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Weekly Devotional: The Path of Redemption

Posted on December 18, 2023

“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city” (Luke 2:1-3 NKJV).

Luke places the birth of Jesus with the census of Quirinius (2:1-2). This event held bitter feelings for the Jewish people. Rome officially annexed Judaea as part of its empire with the census of Quirinius.

The Jewish people of the land of Israel were brought under pagan, Roman rule. In response to the census, a stream of Jewish philosophy emerged which taught that submission to Rome was a sin, since God alone was Israel’s king. The response to Roman rule was: Take up the sword, resist, and spill Roman blood; this is the path of redemption.

In the midst of this turmoil, God sent His Son, born to Joseph and Mary. He fulfilled His promise not through the resistance movement and bloodshed, but through a child, who would grow up to call upon those seeking redemption to repent.

Turmoil has the ability to make us yearn for God’s assistance. It can also lead us to seek our own means to make it happen. God is never deaf to our cries of help, yet He often uses means that we find ourselves blind to because of the turmoil of our circumstances.

Jesus entered a world of turmoil. Rome had taken over. The people of Israel cried for God’s redemption. The question became, how would He achieve it?

Some sought armed resistance as the path, yet God’s redemption entered the world through a baby born to a pious family. A baby who would grow up and tell people that the kingdom of Heaven (God) has come near and that returning to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pathway to receive God’s salvation.

This baby would grow up and one day offer His life as the ultimate sacrifice to bring about that redemption, but God would raise Him from the dead as evidence that His salvation has come near.

The Christmas season often heightens our feelings of turmoil. Financial troubles. Being alone. And many people feel sadness and turmoil during this season. The message of Christmas is that God steps into our turmoil. He is near. He does not abandon us. Yet we don’t always see Him or understand His purpose.

Into the turmoil of the first century, God sent forth His Son, who called upon the people to return to Him and to His ways. And He calls us to do the same today.

PRAYER

Father, even in the midst of our own turmoil and frustrated hopes, may we lean into Your presence realizing that You never forsake us. May we see that You still come to us inviting us to return to You and submit ourselves to Your plans and purposes. Amen.

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CBN Israel Prepares for ‘Tsunami’ of Counseling Israelis Will Need

Posted on December 15, 2023

By Nicole Jansezian

CBN Israel is preparing to deal with an expected “tsunami” of psychological and emotional counseling that will be needed as Israelis process the Hamas atrocities of October 7 which left 1,200 dead, tens of thousands displaced and 240 as hostages in Gaza.

“It wasn’t just those injured, and people directly affected that were impacted by this war—it affected the whole nation,” said Arik Pelled, director of CBN Israel’s Family Department. “The atrocities created a national trauma.”

Since the war, Israel has seen an increase in anxiety, fear, and insecurity, according to experts who spoke with CBN Israel. And Israelis who were directly affected by the atrocities are not the only ones impacted. An estimated 120,000 residents have been displaced and are living in hotels. Many still live under the threat of rocket fire and every resident is watching the morbid news on a regular basis.

“The 7th of October was a change in the mindset, I think, of the Israeli society,” said Talia Levanon, CEO of Israel Trauma Coalition. “We’re going to carry it for many years, also for more than one generation.”

CBN is teaming up with the Israel Trauma Coalition to meet this need including training more therapists, introducing emergency early-intervention therapies and building mobile therapy units.

“We are making it possible for more people to get the counseling they need either on an emergency basis or regularly,” Pelled said.

Pelled noted that the October 7 attacks shattered many securities that Israelis held onto as terrorists invaded their guarded communities and their homes with weapons that penetrated even the bomb shelters.

“The entire country is in a place where personal security has been shaken. A home is no longer a safe place, a shelter is no longer a safe place, parents are no longer a safe place—they can suddenly disappear. The army is no longer a safe place, the police, authorities—everything has been shaken.”

Rina Matigil, who operated One Heart, has been counseling residents in Sderot, a southern Israeli city that has come under rocket bombardment for more than 20 years.

“Even before this war, when I spoke with people or did interviews, I always said, ‘We are all, unfortunately, in a state of trauma,’” she said. The recent events, she added, add more layers to the existing trauma.

Two months out from the onset of the war, most people are in survival mode and have not reached out for therapy, but when they do, experts are expecting a tidal wave of demand.

“They are very busy at the moment with finding themselves, whether in hotels or looking for a job or taking care of the kids,” Levanon explained. “So, people will not now turn to therapy. What we know from our experience is that after the event, we have a tsunami of people who want therapy.”

Levanon said another assumption is that not only will there be more people seeking help, the types of situations they need to cope with are unprecedented.

“We need also to take into consideration that the issues that we will be dealing with are very different. It’s not just a higher number of people—it’s people who are dealing with grief, people who are dealing with very traumatic events, not to mention being a hostage and so on,” she said. “And so the therapists need to be trained to do things that address issues they’ve never dealt with before.”

“Now with residents scattered around the country after evacuating their homes, CBN Israel is working with Israel Trauma Coalition to create a national call center that will connect people to the closest therapist in their new location,” Pelled said. “We are trying to open one national center, not in one geographic location because everyone in the country is scattered and displaced.”

CBN Israel also hosted a workshop for Israeli counsellors, psychologists, and family therapists so they can implement an emergency intervention method in their counseling. Dr. Gary Quinn, a psychiatrist based in Israel who specializes in crisis intervention, anxiety, depressive disorders, and PTSD, led the workshop at the CBN Israel office. Quinn pioneered ISP, Immediate Stabilization Procedure, a type of intervention was successful in Ukraine.

Pelled said the purpose of this early intervention therapy is to break the loop of repeating a negative experience in the hopes of preventing PTSD.

“Of course, it is possible to work with a person at any point, but if you catch the person in time, this will start the healing process sooner,” he said.

CBN Israel is also building a similar program for leaders of congregations around the country to equip them as well to deal with these unprecedented traumas.

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.

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Victim of Terrorism: Lina’s Story

Posted on December 13, 2023

For 30 years, Lina had lived in Ashkelon, a target for Hamas rockets near Gaza. She had grown used to missile attacks, sirens, and running for shelter. But October 7 was different.

“This time it was like a horror movie,” she recalls. “So many children, so many people were killed for nothing. Ashkelon is like a war zone now. There is a smell of burning everywhere—the smell of war.” Where could she and her children go to feel safe again?

Fortunately, caring friends like you made a way for Lina and her children to stay in Eilat, a peaceful area away from the attacks. Through CBN Israel, donors are providing temporary shelter for families and offering therapy to help them process the terrible trauma they’ve experienced. They are also supplying them with hot meals and basic necessities. As Lina shares, “We fled from our houses with practically nothing, and we are left without work or income.”

She added, “You gave me a complete hygiene kit—toothbrush, deodorant, and everything we needed.” Donors also enabled her to purchase clothes and toys for her kids. She said, “I couldn’t bring toys at all—I didn’t think of that. What you’re doing really helps a lot. Thank you!”

In addition to rushing relief aid to these terror victims, your gifts to CBN Israel can also deliver ongoing assistance across the country to elderly Holocaust survivors, single mothers, immigrants, and those struggling to survive.

The war has devastated thousands of lives across the Holy Land. Your support to CBN Israel can rush emergency relief to those escaping battle zones, while offering groceries, housing, financial aid, and more to others in need.

Please join us in providing a lifeline to those who need our help!

GIVE TODAY

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Aiding Israel’s Elderly War Victims

Posted on December 6, 2023

The terror and fear of war can be felt across Israel—especially among vulnerable seniors.

For instance, one Tel Aviv apartment complex is filled with elderly refugees, Holocaust survivors, and those who can’t survive on their own. With constant volleys of missiles targeting their city daily from Gaza, they risk death if they venture out, even to shop for groceries.

Danielle Moore, from the Christian Friends of the Jewish Agency, asked, “If you are a person in your 80s or 90s—very frail—how are you going to manage when there is a siren, and you’re outside? How are you going to reach a place of safety?”

That’s why, thanks to friends like you, CBN Israel has partnered with the Jewish Agency and others to provide huge food boxes and water—ensuring that residents can remain in the building, right near bomb shelters. “We want to keep them safe,” Moore stated.

And CBN Israel’s National Director Dan Carlson wants them to feel cared for, to know they aren’t alone. He says Israelis rarely feel safe with enemies surrounding them—and October 7th only made it worse, noting, “It’s like the nation is in trauma right now—the whole nation.”

Moore adds, “When you think about the elderly, many of them Holocaust survivors, and all the traumas and hardships they went through… Now they face siren after siren, understanding that their life is at risk, and it’s unbearable.” But generous donors are there with food, water, and basic necessities—along with smiles and hugs—and giving them the encouragement they need. One grateful resident, Helen, said, “It’s very helpful. I’m about to cry from excitement!”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can also evacuate war victims to hotels far away from the attacks, and offer them meals, essentials, clothing, toys, and trauma counseling. And you can reach out to others in need in many other ways.

Please join us in blessing Israel at this historic moment!

GIVE TODAY

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Biblical Israel: Gilead

Posted on December 5, 2023

Gilead was the center of Israelite population in Transjordan (east of the Jordan River). The tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh remained east of the Jordan River and did not settle in the lands west of the Jordan.

Within the Bible, the isolation of these tribes from the tribes west of the Jordan is felt within the stories. They found themselves often threatened from desert marauders and rival kingdoms east of the Jordan. The story of the judge, Jephthah, who delivered Israel from the Ammonites, took place in Gilead (Judges 11:29-33). Saul’s first victory, the deliverance of Jabesh-Gilead, also occurred in Gilead (1 Samuel 11:1-11).

Gilead also served as a land of refuge and asylum for Israelites from west of the Jordan River; for example, when David had to leave Jerusalem because of the rebellion led by his son Absalom, he fled to Mahanaim, which is in Gilead (2 Samuel 17:21-22). So too, the remaining family of Saul and his supporters fled to Gilead after Saul’s death on Mount Gilboa (2 Samuel 2:8).

The land of Gilead is a mountainous area in the central Transjordan. The limestone hills reach altitudes of over 3000 feet in some areas. The Jabbok River (Genesis 32) divides Gilead into two sections. The tribal division of land among the tribes east of the Jordan River followed the contours of the land created by the Jabbok.

Its elevation allows it to receive excellent rainfall during the winter months and dew in the summer. The area also has a number of springs that provide water. This also meant that forests grew on the mountains of Gilead (Jeremiah 22:6; Zechariah 10:10). Grapes also grew well in Gilead.

The most important highway, which ran north-south, known as the King’s Highway ran through Gilead. This roadway went from the Gulf of Eilat to Damascus where it met the international coastal highway that connected Egypt with Mesopotamia. Gilead’s strategic location on this road brought wealth to the people that lived in Gilead.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

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Is There a War Crimes Tribunal in Jerusalem’s Future?

Posted on November 30, 2023

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

On December 15, 1961, a court in Jerusalem, Israel, sentenced Nazi SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann to death for crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and war crimes. Presiding Judge Moshe Landau articulated that Eichmann’s goal was “to obliterate an entire people from the face of the world.”

Eichmann organized and oversaw “The Final Solution” by dispatching trains from all over Europe to Auschwitz and other death camps. Each train held 1,000 people. Judge Landau observed, “It is as though he committed a thousand acts of premeditated murder each time.”

Hamas’s barbaric murders on October 7, 2023, are codified in their 1988 charter that in part “rejects any alternative to full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.” It further directs: “The day of judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them.”

The Hamas charter imitates the Nazi’s Final Solution described by Judge Landau to “obliterate an entire people [Jews] from the world.” Hamas’s 1,000-plus premeditated murders in one day—inside the Jewish homeland—made it the bloodiest day since the Holocaust. Hamas stays fanatically committed to reaching its future goals. Like Nazis, they burned victims. Like Nazis, they raped victims. Like Nazis, they desecrated bodies.

Since the Holocaust, world organizations have codified laws that address these evils. Within the International Criminal Court, the 1949 Geneva Convention’s Article 8 clearly defines war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross prominently include the same definitions in their documents.

As you read this partial list, apply it to Hamas. Willful killing. Rape. Torture. Inhumane treatment. Extensive destruction of property. Hostage taking and more. These crimes against humanity shock the consciences among people of goodwill.

Hours after Hamas’s barbaric assaults and murders on October 7, 2023, news quickly circulated around the globe prompting reactions of shock and compassion for 1,400 murdered Israelis and those from other countries. Nevertheless, only a few days later, shock faded into new Nazi shouts of “Kill the Jews” in a pandemic marked by another kind of virus, a pandemic of Jew hatred.

Worldwide, masses of violent demonstrators occupied cities while small rogue groups vented their Jew hatred by attacking Jews in schools and on the streets of many countries, including the United States. Once again mainstream media are accomplices and purveyors of Hamas’s propaganda by giving immediate credence to their made-up reports against Israel, as if the Jewish state were the perpetrator.

Although some news outlets occasionally backtrack from dishonest reporting, by then the Jew haters are already consuming and spreading the lies as described in Isaiah 5:20 NIV: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” 

Surely, “woe” is called for in a legal tribunal for justice against Hamas. Isaiah 1:17 expresses tragedies among hostages, their families, and all Israelis. “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” 

Meanwhile, top leaders of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, live luxuriously in Qatar. They operate in exile while Palestinians serve as their pawns to carry out terror directives backed by Iran’s Islamic regime. Oil-rich Qatar is a small Persian Gulf peninsula next to Saudi Arabia, ruled by a monarchy led by Sheikh Amir Tanim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar has over two million citizens and runs on a combined legal system of civil and Islamic law. Haniyeh and Mashal live lavishly in five-star hotels, fly in private planes, and manage their billion-dollar bank accounts. After the Hamas murders, they prostrated themselves in thankfulness to Allah in their fancy office.

A Times of Israel article reported that Hamas leaders made their fortunes partly in a 20 percent tax on all goods that passed through tunnels from Egypt into Gaza since 2014. Al Majalla, a Saudi weekly, published a comment the same year from a Palestinian Authority official saying that tunnel-smuggling had turned 1,700 senior Hamas members into millionaires. Almost a decade later, the combination of wealth and hatred are a deadly motivation for Hamas leaders.

Meanwhile, Hamas mainstreams hate into children’s minds though schoolbooks and specializes in brainwashing children in summer camps. The students wear uniforms, shoot guns, and learn terror tactics. Adele Raemer, a survivor of Kibbutz Nirim, is an Israeli educator. Sometimes volunteering in educational initiatives with Palestinian teachers, she saw some of their books. “These children are taught hate in their textbooks,” she explained. “They’re taught, ‘If you have six Jews and you kill four of them, how many Jews do you have left?’”

Pause and consider for a moment: According to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report on Gaza, in 2020 a full 60 percent of Gazans lived below the poverty line. In 2022 “almost 63% of households faced moderate food insecurity.” The UNDP estimates that these figures will skyrocket since Hamas terrorists instigated war.

This begs the question of Hamas’s war crimes against Palestinians, too. In 2005, Israel turned Gaza over to Palestinians by forcing its 8,000 Jewish citizens out of Gaza in a difficult and heartbreaking decision that deprived those Israelis of everything. Israel’s ill-founded hope was that Palestinians would develop their own peaceful state.

Instead, Hamas developed Gaza into the largest, most sophisticated terror headquarters in the world, situated purposely under Al Shifa Hospital. They regularly stash weapons and explosives in apartments, schools, hospitals, and mosques knowing that Israel does not intentionally target civilians. Part of the Hamas strategy is to use women and children as human shields. That is a war crime. 

NO JEW HAS LIVED IN GAZA FOR 15 YEARS. ISRAEL DOES NOT OCCUPY GAZA. GAZA IS OCCUPIED BY HAMAS AND FUNDED BY IRAN’S ISLAMIC REGIME.

The precedent for holding a war crimes tribunal in Israel was established in 1961, when a Jerusalem court issued a death sentence for the unrepentant SS Lieut. Col. Adolph Eichmann. At midnight—bridging May 31 and June 1, 1962—the Nazi was hanged at the Ramle fortress prison outside Tel Aviv, whereupon Jewish authorities cremated his remains and scattered the ashes in the Mediterranean Sea beyond Israeli boundary waters. 

Now is the time to plan arrests. The IDF is searching for Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the October 7 atrocities. Sinwar and the top Hamas leaders in Qatar must be transported to an Israeli prison where Israel can initiate a war crimes tribunal to be conducted in their capital.

After World War II, it took years of searching but the Israeli Security Service (Mossad) found Eichmann in Argentina after he escaped in 1946 from U.S. custody. They brought him to Israel to stand trial.

Locating the top Hamas perpetrators is a job that Mossad would welcome.

Please join our CBN Israel team to pray with us, meditating on Proverbs 24:24-25: “Whoever says to the guilty, ‘You are innocent,’ will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.”

Prayer Points:

  • Pray for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his security cabinet, and all IDF leaders to make wise decisions.
  • Pray for families and friends suffering the loss of brave IDF soldiers, as well as all civilians who were murdered or are still captives.
  • Pray for the Druze community, a small Israeli minority that valiantly serves in the IDF. They have suffered the loss of six soldiers thus far. 
  • Pray for mainstream media to report honestly with unbiased, proven facts.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

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Victims of Terrorism: Carey Lee’s Story

Posted on November 29, 2023

The sudden attack by Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis—and the trauma experienced by thousands of families and children is almost unimaginable. Hardest hit were those living along the Israel-Gaza border, where homes and entire neighborhoods are in ruins. Children have seen gruesome deaths and horrific sights they can’t even grasp yet.

Carey Lee, who runs a non-profit group, is now a victim herself. She shared, “With the amount of destruction and inhumane deeds done, no one in this community has been unscathed.”

But through CBN Israel, friends like you have provided a much-needed refuge for her and other terror victims—by transporting and paying for them to stay in safe shelter, far from the border.

In addition to lodging, caring donors are giving them hot meals and basic necessities, including toys and games for the little ones. They are also providing therapy for adults and children, plus counseling parents about ways to help their kids process the trauma they’ve endured.

Your support to CBN Israel can let these hurting people know they are not alone. As a long-time CBN Israel local partner, Carey Lee affirms, “CBN is an incredible organization that is not just with us the day before the war, or the day after. They’ve been with us on a long journey.”

And your gifts can make you a vital part of that journey. While you are sending immediate relief to the frontlines, you can also extend aid to Holocaust survivors, single mothers, refugees, and others in need.

As war rages in the Holy Land, your support can bring food, shelter, financial assistance, and more to those who are surviving week to week.

Please join us in standing with Israel at this crucial time!

GIVE TODAY

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After the Biggest Pro-Israel Rally in US History, Here’s How to Help Hostages

Posted on November 23, 2023

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

On November 14, my husband of 47 years and I flew to Washington, D.C., excited to stand with Israel at the March for Israel rally on the National Mall. We are Evangelicals who joined with upwards of 300,000 Jews there. We traveled with a Christian organization called Passages, which on short notice recruited 700 Christian college students. Since its founding in 2016, Passages has hosted more than 11,000 students to Israel with a focus on developing educated, pro-Israel leaders for the future.

Passages converged at the Museum of the Bible, where we received excellent briefings, some of them from my good friend, Passages CEO Scott Phillips. Afterward, walking five blocks to the National Mall, we enjoyed the musical renditions of popular Jewish performers Ishay Ribo, Omer Adam, Matisyahu, and The Maccabeats.

Besides Passages’ student contingent, Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), was part of the massive, unified crowd. Penny remarked, “Along with other Christians, I was honored to be here with our Jewish brothers and sisters who need our support.” On her first trip to Israel, Penny and other Christian leaders had visited Kfar Aza, a group I helped host on behalf of the American Israel Education Foundation. In the hours we spent at this beautiful kibbutz close to the Gaza border, we marveled at their delight living in their homeland—despite years of frequent rocket barrages from Hamas. We felt deeply touched by the love for their land. When Penny returned from Israel, she added support for Israel to CWA’s core issues which include the family, sanctity of human life, religious liberty, education, sexual exploitation, national sovereignty, and support for Israel.

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s USA branch also mobilized its members and joined in with 300,000 enthusiastic shouts of “Am Yisrael Chai”—Hebrew for “the people of Israel live,” which is an affirmation of the Jewish continuity throughout the millennia.

Throughout the afternoon, Jews and Christians together rang out in one voice for the one Jewish nation in the world!

The word “exhilarating” does not fully describe what we experienced at the largest pro-Israel gathering in American history! Members of Congress—Christian and Jewish, Democrat and Republican—stood together on the stage, among them recently elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Reverberating over the National Mall were comments from rabbis and university students, as well as heartbreaking stories from hostage family members who participated in the programming. Pastor John Hagee voiced his longtime support for Israel. Everyone gathered in peace, listening to speakers who brought us to tears and others who resounded with hope and commitment to stand with our ally, Israel. No violence, no hatred, no destruction of buildings or monuments. The obvious atmosphere of peace and friendliness among Jews and Christians showed a stark contrast to the opposite atmospheres of violent, crazed, and uninformed demonstrators who glorify the barbaric deaths that Hamas committed on October 7 against 1,200 people—mostly civilians.

Passages CEO Scott Phillips’s description of his experiences reflects mine. “We were met with countless hugs, high fives, gratitude and even tears, truly a humbling experience to stand at ‘such a time as this’ with our Jewish friends.”

As I have been advocating for Israel for almost 25 years, my personal blessings came due to the Passages T-shirt I wore emblazoned with “Christians Stand With Israel.” My best moments unfolded when many within the Jewish community walked up to me with big smiles and warm thanks. I replied to everyone who expressed their thanks, “You are not alone.” I felt that my longtime calling to advocate for Israel was affirmed with their smiles and gratitude!

The Israel Rally was timely. The pressures on Israel are intensifying at breakneck speed. An outpouring of compassion from Jews, Christians, and others is evident. However, deepening our prayers and practical help for the long haul is essential.

We Evangelicals must also suit up to pass along facts to oppose Hamas’s propaganda. Find your facts from trusted sources like CBN News. Be aware that the world media rush to report whatever Hamas announces—forgetting or not caring for facts—and that terrorists are not only addicted to hate and murderous, unholy barbarism. They are expert liars and not to be trusted under any circumstances.

In his newsletter, Mission Brief, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, IDF spokesperson to the international media, regularly gives operational updates. While Israel-haters lash out with lies and slander against the IDF, on November 21 Hecht included these illuminating words from Commanding Officer of the 36th Division, Brigadier General Dado Bar Kalifa: “During the last days of the fighting of the 36th Division in Zaytun, we constantly encountered an enemy hiding behind children, women and civilian infrastructure. The soldiers of the division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, the 188th Brigade and the Bislamach Brigade, operated in a complex war zone in an urban area, exposed terrorists who were hiding in civilian areas and eliminated many terrorists.”

Hecht must also report statistics that no Israeli wants to hear. Since Israel is such a small country, it is probable that every Israeli—whether Jewish, Ethiopian, Bedouin, Christian, or Israeli Arab—knows someone serving in the IDF and often those who have sacrificed their lives fighting an existential war. Lt. Col Hecht reported on Sunday November 19 that 59 soldiers have been killed in action since the IDF entered Gaza and a total of 383 have fallen since Hamas’s attacks.

Until ALL hostages are released, Hamas must free Jewish civilians, Jewish soldiers, and others from more than two dozen countries. They include Argentinians, Germans, Americans, French and Russians. You can immediately take a valuable action by clicking this link. It is a petition addressed to the United Nations, International Red Cross, Heads of State and G7 Governments, and Heads of State in every country which has hostages kidnapped into Gaza. The brainchild of Israeli Jonathan Feldstein, President of Gen123 Foundation, the petition FREE THE HOSTAGES NOW has already garnered multi-thousands of signers worldwide in less than 10 days. I have been working alongside my friend Jonathan since he envisioned the idea, but time is running short! Sign, then forward to your churches and everyone you know.

Fifteen seconds of your time to sign and a few minutes to forward and/or put on your social media makes you an instant Christian champion for the hostages and their families.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to pray with us this week, remembering at our Thanksgiving celebrations that our faith was birthed in Israel. Romans 11:17-18 NIV reminds us: “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches.” 

Prayer Points

  • Pray for safety for the IDF in the network of 300 tunnels.
  • Pray thanking God for lifesaving miracles that are unfolding among the soldiers.
  • Pray for families and friends of hostages in Israel and abroad.
  • Pray that Christians will sign and share FREE THE HOSTAGES NOW.
  • Pray that media grow suspicious of any Hamas “facts” and then report fairly.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

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Victims of Terrorism: Isaac and Maria’s Story

Posted on November 22, 2023

Isaac and Maria moved to Israel from Latin America a year ago. They settled in Ashdod, so their sick daughter Lilietta could live a peaceful life. That peace came to a halt on October 7.

They were asleep that morning when Maria heard a distant siren, saying, “I thought I was imagining it. But when we heard the next siren, we checked the news, and realized we were under a terrorist attack.” Isaac added, “I grabbed Lilietta and ran into the safe room. We heard people screaming.” Their little girl became very agitated as sirens went off for the next 12 hours.

The couple was devastated. Israel had become home for them, and they loved the land and the people. They had felt safe. But now, they were huddled in a bomb shelter for many sleepless days, scared of terrorists who were entering people’s homes to kill them. Concerned for their daughter’s health, they were afraid to leave the shelter to go to the hospital.

That’s why we are so thankful that friends like you came to their rescue through CBN Israel. Caring donors relocated this family, and many others, to a temporary shelter in a secure area. They welcomed them with hot meals, hygiene kits, clothing, toys, and trauma therapy—even for the children. Maria said gratefully, “It gave us great peace of mind…our daughter was safe and cared for. Thank you!”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can speed emergency aid to terror victims, while also bringing crucial help to single moms, Holocaust survivors, and refugees in need.

And your support is vital, especially as the war escalates. You can supply food, housing, finances, and even bomb shelters to vulnerable Israelis.

Please let us hear from you today!

GIVE TODAY

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Never Forget: Compassion from Christians in the Face of Genocidal Evil

Posted on November 16, 2023

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

For our Israeli friends who are suffering a genocidal catastrophe in their land, it is easy to become overwhelmed, stricken with grief and shock. That goes for the Jewish people worldwide. Christian advocates are quickly coming alongside Israel to help. Our motives are heartfelt and matched with deep compassion for the terror victims, hostages, and displaced families.

During a recent phone call with my friend Pastor Victor Styrsky, former national educational director of Christians United for Israel, he commented, “I feel as if I have been sitting shiva for weeks and it will go on indefinitely.” “Sitting shiva” is the term for the Jewish seven days of mourning for the dead. It usually begins right after a funeral. Non-Jewish friends are welcome to make their condolences in person. I embraced my friend’s description, which represents my feelings, that Israel’s Christian friends are sitting shiva in our hearts. While no comparison exists for the depth of anguish that Jews are undergoing, we are creating outreaches in every way imaginable to embody our grief through compassion amid the evil that has befallen Israel.

The examples I mention here are big and small, yet do not begin to quantify the kindnesses overflowing from people of goodwill worldwide. Nevertheless, it is my hope that everyone who reads my column this week will reach out to any Jewish friends, to a nearby synagogue, or contact a Christian organization like CBN Israel to send a card or a donation for humanitarian aid. Our message to Jewish friends everywhere is simple, “You are not alone.” This thought comes from Jesus’ earthly sojourn as described in Isaiah 53:3—“He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief.”

The Jerusalem Post’s Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman reported on November 9 about 15 Christian cowboys from Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Montana. These Americans landed at Ben Gurion airport looking as if they’d stepped right out of a Western movie. Their photo went viral. Several had left their own farms and families to help. They traveled to Judea and Samaria and set to work at HaYovel, a Christian organization to help Israeli farmers. Calling it Operation Itai (a Hebrew boy’s name meaning, “the Lord is with me”), HaYovel is raising $29 million for security supplies to be distributed throughout the biblical heartland. Thus far, more than $2 million has been raised.

A similar fundraising operation, Civil Squad Israel (CSI), is focused on tactical equipment for northern Israel and the Gaza “envelope” (populated areas within four miles of the Gaza Strip). Their goal is to equip civil security squads on kibbutzim with much-needed equipment. On October 7, some of these squads were the first (or only) source of defending their civilians against terrorists for many hours. The CSI team has set up a network of suppliers in the EU and U.S. Then, by CSI’s partnering with El Al and their security team, the tactical equipment will quickly go to Israel. The gear includes knife-proof/bulletproof vests, medic backpacks, night vision binoculars, handguns, M16s, and encrypted radio communications.

Civil Squad Israel has adopted a fitting Bible verse from Nehemiah 4:15-17:

“When God ended the plans of our enemies, we returned to rebuild what had been destroyed. Those who carried on the work were equipped in such a way, that each labored with a trowel in one hand, and a weapon with the other.”

From cowboys to firefighters, CBS news reported that Miami Beach sent 13 firefighters to Israel for two weeks to help shore up this beleaguered nation’s fire departments—since Israel’s firefighters have all been deployed.

Other expressions of compassion have emerged in creative and symbolic ways.

A heartfelt message from Arab-Israeli journalist Yoseph Haddad lashed out against Hamas while he was standing in front of Jerusalem’s City Hall. The families of hostages and volunteers had set up a display of 239 empty beds and cribs of all sizes. CBN Israel’s Julie Stahl described it as a “mute cry of anguish.”

On a beach in Durban, South Africa, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies at the Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre spread out 242 red beach towels with a hostage poster. Atop 32 towels are 32 buckets and spades poignantly symbolizing the children who have been missing since October 7. A group of Christian pastors who walked the beach stopped at each blanket to express their sympathy and solidarity, linking arms and praying. Alana Pugh-Jones Baranov, the Centre’s social and political justice liaison, pleaded to God that He let this “be our last event” after the group had installed red balloons along Nelson Mandela Bridge and lit up the Israeli flag in Johannesburg. She noted the positive responses from South Africans.

By October 20, i24NEWS, the Tel Aviv-based television news channel, reported that more than 50 countries have followed the example of setting up a Shabbat dinner table with 203 empty seats (the number of hostages at the time). In 50 countries, participants symbolically observe a global Shabbat ceremony each Friday.

At Prayer House DC in Washington, Reverend Eve Nunez leads robust prayers in their headquarters and throughout the District on location at the White House, Supreme Court Building, and other landmarks. She set Prayer House DC’s Shabbat table in honor of the hostages and leaves it beautifully set each week. Her foundation, Help 4 Kidz, is also raising money that provides meals for an IDF unit to be delivered each week by her friend, an Israeli rabbi.

Compassion from Christians is more important than ever. Israel is demonized as it conducts its just war against genocidal evil. While the world mostly turns away in denial or hate, one of the most significant truths articulated comes from Dr. Qanta A. Ahmed, a world-renowned British forensic scientist, commentator, and author. In her Wall Street Journal article about her 10-day visit to Israel beginning October 19, Dr. Ahmed observed, “This was not an emotional frenzy of killing like the pogroms of the 1880s. It was methodically planned.”

Dr. Ahmed is a human rights observer whom Israel’s Foreign Affairs ministry invited. Working at the Israeli morgues alongside other scientists, she “examined bodies and ashes, incinerated teeth and bones” and described “toddlers, teens, and adults young and old, many of them bound, tortured, and burned alive.”

Calling out Hamas’s war crimes, Dr. Ahmed noted, “The monster is easy to recognize. This isn’t the first time I have seen Islamist jihadism.”

One word continually came to her mind: “Genocide.”

About her time in Israel, Dr. Ahmed declared, “As an observant Muslim I felt a duty to come and bear witness. What I saw will remain with me forever.” In one of her frequent interviews, she challenged: “I want to hear Muslim leaders condemn Hamas.”

In closing, let us recall the words of Jewish writer Franz Kafka (1883–1924), one of the 20th century’s most famous novelists: “Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will come back in another way.”

For all the beloved family, friends, and homes that Israel and the worldwide Jewish community have lost, I pray that the massive acts of Christian compassion will somehow ease the suffering—with love returned to them in a different way.

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team in prayer at this heartbreaking time, where we also count on hope! 

Prayer Points:

  • Pray that Christians will rise in massive numbers to speak up for Israel and rush emergency aid to terror victims and displaced families.
  • Pray for the scientists and experts who are in the morgues still trying to determine the identity of the bodies.
  • Pray for the Christian community to continue their prayers for Israel and her people—especially the hostages still being held in Gaza and the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks.
  • Pray for the families of hostages who are suffering from anxiety, trauma, and sleepless nights as they await the outcome.
  • Pray for Israelis to maintain patience in supporting the IDF to implement their strategies in what will likely be a long war.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

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