DOUBTS GREET CHRISTIANS IN ISRAEL

EU states to join border-free zone
Oct 4, 2007 8:40 AM

The European Union's border-free zone will be extended to nine additional member states on December 21, the bloc's Portuguese Presidency said.From that date, people travelling from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will be able to travel to the existing 15 states of the Schengen border-free zone without having to show their passports, a presidency spokeswoman said.They will open on December 21, she said. All the nine borders will be opened. The nine countries all joined the European Union in 2004.EU ministers will officially endorse the move next month, the spokeswoman said.

Thirteen EU countries, plus Norway and Iceland, are currently part of the border-free zone. Britain and Ireland have chosen not to be part of it.Cyprus, which also joined the EU in 2004, has asked for one year's delay. Romania and Bulgaria, which became EU members only this year, need to do more work to meet security criteria.

Spain, European Commission President express confidence in EU reform treaty October 02, 2007

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday expressed confidence in the reform treaty of the 25-nation bloc ahead of an Intergovernment Conference slated to be held later this month in Lisbon.Both said at their Madrid meeting that they were confident the Intergovernment Conference would swiftly approve a final text for the EU reform, at its Oct. 18-19 session.According to a statement by the Spanish Communications Ministry, the two reviewed the timetable for the EU reform, which still awaits ratification by all its member states.In 2005, French and Dutch voters rejected the EU constitution treaty in referendums, fearing their countries would lose too much power. The EU leaders agreed in June to abandon the idea and replace it with a less ambitious reform treaty.

Zapatero and Barroso also discussed the creation of a single market for energy and the development of a European Border Agency (Frontex).Earlier this month, the commission unveiled a proposal that would force European energy generators to give up their pipelines and transmission networks as a step toward uniting the continent's patchwork of gas and electric systems.Spain urges more money for Frontex aimed at intensifying patrolling in the Mediterranean to deter illegal migrants from north Africa.EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said in April that he expected the number of African refugees in EU countries to drop this year below 30,000, a record level reached in 2006. Source: Xinhua

Jerusalem: Idea Raised of 2 Capitals
Thursday, Oct. 04, 2007 By AP/BARRY SCHWEID Article

(WASHINGTON) — Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of an Middle East accord. In a six-page policy statement submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Md. The militant Hamas group, which controls Gaza and about one-third of Palestinian-held land, has not met U.S. terms for attending. Those conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning violence against the Jewish state. But the ex-officials suggested Hamas might be drawn to attend a second conference, which implicitly would accept the first one and Israel's existence. They called the role of Hamas the most difficult issue in peacemaking. Jerusalem's future and that of Palestinian refugees have snarled past U.S. peace efforts. Former President Clinton's mediation efforts between the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak envisioned sharing of Jerusalem.

Clinton ruled out requiring Israel to take in most Palestinians or their families who claimed to have been forced out of Israel during creation of the Jewish state in 1947-8. It will be very difficult, but not impossible, said Robert Pelletreau, a former U.S. ambassador to Egypt and ex-assistant secretary of state for the region. There is a little bit of momentum starting to build with talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a mediator, he said in a telephone interview. Along with announcement of the conference, he said, you have several things that can reinforce each other if they are framed properly.The refugee issue is the most difficult, he said. And Jerusalem is right up with it.Edward S. Walker, a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, said Hamas was the most difficult issue. Unless Hamas changes its stripes there is no way to deal with them on the current situation, he said in an interview.

But, Walker added, a lot of things that appear to be impossible now might well become possible if there is hope that a true and real peace can be established.The policy paper was prepared by Israel Policy Forum, a nonpartisan American group that promotes sustained U.S. diplomacy to end the conflict between Israel and its neighbors. Next month's conference should reaffirm that the goal is two independent and sovereign states, with borders roughly along the lines that separated Israel from the Arabs before the 1967 Middle East war, the statement said. It also called for a just solution to refugee questions that recognizes the suffering and the plight of the Palestinian refugees. They would be permitted to move only to the new Palestinian state, with compensation from Israel, the Palestinian state and other nations.

Besides Pelletreau and Walker, the former U.S. diplomats included Thomas Pickering, an ex-undersecretary of state and ambassador to Israel and Jordan; Samuel Lewis, former ambassador to Israel; and Frederic C. Hof, Mideast official in the Pentagon. The report was written and coordinated primarily by Steven L. Spiegel, political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Rice has been meeting with former U.S. negotiators and ex-American diplomats, and has not replied to the policy paper, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday.

Iran summons French envoy over nuclear remarks by Farhad Pouladi Wed Oct 3, 8:58 AM ET

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Wednesday summoned a top French diplomat to protest at remarks by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggesting Tehran could be seeking the atomic bomb, state media reported.
French charge d'affaires Jean Graebling was summoned... to the foreign ministry to receive the protest and hear of the Islamic republic of Iran's dissatisfaction with France's recent positions and its negative tone, according to a ministry statement carried on state television's website.Since the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy, France has considerably toughened its position towards Iran, and called for new sanctions to oblige Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.Kouchner -- who caused a stir last month by saying the world must prepare for war with Iran -- told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that nothing is more dangerous than the situation in Iran.

The Iranians must stop enriching uranium, because what they are doing encourages the experts to think they are possibly moving towards the atomic bomb and not the civil nuclear power to which they have absolute right.It is absolutely vital to have peace, he said. I did not call for war, I called for peace.Iran noted that France's stance was despite Tehran last month agreeing a timetable with the International Atomic Energy Agency for it to answer outstanding questions about its nuclear activities.Tehran said it was also strongly protesting at France's push for another UN Security resolution and encouraging European nations to impose additional sanctions on Iran, according to the foreign ministry statement.OPEC member Iran vehemently rejects charges it is seeking a nuclear weapon, saying the atomic drive is aimed solely at generating electricity for a growing population.Major world powers have agreed to wait for November reports by IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana before deciding whether to push for a third round of sanctions against Tehran.The Security Council has already passed two resolutions imposing sanctions over Tehran's refusal to heed ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which creates nuclear fuel but can be diverted to make the core of an atomic bomb.

ElBaradei said in an interview with the Financial Times on Wednesday that Iran must provide key details on its programme by late November or its unwillingness to work with the international community will backfire.He said the two key issues that required clarification had to do with Iran's research capabilities and its nuclear weaponisation capacity.I've told the Iranians: This is your litmus test. You committed yourself to come clean. If you don't, nobody will be able to come to your support.Iran's foreign ministry had also lashed out at France's stance last month, saying Paris was mimicking hawkish US policy and was being more American than the White House itself.President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned that France's attitude could hurt its economic interests in the country, with major companies including oil giant Total as well as carmakers Renault and Peugeot doing business in Iran.

The Sarkozy presidency has said it wants European firms not to bid for new business in Iran and for financial institutions to scale back investments, in drive to pressure Iran parallel to UN sanctions moves.Total had agreed in 2006 a major deal to exploit phase 11 of Iran's giant South Pars gas field to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export but is still yet to execute the project. Iran has bluntly warned it will go ahead with Iranian firms alone if the deal is not swiftly implemented.

Iran-Syria sign billion dollar gas deal Thu Oct 4, 8:30 AM ET

TEHRAN (AFP) - Fellow US foes Iran and Syria have signed an agreement for Tehran to export a billion dollars worth of gas every year to its chief regional ally, Iranian state television reported on Thursday. Iranian caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari and Syrian counterpart Sufian Allaw signed the memorandum of understanding in Tehran that will see Iran exporting three billion cubic metres (105 billion cubic feet) of natural gas annually to Syria.The agreement is the latest sign of the expanding political and economic ties between the two allies, which are both accused by the United States of fomenting the violence in Iraq, allegations that both deny.With the signing of these agreements, experts will start work to define the transit cost and examine the other aspects of the contract, said Nozari.

State television said that the exports are set to start in 2009 and will be worth one billion dollars to Iran annually.Nozari said the gas would be supplied to Syria via its northern neighbour Turkey, which already receives Iranian gas through a pipeline linking the northern city of Tabriz and Ankara.Iran has the world's second largest gas reserves after Russia but until now has remained a relatively minor player in the global export market. It also faces huge consumption demands from its growing population at home.The Islamic republic supplies several billion cubic metres of gas to Turkey annually and has signed a preliminary deal with Ankara for exporting gas into Europe, a move bitterly criticised by the United States.Supplies to Turkey have on occasion been hit by wrangling about price and quality, the high demand in Iran as well as sporadic attacks on the pipeline blamed on Kurdish militants.The gas deal is the latest example of the expanding cooperation between Iran and Syria, one of the very few Arab nations to back Tehran during its 1980-1988 war with Iraq.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's Vice President Parviz Davoudi had earlier this year unveiled a joint car factory outside Damascus to produce 10,000 units of the new Sham car every year.
The two ministers meanwhile also spoke about constructing an oil refinery with a refining capacity of 140,000 barrels a day in Syria in cooperation with Iran and its chief Latin American ally Venezuela.

Russian dissident: Country effectively controlled by new KGB Chad Groening OneNewsNow.com October 4, 2007

A Russian-born author and political activist says virtually every aspect of Russian life is controlled by what used to be known as the KGB.Yuri Felshtinski was born in the Soviet Union. However, he and fellow dissident Alexander Litvinenko managed to escape to the West -- Felshtinski to the United States and Litvinenko to Great Britain. During 2001 and 2002 they collaborated on a book that would eventually be published with the title, Blowing Up Russia: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror.Felshtinski says at the time no one wanted to accept what the book purported, that the dreaded KGB under the new name Federal Security Bureau (FSB) effectively controlled the country. Basically everybody who holds a significant position in Russia now belonged to KGB during the previous period of their lives, he says. Between 70 and 80 percent of major political and government positions, both on the regional level and on central level, are taken by the FSB. So they do control the country.

He says that back in 2000-2001 people did not see it this way, indeed. Now he states that it has become obvious how the government and FSB control everything in Russia -- from the economy, to all political activity, to all major TV channels and all major newspapers.Felshtinski says he is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the FSB were not happy with the revelations of the book, and were responsible for the radioactive poisoning that took the life of Litvinenko on November 1, 2006.
American Family News Network.

Russia warns of arms war in space: report
Wed Oct 3, 2007 3:35pm EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's military space commander vowed to retaliate with an arms race if any country started putting weapon systems into orbit, he said in remarks published on Wednesday.We need to have strong rules about space, to avoid its militarization and if any country will place a weapon in space, then our response will be the same, Space Forces Commander Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin told the newspaper Trud.Popovkin's remarks were the latest in a series of increasingly assertive statements from the Russian military, which is alarmed at what it sees as a growing hardware imbalance with the West.Stung by NATO expansion up to Russia's borders, President Vladimir Putin has given notice that Russia intends to pull out of a treaty limiting conventional forces in Europe.Tensions between Russia and Washington have deepened over U.S. plans to rekindle the stalled Star Wars program from the 1980s with a new generation of missile defense shields.

Popovkin said no country had the right to declare itself the master of space, so strike forces shouldn't be deployed there.He avoided naming names but his comments follow growing friction over space between Moscow, Washington and Beijing. Earlier this year China tested an anti-satellite missile and the U.S. has been developing weapons which can hit satellites.Russia has more than 60 military and dual-purpose satellites in orbit for communications and intelligence, Popovkin said.Russia's space forces have responsibility for military and dual-use spacecraft launch as well as helping defend the country from hostile intercontinental missile attacks.Although the forces were left blind in some areas after the break-up of the Soviet Union, they were now reorganized, Popovkin said.In 2009, we'll begin testing a new generation satellite. Already, Russia can detect any ballistic missile being launched from earth towards Russia, he said.

This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
October 5, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,

I want to share with you today news about an exciting new initiative from The Fellowship. Journey to Zion is a unique, weekly half-hour television teaching program that began airing nationwide last weekend. It is my hope that this show will help Christians grow in their faith as they learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity, and strengthen Christian-Jewish relations by teaching Christians about Jewish history, traditions, and culture. If the overwhelmingly positive response we received from the first airing of the show is an accurate indication of results, we are well on our way to making a significant difference in the lives of people across the country.We’ve tried hard to make Journey to Zion an educational, engaging, and spiritually uplifting experience. In each show, I teach before a live studio audience on a subject related to Jewish faith and observance and the Jewish roots of Christianity. Journey to Zion also features segments filmed on location in Israel, audience question and answer sessions, and explorations of current and historic events related to Israel and the Jewish people. Most shows also include a live performance of traditional Jewish music!

I encourage you to visit our website to learn more about Journey to Zion. There, you can find a station running the show in your area, and even view episodes online following their network broadcast. Please visit today and don’t forget to spread the word about Journey to Zion by using the forward to a friend feature on the page.My friends, we are living in exciting times. Christians and Jews are coming together in a spirit of cooperation and understanding that I have not seen in my lifetime. At the same time, Christians are rediscovering the Jewish roots of their faith. Our new television program is part of this coming together of God’s people, and I hope you’ll be a part of it! Please join us every week as we Journey to Zion.

LOOK UNDER LINKS RIGHT AFTER 7 YR TREATY AT BEGGINING OF LINKS TO SEE.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS

David's Comment: Shalom, Shalom Jerusalem
Psalm 122:7 Shalom Shalom Jerusalem, peace be to you
When Messiah comes to take us May His peace be found in you

OUT OF ZION MINISTRY

Josie and I spent 3 days in Jerusalem to savour the celebration of Succot or the Feast of Tabernacles. We arrived on Friday in the midst of an incredible traffic jam caused by the combination of the last few hours of shopping time before the Sabbath, thousands of visitors who had driven up to be in Jerusalem for Succot. and 80,000 mourners attending the funeral of a famous 96 year old rabbi. As we attempted to drive to our hotel in East Jerusalem (which is still mainly populated by Muslim Arabs) the chaos was added to by the fact that it was Ramadan. The driving was even more hair-raising than usual in Israel. Then there was the incident of the very large, freaked out police horse charging out of control along the footpath, posing a danger to the humans in its path. Just another day in the City of the King !

As the Sabbath came in later that afternoon, the city became much more quiet and still until Saturday evening, when multitudes of cars, buses and people hit the streets once again. As frustrating and annoying as the hectic pace of Jerusalem can be, there is something about this city, like no other city. On Sunday night we attended the ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles evening celebration. One of the performers was a famous Israeli tenor, Dudu Fisher. He is an orthodox Jew with a passion for the God of Israel and for the nation of Israel, and of course for Jerusalem. Near the climax of his inspiring performance he began to talk about Jerusalem. He said there is no city like it. Other famous cities have had one song written about them, or perhaps 2 songs, maybe a few have had even 3 songs. But Jerusalem has had hundreds if not thousands of songs written about her.

Jerusalem has also endured a 3000 year history of grief, death and destruction. The City where Yeshua laid down His life for you and me, has been destroyed and raised more than 20 times. Millions have died in her streets over the last 3000 years. And many more may yet meet their end there, as the whole world is about to come against this extremely controversial city in a desparate bid to bring peace to the Middle East. Politicians are tripped up over her and much of the focus of the world's media is on Jerusalem.

Most people in the world today probably wish that Jerusalem did not exist - it would make the world a more simple and much better place to live - or so they think. And much of the professing Church of Yeshua ha Machiach either dont give care about Jerusalem or think the same as the secular world. But last nite in the Jerusalem Convention Centre, I saw 7000 Christians with a different spirit. I saw 7000 people from almost every nation, worshipping the God of Israel and His Son, only 1 or 2 kms from where He is about to set up His Holy Throne, from where the Lion of the Tribe of Judah will rule and reign for 1000 years. I saw the joy, and I saw the tears, as many peoples emotions ran high, seeing their dream of being in the City of the King come to pass. For everyone there, it was a Heavenly moment.

As each year passes, more and more Christians are having a personal Holy Spirit inspired revelation of the relevance of the restoration of Israel in 1948, and the re-unification of Jerusalem in 1967. The 7000 at the ICEJ celebration this year are only a small representation of Christians from their respective nations. For each one at the Feast this year, there are probably hundreds or even thousands who would be there if they could afford the airfare. If you ask any of the 7000 what it was like to be in the City of the King, their face will light up and they will say things like I feel I am home or this is the most awesome experience of my life or something similar.

Every Bible believing Christian should feel the same as these 7000. An unbiased reading of the Word cannot but impart to the reader that Son of God, Yeshua the Messiah is returning to Jerusalem to set up His Father's eternal Kingdom there in the undivided capital city of Israel. And that fact should cause everyone who is looking forward t doo His return, as we are told to do in 2 Peter 3:12, to be a non-compromising Zionist and as much a lover of Jerusalem as the 7000 who are rejoicing in at the Feast of Tabernacles this week. How can we not love Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish people - because YHVH and Yeshua do, and because our future and destiny is in that city, and with the Jewish people. When not rejoicing, every Christian should be praying for Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish people.

Alas, that is far from the situation today. So many Christians simply aren't interested and many even oppose the Jewish right to call Jerusalem their capital city. Most of the Christians who dont have a revelation of the strategic relevance of Israel to the re-establishment of YHVH's Kingdom are missing out on the most exciting, faith inspiring events, since the resurrection of Yeshua. Please remember to pray for pastors, leaders and all others who need to have this blindness lifted from them, so that one day they will find themselves standing in the Holy City singing ....

Shalom Shalom Jerusalem, peace be to you
When Messiah comes to take us May His peace be found in you

PLEASE NOTE: Make sure your local church is participating in the international Day of Prayer on October 7th. The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem is NOT a single location event but rather a worldwide celebration with local churches and individual believers remembering to pray for Jerusalem in their Sunday services. While there will be a Jerusalem Celebration carried live on GOD TV around the world, the real thrust of the initiative is on the local level.

Please be sure that your church is participating! Resources, posters and prayer cards for your local church are available at http://www.daytopray.com/

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom ... David & Josie

Doubts Greet Evangelical Christians in Israel
Morning Edition: October 4, 2007
STEVE INSKEEP, host:

This week, Israelis have a close and sometimes uncomfortable look at some of their most important backers. Thousands of evangelical Christians are visiting to show support for the Jewish state.

NPR's Linda Gradstein explains why some Israelis are concerned.

(Soundbite of music)

LINDA GRADSTEIN: Waving flags, singing and dancing, thousands of evangelical Christian pilgrims in colorful costumes thronged the streets of Jerusalem this week. They marched as part of the city's traditional parade for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Although Israel's chief rabbis ruled that Jews should not attend the events, most of those watching said they either hadn't heard of the ruling or didn't care. Wearing large Styrofoam cowboy hats and beaming with joy, Sandy and Greg Cassee from Amarillo, Texas said this was their first visit to Israel.

Ms. SANDY CASSEE (Tourist): It's been a spiritual journey. This has been a quest. And to meet God's chosen people, to see where it all happened in the Bible to be here, and to be here with them and to praise and worship with them. Awesome.

GRADSTEIN: The Cassees are among the growing number of devout Protestants, many of them Americans, who fervently support Israel. For many Israelis, more used to sharp criticism of their country because of its occupation of the West Bank, this support is welcome. It's also lucrative. Over the past 20 years, evangelical Christians have contributed billions of dollars to Israel. They have given money directly to many of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, building synagogues, schools and playgrounds there. This week's events included visits to the settlements. Leon Ferguson, an African-American from New York, wore a white skullcap and Jewish prayer shawl to the march, describing himself as a gentile with a Jewish heart. He was close to tears as he contemplated the possibility of an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

Mr. LEON FERGUSON (Tourist): The true and living God wants his people to be in an undivided Israel, undivided Jerusalem, and there should be no more give-backs. Every time we give back the land of Israel, something happens in the United States. Katrina followed the give-back of the Gaza.

GRADSTEIN: The fervor of these evangelicals worries many Israelis. Mina Fenton, a Jerusalem city councilwoman from the National Religious Party, says missionary activity has increased in recent years. But she says she is even more disturbed by the theology of many of the evangelical Christians who are waiting for the second coming of Christ.

Ms. MINA FENTON (City Councilwoman, Jerusalem, Israel): Everything is linked with the belief in their messiah. And they want, ultimately, any one of them, when you speak more than 10 minutes - after the support - the economical support and the political support - they say what their aim is: The Jewish people have to convert.

GRADSTEIN: Spokesmen for the organizers of this week's march, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, say that while spreading the gospel is part of the evangelical Christian faith, it is clearly discouraged here.

Gershom Gorenberg, who has written a book on Christian fundamentalism called The End of Days, says that many evangelical Christians do want Jews to convert to Christianity.

Mr. GERSHOM GORENBERG (Author, The End of Days): That vision is one in which the Jews eventually disappear. And if you say that at the end of days in the perfected world there aren't going to be any Jews, then what you're saying is that right now you don't accept the legitimacy of Judaism.

GRADSTEIN: But for the Christian pilgrims visiting Israel, and for the Israelis who came to greet them, the Christian economic and political support now is more important than any vague theological future. Linda Gradstein, NPR News, Jerusalem. 2007 National Public Radio®.