Iran Fears for Its Gaza Proxies after Israel's Surprise Op. - Analysis

Fri, May 19 — Anti-Israel Rhetoric Spread throughout US, Iran | VFI News

Jerusalem Day Celebrations & Anti Israel Alliance at the UN | VFI News

Bernie Sanders Steps in to Help Rep. Tlaib Hold Anti-Israel Event in Capitol

Survey: Palestinian Arabs Prefer China over US as Mediator with Israel

Report: King Charles to Become First UK Sovereign to Visit Israel

WATCH: Donate to Vision for Israel’s Pack-to-School Project

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FM Cohen in Sweden: A New Era for Our Relationship

Israel, Morocco Co-Host Women in Innovation Conference in Marrakesh

Cabinet Approves NIS 13.7b in State Funds to Meet Haredi Coalition Demands

Ancient Roman-era Marble Cargo Shipwreck Found by Israeli Beachgoer

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Stay informed with the latest developments in the Israel-Iran conflict. Discover how a recent truce between Israel and Iranian-backed terrorists in the Gaza Strip is holding, while uncovering the emerging military ties between Iran and Russia that pose potential threats to Israel. 

Explore the United Nations' anti-Israel stance and the significance of upcoming Jerusalem Day events. Join Barry Segal in this week's edition of VFI News for insightful analysis and stay connected with us for more updates. Subscribe, like, and follow us on social media. Pray for the peace and safety of Israel.

On Tuesday, May 9, Israel’s Operation Shield and Arrow targeted Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Iran is watching Israel's moves closely, and this is not the first time that the IDF have targeted the PIJ, which is widely seen as a proxy of Iran. 

Back in 2019, Israel launched Operation Black Belt which was a precision strike on Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior terrorist in the Islamic Jihad. In 2018 Israel also launched Operation House of Cards in Syria after Iran fired rockets at Israel. 

Iranian pro-regime media linked to the IRGC has heavily covered the new operation. One media outlet says that PIJ’s Saraya al-Quds, the so-called “armed wing” of PIJ, has been struck and it has lost several commanders. Iran spins this as an acceptable blow it can recover from claiming that this will “increase the determination” of Islamic Jihad. 

Iran also claims civilians were killed, claiming a daughter of PIJ commander Khalil Salah al-Bahtini was killed. It also claims that the son of PIJ member Tariq Muhammad Ezzidin was killed. 

The operation has also been a top story in Turkish media. Turkey refers to Islamic Jihad, which is a terrorist group, as an “armed group,” while claiming to fight its own war on terrorism. This is an illustration of how some media in the region do not see groups such as the Iranian-backed PIJ as terrorist organizations. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray that terrorist organizations are acknowledged as such worldwide, and we thank You for enabling us to be perceived as a formidable opponent to those who wish to harm us. We are also grateful for the current ceasefire and we wish that peace will prevail throughout the region.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Sen. Bernie Sanders chaired a gathering in the US Senate Wednesday, May 10, during which Congress member Rashida Tlaib hosted an event where she bashed Israel as an “apartheid” state that engages in terror. 

The gathering was to mark the Nakba, a Palestinian term meaning “catastrophe” that refers to the displacement of Palestinian people when Israel was founded in 1948. 

Michigan lawmaker Tlaib had initially hoped to hold the event in the Congress Visitors Center, but Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy thwarted her plan by reserving the space himself and hosting a celebration to mark 75 years of US-Israel ties. 

Sanders then stepped in by chairing the meeting in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing Room, located in the Senate office building and therefore outside of McCarthy’s reach. Sanders, a Jewish independent lawmaker, made no mention of the Nakba event on his own Twitter feed. 

Reports and images from the meeting showed that it was full with standing room only. Democrat Rep Cori Bush also attended the meeting.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt panned Sanders for facilitating the Nakba event in the Capitol, calling it “disgraceful.” (TOI / VFI News)

A majority of Palestinian Arabs view China and Russia as potentially effective mediators for their peace talks with Israel, a survey conducted by YouGov for Arab media found. 

The survey showed that Palestinian Arabs’ most preferred potential peace broker was Russia, followed closely by the European Union and China. 

The US, in contrast, proved far from popular. 80 percent of Palestinian Arabs welcomed a Chinese offer to mediate with Israel. Almost 60 percent of respondents said they did not trust the US to mediate negotiations, the poll found. 

China's Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, recently told his Israeli and Palestinian Arab counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides. Russian President Vladimir Putin has in the past expressed a desire to host an Israeli-Palestinian Arab summit to revive the stalled peace talks between the sides, but nothing has materialized yet in this regard. 

Since taking office, the Biden administration has renewed ties with the PA and has been crafting a plan aimed at “resetting” US ties with the PA. Despite Biden’s efforts, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Putin in October 2022 that he does not trust Washington can resolve the conflict with Israel while expressing appreciation for Russia's role in the process. (INN / VFI News)

“The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.” - Psalm 37:29

Preparations are currently taking place for King Charles III, the newly crowned monarch of Britain, to make history as the first sovereign of the UK to visit the Holy Land, as reported by British media on Sunday, May 14. 

Lord Stuart Polak, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords who served as the director of Conservative Friends of Israel for over 25 years, told British media that “the preparation has been done by his team to pave the way for this visit." “There is no doubt that Charles will be the one to break this pattern." 

According to the British tabloid, Charles is expected to include a visit to the Palestinian Authority in order to avoid criticism from the Arab world. Sunday's report noted that President Isaac Herzog has personally engaged in lobbying efforts to encourage the king's visit.

Prior to ascending the throne, Charles had privately traveled to Israel on three occasions. In 2018, Prince William also undertook an official trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. 

During her 70-year reign, Charles's mother, Queen Elizabeth II, never visited Israel, amid concerns it would cause a backlash in the Arab world. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we thank You for allying us with a powerful monarch that shows his support for Israel and is willing to take action in this direction. We are hopeful that many more leaders will soon follow so that mutually beneficial cooperation can be established.”

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Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Monday, May 15, hailed a “new era” in the relationship between Sweden and Israel, as he began a visit to Stockholm, the first by an Israeli foreign minister in 22 years. 

“More than 20 years have passed since an Israeli foreign minister visited Sweden, and today I had an important meeting with the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, Tobias Billström, a close ally of Israel,” tweeted Cohen. 

“Sweden holds the presidency of the European Union and is expected to join NATO; therefore, strengthening the relationship between our countries is a strategic interest,” he added. 

“We discussed enhancing the economic and security cooperation between the countries, the fight against a nuclear Iran, and broadening the Abraham Accords.” 

Billström commented on the meeting as well on his Twitter account, writing, “A very good and productive meeting with Eli Cohen in Stockholm today. The first one in 20 years, so long overdue.” 

“The purpose was to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Sweden and Israel and to discuss global and regional issues of mutual interest,” he added. (INN / VFI News)

Almost 100 female business leaders from four continents gathered in Morocco two weeks ago for the Women Connect to Innovate conference where they discussed women-driven innovation as a path to regional prosperity. 

The three-day conference in Marrakesh was hosted by the Israeli nonprofit Start-Up Nation Central and Morocco’s Consensus Public Relations firm. 

This collaboration involving women from across the Middle East and Africa served as a reminder of how much Israel’s position in the region has improved in just a few years. 

The 2020 Abraham Accords normalized Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. In 2021, Sudan signed on as well. Since the signing of the agreements, the countries have established substantial partnerships with Israel. 

Conferences like this one and other forms of innovation diplomacy have helped Israel to cement its partnerships with countries in the region. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we thank You for giving us the means to partner with neighboring nations and create alliances that help Israel establish itself even more in the Middle East. We are also especially honored to be able to center and uplift women in spaces they are much needed but often neglected.“

The cabinet on Sunday, May 14, approved NIS 13.7 billion ($3.7 billion) worth of coalition funds mainly allocated in support of ultra-Orthodox institutions and programs as the Treasury warned that the promised funds could lead to trillions of shekels in lost gross domestic product in the coming years. 

The coalition funds worth NIS 13.7 billion are higher than the previous call for NIS 12.5 billion in spending. 

Out of the NIS 13.7 billion, about NIS 3.7 billion is promised to be spent on increasing the budget for stipends at religious yeshiva student institutions. About NIS 1 billion is directed as an allowance for a food voucher program being pushed by Shas leader Aryeh Deri. Another NIS 1.2 billion is budgeted for private, non-supervised educational institutions, which do not teach core subjects such as math and English. 

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population, which constitutes about 13.5% of the country’s total population, is expected to grow to 16% in 2030. The ultra-Orthodox population’s current growth rate of 4% is the fastest of any group in Israel, according to Central Bureau of Statistics data.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the amount and allocation of coalition funds “irresponsible and corrupt,” and a robbery of public money. 

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, the Finance Ministry’s Budgets Department head Yogev Gardos warned that the allocation of funds to ultra-Orthodox institutions and initiatives creates negative incentives for Haredi men to seek employment, and will harm the country’s labor market and the economy as a whole. (TOI / VFI News)

“Lord, we ask that You will bring justice to the political system in Israel and give integrity to our leaders to make the right decisions about the budget. We thank You for hearing the cry of the poor and for providing for those who need it more than others.”

The wreck of a Roman-era shipment of marble was found by a swimmer off of Israel’s Yanai beach, in what is the first discovery of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Monday, May 15. 

The shipment of marble items had been known to the IAA for years, but because the shipwreck was covered in sand, its exact location had remained unknown until recent stormy weather helped to expose it. 

The find was spotted by a local swimmer, Gideon Harris, who reported it to the Antiquities Authority. The marble cargo included Corinthian columns decorated with capitals. 

It is theorized that these valuable marble columns would have been used for an important construction project, such as a temple or theater. 

These items were very valuable and the marble aesthetic was highly sought-after in the ancient world. For example, in Caesarea during Roman times, buildings were made of local stone but covered with stucco to make them look like marble, as noted by IAA Maritime Archaeology Unit director Kobi Shavit. 

IAA Director-General Eli Escusido praised Harris for his discovery. “Gideon’s report illustrated how essential it is for citizens to be vigilant for antiquities and how important it is for these discoveries to be reported to the Antiquities Authority,” Escusido said. “This is invaluable information for building the Land of Israel’s story.” (JPost / VFI News)

“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.” - 1 Corinthians 10:1

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.
 
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