JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE
November 14, 2011 

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Isaiah 42:3

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: "Messiah full of grace, redeemed by You we plead, the promise made to Abraham's race, to souls for ages dead. Their bones through quite dried up, throughout the world appear, cut off and lost is their faint hope, to see Your Kingdom here. Open their graves and bring the remnant forth - to own You as their Lord, their God and King, their true Anointed One. To save the race forlorn, Your Glorious Arm display, and show the world a nation born, a nation in a day.” (Hymn by Charles Wesley based on Ezek 37 and Isa 66) It is interesting that along with that move of God in his nation Charles Wesley and others of that time understood God's plan for the Jews and Israel. May we not lose faith today but rather continue to join the generations of the godly who prayed and believed in the full restoration of Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people.

ISRAEL SAID TO BE PREPARING CHRISTMAS SURPRISE FOR IRAN: With an International Atomic Energy Agency report issued last week that stated Iran is clearly working towards developing a nuclear weapons program, speculation has turned to possible military actions by Israel or other western countries to prevent Tehran from getting “the bomb.” The British Daily Mail newspaper said an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities could come as soon as December 25. The paper quoted a senior Foreign Office official as saying, “We’re expecting something as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year.” Israel, the source said, would not wait for Western approval for a military strike in the event Jerusalem decided it was necessary. The spokesman said the US would most likely support the Jewish state, given that President Barack Obama is desperate not to lose Jewish support in next year's presidential election. (INN)  Pray the Lord’s strategy will come into play to permanently cut short Iran’s nuclear ambitions, avoiding the catastrophe of all out war with the Islamic Republic.

UNESCO SUSPENDS NEW PROGRAMS DUE TO BUDGET HOLE: UNESCO’s recent acceptance of the Palestinian Authority as a full-member state has cost it $65 million, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday. The large hole in the agency’s budget was created by the loss of US funds. The US cut its funding to UNESCO immediately after the UN’s cultural agency approved the PA’s request for membership. As a result, UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova, said, the agency has temporarily suspended new programs. Canada has also cut off some of its funding to UNESCO as a result of the acceptance of the PA. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird recently said his country would not give any more money to the agency to make up for the shortfall caused by the US cut, saying that UNESCO will “have to go to the countries that supported this resolution that caused this budget loophole.” (Arutz-7)

PA THREATENS VIOLENCE AND ANARCHY: Palestinian Authority officials warned Thursday the region would descend into "violence and anarchy" because of the failure of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' statehood bid at the UN. Officials in Ramallah refused to say what they were planning to do now that they have conceded the measure does not have sufficient support in the UN Security Council to be passed on to the General Assembly for a vote. According to a Security Council subcommittee PA officials will not be able to muster the necessary nine votes for approval. It also noted opposition from the US - who promised to veto the measure if the Security Council approved it - was insurmountable. Amid the threats of "violence and anarchy" from Ramallah, the Quartet - the US, EU, UN, and Russia - plans to hold separate meetings with Israel and the PA on Monday. However, PLO chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, maintains the PA will not return to negotiations with Israel unless it accepts the pre-1967 borders as a basis for a future Palestinian State and halts all construction in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem. Israel has said it will sit down to talks without preconditions, noting a previous 10-month building freeze by Israel aimed at meeting PA demands and restarting talks was rebuffed by Ramallah. Not only were more preconditions added, officials in Jerusalem say, but the PA chose instead to violate the Oslo Accords and pursue its unilateral track at the UN. (INN)  “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Isa 57:21

US SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL RISING: Americans' support for Israel is up, with a 10% increase in support among Democrats in the past six months, an Israel Project poll released on Thursday revealed. The poll demonstrated the majority of Americans believe PM Netanyahu is more committed to peace than his Palestinian counterpart. (J.Post)

ISRAEL TO EQUIP AIRLINERS WITH ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM AS LIBYAN ARMS REACH GAZA: Israel has accelerated the installation of anti-missile defenses on its airliners, a security official said Friday, seeing an enhanced risk of attack by terrorists using looted Libyan arms. The security official's comment came after Ha’aretz reported last month that improved quality of anti-aircraft missiles held by the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza is increasingly worrying the Israeli defense establishment. Hamas, the report indicated, recently managed to smuggle relatively advanced Russian missiles, which were looted from Libyan military warehouses, into the Gaza Strip. On Friday, officials said Jets flown by El Al and two other Israeli carriers are being equipped with a locally made system that uses a laser to "blind" heat-seeking missiles. He gave a 2013 target for fitting most of the fleet. "We have long been aware of the threat and were ahead of the rest of the world in preparing for it. Libya has meant government orders to step things up even further," the official said, citing intelligence assessments that chaos during the North African nation's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi allowed trafficking of Libyan shoulder-fired missiles to Palestinians and al Qaeda-linked groups in the Egyptian Sinai. Israel's main international gateway, Ben-Gurion Airport, is six miles from the West Bank. (Ha’aretz)

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TV: RAIN CLEANSES JERUSALEM OF JEWS’ IMPURITY SO MUSLIMS CAN PRAY: A Palestinian Authority TV program stated that rain falls on Jerusalem to wash away the impurity of the footsteps of Jews on behalf of Muslims who come to pray in the city. The following is the text as broadcast on official PA TV:  "The golden dome of the mosque shines with colors of the sky, with the white of clouds, while the joyous holiday Eid Al-Adha is good to the residents. The light rain cleanses the steps of the foreigners [Jews] so that the feet of Muslims in prayer will not step on impurity." Palestinian Media Watch reported a few months ago that the same PA TV program, Sights of Jerusalem, portrayed Jews praying at the Western wall as "sin and filth."  It also stated that the PA plans to build an Arab residential area in place of the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem "when the Israelis disappear from the picture, like a forgotten chapter in the pages of our city's history." The programs then claimed, "We are drawing our new maps. The Mughrabi Quarter will be built here on the Western Wall Plaza." The Palestinian Authority denies that Jews have any historical rights to Jerusalem and even to the Western Wall, a remnant of the Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest and most important prayer site. (PMW) “The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord.” Ps 146:10

CAIR WARNS DETROIT MOSQUES TO TIGHTEN SECURITY BECAUSE OF CHRISTIAN PRAYER EVENT: The Council on American-Islamic Relations warned Detroit mosques to tighten up security ahead of a Christian prayer event this weekend. “TheCall” is a 24-hour prayer and fasting event that began Nov. 11 in Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. Thousands of Christians were expected to attend, which prompted Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR’s Michigan chapter, to email local Muslim organizations telling them to be on the alert. “Given the theology of the participants and that they view Muslims as demonic, we should be prepared that some participants may come to the mosques to harass or provoke worshipers especially around the time of Friday prayers.” Walid advised area mosques and schools to make sure all are secure during the time of the event, and said they should call police if they see “suspicious persons congregate on mosque property.” (The Blaze) A paraphrase of one blogger's response is that CAIR is a Muslim terrorist support-group, which is linked to the father of all terrorist organizations, the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the faction warning Muslims - so many of whom hate the West and Israel and support Jihad murders of non-Muslims - that harmless evangelical Christians are gathering to pray to Yeshua for their country. They fear Christians may harass or harm them in their mosques who gather every Friday to pray for death to Jews, Christians and Americans. Most likely it will be the other way around.  It’s the Christians who should worry about a religion that advocates terrorism.

WILL ISRAELI FLAG BE THE THIRD ON THE MOON? An Israeli nonprofit team of young scientists is participating in the competition for the Google Lunar X Prize – a $30 million contest for landing an unmanned vehicle on the moon and transmitting still images and videos back to earth. The team wants the Israeli flag to be the third national flag to land on the moon – after the USSR and the USA.  The first team to land a vehicle on the moon, drive it a distance of 500 meters and transmit the images back to earth will win $20 million. If it carries out certain additional assignments, it could receive another $5 million. The SpaceIl team founded by Yariv Bash, Kfir Dimri and Yehonatan Weintraub is the only Israeli team in the competition. It faces about 20 teams from other countries. (INN)

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.