SECRETARY CLINTON: IRAN BECOMING MILITARY DICTATORSHIP: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama administration believes Iran is becoming a military dictatorship. In remarks to Arab university students in Qatar, Clinton said the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran appears to have gained so much power it effectively is supplanting the government. Last week the US Treasury Department announced it was freezing the assets in US jurisdictions of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a previously penalized construction company he runs because of their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran on Sunday to reconsider its "dangerous" nuclear policy, saying Tehran's stance leaves the world community little choice but to impose "greater costs."  Meanwhile, Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday he would push for crippling sanctions on Iran during his meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin this week. (AP) “He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations.” Ps 66:7

US MILITARY CHIEF ARRIVES IN ISRAEL: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen arrived in Israel on Sunday for a series of meetings with Israeli defense officials. Mullen was scheduled for private meetings with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and the heads of the IDF's intelligence branches to discuss various regional threats, including Iran and Hizbullah. Mullen also requested to meet with the IDF aid team that performed so impressively in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. (INN)

BIDEN TO VISIT ISRAEL SOON: US Vice President Joe Biden is expected in Israel within a month for meetings. The question arises whether Biden’s visit will be an indication of unprecedented cooperation on the Iranian nuclear issue or if he comes to pressure Israel not to go forward with a pre-emptive strike on Iran, which is believed to be only a year away from producing nuclear weapons.  Biden, who is a hawkish symbol in the Obama administration, has openly defended Israel's right to strike in Iran. Last July, he was asked how the US would respond if Israel decided to launch an attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities, he said: "Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else." (Ynet)  Continue to pray for discernment for Israel’s leaders and determination not to bow to foreign pressures in matters of its own security.  "Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?" Job 12:11

GAZA TERRORISTS ARREST BRITISH JOURNALIST: Hamas terrorists are holding a British journalist suspected of supporting a collaborator with Israel, nearly four years after terrorists in the Hamas-controlled region kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston and held him captive for nearly four months. British Foreign Office officials identified the latest victim as Paul Martin, a freelance journalist. Martin has written for various British media, including the BBC and the Times of London. (Arutz-7) Pray for the quick release of Paul Martin. “May the groans of the prisoners come before you.” Ps 79:11

KENYA WANTS ISRAEL’S HELP AGAINST JIHADISTS: The Minister for Public Security, Yitzchak Aharonovich, met his Kenyan counterpart Prof. George Saitoti in Jerusalem and the two discussed their countries' security and criminal problems. Minister Saitoti told Aharonovich that Kenya is under threat from extremist Muslims. “The jihad is taking over Somalia and threatening to take over Kenya and all of Africa,” he said. “No one is more experienced than you in fighting internal terror. I request that you help us in this matter.”  Kenya's population is mostly Christian and very friendly toward Israelis, whom they often refer to by the Biblical term “Israelites.” Unlike the western world, Kenya has no history of antisemitism, and the history of the Jewish people is known mostly from the stories of their greatness in the Bible, and from modern-day exploits such as the Six Day War in 1967 and the Entebbe raid in 1976, which was assisted by Kenya. The Muslim part of Kenya's population – about 10% – is concentrated in the coastal area, where Muslim ivory and slave traders settled centuries ago. (INN)

VATICAN TO POST SECRET WWII DOCUMENTS ONLINE: The Vatican plans to post selected documents from its World War II secret archives online. The move came at the initiative of Pave the Way, a US-based foundation that promotes interfaith dialogue and has striven to counter criticism that wartime Pope Pius XII ignored Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. The foundation offered to digitize some 5,125 descriptions and copies of documents from the closed section of the Vatican archives, from the period of March 1939 to May 1945. These would then be posted on the Web sites of both the Vatican and Pave the Way.  The  documents to be published are reportedly "not meant to be a substitute for the full access" to the Vatican archives, "but will show the unique efforts of Pope Pius XII and the dangers he was forced to operate under a direct threat from the Nazi regime." (J.Post)

1,400-YEAR-OLD WINE PRESS UNCOVERED, ONE OF ISRAEL’S LARGEST: The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced the discovery of a 1,400-year-old wine press - one of the largest ever found in Israel. Its location is midway between Jerusalem and Ashdod. The wine press was unearthed during a salvage excavation in a region to be used for agricultural farmland by Gush Katif expulsion victims. Their permanent homes are being built nearby. The head of the Nahal Sorek Regional Council said he will ensure the conservation of the site and its opening to the general public. (INN)

INCOMING TOURISM TO ISRAEL SETS NEW RECORD FOR JANUARY: A record-breaking 212,000 incoming tourists came to Israel in January, an increase of 62% from 2009 and 17% from the previous record year of 2008, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported last week. The Gaza operation in January 2009 had depressed last year’s figures for the same month. (J.Post)

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