VFI News July 5, 2022

On today’s VFI News, I’ll be revealing incredible insights into the meaning of the word womb in Hebrew, and the link to this is a historic moment in American history. It’s been 50 years since the legalization of Abortion in the US and the emergence of Roe v. Wade in 1973. Get my perspective on this week’s VFI News.

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Yair Lapid officially became Israel’s prime minister on Thursday, June 30, after the Knesset dispersed itself and scheduled a November 1 election.

"Congratulations to Yair Lapid, Israel’s new Prime Minister, and thank you to Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for your friendship over the past year," US President Joe Biden congratulated Lapid.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also offered "warmest congratulations" on Thursday night.

Lapid will lead the interim government until a new coalition is formed.

In accordance with the coalition agreement, Naftali Bennett stepped down from the premiership, becoming alternate prime minister, a title Lapid held for the past year. Lapid will remain foreign minister, as well. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you provide a smooth transition for Israel’s new leader, and inspire all leaders to act with honesty and integrity. We also pray that you will establish a strong and stable government in the coming months.”

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.

Israel is in consultations with Middle Eastern countries to install Israeli-made defense systems on their territory, a report said Wednesday, June 29.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have reportedly negotiated with Israel to obtain a network of sensors that will combat the potential missile threat from Iran, according to Breaking Defense. A shared communications network would theoretically allow participating states to alert others when incoming missiles trigger the sensors, the report stated, citing Israeli officials.

The possible deal follows Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s announcement of a regional security cooperation agreement in a June 20 speech, saying Israel had already employed the network to intercept Iranian missile attacks. (DC / VFI News)

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

Iran executed ten people on Wednesday, June 29, including a gay man, in Karaj, the capital of the Alborz Province, just outside of Tehran.

News organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Thursday about the latest wave of executions in the Islamic Republic.

According to HRANA, the identities of two of the executed people, Iman Safari Rad and Mehdi Khalgoldi, have been verified by HRANA. Iman Safavi Rad had previously been sentenced to death on charges of "sodomy" and Mehdi Khalgoldi on charges of "rape.”

According to experts, Iran’s regime frequently uses the charge of sodomy to impose the death penalty on gays and lesbians. (JPost / VFI News)

Iran has become our dominant rival in cyber together with Hezbollah and Hamas, Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) Chief Gaby Portnoy said on Tuesday, June 28.

Speaking at Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week, he said, “We see them, we know how they work and we are there.”

Portnoy made his comments a day after Iran’s steel industry took one of its biggest cyber hits in history, bringing it to a grinding halt, and only days after an Iranian cyberattack on Israel’s siren early warning systems in Jerusalem and Eilat.

The INCD chief said Israel is building a “cyber iron dome” which will elevate cybersecurity by using new mechanisms with cyber parameters that will “reduce cyberattacks, provide new big data and an AI overall approach to synchronize nationwide real-time detection… for ongoing cyber defense efforts.”

He said, “we are moving faster from resilience to proactive defense,” trying to come after cyber attackers in their digital safe havens where they had planned attacks in the past without interference.

Further, he said we “need cybersecurity protocols for infrastructure” to be also used for the wider public, including extending tools and skills to the entire private sector and down supply chains.

Even smaller businesses need help understanding cyber threat intelligence and capacity building for their defense to contribute to the national cyberdefense. (JPost/VFI News)

“God, we ask that you protect the Land from all kinds of threats and attacks, including virtual and cyber warfare.”

This beautiful hymn is a prayer from Deuteronomy 26:15, expressing a great desire that God would look upon us with an eye of love, complacency, and delight—and to grant the promises that He has made to us for abundance and prosperity. Enjoy this warm, personal communication with God, set to serene scenes and timeless tones from the Land.

Nineteen countries have a more positive view of the United States and its president Joe Biden than China and its president Xi Jinping, but more people believe China's influence is growing than America's, a survey released on Wednesday, June 29, by Pew Research Center found.

Conducted between February 14 and June 3, the survey included over 24,000 adults in 19 countries.

The poll found that most people in the majority of countries had a favorable view of the US, while fewer than a third had a favorable view of China. However, these views varied widely in the Asia-Pacific region. In South Korea, for instance, 89% of respondents had a favorable attitude toward the US, while 19% had a favorable attitude toward China. On the other hand, in Singapore, 51% of respondents viewed the US favorably while 60% viewed China favorably.

Furthermore, the survey found that many more people had a favorable view of US President Joe Biden than Chinese President Xi Jinping. In Poland, where this is most pronounced, it was 82% vs 11%.

In Israel, 60% of respondents had a favorable view of Biden while only 20% had a favorable view of Xi. (JPost / VFI News)

Antisemitism has been largely eliminated from Saudi textbooks, The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) revealed in its annual report on education in Saudi Arabia.

The report, released on June 27, found that content portraying Jews as disobedient and teachings of antisemitic tropes such as Jewish wealth were removed from the Saudi curriculum.

Qur’an verses describing Jews being turned into monkeys were removed, as was the antisemitic myth that one of the goals of Zionism is a “global Jewish government.”

In addition, Qur'an verses prohibiting friendships with Jews and Christians and condemning homosexuality have all been removed in the past three years.

In 2021, several lessons demonizing Jewish people, Christians, and other "non-believers" were removed from the curriculum. An entire textbook unit on jihad was taken out of the curriculum.

A year prior, a chapter called “the Zionist danger," which dealt with various topics regarding the delegitimization of Israel's right to exist was removed.

However, Israel is still omitted from maps shown in textbooks, and Zionism is still described as "racist". Saudi students are falsely taught that “Zionists” deliberately tried to burn down Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, a lie that was removed from Qatar's curriculum. A Qur'an verse comparing Jews to "book-carrying donkeys" also remains, while students are taught that women are to blame for male sexual harassment. (JPost/ VFI News)

“God, we ask that you continue to eliminate antisemitism from your world. May people of different cultures and understandings learn to respect one another.”

The Jewish population of Australia hit a new record in the latest census figures for 2021.

The data released on Tuesday, June 28, showed there were 99,956 Jews in the country, a 9.8 percent increase from the last figure in 2016 of 91,023, the Australian Jewish News reported.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released from the 2021 Australian Census showed a historic record, with the Jewish population nearly at 100,000 for the first time, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) stated.

ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim told the news outlet that he believed the number of Jews was undercounted with some Holocaust survivors not comfortable with marking down their religions and the “no religion” option at the top of questions attracting a number of non-religious Jews. He estimated that there were likely around 120,000 Jews in Australia currently.

The census data found that Victoria continues to be the state or territory with the most Jews at 46,645, with New South Wales in second with 40,249. The two states make up 85 percent of the Jewish community in Australia.

The census also found that there were 55,860 Jews born in Australia, with the second most common birthplace of Australian Jews being South Africa. (INN / VFI News)

The Israel Under-19 soccer National Team defeated France 2-1 on Tuesday night, June 28, to move into the European Championship final, where it faced England on Friday night in Slovakia.

This was the first time one of the country’s junior national teams was playing in the final of a major tournament, as the only previous time one of the squads came close, was back in 1996 when the Under-17 squad led by Israeli great Yossi Benayoun took third place in the European Championships.

“We all gave our heart and now we have to be prepared for the final,” said Israeli midfielder Gloukh. “We will be ready and we all hope that we can win the final. The most important thing is that everyone here believes that we can do just that.”

Goal-scorer Kacepolsky also commented about the win.

“We did something incredible and we were able to get the result that we wanted. I can’t even describe the goal I scored in words.” (JPost / VFI News)

So He says, “It is too trifling a thing that You should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel. So I will give You as a light for the nations, that You should be My salvation to the end of the earth.” - Isaiah 49:6

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

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