Jack rabbit in Texas…and more of my videos this far in the Big State of Texas.
Steve Martin, Love For His People
Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news, and messages by Steve Martin.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Friday, June 5, 2026
Shabbat Shalom from Texas
We bless our Jewish friends around the world each and every day. Especially on Shabbat!
With support from Turkey and Egypt, Hamas seeks new ceasefire deal without surrendering weapons. All Israel News
Hamas is attempting to formulate a new ceasefire outline, with help from Turkey and Egypt, which is intended to revive mediation efforts between the terror group and Israel, Saudi news organization Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
The talks have been suspended for months, with both sides accusing the other of ceasefire violations. The IDF has continued to target Hamas leaders, and has taken additional territory inside the Gaza Strip, beyond the 53% it was allowed to keep as a temporary security buffer in the October 2025 ceasefire agreement.
Hamas, for its part, accuses Israel of a failure to withdraw its troops from Gaza, failing to respect the ceasefire through its repeated strikes, and of not allowing sufficient humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, points to several attempts by armed Palestinians to cross the Yellow Line into Israeli-controlled territory, along with Hamas’ refusal to disarm, as proof that the terror organization is failing to uphold its obligations under the agreement.
The IDF's Office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) denies claims of insufficient aid, saying the amount of food aid entering Gaza daily is more than enough to support the population.
The Asharq Al-Awsat report cited two “Hamas sources” who said the group is expected to send a delegation to Cairo this weekend to discuss preliminary proposals to resolve the existing disagreements, following discussions with Turkish officials in Ankara earlier this week.
The Hamas sources did not indicate what the proposals entail, however, a statement released after the meeting with Turkish intelligence head Ibrahim Kalin, blamed Israel for failing to honor the Sharm al-Sheikh agreement, for escalating strikes in Gaza and for a “failure to complete the implementation of the first phase of the agreement.”
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that Israel fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip at the conclusion of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, while Israel maintains that any withdrawal is contingent on Hamas beginning to disarm. The terror organization has consistently rejected disarmament proposals that involve surrendering its weapons to an external party.
Hamas has also expressed sharp criticism of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov, who has insisted that the deal agreed to by Hamas includes disarmament as part of the process of installing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
A report in Asharq Al-Awsat earlier this year stated that “several prominent political and military leaders” from Hamas could leave the Gaza Strip as part of the transition to the second phase of the peace deal. However, in recent weeks, Israel has eliminated most of Hamas’ senior military leaders.
With Hamas increasingly appearing intent on remaining in Gaza, and even incorporating itself into the incoming Palestinian governance of the Strip, and its continued refusal to disarm, Israel has returned to the idea of resuming military operations to destroy the last elements of the terror organization.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to seize as much as 70% of the Gaza Strip in an apparent bid to pressure Hamas to return to the negotiating table.
Hamas is attempting to formulate a new ceasefire outline, with help from Turkey and Egypt, which is intended to revive mediation efforts between the terror group and Israel, Saudi news organization Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
The talks have been suspended for months, with both sides accusing the other of ceasefire violations. The IDF has continued to target Hamas leaders, and has taken additional territory inside the Gaza Strip, beyond the 53% it was allowed to keep as a temporary security buffer in the October 2025 ceasefire agreement.
Hamas, for its part, accuses Israel of a failure to withdraw its troops from Gaza, failing to respect the ceasefire through its repeated strikes, and of not allowing sufficient humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, points to several attempts by armed Palestinians to cross the Yellow Line into Israeli-controlled territory, along with Hamas’ refusal to disarm, as proof that the terror organization is failing to uphold its obligations under the agreement.
The IDF's Office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) denies claims of insufficient aid, saying the amount of food aid entering Gaza daily is more than enough to support the population.
The Asharq Al-Awsat report cited two “Hamas sources” who said the group is expected to send a delegation to Cairo this weekend to discuss preliminary proposals to resolve the existing disagreements, following discussions with Turkish officials in Ankara earlier this week.
The Hamas sources did not indicate what the proposals entail, however, a statement released after the meeting with Turkish intelligence head Ibrahim Kalin, blamed Israel for failing to honor the Sharm al-Sheikh agreement, for escalating strikes in Gaza and for a “failure to complete the implementation of the first phase of the agreement.”
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that Israel fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip at the conclusion of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, while Israel maintains that any withdrawal is contingent on Hamas beginning to disarm. The terror organization has consistently rejected disarmament proposals that involve surrendering its weapons to an external party.
Hamas has also expressed sharp criticism of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov, who has insisted that the deal agreed to by Hamas includes disarmament as part of the process of installing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
A report in Asharq Al-Awsat earlier this year stated that “several prominent political and military leaders” from Hamas could leave the Gaza Strip as part of the transition to the second phase of the peace deal. However, in recent weeks, Israel has eliminated most of Hamas’ senior military leaders.
With Hamas increasingly appearing intent on remaining in Gaza, and even incorporating itself into the incoming Palestinian governance of the Strip, and its continued refusal to disarm, Israel has returned to the idea of resuming military operations to destroy the last elements of the terror organization.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to seize as much as 70% of the Gaza Strip in an apparent bid to pressure Hamas to return to the negotiating table.
Walk With Me, Steve Martin, with my daily updates from Texas!
My daily updates from Texas…
Ahava and shalom,
Steve Martin
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Take It Up a Notch Biblically This Father's Day - Jonathan Feldstein
The usual gifts are well-intentioned but forgettable. This year there is an option that is Biblical, rooted in the Land of Israel, and unlike anything your father has ever received.
I know fathers are difficult to buy gifts for. I am guilty and don’t make it easier either. The desire to find something meaningful almost always ends at the same destination: the default list everyone reaches for.
The usual suspects
Cards, bought by roughly 60 percent of people
Food, snacks, specialty items, and grilling gear
Clothing: shirts, socks, hats, and pajamas
Gift cards, easy and flexible but entirely impersonal
Grooming products, which subtly suggest dad does not have it figured out
Tools, gadgets, and electronics
A dinner out or a backyard BBQ
There is nothing wrong with any of these. But gift cards are essentially a greeting card without the sentiment, and a new cologne only works if he actually wears cologne and likes the fragrance. The trend toward personalized and experience-based gifts is growing for a reason: people are looking for something with meaning attached.
So in an exploration of what Father’s Day is, or ought to be, about, and some ideas, I went to the source. The Bible.
What honoring a father actually means
The Fifth Commandment is unambiguous: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the Land that the Lord your God is giving you.” The original Hebrew word for “honor” is kavod, conveying weightiness, significance, and reverence. It describes a lifelong responsibility, not an annual obligation.
My parents never made much of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Their view was that the obligation was every day. They were right. But the spirit behind honoring a parent, reflecting back to them the love and significance they carry in your life, is exactly what a genuinely meaningful gift tries to do.
Read the commandment carefully. It tells us what to do, why to do it, and has a geographic epicenter. We honor our fathers so that our days may be long “in the Land that the Lord your God is giving you.” The Land is the Land of Israel. That connection matters. Especially for people who revere the Bible and all its commandments, and who understand the inherent connection to a specific Land and its people.
What is Anointed
Another word that belongs in any Biblical conversation about fathers is anointed. Not as an overused adjective but in its original, physical sense.
Samuel pouring oil over a young David, his red hair glistening in the presence of his brothers.
“Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord gripped David from that day on.” (1 Samuel 16:13)
Anointing with oil was not symbolic decoration. It was a transfer of blessing, purpose, and divine favor. It sets aside, sanctifies the person being anointed with a special status. The power may not be in the oil as much as the process, but the process is significant, declarative, and public.
The fathers in your life, your biological father, an adoptive father, a stepfather, a grandfather, a father-in-law, a pastor, a spiritual mentor, have been doing something similar for you all along. Pouring into you. Passing something forward. Maybe as we honor our fathers, this is the opportunity to pay it forward, or perhaps in this case, backward.
A gift that connects all of it
This year, Root & Branch has created something that brings these threads together. The Root & Branch anointing oil is made from 100 percent pure olive oil, pressed from olives harvested by Christian volunteers at Biblical and historic sites throughout Israel. It is infused with a blend of genuine Biblical fragrances, including spikenard, the rare and costly nard that Mary poured over Jesus’ feet, worth nearly a year’s wages.
No synthetic scents, no filler oils.
It is the only anointing oil with this kind of pedigree. Every bottle carries oil from specific trees at historically significant sites, olives harvested by people who traveled to Israel to be a blessing, pressed into something that can be a blessing in return.
The Fifth Commandment promises that honoring our parents will lengthen our days in the Land. Ezekiel 36:8 prophesies that when the Jewish people return to the Land, it will blossom again. This oil is, literally, the fruit of that prophecy.
When you buy the Root & Branch anointing oil for the fathers in your life, you bless him. You are also blessed in doing so. And you become a blessing to Israel, with proceeds supporting soldiers and their families, at-risk youth, and Holocaust survivors in their final years: people who have been impacted by years of war and suffering, bringing in another significant Biblical commandment from Genesis 12:3 - to bless Israel and be blessed in return. It’s a gift that keeps on giving, across time, beyond borders, and connected to what’s really important as we honor our fathers.
If you want to go further, plant an olive tree in your father’s honor in Israel. It will deepen his - and your - roots in the Land, and yield fruit for generations, just as he has yielded fruit in yours.
The anointed fathers in your life deserve more than a gift card. Give them something that will outlast the occasion.
You can get the Root & Branch anointing oil or plant an olive tree in Israel in honor of your father this year Anointing oil and olive tree planting: rootandbranchisrael.com
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