Report: UN Resolution on Israel Tabled - BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

Earlier this year, when he spoke at AIPAC, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to stand with Israel. He made good on that promise Thursday. (Reuters photo)

Report: UN Resolution on Israel Tabled

12/22/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN  CHARISMA NEWS

President Barack Obama planned to stab Israel in the back Thursday at the United Nations. But President-elect Donald Trump had other plans, and with some bipartisan support, a dangerous Egyptian resolution has been tabled.

According to NBC News, the resolution Egypt circulated during the late-night hours Wednesday, and which was due for a vote in a special session of the U.N. Security Council Thursday afternoon, was not going to be vetoed by the Obama Administration. Rather, the U.S. planned to abstain, which meant the measure could pass, but without official American support.

As Israel applied pressure to both Egypt and the U.S., Trump offered a sharp rebuke of the resolution, which would have stated the U.N.:

• Reaffirms that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution.
• Reiterates its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
• Stresses that the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution and calls for affirmative steps to be taken immediately to reverse the negative trends on the ground that are imperiling the two-state solution.
• Underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the June 4, 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.
• Calls upon all states to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the state of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.
• Calls for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction; calls for accountability in this regard and calls for compliance with obligations under international law for the strengthening of ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, including through existing security coordination and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism; and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric.

Palestinians have been circulating a version of their own, which reportedly is much more strident in its anti-Israeli language. Had the vote taken place, it would have marked a wide departure from long-standing U.S. foreign policy regarding Israel, and it would have been in conflict with a Senate resolution that called for direct negotiations without preconditions.

The author of that resolution, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), has been a very vocal supporter of Obama in the past. He was outraged, however, about the news reports Thursday morning:

"The draft United Nations resolution directly contradicts the Senate resolution I authored—and passed unanimously last year—condemning Palestinian terrorism and calling on all parties to return to the negotiating table immediately and without preconditions. Direct discussions remain the best avenue to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

A petition offered by the American Center for Law & Justice, which called upon Obama and the U.N. to reject the resolution, has drawn more than a quarter of a million signatures in just a matter of hours. The group issued the following statement that accompanies the petition:

President Obama is poised to betray Israel in his final days in office.

There are reports that the administration is plotting to use the U.N. Security Council against Israel.

It's a renewed attempt to abandon Israel, slash its borders, leave it defenseless and force our greatest ally in the Middle East to make dangerous concessions to terrorists before negotiations even begin.

Palestinian terrorists have launched over 300 attacks on Israelis—literally stabbing women and children in the back—murdering Israeli civilians and American citizens.

We must not force Israel into talks with terrorists.

We're mobilizing our office in Jerusalem. We're preparing critical legal letters, documents and filings at the U.N., in Congress and with the Obama administration. Add your name today.

Christians United for Israel issued its own statement about the matter: "While nations and organization may attack and de-legitimize the state of Israel and the Jewish people, let it be known that the defender of Israel is greater than all those who stand against Israel. He is the one that scattered Pharaoh's armies and allowed Israeli to be reborn against overwhelming odds." 

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2 Wicked Ways Obama Is Sabotaging America Before He Leaves Office - WESLEY SMITH/ACLJ CHARISMA NEWS

Too often the policies and the narrative of the Obama administration represent a serious break from reality. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

2 Wicked Ways Obama Is Sabotaging America Before He Leaves Office

10/20/2016 WESLEY SMITH/ACLJ  CHARISMA NEWS

Too often the policies and the narrative of the Obama administration represent a serious break from reality.

In an effort to convince conniving and violent enemies that we are peace-loving, as if that would make a difference to them, we sabotage the defense of our nation. Whether it is placing arbitrary limits on our military's use of force, telegraphing in advance to our enemies what we will or will not do to defeat them, or just plain political correctness in overdrive—we place the security of our homeland in great jeopardy.

Law enforcement, which now is usually our first line of defense against terrorism, is being held in check by an administration that is seemingly suspicious of law enforcement and ungrateful for the dangerous work they do in order to keep us safe. Reports indicate morale in law enforcement and in the military is at an all-time low. Intentionally or inadvertently, the Obama administration is sabotaging the defense of our country in at least two ways.

1. Ignoring the Nature of the Enemy We Face

If you believe the Obama administration's narrative, there is a threat out there, but it has nothing to do with Islam. Sure, there are terror organizations in the world. And there have been numerous attacks in the United States, as recently as the pressure cooker bombs in New York and New Jersey, the mall shootings in Minnesota, the Orlando and San Bernardino massacres, to name a few. And we still live, after all these years, in the poignant aftermath of the attacks of 9/11, in which over 3,000 people died.

But it is pure coincidence that the perpetrators of each of these attacks were Muslim and claimed to do their horrific deeds in the name of radical jihad. And incidentally, all of the groups taking up arms against the United States—ISIS, al-Qaida, al Shabaab, al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, to name a few—the fact they are all Muslim is just coincidental, according to the Obama administration. How ironic that they all seem to yell "Allahu akbar" (God is great) when they attack. This is the ongoing narrative of the present administration.

It is a fact that most Muslims are peace-loving people who wish no harm to anyone. American Muslims are generally as patriotic as any other group of religious people in America. However, the fact is indisputably clear that our chief adversaries who continue to commit violent acts not only abroad, but here at home as well, all claim Islam as their faith. They also claim Islam is their motivation and their mandate for these acts of mayhem and murder. This is the reality in which all of us live.

It was under this administration that infiltrating and surveilling of specific mosques, university student centers and Muslim nonprofit organizations as potential centers of radicalization was stopped.

Under pressure from Muslim advocacy groups, training materials for the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), the FBI and other federal agencies were purged from any references to Islamic terrorism or jihad.

At the ACLJ, we've filed a FOIA request demanding answers about this policy change that fails to prepare our defense and intelligence communities for the enemies we face. The pressure-cooker bomber in New York had been on the FBI's watch list and was even reported by his father for suspicion of being radicalized. Nothing was done because they did not want to appear to be singling out Ahmad Rahami just because he was Muslim.

The president refuses to even utter the words radical jihadis, because "jihad" is an Arabic term used in Islam and appears in the Quran. Meanwhile, the government warns us of the dangers of lone wolf attacks. These lone wolves are more than that; they are actually part of a wolf pack: Islamic jihadis. We are told if we "see something, say something." If only the Obama administration would follow their own advice and simply say something by naming the enemy whose goal is to destroy us.

But like the ubiquitous late night television commercials, we must say: "But wait! There's more." Our national defense is also put at risk by this administration in the following way:

2. Capitulating to Aggression by China and Russia

The Obama White House has barred the Pentagon from using a key phrase in references to China and Russia. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Admiral John Richardson, the highest-ranking sailor as Chief of Naval Operations, have often spoken of a return to "the great power of competition" when speaking of the aggressive and illegal grabs for power, influence and terrain committed by these two countries.

The president's hand-selected National Security Council (whose makeup I referred to in a previous post) has directed the Pentagon to strike that phrase from their speeches and to find a term that is less insulting and inflammatory. The administration believes that phrases like "great power competition" incorrectly implies that we are at odds with Russia and China. 

Really? Are we not fundamentally at odds with China selling ballistic missile technology to Iran and claiming new territory in international waters? Do we not have fundamental moral differences with Russia which at this moment bombs innocent civilians, hospitals and aid workers in Syria, or who threatens the sovereignty and safety of Ukraine, as well as our NATO partners?

Are there not striking distinctions between the United States and Russia, which has harassed U.S. aircraft in international airspace and threatened to shoot down our planes in Syria? Bryan McGrath, a retired Navy officer and naval expert quoted in Navy Times, said: The (Obama administration's) "explanation is an exercise in nuance and complexity chosen by the administration to provide maximum flexibility, to prevent them from committing to a real structural approach to the most important national security challenge of our time."

The Obama administration objects to the Secretary of Defense's clear message who, speaking to the Economic Forum, stated: "We must demonstrate to potential foes that, if they start a war, we have the capability to win." Carter, in speaking of Russia and China, also said they have "a growing arsenal of high-end war-fighting capabilities, many of which are focused specifically on our vulnerabilities."

One of our chief vulnerabilities is a commander in chief who appears to be more concerned with not offending our adversaries and protecting his perceived legacy than the defense of our country "from all enemies, foreign and domestic," as he swore in his Oath of Office. Intentionally or inadvertently, his worldview and his timid response to those who wish us harm is sabotaging our national defense.

We deserve better. And our national security demands it.

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End-Times Prophecy Watch: Islam Aligning With Russia in Unholy Alliance - JAY SEKULOW/ACLJ CHARISMA NEWS

Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war. (REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo)

End-Times Prophecy Watch: Islam Aligning With Russia in Unholy Alliance

9/13/2016 JAY SEKULOW/ACLJ  CHARISMA NEWS

Radical Islam and Russia are converging in a deadly and dangerous unholy alliance. In my upcoming new book (due out September 20), "Unholy Alliance: The Agenda Iran, Russia, and Jihadists Share for Conquering the World," I uncover some of these dangerous trends and detail solutions that our nation's leaders must take. This continues the in-depth analysis of radical Islam we began in the #1 New York Times bestseller "Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore."

A change has recently occurred in U.S. policy toward the Middle East, as we have begun to withdraw from the region under President Obama. According to Ryan Crocker, dean and executive professor of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University and a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan, we are now seeing "the lowest ebb since World War II for U.S. influence and engagement in the region."

The United States has substantially withdrawn its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and has, for the most part, chosen not to involve itself in the civil war raging in Syria, due to the Obama Administration's foreign policy decisions. This departure has created a vacuum in the Middle East, a void waiting to be filled by some other country.

Our enemies no longer fear us and our allies don't trust us.

Power abhors a vacuum. As Crocker explains, "[I]f you look at the heart of the Middle East, where the U.S. once was, we are now gone—and in our place, we have Iran, Iran's Shiite proxies [e.g., Hezbollah], Islamic State [i.e., ISIS] and the Russians."

Strangely, some Muslim sects that normally war with one another are even joining forces in some of these unlikely alliances.

For example, Shia Iran is supporting Sunni Hamas because they both want to see Israel wiped off the face of the planet. Eager to spread its vision of Islamic revolution throughout the Islamic world, Iran has been strategically expanding its reach through proxy terror organizations ever since it overthrew the Shah in 1979 and established the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the same time, Russia's activity in the Middle East has greatly increased as our former Cold War foe attempts to regain a foothold in the region and assert control over lucrative oil resources.

As Iran seeks to fill the vacuum and oppose American interests around the world, it has cultivated an alliance with Russia, a nation led by a former Cold War intelligence officer who dreams of returning Russia to its Soviet-level influence in the region and throughout the world.

This is not shocking to even the most rudimentary student of world history. We recognize human nature, and we know how evil works.

If the United States is unwilling to sacrifice and stand up against dictators and terrorists, then the dictators and terrorists will work together to ensure more people around the world are oppressed, and they will oppose the United States at every turn.

When we show weakness, they show strength. When we withdraw, they advance. When we lack strategy, they execute their strategy. And let there be no doubt, this will result in more terrorist attacks, more aggression, more lives lost and a reshaping of the world order.

Nowhere is the unholy alliance between Russia and Iran more clearly displayed than in their partnership with Syrian president Bashar al‑Assad against the rebel forces attempting to overthrow his regime. Both Russia and Iran have supported Assad's regime as part of a strategic alliance. Iran and Russia share one goal in Syria—to keep the Assad regime in power. In July 2015, Iran and Russia rapidly and significantly increased their political and military cooperation.

Ultimately, if Russia and Iran continue to fight for the Assad regime in Syria, the result will be an expansion of Iran's influence in Syria. This expansion will further destabilize the Middle East by placing Iranian forces in Sunni-Arab lands as well as on the border with Israel, expanding the Iranian hegemon, and strengthening Russia's presence in the region at the United States' expense.

One thing is clear: When the United States fails to lead, enemies of freedom will fill the vacuum and do everything they can to spread terror and oppression.

This is not just a matter of geopolitical gamesmanship between global superpowers. Real lives are on the line—the lives of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East, women and children, and innocent people of all ethnicities and nationalities. But as history has also made clear, in a globalized world, terror and chaos are not contained in one region. What happens there will impact our lives here in the United States as well.

But all hope is not lost. The United States and our allies can defeat this wave of aggression and terror. As the former prime minister of Great Britain Benjamin Disraeli regularly stated, "Forti nihil difficile"—nothing is too difficult for the brave. But time is running out.

This is excerpted and adapted from #1 NY Times Bestselling author Jay Sekulow's newest book, "Unholy Alliance: The Agenda Iran, Russia, and Jihadists Share for Conquering the World."

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Israel: The Canary in the Mineshaft - SKIP ASH/ACLJ CHARISMA NEWS

Emergency workers search the scene after a blast on a bus in Jerusalem April 18, 2016. (Ronen Zvulun)

Israel: The Canary in the Mineshaft

4/25/2016 SKIP ASH/ACLJ  charisma news

What happens in Israel sooner or later reaches the rest of us in the West. Israel is the canary in the mineshaft, serving as a warning to the rest of us that calamities are coming our way.

As an isolated outpost of Western civilization in a hostile neighborhood, Israel is the first target of Islamic terrorists, but don't be fooled—they're targeting us too.

Once again, Israeli civilians are targets of a concerted terror campaign by Palestinian terrorists. If you've been following the news lately, you'll have noticed that Israeli civilians are being attacked at random by knife-wielding Palestinians. There's also been a return to random attacks on pedestrians using vehicles as a weapon of choice, as well as the recent jihadi bus bombing in Jerusalem leaving over 20 more casualties to terror, and the discovery of yet another Palestinian terrorist tunnel dug under the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

The Palestinians' grievance this time? Same as always! The Israelis simply won't agree to commit national suicide by acceding to Palestinian demands to abandon Israel to the tender mercies of Palestinian thugs.

It has been aptly noted that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. That is as true today as ever. Repeatedly, Israeli officials have been willing to make the difficult compromises to obtain peace only to be met by Palestinian intransigence—and worse.

During the last days of the Clinton administration, for example, Israel was willing to give the Palestinians 98 percent of what they demanded. That sounds like a pretty good deal under any circumstances. The Palestinian response? A resounding NO!

Despite Israel's going the second mile and more, the Palestinians demanded 100 percent or nothing. It seems Palestinians would rather starve than settle for part of a loaf—even the entire loaf, less one slice.

What type of leader rejects an agreement that gives him 98 percent of his demands? A leader who is not serious about peace! A leader who would rather continue the struggle than reach a solution. A leader who cannot handle the responsibilities that peace would require.

And what followed on the heels of the Palestinian rejection? A Palestinian uprising—called an intifada. Now, get this. The Palestinians are offered 98 percent of what they demand, and they not only reject such an offer, but Palestinian terrorists initiate widespread violence against Israel to punish them for not yielding the final 2 percent. So much for good faith negotiations between the parties.

It appears that we are once again on the verge of another uprising, another intifada. Palestinian leadership has given up on negotiations with Israel. Why? Because Israel will no longer simply yield and yield and yield again in the face of Palestinian stonewalling.

If the Palestinians are serious about peace, they can have it. No one wants peace more than the State of Israel, which has been on a war footing for almost its entire existence as a state. Israel has gone the extra mile to reach peace only to have its extremely generous offers thrown back in its face by Palestinian authorities.

Now is the time for the Palestinians to decide whether they want peace or not. Sadly, I'm betting that this will be one more in a long list of lost opportunities.

In the meantime, we urge you to stand with us and with Israel as we continue to fight for Israel at the U.N., in the international court of public opinion, and with this current administration, which appears to be on the precipice of betraying Israel publicly and dramatically by declining to veto a number of anti-Israel resolutions currently making their way to the U.N. Security Council. 

For the original article, visit aclj.com.

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The Super Bowl Commercials That Drove Abortionists Absolutely Crazy - MATTHEW CLARK/ACLJ CHARISMA NEWS

The Super Bowl Commercials That Drove Abortionists Absolutely Crazy

2/9/2016 MATTHEW CLARK/ACLJ  charisma news

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The Doritos Super Bowl commercial has the abortion industry absolutely losing its mind.

Why?

The commercial shows a baby in an ultrasound.

NARAL—the abortion industry's top lobbyists—immediately took to Twitter in outrage, fuming, "#NotBuyingIt - that @Doritos ad using #antichoice tactic of humanizing fetuses..." That "anti-choice tactic of humanizing fetuses" is called an ultrasound, which shows a baby human inside the womb.

Yet this wasn't the only commercial big abortion was flipping out about Sunday.

The NFL released a series of ads during the big game on that premise that "Data suggest 9 months after a Super bowl victory, winning cities see a rise in births." They are known as Super Bowl Babies.

NARAL again couldn't stand the idea of babies actually being born, tweeting, "Super Bowl Babies? Use protection, sports fans."

The abortion industry was actually going out of its mind about these fun Super Bowl commercials because they promoted the simple idea that life is precious and should be celebrated. I guess an idea can be a dangerous thing.

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Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: ISIS waging war of genocide against Christians in the Mideast.

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog  BREAKING NEWS: ISIS waging war of genocide against Christians in the Mideast. New UN report provides chilling details.

(Austin, Texas) -- The evidence is in, and it's chilling -- the Islamic State is intentionally waging a war of genocide against Christians in Iraq and Syria. The jihadists are systematically trying to exterminate the Christian population in both countries by forcing followers of Jesus Christ to convert to their brand of Apocalyptic Islam or enslaving them, murdering them, starving them, and/or driving them out of the region. This is the case I began to lay out during a presentation at Life Austin Church here in the Texas capital on Thursday night. It was part of a series of messages I'm delivering across the U.S. on radio, TV and in churches as part of The First Hostage book tour. For the moment, ISIS is focusing their genocidal campaign on the populations of Iraq and Syria. But this is only the beginning. According to their Apocalyptic Islamic eschatology, ISIS leaders want expand their genocidal campaign throughout Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and the rest of the region in order to broaden their Islamic kingdom or caliphate and hasten the coming of the Mahdi, who they believe will then establish a worldwide caliphate. Consider the trend lines: The number of Christians in Syria has dropped from 1.25 million to 500,000 in recent years, according to analyses by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ). The number of Christians in Iraq have dropped from 1.4 million to fewer than 275,000 in recent years, which ACLJ notes is "an 80% drop." “When hundreds of thousands of Christians – men, women and children – are killed, this isn’t war -- this is genocide," argues World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder. "And we Jews know what happens when the world is silent to genocide.” Lauder has urged Jews and Christians to join forces against genocide. “Together, we must speak as one and tell the world: no more discrimination, no more terror, no more death, and no more silence!” I absolutely agree. While ISIS is engaged in the slaughter of Christians because they believe it is fulfilling Islamic End Times prophecy, they actually unknowingly fulfilling Biblical prophecy about the last days. The Lord Jesus Christ prophesied in John 16:3 that "an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God." Christ also prophesied that believers will see "wars and rumors of war," the rise of "lawlessness" and vastly increased persecution in the last days before He returns to set up His Kingdom. The Lord Jesus specifically warned that the enemies of the Cross "will deliver you to tribulation" in the End Times "and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." (see Matthew 24) These are exactly the trends we're seeing emerge in the epicenter. But let's be clear: it's not just Christians who are facing the ISIS genocide. Sunni and Shia Muslims who don't share the ISIS theology and eschatology are also facing this jihadist rampage. So are Yazidis and other minorities. And, of course, ISIS is threatening to exterminate the Jews of Israel soon. “Palestine will not be your land or your home,” ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told the Jews of Israel in an audio message in December. “It will be a graveyard for you. Allah has gathered you in Palestine so that the Muslims may kill you.” In August of 2014, just after I finished writing my first novel about ISIS (The Third Target), I began publicly warning that "we are watching genocidal conditions emerging in the epicenter" as the ISIS jihadist rampage accelerated. The situation has worsened dramatically since then. By February of 2015, the government of Iraq had laid out their case to the U.N. Security Council that the Islamic State was not simply committing atrocities but outright genocide. "These terrorist groups have desecrated all human values. They have committed the most heinous criminal terrorist acts against the Iraqi people whether Shi'ite, Sunni, Christians, Turkmen, Shabak or Yazidis," Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said. "These are in fact crimes of genocide committed against humanity that must be held accountable before international justice." Now, just this week, the U.N. has issued a report documenting the magnitude of the horror. Consider the numbers just in Iraq: 18,802 civilians were killed in Iraq between January 2014 and October 2015 36,245 civilians have been wounded during this same period some 3,500 have been seized as slaves by ISIS 3.2 million civilians have been displaced from their homes and villages, on the run for their very lives "The violence suffered by civilians in Iraq remains staggering,” the report states. “The so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) continues to commit systematic and widespread violence and abuses of international human rights law and humanitarian law. These acts may, in some instances, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.” The U.N. report "details numerous examples of killings by ISIL in gruesome public spectacles, including by shooting, beheading, bulldozing, burning alive and throwing people off the top of buildings. There are also reports of the murder of child soldiers who fled fighting on the frontlines in Anbar. Information received and verified suggests that between 800 and 900 children in Mosul had been abducted by ISIL for religious education and military training....ISIL [also] continued to subject women and children to sexual violence, particularly in the form of sexual slavery." Now consider the numbers in Syria, as well. According to the United Nations: at least 250,000 people have been killed in Syria 6.6 million people in Syria have been displaced from their homes and villages and are on the run for their lives 13.5 million need humanitarian assistance," reported Reuters on January 15, 2016. What's worse, new intel reports indicate ISIS appears to be testing chemical weapons for even larger and more lethal attacks. They must be stopped. First, the President and Congress must publicly acknowledge that the Islamic State is engaged in genocide. Second, it is time for Congress to formally declare war against ISIS. And third, we need to elect a new Commander-in-Chief ready, willing and able to neutralize the ISIS threat, as well as the Iranian nuclear threat before it's too late. As Jay Sekulow, head of ACLJ, and his team note, "The Holocaust gave rise to the necessity to define what 'genocide' is, and Article 2 of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) did just that," defining it as: any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Sophia Kuby of ADF is urging Members of the European Union "to call the atrocities against Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq by its name: genocide." “Christians in the Middle East urgently need this recognition to wake up the world to what is going on," Kuby notes. "In contrast to other diplomatic notions such as ‘systematic mass murder,’ ‘genocide’ is an internationally recognized legal term. It is necessary to call for further steps, such as a resolution at the UN Security Council and a referral to the International Criminal Court....All necessary criteria are fulfilled in order to recognize this as genocide. To deny this only adds to the horrendous suffering that people are already experiencing.” ————————– Order The First Hostage today — a new political thriller (#9 on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list) about ISIS launching a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — it’s now available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. FACT SHEET: The Iranian leadership’s Apocalyptic Beliefs FACT SHEET: The Islamic State’s Apocalyptic Beliefs What the next US president will need to know about Iran and Islamic State.(my column in The Jerusalem Post) What’s the difference between Apocalyptic Islamic eschatology & Biblical eschatology? And why does it matter? (Video & sermon notes) ——————- Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. Order THE THIRD TARGET today , the first in this new series — now out in paperback — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. Make an investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to help Christians care for Syrian refugees, educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution before the end of the year. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg joelcrosenberg | January 23, 2016 at 9:07 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-40L

Nagmeh Abedini: 'I'm Thankful for the Millions Who Prayed' - George Thomas CBN News

Nagmeh Abedini: 'I'm Thankful for the Millions Who Prayed'

01-18-2016

George Thomas

CBN News

Pastor Saeed Abedini and two other Americans are making their way home Monday, just one step closer to reuniting with their families.

Iran agreed to release the men in exchange for several Iranians being held in the U.S.
       
The prisoner swap happened the same day as U.S. and EU countries lifted decades-long sanctions against the Islamic regime.

"I've been a single mom for three and half years, and the kids reuniting with him will be a precious moment," Naghmeh Abedini, wife of Saeed Abedini, said.

Pastor Saeed was arrested nearly four years ago for his work among Iran's house churches.

In an exclusive interview just hours after her husband's release, Naghmeh Abedini described to CBN News the moment when she told her two children, Rebekka and Jacob, that their father was coming home.

"They were jumping up and down and rejoicing! It was very loud, very joyful and I could see a heavy weight lifted off their little shoulders," she said.

For the Abedini family, it has been three and half grueling years of advocacy and lots of prayer.

"Outside my faith in Jesus Christ, I'm so thankful for the millions who prayed, who trusted God with me, who did not give up, who sent me messages and letters saying 'we are not giving up; we have not forgotten him,'" Naghmeh said.

The American Center for Law Justice worked for Pastor Saeed's freedom. ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow called his release a "God moment."

"Even though our lawyers worked really hard and teams around the globe worked really hard, there were millions of people praying," Sekulow told CBN News. "Probably as many languages as they are people groups and those prayers were answered."

"God supernaturally intervened and we have the release of the Americans," Sekulow said.

The dramatic events happened over the weekend when Iran agreed to free five American hostages in exchange for several Iranians accused or convicted of violating U.S. sanctions.

"In a reciprocal, humanitarian gesture, six Iranian Americans and one Iranian - serving sentences or awaiting trial in the United States - are being granted clemency," President Barack Obama announced Sunday.

While nearly all Americans rejoiced at the news, some did so with caution.  Former U.S. United Nations Ambassador John Bolton called the action "wonderful for the families" but said it was a "diplomatic debacle" for the United States.

"The Americans weren't prisoners in Iran, they were hostages," Bolton told Fox News.

"They had been taken by a state terrorist decision and were being held as bargaining chips," he said. "To say that victims of terrorism are the equivalent of criminals or alleged criminals gives Iran an enormous victory."

Bolton said he believes the exchange "incentivizes" Iran and other terrorist entities to take more hostages and to raise the price.

Within hours of the prisoner swap, Iran joined the global economy for the first time in decades after the U.S. and EU agreed to lift sanctions following confirmation that the regime had kept its part of a nuclear deal signed last year.

While the president did impose some new sanctions because of Iran's recent missile tests, he praised the prisoner exchange.

"The freed Americans include Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S Marine Amir Hekmati, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari and Matthew Trevithick," he said.

"These individuals were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses," he noted. "They're civilians, and their release is a one-time gesture to Iran given the unique opportunity offered by this moment and the larger circumstances at play." 

"It reflects our willingness to engage with Iran to advance our mutual interests, even as we ensure the national security of the United States," the president continued.

"And perhaps most important of all, we've achieved this historic progress through diplomacy, without resorting to another war in the Middle East," he said.

Amelia Newcomb, mother of Mathew Trevithick, was "overjoyed" that her son was finally freed.

"We are just enormously grateful to everybody in the government," she said.

Not among those coming home is former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007.

"We are happy for the other families. But once again, Bob Levinson has been left behind. We are devastated," his family said in a statement on Facebook.

Abedini, Rezaian, and Hekmati are now at a U.S military hospital in Germany undergoing medical checkups before making the final journey home.

Planned Parenthood Tweets Ironic Pro-Life Tweet - PALMER WILLIAMS/ACLJ CHARISMA NEWS

Planned Parenthood Tweets Ironic Pro-Life Tweet

11/23/2015 PALMER WILLIAMS/ACLJ  CHARISMA NEWS

Planned Parenthood tweeted a pro-life message. (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Planned Parenthood just doesn't get it. They're so blinded by their own ideology of defending the indefensible—the murder of the most vulnerable members of our society—that they often speak in paradoxes.

Just last week on Twitter, Planned Parenthood quoted Hillary Clinton in a way that made every pro-life advocate (and probably more than a few pro-abortion advocates) wince and cringe at just how galling their advocacy could be: "Every child deserves the opportunity to live up to their God given potential. @HillaryClinton #blacklivesmatter"

Every word of their tweet seethes with irony and hard-heartedness to what truly matters. Let's break it down.

"Every child"—From the start, this quote makes clear that every life and every child matters, no matter how small or what stage of development they may be in. No matter what their condition or disability. No matter what level of dependence they may have on their mother, father or caregiver. Every child matters, even the 330,000 unborn children murdered by Planned Parenthood each year.

"deserves"—America's founding charter is clear. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Throughout our nation's history, we have had to fight to ensure that the Truth of the Declaration is a reality for all people. This battle is not over. Yet, the unalienable Right to life is still being denied by Planned Parenthood to hundreds of thousands each year.

This right to life doesn't come from our laws or our government because it is more fundamental than one nation's laws and government. It is universal and it comes from our Creator, from whom all life is originated and sustained.

"the opportunity"—Pro-abortion advocates and Planned Parenthood's allies are great at talking about opportunities of all kinds, except when it comes to that one opportunity that matters most—giving vulnerable unborn children the chance to live and grow. This opportunity is key, and it's one of society's most important obligations. If we don't protect those who need protection until they can protect themselves, our society's values really are upside down.

"to live up"—This statement implies that a child is alive. The problem? Planned Parenthood denies children the ability to live up to their potential every day when they abort them. It is unimaginable to think that in its history, Planned Parenthood has denied over 7 million children the chance to live their lives and discover their unique abilities.

"to their God-given"—Imago Dei, to be made in the image of God. Every person is a reflection of our Creator God and we derive our worth and our dignity from being made in his image. In order to justify their actions, Planned Parenthood has to ignore the imago dei in each unborn child they abort. Instead, they attempt to "play God" and decide which children are deserving of life and which are not. They deny the imago dei of a child simply because of the child's current residence—inside her mother's womb.

"potential"—Every human being is bursting with potential. Inherent in each one of us is the potential to do amazing things. Yet Planned Parenthood has snuffed out generation after generation of potential. They have undoubtedly annihilated America's next great doctors, teachers, community leaders, parents, grandparents and heroes. That is potential that will never be realized, because of Planned Parenthood.

If only Planned Parenthood could grasp the profound goodness to which their tweet speaks. Truth is literally on their lips, yet they are blinded to it. Let us pray that their eyes would be open to the truth that is before them, so that millions of unborn babies will have the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential. 

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