24 Hour Prayer Chain - Prayer Points

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On the eve of Israel’s Independence Day the country’s population stands at 7,282,000 people and 75.5% are Jewish. These numbers were presented May 7 by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.

In the bureau’s “60 years in a statistical mirror” booklet it was noted that the Israeli population has increased from 873,000 people in November 1948 to 7.2 million at the beginning of 2008. According to the forecasts for 2030, Israel will have a population of approximately 10 million people.

As of now, 5,499,000 are Jewish, of which 69% were born in Israel. 1,461,000 are Arab and 322,000 are considered “others”.

As a result of the population growth, the population density has also grown from 43 people to each square kilometer in 1948 to 310 people to each square kilometer in 2006. The most crowded region is Tel Aviv with 7,000 people per square kilometer as opposed to the least crowded region, the south with 72 people per square kilometer.

In 2006 the population was more spread out than it was in 1948. At the country’s inception the northern and southern regions combined contained 19% of the population and by 2006 this number was increased to 31%. However, parts of the population located in the Tel Aviv and central regions were decreased throughout the years from 71% to 53%.

The Israeli population’s educational level is on a constant incline. In 1948, 208 people who studied at the Hebrew University and at the Technion received a university degree. In 2006 close to 53,000 people who studied at 62 different institutions for higher education received degrees.

Moreover, the statistics advertised by the bureau show that since the establishment of the country, 57 million tourists have entered Israel. Tourist entrances have increased from 47,000 a year in the 1950s to 2.7 million in 2000.

Nonetheless, Israelis also like passing through the David Ben Gurion Airport and all other crossings on their way outside of Israel’s borders. In the past 60 years, there have been 60 million Israeli exits from the country. Since Israel’s establishment, the number has constantly increased from an average of 38,000 a year in the 1950s to 4.2 million in 2007.

(By Staff, Ynetnews.com, May 8, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540634,00.html

Prayer Focus
Praise God for His faithfulness. Praise Him for the miracle of the returning the Jewish people, and for the amazing development in this Land achieved in such a short time.

Scripture
“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2)

At least eight people were injured on the afternoon of May 8 after an Israel Defense Forces paratrooper crashed into the audience during a skydiving display at Tel Aviv's Jerusalem Beach.

The paratrooper, an experienced reserve soldier, and one other person sustained serious wounds. Three people were moderately injured and three others suffered mild injuries. All were evacuated to the Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

According to eyewitnesses, the paratrooper missed his landing spot and hit the spectators, apparently swaying from course due to the strong winds.

Israeli Defense Forces officials have clarified that all the paratroopers who took part in the air show were experienced reservists who had skydived numerous times during their military service and had sufficiently trained for the Independence Day display.

Avi Simovitz, head of the Magen David Adom emergency services personal assigned to the scene, who witnessed the crash, told Ynet that the paratrooper tries to avert the audience, but to no avail.

"We were standing on the beach and saw how one of the skydivers was propelling down uncontrollably, in mass speed…he tried to turn the parachute towards the ocean, but then he crashed into the people standing near the security barriers, and then slammed into the ground."

"There were about 10 to 15 people in the air. It all looked fine, when suddenly one of them began shaken by the wind and landed too fast," an eyewitness said. "There were thousands of people on Tel Aviv's beaches and it was awfully crowded, and that is what must have caused injuries to a relatively high number of people. The incident took place about 45 minutes after the air show began."

Aerobatic and aerial rescue shows were held in the area by Israel Air Force helicopters and aircraft. Additional air shows were held across the country.

The rescue forces found it difficult to reach the injured as many people had rushed to the scene of the accident.

(By Staff Reporters, Ynetnews.com, May 8, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540977,00.html

Prayer Focus
Pray for those who were injured in this tragic incident.

Scripture
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the night of May 8 that if Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to press charges against him he will resign from office. The question remains—can he be forced to resign while the investigation in pending? Ynet reviews several possible scenarios.

Votes of nonconfidence: Should the right circumstances present themselves, the Knesset [Parliament] can dissolve the government. The Knesset holds weekly votes of nonconfidence, which are usually crushed. In order for a vote of nonconfidence to dissolve the government, 61 Members of Knesset must support the motion and name one candidate—and one only—to form a new government during a preset time period.

If the person chosen for the task fails to form a government, a new general election may be called. The Knesset is currently on hiatus and will be back in session on May 19.

Dissolving the Knesset: The Knesset can vote to dissolve itself, in which case the government becomes a transitional one. Several MKs [Members of Knesset] have brought motions to that effect before the house and should a majority be found, the motions may be able to pass all three of their required readings on the same day.

Any motion to dissolve the Knesset must carry a proposed election date—which required a consensus from all major parties.

The law also allows the prime minister to right to dissolve the Knesset, should he find a majority of the house opposes the government, thus abstracting the due process of governing; and as long as he has the president's consent to the move.

In such cases, the Knesset can stop the move if 61 MKs agree on an alterative candidate to form a new government.

According to the law, if Olmert resigns, the government—de facto—will follow. Should that happen, the president will assign the task of forming a new government on an agreed-upon MK.

But what if no indictment is filed? Should the right circumstances present themselves here, the prime minister can leave office based on the temporary suspension clause in Basic Law: The Government. The clause stipulates that if for any reason a presiding prime minister is unable to perform his duties, his deputy can temporarily take over office.

The law does not stipulate how temporary suspension is decided on, nor does it give any governmental body the authority to actively implement the clause.

Since the law does not offer any remedies, the assumption is that the prime minister can choose to go on temporary suspension; however, the attorney general can—under extraordinary circumstances—order a prime minister to do so. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is unlikely to exercise the right.

The only time Mazuz invokes his authority on the matter was right after Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke, in which time he was declared temporary unable to perform his duties due to illness.

The last time the Knesset has had to debate a temporary suspension was in early 2007, when Former President Moshe Katsav chose to suspend himself pending the results of the investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. The Knesset House Committee approves the requests, granting Katsav 100 days of temporary suspension.

Should Olmert choose to temporarily suspend himself from office, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will become acting prime minister. Should Olmert fail to resume office in 100 days time, he will be declared "permanently unable to perform his duties."

(By Amnon Meranda, Ynetnews.com, May 9, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3541165,00.html

Prayer Focus
Pray that the investigation of alleged charges against the prime minister will not destabilize Israel at this critical time in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

Scripture
“Then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men)” (1 Kings 8:39).

Iran continues to have a foothold with terror groups partly based in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], according to the recently released US Country Reports on Terrorism for 2007. In addition to supporting Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Iran also is involved with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terror group with past links to Mahmoud Abbas’s [Abu Mazen’s] West Bank-based Fatah party, as well as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the US report, Iran supplies the various Palestinian terror agencies with “extensive funding, training, and weapons.”

A spokesman with the US State Department told Bridges for Peace by email that Iran feels it has an impact in the West Bank. According to the email, “To the extent that these groups maintain a presence in the West Bank, Iran has or believes it has some influence there.”

In addition, Iran’s support to the terror groups is “significant,” particularly to the Islamic Jihad; however, it is not the same as Iran’s interactions with Hizbullah in Lebanon. Said the spokesman, “Iran’s relationship to Palestinian groups is not the same as its relationship to Hizbullah, nor do we assess that these groups are purely proxies for achieving Iranian goals; rather, Iran appears to be assisting the groups to achieve shared objectives.”

Iran has been accused of supporting the Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad in each of the Country Reports on Terrorism thus far, dating back to 2004. Said the 2007 report, “Iran is a principal supporter of groups that are implacably opposed to the Middle East Peace Process, and continues to maintain a high-profile role in encouraging anti-Israel terrorist activity—rhetorically, operationally, and financially.”

The 2004 report also acknowledged the Brigades as “Fatah’s militant wing,” although the 2007 country reports did not use that language, saying instead the group is loyal but not directly controlled by Fatah, and noted “improved” counterterrorism efforts on the part of the Palestinian Authority [PA] in 2007. The US State Department Spokesman said in the email of the Brigades, “Though the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have been linked to the Fatah party in the past, the group’s decentralized collection of poorly-resourced cells shows signs of a weakening relationship with Fatah in recent years.”

The 2007 terrorism report said a new PA Cabinet undertook “serious efforts to fight incitement and terror in the second half of the year. Nevertheless, additional efforts will be required to dismantle terrorist groups and infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza.”

(By Joshua Spurlock, BFP Israel Mosaic Radio, May 6, 2008)

Prayer Focus
Pray that the Iranian issue will continue to be in the spotlight and the nations who have intentions of winning the War on Terror will see the importance of halting Iranian support for Hamas, Hizbullah and Iraqi insurgence.

Scripture
“Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long” (Psalm 38:12).

Americans raid Knesset [Parliament]: About one week before US President George W. Bush's planned visit to Israel, some 30 Secret Service agents arrived in Israel in recent days to tour the Knesset and inspect the Israeli parliament's security arrangements.

Bush is expected to land in Israel on May 15 for a festive visit in celebration of the Jewish state's 60th anniversary. In a meeting held recently with Avi Balashnikov, the Knesset's director-general, the Americans demanded that a special fence be built around the Knesset in order to prevent eye contact between Bush and external elements.

The American agents "studied" the Knesset perfectly, examined all the building's entrances and exits, and passed through the route which President Bush is expected to take during his visit several times. They even participated in a role-playing session in order to simulate the road the president will take in real time.

One of the issues discussed in the Knesset in recent days was where to store the US president's high-classified material during the visit at the Israeli parliament, where he is expected to arrive immediately after landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. A special room will likely be provided to the Secret Service agents where they will guard the material during the visit.

Bush, who will arrive in Israel with his wife Laura, is expected to be greeted by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and a guard of honor in a festive ceremony. The US president will also meet with school children from Jerusalem and lay a wreath at a monument in memory of Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed in action.

Later Bush is expected to meet with the Knesset speaker, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, and Opposition Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. Following the meetings, the Knesset plenum will hold a special session in which Bush will deliver a speech.

(By Amnon Merando, Ynetnews.com., May 6, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540040,00.html

Prayer Focus
Pray that all activities held during the Israel anniversary celebrations will be enjoyed without terrorist interference.

Scripture
“For thus has the Lord said to me: ‘Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees’” (Isaiah 21:6).

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said his country would not bend to pressure and give up its nuclear program. Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, said Iran would continue with its nuclear program despite United Nations sanctions. "No threat can hinder the Iranian nation from its path," he said on Iranian state television. The UN Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. World powers agreed last week to try again to lure Iran to the nuclear negotiating table with a set of incentives.

Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted in Sunday newspapers [May 4] as saying that the new package should not cross Iran’s “red line”, referring to the country’s uranium-enrichment program. Enrichment can make fuel for civilian nuclear reactors or, if taken to higher levels, for nuclear warheads. Mottaki offered the nations bordering the Indian Ocean to share knowledge of nuclear technology.

Meanwhile, Iran has been named the most significant state sponsor of terrorism. According to the annual report of the US State Department on terrorism, "Iran provides aid to Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hizbullah, Iraq-based militants and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan." Dell Dailey, coordinator of the State Department's Office for Counterterrorism, said in presenting the report, "Despite its pledge to support the stabilization of Iraq, Iranian authorities continue to provide lethal support, including weapons, training, funding and guidance, to some Iraqi militant groups that target coalition and Iraqi security forces and Iraqi civilians. In this way, Iranian government forces have been responsible for attacks on coalition forces." Dailey also named Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, noting its support for Hizbullah.

(By Staff, World Jewish Congress, May 5, 2008)

Prayer Focus
Praise God that another Iranian leader other than President Ahmadinejad has publicly defied the United Nations and in his statement exposed the belligerence of their nuclear plans.

Scripture
“For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against the quiet ones in the land” (Psalm 35:20).

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues to press US President George W. Bush's insistence that a deal between Israel and the Palestinians is possible before he leaves office at the end of the year, despite no apparent sign of movement in talks between the two sides.

Rice has used her talks with Israeli leaders to push demands for an end to building residential units in post-1967 areas and to remove hundreds of roadway obstacles scattered throughout Palestinian territory.

Rice has stopped short of a public tongue-lashing of Israel, but frequently paints a picture of the detrimental effects of Israeli building and of the inability of Palestinians to move about freely.

But Palestinian officials are widely expressing their assessments that nothing is going to come out of the current Rice visit and their hope that movement will come when Bush himself visits Israel to participate in its 60th anniversary celebrations.

(By Staff, The Media Line. May 5, 2008)

Prayer Focus
Pray that the Lord will guide and direct the future negotiations and plans for a Palestinian state. Pray that He will bring His divine roadmap to fruition.

Scripture
"There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the LORD'S counsel—that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21).

Day of sorrow: One day before Israel's 60th Independence Day celebrations, the State of Israel is honoring the memory of its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. Remembrance Day opened with a minute-long nationwide siren, as Israelis observed a moment of silence in memory of 22,437 casualties starting from 1860 to the beginning of May of this year. The figure includes 1,634 people killed in terror attacks.

Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi were among the dignitaries attending the Remembrance Day ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

In his address, Peres said that "we are ready to pay for the day of peace, for smiling children, be they Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, or Syrian."

"We dream of peace, without accepting dictates of surrender. We desire a handshake, but our enemies know we can pull the trigger in defense. We want to end the wars and continue the Zionist movement's vision, but our enemies realize that, if cornered, that vision will be carried upon the points of our bayonets, until peace comes."

During his speech, the president directly addressed bereaved families: "Soon you will return to your empty homes and to the pillows that are wet with tears…and in the morning, fatigued by the dreams of the night, you will take the photo albums that are partly yellowing out of deep drawers, and try to remember, and here and there a smile will come to your face while seeing one photo or another, but soon after the tears will replace the laughter."

Meanwhile, Army Chief Ashkenazi turned his attention to Israel's youth, saying that "we have something to be proud of. The State of Israel on the brink of its seventh decade is a free and independent country that absorbs immigration. It has a powerful, large and deterring army that adheres to the value of being a people's army and grants equal opportunity to all," Ashkenazi said. "It is an army where most Israeli youths serve in, due to a sense of mission and willingness to contribute.

"However, with a sober look at the future, and for the sake of the state's continued existence, I believe this is not enough," the chief of staff said. "We should unite as a country and as a society and go back to our roots."

(By Staff, Ynetnews.com, May 7, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540405,00.html

Prayer Focus
Praise God that Israel takes time to stop and remember the fallen. Praise God that they value life as a gift from the Almighty and death as the antithesis of His plan.

Scripture
“How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:2)

Four hundred [Olim] new immigrants from all over the world arrived in Israel on May 5 as part of "Aliyah Day", which was marked by the Jewish Agency and the Absorption Ministry. The olim will settle in 50 different cities throughout the country.

"This is a day of celebration for Israel. It is due to the new olim that Israel has reached the day in which it celebrates its 60th anniversary," Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski said.

The new immigrants, who hail from Honduras, Australia, the United States, Russia, France and other countries were greeted at Ben-Gurion Airport in a lavish ceremony attended by Absorption Minister Jacob Edery and Israel's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.

Vadim Rivolov waited eagerly at the arrivals terminal with a bouquet in hand for his fiancee Nadia to arrive from Novosivirsk. The two met a year ago over the Internet. "I am very excited to make aliyah," Nadia told Ynet after she landed, "I believe I'll have many opportunities to succeed here. I am a painter and I taught at a school for the arts.

"I have always thought of immigrating to Israel, and meeting Vadim helped me reach my final decision faster," she said. "I hope my parents will follow soon. I am not deterred by the difficulties that await me."

In the framework of the Keshet project, some 100 parents of lone soldiers were flown into the country on Monday to celebrate Israel's 60th Independence Day with their sons and daughters.

According to Jewish Agency and Absorption Ministry statistics, 3,050,000 olim from over 90 countries arrived in Israel since its inception.

The largest number of new immigrants—239,954—was recorded in 1949, while in 1984 less that 10,000 people made aliyah. The majority of the new immigrants arrived from the former Soviet republics. The oldest new immigrant was 111 years old when she arrived from Georgia.

(By Yael Branovsky, Ynetnews.com., May 6, 2008)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3539874,00.html

Prayer Focus
Praise God that the Jewish People continue to return to Eretz (Land of) Israel.

Scripture
“Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you” (Genesis 31:3).

Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has expressed disappointment that no member of her country's government was invited to attend the celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary, according to a Swiss newspaper. She told the weekly ”Sonntag” newspaper that Switzerland will be represented at the festivities by its ambassador in Tel Aviv.

Israel's President Shimon Peres has invited heads of state, ministers, scientists, philosophers and artists for a three-day conference to mark the Jewish state's 60th birthday this month. Among those invited are US President George W. Bush, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, former Czech President Vaclev Havel, former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, and the President of the World Jewish Congress [WJC], Ronald S. Lauder.

The relationship between Israel and Switzerland has been strained since a recent visit by Calmy-Rey to Iran and the signing of a multi-billion-dollar gas deal between a Swiss and an Iranian energy company. The deal prompted criticism from Israel and from Jewish groups, including the World Jewish Congress.

Rejecting the criticism by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, Calmy-Rey defended the deal by saying every state had the right to pursue its economic interests and that Switzerland was not the only country to buy Iranian oil and gas. She also reaffirmed Switzerland's commitment to talking to all parties in the Middle East conflict. "Switzerland has never taken sides, neither in the Middle East conflict nor anywhere else in the world," she told Sonntag.

(By Staff, World Jewish Congress, May 5, 2008)

Prayer Focus
Pray that this action taken by Israel against the Swiss Government and their dealings with Iran will highlight how serious the Iranian threat has become.

Scripture
“You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 32:19).

Note: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.