Thanks to its economic prosperity and stable social conditions, Israel has ranked in eighth place in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Satisfaction index, a measurement of how happy people are with their lives in developed countries. Denmark took first place in the ranking, whereas the United States came in twelfth.

Israelis are also among the world's healthiest people, with the sixth longest life expectancy due to lower obesity rates, decreased infant mortality, and higher cancer survival rates. Despite the continual threat from Israel’s neighbors, 70% of Israelis feel safe walking home at night. (Ynet News)

But in America walking home at night is not a good plan.

Pray that God would continue to bless His people in the Promised Land.
Pray also that the church in America will wake up, stand up, repent and return to the L-RD while there is still time.

Ali Ramezan, a former Iranian soldier who today proudly supports both Israel and America from his home in Manchester, England.

Ramezan was a member of Iran's revolutionary forces, and fought in the Iran-Iraq War. But some years later he was caught observing an anti-government rally, and was tortured by his own government for his "crime."

After that incident, Ramezan apparently began to wonder whether or not he was fighting for the right side. Forced to leave his wife and child behind, Ramezan fled Iran in 1999 and took up residence in the UK as an asylum-seeker.

Ramezan sees those of his family and friends who regularly join in chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as having been "brainwashed." He is not the first Iranian or Arab to have come to a realization in recent years that Israel is not the evil entity that people across this region are taught.

In his Jerusalem Day speech on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared emphatically that he will never divide Jerusalem, a key Palestinian peace demand.

"There are those who believe that if we only divide Jerusalem, and that means giving up the Temple Mount, they believe we will have peace. I am doubtful, to say the least, that if we deposit that square of the Temple Mount with other forces, that we won’t quickly deteriorate to a religious sectarian war," said Netanyahu.

"Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart. And our heart will never be divided again," Netanyahu promised. "A nation willing to sacrifice its heart will convince its enemies that it is willing to give up on everything."

I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls." Joel 2:30-32

A Hebrew University archeologist says finds at a new dig site near Jerusalem are backing up the biblical narrative of an Israelite kingdom centered on Jerusalem in 1000 BC, around the time of King David and his son, King Solomon. Professor Yosef Garfinkel has been digging at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh since 2007.

Carbon dating of unearthed olive pits has put the period of activity at Khirbet Qeiyafa at 1020 BC - 980 BC, almost exactly the period of time the Bible says David and Solomon were active in the region. The dating, together with the uniqueness of the finds, has made Khirbet Qeiyafa one of the most important biblical archeological digs.

Thus says the Lord God: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her." Ezekiel 5:5

Headlines in Israel read:

Palestinians rebuff Netanyahu' peace oveture,  New proof of Iran nuclear arms program no surprise to Israel...

yet Israel, The Chosen People, His people refuse to listen. 

"My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies...." Psalm 81:11-14

“O Jerusalem, "Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" Luke 13:34

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper that love thee.

Who knew?

Israelis on Thursday joined millions around the world in mourning the passing of celebrity hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, but likely for a different reason than most of his admirers.

Most people remember Sassoon for his "wash-and-wear" haircutting technique that revolutionized women's hair fashion, as well as for his famous line of haircare products. Fewer know that before he became a household name, Vidal Sassoon was battling Nazi anti-Semitism and defending the newly reborn Jewish state against invading Arab armies.

The Israeli political scene may soon be shaken up even more than usual if the efforts of a local Israeli-Arab politician come to fruition.

Sarhan Bader, a local political activist in the Upper Galilee region, announced last week that he intends to establish Israel's first pro-Israel Arab Knesset party. Until recently, Bader was a member of the ruling right-wing Likud Party. His desire to start an Arab parliamentary faction that actually supports the Jewish state became known in the Prime Minister's Office, which, according to The Jerusalem Post, encouraged him to pursue that goal. Bader told the newspaper that the current Arab parties (Balad, Hadash and the United Arab List) fail to properly serve their constituents because all they do is oppose and criticize Israel. "Most Arab citizens are in favor of coexisting, cooperating and living in harmony with Jewish Israelis,” he said.

“The other Arab parties place too much emphasis on the Palestinians and external Arabs. But it’s more important to serve the Arabs inside Israel who want to live here in peace with our Jewish cousins."