Tag: Christian Zionists

I Wear Two Hats


Ari Bussel has been a more active in submitting posts in the past. He is an honest fellow and a big supporter of Israel. That translates into I usually agree with him. In this submission Ari muses on being born American and looking at his Jewish heritage that also has led to an active citizenship in Israel.

In Ari’s musings he touches on a couple things I do not agree with. Ari believes former Vice President Pence conducted his Electoral College count with dignity and that the January 6 protest of a fraudulent 2020 Election began as peaceful but ended as an Insurrection with a capital “I”.

It is my opinion Pence at best acted in cowardice and at worst in collusion to treason. And the peaceful protest was infiltrated by Dem-Marxist agitators who made peaceful Trump supporters appear violent and, in some cases, agitated for violence. There was never an Insurrection with a capital “I”. In hindsight of the ever-increasing proof of an Election Coup perhaps a countercoup is not out of the question. Dem-Marxist criminals definitely would view a countercoup as an insurrection against their illegitimate despotic regime.

Ari’s thoughts on the USA’s power transition are not the focus of this essay. The focus is the ironic nearly mirror transition of power occurring in Israel. Angry Conservative Israeli Jews are seeing their leader pasted with unproven smears and the exercise of Parliamentary shenanigans by Israel’s Left to depose Prime Minister Netanyahu. Christian Zionist supporters (of which I am one) are uneasy with how Netanyahu is getting the boot.

Benjamin Netanyahu – Naftali Bennett

Ari is calling for calm. I’m still not calm about what transpired in America, I can only imagine the displeasure Conservative Israelis are experiencing.

Info to consider about Netanyahu not typically available in the USA:

JRH 6/11/21

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I Wear Two Hats

By Ari Bussel

Sent: 6/8/2021 5:47 PM

“A Song of Ascents:  Out of the depths I have called Thee, O, God.  Lord, listen to my voice, let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” (Psalms 130:1-2)

“A Song of Ascents:  I will lift my eyes onto the mountains, from where will my help arrive?  My help from the Lord, who makes heaven and earth.”  (Psalms 121:1-2)

I wear two hats:  I am American by birth and Israeli by lineage.

As an American, I learned of unintended consequences when unleashing great powers over which we may not have complete control.  President Trump said, “let us walk to the Capitol,” meaning let us march there and continue our peaceful protest.  This day in the park turned into an Insurrection with a capital I.

Vice President Pence was under immense pressure at that time, both by his boss, the President of the United States, and by the Democrats.  And yet, he handled himself with dignity and has earned the right to walk his head high.  At the end of his term he would say “It was the greatest privilege of my life serving you” or maybe “It was the greatest honor of my life serving you.”  Mike Pence has earned my vote if he will choose to run in three and a half years.

As an Israeli and an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, I know that without the IDF, we would cease to exist.  We, the Jewish people, have only one homeland.  When we did not, some eighty years ago, six million of us – and many of my family – were systematically slaughtered.  My parents, the remnants who Survived the Holocaust, vowed with an entire nation: “Never Again.”

Israel today is a thriving country.  She is the laboratory of the world, in terms of both innovation and testing.  Creativity there knows almost no bounds, so does ingenuity.  And the people are most grateful for having a country of their own, after two millennia of exile.  We also know we can count on no one than ourselves, and that our fate is in our hands.  Indeed, we have an ancient promise and a Covenant for a thousand generations, but God only helps those who help themselves, and being the children of God does not allow us extra privileges in this respect (only extra responsibilities, being a “Light Unto the Nations”).

We had the most amazing four years when President Trump was President, likely the best during our existence as a modern country.  Promises that each previous President had made to move the embassy to Jerusalem became a reality.  Jerusalem was recognized as Israel’s de facto capital.  And a new day has dawned on the Middle East, with normalization of relations – the Abraham Accords – that cannot be undone.  Unlike any other action by President Trump that is being demolished, reversed, cancelled and erased, the new reality is here to stay.

Have we been grateful enough?  Have we shown our appreciation?  I am ashamed to say that the answer to these two questions is likely no.  God must have meant to tell us something, hoping we will see, observe and learn a lesson.  He who brings down the mighty and lifts the lowly at His will, in an instant, wanted us to change our ways.  For four years, President Trump had a Divine Iron Dome protecting him, then in an instant it was all gone, taken away, and his presidency is now being demolished, erased, cancelled, reversed and tarnished to oblivion.

Did we learn the lesson?  Likely not.

An Evangelical leader with good people around the world his followers, believers in the Word of God, stood up in rage.  For a moment, he felt the world is collapsing around him.  Trump – gone.  Netanyahu – soon to be gone.  He was filled with fright, to the point he threatened to unleash forces of good to fight the outcome of Israel’s fourth election in two years.

We are all fallible, and this Christian leader is but a man.  He too erred.  He was so anxious that he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister-designate, a letter that should not have been written or sent, and definitely should not have been published.  He later would apologize for his haste, tone and verbiage.  The Prime Minister-designate has likely already forgiven, for he knew it was not personal; the writer was hurting.  Bennett’s kids, like all other kids, err at times too, and we use such moments as teaching tools and move forward.

This Christian leader who walks with kings could have picked up the phone, or knocked on the door of the Prime Minister’s residence and comforted his friend, Benjamin Netanyahu.  A Man of God would know how to guide his flock in troubled times.  After all, the Prime Minister did not realize (or refused to recognize) until just days ago that these are his last days as the prime minister of all prime ministers of Israel. 

Indeed, it is President Rivlin who, at the height of the Pandemic, instructed us to act in this manner exactly, enlisting the words of the Prophet Isaiah (41:6):  “One person helped the other, and to his brother he said:  ‘Be Strong!’”

It is evident this Christian leader did not mean to turn friends into enemies, or to abandon the Jewish State of Israel.  Christian support of Israel and the Jewish people does not depend on any one person and is not given as a reward or a punishment.  It is not the annual monetary and military aid by the USA that some radical elements in Congress are threatening to take away.  It is given, in whole, without any conditions or expectation.  It is pure and complete and enduring.

Those who oppose Israel are standing against none other than Lord of Hosts, our God.  Harm the Temple of God’s Eye, and what is to be expected, that God Himself will sit idly and say “amen, good, please proceed?”  It may not have been evident to the onlooker, but a close examination of what took place reveals a greater purpose.

So if the threat to unleash forces over which one does not have full control was known to be wrong, what was the intention?  We know that when we step onto a path, we may have an idea of where we want to go, but the path may take us elsewhere.  And still we trust that all is known and planned and happens for a reason.  Likewise here:  Only God is all-knowing, and He guides his children and disciples.

The Christian leader started a tsunami that galvanized the Christian leadership-at-large into self-reflection and action.  On the Christian side, it yielded reinforcement to oneself, “Why do we support Israel.”  Maybe even an opportunity for self-examination, “Have we done enough?  What can we do differently? Maybe better?  Is our Lord God happy with our actions?”

On the Jewish Israeli side, “Why do the Christians support us, when some of our greatest detractors come from within?  Why do they need this headache?”  And:  “Have we been grateful, have we shown our gratitude?”  And further, “What can we – and the State of Israel – do in action to show the Christians we value and appreciate them?”

This process is likely the most important outcome of the current debacle.  The Saturday and Sunday people having received a wakeup call that made them reexamine themselves and realize the importance of unity.  As the Prophet Ezekiel said (37:15-28):  “And bring them together one to another … and make them one … and they will be one in [your] hand … before their [own] eyes.”

The Prophet Ezekiel ends with “And the nations would know that I AM LORD, Sanctify Israel, as My Temple is in their midst for ever.”

The support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel comes from God and no other; and only God can bestow or withdraw it.  We are mere instruments.  All things happen at God’s will, and we must continue counting our blessings and be most grateful to God for having given us life, and having sustained us and having brought us to the present.

A new day is coming to Israel.  A new government is being formed, one that represents the most amazing tapestry of its citizenry.  There are extraordinary leaders – individuals of great stature – who have been anointed, and we must pray for their success, which will be our success.  In fact, we must do more – we must put action behind our very prayers and do whatever we can to support and further enhance Israel, her leaders, ministers and advisors.

The challenges Israel facing continue to grow.  They intensify in strength and frequency.  Jews and Christians stand together in support, a great army, a most magnificent one, an army full of soul, meaning and determination – we are not a valley of very dry bones.

Jews and Christians may look like two hats, but we are one and the same, part of the same most magnificent tree.  Let us remember the strength in unity, and let us continue to work together. 

_____________________________

Edited by John R. Houk, Blog Editor

This is the latest in the series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel,” a collaboration between author and journalist Norma Zager and columnist Ari Bussel.

Zager and Bussel collaborate both in writing and on the air in a point-counter-point discussion of all things Israel-related.  Together, they have dedicated the past two decades to promoting Israel and have become “the Jewish Voice on Christian Radio.”

© Israel Monitor, June, 2021

First Published June 8, 2021

Contact:  bussel@me.com

The Gospel of Jerusalem – Last but not Least (First Christian Media Summit) Part 2


This is the second post on Ari Bussel’s experience at the first Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem October 15-18, 2017. Note though this is Ari’s third submission. I did not post the second submission. This first post can be read HERE.

 

JRH 10/30/17

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The Gospel of Jerusalem – Last but not Least (First Christian Media Summit) Part 2 (on this blog)

 

By Ari Bussel

Sent 10/28/2017 10:55 AM

 

Dear Friends of Zion and Jerusalem,

 

Dear Colleagues in the Christian Media,

 

 

It is said, that we save the best for last.

 

Indeed, take a peek, and see some of us seated at the President’s welcoming room.

 

The staff person who granted us permission and stayed to supervise us explained, that the President sits on the right, the other head of state on the left.

 

So we took turns taking pictures, and ever since, I was trying to identify this very room in press pictures of visitors of dignitaries.

 

It turns out that Israel is a hub on the global map, and numerous world leaders arrive here regularly, possibly more than to any other destination around the world.  No wonder we were only granted an hour, and were requested to put our phones away (the President does not like it apparently).

 

None of the pictures from press releases of the last few days is from this room, which leads me to believe that “we have seen nothing yet,” and that there are numerous other receiving halls under different names and guises in the President’s Mansion.

 

One thing I would greatly urge the organizers for future summits is the following request:

 

If only the President had spent some time greeting us individually, the representatives of the various Christian media outlets from more than three dozen countries around the world.

 

The President could have taken a few minutes to pass through the center and side aisles and say individual “SHALOM” to us.  Here Frank who gave him a book, there Susan with her Children’s book – Why is Great-Grandma so Sad? (both books about the Holocaust).  And we all wanted a picture – a picture with the President of the Jewish State of Israel!

 

This would have been more memorable likely than the entire speech, that was disseminated to the foreign press about an hour after it took place.  The speech we could read, but to meet the Tenth President of the Jewish State of Israel is a different story altogether!

 

It is the personal touch – Israel saying “THANK YOU, DEAR FRIEND.

 

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

THANK YOU FOR WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE ALMIGHTY

THANK YOU FOR SPENDING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO COME HERE – MANY ON THEIR VERY FIRST VISIT

 

MAKE IT A HABIT – COME AGAIN AND AGAIN

WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT

WE CHERISH YOUR FRIENDSHIP

 

WE MIGHT LOOK ROUGH ON THE OUTSIDE, VOCAL, OPINIONATED,

BUT OUR HEART IS THAT OF GOLD, WARM AND CARING

AND WE ARE “THE APPLE OF GOD’S EYE”

 

IT IS A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

AND WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE

THUS WE COUNT AND DEPEND ON YOUR SUPPORT

IN BAD DAYS AND IN WORSE

IN DAYS OF JOY AND GREAT HAPPINESS

 

WE – THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PEOPLE –

ARE A FAMILY

FOR WE ALL SERVE THE SAME GOD THE ALMIGHTY,

YES, THE GOD OF ISRAEL

 

AND WHEN WE SOUND THE CRY OF “HEAR O ISRAEL”

IT IS DESIGNED TO THE EARS OF THE JEWS

OF OUR BRETHREN THE CHRISTIANS

AND TO THE EXCLUSIVE ATTENTION OF GOD THE ALMIGHTY

 

YOU HAVE DONE WELL

FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF THE LORD

CONTINUE

FOR THE WORK HAS ONLY BEGUN

AND FAITH WITHOUT ACTION, AS YOU KNOW, IS OF NO VALUE

 

PRAY

STAND IN UNISON

STAND TOGETHER

AS ONE

 

AND WE ARE HERE TO SAY

“HALLELUJAH!”

(YOU SEE, YOU ALL DO SPEAK HEBREW,

FOR HALLEJUJAH MEANS “PRAISE THE LORD!”)

 

SHALOM

COME BACK

AND REMEMBER – YOU ARE ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS!

 

 

 

SHALOM, dear friends, from Zion Jerusalem!

 

 

Always,

Ari Bussel

bussel@me.com
USA +1 (310) 339-6686

 

[Blog Editor: Not all emailed are displayed due to repetitiveness. Sorry Ari.]

 

At the President’s Mansion, Jerusalem, Israel

 

Note the official symbol of the State of Israel – in the center the Menorah with seven lamps, on either side an olive branch and the word Israel underneath (chosen and entered into law in 1949)

Working on the Israeli-Syrian border, extending help to the real refugees and needy of the Syrian civil-war:

Israel’s First President, Chaim Weizmann

 

Israel’s Ninth President, Shimon Peres, a dreamer

 

Mike Evans and the Dutch contingency

 

“We knew President Navon”

 

Dreaming, thinking big and doing what no one has done before

Now looking into the future

For – as my father says – it is always the “repeat order,” not the initial placement of a product that counts!

“A Blessing, I will lead us in a blessing!”

 

“Cousins” from across the Pond – US and UK

 

The artworks adorning the walls are indeed “museum quality:”  They are on loan from the Israel Museum

Line up, please, quickly, get ready:

Note the nine-lamp Chanukah Menorah on the right, and compare with the Menorah on the State emblem (seven-lamp – as was inside the Temple and whose work was considered more important than the sacrifices)

 

Zechariah Chapter 4 זְכַרְיָה

 

א  וַיָּשָׁב, הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי; וַיְעִירֵנִי, כְּאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-יֵעוֹר מִשְּׁנָתוֹ.

1 And the angel that spoke with me returned, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

ב  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי, מָה אַתָּה רֹאֶה; ויאמר (וָאֹמַר) רָאִיתִי וְהִנֵּה מְנוֹרַת זָהָב כֻּלָּהּ וְגֻלָּהּ עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ, וְשִׁבְעָה נֵרֹתֶיהָ עָלֶיהָ–שִׁבְעָה וְשִׁבְעָה מוּצָקוֹת, לַנֵּרוֹת אֲשֶׁר עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ.

2 And he said unto me: ‘What seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes, yea, seven, to the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;

ג  וּשְׁנַיִם זֵיתִים, עָלֶיהָ:  אֶחָד מִימִין הַגֻּלָּה, וְאֶחָד עַל-שְׂמֹאלָהּ.

3 and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.’

 

(to be continued … [Ari Bussel])

_______________

Blog Editor: Ari wrote “to be continued”. That is a maybe if the next email submission is as erudite as this one rather than repetitive. Just in case, you can email Ari and I am confident he will send you all the updates related to his experience at the First Christian Media Summit: bussel@me.com

 

Edited by John R. Houk

Text enclosed by brackets are by the Editor.

 

© Ari Bussel

 

Ari Bussel Bio via Saybrex International

 

Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.

 

Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.

 

Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as the Crisis Response Team of the Maple Counseling Center.

 

Mr. Bussel was among the founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.

 

Mr. Bussel writes regularly. For the past decade, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week. Mr. Bussel’s articles appear on numerous websites, including Canada Free Press, Free Republic, NewsBlaze, SlantRight and OpEdNews. He is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club.

 

Mr. Bussel received a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford … READ THE REST

 

The Gospel of Jerusalem – Our Task (First Christian Media Summit)


 

Ari Bussel is inspired by the first Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem that took place October 15-18, 2017.

 

Here’s a description excerpt from ARUTZ SHEVA 7:

 

The annual Christian Media Summit conference is taking place this week in Jerusalem. The four-day summit brings together a select group of top Christian media broadcasters, publishers, journalists, and communicators from around the world for discussion and study on topics related to Israel and the Christian world.

 

The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage, together with the Government Press Office (GPO), helped to organize the event.

 

Mark Jenkins, the President of the Words of Visionary Missionaries, said at the conference that the delegates at the conference were “people who certainly have a heart for Israel. These are people who are typically Israel advocates in the United States.”

 

James Smith, the Communications Vice President of the National Religious Broadcasters, said that the conference is “an attempt to help Christians understand why Israel matters politically, from a security standpoint, from a historical standpoint, and why Christians should understand that, and should support Israel’s interests.” (Watch: Christian media leaders explain why Israel matters; By Yoni Kempinski; Arutz Sheva 7 – INN; 10/16/17 21:38)

 

Now it’s time for Ari’s viewpoint.

 

JRH 10/23/17

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The Gospel of Jerusalem – Our Task (First Christian Media Summit)

 

By Ari Bussel

Sent 10/20/2017 7:50 AM

 

Dear Friends of Zion and Jerusalem,

 

Dear Colleagues in the Christian Media,

 

A Dream 

 

For the past four days, I was dreaming.  I had to pinch myself, but was afraid to do so, lest I be awakened from a most wonderful dream.

 

I went to sleep every night and awoke early the next morning (ready for a magnificent Israeli breakfast) and turned toward the Temple Mount, for Jews everywhere around the world turn toward Jerusalem in prayer, and when in Jerusalem, we turn toward the Temple Mount, and when there, we turn to the Holy of Holies.

 

I breathed in, enough air to fill the lungs to capacity, and refused to exhale.  I wanted to cherish the moment, which lasted four magnificent days, so that it will remain, an endless source of light and energy to be used forevermore – at a time of great sorrow or dire condition or great peril; at times of great joy and celebration.

 

For what we have uncovered together was nothing short than the essence of God the Almighty, residing among His people at the place of His choosing – right here in Zion Jerusalem.  It was a gift of a lifetime, the culmination of years in the making and the source of all time to come.

 

So when the time came to say goodbye and for each of us to leave back – to the States, UK, Holland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Hungary, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Guatemala, Nepal, Korea and to more than two dozen other countries – I simply refused!  Alas, each of us had to take a plane, but we know that the friendship crafted during this First Christian Media Summit will be with us, for it is indestructible.

 

Psalms Chapter 126 תְּהִלִּים

 

א  שִׁיר, הַמַּעֲלוֹת:
בְּשׁוּב יְהוָה, אֶת-שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן–    הָיִינוּ, כְּחֹלְמִים.

1 A Song of Ascents. {N}
When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.

ב  אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק, פִּינוּ–    וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה:
אָז, יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם–    הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם-אֵלֶּה.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; {N}
then said they among the nations: ‘The LORD hath done great things with these.’

ג  הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ–    הָיִינוּ שְׂמֵחִים.

3 The LORD hath done great things with us; we are rejoiced.

 

Praise and Song to the Almighty

 

2017 is a most significant year to Israel and the Jewish people.  The year marks:

 

* the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, 

 

* the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, 

 

* the 70th year of the UN Partition Plan,

 

* the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War,

 

* and 50 years for the Reunification of Jerusalem.

 

In Los Angeles, the City of Angels saluted the City of God in a series of events that took place earlier this year.  Here is some background material we prepared for the press that you might find useful:

 

In 2017, and for the past 50 years, there is only one place in the entire Middle East and the African continent where freedom of religion is paramount, and people as well as holy sites flourish, as they are protected by law and by practice.

 

This place is Jerusalem, Israel’s capital from Biblical to present times.  For two thousand years, the Jewish people yearned to return to their homeland and to the holy city of Jerusalem.

 

Here, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his loyalty to God the Almighty; Jacob dreamed of the ladder with angels ascending and descending; King David conquered the city and made it his capital, bringing the Ark of the Covenant here; His son King Solomon built the First Temple, a magnificent marvel; the First and Second Temple were then destroyed, but a portion of the Western Wall remains to this very day; and here is where Jesus walked in the Way of Suffering, Via Dolorosa, was crucified and then resurrected.

 

The Prophet Isaiah instructed and highlighted (66:10):  “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all who love her!” the city “Jerusalem that is built as a city which is joined together” (Psalms 122:3) and which is remembered and constantly highlighted “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember thee not, if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy” (Psalms 137:5-6).

 

It is in this spirit, 50 years to the date from when the Israeli flag was raised over the Temple Mount, that Christians and Jews and other minorities will gather and declare:

 

There is no other place like Jerusalem, Jerusalem of Gold, the City of God!

 

Throughout the Middle East and Africa Christians and other minorities are being raped, sold to slavery, executed en masse (including Muslims in the hands of other Muslims) and murdered, and holy places (churches, mosques, etc.) are desecrated, burned to the ground and destroyed.  Jerusalem is the only place where freedom of religion and protection of religious rights and institutions is by law and practice.

 

Jerusalem is the only place that for the past 50 years church bells can be heard, as well as the Muezzin call to prayer.  Jews walk freely, living their daily lives side by side other minorities.  Jerusalem is the only place in the entire region and beyond where the Christian population experiences a net positive growth; where minorities feel safe and welcome.

 

This is the theme being highlighted, celebrating a Jubilee of humanity flourishing.

 

###

 

We celebrated Jerusalem in a night of Song and Praise (Shir ve Hallel) to God the Almighty.  We called it Jerusalem of Gold.  We rejoiced and gave thanks.  We stood together – Israelis, Jews, Russians, Iranians, Armenians, Korean, …; Christians of all streams; Latinos; whites and blacks; men and women; old and young; and we were blessed.  (There are 18 clips available for viewing:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-zo1WunO2U6TBZoEQo2XEMWDj5i-ifTh&app=desktop.)

 

Pierre Lavi, a publisher in Jerusalem, produced the following song about Jerusalem.  I invite you to enjoy this four minute clip:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GuRPPYlyw

 

[Blog Editor: Here is the embed for the above video link:

 

VIDEO: ירושלים – לביא פ. אנטרפרייז בע”מ .Yerushalaim – Lavi P. Enterprises Ltd

 

Posted by laviph

Published on Mar 9, 2014

 

השיר “ירושלים” מאת משה חלימי ובביצוע אסתר פורשיאן. הופק ובוים על ידי: לביא פ. אנטרפרייז בע”מ – הוצאה לאור עם מגע אישי/הפקות.

 

The song “Yerushalaim” by Moshe Halimi, singer: Esther Porshain, directed by: Lavi P. Enterprises Ltd. – Publishing House/Productions. Please make your own video clip about Jerusalem, based on this song and send it to us. the best one will win a prise (laviph@gmail.com)]

 

Also, Mayor Nir Barkat’s office prepared the following three-minute segment to communities around the world, Voices of Jerusalem.  Please use it freely!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5cN8zBbFK21aTRXZmhwMnlZajQ/view

 

[Blog Editor: I uploaded this video to my Youtube Channel:

 

VIDEO: Jerusalem Project v50 English And nir

 

End Editor’s Note]

 

Our assignment

 

Psalms 48 tells us that our Lord is Great, and it directs us to take what we have seen and heard, the Glory of God the Almighty.  It tells us to go ‘round Zion Jerusalem, study and learn it in detail, and tell what we have learned and experienced – tell LeDor Acharon (to the last generation):

 

ב  גָּדוֹל יְהוָה וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד–    בְּעִיר אֱלֹהֵינוּ, הַר-קָדְשׁוֹ.

2 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain,

ט  כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְנוּ,    כֵּן רָאִינוּ–
בְּעִיר-יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת,    בְּעִיר אֱלֹהֵינוּ:
אֱלֹהִים יְכוֹנְנֶהָ עַד-עוֹלָם    סֶלָה.

9 As we have heard, so have we seen {N}
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God– {N}
God establish it for ever. Selah

י  דִּמִּינוּ אֱלֹהִים חַסְדֶּךָ–    בְּקֶרֶב, הֵיכָלֶךָ.

10 We have thought on Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple.

יג  סֹבּוּ צִיּוֹן, וְהַקִּיפוּהָ;    סִפְרוּ, מִגְדָּלֶיהָ.

13 Walk about Zion, and go round about her; count the towers thereof.

יד  שִׁיתוּ לִבְּכֶם, לְחֵילָה–פַּסְּגוּ אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ:    לְמַעַן תְּסַפְּרוּ, לְדוֹר אַחֲרוֹן.

14 Mark ye well her ramparts, traverse her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

 

We have been driven inside and around the City, we went under the ground and emerged on the Temple Mount, we circled the City from outside, we went to her tops, climbed her hills and mountains, and we descended down into the earth underneath her.  We saw excavations and new discoveries, and we stood in awe under the magnificent skies, at a place closest to God; and we said a prayer

 

a prayer with our entire body and soul

for it is here that all had started – the very Creation –

where the past comes alive

giving us meaning and a purpose

and it is here, in Zion Jerusalem, that the fulfillment of our very being

is being accomplished

at present time and in the future

 

And so we step forward

for we have been anointed with a task

a responsibility that we carry with us

right from Zion Jerusalem to all ends of the world

We bring the Gospel (good news) of Jerusalem

to the world that surrounds us

 

We are the messengers –

the new Guards of Zion Jerusalem,

and an assignment was given to us –

in those times, millennia ago,

and at present time

 

Says the Prophet Isaiah:

 

Isaiah Chapter 62 יְשַׁעְיָהוּ

 

א  לְמַעַן צִיּוֹן לֹא אֶחֱשֶׁה, וּלְמַעַן יְרוּשָׁלִַם לֹא אֶשְׁקוֹט, עַד-יֵצֵא כַנֹּגַהּ צִדְקָהּ, וִישׁוּעָתָהּ כְּלַפִּיד יִבְעָר.

1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her triumph go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.

ב  וְרָאוּ גוֹיִם צִדְקֵךְ, וְכָל-מְלָכִים כְּבוֹדֵךְ; וְקֹרָא לָךְ שֵׁם חָדָשׁ, אֲשֶׁר פִּי יְהוָה יִקֳּבֶנּוּ.

2 And the nations shall see thy triumph, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall mark out.

 

And he specifically tells us:

 

ו  עַל-חוֹמֹתַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלִַם, הִפְקַדְתִּי שֹׁמְרִים–כָּל-הַיּוֹם וְכָל-הַלַּיְלָה תָּמִיד, לֹא יֶחֱשׁוּ; הַמַּזְכִּרִים, אֶת-יְהוָה–אַל-דֳּמִי, לָכֶם.

6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ‘Ye that are the LORD’S remembrancers, take ye no rest,

 

We must not be silent!  We must act – day and night, all the time.

 

What a tremendous assignment;

Indeed what an astonishing honor;

what an amazing experience of having the Bible assume life

and we – the dry bones – be breathed life by God Himself

and sent to fulfill His task!

Let us hear the Word of the Lord –

as He spoke to Ezekiel (37) after taking him all around the valley full of dry bones

and He told Ezekiel to prophesy, so that the dry bones hear the word of the Lord.

 

There we stood on the mountain, and we saw the wind, and we heard the noise; and we saw the fire; and then – utter and complete silence.  (1 Kings19:11-13)

 

Now that we left the Garden of Eden, we have a task upon us;

and the task is enormous

yet magnificent

challenging, almost insurmountable, but absolutely doable

if we only set our hearts and minds to it

and pray with all our might

to be guided properly

to be supported when needed

and to have the strength to continue

so that we can do what is expected

so that tomorrow can rise

a better day

a different day

a day when the words of the Prophet Zechariah (9:3-5, 22) are fulfilled:

 

ג  כֹּה, אָמַר יְהוָה, שַׁבְתִּי אֶל-צִיּוֹן, וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְנִקְרְאָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם עִיר הָאֱמֶת, וְהַר-יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת הַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ.  {ס}

3 Thus saith the LORD: I return unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. {S}

ד  כֹּה אָמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עֹד יֵשְׁבוּ זְקֵנִים וּזְקֵנוֹת, בִּרְחֹבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְאִישׁ מִשְׁעַנְתּוֹ בְּיָדוֹ, מֵרֹב יָמִים.

4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

ה  וּרְחֹבוֹת הָעִיר יִמָּלְאוּ, יְלָדִים וִילָדוֹת, מְשַׂחֲקִים, בִּרְחֹבֹתֶיהָ.  {ס}

5 And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof. {S}

כב  וּבָאוּ עַמִּים רַבִּים וְגוֹיִם עֲצוּמִים, לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת-יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת בִּירוּשָׁלִָם, וּלְחַלּוֹת, אֶת-פְּנֵי יְהוָה.  {ס}

22 Yea, many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of the LORD. {S}

 

And (ibid:14):

 

ט  וְהָיָה יְהוָה לְמֶלֶךְ, עַל-כָּל-הָאָרֶץ; בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִהְיֶה יְהוָה אֶחָד–וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.

9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one

 

It has been a tremendous journey together,

but we have only started.

We are now lights around the world

all connected in a network

a great big army, an exceedingly great host

and God will lead us,

as says the Prophet Joel (2):

 

יא  וַיהוָה, נָתַן קוֹלוֹ לִפְנֵי חֵילוֹ–כִּי רַב מְאֹד מַחֲנֵהוּ, כִּי עָצוּם עֹשֵׂה דְבָרוֹ:  כִּי-גָדוֹל יוֹם-יְהוָה וְנוֹרָא מְאֹד, וּמִי יְכִילֶנּוּ.

11 And the LORD uttereth His voice before His army; for His camp is very great, for he is mighty that executeth His word; for great is the day of the LORD and very terrible; and who can abide it?

כז  וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי בְקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל אָנִי, וַאֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וְאֵין עוֹד; וְלֹא-יֵבֹשׁוּ עַמִּי, לְעוֹלָם.  {פ}

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none else; and My people shall never be ashamed. {P}

 

SHALOM from Zion Jerusalem!

 

Always,

Ari Bussel

bussel@me.com
USA +1 (310) 339-6686

 

Dead Sea Scrolls; Psalms 133

 

א  שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, לְדָוִד:
הִנֵּה מַה-טּוֹב, וּמַה-נָּעִים–    שֶׁבֶת אַחִים גַּם-יָחַד.		 1 A Song of Ascents; of David. {N}
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

 

 

 

 

At the Shrine of the Book

Ancient and the inspiration for the way the Shrine was conceived

 

 

 

Jerusalem of once, made of 50m stones

Model at the Israel Museum

 

 

 

The City of David

 

 

Remnants of the Destruction

 

 

Archway of the bridge that once led unto the south-west most corner of the Temple Mount

 

 

The Western Wall

 

A picture in the President’s Residence

On loan from the Israel Museum

 

 

________________

Edited by John R. Houk

Text enclosed by brackets are by the Editor.

 

© Ari Bussel

 

Ari Bussel Bio via Saybrex International

 

Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.

 

Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.

 

Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as the Crisis Response Team of the Maple Counseling Center.

 

Mr. Bussel was among the founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.

 

Mr. Bussel writes regularly. For the past decade, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week. Mr. Bussel’s articles appear on numerous websites, including Canada Free Press, Free Republic, NewsBlaze, SlantRight and OpEdNews. He is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club.

 

Mr. Bussel received a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford … READ THE REST

 

Trump’s Truman moment


Intro to ‘Trump’s Truman moment’

John R. Houk, Editor

Posted 5/19/17

 

Bob Eschliman writing for CharismaNews, introduces a Pastor John Hagee open letter posted at the Washington Times encouraging President Trump to deliver on his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This would be an act recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital City of the Jewish State. This is also an act that would alienate psycho-Islamic Supremacist nations and Multiculturalist-deluded European nations desiring to placate the oil rich Middle Eastern nations.

 

CharismaNews posted on May 18 while the open letter posted at Washington Times was posted on May 15. I am going to quote Eschliman’s intro as a quote and the Washington Times post in entirety. Eschliman posted three paragraphs. Two paragraphs in the beginning, followed by a partial of John Hagee’s open letter and finishing with a paragraph telling you to read the rest of the open letter. Here is the intro:

 

Pastor John Hagee, in his capacity as founder and chairman of Christians United For Israel, has written an open letter to President Donald Trump that was published Wednesday by The Washington Times.

 

In the letter, Hagee reminds the president of one of his predecessors, President Harry Truman, who faced a decisive moment where he had to choose between standing up for Israel or going with the wishes of the rest of the world. He said President Trump will face a similar test during his trip to the Middle East.

 

…

 

But, Hagee noted, the buck doesn’t stop with the bureaucrats—borrowing one of Truman’s most famous catchphrases—but at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. Click here to read the rest of the letter. (Pastor John Hagee: President Trump Will Soon Face a ‘Truman Moment’; By BOB ESCHLIMAN; CharismaNews; 5/18/17)

 

Pastor John Hagee

 

JRH 5/19/17

Please Support NCCR

*************

Trump’s Truman moment

 

Attributed to Washington Times Staff

By Pastor John Hagee

May 15, 2017

Washington Times

 

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

 

In 1948, when President Truman recognized the newly independent state of Israel, he did so in the face of fierce opposition from his advisers. Secretary of State George C. Marshall — whom the president regarded as “the greatest living American” — adamantly opposed the decision.

 

Despite the controversy, it is now a source of a great pride for many Americans that our nation recognized Israel just minutes after it declared independence. Truman’s decision to choose morality over realpolitik, in defiance of his advisers, will forever be a focal point of American and Israeli history — and of Truman’s legacy.

 

President Trump will soon face a similar moment. In a few weeks, as mandated by the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, he will have to decide whether to exercise the legislation’s presidential waver or move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

 

Throughout his campaign, Mr. Trump promised to move the embassy. This promise was vital to securing the support of millions of Christian Zionists around the country, and Mr. Trump like Truman is hearing from naysayers. Moving the embassy will inflame the Arab world, they claim.

 

Also like Truman, Mr. Trump must contend with well-entrenched anti-Israel bureaucrats at the State Department who will try to use their positions to make moving the embassy difficult. But the buck does not stop with bureaucrats.

 

The Jewish state has the right to determine where it would place its capitol, and it has chosen Jerusalem. The international community’s decision to cower before Israel’s enemies by keeping embassies in Tel Aviv is disgraceful. For thousands of years, Jews around the world never forgot their holy city. From generation to generation they reiterated their hope that next year they would be in Jerusalem. In the days to come, I pray God grant Mr. Trump the wisdom of Solomon and the courage of Truman.

_______________

JOHN HAGEE

Founder, chairman

Christians United for Israel

San Antonio, Texas

 

All site contents © Copyright 2017 The Washington Times, LLC

 

Blog Editor removed WT topic links in the post. You can tell where the topic links are located by the bold text. The CUFI link was added by the Editor.

 

The First Sunday in October


Ari Bussel is Jewish. I can’t remember if Ari resides in Israel or if he is American citizen that often travels to Israel. The memory thing might be a sign of old age because I have been corresponding with Ari long enough that I should remember. The point though is this: Ari is one of those guys that gives me the bird’s eye view of things that go on Israel and the mindset state of American Jews residing in America.

Robert Stearns at Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Conference 2015

Below is a Jewish perspective of the noisy kind of Church worship services I am accustomed to but occurred in Jerusalem sponsored by the New York based Eagles Wings (EW bio & FAQ) operated by Rev. (“Bishop”) Robert Stearns. If you are a Christian Ari’s experience at this annual Jerusalem conference is joyfully amusing and if you are Jewish his experience might be informative of noisy Christian Zionist coming together in prayerful support for Israel.

JRH 10/12/15

Please Support NCCR

************************

The First Sunday in October

By Ari Bussel

Sent: 10/12/2015 12:49 AM

The Festival of Tabernacle is a gathering time for Christians from around the world. They come to Israel to celebrate and pray.

For years now, Eagles Wings, a New York based church, holds its Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem on the first Sunday of October in Jerusalem, Israel.

The event is broadcast live on G-D’s TV, as a guest program. This year, it was scheduled to begin at 4 P.M. Israel time, and some 15 minutes earlier we were seated and were being given instructions: “If you are tapped on your shoulder, please accept it as a request to tone down your enthusiasm,” we were told, apparently in continuation to some faithful who in years past were overly drawn into the prayer festivities.

Mendi Safadi, Tania Beshkov, Ari Bussel, Daniel Pereg 2015

I was seated next to a close Druze friend, his Israeli wife (who emigrated with her family from the former Soviet Union) and an American guy who made Aliyah and now lives in Judea and Samaria. Three Jews and a Druze in a sea of Christians.

On the surface, this sea was calm, with rays of sun able to penetrate the most beautiful color blue. Only minutes later we would witness that the sea was about to erupt (though not to part), and while uniform in substance, its elements gathered from some forty countries around the world.

One after the next, people called out their countries: “Hong Kong, China,” “United States,” “Korea,” “Philippines,” and it went on and on, each time my head jerking toward a different direction from which the country name was called, my heart filled with joy and gratitude.

I sat amazed. There were few of us Jews. There were several reasons for that: The start of a major holiday was nearing with great rapidity (at sunset just hours later), the event was held inside a church and many were cognizant of the obvious attempts to proselyte.

The organizers were very aware of it as well, and asked us, their Jewish guests in attendance, to stand up, which we did. We did nothing heroic, quite on the contrary – we came to give our thanks for those gathered, recognizing their faith was so deeply rooted in ours; belief and action.

On the screen above where we sat, 120:00 started the countdown. Two hours of a live broadcast from Zion, Jerusalem. First were the sermons (“speeches” in layperson’s terms), captivating, energizing, with direct messages. But then the event transformed. We, the lay (secular) people would describe it: “Let the Party Begin!” And by all means, it was a prayer party the likes of which we Jews, rarely experience.

Everyone was standing. Heads held high and hands stretched upward. The music was live and there were singers to assist. But whether on stage or in the audience, everyone knew the words and melodies. Verses from the Bible turned into songs of prayer.

The rhythm, repetition and melody were contagious. One had to join in. Over and over again, with every fiber in the body being energized, with a force that was gaining momentum, our prayers were ascending up, up and upward.

The power of music and prayer have long been recognized, but for me, I always see King David, “making a fool of himself,” almost in a trance, worshipping God the Almighty, for all to see and join. And we too were in Jerusalem, just inside the Old City – walking distance away from the holiest place for every Jewish person, almost equidistance from the Church of Holy Sepulcher – Jews and Christians together worshiping our One God.

Boy, it was hot. The church air-conditioning was either not working or without sufficient capacity to accommodate the throngs of people. All seats were taken and people were standing around the walls and in some of the isles and passageways. It was a “standing room only,” everyone in their most beautiful dresses and suits, coming to worship, to be close to God the Almighty, and we were all sweating.

Oh, what a sight. Bishop Robert Stearns, who led the service and the program, used a white towel to wipe off his shaved, thus glowing, head every few minutes. We, the attendees and worshipers, stopped noticing the flow of sweat. We were all drained. Rivers flowing from us, but our eyes were fixated straight and up, our bodies almost inconsequential, whereas our souls were ascending, higher and higher, upward.

When it ended, and we exited the church, a refreshing breeze greeted us. Only then we understood how hot it was inside, but it mattered not. We came back to earth, as if from long distance travel that took us only two hours, yet transformed our very beings.

Was it like taking the Concord from New York to Europe? I think it was greater, many times over.

Except, next year, if the event is to be held at the same location, without air-conditioning, I will not attend. Now we know better, and we have become spoiled. Almost like refusing to fly coach if one can fly business!

Some years ago I attended the day of celebration. It seems that despite the passage of time, neither the enthusiasm nor the passion has subsided.

With increased vigor and strength, and a complete devotion, our Christian sisters and brothers descend on Israel, during the Festival of Tabernacles, but other times of the year as well, and express their deep love and support.

Vanessa Frank’s parents (“Let the Lion Roar”), Laurie Cardoza-Moore (“Proclaiming Justice to The Nations”), Robert Stearns (“Eagles Wings”), members of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and so many others:

We stand at awe and salute you – for we are most grateful for your standing steadfast with us. You and seemingly no one else.

_________________

This is the latest in the series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel,” a collaboration between Zager and Bussel, a foreign correspondent reporting from Israel.

Ari Bussel and Norma Zager collaborate both in writing and on the air in a point-counter-point discussion of all things Israel-related. Together, they have dedicated the past decade to promoting Israel.

© Israel Monitor, October, 2015

First Published October 9, 2015

Contact: bussel@me.com

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