LLX News

By: Paul Strand – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – A German Jewish leader in Brandenburg state is making Aliyah to Israel and has called for his fellow Jews to flee the German nation because of rising anti-Semitism.

Semen Gorelik fled the former Soviet Union when he was young. Now he is calling for a mass exodus from the former Nazi nation that committed the Holocaust. In an interview with CBN News in Jerusalem, prominent Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said he understands why Gorelik would leave.

“It’s not safe for him. He doesn’t like hiding his Jewish identity in public,” Cooper explained. “He’s urging all other Jews to follow him and come to Israel.”

In a public letter on The Axis of Good website, Gorelik announced, “I recommend everyone who professes Judaism to leave this country as soon as possible.”

He wrote of Germany, “With its anti-Jewish foreign and domestic policies, the country has proven that anti-Semitism is an inseparable part of the state political ideology of this country. You can’t live in this country as a Jew!   And I don’t want to live in this country anymore.”

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/november/rise-in-anti-semitism-prompts-german-jewish-leader-to-leave-for-israel-urges-other-jews-to-get-out-while-they-can

By: Etgar Lefkovits – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Congressional Israel Allies Caucus members call on 27 countries to help shutter organizations that exist solely to delegitimize the Jewish state.

In a renewed push of faith-based diplomacy, three heads of the U.S. Congressional Israel Allies Caucus have written to the leaders of more than two dozen countries urging them to vote to shutter two anti-Israel U.N. institutions in a vote that will come before the General Assembly later this year.

The appeal comes as the Palestinians pushed through a draft resolution at a U.N. committee Friday over the objections of the U.S. and Israel calling on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory.” The unilateral move is expected to be approved by the General Assembly by the end of the year.

The letter, which was signed by Reps. Doug Lamborn (R.-Colo.), Chris Smith (R.-N.J.) and Steve Chabot (R.-Ohio), urges 27 world leaders to join the U.S. in opposing the annual resolutions that approve the continued function and activities of two anti-Israel UN bodies, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR). The signatories said the two bodies exist solely to delegitimize and defame the State of Israel.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/congressmen-urge-world-leaders-to-terminate-anti-israel-un-bodies/

Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The former U.S. president was honored with the Theodor Herzl Gold Medallion at the Zionist Organization of America’s 2022 Gala in New York City.

Israel is a modern-day “miracle” and its relationship with the United States is deep-seated and multi-dimensional, former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

Speaking at the Zionist Organization of America’s 2022 Gala in New York City, Trump said, “The United States and Israel are not just allies on a military basis, but economically and politically; we’re allies morally, culturally and spiritually and we always will be—at least if I have anything to do about it.”

The former president spoke after being honored with the organization’s Theodor Herzl Gold Medallion.

Founded in 1897, the Zionist Organization of America played a key role in the Jewish state’s re-establishment, and today is a leading American Jewish organization dedicated to defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people’s lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands.

Notable attendees among the 700 guests on Sunday night included the Trump administration’s chief Middle East peace negotiator Jason Greeblatt, Israeli parliamentarians Amir Ohana (Likud) and Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), and law expert Alan Dershowitz.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/trump-israel-is-a-miracle-but-some-american-jews-not-doing-the-right-thing-by-it/

By: John Waage – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – The vote counting is finished following Tuesday’s Israeli elections, and Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won a solid 64-seat majority in the Knesset, opening the door for the nation’s longest-serving prime minister to return to office after 17 months in the opposition.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid conceded defeat and called to congratulate Netanyahu Thursday evening while assuring Israelis of an orderly transition. In a statement, Lapid said, “The State of Israel is above political considerations. I wish Netanyahu success, for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.”

Tom Nides, the US Ambassador to Israel, also called Netanyahu and said he looked forward to working with him to help maintain the “unbreakable bond” between the two countries.

The final count gave Netanyahu’s Likud Party 32 seats in the next Knesset. Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party finished second with 24 seats, followed by the Religious Zionist Party with 14 seats, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party with 12.

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/november/its-official-netanyahu-bloc-wins-israeli-elections-with-64-seats-pm-lapid-concedes

By: Julie Stahl – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – When COVID closed Israel’s borders in 2020, it virtually shut down businesses depending on tourism.  As restrictions lifted in March of this year, the long wait for visitors ended and Christians from around the world are flocking back to the Holy Land.

Tour buses once again line the streets of Jerusalem, while boats full of tourists are back on the Sea of Galilee.

Galilee Worship Boats Captain Daniel Carmel welcomes the change.”(It’s) not like in the year of 2019, but it is so blessed. Hallelujah! We have groups and we have no complaints,” he exclaimed.

CBN News joined Carmel and a group of more than 40 Brazilians, many who were making return trips to Israel. Sara Limasilverio from Sao Paulo first visited in 2008 as a 15-year-old.

 “It feels amazing, and I was waiting for this moment,” she said. “Our trip changed like three or four times because of the pandemic. But now that we’re here, we’re enjoying every single moment. The presence of God, it’s so beautiful. And the joy of the Holy Spirit on us, it’s amazing,” she continued.

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/october/israelis-and-tourists-both-celebrate-as-visitors-return-to-the-holy-land-in-pre-pandemic-numbers

By: Julie Stahl – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – With nearly 100 percent of the votes counted in the Israeli elections, it seems that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party will return to power.

Netanyahu urged his supporters to wait until final results are in before declaring victory. Still, according to the count so far, it seems clear that Netanyahu has a solid majority to form an ideologically conservative government.

In Jerusalem early Wednesday morning, Netanyahu told a cheering crowd of supporters, “One thing is already clear: our way, the way of the Likud, has proven itself.”

After the initial exit poll results came in Tuesday night, the celebrations began at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. Those results held up with less than 3 percent of the votes remaining to be counted, virtually assuring that Netanyahu will extend his time as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. 

Netanyahu promised, “I will establish a nationalist government that will see to all Israeli citizens without any exceptions.”

cont’d…

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/november/israels-vote-count-nearly-complete-as-netanyahu-and-religious-parties-win-big

By: Caroline Glick – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The real issue dividing Israeli society isn’t former premier Benjamin Netanyahu or the economy, but something far more basic: Israeli society is being torn apart by the issue of national sovereignty.

Most of Israel’s commentators insist that Tuesday’s Knesset elections—the fifth in fewer than four years—are about the same thing the last four were about: Benjamin Netanyahu. If you vote for Netanyahu’s Likud Party, or for the other three parties in his right-religious bloc, then you are for Netanyahu. If you vote for caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, or for any of the members of his left-Arab bloc, then you are against Netanyahu. Nothing else is up for grabs.

The notion that politics in Israel can be boiled down to whether a person loves or hates Netanyahu was never true, at least for voters. Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Gideon Sa’ar and their colleagues in the Yamina and New Hope parties who bolted the right and formed the current left-Arab government are rightly viewed as having betrayed their voters. Last May they put their hatred and envy of Netanyahu above their professed ideology and their voters to oust their camp from power and give Israel its first post-Zionist government.

Today, there is no “Never Bibi” right. Bennett isn’t running. Shaked is about to be wiped out at the polls. Sa’ar has joined Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s leftist National Unity Party.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/opinion/jewish-sovereignty-is-on-the-ballot/

By: Ryan Foley – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

A new study finds that the overwhelming majority of those who read the Bible at least three times a year have experienced transformation as a result of their encounters with Scripture, along with a sizable minority of Christians who interact with the Bible less frequently.

The American Bible Society released the seventh chapter of its 12th annual “State of the Bible” report Wednesday, which focuses on “Bible use.” The survey of 2,598 adults conducted from Jan. 10-28 defines “Bible users” as those who said they interacted with the Bible at least three to four times a year.

Within this group of “Bible users,” 92% answered in the affirmative when asked if “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.” Just 8% said otherwise. By contrast, a majority of respondents who did not meet the criteria for designation as a “Bible user” (62%) did not see the message of the Bible as a source of transformation in their lives, while 38% did.

cont’d…

https://www.christianpost.com/news/92-percent-of-bible-users-say-scripture-has-transformed-their-life.html

By: Anugrah Kumar – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

Victims of religious oppression in Turkey shared their stories at an event on religious freedom at the European Parliament where the speakers suggested that political and social atrocities in that country were behind the Christian population’s decline from 20% to a mere 0.2% over the last century.

The victims highlighted atrocities against Christian minorities committed by the Turkish government and parts of society, according to the human rights group ADF International, which held the event this week in partnership with the group European Conservatives and Reformists.

Among those who testified at Wednesday’s event in Brussels, “Freedom of Religion in Türkiye,” was Mark Smith, a Christian missionary who was expelled from the country in 2020 after living there for over a decade.

“We love the country of Turkey and want to work for the good of its people. We are not a threat to the state, the country or the Turkish way of life,” Smith was quoted as saying.

cont’d…

https://www.christianpost.com/news/turkey-victims-of-religious-oppression-talk-of-christian-decline.html

By: Jonathan S. Tobin – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Being dragged into an endless and unwinnable conflict, to virtue-signal opposition to Russia’s illegal invasion, makes no sense for Jerusalem or Washington.

Eight months into Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine, two things are clear about the conflict. One is that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s launching of the largest land war in Europe since 1945 was a crime that has largely united the civilized world in revulsion. Another is that no one seems to have any realistic idea how it can be brought to an end.

Note that I used the word “realistic.” By this I mean a solution that doesn’t require the complete military defeat of a nuclear power that is unlikely to accept abject humiliation. That would also rule out a policy predicated on an attempt at regime change in Moscow, a reckless notion with unknowable and possibly catastrophic consequences.

Of course, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose courageous leadership has helped Kyiv mount a resolute and surprisingly successful resistance to the onslaught, does have a vision of how the war will end. He says Ukraine will keep fighting until a military victory chases the Russians off of every inch of soil that his country controlled in February, and perhaps even those areas it lost to Russia in 2014.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/opinion/israel-should-stay-out-of-the-war-in-ukraine/