ISRAEL'S 60TH BIRTHDAY WILL BE CELEBRATED ACROSS THE NATION AND HONORED WORLDWIDE STARTING WEDNESDAY NIGHT, MAY 7th, AND CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY, MAY 8th.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISRAEL FROM ALL THOSE WHO LOVES YOU!

MESSIANIC JEW COMPETES IN ISRAEL'S ANNUAL BIBLE QUIZ: Bat El Levy, a 17-year-old Jerusalem girl, is a world-class scriptural scholar who believes in Yeshua. She is competing May 8th in Israel's annual Independence Day Bible Quiz held under the auspices of PM Ehud Olmert. Israeli anti-missionary group, Yad LeAhim, sees Levy's participation as a threat to Judaism.  The organization's director circulated a letter to Israel's top rabbis last week calling for pressure on the Education Ministry to disqualify Levy from the quiz. He argued Levy, who comes from a family of messianic Jews - who believe Jesus is the messiah, should not be considered Jewish. He expressed fear of traditional Jews being shown up in Bible knowledge by someone who has mastered the New Testament as well. The Ministry of Education refused to disqualify her. Pray that Bat El Levy will honor the Lord this week and do well in the Bible Quiz.

RULING TO BE REVOKED WHICH INVALIDATES THOUSANDS OF CONVERSIONS: Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, acting in his capacity as president of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, will attempt to revoke a ruling from last week, which invalidated thousands of conversions carried out in Israel over the last few years; many of them on behalf of gentile immigrants from the former Soviet Union. According to the ruling conversions to Judaism conducted by Rabbi Haim Druckman, a prominent figure in Religious Zionism, are void and the converts cannot be recognized as Jewish by the Chief Rabbinate.  Druckman, who is considered to have a more open liberal approach to conversions, earlier this year called for the appointment of 40 to 50 new more lenient rabbis to increase the number of conversions. Many potential converts are detoured by stringent religious requirements. (J.Post)

NEW ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OLMERT SAID TO BE "VERY SERIOUS." In what is being described as fresh and damaging evidence against Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, police questioned the premier last Friday after providing him only 48 hours notice. Olmert's former Bureau Chief Shula Zaken, currently under house arrest, was also questioned with little time to prepare herself, as authorities reportedly wanted to prevent the two from corroborating their stories. Law-enforcement officials said the allegations are extremely "severe," details of which are presently covered by a court-ordered gag order. The peace process is expected to freeze until the PM's fate is determined. (IHC) "Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding." Jer 3:15

MOFAZ: JERUSALEM BEING NEGOTIATED: Contrary to claims by PM Ehud Olmert, Transportation Minister and former Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, indicated the future status of Jerusalem is indeed being negotiated. He said Israel should not "sell" its national interests for the sake of reaching a peace treaty with the Palestinians by the end of the year. Palestinians want Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state and are unwilling to compromise on the issue, demanding sovereignty over Jerusalem's Old City including Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount. (IHC)

16 ISRAELI CIVILIANS KILLED THIS YEAR IN TERROR ACTS: Israel's National Insurance Director-General reported Monday that sixteen Israeli civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in the first four months of the year, bringing the total of civilian terror-related deaths to 1,634 since the creation of the state 60 years ago. (Haaretz)

EU FAULTS HAMAS FOR GAZA FUEL CRISIS: The EU last week criticized Hamas for its part in the Gaza Strip fuel shortage. It held Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza accountable for worsening the humanitarian crisis by carrying out terrorist attacks at the border crossings. Officials said it was one of the very few times an EU declaration publicly named Hamas as part of the problem in disputes between it and the Jewish state. (J.Post)

WORLD POWERS URGE ARABS TO HONOR PALESTINIAN PLEDGES: World powers, April 3rd, appealed to Arab states to honor their financial pledges to help the Palestinians. According to US figures, of $717.1 million in budget aid for the Palestinians promised by Arab League members, only $153.2 million has been delivered. In contrast, other donors - chiefly the US and European nations - have disbursed $502.1 million of the $834.9 million they pledged. (Reuters)

EUROPE'S PRISONS FILLED WITH MUSLIMS: Muslims in France comprise some 12% of the population, but account for 60% to 79% of prisoners. In the UK, Muslims make up 3% of the population; 11% of that total is prisoners. In the Netherlands, 20% of adult prisoners and 26% of juvenile offenders are Muslims, while the nation on the whole is about 5.5% Muslim. In Belgium, Muslims account for at least 16% of inmates. They make up 2% of the general population. (Newsmax) "The wicked are denied their light, their upraised arm is broken." Job 38:15

ISRAEL TO DISPLAY RARELY SEEN SCROLLS: US President, George W. Bush, and other dignities attending Israel's soon coming 60th anniversary celebrations will be able to view a rarely displayed segment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls preserved for more than 2000 years contain almost the entire text of the Hebrew Bible. The rare fragment to be displayed is from Psalms 133:1. It reads: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity." (Yahoo News)

TOUR GROUPS COMING TO ISRAEL:  We are preparing packages for families and are in critical need of specific items.  We need groups to assist us by bringing some desperately needed items in an extra suitcase or in your belongings.  You can email us at info@visionforisrael.com to receive a list of the most needed items.  This act of kindness and generosity, would bless these families greatly. "Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do." Deut 15:10

Shop on-line at: www.greetingsfromjerusalem.com.  Purchase high quality Messianic and Judaica gifts, a wide assortment of books, praise and worship music, videos, jewelry and study materials. This is a tangible way to show support and solidarity with our people in Israel. (For N. America only at this time.)

SAVE THE DATE AND PLAN AHEAD:

VFI & JSH Conference in The Netherlands – June 6-8, 2008.

VFI & JSH Conference in Bromsgrove, England – June 28, 2008. Join us for a day of praise and thanksgiving for 10 years of The Joseph Storehouse at Bromsgrove. Celebrations will include a dedication of the UK Storehouse which is presently being reorganized and expanded.

Succot Tour & Celebration: October 12-24, 2008 – for USA participants there will be a direct flight with Delta from Atlanta leaving on October 11th. The package price, including tips, is $3,099. Call JDI Tours in the USA at 248.340.9191.  There are only 30 places left for this exciting tour group from the USA.  Sign up now, otherwise alternative flights will have to found.

We are so grateful to all our wonderful volunteers who come from so many different places to work tirelessly at The Joseph Storehouse in Israel. We are always glad to have more volunteers, there is so much work to do, and if you have the opportunity to come and work with us, please contact us at info@visionforisrael.com and you will be most welcome in Jerusalem.

Special Request: If you are visiting Israel soon we have an urgent need to receive supplies of vitamins and toiletries at The Joseph Storehouse. If you have spare luggage capacity we would be really grateful if you would bring some with you. Please visit www.visionforisrael.com for more information.

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff