Live Report from Israel

We made an emergency trip to the Middle East the day after Christmas.  I am leading a team of ACLJ and ECLJ lawyers and Government Affairs staff on a critical matter involving Christian persecution in the Gaza Strip.  We had no idea when we left that we would be literally flying into a war zone.  For the past several months, weve been working on a very sensitive case involving Christian persecution by Hamas.  Christian persecution is nothing new in this area, but under Hamas, the regime has been particularly brutal towards Christians.  A year ago, the owner of the Christian bookstore in Gaza was viciously murdered by agents of Hamas.  He left a young wife and three little children.  This case brought national attention to the difficulty that Christians are facing in dominantly Islamic countries, where the Christian minority is often suffering significant persecution and even death.  We are here to protect human rights and dignity.  While today I cannot go into the details of the matter at hand, I can tell you that we have been successful in protecting the afflicted ones from evil doers. 

Since weve been here, the Israelis decided to attack and route out Hamas from the Gaza Strip.  Yesterday I traveled to the town of Sderot, where 8000 rockets have fallen in the last few years without any outcry from the international community.  Children have been killed and families have been forced to flee from their homes all because of the actions of Hamas.  I had the opportunity to go to Sderot with Israeli Middle East expert and former IDF Colonel Raanan Gissin. Colonel Gissin, the Senior Advisor to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, stated quite clearly that this war Israel is now engaged in is really a war against Iran.  Hamas is fighting this war as the proxy for Iran, just as Hezbollah is fighting the war for Syria in Iran as well.  The Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit still remains captive by Hamas.  No one knows the exact fate of this 22-year-old man, but justice has to be served here as well. 

We have been meeting with government officials throughout Israel, as well as military experts, to get a first-hand assessment of the situation.  I will be sending out a video email later in the week from Israel to give everyone an update.  Needless to say, while tensions are high, we feel confident that we are exactly where the Lord wants us to be at this particular time.  We have been uniquely placed with the ability to engage these critical issues for human rights, dignity, and to protect Christians from persecution; and we plan on doing everything we can to ensure the proclamation of the Gospel even in these difficult areas. 

I will get more information about the family we helped in the coming weeks, but I want everyone to know that weve appreciated your prayers and ask you to continue to pray for us as we will be here for a number of days and into the new year.