From the Editor Jul/Aug 2018
Some things seem almost too absurd to be true. But life is filled with absurdities when it comes to Israel. Do you see the ladder in the photo below? It has leaned against the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for at least 150 years.
Six religious denominations share the church and must stay within their designated areas—or else. “On a stifling summer day in 2002,” reported Slate.com, “a monk moved his chair eight inches to find shade. This was interpreted as a hostile act and violation of boundaries, and 11 were hospitalized after the fight that ensued.” Over eight inches!
Understandably, no one dares remove the ladder. Some say it’s been there since the 1700s, some say the 1800s. But it cannot be relocated unless all the denominations agree. So there it stands.
Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Israel houses several people groups, some of which will go to absurd lengths to stake their claims. When the United States announced plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Arabs promised a fight. Last year the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron to be a Palestinian heritage site, even though everyone buried there is considered Jewish: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas claims the Arabs of Samaria, Judea, and Gaza descended from the Canaanites, even though “it is a historic fact that Arabs actually arrived in Israel in the 7th century C.E. [AD],” writes Israelnationalnews.com.
A volatile situation for sure. So this issue of Israel My Glory explores portions of the book of Ezekiel in which God, the definitive boundary-maker, explains who owns the land and who eventually will live in it in peace. Enjoy!
Waiting for His Appearing,
Lorna Simcox
Editor-in-Chief
