Ohio pastors: We blessed Israel, now God blessing us

An earlier WND Israel tour

There undoubtedly are other opinions, but one online source, Bible Gateway, concludes there are 5,467 promises in the Bible.

However many there are, one of them is the assurance that those who bless Israel will be blessed.

In the New International Version Genesis 12:3 states, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you."

A new report from Breaking Israel News explains not only is it true, there's a modern-day example that can be found in north central Ohio.

The report from Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz says the situation started developing a year ago when 100 clergy from that part of the United States "came together in a powerful expression of solidarity with Israel."

The members of the Richland Community Prayer Network, in fact, sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

They took it upon themselves to apologize for the Obama administration's abandonment of America's best and longest ally in the Middle East.

That was when the Obama administration refused to stop a move in the far-left and anti-Israel halls of the United Nations to call Israel's presence in east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria "illegal."

The U.S. could have vetoed the move on Security Council Resolution 2334, but Obama ordered U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power to abstain from using America's veto power.

Obama was a rogue, they explained.

"As clergy representing over one hundred congregations in north-central Ohio, we officially oppose U.N. Resolution 2334. We want to formally apologize to you, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the citizens of Israel for the shameful actions of the Obama administration and his State Department that have jeopardized the security of Israel and betrayed its trust."

They also noted the "inexcusable" words from Obama's secretary of state, John Kerry, "suggesting that your nation of Israel cannot be both a Jewish state and a democratic state."

Further, "it is no small matter that the Obama administration gave its approval to Iran, which calls for the extermination of Israel, to build nuclear reactors…"

"These actions of the Obama administration do not represent the will of the governed; furthermore, this administration has now been deposed. Most assuredly, we believe that the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gave all the land of Canaan to Israel as an everlasting covenant just a 1 Chronicles 16:15-18 states; with Jerusalem as its eternal undivided capital."

It was signed by two coordinators, Benjamin Mutti and El Akuchie, for the Richland Community Prayer Network as well as 103 clergy.

"Please be reminded Prime Minister Netanyahu, even though nations conspire against Israel, these people plot in vain. Even though the kings of the earth band together against you and your country, the One enthroned in the heavens laughs," they closed.

Mutti told BIN, "We believe the Jews should be a light unto the nations. The U.N. resolution was a national crime. We wanted to bring reconciliation between our people and the Jews and also between us and the God of Israel."

He told Berkowitz that things started happening.

"The economy rebounded and the ecology also responded almost immediately after we sent the letter," he said.

Berkowitz explained, "One of the ways the economy bounced back was the approval of a hotly contested the Rover Pipeline, a 713-mile natural $4 billion gas pipeline. Although the project would bring jobs and money to the region as well as facilitate the distribution of natural gas throughout the U.S. and Canada, the pipeline was mired in several lawsuits. Its approval came ten days after the clergy sent the letter to Netanyahu. At the time, North-Central Ohio had a stagnant regional economy that was reported as the fifth worst in the country, and Mutti said that the project brought an enormous boost to the region."

Helped were landowners, who were being paid by the pipeline company, the employees working on the pipeline, and other companies who participated in the project.

Then, he said, "According to Department of Agriculture numbers, the spring turkey harvest in Richland County saw a dramatic 24 percent increase from last year, whitetail deer harvested was the best in four years, and the cow herd in Richland County, which is estimated in late winter, is now at its largest number in over 30 years, which is amazing!" Mutti told BIN.

A March 2017 winter storm that was poised to hit the region, "at the last moment," changed direction and dumped 30 inches of snow 70 miles away. The Richland area got two inches.

Berkowitz continued, "The clergymen decided to take their blessing of Israel even further. In response to the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement that calls for a boycott on Israeli products, 42 Christian clergies petitioned the Richland County treasurer, Bart Hamilton, in May 2017 and requested that he invest community funds in Israel bonds. The standing county policy did not permit such international investments, but at the urging of the clergy, the treasurer looked into the possibility of doing so. They cited the strong performance of these bonds as an economic incentive.

"After consulting with the treasurer, the county’s prosecutor rewrote the investment guidelines for the county, which had stood for 25 years. The treasurer then announced at a public county commissioner board meeting his intention to invest between $100,000 to $200,000 in Israel bonds."

The results took, well, no time.

"The day the county treasurer announced that the county government would invest in Israeli bonds, was the same meeting that half a million dollars in unexpected revenue were reportedly discovered to alleviate a budget shortfall!" Mutti said.