The Beer Sheva Trial June11, 2009 (Report by Arni Klien, Emmaus Way in Nes Harim)
Dear Praying Friends, We left home around 6:30 AM Wednesday and headed for
the courthouse in Beer Sheva. The trial was
scheduled to begin sometime shortly after 9 AM.
The building opened at 8 and the courtroom at 8:30. There were only about
twenty seats available so we wanted to be sure to get in. Most of the seats
were taken by believing friends. At around 9:45 a crowd of the Rabbi’s
followers came, but there was no room for them. Regardless of the
outcome, we recognize this as being a historic moment that will most definitely
make a difference. It’s not every day that the Chief Rabbi of a major
city in
We (Yonit and I)
felt so blessed and honored to have been able to be part of the events of the
day. And we want to say right up front how proud we are of our brethren –
Nahalat Yeshua
congregational leaders Howard and Randi Bass and
their lawyers Marvin Kramer and Kevork Nalbandian -- that have taken a position at the head of
this battle. They have counted the considerable cost, prayed much, and
prepared well. What they are doing is on behalf of the whole Body of
Messiah in Israel and the nations, to the end that the revelation of the glory
of God in Yeshua would be seen by those yet blinded
by the prince of this world.
Here are some of the details that have not
appeared in the recent e-mails speaking about the case. In 2005, on Shabbat,
December 24th, two young ladies were scheduled to be immersed in
water as part of the regular weekly congregational gathering. The
“anti-missionary” organization Yad L’Achim became aware of it, informed the Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Beer Sheva, Yehuda Deri, that there was to be
a mass baptism of Jews and ten tour buses full of people were coming to
participate. Rabbi Deri passed the information to
eight other Rabbis in Beer Sheva. As a result,
around 400-500 haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews)
descended on the Beer Sheva congregation. They
destroyed property, accosted several of the believers, and even fought with a
number of the 70 policemen that came to quell the riot. Amazingly,
amazingly the judge declared that the fact that "a very serious and
terrible incident" occurred was an indisputable fact. This in
itself is a victory.
Verbal statements and signed depositions by Deri and the Yad L’Achim spokesman even further establish these facts.
In reality they do not need to be proven. What the lawyers must do at the
next session on June 21 is prove that Rabbi Deri
(personally) and Yad L'Achim
are linked to this “very serious incident” and are essentially responsible for
the riot and consequently liable for the damages.
The defendant’s (Deri’s)
defense is simply that “it is inconceivable for the Chief Rabbi of Beer Sheva to be involved in such a thing.”
Let’s take a lesson from the Ami Ortiz
case. There we had a clear instance of attempted murder…over a year
ago. Though the police have actual pictures of the person that placed the
bomb at the door to the Ortiz apartment, they have yet to bring in one
suspect. It is known that the perpetrator is part of the Orthodox
community. Without going into detail, we know that the order to place the
bomb came from a highly-placed person in the community who apparently has
enough clout to have thus far kept the investigation at a standstill. In
that light, consider that we are dealing with the Chief Rabbi of a major city,
who happens to be the brother of Aryeh Deri, the former head of the Shas
party (that controls the Ministry of the Interior), who himself just spent time
in prison for fraud. So as you pray, consider the kind of pressure the
judge Iddo Ruzin might be
experiencing and pray for him. (Incidentally,
A very interesting thing happened yesterday
when the defendant’s lawyer was cross-examining Howard Bass, who is essentially
the plaintiff in the case. All of a sudden, in the middle of the
interrogation, the lawyer seemed confused and unable to formulate any more
questions. Our lawyers asked Howard hours of questions in their
preparation exercises, so there was no lack of things to ask. But
something happened in the spirit. We were amazed. Pray for
confusion to continue to overtake the minds of the defendant’s lawyers so that
they cannot formulate lies. Their case is to assert that though Rabbi Deri was there, he had nothing to do with what
happened. Notwithstanding the fact that he came in the latter part of the
protest, and admitted disseminating the information about what was to take
place, he is claiming that he called for a prayer gathering and not a protest.
Beloved, his lawyers have got to know that he is lying. Cover-up and
denial to save face has long been a regular part of the Israeli political
scene.
There is another fact you need to be aware
of. Marvin Kramer, the chief counsel for the plaintiff (the Messianics), began receiving threats even before the case
was actually filed. He does not consider them to be empty words designed
to just scare him off. Remember the bomb delivered to the Ortiz
family. Pray for Marvin and Kevork and their
families, as well as their law offices.
There is a tape of a radio interview Rabbi Deri gave the day after the riot. It is very
incriminating! The judge needs to issue a court order for the tape to be
released. This is a major point. Pray that this tape will be
entered in as evidence.
Our lawyers will ask to be able to
cross-examine Yad L’Achim’s
spokesman as a hostile witness. Pray this be
granted. (We believe that this person’s name is Alex Artrovski.)
Our lawyers’ cross-examination of Deri and Atrovski will of a
certainty do great damage to their case. Pray that their lawyers will not
be able to undo or cover over what is brought to light.
Pray that the Judge Iddo
Ruzin will have the clarity and boldness to render a
just decision.
The outcome of this case will have
ramifications in the spiritual realm that will have repercussions in the
natural realm. If human agents of the kingdom of darkness are judged, the
power and ability of the spirits behind them to function will be
affected. The people on trial are heavyweights. Consequently, the
spirits working through them would necessarily be of consequence and
influence. Consider where this is taking place. Beer Sheva is the city of the Patriarchs. Its spiritual
roots and wells are the very foundation of our identity as a
people. We could say that perhaps the greatest problem we have (as
a people), which has caused us to be and do what we have been and done
throughout history to this very day, comes from our being disconnected from
Abraham, the father of our faith. Of all places, Beer Sheva
is his city.
Furthermore, in 1917 Beer Sheva was the site of a
battle that marked the end of Turkish rule over the Land, paving the way for
the re-establishment of the nation of
So dear beloved friends, do not be
silent. Make your voices, petitions, intercessions, prayers, and praises
heard in the spirit realm! If what you’ve read here makes sense to
you, don’t hold back. In whatever way you are able, give yourself to this
battle. Feel free to forward this letter to everyone you know that has a
heart for God’s heart and the salvation of
Howard
and Randi and the lawyers are not necessarily praying
to win the case at this juncture. (Although it would
be nice to have this all behind us). We are praying that God would
be glorified, that the truth would be made known, that the hidden things in
men’s hearts would be revealed, and that this case would fulfill its purpose in
God’s plan in preparing the way for Yeshua’s
return.
May the Holy Spirit allow us to see what our
Father in Heaven is doing and give us the grace and strength to manifest His
will on earth. It’s a great day to be
alive.
May God bless you from