Friday, August 2, 2024

Warnings and Preparations for a Revenge Attack from Iran

by Kate Norman

Friday, 2 August 2024 | Israel is bracing for an attack from Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini reportedly ordered a strike on the Jewish state following the assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran on Wednesday, which was blamed on Israel.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held a meeting on Wednesday following the predawn killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the Tuesday inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hours after Haniyeh was killed in a strike—which Hamas and Iran attributed to Jerusalem—the security council held an emergency meeting in which Khamenei ordered a revenge strike on Israel, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing three unnamed Iranian officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Khamenei ordered the IRGC and the Iranian army to organize an attack as well as defense strategies in case Iran is struck again by Israel or the United States, according to the New York Times report.

Iran’s revenge could come in the form of drones and missiles targeting military sites around Tel Aviv and Haifa, the New York Times reported, citing the Iranian officials, who stressed that the attack would not target civilian sites.

In a less direct and more on-brand approach for Iran, the revenge attacks could also come from Iran’s proxies across the region, particularly in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, according to the New York Times report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials were reportedly instructed by the Shin Bet (Israeli internal security organization) not to participate in big events unless there is a protected space available nearby, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported.

Netanyahu and other government officials were also instructed to submit their travel plans to Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar for approval ahead of time, Channel 12 reported.

In the past, Iran has targeted Israeli and Jewish people abroad, although the Islamic regime took a more direct approach in April following an Israeli strike in Damascus that killed two Iranian generals.

Tehran responded with a rare direct attack by launching hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted by Israel and her allies in the region, including the US, the United Kingdom, France and some Arab states, the Times of Israel reported.

The Iranian supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel on Wednesday in a statement following the assassination of Haniyeh, saying that “the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Public of Iran.”

Israel did not respond to allegations of its involvement in the killing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu did, however, state Wednesday that Israel “recently struck crushing blows on each one” of what he called Iran’s “axis of evil”: Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah.

He mentioned the killing of Hamas chief-of-staff Muhammad Deif, whose death the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed yesterday. He also mentioned an Israeli strike on a Houthi port in Yemen last month and the targeted strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief-of-staff Fu’ad Shukhr, the mastermind behind a rocket attack in Northern Israel that killed 12 children last week.

“Citizens of Israel, challenging days are before us,” Netanyahu said in a statement published by his office on Wednesday. “Since the attack in Beirut, we have heard threats from all sides.

“We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat,” the prime minister added. “Israel will exact a very heavy price for aggression against us from whatever quarter.”

The US State Department is also bracing for violence and issued a level 4 travel advisory warning against travel to Lebanon “due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.”

Delta and United Airlines canceled all flights to Israel from Wednesday until the end of the week, i24news reported, and United Airlines canceled its flights to Israel until August 6.

Source: (Bridges for Peace, August 2, 2024)

Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Intercede for the nation of Israel during this time of uncertainty. Pray that her military leaders will know how to defend the country, especially that they would receive timely intelligence as to Iran’s plans. Pray for the vulnerable in Israel’s civilian population, that they would look to the Lord for strength in time of weakness.

Scripture

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.”

- Deuteronomy 33:29

‘Silent’ Arms Embargo against Israel Harms Security

by Yoav Zitun, Itamar Eichner ~ Ynetnews

Tuesday, 30 July 2024 | The possibility that Britain may soon announce a halt to defense export licenses to Israel, as revealed by Ynet and not ruled out in London, is part of the silent and unofficial arms embargo by Western countries in recent months. This includes delays in shipments of raw materials and parts to Israel’s defense industries, ultimately used to produce weapons for the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].

These silent sanctions come from major manufacturers in countries such as France, leading Israel’s defense ministry to seek alternatives in Eastern Europe, South America and Asia. For example, a French manufacturer delayed for months a shipment of raw material for a major operational project for the IDF, which is produced by an Israeli defense industry. The multi-billion-dollar project continues, but at a slower pace which has pushed back its completion date.

Partial slowdowns are also being felt in the development of other combat systems for the IDF. Even the Merkava tank and the Namer APC, produced by a joint directorate of the IDF and the Defense Ministry, rely on 200 different suppliers, some dependent on foreign manufacturers. Consequently, top officials in the Defense Ministry are making frantic efforts to find alternatives, including in countries such as India and Serbia.

On Monday morning, as Israel anticipated the British decision was imminent, officials in Jerusalem noted that Britain is a significant player in defense exports. There is concern that this could be the first step, with other countries possibly following suit in a “domino effect.”

Britain has been examining the issue of arms export licenses for some time. However, with the recent change in government, Israel believes the decision is close, linked to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling calling on countries not to assist Israel.

A British government spokesperson responded to Ynet‘s revelation, stating: “The review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law is ongoing.” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy added: “Our commitment to international law is clear, and we are following the necessary processes. Upon taking office, I instructed officials to conduct a comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law, and this process is now underway. I will update once the process is complete.”

The new Labour government recently announced it would resume funding for UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] and withdrew objections aimed at preventing the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In May, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders—Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. The previous British government, led by Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives, had taken a step warmly welcomed by Israeli leadership by filing a reservation to the prosecutor’s request to issue the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

Since the reservation was filed in June, the UK has seen a political upheaval—Sunak’s Conservative government was defeated in elections, and the left-wing Labour Party returned to power. Recently, it was reported that, due to the change in government, a shift in policy toward Israel and the management of the war in Gaza is expected from London. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson confirmed the withdrawal of reservations to the arrest warrants, adding that it is an independent decision of the court.

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on July 30, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Prime Minister’s Office/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Cry out on behalf of the Western governments who are acting against God’s people and the nation through which He has chosen to reveal Himself to the world. Pray for favor among alternate sources for the raw materials needed by Israel’s defense industry.

Scripture

For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”

- Zechariah 2:8

Volunteers Saved US $50 Million in Israeli Produce during War, Study Finds

by Etgar Lefkovitz ~ JNS

Tuesday, 30 July 2024 | Volunteers in Israel have saved agricultural produce valued at $50 million since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, even amid major damage to the country’s agricultural sector, according to a study released this week.

Hundreds of thousands of volunteers from Israel and around the world have helped rescue over 35,000 tons of produce, according to Leket Israel, The National Food Bank, a registered Israel-based charity.

Nearly one in two Israelis volunteered in the first months of the war, earlier surveys have shown, while both Jewish and Christian volunteers from around the globe came to Israel to help hard-hit farmers harvest their crops.

The price of fresh produce in Israel still increased by as much as 18% during the first six months of the war, the report found, while fruit prices rose by as much as 12%.

Nearly a third of Israel’s agricultural land lies in frontline areas, with about 22% in the Gaza border area and 10% on the northern border with Lebanon.

The study found that increased food waste as a result of the war cost the economy approximately $275 million, including $185 million worth of wasted food.

More than 20% of produce was wasted as a result of the war, the study found, compared to less than 10% before the war broke out.

“The war has caused severe damage to Israeli agriculture and its consequences will be felt for many years to come,” said Gidi Kroch, CEO of Leket Israel. “Strengthening local agriculture is not only an essential economic need but a necessary condition to ensure food security and strengthen national resilience for Israel’s citizens.”

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on July 29, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Michio Nagata/bridgesforpeace.com

Prayer Focus
Give thanks for this amazing report of volunteer efforts within Israel as well as from countries around the world. Bridges for Peace volunteers here contributed their labor, becoming your hands and feet to encourage Israeli farmers. Pray that the agricultural sector in Israel will recover quickly and once again become the fruitful and abundant land God promised His people.

Scripture

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…

- Exodus 3:8a

Neutralized: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Number 1

by Kate Norman

Thursday, 1 August 2024 | It has been a busy few days for Israel following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on Wednesday—hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed the Hezbollah mastermind behind a rocket attack that killed 12 children in northern Israel on Saturday.

Haniyeh was killed in a missile strike at a guest house in Tehran in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning, Iranian media and Hamas reported, in what a Hamas statement described as a “treacherous Zionist raid.”

The Hamas political chief was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Tuesday. The Iranian Presidency Office published a photo of Haniyeh and Pezeshkian shaking hands in a warm greeting on Tuesday at the president’s office.

Little did they know that it would also be their farewell, as Haniyeh was killed several hours later, along with his bodyguard, in the guest house he reportedly frequented.

Pezeshkian’s friend, however, was gone but not forgotten, as the new president vowed revenge against Israel for Haniyeh’s death, saying in a statement that Iran will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

Though it was well-known that Haniyeh was on Israel’s hit list ever since Hamas’s massacre on October 7, the leadership in Jerusalem has yet to comment on the Jewish state’s involvement in Haniyeh’s death.

Israel did, however, announce its strike on the Hezbollah commander responsible for the strike on Saturday that killed 12 children in the Druze village of Majdal Shams.

“ELIMINATED” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its X account, announcing the death of Fu’ad Shukr. “Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander and Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th,” the tweet continued.

As well as being responsible for the death of the 12 children, Shukr was also responsible for the deaths of numerous Israelis over the years as well as a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed some 241 US military personnel.

Hamas is a Sunni Islamist terrorist group operating in Gaza and Hezbollah is a Shiite terrorist group operating in Lebanon. Despite their religious differences, what brings them together? Common ground: financial backing and general support from Iran, as well as hatred for Israel.

Iran has harnessed Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups into its “axis of resistance” in order to extend its reach across the region and attack Tehran’s enemies—particularly Israel—without doing any of the dirty work itself.

But if Tehran’s leaders are to be believed, the assassination of Haniyeh in the heart of the Islamist regime is too much to stomach.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini stated on his website that Iran considers Haniyeh’s “revenge as our duty,” as quoted by the AP, and that by assassinating “a dear guest in our home,” Israel has “prepared a harsh punishment for itself.”

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Amir Ali Hajizadeh, echoed the warning to Israel, according to Jewish Breaking News, stating: “Be prepared to tell the Zionists what the punishment is for shedding the blood of a guest in our home.”

Iran has declared three days of public mourning for the fallen Hamas chief, the Times of Israel reported.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas also declared a national day of mourning yesterday for Haniyeh, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas and the PA have historically been at odds, given their bloody history. Haniyeh served a brief stint as prime minister of the PA in 2006 after winning the election. The unity government fell apart, however, by 2007, and Hamas violently expelled Fatah officials from the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Hamas has maintained control of Gaza and the PA over Judea and Samaria. But every now and then, they are able to put their differences aside and join hands for their common good: the fight against Israel and mourning their departed friend.

Iran will hold a funeral for Haniyeh in the capital, the Times of Israel reported, citing Hamas, before the Hamas chief is taken to Qatar, the small Gulf State on the Arabian Peninsula where Haniyeh made his home since 2019, to be buried.

His legacy will live on, as shown by the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement: “the martyrdom of Haniyeh in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine, and the resistance”—all with the same common enemy: Israel.

However, ordinary Gazans—who were forced to face the consequences of the war with Israel their leaders started while Haniyeh lived in the lap of luxury in Qatar—rejoiced at the news of the terror leader’s demise.

“To hell with Haniyeh and may it come to Sinwar [Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip] and the rest of their gang soon. A happy day for humanity,” an anonymous Gazan wrote on X. “I was at the market this morning and witnessed people happy and wishing it upon Sinwar as well,” shared another. “May it happen to the rest of them,” added a third. And so it continued.

The next 72 hours in Israel is considered critical. Would you please join us in praying for Israel and her people?

Source: (Bridges for Peace, August 1, 2024)

Photo Credit: Central Intelligence Agency/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Ask the Lord to bring confusion to the leaders of Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. Pray that Israel will have continued accurate intelligence as to the plans of the enemy.

Scripture

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

- 2 Kings 6:11–12

How Will Israel Retaliate Following Hezbollah’s Deadly Rocket Attack?

by Yoav Zitun ~ Ynetnews

Monday, 29 July 2024 | Top Israeli officials signaled last night, even as some of the bodies of the children at the soccer field in Majdal Shams remained unidentified, that Israel is unlikely to drastically alter its containment policy towards Hezbollah, even after the Cabinet meeting where the IDF’s [Israel Defense Forces] response will be approved.

Still, ministers will need to choose from several options for a strike unprecedented in Lebanon since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, exactly 18 years ago. The IDF will present assessments on what actions Hezbollah might tolerate and continue its “normal” daily skirmishes, and what actions could escalate the situation.

The main problem is that no one in the IDF can guarantee that an Israeli response won’t lead to an escalation that could result in a full-scale war within days, reversing the focus from Gaza to Lebanon. “It’s hard to create a ladder of combat days with Hezbollah, like having them strike up to Haifa or Hadera but not further south. Despite a clear kinetic dialogue we have with Hezbollah and well-established equations, and a long-standing, almost intimate connection with Nasrallah as the oldest enemy in the Middle East, it’s impossible to know for certain where we might end up,” a senior security official explained.

In the Northern Command, there are no plans to evacuate additional settlements near the border like Nahariya or Ma’alot, but the readiness at bases in the north and in the Air Force will be at its peak, on top of the high alert of recent times.

After returning from the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a small meeting with senior security officials, where response options for the north were presented to him. The security cabinet then convened to discuss and approve the action. An Israeli senior official said, “I estimate that there will be a very severe response, leading to several days of limited fighting, during which Hezbollah could extend the range of its attacks up to Haifa.”

Here are the main and emerging IDF response options, from the well-known target bank in the Northern Command, which have been set aside since before October 7:

Limited but “Photogenic” Infrastructure Strike: Until now, Israel has deliberately avoided attacking Lebanese civilian infrastructure indirectly used by Hezbollah, such as key bridges, central highways, power stations and sea and airports. Bombing such a target would signal to the Beirut government, already fragile due to the sectarian division in the war-torn country, that it’s time to rein in Hezbollah before all citizens—Maronites, Shiites and Druze alike—suffer the consequences, following years of severe economic crisis.

A strike on such a target could occur after the IDF ensures minimal or no casualties, and if the target also contains fuel stocks, the attack would achieve its image-driven goal, which is just as important to the government these days as its practical value. Spectacular images of fire and huge plumes of smoke, in videos and photos, would appease the Israeli public, similar to the strike in the western Yemeni port city of Hudaydah about a week ago. The IDF could simultaneously strike for the first time in the war a Lebanese army base adjacent to Hezbollah as a defense measure.

Strategic Hezbollah Weapons Depot Strike: Eighteen years ago minus two weeks, the primary Israeli move in the Second Lebanon War began with Operation “Specific Weight,” also known as the Night of the Fajrs, during which the Air Force destroyed Hezbollah’s then-stockpile of long-range rockets. To date, the Air Force has struck close to 5,000 targets in southern Lebanon since October, including drone and anti-aircraft missile depots in the Bekaa Valley, but most targets, especially the high-quality ones, have been reserved for wartime. The dilemma in the Northern Command is complex and daily, as certain strikes could expose intelligence sources. In a terror army with an arsenal of over 100,000 rockets across Lebanon, hundreds to thousands of precision missiles, tens of thousands of anti-tank missiles and thousands of drones, it’s a risky calculation made every day in planning strikes.

New and Symbolic Target: Last month, the Air Force struck a logistical target from Hezbollah’s aerial array, 135 kilometers [84 mi.] from Israel’s border, in the Baalbek area, in what was described as “the farthest target in Lebanon struck by Israel” since the start of the war. There’s no significance to the target if it’s not in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Hezbollah holds significant civilian areas in Beirut, and the IDF could carry out a precise and measured strike that would be heard throughout the city, not just in the Dahiya quarter, without leading to the deaths of many Lebanese. According to foreign reports, Israel has already openly struck in Beirut, but in a very targeted operation earlier this year, eliminating senior Hamas member Saleh Al-Arouri—a killing for which Hezbollah was slow, to say the least, to retaliate.

Eliminating Senior Terror Commanders: According to IDF data, since October 7, about 500 terrorists have been killed in southern Lebanon, dozens of them senior commanders at battalion level and above, and three equivalent to brigadier general rank. Hezbollah commanders are older than their IDF counterparts, with mid-level ranks averaging 40–50 years old and senior ones around 60. The loss of their experience in each such elimination harms Hezbollah operationally, deters other commanders, and forces them to spend their time fleeing. However, to date, the IDF’s policy in Lebanon has not practically improved the security of hundreds of thousands of northern residents or brought back one displaced Israeli to their abandoned home in the Galilee.

Eliminating senior leaders requires waiting for an operational and intelligence opportunity with fighter jets always on standby, which could come within days to weeks. It’s no coincidence that Nasrallah ordered his operatives about a week ago to stop using smartphones.

In any case, the fact that the IDF quickly published the name of the Hezbollah unit commander who directed the rocket fire at Majdal Shams from the Lebanese side of Mount Dov, Ali Mohammed Yahya, can highly likely indicate that he will be the first target eliminated in any option chosen by the Cabinet. If we look at the policy of the political echelon in recent months, we can conclude that even after the strike is carried out, there will be official Israeli voices trying to close the event, until the next time.

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on July 29, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: רונאלדיניו המלך/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Pray for the residents of Israeli communities along the northern border with Lebanon, both those who have been evacuated from their homes since the war in Gaza began and those who remain, enduring daily rocket and drone attacks. Although the IDF eliminated the Hezbollah commander responsible for the attack on Majdal Shams, continue to pray for wisdom as to any further responses.

Scripture

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

- Psalm 33:20

Mourning with Majdal Shams

by Ilse Strauss

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 | There’s a tangible atmosphere that settles over a community in the aftermath of tragedy. It’s like the anguish turns palpable, physical, to settle into nooks and crannies so that even perfect strangers passing through stagger under the weight.

Such is the atmosphere in Majdal Shams

Late Saturday afternoon, the Druze village nestled into the foothills of Mount Hermon—a stone’s throw away from Israel’s northern border with Syria and Lebanon—was plunged into grief when a missile slammed into a soccer field teeming with kids. Twelve children—the oldest 16 and the youngest 10—were killed. More than 40 children were injured, some critically.

Majdal Shams is a small, tight-knit community of 12,000 inhabitants. This means that over the past two days, a number of families buried more than one family member.

I arrived in Majdal Shams just shy of 72 hours after the attack to find the soccer field a hub of activity. Friends and family come and go, huddling close for comfort as they weep. Israelis who have never met the victims arrive from across the country to show their love and solidarity. And then there’s us, the press, there to bear witness.

Stepping onto the soccer field feels like treading on hallowed ground. A scorched crater marks the point where the missile tore through a fence and slammed into the side of the field. The bomb shelter stands less than 3 meters (10 ft.) away, pockmarked by shrapnel. This is where the children were headed. Electric bikes and scooters still lie discarded where their owners dropped them in their haste before that fateful soccer game on Saturday. And then, next to the point of impact, twelve soccer balls; twelve wreaths bearing twelve names; and twelve pictures of twelve smiling faces.

A teenager sits cross-legged on the grass staring up at the makeshift memorial, angrily swiping at errant tears. Three young girls stand weeping by his side, each clutching a soccer shirt. The shirts belonged to their friend, Tena, 14, tells me, pointing to a picture of one of the smiling faces. I know the face. It belonged to Jafara Ibrahim, 11, who was classified as missing in the aftermath of the attack because he couldn’t be located among the deceased or the wounded. It was only later after sifting through the debris and remains that authorities concluded that the force of the missile obliterated Ibrahim’s body.

“The missile came from there,” Tena continues, pointing in the direction of neighboring Lebanon. “I hate Hezbollah,” she adds.

Hezbollah—often referred to as a branch of Tehran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—has indeed been raining down missiles on northern Israel for the past 10 months. The Iranian terror proxy announced on October 8, the day after the October 7 massacre by fellow Iranian terror proxy Hamas, that it would join the fight against Israel and has since launched nearly 4,000 missiles, rockets and suicide drones on the Jewish state. Apart from Majdal Sham’s children, 25 civilians and 18 soldiers and reservists have been killed. Some 200 km2 (77 square miles) of land have been burned or destroyed. As a result, between 80,000 and 100,000 Israelis have been evacuated and displaced, leaving some areas in northern Israel deserted.

Throughout the 10 months, Hezbollah has proudly claimed the attacks. In fact, on Saturday—shortly after the missile struck the soccer field—the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network reported that the terror group had launched a barrage of 100 missiles at Israel. Yet then reports of carnage began to surface. And this time, the victims were not Jewish. In fact, they were Druze children. Just like that, Hezbollah backtracked, offering a rare denial of any responsibility for the attack.

The renunciation carried little weight though. Israel presented fragments of the rocket, showing it to be an Iranian-made Falaq-1 missile with a warhead of 53 kilograms (117 lbs.) and a range of 10 kilometers (6.2 mi.), and with Hezbollah the only recipient of Iranian-produced munitions in the vicinity, the conclusion is simple.

Israel has the “irrefutable proof” of the terror group’s guilt, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told the press yesterday afternoon. Jerusalem knows that the missile was fired at 6:18 p.m., can pinpoint the launch site and already identified the mastermind behind the attack.

The United States agrees with Israel’s assessment. So do independent experts. Hezbollah has the blood of Majdal Shams’s children on their hands.

Yet ultimately, the 12 children from the tiny Druze village in the foothills of Mount Hermon might be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Given the incessant bombardment of northern Israel over the past 10 months, this tragedy was something that Israel knew could happen, but prayed wouldn’t.

“We are a country that hates war,” Mencer said. “We will do everything possible to avoid war. Sometimes we’ve waited far too long. If anything, that’s one of our faults.”

“This is not a sustainable reality,” he continued. “We don’t see what happens next as a response. That’s very much how the media sees it, but we see it as defense. We literally have no choice. There is no scenario that we can allow our people to be killed in this way.”

“The government has a responsibility to ensure that Hezbollah is pushed back, one way or another. Obviously, we prefer diplomacy over other means. So we’ll always give diplomacy a chance. It is in Israel’s DNA to try and find a peaceful resolution first.”

We leave Majdal Shams shortly before sunset, seemingly carrying the palpable sense of grief home with us.

An hour later, the first reports start to trickle in. Israel’s exacting of the heavy price for the murder of her children had begun. Fu’ad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan”—Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, the architect of the terror attacks on Israel since October 8 and the man responsible for the 12 murdered children on a soccer field in Majdal Shams—was neutralized in Beirut. And Jerusalem took responsibility.

This morning, we awoke to the news that Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was neutralized in a rocket strike in the heart of Tehran. Nobody took responsibility.

Their deaths will not undo October 7, the ensuing war in Gaza, the civilian casualties, the suffering or the mourning families in Majdal Shams. But hopefully, their absence will mean less of the same in future.

Source: (Bridges for Peace, July 31, 2024)

Photo Credit: Ilse Strauss/bridgesforpeace.com

Prayer Focus
Weep and mourn with the families in Majdal Shams who lost children in the deadly rocket attack. While they will never forget their loved ones, pray that their grieving will eventually pass and they will find a time to laugh and dance again.

Scripture

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

- Ecclesiastes 3:4

Turkey’s Erdoğan Threatens to Invade Israel 

by JNS

Monday, 29 July 2024 | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a televised address on Sunday that Ankara might invade Israel, drawing a harsh rebuke from the Jewish state’s foreign minister.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdoğan said, per Reuters.

“There is no reason why we cannot do this,” he added. “We must be strong so that we can take these steps.”

“In 2020, Turkey sent military personnel to Libya in support of the United Nations–recognized Government of National Accord of Libya,” per Reuters. “Turkey has denied any direct role in Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno–Karabakh, but said last year it was using ‘all means,’ including military training and modernization, to support its close ally.”

Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign affairs minister, wrote in Hebrew that Erdoğan should watch his step.

“Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel,” Katz wrote. “Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.”

Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader, wrote that the Turkish president “is ranting and raving again” and “is a danger to the Middle East.”

“The world, and especially NATO members, must strongly condemn his outrageous threats against Israel and force him to end his support for Hamas,” Lapid said. “We won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”

“Islamofascist Erdoğan threatens to invade Israel. This guy is totally nuts,” wrote the Dutch politician Geert Wilders. “Turkey should be kicked out of NATO.”

Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League director emeritus, wrote that “Erdoğan of Turkey, a member of NATO, is threatening the State of Israel with a military attack! Where is the outrage and condemnation from the United States—and all our NATO allies?”

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on July 28, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Adam Schultz/White House/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Pray that the arrogant words of Turkey’s president will not lead to an escalation of the current war in Gaza. Pray that Israel’s leaders will know how, when and if to respond to this rhetoric.

Scripture

LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? They utter speech, and speak insolent things; all the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.

- Psalm 94:3–4

Rebranding Israel

by Kate Norman

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 | Israel—the Jewish state, the tiny nation that the world loves to hate.

From her miraculous rebirth in 1948 to the current war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel is fighting a never-ending battle against false narratives and misinformation, facing endless scrutiny of public opinion and condemnation.

And spending money and resources to push her own narrative won’t increase Israel’s standing in international opinion either, according to Simon Anholt, a British national who has become a world leader in advising nations and governments to help them boost their own international standing.

Anholt visited the Jewish state last month, Ynetnews reported, and met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli leaders to spearhead the Brand IL project to rebrand Israel.

The project, an initiative by “a Zionist South African billionaire who prefers to remain anonymous,” Ynetnews reported, holds the goal of rebranding Israel “through a long-term, data-driven and research-based process.”

Anholt acknowledged that fighting public opinion is an uphill battle.

“It definitely looks as if the other side has the upper hand at the moment, no question about it,” he told Ynetnews. “They have the public sympathy vote in many parts of the world…Israel is somewhat on the back foot. It is perceived as being the villain, and that’s mainly because it’s switched from being David to Goliath, and sympathy for the underdog [is] very deeply rooted in human psychology and the Palestinians benefit from that.”

It’s important to understand that people want to have an opinion on international politics and current events while doing very little footwork to research, according to Anholt.

“We’ve reached a stage in history where everybody is expected to have an opinion on every […] topic,” Anholt added, “and irrespective of whether they know anything about it or not…Everybody’s expected to have an opinion, so you have to buy a ready-made opinion, because otherwise it means you have to work.”

Anholt has helped 64 countries with “nation branding,” Ynetnews reported. According to his Linkedin, Anholt helped Jamaica, Botswana, Bhutan, Romania, Tanzania and other countries “benefit economically and socially from their national IP [Intellectual Property] assets.” He also worked with the president and government of Sierra Leone “on a national ‘grand strategy’ to establish a more productive and visible role in the international community.”

“We have started to regard countries as if they were brands—stupid, childish stereotypes,” Anholt told Ynetnews. “This is one of the side effects of globalization. That’s actually why I coined this awful term, ‘nation branding.’ I was being ironic.”

In addition to advising countries on how to better their “brand,” Anholt also created two scales on how to measure countries and their international standing. The “Nation Brands Index” measures and ranks nations’ reputations according to exports, governance, culture, people, tourism and immigration and investment. In 2023, Japan took the top spot, followed by Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, France, Australia and Sweden.

Israel currently ranks 46th out of the 60 countries ranked, Anholt said, noting that the current war with Hamas did not plummet Israel’s standing, which was already low.

“Israel’s image is so strongly associated with conflict anyway,” Anholt said, “that more conflict, even though it’s dramatically worse than previously, it’s still the same subject.”

Anholt also helped develop the Good Country Index, which measures what each country contributes to the world overall and ranks each country. The criteria includes science and technology, culture, international peace and security, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality, and health and wellbeing. The current leaders are Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Canada, Belgium, Ireland, France and Austria. The United States ranks 46th on the list. The United Kingdom ranks 14th, Japan 34th and Israel 59th.

“We have to try and distinguish between the overall base image of Israel and how it’s perceived in the longer term by people, how much it’s admired or not admired,” Anholt said. “Between that and the current battle for public opinion that’s going on in American universities and in the media, and especially in social media.

“So if you’re looking at that, it looks like all hell has broken loose,” Anholt added. “Nuclear war. Israel is currently in the middle of the most violent infowar in history and the interesting thing is that both sides are convinced that they’re losing.”

The main thing that comes to mind, Anholt said, when people think of Israel, is conflict.

He added that “Your [Israel’s] problem is not that people don’t like you, it’s that they don’t want to like you. That’s where they are at the moment. They don’t want to like Israel, and if you don’t want to like Israel, you are not going to listen to any of those guys when they’re talking or if you do listen to them, you’re looking for an opportunity to say, ‘That’s a lie, that’s propaganda, he’s an idiot, he’s being paid,’ etc.”

One way back into the good graces of the international community, Anholt said, is the same route that Japan and Germany took following World War II: “the export of high-quality consumer products,” noting that Israel “has a huge opportunity there.”

In addition to discovering and promoting Israel’s international niche, the strategy includes finding and implementing “creative and bold” foreign policy.

Source: (Bridges for Peace, July 31, 2024)

Photo Credit: Robin Orack/bridgesforpeace.com

Prayer Focus
Pray that the truth will be presented in a way that will engage those who are just following the crowd and hating Israel because that’s what the main message on social media is at the moment. Remember Golda Meir’s famous quote, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

Scripture

He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.

- Proverbs 12:17

Were Americans Listening to Netanyahu’s Message? 

by Jonathan S. Tobin ~ JNS

Friday, 26 July 2024 | What Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his address to a joint meeting of Congress was important. Both Americans and Israelis need to understand that the war in the Gaza Strip is just one front in a conflict with Iran that is, as he rightly said, a battle “between civilization and barbarism.”

Netanyahu gave the best possible argument for Americans to understand that Iran’s fomenting of terrorist wars across the Middle East was a threat to their security. The speech was also a brilliant defense not only of the justness of Israel’s war policy and tactics, but of the Jewish people’s right to live in peace, security and sovereignty in their ancient homeland.

Far more vital than what he said is whether enough people who matter are prepared to listen to that message and draw the appropriate conclusions. And, much like the outcome of the November election that will have a major impact on the future of US–Israel relations, the answer to that question is yet to be decided.

That’s not just because there were many prominent members of the House and Senate who chose to boycott the speech or the presence of angry mobs of pro-Hamas anti-Semitic protesters as he spoke. Rather, it is because those who have hurled libelous charges at Israel since it was attacked on October 7 as well as those—in the Biden administration, the media, pop culture and college administrators—who have feared to confront or offend them, don’t understand that they are illustrating America’s most crucial problem as much as their incomprehension of events in the Middle East.

The Real Argument

In this war “between civilization and barbarism,” those who spread the toxic woke ideologies of critical race theory and intersectionality essentially give aid and comfort to the latter. It’s important to realize that the debate among Americans about Israel isn’t really about its military tactics or the advisability of a cease-fire agreement or even if they comprehend the threat from Iran, key as those topics may be.

The argument is really about whether the lies about the one Jewish state on the planet being an “apartheid” state composed of “white” oppressors of people of color will be accepted by the American people. It is those fashionable ideas that have conquered the US education system, as well as much else throughout its culture, media and government that are behind the mobs in the streets tearing down American flags, and waving those of the Palestinians and Hamas. And it is the influence of those who embrace these radical sentiments and their enablers that have created the resistance within the Biden administration to Netanyahu’s war goals.

Timely Reminders

Netanyahu had some clear political objectives in coming to America.

He was eager to take advantage of the opportunity afforded him by the decision of House Republicans to invite him and then pressure a reluctant Democratic majority in the Senate to go along. At no point since the October 7 terrorist attacks has he had the chance to directly address the American people to explain to them the situation Israel is facing and what it hopes to accomplish without the filter of a biased corporate mainstream media.

In doing so, he reminded Americans of the horrors of October 7 that have largely been forgotten in the discourse about the subsequent war that followed and the stakes for Israel in a conflict with an organization like Hamas, whose goals are Israel’s destruction and the genocide of the Jews. He also directly addressed and refuted the false charges about Israel inflicting disproportionate casualties on Palestinian civilians or causing a famine there. Both claims are nothing more than Hamas propaganda talking points that have been endlessly repeated by the liberal press and accepted by the political left as truth.

The main point of the speech, however, was to reinforce support for Israel’s efforts by pointing out that Hamas’s assault was just one of a multi-front war being waged against the Jewish state and the West by Iran. He wanted it understood that the demonstrators chanting for Israel’s extinction (“from the river to the sea”) and for terrorism against Jews are doing the bidding of Tehran, therefore serving as “Iran’s useful idiots.”

The address earned him numerous standing ovations from both Republicans and Democrats who were present and doubtless played well to the national audience that tuned in to C-SPAN and the cable news networks that ran it live.

The Future of the Alliance

The ability of Netanyahu to rally those at the Capitol to the cause of Israel in such a rousing fashion is partially a tribute to his personal abilities. It is also due to the fact that most Americans remain strong supporters of the Jewish state, albeit the numbers reflect a deep partisan divide with the minority opposing it being overwhelming Democrats. That this is so even after nearly 10 months of nonstop incitement and biased reporting by the liberal media that have often acted as Hamas’s stenographers is a reflection of the way support for Zionism is baked deep into the political DNA of the United States rather than due to opinion about individuals or events.

Still, the cheers from those who were there should not be seen erasing the problems Israel currently faces in the United States.

In evaluating the impact of this visit, both the American pro-Israel community and Israelis need to understand that the anger expressed at the prime minister in the streets, the boycotts and the cool reception he’ll get from the administration is not so much about him. Nor is it really linked to the desire of some Israelis for a ceasefire deal that would free at least some of the estimated 120 hostages (some already confirmed dead) still being held by Hamas, despite the desperate claims of the families of those who were kidnapped by the terrorists rather than Israel continuing the fight until Hamas no longer has the capacity to continue fighting.

Nor is the issue of whether Americans will embrace Netanyahu’s vision of a postwar Gaza that is run by Palestinians who don’t want to destroy Israel, a demographic slice of the population that is currently so small that it must render the idea more of a fantasy than a pragmatic plan. His idea for a “NATO-style” regional “Abraham alliance” also isn’t likely to interest either major party, since Democrats don’t like Israel’s Arab allies and many GOP supporters of Israel would prefer the Jewish state and its regional friends take on Iran without further involving American forces.

The reason why Israel has become a partisan issue with the overwhelming majority of Republicans backing it and the Democrats split on it isn’t about Netanyahu, Trump or specific accusations about the conduct of the war. Rather, it is that more and more of those Americans who identify with the Democrats have bought into the false assumptions about the Middle East conflict being an extension of racial strife in the United States.

The future of the US–Israel alliance won’t be decided by speeches, even ones as good as the one Netanyahu delivered. If Israel is to retain the support of the United States in the years to come, it will only happen if the woke tide driving the libels about the war and Zionism is rolled back by Americans who are fed up with their institutions being captured by radicals.

Source: (Excerpt of an article originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on July 24, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Give thanks that a majority of Americans continue to support Israel. Pray that the radical position that Israel is an apartheid state, held by a vocal minority, would be exposed as a lie. As America is in a “valley of decision,” pray that they will choose to stand with God,

Scripture

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

- Proverbs 17:17