“…in those days oracles will see falsehoods, and dreamers speak lies (against Jerusalem/Israel); they comfort with meaningless speech.” -Zechariah 10:2

“ For from its origins, I see them rock-like and from the hills do I see it. Behold! It is a nation that will be relegated to dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations.” – Balaam to King Balak in Numbers 23:9

“The burden of the L-rd for Israel: “ Behold! I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about…I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.” – Zechariah 12:1-3

For those readers who haven’t looked at yesterday’s post, I strongly urge you to do so as this is a continuation as current news flows in. I have worked hours last week contacting sources who know the events as they unfold, have records, or are eyewitnesses and participants. Some of the sources, I will gladly share; please understand some of the other sources I will give must remain secret as it can damage job security and security in general.

I will always try to bring you the truth. I will try to be fair and balanced presenting all sides, but I will call out fake news, lies and falsehoods and give evidence in its place. I will also feel free to add my own commentary and insights. After being asked many questions about what is actually going on here in Israel, I feel that by living here and being an observer, so to speak, I am more equipped than many to report on current events.

Please realize, Saul Alinski, the anarchist radical who with his cohorts (Cloward & Piven, Bill Ayers, Paolo Freire, and other radicals of the 1960s) wrote how to take down a system in Rules for Radicals. In this book he outlines steps to disguise your true purposes as good and altruistic; feed the target as many lies as they can handle and keep repeating those lies; divide the stronger population into smaller subgroups who fight among themselves; use blame and fear as a tactic to coerce a people into doing what you would have them do; use a top down/bottom up/inside out method of spreading chaos to break the system apart; beginning in the youngest grades of an educational system use academia to rewrite history to serve your purpose and create a new generation of civic activists; use the larger religious institutions to accept teachings of social justice (and liberation theology, my addition, but part of this Marxist/anarchist scheme.

The world has been unwittingly and sheepishly seeing these strategies unfold through the protests in the universities and spread of false narratives in the media (even spreading to the political realm) to divide and conquer once solid and reason-able groups. Class is turning against class. Generation is turning on generation in a way unseen before. Good is being labeled as evil and vice versa. And the masses are falling for outright lies in many spheres…today I will try to tackle Israel.

John and I once again stayed up late into the night, watching news as it came out of the United States. A particularly damning clip from the newer Conservative media outlet, OAN, had Matt Gaetz spouting much antiIsrael propaganda. I will try to right some of these falsehoods and to also add to yesterday’s story.

“ The U.S. tax dollars funds the IDF.” Unequivocally false. Israel has a 18% sales tax and a 100% import tax on all “luxury” items (every new car). The sale of technological and medical developments and the sales of defense technology generate massive income for the nation. Much of this gets sown back into the Israeli Defense from weaponry to salaries, from infrastructure to food and uniforms. Generous private donations make up the lack (in ceramic vests, helmets, drones, camera equipment, boots, medic kits and other needed equipment). The U.S. tax money funds the US armed services. Not Israel’s.

As for the Florida man who was killed. It was quickly labeled Jewish Israeli settler violence. The bodies of a Palestinian youth and of Sayfollah Musallet of Tampa, Florida were found hours after a rock throwing incident and broader skirmish broke out in Samaria (West Bank) near Ma’ale Levona. The one youth had a bullet shot. Musallet had a blunt force trauma to the head according to the persons who discovered the bodies. According to his uncle, who was not present at the scene, Musallet was “kicked and beaten up by a large gang of Jewish settlers for over three hours. He was gagging from the pain as he took his last breaths.” This is NOT reliable reporting.

CAIR and the Musallet family in Florida have demanded that the US step in and do an independent investigation “bringing the Jews who killed their son to justice.“ They have already ruled out any Israel involvement in an investigation. Sayfollah’s body was buried within 24 hours of finding him. He was buried as a martyr with the Palestinian flag draped over the stretcher. The family will not allow autopsy reports nor will they allow his body to be dug up and reexamined, calling it a “desecration of his honor.” We are to believe the narratives we are fed. I showed yesterday that he was a card carrying Hamas member which supports the martyr narrative. And the mainstream media and the world’s politicians run with the story pushed on them by CAIR and the family.

I still see no outlet coming out about Syria – not BBC, not Sky news, not American media – decrying the genocide against the Christians (now over 200 killed) and Druze (now over 560 massacred) or the kidnapping of the Christian and Druze children and young women to be sold as slaves. Israel is boots-on-the-ground fighting the Syrian army/Daesh/ISIS hell bent on ethnic cleansing. The American humanitarian group, the Nazarene Fund is boots-on-the ground elivering humanitarian aid and trying to airlift as many of the Christians out of the area as they can get emergency visas for as refugee status to other countries. A ceasefire was called, but now the Syrian army has adopted the Hamas tactic of dressing in civilian clothes to blend in with the general population.

Last night as we were walking the dog, 4 military helicopters passed overhead, flying low towards the East over the Golan. We found out this morning they were laden with food, baby items, medical supplies and water for the people of Suweida, Syria. It was reported that the Syrian terrorist army was poisoning their water supplies as well, so water drops were also necessary in the humanitarian package. Israel is doing this. Israel is funding this. Americans who donate to the Nazarene Fund are funding and expediting this needed help. Yet the rest of the world is silent.

Then there is the news about “even the most ardent Israel supporter, Ambassador Mike Huckabee has turned against Israel.” This is only partially true. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, Arkansas governor and truly good-hearted human being is a strong supporter of Israel. He believes in the return of the Jewish person to inhabit and return to their ancient, Biblical and ancestral homeland as the indigenous population. A strong Christian, he fully loves and appreciates the land where Jesus walked and taught, lived and died. It truly is the birthplace of Christianity and he has led many Christian groups of pilgrims in the Holy Land.

Israel is not perfect by any means. We have a lot of serious problems. And one that I have witnessed personally while taking out own visitors to the Old City of Jerusalem. There are groups of ultra-Orthodox ‘Yeshiva Students’ that do heckle and spit on Christian tourists. They are both fearful (from centuries of Christian persecution and forced conversion by the Church in the name of Christ) and hateful of the “goyim.” This is absolutely horrific, disrespectful behavior that I cannot condone. I have witnessed the name calling. I have witnessed ultra Orthodox, Haredi Jews throwing stones at passing taxis on Shabbat (for those who keep Shabbat, it is a sin to drive). This behavior must stop. It is far from holy.

That said, I also know personally Christian groups that are missionary groups. My old California neighbors, Mike and Maureen, lovely people really, are devout non-denominational evangelical Christians. The last time I was back ‘home’ Mike was telling me of their last Holy Land trip and how he and the others took every opportunity to “witness” to their waiters, tour guides, bus drivers, hotel staff, all the Jewish and Muslim people they encountered along the way to tell them about the love of Jesus and the way of salvation.

I know many of these groups mean well and are acting from their heartfelt beliefs, but in Israel as in other countries, the culture must be respected. You do not witness or evangelize Jews, especially the young. It is just not allowed. In Saudi Arabia one must sign a non-proselytizing agreement as well as a modesty agreement before entering. In going to India, under the Foreigners Act, one signs a contract when getting an entrance visa that he/she will honor the Hindu and Sikh peoples. It is against the law there to proselytize. Here in Israel, the Mormons wanted to build a huge research and media center in Jerusalem (1986). Before they were granted that right by the State of Israel, they had to sign a contract saying they would not send missionaries out in any form to convert the Israeli peoples (Jews, Christians, Muslim or Druze) to the Latter Day Saints faith. It’s just the way it is here. Respect it.

Christian tourism provides our lifeblood here in Israel. We love the Christian pilgrims. Our service industry is geared towards tourism. The Israeli Antiquities Authority are tasked with the privilege of preserving both the Jewish and the Christian archaeological sites, and sites of historical preservation are cared for lovingly. It is part of our shared heritage. All places of worship whether synagogue, church or mosque are considered sacred and not to be touched (unless they are harboring terrorists or serving nefarious purposes).

Late last week, Ambassador Huckabee delivered a harsh warning to the Israeli government. It came out of the blue. He threatened in a letter to the Interior Minister, Moshe Arbel, (letter and response leaked to The Times of Israel) expressing “great distress” and “deep disappointment” over the way Israel handles its tourist visa applications for Christian organizations. (This is NOT every individual Christian tourist, but actual ministries who book large tour groups. This point is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for Mr. Huckabee to understand). “Unfortunately, if the Israeli government continues to cause bureaucratic harassment, I will have no choice but to instruct our consular department to explore the possibility of reciprocal treatment of Israeli citizens applying for visa to the United States (clarification: this is NOT for US passport holders),” he stated.

The Interior Ministry launched investigation into several Evangelical groups, namely the Baptist Conference and the Christian Missionary Alliance because the trips were less about pilgrimage than evangelization to the Jews. I personally think this rebuke was very harsh of the Ambassador and could have been handled in a more discreet manner, and I also believe an amicable conclusion can be reached. Any visitor will just sign an agreement not to proselytize ‘the natives’ out of respect to the culture while on a trip to Israel.

Now for the headline, the one I am sick about having to report. I in no way want to come out against Catholics. Some of my closest family members and dearest friends and neighbors are Catholic. My bonds with people of the Catholic faith run very deep. Until very recently, I have remained silent. I have spoken extensively about this distressing matter with one of my best friends here in Israel who actually works in association with the Latin Catholic Patriarchate and Greek Orthodox Patriarch. So my information is more than reliable.

Since the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas, since 9 October, 2023, the Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa has been no friend to Israel. My husband and I have met him personally on several occasions and he seems like a genuinely nice man and a good listener (he had expressed interest in our Aliyah experience back when he was just a Bishop). I have interviewed him for an American magazine.

Yesterday, I wrote of how the Christians in ”Palestine” aka Judaea and Samaria and especially in East Jerusalem are surrounded by Muslims. They are inundated with hatred towards the Jews as killers of their Messiah and as occupiers of their indigenous land. The Greek Orthodox stand notoriously against the Jewish people, siding with Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and radical Islamists. On the other side of the coin, many of the religious Jewish people have both a fear and harbor an animosity against Christians, Catholics in particular. I discussed this yesterday. It is a huge fault and rupture here in what is supposed to be the Holy Land, and the City of Peace. And as I said, no country is perfect, and Israel surely has its share of problems and faults…. From all sides.

Cardinal Pizzaball’s closest aides and associates in the clergy come from the antizionism and extreme antisemitic ilk. He is ina political tight spot as he is the head of all Latin Rite Catholic Churches in the Holy Land, Jordan. and Syria, as well as being promoted to other positions of high honor within the church. He is surrounded by those who are not favorable toward the Israeli government or the Jews.

In his correspondence to the late Pope Francis and in his statements to the world, Cardinal Pizzaballa from the beginning has been hostile to Israel and to “the Israeli army.” Unfortunately, he has not called out Hamas or their atrocities. He has failed to recognize the delivering of humanitarian aid or the lengths that the IDF takes in order to prevent civilian casualties in a close-range, densely-packed urban war. Unfortunately, the Cardinal does not seem to recognize the fight between good and evil. Over the past two years (almost), when something bad happens in Gaza (and now in Judaea and Samaria), it is always the fault of Israel. Always. You can read all the press releases as well as see videos and transcripts of church services on lpj.org.

Cardinal Pizzaballa as well as the international media, both rely on the word and the statistics of the Gaza Health Ministry, a propaganda arm of Hamas. They often jump to negative conclusions and are quick to swallow and regurgitate news as it comes from the Islamist perspective. There is no reason, evaluation or investigation into many of the alleged accusations against Israel: a tank firing on Holy Family Church in the winter of 2024; the bombing by the IDF of a Catholic School – which was actually harboring four known Hamas commandos. They were all shot, but sadly the school (St. Joseph) was very badly damaged. No students or staff were present. I covered this last year.

This brings us to the Holy Family Church disaster just last week. To begin with, for weeks prior, the IDF had been calling upon all remaining innocent civilians to leave the area (Shejaya-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, a mixed Christian and Muslim neighborhood) which had the Greek Orthodox and a Baptist Church as well as a non-denominational church and the LatinRite Catholic church -Holy Family. The parishioners have never heeded the warning to evacuate . It had become an active war zone as announced. The Catholic parishioners and others had taken up shelter in the church as a place of sanctuary.

The Israeli army does no target or single out any place of worship to fire upon. This was suggested by Michael Knowles, Taylor Marshall, Candace Owens and others: that the IDF acts in retaliation or revenge against accusations of settler and IDF violence in “the Israeli occupied territories.” This, in itself, is ludicrous.

I am now going to purposely nitpick in order to show you how quickly a news story develops and how false information is propagated. Please bear with me as it is important to see and understand. Some of the news is true, others false, but nonetheless, there are reports without verification.

First, last Thursday morning, the Holy Family Catholic Church was hit by the IDF. Some news outlets were quick to call it an air strike. Other reputable sources classified it as a drone attack on the church that killed many people seeking refuge inside the church.

Vatican sources reported it, at first as “a raid on the church” then soon after as “the only Catholic Church in the Gaza Strip was hit by a tank this morning.” The news was quick to be disseminated without full knowledge of the facts. The loss of life and damage to the church is horrific and grievous. I am not trying to minimize it. The loss of innocent life is horrible. Three people died from their injuries.

In one of his first press releases, Pizzaballa stated “The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and targeting (emphasis mine) of innocent civilians and of a sacred place.” This word is nothing short of incendiary. The word targeting carries with it implications that the mortar was fired purposely at the Christians.

emphasis. He also called the strike “humanly and morally unjustified.” In Vatican News Pizzaballa made the statement “What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says ‘by mistake’, but we are not sure about this, they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family.” He makes assumptions about the validity of a mistake. This throws doubt on the entire situation and the many comments in the comment section below questioned the morality of the Israeli army and its government. Even more antisemitic vitriol followed in the comments.

Pope Leo also expressed his sympathy…and outrage…of the situation calling for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid/rescue mission. He spoke by phone on Friday with Netanyahu. He was right to call and to voice his “concern about the tragic situation and the urgent need to protect places of worship and, especially, the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel.” Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his regrets and condolences, saying a thorough look at what led up to the morning’s events and the strike itself was under investigation.

Later, the IDF issued a release stating that there was stray mortar fire from a tank in the area and that it was a complete and tragic accident. Now for a very important clarification. It is a war. And not to make excuses, but to give viable explanations and alternatives, accidents do happen. Earlier last week there was another tragic tank accident in Gaza. 5 Israeli soldiers died inside their tank. They were burned to death, a most horrible way to go. It was first listed as an RPG strike from a Hamas terrorist. On closer inspection (reports are filed with every mission, every shot, every incident) it was discovered that there were no external tears, punctures or ruptures to the outer shell of the tank. The turret somehow misfired, causing the mortar to explode internally. It was an accident. Sometimes, parts don’t work the way they were designed. It is unfortunate, but accidents happen.

In a statement the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported: “An initial inquiry into reports regarding injured individuals in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, suggests that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. The cause of the incident is under review. The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them,” the statement added.

As I have said, any loss of innocent life is a tragedy, but think about this: Israel flew over 300 sorties in Iran in 12 days, hitting every single target. They have bombed Hizbulla strongholds I Lenpbanon, weapons depots in Syria, the Houthi port in Yemen. When Israel strikes a TARGETED area more than likely, they do not miss. If they were actually targeting the church, it would be obliterated today. Daily Mass has been held inside the church and Pizzaballa attended last Sunday’s Mass in Gaza City in solidarity. I’m glad the church was not destroyed (contrary to what Taylor Marshall, michael Knowles and other pundits have said)- the church bells still ring out and the interior is completely intact.

But admissions of regret have not satisfied the grieving Catholic community, which has amplified its calls for a ceasefire. President Trump as well as other world leaders (Italy’s Meloni, UK’s Starmer and Macron of France among other heads of state) called Netanyahu to express their concern and outrage, calling for an immediate”end to all hostilities.” I am reprinting an article that appeared first in The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet. It was then picked up by mainstream media as well as other Christian outlets.

I call your attention to

NEWS

Pizzaballa ‘not sure’ Gaza parish strike was ‘mistake’

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has expressed doubts after the Israeli government said that tank fire on the Gaza parish was not deliberate.

THE PILLAR

JUL 17, 2025

Pope Leo XIV and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem have strongly condemned the shelling Thursday of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza.

While the Israeli government has said that tank fire on the Gaza parish on July 17 was not deliberate, Cardinal Pierrebattista Pizzaballa has expressed doubts.

Sources close to the patriarchate’s chancery told The Pillar Thursday that some officials believe the strike could be a deliberate act of retaliation, after Christian leaders recently condemned Israeli settler attacks on a West Bank Christian town.

Israel’s foreign ministry said in a social media post that “Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty.”

“The IDF is examining this incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and the results of the investigation will be published transparently.”

Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians,” the statement said.

But Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed doubt.

“What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church.”

“We don’t have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple,” the cardinal added.

Sources close to the Patriarchate chancery told The Pillar that internally Church authorities were considering the possibility that the tank attack was a direct response to a recent meeting of Christian leaders in the West Bank town of Taybeh on Monday, and a statement that accused the Israeli authorities of facilitating attacks on local Christians.

Taybeh has been the site of several recent attacks by Israeli settlers on local Christians, including a recent arson attack. In a joint statement during the visit, the cardinal and the Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said that they “call for these radicals to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh.”

At the very best, giving the Cardinal the benefit of the doubt, this is careless and inflammatory wording. At worst it causes antiIsraeli…namely anti Jewish thought and in turn hatred. It is absolutely reckless to say this even after a report of stray shrapnel and cause as accidental and apologies issued. At worst, and I do dare say this, it is bearing false witness.

A joint conference will be held tomorrow at 11 am with the Cardinal/Patriarchate and Patriarch at Norte Dame Church in Jerusalem at 11:00 am.

One more additional bit of information. I contacted a Catholic priest in Beersheva (closest parish to Gaza) who said that even though some of the wounded went to a hospital within Gaza, “the IDF transported several of the wounded from the church in Gaza City to the hospital in Ashdod to treat them.” The father above and another parishioner from the Beersheva community who speaks Arabic went to visit the wounded in the hospital and to pray with them.” Where else is there an army that takes people from an enemy zone and treats them in their own hospitals, even if they are innocent civilians?

To wrap up, why all this? Why is this important? Because AlJazeera (Qatar) and CAIR among other Islamist organizations have taken this material and pushed it to the global media. They demand accountability and justice from the Israelis. The purpose is to cast doubt in the minds of not only political leaders, but the general public…most notably Christians, who have largely been the largest supporters of Israel outside the Jewish communities. And we see this unfolding at an alarming pace – from Colbert and Kimmel to Benny Johnson and Joe Rogan from Marco Rubio to Maat Gaetz. There’s a lot of false assumptions without digging for truth that are leading to loss of support for Israel and a rise in hatred of the Jewish people.

I know this has been a particularly long (but important) post. I do leave you with this very short, spot-on explanatory video of exactly what is happening. It is by my good friend, Avbi Abelow, who I will be meeting with in person next week.

https://youtu.be/Q0HhK4vfWoQ?si=WoawcRiYWndlFo0y

It looks like the prophecy that Israel will be a nation that stands alone is coming to pass as support is waning and accusations rise.

If you find this informative or just interesting, please share this information with others – friends, neighbors, parishioners, church groups or anyone who seeks the truth. Thank you.