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By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Warily eyeing Iran’s escalating belligerence with its new centrifuges spinning deadlier amounts of nuclear-grade uranium, and the steady weapons transfers from Iran into Syria, Israel recently engaged in month-long “Chariots of Fire” war games. This large-scale military exercise strengthened offensive and defensive capabilities among the Israeli air force, navy, military intelligence, and regular and reserve ground forces.

Why did leaders of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) feel it necessary to heighten their readiness and responsiveness in what has been called the nation’s “largest war drill in decades”? A summary of widespread dangers, laid out below, explains the necessity for the multi-pronged exercises.

Iran—1200 miles away from Israel—is the mother country of Shia Imams who have spawned a terror network spanning the globe. The U.S. Department of State designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, then in 2019 it added the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. 

Riding ATVs up to Israel’s Golan Heights to view Syria below has offered my groups of Christian leaders on the American Israel Education Foundation  trips a well-informed viewpoint. One year, during Syria’s heartbreaking civil war, we heard their bombs sounding in the distance during our IDF briefing. Having bombs punctuate the briefing added an unforgettable audio backdrop. Standing on Israel’s borders next to Iran’s enemy enclaves provided an up-close, sobering look at multilevel threats. And knowing Damascus was a scant 70 miles away brought the Israeli population’s vulnerability into stark reality for our group.

One of the oldest cities in the Middle East, Damascus was for centuries considered an “earthly paradise.” That fortuitous title has changed under Syrian Dictator-President Bashar al-Assad. He welcomed Iran and its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at the beginning of his personally sanctioned civil war against his own people, which began 11 years ago. After years of heavy bombing, the damage was so great that in 2019 this once-stunning metropolis gained the unhappy distinction of being the “least livable city,” according to Guinness World Records.

Iran, having positioned itself for years as a threatening “neighbor” next door to the Jewish state, prompted Israel to initiate a more comprehensive bombing operation than previously undertaken. On June 10, 2022, it was far different from Syria’s civil war horrors against its own people in which more than 350,000 civilians were killed and 12 million more left as refugees inside and outside their country. 

In the latest strike, Israelis disabled the main Damascus International Airport runway, three Iranian weapons storage depots, and damaged the air control tower. All incoming flights were diverted to airport in Aleppo, Syria, where passengers boarded buses back to their Damascus destination. 

Israel has flown hundreds of sorties into Syria—not targeting civilians, but to blow up Iran’s weapon depots. Iran has retrofitted civilian planes to ferry weapons into its surrogate states. Some weapons remain in-country or are transported on the ground over to Hezbollah in adjacent Lebanon. Israel also targets weapons transfers rumbling across Syria. Members of the elite IRGC know the risks of operating in Syria and they, too, sometimes become casualties of Israel’s defensive measures against Iran’s menace.

Although rebuilding has apparently begun, Israel’s surface-to-surface missile strikes earlier this month will hopefully prevent the weapons-laden planes from landing for weeks or even months. Damaging runways and air control towers proved a smart strategy in preventing these civilian planes loaded with weapons of war from taking off or landing.

Moving west to Lebanon on Israel’s north, the militant group Hezbollah has for decades operated in Lebanon as a “state within a state.” Iran has amassed a weapons stockpile overseen by Hezbollah, which was designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 by the United States. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s former Internal Security Minister and now Ambassador to the United Nations, estimated in 2021 that Hezbollah’s arsenal numbers 150,000 missiles and rockets.

Near a kibbutz on Israel’s border with Lebanon, an Israeli tank commander briefed our group of Christian leaders on the fenced border’s dirt road. As we listened, three tanks sat idle with engines running. Gazing over the border a short distance away, we spotted Hezbollah’s yellow flags waving in the light breeze. The tank commander explained that Lebanese civilians are forced to store Hezbollah weapons in their homes for use by the terrorists. 

After the briefings, I always asked one of our pastors to pray. The IDF expressed their appreciation for the heartfelt prayers for their safety. Departing, we assured the young soldiers that we recognize them as defending the front lines of freedom, not only for their homeland but for us Americans since Iran considers the U.S. as the “Great Satan.” 

Gaza, the terror enclave for Hamas—another Iranian proxy—has caused untold chaos and harm to Israeli civilians living in the south and its 1-million-plus population. Designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group in 1997, Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007. Elected two years after Israel’s unilateral 2005 disengagement, Palestinians tragically chose terror instead of prosperity when they voted for Hamas.

In 2005, the Israeli government ordered the IDF to remove the 8,000 Jews living in Gaza. During this disengagement, they gave up their homes, synagogues, businesses, and greenhouses hoping that these wrenching sacrifices would become a “Singapore by the sea” for its Palestinian residents. Abba Eban, politician, and diplomat (1915-2002), often quoted among Israelis, once said that Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Unfortunately, their choices to ignore the beneficent sacrifices of the Israelis led to decades of hate, violence, and self-inflicted poverty. 

During the latest Hamas rocket barrages in May 2021, 10 Israelis were murdered and 181 were injured. The long-term toll on Israeli families in southern Israel includes a high level of PTSD, because people never know when the next Red Alert will sound—a warning that notifies civilians they have only 15 seconds to reach safety. Thousands of rockets fired into what is called the border’s “Gaza envelope” require placing IDF-approved lifesaving portable bomb shelters for Operation Lifeshield, a nonprofit founded in 2006. 

Staffing AIEF tours of Christian leaders, we have stood right at the fence separating Gaza from nearby kibbutzim. Despite their heartbreaking stories, it was easy to interact with the residents—some of the bravest and most upbeat people I have ever met. Even in the face of an unimaginable threat level, they live full lives working, creating, and helping each other to celebrate their nation, heritage, and festivals. They refuse to leave their ancestral homeland. 

With the war games concluded, military assessments of the Chariots of Fire indicate an expanded readiness between Israel’s military branches on land, sea, and air. Military personnel tightened their cooperative planning with focused strategic plans. Another significant operation called “Break the Wave” took place after dozens of Israelis died in a wave of terror attacks since March 22. An increased budget will enhance the Israel police response—to better equip them to stop the terrorists inside the homeland itself. A Shin Bet brigade composed of reservists, plus 200 additional soldiers, will be added to border police with more protective gear.

The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Aviv Kohavi, summed up the month’s military exercises: “I saw professionalism, drive, and excellent spirit. … There is a great sense of cooperation between the branches and units of the IDF, which is based on mutual trust and camaraderie. This is true power. … The IDF is sharper, more coordinated, and more modernized and prepared.”

As evangelicals, let us make sure our prayers and advocacy are operational and improved so we may serve as a troop of committed Christians who support the IDF on the front lines of freedom! 

Join us in prayer at CBN Israel by reading 2 Kings 6:15-22. When enemies surrounded Elisha the prophet in “an army with horses and chariots,” God surrounded Elisha with “horses and chariots of fire.” He told his servant in 2 Kings 6:16, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 

• Pray for Chariots of Fire to have a lasting impact on Israel’s security. 
• Pray for every branch of Israel’s military to operate with utmost skill. 
• Pray for clear communications between military intelligence and the IDF at large. 
• Pray for the IDF to operate in an overcoming attitude against fear like Elisha 

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.

Sometimes, the littlest people need the most help. In Ethiopia, tiny Yostena was born premature. The frail infant spent 10 days in a hospital’s newborn intensive care unit—where she was diagnosed with a hole in her heart. Her parents feared for her future. 

This cardiac defect meant that her heart had to pump harder to keep her alive, and that she needed a costly major operation soon. Her father, Habtamu, is a salesman, her mother is a government worker—and they live in a 2-room home. They desperately longed to get Yostena the critical treatment she needed for a long, healthy life. But how could they afford it? 

Thankfully, friends like you were there, through CBN Israel’s partnering with Save A Child’s Heart. Caring donors brought Yostena to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, and provided her with a lifesaving cardiac procedure and open-heart surgery. Today, Yostena is an active, adorable one-year-old, who loves playing with her friends—and her smile lights up any room.

As a grateful father, Habtamu says, “God bless you! You saved my child’s life. I will always appreciate your kindness.” And this is just one of the many ways you help others. 

Your gift to CBN Israel can reach out with groceries, housing, and financial assistance to those who struggle to survive in Israel. You can bring hope and help to elderly Holocaust survivors, lonely immigrants, and single mothers in need. 

Terrorist attacks, the pandemic, and economic challenges have taken their toll on many households across Israel. Your support is crucial in offering relief to the hurting, while also bringing news and stories from the Holy Land. 

Please help us to bless Israel and her people in need!

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“David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him” (1 Samuel 22:1 NKJV).

David found himself for a period of his life having to flee from Saul. Saul pursued him wherever he went. David felt so pressed that he even had to seek refuge with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath (Goliath’s hometown). As you can imagine, the Philistines mistrusted David and did not welcome him warmly. So, David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. 

Adullam sits on the border between the Philistine territory of Gath and the tribal territory of Judah (David’s tribe). It overlooks the Elah Valley where David defeated the Philistine champion, Goliath. So, David flees from Saul, unaccepted even by Saul’s enemies, and finds himself in the cave at Adullam overlooking the site of his greatest victory.

When David defeated Goliath, he found himself at the top. He defeated Goliath, saved Israel, defended the honor of God and Israel, and was taken into Saul’s court. Also, he had been secretly anointed the future king by Samuel. Things looked promising. 

You have to wonder whether David thought his path from his victory in the Elah Valley to the throne was going to be a smooth, straight shot. To a certain extent, when he stood over the body of Goliath, cutting his head off with Goliath’s sword, the Philistine army fleeing with the Israelites in pursuit, he stood very close to God’s promise to him of the kingship, there in the Elah Valley. 

When he found himself in the cave of Adullam, overlooking the same valley, the location of his greatest triumph, he was the furthest from God’s promise than he had ever been. 

Every morning when he woke, he looked over the scene of his victory, and you wonder whether he found himself despairing of God’s promise. “Has God really said?” “Because I certainly don’t see the path from where I am today to what he promised me.” “Me, a king?” “I’m running for my life and living in a cave, hardly the house of a king.”

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you feel an overwhelming sense of despair? The vision that God gave you for your life, your future, seems like a million miles away, and God Himself seems even further away. You remember your victories, those moments when you felt triumph that God was right with you. But now all of that seems like a dream, and you find yourself in despair.

The cave of Adullam was not the end of David’s story. Nor will your times of despair be the end of your story. God is faithful. Rarely does He bring us straight from the victory field to the throne. Rather, He leads us on a winding journey where we learn to trust Him and His promises, even when He and they seem far away. God is at work; therefore, we will not despair forever.

PRAYER

Father, wherever we find ourselves, please lead us in Your ways and to Your promises. We choose to trust You. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Fifty-five years ago—June 5, 1967—marked the beginning of the Six-Day War (June 5-10). During that time, God fulfilled His ancient promises as recorded in 1 Kings 11:36, where He proclaimed Jerusalem as “the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name.”

When the war began, however, Jerusalem was a divided city. Under the control of Jordan following the 1948 War of Independence, Israel’s holiest sites—the Western Wall and Temple Mount—were off limits to Jews. Israel had won its War of Independence but lost the eastern half of Jerusalem to the Arab League.  

The Jordanians annexed east Jerusalem, which deteriorated under their rule. They destroyed all but one synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, along with Torah scrolls and books. Religious freedom was nonexistent. Palestinian Arabs called themselves Arabs, not Palestinians, since Arafat had not changed their names to “Palestinians” for his political purposes. Jordan never considered Jerusalem as its—or the “Palestinian”—capital. 

However, the prologue for the Six-Day War reached back to Jordan’s annexation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1950. Over the next 20 years, frequent confrontations contributed to the buildup of war. Among them Egypt, armed with Soviet weapons, closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping. In 1959, Yassar Arafat founded the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) with the goal of “destroying Israel.” Three Arab summits were held to plan Israel’s annihilation. From the Golan Heights, Syria shelled Israeli civilians in the Galilee below. Clashes escalated during 1966–’67.

Then in May 1967, Egypt declared war on Israel. Radio Cairo broadcast an ominous message: “The existence of Israel has continued too long. … The battle has come in which we shall destroy Israel.” Such menacing talk from Egypt—joined by Syria, Jordan, and Iraq and supported by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Sudan—put the small Jewish nation’s military on high alert. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had also witnessed a formidable buildup of troops and weaponry in the Sinai Desert, representing a huge threat. So sure were the Israelis of defeat, they prepared 40,000 coffins. Realizing they would be vastly outmanned in battle, the Israelis put into effect a gutsy pre-emptive strategy that relied on speed and secrecy. It was named Operation Focus (Moked).

Israel’s military leaders determined that the only way to defeat Egypt’s vastly superior air force—the largest in the Middle East—was to make a pre-emptive strike and neutralize all the planes while they were still sitting on the ground. Their pilots had trained long and well for just such a mission. And on June 5, they set it in motion. 

Operation Focus remains one of the most successful air campaigns in military history. During the Six-Day War, the Israeli Air Force destroyed 452 enemy planes, while losing just 46 of their own. After their stunning performance in Egypt, the Israeli Air Force finished the day in Jerusalem bombing the Jordanian tanks that raced toward the city and providing air cover for Israeli ground forces.

It was an epic example of cunning, daring and stealth—a brilliant strategy that was flawlessly executed. During the brief war, Israel won the Golan Heights from Syria, the Sinai from Egypt, and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Jerusalem’s Old City and holy sites from Jordan’s occupation. Israel quadrupled its size.

But those who fought in that war agree that it was more than military genius and bravery that led to victory. There were numerous miracles, as well.

Although outmanned and outnumbered, the Israeli fighter pilots realized that God’s supernatural intervention secured their victory. Pilot and IDF Major General Ezer Weizmann was asked to explain how for three hours, Israel Air Force planes destroyed aircraft at one Egyptian airstrip after another—yet the Egyptians did not radio ahead to let their forces know about the imminent air attacks. Weizmann, who later served as President of Israel, said simply: “The finger of God.”

Many eyewitness accounts, which have been well documented, emerged in the following months. Older airplanes that had been plagued with problems behaved surprisingly well that day. Squadron members who flew the aging Vautor bombers said that on June 5th, the aging aircraft operated without a single malfunction. An enemy shell that made a direct hit on a munitions pile miraculously failed to explode.

One Israeli infantry recruit, on patrol with one other soldier, reported an encounter with a truck loaded with 18 well-armed Egyptian soldiers. The two Israelis, equipped with inadequate weapons, believed they faced certain death. However, the Arabs, looking panic-stricken, did not fire on them, and complied immediately when the Israeli soldier then shouted, “Hands up!” Later, he asked an Egyptian sergeant why they hadn’t shot at the Israeli soldiers. The reply: “My arms froze—they became paralyzed. My whole body was paralyzed, and I don’t know why.”

Arabs not only gave in to their fears and waved white flags of surrender; one tank commander later explained that he gave up to a far smaller number of Jewish tanks because he saw a desert mirage that made him “see hundreds of Israeli tanks.”  

Thus, it should be no surprise that the secular newspaper Haaretz carried this comment by one of its military correspondents: “Even a non-religious person must admit this war was fought with help from heaven.” 

Prior to the Six-Day War, Jerusalem’s Mayor Teddy Kolleck had asked songwriter/vocalist Naomi Shemer to write a song in honor of Jerusalem for the Israeli Song Festival on Independence Day, 1967. She agreed, and wrote the anthem, “Jerusalem of Gold,” which was the first song written about the city in 19 years of Jordanian occupation. A month later, the victories in the Six-Day War gave her the opportunity to compose a new verse about Jerusalem’s reunification. It became a hit! Here are the lyrics:

“We’ve returned to the water cisterns, the market and to the plazas. A ram’s horn calls us from the Temple Mount in the Old City, and in the mountains’ caves thousands of suns are shining once again, to Jericho we will descend via the Dead Sea.”

The first verse of “Jerusalem of Gold” is a lament for Jerusalem, with two more verses from Lamentations and Psalm 137. “The mountain air is clear as wine, the scent of pines is carried by the afternoon wind, with the sound of bells. In the tree’s sleep and with the stone lost in its dream, the city that lies so deserted and, in its heart, a wall. Jerusalem of gold, of copper, and of light. For all your songs let me be your lyre.”

Jerusalem of Gold, the eternal city and loved by both Jews and Christians, the birthplace of their faiths, is a momentous marker in world history where the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob once again proved His deed to the Land of Israel! 

 On June 7—the day of Jerusalem’s liberation—IDF Chaplain Brigadier General Shlomo Goren blew the shofar as the soldiers wept for their fallen friends and sang “Jerusalem of Gold.” 

Let us remember that nearly two decades of Jordanian control didn’t prevent Jews from remembering Jerusalem. The very heartbeat of their homeland for 3,000 years was enshrined every day in every prayer, in every nation across the globe where Jews were scattered for millennia.

May we as believers keep Jerusalem and the Jewish nation of Israel in our hearts and prayers and continue to count on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in all circumstances.

Join CBN Israel this week as we pray for the City of Gold: 

• Pray for God’s shalom (“peace” and “well-being”) to descend upon the city of Jerusalem. 
• Pray for Arab Israelis to maintain a sense of loyalty to Israel’s east Jerusalem and the freedoms they enjoy as citizens. 
• Pray for Jerusalem’s mayor and other leaders to make agreements that will benefit both Arabs and Jews. 
• Pray for a cessation of violence and terrorism in and around the city of Jerusalem.

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’s a story behind the headlines. With Russia’s invasion continuing to devastate Ukraine, thousands of Jewish refugees have fled to Israel, seeking safety in the Promised Land. The hardest hit have been poor families, children, and the elderly—most coming with very little.

In the face of this catastrophe, friends like you have been there for hundreds of Jewish refugees, through CBN Israel and our strategic partners. Donors offered vital assistance with their evacuation from Ukraine, and rescue flights to Israel. And once they arrived, they received food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials—as well as God’s love and encouragement. 

Caring friends were there for Olga and her husband—two 60-year-old Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, who recently became Israeli citizens. Their small apartment is in a rundown area of Beersheva. Olga is deaf, and works any job she can find. Her husband was recently laid off from his minimum wage factory job—and the couple has struggled to make ends meet.   

One day, their refrigerator and washing machine suddenly broke, and they had no way to fix or replace them. Thankfully, friends were there through CBN Israel. They were delighted to receive food and essentials—plus, a new refrigerator and washing machine! Olga exclaimed, “Your kindness has given us hope at a time when we were feeling depressed and alone!”

In these challenging times, your gift can give life-changing aid to terror victims, single mothers, Holocaust survivors, and more. And your support can be a lifeline to the hurting, while providing news and stories from the Holy Land. 

Please join us in making a difference at this crucial time!

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“You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you. 

Rejoice before Yahweh your God in the place where He chooses to have His name dwell—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes” (Deuteronomy 16:9-12 HCSB).

Moses outlined for the Israelites the ordinances of the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost). This festival commemorated the harvest seven weeks and one day (50 days, hence “Pentecost”) after the first Sabbath following the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The festival was to be a celebration marked by a freewill offering—an offering “that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you.”  

The festivals and rituals that God gave to the Israelites served as reminders of His participation in their daily lives. Agriculture did not depend upon the farmer and his ingenuity or the luck of the weather; rather, God Himself blessed and provided for the daily needs of the people. The rituals and festivals functioned as reminders of God’s nearness and called upon the Israelites to give thanks, to rejoice.

The Israelites celebrated Pentecost not only within their families but also with their communities. Three groups of people are specifically identified as participating in the celebration of the festival: strangers, orphans, and widows. These three groups lacked a legal advocate within ancient Israel, which is why God often describes Himself, the just Judge, as the defender of these three groups. 

In the midst of the celebration, God calls on the Israelites to remember those on the fringes of their society and to bring them into the festivities. The basis for this action is provided in Deuteronomy 24:18 HCSB: “Remember that you were a slave in Egypt.” You were once an outcast, someone at the bottom of the social world, so remember and bring those at the bottom of your world into your celebration of the Lord’s blessing. 

Do we see God’s care in every facet of our lives? Do we celebrate it and remind ourselves to rejoice at His provision? Do we share our blessings with those on the fringes of our own society? This was God’s expectation of the ancient Israelites when they celebrated Shavuot. He expects the same from us.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for Your daily provision in my life. As a sign of my thanksgiving, may I share Your blessings in my life with others. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Decades of support for Israel among Democrats and Republicans in the United States Congress have created a win-win of countless advantages for both nations over the years. For example, in multilevel ventures ranging from intelligence sharing and technology to bilateral trade agreements that soar into the billions, cooperation is imperative for both nations. 

Although voting records have ebbed and flowed in Congress, they remain a steady pro-Israel reality as seen with an increase in foreign aid for Israel’s security, also a bonus for the U.S. within a more dangerous world. National elections in the last few years, though, have presented more hurdles within Congress for Israel’s safety and security.

In 2018, four female Democrats won seats in the House of Representatives: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), Ayanna Pressley (MA), and Rashida Tlaib (MI). All four freshmen women quickly made themselves famous once they were sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following January. They dubbed themselves the “Squad,” were reelected in 2020 for their second term in the House, and are campaigning for their third term.

The Squad is well known for their radical, progressive stance, their inflammatory opinions—often against their Democrat colleagues—and their social media stardom. Ocasio-Cortez once accused Israel of massacring Gazans, and Omar alleged that Israel “hypnotized the world” to ignore its “evil doings.”

Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress and enters with the most political experience on the Squad, having served in the Michigan legislature. Now running for her third term in Michigan’s newly drawn Congressional District 12, she is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group once committed to Israel but now supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

The congresswoman’s latest demonstration of staunch anti-Israel bias is her resolution—proposed just last week—to recognize Nakba Day. Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) is how Arabs who call themselves Palestinians describe Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a sovereign nation on May 14, 1948. In their eyes, the re-establishment of the Jewish homeland was a catastrophic event. The likelihood that Tlaib’s resolution will pass is not high. However, it codifies the first inflammatory salvo into a legislative pursuit.

Lest you want to dismiss politics all together, it is wise to recognize the outright propaganda taking place among a small, confrontational, and growing Democrat segment of the U.S. House of Representatives. All members of the Squad signed on to the resolution. 

Tlaib leads the way in Congress with her boldly anti-Semitic opinions. The resolution, devoid of the facts, rests on a rewrite of Israeli and Arab history. It is just the latest in her consistent efforts to delegitimize Israel. She is completely in favor of the BDS movement, which is considered economic warfare against Israel. 

Two outsized fabrications fill her Resolution narrative. The first accuses Israel of forcing 290,000 Arabs to leave Palestine at the beginning of the 1948 War of Independence. The facts: Five Arab armies attacked Israel, sending out orders for the Arab population to get out of the way so the military could fight and win, and then the civilians could return. A Jordanian newspaper, Ad-Difaa, later published a refugee’s statement made on September 6, 1954, which claimed that the Arab government told them: “Get out so that we can get in. So, we got out, but they did not get in.”

An expulsion did indeed take place during Israel’s War of Independence, but not the one Rep. Tlaib claimed. Arab and Muslim countries forced out about 820,000 Jews, seized their homes and businesses, and confiscated their belongings. Israel—the new, modern Jewish homeland—welcomed 586,000 refugees. In opposite fashion, when Israel’s first Prime Minister Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, it included an invitation to Arabs to stay in their homes and become equal citizens.

The entire Squad could have confirmed or changed their opinions in August 2019. In off-election years, every first-year representative of the U.S. Congress is invited on a geopolitical trip hosted by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). An invitation is extended to all freshmen regardless of outlook. It is an educational trip. 

Had the Squad joined the 32 other freshman Democrats in 2019, the four women’s schedules would have included briefings and meetings with both Palestinian and Israeli leaders—and thus considerable exposure to a highly diverse mixture of opinion and thought. The Squad decided not to take advantage of what would have been an excellent educational experience. Instead, they continued to maintain a brand of prejudice that keeps the anti-Israel narrative on high octane. 

The 2022 elections hold some hope. The Squad is creating waves with their anti-police/anti-ICE stance and by advocating the phasing out of federal prisons. Matt Bennett, executive vice president of the Third Way and cofounder of Shield PAC, helps moderate Democrats. He calls the Squad “deeply problematic for Democrats running in competitive districts and states.” 

Tlaib’s re-election campaign, for instance, is drawing some heavy hitters to halt her animosity against Israel, at least in the United States Congress. In December 2021, AIPAC finally inaugurated a political action committee that donates to Democrats, Republicans, and congressional candidates who are pro-Israel. The AIPAC PAC is supporting Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who hopes to unseat Rashida Tlaib. When the Detroit Free Press asked Winfrey about Israel, she responded, “I think we all know what terrorism looks like … and that war doesn’t benefit anyone. Of course, I support Israel.” 

Campaign monies and politics are distasteful to many of us. However, when it comes to issues like standing with Israel via bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Congress, it places us in a position to promote Israel’s national security and, in turn, ours. 

An AIPAC quote offers perspective: “Our goal is to make America’s friendship with Israel so robust, so certain, so broadly based, and so dependable that even the deep divisions of American politics can never imperil that relationship and the ability of the Jewish state to defend itself.”

In closing, political advocacy has spiritual precedence. Several of our biblical patriarchs and matriarchs were lobbyists. Moses appealed to Egypt’s Pharoah; Queen Esther to King Ahasuerus. Their advocacy saved their people. Daniel maintained his faith while holding a prominent position of trust in a foreign government. A day will come when Isaiah 9:6 is a reality: “And the government will be on His shoulders.”

Until that day, as believers, let us find expanded ways to interact with our government to stand with God’s chosen people and the Land He calls His own. 

Join CBN Israel this week as we pray for continued bipartisan support for Israel:

• Pray for the upcoming elections in November and that we will collectively vote for leaders who believe in supporting Israel. 
• Pray for Christians to become even more engaged, educated, and active in their political advocacy for Israel and the Jewish people.
• Pray that U.S. leaders will be wise and educated enough make decisions that are in the best interest of both Israel and the Palestinian people. 
• Pray for young people in the U.S.—especially in the Christian and Jewish communities—that they will be careful not to mindlessly accept biased views and policies against Israel.

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.

“My parents had no money, and so I found a way to make money myself,” Claudia said, remembering back to her impoverished childhood. At the age of eleven, she taught herself to sew and began making dolls to sell. 

But her life continued to be an uphill battle after her mother tragically passed away, followed soon by her grandmother. Claudia struggled to find a career that could support herself. 

Life improved for Claudia when she met her husband and start a family. She desired to stay at home with her three young daughters—but she knew she still needed an income, and starting a business felt daunting. 

Thankfully, friends like you were there. Through CBN Israel’s business development program, Claudia was able to get all of her questions answered through one-on-one mentoring while being guided through the process of starting her own business.

Today Claudia is successfully selling her handcrafted dolls throughout Tel Aviv. “Thank you … for all of your help,” she says, “I greatly appreciate your expert guidance and for helping me better understand how to successfully run my business. May God bless you!”

The needs are great in the Holy Land. You can give help and hope to aging Holocaust survivors, terror victims, lonely refugees, and others who are struggling. 

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GIVE TODAY

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (Psalm 125:1-2 NKJV).

Psalm 125 is the sixth psalm of the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134). Pilgrims sang these psalms as they approached the Temple at times of pilgrimage, especially the festivals of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

The psalmists often used realities that people knew to illustrate and articulate what God or people were like. The Bible and the biblical mind functioned in concrete ideas and images instead of abstract ones, as we tend to do. The psalmist in Psalm 125 described those who trust in God as unmovable as Mount Zion. What provided such surety?

When David conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital, the city resided on a hill known as the eastern hill; the Bible refers to the northern part of this hill as Mount Zion. The eastern hill is surrounded by hills higher than it. People settled on the eastern hill instead of one of the higher hills due to a water source, the Gihon Spring, a karstic spring that continues to produce water, at the base of the eastern hill. The city remained on the eastern hill until the eighth century B.C. 

The population grew and began to settle on the western hill—what today is referred to as Mount Zion—which was included in the walls of the city toward the end of the eighth century B.C. At that time, the western hill rose above several of the surrounding hills. Thus, Psalm 125 was written when the city only existed on the eastern hill, for only then did the mountains surround Jerusalem. 

It sounds beautiful. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people.” That is, until you stand on the eastern hill and realize that strategically all the other hills look down on you. The position is vulnerable. Attacking armies could position themselves on the higher hills looking down into the city. In such a vulnerable position, what made Mount Zion unmovable; what would protect it? God served as its protection, and therefore, Mount Zion cannot be moved. He defends Jerusalem—and those who trust in Him. 

Trusting God sounds easy. Our world often makes it difficult. The question gets asked to us many times a day, “Has God really said?” “Can God truly protect and deliver?” “Can I really trust God?” 

The inhabitants and pilgrims to Jerusalem when it sat on the eastern hill were confronted by similar questions. It seemed too vulnerable. Yet, God protected. He takes care of those who do good and choose to obey Him. Trusting in God is not a mere mental exercise. It means that we do what He commands, confident that He will prove true to His word. 

PRAYER

Father, we trust in You. You are our defender and protection. You repay those who obey You and choose to do good. Amen.

By Julie Stahl

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7 NKJV).

For centuries, the Jewish people had been in exile. For a generation, they had been without access to their ancestral city. Yet for six unforgettable days in early June 1967, surrounded by enemies, Israel stood alone and changed history forever.

By 1967, Israel had already fought two major wars, and in May of that year, Arab nations joined together with a stated goal to wipe Israel off the map. Less than 20 years after the birth of the modern Jewish nation, Israel was on the verge of extinction.

Israel, along with Jewish people around the world, thought they were facing another Holocaust. In Tel Aviv and Haifa, they had turned parks into potential graveyards and dug mass graves. But God had other plans.

After only six days (June 5-10, 1967), Israel had tripled in size—beating the combined armies of Syria, Egypt, and Jordan to win the Golan Heights, the Sinai Desert, and biblical Judea and Samaria. Perhaps the pinnacle of their success was reuniting the city of Jerusalem under Israeli-Jewish sovereignty for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.

It was on the third day of the war that Moshe Kempenski, an Orthodox Jewish author and Jerusalem shop owner, said he realized that he wasn’t just reading and studying the Bible, but he had actually experienced the fulfillment of prophecy. A Canadian teenager at the time, Kempenski said he knew on that day he would one day become a Jerusalemite.

“When I fully began to realize the significance of being here and my child playing in a Jerusalem park 30 years later, I recall wondering if my son, Yoni, was one of the children that Zechariah saw in his vision,” says Kempenski.

Kempenski is referencing the passage in Zechariah where God promises, “Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play” (Zechariah 8:4-5 NLT).

During all those years of exile, the Jewish people always ended their holiday prayers with “Next Year in Jerusalem!” The Holy City, though far away and unattainable to most for all those years, was still in their hearts and minds.

So, when Commander Motta Gur uttered those famous words, “the Temple Mount is in our hands” (Har HaBayit B’Yadeinu), Jewish people around the world knew something miraculous had happened.

But despite Israel’s clear win in a war it hadn’t asked for, the international community never recognized Israeli sovereignty over united Jerusalem. After the war, Israel returned religious authority over the beloved Temple Mount to Jordan, who still manages it.

To this day, only Muslims are permitted to pray on the site where two Jewish Temples once stood in biblical times.

In 1980, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed the Jerusalem Law, which stated that all of Jerusalem (including the eastern part) was Israel’s united capital. Thirteen countries removed their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem after the UN passed a resolution declaring Israel’s law null and void. (Costa Rica and El Salvador moved their embassies back to Jerusalem in 1984 and then returned to Tel Aviv in 2006.)

In December 2017, in a historic move, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and on May 14, 2018—70 years after U.S. President Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel—Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Guatemala moved its Embassy to Jerusalem shortly thereafter.

Jerusalem Day is celebrated in the city with a giant parade of Israeli flags that winds through downtown Jerusalem and ends at the Western Wall.

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.