Conundrum: #1 — an Israeli newspaper analysis says the Jewish state had the safest, quietest year in a decade (following the Operation Cast Lead war against Hamas in Gaza in January). Yet, #2, the same analysis warns a major war on Israel’s northern border “is definitely liable to ignite by spring or summer” 2010. So we must keep praying for peace, while preparing for war.

* Iran plans to build 10 new nuclear facilities in defiance of IAEA

* IAEA resolution censures Iran over nuclear issue, with Russian and Chinese support

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November 2009

Dear faithful friend of The Joshua Fund:

Thank you so much for your generous support of The Joshua Fund. The Lord has used your faithful prayers and sacrificial financial gifts to touch many lives in the epicenter with the love of Jesus Christ this year, and I am deeply grateful.

That said, I’m writing this letter with good news….and bad.

First, the bad news – unless the Lord intervenes, there is a real chance that a horrific war between Iran and Israel could break out in the Mideast in 2010.

Earlier this year, Lynn and I held a dinner in our home for Ambassador Dore Gold, a long-time friend and senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Joining us were TJF staff members, and several Christian journalists. It was a sobering discussion. Amb. Gold explained that a careful reading of the latest IAEA report indicates that Iran now has enough uranium that we know of to produce at least two nuclear bombs. He offered little hope that diplomacy or sanctions would be effective, but stressed that Israeli leaders are “exhausting every option short of war” to stop Iran from getting the Bomb.

Consider two headlines since that dinner:

• “Report Says Iran Has Data to Make a Nuclear Bomb” (New  York Times, 10/3/09)
• “Clock ticking for Iran as Israel appears ready for strike” (Haaretz, 9/12/09)

We are praying for peace. But if war does come, the whole region could go up in flames and millions of innocent people could be caught in the crossfire. Now, the good news — our God is mighty to save, and He wants to use you to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

In Matthew 24, Jesus tells us to “be ready” for wars and rumors of war in the last days. In Matthew 25, the Lord then tells us some of the ways we can be ready — invest our lives in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, caring for the suffering, and sowing the seeds of God’s Word. By God’s grace, and with your help, The Joshua Fund is doing just that, touching more lives with God’s love than ever before. But so much more needs to be done.

Would you stand with us in prayer and make a tax-deductible, year-end gift to The Joshua Fund of $100, $250, $500 or more? Would some of you be willing to make a $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 investment to help us accelerate the work?

Here are some ways your help is already making a difference:

• TJF HAS JUST RENTED A WAREHOUSE IN ISRAEL – In October, the Lord gave us an amazing facility in central Israel after several years of prayer. This is a dramatic step forward. It will enable us to purchase food and other relief supplies in bulk at lower prices, distribute more to those in need, stockpile more for the future, & eventually train and utilize volunteers. During our November “prayer & vision trip,” we took nearly 300 evangelical Christians on the tour to see the facility and dedicate it in prayer. [We’ll be posting more information about the warehouse — including pictures — in December. We’ll also be writing soon with more details about trip. It was a wonderful and amazing time and we so wish you were with us!]
• TJF HAS ALREADY HELPED STOCKPILE 400 TONS OF FOOD — In late 2007, TJF made a commitment to help one of our allies stockpile 400 tons of food and relief supplies in a warehouse in northern Israel by the end of 2010. In light of the growing regional threats, TJF decided to fulfill our commitment by the end of 2009 instead — one year ahead of schedule. In 2009, therefore, we doubled the amount of food we helped this ally purchase so they could care for more families when war comes.
• TJF HAS OPENED OR EXPANDED 4 FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTERS IN ISRAEL — In 2009, we helped Jews and Christians in Israel open three food distribution facilities, as well as expand a fourth center that was already operating. Two are located in the north, near Lebanon. Two others are located in the south, near Gaza. Through these centers, we’re distributing 20-30 tons of food and other relief supplies each month to the poor and needy. We hope to expand this in 2010.
• TJF HAS PURCHASED VEHICLES TO DISTRIBUTE AID — TJF has helped our allies in Israel purchase several vans and trucks so they can better deliver food and other relief supplies to the needy. Lord willing, by the end of 2009 we will purchase two more vehicles.
• OTHER PROJECTS TJF HAS DONE IN 2009 TO BLESS ISRAEL AND HER NEIGHBORS — Please click here.

I am pleased to report that the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced in September the accreditation of The Joshua Fund. ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance and ethical fund-raising. “We are pleased to include in our membership a ministry committed to assisting the poor and needy in Israel in the name of Jesus Christ,” said Dan Busby, president of ECFA, in a press release.

In light of all this, would you commit to praying for us even more than before? Would you also provide The Joshua Fund a generous year-end, tax-deductible contribution of $100, $250, $500, or more? Would some of you consider even more substantial investments? Your gifts will help us educate and mobilize the Church around the world to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. They will also help us to provide food and other aid and encouragement to those in need in the epicenter, and prepare for the next war. Thank you so much. May the Lord bless you and your family beyond measure, according to Genesis 12:1-3.

If you would like to make a secure, on-line, tax-deductible contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund, please click here.

Or, please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18940 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Joel C. Rosenberg

President, The Joshua Fund

DESIGNATED GIVING: If The Joshua Fund is successful in raising our financial goal for a specific project for which you have designated your donations, all excess funds for that project will be applied to related projects or to the general fund of TJF.

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Virus forces PM to delay German trip
• Report: Russia vows quick completion of Iran atom plant
• Trial of ‘Sobibor guard’ John Demjanjuk opens in Germany
• Haaretz: Third Temple Is On Its Way — “If the 18th-century rabbinic authority the Vilna Gaon was right, on March 16, 2010, construction will begin on the third Temple. His projection states that the auspicious day will coincide with the third completion of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter.”
• Israeli Cabinet Minister denounces Obama administration; Netanyahu’s office dismisses remarks

* LEARN: The Inside The Revolution film on DVD is available for 20% off at Barnes & Noble

* LEARN: Sign up for Joel’s email alerts with geopolitical analysis on trends in Israel and the Middle East, Joshua Fund project updates and prayer requests

* PRAY: Join Joel’s “Epicenter Team” on Facebook

* GIVE: Would you like to help The Joshua Fund educate Christians about God’s love for Israel, as well bless Israel and her neighbors with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid, especially as we pray for peace and prepare for the growing possibility of a war with Iran? A gift of $50, $100, $250 or more would make an enormous difference, as would becoming a monthly financial partner. Learn more at www.joshuafund.net.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Likud’s Knesset faction Monday that a deal to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has not been finalized,” reports Haaretz. “The Arabic-language news station Al Arabiya, meanwhile, reported that a Hamas delegation that arrived in Cairo would discuss the issue with the German mediator. In recent days Netanyahu has been working to ensure that the cabinet will approve the deal. At a meeting in his office a few days ago, the possibility was raised of submitting the agreement to a limited forum before presenting it to the entire cabinet for approval.” The Jerusalem Post, however, reports some opposition to the prospect of swapping Palestinian terrorists for the long-held Israeli soldier.

• ‘Let us make peace,’ says PM in announcing 10 month settlement freeze — but freeze won’t apply to building in Israel’s capital of Jerusalem
• Ahmadinejad Says U.S., Israel Lack ‘Courage’ to Attack 
• Brazil’s President Welcomes Iran’s Ahmadinejad
• Iran continues to press Russia for S-300 deliveries
• Russia, Iran to hold major economic meeting Nov 30-Dec 1 — bilateral trade expected to top $5 billion in 2010, up from $3 billion in 2007

Van Rompuy: non-entity, or ruthless political operator?

On Thursday, I was sitting in a hotel room in Turkey watching the live press conference in which the European Union made an “historic” decision to create a “President of Europe.” They chose Belgium Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy over Britain’s Tony Blair. If you’re thinking, “van who?”, don’t worry — you’re not alone. In one of the most undemocratic developments in recent history, the new leader of a half-billion Europeans is a name only 12% of them have even heard of. He was chosen unanimously by a council of other EU leaders, not by popular vote, and will take office January 1, 2010. Now that I’m home, I’m contemplating how quickly an unknown can rise to a position of great power. All this comes quickly on the heels of the historic passage of the EU “Lisbon Treaty” earlier this month. Noted the New York Times: “A landmark agreement aimed at giving the European Union a global stature on par with major powers like the United States and China cleared its last major hurdle on Tuesday….The treaty’s supporters contended that it was vital because the union’s rulebook was drawn up before the bloc began to expand, taking in 12 new nations since 2004. Its critics, however, contend that the document encroaches on national sovereignty and threatens to turn the European Union into a monolithic superstate.” We are watching the emergence of an increasingly unified and powerful Roman empire continue unabated, just as Bible prophesy tells us to expect in the “last days.”

Immediate implication of the move: van Rompuy’s “election/selection” will accelerate Turkey’s dramatic shift from NATO ally to ally of Iran, Syria and Russia. Why? Van Rompuy is an avowed opponent of Turkish entrance into the EU and the Turks are furious.

Some U.S. and European analysts are horrified by the selection of van Rompuy, ridiculing him as a bland dolt and claiming EU bureaucrats missed a great opportunity to select Blair and make the new presidential post truly a global game-changer. Such analysts are missing the point. EU leaders didn’t bumble into this appointment. They are determined to create an unrivaled superpower. They are determined to create the world’s most powerful political position in the presidency. But they want an EU-fanatic, not a British lone ranger. I’d never heard of van Rompuy until Thursday, but I have no doubt the EU leaders who chose him unanimously knew exactly what they were doing. I expect this guy to be a problem for the U.S., for freedom, and for Israel. Time will tell for certain.

Worth noting are some early press analyses of van Rompuy — not exactly favorable:

• The London Telegraph says, “Herman Van Rompuy’s quirky exterior conceals a ruthless political operator who will stop at nothing to get his way as president of the European Union.” Excerpts: “The ‘ideal candidate,’ said Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, for bring “consensus and cohesion” to a fractious EU of 27 member states. In reality, and behind his harmless, eccentric and literary persona, Mr Van Rompuy, 62, is a sharp political operator who is not above using dirty tricks to stymie his opponents. Europe’s leaders may find to their cost that the man they chose to chair their EU summits possesses dark arts that will be turned against anyone, such as an incoming Conservative prime minister, who challenges the Brussels consensus. Last year, six months before becoming prime minister, he abused his position as speaker of the Belgian parliament to cancel a politically inconvenient debate. To make doubly sure that MPs would be silenced, he had the locks on the plenary chamber’s doors changed so deputies could not get into their own parliament. The tactic was described by opposition MPs as a ‘coup d’etat.’ On another occasion, Mr Van Rompuy did not turn up in his office for a week to avoid opening a letter from opposition MPs demanding a debate. His skill as camouflaging himself as essentially harmless disarmed Gordon Brown who dropped British concerns over his federalist politics to allow him into the EU President post. Mr Van Rompuy is a supporter of the creation of an EU federal state, with its own anthem, flag and with powers to collect taxes on car fuel or financial transactions from Europe’s citizens.”
• The U.K. Independent quotes a colleague of van Rompuy who says, “He… operates in the shadows.”
• Time magazine calls van Rompuy’s rise to power a case of “the bland leading the bland,” notes that 11 months ago, even few in Belgium knew who he was
• But the European Voice notes he is a “shrewd political operator” who outfoxed Tony Blair for the top post
• Sky News: Blair loses out to Rompuy as EU president
• Lady Ashton to Replace Solana as EU foreign policy chief

(Jerusalem, Israel) — “We have no territorial disputes with Iran,” noted Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon in an address to nearly 300 evangelical Christians here in the Holy Land as part of a Joshua Fund prayer & vision trip. “So why do Western leaders believe territorial compromise by Israel will appease them?”

General Ya’alon — who served from 2002 to 2005 as the Israeli Defense Forces’ chief of staff — pointed to “Iranian fingerprints” on arms shipments and terrorist actions in recent years in Lebanon, in Gaza, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and most recently in Yemen. He warned that Iran is rapidly acquiring the technical capacity to build nuclear weapons. In light of such dangerous developments, he urged the West to wake up to the danger and gain the “moral clarity and strategic clarity” needed to confront Iran successfully.

“We have a couple of disputes with the American administration,” he conceded, alluding to the fact that only 4% of Israelis now believe President Obama is pro-Israel, compared to 88% of Israelis who believed President George W. Bush was on the side of the Jewish State. “They [in the White House] believe in engagement and negotiations with Iran. But this approach is perceived by extremists as weakness.” He described 1979 as the beginning of a “new wave of jihadism” sweeping the Middle East, in which Iranian leaders began exporting “a vision of imposing Islam all over the world [and] defeating Western civilization, the infidels.”

“We believe there is a way to defeat the Iranian regime without immediately resorting to the military option,” said Ya’alon, who is widely known in Israel for being a tough, no nonsense military expert and right-of-center politically. He called for the West to impose crippling economic sanctions on Iran, as well as isolating the nation diplomatically. But also noted quite emphatically: “Without defeating the Iranian regime — not the people, but the regime — there is no way to bring peace and stability to the region.”

“We’re waiting for the [Obama] administration to come to the same conclusion,” Ya’alon added, just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Obama at the White House amidst growing tensions between the two leaders and their respective governments.

 Ya’alon thanked The Joshua Fund and evangelical Christians around the world for standing with Israel and the Jewish people. He also urged those assembled at the breakfast gathering in Jerusalem to go home and speak out and stand up for Israel’s right to self-defense and the right of the Jewish people to have and protect one Jewish state in the world. The audience gave him three standing ovations, one as he took the stage, one after he finished his remarks, and a third after he answered a few of my questions.

[I’ll post more details on The Joshua Fund’s prayer & vision trip through Israel soon, including six projects we did to bless the poor and needy in the Land, and my meetings with Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin and separately with Israeli Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar. On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be hosting our first-ever Jerusalem Prayer Summit. During this time, we’ll be praying for wisdom for the Prime Minister and Israeli leaders as they confront Iran and try to improve U.S.-Israeli relations; praying for the peace of Jerusalem and the safety of all people in the region; praying for enough resources to continue caring for the poor and needy; praying for reconciliation between Jews and Palestinians; and praying for encouragement for the believers in the region. We would be grateful if you would join us in prayer at this critical hour. Thanks so much, and sorry for not posting all week until now.]

* If you would like to learn more about The Joshua Fund, or make a tax deductible contribution of $50, $100, $250 or more to help provide food, clothing, medical supplies and other aid to the needy in the epicenter, please visit www.joshuafund.net.

* If you would like to sign up for Joel’s weekly email alerts, please go to www.joelrosenberg.com.

———————–

NOTE: A few of my readers have expressed concern that I’ve agreed to speak at the “Break Forth 2010” conference in Edmonton, Canada from January 29-31 because there are some other speakers slated to attend whose theology is questionable. The chief concern that has been raised revolves around William Paul Young, author of The Shack, a very controversial novel that I and some evangelical Bible leaders have found heretical. (For examples, see Dr. Norman Geisler’s article, “The Shack: Helpful or Heretical?”; Michael Youssef’s “Thirteen Heresies in The Shack“; and Dr. Albert Mohler’s, “A Look At The Shack”] The reason I am attending is because it is the largest Christian conference in Canada (some 15,000 are expected to attend), I believe the Holy Spirit wanted me to accept the invitation, and I’m not ready to concede such ground to those who are peddling false teaching. I’ve  been asked to come and teach the Word of God and preach the gospel and that’s what I intend to do. I can’t explain why Young, for example, was invited. But why cede the entire stage to him? Moreover, at this critical juncture, I hope to explain why the God of the Bible loves Israel so much and why He wants us to help mobilize a global movement of true believers to stand with Israel while so much of the rest of the world turns against her. Thanks for your concerns. I would appreciate your prayers. God bless you.

UPDATED: (Jerusalem, Israel) — For the last several weeks, I’ve been reporting extensively about the Iranian nuclear threat and the serious and growing strains in the U.S.-Israel alliance. Now U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is vowing to bring the Goldstone Report to the Security Council for review and action within three  months. That potentially means Israeli leaders could find themselves facing indictment and prosecution before the International Criminal Court on “war crimes” charges for defending themselves from 12,000 Hamas rockets, missiles and mortars.

It’s a very serious and troubling situation. And yet, some Israelis, particularly some within the media elite here, see the current situation from a sharply different perspective. They say, “Yes, Israel has problems and enemies — when haven’t we? — but hey, the Jewish State is more secure today than ever before.”  An analysis piece in Friday’s Haaretz (Israel’s equivalent of the New York Times — that is, prestigious, left-of-center, read by the elites, can’t stand Netanyahu or conservatives generally) sums it up this way: “After seven months in power, Netanyahu’s popularity resembles that of Sharon’s, the coalition is calm, the borders are quiet, and the economy is on the rise.”

• Student stuns Iran by criticizing supreme leader
• Fort Hood killer: Muslim, Palestinian origin, reportedly shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” (God is great) before his killing rampage began

>> Deputy FM: Israel threat to attack Iran is not bluff

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“The UN General Assembly approved on Thursday an Arab-backed resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, paving the way for the matter to be sent to the Security Council,” reports the Jerusalem Post. “A total of 114 nations voted in favor of the resolution and 18 voted against it, with 44 members abstaining.”

How is it possible that Israel only has 17 other true friends in the world, out of 192 countries?

An evil wind is blowing against the State of Israel and the Jewish people. This resolution — written by the Arab League — calls for a investigation of Israel for “war crimes” during the January 2009 Gaza war in which Israel was defending itself from some 12,000-plus rockets, missiles and mortars that had been fired by Hamas at civilian centers in southern Israel over the course of several years. Yet the resolution never even mentions the word “Hamas.” The resolution has no balance, no sense of fair play, and effectively denies that Israel has a right of self-defense, which is, in fact, a basic right affirmed in the U.N. charter. The resolution affirms the findings of anti-Israel and ultimately anti-Semitic Goldstone Report and recommends the Secretary General require the Security Council to take up the issue and condemn Israel. After all, the war crimes were committed by Hamas for firing rockets at civilians, for using civilians as shields in Gaza during the war, for using elementary schools, hospitals and mosques as military bases during the war. Yet the U.N. cares not one bit about such bitter truths.

If countries cannot fight against terrorists in self-defense, will the U.S. be charged with war crimes for fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan? Will Great Britain? Will Australia? Will Canada? Will other NATO powers?

[VIDEO: Fmr. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold debates Richard Goldstone at Brandeis University]

Pray that the U.S. vetoes the resolution in the Security Council, if it does in fact get that far. The United States, thank God, voted against this wicked resolution. Congressional pressure on the White House to take actions supporting Israel is working, but more must be done to pressure the Obama administration to stand consistently with Israel, not against her.

Canada — ably led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the most pro-Israel leader in the Western alliance — also voted against, as did Australia. Europe, however, was split. Germany voted against. France and Great Britain abstained.

Here’s the breakdown of the vote:

In favour:  Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:  Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United States.

Abstain:  Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay.

Absent:  Bhutan, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Togo, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan– about to be deployed to Iraq — kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood
• U.K. Guardian: Iran tested advanced nuclear warhead design [“two-point implosion”], says secret IAEA report — “There are fears in Washington and London that if no deal is reached to at least temporarily defuse tensions by the end of December, Israel could set in motion plans to take military action aimed at setting back the Iranian programme by force, with incalculable consequences for the Middle East.”
• Obama softens Jerusalem stance in bid to appease Abbas
• Still no meeting set between PM Netanyahu and President Obama on upcoming trip to U.S.
  

Just finalized travel plans to speak at “Break Forth 2010,” a powerful Christian conference in Edmonton, Canada Jan 29-31….15,000 evangelical expected….my focus: explaining why God loves Israel so much and seeking to help mobilize a global movement to stand with Israel while so much of the rest of the world is turning against her….music by Michael W. Smith and the Newsboys….other speakers: Lee Strobel, Anne Graham-Lotz, and Frank Peretti….sure it’ll be 30 below….but where’s your adventurous spirit and kinship with our brothers to the North, eh???….sign up, stand with Israel, and come join us for an amazing weekend.

>> Israel seizes ship with 500 tons of Iranian arms bound for Hezbollah

>> Netanyahu: Ship proves Iran’s support for terrorism

Dawn had not yet broken in Washington.

It was Sunday morning, November 4, when an urgent “Flash Traffic” message from Embassy Tehran arrived in the State Department’s top-secret communications center: “Demonstrators have entered embassy compound and have entered the building.”

More than three thousand Radicals, most of them students, had climbed over the embassy’s walls, penetrated the compound’s internal security fences and doors, disarmed the Marines (who had been ordered by their superiors not to shoot), and were holding sixty-six Americans hostage while rifling through whatever files they could get their hands on.

Staffers in the White House Situation Room immediately awoke the president at Camp David with a phone call at 4:30 a.m. The president spoke with Brzezinski, just back from Algiers, and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. Both were concerned, to be sure, but neither was overly worried, believing the situation would be corrected quickly, as it had been on Valentine’s Day. The president, therefore, went back to sleep. It was the last half-decent sleep Carter would get until after he left office on January 20, 1981.

U.S. intelligence officials soon had a translated copy of the students’ first communiqué, which blasted “the world-devouring America” and stated, “We Muslim students, followers of the Imam Khomeini, have occupied the espionage embassy of America in protest against the ploys of the imperialists and the Zionists. We announce our protest to the world; a protest against America for granting asylum and employing the criminal shah while it has its hands in the blood of tens of thousands of women and men in this country.”

Top officials at the CIA and State all expected Khomeini to order the students to free the Americans and their compound in short order. It never happened. To the contrary, the ayatollah quickly issued a statement praising the students. He then appointed his son, Ahmad, to serve as the liaison with the students holding the embassy.

Ahmad would later write that his father expected “thunder and lightning” from Washington, a quick and fierce military operation that would both rescue the embassy staffers and punish the new regime. But weeks turned into months without such a response. Instead, in Ahmad’s view, the Carter White House churned out feckless, limp-wristed statements and showed no serious interest in a military confrontation. President Carter’s envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Andrew Young, publicly implored the ayatollah to show “magnanimity and compassion.”

Khomeini smelled weakness. He mocked the Carter administration as acting “like a headless chicken,” and exploited Carter’s indecision to the fullest.

For well over a year and a half, fifty-two American citizens were subjected to torture, interrogation, and all manner of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Islamic Radicals.

Some of the hostages were blindfolded and paraded before the Iranian media in pictures that would be flashed around the world. Others were repeatedly kicked and beaten. Some had guns put to their heads while students threatened to blow their brains out if they did not open safes or answer questions. At other times, the students played Russian roulette with them. At one point, a group of students forced a diplomat to the floor. One pulled out a knife, positioned it mere centimeters from the diplomat’s face, and threatened to cut out his eyes, one by one, if he refused to divulge classified information. And all the while, the Ayatollah Khomeini gave his full approval to such activities, and his son oversaw the terrorists’ day-to-day operations.

Back home, Americans felt a growing sense of humiliation and outrage as they saw the crisis in Iran play out on the evening news night after night with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. Most people did not understand the motivation of the Radicals who had seized the embassy or the ayatollah whom they apparently worshiped. Nor did they understand why President Carter looked so weak in the face of such a serious threat to U.S. national security. All they saw were millions of Iranians chanting, “Death to America! Death to Israel!” and violent, fanatical mobs burning the American flag and burning President Carter in effigy. As the crisis worsened, Carter’s approval rating plummeted to a mere 25 percent.

Muslims around the world—Sunnis and Shias alike—were stunned by such a dramatic turn of events. Radicals were energized. Reformers were horrified.

Officials in Washington were stupefied. In less than a year, the White House, the State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency had missed the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the rise of Khomeini, the fall of the shah, and the takeover of the U.S.’s own embassy in a country central to its national security and sharing a 1,600-mile border with the Soviet Union.

Admiral Stansfield Turner, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Carter, would later admit in his memoirs, “We in the CIA served the president . . . badly with respect to our coverage of the Iranian scene. . . . We had not appreciated how shaky the Shah’s political foundation was; did not know the Shah was terminally ill; did not understand who Khomeini was and the support his movement had; did not have a clue as to who the hostage-takers were or what their objective was; and could not pinpoint within the embassy where the hostages were being held and under what conditions. . . . We were just plain asleep.”

The question today is whether Washington is “just plain asleep” with regards to the genocidal, apocalyptic objectives of the current regime in Tehran. God forbid.

This article is adapted from Inside The Revolution.

UPDATE: Fortunately, Congress is taking a different path towards Israel than the Obama administration. While the President and his team are taking an increasingly hard line against the Jewish State, an overwhelmingly bipartisan consensus in Congress is standing strongly with Israel. On Tuesday for example, “the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution on Tuesday condemning the Goldstone Report, that accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, and calling on the Obama administration to oppose its endorsement. 334 representatives voted for the resolution while only 36 voted against and 22 abstained.” This bodes well.

——————

(Jerusalem, Israel) — If I had to rank the most pro-Israel leaders in the Western alliance right now, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French President Nicolas Sarkozy would top the list. President Obama wouldn’t even be on the list.-

Last Friday night, I gave an address to the Christian Embassy banquet in northern Virginia. The title of my talk was, “Train Wreck: The Coming Collision of U.S.-Israeli Relations.” With deep concern and regret, I noted that just as the Iranian nuclear threat is worsening, we are currently witnessing the worst strains in U.S.-Israel relations in memory.

• Before January, polls showed 88% of Israelis believed President Bush was pro-Israel.
• In May, a Jerusalem Post poll found that only 31% of Israelis believed President Obama was pro-Israel.
• By August, a Jerusalem Post poll found only 4% of Israelis believed President Obama was pro-Israel.

Israel’s plummeting confidence that the White House truly understands their security needs and will stand with them as a faithful ally is the results of numerous actions and statements by the President and his senior advisors.

• During the primaries, then-Senator Obama described Iran as a tiny country that didn’t pose much of a threat, and vowed to enter direct talks with Iranian leader Ahmadinejad and senior Iranian officials without preconditions. He later said Iran was a “grave threat,” but his initial analysis raised real doubts about his understanding of the situation.
  
• As President, Mr. Obama seems determined to pursue a policy of “direct engagement” with Iran in the absence of any  evidence that Iran’s Radical Islamic leadership wants a better relationship with the U.S. and the West — to the contrary, Iran is accelerating its nuclear and ballistic missile development programs and becoming more belligerent towards the U.S. and Israel.
  
• President Obama refuses to impose crippling economic sanctions on Iran, despite the revelation of a third secret Iranian nuclear facility, this one located on a military base near the religious city of Qom.
• In May, Gen. James Jones — the President’s national security advisor — appeared on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopolous and referred “Israel’s preoccupation with Iran as an existential threat” — preoccuption? That’s like pooh-poohing Jewish “preoccuption” with Hitler in the late-1930s.
  
• In May, CIA chief Leon Panetta was sent to Israel reportedly to warn Israeli leaders not to launch a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities without permission from the U.S., though he offered no proof the U.S. had an effective strategy to stop Iran from getting the Bomb.
  
• In the summer of 2009, President Obama did precious little to support the Reformers on the streets of Tehran after a rigged “re-election” of Ahmadinejad, and said he refused to “meddle” in other countries’ affairs.
• Yet the Obama administration seems perfectly willing to “meddle” in Israeli affairs.
  
• Gen. Jones told a European diplomat in May that President Obama “will convince Israel to compromise on the Palestinian question. We will not push Israel under the wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful toward Israel that we have been under Bush.”
• Since then, President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special Mideast envoy George Mitchell has applied intense pressure on Israel to stop building, improving and expanding Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
• President Obama has also called for a comprehensive final peace treaty in which Israel returns to the 1967 borders, a requirement that would force Israel to divide its capital city of Jerusalem and give up the strategically vital Jordan Valley.
• In the fall of 2009, the Obama administration reneged on security commitments the U.S. had made to Poland and the Czech Republic regarding missile defenses, causing many in the U.S. and Israel to wonder if other security commitments to American allies would be respected or rescinded in the future.
  
• The Obama administration is doing precious little to persuade the world to denounce and then ignore the conclusions of the Goldstone Report, which essentially charges Israel with war crimes for defending her citizens from thousands of rocket, missile and mortar attacks emanating from Gaza. [TUESDAY: U.S. Congress poised to vote on resolution to condemn Goldstone Report]
  

These are just a few reasons for the meltdown in Israeli confidence in White House support for the Jewish State. But such trends have real-world effects. How could the Israeli people be expected to postpone a preemptive strike against Iran much longer if they don’t believe the White House has a serious and effective plan to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them? How could Israeli people be expected to make major concessions in return for peace with the Palestinians if they don’t fundamentally believe Israel’s most faithful historic ally will truly be there for them if the going gets rough?

On April 14th of this year, I said on the Glenn Beck show that I believed we were witnessing a coming “train wreck” in U.S.-Israeli relations over the Iran and Palestinian issues. The situation has only worsened since then.

That’s why I’m in Israel for the next few weeks, leading a Joshua Fund “prayer & vision trip” — to better understand the dynamic that’s underway, and to mobilize evangelical Christians in the U.S., Israel and around the world to bless Israel in real and practical ways, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for wisdom for Israeli leaders, and pray for a change of heart in the Obama administration. The tour begins Friday. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, and would be grateful for your faithful and continued prayers for these issues as well.

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Israeli police arrest new suspect in Jewish terrorist case
• Israeli Military Intelligence Chief: No possible civilian use for secret Iranian nuclear facility in Qom
• Wall Street Journal Column: When No Means No: Pleading with Iran will get the West nowhere — “I once overhead a guy try to make a date over the phone. His end of the conversation went roughly as follows: ‘How about Friday?’ (Pause.) ‘Not Friday? Because I’m free most of the weekend.’ (Pause.) ‘Not this weekend? What about next Saturday?’ (Pause.) ‘Are you free at all next week?’ (Long pause.) ‘Well, are you ever free?’ Apparently she was not, at least as far as he was concerned. Now it’s the turn of the Obama administration to play the guy who won’t take a hint. And it falls to the Islamic Republic of Iran to be the girl who’s hard—actually, impossible—to get….”
• Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon says Hamas rockets can now reach Tel Aviv
• Merkel: Iranian threat to Israel threatens us all — German chancellor addresses US Congress, says ‘nuclear weapon at the hands of an Iranian president who denies the Holocaust, threatens Israel and negates its right to exist is simply unacceptable’
• IDF executes largest-ever terror attack simulation
• North Korea claims to expand arsenal of atomic bombs
• WSJ: Waiting for Obama: Hamid Karzai isn’t the biggest problem in Afghanistan.

* LEARN: The Inside The Revolution film on DVD is available for 20% off at Barnes & Noble

* LEARN: Sign up for Joel’s email alerts with geopolitical analysis on trends in Israel and the Middle East, Joshua Fund project updates and prayer requests

* PRAY: Join Joel’s “Epicenter Team” on Facebook

* GIVE: Would you like to help The Joshua Fund educate Christians about God’s love for Israel, as well bless Israel and her neighbors with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid, especially as we pray for peace and prepare for the growing possibility of a war with Iran? A gift of $50, $100, $250 or more would make an enormous difference, as would becoming a monthly financial partner. Learn more at www.joshuafund.net.

* GO: See Joel speak at the 2010 Break Forth Conference in Edmonton, Canada January 29-31. Other headliners include Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys, Anne Graham-Lotz and Lee Strobel.

“The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police have arrested an American-born Jewish settler who was behind an unprecedented series of deadly terror shootings and bombings spanning over a decade, in which two Palestinians were killed and Israel Prize Laureate Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell was injured,” reports the Jerusalem Post in a major breaking news story. “He also planted a bomb at the entrance to house of a messianic family in Ariel, seriously wounding their son, then-15-year-old Ami Ortiz.”

Israeli authorities are to be commended for cracking these serious cases. The fact that so many hate crime attacks may, in fact, be linked together is deeply troubling. Evangelical Christians in the U.S. and around the world have been deeply concerned about the targeting and attempted murder of Israeli Pastor David Ortiz and his family because of their faith in Jesus as the Messiah in the land of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. Threats have been made to other followers of Jesus in Israel. And now we learn that other minorities in Israel were allegedly targeted by this man, as well.

[UPDATE: See Jerusalem Post interview with Pastor Ortiz.]

[UPDATE: PM Netanyahu comments]

The question that must be asked at this point is this: Was Yaakov “Jack” Teitel working alone, or are there others planning and perpetrating similar crimes in the Land? The man is reportedly a fairly new immigrant (moving to Israel seven years ago) and doesn’t speak much Hebrew. Is it possible he was really a lone gunman? This remains to be seen.

Please pray for justice to be done, but please also pray for the Lord’s mercy on this man, his family, and his victims. If there are others involved in these crimes, please pray that they are apprehended and prosecuted as well.

MORE EXCERPTS FROM JERUSALEM POST STORY:

• “Yaakov ‘Jack’ Teitel, 37, was arrested by the Israel Police’s elite counter-terror unit YAMAM on October 7th as he was hanging flyers in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof in support of the attack on a Tel Aviv gay and lesbian youth club in August in which two people were killed. Teitel, the Shin Bet said, was not the gunman in that attack.
  
• “Teitel, the father of four from the settlement of Shevut Rahel, came to Israel in 1997 and succeeded in smuggling a pistol into Israel aboard a British Airways flight. The gun was used to kill an East Jerusalem cab driver on June 8, 1997 and two months later to shoot and kill a Palestinian shepherd near the settlement of Carmel in the Southern Hebron Hills….
• In addition to the gun smuggled by air, Teitel also smuggled another nine automatic machine guns and pistols into Israel hidden in a shipping container….
  
• “During his interrogations, Teitel confessed to a long list of shooting and bombing attacks. The first two attacks were the shootings in 1997. In November 2006, he planted a bomb inside a police station in the settlement of Eli. The bomb was discovered and dismantled but the Shin Bet official said that ‘it was sophisticated’ and had it gone off ‘people would have been killed.’…
• “In April 2007, Teitel planted a bomb next to the Beit Jamal Monastery near Beit Shemesh. A Palestinian driving a tractor set off the bomb and was injured….
• “On May 15, 2007, Teitel planted another bomb in the Jerusalem neighborhood Ramot near police car. The bomb exploded but no one was injured. A month later he planted another bomb on the side of a road near the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot Shlomo and detonated it as a police car passed by. No one was injured….
• “On March 20, 2008, Teitel planted a bomb at the entrance to the Ortiz family in Ariel, who he believed were messianic Jews and were trying to convert Jews to Christianity.
• “On Sept. 25, 2008, Teitel planed a bomb at the entrance to the home of Sternhell in Jerusalem, which went off and injured the well-known academic. He said he decided to target Sternhell since he understood that the professor had called to kill Jewish settlers.
• “He also confessed to stabbing an Arab youth in 1997 in Independence Park since he thought he was gay….
• “In the arms cache found near his house, police discovered a sophisticated sniper rifle, an M15 machine gun, an M16 shortened automatic rifle, a Glock pistol as well as a Browning 9mm.”

MORE COVERAGE:

• Ynet News: Settler suspected of multiple hate crimes — authorities believe Yaakov Teitel of Shvut Rachel murdered two Arabs, planted pipe bomb which injured Hebrew University’s Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell, planted multiple explosive devices. Lawyer: He’s mentally unstable.
• Haaretz: Alleged Jewish terrorist arrested for murder, series of bomb attacks
• Haaretz: Who is suspected Jewish terrorist Yaakov Teitel?

* LEARN: The Inside The Revolution film on DVD is available for 20% off at Barnes & Noble

* LEARN: Sign up for Joel’s email alerts with geopolitical analysis on trends in Israel and the Middle East, Joshua Fund project updates and prayer requests

* PRAY: Join Joel’s “Epicenter Team” on Facebook

* GIVE: Would you like to help The Joshua Fund bless Israel and her neighbors with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid, especially as we pray for peace and prepare for the growing possibility of a war with Iran? A gift of $50, $100, $250 or more would make an enormous difference, as would becoming a monthly financial partner. Learn more at www.joshuafund.net.