VFI News August 16, 2022

Another war between Israel and Gaza? Why is this happening? Join Barry Segal as he gives an on-the-ground analysis behind the military Operation Breaking Dawn from an Israeli perspective.

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Iran gives millions of dollars annually to Palestinian Islamic Jihad so that it can attack Israel, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Thursday, August 11, as the dispute over the release of Palestinian prisoners threatened to undo the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

“Islamic Jihad has an open tab in Iran,” he said, adding: “Iran provides Islamic Jihad in Gaza with tens of millions of dollars per year.”

“Iran, via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, transfers know-how and attempts to smuggle materials to Gaza, which are then used to build weapons aimed at civilians,” Gantz said.

He spoke during a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart, Charalambos Petrides, who visited Israel less than a week after the end of Operation Breaking Dawn in the Gaza Strip, in which the IDF attacked Islamic Jihad targets.

The terrorist group launched 1,100 rockets at Israel, including about 200 that never reached their target, but landed instead in Gaza. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you continue to protect us from those who want to harm us and thank you for our allies that we can rely on.”

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.

A new Iranian satellite has surveillance capabilities that present a serious problem for Israel, due to its ability to monitor sensitive sites in the country, snapping high-resolution images of objects on the ground, experts have warned.

The Khayyam satellite, built and launched by Russia on behalf of Iran, lofted into orbit on August 9 from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hours later, Iranian media reported that the first telemetry had been received from the spacecraft. The Iranian Space Agency has said the satellite will be used for agriculture and water resources planning, and the Russian embassy in Tehran said the spacecraft was devised for non-military purposes.

But Western experts have no doubts that the satellite is intended for spying.

“From now on, Iran will be able to collect much more accurate intelligence information for military operations of their forces as well as for the organizations they support,” Inbar said and noted that includes real-time operations by Iran or any of the militia groups it backs. (TOI / VFI News)

Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. - Ezra 9:9

The final text of the Iran nuclear deal may require an international atomic watchdog to relinquish an investigation of Iran’s alleged atomic weapons program, media reported Thursday, August 10.

European Union negotiators offered a “final text” of an agreement providing sanctions relief to Iran, in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program, as U.S. officials voiced dim expectations of Iran’s willingness to take the deal. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) probe into Iran’s possible atomic weapons program, launched after identifying undeclared nuclear material in 2019, had proven a sticking point in efforts to come to a final agreement.

The draft text requires Iran to respond to the IAEA’s questions “with a view to clarifying them.” In return, countries that partake in the agreement — the U.S., Iran, Germany, France, the U.K., Russia, and China — would persuade the IAEA to drop the probe.

The U.S. has kept the door open for a deal, despite revelations that Iran’s paramilitary guard plotted to assassinate top U.S. officials in the Trump administration, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (DC / VFI News)

Iranian media and hardline supporters of the country’s religious leadership hailed Friday’s attack in New York state on author Salman Rushdie, who has faced death threats from Tehran for over three decades.

According to his agent, Rushdie was hooked up to a ventilator and may lose an eye due to the assault, in which a suspected Shia extremist stabbed the author numerous times at a literary event in the town of Chautauqua. The suspect was arrested by law enforcement.

Rushdie has been living under threat since Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious decree, calling to kill the author over his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses,” which some Muslims considered as disrespectful of the Prophet Mohammed.

Following the stabbing, a quote by Iran’s current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the fatwa was “fired like a bullet that won’t rest until it hits its target” was shared widely on social media. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you shield your people from attacks against their livelihood and that you heal the ones that have already become victims of such attacks.”

Far beyond the headlines and deep within the land of Israel, there are richer stories to be told. Stories about the true Israel of today—a complex, vibrant, modern, and yet very traditional place where Jews and Arabs have lived together as neighbors for three thousand years. Roots & Reflections offers you a slice of life as it is today in Israel—a land where the most dramatic events in the history of the world have unfolded.

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

An electrical fire swept through an Egyptian Coptic Christian church during Mass on Sunday, August 14, causing a stampede and killing at least 41 people, most of them children, and many suffering from smoke inhalation.

The blaze started just before 9 a.m. in the Abu Sifin church in the city of Giza, where about up to 1,000 people had gathered.

The fire blocked an entrance to the church, causing the stampede, two sources said, adding that most of those killed were children.

“People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other,” said worshiper Yasir Munir.

“Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of the window,” he said, saying he and his daughter were on the ground floor and able to escape. (NYP / VFI News)

After 55 years, excavations have begun on Ammunition Hill to search for a trench that might have been hidden for decades after it was last used in the Six Day War.

The dig began after dozens of IDF soldiers reached out to the Ammunition Hill Center for Six Day War Heritage and asked that it locate the trench in which they fought, according to CEO Ketri Maoz.

Ammunition Hill was one of the key battles in Jerusalem during the 1967 war. Thirty-six Israeli soldiers died while capturing the Jordanian military post at the site.

The trench in question supposedly continues eastward and was used by Jordanian soldiers to watch Mount Scopus. Over the past few decades, however, it has become filled and covered with dirt.

“Ammunition Hill had three trenches, one that looked toward the West... another that crossed the hill widthwise, and another that looked toward Mount Scopus in the East,” Maoz explained. (JPost / VFI News)

“‘He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 25:8

Set on learning about potential collaborations, an Israeli delegation of investors, tech professionals, and trade officials visited Indonesia last month.

The delegation explored potential investments, start-up ventures, and social impact initiatives with their counterparts in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country, and fourth-largest country in the world.

The country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, which means the delegation had to travel with non-Israeli passports.

The trip was organized by the Israel-Asia Center and ran July 17-22. It was accompanied by a three-month online program also run by the Center, attended by nearly 100 Israelis and Indonesians.

The Center’s founder and executive director Rebecca Zeffert noted that despite the lack of diplomatic relations, there is still “tremendous untapped potential in education, fintech, cybersecurity, AI, mobility, healthcare, agritech, and water technologies.” (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we thank you for continuing to help us form strong relationships with people of other countries.”

In a letter sent to the chairperson of Ben and Jerry's earlier the previous week, over 1,000 Israeli university students demanded that the ice cream company recognize the "illegally occupied" native land on which their Vermont factory sits, and evacuate it immediately.

They explained that their research and investigation have determined that the land that the Ben and Jerry’s corporation operates from in Vermont, 30 Community Drive in South Burlington, 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Route 100 in Waterbury, and 900 Industrial Park Road in Saint Albans, is territory that belongs to the Abenaki people.

"We have concluded that your company's occupation of the Abenaki lands is illegal and we believe it is wholly inconsistent with the stated values that Ben & Jerry’s purports to maintain," states the letter, adding that "ironically, in July of the last year you announced that you would discontinue the sale of your products in Israel because you object to the Jewish State allegedly occupying Palestinian territories...Yet at the same time, you ignore your own occupation of the land that belongs to the Abenaki." (JPost / VFI News)

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. - Psalm 11:7

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

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