News and Views 5th November 2026 

US Mid-Term Elections

• Major US political shake shift. The 2026 US midterm elections have triggered a major political shift, with a sweeping "blue wave" handing Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The shift was driven in part by a resurgent ‘religious left.’ In Texas, Presbyterian seminarian James Talarico won a landslide victory, making history as the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from the state since 1988. Further north, the Rev Adam Hamilton, a moderate United Methodist pastor, secured a resounding Senate win in deep-red Kansas - a state that hadn't elected a Democrat to the chamber since 1932. Alongside congressional pickups by progressive pastors Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott in Iowa, these victories showcased a faith-leaning Democratic strategy focused on social safety nets, compassion, and systemic justice rather than traditional conservative evangelical policies.
• Republican post-mortem. Conversely, the Republican defeat has left evangelical leaders reeling from a stark decline in their core voting base. Christian political activist Sean Feucht expressed dismay on social media, highlighting that white evangelical turnout dropped sharply from nearly 25% of voters in 2024 to just 17% this week, implying that many white evangelicals stayed at home rather than cast a vote for either side. While President Trump – whose approval rating now sits at a low 34% – dismissed the losses by noting he was not on the ballot, and by blaming the Iran war, many accuse him of starting that war and being unable to end it. Evangelical analysts attributed the massive Republican losses to the electorate punishing conservative policy overreach.
• Stark prophetic punch. Some question whether this was the proverbial ‘punch in the face’ controversially prophesied two years ago by Emma Stark of the Global Prophetic Alliance in a spiritual act of judgment, predicting a catastrophic downfall for his movement due to partnering with an "antichrist spirit to build his own kingdom" rather than the kingdom of God. Her prophecy ignited an intense theological debate at the time, and was heavily denounced by American charismatic leaders, who despised her seeming criticism of their much-loved President – and Stark has effectively been blocked from the global prophetic movement ever since.

Antisemitism

• Labour cuts ties with Green Party over anti-Israel shift. The Labour Party has officially withdrawn from power-sharing agreements with the Green Party in 11 local councils. The dramatic fallout occurred after the national Green Party formally adopted an official policy declaring Zionism to be a "form of racism”.
• BBC pays £400,000 to Jewish producer bullied out over her Zionist beliefs.  In a story that, interestingly, has failed to appear on BBC TV News, the BBC has paid a £400,000 compensation settlement to Oscar-winning documentary maker Lucie Kon following a series of antisemitic incidents within the public broadcaster. Ms Kon, an openly Jewish filmmaker whose family lives in Israel, was subjected to a hostile work environment by fellow BBC staff members in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. According to Ms Kon, colleagues explicitly told her that Zionists like her were “evil”, aggressively pressured her to find excuses for Hamas's atrocities, and insisted that she "contextualise" the mass slaughter of young Jews at the Nova music festival.
• Ongoing systemic antisemitism at the BBC. After she raised a formal complaint, the BBC isolated her, ordering her to stay at home for months, and ultimately forced her out of the workplace. Ms Kon said she was left feeling "like having Jew stamped on my forehead" for simply bringing her authentic identity to the corporation. The £400,000 settlement was funded in part by British licence-fee payers, while the BBC has pointedly refused to issue a formal apology to Ms Kon or officially acknowledge the pervasive antisemitism she endured. In the wake of over 200 Jewish employees signing a scathing report accusing the BBC Board of operating an environment that was no longer "a safe space to be Jewish", Ms Kon warns that other Jewish staff members are continuing to suffer in silence or are fleeing the BBC due to relentless bullying.

Other recent news stories relating to the BBC and antisemitism include:

• The BBC is under fire for allowing a Green Party activist who was accused of legitimising the October 7 massacre 'free rein' to lambast a Jewish journalist on its flagship politics show.
• A former senior Panorama producer has accused the BBC of bias in its coverage of the conflict in Gaza, claiming that a 'new, more radical generation' had taken over, and suggesting the broadcaster had hired staff with 'partisan views'.
• Meanwhile, in another major UK institution, staunch antisemitic views are said to be becoming commonplace in the NHS, a disturbing trend that has been branded 'hate in healthcare' – and leading to Jewish medics being called 'baby-killers' and even being greeted with a Nazi salute by a colleague. 

Persecution of Christians

• New report exposes deepening global anti-Christian violence. As we approach Red Week - the annual global campaign dedicated to raising awareness of Christian persecution (Nov 15–22) – a sobering new report released by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) last week has revealed that the systemic oppression of Christians has worsened in 55% of the countries assessed. The comprehensive research details a horrific escalation of violence spanning from mid-2024 to mid-2026, highlighting sub-Saharan Africa as a primary epicentre of the crisis.
• Media’s virtual blackout of the suffering. According to the data, over 220 million Christians worldwide are now directly exposed to brutal persecution, with jihadist insurgencies in regions like northern Mozambique and Nigeria carrying out mass kidnappings, church burnings, and beheadings. As an example, at least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed last week during a wave of targeted violence in Ethiopia's volatile Oromia region. Despite the jaw-dropping scale of this global campaign against the Church, secular Western news networks continue to maintain a virtual blackout on the suffering of these faithful believers.
• Christian TV channel launches in Afghanistan. Afghanistan's first Christian satellite TV station, Mozhda TV, began broadcasting last week – a direct answer to decades of persistent prayer. The satellite channel is designed to beam gospel programming directly into Afghan homes using the nation’s local languages, providing isolated seekers and secret believers with access to solid biblical teaching, worship, and discipleship materials in the privacy of their own homes. Because of severe security restrictions and open hostility from the Taliban regime, direct face-to-face evangelism of course remains incredibly dangerous. Western intercessors are being urged to stand in prayer for the channel’s technical security, the protection of the content creators, and the spiritual fruit of the broadcasts as the gospel penetrates closed borders.

Silent Revival

• 14,500 young people gather in South Korea for 10 hours of worship and prayer. The G2A gathering (short for "Go To All"), brought approximately 14,500 teenagers and young adults to a stadium just outside Seoul on October 9th, where they devoted 10 hours to worship, prayer, and proclaiming the gospel. Organised collaboratively by roughly 160 churches and ministries and led by young Korean ministers, they spent time interceding for spiritual renewal throughout their country, including their schools, universities, churches, and workplaces. Following the movement's first event last year, prayer communities reportedly emerged at 40 university campuses and 109 workplaces. The initiative stands out as an unprecedented youth-driven response during a period when many local churches have faced a decline in younger participation.

World Events

• Tens of thousands march in Peru in support of Israel. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Peru on Mon 2nd Nov for a demonstration against antisemitism and in support of Israel. The event, held in Lima, was organised by the Germany-based March of Life movement, in partnership with the Worldwide Missionary Movement. Between 40,000-60,000 supporters showed up. The show of support comes amid a surge in diplomatic momentum for the Jewish state across Latin America.
• Latin America’s geopolitical shift. After several governments downgraded or severed diplomatic ties with Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, a broader geopolitical shift has begun to unfold across Latin America, as a growing number of conservative governments seek closer ties with Israel, building on the expanding reach of the Isaac Accords, signed earlier this year by Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to deepen ties with governments across the region while strengthening cooperation against antisemitism and terrorism.

Broken Society (the headlines say it all)

• Grandparents should ask for consent before hugging their grandchildren, a new Government-funded Irish advert from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said.
• Oxfam pays white staff 33% less on average than ethnic minority colleagues, while Cancer Research UK and the British Red Cross aren’t far behind, despite commitments to equality and fairness. 
• A museum has been accused of “woke madness at its most ridiculous” after removing its Egyptian mummy exhibition because it does not have “consent from the deceased individual”. 
• Under Labour's gay and trans Bill, a person risks a jail sentence if they insist a human can't be a cat.
• Children barely out of nursery are among record numbers being kicked out of class for sexual misconduct, with schools in England handing out almost 40 suspensions every school day.
• British police forces have spent more than £1m on uniforms for officers who require extra large sizes, according to a new investigation. In the last two years, forces have ordered 282 XXXXL vests - big enough to fit someone with a 68-inch chest.
• Punters have been banned from entering a JD Wetherspoon pub in Gosport, Hampshire. because they were wearing poppies. Wetherspoon insist there is no ban on poppies at its venues.

• Evening Seminar: Preparing to Navigate the Storm. In light of the UK government's recently-launched 'Be Ready' campaign, advising the population to prepare for 3 days of disruption caused by a possible sudden change in the status quo, Nick Szkiler and Sarah Winbow will be hosting an online seminar on Wednesday 18th November at 7pm, on the theme of preparing ourselves, our homes and the people of God to navigate our way through whatever the coming ‘storm’ may look like. They will both give short presentations which will be followed by a very practical Q & A. Please come with your questions pre-prepared. You can submit these in advance via the registration form. If you wish to join us, please sign up via that form.