Shabbat Shalom!
Last week, on the 21st of June the second part of the Beersheva court case took place. This time David and I arrived an hour early, and walked into the beautiful new courthouse in Beersheva, where we found the floor and room that the trial would take place. We were greeted by Howard Bass who looked very relaxed and even excited. He said, "the seats are filling up fast - go grab a seat". We were able to find two chairs, and as the case that was taking place before Howard's came to a close, we found ourselves sitting in the courtroom with 18 other believers and with time to spare. We introduced ourselves one to another - we were from Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheva and Ariel. Howard urged us to pray, and we did so, in small groups. Others were reading their Bibles, and the presence of the Lord was evident.
THE TRIAL
The lawyers, who are believers, were expectant and serious- they were going to face the chief Rabbi of Beersheva, Yehuda Deri of the Shas party, and representatives from Yád Láchim.
There were testimonies given by witnesses for both sides, and I won't go over what happened or didn't happen except to say that on the side of the defendants, there was an attitude of smug pride, and outright lying apparantly without any fear of reprisal from the law. My impression was that they were so sure that the case was in their pocket, that they relentlessly interrupted Howard's lawyers with all kinds of objections, not letting them finish a sentence. The judge didn't allow Howard's lawyer to call one of the witnesses, Rabbi Kalifa of Beersheva, a hostile witness, which he was, which prevented him from being questioned in a certain line of questioning.
This same Rabbi Kalifa, was written up in a local Beersheva newspaper that serves the Orthodox community as being the representative for Yád Láchim in Beersheva, and although Howard's lawyer had the article in his hands, Rabbi Kalifa said he was never associated with Yád Láchim. The hatred that shone out of his eyes as he called Howard a troubler, was terrible.
In the end, the trial was postponed until November 23, because there wasn't enough time to call the two main witnesses for the prosecution, Rabbi Yehuda Deri and Alex Otrovsky of Yád Láchim.
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S
I am glad that we were present. We were able to witness the spiritual battle we are going to be facing in court, and what our lawyer will be facing. The hate and smugness that that comes from knowing that the authorities are not interested in justice for Messianic Jews, is frustrating and disturbing. I, however, am very confident in the Lord being for us. It is the anchor of my soul.
Psalm 27
Of David.
"The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident."
Hebrews 6:16-20
"Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Yeshua, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
We were also made aware that some ultra Orthodox hold fast to the teaching of a well known Rabbi who stated that those who "convert" others to faith in Yeshua are themselves like Hitler, and should be killed on the spot. This is not a well publicized teaching, but is like a secret code among some of those that live amongst us.
As always, the Lord is our hiding place, and through faith in Him, and His promises, we know that we are in His hands. To die for His name's sake would not be a new phenomenon, as thousands have gone before us in that manner (Hebrews 11). Our times are also in His hands, and the enemy, who is Satan, and not the ultra orthodox, was not allowed to carry out this plan on Purim eve, March 20, 2008.
Psalm 32:7
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
AMI NEWS
Ami's progress marches on, often in ways that are subtle. After a month of experimenting with taking less medication for the neuropathic pain , he is going to cut the dose even further after getting permission from his doctor. I asked him how the strength in his hand is progressing, and he said that that there is still weakness, but it's getting stronger all the time. The other day he broke the seal of a jar and opened it with his left hand to demonstrate this!
Thank you for praying Ami through this school year as well! Some of you wrote to me that you had a burden to pray for success in school this year, and Praise the Lord, his report card came and he did well - very well considering all the visits to the hospital, therapies and operations he went through. . His one 100% came from the guidance counsellor who has discussions with the kids every week. It is considered one of his courses. One day I spoke with her, and she told me that she is so impressed with Ami's wisdom, life view, and attitude. She said that he has found a very healthy place in the social structure of the class, and he is in a class that is very supporitive of one another, and very united. This is the grace of God. His teacher wrote in her comments, that Ami didn't let the events of the past year ruin his life in any way , and although there is always room for improvement, his scholastic achievements were admirable.
High School is very challenging in Israel, in that the college matriculation exams dominate the studies, and at the same time kids are getting ready for the army, mentally and sometimes physically, depending what they want to do. It will be a challenge for Ami, but with everything, it is not a mountain too high for the Lord, and our aim is to see honor given to the Name of Yeshua, in every circumstance.
Ami also told me that basketball is also coming along very well, and he says that he's getting much better.
Prayer request at this time are:
- Pray for the investigation. There is a huge spiritual battle on this front, but prayer is moving mountains. We believe that the perpetrators will be caught and brought to justice. Please pray for our non-believing lawyer, Yossi. The spiritual attack against him is heating up as well.
- Continue to pray for Ami. Please pray for further healing of all scars, inner and outer.
- Pray for the Body of Messiah in Israel to grow in the true Love of Yeshua. (John 13:34) It has become evident to me that in this atmosphere that we are living in now, we need to love one aother more. What happens to Howard and Randi Bass is literally happening to me, Leah Ortiz. This kind of love takes work! It means we have to get out of our little sphere of work and ministry and to consider others concerns as important as ours. Please pray for Howard and Randi's lawyers.
- Pray for the Messiah to be revealed to those who oppose the Messianic Body.
- Please stand with us on Isaiah 54:14-17
"In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD."
Together In Yeshua,
Leah
Last week, on the 21st of June the second part of the Beersheva court case took place. This time David and I arrived an hour early, and walked into the beautiful new courthouse in Beersheva, where we found the floor and room that the trial would take place. We were greeted by Howard Bass who looked very relaxed and even excited. He said, "the seats are filling up fast - go grab a seat". We were able to find two chairs, and as the case that was taking place before Howard's came to a close, we found ourselves sitting in the courtroom with 18 other believers and with time to spare. We introduced ourselves one to another - we were from Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheva and Ariel. Howard urged us to pray, and we did so, in small groups. Others were reading their Bibles, and the presence of the Lord was evident.
THE TRIAL
The lawyers, who are believers, were expectant and serious- they were going to face the chief Rabbi of Beersheva, Yehuda Deri of the Shas party, and representatives from Yád Láchim.
There were testimonies given by witnesses for both sides, and I won't go over what happened or didn't happen except to say that on the side of the defendants, there was an attitude of smug pride, and outright lying apparantly without any fear of reprisal from the law. My impression was that they were so sure that the case was in their pocket, that they relentlessly interrupted Howard's lawyers with all kinds of objections, not letting them finish a sentence. The judge didn't allow Howard's lawyer to call one of the witnesses, Rabbi Kalifa of Beersheva, a hostile witness, which he was, which prevented him from being questioned in a certain line of questioning.
This same Rabbi Kalifa, was written up in a local Beersheva newspaper that serves the Orthodox community as being the representative for Yád Láchim in Beersheva, and although Howard's lawyer had the article in his hands, Rabbi Kalifa said he was never associated with Yád Láchim. The hatred that shone out of his eyes as he called Howard a troubler, was terrible.
In the end, the trial was postponed until November 23, because there wasn't enough time to call the two main witnesses for the prosecution, Rabbi Yehuda Deri and Alex Otrovsky of Yád Láchim.
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S
I am glad that we were present. We were able to witness the spiritual battle we are going to be facing in court, and what our lawyer will be facing. The hate and smugness that that comes from knowing that the authorities are not interested in justice for Messianic Jews, is frustrating and disturbing. I, however, am very confident in the Lord being for us. It is the anchor of my soul.
Psalm 27
Of David.
"The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident."
Hebrews 6:16-20
"Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Yeshua, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
We were also made aware that some ultra Orthodox hold fast to the teaching of a well known Rabbi who stated that those who "convert" others to faith in Yeshua are themselves like Hitler, and should be killed on the spot. This is not a well publicized teaching, but is like a secret code among some of those that live amongst us.
As always, the Lord is our hiding place, and through faith in Him, and His promises, we know that we are in His hands. To die for His name's sake would not be a new phenomenon, as thousands have gone before us in that manner (Hebrews 11). Our times are also in His hands, and the enemy, who is Satan, and not the ultra orthodox, was not allowed to carry out this plan on Purim eve, March 20, 2008.
Psalm 32:7
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
AMI NEWS
Ami's progress marches on, often in ways that are subtle. After a month of experimenting with taking less medication for the neuropathic pain , he is going to cut the dose even further after getting permission from his doctor. I asked him how the strength in his hand is progressing, and he said that that there is still weakness, but it's getting stronger all the time. The other day he broke the seal of a jar and opened it with his left hand to demonstrate this!
Thank you for praying Ami through this school year as well! Some of you wrote to me that you had a burden to pray for success in school this year, and Praise the Lord, his report card came and he did well - very well considering all the visits to the hospital, therapies and operations he went through. . His one 100% came from the guidance counsellor who has discussions with the kids every week. It is considered one of his courses. One day I spoke with her, and she told me that she is so impressed with Ami's wisdom, life view, and attitude. She said that he has found a very healthy place in the social structure of the class, and he is in a class that is very supporitive of one another, and very united. This is the grace of God. His teacher wrote in her comments, that Ami didn't let the events of the past year ruin his life in any way , and although there is always room for improvement, his scholastic achievements were admirable.
High School is very challenging in Israel, in that the college matriculation exams dominate the studies, and at the same time kids are getting ready for the army, mentally and sometimes physically, depending what they want to do. It will be a challenge for Ami, but with everything, it is not a mountain too high for the Lord, and our aim is to see honor given to the Name of Yeshua, in every circumstance.
Ami also told me that basketball is also coming along very well, and he says that he's getting much better.
Prayer request at this time are:
- Pray for the investigation. There is a huge spiritual battle on this front, but prayer is moving mountains. We believe that the perpetrators will be caught and brought to justice. Please pray for our non-believing lawyer, Yossi. The spiritual attack against him is heating up as well.
- Continue to pray for Ami. Please pray for further healing of all scars, inner and outer.
- Pray for the Body of Messiah in Israel to grow in the true Love of Yeshua. (John 13:34) It has become evident to me that in this atmosphere that we are living in now, we need to love one aother more. What happens to Howard and Randi Bass is literally happening to me, Leah Ortiz. This kind of love takes work! It means we have to get out of our little sphere of work and ministry and to consider others concerns as important as ours. Please pray for Howard and Randi's lawyers.
- Pray for the Messiah to be revealed to those who oppose the Messianic Body.
- Please stand with us on Isaiah 54:14-17
"In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD."
Together In Yeshua,
Leah