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

OBAMA NAMES MEDICAID CHIEF WHO BACKS ANTI-ISRAEL DOCTORS: Republicans, and some Democrats, are in an uproar over US President Barack Obama’s naming a Medicare chief who backs socialized medicine—and an anti-Israel physicians’ group. The appointment of Donald Berwick, who is heavily involved in the anti-Israel Physicians for Human Rights organization, was made without going through the usual process of securing confirmation by the Senate. Berwick’s backing of the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) group dates back to the year 2000, when he donated thousands of dollars to the organization after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War. (Arutz-7)

PLO FLAG TO FLY IN WASHINGTON DC: The US State Department has announced to the Palestinian Authority/Palestinian Liberation Organization representative in the United States that its status will be upgraded from a 'bureau' to that of a 'general delegation' and that this change will allow the office in which the  representation is situated to fly the PLO, now also the Palestine Authority, flag at its entrance. The upgrading also grants certain privileges to the delegation staff, such as diplomatic immunity. Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem claimed the step was taken to strengthen PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and try to get him to agree to direct talks with Israel. However, they expressed disappointment that the White House did not make ceasing the PA's anti-Israel incitement a condition for the status upgrade. (Ha’aretz/INN)  Examples of anti-Israel incitement:  In April 2010, right next to a Presidential compound in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority named a street after a terrorist who murdered hundreds of innocent Israeli men, women and children.  Weeks later a square in Ramallah was named for Dalal al-Mughrabi, a terrorist who killed 38 Israelis in the Coastal Road massacre of 1978.  An additional Ramallah street was named for Hamas suicide bomb mastermind Yihyeh Ayyash, who was the architect of multiple attacks, including a 1994 bombing of a Tel Aviv bus, which killed 20 people, and injured dozens. PM Benjamin Netanyahu deemed these memorials an "outrageous glorification of terrorism by the Palestinian Authority."   Other examples of anti-Israel incitement include boycotts against the Jewish state: In May 2010, a member of the central council of the Fatah party, headed by PA President Abbas, called on the Palestinian Authority to extend its boycott of Judea and Samaria products to all of Israel.  He said an all-out boycott of all Israeli products is “legitimate resistance.” Previous agreements between the PA and Israel ensure open markets, and implicitly prohibit boycotts.  PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad recently attended a public burning of thousands of dollars of Jewish products that were confiscated, and PA forces have arrested several Arabs for purchasing Jewish goods.

RUSSIAN GIFT TO PA: 50 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS: Russia has delivered 50 armored personnel carriers to Jordan for use by Palestinian Authority security forces. The vehicles are a gift to the PA, and include training for drivers and mechanics.  Israeli sources said the delivery of the APCs would be discussed in face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the PA. The armored carriers in question can easily be turned into combat vehicles. PM Binyamin Netanyahu, in a speech last year made it very clear the PA state to which Israel would agree could only be a demilitarized one. (INN)

87 COUNTRIES JOIN TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM: Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon presided over the signing of an international Memorandum of Understanding uniting 87 nations in the fight against antisemitism and Holocaust denial. The cooperation agreement was signed last week between the ITF (Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research), and the ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights), at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. This year marks the first time Israel has been chosen to head the ITF and global education on the Holocaust. The agreement "multiplies the strength" of the global forces fighting antisemitism and Holocaust denial, Ayalon said. (INN)

JEWISH GRAVESTONES AT FRENCH CEMETERY SMASHED BY VANDALS: Vandals have smashed or overturned 27 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France. The police said the damage was discovered at the cemetery in Wolfisheim last Wednesday. Jewish grave sites around France are attacked sporadically by vandals, who leave gravestones shattered or sprayed with swastikas and antisemitic slogans. (Ynet)

ENVIRONMENTALISTS: HALT BAPTISMS AT JORDAN RIVER SITE: The baptismal site at Qasr al-Yahud near Jericho is one of the holiest sites for Christianity.  Yeshua is believed to have been baptized at that location over 2,000 years ago by John the Baptist. The baptismal site welcomes more than 100,000 Christian pilgrims annually who wish to also be baptized there.  Environmentalists have called for a halt in baptisms at Qasr al-Yahud in the southern part of the Jordan River due to its highly polluted waters.  A recent Health Ministry report said there was a dangerous level of harmful bacteria at the location. (Arutz-7) “I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Is 44:3   

KNESSET APPROVES BAN ON SALE OF ALCOHOL AT NIGHT: A bill forbidding stores, kiosks and gas station convenience stores from selling alcohol between 11 pm and 6 am passed second and third readings last week. The Knesset plenum approved the bill unanimously, with no opposition and no abstentions. (Ynet)  Pray for continued victory in this battle against alcohol abuse in Israel.   

NEW IMAGING DEVICE IN TZFAT HOSPITAL SPOTS EYE DISEASE: A sophisticated new imaging device purchased by the Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat enables doctors to see into the innermost areas of the eye without touching the tissue. The Optical Coherence Tomography is a non-invasive technology used for imaging the retina, the multi-layered sensory tissue that lines the back of the eye. Eye conditions such as macular degeneration, pre-retinal membranes, macular holes or swelling and optic nerve damage can all be visualized by the device. It is considered the world’s most advanced method of detecting eye disease. (Arutz-7)

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Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff