JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE
December 25, 2011 

“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6

GREATEST INVENTIONS OF ALL TIME: Indispensable Israeli inventions are being displayed and at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem. Highlights include: Netafim smart drip micro-irrigation, Ormat geothermal power plants, Pythagoras Solar windows, Hazera Genetics slow-ripening cherry tomato, EpiLady electric hair remover, MobileEye safe auto navigation system, Leviathan Energy silent wind turbine, BriefCam video-synopsis technology, Better Place electric car network, and Intel Israel computer processors. Also being presented with five star ratings are: TA Count real-time microbiology detection, Solaris Synergy solar panels that float on water, HydroSpin internal pipe electricity generator, Elbit electro-optic observation system, Turbulence interactive movie, Decell Technologies GPS and phone-based road traffic information monitoring, PrimeSense 3D vision technologies, Takadu water utilities monitoring, EarlySense hospital patient monitoring, and Panoramic Power energy monitoring. (J.Post) “Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.” Isaiah 27:6

ANCIENT PURITY SEAL FOUND IN JERUSALEM LINKED TO RITUAL: A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem's Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago. The coin-sized seal recently found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning “pure for God.” Archaeologist Ronny Reich said it dates from between the 1st century B.C. to 70 A.D. - the year Roman forces put down a Jewish revolt and destroyed the second of the two biblical temples in Jerusalem. The find marks the first discovery of a written seal from that period of Jerusalem's history, and appeared to be a unique physical artifact from ritual practice in the Temple. (Fox News)

ISRAEL'S FM RESPONDS TO MUD-SLINGING FROM EUROPE: Israel does not need lessons in democracy from Europe, not even Britain, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said this week. The four current members of the UN Security Council – Britain, France, Germany and Portugal – publicly censured Israel last week for continuing to build beyond the Green Line and called on it to bring law-breakers to justice. The foreign ministry responded that Europe risked losing relevancy if it continued to reflexively condemn Israel and re-interpret various Quartet statements regarding how to restart negotiations with the Palestinians. Lieberman said that the four European countries need to understand that construction in the West Bank was not the obstacle to peace and that it was the Palestinians who were blocking negotiations. While Israel proved in its peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt – the latter of which entailed uprooting settlements – that Jewish communities beyond the Green Line were not obstacles to peace, the Palestinians have proven that for them the settlements are only an excuse not to negotiate, Lieberman said. He added that when Israel removed all settlements from Gaza, the Palestinian response was missiles and terrorism. Europe should be condemning PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Lieberman said. He is someone who has shown that “he is not a partner for anything.” (J.Post) A Brief Review: Residents of Jewish communities expelled during the 2005 Gaza Disengagement - in a move on the part of Israel to promote peace with the Palestinians - lost homes, thriving greenhouses and other agricultural businesses.  Many of these tragic Jewish figures are still unemployed and living with their families in cramped caravans or small crowed apartments. Jewish refugees dispelled from their land by the Sharon Administration left behind empty houses and mature enterprises for Gaza Arabs to take over. Thousands of Palestinians had years of experience working for Jewish employers. With innovation and work from Arab farmers, what the Jews left behind could have been a paradise of industry and financial support for Gazans. Instead they broke up greenhouses and sold the parts, neglected the agriculture and destroyed the houses.  A few former Jewish worship centers – those that were left standing, including the Atzomona synagogue - continue to be used as terrorist training camps in which kidnapping and urban warfare is practiced. Is it any wonder Israel’s leaders have learned hard lessons regarding the waste and wreckage of attempting to pay the full price for peace with those who are their avowed enemies?

NETANYAHU: HAMAS-FATAH UNION MEANS NO TALKS: PM Binyamin Netanyahu said this week if the Hamas terrorist organization joins the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) government, Israel will not be able to negotiate with the PA. Netanyahu stressed that Israel was prepared to meet the Palestinians at any time and place. He added that Palestinians must recognize the state of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, but added: "This is not a precondition for negotiations." The prime minister said if a PA state in Judea and Samaria is ever established, he is not prepared to let it turn into what happened in Gaza and Lebanon. In both Lebanon and Gaza, Israeli pullouts created a vacuum that was filled by Islamist terrorist groups Hizbullah and Hamas. Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, met with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week in preparation for Hamas' joining the PLO. (Arutz-7)

HAMAS PREDICTS SWEEPING ELECTORAL VICTORY: Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar days ago predicted the Islamic terror movement would win a sweeping victory in upcoming PA legislative elections scheduled for May. Analysts say a victory for Hamas in next year's electoral election would put the terrorist organization firmly in control of PA enclaves in Judea and Samara. Such a scenario could force Israel to take high-profile steps to dismantle the increasingly moribund Oslo Accords. In 2006 elections, Hamas defeated the Fatah movement, which had long-dominated PA politics and then seized Gaza in a violent takeover in 2007. Hamas has used the coastal enclave to stage numerous terror attacks and fire thousands of projectiles on Israeli communities. Last week Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal announced Hamas and its terror confederates would join the PLO ahead of forming a national unity government. Hamas maintains armed resistance is the only path to an indivisible Palestine - leaving no room for the Jewish state. Israeli PM Netanyahu said the induction of Hamas into the PLO meant peace negotiations were now impossible. (INN)

HAMAS LEADER: GOAL IS DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL IN STAGES: Hamas terrorist group leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said this week that Hamas may work for the interim objective of liberation of Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, but Hamas' long-term strategic goal is eliminating all of Israel. "The armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel]. We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine." Haniyeh also promised that Hamas will lead intifada after intifada until it liberates all of Palestine. (PMW)

PA GLORIFIES TERROR GROUP THAT MURDERED ISRAELI MINISTER ZE’EVI: The Palestinian Authority, considered by many to be a moderate entity which seeks to reach a peace agreement with Israel, is continuing to glorify terror groups that carried out lethal attacks against Israelis. On the 44th anniversary of the establishment of the terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), PA TV broadcast extensively from the PFLP organization’s celebration. It played during the ceremony part of a song praising the PFLP's assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001. Even a few words from the lyrics make clear the glorification of brutality and murder: “On Oct. 17, the gun's silencer made sounds of joy. At the Regency Hotel, the death sentence of Ze'evi was carried out.” The head of the PFLP, Ahmad Saadat, was sentenced in 2008 to 30 years in prison for heading the PFLP. He is suspected of planning Zeevi’s assassination. (INN)

HAREDI VIOLENCE IS DAMAGING ISRAEL’S IMAGE IN THE US: Violent clashes between Israel Police forces and ultra-Orthodox activists amid a public outcry over the exclusion of women from the public sphere is damaging the image of the Haredi community in the US, Brooklyn Jewish community leaders said on Tuesday. "The violent clashes show Israel in a horrible light and cause a great deal of damage to its image in America," said one Hasidic rabbi. "If Jews strike Jews, what will the gentiles say?" asked another rabbi. (Ha’aretz) Pray for an end to ultra-Orthodox violence against Jews and gentiles. Brutality against both groups has been perpetrated in past months by radical religious Jewish groups in Israel.

CUSTOMS, IMPORT TAX CANCELED ON HUNDREDS OF ITEMS: Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has agreed to cancel tax on toys, clothes, electrical appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, ranges and ovens, sewing machines, tires, medicines and more. The cancellations go into effect on January 1, 2012. The decision comes as part of the recommendations on tax reductions by the Trachtenberg Committee. This and other measures are being implemented against the background of a report submitted Wednesday to President Shimon Peres by the National Council for the Child that said one out of every three children in the Jewish State officially falls into the classification for poverty. A report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) earlier this month warned the gap between rich and poor Israelis grew over the past year – and the gap in Israel is one of the highest among OECD members. (INN)

Blessings from Israel 

Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff 

As international speakers and messengers of the Good News through music, Barry and Batya Segal are at the forefront of what God is doing in the present day nation of Israel. With strong ties in both the nations and Jerusalem, the Segals are weaving the deepest roots of our biblical heritage together with the fresh Spirit-filled worship of today to create their rich harmony of Scripture and song.

The Segals have a vast vision for God's purposes in the nations and to the people of Israel. In fact, their longing to help rebuild Israel both spiritually and physically inspired them to pioneer the non-profit charity organization, Vision for Israel and The Joseph Storehouse. This arm of their ministry focuses on assisting the poor and needy, widows and orphans, and reaching out to the new Jewish immigrants coming into the land of Israel. Vision 's most challenging project to date is "The Joseph Storehouse®", humanitarian aid center, located in the hills of Jerusalem. The Joseph Storehouse functions as a channel of blessing to all of Israel, Jewish and Arab, through the gathering and distribution of emergency medical supplies, food, clothing, and other basic life necessities. USA office contact info: Vision for Israel, PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241, 866-351-0075. The Segal's web site is http://www.visionforisrael.com/

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.