A good friend of mine is prone to comment occasionally, “This sure is an exciting time to be alive.” This month has been filled with “excitement” – An Iranian direct attack on Israel of over 300 airborne missiles and drones was thwarted by Israel, her allies in the region, and the “Hand of God.” Chaos at the UN, hypocritical actions by the US Democratic leadership, our court system being ‘weaponized’ to thwart a popular candidate for President, and more.  An international “court” with no jurisdiction calls for the arrest and trial of leaders fulfilling their mandate to govern a Democratic state.  Violent demonstrations in major cities and on college campuses, Our President spending time, energy, and tax dollars to try to tell a sovereign nation how to conduct a war against terrorists for which there is no precedent.  Our Southern border is open to almost anyone who wants to come to America for whatever reason or purpose.  Government debt spending is at a level that can only lead to a devastating devaluation of the US dollar.  Politicians, media, and even our legal system are dangerously one-sided, and what was once a morally strong nation is now morally bankrupt.  It’s bleak everywhere you look, but God!!  He will not fail to keep His promises to Israel and our Jewish people.  He will not be mocked by leaders of nations aligning themselves against His Word.

For some smiles, see the FAMILY PICTURE ALBUM at the end of the newsletter.

ISREAL UPDATE

HOSTAGES, WAR ON SEVERAL FRONTS, BETRAYAL BY THE US?

Today is DAY 238 since the massacre & hostage-taking by the terrorist group Hamas on 7 October 2024.  It is believed that there are still over 100 hostages being held by Hamas, and many of them may already be dead.  Among those are 8 American citizens.  Yet our government is silent; the International Red Cross is silent and absent, and organizations advocating for women and children are silent and absent.

Let us not lose sight of the ‘natural’ reasons for the timing of the 7th of October attack – Saudi Arabia was within a couple of weeks of signing on to the Abraham Accords – facilitated by former president Trump – which took Hamas and the PLO out of the ‘let’s make peace with Israel’ equation for the first time.  The actions of Hamas on 7 October brought that to a halt, but it could still be consummated.

Hamas is a terror organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel.  Read their Charter.  They hide nothing.  They do not seek a separate state – they seek an Islamic caliphate controlling all former Islamic lands and, ultimately, the entire world.  This is not just about Israel – they preach a simple message – kill Jews, then Americans.

This should be an urgent call to prayer for all of us.

Norway, Ireland & Spain recognize a “Palestinian State”

In a direct diplomatic assault on Israel, Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced last week that they would recognize Palestine as a state.  Though Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly warned that recognizing Palestine is essentially a reward for the terror of October 7, these nations – known for their antisemitism and long-term antagonism towards Israel – went ahead with the move.  These declarations contradict the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, which require borders to be the result of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Despite overwhelming evidence that any Palestinian state would be a terror state along the model of the Hamas-run Gaza strip, these nations continue to cling to the fantasy of the “two-state solution” as the panacea for all of the unrest in the Middle East.  Though the move is largely symbolic, it is a sign of Israel’s increasing diplomatic isolation.

[Falestinona, website of Fatah’s Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, May 23, 2024]

Following Norway, Ireland, and Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state last week, PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah Movement published the above cartoon.  It shows exactly what “Palestine,” the PA and Fatah, say the European countries endorsed.

The cartoon shows “Palestine” having replaced the entire State of Israel and the PA areas.  The map is formed by three arms painted in the colors of the flags of the three European countries.  The “Norwegian” arm writes the word “Palestine,” the “Irish” arm waves a Palestinian flag, while the “Spanish” hand makes a V-sign with its fingers, signifying “victory.”

Palestinian Media Watch has repeatedly shown that the PA/Fatah explains to their own people that since “Israel has no right to exist.’ Fatah’s goal and Palestinian destiny is to replace Israel with a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”

It should have been the most basic preliminary investigation for Norway, Ireland, and Spain to check what the PA tells its own people that a “Palestinian state” means before they recognize it.  The shocking reality is that either these countries have no idea what “Palestinian state” they are recognizing, in which case the governments are a diplomatic disgrace and embarrassment to their countries, or possibly they all agree with the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, who last week vowed that “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea,” in which case they are ideologically in the same camp with state sponsors of terror like Iran.

from Palestinian Media Watch, 26 May 2024, https://palwatch.org/page/35132

 

A BOOK FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

We don’t usually recommend books, but I (Michael) have been reading “The Genius of Israel.” This book may help you understand Israel, our Jewish people, and the rising violence and anti-Semitism here in America and worldwide.  It’s available on Amazon and in bookstores.

review excerpt from The New York Times (not ‘pro-Israel) Book Review, 1 November 2023,  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/books/review/the-genius-of-israel-dan-senor-saul-singer.html

Israel Is in Crisis.  These Authors See Reason for Hope.

In “The Genius of Israel,” Dan Senor and Saul Singer take a look at the economic strength and high quality of life for some of the people who live in a troubled country

THE GENIUS OF ISRAEL: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World, by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

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More than 1,000 of its citizens, mostly civilians, were slaughtered in a matter of hours by a militant group thought to be ragtag and toothless.  The country’s security services were nowhere to be found.  The citizens’ faith in their political leader, a prime minister charged with bribery and fraud, plummeted even before the attack.  For the previous nine months, tens of thousands of protesters had held weekly demonstrations asserting that their beloved nation was being dragged by its populist government into authoritarian penury.  Eventually, 360,000 reservists rushed into uniforms to fight the militants, only to find substandard equipment that had to be upgraded with private funds raised by volunteers.

This does not sound like a country any sane person would emulate.  Yet the political adviser Dan Senor and the former Jerusalem Post editor Saul Singer have written a book under the title “The Genius of Israel,” and while their timing couldn’t be worse, the volume does offer important insights into a nation that has punched far above its weight even as it now grapples with existential crises both external and internal.  If Israelis recover from the brutal Hamas attack of Oct. 7 and re-establish national equilibrium, what’s written in this book will help reveal how they did it.

Senor and Singer shot to best-seller fame in 2009 with “Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle,” which sought to explain how a tiny young country surrounded by enemies could have, at the time, more companies listed on the Nasdaq than any except the United States.  The answer: a mix of risk-taking newcomers and a culture of innovation fostered among young Israelis by their mandatory military service.

Their new book builds on those insights by looking at how Israeli society functions at large.  In the past 15 years, Israel’s GDP per capita has risen above that of Britain, France, and Japan.  The number of multinational companies with operations in the country has grown from fewer than 150 to more than 400.

“Israel has been exposed to constant trauma,” the authors write, and yet the country has some of the lowest rates of alcohol abuse, opioid death, and suicide in the world. Israel’s citizens also consistently rank among the happiest on the planet.  They have long lives and produce, far and away, the most children per family of any rich country.  Israelis also make, per capita, more original content for film and TV than Britain, Canada, or France.

In other words, the country may be facing a reckoning because of deep societal divisions and its precarious place in the Middle East, but paradoxically, Israel arrived here as one of the world’s most successful societies, with a thrumming energy.  And that may prove its salvation.

 

PARTNER WITH US IN PRAYER

• Israel to conclude the battle to eliminate the terror organization Hamas
• Safety for IDF soldiers in Gaza, Judea & Samaria (West Bank) and on the northern borders
• Sanity to return to US Universities and our elected leadership
• We will take a ministry trip to Texas in May and seek to be a blessing
• Michael’s full healing and needed resources to do the work of ministry

 

PARTNER WITH US IN FINANCES

There are a few NEW options if you are prompted to partner financially in ministry with us:

If you don’t need a tax deduction, you can send funds to us via the INTERNET directly through PayPal.  Use [email protected], which is Michael’s account.  Send as a friend, without cost to you or us.

If you don’t need a tax deduction, you can send funds to us by check, payable to Michael Bryan, and mail to Michael Bryan, PO Box 255, Magnolia, MS 39652.

Tax-deductible donations by CHECK  can be made payable to Isaiah 61 Ministries and mailed to:

Isaiah 61 Ministries
PO Box 255
Magnolia, MS. 39652
You will receive a printed receipt at year-end, and we are eternally grateful.

Tax-deductible donations via the Internet can be made through the KKCJ website, www.kkcj.org.  Click the “Give” tab at the top of the page, select “Staff Support,” and select “Michael Bryan.”

We are grateful to receive a partial salary from the King of Kings Community to help with ministry work.  As God opens new doors for us, we know He will supply the needed resources to enable us to minister from America to Israel and the Nations.  May God continue to bless you as you continue blessing us and Israel.

 

As Summer heats up, politics seem to get uglier, and chaos and unrighteousness seem to prevail everywhere we look; we are reminded to “keep your eyes on Him who is able” and fear not.   Be encouraged – God is not threatened or intimidated and will protect His creation and His people.   We love and appreciate you,

Michael & Patricia

FAMILY PICTURE ALBUM – MAY 2024