January 25, 2020

Please Give On Behalf Of Israel’s Holocaust Survivors

Serbian President Honors Holocaust Remembrance Day

Netanyahu Praises Colombia, Honduras, And Guatemala

Russian Official Warns Iran Not To Take ‘Reckless Steps"

Israel: 560 'Significant' Terror Attacks Thwarted in 2019

PA News Source Wants Bloodshed At Holocaust Memorial Event

Israel, UK To Build New, Stronger Relationships

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VFI News Final | VFI News | Vision for Israel

“Never again will my people be shamed.” Joel 2:26   

The pain, the memories and losses of being a victim of the Holocaust never heal completely. Life goes on but these - now very elderly, precious people - are greatly in need of encouragement and support to live out the rest of their lives as serenely as possible. Vision for Israel continues to comfort and provide for many of the nation’s poor. Holocaust survivors and their well-being are an ongoing focus of financial aid and vital provision from our VFI funds and supplies. Please enable us to do all that we can. Give generously at www.visionforisrael.com. Your donations are deeply needed and appreciated.

Delegations from 49 countries, including 41 heads of state, are attending the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem this week to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Israeli diplomats said that not even the funerals of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres drew as many foreign dignitaries. USA Vice President Mike Pence, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain's Prince Charles and French President Emmanuel Macron are the most prominent names. The Forum has included a state dinner at Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's official residence and a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem where leaders from the four WWII Allied countries and Germany gave speeches. Putin also attended a dedication ceremony for a monument in Jerusalem in memory of the heroism of the soldiers and residents killed during the siege of Leningrad. (Times of Israel) 

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isa. 60:2-3

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is flying a yellow flag to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day at his official residence in the capital of Belgrade.The flag, which bears a Star of David and the word “Jude” is meant to evoke the yellow star badge that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust. It is flying alongside the Serbian national flag at the Novi Dvor building.Vucic tweeted a photo of the flag this week with the words, “This sign was a symbol of an attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Nazis. Today it is a badge of honor”. Vucic is attending the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem this week. International Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on 27 Jan. 2020. (JTA)

PM Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed a joint announcement by Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala regarding their official designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, possibly targeting a major source of revenue for the Iranian proxy. The three countries made the statement on Mon. 20 Jan. 2020. In recent months, Netanyahu and USA Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have led an effort in several countries in Latin America to ban Hezbollah. Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala joined Argentina and Paraguay, which have already banned the Lebanon-based terrorist group. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo likewise applauded the announcement, noting that Hezbollah and other transnational terrorist groups remain active in the region. In this move, the three countries joined Germany, Israel, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Japan in banning Hezbollah in its entirety. Netanyahu this week also called upon French President Emmanuel Macron to have his country designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, instead of just part of it. (United With Israel)

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Mon. 20 Jan. 2020 warned Iran not to take any "reckless steps" to quit the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Sputnik News reported. Ryabkov also urged Iran to comply with its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif promised that if the European powers file a complaint against Iran due to its violations of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the rogue power will quit the NPT as well. Zarif was quoted as saying: "If the Europeans continue their improper behavior or send Iran’s file to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the NPT." Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, in a preposterous lie this week, claimed his country is still in compliance with the 2015 agreement, despite confirmation by the IAEA last November that Iran had violated the deal. "Tehran still remains in the deal," he claimed in a televised news conference. "The European powers' claims about Iran violating the deal are unfounded." The truth is that Iran earlier this month announced that it would no longer abide by any of the restrictions placed on its uranium enrichment program, and President Hassan Rouhani claimed his country was now producing more of the substance than before the nuclear pact was forged. (Arutz-7/VFI News) 

In spite of all warnings and sanctions, Iran (less than 1000 miles away from Jerusalem), continues its lawless advancement towards obtaining nuclear arms with an eye towards annihilating the Jewish state. Urgent is the need for intercession that Israel will know what to do - and at what point in time - in order to protect itself against the Islamic Republic.

Israel’s internal security agency says it has thwarted over 560 “significant” terror plots, including suicide attacks, in the past year. Speaking this week at an award ceremony honoring operational and intelligence achievements in 2019, Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman said the attacks were aimed against Israeli civilians and infrastructure. "This past year was full of security challenges on all fronts," said Argaman. "We foiled 10 suicide attacks, four abductions and over 300 shootings." PM Netanyahu, who attended the ceremony, in his speech focused primarily on the “Iranian threat,” which he said poses both a “nuclear and terror” challenge.  “We must overcome it just like we overcame the great threat of Pan-Arabism,” he said. "Our determination to fight for our future and to defeat our enemies must be much stronger than theirs. The lives of hundreds of Israelis, perhaps more, were saved by your Shin Bet activity,” he said. The prime minister added that “many” countries in the world now want to cooperate with Israeli intelligence agencies. "Everyone wants cooperation with Israeli intelligence. We are in a time of unprecedented political, economic, operational and military prosperity." (Worthy News) 

Terrorist attacks averted are answers to prayers. Please continue to intercede against the principalities of hatred and violence that perpetrate acts of terror.

While dignitaries from around the world arrived in Jerusalem this week, the Palestinian Authority's official daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, did not throw out a welcome mat.  In an incendiary op-ed, the paper incited for violence during an event that is supposed to commemorate the six million Jews who were slaughtered during the Holocaust. "One shot will disrupt the ceremony and one dead body will cancel the ceremony," the paper wrote in reference to the Fifth World Holocaust Forum taking place this week in Israel. Columnist Yahya Rabah slammed the international dignitaries planning to attend because their presence at the ceremony would recognize the Holocaust and turn a blind eye to the "beautiful and spectacular" Palestinian Holocaust by Israel that still continues. "It can be assumed that the Palestinians will resist the ceremony being held in Jerusalem itself, as Jerusalem is theirs," he added. High-level delegations from 49 countries took part in the main event at Yad Vashem on Thur. 23 Jan. 2020, to remember the Holocaust and commit to fighting anti-Semitism. (Israel Hayom/VFI News)

Only the sickest minds could describe any holocaust as being, “beautiful and spectacular”.  Pray according to scripture: “Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure - you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.”  Ps. 7:9

Israel and the United Kingdom are building a 'new strategic relationship' driven by soaring bilateral trade and deepening ties in various sectors, according to a new report. The increasing strength of the relationship, the report by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) states, is symbolized by soaring bilateral trade between the countries. Trade increased by 72% from $6.1 billion in 2012 to $10.5b. in 2018, and the UK now represents Israel's third-largest export market, surpassed only by the United States and China. The Brexit referendum and ensuing uncertainty have seemingly not dampened the trading spirit, with Israel becoming the first country to sign a post-Brexit continuity trade agreement with the UK. (Worthy News)

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Jerusalem Hosts World Holocaust Forum