SEA OF GALILEE WATER LEVELS RISE NEARLY A METER IN TWO MONTHS: Water authorities reported on Sunday the Sea of Galilee had risen by 87 centimeters in Dec. and Jan.  During the past two months heavy rains have washed across the country, partially replenishing water reserves that in past years have run dangerously low. (Ha’aretz)  Please pray for more of the same in Feb. and March.

BILL CLINTON HAILS ISRAEL'S RELIEF MISSION TO HAITI: Bill Clinton, former US president and current UN special envoy to Haiti, told President Shimon Peres on Thursday he was grateful for Israel's role in aiding victims of the devastating earthquake. "I don't know what we would have done without the Israeli hospital at Haiti," Clinton told the president during the Davos economic forum in Switzerland. "The Israeli hospital was the only facility which was able to perform surgery and advanced tests. In the name of the aid workers that operated in Haiti, in the name of the people who live there, and on a personal level I want to thank, we all want to thank, Israel from the bottom of our hearts," Clinton said. (Ha’aretz)

US SENATE APPROVES STIFFER PENALTIES AGAINST IRAN: The US Senate approved legislation on Thursday that would let President Obama impose sanctions on Iran's gasoline suppliers and penalize some of Tehran's elites, a move aimed at pressing Tehran to give up its nuclear program. The sanctions would include the denial of loans and other assistance from American financial institutions to companies that export gasoline to Iran or help expand its oil-refining capacity. The penalties would extend to companies that build oil and gas pipelines in Iran and provide tankers to move Iran's petroleum. The measure prohibits the US government from buying goods from foreign companies that do business in Iran's energy sector. (Daily Alert/New York Times)

ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER DOUBTS WISDOM OF GAZA DISENGAGEMENT:  Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi suggested in an interview published Sunday that the Gaza pullout was a mistake, noting that it ended in "burned synagogues" and missiles being fired into Israel. Berlusconi arrives in Israel Monday for a three-day visit. He will be accompanied by eight Italian cabinet ministers, who will for the first time participate in a joint cabinet meeting with the Israeli cabinet. The meeting will also highlight bilateral cooperation in the fields of science, technology and culture. A special conference will be held bringing together leaders of Italian business, industry and science and their Israeli counterparts. (INN)  Pray many world leaders will likewise see the folly of pressuring Israel to trade land for a false peace with Islamists intent on destroying the Jewish state.

DERSHOWITZ: GOLDSTONE IS A TRAITOR TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE: Prominent political commentator Professor Alan Dershowitz slammed jurist Richard Goldstone, the architect of a UN report which accuses Israel of Gaza war crimes, saying he is a traitor to the Jewish people. Dershowitz and Goldstone had been close friends for many years before the UN Gaza probe, but once Goldstone published his report the ties between the two were severed. "The Goldstone report is a defamation written by an evil, evil man," said Dershowitz. In an interview Sunday, Dershowitz said he is appalled by the report and can't fathom how it could have been written by a Jew. (Ha’aretz)

RIGHTS GROUP: HAMAS TARGETED ISRAELI CIVILIANS IN GAZA WAR: A prominent international human rights group on Thursday disputed Hamas' claim that it did not target civilians during last year's war against Israel, saying there was strong evidence the Islamic terrorist group intentionally aimed its rockets at Israeli towns. Palestinian terrorists fired some 800 rockets and mortar shells into Israel during the conflict, killing three civilians and wounding about 80. More than 800 others sustained minor injuries. Most of the rocket attacks on Israel hit civilian areas, which suggests that civilians were the target, said Bill van Esveld, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime. Van Esveld added that statements from Hamas leaders during the fighting made it clear they intended to harm Israeli civilians. (Ha’aretz)

ISRAEL BLAMED FOR DEATH OF HAMAS LEADER: A hit squad that killed a top Hamas terrorist in his Dubai hotel room injected him with a drug that induced a heart attack, photographed all the documents in his briefcase and left a “do not disturb” sign on the door. The body of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 50, was discovered by staff at the luxury Al Bustan Rotana hotel on January 20. Local doctors diagnosed a heart attack. Nine days later, after blood samples sent for analysis showed signs of poison, Hamas blamed Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, for the assassination. Al-Mabhouh was one of the founders of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic organization that seized control of Gaza in 2007.  Israel blamed him for the abduction of two Israeli soldiers, Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon, both later killed. Israel made no official response to the Hamas claims. (Sunday Times) “The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.” Ps 7:16

EGYPT ARRESTS JIHADIST CELL SUSPECTED OF PLANNING ATTACKS ON ISRAELIS: Egyptian police have arrested at least 23 men suspected of plotting attacks against Israeli visitors to Egypt, Interior Ministry sources said Sunday. Authorities claim they are members of a new Islamic terrorist group.  Government sources said Egypt's domestic intelligence service had confiscated "a large amount" of explosives, including material similar to that used in the Qassam rockets Hamas fired at Israel earlier this month. They said a State Security prosecutor has accused the group of 23 men of plotting attacks against the Nile delta shrine of Abu Hasira, a 19th century rabbi whose grave is a pilgrimage site for Jews. The group was also accused of trying to join the "jihad" in the Sudanese province of Darfur, of plotting attacks against US ships in the Suez Canal and against banks in Alexandria and Cairo. (Ha’aretz)

MEETING ISRAEL’S NEEDS DURING INCREASINGLY TROUBLED TIMES: The National Insurance Institute's annual Poverty Report released Nov. 2009, paints an extremely grim picture: There are 1,651,300 needy people living in Israel, including 783,600 children. Hardship is mounting. Please continue to enable us to assist terrorist victims, entire households suffering from poverty, the elderly and others in need in Israel. Your donations are needed and welcomed at www.visionforisrael.com Make your online donation today. For residents in the UK and outside North America you can visit www.josephstorehouse.co.uk  If you prefer to send your donation by check, you can mail it in to the Israel address or the addresses in the USA and the UK or one of our other branches in The Netherlands and Germany:     

Vision for Israel   P.O. Box 7265   Jerusalem, 91073 Israel

The Joseph Storehouse Trust  P.O.Swindon, SN3 4FB Box 5    England

Vision for Israel P.O. Box 7743 Charlotte, NC  28241 USA

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff