Dispatch from Jerusalem

The Lord is Building Jerusalem—One Apartment at a Time!

“‘You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings’” (Isaiah 58:12b).

Broken walls, leaking roofs, dingy paint, and the built-up grime of years—after four years in Israel, nothing surprises James Loubser, manager of our Repairers of the Breach program. Over 525 homes have been repaired and renewed throughout Jerusalem and surrounding areas in the past few years. Dedicated Christian volunteers come from around the world to bless the people of Israel with the work of their hands. As they plaster and paint cracked and peeling walls, repair rusted plumbing, replace defective electrical wiring, fix broken windows or doors that won’t close, they are blessing Israel’s poor and elderly.

Arabs Vandalize Judaism´s Holiest Site

An act of Islamic vandalism on a wall of Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, has elicited outrage on the part of archaeologists. In March, the word “Allah” was found carved into the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. The Arabic letters are approximately a foot tall (30.5 centimeters).

Thieves Try to Sell Ancient Bones

First, the antiquities thieves sold stolen ancient burial boxes. Now, they are trying to sell the human bones inside them as well.

Israeli Authorities Prevent Smuggling

An antiquities expert attempting to sneak an ancient measuring weight out of Israel was thwarted by a joint Postal Authority, Antiquities Authority, and Customs Bureau effort.

Egypt, Libya, and Yemen Supply Weapons

Israeli military intelligence has determined that three Arab countries— Egypt, Libya, and Yemen—serve as the chief suppliers of weapons to the Palestinian insurgency in the Gaza Strip.

Get Ready for the Hamas State

The Gaza Strip is becoming the Hamas state, no doubt about it.  Former Shin Bet (Israeli internal security organization) director Avi Dichter publicly warned that Hamas is setting up in Gaza an “army of thousands of armed men  based on the model of Hizbullah in Lebanon.”

Palestinians Use Truce to Regroup

Palestinian militant groups, weakened by more than four years of fighting against Israel, are utilizing the relative calm of an informal truce with Israel to strengthen their positions politically and militarily

Exports from Israel Up, Up, Up!

Israeli exports to the European Union (EU) rose 21.9% in the three-month period comprising November 2004 to January 2005, in comparison with the same period a year earlier, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported in February. The EU remains Israel’s most significant trade partner, with 37% of the country’s imports and exports involving the European continent.

Rice: US $100 a Month to Terrorists “On Pension”

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has proposed a US $100 monthly allowance to terrorists who agree to lay down their arms and retire or find another profession, in a proposal of a pension fund for at least 1,000 terrorists.

Hamas Turns Street Signs Into Kassams

Hamas is using the lull in Israel’s offensive actions to stock up on Kassam rockets, mines, and mortar shells in the Gaza Strip, according to defense sources.

Kassam rocket makers have begun stealing and using street-sign pipes because of a lack of raw materials. Apparently, street signs are becoming rare in Gaza. Hamas is working at a heightened pace to produce more weaponry, in order to be better prepared for future hostilities if and when the de facto cease-fire breaks down and they are again targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).