MIDDLE EAST NEWS Europe Tightens ..........

News: Europe Tightens Economic Screws on Israel  

A new announcement from the European Union sent shock waves across Israel this week. The EU’s Foreign Policy director Catherine Ashton announced that they would no longer sign any trade or business agreements with any Israeli company that operates or has employees and interests across the so-called Green Line (the 1967 border).
The scope of this policy is wide-reaching. One Israeli official pointed out that the Hebrew University in Jerusalem would no longer be able to work on research projects with EU companies because some of the professors live in the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem! Another noted that the directive would require Israel to abandon any claim to the Kotel, the Wailing Wall that is the only remaining part of the Temple and a sacred site to the Jewish People. This demand was especially painful for Israelis because of the observance of Tisha B’Av earlier this week. The day of fasting and mourning marks the destruction of both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem.      Source: AP		Source: AP The EU takes these steps in pressuring Israel in the name of encouraging peace in the Middle East, though it remains unclear that there is a genuine desire for peace on both sides of the conflict. The economic implications of the policy are severe. Israel depends on the ability to export products as a bulwark of the economy. And Israel’s economy has struggled in recent years. Right now the government is debating another round of budget cuts as they try to meet all of the obligations and needs of the people. For the poor of Israel these are very difficult days. This is why your help is so important. Jewish Voice has partnered with more than
two dozen ministries on the ground in Israel to help meet these needs. Your gift today will allow us to continue to reach out to the poor and needy in this way, and share the Good News of Yeshua with the Jewish People. Thank you for standing with us in this important work. God bless you.

News: Golan Heights Faces New Threat From Hezbollah

Most of the world’s attention this week has been fixed on the unrest in Egypt that saw Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi removed from the presidency by the military. But in Israel, the security focus is largely in the north. Reports out of Israel show that the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) high command is reinforcing the troops guarding the border. Additional soldiers, tanks and other equipment have been sent to the border region along the Golan Heights to prevent a possible attack by Hezbollah or other terrorist organizations.
Source: AP All of this places thousands of well-armed enemies of Israel in close proximity to the northern border of the Jewish state. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has called for an attack on Israel along the Golan Heights. Israeli intelligence sources did not reveal the exact nature of the threats that led to the security build-up along the border, but it is known that shots and mortar shells have been fired across the border into Israel.    As we continue to be faithful to pray for the Jewish People, I want you to be informed		The bloody civil war in Syria has claimed nearly 100,000 lives and left over a million people homeless. One of the factors that has contributed to the length and deadly nature of the conflict has received very little attention in the press—the influx of thousands of fighters from other countries. Hezbollah fighters and Iranian soldiers have flocked to the country to support the embattled Assad regime while many other terrorists and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups have come to fight for the rebels.   Source: AP
as to the nature of the threats they are facing. I also ask you to continue to stand with Jewish Voice as we stand with the impoverished and needy of Israel.