Israelis Vote In Second
2019 National Elections
September 20, 2019

ISRAELIS VOTE IN SECOND NATIONAL 2019 ELECTIONS: Israelis proceeded to the polls on Tue. 17 Sept. 2019 for the second time in less than six months. After PM Binyamin Netanyahu failed to form a collation following April’s 2019 vote, a second national election was scheduled for 17 Sept. 2019. As pre-election polls indicated would be the outcome, Netanyahu’s Likud party was closely tied with the Blue and White bloc headed by Benny Gantz and two other former army chiefs-of-staff. Israel’s political system renders no direct path for either Gantz or Netanyahu to form a majority coalition requiring the support of at least 61 parliamentarians.  Hence, the outcome of the second election mirrors this year’s April results. A jostle for alliances with marginal parties could now develop, as could a unity government if campaign vows that passionately rejected specific alliances between parties are rescinded. Despite concerns of “election fatigue,” given that Israel has held a national vote twice this year, voter turnout was slightly higher than in April 2019. (JNN) Intercede for a strong and unified Israeli government to emerge from this second political deadlock in 2019. Continue to pray that God will raise up the leaders He appoints as a banner for the nations. “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him and His resting place shall be glorious.” Isa. 11:10

KINGMAKER LIEBERMAN CALLS FOR STRONG UNITY GOVERNMENT AS ISRAEL FACES AN ‘EMERGENCY SITUATION’: Israel’s exit polls disclosed that the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party Avigdor Lieberman will be the kingmaker in the coalition negotiations following Israel’s Tuesday 17 Sept. 2019 elections. His secular-nationalist party secured 9 seats in the next Knesset.  Centrist Blue and White essentially tied with Netanyahu’s Likud party at 32 and 31 seats respectively, with right-religious and center-left blocs hovering around 55 seats, giving neither side a working majority without Liberman.  Liberman, in what he said was only possible in an ‘emergency situation’ made an intense call for a unity government made up of Blue and White, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu. “We have always said that a unity government is possible only in an emergency situation, and I say to every citizen that the state-of-affairs now, security-wise and economically, is an emergency situation,” Lieberman said.  Liberman, Israel’s former Defense Minister resigned from his position last November in protest over Netanyahu’s Gaza truce deal. He then blocked Netanyahu from forming a right-wing governing coalition when his calls for religious reform were not met following last April’s election – forcing a Sept. 2019 round of voting. (JNN)

ILHAN OMAR SAYS NETANYAHU’S “EXISTENCE” IS A PROBLEM – HOPES ISRAELIS VOTE HIM OUT OF POWER: Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s “existence” a problem in an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation program on Sunday 15 September 2019. Two days prior to Israel’s second national election in 2019 the blatantly anti-Semitic Omar slammed what she called the Israeli leader’s “existence, policies, and rhetoric” and expressed her fervent hope that the people of Israel would “make a different decision” in this week’s national elections. The Democratic Congresswoman then reiterated her support for the anti-Israel BDS movement. In August 2019 Israel barred Omar and fellow Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from entering the country. Omar came under heavy criticism earlier this year after she suggested on Twitter that Republicans were assaulting her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.  Omar later caused another political upheaval when she likened domestic support for Israel as “allegiance to a foreign country”. This week’s final election results which leave Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Centrist Blue and White closely tied as winners indicate that Omar’s Israeli nemesis is still in the picture and that few in the Israeli Jewish sector have time for the anti-Semitic lawmaker’s hopes and fantasies. (JNN) Continue to pray against mounting global opposition against Israel and her political leaders, as well as the leaders of other nations who stand with them.

CHURCHES IN TEXAS VANDALIZED WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN GRAFITTI: Red, spray-painted graffiti with anti-Christian messages were streaked across three Dallas Texas churches last Sunday 15 Sept. 2015. The word “lie” was smeared in crimson right beneath the church steeple, said a senior pastor at Beth-Eden Baptist Church in Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood. Two additional churches in the same neighborhood – St. Luke Presbyterian Church and St. Phillips Missionary Baptist Church – were also vandalized with red paint. The words, “scam,” “all lies,” and “not coming” were written on the side of the St. Luke parish. Also the word, “Jesus” spray-painted with a slash through it was written on the building.  The graffiti remained visible the following day, in spite of attempts to cover the writing at St. Luke’s with trash bags. Dallas police are investigating the crimes but have not yet determined if the crimes are related.  Police are also looking into reports of graffiti on three other church buildings in the neighborhood, possibly bringing the total number of religious buildings vandalized to six. (JNN)

NOW THE ‘SUNDAY PEOPLE’: Persecution of Christians in the Islamic world has spiraled to epidemic proportions in the past decades. Now, it is becoming commonplace across Europe and North America even as anti-Semitism spreads and deepens its age-long roots in those same regions. Islamic terror groups have a favorite taunt: “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people”.  The “Saturday People” are, of course, Jews who have been for centuries subject to unceasing persecution. Now the “Sunday people” – Christians- have become targets of global abuse including murders, rapes, beatings, extortions, the burning and desecration of houses of worship and mob violence. Such brutality mirrors that carried out for centuries against the Jews, the “Saturday people.”  It’s easy to think Christian persecution is an issue far away from the USA. The truth is, persecution is more prevalent and geographically dispersed than any other time in history. Approximately 215 million Christians worldwide experience very high to extreme persecution. Newsweek Magazine reported months ago that “the persecution and genocide of Christians across the world is worse today than at any time in history”. Such violence and harassment are not limited to that carried out by Muslim extremists.

The threat of religious persecution is rearing its head in the United States. Campuses across the nation have disclosed that up-front Christians are regularly humiliated debased and attacked for their beliefs. Academics, social groups, and college organizations regularly brand Christians as being hateful and bigoted, among other labels. Christians are being targeted in the USA for adhering to their values not only on the university front but in all walks of life. Such people are encountering increasing intolerance in America through lawsuits, jobs lost, and public disdain. Examples of this include Christian bakers who refuse to bake cakes for same-sex weddings or those in public office who say no when asked to issue same-sex wedding certificates. Such people who stick to their Christian beliefs and values are encountering a huge amount of negative publicity, harassment, fines and even the loss of work and businesses. (JNN) “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1Cor 16:13

HIGH COST OF LIVING LEADS TO MANY ISRAELIS LIVING IN DEBT: Israel is among the most expensive countries in the OECD, with food prices 19 percent higher than the OECD average, out-of-pocket preschool spending the most expensive of all OECD countries, and people typically paying out 25% of their gross adjusted disposable income on rent. Aside from Israel’s profitable but limited tech sector, it is low-wage jobs that drive employment in Israel. According to a sampling of 50,000 users of a credit rating app Captain Credit, which is operated by Dun & Bradstreet and relies on the credit card database of the Bank of Israel, Israelis have on the average a whopping negative checking account balance of NIS 25,000 (approximately $7,090). Many people opt to take out a loan to cover the negative balance until the next paycheck, as the overdraft interest is usually higher than the loan interest. But this measure easily becomes a habit according to Moshe Yadgar, Captain Credit’s CEO.  “We saw quite a few cases where people take out a loan to catch up with their negative account balance, but very quickly reach that situation again and take out another loan.”  Based on the sampling, 5% of Israelis are paying off at least five loans concurrently, he said. Dun & Bradstreet’s Capitan Credit survey concludes that while half of all adult Israelis have good credit scores it does not mean they are keeping their head above water financially. (JNN)

ISRAEL’S ARCHEOLOGICAL SURPRISES CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE: Israel is a virtual treasure chest of archeological gems often located by students on outings, hikers in the wilderness, or as in a recent case, a sharp-eyed passerby.  Ahmad Nasser Yassin while driving along a dirt road in the hills in the western Galilee spotted what looked to be a dagger blade sticking out of the crumbling rocky hillside by the road. Yassin said that as he continued to drive down the road it dawned on him that he might have seen something significant. Feeling compelled to check, he went back. Upon closer inspection, he discovered what still looked to be a very old handle. He cleared some of the dirt and realized he had found a cache of vessels and a dagger that later was confirmed by the Israel Antiquities Authority to be some 4,500 years old.  The items had been in a burial cave dating to the middle Bronze Age and most likely had been destroyed, during roadworks in the area about a year ago. The Authority praised Yassin’s good citizenship in reporting the discovery to the authorities, rather than trying to vend the items on the black antiquities market. (JNN) “For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.” Ps. 102:14

FOUR ISRAELI UNIVERSITIES RANK AMONG TOP PRODUCERS OF GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURS: A new study by the market-data company PitchBook has placed four Israeli universities among the top 50 undergraduate programs globally that turn out the most successful entrepreneurs. Tel Aviv University came in at No. 8, making it the only non-USA university in the top 10.  Also in the top 50 was Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (No. 14), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (No. 34) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (No. 49). Academic institutions were determined according to their performance in producing the most entrepreneurs who secure venture funding for their startups. Stanford University in California held the top spot in the rankings, with undergraduate programs producing 1,288 entrepreneurs who established 1,114 companies and raised $37.8 billion in funding. (JNN)“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.” Ps. 90:17