Crosstalk: September, 15, 2016

The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As we keep our eyes on Israel, this nation, about the size of New Jersey, is regularly in the news. This is because much of what impacts Israel often impacts the world.

Returning to Crosstalk to bring listeners an update concerning Israel was David Rubin. David is the former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, and is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children's Fund, dedicated to healing the trauma of child victims of terrorist attacks and rebuilding the heartland of Israel. He is the author of 4 books including 'Sparks from Zion', 'The Islamic Tsunami: Israel and America in the Age of Obama' and 'Sparks from Zion'.

David began by giving listeners an update on the health of Shimon Peres, the 9th president of Israel, who suffered a stroke. Reports thus far are claiming that his condition is serious but stabilizing.

There are also reports about an historic agreement being signed between the United States and Israel. This agreement will allegedly bring about an unprecedented amount of military aid for Israel over the next decade. In fact, it's said to be the largest military aid package ever granted to another nation by the U.S.

David noted that the U.S. and the whole free world has benefited from Israel's military intelligence. So if this agreement limits that in any way, he would not be in favor of it.

Jim noted that there's been rumors that the Obama administration is going to be favoring a resolution before the U.N. to bring about a two-state solution. It's being referred to as the 'Gazafication' of Judea and Samaria.

While David was against the 10,000 Jews that were expelled from Gaza, he believes that Judea and Samaria are 'another ballgame altogether'. He explained that in addition to the 2 million or so Arabs in that area, there are close to 500,000 Jews and the Jewish population is growing much faster than the Arab population. Geography is another factor. Judea and Samaria are close to major cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. So David believes Judea and Samaria could never be handed over to the Palestinian Authority because they would only use it to force the complete destruction of Israel.

As this Crosstalk progressed, Jim and David discussed Iran's confrontational military mischief and threats since the nuclear negotiations with the U.S.; the latest on knife attacks in Israel; how David feels about the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement; the implications for Israel after the upcoming U.S. election; the growing anti-semitism taking place and much more.