““Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Psalm 122:6 (NIV)
Shalom, my friend.
With so much tension and turmoil stirring against the Jewish people – with Hamas, Iran and those who are eager to see Israel destroyed — we must engage in battle through our prayers by asking God to intervene and accomplish His purposes.
And this isn’t just about the global enemies who are surrounding Israel – it’s also about our own lives. We must be a people of prayer. That in every circumstance we face, we’re quick to hand over our cares and concerns to God.
Nothing moves the heart of God like the prayers of His people.
That’s why, as you pray over the challenges – and as you join with us to pray over God’s people – you can know that He is eager to hear your heart and respond in His time.
CYBERATTACK IN IRAN – ISLAMIC REPUBLIC CASTS BLAME ON FOREIGN STATE
According to The Times of Israel, Iran’s subsidized fuel distribution system was partially restored late last week following an unprecedented cyberattack by unknown perpetrators last Tuesday.
Shortly after the disruption, which crippled Iran’s fuel distribution network and left frustrated motorists stranded, The Times of Israel reported that Iranian authorities said the system would be fully up and running this week.
Iranian authorities said the results of an investigation into the alleged attack would be ready within 10 days, and that it may have originated from outside Iran.
Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, told reporters that his country must be “seriously prepared” against cyberattacks. President Raisi also said that the attack was designed to get “people angry by creating disorder and disruption.”
The Times of Israel reports that Iran has blamed Israel for provoking unrest during protests in the past. As early as July of this year, Iran claimed to have arrested a Mossad cell that planned to provoke violence during demonstrations over water shortages in the country.
While Iran didn’t call out Israel specifically, we’ll be watching in the weeks ahead for the release of the Islamic Republic’s investigation.
CURRENT PRIME MINISTER CLAIMS TRANSFER OF POWER IN ISRAEL UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN
According to Ynet News, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett privately delivered comments predicting that his government would not last long enough for Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to become prime minister.
As reported, Bennet told news outlets late last week, “I estimate that the rotation will not happen. There is a considerable chance that the government will dissolve between the budget and the time of the change of power, for various reasons.”
When asked about the report, Bennett’s office confirmed that the prime minister made the remarks but insists that the premier will honor the previously-agreed-upon power-sharing deal, nonetheless.
“The partnership with Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is based on mutual trust and fairness,” the Prime Minister’s Office responded to news outlets.
Lapid has been serving as Israel’s alternate prime minister since Bennett’s coalition government unseated former longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu in June.
He is supposed to take over Bennett’s role as prime minister in August 2023 as part of a power-sharing deal the two politicians struck to form their government.
REPORT FINDS IDF COMPLIED WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW IN GAZA WAR IN MAY WHILE HAMAS SPREAD DISINFORMATION
The Jerusalem Post reported late last week that the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) issued their findings on the conflict with Hamas that broke out in May.
The findings indicated the IDF complied with the law of armed conflict and “consistently implemented precautions to mitigate civilian risk.”
In addition, The Jerusalem Post also reported that despite accusations from human rights groups that Israel violated international law, some Israeli precautions actually exceeded “those implemented in recent U.S. combat operations that we participated in, despite confronting an adversary that often sought to exacerbate that risk deliberately.”
But although the JINSA findings indicated that the IDF’s conduct of the war complied with international law, it also highlighted that “a significant gap between this reality of IDF LOAC [Law of Armed Conflict] compliance, and of Hamas’s violation of it, and the public’s perception. Israel’s messaging efforts were unable to close this gap.”
If the IDF was mostly focused on degrading Hamas’s attack capabilities, the Gazan terror group was equally investing resources in a massive disinformation campaign to delegitimize Israel, alongside its firing of rockets at Israeli civilians.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that the JINSA findings called out numerous organizations, including the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – organizations claiming to be experts in the relationship between law and military operations – who quickly seemed to accept Hamas’s assertions of unlawful IDF operations.
Tracking the disinformation campaign against the IDF, the JINSA said that the problem started with “the media and public’s misunderstanding of how LOAC applies to military operations – especially the false assumption that the effect of an attack, and especially the presence of civilian casualties.”
“Coupled with social media’s ability to transmit graphic images rapidly and globally without explanatory context,” JINSA said Hamas succeeded at making “audiences more receptive to Hamas’s disinformation that Gazan suffering was evidence of Israeli LOAC violations.”
The JINSA authors included about a dozen senior and retired U.S. military officers who traveled to Israel to examine the actions of both sides and included the following: Lt.-Gen. Robert Ashley, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Lt.-Gen. John M. Bednarek, former senior defense official in Iraq; Lt.-Col. Geoffrey S. Corn, the former chief international lawyer for U.S. Army Europe and others.
Let Us Pray Together
Please pray with me for:
- God to move in the heart of Iranian leaders and officials to join the table of diplomacy and prevent any violence or potential war
- God to give wisdom and insight to Israeli leaders as they navigate threats from enemies who are surrounding them
- Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel and their enemies
- Jewish people to recognize Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah
