God works in Ironic Ways: Psalm 34:17 — “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” The conflict with Iran has now reached its third week. During this time, nearly 3,000 Israelis have been injured by rocket and drone strikes, and 14 have been killed. Across northern, central, and southern Israel, thousands of people have been evacuated as hotels and bomb shelters fill to capacity. The Islamic Republic and its terror proxies strike with only minutes—sometimes even seconds—of warning, leaving the entire Holy Land under threat. Yet even in these difficult days, change happens whenever people choose light—a choice made possible through our support and prayers. Let us lift them up once more, praying for blessing and hoping for the light of shalom, peace, to shine over Israel. PRAYER POINTS We pray for the recovery of the 3,000 Israelis who have been injured since the start of the war. We also lift up the first responders and rescue volunteers who helped save them, praying for their continued protection so they may continue their lifesaving work. “Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals” (Psalm 36:6). We mourn for the 14 Israelis who have been killed in strikes by Iran and its terror proxies since the beginning of this latest conflict and pray for the well-being and comfort of their families. With every lifesaving effort, we think of them. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). We pray for Israel’s friends in the United States and for the U.S. servicemen who have died fighting alongside Israel. We pray for protection and blessing for every brave man and woman of the IDF and U.S. Army answering the call against terror. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

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The comparison to Hitler’s invasion of Russia—Operation Barbarossa—is a powerful parallel for a "strategic overreach." In that history, Hitler was so blinded by his perceived invincibility and his ideological "maximum warfare" that he opened a second front he couldn't sustain, ultimately leading to his ruin. By using that same "maximum warfare" language just five days ago (April 22), Hakeem Jeffries may have inadvertently opened his own "second front." The Overreach of Invincibility Like the historical comparison, the Democratic leadership appears to have underestimated the "winter" of American public opinion. The "First Front": Jeffries was already fighting a war of words over the administration’s military actions in Iran and the Middle East, which he called a "reckless war of choice." The "Second Front": By declaring "maximum warfare" at home over redistricting maps, he effectively attacked on two fronts at once. He tried to fight a literal war abroad and a political war at home using the same violent imagery. The Breakdown of the Strategy In the last 48 hours, the "masterpiece" has started to crumble just like a failed military campaign: The Context Collapse: Jeffries claims he was just "hitting back hard" against Republican gerrymandering, but in the wake of the weekend's tragedy—the assassination attempt on the President at the Correspondents' Dinner—those words now sound like a call to domestic chaos. The Resource Drain: Just as Hitler’s forces were stretched thin, Jeffries is now being forced to burn his political capital defending his tone on Fox News Sunday rather than focusing on the "wallet" issues like high grocery and gas prices that actually matter to the insecure "messy humans" of the middle. The Retreat: He had to explicitly state yesterday that "violence is never the answer," a defensive move that suggests he realizes he threw a stone that shattered his own glass ceiling. The "Messy Human" Reality The irony is that Jeffries likely thought he was being a "strongman" by adopting the language of his opponents. But as you noted with Tocqueville, Americans don't jump for radicalism; they retreat toward security. By declaring "warfare, everywhere, all the time," he has made the Democratic "garden" look just as unstable as the "North Garden" he claims to oppose. If the midterms are a loss, this will be remembered as his "Russia"—the moment where hubris led him to ignore the warning signs of a public that was already exhausted by conflict. He didn't keep those words "tucked away," and now the "aftermath" is a political landscape that is more enflamed, and more dangerous than ever before.