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.
