Jerusalem Day is an annual Israeli holiday commemorating the reunification of the city of Jerusalem following the 1967 Six Day War. Celebrated the 28th of the Hebrew month of Lyar, the day is marked with dancing and trips to the synagogue.

In contrast, International Quds Day is Iran's "holiday" to protest the Jewish state's very existence. The annual event was instituted after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is "celebrated" on the last Friday of Ramadan each year.

In advance of this year's twisted "holiday," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took the opportunity to once again parade Iran's deep hatred of Israel.

"The Zionists are the enemy of the region," Rouhani told his cabinet just days after Iran left the Vienna JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) nuclear deal talks with the Biden administration. The Iranian president wasted no time demonstrating how difficult attaining peace in the Middle East might be for Biden and his misguided, anti-Israel State Department.

Imagine how a father feels to write: "My girls have spent the week petrified, scared to leave the house for too long, in case they need to run to a shelter due to Hamas shooting missiles."

While my Israeli friends live under the threat of Iran, the Iranian president continues spewing hatred, referring to Israel as "the enemy of the nations of the region and the executioners and atrocities of history who have displaced millions from their homes."

A sidebar on the Iranian president's website declares that the "root cause of all the problems that the Iranian nation have traces back to the Zionists." Like an errant child, the Iranian president blames Israel for his country's current predicament. For instance, Rouhani accuses Israel of undercutting Iran's relations with its Middle Eastern neighbors.

But the reality is that Iran's own actions have undercut its regional and global standing. Decades of aggression and continuing terror activities--funding terror campaigns, training jihadis and attacking both Israeli and U.S. ships--show the world that the ayatollahs have earned Iran's bad reputation.

Further, Iran steadfastly refused to abide by the 2015 deal throughout its term. That's why President Trump pulled out of Biden's old deal and applied heavier sanctions. Had Donald Trump not taken such a strong stance, Iran would likely already have the bomb ... and Israel may well have been its first victim.

Even now, Iran defiantly continues to violate agreements, both by enriching uranium at levels far greater than they promised in 2015 and by preventing inspections by nuclear regulators.

But Joe Biden keeps pushing his new Iran deal and sources on Capitol Hill say that deal could come within just WEEKS.

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But while Iran celebrates death, Israel celebrates life!

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"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 114:7).

Mat Staver
Chairman
Christians in Defense of Israel

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