Blog

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Jesus knew that His last Passover on earth would occur after 33 years of going up to Jerusalem. When Messiah entered Jerusalem amid thousands of lambs destined for Temple sacrifices, the Perfect Lamb realized His slaughter lay ahead. The multitudes first shouted their joyful Hosannas, but many were shocked at Jesus’ next actions.

Dismounting from the colt, Jesus walked through the crowds and up the Temple steps. A whip in His hand, He overturned the money changers’ tables in righteous anger, accusing them of turning the “house of prayer” God had created into a “den of thieves.” Then, in the privacy of the Upper Room at Passover (Chag Ha-Matzot), Jesus performed another astonishing act—this one quite private. The King of kings humbly knelt to wash the feet of His disciples and instructed them to serve others. His destiny was embodied as the substitute for our sins, which through His shed blood guaranteed our freedom. There, He instituted what Christians call the Last Supper.

As the evening unfolded, another shock came. John 13:21-28 recounts that after Judas received his morsel of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus instructed, “Judas, what you’re about to do, do quickly.” Judas slipped out and later led those who were carrying torches to Gethsemane.

Jesus and the 11 remaining disciples had walked in the darkness about a mile to the Mount of Olives and entered the Garden of Gethsemane. The spot was familiar to all Jerusalemites, since it was an important manufacturing area that produced valuable olive oil. The English word Gethsemane combines two Aramaic words, gat “place for pressing” and shemanim “oil.” Definitions rich with physical and spiritual meaning! Knowing the mechanics of olive presses, it is easier to visualize why Jesus walked to that specific spot for prayer before His arrest. 

During Roman rule, olive presses numbered in the thousands in groves scattered all over Israel and the Roman Empire. Large and small presses made of stone crushed the harvested olives. The larger presses included stones suspended with ropes from wooden crossbeams—stones that weighed up to a ton. The pulp eventually underwent enough crushing that the precious commodity could be emptied into clay jars. The refined oil was used in cooking, anointing oil, and Temple lights. 

Mark 14:36 records Jesus’ plea and His obedience. “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

As Christians we are well-versed, knowing Jesus’ anguished prayers laced with tears of blood before His arrest. However, reading about sweating blood, it is easy to wonder if this is an exaggeration, but it is in fact truth. Hematidrosis is the medical term for a rare occurrence when blood is mixed in sweat. It happens in extreme situations, where someone is facing death or other incredibly stressful event. Few of us can imagine such a condition.

The olive presses represented symbols of Messiah’s crushing emotions and later crucifixion. Crushing the olives is a necessity to produce what is most valuable, the oil. Jesus’ crushing produced the precious oil and blood of our redemption. Isaiah 53:5 prophetically states, But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.  Like the wooden beams holding the stones on the olive presses, our Savior Jesus bore the wooden beams of the crucifixion tree crushed under the incalculable weight of our sins.

Eventually, after three times of prayer and seeing His disciples unable to keep their eyes open, as He had asked, Jesus announced, “My betrayer is near.” Judas Iscariot led a mob armed with clubs and swords dispatched by the power structure. Placing the kiss of death on Jesus’ face, His arrest, interrogation, mocking, and abuse went operational. Later Judas committed suicide. 

Reading the events at Gethsemane, it is essential to recall what Jesus clarified to the Pharisees in John 10:17-18: “This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”

One of the worst false accusations in history is, “The Jews killed Jesus.” NO. No one could stop God’s redemptive plan! Not the Jews, not the Romans who carried out the death sentence, not the disciples and thousands of Jewish believers who loved Him. Jesus chose His crushing on the cross, pouring out the pure oil of His life.

Roman soldiers hammered spikes into Jesus’ body, while Temple priests spent hours slaughtering the Bethlehem lambs by the thousands. Expertly wielding their knives, the priests chanted the Hallel prayer (Psalms 113-118). Could Jesus hear part of Psalm 116:3 as He hung outside Jerusalem’s walls? The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 

When the skinning, bloodletting, and then roasting of lambs for food began, the priests hung the lambs on wooden hooks stretching out their front legs onto a crossbar in the shape of a cross. Jesus hung on the cross, thus becoming the ultimate sacrifice for all.

God’s Perfect Lamb perfected John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” By remembering Gethsemane and Jesus’ identification with the olive presses, let us rejoice that Jesus freed us from sin’s grip—crushed for us!

Happy Resurrection Day!! We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team with prayers thanking Jesus for covering all sin for all time!

Prayer Points: 

• Pray for Passover peace without bombs, stabbings, or car ramming. 
• Pray for IDF members who must remain vigilant in war even during festivals. 
• Pray for Christians to understand and honor the Jewish roots of our faith. 
• Pray for hostages and their families who sadly are not together for Passover.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

During Holy Week, we rejoice in the realization that Israel still endures as the only land where the most profound love was expressed to our world. Two thousand years ago God, the Architect of the Universe and Creator of humankind, sent His Son to earth as a Jewish baby, who grew to be the Perfect Lamb and pay our debt of sin on the cross.

Worldwide, nearly 2 billion Christians are drawing near to Palm Sunday celebrations on April 13. Yet Open Doors’ World Watch List estimates that 365 million Christians face much of the persecution from Islamic terrorists, for example in Nigeria, and now Syria.

Israel has now entered the 18th month since the Islamic Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023. Hostages in Gaza, their families, and the entire Jewish nation are suffering a national trauma. Nevertheless, they are brave examples of how to navigate crises and traumas with incredible strength and resilience.

This, the 18th month of Israel’s daily trauma, is a rich time for prayer. Eighteen is a special number in Judaism. In Hebrew, it means “chai,” or life. “Chai” is a favorite in Jewish traditions and culture. Donations and gifts are often given in multiples of 18; the Amidah, also called the Shemoneh Esrei, is a key prayer with 18 blessings in Jewish services. For Holy Week, let us pray our own Amidah version for Israel, for our Jewish friends, and for persecuted Christians worldwide.

Holy Week 2025 is also an ideal time to celebrate what we Christians call Palm Sunday—by adopting an example of ancient Jewish names and symbols, rich with meaning. With worldwide Jew hatred literally exploding in evil deeds and lying words, we will gain a deeper understanding of ancient Jewish customs directly related to Jesus, our Jewish Savior.

Let us not forget that—by using language-based archaeology—digging deeper in the Bible’s 66 books reveals that indeed, God planned for our Christian faith by drawing it directly from Jewish roots. God created the Jews and their culture beginning with Abraham. He included non-Jews but grafted us into the Jewish roots as branches who choose to thrive in Jesus. Thus, Israel is our spiritual homeland.

In Holy Week 2025, we Christians can rescue a rich Jewish context too often lost in the annals of history. Here we go!

Two thousand years ago Jesus rode into Jerusalem, signaling the beginning of Passover week. Riding a wave of popularity, Jesus was adored by Jewish throngs from all over the known world. He loved Jerusalem, yet knew that His interrogation, beatings, betrayals, and death by crucifixion lay ahead.

And herein is the beautiful connection. The Bethlehem shepherds, who annually herded thousands of Passover lambs into Jerusalem, were enacting the ancient Day of Lambs! Lamb Selection Day—a divine cultural context, with awe-inspiring purpose.

The Sadducees—the leaders in charge of Temple sacrifices—also owned the Bethlehem fields and the lambs raised there. They hired shepherds, experts in animal husbandry, regarded as Levitical Priests because when ewes gave birth, their lambs were destined a year later as Temple sacrifices. The historian Josephus estimates that 265,000 lambs could be sacrificed in the Temple for Passover.

Exodus 12:5 instructs, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year,” so Sadducees held a lamb “beauty contest.” At the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, they inspected each one making sure it was perfect. When Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, the priests already regarded Him a threat to their growing corrupt bureaucratic system. Many Jews believed in Jesus but not the political hierarchy. The priests controlled every step of the Temple sacrifices, selling them to Passover pilgrims. This explains why, later the same day, Jesus walked up to the Temple in a display of righteous anger. Using a whip, He overthrew the money changers’ tables and coins, saying as recorded in Matthew 21:12-13, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Allow this understanding to dwell deeply in your soul: Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God, rode into Jerusalem on the Day of Lambs with thousands of scampering Bethlehem lambs parading into the holy city herded by Levitical shepherds from Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace. Think of it: If the Sadducees required upwards of 265,000 lambs for Temple sacrifices, Jesus, the perfect Lamb, made one Sacrifice for all time to pay our personal debt of sin! The contrast is a majestic reality of our Savior’s gift!

I wonder. Did some Shepherd priests who beheld Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem live long enough to behold Him once again as He entered Jerusalem among thousands of lambs? In Holy Week 2025, honor Jesus this year in a new and profound way, remembering His one sacrificial act covering every sin past, present, and future.

Our world is filled with chaos and lawlessness; however, it does not diminish or reverse the fact that Father God made a redemption plan through Jesus the Perfect Lamb giving us the kind of peace to overcome the chaos.

We welcome you to our CBN Israel team to pray for our world in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for traumatized Jews and persecuted Christians worldwide.
• Pray for ways to educate others with Jewish traditions that enrich our Christan faith.
• Pray for Jews in Israel and around the world as they begin Passover this Saturday evening.
• Pray for Christians throughout the Middle East as they enter Holy Week.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The United Nations’ 80-year history contains some wretched moments. On October 24, 1945—after World War II ended—51 countries officially launched the United Nations (U.N.). Although the organization was established with dreams of peace and “sovereign equality of all nations,” the majority of today’s 193 member nations are united against the world’s only Jewish nation.

Instead of supporting “sovereign equality” for Israel, the U.N. glorifies Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who still runs his “pay to slay” salary operation that rewards Palestinian terrorists for murdering Jews. Since October 7, 2023, the U.N. has increased its accusations—that humanitarian aid trucks were “violently looted,” for example, and that IDF soldiers used Palestinian children as human shields—as if Israel is the perpetrator of all that has befallen Gaza.

Among dozens of inaccurate criticisms, the U.N. consistently blames Israel for blocking food for Gazans. However, the United Nations seems unconcerned about (or ignores) the fact that many aid trucks sat for weeks not yet unloaded—or that armed Hamas terrorists regularly stole massive quantities of food off the trucks to resell at soaring prices to their population. The truth is, Israel has actually facilitated more than 1.3 million tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilians by land, sea, and air with help from allies. But that truth continues to go unnoticed.

In its early years, the United Nations attempted to resolve the simmering “whose land is it?” arguments. On November 29, 1947, they devised a resolution titled The Partition Plan. The plan—Resolution 181—proposed two states, one for Arabs (not called Palestinians at the time), the other, a state for Jews. Jewish leaders said yes to the plan. Arab leaders said no. The concept of a two-state solution would never work if surrounding Arab countries never accepted a Jewish state in the biblical land of Israel. Yet, Arab leaders repeatedly deceived most of the world’s well-meaning but gullible leaders, who were desperate for peace at any cost.

Consider this: After Israel miraculously won the Arab-launched Six-Day War in 1967, the Arab League held its fourth summit to emphasize Arabic solidarity in its goal to destroy the State of Israel. On August 29 in Khartoum, Sudan, the Arab League voted for the Khartoum Resolution that described the Palestinian Arab policy as “The Three No’s”—no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel.

Fortunately, President Trump’s visionary leadership enshrined the 2020 Abraham Accords’ agreement normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates. Offering a historic shift in the Middle East, it lost steam during the Biden administration and the October 7 kidnappings and massacres backed by the Islamic Regime. 

A little history lesson here. Prior to 1917, the Muslim Ottoman Empire ruled Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to the early 20th centuries. After the Ottoman’s centuries-long rule ended in World War 1, the British Mandate went into force in 1917. Both Jews and Arabs were under the military and administrative control of the United Kingdom in the region known as “Palestine” until May 14, 1948, when Jewish leaders aptly named their modern nation “Israel.”  That very night, the armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq invaded Israel. To everyone’s surprise, the outnumbered and outgunned Israelis miraculously defeated their attackers.

The three Arab no’s still dominate the United Nations when it comes to reports, decisions, and resolutions. For example, that embedded hatred and intolerance towards Israel made no exceptions for the October 7 hostages from 29 countries. Every hostage was and is loved by families and communities everywhere.

The United Nations’ disdain for Israel is nowhere more clearly shown than in a current United Nations draft report about vulnerable children in the world’s conflict zones. Set to be released in June, the draft report will assault the senses of Christians and Jews who care deeply about Israel and its people. The report contains a glaring, back door omission that exemplifies almost every part of the United Nations attitude toward Israel.

Extraordinarily, the murders of Israeli baby, Kfir Bibas, and his older brother Ariel were omitted from the draft report. As Amir Tsarfati announced from his Telegram platform, these beautiful red-headed children were forcefully kidnapped from their home in kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. Their abductors rushed them into Gaza, held in the arms of their terrified mother. But it wasn’t until February 22, 2025, that the world discovered the unspeakable had taken place: In Gaza, terrorists had strangled Shiri and her two sons shortly after the kidnapping. And, after strangling these innocents with their bare hands, the terrorists picked up knives and desecrated their victims’ bodies.

What kind of global institution would omit these vile inhuman acts from a report directed at vulnerable children who live in conflict zones? I assume that, based on their demonic nature, the terrorists forced Shiri to watch them strangle her children. Where is the United Nations’ condemnation for Hamas’s heinous acts? Yet the U.N. finds time to defend Hamas, Iran, and its proxies—almost as if Israeli children aren’t quite human.

Hamas’s brutal acts of strangulation and desecration stain the world with their unmitigated sin. Right now, we should consider the majority of the 193 member nations in the U.N. to be the terrorists’ accomplices in the sins of omission in this report.

Will nations rise and challenge this outrageous omission before the report’s release in June? Will anyone notice? I encourage you to learn more from two organizations that defend Israel at the United Nations with excellent credentials: UNWatch.org and the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week:

• Pray for Israeli families and children who have been traumatized since October 7 and during the continued multifront war.
• Pray for the final release of all hostages, both the dead and alive.
• Pray for God to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wisdom as he leads Israel.
• Pray for the global community to wake up to the truth about what has happened during these past 18 months.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Israel is a small nation with a big presence in the modern world. In fact, its significance far outweighs its size and its population. During ancient times, God revealed Himself to His chosen people, the Jews. Israel’s 3,000-year-old capital, Jerusalem, is mentioned 800 times in the Old and New Testaments. In rabbinic literature and in biblical references, Jerusalem is considered the center of the world. Certainly, since October 7, 2023, Israel and the Jewish people are dominant in world news, with both truth and lies fighting for attention.

Amid the backdrop of wartime, why are Jews living in other countries now “making Aliyah”—immigrating to Israel? The Hebrew word aliyah means “ascent” or “going up.” In ancient times, ascent described the Pilgrim Road walk up to the Temple Mount for the annual Jewish festivals. Aliyah remains the word used for Jewish immigration, which now takes place primarily via flights to Israel. These immigrants are enacting Israel’s Law of Return, passed in 1950, that allows Jews, their children, and grandchildren to become citizens in their ancestral homeland.

In Genesis 17:8, God promises Abraham, “The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Worldwide, the Jewish population is now nearing 16 million, with 7.3 million living in Israel. To gather more firsthand information, I interviewed Gary Cristofaro, vice president of Ezra International (EI) at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in February. Since 1996, Gary’s organization has made Aliyah possible for 120,000 Jews from Central Asia, Latin America, and the former USSR. During 2024 and into this year, EI has helped upwards of 6,000 Jews make Aliyah.

Explaining their reasons for wanting to make Aliyah, even after October 7, 2023, Gary says, “Many say they want a better life for their children; others want to be with their brothers and sisters in Israel since the attack.” Gary adds that growing antisemitism is widely mentioned as an important factor. In the last two years, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, an Aliyah surge of Jews from both nations have begun living new lives in Israel. The numbers of French Jewish Aliyah are rising. As Gary mentioned, “We are seeing off-the-charts antisemitism in a Muslim-majority country, which I cannot disclose.”

Israel’s i24NEWS reports that since the October 7 invasion and massacre, 35,000 Jews have immigrated to Israel. They came from 100 different countries and a third of them are between 18 and 35 years old.

Since Ezra International’s founding, Gary told me, the organization has extended help to 30 different nations considered part of the Jewish Diaspora. Currently, they have teams on the ground in 14 nations. In the context of the Greek translation of the Bible, diaspora means “scattering” of the Jewish people outside of Israel, their homeland. In Hebrew the words golah (exile) and t’futzah (dispersion) are used, noting the Babylonian, Roman, and other exiles.

After the Holocaust—and the modern establishment of the world’s only Jewish state on May 14, 1948—Aliyah has grown in waves. No matter where they lived across the world, Jews went about building their lives yet yearned for their ancestral homeland. The phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem” has resounded countless times at Shabbat tables in the Jewish dispersion worldwide.

Christian organizations that help with Aliyah for diaspora Jews are not uncommon. They cooperate with Israel to help sponsor flights. However, Ezra International’s main contribution occurs before flights take off for the Holy Land. 

“Where we shine, and what we do differently, is to help Jews navigate the process prior to flights by focusing on poorer Jewish communities that have limited manpower and limited budgets,” Gary explains. “We work with the indigenous leaders in each of the nations through their Jewish Agency.” Since its establishment in 1996, Ezra International has earned lasting trust through decades of assistance cooperating with The Jewish Agency in Israel and diaspora nations.

On the ground, Gary’s staff emphasizes Israel’s Law of Return with the Jewish communities and sets into motion the research that will provide detailed, accurate documents. These must be presented to Israeli Consul General offices in each nation. Ezra International not only provides research to validate the facts of candidates’ Jewish heritage, but they help them navigate the bureaucracies.

Gary offered an insightful example of the process for a Ukrainian family. After Ezra International researched and gathered the documents for the family, he drove them for five hours on “pothole-filled roads” and put them up at a hotel. The next day, the entire family appeared as required and presented their documents to the Israeli Consulate in Ukraine. Afterward, he drove them back to their home—another five hours. Gary observed, “They can’t afford that type of thing without some help, and that’s where Ezra International comes in.’’

In emergencies like the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian families can exit their country with the help of teams in Romania or Moldova. “A lot of Russian Jews came out of Russia through neighboring countries,” Gary explains, “because they saw the writing on the wall.”

Gary comments that their research doesn’t look like a miracle. For instance, some of the research requires verifying the Jewish identity of Holocaust survivors whose parents undertook Gentile names for reasons of survival. Yet a miracle it is. “It’s amazing what the folks on the ground are doing. They are not in the limelight, but they are parting the ‘Red Sea’ of essential research and proof of Jewish identity.”

He refers to Romans 15:8, where the Apostle Paul wrote, For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed.

Gary embraces this passage as “a description of the work that our people on the ground are doing.” The teams are coming beside God’s people, humbly serving them. They often hear that they’re “the first Christians ever to show them kindness.”

Ezra International is devoted to doing its part to help fulfill the promises that God has made to the Jewish people for their homeland, Israel. For 2,000 years, it seemed impossible. But now it’s happening, and Scripture also promises that you can be a part of it! Learn more about Ezra, a Christian charity helping impoverished Jewish people who live outside the U.S. to make Aliyah.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us recalling Genesis 12:7: “To your offspring [or seed] I will give this land.”

• Pray for Ezra International’s ongoing ministry to aid Jews making Aliyah.
• Pray for safety in nations that are dangerously enacting Jew hatred.
• Pray with thanks for the love Ezra’s staff is showing to God’s chosen people.
• Pray for IDF members defending their ancestral homeland.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Ever since the onset of Israel’s defensive war—530 days ago—love has beautifully interrupted the fighting with weddings taking place on and off the battlefield. Evil cannot stop love, marriages, or the births of Jewish children.

While the Islamic Regime and its proxies are shouting “death to Jews,” Israel is focused on love and life! During wartime, with hundreds of thousands of men and women serving in the IDF, Jewish couples are rearranging their wedding dates to suit the changed circumstances. IDF army bases and other locations are now chosen as substitute wedding venues. Here are some examples.

In northern Israel, at a kibbutz near an IDF base, one groom’s unit planned the entire event by arranging for flowers, catering, a wedding cake, and a traditional chuppah, or Jewish wedding canopy. When his future wife voiced concern about missile attacks, the groom told her, “If something happens, we’ll go into a bomb shelter, and then hopefully come back and finish the wedding. We can’t let ourselves be overwhelmed by what-if scenarios.” A famous Israeli singer showed up at the wedding and sang for the assembled group at no charge. Such things are becoming commonplace.

After October 7, 2023, a reservist called up for duty decided to get married right away. The bride and groom were dressed in their IDF uniforms and surrounded by excited soldiers. The radiant bride sported a beautiful wedding veil.

After he saw an IDF wedding photo, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett observed, “Lately I find myself more and more urging young couples … to get married and have kids. I have already set up 4–5 weddings for injured people, or bereaved family members.” He described victory as not just “hell … on the battlefield” but with optimism: “building a new generation, with faith, and with growth from the horrible pain.”

Many weddings had already been planned for October 2023, following the Jewish fall festivals. After the horrors of October 7, each couple decided to either delay or proceed with inventive new plans. A quote from the Talmud reflects part of traditional Jewish culture: “If a funeral procession and a wedding procession meet at an intersection, the wedding procession goes first.”

Weddings frequently go viral on social media. Celebrated on those platforms, the joyful events bless Israel’s national family, which has been so traumatized by brutality, and boost their wedding joy, whether people know the happy couple or not. The re-planned, spontaneous, or scaled-down celebrations are often financed and supported by the local communities.

One couple had planned for their wedding to be held in a lovely venue on October 9, 2023, and they invited 400 guests. After October 7, the bride and groom opted for a much smaller wedding in a community garden across the street from their parents’ apartment. Social media began to fill with excitement and offers to help amid Hamas rockets falling. Bomb shelters could be accessed nearby. A klezmer music group showed up ready to play. Friends and strangers brought food and set up the necessary chuppah, where the bride and groom stood as if under a prayer shawl. Neighbors watched from their balconies as a rabbi pronounced beautiful prayers. Here’s one of my favorites:

“Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, Who created joy and gladness, loving couples, mirth, glad song, pleasure, delight, love, loving communities, peace, and companionship.”

At the ceremony’s end, the groom stomped on a glass, part of Jewish weddings that recall Jewish tragedies for thousands of years. Joyous music and dancing followed.

The next day, in the paradox of Israel’s joys and sorrows, these newlyweds flew to London for a shiva, a time of mourning. Hamas had murdered a 20-year-old friend of theirs, a lone soldier. When the newlyweds shared news about their wedding with the lone soldier’s mother, the bereaved woman experienced a moment of joy. Important to note about lone soldiers programs: Friends of the IDF (FIDF) currently offers 7,000 young men and women help while serving in the IDF. Lone soldiers have no immediate family in Israel. Half of the lone soldiers volunteer from abroad, while others are Israeli orphans or are from broken homes.

Another couple moved forward with plans for an elegant wedding in May 2024. They kept their location in Jerusalem, complete with décor and food. However, they made their day one of beautiful remembrances, with Israeli flags flying, gifts for their guests, and prayers for IDF soldiers, hostages, and the state of Israel. As bride and groom stood under the chuppah, a shofar sounded as if going out to battle. Most of the guests had family members who were serving or had served in the IDF.

One couple kept their previous wedding date, October 12, 2023, although family and friends had their flights to Israel canceled. The ceremony was held on a Tel Aviv rooftop with a smaller number of guests. One of the hosts suggested taking the overage of delicious food to an army base. Everyone loved the idea! The bride commented, “We just wanted to have one day where there was happiness. We wanted to show the world that we have a love for each other in these dark times.” She is glad they made the decision.

But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread (Exodus 1:12).

It’s hardly surprising that an Israeli baby boom is well underway, with a 10 percent rise in births over the same period a year earlier. Some compare this jump to the U.S. post-World War II baby boom (1946–1964). In Israel, thousands more babies were born between September and November 2024, much higher than predicted. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics shows that the trend is continuing into 2025. Maternity wards are overflowing.

This information came out in a report requested by Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata, chair of the Committee on the Status of Women. “Despite the unimaginable hardship of the past year, we see how the people of Israel choose to grow from grief,” she observed. “The rise in births is proof of our inner strength and our ability to create new life even in the most difficult times.” One statistic indicates that in 2023, 172,500 births were recorded compared to 181,000 in 2024.

Couples have decided to have their first child or another child even in the difficulties of war. “It gave us some light and sanity in a dark time,” one mother explained. “After October 7 took so many lives from us, bringing a life into the world felt like the right thing to do.”

We welcome you to our CBN Israel team to pray from Psalm 127:3, “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray with thanks for the beautiful Jewish babies born in their ancestral homeland.
• Pray for mothers at home caring for children whose fathers are IDF soldiers.
• Pray for Israeli children, that their parents in the IDF will return home safely.
• Pray for Hamas to finally release remaining hostages, whether alive or dead.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Just this week, minority civilian populations in Syria were targeted in another chaotic chapter of the civil unrest that’s been ongoing since 2011. Jihadist bulldozers have been carelessly scooping up dead people and filling mass graves with thousands of civilians, this time under new president Ahmad al-Sharaa, once known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Photos and videos of the mass murders of Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities—Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurds—are shocking. The Jew haters, exposed worldwide, slaughter any civilians, Jew or non-Jew. Their hate is an addiction without boundaries.

I prefer to call the new Syrian president by his former name, al-Julani. Last December, he and his group of Islamist militants, known as HTS, ousted former Syrian President Assad. That dreadful, decades-long tyrant fled to Moscow after leaving Syria in shambles.

Meanwhile, and frankly unbelievably, Hamas is accusing Israel of the Syrian massacres—while refusing to show the visual evidence that has been proudly disseminated by the al-Julani terrorists themselves. Arab-on-Arab carnage is irrelevant to Hamas and its ilk; after all, their habit is to use civilians as human shields.

On October 7, Hamas gleefully filmed its unspeakable cruelty—and Julani’s gangs are exalting their atrocities, too. A Sunni Muslim Syrian videoed himself and bragged about the slaughtering of 9,000 Alawites, the second-largest religious group in Syria. On March 9, multiple Syrian citizens on Telegram reported more than 10,000 murders. The death toll is sure to climb amid their ongoing, appalling reports.

Getting rid of Assad could have been a big win for Syria. Early on, al-Julani used all the right words in calling for the preservation of “national unity [and] civil peace.” He added, “God willing, we will be able to live together in this country.” Such words prompted a wave of hope to Syrians, but that hope has quickly evaporated.

Ill-informed leaders from Europe and the U.S. did not anticipate the violence, although al-Julani has earned terrorist credentials with ISIS and al-Qaeda. He cleverly changed his costume into a Western-style suit and tie—greeting leaders with a deceptive smile, handshakes, and lies. But that didn’t change his character.

In December, after Assad bolted, an unsuspecting President Joe Biden sent his top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, to head up an American delegation to meet with al-Julani. Afterward, Leaf told reporters that al-Sharaa had “committed to renouncing terrorism.” The result: Biden canceled the 10-million-dollar bounty on al-Julani, who had long been recognized by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist.

Incredibly, it was another case of giving a huge reward to terrorists based merely on words, not proven actions. Following suit, French Foreign Minister Barrot and German Foreign Minister Baerbock then traveled to Damascus and pledged their help for a new beginning. Not surprisingly, the Hague Tribunal’s Karim Khan, the prosecutor who declared warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, made it a point to go to Damascus to congratulate Julani.

In a February interview, al-Julani remarked to The Economist, “If democracy means that the people decide who will rule them and who represents them in the Parliament, then, yes, Syria is going in this direction.” Nevertheless, a remnant of Assad’s military began an armed fight against Julani’s military, which quickly deteriorated into a free-for-all slaughter of civilians in Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities.

Syria is a notable part of Israel’s history. Matthew 4:24 reminds us: Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

Last Saturday, alarmed about the lack of mainstream media coverage and already alert to the violence, Israeli Amir Tsarfati, president of Behold Israel, rightly called al-Julani “the new caliph of the al-Qaeda state.” In a Facebook Live post from his home in Israel, Tsarfati emphasized his reason for speaking out against the atrocities in Syria.

“On paper, these [Syrians] are my enemies, yes, but I cannot stay silent.” Tsarfati said that “armed military forces fighting another military force is one thing” and mentioned Israel’s massive military operation in December, which “destroyed Assad army’s capabilities.” However, Julani’s al-Qaeda—ISIS gangs—are not fighting soldiers. “They are butchering families, children, women, and elderly. If I don’t speak out and if you don’t speak out, the world will do nothing.” Tsarfati asked his 600,000-plus Telegram subscribers to re-post the Syrian atrocities everywhere on social media. His subscribers are mostly Christians across the world.

On Monday, Amir gave a report based on subscribers’ actions. “You responded to my plea two days ago. Now it is you who are responsible for the fact that not only are people talking about it, but the United Nations Security Council will convene!”

Straightaway Julani, “the caliph of the al-Qaeda state,” ordered his terrorists to stop the videos but not the massacres. Amir noted, “Because of your sharing, I began to receive messages from Alawites in Latakia, Syria. They found me on Instagram because it’s the only place you can send me direct messages without being exposed.” 

Christians grew quickly into a social media army of truth-tellers after Amir’s first report garnered over half-a-million views in less than two days! With violence going on everywhere, Amir urges us to keep the news circulating.

Israel’s i24NEWS reports an unprecedented request to Prime Minister Netanyahu from Syria’s Alawite sheiks: “Save us from the brutal regime. We will receive you with songs and flowers.” They also asked Israel’s media to “Shed light on the massacres.” Their plea recognized that “the entire world has been silent about our injustice, and we have only heard a voice from Israel condemning the crimes.”

Christians are killed alongside Alawites. The patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches made their joint entreaty in a statement about Latakia, home to a small Christian community. “The Christian churches … call for an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.” Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, challenged Europe to “make its voice heard loud and clear regarding the mass murder of Alawite and Christian civilians.” Israel still faces dangers with jihadists now in charge—for example, emptying prisons filled with Jew-haters.

After the new president’s takeover, the Israeli Air Force wisely began continued strikes on Assad’s remaining Syrian missile depots, air defenses, and chemical sites to fortify its buffer zone in Syria. The U.S. is also implementing dozens of strikes on Islamic State targets. Syria’s minorities will also benefit.

On his Telegram, YouTube, and Instagram platforms, Amir requests four actions that take half a minute to do: Subscribe, Like, Comment, and Share. I urge readers to share on social media to create worldwide attention for Syrian minorities. Nonetheless, our love and prayers for our spiritual homeland Israel demands that we apply the same four actions to spread the facts about Israel.

Remember, Amir “is not staying silent.” None of us should.

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team directing our prayers toward Syria.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for mainstream media to expose al-Julani’s true nature.
• Pray for Syrian minorities living under another murderous regime.
• Pray for Syrians worn out by civil war traumas under Assad.
• Pray for Christians to increase successful advocacy for Israel.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

In an era of top-heavy propaganda funded by billions in dark money, we celebrated in a room packed with Christian media during a press conference at last week’s National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention. The press conference, which emphasized the importance of ancient and modern Israel, was steered by three organizations that announced a resolution planned for this, the largest NRB convention to date, with its record-breaking 5,800 Christian media professionals.

Why did we celebrate? Because, after the decades-long debate about the sovereignty of the biblical heartland (i.e., Judea and Samaria), this new resolution represented both scriptural and historical truth. Leaders in International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI), and the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) each took part. IAF President Josh Reinstein, who moderated, announced a powerful petition: a resolution to President Donald J. Trump delivered on February 27.

The resolution, signed by more than 200 Christian leaders, includes approval from pastors, authors, media, and ministry influencers representing some 60 million American evangelicals. The resolution gained momentum in early February after President Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for a series of meetings between the two allies. In their discussions, President Trump indicated that he would make a statement in the coming weeks about Judea and Samaria, a region that is mostly described by the secular term West Bank.

Consider the history behind this moment. For decades, the topic of Judea and Samaria has bounced like a ping-pong ball between Jews, Arabs, European countries, Palestinians, the United Nations, and the United States. It has been a never-ending dispute about sovereignty. Simply put, Palestinians consider this region as their territory, calling it Palestine. The more than 500,000 Jews who populate the Israeli heartland consider it biblical Judea and Samaria, as outlined in Holy Scripture. The current signed document rests on the sacred, biblical deed God bequeathed to the Jewish people 3,000 years ago. This resolution not only affirms the inalienable rights of Jews to Judea and Samaria, it also emphasizes that the 200-plus signers “reject all efforts—both from the United States and the international community—to pressure the Jewish people to relinquish their ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria.”

I am including the Resolution’s text to serve as an educational document to help all Evangelicals speak the facts about God’s geographic and intentional plans for His indigenous people, the Jews, to occupy the land God deeded to them through Abraham. God Himself declared Judea and Samaria as the Jews’ biblical heartland. His deed will not diminish nor be changed by any controversy.

Here is the text: “Reaffirming the Jewish People’s Right to the Biblical Heartland.”

• Whereas the Jewish people have an enduring historical and biblical connection to Judea and Samaria, also known as the Biblical Heartland;
• Whereas archaeological discoveries and physical evidence continuously reaffirm the Jewish people’s historic presence in this region;
• Whereas Judea and Samaria contain some of the most significant biblical sites, including Beit El, Hebron, Shiloh, Beit She’an, Bethlehem, Shechem, Jericho, and many others;
• Whereas key biblical figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, King David, King Solomon, the prophets, and in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles, lived, owned land, fought battles, taught, judged, and traveled extensively throughout Judea and Samaria, shaping the region’s character and history;
• Whereas despite modern propaganda claiming the contrary, Jesus was born a Jewish man in the Jewish city of Beit Lechem (Bethlehem), home of His ancestor King David, and traveled, preached, and ministered in the Roman occupied Jewish Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria;
• Whereas, despite centuries of forced exile leading to the Jewish Diaspora, a continuous Jewish presence remained in the Land of Israel, including the Biblical Heartland;
• Whereas, even during 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish people maintained an unbroken connection to their heritage through language, religion, and culture and shared a collective yearning to return to the land; and
• Whereas the modern Jewish presence and sovereignty over Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria has brought tangible blessings to the land, as foretold in Scripture, improving the standard of living, safeguarding religious freedoms and sites, preserving the region’s history, and enhancing the lives of all its inhabitants,
• Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned signatories reaffirm the Jewish people’s inalienable right to the Biblical Heartland of Israel and reject all efforts—both from the United States and the international community—to pressure the Jewish people to relinquish their ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria.

As a significant world history marker, this resolution is timely. Purim, the annual Feast of Esther, is celebrated next week on March 13 and 14. Two hundred American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) are following in the footsteps of Jewish Queen Esther and her kinsman Mordecai appealing to King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who ruled over a wide swath of 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. Esther’s appeal saved the lives of Jews across all provinces under Ahasuerus’ rule. In approving the resolution, President Trump, the leader of the free world, changes the conversation about Jewish history—recognizing the biblical principle that God established when He made Jews the permanent caretakers of His Holy Land.

Two observations from the press conference are worth remembering. First, Dr. Susan Michael, CEO of ICEJ US, noted, “The October 7 attacks in Israel served as a stark reminder of the failure of the two-state solution. It is not a solution. It is an illusion. Gaza was essentially a Palestinian state and look at what it produced.”

Second, ICEJ Senior Vice President David Parsons briefed us on the legalities of Israel’s claims with a reminder that the international community recognized Israel’s right to its biblical heartland at the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the 1920 San Remo Conference, and the 1922 League of Nations mandate. He clarified that, although some opponents call it an annexation of Judea and Samaria, “As a legal principle, you cannot annex something that you already own.”

In 2018, ACLI sent a resolution to President Trump to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. His signature guaranteed a successful move, although world leaders wrongly predicted chaos. While awaiting President Trump’s imprimatur on the validity of Judea and Samaria rightly under Israeli sovereignty, harsh disapproval, threats, and added violence will likely ensue. But the existential truth will be elevated, and God’s original blueprints will be honored.

Trump’s signature on the 2025 ACLI resolution would nevertheless be a biblically important moment for the United States of America. Awaiting his signing, let us recall Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” Prayers and repentance are necessary for curses to fade away due to past governmental decisions—and yes, that includes Christian betrayals or apathy against Israel, our spiritual homeland.

The press conference announcing the well-crafted resolution drew an outbreak of resounding applause and jubilation. Its significance is close to the hearts and minds of those of us in Christian media who will soldier on with renewed strength and hope!

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week:

• Pray that the nations of the world will condemn antisemitism in all its toxic forms.
• Pray for Christians throughout the world to stand firm in their support of Israel.
• Pray for President Donald Trump, his administration, and the 119th U.S. Congress.
• Pray for Christian media like CBN to gain even more influence worldwide.
• Pray for the global mainstream media to report the unbiased truth about Israel and the Middle East.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza sank even deeper into the depths of their demonic deeds last Thursday by exhibiting the unthinkable on their stage of horror. Four coffins sat in front of a large backdrop picturing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire salivating blood. A photo over his chest showed Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old man; Shiri Bibas, 32; and her two young sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir. The poster’s headline read: “The War Criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi Army Killed them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes.”

That headline has been flashed around the world by news outlets, horrified at the savage, inhumane treatment these innocent civilians were subjected to by their Hamas abductors—and at the way the perpetrators attempted to blame Israel for atrocities that Hamas committed. Not only was the global response quick and scathing, but Argentina announced two days of mourning for the boys who, like their parents, were dual Israeli-Argentinean citizens. In fact, that country is considering renaming “Palestine Street” to “Bibas Family Street.”

The real war criminals handed over the four coffins—deliberately locked—to the IDF with no keys provided. After the IDF had reverently transported the precious remains to Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification, the woman in the coffin (labeled with Shiri’s head shot) proved to be someone other than Shiri Bibas. The monsters had purposely sent a coffin containing an unknown Palestinian woman—a move that threatened to derail the already fragile ceasefire agreement with the enraged Israelis. Hamas, like the Nazis, are experts in deliberately prolonging psychological warfare. They released Shiri’s body a day later.

When the forensic findings were made public, the professional scientists—who had previously examined every kind of injury—expressed profound shock. They said they had never seen any bodies so thoroughly mutilated.

The forensics revealed that mother and children were murdered in November 2023 in Gaza shortly after being kidnapped. Their captors first choked to death Shiri, Ariel and Kfir with their bare hands, then broke every bone in the captives’ bodies, and desecrated those precious bodies with knives.

Hearing the details from Behold Israel President Amir Tsarfati on his Telegram channel, I sat shocked just listening to it. My husband Paul prayed with faith that while this depth of evil is beyond comprehension, God is sovereign, and His Holy Spirit is our source of comfort and counsel. Psalm 147: 3-5. “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.” 

Believers, we must continually embrace this verse so that we can remain strong. God has graciously invited us to serve as His emissaries in a world covered with darkness and desperate for the Light. Evil is on exhibit from the Islamic Regime and its willing proxies of hate. We must frequently pray Psalm 147:3-5 for our Israeli friends and remain alert and active on behalf of Israel. Leaning into our Lord, we must truly grasp as best we can the level of Israel’s national traumas. Christians must rise up amid hateful lawlessness counting on Jesus, our Jewish Redeemer, Whom we can trust in any crisis.

Switching to another exhibit of evil at a funeral: On February 23 in Beirut, Lebanon, a stadium crowded with tens of thousands of Hezbollah and Iranian supporters cried and worshipped their dead leader, Hassan Nasrallah, while chanting “Death to Israel!” They had called Nasrallah their “victorious hero.” Israel eliminated him in Beirut, hiding in a deep underground location on September 27, 2023. The citizens of tiny Israel are in truth the “victorious heroes”—who often miraculously decimate huge swaths of Hezbollah’s terror operations.

During the funeral, IDF fighter jets flew low over the stadium several times as a direct reminder of Israel’s vastly superior military strength. Teeming thousands of terrorists roared “Death to Israel.” Keep in mind, Israel could have dropped bombs into the stadium. Instead, the flyover exemplified the IDF’s military policy not to harm civilians—even at great danger to themselves.

Israel is not only defending its ancestral homeland from an onslaught of warmongers but stands  on the front lines of freedom for the world. These defensive measures will continue until Hezbollah is stopped from enacting the Islamic Regime’s plans against every “infidel”—be they Jewish, Christian, Israeli, from the U.S. and from other free nations.

Backtracking to a quote, the day before the release of the Bibas/Lifshitz murdered hostages, an Al-Mujahideen Brigade terrorist announced: “The bodies of the Bibas family members who were kidnapped by our people on 7.10 will be handed over. We guarded them properly according to Islamic religious customs.” The masked terrorist then claimed, “They were killed in an Israeli attack along with those who guarded them. We held the bodies throughout the war.” Once again, we see that the fanatics’ shameless propaganda has no end.

In an unexpected turnabout, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, deviated from his and the UN’s habitual anti-Israel stance when he declared, “Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”

However, antisemitic hatred is still celebrated here in the U.S. by those chanting against Israel and glorifying terrorists holding Hamas flags and by other hateful propaganda celebrations. Ahmed Abu Daamus, also known as Abu Iyad, runs a popular Telegram channel with more than 800,000 followers. Iyad is an Arab lawyer in East Jerusalem. Israel arrested and placed him on administrative detention early in the war for “severe incitement” against that nation. Now released, he feeds propaganda to his fans. He mocked the return of the hostage coffins and shows a well-known video that his audience clearly loves. It features Palestinians dancing among coffins in happiness.

By now, I am hopeful that the anti-Jewish world clearly understands the nature of the Islamic Regime and its terror proxies. Lying is a malicious art form that the Islamic Regime has perfected—especially lying to those they consider to be infidels: non-Muslims. So: be wise. Be informed.

On her Substack, “Blacklisted,” gifted journalist Eve Barlow summed up the Bibas murders eloquently. “We held onto hope for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. But our hope was just the toy of the Palestinians. There was no hope for them, because they were murdered long ago. They were murdered by savages. Yarden [husband and father] was kept alive, and starved in captivity to add salt into the wounds of an entire people. The Palestinians played with our hope. because that is what evil does.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray Psalm 147:3-5 with us.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Israel—and U.S. leaders—to make the wisest decisions possible.
• Pray for the ever-deepening traumas Israel is facing nationally.
• Pray for more Christians to wake up to a profound reality of evil and get engaged under God’s direction.
• Pray for all of us at the National Religious Broadcaster media convention to increase our messages from God’s heart to the world.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Israel is one of the few countries in the world that requires women to serve in the military, as defined in its mandatory draft law. After Israel’s independence was declared on May 14, 1948, a Women’s Corps was quickly initiated. And today, the IDF reflects the stature of women who proudly serve their country. Within Israel’s culture of equality and its need for absolute security, decades of hard-fought acceptance have expanded IDF positions for women.

Women in the IDF are using their highly developed skills to fight against Hamas and other terror groups in multiple roles. On the front lines, for instance, an all-female tank crew drove over terrorists to protect Israeli kibbutzim. They are operating as medical professionals in Gaza and in a battalion searching for weapons in buildings. Women serve in drone units like Israel’s Sky Riders and on the ground commanding an Iron Dome unit. 

The IDF reported in January 2025 that women are driving a recruitment boom, with Israeli combat units surging by over 20 percent. They are also setting records for combat intelligence and for search and rescue missions. Brigadier General (ret.) Meir Elran at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv gave examples of their remarkable progress in the Israeli military. “In the ongoing war,” Elran noted, “female pilots played a significant role in a major airstrike operation against Iran.”

The surge of female enlistments shows incredible courage considering full awareness of the Hamas savages who targeted, raped, murdered, and kidnapped women—both civilians and female IDF soldiers—on October 7 and beyond.

After months of discussions in Israel, investigations will continue about the weeks leading up to October 7, 2023. On January 25, Hamas released five female IDF soldiers: survivors Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, and Daniella Gilboa. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with four of them on February 14. Daniella Gilboa was not present.

Here is the back story for why IDF Chief Halevi met with them to offer his apologies for failing them on and before October 7. Before their 15 months of captivity, the five survivors served as surveillance soldiers (tatzpitaniyot) in the Combat Intelligence Collection Array (part of the Border Defense Corps) and were assigned along Israel’s borders and the West Bank.

Years before the atrocities of October 7, 2023, on one of my Israel trips I visited one of their surveillance units in northern Israel. These soldiers kept watch via computers on assigned sections of the border to track Hezbollah movements. Often called “the eyes of the army,” these trained observers report real-time intelligence information to soldiers in the field, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In a briefing where they were deployed, I learned that the IDF women are deemed better able to endure long hours at the computers, noticing every movement of the enemy they’re watching. If only the IDF high command had remembered that distinction.

Because for months prior to the horrific October 7 invasion, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Liri Albag and Daniella Gilboa—all surveillance soldiers—saw signs of disturbing increases in suspicious activity from the Nahal Oz base only a mile from Gaza. The women reported Hamas militants holding multiple training sessions daily, as well as digging holes along the border where they planted explosives. Astonishingly, the lookouts’ warnings were not heeded as strongly by the more senior officers and intelligence officials, who had received the reports.

The five hostages were among seven females kidnapped from the Nahal Oz army post during the Hamas-led massacre. Levy, Ariev, Albag and Gilboa were released on January 25, 2025, and Berger was released five days later. In the meeting, Chief Halevi said, “From me personally and in the name of the commanders in the IDF, I am very sorry for everything you have been through. It’s our responsibility, and we can’t go back and change.” According to leaked remarks, he added, “It was wrong to have not taken you seriously; you were amazing soldiers. I apologize for what you experienced in captivity.”

In continuing investigations, Halevi said the women should be “partners in the investigation” by giving their testimony so that the IDF can learn more about the failures. Halevi will resign from the military on March 5 over the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Although Liri Albag’s mother said that her daughter “has anger toward the army,” all five of the female soldiers have expressed a desire to return to the IDF.

I have added several more details with an IDF resource link that offers a wealth of information. Every Israeli citizen over the age of 18—man, woman, Jewish, Druze or Circassian—must serve. Israeli Arabs and religious women are not mandatory. Enlisted men are expected to serve for a minimum of 32 months and women for at least 24 months.

In 2022, the IDF expanded its protocol to include Christians in voluntary enlistment as they are not obligated to serve by law. At the time, about 100 Christians served as volunteers. Israel’s Christian population is only 2 percent of the total; however, CBN Israel is helping to sponsor a new training prep course for Aramean Christian enlistment. Aramean Christians were recently recognized as an official minority in Israel.

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for remaining hostages amid the torture, starvation, and psychological warfare.
• Pray for wise decisions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet.
• Pray for effective mental health solutions to address the widespread trauma in Israel.
• Pray with thanks to the Lord for preserving the Jewish nation and people.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

On February 19, 2025, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) will reintroduce the Master Sergeant “Roddie” Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act on Capitol Hill. They first proclaimed their Gold Medal bill on January 27, 2025—International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Let’s take a look at why this honor is long overdue, the remarkable story behind it all, and how you can help make it happen.

This year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, marking the end of the Holocaust (Shoah) and World War II.

It is a fitting year to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal—the highest civilian honor in the United States—to Master Sergeant Edmonds. After the regiment that he commanded in the Battle of the Bulge was captured, Nazis marched the men into Europe’s biggest POW camp. Days later, MSgt. Roddie Edmonds saved the lives of the 200 Jewish men under his command. Epic heroism—and quite a legacy.

Since the end of the Second World War, the children and grandchildren born to the Jews spared by Edmonds’ courage number around 2,000 men, women, and children. They are a legacy born from the bravery and integrity of a hardworking, humble family man who saved the lives of his Jewish soldiers with five words.

A Christian from the hills of Tennessee, Edmonds stepped into history in 1944 with the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment—a regiment known as the “Golden Lions” for their insignia: a golden lion on a red background to symbolize courage and strength under fire. On a freezing morning in Stalag IXA, Nazis forced the prisoners into a lineup where Nazi Major Siegmann repeatedly demanded that Edmonds identify all Jewish soldiers. Every man knew that responding would mean death for the American Jewish soldiers. The night before, Edmonds had ordered his men not to surrender any of their regiment. Although Major Siegmann shouted and held a luger pressed to the Master Sergeant’s forehead, Edmonds, with calm, extraordinary courage firmly replied, “We are all Jews here.” He told Seigmann that he’d have to shoot everyone if he wanted to kill the Jews—and reminded him that the German would be hunted down, tried, and convicted for war crimes. The enraged Nazi walked away. A miracle of five words.

In those moments, Roddie Edmonds mirrored Psalm 106:3. “Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.”

How did Roddie Edmonds’ heroism finally reach the halls of the U.S. Congress? The amazing family story is written by Roddie’s son, Pastor Chris Edmonds, in his book No Surrender. After reading the summary below, you will want to be a part of assuring Congress’s decision to award the Master Sergeant’s posthumous Gold Medal.

It all began in 2005, when Chris’s daughter Lauren was assigned a college history project about World War II and her grandfather Roddie. Chris’s mom remembered his frayed WWII diary that he had hidden in a cigar box in his closet. Roddie had died in 1985 without ever mentioning his wartime heroism to his loved ones or friends. And when the family found and read his diary, it contained no hint of his bravery. 

Years later, Chris felt compelled to research his father’s World War II service. In a miraculous set of events, he found, met, and heard the stories about his father from four men under his command who were still living. The stories they shared are recounted in No Surrender and in a film: www.roddieedmonds.com.

Learning the stories from the soldiers his father saved, Chris declared, “I know that my father was willing to die to save Jewish men under his command because he believed a Jewish man, Jesus Christ, had died to save him.”

The February 19, 2025, mobilization on Capitol Hill is a big step for Chris. He had begun reaching out to Congress in 2016 with former Representative John Duncan, who introduced the original bill. Since then, members of Congress have reintroduced the bill six times in the House: the 114th, 115th, 116th, 117th, and 118th. Now before the 119th Congress, the bill is led by Senators Blackburn and Schatz and Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).

Ezra Friedlander, the founder of Project Legacy, has added his collaboration. Friedlander is concerned “that many young people lack awareness of the Holocaust.” He cites the significance of awarding Roddie Edmonds’ Gold Medal to “commemorate the 80th anniversary of this pivotal moment in history.”

Presently, neither the Senate nor the House bills have passed. The Senate bill, introduced on January 27, was followed by a House measure on February 4. A Congressional Gold Medal requires two-thirds approval by both chambers of Congress before it goes to the floor for a final vote.

Christian citizens, we must participate in getting this important bill passed. Beginning on February 19, contact your members of Congress in the Senate and House. Simply call the United States Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. An operator will connect you directly with your Senators’ and House member’s offices. Their staff will take your call and add your requests to support the Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act. If you do not know the names of your members of Congress, click this helpful link.

If you wish, read The Congressional Record for Senate bill S.262 and House bill H.R.921 then pray and act!

Chris’s meetings with the men under his father’s command grew into deep friendships. He shared their stories about his father’s heroism for the first time at the invitation of Rabbi Avi Perets of Temple El Emanuel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Active in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Rabbi Perets asked Chris to speak on April 27, 2014.

When Chris repeated his father’s lifesaving words, “We are all Jews here,” tears were plentiful on the faces of men, women, and a few of their Christian visitors. After speaking in Myrtle Beach, Chris has received invitations for more than 400 inspiring and educational speaking engagements in both Jewish and Christian venues.

One of his most prominent speeches occurred on March 16, 2016, at AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference. That year, it was held at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. In an election year, following AIPAC’s bipartisan policy, the top-tier presidential candidates from both parties were invited to speak. That particular day, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke after Chris, and later Donald Trump who won as the 45th (now 47th) president. Two survivors from his dad’s Golden Lions, Sonny Fox and Lester Tanner, sat with Chris’s wife, Regina, in the audience with 18,000 others. I was still on AIPAC staff and watched as the entire arena was transfixed and often tearful as Chris spoke about his father’s valor.

Chris’s persistent journey to honor his beloved father grew into another purpose: to motivate Jews and Christians to work together to educate and inspire others on behalf of Israel. Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, commanding the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment, was recognized on February 10, 2015, by Israel’s Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations.” A tree is planted on the Avenue of the Righteous in his remembrance as the only American soldier so honored.

Chris offers a timely reminder for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. “With antisemitism and hatred rising, there’s no better time to honor my father than this year, the 80th anniversary of his heroic actions, the liberation of Auschwitz, and the end of World War II.” Chris highlights his father’s moral courage as “timeless and transformative.”

Now, 80 years later, let us commit to shining a light on the Gold Medal to every member of Congress, asking them to join in as cosponsors. I pray that “We are all Jews here” is on our lips and in our actions to confront the world’s oldest hatred as one way to speak out and oppose 16 months of cruelty since October 7, 2023.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week:

• Pray for Democrats and Republicans to effectively cosponsor this bill.
• Pray that Christians will call every member of Congress to make the request.
• Pray for the media to report facts about this inspiring World War II story.
• Pray that Israelis will find encouragement in knowing about a future successful vote.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.