December 27, 2001 (excerpts from recent bulletins received from Israel)

Dear Friends and prayer partners,

Thanks so much for your prayers. The Lord in His faithfulness answered them all!

After writing you all I had spent much of the next 48 hours preparing for the meeting at the Knesset. My key task was to prepare a one-page summary of the legal and moral arguments against the proposed anti-evangelism bill, to be faxed to each one of the members of the Constitution, Law and Justice (CL&J) Committee and to the Committee chairman in advance of the meeting.

On my way to Jerusalem the day before the meeting, I stopped to reproduce copies of a legal opinion we had ordered three years ago and more copies of the summary to present to the Committee members before the meeting. Unfortunately I learned when I reached the Knesset building later that day that they were not allowing any hand-delivered mail to enter the building, probably a precaution against anthrax-type attacks. Instead I was told to bring my materials (sans envelopes) to the meeting the next day.

We appeared before the CL&J Committee on Wednesday at 9am. I had hardly slept a wink all night as I ran through the various arguments over and over in my mind. That wasn't my plan; it just turned out that way.

When we arrived at the Knesset, there was a delay in getting us cleared to enter because of a large number of visitors who were attending other committee meetings. We reaching the Committee's chambers at about 9:05 and slipped in the back door. The proceedings had just begun with a presentation of the Government's official opposition to the bill (PTL!) by its legal representative.

Right away we could see that the Lord had prepared the way quite well. At every place around the Committee's table rested a copy of the one-page summary that we had faxed along with the copy of the bill itself. The chairman of the Committee demonstrated his personal opposition to the bill both in the way that he related to the Ultra-orthodox Knesset members who presented and defended the bill, and also in the way he conducted the meeting as a whole. He had even gone out of his way to invite speakers whom he knew would expose the dangers of the bill from several perspectives: legal, social, and in international relations.

Our Messianic Action Committee spokesman was allowed to make a five minute presentation and I was able to toss in a couple of comments challenging distortions made by the bill's supporters in the course of the debate. But the Chairman ran a tight ship and it was clear that he was steering it to defeat the bill.

When the vote was taken an hour later, the Committee, by a vote of 7 to 5, officially recommended to the Knesset to reject the proposed bill and to remove it from further consideration. Praise the Lord!

The CL&J Committee's recommendation will be brought before the Knesset Plenum for confirmation within one month. In the meantime, the Ultra-orthodox members of the Committee and their supporters are demanding that the government meet to reconsider its opposition to the bill. In the current political climate, and with the nature of Israel's multi-party coalition government system, great pressure will be brought to bear on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Co. If the Government changes sides, the supporters of this bill will have little trouble in resurrecting it. Continued prayer (and continued action on our part) will be most appropriate.

When the Committee's recommendation comes to a vote, politics will rule. If, at the time of the vote, let's say fifteen of the Knesset's 120 members are present, they will decide the matter. If the ultra-orthodox and their allies outnumber the opponents of the bill, we will be back to square one with the bill sent back to Committee for reintroduction at a later time. It is crucial, therefore to keep this matter in prayer until the Knesset votes the bill out of existence.

Then we will be able to breathe easy...until the next bill is introduced (and it will be, sooner or later).

Thank you all again for bringing this special need before the Lord. He is the Sovereign King and He graciously answered our pleas. To Him be all the glory!

May the Lord bless each one with a wonderful, healthy, and fruitful year in His service!

Yours, "For Zion's Sake...", (Isa. 62:1)

 

See also:

AMFI's Religious Liberty in Israel Update Page

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