Friday, February 17, 2012

Israel - Middle East Report


February 17, 2012
Dear Pastors:

David Sloan has forwarded to me retired Major General Shimon Erem’s "Israel/Middle East Report!"
This is a "must read" for us and for our people. Shimon, as a Jew, has probably spoke in more Christian churches than any other Jew I know. One of Shimon’s heroes was Andre’ Trocme’ who hid over 5,000 Jews in his village in France’s Mountains during WWII. When Shimon asked Pastor Trocme’ why he did it, he quoted Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

JIM VINEYARD
YEDIDIM OF ISRAEL

Israel/Middle East Report
From General Shimon Erem
February 15, 2012

EXPANSION OBJECTIVES OF ISLAM

The Islamic attack on Christianity is getting closer to the United States. Obviously, it is easier to infiltrate the U.S. through South America than from a Middle East base, and that is exactly what the Islamists are doing. They have established very close relations in South America, particularly in Venezuela with Hugo Chavez and have organized cells in Argentina and other Latin American countries as well. They have developed close relationships with the Mexican drug gangs that cross back and forth into the United States. You will all remember that Iran used a person from Mexico in their plan to kill the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Washington D.C. last fall. They are working to gain a foothold in the United States and we have to be aware of it.

There are three continents where Christianity is significantly growing: Africa, Asia and South America. This growth has become a source of great anger and determination for the Muslims, who have stepped up their efforts to eliminate Christians in these areas and to expand the reach of Islam.

I have talked about the persecution of Christians by Muslims in Africa in a number of reports over the past several months. The persecution continues there, especially in Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia. In Asia, Christianity is exploding, especially in China, where there are many thousands of Christians establishing new churches and praying to Jesus all across the country. Christianity is also on-the-rise in Hong King, Singapore and Thailand. It is interesting that even if you have only a small group of Muslims in a place, they immediately begin demanding that they have their own communities. Thailand is an example of this. A predominately Buddhist nation, where people of other faiths are allowed to follow their religious beliefs, Thailand has been under attack by Islamic insurgents not content with being a part of communities where Buddhists, a growing number of Christians, and Hindus also live. They are demanding their own communities and their own separatist Muslim state in Southern Thailand.

EUROPE’S MISCALCULATIONS
This is what they have done in Europe – in England, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France... The Europeans thought they would absorb the Muslim immigrants and that they would become part of their communities. They thought they could reach some kind of harmony there. Instead, what has happened is the takeover of towns and neighborhoods, which they have claimed as "Muslim communities," instituting Sharia law over the prevailing laws of the countries in which they are located, forbidding non-Muslims to enter without permission and an official Muslim escort – this even applies to public officials and first responders such as fire fighters. They are working toward the same goals here in the U.S. As an example, look at Temecula, here in Southern California, where they are trying to get permits to build a second mosque. They already have established one large mosque, more than adequate to meet the needs of the area’s Muslim community. Why do we yield? We must stop yielding to the Muslims. If we don’t, the U.S. will become like Europe.
This brings me back to South America and what is being done by the radicals to gain more influence, then use it to get into the United States. They are actively building relationships with the Latin American gangs and are proselytizing the young people to get converts to Islam. Eliminating Christians – and Christianity – from the world is exactly what they are trying to do. The only way to defend against the global Islamic assault is for the Christians to get energized.

RUSSIA, CHINA AND SYRIA
One of the biggest news stories of the past couple of weeks was the veto by Russia and China of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the violence of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime against his own people and supporting an Arab League plan that would make the way for a transition of power in the country.
The reasons the two countries used their veto power are both economic and political, and they are complicated. One reason, of course, is the importance to both countries of positive relations with Iran, which remains a strong supporter of Syria. Russia and China both get a large amount of their oil from Iran and they do not want to do anything that would threaten their access to this vital resource.

But the reasoning behind their vetoes goes far beyond their relationship with Iran. Neither Russia nor China is strong on human rights for their people and neither is anxious to see international interference in their own authoritarian rule. With anti-Putin demonstrators now taking to the streets in Moscow, the former KGB official who wants to again be Russia’s president does not want to send any signals to protestors that their actions will be tolerated. He wants them to understand that he is ready to do whatever it will take to silence them and solidify his control. China follows the same policies against anti-government agitators, brutally cracking down on any who oppose the government. In this regard, they are on the same page as Syria.

There are other economic factors that likely played into their decision. China has a booming trade relationship with Syria that is proving extremely beneficial to Beijing. The Chinese have become Syria’s largest supplier of goods – to the tune of about $1.2 billion this year according to some reports – and that figure is rapidly growing. Add to this the fact that China has become Syria’s second largest non-Arab investor, superseded only by Iran.
As for the Russians, Syria now provides Russia with a warm-water port on the Mediterranean in Tartus, providing unrestricted access to the high seas. Russia would not want to lose this important strategic asset.

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