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“The only thing chicken about Israel is the soup.” —Bob Hope

SNOW! Yes, I awoke to snow in Jerusalem. As many times as I have been to Israel, I have never experienced snow. Quite a lovely site. As I traveled to the internet cafe this morning, I noticed all sorts of umbrellas. All colors, shapes and lots in funny positions. The rainy season lasts until Passover, so I was expecting rain—but snow? Wow, what a bonus.

Our head guide, Zvi, always starts the morning on the bus with “boker tov, morning good, I am Zvi, you can just call me Zvi or simply Zvi, and there is no snow in Jerusalem today.” I laughed at what he would say today. I sent him an email saying that yes, there was snow today in Jerusalem.

Wednesday, Will and I went far North on the press junket with about 20 other journalists, very close to Metula. We traveled from Jerusalem along the Jordan Valley and stopped at the Shtula area where the two IDF soldiers were kidnapped and several others were killed. There is a barbed wire fence there with a banner on it that says “Don’t abandon our soldiers.” All of Israel wants these soldiers back.

We were briefed by two IDF spokesmen—a Captain and a Colonel in the reserve. The Colonel said that much blood was found where the soldiers were kidnapped. The feeling I got was that he did not think the soldiers were alive. Regardless of this, the Israelis would want the soldiers back. There is just a real respect for the lives of the soldiers whether they are brought back dead or alive.

We had lunch at Kibbutz Kfar Gil’adi where the Colonel also asked us two questions. Very interesting questions, because the Winograd Commission will pronounce a sentence regarding Israel’s leaders later this summer. The two questions are: Was the response in retailation for the kidnapping or was the war with Lebanon a war to rid the country of Hizbollah? They are two different wars and should have been fought two different ways according to the Colonel. I thought about what he said, and I had to agree with him. Everyone in Israel has an opinion. I am no different.

The best part of the trip came late in the day. We were due back to Jerusalem, but ended up at Jish at a small cafe called “Nights of Beirut.” The owners are an Arab-Israeli husband and wife. Her name is Laura and she was very upfront about being a Christian. We were served a variety of salads and warm pita bread. We were there to ask questions about the effects of the war this past summer.

She was just so sweet. I had a day filled with military comments and wars and rumors of wars, that I was on overload. When we walked in to the cafe, I could tell something was different. Laura said that they were afraid during the war, but because her mother lived with them and their business was in Jish—they did not leave.

I waited until all the others had asked their questions and then I got up and went to her. I asked her what it was like being a Christian in Israel. She said it was harder being an Arab than a Christian. We just smiled and hugged one another. It was so good to be with a Believer.

As we got on the bus, the leader, Ari (with a kippot on his head) said that the cafe was a random thing and that they did not know these people, and found them on the internet. I just smiled. As Believers, we know there are no random acts. This was from God. The other news was that when Ari went to pay for our meal, Laura refused payment. What a great witness to all the journalists who were from all over the world and from different religions. Just a wonderful end to the day. Thank you Lord. I really needed that.

Wonderful news items in the Jerusalem Post:

Poland Honors 97 year old woman who saved 2,500 Jews. Irena Sendler refused, despite being tortured, to give the Nazis names of children she smuggled to safety. She lives in a nursing home and could not attend, but Poland’s Parliament honored her on Wednesday.

Peace Now admits it erred on Ma’aleh Adumin land confiscations—by 85.5 percent. Peace Now reported that 86 percent of Ma’aleh Adumin was stolen by the Jews. They now reported that only 0.5 percent was built on private Palestinian land.

On the Editorial page, praise is being given to John Hagee for his stand with Israel and his speech at AIPAC. This is big news for me because it is printed in the Jerusalem Post. It just shows that we Believers are making a difference.

UNESCO has ruled that the dig is not harming the Temple Mount. The BBC, along with the international media, almost caused a major riot because of their inaccurate reporting. I say that the BBC should leave Israel now. They should be punished for their false reporting.

Much more in the news, and I will save it for later.

Meeting with Aviel Schneider at Israel Today at noon. As always, so good to visit with Believers.

This entry was posted by Sandra on Thursday, March 15th, 2007 at 4:16 am and is filed under From Israel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.