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By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The United States and five Arab countries are uniting in an unasked-for effort to push Israel into a worn-out and ineffectual two-state solution. The “reasoning” emerging from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates borders on the delusional. That’s because for decades, Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza have proven their aversion—their outright refusal—to negotiate with Israel.

Any blueprint for a Palestinian state side by side with Israel is also doomed, because Israel has already “been there and done that”—as witnessed by the disastrous, ongoing results of October 7. A look at the Hamas charter reveals that peace will never be an option for these terrorists, only violence. That is the only solution they will consider for Israel.

Let’s examine the implausibility of this six-nation “peace plan” in light of events during the last two decades. In 2005, Israel unilaterally—without negotiations or advice from any country—handed Palestinians a state in Gaza. At the time, Israel believed its departure would permit the rise of a well-functioning government, a “Singapore by the Sea.”

In making this magnanimous move, Israel forfeited years of hard work by its Jewish community living in Gaza. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (1928-2014) ordered Israel’s own soldiers to remove more than 8,000 Jewish citizens from the enclave. Thus, on August 15, 2005, the Israel Defense Forces began removing the Jewish community from Gaza. Jewish soldiers who were forced to evacuate the Jewish families and the families themselves shared the heartbreak as these Israelis left behind their homes, businesses, synagogues, and schools. By September 22, 2005, the last IDF soldier locked the gate to Gaza behind him.

Instead of putting this windfall to good use, the Palestinians immediately trashed everything left behind that could have provided them with jobs and food—and in 2007 they voted to put Hamas in power. Eventually, Hamas proved to be a destabilizing presence, unleashing a bloodthirsty culture of terror that roped most of the Gazan population into Jew-hatred, misery, and war.

Not one Jewish person has lived in Gaza for almost two decades.

It is imperative to recall the patience Israel has exhibited while living close to those who want to murder them. The intricately planned October 7 invasion, combined with almost two decades of life under constant threat, shows why Israelis do not now support a Palestinian state. The six nations’ leaders are morally wrong to compel Israel to a cease-fire instead of holding accountable the perpetrators—Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah, and Iran—and requiring Hamas to lay down its arms, destroy the tunnels, and release the hostages. Following the unspeakable evil and brutality of October 7, proposing any two-state solution or ceasefire is insulting, untenable, and unworkable.     

Evacuating its citizens in Gaza in 2005, Israel’s one-of-a-kind sacrifice for peace turned into a 19-year nightmare of rocket barrages. I have traveled to the kibbutzim many times and heard their stories of trauma. However, my admiration for their bravery and zest for life grew each time. Unbelievably, the world blamed Israel every time terrorists forced the IDF into protecting its civilians living along the Gaza Envelope.

Sderot kindergartners became accustomed to indoor play areas with reinforced concrete and steel doors. And try to imagine parenting in the context of falling rockets. Moms who are alone during the day with young children chose not to take showers for fear that the Red Alert would sound, where they could not quickly grab their children and run to their safe room. A dad driving in Sderot with his children in the backseat was forced to stop the car, jump out, open the back door, and throw himself over his children to protect them.

Palestinians devised all kinds of attacks. They destroyed Israel’s beautiful crops by launching what I call a balloon intifada, arming these innocent-looking toys with explosives that floated over to Israel and burned up crops. Parents were forced to warn their children against balloons, a formerly joyful sight, if they fell into their yards.

The class schedule for Shaar Hanegev High School in Sderot was constantly disrupted with Red Alert alarms and frantic sprints to bomb shelters. In 2012, Israel spent $27.5 million on concrete walls, reinforced windows, and architectural designs to absorb and deflect rocket fire. The necessary safety features meant students could stay put. One principal commented, “You can finally teach without constantly worrying about what to do when there is a rocket attack.” 

On October 7, Hamas murdered 50 of Sderot’s citizens. Most of the over 30,000 residents are now living in temporary shelters and lodging. Including Israelis on the Lebanon and Gaza borders, 125,000 people from kibbutzim, towns and villages are displaced. Yet the six nations are pressuring Israel, which was the target of evil, instead of the terrorists who perpetuated that evil.

Are these wrong-headed purveyors of peace pressing or arresting the top Hamas leaders who fly in private jets and appear for media interviews? No Arab countries are willing to resettle the Gazans. Yet, they expect Israel to live next to them again after years of dealing with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Further, what Palestinian can govern a state peacefully?

Amir Tsarfati, the Israeli founder of Behold Israel, succinctly describes the Palestinian mindset via his Telegram channel: “They don’t want to live next to us—they want to live instead of us.” Tsarfati does not envision either the Palestinian Authority or Hamas signing on to any new deal that recognizes Israel’s sovereignty, despite the settled biblical facts of both ancient and modern history.

I agree, since any two-state solution is akin to the Nazis’ “final solution,” which resulted in the Holocaust. Appeasing evil does not produce peace. In human terms, any such plan is a roadmap to disaster. In the past, present, and future the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob kept—or will keep—His promises to His Chosen people.

In the meantime, I support the clear, unanimous decisions on February 18 rendered by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war cabinet: “Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.” On February 21, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, strengthened Prime Minister Netanyahu and his security cabinet’s unanimous decision by resolving to formally oppose any imposition of a Palestinian state. The vote: ninety-nine lawmakers in favor and only 9 against. Their unity is absolutely remarkable.

Before finalizing their latest foolish plan, the six leaders should not only take note of Israel’s unity but revisit the outcome of former President Clinton’s Camp David summit in 2000 with Yassar Arafat, founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and Ehud Barak, former Israeli Prime Minister. Barak agreed to withdraw from 97 percent of the West Bank (the biblical heartland) and 100 percent of the Gaza Strip. Further, Barak approved a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. Arafat, however, refused all offers, unwilling to accept any Israeli sovereignty anywhere.

Are the six leaders aware that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has yet to condemn the 10/7 massacres? The question of who would govern a Palestinian state remains unanswered. The question eludes the misguided two-state proponents and the polluted airways filled with Palestinian lies and evil.

Former Prime Minister Golda Meir said it best: “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.” As Prime Minister Netanyahu said last weekend, “There is no alternative to total victory. And there is no way to achieve total victory without destroying those battalions in Rafah, and we will do so.”

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team this week to pray with understanding that God’s covenants with the Jewish people are eternal. Deuteronomy 14:2 reminds us, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be His treasured possession.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray that other nations will stop meddling in Israel’s rightful decisions to defend its homeland.
• Pray for unity to remain within Netanyahu’s war cabinet and Israel’s citizens.
• Pray that Jew-hating voices will grow silent.
• Pray for Hamas to free all hostages or for IDF to miraculously rescue the remaining hostages.
• Pray for IDF preparing for a widened war to oppose Hezbollah’s attacks from Lebanon.

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

Following the inhumane infiltration of the Jewish homeland on October 7, an octogenarian Christian acted on a bright idea which is now shining lights into the lives of  thousands of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.

Last weekend I interviewed the 81-year-old on the phone. As I had agreed in advance to her request for complete anonymity, I nicknamed her “Lady Bright” for this article. She has refused other media interviews, so I deeply appreciated her exclusive story. In journalism, we call it a scoop to report news of importance, surprise, excitement, originality, or—like Lady Bright’s story—secrecy.

I first found out about Lady Bright last fall when a friend called asking for a Zoom briefing, aware that I was offering updates in person or online to groups both large and small. Soon, a small group joined the Zoom meeting, where I updated them about Israel’s defensive war, an existential necessity against Hamas’s public and prideful statements about murdering every Jew. A few weeks after that Zoom update, my friend called again, this time to tell me about an exceptional mission initiated by one of the participants.

I learned enough about her remarkable acquaintance to seek a telephone interview, and my friend obliged. Kurt Kaiser’s 1969 song, “Pass It On,” expresses the heart of Bright’s mission: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going. And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love once you’ve experienced it. You spread His love to everyone; You want to pass it on.” 

In our interview, I learned that Lady Bright felt inspired to write letters to IDF soldiers. “I figured if Jesus asked me to do this,” she explained, “He’s got a way of making it happen to bless the soldiers.” And she certainly found a way. Considered the matriarch of a group of lifelong childhood friends for 70-75 years, Lady Bright reached out to them about a letter-writing campaign. Five of her friends caught the spark to pass on love—and got to work as members of Lady Bright’s private group with “just the girls that are committed to help me.”

They composed a short letter assuring the IDF of prayers to God for their safety, and that they were simply sending love and encouragement from “people in the United States who support them”—a team of women in their 70s and 80s.

Lady Bright suffers from arthritis, so handwriting is difficult. She uses her home printer, places three letters to a page, then cuts them apart. Each letter is signed with handwritten initials to make it more personal. The team spends time and energy to sign their initials and stuff envelopes—and also helps defray costs for postage, envelopes, and outside printing. 

After one team member included her two weekly Bible study groups in this enterprise, she passed on 2,500 letters to Lady Bright. They had stuffed envelopes while studying the Bible!

In her small church in small-town America, Lady Bright is a choir member and mentioned a hymn they recently sang, “Til The Storm Passes By.” She is deeply engaged in the latest information about Israel through CBN News and prays for Israel “until the storm passes by.”

Lady Bright reached out to the Jewish Federation of North America and Friends of the IDF, asking how to send letters to the IDF. Both responded with help—and now the New York Jewish Federation has been inundated with thousands of letters to Israel’s soldiers. The federation also sends letters when staff and friends are traveling to Israel.

When the Jewish Federation asked Lady Bright why Christians are writing letters to IDF soldiers, she replied, “You are God’s chosen people. We’re just ‘step kids’ and the only way we get to God’s family is through Jesus Christ, who grafted us into your land. So, we’re honored to try and help in some way. And that’s how we feel.” Prayers are also added for the letters’ safe travel to New York’s Jewish Federation and beyond to IDF units on the ground.

Lady Bright’s mission reached the Jewish community in the United States, too. On November 7, 2023, a Jewish family in metro Atlanta was devastated by the news that Sgt. Rose Ida Lubin, a 20-year-old native of Dunwoody, Georgia, had been murdered by a terrorist while on duty as an Israeli Border Police officer in Jerusalem. Grappling with grief that hit so close to home, Sgt. Lubin’s family and Jewish community were touched when they received sympathy cards from Bright and her Christian team.

It is no surprise that Jewish organizations want to interview Lady Bright, with thousands of letters already in Israel. This amazing woman’s goal is to send 360,000 letters in all! When I asked how she arrived at that number she remarked, “Because that’s how many they called up from IDF reserves.”

However, Bright’s determination for anonymity remains firm, and it’s based on her most important goal: “We want God to get all the glory. I don’t want anything to come to me. I’m not doing it for attention or anything except these boys and girls,” says the 81-year-old.

Lady Bright revealed another way publicity could interfere with the team’s task. She shrouds her identity and the letters in secrecy because “I want to get by with as many letters as we can before anybody tries to stop us. If the wrong people find out, somebody will try to shut us down.” She mentions that the people who would be opposed to the mission outnumber her team, and she wants to keep the letters just between the soldiers and her small group who are “praying for them and asking God to keep them safe and bless them.”

Lady Bright is very aware of and attuned to the Jew hatred breaking out worldwide and here in the United States. She and her team understand that covert operations might enable the small group to better reach their goals.

President Ronald Reagan once phrased it well: “They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.” Fighting a war simultaneously above and below ground in Gaza is the most complex terrain ever encountered by any army. However, each simple letter of prayer sent to IDF soldiers is sure to light sparks of encouragement when it is opened.

Bright and her team anticipate their final, eternal destination as they conduct their covert operation here on earth. However, Matthew 25:23 heralds a glorious truth when Jesus exclaims, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The Bright team is now in charge of hundreds of thousands of letters! And her mission is still expanding, still growing.

How many of you reading the story of Lady Bright and her team of active senior citizens will ask the Lord what you can add to your prayers for Israel? Many options await you to send practical lights of help to the IDF, to 100,000 Israeli citizens displaced from their homes, or to help organizations aiding Israel’s elderly Holocaust survivors.

In our phone interview, Lady Bright referenced Genesis 12:3, “If you bless my people, I will bless you. If you curse my people, I will curse you.” She adds, “As Christians, we have absolutely no choice but to bless God’s people, and that’s the Jews.”

We welcome you this week to join our CBN Israel team to pray and meditate on this truth in Psalms 18:28—You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Prayer Points:

• Pray with thanks for small beginnings that grow into big blessings for others.
• Pray for God’s Holy Spirit and protection for IDF members as they fight evil in dark places.
• Pray for IDF spouses and children for shalom and strength during these deployments.
• Pray that Hamas will release all hostages into freedom.
• Pray that intel coming from captured terrorists will help IDF in the complex war. 

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

Israeli Jonathan Feldstein felt compelled with an idea in late October 2022 that may surprise you. This modern orthodox Jew living in Efrat, Israel, decided to create a book highlighting present day pro-Israel Christian leaders as one way to celebrate Israel’s upcoming 75th anniversary in 2023. He began fully exploring the idea in late November 2022.

He mentioned it to a friend—a bestselling author—who exclaimed, “Jonathan, this is an impossible timeline to have a book of this scope printed for Israel’s 75th anniversary year!” Jonathan knew his friend was more knowledgeable yet had no idea if he was right or wrong. Unable to abandon the idea, he easily admits that he had “no understanding of what was involved” at the time and described himself as “too naive and just ran with the project because I didn’t know any better.” However, he moved forward, perceiving it as based on his faith in God.

Although Jonathan is the founder of Genesis 123, a foundation that builds meaningful relationships between Jews and Christians working together on projects to bless Israel, Jonathan had never thought of book publishing. Yet, based on his already successful track record of envisioning unique, successful projects, the new idea proved to be another good fit for his compassionate and practical ideas for drawing Jews and Christians together.

Jonathan swept into action, settling on the number of Christians that would most fittingly define Israel’s modern anniversary. He asked 75 pro-Israel Christian leaders to each write a personal essay for this special book project. He set about contacting those he knew to be committed to the Jewish state. Their essays arrived between January and March, and then the process of editing, getting photos, art, and layouts began with his excellent publisher in the United States.

The proof copy arrived in May 2023, just in time for Jonathan to attend the National Religious Broadcasters convention in the United States. As Jonathan walked the halls of the world’s biggest gathering of Christian authors, speakers, and media, he described the immediate response to his book as “incredible.” June and July passed by, packed with a myriad of details. Plans were falling into place, along with unforeseen challenges as Jonathan worked and waited.

Then it happened, a miracle within the miracle of Israel! By August 2023, Jonathan and his publishing team were able to send the files to the printer. The book’s birth, a miracle “baby,” took place nine months from conception to delivery. A father of six, Jonathan now knows that the nine-month timeline is unheard of in the publishing industry. God proved Himself once again to be the ultimate Publisher. Jonathan’s exquisite coffee table book—one to share with family, friends, synagogues, churches, and children—came off the press in September amid the autumn biblical festivals and Jewish holidays.

However, following the Hamas invasion and massacre on October 7, like every Israeli, Jonathan quickly turned his attention totally toward his Jewish homeland. The joy of Israel The Miracle book transitioned into another focused project, a divine surprise! Originally, Jonathan had directed the book’s proceeds to the Genesis 123 Foundation’s 12 supported projects. Among them were emergency medical care for Israelis from all backgrounds, feeding the hungry, embracing Holocaust survivors, and protecting unborn babies.

Overnight, Jonathan created the Genesis 123 Israel Emergency Campaign. All those proceeds have helped fund projects including civilian security, soldiers’ welfare, trauma sufferers, Israelis’ destroyed homes, and emergency medical needs.

Jonathan had originally scheduled a U.S. book tour for November 2023. Nevertheless, he quickly abandoned his schedule—not only to oversee the Israel Emergency Campaign, but because several family members were called into Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reserve units. However, even without the formal book launch and media tour last fall, the pre-sales and recent spike in orders show that Israel The Miracle is flying off the shelves. On Amazon, it became an immediate “top new release” in its first week. Jonathan is ordering an additional printing.

Yet, the redirection of funds from the upcoming book sales traveled to another divine destination. Jonathan made a targeted decision to expand the book’s significance beyond its September 2023 birth date as a beautiful coffee table book. Now, Israel The Miracle holds an important dual purpose. Although the book brims with gorgeous photos of the land and its people and inspires us with 75 essays as a symbol of Christian support for Israel, it has expanded far beyond a wonderful personal purchase.

Jonathan explains the other half of the book’s updated purpose: Through an incredible printing connection, the book also serves as an instrument of blessing “for humanitarian aid to one of the hardest-hit kibbutzim on October 7.” The book is being printed in conjunction with Kibbutz Be’eri, which ran a successful, prominent printing company, Dfus Be’eri. (Dfus means print; be’eri means belonging to a fountain or expounder.)

Kibbutz Be’eri was among the hardest hit on October 7, with 120 homes destroyed and dozens of its 1,200 residents murdered, many kidnapped, and some still imprisoned in a dark concentration camp tunnel. The survivors’ determination to retain the purposeful meanings of its name and somehow continue its printing business is a true example of Israeli resilience.

Worldwide, each individual or group purchase of Israel The Miracle book transitions profits into a direct donation through the Genesis 123 Foundation for the restoration of Kibbutz Be’eri. Here is how to be part of this humanitarian kind of miracle: www.IsraeltheMiracle.com.

Jonathan made another decision, one that paid respect to Pat Robertson before his homegoing at age 93 on June 8, 2023. Robertson, a Christian media pioneer and founder of The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960, symbolized an unmatched commitment, influence, and support of Israel. Jonathan honored Dr. Robertson by placing his essay first in what is called his “final testament” on Israel.

I am honored that my endorsement is included in Israel The Miracle: “Essays from seventy-five devoted advocates share gleaming insights about our spiritual homeland during its 75th Sapphire anniversary year.” God reveals His design for Jerusalem in Isaiah 54:11 to use blue sapphires for its foundation. Israel is the only place on earth where rare, deep-blue Mount Carmel sapphires are found. Israel itself, shining as a rarity, is the only nation where God declares in Leviticus, “the land is mine.”

I welcome you to our CBN Israel team this week to personally consider Psalm 45:1 (NASB): “My heart is moved with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” This verse not only reflects the 75 beautiful essays within Israel The Miracle. It is also an invitation to you from me to honor our King Jesus by sharing truth and facts in person or on social media about Israel from trusted sources such as CBN News.

Prayer Points:

• Pray with expectation that profits from Israel The Miracle will grow into a financial miracle for Kibbutz Be’eri.
• Pray for 136 hostages trapped and abused in Hamas’s underground concentration camp.
• Pray for family and friends of hostages, those already released, and especially for those deeply traumatized.
• Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu, IDF leadership, and Israeli citizens to remain united.
• Pray for Israel’s Government Press Office, which interacts with all international media personnel.

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

More stunning facts about Hamas—the new generation of Nazis—are coming to light. The latest exposé is that many staff members of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) helped Hamas attack Israel on October 7, when 3,000 terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children and kidnapped around 250 hostages.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the agency has already fired 12 of their “employees” named among the 13,000 Palestinian staff in Gaza. Overall, UNRWA has a combined 30,000 employees strewn across Israel’s  West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The WSJ estimates that 10% of UNRWA workers are directly implicated, which could mean 3,000 are Hamas accomplices. Meanwhile, Israel views 190 UNRWA staff as “hardened militants,” some who are teachers and others who have turned their professions into terror platforms.

Now UNRWA, Hamas’s main accomplice, is losing donations right and left after operating for 74 years. Why? The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports on the two organizations’ deadly, Jew-hating collusion. 

UNRWA’s mandate since its establishment in 1949 by the UN General Assembly was “to carry out … direct relief and works programmes” for Palestine refugees. However, its operations have gone rogue since Palestinians elected Hamas in 2007.

The list of countries already suspending their donations is growing—including the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Romania, Switzerland, as well as various nations in the European Union, such as Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Estonia, and Finland. The U.S. is the biggest donor annually with $343,937,718. By comparison, South Africa—which accuses Israel of genocide—donated a measly $171,600 in 2022 to help Gazans. Hamas is the biggest employer in Gaza, with its collaborator UNRWA right behind it. As donor countries learn about UNRWA as Hamas accomplices, they are realizing how they likely helped fund tunnels and terror.

Arab nations are criticizing the monetary suspensions although they barely contribute to UNRWA—nor are they willing to resettle any Palestinians in their own countries. That of course includes Iran, which conveniently amasses propaganda via Hamas and its other surrogates through the global mainstream media.

With donations UNRWA receives—and Hamas’s financial portfolio of investments rife with illegal hidden accounts, $100 million annually from Iran, another $100 million from Qatar)—it is proof that Palestinians who face 47 percent unemployment with 80 percent living in poverty have been robbed by terrorists to promote hate and destruction instead. The United Nations itself reports that around $250 is the estimated monthly income for ordinary Gazans. In 2022, UNRWA reported that more than $1 billion was pledged from its “voluntary contributors.”

Clearly, sanctions are necessary. Former U.S. President Donald Trump canceled aid to UNRWA, understanding its links to terrorism and anti-Semitism. The Biden administration restored U.S. aid to UNRWA in 2021 while it also declared “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism.

The acronym UNRWA is hard to pronounce but easy to understand. Based on its published policies, this is the only UN agency designed to care for a specific refugee group, the Palestinians. On UNRWA’s website, it shows a staggering statistic: 110 million people are forcibly displaced in our world due to persecution, violence, and human rights violations. Nevertheless, 2 million Palestinians have been treated differently since 1949.

This selection of facts from the excellent Aish.com and the recent Wall Street Journal article describe some of the agency’s policies. The facts are emerging in a dossier of intelligence information. A senior Israeli official commented, “A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants who were arrested during the October 7 attack.” In addition to taking part in the attacks, which included sexual violence, torture, kidnapping, and murder, UNRWA employees used UNRWA vehicles and buildings on October 7. Some employees held hostages and moved them from point to point in UNRWA facilities shared by Hamas. Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s Ambassador to Great Britain, observes that, “Every school, every mosque, every second house” conceals a Hamas entrance, weapons depot, or both.

Gazan schools use UNRWA textbooks to teach Jew hatred. They make terrorists into heroes, brainwash children into martyrdom, and demonize Israelis. The UNRWA slogan for children should be “Victimize with lies.”

One of the most egregious mind games perpetuated by UNRWA is that being a “refugee” is a permanent state of being. UNRWA identifies all the world’s more than 7 million Palestinians as “refugees,” with a right to return to Israel based on the Arab-initiated War of Independence against Israel in 1948. Among them is Mohamed Hadid, father of two famous Palestinian-American models. He lives in a 4.5-million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills. Hadid has been a refugee since birth. He is now more than 70.

UNRWA accuses Israel of killing 150 of its employees. Even if the number is accurate, in buildings identified as Hamas-run with tunnels and weapons, it prompts the question of why “employees” were there. UNRWA has mentioned Hamas tunnels in past years, but those comments seemed to fall on deaf ears. When humanitarian aid began arriving in Gaza, the agency tweeted that Hamas was looting UNRWA food and fuel supplies. While that claim is true, unfortunately UNRWA deleted the tweets. Whether willingly or coerced, UNRWA, an arm of the United Nations, was protecting Hamas and its 17-year military buildup after Palestinians voted for them in 2007.

Characterizing Hamas as the “new generation of Nazis” is a fitting description. In 2007 Hamas began building a new kind of headquarters repurposed into hatred—300 miles of weaponized tunnels, a literal underground suburb for Hamas. In December, the IDF discovered the biggest weapons depot to date filled with large stores of rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles, explosives, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

One hundred thirty-six hostages remain imprisoned in the deadly Hamas suburb. For them, it is an underground concentration camp. Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85-year-old hostage freed on October 24, described the tunnel network as a “spider web.” And a spider web it is, with UNRWA now identified as an accomplice with Hamas in the October 7 attacks.

The world public easily forgets disaster after disaster. When another horror comes along, the past is erased. It is imperative that we not erase the hostages and their families from our hearts and minds. In our community of Christian believers, we are the ones inclined toward compassion. Let us take command of facts on social media, with groups, friends, and our churches to counteract the massive barrage of lies worldwide. May we choose to be ambassadors for hostages by posting their photos and stories.

As we stand with Israel together, join our CBN Israel team drawing hope from Isaiah 2:4 NIV: “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray daily for the 136 hostages and their brave, yet traumatized families.
• Pray for the IDF to locate all hostages amid the dangerous, complex tunnels.
• Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu, military leaders, and the Knesset to remain unified.
• Pray for Christian commitment to spread facts about Israel.
• Pray for the endurance of Christian media like CBN News, TBN, and All Israel News operating 24/7 to report the facts.

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

Anti-Israel individuals and institutions continue to widely disseminate false information as fact. AI’s timely use is escalating propaganda by turning words into weapons that act like a dangerous mind-altering drug—one that is already manipulating millions of minds globally. 

Israel is not only fighting for its existence on land, sea, and air. It is also fighting the information warfare of lies—a formidable barrage that is poisoning opinions on a global scale. As we approach International Holocaust Remembrance Day—January 27—the Iran-backed October 7 massacre is now seared into Jewish minds and hearts. The World War II Holocaust and the genocidal purposes of Hamas were inseparably iron-clad on October 7, 2023.

Incredibly, suggestions of a two-state solution—whether voiced by the United States, Europe, or Arab countries—are emerging. Everyone must realize that Israel has no peace partner with Hamas nor with the Palestinian Authority. As Khaled Mashal, a senior Hamas official, bluntly exclaimed on January 20, “We are not interested in a two-state solution… there should be only one state, a Palestinian state, from the river to the sea, and from the north of Israel to its south.” 

The Hamas founding charter has not changed: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them.” And as former Prime Minister Golda Meir so eloquently stated: “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.”

During the Nazis’ genocidal Holocaust (Shoah), the regime murdered 6 million Jews—long before AI existed. It only required Hitler’s satanic mind, occupied with evil, to hypnotize Germans through media run by his Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels was skillfully mentored by Hitler, who observed: “Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.” 

In fact, much of the world did not know the extent of evil until General Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered photographic evidence of the concentration camps and survivors when liberated in 1945. Eisenhower explained, “The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. … I made the visit deliberately to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to ‘propaganda.’” 

After Eisenhower and the Allies encountered tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners who survived, the forward-thinking general directed General George C. Marshall to bring members of the U.S. Congress and media to see for themselves. They came, they wrote, and they published the photos. Almost 80 years later, despite the evidence, Holocaust denial and/or its twisted versions grew acceptable over time. 

Lamentably, the same phenomenon is happening with Israel today. Hundreds of media giants, international leaders, and members of the U.S. Congress—too many are believing the outrageous lie that Hamas did not invade Israel on October 7, 2023. Despite massive amounts of evidence from Hamas itself, the unthinkable reverse is true: Israel is actually being blamed for instigating the attacks.

As a past example, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, completed his dissertation in 1982 in the former Soviet Union. He titled his doctoral thesis “The relationship between Zionists and Nazis, 1933-1945.” This piece of fiction alleged that Nazis and Zionists shared a close connection about racial superiority: Aryan for the Nazis, Jewish for the Zionist. Abbas accused Jews in pre-state Israel of collaborating with Nazis in the Holocaust. Today, warped narratives like these motivate minds filled with the mind-altering drug of hatred. 

Propaganda proliferates from governments, saboteurs, mainstream media, the United Nations, and demonstrators busy writing another sinister chapter of Jew hatred that resurfaced just a few days after October 7, 2023. One of the most shocking and offensive lies is that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Unlike General Eisenhower’s order for photographs after the fact of the Holocaust, Nazi-like Hamas triumphantly took photos of its brutality in real time on October 7 with their body cams and the mobile phones stolen from Jewish victims. They have provided the world with tangible proof as to who the aggressors were.

It is my prayer that as you read the next story you will use it as a reality check to determine just who is genocidal. Pass it on to uninformed family, friends, and churches: 

Last week mainstream media outlet CNN reported the confession of a Hamas terrorist who tried to sell the head of a decapitated IDF soldier for $10,000. Yes—from the terrorist who cut off Cpl. Adir Tahar’s head, stuffed it in his backpack, and returned to Gaza planning to make money. 

That CNN itself reported this atrocity should grab the attention of Jew haters as a fact about the depths of evil manifesting in Hamas’s minds. CNN had also aired October 7 footage taken by the terrorists as they sawed the necks of dead Israelis.

Adir Tahar’s family story unfolded with David Tahar, father of the 19-year-old soldier who was murdered on October 7 when he faced the Hamas terrorists. He said that Adir’s body was confirmed by DNA tests and his identity tags. At Adir’s burial on Israel’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, David insisted on seeing his son in the coffin. 

The bereaved dad then experienced what he called “a miracle” after spending two months watching endless hours of Hamas’s massacre videos, which saboteurs proudly posted on social media. David had identified his son’s body, and when captured later, the vicious terrorist gave the location of an ice cream store where he had put Adir’s head in a bag inside a freezer. 

An elite IDF unit, backed up by tanks, entered central Gaza and retrieved Adir’s head, which was also abused. DNA and dental records verified Adir’s identity. It is unimaginable what the IDF unit experienced themselves and even more profoundly Adir’s father as he suffered through a second burial. To think that Israeli Defense Forces, the most humane army in the world, is conducting genocide against Gazans or anyone is 100 percent irrational.

If history is an accurate indicator, the genocide label and other lies against Israel will continue. Nevertheless, amid the current information warfare it remains essential that we in the evangelical community do our part to pass on facts. Truth-telling, part of our own spiritual DNA, is birthed in Old and New Testaments and passed on to us through the Jews under God’s inspiration. 

If you wish to take part in a volunteer action, the Arolsen Archives invites you to volunteer for #everynamecounts to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 now or in the future. Click here to choose which topic you wish to digitize. It takes only five minutes to complete one document. 

May we be motivated like never before to fight against information warfare on behalf of Israel and her people. Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer this week meditating on Proverbs 12:22, “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy.” 

Prayer Points

• Pray that Christians will be motivated to share facts about Israel frequently.
• Pray that the IDF will finally discover the remaining hostages’ whereabouts.
• Pray that families know that IDF is doing everything possible to locate their family members.  
• Pray that Israeli Jews and Jews worldwide receive blessings from our genuine prayers and assistance.

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

“Blood Libel” is not a familiar term or phrase for most in the modern world. In the Middle Ages, blood libel was a fictitious accusation that Jews murdered non-Jews (such as Christian children) in order to use their blood in religious rituals. Intensifying in number since October 7, 2023, modern versions of blood libels have spread like a cancer throughout our world. While the medieval phrase, “blood libel,” may not be used explicitly, the term’s insidious meaning has lurked globally for centuries.

Throughout history, blood libels have prompted pogroms, mob violence, torture, trials, and the eviction of entire Jewish communities—often ordered by governments. The alleged death of Nazism after World War II is undergoing an evil renaissance from new Nazis, with Iran’s Islamic regime and its proxies. Today, lies are exploding in what we call fake news or propaganda. As we explore how social media is poisoning millions of minds with unfounded hatred, history’s rear-mirror perspective provides an insightful beginning.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century, it served both good and evil purposes. It was an absolute godsend for printing mass copies of the Bible. The printing press enabled news, albeit very slowly, to go global. The invention made the esteemed Martin Luther, father of the Reformation, the world’s first best-selling author. Luther once observed, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.” Today, the Bible is still the world’s most popular book. Based on British and Foreign Bible Society research in 2021, Guinness World Records estimates that some 5–7 billion copies have been printed. Now, we even have Bible apps that have been downloaded by hundreds of millions!

So, what harm could come from Luther’s book being printed with Gutenberg’s innovative printing press? Sadly, blood libels were spread even through this remarkable man. In 1543, in a change of heart toward the Jews, Luther lashed out in his small booklet, The Jews and Their Lies. He viciously condemned them for their refusal to convert to Christianity. He suggested burning their homes and synagogues (“a den of devils”) and confiscating their prayer books. Adolph Hitler seized on Luther’s book and popularized it during the Third Reich.

Kurt Hendel, professor emeritus of Reformation History at Chicago’s Lutheran School of Theology, observed: “They [the Gestapo] very clearly used Luther’s writings that had all this anti-Semitism in them to support their cause.” Hendel went on to say that Luther was not a Nazi anti-Semite, he was a religious anti-Semite because Jews would not convert to Christianity.

The printing press, with its effect on global culture and advancements for both greatness and woe, informs us today about how the computer, internet, smartphones, and social media are shaping culture more than 500 years later. Global news is instantaneous, artificial intelligence (AI) speeds up Bible translations, and platforms proliferate for both the most holy and the most evil ideas and voices. Worldwide, there are 5.3 billion internet users, with 4.95 billion using social media. Evangelicals’ use of social media to multiply good news globally is an opportunity of colossal proportions—if we choose to take advantage of it.

Advances in technology have moved us from the information age into the digital, AI, or experience age. Evil occupies platforms that greatly victimize minds with blood libels that in the modern era are known as propaganda. Propaganda/fake news circulates the globe with one click, one post, one twisted headline without any factual context. It is imperative that Christians join up in massive information warfare using facts and truth to combat the lies and misinformation.

A list of libels that fuel hate speech and violence could fill pages, as anti-Semitic incidents have increased by 1,180%. Here are a few examples:

• Israel has been accused of illegal organ harvesting. The latest accusation from Hamas and other questionable news outlets says that Israel returned 80 bodies to Gaza with vital organs removed. Israel is rightly returning Palestinian bodies to Gaza, but the malicious lies about illegal organ harvesting are baseless. These rumors are especially malicious and evil coming from terrorists who refuse to return Israeli bodies for proper burial.
• In the Dagestan region of Russia, a mob of citizens tried to lynch Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Israel. Thankfully, those attempts were thwarted.
• The slogan reverberating in mass anti-Israel demonstrations “from the river (Jordan) to the sea (Mediterranean), Palestine shall be free” is a call for genocide from most participants despite the fact that some demonstrators are dangerously uneducated.
• After receiving hundreds of millions in funding, TikTok has pushed this narrative: Palestinians are oppressed, and Israelis are the oppressors.
• Blood libel, a propagandic disease, has bled into American Jewish businesses, universities, and synagogues and can be seen in violent attacks on streets across America. Plenty of anti-Semitic professors weigh in with their dangerous lies: A Yale professor called Israel “a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle.” When a journalist reminded her that she was talking about innocent civilians she replied, “Settlers are not civilians.”
• Finally, the South African government is pushing a case against Israel, accusing them of genocide in hearings at the International Court of “Justice” (ICJ). The ICJ is the legal arm of the United Nations. In response, South African Christians are standing in support of Israel: [read article here].

Here is part of it: “This [government’s] silence is more conspicuous given the recent hosting of a delegation from Iran and Hamas in South Africa. Such actions could be interpreted as direct support to Hamas’s tactics, including using civilians as human shields and diverting aid for military purposes and the building of tunnels, rather than humanitarian relief sent to the Palestinian people, which was intercepted by Hamas.”

At this writing, 20 prominent Christian organizations and churches have signed this document. The South African Christians have bravely spoken out against their government, a role model for all of us.

In the meantime, I have not read about any country that has taken Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or Houthis to the ICJ. Hamas describes the shared ideology in its founding charter: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them.” Fortunately, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States reject South Africa’s charges.

Do we need any more proof that blood libels and propaganda have infected our world in an unparalleled way? And will believers step up and join information warfare using facts and truth to combat the lies and misinformation? Becoming involved—making a difference—is simple: Begin by sharing weekly facts from trusted news sources like CBNIsrael.com and CBNNews.com as well as your other favorite pro-Israel ministries on social media.

All of us together can create a groundswell of opposition to such poisonous lies and lethal misinformation.

Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us in prayer this week recalling the Jewish apostle Paul’s inspired words in Romans 3:2-4—“First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!” To his protégé Timothy, Paul wrote: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” We thank God that He unconditionally loves His chosen people and us, His adopted non-Jewish children!

Prayer Points:

• Pray that the International Court of Justice will dismiss South Africa’s falsehoods.
• Pray that the overwhelming evidence of Hamas brutality will change minds.
• Pray that Christians will commit to opposing lies with facts in social media.
• Pray for still-terrorized hostages imprisoned in dark tunnels amid the darkest evils.
• Pray that IDF and all Israel will encounter peace and strength through our Lord.

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 Republic of Iran has successfully ramped up more anarchy from yet another proxy, the Houthis. Based in Yemen, this organization has joined the regime’s favorites—Hamas and Hezbollah—to generate worldwide shipping delays on the Red Sea since November. Houthis have turned the ancient Israelites’ miraculous Red Sea crossing into a modern nightmare that is already affecting some 44 nations, including the United States and Israel.

The Houthis’ terror tools include drones, small boats, missiles, hijackings, and now anti-ship ballistic missiles. Their attacks generate multilayered problems for huge commercial cargo ships and create a slowdown in world markets. On December 1, 2023, the UN Security Council issued a feeble, inconsequential 120-word statement to the Houthis. A coalition of 14 world leaders released a joint statement on January 3, published by the White House. That statement laid out these critical statistics: “Nearly 15 percent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8 percent of global grain trade, 12 percent of seaborne-traded oil and 8 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade.”

The statement warned that “malign actors” will be held accountable for “unlawful seizures and attacks.” However, neither the UN nor the White House press release mentioned Iran, the Houthi enabler—the government behind every invasion, murder, weapons supply, attack, and oppression of its own citizens in the Middle East and beyond. The only way to stop Houthis backed by their Iranian merchants of death is to deploy multinational warships and aircraft carriers to use military force against the Houthis in Yemen.

The Muslim Houthis live in a Middle Eastern country that is strategically located on Bab-el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern entrance of the Red Sea that connects the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. At the northern end, Egypt’s Suez Canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Interestingly, in Arabic Bab-el-Mandeb means “Gate of Lamentation, Grief, or Tears.” Iran and its Houthi proxies are reinvigorating the Arabic definition—giving grief to the world in a potential global catastrophe affecting food, crude oil, natural gas, and consumer products.

The alternative for shipping through Bab-el-Mandeb is to re-route ships to the southern tip of Africa, which significantly increases time and shipping costs. For instance, for oil shipped from Saudi Arabia to the United States, navigating around the southern tip of Africa adds 2,700 miles and 8 to 10 days to the journey.

The Islamic ayatollahs have been demonstrating their aggression for years on the Strait of Hormuz, located next to Iran itself. Around 30 percent of crude oil sails through what is considered the world’s most important chokepoint. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) describes world oil chokepoints “as narrow channels along widely used global sea routes.”

Considering the strategic points Bab-el-Mandeb (the Gate of Grief) and the Strait of Hormuz, it is easy to see the Islamic regime’s geographical reach of terror and how it can easily reshape the global economy. The Strait is the quickest way for oil to be shipped to other countries from the Middle East. While this is a conversation for another time, if the United States returned to the energy independence we enjoyed under former President Trump, neither of these chokepoints would concern us.

It is no surprise then that Iran, the largest state sponsor of terror worldwide, violates the international Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) mandated in 1982 and ratified by more than 150 countries. LOSC serves as a “constitution for the oceans.”

Here’s one example of the seriousness of shipping disruptions. Fearing violent aggression, A.P. Møller-Mærsk—one of the biggest global shippers—decided to stop their ships from transiting the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. That one decision diverted $200 billion in trade.

Speaking of billions of dollars, the U.S. House of Representatives acted against Iran by passing legislation in December to refreeze $6 billion in oil revenue sanctions against Iran. President Biden had ordered that a South Korean account release the sanctioned $6 billion to Qatar (home of several top Hamas leaders). It was designated for “humanitarian purposes” in exchange for five Americans.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken then emphasized to Congress that the money could only be used for the “humanitarian trade.” Our history with Iran since 1979 has vividly demonstrated that Iran’s ayatollahs operate only on Shia Islam’s oppressive standards while pretending cooperation. Since the Islamic regime overthrew the Shah of Iran almost 45 years ago, then stormed the U.S. Embassy and kidnapped 66 American citizens, their regime has grown into the largest terror-sponsoring country in the world. 

The “No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act,” was passed in the House by a vote of 307-119. Ninety Democrats voted with Republicans. Kentucky’s Thomas Massie, a Republican, voted NO. In my research I consider this statement as double-speak in a December POLITICO article, especially considering the October 7 invasion of Israel: “Even though there’s no evidence Iran was involved in the attack, the country is a known backer of terrorist group Hamas.” How much evidence does Politico need? Evidence is strewn across southern Israel and now among hostages imprisoned in the wicked tunnels of subterranean Gaza. Fact: Without Iran’s ideology, financing, and actions, much of the world’s terror would not exist. The evidence is clear. 

On necessities like food and water, rising prices from disrupted shipping affect families globally. Gas prices will also rise and supply chains will break down. Just since November, Houthis have used missiles, drones, and fast boats 20 times in the Red Sea. However, when it comes to safety, the current American administration must open its eyes to the dangerous character of Iran’s leadership where diplomacy is viewed as weakness and makes way for manipulation. Iran is an enemy of the United States, Israel, and its own population. Our open southern border is an invitation for Iranian saboteurs to walk into the United States of America, disappear, and plan their next act of terror—this time on American soil. 

The Biden administration is procrastinating and currently saying NO to several military options proposed by the Pentagon to completely stop Iran and the Houthis’ takeover of the Red Sea. Naval vessels are present in the region but not currently proactive against and inside terrorist Yemen itself. While Biden wavers, the world economy will lessen, Iran will keep supplying Houthis at the Bab-el-Mandeb chokepoint, and Iran will capitalize on its Strait of Hormuz chokepoint.

Mr. Biden is also pressuring Israel to end its defensive war in Gaza and refrain from defending against Hezbollah’s warfare in northern Israel. However, 136 hostages (including Americans) remain unaccounted for, and they have not been visited by the International Red Cross since October 7. Let that sink in for a moment and you will understand why Israel cannot and will not relent. The Allies’ war against Hitler and the Nazis in World War II is a case in point. The Nazi evil demanded a response, the response of a just war. Israel is fighting a just war. 

We must pray for a modern miracle for the Red Sea yet affirm our trust for the Creator of the oceans to intervene with His purposes and according to His timeline.

Join our CBN Israel team this week reflecting on the apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:7-9 NIV—“And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 

Prayer Points:

• Pray for wisdom for the U.S. government to uphold Israel’s safety.
• Pray for IDF soldiers who have faced more than 90 days of trauma.
• Pray for God to silence the critical voices and lies against Israel.
• Pray that Christians will join the information warfare by sharing facts that disprove terrorist claims.
• Pray that IDF can miraculously locate the hostages and bring them to safety.  

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 exhilarating power of 1,000 Israeli singers and musicians rang out across Israel on December 18, filling hearts worldwide with hope. The “Homeland Concert” in the Caesarea Amphitheatre along the Mediterranean Sea not only beckoned Israelis to remain resilient and strong. Anyone who listened was touched by the power of its eloquent messages, a triumph of the spirit over tragedy.

The concert communicated a profound message for me, for the world, and for 2024—to renew our dedication to truth, remembering how the great prophet Isaiah transmitted God’s promise that, in the future, “the government will be on His shoulders.” Today, we do not know the day of Israel’s forever government. Until then, Israel must press on in the Gaza battlefield—the terror-infested cities in Judea and Samaria—and in northern Israel to defend their homeland against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel’s Christian friends worldwide must take up arms on another important battlefield, the information battlefield, to expose Jew-hating lies with clarifying facts.

The famous Caesarea Amphitheatre, site of last month’s concert, echoes with ancient history. Built by King Herod in 22 B.C., this “entertainment” arena featured the mass executions of Jews who revolted against Romans between A.D. 66 and 70. Producer Talya Yarom planned her musical idea “to warm everyone’s frozen hearts” with its “Bring them Home” theme about the remaining 129 hostages. The ancient amphitheater’s more than 2,000-year-old structure is indeed more architectural evidence that Israel is the Jewish homeland. It serves as a reminder to the world that Israel has lived, does live, and will live despite any evil! Am Yisrael Chai, the Nation of Israel Lives!

When some of the hostage families arrived and joined in the singing, their presence deeply reinforced the “Bring Them Home” message. Producer Yarom had envisioned “something that felt universal, national” and without any “big names.” When Yarom sent out the call for volunteer musicians, nearly 2,000 responded. She ended up with 1,000 musicians—professional, amateur, all ages and instruments—with backgrounds in musical genres ranging from orchestral to rock.

A medley of lyrics from beloved songwriter and poet Ehud Manor combined his famous classic song, “Home” or “Bring Them Home” (HaBayita) with “The Hope,” Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem. The elevated atmosphere—expressed in tears, joys, grief, and power—moved the hearts of everyone sitting in the ancient amphitheater and internationally. Not knowing the Hebrew language did not hinder the power of the concert. The voices and instruments conveyed transformative prayers. Here are the English lyrics from Ehud Manor (1941-2005), which Manor wrote in the 1980s:

Another Hour has passed
Another Hour of madness
The weeds have grown in the path and garden
The wind sighed
Opening the shutter
Banging the old wall
As if calling

Home, Home
It’s time to return
From hills and foreign fields
The day is fading and there’s no sign

Home, Home
Before the light is dimmed
Cold nights, bitter nights
Closing in
Until the dawn I pray for you
Bound in the grip of fear
I hear steps

Home, Home
Because it hasn’t yet been given
As was promised long ago.

Conductor Eran Mitelman, maestro Mark Wollach, directors Shilo Gallay and Danny Casson, orchestral arranger Ron Klein, and composer Yair Klinger joined senior producer Talya Yarom for the Bring Them Home Concert, the biggest concert ever held in Israel.

Music has not been confined to the Caesarea Amphitheatre. Various well-known Israeli stars are visiting the wounded in hospitals, families in mourning, and IDF troops. Ishay Ribo held concerts at IDF bases, including a concert along the Gaza border to “lift up their spirits.” He encouraged them with his music and words: “May God succeed through you and your tasks, and may you return home safely and unharmed.”

Ben Ari, a religiously observant singer and father of seven children, served in the army and is not currently called up for reserve duty. After writing a song called Birthplace, he remarked, “This song is dedicated to my nation. … Not the one that was here a week ago [October 7], the one that we’ll create again when all this is over.” He now sings with people, “the best thing I know how to do.” In Birthplace he sings, “You are the special unit, You will always be my homeland. Even on the brink of an abyss, Even in hell, you are heaven, Paradise.”

I’ve looked at video clips where various Israel Defense Forces units are singing to lift their spirits. During Hanukkah they sang their traditional songs as they lit their menorahs on the battlefield or at bases. Other clips include IDF singing the prayer Shema Yisrael, the key affirmation of Judaism—that God is One, and incomparable. It echoes from Jewish hearts as a love song to God.

As part of Israel’s Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM), believers have also united in concerts. Acclaimed Messianic artist Joshua Aaron, who leads Gather the Nations worship conferences based in Jerusalem, organized a concert in Israel during Hanukkah. Earlier, on October 21, 2023, Joshua Aaron and Aaron Shust held a benefit concert in Wildwood, Florida, to raise money through ticket sales and additional donations.

Let us remember throughout 2024—during Israel’s war against unleashed evil—that Isaiah 9:6-8 ends with a precious proclamation: “And the government will be on His shoulders. … Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

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

• Pray that IDF’s military leaders will make wise decisions that eliminate Hamas.
• Pray that Arab nations will decide to resettle Gazans within their own (Muslim) borders. 
• Pray for an outpouring of commitment from Christians to spread illuminating facts about Israel. 
• Pray for strength and breakthroughs for hostages and their families.
• Pray with thanks to God for endowing humanity with songs and music.

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

For the last 82 days, the world’s only Jewish homeland has faced enormous upheaval that will not end anytime soon. As it stands on the brink of 2024, Israel has been confronting an exceptionally difficult conundrum since October 7. That is why they need help from an army of Christians. Not an army of soldiers but of advocates—who are committed to engage in fact-sharing aimed at slowing the tide of global lies from the mainstream media and their followers.

For Christians who want to help oppose lies about Israel, one of the best New Year’s resolutions is to be part of a Christian communications force on behalf of Israel. Jewish culture is traditionally infused with tikkun olam, “to repair the world,” and modern Israel remains a light of innovation to a broken world. But now, more than ever, Israel needs our help in the critical arena of public relations—to help shape global opinion.

A tsunami of misinformation is pouring out of media channels and flooding unsuspecting minds. Minds tired of bad news, or predisposed to hatred, or wanting to help yet not knowing where to begin. Christians often ask, “Where do I find reliable news?” This column addresses that concern.

I have written hundreds of feature columns for CBN Israel, and I am thankful to stand for Israel. Collecting ideas and sources along the way, I am sharing a few of them with you. After you read this, I invite you to make an important New Year’s resolution: to engage in public relations efforts on behalf of Israel. Efforts that promulgate facts, not lies. Facts that disprove the malicious stories being repeated and put truth in their place.

To begin, make sure you value your own fact-sharing, since God pours His power into all of us especially when we are unified. “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together,” Vincent van Gogh reminds us.

Educating yourself is important, yet signing up for a course is not necessary since Israel’s needs are immediate. Whatever your station in life, it is simple. If you treasure Bible truths and recognize Israel as your spiritual homeland, you qualify! Make this one a New Year’s resolution: Share one or more facts about Israel each week.

The next step is to go on a simple search. Here are just a few of my sources when I am researching for my next column—reading news and the Bible. Indeed, countless Christian and Jewish resources are at your fingertips … on a computer or mobile phone. Because I write for CBN Israel, I read their social media, particularly CBN Israel (CBNIsrael.com) and CBN News (CBNNews.com). Some others are The Times of Israel (TimesofIsrael.com), All Israel News (Allisrael.com), Friends of Israel Defense Forces (FIDF.org), The Jerusalem Post (JPost.com), Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF.org), Gatestone Institute (GatestoneInstitute.org), American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC.org), and Palestinian Media Watch (PalWatch.org). Explore some of these links to determine which ones resonate with you. 

Begin with one, several, or use the same source at least weekly. News about Israel is at the epicenter and available 24/7. For example, if you are curious to know what Palestinian media reports are saying about Israel, visit PalWatch.org. This organization, the Palestinian Media Watch, translates Arabic into English to learn exactly what Palestinians think or say. The site is eye-opening. Choose one link, then share it. By posting a quick message on your mobile phone, even while waiting to pick up your child from school, you have taken an important action. 

If you want information about the excellent legislation the U.S. Congress is enacting to help Israel, click AIPAC.org. Scan a few article titles, read one, copy the link, and share it via social media or in an email to a friend or your pastor. Copy and paste while you drink your coffee. Just that quickly, you are done—and a disseminator of the truth!

Another method I use to share facts is by commenting on articles I have read. I choose not to argue or inflame and only state the facts. I confess, I often feel righteous anger when reading propaganda against Jews and Israel. After all, we are in another Nazi era. Yet wisdom is essential, and James 1:5 ESV instructs us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” When choosing to comment on an article, to share a fact in conversation or via social media, let us make wisdom our aim.

Again, the reason I am suggesting a New Year’s resolution for everyone in the pro-Israel Christian community is that we are so greatly needed. Israelis are expressing their heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming Christian humanitarian responses and prayers pouring in from multiple sources. Yet the tsunami of lies is too much for our Jewish brethren to overcome alone. When friends are in crisis, we come alongside them. And that surely applies to Israel, the land and the people that God created. 

Here is an example of why Christians are vital to share facts: Most of the mainstream media list the deaths and injuries of Gazans. They blare out headlines that provide verbal ammunition—which inflames the uninformed or misguided to slander Israel. Thus, the tsunami of misinformation. I rarely see a headline about Israel’s ongoing losses.

So, here is a fact about Israel’s casualties to counter the relentless barrage from the other side: On December 17, Israel’s Health Ministry reported that more than 10,580 Israelis have been wounded in Gaza, through Hezbollah strikes along the Lebanon border, and from Palestinian terrorist hostilities in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). Israel’s Defense Ministry details that 6,125 are IDF soldiers, Israel police, and other security forces. Of these, 2,005 are permanently disabled.

Israel was unprepared for such heavy numbers of wounded soldiers and civilians, as well as those needing post-surgical rehabilitation. Israelis are suffering varying degrees of trauma. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes and jobs and are still hearing the Red Alert, announcing more incoming rockets to take shelter from! Families wonder if they will learn that a loved one is dead or injured. And counseling is essential to treat serious post-traumatic stress—for people unable to escape the horror of witnessing or experiencing demonic brutality, who have had to attend one funeral after another, or are wondering when the turmoil will end.

On the encouraging side, within a few hours of the shocking October 7 murders and hostage-taking, hundreds of medical professionals began offering their skills. Applications quickly grew to 7,500 physicians worldwide. The Israeli Health Ministry ended up accepting 200 volunteers—among them world-renowned medical specialists—based on a range of expertise. These include forensic experts to help identify the burned and desecrated bodies, as well as ophthalmologists needed to treat numerous eye injuries from shrapnel. Volunteer doctors are both Jews and non-Jews who are leaving behind their lucrative professions and their families. All are desperately needed.

Please prayerfully consider joining a fact-sharing brigade of Christians, to communicate both the terrible facts about wounded Israelis and the wonderful facts like the volunteer doctors. We welcome you to join us at CBN Israel to copy, paste, and share the facts!

Prayer Points:

• Pray asking God to enable you to commit to this important New Year’s resolution.
• Pray asking God for His reminders and empowerment to take action.
• Pray for God’s comfort for the traumas facing Israeli Jews and Jews worldwide.
• Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu, his security council, and military leaders.

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

Manger Square in Bethlehem is a famous tourist destination for thousands of visitors worldwide to celebrate Jesus’ birth amid glowing lights, music, and a towering Christmas tree. However, this year, the Church of the Nativity, which many believe is our Lord’s actual birthplace, is subdued and silent. The only allowance will be midnight services and prayers. Otherwise, there will be no decorations. No lights. No jubilant parade. All celebrations have been muted.

What could account for this disturbing and unsettling change of events—especially considering the decades of Christmas celebrations and tradition? The answer lies with Bethlehem’s municipality officials, who decided to cancel all events except midnight services and prayers. Their reason: “in honor,” they say, “of the martyrs and in solidarity with our people in Gaza.” They say martyrs; I say terrorists. Terrorists who deliberately launched a savage attack on peaceful Israeli civilians.

In another, much happier location, last Saturday my husband and I were in a movie theater, where we enjoyed Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night in a limited run between December 12–17. The first-ever multi-season series about the life of Jesus opened a profound, insightful look into a one-of-a-kind birth never repeated in world history. God Himself came to earth as a human, conceived by the Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. No modern manger scene, no Christmas tree or glittering Christmas lights can replace Jesus’ ancient birth in the humblest surrounding portrayed in The Chosen.

The production—a historical drama based on the life and ministry of Jesus—is dedicated to bringing these sacred stories to the screen and is now streaming on numerous platforms.

In a creative backdrop theme of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, voiced by brilliant monologues from Amanda Jenkins (an author, and wife of director Dallas Jenkins) and Chosen writer Tyler Thompson, believers and non-believers heard a clear message of Jesus’ redemptive purpose. Dallas Jenkins commented in the opening segment, “Like the rippling currents of an ever-changing river, God is on the move. And that means we must move, to make space in our hearts. Is there room in yours?”

I am among many millions of Chosen fans. Imagine my delight in September, when I had the opportunity to interview Chad Gunderson and Chris Juen—the producers of The Chosen. The Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia, was the perfect setting for the Q-A session it hosted. As members of the enthralled audience, we sat in a beautifully constructed “ancient” amphitheater surrounded by columns. If you live in or visit Georgia, throughout the year The Biblical History Center provides an excellent education about ancient times.

On the raised marble dais, and later in person for my interview, Chad and Chris impressed me with their authentic, engaging, and great storytelling ability. Their humility was obvious early on when Chris commented about The Chosen’s first season: “I am still startled since Chad and I both didn’t have a clue about where The Chosen would go.” He and Chad expressed their gratitude to be involved “in such an amazing project that has taken the world by storm.”

After their event, I sat down with Chad and Chris who own their successful “Out of Order” studios (OOO Studios), founded in 2015. A few short years later, the Lord opened doors for them to use their God-given talents as The Chosen producers. 

Several topics came to light including the October 7 Hamas massacre, the most wicked and shocking murder of Jews since the Holocaust. In September, when I interviewed the producers, I asked if they had a particular interest in Israel before producing The Chosen. Chad commented, “Outside of being a believer and knowing that’s where our Lord walked, it’s definitely been on my bucket list to visit Israel.” Chris agreed, adding with a smile, “It’s kind of been said as a funny joke that we’re not making a Christian show. We are making a Jewish show.”

Chris’s comment is especially significant since October 7, the horror-filled day when Hamas launched its deadly, multi-pronged attacks against Israelis. While on the GMA Dove Awards Red Carpet on October 17, Chad noticeably stated his stance, “Honestly, we just stand with Israel right now. It’s that simple and it’s heartbreaking to see what’s going on over there.”

Already, The Chosen’s first three seasons creatively provided an education about Judaism that many Christians were unaware of. Dallas and his team have made sure that the Jewish culture Jesus was born into is revealed not only through Bible passages but in markers of Jewish culture. These include weddings, Rosh Hashana, the prayer shawl (tallit), Sabbath observances, tiny Scripture scrolls in Mezuzahs on doorposts, and a range of historic facts about first-century Jews who followed Jesus and conveyed the Gospel to the known world after His Ascension.

I am convinced that The Chosen’s embrace of Jesus’ Jewish culture has helped build a foundation of support for Israel among viewers who were unfamiliar with it. God Himself created the Jewish way of life in the Old Testament, as Jewish scribes (serving as vessels for His transcribed words) recounted the birth of our Jewish Savior, as well as the roles of the Jewish disciples and believers who populated the first years of belief in Jesus as Messiah. For those of us who are non-Jews, Israel is our spiritual homeland. 

On October 7, The Chosen was quick to post on their official Instagram account a photo of Jonathan Roumie who plays the role of Jesus with the caption “#Israel.” Creator Dallas Jenkins asked for prayers on his Instagram posted on October 12: “I wanted to give you an update about our friends in Israel. We have many Chosen family members who are impacted: translators and advocates, cultural and religious consultants, and of course our Simon, Shahar Isaac, who lives near Capernaum.”

Jenkins went on to report, “At the moment, all are okay, but please continue prayers. Some of them are literally on the front lines while others are in shelters. We kneel with them.”

Jonathan Roumie also posted on Instagram asking for prayers for “ALL the innocent victims of the war in Israel and Palestine.”

Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night is a beautiful reminder of family and the challenges that often arise. Both producers do everything possible to have their families visit during the filming days. Their wives, Amanda Gunderson and Jennifer Juen, are an important part of the set when they come. “They create such an atmosphere of encouragement to everyone on the staff, whether they are a cameraman or are setting up a display.” They often stop and pray for the staff. Chad and Chris acknowledge sacrifices that they themselves make as producers yet are incredibly grateful for their wives and teenagers as the teams behind them.

Both producers discussed preserving two important goals: to maintain both Scriptural and historical accuracy. They added that the series is so relatable and “everything else is just what’s plausible in a way that can keep people engaged.” Stay tuned, because I may write a future column about The Chosen based on my interview and more of their outstanding stories shared at The Biblical History Center.

I cannot neglect to mention the majestic, original production with performances by famed tenors Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo. From witnessing simple shepherds transfixed by angel songs, then running to the dirt and animals’ shelter to see the newborn King, The Chosen also transported us to a marble and rock quarry in Tuscany, Italy. We were transformed by the magnificent Bocelli father-son team singing O Holy Night as they stood on a vast expanse of rock that soared to the skyline.

At this season, I pray that all who read my Christmas column will encounter Jesus in precious moments celebrating the Holiest Night of the Holiest birth in world history.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the Prince of Peace to bring true peace to the Middle East—especially during the ongoing war between Israel and the enemies that seek her annihilation.
• Pray for the Christians in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, as well as for Christians all throughout the Middle East who often suffer persecution for their faith.
• Pray that the Israeli Defense Forces experience miracle after miracle—for their safety and for their anxious families.
• Pray for the United States to remain strong in its support for Israel and her people even in the face of mounting pressure from the far left and anti-Israel groups.
• Pray for CBN Israel to continue bringing relief and hope to hundreds of terror victims and displaced families in the midst of the ongoing war situation.
• Pray for CBN News to continue bravely reporting the truth and facts from the ground about what is happening in the Holy Land during this tumultuous time.

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.