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One month after hundreds of delegates and dignitaries attended the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) in Mar-a-Lago, it seems like God answered their prayers.
They prayed for Israel and got the release of 19 Israeli hostages, two of whom are also American citizens, as well as five Thai hostages, held by Hamas in this phase of the current Israel-Hamas cease-fire. They prayed for Donald J. Trump, and he seized the office of president of the United States in Trumpian style, with an eye to cleaning house, and—equally important—embracing a faith-based doctrine. Pastor Paula White was appointed to head the White House Faith Office. Another symbol of the Christian presence in the White House is President Trump’s 27-year-old press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who wears a large cross to briefings with the media.
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Albert Veksler, MK Robert Ilatov, Marla Maples, Sarah Boulos and Michele Bachmann, at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 14, 2025
(Photo: Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast)
The two-day event, presided over by Albert Veksler, global director of the JPB, had as its themes solidarity with Israel, a sense of burgeoning Zionism among the nations, and the belief that God installed President Trump to protect the United States and Israel. “This is a very important moment,” said Veksler. “This moment is a miracle.”
Robert Ilatov, co-chair of the JPB, articulated the reason for the gathering: “Mr. President, we are here to pray for you and your success to stop the wars. We are here to support you and pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” he said. “Mr. President, keep going. You and Israel can change the world.”
Ilatov’s sentiments were echoed by Member of Knesset (MK) Ohad Tal, who channeled the voice of the prophet when he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are at a historic junction. Behold the days are coming. Together, we have the opportunity to make the world great again.”
During the event, which took place five days before the inauguration, Florida Rep. Greg Steube set the tone in his introductory remarks, speaking about the shared values of Israel and the United States and noting “how reassuring it is that we will soon have a president who deals decisively with terrorists rather than appeasing them.” Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon excoriated the resurgence of antisemitism, saying, “Antisemitism is not historical. It is not theoretical. It is not distant. … [It] is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of hatred and we must end it.” Recounting the surprisingly pro-Israel rhetoric and actions of Argentine President Javier Milei, Veksler offered an interpretation: “This is a holy moment. It’s about the nations. … It’s more than just Israel. I’ve always known it.”
For members of the Christian right, that holy moment reverberated beyond the confines of the JPB. On Feb. 6, President Trump signed an executive order targeting anti-Christian bias. Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president stated his intention to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society, and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
And there was a bonus for the faithful: another Trump executive order, this one banning transgender women in women’s sports.
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Okotch Mondoh, Robert Weinger, Sarah Boulos, Rory Kaye and Stephanie Bahn Poteet, with a red, white and blue shofar, at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 14, 2025
(Photo: Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast)
Indeed, most of the head-spinning events of the past four weeks dovetail with the two-day meeting that drew 650 delegates, including American elected officials, Knesset members, and government officials from around the world. Clergy and religious leaders were aplenty, including evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, Rabbi Moshe Scheiner of the Palm Beach Synagogue, and former US Representative Michele Bachmann, dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University and a mainstay of the growing JPB movement.
Between prayers and addresses from the podium, there were performances of inspirational songs with verses taken from Scripture, some sung in Hebrew. Scenic images of Israel juxtaposed with footage of Oct. 7 was shown on large video monitors around the room. There was the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, a Jewish ritual. There were prayers said over Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and the former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and requests of God to move the Embassy of Brazil to Jerusalem and for Brazil to bless Israel. “I sense there is something happening in South America,” Veksler stated.
Pastor Matt Battista of Calvary Temple International reminded the delegates that they had special access at Mar-a-Lago and that the space was blessed. “This is a prophetic moment that things that are declared and decreed in this space today, we will see these things come to fruition,” he preached. The delegates were dazzled by their proximity to President Trump, who they hoped would appear. (He did not). Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife, did appear, revealing herself to be a religious Christian whose lifelong mission has been to bring together the Christian and Jewish communities.
Maples shared the podium with Bachmann and Sarah Boulos, the mother-in-law of Tiffany Boulos, Maples’ daughter with President Trump. Boulos—whose husband Massad was appointed by Trump as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs—described her husband’s job as “proving to people in the Arab community that Trump is the right choice.” She described President Trump as having “downloaded wisdom” and prayed for “divine authority over the Trump family.”
Bachmann led a prayer for the counselors to the president. “Pray over them … everyone speaking in the president’s ear: I thank you, Lord … for every counselor being chosen. May only your words go forth, … may false counsel fall on the floor. In the mighty name of Jesus, we say shalom over this presidency.”
And of course, there were plentiful prayers—by pastors, rabbis, politicians—pretty much by everyone who took the podium. Rabbi Pinchas Taylor, a rabbi from Florida, spoke of the Judaic underpinnings of America. “We are founded on the principles of the Bible. … The Hebrew Bible brought us all together,” he said. “I’m proud that the American people by and large stand with the Jewish people. From Haman to Hitler, we will surely shine through Hamas as well.”
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Rabbi Pinchas Taylor and Marla Maples, at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 14, 2025
(Photo: Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast)
Some religious leaders chose political barbs over prayers. Slamming the Biden administration for its “policy of appeasement,” Pastor Mario Bramnick, president of the Latino Coalition for Israel, told the assembled, “I’ve got great news for you. … In five days, nine hours, 45 minutes, we are closing the book to the Haman-Biden administration, and we are starting a new era in support of Israel. … God has given America a second chance. … The Biden administration waged four years of unprecedented comprehensive political war against Israel, criminalizing Israel’s war effort. … There’s a new sheriff in town that will undo all of Biden’s anti-Israel and antisemitic policies,” he said.
Others were more temperate in their speech. MK Benny Gantz struck a somber note, admitting that “it’s been a very difficult time back in Israel. … We failed to stand behind the sentence of ‘Never Again,’” referring to the murders of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent hostage crisis. Gantz also alluded to the hard road ahead for Israel as it seeks the end of the war, the return of the hostages and normalized relations with its Arab neighbors. “We have a decade ahead of us that will be very, very complicated,” he said.
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Gantz preached a message of peace and security, warning that it was the sacred duty of Israel to identify and prevent “interceptors of peace.” And he set the bar high for Israel. “As much as I bow my head in professional shame for what happened on October 7, it is our duty to ensure the future of our people. … We do not avenge in Gaza. … We do not retaliate in Gaza. All we do is secure the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, MK Yulia Malinovsky spoke about being realistic that the goal of Hamas was “to kill me and my children” and warned that what took place in Israel would happen elsewhere. “You experienced this with the Twin Towers. Don’t think this will not repeat itself,” she warned.
Amid the political forecasts and the warnings, the good wishes and the prayers, the songs and the praise, a media savviness workshop offered by Felice Friedson, founder and CEO of The Media Line, offered important lessons on the vital necessity of journalism during this time of global instability.
“What’s important for me is that the truth is not getting out,” she said.
Friedson criticized media venues for failing to report the truth and recounted breaking the story on Israel’s failure to destroy the terror tunnel system in Gaza, even after more than a year of war. “We look and search and we delve and then we find out that 40% of the tunnels in Hamas are still not taken out as we sit here. How many of you know that? That’s a huge fact. There is still 40% of infrastructure of the Hamas apparatus in existence, so if a cease-fire comes together, we have to ask the hard questions. We have to pray that the new president that comes in will have the authority and the wisdom to deal with what’s about to lie in front of him. It’s very, very complex,” she explained.
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Elihana Elia and Flávio Bolsonaro, at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 14, 2025
(Photo: Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast)
Friedson’s words were prescient, considering the controversial Gaza redevelopment plan proposed by President Trump during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington.
Another story broken by The Media Line is that Hamas was using social media platforms to spy on Israeli soldiers, Friedson said. She urged her audience to be informed about world events and get over their fear of social media. She spoke about the platform Telegram, where members of Hamas frequently post terror directives. She also urged her audience to pay attention to TikTok and to be mindful that Meta had gotten rid of its fact-checkers, making the veracity of content on Facebook and Instagram questionable.
“Journalism was created to give you a full spectrum of information and to be a checks and balances on government. Journalism needs to be strong again,” she said.
Friedson’s words echoed those of America’s founding father Thomas Jefferson, who stated, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Again, her words carried special weight as shortly after the inauguration, the Trump administration announced that it was denying access to the Pentagon press room to several mainstream media outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, and The Hill.
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Duvi Honig, CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, with former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman and MK Ohad Tal
(Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce)
“Journalism needs to be taught in school from a young age. And students need to understand the tools of social media even younger than today,” stated Friedson who established a student media training program at schools throughout the United States.
Though a journalist, Friedson ended her presentation at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast with a wish and a prayer of sorts. “I really hope the next four years bring some truth out to the population; that people are better informed,” she said.
As the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast at Mar-a-Lago drew to a close, it was impossible to forget Ilatov’s words: “If we pray for something, it will happen.”