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In This edition:
Israel Warns of Military Thrust Into Gaza
The Rise of the Female Suicide Bomber
Oil's Biggest Day Yet
President Leaves for Europe
Dead Zones Grow in Gulf of Mexico
ISRAEL PM WARNS OF MILITARY THRUST INTO GAZA
The prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, warned on
Friday that Israel could soon opt for a major
military operation in Gaza to try to stop
rocket and mortar fire from that area, which has
killed
three Israelis in recent weeks.
Ask the Lord to continue to fulfill this word: "It
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall
set His hand again the second time to recover the
remnant of His people, which shall be left . . . He
shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall
assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
earth." (Isaiah 11:11-12)
Pray that God would use the 60th anniversary
celebration to provoke Jews in exile to come home;
that He would use this birthday to provoke the
younger generation of Jews to commit their future to
this land and nation; That HE would lift the spirit
of apathy and fear from His people concerning aliyah
- immigrating to Israel. (Intercessors for Israel
www.ifij.org)
Egypt has been trying to broker understandings to
establish calm. Israel demanded that any cease-fire
arrangement put a stop to the smuggling of weapons
from Egypt into Gaza.
In more tough talk in Israel on Friday, Shaul Mofaz,
a deputy prime minister and minister of
transportation, said, "If
Irancontinues
its program to develop nuclear weapons, we will
attack it." Mr. Mofaz, a former defense minister and
army chief, said that sanctions were not effective.
He was the first senior member of the Israeli
government to threaten Iran overtly.
An Israeli attack on Iran
would be risky and difficult, according to experts,
because of the long distances involved, the need to
hit multiple targets and the threat of retaliation,
which some fear could include non-conventional
terrorism. (NY Times 6/7/08)
WORLD JEWISH POPULATION, TOP FIVE COUNTRIES (2006)
|
1 |
Israel |
5,313,800 |
40.6% |
|
2 |
United States |
5,275,000 |
40.3% |
|
3 |
France |
491,500 |
3.8% |
|
4 |
Canada |
373,500 |
2.9% |
|
5 |
United Kingdom |
297,000 |
2.3% |
(Sources: Jewish Virtual Library, American Jewish
Year Book, 2006; NY: American Jewish Committee,
2006)(World Jewish Population, Judaism Online)
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ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH:
PARALLEL RESTORATION
By Derek Prince
This message was taken from a Derek Prince audio
series entitled, "Israel: Past, Present and
Future."
This timely message helps us understand the Church's
role in God's Kingdom plans - along side Israel's
role.
Order IFA Item #CD041, $4.95 + shipping. Credit card
orders toll-free 1-800-872-7729 or via IFA
eBookstore at
www.ifabooks.com
___________ _ ___________
WAR IN IRAQ
THE RISE OF THE FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER
Number of Iraq attacks involving women has doubled
this year; American commanders claim al-Qaeda in
Iraq is seeking out women and children to evade
stepped up security
measures and checkpoints.
A girl strapped with explosives approaches an Iraqi
army captain, who dies in the suicide blast. A woman
posing as a mother-to-be to disguise a bulging bomb
belt strikes a wedding procession as part of a
coordinated attack that kills nearly three dozen
people.
The attacks last month were among the latest blows
by female suicide bombers - and further evidence of
shifting insurgent tactics amid an
overall drop in bloodshed around Iraq.
U.S. military figures show the number of female
suicide attacks has risen from eight in 2007 to at
least 16 so far this year. That compares with a
total of four in 2005 and 2006.
Activists and U.S. commanders believe al-Qaida in
Iraq is increasingly seeking to exploit women who
are unable to deal with the grief of losing
husbands, children and others to the violence.
"Al-Qaida is preying on those who don't have jobs,
who don't have education and who are feeling
despair," said Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling
The rise in female suicide bombings comes as the
U.S. military says violence is down to its lowest
levels in more than four years. The reasons include
last year's U.S. troop buildup, a Sunni revolt
against al-Qaida and a cease-fire by radical Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. (AP 6/7/08)
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
U.S. REPORTS GAINS AGAINST TALIBAN FIGHTERS
Pray that wisdom and strategy be granted to U.S.
commanders in Iraq. Intercede for Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani (Kurdish), Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
(Shiite Muslim), the Parliament, and all
officials-that a form of good government that is
representative of all Iraqi socio-religious ethnic
groups be established and maintained. Intercede for
all troops deployed and for their families-for
protection, good health and morale. Intercede for
all Christians and churches in Iraq. (1 Tim 2:2)
Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan are fleeing
to the Pakistani border after being routed in recent
operations by the United States Marines. General
McNeill, who hands over command of NATO forces in
Afghanistan this week after 16 months in the post,
said that if the Taliban and foreign insurgents
continued to enjoy free sanctuary outside
Afghanistan, their numbers would continue to grow.
Despite the rout of Taliban forces, the general
warned that they were not the only problem in
Helmand Province and that the
enormous opium crop
and the powerful drug business
posed a comparable threat to Afghanistan's
stability. (NY Times) (Photo - soldiers with the
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been clearing
fighters from the district of Garmser, in southern
Helmand Province.)
CHINA EARTHQUAKE | MYANMAR CYCLONE
PRAY that the Lord would work through the
affliction caused by Burma's Cyclone Nargis
andChina's earthquake; that He would deliver Burma
from its affliction of violent, repressive,
totalitarian rule; May He open the ears of
multitudes of Burmese and Chinese to the gospel of
Jesus Christ and bless all pastors, Christian
leaders and teachers.
CHINA: RAINS ADD TO FLOOD THREAT IN QUAKE AREA
On Friday afternoon, heavy rains descended on
Sichuan Province's north for the first time in a
week, prompting the government to evacuate people
from towns already heavily damaged by the
earthquake.
The greatest threat of flooding is caused by more
than 30 so-called quake lakes, formed when
landslides blocked rivers. If those natural dams
give way, the water would engulf vast areas
downstream, endangering lives.
CHINA'S GRIEVING PARENTS
Medical teams arriving in Sichuan Province will
offer another service: reverse sterilization surgery
on women who have lost their only child. About
10,000 children are believed to have died from
school collapses during the quake. (NY Times 6/6/08)
1.5 MILLION SURVIVORS IN MYANMAR WITHOUT SHELTER;
MONSOON SEASON BEGINS
A severe shortage of housing has left hundreds of
thousands of cyclone survivors in Burma Myanmar
(Burma) exposed to heavy rain as the monsoon season
begins, aid agencies said Saturday. The United
Nations and the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies said there was an
urgent need for tarpaulins to provide temporary
shelter to an estimated 1.5 million homeless
survivors. Otherwise, the threats of hunger and
disease could intensify, they warned. The U.N.
estimates 2.4 million people were affected when
Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, and warns that more than
1 million still need help (AP)
OIL'S BIGGEST DAY YET DRAGS DOWN STOCKS
Oil prices made their biggest single-day leap ever
Friday -
clearing $139,
dragging the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 400
points and raising the
once-unthinkable prospect of
$150 oil and even higher gas prices by the Fourth of
July.
The burst in oil prices also raised the prospect of
accelerating inflation by adding to already strained
transportation costs - which will send prices higher
throughout the economy.
The White House said President Bush was considering
further plans to help energize the economy, already
teetering on the edge of recession and crippled by a
tumbling housing market and other factors. (AP
6/7/08)
PRESIDENT LEAVES FOR TOUR OF EUROPEAN ALLIES
The first event on Bush's eight-day trip, which
begins Monday, is a U.S.-European Union summit in
Slovenia on Tuesday. The president moves on to talks
with the leaders of Germany, Italy, France and
Britain before wrapping up the trip June 16 in
Belfast, Northern Ireland. He will also visit the
Vatican in Rome. It will be his fourth meeting with
Pope Benedict XVI.
In Germany, Bush will commemorate the 60th
anniversary of the U.S. Marshall Plan to rebuild
Europe after World War II and the Berlin Airlift to
supply food to the city over Soviet blockades.
Issues to be discussed:
combating Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan,
guaranteeing Iran doesn't produce nuclear weapons,
achieving Bush's goal of an Israeli-Palestinian
peace by year's end, addressing a world food
shortage and trying to break a global logjam on
climate change.
Anti-American sentiment still runs high. More people
in France, Germany and Britain view the United
States as a "force for evil" than good in the world,
according to a poll last month by a London
newspaper. Only Italians saw the United States
differently: A majority said it was a "force for
good."
DEAD ZONES GROW IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
U.S. farming policy leads to 'dead zones,' huge
marine areas where nothing can grow; nearly 150 dead
zones worldwide
Each spring, the cycle of death begins anew.
Nitrogen and phosphorus, leached from fertilizer,
pass from farmland into streams, from streams into
rivers-the Mississippi, the Potomac, the
Susquehanna-and then, finally, into some of the
country's great bodies of water: the Gulf of Mexico,
the Chesapeake Bay. There the chemicals collect each
summer, spawning the growth of algae, which deplete
the water of oxygen and lead to ghostly aquatic
wastelands. Marine life, if mobile enough, will swim
away; the rest will suffocate and die.
Not only are dead zones not going away, scientists
say, but they are becoming more frequent and
intense.
A 2004 U.N. report documented nearly 150 dead zones
worldwide, and scientists continue to come across
new ones, including some apparently caused by
climate change. Researchers at Oregon State
University, for example, identified a recurring dead
zone in the Pacific Northwest in 2002; during the
2006 cycle, it caused "mass die-offs" of marine life
on the seafloor.
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JERUSALEM:
THE COVENANT CITY
by Lance Lambert / Hugh Kitson
Why do world leaders wage war for the Temple Mount
and rage over "the final status" of Jerusalem? Part
1 of Jerusalem, the Covenant City traces the
prophetic history of the Holy City. Part 2 explores
what the Bible has to say about Jerusalem's present
and future destiny.
We discover that, as we move into the third
millennium of the Christian Era, the destiny of the
whole world hinges upon the destiny of Jerusalem and
the nation of Israel. This 108-minute documentary
will bring you a message of challenge and hope that
you will not easily forget. Order IFA Item #DV046,
$15.95 + $3.50 shipping.
Credit card orders toll-free 1-800-872-7729
or via IFA's secure eBookstore
www.ifabooks.com
________________________________________________
At the IFA Website . . .
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JUNE FIRST FRIDAY PRAYER AND FASTING
http://www.ifapray.org/newsletters_index.html
Global Food Crisis: The Economics of Hunger
http://www.ifapray.org/scienceartculture.htm
Prayer Guide: Islam Around the World
http://www.ifapray.org/PrayerGuides/Islam%20Around%20the%20World.htm |
