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By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer Points:

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer Points:

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Most of the world calls Judea and Samaria the West Bank. The name is a modern fabrication, one that wrongly describes Israel west of the Jordan River. The name West Bank has no ancient history. Within Judea and Samaria, the Holy Land’s biblical heartland for more than 3,000 years, Israel is a now waging an eight-front war.

Together Hamas, its patron Iran, and Jew-haters globally are spewing out their poison. These nations have no respect for secular, religious, or geographic history, nor do they acknowledge the sacred deed God bestowed on the Jews, His people, and His land.

Since October 7, 2023, the Islamic Regime has steadily increased its covert smuggling operation of powerful factory-made weapons. Their route goes through Jordan into Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria. In 2024 and including the first month of 2025, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have intervened in more than 1,000 terror attacks in Judea, which includes Jerusalem. Reliable information from Israel’s Defense Security Forum (IDSF) reports this figure on what they call the Judea, Samaria, and Israel Front: that Palestinian terrorists have attacked Israelis 8,800 times since October 7, 2023.

As an example of such activity—in addition to huge weapons stashes with rockets, IEDs, and guns—the IDF has found three mosques that terrorists used in the “West Bank” Palestinian towns of Jenin and Tulkarm recently. Terrorists threw explosives from one mosque’s rooftop and had a firing range on the bottom floor of another. In its statement about the discovery, the IDF said, “These are blatant violations of international law, all aimed at harming Israeli civilians and security forces while also endangering and exploiting the Palestinian people.” Hamas operates everywhere in the same way: no regard for anyone and only idolizing their hatred.

The most troubling weapon now in use to attack the biblical heartland is an explosive drone with four engines. A second such drone has now fallen in the settlement of Yitzhar. Situated in the Samaria Mountains, Yitzhar is a mostly Orthodox Jewish community of 2,093 residents. Israeli security personnel must now factor in an eighth front to the war, where terrorists in Judea and Samaria might use swarms of lethal drones to attack civilian or military locations.

IDSF also reported a surprising, albeit one-time anomaly: that in December, the Palestinian Authority (PA) arrested 247 Palestinian terrorists in Jenin, a long-standing Palestinian hotbed of terror in the heartland. The arrests included eight men linked to international terror financing. The PA confiscated 245 explosives, 17 car bombs, and even a rocket-propelled grenade missile.

Operation Iron Wall is the name Israel has chosen for its latest defensive measures against terror assaults in the biblical heartland. The Hebrew word for wall is kotel, used primarily to refer to the Western Wall. A designated holy place for Jews—and revered by millions of Christians—the Kotel in Jerusalem remains both a reality and a symbol for the outer wall of the Temple Mount that has survived since the second century B.C.

Today, as we see increased pressure on Israel Defense Forces to protect their biblical heartland, I invite you to join me virtually by placing a note in a Kotel crevice, the Western Wall. It is a free service from AISH across the plaza from the Kotel. Let us mount a flood of prayers for Operation Iron Wall: [submit your prayer here].

The biblical heartland’s 3,000-year history, its geography, and the centuries-old existence of indigenous Jewish people are solid historical facts. Preeminent are the Old and New Testaments, along with Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, not to mention thousands of archaeological structures and plentiful discoveries that corroborate these facts. Home to Israel’s 12 tribes, the kingdoms of Judah and Samaria are familiar, as are cities still called Hebron, Shiloh, and Shechem. Abraham bought the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and King David first ruled from Hebron before he declared Jerusalem to be the capital of his kingdom.

The Bible refers to Judea 816 times from Genesis to Hebrews. Samaria is mentioned 125 times, mostly in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, Samaria means “watchtower.” In ancient history, Samaria represented the Northern Kingdom and Judea the Southern Kingdom. Despite conquests and exiles, Jewish life in Judea and Samaria has endured with deep-rooted bonds to the land.

Despite every proven fact from history, Wikipedia, known for its broad biases, shamelessly promotes its concept of a “fact” by creating a Palestinian state out of thin air: “The West Bank is the larger of the two Palestinian territories that comprise the State of Palestine.” Propagandists have not, cannot, and will not erase the Jews, the indigenous people of the Holy Land.

Despite massive, millennial evidence that the Jews are the indigenous owners of Judea and Samaria, the term “occupied” is used by the uneducated world as an incorrect description—as if Israel were occupying “Palestine.” However in 1967, when Israel was victorious in the Six-Day War, Israel defended and regained its biblical homeland that Jordan had occupied for 20 years. So that now, Israel again possesses its God-deeded biblical heartland!

Jesus’ own words in Acts 1:8 illustrate the supreme importance of the Holy Land as He walked on earth. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team in prayer:

• Pray for IDF safety as they clear out terrorists from Palestinian towns.
• Pray for released hostages as they face the traumas of their 15-month imprisonment.
• Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet.
• Pray that Christians will act by sharing facts about 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

BRING THEM HOME came true last Sunday for three Israeli hostages. Red Cross vehicles drove out of Gaza carrying long-awaited female passengers back home to Israel. Doron, Emily, and Romi walked into the arms of their mothers, who greeted them with jubilant hugs and tears. These daughters instantly became the daughters of every Jewish parent and sisters of the entire nation.

The next day, at noon January 20th as defined by the U.S. Constitution, the 45th president of the United States took his second oath of office, making Donald John Trump the 47th president of the United States. Americans are celebrating our soon-to-be rescued freedoms and our Judeo-Christian values. Even before Chief Justice Roberts swore him in, with Melania holding his mother’s 1955 Bible, President Trump had made a significant mark in the hostage release deal.

Two long-standing allies are marking two historic events. Drawing deep breaths of gratefulness interwoven with hope, both nations also recognize the difficult days ahead.

First, celebrations broke out everywhere. Excited supporters flew into a frigid Washington, D.C., and one flight warmed up when a traveler video recorded passengers, who began singing “YMCA.”

In a Sunday night rally at Capitol One Arena, 20,000 supporters packed into the arena cheering as Trump walked onto the stage with Lee Greenwood singing his beloved song, “Proud to be an American.” Trump greeted Greenwood, stepped to the podium, and declared, “We won!” Two of Trump’s young grandchildren in the arms of Eric and Lara Trump led the Pledge of Allegiance and recited it perfectly.

Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma, popular podcasters of “Girls Gone Bible,” offered a compelling prayer. “President Trump, we set the name of the Lord upon you, and we declare that no weapon formed against you will prosper and that every tongue that rises up against you in judgment will be condemned.”

The Trump family, along with an eclectic slate of speakers and music, filled out the exhilarating program.

After President Trump’s remarks concerning the executive orders he would be signing the following day, the Village People took the stage with the iconic 1970s YMCA song. Trump remained on stage and showed some of his dance moves. The entire arena pulsated with happiness.

Some of YMCA’s lyrics are especially appropriate for Trump’s American supporters. Four years of increasing alarm enveloped us as we watched our country’s slide into lawlessness, the broken borders, and ungodly choices. We prayed and went to work and changed history with a massive number of votes tallied on November 5, 2024. More Christians finally decided to vote this time around and it made a big difference. Like the YMCA lyrics say, “There’s no need to feel down … pick yourself off the ground.” And that is what Americans did.

Earlier in the day, prior to his inauguration, President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, their wives, and key members of Trump’s team visited Arlington National Cemetery for the solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Trump had invited two Gold Star family members to pay their respects. A wounded warrior on crutches, who appeared to have lost his right arm and left leg, placed the final wreath as he stood beneath the cold, light rain.

Meanwhile, when the release of Doron, Emily, and Romi was official, Israel’s national airline El AL announced the good news on every flight. It is easy to guess the reaction of passengers.

Israelis anticipate a wide range of excellent policy decisions emerging from Trump’s administration. The good relationship between Trump and Netanyahu also signals unwavering American support for Israel if Hamas violates its agreements during the 42-day ceasefire.

International Bible teacher Amir Tsarfati is calling for 42 days of prayer. The Israeli explained, “The next 42 days will be unlike anything our nation has ever experienced so far. While fighting on seven fronts, we are being mentally and psychologically tortured by a demon-possessed terror group that won’t even tell us which of the 33 hostages to be released are still alive.”

Here is the agreed-upon schedule, although Hamas has not relented in its murderous goals. Four hostages will be returned to Israel on the seventh day. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages every seven days, starting with the living, and then moving on to return the bodies of those who have died. Finally, 14 hostages would be returned in the sixth and final week of Phase One.

If Hamas backs out of the deal it would be no surprise, although many hundreds of terrorist murderers are being released. This is a nightmarish Gordian Knot, a metaphor for an intractable problem eventually solved by the ability to “think outside the box.” Let us add our prayers here on earth for Trump and Netanyahu to untie the knot. The reality is that God Himself will untie the knot. Psalm 94:14-15 tells us, For the LORD will not abandon His people; nor will He abandon His inheritance. For judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

In an interview, Yoav Engel offers a stark description of what Israelis are facing. His son Ofir, now 18 years old, was visiting a friend at Kibbutz Be’eri where terrorists murdered 101 residents, burned homes, and committed other atrocities. Ofir was captured that day on October 7, 2023, and released after 54 days. However, Yoav says that everything reminds him of the fear, anguish and anxiety of those two months. When he and his wife discuss the two anguish-filled months of not knowing whether Ofir was dead or alive, he says the family is still held captive by trauma.

Regarding the remaining hostages and their families, Yoav tries to understand. “I can’t even describe how I am. There are no words in Hebrew that describe this. The words don’t exist in our language.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week following Psalm 146:1-3: Praise the LORD, my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.

Prayer Points:

• Pray with praises for Doron, Emily, and Romi’s release and for remaining hostages and their families.
• Pray that Hamas will keep its part of the deal.
• Pray for President Trump’s safety at all times.
• Pray for successes for members of Trump’s cabinet.

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

For over a week, the intense blazes leveling California neighborhoods have been headline news. After months of near-zero rainfall, the area was vulnerable to the flames and fiery embers propelled by fierce Santa Ana winds. What perhaps hasn’t made the headlines is how Israel quickly came to their aid.

Two leading Israeli humanitarian relief organizations, IsraAID and SmartAID, sprang into action as the disastrous fires spread in and around Los Angeles, driven by severe and intense winds. SmartAID is already on the ground providing solar-telecommunication trailers, with 150 portable battery units supplied to U.S. medical charities and individuals that rely on refrigeration for insulin, food, CPAP machines, and oxygen.

IsraAID is making its plans now. Once the fires are contained, their Emergency Team of Israeli volunteers and humanitarian professionals will partner with California communities, providing ongoing help to rebuild their lives. Grievously afflicted Californians, and for that matter deeply concerned families and friends across America, can draw a measure of comfort from Israeli experts on the ground.

Israeli help is often the first to arrive and the last to be recognized. Although that lack of recognition isn’t surprising to these organizations, it does not stop them from carrying out their compassionate service to others.

IsraAID’s CEO, Yotam Polizer, remarks: “We are devastated to see the destruction … and our hearts go out to all those who have lost their homes or been displaced.” He adds, “We have long-standing ties to communities in Los Angeles and across California and have deeply felt the impact of this emergency.” In addition to their own work inside Israel during their defensive war, IsraAID’s commitment remains to “support communities experiencing crisis, no matter where they are.”

As of January 2025, IsraAID, established in 2001, has responded to more than 100 disaster emergencies in over 65 countries. IsraAID has a history of offering its competent help regardless of any country’s different politics, religion, or ethnicity.

In one of their best-known outreaches, 200 IsraAID medical teams were the first on the scene in Haiti’s horrific 2010 earthquake. They saved thousands of Haitian lives in their quickly set up tents with medical operating rooms. Some Haitian mothers named their babies “Israel” to honor the Jewish doctors who had safely delivered their babies. With half of its funding coming from non-Jewish sources, the award-winning organization has managed to continue working overseas during the 15 months since Israel suffered its now-ongoing disaster on October 7, 2023.

SmartAID’s founder, Shachar Zahavi, also emphasized the bond between Israel and the United States, recognizing that both are “empowered and strengthened by our shared commitment to global humanitarian aid and technological innovation.” Zahavi adds that “technology plays a crucial role in enhancing our collaborative efforts … especially in times of disasters.” In the first 40 days of the Hamas-launched war against Israel, SmartAID quickly proceeded to facilitate aid to Gazans, including smart classrooms for evacuated children and technology in civilian shelters.

Last year, SmartAID deployed its technology teams to Florida and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene wrought devastation there on an unprecedented scale. In Israel, they have opened a Safe Space Trauma Centre. Read here about their extensive outreaches.

As you can see, IsraAID and SmartAID are not strangers to global or American disasters. Although Israel is surrounded by an exaggerated culture of death threats against its homeland, the enshrined Jewish culture of life is expressed in multiple humane actions. Modern Israel, with a backdrop of centuries-long Jewish survival, has purposefully fashioned itself into providing innovative, humanitarian aid both within and without the world’s only Jewish state.

As 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 proclaims, “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Swayed by hatred, too many groups and institutions will likely not believe what I am exposing. That is why I often say that it is up to those of us who know the truth to pass it on in person and via social media. Why not begin by reading the links about IsraAID and SmartAID and choosing a fact to oppose anti-Israel lies?

I recently rediscovered a quote that encapsulates the need for prayers matched with actions on behalf of Israel, our spiritual homeland. “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” Reverend Edward Everett Hale’s career included vigorous opposition to slavery, his benevolent “Lend A Hand” clubs (that lasted 100 years), and serving as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate from 1903 until his death in 1909. Let us revive his quote with the neon lights of advocacy for Israel!

In closing, anti-Israel lies and accusations are circulating like a social media storm despite Israel’s critical help amid the catastrophic fires. Use wisdom when you read or watch these posts. For example, many posts on X declare that the Iranian Red Crescent Society is offering its help and sympathy. Really? All the while, the Islamic Regime, its proxies, and even American antisemitic cheerleaders are pushing another opportunity to hate Israel and the United States.

Palestinian Media Watch reports, “Palestinian Authority says that California fires are Allah’s punishment of Trump.” A Muslim social media “journalist” accuses Israel with this twisted claim: “You burn hospitals and refugees on a live stream.” Although U.S. aid to Israel ($12.5 billion) is less than 0.00001% of U.S. federal spending (75 percent is spent in U.S. weapons manufacturing), our foreign aid to Israel is essential for U.S. security. Nevertheless, organizations such as Code Pink, Jewish Voices for Peace, and other hate-motivated groups here in the U.S. are contacting Congress with this boorish message: “When U.S. taxes go to burning people alive in Gaza, we can’t be surprised when those fires come home.”

As usual, no reference is made to Hamas as the warmongers who, on October 7, 2023, incited the ongoing conflict. Hamas and its backer, the Islamic Regime, are responsible for the situation in Gaza today. Recall that in 2005, Israel turned Gaza over to Palestinian Arabs—a move intended to “grant Israeli citizens the maximum level of security,” according to Ariel Sharon. Others hoped the move would create a prosperous “Singapore by the sea.” No Jews have lived there for the past 20 years! Unfortunately, the Palestinians voted for Hamas in 2007—putting Hamas totally in charge.

CBN Israel welcomes you to join our prayers this week based on Psalm 147:3—He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Prayer Points:

• Pray with thanks for Israel’s aid, along with firefighting assets from Canada and Mexico.
• Pray for the safety of firefighters, first responders, and forensic recovery dogs.
• Pray that some 150,000 displaced people might have adequate food, shelter, and comfort.
• Pray for CBN’s Operation Blessing and other Christian organizations that are offering relief and hope during this terrible disaster.

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 world’s failure to speak up for the only Jewish state and Jews everywhere has not diminished Israel’s thousands of years of endurance—living under hate of every kind. In fact, although January 2, 2025, marked the end of Israel’s second Hanukkah while fighting its defensive war, they sang, they danced, they feasted, and lit their Feast of Dedication candles. They sang on the Temple Mount, they sang at the Western Wall (Kotel), they sang in the streets, and they sang in their homes. Their overcoming endurance remains eternal, even as they suffer nationwide trauma, loss, and lies from every corner of the globe.

True, during Israel’s Hanukkah celebrations, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, over a thousand miles to the south, fired ballistic missiles toward Israel every night of Hanukkah, forcing millions of Israelis to run for bomb shelters. However, the Jewish ability to drive out darkness with light began before Hanukkah, when a menorah was built in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv made from missile and rocket pieces. In another location, Israelis built a menorah using fragments from an Iranian ballistic missile fired at Israel a few months ago.

This amazing capacity to drive out darkness takes us back over centuries. The main reason for Hanukkah celebrations, of course, is the victory of the ancient Maccabees over the Seleucid Syrian King Antiochus in 164 B.C. History is replete with facts that the small nation of Israel and its people have overcome the worst circumstances—from Roman rule and the Babylonian captivity to the Holocaust—and, I believe, will do the same in their present-day war against the world’s biggest terror network. This will be the outcome, despite the Islamic Regime’s leaders and proxies in the Middle East having spread their wicked tentacles across the globe, reaching into universities, praising Hamas in the streets, and yes, many pastors and churches remaining silent and fearful. 

However, Israel’s obvious warring enemies—or those who are apathetic, or mentally scarred by propaganda—easily forget that Israel is eternal. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob created and designed Jews to bless the world with redemption and rescue for those who believe in Jesus, our Jewish Messiah. In Isaiah 62, verses 1-4, God makes Himself clear: For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.

Forgetfulness also extends to the fact that God invested His own words to the world through His chosen people. The Bible, written through Jews, for Jews, and to Jews was extended to us as non-Jews grafted into the olive tree roots of Judaism. In the New Testament, God transformed Saul on the road to Damascus, struck him blind, healed him, then renamed him Paul. This brilliant Jewish scholar, intent on murdering Jewish believers in Jesus, was transformed and commissioned by God to take the Good News to the Gentiles.

Today, lawlessness and the wars on the ground are manifestations of spiritual warfare in the heavens, good against evil. It is easy to fall into depression or despair hearing the news, which is filled with a Hitler-like propaganda against Israel that leads to inaction. We believers in Jesus, our Jewish Messiah, would do well to renounce these emotions. Instead, we should focus on God’s thousands of years preserving His Jewish people, and, for that matter, rescuing us from our own personal challenges. Israeli stamina is a role model for the world—if the world would only grasp that truth.

Like the ancient Maccabees, Israel is victorious on fronts far beyond what was thought possible in their seven-front war for the last 15 months. As an aside, in John 10:22-23, the apostle reported the only passage in the Bible about Jesus attending the Feast of Dedication in the Second Temple. The Maccabees had reclaimed and cleansed it hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. I daresay our Savior, the King of Kings, rejoiced in the Maccabees’ victory.

More good news for 2025 emerged in the U.S. Congress. You may be surprised to know that our 119th Congress is deemed the most pro-Israel in history. On January 2, 2025, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) reported that 348 pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans—plus the leadership teams of both parties—were sworn in as members of Congress. Included in the success are Mike Johnson’s reelection as Speaker of the House and that two members of the notoriously antisemitic “Squad” no longer serve as members of Congress. These successes rest in large part on Americans who are dedicated to consistently interacting with members of Congress—to educate others and urge them to support Israel—which provides mutual security benefits to both countries.

Please do not mistake the good news here as downplaying the reality of war and the many challenges that lie ahead. Boosting our prayers, matched with our actions, is a necessity. Once again, I am sending out a plea for every reader to include in-person and social media advocacy for Israel in your New Year’s resolutions.

Israel advocacy is part of honoring God in His eternal plans for Israel, yet we have an important role to play in the here and now.

Social media advocacy is simple. It is not time-consuming. Here are several of my favorites: CBNIsrael.com, AlIisrael.com, Israel21c.org, ICEJ.org, CAMERA.org, and IDSF.org. Explore one, then forward one fact/article to correct lies about the Holy Land with truth. If every reader decides to pass on a fact a week, a bigger cadre of truth tellers will emerge.

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team this week to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem using Psalm 122:6.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Israel to continually carry the lights of her patriarchs.
• Pray for wisdom and health for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Pray for more mental health providers for Israelis.
• Pray for Christians to join an army of media truth-tellers.

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

I recently interviewed two remarkable friends whom I greatly admire, who are inaugurating an inspiring new project in Israel aptly named Root & Branch. Between November 17-27, 2024, they brought 18 Christian volunteers to Israel to help with the olive harvest—a trip with new dimensions and unexpected inspirations.

First, let me introduce Iranian-American Marziyeh Amirizadeh and Israeli-American Jonathan Feldstein, before outlining the surprises—both planned and sacred—with their newly formed Root & Branch project. The two connected on Marziyeh’s first trip to Israel in March 2023. Their friendship has since propagated Root & Branch, a collaboration that is expanding the profound truth and symbolism of Israel’s ancient olive tree.

The olive tree reflects the ancient Jewish faith described by the Jewish Apostle Paul in Romans 11, where he expressed that Christians are grafted into the covenant that God made with the Jewish people, that the root supports the branch.

Jonathan, a modern Orthodox Jew who is a father and grandfather, made Aliyah to Israel in 2004. He launched a non-profit U.S. foundation in 2017, Genesis 123, with the goal of building bridges between Jews and Christians to benefit Israel through cooperative projects and to build friendships. He is known for his podcast Inspiration from Zion—broadcast in 100 nations—along with almost too many cooperative projects to name. These include Run for Zion, raising money to help persecuted Pakistani Christians, warm jackets for Israel Defense Forces, and outreach to displaced Israeli families during the ongoing war. In 2023, he published Israel the Miracle to celebrate Israel’s 75th modern anniversary, which featured prominent pro-Israel Christian leaders. Jonathan is a gifted, energetic organizer and a prolific, sought-after media personality.

Marziyeh, who was born and grew up in Iran, encountered the Lord Jesus in a vivid dream. Her passion to share her faith with the Iranian people later manifested in her visionary idea: a covert distribution of 20,000 Bibles under the cover of darkness into mailboxes and other locations mostly in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Although sharing her faith was, and is, a capital crime instituted by the oppressive Islamic Regime, Marziyeh gave out the Bibles for three years.

Marziyeh was finally arrested and condemned to Iran’s notorious Evin prison, one of the world’s worst places to be incarcerated. Although suffering the traumas of food deprivation, abuse, and threats to execute her by hanging, amid the unimaginable horrors as a persecuted Christian, Marziyeh voiced her love and unwavering faith with the other imprisoned women.

Within these dark, dank, and putrid prison cells, God cultivated a church and new believers. Some were executed and some survived. After nine months, in 2009 Marziyeh was miraculously released following worldwide prayers and intervention from the U.S., U.N., and Vatican. In 2011, she immigrated to the United States and in 2016 became a citizen. Marziyeh has been interviewed in the media countless times in prominent outlets such as Fox & Friends, Mike Huckabee’s show, The Times of London, CBN News, Israeli TV, and more. You may read more in her books, Captive in Iran and A Love Journey with God, via her U.S. non-profit, NewPersia.org.

Marziyeh had longed to go to Israel since she met the Jewish Savior in the Islamic Republic years ago. Walking in Jesus’ footsteps gave her new dreams and plans. When Jonathan interviewed her, their friendship began, resulting in the cooperative project between Genesis 123 and NewPersia.org. Marziyeh founded NewPersia.org to advocate on behalf of persecuted Christians, empowering oppressed women, and dedicated to restoring relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. 

As an Israeli, Jonathan admits that he “knew nothing about harvesting olives or making oil,” and Marziyeh knew she “could not do the project alone living in America.” With her big-picture vision for the trip and Jonathan’s expertise to make it happen on the ground, their cooperation began what I call “The Olive Tree Dream Team.”

The Root & Branch harvesting took place in Ashkelon National Park, southwest of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean and north of Gaza. Jonathan explained, “Imagine harvesting olives from trees hundreds of years old and near a 3,500-year-old Canaanite gate in the national park.” Often hearing the artillery of war in the background, Marziyeh observed that none of the team became afraid and she herself firmly trusted Jesus for safety as in her past. Jonathan noted that an 18-member group was “considered big during the war” and drew the attention of many inquisitive and appreciative Jews.

On November 18, the first morning of harvesting, a rainbow appeared in the Israeli skies. Marziyeh viewed it as an affirmation from God for Root & Branch. A second rainbow then appeared at the end of their day. For Marziyeh, the two rainbows held enormous meaning. The rainbows appeared exactly 15 years after her release from Evin Prison on November 18, 2009! When Jonathan shared the meaning of the number 18, life, Marziyeh was filled with gratitude once again—for her salvation and for God sparing her physical life.

After harvesting, the team shared meals with Israelis. The group met with one family whose loved one is still held captive in Gaza. Marziyeh grasped their hands and prayed for them with a deeply personal understanding as a former prisoner of the Islamic Regime. Another evening, the team hosted a meal for an elite IDF unit assigned in Gaza. Afterwards Marziyeh shared with the soldiers explaining, “I grew up in Iran under the Islamic Regime. I became a Christian and I was imprisoned. I want to apologize to you for having to leave your families to fight the Regime.” The IDF commander, who identified himself as a Christian, thanked her: “What you said and prayed as an Iranian, my soldiers will remember as long as they live.” 

The Root & Branch team experienced amazing and varied moments. One rainy harvesting day, an Israeli official, Avi Dichter, came to greet them. A member of the Knesset, the agriculture minister gave them an excellent security briefing. Dichter is also the former head of Shabak, Israel’s General Security Service.

When Jonathan was researching a place to have the 1,000 kilos (2,204 pounds) of harvested olives pressed into oil, an earlier contact told him about a small olive press business in Latrun, about 15 miles west of Jerusalem.

Another sacred surprise occurred when they met the owner, an Arab Christian! He was excited to meet Marziyeh, Jonathan, and the Christian volunteers. He revealed that he too was a Christian. The olive presses were quite noisy but fascinated the group, who watched the entire process until the flavorful oil was ready. Jonathan took a video you may watch here.

The added dimension of an Arab Christian, with an Iranian Christian and a modern Orthodox Jew, can only be described as the hands of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shaping the Root & Branch outreaches into an endeavor far beyond what was earlier envisioned.

Marziyeh’s vision extends to “not only building friendships between Jews and Christians but also restoring the friendship between Persians and Israelis. The combination is powerful.” She is quick to educate others, telling them that the “Iranian people themselves love Israel.”

When our lunch and interview concluded, Jonathan pulled out a bottle of their freshly harvested olive oil. I took a small piece of bread for a taste. Yes, it was truly more dynamic than any I have ever tasted. Plans will take place for anointing oil and other products to bless Israeli families who are rebuilding their lives. The Root & Branch collaboration promises to ripen into a powerful crop of friendships that will have a world-changing impact.

Jonathan and Marziyeh are already planning their next Root & Branch trip for 2025, during the October/November olive harvest time. Jonathan has received more than 100 inquiries so far and anticipates that busloads of volunteers will participate, including pastors and their tours—even if just for a day.

For more information, please email Root & Branch at rootandbranchisrael@gmail.com or visit their website: www.rootandbranchisrael.com.

Please join our CBN Israel team in prayer for Root & Branch, recalling Zechariah 4:10 (NLT): “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the new seeds scattered by Root & Branch.
• Pray for Marziyeh and Jonathan as they plan the next mission.
• Pray for the Arab Christian businessman and his community.
• Pray for Jonathan, his family, and Israel—now under fire for almost 15 months.

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