IRANIAN PASTOR FACING EXECUTION: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reportedly said the government needed to halt the growing movement of house churches across Iran.  A well-known Iranian pastor now faces execution after two judges last week agreed to make him "liable to capital punishment," as part of a crackdown on the growing Protestant church movement in the Islamic nation.  Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was detained in June along with his wife in northwestern Iran because of their Christian activities. They were part of a group of eight Church of Iran members detained June 18, a senior pastor said. Iranian Christians have also expressed concerns about reports of other detentions, including last month's capture of Pastor Behnam Irani just outside Tehran. (BosNewsLife)  In the last 50 years, the Christian populations in the Middle East have dropped significantly in every country except Israel. This trend has accelerated in the last 10 years. Christians were once a majority in Lebanon, but today they comprise only 30% of all Lebanese.  Four out of every five Maronite Christians have left the country.  Assyrian Christians have left Iraq in large numbers, and a significant number of Coptic Christians are now leaving Egypt due to religious persecution.  In Iran, Christian rights are being increasingly curtailed. There are no Christian citizens in Saudi Arabia, and American soldiers and foreign workers are barred from displaying their Christian faith in public. In many Middle East countries, Muslim conversion to Christianity is a capital offense. In the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza), Christians are declining dramatically. Bethlehem was always a Christian city. When Israel ceded authority of Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority in 1995, it was more than 60% Christian. Today it is less than 20% Christian. Ramallah too was once a Christian city, but today it has less than 7,000 Christians out of a total population of 25,500. There are only 3,000 Christians left in Gaza out of 1.5 million people. More than 2,000 Christians have left Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007.

IRANIAN FIGHTER TURNED US SPY: TEHRAN WILL ATTACK ISRAEL:  A former Revolutionary Guard member who relayed its secret operations to the CIA for 10 years says Iran will commit the 'most horrendous suicide bombing in human history' if not stopped.  Reza Kahlili (pseudonym) called for a preemptive strike on the regime in Tehran, but not on the Iranian people.  Kahlili accused the Obama Administration of being naive. According to him, the US overtures are viewed by the Iranian rulers as a sign of weakness. “This is a messianic regime. There should be no doubt – they are going to commit the most horrendous suicide bombing in human history. They will attack Israel, European capitals, and the Persian Gulf region at the same time," he said.  Kahlili joined the Revolutionary Guard in 1979, but volunteered to work for the CIA when he became disillusioned with the Khomeini regime after witnessing acts of rape, torture and murder. (Ynet)

POLL: MOST AMERICANS WOULD BACK ISRAEL ATTACK ON IRAN: More than half of Americans would support Israel taking military action against Iran, according to poll results released last week. The survey reported 43% of US Democrats approve of Israel taking military action against Iran to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, while 40% disapprove. However, when Republicans were asked the same question, 74% voiced approval while 17% disapproved.  Among independents, 56% approved of military action while 30% disapproved. Overall, 56% of Americans approved a military strike, while 30% disapproved. (Ha’aretz) “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Ps 124:8

OBAMA DIDN’T SWAY ISRAELIS: US President Obama’s effort to reach out to the people of Israel last week – when he hosted PM Netanyahu for a positive meeting at the White House was not very successful, according to a Smith Research poll.  When asked whether they saw Obama’s administration as more pro-Israel, more pro- Palestinian or neutral, just 10% of Israeli Jews said more pro-Israel.  After Obama’s earlier meetings with Netanyahu were portrayed as adversarial, Obama made a point of treating the prime minister with the utmost respect last week, accompanying him to his car and constantly commending him in particular and Israelis in general during his press conference with Netanyahu on Tuesday. But what was widely described as a “charm offensive” did not sway many Israelis in his favor. (J.Post)

PALESTINIANS MAY SOON HAVE TO SWEAR LOYALTY TO ‘JEWISH’ STATE:  The Israeli cabinet is expected to approve measures that would make it harder for Palestinians to acquire permanent residency or citizenship in Israel. The most notable would require Palestinians to declare their loyalty to a Jewish and democratic state and respect for its laws before being granted Israeli citizenship. One purpose of the new measures is to make it harder for Palestinian terrorist groups to recruit those who have acquired Israeli citizenship to carry out terrorist attacks. (Ha’aretz) “Evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” Ps 37: 9

TURKISH HACKERS STEAL THOUSANDS OF EMAIL, PAY PAL, BANK ACCOUNTS: Turkish hackers have stolen the details of thousands of Israeli bank, credit card and Pay Pal accounts, and posted the information online. In addition to the details of at least 32,561 Israelis, more than 140 passwords to Israeli government web sites were swiped as well. Globes business news service reports many of the email addresses and passwords obtained by the Internet terrorists included accounts on Facebook, Gmail and Microsoft Live Messenger. Most of those had been hacked since the flotilla clash between IHH terror activists and Israeli Navy commandos in May. (INN)

SONG ‘ONLY ISRAEL’ STRIKES A CHORD ON YOU TUBE: A 22-year-old pianist from the Gush Etzion settlement of Neveh Daniel has become the latest YouTube phenomenon with her pro-Israel song “Only Israel.”  Yedida Freilich, a composition student at the capital’s Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, wrote the mournful piano ballad following the Gaza flotilla incident last month.  In only two weeks, the video has attracted over 350,000 views on YouTube and turned Freilich into a celebrity in nationalist circles. (J.Post)

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SUCCOT 2010 CELEBRATION AND TOUR TO ISRAEL: SEPT. 22 TO SEPT. 29: Barry and Batya Segal extend a warm invitation for you to attend The Succot Celebration (Feast of Tabernacles) in Jerusalem together with the remnant of Israel and the remnant from the nations. Speakers and worship leaders for the 2010 celebration: Lance Lambert, Barry and Batya Segal, Frank and Marlou van Essen, David Silver, Mattheus van der Steen, and more to come. There will be an optional tour group package available beforehand which will be touring all over Israel. This year there will be a direct flight from the USA with no stopovers in Europe! For more information and instructions on how to participate go to: www.succotcelebration.com 

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff