{"id":1390,"date":"2014-05-05T14:47:12","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T14:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?p=1390"},"modified":"2014-05-05T14:47:12","modified_gmt":"2014-05-05T14:47:12","slug":"happy-israels-idependance-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/happy-israels-idependance-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Israel’s Idependance Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Esther Korson<\/p>\n

How wonderful that Israel is about to celebrate its 66th year of Independence! Here are a few statistics! The population of Israel now stands at 8,200,000\u2014a ten-fold population increase since 1948.\u00a0 Seventy-five per cent of the population is Jewish, or 6,200,000; and one-fifth of the population is Arab, or 1,700,000.\u00a0 At the start of the State in 1948, only 35% of the population was native born\u2014today three-quarters of Israelis were born here!\u00a0 178,000 babies were born this year.\u00a0 In 1948, only Tel Aviv had a population of over 100,000\u2014now there are 14 cities with over 100,000 residents!\u00a0 Israel is now one of the densest populations in the world (we\u2019re tiny, remember? Plus the Lord brought us home from all the nations of the world). And, in the past year, 24,000 people made aliyah to Israel.<\/p>\n

One day last week, while I was walking down the street with a friend, I met a couple that had sold me their apartment way back in 1978 in the (then new) Jerusalem suburb of Ramot.\u00a0 It was lovely to have seen them again, and then unexpectedly, the husband said, \u201cDo you know what really touched me?\u00a0 The \u2018Love Scroll\u2019\u201d\u2026and then we talked about it for a while.\u00a0 He was an Orthodox Jewish man, and yet he remembered something so clearly from so long ago because, as he said, it had touched him deeply.\u00a0 So in honour of Israel\u2019s Independence Day, I\u2019m going to take you on a journey way back to another Independence Day, Israel\u2019s 30th, way back in 1978.<\/p>\n

You have to imagine that in 1978, there was no \u2018mass communication\u2019 like the world has today.\u00a0 There were no computers or cell phones.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, most residents of Israel didn\u2019t even have home phones.\u00a0 We used public phones on the streets, and international phone calls could be placed in little booths from the central post office.\u00a0 Israel had only one television station.<\/p>\n

You also have to understand that to most Jewish people, \u2018Jesus\u2019 and \u2018Christians\u2019 were our worst enemies.\u00a0 Over the centuries, we\u2019ve been hated, killed and persecuted more in the name of \u2018Jesus\u2019 than in any other name.\u00a0 Even the Holocaust, our greatest tragedy as a people, was viewed as Christian, since Germany was considered to be a Christian country. There was no way for the Jewish people to know that those people who treated us so despitefully weren\u2019t really \u2018Christians\u2019 at all.\u00a0 The Lord by then had helped me to understand that when people individually accept Jesus into their lives, it is that personal relationship with the Lord Himself that truly makes a person a Christian.<\/p>\n

I was one of the first Jewish Believers in Israel, and there were only a handful of us at that time. And it was also a time when \u2018Christians\u2019 were coming to know the Lord directly and therefore came to share His burden of love for the Jewish people.\u00a0 It was just the very beginning of it all.<\/p>\n

Bearing all that in mind, I\u2019d like to share with you the \u201cLove Scroll\u201d story!<\/p>\n

One time in 1977, on the second day of a three day fast, I was on my knees praying and waiting before the Lord when I felt His presence and His love.\u00a0 And then He spoke the following to my heart (quoted from my book, \u201cI Am My Beloved\u2019s\u201d):<\/p>\n

\u201dVery soon your name will become known throughout the world as a result of the court case (a story for another time).\u00a0 I will use this for My secondary purposes.\u00a0 Beginning in February of 1978, I will send you out with a piece of typing paper to My true body of Believers.\u00a0 Wherever you go, I want you to have them sign their names, city and country under the words, \u2018Israel, we love you.\u2019 And then, if you have one sheet of signatures or if you have a thousand, I want you to make it into a scroll to present as a visible sign of love to Israel for her thirtieth birthday. But know that people will either accept this message or they will not, for I am using Israel as a sword to divide the true church from the false.\u00a0 Those who have truly opened their hearts to Me believe in the God of Israel and the Messiah of Israel; and therefore, it is impossible in these days for them not to share My great burden of love for Israel and for the Jewish people\u2026\u201d
\nTo further quote from my book, \u201cI don\u2019t know which part of that message astonished me more!\u00a0 My head buzzed with questions! How would my name ever become known throughout the world?\u00a0 And who would I get to sign the scroll? I had only three friends in England, two in Norway, and a few more in the United States! And how would Israel accept the gift? What did the Lord mean by using Israel as a sword of division?<\/p>\n

Completely amazed, I put the situation in the Father\u2019s hands, knowing that He alone could fulfill it. I knew, too, that the Lord was dealing in a very direct way with my pride. The basic question was: Did I love the Lord enough to look foolish for Him? But deep inside I longed to give myself to the Lord with all my heart. And so, I could only look to Him to help me to be obedient; to help me to love Him enough so that I could get my eyes off of myself; to help me to put to rest forever the nagging thought, \u2018But what will people say\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When something truly comes from the Father\u2019s heart, He fulfills it in ways we would never dream.\u00a0 I left Israel on the \u2018Love Scroll\u2019 journey during the first week of February, 1978 with a few sheets of paper.\u00a0 And by the time the scroll was presented in the Prime Minister\u2019s office in August of 1978, in honour of Israel\u2019s 30th year as a nation, it contained thousands and thousands and thousands of signatures, from 32 nations.\u00a0 The scroll itself was handcrafted in Bethlehem (in those days an open and friendly city that Israelis visited regularly) out of olive wood.\u00a0 The flags of the 32 nations represented were attached to the scroll, and it was presented with a gift of $50,000! It took days and days and lots of help to staple it all together, as it was HUGE! Here is a portion of the letter that I wrote to Prime Minister Begin that accompanied the scroll:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the spring, I spent two-and-a-half months speaking for Israel amongst true Believers in Jesus, both of Jewish and non-Jewish origin. A portion of this Anniversary gift was flown here from as far away as New Zealand, and people from thirty-two nations are represented on this love scroll!\u00a0 They love you and this nation dearly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lord opened the door for me and a friend to present the scroll to Dr. Eliahu Ben-Elissar, the Director General of the Prime Minister\u2019s Bureau; Mr. Yachiel Kadishai, Begin\u2019s Personal Aide and close friend; Harry Hurwitz, Public Relations for Israel; and Mr. Hecht, founder of the Dagon Granary in Haifa.<\/p>\n

You have to understand, at this time of history especially, so soon after the Holocaust, that the Jewish people were not used to being loved.\u00a0 As these men turned the scroll and saw thousands of expressions of love, they were speechless.\u00a0 As they were looking, I was able to explain to them that there was a difference between those Gentiles who call themselves Christian and have hated and persecuted the Jewish people; and those who truly have a relationship to Jesus Himself\u2014as the signators on the love scroll\u2014and are therefore committed to stand by Israel whatever the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are Israel\u2019s true friends,\u201d I told them.\u00a0 \u201cThe people that have done terrible things to the Jewish people in Jesus\u2019 name had nothing to do with Him whatsoever!\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that day, these close friends and associates of the Prime Minister presented the \u201cLove Scroll\u201d to Prime Minister Menachem Begin himself.\u00a0 This is a portion of the letter that he sent to me the following day, the 4th of August, 1978:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026My friends at the office handed me the scroll of names and the cheques that you presented on behalf of the thousands of persons who declared their expressions of love for Israel.<\/p>\n

I am most grateful for your efforts and for the wonderful gestures of each and every one whose name appears on the scroll. In these difficult days, it is good to feel the warmth of love and the prayers for our well-being, success and peace\u2026<\/p>\n

God bless you for your prayers and your good wishes and your deeds,
\nSincerely, Menachem Begin<\/p>\n

A blessed memory from long ago.\u00a0 Happy 66th Anniversary, Israel!\u00a0 True Believers love you still!!!!<\/p>\n

Download Esther’s Book ‘I am My Beloveds ‘ <Click Here><\/a><\/p>\n

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By Esther Korson How wonderful that Israel is about to celebrate its 66th year of Independence! Here are a few statistics! The population of Israel now stands at 8,200,000\u2014a ten-fold population increase since 1948.\u00a0 Seventy-five per cent of the population is Jewish, or 6,200,000; and one-fifth of the population is Arab, or 1,700,000.\u00a0 At the more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[173,75,135,631,175,174,176,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-1390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorial","8":"tag-independance-day","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-israel-news","11":"tag-israeli-life","12":"tag-jerusalem-news","13":"tag-love-scroll","14":"tag-menachem-begin","15":"tag-messianic","16":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1392,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1390\/revisions\/1392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}