When I was in the army on patrol after arriving at our designated camp for the night, we would immediately set up our defensive perimeter and in conjunction with this, set up what was called a picquet line.
Is the Church Asleep on Watch?
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Beersheba
When the Sword Comes…
As we see the war in Israel drag on for several months, it can be wearying, not only for the soldiers and their families but also for the intercessors.
Canberra Styles Israel an Enemy, Israel’s Enemies Australia’s Friend
Can Australian Christians rally against policies aligning with the Palestinian cause? Urgent action needed to resist government’s anti-Israel stance. #Australia #Israel
Messianic Jews—the Elephant in the Room of Jewish Christian Relationships
As an evangelical Christian closely involved in building bridges between Christians and Jews, there is a subject I try studiously to ignore, and that is the “problem” of Messianic Jews. It is indeed the “elephant in the room.”
True Australian History Continuing To Be Made In Israel
“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” – Psalm 22:27 Going back to where it started! That was the strong feeling of the Indigenous members of ‘Avad Oz’, ICEJ Australia’s worship...
Centenary of the Mandate for Palestine: Part 3 – The San Remo Conference of April 1920
The San Remo Conference commenced on 18 April 1920 at the Villa Devachan in the Italian Riviera town of San Remo. As previously mentioned, the San Remo Conference was an addendum to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference specifically to deal with the carve-up of the defeated...
Needed: A Rented Office and an Australian Flag
Over the last few years, in the lead-up to the Beersheba centenary, I have actively promoted the view that Australia—in timely fashion and emulating its famed Light Horsemen—could once again lead the charge, recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and place its embassy there. In 2016, I sat in the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv and asked then-Ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, why it was that his country would not take the initiative and do the right thing in Israel—as it had with every other one of its embassies and high commissions around the world—by placing its embassy in the designated capital. He replied that it was “not Australian statecraft” to do so. A few months later, I put the question to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott during a ‘chance encounter’ at Jerusalem’s Holocaust Memorial Museum. His response was very different: “If I was prime minister I would do it today.” Later that year, as we approached 100 years marking the Battle of Beersheba and the celebrated legacy of the 800 Light Horsemen, people around Australia responded to this voiced hope: that on this pivotal issue of the embassy move to Jerusalem, their nation might again show the maverick brand of […]
1917 and the Liberation of Jerusalem
On December 11, 1917, Gen. Edmund Allenby’s forces officially liberated Jerusalem. Actually, a Jerusalem delegation, led by the mayor, surrendered the city to a pair of British army cooks on December 8. Thus began a comical farce. The Turkish army and its German commanders had fled the city ahead of the British advance, leaving the city officials nervously waiting for the liberators. The first uniformed men to arrive were privates Andrews and Church, two cooks who got lost while searching for cooking water. They wandered near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City and were confronted by a large delegation of city officials. The cooks were so scared they ran back to their unit. At 8 a.m. the following morning, James Sedgewick and Fred Hurcomb, two British sergeants, were scouting around the Old City walls when they were approached by a group of Arab dignitaries holding a white flag. The two soldiers were overwhelmed by the sudden responsibility of accepting the surrender of Jerusalem and apologized after pictures were taken for posterity, saying they were unable to accept the surrender but promised to send a more senior officer. Later the same day, two artillery officers, majors Beck and Barry […]
The charge of Beersheba reenactment aftermath
The centenary of the charge of Beersheba created enormous interest in Israel. I estimate some many millions of shekels were spent on preparation for the event. With grandstands, field preparations, streets adorned with banners and flags of Australia, New Zealand and Israel, not to mention the enormous cost of security with the Prime Ministers of Australia and Israel and countless VIP’s present. While on the subject of flags, we did get some criticism from the ABC Insiders program, surprise, surprise, for carrying the Israeli flag during our ride. However we carried the Israeli flag with pride, out of respect for our host Nation and its great support for our event. In addition, it symbolised something of the special relationship between our two nations and our unique shared history. I must say though other ABC coverage was excellent. Our journey was publicised as a “ride for peace” and our tour “in the steps of the Light Horse” took us through the length and breadth of Israel. We had a contingent of Kiwis with us and acknowledged their role in the battle for Jaffa at Ayun Kara and Tel El Saba. Peace for Israel means security and we must stand with all […]
Balfour and Our Horseback Heroes
It was dawn October 31st, 1917. The Australian Light Horse were ready, behind a ridge 6 kilometres south-east of Beersheba. They started at a trot, rising to a gallop across a gently sloping field. Deep trenches were scattered to catch unsuspecting horse and rider. As I walked the length of that historic arena, my heart filled with admiration and respect for our gallant men. “The horses were shying aside from the shell bursts. A thin haze of smoke and dust began to rise, but the three lines of horses moved steadily forward. The first half-mile was the worst. After that, much of the fire seemed to be going over our heads. As we learned later, the Turks had ranged all their weapons on us but the sight of us Australians coming from an entirely unexpected direction and bearing down on them was demoralizing, and they had forgotten to bring their sights down as we advanced.” — One hundred years ago Australian Light Horseman Jim Henderson made that comment in his diary. Last February Prime Minister Netanyahu met at Admiralty House. When he responded to the warm welcome by the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Netanyahu said; “I’m honoured to be […]
31 October – Destiny’s Date? (Part 2)
World War One & the German-Turkish alliance When War broke out in August 1914 Germany and Ottoman Turkey had already entered into a secret agreement. Britain was now reluctantly forced into conflict against the Turks. The area of greatest strategic and military importance was the Suez Canal. Everything needed to be done to preserve the link to the eastern empire. Indeed already at that stage strategists were looking to the post-War period, and what would be best for Britain and this link. One Jewish parliamentarian, Herbert Samuel proposed in 1914-5 that Britain should take control over ‘Palestine’ and permit the establishment there of a Jewish national entity. From March 1915 a two-fold movement began which climaxed on 31 October 1917. The first was military, and began on the shores of Gallipoli. This campaign ended in failure, and resulted in Turkey planning for the capture of the Suez Canal. Britain’s goal was to protect the Canal, and the most effective method was by creating a buffer zone up to the Sinai-Palestine border. The second movement was political, and resulted from a Russian demand in March 1915 that following victory at Gallipoli and once Constantinople fell, then Russia would gain the region […]
31 October – Destiny’s Date? (Part 1)
Jewish people recognise the 9th day of Av as of great significance, the day on which both of the Jewish temples were destroyed, as well as other events in their history. But there is also another day on which a number of key historical events occurred which impacted the Jewish people – in the modern period. That day is 31 October. Most Australians will immediately think of the charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba in 1917 on that day. This was my initial focus when taking groups down to Beersheba on the ‘In Step with Allenby and the Light Horse’ tours. Then in the early 1990’s while researching in the National Archives in London I read through the Minutes of the British War Cabinet for 31 October 1917 and discovered that the decision for establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine (known as the Balfour Declaration) was also made on that very same day. That indeed was a revelation. But wait – there is more. A German connection – 31 October 1517 On 31 October 1517 Martin Luther challenged the Roman Catholic Church, and effectively triggered off the Protestant Reformation. Despite Luther’s negative attitude towards the Jewish people, as […]