(trumpet)

(upbeat music)

- [Chris] This week on Jerusalem Dateline.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan

declares Hagia Sophia

once Christianity largest church,

a mosque.

Eddie promises to liberatethe Al-Aqsa mosque

here in Jerusalem.

Plus, Israel battles both

a second wave of Covid-19

and social protestthrough out the country.

And Pat Robertson explains,

his lifelong commitment

to stand with Israel

and the Jewish people.

All this and more thisweek on Jerusalem Dateline.

(upbeat music)

Hello and welcome to thisedition of Jerusalem Deadline,

I'm Chris Mitchell.

Turkey's PresidentRecep Erdogan once says,

the famed Hagia Sophia

will open for muslim prayers

on Friday, July 24th.

Right after he approved

turning the U.N. worldheritage site into a mosque.

The move is another signof Erdogan's determination

to expand his influencein the muslim world.

Some fear it also raises the threat

to Israel, the Middle East

and even NATO.

(zooming sound)

(whaling sound)

- [Chris] Moments afterPresident Erdogan's

controversial decision.

The muslim called a prayer sounded

from Hagia Sophia.

(people cheering)

Erdogan's made hisdecision despite objections

from the U.S., Russia, U.N.

and the Russian andGreek Orthodox churches.

Hagia Sophia was once the sit

of the Eastern Orthodox church.

- [Spokesman] The reactionsof the Orthodox community

was ignored.

For the Orthodox church,

Hagia Sophia is as importantas St. Peter's Basilica

in Rome for Catholics.

The church was built in the sixth century

and was devoted to Christ the Savior.

For us, it has been and always remain

the church devoted to Christ.

- [Chris] Once the largestchurch in Christendom,

the Hagia Sophia is a coveted symbol.

It was first converted into a mosque

well over 500 years ago duringthe Islamic Ottoman empire.

Then turned into amuseum by Kemal Ataturk,

the founder of modern-day turkey.

- The 1934 decision to turnHagia Sophia into a museum

was a way of signalingthat Turkey was moving

from the Ottoman era ofsectarianism and hierarchies

to a secular republic of equal citizens.

And now with this move,

add on is once againasserting Islamist supremacism

and domination on Turkey'sethnic and religious minorities.

- By Erdogan's vision hasalways been more ambitious

than controlling his country.

In a Facebook post he said,the revival of a Hagia Sophia

is a sign towards the return of freedom

to the Al-Aqsa mosque here in Jerusalem.

- [Chris] In the ArabicFacebook post He also said,

the resurrection of Hagia Sophia

is a greeting from our heart

to all cities from Bukhara to Andalusia.

Andalusia is a modern-day Spain

and Bukhara is in modern-day Uzbekistan

both are references to the Islamic dream

of reclaiming lands onceunder the rule of Islam.

And it all begins with Turkey.

- [Aykan] This is just oneamong many steps he has taken

and will continue to taketo socially engineer Turkey

into a majoritarian, authoritarianand sectarian regime.

And this will have consequencesrepercussions beyond Turkey.

In the Middle East, thereare many other supremacists

other sectarian state and non-state actors

who would like to impose their will

on ethnic and religious minorities.

So I would expect other forced conversions

of religious minority heritage sites

in the Middle East and beyond.

- [Chris] It's also a redflag to Turkey's Christians.

- [Aykan] This of courseis going to be disastrous

for Turkey's dwindlingChristian population.

Overall, there seems to bean intimidation campaign

to either scare away Turkey'sChristians on the one hand

and to reimpose a sectarianSunni Muslim dominant ideology.

(upbeat music)

- Here in Israel, in theearly days of the pandemic

the nation was hale as amodel in fighting Covid-19.

But now the second wave is wreaking havoc

including sky rocketing unemployment

and protest in the streets.

(zooming sound)

(alarm blaring)

- [Chris] In Jerusalem,several thousand demonstrators

both waded and protestedthe governments handling

of the Covid-19 crisis.

Just days ago, thousands ofIsraelis gathered in Tel Aviv

to protest the government lack of support

for Israelis out of work.

- We are not workingalready nearly five months.

And unfortunately, mostof us have not received

any compensations fromthe Israelis government

and this is really a tragedy.

- [Daniel] How you can feed your family

and pay your employees

after five months with zero income.

- [Chris] In an attempt tostop the economic bleeding,

Prime Minister Netanyahu promise relief.

- I directed the immediate establishment

of a joint form round tables

together with the self-employedand with the business owners

so that we can resolve the problems.

- [Chris] The economicproblems are daunting.

Israel is experiencingan unemployment rate

of more than 20 percent.

And one of its main industries tourism

is among the hardest hit.

You can see the evidencedriving around Jerusalem

where dozens of tourists buses sit part.

Hotels remain closed

and many tourists shops are shuttered.

So how did the Israelisgo from a shining example

of handling COVID-19 in April to today.

Some believe it's simplybecause Israelis didn't follow

the three requirements for reopening,

wearing face masks,maintaining social distance

and personal hygiene.

- [Chris] Since thendaily cases have risen

from just double digitsto more than a thousand.

The crisis has led to ashortage of the drug Remdesivir.

And a threat of a nationwidestrike by the nurses union

who say they're overworked.

One Israeli official said the country

is one step from a full lockdown

while some hard hit areashave been quarantined.

- We respect thosedecisions because for us

a life is a life. And it'snot just another number

and for we want to make surethat everybody is safe at home.

- [Chris] The governmentalso sent mixed messages.

For example, when theKnesset overrule the Cabinet

for its closures on pools and gyms.

All these has led to a dramatic fall

in the poles for Netanyahu.

In April, 30% of Israelis were unhappy

with his handling of the crisis.

Now that pole has doubled to 61%.

Meanwhile, on an optimistic note,

United Airlines announcedit will open a new route

from Chicago to Tel Avivstarting this September.

(upbeat music)

- [Chris] Up next, an alarming report

on how the movers of the Islamic Republic

are cracking down on theunderground church in Iran.

(upbeat music)

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(upbeat music)

- Recently, Iranianpolice arrested a number

of Iran's underground church.

CBN's George Thomastalked with Mike Ansari

of Mohabat TV about those arrests

and what's the state of the believers

in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

(zooming sound)

Iran is experiencing anunprecedented revival

in the midst of COVID-19.

Mohabat TV sends thegospel message into Iran

by TV and internet.

The ministry report is recording

10 times more online salvationthan this time last year.

That's three thousandIranians coming to Christ

every month since March.

The large number of people leaving Islam

as you can imagine is causing a backlash

against the church inside the country.

Here to tell us more aboutall of this is Mike Ansari,

Director of Operations for Mohabat TV.

So Mike, tell us more of aboutthis unprecedented revival

taking place in Iran in themidst of a global pandemic.

- Since March of this year,most Iranians are practicing

social distancing bystaying at their homes.

Government has increasedthe internet bandwidth

to keep them at home.

As a result, many youngIranians are going online

to research alternatives towhat the government offers.

They have seen a tenth foldincrease in our online traffic,

coming from inside Iran to our chat

and social media channels

re-registering around 3,000professional decisions,

personal decisions ratherby Iranian Muslims.

To leave Islam for Christianityduring this revival

that's why we call thisa pandemic of hope.

- And when you talk about this,

I mean obviously mostpeople are hunkered down,

they're staying at home,they're sheltering in place.

But what is fueling thisunprecedented growth

when you have 3,000 Iranians every month

since March coming to JesusChrist. What's fueling it?

- People are not happywith their government,

their solution with Islam. Theyfeel that Islam is bankrupt,

they want a regime change.

They're having very vocalabout this for years.

They noticed last November and December,

there was a huge uprising in Iran

and it was crushed by Iranian government

killing more than 1,500 of its citizens.

To which they are never accountable

to international community.

So people in Iran are just not happy,

the way their economy is going.

The way the government is robbing them

of their natural resourcesand exporting Shia Islam

to the neighboring countries.

So they just don't trust their government.

- Why is this revivalangering the Iranian regime?

- Well vast majority of Iran's population

are finding their leaders tobe corrupt and untrustworthy.

The Iranians have declared publicly that

they don't want anIslamic republic anymore.

The Iranian government will do anything

to secure its longevity.

This includes violenceagainst its own citizens.

- What actions specifically,Mike, is the government taking

to stop the revival from happening?

- A short time ago,Iran's Guardian Council

has asked for some amendments to be made

to a proposed parliamentarybill that threatens

to facilitate the further repression

of religious minorities.

These are amendments to Articles 499

and 500 of Islamic Penal Code in Iran.

Such that, those foundguilty of what they call

deviant psychologicalmanipulation or propaganda

contrary to Islam whetherin real or virtual sphere.

They can be labeled as saints

and punished with imprisonment,

flogging, fines or even death penalty.

In other words, accordingto this new ruling,

the 3,000 Iranians who visitedour website just last month

and made the decision to leave Islam

are subject to severe punishment.

This is a severe violationto people's rights,

to freedom and publicexpression and belief.

- And obviously, the regimerealizes the influence,

not just of satellite television

which you guys arebroadcasting on primarily,

but they also see social media,

they see the various platforms,

Instagram, you know, Facebook.

Tell us about Christianswho have been arrested,

I hear there have been anumber of them since March,

since the pandemic has begun.

Tell us about their plight.

- George, absolutely!Since a few months ago,

we have seen a major increasein the number of raids

on people's homes and house churches.

Dozens of Christiansconverts have been arrested

in the last few weeks and charged

with acting against national security

by promoting Zionist Christianity,

that's what the Iranian court is saying.

One of those arrested and released on bail

is 36-year old Somalia or Sonia Sodet

who is the sports coachwho runs the women's gym

investing in Tehran

and belongs to women's onlyhalf church known Zekdelan

or One Heart which has dozensof Muslim middle age members.

She was released on abail of 500 million Tomans

around $ 23,000 last Thursdayafter nine days in detention.

- How can we pray for the Church in Iran?

- The Church in Iran isfighting for its survival.

First and foremost,

we are asking the international community

to pray for Iran's Church.

Second, we are asking allthe pastors and leaders

across America and Canada to be generous

to the plight of IranianChristians, their churches.

Third, At Heart for Iran and Mohabat TV,

we are providing resourcesto Iran's underground church.

If you want to partner with us,

please do contact us onour website heart4iran.com.

- And what are the folks inside Iran

part of the underground church movement,

what are they telling you about

how they are dealingwith this global pandemic

and using this opportunity

to share the hope of Jesus Christ

to those who are feeling hopeless.

- Well the beautiful thing about Jesus,

is that Jesus is generousand Jesus is loving,

and that is exactly what we are seeing

in the trend of Iranian Christians

under the severe prosecutionsof their own government,

they are turning around andturning the other cheek,

and going on the streets of Iran

and helping the people who areunder distress over pandemic.

And people who aredealing with social crisis

and social issues as aresult of the pandemic.

They are showing a spirit ofgenerosity, love and kindness

in a face of prosecutionfrom their own leader.

(upbeat music)

[Narrator] Coming up,CBN Founder Pat Robertson

shares his heart and history

of standing with Israeland the Jewish people.

(suspense music)

- We are deeply concerned of spreading

- [Dr Fauci] It is ten times more lethal

than the seasonal flu.

- [Reporter] Growing ininternational concern

- [Narrator] A global threat revealed

- [Interviewee] If we don'tshut down these markets,

we are headed for another pandemic.

- [Narrator] An attempt to hide the truth,

- [Interviewee] His lab was shut down

and he was ordered to destroy the samples.

- [Narrator] Was it a monumental mistake?

- [Interviewer] Was itan accident from the lab?

- [Interviewee] Beijing has done its best

to prevent the foreigncommunity from spreading this.

- [Interviewee] You'redestroying the very information

you need to help save human lives.

- [Narrator] Or a planned attack?

- [Interviewee] If he wanted to get even,

he would have done exactlywhat in fact, he did.

- [Interviewee] The wordwent up the chain of command

fairly quickly and theybegan to take action.

They were allow the virusto go around the world.

- [Narrator] Don't miss

the CBN Film's documentary presentation

(suspense music)

- [Narrator] Outbreak. Streaming Now.

- [Narrator] Christians around the world

are standing with the Israelis. But why?

In CBN's free magazine,

Friends of Israel,

you'll discover why theChristians are supporting

the Jewish state.

How Israel is fulfilling prophecyas a light to the nations.

And ways you can prayfor the people of Israel.

Israel needs the supportof friends like you.

Call now or go to www.CBN.com

to get your free copy

of Friends of Israel.

(inspiring music)

(upbeat music)

- I am Regent's first ROTC graduate.

(laughing)

(inspiring music)

(upbeat music)

- For decades, CBN Founder PatRobertson has been a friend

to Israel and stoodwith the Jewish people.

He shares that history with Scott Ross

when they talked about Robertson'sjust published memoirs,

I have walked with the living God.

(zooming sound)

- Out of all these projectsof ministries works,

Regent University,

Operation Blessing,

ACLJ,

[Scott] Middle East Television.

- [Robert] Yeah

- [Scott] You had aninterview with Yitzhak Rabin

who was that time Prime Minister.

- [Robert] Right

- [Robert] And you askedhim what you could do,

what we could do as America beforehand.

What did you say to him?

- He looked at me and hesaid, "Be strong, be strong."

That the thing he wantedit's like your vein,

and I was so touched by that.

He said, "Be strong"

and I went up to mount of olives

Where a group was stayingand I was in the hotel

overlooking the dome of therock down there in Jerusalem

and I made a pledge

that I and the ministriesassociated with me

would stand for Israelregardless of what it took

and we've kept that over the years

and God has blessed, youknow, he'll bless those

that bless you and cursethose who cursed you

and we have been champions forthe Jewish people ever since

but I said, whatever it takes, you know,

even if it's painful I'll do it.

- Yeah and subsequently youestablish Middle East television

- That's right

- But there was something Godtold you, you going to Israel

(laughs)

- You know, It's again, It's in the book.

I was praying I said God

this is a big deal

and I you know I don't want,you know and the Lord told me,

He said. Deedee and I were praying

and He gave me the versein scripture and He says,

Lebanon shall be like a fruitful field

and the fruitful field shouldbe counted as a forest.

And in that day the deathwill hear the words the book

and the eyes of the wine will be open.

I said, this is it Lord showedme that's what we ought to do

and I said okay God Iknow but if I go in here

and we spend money and all of a sudden

we get overrun and blown up,

It's going to be very foolishso I need more of a sign

and I said all right Lord,

I don't like to ask you for something

but I want to ask you for,

I'm going to put whatdid you himself a fleece

I'm going to ask you sendme something of gold.

And...

And I waited and waited

and DeeDee went to our mailbox

and nobody knew about it

but here's a letter froma guy named Frank Folio

And He said, I have in my hand

a 24 carat

gold pieces

that we're struck by Pablo Picasso

and you know I've got them

I could sell you one, I couldn't buy one

but before long He gaveme one and we still got it

It was 24 carat gold

confirmed by Pablo, uh, Paloma Picasso

I mean the Lord didn't justgive me a crummy old Kruggerand

He gave me 24 carat.

That was the sign

that I asked for and He gave it to me.

- Yeah and He also underscoredit with this word to you

You've made mistakes inother parts of the world

- [Pat] Yes

when you go into Israel,

- [Pat] You don't make any mistake here

- Wow

- This is the land of the bible

I was on British, European airline

flying across the Mediterranean

it was a moonlit night I wasgoing to Tel Aviv from London

and the Lord said,

you're going to Israelthe land of the bible

and all that other.

- Here in this book we've talked

maybe a little bit more the inside

of Pat Robertson more than the externals

but this is,

I read it just a few times

and the stories are astounding

I mean they really are.

There's some lady in thetelevision few months ago said

God doesn't speak to people, she said it.

And I said, lady I'm so sorry,

let me hit you with a big brick.

But....

God speaks to you

and it's all around us and we see it.

- That's right.

- This is what he's done, what he's doing.

This is one book.

- Right

- This should be a 10-part TV series

(Pat chuckles)

or a movie or something, it's amazing!

- There have been somany things in Scotland

- [Scott] I know

- This is a walk with a living God

but you know it's a little

and it's over and over again

God is so creative and thereso many wonderful things

and what I want out of this this book

I want people tounderstand that God is real

and he'll answer your prayers

and this is a guidebook ofhow you can listen to him

and hear his voice

and when you get through,

nobody can read this bookand not believe in God.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Up next,Israeli researchers come up

with a promising plan tostop COVID-19 in its tracks.

(suspense music)

- We are deeply concerned of spreading

- [Dr Fauci] It is ten times

more lethal than the seasonal flu.

- [Reporter] Growing international concern

- [Narrator] A global threat revealed

- [Interviewee] If we don'tshut down these markets,

we are headed for another pandemic.

- [Narrator] An attempt to hide the truth,

- [Interviewee] His lab was shut down

and he was ordered to destroy the samples.

- [Narrator] Was it a monumental mistake?

- [Interviewer] Was itan accident from a lab?

- [Interviewee] Beijing has done its best

to prevent the foreigncommunity from spreading this.

- [Interviewee] You'redestroying the very information

you need to help save human lives.

- [Narrator] Or a planned attack?

- [Interviewee] If he wanted to get even,

he would done exactly what in fact he did

- [Interviewee] The wordwent up the chain of command

fairly quickly and theybegan to take action.

They were allowing the virusto go around the world.

- [Narrator] Don't miss

the CBN Film's documentary presentation

(suspense music)

- [Narrator] Outbreak. Streaming Now.

- [Narrator] The people ofIsrael need your prayers

as they battle the COVID-19 virus.

In CBN's free guide, HowYou Can Pray For Israel

during the Corona virus pandemic,

you'll discover ways

to pray for Israel's leadersand government officials,

healthcare providers on the front lines,

holocaust survivors and the elderly,

struggling families and more.

Get your free copy of thisvaluable prayer guide.

Call now or go towww.CBN.com/PrayforIsrael today.

(upbeat music)

- [Gizmo] It's the newSuperbook Bible app,

it's packed with games, activities

and Superbook episodes thatyou can watch for free.

So goooo...

There's trivia, fun daily devotional

and answers to your Bible questions.

Plus, an easy to understand Bible,

the whole family will enjoy.

You can even create yourown Superbook character.

Tada....

it's the new Superbook Bible app.

Free downloads on iTunes,Google Play and Amazon.

(upbeat music)

- On a promising note,

could a simple drug onthe market for decades

successfully treat COVID-19?

This Israeli research team believes so

because of a significant breakthrough

in understanding

how the coronavirusreproduces in the lungs.

CBN Middle East correspondenceJulie Stahl has that story.

(upbeat music)

- [Researcher] These are human lung cells

and they have been infectedwith the new coronavirus

- [Julie] Professor Yaakov Nahmias leads

the Hebrew University researchteam that's discovered

how a drug on the market since 1975

could possibly combat the pandemic.

- Viruses are parasites.

They can't replicate on their own.

They are essentially a box of protein

with a single strand ofgenetic material inside them.

In order to make more viruses,

they have to get inside human cells.

- [Julie] Nahmias showed CBN News

a microscopic view ofcells affected by COVID-19.

- [Professor Yaakov] Yousee this tiny green spots

are actually Lipid droplets in the lung

and they're not supposedto be there at all.

The red things are essentially membranes.

This is the actual factorythat produces more viruses.

And we have never seenanything like that before.

You can actually see that thecells are not doing very well.

- [Julie] After threemonths of intense research,

Nahmias saw how the virus prevents

the routine burning of carbohydrates

in the lungs causing fat to accumulate.

- [Professor Yaakov] And one of the things

that we found together withMt. Sinai Hospital in New York

is the fact that onceit gets into the cells,

it starts making the cells make new fat.

- [Julie] That was the key.

- [Professor Yaakov]Once we found that out,

you know, we could start screening drugs

that may potentially block the virus.

Not by targeting the virus itself

but by going after

fat accumulation.

So the virus needs this fatto grow and make new viruses

but a drug like Fenofibrate canhelp the cells burn this fat

and then suddenly virus production stops.

- [Julie] Nahmias hopesclinical trials will begin soon.

- [Professor Yaakov]If everything pans out

and the clinical studiesvalidate our results.

It looks good. Everybody'scrossing their fingers.

And we hope that beforethe next flu season,

we'll be able to bringthis drug to market.

- Researchers here atHebrew University say

they hope to downgradethe threat of COVID-19

to that of the coming cold.

Julie Stahl, CBN News Jerusalem.

(upbeat music)

- Well, that would be

a great step forward for the whole world.

We also want to take this time

to congratulate PatRobertson on his life story

and salute him for how he has led CBN

to stand with Israeland the Jewish people.

As they say in Hebrew,

(foreign language)

with great respect

Here at CBN News in Jerusalem,

we're standing on the foundation

you established many years ago.

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

Thanks for joining us.

Remember, you can follow us on

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

I'm Chris Mitchell,

we'll see you next timeon Jerusalem Dateline.

(upbeat music)