BE SURE TO NOTE THE NEW SCHEDULE FOR ROOTS & REFLECTIONS VIEWERS IN THE USA: http://jnnnews.com/RR2011.pdf

NASRALLAH APPEARS IN PUBLIC, VOICES SUPPORT FOR ASSAD: Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization made a rare appearance in public on Tuesday. Israel interpreted the move as part of Iran’s efforts to signal to the West that it would retaliate for a military strike on its nuclear facilities. Nasrallah rarely appears in the open and addresses his followers by video feeds. On Tuesday, surrounded by armed bodyguards, he walked through a large crowd in Beirut and greeted tens of thousands of supporters from the podium before delivering his speech via a giant screen. Nasrallah reiterated his support for Syria’s embattled President Bashar Assad and said Hizbullah was continuing to build up its military capabilities. Nasrallah is fearful Assad will fall and Hizbullah will lose its main supplier of arms. Israel is also extremely concerned Hizbullah is planning to move advanced weaponry it has been storing in Syria to Lebanon to prevent it from being captured by opposition groups that are fighting against Assad. On Sunday, a Syrian military test fired a Scud-B ballistic missile and other short range rockets. Syria is believed to have several hundred Scud missiles as well as a number of Scud-D models, the longest-range ballistic missile in its arsenal. The IDF is concerned Assad will attack Israel as a last-ditch effort to distract his opponents’ attention from his deadly crackdown. (J.Post) “May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion.” Ps 35:26

ASSAD’S INCREASING DANGER TO ISRAEL: Israeli Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz, a former IDF Chief of Staff, warns the closer Syrian President Bashar Assad comes to his downfall, the greater the threat to Israel. According to Mofaz there is a dangerous possibility that in the crumbling of his regime, Assad will try to turn attention from the massacre of his citizens toward a confrontation with Israel. An attack on the Jewish state would most certainly be joined by the Hizbullah terrorist organization, which along with pro-Syrian factions effectively dominates Lebanon. Additionally, Iran and Russia are the only major countries who have not turned their backs on Assad, whose government has murdered an estimated 3,500 protesters in the nine-month Arab Spring uprising. (INN) Strong intercession is needed on behalf of Israel’s leaders in top government, military and intelligence organizations. Pray that every branch responsible for the security of the Jewish state will be unceasingly alert and filled with the triumphant strategy and wisdom that can only come from the G-d of Israel.

PRO-ASSAD MILITIA DUMPS BODIES OF 34 CIVILIANS IN SYRIA CITY CENTER: Dozens of bodies were dumped in the streets of the Syrian city of Homs on Tuesday after an estimated 60 people were killed on Monday. Thirty four citizens, shot execution-style, were tossed onto a public square. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the victims were abducted from several "anti-regime neighborhoods" in Homs – an area that has repeatedly been targeted by a violent crackdown on the months-long pro-democracy protest movement. (Ha’aretz)

IRAN PRODUCES MORE 20%URANIUM: Iranian scientists have produced 20% pure uranium to supply a nuclear reactor in Tehran according to a report published this week by "The Nuclear Iran" website. The enriched fuel plates will soon be loaded into the reactor. It is possible to produce a nuclear warhead with 20 percent-enriched uranium, albeit a somewhat crude one. Israel has issued warnings about Iran's nuclear threat for at least five years. (Arutz-7)

IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS PREPARING FOR WAR: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have raised their operational readiness and are preparing for war, according to a report in the UK press. The information indicated an order from General Mohammed Ali Jaafari, the commander of the guards, has initiated preparations for potential external strikes and covert attacks. Western intelligence officials say the Islamic Republic has initiated plans to disperse long-range missiles, high explosives, artillery, and guards units to key defensive positions. The order was given in response to mounting international pressure over Iran’s nuclear program. Intelligence sources added that preparation for a confrontation has gathered pace following last month’s report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that produced evidence Iran was actively working to produce nuclear weapons. Recent explosions have reportedly added to the growing sense of paranoia within Iran, with the regime fearing it will be the target of a surprise military strike by Israel or the US. Meanwhile, a senior US State Department official Robert Einhorn said this week the situation in Iran has become more and more worrisome and that it is important “to take strong steps on an urgent basis.” Einhorn’s statement is the toughest yet made by the Obama administration on the Iranian subject. (INN)

IRAN BLAST COMPLETELY DESTROYED MAJOR MISSILE-TESTING SITE: A recent explosion at a military base near Tehran was a major setback for Iran's long-range missile program and completely destroyed the base, according to US and Israeli intelligence sources. Surveillance photos showed the Iranian base was a central testing center for advanced solid-fuel missiles, which are more equipped than older, liquid-fuel designs to carry warheads long distances. Satellite photos taken after the blast show the base was almost completely destroyed, which amounts to a serious setback to Tehran's missile development. A top Israeli security official suggested such explosions could delay Iranian surface-to-surface missile development, but warned such occurrences were far from halting all of Iran's military options. (Ha’aretz) “Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.” Ps 109: 27

SAUDI ARABIA PLANS TO ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Saudi Arabia plans to obtain nuclear weapons, an intelligence official confirmed on Monday. Prince Turki al-Faisal was quoted as saying, "Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran. Therefore it is our duty towards our nation and people to consider all possible options, including the possession of these weapons." The Sunni Muslim kingdom last summer said it would build 16 nuclear reactors for energy, but Faisal’s remarks were the first indication Saudi Arabia may acquire nuclear arms. Israel does not confirm or deny assumptions it has a nuclear arsenal. However, Saudi Arabia’s biggest worry is Iran that openly says it wants to head a new Islamic empire in the Middle East. The Islamic Republic is on a collision course with the West – and other Muslim Arab countries – as it proceeds towards the capability of both manufacturing and delivering a nuclear weapon. (INN)

IRAN LURES ARGENTINA INTO TRANS-ATLANTIC TERROR AXIS: Diplomatic sources claim Iran is trying to spread its international terrorist axis by luring Argentina to join Venezuela in a trans-Atlantic terror alliance. The Latin American country’s links with Iran have been suspected ever since 1992, when Hizbullah claimed responsibility for killing 29 people in a bombing at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Two years later, the bombing of the Jewish community center in the same city killed 85 people. More than a decade later, five Iranian terrorists and one from Lebanon were named as suspects in involvement in the attack. A European envoy stated that as the rest of the world works to pressure Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and stop supporting terrorism, Argentina's government has been considering moving in the opposite direction. One example given was that exports from Argentina to Iran soared 70% last year. Iran already has formed a strong alliance with Venezuela, under the regime of Hugo Chavez, and Bolivia also is a close friend. Adding Argentina, which is a member of the International Energy Atomic Agency, would give Ahmadinejad more backing in his campaign to resist UN inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. (Reuters) Pray these growing alliances with Iran will quickly be divided and fearful of the consequences of coming into agreement with evil.

ISRAELI DEVICE HELPS WEAK HEARTS PUMP MORE BLOOD: A recently-invented Israeli medical device promises to help weakened heart muscles pump blood where needed through electrical stimulation, while training and strengthening the muscles. "Optimizer III" was developed by Impulse Dynamics for patients suffering from chronic congestive heart disease, an illness that afflicts some 26 million people around the world. (Israel 21C)

GOSPEL TRAIL TO OPEN THIS DECEMBER: Israel's Ministry of Tourism has officially launched the Gospel Trail - a modular route that follows the paths Yeshua is believed to have taken when he left Nazareth, the home of his childhood, for Capernaum on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which became the center of his ministry. Bike, horseback, walk or drive along the 62-kilometer trail, which begins at Mount Precipice near Nazareth and ends at Kfar Nahum. The Gospel Trail is expected to attract 200,000 tourists over the next two years. "Christian tourism is both significant and central to the incoming tourism industry in Israel. The Gospel Trail enhances the spiritual experience for every tourist and traveler in Israel, and especially for the Christian community. It is a real honor to invite the entire Christian world to follow in the footsteps of Yeshua and to walk in the same places where he walked," said Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov. The ministry and Jewish National Fund invested some $84,000 in developing the trail's infrastructure. (Israel 21C) 

THE NEED IS URGENT FOR YOUR DONATIONS: Few of us in the West experience being without food, clothing, or a roof over our heads. Many Israelis do. According to recent studies, poverty ranks as the number one concern for people in Israel. An estimated 1.7 million people, 850,000 of them children, live below the poverty line, barely receiving one meal a day. As more than a quarter of a million protesters in Israel took to the streets during the summer and continue to do so through the autumn months, much of the world has learned of the high cost of living that has proved so crushing to Israel's poor and middle class.  It includes mounting healthcare expenses, a failing educational system, lack of affordable housing, and other injustices. None of this comes as a surprise to us. Every week Vision for Israel's vans personally visit families, single mothers and others greatly in need. We bring them food, clothing, household items - all the necessities to make it through the hardship they are experiencing. With your help, Vision for Israel has been assisting for many years those who have fallen through the cracks of Israeli society. Please continue to help us to be a comfort to God’s hurting people. Your donations are needed and welcomed at www.visionforisrael.com. Make your online donations today. For residents in the UK and outside North America visit our website at www.josephstorehouse.co.uk.  Please be generous during this festive season. Remember, as the West is preparing to share this holiday of lavish giving and special feasts, there are multitudes in Israel who are doing without basic needs, including food.

Save the Date for the next Succot Celebration in Israel, October 2-4, 2012

Save the Dates for the next Roots & Reflections Tour in 2012: “Journey to the Four Seas,” June 8-17 (European dates) or June 7-17 (N. American dates). The UK tour price is £1,699. The USA tour package price is $3,630. Click on http://www.visionforisrael.com/events for the June tour brochure.

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff

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