"You who call on the Lord, give yourself no rest, and give him no rest till
he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isa 62:6-7

EVEN THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE ADMIT IT’S A MIRACLE: A classroom in a special education school in Ashdod has served as a makeshift synagogue on Shabbats for 40 years. Throughout those years, not one Shabbat prayer meeting was missed - until this last Shabbat. And that was what saved the congregants from a Gaza missile that struck the synagogue's courtyard Saturday. Netanel Mor Yosef, a member of the congregation, explained the synagogue’s manager underwent an operation during the week and was unable to come to open the synagogue doors. So there was no service. "Then we saw that the missile had lodged a direct hit. Normally, the area surrounding the spot where the missile hit would be full of people during all of those hours on Shabbat,” said Yosef. "Thank G-d this was a visible miracle, the synagogue was closed, and the great damage that should have happened was averted. All day long the talk is about the miracle, how it happened, and everyone – even those who are not believers –unanimously agree that what occurred was a great miracle. (INN) Such miracles are answers to prayers. Continue to intercede for the protection of every Israeli resident against unrelenting terrorist rocket fire. Pray also that those on the receiving end of divine intervention against death and injury will recognize the love of G-d for his people.

IDF HAS GREEN LIGHT TO STOP GAZA ROCKETS: Israel has authorized its military to take all necessary steps to stop rocket fire from Gaza, including a ground operation, an Israeli military official said Tuesday. An Egyptian official reported, also on Tuesday, that Israel has agreed to briefly delay expanding its military operations in the Gaza Strip to give Egypt time to try to persuade Palestinian terrorist factions to halt rocket fire on southern Israel. Israeli aircraft have targeted rocket squads in Gaza in recent days, but the Egyptian source claimed Israel has also planned a wider operation. He said Egypt asked for 24 hours to try to bring all factions into an informal cease-fire and Israel agreed. Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar decided to open schools again on Wednesday after three days of suspension. However, shortly thereafter a Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries were reported. The sudden spike in violence began when terrorists in Gaza started firing projectiles at Israel late last week, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes. One Israeli civilian and at least 10 Palestinian terrorists were killed in the worst violence on that front in months. (Ha’aretz/Ynet) "But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness.” Isa 26:10

UNESCO ACCEPTS PALESTINIANS AS FULL MEMBERS: Palestine became the 195th full member of UNESCO on Monday, as the UN organization defied a mandated cutoff of American funds under federal legislation. The step will cost UNESCO one-quarter of its yearly budget - the 22% contributed by the US (about $70 million) plus another 3% contributed by Israel. The American ambassador, David Killion, repeatedly called the vote "premature.” He said there are no shortcuts to a Palestinian state and that efforts such as the one we have witnessed today are counterproductive. (NY Times)

DUTCH GOVERNMENT DISPLEASED WITH UNESCO DECISION: The Netherlands is dissatisfied with the granting of full UNESCO membership to the Palestinians, says Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal. The Netherlands voted against the move, as did Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania and Lithuania. Rosenthal said membership should have been a result of the negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel in line with the timetable drawn up by the Middle East Quartet. He called on all parties to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. Additionally Canada will reconsider its role in UNESCO following the organization's acceptance of Palestine as a member state, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Monday. "We are in the process of evaluating our future participation in UNESCO," Baird told reporters, adding that "We are not happy with UNESCO's decision. We are working to determine what our response will be.” (J.Post/Radio Netherlands)

WITH UNESCO MEMBERSHIP GRANTED, PALESTINIANS SEEK TO JOIN 16 MORE AGENCIES: After being granted full membership at the UN cultural agency UNESCO, the Palestinian Authority is seeking to become a member of the World Health Organization and of 15 smaller UN agencies. The forum of eight senior Israeli government ministers will convene later this week to discuss Israel's response to the matter. Ibrahim Khraishi, the top Palestinian envoy at the UN in Geneva, said Tuesday, "Now we are studying when we are going to move for full membership on the other UN agencies.  It's our target for us to join the international organizations and the UN agencies." On Monday, the Obama administration decided to cut off funding for UNESCO because it approved the Palestinian membership bid. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the vote triggers a long-standing congressional restriction on funding to UN bodies that recognize Palestine as a state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached. (Ha’aretz)

ABBAS DEEMS SHALIT KIDNAPPING A GOOD THING: Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas went on record in Arabic saying he will never recognize a "Jewish state.” He also said the kidnapping and five year ordeal of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was "a good thing.” The report came from Middle East Media Research Institute, who translated and posted an interview Abbas gave on Egyptian state TV in October. "I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I will never recognize a Jewish state.” In the same interview Abbas said the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive for five years by Hamas terrorists, was a good thing. "They were able to keep him and hide him,” he said admiringly. Shalit was freed in exchange for 1,027 security prisoners, including some 450 terrorists, last month. Abbas, packaged as a moderate by media handlers and pro-Arab politicians in the West, has long said one thing in English and another in Arabic. He has repeatedly accused Israel of being responsible for stalled peace-talks while openly putting outrageous preconditions on his participation in negotiations that he knows will be wholly unacceptable to officials in Jerusalem. In September Abbas violated the bilateral framework of the Olso Accords when he sought unilateral recognition of a PA state based on pre-1967 lines without consulting Israel or the US, both of whom are Oslo signatories. (INN)

THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO THWART IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS CLOSING: Israeli ambassadors in Western countries have been instructed to inform high-ranking politicians that the window of opportunity for imposing effective sanctions on Iran is closing, as part of a renewed diplomatic offensive aimed at using new sanctions to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. The Foreign Ministry campaign seeks to convince the US, European Union member states and other Western countries to impose the sanctions immediately because Iran is continuing to develop its nuclear program. "The significant progress that has taken place on all the components of the Iranian nuclear program should be emphasized, especially uranium enrichment,” said a classified cable sent to Israeli ambassadors in several dozen countries. "The Iranian program is military, and in light of International Atomic Energy Agency reports, there is an increased fear that Iranians are developing a nuclear warhead for ballistic missiles.” The ambassadors were asked to tell the equivalent of the foreign ministries and prime minister's offices in the countries where they are serving that there isn't much time left to stop the nuclear program through diplomatic means. PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned this week that a nuclear Iran would be a serious and direct threat to Israel. "A nuclear Iran poses a heavy threat to the entire world – and to Israel in particular,” Netanyahu said. (Ha’aretz)

IRAN PARLIAMENT TO QUESTION AHMADINEJAD OVER FINANCIAL FRAUD SCANDAL: Iran's parliament is set to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning over an economic scandal and his polices after the required number of lawmakers signed a petition this week. Ahmadinejad would be the first president to be hauled before the Iranian parliament. The questioning would be a serious blow to Ahmadinejad, who has already been weakened after he publicly challenged Iran's chief religious leader Khamenei in April over the choice of intelligence minister. At a session of parliament broadcast live on state radio Sunday, a report was read saying a parliamentary investigation has found top government officials guilty in the case, described as the nation's biggest financial scam. (Ha’aretz) "Can someone who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One? Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked?’” Job 34: 17-18

FAILURE ON TEMPLE MOUNT TO STAY SECRET: The Israeli government has decided to keep a State Comptroller’s report regarding the Temple Mount secret. In a Knesset meeting this week, MK Uri Ariel accused authorities of attempting to hide their own "colossal failure” in the area. The State Prosecutor, the Israel Police, the Antiquities Authority and Jerusalem municipal authorities are among those who have failed to put a stop to the Islamic Wakf’s destruction at the holy site, he accused. Intelligence sources at the meeting supported the decision to keep the full report secret. Publishing the entire thing could lead to clashes, they said.  (INN) 

Save the Dates for the next Succot Celebration in Israel, October 2-4, 2012

Save the Dates for the next Roots & Reflections Tour in 2012: "Journey to the Four Seas,” June 8-17 (European dates) or June 7-17 (N. American dates). The UK tour price is £1,699. The USA tour package price is $3,630.

THE NEED IS URGENT FOR YOUR DONATIONS: Few of us in the West experience being without food, clothing, or a roof over our heads. Many Israelis do. According to recent studies, poverty ranks as the number one concern for people in Israel. An estimated 1.7 million people, 850,000 of them children, live below the poverty line, barely receiving one meal a day. As more than a quarter of a million protesters in Israel took to the streets during the summer and continue to do so in October, much of the world has learned of the high cost of living that has proved so crushing to Israel's poor and middle class.  It includes mounting healthcare expenses, a failing educational system, lack of affordable housing, and other injustices. None of this comes as a surprise to us. Every week Vision for Israel's vans personally visit families, single mothers and others greatly in need. We bring them food, clothing, household items - all the necessities to make it through the hardship they are experiencing.  With your help, Vision for Israel has been assisting for many years those who have fallen through the cracks of Israeli society.  Please continue to help us to be a comfort to God’s hurting people. Your donations are needed and welcomed at www.visionforisrael.com. Make your online donations today. For residents in the UK and outside North America visit our website at www.josephstorehouse.co.uk. 

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff