Shalom from Zion,

Israel's modern restoration is central to what God is doing today! God is restoring His people to their promised inheritance – the Land of Israel – with all of His heart and soul (Jer. 32:41). Amos 9:15 says that once Israel is settled in their land, they will never be uprooted again. Ezekiel 39:28 sees a day when no Jews will live outside of His land. The prophet Zechariah describes a future Jerusalem's streets filled with old people and children (8:1-8), and in 12:2-3 he relates what must have seemed far-fetched to him as he was looking at Jerusalem in ruins, and God said it would one day become the center of world-wide attention!

Other prophecies being fulfilled today (Psa. 147:2; Ezek. 36:1-38; 37:1-14; Joel 3:1-2; Mal. 1:5, etc.) highlight Israel's restoration as divinely important. God loves the truth (3 John 1:3); He is not a man who lies (Num. 23:19); His Word does not return empty, but it does that for which He sends it forth (Isa. 55:11). God watches over/guards His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12).

God uses His foreknowledge of future events as proof that He is who He claims to be (Isa. 46:9-10; 2 Pet. 1:19). So if these prophetic words concerning Israel were not to come to pass…

Israel to hold third elections

We were tested to trust that God reigns when we watched Israeli politicians' petty arguments as to why they would not be part of a government led by Prime Minister [PM] Bibi Netanyahu. Egos prevailed; Israel will hold another election on March 2, 2020.

There is good news: the transitional government is led by PM Netanyahu, and when it comes to Israel's security and foreign relations – there is no one we would rather see in that seat today.

Intercessors for Israel has heard from some intercessors that this lack of a permanent government could be Israel's protection from US President Trump's "Deal of the Century" peace plan. Only time will tell, since no one knows what that plan entails.

We continue to pray. Please join us as we ask for God to raise up a government through which He alone will be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3). IFI's Friday Prayer Alerts can either be read online or you can sign up to receive them via e-mail: www.ifi.org.il.

Liberal left danger

Author Daniel Gordis said Israel's September election had many American Jews hoping that Netanyahu would finally lose. Being "overwhelmingly Democrats and liberals," they do not care for Israel's longest-serving prime minister. Bibi insulted ex-President Obama, and tried to stop his Iranian nuclear deal. He pushed the "2018 law declaring Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people" which many US Jews see as eroding Israel's democracy, and of course, he is also blamed for the lack of peace with the Palestinians.

Yet there is a real misunderstanding of Israeli democracy by US Jews. The US Declaration of Independence begins, "When in the course of human events," while Israel's begins, "The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people." America was created as a sanctuary for "huddled masses yearning to breathe free," as the poem on the Statue of Liberty says, but Israel was created, as the 1917 British Balfour Declaration says, to be "a national home for the Jewish people." So US Jews must not expect Israel to prioritize like America.

Many US Jews chant, "End the occupation," but Israelis know that leaving Judea and Samaria would lead to that area turning into "a breeding ground for terrorists, as happened with Gaza…"

US Jews see the conflict "with the Palestinians as a civil-rights issue. Israelis see it as a survival issue." A nation's first obligation is its citizens' security, "and any government Israelis elect will understand that."

US Jews and Americans in general, must recognize "that despite all their similarities," the USA and Israel "are radically different endeavors. One was meant to embrace all of humanity, while the other was intended to save the Jewish people." ("What American Jews just don't get about Israel," D. Gordis, NY Post Op-ed, 7 Sept. 2019)

Eric Mandel said, "Most Israelis…are unapologetically proud to be Jewish," with an "understanding of 3,000 years' continuous narrative of a people who," by God's help have re-entered history, living as a nation "in their ancestral homeland."

Yet biblical Zionism causes angst in "American progressive Jews" who view Judaism the way Palestinians define it: "a religion without legitimate national rights." They can accept "stories of powerless, persecuted Jews, especially from the Holocaust, but if Israelis defend themselves and prosper," they are accused of colonialism, and war crimes. ("Progressive Jewish Americans & the legitimacy of Zionism," E. R. Mandel, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 25 Oct. 2019)

The battle against Western biblical foundations

Italian journalist Giulio Meotti sees Europe rejecting its history and civilization by cutting all links with its Christian roots, yet it is open to Islam. There is great danger because of this anti-God stance. "Disintegration of Western nation-states is a real possibility. Multiculturalism…massive de-Christianization and cultural self-repudiation" is leading to the breakup of the EU and the end of Western civilization. ("European dreams vs. mass migration," G. Meotti, Gatestone Institute, 1 Sept. 2019) [As the EU demands God's land be divided, we see God dividing the EU (Joel 3:1-2; Gal. 6:7).]

In a speech at Notre Dame University, US Attorney General Wm. Barr, a devout Catholic, blasted "militant secularists" and their "attacks on Judeo-Christian values," saying "the problem is not that religion is being forced on others," but that "secular values are being forced on people of faith…

"We are told we are living in a post-Christian era, but what has replaced the Judeo-Christian moral system? What…can fill the spiritual void in the hearts of the individual person? And what is the system of values that can sustain human social life?" ("AG Barr blasts 'militant secularists' in speech on religious freedom," Fox News, 15 Oct. 2019)

UK columnist Melanie Phillips also sees the West as warring against its "Christian foundations…and the moral precepts of the Hebrew Bible that underpin them."

This attack, "by the combined forces of secularism and Marxist beliefs posing as liberalism," aims to create "a new world order in which God is dethroned by mankind, biblical morality is replaced by secular ideology, and truth is subordinated to power. Moral and cultural relativism" replace "'what is right or true' by 'what is right or true for me'." The biblical example of one man-one woman marriage is "replaced by 'lifestyle choice'." Viewing mankind as the climax of creation with "a duty to steward the natural world" is being "replaced by the pagan belief in the superiority of the natural world over mankind. The principle that every individual merits equal respect," since all are made in God's image, is now replaced by the idea that all are "entitled to the same outcomes as everyone else, regardless of behavior, thus negating moral responsibility for one's own actions."

Biblical laws, foundational for Western civilization, are now viewed as inhumane, antiquated and no longer valid. Yet the US constitution was based on biblical principles as seen in the ancient kingdom of Israel. "This is why traditional, biblically faithful American Christians stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish people and are among the strongest supporters of the State of Israel in the world – more so even than many Jews." ("The contemporary clash between faith & politics in the West," M. Phillips, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 9 Nov. 2019)

Israeli-Palestinian peace is still a pipedream

An Israel Hayom op-ed says, "The Israeli Left is certain that the conflict between us and the Arabs is over something specific, like …the right to the land, and that Jews and Arabs can compromise and make up." Yet this is "western reasoning" where people see what they gain against what the other gains and since "everyone wants to live…in peace," they seek a compromise, even if painful, "because that's better than an ongoing bloody conflict."

An Arab/Islamic mindset is different. "Jihad [holy war] takes precedence over everything," which explains a report on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ] Gaza summer camps. There are no pools or gyms, music or dancing, instead thousands of youth "train as an army for Judgment Day." Activities include obstacle courses, and target practice with real weapons. "There are no lectures on reconciliation or peace with Jews," as they prepare for one goal: "to oust the Jews" – completely. So far, more than 300,000 kids have been summer camp brainwashed. ("The Left lives in a fairy tale," Dud Elharar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 July 2019)

Many Arab nations want relations with Israel and are fed up that the Palestinian issue prevents this, yet most Western nations, other than the US, still demand the "2-state" solution. At the UN, Germany criticized J. Greenblatt, then-US envoy for ME peace, on the US administration's approach to Israeli-Palestinian peace, saying America had "left the international consensus." Later, Greenblatt noted, "[We] couldn't even get an international consensus to condemn Hamas," a terror organization vowing to destroy Israel, and firing thousands of rockets at it. "If there's no international consensus on that, there's no international consensus on a resolution." ("US peace envoy: There's 'no international consensus' on ME conflict," TOI, 10 Aug. 2019)

Josh Hammer said the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [BDS] movement "seeks to economically, diplomatically, militarily, and culturally ostracize, undermine, and (yes) destroy the world's sole Jewish state." It was "unequivocally renounced" by the US House of Representatives, in a 398–17 vote. Yet the House also called on Israel to implement a "two-state solution."

In reply, "21 conservative members of Israel's parliament … sent a terse letter to thank the House for its anti-BDS resolution" but also chastised it over the pro-"two-state solution" language, saying "establishment of a Palestinian state would be far more dangerous to Israel than BDS."

Hammer: The "two-state solution," based on the Oslo Peace Accords, expects the Jewish state of Israel" to provide an Islamic "stronghold" in its "New Jersey-sized nation-state," by retreating to "legally meaningless," under international law, 1967 borders, leaving it "nine miles wide at its narrowest point," an area so indefensible that many Israeli military and political leaders have called it "Auschwitz borders." Also, Judea and Samaria, "the biblical Jewish heartland" would be Judenrein – free of Jews – in a future Palestine, but this area "is geographically indispensable for the Jewish state's security."

Also, Palestinians are not ready to have their own state. They have embraced jihadism "as a virtuous way of life." They refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish state, but seek its destruction through warfare and lawfare. They've not developed any kind of civilized society but instead, invest in the "subsidization of Jew-killing jihadi 'martyrs'." ("Yes, a Palestinian State is 'far more dangerous to Israel' than the BDS movement," J. Hammer, The Daily Wire, 20 Aug. 2019)

Gaza – the truth

Israel's disengagement from Gaza has been a disaster for both Israelis and Gazans. Several times a year, the Hamas terrorists now in charge there fire rockets at Israeli civilians and each Friday they hold hate-filled destructive demonstrations along the Gaza security fence. Yet what is Israel to do?

Until it decides to repossess its possessions (Obad. 1:17), as Gaza is part of Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18), all it can do is "mow the lawn" to keep the terrorist weeds from growing too big. If it conquers Gaza, the world will demand it to be given to the Palestinian Authority [PA], which a deceived world views as moderates! Also, the division between Gaza and the "West Bank" is another reason why a "Palestine" cannot be created as it would slice Israel in two by a terrorist corridor from the "West Bank" to Gaza.

Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh writes that Iran's proxy in Gaza, the PIJ, the largest terror group besides Hamas, promised the people in Gaza "more suffering, violence and bloodshed," until Israel is annihilated. It celebrated its 32nd anniversary in October, with multitudes at their "Our Jihad – the promise will soon be fulfilled," rally, renewing their pledge to "liberate Palestine from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, a well-known euphemism for the destruction of Israel."

What is unreal is how many Gazans, suffering from "poverty and unemployment," still back PIJ. "Their hatred for Israel seems to be stronger than any wish to better their situation…" PIJ has not used Iranian funds to build schools, hospitals, or create jobs. "Instead, the money went into building tunnels, smuggling and manufacturing 1,000s of rockets and mortars to attack Israel."

Hamas congratulated the PIJ and affirmed the same threats to destroy Israel. Abu Toameh asks, "When will the international community" see that with groups like "Hamas and PIJ running the show, [Gaza] will remain the humanitarian disaster that is so bitterly blamed on Israel?" ("What Iran's friends are doing in Gaza," K. Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 7 Oct. 2019)

The good fruit of Trump's abandoning the Kurds

Herb Keinon said that Trump's October "decision to remove US troops from northern Syria" is very concerning, as it highlighted to Israel "that Israel really can only rely on itself."

And that is the good fruit from Trump's bad move. While we thank God for America's – especially Trump's – support of Israel, we also pray for Israel not to look to any modern "Egypt" for its protection, only to the Holy One (Isa. 31:1; Psa. 118:8-9; etc.).

Israel saw Trump's move in the light of Iran's attacks on Saudi oil facilities in September, with no American response. Israel's strategic planners now see that "the US under a very friendly administration will support Israel at the UN," and offer financial aid for weapons, "will give it moral backing and defend it against international pressure," yet if it comes to military action, Israel must be ready to defend itself, by itself." ("After Trump abandons Kurds, Israel knows it can't rely on anyone," H. Keinon, JP Op-ed, 7 Oct. 2019)

EU's outrageous anti-settlement law

Alan Baker, international lawyer and Israel's former ambassador to Canada, blasted the European Court of Justice [ECJ] ruling of Nov. 12, which said, "Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel" must be labeled as coming from an Israeli "settlement." This EU-driven policy "is intended to harm Israel and Israel only, as a distinct political action and as a means of pressuring Israel politically," and stems from a one-sided premise of Israel's settlements as contrary to international law. Yet there are other "legal opinions as to the legitimacy of Israel's settlement policy in accordance with the accepted international norms regarding the administration of territory."

Also, the settlements are "an agreed negotiating issue between Israel and the PLO," as per Oslo, making the ECJ's ruling an "interference in, and prejudgment of an agreed negotiating issue between Israel and the Palestinians." ("The EU labels itself biased," A. Baker, BFP Israel News Focus & Prayer Update, 14 Nov. 2019)

A JP Editorial said EJC's timing was terrible, as "half of Israel was shut down" by rocket fire from Gaza on its civilians. This decision, "controversial at any time," came as Israeli children stayed home from school and ran for shelters when sirens blared.

Former Jewish Agency chairman Sharansky said that 'singling out Israel' is one of the "three Ds" which separate "antisemitism from legitimate criticism of Israel: delegitimization of Israel, demonization of Israel and subjecting Israel to double standards." These ECJ double standards are obvious since it has no "labeling mandate for other areas under territorial conflict" anywhere else in the world.

Europeans have a "history of telling Jews where they can – and more often, can't – live, and with whom they can do business…" Labeling products from Judea and Samaria encourages boycotts, which were aimed at Jews in Europe's darkest period of history.

"By declaring Jewish businesses," in reality, Jewish life, "in Judea & Samaria as illegitimate," the EU agrees with the PA that these areas be Judenrein, which is what PA President Abbas repeatedly says. How can EU courts agree with Judenrein areas today? What Europe fails to see is that the time when they "could tell Jews where they can live or… do business" is over. "Europe should be ashamed." ("Shame on Europe," JP Editorial, 14 Nov. 2019)

Trump administration: Israeli settlements not illegal

As the EU was pressing Israel to forsake its biblical heartland, US Secretary of State Pompeo said Israel's settlements are "not illegal." Since two negatives negate each other, the US just affirmed the settlements are "legal," which is true biblically and in line with international law.

Israel's former UN Ambassador Dore Gold added that "the last sovereign over the territory," the Ottoman Empire, "renounced its legal rights to the land" after WWI. Then in 1922, the League of Nations backed "close settlement" of Jews in this area, then known as the British Mandate. "Those historical rights of the Jewish people were preserved by Article 80 of the UN Charter."

Jordan seized the West Bank after the 1949 Arab-Israeli War, and annexed it, yet "even the Arab states refused to recognize its sovereignty there." When Israel captured this area in 1967 in a war of self-defense, there was no recognized sovereign…" ("A long awaited correction," D. Gold, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 18 Nov. 2019)

Melanie Phillips says Pompeo's statement was "greeted with adulation by Israel's defenders and denunciation by its enemies." Yet both sides miss "the elephant in the room…"

She agrees that, "Israel isn't occupying the disputed territories because, under international law," only land belonging to a sovereign state can be "occupied," and this area "never belonged to the Palestinians for the very good reason that there never was a Palestinian nation to which it could have belonged."

She then unveiled the elephant. Pompeo thinks US recognition would lead to a peaceful settlement; he sees this as a territorial dispute to be "resolved by negotiation." Yet this is a "war of extermination against Israel. The only appropriate response is to defeat those trying to exterminate it." Negotiations only reward "their aggression by offering them part of the territory they are attacking." It is a sign of surrender, encouraging additional attacks, which is "what the West has been doing for decades." ("Settlements are not just a land dispute up for negotiation," M. Phillips, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 23 Nov. 19)

Anti-Semitism's modern manifestations

Liora Henig-Cohen notes that the "rising tide of anti-Semitism across the globe is undeniable…from the radical fringes of Right or Left, or…the various streams of Islam and Christianity." To combat this trend, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance of over 30 governments, in 2016 adopted a "working definition," of how to identify anti-Semitism, adding the "de-legitimization of the State of Israel as a new form…" IHRA also included "denying the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, comparing Israel's present-day policies to the Nazis, applying double moral standards toward Israel and more." Recently, Trump by executive order signed a bill against anti-Semitism on college campuses, linked to IHRA's definition.

Many nations and global entities "adopted the definition," yet the World Council of Churches, an association of about 350 non-Catholic churches, rejected it. "Senior WCC officials view Israel as solely responsible for 'difficulties facing Christians in the Holy Land'," and refuse to admit Christian persecution by the PA, and reject all links between the land of Israel and the Jewish people. ("Anti-Semitism under the guise of human rights," L. Henig-Cohen, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 7 Aug. 2019)

Ginette Weiner says the "new coalitions of perpetual victims" need someone "to blame for their woes" so they blame the Jews, who are now maligned as "privileged whites." She adds, "We had the 'privilege' of being persecuted for centuries by Christians for rejecting Jesus; by Muslims for rejecting Muhammad; denied the right to vote, hold citizenship or own property; crowded into ghettos; denied admission to universities; rounded up and killed in pogroms; scattered to the ends of the earth; beheaded, raped, enslaved; and butchered by the millions in the Holocaust…Today we have the very special 'white privilege' of record numbers of hate crimes against Jews worldwide…" ("All who are 'woke': Go back to sleep," G. Weiner, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 11 Aug. 2019)

Even the UN is concerned over rising anti-Semitism, releasing a report "by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion," in which he expresses alarm of "the growing use of anti-Semitic tropes by white supremacists including neo-Nazis and members of radical Islamist groups in slogans, images, stereotypes and conspiracy theories meant to incite and justify hostility, discrimination, and violence against Jews."

Maldivian A. Shaheed, the expert tasked by the UN, authored this "unprecedented" report, even criticizing the BDS movement, saying that while boycotts are "legitimate forms of political expression," if they are based on "anti-Semitic tropes or stereotypes," reject Israel's right to exist, or discriminate Jews because they are Jews, they should be condemned.

He added, "Antisemitism is toxic to democracy and…threatens all societies in which it goes unchallenged." ("UN report alarmed by growing anti-Semitism criticizes BDS," JP, 24 Sept. 2019)

A recent American Jewish Committee survey of American Jews revealed that 90% see anti-Semitism as a problem in the US, with many fearing its continued growth. ("9 out of 10 US Jews worry about anti-Semitism, and most think it's getting worse," TOI, 23 Oct. 2019)

An Anti-Defamation League survey said 25% of Europeans have "strongly negative attitudes toward Jews," with Central and Eastern Europeans showing a definite increase in anti-Semitic beliefs. Also, European Muslims are even more "prone to accepting anti-Semitic stereotypes…" ("ADL survey: 25% of Europeans anti-Semitic, East European bigotry rises sharply," TOI, 21 Nov. 2019)

Arutz 7 News, reporting on the same survey, says the Muslim violence rate is three times higher than people with "extremist right wing views." And except for Germany, "where percentages of left wing vs. right wing attacks were essentially equal," Anti-Semitic left wing violence is higher than right wing violence or threats. ("ADL finds extreme Antisemitism among Muslims 3X national rate," Arutz 7, 23 Nov. 2019)

Islamic reformer M. Nawaz stated, "All racism is equally evil. Anti-Semitism is the most dangerous form of racism because it has the capacity to unite fascists of the far-left, far-right and Islamist extremes." ("The 'Old-New' kind of anti-Semitism in NYC," D. Hilkind, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 21 Nov. 2019)

Iran and its apocalyptic theology

Author Lela Gilbert, a religious persecution expert, explains why Iran constantly threatens "to massacre Israelis" and "to impose terrible violence" on their foes, and its proxies always escalate aggression. People assume all these "are Iran's boastful way of defying US economic sanctions," and its response to Trump's withdrawal from the terrible Iranian nuclear deal.

A truer reason is the "apocalyptic belief" of Iran's religious leadership. In August, a senior Iranian Ayatollah said, "In order for the Hidden Imam to reappear we must engage in widespread fighting with the West." This resulted in attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, and an attack on a Saudi oil field, plus the steady drone of "Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'."

While aware of "the deeply religious nature of Iran's regime," Americans and Western Europeans downplay "religious influences in international affairs…" But it must not be ignored, as the Hidden, or 12th, Imam is central to a Shi'ite Islamic theology known as Twelver-ism –which is the basic belief system of Iran's leadership. It holds "a messianic belief that at the end of days, the Hidden Imam will appear in the midst of a violent apocalyptic scenario" as huge numbers of people are slain.

In 2013, Iranian scholar S. Ghasseminejad exposed Ayatollah Khamenei as a hardcore Twelver and many of its "officials and decision makers" hold apocalyptic beliefs. Underestimating the influence of these beliefs, especially as the regime tries to build nuclear weapons, will lead to "dangerously wrong conclusions." ("Iran's aggression & Shi'ite Apocalypse," L. Gilbert, JP Op-ed, 17 Aug. 2019)

International American Council on the ME President Majid Rafizadeh, said, "Malign behavior in the world" is a result of people with "power to correct what is wrong" refusing to do it. Iran benefits from this. Since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, it has threatened Israel's existence "in contravention of Chapter 1 of the UN Charter," and while most nations do not rebuke Iran, they intimidate and censure Israel, taking "precautionary measures to defend its citizens and territorial integrity."

If Israel ever said it would destroy "Iran 'in half an hour', as Iran just did about Israel," the UN Security Council would censure Israel; and most nations would pledge "solidarity and support for Iran." While Israel would never do that, Iran has "a free pass" to threaten "to wipe Israel off the map."

Maj. Gen. Salami, "commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, recently vowed to obliterate Israel," repeating what he said before, that today, "with the grace of Allah…the Zionist regime" can be annihilated. ("Iran ready to 'Wipe the Zionist regime off the map'," M. Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute, 9 Sept. 2019)

Columnist Jonathan Tobin said Salami's statements raise hard questions, like why do Iran's EU trading partners refuse to sanction a nation embracing "the genocide of Jews as a legitimate policy goal." France, the UK and Germany created a by-pass to US sanctions and six other EU nations just joined them. Has Europe already forgotten the Holocaust? ("A state that threatens Jewish genocide isn't normal," J. Tobin, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 10 Oct. 2019)

US Ambassador to Germany, R. Grenell, condemned German Chancellor Merkel's government for its "blasé dismissal" of Iran's threat to destroy Israel, referring to another Iranian official who said, "If Israel or America makes a mistake, Israel won't live for longer than 20 or 30 minutes," as well as to Salami's threats.

Grenell called the statements anti-Semitic, but when a Merkel spokesman and the German Foreign Ministry only called them "anti-Israel rhetoric," a German antisemitism expert said, "For the post-Holocaust German government to remain silent and not denounce, with force and outrage," the Iranian regime's threats "to destroy Israel…is unconscionable…" ("US Amb. slams Merkel's dismissal of Iran's call to destroy Israel," JP, 2 Nov. 2019)

Be strong in the Lord

The Word tells us to be strong in the Lord, but a humanistic spirit, invading biblical teaching, tells us to be "strong for the Lord." We must stand strong; we must bring in the kingdom of God; we must defeat – an already defeated – Satan; we must save the unsaved, etc.

The New Testament says our position is in Messiah, and without Him we can do nothing (John 15:88). Yet if we abide in Him, [We] can do all things through Messiah Yeshua who strengthens [us]. (Phil. 4:13)

Do we trust in ourselves, our abilities, our courage, or even the that of others? Or do we really trust in Yeshua, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2)?

Blessed are the spiritual beggars, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Matt. 5:3

Chuck & Karen Cohen