JERUSALEM DAY, THE POPE AND PROPHECY FULFILLED

What a time we live in!

Today is Jerusalem Day, Yom Jerushalayim  here in Israel, a day commemorating the fulfillment of Prophecy on June 7, 1967 when the Israeli army took Jerusalem from occupying Jordan in the 6 Day War. On the Jewish calendar it was 28 Iyar, 5727; on May 12, 1968 the Government declared this date a new National holiday to commemorate the re-unification of Jerusalem, using Psalm 122:3 as the inspiration for the day, "Built-up Jerusalem is like a city that was joined together."

In a glaring contrast to this celebration, earlier this week, Pope Francis took it upon himself to pray at a graffiti laden section of the security fence/wall (only about 3% of the security fence is "wall"), kissing it as though it were comparable in significance to the Western Wall, the Kotel. The graffiti seen behind him promotes BDS, (that is, the Western attempt to restore Hitler's treatment of the Jews in the years before the Holocaust); another equated the Palestinians in Bethlehem to the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. (I'm not sure what sort of terrorist activities the Warsaw Jews had perpetrated, or, for that matter, why the Palestinians still live in "refugee camps"). But then, graffiti creators are not subject to the rules of truthfulness, or historical accuracy.

Whatever happened to the concept of political neutrality of a religious figure like the Pope?

Not only that, but from there he moves on to interrupt Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech and "correct" him with information that in the context was nothing short of historical revisionism; see Caroline Glick's piece below for an analysis of this event.

All of this indicates that Pope Francis, for all his apparent goodwill to all the people of the world, is either deliberately making a political anti-Israel statement, or His Holiness slipped into a frame of mind that was unable to discern the impact of his presence and his words.

Caroline Glick has written an insightful, as always, analysis of the Pope's visit in the Jerusalem Post, also accessible on her blog: http://carolineglick.com/pope-franciss-unfriendly-visit/

This is well worth reading.

About the Pope she says, "Had he actually cared about the cause of peace and non-violence he claims to champion, Francis might have averred from stopping at the barrier, recognizing that doing so would defile the memory of the Ohayons and of hundreds of other Israeli Jewish families who were destroyed by Palestinian bloodlust and anti-Semitic depravity.

 Instead, Francis “spontaneously” got out of his popemobile, walked over to a section of the barrier, and reverentially touched it and kissed it as if it were the Wailing Wall".

Read all of her article at the link above.

Fortunately, we were not in Jerusalem to have our lives disrupted by this sort of behaviour.

Instead we attended a glorious ongoing fulfillment of Prophecy at the Ben Gurion Airport.

Jeremiah repeats the LORD's claim that the days are coming when we will no longer refer to the LORD as the God who brought his people up out of Egypt, but as the God who brought his people up from the north and from all the nations to which he had scattered them, to bring them home to the land He had promised to their ancestors; that is, to their own land.

Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and other Prophets all contain similar prophecies of return to the land; to the "Mountains of Israel", to rebuild the cities and villages, to replant the fields and transform a desolate land into a fertile Garden; restoring Eden.

I consider it a Divine appointment that I was privileged to be present at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday, May 26, 2014 to welcome, together with Michael Freund, Rabbi Tuly Weisz and crowds of relatives and friends, another 40 Bnei Menashe from India to the homeland of their forefather Menashe, whom we know as Manasseh, one of Joseph's sons whose inheritance included land on both sides of the Jordan.

Michael Freund is the driving force behind the return of the Bnei Menashe. He has worked tirelessly for years and has been instrumental in helping many of the 2,000 who are already here back to Israel; this group of 40 joins those whose Aliyah happened over the last 10 years or so, most of whom are friends and family. Check his website at www.shavei.org and www.IsraelReturns.org 

One particularly touching re-uniting needs special attention. I do not have all of the details, but the waiting crowd included a young man, named Gamliel, whose fiancé Edna Valphei was on this flight; anticipation galore!

She had been unable to join him 7 years ago when they were engaged, but he did expect her to join him very soon; since that did not happen, because of political reasons, he is now anticipating her arrival.

The media, of course, wanted to hear and tell the story,

But they were not the only ones.

Michael, through an interpreter, led them all in prayer, thanking God for their safe arrival. When all the formalities were done, they sang HaTikvah together on Israeli soil for the first time. They are home.

What can we do but PRAISE THE LORD!

And pray that messages like those created by Pope Francis' visit will not have impact, and those wishing to use them for anti-Israel propaganda will not succeed.

We can make a difference if we commit ourselves to the LORD's call, through Isaiah, for watchmen (62:6-7): "I have set watchmen on your wall, O Jerusalem; You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth".

Jerusalem Day is a great opportunity to remind ourselves of this call!