ROME SWITCHES OFF COLOSSEUM LIGHTS FOR GILAD SHALIT: The lights of the Colosseum in Rome were turned off Thursday evening in solidarity with kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.  "This event is first and foremost an expression of our strong support for the State of Israel," said Riccardo Pacifici, the president of Rome's Jewish community.  Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Thursday promised the father of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit that Rome "fully" support efforts to see his son released, exactly four years after he was captured by Palestinian terrorists in a cross-border raid from the Gaza Strip. Frattini told Noam Shalit, who was visiting Rome, that the condition of his son's captivity breached “all international rules and shows the terrorist nature of Hamas,” adding: "EU countries cannot consider [Hamas] as a political interlocutor." (J.Post)  Continue to pray for the release of this young man from the cruel Hamas captivity he has suffered for four years.  Pray for G-d to reveal Himself to Gilad and for the comforting of his family and friends.

SHALIT SUPPORTERS SAIL ‘TRUE FREEDOM FLOTILLA’ IN NYC: Hundreds of people set sail in New York City on Thursday in what they dubbed the True Freedom Flotilla. Ten boats sailed past the Statue of Liberty, around Manhattan and the UN, waving signs calling to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.  On Friday, thousands of Israelis demonstrated across the Jewish state to mark four years since Shalit was captured by Hamas terrorists. (INN)

IAF LANDED AT SAUDI BASE, US TROOPS NEAR IRAN BORDER: The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabian base, an Iranian news agency claimed last week, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran. The report follows the Pentagon’s confirmation that a large American fleet sailed through the Suez Canal earlier this month.  Several reports stated an Israeli ship joined the armada.  Iran’s Fars News Agency said Israeli military aircraft landed two weeks ago at the Saudi base near the city of Tabuk, located in northwest Saudi Arabia, one of the closest areas in the oil kingdom to Iran.  Fars claims the Tabuk base will be the central station for an Israeli attack on Iran.  It reported a commercial airline passenger said the airport in Tabuk was closed to all other traffic during the alleged Israeli landings. The passenger said that "no reasonable explanation” was given for shutting down the airport and those passengers were compensated financially and booked in four-star hotels. “The relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the talk of the town,” the passenger added. The chief authority in Tabuk, Prince Fahd ben Sultan, was reported to be coordinating the cooperation with Israel. (INN)  “Arise, O God and judge the earth for you shall inherit all nations.” Ps 82:8

IRAN ISSUES WARNING TO 62,000 ‘BADLY VEILED’ WOMEN: Iranian police have issued warnings to 62,000 women who were "badly veiled" in the Shiite holy province of Qom as part of a clampdown on dress and behavior. Police chief Colonel Mehdi Khorasani reported authorities had also confiscated around 100 cars for carrying improperly dressed women, adding that "encouraging such relaxations are among the objectives of the enemy."  The population of Qom is more than one million, with most of them concentrated in the city itself which is Shiite Iran's clerical nerve-centre. By law, women in the Islamic republic must be covered from head to foot, with their hair completely veiled, and social interaction is banned between men and women who are not related. (AFP) Islamic gender apartheid goes far beyond second class citizenship. It is intended to crush and subordinate women.

SAUDI ARABIA CONVICTS 15 MEN, WOMEN FOR MINGLING AT PARTY: A Saudi court days ago convicted four women and 11 men for mingling at a party and sentenced them to flogging and prison terms. The men, who are between 30 and 40 years old, and three of the women, who are under the age of 30, were sentenced to an unspecified number of lashes and one or two year prison terms each. The fourth woman, a minor, was sentenced to 80 lashes and was not sent to prison. The officials say the police saw the group partying until dawn. (AP)

EGYPTIAN OIL SPILL BEFOULS RED SEA RESORTS: An oil spill from an Egyptian rig has polluted several tourist sites along a large stretch of coastline along the Red Sea. The leak was caused by a spill from an offshore platform north of the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada. Hurghada is one of Egypt’s top tourist destinations. The area, a vital source of income for Egypt, was once a major diving site with large coral reefs.  However, extensive development has caused severe damage to the area. (Arutz-7) “For we know the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.” Rom 8:22

ISRAEL PLANS HUGE NEW DESALINATION PLANT: The cabinet recently approved the construction of a desalination plant south of Tel Aviv. The project is expected to produce 150 million cubic meters of water each year. Capacity will eventually be upped to 300 million cubic meters a year, making the plant one of the world's largest, said PM Netanyahu. “There is a gap of hundreds of millions of cubic meters of water that we need annually, and these projects will serve to fill that gap.” (INN)

ISRAELI INVENTS CROSSWORD PUZZLE FOR THE BLIND: Until recently, the blind population in Israel was unable to enjoy crossword puzzles.  Avi Rubinstein, a known puzzle inventor and book author came up with a solution. He created a special puzzle that is written in Braille and enables blind people to solve them independently.  Immediately after publishing the first booklet of puzzles, Rubinstein was flooded with letters and compliments from blind crossword-solvers who were entertained for hours by his invention. (Ynet)

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SUCCOT 2010 CELEBRATION AND TOUR TO ISRAEL: SEPT. 22 TO SEPT. 29: Barry and Batya Segal extend a warm invitation for you to attend The Succot Celebration (Feast of Tabernacles) in Jerusalem together with the remnant of Israel and the remnant from the nations. Speakers and worship leaders for the 2010 celebration: Lance Lambert, Barry and Batya Segal, Frank and Marlou van Essen, David Silver, Mattheus van der Steen, and more to come. There will be an optional tour group package available beforehand which will be touring all over Israel. This year there will be a direct flight from the USA with no stopovers in Europe! For more information and instructions on how to participate go to: www.succotcelebration.com 

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff