Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Shalom from CONNECT overlooking the beautiful Jezreel Valley! It is so good to be back home again. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing tour. I met so many people at churches and on the cruise. I fellowshipped with them and worshipped with them and had the privilege of teaching the word of God to them. I also had the opportunity to spend time with some of my American and Canadian Behold Israel team who I don’t get to see often in person. And, I had the special privilege to touring and teaching with my dear friend, Pastor Barry Stagner. It was a long six weeks away from home, but they were six weeks very well spent.
The final two stops on my North American tour were as fantastic as we had anticipated. In Calgary, Alberta, last Thursday night, we held An Evening of Bible Prophecy with 2,300 of our newest friends. After I spoke, Pastor Barry joined me on stage for an extended Q & A, and then we had a fun meet and greet where we got to talk one-on-one with a lot of folks. Huge thanks to Pastor Joel Turner and Mountain Springs Calvary Chapel for your warmth and hospitality.
The tour wrapped up in Oakville, Ontario, where Saturday saw us spending the day teaching through an entire prophetic book of the Bible at our Discovering Daniel Conference. More than 1,500 people gave up their Saturday to learn about the incredible plans God has laid out for Israel and for the church, particularly as highlighted in Daniel’s book. Thank you to Pastor Paul Fernando and Calvary Chapel Oakville for opening your arms and hearts to us for that special day.
While it is a blessing to have the opportunity to teach the word of God throughout the world, it always feels so good to be back home. As a Jew, this is the land that the Lord established for me, my family, and my people. When I am away, there is always a piece of my heart that longs to return to the place of God’s promise. Just looking at the immigration numbers, I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. In fulfillment of His prophecies in Ezekiel 36-37 and other places in Scripture, He is stirring the hearts of His people to return to the home He created for them. Now is the chance for them to come willingly. However, as time goes on and global antisemitism increases, Israel is going to more and more become the haven that Jews around the world flee to for safety. All this has been prophesied; all this is part of God’s great plan. The times are coming to a culmination. I pray that both Israel and the church are ready.
MidEast & Beyond
I Finally Admit It, there is Starvation in Gaza!
For months, you have read my words giving the counter-narrative to the outrageous accusations of a food genocide taking place in Gaza. However, this week my own eyes have seen the evidence, and I am convinced it is true. There are people being intentionally starved in Gaza simply because of their race. However, contrary to the prevalent narrative, the victims of this intentional plan of extermination are not the Gazans themselves. It is the hostages that were taken on October 7 by Hamas and by many of the Gazan citizens.
I’ve often believed that Hamas leadership has a gun taped to their foot, barrel down for easy access. They once again proved this to be true at the end of last week when they released pictures and video of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who had both been reduced to bare skin and bones. A video was also released of David in which he was forced to dig his own grave. While I wish I could say there was global outrage, I know that the world is too steeped in the enemy’s deception to feel anything for a Jew. However, there were still many feeling people who were appalled and heartbroken by what they saw. US President Donald Trump was said to have wept as he watched the video of Evyatar David. The intentional and methodical starvation was confirmed by former hostage Omer Wenkert, who stated, “While I lost 37 kilos (81 pounds) in Hamas captivity, my captors didn’t lose a single kilo.”
Tragically, world public opinion and the fools who are leading many western European governments remain snookered by the false starvation narrative perpetuated by mainstream media. Why is the media pushing this false narrative? It fits their agenda, and anything anti-Jew sells. Last week, I described how The New York Times was forced to recant their photo of a starving Gazan child, admitting that the poor young one was suffering from other major medical issues. This week, the German paper, BILD, called out TIME, showing photographic evidence that the magazine staged its provocative August 1 cover depicting Gazan women desperate for water. But it’s not just the pictures, it’s the slant of the stories. Just Tuesday, a whistleblower who had recently quit the Associated Press (AP) exposed how the agency was forcing reporters to change their stories to match Hamas’s narrative. If they refused, they were threatened with repercussions.
This is all to push the anti-Israel hunger narrative, while the true starvation of the hostages is ignored. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called out the Red Cross and the Red Crescent for not demanding to see the hostages, instead taking the terrorists’ word that they were fine. He also pointed out the truth that if Israel is attempting genocide, then it is really bad at it. The Palestinian population continues to increase at remarkable levels. And no country in the world, including the US, has ever taken steps like Israel to minimize harm to civilians during wartime. Huckabee praised the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American aid organization, that gets food to safe zones where the Gazans can receive it for free. Shocking no one, the United Nations was forced to admit this past week that 88% of its aid trucks into Gaza were looted by Hamas, armed groups, or civilians, who then turned around and sold what little they didn’t use for themselves to everyday Gazans for exorbitant prices.
Gaza’s Final Countdown
American special envoy Steve Witkoff spent five hours in Gaza last Friday. After examining the political situation, the military situation, and the hunger situation, he concluded, “There is no hunger in Gaza. Hamas has no reason not to negotiate.” And, in a sense, Hamas is negotiating. They have brought to the table a series of demands that sound remarkably like Israel is a defeated enemy that must pick up its weapons and slink home. In other words, they are not negotiating in good faith, and Israel is done with it. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz made a full examination of the IDF, its positions, and its capabilities, indicating that the military is ready for whatever task is assigned to it. As a result, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that the time has finally come for a full conquest of Gaza. The cabinet will meet today to approve the plan. Please pray for the safety of the soldiers of the IDF and, especially, for the safe return of the remaining living hostages.
Lebanon vs. Hezbollah
Lebanon is facing a situation that could explode with greater force than 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in the Port of Beirut. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that the army has been tasked with formulating a plan by the end of the year to achieve exclusive control over weapons in the country. In other words, “We’re disarming Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah’s answer to the Prime Minister? “Uh, no you’re not.” Hezbollah’s statement called the government’s intention a “serious sin” and said that the move is being dictated by the US. If the military goes forward with the proposal, Hezbollah promises to ignite widespread riots across the country. This is not an empty threat. The terrorist organization is embedded within every aspect of life in Lebanon. Even with a weakened Iran, who pulled their strings in the past, Hezbollah still has the ability to cause great harm to the nation. Israel will be keeping its eyes and its forces closely focused on what is happening with their neighbors to the north. Just last night, IAF airstrikes hit numerous Hezbollah weapons warehouses.
The New Syrian Army
In words that a modern-day King Solomon might say, “As a gold ring in a pig’s snout, so is a military uniform on a jihadist.” At least 22 of the senior officials in Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new army have a jihadist background, including the minister of defense, the chief of staff, and the air force commander. Oh, and let’s make sure to include in the list Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the al-Qaeda and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham nom de guerre of the president himself. While al-Sharaa trims his beard, puts on his suit, and hobnobs with the world’s power brokers, his terrorist minions continue their old ways of beating, raping, killing, and destroying anyone and anything that doesn’t fit into their radical ideology. Just Tuesday, some of al-Sharaa’s jihadists videoed themselves kidnapping Druze women, children, and infants right after murdering their husbands/fathers in front of them. But you don’t hear about this in the mainstream media. No Jews, no news.
You can take the terrorist out of al-Qaeda, but you can’t take al-Qaeda out of the terrorist. There’s no way that al-Sharaa can keep up this good guy ruse forever. Something will eventually break. That is why the IDF continues to busy itself in southern Syria, both protecting the Druze community and destroying every Syrian weapons cache and bit of infrastructure. Just Sunday, IDF troops entered four locations simultaneously and confiscated numerous trafficked weapons. Like its neighbor, Lebanon, Syria is a powder keg, just for different reasons.
More Explosions in Iran
Things just keep blowing up in Iran and no one can seem to figure out why. On Saturday, an explosion led to a large fire at a chemical plant in Azarshahr, northwest Iran. Then, on Tuesday and Wednesday, heavy smoke poured from an IRGC missile base in Shiraz. On Wednesday, an Israeli high security official said that Iran is planning to preemptively hit Israel, therefore it is not unlikely that Israel may preempt Iran’s preemptivity. However, I’m relatively sure these explosions have nothing to do with Israel. They likely can be attributed to either the Samoans or the Guyanese, or quite possibly the Baganda tribe of Central Uganda (which is surprising because the Baganda are really quite lovely people).
Antisemitism in the USA
This past week, US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visited Israel, meeting with leaders and praying at the Western Wall. Unfortunately, his respect for the Israeli people seems to reflect the views of fewer and fewer Americans. Antisemitism is on the rise in the US, and that can be demonstratively proven. A statistic recently released by the FBI showed that nearly 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2024 were targeted at Jews. When you place that number up against the 2.4% of the American population who are Jewish, the number becomes staggering. This is a record high, and it is only going to get worse. This is why I tell all my Jewish brothers and sisters around the world that it is time to come home. Israel is the land that was given to us by God through Abraham thousands of years ago. It is still ours today. Stop ignoring the stirring in your heart. Listen to God. Come home.
The Ministry
Registration just opened this past week for our two Discovering Daniel conferences in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 26 and 27, and already the tickets are just about gone. If you want to join Pastor Barry Stagner and me as we teach through the entire book of Daniel in one day, register today while you still can.
Following those dates in September, we will be going to Lee’s Summit in Missouri for two days of Awaiting His Return conferences on October 3 and 4. Joining Pastor Barry and me will be Dr. Mark Hitchcock, and together we’ll dive deep into what the Bible says about the days we are living in and what is coming next. Registration is open for these two conferences also, so pick up your tickets while they’re available.
There is so much rumor and speculation about the times that we live in with some even believing that the tribulation has already begun. If you’re confused at all, or if you just want to shore the biblical backing for your own belief, I’d encourage you to watch my short teaching, “Truth Be Told – Are We in the Tribulation Already?” If you want to go even deeper, check out my 2023 book, Has the Tribulation Begun?, which will tell you all you want to know about the signs of the times, the rapture, and the tribulation itself. Also, you can check out this week’s Author’s Corner, during which Steve Yohn and I will discuss the book.
Keep your eyes open for the many ways you can tune in to Behold Israel this next week, beginning with a very special MidEast & Beyond this morning!
• MidEast & Beyond Update, with Pastor Barry Stagner and me – Thursday, August 7, 10:00 AM PDT
• Public Reading of Scripture – Thursday, August 7, 6:00 PM PDT
• Weekly Prayer Meeting, a very special time praying with others from around the world – Friday, August 8, 10:00 AM PDT
• Q & A CONNECT, with Pastor Barry Stagner and me – Monday, August 11, 10:00 AM PDT
• Authors’ Corner: Has the Tribulation Begun?, with Steve Yohn and me – Tuesday, August 12, 10:00 AM PDT
• MidEast & Beyond Update, with Pastor Barry Stagner and me – Thursday, August 13, 11:00 AM PDT
Phew! That’s a full week! But it’s all good, because being home helps me to get back into the everyday swing of things. Once again, I thank you for your many prayers for me and for my team. God has protected us thus far, but there are still issues, particularly in the area of health within the Behold Israel crew, including one situation that is going on even as I type this. So, please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support of this ministry. You are a blessing to us, and we couldn’t do this without you.
Awaiting His Return,
Amir Tsarfati
Photo credit: By Jaber Jehad Badwan – Jaber Jehad Badwan, CC BY-SA 4.0, link
Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish Christian, is the founder and president of Behold Israel, a news site to correct the scarcity in trustworthy reportage on issues and events impacting Israel, and to resolve the uncertainty about who or what to believe.
The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.
