VFI News April 29, 2022

Iran increased military spending in the past year & Israel issues Cyber warning ahead of Jerusalem Day and more. Watch Barry for more!

• 00:54 - Moody’s upgrades Israel to A1 Credit Rating
• 01:08 - IDF fires shells into Lebanon
• 02:17 - Iran increased military spending in the past year
• 03:28 - Israel issues Cyber warning ahead of Jerusalem Day
• 04:12 - At Cairo Summit Middle East Leaders discuss Jerusalem tensions
• 06:37 - Death Threats to Jews chanted openly in the UK
• 08:17 - Half of all Israelis fear a second Holocaust
• 09:52 - Bennet & Lapid congratulate Macron on French Election win

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The Israel Defense Forces said early Monday, April 25, that it attacked targets in Lebanon after a rocket was fired into Israel earlier in the night.

“IDF artillery is now attacking targets in Lebanon and firing at the launch area in retaliation for the rocket fired into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in an initial statement. Later it said it struck the launch area with dozens of artillery shells, as well as “an infrastructure target,” without elaborating further.

The rocket that was fired into Israel from Lebanon landed in an open area near Kibbutz Matzuva, close to the border, without causing damage or injuries.

Hezbollah-linked media in Lebanon also reported that a rocket had been fired toward Israel, from an area between the towns of Qlaileh and Maaliyeh, southeast of Tyre.

No rocket warning sirens sounded in Israel as the rocket landed in an open area, and the military said that alert levels in the area remain “normal.”

The United Nations peacekeeping force along the border, UNIFIL, urged restraint. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we ask that You protect your children from war, terror, and destruction.”

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.

Tehran has raised its military budget for the first time in four years, a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found.

Iran raised its military budget to $24.6 billion in 2021, an increase of 11%, the report said, despite ongoing economic problems in the country because of years of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the United States.

Last year SIPRI said Iran’s military spending fell by 3% to $15.8b., part of a downward trend that began in 2018 when the sanctions over the country’s nuclear activities were reinstated. Between 2018 and 2020, Iran’s military spending fell by 20%.

In December, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi submitted a budget bill that more than doubled the amount allocated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the fiscal year 2022 (which began March 31), allocating the organization 930 trillion rials ($22b.). Meanwhile, Iran’s conventional army was allocated 339.68 trillion rials (US $8b.) for 2022.

Iran also increased its military spending by 11%, making the country one of the largest military spenders in 2021. (JPost / VFI News)

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. - Proverbs 21:31

Israel’s National Cyber Directorate issued its annual warning on Sunday, April 24, against possible cyberattacks to mark Iran’s Quds Day and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Iran initiated Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution. It commemorates the day with anti-Israel speeches, events and threats to “liberate” Jerusalem from Israeli control.

The possible breaches of Israeli websites are expected on or around April 29 this year, and are coordinated by anti-Israel hackers around the world under the banner “#OPJerusalem.”

In previous years, the day was marked by website breaches that spread anti-Israel messaging, cyberattacks on companies that host and maintain a large number of websites to maximize the impact of the breach, as well as attempted hacks into organizations’ systems and information leaks, the directorate said Sunday.

In 2020, various affected websites displayed a video simulating Israeli cities being bombed and messages threatening the destruction of the Jewish state.

This year, OPJerusalem operations come amid high tensions in the Israeli capital surrounding the Temple Mount compound, where police have repeatedly clashed with Palestinian rioters in recent weeks. (TOI / VFI News)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day. - Psalm 91:1-16

Jordan’s King Abdullah met in Cairo on Sunday, April 24, with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sissi and United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A statement from the Jordanian Royal Court said that the three leaders discussed trilateral ties, current challenges and crises, as well as bolstering joint Arab action and regional cooperation on food and energy security.

They also discussed the ongoing tensions surrounding Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, with the three “stressing their countries’ readiness to exert all efforts to restore calm in Jerusalem, end all forms of escalation, and remove obstacles impeding worshippers’ access.”

Israel has faced tensions with its Muslim allies, including diplomatic rebukes by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Turkey in connection to tensions on the Temple Mount.

Israel’s ambassadors to Jordan and the UAE were both summoned for a dressing down last week by their host countries after police entered the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount multiple times to quash Palestinian riots.

During Sunday’s meeting, Abdullah also called on Israel to maintain the religious status quo on the Temple Mount and “emphasized the importance of respecting the Hashemite Custodianship” of holy sites in the capital. The king also “stressed the need to respect the historical and legal status quo” at the holy site.

Jordan has accused Israel of violating the status quo at the site, under which Muslims are allowed to visit and pray while Jews cannot pray and may only visit during restricted time slots.

Israel insists that it is committed to the status quo and is safeguarding the rights of followers of all three religions in Jerusalem.

The three leaders also urged Israel to “stop all measures that undermine the two-state solution” and to find a way to return to serious negotiations with the Palestinians. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you create a sense of collaboration between Israel and our neighbors.”

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https://www.youtube.com/c/RootsReflections/featured

Crowds in anti-Israel protests in the United Kingdom have repeatedly chanted Arabic death threats to Jews while police do nothing, a JC investigation has revealed.

UK’s Jewish community leaders say the police do not wish to enforce the law even as protesters shout out clear death threats at demonstrations against Israel across the UK.

Officers and prosecutors have acknowledged the antisemitic cry is criminal incitement to racial hatred, with a penalty of up to seven years in jail, yet no action has been taken.

The chant, “Khaybar, Khaybar Ya Yahud, Jaish Mohammed Sauf Ya’ud” translates to “Watch Out Jews, Remember Khaybar, the Army of Mohammed is returning.”

“Khaybar” refers to a massacre of Jews said to have been carried out at Khaybar in Arabia in 628 CE.

The chant was heard in seven separate rallies last year, all of which took place across Britain during the conflict in May between Israel and Hamas. (JPost / VFI News)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:10

Almost half of all Israelis worry that a second Holocaust could occur, devastating the Jewish People, a new survey shows.

The survey, conducted by the Penina movement in advance of Holocaust Memorial Day, was published in the Israel Hayom newspaper, and included many startling findings related to the concerns and fears of average Israelis. The ongoing threat from the Iranian regime, which has signaled its desire on many occasions to wipe out the Jewish state, seems to play a key role in heightening fears of a new Holocaust.

The survey also found that women tend to be more fearful of a second Holocaust than men (55 percent versus 42 percent) and that younger Israelis are more fearful; 24 percent of Israelis under the age of 24 said that they were very worried about a second Holocaust, as opposed to just 12 percent of Israelis over the age of 45.

Another interesting finding was that 23 percent of Israelis who define themselves as haredim responded that they were very concerned about the likelihood of another Holocaust, as opposed to just 11 percent of Israelis who define themselves as secular.

The survey also found that most Israelis see Holocaust Memorial Day being marked very differently in years to come. When asked how they thought the day would be marked in another 30 years' time, 45 percent of respondents said that it would be marked by events alone; 13 percent of respondents thought that it would not be marked at all and would be just another day.

On the other hand, 16 percent of respondents thought that the day would become even more significant over time, and another 26 percent said that it would remain much the same as it is now.

Classified according to age, the survey found that 21 percent of Israelis between the ages of 35 and 45 thought that Holocaust Memorial Day would cease to be marked in another 30 years, as opposed to just 12 percent of Israelis over the age of 65 who made the same prediction. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you to protect your people, and prevent the terrors of the Holocaust from ever being repeated.”

The Satanic Temple is suing a Pennsylvania elementary school after its school board voted against the introduction of an After School Satan Club last week.

The Satanic Temple filed a lawsuit on constitutional grounds against Northern Elementary School in York, Pennsylvania, according to local ABC outlet KTUL.

Mathew Kezhaya, the general counsel for The Satanic Temple, said the lawsuit intends to litigate whether the Northern York County School Board discriminated against the organization by not allowing them to start an after school club when other organizations are allowed to.

"The First Amendment prohibits a government from considering the popularity of communicative activity when determining whether to facilitate that communicative activity on equal terms with other, similarly situated, groups," he said.

Kezhaya said each part of the lawsuit could be time-consuming, taking from 18 months to two years to complete.

Lucien Greaves, the Satanic Temple spokesperson, previously told Fox News about the clubs, "I'm hoping that with our presence, people can see that good people can have different perspectives, sometimes on the same mythology, but not mean any harm."

"The After School Satan Club is an after-school program that promotes self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative interests of students," the Satanic Temple states on its website.

"If they deny us the use of a public facility, which they have no right to do it'll have to move into litigation, costly litigation that the community is going to have to pay for," Greaves said. (FOX / VFI News)

Israeli leaders have sent their congratulations to French President Emmanuel Macron who was reelected on Sunday, April 24.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted congratulations to his “good friend” Macron.

“President Macron is an important leader of the global center and a true friend of Israel. We’ll continue to work together to strengthen cooperation between our countries,” he wrote.

Lapid and Macron have a friendship stretching back to when they both entered politics, with the former as finance minister and the latter as economy minister. They have much in common politically. Both established successful centrist parties built to a great extent around their own personalities.

Lapid met with Macron in November to discuss the nuclear talks between world powers and Iran. (JPost / VFI News)

He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. - Proverbs 22:11

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

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