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August Rain in Israel, Iran's Blockade & Birth Pains Getting Worse
August 24, 2026 · 29 min
August rain in Israel, global crop failures, and Iran's blockade tightening — this week's VFI News covers the headlines you need to understand and the scripture that puts it all in context.
From Israel's unusual August rainfall and what the super El Niño means for the Holy Land, to global crop failures that could trigger serious food shortages in the months ahead.
Series VFI News
Barry and Batya Segal are among Israel’s leading praise-and-worship artists, known for blending ancient Yemenite Jewish melodies with modern world music rooted
August 24, 2026 · 29 min · VFI News
August rain in Israel, global crop failures, and Iran's blockade tightening — this week's VFI News covers the headlines you need to understand and the scripture that puts it all in context. From Israel's unusual August rainfall and what the super El Niño means for the Holy Land, to global crop failures that could trigger serious food shortages in the months ahead. ...more Show the full description Show less August rain in Israel, global crop failures, and Iran's blockade tightening — this week's VFI News covers the headlines you need to understand and the scripture that puts it all in context.
From Israel's unusual August rainfall and what the super El Niño means for the Holy Land, to global crop failures that could trigger serious food shortages in the months ahead.
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In this video 0:00 Birth Pains: Global Weather Chaos and August Rain in Israel9:18 Iran's Collapse and Ongoing Threats from Hezbollah & Hamas18:31 Israel's Humanitarian Aid to Colombia After Earthquake23:38 Shabbat Tensions and Protests in Jerusalem27:58 Good News: Israel's Top Global University Rankings
Birth Pains: Global Weather Chaos and August Rain in Israel 0:00 The big story this week is the strange weather we've been having here in Israel, including a strong heat wave, which isn't unusual in the summer, followed by rain and thunderstorms, which is almost unheard of in the0:11 month of August. Another big story is the aid delegation Israel sent to Colombia to help with the recovery efforts they're following last week's devastating earthquake. The standoff with Iran continues in the Strait of0:22 Hormoz while the IDF entered into a heightened state of activity with Hezbollah and Lebanon this week, and there was, as usual, good news and bad news on the economy. All that and much more is just ahead0:34 of this week's edition of VFI News from Israel.0:48 Before we dive into this week's headlines, I wanna take a moment and ask you to join me in praying for the victims of a rather long list of natural disasters, which have happened seemingly all over the world in this past1:00 week. The intense heat that's baked much of North America and Europe has caused horrific wildfires, which seem to just be getting worse. Other places like Japan and the United States of Colorado,1:12 Hawaii, North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana have been hit by storms which have brought devastating floods. Powerful earthquakes have hit Indonesia and Colombia, which we'll talk about more in a moment. Now there are1:24 many more natural disasters that have hit almost every region of the world in the past few weeks, and I could easily spend this entire report just talking about them. In the natural, the cause of the rain we had in1:35 Israel this past week is the same cause as the terrible droughts and storms we're seeing in so many other places all over the world, and that is the so called Super El Nino in the Pacific Ocean. Now
1:47 don't ask me to explain it. I don't completely understand how it works, and even if I did, it would take too long to explain. The point is it's causing weather patterns to be out of whack all over the world, and the
1:59 meteorologists are saying it's likely to continue to cause things to be out of whack for several months well into January. Now that could mean much bigger disruptions to the usual patterns of precipitation, wind
2:10 temperature, and so on here in Israel and around the world. But for now, this unexpected rainfall, which we got, did little actual damage, although there was some flooding. But I'd rather have rains
2:22 come a few weeks early than to have droughts and wildfires. I'd rather have farmers in the Galilee having to rearrange their harvesting and planting schedules a little bit rather than having the situation that we see in
2:34 many European countries, where farmers are reporting that the fall harvest have brought in between 20 and 30 percent of the yields they were expecting. Many of the world's other major grain and fruit
2:46 producing regions are also reporting poor harvest this fall. And in places where they usually start planting winter wheat and other crops as soon as they get the fall harvest in, many farmers are saying they don't
2:58 have enough diesel to run their tractors, and they also don't have enough fertilizer to even make planting worth their while. In other words, friends, the tough times I spoke about a moment ago
3:10 are going to get tougher, and there's going to be a lot more problems for everyone. So once again, I'm asking you to join me in urgent prayer for all those affected by these terrible natural disasters and for
3:22 all the 2nd and 3rd order effects that we'll continue to see for many months and even longer. Now on that note, I cannot neglect to once again advise everyone to plant a vegetable garden if you can.
3:34 During both world wars, millions of people all over the world planted what were called victory gardens because it was the only way to ensure they had any fresh food to eat amidst the global disruptions
3:46 in the agricultural cycle. This is an idea which I believe can and should be revived in the current emergency. Now some people will no doubt say I'm a crackpot for urging my listeners to do this. But if
3:58 I'm wrong, it won't do anyone harm to have grown a few veggies. And if I'm right, it could save someone's life. But even as we're praying and planting seeds, we must also remember the spiritual dimensions to all
4:10 of this, friends, because as Romans chapter 8 verse 22 tells us, the whole of creation is groaning as the time for redemption draws near. Now these are some of the birth pains that Yeshua told us about in
4:21 Matthew chapter 24 verse 8, and they're getting more painful and increasing all the time and coming closer together because the time for his 2nd advent on this earth and the birth of the messianic
4:33 age is drawing ever closer. Now anyone who has ever been in the delivery room when a woman is in labor and about to give birth knows that it is a very stressful, painful, and generally unpleasant time.
4:45 But as John chapter 16 verse 21 says, as soon as the baby is born, you forget all about the unpleasantness. Well, in my case, when my wife gave birth to our son, I fainted, so I don't even remember
4:57 anything. Well, that having been said, we are going through some very difficult times right now. And by we, I mean the entire human race, including here in Israel. Now as I
5:09 said before, we had heavy rains all over the country this past week, which is something that almost never happens in August or for that matter even before Sukkot, which usually falls in late September or early October.
5:21 Now although we are grateful for every drop of rain that falls in the Holy Land, if it comes so early or if we get too much of a good thing, it can be very disruptive to the economy in general and the agricultural
5:33 sector in particular. So please pray for God to have mercy on those who are suffering in this time and pray for him to remember his chosen nation of Israel because we've been through a lot these past few years, and
5:45 it's just getting more intense. That's why I have more gray hair than I used to. Now on that subject, regular viewers on this report will know that here at Vision for Israel, we're doing everything we can
5:57 to try and ease the burdens on Israeli families, single mothers, and communities amidst this ongoing crisis, both to Jews and Arabs alike. With the start of a new school year coming up, we're especially conscious
6:10 of the added expenses many families are struggling with. So if you wanna know more about our projects to assist families with school children prepare for this coming year, you can visit our website vision for israel dot
6:21 com, and please watch this short video.
7:31 For most children, the 1st day of school is exciting. But for some families in Israel, it's overwhelming. Parents are doing everything they can, but school supplies are expensive.
7:43 For some children, even a backpack and basic supplies are out of reach. No child should start the school year feeling left behind. Without help, many children will walk into class lacking what they
7:54 need. This is the moment we can step in. For over 30 years, Vision for Israel has provided practical support to families in need. Your gift equips a child for success.
8:06 45 dollars provides a backpack with essential school supplies. 90 dollars equips 2 children. 180 dollars prepares 4 children for the year ahead. When you give, you're not
8:18 just providing supplies, you're providing confidence.
8:34 Child walk into school ready to succeed. Sponsor a child today. Vision for Israel dot com.
8:55 Welcome back, friends. Now before we continue, I need to tell you a few things about what this summer of drought and severe heat is doing to Israel's most dangerous enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Several
9:07 provinces in Iran have recorded multiple days this summer of temperatures that exceeded 50 degrees centigrade, which is around 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall in most of
Iran's Collapse and Ongoing Threats from Hezbollah & Hamas
9:19 Iran has also been far below historic averages, and Iran is suffering from chronic long term drought. The regime, the ugly IRGC, which rules Iran, has admitted that it's
9:31 in trouble and has even talked about the possibility of evacuating large cities, including the capital of Tehran. But there might have to be an evacuation of the entire country because ecologists
9:43 have warned that Iran might be uninhabitable by 2040, if not sooner, due to a combination of drought, pollution, and other environmental problems. Now just think about that and
9:55 the implication it has for prophetic warnings that are written about in Ezekiel 38 to 39. Now I know I've been talking about those passages a lot for months because there's so many signs
10:06 that we're getting close to their fulfillment. This environmental catastrophe in Iran is 1 of them because Iran has to be an organized nation state in order to play the role in future events that
10:18 these prophecies say it will. So if human life is impossible there because it's too hot and there's no water, then they won't be an organized nation state. Get it? As it already stands,
10:30 the civilian economy in Iran is widely reported to be in a state of total collapse, with the real currency trading at about 1400000 to the dollar, which means it's functionally useless.
10:42 But there's worse to come. President Trump has declared that he will continue to blockade Iranian ports and use some of the most severe economic warfare tactics ever deployed in order to bring the regime in
10:54 Tehran to its knees. He also said that he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz to be a US territory. But the bottom line is that life is getting so difficult for ordinary Iranian people that many are
11:06 simply giving up. Suicide rates are unofficially estimated to be skyrocketing, and reports indicated that a fair number of others have fatalistically accepted the fact that they will lose their own
11:18 lives soon to hunger, disease, or the brutality of their own government. We saw that with over 52000 killed back earlier this year by the IRGC and besieged military units.
11:30 Now I don't know about you, but that makes me very sad and also very angry at this cruel, demonic, heartless, Nazi like regime which refuses to accept that they've been militarily
11:42 defeated and insists on continuing to threaten Israel and Israel's Arab neighbors with pointless military strikes. It also makes me very angry when I see the public declarations of regime
11:54 figures saying they're doing all this in the name of and in defense of the Iranian people and who they call Allah. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this regime cares nothing for its people, seeing
12:05 them only as a resource to be exploited. Now the same is true of the Iranian proxy group in Lebanon, which is Hezbollah. Despite the fact that it has been reduced to a tiny fraction of its
12:17 former power by Israel's relentless military pressure, they continue to act like they've emerged triumphant from this conflict. Last Saturday, a Hezbollah attack on IDF troops resulted in 3
12:29 soldiers being seriously wounded. Now this was after a senior Hezbollah official stated that agreements between Israel and the internationally recognized government of Lebanon were a mark of shame on the Lebanese
12:40 National Army, and you guessed it, the Lebanese people. Now these are the same Lebanese people which have been saying more and more openly over recent years that they're sick and tired of Hezbollah and they want to
12:52 get rid of them. Hezbollah has ignored that, but still wants to speak as if they are defending these very same Lebanese people as well as their honor. In any case, the IDF responded strongly to
13:04 the attack, hitting several Hezbollah targets all over Lebanon and causing casualties among what's left of the organization's leadership. Hezbollah is down, but they're not out, and residents of northern communities
13:16 of Israel still need to be on their guard against the possibility of infiltration and attacks from the border, not to mention rockets. So needless to say, residents of the region near the border of the Gaza
13:28 Strip also need to stay ready to defend themselves as the threat from Hamas has not been completely eliminated. The so called board of peace is trying to put pressure on Israel to
13:40 accept plans that prime minister Netanyahu has already said are complete nonstarters. Hamas is also continuing to flatly refuse to disarm, which means they plan to continue threatening
13:52 to carry out more attacks like they did on October 7th 2023. Now Israelis living here in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria also never forget for 1 moment that
14:04 Hamas and other Iranian backed terrorist groups have operatives in these areas and would like nothing better than to do the same. Now all of that, as well as more normative problems like extreme weather events and
14:16 wildfires, require Israelis to invest in what is called civil defense. And here at Vision for Israel, we're committed to doing our part. We have provided tools, equipment and training,
14:27 ATV firefighting vehicles, and helping firefighting teams, medical 1st responders, community security teams, and even the police, and we will continue to provide assistance to whoever asked for
14:39 it. So if you wanna know more, you can visit our website vision for israel dot com, and please watch this short video. I'd appreciate it.
15:48 Vision for Israel has been installing bomb safety shelters since actually around the fall of 2021. During that year, there was a barrage of rockets that
16:00 came into southern Israel, particularly by the terrorist group known as Hamas, and Israel had to find a way further in order to protect its citizens, its residents
16:12 across the southern part of Israel. And so we sprung into action. We felt like this was a project that we had a personal invitation to fulfill. And it's important
16:24 because when these projectiles, these missiles, these rockets, whatever that is that's, thrown at Israel by its enemies, there is not only the potential for somebody
16:35 being killed instantly, but also there's tremendous collateral damage and and people that get wounded even from shrapnel. And so if you place a safety
16:47 shelter at a bus stop or in front of a high school or community center or a kindergarten or any kind of facility that's publicly accessible, the people can run into
16:59 these shelters. The children can run and find safety in them and be protected from a rocket that lands and shrapnel is scattered, which could be mortally wounding
17:11 people. So it gives not only a physical protection of security, but also an emotional sense of security that you know having a shelter that you can run to in the
17:22 street, outside of a store, somewhere publicly accessible, not just in someone's home, but out in the open, gives a sense of security. And I always believe that
17:34 it's important for us to refer to scripture in Psalm 91. The whole chapter talks about, God providing us a shelter. And we have seen amazing,
17:46 amazing deliverances from enemy rockets as a result. And now we've installed over 400 shelters across the southern and northern borders of Israel.
17:58 And they weigh 30000 kilos each, or that's 30 tons. And it's a lot of weight, and rebar and concrete that's been specially mixed, and also with
18:10 a special metal ramp that allows physically impaired people to be able to come up in a walker or a wheelchair on a moment's notice. In many of these areas, residents don't have any
18:22 longer than between 5 seconds to maximum 45 seconds to get into a shelter to be protected. Welcome back, friends. We just spoke
Israel's Humanitarian Aid to Colombia After Earthquake
18:33 about the need for Israel to have a strong civil defense infrastructure to deal with security threats as well as natural disasters. And that leads right into our next story, which is about the idea of home front command.
18:45 Now this branch of the military is exactly what its name implies, and it's including search and rescue units, canine units with dogs trained to find people trapped under the rubble of ruined buildings, and a large
18:57 medical corps trained to set up field hospitals and perform emergency surgery and other treatments. All of that is highly relevant to a job. The idea of home front command was given this past week to fly a
19:09 team down to Colombia and South America to assist with the recovery efforts following last week's devastating earthquake there. The 80 person Israeli team named Brit Reim or Covenant of Friends landed
19:21 in the hard hit city of Cali, Colombia on Friday. Within 24 hours, our own teams were deployed to assist with searching collapsed buildings for survivors. Another team of
19:32 Israeli engineers was also dispatched to Hospital Universitario del Valle in Cali, which was heavily damaged in the quake, but which is still in operation because there's no
19:44 choice. The quake resulted in over 4000 injuries in the region of Western Colombia, and this hospital is 1 of the only places where many of those injuries can be treated. Now the Israeli
19:56 engineers are advising the local authorities on how that they can be safely working amongst the structural damage to the buildings in the hospital complex. Now I'm going to speculate a little here
20:08 and say they probably need to improvise electricity supplies, waste disposal, and much else. Well, the idea of home front command includes specialists who know how to do all that kind of thing, and they learn
20:20 those lessons the hard way. Bravo to the IVF. Thank you so much. Speaking of which, another soldier who is taking part in this rescue mission is reserve major Roni Kaplan, who is
20:32 designated as the IDF Spanish language spokesman. He told reporters that Israel has experience searching for survivors in the rubble of buildings which have been hit by Iranian missiles. He added
20:44 that Israel wanted to take what it has learned in such painful experiences and share it with Colombia. Something he did not say, but I will, is that Israel also recently sent assistance to Colombia's
20:56 neighbor, Venezuela, after the double earthquake that struck that country just a few weeks ago. Now Israel did this despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations and years of hostility directed at
21:07 us from the regimes which have ruled in Caracas. This has led to a pleasant surprise as the current regime responded to Israel's assistance by opening what's called an interest department in
21:19 Tel Aviv. Now that's not quite an embassy, and we're unlikely to see a full restoration of diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela, but it's a nice gesture. And just the same, it's a good 1st
21:31 step in a positive direction. Don't you agree? Now I can't end this segment without switching to commentary mode and asking you to join me in prayer for all the people of Colombia, especially their newly
21:43 elected president, Ablardo de la Espria. This natural disaster hid his country just a few days after he was sworn in and immediately began a process of overturning many of the policies
21:55 of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, especially in the area of foreign policy. This included restoring diplomatic relations with Israel, which Petro severed in
22:06 2024, restarting security and defense cooperation and announcing that Colombia recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, something only America had previously
22:17 done. Now it is eerily similar to what happened in May of 2016 when Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem, and then just a few days later, the country was hit by a terrible volcanic
22:29 eruption. Many people all over the world are superstitious, and many also believe in a concept called karma, which means there are invisible spiritual forces in the universe which punish people for their bad deeds
22:41 and reward them for their good deeds. Now candidly, I don't understand why people can believe in such a thing since so many people get away with doing bad things and so many good things people do go unrewarded, at least
22:53 in this mortal life. Well, the Bible says that after departing this mortal plane and entering eternity, everyone will stand before the throne of judgment and get exactly what they deserve from a perfectly
23:05 just and all knowing God. But in this mortal plane, very few people ever get what they truly deserve for better or for worse. Nevertheless, it's not difficult to understand why superstitious people of whom there are
23:17 many will point to the earthquake in Colombia and say, see, it's just like the volcano in Guatemala back in 2016, and it's happening for the same reason. The leaders of this country are helping
23:28 Israel, and their whole country is being punished for it. Bah humbug. Well, friends, you and I don't believe that's how it works. But sadly, there aren't many people who do. So once again, pray
Shabbat Tensions and Protests in Jerusalem
23:40 for Colombia. I have many friends there. There's many Christians all over that nation and its president to stay the course, continue building closer relations with Israel, and not to be intimidated by the
23:52 superstition and the nonsense. Now getting back into the news, another big story in Israel this week is the ongoing drama regarding the Cafe Basimtha on Agrippa Street in Jerusalem.
24:04 This past Saturday on Shabbat, there were once again protests at the cafe because it was open, as I said, on Shabbat, or at least that was the ostensible reason that dozens of young ultraorthodox men
24:15 showed up to scream abuse at the people working there and their customers. A much larger crowd of secular Israelis came to support the cafe. And as usual, the police had to deploy several officers
24:28 to stand in between the 2 demonstrations. As the old song goes, keep them separated. In a related story, Jerusalem's most well known reformed synagogue, Kol HaNeshema in the Baca
24:39 neighborhood, was also vandalized this past Saturday on Shabbat. According to security camera footage, 3 young men broke into the building and tore up some artwork and did some other superficial damage. Now this
24:51 prompted MK, member of the Knesset Gilad Kariv of the Democrats party, who himself is a reform rabbi, to say that the incident was probably, quote, the work of incited hooligans who were
25:03 doing what they thought ultraorthodox rabbis supported by members of the governing coalition wanted them to do. He also accused MKs from the governing coalition of, quote, fostering gratuitous
25:15 hatred and delegitimization of liberal Jewish denominations, end quote. There are so many things I could say about this ridiculous situation if I wanted to make a comment, but I'll just say 1 thing because I'm
25:27 afraid it's so obvious. It might not get noticed unless somebody specifically points it out. These young men who broke into the Kola Nishima reformed synagogue and who are coming to this cafe and
25:38 screaming, Shabbos, in an apparent protest against what they're saying is a violation of the 4th commandment, that they are actually violating the 4th commandment themselves. They are not keeping the Sabbath
25:50 day holy by committing vandalism and screaming abuse at their fellow Jews. They are, in fact, doing precisely what they're accusing others of doing, and the hypocrisy of it is beyond outrageous.
26:03 I said before when commenting on this situation that I think it's possible, though, this could be a catalyst for a breakthrough of the gospel of the kingdom here in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. And I will ask you
26:13 once again to join me in praying into this situation. There are many other things going on all over Israeli society which are nudging things closer to revival, and I could do an entire news report just about that. Now
26:25 maybe we'll do a special report about it at some point, but for now, please join us in praying for the Basimtha Cafe and everything that's going on there, especially pray for the safety of the staff, the customers, and
26:37 everyone who is coming there to protest, counter protest, or whatever. Whenever emotions run high, there's always the potential for someone to get hurt. And by the way, if you visit Jerusalem, go visit the cafe and have
26:49 a good coffee. Now moving on, I'll just quickly mention that Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel's main getaway to the rest of the world, remains severely congested. I've arrived at and departed from this
27:00 airport more times than I can even remember, and it's always had issues, but I've never seen it like this. The obvious reasons include the large number of US Air Force refueling aircraft, which are still parked at
27:12 the airport so they'll be ready to participate in renewed hostilities with Iran should that become necessary. But there are likely other reasons, including the sheer fatigue that airport workers are feeling, just like
27:24 everyone else in Israel is feeling after almost 3 years of war, economic hardship, and all the rest. So if you're taking notes, this is 1 more thing I'll ask you to join me in praying about. And if you're coming to
27:35 Israel, pad in some extra time. Now we've come to the end of our report for this week. And as regular viewers know, I like to end with some good news every week. So here it is. 2 Israeli
27:47 universities, not 1, but 2. The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot were ranked in the top 100 research institutions in the world by the academic
Good News: Israel's Top Global University Rankings
27:59 ranking of world universities list compiled annually by the Shanghai ranking consultancy in Shanghai, China. The list considers over 2500 universities worldwide, and no
28:11 Iranian universities ranked in the top 500 on this list, just by the way. With that, I'm Barry Siegel, and this has been another edition of VFI News from Israel. Don't forget, pray for the peace of
28:22 Jerusalem. You shall prosper that love the city of Jerusalem. God bless you, and shalom.
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