Dear Christian Leader,

Today, Israel is under a fresh wave of attacks that were timed to  coincide with Jerusalem Day, the 54th anniversary of the reunification  of the city during the Six Day War. As of this writing, approximately  150 rockets and missiles have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards  cities and towns in Israel, including Jerusalem. Violence has also been  incited inside Jerusalem and even on the Temple Mount.

Fast on the heels of these attacks will come lies and more lies about the events, and the cause of these events.

Lies from so-called journalists and Christian peacemakers will be told  in order to justify the violence perpetrated against Israeli civilians  in Jerusalem and cities and communities within range of the Gaza Strip.

Lies from propagandists will be told in order to convince audiences that  Jewish self-determination – rather than efforts to deprive Jews of  their sovereign state – is the cause of violence in the Holy Land.

The lies themselves are an act of violence because they will be used to justify more murder and mayhem in Israel and beyond.

As Christian leaders, we must counter these lies and speak the truth!  Please join the efforts of CAMERA’s Partnership of Christians and Jews  and help broadcast the facts about current events in Israel by sharing  them with all those within your sphere of influence in the days and  weeks ahead.

Here is what you need to know:

Rocket Attacks

Terrorists launched approximately 150 rocket attacks against Israel on  Monday, May 10, 2021 - the same day Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day.  News reports indicate that Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic  Jihad had previously threatened to attack Israel if it did not withdraw  its troops from the Temple Mount and from Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood  in East Jerusalem and the subject of a lawsuit between Israeli  landowners and Palestinian tenants.

The two terrorist organizations also objected to the planned march of  Israelis through the Old City of Jerusalem in celebration of Jerusalem  Day. In response to the objections, Israeli officials changed the  route of the parade to keep it away from the Damascus Gate, which is  the scene of ongoing confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians.  Moreover, Israeli officials delayed the enforcement of the eviction of families in Sheikh Jarrah because of the tension the court decision had caused.

The takeaway: Israel worked to deescalate tensions; Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired rockets anyway.

TikTok Attacks

Monday’s rocket attacks took place after weeks of increased friction  between Jews and Arabs in the Old City of Jerusalem, during which Arab  youths posted videos of  their assaults on Orthodox Jews on TikTok, an internet video-sharing  service. One victim of a TikTok attack told Ynet, “There is a  competition for likes and views. A video of an Arab slapping an  ultra-Orthodox man will get you both, so now everyone is trying to get  more likes and views.”

Israeli journalist Jonathan Speyer reports that  appearance of these videos on the Internet caused “widespread anger” in  the Israeli Jewish population, which in turn resulted in “revenge  attacks carried out by young Israelis on random Arabs employed in the  service sector in downtown west Jerusalem.”

The takeaway: Arab extremists photographed themselves while attacking Orthodox Jews. How hateful and inciteful is that?

Sheik Jarrah Lawsuit

Coinciding with the TikTok phenomenon is the ongoing controversy over  the previously mentioned lawsuit regarding Sheik Jarrah, an Arab village  built on land purchased and owned by Jews in the 1870s. Jordan  confiscated this land after the 1948 War of Independence and built a  neighborhood on it. After the Six Day War in 1967, Israel declared that  the property belonged to Jewish organizations which had owned the  property during the Ottoman Empire, but allowed Arabs to remain as  tenants. As this CAMERA article reveals,  Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah and their lawyers agreed in 1982 that  two Israeli non-profits, the Sephardic Community Council and the General  Council of the Congregation of Israel, owned the properties.

That said, Sheikh Jarrah continues to be the subject of competing  property claims, and as a result, a lawsuit is currently before Israel’s  Supreme Court. The case has gained increased attention recently due to  new anti-Israel actions taken by Human Rights Watch, the International  Criminal Court, and concerted campaigns by pro-Palestinian NGO’s – all  of which are used by the Palestinian leadership for the purpose of  promoting anti-Israel propaganda and inciting violence against Israeli  citizens.

For more information on the chronology of the dispute over Sheikh Jarrah and the resulting lawsuit, please see this article from May 10, 2021 in Jewish News Syndicate.

The takeaway: Arab tenants and their  lawyers agreed that Sheikh Jarrah belonged to Jews in the 1980s. Jewish  organizations are using the courts to enforce their property rights  while extremists try to portray the case as a land-grab by the state of  Israel. 

Temple Mount Incitement

Palestinian extremists routinely use the Temple Mount to engage in confrontations with  Israeli soldiers charged with keeping the peace in Jerusalem. It is  also used as a platform from which to preach hate against Israel and  Jews. In the days before the current rocket attacks from Gaza,  Palestinians standing atop the Temple Mount chanted “Strike Tel Aviv!” On May 7, 2021, a Hamas terrorist called on Palestinians to buy five-shekel knives and cut off the heads of Israelis.

The takeaway: The pause in anti-Israel  violence and incitement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is over.  Palestinian elites are getting ready for another round of increased  violence against the Jewish state.

The Days Ahead

The lies are going to come fast and furious in the days and weeks ahead.  Media outlets and Christian “peace” activists are going to do what they  can to portray Israel as the aggressor in the face of Palestinian  terrorism. Please strengthen yourself as you continue to stand with  Israel by being equipped with the facts and then sharing the truth about  what is really happening with everyone in your sphere of influence!

In Case You Missed It!

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On  April 29th, the Partnership was privileged to host a webinar featuring  Rev. Malcolm Hedding, who spoke on the subject of Israel and apartheid.  As a former South African pastor who actively opposed apartheid, and as  someone who has lived and worked in the Jewish State for many years,  there is no one more qualified to expose the truth concerning Israel and  apartheid.

Since the false accusation of apartheid is one of the libels used in the  current propaganda war against Israel, there is no better time than  today to be informed and equipped with the truth presented here!

If you missed the webinar, or would like to listen again or share it with others, the recording is available here.