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.
WASHINGTON – In a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law requiring physicians who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges. The law also requires clinics to meet hospital-like safety stands for outpatient surgery.
Hundreds awaited Monday as the dramatic day played out at the high court.
The issue: the abortion and Texas access law that closed all but a handful of clinics in the Lone Star State over failure to meet state health standards. In ruling against the Texas law, pro-life advocates say the court missed an opportunity to protect women.
"It's extremely disappointing to see five unelected and unaccountable justices make this decision that hurts women," said Arina Grossu, director for the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council. "This case is about women's health and safety standards and they have refused to protect women. And this is going to mean that more women are going to continue to be hurt and even die in these abortion facilities."
Pro-choice advocates argue that facilities are safe enough and their concern is over access.
"I believe that the fact that the laws have made it so – there's so few abortion clinics – proves the fact that the laws are making a lower access to abortion versus making a safer abortion," one pro-choice advocate responded. "So I believe that access is really important and I'm really happy that we won."
Justices in the majority felt the Texas regulations pose an obstacle to women seeking abortions and could force women in dire circumstances to seek out unlicensed practitioners.
"Basically he said that these were new standards," Steve Aden, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, said. "He ignored the fact that they were consistent with the standards that [they] were applied by Texas to outpatient surgical facilities across the board, and he said they just simply closed too many clinics."
Lawyers for the Texas state law are discouraged by the ruling, but they think many clinics will remain closed because the overall demand for abortion is decreasing.
"The reason that clinics are closing by and large across the country is because abortion is more and more unpopular. That's a wonderful thing," Aden said.
"We know that the majority of Millennials, my generation, the majority of college-aged women are pro-life and we're going to continue fighting for them," Jane Riccardi with Students for Life of America said.
The decision has spurred pro-choice groups to continue fighting for the lives of the unborn. They're planning to go after other states with strict clinic regulations.
"This is a rallying point for the presidential election," Concerned Women for America President Penny Nance said. "There are huge implications for the unborn in this next election and I call on every pro-life American to make sure they vote."
"We're going to work very hard to make sure we have better justices and overturn this decision," Nance said. "We're not done."
Pro-life leaders say this decision underscores the importance of electing a pro-life president in 2016 since the next president will appoint at least one new justice to the Supreme Court.
Where is Israel on Evangelical Christian Voters' List of Priorities?
Mike Huckabee (l) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister's office)
Seventeen Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of evangelical Christian voters from the swing states of Ohio and Florida, to the cornfields of Iowa, to the small towns of the Deep South.
Within the varied spectrum of 2016 election issues such as the economy, immigration, and health care, do evangelicals highly prioritize candidates' positions on Israel and the Middle East?
Major evangelical leaders in America are saying, "Yes."
"Studies show us there are approximately 90 million Christians in America who consider their beliefs to be evangelical," Tony Perkins—president of the Family Research Council (FRC), a Christian education and lobbying group—told JNS.org. "Of that number around 9-10 percent have what we call a 'biblical worldview,' in that they believe what the Scriptures say pertaining to Israel. That's a large number of voters who can definitely make a difference in a primary or general election."
Perkins said, "Among core evangelical voters, Israel is easily one of the top 10, maybe even the top five issues when considering who to support in a presidential primary. The Old Testament tells us that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed and it's certainly important to be on the right side of God's Word."
The reference by Perkins is to Genesis 12:3, which states, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (NIV).
In August, former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders in Jerusalem. It was part of a decades-old ritual for Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister who has visited Israel about 40 times since the 1970s—far more than any other current presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican.
"Israel should be top-of-mind when evaluating GOP presidential candidates," Huckabee told JNS.org.
"I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for 20 years," he said. "I went to Israel not to seek his endorsement, but to endorse him because his voice is so important. Netanyahu leads a people who are realists. They know what it's like to have people threaten to kill them. They take it seriously when a government (Iran) for 36 years promises to wipe them off the face of the Earth."
While Huckabee's Israel trip was the latest to make headlines, the FRC is organizing a Holy Land visit in October for supporters who will be joined by two GOP candidates, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker took his first trip to Israel in May.
Two-Pronged Strategy
Political operatives say that candidates' trips to Israel are focused on securing campaign donations from influential Israeli government and business leaders who can infuse much-needed cash and hopefully help deliver the support of pro-Israel voters back in the U.S.
But ultimately, are these visits to the Jewish state more educational or political in nature?
"Both," said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, a Christian women's activist group.
Nance, along with political strategist Ralph Reed and author Joel Rosenberg, penned an op-ed in The Christian Post about presidential contenders visiting Israel in the immediate aftermath of the November 2014 U.S. midterm elections. They posed seven questions that they argued candidates must answer to win the White House. The fifth question reads in part, "Does the candidate have a clear and coherent view of the U.S. vital interest in the Middle East, including a demonstrated, consistent, long-standing support for Israel and a solid understanding of why Israel matters to the U.S.?"
According to Nance, there are "a number of reasons those aspiring to win the GOP nomination need to understand and embrace Israel."
"First, visiting Israel is an educational experience in understanding their economy, security challenges, and what's important to their citizens," she told JNS.org. "At the same time, you are telegraphing to evangelical voters why Israel is important and that you sincerely care about its future. Finally, you want to raise money and appeal to pro-Israel voters."
Tremendous Pool of Potential Pro-Israel Advocates
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) asserts that the evangelical Christian community plays a vital role in U.S.-Israel relations, the influential pro-Israel lobby's core priority. As such, AIPAC enlists Christian clergy to garner nationwide support for Israel, stating on its "Your Church and AIPAC" webpage that polls consistently show how support for the Jewish state "is highly related to adherence to evangelical beliefs and frequency of church attendance."
"As Christians, we should be Israel's strongest supporters and friends and we need to translate that into political activism," Rev. Philip C. Morris, Jr. argues in an AIPAC video.
AIPAC also notes the significance of evangelical support to the entire pro-Israel community by stating, "20-25 million Americans define themselves as evangelical Christians, representing a tremendous pool of potential pro-Israel advocates."
Evangelical Perspectives on Israel and the Middle East
According to February 2014 Pew Research Center findings, a plurality of Christians (29 percent) and Jews (31 percent) say the U.S. is not supportive enough of Israel. Nearly half of white evangelical Protestants (46 percent) claim America does not provide enough support for Israel.
Notably, when Pew polled Americans in 2012 about U.S. foreign policy—specifically, what actions America should take if Israel attacks Iran to stop Iran's nuclear program—64 percent of white evangelicals answered, "support Israel," compared to 39 percent of the general public.
In March 2013,LifeWay Research reported that 72 percent of white evangelicals support Israel in its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, compared to 49 percent of Americans overall. Fifty percent of white evangelicals claim Israel cannot peacefully coexist with an independent Palestinian state, compared to 33 percent of American Jews and 41 percent of the general public.
With the Iran nuclear deal garnering much public attention, most of the GOP contenders are quick to remind prospective voters of the ramifications of a country whose hostile intentions toward the U.S. and Israel are seen all too often.
"Radical Islam poses an imminent threat to national security, both in the United States and Israel," Huckabee told JNS.org. "With Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, combined with 'Death to America' chants, and with a steady stream of global terrorist attacks, GOP voters understand that this toxic ideology must be defeated if we are to survive. While Russia, China, and North Korea have more firepower, they are considerably less likely to attack us than Iran, Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and other hardline Islamists."
Besides Huckabee, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the presidential candidate who perhaps best personifies evangelical voters' support of Israel. In Cruz's candidacy announcement speech in March at Liberty University, the only remark to inspire a 30-second standing ovation was about Israel. Cruz declared, "Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel."
Presidential candidates and evangelical voters not only care about Israel, but recognize its significance to their faith. A July poll by LifeWay reveals that 70 percent of evangelicals believe that the God of the Bible has a special relationship with the modern nation of Israel.
"No country is more intertwined with the ancient biblical narrative than Israel," said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay, "and evangelical Americans see a contemporary connection with the nation."
Bethany Blankley contributed to this article. For the original article, visit jns.org.
WASHINGTON -- Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and conservative group Concerned Women for America joined forces to sponsor a "Stand with Israel" rally on Capitol Hill Sunday.
CWA's president Penny Nance kicked off the rally explaining how it was birthed last year while she was in Israel. She came to see why it's important to support the Jewish nation today as it faces enemies who want to wipe it out.
Just after visiting Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, she asked herself if she would have supported Jews during World War II when they also faced the threat of extinction.
"If I had been alive during the Holocaust, what would I have done?" Nance told the rally crowd. "Would I have been one of those people, one of those Christians, who just turned away and turned a blind eye to the evil that was right before me?"
Many of the speakers at the rally pointed out that supporting Israel is certainly a moral choice. But they also insisted it's in America's own best interest because if Israel's enemies ever succeed in destroying it, they'll then turn all their guns on America and the West.
Huckabee said he believes God will save Israel from destruction, but ISIS, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran still want to wipe it out. He warned they wouldn't stop there.
"Do you honestly think that if they were to achieve that, that they would say, 'Well, that's it. We're done?'" Huckabee asked.
"Israel isn't the ultimate target. We are. Let us never forget it," he admonished the crowd gathered on Capitol Hill.
CBN Terrorism Analyst Erick Stakelbeck talked about how Iran is developing ICBM missiles that will be able to cross oceans by 2015. He explained why this Persian superpower that's threatened to destroy nearby Israel needs intercontinental missile.
"Israel is the little Satan, a bump on the road to the Great Satan -- us. Their words, not mine," Stakelbeck said of the Iranian leaders and their fellow radicals. "So if you think you can ignore ISIS, ignore Iran, and leave Israel to its own devices, you're sadly mistaken."
CWA also wanted to demonstrate that there are many young concerned women for Israel. They brought three of them to the podium.
One was Raquel Minka, a Baltimore Jew in her 20s who when she heard this July there was to be an anti-Israel protest in her neighborhood, organized a counter-rally. It ended up having hundreds more participants than the anti-Israel protest.
To Minka, this struggle is personal.
"My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. They fought the fight," she told CBN News. "My dad is a wounded IDF [Israel Defense Forces] veteran. He fought the fight. And now I'm doing the same. I'm taking it upon myself to also fight."
Bill Kristol, founder and editor of The Weekly Standard, is acknowledged as one of the most vocal and ardent neo-conservatives, who advocates an activist American military presence in the world.
Before taking the stage at the rally, Kristol told CBN News it's essential America both ensure Israel's survival and stand in the Middle East and fight.
"We know what a world without Israel and with an America that's weak and withdrawn looks like," he said. "And that's the world of 1939 -- 75 years ago. And that's a world that leads to a world war, and that's a world that leads to a Holocaust."
Kristol said President Barack Obama's non-interventionism has led to worse outcomes than George W. Bush's much-maligned interventionism.
"Almost 200,000 dead in Syria. ISIS on the rampage. Iran close to nuclear weapons: it's unbelievably dangerous for Israel; it's unbelievably dangerous for us," Kristol said, surveying the present crises.
"If Iran gets nuclear weapons, that's a threat to Israel. But it's a threat to the U.S., too," he continued. "So I think we are seeing how dangerous the world can be when America, unfortunately, looks weak."
