At 2:30 on Thursday afternoon, a package labeled "Happy Purim" was placed on the doorstep of the Ortiz family in the Samarian settlement of Ariel. The package was addressed to David, the father of the family. David is a Messianic Jewish pastor who ministers not only in Ariel, but also sharing the gospel among Palestinian Arabs.

The Ortiz family has 6 children. The 5 older ones have already served in the Israeli army. The sixth and youngest son, Amiel, age 15, was home alone. Amiel brought the package into the house, and when he opened it on the kitchen table, a bomb on the inside exploded right in front of him.

A neighbor, hearing the blast, ran over and finding Amiel wounded and bleeding on the floor, called for an ambulance. Amiel was rushed to Schneider hospital in Petach Tikvah. The following report on Amiel's condition was given by a Messianic pastor who visited the Ortiz family in the hospital:

- second and third degree burns on his face, neck, and chest; a piece of metal in one of his lungs that may need to remain; a piece of metal in his right eye, which was removed, and the nerve was not cut, but there is still some question over whether he will be able to see in that eye; two of his toes were amputated; a heavy loss of blood from his thighs, raising concern over their future strength; serious injury to his hands.

The fact that Amiel was not killed by this explosion, which did widespread damage to their apartment, is a total miracle. Yet he is still in intensive care, needing our prayers.

This bomb attack was not an isolated incident, but part of a growing level of persecution against Messianic Jews in Israel and Palestinian Christians in the territories. At the time of this writing, it is not sure who set the bomb. Two directions are being investigated by the police: either Muslim extremists or Jewish religious extremists. (The Muslims hate Messianic Jews both for sharing the gospel and for being Jewish. The Jewish extremists hate Messianic Jews for believing in Yeshua [Jesus] and maintaining our Jewish identity.)

It is astonishing to think that the attack could have come from either a Jewish or Muslim group. On this holy day of Purim, we think about the book of Esther, in which the "prime minister" of Iran plotted to kill all of the Jews in his kingdom. The same spiritual battle that raged back then is still relevant today.

Revelation 12:12 - Rejoice O heavens and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth . . . For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows his time is short.

The attack was reported on Friday in a half page article on page 6 of Yediot Ahronot, the largest Israeli Hebrew newspaper. On Sunday, it was reported on a full page article on page 11. News reports this week have been neither positive nor negative toward Messianic Jews. They almost all refer to us as a cult or a sect; and downplay the terrorist aspects of the explosion. In any case it represents one of the widest exposures of Messianic Judaism in the Israeli media to date. It remains to be seen what their coverage will be when the attacker is found.

Despite the enormous tragedy of this event, let us pray that God will honor the suffering of this young man to bring about a breakthrough for His kingdom. With the right media coverage, it is possible that by the end of this week, for the first time in history, virtually every Israeli will know about Messianic Jews and of our faith in Yeshua. Revelation 12:11 - They overcame (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Almost all of the Messianic congregations in Israel are praying for Amiel and the Ortiz family. In addition, almost all of the Palestinian Christians (as well as many evangelical Christians around the world) are unified with us in compassion and prayer. Here we are all truly one in the Messiah.

Please pray with us:

Hi all,

There has been a wonderful outpouring of response for Ami Ortiz and his family - emails, phone calls - the meals are being brought like clockwork, and people are constantly asking where to send financial gifts.

You guys have no idea how much strength you are bringing to this family in their hour of need. And no one is trying to push forward their own name or ministry, each one is coming just to serve up whatever they have from the Lord. It's Body networking at its best. We at Restorers are privileged to help, but you all are the REAL "Restorers of Zion" here!

Local believers -- If you would like to bring food to the hospital, just coordinate with me for which day, so that we can do this efficiently. Ami's condition

"Ami is out of danger - he will make it. But he has a long road ahead of him in order to recover." Those were the words of one surgical nurse, after they took Ami in this morning to clean his wounds. Now that the life-threatening things are taken care of, they are dealing with other problems, one at a time.

Another miracle - one eye is unhurt! I have no idea how that happened, and neither do the doctors. When a bomb goes off in front of you and peppers your face with sharp, hot metal shards (deliberately embedded in the explosives to maximize the killing power), that is usually The End of Everything, never mind worrying about your eyesight. They pulled a sharp piece out of the other eye, and are waiting for the swelling to go down to see if the nerve is okay (there's a chance). A matter for focused prayer.

They were worried about his lungs not functioning (and not knowing why). Now they have discovered why - both Ami's lungs have steel bolts embedded in them    10 altogether. One lung is still collapsed, and they are trying hard to restore it. Another specific prayer.

The biggest needs for prayer are for his limbs - so many gashes and burned places, especially his legs. They have discovered a torn tendon in one hand too, which I understand is complicated to repair. But the Lord is hearing and answering  Big Time! I'm imagining the doctors must be embarrassed at how often they have to resort to the word "miracle" because unexpected improvements keep happening. On the other hand, they are just thrilled to see this boy's progress. The condition of the apartment

The blast did a lot of damage to the kitchen, most of the salon, part of the upstairs, and blew out a lot of windows. There are holes in the refrigerator door left by chunks of metal, and a gaping hole in the dining table, shaped like the "gift" basket  The walls are gouged by the shrapnel. The electricity and phone upstairs aren't working. Yet somehow the living room sofa and the TV escaped damage, and the phone downstairs works. So to those who have asked about damage and what might need replacing, I have to say, "stand by until the dust settles."

Thank the Lord the house is insured. One brother has directed the replacement of the window glass, and that was going on today. Others are pitching in to clean up.

One sad thing is that their dog, Dusty, survived the blast but is not doing well. He doesn't look injured, but he appears to have gone deaf and he's not eating. So many little tragedies you wouldn't expect, surrounding the big one. The investigation

I just saw Israel Channel 2 interview one of Ami's brothers (past army age). It was live on the 6:00 evening news. The anchorwoman was very sympathetic, made it clear how cruel and unfair the attack was, and let him steer the interview. She mentioned Messianic Jews a couple of times as well - everyone in Israel knows that this faith had something to do with the attack.

The camera didn't show his face and didn't give his full name, emphasizing the image of a family being hounded by a killer. Very effective    and I believe it was a good strategy, because a sympathetic public will be more likely to pass on any information they have that might catch the perpetrators.

There is still no conclusive evidence about who left the bomb, only that its maker was "a professional". But on Shabbat I learned something new that made me go sick inside.

I spent some time that day with the sweet lady who cleans the Ortiz house, also a believer. She was overcome with double guilt - first, because she was the one who had brought the package in from the front doorstep    (this is a normal reaction, though it's not logical, and it can be very strong - you always think that somehow you could have prevented it) and also because she had left just before the bomb was triggered (the tormenting question, "why did God save me, but not him?"). I helped her work through those feelings - and for that I owe thanks to yet another Israeli sister, Lynn Halamish (a professional trauma counselor who donated several hours last year to give Restorers members some valuable training in this field). But just as the distressed sister started feeling better, I started feeling worse. Because she was describing how the bomb had looked.

I wrote in an earlier update that it wasn't a normal "mishloach manot" (Purim food gift). I was wrong. It was SO "normal" that no one could have known the difference!

The label saying "happy Purim" in Hebrew was decorated with innocent smiling faces and colorful letters. The whole top half was transparent cellophane, and you could see the chocolates inside    Who could have been so cold-blooded as to bait it with real candy - and so cynical they could sit there and draw smiley faces all over it? I almost threw up at the thought.

The investigation is moving forward. They are working with the surveillance camera images (I won't say more than that). The two possibilities are still there - either an Arab terrorist or an extremely violent Jewish group. There was a Palestinian group that claimed responsibility according to Arab TV (Al Aksa Brigade), but that is not conclusive proof - they have been known to make fictitious claims just to boost their popularity. Hamas has bragged to the media about a new plan to infiltrate settlements using Israeli Arabs (who can move freely around Israel), and we have around 400 Arab students going to the University here in town. But that is circumstantial. There is a lot of talk about extreme orthodox groups, which live in the area and do not disguise their hostility against believers. But no matter how violent, I have never heard of any Jew packing metal shards and bolts into a bomb - much less use it on fellow Israelis.

The thing to pray is that the Lord (who knows EXACTLY who is responsible) will push the guilty parties out into the light. Or better, that they will be so overcome with the fear of Heaven and guilt that they will give themselves up. First to God, and then to the authorities.

Thank you all again for your responses and desire to uphold this family who is part of the Israeli Body. I will try to keep everyone informed as I am able. Feel free to forward this to whoever knows how to pray.

blessings,

Hannah