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There is a church in the little town of Bethlehem. It was built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. It's called the Church of the Nativity.

If you consult either UNESCO or various travel experts, they'll tell you the church resides in Palestine.

Donald Trump praying in a rally for evangelical voters

(Photo: AP)

But last month, trivia game show Jeopardy determined the church's location to be Israel and not Palestine, as the contestant said, and a firestorm erupted on social media, with the most fervent of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine supporters taking a firm position on both sides of the line.

Lately, another group has entered the muddled picture of Mideast politics, which has become more and more influential both in the U.S. and the Middle East American evangelical Christians.

This group today is one of the most politically powerful voting blocs in the United States, with them holding unprecedented power in Donald Trump's administration.

Their numbers are extraordinary: polls show that in 2016, more than a quarter of American voters identified as white evangelical Christians.

They've turned almost fanatic support for Israel and equally fanatic animosity towards its enemies into a core tenet of American conservative ideology, which is deeply rooted in the group's interpretation of the Bible.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

(Photo: Courtesy)

One of the main differences between evangelicals and other strains of Christianity lies in their relationship with the Bible.

Conservative evangelicals believe that the Bible is the literal truth. For them, it is a sort of prophetic road map for modern life, with events described and prophesied within the scripture destined to come true.

For evangelicals, the most important prophecy is the second coming, the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. The Bible doesn't mention when this will happen, but it does mention where the land of Israel.

Several senior evangelical pastors meet with Trump on a regular basis. These are the leaders of megachurches with tens of thousands of followers.

Many of these pastors follow the belief of Christian Zionism, the concept that the return of the Jewish people to Israel is just one of a series of events that will trigger the second coming of the Messiah.

According to this theology, God will reward those who help Israel and punish those who don't - a belief that leads directly to a clash with Iran.

For evangelicals, the return of the Jewish people to Israel, the expansion of its borders and its current control of the holy sites in the West Bank is clear fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

The main groups now battling Israel in the region - Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah - are all backed by Iran, making the Islamic Republic a crucial factor in the evangelical vision of the world today and in the future.

According to Christian Zionism, if the U.S. wants to be on the right side of this biblical prophecy, it needs to do everything possible to protect Israel and punish Iran.

This helps to explain why a different Bible story is also important to evangelicals.

The Book of Esther, about an ultimately thwarted plot to destroy the Jews of Persia, is so important to Christian Zionists that they've made multiple movies out of it.

Evangelicals who are very wrapped up in this theology see modern-day Persia - namely, Iran - as this Bible story come to life and played out on the international stage.

Mike Pomepo and Mike Pence

(Photo: AFP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence both identify as evangelical Christians, and both have enormous influence on American foreign policy.

This evangelical support isn't an accident; the Trump administration actively courts it.

After Trump revealed his "Deal of the Century" peace plan last month - a plan that would give Israel unprecedented control in the West Bank - the Christian Broadcast Network interviewed U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

"You're talking about opening up the Bible, bringing it back to life in ways that I think your listeners could not have even imagined," said Friedman.

"It's an opportunity for Biblical tourism that I think will grow and flourish in profound ways."

To American evangelical Christians, the Bible isn't just a foundational text, it's a prophetic road map that predicts the future and shapes the way they view the present.

And thanks to their influence with a president who depends on their votes no matter the cost, they are dictating an American foreign policy that they see as affirming those prophecies, however catastrophic.

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Evangelicals to the left, Iran to the right - Ynetnews

Iranian media have broadcast the first-ever footage of an operational Sejjil medium-range rocket in its underground bunker.

The same February 2020 broadcast includes what apparently is new or at least rarely-seen footage of trials involving the Sejjil.

The 59-feet-tall Sejjil could be a leading candidate to carry atomic warheads, if and when Iran develops them. The new imagery is a reminder that Iran apparently has deployed the Sejjil even before completing the rockets development.

Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California, circulated the Iranian broadcast on Twitter.

The status of the Sejjil has been under question for a while, Hinz tweeted. Seeing new footage of its deployment and new testing footage is quite a surprise.

Iran in all deploys around 55,000 surface-to-surface missiles. Most of them are shorter-range models such as the Shahab-1 and Fatah-110. The country also possesses Qiam rockets that can travel as far as 500 miles.

Sejjil is the countrys farthest-flying ballistic missile. The rocket reportedly can travel as far as 1,250 miles, in theory allowing Iran to strike targets across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, East Africa and South Asia.

Iran apparently does not possessa rocket that can strike the United States from Iranian soil. But Iran can strike U.S. interests in countries near Iran.

Iranian forces on Jan. 7, 2020 fired around 30 ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, injuring dozens of Americans but killing no one.

The attacks were Tehrans retaliation for the United States Jan. 2, 2020 assassination of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps militia and one of the countrys top military leaders.

A U.S. Special Operations Command MQ-9 drone fired on a vehicle carrying Soleimani and a deputy militia commander at Baghdads international airport, killing both men.

Jeffrey Lewis, a missile expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, studied photos of wreckage from the January 2020 strikes and concluded that the rockets involved in the attacks likely were Qiams.

The Qiam like many of Irans short-range rockets is a variant of the Soviet Scud rocket. The Qiams high-explosive warhead reportedly weighs around 1,700 pounds.

The Sejjil by contrast is a purely Iranian design. Along with other advancements, it packs a warhead as heavy as 2,200 pounds.

Its use of solid propellant, in particular, is due to fuel technology advancement made in conjunction with the Zelzal program during the 1990s, the development of which is believed to have been aided by China, the Washington, D.C. Center for Strategic and International Studies explained.

Though the missile has a similar size, weight and range to the Shahab-3 variants, its use of solid-propellants is a major improvement on the Shahab design. Solid propellants allow for a near-immediate launch time, leaving the missile much less vulnerable during launch.

Because solid-propellant missiles do not have to be fueled immediately prior to launch, they are easily transported. On the other hand, solid propellant missiles have particular performance characteristics that make them more difficult to guide and control.

How Iranian engineers have overcome these hurdles is unknown, but it seems likely that they have modified Shahab guidance systems and/or received considerable foreign assistance.

Because the design is new, Iran will probably have to subject it to a great deal of testing before putting the missile into regular operation, CSIS stated in reference to the Sejjil.

Assuming that the Sejjil project moves at about the same speed as foreign missile development projects, Iran could not have declared the missile operational until at least 2012. However, this still has not formally occurred, CSIS added. The missile has not been tested since 2012, leaving its deployment status uncertain.

If the February 2020 broadcast is any indication, we can more safely assert that at least a few Sejjils are operational in their underground bunkers.

David Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. He is theauthor of the graphic novelsWar Fix,War Is BoringandMachete Squad.

Image: Twitter.

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This Is Iran's Deadliest Missile (And It Could Someday Carry a Nuclear Weapon) - The National Interest Online

By Samuel Smith, CP Reporter | Saturday, February 22, 2020 An Iranian flag flies in an Abyaneh mountain village. | Wikimedia Commons/Nick Taylor

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is raising concerns over unconfirmed reports that authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are threatening the destruction of the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in response to President Trumps Middle-East peace plan.

The tomb is believed by some to be the resting place of the Old Testament queen Esther and her relative, Mordechai. Esther was the queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus. She is credited with helping save the Jewish people from being massacred.

The tomb is a popular pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians in Iran.

USCIRF is troubled by reported threats to the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Iran, USCIRF stressed in a tweet. [USCIRF] emphasizes the Iranian government's responsibility to protect religious sites.

The congressionally-mandated bipartisan and independent international religious freedom watchdog body was responding to a report from the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in Iran.

The organization posted on social media Sunday that the historic Jewish site is at risk of destruction.

Iranian authorities are threatening to destroy the historic tomb of Ester and Mordechai in Hamedan and convert the site to a consular office for Palestine, the Facebook post claims.

Ester and Mordechai were biblical Jewish heroes who saved their people from a massacre in a story known as #Purim. Their burial site has been a significant Jewish landmark for Jews and history buffs around the world.

According to covering reports, members of Iranian #Basij [paramilitary] attempted to raid the historic site yesterday in an act of revenge against the Israelis Palestinian peace plan by President Trump, the post added.

The United States-based nongovernmental organization watchdog group International Christian Concern reports that reports on Irans plans for the tomb are unconfirmed. But the NGO indicated that the alleged raid by Basij forces occurred last Saturday.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the covering reports cited by the alliance.

One initial report appears to have been published on Feb. 7 by Mohabat News, the Iranian Christian News Agency. The report cites a warning issued by the Council for Explaining Students' Mobilization of Hamadan Universities.

Although reports are unconfirmed, it would not be the first time that the tomb of Esther and Mordechai has been threatened.

As the Brooklyn-based Jewish Press reports, a group of Basij members from Abu Ali Sina University threatened to destroy the tomb in 2010 even though the tomb was labeled a national heritage site in 2008.

Additionally, the Jewish Press notes that authorities in Iran downgraded the status of the tomb in 2011 and removed a sign indicating that it was a pilgrimage site.

The threat of the tombs destruction highlights Irans Jewish history and community. But it also runs parallel to several challenges that Iranian Christians face, as many of their charges following arrest are phrased within a framework of terms that connect them to Zionism, ICC explained in a report. The tomb of Esther and Mordechai are important to both Jews and Christians. But for local Christians to speak about the tomb at such a sensitive point in time would put them at great risk for further persecution.

Several sites sacred to Christians and Jews have been targeted over the years by radical Muslims.

In 2014, the Islamic State destroyed the tomb of Jonah in Iraq.

Iran ranks as the ninth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List.

In Iran, religious minorities are regularly arrested for worshiping in house churches and Muslim converts to Christianity are severely persecuted.

In early February, two women born into Muslim families who later converted to Christ and led two house churches in Iran spoke at a religious freedom panel discussion in Washington, D.C., where they outlined the experiences they faced.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh spent 259 days in Irans notorious Evin Prison. Even though they were sentenced to death, the two were released after much international pressure.

We know first-hand how difficult it is for those who attend house churches because they risk their lives to attend house churches, Amirizadeh said. Any time if the government find out, they can raid the gathering, arrest people, torture them and confiscate their property.

Dabrina Bet Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian whose father, brother and mother are imprisoned in Iran, also spoke at the event.

Today, there is not a free church. There is no free evangelical church, nor free Pentecostal, she said.

The only churches that are allowed to function are orthodox or Catholic churches with restrictions. They are not allowed to have books in Farsi. They are not even allowed to, nowadays, print books in our own language. Any Christian literature or Bible even in our own language is not permitted. They are not even allowed to speak to a Farsi person near the church.

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Iran threatens to destroy tomb of Esther and Mordechai - The Christian Post

Hillary Clinton, in full Hillary Rodham Clinton, ne Hillary Diane Rodham, (born October 26, 1947, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator (200109) and secretary of state (200913) in the administration of Pres. Barack Obama. She had served as first lady (19932001) during the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States. As the Democratic Partys nominee for president in 2016, she became the first woman to top the presidential ticket of a major party in the United States.

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Hillary Clinton was born on October 26, 1947.

Hillary Clinton attended Wellesley College and Yale Law School.

Hillary Clinton was a U.S. senator from 2001 to 2009 and secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. She was the Democratic Partys presidential candidate in 2016 and first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, was president from 1993 to 2001.

Hillary Clinton was a U.S. senator, secretary of state, and first lady. She was the first woman to be the presidential nominee of a major American political party.

The first presidents wife born after World War II, Hillary was the eldest child of Hugh and Dorothy Rodham. She grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, where her fathers textile business provided the family with a comfortable income; her parents emphasis on hard work and academic excellence set high standards.

A student leader in public schools, she was active in youth programs at the First United Methodist Church. Although she later became associated with liberal causes, during this time she adhered to the Republican Party of her parents. She campaigned for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 and chaired the local chapter of the Young Republicans. A year later, after she enrolled at Wellesley College, her political views began to change. Influenced by the assassinations of Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., she joined the Democratic Party and volunteered in the presidential campaign of antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy.

After her graduation from Wellesley in 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she came under the influence of Yale alumna Marian Wright Edelman, a lawyer and childrens rights advocate. Through her work with Edelman, she developed a strong interest in family law and issues affecting children.

Although Hillary met Bill Clinton at Yale, they took separate paths after graduation in 1973. He returned to his native Arkansas, and she worked with Edelman in Massachusetts for the Childrens Defense Fund. In 1974 Hillary participated in the Watergate inquiry into the possible impeachment of Pres. Richard M. Nixon. When her assignment ended with Nixons resignation in August 1974, she made what some people consider the crucial decision of her lifeshe moved to Arkansas. She taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law, and, following her marriage to Bill Clinton on October 11, 1975, she joined the prominent Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she later became a partner.

After Bill was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978, she continued to pursue her career and retained her maiden name (until 1982), bringing considerable criticism from voters who felt that her failure to change her name indicated a lack of commitment to her husband. Their only child, Chelsea Victoria, was born in 1980.

Throughout Bills tenure as governor (197981, 198392), Hillary worked on programs that aided children and the disadvantaged; she also maintained a successful law practice. She served on the boards of several high-profile corporations and was twice named one of the nations 100 most influential lawyers (1988, 1991) by the National Law Journal. She also served as chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee and founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Young Mother of the Year in 1984.

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Hillary Clinton | Biography, Politics, & Facts | Britannica

Hillary Clinton has swatted down the notion of serving as Michael Bloombergs running mate in the 2020 presidential race.

Oh no, the former first lady and 2016 runner-up said with a laugh when asked during an El Vocero de Puerto Rico interview Tuesday whether shed team up with Bloomberg for another run for the White House.

Im just waiting and watching as this plays out, continued Clinton, speaking at an event in Puerto Rico for her familys Clinton Global Initiative philanthropy group. I will support whoever the nominee is.

Bloomberg campaign sources told the Drudge Report last week that the hard-charging billionaire candidate was considering tapping Clinton as his vice presidential running mate.

Bloomberg, 78, served as mayor of New York from 2002 through 2013, overlapping with nearly all of Clintons run as an Empire State senator from 2001 to 2009.

Clinton, who lost a bitter presidential race to Donald Trump in 2016, had already publicly toyed with the idea of catching on as a 2020 candidates running mate or making another attempt of her own.

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Hillary Clinton shoots down rumors she'd be Bloomberg's 2020 running mate - New York Post