News and Views 29th Sept 2026 

Antisemitism

• Ireland’s deeply disturbing infatuation with Israel-hatred. Anti-Israel sentiment across Ireland has reached unprecedented levels within mainstream cultural and sporting institutions, as the country prepares for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixture against Israel on 4 Oct, which nation they describe as a “genocidal state”. The hostile climate was fully displayed during the initial match on Tuesday in Debrecen, Hungary, where the Irish team bowed their heads during the playing of Hatikvah (Israel’s national anthem) and completely refused the traditional pre- and post-match handshakes. Israeli sports officials lambasted the antics as blatant hypocrisy. The political theatre deepened when over 140 Irish venues refused to broadcast the match. The upcoming return fixture is to be held behind closed doors in Serbia, with the hosts unable to guarantee their opponents’ safety on Irish soil.
• Ireland’s hatred of Israel entrenched in society. Since the October 7 massacre, 17 different European countries have played Israel on home turf. But not Ireland. Somewhat hypocritically, Ireland had no qualms about playing a friendly in May against Qatar, which has allowed Hamas to base its political leadership in Doha. Or to play cricket against Afghanistan, run by Taliban fanatics mandating the medieval enslavement of women. Sinn Féin is now turning on the Irish women’s wheelchair basketball team for daring to compete against a “genocidal regime”. Ireland has even boycotted the Eurovision Song Contest because of Israel’s presence – both this year and next. Since October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents in Ireland have multiplied across Ireland, occurring ‘almost daily’. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ireland’s Jewish community is tiny, comprising no more than 2,700 people in a nation of 5.5 million.
• Jewish groups omitted from safety recovery funding. Meanwhile, a growing controversy has erupted after UK Jewish community leadership questioned the distribution of government safety funds (£2 million) meant to counter antisemitism – allocated by the Home Office following the terrorist attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. However, local Jewish groups have been conspicuously left out of the distribution of these recovery funds by local council leaders. The news comes as new data from the Community Security Trust reveals that antisemitic incidents and physical assaults surged dramatically this year, driven heavily by state-directed agitation from Iran and internal Islamist elements.

Persecution of Christians

• Massive surge in anti-Christian terror hits Nigeria. In the past week, yet another brutal wave of anti-Christian violence has devastated believers in Nigeria's Middle Belt - largely unreported by the world's media. Radical Islamist Fulani militants launched a coordinated series of attacks targeting rural Christian-majority farming communities. According to recent on-the-ground reports, dozens of believers have been killed and over a hundred kidnapped, in a calculated attempt to displace Christian communities and enforce illegal “harvest taxes”. This surge in violence was underscored by Donald Trump at the recent UN General Assembly, where he boldly denounced the international community's silence on global Christian persecution. Nigeria remains one of the most perilous places on earth to bear witness to the gospel.

• The growth and sovereignty of Israel's ancient Christian community. Amidst regional instability, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East where the Christian population is actively growing rather than declining. Over the past week, prominent features on indigenous Aramaic Christians in Israel have highlighted how Arab and non-Arab believers are thriving, preserving their ancient biblical language, and actively building a distinct identity under the protection of Israeli sovereignty. Furthermore, global Christian solidarity with the Jewish state continues, with the Vice President of the Pacific island nation of Nauru recently travelling to Jerusalem to officially open their embassy, declaring that “supporting Israel brings God's blessing” according to the promises of Genesis 12:3.

Silent Revival

• France’s youth are fuelling a Catholic revival. As documented in last week’s News and Views, reports continue to emerge of unprecedented interest in the Christian faith by today’s youth. In France, traditionally a thoroughly secular state, an unexpected Catholic revival is unfolding among young people , driven by a significant surge in teenagers and young adults requesting baptism. The majority are individuals under the age of 40 seeking transcendent meaning amid global instability. Data from the French Catholic Church shows adult baptisms have more than tripled over the past decade, with a large percentage of new converts coming from entirely non-religious backgrounds.
• Over 21,000 baptisms at Easter. A record 21,386 adults and teenagers were thought to have been baptised at Easter, according to the French Catholic Church – up 28% in a year. A survey found that 40% of those preparing for baptism had embarked on their spiritual journey following a difficult experience such as illness or bereavement, while 32% reported a powerful spiritual experience. All this helps explain the extraordinary popularity of Pope Leo XIV last weekend, when he was estimated to have drawn more than a million people to Paris, Lourdes and Metz.

Amazon Awakening

• Revival sweeps across Amazon River basin. A widespread spiritual awakening is continuing to transform remote communities along the Amazon River basin in northwest Brazil. Sustained by missionaries utilising boat networks to deliver both the gospel and humanitarian relief, the Foursquare Church, which now counts more than 3,200 congregations across the region, reported over 14,500 baptisms in the first half of the year alone. The movement is fundamentally shifting the religious demographics of an area historically dominated by strict Roman Catholic traditions.
• Rivers are sanctuaries, and canoes are altars. The true heroes of this revival are the dedicated missionaries enduring intense physical hardships to navigate the hundreds of winding tributaries that weave through the jungle. Reaching the furthest outskirts frequently requires up to six days by bus, six days by motorised boat, and up to 35 days of paddling by canoe up rivers like the Solimões and Purus. It is said that rivers have effectively become sanctuaries, and canoes have become altars. The spiritual crusade is tightly coupled with extensive humanitarian and medical relief.

World Events

• Spanish courts ban father from sharing faith with son. An unprecedented battle for parental rights and religious freedom has reached the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg after a father was legally barred from teaching the Christian faith to his own son. The father was stripped of his parental authority regarding religion and explicitly prohibited him from taking the child to church, reading Bible passages, or sharing faith-related digital media. The case stems from a 2022 family court ruling following the parents’ separation, after the mother objected to the father introducing their son to an evangelical community, and citing a prior, pre-separation verbal agreement to raise the child without religion. The impending decision could set a dangerous legal precedent limiting the freedom of Christian parents across Europe to pass biblical truth down to the next generation. The case has now been referred to the European Court of Human Rights.

Archaeology

• Second Temple purification complex uncovered near Temple Mount. Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered  a well-preserved ritual purification complex from the late Second Temple period at the foot of the Temple Mount near the Triple Gate in the Ophel area. Spanning 280 square meters, the site includes three public mikvaot and a monumental central pool meant to accommodate ancient Jewish pilgrims. Constructed in the early first century AD, the infrastructure dates to Jesus’ earthly ministry and offers physical evidence of the historical Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.
• Ancient Bible Scrap Discovered in Turkey. Meanwhile, archeologists digging in Turkey have unearthed a remarkable artifact from the early Christian era. According to a field report, excavations uncovered a rare copper box containing an incredibly thin gold amulet, measuring just 0.1 millimeters thick. Preliminary analysis by scholars indicates that the gold sheet features microscopically etched fragments carrying an ancient passage from the Bible. Alongside the amulet, teams discovered an ancient stone seal, adding further tangible evidence of the vibrant and enduring presence of early Christian communities who preserved the Word of God under intense Roman-era conditions.