Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: Why is ISIS trying feverishly to lure the U.S. into a ground war in Syria?

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Why is ISIS trying feverishly to lure the U.S. into a ground war in Syria? The answer lies in ancient Islamic prophecies of a place called “Dabiq.” (My interview on Fox News) by joelcrosenberg (Washington, D.C.) -- In my latest novel series -- The Third Target and The First Hostage -- the leaders of the Islamic State launch a carefully-coordinated plot to blow up an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit, capture the President of the United States, and lure the U.S. and Western alliance into a ground war in Syria. While the books are fiction, they are based on actual ISIS strategy. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS, and his inner circle are, in fact, feverishly trying to draw the U.S. into a ground war in Syria. The question is: Why? The answer lies in an obscure town in northern Syria called "Dabiq." On Fox News yesterday, I explained why Dabiq is so important to the ISIS leadership. To watch the video, please click here. Also, here's the transcript. AUTHOR WARNS AGAINST "APOCALYPTIC ISLAM" FOX NEWS ANCHOR SHANNON BREAM: The fight against terror -- both home-grown and global -- is a top concern for those tuning into the President's final State of the Union address Tuesday. What is the President's strategy and how important are the exact words he uses when outlining the global terror threat? Joel Rosenberg is a best-selling author who has written extensively about the realities of the newest threat, which he calls "Apocalyptic Islam." His brand new book, The First Hostage, has just been released, and I am at the edge of my seat getting through it -- an excellent book. And you use fiction to communicate ideas that you think are important as a way of helping people learn about the threats and what's going on, but in an entertaining, fascinating way. JOEL C. ROSENBERG: Tom Clancy did it. Vince Flynn did it. It is a good way. A lot of people don't want to read a 900 page book on Islamic theology or history. But they understand that it's real and it's urgent, and this is a way to get into the story. BREAM: You and I have talked about the fact that al Qaeda and that threat, obviously, murderous around the globe, but this is -- you say -- ISIS to a new level. It's not simply radical. You're using the word apocalyptic, that they want to bring about the end of the world, essentially. ROSENBERG: That's right. The Islamic State's magazine is called, Dabiq. D-A-B-I-Q. Most people have no idea what that means. It's a little town in the north of Syria. Why is that important? Because they believe, based on ancient Islamic prophecies, that the Western world -- "the forces of Rome" -- will be drawn to that spot for the second-to-last battle of all history, and that the West will lose, and the Islamic State will win, and then they head to Jerusalem. The idea is that they believe that the End of Days has come, their messiah -- known as the "Mahdi" -- will come reign over the entire world at any moment. They're driven by an Islamic eschatology that's genocidal. And that's why it's so dangerous. And yet most leaders -- including the President and our two front-runners on the Democrat and Republican side -- they don't understand it. They don't talk about it. That's a problem. BREAM: Well, what you're saying -- what you're outlining, their whole purpose and mission -- it seems to be driven by theology, by their beliefs about the End Times. But as you mention, we have a lot of leaders who want to say, "This isn't a religious group. They are not Islamic. They've hijacked, or they're using, the religion simply as a vehicle for their violence, but it's not based on religion." But it sounds like the way that you're describing it, it's completely based on they're understanding of it. ROSENBERG: You can decide that you don't want to want it to be based on religion, but that's what they believe. Now, we're not talking about all 1.6 billion Muslims. You know, I've got characters in here [in my novels] who are Islamic leaders, Arab leaders -- they're Muslims, they're not evil. What's evil is to have an End Times theology, that you're trying to bring about the end of the world, and you believe you need to kill every Jew, Christian, and others you would call an "infidel," to get to your Islamic global kingdom. This is what's defining ISIS. This is what's actually defining Iran's leadership -- not the people, but the leaders. The difference is that ISIS wants to build the caliphate now, so they're killing, slaughtering now, whereas Iran wants to build the pathway to nuclear weapons so when they get ready to launch the caliphate war it will be genocidal by the millions, not just the tens or hundreds of thousands. BREAM: So how do you respond to those who say, "This sounds like crazy talk. It sounds cuckoo, all these theories and prophecies"? ROSENBERG: Well, it is. And you have to distinguish this. Jews have an eschatology. Jews -- I'm Jewish on my father's side -- we believe the Messiah is coming at one point. Christians -- I'm an Evangelical -- believe that Jesus is coming to set up a Kingdom. The difference is the genocidal nature [of Islamic eschatology], [they're determination] to annihilate all of Israel and the United States and all infidels. So it is a crazy eschatology, End Times theology, but to ignore it, to ignore what's actually animating both the Islamic State leaders and the Iranian leaders, is incredibly dangerous. Because one of the themes in my novels -- including The First Hostage -- is, "If you misunderstand the nature and threat of evil, you risk being blindsided by it." This [novel] is about ISIS trying to capture and behead the President of the United States, as they draw us into a ground war in Syria, based on their ancient Islamic prophecies. And you have to understand your enemy if you're going to defeat them. BREAM: Well, as with all your books, it's a great way to be entertained and informed at the same time. It is a wild ride. We wish you much success with it. Thanks for stopping in, Joel Rosenberg. Best wishes. ROSENBERG: It's good to be with you. ————– Order The First Hostage today — 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) ——————- 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 11, 2016 at 1:23 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3P6 Like

Joel Rosenberg - With prophetic implications - the region of Iraq. What does it mean?

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

With prophetic implications, the Kurds, known as the Medes in the Bible, seize oil-rich region of Iraq. What does it mean? by joelcrosenberg (Washington, D.C.) -- Could recent developments in Iraq have prophetic implications? Actually, the answer may be yes -- especially with regards to the Kurdish people who live in northern Iraq. Let me explain. As we've been seeing in recent weeks, the Radical jihadist forces of the "Islamic State of Iraq & al-Sham" (ISIS) are on the move towards Baghdad. They are leaving a trail of bloodshed and carnage in their wake. The objective of the ISIS leaders is to topple the Iraqi government, seize control of all of Iraq, establish a jihadist state under Sharia law, and use Iraq to begin a regional -- and eventually global -- Islamic caliphate, or kingdom. Now, the Kurdish leaders have taken advantage of the chaos of this moment to seize control of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk for themselves. (see AP story below) The oil fields of Kirkuk have been a long-standing issue of controversy in Iraq, especially since the liberation of the country in 2003. Whoever controls those fields would control enormous wealth as the oil there is more fully developed and shipped to markets around the globe. The Kurds, generally, are Sunni Muslims, but they are not ethnically Arabs. Indeed, many Kurds have a deep hatred for the Arabs. Several decades ago, the world create a special, protected, autonomous region for the Kurds in the north region of Iraq, after Saddam Hussein repeated attacked and tried to destroy the Kurds, including with the use of chemical weapons. Ultimately, many Kurds want to create an independent country of their own, uniting Kurds living in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Yet each of those national governments strongly oppose the creation of an independent Kurdistan. What's fascinating is that the modern Kurdish people were known in ancient, Biblical times as the Medes. Here is where things get interesting. Bible prophecy indicates that in the End Times, as we get closer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, God will allow the Medes to gain power, even as the Lord allows the Arabs to gain power and rebuild the kingdom of Babylon in the heart of Iraq. The Book of Revelation, for example, tells us that Babylon will be the epicenter of evil in the last days of history, and will eventually face the judgment of God. The Hebrew prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel tell us this, as well, indicating Babylon will be completely destroyed and when the judgment is complete, Babylon will be completely uninhabitable. Indeed, Isaiah 13:20 says of Babylon, "It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there." What's more, Bible prophecy indicates that God will raise up the Medes -- that is, the Kurdish people -- to be an instrument of judgment against Babylon. Isaiah 13:17 -- "Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them [the Babylonians]...." Jeremiah 51:11 -- "The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; for it is the vengeance of the Lord...." Jeremiah 51:28-29 -- "Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their prefects, and every land of their dominion. So the land quakes and writhes, for the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitants...."  How exactly will these eschatological prophecies come to pass? It's too early to say for certain. But after studying these prophecies, traveling four times to the Iraqi Kurdistan region, meeting with senior Kurdish leaders -- including Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani -- and tracking developments there over the past decade or so, I think it is fair to say we may be seeing some of the prophetic battle lines developing: The hatred of the Kurds/Medes against the Arabs, and vice versa, is steadily growing. The Kurds/Medes and the Arabs are in a continued struggle to control the oil resources that will make either or both of them enormously wealthy and powerful in the End Times. The Kurds/Medes are, step by step, forming into their nation, and possibly their own country. The Kurds/Medes are developing an increasingly effective military force that is able to overpower the Iraqi Arabs at times.  Please keep the Kurdish people in your prayers. There are a growing number of truly born again Christians living in Kurdistan, including many MBBs, Muslim Background Believers. Please pray that they would boldly preach the Gospel, and be able to make many disciples, and help the believers that grow deep in their faith in Christ, especially amidst all the chaos and carnage.  For more on the latest geopolitical developments, here are excerpts from a recent article from the Associated Press, "HOW THE KURDS SEIZED KIRKUK." "After a decades-long dispute between Arabs and Kurds over the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, it took just an hour and a half for its fate to be decided," the Associated Press reports. "As al-Qaida-inspired militants advanced across northern Iraq and security forces melted away, Kurdish fighters who have long dominated Kirkuk ordered Iraqi troops out and seized full control of the regional oil hub and surrounding areas, according to a mid-ranking Army officer. He said he was told to surrender his weapons and leave his base. His account was corroborated by an Arab tribal sheik and a photographer who witnessed the looting of army bases after troops left and who related similar accounts of the takeover from relatives in the army. All three spoke to The Associated Press Friday on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution from Kurdish forces. "They said they would defend Kirkuk from the Islamic State," said the Arab officer, who oversaw a warehouse in the city's central military base. He asked that his rank not be made public. He insisted the Iraqi troops had not planned to retreat before the Islamic state. "We were ready to battle to death. We were completely ready," he said at a roadside rest house just inside the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The Kurdish takeover of the long-disputed city came days after the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other Sunni militants seized much of the country's second largest city of Mosul and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit before driving south toward Baghdad. Their lightning advance has plunged the country into its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops. A spokesman for Kurdish forces, known as the peshmerga, said they had only moved in after Iraqi troops retreated, assuming control of the "majority of the Kurdistan region" outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. "Peshmerga forces have helped Iraqi soldiers and military leaders when they abandoned their positions," including by helping three generals to fly back to Baghdad from the Kurdish regional capital Erbil, Lieutenant General Jabbar Yawar said in a statement on the regional government's website.... Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, is home to Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, who all have competing claims to the oil-rich area. Kurds have long wanted to incorporate it into their self-ruled region, but Arabs and Turkmen are opposed. In the 1970s and 1980s the Arab-dominated government in Baghdad drove hundreds of thousands of Kurds out of Kirkuk and surrounding regions, settling Arabs from the south in their place in an attempt to pacify a region that had seen repeated revolts. During the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 the highly disciplined peshmerga swept down from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region and established a strong presence in a belt of largely Kurdish towns and villages stretching south toward Baghdad. But the disintegration of Iraqi forces this week seems to have led the peshmerga to assume full control in areas they have long coveted, further enhancing their autonomy from Baghdad and undermining hard-fought U.S. efforts to bring about a stable, multiethnic Iraq. "To a great extent Kurdish forces had been de facto in control of Kirkuk for some time, but now they're completely in control," said F. Gregory Gause, III, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. He said it was unlikely the Kurds would seek formal independence from Iraq, however, because such a move would be strongly opposed by neighboring Turkeyand Iran -- both of which have sizable Kurdish minorities -- as well as Washington. joelcrosenberg | June 17, 2014 at 12:39 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-31f

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - Israeli Strike on Iran in 2014?

Joel Rosenberg Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - Israeli Strike on Iran in 2014? With rumors of Israeli strike on Iran in 2014 rising, Santorum & Rosenberg write oped for CNN: Could there be a “Second Holocaust”? Lessons from Nazi Germany & modern Iran. by joelcrosenberg

(Netanya, Israel) -- Greetings from Israel. I'm here doing media interviews for The Auschwitz Escape, having various meetings, and trying to get a better sense of how Israeli citizens and leaders are viewing the crisis in Ukraine and the rising Iranian nuclear threat.

Rumors are swirling in the media here about a possible Israeli preemptive strike on Iran this year. Israeli officials at the highest level -- including the Defense Minister -- are reportedly coming to the reluctant belief that they cannot count on President Obama to take decisive action to neutralize the Iranian threat before it is too late.

Here are several recent headlines worth noting:

• Netanyahu orders IDF to prepare for possible strike on Iran during 2014 (Haaretz)
• Israel said to be budgeting billions for Iran strike -- Military chiefs reportedly say they were given top-level orders to keep prepared for action despite nuclear talks (Times of Israel)
• Israel gears up for possible unilateral strike on Iran (Xinhua Chinese news agency)
• Defense minister leans toward Israeli operation in Iran, as Obama portrays 'weakness' -- Moshe Ya'alon says U.S. is acting feebly - from China through the Mideast to Ukraine. 'I hope the U.S. comes to its senses.' (Haaretz)

In this context, CNN.com has just published an op-ed that former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and I have written. It examines parallels he and I find sobering between the history of Adolf Hitler and the current regime in Tehran. In the column, we also cite the exclusive new poll showing 80% of Americans fear a "Second Holocaust" if Iran is allowed to build nuclear warheads.

I hope you'll take a moment to read the full column. Then please post your comments on the "Epicenter Team" page on Facebook, and share this column with friends and get their reaction, as well.

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Lessons of history: Americans fear 'second Holocaust' if Iran gets the bomb

By Rick Santorum and Joel C. Rosenberg

(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows this month when she compared Vladimir Putin's tactics in Ukraine to those of the Nazis.

She was right, but there is an even more ominous similarity between the actions of Iran and those of pre-war Germany.

On May 21, 1935, Adolf Hitler delivered his infamous "peace" speech. In his masterful history of Nazi Germany, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," William L. Shirer quotes the Fuhrer's remarks at length:

• "Germany needs peace and desires peace."
• "Germany has solemnly recognized and guaranteed France her frontiers."
• "Germany has concluded a non-aggression pact with Poland."

Shirer, a CBS Radio correspondent, called the address "one of the cleverest and most misleading of his Reichstag orations this writer, who sat through most of them, ever heard him make." He observed the West seemed beguiled by the speech, noting the Times of London welcomed Hitler's words "with almost hysterical joy."

"The speech turns out to be reasonable, straightforward, and comprehensive," stated the Times editorial. "No one who reads it with an impartial mind can doubt that the points of policy laid down by Herr Hitler may fairly constitute the basis of a complete settlement with Germany."

Yet Hitler was lying to buy time. He would not bring peace, but a horrific war, annexing Austria, invading France and Poland, and ordering the extermination of six million Jews.

Indeed, Hitler's lies were apparent less than a year after the speech. On March 7, 1936, the Nazis marched into the Rhineland, the demilitarized zone between Germany and France, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

If the West had confronted Hitler then, it could have forced him out of the Rhineland with a limited application of military force.

Such history is worth noting in today's showdown with Iran. Many in the West seem beguiled by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. But are they....

[To read the full column, please click here.]

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• Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it’s available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore.
• Learn more about The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net) – educating and mobilizing Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, and caring for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief – read our 2013 Donor Report, and make a beginning-of-the-year, tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution.
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joelcrosenberg | March 25, 2014 at 7:48 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-2W7

"Who were the four real heroes whose lives inspired “The Auschwitz Escape”? - Joel Rosenberg

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Remembering their names, and their stories.by joelcrosenberg Two heroes who escaped. (Washington, D.C.) -- Who were the four real heroes who escaped from Auschwitz 70 years ago this spring, the men whose lives inspired The Auschwitz Escape? Today FoxNews.com has published a column I have written giving their names and sketching out their dramatic stories. I hope you'll take a moment to read the whole column, and then share it with others. Thanks so much. REMEMBERING FOUR  They pulled off the greatest escape in human history – from a Nazi death camp – to tell the world the truth about Hitler, but no one knows their names. By Joel C. Rosenberg, for FoxNews.com To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it. In 1933, the world was blindsided by the rise of Adolf Hitler. In 1939, it was stunned by the German invasion of Poland and the Nazi leader’s bloodthirsty quest for global domination. Perhaps most tragically, most of the world did not understand Hitler’s plan to annihilate the Jews until it was almost too late. Today, we face dangerous new threats from Iran, North Korea, and a rising czar in Russia, not from Germany. Yet curiously, in recent weeks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor  have each warned that as we confront current challenges we must be careful to learn the lessons of history regarding how the world failed to understand the threat posed by Hitler and the Nazis and deal with it decisively, before events spun out of control. I agree, and as an example, I would point the extraordinary events that occurred in the spring of 1944. Four men pulled off the greatest escapes in all of human history, from a Nazi death camp in southern Poland. They did not simply escape to save their own lives. Nor did they escape merely to tell the world about a terrible crime against humanity that had been – and was being – committed. What set these true heroes apart is that they planned and executed their escapes in the hope of stopping a horrific crime before it was committed – the extermination of the Jews of Hungary. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of these escapes, and to draw attention to the significance these unknown – or unremembered – events, and the lessons they have to teach us, I recently wrote a work of historical fiction, "The Auschwitz Escape." I changed the names of key figures involved so as not to put words in their mouths that cannot be verified to be their own. But it is my deepest hope that the book will cause many to dig into the real history of these remarkable heroes. Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler were Slovak Jews. They escaped from Auschwitz on April 7, 1944. Arnost Rosin was also a Slovak Jew. Czeslaw Mordowicz was a Polish Jew. Together they escaped from Auschwitz on May 27, 1944. Upon making it safely to Slovak Jews.... [To read the full column -- and please do -- click here.] ———————— Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it’s available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore. Learn more about The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net) – educating and mobilizing Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, and caring for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief – read our 2013 Donor Report, and make a beginning-of-the-year, tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg Receive every blog post automatically via the RSS feed. joelcrosenberg | March 19, 2014 at 1:20 pm | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-2Vh

Joel C. Rosenberg - 72% of Americans see Putin as “clear and present danger” to U.S. and Israel

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Vladimir Putin: a "clear and present danger"?

(Washington, D.C.) -- In preparing for the launch of The Auschwitz Escape, I contracted with a nationally-respected polling company to ask a series of questions that would help me better understand American attitudes towards the Holocaust, Israel, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the crises in Syria and Ukraine. The results were both fascinating and sobering.

In the days ahead, I will share all the results of this polling data with you. But given the crisis in Ukraine, I decided to begin by writing a column for National Review Online releasing the results of how Americans now perceive Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

HOW DANGEROUS IS PUTIN? JUST LOOK AT HIS OWN WORDS

By Joel C. Rosenberg

Who is Vladimir Putin, and what does he really want? Why exactly has he suddenly sent tens of thousands of heavily armed Russian troops into Crimea? Why did he invade Georgia in 2008? Why is he selling arms to bloodthirsty regimes like that of Bashar Assad in Syria? And why is selling both advanced arms and nuclear technology to a rogue terrorist state like Iran?

In the face of such questions, President Obama looks disoriented and confused. He and his national-security team have been painfully slow to understand the Putin threat. They’re now scrambling to develop a coherent and convincing policy to contain Putin, much less have a chance at rolling him back.

The American people now see Putin as a real and growing threat, and not just to the former Soviet republics but to the national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.

This month, I engaged McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-respected polling firm, to ask a series of questions of 1,000 likely U.S. voters. Among them:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “In light of Russia’s invasion of southern Ukraine, and Russia selling arms and nuclear technology to Iran, and Russia selling arms to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria, I have come to believe that Vladimir Putin and the government of Russia pose a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and our ally, Israel”?

In 2012, Mr. Obama mocked those who even raised such a question. Today, a remarkable 72 percent of Americans said they agreed with such a statement. Only 19 percent disagreed.

Are they right? Is Putin as serious a threat as Americans believe? To answer that question requires going beyond Washington conventional wisdom and listening carefully to what he has said in the past....

[To read the rest of my column on National Review Online, please click here.]
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FLASHBACK: PAST COLUMNS ABOUT PUTIN, RUSSIA AND THE BIBLICAL PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL 38 & 39
Epicenter, Chapter 7 (2006): “Future Headline: A Czar Rises In Russia, Raising Fears of a New Cold War.”
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part I
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part II
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part III

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Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it’s available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net) – educating and mobilizing Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, and caring for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief – read our 2013 Donor Report, and make a beginning-of-the-year, tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution.

Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg

Receive every blog post automatically via the RSS feed.