Hi Friends

Passover, a seven day commemoration of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, begins this year in Israel at sunset Monday, April 14 and concludes at sunset on Tues, April 22. Israel and the Jewish people in Ireland and around the world will recall in song and story the biblical deliverance, under the leadership of Moses, from the slave pits of Egypt, the ten plagues preceding it, and escapes from death because of the blood of the Passover lamb. Unleavened bread called matzos will be eaten throughout the holiday, and sweets made with matzo, corn and potato flour will accompany daily meals.Pray for the safety of Israel during the entire Passover holiday, as it is during times of national celebration terrorists often choose to carry out their cruelest and most lethal attacks.

I enclose our News Update for the past 2 weeks. I have picked the following 7 items to draw to your attention. Shalom

Paddy Monaghan
ICFI

  • Passover in China:100 members of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng, China, are expected to attend a Passover Seder on Monday, April 14 The Seder, which is being sponsored by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel, will be conducted by 28-year-old Tzuri (Heng) Shi, who moved to Israel from Kaifeng a few years ago. Lets bless the Chinese Jews and Jews all over the world as they celebrate Passover.
  • Israeli Scientific Breakthrough re Blind: A new, camera-based product from Israeli start-up OrCam gives the visually impaired the ability to both “read” easily and move around a lot more freely. The OrCam device is a small camera that clips onto glasses and connects to a powerful wearable computer.Thank God for how He is continuing to make the seed of Abraham a blessing on the earth(Genesis 22:18)
  • Former Islamist on PA incitement: 2 Senior PA religious leaders proclaim in the name of Islam that Jews are prohibited from praying at the Western Wall.Dr. Tawfik Hamid stated the onus is on Palestinians to make peace with Israel. He said although it is undeniable many Palestinian Arabs are suffering, the facts on the ground prove the finger of blame should be pointed not at Israel, but at Hamas and the PA who, instead of responding to repeated Israeli overtures for peace, pursue an agenda of antisemitic incitement, rejectionism and terrorism. Pray that the Lord will raise of more voices like Hamid to tell the truth of what is happening
  • Iran near to Nuclear Weapon:US Secretary of State Kerry acknowledges “Iran will be able to develop a nuclear weapon within 2 months” An Iranian official said Russia will assist the building of two nuclear plants in Iran as part of a $20 billion deal. Pray that West and Russia will not be fooled by Iran
  • Christian Persecution:A 75-year-old Jesuit priest was beaten and shot dead by armed men in Syria. Two Christian women were publicly beheaded by Islamist terrorists in Somalia, as part of a campaign to "wipe out" all Christians there. Pray for Ireland to speak out more on the issue of Christian Persecution
  • Anti Semitic PA Textbooks: A study of 150 new PA textbooks reveals widespread delegitimization of Israel and continued calls to use violence against Jews. The investigation finds widespread demonization of Israel, calls for a violent struggle instead of peace and states the Jews have no rights to Israel, including to Jewish holy sites. Pray for the EU to monitor this material properly before they grant aid this material.
  • EU Anti Semitism:854 French immigrants arrived in Israel in January and Februarydue to a dramatic 312% increase in anti-Semitism in France. 3,300 French Jews immigrated to Israelin 2013, an increase of 70% over 2012. There has been a 23% increase in antisemitic incidents since 2012 in the Netherlands. Pray that the churches will give a lead in standing up against anti Semitism in France and Holland.

JNN News Update April 14th 2014 P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel

ISRAELI OFFICIALS: NO CHANCES TALKS WILL RESUME: Officials in Jerusalem were pessimistic on Friday about the possibility of the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) resuming anytime in the near future. Those officials told Israel’s Channel 10 News there is “zero chance an agreement will be reached in the coming weeks” that will allow the talks to continue beyond an April 29 deadline. On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed official documents, confirming reception of and starting processing for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' requests to join international conventions that are also signed by the UN. Ten of the 15 conventions the PA wishes to join are co-signed by the UN. Hours after Ban signed the documents, an Israeli official said Israel has enacted an additional sanction against the PA, by freezing the transfer of taxes Israel collects for the PA. Further, the official noted Israel is suspending participation with the PA to develop a gas field in the sea off of Hamas-controlled Gaza, and putting a cap on PA deposits in Israeli banks. “The purposes of these moves, and others likely to come, is "to save the process," one government official said. These calculated and measured steps, he said, were aimed to show the Palestinians that "continued rejectionism will harm their interests." Further steps, he said, will be a "function of what the Palestinians do or do not do. If the Palestinians continue with their unilateral steps, Israel will continue to respond." (Israel National News/Jerusalem Post)

SYRIA REBELS, GOVERNMENT REPORT POISON GAS ATTACK: Syrian government media and rebel forces said Saturday that poison gas had been used in a central village, killing two and injuring scores of people, while blaming each other for the attack. The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said the poison gas attack Friday hurt dozens of people, including children in the village of Kfar Zeita in the central province of Hama. It did not say what type of gas was used. The UK - based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that people suffered from suffocation and breathing problems after the attack, apparently conducted during air raids that left heavy smoke over the area. ( Ynet)

NEW ISRAEI SPY SATELLITE ENTERS ORBIT: A new Israeli spy satellite entered orbit late last week, the Defense Ministry said, boosting the Jewish state’s ability to monitor arch-foe Iran. The observation remote-sensing Ofek 10 satellite, launched into space on a Shavit rocket in cooperation with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, outdoes earlier models with its ability to “skip” from one target to another rather than simply “sweep” areas, ministry officials told reporters. The satellite has already begun transmitting data and visual material. It is expected to be operational within months. It is a lightweight satellite that is expected to improve Israel’s reconnaissance abilities by providing sharp images at any time of day, and in any weather condition, said Ofer Doron of Israel Aerospace Industries. “It has an incredible imaging capability enabling it to give very precise photos,” said Doron. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon noted Ofek 10 would “enable the security establishment to better deal with threats near and far, at all hours of the day and in any weather.” (Times of Israel)

EGYPT DEMANDS COMPENSATION FOR 10 PLAGUES: “We demand that the State of Israel pay compensation for the ten plagues that our forefathers in Egypt suffered thousands of years ago as a result of the curses of the Jewish forefathers.” So wrote prominent Egyptian columnist Ahmad Al-Gamal shortly before the Jewish Passover, causing a great stir. “What is written in the Torah is that Pharaoh discriminated against the children of Israel. What have we to do with it? We therefore need not suffer!” exclaimed Al-Gamal, drawing a clear difference between the Egyptian kingdom of the Pharaohs and Islamic Egypt of today. Islam accepts the biblical narrative as historical evidence. The columnist suggested the government in Cairo press charges against Israel: “The Jews caused the land to be stricken with locusts and all agriculture destroyed, turned the Nile red with blood so that no one could drink its waters, sent darkness, frogs and killed the firstborn.” Al-Gamal continued: “During 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Children of Israel enjoyed our goods, which they stole before abandoning us.” The Egyptian column was picked up by the Israeli press. Some Israeli columnists retorted that Egypt need first compensate Israel for keeping the Jewish forefathers as slaves and for killing all male Jewish babies in the generation prior to the Exodus. (Israel Today) As one blogger pointed out, “According to the Torah the Jews didn't curse Egypt at all. The Almighty did. Now, if the Egyptians want to sue Him, the courts of Heaven are open.” Another gentleman noted that by making the absurd claims “Al-Gamal has publicly recognized the State of Israel.” Is it any wonder “The One enthroned in heaven laughs?” Ps 2:4

JNN News Update April 12th 2014, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel

KERRY: ISRAELI “SETTLEMENT BUILDING” IN JERUSALEM CAUSED TALKS CRISIS: Israel was stunned on Wednesday, as attested to by the morning newspaper headlines, that US Secretary of State John Kerry had effectively “thrown it under the bus” by apportioning the lion’s share of the blame for failed peace talks to the Jewish state. During a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Kerry explained the failure of his obsessive peace efforts thus: “The Palestinian prisoners were not released by Israel on the day they were supposed to be released and then another day passed and another day – and then 700 housing units were approved in Jerusalem and then poof.”It wasn't what Secretary of State John Kerry said, but how he said it, that generated headlines blaming Israel for exploding a deal to extend the peace talks. A well-crafted message from the State Department holding both Israelis and Palestinians culpable f or the crisis did little to mitigate the impact." The "settlement" Kerry spoke of is Gilo, a Jerusalem neighborhood of 40,000 residents that most Israelis who support a two-state solution already see as an integral part of Israel. An Israeli official remarked that at in every past peace plan it had been understood that Gilo would remain within Israel's borders. He said these tenders had already been published in the past and had been republished last week. (Jerusalem Post/Israel Today)

PA TO JOIN GENEVA CONVENTIONS: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has signed up formally to the Geneva Conventions, which set down the rules of warfare and humanitarian operations in conflict zones, the treaties' guardian Switzerland confirmed Friday. A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman said the PA had declared itself party to the conventions on April 2. The PA was registered formally by Switzerland on Thursday, he added. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas unilaterally applied to join 15 international conventions and treaties late last week. Following Abbas' breach of peace negotiation conditions, Israel took several punitive measures and sanctions in response. (Israel National News)

PM INSTRUCTS GOV’T TO LIMIT TIES WITH PA: PM Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel’s government offices not to meet with members of the Palestinian Authority and has forbidden civilian and financial cooperation with the Authority. The PM’s decision is in direct correlation with the breakdown of peace talks between Israel and the PA. The new instructions do not include the Ministry of Defense, nor do they include any talks within the framework of the peace negotiations. The move came after Netanyahu earlier this week issued a stern warning to the Palestinians about their application to join the international treaties and any future steps the PA might take outside the negotiating process to shore up legal standing as a state. “Unilateral steps on the Palestinians’ part will be met with unilateral steps on our part," Netanyahu warned. Currently, an overwhelming 92% majority of Israelis do not believe negotiations can lead to a final status peace agreement, according to a survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute. Even 87% of left-wing Israelis said peace with the current Palestinian leadership is beyond reach. (Israel National News/Jerusalem Post)

BENNETT CALLS ON PM TO ANNEX 60% OF JUDEA AND SAMARIA: Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett urged PM Netanyahu Wednesday to annex some 60% of Judea and Samaria in response to the Palestinians’ stopping talks with Israel and turning to the UN. All 350,000 of the Jews in Judea and Samaria live in Area C, some 60% of the area. Of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, 97% live in Area A, which is under full Palestinian control, and Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control and Israeli military control. “It is clear the diplomatic process has run its course and that we are entering a new era,” Bennett wrote Netanyahu. “We have been hitting our heads against the wall of negotiations over and over again for years and we kept getting surprised when the wall did not break. He explained his plan on CNN Wednesday and intends to push it to the international community. (Jerusalem Post)

HEZBOLLAH FACING ECONOMIC CRISIS AS FUNDING FROM IRAN CUT: The Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group is facing an economic crisis stemming from its involvement in the Syrian civil war, and budget cuts in Iran as a result of new president Hassan Rouhani's austerity policies. Adding to Hezbollah's problems is close monitoring of funding sources by American and European countries. For example, on Tuesday, Germany outlawed the Berlin-based fundraising group Orphaned Children Project-Lebanon because it was found to be transferring money to Hezbollah. Lebanese media also reported that European intelligence agencies have recently been cooperating in efforts to prevent the transfer of funds to Hezbollah, especially from South American and African countries. This European effort comes after several charity organizations in Europe were found to be attempting to transfer funds to the terrorist organization. Money transfer freezes have been placed on individual Lebanese citizens who live in Europe as well, since they have been marked as "potential routes" for transferring money to Hezbollah. (Jerusalem Post)

KHAMENEI: IRAN WILL NEVER GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM:Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Wednesday that Tehran will never give up its nuclear program. Speaking to a gathering of nuclear scientists, Khamenei said Iran had agreed to talks with the West to "break the hostile atmosphere" with the international community and to show it was not seeking nuclear weapons. "These talks need to continue but all must know that despite the talks, activities of the Islamic Republic in the field of nuclear research and development won't be halted at all," said Khamenei. Telling negotiators not to "accept any coercive words from the other party," he added, "None of the country's nuclear achievements can be stopped, and no one has the right to bargain over it." Under a six-month interim deal which was reached between Iran and six world powers in November, Iran agreed to freeze its uranium enrichment program in return for sanctions relief, including the transfer of some $4.2 billion in frozen overseas funds. The sides met again for another round of talks in Vienna on Wednesday, following which Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the two sides were up to 60% in agreement. A senior US official was less upbeat but said all sides were committed to keep trying. (Arutz-7)

HOUSE PASSES BILL AGAINST TERRORISTS AS AMBASSADORS: The US House of Representatives unanimously passed, on Thursday, a bill which prevents terrorists from entering the United States as UN ambassadors. Last month, Iran nominated Hamid Aboutalebi - a member of the group that stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 54 Americans hostage for 444 days - as its new ambassador to the UN. Sponsor Peter Roskam (Republican-IL) responded to the vote by saying, “This appointment is a slap in the face to the United States and our allies, and yet comes as no surprise from the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Accepting Mr. Aboutalebi’s nomination to this post would be a tacit endorsement of his past terrorist activity, which should disqualify him from entering the United States and the privileges of diplomatic immunity granted to foreign dignitaries. I’m pleased with the strong showing of bipartisan support for this legislation, which I urge the President to sign without delay.” (INN)

PERES WOOS HEADS OF CHINESE COMPANIES: President Shimon Peres met with the heads of leading Chinese companies in Beijing on Wednesday. The CEOs expressed their desire to partner with Israeli hi-tech companies. Annual trade between Israel and China totals around $10 billion, which Peres said was a lot for Israel, but a drop in the ocean for China. Peres lauded China for having escaped from hunger and poverty into prosperity and declared its flourishing economy is an example to the world. The countries complement each other in that each has what the other lacks he remarked. Israel is small, without natural resources, but with tremendous human resources, particularly in science and technology. China is a vast country with many natural resources as well as human resources, but is less advanced than Israel in science and technology. Peres saw room for cooperation in these areas. It was agreed at the economic meeting that two parallel teams be set up by Israel and China to examine areas of cooperation and that Israel would set up a model farm in southern China so the Chinese can study its agricultural technology and make use of it. (Jerusalem Post) Pray for continued cooperation between Israel and China in areas of technology, science, and medicine.