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Turning Toys into Terror

July 26, 2018

The Bible says that the day will come when “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isa. 2:4). While we long for that day, the opposite is happening right now. Toys are being turned into terror weapons. Hamas, the terror organization ruling the Gaza Strip, has found a new way to terrorize Israel—flying kites with incendiary weapons attached into Israel. Today southern Israel is on fire. Countless fires have been set in this manner, terrorizing the communities in the south. An estimated 600 incendiary kites and balloons have been launched into southern Israel over the past two months, sparking blazes that have destroyed much of the wheat and fruit harvest, a beautiful nature reserve and acres of forestland. Fire fighters and community volunteers are working around the clock to keep the fires from consuming Jewish communities.

Hamas’s new terror tools are not simple, handmade devices. An Israeli government official told me that they are high-end, well-made kites, donated by a well-meaning nation to provide entertainment for the Palestinian children in Gaza. Yet instead of bringing joy and delight, the radical Islamic Hamas terrorists have hi-jacked these toys and turned them into instruments to use in their destructive purposes of annihilating Israel. As a result, Israeli children will never be able to innocently enjoy kites again. Instead, the image has become something that fills them with terror.

The situation in the south of Israel is dire indeed and shows no sign of letting up. Kite terrorism has burned up almost 2,500 acres (1,011 ha.) of agricultural lands and has caused Israel tens of millions of shekels in damage. Crops have been lost, irrigation systems have melted, wildlife has been killed, forests charred and children are crying with fear. The brave firemen are exhausted, and the kites of destruction keep coming.

We watch the news reports with horror. We are calling out to God to guard over the people of Israel and save them from this new threat. We asked how we could help, and learned that the Eshkol region shares the largest strip of border with Gaza and is the hardest hit by this arson terrorism. We were told that they are in desperate need of light-weight firefighting trailers. These systems are manufactured in Israel and can quickly be delivered. We immediately wired the funds to purchase two. When the security chief of the Eshkol region heard the news, he literally cried. We couldn’t wait to raise the funds, because the need is GREAT and the need is IMMEDIATE. Since we didn’t have enough money in our Crisis Assistance Fund, we have temporarily borrowed the money from our operating funds.

The apostle James told us that “…faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). At Bridges for Peace we are people of great faith. As Jesus (Yeshua) taught us, we love God and we love our neighbors. Today our neighbors, the Jewish family of Jesus, are suffering. We have responded quickly in love, but the need is much greater than our current ability to respond. We need you, Christians who love Jesus and who want to show Christian love, to respond with generous gifts to help restore what has been destroyed. The first step is to put out the fires, but then it will be necessary to replace irrigation systems, and finally, to be part of restoring the land.

We pray that you will respond quickly with generous financial gifts to our Crisis Assistance Fund that will communicate your love and compassion for the people of Israel.

With hope and blessings from Israel,

Rebecca J. Brimmer

International President and CEO