On Capitol Hill This Week Volume XX, Number 10 March 18 - 22, 2013

Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970


On Capitol Hill This Week Volume XX, Number 10a
March 18 - 22, 2013
 
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES


"Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God!" (Psalm 83:1)

	News from Israel

News from Israel

1. NETANYAHU: WE HAVE A NEW GOVERNMENT
2. MY NEW COALITION WILL BRING 'GOOD NEWS' FOR ISRAEL
3. OBAMA CONGRATULATES NETANYAHU ON NEW GOVERNMENT
4. THE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF OBAMA'S VISIT
5. WORLD JEWS ON HIGH ALERT AHEAD OF PESACH
6. SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL PLOTS ATTACKS AGAINST ISRAEL
7. SPONTANEOUS PROTEST, PRAYER AT SCENE OF ROCK ATTACK
8. IDF ARRESTS SUSPECTS IN ROCK ATTACK
9. UNIMPRESSED BY IDF ARRESTS, SAMARIA ARABS STRIKE AGAIN
10. "TROUBLE" AT HARVARD FOR JEWISH STUDENTS

1. NETANYAHU: WE HAVE A NEW GOVERNMENT

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu conveyed the following message to the citizens of Israel, shortly before the Sabbath:

Dear citizens of Israel,
Congratulations, we have a new government. I thank you for awarding me the privilege of serving you as Prime Minister for the 3rd time. I view this as both a great privilege and a major responsibility.

I will see to it that the new government works for the benefit of all Israeli citizens, and guarantees first and foremost the security of each and every one of you. The new government enters upon its stewardship when major challenges in a stormy and turbulent Middle East are gathering around us. Through joint effort we can overcome these challenges, and also guarantee the necessary changes to lower the cost of living and particularly housing prices, while enhancing an equitable sharing of the burden.

With the help of the Almighty and with your help we will succeed.

Yours from the depths of my heart,
And wishing you a peaceful Sabbath from Jerusalem, Binyamin Netanyahu


- Heavenly Father, we lift up praise for this wonderful news! We pray that PM Netanyahu will continue to abide in You, and that he will clearly hear Your will and ways. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.

- Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

2. NETANYAHU TO PERES: MY NEW COALITION WILL BRING 'GOOD NEWS' FOR ISRAEL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drove the short distance from his residence to the President's Residence Saturday night to formally confirm to President Shimon Peres that he has managed to muster a majority coalition. Peres charged him with the task on February 2, in the wake of the January 22 elections, and gave him a two-week extension four weeks later, making Saturday the final day of Netanyahu's maximal six-week allocation. "I've fulfilled the mission with which you entrusted me," the prime minister told the president.

Netanyahu said the coming year would be "a critical year" marked by challenges in the security sphere, the economic sphere, and in efforts to make peace. "I believe we can bring good news for all Israel's citizens in all these fields," he said. "That's my task, and I know it's your prayer."

Peres said he knew how hard it had been to muster a majority, and congratulated Netanyahu on managing the task. Peres said that along with the challenges facing Israel, "there are lots of opportunities in the areas of security, social action, and peacemaking." He added that "this is the time" to seize them for the good of the country and its people.

"The new government will work together in full cooperation for the benefit of the entire Israeli public. We will act to strengthen the state of Israel's security and to improve the quality of life of its citizens," said Netanyahu in a statement Friday.


- Thank you Lord, that this coalition is finalized! May you be allowed to swell in their midst and may they learn more fully to abide in Your will, for the safety and future You so desire for them, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight. When pride comes, there comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful, will destroy them. (Proverbs 11:1-3)

3. OBAMA CONGRATULATES NETANYAHU ON NEW GOVERNMENT

US President Barack Obama on Saturday congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has assembled a coalition for what will be his third term in office, on forming a government. Earlier Saturday, Netanyahu confirmed to President Shimon Peres that he had managed to muster a majority coalition. Peres charged him with the task on February 2, in the wake of the January 22 elections, and gave him a two-week extension four weeks later, making Saturday the final day of Netanyahu's maximal six-week allocation.

"President Obama looks forward to working closely with the prime minister and the new government," said White House spokesman Jay Carney in a statement. He added that Washington would strive, together with Jerusalem, "to address the many challenges we face and advance our shared interest in peace and security."

Obama arrives in Jerusalem on Wednesday for his first trip to Israel as president. His first priority will be resetting his oft-troubled relationship with Netanyahu - though he said in an interview broadcast Thursday that they have "terrific, businesslike" ties - and evaluating the new coalition government that the Israeli prime minister laboriously cobbled together. The US president also will look to boost his appeal to a skeptical Israeli public, as well as to frustrated Palestinians.

Obama has described the visit as one in which he will be "listening" rather than seeking to impose policies. High on the agenda will be thwarting Iran's nuclear drive, grappling with Syria's instability, and looking for ways to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.


- Lord, we pray that what is said in this news article will occur, and that the relationship between US leaders and Israeli leaders improves. We bind any spirits of deception, and loose spirits of cooperation, truth and mutual helpfulness. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.

- Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10)

4. THE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF OBAMA'S VISIT

US President Barack Obama is not your Aunt Myrtle. When he comes to town for a rare visit you can't just point out the Dead Sea, the Tel Aviv beach promenade, the Old City walls in Jerusalem, and be done with it.

Everything is carefully planned and choreographed. Everything. Every site that will be visited, every venue for a speech that will be delivered, every public word that will be uttered, even the amount of time allotted for each meeting. Nothing is left to chance, all is weighed for its symbolic value: who it will please, who it could possibly antagonize. Everything is planned with a message in mind.

The symbolism begins soon after his arrival, when Obama is expected to get a tour of an Iron Dome anti-missile battery brought to the airport especially for his review. It is clear what the Iron Dome - a joint Israeli-US venture, US money and Israeli technology - signifies: deep partnership, ironclad cooperation, all the things Obama wants to highlight with this visit.

From the airport, he will travel to Jerusalem for a brief welcoming reception with President Shimon Peres. And then begins the most important part of the visit: five-and-a-half hours of talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

This will be the crux of the trip. Five-and-a-half hours - divided into a meeting from 5:30 to 8 p.m., a 20-minute press conference and then a dinner scheduled to last until about 11 p.m. - is a serious chunk of time. But here it is different. Here Obama is Netanyahu's guest, and he doesn't have to run off - either in the middle of the meeting or immediately afterward - for a meeting with the visiting Romanian president, or a congressional leader. It is at this meeting where the main issues on the agenda - Iran, Syria, the Palestinians - will be discussed, with each leader trying to provide the other with an understanding of what he can, and cannot, do.


- O Heavenly Father, may this trip be one where a better working relationship is achieved between the US leaders and Israel's leaders. We ask that all the Israeli planned symbolism and thoughts be heard, understood, and received. Lord, we plead that Your presence be mightily felt by all during the events of these 2 days, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God!
(Psalm 83:1)

5. WORLD JEWS ON HIGH ALERT AHEAD OF PESACH

The [Israeli] Counter-Terrorism Bureau has instructed Chabad centers and Jewish communities in several sensitive countries to boost security and go as far as hiring local security companies to guard the mass Passover Seders planned during the Jewish holiday. In some countries there are even preparations to conduct security checks at the entrance to Passover Seders in order to verify the identity of the participants and prevent the infiltration of a hostile element.

The Counter-Terrorism Bureau stressed that there was no concrete warning in regards to terror organizations' plan to target specific Seders, but that precautions had to be taken in places where there was a large concentration of Israelis. The main fear centers around India and Thailand, Sinai and Mediterranean Basin countries. According to Chabad emissary in Thessaloniki [Greece], Rabbi Yoel Kaplan, "The preparations this year include security arrangements coordinated with the security personnel at the Israeli embassies, who also take care of routine security throughout the year."

The Bureau revealed that dozens of terror attacks against Israeli targets abroad were thwarted and disrupted over the past year. Senior Bureau officials said there was a division of work between Iran and its proxy Hezbollah: while Iran focuses on official Israeli targets, Hezbollah chooses Israeli tourists who are more vulnerable and less secure.

Source (By Itamar Eichner, contributions by Danny Adeno Abebe, Ynetnews, March 12, 2013) [Reported by BFP: Bridges for Peace]


- As Jews celebrate the exodus from Egypt, pray for their safety and peace. Pray they are able to truly have a peaceful and wonderful celebration during Passover.

- So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. (Exodus 12:14)

6. SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL PLOTS ATTACKS AGAINST ISRAEL

The recent period of relative quiet in the south of Israel perseveres on the basis of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire secured between Hamas and Israel which led to the end of Operation Pillar of Defense. However, newly revealed information, whose sources include suspects arrested by Israel's security forces in recent months, points to an increased effort by Hamas in the time that has passed since the operation to carry out severe terror attacks against Israeli targets through the use of operatives in Judea and Samaria recruited for that purpose. Some of the new information points to a senior Hamas official in the highest rung of leadership in the Gaza Strip who gave orders to a terror cell in his command to plan and execute suicide attacks, kidnappings and killings.

The members of the terror network maintained contact with the Gaza Strip through the internet-primarily through email. They received instructions on how to manufacture weapons and how to recruit additional operatives for the network. They received concrete orders to kidnap a soldier and to take away his identity card and mobile phone in order to conduct negotiations for his release-and then afterwards to kill him and bury him in a secret location. The terror network was in the advanced preparation stages of the attack and had even sent word to Gaza that they were prepared to carry it out that week, when they were arrested by Israeli security forces and prevented from executing their plans.

The actions of Fathi Hamad, among the most senior Hamas leaders in Gaza and, as Interior Minister, entrusted with keeping the peace and maintaining the ceasefire agreements, constitute a heinous violation of the agreement. The new information also exposes the continued involvement of senior Hamas leadership in promoting attacks against targets in Israel and Judea and Samaria, despite their commitment to the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

Source (By Israel Defense Forces, March 13, 2013) [Reported by BFP: Bridges for Peace]


- Thank God for the continued relative peace with Hamas and Gaza. Pray that Fathi Hamad and other leaders in Gaza will decide to continue with the ceasefire agreements and want to continue living in peace.

- Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts.(Psalm 28:3)

7. SPONTANEOUS PROTEST, PRAYER AT SCENE OF ROCK ATTACK

Israelis living in Samaria held an unplanned protest at the scene of a near-fatal rock attack, prayed for injured toddler. Several dozen Israelis living in Samaria (Shomron) found themselves drawn Thursday night to the place where a mother and three of her young daughters were seriously injured in a rock attack. The scene of the attack ended up being the site of an unplanned protest and prayer rally. The protesters, most residents of the nearby towns of Yakir and Revava, called on the army and security services to crack down on rock attacks.

They also held an impromptu prayer rally for two-year-old Adelle Biton, who was critically wounded in the attack. "Let this be an hour of mercy," they pleaded. Doctors are still fighting for young Adelle's life. Two of her older sisters, 6-year-old Naama and 4-year-old Avigail, were hurt in the attack as well and are in moderate condition. A fourth sister was not in the car at the time of the attack.

Attacks on Israeli drivers in Judea and Samaria have been on the rise in 2013. Attacks in which groups of Palestinian Authority resident men hurl large stones and concrete blocks at passing vehicles are reported dozens of times per month. PA gangs often throw firebombs as well. Most reported firebomb attacks target drivers in Judea and Samaria, although at least one such attack in recent months took place in a mixed Arab-Jewish city in Israel.


- O Abba Father, we bring this young child before Your throne and ask for full healing of her body, mind, and spirit, as well as healing for her mother and 2 more of her sisters, in Jesus' Name. We ask that You rise up and confront the escalating violence that is targeting Israeli citizens in Judea and Samaria. Have mercy Lord on Your people, and put the mighty fear of You into all participating in these attacks, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. . . (2 Kings 20:5) - But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord, because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares. (Jer. 30:17) - Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.
(Psalm 6:10)

8. IDF ARRESTS SUSPECTS IN ROCK ATTACK

The IDF arrested 10 suspects, all PA Arabs, in the rock attack near Ariel which left a two-year-old girl in critical condition The following video documents the arrest of Palestinian Authority Arabs who are suspected of being involved in Thursday night's rock attack near Ariel, which caused a car to crash into a truck.

By Friday morning soldiers had arrested 10 suspects, all of whom live in the area in which the attack was committed. Eight were picked up in the town of Heres, and two in Kifl Harath. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has ordered security forces to crack down on attacks by PA residents against Israelis in Judea and Samaria.

Thursday night's attack led to calls for a harsher approach to rock attacks among top government officials. Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman said the IDF should change its rules of engagement and instruct soldiers to open fire at rock-throwing terrorists. Rock attacks have caused deaths and serious injuries on Israel's roads for decades, he said. Bayit Yehudi chairman MK Naftali Bennett said, "Rocks kill. . . Some people take rock throwing lightly, and prevent action against them. Rock throwers are trying to murder and they need to be treated accordingly."


- Heavenly Father, we are thankful that suspects of these malicious rock attacks have been arrested. We pray that Israeli leaders will discern what You would have them change to counter the ever increasing attacks. We thank You in advance for this. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.

- The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)

9. UNIMPRESSED BY IDF ARRESTS, SAMARIA ARABS STRIKE AGAIN

Arab terrorist youths threw rocks again, Friday morning, at the Gitai Avisar Junction, where similar attacks Thursday evening caused a car to crash, leaving a baby girl in critical condition. The baby's mother and two of her sisters suffered moderate to serious injuries. No injuries or damage were reported in the Friday morning attack.

Chairman Gershon Mesika of the Samaria (Shomron) Regional Authority reacted to the Friday morning attack by saying, "We must stop the lawlessness, create deterrence and defeat this terrorism. Throwing stones is terror in every sense of the word."

By Friday morning soldiers had arrested 10 suspects, all of whom live in the area in which the attack was committed.


- O Lord, help Your people we pray! These Arab youths have not learned anything from the arrests and boldly hurled rocks at Israelis again. Have mercy Lord, and confront them somehow to be full of the fear of You, so Your Name will be honored and Your promises to Your people be remembered, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. (Psalm 7:11)

10. #MYJIHAD AT HARVARD: JEWISH STUDENTS RECEIVE EVICTION NOTICES FROM MUSLIM SUPREMACISTS

Try pulling this on the Muslim Student Association or the Muslim Students Union, "evict the Muslims" -- oh yeah, let's see how funny these annihilationists and the enemedia think that is. Pro-Israel Jewish students on university campuses live in fear of Muslim supremacist bullies and their leftist lapdogs.

In Harvard University's latest attempt to promote the delegitimization of the state of Israel, Jewish students in freshman and upper class dormitories received mock eviction notices in light of "Israel Apartheid Week", which is currently being organized on college and university campuses worldwide.

The campaign, organized by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, distributed notices at the beginning of March which read, "We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in the next three days", a reference to the group's views regarding Israel's treatment of the Arab population.

"We're taking it very seriously," Rayna Exelbierd, a 20-year-old Jewish sophomore, said at the time. "We're considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn't promote peace. People were scared by it. People felt threatened by it." Harvard University came under fire last March for hosting a conference entitled "One State Conference: Israel/Palestine and the One State Solution," aimed at surreptitiously stripping Israel of its legitimacy and right to exist.


- O Abba Father, when students go to US colleges to study, they should not be harassed, threatened, and forced to live in fear. This kind of behavior is negative and destructive, and does not reflect well on the universities allowing it to occur. We take the cross of Christ and drive it as a stake down through the spirits of taught hatred, vengeance, and lawlessness that are promoting these acts, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- To do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom. (Proverbs 10:23)

	More International News

More International News

1. IRAN REPORTEDLY LAUNCHES DESTROYER IN THE CASPIAN SEA
2. NORTH KOREA THREATENS JAPAN WITH ATTACK
3. U.S. TO BOOST NUCLEAR MISSILE DEFENSE TO COUNTER NORTH KOREA
4. SYRIA'S ASSAD THREATENS TO STRIKE AT REBELS IN LEBANON
5. EGYPTIANS RALLY, CALL ON ARMY TO ASSUME POWER
6. RUSSIA'S MEDITERRANEAN TASK FORCE TO COMPRISE 5-6 WARSHIPS
7. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: 15th CASE OF DEADLY NEW VIRUS IN SAUDI ARABIA
8. POPE FRANCIS STANDS AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
9. EARTHQUAKES TURN WATER INTO GOLD
10. RADIOACTIVE SOLAR BLAST TO HIT EARTH

1. IRAN REPORTEDLY LAUNCHES DESTROYER IN THE CASPIAN SEA

'Iranian cmdrs. authorized to launch immediate counterattack'

Iran launched a domestically built destroyer in the Caspian Sea on Sunday, its first deployment of a major warship in the oil-rich region, state TV reported. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the guided missile destroyer Jamaran-2 in the port city of Anzali, about 150 miles northwest of Tehran. He said the deployment aimed to bolster peace and friendship in the region. "The destroyer is there to meet those who want to jeopardize the security of surrounding nations," he said, without elaborating.

Iranian Press reports: "Our commanders have received authorization to immediately respond to any hostile action by the enemy without allowing enemy to think twice [about its act of aggression]," Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said on Saturday. Jazayeri made the remarks in response to Israeli leaders threat to use force against the Islamic Republic over the country's nuclear energy program.
- Father, we pray that Your Holy angels will stop this destroyer from any harm to Western interests in the Middle East. We surround that ship with a hedge of the Blood of Jesus, that they will not be able to encroach into western territories, or take any hostile action. We ask that Your Holy Spirit guide Israel with wisdom and strength in their responses.

- "For You have armed me with strength for the battle." (2 Samuel 22:40a)

2. NORTH KOREA THREATENS JAPAN WITH ATTACK

North Korea has lashed out at Japan for calling for 'independent additional sanctions' against Pyongyang. The North's official Korean Central News Agency carried a statement from the Foreign Ministry Sunday saying that it would be a fatal mistake for Japan if it thinks it will be safe when a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula. The statement warned that the Japanese would face a horrible strike if they collude with the United States.

The article appeared days after U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said Washington is willing to hold 'authentic negotiations' with the North if it changes its behavior. North Korea is furious about new U.N. sanctions imposed after it conducted its third nuclear test last month."

NORTH KOREA has also threatened to target the prime minister of South Korea and told residents to evacuate islands within range of its artillery, warning the world that "a nuclear war may break out". Military sources in Seoul said the North Koreans test-fired two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan on Friday, just as the United States announced plans to boost its missile defences against Asian threats. (The Australian; Voice of America News) 
- "Father the continual haranguing of North Korea seems blatantly designed to goad their enemies into action. Like Goliath against the Israelites, the spirit that hopes for disaster needs to be muzzled. In the Name of Jesus Christ, we bind that spirit of prideful arrogance, and command it to be silent. We cut off its head, and pray that every plan of the DPNK will fall to the ground.

- "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the Name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)

3. U.S. TO BOOST NUCLEAR MISSILE DEFENSE TO COUNTER NORTH KOREA

The US plans to bolster its missile defences on the west coast to counter the threat from North Korea, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced. He said the US would add 14 interceptors, which can shoot down missiles in flight, to 30 already in place in California and Alaska by 2017. But the final phase of the US European Missile Defence programme is being scrapped to partly fund the project. Due to begin in 2022, it would have sited interceptors in eastern Europe.

Mr Hagel cited a 'series of irresponsible and reckless provocations' recently by North Korea. Pyongyang carried out a third nuclear test last month.

A statement in North Korean state media last month also threatened the US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. (BBC News) 
- O Abba Father, we thank you that the US plans to place more missile interceptors in place on the west coast of the US. We pray that these will work as anticipated and developed. However we fall before You Lord, and plead mercy for our nation! We acknowledge that we as a nation are deserving of judgment and that these threats from various nations may be a tool to deliver some of those judgments. We ask You to awaken our leaders to consider our southern borders and the vulnerability of the east coast, as North Korea has submarines that carry missiles as well. We also know Iran, China and Russia are related to missile threats to our nations and have submarines and planes to deliver them. Grant wisdom and discernment to our leaders to comprehend how expansive and real the threat is to our nation. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.

- "Hear my cry, O God, attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:1-2)

4. SYRIA'S ASSAD THREATENS TO STRIKE AT REBELS IN LEBANON

Syria has warned it may strike at rebels hiding in neighbouring Lebanon if the Lebanese army does not act, as its patience 'is not unlimited,' the state news agency SANA said on Friday, as the country marked two years since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syria's Foreign Ministry told its Lebanese counterpart late on Thursday that a 'large number' of militants had crossed Lebanon's northern border into the Syrian town of Tel Kalakh over the past two days, SANA said.

'Syria expects the Lebanese side to prevent these armed terrorist groups from using the borders as a crossing point, because they target Syrian people and are violating Syrian sovereignty,' the diplomatic cable said. It said Syria's 'patience is not unlimited', even though 'Syrian forces have so far exercised restraint from striking at armed gangs inside Lebanese territory.' Fighting near the border resulted in a large number of casualties, SANA said, before the gunmen retreated into Lebanon.

Lebanon has a policy of 'dissociation' from the two-year-old civil war in Syria but officials say they feel their country is increasingly at risk of being dragged into a conflict that the United Nations says has killed 70,000 Syrians. More than one million Syrians are believed to have taken shelter in Lebanon. (Haaretz) 
- Lord, we ask You to direct our prayers. It seems that a number of the rebels involved in the Syrian war have moved across the borders of Lebanon and that Syria is asking Lebanon not to allow this. There have been so many accusations from both Assad's troops and the rebels in this war and it appears that both sides have done horrific things to ordinary citizens and Your people, Lord, in Syria. Now another nation may be drawn more fully into this war. Please help us Lord to discern what You would have us pray, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.

- "A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated." (Proverbs 14:17)

5. EGYPTIANS RALLY, CALL ON ARMY TO ASSUME POWER

Hundreds of Egyptians demonstrated in Cairo on Friday to press for the army to assume power in a country plagued by unrest and instability two years after a revolution which toppled president Hosni Mubarak. According to a report in AFP, the protest was held in eastern Cairo in response to a call by retired army officers and groups opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of President Mohammed Morsi.

'The army must return' to power and 'Down with the power of the guide,' they chanted, referring to the Brotherhood's spiritual guide Mohamed Badie, as they waved portraits of General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the armed forces chief. Al-Ahram newspaper's website reported that pro-army demonstrations were also held in Damietta in northern Egypt.

In late January, Sissi warned that Egypt's political crisis could lead to the collapse of the state, something which the military which ruled the country between the fall of Mubarak and last June's election of Morsi would not allow. (Israel National News) 
- O Heavenly Father, would this be Your will and plan, for Your people in Egypt, that the military re-assume the leadership there and to stop the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is so violent and oppressive? Guide us Lord to fully discern Your will and plan for this point in history. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.

- "As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death." (Proverbs 11:19)

6. RUSSIA'S MEDITERRANEAN TASK FORCE TO COMPRISE 5-6 WARSHIPS

The Russian Navy will maintain 5-6 warships in the Mediterranean Sea as a task force to defend Russia's interests in the area, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday. "Up to five-six warships must be present in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis and control must be exercised through the command of the [Russian] Black Sea Fleet," Chirkov said in an interview with the Zvezda TV network run by the Defense Ministry. (RiaNovosti) 
- Father, only You know the motive behind these 5-6 warships in this area. We watch and pray over this situation. We speak peace and safety to this region.

- "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. " (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

7. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: 15th CASE OF DEADLY NEW VIRUS IN SAUDI ARABIA

A Saudi man infected with a deadly new virus from the same family as SARS has died, becoming the ninth patient in the world to be killed the disease which has so far infected 15, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The 39-year-old developed symptoms of the novel coronavirus (NCoV) on February 24 and died on March 2, several days after being hospitalized, the WHO said in a disease outbreak update. (Reuters) 
- Father, we bind this disease in Jesus Name. May this disease wither and die. We claim no plague shall come against us according to Psalm 91. We plead the blood of Jesus over all who may have been exposed to this outbreak.

- " . . .no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent." (Psalm 91:10)

8. POPE FRANCIS STANDS AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

In 2010, when his native Argentina was considering a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, Pope Francis I, then archbishop of Buenos Aires, said that the legislation was a total rejection of God's law and an effort by the father of lies to confuse and deceive humanity. Then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio made these observations in a letter to a group of monasteries in Argentina, in which he asked the sisters for their prayers in defeating the same-sex marriage legislation. (One News Now) 
- Father, we rejoice over the strong stand of Pope Francis on this issue. We, too proclaim this as a total rejection of God's law. We join in prayer for the defeat of all same sex marriage legislation. In Jesus Name, amen.

- "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "(Matthew 18:18)

9. EARTHQUAKES TURN WATER INTO GOLD

Earthquakes have the Midas touch, a new study claims.

While scientists have long suspected that sudden pressure drops could account for the link between giant gold deposits and ancient faults, the study takes this idea to the extreme, said Jamie Wilkinson, a geochemist at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the study.

"To me, it seems pretty plausible. It's something that people would probably want to model either experimentally or numerically in a bit more detail to see if it would actually work," Wilkinson told OurAmazingPlanet.
- In this time of shaking, let's thank God that -- as we see in "nature" -- we shall come out as gold!

- " . . . when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold." (Job 23:10)

10. RADIOACTIVE SOLAR BLAST TO HIT EARTH

A burst of radioactive solar particles has erupted from the Sun, streaking toward Earth at 900 miles per second, NASA has announced. The event, called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, while not occurring as frequently as solar flares, is still a common phenomenon. This time, however, rather than projecting out into space, it's headed straight for Earth.

Given the direction and speed of the CME, Science World Report explains, mild to moderate effects may be felt as soon as Sunday. When a CME strikes the Earth, the traveling body of solar energetic particles can - on rare occasion - causes a significant enough geomagnetic storm to disrupt the Earth's magnetosphere. Results may include stronger aurorae around the Earth's magnetic poles, disruption of radio transmissions and even damage to satellites and electrical transmission facilities, which could cause power outages. (WND)

- The shakings are now taking place in heaven and on earth. It's time to share the gospel far and wide. Have you told someone the Good News today?

- "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.'" (Hebrews 12:26)

	Obama's Itinerary in Israel Released

Obama's Itinerary in Israel Released

Please join us in asking our Lord to keep His Hand of protection upon all who will be involved in the president's visit to Israel this week.

Air Force One will lift off on Tuesday evening; and will land in Tel Aviv at noon the next day.

We ask your continued intercession throughout this most critical trip. If there be any plans that are not in alignment with God's perfect will for America and for Israel, we ask that those plans would come to naught. In Jesus' Mighty Name, amen.

- "And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:3)

	On Capitol Hill This Week: Vol. XX, No. 10b

DOMESTIC ISSUES

1. JUDGE RULES SECRET FBI NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
2. CIA DRONE SECRECY RULING REJECTED BY FEDERAL APPEALS COURT
3. SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW ARIZONA VOTER REGISTRATION LAW
4. AUDIT TO PROBE REPORTS OF LEAKED MILITARY SECRETS FROM NASA LABS
5. CONSERVATIVES CONFIDENT FEDERAL GUN MEASURES WILL BE SCALED BACK
6. HUGE INCREASE IN NUMBERS OF GUN MAKERS REFUSING TO SELL FIREARMS TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
7. RUBIO DEFENDS MARRIAGE AND BERATES THE ABORTIONIST
8. OBAMA WANTS TO REMOVE "RIGHT TO LIFE" FROM THE UN DECLARATION
9. OBAMA SAYS YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BANKING PRIVACY
10. SEN. VITTER THREATENS TO BLOCK NOMINEE FOR LABOR SEC'Y
11. NEW CIA DIRECTOR CHOOSES NOT TO USE BIBLE FOR SWEARING IN
12. WHITE HOUSE LOWERS EXPECTATIONS AHEAD OF OBAMA'S MIDEAST TRIP
13. 15,000 SECURITY PERSONNEL FOR OBAMA VISIT
14. WILL THE STATE DEPT. FINALLY SPEAK OUT FOR PASTOR SAEED ABEDINI?

1. JUDGE RULES SECRET FBI NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

A federal judge in San Francisco has struck down a set of laws allowing the FBI to issue so-called national security letters to banks, phone companies and other businesses demanding customer information. FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the laws violate the First Amendment and the separation of powers principles and ordered the government to stop issuing the secretive letters or enforcing their gag orders, The Wall Street Journal reported. The FBI almost always bars recipients of the letters from disclosing to anyone - including customers - that they have even received the demands, Illston said in the ruling released Friday. The government has failed to show that the letters and the blanket non-disclosure policy "serve the compelling need of national security," and the gag order creates "too large a danger that speech is being unnecessarily restricted," the San Francisco-based Illston wrote.

In 2007, the Justice Department's inspector general found widespread violations in the FBI's use of the letters, including demands without proper authorization and information obtained in non-emergency circumstances. The FBI has tightened oversight of the system. The FBI made 16,511 national security letter requests for information regarding 7,201 people in 2011, the latest data available. The FBI uses the letters to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information like financial and phone records.
A Department of Justice spokesman told the Journal the department was "reviewing the order." (Fox News)

- Father, we ask that more judges will join Judge Illston in striking down as unconstitutional these secret FBI national security letters that can obtain sensitive information from banks, phone companies and other businesses demanding customer's private information. Thank You, Lord, for putting a stronghold on the FBI regarding this issue. In Jesus' Name.

- "Woe to you that spoils, and you were not spoiled; and deals treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with you! when you shall cease to spoil, you shall be spoiled; and when you shall make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with you." (Isaiah 33:1)

2. CIA DRONE SECRECY RULING REJECTED BY FEDERAL APPEALS COURT

A federal appeals court Friday reversed a lower court ruling that allowed the CIA to refuse to confirm whether it had information on the use of unmanned drones to kill suspected terrorists. A lower court federal judge had sided with the CIA and dismissed a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking those records. In response to the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act request, the CIA said that merely confirming the existence of drone records would reveal classified information. But the government subsequently backed off that claim during oral arguments before the appellate court.

Friday's ruling by a three-court panel sends the case back to the lower court, where the agency can argue that the records it has on drones are exempt from FOIA disclosure requirements. The initial refusal to confirm even the existence of a record is a Cold War-era legal defense known as the Glomar response after the Glomar Explorer, a ship built with secret CIA financing to try to raise a Soviet submarine from the ocean floor. The CIA had said that confirming or denying records in this case would reveal "among other things, whether or not the CIA is involved in drone strikes or at least has an intelligence interest in drone strikes."

In his opinion for the panel, Judge Merrick Garland noted that officials from President Barack Obama to John Brennan, then-counterterrorism chief and now the new CIA director, have acknowledged the use of drones by the government. "Given these official acknowledgments that the United States has participated in drone strikes, it is neither logical nor plausible for the CIA to maintain that it would reveal anything not already in the public domain to say that the agency 'at least has an intelligence interest' in such strikes," wrote Garland, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton. "The defendant is, after all, the Central Intelligence Agency. And it strains credulity to suggest that an agency charged with gathering intelligence affecting the national security does not have an 'intelligence interest' in drone strikes, even if that agency does not operate the drones itself."
ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer, who argued the case in September, called the ruling an important victory. "It requires the government to retire the absurd claim that the CIA's involvement in the targeted killing program is a secret, and it will make it more difficult for the government to deflect questions about the program's scope and legal basis," he said in a statement. "It also means that the CIA will have to explain what records it is withholding, and on what grounds it is withholding them. . . The public surely has a right to know who the government is killing, and why, and in which countries, and on whose orders."

Todd D. Ebitz, a CIA spokesman, said the agency "does not, as a rule, comment on matters before the courts." (Fox News)

- Father, we praise the God of heaven that the CIA and all the judges are in Your hands and You rule over these sensitive issues. We trust in the Lord to protect the judges and give them strength to stand up in doing God's will for our people. In Jesus' Name, amen.

- "He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of violence, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil, shall dwell on high." (Isaiah 33:15)

3. SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW ARIZONA VOTER REGISTRATION LAW

The Supreme Court will struggle this week with the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections. The high court heard arguments today over the legality of Arizona's voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal "Motor Voter" voter registration law that doesn't require such documentation.

This case focuses on voter registration in Arizona, which has tangled frequently with the federal government over immigration issues involving the Mexican border. But it has broader implications because four other states - Alabama, Georgia, Kansas and Tennessee - have similar requirements, and 12 other states are contemplating similar legislation, officials say.

The main legal question facing the justices is whether the federal law trumps Arizona's law. A 10-member panel of the 9th Circuit in San Francisco said it did. The appeals court issued multiple rulings in this case, with a three-judge panel initially siding with Arizona. A second panel that included retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who from time to time sits on appeals courts, reversed course and blocked the registration requirement. The full court then did the same, and that decision will be reviewed by the justices in Washington. The case is 12-71, Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (AP)

- Father God, move by Your mighty power over the voter registration issue in the state of Arizona and bring the decision to a vote that is directed by the perfect will of God. Illegal immigrants who are not U.S. citizens should not have a legal vote in the United States elections. We also pray that Alabama, Georgia, Kansas and Tennessee will have direction from the Lord as to what is best for each individual state. We ask You to intervene to prevent any interference that would upset the legal voting laws for U.S. citizens. In the Name of Jesus, we ask this prayer, amen.

- "So that a man shall say, there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judges in the earth." (Psalm 58:11)

4. AUDIT TO PROBE REPORTS OF LEAKED MILITARY SECRETS FROM NASA LABS

The information is staggering," the whistle-blower told FoxNews.com.

The NASA office of the inspector general will audit NASA's Ames research facility in the wake of a FoxNews.com report on violations of International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) laws at a storied California space-research facility. Documents obtained by FoxNews.com last month detail a four-year FBI investigation into the transfer of classified weapons technology -- including rocket engine tech for missile defense systems -- to China and other countries from NASA's Ames Research Center. The documents also purport that an investigation into the security lapses that led to the event are being stonewalled.

On March 14, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin wrote to Reps. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Chaka Fattah, D-Pa, to announce that he planned to open a broad investigation into these and other allegations, which Wolf has been urging NASA and the FBI to do. "I wanted to inform you that the OIG is opening a new audit that will more broadly examine NASA's controls over access by foreign nationals to its facilities," he wrote.

Last week, Wolf described a similar incident at Kennedy Space Center in Florida involving visits by Chinese officials, a charge NASA denied. The news of the Inspector General's probe came a day after Martin testified before a congressional panel on the fiscal challenges NASA is facing, in part due to the sequester. "Because NASA received less than half its requested budget for commercial crew development last year, the Agency extended to 2017 the earliest it expects to obtain commercial crew transportation services to the [International Space Station] - a date uncomfortably close to the Station's currently scheduled 2020 retirement," Martin wrote on the OIG site. "Against this bleak budgetary backdrop, Agency managers continue to face significant challenges managing NASA's diverse portfolio of science, exploration, and aeronautics projects." (Fox News)

- Lord God, we pray that NASA and the Kennedy Space Center will stop totally any and all access to their facilities by foreign nationals and never allow them access again. Father, release funds that will be sufficient for NASA to continue with their portfolio of science, exploration and aeronautics. God, protect our country that this technolgy will not be compromised. America needs Your help, Lord. In Jesus' Name.

- "Whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps his soul from troubles." (Proverbs 21:23)

5. CONSERVATIVES CONFIDENT FEDERAL GUN MEASURES WILL BE SCALED BACK

Conservatives are all but declaring victory on their defense of gun rights, exuding confidence as calls for aggressive controls in the wake of the Newtown elementary school massacre have given way to scaled-back expectations to firearm restrictions in Congress.

Indeed, a bipartisan deal on near-universal background checks for firearms buyers remains a real possibility. And Congress still could pass a ban on high-capacity magazines. But Democrats haven't been able to muster enough support, even within their own ranks, to push through an assault weapons ban.

Every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against bills the panel approved this week on background checks and the assault weapons ban. A third measure toughening federal penalties against illegal gun trafficking won committee passage last week with the support of only one Republican - Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top GOP committee member. The other seven GOP senators opposed it. A fourth bill, slightly increasing federal aid for school safety, passed the committee with bipartisan support.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he will decide soon how to bring the measures to the Senate floor, where debate is expected next month. (Fox News) 

- Continue to stay on top of this issue, as a watchman on the wall for our Second Amendment right to bear arms. The facts -- and the rumors -- about how Congress will move on the issue of gun control continue to change day by day. Aggressive prayer will be needed to restrain the forces of the enemy from seizing our guns and leaving us defenseless. Please join us now in prayer:

Father, the National Rifle Association of 5 million members and America's 100 million gun owners has a long-standing respectable reputation of maintaining law and order regarding the use of their guns. We trust that this will be a trustworthy witness to the fact that these people are law-abiding citizens and do not use their guns carelessly, and certainly not against schools and children. God, we ask that You get behind them and defend their cause. In Jesus' Name, amen.

- "Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified." (Job 13:17-18)

6. HUGE INCREASE IN NUMBERS OF GUN MAKERS REFUSING TO SELL FIREARMS TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

On February 22, "Right Views" reported that a growing number of firearm companies have suspended the sale of guns to states, counties, cities and municipalities that restrict their citizens' rights to own them. In just two weeks, the number of companies participating in what has been named the "Firearms Equality Movement," has more than tripled from 34 companies to 118.

The Police Loophole lists every company and links to the statements that each has released regarding their new policies.

Wilson Combat, a custom pistol manufacturer located in Berryville, Arkansas, joined the movement on February 28 stating the following: "Wilson Combat will no longer provide any products or services to any State Government imposing legislation that infringes on the second amendment rights of its law abiding citizens. This includes any Law Enforcement Department, Law Enforcement Officers, or any State Government Entity or Employee of such an entity. This also applies to any local municipality imposing such infringements." (CNS News)

- Offer a chorus of praise for these brave citizens and business owners for exercising their own right to restrict sales as reported. Pray that this right be upheld in a court of law, should that become necessary. Pray for the protection of each one who is making this decision, as well as that of their loved ones and staff. Pray!

- "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

7. RUBIO DEFENDS MARRIAGE AND BERATES THE ABORTIONIST

A real leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, is not a searcher for consensus--but a molder of consensus. "Many people fear nothing more terribly," he insisted, "than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion." Fortunately for conservatives, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is not that person. Other Republicans try so hard to be popular that they forget to be principled.

The real leaders of the GOP are proving you can be both. While some conservatives crouch down and hope their social positions won't be noticed, Sen. Rubio took the podium on one of the largest stages in America and proudly defended the values of his party -- and the values of the majority of Americans. "Just because I believe states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot," Rubio told a cheering crowd. "The people who are actually closed-minded in our society are the ones who love to preach . . . and refuse to believe the science that life begins at conception." (FRC, Ny Daily News)

- Praise You, Father, for party leaders who will hold onto Your principles while they are in high office in our land. Praise You, that this brings attention to these issues in very positive way. Bless all those who will be conducting the affairs of our country with Your firm moral foundation and may many more be inspired to seek Your ways instead of popularity and the praise of the mainstream media.

- "They that are of a froward heart are abomination unto the Lord: but such as are upright in their way are his delight." (Proverbs 11:20)

8. OBAMA WANTS TO REMOVE "RIGHT TO LIFE" FROM THE UN DECLARATION

It is disturbing to learn that the U.S. delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women is calling for deleting a reaffirmation that every human being has the "inherent right to life, liberty and security of persons." This contradicts a foundational principle of citizens and civilizations worldwide. As chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition (William Murray) I signed a group letter to Secretary of State Kerry demanding that this outrageous position be changed. (Relgious Liberty coalition - William Murray)



- Oh, Lord, how disturbing it is to hear that this man, through the US delegation, wants to eliminate the right to life for the unborn all over the world. Father God, we pray that this delegation's influence in this area be nullified by You so that all may have a fair chance to live. In the name of Jesus, we speak a culture of life to this UN Commission and policies that affirm it so that Your vision for all mankind may prosper.

- "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28a)

9. OBAMA SAYS YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BANKING PRIVACY

The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.

Big banks get away with massive fraud, laundering money for drug cartels and terrorist organizations, while average citizens are guilty of financial crimes until proven innocent. The land of the free no longer.

Yesterday the White House released plans that would give all U.S. spy agencies access to the financial records of all American citizens in order to better "track down terrorist threats", which administration legal experts say is "permissible under U.S. law".

What happened to "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated"? That's the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights in case Obama's legal team needed a reminder of actual U.S. law. (Activist Post)

- Using your position as a restraining force against evil, through prayer, cry out to God that we be spared of this inexcusable invasion of our privacy. God will hear, and He will answer. Amen.

- "Through God we will do valiantly, And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries." (Psalm 108:13)

10. SENATOR VITTER THREATENS TO BLOCK NOMINEE FOR LABOR SECRETARY

Republican Sen. David Vitter vowed Monday to block President Obama's nominee for Labor secretary, citing a past run-in with his state of Louisiana as well as the nominee's role in the controversial voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party. The president on Monday tapped Justice Department official Thomas Perez for the Labor post. The candidate, though, was already being questioned over a newly released report that found he gave incomplete testimony on the decision to drop charges against members of the new Black Panthers.

"Thomas Perez's record should be met with great suspicion by my colleagues for his spotty work related to the New Black Panther case, but Louisianians most certainly should have cause for concern about this nomination," Vitter said in a statement. The senator went on to cite a separate incident in which the Justice Department filed suit against Louisiana over its voter registration efforts. Vitter's office said he would block the Perez nomination until the Justice Department responds to a 2011 letter on the issue. "Perez was greatly involved in the DOJ's partisan full court press to pressure Louisiana's Secretary of State to only enforce one side of the law -- the side that specifically benefits the politics of the president and his administration at the expense of identity security of each and every Louisianian on the voter rolls," Vitter said. (Fox News)

- Offer praise for this courageous action on the part of Senator Vitter. May his voice be heard, and his wise counsel be heeded, in the halls of the United States Senate, as its Judiciary Committee opens hearings to consider this nomination. Praise God.

- "I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place." (Isaiah 28:17)

11. NEW CIA DIRECTOR CHOOSES NOT TO USE BIBLE FOR SWEARING IN

When Vice President Joe Biden performed the swearing in ceremony of John Brennan in the White House's Roosevelt Room on Friday, the new CIA director chose to put his hand on a copy of the Constitution - before it included the Bill of Rights - and not a Bible.

Hours after the ceremony that took place behind closed doors on Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest drew reporters' attention to the use of a copy of the Constitution, and not the Bible. "There's one piece of this that I wanted to note for you," he said. "Director Brennan was sworn in with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution that had George Washington's personal handwriting and annotations on it, dating from 1787."

Earnest said Brennan, former chief counterterrorism advisor to President Obama, told the president that "he made the request to the archives because he wanted to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law as he took the oath of office as director of the CIA."

When David Petraeus was sworn in as CIA director by Biden in September 2011, his wife held a Bible for him to put his hand on it. Brennan not only departed from the traditional practice, but used a copy of the Constitution that did not include the Bill of Rights. (Christian Post)

- Our Gracious Lord, we are concerned about a CIA director who will not honor You in even so important a matter as putting his hand on the Bible to be sworn in to office. Lord, we ask that You would reveal Yourself to him for who You are and how You intervene in the affairs of men. Save his soul, Dear Lord, and hedge his steps about so that he does only good for our country and not evil.

- "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens." (Exodus 18:21)

12. WHITE HOUSE LOWERS EXPECTATIONS AHEAD OF OBAMA'S MIDDLE EAST TRIP

As President Obama heads to the Middle East this week, including his first visit to Israel, the White House is downplaying expectations, saying the president hopes only to help leaders come together to bring peace and democracy to the region. The president arrives Wednesday in Jerusalem, where he will try to improve his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the heels of a newly installed Israeli government.

"President Obama looks forward to working closely with the prime minister and the new government to address the many challenges we face and advance our shared interest in peace and security," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Saturday.

Among the country's biggest issues are ongoing efforts between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to reach a peace agreement and Israel's effort to stop neighboring Iran for acquiring a nuclear weapon. The White House's apparent strategy is to lower expectations to create breathing room for frank peace talks between both sides that hopefully will include discussions about what it will take to get back to the negotiating table.
The centerpiece of Obama's visit will be a speech in Jerusalem to an audience mainly of Israeli students. It's part of the president's effort to appeal to the Israeli public, particularly young people. He will make several cultural stops in the region. They include the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem; the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a revered site for Christians; and an Iron Dome battery, part of the missile defense system for which the U.S. has helped pay.

Traveling to the West Bank, Obama will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah. Obama and Fayyad will visit a Palestinian youth center, another attempt to reach the region's young people.

Obama will make a 24-hour stop in Jordan, an important U.S. ally, where the president's focus will be on the violence in neighboring Syria. More than 450,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan, crowding refugee camps and overwhelming aid organizations. In Obama's talks with Jordan's King Abdullah, he also will try to shore up the country's fledgling attempts to liberalize its government and stave off an Arab Spring-style movement similar to the ones that have taken down leaders elsewhere in the region.


- Father God, this is a momentous trip where America meets with Israel. Restrain anything that is not truthful, bind under the Blood of Jesus any false statements or agreements, and accomplish the perfect will of God in everything that is done or said. Protect the youth from falling into deception, control, lies, or smooth talking. We put the Name of Jesus against every word that will be spoken to the youth. God take authority over talks regarding the solution in Iran and Syria. In the mighty Name of Jesus we pray, amen.

- "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which God has chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my Name forever; Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I, God, gave their fathers." (II Kings 21:7-8)

13. 15,000 SECURITY PERSONNEL FOR OBAMA VISIT
60-CAR PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE TO FERRY HIM IN JERUSALEM

Around 15,000 police will participate in efforts to secure US President Barak Obama throughout his visit next week. Israeli police will go into operational activity level, cancelling vacations and days off. Over 5,000 officers will be involved in protecting the presidential entourage, which includes more than 600 people. In Jerusalem, there will be 3,000 active officers. "We are preparing for even the gravest possibility and are not relying only on intelligence. We are taking into account every scenario that could develop," said head of operations, Brigadier General Nissim Mor. "We are talking about a very complicated operation." (Ynet News)

- Offer praise to the LORD that our Israeli friends are going to go to such great lengths to protect our head of state. Join them in prayer for Mr. Obama's safekeeping throughout his upcoming trip.

- "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (I Peter 3:12)

13. WILL THE STATE DEPT. FINALLY SPEAK OUT FOR PASTOR SAEED ABEDINI?

Friday's standing-room only hearing before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was among the most dramatic I've witnessed. There was outrage - outrage not just from me as I declared the State Department "AWOL" in our quest to free an American Pastor, Saeed Abedini -- a U.S. citizen -- captured by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and now held hostage in Iran's most brutal prison - but also from the members of the Human Rights Commission.

In his passionately-delivered remarks, Congressman Trent Franks noted that the Obama State Department had issued dozens and dozens of press releases since Pastor Saeed's arrest and conviction, yet not one called for Pastor Saeed's release. To the State Department, posting about "Spring Break for Smart Travelers" was apparently more important than the fate of an American citizen being beaten and abused in an Iranian jail.

But there wasn't just outrage at that hearing - tears flowed as well. Unlike many Christians who are persecuted and abused in Iran, Pastor Saeed has an American family here at home, living in Idaho. On Friday, his courageous wife, Naghmeh, became his voice before the Commission.

Pastor Saeed is, truly, in chains for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Naghmeh told the Commission that "every day is a death sentence" for her husband who is subjected to life-threatening beatings and torture. She told them of not just the terrible toll Pastor Saeed's captivity was taking on her and their two young children, but also of the strength of Pastor Saeed's convictions. (Jay Sekulow, Fox News)
- Pray that the State Department will take heed to this voice, crying in the night, for the release of her loved one. It's time.

- "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry . . ." (Psalm 34:15)

	Budget News in Congress

Budget News on Capitol Hill

Source: The Madison Report

This week's Madison Report offers a detailed analysis of the budget hearings now taking place on the Hill, in both the Senate and in the House. Some of these hearings will resume tomorrow.
In order to read this excellent report and to track the budget news, please go here. Join us in asking for God's wisdom to be upon the members of both parties, on both sides of the Hill, as Congress continues to grapple with the need to bring our national budget under control. Thank you.

	Israel's New Coalition Government

Israel's New Coalition Government:

Prime Minister Netanyahu Appoints Heads of Ministries

The negotiating teams of the Likud/Yisrael Beytenu, Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid began a late night meeting last Wednesday night, to finalize the wording of the coalition agreement.

The coalition will comprise four parties: Likud-Beytenu (31 seats), Yesh Atid (19), Jewish Home (12) and Hatnua (6), for a total of 68 members in the 120-seat Knesset.


> > > Please note: since this article was published, the coalition has been confirmed.
Join us in praying for "all in authority" in Israel, as they seek to do His will in leading their people and their nation. Amen.


HOW TO PRAY FOR MR. OBAMA'S TRIP TO ISRAEL:

A Prayer Guide Now Available from Intercessors for Israel


"In this house, and in Jerusalem, which God has chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my Name forever; Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I, God, gave their fathers." (II Kings 21:7-8)

	Videos for the Week

Videos for the Week

One: Leaked Document:

Military Internment Camps in U.S to be Used for Political Dissidents
Internment camps for political dissidents in the U.S. aren't a conspiracy theory. The Department of Defense document entitled "INTERNMENT AND RESETTLEMENT OPERATIONS" or FM 3-39.40 proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.



Two: U.S. Army Responds To Prison Camp Document
Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs director Tiffany Wood has provided the first official response to the shocking U.S. Army document that outlines the implementation of re-education camps, admitting that the manual was "not intended for public release" and claiming that its provisions only apply outside the United States, a contention completely disproved by the language contained in the document itself.

After a reader sent Wood a link to where the manual, entitled FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations (PDF), can be downloaded on the army.mil website (but only by military employees with special credentials), Wood responded by stating that the document should not be in the public domain.

"The document was not intended for public release," said Wood, adding, "Any other questions regarding the document, you will need to file a FOIA request."
This means that either hackers have obtained access to a secure military website and downloaded the manual or it was leaked by a military employee concerned about the content of the document.

As we have exhaustively illustrated, the document is a training manual for U.S. Army personnel that details how to treat detainees incarcerated in prison camps both abroad and inside the United States.
The manual outlines how officers will develop programs to "indoctrinate" "political activists" incarcerated in detention camps into developing an "understanding and appreciation of U.S. policies and actions." The document also explains how "reeducating the I/R facility population or setting the stage for acceptance of future operations," is the responsibility of 'PSYOP' personnel within the camp.

The document also makes clear that the internment facility is not only a re-education camp but also a forced labor camp. Page 277 of the manual states, "Detainees constitute a significant labor force of skilled and unskilled individuals. These individuals should be employed to the fullest extent possible in work that is needed to construct, manage, perform administrative functions for, and maintain the internment facility."
 

	Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week

"Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to His love, and the future to His providence."
- Augustine of Hippo

	This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .

This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .

LIGHT OF ISRAEL
(Or Yis-rah-el)

"The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame . . ."
(Isa. 10:17)

You are the Light of Israel and the Light of the world. You set the heavens in orbit. You chose Jerusalem as Your Holy city. Light of Israel, shine forth! Shine Your light into our darkness, O Light of Israel!

( Source: THE NAME- HaShem: Daily Devotional Worship by Dr. Barri Cae Mallin)