JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE
September 15, 2011 

“In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.” Exodus 15:7

OBAMA’S DEMOCRATIC SEAT IN BROOKLYN/QUEENS LOST IN LATEST ELECTION: It sounded improbable on the surface that a New York City congressional district where Democrats have a 3-1 registration edge and have held office for nearly a century could even come close to electing a Republican to the US House. But voter frustration over the sour economy and President Barack Obama's policies made the improbable a reality. A surprising results in the Brooklyn and Queens-area district portend a perilous national environment for Obama as he prepares to seek re-election next year. Democrats have held Weiner’s district since 1923. Republican Campaign Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) published a statement immediately after the race was won blaming Obama for the loss. New Yorkers put Washington Democrats on notice that voters are losing confidence in a President whose policies assault job-creators and affront Israel. The NRCC also put out a statement from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the only Jewish Republican serving in the House. Cantor criticized Obama's Middle East policies, which was a huge issue in the largely Orthodox Jewish district. Turner "understands the special relationship that America has with our friend Israel.  His victory is an indicator that the Middle East policy pursued by the Obama Administration does not sit well with the many people who care deeply about the US/Israel relationship," Cantor said. (AP)

NY-9 RACE A POLITICAL AWAKENING IN A JEWISH STATE: NY-9 is reportedly the most Jewish district in the country, with about 30% of its residents identifying as Jewish. Republican Bob Turner, a devout Catholic scored an upset victory in a special election Tuesday over David Weprin, a Democratic assemblyman from a prominent Orthodox Jewish family. Turner, backed by local moderate Jewish Democratic heavyweights former Mayor Ed Koch and Assemblyman Dov Hikind, has specifically target the Jewish community with the argument that they must send a message to Obama that his policies towards Israel have been unacceptable. Koch is featured in debates blunting Weprin’s negative advertisements, and the Republican Jewish Coalition is sending mailers to Jewish voters in NY-9 highlighting the Israel issue. (LI)

NEEDED: A LEADER IN THE WHITE HOUSE: The cornerstones of US President Barack Obama's Middle East strategy have collapsed. Turkey, once a moderate Islamic democracy, and Egypt, once an exemplar stable Arab power, have become increasingly unreliable allies. The lack of leadership clearly demonstrated by the Obama White House has severely weakened America's position in the Middle East, leaving a void to be filled by hostile regional powers such as Iran. In April 2009, during his first official visit overseas, US President Barak Obama delivered a historical speech before the Turkish parliament in Ankara. Two months later, he delivered a similar speech at Cairo University. These visits and speeches marked a sharp turn-about in America's Middle East strategy. Obama vowed to replace military might with soft power and diplomacy; to reconcile with the Arab and Muslim world; to conduct effective negotiations with enemies; and thus to bolster America's position in the Middle East. Ironically, the latest changes in Ankara's regional strategy and the upheavals in Cairo clearly demonstrate the total failure of Obama's plan, as his two doctrinal cornerstones have collapsed. (Besa) “Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger.” Prov 29:8

JIMMY CARTER BACKS PA BID TO UNITED NATIONS:  Former US President Jimmy Carter has urged the United Nations to recognize the Palestinian Authority.Contradicting the Obama administration’s insistence that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas return to direct talks with Israel, he said in Atlanta Tuesday, “As an alternative to a deadlock and a stalemate now, we reluctantly support the Palestinian move for recognition.”Carter said such a move would be a “real step forward.” Ignoring the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Islamists, he continued: “The Arab Spring has brought hope for democracy and freedom to many of the people in the region,” he stated. “I hope that eventually it will potentially bring about a change in the prospects of a peace agreement to be negotiated between Israel and its neighbors. But it would require Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and that’s something the Israeli government has been unable to do." Ex-President Carter is the author of the anti-Israel book “Palestine: Peace or Apartheid,” in which he misrepresents UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 336, erroneously citing them as proof that Israel must withdraw to the 1949 armistice lines. In the book, he calls the 1949 armistice lines international borders, says Israel has never “granted appreciable autonomy to the Palestinians” (ignoring the establishment and continued existence of the Palestinian Authority), and claims that Syria was prepared to accept a demilitarized Golan Heights which Syria specifically denied. (INN)

ISRAEL MAY OFFER MILITARY AID TO PKK IN RESPONSE TO TURKEY’S SNUB: Israel's foreign minister is planning a series of measures to reprimand Turkey in an apology row, including military aid to the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Other measures include cooperation with the Armenian lobby in the US in its efforts to win recognition for Armenian claims that 1.5 million Armenians were victims of a genocide campaign in the late Ottoman Empire during the First World War years and to issue a travel warning urging all Israeli military veterans to refrain from traveling to Turkey. The travel advisory will also urge Israelis to refrain from boarding connections in Turkey. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been a harsh critic of efforts to restore relations with Turkey after Ankara announced a set of sanctions against Israel for its refusal to apologize for the killing of eight Turks and one Turkish American on an aid ship trying to break the blockade of Gaza on May 31, 2010. Lieberman insists that Israeli efforts should focus on ways to respond to Turkey's sanctions, not formulating an apology for the 2010 incident, because what Turkey is interested in is not an apology but exploiting the dispute with Israel so as to boost its regional standing. The Turkish government last Friday downgraded diplomatic relations with Israel and suspended all military agreements. Turkish PM Recep Erdogan declared Thursday that Turkish warships would escort future convoys to the Gaza Strip. (Zaman) Israel continues to refuse to apologize for the deaths of nine Turkish nationals aboard the Mavi Marmara during the 2010 Gaza Flotilla.  The Turks were killed by Israeli forces when they attempted to lynch members of Israel's naval commando when they boarded the Mavi Marmara in accordance with international maritime law. Israel has said it will only express regret for the loss of life.

TURKEY’S PRIME MINISTER, EGYPT’S NEW HERO: Turkey's prime minister arrived in Egypt Monday for an official visit as twin diplomatic crises are shaking the foundations of several critical Middle Eastern alliances. A cheering crowd of more than a thousand gathered at the Cairo airport to greet Turkey's PM Recep Erdogan on his first visit to Egypt since the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Posters, many with the Turkish leader's face on them, proclaimed sentiments such as, "Welcome Erdogan the hero in his second country Egypt." As those in the crowd awaited Erdogan, one chant was "Egypt and Turkey are one hand." (CNN) Continue to pray for division between the principalities and powers that oppose Israel.

BIBI’S FENCE FOR PEACE: PM Bibi Netanyahu toured the Egyptian border area this week and ordered the military establishment to expedite the building of the fence under construction along Israel's border with Egypt. "Our border with Egypt is a border of peace," the prime minister commented. "To strengthen the peace, we need to strengthen security," he said, adding that this requires the completion of the fence, about 51 kilometers of which have been built. The completed barrier will be 240 kilometers long. Netanyahu asked that the target date for the completion of the work be moved up from the end of next year to September 2012. The barrier includes a network of security cameras and sensors to monitor activity along the border. Efforts to expedite work on the fence had already begun following last month's terrorist attack from across the Egyptian border near Eilat, in which eight Israelis were killed. (Ha’aretz)

Blessings from Israel 

Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff 

As international speakers and messengers of the Good News through music, Barry and Batya Segal are at the forefront of what God is doing in the present day nation of Israel. With strong ties in both the nations and Jerusalem, the Segals are weaving the deepest roots of our biblical heritage together with the fresh Spirit-filled worship of today to create their rich harmony of Scripture and song.

The Segals have a vast vision for God's purposes in the nations and to the people of Israel. In fact, their longing to help rebuild Israel both spiritually and physically inspired them to pioneer the non-profit charity organization, Vision for Israel and The Joseph Storehouse. This arm of their ministry focuses on assisting the poor and needy, widows and orphans, and reaching out to the new Jewish immigrants coming into the land of Israel. Vision 's most challenging project to date is "The Joseph Storehouse®", humanitarian aid center, located in the hills of Jerusalem. The Joseph Storehouse functions as a channel of blessing to all of Israel, Jewish and Arab, through the gathering and distribution of emergency medical supplies, food, clothing, and other basic life necessities. USA office contact info: Vision for Israel, PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241, 866-351-0075. The Segal's web site is http://www.visionforisrael.com/

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.