By: Michael Gryboski – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

A Justice Department official has been accused of violating an official policy by publicly labeling Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent religious freedom advocacy organization, as a “hate group” in a social media post.

Last month, Jason Weida, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, said in a Linkedin post that he had been “honored” to be part of an Alliance Defending Freedom event.

Eric P. Bruskin, assistant director of the commercial litigation branch in the DOJ’s Civil Division, who formerly worked for the American Civil Liberties Union, a progressive organization, commented on the post, saying: “Jason, this is a hate group. You’re speaking at a conference for a hate group. Are these the beliefs you hold? If so, then it’s time we end our professional association.” 

Bruskin garnered backlash, with a couple of commenters arguing that Bruskin had violated DOJ’s employee policy when it came to how federal government employees should use social media.

cont’d…

https://www.christianpost.com/news/doj-official-criticized-for-calling-religious-freedom-advocacy-group-adf-hate-group.html

By: Morton A. Klein – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Why did the network ignore left-wing, black nationalist and Islamist Jew-hatred?

There were some good points in CNN’s recent special on anti-Semitism, such as a discussion of the importance of the Secure Community Network’s synagogue security training, a description of the harassment and death threats against a pro-Israel college student, and the general acknowledgment that anti-Semitism is a serious, growing problem.

Unfortunately, however, the special grossly downplayed left-wing and Islamist anti-Semitism, and didn’t even mention black nationalists and other major sources of Jew-hatred. This seems in large part due to CNN’s reliance on the left-wing Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its CEO, former Obama administration official Jonathan Greenblatt, as well as U.S. State Department anti-Semitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who has compared pro-Jewish former President Donald Trump to the Nazis, and the far-left group T’ruah’s Jill Jacobs.

The ADL, for example, recently stated that boycotts of Israel alone do not count as anti-Semitic; praised anti-Semitic congresswoman Ilhan Omar as “committed to a more just world”; defended anti-Semitic NGOs like Amnesty International, along with the extremist anti-Israel philanthropist George Soros; and tried to defund and remove the tax exemption from three pro-Israel groups, including Christian Zionists; among numerous other dangerous positions.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/what-cnn-left-out-of-its-special-on-anti-semitism/

By: Julie Stahl & Chris Mitchell – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel and Arab countries are bracing for world powers to re-enter the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Some fear the negative impact it’s likely to have on the Middle East and beyond.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is still urging the US and other nations to stay away from what he sees as “a bad deal”.

“It would give Iran $100 billion a year,” Lapid said during a press conference on Wednesday. “This money will not build schools or hospitals. This is $100 billion a year that will be used to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terror around the globe.”

His remarks to foreign journalists came as both sides reported progress in the talks.

“Israel is not against any agreement. We are against this agreement because it is a bad one. Because it cannot be accepted as it is written right now. In our eyes, it does not meet the standards set by President Biden himself – preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear state,” he said.

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/august/israel-urges-west-to-reject-emerging-nuclear-deal-says-it-will-give-iran-billions-to-use-for-terror

By: Steve Warren – CBN News; cbn.com

Posters featuring the national motto are going up in public schools and colleges across Texas, and that’s drawing backlash from several groups who argue the phrase is used to promote Christianity. 

A new Texas state law requires all public elementary, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to post in their facilities “In God We Trust” posters if they are donated or purchased by private donations.

The Texas Tribune reports Senate Bill 797 passed during last year’s legislative session. The law went into effect last year. 

The law says schools “must display in a conspicuous place in each building of the school or institution a durable poster or framed copy of the United States national motto ‘In God We Trust.'” The poster must contain a representation of the United States flag centered under the national motto and a representation of the Texas state flag. 

Republican State Sen. Bryan Hughes wrote in a tweet the national motto asserts our collective trust in a sovereign God.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2022/august/in-god-we-trust-texas-law-requiring-public-schools-display-national-motto-draws-backlash

By: Andrew Jose – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

“You can only convert so many people, but you can mobilize leftist students who don’t necessarily agree with Shia Islam but radical political causes Iran agrees with,” says Emanuele Ottolenghi.

Iran has been targeting local Muslims, potential converts and leftist students as part of its influence operations in Latin America, said an expert during an Aug. 4 webinar.

The event, titled “The IRGC’s Expanding Presence in Latin America,” was organized by the Endowment for Middle East Truth and featured Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow Emanuele Ottolenghi, who studies the Arab-Israeli conflict, Hezbollah’s Latin America-based threat networks and Iran’s sanction-evasion strategies.

The lecture focused on Iran’s influence networks the country has used to infiltrate government advisory boards, local Muslim populations and indigenous movements.

According to Ottolenghi, Iran has used these networks to its advantage in achieving its strategic interests, including evading sanctions and undermining U.S. influence in the region.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/expert-iran-works-on-mobilizing-extreme-left-in-latin-america-to-expand-influence-network/

By: Chris Mitchell – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – Ninety percent of the world’s languages do not have a translation of the Old Testament. One movement seeks to change that and spur a global revolution in Bible access.       

This year during Pentecost, men and women gathered at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem to work on expanding the use of the Old or “Original Testament” worldwide.

“’The Original Testament Gap’ refers to the fact that the Original Testament is under-translated, under-used, and frequently misunderstood,” says Ram Gidoomal, former chairman of the Lausanne Movement. “We, therefore, commit to do all we can to accelerate the original testament into every living language in order to help complete the Great Commission.” 

That resulted in the signing of the Jerusalem Declaration to eliminate the Original Testament Gap.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/august/new-movement-aims-to-share-lsquo-original-testament-rsquo-with-the-world

By: Julie Stahl – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM – Members of the Auburn University basketball team embraced the literal paths taken by Jesus Christ while visiting the holy land recently, even taking the remarkable step of getting baptized in the Jordan River. 

The team “shared a special moment with each other” when they were baptized in the Jordan this week in Israel, the team tweeted.

The Auburn team was in Israel for a 10-day trip to play three exhibition games.

But that left them plenty of time for touring in the Holy Land.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/august/auburn-basketball-team-gets-baptized-in-jordan-river-taking-time-to-walk-where-jesus-walked

Jewish News Syndication; jns.org

“I am really looking forward to beginning this new chapter of my life here in Israel as a future physician in the Israeli medical system,” said Sam Leeman.

A total of 225 new immigrants from North America landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday as part of the 63rd Nefesh B’Nefesh chartered aliyah flight through El Al Airlines. The flight was coordinated in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL), Jewish National Fund-USA and Tzofim-Garin Tzabar.

Participants come from a variety of backgrounds, culturally and demographically—hailing from 19 U.S. states and one Canadian province.

The flight also carried a diverse group of professionals who are bringing their unique talents to communities throughout Israel: 27 medical professionals arrived and 72 people on the flight are part of the Nefesh B’Nefesh-KKL “Go Beyond” initiative aimed at developing Israel’s peripheral regions and Jerusalem.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/nefesh-bnefesh-welcomes-75000th-oleh-on-summer-aliyah-charter-flight/

By: Walla! – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

The IDF has learned that Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders wanted their terrorists to use the Gaza tunnel to infiltrate Israel, but they refused to enter.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad was preparing to carry out operations that included infiltrating into Israeli territory during Operation Breaking Dawn, which led to a high level of preparedness in the South as well as in Israel’s intelligence community.

During the operation, the IDF was paying close attention to the terrorist group’s activity around one of its more popular tunnels, and security forces expected that it was being prepared for infiltration use in Israel.

According to Walla, while the commanders of Islamic Jihad intended for an operation to be carried out, the terrorists in the field refused to enter the tunnels.

Why are Islamic Jihad operatives scared of the tunnels?

The IDF presumes that the terrorist organizations in Gaza are wary of using the tunnels because of what happened during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May of last year when the IDF showed that it was able to directly hit tunnels that were dug at a depth of 20-30 meters while there are terrorists in them. Two tunnels in Gaza were hit with Hamas terrorists inside.

cont’d…

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-714967

By: Chris Mitchell – CBN News; cbn.com

ISRAELI-GAZA BORDER – Late Sunday night, a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad ended three days of fighting.  It began when Israel carried out a preemptive strike against one of Gaza’s strongest terror groups that also sent a message to its sponsor, Iran. 

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with defense officials marking the end of Operation Breaking Dawn.    

The action started late Friday afternoon.

“It began when we received clear, certifiable intelligence that a mobile terrorism unit was moving towards the border with Israel, with large anti-tank missiles,” said Maj. Doron Spielman, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Field Spokesman.

“They were going to be fired at residential cars, possibly school busses, heading down one of Israel’s major roads.  We were successful in eliminating that threat before they could carry out the terror attack,” Spielman told CBN News in an interview along the Gaza border.

Israel’s targeted strikes also killed the military head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza and hit other selected terror sites.

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/august/israel-palestinian-islamic-jihad-truce-holding-after-three-days-of-rockets-and-israeli-strikes