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How Palestinian Leaders Use Hate—and Their Own Children—Against Israel

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.

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Tisha B’Av: Destruction of the Temple

By Julie Stahl

“And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire” (2 Kings 25:8-9 NKJV).

Tisha B’Av (“the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av”), is considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples as well as other disasters that have befallen the Jewish people throughout the millennia.

Although the day is based in part on biblical events, it is a Rabbinic fast day that marks the end of a three-week mourning period.

Rabbis say that both the First Temple built by King Solomon and the Second Temple built after the return from the Babylonian exile and expanded by King Herod the Great were destroyed on Tisha B’Av.

Jewish people also remember other tragedies that happened to them during this time, such as the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism in general.

For instance, the Expulsion Order from England in 1290 was issued on Tisha B’Av; and the Alhambra Decree or Edict of Expulsion from Spain was issued on March 31, 1492 and gave the Jews until July 31 of that year to leave—that was Tisha B’Av.

More recently, in 2005, many Israelis took note when Israel’s uprooting of 9,000 Jewish Israelis from 21 Gush Katif Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank (Samaria) were uprooted in what was called the Disengagement. It was considered by political leaders at the time to be a unilateral “peace” move. Ironically, it occurred just at the end of Tisha B’Av.

Rabbi Welton told a story about the significance of Tisha B’Av throughout history revealed in a legend about French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. While traveling through a small Jewish town in Europe, he rode by a synagogue and heard terrible cries coming from within.

“Peering through the window, he saw an incredible sight: hundreds of men and women weeping. They were sitting on the floor on small stools holding candles while reading from books. The synagogue had an elaborate chandelier but only a few candles were lit. If not for the small candle lights, the magnificent synagogue would have been in complete darkness. It was a gloomy and sad sight to behold,” writes Rabbi Welton.

“Napoleon asked his advisers what misfortune had happened there. His top adviser responded that nothing new and terrible had happened, but that the Jewish people had a tradition to gather once a year on a day they called the ninth day of Av, the day marking the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Twice they built a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem and both were destroyed. After their second Temple was destroyed, the people were scattered all over the world and sold as slaves and somehow the Jewish people still exist without their Temple. In order to commemorate these sad events, they gathered once a year in synagogue. There they fasted, prayed, and read sad prophetic writings concerning the destruction of their Temple and land.”

“The adviser concluded, ‘Mon Roi (“my King”), what we see in this town is happening today in Jewish communities around the world.’

“Napoleon then asked, ‘And how many years ago was this Temple destroyed?’

“The advisor answered, ‘Over two thousand years ago.’

“His eyes widening in surprise, Napoleon exclaimed, ‘A nation that cries and fasts for over two thousand years for their land and Temple will surely be rewarded with their Temple,’” Welton concluded.

Today, Tisha B’Av is still considered a day of mourning, fasting, and prayer. The book of Lamentations is read in the synagogues. In Jerusalem, thousands of people often walk around the Old City Walls in a group at night.

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN—first as a graduate student in Journalism at Regent University; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. She is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning show, Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news program providing a biblical and prophetic perspective to what is happening in Israel and the Middle East.

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Weekly Q&A: Why was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls significant?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are arguably the most significant archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. Why? What is their significance? To understand the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we need to discuss their discovery and what comprises them.

Sometime in 1946 a young Bedouin boy discovered scrolls and pieces of scrolls in a cave along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, near to an ancient ruin known as Khirbet Qumran. This began a search for scrolls within caves along the Dead Sea between Bedouin and scholars.

Manuscripts were discovered at places along the Dead Sea, Wadi Muraba’at, Nahal Hever, Masada, and Jericho, but the most concentrated discovery of scroll manuscripts came from eleven caves around the site of Khirbet Qumran. These eleven caves yielded approximately 30,000 fragments of manuscripts, which, when assembled, represent about 1,000 scrolls. These scrolls were written on animal skin, papyrus, and one even on copper. The majority were composed in Hebrew, some in Aramaic, and a few in Greek.

The Qumran scrolls date from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D. They represent the library of the community which lived at the site of Qumran. Most scholars identify this settlement as belonging to a Jewish group known from Josephus and other ancient writers known as the Essenes. The scrolls represent the library of this community; some were brought to the community and others were copied there.

The library divides into three groups:

  1. Biblical texts: This refers to the Jewish Scriptures known to Christians as the Old Testament. Every book of the Old Testament was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, except for Esther. Scholars have recently suggested they identified a fragment of Esther, which, if true, means every book of the Old Testament was discovered among the Qumran library.
  1. Jewish non-sectarian literature: Fragments of Jewish works written outside of the Bible yet known within other contexts were discovered in the Qumran scrolls. Books like Tobit, Ben Sira, 1 Enoch, and Jubilees were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. These works were preserved in translations into other languages, like Greek, Latin, and Ethiopic, but the Hebrew and Aramaic originals no longer existed. The Qumran scrolls provided Hebrew and Aramaic copies of these works. So too, other Jewish works not previously known, but not belonging to the Jewish sect that lived at Qumran were discovered among the scrolls. These provide important windows into ancient Judaism, its thoughts, beliefs, interpretations of the Bible, and practices.
  1. Sectarian scrolls: The settlement of Essenes lived at Qumran. This group produced their own literature which reflects their sectarian beliefs, theology, and expectations. These scrolls also provide an important window into the spiritual world of ancient Judaism.

These scrolls offer a treasure trove of information about ancient Judaism, the differences of interpretation, ideas, beliefs, practices, and expectations of redemption and the end. They offer a contemporary library to the world of the New Testament and what developed into rabbinic Judaism.

No book of the New Testament was found among the Dead Sea scrolls. So too, no character within the New Testament appears within the Dead Sea Scrolls. The amount of information the Dead Sea Scrolls provide to our knowledge and understanding of the world which birthed Christianity and rabbinic Judaism makes them one of the most significant discoveries ever.

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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U.S. Congress Pushes Back Against Biden’s Dangerous Iran Strategies

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

He’s not usually known for truthfulness, but in June Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei tweeted an honest, straightforward statement about what he considers the golden key for his homicidal proxies in Israel. “The continually growing authority of resistance groups in the West Bank is the key to bringing the Zionist enemy to its knees, and this of course must be continued.” 

That’s a statement we should take seriously. Also in June, a more than two-billion-dollar work-around by President Biden came to light. It amounts to a windfall for Khamenei to bolster Iran-backed terror in Jenin, a lawless Palestinian city located in Israel’s biblical heartland. Reuters reported on June 10 that in secret, Biden worked to unfreeze an economic sanction and authorized the transfer of $2.7 billion to Iran via Iraq, which owes Iran for electricity and gas imports, in order to secure the freedom of American prisoners held by Iran.

Although the Islamic regime’s Khamenei possesses his terror key, our U.S. Congress uses its powerful key of legislation to unlock doors of opposition to the world’s biggest terror-sponsoring nation. For decades, both Democrats and Republicans have implemented successful legislation that has benefitted both the U.S. and Israel. Current and past members of Congress are sounding the alarm. Among them is former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who is now the chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran. He remains a champion of Israel’s safety. 

Lieberman wrote a blistering article on July 10 that called Biden’s Iran policy “a dangerous folly.” He urged Congress to intervene, describing Biden’s reckless diplomacy as “trying to bargain with a poisonous snake” and stating it “will not end well.” Lieberman referenced a 2015 piece of legislation giving Congress the authority to stop senseless agreements with Iran. 

He highlighted passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which a big bipartisan majority in Congress voted in support of—400 in the House of Representatives and 98 senators. The simple explanation is that a president—within five days after reaching an agreement with Iran about its nuclear program—must submit a series of reports to Congress for review by leaders and lawmakers on the key committees. Congress then has power to prevent the president from suspending existing statutory sanctions against Iran. Clearly, Biden has already violated INARA by unfreezing a sanction, which then allowed the recent Iraqi payment to Iran. 

Lieberman explains that part of the Biden work-around is to call any Iran outreach an “understanding,” not an “agreement.” Apparently, Biden thinks this gives him an out. However, INARA is written to cover any language, whether an understanding or an agreement. Mr. Lieberman commends House Republican Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul for sending Biden and his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, public letters warning them to comply with INARA and requiring Biden negotiators to answer questions in a congressional hearing.

However, Biden’s Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, is being investigated for mishandling classified information. Malley’s security clearance is presently suspended, and he is on unpaid leave. He was disastrously deceived—along with former Secretary of State John Kerry—into thinking that Iran is trustworthy amid the Obama/Biden negotiations for the 2015 Iran deal. Biden then chose to keep Malley on board to pursue yet another deal using the same failed viewpoints and strategies. 

In addition to Mike McCaul’s letter, 26 Senators—14 Republicans, 11 Democrats, and one Independent—sent a letter to Biden. The bipartisan group is urging the president to drop any useless agreements that reward Iran and focus instead on robust deterrence of the terror-promoting Islamic regime. 

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is busy working with the U.S. Congress in a Summer Policy Blitz. It includes legislation to pressure the Islamic regime with sanctions on Iran’s oil sales to China and its drone and missile shipments to Russia. The blitz also focuses on passing legislation that could directly threaten the U.S. Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. The expiration date for the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 2231 missile restrictions) expires in October 2023. Eventually, ICBMs could reach the U.S. homeland. Christians who care about U.S. and Israel’s safety can make a difference by contacting AIPAC, which makes it quick and easy to email your members of Congress with an Action Alert for these two vital laws to protect United States and Israel, our spiritual homeland.

Since 2021, Biden’s zeal for another Iran deal has already wasted energies in various meetings held in Vienna, Oman, and other locations. The European Union brokered some talks on behalf of the U.S. since Iran refused to meet directly with Americans. The perceived weak leadership on the part of the U.S. only further emboldens the Islamic regime’s Ayatollahs. Iran donates $100 million yearly to Jenin’s terror enclaves in Gaza and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). 

Israel’s military was forced to act after it was determined that Iran’s terrorists were murdering a rising number of Israeli civilians. Unless and until the Biden administration realizes that Iran routinely lies, its members may not listen to the U.S. Congress, which is ultimately in charge of approving or denying spending. The history of U.S. negotiations with the Islamic regime is proof enough that Iran’s governing body is unreliable. Isaiah 5:20-21 is a fitting description for those who do not recognize evil. “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! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

In closing, I quote a perspective by former Senator Lieberman: “The brave [Iranian] protesters are not chanting for a nuclear deal with the United States. They are calling for the end of the Islamic Republic. The freedom fighters in Iran are America’s allies.” Amen, Mr. Lieberman!

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us for this week’s prayers for Israel and the U.S., applying this psalm to congressional leaders working together to advocate for Israel. Psalm 133:1 reminds us, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

Prayer Points: 

  • Pray with thanks for the U.S. Congress’s laws that benefit the U.S.-Israel relationship. 
  • Pray that the Biden administration will heed congressional warnings about Iran.
  • Pray that the U.S. Congress remains a staunch ally of Israel, the land God calls His. 
  • Pray with thanks for leaders like Joe Lieberman who remain wise and committed. 

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

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Empowering Special Needs Individuals in Israel

For disabled adults in Israel, finding the right living situation can be challenging. The desire to live independently and safely can collide with needing unique accommodations. 

But friends like you are empowering them through CBN Israel, as we partner with the non-profit organization, Shalva National Center. As one of the largest and most advanced centers of its kind, Shalva is dedicated to providing quality care to special needs individuals and their families.

This partnership lets disabled Israelis balance independent living with guided supervision—and in a newly furnished apartment. During the day, residents work at Shalva, and then come home to their CBN Israel-sponsored apartment. They share housekeeping chores with the staff members overseeing them. It’s given them and their families a new future.

The residents enjoy the freedom of apartment living. Gila says, “It’s fun to live here. My heart is connected to the apartment.” Tahala adds, “In the flat, I live with friends—I feel happy!” Donors are offering Israelis with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy a safe, meaningful community.

This is just one of the ways your gift to CBN Israel can bring hope and encouragement to those needing assistance. You can also bring help to single mothers, victims of terrorism, new immigrant families, aging Holocaust survivors, and many more. What a blessing for those in crisis to know that someone cares!

Between global inflation and the influx or people coming to Israel to escape war and poverty, the needs are escalating. Your support can supply food, housing, financial aid, and essentials to those who are hurting. 

Please join us in reaching out to others!

GIVE TODAY

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Weekly Q&A: Why has the land of Israel been fought over for centuries?

The land of Israel belongs to the Levant, also called Syro-Palestine. This region consists of the modern countries of Lebanon, Syria, the Kingdom of Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. It forms the strategic land bridge connecting the continents of Asia and Africa. It sat at the crossroads of the ancient world, between the imperial powers of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the barren desert to the east, the Levant contained the major land routes connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia, with the most important road running from Egypt, via the coastal plain of Israel, turning northeast through the lowlands of the Carmel towards Damascus, and then on to Mesopotamia. Its location made it strategic for travel, commerce and trade, and communication.

Thus, whoever controlled the land of Israel, controlled travel, trade, and communication. The imperial superpowers of the day often fought between each other in the Levant. In periods of imperial decline, local kingdoms fought to control the strategic crossroads. Even marauders from the deserts to the east sought to attack and control the well-watered lands of the Levant. Climate and geography impacted the regional instability of the land of Israel.

Periods of peace were few, short, and far between. Personal and national existence could never be taken for granted, and here God called Abraham and his descendants to live in faithfulness to Him. This geopolitical insecurity of the region served as “God’s testing ground of faith” and the stage upon which the redemptive drama played out, where sinner and saint struggled against internal upheaval and external threat.

Because of its strategic location at the crossroads of the ancient world, the land of Israel never existed in isolation. The imperial powers which marched through the land brought their cultural, religious, political, and military systems with them. The children of Israel faced the challenge of obedience too God and His exclusive claim upon them in this setting. They were confronted with the question of God’s power versus the nations around them.

The incursion of these elements into the land led some to fight against them, others to isolate themselves seeking to remain pure, others to insulate themselves, and some even to assimilate. However, in the midst of this geographical, cultural, and religious crossroads, God revealed Himself to the children of Israel and the world.

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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Mainstream Media Misrepresents IDF Operation: Another Example of Anti-Israel Propaganda

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

True to form, much of mainstream media downplayed the IDF’s outstanding accomplishment in its recent Operation Home and Garden in the terrorist stronghold of Jenin. During this 48-hour operation in Israel’s biblical heartland, no Palestinian Arab civilians were killed—only terrorists. In a crowded urban setting where terrorist cowards habitually hide behind civilians, IDF’s success is close to a miracle. 

However, it also reflects one of the guiding principles of Israel’s military: to avoid civilian casualties at all costs. 

If this is the first time you have heard that truth, you will doubtless agree that the mainstream media has once again reported its own version of Middle East warfare: anti-Israel propaganda. The intense level of decades-long media bias against the Jewish state has built skyscrapers of shop-worn lies repeatedly used instead of reliable research. In fact, to hear much of the mainstream media describe this operation, it was the Israeli Defense Forces who attacked innocent civilians.

Israel’s latest operation to root out terrorists was launched six months after 25 Israeli civilians were murdered there. The Palestinian city, Jenin, is now an Iran-bankrolled terror base. Among their discoveries, IDF soldiers found basement tunnels in mosques packed with sophisticated weapons. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht expressed another of Israel’s exemplary principles, declaring, “Places of worship should never be used as a front for terrorist activity.”

One of the most glaring examples of slander occurred on July 4, when a BBC news anchor interviewed former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. She made this contemptible accusation: “Israeli forces are happy to kill children.” The BBC, considered the top tier of journalism for western media, was forced into a lackluster apology. Her seven words, like so many other lies, could have lingered in a stack of daily fictional accusations against the IDF and Israel. Thankfully, the BBC’s apology—which admitted “the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate”—was reported by other mainstream media outlets.

The good news is that not all media outlets are so quick to demonstrate bias against Israel. Instead, we are hearing voices of reason—admitting the Jenin raid was a counter-terrorism response on the part of beleaguered Israel, acknowledging how Palestinian terrorists routinely hide behind civilians and utilize tunnels to target Israeli civilians and soldiers, and that many Palestinians are now blaming the PA for its role.

Here are some excellent examples of what responsible journalism looks like:

A Newsweek contributor, writing about how close Jenin is to Jerusalem, said: “Israel’s surgical strike was totally justified. … Americans would never abide terrorist mega-centers in New Haven, Connecticut, 70 miles from New York, or in Richmond, Virginia, 90 miles from Washington, D.C.

From Reuters: “The Jenin camp has long been a hotbed of militants with an array of light weapons and a growing arsenal of explosive devices.”

An article in The Washington Post included this powerful promise by Netanyahu: “If Jenin will return to terrorism, then we will return to Jenin!”

Propaganda is one of many weapons Israel is fighting. Tragically, Israel-haters and most media outlets may not necessarily realize or even care that they are reenacting Hitler’s strategies. Revisiting Nazi era history is an informative and important backdrop when you are consuming most media. By definition, propaganda is “information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, or nation.” Before and since Israel’s modern establishment in 1948, Germany’s Joseph Goebbels was prominent in Hitler’s detailed propaganda plan. In the early 1930s, Goebbels made sure poisonous lies began crawling into German society little by little until the devastation of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, burst into global awareness.

Historian and Holocaust survivor Professor Zvi Bacharach describes Kristallnacht, which took place when he was 10 years old. He describes some of the final grim results of November 9–10, 1933. “Ninety-one Jews were murdered, more than 1,400 synagogues across Austria and Germany were torched, and Jewish-owned shops and businesses were plundered and destroyed.” Professor Bacharach also explained that Nazis arrested 30,000 Jews and then sent them to concentration camps. The one-night rampage, book burnings, yellow stars, arrests in the thousands, and prolific media propaganda surged into the public domain with a vengeance. 

During Hitler and Goebbels’ rollout, many German citizens were star-struck by glamorous parties, massive rallies, and cultural events under Hitler’s hypnotic hold. Some prominent churches welcomed Nazis and hung Nazi flags in their sanctuaries—naively misunderstanding, denying, or choosing cowardice amid the lurking evil. Apathy embedded itself in the church with too few brave “Righteous Gentiles,” while the Third Reich regime’s industrialized scale of murder took place in concentration camps.

Goebbels, “Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany,” earned another title after coming under Hitler’s demonic spell. The 5-foot, 5-inch Nazi was nicknamed the “Poison Dwarf.” His evil brilliance to take over Germany’s newspapers, radio, magazines, and films also incorporated media control of conquered countries. Today, we live in a world regulated by a leftist media complicit in lies and slander that trap the United Nations, social media, International Criminal Court, governments and some mainline churches that blame Israel for “oppressing Palestinians.” Goebbels’ strategies alert us now to inform ourselves then act to spread truth and facts.

Goebbels mimicked Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, which propagated the “big lie.” He described his lies as “so colossal” that no one would even credit as true the “impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” For success,  propaganda must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Compare Hitler’s strategies to the outrageous dishonesty/distortion and repetition of anti-Israel propaganda today.

In 1942, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services commissioned psychoanalyst Walter C. Langer to develop a secret psychological analysis of Hitler. That information, now declassified, appears in Langer’s 1972 book, The Mind of Adolph Hitler. In it, he reveals: “His [Hitler’s] primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong.” 

Honest and accurate news must include context. In the 48-hour IDF operation, 12 Palestinian terrorists were killed. Even the Gaza terror group Hamas bragged that the 12 Palestinians were all terrorists. Yet, in the midst of unrelenting terror threats and attacks, thousands of Palestinians are able to go to work in Israel from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. The truth is that Israelis want peace above all, whereas Palestinian leaders and Iran-backed terrorists thrive on hate, not peace. When terrorists use cars, sophisticated weapons, and knives in unabated violence against Jewish civilians, the IDF must defend their citizens and homeland.

How are we in the pro-Israel evangelical community to respond? Follow fact-based media such as CBN Israel, Honest Reporting, and Palestinian Media Watch. Join others who pass on important facts. Write congratulatory letters to the editor when they get coverage of Israel right, to encourage responsible journalism. 

Refusing to imitate the German church’s apathy, we must set aside the ineffective tools of anger and emotion. Instead, we must grasp the facts, then pass them on through social media, email, letters to Congress, and other means of spreading the truth. Our small actions, banded together, will honor God and His Son born into the Jewish lineage in the land God calls His own. 

Please join CBN Israel this week to pray for the IDF and Israel, pondering Psalm 59:1-2: “Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.”

Prayer Points:

  • Pray for Christians to stay educated and join up as truth-tellers about Israel.
  • Pray for all branches of the IDF that must remain alert to terror 24/7. 
  • Pray with thanks for media broadcasting facts and good news about Israel.
  • Pray for PM Netanyahu and his coalition for wise decisions about security.

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

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Victim of Terrorism: Malka’s Story

Years ago, a Jewish couple narrowly escaped the Holocaust, and eventually moved to Israel. They thought the worst was behind them. Over 70 years after the war, Malka and Michael faced more danger, when their home in Israel was targeted in a rocket attack. 

Malka remembers, “When I heard the blast, I thought the world ended, and saw my husband covered in blood. Shrapnel pierced his ear. He has Parkinson’s disease, and I couldn’t move him to safety. It was so horrible.” As more than 4.000 rockets rained down from Gaza, medical personnel eventually reached and treated Michael. But their nightmare continued. 

Their apartment building had massive structural damage, so the government declared it unlivable. They evacuated and had to rent an apartment. After saving up for years to pay off their home, Malka says, “Now we are using what little money we have to pay for this rental apartment, while the government decides what to do with our old building. It’s heartbreaking.” 

In desperation, they turned to CBN Israel. Thankfully, friends like you brought them groceries, and have paid their rent as they wait to hear from the government. Michael says, “After all the hardships, it’s great to see that someone cares.” Malka added, “We knew you were Christians—I had never received help like this. Without it, we wouldn’t have made it. We are so thankful!” 

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bring aid and comfort to other terror victims—along with single mothers, lonely immigrants, frail Holocaust survivors, and more. 

In the face of rocket attacks, poverty, and those fleeing war, your support can supply food, shelter, financial help, and job training to those in need. 

Please help us share God’s love with those who are hurting!

GIVE TODAY

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Weekly Q&A: What caused the anti-Judaism in the Greek and Roman worlds?

Jews stood out in the Greek and Roman worlds. In a world where uniqueness was appreciated only to a point, Jewish differences became a source of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence. Jews stood out because of their faith. Their belief in one God, theirs, and their unique relationship to Him as His chosen people meant they lived differently. They did not accept many of the practices and beliefs which went along with Greek and Roman religion, which penetrated every aspect of the lives of Greeks and Romans. Had the Jews been willing to identify their God as Zeus, no one would have had a problem. But they couldn’t.

Prior to the second century B.C., however, Greek writers spoke about Jews and Judaism in positive terms. This shifted in the second century with the successful Jewish revolt against the Greek Seleucids. This led to the establishment of an independent Jewish State under a family of priest-kings known as the Hasmoneans. Judaism came to see part of God’s will for His people was their freedom in the land He promised to their fathers. This added a dimension of religious nationalism to Judaism. Jews began to define themselves against idolatrous non-Jews and sought to eradicate all non-Jewish idolatry from the land of Israel. From this point on, Greek and Roman authors began to criticize Jews and Judaism.

The anti-Judaism of Greek and Roman writers focused on four primary Jewish beliefs and behaviors:

  1. Jewish monotheism and the Jewish God – The Jewish declaration of only one God, Israel’s God, struck Greeks and Romans as offensive. As polytheists, they would worship gods of other peoples, as long as other gods were recognized. Judaism would not do this. Therefore, Greeks and Romans accused the Jews of atheism and impiety. Greeks and Romans found the invisibility of the Jewish God equally strange. Every Greco-Roman temple had a statue of the god or goddess within it. The Temple in Jerusalem had no statue of its God.
  2. Circumcision – God gave Abraham the covenant of male circumcision as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17). Greeks and Romans believed a man’s created form was the ideal. To them, circumcision was mutilation.
  3. Sabbaths – Greeks and Romans saw the Jewish practice of taking a day off during the week as laziness and idleness; thus, they criticized the Jews for observing the Sabbath.
  4. Diet – The eating of pork was common throughout the Greco-Roman world. Most non-Jews did not distinguish among foods in their diet. The Jews did.

The Jewish revolts (A.D. 66-136) exacerbated anti-Judaism within the Roman world. The revolts brought about the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, as well as anti-Jewish legislation within the Roman world. These fermented anti-Jewish feelings among non-Jews, which also impacted the non-Jewish followers of Jesus.

When we look for the beginnings of Christian anti-Judaism, they lay in the Greco-Roman world. Christian anti-Judaism developed its own peculiarities. But the anti-Judaism of the Greco-Roman world certainly influenced its development.

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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Zachor Legal Institute: A Light in the Law

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Amid the mountain of Jew hatred metastasizing into a global cancer, it is indeed encouraging to recognize lawful efforts to do what is right as reflected in Proverbs 28:4: “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” 

Advocacy in the halls of justice is vital when it comes to exposing the many forms of anti-Semitism. The Zachor Legal Institute is a legal think tank, battling forces that are against Israel as a nation and Jews as a people. Zachor is a Hebrew term meaning to remember—to remember not just the covenants between God and His chosen people but also historical events such as the Holocaust, and the rhetoric and acts that led to it. Zachor Legal Institute (ZLI) therefore rests on the brilliance of learning past lessons to infuse courage and strength in defending the Jewish people today. Producing legal, scholarly research for all organizations under a Zionist umbrella is part of ZLI’s widely respected activism. 

Americans might be surprised to learn where anti-Semitism is lurking in our country among businesses, universities, and government sectors. Zachor, however, is not surprised. This 501(c)(3) non-profit, which was founded in 2015, uses well-established legal principles—such as anti-terrorism and anti-racketeering laws. They litigate to expose wrongdoing, so that financial and criminal penalties might be imposed on anti-Israel movements in the United States. 

The discriminatory Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is one of ZLI’s main targets. BDS, in simple terms, is economic warfare against Israel. It has three goals: to boycott Israeli goods, institutions, and companies; divest from outside manufacturers of Israeli military equipment; and sanction Israel wherever possible. BDS is an engine of hate against Israel. Founded in 2005 with 146 Palestinian organization signatories, it promotes numerous lies—including accusations that Israel is an apartheid state. The BDS slogan embodies their destructive theme against the ancestral Jewish homeland, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

As a side note: BDS is not new. Nazis officially implemented violent boycotts of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933, with the slogan, “Germans defend yourselves. Do not buy from Jews.” Ninety years later, will June 25, 2023, become a date similar to April 1, 1933? A reporter revealed that, on this date, the Biden administration revived an Obama administration boycott against scientific and technological cooperation with Jews living in Judea and Samaria. Former President Trump reversed the Obama/Biden decision and approved the cooperation. President Biden reenacted it in secret. Biden’s present-day action is an example of a government gone wrong. 

Zachor’s founder and president, attorney Marc Greendorfer, and its COO, Ron Machol, have dedicated their extensive skills and shared goals to making sure BDS does not advance in the U.S. and Israel. Their 2023 Midyear Report with research, activism, publications, and new projects is outstanding.

An AP report last summer described the Jewish community in Massachusetts as being “on edge” after an anonymously produced (and perhaps Palestine-based) website was launched. Named The Mapping Project, this interactive site lists a number of companies that it accuses of “complicity in a range of ‘harms,’ from ethnic cleansing to colonialism, ‘surveillance’ and Zionism.”

Zachor recently released two reports about the Boston Mapping Project, which ZLI researched in Al Jazeera media. In the first report, Zachor describes Al Jazeera as “Qatar’s foreign intervention masked as an American news outlet.” The Boston Mapping Project may sound innocent, but details indicate otherwise. In Marc Greendorfer’s briefing to Congressional staff about the Mapping Project, he revealed that the anonymous website maps 505 locations—including Jewish targets—in Massachusetts. Zachor’s first report rightly denounced the inclusion of Jewish institutions, synagogues, and connections to Israel.

However, Zachor’s second report, endorsed by 17 other American NGOs, adds that two-thirds of the 505 targets show the exact locations of 271 police stations and nine U.S. military bases, along with Homeland Security, FBI, and Secret Service offices. The Mapping Project combines dangerous security challenges to all locations, pinpointed on one map. Evidence is emerging that Iran’s state-owned PressTV praised the project and suggested that it should expand to other states. In an ominous remark, The Mapping Project site warns, “Every entity has an address, every network can be disrupted.”

Marc Greendorfer remarked, “There is no logical explanation for why the map was published other than to serve as a kill list for extremists to use when targeting United States’ national security infrastructure and prominent Jews in America.” He asserts, with good reason, “This has all the hallmarks of Iranian terror.”

Thirty-six states already have anti-BDS laws on the books, along with excellent bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Congress. Zachor Legal Institute has added a resource to its website to track companies violating state and federal laws and to send no-cost reports to states. 

In its research, Zachor unearthed the fact that Palestinian Arab terror organizations were using U.S.-based charities to raise money. In early 2023, they then launched a campaign to inform credit card companies about one of the main perpetrators, an Arizona charity called Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ). More than 100 left-wing and Soros-backed organizations rely on AFGJ. Success was achieved when almost every credit card company denied access to AFGJ. Zachor staff is dedicated to pursuing other non-profits funneling large, tax-deductible donations to terrorists. 

Finally, ZLI is already addressing the roll-out of anti-Semitic K-12 ethnic studies in California. They contain brazen Marxist ideas and deny the Jews’ right to their homeland. The curriculum defies state and federal laws, as well as the U.S. Constitution. COO Ron Machol, who made Aliyah to Israel 30 years ago from California, reveals his serious concerns. “Critical Race Theory ethnic studies are beginning in California and throughout the country in K-12 schools,” he said. “We are pushing back aggressively.” If you or family live in California, Machol welcomes your examples of “discriminatory materials from children or grandchildren’s schools by emailing info@zachorlegal.org.” He also expressed his appreciation for “loving support we receive from international religious communities.” 

An excellent law review article, “History of Arab Colonization of Historic Jewish Lands,” is the foundation for their legal actions. Marc Greendorfer observes, “A review of history and Marxist terminology shows that if there are settler-colonialists in the Middle East, it is those who refer to themselves as Palestinian Arab Muslims, not Israeli Jews.”

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team this week to pray for the sanctity of laws, focusing on Psalm 19:7-9: “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.” 

Prayer Points:

  • Pray with thanks for the commitment of Zachor to stop terror funding.
  • Pray for Zachor’s increased success and cooperative networks. 
  • Pray for trustworthy firms in the U.S. and Israel to uncover hidden lawbreakers against Israel and the Jewish people.
  • Pray for other excellent law firms like Shurat HaDin in Israel and the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). 

Scripture is taken from the English Standard Version.

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

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