LLX News

The warehouse is said to have contained missiles intended for transfer to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Unexplained “violent explosions” that rocked Damascus in the early hours of Sunday destroyed an arms depot belonging to Iranian-backed groups, according to U.K.-based group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Unconfirmed reports said the warehouse contained missiles intended for transfer to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the past, such incidents have been attributed to Israeli air strikes.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/middle-east/syria/23/8/13/310070/

Members of a special IHF delegation recently returned to the US from a meaningful and life-changing six-day experience in Israel.

Israel National News (Arutz Sheva); israelnationalnews.com

Members of a special Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF) delegation recently returned to the US from a meaningful and life-changing six-day experience in Israel. The diverse group, consisting of politicians, rabbis, medical professionals, and businesspeople, traveled throughout the Holy Land from August 4-9, 2023. The packed schedule included dancing along with thousands at the Western Wall on the Sabbath eve, praying at the burial places of the Jewish matriarchs and patriarchs in Hebron and Bethlehem, witnessing the testimonies at Yad Vashem about the atrocities committed by the Nazis, and tasting the very fulfillment of Biblical prophecies at a winery in the town of Shilo.

Led by Dr. Joseph Frager, Rabbi David Katz, and Gov. Mike Huckabee, members of the delegation also met with numerous dignitaries who spoke cogently about the need for judicial reform and the importance of spreading the word in the US about all the good that Israel has to offer. Capped off by a gala event hosted together with Israel National News – Arutz Sheva at the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem and emceed by Yoni Kempinski, they were addressed by leaders that included Governor Huckabee, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, and MK Simcha Rothman as well as MK Ohad Tal.

cont’d…

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375534

By: John Waage – Christian Broadcasting Network; cbn.com

Perhaps to remind Israelis that Israel’s governing coalition has been working on other issues besides judicial reform, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting to announce goals and progress in three other areas: connecting the country with a high-speed rail network, fighting inflation by lowering prices on consumer goods, and accelerating Israel’s involvement in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On the transportation front, the prime minister announced the launching of the “One Israel” project, “to link the entire country with a fast railway from Kiryat Shemona (in Israel’s far north) to Eilat (Israel’s southernmost city).”

“This project is underway with 100-billion shekel ($27 billion) multi-year budget, he said, adding, “My vision is that every citizen in the country will be able to go to and from the center of the country, from anywhere in the state, in less than two hours.”

Netanyahu also suggested that the rail line would one day be connected to Saudi Arabia as the Biden administration apparently warms to the idea of fostering improved relations between Israel and the Desert Kingdom.

cont’d…

https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/wake-judicial-battle-netanyahu-adds-new-priorities-hi-speed-trains-inflation-fight-ai

The protesters won’t stop until they bring Netanyahu’s government down.

By: Melanie Phillips (melaniephillips.substack.com) – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The night before Monday’s Knesset vote on the first of the government’s proposed judicial reforms, a video filmed on the escalators in Jerusalem’s central train station went viral on social media.

It showed a great tide of people holding Israeli flags going down one escalator on their way back from protesting against the reforms in Jerusalem, and a great tide of people holding Israeli flags going up the other escalator on their way back from demonstrating in support of the reforms in Tel Aviv.

What was so remarkable and moving was that people on each escalator were leaning over to shake hands with those on the other side, in recognition of the importance of putting people before a cause.

This image deeply touched many who are horrified by the chasm that has opened in Israel over the reforms.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/column/israel/23/7/27/306042/

‘I never comment on internal debates of other democracies,’ PM tells Fox News in rebuke of US and others; says he seeks consensus, reservists’ refusal is the real democratic threat

By: The Times of Israel Staff; timesofisrael.com

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed international criticism that his judicial overhaul is undermining democracy and said he will not be swayed by outside pressure.

Speaking to Fox News’s Mark Levin on Sunday, Netanyahu, in an apparent rebuke to the Biden administration and others, said other countries should not interfere in Israel’s internal issues.

Netanyahu said that in his 16 years in power, “I never commented on the internal debates of other democracies,” adding that “everybody has an opinion on Israel; they don’t have an opinion on the riots in France or the protests there, or the debates that happen in other countries.”

cont’d…

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rebuffs-international-criticism-of-overhaul-well-make-our-own-decisions/

Knesset testimony exposes flagrant peace violations by Palestinian leaders and educators. Is the world listening?

By: Ryan Jones – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

A young Palestinian Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem appeared before the Knesset Education Committee on Sunday to expose the incitement to anti-Israel terrorism being taught in schools in the Israeli capital.

The young man, who was identified only as “E” and had his face covered for his own safety, was brought to the Knesset by Israeli Arab Christian activist Yoseph Haddad.

Haddad began by calling out virulently anti-Israel Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi, who conspicuously left the committee session before E had a chance to speak.

“It’s a shame MK Ahmad Tibi left before having the opportunity to hear a genuinely courageous voice from eastern Jerusalem, but I knew he’d do that, I knew he wouldn’t engage,” said Haddad.

E told the committee that he was “educated at a school that taught the Palestinian curriculum, from first grade until graduation. And from the very start I was taught that there is no State of Israel. I learned that we are Palestinians and that we are under occupation…”

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/palestinian-reveals-what-jerusalem-arabs-are-really-taught-in-school/

By: Julie Stahl – Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN); cbn.com

ELI, Samaria – Following a recent spate of deadly terror attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build thousands of new housing units in what the world calls the West Bank, also known – especially in Israel – as biblical Judea and Samaria.

The move angered international players, but millions of Israelis believe that reclaiming their biblical inheritance is the right thing to do.

The view from the hilltops of Eli is stunning, and even more so because it overlooks modern and ancient Shiloh (pronounced shee-LOH), the site where the Bible says the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant rested for nearly 4 centuries.

How do they know it’s the biblical site?

One resident, Eliana Passentin, the international desk director for the Binyamin Regional Council, likened the Bible’s description (in Judges 21:19) to a navigation App (Waze) pinpointing the ancient location.

“It’s like using Waze in ancient times tells you exactly how to get to Shiloh. And they said, ‘Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth El (Bethel).’ There’s a verse at the end of the book: ‘On the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth El to Shechem and on the south of Levona.’”

cont’d…

https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/jewish-residents-near-biblical-shiloh-connect-history-beautiful-hilltops

By: John Waage – Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN); cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – The week ahead will not be an easy one for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As he recovers from a concerning bout of dizziness and a fall caused – doctors believe – by dehydration while at the Sea of Galilee, a medical event which required an overnight stay in the hospital, the prime minister will be steering the nation through another week of protests against his government’s judicial reform plan.

Additionally, although the position of prime minister is the most powerful office in Israel, Netanyahu will govern in Jerusalem this week while the nation’s ceremonial leader, President Isaac Herzog, meets with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and later addresses a joint session of Congress.

It’s Herzog’s second visit in the past year to Washington, and in the nearly 8 months since the Netanyahu government was sworn in, no invitation is yet forthcoming from the Biden White House for the prime minister to meet with him.

Israeli prime ministers have endured decades of frosty receptions from presidential administrations: Menachem Begin with Jimmy Carter in the 1970’s, Yitzhak Shamir with George H.W. Bush in the early 90’s, Benjamin Netanyahu with Bill Clinton in the late 90’s, and Netanyahu again with Barack Obama from 2009 to 2016.

For the most part, Israeli politicians know from experience that snubs from American administrations are to be taken with a grain of salt and covered in public with kind words about the “special relationship” between the two nations.

cont’d…

https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/tough-week-netanyahu-israeli-and-us-efforts-isolate-him-may-backfire

By: Jon Brown – Fox News; foxnews.com

Pastor Yang Xibo greets news of $55,100 fine by thanking God ‘for allowing us to have a part in His affliction’

The pastor of a large house church in China is facing steep fines from the Chinese government in what a watchdog group is describing as a case of religious persecution.

Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife, Wang Xiaofei, who lead the Xunsiding Church, have been slapped with a combined fine of 400,000 yuan — or roughly $55,100 — for organizing religious activities, according to Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid, which keeps an eye on Christian persecution in China.

Xunsiding Church is the largest house church in Xiamen, a port city on China’s southeast coast across a strait from Taiwan. House churches are Christian congregations that have not registered with China’s official Protestant or Roman Catholic churches.

The fine, which the Christian couple has been battling since 2021, was reportedly doubled on June 28, according to ChinaAid. The two recently announced on social media that they are refusing to pay.

cont’d…

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-clamps-down-christians-fines-pastor-wife-running-underground-church-watchdog

“We support the French government in its fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Israel is closely monitoring and deeply concerned about “waves of antisemitism sweeping over France,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.

“In recent days, we have witnessed criminal assaults against Jewish targets. We strongly condemn these attacks and support the French government in its fight against antisemitism,” he added.

Mass chaos has engulfed France since the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M., of Algerian origin, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

Rioters in areas with large Muslim populations have torched cars and looted shops, clashing with police and causing hundreds of injuries.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/israel-news/antisemitism/23/7/2/299383/