Update on the "Barbarian" trial in Paris

The prosecutors have decided to retry 14 defendants because of the light sentences given to them in the murder trial of the Barbarian gang who tortured and killed Ilan Halimi in 2006. The main defendant who received a life sentence will not be retried. It remains to be seen if the appelllate court will render justice in this matter. Shalom. David Schneier

Murderers of Ilan Halimi Finally Found Guilty in Paris

The murderers of Ilan Halimi finally were held accountable in the Palace of Justice in Paris today, July 10th, for his torture and death some 3 years ago. These horrific crimes were committed by members of a Muslim gang called the Barbarians. The ring leader of the gang received a life sentence. His response was thumbs up. He said it had been better to live one day as a lion than 100 as a lamb. It took 26 co-conspirators to capture, torture and kill one Jewish man. Not much of a lion. During the trial he threw his shoes at witnesses who described the severity of the torture that caused Ilan's death. Others received long sentences but the parents want the prosecutors to appeal some of the sentences of the co-conspirators. Please pray for France as many will say that the gang members were the real victims of Jewish control, Zionism, a closed French society and poverty. Shalom. David Schneier

Summer schedule

Here's where Leslye and I will be this summer:

1. Messiah 2009 at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa: June 28th-July 4th
2. DC area: July 5th-10th
2. Beth Yeshua Congregation (Phila., Pa): July 11th
3. NYC area: July 12th to 19th
4. DC area: July 19th to 23rd
5. Beth Simcha Congregation (Wilmington, NC): July 25th
6. Beth Hallel Congregation (Atlanta, GA): July 31st- August 1st.
7. Jekyll Island, GA: August
There may be other stops along the way. Shalom. David Schneier from Paris

Hope in Europe

We just spent 9 days with our friends and Messianic Rabbis, David Chernoff and Jeff Forman, from the IAMCS (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues/David is from Philadelphia and Jeff is from Toronto). We all serve on the Steering Committee of the IAMCS. My wife, leslye, and I have been called to Western Europe to encourage the development of a Messianic movement there after spending 12 years in Ukraine. We gathered Messianic and church leaders in Amsterdam and then in Paris to see what unity exists amongst these divergent groups and whether we as a group could consider sponsoring an all European Messianic conference in 2010, maybe in Paris. At both meetings we were asked to return for leadership conferences and helping to build a vision for what the Messianic movement could be in Europe. This is just beginning steps and we need lots of prayer. Shalom. David Schneier from Paris

Back from Ukraine

Hey everybody I am back from 2 weeks in Ukraine. We had 140+ leaders and members of Messianic congregations and churches who love the Jewish people gather in Nikolaiv for 3 days. We shared on the responsibility of believers, Jew and Gentile, to make a priority of their relationships to God and man as this is the key to understanding and living all that is contained in God's written and spoken word. There was a lot of time for fellowship and enjoying each other's presence. What a blessing to see each car arrive from 17 cities in Ukraine and its occupants spill out and embrace those who had already arrived. You can see some photos from Odessa and Nikolaiv by copying and pasting the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/messianic.initiative/OdessaNikolaivMay2009?feat=directlink

Shalom, David Schneier

17 CONFERENCE CITIES

SPRING LEADER’S CONFERENCE
Nikolaev, Ukraine

May 6-8, 2009

Here is a list of the 17 cities represented at the Spring Conference.
The leaders came from all over central and eastern regions of the Ukriane.

Yalta
Sevastopol
Chernomorsa
Evpatoriya
Feodosiya
Simferopol
Herson
Dnepropetrovsk
Dneprodzerjinsu
Zanorozie
Odesa
Pervomaysa
Voznesensa
Kerch
Nikolaev
Bereznigovatoye

On the Road Again: Odessa, Ukraine

I am back in Odessa, Ukraine to visit with the Messianic congregation, Gateway to Zion, which we helped plant in 1995 and which we became leaders of in 1996. In the first photo, the congregation, led by Sasha, is worshipping the Lord and the middle photo is of the dedication of Elijah, our youngest "member. The last photo is of a wedding reception in McDonalds! My friend, Pastor Barry Boucher of Ottawa, and I are preparing for a leadership retreat in nearby Nikolaiv from May 6th to 8th and a time of sharing in the Messianic congregation there on the 9th. We expect 100 to 150 leaders and congregational members to attend. We should be back in Odessa on May 10th after sharing in a church led by a Jewish couple. We both return to Paris on the 12th and Barry leaves for Canada on the 13th. From May 19th to 29th we will host a team of 4 Messianic believers from the US and Canada including Messianic Rabbis David Chernoff and Jeff Forman. We will have meetings in Amsterdam on May 24th and Paris on May 27-28th to introduce our friends to Messianic leaders in Europe and to discuss the possibility of an all Europe Messianic conference in 2010 which Paul Wilbur has committed to be at. Please be in prayer for all of this and for Leslye in Paris while I am away for 2 weeks. Shalom. David Schneier

Constantine's Blunder

In 312 AD Constantine fought a battle to determine who would be emperor of the Roman Empire. Before the battle, in a French seaside town known as La Croix Valmer, Constantine prayed to Mithras, the sun god, for victory and he saw a vision of a flaming cross next to the sun and the words, "Conquer by this." Constantine was victorious and so he decided he was a Christian. He never stopped being a sun worshipper and his claim of Chrisitan faith is unsupportable. From this "revelation", the state and Christianity became one entity controlled by the Emperor. Three hundred years later the world was in the Dark Ages. For the Jews and Jewish believers in Yeshua, persecution was almost immediate as Constantine sought to rid all Jewish connections from Christianity. He also formalized the faith making home worship illegal. Now, to be legitimate, one had to have emperor style worship and liturgy in a basilica with professional clergy controlling religious experience and the Bible itself. His blunders affect believers today and if you want a great account of this transition read "The Messianic Church Arising" by Robert Heidler which can be found at www.glory-of-zion.org.

We had a chance to visit La Croix Valmer this week. In front of their city hall there were two olive trees (photo above). Constantine separated the natural and wild olive trees but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is reuniting them in this day. This is what we prayed in La Croix Valmer, that the Lord would undo what has been considered normal since 325 AD (the Council of Nicea drove Jewish believers out of the body of Messiah) and reunite Jews and Gentiles under the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. Shalom. David Schneier