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By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza sank even deeper into the depths of their demonic deeds last Thursday by exhibiting the unthinkable on their stage of horror. Four coffins sat in front of a large backdrop picturing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire salivating blood. A photo over his chest showed Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old man; Shiri Bibas, 32; and her two young sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir. The poster’s headline read: “The War Criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi Army Killed them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes.”

That headline has been flashed around the world by news outlets, horrified at the savage, inhumane treatment these innocent civilians were subjected to by their Hamas abductors—and at the way the perpetrators attempted to blame Israel for atrocities that Hamas committed. Not only was the global response quick and scathing, but Argentina announced two days of mourning for the boys who, like their parents, were dual Israeli-Argentinean citizens. In fact, that country is considering renaming “Palestine Street” to “Bibas Family Street.”

The real war criminals handed over the four coffins—deliberately locked—to the IDF with no keys provided. After the IDF had reverently transported the precious remains to Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification, the woman in the coffin (labeled with Shiri’s head shot) proved to be someone other than Shiri Bibas. The monsters had purposely sent a coffin containing an unknown Palestinian woman—a move that threatened to derail the already fragile ceasefire agreement with the enraged Israelis. Hamas, like the Nazis, are experts in deliberately prolonging psychological warfare. They released Shiri’s body a day later.

When the forensic findings were made public, the professional scientists—who had previously examined every kind of injury—expressed profound shock. They said they had never seen any bodies so thoroughly mutilated.

The forensics revealed that mother and children were murdered in November 2023 in Gaza shortly after being kidnapped. Their captors first choked to death Shiri, Ariel and Kfir with their bare hands, then broke every bone in the captives’ bodies, and desecrated those precious bodies with knives.

Hearing the details from Behold Israel President Amir Tsarfati on his Telegram channel, I sat shocked just listening to it. My husband Paul prayed with faith that while this depth of evil is beyond comprehension, God is sovereign, and His Holy Spirit is our source of comfort and counsel. Psalm 147: 3-5. “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.” 

Believers, we must continually embrace this verse so that we can remain strong. God has graciously invited us to serve as His emissaries in a world covered with darkness and desperate for the Light. Evil is on exhibit from the Islamic Regime and its willing proxies of hate. We must frequently pray Psalm 147:3-5 for our Israeli friends and remain alert and active on behalf of Israel. Leaning into our Lord, we must truly grasp as best we can the level of Israel’s national traumas. Christians must rise up amid hateful lawlessness counting on Jesus, our Jewish Redeemer, Whom we can trust in any crisis.

Switching to another exhibit of evil at a funeral: On February 23 in Beirut, Lebanon, a stadium crowded with tens of thousands of Hezbollah and Iranian supporters cried and worshipped their dead leader, Hassan Nasrallah, while chanting “Death to Israel!” They had called Nasrallah their “victorious hero.” Israel eliminated him in Beirut, hiding in a deep underground location on September 27, 2023. The citizens of tiny Israel are in truth the “victorious heroes”—who often miraculously decimate huge swaths of Hezbollah’s terror operations.

During the funeral, IDF fighter jets flew low over the stadium several times as a direct reminder of Israel’s vastly superior military strength. Teeming thousands of terrorists roared “Death to Israel.” Keep in mind, Israel could have dropped bombs into the stadium. Instead, the flyover exemplified the IDF’s military policy not to harm civilians—even at great danger to themselves.

Israel is not only defending its ancestral homeland from an onslaught of warmongers but stands  on the front lines of freedom for the world. These defensive measures will continue until Hezbollah is stopped from enacting the Islamic Regime’s plans against every “infidel”—be they Jewish, Christian, Israeli, from the U.S. and from other free nations.

Backtracking to a quote, the day before the release of the Bibas/Lifshitz murdered hostages, an Al-Mujahideen Brigade terrorist announced: “The bodies of the Bibas family members who were kidnapped by our people on 7.10 will be handed over. We guarded them properly according to Islamic religious customs.” The masked terrorist then claimed, “They were killed in an Israeli attack along with those who guarded them. We held the bodies throughout the war.” Once again, we see that the fanatics’ shameless propaganda has no end.

In an unexpected turnabout, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, deviated from his and the UN’s habitual anti-Israel stance when he declared, “Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”

However, antisemitic hatred is still celebrated here in the U.S. by those chanting against Israel and glorifying terrorists holding Hamas flags and by other hateful propaganda celebrations. Ahmed Abu Daamus, also known as Abu Iyad, runs a popular Telegram channel with more than 800,000 followers. Iyad is an Arab lawyer in East Jerusalem. Israel arrested and placed him on administrative detention early in the war for “severe incitement” against that nation. Now released, he feeds propaganda to his fans. He mocked the return of the hostage coffins and shows a well-known video that his audience clearly loves. It features Palestinians dancing among coffins in happiness.

By now, I am hopeful that the anti-Jewish world clearly understands the nature of the Islamic Regime and its terror proxies. Lying is a malicious art form that the Islamic Regime has perfected—especially lying to those they consider to be infidels: non-Muslims. So: be wise. Be informed.

On her Substack, “Blacklisted,” gifted journalist Eve Barlow summed up the Bibas murders eloquently. “We held onto hope for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. But our hope was just the toy of the Palestinians. There was no hope for them, because they were murdered long ago. They were murdered by savages. Yarden [husband and father] was kept alive, and starved in captivity to add salt into the wounds of an entire people. The Palestinians played with our hope. because that is what evil does.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray Psalm 147:3-5 with us.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for Israel—and U.S. leaders—to make the wisest decisions possible.
• Pray for the ever-deepening traumas Israel is facing nationally.
• Pray for more Christians to wake up to a profound reality of evil and get engaged under God’s direction.
• Pray for all of us at the National Religious Broadcaster media convention to increase our messages from God’s heart to the world.

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer Points:

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

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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