Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Thousands of Christians descended on the nation's capital Monday for Christians United for Israel's 12th annual summit.
Mike Pence addressed the crowd, assuring that that not only he but President Donald Trump are proud supporters of the Jewish state.
"And under President Donald Trump, if the world knows nothing else, the world will know this: America stands with Israel. Now and always," he said.
The Vice President also revealed where his love for Israel comes from. Not from Capitol Hill, but from the very word of God.
"To look at Israel is to see that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob keeps his promises," he said. "Like all of you, my passion for Israel springs from my Christian faith. The songs of the land and the people of Israel were the anthems of my youth. As for me and my house, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and all who call her home. It’s really the greatest privilege of my life to serve as Vice President to a President who cares so deeply for our most cherished ally."
It was also very clear the alliance between Israel and America's leaders was not just founded on faith, but common values like freedom and democracy.
"President Trump has made it clear: America stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel, as together we confront those enemies who threaten our people, our freedom, and our very way of life," he said.
Pence also made sure to address one issue that so many Christians supported when President Trump ran his campaign -- the move of the United State's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"I promise you that the day will come when President Donald Trump moves the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It is not a question of if, it is only when," he said to a standing ovation.
CUFI members will take Capitol Hill on Tuesday to urge their congress members and senators to follow Vice President Mike Pence and President Trump's lead and support Israel.
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Pro-Israel Evangelical group Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is sending hundreds of members to Washington, DC this week in order to influence Israel policies being debated on Capitol Hill.
Coming from 49 states, 260 CUFI members are flying into the capital Wednesday with the goal of pushing two congressional measures which slam the UN’s recent anti-settlement resolution and slash security budgets for America’s embassies worldwide until the US Embassy in Israel is moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an act President-elect Donald Trump has said is a top priority for his administration.
Behind the mass migration of activists is a general move for CUFI away from associating with more moderate Israel advocacy organizations which support a two-state solution and towards Trump, who has made his strong pro-Israel and pro-Jerusalem positions a main part of his platform.
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)
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."
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
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The period of the Jewish calendar where we find ourselves in now is the saddest time of the year, the three weeks when we commemorate the loss of both Holy Temples in Jerusalem. People born during this period are often given names of hope and comfortbased on the Hebrew root "Nachum" which means to comfort. Hebrew names include "Menachem" or "Nachum" for men, while the feminine version is the beautiful name "Nechama."
In the spirit of the Three Weeks of mourning for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, this week’s video is solemn yet moving. Listen to Neshama Carlebach’s heartfelt rendition of Isaiah 40.
Pastor John Hagee of CUFI shared his hopes for the future of the pro-Israel Christian movement and offered his strongest arguments in favor of supporting Israel.
Yes, enjoying your updates on Zion. Peace & Blessings from Victoria, British Columbia - Harvey Underwood
Your site is wonderful. I have forwarded links to my husband and daughter as well. I am practicing Hebrew by reading your Torah post every day....Thank you !!!- Claudia Zimmerman
“Pray for the peace of Yerushalayim; may they prosper that love thee.” (Psalm 122:6)
Pastor John Hagee (Photo: Wiki Commons)
On Monday, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), led by Pastor John Hagee, held its 11th annual Washington Summit in the nation’s capitol. The two-day event drew top speakers from the pro-Israel global community, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via satellite, and boasted an attendance of over 5,000 people.
In an exclusive email interview with Breaking Israel News on the occasion, Pastor Hagee, the founder and national Chairman of CUFI and one of the Christian community’s strongest voices for Israel, shared his hopes and beliefs for the future of the pro-Israel Christian movement and offered his strongest arguments in favor of supporting the Jewish state.
He began by explaining that the need to stand with Israel is more urgent today than ever before, pragmatically as well as spiritually. “Israel’s enemies are our enemies. Israel’s fight is our fight,” Pastor Hagee declared, pointing to the current global spread of Islamic terrorism as evidence of this truth.
Omar Mateen, the Muslim gunman who killed 49 in a gay bar in Orlando on June 12, 2016. (Facebook)
“If this wasn’t clear before, our shared enemies are making it crystal clear as they strike in Tel Aviv, Kiryat Arba, Brussels, Paris, Nice, San Bernardino and Orlando.”
Israel has long been at the forefront of the war against radical Islamic violence, he continued, making it a key ally in the war on terror.
“Radical Islam is more violent and aggressive than ever. This makes it more important than ever to support our front-line ally in the fight against radical Islam: Israel.”
Hagee admitted that the anti-Israel voices spreading through America are loud and strong. He attributed this to an appealing, oversimplified narrative which is easy to understand – unlike the actual situation in the Middle East.
“The biggest challenges [CUFI and Christian Zionists] face are the lies told by Israel’s detractors. Israel’s enemies advance simple, attractive myths. And the truth about Israel is often more difficult to convey than the myths,” he explained to Breaking Israel News.
“For example, the Jewish state’s enemies call Israel an apartheid state. Anyone who’s spent even an hour in Israel understands how outrageous this lie is. But with this one short sentence Israel is demonized.
“Explaining the reality – Israel’s diversity, Israel’s tolerance, Israel’s equal rights – takes more than one sentence.”
BDS protesters in Washington DC, August 2, 2014. (Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock.com)
“If you value peace, equality and liberty, you should stand with Israel,” he said, describing why liberal students can and should identify with Israel. “One of the great assets Zionists have is that Israel exemplifies many of the ideals about which our young people are most passionate.
“Concerned with freedom of religion? Israel guards that freedom for every person regardless of their faith. Focused on freedom of the press? You’d be hard-pressed to find a country with a more vibrant and open media. Impressed by diversity? Israel is a celebration of ethnic and religious diversity. I could go on.”
While getting out the pro-Israel message is indeed fraught with challenges, the “vast majority” of America’s Christians stand with Israel, said Hagee, estimating that there are “tens of millions of Christian Zionists” in the US alone.
As for those Christians who support the BDS movement or other anti-Israel activities – a growing group which includes the Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church USA – Hagee has a simple message.
“You are misguided,” he said. “Yes, our Christian values demand that we have compassion for those that suffer. But if you blame Palestinian suffering on Israel then you’re ignorant about this conflict.”
Hagee suggested that anti-Israel sentiment is an offshoot of adherence to Replacement Theology, which holds that Christians have succeeded the Jews as God’s chosen people, essentially nullifying the Hebrew Bible.
In other words, Christians who do not support Israel are defying the Bible – and embracing anti-Semitism.
“If you believe that God has replaced the Jewish people as his chosen people then you’re ignorant about God’s word,” he said. “Those who advance Replacement Theology are advancing an anti-Semitic theology.
“And make no mistake,” he added. “Anti-Semitism is sin.”
He praised the interfaith nature of his organization’s work, which he said is very different from the “cold dialogues in which people agree to disagree” that have marked most interfaith efforts until now.
CUFI emphasizes the commonalities, not the differences, explained Hagee. “What is great about CUFI is that we bring Christians and Jews together to focus on those things we passionately share: love of Israel and the Jewish people.”
A Christians United for Israel (CUFI) solidarity march in Jerusalem in 2010. In center is CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee. (Photo: CUFI)
Hagee acknowledged the initial reluctance felt by many in the Jewish community towards working with Christians. “We know that for centuries Jews were persecuted by those who carried the cross, and we know that many in the Jewish community are thus understandably wary of Christians bearing gifts,” he said.
“But we’ve shown that CUFI is a non-proselytizing organization, and that we are focused exclusively on being a friend to the Jewish people and the Jewish state.”
In the end, there is no better reason to stand with Israel than the simple fact that “God is Israel’s ultimate protector,” Hagee told Breaking Israel News in closing. “As Christians we are blessed with the opportunity to stand with His Chosen People.”
The influential pastor ended on a somber note with a hint of warning.
“Israel will survive and thrive – the only question is whether or not Christians and Americans will be on the right side of history and God’s blessings.”
“My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye Hashem.” Judges 5:9 (The Israel Bible™)
Father Gabriel Naddaf (Photo: Facebook)
By: Tzvi Lev/TPS
Israeli Greek Orthodox Priest Gabriel Naddaf opened the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) Washington Summit on Monday by lauding Israel as the safest country for Christians in the Middle East.
“Today, there is just one country in the Middle East where Christians live in peace and security,” said Naddaf. “In Israel, they have freedom of speech and religion, they can exercise their faith freely, and they have democratic rights.”
Christians United For Israel, or CUFI, is an American pro-Israel Christian organization and the largest such organization in the United States, with over 1.6 million members. The Washington Summit is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from July 17-18 and features many pro-Israel speakers as well as a message by satellite from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Israel is something we need to protect,” Naddaf continued. “We need to protect its freedom, we have to protect our home, and we have to protect the cradle of Christianity.”
Gabriel Naddaf, a resident of Nazareth, is a priest and actively encourages Christian Arabs to enlist in the IDF. He has faced fierce criticism as a result, including threats to his family. Naddaf”s eldest son was physically assaulted in 2013 over what Naddaf attributed to opposition to his pro-military stance.
The Washington Summit has been ongoing from July 17-18 and featured a message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via satellite.
WASHINGTON – From the streets of Tehran to the halls of the U.N. to Hezbollah on Israel's northern border, the Jewish state is surrounded by enemies seeking to demonize or destroy it. But the number of Christians standing up for Israel is growing.
Christians United for Israel, or CUFI, has grown to more than 3 million members.
Eleven years ago, Pastor John Hagee founded CUFI to teach Christians about the biblical mandate to stand with Israel "because every evangelical has a biblical basis for supporting the State of Israel."
"Supporting Israel is not a political issue, it's a Bible issue," Hagee told CBN News.
CUFI is having an impact on presidential politics. CNN credits the group with influencing Republicans to adopt the most pro-Israel platform in U.S. history.
"So because of Christians United for Israel, which was specifically named in the article, the Republican Party said we're going to have a plank that says Jerusalem shall be an undivided city in the future," Hagee explained.
Even with that political victory, Middle East experts like Col. Oliver North believe Israel is under more threat than ever.
"Now the Iranians and the North Koreans are building nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them. Israel is the nearest target and us as the Great Satan [are also a] target. So it is different than it ever has been before," North told CBN News.
"So CUFI, Christian United for Israel, can make all the difference in the world for educating people about the real threat and what we need to do about it, simple as that," he said.
CUFI believes a big part of standing with Israel is what's happening on college campuses. An apartheid wall on one college campus vilifies Israel's security barrier.
The organization has enlisted hundreds of students to present the truth about Israel. They call it the battle for the future.
"We are fighting for the future of Israel. We're fighting for the future of America," CUFI campus representative Maria Lilly told CBN News.
Lilly says pro-Palestinian groups often try to shut down pro-Israel speeches on college campuses.
"We're in for a battle," she said. "On so many college campuses around the country and even around the world students face so much anti-Semitism and backlash for their support of Israel."
Pastor Hagee feels it's crucial for the United States to stand with Israel.
"The Bible verse, 'I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you' is the promise of God and God keeps His promises."
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
Evangelical support for Israel is under threat as a growing trend of Christians consciously turning their backs on Israel continues to increase.
To address this major concern among the Christian Zionist and Jewish community, The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is hosting a groundbreaking conference, entitled “Get the Facts about the Assault on Christian Support for Israel,” exploring the troubling campaigns to undermine the historical and theological support for Israel among Christians.
“It is important to address threats against Evangelical support for Israel because this part of Christendom has historically been the largest and most consistent in their support of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State and defend itself against those who intend to annihilate it,” explained Tricia Miller, Christian Media Senior Research Analyst at CAMERA, to Breaking Israel News.
“The existential dangers facing Israel are more intense than ever. Therefore, it is more important now than it has ever been for Christians to stand with Israel.”
While major Christian Zionist organizations, such as Pastor John Hagee’s 2 million strongChristians United for Israel (CUFI) or the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the largest Evangelical Christian group supporting Israel financially, which is led by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, remain committed to their support of Israel, “recent trends in the Evangelical world point to a conscious turning away from Israel by some key members of this important part of Christendom,” explained Miller.
One of the major influences turning Christian Zionists into anti-Israel advocates is the “fallacious narrative promoted by Palestinian Christian leaders that is both anti-Jewish and anti-Israel.” With the emergence of a stronger and more organized politicized voice among the Palestinian Christian community, Miller stated, many American Evangelical leaders are responsible for “enabling and assisting the spread of a deceptive political agenda based on erroneous theology and have rewritten history.”
Theologically, Palestinian Christians are now claiming loudly and proudly that the Palestinians, not the Jews, are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel. “Not only does this assertion deny the prophetic significance of the regathering of the Jewish people to their Biblical homeland that is supposed to be important to Christians, but the logical conclusion of this assertion is the belief that Jesus and the first disciples were Palestinians,” Miller told Breaking Israel News.
“As a result, Biblical history – that Evangelicals have believed in traditionally – is rewritten and the Christian faith is delegitimized.”
Significant examples of this growing trend and shift in theology is the popup of organizations such as Christ at the Checkpoint and the Bethlehem Bible College. The annual conferences run by these two organizations alone are, as Miller explained, the “primary promoters of virulent anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda.”
(Photo: Christ at the Checkpoint Facebook Page)
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Christ at the Checkpoint logo says it all. The logo depicts a church standing behind the security barrier built by Israel as a means to keep Palestinian terrorists out of Israel.
“Through their imagery and content, these conferences present a one-sided narrative that perpetuates the two millennia-old Christian doctrine that Jews are an obstacle to God’s purposes,” Miller told Breaking Israel News. “As a result, Jews are demonized, the Jewish state is delegitimized, and Christians are encouraged to accept the message in the name of peace and justice.”
The upcoming one-day CAMERA conference, which will take place in Los Angeles, CA, on January 18, has what can only be described as an all-star lineup of world renowned scholars and religious leaders committed to countering the false religious narratives and anti-Israel agenda turning away support for Israel among the Evangelical community.
Among the speakers taking part in the conference are Laurie Cardoza-Moore ThD, founder and president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, who will discuss the rising threat of replacement theology and the faulty theological foundation of the Palestinian Christian narrative; Rev. Gerald McDermott PhD, who will explore the historical and theological case for Christian support for Israel; Dr. Brad Young of Oral Roberts University, who will explain the Biblical reasons Christians are connected to the Jewish people and honoring Jews as the elder brother in faith; and highly esteemed Orthodox rabbi, Yitzchok Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
If you would like to learn more about the upcoming conference, click here.
STANDING FOR TRUTH IN A WORLD OF DECEPTION - Now Think On This – Book 4 Here are more encouraging messages written by Steve Martin for the Love For His People and Now Think On This blogs.
They cover a variety of topics to encourage you, believers in Jesus, to stand strong in your daily walk, firmly committed for His plans and purposes in our nations. As the Lord would give Steve a word or two in his spirit, he would begin to write.
With a prophetic and inspirational edge, these messages will be an encouragement to you to stand clear in your faith, fulfill the call on your life, and be a light to the nations, beginning within your own family and to those around you.
These simple words are meant to be an addition to your daily Bible reading and prayer time. While the days growing darker, each of us must be built up in the faith of our forefathers and the Jewish writers of the Written Word, as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. We must stand strong for truth in this world of deception which increasingly surrounds us.
