JUNE 2003 WORLD NEWS

Israel Today - June 18, 2003 - 18 Sivan, 5763

An 7-year-old Israeli girl was killed in a roadside ambush just before midnight, when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a car carrying a family of eight. The attack occurred inside Israel proper, after the terrorists used a water passage to get around the new border wall near Palestinian-ruled Kalkilya. Noam Leibowitz was killed, and her 5-year-old sister seriously wounded. Two other family members, a child and grandfather, were slightly wounded. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, claimed joint responsibility.

The attack occurred just minutes after Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas met with terror chiefs in the Gaza Strip and failed to persuade them to halt attacks. The “cease-fire” talks will continue, and Egypt plans to invite the terror groups to Cairo to finalize an agreement.

But Israel is running out of patience after the murder of the little girl. "The Palestinian Authority is talking with everybody, is talking with Hamas, is talking with the Americans, talking and talking and doing nothing in order to stop this bloodshed," said Israeli spokesman Avi Pazner. "If the Palestinian Authority continues to do nothing, we will take all appropriate action to make this bloodshed stop."

Despite the rhetoric, Israel`s policy for now is restraint. In an attempt to help the Palestinian Authority achieve a cease-fire, Israel has agreed to curb the targeted killing of terrorist leaders. However, “ticking bombs” (terrorists planning imminent attacks) will be targeted. The deal was hammered out by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, who has been meeting senior Bush administration officials in Washington. Israeli media reports say the restraint policy would apply for up to six weeks, and after that targeted killings could resume if the Palestinians have not made serious efforts to fight terrorism.

Secretary of State Colin Powell will pay a lightning three-hour visit to Israel on Friday to affirm US commitment to the peace “roadmap,” which has been battered by a Palestinian wave of terror and Israeli retaliation. On his way to Cambodia, Powell told reporters that Hamas and other terrorist groups "will not only have to stop these terrorist attacks. We have to eliminate their capability to do so," he said. "We have to come down hard on organizations such as Hamas."

Amazing Discoveries - The Damascus Document

The year was 1896. The place – an ancient synagogue in the old Jewish quarter of Cairo. An American scholar, Solomon Schechter, discovered some fragments of stained parchment sheets hidden for centuries in a wall. Over the following months, some 30 bags of material, including thousands of ancient fragments, were removed from the Ibn Ezra Synagogue and taken to the library at Cambridge University.

Among the many documents was a tenth-century apocalyptic writing, originally composed in the first century B. C., dubbed the "Zadokite Fragments," named after Zadok, David’s high priest. The sons of Zadok were said to be a faithful remnant, "the elect of Israel."

The "Zadokite Fragments" were published in 1910, Over the years they have come to be known as the "Damascus Document." Of special importance is the mention of the "last days" and a "Teacher of Righteousness" which is believed to be a reference to the Messiah.

According to the ancient fragment, the true remnant will be led by the true Law and their teacher to the city of Damascus, and there, says the document, the group will find the long-lost "Tabernacle of David."

In the document, the sons of Zadok are considered to be the faithful remnant. All other Jews are said to be apostate. The sons of Zadok are the "elect of Israel." They are the offspring of the Levitical priesthood.

Today, in Jerusalem, there is a unique group of religious Jews who claim descent from the priesthood. They pray at the Western Wall for the coming of the Messiah. They are called the "orthodox Jews."
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The Gold of Ophir

In late 1989, explorer Gene Savoy reported finding huge stone tablets in the mountains of Peru that were engraved with ancient Semitic hieroglyphs. These writings are strikingly similar to the forms used during the reign of King Solomon.

Savoy suggested that perhaps the legendary and mysterious land of Ophir, from which Solomon obtained his vast stores of gold, might have been the land now known as Peru.

He also found ancient stone roads leading down to tributaries of the Amazon River and reasoned that Solomon’s trade route might have led directly from there, across the Atlantic, into the Mediterranean Sea, to the coast of Israel.

During the 16th-century invasion of Peru, the Spanish plundered vast amounts of gold and silver. Most of which was callously melted down and sent back to Spain in the form of ingots. However, many gold artifacts were buried with the Inca dead, and thus escaped the eyes of the Spaniards. Much of it is on display in museums. The Incas called their gold, "sweat of the sun."

The source of the ancient Israelite treasure may well have been Peru. Israel’s ancient chronicles tell of a shipment of 3,000 talents of gold, which would have weighed 225 tons:

"Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal" (I Chronicles 29:4).

Peru’s gold may well have found its way into the Temple of Solomon. But even there, it was eventually plundered, and carried off to foreign lands.
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The Spear that Pierced The Side of Christ

While living in Veinna, Austria, a young Adolf Hitler went to the Treasure House of the Hapsburgs to study an ancient spear, reputed to be the spear that pierced the side of Christ. Hour after hour he gazed upon the relic. According to his own testimony he slipped into a trance:

"The air became stifling so that I could barely breathe. The noisy scene of the Treasure House seemed to melt away before my eyes. I stood alone and trembling before the hovering form of the ‘superman’ – a spirit sublime and fearful, a countenance intrepid and cruel. In holy awe, I offered my soul as a vessel of his Will" (Spear of Destiny, p. 38).

Years later, Adolf Hitler moved the spear to Nuremberg, center of the Nazi Party. To hide the spear, a tunnel was opened up beneath the historic Nuremberg fortress, extending some 900 feet into the rock – where at its furthest end an air-conditioned bunker was erected. Massive steel doors, embedded in concrete, guarded the entrance to the vault. Its entrance was hidden at the back of a residential garage.

On April 30, 1945, American soldiers found the tunnel. The United States became the new owners of the legendary spear. While in possession of the spear, America was the undisputed master of the world, unleashing an atomic bomb on Japan. But on January 4, 1946, the spear was returned to Vienna. And, you know, the United States hasn’t won a decisive victory since – just a coincidence, of course. According to the legend, whoever owns the spear can rule the world. I wonder who the next possessor of the spear will be?
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Israel is the Key to World Peace (Part 2) - Lambert Dolphin

But "who is a Jew?" The Apostle Paul makes clear in the New Testament that a "real Jew" is one who has a personal relationship with Yeshua. Similarly the gentile children of Abraham also are those who have surrendered their allegiance to Yeshua--Abraham is "the father of all who believe." Mere biological, genetic descent is not enough. In Galatians Paul assures us that the seed of Abraham was actually one man. Everyone must go through that One Man, Yeshua, to get to Yahweh:

"Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many; but, referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' which is Christ [Messiah]." (Galatians 3:16)

"For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God." (Romans 2:28)

"What then shall we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants-- not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, 'I have made you the father of many nations" --in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.'" (from Romans 4)

What was the faith that Abraham had, the faith that we must have also, if we are to lay hold of his promises? What is the faith that the Jews must adhere to if they are to be legitimate residents (and heirs) of their own piece of land, eretz Israel?

John Chapter 8 records an insightful discussion with the Jews of His day. Yeshua made it clear that Abraham was certain in Whom he believed Abraham believed in Yeshua, just as we believers do today. Abraham and Jesus know one another personally and they are on common ground.

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. You do what your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, `If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. (John 8)

A similar situation exists between Moses and Jesus. Jesus told the Jews, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me." (John 5:46)

To return to the present-day state of Israel. Will God throw the Jews out of the land again for their unbelief and failure to obey Him and to know Him? Apparently not this time. Almost, but not quite! All the prophets of old point to a great day of future blessing for the nation of Israel, but it will only come after the greatest trial Israel has ever experienced.

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." (Matthew 24:21-22)

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it." These are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: "Thus says the LORD: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace. Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale? Alas! that day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it. "And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break the yoke from off their neck, and I will burst their bonds, and strangers shall no more make servants of them. But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. "Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for lo, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with you to save you, says the LORD; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will chasten you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. "For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous. There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant. Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you."

"Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who despoil you shall become a spoil, and all who prey on you I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, says the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: `It is Zion, for whom no one cares!' "Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be. Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them. Their prince shall be one of themselves, their ruler shall come forth from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? says the LORD. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God." Behold the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this." (Jeremiah 30)

Simply put, the Lord will continue to turn up the heat on Israel until they begin to cry out to God for help. As soon as they do this, Yahweh will step right in--in full force--on their behalf. Zechariah the prophet is clear about what lies ahead for Israel.

An Oracle The word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus says the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: "Lo, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the peoples round about; it will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will come together against itOn that day the LORD will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, at their head. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born...

"On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. "And on that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spiritIn the whole land, says the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, `They are my people'; and they will say, `The LORD is my God.'"

Behold, a day of the LORD is coming, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in the midst of you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward. And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be neither cold nor frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the LORD), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one. The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft upon its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall be no more curse; Jerusalem shall dwell in security. (from Zechariah 12-14)

"Lest you [gentile believers] be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in [to the church], and then all Israel will be saved; as it is written, 'The Deliverer [Messiah] will come from Zion [Jerusalem], he will banish ungodliness from Jacob'; 'and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.' As regards the gospel they are [currently] enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God ca not be revoked. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:25-36)

Does it matter if the U.S. supports Israel even in her state of current unbelief? Yes indeed it does. When Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, and gathers all the nations of the world before Him to "separate the sheep from the goats," (Matthew 25) the criteria for that judgment will center around how other nations have treated His people, the Jews! The Jewish people and the nation Israel are God's models for us--He will vindicate them completely, and God will in the end prove Israel to be His standard for personal and national righteous behavior. (See Ezekiel 36 as one example of God's many promises showing that all this will happen in history).

"For behold, in those days and at that time [when Messiah returns], when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and have sold a girl for wine, and have drunk it. "What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will requite your deed upon your own head swiftly and speedily. For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own border. But now I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will requite your deed upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far off; for the LORD has spoken." (Joel 3:1-8)

In a recent newsletter I commented on the rapidly shrinking Christian population in the Middle East, especially among the Arabs. This is very bad news for everyone on earth because it means that the knowledge of the true and living God is fast fading away, especially from the part of the world which needs it the most right now. In this day and age there is one central message which God wishes to be proclaimed everywhere, by all possible means, to all of mankind, and that is: hope, peace and salvation are to be found only in the God of Israel and only in Yeshua His Messiah.

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

"...be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12)

God alone can (and will) save Israel. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He alone can bring peace on earth. All human attempts will fail. What is true for an individual's future and fulfillment is also true for nations. Israel is God's model state. When Israel comes back to the God of their fathers, Messiah will come back to Jerusalem for the second time and peace will at last come to Israel and to all the world.

"But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy; they rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this." (Isaiah 9:1-7)

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June 18, 2003

Top Health Official Warns West Nile Could Hit Hard

'Roe' Seeks to Overturn Historic Abortion Ruling

June 16, 2003

UFO: MYSTERY IN SABAUDIA, "SIGNS" FOUND IN WHEAT FIELD

IRANIAN VIGILANTES SENT TO CRUSH DEMOCRACY PROTESTERS

France wants EU peacekeepers in Middle East

June 14, 2003

When Does an Activist Become a Terrorist? - www.omegaletter.com

According to Fox News' Laurie Dhue, yesterday's strike against two Hamas leaders killed, "the activist, his eight months' pregnant wife, and three-year-old daughter." According to Dhue, the two activists, the wife and children died along with several "innocent" bystanders.

Dhue went on to say that the strike was a retaliation for the 'bus bombing' in Jerusalem. In that casce, she reported, the bomber was identified as an "18-year-old activist."

I have a friend who is always working towards advancing the agenda of the AARP. SHE is an 'activist' -- the Hamas leaders and the kid who blew up the bus in Jerusalem were TERRORISTS.

It is also worthy of note that Israel did NOT target the wife and family of Yasser Taja, unlike the bus bomber, whose mission would have been a failure if he did NOT kill somebody's wife, and somebody else's children.

In a statement, the Israeli government said, "During the operation, mistakenly, other members of his family were killed. IDF regrets this and is investigating the circumstances of the event."

Hamas' response was a pledge to kill more Israeli civilians, promising an 'earthquake' and saying every Israeli is a target.

"The Jerusalem attack is the beginning of a new series of revenge attacks .. in which we will target every Zionist occupying our land," Hamas said in the statement. "We call on international citizens to leave the Zionist entity immediately to preserve their lives."

Assessment:

A sample of a few of this morning's US headlines: "Report: 2 Israelis Hurt In Shooting"; "Every Israeli A Target: Hamas"; "Israelis Shot On West Bank" etc. CNN's headline read, "Israel vows new strikes on Hamas".

The Europeans, particularly the UK, are focusing in on the CNN angle -- not that Hamas has declared open warfare on Israel, but rather than Israel has vowed new strikes against Hamas.

The media is beginning to cover the Middle East the way that they did BEFORE September 11 -- and in that world, terrorists are 'activists' or 'militants' and Israeli retaliation is an escalation in the cycle of violence, etc., etc.

Dead Israelis are generic and faceless. Do YOU know how many Israelis on that bus were children? Old men and women? But you DO know that Yasser Taha's wife was eight month's pregnant when she was killed by the Israelis. And that he had a three-year-old daughter who was killed by the Israelis.

More than 100 Israeli civilians were wounded in the bus attack. What does being 'wounded' by a bomb mean? First, there are the burns. An explosion, simply defined, is a very intense, very fast fire, that has no place to burn fast TO.

It is the rush of fire that envelopes the affected area, blanketing everyone in the blast zone, whether they are protected from shrapnel or not. Many of the 100 'wounded' in the bus blast were horribly burned.

In addition to the burns, there is the shrapnel. The sudden burst of fire (the explosion) sends out thousands of embedded nails, bolts, and bits of metal in all directions with the velocity of a bullet.

Those pieces of nuts, bolts and nails tore through many of the victims, damaging internal organs, putting many of the wounded on life support or dependent for life on machines to replace or augment permanently damaged kidneys, livers, and other internal organs.

Parts of the bus also became missiles as sharp jagged edges of metal slice off arms and legs.

That is the unreported story behind the 17 anonymous Israeli dead and 100 'wounded' by the eighteen-year old Hamas 'activist' to balance against the killing of Yasser Taja (who sent him) and his family. That is not to say that I am not as horrified as anybody about the death of a pregnant woman and three year old girl.

But it didn't occur in a vaccum.

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)