Israeli humanitarian-aid groups are on their way to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Three teams of volunteers fromIsraAID, ZAKA Search and Rescue, and the Israel Rescue Coalition, all of who rushed to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, are now on their way to Florida to help. Other Israeli aid teams are heading to Mexico, which was hit by a deadly earthquake on 7 Sept. 2017, and are offering aid to communities in Haiti and the Caribbean also devastated by Irma. (Israel 21c) Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the families and global communities who have suffered immense loss through natural disasters in the past two weeks. [Comment]

The Syrian army responded Thur. morning 7 Sept. 2017, to the air strike the previous night on a Syrian military site in western Syria. The Syrian army claimed that Israeli warplanes fired several rockets from the Lebanese airspace at 02:42 am on Thursday targeting one of the Syrian military posts near Masyaf, killing two army personnel and causing material damage to the site. "The attack proves Israel’s direct support for ISIS and additional terror organizations,” the army claimed. In addition, it threatened that "The aggressive Israeli attack could have dangerous consequences on stability and security in the region." Later Thurs. Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin noted that the strike was "not routine.”

"It targeted a Syrian military-scientific center for the development and manufacture of, among other things, precision missiles, which will have a significant role in the next round of conflict.” The factory that was targeted in Masyaf produces the chemical weapons and barrel bombs that have killed thousands of Syrian civilians,” he continued. "If the attack was conducted by Israel, it would be a commendable and moral action by Israel against the slaughter in Syria.”Yadlin emphasized that "The attack sent 3 important messages. 1: Israel won't allow for empowerment and production of strategic arms. 2: Israel intends to enforce itsredlines, despite the fact that the great powers are ignoring them. 3: The presence of Russian air defense does not prevent airstrikes attributed to Israel. Now it's important to keep the escalation in check and to prepare for a Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah response, and even opposition from Russia,” he said. (INN)Pray according to scripture regarding the many dangerous foes that threaten Israel’s northern borders: "The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.” Deut. 28:7 [Comment]

Several dozen seals and seal impressions from the First Temple period, many with biblical-type names in ancient Hebrew text, have been found in this year's excavations at the City of David, lending credence to the theory that Jerusalem was a major administrative capital of the Judean kingdom, say archaeologists exploring the site. When the Middle Eastern ancients wanted to secure a letter or notarized document with a seal, they used moist clay that would be imprinted with the seal. "Somewhere in the late 8th century BC, until 586 BC, seals started bearing names of the officials sealing the letters," explained Joe Uziel. "Jerusalem was the capital of the Judean monarchy." (Ha’aretz) [Comment]

There has been a "distinct normalization of anti-Semitism" in Poland, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) warned last week and called on the Polish government to respond forcefully. The EJC also expressed "grave concerns" over the deteriorating relationship between the Polish government and Poland's Jewish population at a time of rising anti-Semitism in the country, stating that no senior Polish government official has met with the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland, the democratic body responsible for representing Polish Jewry, in approximately one year. The EJC statement declared that Jewish community concerns have peaked following a string of anti-Semitic incidents in Poland. According to the statement, the rise in anti-Semitism "appears to have permeated many layers of Polish society. Recent incidents have included the appearance of flags of the far-Right ONR Falanga group at state ceremonies and Law and Justice member of parliament Bogdan Rzonca's social media post that said: "I wonder why, despite the Holocaust, there are so many abortionists among Jews." In August 2017, an Israeli soccer team was attacked by Polish hooligans following a soccer match near Warsaw. Also in August, Leslaw Piszewski, president of the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland, and Anna Chipczynska, president of the Jewish community in Warsaw, sent an open letter to a founder of the Law and Justice party stating that they were "fearful for their security as the situation in their country is becoming more dangerous." In 1939, Poland's Jewish population stood at over 3 million people, representing almost 10% of the country's citizens and the largest Jewish population in Europe. Today, it is estimated that there remain approximately 10,000 Jews in Poland. (J.Post) "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth." Isa 40:5-6 [Comment]

USA officials have agreed to let Iranian-backed fighters take up positions in Syria less than ten kilometers from the Israeli Golan Heights. Russian media claims that Moscow has ignored pleas from Israel to prevent Iran from exploiting Syria’s ongoing civil war to expand its military influence into Syrian territory. Citing unnamed Western diplomatic sources, the report said a USA team that was holding talks with their Russian counterparts in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the nationality of observer forces overseeing a July 2017 truce, backed down on some of their initial demands. The report said the USA agreed that Iranian-backed militias could be positioned as close as 8-16 kilometers (five to ten miles) from the Jordanian border and the Golan Heights, less than half the originally sought 32 kilometers (20 miles) distance. In July 2017 the Times of London reported that Israel was pushing Russia and the USA for an agreement that would prevent "Hezbollah or other Iranian-backed militias” from operating in the area, which would extend some 30 miles (48 kilometers) beyond the Israeli-Syrian border on the Golan Heights. Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group that acts as a proxy of Iran, has been fighting on behalf of the Syrian President BasharAssad in his efforts to suppress a six-year long insurgency. Russia, an ally of both Syria and Iran, has also provided military assistance in the war. The USA negotiators also agreed to let Russian observers police the truce zones, angering other USA officials and allies of America. In particular, Israeli officials are concerned that the Russian presence could limit its operations against targets in Syria, the report said. (Times of Israel) Continue to intercede that the escalating gathering of hostile forces in Syria - endangering Israel – will be contained and controlled. [Comment]

North Korea said on Sunday 3 Sept. 2017, it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb designed to be mounted on its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile, producing a greater yield than any of its previous nuclear tests. The hydrogen bomb test ordered by leader Kim Jong-un was a "perfect success" and was a "meaningful" step in completing the country's nuclear weapons program, state television said. The announcement came hours after a large earthquake that appeared to be man-made was detected near the North's known nuclear test site, indicating that the reclusive country had conducted its sixth nuclear test. South Korea said that North Korea's defiant sixth nuclear test should be met with the "strongest possible" response, including new UN Security Council sanctions to "completely isolate" the country. Seoul and Washington also discussed deploying USA strategic military assets to the Korean peninsula after North Korea defied international warnings and conducted its most powerful nuclear test ever. (Reuters) In July of 2014, critics of the Obama-supported Iranian deal warned that even if the Iranians agreed to limit nuclear work, such would be a standing invitation for Tehran to cheat its way to a nuclear weapon. The same strategy was and has been used by North Korea since the Clinton and Bush administrations wrongly assumed the deals they signed with Pyongyang would be adhered to. So what’s to keep Iran from following in suite, and who’s going to do anything about either of these nations that are thumbing their noses at the West? Pray according to scripture: "Those who war against you shall be as nothing…. For I, the Lord your rougeGod, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” Isa. 41:12-13 [Comment]

 Israel will spend nearly $20 million on a new program to improve the English skills of its schoolchildren. At a news conference on 30 August 2017, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said that not knowing how to speak English well is hurting Israelis in business and in life. The plan will enable the hiring of 1,000 teachers who are fluent in English. Israeli students start learning English in the third grade. The focus will be on speaking the language. More classes will be dedicated to verbal skills, and matriculation exams will include more verbal testing. "We want to see children who are able to engage in an intelligent conversation anywhere in the world, who are able to correspond via email at a high standard, who can consume literature at the highest level,” Bennett said at the news conference. (JTA) [Comment]

Hamas has failed as governors of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority should take over according to President Donald Trump’s foreign negotiations chief. Jason Greenblatt, one of the trio of Israeli-Palestinian negotiators headed by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, remained in Israel after the official visit by the team last week. On 30 Aug. 2017, Greenblatt toured the Israeli side of the Gaza border and concluded that "the Palestinian Authority needs to resume its role in the administration of Gaza, as Hamas has substantially harmed the people of Gaza and has failed to meet their most basic needs.” The PA did control Gaza until Hamas violently took control away from the PA and Fatah in 2007. Greenblatt’s comment was the first by a senior USA official affirmatively calling for the PA to take control.

Visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also viewed the Israeli side of the border but via helicopter. During the helicopter trip from Jerusalem to Gaza, Guterres received a special briefing on security issues in southern Israel. He then visited a Hamas terror tunnel and met with residents of the border communities."Hamas continues to arm itself in order to harm Israel as it exploits the generous humanitarian aid provided by the international community,” Ambassador Danon told the Secretary General. "Hamas has turned the residents of Gaza into hostages and is investing its resources into digging murderous terror tunnels. At the same time, the Israeli residents of the border communities have stood strong in the face of terror threats, as they build prosperous communities and help further develop the region for the betterment of the next generation.” (Medialine/INN) [Comment]