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By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Undeterred by recent bloodshed, Christian lovers of Israel walk with wonder in Jesus’ footsteps. In those footsteps, they also enhance the Israeli economy as they patronize hotels, restaurants, public transportation, and souvenir shops—businesses large and small, benefitting both Jews and Arabs. 

Despite rising hostilities and violence within Israel between Jews and Palestinians, I am aware of at least four current Christian tour groups, led by pastor friends and others, who have slated visits on their 2023/24 calendars. These tourists represent a simultaneous escalation of Good News and support from evangelicals. 

To enhance their understanding of this region, in the last 15 years evangelicals have added the borders of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria to their itineraries. They step off tour buses eager to hear a briefing by an Israeli security expert—while standing in Israel overlooking Iran’s terror proxies only yards away. This area serves as an important location for gathering facts and sending up prayers. Having traveled to Israel upwards of 25 times now, I treasure each trip and always learn more about the world’s only Jewish nation. 

Biblical Judea and Samaria are called the “West Bank” by most media in referring to the Jordan River’s west bank. However, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob calls it His land in Leviticus 25:23: “The land is the Lord’s land, and it is His to assign and dispose of.” In Deuteronomy 32:43, God declares a special message for us non-Jews: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. … He will provide atonement for His land and His people.” Clearly, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not forget us. He grafted Gentiles onto the ancient olive tree, nourished by its Jewish roots through our Savior, a Jew, the only Son of God born into the earthly Jewish culture.

Indeed, for evangelicals God’s repeated words in Scripture are obviously what we hold in the highest esteem. Nevertheless, it is vital that we understand some facts on the ground to better articulate our advocacy for this Jewish country. 

Regarding Jews who live in Judea, Samaria, or the West Bank (what some call “Occupied Palestine”), let us explore the nomenclature of “settlers” and “citizens” through the lens of two heartbreaking murders that were carried out just days ago, on Sunday February 26. 

A traffic jam turned into a terrorist “opportunity” to murder two brothers—Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19—who lived in Har Bracha in Samaria. A Palestinian shot the brothers dead, scattering bullets into their car during the traffic jam on Highway 60 near the town of Huwara, home to 7,000 Arabs. Route 60 runs through Huwara to the turnoff to Har Bracha. The mainstream media are calling Har-Bracha a “settlement,” while referring to Huwara as a “town.” In modern terms, Har Bracha is 40 years old and situated on Mount Gerizim in Samaria (Shomron in Hebrew). It is a religious community with a population now exceeding 2,000, with some 350 Jewish families and growing. Herein lies part of my point.

In today’s Israel, to me the word “settlement” implies “poaching” and “temporary” with no connection to the 3,000-year-old Jewish homeland. I have visited many Israeli “settlements” that are towns of varying sizes. Businesses, schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and synagogues line the streets. If you live in a small U.S. town or in the suburbs of any American city, this kind of place is easy to visualize, where much of what you need for daily life is near your home. 

Mount Gerizim, where the town of Har Bracha is located, is mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:29. “When God your Lord brings you to the land which you are about to occupy, you must declare the blessing on Mount Gerizim.” Today, Har Bracha is known for its Torah-honoring lifestyle. It enjoys public and religious schools, businesses, community services, a library, pizza shop, clothing store, day-care centers, six kindergartens, and flourishing vineyards that create a successful winery. Har Bracha is blessed with about 1,000 children, ranging from newborns to 18-year-olds. But as of Monday, February 27, two of its native sons who served in the Israeli Defense Forces are buried on Mount Herzl, Israel’s national military cemetery. 

“There are no words to describe such a disaster. Instead of taking children to the [marriage] chuppah, we bury them.” The anguished words of Yagel and Hallel’s mother, Esti Yaniv, reflect the emotions of too many Israeli parents whose sons and daughters have died in military service. “We have a huge hole in our hearts. Nothing will ever fill this hole—not construction, not protests, nothing.”

On Israel’s Memorial Day in 2022 (Yom HaZikaron), 24,068 names were remembered, engraved on the hearts of all who loved them. Terror victims are also recognized—4,2016 in 2022. Sadly, more names will appear on Yom HaZikaron the evening of Monday, April 24, until the evening of Tuesday, April 25, 2023. 

In Israel’s Six-Day War (June 5–10, 1967), despite being beset by the combined might of Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian armies, Israel’s military miraculously reunited east Jerusalem with west Jerusalem. They won back Judea and Samaria, their ancient heartland, which Jordan had occupied along with east Jerusalem in the aftermath of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. 

Under Jordanian rule, they outlawed Jews from their holiest sites, the Temple Mount and Western Wall (Kotel). Isaiah 66:8 eloquently describes Israel’s modern-day victory: “Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day, or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.”

Upwards of 500,000 Jews now populate Judea and Samaria—approximately 5% of Israel’s Jewish population. According to a list of various towns in Judea/Samaria, 2019 shows Ariel with a population of 120,456 and Shiloh with 4,783. Simply looking at these numbers and names helps make my case for the rights of Israelis to live in their biblical heartland. After all, Shiloh was for 369 years the location of the Tabernacle containing the Ark of the Covenant prior to Solomon’s Temple, the First Temple built circa 990–931 B.C.E. 

Vested with a 3,000-year-old land deed, the Bible is the most popular document in world history. I contend that the so-called West Bank belongs to Jews as the rightful residents. Citizens of Israel, these people are productive, proud, and brave to live in their biblical heartland amid the opposition of the Palestinian Authority and most of the world. 

Israelis are not attempting to kick Palestinians out of towns and villages. They simply want peace. 

Settlers? Settlements? Let us delete those descriptions from our vocabulary and replace them with “citizens” and “Israel’s biblical heartland.” 

Please join CBN Israel this week in prayer for the nation and people of Israel:

• Pray for all Israeli families and friends who have lost loved ones in terrorist murders during January and February.
• Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is attempting to manage the multiple crises surrounding him. 
• Pray for the Israel Defense Forces who serve on the frontlines in Judea and Samaria to quell the violence. 
• Pray for media to report fairly and factually—not inflaming even more violence.

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, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently 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 Facebook.

Religious Jews recite the Shema twice daily, in the morning and in the evening. It receives its name from the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4—Hear (in Hebrew, Shema). The Shema consists of three portions from the Pentateuch—Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41. They are read in this order.

While Deuteronomy 6:4-9 commands the Israelites to speak of God’s commandments upon rising and lying down, as well as walking along the way and sitting in your homes, we do not have evidence of the practice of reciting the Shema in the period of the Old Testament. The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, mentions Jews reciting the Shema once or twice a day within their homes. Jewish tradition also mentions the priests in the Temple reciting the Shema as part of the daily offerings. With it, they recited the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 commanded the Israelites to “bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead.” Deuteronomy did not specify how exactly one did this, but by the first century, Jewish men wore tefillin on their forehead, between their eyes, in adherence to this command.

Archaeologists uncovered tefillin at the site of Qumran, on the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, where most of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These leather cases contained pieces of written parchment. The writings do not correspond to the biblical text required in later rabbinic tradition, but it does include Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Tefillin fragments were also discovered in Wadi Murabba’at from the second century A.D.

One of Jesus’ contemporaries claimed, whenever one recites the Shema, he accepts upon himself the kingdom of Heaven (the reign of God). Jesus identified the “Great Commandment” as Deuteronomy 6:5, which is part of the Shema. The Shema affirms God’s oneness and His kingship. By reciting it, it places the individual in submission to His rule and reign, an obedient servant.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 also commanded the Israelites to write these commands “upon their doorposts.” The word for “doorpost” in Hebrew is mezuzah. By the third century A.D., Jews interpreted this command by fixing boxes containing parchments inscribed with Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 upon the doorposts of their houses. Jewish homes to this day will have mezuzot on the doorposts of their homes, and religious Jewish men will don the tefillin on the hands and foreheads for certain times of prayer.

Jews inscribed jewelry with the Shema to serve as amulets and sources of protection. A silver armband from Egypt, dating from the mid-sixth to mid-seventh century A.D., bears the inscription of the Shema and Psalm 91:1—a verse used to protect Jews from evil.

The Shema provides the doxology of Judaism. It is central to Jewish faith and daily practice. Jewish worship and the home are centered on the Shema.

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

The United Nations, the United States, and the European Union are persistent in their pressure on Israel to make peace with Palestinian Arabs. However, the Palestinian leadership’s glaring cultural and policy differences make it impossible to talk peace.

Examples of this truth are easy to find. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas praises Latifa Abu Hmeid, the mother of six imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, calling her the Palestinians’ “pride and glory.” The PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, called Hmeid a “Palestinian national emblem” who “nursed her sons on the milk of heroism, honor and pure nationalism until they became unparalleled knights on the path of resistance.” Golda Meir, a former Israeli prime minister, once famously observed, “We will only have peace with [the Arabs] when they love their children more than they hate us.” Latifa Abu Hmeid clearly would not agree.

Some consider it too harsh a response when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroy the family homes of terrorists who have murdered Israelis. But in truth, the Israelis’ real goal is that this act will serve as a deterrent—to keep parents from raising their children to hate (and then murder) Jews. In Latifa Abu Hmeid’s case, her home was demolished and rebuilt repeatedly—due to the killing sprees of her six sons. 

Another policy that impels such Israeli measures is the deadly “pay to slay” strategy of Abbas, his Palestinian Authority, and Fatah leaders who attempt to pass off the policy’s monetary rewards as “social security.” The family of Khairy Alkam, the east Jerusalem Palestinian who murdered seven civilians on January 27, 2023, outside Jerusalem’s Ateret Avraham Synagogue, has already received part of their monthly stipend of $1,700 (in American dollars). The U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2017 to stop making such violent acts profitable for terrorists and their families. Known as the Taylor Force Act, this legislation is designed to restrict assistance to the PA until it verifies that it has stopped Pay to Slay. The law carries the name of Taylor Force, a U.S. Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who was murdered as a civilian in 2016 while vacationing in Israel. 

Former President Donald Trump signed the bill in 2018 and halted sending money to the Palestinian Authority. Since President Biden restarted that aid in 2021, he has sent half-a-billion dollars to the PA. The U.S. State Department has said that it is unable to offer firm proof that the PA is not using this financial aid for terrorist acts. In 2016, prior to the passage of the Taylor Force Act, The Jerusalem Post reported that Abbas and his Palestinian Authority awarded 35,000 families an astonishing $303 million—money that would have been much better used to provide decent jobs, food, and improved medical facilities for their population. 

Abbas has doubled down on his intent to keep “pay to slay” alive. The Jerusalem Post quotes him as saying, “We will not cut or prevent stipends to the families of the prisoners and martyrs, as some are trying to do.” He promised: “If we are left with one penny, we will spend it on the families of the prisoners and martyrs.”

In another revealing Palestinian custom, when a terrorist murders Israelis—whether men, women, or children—the streets in Palestinian territories within Judea and Samaria and in Gaza turn into celebrations. They give out candy treats to celebrate another dead Jew. So it was on January 27 of this year that Palestinians gleefully celebrated the murders of seven Israelis shot dead outside the Jerusalem synagogue. Not in a military conflict on the battleground, this was a distorted type of warfare carried out on a city street. 

Knives, pistols, and now cars are weapons. Such was the horror of February 10, 2023, where Alter Shlomo Lederman, a 20-year-old newlywed, was run over and died. Two young brothers, Asher Menahem Paley, 6, and Yaakov Yisrael Paley, 8, also died from this bus stop car ramming in Ramot, a northern Jerusalem neighborhood. 

Some Palestinian Authority policies extend into Palestinian schools, where students are brainwashed into hating Jews. An excellent memo published by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) includes a 2022 report that grammar lessons for children promote a grisly idea: to “sacrifice their blood to liberate Jerusalem” and take up the “hobby” of dying as a martyr. More IDF members are required now to quell escalating hatred and murders. Younger Palestinian killers are taking on martyrdom, like the 13-year-old who murdered Staff Sgt. Asil Suaed, 22, a border police officer, during a routine bus inspection. The AIPAC memo calls for renewed demands toward Mahmoud Abbas to stop his growing incitement, which also abuses his own population with hate.

A very different cultural viewpoint operates within Israeli society. Indeed, Israeli businesses offer a stark contrast to Palestinian leaders who glorify hatred. A case in point is Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria, which exemplifies coexistence as a shining example of respecting not only its Jewish citizens but its Palestinian neighbors, as well. In one of my visits to Israel in 2019 with international Christian media, I was delighted that Samaria was on our agenda. The Lipski Plastics company hosted us. It is one of 146 companies that employ many thousands of Palestinians. CEO Yehuda Cohen gave us a tour around the huge factory where plastic and sanitization products are made. Since 2007, the Lipski company has made a significant mark for peace in the biblical heartland. Cohen employs both Palestinians and Israelis in managerial or regular positions. He explains, “The atmosphere is of one big family.”

The factory pays a good Israeli salary, more than the Palestinian Authority jobs, and offers benefits—pension, recreation, vacations, etc.—to all employees. Walking around the factory, we experienced an atmosphere of cooperation and hard work. Cohen commented, “The people want to live in peace. It seems that working together also brings the hearts closer, regardless of ethnic or political identity. I believe that peace will be obtained not through boycotts, but through living together.” I learned that the working relationships sometimes blossom into shared vacations. 

Palestinians who choose not to come under the spell of Abbas’s terror policies wish to earn a good wage and provide their families with an excellent quality of life. They want to work side by side in Jewish-run businesses in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria. Barkan Industrial Park and numerous Jewish companies in other locations are committed to the business of peace. 

Nevertheless, since 2009 Palestinian Authority President Abbas has declared “a thousand times no” to the idea of direct negotiations with Israel. Instead, he remains dedicated to glorifying and paying terrorists and their families. The 87-year-old Abbas is a father and grandfather, yet the state media and the education policies of this bloodthirsty leader are brainwashing children into becoming future terrorists. Any negotiators with Abbas, whether the UN, U.S. or Europe, would do well to recall this quote by Andrei Sakharov, Soviet nuclear physicist and human rights activist: “A country which does not respect the rights of its own citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors.”

Join CBN Israel in prayer this week for Israel and the Palestinian community:

• Pray for the world’s only Jewish state for safety amid increasing tensions inside their homeland. 
• Pray for the Palestinian community suffering hardships from a dictatorship that retains dangerous policies for both Arabs and Jews. 
• Pray for new leadership in the Palestinian Authority to emerge after Abbas to remove the rampant corruption.
• Pray that world leaders will shift pressures onto Mahmoud Abbas for change. 
• Pray for the Biden administration to make decisions that do not promote terror.

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, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently 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 Facebook.

The Israeli communities neighboring Hamas-ruled Gaza have endured years of rocket and terror attacks from across the border. From there, terrorists have fired rockets and missiles for years, and their range, arsenal and accuracy are only intensifying. 

Israel’s government does everything it can to offer security and protection for all of its citizens. Yet in a number of places along the Israel-Gaza border, it has been difficult to keep up with the demand for outdoor bomb shelters. 

Imagine picking up your children or grandchildren from elementary school and suddenly hearing a red alert siren—giving you less than 10-15 seconds to find shelter from an incoming rocket. That’s the nightmarish reality for thousands of people who live in close proximity to Israel’s dangerous border with Gaza. 

But through CBN Israel, compassionate friends like you have helped make it possible install dozens of brand-new outdoor emergency bomb shelters for communities in strategic locations that will help save lives. 

“I feel so blessed and honored to witness such wonderful human kindness in times like these,” says Daniel, the head of security for one kibbutz near the border. “This community is so important to me, and the bomb shelter you donated is giving our people more peace of mind than you know. I am so thankful for your generous heart!” 

And your generous gift today can help many other terror victims, lonely refugees, and families in need—providing encouragement and generous aid. Thank you for caring! 

At this crucial time in the Holy Land, your support can be a lifeline to those who are in crisis. You can bring groceries, financial help, safe housing, job training, and more—while sharing vital news and stories from Jerusalem. 

Please help us reach out and make a difference! 

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Kosher can refer to food, places where food is prepared, scrolls, tefillin, and mezzuzot. It refers to an object’s acceptability accorded to Jewish law. When most people use the term “kosher,” they refer to food. Kosher food refers to specific types of animals which meet the criteria of Jewish dietary laws.

God forbade certain animals to the Israelites in the Torah. Those who chew their cud and have cloven hooves are permitted. Pigs, camels, fish without scales, hares, and shellfish are forbidden (see Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:1-21). The development of Jewish Oral Torah increased the manner and nature of the rules applying to dietary regulations. One needs to understand there are levels of kosher dietary laws.

Certain animals are strictly forbidden, like pigs. But kosher has come to apply to the way permitted animals are slaughtered. God told Noah and his descendants not to eat meat with blood in it. Therefore, kosher slaughtering of meat requires the blood to be drained. For meat to be considered truly kosher, it must be slaughtered according to Jewish law. Kosher wine must be prepared in a certain way, and under the supervision of a rabbi.

During the Roman period, most non-Jews worshipped idols, which included offering some of the food to the idol. The Sages typically forbade Jews from eating food prepared by non-Jews to avoid the possibility of consuming food offered to an idol. For this reason, religious Jews will not drink wine from a bottle not opened in front of them at a non-Jew’s residence.

Within the rabbinic period, the biblical prohibition of boiling a kid (a young goat) in its mother’s milk became the basis for the dietary separation of meat and dairy in kosher consumption. Thus, one does not mix meat and dairy with a meal. Kosher restaurants will either serve meat or dairy or have part of the restaurant designated as dairy and the other as meat. Orthodox Jewish homes will often have separate plates and sinks designated for meat and dairy. Some food, like fish, have the status as “pareve” meaning “neutral.” They can go either with meat or dairy.

Different Jewish people adhere to different levels of kosher dietary restrictions. Some avoid the foods forbidden in the Torah and do not mix meat and dairy. Others adhere to a stricter form of kosher requiring their meat to have been butchered according to Jewish law, with no blemishes or tearing. They require the food prepared in a kosher kitchen and the wine to be made under the supervision of a rabbi.

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

A massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake—impacting more than 13 million people over hundreds of miles—is already a catastrophe. However, the combination of violence and longstanding Middle East conflicts (on top of freezing temperatures) produce dangers of another kind: human fault lines in the battle between good and evil. 

Goodness in the shape of humanitarian relief is already on the ground in Turkey and Syria, as a reported 100 nations have sent aid, with rescuers estimated at 7,000 skilled personnel. As of this writing, the death toll from thousands of buildings collapsing into tons of rubble has topped 41,000 victims. The United Nations estimates the death toll could climb to 50,000.

The goodness evident in Turkey is hindered within Syria by the connections of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has been stationed in Syria for years to attack Israel. For years, Iran’s leaders have already been sending numerous flights to Damascus with weapons. Now, aid from Tehran is in the hands of the IRGC and Assad where a disturbing report from Behold Israel suggests that IRGC plans were already in place in Aleppo—in one of the earthquake provinces—where the IRGC is stealing aid provided by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and others. At the cost of more Syrian lives, they want their military to further entrench itself to increase their control in northwest Syria near the Turkish border. This report shows, once again, the dangers of the Islamic regime and its cohorts of evil. In Syria, control is taking the place of compassion! 

Syria desperately needs miracles of many kinds, although in Turkey the miracles are not massive in scale. Yet, every time a survivor is pulled out of mountainous rubble, cheers from teams and bystanders bring moments of hope amid the horror. In one example in Turkey, a 10-year-old girl was rescued after being trapped under rubble for 147 hours. Across the border—in a western province in Syria—the Syria Civil Defense, known as White Helmets, rescued four children and their parents. The White Helmets are a team of 3,000 volunteer first responders, easily identifiable at disaster sites by their trademark white headgear. 

Israel sent an outsized delegation from their small country. The Israel Defense Forces skillfully and quickly responded, naming their mission Operation Olive Branches. Turkey is a NATO country, but no peace treaty exists between Israel and Turkey. This devastating earthquake marks the Israeli army’s 30th worldwide humanitarian mission in 41 years. The IDF rushed to Turkey, flying in an impressive 15 Israeli Air Force cargo planes bearing hundreds of tons of equipment, as well as 230 doctors, nurses, and rescue experts. They set up a field hospital in a Turkish region where thousands of already displaced Syrian refugees have lived in poverty since the Syrian civil war began in 2011. They fled from their homeland over the border into Turkey—and now their lives are smashed once again.

As of February 11, the Israeli teams had treated more than 180 people. The uncle of a Syrian boy brought him to the field hospital. The boy’s entire family died in the quake. IDF Lt. Col. Aziz Ibrahim explained, “We treated him and calmed him down. He came in a moderate-to-serious condition.” He took out halva, a popular sesame snack from their combat rations, saying the boy “loved it” and “of course I spoke to him in Arabic.” As a reminder, Israeli citizens of all stripes—Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, and Ethiopians—serve in the IDF. The boy’s uncle summed up the pronounced humanitarian character of the IDF: “You Israelis treat us better than our people.” 

One of the Israeli teams, Israel’s Red Cross (Magen David Adom), rescued 19 people from the ruins during its eight-day mission. Lt. Col. (res.) Felix Lotan, director of MDA paramedics, described their work as allowing scant hours for sleep and food, “not because there was none, but because there is no time to eat and no time to waste.” 

Nevertheless, despite compassion pouring in from organizations like the White Helmets and numerous nations, including the USA and Israel, evil has also been at work—in a series of complicated power struggles and hostilities breaking out near rescuer locations in both Turkey and Syria. The BBC reports that the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit and German teams, along with other international organizations, sometimes take shelter in a Turkish base camp. These aid workers have been forced to pause some of their operations due to infighting from violent groups that are carrying weapons and looting homes. 

Relief efforts near Idlib in northwestern Syria are being overshadowed by a former al-Qaeda group and ISIS still operating in the area. Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, remains a threat to his own people. For the last 12 years of civil war, he has overseen the murders of more than 300,000 civilians and the forcible displacement of 13 million additional citizens—both inside and outside Syria. Refugees from that civil war number more than 3.6 million in Turkey. It is difficult to comprehend—even with Assad’s cruel history—that he sought to allow only one crossing between Turkey and Syria, although other crossings are available. Finally, he has allowed two additional crossings so that hopefully some humanitarian aid can get to where it’s badly needed unless the IRGC steals that too. 

For Assad, it is all about his regime’s power and control against his people. His invitation to the IRGC to occupy Syria and operate against Israel from Syrian soil is an eye-opener regarding Israel—the Jewish state is shipping aid into Syria despite Assad’s implacable hatred toward it. 

These recent actions make it clear that hatred against Israel from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria’s al-Assad do not stop during a humanitarian crisis. When Prime Minister Netanyahu offered aid to Syria on the first day of the earthquake, the Islamic nation’s response was repugnant. Their Syrian Arab News, al Watan, called Netanyahu’s offer “propaganda.” 

Controversy erupted as to whether Assad had requested help from Israel. The Lebanese Al Mayadeen news channel claimed, “Syria would not make such a request since the Zionist entity is the cause of the disastrous intentions in the region and the last one who can talk about humanitarian aid.”

Added to the complex mix of cross-purposes between evil and good are the political ramifications for the broader Mideast. The Jerusalem Post’s Seth J. Frantzman has an analysis in his article—“Turkey-Syria Earthquake: 6 ways it could affect the Middle East.”

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer for all victims in Turkey and Syria: 

• Pray that Syria’s dictator will have mercy on his people to open all options and somehow prevent the IRGC from stealing it.
• Pray for supernatural peace that only the Lord can offer in such deep trauma. 
• Pray for Israeli rescuers’ safety since they are, unfortunately, targets of hatred. 
• Pray that worldwide media will report positively on Israel’s field hospital and other humanitarian outreaches.

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, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently 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 Facebook.

It was shortly before the war began in Ukraine. Natalia, a Jewish single mother from Mariupol, immigrated to Israel with her teen daughter Neli, and settled in Hof Hagalil. 

Natalia immediately felt a sense of home and belonging. She liked the people and the climate, and felt safe. And she soon found a teacher’s assistant job. But the move was much harder on Neli. Like most teens, she missed her friends, and suffered from mild depression. 

Then, just months later, war broke out in Ukraine. Seeing the ruins of her old city in the news, Natalia reflected, “I did not realize that I’d never see some of these buildings again.” She has lost contact with all her family and friends in Mariupol, and sighed, “I just pray.” 

Plus, Natalia faced financial stress, starting over on a limited income. But friends like you were there, through CBN Israel. Caring donors provided vouchers for food and other essentials—and basic appliances, including a refrigerator and a heater for the cold winters. And we gave Neli a laptop computer to help with her homework. In addition, it’s also helping mom and daughter with their Hebrew lessons, which had been a struggle on their small cell phone screens. 

Today, Neli is adjusting to her new life—and enjoying school. Natalia says gratefully, “Your help gives me hope and encouragement!” And your gift to CBN Israel can bless even more immigrants—as well as Holocaust survivors, refugees, and terror victims. 

With so many emergencies across the Holy Land, your support can bring food, financial aid, shelter, and more to those in need. 

Will you join us now in offering a lifeline to others?

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God commanded the Israelites, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).

God forbade the Israelites from working and kindling a fire on the Sabbath. While the Old Testament does not specify the parameters of “work,” Jewish tradition sought to define what constituted work, and therefore, what one must avoid on the Sabbath. Observance of the Sabbath distinguished Jews from other people within the ancient world. The Romans viewed the Jewish practice of Sabbath observance as a sign of Jewish laziness.

The Jewish Sabbath begins Friday night at sundown and continues until an hour after sundown on Saturday night. Although religious Jews go to the synagogue on the Sabbath, the home functions as the primary place for Sabbath observance. Families walk to the synagogue on Friday to pray the evening prayers within the congregation. Returning home, they eat a large meal which was prepared prior to the start of the Sabbath. No telephones, computers, or televisions interrupt Friday night Shabbat dinner.

The family sits around the table, young and old, talks, recites the benedictions and blessings, and enjoys one another’s company. Saturday morning some of the family, usually the men, walk back to the synagogue for morning prayers, and return home. During the day Saturday, they rest. Some will read, but nothing for work. Phones are shut off, as are televisions and computers. Food, which has been simmering since before the Sabbath began, is consumed, but no one is permitted to light a stove or turn on an oven.

Judaism views the Sabbath as one of God’s greatest gifts to Israel. The other commandments seek to remind Jews of their relationship to God, so they can sanctify Him by obeying Him in their daily lives. The Sabbath sanctifies God in time. It was not only a day of rest for the master of the house, animals and servants also were given a Sabbath’s rest by God. By forcing people to cease from their work, they bring their worship of God into time, not just space.

The home functions as the center of this. The celebration of Sabbath does not focus on the synagogue or the larger community; it focuses on the family. The family becomes the keeper and transmitter of the commandments and traditions God entrusted to Israel. Sabbath enabled Judaism to survive without a land and a Temple.

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Debates about nuclear weapons, Chinese spy balloons, Abrams tanks, and war permeate the news cycle with alarming facts and theories. Missing in action is the recognition both of Israel’s past role to ensure that Iraq and Syria did not join the nuclear club—and the danger posed by Iran’s current Islamic regime. Also missing in action is media fairness when reporting on Israel.

So let’s review the facts.

In June 1981, Israel attacked Iraq’s Osirak nuclear research reactor during a stealth operation the Jewish nation code-named “Operation Opera.” Like present-day Iran, Iraq had claimed that its goals in pursuing nuclear power were peaceful. Unfortunately, most world leaders and media were quick to join in a chorus of accusations and condemnation, accusing Israel of acting as an unprovoked aggressor as they chose to accept the claims of Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein. Israel claimed its pre-emptive attack had been in self-defense; the small nation didn’t believe Hussein’s assurances of peace. Israel’s June attacks partially destroyed the reactor and today, 42 years later, Iraq is still not a nuclear power. 

Moving ahead more than a quarter of a century: In 2007, Israel undertook another action to deter nuclear capability in another nation, Syria—then, as now, governed by the dictator Bashar al-Assad. Looking at the benign photos of Assad and his wife, Asma, both dressed stylishly in western garb, it is hard to imagine their complicity in Syria’s civil war, which broke out in 2011. However, supported by Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah, President Assad oversaw the murders of hundreds of thousands of his citizens and pushed many thousands more into fleeing as refugees. 

On September 5, 2007, Israeli planes flew into neighboring Syria—before the outbreak of that nation’s civil war. In “Operation Out of the Box,” the Israeli Air Force dropped tons of explosives on the nuclear reactor that North Korea helped build. It was camouflaged as an agricultural farm. Syria is an enemy of Israel and policed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). No peace treaty exists between Israel and Syria. As happened in 1981, condemnation of Israel was harsh, although in both instances Israel acted only after conducting extensive research and verifying the threats of the nuclear sites. 

Israel’s decisions to remove credible nuclear threats from Iraq and Syria in order to defend its own freedoms and citizenry deserve accolades, not condemnation. Their actions weren’t only for their own benefit; the attacks reduced threats from these two unstable countries against the rest of the Middle East and beyond. Amid the horrors of war in Iraq and Syria, Israel’s actions removed one lethal aspect of war that the world does not face today from these two nations. 

Nevertheless, other nations—especially in the region—remain anxious about another threat: how Iran’s leaders are rushing toward an apocalyptic nuclear strength. That possibility threatens not only Israel and its Arab neighbors: The regime holds the dreadful distinction of being the world’s largest sponsor of terror, which has its deadly sights set on Europe, the United States, South America, and others. 

Drone production is emerging as a new wave of warfare built on the ground and launched into the skies. (For example, the Russian army is using this airborne weapon to spread fear and reduce resistance in Ukraine.) Amid the challenges in today’s conflicts, it is important to understand how Iran and Russia are currently allied in drone warfare. The Times of Israel reported on February 5 that Iranian officials visited Russia to finalize building a drone plant there. Last year, Russian officials had visited Tehran, Iran’s capital. Reportedly, once the Russian factory is built it will be able to produce 6,000 drones in the next few years. That cooperation is of concern to Israel, the United States, and many other Western nations. Iran has already shipped suicide drones to Russia and has developed prolific drone manufacturing inside Iran. The Wall Street Journal describes it as “reshaping security in the Middle East.” That concern explains Israel’s recently launched drone attack in Isfahan, Iran, at an ammunition manufacturing location, as reported in The Jerusalem Post. 

The media often characterize Israel as the instigator of terror—that it is trigger-happy at every turn. The truth is that Israel’s enemies shamelessly proclaim their goal of battering Israel into oblivion. Those goals necessitate Israel’s defending itself against its declared enemies—whether inside Israel (from Palestinian leaders and terrorists), from Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian military in Syria, or Hamas in Gaza. Regarding the Islamic Republic and evidenced by attacks in Iraq and Syria in 1981 and 2007, Israel takes measured steps against Iran. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu—now in his sixth term—stated on January 28, “I have come back to office … for one main reason, to do everything I can to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons.”

Netanyahu’s leadership, supporting ingenious ways to prevent Iran from accomplishing its goals, became evident in a dramatic operation. In 2018, a covert operation was carried out by members of Israel’s Mossad inside Tehran; they entered a warehouse stored with documents verifying Iran’s nuclear information. In one night, the Mossad famously heisted a half-ton of crucial security information. They escaped with 10,000 documents, videos, and photographs.

At the United Nations General Assembly later that year, Prime Minister Netanyahu showed that “Iran lied about its nuclear ambitions and deceived powers involved in the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.” Netanyahu’s biting observation is still a major concern. Despite the current internal chaos in Israel due to the proposed judicial reforms, Iran is the predominant threat to Israel’s safety. If Israel is forced to launch attacks of a more robust nature against the Islamic regime, keep in mind what you have read here and understand that Israel is on the front line of danger. Remember, Iran’s Ayatollahs subscribe to world domination through a tyrannical version of Islamic law.

Thankfully, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin announced at a press conference that a renewed nuclear deal with Iran is “no longer a priority.” The United States has wisely turned its focus toward the Islamic regime’s close relationship with Russia and Iran’s treatment of its citizens—arresting and imprisoning thousands and murdering hundreds since the protests began in September. 

One of Judaism’s cultural foundations is to “repair the world” (Hebrew: Tikkun Olam). The biblical concept of compassion embraces actions intended to improve the world. Israelis long for peace, not war, to shape their homeland with shalom—a shalom that encompasses the meanings of peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility. Their peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, the Abraham Accords, and consistent efforts to negotiate with Palestinian leaders are evidence of Israel’s goals. Tikkun Olam offers proof that the world’s only Jewish state extends humanitarian aid where possible even to nations and peoples who hate them or where conflict exists.

Israelis intensely understand trauma and crisis, meeting their own challenges by developing logistics and aid. They send their expertise worldwide. Amid this week’s devastating earthquake in Turkey, where Reuters reports the death toll has already soared above 12,000 deaths, IsraAID teams quickly landed in Turkey offering expert search and rescue efforts. This international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization is based in Israel and since 2001 has rushed to more than 50 nations in humanitarian crisis. In Syria more than 2,000 have died and Israel has mounted assistance with medications, tents, and other supplies. Although Syria and Israel have no peace treaty, and anti-Israel Iranian military are stationed in Syria, Israel has also offered medical treatment for Syrians in Israeli hospitals.

For thousands of years, God’s faithfulness to His chosen people and land has been evident. Israel survives against all odds and remains a light to the world enacting Tikkun Olam.

Join us at CBN Israel this week to pray for Israel, its neighbors, and its enemies. As we are reminded in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Please join CBN Israel in prayer for Turkey and Syria as well as the entire region:

• Pray for Turkish citizens amid the earthquake’s traumatic results.
• Pray for members of IsraAID going to Turkey and aid sent to Syria.
• Pray for Israel’s strategies regarding drone warfare and security breaches.
• Pray for the safety of Israel Defense Forces in all military on land, sea, cyberspace, Mossad, Shin Bet, and police.
• Pray for Christians to actively promote facts about Israel wherever possible.

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, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently 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 Facebook.

As a 33-year-old Jewish Ukrainian, Vladimir arrived in Israel on February 20, 2022. He was on a free 10-day tour to explore the possibility of someday moving his family there. Four days later, Russia attacked Ukraine. And suddenly, “someday” became an emergency decision. 

Vladimir recalled, “In one moment everything changed.” He worried about his pregnant wife and little boy back in Ukraine and called her frantically. They both decided it was safer for them to join him in Israel, and days later, she and their son were evacuated to meet him there. 

The family received temporary housing near Tel Aviv. Fleeing in haste, they had brought very little, and had no money or packed possessions. So, they were given the basics they would need, including free intensive Hebrew language classes, and a small stipend to get them started. They soon settled in Haifa, yet still lacked many essentials in a new land. But who could help?

Thankfully, friends like you were there through CBN Israel. Caring donors gave them vouchers to buy food and other basics. They also provided them with a new refrigerator and necessary furniture. In addition, they offered counseling and assistance, including connecting them with local partners who offer Hebrew classes, job training, and other services crucial to this transition. 

As Vladimir learns Hebrew to find work, and his wife is weeks from giving birth, he is grateful for your help, saying, “We feel at home here.” And your gift to CBN Israel can bless more refugees—as well as Holocaust survivors, terror victims, and others. 

So many in Israel are in crisis situations. Your support can bring housing, groceries, financial aid, and more to those in need. 

Please help us extend a hand to those who are struggling!

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