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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.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The world’s only Jewish state is fighting for survival against an Islamic Regime that is also targeting the United States of America. Our citizenry and government would do well to remain vigilant—not only among Bible believers on behalf of Israel and its existential war—but because Israel is the USA’s irreplaceable intelligence partner. In casting a wide net across the globe, the Regime has quietly established formidable operations in the Western Hemisphere—notably, in Latin America.

Seven years ago, I wrote about a Cuban threat to the U.S. as one of the Islamic Regime’s goals: to establish a “Little Iran” 90 miles from Florida. In my high school in 1962, we practiced ducking under our desks during the Cuban Missile Crisis when the Soviet Union threatened our country. Although Cuba and Iran have cooperated with us on various levels since 1960, when the Shia Islamic Regime took over Iran in 1979 it energized its cooperative agreements in opposition to the United States, which it called the “Great Satan.”

Prior to his death last month in a helicopter crash, Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, made a point a year ago—June 2023—to visit not only Cuba but also Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Each of those nations is run by an authoritarian leader. A 2023 report from the Interamerican Institute for Democracy reveals that “the dictatorial consortium in the Americas is led by Cuba and includes Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia.” Raisi chose well—and the results of his tour paint a worrisome picture. (Incidentally, China and Russia are also active in our hemisphere, with Iran 7,000 miles away in a 15-hour flight.)

Bolivia, no longer in a diplomatic relationship with Israel, has requested Iranian drones and welcomed more than 700 military members from Iran’s Quds Force. Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro wants to increase flights between Iran and Venezuela and has signed 25 agreements, including oil, petrochemicals, and other trade efforts they anticipate increasing from $3 billion to $20 billion in the years ahead.

The Nicaraguan/Iran ties have not been as high volume. However, Foreign Minister Denis Moncada attended Iran’s International Conference on Palestine in December 2023, attended by political and religious heavyweights, as well as media figures and scholars from over 50 countries. President Raisi spoke, accusing the U.S. of being the “first and biggest violator of democracy in the world,” which of course is the Islamic Regime’s own goal. The colossal lies of the world’s largest terror-sponsoring country are uttered by a regime that has not one ounce of compassion for Gazans. Instead, it is fully supportive of its Middle Eastern proxies—the terror trio of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

Raisi appeared on Telesur, a Venezuelan TV channel, which outlined his perspective. “In the past, Latin America was considered to be the backyard of the Americans, but over time, each of the Latin American countries regained their independence.” Proud of the 1979 regime’s rule, Raisi claims that “harmony” has increased between people in Iran and Latin America “who have the same spirit and follow the same ideals.” His statement is like a red flag of warning for the United States.

In this historic era where personal and world events seem overwhelming, as believers we must proactively stand on the rock of our faith, the birthplace of Christianity. Psalm 46:1-3 assures us that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

This brings me to our southern border chaos. The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security released transcribed interviews with border patrol testimony from December 2023. One of the most concerning facts revealed by Committee Chair Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), is the following: “The number of individuals apprehended illegally crossing the Southwest border and found to be on the terrorist watchlist has increased 2,500 percent from Fiscal Years 2017-2020 to Fiscal Year 2023. And those are only who we’ve caught.” Under Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources report that over 1.7 million illegals are known gotaways—a number that could possibly be 20 percent higher.

FBI Director Christopher Wray’s comments about Homeland Security Committee’s annual worldwide threats provide added evidence about our enemies’ s infiltration through our Southwest border. When asked if the FBI can guarantee that known or suspected terrorists, including any from Hamas or other tour groups, are not amongst the reported gotaways, Wray responded, “The group of people that you’re talking about are a source of great concern for us. That’s why we are aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces.” He also indicated that the threats coming from the other side of the border are affecting every state.

Like the people of Iran—once a vibrant nation and friend of Israel before the Islamic Regime took over—Venezuela’s people under two dictatorships have endured terrible economic conditions that forced its innocent citizens to flee to neighboring countries and to the U.S. However, it is impossible to determine who among Venezuelans are covert Iranian Regime operatives. In September 2023, Venezuelans comprised the largest number of illegals—54,833 crossing the U.S. southern border, outpacing Mexicans. The totals since 2014, under Venezuela’s dictatorships, represent the largest displacement ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.

More alarming, the Federation for American Immigration Reform reports that “Iran’s ally, Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., has a network operating in 11 different states.”

On her recent trip to Israel Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, reminded us: “Iran has said the easiest way to get into America is through the southern border.”

Amid paragraph after paragraph filled with darkness, we must meet the realities of evil with prayers and actions to shed God’s Light by helping each other standing on the Bible’s certainties. Our CBN Israel team invites you to join us this week remembering Psalm 119:105 NIV—“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for U.S. citizens who live along the southern border and encounter many traumas.
• Pray for the U.S. Border Patrol and its ability to freely enforce our border laws.
• Pray for the U.S. government to utilize every available resource to root out known or suspected terrorists who have gained legal or illegal entry into the country.
• Pray for Israel’s leaders facing global pressures to abandon total victory over Hamas.

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

Jew hatred has clearly shown itself as a widespread addiction since the “New Nazis” attempted another holocaust last October 7—torturing, then slaughtering, Jewish men, women, and children in their ancestral homeland. Based on Nazi strategies, decades of unleashed propaganda from Palestinian leaders, the Islamic Regime’s theocracy, and its Triple H proxies (Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis) have destabilized brains and emotions. Minds that either look for the next high of violence, or find excuses to imbibe the lies of victimization, or possess a worldview full of naïve ignorance—each resulting in a new kind of cartel: the cartel of hatred.

Demonstrators, institutions, and international bodies are dangerously consuming lies that lead to poorly formed decisions. The failure (or deliberate refusal) to distinguish good from evil and right from wrong is an assault on Judeo-Christian values—values that have generated the greatest freedoms, well-being, and hopes the world has ever known. The most horrific examples of hate in the last 90 years began in pre-World War II with Hitler’s hypnotic evil. Hamas’s murderous October 7 rampage reenacted Nazi evil in a pattern that continues today: in Gazan tunnels torturing hostages held in underground concentration camps and murdering Palestinians above ground.

Many of Hamas’s hate addicts are high on an amphetamine called captagon, an addictive stimulant that permits higher levels of stamina while lowering inhibitions. Captagon’s history reveals this mind-altering drug—which has been available throughout Arab countries in the Middle East—to be a source of terrorist money. In a short summary, here are a few facts based on a detailed report from NewLinesInstitute.org. The German company Degussa Pharma Gruppe designed the drug in the 1960s to help with narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and for use as a stimulant. Beginning in the 1980s, many countries banned it due to a dangerous chemical in the formula. Criminal organizations in Turkey and the Balkan nations began smuggling operations, then in 2011 Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad hijacked the drug operation to bolster his failing economy after the horrific civil war exploded.

Now, Syria is the top captagon cartel of the “jihad drug,” whose consumption makes billions of dollars each year from the six nations comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Amid such a vast drug trade, the Council is very concerned about the drug’s usage and ensuing health and security concerns. Further, a detailed Council report about captagon’s expansion into Europe and Africa outlines the serious threat it represents beyond the Gulf. The report notes that trafficking this drug is “a revenue source for state and non-state actors such as the Syrian government, Hezbollah, and state-affiliated militias [fueling] malign activities that have exacerbated insecurity, encouraged corruption, and empowered authoritarian behaviors.”

Learning about the billions of dollars earned from captagon sales by Syria’s cartel dictator and other criminals, it is important to realize that the billions are used not just for the terrorists themselves who are taking the drug. Since Syria harbors Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), we must question where the money goes. Other countries also finance terror with expensive media propaganda, buying weapons, making payoffs not only to demonstrators and agitators but also to powerful institutions and authorities. For instance, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) employs mostly Palestinians. The agency funds 30,000 employees; a small international staff in New York, Geneva, Brussels, and Cairo; plus, five field offices in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the West Bank (Judea/Samaria.)

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, stated in April that “more than 2,135 UNRWA workers are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” Hamas has successfully permeated UNRWA so that “it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins.” The drug cartels boost a multiplicity of promoting the world’s oldest hatred—a hatred targeting Israel, God’s Land, and His people, the Jews.

In the global judicial arena, it is highly unlikely that the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) are taking captagon. However, they are consuming another drug: hate disguised in lies. Last November, I wrote my CBN Israel column proposing that Israel itself hold a war crimes tribunal. Indeed, historic precedent affirms such a move. In December 1961, a Jerusalem court tried and sentenced Nazi SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann to death for crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and war crimes. He had escaped U.S. custody in 1946 and was found by Mossad—16 years after the war’s end. The Hamas charter imitates the Nazi’s “Final Solution” to “obliterate an entire people [Jews] from the world.” Israel will not relent in pursuit of those like Eichmann in Gaza, West Bank, or anywhere in the world for their crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and war crimes.

The United Nations established the ICC in 2002 as the world’s first permanent international criminal court, with its 18 judges chosen allegedly for their legal qualifications, impartiality, and integrity. The ICC investigates war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. It was extraordinary, then, that on May 20, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Putting Israel’s leaders into the same category is outrageous, equating them with the top Hamas terrorist leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif. Note the word impartiality as a qualification to serve on the ICC court. A verdict of disbarment is a good decision to levy against these judges. They are unqualified, unable, and/or unwilling to acknowledge the vast differences between good and evil.

Despite different roles, the ICC and ICJ are twins when it comes to reckless decisions about Israel. The ICJ’s ill-informed decision on May 24 after South Africa had accused Israel of genocide and demanded that Israel completely withdraw from Gaza. Israel is the only army in the world that consistently notifies citizens living in an enemy territory to leave the area before they take military action. The IDF also sets up safe zones for Gazans, first in northern Gaza and now in Rafah, for 900,000 civilians.

The ICJ, established in 1945, serves as the United Nations judicial branch with 15 judges. Their role is to arbitrate between nations, to settle disputes, and to offer legal advisory opinions. Although ICJ did call for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, I am left to wonder if ICJ’s judges read anything other than Hamas “facts” or the South African government’s absurd accusations. The ICJ is located at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Yet neither the judges in the Peace Palace, nor the world, will encounter peace if they prohibit Israel from fully defeating Hamas—which clearly declares it will repeat October 7 again and again.

True justice is mostly a missing commodity in this era of world history. Nevertheless, take heart in Proverbs 24:24-25, which assures us: “Whoever says to the guilty, ‘You are innocent,’ will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week—prayers for the Jewish nation and people are needed now more than ever.

Prayer Points:

• Pray that our Christian faith, founded on the rock of Judaism, will strengthen standing for righteousness.
• Pray for the IDF and their families in a particularly dangerous mission in Rafah.
• Pray for true justice within world courts.
• Pray for God’s justice, Creator of true justice, to rule and reign in His perfect timing.

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

Last Sunday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi died in a foggy-weather helicopter crash in a mountainous region of Iran. Reactions to his death are coming in amid converging narratives. Some narratives offer hope despite the Regime’s ongoing harsh theocracy under 85-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranians, though, are celebrating Raisi’s death with fireworks and sweets. Yet the population suffers under the ironclad Ayatollah’s policies that endure—embedded in Shia Islam’s oppressive rule.

Why are Iranians celebrating the “Butcher of Tehran’s” death? Epoch Times cites Raisi’s judicial role on the “death committee” prior to his election in 2021. Human Rights Watch reported that, under Raisi, mass executions of thousands of political prisoners in Evin and Gohardasht prisons occurred in 1988 and beyond. Raisi called it “divine punishment” and a “proud achievement” for the regime. His evil disposition never changed when he attained the presidency in a low-turnout, possibly rigged vote. One of the most infamous examples of cruelty took place in 2022 amid protests about the death of Mahsa Amini murdered in police custody. Her crime? Not wearing a headscarf (hijab). The Islamic Regime adheres to inhumane actions against its own population and for its proxies against Jews and Israel. 

World leaders are adding to an interesting obituary of condolences including, for example, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. Hamas, in its condolences, states they are mourning an “honorable supporter” of the “Palestinian resistance.” Pakistan and India observed a day of mourning. Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Al-Thani, sent condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic. Maybe it is bad manners to mention the truth about Raisi, the has-been probable successor to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But by the same token, who mourned Hitler?

However, on Monday the United Nations did mourn a Hitler—Raisi, the “Butcher of Tehran.” Russia, China, and Algeria requested that the UN Security Council stand up for a minute of silence to honor Raisi. U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood, stood up. Only one utterance of truths was spoken. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan rightly condemned the council which “bowed its head for a man responsible for massacring and murdering thousands in Iran, in Israel, and around the globe.”

My good friend, author Marzi Amirizadeh—now an American citizen—knows first-hand about the Islamic Regime’s tyranny. The authorities arrested and imprisoned her in 2009 when she and a good friend covertly distributed 20,000 Bibles. Like many Iranians, she met Jesus in a dream. It transformed her life into one of hope, despite horrors that later followed her into prison. Miraculously released after nine months from Evin Prison’s hellish confines, Marzi is an advocate for her Iranian people, for the United States, and for Israel.

Marzi observes that before she was arrested, she talked to thousands who were receptive—and many also who had visions of Jesus. “There are many underground churches, and research shows that Iran has the fastest-growing church.” Marzi added an important fact: that “most Iranians do not consider themselves Muslims and believe the Islamic Regime does not represent them. They believe that Persian King Cyrus is their father and Iran has been taken hostage by terrorists.” She is prayerful that “after the fall, millions are going to worship Jesus.” Operation World reports that in 1979, only 500 Muslim-background believers were known—and now estimates that more than 1 million Iranians are Christians.   

Part of Marzi’s post on Facebook expresses the intensity of the facts: “Islamic Regime criminals like Raisi have the blood of countless innocent Iranians, Israelis, and other people on their hands. They are now burning in hell as millions of Iranians and people around the world are celebrating their death. However, we should not forget that the head of this evil octopus—the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and his son—are alive. As long as he is in place, nothing will change because Raisi and the others were only his puppets.” 

Here is how Proverbs 28:15-16 describes the Islamic Regime’s leadership: “Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.”

In a post on Monday, Amir Tsarfati, president of Behold Israel, observed that “Israelis did not set off any fireworks after news of Raisi’s death.” But justifiably, Iranians did set off fireworks. He went on to add how lies take on a life of their own, this time due to a joke. Someone posted the joke saying that the helicopter pilot was a Mossad agent named “Eli Copter.” Israel haters are now calling it a FACT across the world. They will blame Israel in any way possible, even with jokes. Tsarfati adds, “His death spares other deaths.” I pray that Raisi’s replacement will not be more of the same. Stay watchful. 

As expected in any governmental change, speculation about a Raisi replacement is in the news—with an election in less than 50 days, according to their Constitution. However, the Persian-language television news station, Iranian International, reports that the Supreme Leader has plenipotentiary power (full authority to take independent action) over Iran’s government (executive, legislative, and judiciary). It mimics Muslim caliphs in the Middle Ages.  

With Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, currently set to take over prior to an election, a fight is already unfolding with ex-president Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021) opposing the privileged Guardian Council, which passes muster on candidates. It is highly questionable whether the 85-year-old ailing Ayatollah Khamenei will allow an open election since he absolutely dismisses a preference for more moderate candidates.

Amid the ongoing war that the Islamic Regime is financing and directing against Israel, the longing for freedom in its population is only increasing. Added to economic crisis, policies will remain the same unless the population rises again to protest.

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team this week to pray for Iranian freedom, remembering Ephesians 6:12. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray for Iranians to protest in a vast army of unity and freedom for regime change. 
• Pray for worldwide practical helps for Iranian freedom from oppression.
• Pray for new Christian believers for their strength, hope, and safety. 
• Pray for the right leader to emerge and miraculously win Iran’s presidency.

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

On May 12, Israel literally stopped—as it does each year for two minutes of silence—when sirens notified the country to come to a standstill on their Memorial Day (Yom Hazikaron). Warning sirens also sounded with incoming rockets from Hamas and Hezbollah. There was no peace that day, even in grief. Later, at the Western Wall, President Isaac Herzog stood with his shirt collar torn in mourning, which he called “a symbol of a blood-drenched rend in the heart of the people. A tear in the heart of the State of Israel. … A great tragedy has befallen us.”

Since October 7, 2023, every day is Memorial Day in Israel. The Times of Israel reports that 1,600 soldiers and civilians were killed either in combat or by terrorist attacks since Israel’s last Memorial Day, according to authorities. It was unquestionably the deadliest year for Israel’s security forces and civilians in 50 years. For 76 years—in multiple wars launched against Israel since its founding—the national casualties in this small country have totaled 30,140.

The day after Memorial Day, Israelis celebrated their Independence Day (Yom HaAtzma’ut). The switch from mourning to celebration is intentional, because for Israel, hope and happiness must endure. On May 14, Israel’s 76th anniversary was still celebrated, yet the celebrations were muted amid the heartbreak hovering over Israel in its national trauma. The usual dazzling fireworks displays—which might have triggered additional trauma in IDF soldiers, families and victims—were canceled.

The grim realities in Israel resonate with most American Jews. I checked in with several of my Jewish friends here in the United States by taking an informal poll during this significant week in Israel, asking them to reflect on their experiences here during the ongoing Hamas War. With eruptions on university campuses and the advent of additional silencing strategies toward Christians, we must echo the same concerns of our Jewish friends. Heed their voices. They are our “canary in the coal mine”—right here in the USA.

Susanne M. Reyto, a Holocaust survivor and an author (Pursuit of Freedom and Destination Freedom), is an educator through her books and leadership. She brought to Los Angeles the Violins of Hope, a collection of lovingly restored violins played by Jews during the Holocaust, to educate modern audiences through the power of music. Susanne cautions, “We must teach youngsters to empower themselves to fight for the truth. American Jewry has the good fortune of never having to flee and run to a homeland, so their appreciation for Israel is different than those of us who feel Israel is our umbrella protector.”

Ari Bussel, an Israeli-American friend and a foreign correspondent, gives us a clear view of what he saw with his own eyes: “Seeing my alma mater turn into a battleground at the University of California in Los Angeles caused me not to sleep. Jewish women dared to stand up at a press conference, and the young terrorist-protesters made them into victims. When the police moved in to arrest the aspiring terrorists in the encampment, they also attacked the police.”

Ari’s observation is that, once again, the lie has been multiplied—that Jews dared to attack the peaceful students! He warns, “To win, we must understand this is a war against the USA. Our enemies want ‘Death to Israel and Death to America’; they are against the two satans, and our fate will be one. Therefore, it is time for action to save America.”

My friend Norma Zager, an award-winning journalist, declares: “As a Jew in America today I feel an enormous sense of betrayal and fear. The promise of my country to accept all races, creeds and colors of people has been changed to ‘all but Jews.’ It should be a priority for every Jewish person to pray the Jewish State is triumphant.”

Paul Samuels, my Jewish husband, reveals another perspective. “Both my parents’ families fled Russian pogroms and immigrated through Ellis Island in the early 1900s. In the Bronx I was called a “Christ killer,” but no one marched against us. I am shocked now by the intense Jew hatred in the U.S. I don’t have deep fear, yet I look around me far more now,” he said. “I am glad that my parents are not alive to experience the same Jew hatred they faced as children in Russia. At 80, I am a proud first-generation American. My Dad served in World War II, and I am a Navy veteran.”  

Another Israeli-American friend is a deeply concerned parent of three younger children. “My children know they are Jews by birth and tradition and have family in Israel. Sadly, it’s a challenge to preserve their innocence. Some people simply dislike my kids for who they are, an awful reality. Can you imagine your kids living with that? I must teach my kids how to deal with hate and advocate for themselves. It’s a lot to ask.” My friend had chosen to remain silent about her Israeli heritage to avoid conflict, but October 7 totally changed her. “I cannot afford to keep quiet now. I must face the hatred head-on.”

Ari Bussel has an unambiguous message for his fellow Jews. “American Jews are responsible for the failure to respond to our Jewish students. The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel and J Street, the organized Jewish world failed miserably and is fully responsible.”

My message as a Christian to other Christians reflects the thoughts of my Jewish friend who was a U.S. Navy pilot flying the famous F-14 Tomcats. “As an American I put my life on the line for the United States, including in the Iraq War. I am heartened by the evangelical Christian outreach to the Jewish community.”  

Let us make sure our “evangelical Christian outreach” multiplies. We must not remain silent on the sidelines like the German church in the 1930s. Our Christian faith was built on the rock of ancient Judaism. We are grafted into Israel, our spiritual homeland, and read a Jewish-inscribed Bible and serve a Jewish Savior. Standing with the Jewish community in the United States and worldwide is an important way to honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s redemptive plan! Reach out to your Jewish friends with encouragement this week!  

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us this week based on Psalm 119:28—“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray strength for Israelis afflicted by the ongoing national traumas.
• Pray that Jews everywhere will reconnect with their Holy Scriptures.
• Pray for Christians to reach out personally to any Jewish friends.
• Pray for total victory for the Israel Defense Forces in Rafah.

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

On March 22, 1933, the Nazis admitted prisoners to Dachau, the first concentration camp where they began to imprison Germans whom they deemed a political, social, or cultural threat to their unholy government. Ninety years later, on October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded the Jewish homeland in an attempt to repeat a holocaust. Echoes of World War II arose amid terrorists’ frenzied shouts and Israelis’ anguished screams, with 1,200 murdered, hostages kidnapped, and thousands wounded.

At Israel’s national Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony on May 5, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, “The terrorist attack on October 7 was not a holocaust—not because of the lack of intention to destroy us, but because of the lack of the ability to destroy us.” In God’s fulfillment of promises, Israel became a modern state in 1948 and with it gained the ability to defend itself.

During World War II, reports from Europe about Nazi mass arrests, industrialized murders, and the numbers of concentration camps merely trickled out. Today, with the ubiquitous presence of social media, we have no excuse for misunderstanding or misrepresenting the events of October 7. Nevertheless, mainstream media is weaponizing truth into lies day and night in every time zone. It is essential to listen to trustworthy media only, which I will mention in my closing.

The goals of Hamas replicate the Third Reich’s homicidal goals. Back then, most of Germany’s Protestant and Catholic clergy and their congregations embraced the Nazis. Now, too, many clergy and churches live in dangerous passivity by departing from God’s redemptive vision through Israel and the Jews outlined in the Bible.

The 1988 Hamas Charter that is still in force notes in Article 12: “Nationalism, from the point of view of the Islamic Resistance Movement, is part of the religious creed. Nothing in nationalism is more significant or deeper than in the case when an enemy should tread Muslim land. Resisting and quelling the enemy become the individual duty of every Muslim, male or female.”

Hamas claims that theirs is a religious creed, but it strikes me as an addiction. Murdering Jews is their horrific “high”—carried out with no regret. That partly explains these pitiless terrorists acting as if they were producers excitedly filming innocents on a movie set in Israeli homes! Read the statement of Ghazi Hamad, who is part of the Hamas political bureau and who refers to the October 7 attack as Operation al-Aqsa Flood. “We are called a nation of martyrs … proud to sacrifice martyrs,” Hamad declared. “Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country,” which he called “a catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nations.” This statement is the only fact we should believe. Inaction will not stop these brutes. World War II proves my point.

Is it too much to hope that the 2024 annual Days of Remembrance between May 5 and May 12 have awakened facts for naysayers and those whose thinking has been distorted by hatred?

It is debatable as to whether the two—Holocaust Remembrance Day and October 7—should even be mentioned in the same sentence. Yet, it is important now to reiterate the October 7 atrocities, especially since we have massive numbers of facts from the beginning of the attempted holocaust. The genocidal murders of 6 million Jews in World War II, embedded in the Jewish DNA for 90 years now, re-invaded their minds and hearts with demonic intensity—as it took place not in Europe but inside the Jewish homeland. Non-Jews cannot fully grasp the depths of Israel’s national trauma over this lethal invasion into their ancestral homeland—on their own soil—with God’s unbreakable deed thousands of years ago for all eternity.

For me, stepping into any Jewish commemoration is a step into history both ancient and modern, celebratory or somber. On May 5, I attended a somber, emotional, yet uplifting program sponsored by the Birmingham Jewish Foundation in Alabama. Movingly presented with memorable storytelling, honoring both Holocaust survivors and liberators, it also included a special tribute to the late Amnon Weinstein. Weinstein was the Israeli founder of the world-renowned Violins of Hope, violins lovingly restored for the last 30 years by luthiers Amnon and his son, Avshi.

Amnon and Avshi had appeared in Birmingham in 2018 with 60 of the precious, restored Holocaust-era violins. The recent tribute to Amnon, the brilliant recipient of honors worldwide, including Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit, is close to my heart. I served on the board of the South Carolina Violins of Hope, and in April 2022, with numerous sponsors, we held four large-scale concerts featuring the historic violins as well as numerous smaller venues. Around 10,000 attended and heard one of Amnon’s inspiring quotes, “Our violins present the victory of the human spirit over evil and hatred.” 

Nazis murdered 400 of Weinstein’s family during the Shoah. In the 1930s, his parents escaped from Poland to Israel, where Amnon’s father set up shop in Tel Aviv. Amnon and his son, Avshi, carried on the business, dedicating it to collecting and restoring violins played by Jewish musicians held in concentration camps during the Holocaust. After concerts in 2018, Amnon and Avshi presented Violins of Hope Birmingham with the lovingly restored violin. As part of the May 5th tribute, a local violinist played two beautiful melodies. My tears fell as I heard the century-old violin and prayed for Jews worldwide who are facing danger at every turn.

In the Samford University auditorium (no protesters outside or inside), in stories told by Holocaust survivors and their families, several comments clearly reminded me of Hamas. “After the Holocaust, survivors were liberated but not free.” “Nazis began a steady drip then moved into shocking speed.” “A small rockslide must be removed quickly because an avalanche is unstoppable.” “At Buchenwald, when Allies freed the survivors, the killing furnaces still burned with Jewish bodies.”

Nazis and Hamas are both cut from rancid, evil cloth. Hamas’s attempted holocaust was stopped, yet Israelis are not free from their national trauma and not yet totally victorious. Hamas has repeatedly fired barrages of rockets into Israel for almost 20 years, then with shocking speed in the al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. Burning Jewish families tied together and babies in the ovens of homes in the Israeli kibbutzim reenacted the Nazi tool of demonic fire.

Ghazi Hamad says Hamas are victims. “Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,000—everything we do is justified!” If you believe what Ghazi Hamad defends, then act!

Commit to choosing at least one article a week. Pass it on. Christians must deliver facts about what is happening in Gaza amid the falsehoods overwhelming so many minds. Here are several news outlets I trust: CBN Israel, Gatestone Institute, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), and Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (IDSF).

Join our CBN Israel team this week knowing that Israel and the Jewish people will forever carry the profound message of survival and resilience. As we read in 2 Samuel 7: 24-26, “You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever … so that Your name will be great forever. Then men will say, The LORD Almighty is God over Israel.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for facts from Holocaust Remembrance Week to renew compassion.
• Pray strength for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet as they must make weighty decisions.
• Pray for the IDF shifting Gaza residents to safe zones to eliminate Hamas in Rafah. 
• Pray for Israelis to remain unified and have supernatural patience amid pain.
• Pray for American university leaders to make wise decisions. 

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

Since the beginning of its military operations against Hamas, Israel has reported that the Iranian proxy has been appropriating donated food meant for the civilian Gaza population. The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) verified that a Fatah (political branch of the PA) TV anchor reported that, since the start of the war, Hamas has attacked, persecuted, and even killed aid workers. The food was stolen not only for Hamas to sustain their strength but to also murder Gazan Palestinians and IDF soldiers.

PMW describes that in attacking and killing aid workers to control distribution and to divert the food and water for itself, Hamas caused food prices in Gaza’s markets to skyrocket. An Al-Jazeera TV reporter observed, “Few things are arriving and they [Hamas] claim they are distributing them.” A Gazan woman spoke out, saying, “It is all going to their own homes. Let Hamas catch me and shoot me and do what they want to me.”

Allow the Fatah and Al Jazeera broadcasts to remain in your thoughts as you read what U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres insisted: “This is an entirely man-made disaster, and … it can be halted.” Guterres was telling Israel to allow more routes into Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian goods. Yes, it is a man-made disaster—one, however, that was implemented not by Israel but by barbaric Hamas, beginning on October 7, 2023.

The two or three days of compassion for Israel evaporated almost immediately after the Hamas invasion on October 7. Hamas’s horrors against Israel have faded in the wake of a powerful propaganda operation, with most worldwide media either intentionally or unintentionally promoting lies. This, after Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO) hosted 4,000 journalists, showed them the murderers’ indisputable body cam videos, and walked them around the Gaza envelope area where parents, children, babies, and homes were burned amongst atrocities that cannot be described.

How do mainstream media see what they saw, then sit at their computers posting on social media as if they had never seen evil up close? After all, the GPO staff did not take journalists to a movie set—the October 7 atrocities actually happened! Secular media have turned truth upside down by their omission of facts and by neglecting to blame Hamas and its Islamic benefactor for circumstances that Israel did not ask for and did not initiate.

A Washington Post article describes Israel’s war against the “Hamas rule” as one where “Gazans go hungry” and “aid groups retreat.” No! The war is primarily against the Hamas terrorists who attacked the Gaza envelope, murdered 1,200 Israelis, and kidnapped hostages from 18 countries! Americans are still among the hostages. Led by terrorists in expensive suits and flying in private jets, Hamas and its virulent followers certainly have no regard for Israel or any Palestinians. Despite these truths, the blame is laid—as usual—on Israel.

Strident voices accuse Israel of slowing down aid to Gaza. One of the most shocking accusations comes from Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief who asserted that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. However, on April 9 David Mencer, spokesperson at Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate, pushed back, saying enough food is going into Gaza “to feed every single person there.” He added, “The U.N. fails to distribute it and Hamas steals it.” Earlier, on March 14 Elad Goren, head of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), informed reporters: “There is no starvation; there are challenges to accessibility.” Another factor rests on slow-moving humanitarian agencies, with blame (once again) typically laid at Israel’s door.

COGAT reported in an April 11, 2024, press release that 600 humanitarian aid trucks were inside Gaza after coming through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel and were waiting for the United Nations to unload them. COGAT posted a video on X with stacks of aid, pointing out that they must be collected and distributed by the United Nations agencies. Goods have increased, but the UN “must do the job it has been entrusted with.” Nebal Farsakh, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization, is correct in saying, “Once shipments reach the border, at both crossings [Rafah from Egypt and Kerem Shalom from Israel] they are reloaded on to Palestinian trucks.”

She further describes this as “a long and complicated process which delays the delivery of aid.” That said, Israel must inspect the aid trucks. They’re aware of Hamas’s long history of smuggling many thousands of tons of goods—food, medicines, construction materials for institutions—convoyed into Gaza by Israel for reasons of peace. All the while, the Islamic Regime and its handy Hamas surrogate next door to Israel has used much of this aid meant for civilians to build 300 miles of terror tunnels instead. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu observes, “Hamas is coming at gunpoint and stealing the food. Humanitarian deaths and starvation are, for us, a tragedy. For them, it’s a strategy. They think that this will help them place more pressure on Israel to stop the war, leave them in place so they can repeat the October 7 massacre.”

Netanyahu is absolutely right in his assessment of the Hamas character. He understands that their goal remains another October 7 massacre, which they aim to do by demonizing Israel in every way possible via world leaders and media who—whether by naïve choices, secular mindsets, or habitual denial—do not recognize evil and its source. Israel is not a perfect nation. No nation is. Yet, Israel is our spiritual homeland, the birthplace of our life-giving faith through Jewish scribes in the Old and New Testaments and Jesus, our Jewish Savior.

We in the Christian community vividly recognize the difference between good and evil. That is why we have a responsibility to share facts to help Israel fight the well-equipped media warfare against them. Let us encourage Israel in Deuteronomy 20:1-4 with an ancient promise that will not fade away! “The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! … Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and He will give you victory!”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the United Nations to efficiently distribute food and medicines.
• Pray for Christians’ worldwide commitment to oppose media warfare against Israel by sharing facts.
• Pray for the safety of truck drivers delivering goods into Gaza.
• Pray for those unloading and distributing goods to Gaza’s civilians.
• Pray always for hostages, the IDF, PM Netanyahu, and his war cabinet.

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

Passover 2024 began on Monday, April 22. With Passover now in its fourth day, Jewish families worldwide celebrate their freedom festival retelling Moses’ rallying cry to Egypt’s Pharoah: “Let my people go.” In Israel this year, Passover’s rallying cry is “Let our hostages go!” However, the rallying cry on many prominent university campuses glorifies Hamas, the new Nazis. Their hostile shouts, such as “We are Hamas!” reverberate on campuses across the United States with help and funding from their unashamed anti-Israel and antisemitic backers.

Alas, the tsunami of Jew-hatred on American college campuses is not new. In the lead-up to World War II, Hitler handed a far-reaching propaganda portfolio to Joseph Goebbels, his head of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The 35-year-old Goebbels wielded unlimited power over schools, universities, film, radio, and propaganda. When Hitler became dictator in 1933, Goebbels shut down Germany’s free press. The long arm of this 5-foot-5-inch propagandist, who was nicknamed the “poison dwarf,” stretched across the Atlantic to mainstream anti-Semitism into the minds of American college students.  

The “public relations” machine of the demonic duo, Hitler and Goebbels, took hold in the mid-1930s. Their plan included broadcasting Nazis in a good light, drawing German-Americans into their web, using ways to divide Americans, and when war broke out in Europe, Nazis sought to keep Americans out of it at all costs. Fortunately, the Nazi strategy did not appeal to all Americans. Three responses emerged: active opposition to Nazism, disinterest, and yes, on American soil, sympathy for the Nazis.

Examples of pre-World War II anti-Semitism on elite campuses such as Columbia and Harvard are easy to find. Administrators welcomed Nazi leaders to campus, enrolled Nazi-trained German exchange students, and promoted the idea of American students studying in Germany under Nazi oversight. Some returned to the United States mesmerized into supporting Hitler’s “New Germany.”

Today’s ineffectual tolerance of the outbreak of Jew-hatred for the last six months at Columbia University was preceded by a steady, ongoing assault. This blatant antisemitism can be traced all the way back to 1933 with former President Nicholas Murray Butler’s welcome to Nazi Germany’s ambassador, Hans Luther. Butler, like other Ivy League presidents, perhaps naively wished to connect with German universities in the mid-1930s—when Goebbels gradually turned halls of learning into halls of Nazi propaganda. A 2008 Jerusalem Post article pointed out that Stephen Norwood, Ph.D. from Columbia University and author of The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower, said at a conference that “Butler was morally indifferent to Nazi crimes during the critically important early years of Nazi rule.”

Not all American university students accepted the Nazi line. Robert Burke, who was chosen as president of the class of ’38, was expelled from Columbia in 1936 for leading one of the largest anti-Nazi demonstrations on campus. Afterwards, a series of strikes and protests at New York City colleges grew into what would become the longest student free-speech fight until the 1960s. These students demonstrated on the right side of free speech against an enemy, Hitler. The administration’s determined blindness to America’s higher education elites took place even with Nazi atrocities already marching against Jews in kidnappings and murders. 

The pattern of anti-Semitism on college campuses continued into 2007 when Columbia invited then-President of the Islamic Regime, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to speak. Columbia President Lee Bollinger and his administration were aware of Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial and genocidal threats against Israel—including his statement, “The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast.” Ahmadinejad had a dangerous knack of turning the Islamic Regime’s own evil into lies against Israel. Keep this in mind when you hear the Islamic pharaohs and their proxies’ “facts” against Israel. They always describe themselves.

Here’s another example. In 1934, Harvard’s administration and alumni were delighted to receive Ernst Hanfstaengl, the Nazi party foreign press chief arriving from Germany for his 25th class reunion at Harvard. He was regaled at the dinners and meetings where he interacted with prominent alumni in corporate business, banking, and higher education. Just try to imagine the meetings and dinners where Hanfstaengl was quoted as saying, among other such pronouncements, that Jews were “vampires sucking German blood.” Yet Harvard’s student newspaper, The Crimson, had described Hanfstaengl as one who should be honored for his “high position in the government of a friendly country.”

Again, 1930s students bravely rose up at Harvard’s graduation ceremonies. They filled Harvard Square to oppose Hanfstaengl’s presence, demanding that the administration should instead give him a “Doctor of Pogroms” award. University police ripped down the anti-Nazi signs posted on campus. They also arrested some of the protesting students and imprisoned them for six months—without Harvard President James Bryant Conant speaking a word on their behalf.  

History repeats itself with a questionable ambivalence about the safety of Harvard’s Jewish students today. On January 2, 2024, President Claudine Gay resigned after her Congressional testimony, in which she did not clearly condemn anti-Semitism on campus. When asked if calls for genocide against Jews following the Hamas war were in violation of Harvard’s code of conduct, this was her tepid response: “It can be, depending on the context.”  

Regarding Columbia University’s protesting students, the unpeaceful encampment protests were organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest and joined by dozens of student-led organizations. Where are the brave students of yesteryear who opposed Germany’s Nazis? Where are the students standing up for both Jews and Christians on campus to oppose the inhumane new Nazis? Where are the 600 million pro-Israel Christians worldwide who are massively spreading facts and education about Israel, our spiritual homeland?  

Is this where our universities are now? Are they merely elevated institutions for Hamas—the beastly murderers of Jews who imitate Hitler, Goebbels, and the Islamic pharaohs (and their surrogates) cruelly oppressing freedoms within their own populations?

Century upon century—scattered across the world in the Jewish Diaspora—the Jewish community worldwide has celebrated Passover, its oldest festival, which originated more than 3,000 years ago. Jews have steadfastly remembered their exodus from Egypt amid wars, pogroms, persecution, in concentration camps, and now during the first Passover in their modern homeland following the barbaric October 7 attacks. Admittedly in their own words, the Islamic Regime’s new pharaohs recently confessed and boasted about what we knew: their planning of last year’s horrific assault.

Until April 30, Israelis sit with empty chairs at their Passover tables, traumatized and grieving as they think about those they have lost, yet resolute to survive as they always have under the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israelis and Jews worldwide celebrate their history—while clearly understanding shouts from American campuses and worldwide. They all mean death.

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” “Arab blood is not cheap, for the martyrs we will speak.” “Resistance by any means necessary.” “Globalize the intifada!”  “Go back to Poland.” “We are Hamas.” And from a 1930s chant, “Let us all be American Hitlers.”  

An important note! If any readers personally know of Jewish or Christian students intimidated on a university campus due to protestors’ hate speech or physical assaults, contact the American Center for Law and Justice at www.ACLJ.org. Upon reviewing the situation, they are willing to represent college students for free. It is part of their ongoing outreach to stand for freedom!

We welcome you to join our team at CBN Israel this week on behalf of all university students under threat who are standing on the truth of God’s promises. As stated in Isaiah 41:11-12 NIV, “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you  will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.” 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray for wisdom for all parents of students in threatening contexts on campuses.
• Pray for Christian students to stand beside Jewish students in prayerful, protective ways.
• Pray for university administrators to make strong decisions to protect students at risk.
• Pray for university presidents to reject pressures to tolerate Jew hatred on their campuses.

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 

It is time to take a factual refresher course using an age-old question asked of children at the dinner table and on playgrounds: Who did what—who started the bullying? It’s time, because violations between nations require the same investigative questions, followed by enacting common-sense consequences.

Here’s a 2005 fact: Israel unilaterally withdrew 8,000 Jewish citizens from Gaza, forcing them to abandon their homes and businesses. This painful but generous decision in effect gave Palestinians land to found a state. In 2007, Palestinians voted in favor of Hamas rule. Instead of creating a Palestinian state, Hamas created the largest terror enclave in the world—constructing 300 miles of tunnels and firing rockets into Israel day and night for years. 

Facts About Hamas Ceasefires

Leading up to October 7, Hamas and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. However, the terrorists are notorious for their violations. Hamas makes an agreement and then ignores it. Any such promise is nothing but words and lies. In 2014, for example—during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge—Hamas broke the ceasefire by killing two soldiers and kidnapping a third, Hadar Goldin. Hamas still holds the remains of Goldin’s body today, 10 years later! Time has shown that Hamas’s ceasefires with Israel merely set the stage for more violence. For years, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets toward Israelis and attempted to infiltrate and murder them—with body cams triumphantly adding horror to their barbaric resume after the October 7 attacks.   

Hamas is outrageously untrustworthy. Any leader calling for a ceasefire disregards a long resume of evil in hiring Hamas to re-arm and restart its murderous rampages.  

Facts Post-October 7

Beautiful spring flowers still bloom in the land of milk and honey, initially cultivated by Jews more than 100 years ago. Yet the Holy Land—inhabited by its rightful owners and further developed after its 1948 modern founding—is suffering. Non-natives never cared about the land. Although Israelis are amazing and resilient, the deep, ongoing trauma also resides in their minds and hearts.

Jewish traumas stemming from October 7 run as deep as Israelis process the unspeakable barbarity of that day. As they brace for the next ordeal, they cannot forget the hostages imprisoned by violent terrorists. Just the mention of a two-state solution creates even more trauma for Israelis. Israel has been there and done that … many times.  

The solution: Cut off the head of the poisonous Islamic snake—Iran. This serpent and its offspring will keep slithering until this evil is decapitated. The Shi’ite Islamist theocracy poisons its own population, which longs for freedom. If you understand the desperation of the wonderful Persian people also suffering traumas, you can grasp what the world would look like if the Iranian snake ruled the world in an oppressive, reincarnated caliphate.  

Facts About the “Iranian Embassy”

Most world media reported that on April 1, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria. This is inaccurate. The Iranian Embassy still stands and is open. Instead, the Israelis’ airstrike destroyed another building—an annex next door to the embassy serving as a base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian leadership called the embassy a consulate, which was also misleading; consulates are branches of an embassy and are located elsewhere. The annex was given a diplomatic name—because if any embassy or consulate is attacked, that strike is considered a direct attack on a country. These deceptive name changes gave the Islamic Regime excuses to avenge seven IRGC members for the Israeli airstrike on Iran’s embassy.

Why did Israel launch an airstrike on Damascus? Israel had accurate intelligence that a senior Quds Force commander of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Zahedi, was the point-man for Hamas’s October 7 invasion of Israel. Zahedi and seven other IRGC officers were in the annex during the airstrike. In other words, justice was served with accuracy from the nation of Israel defending its people from evil. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces, closely aligned with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised Zahedi for his “strategic role in forming and strengthening the resistance front as well as in planning and executing the [October 7] Al-Aqsa Storm.” This admission was significant since the Ayatollah had denied any involvement with October 7.

April 14, 2024, is the first time Iran attacked Israel since its modern founding in 1948. In fact, a positive relationship had existed between Iran and Israel until the Shia Islamic Regime took over in 1979. Another first: The entire airspace in the Middle East was empty, allowing Israel’s F-35 aircraft to operate. The U.S. military stated that most of the 100-plus ballistic missiles Iran fired were shot down by Israel.

Former President Trump’s leadership in enacting The Abraham Accords in 2020 increased defense cooperation among partners that help deter enemies of the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain—Iran key among those enemies. Iran’s attack from its own soil is the first time that the Abraham Accord signatories had an opportunity to cooperate with intelligence, security, and any actions necessary to deter Iran. Former President Trump deserved a Nobel Peace prize. The Times of Israel reported that Iran’s April 14 attack included 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles—99 percent of which were intercepted by air defenses. According to the IDF’s top spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, “All the drones and cruise missiles were downed outside of the country’s airspace by the Israeli Air Force and its allies, including the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, France, and others.”

Nevertheless, those calling for Israel to use restraint don’t realize that would not be a victorious approach to vanquishing evil. Rather, Israel must behead the Islamic snake. My questions at the beginning were: “Who did what—who started the bullying?” The bully is Iran, the biggest terror bully on the globe. World leaders must back off telling Israel it has won a victory. Israel’s accomplishments thus far are fantastic, yes—but stopping at this point will not stop a bully. At some point, Israel, the United States, and their allies must finish the job and end Iran’s poisonous influence on its citizens, Israel, and the world.

In the meantime, beware. The Islamic Regime’s propaganda spreads into every crevice of naïve minds. At this moment in world history, it is our responsibility to pray and consult trustworthy media sources. Here are a few: The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, CBN Israel, CBN News, All Israel News, Erick Stakelbeck on TBN, Amir Tsarfati’s Behold Israel on Telegram, and Christian organizations you trust such as The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and Israel Allies Foundation.

Join our CBN Israel team this week to pray using God’s wonderful promise in Isaiah 31:5—“Like flying birds, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it.” 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray that world leaders will respect Israel’s sovereignty for victory over Iran and its surrogates.
• Pray that the Biden administration will renew sanctions against the Islamic regime.
• Pray that Israel will eliminate Iranian nuclear and drone sites.
• Pray that world leaders realize that Israel’s fight for freedom is a fight for all free nations. 
• Pray for Israel’s victories against Gaza, Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraq.

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

After six months of justly defending against Hamas’s barbaric invasion into their homeland on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been accused of every evil that has been executed by the terrorists themselves. Iran and its terror proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—are proficient propagandists.

Note the word “Defense” in the IDF’s official name. Israelis are not warmongers. Indeed, after its modern founding on May 14, 1948, Israel was invaded in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, and 2023. Not counting years of unrelenting rocket fire from terrorist enclaves and the two Palestinian-incited Intifadas—one beginning in 1987 and the other in 2000—unrelenting hatred has forced Israel to defend its population and develop into the most powerful, yet moral, military in the world.

Hamas tore pages out of Hitler’s still-popular 1925 autobiography Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) by using his strategies to murder 1,200 people last October. In this book, Hitler wrote about the “big lie.” He described this propaganda technique as being so “colossal,” no one would believe that his “impudence to distort the truth so infamously” would even be attempted. Re-enacted now by new Nazis copying advice from the almost 100-year-old book, this technique has obviously been successful. The world is easily swayed by twisted headlines and outright lies. The IDF has recently found Arabic copies of Mein Kampf in Gaza and in Lebanon and Palestinian Authority territories during past conflicts. As a guidebook, Mein Kampf points straight at terrorist mindsets based on their devotion to Hitler’s techniques and their implacable hatred of Jews.

Israel now faces the worst and most prolific propaganda I have ever witnessed as an Israel advocate. With Hitler’s demonic book and Holocaust era murders, Hamas and their sympathizers are using the same strategy: “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” It is inconceivable that much of the world’s mainstream media puts its stamp of approval on terrorist lies that glorify Hitler’s strategies. In addition, the media have chosen to believe the Hamas Ministry of Health’s inflated numbers of civilian deaths. This is journalism? Many within the media have shifted from believing Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO) facts to tearing the IDF apart and blaming them for their nation’s existential fight. They have erased truth and wisdom from their pages and broadcasts with the inflammatory, unsubstantiated facts they received from other sources.

Stop for a moment and absorb the following. To mark six months since the Simchat Torah massacre of October 7 and the outbreak of the Hamas War, the National Public Diplomacy Directorate and the GPO have summarized media statistics. In October and November 2023, the largest media events since Israel’s modern founding in 1948 took place. Over 4,000 foreign journalists gathered from all over the world. Five hundred hours of video were broadcast from the destroyed kibbutzim and Sderot. The GPO conducted 60 tours. Screenings of the October 7 “atrocities film” took place with an IDF spokesperson. (As a reminder, this disturbing footage was taken with the body cams and iPhones of the Hamas terrorists themselves.) My friend Nitzan Chen, director of the GPO, has worked in heroic efforts with his staff. Nitzan narrates this YouTube video.

Now, I am highlighting the IDF’s humanitarian policies that conform to the International Laws of War within their moral compass regarding civilians living in enemy territories. Unique to the Israeli military, these foundational policies toward civilians have guided the IDF for decades in defensive wars. However, due to the enormous challenges of urban warfare in Gaza’s crowded locations, the IDF is implementing an even more meticulous set of lifesaving standards to minimize civilian casualties.

The contrasts between Hamas and the IDF are stark. The IDF’s mission is to protect its population and provide security. By contrast, Hamas uses Gazan civilians—including women and children—as human shields. (Their top leaders are multi-millionaires and live safely in Qatar, over 1,000 miles away.) John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, served for 25 years as an infantry soldier with two tours in Iraq. This expert observed, “Israel has taken more measures to avoid needless civilian harm than virtually any other nation that’s fought an urban war. No military has ever implemented any of these practices in war before.”

What follows are some of the IDF’s long-time practices. Before impending strikes, Israel sends texts and pre-recorded phone messages and makes real-time phone calls. The Israel Air Force (IAF) drops leaflets urging civilians to vacate buildings where Hamas weapons are stored, warning them to move away from Hamas. The IAF uses a roof knock—dropping a loud but non-lethal bomb that warns residents to leave the building within the hour.

Another example is simply a comparison, not intended to demean our American forces that fought in the Iraq War. John Spencer reveals that the United States did not alert Iraq before its initial invasion in 2003, despite involving major urban battles in Baghdad, nor an alert for civilians in its first Battle of Fallujah. Before the second Battle of Fallujah, a civilian warning took place.

Hamas terrorists are an army of cowards. Rather than dressing in military uniforms to fight conventional warfare, they wear ordinary civilian attire and hide among the population. Israeli military policies to decrease Gazan civilian deaths via advance warnings increase the possibility of death and injury for Israeli soldiers. Alerted, Hamas terrorists pop up out of tunnel openings in Gaza armed and ready to kill, or to plant IEDs in tunnels where the IDF is searching for hostages or eliminating terrorists. The criticisms from world governments, violent demonstrators, and mainstream media are outrageous and hypocritical. Indeed, we live in a world in which the famous biblical prophet Isaiah wrote in chapter 5, verse 20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

To expose today’s slanders against the IDF, the Christian community must remember and proactively share IDF policies, abandon apathy, and maintain vigilance. Choose to consult trusted media and organizations like CBN News, Chris Mitchell on Jerusalem Dateline, Stakelbeck Tonight on TBN, All Israel News, Amir Tsarfati’s Telegram, and Israel Defense and Security Forum. Dismiss denial and naivete, and most of all, share the facts.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join in our ongoing prayers for Israel, our spiritual homeland, and to recall John 1:5—“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for all men and women serving in the IDF in all positions for strength and hope.
• Pray for the families of 604* IDF soldiers who have died defending their nation.
• Pray for the total of 3,202* IDF soldiers mildly, moderately, or severely wounded.
• Pray for the soldiers traumatized by the deaths and injuries of their compatriots.
• Pray for Director Nitzan Chen and his heroic staff at Israel’s Government Press Office.    

*These figures were updated April 7, 2024, by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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.