ARAB TERRORISTS SUSPECTED OF SETTING JERUSALEM BLAZE: Firefighting services reported the topography of the area is making it difficult to stop the blaze that has broken out near the entrance to Jerusalem. Police are debating whether to close Highway 1 near the entrance to the city, because it has become covered in smoke. Eye witnesses said the fire broke out simultaneously in several places lending weight to suspicions the fire was set deliberately by terrorists. (Arutz-7)

REMOVING CHECKPOINTS BRINGS TERRORISM: Two terrorist attacks earlier this week have brought on a wave of reactions blaming the government for having removed security checkpoints.  The terrorists in both incidents are assumed to have traveled unhindered through recently-removed checkpoints. The Land of Israel Knesset lobby released this statement:  “Our lobby warned the easing of restrictions for the Palestinians would lead to increased terrorism.  We will act to have a Knesset debate and a decision that will place the preservation of life and security for Israelis above demands for gestures to the PA residents and improvements in their ‘fabric of life.’” (INN) Three weeks ago the IDF removed a major roadblock next to the site of a terror attack that took place on Monday. On May 23rd, the commander of Central Command, Major General Avi Mizrahi and the Head the Civil Administration, Brigadier - Gen. Yoav Mordechai, met with the heads of the PA security apparatus to announce a number of goodwill gestures, one of which was the removal of the checkpoint.  Pray against goodwill gestures that endanger the lives of innocent Israelis.

SLAIN OFFICER WAS TO BE MARRIED: Among the three police officers shot by Palestinian terrorists on Monday in an ambush south of Hebron was 39-year-old Yehoshua Sofer, who was slain.  Anna, the wife of policeman Yoav Dahan who was wounded in the attack, said Sofer was  “a wonderful man who loved to help. He was supposed to get married in two months and he was so excited – and now instead of a wedding, he was murdered.” (Arutz-7) “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Ps 34:18

NEW UPDATES ON THE VIOLENT INTENTIONS OF IHH FLOTILLA OPERATIVES: Information found on laptops seized from the Mavi Marmara proves the violence employed against the Israel Defense Forces on board the ship was a premeditated operation, organized beforehand and implemented by a hard core of 40 violent operatives who were on board specifically for that purpose. The 40 IHH operatives joined the ship in Istanbul without a security check. They were commanded by IHH leader Bulent Yildirim, who instructed them to use violence. They brought equipment in preparation for the confrontation with the IDF, including gas masks, wooden clubs, slingshots, ball bearings, and equipment for improvising weapons (metal cutting disks for cutting iron bars and chains). (Daily Alert)

SENATE LEADERS: CONSIDER TURKISH IHH FOR TERROR LIST: Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate majority leader, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the minority leader, circulated a letter last week pressing President Obama to investigate the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, the group involved in the Gaza flotilla incident.  "Israeli forces were able to safely divert five of the six ships challenging the blockade," the letter says. "However, video footage shows that the Israeli commandos who arrived on the sixth ship, which was owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (the IHH), were brutally attacked with iron rods, knives, and broken glass.  We recommend that your administration consider whether the IHH should be put on the list of foreign terrorist organizations, after an examination by the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Treasury Department." (JTA)

AMERICAN JEWS SHOULD FIGHT OBAMA ON ISRAEL: Sixty five percent of the Jewish public in Israel believe that Jews in the US should be critical of President Obama's policy toward Israel.  Forty-six percent of Israeli Jews believe the possibility US Jews will be accused of double loyalty is what makes them shy away from criticizing the Obama administration over its Israel policy. The statistics are included in the annual Poll of the Israeli Public's Attitudes Toward Diaspora Jews.  (INN)

NEXT HIZBULLAH WAR MAY BE OVER ISRAEL’S GAS AND OIL FIELDS: Hizbullah has laid claim to a huge oil and gas field that Israel discovered off its northeastern Mediterranean Coast. The terrorist organization warned it will not allow Israel to take possession of the offshore fields, which could make the Jewish State energy self-sufficient. The Israeli government responded to the claims, saying they are totally unfounded and all of the gas and oil fields are off the coast of Israel and not Lebanon.  Marine law expert Amir Cohen-Dor said the Dalit and Tamar gas fields are within Israel's contiguous economic zone, and UN regulations clearly state that Israel can develop them. (Arutz-7)

EGYPTIANS WHO MARRY ISRAELI WOMEN TO LOSE CITIZENSHIP: Egypt's Supreme Court is upholding a recent bill that orders the country's Interior Ministry to strip citizenship from Egyptians married to Israeli women. The government has not released figures of Egyptians married to Israeli women but estimates put the number around 30,000. (J.Post)

ISRAEL WANTS TO BAN USE OF UNDERWEIGHT MODELS: The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs this week voted in favor of a bill that would forbid advertising agencies from hiring and displaying underweight female models. The bill states: "The prevalence of eating disorders, including anorexia, has been on the rise in recent years in the Israeli society, particularly among young girls. Studies show one of the reasons for eating disorders is the influence of the media and the advertising industry, which feature particularly thin women as role models, thus influencing teenagers' standards." (Israel Today) Pray for this important measure to be finalized as a law in Israel’s legal system.

YOUR DONATIONS ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED: 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 

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