(shofar blares)

- [Host] This week on Jerusalem Dateline,

multiple terror attacks strikeIsrael's biblical heartland.

Could this be a new wave of terror?

Plus, a look at whythis man says Jerusalem

should never be divided.

And a pastor and arabbi forge a friendship

that birthed a movement.

All this and more thisweek on Jerusalem Dateline.

(driving music)

Hello, and welcome to thisedition of Jerusalem Dateline.

I'm Chris Mitchell.

Two drive-by shootings leftat least three Israelis dead

and several more wounded.

An Israeli police spokesman,Micky Rosenfeld, says

there's an increase in thesekinds of terror attacks.

- We've seen a wave of terrorist attacks,

but at the same time, anincrease and a wave of operations

that have taken place, withthe peak of those operations

being back in fact over the last 24 hours

where our border policeunits managed to find,

target and during gunbattles that broke out

two terrorists were shot and killed

from two previous terrorist attacks.

- After the attacks, hundredsof Israelis protested

outside the Prime Minister's home

and called for more action.

- Those people murdered my grandchild

just a few days ago, whohadn't even been born,

and wounded my daughter, who nearly died,

and my son-in-law, and this has to stop.

We are a democracy, we respect freedom.

And this cannot be tolerated anymore.

- Prime Minister Netanyahuannounced a series

of measures, includingdemolition of a killer's homes

and increased buildingin Judea and Samaria.

At its northern borderIsrael is still fighting

a hidden threat.

Defense forces discovereda third tunnel built

by terrorists from Lebanon into Israel.

And the tunnels puts Israeland the Hezbollah terror group

on a collision course.

Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu issued a warning

to Hezbollah during a visit toIsraeli troops in the north.

- Our deployment is readyfor a strong response

if Hezbollah makes a bigmistake and decides to harm us

or to resist the operationwe are conducting.

They will be hit in such a way

that they cannot even imagine.

- [Chris] Israeli soldiersdismantling the tunnels

released a recording ofthe classified technology

to detect them.

Meanwhile, a Hezbollahleader boasted all of Israel

is within range of its missiles.

Sheik Naim Qassem said,"There is not a single point

"in the occupied territories out of reach

"of Hezbollah's missiles.

"The Zionists cannot toleratesuch a high level of threats

"in confrontation with Hezbollah,

"which is why they haveno motive for entering

"another war with Lebanon."

Israeli's chief of militaryintelligence warned lawmakers

that while the risk of war is low,

the potential exists for circumstances

to escalate out of control.

Lebanon's president downplayed the danger.

- Israel has informed usthrough the United States

that there are no aggressive intentions

and they will continue towork inside its territories.

We too have no aggressive intentions.

- [Chris] The tunnels,however, appear to be part

of an aggressive strategy by Hezbollah.

Israel says the tunnelsviolate the U.N. Resolution

that ended the 2006 second Lebanon war

that prohibited Hezbollahfrom a military buildup.

Since then, however, Hezbollahmissiles have increased

about ten-fold, to some 150,000,

giving the terror groupmore military firepower

than 95% of countries in the world.

Chris Mitchel, CBN News, Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met

with foreign journalists and discussed

the Hezbollah terror tunnelson its northern border.

And he also wants theworld to know how Israel

not only fights terrorismon its own borders,

but also helps the rest of the world.

The prime minister madethe most of an opportunity

in front of internationalreporters to tell them

how Israel is taking onits greatest enemy, Iran.

- We are fighting that nuclear deal.

I had to fight it againstall the powers in the world,

but I'm glad to see that this has changed.

We're stopping theirattempts to have a continuity

of land empire by preventing them

from entrenching themselvesmilitarily in Syria.

We're stopping that.

And, of course, the extension of that is

preventing their proxy,Hezbollah in Lebanon

from attacking us.

And through terror tunnels,

through precision-guided missiles.

- [Chris] Netanyahualso showed his audience

how Israel provided what hecalled "unmatched intelligence"

to stop terror attacks around the world.

- This is a plane boundfrom Sydney to Abu Dabi.

Dash planned to bring itdown, explode it in air.

We gave the intelligenceto the Australian police,

and they stopped it.

There are about 40 other such attacks,

many in the air, most on the ground,

which we've stopped invirtually all the continents.

- [Chris] According toNetanyahu, Israel's efforts

to keep the world safe has also brought

the Arab world closer to the Jewish state.

- Obviously this hascreated a new relationship

between Israel and the Arab world.

Some of it is coming into the open.

- [Chris] Netanyahuhighlighted his recent trip

to the Gulf state of Oman,and how Israeli athletes

competed in competitionshailed in Arab countries.

- The Arab countries understand exactly

what I'm telling you now, thatIsrael is not their enemy,

but is their indispensable partner

for countering thisradicalism, this terrorism

that threatens them as much as us.

That is the fruits of Iranian aggression,

are bitter, but also sweet.

- [Chris] He pointed to otherreason why these countries

are becoming more friendly.

Chief among them, technology.

- They want also a civiliantechnology, in anything.

In health, in water management, in IT,

in agriculture.

Our technology encompassesjust about everything,

and they want to have the benefit

to develop their own countrieswith this technology.

- [Chris] And then the primeminister offered reporters

a message to take to their audience.

- The news story is this,Israel is a world force

in countering radical Islam.

The Arabs get, the Muslims get it,

and they're coming closer to us.

Israel is a world forcein global technology.

Everybody gets that, everybody.

Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.

In another story ahead of Christmas,

Israel announced thatmore than 1,500 land mines

have been cleared near the site revered

as the place of the baptism of Jesus.

CBN Middle East correspondentJulie Stahl has that story.

- This is Qasr al Yahudon the Jordan River.

And behind me is Jordan.

Many believe this is the place

where John the baptist baptized Jesus.

It's also thought to be thearea the children of Israel

crossed over to the Promised Land,

and the site where Elijahascended to heaven.

Israel's side of the baptismalsite opened to visitors

in 2011, but the 250 acre area around it,

known as the land of themonasteries, remained off limits.

This area is covered withmines and other explosives

from past conflicts like the Six Day War.

Due to safety concerns,access to church properties

has been blocked for more than 40 years.

- We are working here almost one year,

and this monastery wework every three months.

It take us time to clean the area.

Clean from mines, clean from mortars,

clean for booby traps.

- [Julie] Seven churcheshave properties here.

Three monasteries havealready been cleaned,

and CBN News toured two of them.

The Franciscan Chapel was built in 1956

and belongs to the Vatican.

The Ethiopian monastery was much larger

and had a bakery and guest house.

- Every millimeter of this side is checked

at least by three peopleand by two different action.

So as you understand, it's very dangerous

and difficult job.

- [Julie] Marcel Aviv leadsthe Israeli agency responsible

for this type of operation.

It's working with HALO Trust,

the world's oldest andlargest humanitarian

mine clearance charity to clean the area.

- When we will finish all the job here,

those lands will be given to their owners.

And their owners are the churches.

- [Julie] During the Six Day War,

this church-owned landcame under Israeli control.

It became an easy target for the Palestine

Liberation Organization toattack Israeli soldiers.

Eventually the monks abandoned the area

and explosives were spread all around.

Israel has maps of the mines,

but according to supervisor Moshe Hilman,

many have shifted over the years,

and there are other challenges.

- And it was here full of metal.

It was a fighting zone,it was irrigation zone.

Monks have small farm in this monastery,

so it take us time to clean.

- [Julie] After the grounds are cleared,

the buildings must bechecked for booby traps.

- [Moshe] The first forces is to search

and to learn of the buildingand to learn from windows

and from visible opendoors what there is inside.

The second stage is to pull everything

and to shake everythingthat there is no wire

under there, there is no booby traps

that connected to bed, to door,

to window, to everything.

- [Julie] Some 800,000 people visit

the baptismal site eachyear, and that's expected

to triple once the monasteries are back.

- I hope that this gardenthat was left 50 years ago

will be green again andall of us will be happy

to visit here and tosee this amazing area.

I hope it will, and I'msure that it will be.

- [Julie] Julie Stahl,CBN News, Qasr al Yahud,

the Jordan Valley.

(upbeat music)

- [Chris] Coming up, why this man believes

it's important to keepJerusalem united and undivided.

- God Almighty is a God of blessing.

He always wants to bless his people.

But how do you get that blessing?

And what principleswill unlock that secret?

- [Announcer] In Miraculous Blessings,

Pat Robertson shows youhow to open the floodgates

of God's awesome blessings in your life.

- In order to have a blessing,you've gotta be blessable.

- [Announcer] Discoverwhat the Bible has to say

about God's covenant of blessing,

the laws of blessing, andwhat are the hindrances

to the blessings of God.

- The words of Jesus, they are as valid

as the law of gravity, andif we follow those laws,

we will be blessed.

- [Announcer] You'llsee amazing true stories

of everyday peoplewhose lives were rescued

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- But even the doctors acknowledged

that this had to be a miracle.

- [Announcer] Call 1-800-700-7000,

or visit cbn.com to become a CBN partner

and get Miraculous Blessings today.

- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.

Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans

in the world today?

148 million, but it was three little girls

that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.

My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed

in the daily activitiesof a Ukrainian orphanage

as we waited to adopt three sisters.

I saw first hand the utter loneliness,

the pain of rejection,

and the overwhelming desire to be loved.

That experience changed me forever.

And out of it grew aministry from my heart

called Orphan's Promise.

Today we're helping orphansand vulnerable children

in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,

they're being educated, andthey learning life skills.

I'm asking you to join with me

and become family to these children.

Will you call the numberon your screen right now?

Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.

- Earlier we heard from Chaim Silberstein,

a man who lost his four day old grandchild

in a terror attack.

And his daughter Shirais still hospitalized

after that attack.

Silberstein founded Keep Jerusalem,

a group dedicated tokeeping the city united.

Here's a story CBN ScottRoss did with Silberstein

before President Trumprecognized Jerusalem.

And Silberstein explains whyhe believes it's important

to keep the city together, take a look.

- Jerusalem's Old City, the Temple Mount

and the Mount of Olivesall share common bonds.

In addition to biblical significance,

they're all in the part ofthe city Palestinians want

as their future capital.

Scripture says Jerusalemis a city set on a hill.

- And we are standing on thehill, the Mount of Olives,

and we are overlooking the Temple Mount.

Beautiful vision here of the Old City,

and behind it the New City.

- [Scott] Chaim Silberstein,founder and president

of Keep Jerusalem, believesthe city must remain united.

We spent a day looking atJerusalem from different angles

to understand its complexity.

- This is a city that'sensconced in geopolitics,

in divisiveness, bothwithin the Jewish people

and certainly the Arab nationsagainst the Jewish people.

- [Scott] Jerusalemhas been conquered more

than any other city in history.

Yet it's been the onlycapital the Jewish people

have ever known.

Still, the world refuses to recognize it

as Israel's capital, eventhough it's mentioned

more than 640 times in the Old Testament,

and not once by name in the Koran.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

- We know that over 3,000years ago King David came here

and conquered Jerusalem andhe set up his capital here,

and for a thousand yearsIsrael had sovereignty,

the Jews had sovereigntyin the land of Israel.

A pocket of Jews remainedin Palestine, in Israel

throughout the centuries,but we only saw a real return

of the Jewish people inthe last 150 years or so.

And today when we look at Jerusalem,

we see Jerusalem built up.

- At what point was it that the Arabs,

the Palestinians, made a determination

that this was their capital?

- It was only when the Israelisliberated Jerusalem in '67

that they changed that becausethey need to get us out.

So they then createdthis idea that they want

a Palestinian state withJerusalem as its capital.

- On the world stage,Jerusalem is typically divided

between east and west.

The newer western cityis primarily Jewish.

The older eastern sectionstretches from north to south.

The majority of thecity's Arabs live there,

but so do an almost equalnumber of Jewish Israelis.

With the city as it is now and the talk

of dividing Jerusalem, is that realistic?

A divided Jerusalem?

- I think that it would be a disaster

of historic proportionsand a huge mistake.

Because dividing up Jerusalem will create

the exact opposite effect of peace.

- From 1949 to 1967,Jerusalem was divided,

with Jordan controllingthe eastern sector.

During 1967's Six Day War,Israel took back control.

Silberstein took me to the battlefield

that turned the tide.

This is the actual spot where,

hand-to-hand combat tookplace here, is that correct?

- Correct, this wasprobably the toughest battle

in Jerusalem during the Six Day War.

Between the west and MountScopus was ammunition hills.

It was critical to take this hill.

- [Scott] The Bible called Jerusalem

the city of the great king,

and it's seen many kings.

In 1964, Jordan's King Hussein

started building a hilltop palace

on the northern edge of Jerusalem.

The Six Day War interrupted his plans.

- This site where we are now is not really

the palace of King Hussein,

but rather the palace of King Saul.

- [Scott] From on high, it'seasy to see why kings old

and new would want to occupy this hill.

- We're looking eastwards,and we're actually looking

into the Judean desert.

Behind the Judean desertare the mountains of Moab,

which is where Jordan is today.

- Oh.- So we can see all the way

to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley.

What we see below us isthe Jewish neighborhood

of Pisgat Ze'ev, and to thenorth of that Neve Yaakov.

These two neighborhoodsare basically nestled

within Arab neighborhoodsthat are surrounding them.

If we would cut offJerusalem and say everything

to the left of thisline would be Palestine,

90,000 Jews living inthese two neighborhoods

would find themselves in Palestine.

- How can you divide themwhen they're so integrated?

- That is a rhetorical question.

- It is?- Yes.

(laughing)

- [Scott] Looking to the north

we could see biblical Judea and Samaria,

otherwise known as the West Bank.

In the distance, justfive miles from Jerusalem

is Ramallah, the currentseat of government

for the Palestinian authority.

- An important thing tounderstand when you want

to understand the strategicissues facing Jerusalem is,

what is the goal of the Arabs?

They understand thatJerusalem is the heart

of the Jewish people, and ifthey can liberate Jerusalem,

from their point of view,then they will have succeeded

in liberating Israel ultimately.

- [Scott] Silbersteinbelieves the Arabs have three

main ways they're workingto liberate Jerusalem.

By force, propaganda anddiplomacy and demography.

- What they're doing is buildingand building and building

inside Jerusalem largelyillegal structures,

in fact have successfullycreated a territorial continuum

that runs from Ramallah in the north

all the way through Jerusalem,

through the Old City toBethlehem in the south.

And by doing that theywill have infiltrated

a demographic Trojanhorse inside Jerusalem.

- Do you have hope for this city

to eventually be whole?

Do you see a good future ahead or no?

- Zechariah chapter 14talks about what's happening

here on the Mount Olives.

There will be an earthquake here.

There will be a war, there'll be all kinds

of unnatural thingsthat are happening here.

- That's yet to happen.

- That's yet to happen in the future,

but Zechariah ends the prophecy by saying,

"And Jerusalem will dwell secure."

The question is how we will get there.

The thing that is guaranteedto bring peace to Jerusalem

is keeping Jerusalem unitedunder Israeli sovereignty.

And that certainly is the prelude

to hopefully the incredible event

that we hope and pray will happen later,

which will be ultimatepeace both to Jerusalem

and the world.

- [Scott] Scott Ross, Jerusalem.

(upbeat music)

- [Chris] Up next, a friendshipbetween a rabbi and a pastor

that birthed a movement.

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- Did you win?

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- [Announcer] Life, it'smeant to be lived fully.

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- We had four jobs that didn't go right.

But we didn't waiver in our faith.

- That's when God put on my heart

that we needed to do the well.

- [Man] Within a couple of days

we got an insurance refund check

that we had no idea was coming.

- And here we are this year,it's just booming (laughing).

- You go out and help other people

and you get rewarded for it.

- [Announcer] Get PatRobertson's latest teaching,

Miraculous Blessings.

- Israel enjoys a lot ofsupport in the United States.

The largest group,Christian's United for Israel,

has grown to more thanfour million members.

But it all began with a simple friendship

nearly 40 years ago.

Each year Christian's United for Israel

brings its members to Washington, D.C.

Pastor John Hagee formed the organization

to be a political advocate onbehalf of the Jewish State.

It's come a long way since 1981,

when Pastor Hagee sought helpfrom the Jewish community

to host his first night to honor Israel.

- In September of '81, when he went

to the Jewish community in San Antonio

and agreed to represent usand get their permission

to have that night to honor Israel,

had there been no firstnight to honor Israel,

there wouldn't have beena second nor a third.

And there most assuredlywould not have been

a Christian's United for Israel.

So it was a very pivotal moment,

and rabbi was the man who,and the only man who could,

went to the Jewish communityand got their permission.

- [Chris] So why didRabbi Scheinberg say yes?

- Because I felt thatpastor was the person

that would say something,do something, carry it out.

He was a person of, Ifelt when I first met him,

I was impressed with his commitment,

with his zeal, with his strength,

with his courage, with his knowledge.

- [Chris] Recently an eventat Israel's Foreign Ministry

honored Rabbi Scheinberg.

Host David Nekrutman credits the rabbi

for breaking down a wallbetween Christians and Jews.

- From the Jewish side,to have an orthodox rabbi

say yes to an evangelicalpastor in 1981 was unheard of.

Mainstream Jewish/Christianrelations was usually

with Catholics and mainline Protestants,

Reform and ConservativeJews, with a handful

of orthodox rabbis in academia.

But on a grass roots level?

Never had anything like that,

and Rabbi Scheinberg changed the history

of the Jewish/Christianlandscape as we see it today.

- [Chris] Nekrutman says the friendship

of an orthodox rabbi andan evangelical pastor

has left a rich legacy.

- In 1981 he said yes to a relationship

that has lasted over 38 years,

which has accomplished37 nights to honor Israel

at Cornerstone Churchalone, but also influence

millions of Christians todo nights to honor Israel.

He raised over $100million for Israeli causes

and Jewish causes, and it wasall because a rabbi said yes.

- [Chris] Christ Mitchell,CBN News, Jerusalem.

(upbeat music)

Still ahead, a look at howone of the most cherished

Christmas carols, O HolyNight, came to pass.

- [Announcer] When you give,

smiles grow bigger.

When you care,

homes are happier.

When you comfort,

the hurt goes away.

When we all come together to love,

miracles happen.

- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.

Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans

in the world today?

148 million, but it was three little girls

that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.

My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed

in the daily activitiesof a Ukrainian orphanage

as we waited to adopt three sisters.

I saw first hand the utter loneliness,

the pain of rejection,

and the overwhelming desire to be loved.

That experience changed me forever.

And out of it grew aministry from my heart

called Orphan's Promise.

Today we're helping orphansand vulnerable children

in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes.

They're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.

I'm asking you to join with me

and become family to these children.

Will you call the numberon your screen right now?

Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.

- Hello, is this thing on?

Hey kids, do you love those?

And do you love discovering things?

Well, do ya?- Yeah!

- [Announcer] Then you're gonna love this.

It's the new, freeSuperbook Kid's Bible app.

You can play games, watch videos,

find answers to your questionsand a whole lot more.

The new Superbook Kid's Bible app.

Free downloads available oniTunes and Google Play now.

- The Christmas season is atime for Christmas carols,

and one of the mostbeloved is O Holy Night.

Here's the story of how this song

became a Christmas favorite.

In 1847, the Frenchsong, Cantique de Noel,

was co-written by a Jewishcomposer named Adolphe Adam.

A decade later, the Americanminister John Sullivan Dwight

translated the lyrics into English.

As an abolitionist, Dwight was struck

by the lyrics of the second verse.

Chains shall he break,

for the slave is our brother.

And in his name alloppression shall cease.

Almost 60 years later,on Christmas Eve in 1906,

the Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden

created the world's first radio broadcast,

mostly heard by radiooperators and cargo ships

in the Atlantic.

Fessenden read the story of the nativity

from the gospel of Lukeand played O Holy Night

on his violin, making itthe first Christmas song

ever broadcast on the radio.

If you would like to hearmore stories about Christmas,

like why Christmas is on December 25th

and how an ancient bishopbecame Santa Claus,

you can get CBN's new DVD, Christmas,

the Story Behind theTraditions, by going to CBN.com.

It'll be a great additionto your Christmas season.

Well, that's all for thisedition of Jerusalem Dateline.

Thanks for joining us.

Remember, you can followus on Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram and YouTube.

I'm Chris Mitchell, merry Christmas,

and we'll see you nexttime on Jerusalem Dateline.

(upbeat music)