Beersheba

31 October – Destiny’s Date? (Part 2)

Apr 15, 2017

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)

Feb 21, 2017

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 […]

The Charge of Beersheba from a Jewish Viewpoint – book review by Barry Rodgers

Feb 15, 2017

There have been a large number of books written about Beersheba and the Light Horse in recent years, although mainly from a secular historical perspective. In more recent times Col Stringer enthralled Australian Christians with his graphic account. Kelvin Crombie, in my opinion the foremost historian in Australia on all things Light Horse, has written a number of seminal books such as “ANZACS and Israel, a significant connection.” Here is another book from a Jewish writer and this one has an intriguing title: 1917. Palestine to the land of Israel. “The extraordinary struggles of Christian and Jewish heroes to establish the State of Israel.” This book is of great interest for a number of reasons. Firstly it is not a dramatic account of the ANZACS through the eyes of a proud Aussie. It’s a scholarly well researched account by an Israeli Author and written from a uniquely Jewish perspective—Author Barry Shaw—a long time Israeli resident and academic. Secondly, it is remarkable for the pre-eminence given to Christian Zionists, men like Charles Wesley whose Zionist hymn is written out in full, although I quote only the first verse; “O that the chosen band, Might now their brethren bring, And gathered out […]

Australia and Israel: For such a time as this

Jan 14, 2017

The contemptible UNESCO resolutions concerning Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and the burial grounds of Israel’s founding fathers in Hebron have shown again how fierce and unrelenting the effort is to delegitimise Israel by disputing or seeking to sever its ancient roots in—and millennia-long ties to—this land. That such international positions are taken against the Jews’ indigeneity is appalling enough. What defies belief is that Judea-Christian nations (like Australia and Israel and America for example) whose cornerstone is the same Bible that authenticates Israel’s claims to its land, to Jerusalem and to the Temple Mount have not rallied to stand with Israel against this assault on the origin of all Christians and Jews. Can Australia be different? Foreign Minister Julie Bishop describes her nation’s relationship with Israel as warm and close. Aussies hardly need me to note that there is so much more that has gone into this mateship than just diplomacy and co-operation. An enormous amount of Australian blood was shed to help liberate the Jews’ historical homeland in World War I, and to keep the Nazis from reaching this land and killing its Jews in World War II. Ties have continued to deepen between the two countries and, during the tenure […]

100th Anniversary of the Australian Light Horse – Coming October 2017

Aug 12, 2016

In 2007 the Australian Light Horse Assn (ALHA) conducted the highly successful and much publicised “In the steps of the Light Horse” re-enactment tour for the 90th anniversary of the charge of Beersheba. This tour brought to public attention the significance of the Middle Eastern Campaign in WW1, an often forgotten campaign that has been overshadowed by Gallipoli and the Western Front. During this tour we visited the old battle scarred railway station at Semakh. In WW1 Semakh was a quaint little fishing village located on the shores of the picturesque Sea of Galilee. Our guide, the well known Australian author and historian, Kelvin Crombie, pointed out the historical significance of the battle that took place here at this vital railway junction on the 25th of September 1918. The following brief account of the vital nature of this battle and its significance in hastening the end of WW1 is outlined by a Kinneret College historian; “In the autumn of 1918 the British forces under General Allenby started their northern offensive against the Turkish forces under Liman Von Sanders. The Semakh station was an important gateway on the way to the whole of the Galilee and the road to Damascus. Australian […]

Israel needs the ‘spiritual ANZACs’ to also be “earthed”

Jun 7, 2016

Purpose of this article: To communicate to Aussie and Kiwi Christians who wish to stand with God’s purposes for Israel the importance of being ‘spiritual anzacs’—plugged into the battle for the Land – and pointing to the tie-in with the upcoming elections in Australia. The four years encompassing the 100th anniversarof the Great War (2014 to 2018) have seen a marked growth of pride in the legacy of the ANZACs among young and old Australians and New Zealanders alike. Widely held is the perception that these countries were forged into nations in the terrible furnace of World War 1. By many accounts, ANZAC Day has become a more patriotic event than Australia Day and Waitangi Day respectively. Christians have hardly been immune, and a growing number also hold a Biblical perspective on the subject. Quoting Genesis 12:3—the foundational principle pertinent to those who bless the seed of Abraham—they ascribe the prosperity and peace experienced by their nations since the 1920s to the heroic fighting and sacrifices of the men of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps; specifically to the fact that their diggers formed the point of the British Empire spear that liberated Israel’s land from centuries of Islamic […]

Anzacs, Israel & Australia’s destiny – a need for balance

Apr 1, 2016

Photo of Anzacs from AWM: “Australian light horsemen riding waler horses. The soldiers are of the original contingent of the Australian Imperial Force and the photo was taken prior to their departure from Australia in November 1914. The soldier on the right is Trooper William Harry Rankin Woods, 1st Light Horse Regiment, who died of wounds on 15 May 1915, one of the first light horsemen to die during the Battle of Gallipoli.” I recently re-read an article I wrote in 1992 entitled ‘The Anzacs and Israel’ which had been published in several Christian magazines and circulated around Australia and New Zealand. It portrayed a somewhat patriotic ANZAC perspective – which I now realise was not entirely balanced. At that time I was working as a local guide at Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem specialising in British, European and Protestant involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean 1798-1948. This article reflected my attempt to present the significant contribution which ANZAC soldiers had played in helping to lay the foundations for the establishment of Israel – as part of the bigger geo-political picture. This perspective was aided through also conducting In Step with Allenby and the Light Horse tours from Jerusalem, down […]

Salting Australia for 2017

Feb 10, 2016

Dear Aussie brothers and sisters in Messiah. Prayerful (gentile) New Year’s greetings from a wintery Land of Israel. 2017 will be on us before we know it, with a remarkable confluence of events set for that year that could powerfully impact Australia’s future before God: the 100th anniversary of the Beersheba battle that freed up Israel’s land for Jewish settlement the 50th anniversary—Golden Jubilee—of the Six Day War that restored the heart of that land to Jewish control an International Sovereignty Congress planned in the Hague in support of Israel’s legitimate claim to all this land as the Israeli sovereignty campaign gathers momentum the intensifying UN push to pull off the Two State Solution, which seeks to rob Israel of this very same heartland – the cradle of Jewish nationhood. As strongly as I sensed that Australia’s membership on the UN Security Council in 2014 was significant then in regard to the escalating battle over this land, I sense preparations to mark Beersheba in 2017 are also key. It’s a once in a century opportunity to honour that decisive victory with another. And what real value can there be in celebrating the liberation of the land without using the occasion to […]