ARTICLES

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

On a frigid morning in a Nazi prisoner of war camp during World War II, two hundred Jewish American soldiers had their future rewritten by five simple words.

In the final months of the war, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds and twelve hundred soldiers of the 106th Infantry Division had been captured during the Battle of the Bulge. They were imprisoned at Stalag IX A in Ziegenhain, Germany. On January 27, 1945, the Nazi commander ordered Edmonds, the senior noncommissioned officer, to identify the Jewish soldiers in the formation.

The commander believed that about two hundred Jewish American soldiers were present. Edmonds knew what that meant. Jews separated from Allied prisoners were often sent to slave labor camps or executed.

Standing rigidly in the cold with his men, Edmonds faced the Nazi officer. The officer pressed a Luger pistol to his forehead and demanded that the Jewish soldiers step forward.

Edmonds calmly replied with five resolute words.

“We are all Jews here.”

Those words saved the lives of two hundred soldiers. Today, the descendants of those men number more than twenty thousand people.

On March 2, my husband Paul and I witnessed President Donald J. Trump award Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds the Medal of Honor posthumously in the White House East Room. Pentagon police transported guests on three buses for two Medal of Honor events. The first ceremony took place at the White House.

Reverend Chris Edmonds, the son of Roddie Edmonds and our longtime friend, invited us to attend this historic moment with his family and a small group of guests. That day, three noncommissioned officers were honored for extraordinary valor.

The evening before the ceremony, the families and invited guests gathered at the designated hotel. Military hosts welcomed everyone with a reception that included live jazz music and a generous buffet. Conversations with Pentagon personnel added to the sense of anticipation for the following day.

On the morning of March 2, security checks began at the hotel and continued at the White House. A military chamber orchestra greeted guests with ceremonial music as uniformed escorts guided us into the East Room.

Each guest received a program embossed with the seal of the United States. Inside was the official citation:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has posthumously awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Roderick W. Edmonds, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

When the families of the honorees entered the room, everyone rose to their feet. Military escorts led them slowly down the center aisle to seats in the front row. Tears filled my eyes as the significance of the moment settled over the room.

President Trump had spent time privately with each family before the ceremony began. When the orchestra played Hail to the Chief and the president walked down the aisle toward the podium, the room fell silent. Army Chief Chaplain William Green Jr. delivered a moving invocation and benediction.

I have known Chris Edmonds since 2014, when he began advocating for his father to receive the Medal of Honor. His journey to uncover his father’s story began years after his father’s death. In 2015, Israel’s Yad Vashem recognized Roddie Edmonds as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust. In 2019, Chris and Douglas Century published the book No Surrender, which recounts those extraordinary events.

Several members of the president’s cabinet attended the ceremony, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins. Senior military leaders, generals, and enlisted service members were also present.

After the ceremony, guests were welcomed into another room in the White House for a reception. Long banquet tables were set with elegant arrangements of roses and generous servings of food. The atmosphere reflected both celebration and reverence.

Chris later shared that while investigating his father’s past, he sensed what he describes as a clear call from the Lord Jesus. He believes God led him to uncover the truth about his father’s courage.

The following day another motorcade escorted guests to Conmy Hall at Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall in Arlington for the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes Induction Ceremony.

The program displayed the names of the three honorees:

• Master Sergeant Roderick W. Edmonds of World War II
• Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis of Operation Enduring Freedom
• Command Sergeant Major Terry P. Richardson of the Vietnam War

The ceremony included remarks from senior leaders, the presentation of photographs and citations, the unveiling of the Hall of Heroes plaque, and the playing of the Army Song.

As the families spoke, the audience alternated between laughter and tears. Hearing Chris recount his father’s actions reminded everyone that courage often begins with a single decision.

On the night before the roll call in the prison camp, Edmonds instructed his men to stand together the next morning when the Nazis demanded that Jewish soldiers step forward.

Chris often reminds audiences that his father’s faith shaped that decision. As he explains in his speeches, the men stood united on behalf of their Jewish brothers.

Over the years Chris and his wife Regina have formed lasting friendships with some of the Jewish soldiers and their families. One of the most significant moments in Chris’s journey came in March 2013 when he met Sergeant Lester J. Tanner of New York City. Tanner’s father had been one of the soldiers saved in that camp.

After hearing the story, Tanner told Chris, “Your father deserves the Medal of Honor.”

Chris believes God’s providence guided that encounter.

Today he hopes to establish a nonprofit organization that will preserve his father’s legacy and inspire future generations to demonstrate courage and moral clarity. He also hopes that a feature film and additional books will bring this story to a wider audience.

Chris encourages people to join what he calls Roddie’s Regiment by doing what is right for God and humanity regardless of the risk or the cost.

The courage of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds reminds us that moral conviction can change history. Five simple words spoken in a prison camp saved two hundred lives and shaped generations to come.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for American and Israeli troops confronting threats from the Islamic regime.
• Pray for families whose loved ones have sacrificed their lives in service.
• Pray with gratitude for Medal of Honor families whose courage inspires future generations.
• Pray for wisdom and safety for President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

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

A digital war is being waged against Israel. Iran, Hamas, and other hostile actors employ cyber espionage, phishing schemes, malware, and attacks on infrastructure as part of their campaign to undermine and delegitimize the Jewish state.

Social media has become both a battlefield and a tool in this struggle. While it can spread misinformation quickly, it can also serve as a powerful platform for truth. The challenge is separating fact from falsehood. In response, the Israel Antiquities Authority has launched an innovative project that uses the digital world to reveal undeniable evidence of Israel’s ancient roots.

Last September, the Israel Antiquities Authority introduced the Israel National Archaeological Database, a free online resource available to scholars, students, journalists, and the general public. The database opens a vast window into the past.

Visitors are welcomed with an invitation to “jump into the past with one click.” It is the largest archaeological database of its kind in the world. The scope of the collection is remarkable. It contains nearly 3.9 million records, almost one million artifacts, more than 1.2 million images, and over 15,000 three dimensional models of sites and discoveries. Approximately 2,000 researchers maintain and expand the database.

Beyond its academic value, this digital treasure trove provides an important tool for anyone seeking to counter misinformation about Israel. The database allows users to quickly locate photographs, descriptions, and documentation that demonstrate the deep historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel. In an era when false claims circulate rapidly online, verifiable archaeological evidence offers a powerful response.

Free public access makes the database especially valuable. For years, Palestinian groups have removed artifacts from archaeological sites in attempts to erase or distort Jewish history. In some cases, international institutions have even adopted narratives that diminish Jewish ties to sacred locations. At the urging of the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization renamed the Temple Mount and the Western Wall using only Arabic terminology.

In addition, hundreds of truckloads of soil containing ancient artifacts were removed from beneath the Temple Mount without proper archaeological supervision. Such actions threaten the preservation of priceless historical evidence. The Israel National Archaeological Database, along with enhanced protections for archaeological sites, helps safeguard the historical record and ensures that discoveries are properly documented.

Archaeology provides physical evidence of Israel’s ancient past. Each artifact uncovered from the soil tells a story about the people who lived there thousands of years ago. These discoveries confirm that the land of Israel has been the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people for millennia.

Since Israel’s rebirth as a modern state in 1948, archaeological research has expanded dramatically. New discoveries are made almost every year. By studying and sharing these findings, individuals can help counter misinformation and provide reliable historical context in a world often clouded by anti-Israel narratives.

Alby Malka, head of the Technologies Division at the Israel Antiquities Authority, explains the rigorous standards behind the process. “By Israeli law, every archaeological find that is uncovered must be reported, documented, and deposited in the National Archives.” Each item is carefully cataloged, labeled, photographed, and preserved. The result is a vast collection of ancient scrolls, coins, pottery, jewelry, and architectural remains that illuminate Israel’s past.

Malka describes the database as “a tool of paramount importance for scientific research, for preserving the country’s heritage, and for deepening public knowledge.” The project represents a major step forward that places Israel at the forefront of global archaeological research.

Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, emphasizes the broader significance of the effort. “This database reflects the great wealth of archaeological research carried out here, since this land has been a crossroads of human history.” He adds that the authority views itself as the guardian of the heritage of every culture and faith that has lived in the region. Preserving that legacy is both a moral responsibility and a legal mandate.

Many of the artifacts in the database provide direct testimony to the ancient Jewish presence in the land. Sometimes discoveries occur in unexpected ways. Children walking along a trail may find a two-thousand-year-old coin engraved with a menorah. At other times, construction projects reveal remarkable finds.

One such discovery occurred in 2009 near the Sea of Galilee. During construction work on Migdal Beach, workers uncovered the remains of a synagogue from the Second Temple period. Archaeologists called to the site discovered a carved limestone block with a beautifully engraved menorah. The artifact, now known as the Magdala Stone, is considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries in modern Israel. Scholars believe the artist who carved the menorah may have personally seen the golden menorah that once stood in the Temple in Jerusalem. Today, Magdala has become one of the most visited archaeological and spiritual sites in the region.

Another remarkable discovery emerged in Jerusalem in 2004. Workers repairing a street uncovered an opening that revealed an ancient stone roadway beneath the modern city. Excavations revealed the Pilgrim Road, a first century street built of massive limestone slabs. The road stretches approximately 1,760 feet and measures about twenty-six feet wide. It connects the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount.

After more than a decade of careful excavation and preservation, the Pilgrim Road opened to visitors in early 2026. In ancient times, Jewish pilgrims walked this road three times each year during the biblical festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles. As they ascended toward the Temple, they sang the Psalms of Ascents found in Psalms 120 through 134. Today, visitors walking this path experience a tangible connection with the faith and history that shaped the land.

Archaeology continues to uncover the physical record of Israel’s past. Each discovery strengthens our understanding of the ancient world and confirms the deep historical roots of the Jewish people in their homeland.

The Israel National Archaeological Database now makes these discoveries accessible to anyone with an internet connection. In a digital age filled with misinformation, this remarkable resource provides a powerful reminder that history is not merely written in books. In Israel, it is literally written in stone.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer during this important season.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the success of the new archaeological database as it informs the world about Israel’s historical record.
• Pray that journalists and media outlets will seek and report accurate information.
• Pray for protection of archaeological sites from theft and destruction.
• Pray for volunteers and researchers who participate in archaeological excavations throughout 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

Purim, the beloved Feast of Esther, begins at sundown on March 2 and ends at sunset on March 3. Each year Jewish communities around the world celebrate the courage of Queen Esther and her kinsman Mordechai, who rescued their people from annihilation in ancient Persia. The Book of Esther recounts how Haman, a power-hungry royal official under King Ahasuerus, plotted genocide against the Jews. In the end, Haman was hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordechai.

Through the bravery of Esther and the steadfast faith of the Jewish people, the plot was overturned. What was meant for destruction became deliverance.

Nearly 2,500 years later, the land once known as Persia is again central to the Jewish story. Modern Iran stands in painful contrast to the Persia of Esther’s day. King Ahasuerus ultimately acted to protect the Jewish community after hearing Esther’s plea. Today, however, the Islamic Regime resembles a coalition of Hamans. Since 1979, its leaders have repeatedly declared their aim to destroy Israel while brutally suppressing their own freedom loving citizens.

As Purim approaches, the parallel is impossible to ignore.

American and international negotiators may pursue peace with good intentions, yet the Islamic Regime has demonstrated a long pattern of deception. Agreements on paper do not necessarily reflect intentions in practice. Russian dissident and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov once warned, “A country which does not respect the rights of its own citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors.” His words remain sobering when applied to Iran’s leadership.

The Ayatollahs, supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary, have crushed dissent for decades. Reports of mass arrests, executions, and violent crackdowns have mounted. Tehran’s main cemetery, Behesht e Zahra, has reportedly struggled with capacity as unrest continues. Civilian suffering remains severe, while state-controlled media seeks to minimize or conceal the scope of repression.

Within Iran, all minorities outside the regime’s power structure face vulnerability. Christians, non-practicing Muslims, and Jews live under constant pressure. For years the regime has attempted to portray itself as tolerant toward Iranian Jews, often using them as symbolic evidence of moderation. Yet coercion tells a different story. Jewish leaders are pressured to attend pro regime rallies or issue carefully worded public statements. Official rhetoric claims a distinction between opposition to Jews and opposition to Zionists, but inflammatory sermons and state messaging frequently blur that line.

Before the 1979 revolution, more than 100,000 Jews lived in Iran, forming one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East. After the Islamist takeover, most fled. Today estimates suggest between 9,000 and 15,000 Jews remain, navigating discrimination, surveillance, and periodic arrests.

In March 2025, before the twelve-day war and the subsequent waves of protest, a video showed Iranian Jews celebrating Purim at the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, traditionally associated with ancient Shushan. Iran’s Chief Rabbi, Yehuda Gerami, read the Megillah as families danced and sang. The mausoleum has long served as a pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians. Yet its status has been downgraded, protective signage removed, and threats of vandalism and destruction have surfaced. Preservation of this sacred site has become increasingly fragile under Islamic rule.

After last year’s conflict, more than thirty Jewish individuals were reportedly arrested on accusations of espionage, and rabbis and cantors were interrogated. At some Friday prayers, imams appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have publicly called for the destruction of Jews, labeling them enemies of Islam and humanity.

Despite these dangers, Purim 2026 will still be observed. Iranian civilians of many backgrounds, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews, continue to protest tyranny. Many are risking their lives for freedom, echoing Esther’s resolve.

In Israel, Purim will be celebrated with joy, costumes, hamantaschen, and public readings of Esther’s story. Some celebrations may take place in protected spaces or even bomb shelters, yet the spirit of the holiday remains resilient. Celebration itself becomes an act of defiance and hope.

Christians in Iran also face immense pressure, yet the church continues to grow. Independent researchers estimate that between 800,000 and 3 million believers now live in Iran, a dramatic increase over the past decade. Christianity is often described as the fastest growing faith in the country, despite persecution.

One voice representing this modern struggle is Marziyeh Amirizadeh, an Iranian born Christian who was arrested in 2009 for her faith and sentenced to death by hanging. After witnessing the execution of friends and enduring nine months in Tehran’s Evin prison, she was miraculously released and later became a United States citizen. She now leads NewPersia.org and advocates for both Iranian freedom and Jewish safety.

Marziyeh affirms that most Iranians do not share their regime’s hatred of Israel. Partnering with Israeli activist Jonathan Feldstein, she co-founded Root and Branch Israel, a movement dedicated to building unity between Jews and Christians. As Purim approaches, she prays for a future in which Persians and Jews rejoice together in freedom, celebrating the fall of tyranny and the rise of peace and friendship.

The story of Esther continues to speak across centuries. Mordechai’s challenge to his niece remains relevant: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther’s courageous response echoes even louder: “If I perish, I perish.”

Purim is not only a remembrance of ancient deliverance. It is a call to moral clarity and courageous action in our own time.

As we approach this sacred holiday, let us renew our commitment to pray for Israel and for the people of Iran. What is God asking each of us to do for such a time as this?

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer as Purim approaches.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for wisdom for the United States and Israel in addressing the Islamic Regime.
• Pray that believers will discern how they are called to respond for such a time as this.
• Pray for the safety and courage of Jewish and Christian Iranians.
• Pray that the joy of Purim will strengthen Jewish hearts even in times of danger.

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

Global Jew hatred is rising at an alarming rate, yet the everyday realities that reveal the heart of Israeli society are often ignored.

For thousands of years, the Jewish story was intertwined with exile, persecution, and survival. Since the rebirth of the modern Jewish state in 1948, however, Israel has written a new chapter marked by innovation, resilience, and shared civic life. These successes are not achieved by Jews alone, but by a vibrant mosaic of citizens that includes Arabs, Christians, Druze, Bedouins, Ethiopians, and many others. The facts that follow are often overlooked, and that omission is itself an injustice.

Israel has sometimes been called a messy miracle. Like any nation, it is imperfect, yet it remains remarkably dynamic and good. With a population of approximately 7.4 million Jews and just over 2 million Arab citizens, tiny Israel demonstrates an outsized model of shared humanity. In a climate of distorted reporting, it is worth examining the reality on the ground.

Israeli Arab citizens are not outsiders. They are integral participants in the nation’s social, economic, and political life. In the north, the city of Haifa is frequently described as a model of shared society. With roughly 237,000 residents, Haifa is one of Israel’s most beautiful and industrious cities. It is home to the country’s largest and busiest seaport, serving as Israel’s primary gateway for international trade. Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze live in the same neighborhoods and work in the same professions.

At the University of Haifa, Arab students comprise about 40 percent of the student body, and 70 percent of those Arab students are women. Rambam Medical Center, the largest hospital in northern Israel, employs more than 6,000 staff members, including Jewish and Arab doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who serve patients together. During times of war, this cooperation becomes even more visible, as medical teams treat wounded soldiers and civilians side by side without regard to ethnicity or religion.

Modern Nazareth, located in the hills of the Lower Galilee, is Israel’s largest Arab majority city and is often called the Arab capital of Israel. Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs, and a small Jewish community live and work together there. Muslim Arabs are prominent in commerce and municipal leadership. Christian Arabs administer many of Nazareth’s schools and social service institutions. Christian Arab students frequently achieve some of the highest academic results in the country.

Nazareth Baptist School, attended by both Christian and Muslim students, graduates young men and women who go on to become leaders in medicine, business, and education. Among Nazareth’s notable residents is Dr. Reverend Saleem Shalash, founder and pastor of Home of Jesus the King Church. For decades he has led humanitarian efforts that serve not only church members but also Jewish and Muslim neighbors. He often says, “Peace is not a concept. It is a person, and His name is Yeshua.”

The Israel Defense Forces also reflect this shared citizenship. For Jewish men and women, military service is mandatory after high school. For Arab citizens, service is voluntary. Nevertheless, thousands of Christian Arabs, Bedouin Muslims, and Druze choose to serve. Many rise to senior and elite positions.

Lieutenant Colonel Ihab Shlayan, a Greek Orthodox officer from Nazareth, became the IDF’s first Christian officer at that rank in a sensitive security role. Lieutenant Colonel Nader Eyada, a Bedouin Muslim battalion commander, spoke clearly after the October 7 Hamas atrocities: “Islam does not approve raping women, killing the elderly, and kidnapping children. Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews are fighting shoulder to shoulder, and we will eliminate Hamas and protect our home, the State of Israel.” His words remind the world that terrorism does not define Islam and that Israeli Arabs are full partners in defending their country.

The Druze community represents another powerful example of shared destiny. Druze citizens, who practice a distinct monotheistic faith, requested formal alliance with Israel in 1956. Their partnership is often described as a blood covenant because Druze soldiers have served and fallen in every major conflict in Israel’s history. Today, Druze men are required to serve in the IDF, making them the only major non-Jewish community with mandatory service. Their loyalty and sacrifice are deeply respected throughout Israeli society.

Israel’s story is complex and often misunderstood. Yet within its complexity stands a clear truth. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and others build hospitals together, serve in the military together, study in universities together, and innovate together. Shared humanity is not a slogan in Israel. It is lived reality.

In a world fractured by division, Israel offers a model of imperfect but determined unity. Its foundation is not sameness but shared purpose. As Pastor Priscilla Shirer has said, “Unity does not mean sameness. It means oneness of purpose.” That spirit reflects the biblical exhortation in Ephesians 4:3 to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer and to share these often-neglected facts about a nation whose diversity is one of its greatest strengths.

Prayer Points:

• Pray that others will recognize and learn from Israel’s example of unity with shared purpose.
• Pray for strength and safety for every Israeli citizen.
• Pray for evangelicals to understand the urgency of sharing accurate information about Israel.
• Pray for IDF soldiers serving in ongoing conditions of war.

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 word Zion (Hebrew Tzion, pronounced tzee-YOHN) appears more than one hundred and fifty times in the Bible. It is used for fortress, monument, the City of David, the City of God, and Jerusalem itself. Across the centuries, Zion has carried deep spiritual meaning, representing God’s promises and His enduring covenant with the Jewish people.

Zionism is simply the belief that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their historic homeland, the right of Israel to exist. Yet those who reject that truth have spent decades trying to distort the term, turning “Zionist” into a word of scorn. The irony is that the Jewish people’s four-thousand-year journey, culminating in their modern rebirth in 1948, is one of history’s greatest miracles. Still, Israel must remain vigilant to preserve its security, survival, and identity amid a rising tide of anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Jewish hatred.

A hopeful and living example of Zionism can be found at Ariel University, located in Israel’s biblical heartland. The institution embodies the true meaning of Zionism: faith, innovation, and opportunity rooted in ancient history. It stands as proof that Zionism uplifts not only the Jewish people but also humanity.

Recently, I spoke with Maya Berretta, Ariel University’s resource development manager, about this remarkable campus. What began as a small college in 1982 has grown into a thriving university with more than 17,000 students and nearly 500 faculty members. “Ariel is a proudly Zionist university,” she said. “But it is not exclusive. Ten percent of our students are Arab or Druze. We are really a kaleidoscope of Israeli society—religious and secular Jews, new immigrants, and native-born Israelis—studying and working together in an apolitical atmosphere.”

Ariel University also welcomes students from around the world who value academic excellence and mutual respect while appreciating Israel’s identity as the world’s only Jewish state. Every classroom displays the Israeli flag, and at each event Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah (“The Hope”), is played. Written by Naftali Herz Imber in 1877 and set to music a year later by Shmuel Cohen, Hatikvah expresses the heartbeat of the Jewish people, their hope to return to their homeland, fulfilled on May 14, 1948.

Walking through Ariel’s campus reveals students of every background studying side by side. Women in hijabs, women in traditional headscarves, and others in baseball caps gather to study and share meals together. The atmosphere of harmony illustrates that Zionism at its best unites rather than divides.

The university’s impact reaches far beyond education. It operates the nation’s most comprehensive program for high-functioning students on the autism spectrum. Following recent conflicts, it opened a rehabilitation center for injured soldiers and civilians. A new medical center—the only one in Samaria—is nearing completion and will address Israel’s critical shortage of doctors while offering emergency services and training for future physicians.

Maya explained that “Israel needs more civil engineers because our population is growing and much of our infrastructure is aging.” Ariel now has the largest civil engineering school in Israel. The university’s twenty research centers explore everything from brain science and archaeology to cybersecurity and defense technology. One research team has even identified more than one hundred new grape varietals unique to Israel, making it possible to recreate wines that might have been enjoyed in the days of King David.

Ariel’s engineering programs also collaborate with defense companies to develop technologies that help protect Israel from its enemies. The university recently launched an online master’s program in English focused on communications, advocacy, and combating antisemitism, drawing students from around the world.

Despite relentless hostility toward Zionism, Judea and Samaria remain the beating heart of the Jewish homeland. The region holds more than 150 communities and is home to over half a million Jews. It is the soul of Israel and the setting for countless biblical events. Cities such as Shiloh, Ariel, Hebron, and Jerusalem still stand where prophets, kings, and figures like Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, and Jesus once walked.

Zionism is not an ideology of exclusion but of connection. Its spirit has fostered international partnerships, including those between American mayors and Israeli cities. Hundreds of mayors have joined initiatives such as Mayors United Against Antisemitism or have signed sister city agreements with Israeli municipalities. Among them is Rusty Paul, mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia, whose city is paired with a cluster of eleven communities in Samaria.

“We felt that connecting with Israel’s periphery communities would be most fruitful,” Mayor Paul explained. “Our city has a significant Jewish population, and this partnership honors our shared values.” He described visiting Israel several times and said, “I am always impressed by how Israel advances its economy while preserving its connections to the three monotheistic faiths. Israel has not only survived but thrived in one of the world’s most hostile environments. For millennia, the Jewish people have faced persecution yet maintained their identity, traditions, and values. What is not to admire?”

The Jewish people have cultivated life in deserts and built innovation from hardship. Their motivation to improve, heal, and bless others reflects their covenant with God. Zionism, at its core, is not about politics. It is about restoration, faith, and divine promise.

That promise was beautifully reflected at the grand opening of the Pilgrim Road in the City of David on September 20, 2025, where vocalist Hila Ben David sang Hatikvah: [watch here]. The road she stood upon was once walked by pilgrims ascending to the Second Temple—perhaps even by Jesus and His disciples. The song and the setting together proclaim that God keeps His covenant promises and that hope never dies.

Lyrics of Hatikvah (The Hope):

As long as in the heart within,
The Jewish soul yearns,
And toward the eastern edges, onward,
An eye gazes toward Zion.
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope that is two-thousand years old,
To be a free nation in our land,
The Land of Zion, Jerusalem.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer for the land and people of Israel, whose faith and perseverance continue to inspire the world.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Ariel University’s students and faculty to be protected and successful.
• Pray for the biblical heartland of Israel and for the small businesses that sustain its communities.
• Pray for Christians to share truthful, informed stories about Israel’s biblical and modern realities.
• Pray for the soldiers and civilians who are receiving physical and emotional healing at Ariel University’s rehabilitation center.

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

As President Donald J. Trump builds a coalition to confront Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and protect American bases across the Middle East, the world again stands at a crossroads. Brigadier General Amir Avivi, founder of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, has warned that war with Iran is imminent. He outlines three possible scenarios for such a conflict, including a joint U.S.-Israeli operation. Israel has already urged Iranian civilians to evacuate military areas.

In this climate, the United States has launched a massive military buildup—an uneasy backdrop to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on January 27.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It marks the date in 1945 when Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. The soldiers were hardened veterans of war, yet even they were horrified by what they found: unburied corpses stacked like refuse, nearly seven thousand skeletal survivors, and a death toll that would exceed one million Jewish men, women, and children. Those who survived did so through starvation, disease, forced labor, and the grotesque medical experiments of the Nazi regime.

Eighty-one years later, the world witnesses echoes of that same evil. In Iran, the Islamic Regime has turned its nation into a death camp for its own people. Citizens protesting for freedom face bullets, imprisonment, and torture.

Since mass protests began on December 28, the United Nations has largely ignored the Iranian regime’s atrocities. Many observers have compared its cruelty to Nazi methods: mass killings, overflowing prisons, and systemic torture. Even as the world prepares each year to commemorate the Holocaust, the U.N. fails to act when confronted with contemporary barbarism.

Each year the U.N. chooses a theme for its remembrance ceremony. The 2023 theme was “Home and Belonging.” Yet only nine months later, Hamas—funded and armed by Iran—carried out the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. This year’s theme, “Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights,” rings hollow. The irony is painful, as dignity and human rights are trampled daily under the boots of Iran’s Islamic dictatorship.

Some reports estimate that the regime’s massacres in early January killed as many as thirty thousand civilians. If confirmed, this would rank among the deadliest single episodes of state violence in modern history. The horror is intensified by the regime’s methods: executions designed for maximum fear, victims shot in the eyes, and bodies discarded in warehouses. Like the Nazis who forced Jewish violinists to play as their families entered the gas chambers, the Islamic Regime isolates and murders its victims in silence, cutting off the internet to hide its crimes.

Despite its stated commitment to human rights, the United Nations continues to exhibit an alarming bias. In 2023 alone, out of twenty-one resolutions condemning nations, fourteen targeted Israel. Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, has rightly called this “an absurd obsession.” As he observed, “The purpose of the lopsided condemnations is to demonize the Jewish state.”

The U.N.’s inaction regarding Iran’s atrocities reinforces this hypocrisy. For weeks, it ignored the killings, arrests, and torture of civilians until public outrage forced it to respond. Neuer commented that the international campaign “shamed the U.N. into action.”

Historically, Jews and Persians share a remarkable connection. When King Cyrus the Great ruled the Persian Empire, he freed the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity and permitted them to return to Jerusalem. His decree, recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.”

Today, both Jews and Iranians suffer under the same oppressive force—the Islamic Regime. It funds terror abroad while brutalizing its citizens at home. Its Revolutionary Guard Corps acts as both army and executioner, crushing dissent and enforcing loyalty through fear.

Iranian-born Christian activist Marziyeh Amirizadeh, now an American citizen, experienced this cruelty firsthand during her nine months in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. She explains that “most Iranians support Israel and do not share their government’s anti-Israel view.” Many Iranians, she says, see Israel as an ally against their mutual enemy: the Islamic regime itself.

Similarly, Iranian-born journalist Mahyar Tousi, now a British citizen, has become one of the most reliable sources of information about Iran. His online program, Tousi TV, is among the most-watched news channels in the United Kingdom. His reporting exposes the regime’s brutality while amplifying the voices of those still fighting for freedom.

The parallels between the Holocaust and Iran’s current oppression are deeply sobering. Once again, innocent lives are being destroyed while the world hesitates to intervene. Once again, evil is being called good, and good is being called evil.

For Christians and Jews alike, Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only a day of mourning but also a call to vigilance. The atrocities of the past demand that we confront the evils of the present with courage and clarity. Silence and indifference only embolden tyranny.

The Hebrew word shalom means far more than peace. It signifies wholeness, harmony, and well-being—spiritual, communal, and personal. Let us pray for shalom for Jews in Israel, for Iranians under persecution, and for both peoples who share a bond of faith and history older than any modern regime.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer during this critical time in world history.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu to act with wisdom and effectiveness in supporting Iranian freedom.
• Pray for the protection of U.S. and Israeli forces as they defend against Iranian aggression.
• Pray for Israelis involved in covert operations inside Iran, that they remain safe and successful.
• Pray for the thousands of Iranians who live in anguish, not knowing whether their friends and loved ones are dead or alive.

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

To much of the world, Iran is known primarily as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Yet that reputation reflects only the actions of its ruling Islamic regime, not the character, faith, or history of its people. For months, citizens have risen courageously against this violent and repressive government, protesting decades of corruption, brutality, and economic despair. Their cries for freedom are echoing across the globe, even as their rulers respond with bloodshed.

The regime’s crackdown has been ruthless. Civilians are deliberately shot in the eyes by snipers. Thousands have been beaten, arrested, or disappeared. Unidentified bodies are stored in warehouses with no regard for the dignity of life. Reports estimate the civilian death toll at twenty thousand or more, though the true number is impossible to confirm due to the ongoing internet blackout.

Meanwhile, the same regime that murders its own people also funds terror abroad. On October 7, 2023, Hamas—one of Iran’s proxies—launched its barbaric assault on Israel. Within hours, anti-Israel demonstrations erupted around the world, as if choreographed. Yet few voices have risen to condemn Iran’s mass killings of its own citizens.

Gordon Robertson, President of The Christian Broadcasting Network, voiced his dismay: “I was expecting mass support, unified pressure by the Western powers for the ayatollah to step down.” Instead, the world has largely looked away.

Outside of Christian news networks such as CBN and a few other faithful outlets, global media has been almost silent. The bravery of ordinary Iranians fighting for freedom has received only minimal coverage. Meanwhile, many of the loudest voices that condemn Israel have fallen quiet. Amir Tsarfati, founder of Behold Israel, posted a striking observation on his Telegram channel, listing activists who often denounce Israel yet have ignored Iran’s slaughter: Greta Thunberg, the United Nations, Francesca Albanese (the UN rapporteur for Palestinians), and journalist Mehdi Hasan. Tsarfati’s words ring true: “No Jews, no news.”

The Islamic regime’s dictatorship continues to embody the warning of Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” Evil has reversed moral vision. The ayatollahs and their followers glorify violence as virtue and deceit as truth. Yet the Bible assures us that God’s judgment against such moral inversion is certain.

If President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or Iran’s exiled leader Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi find a path to support the Iranian people, the outcome will not depend on human strategy alone. Isaiah 14:24 reminds us that “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.’” God’s sovereign plan will prevail.

The people of Israel and Iran now face a common enemy: the same tyrannical brand of Shia Islam that oppresses both. The Islamic regime has brought death and destruction to both nations and beyond. Yet history and prophecy remind us that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus will triumph. It is vital that Christians pray fervently for both peoples, seeking ways to alleviate suffering and encourage freedom.

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the late shah, has become a symbol of hope for a new Iran. Speaking at a video press conference on January 16, he outlined his vision, which he calls the Cyrus Accords—named after Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Pahlavi recalled his visit to Israel in April 2023, explaining, “I went to Israel to show that we are the descendants of Cyrus the Great, who freed the Jews and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem. That is the real Iran. Not the terror, not the chants, not the executions.”

Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran was on the path to modernization. The Pahlavi monarchy had established greater rights for women, strengthened education, and opened Iran to the international community. When the revolution deposed the shah, the nation traded progress for oppression. Forty-seven years later, the Islamic Republic has left a trail of suffering and spiritual darkness.

Pahlavi’s vision for a free Iran includes restoring peace, ending nuclear ambitions, and normalizing relations with the United States and Israel. He declared, “Support for terrorist groups will cease immediately. A free Iran will work with regional and global partners to confront terrorism, organized crime, and extremist Islamism.” His dream echoes the prayers of millions who long for their nation to rise from the ashes of tyranny.

February 11 will mark forty-seven years since the Islamic regime seized power. In those decades, Iran’s rulers have waged terror across continents, funding proxy wars, assassinations, and attacks through Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. They spend an estimated sixteen billion dollars annually to spread chaos. Their goals remain the same: the destruction of Israel, hatred of the United States, and global domination.

Yet Iran’s people are not the same as their rulers. They are Persians, not Arabs, and they speak Farsi, not Arabic. Their heritage is ancient and luminous, known for poetry, architecture, learning, music, and hospitality. Iran’s true soul longs for joy and dignity, not death and tyranny.

Let us pray that God restores the beauty of Persian culture, freed from oppression and fear.

Isaiah’s words remain a divine warning to every generation. Evil may disguise itself as good for a season, but it cannot prevail forever. Truth, light, and freedom belong to God, and He will restore them in His time.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer this week for the people of Iran who face unimaginable suffering and oppression.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for strength and endurance for Iranians who are grieving and exhausted.
• Pray for freedom and justice to take root swiftly across the nation.
• Pray for wisdom and unity for President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
• Pray for more nations to speak boldly in defense of the Iranian people and to support their struggle for liberty.

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

A week ago in Queens, New York, anti-Zionist protesters gathered outside a synagogue where a Jewish school was in session. Their chant pierced the air: “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.” The words may have sounded rhythmic, but their message was deadly. Behind the rhyme was a call for violence, glorifying the massacre carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.

These voices of hate are not isolated. They are accompanied by actions. In Jackson, Mississippi, the historic Beth Israel synagogue was set ablaze, one of twenty-one synagogues around the world targeted or burned since October 7. The hateful words of the past have reignited into literal fires.

The language of hatred did not end in 1945 when the Nazi regime fell. It has simply evolved, adopting new slogans, new technology, and new disguises. The same vocabulary that once fueled genocide now echoes again in chants, graffiti, and social media posts.

When Hamas orchestrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the world’s reaction revealed how easily old hatreds can reawaken. The phrase “Never Again,” once a sacred vow after World War II, is being challenged by those who seek to make it happen again.

How could the Nazis have engineered the industrialized murder of six million Jews? How could they have convinced more than sixty-five million Germans to follow such evil? Understanding their methods provides insight into today’s dangerous rhetoric.

Before World War II, Jews made up less than one percent of Germany’s population. Yet their contributions to science, medicine, literature, and the arts were extraordinary. They were fully integrated citizens who spoke the same language and shared the same culture. Twenty-four percent of Germany’s Nobel Prize winners were Jewish. Despite this, Hitler considered Jews an inferior race that had to be eradicated.

The groundwork for genocide began early. In 1920, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party adopted a 25-point platform that formally segregated Jews from “Aryan” society. Hitler’s election as chancellor in 1933 unleashed the machinery of propaganda and persecution that would culminate in the Holocaust. The same spirit of deception and moral corruption that poisoned Germany now poisons parts of our world once again.

Hitler’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, perfected the weaponization of words. His job title, “Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment,” masked the regime’s true goal: replacing truth with lies. Propaganda began not with violence, but with ideas, slogans, and symbols. Public book burnings became early rituals of purification, conducted by university students and soldiers who cast thousands of works by Jewish and “un-German” authors into the flames.

Goebbels’ lies spread through every available medium—radio, newspapers, magazines, and film. In a world without television or the internet, there was no competing voice. Repetition and manipulation slowly desensitized the German public. Neighbors turned against neighbors, convinced that Jews were parasites, subhumans, and enemies of the state. The Nazis used bureaucratic language to disguise atrocities, replacing “murder” with “final solution” and “deportation” with “relocation.” By the time the Holocaust began, consciences were dulled, and moral clarity had vanished.

The parallel with today is sobering. The demonization of Jews is once again normalized. Protests that glorify terror are defended as “free speech.” Terms like “Zionist,” “colonizer,” and “occupier” are used as modern euphemisms for “Jew.” The phrases “globalize the intifada” and “resistance by any means” are shouted on college campuses and city streets. The internet amplifies this rhetoric faster than Goebbels could have imagined, spreading lies to millions within seconds.

After Hamas’s massacre on October 7, these ready-made slogans appeared almost immediately. Posters, chants, and scripts materialized in coordinated demonstrations across the world. Like the Nazis’ propaganda machine, today’s movements rely on repetition, manipulation, and intimidation. The result is the same: fear, division, and moral confusion.

It is worth remembering that the Nazis’ rise from ideology to power took only fourteen years, from their 1920 manifesto to Hitler’s 1933 election. Evil grows quickly when words are left unchallenged.

In today’s climate, a new “dictionary of rage” has emerged. Phrases once meant to promote justice are distorted into calls for violence. “Resistance” becomes justification for murder. “Liberation” becomes a banner for antisemitism. “Social justice” is twisted into a weapon that excludes Jews and silences truth.

This rhetoric is not confined to the Middle East. It has infected Western universities, newsrooms, and social media platforms. It fuels arson attacks, vandalism, and assaults on Jewish students. It also targets Christians and conservatives who refuse to surrender to the shifting language of hate.

Words shape reality. Proverbs 12:18 warns us, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” The challenge before us is to resist this verbal violence with truth, courage, and faith.

History teaches that silence in the face of evil is complicity. Today, the faithful are called to use words that honor God, speak truth with wisdom, and defend what is right without hysteria or hate. Each of us bears responsibility to restrain reckless speech and to train our hearts toward integrity and courage.

When words become weapons, silence becomes surrender. The moral clarity of the faithful must overcome the noise of rage.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer this week, remembering that God remains sovereign and truth remains undefeated.

Prayer Points:

• Pray fervently for the Iranian people as thousands continue to be massacred, injured, or imprisoned.
• Pray that free nations will send aid and support to those risking their lives for liberty in Iran.
• Pray that people of goodwill will speak boldly on behalf of the oppressed in Venezuela and Iran.
• Pray that mainstream media will report truthfully and widely about events in Iran.

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

Two oppressive regimes are trembling. Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, now sits in a Brooklyn, New York, prison cell, awaiting trial after being extradited to the United States. Meanwhile, Iran’s aging Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly arranged an escape to Moscow, where Vladimir Putin will likely grant him refuge even as he orders continued violence against the Iranian people. Both nations have long crushed freedom and faith, but the tide appears to be turning.

Predictably, leftist critics have condemned President Donald Trump’s bold decision to arrest and extradite Maduro, but their outrage cannot silence millions of voices rising for freedom. In Iran and Venezuela, people who have endured decades of oppression are filling the streets, calling for justice, dignity, and self-determination. Together, their populations total more than one hundred million people whose cries for liberty can no longer be ignored.

Late Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated President Trump on social media, writing, “Congratulations President Trump for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice. I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers.” Netanyahu, who has long understood the Iranian regime’s global threat, also voiced his support for the Iranian people, saying, “We, in Israel, sympathize with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom and justice. It is very possible that we stand before a decisive moment, in which the Iranian people take their destiny into their own hands.”

In Venezuela, the celebration is unmistakable. After years of hardship, citizens were waving American flags in gratitude for Maduro’s arrest, although much of the mainstream media has ignored their jubilation. An estimated eight million Venezuelans had already fled their homeland due to economic collapse, political persecution, and humanitarian crisis. Those who remain filled the streets to celebrate, shouting prayers of thanksgiving.

A Venezuelan exile living in Florida posted a blunt message to American leftists who defend Maduro: “None of them have ever been to Venezuela, and none have any personal connection. I dare them, come to Miami. Hear our stories. Understand why we are overjoyed and how Maduro betrayed and destroyed our country.”

Venezuelan refugees in Panama and Chile have joined the celebration, tearing down Maduro’s posters and rejoicing at what many are calling “a miracle from God.” Swiss authorities quickly froze Maduro’s international assets, valued at more than $800 million. Christian leaders also view his capture as an answer to prayer. Worship leader Sean Feucht said, “For years, the church of Venezuela has been fasting, praying, and crying out to God for deliverance. The removal of Maduro was an answer to their prayers.”

The technology community has also played a role. Elon Musk announced that his Starlink satellite network will provide free internet access to Venezuelans through February, helping them stay connected as their nation transitions toward freedom. In Iran, where the government had shut down internet access to silence protesters, Musk activated Starlink to give the people a voice again.

The same longing for liberty echoes across Iran. After forty-seven years under an oppressive theocratic regime, citizens are risking their lives to challenge their rulers. Some Western commentators have dismissed the uprising as merely economic, but those who know Iran’s people understand it is a cry for freedom.

Marziyeh Amirizadeh, an Iranian-born Christian and now a U.S. citizen, was imprisoned in 2009 for sharing her faith and distributing twenty thousand Bibles. She narrowly escaped execution after nine months in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Today, she speaks boldly on behalf of the persecuted. “The people are shouting ‘Long live the Shah,’” she said, referring to the late monarch’s exiled son, Reza Pahlavi. “The Iranian media has betrayed the people, who are united and only want freedom.”

Elam Ministries, founded a decade after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, reports that the Iranian church is now one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world. Despite persecution, thousands are coming to faith through underground churches and digital evangelism.

Yet the regime continues its brutality. According to UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer, Iranian security forces have cracked down in seventy-eight cities since late December, killing more than thirty people, injuring dozens, and arresting nearly one thousand. The United Nations Human Rights Council has issued no resolutions and held no emergency sessions. The silence of the global community is deafening.

Iran and Venezuela have been allies for more than two decades, united by their hatred of the United States and Israel. Their partnership began under Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and deepened under Maduro, who opened his nation to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and its terror proxy, Hezbollah. The two regimes used Venezuela as a weapons depot and trafficking hub, exchanging gold, oil, and arms to sustain one another under international sanctions. In 2022, they formalized a twenty-year cooperation pact covering energy, defense, and infrastructure.

That alliance now lies in ruins. On January 3, U.S. Special Forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve, a flawless overnight mission that captured Maduro and his wife while they slept. The dictator who impoverished his people now faces justice in an American courtroom.

In Iran, millions of citizens are defying Khamenei’s authority, shouting for freedom, waving pre-revolutionary flags, and calling for the restoration of their monarchy under Reza Pahlavi. As one Iranian protester said, “We have lived in darkness for too long. Now we want light.”

Psalm 72:4 offers a fitting prayer for this historic moment: “May He defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may He crush the oppressor.”

The world remains volatile, filled with both brutality and blessings. Yet amid the chaos, the hymn In Christ Alone reminds us of a timeless truth: “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”

Our CBN Israel team invites you to pray with us during this pivotal time in world history.

Prayer Points:

• Pray with thanks for the excellent meetings between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Pray that the citizens’ freedom in Iran and Venezuela become a reality.
• Pray for those in Iran who are risking their lives for freedom.
• Pray that Reza Pahlavi can return to his country to help shape a new Iran with freedoms.

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 

New Year’s resolutions are nothing new. They can be traced back some four thousand years, when ancient Babylonians promised annually to pay any debts and honor their king. Nor is the custom of marking an event by dropping a “time ball” new. The first-time ball, installed at the Royal Conservatory in Greenwich, England, was something 19th-century ship captains set their navigational instruments to each day.

In the United States, efforts to set New Year’s resolutions are as famous as our iconic Times Square celebrations. 

Just before midnight on December 31, 1907, the very first ball dropped to welcome the New Year of 1908. The spectacle of fireworks had been banned, so New York Times owner Adolph Ochs conceived of the ball drop instead. The seven-hundred-pound ball was constructed with wood and iron and studded with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs. Yet the revelers standing in Times Square over a hundred years ago could not have imagined this year’s creation! It weighed 12,350 pounds (about twice the weight of an elephant), was covered with over 5,000 Waterford crystals, and was illuminated by an 32,256 dazzling LED lights.

In fact, the 2025 pyrotechnic display was a first for the Times Square Ball Drop and featured the late Ray Charles’s beloved rendition of “America the Beautiful.” After the midnight countdown on New Year’s Eve, a fantastic burst of red, white, and blue confetti covered revelers celebrating the coming United States Semiquincentennial. The momentous new year marks our nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence! In a grand collaboration between America250 (formed in 2016 to plan the nation’s 250th birthday) and One Times Square, the unforgettable moments will long remain in the memories of Times Square crowds and millions of viewers worldwide.

The years seem to come faster and faster, and 2026 is no exception. The 24/7 news cycle bombards us with devastating events near and far—and thankfully also awakens our hopes with good news. As we make and keep new goals, New Year resolutions help us personally. They also provide a valuable exercise to determine how we can have a helpful influence on others, our country, and our ally Israel. 

What follows is my curated list of New Year’s resolutions for Christians who ask, “What can I do or say to help Israel?” This selection offers choices for a New Year’s resolution to implement your support for Israel in 2026. 

A quote from Robert F. Kennedy’s 1966 address to South African youth provides a plan for personal and help-focused New Year’s resolutions: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”

Together, the Christian community possesses abilities to “change a small portion of events” that are coming in 2026. In doing so, we honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus Who makes His eternal intentions clear in Jeremiah 31:35-36. This is what the LORDs says, He who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of armies is His name: “If this fixed order departs from Me,” declares the LORD, “then the descendants of Israel also will cease to be a nation before Me forever.”

It is never too late for any generation to befriend the Jewish state and Jewish people across the world in tangible ways. As we head into 2026, I have taken the liberty of curating an action list for your New Year resolutions to bless Israel. Research your own ideas or feel free to choose what resonates with you, then act on it.

Every Name Counts presents a meaningful volunteer opportunity: to be part of building a digital memorial organized by Arolsen Archives, the International Center on Nazi Persecution. Volunteering to help is simple. Arolsen Archives emails a list of Holocaust-era names that must be digitized on their easy-to-use document, then emailed back. The Center houses the most extensive documentation of victims and survivors following World War II, and much of the information still remains on paper notecards after eighty years. Allies founded the Arolsen Archives in 1948 after the Holocaust. Originally called the International Tracing Service, the organization officially changed its name in 2019 to Arolsen Archives. This change reflects not only its location in Bad Arolsen, Germany, but more importantly its purpose as an important, award-winning archive inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) “Memory of the World” register. Of note, Arolsen Archives is upgrading its digital resources to engage the Gen Z population to help. 

Genesis 123 Foundation (Genesis123.co) is a U.S.-based non-profit. Its purpose is to build bridges between Jews and Christians working together on special projects and outreaches in and for Israel. Some examples include providing hot soup and warm jackets for IDF soldiers and distributing children’s games to Israeli families now living in hotels due to the upheaval of the Hamas war.

The CBN Israel Resilience Center is a timely addition in 2025 for many thousands of Israelis suffering traumas, shock, and living in survival mode even after the war. The Resilience Center’s hub matches patients’ needs to a pool of counseling professionals for both adults and children—psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and social workers, as well as financial and parenting coaches. Although the Israeli government provides private therapy for direct victims, their families and friends need counseling as well. The Resilience Center is also available to and focused on the faith community, which is struggling with the aftereffects of war and in need of spiritual encouragement.

https://cbnisrael.org/2025/04/23/cbn-israels-resilience-center-helps-trauma-victims-2/

On social media, be sure to comment whenever you read or hear lies about Israel. Be civil, make certain your facts are correct, and avoid accusations and name-calling. 

Pray for Israel, its leaders, and its citizens. International Christian Embassy Jerusalem hosts the weekly Isaiah 62 Global Prayer Gathering online.

Sign up for a tour to Israel. Root & Branch Tours offer a new, hands-on tour where Christians harvest olives in Israel and interact with IDF members, hostage families, and survivors. Their projects blend Christians from all over the world with Israeli Jews in a powerful demonstration of unity, symbolized by the ancient olive trees they harvest together. Root & Branch is an enactment of Romans 11 that Christians are grafted into the covenant God made with the Jewish people: that the Root supports the Branch.

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Make a financial contribution that champions the soldiers of the IDF and cares for their needs as they protect the State of Israel, democratic values, and Western civilization. FIDF is the official organization authorized to collect charitable donations for the IDF in the United States. 

Enjoy an inspiring 2026 with successful New Year’s resolutions that bless and strengthen you, your family and friends, the United States, and Israel! Remember, silent voices accomplish nothing. Make yours heard with actions that speak louder than words.

Our CBN Israel team sends our warmest wishes and prayers for a blessed 2026.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Israelis enduring ongoing traumas. 
• Pray with thanks for thousands of Christians who came to Israel on solidarity tours.
• Pray for the fine organizations on this New Year’s list.
• Pray for the wisdom and safety of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

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.