ARTICLES

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

“A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.” A quote often attributed to famous British preacher C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), its origin—as Spurgeon himself said—has actually been lost to time. Nevertheless, we as believers who stand with Israel have a choice: We must press on to share truth!

World news headlines detonate day after day with slanderous information and unfounded rumors about and against Israel. A cloud of despicable lies, accusations, actions, and ignorance continues to ignite the fires of Jew-hatred across the globe. It is past time for good news, and there is plenty of it. That’s because despite its seven-front war, Israel has not neglected one of its key foundations: “repairing the world,” or tikkun olam.

For centuries, the concept of “repairing the world” has repeatedly motivated the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Tikkun olam has no boundaries.

By educating ourselves through two excellent Israeli humanitarian organizations—IsraAID and MASHAV—we gain the facts and tools we need to share good news about Israel “repairing the world.” Although this catch phrase cannot actually be found word for word in Scripture, the concept flows throughout the Bible. The Hebrew verb TKN, which is used only four times in Scripture, is defined “to make straight, establish, arrange, or repair.” One example in Leviticus 19:9-10 calls for “leaving gleanings for the poor and the foreigner,” a way to share resources. Let’s look at the way this plays out in the two charitable groups just mentioned.

IsraAID, founded in 2001, is an international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization. Its teams have worked in emergency and long-term development settings in more than 60 countries globally. IsraAID also provides critical help inside the Jewish homeland. For example, they have been working with local municipalities in central Israel since June. These towns are hosting some 2,000 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed when Iran targeted Israeli civilians in missile attacks on residential buildings. IsraAID has been providing not only mental health support to those displaced, but help with education and logistics, as well.

In the company’s 2024 Annual Report, the list of IsraAID’s accomplishments globally is nothing short of astonishing, given that Israel is fighting a defensive war against the Islamic Regime and its terror surrogates. The report mentions IsraAID’s long-term humanitarian missions—which now face more emergencies, including Guatemala’s migration crisis, violence in Kenya, and refugees fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda. When Cyclone Chido hit Mozambique last December, Israel’s emergency teams quickly responded with help.

This humanitarian organization also sent its rapid-response teams to Papua New Guinea after a devastating landslide in May. Already working in South Sudan, IsraAID noted that they frequently deal with a “crisis within a crisis.” One example highlights this reality. Over 500,000 people escaping Sudan’s next-door conflict were crammed into South Sudan’s refugee camps. The overcrowding set the stage for last December’s cholera outbreak. Here in the United States, IsraAID has often sent emergency teams to help communities devastated by fires, floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes.

Reading about Israel’s far-reaching commitment to tikkun olam shows us these facts dramatically reveal how outrageous are accusations that “Israel is an apartheid state.” Misinformed protesters grab the first headline they see despite the fact that Israel itself is a multi-colored country with Ethiopian, Asian, and Hispanic Jews. The apartheid designation is absurd. In addition, a look at the geographical locations of IsraAID’s humanitarian outreaches shows us that Israel treats all people in all crises with aid wherever possible. That includes Gaza.

IsraAID’s CEO, Yotam Polizer, quips: “We are FILO, First In and Last Out.” For Israel, wrongly defamed at every turn, IsraAID is a shining example of Israel’s commitment to helping others. IsraAID “repairs the world” regardless of religion or ethnicity. Its staff and volunteers view others simply as people in need.

MASHAV is another shining example of Israelis repairing the world. Its official name is “Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” This organization was created in 1958 by two Israeli visionaries: Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir, his foreign minister and later a prime minister herself. Ben-Gurion and Meir applied tikkun olam—a dynamic Jewish cultural value—to share Israel’s expertise, particularly in technology, with other developing countries. After only 10 years as a modern independent nation, Israel was already reaching out in friendship with development aid to other countries. MASHAV’s mission: to help developing nations achieve sustainable development and transformation within their own societies. On X, MASHAV calls it #HumanCapacityBuilding to empower those living in poverty to improve their own lives.

Cooperative projects combine with other nations in strengths, experience, and expertise in 10 different priority sectors, among them food security and agriculture, education for all, medicine and public health, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

MASHAV’s statistics are astounding. With more than 50 training centers and demonstration projects worldwide, each year the organization sees 5,000 trainees take part in 160 training courses in Israel and abroad. In addition, it is involved in 100 short-term consultancy missions and has 35 ongoing partnerships with donor countries and international organizations. In fact, MASHAV’s practical and compassionate programs have made an impact in 140 out of 193 nations in our world—with over 300,000 graduates from their training programs.

Jews in their ancestral homeland number around 7.7 million in a population of 10 million. Israel makes IsraAID and MASHAV even more miraculous in blessing the family of nations. Shining into the darkness of nations in disaster or need, Israeli Jews are beacons of light, despite being beset with hatred and war themselves.

Tikkun olam is an observable, treasured Jewish value designed by God. He Himself in His sovereignty will “make straight, establish, arrange, or repair” our world for all who honor and believe His redemptive sacrifice for sins. Truth and tikkun olam will someday erase the cloud of lies. Let us be sure to do our part to repair the cloud of lies with truth and facts!

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us this week to pray and to pass along facts about Israel reflecting on Matthew 5:16—“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray with praises for Israel’s extraordinary tikkun olam worldwide!
• Pray for friends, family, and social media to read this article due to your sharing.
• Pray for pastors and churches drifting away from Israel support to read the facts.
• Pray for Evangelicals to proactively share facts about Israel to spread good news.

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 July 23, Israel’s Parliament (Knesset) passed a momentous resolution: a symbolic vote to advance the nation’s sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. This historic decision could well have a lasting impact—and reshape the Middle East. With the Knesset currently composed of 26 political parties, it is close to miraculous that a majority—71 of the 120 Knesset members—voted in favor of the non-binding resolution. It is unusual that the Knesset agreed in a majority bipartisan vote.

Dan Illouz, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party, represented one of four Knesset parties that submitted the resolution for Israel’s sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. Illouz declared, “For the first time ever, the Knesset is expressing official support for the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.” He added that their message was clear: “Judea and Samaria are not a bargaining chip—they are the heart of our country.”

Israel’s 25th Knesset also made history in another profound way. Today, Israel’s citizenry is 80 percent secular—yet in the recent resolution, politicians framed the new resolution in Scriptural terms that emphasized and recognized Israel’s biblical roots. As the resolution declares: “Centuries and millennia before the establishment of the modern state, the forefathers and prophets of the nation lived and acted in these regions. Here, the foundations of Jewish faith and culture were laid. Cities like Hebron, Shechem (Nablus), Shiloh and Beit El are not merely historical sites—they are living expressions of the continuous Jewish presence in the land.”

Sovereignty discussions are not new. The dedicated Israel Defense Forces have fought for 21 months in a defensive war where its enemies continue intensifying the threat to Israel’s security. The unspeakable murders and kidnapping of hostages on October 7, 2023—not to mention refusing to free all living hostages and bodies of the deceased (still true at this writing)—fueled an earlier vote on February 21, 2024. At that time, the Knesset voted 99–11 to support Israel’s Cabinet and to reject “international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.” In plain terms, another big vote: No Palestinian statehood in Israel.

For decades, Israel has extended overtures for peace with Palestinians in the biblical heartland—moves that proved futile. Each attempt resulted in opposition. Certainly now, in the face of Hamas’s brutal invasions and massacres, those days are over. Twenty years of proof bolsters Israel’s overwhelming opposition to what I call another Palestinian state. Why?

In 2005, Israel literally gave a state to Palestinians living in Gaza when it ordered its 8,000 Jewish citizens to relocate to another part of Israel from their homes and businesses. Termed the “Disengagement,” this move was Arial Sharon’s concept as prime minister (2001-2006). By withdrawing, Sharon hoped to accomplish a meaningful step toward peace. The deadline for voluntary compliance was August 15, after which date Israel’s military forcibly evicted its own Jewish citizens—an agonizing, heartbreaking period of some weeks. Yet when the IDF finally locked the gate at the Kissufim crossing between Israel and Gaza—its Jewish families no longer there—Palestinians began destroying every good opportunity the Jewish community left behind, including homes and thriving greenhouse businesses. Destructiveness and chaos are among the reasons that other Arab nations are hesitant to relocate Palestinian Gazans into their countries.

Twenty years later, Gaza is undeniably a disaster. Rather than aiming at developing a gorgeous, productive Palestinian state, when Palestinians elected Hamas in 2007, their new Islamic patron—Iran—Instead twisted a rare opportunity into a death trap, complete with a vast network of underground of tunnels. Hamas has been using women and children as human shields, filled minds with demonic hatred, and attacked Israelis with rockets, fires, and murders. Then the atrocities of October 7 happened. Yet, despite Palestinian abuse of Israel’s generous gift for a Palestinian state in 2005, condemnation is globally and unsurprisingly adding up against Knesset’s sovereignty resolution. Thankfully, our U.S. Congress has introduced the “Recognizing Judea and Samaria Act” in both the House (H.R. 902) and Senate (S. 384)—using the genuine historic name in official U.S. materials and eliminating the term “West Bank.”

The Knesset’s resolution is not yet legally binding, but it opens a door to enact Israeli law for its rightful sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The resolution does not call for an annexation. Annexation takes place when one country unilaterally, through force or by treaty, takes over another country’s territory—considered a violation of international law. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel liberated Judea and Samaria, which Jordan had occupied in an Arab war against Israel. Jordan had no interest to improve the land it seized and occupied for almost 20 years. As Jews began to move there again, with hearts and hands of love they made it beautiful and productive—and it now has upwards of 500,000 Jewish citizens.

Mainstream media and the uninformed often describe these citizens as “settlers” and call the region the West Bank—which is simply a geographical term meaning “west of the Jordan River.” I have visited many Israeli “settlements.” They are towns of varying sizes with businesses, schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and synagogues. The most sacred marker of Israel’s ancestry is Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood for 369 years housing the holy, treasured Ark of the Covenant. Shiloh was Israel’s first capital.

Some background for Knesset’s rightful resolution: More than 100 years ago, international law began codifying Israel as the national home of the Jewish people. That began the San Remo Conference in 1920 and the Balfour Declaration in 1922. On May 14, 1948, when the governing British Mandate ended, Israel declared its modern statehood based on previous international legal decisions. Yet those decisions are ignored now more than ever in the United Nations, where Arabs have rejected any previous plans or solutions attempted by the U.N.

These secular decisions, while not biblically based in international law, are outlined repeatedly in the Old and New Testaments by the God of Heaven’s Armies, the Premier Authority. In Amos 9:15 God declared HIS sovereignty: “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them.”

The Evangelical Christian community embraces all of Israel as our spiritual homeland, including Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley where Jesus walked. In 1948, the decades of seeds planted with hope ripened into the rebirth of Israel and its Declaration of Independence. Reading the text of that Declaration from the simple podium at Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben Gurion—Israel’s first prime minister—also announced the new nation’s official name, “Israel.” Reestablished as a modern country after two millennia, Israel survives—in promises kept by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Let us agree with Israel Ganz, chair of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of all the local authorities in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. “It is clear and undeniable evidence of the national will to realize our values and our right to our land,” he said.  “This vote is a significant milestone on the path toward advancing the strategic step that will fortify the security of the entire State of Israel.” Ganz then called on the government of Israel: “Turn this decision into reality on the ground.”

Our CBN Israel team invites you to pray with us this week and to be part of sharing this history-making Resolution for our spiritual homeland.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the Knesset to quickly enact the sovereignty resolution into law.
• Pray with praise for the strong biblical references in the resolution.
• Pray that as the resolution advances, unity will grow even stronger.
• Pray for additional strength for the IDF to quell possible Palestinian protests in the heartland.

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

Syria’s summer turned deadly for the Christian community in Damascus. On Sunday, June 22, a suicide bomber, driven by hatred and warped ideology, opened fire on the historic congregation of Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church. As the faithful gathered in prayer, the attacker unleashed his violence, and then triggered the explosives strapped to his chest. The brutal assault claimed the lives of 25 worshipers and left 63 others wounded, shattering a sanctuary that held 350 people in solemn worship.

Just weeks later, on July 16, a targeted act of brutality took the life of Pastor Khaled Mazher, a resident of Sweida in southern Syria. The violence did not end with him. Jihadist militants went on to slaughter his entire extended family—20 Druze followers of Jesus—including his siblings, children, and parents. An entire household of believers was erased in a single, merciless attack.

Devastated by the massacre, members of Pastor Khalid’s congregation at Good Shepherd Evangelical Church fled their homes in fear and anguish. Many have found temporary refuge with local Orthodox and Catholic Christians, who have opened their arms and doors despite already being stretched thin. These courageous friends are doing all they can—but they are overwhelmed and urgently need support.

But first, some context.

The latest wave of violence began when members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida set up an illegal checkpoint and assaulted a Druze man, robbing him and setting off a chain of retaliatory attacks and kidnappings. Tensions quickly escalated, unleashing a reign of terror against the Druze community. Within a single week, jihadist forces brutally murdered 1,265 Druze civilians.

The perpetrators include extremist Bedouin militias now aligned with Syria’s new president—formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Once a prominent figure within Al-Qaeda and ISIS, he now goes by Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, presenting himself in a Western suit and tie in a calculated charm offensive. Despite his violent past, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and France appear to show little skepticism or restraint in dealing with him.

In an interview with Jonathan Conricus, Israeli Druze attorney and advocate Anan Kheir described the assault in stark terms. He reported that “a thousand Jolani soldiers entered in and committed atrocities,” labeling the events as “ethnic cleansing.” He underscored that Jolani’s Islamist militia views the Druze as infidels—targets for elimination.

Here is a brief overview of the Druze community. This unique religious and ethnic group traces its origins back over a thousand years. Today, fewer than one million Druze live primarily in four Middle Eastern countries: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. While they speak Arabic, their dialect and cultural identity set them apart from other Arabic-speaking communities.

The Druze faith is highly secretive and deeply spiritual, blending elements from various religious traditions. Their beliefs honor Jesus and the Virgin Mary, while also venerating Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, as a central prophetic figure and spiritual patriarch.

When I began writing my column early this morning, I felt prompted and perhaps even divinely nudged to reach out to my friend Daryl Hedding, chief operating officer of the Shai Fund. This Christian non-profit organization—“shai” means “gift” in Hebrew—serves vulnerable populations in high-risk environments around the world. In Syria, the Shai Fund has earned a strong reputation for its compassionate and effective work among religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians, Druze, Kurds, and Yezidis.

I asked Daryl whether the Shai Fund was mobilizing to assist the besieged Christian community in Sweida. He replied, “In June, Shai aided the Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus just 36 hours after the Christian murders.” He added, “We coordinate with trusted local partners to distribute immediate aid. Then we follow up with support for expanded needs like medical care and funeral costs.”

I was overwhelmed with gratitude. What I believe was a Spirit-led prompting had opened a channel of response. Daryl immediately began contacting his network in Sweida. Moments later, a message arrived from one of those connections: a member of the late Pastor Khalid Mazher’s Good Shepherd Evangelical Church. The message carried an urgent headline:

“Christian Communities Call for International Protection.”

It continued: “Orthodox and Catholic Christians in Sweida have become a refuge for most of the displaced. The churches are overflowing, well beyond their capacity. The Catholic Church has issued a multilingual statement in English, German, French, and Arabic.” Their plea was clear and desperate: A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in our region. Open the humanitarian crossings. Help us end the siege. We remain on this mountain until the very end, asking the Lord for swift relief.

The Shai Fund’s immediate goal is to raise $5,000, an attainable sum that can bring tangible help and hope. By giving, we can become part of the answer to urgent prayers for “swift relief.” My own donation wasn’t large, but whether small or substantial, every gift sends a clear and compassionate message to Syria’s persecuted Christians: you are not forgotten in your suffering.

You can make a gift of any amount here: TheShaiFund.org.

Galatians 6:2 exhorts us to Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.

On Sunday, Israel quietly launched an overnight humanitarian mission to Sweida, delivering first aid kits, food, and medical supplies to support the embattled Syrian Druze community. Remarkably, Israel was the only nation to respond with tangible aid. The operation was carried out by Israeli Air Force helicopters, with additional support already en route.

Israel’s response reflects its deep and enduring commitment to its own Druze population—approximately 150,000 citizens—who share close familial and cultural ties with the Druze in Syria. Israeli Druze are known for their steadfast loyalty to the state. They serve with distinction in the Israel Defense Forces and national police, and many have made meaningful contributions in politics, business, and academia.

On my many trips to Israel, I’ve had the privilege of meeting members of the Druze community, sharing heartfelt conversations, unforgettable experiences, and generous meals offered with their signature warmth and hospitality. The Druze are a remarkable people, and I feel a deep personal bond with them.

This is a time not merely for reflection but for action. While images of the recent atrocities have not surfaced, the descriptions alone are harrowing. On Monday morning, Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), interviewed Israeli Druze attorney Anan Kheir outside Majdal Shams, often considered the informal Druze capital in Israel’s Golan Heights. With visible emotion, Kheir recounted: “We have seen three-month-old babies killed, women raped and then set on fire.” Choking up, he continued, saying he could hardly breathe after witnessing a video of “a man tied to a chair, burned alive in front of his family.”

Anan also shared a WhatsApp exchange with the general manager of Sweida Hospital, a chilling confirmation of the horror unfolding. When asked what was most urgently needed, the GM replied: “The terrorists murdered patients sleeping in their beds. They cut off body parts, tried to kill our staff, and vandalized our equipment. Our hospital can no longer take care of our patients.” Kheir, himself Druze, emphasized the importance of verified sources amid widespread misinformation on social media: “In this age of fake images and recycled footage, personal verification on the ground is critical. The hospital’s GM is a trusted source.”

It is worth remembering that Pastor Khalid Madher, whose murder was part of this wave of violence, was a Druze believer in Jesus. Years ago, he encountered Christ and embraced Him as Savior. Rather than leave his Druze community behind, he chose to remain in Syria, founding the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church under the Assemblies of God, where he faithfully ministered to his people until his death.

Charmaine Hedding, President of the Shai Fund, offers a sobering reflection: “This is a targeted campaign to erase one of Syria’s oldest religious minorities. What is happening in Sweida is a test of whether Syria can become a nation that protects the dignity and rights of all its people. If Syria loses its minorities, it loses its soul. We must act—not only with aid, but with courage, compassion, and resolve.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer for Syrian Christians:

• Pray for massive aid to go quickly and successfully to Syrian Christians.
• Pray with thanks for the strong two-way loyalty between Israeli Jews and Israeli Druze.
• Pray for each Syrian minority: Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Yazidis
• Pray for Syria’s Christians who have lost family members to jihadist terrorists. 
• Pray for wisdom and caution for all leaders meeting with Syrian president Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

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

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has faced accusations about conducting a genocide against Gaza’s Palestinian Arabs. This apartheid accusation, which has been around for decades, includes a favorite lie: that the Jewish population is all white and oppressive. Whether you’re traveling to Israel or viewing online photos, let your eyes tell you the truth about Israel’s diverse citizenry.

A case in point is that upwards of 170,000 Ethiopian-Israelis can be found among Israel’s current population. This inspiring Ethiopian statistic reflects a singular fact: Israel is the only nation in the world that has transported black Africans to freedom instead of to slavery. Allow that fact to sink in—and pass it on, if you will.

In 1973, Israel’s Chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that Ethiopian Jews were, according to Jewish law, “Sons of Israel” (Bnei Israel). Facing religious persecution and oppression at home, these Africans began the perilous 2,000-mile trek to Israel in relatively small numbers—numbers that ballooned in the early 1980s with Israeli-initiated airlifts undertaken in response to the thousands of Jews dying along the way. What factors drove them to first undertake their dangerous walks through hostile territories?

Similar to all Jews, in the global diaspora Ethiopians held Judaism in their hearts. Their Judaism harkened back to their belief that the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon resulted in a son, their ancestor Menelek I. Their tradition says that King Solomon gave Menelek a Torah scroll instructing him to teach Ethiopians about biblical Judaism. You may be inclined to dismiss the story, but facts on the ground in Ethiopia prove the ancient Jewish practices in their culture called Beta (House of) Israel.

Encyclopedia Britannica affirms their Jewish Torah culture in Ethiopia. With a Bible and prayer book written in Geʿez—an ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia—they observed the Sabbath, circumcision, synagogues with priests (kohanim) of the villages, offered animal sacrifices, and kept some of the major Jewish festivals. They followed Jewish dietary laws as best they could despite generations of Ethiopian poverty and famine in that nation.

Danielle Mor, a vice president at the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), explains that Ethiopian Jews were among the most ancient Jews in exile. “They are actually believed to be from the tribe of Dan, exiled by the Babylonians.” She further observes that, living in Ethiopia’s northern rural, mountainous region, they were “cut off from the rest of the Jewish world [and] followed more ancient, biblical traditions, not the traditions of the last 2,500 years.”

Fighting famines and persecution in Ethiopia under dictator Mengistu Hail Mariam—and longing for their homeland, Israel—the Ethiopian Jews first headed north to neighboring Sudan. It was not an easy journey. Suffering from starvation, dehydration, and violence meant Ethiopians died by the thousands. Yet the group maintained its cultural determination to reach their ancestral homeland. Thousands of Ethiopians walked into Sudan. They were then housed in strained, sometimes violent conditions in refugee camps.

Israel, learning of the vast number of deaths, decided to get involved. In 1984-1985, the Ethiopian Jews’ dangerous foot journey was transformed into Israeli flights. Via Operation Moses—the first of three clandestine military undertakings—Israeli pilots airlifted an estimated 7,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudanese refugee camps to Israel. But leaks and political pressure forced Sudan to end the lifesaving airlift prematurely, leaving many people stranded.

In 1985, the U.S. launched Operation Joshua to evacuate the Ethiopian Jews remaining and bring them to safety in Israel. Three countries cooperated in the complex covert logistics: Israel’s Mossad, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and Sudanese State Security. However, this enterprise, too, came to a halt when leaks about Operation Moses became public knowledge and Sudan was pressured by Arab countries to stop.

Operation Solomon, the third masterful operation, was carried out on May 24-25, 1991. Launched to airlift Jews threatened by an escalating civil war in Ethiopia, this remarkable 36-hour enterprise is considered one of the most extraordinary rescue efforts in modern history.

Thirty aircraft were utilized for Operation Solomon, including the Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules. Seats were removed to maximize passenger capacity and plastic sheeting was laid down for improved hygiene and disease prevention. One El Al 747 airlift set a world record: 1,122 passengers—and the miracle of two babies born during the flight.

During Operation Solomon, doctors and paramedics were on hand for malnourished Ethiopians, providing water and food. A summation from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the operation’s execution was flawless: planes took 14,087 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Israel in one weekend. Once, 25 planes were in the air simultaneously, including planes chartered from Ethiopia’s state airline.

So, when you hear cries of “apartheid in Israel,” or “genocide,” or “lack of diversity”—that’s nothing but propaganda! Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics recorded that between 1980 and 1992, Israel repatriated upwards of 44,766 Jewish Ethiopians. History books, websites, social media, and videos are replete with diverse facts and stories of Israel’s decision to airlift black Ethiopian refugees to their homeland.

In fact, Israel is alone in its dedicated, complex efforts to rescue Africans instead of enslaving them. The United States and Great Britain, for example, cannot make such claims, since their horrific slave trade lasted for several hundred years. Mercifully, both countries long ago abandoned the deadly slave trade, yet true freedom remained ahead in slow legal and activist advocacy for equality.

The Ethiopian Jews’ transition into Israel was indeed complicated and challenging for both Israelis and Ethiopians. As an example, the first years of integrating Ethiopians—who had lived in huts with no electricity—into contemporary Israeli society meant teaching them how to turn on a stove and perform other tasks required for living in a modern culture. Israelis had to make their own adjustments regarding the culture of Ethiopians. Israel, though, has made frequent transitions—receiving people making Aliyah from nations such as India, China, Mexico, and South America—each bringing their own unique cultures.

In frequent trips to Israel, I have met and talked with many wonderful, exceptional Ethiopian citizens. Among them was Shlomo Molla, former deputy speaker of Israel’s Parliament Knesset, who in 1984 arrived in Israel barefooted. Today, Ethiopians serve in the Israel Defense Forces and attend Israel’s Ono College, which champions multiculturalism and where they earn degrees for prestigious positions as attorneys and in the tech sector.

Israel’s enemies have no regard for Psalm 34:13— Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. I encourage you to put these facts in your truth-telling toolbox and pass it on as one way to oppose lies by expressing your support for Israel.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer this week: 

• Pray for those blinded by hate to open their eyes to truths about Israel’s diversity.
• Pray for lingering challenges for Ethiopians to gain added influential roles in Israel.
• Pray for Ethiopian families grieving for deceased family members among the IDF.
• Pray for all Ethiopian family members still in Ethiopia who await their Aliyah.

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 Islamic Republic of Iran is home to some 10,000 to 15,000 Jews, who remain as the modern remnants of ancient Jews captured in Jerusalem and forcibly deported to Babylon in 587/586 B.C. While it’s not common knowledge, even now Iran’s Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East after Israel. Also not well known is the existence of the Cyrus Cylinder, an archaeological treasure dating from the sixth century B.C. and displayed in London’s British Museum.

Discovered in Babylon (modern-day Iraq) in 1879, the clay cylinder draws a straight line from ancient Persia to Jewish people and their history with inscriptions from King Cyrus. In part, Cyrus observes in the cuneiform text, “I took up my lordly abode in the royal palace amidst rejoicing and happiness. … My vast army marched into Babylon in peace; I did not permit anyone to frighten the people.”

Scholars often call Cyrus’s decrees for the Jews the “first charter of human rights.” Cyrus, a pagan king, allowed all the people he conquered—including Jews—to keep their religions and cultures. Today, in exploring the destiny of modern Iranian Jews we find another Middle Eastern set of complicated facts and questions.

Let’s take a moment to revisit the 70-year Jewish exile in Babylon. The annals of biblical and archaeological history recount Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Solomon’s Temple and eventually the rise of Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C. Why is Persian King Cyrus described as “great?” Apart from his military achievements, tolerant rule, and political astuteness, God tapped this secular ruler to liberate the Jewish exiles by repatriating Jews to their homeland.

Some 50,000 exiled Jews undertook the grueling 900-mile journey to Jerusalem. Most remained behind, however, possibly because many felt they were too old, or they preferred their good lives in Cyrus’ kingdom. The prolific prophet Isaiah mentioned Cyrus by name in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1—some 150 years before Cyrus freed and financed not only the return of the Jews but also the wherewithal to rebuild the second Temple!

Cyrus’ words are not only inscribed in the Cyrus Cylinder but also in Ezra 1:2-3 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.”

This link gives added historical insights: [view here].

In modern times, millennia after the human-rights King Cyrus, the Islamic Regime conquered what was called Persia in 1979 and rebranded the country with its Shia Islam. Its apocalyptic ayatollahs are bent on welcoming the so-called Twelfth Imam to rule the world in the end times, an oppressive, one-sided religious governance. Their theology is light years away from the freedom-loving historic King Cyrus.

That said, surprisingly the Jewish community has lived a somewhat unrestricted life under the Islamic Regime. With 30 synagogues, Jewish schools, youth sports, kosher butcher shops, restaurants, and a matzah factory, Jews are an official religious minority and hold one seat in the Iranian parliament. Nevertheless, with upwards of 100,000 Jews living in Iran in 1979, numerous individuals and families fled to Israel and the United States before and after the revolution in waves of mass immigration.

The continuation of comparative calm for the Jewish community is now highly questionable since the Twelve Day War started on June 13. The Iranian Jewish community’s concerns are multiplying by the day. The Regime is arresting dozens of Jews, and some are held without any outside contact. Detainees include rabbis and other Jewish leaders amid a sobering headline in Israel’s Ynet Global News: “Anyone Can Disappear.”

The Regime is focusing right now on Jews with relatives in Israel. The Persian Human Rights News Agency HRANA mentions a November 2011 law that had already restricted family ties between Israeli and Iranian Jews. The Iranian Parliament banned Iranian Jews from travel to Israel. The punishment is up to five years in prison and passport ineligibility. A leader in the Tehran Jewish Association commented anonymously, “We’ve seen limited summonses during previous crises, but the current scale is unprecedented and has raised serious concerns about the psychological and social well-being of our community.”

As the world’s largest sponsor of terror, the Islamic Regime has a track record of fostering horrific evil outside its borders. But it also holds another world record: the second-highest number of executions inside Iran, according to Amnesty International. Only China outpaces Iran in that regard. I daresay all Iranians are aware of the prisons, public hangings, and hateful cries against Israel and the United States even now—in their parliament and funerals after their recent widespread losses in weapons, nuclear sites, and leadership.

I am puzzled now about the Islamic Regime’s leaders amid their war losses. When I recall the total defeat of Japan and Germany in World War II, I have concluded that Iran’s culture is so vastly immersed in cruelty and domination that it has transitioned into more than its Shia Religion. It is a literal Religion of Evil. They will not give up. Even now.

The 2,700-year-old Jewish community is walking an incredibly fragile tightrope. Some diaspora Iranians tend to think Iran’s Jews voicing support for the Regime is a survival strategy. On the other hand, the Central Jewish Committee of Tehran states that “Judaism is a religion, not a political ideology,” adding that Iranian Jews are completely separate from the Zionist (Israel) regime.

Yasmin Shalom Mottahedeh, an Israeli who made Aliyah in the 1980s, put it this way in an interview a few years ago: “The country can never be empty of Jews. It’s a community that has survived since the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple.” Yasmin concluded, “Jews have had the opportunity to leave, but those who are there have chosen to stay for a reason.”

It is impossible for us to know or understand why every Jew did not flee Iran both leading up to and following 1979. But we do know that the Islamic Regime is a deadly one. Prayers for the Iranian Jews are necessary, as the oppressive leaders attempt to rebuild the country by murdering anyone who stands in their way, Jews and non-Jews. And the ultimate prayer: That all Iranians will rise in freedom to rebuild their beautiful Persian country.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayers for Iranian Jews by reflecting on King Cyrus’ quote in Ezra 1:3—“And may their God be with them.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will reveal His fullness to the Jews of Iran.
• Pray that God’s heavenly armies will surround the Iranian Jewish families with safety.
• Pray that the Islamic Regime will release the Jews they arrested back to their families.
• Pray Iranian Jews will not suffer the evils leveled against Israeli Jews on October 7, 2023. 

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 Thursday afternoon, June 12, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked to the Western Wall (Kotel) with his prayer shawl draped over his suit and the customary kippah on his head. He wedged a note from Numbers 23:24 into the crevice, “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion.”

The note in the Kotel was made public the next day—after Netanyahu’s address during Israel’s Operation Rising Lion ascending out of ancient Jewish history before the air strikes on Iran early the next morning. Indeed, the Lion is rising with God’s Hand—evident in extraordinary plans and miracles, despite the faltering Islamic Regime that deliberately targeted Israeli civilians and infrastructure.

Days passed during which Israel fought alone with extraordinary success against the Islamic Regime, the world’s largest terror threat. Global news outlets and commentators declared that division existed between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Would the U.S. commander-in-chief utilize our B-2 stealth bombers to drop the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), often dubbed the “bunker buster” bomb—on Fordow, Iran’s deepest underground nuclear production site?

The answer exploded into headlines in the early hours of Sunday, June 22. Our commander-in-chief, President Donald J. Trump, who earlier gave the Islamic Regime a final two-week ultimatum for diplomacy, acted militarily after the Regime’s pointed refusal. The United States B-2 Spirit stealth bombers struck Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The operation was code-named Midnight Hammer, and President Trump enacted his covert maneuvers with his words and schedule. He spoke in nonspecific terms, presented a calm demeanor, and maintained a normal schedule—that is, until right before Midnight Hammer began.

Planned diversionary flights by U.S. stealth bombers headed east in an aerial fake. Other B-2s flew west toward Iran, their true destination to destroy three nuclear sites. In a cooperative goal to disable the terror regime, Midnight Hammer and Rising Lion implemented their own specialized skills and weaponry. Israel never asks the United States for boots on the ground, and during the B-2 attacks, Iran fired no missiles at our U.S. Air Force and no military personnel were harmed. The precision of the Israel and American air forces in targeting only military sites and Islamic Regime terrorists is admirable. In contrast, Iran’s leaders directly attack Israeli civilians, which is unsurprising since that is how Iran’s proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have functioned during decades of evil.

At this writing, a ceasefire is in place between Iran and Israel, brokered by President Trump. Currently described as the Twelve Day War, Israel extraordinarily met its goal to disable Iran’s nuclear dream of destroying the world’s only Jewish state. Since 1979, the Islamic Regime and its surrogates have attacked and killed Americans upwards of 45 times. In the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, 66 Americans were held captive for 444 days in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In 1983, Iran-backed Hezbollah drove a truck bomb into a U.S. Marine compound in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 220 Marines. In the Iraq War, Iran-backed terrorists killed at least 603 American soldiers. In 2020, an Iranian ballistic missile hit an American air base, leaving 100 American soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. President Trump not only aided Israel with our precision stealth bombers, he enacted justice for our country!

Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and our State Department have issued domestic and global alerts for our vigilance, it seems the U.S., Israel, and the world can rest a little easier for now. 

Oppressed Iranian citizens are celebrating the possibility of freedom after more than four decades of Islamic tyranny. Nevertheless, almost immediately, outrage against President Trump was voiced by Democrats, leftists, and Islamist imams in the United States. President Trump has remained consistent since he first ran for president, repeatedly declaring, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He added on May 13, “Iran can have a much brighter future—but we’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or a nuclear attack. The choice is theirs to make. We really want them to be a successful country.” Although he preferred demonstrated diplomacy smartly done, he acted on peace through strength as the only solution to disarm Iran’s goal of destroying Israel and America to gain worldwide dominance.

President Trump’s stance is the opposite of past American leaders’ appeasement. Their disastrous 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Joint (JCPOA) was based on their inability or refusal to recognize the difference between evil and good. During the Obama and Biden eras, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry directed an operation of deception to foist it onto Americans. Obama made a $400 million cash transfer to the Ayatollahs. Biden as president gave huge sanctions relief that amounted to $16 billion. When John Kerry ran the State Department, he blocked FBI arrests of Iranian operatives in the U.S. to protect the misguided JCPOA agreement.

When you hear less-than-reliable versions about the decisions of President Trump or Prime Minister Netanyahu, recall these examples of free speech hatred in the United States. Yasir Qadhi—a Muslim cleric in Plano, Texas, who is considered the “architect of Islamization in Texas”—pushes American Muslims to unite against non-Muslims, whom he refers to as Kaffir—“filthy unbelievers.” Praising the Islamic Regime, he is against Muslims who do not agree with his ideological warfare.

Say what you will, it does not change the fact that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu know the vast difference between evil and good. They have acted in a war they did not ask for but which was necessary to gain peace for our world through strength. They are rational leaders seeking peace by disabling the irrational Islamist Regime instigating hate through terror. Polling varies, and while Americans are anxious about what’s next, three in four voters now see Iran as a real security threat.

On June 21, when President Trump gave his speech after the U.S. Air Force’s precision strikes to cut off the head of the Iranian snake, he declared in closing: “I want to just say we love You, God.” On June 22, PM Netanyahu returned to the Kotel to give thanks for President Trump and pray for the IDF. Again referring to Numbers 23:24, he commented: “Today I return to the same place—and there is a new note: ‘And a nation rose as a lion.’”  

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us with prayers reflecting on this verse: 

Revelation 5:5: “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. 
• Pray for Israeli civilians under fire from Iranian ballistic missiles.
• Pray for displaced Israeli families and for Israel Defense Forces.
• Pray for Iranians longing for freedom.

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

We are witnessing world and biblical history in the making. Like David bravely confronting Goliath in 1012 B.C., Israel in A.D. 2025 is crushing the world’s deadly threat from the Islamic Regime—3,037 years later. Despite Iran deliberately directing its ballistic missiles toward Israel’s civilians, Jews are incredibly resilient. Yet they are painfully aware of the incredibly high stakes of victory amid deaths, injuries, and frequent dashes to bomb shelters. 

Israel has been fiercely engaged in a defensive war since October 7, 2023—fighting not only for its own existence but also on the frontlines for the United States and the free world. The rallying cry Am Yisrael Chai (“The people of Israel live”) expresses gratitude to God for His eternal, redemptive plans enacted through the Jewish people.

Today, via worldwide media, millions of people on planet Earth have a front-row seat to Israel’s Operation Rising Lion—the daring military operation targeting Iran’s military and nuclear strength. However, Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh, born and growing up amid the oppressive Islamic Regime for 33 years, suffered in another kind of front-row seat in 2009. After their radical conversion to Jesus, Marziyeh and a friend ran a covert operation giving out 20,000 Bibles. They were spied on by the Regime’s authorities, then arrested—and brutally forced into Evin Prison, one of the worst in the world.

Sentenced to death by hanging, Marzi underwent punishing traumas before being miraculously released nine months later. She legally immigrated to the United States and obtained her American citizenship. Years later, she fulfilled a long-held hope by visiting Israel in 2023 for the first time. She has now visited Israel three times. Her most recent trip last fall was the inaugural tour sponsored by Jonathan Feldstein, founder of the Genesis 123 Foundation, and Marzi’s NewPersia.org.

These two remarkable people created the organization Root & Branch, which offers a meaningful way for Christians to connect with Israel. Jonathan, an Israeli modern Orthodox Jewish father and grandfather, and Marzi, a Christian author and speaker, pioneered this specialized tour. It combines an agricultural pilgrimage to harvest olives with spiritually uplifting activities along the Gaza border and interacting with the IDF.

Marzi’s life reflects her mission to promote understanding and freedom for her Iranian people and to stand firmly with Israel. A beautiful Iranian American, she loves her “Jewish Savior’s homeland.” I invite you to read about and connect with my remarkable friend at www.NewPersia.org  

Hers is a significant voice, now more than ever during Israel’s Operation Rising Lion. In 1979, when the apocalyptic Ayatollahs ousted the government of Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, the new government’s malicious nature expanded into a behemoth of worldwide terror that is more obvious now than ever before. 

Marzi is a sought-after speaker/author for interviews in Israel, America, and beyond. Sharing a few of her firsthand perspectives will illuminate both the Islamic Regime’s evil mindset and the hopes of the 90 million inhabitants still longing for freedom.

In a 2024 interview with Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz at Israel365, Marzi explains that prior to 1979, “Iran as a country was very pro-Israel, a big ally. Iran was one of the most advanced, enlightened westernized countries.” She added, “Iran is not an Arab country. It is Persian with Farsi as the language, not Arabic.” Iranians look to ancient “King Cyrus as their father” and “believe that their country has been taken hostage.”

Ezra 1:1-2 is a magnificent verse about Persians and Jews! In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The LORD put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.”

Marzi also addressed the Iranian hunger for learning about Jesus. During the years that she gave out 20,000 Bibles, she engaged in thousands of conversations about Jesus. Iran is considered the fasted-growing Christian community in the world despite the hard-line Islamic Regime’s ban on Persian Bibles, murdering pastors, and closing churches. In the last 20 years, more Iranians became Christians than in the previous 13 centuries.

On one of her X posts, Marzi shared short videos from Iranians that show the true nature of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) terrorists. They are haphazardly bombing buildings in Tehran to kill innocent civilians. A building in Tehran’s Narmak location is a recent example. The IRGC’s goal is to blame Israel, whose policy is the exact opposite.

The IDF targets only terrorist leaders, staff, and operatives. When Israel must eliminate known terrorists hiding on purpose in civilian neighborhoods, their policy is to notify civilians directing them to leave. Marzi warns, “Don’t be deceived by fake media.” She points out that the Regime knows how to play the role of victim and sell its lies to the world. 

Marzi’s Facebook posts hold many perspectives. In one post Marzi suggests that a regime change with Iran means “the elimination of the supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei and his four sons.” At this writing, with fast-moving news unfolding, Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered Ali Khamenei asylum in Russia.

In another post, Marzi shared a video from an Iranian man driving past the Imam Hasan military base in Kermanshah, Iran. He filmed it while the Israeli Air Force was destroying the base—and “praised PM Netanyahu for his bravery.” Marzi made it known in another post that the Islamic regime “has shut down the internet to stop Iranians from sending films and true news outside in order to spread their own lies and propagandas.”

She could not contact any of her friends in Iran. 

Although Elon Musk has activated Starlink for Iran, confirming that “The beams are on,” it is not yet accessible to everyone. The government opposes Starlink’s presence, and the logistical need for satellite dishes and ground terminals make access inconsistent. Hopefully, Starlink connectivity will grow more available with time.

A June 14 video showed Iranian people dancing in the streets—a form of civil disobedience and protest—while leaving the major cities after last week’s Israeli airstrike campaign began. Marzi commented, “They are celebrating the elimination of the evil Islamic regime and its followers.” 

Let us join with prayers that the celebrations will multiply across Iran, where Jews and Persians will once again revitalize their friendships in freedom, shalom, and joy!

Prayer Points:

• Pray thanking God for the flawless skill of the Israeli and American air forces. 
• Pray for Mossad implementing a complex plan on Iranian soil.
• Pray for Iranian and Israeli civilians seeking the end of Iranian terror.
• Pray for a quick and successful end for Operation Rising Lion.

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 tsunami of accusations against Israel, the Jewish ancestral homeland, is crashing ashore across the globe. Misleading headlines are flooding in, saying Israel is “Accused of the gravest war crimes in Gaza” (the BBC) and charge Israel with ethnic cleansing. Evil is valued and goodness is devalued. The brilliant prophet Isaiah, who today could be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, eloquently described this reversal in Chapter 5, verse 20: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. We live in an upside-down world. It is frightening for our Jewish friends in Israel, the United States, and beyond.

Furthermore, strengthening our own faith is indispensable right now. Most evangelicals I know befriend Israel and the Jewish community because we value the entire Bible. Its clarity informs us that our Christian faith was born in the ancient cradle of Judaism. God, in His sovereign plans, created and chose Jews to write 65 books of the Bible—except for Luke, who was considered in ancient traditions to be a Gentile. The Jewish apostle Paul, a murderer-turned-believer in Messiah Jesus (Yeshua) on the Damascus Road, carried the Good News about our Jewish Savior to non-Jews.

Up until the time of Paul’s Damascus Road encounter with Yeshua, the early church for about eight to ten years was populated by Jewish believers, as well as some Gentiles. When the disciples traveled to the known world with the Gospel news after Jesus’ ascension, His Great Commission reached Jews and began seeping into the Gentile community. However, it was the brilliant Apostle Paul, commissioned by God, who would spotlight the Good News to the Gentiles. 

The Old and New Testaments were written by Jews, for Jews, and to Jews. Evangelicals do not support the Jewish people in America, Israel, or any other nation because Jews are perfect. They are not perfect; we are not perfect. We are all imperfect. But God has codified His words in a legacy written through the hands and minds of the Jews. The legacy remains today and for eternity with its world-changing redemption story. Guinness World Records documents the Jewish-written Bible as the bestselling nonfiction book of all time. In its research, the non-denominational British and Foreign Bible Society estimates that since the invention of the printing press in the mid-1400s, between 5 and 7 billion copies were printed.

I took a few moments to highlight the Bible as our foundation in our personal lives and in reference to our support for Jews. Because too much of the world is undergoing unwitting disregard for biblical facts about God’s love for His people, the Jews. Daily reading of our guidebook, the Bible, is a spiritual survival habit, lets us learn more about our relationship with the God who made us.

Take a small tour with me to connect with examples globally where anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments are fomenting. Israeli American Hillel Fuld, a respected Orthodox Jewish Zionist and tech advisor, was scheduled to speak in Australia at fundraising events for Magen David Adom (Israel’s Red Cross). Fuld’s visa was canceled when false accusations labeled him a “merchant of Zionist hate.” Fewer than 120,000 Jewish people live in Australia—out of an estimated 27.5 million. Yet Jew hatred manifested in more than 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2023 and September 2024—an astonishing number given the small size of its Jewish population.

Moving on to France, their Ministry of National Education reported 1,670 antisemitic acts in schools for the school year 2023–2024. Jewish children, as young as 9 and 10 years old, are badgered at school and do not talk about the Jewish holidays they celebrate at home. Even in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, which views itself as a neutral nation, anti-Jewish social media is rapidly escalating. There were 1,789 incidents in 2024—an increase of 89.5 percent over 2023. Forty-two physical attacks include some schools—all too accurately described as the “new hotbeds of hatred.”

In Germany last November, an under-17 youth soccer team in Berlin from TuS Makkabi, a Jewish sports club, was chased by a crowd from the opposing team wielding sticks and knives. They yelled “Free Palestine” and spat on the Jewish team.

The United States, in the last few weeks, has felt the shock of two Israeli Embassy staff being shot dead by a terrorist, and then reeled from another horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, when members of a peaceful Jewish group were set on fire. One-third of American Jews report that they have experienced antisemitism, in person or virtually, at least once in the past year. Fifty-six percent mention they have changed their behavior—men choosing not wearing their kippahs and women not wearing their Star of David necklaces. Only 6.3 million Jews live in the U.S.—not even 2 percent of the total population.

This week, the 2025 Israel Summit scheduled for June 9–11 in Dallas, Texas, was canceled due to the threat of violence. Commented former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman: “This is America in 2025. A pro-Israel conference,” he said, “was forced to cancel because of threats from violent jihadists. Law enforcement was completely cooperative, but the threats were of a nature that required cancellation.”

In closing, our short tour now leads to one more terror tunnel discovered below yet another hospital in Gaza—this time, the European Hospital. It offers more proof that Hamas leaders weren’t just hiding underground; they were running their terror network from beneath a hospital. IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin describes the weapons, cash, and ammunition stored in the tunnels under the hospital’s emergency room. Standing in the tunnel, Defrin says, “We found here in this infrastructure a lot of funds, a lot of money, cash used by Hamas—of course, not for the people but for terror activities, weapons.” Here is the link if you wish to watch or share it: [view here].

Given the mindset of those described in Isaiah 5:20 who call “evil good, and good evil,” they would likely refuse to believe facts about this under-the-hospital-terror-post or the massive amount of visual evidence that has been available since October 7, 2023. 

Let us be among those who dwell on biblical hope and then commit to honoring God by supporting His chosen people.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer this week recalling Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray for Jewish communities worldwide to discover shalom to calm their fears. 
• Pray for the safety of Jewish schoolchildren living outside of Israel.
• Pray for members of the IDF in their highly dangerous search for hostages in terror tunnels.
• Pray for Israeli families whose adult children in the IDF bravely sacrificed their lives. 

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 shocking May 21 murders of a soon-to-be-engaged Jewish couple is still reverberating among Jews, Christians, and people of good will. Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky—who had been on staff at the Israeli Embassy in D.C.—have been laid to rest: Sarah in Overland Park, Kansas, and Yaron in Jerusalem. On June 1, another terrorist, this time an illegal alien, threw homemade Molotov cocktails into the Jewish crowd at a peaceful pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado—setting some on fire. Twelve innocent people suffered injury, some critically. 

The national Run for Their Lives rallies—peaceful run/walk events—spotlight the freeing of hostages from Hamas. However, the attacker shouted his cold-blooded message: “Palestine is free” and “End Zionists.” The violence took place on the eve of the Jewish festival Shavuot, which Christians call Pentecost. 

Our unity with the Jewish community is more essential than ever amid today’s outbreaks of evil. Wherever possible, we must choose to oppose lies with truth. Gaining more education about the nature of radicalized minds is essential, especially if we have not directly encountered embedded evil. Yet, the rampant, outsized propaganda too easily reported by mainstream media is often overwhelming, making it easy to say, “What’s the use? I am only one person!”

The first step is choosing to obey God’s unbreakable biblical mandates about Jews, Israel’s indigenous people. The next is to realize that each of us is no longer just one person. We are uniting with millions of Christians and Jews—growing into a force to be reckoned with. 

Although Nazi propaganda focused mostly on Europe, now—with the aggressive power of social media—the entire globe is infected with lies aimed at Jews and Christians. Now, lies travel at warp speed. And the vastness of such propaganda pounds lies into minds, thereby erasing facts.

In John 8:44, Jesus clearly described the origin of lies when confronting the Pharisees: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning not holding to the truth, for there there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” 

Last week, I listened to Chuck Holton’s expert explanation of lies based on Jesus’ words about the origin of lies. At this time in world history, we face the dangerous byproducts of around-the-clock indoctrination. Chuck has been a war correspondent with CBN News since 2003. He hosts The Hot Zone, offering authoritative analysis and perspective.

Chuck explored minds radicalized by intolerance—the intolerance of opposing views, embracing violence, and rejecting the existing social order. These are not mental illnesses. Those with mental illnesses do not choose to have a mental illness. Rather, they want to learn how to navigate their brain disease, choosing to live full lives and making a helpful difference for others.

He describes the perpetrators in the Middle East, Europe, and now in America as operating out of ideological possession. The word “ideological” or its root word, ideology, is defined as a set of beliefs/ideas, especially about politics, economics, or society. It is a blueprint for how to think and act. Extreme identification with a belief system can lead to fanaticism and a propensity to engage in acts of cruelty toward others.

Chuck Holton’s insights reveal a terror blueprint:

• Ideological possession. 
• A cause becomes a god. 
• Reprograming the conscience. 
• Erasing empathy. 
• Mainstream media funneling lies.
• Internet algorithms shaping identities.

Ideological possession displays a sprawling pattern of how societies have been drifting into lawlessness since October 7, 2023. This often leads to a sense of entitlement or an obligation to commit violence against innocent Jews and the Christians who stand with them.

“Violent ideology can happen,” notes Chuck, “when a cause becomes a god.” 

His observation helps explain degrees of terrorism—from murderers to masked demonstrators on college campuses using violent words, slogans, and memes to dehumanize Jews. An ideology becomes more than a belief system; it becomes someone’s identity, not just an influence on their behavior. The words reprogram the person’s conscience to where anything, absolutely anything, can be rationalized. Perceived enemies are not people. They are obstacles, “faceless others.”

Bowing down to a dangerous ideology is what happened via the American murderer’s ideological possession when he shot two peace-loving strangers to death. “Free Palestine” took over as the killer’s god. As Chuck noted, Sarah and Yaron were “only symbols of his hatred toward Zionism. His concept made murder noble.” 

Holton describes ideological possession as seductive, giving the radicalized mind a purpose and a sense of belonging. The process finally results in erasing empathy. As Chuck points out, “With no empathy, brutality becomes thinkable. Before pulling the trigger or raising the knife, a murderer must have convinced himself that the targets are not fully human.”

Dehumanization begins with words. Someone is not a person; they are a problem. Debating Jews is resisting Zionists. Israelis are occupiers and baby killers. Jesus was a Palestinian.

Memes, slogans, and hashtags aid and abet the disappearance of moral guardrails to the point where murder, assaults, and slander are not wrong. History is full of this phenomenon. In the Rwandan genocide, the Hutus called the Tutsis “cockroaches.” Nazis called Jews “rats.” Otherwise-normal people become capable of antisemitic acts.

Internet algorithms shape identities and start to bleed into real life. No longer anonymous, terrorists are soldiers for the cause and the world they believe will notice them. They consider themselves heroic. Holton adds “that media should not say the name of murderers.” Relentless propaganda enabled by mainstream media overtakes minds that have abandoned biblical truths.

A glaring example from most mainstream media is an MSN article published about the Boulder attacks. In its last few lines it reads, “Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians … said Gaza health officials.” Gaza health officials? It is actually Hamas that mainstream media have consistently used as their source—and Hamas promotes nothing but lies and propaganda.

Mainstream media then becomes an accessory to ideological possession and every Jew-hating act.

Mike Huckabee, our U.S. Ambassador to Israel, released this statement: “We are demanding an immediate retraction of the lies and are appealing to all media sources to act with objective professionalism to cover actual events instead of being a partner of terrorism by blindly following Hamas news releases.” The Ambassador highlighted the “reckless and irresponsible reporting by major U.S. news outlets … contributing to the anti-Semitic climate that has resulted in the murder of two young people at an Israeli embassy in Washington last month and the attempted murder and terror attack on a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado on Sunday.” 

Slogans like “From the River to the Sea,” “End Zionists,” and “Free Palestine” are genocidal shouts. Since October 7, 2023, radicalized minds have left Jewish children orphaned, entire families wiped out, and demonstrators assaulting Jewish students. Chuck observes, “In a culture which abandons a biblical worldview, anything can be justified. By choosing an individual truth, feelings outweigh facts.”

As evangelicals acknowledge Jesus’ words about the origin of lies and become more educated, it is is crucial that we accept Chuck Holton’s admonitions to “carry light into the darkest places, not just mourn the victims. Let us honor them by standing for truth and refusing to let the world go numb.”

John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, was a great anti-slavery president and later a member of congress. He repeatedly pushed resolutions and legislation against slavery to a unresponsive Congress. Let us adopt his quote as we stand with the Jewish community: “Duty is ours; results are God’s.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week with an admonition from the Apostle John: If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth (1 John 1:6).

Prayer Points:

• Pray that Christians increase their courage in troubling times.
• Pray that Christians remain spiritually vigilant gaining strength in the Bible. 
• Pray that the Jewish community receives encouragement from Christians. 
• Pray for American Jews growing more fearful with antisemitic acts.

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 May 21—a pleasant evening in Washington, D.C.—guests exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Young staffers of Jewish organizations were chatting about the gathering and discussing plans for the next day, when shots suddenly rang out. Instantly Sarah Milgrim, an American Jew, and Yaron Lischinsky, a German-born Israeli citizen, collapsed to the pavement. Both were on the staff of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Yaron had purchased Sarah’s engagement ring with plans to ask her to marry him on their trip to Jerusalem later that week. Their unhinged killer shot them both in the back, shouting “Free Palestine!” The young couple, beloved by all who knew them, would never celebrate their wedding day with family and friends.

Of special note, a pastor at Washington’s Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes where Sharon and Yaron were regular attendees wrote about the couple. “Drawn to Christ, their spiritual journeys of faith led them to our parish, where they had been faithfully participating for several months, beautiful lights in our midst. In their hunger to know and to belong, they even attended our Newcomers Series.”

Sarah was active at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah—her hometown synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas. A letter released by the synagogue read in part, “We mourn the loss of Sarah Milgrim, a proud member of our congregation, a devoted Zionist, and a radiant presence in every space she entered. She stood for something larger than herself, and she paid the ultimate price for it.” Her father, Robert Milgrim, described Sarah as a “wonderful girl who was as close to perfect as any human could be.” She graduated from the University of Kansas and earned her master’s degree in international affairs from American University.

In Israel, Yaron’s family attended Jerusalem’s King of Kings congregation where the family was described as “precious friends and believers, strong in the Lord, and lovers of Israel.” Yaron identified as a Jewish believer and attended Hebrew University. He and his four siblings all served in the Israel Defense Forces. The rector of Christ Church in Jerusalem’s Old City noted that Yaron “frequently visited his church and enjoyed the Anglican liturgy.” 

Amid the shock of losing this beautiful couple, let us pray from Psalm 34:18 for their families and friends, for Israel, and for their embassies worldwide. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 

A closer look at the radicalized murderer reveals a well-educated killer who graduated from University of Illinois Chicago and held professional jobs. However, his angry posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) showed the depth of his Jew hatred. With no criminal record, he is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder. This 31-year-old Chicagoan, Elias Rodriguez, flew into Washington from O’Hare International Airport, where he declared his gun in his checked baggage. He was armed to kill, not caring whom he murdered as long as they were Jews.

Rodriguez was clearly determined to see these shocking premeditated murders through. When Sarah began crawling away, he reloaded his gun. She managed to sit up, whereupon the domestic terrorist fired multiple volleys into the 26-year-old’s body. Yaron lay close by, dead at age 31. Yaron was a researcher in the embassy’s political department and Sarah organized U.S. missions to Israel.

The Islamic Regime’s Supreme Leader Khamenei quickly praised the killer’s attack on Sarah and Yaron, who had both been highly regarded for their dedication to Israel and peace as Israeli Embassy staff. Khamenei gave the domestic terrorist a new name: founder of the “Washington Basij.” (Basij is the title of Iran’s brutal militia.) Now a vile replica of terrorist cruelty, the American Hamas is an official member of the Islamist Regime.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rightly explained, “There is an undeniable link between inflammatory words and murderous actions.” That the attacker eliminated two formal representatives of Israel adds up to “a significant assault on Israel’s diplomatic standing.” The multiple federal charges include the murder of foreign officials.

Witness Katie Kalisher noted that just before his arrest, Rodriguez pulled out a keffiyeh headdress confessing, “I did it. I did this for Gaza. Free Palestine!”

In the intro to Ariel Kahan’s powerful article in Israel Hayom on how anti-Israel propaganda can kill, we read: “Elias Rodriguez’s transformation from content writer to terrorist represents the tragic endpoint of a global disinformation campaign that has radicalized minds and normalized violence against Jewish targets, occurring in America’s capital while President Donald Trump wages an unprecedented fight against rising antisemitism.”

Mainstream media organizations worldwide are adopting Nazi media strategies that used their power to radicalize Germans with hatred. Indeed, toxic rhetoric produces violence in radicalized minds. Knowing Islam’s term about deception is key. Terrorist regimes use the word taqiyya, which means using lies to “gain the upper hand over an enemy.” When media interact with terrorist governments, be aware. Lies are a huge asset for their propaganda as well as any “agreements.” Mainstream media would do well to apply the term taqiyya to its Gazan news sources. The heartbreaking murders of innocents like Sarah, Yaron, and so many other Jews is enabled by sources that stir up violence using gullible media.

Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda mastermind said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic, and/or military consequences of the lie.” He goes on to say: “Truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” His conclusion? That it “becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent.” Does this sound familiar today?

The New Nazis—Gazan and others—represent the Goebbels of today, lapping up mainstream media propaganda that are potent sources for radicalizing smart, educated people with hatred against Jews worldwide. 

Here is the evil of Hitler himself: “Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.” His chilling description of propaganda explains what is happening in the United States and in worldwide demonstrations glorifying Hamas.

In response to the murders of Sarah and Yaron, The Jewish Federations of North America and 42 other Jewish organizations sent an appeal to the U.S. government for heightened security measures. Their statement reads in part, “The tragic murders of these two innocent young Israeli embassy employees …  are the direct consequence of rising antisemitic incitement in places such as college campuses, city council meetings, and social media that has normalized hate and emboldened those who wish to do harm.” 

Uniting organizations is important, but grassroots efforts are equally important from Christians, Jews, and everyone of goodwill. We must take a stand even if our sphere of influence is small. One call to a senator. One comment to a radio talk show. One email fact to a group of friends. A request to your church to pray for Israel. It adds up. We must buckle up with God’s belt of truth against demonic forces invading minds worldwide.

We cannot bring Sarah and Yaron back. However, let us advocate for Israel and the Jewish people in honor of their lives.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes your prayers with us and for so many in the Jewish community who are traumatized again.

Prayer Points: 

• Pray that Christians will wake up to wisely oppose lies against Israel.
• Pray for the Milgrim and Lischinsky families in the U.S. and Israel
• Pray for the demonic voices of Jew haters to cease and desist.
• Pray for mainstem media to abandon their dangerous “news” sources.  

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.