April 11th - 13th
The Dati have been showing up in pairs, protesting in front of our homes (Yakim’s, Polly’s, and our). Neighbors and people passing by have been stepping up to the plate, coming to our defense.
You see, the Dati live in their own section of town. They do not hold jobs nor serve in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Guess they are living like the Levites back in the day. Well, they’re staging these so called protests and demonstrations in neighborhoods where the common folk dwell. Thus, they are surrounded by the tax payers who refer to the Dati as good-for-nothing leaches.
The Dati are the only, you could say, church in town and they want to keep it that way!
These guys control and charge dearly for marriages, burials, baptismal, prayers, blessings, kosher inspections, etc. For the right fee, you can even get your name written in the book of life (seriously).
They have the power to make a person a Jew! In essence, for the right fee, one can become a Jew, thus a citizen of Israel. Part of this process is to denounce Jesus as Lord.
They claim that you cannot be a Jew and believe in Y’shua (Jesus)! If you believe in Jesus you are not a Jew! They are telling us to “Stop the Lie!”
They don’t even like us flying the Israel flag at the storefront!
April 14th
We were prayed up, and decked in full battle gear (helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, feet shod with the gospel, and loins girt about with truth. Eph. 6:12-17
The police were expecting 400 to 500 Dati and were braced for the worse. Police blockades were setup about 40 feet from Polly’s front door, where the Dati were to converge.
Susan and I arrived at Polly’s around 5:30 p.m., Lura was not feeling good and stayed home maintained the home front.
To my surprise, we were not alone! Others had come out, and were already engaged in prayer and worship…Wow! Being at Polly’s on this particular day meant that you decided to no longer be a secret believer, you have exposed yourself and family, and there would be no turning back! A big decision, come what may.
The crowd arrived at 6:00 p.m. They prayed that God put curses upon us. They called us Nazis, the same people who killed the Jews during the Holocaust.
Edwin Beckford
(4/04)