The Truth About the West Bank

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:42:09 GMT

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon made a short and simple video on "the truth about the West Bank."

It's become a YouTube sensation with nearly a half a million hits. It's a primer on some of the history behind one of the most contentious places in the world.

You can watch it here. It's a light hearted video with a very serious message

Jerusalem Dateline Show: Radical Islam and Egypt's Future

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:41:13 GMT

Watch this week's Jerusalem Dateline show below.

CBN News holds a roundtable discussion about the so-called Arab Spring and developments in Egypt one year after Hosni Mubarak was forced from power.

Follow Jerusalem Dateline and Inside Israel on Twitter.

See a list of previous Jerusalem Dateline episodes here.

Will Israel Attack Iran?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:29:58 GMT

A flurry of articles, reports and statements in the past few days by Israeli and American officials have raised the speculation that Israel will attack Iran's nuclear facilities … soon.

Yesterday, Washington Post Reporter David Ignatius said that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Penatta:

"Believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb. Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon - and only the United States could then stop them militarily."

This week, several Israeli leaders warned of the growing Iranian threat.

On Wednesday, Israel's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said that most important issue and the biggest threat facing Israel was Iran.

He said, "There is no doubt that Iran is striving for a bomb. If it does so within a year or a bit more it will be able to allocate resources and we will see it happening. Iran is a problem of the whole world, of this region and of Israel."

As if to emphasize the point that Iran is a global threat, on Thursday, Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon said Iran is now developing missiles capable of hitting the U.S.

Ya'alon stated "This regime (Iran) has already built missile capability" and added that the R&D missile center where the recent explosion took place was developing a missile with a 10,000 kilometer range.

He said it was "aimed at America not us... Our claim is that the military problem in Iran needs to be stopped… Such a non-conventional regime should not have such non-conventional capabilities."

Later on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that if sanctions don't work, then Iran must face a military strike.

He said, "A nuclear Iran will be more complicated to deal with, more dangerous and mosre costly in blood than if it were stopped today. In other words, he who says in English 'later' may find that 'later is too late.'"

Finally, last week, Ronen Bergem, an Israeli investigative journalist wrote in the New York Times that, "After speaking with many senior Israeli leaders and chiefs of the military and the intelligence, I have come to believe that Israel will indeed strike Iran in 2012."

It sounds and appears that Israel and Iran are on a collision course. The stakes are enormous, the consequences unpredictable and the impact global.

Certainly a time to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the Middle East, and for the leaders of Israel and the U.S.

Preparing for War

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:31 GMT

It’s an odd thing preparing for war. I was just getting ready to send an email to a friend. We haven’t been in touch for a while and he asked me if everything is okay. I was about to say, sure, I’m doing fine, just getting ready for the war … the war with Iran that is.

The reply sort of felt something like, "Oh, just getting ready for the summer” or “preparing for the new school year.” Over here, it seems a foregone conclusion that war’s coming. It feels that it’s not a matter of IF, but WHEN.

But no one is quite sure if the war will come after or before Iran gets a nuclear bomb. Of course, that makes a HUGE difference. But right now, with the rhetoric from a lot of Israeli leaders, it looks like the war might come before Iran gets the bomb.

Israel just can’t afford to allow a nuclear-tipped missile on its way from Tehran to Tel Aviv. In fact, if U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is to be believed, it might come in April, May or June.

Well, how do you prepare for a war? I’m sure it’s been different for countries and peoples throughout the ages. In World War II, the British were girding themselves for the prospect of a cross-channel invasion by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. They did suffer through the anguish of the Battle of Britain and the horrors of the bombing of London and England’s major cities.

Here no one’s anticipating an invasion force but they are expecting an onslaught of rockets and missiles. It most likely would come from Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy army in Lebanon. This Islamic group has stockpiled as many as 40 to 50,000 rockets and missiles ready to fire into Israel.

Those numbers have multiplied about three to four times since the 2006 Second Lebanon War when Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into Israel and had an arsenal estimated at about 14,000. At that time, it paralyzed northern Israel, and sent more than a million Israelis either fleeing south or into bomb shelters for weeks.

And now Hezbollah’s rockets can hit most anywhere in Israel.

Despite the looming threat of war, life goes on here in Israel. Every day (except Shabbat) people are on their way to work, school, cafes, restaurants or shops. Since I came here in August of 2000, Israel has suffered through the Second Palestinian Intifada, the 2006 Second Lebanon War, thousands of rockets from Gaza and now the threat of nuclear war from an Iran that regularly threatens its very existence.

It's been a rough decade and promises to get even rougher but some here take comfort from the Bible and a 3,000 year promise from the pen of King David: “He that watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4

Tributes to Ken Crowell

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:34:37 GMT

On Monday, hundreds of people gathered just outside Tiberius overlooking the Sea of Galilee to honor Ken Crowell.

Crowell, 79, passed away last week. Many testified that his life and work made a tremendous impact on Tiberius, the Galilee region, the Body of Messiah within Israel and the individual lives of thousands if not millions. He founded many companies in Israel, including Galtronics, a company that has employed thousands of Israelis since its founding.

After Ken's funeral, we talked with several people about his life and what a profound impact he had on them. Here's excerpts from those interviews.

They include Pastor David Davis, founder of Kehilat HaCarmel; Eitan Oved, a city councilman from Tiberius; Michael Elliot, general manager of Galtronics; Rachel Leonard, Crowell's secretary for nine years; and Pastor Brian Blank from Redding, Calif.

All paid tribute to a Godly man and a life well lived. Watch below.

Arab or Muslim Brotherhood Spring?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:06:05 GMT

One year ago, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's government teetered on the brink of a revolution. Few could have imagined one year later what Egypt looks like today. The Muslim Brotherhood has captured the majority of the votes in Egypt's lower parliament and poised to capitalize in upcoming elections.

We talked to Dore Gold, Israel's former Ambassador to the United Nations and now director of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs about the seismic shift in Egypt, the largest Arab nation in the Middle East.

Israel: The Dividing Line

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:58:35 GMT

Will Israel be the dividing line both politically and theologically in these days? And why does Israel matter?

These are a couple of the questions we asked Bishop Daniel Williams. Williams is the founding Bishop of the Christian Communion International and the former Chairman of Teen Mania.

Several weeks ago, we interviewed Williams in Budapest, Hungary, during a ground-breaking meeting of the International Christian Allies Caucus. Legislators and Christian leaders like Williams gathered to discuss how they can stand with the Jewish state.

This week Williams received an award from the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus here in Jerusalem recognizing his work on behalf of Israel. Here's that interview we did with Williams on the banks of the River Danube in the city of Budapest.

Palestinian Authority Mufti Calls for Death to Jews

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:31:11 GMT

If you want to know one major reason the Israeli Palestinian conflict has not been not resolved, you can watch this video.

The video shows a recent Fatah rally. The moderator first states, "Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews) is a war of religion and faith."

Then the moderator invites the official Mufti of the Palestinian Authority Muhammad Hussein to address the gathering. He tells the crowd and quotes from the Hadith (the sayings of Mohammed):

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: 'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'"

Negotiating teams from Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been meeting in Jordan for peace talks. According to some reports, there might be a breakthrough. But with official statements like this, it's hard to see "peace" breaking out any time soon.

The video released by the Palestinian Media Watch. PMW regularly reports on the official TV of the Palestinian Authority and documents what few in the West get to hear for themselves.

Arab Spring or Islamic Winter?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:00:26 GMT

Just about a year ago the "Arab Spring" began. It burst on the stage of the Middle East and turned the region upside down.

Few ever expected such an upheaval to so many nations in such a short time. We discussed this phenomenon recently with Shmuel Bar, director of Studies at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzyliya. Bar brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding to the events swirling in the Middle East today.

Here are three excerpts from that interview. In this first excerpt, Bar talks about how this is far more of Islamic winter than an "Arab Spring."

In this second excerpt Bar addresses why the Muslim Brotherhood and their more extreme political counterparts - the Salafists - will not seek more moderate partners.  On the contrary …

In this last excerpt, Bar talks about why he doesn't believe Western "Christian" nations will stand behind the Coptic Christians of Egypt. This could be the most tragic legacy of the "Arab Spring."

JoAnne Doyle: Reaching Muslim Women for Jesus

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:04:02 GMT

Recently we posted a blog on Jerusalem Dateline with Tom Doyle, the Vice President of Church and Ministry Partners of e3 Partners. At that time, we also interviewed his wife JoAnn about reaching Muslim women with the Gospel throughout the Middle East.

Here’s some excerpts from our interview with JoAnne. In this first excerpt, JoAnne describes the plight of Muslim women.

In this clip, JoAnne describes the tender way Christian women have been able to reach Muslim women with God’s love.

In this excerpt, JoAnne tells about the dreams, visions, and supernatural healings taking place among Muslim women.

Finally, JoAnne expresses her heart for the women in Islam.