Some recent news to inform your prayers.

Society & Politics

• Britain refuses to apologise for Balfour Declaration: The Foreign Office officially rebuts Palestinian pressure on Britain to apologise for her role in creating the state of Israel. Read more here.
• Armed police throw Jews out of pro-Palestine Labour event: Those evicted were accused of asking ‘disruptive questions’ during the Q&A at the Parliamentary event, which was organised by the Palestine Return Centre and hosted by Labour MP Mark Hendrick. Read more here.
• Anti-Semitic student leader loses return bid: Outgoing NUS president Malia Bouattia, known for her anti-Semitic rhetoric, will be replaced by Shakira Martin, while Jewish student Izzy Lenga has been voted Vice President for Welfare. Read more here. Meanwhile, official concerns are being raised about UK campus support for BDS.

Church News

• New bishop to defend traditional marriage: Following its 2017 annual meeting, GAFCON announces a new missionary bishop for Europe to give pastoral oversight to Anglicans wishing to remain faithful to a biblical view of marriage. Read more here and here.

World Scene

• Trump declares May ‘Jewish American heritage month’: The President called on the US to use May to celebrate the nation’s indebtedness to Judaism and the contributions of Jewish Americans. Read more here.
  
• Persecution of Christians in India rises sharply: The All India Christian Council has declared a 20% increase in attacks through 2016 alone, spreading across 23 of India’s 29 states, with an attack now happening every 40 hours. Read more here.
  

Israel & Middle East

• 43% of the world’s Jews now live in Israel: New statistics to mark Israel’s 69^th birthday show that the country will soon contain the majority of world Jewry. Read more here.
  
• Archbishop Welby and Chief Rabbi Mirvis pray together at Western Wall: During a visit to the Holy Land, the Archbishop has also visited Yad Vashem and spoken out about Europe’s history of Christian anti-Semitism. Read more here.
  
• Trump announces launch of new Middle East peace process: The announcement comes during PA President Abbas’s visit to the White House. It is expected that the US President will visit Israel at the end of May. Read more here. Meanwhile, the PA refuses to bow to US pressure to cut payments to terrorists and their families.
  
• UNESCO resolution passes denying Israel rights to Jerusalem: The resolution passed 22-10 (a lower number of Yes votes than usual), with 23 abstentions. The United Kingdom voted against the measure. Read more here and here.

Upcoming Events

• Foundations Taster Day (13 May): 10am-4pm, Bedford. With Steve Maltz and Paul Luckraft. Click here for more information.
• Unbelievable? The Conference (13 May): London. World-class Christian apologists and evangelists show how Jesus is “the answer to life, the universe and everything”. A Premier event. Find out more and book here.
• ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ Wave of Prayer (25 May – 4 June): Join the Anglican Church’s call for a global wave of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost 2017. Click here for more information.
• A Night to Honour Israel (22 June): 7pm, Westminster. Unite with Christians and Jews in the Balfour centenary year to show your support for Israel. Click here to find out more and book tickets (£10 for adults, children free).

Recommended Sources

At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!

Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.

We also recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:

• Christian Concern (UK)
  
• Christian Institute (UK)
  
• JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
• Family Watch International
• Barnabas Fund
  
• Kehila News (Israel)