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Weekend Watch—Bill Koenig

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November 9, 2001

A U.N. Weekend

United States President George W. Bush and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat are both scheduled to make major addresses to the United Nations General Assembly in New York this weekend.

President Bush will be giving his message on Saturday, and he has stated he will be asking for a “major commitment” on the battle over terrorism. Earlier this week, the President reiterated his theme that “you are either with us or against us” in the battle against the forces of terror.

In spite of some unconfirmed reports, President Bush is not expected to meet with Arafat; additionally, as far as we know, there will not be a comprehensive Middle East plan presented; and there is “no comment” on whether he will declare his interest in a Palestinian state. (That statement is expected from Secretary of State Colin Powell soon, perhaps next week.)

Arafat is scheduled to speak to the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday, November 11. Some Christians have been sensing for the last two months that something serious could happen on that day and have been praying accordingly (it is also referred in new age and occult circles as 11-11).

There is a documented history of major catastrophic events occurring at the same time that Arafat comes to the United States and speaks out against God’s covenant land. We have seen floods, earthquakes, record setting tornadoes, hurricanes, and major stock market corrections.

Putting this scenario into perspective, we can anticipate President Bush speaking out about the U.S. war on terror, the international coalition, and maybe adding additional words about the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Within 24 hours, Arafat will be coming before the same body, asking for “international protection and intervention in order to restore calm” (from the terror he has created) and pleading for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Israel.

Arafat Says He Won't Declare State at U.N. (Please click here for the full story.)

“The Mitchell Process”

In another revealing interview, President Bush made the following statements yesterday after a White House meeting with Britain’s Tony Blair. Please note that, once again, the President has voiced his approval of the Mitchell Plan.

Q “Mr. President, since we're limited to only one leader, can I ask you whether you think you can win this struggle against terrorism without a settlement in the Middle East? Especially in view of the rather strident notes struck by both sides on the Prime Minister's tour of the Middle East last week. What do you think the United States can do to bring that resolution about?”

President Bush: “Of course we can win the war against al Qaeda.”

Q “Without a Middle East settlement?”

President Bush: “Oh, I believe we can. I believe we're going to—we are hunting them down as we speak, and we will bring them to justice.

“But remember, the war is beyond just Afghanistan. There are over 60 al Qaeda organizations around the world. And today we struck a blow for freedom by cutting off their money—one of their money sources. And I'm absolutely convinced we can.

“Having said that, however, we are both working hard to try to bring peace to the Middle East. My Secretary of State, who is here, spends enormous amounts of time on the phone with both parties, urging for there to be calm so that we can get into the Mitchell process. There is a process in place that will lead to peace, called Mitchell. It has been embraced by all or most of the nations of the world, and we are working hard to get us into the Mitchell process.”

A Heart for Israel

The “America-Israel: United We Must Stand” Rally was a great success!

Two hundred people from fifteen states rallied and marched yesterday in Washington. The highlight of the event was the remarkable networking opportunity we had with people from organizations with a heart for Israel. It was a very successful day from that perspective.

The participants also had a chance to visit Capitol Hill for meetings with a few Congressmen and Senators. The representatives and their staffs were appreciative of the visits and were receptive to the feelings on Israel and her covenant land, but there remains a long way to go. A majority of Congress remains in favor of a Palestinian state.

We would like to thank those who lifted these events in prayer. We could certainly feel the “warfare” during the few days before the event, but Wednesday’s activities went so smoothly and successfully.

We are also pleased to congratulate Esther Levens of Voices United for Israel, who hosted a very successful conference, “Examining the Nature of Palestinian Jihad,” at the National Press Club. We will have audio tapes and transcripts of that event available shortly.

Among the speakers were Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas who said, "We should stand on our fundamental principles of democracy, human rights and freedom.. When we do that, we do well; the country does well and our people agree with us. Its when we walk away from this in the leadership that the people begin to ask "What are you doing? We don't understand this."

"We should stand on our fundamental principals. We should stand for democracy. We should stand for human rights and we should stand for freedom. And that is everywhere, it is not selective or excluded anywhere. We push for religious freedom everywhere in the world except in the Middle East and some parts of south Asia."

"I would like to discuss a double standard. We got hit on September 11 with a massive attack, with a dastardly act. And what was our response? We are doing everything we can to strike back. And Israel has been hit for a number of years and just recently, in a similar situation, lost a tourism minister. And what did we tell Israel, "hold back" – "show restraint." It was difficult for Colin Powell at a recent hearing to respond to that question of a double standard."

"We should stand with Israel and our principles. Our pasts and our futures are intertwined together and we should work with them closely in these very very difficult times."

The other guest speakers were:

• Elwood McQuaid, Christian author and regular broadcaster on International Jerusalem Post Radio, who spoke on “The Persecution of Christians and Destruction of Holy Sites under Islam.”

• Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, who discussed, “The Influence of the Official Palestinian Authority Media.”

• Frank Gaffney, director of the Center for Security Policy, who talked about, “Arafat's ‘Vision’ of a Palestinian State.”

• Dr. Labib Mikhail, an Egyptian-Christian journalist and professor who has authored 60 books about Islam and Christianity, who discussed, “The Islamic Factor in Terrorism.”

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