Current Events and Links

Prophetic Significance of Israel

Trump poised to move U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare the ancient city the capital of Israel

Dec. 1, 2017 -

President Trump is preparing to formally declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and order a review of the best way to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, two officials said Thursday.

Source: LA Times

Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is what ‘we as Israelis want to see,’ former prime minister says - PBS

What a US embassy in Jerusalem means to Palestinians - Al Jazeera

American and Israeli officials downplay reports of imminent embassy move - Jerusalem Post

Prophetic Significance of Israel

Today, Israelis mark the 70th anniversary of the historic U.N. “Partition Plan” vote to reestablish the Jewish State. Sadly, the conflict is not over. We must still pray for & seek peace, especially as followers of Jesus.

Nov. 29, 2017 -

After two thousand years in exile from the Biblical land of Israel, the world finally gave Jews legal permission to re-gather and rebuild the ancient ruins...
Six months later — on May 14th, 1948 — David Ben Gurion formally declared Israel’s independence.

Source: Joel Rosenberg

Michael Goodwin: The miracle of Israel lives on 70 years later - Fox

Is Saudi Arabia Pushing Israel Into War With Hezbollah and Iran?

Nov. 10, 2017 -

What connects Lebanese PM Saad Hariri's sudden resignation and Hezbollah's assassination threat with Saudi Arabia and Israel? It's all about Iran. But Israel must not be maneuvered by an impatient Riyadh into a premature confrontation

Source: Haaretz

Exit of Lebanon's Hariri Increases Instability on Israel's Front With Hezbollah - Haaaretz

Britain Proud of Balfour Declaration: 100 Years On, Says it Created ‘Great Nation’ of Israel

This Thursday marks the centenary of the Balfour Declaration — a one-sentence, 67-word letter from Britain’s then foreign secretary Arthur Balfour that threw London’s backing behind a permanent homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Source: Breitbart

Balfour Declaration - Wikipedia

From Balfour to Nikki Haley: A Century of Christian Zionist Support for Israel - Breaking Israel News

The Growing Autocracy of the Palestinian Authority

Oct. 25, 2017 - The Palestinian Authority continues to violate the Oslo accords which created it and still funds it.

The Palestinian Authority, the self-governing body that rules the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), hailed a terrorist named Ahmed Al-Jamal, for murdering three Israelis. Twenty-four hours later, the PA was welcomed into INTERPOL.

Source: Camera -Committee for Acuracy in Middle East Reporting in America

Israeli, Russian & Iranian interests collide in Syria

Oct. 21, 2017 - Following a recent episode in Syria, where Syrians fired a SAM-5 anti-aircraft missile to try to bring down an Israeli reconnaissance plane, Israel demolished their missile battery. This raises the issue of Russian presence and influence in Syria. Russia has an airbase at Khmeimim and a naval base in Tartus.

Russia maintains a formidable military presence in Syria. Israel and Russia maintain cordial relations but a miscalculation by a jittery Russian technician sitting behind a computer screen could trigger a clash between Israeli and Russian forces.

Source: Front Page

Netanyahu: If we are not in the Jordan Valley, Iran will be

Oct. 19,, 2017 -

Iran will take over the Jordan Valley unless Israel maintains a military and civilian presence in the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday night at a jubilee event marking the 50th anniversary of the state’s control of the region.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Day set aside to pray for peace of Jerusalem

Sept. 30, 2017 - This Sunday is the annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. Christians will “cry out to God on behalf of Israel and its people.

“It is expected there will be at least 175 participating nations and 500 million believers praying,” [according to] officials with Liberty Counsel, a religious rights organization that officially supports the Middle East democracy.

Source: WND

Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem

Netanyahu convenes security cabinet to discuss Iran missile threat

Sept. 24, 2017 - After Iran tested a ballistic missile that can reach Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a special meeting of his security cabinet.

On Saturday, Iran said it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile, in defiance of warnings from Washington that it is ready to ditch the landmark nuclear deal over the issue.

Netanyahu will also brief the cabinet on his recent discussions in New York with President Trump and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Source: Times of Israel

Analysis Israel Simulates War With Hezbollah, but Iran Will Orchestrate Next Conflict in Lebanon and Syria - Haaretz

Israel Shoots Down Iranian-made Hezbollah Drone Over Syria Border

Sept. 20, 2017 - While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a drone-- made by Iran and operated by Hezbollah-- flew into the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights which separates Israel and Syria.

The Israel Air Force’s aerial defense command fired a Patriot missile and destroyed the drone. 

Source: Haaretz

Israel and US Open First American Military Base in Israel

Sept. 19, 2017 - A small American military presence has been established within an existing Israeli air force base.

The base's opening is largely symbolic and isn't expected to bring operational changes. But the Israeli military says that along with other measures, it sends a message of readiness to Israel's enemies.

Source: Voice of America

What We Know So Far About Israel's Alleged Strike in Syria

Sept. 9,, 2017 -

Satellite Images Show Destruction at Syria's Missile Factory After Alleged Israeli Strike ... The alleged Israeli strike took place exactly 10 years after Israel took out Bashar Assad's nuclear reactor.

Source: Haaretz

In Syria, Israel intervenes at its peril - Arab News

Israeli official: If Iran expands in Syria We'll bomb Assad's Palace

Aug. 28, 2019 -

A senior Israeli official warned the Russian government that if Iran continues to extend its reach in Syria, Israel will bomb Syrian President Bashar Assad's palace in Damascus, according to reports in Arab media.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Netanyahu to Putin: Iran continues to threaten our existence

Aug. 24, 2017 - At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israel's Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu said:

"Iran continues to threaten Israel's existence, and it funds terror organizations and missile plans," Netanyahu told Putin. "Wherever ISIS disappeared, Iran has taken over."

Source: Israel National News

President Trump Sends Jared Kushner to Israel to Help Broker a Peace Deal

Aug. 23, 2017 - President Trump is sending a delegation to the Middle East to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, extremism and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. His son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will lead the team. They plan to meet with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Trump’s sending the delegation to try to take advantage of a period of relative calm following violent clashes last month over Israeli security arrangements at the Jerusalem shrine known to Jews as Temple Mount.

Source: Fortune

Barcelona's Chief Rabbi Urges Jews to Move to Israel: 'Europe Is Lost'

Aug. 20, 2017 - According to Barcelona's chief rabbi, Meir Bar-Hen, the terrorist attack there shows that Spain has been a "hub of Islamist terror for all of Europe" for years.

"This place is lost," he said. "Don't repeat the mistake of Algerian Jews, of Venezuelan Jews. "Better [get out] early than late... Europe is lost."

The rabbi urges them to buy property in Israel.

Source: NewsMax

ISIS claims Cambrils attack, boasts of wounding '120 Crusaders and Jews' - YNet News

How ISIS is appropriating the Crusades: A Medieval historian's take - Newsweek

Seeing ‘opportunity’ to renew talks, Trump sends three envoys to region

Aug. 4, 2017 - President Trump sees the relative calm in Jerusalem as an opportunity to send three of his top envoys to the region to encourage peace talks.

Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell will all soon head to the Middle East.

The trio will discuss the way forward with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Source: Times of Israel

Israeli jets hit Hamas targets in Gaza following rocket strike

Israeli jets struck two Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday, injuring at least three people, hours after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave hit an open area in southern Israel.

Source: Times of Israel

Kissinger: End of Islamic State Could Lead To ‘Iranian Radical Empire’

Aug. 6, 2017 -

Kissinger cautioned that ... driving out the Sunni terror group would leave a “territorial belt reaching from Tehran to Beirut” that Iranian-trained Shia forces could occupy.

Source: Breitbart

Why Israel Is Concerned About American-Russian Understandings on Syria - Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

'Iranian empire is being established - and the US does nothing' - Israel National News

US Senate panel approves bill to suspend aid to Palestinians

Aug. 6, 2017 - A US Senate committee introduced the 'Taylor Force Act'—a bill, which, if approved, will suspend US financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority as long as they provide incentives for terrorism.

The Palestinian Authority has "enshrined in law" a system that creates a monetary incentive for acts of terrorism by paying monthly stipends of as much as $3,500 to Palestinians who commit acts of violence and to their families.

Source: YNet News

Evangelical leader calls Islamist-backing Christians heretics - WND

Jews visit contested Jerusalem holy site on day of mourning

Aug. 1, 2017 - In the wake of rioting in Jerusalem over the use of the Temple Mount, brave Jewish worshippers flocked to the area to observe Tisha B'Av, the annual Jewish day of mourning over the destruction of the biblical temples.

The site is also the location of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is administered by Muslims. Jews can visit the area but not pray there.

Azzam Khateeb, director of the Muslim administration, the Waqf, says 870 Jews visited. He said "this is unprecedented, unacceptable and should stop."

Source:Fox

Jews prepare for Tisha B’Av fast - YNet News

Record numbers of Jews visit the Temple Mount Tisha Be'Av morning - Jerusalem Post

Many Christians unaware of crucial info about 9th of Av on Tuesday - WND

Middle East Quartet condemns terror and violence, calls to work toward de-escalation

July 22, 2017 - The Middle East Quartet (Russia, the US, the EU and the UN) called for peace in Jerusalem. they "strongly condemn acts of terror, express their regret for all loss of innocent life caused by the violence, and hope for a speedy recovery to the wounded."

Source: Ynet News

Will Shabbat Massacre Usher in Final War for Third Temple? - Breaking Israel News

Catholic Churches in Jerusalem Blame Israel for Muslim Violence, Deny Biblical Roots of Temple Mount - Breaking Israel News

Jerusalem: Israel installs security cameras at holy site

July 23, 2017 - Following the deaths of two Israeli policemen and three Jewish family members, Israeli authorities have placed closed circuit security cameras at the entrance to the Temple Mount.

Palestinian officials are yet to react to the installation of the security cameras. There has been speculation that they are meant to replace the metal detectors, but Israeli security sources have been quoted as saying that is not the case.

Source: BBC

Funerals begin for three family members killed in terror attack - Times of Israel

Israel cracks down on Hamas in West Bank after deadly attack - Jerusalem Post

Abbas confirms he halted security coordination, warns Israelis will ‘lose’ - Times of Israel

Arab MK says Third Intifada has already begun

July 22, 2017 - Taleb Abu Arar, an Arab Member of Israel's Parliament, complained about the placing of metal detectors at the Al-aksa Mosque, and the killing of three Palestinians following weekly prayers in Jerusalem.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Six dead as Israeli-Palestinian tensions boil over - The Guardian

Abbas announces immediate halt to ‘all contacts’ with Israel - Times of Israel

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Pence: Embassy move to Jerusalem is question of 'When, not If'

July 19, 2017 - Vice President Mike Pence told delegates of the 12th annual Christians United for Israel summit in Washington that he and President Trump will always stand with Israel. He said,

“I promise you that the day will come when President Donald Trump moves the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It is not a question of if, it is only when.”

Source: Jerusalem Post

Netanyahu: Israel won't tolerate Iranian bases in Lebanon, Syria

July 16, 2017 =

Jerusalem maintains that Iran is not only interested in sending military advisers to Syria, but also is keen on establishing ground and air bases there... He said that Israel would oppose any agreement [for] a permanent Iranian military presence there.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Hezbollah threatens missile attacks against Israel

July 10, 2017 - According to Israeli IDF Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Herzl Halevi, Iran is helping Hezbollah produce its own advanced missiles and other weapons systems, which they are now illegally transporting to southern Lebanon.

Over the past 11 years, Hezbollah’s missile arsenal has become an unacceptable and ever-growing strategic threat to Israel. Whereas in 2006 Hezbollah’s missile arsenal numbered some 15,000 rockets, today it fields approximately 150,000.

Source:FrontPageMagazine

Israeli Minister Working on Bill That Would Make It Harder to Divide Jerusalem

Jun. 18, 2017 - Naftali Bennett, the leader of Israel's conservative Hayehudi party, is calling for legislation that would make it harder for Israel to divide Jerusalem as part of any future peace deal with the Palestinians. He told a television reporter, “There cannot be a compromise regarding Jerusalem because it must stay united forever."

Source: Haaretz

Nikki Haley says US may leave UN Human Rights Council over 'anti-Israel bias'

Jun. 6, 2017 -

The Trump administration is considering withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council over what the US ambassador described as its biased stance against Israel.

Source: Telegraph

US warning over its UN Human Rights Council role - BBC Update: 6/7/17 -

Stunning! Senate OKs U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem resolution 90-to-0 - The U.S. Senate, in an extremely rare moment of action without any opposition, has adopted a resolution calling on President Trump to abide by a 1995 law that calls for the U.S. Embassy to be in Jerusalem. - WND

In Geneva, Haley to demand Human Rights Council change its treatment of Israel

Jun. 6, 2017 - Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, will address the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today.

Speculation has mounted that her speech will warn members to rectify its “anti-Israel bias” or face a hostile United States prepared to withdraw from the body.

Source: Times of Israel

US Ambassador Has Message for 'Corrupt' UN Rights Body - Haley said the council must "end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism." - Voice of America

President Trump Delays Israel Embassy Move

Jun. 2, 2017 -

No one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President's strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance. President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Source: The White House

Netanyahu: We appreciate Trump's commitment to moving Embassy in future - WND

Embassy location ‘part of peace process,’ Ambassador Haley says - Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem Day: 50th Anniversary
Netanyahu Vows: Temple Mount Will Stay Under Israeli Sovereignty "Forever"

May 25, 2017

During a celebration for Jerusalem Day at the Israeli Knesset, marking the 50th anniversary of the capital city’s reunification, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the Temple Mount and Western Wall would remain under Israeli sovereignty.

Source: Breaking Israel News

'In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem' Debuts Nationwide to Sold-Out Audiences - From the Big Apple to the nation's capital, moviegoers are raving about "In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem." The CBN-produced docu-drama recounts the harrowing tale of Israel's Six-Day War and the paratroopers who led them to victory. - CBN

Encore showing of "In Our Hands" - June 1

Trump: 'Rare opportunity' exists for peace in Middle East

May 22, 2017 - Arriving at Israel's Tel Aviv airport, President Trump was greeted by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a brief speech Netanyahu expressed his willingness to make peace with the Palestinians. Then President Trump spoke:

We have a rare opportunity to bring stability and peace in this region, defeat terror and create a future of peace... We can only get there by working together – there is no other way.”

Source: Fox

Trump Arrives In Israel For Second Leg Of International Trip - NPR

Haley Echoes Trump Desire to Move US Embassy to Jerusalem

May 17,, 2017 - U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told a CBN reporter that she agrees with President Trump's campaign vision of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

"Obviously, I believe that the capital should be Jerusalem, and the embassy should be moved to Jerusalem, because ... all their government is in Jerusalem,"

Source: NewsMax

Rare pre-state document claims Israel entitled to Judea, Samaria

May 2, 2017 -

A newly preserved pre-state memorandum by some of the leading figures in the American Jewish community suggests that unlike today, prior to the establishment of Israel, American Jewry embraced Israel’s claim to the historic Jewish homeland, including Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.

Source: Israel National News

President urges world to recognize Jerusalem, move embassies - Times of Israel

Israel, Palestinians battle for votes over Jerusalem resolution at UNESCO

May 1, 2017 -

Israel is battling to prevent a public-relations victory for the Palestinians at the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris, which is expected to disavow Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem on Independence Day.

Source: Jerusalem Post