Christian Space 360

(Jerusalem, Israel) — On March 2nd, Israel will hold our third round of national elections in the past twelve months. Are we headed towards another stalemate, or a political earthquake? Here are five things to watch and pray over:

1. New polls suggest that Netanyahu’s Likud party has pulled even or slightly ahead. Is this is the beginning of a trend? Will Likud gain momentum between now and Monday? Keep in mind, most polls in 2020 have shown that Blue & White, the party founded by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz (and two other former IDF chiefs of staff, plus Knesset Member Yair Lapid), maintaining a lead over Likud. No one really knows how it will play out. Everyone here expects another stalemate. Some are even talking of a 4th election. 
2. That said, keep your eye on former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman — though he used to be Netanyahu’s closest advisor, Liberman declared this week that his old boss “can no longer be prime minister” and that “Netanyahu has been in power for too long and has lost the instincts and the motivation to work and do what is necessary.” As the head of the Israel Beitenu party (Israel Our Home), Liberman and his colleagues will likely win between 7 and 10 seats on Monday. That makes him poised to be either a king-maker, or a king-slayer. Neither Netanyahu nor Gantz can build a governing political coalition without persuading Liberman to join them. Neither proved persuasive in the last two rounds. Is Liberman now signaling that he’s preparing make a decision and break towards Gantz? That could set into motion a political earthquake, and the beginning of a post-Netanyahu era. Stay tuned.
3. Meanwhile, we’re all asking: How will the election be affected by the fact that Netanyahu’s corruption trial will begin very soon — on March 17th? Many fans of Netanyahu in the West dismiss the charges as a political “witch hunt.” Perhaps, and right-wing voters may be now beginning to rally to Netanyahu’s defense at the polls, trying to build Likud’s number. That said, it’s worth keeping three things in mind. First, Netanyahu was indicted by his own hand-chosen Attorney General, not a political enemy. Second, never has a sitting Israeli premier ever been put on trial. We are entering uncharted territory. Third, the stakes are high. The charges are serious. Netanyahu faces real legal jeopardy. Like it or not, in the next year or so, Netanyahu could actually be convicted on the bribery and corruption charges. 
4. Legally, Netanyahu deserves to be considered innocent unless he is proven guilty. Politically, however, things are getting complicated for him. Some 58% of Israelis in a recent poll said that Netanyahu should resign rather than try to serve as Prime Minister while defending himself in criminal trials. Another recent poll found that 54% of Israelis say a trial will harm Netanyahu’s ability to serve as Prime Minister.
5. At the same time, tensions in the region are heating up, despite the recent roll out of President Trump’s “Deal of the Century.” Terrorists in Gaza fired more than 80 rockets at Israel in the past 72 hours. Other attacks in and around Jerusalem have been spiking this month. Iran’s leadership has been fomenting terror and chaos throughout the region and remainl determined to build nuclear weapons and annihilate the Jewish State. Tensions on the Lebanon and Syrian borders are building, as well. Meanwhile, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination — Sen. Bernie Sanders — has a history of hostility towards Israel and seeks to fundamentally change (read: undermine) the U.S.-Israeli strategic alliance.

Israel can ill afford to go without a stable, solid, fully operational government much longer. Please pray for peace on all of our borders, and pray the Lord will show mercy when it comes to the result of these elections and coalition negotiations. Most Israelis would like to see a broad-based “national unity” government. I’d like to see that, as well.

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• To pre-order my next thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, which releases on March 17th, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE KREMLIN CONSPIRACY in paperback, please click here.

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt in 2020! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today. 

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• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Good News of God’s love, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.

The post Stalemate or political earthquake? With less than one week to go, what will happen in the Israeli elections on Monday? Five things to watch. appeared first on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog.

(Jerusalem, Israel) — With terrorist attacks against Israel suddenly spiking, and the Iran threat growing, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination is showing himself to be a dangerous man at a dangerous time. 

Here’s what you need to know:

• More than 80 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Sunday morning — there has also been a spike in terror attacks in Jerusalem this month — including an attack that wounded 14 Israelis, one critically (see here, here, here, here and here)
• Israel’s Iron Dome system has shot down most of the rockets, but schools, synagogues, playgrounds and many businesses throughout Southern Israel have been shut down for the past two days.
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad has taken responsibility for the attacks from Gaza — it’s very possible the violence will escalate as we approach the third round of Israeli national elections on Monday, March 2^nd.
• The American Israeli Public Affairs (AIPAC) conference takes place in Washington on March 1-3 with some 18,000 pro-Israel activists planning to attend. 
• Rather than stand with Israelis under fire, and show compassion for the hundreds of thousands of Israeli school children and their families who have less than 15 seconds to run to their bomb shelters as terrorists in Gaza fire rockets designed to kill and maim them, Sen. Bernie Sanders — now the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination — has announced that he will boycott speaking to the AIPAC conference (even though major presidential contenders typically address the group). He accuses AIPAC speakers of “expressing bigotry.”
• Sen. Sanders is vowing to cut U.S. annual military aid to Israel.
• Sen. Sanders is calling for a “fundamental change” in U.S. policy towards Israel — .
• Sen. Sanders says he will send money earmarked for Israel to Gaza, which is fully controlled by the Hamas terrorist organization.
• Sen. Sanders says he will re-enter the (insane) Iran nuclear deal that is so dangerous both to U.S. and Israeli national security — other Democratic candidates say they will, too, but Sanders is the front-runner.
• If all this weren’t troubling enough, the Kremlin is backing Sanders. “Russia has been trying to intervene in the Democratic primaries to aid Senator Bernie Sanders, according to people familiar with the matter, and Mr. Sanders said on Friday that intelligence officials recently briefed him,” the New York Times is reporting.

Meanwhile, Israel is making news in other ways:

• Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption trial begins on March 17th — never has a sitting Israeli premier been put on trial.
• There is a very serious chance that Netanyahu will be (once again) unable to form government after March 2.
• There is also a very serious chance that Netanyahu – such a close ally of President Trump — could be convicted on the bribery and corruption charges.
• Legally, of course, Netanyahu absolutely deserves to be considered innocent unless proven guilty. 
• Politically, however, things are getting complicated for him — some 58% of Israelis in a recent poll said that Netanyahu should resign rather than try to serve as Prime Minister while defending himself in criminal trials. 
• Another recent poll found that 54% of Israelis say a trial will harm Netanyahu’s ability to serve as Prime Minister.

Please pray more than ever for the peace of Jerusalem and for God’s grace on Israelis and Palestinians on both sides of the borders.

Please pray, too, for Senator Sanders to have a dramatic change of heart. He is absolutely right that we need to show more love and compassion for the Palestinian people who are suffering. But he is dead wrong in his historic and consistent hostility towards the State of Israel and his malicious and entirely unwarranted attacks against AIPAC and the pro-Israel community in the U.S.

As for me:

• I’ll do my best to keep you posted on all the latest news via this blog and Twitter.
• On Friday, I head to Washington where I’m honored to speak at the AIPAC conference this weekend for the first time.
• My new thriller releases on 3/17, I plan to travel all across the U.S. on the book tour — including an evening with my friend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Iowa I hope you’ll attend — and I hope to post more details on the full tour soon.

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• To pre-order my next thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, which releases on March 17th, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE KREMLIN CONSPIRACY in paperback, please click here.

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt in 2020! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today. 

____________________

• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Good News of God’s love, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.

The post BREAKING: As terrorists fire 80+ rockets at Israel, Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s boycotting AIPAC conference, will cut military aid to Israel, will give the money to Hamas in Gaza. This is a dangerous man at a dangerous time. Here’s what you need to know. appeared first on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog.

(Jerusalem, Israel) — The annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the largest event of its kind.

This year it is expected to draw some 18,000 experts and activists to the Washington Convention Center from March 1 to 3 to focus on strengthening the US-Israeli alliance and advancing peace in the region.

This is the first time that I’ve been invited to speak at the conference. I was honored to accept and am very much looking forward to being there.

On Saturday night, a senior IDF officer and I will address a special dinner for Christian delegates, and AIPAC has purchased advance copies of The Jerusalem Assassin for everyone who attends. On Sunday, I’ll lead a breakout session on the Evangelical leadership delegations I’ve led to various Sunni Arab countries, share insights from our meetings with some of the top leaders in the region and discuss how these trips inspired my latest political thriller.

Please register today and join us.

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• To pre-order my next thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, which releases on March 17th, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE KREMLIN CONSPIRACY in paperback, please click here.

—————————

• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt in 2020! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today. 

____________________

• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.

The post Are Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states ready to make peace with Israel? I’ve been invited to address this subject at the AIPAC conference next week. Please register & join us. appeared first on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog.

Greetings from the Epicenter. As we approach the launch of my newest political thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, I’ll be announcing the full book tour schedule soon.

Let me start by announcing one of the most interesting stops I’ll be making.

Please join my friend, Secretary Pompeo, and me for what promises to be a fascinating evening. I’m truly honored to be doing this event together, and deeply grateful to Bob and Darla Vander Plaats and their team, who put it all together.

That night, we’ll discuss:

• the President’s newly unveiled Israeli-Palestinian peace plan
• the steadily rising threats in the region, particularly from Iran
• the possibility that some Arab states are growing ready for peace with Israel
• the importance of praying for peace, while preparing for war

Everyone that attends will also receive a copy of my novel.

Space is limited. Tickets are required. They go on sale at noon central time — so please click here to register.  

Here’s the press release from The Family Leader, the leading Conservative and Evangelical policy and grassroots organization in Iowa, and the host of this special event.

We are thrilled to announce that U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will be joining New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg for “An Evening of International Impact” at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown on Saturday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m.

“As tensions mount in the Middle East, we wanted to set apart an evening to begin a conversation,” says Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY Leader Foundation. “We have invited Rosenberg and Secretary Pompeo to sit down with us and discuss the current global situation, America’s role, and the impact our faith has on these circumstances.”

An Evening of International Impact
Saturday, March 21
Des Moines Marriott Downtown
700 Grand Ave.

The evening dinner, brought to you by signature sponsor Lindell Recovery Network, will include an update from Vander Plaats on TFL’s “The Daniel Initiative” and presentations by both Secretary Pompeo and Rosenberg.

Secretary Pompeo has served the U.S. as an Army officer, a U.S. representative from Kansas, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He serves today as the U.S. Secretary of State.

Rosenberg will join the dinner as part of the debut book tour for his newest novel, “The Jerusalem Assassin.” Author of 13 previous New York Times bestselling novels, Rosenberg has repeatedly proven his uncanny ability to foreshadow geopolitical realities, marking his place as a leader in fact-based fiction.

Attendees will receive one complimentary copy of “The Jerusalem Assassin” per family unit, and Rosenberg plans a book signing following the event.

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• To pre-order my next thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, which releases on March 17th, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback, please click here. 
• To buy copies of THE KREMLIN CONSPIRACY in paperback, please click here.

—————————

• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt in 2020! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today. 

____________________

• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.

The post Join Secretary of State Pompeo & me in Iowa on March 21st as we discuss war, peace, diplomacy and political thrillers. One of the first events of #TheJerusalemAssassin book tour. Register today. Space is limited. appeared first on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog.