T.J.I.F.A.

 

THANK JESUS IT’S FRIDAY AGAIN!
PASS IT ON…& ON…& ON…& ON.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2005

 

SUBJECT:  “THE SIX DAY WAR”

 

IN THE LAST NEWSLETTER, WE READ ABOUT THE GAZA IN ISRAEL.  WE READ THAT THIS IS THE MOST FOUGHT OVER PIECE  OF LAND IN RECORDED HISTORY.  THIS WEEK WE’LL READ ABOUT THE WAR THAT ESTABLISHED THE REPUTATION OF THE ISRAEL ARMY TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL  ARMY IN THE MODERN WORLD.  IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO EDUCATE OURSELVES ON THE EVENTS OF ISRAEL.  REMEMBER THAT ISRAEL IS THE MEASURING ROD BY WHICH TIME IS RATIONED.  REMEMBER THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE PUT ASIDE SO THAT WE COULD COME IN.  IT JUST MAKES SENSE TO ME TO WATCH WHAT GOD IS DOING  IN ISRAEL FOR HIS PEOPLE.  WE ARE NOT THE REPLACEMENT FOR THE JEWS, WE ARE THE HEATHENS ON WHOM GOD POURED HIS MERCY.  READ ON!

 

NOTEWORTHY:  SEE YA NEXT TIME!
T.J.I.F.A’S BOOK SHELF:  SEE YA NEXT TIME!
FRIDAY’S WORD:  SEE YA NEXT TIME!

 

IN THE MIRROR:  THOUGHTS ON KATRINA

 

O TASTE AND SEE!  FRIED TOMATOES AND GREEN PEPPER – AN OLD FAVORITE OVER FLUFFY RICE; SERVED WITH A MEAT DISH, LIKE BAKED SALMON ETC.  ADD YOUR FAVORITE SEASONINGS TO THIS HANDY SUMMER TOPPING.  AND PLEASE…ENJOY!

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

SEE YA NEXT TIME!

 

TER

 

     Six-Day War
  INTRODUCTION

 

Six-Day War, armed conflict in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In six days, Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights, which became collectively known as the Occupied Territories.
Israel and its Arab neighbors had been hostile toward each other since 1948, when Israel became a nation in an area that Palestinian Arabs claim as their homeland. After Israel declared its statehood, several Arab states and Palestinian groups immediately attacked Israel, only to be driven back. In 1956 Israel overran Egypt in the Suez-Sinai War. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser vowed to avenge Arab losses and press the cause of Palestinian nationalism. To this end, he organized an alliance of Arab states surrounding Israel and mobilized for war. Israel preempted the invasion with its own attack on June 5, 1967. In the following days, Israel drove Arab armies from the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights, all of which it then occupied. Israel also reunited Jerusalem, the eastern half of which Jordan had controlled since the 1948-1949 war. The Six-Day War was viewed as an enormous victory for Israel, but the territories it gained did not stop future fighting. The peace process throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s has in large part been an attempt to resolve the land disputes created by Israel’s military success.
II  CAUSES OF THE WAR

 

In the years before the Six-Day War, the Arab countries continually refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Jewish state, and Arab nationalists led by Nasser called for the destruction of Israel. Egypt and Jordan supported Palestinian fedayeen (guerrillas), who attacked troops and civilians in Israeli territory, then retreated to the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip or the Jordanian-controlled West Bank. From its Golan Heights region, Syria regularly shelled Israeli farms. For its part, Israel refused to accept Jordan’s control of Jewish holy places in East Jerusalem. Israel also kept tensions high by responding to Arab incursions with reprisals on Arab territory.

 

In April 1967, after Syria heavily shelled Israeli villages from the Golan Heights, Israel and Syria engaged in aerial clashes. Israel shot down six of Syria’s MiG fighter planes, which were given by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Israel warned Syria against future attacks, and both the Syrians and Soviets were alarmed by the warning. Syria appealed to Nasser for backing, and in mid-May the Egyptian army moved 100,000 troops and 1000 tanks into the Sinai Peninsula on Israel’s southern border. The United Nations (UN) had earlier stationed forces in the area as observers, but on May 17, Nasser called for the removal of UN personnel from several locations. Within days, all of the observers were removed. On May 22 Nasser announced the closure of the Strait of Tiran, a vital shipping corridor for Israel with links to the Red Sea and major sources of petroleum. A similar closure of the strait had been a major cause of the Suez Crisis in 1956; Israel had made clear since then that it would regard another closure as an act of war. Israel was further alarmed when Egypt and Jordan signed a treaty placing the two armies under a joint command. Despite a flurry of diplomatic effort, war seemed inevitable.

 

III  THE BATTLES BEGIN

 

Because Israel feared fighting on three fronts (Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian), and because it preferred that fighting take place in Arab rather than Israeli territory, Israel decided to strike first. On the morning of June 5 the Israeli air force attacked Egypt, the largest force in the region. The timing of the attack, 8:45 am, was designed to catch the maximum number of Egyptian aircraft on the ground and to come when the Egyptian high command was stuck in traffic between homes and military bases. The Israeli aircraft took evasive measures to elude Egyptian radar and approached from directions that were not anticipated. The surprise was complete. Within hours of the strike, the Israelis, who focused their attacks on military and air bases, had destroyed 309 of the 340 total combat aircraft belonging to the Egyptians. Israeli ground forces then moved into the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip, where they fought Egyptian units. Egyptian casualties were heavy, but Israel suffered only minimal casualties.
War was not far behind on Israel’s eastern front. Israel had conveyed a message to King Hussein of Jordan asking him to stay out of the conflict, but on the first morning of the war Nasser called Hussein and encouraged him to fight. Nasser reportedly told Hussein that Egypt had been victorious in the morning’s fighting—an illusion the Egyptian public believed for several days. At 11:00 am Jordanian troops attacked the Israeli half of Jerusalem with mortars and gunfire and shelled targets in the Israeli interior. Israel’s air force, having immobilized the Egyptian air force, turned its attention to Jordan. By evening, the Jordanian air force had been largely destroyed, again with minimal Israeli casualties. At midnight Israeli ground forces attacked Jordanian troops in Jerusalem, and by the morning of June 6, Israeli troops had nearly encircled the city.

 

On the second day of the war the Israeli air force continued its operations against Arab air bases, raising the total number of destroyed Arab planes to 416, which included more than two-thirds of the Syrian air force. With nearly total control of the skies, Israeli fighter planes and bombers were free to support the tank and infantry forces on the ground. Thus Jordanian reinforcements were prevented from reaching Jerusalem, and by 10:00 am on June 6 the Israelis had taken the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, in the Old City, the holiest site in Judaism. It was the first time in nearly 2000 years that Jews had controlled the wall. Ground battles continued in the Sinai, where Egypt’s armies fell back in the face of Israeli advances. On the third day of the war, June 7, Jordanian forces were pushed from the West Bank across the Jordan River. The UN arranged a cease-fire between Israel and Jordan that went into effect that evening.

 

The following day, June 8, Israeli forces reached the Suez Canal. As artillery battles continued along the front, the Israeli air force decimated retreating Egyptians, who were backed up on the few roads through desert mountain passes. As the Sinai shifted to Israeli control, Israel turned its forces toward the Golan Heights. There, on June 9, Israel began a difficult assault up steep terrain against entrenched Syrian forces. Israel sent an armored corps into the front of Syrian lines while infantry forces surrounded the Syrian positions. The balance of power soon shifted to Israel’s favor, and at 6:30 pm on June 10, Israel and Syria made a cease-fire agreement. Israel controlled all of the Golan Heights, including parts of Mount Hermon. Fighting between Israel and Egypt did not formally end for many years, although Israel controlled the Sinai Peninsula. Not until the 1979 Camp David Accords did the two countries finally reach peace.

 

IV  AFTERMATH

 

The speed and scope of Israel’s victory were devastating to the Arabs, who had expected victory. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria lost almost all of their air forces and much of their armed weaponry. About 10,000 Egyptians were killed in Sinai and Gaza alone, compared with 300 Israeli casualties on that front. In all, Egypt lost about 11,000 troops, Jordan lost about 6000, Syria lost about 1000, and Israel lost 700. As a result, Arab leaders endured unpopularity at home while Israel’s government, which had united before and during the war, surged in popularity. Abroad, the USSR, which had strongly supported the Arab powers, was embarrassed because the Arab nations had been defeated by an ally of the United States and Soviet weapons systems had failed to overpower Western weapons.
On November 22 the UN passed Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Territories; in return Arab states would recognize Israel’s independence and guarantee secure borders for Israel. Events, however, did not follow Resolution 242. The Arabs and Palestinians declared their intention to continue fighting Israel, and Israel refused to return the Occupied Territories under such conditions. Terrorist attacks and reprisals persisted, and Israel and Egypt continued to engage in artillery, sniper, and occasional air attacks for several years. As a result, the Six-Day War was followed by what has come to be known as the War of Attrition. Although cease-fire agreements eventually ended this situation, the region remained volatile.
Israel moved to secure its position in the Occupied Territories by extending its lines of defense to the boundaries of the Arab states. The Sinai, West Bank, and Golan Heights were all fortified, and parts of these areas were lightly settled with Jewish Israelis. Israel also announced its intent to secure Jerusalem as its undivided and eternal capital, further antagonizing the Arab states. These disagreements eventually led to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Nonetheless, Resolution 242, which followed the Six-Day War, created the foundation of the peace process that began to yield results in the late 1970s.

 

Contributed By:
Shaul Cohen
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

NOTE: 
Now, Readers, you will be able to share and shed some light on this present day conflict in the Middle East.  You have some history about Gaza, and the West Bank, how do you feel?  Have these two Newsletters given you facts, about which, until this time you were mal- informed about?  We truly hope for your sakes this is true.  And we also hope that TJIFA will be able to bring you pertinent facts that will help you in the understanding and the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  (That’s what we’re really about.) 

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

SEE YA NEXT TIME

 

TER

 

IN THE MIRROR:

 

 This is the most important article I believe to have  shared with you recently due to the magnitude of what has happened in recent history. I’ve cried, I’ve prayed, I’ve given, I’ve ministered, and as I write, I believe you’ve done the very same thing; and now, can we continue in our unity in this sensitive matter of the heart, the mind, the soul and spirit.
 If you read this as someone whose life has been directly affected or changed  by this most recent tragedy, or have a close family, friend or loved  one who has, please allow this message to affect your life in such a way that will bring about healing and restoration to your whole being because that is God’s way of doing things. I’ve already prayed, and hope you are praying with me as you read on.
 Whereas I don’t have the ability to send you all the material the Lord has bestowed upon me, what I am endeavoring to attempt right now is to pass along to you the essentials of what I have, and where you can find them so as to minister to your needs, and to your heart.
 Excerpts from Dr. Charles F. Stanley’s Booklet, “IN TIMES of GREAT DISASTER”. It was published shortly after the mammoth tsunami on Dec.26,2004. It was written in natural response to questions such as;“Where was God when this happened?  Why does He let such catastrophes occur— is it divine judgement upon a certain group of people?  Was God involved at all, or was it just some bizarre quirk of nature?”

 

He also writes: . . “Our finite minds are limited; there are things we simply cannot understand because we are earthbound. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, ‘The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.’ God clearly reveals the things He specifically desires us to understand, and knows we are able to understand, so that we can obey Him without confusion. But our inability to grasp God’s ways does not at all diminish His absolute control over the circumstances. . .
 God does not react to circumstances; . . Jesus Christ came for the purpose of giving His life as ‘a ransom for many.’ (Matthew 20:28) . . .
 Disaster does not catch Him off guard so that He merely responds to it. God allows even tragic things to happen for a purpose, perhaps known only to Him presently. But whatever His reason  for allowing . . . , we can be certain that the whole world has been shaken into the realization that life is fragile.
 Because God’s ways are not our ways, we often rebel. . . . Isaiah 55:8-9 addresses this complaint: ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ Our perspective is incredibly limited while we walk on this earth. Demanding that God act according to our perspective would be similar to an ant claiming he sees everything the eagle sees. God is the sovereign Lord of the universe who sees all, knows all, and is in control of all. Without God’s sovereignty, the whole world would live in precarious moment by moment instability. We would have no assurance of anything, living as victims of “fate” and circumstance. But God has not left us hopeless and helpless. He has revealed Himself to us and continues to impart knowledge of Himself to us through His Spirit. And so although our understanding is limited and rationale for tragedy escapes us, as we look back on our hardships, His purposes often come into focus.”
 You can order this free Book by calling:1-800-323-3747; or their Web site is www.intouch.org , if it will help you any. Just as the Bible is a‘ book  for all times’, I’m able to see, through the ‘Spirit’ in which books like this are written, that not only do they minister for a ‘tsunami’ or a ‘Katrina’, but God’s words coming through His vessels, or vehicles; or wherever He has poured His Spirit; there will always be a healing process in the aftermath. We are living in a time when we as Christians and Born Again Believers need to give our undivided attention to what the Bible is saying to us as a whole race of people, and at an individual level. Someone made a comment like this; “Though  those people died in mass destruction, they still died individually.” I had to think about that because that’s how it’s going to be when we go home.
We also still have an opportunity to come to a real realization of all that pertain to the life God has given to us, as well as the world in which we live.
 Mart De Haan writes in his October 2005 article, ‘BEEN THINKING ABOUT’ Imponderables: “ . . .Spiritual insight is not found by emptying our minds of questions. The God of the Bible asks His people to do their best thinking.” Making reference to Isaiah 1:18; “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord . . .”
 He starts with a question that I’m sure has been asked many times:
  “Where did God come from?” And others that we need to legitimately address from time to time. He makes an interesting point also when he says; “One reason for asking these questions is that such riddles bring us not only to the end of ourselves but also to the beginning of a new understanding of God.”
 In an excerpt from Bonnie Mc Elveen-Hunter’s article in USA Today, Friday September 2,2005, titled; “Salute our nation’s ‘Army of Hope”, I saw something we can all agree with, and get involved:
 “America has always been a place of humanitarian action— a place where people look out for each other and are always willing to take care of their neighbors in need, whether they are across the street or around the globe. It’s what Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who studied American society in the 1830s called “the habits of the heart”— the drive that compels Americans to overcome challenges and continually improve communities,  the spontaneous generosity we demonstrate again and again in crises. Putting our compassion into action is deeply rooted in the American character.
 As a nation, our hearts go out to those whose lives have been shattered by Hurricane Katrina. We cannot imagine the suffering and grief left in Katrina’s wake, but we can pull together as a nation to help begin the healing and rebuilding.”
 She writes as chairman of the American Red Cross, and a very compassionate  Commentary which I felt adequately reflected our Nation’s allegiance.
 Suffering and grief is such a real part of life today, not only on a societal level, but in the hearts of so many, and if you heard only a portion of the news recently, then you know the framework from which I’m speaking.
 I’ve asked the Lord that He will bring a special healing to your heart, not only in this particular instance, but you have to realize that people all over the world are hurting in situations we would normally think unimaginable, but their situation is just as real as the winds in which that hurricane devastated a land.
 You probably already know, but I’m going to ask you anyway; If you have not as yet asked Jesus to come into your life, there’s no time like the present; And bring into your life a “Peace that passes all understanding.” (ref. Phil.4:7) He’s the only sovereign one that I know who can.        God Bless,  SLC

 

O TASTE AND SEE!

 

FRIED TOMATOES AND GREEN PEPPERS

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

½ STICK MARGARINE OR BUTTER AND ¼ CUP OLIVE OIL (OR COOKING OIL)  
½ GREEN PEPPER WASHED AND SEEDED (CUT INTO DESIRED SHAPES AND SIZES)  
½ ONION SLICED   2 STALKS CELERY PEELED AND SLICED THINLY  
½ TSP. CHOPPED GARLIC   1 CAN DICED TOMATOES  
SALT AND BLACK PEPPER TO TASTE  
DASH OF OREGANO AND A DASH OF BASIL TO TASTE.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

IN A LARGE SAUCE PAN MELT MARGARINE, BUTTER AND OLIVE OIL.
ADD GREEN PEPPERS, ONION, AND CELERY; COOK UNTIL ONIONS AND CELERY ARE TRANSPARENT.
ADD GARLIC, AND ALL SEASONINGS.
ADD TOMATOES AND HEAT THOROUGHLY. (ABOUT 6 MINUTES) 
REMOVE FROM HEAT. 
SERVE THIS ‘REALLY NICE TOPPING’ OVER COOKED RICE, WITH YOUR FAVORITE MEAT DISH, OR WITH A SERVING OF BLACK-EYED PEAS. 

 

NOW,  THAT’S  GOOD  EATING . . . ENJOY!!!
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