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By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is one of Israel’s most important visitor destinations. Walking through the museum is a near-indescribable revelation, one that is displayed in heart-wrenching detail. Some might say “heart wrenching” because it is a walk-through hell—a hell that might be hard for non-Jews to fathom. Yet a visit to this place is fundamental to helping us understand the emotional DNA of the Jewish people. Millennia of Jew hatred manifested itself unspeakably in the Holocaust (Shoah)—and intensified Jews’ determination to live life to the fullest while guarding their ancestral homeland.

I visited Yad Vashem on nine separate occasions during the years I served as Southeast Regional Christian Outreach Director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). AIPAC strengthens the mutually beneficial U.S.-Israel relationship with Congress on a bipartisan basis. Yad Vashem always appeared on AIPAC’s American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) Educational Seminar itinerary. At the end of each guided tour, I gathered our Christian leaders to walk a few steps over to the railing that looks out over the beautiful Jerusalem Forest. The serenity of this lovely view and the fresh air helped them deal with the shock of what they had seen, their voices silent, some with tears falling, as they attempted to process what they had just heard and seen. 

Gently drawing them into a circle, I quietly mentioned the familiar watch phrase “Never Again,” which they could now deeply understand. I encouraged them to adopt this profound declaration into their prayers and actions. One of the pastors offered a prayer that I had privately requested earlier. Each person felt free to speak their hearts or pray. In the nine different Christian leadership groups I staffed, I also invited our Jewish tour guide to join the circle. Afterward, the guides expressed to me their heartfelt reactions to the Christians’ comments.

I prepared my groups as best I could for their next steps, which led to the nearby Children’s Memorial. They entered the space in silence, feeling for the railing as they walked along in a deep darkness lit only by simulated candlelight. With each step, a recorded voice read out names of 1,500 Jewish children whom the Nazis murdered. Their names echo in our memories, never to be forgotten.

Part of a Yad Vashem visit includes strolling along the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations (Hassidei Umot Haolam) honoring the courage, selflessness, and extraordinary risks of Gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Located on 45 acres of forest and groves in the Jerusalem hills, Yad Vashem was dedicated on Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 1, 1962. Foreign Minister Golda Meir (who later served as Israel’s Prime Minister) spoke on that occasion. She poignantly described the non-Jews as “drops of love in an ocean of poison.” Among the now more than 28,000 Righteous Gentiles are three Christians I especially want to mention: Corrie ten Boom of the Netherlands, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, and the only American soldier recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in World War II, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds. 

Walking through Yad Vashem, I concluded early on that shock is a necessary wake-up call for Christians. At the least, an acquaintance with Holocaust history in a two- or three-hour tour of Yad Vashem is ample motivation to commit to proactive support for Jewish citizens both in Israel and worldwide—especially amid Jew hatred that is intensifying once again.

 Visiting Yad Vashem or learning about it online has enormous value; it is an essential resource for evangelicals to advocate for Israel. The Yad Vashem Law was officially passed by the Knesset in 1953, which voted “to collect, examine, and publish testimony of the disaster and the heroism it called forth.” For the heart of Yad Vashem’s name, ‘a name and a memorial,’ is drawn from Isaiah 56:5: “And to them will I give in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name … that shall not be cut off.”

The Yad Vashem Law was preceded by a horrific dream in 1942. Mordechai Shenhavi, a Zionist, had made Aliyah to pre-state Israel from Odessa on January 2, 1919. Although news about the Nazi deportation of Jews to death camps was scant during World War II, what little he knew kept Mordechai awake at night. In August 1942 he had a nightmare that made him determined to remember the names of those murdered in the Holocaust. In frequent meetings with various groups, he explained his vision with detailed ideas.

Four years later, Shenhavi recounted his dream to Vaad ha-Leumi at the National Council. “Fearing that my feelings might be mistaken, I saw all those millions in a dream. I didn’t know then that it was six million. Those millions walked toward Zion with monuments on their shoulders. Can you imagine the length of that chain, the faces of those people, carrying the flame of life? … They chose one place for themselves, lay down the monuments, and placed them there in an orderly or disorderly manner. The monument to their lives, the monument of testimony, was established.”

Shenhavi’s goal, “Remembrance of Our Suffering for Building Our Future,” finally led to the Yad Vashem Law in 1953. He lived to see his dream come true when the cornerstone of the Yad Vashem building was laid in western Jerusalem on July 29, 1954. Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek honored Shenhavi as a Distinguished Citizen of Jerusalem. Shenhavi died in 1983 at his kibbutz, Mishmar ha-Emeq, at the age of 82. The new expanded museum that I often visited was dedicated on March 15, 2005.

Today, may we emulate the shining, brave examples of Mordechai Shenhavi’s persistence to envision Yad Vashem and the heroic stories of the righteous non-Jewish rescuers. Around one million people visit Yad Vashem annually, and millions more visit its website, www.YadVashem.org, with content available in eight languages in addition to Hebrew and English. With prayer and action, let us educate ourselves to stand up for the rights of the Jews in their ancient homeland and recognize the Jewishness of our Savior who has redeemed us with His sacrificial love. 

Please join CBN Israel this week in prayer: 

• Pray that Christian advocacy for Israel would grow and expand to new levels.  
• Pray for every Christian tour group to add Yad Vashem to its itinerary. 
• Pray for determined believers to spread facts about Israel through trusted news sources like CBN News and CBN Israel.
• Pray for Christians to deepen their education through valuable experiences and resources offered through Yad Vashem. 

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.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

A heat wave is hovering over many parts of the globe, and the words food insecurity are popping up like unwelcome weeds. Although we cannot control the weather, we can take sensible steps to protect the earth and help poor nations to survive. Israel pioneered survivor solutions even before God established its modern state in 1948. Jews began returning to their ancestral homeland in the 19th century—and when they stepped on the shores of their native land, they got underway with backbreaking work in the desolate, mostly arid region. The early Jewish pioneers faced daily battles with the adversaries of malaria, mosquitos, and minimal resources. 

Hanson Ely, a decorated World War I general, made a statement about military battles that also applies to Israel’s agricultural pioneering—and to all of life’s challenges: “Men must be trained that when they have been in battle for days and nights, when perhaps they have been badly handled by the enemy and have had heavy casualties, yet when the signal comes to go they will go again to the limit of their endurance. … It is the last five percent of the possible exertion that often wins the battle … not the first attack nor the second or the third, but it was that last straggling fourth attack. … Battles are won by remnants, remnants of units, remnants of material, remnants of morale, remnants of intellectual effort.” 

The Bible’s Old Testament frequently mentions the word and concepts of a remnant. Isaiah 37:31-32 predicted that, “Once more, a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” 

Against all odds, the early Jewish remnants of the Diaspora—the five percent, so to speak—resulted in Israel (despite its small size) creating outsized food and water innovations for its own population and providing food and water solutions worldwide. Today, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv rank an enviable fourth in the world for agriculture technology (AgTech) startups. 

The following examples show that Israel simultaneously makes its own land bloom and benefits other countries and businesses. Dganit Vered, CEO of Smart Agro Fund, explains that 350 Israeli ag-tech startups lead the world in precision irrigation, wastewater reuse, and seed breeding. The CEO’s name is fitting; dganit is a flower that grows near grain fields, and vered is a rose. 

CEO Vered cites PepsiCo, which uses N-Drip—an Israeli gravity-powered micro irrigation system in 60 countries to grow 25 different crops. Among other benefits, N-Drip improves the efficiency of water in PepsiCo’s seven million acres of farmland and gives jobs to more than 250,000 people in its agricultural supply chain. This applies both to farmers with one-acre plots and those with huge farms. 

Founded in 1965 and pioneered at Kibbutz Hatzerim, Netafim irrigation took hold across the world, with 5,000 employees in 110 countries. Its drip irrigation has been used in over 10 million hectares (nearly 25 million acres) of land. Before it was sold in 2017, Netafim had produced over 150 billion drippers. More than two million farmers benefitted across the globe, whether with potatoes in Italy, sugar cane in Mexico, tomatoes in Azerbaijan, melons in Vietnam, or corn in the United States. General estimates indicate that Israeli drip irrigation technology uses 70 percent less water and increases harvests by 150 percent over traditional irrigation methods.

Another innovation addresses the endangered bee population. Israeli beekeepers developed BeeHero, matching beekeeping with technology. Using year-round SmartHive sensors, it vastly improves pollination and thus naturally aids in the growth of trees and flowers. Estimates show that the SmartHives have pollinated more than six million trees and 90 billion flowers over 45,000 acres. As pollinators, bees are essential for the world’s food supply. 

Nuri Awel, an Ethiopian farmer, shares a superb story about Israel’s Fair Planet, a project that provides seeds, cutting-edge technology, and training to small farmers. The Ethiopian farmer at first hesitated to take advantage of the offered training, but after the seeds produced high-quality plants, the Israeli non-profit won a big fan! Nuri’s tomato crop doubled on his 1,000-square-meter plot (about a quarter of an acre). The increase and training enabled him to fix his home and send his son to college. He now buys his own seeds and has tripled the output of his crop. 

When pioneers first immigrated (made Aliyah) to pre-state Israel to farm the land, they populated it with agricultural communes (kibbutzim). Kibbutzim remain important today. Israel’s desert farmers have cultivated their land with peppers, flowers, olive trees, and more. Uri Yogev, at Kibbutz Revivim in the southern Negev, decided to use brackish water to grow olive trees, which usually grow in plentiful rain and rich soil. After five years, his olive grove is the biggest in Israel and the only one in the world that’s cultivated with salt water. It now yields 200 tons of olives annually. 

Israeli ingenuity is thriving in agricultural innovations both large and small. Their resourcefulness is proof of what Albert Einstein once said: “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” Israelis have used their “share” of 24/7 crisis and now lead the world in opportunities and innovation. It is my hope that Israel’s accusers and detractors will join the many communities and countries across the world that are grateful for Israeli agricultural and water innovations. 

Join our CBN Israel team this week by reflecting on Zephaniah 2:7 NIV, which affirms this fact: “That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The LORD their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.” 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray with thanks for the Israeli example of using a crisis to create something good.
• Pray for leaders to use wise, productive ways to manage God’s beautiful earth.
• Pray especially for the world’s poor, who suffer the most from lack of food.   
• Pray that helpful agricultural techniques might be managed with integrity. 

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.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

“I will make my body a bomb that will blast the flesh of Zionists. … I will tear their bodies into little pieces and cause them more pain than they will ever know.” 

–Palestinian Arab boy, age 11 

How did such deep hatred become lodged in the mind of a child—a boy whose goal in life is to become a suicide bomber? The answer is chilling: Starting at an early age, Palestinian Arab youth are intentionally filled with the lethal mindset of victimhood and glorified martyrdom. Although not every Palestinian subscribes to such a hateful mindset, the culture is overflowing with disturbing role models. 

Palestinian teachers assign students to write poetry that glorifies slaughter. Community leaders and parents use their children as political pawns. The goal is twofold: To encourage these young people to commit violence against Israel and all Jews. And to blame Israel for any Palestinian deaths, thus fomenting worldwide hatred toward the Jewish state. 

Global mainstream media sustains its biased outlook, which repeatedly ignores context and history and seems to ignore articles and documents that appear in Arabic. 

Nevertheless, other respected organizations help remedy this problem with facts. Founded in 1996, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is a non-profit Israeli institute that closely monitors Arab sources via a team of fluent Arabic translators, then researches and publishes the facts in English. Their research institute features in-depth exploration of the entire Palestinian culture.

For that reason, I am including several examples of PMW’s translations from Arabic sources. Reading the viewpoints of Palestinians themselves confirms how relentless hatred can influence thoughts, emotions, choices, and behaviors. The words and beliefs expressed are chilling:

A mother: “My son, we were not created for happiness. In my eyes, you are meant for Martyrdom! … Our weapon is our Islam, and our ammunition is our children. And you, O my son, are meant for Martyrdom.” Official Fatah Facebook page, November 22, 2019.

A boy: “For you, Yasser Arafat [1929–2004, former PLO chief], for you we shall die. … Our blood is food for the revolution.” Official PA TV, Jan. 6, 2017.

Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki: “Palestinian women are not like any other women in the world. … They view their children as insignificant compared to the homeland.” Abbas Zaki’s Facebook, April 29, 2021. (Note: Fatah is the political and military organization within the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA). It is led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.) 

Father of “Martyr” Muhammad Mar’i: “My son died as a Martyr, and Allah be praised that he died as a Martyr. I am proud of his Martyrdom-death.” Official PA TV, June 29, 2022.

Palestinian journalist Muhammad Al-Baz: “Today we [the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate committee] are sending a message that the top priority of the Palestinian journalist is loyalty to all the Martyrs, loyalty to our people’s just cause.” Official PA TV News, May 23, 2023. 

It is important to note that authoritarian Palestinian leadership often threatens journalists to follow its propaganda protocols. One Arab journalist bravely wrote, “What kind of independence is built on the blood of children while the leaders are safe and so are their children and grandchildren? Are only the miserable destined to die in the spring of their lives?” 

Finally, here’s an example from a girls’ high school in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). Schoolgirls held a ceremony of remembrance for Khairy Alqam, the 21-year-old Arab terrorist who on January 27 of this year murdered six Israelis and a Ukrainian national and injured five others. A Jerusalem resident, the terrorist shot the civilians as they exited their Ateret Avraham synagogue on Shabbat in Jerusalem. Alqam jumped in his car and raced away, shooting at Israeli police—who then made sure he had no other murderous opportunities. This senseless slaughter occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

On October 24, 2018, PMW founder Itamar Marcus wrote an op-ed titled, “The Worst Chapter in Palestinian Schoolbooks.” This chapter, which promotes terrorism by sending the message that murderous young Palestinian “heroes” are never forgotten, is read by fifth graders. Five years later, nothing has changed. Nothing, despite repeated requests from the EU and the U.S. to remove hate from Palestinian schoolbooks. 

In his op-ed, Marcus mentions the individual he considers one of the worst terrorists listed: a female mass murderer, PLO terrorist Dalal Mughrabi. In 1978 she led her squad in the Coastal Road Massacre, hijacking a bus filled with civilians—murdering 25 adults and 12 children. The PA Ministry of Education honored Mughrabi by naming five schools and sporting events after her. 

Marcus ends his op-ed with this heartbreaking reality for Palestinian children: “If it weren’t scary enough for the children to be told they must go out and kill, PA educators teach them that ‘heroes’ are willing to fearlessly die as martyrs.” The educators add that if students don’t enact this heroic behavior, they will be scorned as cowards. In the mind of a child, it translates thus: “If I am not willing to kill Israelis and be a martyr, then I am a coward.” Now the “martyrs” live on in school curriculums, summer camps for children, Palestinian universities, and streets named after them.

In the past four years, the European Union Parliament has passed resolutions against the incitement to terrorism that’s contained in Palestinian textbooks. The Times of Israel reported that for the first time—on May 11, 2023—the EU resolution directly linked PA textbooks and “attacks by young people” with funds for Palestinian terrorism. The EU demands removal of anti-Semitic content, indicating that the Palestinian Authority otherwise faces EU’s reduced support. As the EU is the Palestinian Authority’s largest donor, that got their attention.

Then, on May 12, 2023, the U.S. Congress reintroduced and passed a bipartisan bill requiring the U.S. Secretary of State to submit detailed annual reports regarding anti-Semitic content in Palestinian educational material. 

Previously, in 2018, the U.S. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act to prevent the Palestinian “pay for slay” payments to the families of terrorist “martyrs.” In March 2023, the Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act was expanded for the Treasury Department to stop foreign banks from servicing and promoting payments for acts of terrorism. Particular thanks to Republican House member Doug Lamborn and to Senator Tom Cotton, who introduced companion legislation in the Senate, followed by bipartisan support for this significant action to disable the evil Palestinian Pay for Slay policy.

In closing, slowly read a devastating message of child abuse from Hamas, an Iranian proxy. In Israel’s biblical heartland, Hamas has set up schools beginning at the preschool level. Posters appear in the hallways announcing, “The children of the kindergarten are the shaheeds [Arabic martyrs] of tomorrow.”

As Christians, we must guard our own hearts, even when we feel righteous anger about evil, as we read in Ephesians 4:31 NIV—“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Please join CBN Israel in prayer this week:

• Pray for Palestinian children who are abused though hatred.  
• Pray for Palestinian leaders to remove Jew hatred from their schoolbooks.
• Pray for Christians to reach out to Arab Christians who suffer under the PA rule.
• Pray for the United States, EU, and United Nations to reduce or remove funding from the PA if they do not remove hatred from their textbooks. 
• Pray for Palestinian Media Watch for their important work to save Palestinian children from their leaders. 

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.