"I wil turn their hearts of stone..."

The Palestinian-American teenager, whose beating by Israeli soldiers was captured on videotape, has returned home to hero's welcome in Florida.

Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, and his mother flew back to Tampa on a flight arriving from New York and were greeted by about 50 cheering supporters waving American and Palestinian flags. The Khdeirs had flown out of Israel earlier in the day.

I am only 15 but I will never think of freedom the same as I did two months ago," Tariq said upon arrival at Tampa International Airport.

"No child, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to die."

Now that's a brave kid... smart little freedom-loving fellow too!

The teenager said the thoughts and prayers of the supporters had helped him, adding "I got through these past two weeks because I knew you were all thinking of me."

Now, he said, he just wanted some relaxation and time with friends. "It feels so good to be back in Tampa. Can I even put it in words? I can't wait to go back to play with my friends and go fishing," he added, speaking only minutes.

The four boys targeted on the beach yesterday;

the 16-year-old kidnapped from his doorstop and sacrificed in a holocaust offering in the woods;

the videotaped beating from the soldiers, for a child who was attending an open-air street protest against the killing of his cousin by Israeli extremists

I can't help but think: it's adding up. It becomes harder and harder for any rational person, Jewish or not, to deny that this is not about defense, but that the anger and hatred inside some privileged people is so great they can target and harm children and civilians, and justify it by labeling all their neighbors as "enemies".

When you are insecure and weak, this is how you react.
I think the Palestinians are stronger than the Jewish-Israelis, at this point in time, and racking up more and more kills of civilians will only prove that weakness further to the world.

A Call to Justice and Mercy
"But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

"And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts… ~Zechariah 7:12

Hope for Change...

A New Heart and Spirit
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.… ~ Ezekiel 36:26