ARTICLES

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Two key facts of past and contemporary history connecting U.S. military personnel and the Israel Defense Forces are well worth mentioning. Israel’s stunning operation in Lebanon between September 17–20 was so brilliant, and frankly unbelievable, that it matched or exceeded 007’s film exploits.

The IDF’s strategy was to weaponize “old school” electronic pagers and walkie-talkies (used only by terrorists) by activating them against leading Hezbollah fanatics and the fighters who used them. The numbers of killed and wounded terrorists are still rising, with speculations and reports blowing up in the media. Realizing that Hezbollah was set to ramp up its hate and terrorist activities against the Jewish nation, Israel’s military intelligence launched a wide scale bombardment of rocket and missile launchers that is now well underway.

Isaac Herzog, president of Israel, revealed that “senior commanders of the Radwan force were in the middle of planning an invasion into northern Galilee.” Radwan is the elite Hezbollah force founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the early 1980s. At the time of last week’s detonation, its 16 Hezbollah leaders were meeting in the same underground room in Beirut. 

One extraordinary fact has materialized: Israel has eliminated terrorist Ibrahim Aqil, one of Hezbollah’s highest-ranking members. In 1983, Aqil helped engineer the U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 United States military personnel: 220 Marines, eighteen sailors, and three soldiers. Also in 1983, Aqil/Hezbollah bombed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 17 Americans. In the 41 years that Aqil has been on the run, the United States had a $7 million bounty for information about him.

The Israel Defense Forces have enacted justice for their nation, families, friends, and allies. 

The IDF is one of the bright lights shining amid the darkness of evil hanging over Israel and our world, while the Islamic Regime is fixated on rebuilding a dictatorial global caliphate.

Hezbollah said the so-called pager attack was “a massacre of pagers and radios.” It was not a massacre. It was a defensive act to defeat one of the vilest proxies backed by the Islamic Regime. It is called rightfulness—justice not only for the Americans murdered in 1983, but for the Hamas invasion, kidnappings, and hostage imprisonments (including Americans) in dark, putrid tunnels since October 7, 2023.

Most of the world has lost their bearings when it comes to recognizing the colossal difference between good and evil. The Islamic Regime and its surrogates are medieval in nature, with their beastly character and savage cruelty to victims—both within their own population and against Israel and others. While Iran accuses the IDF of violating international laws of war, the IDF—and the U.S. military—are the most humane fighting forces in the world.

The International Legal Forum (ILF) is composed of 4,000 lawyers in 40 countries who have advocated for Israel in legal battles since the October 7 Hamas massacre. These defenders of Israel combat terror and anti-Semitism in the international legal arena. ILF conducted an analysis about the pager attack. For context, it emphasizes the Hezbollah/Hamas connection as Iranian proxies to destroy Israel: 43 Jews and 12 Druze children in Majdal Shams murdered, and upwards of 100,000 Israelis displaced from the north. The report references United Nations Article 51, and Article 52 of the Geneva Convention agreeing that Israelis have the right to defend their country. Recall that Israel did not begin this war.

Because the electronic equipment was used by Hezbollah for military violations of international law, the IDF operation was targeting only Hezbollah, not civilians. ILF described it as “an extraordinary feat in modern warfare and textbook definition of a precision attack.” Israel used “principles of proportionality and distinction,” which Hamas and Hezbollah violate every time they attack civilians (including Arabs and Palestinians.) Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah had fired more than 8,000 rockets and missiles into Israel, a number that is now dramatically increasing.

Globally, there are so many anti-Israel, anti-Jewish demonstrators at universities, on city streets, and in assemblies to deface buildings and statues of historic value, they attack Jews and glorify terrorists, hatred, and violence. Obviously with no interest in matters of international law, they accept satan’s language of lies rather than God’s language of truths. 

While writing this week’s column, I remembered an exquisite poem written by Hannah Szenes (Senesh), a Hungarian Jewish poetess and playwright. Her contrast between darkness and light inspired me.

“There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world even though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind.”

I wonder if the poetess was thinking of Genesis 15:5-6, where God promises Abram that His descendants “will be more numerous than the stars in the sky.” And why am I highlighting Hannah, who made Aliyah to Israel in 1939? She became a Zionist in Hungary, then moved to her ancestral homeland. The modern state had not come into being yet. The British—who ruled the country under the British Mandate after World War I through May 14, 1948—called it Palestine. On that day, the biblically correct name Israel replaced Palestine and declared its modern reestablishment.   

The British recruited 32 Jewish volunteers who lived in “Palestine.” Hannah became a Special Operations Executive paratrooper for England during World War II. In a dangerous, clandestine operation, the British army sent these elite paratroopers behind German lines to rescue Hungarian Jews before they could be deported to Auschwitz in 1944. In one of Hannah’s missions, Nazis arrested her at the Hungarian border and discovered the British military transmitter she used to send radio messages via wireless. Imprisoned in Nazi-occupied Hungary, she was tortured for months to reveal the codes used in her transmitter so they could trap the other parachutists. Hannah gave only her name, unwilling to betray her colleagues. Convicted of treason, she was executed by firing squad on November 7, 1944, at the age of 23.

I highlight Hannah because she remains a national treasured Israeli heroine. The songs and poems she wrote, her diary, and her legendary life of self-sacrifice are still remembered. Her remains are buried in the Parachutists section of Israel’s military cemetery on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. Her tombstone rests in Sdot Yam, the kibbutz where she first lived. Sdot Yam, beautifully situated on the Mediterranean near Haifa, is under threat today.

Hannah is one of the heroic Jewish stars described in her poem. I daresay, the IDF is lighting the way for the free world against the Islamic Regime that wants to steal our freedoms and impose their twisted way of life. Hannah’s “brilliance continues to light the world even though she is no longer among the living.” For the IDF—who now bravely sacrifice their lives—“they light the way for humankind.”

Like Hannah who used her British transmitter to communicate with her team to rescue the Hungarian Jews, the IDF does the same today. They brilliantly used pagers and walkie-talkies to eliminate the evildoers who want to kill them and destroy the world’s only Jewish homeland. Long Live Israel, Am Israel Chai, to Hannah and the modern IDF!

Join our CBN Israel team to pray for Israel during this world-changing war, remembering Psalm 147:4: “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”

Prayer Points

• Pray for the IDF as they advance toward Lebanon to enact justice.
• Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his security cabinet.
• Pray for Lebanese Christians living under Hezbollah’s violence.
• Pray for Israel’s citizens who are now refugees, displaced from their homes.
• Pray for 500,000 Israelis forced to duck in and out of bomb shelters.

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

Last year, Israelis celebrated their new year (Rosh Hashanah, “head of the year”) on September 15–17. Happy holiday (chag sameach) greetings rang out while Jewish families dipped delicious apples into fresh honey, a symbol for a sweet new year. Yet just 22 days later, on October 7, the bitter fruit of terror buried itself into Jewish minds and hearts when Hamas terrorists launched a shocking invasion into the Jewish ancestral homeland.

This year, a series of Jewish observances in October begins with Rosh Hashanah on October 3–4, based on Israel’s lunar calendar for the year 5,785. Three days later, on October 7, the nation’s anguish will be amplified as Israel marks the unspeakable on its one-year anniversary. As of today, 101 hostages are still imprisoned, upwards of 100,000 Israelis are refugees in their own land, Israeli casualties stand at 1,660—all while the world’s biblically illiterate label Israel as the aggressor, not the victim.

Israelis will exert themselves as much as they possibly can to greet the new year while seated at Rosh Hashanah tables. Chairs that had once been filled with family and friends laughing, joking, cooking, and eating will be unoccupied. Other chairs will remain empty, representing Israelis murdered by terrorists who ingest the poison of hatred as IDF soldiers defend their nation in an eight-front war. The dreaded day—October 7, 2024—then arrives, where Israelis relive their trauma. The Israeli version of PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, should have a new name: perpetual traumatic stress disorder. Because it never ends. That fact remains a harsh reality, a mental health issue shared by almost everyone.

On October 12, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, follows. On this, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Israel shuts down amid prayer and fasting. Israelis cannot help but wonder if an act of terror will happen again on this holy day. After all, it was on October 6, 1973, that Egyptian and Syrian forces surprised Israel with an attack—also on Yom Kippur. Miraculously, the IDF repelled them.

Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is next in line, celebrated from October 17 to 23. For this fall harvest festival, Israelis build temporary shelters, some in grassy yards or perched on their apartment balconies, and gaily decorate them for meals and sleepovers. Sukkot is a remembrance of Israel’s 40-year desert journey, when the Israelites lived in temporary shelters after escaping Egypt.

Famous British Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks left a legacy of brilliant quotes. Here’s one I particularly like about Sukkot: “Sitting in the [shelter] under its canopy of leaves, I often think of my ancestors and their wanderings across Europe in search of safety, and I begin to understand how faith was their only home,” he wrote. “It was fragile, chillingly exposed to the storms of prejudice and hate. But it proved stronger than superpowers and outlived them all.”

God’s sovereign promises assure us that Israel “will outlive them all” in Jeremiah 31:35-36. “This is what the LORD says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, Who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is His name. Only if these decrees vanish from My sight, declares the LORD, will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”

The eighth day of Sukkot is called Shemini Atzeret, with Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing of the Torah”) taking place immediately afterward on October 24. The elegantly encased Torah scrolls are gently carried throughout synagogues and reverently touched with the joy of receiving God’s law.

However, for Israelis looking toward Simchat Torah on October 24 this year, the invasion on October 7 last year will be a terrible reminder that the horror took place on Simchat Torah—traditionally a day devoted to reading the Torah. Last year’s Rejoicing of the Torah simply did not take place. In one sense, though, the many stories of heroism on and after October 7, now continuously shared almost a year later, follow closely the Jewish value of “tikkun olam”—repairing the world—with lifesaving rescues of those attacked, wounded, or in need of help emerging from citizens for citizens. 

Throughout the millennia, those who harbor hatred toward Jews and Israel sometimes seem to favor destruction on important Jewish calendar days. The 1973 Yom Kippur war is an example. In making his multi-part documentary titled October 7th, 2023, filmmaker Dan Gordon researched and made a lesser-known discovery about October 7. He learned that “October 7 was a direct descendant of the massacres in the ancient Jewish communities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tzfat, Tiberius and others in the 1920s and ’30s … long before there was even a state of Israel.”

Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is viewed as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. On it, Jews mourn tragedies in their history, especially the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the city of Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago. In the last 100 years, Tisha B’Av has included a day of mourning for Jewish communities massacred in the Middle East, North Africa, the pogroms of Eastern Europe, and the Holocaust. On Tisha B’Av 2024, August 12–13, the link between Tisha B’Av and October 7 shaped up as a major theme where thousands of synagogues across all Jewish denominations incorporated texts about October 7. Many predict that the October 7 onslaught will be canonized into Jewish liturgy.

Kindnesses from Christians toward any Jewish friends, synagogues, or Jewish organizations in your community are timely leading into and during the month of October. Send a letter, card, or email with a compassionate message. Attend an October 7 event that may be taking place near where you live. Include prayers for Jews, who are a population of only 15 million people globally, including around 245,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors in more than 90 countries. 

Amid the anguish embedded in Jewish citizenry, God repeatedly emphasizes His assurances in Scripture. Presently, the dangers Israel itself is facing are complex and appear beyond any solution. That is, until we fasten our hopes for ourselves within God’s promises and for the worldwide Jewish community.

Most importantly, in Isaiah 46:4 the God of the universe assures humankind about Israel, the apple of His eye. “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” And that, God has done for thousands of years!

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team to pray for Israel this week in the lead-up to October, always aware that Israel is our spiritual homeland through Jesus our Savior.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for shalom and strength for Israeli Jews in October.
• Pray about how you can reach out to Jews with kindnesses.
• Pray for IDF members who are increasing their defenses against Hezbollah.
• Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu for his protection and wisdom.

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

Today, among numerous women’s prayer groups, Christian Women for Israel (CW4I) are an inspiring example of standing with Israel and praying for her people. An international group of women devoted to prayer, education, advocacy, and peace for all people in Israel, the 70,000 CW4I members worldwide come from every state and from 30 countries.

Christian Women for Israel was cofounded by Peggy Kennedy and Pastor Leah Miles. Leah and Peggy’s CW4I partnership, officially set up in 2018 as a program of The Esther 414 Foundation, quickly gained importance when the menacing Islamic Regime’s threats and proxies grew more strident in 2021 by intensifying its clearly stated goals against Israel. Peggy explains the “pillars” of the foundation as support for Israel, underserved communities, women’s empowerment initiatives, and sharing Jesus’ love in demonstrated ways. 

Like everyone else around the globe, Kennedy and Miles could not have anticipated the outbreak of Hamas’s unmitigated brutality that began on October 7, 2023. When this Iranian proxy took delight in its massacres—recorded on their own body cams as evidence—the world reacted with shock and moments of compassion. That compassion lasted only a few short days before slander and misinformation saturated the airwaves.  

Nevertheless, amid the heavy blanket of Jew hatred covering Israel and all Jews, today’s global modern-day army of CW4I is pressing in with unrelenting prayer matched with action to ease the heaviness and trauma. The reincarnation of ancient Persia’s vile Haman has been active since 1979, when the Islamic Regime’s genocidal Shia Islam ayatollahs overthrew the government. The hateful campaigns of the apocalyptic imams crush their own population, which longs for freedom. Now more than ever, the world needs praying Esthers on their knees who then stand up with merciful humanitarian acts.

The book of Esther’s calling card for CW4I is well known in Mordecai’s wise admonition to the Queen: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Christian Women for Israel began in a small yet determined way after its cofounders met at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. In 2018, information-gathering pioneers Leah Miles, her mother Elaine Anderson, and daughter Allison Cacella-Lauer traveled to Israel as a generational trio. Prior to their trip, Leah described their intensive prayer efforts. “We collected thousands of prayer requests before our trip, typed them, printed then cut them out, and rolled them up.” The trio spent hours at the Western Wall while stuffing the Wall’s ancient crevices and praying over each request.

In 2019, CW4I inaugurated its Goodwill Ambassador’s program, financing a group of 14 women led by Pastor Robbie Glover and cofounder Peggy Kennedy. The Ambassadors served as volunteers in a soup kitchen, delivering meals to shut-ins (including Holocaust survivors), assisting new Jewish citizens, and visiting with soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces to encourage these valiant men and women. The CW4I Ambassadors also spent prayer times at the Western Wall, in never-to-be-forgotten hours at one of Judaism’s holiest sites. The Western Wall stands surrounded by centuries of powerful prayers rendered by millions of worshippers.  

After the inaugural CW4I Ambassador’s trip in 2019, COVID-19 hindered plans for future volunteer trips to Israel. The horrific Hamas invasion on October 7 and ongoing war have further curtailed trips. Nonetheless, Leah Miles makes their efforts clear: “Even though we are not on the ground in Israel, what we do here is to use our voices and influence.” 

Ongoing prayers for Israel and Jewish communities worldwide continue as a hallmark of CW41. Since October 7, the organization has added a significant partnership with Vision for Israel to raise finances for a portable bomb shelter. A location for the bomb shelter will not be hard to find, as Israel is fighting a battle for survival on seven fronts: Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. Israel has operated in all seven theaters since October 7, 2023.

Leah’s past and present association with the award-winning MorseLife Foundation’s Holocaust Now, which helps low-income survivors, also indicates her wide-ranging activism. While raising her young children, she also served as the only Christian on the Florida Holocaust Task Force. The task force’s efforts resulted in the Florida Legislature passing the Holocaust Education Bill in 1994, which required all school districts to incorporate Holocaust lessons as part of public-school instruction in grades K-12 to achieve Holocaust literacy.

Leah credits two very special older Jewish friends who delivered meals together in those early days as her encouragers for advocacy, which has lasted for decades now. She is thankful for the “seeds they planted in me.” Christian Women for Israel endures as a force to be reckoned with, in prayers asking the Commander of Angel Armies to enable Israel to have victory again—after many centuries—over modern enemies like Haman who want to destroy them.

If you are not yet involved in prayer and action, CW4I welcomes you. They describe themselves as a “band of ordinary women doing extraordinary things” and are “devoted to prayer, advocacy, and peace for all people in Israel.”

As in Esther 4:14, is God calling you for such a time as this? A time when the Biden/Harris administration has removed sanctions against Iran? Where the U.S. government adds billions to the evil regime’s coffers, taking the handcuffs off the world’s most dangerous terrorist nation? The results are open doors of death and destruction in Israel, plus covert goals against the United States and beyond. And now, bands of ordinary women have an extraordinary opportunity to stand with Israel. Learn more here.

We welcome you this week to join our CBN Israel team to pray with us, recalling God’s affection for His chosen people in Deuteronomy 7:8: “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.”  

Prayer Points: 

• Pray that Esther 414 and CW4I will grow exponentially.  
• Pray for all women who care for Israel to seek ways to bless His people.
• Pray for Israel’s victory in a seven-front war against Iran’s and its terror proxies.
• Pray for the Iranians who are suffering under the regime.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

When the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) hired me as its first Southeast Regional Christian Outreach Director in 2007, an exceptional privilege awaited me. AIPAC’s foresight as a historically Jewish institution to welcome Christians, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians into pro-Israel advocacy was not only an act of unity but has turned out to be a necessity now more than ever since the October 7 massacres and kidnappings. Glancing into the rearview mirror after retiring nine years later in 2016, I remain indebted to AIPAC for being a pro-Israel advocate before and after my position as its first outreach director.

AIPAC’s leadership and training have embodied a rare coalition of diverse people with only one shared goal: strengthening the U.S./Israel relationship in Congress among both Democrats and Republicans. AIPAC is (and since 1954 has been) an American organization laser-focused on one purpose: to work with the administration and members of Congress to benefit both Israel and the United States of America.

Education, facts, and relationships have powered AIPAC’s influence taking hold more prominently from the 1990s onward. AIPAC was often described by many as a political action committee focusing on the last three letters of its acronym. It is still Public Affairs Committee.

However, in a timely decision in 2022 amid the doses of poison polluting American politics, AIPAC expanded by adding two political action committees: the AIPAC PAC and a super PAC called United Democracy Project. In this election cycle, both Republican and Democratic donors are contributing to AIPAC’s PACs for current Democratic and Republican members of Congress and candidates running for office.

About each of these candidates, AIPAC donors are interested in one simple fact: Is the legislator or candidate a demonstrated supporter of the U.S./Israel relationship? Recently two House members, outspoken against Israel’s right to defend its existential attacks supported by the Islamic Regime, have lost their primaries: Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY). A great outcome for AIPAC and pro-Israel advocates.

In my staff position with AIPAC, I informed and engaged pastors, churches, and Christian leaders in businesses, ministries, and national organizations throughout the Southeast and beyond. For nine years I communicated one foundational message to Christians: We must follow in the footsteps of famous biblical trailblazers whose stories we love. Moses was an ancient lobbyist when he approached Pharaoh to “let my people go.” Esther prayerfully took a political stance while hosting a dinner to honor King Ahasuerus. There she revealed Haman’s genocidal plot to murder her people, the Jews.

Because Moses and Queen Esther acted on God’s directions and strategies to lobby two powerful leaders, the Jewish people miraculously survive to this very day. This is politics at its finest, appealing to a leader with a life-altering request on behalf of Jews. After October 7, Christians living today find ourselves at a turning point in world history with Israel and the Jewish community as the centerpiece globally.

Given that politics and the U.S. Congress are so unpopular today, is there any sense in following ancient Moses and Esther in their dangerous times into controversy and chaos today? The horrors of October 7 provide our answer.

Whether or not you are an advocate for Israel though AIPAC or another effective organization, it is essential to understand the benefits for the United States in supporting our greatest ally, Israel. The small nation of Israel is an island of democracy and freedom in a sea of dictatorial regimes. To estimate the benefits Israel offers the U.S. is impossible. However, it is decidedly an enormous return on investment.

One of the key benefits to Americans is Israeli intelligence, which helps us with our own security and counterterrorism strategies. As drug and human trafficking cartels, violent gangs, and known terrorists flood our open southern border, Israel’s intelligence capabilities are a vital benefit.

The strong friendship between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. military produces shared technologies and techniques that benefit both nations. By pioneering innovative technologies that include cyber defense, sensors, electronic warfare systems, and battlefield medical support, Israel helps save American soldiers. Both militaries share know-how to improve equipment and tactics.

The U.S. also benefits economically, since more than 75 percent of security assistance to Israel is spent in the United States at weapons factories— which helps create thousands of excellent American jobs. Israel is a crucial location for the War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel program. The United States owns and manages weapons worth $3.4 billion—stored in Israel for U.S. military use. With the Middle East teetering on a more expansive level of war—and American military assets in the region—a stockpile is invaluable.

As our only democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel defends itself by itself and does not ask for American boots on the ground. This diminutive nation is forced to spend more on defense as a percentage of its GDP than any other nation in the industrialized world. Nonetheless they are indeed grateful for the U.S. Congress, Christian supporters, and our military presence in the air and on their ships.

One of AIPAC’s staff and volunteer activists’ most important roles annually is to interact with Congress to make sure Israel receives its annual security aid. As Israel now fights a multi-front war, security aid primarily funds Israel’s purchase of weapons needed to defend itself. For those of us who consistently pray for Israel, we can thank God that our Congress performs the vital function of keeping the Jewish people safer in their homeland.

Politics on behalf of the U.S.-Israel relationship can then become a holy act in a secular context.

For pro-Israel Christians who either disdain politics and the U.S. Congress—or who are discouraged with perceived congressional inaction—read this next paragraph closely. Jewish, Christian, Black, Hispanic, and Asian members of AIPAC are following Moses and Esther as role models. In 2024, AIPAC worked in Washington to pass the largest security funding in Israel’s history: $4 billion for the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, $4.4 billion to replenish U.S. stockpiles, $3.5 billion to acquire more weapons for its multi-front war, and $1.2 billion for Iron Beam, Israel’s emerging laser system that will intercept rockets and drones at a fraction of the cost. Click here for more details.

AIPAC and its activists have educated Congress with many facts that have produced excellent legislation. Highlights include bans on funding UNRWA and the anti-Israel UN Commission of Inquiry; the No Technology for Terror Act restricting American technology to Iran; sanctions on groups like Hamas that use humans as shields; and the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act, which holds the Islamic Regime accountable for the brutal repression of its citizens. These are but a sampling of what Congress is enacting legislatively despite the far-left members of Congress led by the terror-supporting Squad.

AIPAC has grown into an organization of more than 4 million pro-Israel Americans living in 435 congressional districts who are working to strengthen bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

While America is more secure when Israel is strong, history repeatedly proves that the God of Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob has preserved His chosen people for thousands of years. While God’s promises remain nevertheless, believers must position ourselves in prayer and action for our spiritual homeland, where our Jewish Jesus walked on earth and fulfilled Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week from Psalm 122:6—Jerusalem, we pray that you will have peace, and that all will go well for those who love you.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the majority of the U.S. Congress to remain committed to Israel.
• Pray that any anti-Semitism in Congress will no longer be a reality.
• Pray for AIPAC, its staff, and activists, for enduring strength.
• Pray for more Christians to follow Moses and Esther in politics.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The October 7 invasion and massacre signaled a resurgence of lies even as the world’s only Jewish state fought for its modern existence—in a war it did not begin, yet was forced to fight. Aided by the mainstream media and Jew-hating people and nations, Cyberspace Jihad is nothing less than a social media tsunami sweeping blame and shame upon Israelis.

Backed by the Islamic Regime, the world’s biggest terror-sponsoring country, the October 7 war is shocking in its intensity. One of God’s titles, Commander of Angel Armies, assures us that He will exert His plan in His time. However, those who trust God and His eternal covenants with Jews have a part to play so that our silence does not transform into apathy. 

“The spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” This simple definition of propaganda may sound bland, but an unscrupulous, destructive use of propaganda can result in world-changing events. In fact, the slander against Israel after 10 months of unasked-for war has turned the world against a nation that has benefited thousands if not millions of people with its innovations, humanitarian aid, and medical discoveries.

We the people must BE the mainstream media, both individually and as groups. Rewinding back to the pre-Nazi era will help equip us with purpose and vigilance. Our citizenry must choose facts and reliable sources to expose the web of propaganda (both foreign and domestic) that is encircling Israel, our country, and the entire globe.

We Gentiles who are not in Israel must recognize another kind of war. It is time to dig trenches of truth and shovel facts out into the open to oppose the Cyberspace Jihad. Pay attention to the words of Winston Churchill, who in 1948 warned the House of Commons in a speech paraphrased from philosopher George Santayana: “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Our advocacy toolbox at this most dangerous time for Israel—and for Americans, with Iran actively involved in domestic propaganda in the United States—must include knowledge about Hitler’s infamous formula that is now repeating itself.

The origins of dangerous culture-altering propaganda reside in one book and two men: the 1925 book Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels was Germany’s minister of propaganda. Hitler hired this mastermind and gave him his official propaganda title. Goebbels is infamous for carrying out the Nazi deception. It should not be surprising that today, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are finding copies of Mein Kampf in Arabic—in Gazan apartments. Goebbels, who stood 5 feet 5 inches tall and was nicknamed the “Poison Dwarf,” implemented Hitler’s demonic strategies with the “big lie.”

When reading some of Hitler/Goebbels’ quotes, think about the current non-stop slander against Israel and against Jewish communities worldwide. The Islamic Regime and its proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—have infected the world with hatred, the underpinning of propaganda. Jew hatred has the unfortunate designation as the world’s oldest hatred, yet now it is visible to anyone among the 8 billion world population with a mobile phone.

Some wily propagandists accuse Israel of committing the October 7 atrocities themselves—upon their own citizens. Others say Hamas’s viciousness never happened. Hitler himself proudly claimed that his propaganda technique was “so colossal” that no one would believe it would even be attempted. He called it “impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Too many Germans fully based their loyalty to Hitler on colossal lies.

Hitler’s book listed many strategies; however, understanding even a few of them will be helpful.

• Hitler: “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly—it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” Goebbels: “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” Many in mainstream media seem to believe the lies themselves—after repeating them day after day.
• Another perspective appears in a book, The Mind of Adolph Hitler, written in 1943 by psychoanalyst Walter C. Langer. He described Hitler’s strategy this way. “His primary rules: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong.” Langer was respected by the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was established in 1942 as the first independent intelligence agency in the United States. It has long been considered the precursor to the CIA.

In Germany, first it was book burnings, then Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass, which involved the destruction of over 7,000 Jewish businesses), mandated yellow stars on clothing, and finally trains filled with Jewish families destined for death. All the while, Goebbels, German elites, and German citizens found fascination in elegant parties, massive rallies, parades, and cultural events glorifying Hitler. I am reminded of two Palestinian leaders: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (now eliminated), who lived in luxury in Qatar collecting big bucks, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who lives in a multimillion-dollar mansion in Ramallah, who adds money to his Swiss bank account.

Too many Christians have needlessly given up on current news and have lagged in learning facts about Israel. We must press on. Here are Christian and Jewish media that will restore your outlook. Explore, then share truth to oppose Cyberspace Jihad:

• CBN News
• All Israel News
• The Jerusalem Connection Report
• CAMERA
• Palestinian Media Watch
• Foundation for Defense of Democracies

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team this week, determining to move forward in prayers and actions by reflecting on Isaiah 40:31—“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray fervently for safety for the IDF as they fight a multi-front war.
• Pray for all Israelis for safety and strength at this most dangerous time.
• Pray for Christians to oppose Cyberspace Jihad by sharing facts.
• Pray for American soldiers who are in harm’s way in Iraq, lest they be attacked again by Iran.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Almost nine years ago, U.S. filmmaker Brian Sanders engaged in a life-changing conversation in Israel while talking theology with a Christian friend. As they walked through the Old City of Jerusalem, his friend took the time to articulate God’s unbreakable covenant promises to Israel and the Jews in the Old Testament. The friend explained that Brian might have a replacement theology outlook, a centuries-old departure from God’s eternal promises to the Jews, which claims that the church replaced the Jews because they rejected Jesus. Another way to say that: the church is the new Israel. Grateful to grow up in a loving home, Brian was raised Catholic and attended church but did not know Jesus in a personal way until his early 20s.

Standing on the Western Wall Plaza and listening to his friend’s kind yet significant conversation, Brian and his companion then continued their walk. It was at this moment that the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 11 came alive for Brian—that Gentiles share the promises of God alongside Israel, but not as Israel or instead of Israel. Months later, a significant teaching from a Colorado Springs pastor also stirred him with another term—grafted in—by explaining the olive tree metaphor. It grew into Brian’s mind and heart, as a deeply planted recognition of the Jewish tree roots, and that Gentiles are the wild olive branches grafted into the tree. We are adopted upon our profession of faith in Jesus, Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah. Today, Brian views it as a missing link in his faith by grasping the full redemption story.

From those biblical concepts, Brian was compelled to take his new understandings to Christians and churches that, like him, often misunderstood God’s clear, eternal covenants with Israel and His chosen people in the Old and New Testaments. And of utmost importance, that God made a magnificent provision for Gentiles as the grafted-in wild branches. Genesis 17 repeatedly codifies God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham throughout all generations.

Before learning more about Brian’s persistent personal journey, let’s pause for a moment to highlight Why Stand with Israel. The breathtaking new film is replete with on-the-ground and aerial sights of Israel itself. The film’s visual beauty provides a satisfying context for the articulate array of expert voices gathered into one factual presentation. When Brian began praying and planning with ideas for the film in 2015, he was compelled by a God-mandated vision into the finished product available today.

The film was released internationally on May 14, 2024—Israel’s modern 76th birthday—through the website: www.whystandwithisrael.com. Then on May 28, at the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, Brian shared the film on the first day of the annual Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast. Since the Jerusalem premiere, Brian has been speaking and traveling with a motivational and educational message. “For such a time as this, the church cannot remain silent like it was before and during the Holocaust!” He recaps Bible facts, saying, “Believers are called the bride of Christ, but we must be standing with God’s first betrothed bride—Israel and the Jewish people!” The filmmaker goes on to say, “Now more than ever, we need to be standing with the apple of God’s eye—Jesus’ Jewish family and birthplace!” 

Over the years, Brian often asked the Lord, “Is this the year the film will be ready?” Each time the answer came, “Do you trust Me?” And “God reminded me in 1 Samuel 15:22, ‘obedience is better than sacrifice.’” Now he more fully understands that God’s timing is the remarkably perfect timing for Why Stand With Israel. This moment, this opportunity, cannot be wasted. The film’s mandate takes place amid tumultuous world events unfolding sometimes every hour. An assassination attempt on former President Trump, President Biden withdrawing from the race, Israel’s multi-front defensive war against the Islamic Regime and its surrogates, a Yemeni drone attacking Tel Aviv, the Israeli Air Force bombing Yemen’s port and oil fields, a global server crash, and the U.S. executive branch in disarray. Believers across the world must see, learn, and share. Brian emphasizes, “It is our biblical responsibility because it is God’s heart, His unconditional love on display.”

In my interview with Brian, learning about the beginning of his pilgrimage—after he came to understand the errors of replacement theology and the grafted in gift to believing Gentiles—I noticed his humility. He confessed that first, in an act of repentance, he realized that “a thread of anti-Semitism” had run through his life amid offhanded, casual, and sarcastic comments. Growing up in New Jersey and often going in and out of New York, his attitude was not hateful. It was an important missing piece of truly understanding Israel as the birthplace of our Christian faith.

Christians often forget that Jesus was born into the Jewish community, the disciples were Jewish, and the Apostle Paul was Jewish. Thousands of Jews believed in Jesus as Messiah during His earthly ministry and multiplied after His Ascension. For years, the first “churches” were synagogues and home groups. For centuries thereafter, little mention of Jesus’ Jewishness, Jews, or Judaism occurred, and the phrase “the Jews killed Jesus” shaped Christian thought. 

Brian set out to change such mindsets by elevating biblical education through film. He knew that he himself had let go of wrong theology and wanted to remind the church that “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name since He was fully Jewish, the Anointed One. That Jesus was a Savior who was not a Christian but a Jew and read only from Old Testament parchments that He Himself fulfilled in the later New Testament writing.

At the beginning of his journey to educate Christians, Brian identified with Gideon’s story in the book of Judges. When God tapped Gideon to lead the war against the Midianites, he did not feel equipped. When Brian began moving forward to educate the church, he questioned the Lord, saying, “I’m not an expert on this biblically. I’m green. Please be my teacher.” The film then became his primary focus and fit in perfectly with his decades-long background as a TV producer, senior videographer, and editor and included The Christian Broadcasting Network. 

Brian did not have another “salvation experience” and described himself as being new and hungry to know more. When the Lord dropped the vision for a film into his heart in 2015, he clarified, “It was a gift, but more than a gift. I looked at it as a mandate.”

He notes, “We’re not here to condemn. We are here to present biblical facts.” Yet, we must remember Brian’s reminder, “The church cannot remain silent like it was during the Holocaust!”

Since its international release, Why Stand With Israel has received seven awards and the future looks bright. The film’s contents help us better grasp the complicated challenges Israel and the Jews face. We must instead focus on God’s permanent promises in Scripture, understanding that God has not replaced His Jewish people with the Gentile church.

Friends, it is time for the Christian community to take proactive postures by viewing and promoting Why Stand With Israel—not in arguments but in civil conversations with others, and also in our churches. Our prayers must match our actions.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week in the context of Genesis 17:7, 13, and 19, where God codifies His words three times in “everlasting covenant” with Abraham and his descendants throughout all their generations. 

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Christians globally to view, learn, and share Why Stand With Israel.
• Pray for increased, supportive actions by believers as Israel’s dangers grow.
• Pray for the IDF’s safety amid terrorists’ more sophisticated weaponry. 
• Pray for the lessening of traumas that are affecting every Israeli.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The Islamic Regime’s savagery against Israel comes in many forms—all right out in the open. Israel, in Iran’s crosshairs in the Middle East, is defending its land on the ground, in the air, and at sea against Iran’s proxies—who are literally a stone’s throw away. In the United States, Iran’s chaos manifests in another way: disguising itself in a covert cloak of social media, using online bots armed with repetitive software in fake accounts to stir up protestors on university campuses across the country.

Demonstrators who buy the lies not only become Hamas supporters, they aid the largest terror-sponsoring country in the world, Iran. The United States is a major target for these radical Islamic terror groups. The bots take the place of humans, but the apocalyptic Islamic imams control these messages of hate. Also using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Iran counterfeits reality with the goal of sowing hatred between everyone in America.

The assassination attempt on July 13 targeting former President Trump is a shocking example of conflict in our nation. Not that the failed assassin was directly prompted by Iranian disinformation, but no one questions the weaponization of words filling conversations and airwaves. Although millions witnessed a true miracle in real time when God saved Trump’s life, it is not wise to dismiss any future attempts against the Republican candidate for president.

A combination of quieting the weaponized words and focusing on policy, plus increasing security for viable candidates, is a necessity. Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu weighed in with his valuable perspective: “This wasn’t just an attack on Donald Trump. … It was an attack on democracy.”

At a time like this, memorizing Proverbs 18:21 is a helpful antidote: “The tongue has the power of life and death.”

Last week Avril Haines, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, reported that Iran is hard-hitting “in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.” Haines also mentioned Iran’s financial support for some protest groups.

Surely weaponized words create a hostile atmosphere. Even so, our southern border is another Islamic strategy. A few statistics paint an alarming canvas of dangerous possibilities.

Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, reported that 151 people on the terrorism watch list have been apprehended at the southwest border since 2021. In a thumbnail statistic for the month of October 2023 alone, Border Patrol caught four Iranians. Two were on a security threat watch list.

Expanded information about what are called “special interest countries” shows that more than 10,000 illegals from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, and Syria were arrested at the border between October 2021 and October 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Among the illegals, 659 were Iranian. It is well-nigh impossible to know exactly how many Iranians or others are bent on destruction in our country. Given the lack of freedoms in Iran, though, it is easy to conclude that many of its citizens are simply escaping the Islamic Regime’s harsh rule.

Here is the other special interest countries’ breakdown between October 2021 and October 2023: Border agents encountered 6,386 nationals from Afghanistan, 3,153 from Egypt, and 538 from Syria. However, when adequately armed with one of Iran’s most-used weapons—Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), which can be made right here in the U.S.—one Iranian terrorist with a single IED can cause mayhem and murder on our soil. The Islamic Regime, which is weaponizing the biblical heartland in Judea and Samaria among Palestinian terrorists, is already murdering Israeli soldiers with IEDs. One more piece of data since 2021 shows that more than 1.5 million “gotaways” have managed to avoid our overwhelmed border agents forced to operate under ineffective orders from the Biden administration. Were Iranian or other terrorists among them? Where are they now?

Diverging somewhat from Iran’s use of our southern border and their bot battle against the United States, the Israel Defense Forces’ cloud-computing network reports an alarming and astonishing figure. Since the Hamas War began on October 7, the IDF’s network has received over 3 billion cyberattacks! Also astonishing is that Israel intercepted all the attacks—resulting in no damage. Many of the attacks were focused on IDF troops fighting on the ground. Civilian computer systems were hacked, including the Israel State Archives that were attacked in November. Thankfully, as of June, they were finally back online.

Gaby Portnoy, Israel’s cyber defense czar, issued a warning that the nature of cyber attacks by Iran has been more aggressive, not just against Israel, but also against its own allies. Portnoy went on to say at Cyber Week 2024 (Tel Aviv University’s annual conference): “That makes Iranian cyber aggression an international problem, not only an Israeli one, and therefore the solution needs to be international.”

Portnoy adds, “We see the Imperial Kitten work [Imperial Kitten is an Iranian hacker group], operated by the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], both in Israel and the U.S., where four activists and four straw companies were sanctioned for operating against federal facilities.” The cyber defense chief highlighted the fact that Iran is violating international privacy laws and conventions, “causing worldwide damage to innocent civilians.” Once again, it is plain to see how the Islamic Regime is multi-layered as the largest terror- sponsoring country in the world.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to pray with us using the anthem America the Beautiful as our prayer: “America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!”

Prayer Points:

• Pray with praises and thanks for God’s modern miracle to save Donald Trump’s life.
• Pray for protesters who are often ignorant about the true nature and genocidal hatred behind Hamas, Hezbollah, and their sponsor, Iran.
• Pray for all cyber security staff in Israel and the U.S. to maintain online vigilance.
• Pray for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF to make wise decisions to enact victory against evil.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

A special box of beautiful and useful Israeli-made products arrives at our front door several times a year. Ordering merchandise made in Judea and Samaria is one way to support Israelis, especially now during the war being carried out by the Islamic Regime. Our box was shipped from Lev Haolam, a subscription gift box service operating in the Judean hills south of Jerusalem. The company bears a profound Hebrew name. In English it means heart of the world (Lev, heart and haolam, the world).

A few years ago, when I visited Shiloh in the Judean Hills of Samaria, a sense of awe filled my every step. This was the Tabernacle’s resting place for 369 years, built before the First Temple. Eli, Hanna, and Samuel walked in Shiloh, which is biblically described as Israel’s first capital. Shiloh’s Hebrew name means “tranquil” or “He Whose it is.”

But since October 7, attacks, assaults, and arson—supported and celebrated by most Arab Palestinians living in what the world calls the West Bank—are turning the heartland into a hotbed of hatred. The Islamic Republic of Iran is making the West Bank Palestinians into another powerful proxy.

The lackluster name West Bank is in essence a moniker, a nickname that holds little meaning except perhaps to a broad swath of politicians, leftists, Arabs, and the secular world. West Bank is simply the west bank or west side of the Jordan River in Israel. Keep in mind that the name West Bank—used since 1950—and the ancient names Judea and Samaria refer to the same location. However, most Jews and Christians who respect the Bible refer to it as Judea and Samaria or the biblical heartland.

Threats are mounting against the heartland’s 500,000 Jewish citizens. The U.S. government estimates that 3 million Palestinians live in Judea and Samaria. It is lopsided when it comes to 500,000 overwhelmingly peaceful Israeli citizens and far too many Arabs brainwashed with mind-altering hatred.

Cities in the biblical heartland that are governed by the Palestinian Authority—cities like Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Kalkilya—are now direct proxies of the Islamic Regime. It is another battle in Israel’s existential war against terror with an Iranian weapons pipeline that began in 2005. Simply put, Iran’s current route from Hezbollah in Lebanon, through Syria (which borders Israel and Jordan), means increasingly advanced weapons are smuggled into the West Bank. Now you may understand why, for almost 20 years, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were forced to go into Palestinian cities—and that formerly unsophisticated, disorganized attack locales have been transformed into Palestinian terror strongholds. The Islamic Regime is also committing a violation of Jordanian sovereignty, which has had a peace treaty with Israel since 1994.

In his July 8 article on IsraelHayom.com, David M. Weinberg outlines some of the statistics, writing that “more than 5,000 Palestinian bomb, car-ramming, knifing, and shooting attacks a year [are] aimed at killing Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria.” Thus far this year, the increasing terror threats since the Hamas War have required Israel to “eliminate 450 terrorists in Judea and Samaria” with “more than 60 Israeli brigade-level raids” and arrest 3,600 suspected terrorists. In fact, some 8,000 Israeli reservists are stationed nearby in the heartland.

As one of many smuggling examples, in March IDF and Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security) discovered an entire arsenal. They seized large fragmentation bombs, five anti-tank weapons, four grenade launchers, 31 rocket-propelled grenades, five advanced explosive mechanisms, 25 grenades, 50 guns, and more! IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) are favorites that Palestinians use to plant in the ground. These IEDs are not conventional warfare, and the terrorists are using them more frequently in the biblical heartland. Recently, two IDF soldiers were killed by these roadside bombs, which are planted inside Palestinian refugee camps, towns, and residential neighborhoods.

Israel’s security in the heartland is exceedingly worrisome when it comes to IEDs. These deadly devices are easy to make in most any size and can be buried even under concrete. The Times of Israel reports that since January, Palestinians have thrown more than 1,000 IEDs at Israeli troops. In addition, the IDF has disarmed more than 50 weapons labs and found and disarmed 150 IEDs. The IDF is now pointedly and quickly ramping up the formerly porous Jordanian-Israeli border with, among other assets, a Military Intelligence Satellite Unit 9900 in the heartland. In April’s Iranian barrage of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles against Israel, the Jordanians helped the U.S., UK, France, and Israel deflect 99 percent of the torrent, realizing that they themselves were in the danger zone.

The Palestinian terrorists are fast becoming more proficient in their goal to murder Jewish men, women, and children. The years-long grassroots attacks, definitely a terrible reality, are quickly becoming more of a force to be reckoned with. In addition, the word complexity takes on another dimension when it comes to the geographical makeup of Judea and Samaria. Here in the biblical heartland, Jewish and Palestinian towns and villages are closely interwoven within irregularly shaped and geographically unorganized enclaves of Arabs and Jews. 

With hundreds of thousands of active and reserve soldiers defending Israel, the biblical heartland is more vulnerable than ever—especially in their puzzle-piece communities of Arabs and Jews. Even the women, as an example, are stepping into their security gap by arming themselves and training on the gun ranges. Several of the women voiced this necessity: “My husband was conscripted, and I needed a tool to save my children.” Another observed, “It’s only a matter of time before they [terrorists] come and it won’t surprise me. I’ll do everything not to be slaughtered in bed.” An additional comment referred to the Bible, “I decided to become a fighter, like women from our history.”

One of the skilled women trainers said that every time she comes to the gun ranges, she thinks to herself, “It is in the name of God, for my home and family.” As a mother, that would be my reasoning too. And every time I receive and touch products from Israel’s heartland, I am interacting with God’s eternal Holy Land where in the Bible Samaria is mentioned 117 times and Judea, 817 times.

Claims made about Judea and Samaria belonging to Arabs are not a fact in reliable history books, most especially in the Bible, which outlines God’s land deed to the Jews’ ancestral homeland. The Holy Land remains as “God’s, Whose it is.” One day, in the Sovereign of the Universe’s timing, tranquility will reign!

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us this week to pray by recalling God’s ironclad promise to Israel: “This is what the LORD says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is His name: ‘Only if these decrees vanish from My sight,’ declares the LORD, ‘will Israel ever cease being a nation before Me’” (Jeremiah 31:35–36).

Prayer Points:

• Pray for widespread security for all Jewish citizens in Judea and Samaria.
• Pray for IDF success to stop weapons smuggling into Palestinian-run towns.
• Pray for Israel as it ramps up its defenses against Hezbollah on its northern border.
• Pray for more Christians to order products from Judea and Samaria.
• Pray for Jordan’s continuing cooperation with Israel.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Most of us are aware of the mounting mental health crisis in our country and across the globe. We see it first-person—whether in our families, among our friends, in workplaces or churches. Research conducted in various international collaborations affirms what we already know. It shows that our world is facing unprecedented manifestations of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress.

A 2023 Harvard study claims that half of the world will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes our nation as being in a “catastrophic” mental health crisis. The irrational Jew hatred promoted and enacted by Iran and its proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—is a perfect example of another kind of illness with minds and hearts twisted and distorted with hate doing the unthinkable. The mental and emotional state the terrorists exhibited to carry out the brutal assaults and atrocities against Israeli families and communities on October 7th is unimaginable yet true.

Our Israeli and Jewish friends are the prime targets of hatred and hostility. They valiantly endure traumatic stress and other anxieties. Last weekend the bold, well-designed, and complex rescue of four hostages generated desperately needed waves of joy for Israelis. The people of Israel also honored a hero:counter-terrorism officer Arnon Zmora, 36, a top cop in the Border Police’s magnificent Yamam unit. After leading the charge in a rescue firefight, hours later the married father of two children succumbed to his wounds. Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu named the outstanding rescues of four hostages in the fallen policeman’s honor: the Zmora Operation. 

With swirling lawlessness, challenging mental health issues, and disturbing news filling the global atmosphere, how do we cope? Holding on to faith and hope can be a simple daily reading out loud from King David’s ancient hymnbook of Psalms. King David was no stranger to depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief, and fear.

Other news surrounds us—good news. God is at work, and we must make it a point to recognize this truth. We are assured in Psalm 34:18, “The LORD close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Several of the most promising public efforts in modern times from two Christian leaders is generating landmark events that draw Gen Zers and all ages together in hope. God is raising up Sean Feucht and Nick Hall for the next generation amid the passing of Christian statesmen like Billy Graham and Pat Robertson, who bequeathed the world with huge legacies of spiritual hope and humanitarian aid.

Feucht, a 43-year-old author, artist, and activist, is the founder of global worship and prayer movements across six continents and more than 250 cities. Burn 24-7 (Light A Candle) is a missions and compassion movement spreading humanitarian love to some of the darkest, most isolated places on earth. Let Us Worship is well known since the arrival of COVID-19, when Feucht and a praise team stood on the Golden Gate Bridge singing and praying for our country during the pandemic. Since then, the outdoor worship movement across America has shown up with praise music through Kingdom to the Capitol in states across the USA. The singer’s Let Us Worship albums often hit number one on Apple Music. The world’s hunger for hope is evident.  

Due to the outbreak of Jew hatred on college campuses all over the U.S., in April 2024 Feucht arrived at the gates of Columbia University in a “United for Israel March.” Leaders Eric Metaxas, Russell Johnson, and Luke Moon joined in. Feucht compared the current anti-Semitic demonstrations to the 1930s Nazis and proclaimed, “We are coming to bring the light; we’re coming to say … we’re going to join with our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Jews and Christians came together at Columbia’s gate. 

Another rising leader is 42-year-old Nick Hall, who founded Pulse Evangelism on his North Dakota State University campus in 2006. Early on, he served as part of the student advisory team for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). Later,he attended a BGEA event at The Cove launched by the U.S. Lausanne Committee. Approximately 300 evangelists attended. Hall, now a board member on the National Association of Evangelicals, was mentored in part through the BGEA. He recognizes the Billy Graham and Luis Palau teams for his training. “I’ve MC’d events for both teams and traveled with both organizations around the world.” He credits their mentorship with really “launching Pulse.” 

Hall’s career has grown into prayerful and active excellence with a solid set of board members who together are unveiling initiatives that appeal to Gen Zers in person and through social media. In his book, Reset, Hall writes, “Jesus says, ‘Come to me dirty, and I’ll clean you up. Come broken, and I’ll reassemble the parts. Come desperate, and I’ll replace pain with joy. Come to me with all your questions, all your confusion, all your fear. I can reset your purity, your self-image, your faith. Come.’” Last Sunday morning, the evangelist appeared on Fox News. Watching this clip is a source of hope [watch here]!

One of Pulse’s most outstanding initiatives is Pulse 100, a training program that equips Gen Zers as evangelists in an immersive 10-month program. In April, my husband and I were invited as guests to a Founder’s Weekend in Florida and left with a deep excitement for this next generation. Two of their Gen Zers evangelists spoke, and we were mesmerized by their authenticity and inspiring words. Another Pulse initiative is Anthem of Grace, which was broadcast on Good Friday (March 29, 2024), impacting over 300 million people—with 2 million saying yes to Jesus. Anthem of Grace will continue.

Sean Feucht and Nick Hall are single-minded in their particular styles in an era of world history where praise, prayers, worship, evangelism, compassion, hearts for Israel, and solid biblical teaching are present and prolific. One day, for believers in our Jewish Jesus, our mental health will reach perfection in God’s Presence with no more sorrows or stresses.  

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer,recalling Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Prayer Points:

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. By invitation, Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits. She also hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.