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. Apparently, the Lausanne Congress has been involved in numerous reconciliation efforts around the world. This was the second meeting of its kind, the first being held last year that had also included a number of those in attendance.

The goal of the conference was to hear the issues and narratives of each side and to attempt at some point to build what’s called a bridging narrative that reflects the situation in Israel from both perspectives. Ultimately, the goal is to build relationships with the hope that the terrible divide between Jews and Arabs in the land can be bridged.

Prior to the conference, we’d been tasked to read numerous papers about reconciliation and the perspectives of each side. Some of the authors made presentations at the conference to which we were expected to respond. The Arabs were comprised of Christian leaders and pastors from both Israel and the territories. The Jews included many who had served in the Israeli military, which is seen as an occupying force by the Arabs located in the West Bank. The actual sessions were led by two British theologians, both from Northern Ireland, who had participated in reconciliation efforts between Catholics and Protestants in that country. The specific goal of the conference was to issue a paper agreed to by both sides.

The days consisted of huge meals in the hotel dining room, where we all sat together, interspersed with a series of meetings. One afternoon we took a break and went to Larnaca, one of Cyprus’ main cities, toured part of the city and ate dinner at a local restaurant – more of that later. Each morning we had a time of worship and prayer, followed by a short message from the Bible.  They were led alternately by Jews and Arabs. The room was divided into four tables where we had assigned seats. After each message, our individual groups were to respond to the message and pray for one another. Interspersed were times where each member of the group shared his/her personal journey or story. Often, the messages were quite challenging and moving.

Following the Bible discussion time, a Jew and an Arab would summarize a paper he/she had prepared for the readings. We were then given the ability to ask questions and make comments. It was during these times that things got challenging. Perspectives on the Bible, the land of Israel, the place of Jewish people in God’s economy, the treatment of the Arabs in both Israel and the territories and views on Israel’s control of the territories were shared from both sides, leading to lively and sometimes heated discussions. Despite the differences, everyone spoke with a lot of grace and compassion – something that Donald Trump could learn.

Personally, I had earlier come to the conclusion that the West Bank situation was intolerable. I have for many years believed in some type of two-state solution. So, hearing the Arabs explain their daily experiences with what they call the occupation was sad but not new information for me. What I found most challenging was the very Christian atmosphere of the entire event. The terminology, the style, the atmosphere and the content lacked anything Jewish, despite the fact that half of the participants were Jews. Sadly, in Israel most Messianic Jews are simply Christians who speak Hebrew. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing bad about being Christian, but I expect when Jews participate in an event, they bring to the table their unique Jewishness, even if they share in the belief that Yeshua is the Messiah. From the get-go, I felt uncomfortable, and after a while, began to voice my discomfort. Some of my most intense conversations were with other Messianic Jews, as I attempted to explain Messianic Jewish theology. For some, including some of the leaders, it seemed like it was the first time they had ever heard of such a thing. In fact, the most explosive confrontation occurred when one of the younger Messianic Jews called Judaism a false religion. My more observantly Jewish friend almost blew a gasket, and severely challenged that statement. The moderator even said that it was out of bounds, and the guy apologized. Later, he individually apologized to each person, a very menschy thing to do.

Notwithstanding the above, the Arab positions also were very challenging. From my perspective, the most disturbing presentation was from an Arab theologian, who not only challenged our perspective that the Bible promises the land of Israel to the Jewish people, but said that he, as a spiritual heir of Abraham, by virtue of his faith in the Messiah, is thus also entitled to the land. For me, that was over the top, and I said so. I said that as a matter of ethics I understand, sympathize and want to assist the Palestinian Arabs in self-identity, but his interpretation of certain New Testament passages sounded like those of the Church Fathers, which led to the 1800 years of Christian anti-Semitism. Of course, he vehemently disagreed.

Fortunately, the group was open to my wife, Stacy, accompanying me to this conference – I only had to pay her way. I didn’t really want her to stay alone in Israel. Besides, she is more interested in the Arab situation than I am. The only problem was they wouldn’t allow her to attend the sessions, even as a silent observer. I wasn’t too excited about that, but as it turned out, it was probably better for the both of us. There were numerous coffee breaks in the meetings, so it gave me a chance to run up to our room and debrief with her. She, of course, joined us for all meals and fellowship times and got to know the people well. In light of our personalities, it was probably best for both of us, and it certainly helped me process the difficult interactions.

As the days progressed, relationships definitely were forged between the two sides. I came to really appreciate these Arab leaders. As I mentioned, on Wednesday we took a break and visited the city of Larnaca, where our hotel was located. Unfortunately, it was bitter cold, and apparently, without our knowledge, the government had just passed an ordinance shutting down all shops on Wednesday afternoons – not sure why. I guess Israel is not the only country with strange laws. We still walked the streets. We viewed an old Ottoman fort and then visited the outside of the church of St. Lazarus. I was curious about this church and St. Lazarus. Of course, Lazarus is the man whose death is recorded in the New Testament, and whom Yeshua raised from the dead. I wondered if this was the same guy, and, if so, what was he doing in Cyprus?  As it turns out, according to tradition, he fled Israel during persecution in the middle of the First Century, and later became a bishop of the church in Cyprus. I always think it curious how a normal Jewish guy becomes a saint, has an icon made of him that looks like a washed out monk from the Middle Ages and then has a massive church built on his remains. But there you have it. The church was built in 890. 

We still had a lot of time before dinner, so a group of us made our way to a pub, and I had a tequila mockingbird (a great play on words and actually an excellent drink). From there we went to a fish restaurant and had a wonderful time together. During the last two days we started working on a joint statement. It was challenging. Again, it was a very Christian statement, and I felt uncomfortable with the knowledge that the sponsors wanted us to sign it. I and my observant Jewish friend kept recommending changes – many of which were accepted. The statement is quite long. Generally, it affirms our unity as followers of Yeshua. It demands us to attempt to maintain unity even during times of conflict. It acknowledges our differences in perspectives. It commits us to treat the other with honor and respect. It recognizes our differences in how we understand ourselves, our histories and our theologies. It calls us to seek a bridging understanding, and then from the younger generation it commits all of us to work together for God’s purposes. In the end it was an impressive statement to which I will sign. It’s amazing and, honestly, miraculous that we achieved the final product.

I’m not sure what my involvement will be in the future. I certainly support this and similar efforts. For the time being, it was a time well spent.

Four Years

Well, it’s been four years since we said goodbye to our congregation in Virginia and to all our good friends to make the move to Israel in obedience to God’s call. On the anniversary of our move, I recalled the day we left our house and traveled to our former synagogue. There, a number of congregants and good friends gathered to escort us to the airport. It was a painful and sad day. I must admit I still miss many of them. Change is hard, and our integration into our new life has been challenging. I remember speaking to the family of Russian friends in Richmond, who said despite being in the US for over 20 years, they still didn’t feel at home. Ouch! That’s sobering.

The Torah portions over the past few weeks have been about Joseph. Joseph, of course, was forcibly transplanted to another land, and then underwent terrible experiences before God used all of them to put him into the position to which God called him. Nothing that we’ve been through is comparable.  However, the transplantation to a new country, land, culture and language is traumatic. Fortunately for Joseph, his relocation occurred at a young age. According to the story, he fully embraced Egyptian life after his ascension to a government minister. It’s seen in the naming of his children – Manasseh, likely derived from the Hebrew for forget, as he states, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household,” and Ephraim, likely meaning twice fruitful, as Joseph states, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

For us, of course, the relocation occurred at a much older age, making full integration more difficult. Nevertheless, as has been noted in previous updates, progress is being made.  One of our goals was to worship God through Yeshua in distinctly Jewish ways. Most of the congregations in Israel are closer to Hebrew speaking churches. Consequently, we started a small group (Adonai Shamah) in our house that meets every other week, in the beginning comprised mostly of former congregants who moved to Israel. Over the past two years a few other couples have joined us, and now we meet in at least three locations around the country. We actually had a nice sized group last Shabbat in Netanya (one of our locations) for a late afternoon service (mincha) and a Hanukkah celebration and dinner.  We hope to see this group grow, especially with younger families.

Another goal was to be near to our children and be a blessing to them. We’ve always been a close family, but for many years lived in different countries. That changed with our move and then our middle daughter’s move with her family back to Israel a few months ago. All three of our girls are married, and two have children. For our daughter who lives close to us, we often watch her kids. I recently thought how strange it was that each member of our family immigrated to Israel separately and independently of the other, and now we’re all together in a completely different country from where we started. It’s a huge blessing and close to unique among most of our friends who have also immigrated to Israel.

To survive here our goal was integration into Israeli life, primarily by entering the job market. For me, it is the practice of law; for Stacy, teaching. As some may recall, the biggest obstacle to practicing law was the requirement of passing the Israeli Bar exam in Hebrew. While I idealistically hoped I could manage such a thing, after struggling with the language, honestly, that was a pipe dream. However, three months after we moved here, the Israeli government passed a law allowing foreign lawyers to practice here as long as they passed an ethics exam, given in English. Eight months later, I became a licensed foreign lawyer in Israel. A few months after that I opened a law practice with two other believers, Cohen, Pex, Brosh Law Offices.

The practice grew slowly at first but now is pretty well known. My practice areas are US immigration law, US tax law and Social Security. As a foreign lawyer, I am limited to practice the law of my original country. The other two lawyers are full Israeli lawyers and practice immigration to Israel, business, real estate, administrative and constitutional law. Because most of my clients want to move to the US, most speak English (thank God), and, if they don’t, my partners translate for me. If you googled immigration to the US in Hebrew, our firm shows up three times on the first page of Google. Pretty amazing!

In the next few weeks we are moving offices to a very nice facility, where we will share offices with numerous other Israelis. This should open opportunities for more business and also hopefully provide opportunities for our office mates to learn about our faith. Up to now we’ve been sequestered in a small space of a rundown facility, which I’ve written about extensively.

Stacy continues to improve in Hebrew. Some neighbors speak exclusively to her in Hebrew – quite an accomplishment. She also has several students in both English and piano. For most of them, she travels around the north of the country, including Nazareth. At some point we will need a second car. Cars in Israel are taxed at over 100%, and insurance and gas are much more expensive than in the US. So, two car ownership is financially taxing, although most in our neighborhood have two cars, not sure how though.

The last goal was to be involved in Israeli politics. I grew up in a political home. My father worked for President Nixon. In my early work years, I worked in the US Congress. When I entered the ministry, I left the political world behind but not my love for politics. I have always followed it closely. Before immigrating, I believed God wanted me to assist the Messianic Jewish community in the Israeli political world. Messianic Jews historically have been marginalized in Israel, and are the one group of Jews that legally are barred from immigration.

A few months ago I contacted a leader in the Yesh Atid party (a centrist party) about getting involved. Approximately, a month ago I attended a party meeting of English speakers. They wanted us to organize meetings of English speakers to which the party would send a Member of the Knesset to speak. The goal obviously is to increase the support of the party. I am now in the process of setting up three different meetings in different parts of the country, largely to be comprised of Messianic Jews. Just today I contacted the party with plans for two specific meetings and mentioned that most in attendance would be Messianic Jews. I wanted them to know so that whatever Knesset member comes, he or she would not be blindsided and be prepared to answer questions about discrimination.

While Joseph in the Bible saw his fortunes change in one day, our experience probably is more typical, slowly, step by step. It’s still strange and uncomfortable, but God has been faithful to accomplish what I believe His will for our lives is to be. To those who have prayed, encouraged through notes and given financially, a huge thank you. I don’t know where we would be without the support at all levels.

Sensationalism v. Wisdom

I came to faith in Yeshua in the early years of the Jesus Movement in the United States. At that time there was tremendous emphasis on the last days and the imminent return of the Messiah. Books were written, movies were produced and seminars held about the signs of the times. Sound familiar? In fact, at one point in the early 70’s there were stories of a mysterious person appearing as a hitchhiker in various places, who after being picked up announced, “Jesus is coming soon,” and then would disappear. The story actually appeared on nightly news shows. As a result, many of us, expecting the soon return of the Lord, focused exclusively on spiritual things to the neglect of almost everything else. This occurred more than forty years ago, and yet, we still await His return.

In addition, the so-called “Jesus people,” many of whom were Jews, found traditional churches lacked, among other things, zeal for the Lord. Consequently, many were drawn into cults, where the emphasis was on seeking God, evangelism and participation in the supernatural. This is not to suggest that the above defines a cult since these characteristics also reflect genuine faith in God. Rather, cults become attractive because they reject the spiritual status quo, where hypocrisy seemingly abounds. According to  cult leadership, the cult was the one true expression of following God. Thus, genuine believers, usually the young, were lured into them by shelving their mental objectivity. The leaders often justified irrational actions by saying that one’s mind, which was raising red alerts, was a hindrance to true faith in God. Sadly, my wife and I participated in such cults for twelve years.

Living in Israel now for the past four years highlights the emphasis on sensationalism, both for many in the community here and for even more from those on the outside. In my reading of the Scriptures, there is no question that the reestablishment of the nation of Israel and the return of the Jewish people to the land is a fulfillment of prophecy. In many ways, these facts seem to reflect the “signs of the times,” thus portending the return of the Lord. However, an undue focus on these and related matters diverts many from genuinely serving God, preparing for and living a Biblically normal life, and having a real impact on their local communities.

Forty years ago, the formation of the European Common Market (the resurrected Roman Empire), the power and influence of the Soviet Union (the kings of the North) and the imminent revelation of the anti-Christ (Henry Kissinger?) all proved “the end of the age.” Today, it’s the blood moons, the coming economic crash and the sh’mitah year (the year the land in Israel lies fallow).  Some or all of these things may prove true. But so what?

One of the Bible’s emphases is on gaining and utilizing wisdom and understanding. Hear Proverbs: “My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight…get wisdom, get understanding.” These passages do not mean to get understanding about the end times. Rather, the thrust is on following God, living a godly life and producing real benefits to one’s self, family and society. How does that happen? By acquiring a good education, working hard, integrating into the larger community, building a strong family, all the while putting God first in everything. Then, “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” II Cor. 2:14.

The human mind is not a hindrance to God but, rather, a gift from God. It’s how we judge things and make decisions. When God is first in our lives, we have access to the “mind of the Messiah.” I Cor. 2:16. Sensationalism clouds God-given mental acuity. If something appears incredulous, it probably is. Investigate it, using reliable sources. When lives are lived this way, they become fruitful, rewarding and attractive to others, like our Messiah’s.

Our Speech Matters

Over the years as a spiritual leader I noticed believers were very careful about not cursing, but not so about hurtful and inflammatory speech. It seems with the advent of Facebook and other social media forums, speech has deteriorated. In fact, what one would never say in the presence of another, social media provides a no holds barred medium for nasty speech. This is especially true when discussing politics or political leaders.

For example, someone may criticize Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Responses sometimes attack the original writer’s character or motives or accuse him/her of being led by Satan. This should not be. The Apostle Paul encouraged all “conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt.” It’s true that modern democracies protect freedom of speech, and almost anything can be said without legal repercussions. But that doesn’t mean that believers should feel free to say anything they want about or to another.

Speech has power. It has started wars. Hurtful speech has led to teenage suicides. Proverbs says “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We should focus on speaking life to others. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t disagree. The issue, however, is how do we disagree. Can’t we show respect to one another even if we disagree vehemently? I used to work in the US Senate. Sometimes debates became ferocious. But the Senate maintained strict rules on decorum. A Senator may be debating a hotly contested issue, but for another Senator to interrupt him, the Senator must say, “would the distinguished Senator from [such and such state] yield?” In addition, the Senators could not address each other but rather the president of the Senate. These rules led to robust but honorable debates.

Shouldn’t this also characterize our discussions? Even in this newspaper, I have read things by writers that cause me to cringe. Sometimes, disparaging things are said directly about another writer. Aren’t we children of the light? Aren’t we called to a higher standard than even the US Senate? One of the most famous Biblical lines about speech is Paul’s call to “speak the truth in love.” I believe this means that we treat another person with respect and dignity even if we must say something that is difficult for the other to hear.

Please, for the sake of Messiah and His kingdom, be careful about what you say or write.

The French Tragedy

At the end of the Amidah (the central prayer in Judaism) is the prayer known as “Sim Shalom,” meaning, “Grant Peace.” It’s a plea to God to grant us peace, happiness and blessing. Yesterday, as our small group, Adonai Shamah, concluded the Amidah prayers with Sim Shalom, we were immediately led to pray for the people of France, who underwent horrific terrorist attacks, to grant them peace and comfort in such a terrible hour. We also prayed that this secular country would turn to God at such a time as this. There’s no good explanation for how such evil can be perpetrated in this world.

Once again radical Islamicists attacked innocents in Europe. This was only a few weeks after a likely bomb planted by similar folks brought down a Russian commercial airliner. More and more radicalized Muslims have received training and experience from the wars in Iraq and Syria and are spreading their violence to the rest of the world. This was the fear of many Western intelligence agencies. There seems no end in sight as the wars rage on, more people are killed, maimed and dislocated and more countries get involved on multiple sides. What seemed hopeful at the beginning of the Arab Spring has degenerated into the world’s greatest crisis since World War II. Unfortunately, in my view President Obama’s policies have contributed to this tragedy. See articles I wrote for Kehila News called, “Obama’s Middle East,” http://kehilanews.com/2015/09/15/obamas-middle-east-part-one/ and http://kehilanews.com/2015/09/29/obamas-middle-east-part-two/.

While Western nations refuse to call these religious wars, the perpetrators claim to do these acts in the name of their god, Allah. The Apostle Paul declares, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The pervasiveness of this evil is the sad reality for the Muslim world, which is now spreading to the rest of the world. We must pray for spiritual revelation for these people that they will cast off a faith that binds them and find liberty in the one true God and in his Messiah Yeshua.

You Can Do Something About the Crisis in Israel

Unlike most crises, you can actually do something about the current one in Israel. This is because the current crisis is fueled by propaganda. It began when the Palestinian Authority claimed that Israel was changing the status quo on the Temple Mount. The current arrangement on the Temple Mount is that only Muslims are permitted to pray there. Jews and Israelis are permitted to visit the area but are prohibited from praying. Muslim imams keep watch over the area to ensure strict compliance about prayer or lack thereof. Approximately, a month ago a group of Palestinian youth barricaded themselves into the Al Aqsa Mosque and began throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers. When the Israelis attempted to clear them out, the propaganda began. The claim was that the Israeli military was trying to force a change on the Temple Mount to permit Jewish prayer. It was completely false. Nevertheless, the Palestinian Authority and other Arab nations perpetuated the falsehood about the change in the status quo. Ever since, Palestinian youth have responded to the call to defend the “faith” through social media by attacking Jews.

So, what can you do? If you live outside of Israel, you can do a lot. Unfortunately, much of the international press has been influenced by this false Palestinian narrative. When a Palestinian stabs an Israeli on the street, and then is shot by Israeli security, the press often focuses on excessive force used by Israel, rather than on unprovoked attacks against Israeli civilians. When such claims are made or claims about the so-called changing status quo on the Temple Mount or other unfounded claims, you can and should challenge them. If a newspaper writes an article about the current crisis and you find inaccuracies or gross over-simplications, then write a letter to the editor to the newspaper, challenging the statements. Rather than emotional responses, respond with reasoned facts. The same is true for FaceBook postings from friends, families and acquaintances. Do not let any false or inaccurate statement go unchallenged. Cite sources in your responses.

If you find Utube videos falsely describing what is happening, consider posting a response video or find someone who can do so articulately. If TV news reporting also appears biased on the subject, call the TV station and complain or write to them and cite accurate sources. This is a propaganda war. Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister of Nazi Germany, said the following: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” The only defense to lies is the truth. Edmund Burke, a great British politician from the 18th century said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I believe most of you who will read this article are good people. Act now and respond to the lies about the crisis in Israel. It can make a difference.

The Tragedy and Shortsightedness of the Latest Uprising

As in the case of all previous Arab uprisings, this one will end tragically for the Palestinian people. As I’ve written before, I sympathize with the Palestinian cause and believe the Palestinians should have their own state. However, the wanton attacks against Jewish civilians is unjustifiable and will only bring horrific consequences to the entire Palestinian population and possibly to the Israeli Arab population.

The Second Intifada resulted in thousands killed and the building of the security fence, which cut off Arab workers from good jobs in Israel plus divided entire communities. The Second Intifada, however, was coordinated, in part, by the Palestinian Authority. So far, the current uprising seems spurred by social media. The Palestinian Authority publicly has denounced the current uprising. Because there seems to be no coordinated effort, stopping the uprising is proving to be more problematic. Who is to know when a random person will suddenly brandish a knife and go on a slashing spree. As a result, the response to the uprising will likely be extremely harsh and discriminatory.

Probably, the only effective means of quelling this uprising is to further segregate the Arab population from the mainstream society. That could mean profiling Arabs, prohibiting them from entering buses, malls, shops, even hospitals. It’s possible additional checkpoints will be established around the country, separating Arab areas from Jewish ones. Arab residency permits could be revoked. Whereas in the past, discrimination against Arab citizens existed but wasn’t legal, that could easily change. A truly divided society is in the offing, and the group to bear the brunt of the changes is sadly, once again, the Palestinian population. Abba Eban, the former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, poignantly said, “the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Here, we go again.

The Palestinians have just cause to be fed up with both the Israeli government and their own Palestinian Authority. However, inciting wanton violence against the Israeli civilian population will badly backfire, just as in past uprisings. Each uprising leads to more restrictions, worse conditions and an increasingly hopeless future. This will end the same way unless it dies down quickly.

The Jewish Holidays Here and Afar

We were not a very religious family growing up in the Washington, DC area. In fact, for the first several years of my life, my family actually celebrated Christmas. I still remember the sad day my mother told me Santa Claus was not real. But then my parents realized they wanted me to have a Bar Mitzvah, so we joined a Conservative synagogue at age nine or ten. Out went Christmas, in came Chanukah, Pesach, the High Holidays and Shabbat. The Christmas/Chanukah trade off was difficult. How can you compete with Christmas in the US? Even though I don't celebrate it, I still love the holiday, and love being in the US around the holiday.

I became a follower of Yeshua the Messiah at age 17 as a senior in high school. This was 1969, before the advent of the Messianic Jewish movement. So, like all good Jewish boys who believed at the time, I essentially converted to Christianity, although I knew something was missing. Later, through a series of different events, the Lord drew me to Messianic Judaism. I left my job on Capitol Hill and enrolled in a Messianic Jewish seminary. In 1990 our family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where I became the rabbi of Tikvat Israel Messianic Congregation.

Prior to this, our family (wife and three daughters) celebrated the Christian holidays. We still lit candles for Chanukah, joined my parents for Pesach and occasionally joined them for the High Holidays. The reality was, however, we were Christians. Now, as a rabbi of a Jewish congregation, that had to change, although the transition away from Christmas was still difficult for my wife and kids. For the first time, we enjoyed the Jewish holidays, especially as a congregation. I was rabbi there for 22 years, and we changed the way we celebrated different holidays over the years, but generally here's how we did it:  For Pesach, the congregation held family or chavurah seders on the first night. On the second night, we held a big community seder for the metropolitan area. These were wildly popular with both Jews and Christians. Our congregation loved to host them.

For Shavuot, we held a big picnic in the park and celebrated the day with special prayers. For the High Holidays, we held Erev Rosh HaShana and Rosh HaShana services. Then in the afternoon for Rosh HaShana we all gathered at a park on the James River for a Tashlich service, casting away our sins. I always thought it humorous that as we tossed the vicarious sins into the waters through bread crumbs, the ducks and swans would float over and gobble them up. I wonder what happened to those birds afterwards. Then, after a picnic in the park, for anyone who wanted to undergo tevilah (immersion) in the name of Yeshua, we would do it.

For Yom Kippur, we held the Kol Nidre service, where my wife (our worship leader) did an outstanding job with this difficult piece. The next day we held the morning service, followed by a study of the Book of Jonah by one of our elders. Later, a number of us would gather and travel to the other synagogues in the city and surreptitiously prayer walk around them. We then had a closing (Neilah service) with the final blow of the shofar. Finally, we'd gather downstairs for the break the fast dinner, a gallant affair, bless the wine and bread with the Lord's supper, eat together and conclude with a blowing the shofar competition among the children.

For Sukkot, the congregation built a large sukkah in front of our synagogue, cooked hot dogs and hamburgers and ate under it the first night. Then, we'd all view a Jewish movie. On the Saturday evening during Sukkot, we'd have a huge community celebration with a Messianic Jewish entertainer. For Chanukah, we had a latkes cookoff and games for the kids after lighting the candles. Sometimes, we'd invite in an entertainer, like a balloon man or a magician. Finally, for Purim, we'd read the Megillah in English, accompanied by groggers, stomping and cheering, and then conclude with a crazy play.

And, of course, for Shabbat, we held weekly two hour services on Saturday mornings, followed by a full lunch (Oneg) where people brought food and was served by the Oneg teams. Everyone loved Shabbat. The Oneg essentially prevented folks from going out and purchasing on Shabbat and greatly encouraged communal development.  The holidays accomplished what they were intended to accomplish, i.e. to build a community's identity through joyful participation.

Prior to moving to Israel about four years ago, I had been here for some of the holidays. The most impressive was Yom HaZikkaron (day of remembrance for fallen soldiers - not a religious holiday), where at two times during the day, sirens would blare, and everyone everywhere would stand quietly at attention, remembering the passing of fallen soldiers. Of course, on various tours we would hold services on Shabbat wherever we were, and was always impressed how the whole country observed the Shabbat. After moving here, however, my attitude changed.

I find the religious imposed observances to be burdensome and problematic. Much of the country is closed for Shabbat. In fact, most stores close by 2 PM on Friday, making erev Shabbat and Shabbat preparation crazy. Worse, for much of the country, there is no bus service on Shabbat. Unlike the US where cars and gasoline are relatively cheap, in Israel, both are very expensive, and many in the country do not have cars. It's possible that the majority of the country relies upon public transportation. So, what happens if someone doesn't have access to a car, but wants to travel to a service? They can't, and this affects Messianic Jewish congregations, which unlike the Orthodox, are not on every street corner.

Yom Kippur is the worst. No one drives. Consequently, on the holiest day of the Jewish year, most Messianic Jews cannot attend services. We had one opportunity in our second year here where we joined with Jerusalem congregations who had booked Yad HaShmonah, a Messianic Jewish moshav. There hundreds of Messianic Jews were able to stay overnight in the housing and enjoy services. Because of high demand and limited space, we haven't been able to attend since, so Yom Kippur is spent by ourselves in our home. We did attend an Orthodox service on our kibbutz the first year. I won't again.

However, the worst experience was this year. I was hospitalized during the period of Rosh HaShana through Yom Kippur. This also included two to three regular Shabbats. Because everything essentially closes down for Shabbat and the holidays, my stay in the hospital was unnecessarily prolonged. There was no one to issue orders or issue my discharge or to do anything except maintain care. Honestly, I was infuriated, and sadly, the experience has caused me to resent the holidays because of the religiously imposed restrictions upon the country.

Israel is an amazing country, and for a young country, its progress is nothing short of a miracle. However, there is a desperate need to separate church and state. Personally, I want to again enjoy the Jewish holidays like I did for so many years. Without legal changes, this may be difficult. 

Health Capades

Probably, the last you heard from me was when I was in the hospital receiving treatment for colitis. I was discharged after four days. When I got home, I noticed the place of the IV was sore, like a bruised muscle. The next morning I needed to run to our health clinic and then go to the office. I wasn't feeling well. The arm was now hurting, swollen and warm. I pointed this out to the clinic doc, who said put alcohol on it. I slept for awhile and then left for the office - a big mistake. I was definitely crashing.

I met with the client and worked some with my partner on another case, but I could no longer concentrate. He suggested I rest awhile in the office. I did and left. It was around 6. As I was driving home, my conditioned worsened. Somewhere along the way, I no longer knew where I was going. I knew I needed to get home but was losing the ability to navigate. After some time I recognized I was driving in Nazareth. I didn't know why or where I was going. Eventually, i reached some wall and stopped. The next thing I remember is wandering on a Nazareth street, shivering and shaking. I remember multiple phone calls but never answered them. A few Arab boys approached me, but I couldn't understand them. Finally, two Arab teenagers came to me and asked if I was okay. I said no. They pointed to a few blocks and said that's a hospital, do you want to go there. I said okay. The one Arab boy wrapped his arm around me and escorted me to the hospital. When I arrived, I was completely incoherent. As it turned out, I had a raging staff infection from the original IV site.

Of course, my family couldn't find me. However, when I stopped the car in Nazareth, I blocked in some residents, who called the police. The police contacted my family. No one could figure what my car was doing in Nazareth. Stacy kept calling my number - I never answered - but now someone in the ER of the Italian Hospital answered and said I was there. Judah, our son-in-law, had already come to her place and now they raced to the hospital. I vaguely remember them there. Finally, the docs gave me a fever reducer and started me on antibiotics, and I came back into my right mind. I was admitted for the night at this hospital.

Before I continue this saga, it is an absolute miracle I didn't crash the car, get killed, get robbed (had $1000 cash on me) or just die in the streets. It was also a miracle my family found me. As someone mentioned those Arab boys were like the Good Samaritan in the New Testament. While Arabs are not Samaritans, their plight in Israel is similar - a marginalized community. God uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong.   

We reached my main gastro doc who strongly recommended we return to the Afula hospital. Of course, that involves re-admission, a long process. Through the ER, where at first they refused to admit me because I didn't have a referral - I could have asked the Arab boys. The gastro doc then reappeared and pushed through the paperwork (Back to the USSR). Multiple tests and the biggie - trying to figure out the source of the infection and the type of bacteria. I was examined by a dermatologist because of the IV site. He said this is the likely source of infection, and I needed an ultra sound to rule out an abscess. Finally, I was admitted to a sad looking medical floor.  

The next morning I was in bad shape, having been shuttled to the end of the hallway. Medical personnel came by, including the head doctor for the whole floor, who thought I was being treated fine. He claimed later I didn't even have a fever, despite it being quite high. By then, the entire family had arrived, and immediately all three girls jumped on the medical personnel. They fought in Hebrew and hammered the staff. Finally, the staff conceded there was a real problem, but they didn't know what bacteria they were dealing with. Folks feared MERSA. They put me on one antibiotic and then would switch. By now I and my family were getting quite a reputation. Amy knows one of the head international docs in the country, who got involved. Rebecca works for a medical lab, whose owner is a good friend, and who knows other top docs, who were calling. The chief doctor at the hospital started yelling at Jennifer because she looked like she was about to give birth on the spot and yet who was relentless in jumping all over the guy.

Finally, I started getting serious treatment. But we had to wait for the following AM to find out which bacteria it was. They finally identified the correct bacteria, and, by the grace of God, turned out was treatable by a number of antibiotics. Sure enough, the original site of the IV was the source. They also wanted to rule out an abscess under the IV site (a dangerous situation). They didn't think so, and one technician said I probably didn't need an ultra sound already ordered, but I told the dude, "this is my life," so they agreed. Good thing because while there was no abscess, there was found deep vein thrombosis (blood clots). So, now I'm receiving antibiotics, blood thinners, steroids for colitis and a whole new array of foods (from Mars) that reduces inflammation for colitis. I'm a whole new man, or renewed man - at least Biblical.

Not counting the 4 days I was in the hospital for the original colitis treatment, I've been in the hospital now for 11 days. I feel good, ready to go home. Sleeping here is close to impossible with the number of moaning, crying and struggling patients. At least it gives me a chance to pray for them when not wanting to strangle them for excessive noise, especially at night. Because I need continued antibiotic treatment, it has complicated moving home.

Other than personal health, our daughter, Jennifer, is in the process of giving birth at a hospital about 40 minutes away. We were going to help, but currently that's impossible. Stacy has been an incredible trooper - maybe easier for oblivious me than her. Please pray for our family. Also, I obviously can't meet with clients, so please pray for our business. However, I am able to keep up with current clients, who are very understanding and very appreciative for all the work.

I realize many have and are praying throughout the world for me. To all of you, a big thank you. It's been a wild ride, but as it says in Psalm 27 - "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." 

Navigating the Israeli Health Care System

I’m pretty familiar with the US health care system. When I worked in Congress, I oversaw the Federal Employees Health Benefit System. I also worked some on the Medicare program. Until recently, however, I rarely used the system in the US or Israel because I was rarely sick. That changed two years ago when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

After the diagnosis, things have been manageable until about a month ago when I experienced a serious flare-up. Until then I was assisted by our family physician on the kibbutz, and a gastroenterologist at a hospital about forty minutes away. In the meantime I had been communicating with my cousin at the University of Chicago who is an expert in colitis and related diseases. He referred me to a doctor in Haifa. That’s where the saga began.

Israel has national health insurance. It’s administered through several private insurance companies, which, like the US, have specific relationships with certain hospitals and doctors. We originally chose a particular company because the health clinic on the kibbutz, as well as the nearby hospital, is connected to it

The problem with my cousin’s referral is that neither he nor the hospital he’s connected to is part of our health insurance network. He agreed to see me privately for a $250 consultation fee (ouch). He was great and extremely thorough – he knows my cousin well. He ordered a number of tests, including a sigmoidoscopy (a type of colonoscopy). I took his orders to our family doctor who got visibly upset. Normally, she’s a very nice person. She asked why I went to him since he’s not part of our insurance network. I explained that my cousin, who is world renowned in this field, recommended him. She didn’t seem impressed. She said our insurance company has many good gastroenterologists. I said I’m sure that’s the case, but I like this doctor and want to continue with him. She then mumbled to herself about all the tests he ordered. She said our insurance company likely will not approve going to him (as if he has the plague). My new gastroenterologist arranged for the colonoscopy at his hospital, but the insurance company rejected the location for the procedure. He then called my family doctor, who, according to her, screamed at her for an hour (normal Israeli behavior), but she wouldn’t concede. Apparently, she’s a heavy weight with our insurance company. My gastro doc pointedly said she wears two hats. She said she’d order a colonoscopy at one of their hospitals quickly. 

This past Saturday (yes, Shabbat) Stacy and I traveled to the Italian hospital in Nazareth for the sigmoidoscopy. This exemplifies how the Israeli and US systems differ. In Richmond, Virginia, a metro area of approximately one million people, there are over 10 hospitals, associated with two or three networks. Consequently, for almost all medical procedures, one goes to one local hospital. In Israel, it’s different, especially if you don’t live in a big city. Here, you’re directed to multiple hospitals in completely different cities for different procedures, some of which are very routine. By the time I’m finished with this process, I’ll have gone to at least five hospitals/clinics, located in different parts of the country.

Anyway, the sigmoidoscopy went fine, and I received the report right away – severe ulcerative colitis – I knew that much – but it had spread farther up my colon. I scanned the report, sent it to my gastro doc, who responded right away and said we need to meet immediately. But again we had the insurance issues. He told me that for these consultations, paying privately only costs around $25. I have no idea how that works. I went to the hospital in Haifa, where his offices are, found the gastro department and was told I needed to wait an hour to see the doc. Not thrilled, but what can you do. I had multiple legal appointments later in the day at my office, an hour and a half away. I sat around, twiddling my thumbs, and after an hour asked the clerk about the appointment. She then said, go down the hall and wait outside his office. When I got there, someone was already seeing him, and others were waiting to see him. I was confused as to why I was told to wait in the first place. I explained, in my rudimentary Hebrew, to the others sitting there, that my appointment was scheduled an hour earlier. After waiting another 20 minutes, I went in to see my doc. He asked where was my registration slip (at least he speaks in English). I said the clerk didn’t give me one. He said he couldn’t do anything without it, so I needed to go back and register. Why this didn’t happen in the beginning (as no one told me it was necessary) is part of the phenomenon of Israeli service or lack thereof. 

I returned to the clerk and asked for the registration. She spoke no English and didn’t seem happy with my Hebrew. Who knows, maybe I accidentally said she was ugly. Anyway, she handed me the registration and said I must pay the $25. No problem, but when I handed her the money, she said no; rather, I must go somewhere else in the massive hospital and pay it. Whatever. I went back to the doctor and now waited another half hour because he had grabbed the next guy in the interim. When I finally saw him he basically said my previous treatments were not working, and he wanted to start me on immuno-suppressant therapy. Since colitis is an auto-immune disease, it means my immune system is attacking my colon for no reason. (Sounds like colitis originated in Iran). So, I get to start these immune-suppressant treatments this week, meaning that now I will be more susceptible to infections because my immune system will be compromised. To top it off, I have the privilege of taking these meds for the rest of my life.

He ordered another barrage of tests, of course, to be administered in various hospitals around the country, including one on Mars. Also, I had to bring in poop samples (it keeps getting better and better), and who knows where they go – maybe Iran. He also requested I see him in another month, meaning I had to visit again with Nurse Ratchet to get an appointment. When I got to her station, her window was closed, but she was sitting next to another “friendly” woman, who refused to help me, and indicated Nurse Ratchet had to give me the appointment. Of course, this is all in Hebrew, which makes me worried, because I don’t want to accidentally schedule a kidney transplant.  Nurse Ratchet apparently overheard the conversation, and suddenly handed over a new order – presumably the next appointment and not the kidney transplant. I again asked about where to make the payment. She blurted out the answer in some foreign language, which I figured meant down one floor. I went down one floor, which was the lobby, and left. Never did find the place to pay. I’m not sure what will happen when I return next month, but if the guards at the entrance look Iranian, I’m outta there. 
 

Iran Unleashed

As most know the government of Israel is inexorably opposed to the US/Iran nuclear deal. Those in Israel outside of government have a more nuanced view. Some security experts are cautiously optimistic; others less so. Instead of submitting the deal to Congress to ratify as a treaty, in which case the Senate must approve by 2/3 vote (impossible today), President Obama tried to circumvent Congressional action altogether by claiming the agreement was within the sole purview of the Executive Branch. After months of negotiation, a settlement was reached to allow Congress the right to block the essence of the agreement through a veto proof majority (2/3 vote). That’s where things stand now. The Congress has recessed for its traditional August break. The vote on the agreement will take place in September, likely leading to its defeat. The President then will veto the blocked agreement, and Congress will attempt to override the veto (2/3 vote of both bodies). It will be a close vote; at this point the veto likely will not be overridden.

In my view the agreement is not a terrible one but not a good one either. The two most troublesome parts are (1) the complex delayed inspection procedures allowing Iran to temporarily block almost any inspection, and (2) the lack of any connection between sanctions relief and support of terrorism. Iran has and will continue to lie about its nuclear program. From the beginning, the Administration promised that Iran was to be subject to anywhere/anytime inspections by international experts. That suddenly changed in the final draft. Assurances by the Administration that this is a slight deviation are incredulous. It’s a given Iran will do everything conceivable to obfuscate and complicate the inspection process.

In response to concerns raised by others regarding Iran’s nefarious activities around the world, the Administration claims the agreement was focused solely on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But according to whom? The Administration could have insisted on anything it wanted. While the Western powers concentrated on dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons’ systems, the Middle East has been wracked with Iranian interference in every major conflict – Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and even attacks in other countries such as Bulgaria, France and Cyprus. In fact, without Iranian interference, ISIS probably would not even exist and Assad in Syria would be long gone. The question is why remove the effective sanctions regime when it’s a given Iran will use the tremendous infusion of funds to continue to destabilize the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The Administration argues this is the best agreement possible. But again, according to whom? The US with five other international powers were negotiating with a third rate power in the Middle East. This is nothing like the arms control deals between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. Both those countries were super powers, and negotiations were between equals. In this case, the US and allies could have insisted upon anything they wanted. If Iran wouldn’t agree, then Iran would be subject to a military response. As terrible and destructive as another war would be, if Iran genuinely believed it would be attacked by the US, it would have yielded more.

Adding insult to injury is President Obama’s public assignment of blame to Israel if the agreement is scuttled. Israel has nothing to do with the agreement.  If the President cannot get 1/3 of the Congress to support his highly invested international agreement, then it deserves defeat. Most foreign policy experts acknowledge that former President Bush’s push for the Iraq War was a major foreign policy blunder, possibly the worst in the modern era, and led to many of the difficulties in the region today. However, President Obama’s foreign policy has exacerbated the situation, made it far more volatile and now is unleashing a regime that continues to erode the world order. This agreement is a huge gamble: Iran gets everything it wants – international acceptance and sanctions relief and yields little – a nuclear weapons program, which it claims doesn’t exist. It is true that Iran’s nuclear program is significantly set back, and maybe that’s sufficient reason to support the agreement. But, in my view, it’s not a good agreement, and the Administration gave away the store.

Israel Business Forum

The third annual Israel Business Forum was held this past week. This is an event to match potential investors with Messianic Jewish and Arab Christian entrepreneurs in Israel. I have attended this event since its inception. This year our law firm was one of the sponsors. Messianic Jews have historically been discriminated against and persecuted in Israel, viewed by many as outsiders and/or missionaries. However, as the second generation of Messianic Jews grew up here and most served admirably in the military, Israeli public opinion began to change. The next step was for Messianic Jews to integrate into the Israeli workforce, open businesses and begin to thrive. This was the motivation behind the establishment of the Israel Business Forum.

The Forum event is the culmination of a several-month business training course conducted by the creators of the forum, First Fruits led by Mordechai Wiseman (grandson of Eliezer Urbach – one of the fathers of modern Messianic Judaism) and ELY Israel led by Yoel Shoshani, son of Oded Shoshani, one of the current Messianic leaders in Israel. In my view it’s one of the best Messianic Jewish efforts in the land. This year was a two-day event. About 50 foreign investors attended, mostly from the US but also from China, Europe, Australia and a few other places. In addition, certain non-Messianic hi-tech companies from Israel were invited to make presentations to the investors. This is another example of integrating the Messianic Jewish community into the mainstream of Israeli society.

I learned a lot. For example, as a percentage of gross domestic product, Israel has the highest level of civilian research and development of any country in the world. Israel is only second to the United States in its number of hi-tech startup companies. Israel is number four in activity in the world’s stock exchanges. Just in the past five years, while the average growth of developed countries was 0.6%, Israel was 4%. The unemployment rate in these same countries averaged 7.4%; Israel’s is 5.3%, even lower than the US.

Some of the Israeli inventions presented to the Forum included a brain mapping system in which brain injuries are mapped on a computer, potentially assisting up to 2 billion people with brain disorders. A system to determine how much water is needed by crops in a given field was designed, something that can save farmers up to 75% of water usage. The farmers can download the information to a mobile device. Another presenter showed how the entire password phenomenon on the web can be replaced by face-recognition software. I got to test it myself, even trying to trick the system by wearing a mask that was identical to the creator’s face – a method used by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible to gain access to a secure facility. In this case the software recognized it was not a real face -- amazing!

In the afternoon of that first day, the Messianic community presented some of their better and established business plans. These included a medical device manufacturing company, an outgrowth of one of the oldest Messianic businesses in the country. Apparently, Israel has the highest number of medical device patents per capita in the world. This company manufacturers special medicine injectors, a machine that detects cancer cells, infusion pumps, a device that helps the body to absorb insulin more quickly, a blood warmer used in surgeries, and more. They have a state of the art facility along the Sea of Galilee. An Arab Christian from Nazareth runs a software company and shared his story of how the original owner of the Messianic business discussed above gave him his first serious job in Israel after most turned him down because he is an Arab. Today, he runs a successful company with several Arab Christian employees. Another Messianic Jew runs his own financial investment company in Israel, the only Messianic Jew to have passed Israel’s Securities and Investment exams.

The second day was devoted to highlighting Messianic Jewish business ideas in a large exhibition hall. Our law firm had a table, and we went around networking with the other businesses and the foreign investors. In the afternoon eight owners of the best business ideas presented their plans to the investors and were questioned by business management experts. Some of the ideas were extremely clever and innovative, including a company that converts used wooden pallets into furniture with plans to hire women delivered from prostitution to give them new careers, the developer and manufacturer of gluten free breads and pastries to enable those allergic to gluten to enjoy the foods they had to give up (I tasted a sampling of the bread – delicious, couldn’t tell between gluten and gluten free), and a company that hires native English speakers to teach English around the country (Israeli schools require English proficiency to even graduate). I talked to this woman about Stacy’s currently tutoring in English, and she was very excited to contact her.

After the business exhibition, some panels were held on investing in Israel and purchasing real estate in Israel. Here’s where we had a big surprise. One of the key panelists couldn’t attend because of a family emergency. The forum sponsors then approached us about Alex, one of my partners, making a presentation and answering questions about real estate investments. He was reluctant to do it because the entire forum was conducted in English, and he felt his English skills were inadequate. However, he agreed to do it, did a good job and received some potential clients for his efforts.

All in all it was a very successful event. Please pray for two outcomes: 1) that some investors will step up and invest in some of these budding companies; 2) that we will gain new clients for our efforts.