SUNDAY 303 days Swords of Iron War.

Nahariya, Israel. The Tenth Month!!

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forever. (Psalm 125:1-2)

Last week I read accounts of soldiers - family members of friends and family that just came out of Gaza. They took pictures of the food available to the people there, from children to elderly. They said there was so much food around – all free of charge – that it bordered on gluttony and waste.

I thought to myself, that's good. We know that Hamas was stealing the incoming aid and selling it to the Gazans instead of letting them have it as it was intended. To me, these pictures were proof that there is no shortage among the civilians and that is a good report.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Since we arrived in Nahariya in 2009, we've settled into shopping for produce at two stores. One is the “Shuke” behind the central bus station and another is at “Gabi”, smaller and higher quality items in another part of town. Over time, we found that a son of the Shuke owners also opened his own corner store and at times we stopped to buy there.

Last Friday, we noticed that the son's store was closed and his wife works with his parents. We assumed that he had to serve in the army thus they combined their efforts at this point.

Today, we went downtown on errands. We stopped at “Gabi” for some oranges. We couldn't find oranges anywhere for about a week. He had oranges, not fresh from the tree, but from the refrigeration. Unlike Canada where all their fruit arrives from south of the border and is refrigerated, in Israel, it is always fresh. Other bins were empty as well. Most unusual. We asked. He answered:

“Yes, we lack fresh produce. The trees don't grow them – the evacuees could not look after the fields in the North or the South. If you find a tree growing oranges call me, and I'll buy whatever it has!” He sounded so very sad...

Israel has not suffered such a shortage since the 1947 independent war.

So our government has to send much of the fresh produce to Gaza and more than 50% of the water from the Sea of Galili to Jordan, all per peace agreements. Meanwhile, the world is blocking every possible road, from flights into Israel to sending by post protective clothing to our soldiers.

No, I am not angry, only very sad.

New Olim are coming in daily. Last week 155 arrived from France. More are on the way. Domestic airlines stopped flying inside the country and were drafted to bring home Israelis who were stranded in other countries due to airlines who stopped flying into Ben-Gurion. They will need food and water just to start the journey in the country.

I don't hear about humanitarian aid to any of our people in transit or at home. Double standards – typical from the UN, I am sorry it is becoming the norm for the rest of the world.

But the Lord of Hope says, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.”

We shall overcome.

Have a great week.