VFI News July 7, 2020

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. —Proverbs 21:3

Russia, Turkey, and Iran held a virtual meeting on Wednesday to coordinate efforts in Syria. They have been holding similar meetings since 2017 as part of what is called the Astana process. Their goals have increasingly converged and their statement this week appeared aimed at undermining the US role in eastern Syria and isolating US partner forces.

In October 2019, Turkey threatened US forces in Syria and ordered the US to leave, attacking the SDF until Russia and the Syrian regime brokered a ceasefire with Ankara that saw Russia deploy forces to areas formerly under US influence.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to withdraw from Syria but has been critiqued for abandoning US partners who sacrificed thousands of lives fighting ISIS. (JPost / VFI News)

After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. —Ezekiel 38:8

“God, we ask that you watch over the people of Israel—that you fulfill your promise to them to make them victorious against their enemies, and to restore peace once more.”

In a historic move, the United Arab Emirates's (UAE) leading technology company Group 42 (G42) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Israeli hi-tech companies: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Rafael) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The three companies plan on exploring collaborations in research and development in order to offer effective solutions against the novel COVID-19.

The companies, which celebrated their cooperation in a virtual signing ceremony, intend to use each one of their fields of expertise and technologies to develop medical initiatives to combat coronavirus.

UAE's G42 has been working hard since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to provide effective solutions relating to the deadly virus, including a recent end-to-end detection solution found in cooperation with Oxford Nanopore Technologies. (JPost / VFI News)

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a historic collaboration agreement with Group 42 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The companies will collaborate in the fields of research and development in an attempt to find solutions to help combat the coronavirus.

The UAE and Israel have no official diplomatic ties, with Jordan and Egypt being the only two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel. Arab states in the Gulf, including the UAE, have increasingly built informal ties with Israel in recent years amid shared concerns over Iran.

Last month, a flight undertaken by Etihad Airways -- the UAE's flag carrier -- laden with COVID-19 related medical supplies for the Palestinian Authority made a rare landing in Tel Aviv.

While the UAE has been critical of Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, its Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said two weeks ago, "I think we can have a political disagreement with Israel and try to bridge other differences.” (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you continue to foster agreement and understanding between our nations so that we can build a better world for our children.”

A Messianic congregation in Israel scored a legal victory against the anti-assimilation organization Yad L'Achim, the congregation's pastor announced.

Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel in Ashdod wrote that a court issued an order preventing activists from Yad L'Achim from coming within 100 meters of the congregation or the homes of its members.

Pochtar claimed that the congregation had endured "nine years of systemic oppression" from Yad L'Achim, which held weekly demonstrations outside the congregation to protest what it views as missionary activity.

"They have called time and time again for actions against us, declaring their goal is to stop our work completely and drive us out of the city,” Pochtar said.

Pochtar posted a video in which he walked through a group of Orthodox demonstrators who were singing by the entrance to the congregation. He claimed that the protesters intimidated and frightened congregants who came to worship.

The Beit Hallel website states that the congregation seeks "to bring the Gospel of our Messiah, Jesus, to the people of Israel." (INN / VFI News)

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. —1 Corinthians 15:57

“God, we ask that you continue to protect and strengthen those who are under oppression because of your name.”

If Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, signs the measure into law, New Hampshire would become the 14th state to require genocide prevention education in public schools, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s New England regional office, which supported the bill.

The bill will enable all students to acquire knowledge of civics and government, economics, history, and Holocaust and genocide education, according to state Sen. Jay Kahn, a Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill.

The House approved the bill this week in a 299-17 vote as part of several other pieces of legislation. The state Senate had passed the measure unanimously in March.

In its most recent audit on anti-Semitism, ADL documented 2,107 incidents across the country in 2019, the highest since the group began tracking incidents in 1979. Of the total, 411 of the incidents were in K-12 schools, representing a 19% increase from the previous year. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you bless those in the U.S. with the wisdom to educate themselves about the horrors of the Holocaust so that nothing like it will ever happen again.”

The global university index system Shanghai Ranking ranked Haifa University above not only all other Israeli universities but also renowned higher learning institutes across the world for educational studies.

The index grades and prioritizes universities around the globe based on a variety of factors, including Nobel Prize winners, published research, and more.

Haifa University's new status was announced by Shanghai Ranking on July 1. The northern school in Israel, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, ranked in the top 76-100 universities in the world for education studies above schools such as Cambridge University and Oxford University in England, and Yale University and Brown University in the United States.

"The high position of the University of Haifa in a wide range of fields is indicative of the success of many years of processes inside and outside the Carmel campus walls," said Haifa University Ron Robin. (JPost / VFI News)

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. —Proverbs 18:15

The Israeli start-up Emeo Team on Friday launched the Emeo, the first-ever digital practice saxophone, which allows saxophone players to practice and play anywhere, as long as the device his hooked up to their computers or smartphones.

The device has already received international acclaim, with famed Italian jazz saxophonist Rosario Giuliani saying, "It is an incredible invention that you can play everywhere."

The Emeo connects to the devices using USB, MIDI, and Bluetooth and offers a cutting edge solution to the problem of the inherently loud volume of the saxophone, limiting sax players greatly in the manner in which they may practice and play.

The device is not intended to replace the various types of regular saxophones, but rather that the Emeo offers a comfortable solution for practicing conveniently. It is available for pre-order, and the devices are expected to be sent out throughout August. (JPost / VFI News)

The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) on Thursday called on elected officials and leaders in the African-American community to condemn the linkage of the Black Lives Matter movement to the anti-Semitic BDS movement, after protesters chanted anti-Israel and anti-Semitic phrases at a march that took place this week in Washington, DC.

Cries of “Black lives matter!” and “Palestinian lives matter!” were heard, and many attendees loudly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

“While we absolutely agree that the issue of race in America is something that must be duly addressed on a national level, it is sickening to see that the Black Lives Matter movement has been co-opted by people who wear their anti-Semitic beliefs on their sleeves,” said NCYI President Farley Weiss.

“By poisoning protests with anti-Israel declarations and anti-Semitic remarks, some of the individuals who so desperately seek justice and an end to racism are themselves engaging in abhorrent and hypocritical behavior that fans the flames of bigotry and hate,” he added. (INN / VFI News)

Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! —Psalm 106:3