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JERUSALEM (RNS) — Gerald McDermott, an American Anglican priest and retired professor of theology, had visited Israel 22 times before his most recent trip. The author of two books on Christian Zionism and the meaning of Israel to Christianity, he was invited to join a mission in late January to show solidarity with the Israeli people in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. 

“I’d seen most of the Oct. 7 videos,” McDermott said, referring to footage of the atrocities committed by Hamas at several kibbutzim and a dance party near Israel’s border with Gaza on that warm autumn day. The attack left 1,200 people in Israel dead and 240 held hostage in Gaza.

But nothing prepared McDermott, he said, for encountering the scene at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas entered the home of the Bibas family and tortured them before kidnapping them.

“You see all the blood on the walls, the bullet holes, the baby’s toys,” McDermott said the day after he and dozens of other pastors from around the world visited. “What we saw in living color was the hatred that Satan himself has for the Jewish people. Satan hates the Jews because he knows God loves them. Satan is living in and inspiring Hamas,” McDermott asserted.  RELATED: Umrah diary: Crossing into Jerusalem, looking Muslim

The mission, organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, included a visit to Sderot, a Gaza border city that has sustained numerous rocket attacks by Hamas in the past two decades. The group also went to northern Israel, from where tens of thousands of Israeli residents have been displaced by missiles launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Pictures of the Bibas family are seen at the entrance of their house at Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The participants, who hail from 18 countries, heard eyewitness testimony from massacre victims and some of the relatives of the 136 Israelis still being held captive.

The number of visitors to Israel has decreased dramatically since its war with Hamas began. Airlines have reduced the number of fights, and the hotels have been packed with evacuees. But in December, groups of evangelical Christians began to arrive, according to those who have organized the trips.

“In the past two months we’ve seen dozens, if not hundreds, of Christian groups coming to Israel,” said Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, a not-for-profit organization that encourages support for Israel among politicians and faith leaders abroad.

Since Oct. 7, evangelical Christians have donated tens of millions of dollars to Israel’s first responders and nongovernmental organizations that assist war victims.

Josh Reinstein. (Photo via Knesset Christian Allies Caucus)

“Christians, and not only in America, are supporting Israel like never before,” Reinstein said, pointing to pro-Israel rallies sponsored by Christians in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the U.S. especially, evangelical Christians actively lobby lawmakers to support Israel. Prominent American evangelicals made their voices heard loudly at November’s March for Israel on the National Mall in Washington.

Pastor Lisa Powell, the founder of Lisa Powell Ministries International in Corona, California, said she came to Israel in January on her 38th visit “to really see what I could do for the people here and pray about how we can be a blessing in a more tangible way.”

Because the group stayed in a Jerusalem hotel that is hosting dozens of evacuee families from Sderot, Powell had the opportunity to sit with them and learn about how they are coping with loss and displacement.

“That really pulled on my heart,” Powell said. “I’m a grandmother of 18 and also a great-grandmother. Entire families are staying in one hotel room. They are in a state of trauma, but they are strong, strengthened by being together as a community. Under any other circumstances they would be in a refugee camp, but the Israeli government is assisting them.” 

Christians on an International Christian Embassy Jerusalem solidarity mission visit a parking lot of burned cars while touring Israel. (Photo courtesy of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem)

Given the broad support for Gaza’s Palestinians among many young people, Powell hopes to bring a delegation of Christian college students to Israel so they can experience the country for themselves. “They only know what they see in the media and on TikTok, which is targeting the younger generation to disillusion them and to turn them against Israel,” the faith leader said.

Nick Hansen, the co-pastor of a Pentecostal church in Denmark, was in Israel on Oct. 7 to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles. While the shock of that day has subsided, he said, “there is now a somberness, a silence, a void without joy and without peace,” in Israel. “Everyone seems to be on high alert, on guard for the next attack.” RELATED: Coexistence initiatives in Israel tentatively resume as Arabs and Jews live side by side amid war

Hansen said he felt compelled to come on the mission with the other pastors to see the carnage for himself. “Sitting in Europe and watching the news, we wonder whether Israel is going too far. Being here, you understand the sheer evil of Oct. 7. It was a celebration of death, a brutality that doesn’t exist even in nature,” he said.

Shelly Shem-Tov tells the story of her kidnapped son, Omer Shem-Tov, to an International Christian Embassy Jerusalem solidarity mission visiting Israel. (Photo courtesy International Christian Embassy Jerusalem)

Pastor Ken Soltys, the founder of Ken Soltys Ministries in Hayesville, North Carolina, said he was deeply affected by the pastors’ encounters with the families of Israeli hostages in a Jerusalem hotel. Shelly Shem-Tov described the kidnapping of her son Omer Shem-Tov, explaining that he has asthma and celiac disease.

“Omer is our youngest. We call him our sunshine. He’s a good boy who went to a festival to dance,” the mother told the pastors. “I hope you will go home and tell your community our story. I hope this nightmare will end and I will hug my sunshine.”

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Woman missing for more than 60 years found ‘alive and well’

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Woman missing for more than 60 years found 'alive and well'

A woman in the US who has been missing since 1962 has been found “alive and well”, authorities have said.

Audrey Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in July that year when she was 20 years old, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years but the case eventually went cold.

However, during a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed all the case files and evidence, and re-interviewed several witnesses – and found Ms Backeberg.

The 82-year-old was “alive and well” – living outside of the state of Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said.

Ms Backeberg was married and had two children when she disappeared on 7 July 1962, according to the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation.

She left her home to pick up her salary but never returned, causing her husband to ask family members where she was.

Shortly afterwards their 14-year-old babysitter claimed she and Ms Backeberg had hitchhiked to Wisconsin’s capital city Madison and then caught a bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.

The teenager said when she arrived she became nervous and wanted to go home, while Ms Backeberg refused to return and was last seen walking near a bus stop.

Ms Backeberg’s marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation said, with a criminal complaint having been filed days before she went missing.

Her relatives insisted she would never abandon her children, the organisation added, and her husband passed a polygraph test and maintained his innocence.

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‘We talked for 45 minutes’ – detective

Detective Isaac Hanson, who found Ms Backeberg, said her sister’s Ancestry.com account was vital in helping him locate her address.

“That was pretty key in locating death records, census reports, all kinds of data,” he told local news station WISN.

“So I called the local sheriff’s department, said, ‘Hey, there’s this lady living at this address. Do you guys have somebody, you can just go pop in?’

“Ten minutes later, she called me, and we talked for 45 minutes.”

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‘She sounded happy’

Mr Hanson said Ms Backeberg may have left home due to marital issues, but it was unclear why she had stayed away for so long.

He said he had promised to keep their conversation private.

“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life,” he said.

“She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”

Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Ms Backeberg made the choice to leave and her disappearance “was not the result of any criminal activity or foul play”.

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Sports

Jets-Blues Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions

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Jets-Blues Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions

It all comes down to this. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues in the 200th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoffs history Sunday (7 p.m. ET, TBS).

One team will advance to the second round, while the other will get an early start to the offseason — and try to fix what went wrong.

For the Blues, this is the club’s 19th all-time Game 7, the most of any non-Original Six team. They have gone 10-8 in Games 7s, with the most recent one being the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, which they won 4-1.

This version of the Jets has much less Game 7 history on which to draw; their only Game 7 was a second-round victory over the Nashville Predators in 2018.

Who wins this one? We’ve gathered the ESPN hockey family to identify the key players to watch in the contest — as well as their final score predictions.

Who is the one key player you’ll be watching in Jets-Blues?

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: If he plays, it’s Mark Scheifele. The hit in Game 5 from Brayden Schenn and/or Radek Faksa generated quite a bit of conversation about what is arguably the most physically demanding series in the first round. Scheifele’s play this season and this series prior to the hit reinforces what makes him a legit top-line center in this league. We saw how the Jets maneuvered around his absence for the final two periods of Game 5, while Game 6 proved why they need contributions from everyone if he can’t go.

But again, that’s if Scheifele plays. He skated Saturday in a tracksuit, with Scott Arniel saying the center will be a game-time decision Sunday.

Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Connor Hellebuyck is the obvious answer here for me because he’s been “Vezina” at home (especially Game 2) and “Vezina from Temu” on the road.

Hellebuyck has allowed four or more goals in seven straight road playoff games, which ties the second longest such streak in Stanley Cup playoff history. But Game 7 is at home. The pressure is on but he’s in comfortable confines, surrounded by a “Whiteout.” Which version of Hellebuyck do we get Sunday night?

Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: Connor Hellebuyck, of course. Has there been a Jekyll/Hyde performance like this in recent years?

The Vezina finalist can play lights-out at home and like a fish out of water on the road. Does that trend continue in Game 7? What version of the goalie shows up for this one?

But as a bonus, I’ll toss Pavel Buchnevich into this equation. He’s been driving the Blues’ offense, and if Hellebuyck is on his A-game then St. Louis is going to need Buchnevich to channel his hat trick energy from Game 3 to help the Blues pull off a stunning road win.

Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: Jordan Binnington renewed his title as one of the NHL’s most clutch goaltenders with his 31-save performance in Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship win over the U.S. — including six saves in overtime. He first earned it in 2019, backstopping the Blues to the Stanley Cup with Game 7 wins over Dallas and Boston.

Now he’s got a chance to reestablish those credentials.

Binnington had a 0.82 goals-against average and a .968 save percentage in those prior Game 7s. While Hellebuyck has been terrible in St. Louis, Binnington hasn’t been much better in Winnipeg, generating an .861 save percentage and a 3.44 goals-against average and giving up four goals in two of the three games. But as 4 Nations showed, Binnington can meet the moment. (Although this time, Kyle Connor will actually be in the lineup for the opposition. Not that we’re bitter or anything.)


The final score will be _____.

Clark: 4-3 Jets. There have been a few themes in this series. The first being that offense hasn’t been an issue — the teams have combined to score more than six goals in all but one game. The second is that the home team has won every game; I say that continues, and the Jets advance.

Öcal: 6-5 Jets. Hellebyuck doesn’t have his best game, but the Jets outscore that challenge, and Kyle Connor scores another third-period goal in this series to win it.

Shilton: 5-4 Jets. The Jets have been too good on home ice to let this one slip away. That’s not to say a St. Louis win would be surprising, but even if Hellebuyck is off, Winnipeg’s offense should be able to provide enough buffer that the Jets can squeak through with a narrow victory to advance.

Wyshynski: 5-3 Jets. The Jets would be toast if this game were played in St. Louis because it’s a demonstrable fact that Hellebuyck is a disaster on the road in the playoffs. He’s slightly below replacement at home in the postseason, but Winnipeg will take that considering his three removals on the road.

The Blues are first in the playoffs in 5-on-5 offense and goals-for percentage at home. But Winnipeg is second in both categories. Hellebuyck calms down, and the offense gets ratcheted up at home, especially now that Nikolaj Ehlers has a game under his belt, having not played since April 12 due to a foot injury.

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Environment

Meet Bodo – the 35 mph electric golf cart that thinks it’s a G-Wagen

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Meet Bodo – the 35 mph electric golf cart that thinks it's a G-Wagen

With a fully-enclosed, G-Wagen-inspired body and an 80 mile electric range, the Bodo G-Wagon golf cart is the NEV you need when you decide it’s time to get serous one-upping the rest of the Palm Beach country clubbers.

If you love the look of the $230,000 Mercedes-Benz G580 off-roader, but think the 579 hp, 6,800 lb. electric 4×4 is probably overkill for occasional trips to the golf course and country club, this G-Wagen-inspired golf cart might be just what you’re looking for.

The shiny black 2024 Bodo G-Wagon sold at Mecum Auctions last month for $31,900, which seems like it might not be a lot of money to the sort of person who decides to take a flyer on a goofy, limited-use EV that ships with real, metal doors, power windows, heating and air conditioning, fully digital instrument cluster and infotainment, and a “posh,” caramel leather interior.

It even has windshield wipers, power steering, and a rear-seat entertainment system that’s built into the front headrests!

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It’s really nice in there

Under the hood, the Bodo packs a 15 kW (20 hp) electric motor drawing power from a 10 kWh li-ion battery that won’t deliver a scorching 0-60 mph time (it only goes 35), but will deliver you and your buddies from one end of any golf course in North America and back several times over, thanks to the G-Wagon’s 80 mile range.

The official Mecum Auctions listing goes into a bit more detail, and I’ve included it here, in case it gets deleted after a while and you’re just finding this for the first time in 2027:

Be the envy of any country club or golf community showing up with this 2024 Bodo G-Wagon Golf Cart. Perhaps more appropriately known as an E-Wagon, this baby G-Wagon is powered by a 15kW motor with a 10kWh lithium battery. Boasting an 80-mile range and a 35 MPH top speed, the Bodo is an enclosed, luxury golf cart that pampers occupants with heating and air conditioning, rear-seat entertainment, power windows, power locks and a posh, caramel-colored interior. With the Bodo fitted with power steering and 4-wheel power disc brakes with brake boost, drivers will think they’re in a full-size G-Wagon, thanks to the multiscreen entertainment cluster, the rearview camera, windshield wipers, turn signals, running lights and so much more.

Finished in black with the right amount of brightwork, the overall vibe is one of jaw-dropping, smile-inducing fun. While the Bodo would be an excellent choice for any golf community, it should also prove to be hugely popular around a race track or car condo community as well, or maybe even a neighborhood with its own airplane runways. Over the past decade in particular, the demand for unique, luxury golf carts has been on the rise, and understandably so. The number of luxury communities with specific interests in sports, aero and auto has also been on the rise, with people buying homes in these exclusive locations to better engage with like-minded people. All too often a golf cart is the perfect way to get around these gated neighborhoods, and this one is enclosed, comes with the amenities of a full-size car and is infinitely more stylish.

MECUM AUCTIONS

You can check out a few more photos of the 2024 Bodo G-Wagon golf cart that sold at Mecum, below – and if you want one for yourself, you’re in luck! I found this brand-new 2025 “G600 E-Wagon” (in white) for $23,900 at Gulf Carts in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Head on down to the comments and let us know if you buy it.

SOURCE | LOTS MORE PHOTOS: Mecum Auctions.


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