Middle East Hourglass







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The Middle East Digest was pioneered in 1990 by a remarkable Christian woman, Joan McWhirter, who died recently in Britain at the full age of 93. She came from a respected English family; her father was a noted military general. But Joan had a burning call to Israel and the Jewish people and, as the story goes, she bought a small VW bug years ago, packed it full and drove from the British isles all the way to Jerusalem. Already a seasoned veteran of Zionist activism when she heard of the founding of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem in 1980, she was quick to volunteer her many invaluable talents.

Besides her sharp and skillful pen in those early editions of the Digest, what really stands out was her commitment to the just cause she espoused. Even at the height of the Palestinian intifada a decade ago, when Joan was in her 80s and lived among the Arabs - whom she loved - on the back side of the Mount of Olives, she walked every day to work at Embassy headquarters several miles away in western Jerusalem. It was not an easy trek, coursing uphill and down, often in unmerciful heat. But her compassion for God’s people carried her every step of the way.

We dedicate this issue to you, Joan. Thanks for the outstanding example.

Editor: David Parsons

Writers: Paul Longgrear, Raymond McNemar