Israel

Jordan Valley Annexation–Vital to Israel’s Security?

February 28, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

*Uzi Dayan pictured with Bella on the recent tour of the Judea and Samaria (which includes the Jordan Valley).*

The Jordan Valley is a long and narrow valley along the Jordan River. It forms a natural eastern border between Israel and Jordan. Israel considers it to be an important strategic region to protect the country’s eastern region.

Last Wednesday, I (Bella) joined about 300 women from the Likud Party on a trip to the Jordan Valley with Uzi Dayan, our tour guide. Maj. Gen. (reserve) Uzi Dayan was the former head of the IDF Central Command, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff and national security adviser to several Prime Ministers.

Our first stop was a place the Arabs call Qasr el-Yahud (“Castle of the Jews”). Jews believe this was the place at the Jordan River where the Israelites, led by Joshua son of Nun, crossed the river to enter the Promised Land following the Exodus from Egypt. They also believe it is the place the Prophet Elijah crossed the river in the opposite direction and was taken into heaven by ‘fiery chariots’, as witnessed by his disciple Elisha.

“It’s a very special place,” Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan told us. “Maybe the most important historical event of Israel took place here.” Joshua 1:

“The Lord said to Joshua son of Nun: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.“

Dayan also believes this is the place Moses looked on from nearby Mount Nebo when he ended his role as leader of Israel and saw the people of Israel get ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses himself didn’t enter and died on the mountain on the other side of the Jordan River.

For Christians, this place is also significant as they believe that this was the spot in the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Yeshua (Jesus). Today it is a baptismal site. Until 2011, this baptismal site was a closed military zone, accessible only to groups with special permission after prior coordination with the IDF-Israel Defense Forces. Today, this area has a few churches belonging to different denominations, mainly Greek Orthodox, open to visitors who come to be baptized.

As we drove across the valley to a place commemorating Israeli soldiers who were killed in a battle protecting the valley, Dayan said that Israeli annexation of the Jordan valley is a ‘security buffer zone that is essential to Israel’. “Israeli security requires three things: fundamental strategic depth; room to wage war against the threat of conventional attacks from the outside, and room that allows for effective combat against terrorism. The minimal strategic depth and air space required is the 65 kilometers average width of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. As for room to wage war, this is the Jordan Rift Valley which ranges between 6 and 14 km wide.”

As he spoke, the General pointed out the mountains on the valley’s western edge (which range from 900 to 1,400 meters edge high) that create a physical defensive barrier. There are only five mountain passageways through them. Even a limited IDF force deployed in the valley can defend Israel against an attack from the east.

The Jordan Valley is the eastern buffer zone that prevents the West Bank mountain region from becoming a terrorist entity. From the time Israel captured the Jordan Valley from Jordan in the Six-Day War in 1967, there have been no military invasions from Jordan into Israel. There now exists a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

According to provisions of the 1993 Oslo Accords, most of the Jordan Valley is part of Area C, where Israel maintains full civil and security control. However, this strategic region is not yet officially Israeli territory.

*See the orange area? That is the Jordan Valley. The yellow is the rest of Judea and Samaria: the Biblical Heartland of the Land of Israel.*

While the peace deal between Israel and Jordan minimizes the threat of attack today, there are still many reasons why Israel needs to control the Jordan Valley. The biggest challenge to Israel’s claim over the Jordan Valley is that the Palestinians also claim the territory as part of what they call the ‘West Bank,’ the same area Israelis identify as historic Judea and Samaria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for applying Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley region and designates the valley a ‘defensive wall’ that, along with related territory, will ensure Israel’s safety with the permanent presence of the IDF.

As we visited the lower part of the Jordan Valley, General Dayan explained the strategic importance of the area. “From the topographical point of view, it’s the ideal region to defend ourselves. The distance to the Mediterranean is just 40 miles, and from north to south, the valley forms a natural border with Jordan, beyond which lies Iran and Iraq. The notion of Israel having defensible borders is based on the Jordan Valley being part of the state of Israel.”

One of 22 communities securing a Jewish presence in the valley is Moshav Na’ama, an agricultural village of 50 families founded in 1982. Today, their main crops are organic herbs, grapes and Medjool dates, all organic. I bought a box of delicious dates.

Like most all the Israeli communities in the Jordan Valley, almost all the workers in the fields and greenhouses at Na’ama are Arabs from surrounding towns and villages. According to Inon Rosenblum, owner of the Na’ama herb farm, “They prefer to work here. They earn twice as much as they could working in Jericho.”

Names (Part 1): God Changes Names – Man Changes Names

June 10, 2017 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

God-Elohim has many names. When Moses asked Him what His Name is, so he could tell the people of Israel that this is Who sent him, God replied: “I will be whoever I will be, אהיה ‬‬‬אשר אהיה (future tense). He calls Himself ‫יהוה‬ (Yehova, Was, Is and Is To Be). In the first name the letter ‫ה ‬ (H) appears four times, in the second it appears twice. When God changed Abram’s name ‫אברם ‬ (high father) to ‫ אברהם ‬ AbraHam, He added the letter ה (H) meaning father of many nations. In the same way, He changed Abraham’s wife’s name Sarai to SaraH ‫ה‬.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

There was a reason for both name changes. It was so that they would know that He has a purpose for the two of them as mother and father of the son of promise. However, by the time God gave Abraham the promise that his seed would be as the stars and sand (Gen. 15:5,) and that through him all of the nations of the earth would be blessed, Abraham and his wife Sarah were too old to have children. Sarah gave her Egyptian maid Hagar to her husband Abraham to be the surrogate mother of their future heir, and Ishmael was born. But he was not the Son of the Promise.

Abraham fell on his face and laughed when God told him that Sarah would bear him a child. Abraham said to himself: “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” (Gen. 17:17-18)

God made it clear to Abraham that Isaac, not Ishmael was the Son of the Promise:
Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac (will laugh – in Hebrew). I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you.“

Just as the Lord had said, a year later Sarah gave birth to Isaac. God told Abraham to send Ishmael away (he settled in Paran in Arabia,) that He would make him there a great nation also:
God said to Abraham, “Do not be grievous because of the boy (Ishmael) and because of your slave woman…For from Isaac will your seed be called.” (Gen. 21:12)

So two great nations came out of Abraham; the Arabs from Ishmael (not the Seed of the Promise) and Israel, from Isaac – the Seed of the Promise.
[Read more about the Promise on our Blog]

Where does the name Israel come from?

The name “Israel” comes from the Hebrew words Isra (verb meaning to wrestle) and El (meaning God). Genesis 32:24-30:
“And Jacob remained alone (all night). A man fought with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not prevail, he struck Jacob on the hip and threw it out of joint. The man said, “Let go of me! It’s daylight.” And he said: “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Then the man asked, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. You have wrestled with God (Elohim) and with men and you have prevailed. Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.” “Why do you ask for my name?” (Don’t you know who I am?) And he blessed him there. And Jacob named the place Peniel (face of God), because he said, “I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive.”

God reaffirmed the change of name, the Blessing, and the Promise, in Gen. 35:9-12:
Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-Aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel and blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. “And God, Elohim said to him, I am El Shaddai, be fruitful and multiply, a big nation and a multitude of nations will come out of you. And kings will come out of your loins. And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your seed after you I will give the land.”

Modern archaeology confirms the Biblical account of ‘Israelite’ people in the land of Canaan sometime during the first Iron Age. These people differentiated themselves from the Canaanites by not intermarrying, genealogy, and religion.

In the Bible, Israel is mentioned 2566 times. Only the Name of God is mentioned more times. There are many prophetic scriptures concerning Israel including Isa. 11:12, Isa. 66:8, Ezek. 37:21, Jer. 31:3,10-11, Ezek. 34:28. It is to Israel that God says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love”, and that he is “the apple of His (God’s) eye”.

So Where does the name Israel come from? From the Lord Himself, its the name that God gave to change Jacob’s name, and use for His people and His Promised Land He gave them.

Where does the name Palestine come from?
Read part two in our next newsletter.

Holocaust Memorial and Documentary about the Warsaw Ghetto

April 24, 2017 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Last evening Holocaust memorial ceremony, PM Netanyahu spoke about the lesson we have learned through the Shoah (Holocaust) and still face all the time, that in our world the weak have little chance to survive. “That we have to defend ourselves by ourselves. The ones who are planning to annihilate us will themselves be destroyed…It’s the only way to ensure our future and we have the ability to do it…I say it in the name of all the generations of Israelis who have and are building Israel, and in the name of Holocaust survivers here, together we have made this incredible CHANGE from a HELPLESS and DEFENSELESS people to a POWERFUL nation able to defend itself …in less than 70 years we are now one of the strongest nations in the world, and we continue to develop our military, intelligence and technological abilities…”

Today Israel is observing the memorial of the Holocaust. Here is a short clip from a documentary I am watching. My mother escaped from Warsaw Getto and all her family were killed there…

And here is a beautiful memorial ceremony:

From: FJC – Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS – FSU

Israel is Burning – Raging fires throughout the land

November 24, 2016 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Three days ago, due to unusually hot and dry weather and strong winds throughout the land of Israel, over 200 fires broke out in many parts of the nation; beginning on Tuesday in the area of Latrun, not far from Jerusalem Mountains. Residents have been evacuated from their homes in many areas where the fire is spreading.

On Wednesday massive blazing fires broke out in Zichron Yaakov and Gilon in the lower Galilee. They were controlled during the night, allowing some evacuated residents to return to their homes.

In the Jerusalem area, firefighters battled flames all night in the forest while trying to protect nearby villages, the main highway to the Tel Aviv area and vital installations of the Israel Electric Corporation. On Thursday, with winds blowing and weather still dry (temperatures have dropped some) firefighters and emergency services worked hard on the third straight day to gain control over the fires across the land. In the city of Haifa, fires are being spread through many neighborhoods causing evacuations. About 60,000 people were evacuated, among them many elderly and disabled. Some houses were burned to the ground and property lost, but lives have been spared. Most of the injuries are light, the result of smoke inhalation.

In his address to the nation, Israel PM Netanyahu gave praise to the firefighters working around the clock to extinguish the fires. “I salute the firefighters and the pilots, both Israeli and those from abroad,” he said. Currently 14 firefighting aircraft have been sent to Israel from Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Italy, Croatia and the US. Some have already helped in the fight against the fires. Netanyahu and Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh visited the fire departments’ command center in northern Israel Wednesday evening, and were briefed on the investigation into the fires.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, told reporters: “Almost 50% of the fires are apparently arson.” He said the police department was bolstering deployment in open areas nationwide to generate deterrence and to help fire detection efforts. “We need to prepare for a new type of terror,” he said on Thursday evening. “The terrorism of arson, which also comes from incitement on social media networks. We will be opening a special unit of investigation into the incidents,” stating that a number of arrests had already been made.

An initial investigation by the Fire & Rescue Authority on Thursday raised a suspicion that at four areas of Haifa the fire was a result of arson. They said that 60-70 percent of the cases were arson and that there was physical evidence, while the rest were a result of negligence fueled by the dry strong winds. Earlier in the day, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh said some of the cases of arson were likely nationalistically motivated.

In the Arab social media there were posts of rejoicing over the fires that are devastating the land of Israel with headlines like: “The Zionist entity is burning”, and of people gloating over Israel’s recent disaster. However, the Palestinian authority offered their help to Israel, knowing that many of the residences of Haifa are Arabs.

Please pray with us about this critical and dangerous fire situation across the land, especially for Haifa, the largest city in Northern Israel.

Father God in heaven, we call on you for help. We desperately need your help for the leaders who are in charge, for all Fire Fighters and all who help. Please Lord send rain to the Land of Israel to put out fires. We thank you, in Yeshua’s Name, Amen.

We’re Still Jews!

August 13, 2016 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

For I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham,” …of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews…(Roman 11:1, Phil. 3:5)

One of the most important and misunderstood issues in witnessing to Jews and Israelis about faith in Yeshua is: “Are we still Jews now that we believe in Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach)
Unfortunately, Jewish history is filled with hate crime, persecution, liable, pogroms, expulsions and forced conversions (baptisms) to Christianity committed against Jews by “so-called” Christians and “The Church”. Today in Israel, Israeli Jews see themselves as Jews mainly according to Rabbinical Judaism that rejects Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, and considers anyone who has trusted their life to Yeshua and was baptized, as being no longer Jewish but Christian. The Israeli government has adopted this point of view and has ruled in the precedent case of “The Beredsfords” that Jews who have converted to Christianity are no longer Jews and don’t have the right of return to the Land of Israel as citizens; a privilege all Jews enjoy.
Of course, as Jewish believers in Yeshua, the Body of Yeshua in Israel doesn’t agree with this ruling, and sees itself as part of the Jewish people. We find it very important to explain this important issue to those with whom we share the Gospel.
Recently, an article in the Jerusalem Post newspaper stated that there are four streams of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionists)…In response, an Israeli Messianic leader of a congregation wrote a letter to the Post Editor-in-Chief. Amazingly it was published in the paper and reached about 15,000 readers, some of them very influential. The Messianic leader also sent a copy of the letter to other Messianic leaders encouraging them to send letters to the Post stating our position and belief.
We pray that more Israelis will become familiar with this issue and know the truth according to the Word of God.
Below are excerpts from the letter sent to the Jerusalem Post on May 25 (btw, the paper came up with the title):

25 May 2016 Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Yaakov Katz

We’re still Jews!

“…Certain people have concluded that when a Jewish person believes in Yeshua as the Messiah, he or she is no longer Jewish. This is absolutely wrong. If you ask any Messianic Jew if he or she is Jewish, that person will say: “Of course I am. I was born Jewish and I will die Jewish. I believe in a Jewish man who fulfilled the prophecies of the…Messiah from the Jewish scriptures. The idea that this makes me a non-Jew is absurd!”
” …take the case of Rabbi Akiva. He proclaimed that Bar-Kochba was the Jewish messiah. Today, we know otherwise. Not only was Akiva mistaken, but his mistake brought enormous catastrophe upon the Jewish people. But do people say he was not a Jew? So how is it that a Jewish person who believes in Yeshua as the Jewish messiah, even if he or she is wrong, is no longer a Jew?”
“…we live in a country where freedom of belief and freedom of the press still exist. One of the more prominent streams of Judaism today is the Chabad movement. Many of its adherents believe that their late Rabbi is the Jewish Messiah. I believe this is wrong, but I have no doubt that these people are still Jewish.”

TERRI MOREY Poriya Ilit

PLEASE PRAY WITH US AND THE BODY OF YESHUA IN ISRAEL for the Truth of Yeshua, The Messiah to take root in the hearts of Israelis. Pray that they understand that He is the Savior sent by God, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Gentile.) Romans 1:16