Nov. 24, 2006 – Shalom! Much is happening in Arad and Israel – read on:

Monday (20th) – The Haredim came as usual to harass the needy Bedouins and Jews who came to take free clothing from our tables outside the King’s Men on market day. Our Christian Arab volunteer, J., was helping the Bedouins. Then came Edna Meir to join in the harassment. Edna is the used-book seller at the marketplace, who wrote a slanderous article against one of the German tourists who helped us helped us over the summer. Lately she has been loudly slandering us and the Muslims who come to the marketplace. On Monday, she was in rare form, outdoing her previous rants and she began saying all kinds of bad things about Mohamed and the Muslims. It was truly demonic. Our volunteer, J, went around the protective barricades to try to talk Edna into quieting down, as the Muslims were getting very angry. As soon as she came close to Edna, Edna swung her backpack full of books and hit J in the head, then she swung her other hand and hit J in the jaw. (J wears two hearing aids and these impacts really sent her head reeling and she could not see straight) One of the orthodox men immediately stuck his camera in her face and started snapping pictures while Edna ran away. J. thought she was still being attacked and tried to fend off the camera. Two policemen came running up and thought she was attacking the Haredi man. They immediately grabbed J and put her in a headlock and dragged her off to the side with the Haredim following and shouting all kinds of accusations against her. Then the policemen dragged her into the King’s Men. She was the victim and the police were treating her as a criminal. She was already injured and they hurt her further.

The Haredi man made up a story and put charges against her, and the police arrested J. They kept her at the station for 6 hours and finally the story came out about Edna attacking her. The end result is that J is not allowed to come back to the marketplace for 3 weeks. Edna is totally free and we don’t know what the police told the Haredi man. We told J to file charges against the man and also against Edna. We do not know if the police wrote it up or not, but if not, J will likely be called to court with charges of assault against her.

Is this fair? No. But the Lord sees and He will have the last word.

The Lord marvelously delivered J from a childhood of abuse and she is trusting Him to deliver her from this, too. Her windpipe is still bruised from the treatment she received at the hands of the police, but her headache is gone and she is recovering.

Ps 22:5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

Wednesday (22nd) - We went to court for another session dealing with false charges against Eddie. This time, the Judge put three cases together and asked Eddie to plead guilty and he would make sure no conviction would be put on his record. Otherwise, he threatened to take all three cases to trial. We gave him the same answer as before: “Let’s take it to trial and we will show you our evidence.” No guilty pleas for false charges!

We will be notified as to the next date and we will have a chance to show our evidence (newspapers, videos, pictures and testimony). Pray for our lawyer that he be more motivated and able to understand that he is representing Y’shua in the court.

The Haredim are still pursuing a court case against the police department because their petition to demonstrate in front of Polly’s house with 700 people was turned down. Thursday the case was heard by three judges in the Jerusalem court and now the judges are mulling over their decision to allow the demonstrations or not. Pray for righteousness to prevail in the court!
A Messianic couple in Ashdod who have a coffee house/bakery are under very ugly persecution by the Haredim. Pray for them and others like them! It is getting increasingly difficult for believers to get work and support their families. A number of families in Arad are facing the same problem.
Mark 9:41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

Matt 25:34-40 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

We are very concerned that the movement by U.S. Christians to support Israel is heading in the wrong direction. Millions of dollars are being raised in the name of supporting Israel, but those same dollars are being given to corrupt unbelieving orthodox Jews who are using them to enrich themselves and/or to persecute the spiritual and physical brothers and sisters of Y’shua all over the Land of Israel. Something is definitely amiss when Israeli believers cannot receive help from Christian ministries in the Land because they are not new immigrants, or the ministries haves signed agreements with the Israeli government that they will not help Messianic believers or share the gospel.

When Christian organizations turn their backs on Jewish believers in the USA and refuse to invite them for fear they will offend unbelieving Rabbis who have been invited to their conferences; something is wrong. Something is absolutely wrong when an unbelieving Rabbi gets a standing ovation in a church and the same church refuses to help the believers in Israel. Rejection of Jewish believers is the same as rejection of the Jewish Messiah Y’shua. We are all of the same Body! The most ridiculous justification (I have heard this many times) is that the believing Jews are too eager to share the gospel and that makes people nervous. Could it be that they are listening to God rather than man?

The Lord never promised us ease and comfort in this life. He said the “godly shall suffer persecution”. We expect it from unbelievers, but unfortunately, many of the godly in Israel are suffering persecution from their own brothers in the faith.

We thank you for standing with us! We appreciate that sometimes it is difficult to take the side of the persecuted brethren and we are grateful for your help and your faithfulness! The Lord is raising up a special people who are being strengthened in the fire. The end days are upon us and all who truly stand with Israel will be blessed beyond measure. We are thankful and we bless the Lord for you! Keep praying – Our Savior is the soon-coming King of the Universe!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in a Russian restaurant and invited a lot of unsaved people as well as believers. The chef did his best to present an American-style dinner. We had roast turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, etc. We bought cranberry sauce from a store in Jerusalem and the chef tried to make blueberry, apple and pumpkin pies. He tried. The Russians are fascinated that the Americans actually set aside a day to give thanks to Almighty God. It was a good witness and the fellowship was wonderful!

I am writing this letter as Friday evening Shabbat is approaching and Israeli society slows down. The buses stop running and families get together for dinner. One day the true Shabbat will enter in when the Messiah returns and people will experience His Rest. Until then, it can be appropriated on an individual basis. Enjoy His Peace and His Rest and allow Him to do the Work through you.

With Much Love from Israel,
Lura and Eddie Beckford