Amid Israel’s ongoing concern about the White House-brokered Iran nuclear deal, Pope Francis hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican to discuss possible solutions to the Middle East crisis.

After the leaders’ private 40-minute meeting, the Vatican issued a statement regarding the “relevant role Iran is called on to play” in combating terrorism and arms trafficking in the Middle East. The Vatican said that “common spiritual values” between Pope Francis and Rouhani emerged from the meeting. (Breaking Israel News)

BRITISH DOCTORS SEEK TO EXPEL ISRAEL FROM WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION:  Dr. Zeev Feldman, chairman of the Israeli Medical Association World Fellowship, revealed that the latest boycott call comes from a group of 71 British doctors. Feldman told Knesset members the doctors penned a letter to the World Medical Association seeking to expel the Israeli Medical Association, claiming that Israeli doctors carried out “medical torture” on Palestinian patients. Feldman said the letter was just one effort in a consistent and organized campaign against Israeli institutions and scientists. “Everyone must understand that there is an organized struggle - a fight against academia, doctors, and other Israeli bodies,” he said. “Our stance is that these accusations are lies, and we are engaged in a dialogue with the World Medical Association and we will bring forth the facts, and I hope that it will be enough to persuade the association to reject this request,” he said. Feldman explained what the result of such a boycott might be: “A boycott of the Israeli Medical Association would prevent Israelis from participating in medical conferences and publishing papers in journals, would halt funding of research and joint research endeavors, and prevent membership in other medical associations,” he explained. While Feldman said the Israeli Medical Association has been successful in countering past calls for boycotts, he fears a time may come when those opposing Israel will succeed. (Jerusalem Post) 

KERRY ADMITS SOME OF IRAN SANCTIONS WINDFALL WILL GO TO TERROR: Days after Iran received hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief from the controversial nuclear deal, USA Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, 21 Jan. 2016, admitted a portion of the massive funds will go to terror. Speaking at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry spoke about the massive kickback Tehran is receiving after nuclear sanctions that were lifted last weekend. "I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists," he acknowledged to media sources. Iran itself is designated as a state sponsor of terror by the USA, and the USA Department of Treasury designated the IRGC's Quds Force, which is responsible for missions abroad, as a terrorist organization in 2007. Iran likewise has been propping up its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah, an internationally recognized terror group which has an estimated 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel. Kerry also tried to play down the estimates of just how much Iran is receiving in sanctions relief, with estimates placing the figure at between $100 billion and $150 billion. He claimed those estimates were incorrect, saying that Iran owes a large amount in foreign debt and therefore it will "only" be left with a windfall of $55 billion to fund its terrorism. (Arutz-7)

In what can only be described as a celebration of violence and death, young Palestinian children, days ago, participated in a Bethlehem parade by dressing up as armed terrorists complete with mock suicide belts. The parade marked the 51st anniversary of the first terrorist attack by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, and was attended by several high ranking Palestinian Authority officials. PM Netanyahu’s official spokesman to the Arab media, called the event a glorification of terrorism aimed at encouraging a new generation of Palestinian youth to join the violence. While the Bethlehem-based Palestinian news agency Ma’an covered the parade extensively on its Arabic-language website, the story was completely missing from its English-language website, which is widely followed by the international press. Yet another example of the Palestinians sending out completely different messages in Arabic and English, just as the parade itself was further evidence that Israel has no Palestinian peace partner at the governmental level. (Israel Today)

Iran is continuing to strive for nuclear weapons and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s optimism must not blind the international community,” Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon said on Saturday,16 Jan. 2016, as world powers dropped sanctions on Iran. Lifting the sanctions, Danon said is like “greasing the wheels of terrorism that Iran is funding around the world. Israel will continue to monitor closely all activities of Iran, both in terms of the nuclear threat and the terror threat,” he added. The Islamic Republic will have full and immediate access to tens of billions of dollars in unfrozen assets, a surge in business opportunities, and will be reconnected to the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, the world's largest payments network for financial institutions. (J.Post)

NETANYAHU TO LEAD EFFORT IN THWARTING OBAMA BID FOR UN CHIEF: PM Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, will make common cause with moderate Arab governments in order to sabotage USA President Obama’s presently brewing plans to succeed Ban Ki-moon when the South Korean diplomat ends his term as United Nations secretary-general on December 31, 2016. Obama has reportedly already discussed the issue of running for secretary-general with Democrats, Republicans, and Jewish officials in the USA. The sources said that once Netanyahu got wind of Obama’s plans, the prime minister began to make efforts to submarine what he has referred to as “the Obama project.” “Wasn’t eight years of having Obama in office enough?” Netanyahu is quoted as saying in the Kuwaiti daily. “Eight years during which he ignored Israel? And now he wants to be in a position that is liable to cause us hardships in the international arena.”

The newspaper cited the well-known fact that personal ties between Netanyahu and Obama are frayed. “Obama is the worst president Israel has had to deal with and the worst president for the Middle East and its allies, the moderate Arab states,” a Netanyahu aide is quoted as saying. A source close to Netanyahu did not deny that the premier is aiming to “torpedo the Obama project,” noting that “his presidency was characterized by Washington’s moving closer to the Muslim Brotherhood, toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and attempts to ally itself with political Islam. Obama’s term is ending with him forging an alliance with Iran, coming to an agreement with it on its nuclear program which in the end will result in a similar scenario that took place with North Korea,” the aide said. “Israel will not allow this to happen,” said the source. “It will take all of the necessary steps to prevent Iran from manufacturing a nuclear weapon either covertly or overtly.” (J. Post) 

IRAN DEAL IS IMPLEMENTED: World powers relieved sanctions on Iran after international monitors concluded the first phase of their nuclear deal complete, marking the formal commencement of the accord, foreign ministers declared in Vienna on Saturday,16 Jan. 2016. Implementation of the nuclear deal reached between world powers and Iran last summer marks Tehran's reentry into the global marketplace. Iran will now have full and immediate access to tens of billions of dollars in unfrozen assets, a surge in business opportunities, and will be reconnected to the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, the world's largest financial transactions network. USA sanctions unrelated to the nuclear file -targeting Iran's human rights abuses and its facilitation of terrorism worldwide - will reportedly remain in place. (Jerusalem Post)

METHODIST CHURCH BOYCOTTS ISRAELI BANKS: The BDS movement seeking to economically attack the Jewish state in a boycott campaign scored a victory on Tuesday, 12 Jan. 2016 as the United Methodist Church (UMC) announced its pension board will no longer invest in five Israeli banks. The UMC, a Presbyterian denomination that numbers over seven million members, said it will not invest in the banks for financing "settlement activity" over the 1949 Armistice lines. The five banks blacklisted by the church's pension board are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot. The United Methodist Church decided to take the unprecedented move even as it watches its numbers dwindle and faces the threat of economic ruin. Last May 2015 on its website the church reported how a member of the UMC, himself an economist, told the church it has 15 years to "turn around" its shrinking denomination, or else it will not be able to make a recovery in the USA. According to the facts presented by the church, the denomination will not have enough churches in America in the coming decades to pay for its own "conferences, bishops, agencies, missions and international disaster response." (INN)

ISIS FIGHTER EXECUTES HIS OWN MOTHER IN PUBLIC: A fighter from terror group ISIS publicly executed his own mother because she asked him to defect from its ranks, an NGO monitoring human rights abuses in Syria and eyewitnesses said. Ali Saqr, 21, executed his 35-year-old mother Lena al-Qasem outside the post office in Raqqa, in front of “hundreds of people,” in which al-Qasem worked. The NGO said the mother and son argued over the son’s commitment to the terrorist group. Following the dispute, the fighter reported her to his leaders, who then arrested her. (Times of Israel) 

HAMAS TERRORIST GROUP REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO DESTROY ISRAEL: Hamas recently reaffirmed its commitment to destroying the Jewish State, while tens of thousands of Palestinians celebrated the terrorist group’s 28th anniversary. “Hamas vows to remain faithful to the liberation of Palestine and to keep its weapon directed at the Israeli occupation only,” read a Hamas statement. Hamas praised the recent wave of Palestinian terrorism plaguing Israel, calling it the “Jerusalem intifada,” and encouraging others to engage in “heroic resistance against Israeli soldiers and settlers.” According to the statement, Hamas will “never compromise even one inch or grain of its soil or holy sites.” Hamas continues to be dedicated to the erosion of Jewish sovereignty in any form and does not distinguish between Israel proper and the Palestinian territories - viewing the entire land of Israel as an occupation. This rejectionist sentiment is at the core of Hamas’ ideology, obstructing any potential for a meaningful peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. Reinforcing that message, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal glorified Palestinian terrorists involved in recent attacks against Israelis, calling for the path of “Jihad and blood” as the only way Palestinians can achieve their objectives. (J. Post)

 There has been a 61% increase in antisemitic crime in Britain in the last year, according to the statistics released by the Met Police on Thursday, 24 Dec. 2015. A total of 483 antisemitic crimes were committed up until November 2015, increasing from 299 crimes from November 2014. Hotspots included Westminster where there was a 178% increase, the London Borough of Hackney where there were 122 crimes, Tower Hamlets which had a 100% rise and Lambeth which had a 200% increase. The latest numbers are a continuation of a surge in hate crimes in Britain and specifically in London, where there have been dozens of antisemitic attacks in recent years. (Arutz-7) 

“The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies." Psalm 110:2

UN CRITICIZES ISRAEL FOR ‘EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE’ AGAINST TERRORISTS: The United Nations called the recent wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israel “unacceptable,” but criticized Israel for the “excessive use of force” in its self-defense against terrorism. “The unacceptable wave of stabbings, shootings, and car-rammings continues to kill and injure Israelis,” said Cecile Pouilly, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office. “But the response from Israeli security forces has resulted in alleged attackers, and even bystanders being killed and injured.” Pouilly’s comments mirror Sweden’s recent criticism of Israel. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said this month that Israel has “the right to defend itself,” but that the response could not be “extrajudicial executions” or a reaction that was “disproportionate,” with the “number of dead on the other side greater than the original death toll by several factors.” The UN has been known for its disproportionate amount of resolutions criticizing Israel over time. (Koenig)

Pray that the nations will join together in a united front against terrorist groups and those who carry out terrorist violence – rather than criticizing Israel for necessary acts of self defense against those who collectively embrace murder.