VFI News Feb 8, 2022

President Isaac Herzog visits Mosque in Abu Dhabi & Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus, join Barry in this video to hear more about it.

#President #Mosque #AbuDhabi #Nationalday #Damascus #Iranian #gas #electricity #indexjumps

#Florida #Israeli #Ukraine #Russia #Conflect

• 00:25 - President Isaac Herzog visits Mosque in Abu Dhabi
• 02:28 - President Isaac Herzog opens Israel’s National day at Dubai Expo
• 04:13 - Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus
• 05:23 - Iranian Forces crackdown on teachers
• 06:33 - Steep Global wildlife decline may be worse than first feared Israeli Study finds
• 08:31 - Israel’s gas, electricity, and good prices climb as Consumer Price index jumps
• 10:27 - Neo Nazi rally in Florida shout “The Jew is the devil”
• 12:12 - Israeli tech firms have much to lose from Ukraine Russian conflict

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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday, February 6, discussed Iran’s increasing aggression and possible steps to block its nuclear program, according to Bennett’s office.

The two leaders also discussed the brewing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and Bennett also congratulated Biden on the operation to eliminate ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, according to the statement. “The world is now a safer place thanks to the courageous operation of the U.S. forces,” said Bennett.

The two leaders’ telephone conversation came just hours after Bennett warned at the weekly Cabinet meeting that the deal being negotiated with Iran in Vienna would “damage [Israel’s] ability to deal with the nuclear program.”

“The greatest threat against the State of Israel is Iran,” said Bennett. “Whoever thinks that an agreement will increase stability—is mistaken. It will temporarily delay enrichment, but all of us in the region will pay a heavy, disproportionate price for it.”

“President Biden conveyed his unwavering support for Israel’s security and freedom of action, emphasizing his administration’s full support for replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome system,” the White House said.

Bennett thanked the president and his administration for America’s “steadfast support of Israel,” including the decision to fund the Iron Dome anti-missile system. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that You continue to protect Israel and the world from Iran’s terror.”

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.

As Russia masses its troops on the border with Ukraine and China rattles the sabers of its growing military, much conjecture is being made about how countries will align. The Centre for Research on Globalization published an article on its website suggesting that if a Cold War develops between the US and either Russia or China, Israel, considered one of the US’s most loyal allies, might remain neutral.

“At the moment, the [Israeli] assessment is that we don’t see a violent confrontation soon. I also don’t think a world war is about to start there,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said. “We have a duty to act with caution about the Russia-Ukraine crisis that no other country has.”

Rabbi Ken Spiro, a historian and Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah Yeshiva, agreed that Israel could remain neutral in the current environment of shifting alliances.

“People try to frame international relations in black and white when it is actually a big mix of varying shades of gray,” Rabbi Spiro said. “No country is entirely the enemy of another, and alliances are nuanced.”

“The Soviet Union sided with the Arabs against Israel, but Russia is not the Soviet Union. The US used to be Israel’s staunchest ally, but now, the Democrats are turning on Israel, and even the US Jews can’t be relied upon like it used to be the case. Obama turned on Israel, and now, from our side, Bennett is entirely unlike Netanyahu, though even that is not black and white.” (I365 / VFI News)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. - Psalm 1:1

The Israeli military has postponed the upcoming missile-defense Juniper Cobra drill that was set to take part in March.

“The international Juniper Cobra exercise by the IDF and the United States Army that was scheduled to take place in March has been postponed due to a variety of considerations and will take place at a later date, which will be announced later,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit wrote on Twitter.

“The IDF appreciates the close cooperation with the US Army and looks forward to joint training in the future,” it added.

The exercise was to have simulated a scenario in which American forces will be deployed to Israel in order to work alongside the IDF’s Air Defense Force and practice a variety of possible scenarios of missile threats in various sectors.

While the IDF refused to expand on why this year’s drill was postponed, the announcement comes as the US military has increased its troop presence in Ukraine amid increased tensions with Russia. (JPost / VFI News)

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. - Psalm 144:1

Yemenite military expert Brigadier General Abdallah Al-Jafari said in a January 31, 2022 interview on Al-Alam TV (Iran) that Houthi missiles and drones will reach Tel Aviv and the Eilat Port, as well as other targets in Israel.

He also said that he expects that the UAE’s Burj Khalifa and Expo 2020 will be targeted as well.

The Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest skyscraper and is often compared to the Tower of Babel from the Bible as it is a tower that ‘reaches the heaven.’

Last month, Israel365 News reported that the Houthis, an Iranian Shiite proxy terrorist organization in Yemen, expanded the conflict which until now has been limited to targeting Saudi Arabia by launching a missile attack against the United Arab Emirates. The missile attack, the second in one week, targeted the al-Dhafra airbase in Abu Dabi, UAE. (I365/VFI News)

“God, we pray that You would send Your angels to protect Israel from missile attacks from her enemies. We pray that no weapon formed against Israel will prosper.”

Official Video for Barry & Batya Segal's, Shalom Aleichem / Peace to You (שלום עליכם)

A 91-year-old Holocaust survivor who was seriously wounded when a rocket fired from the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip hit her home in southern Israel last May died this week.

Naomi Perlman succumbed to shrapnel wounds sustained during a rocket attack on her home in Ashkelon during the 11-day conflict between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip last May. Perlman’s Indian caregiver, Santosh Sumaya, was killed in the attack.

“If there is anyone who deserves to be called the ultimate survivor it is my mother,” her son, Shuki Perlman, was quoted by the Kan public broadcaster as saying. “It was nine months of fighting. I did not believe she would survive at all. She arrived at Barzilai (hospital) without a pulse and blood pressure.”

Thirteen Israelis died in the fighting.

Feldman, who was born in 1931 in Poland, escaped to Ukraine and from there to Uzbekistan during the Holocaust.

Her grandson visited her in the hospital the night before she passed away.

“I showed her pictures of her new great-granddaughter, and she smiled,” Shuki Perlman said. “I flew to see my daughter and returned a week ago. I was with her last night; it was as if she was waiting for me to say goodbye.”

She was survived by Shuki and a daughter, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. (BB / VFI News)

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. - Revelation 21:4

When the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing on Friday, February 4, just six athletes marched under the Israeli flag, a drop from the 10 that competed in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Israel has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics – in which it has competed every game since 1994 – and that’s not expected to change in 2022. But the six Olympians this year – none of whom were born in the Jewish state – bring with them a range of experiences, stories and a sense of pride to be representing Israel on the international stage, competing in figure skating, speed skating, and alpine skiing.

“We have a very high-quality and experienced delegation,” said Yaniv Ashkenazi, the head of Israel’s delegation to the Winter Games and director of the Elite Sport Department at the Israel Olympic Committee, during a December press conference. “We have a lot of hopes and expectations that our athletes will be good, will be healthy, and we’ll hope for the best.”

Yael Arad, the president of the Israel Olympic Committee and an Olympic silver medalist in judo, said Israel’s delegation to Beijing is not large, but it is impressive.

“We’re sending a very small delegation,” said Arad. “We want them to succeed, we believe in our athletes, we have athletes who are strong contenders for finals, in three different disciplines… we’re always striving as high as possible.”

When it comes to Jewish athletes competing in Beijing from around the world – including the US and Canada – a medal finish just might be in the cards.

Israel has not said that it will join in a diplomatic boycott of the Games, which the US, Canada, the UK, and other nations are taking part in to protest China’s brutal policies, in particular the Uyghur genocide. But Culture Minister Chili Tropper will not be attending — though he did attend the Games in Tokyo last year — citing concerns over the Omicron COVID wave. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you bless all Olympic athletes, bringing them strength, sportsmanship, and humility.”

Prof. Yaakov Jerris, director of Ichilov Hospital’s coronavirus ward, told Channel 13 News that the majority of serious cases were vaccinated patients.

“Right now, most of our severe cases are vaccinated,” Jerris said on Channel 13 News. “They had at least three injections. Between seventy and eighty percent of the serious cases are vaccinated. So, the vaccine has no significance regarding severe illness, which is why just twenty to twenty-five percent of our patients are unvaccinated.”

Professor Jerris also related to an issue in reporting that has been revealed to be prevalent in reporting data. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, January 30, he told ministers, “Defining a serious patient is problematic. For example, a patient with a chronic lung disease always had a low level of oxygen, but now he has a positive coronavirus test result which technically makes him a ‘serious coronavirus patient,’ but that’s not accurate. The patient is only in a difficult condition because he has a serious underlying illness.”

Jerris’s statements are consistent with a German government report that found more than 78.6% of reported cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant in the country were in vaccinated individuals. Four thousand and twenty people who reported contracting Omicron in the study – which equates to 95.6 percent of total cases – had received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccines. (i365/ VFI News)

People with long-term paralysis might regain the ability to walk after Israeli scientists successfully engineered the first 3D human spinal cord tissue. The results were published in a groundbreaking peer-reviewed study published in the journal Advanced Science on Monday morning, February 7.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Tal Dvir. He was joined by researchers from the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at TAU. The team at Dvir’s lab includes Ph.D. student Lior Wertheim, Dr. Reuven Edri, and Dr. Yona Goldshmit.

Paralysis can occur after a spinal cord injury, which can refer to damage sustained to any part of the spinal cord or the nerves at the end of the spinal canal. These injuries can cause permanent changes in strength, sensation, and other bodily functions, and in severe cases, can lead to long-term paralysis, for which there is currently no cure.

Despite many prior attempts having been made worldwide to promote natural or intervened regeneration at the site of the injury, there has been minimal success.

Many existing experimental or investigated methods rely on the transplantation of different cells or biomaterials into the site of the injury. Two issues jeopardize the success of the treatment, however: the immune response to the transplanted cells causing them to be rejected, and the implantation of dissociated cells that fail to form into a functional network.

Therefore, the research team hypothesized that mimicking embryonic development by applying a specific spinal cord motor neuron differentiation protocol in a 3D dynamic environment would provide cells with signals for appropriate regenerative tissue formation, healing the site, and lowering the risk of rejection.

Furthermore, they theorized, assembling a functional neuron network prior to implantation would increase the chances of functional engraftment, in which it integrates well into the host body. (JPost/ VFI News)

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

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