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ISRAEL
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- Visit 'Peace In Jerusalem'
- for more comprehensive
ongoing reports by Retired Pastor/Teacher James McCutchan - Jmccutchan@aol.com
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- WORDS FROM AVRO MANHATTAN, AUTHOR OF THE VATICAN'S HOLOCAUST
by Barry Chamish - June 09, 2009 - The papal visit to Israel
was a bust. Pres. Shimon Peres did not manage to wangle Vatican
sovereignty over Jewish land. But the game never stops. Now using
King Juan Carlos, the Vatican's official Custodian Of Jerusalem's
Holy Places, a new game has been set in place. Obama was ordered
to accept the initiative, but he has no personal objections either:
http://content.usatoday.com/communit.../06/67585637/1
Q Mr. President, what's your message, sir, here?
- PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is my first visit to Saudi Arabia,
but I've had several conversations with His Majesty. And I've
been struck by his wisdom and his graciousness. Obviously the
United States and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship,
we have a strategic relationship. And as I take this trip and
we'll be visiting Cairo tomorrow, I thought it was very important
to come to the place where Islam began and to seek His Majesty's
counsel and to discuss with him many of the issues that we confront
here in the Middle East.
The day King Abdullah meets Obama???.KJC sends 2 messages to
King Abdullah. http://www.isria.com/pages/3_June_2009_93.htm
- Saudi Arabia: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives
Two Messages From Spanish King, President of the Spanish Government.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud received today two messages from Spanish King Juan Carlos
and President of the Spanish Government Jose Luis Zapatero. http://www.barcelonareporter.com/ind...peace_process/
- The government of Rodriguez Zapatero wants to leave as a
legacy of his presidency of the EU a strong foundation on which
to lay the foundations of a lasting peace between Israel and
the Palestinian National Authority and, ultimately, the creation
of a new state and the first step towards achieving that end
will be a summit that the President will have with leaders of
Arab countries involved in the peace process to be held next
autumn In Cairo.Continued: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_words_from_avro_manhattan.html
- http://www.barrychamish.com
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- OBAMA POSTPONES MOVING THE US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM
- June 06, 2009 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies. Israeli
sources reported that the US president, Barack Obama, decided
on Friday to postpone moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem for additional six months. US Embassy - Tel Aviv /
wikimedia.org - A Senior official at the White House in DC stated
that the official position regarding Jerusalem remains the same,
and that the final status of the city would be determined in
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Although the United States has
a consulate in Jerusalem, its embassy is in Tel Aviv. In 1995,
the US Congress voted to move the embassy to Jerusalem, but the
move was never carried out for political reasons.
- The Obama administration is trying to facilitate a peace
deal between Israel and the Palestinians, and called on the Israeli
government to halt its settlement activities in the occupied
West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- But recently, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
stated that Jerusalem would forever remain the united capital
of the Jewish State. He visited Obama last month and informed
him of his government’s decision to reject withdrawal from
Jerusalem under any peace deal. Because East Jerusalem was occupied
in 1967 along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, UN resolutions,
such as resolution 242, which calls for a full Israeli withdrawal
from all territories captured by Israel in 1967, also apply to
the city. Netanyahu stated that Obama cannot understand the importance
of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, and quoted the Israeli National
Anthem which states that the city is "The hope of two thousand
years, the land of Zion". http://www.imemc.org/article/60706
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- A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SIX-DAY WAR
 Many times since the modern State
of Israel was created in 1948, the Land of the Bible has been
thrust into war. In early June, 1967, Israel fought what has
come to be known as The Six-Day War. Outmanned by approximately
2 to 1 the Israel Defense forces thwarted the armies of Egypt,
Jordan, Syria and Iraq in a decisive victory.
- The lead up to the Six Day war is complex and resulted in
Israel fighting a three-front war. In April and May of 1967 Syria
and Egypt committed several antagonistic acts. From the Golan
Heights high-ground over looking the eastern Galilee, Syria regularly
shelled Israeli farms while Syrian troops gathered and organized
for combat. At approximately the same time Egyptian troops began
moving into the Sinai and amassing near the Israeli border. In
the Straits of Tiran, Egypt formed a blockade to halt all Israeli
ships bound for Eilat cutting off Israel’s only supply route
with Asia and stopping the flow of oil. These actions by Egypt
and Syria and public-sentiments expressed by Egypt, Syria, Jordan,
Iraq, and Kuwait to destroy the very existence of Israel caused
tensions to mount throughout the region.
- With Israel feeling her security and existence threatened
the government decided she must act. On June 5th 1967 at precisely
8 in the morning, Israel launched a preemptive air strike. Virtually
the entire Israel Air Force entered Egyptian airspace simultaneously.
Within minutes every military airfield in Egypt was under attack.
By the end of the first morning of the Six-Day War, the Egyptian
air force had been destroyed without ever taking flight. The
Syrian air force was destroyed that afternoon.
- As this happened, the situation with Jordan deteriorated.
Israel repeatedly asked the King of Jordan to not get involved
in the fighting. However, acting on false intelligence from Egypt,
he ordered the Jordanian Legion to begin shelling West Jerusalem.
On June 7th the order was given to the IDF to recapture the OldCity.
Israeli paratroopers stormed the city and secured it. It took
only three days for Israeli forces to defeat the Jordanian Legion.
- Finally, after months of antagonistic attacks on Israeli
farms by the Syrians, the IDF received authorization to fully
fight the Syrian Army on the Golan Heights. The decision to fight
on the Golan Heights was difficult as the terrain is rough and
the Syrian Army had highly effective fixed fortifications. However,
Israel possessed excellent intelligence regarding the Syrian
battle positions daringly collected by Mossad operative Eli Cohen,
who was captured and executed in Syria in 1965. With this intelligence
and the tenacity of the IDF troops, by the evening of 9 June,
the four Israeli brigades had broken through the Syrian fortifications.
By nightfall all Syrian resistance on the Golan Heights had collapsed.
- It took the IDF six days to subdue the Egyptians in the Sinai,
the Jordanians in Jerusalem, and Syrians on the Golan Heights.
The Israeli victory resulted in more security for the eastern
Galilee and the southern Negev and the reunification of Jerusalem.
For the Israelis and Jews across the world the victory meant
many things, but most of all it meant a return to the City of
Jerusalem. By the thousands they went to HolyCity to touch The
Western Wall. The shofar wails and the whispered prayers were
heard once again in this most sacred spot. While peace was not
to last in the Holy Land, Israel had, for the time being, a more
secure position in all regions on the country and the reassurance
of access to Jerusalem. Psalms 122:6-7 http://www.jesusboat.com/cats.php?subCat=19&parent=18
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- ISRAELIS TELL 'BIBI: REJECT OBAMA'S' DEMANDS
- By Stan Goodenough - June 12, 2009 - A strong majority of
the Israeli people this week messaged their prime minister to
withstand US pressure aimed at bulldozing the creation of an
Arab state on historic Jewish lands.
- According to the results of a poll published across the local
press Friday afternoon, shortly before the start of the Sabbath,
nearly six out of every 10 Israelis think Benjamin Netanyahu
should reject the Obama administration's demands to end completely
the construction of communities in the biblical heartland of
Samaria and Judea.
- The Associated Press cited the poll, which was conducted
by the Maagar Mohot Polling Institute, as finding that "56
percent of those surveyed said Netanyahu should not consent to
the American demand to halt all settlement construction, as opposed
to 37 percent who said he should. Fifty percent said failure
to comply would not provoke a crisis with the US, while 32 percent
said they thought the settlement freeze was a "make or break"
issue for Washington." Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver
a major policy speech Sunday morning that is expected to address
- albeit diplomatically - President Barack Obama's belligerent
foray into Middle East politics, the Israeli-'Palestinian' conflict
and the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel - an issue Washington
has relegated to a position of secondary importance. The prime
minister met with coalition partners and opposition Knesset members
Friday as he continued to prepare his speech. He also met with
the European Union's pushy foreign policy chief Javier Solana,
who is visiting Israel to add Europe's weight to the White House's
demands. The Jerusalem Post quoted Solana as telling Netanyahu
there was "no better plan" than the two-state solution.
This "solution" calls for the peace-loving Israelis
to give their land to the Jew-hating Palestinian Arabs who remain
committed to destroying what would be left of Israel.
- http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2664
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- URGENT CALL TO PRAYER
- 11 June 2009 - On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will be going before his nation, and before the world,
to deliver his much anticipated foreign policy speech. The two
issues he is certain to focus on are Iran’s nuclear threat
and Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinian Arabs As
he prepares to lay out his vision, this man is under unimaginable
pressure to succumb to the will of the entire international community,
of many Israelis, and even of his own defense minister, Ehud
Barak. (Barak is the man who, as prime minister in 2000, offered
Yasser Arafat everything he wanted, including “east”
Jerusalem and the Temple Mount - Israel’s most sacred site.
Netanyahu gave him the defense portfolio because he is a good
soldier, but he is overstepping his brief by dabbling in the
diplomatic process. His sights are believed to be set on returning
to the prime minister’s chair.) What the world wants, what
left wing Israelis want, what Egypt and all the other Arab and
Muslim states want, is for “Bibi” to agree to the two-state-solution:
the creation of an Arab state called Palestine on the biblical
and historical land of the Jews.
- The creation of this, 23rd, Arab state would pose a direct
existential threat to the State of Israel. This is not theory
or speculation - its a cold, solid, and amply proven fact.
- Once they have got Netanyahu to “OK” this as a
solution, the way will be open for the nations to implement it,
and Israel’s demise (projected by the CIA last month as
being no more than 20 years away) will be that much closer.
- We know from history that this prime minister is not strong
enough to withstand and resist this pressure on his own. And
his inability - thanks to Barak - to present his government’s
united front to oppose it, makes for some rather grim expectations.
- But God!
- If you believe in the God of Israel and have faith in His
Word, then please join me and pray - between now and Sunday (June
14) - for Him to pour unyielding iron into Netanyahu’s spine
and/or that the Lord will generate circumstances and events that
will deflect or ameliorate the pressures on the prime minister,
enabling him to keep to the path he knows is the correct and
best way for his people. http://www.stangoodenough.com/?p=282
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- OBAMA BREEDS CLIMATE OF HATE AGAINST JEWS
- By Rabbi Dr. Morton H. Pomerantz
 Our new president did not tell
a virulent anti-Semite to travel to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington to kill Jews, but he is most certainly creating
a climate of hate against us.
- It is no coincidence that we are witnessing this level of
hatred toward Jews as President Barack Obama positions America
against the Jewish state.
- Just days ago Obama traveled to Cairo, Egypt. It was his
second trip in a short time to visit Muslim countries. He sent
a clear message by not visiting Israel.
- But this was code. In Cairo, Obama said things that pose
a grave danger to Jews in Israel, in America and everywhere.
Continue Reading>> http://support.tjci.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5619
- Former Chief of the Israel Defense Forces and now Vice Prime
Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said:
"The mullahs consider the destruction of Israel as just
a step on the way to changing the entire world order. …
Permanent settlement of the conflict is not easy to achieve as
long as the Palestinians do not remove the main obstacle to peace
- namely by accepting Israel as a Jewish state. …The Palestinian
response to Israeli withdrawals has demonstrated time and again
that the dismantling of Israeli settlements or the Israeli withdrawal
from territories does not bring peace, but rather, more war."
God says: " 'In that day,' declares the LORD Almighty,
'I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their
bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they
will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will
raise up for them." 'So do not fear, O Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, O Israel, ’declares the LORD. 'I will
surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from
the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security
and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and will save
you,' declares the LORD. 'Though I completely destroy all the
nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy
you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not
let you go entirely unpunished.” (Jeremiah 30:8-11).
The Jerusalem Connection says: The future of Israel’s enemies
is certain. They will be destroyed without remedy. Sobering indeed,
is the prospect of the United States being counted by God as
an enemy of Israel. Yet that seems to be the trajectory President
Obama is on with respect to Israel. Witness this administration’s
relentless demand for a two-state solution with a divided Jerusalem.
Witness the President’s sycophantic pandering to the Muslim
world. Witness the President’s toleration of Palestinians
to refuse to acknowledge the state of Israel, their refusal to
cease violence against Israel and their refusal to abide by any
previous agreements. As we pray for President Obama, we best
pray that God will soveriegnly restrain him from achieving his
apparent intentions. “It is a dreadful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) http://www.tjci.org
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- IMAGES THEY DON'T SHOW YOU
- THE WORLD IS CONCERNED ABOUT PALESTINIAN KIDS
- ENEMIES ARE A RENEWABLE RESOURCE
- This is where our Government sent millions of dollars to
help them rebuild Gaza or is it to rearm. $900,000.00 MILLION
was included in Obama’s Stimulus bill.
- http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/blog1/?cat=14
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- BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION: THE ROOTS OF THE 'RED CROSS'
ARE THE HOSPITALERS: PART OF THE TEMPLERS PRESERVED BY THE POPE
TO GET THEIR RICHES IN THE MIDDLE AGES WHEN THE TEMPLERS WERE
PERSECUTED.
- A FACTUAL APPRAISAL OF THE 'HOLOCAUST'
By The Red Cross The Jews And The Concentration Camps: No Evidence
Of Genocide
- http://www.rense.com/general69/factua.htm
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- NETANYAHU: ITS OUR LAND, BUT WE'LL SHARE
- By Stan Goodenough - June 16, 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday offered to discuss sharing the ancient
homeland of the Jewish people with the Palestinian Arabs. In
speech described as "strongly Zionist," the premier
laid out his vision for peace, which he chose to build on a position
"firmly connected to the truth." This truth, he said,
" is that the root of the conflict has been - and remains
- the refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish People to
its own state in its historical homeland." In his speech
Netanyahu repeatedly stressed the Jewish ownership of this land.
"The connection of the Jewish People to the Land has been
in existence for more than 3,500 years. Judea and Samaria, the
places where our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob walked,
our forefathers David, Solomon, Isaiah and Jeremiah - this is
not a foreign land, this is the Land of our Forefathers,"
he said.
- "The right to establish our sovereign state here, in
the Land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: Eretz Israel
is the birthplace of the Jewish People."
- Quoting from a speech David Ben Gurion gave when Israel declared
its independence, Netanyahu said "the State of Israel was
established here in Eretz Israel, where the People of Israel
created the Book of Books, and gave it to the world." Another
reality was that "in the area of our homeland, in the heart
of our Jewish homeland, [there] now lives a large population
of Palestinians," Israel has no desire to rule over these
people or to run their lives, Netanyahu said. As a result Israel
was willing to discuss sharing this land - this historical homeland
of his Jewish people - with the Palestinian Arabs. The only proviso,
was that they abide by a handful of Israeli demands in order
to ensure that they will be friendly neighbors who will neither
incite against, threaten or attack the Jewish state.
- http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2673
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- OBAMA LEAPS TO PRAISE NETANYAHU'S "ENDORSEMENT"
- By Stan Goodenough - June 16, 2009 - The White House moved
swiftly Sunday evening to applaud Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu for "endorsing" President Barack Obama's
"two-state solution."
- Obama, who was reliably reported to be out playing golf when
Netanyahu made his speech, ordered his spokesman to quickly heap
praise on Netanyahu. US Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in
a statement that the president "is committed to two states,
a Jewish state of Israel and an independent Palestine, in the
historic homeland of both peoples. [Again with the blatant rewriting
of history! The Arabs never had a homeland here. - Ed]
- "He believes this solution can and must ensure both
Israel's security and the fulfillment of the Palestinians' legitimate
aspirations for a viable state, and he welcomes Prime Minister
Netanyahu's endorsement of that goal."
- In what was seen as a transparent ploy to corner Netanyahu
into refuting or acknowledging that he had indeed embraced the
US-led vision, Gibbs praised the Israeli leader for taking "an
important step forward."
- Obama's idea of "forward" means in a direction
in line with his will. Some observers saw through the president's
"appreciation." Opined Sky News correspondent Dominic
Waghorn Monday, "Netanyahu backed the Obama administration
into a corner. ... The White House has to decide what to do about
its ally which is directly, openly, flouting its will."
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2671
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- BIBI REJECTS OBAMA'S 'UN FLAG AT KOTEL', STAR OF DAVID TO
REMAIN
- [Netanyahu has been groomed for this very hour hour. Even
though he 'vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday
night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western
Wall (Kotel)." The truth is the exact opposite. The Lord
has shown me that Israel's leadership is very much a co-operating
participant in establishing a global government and that ultimately
Jerusalem will be its capital. I know that many reading right
now might think that I have lost my mind, but I just ask that
you pray. Pray for Linda and I and pray for the Salvation of
my people Israel. I do not believe there is a way to avoid what
is being put together here in Israel and around the world, but
I do have faith that the Lord has a plan to pour out His spirit
and bring a great awkening in Israel and around the world. It
will be in a season of great termoil and tribulation that the
Lord will pour out His spirit and prepare a Bride for Himself.
We have been called with the power of the gospel for such a time
as this. In the future, do not believe what national leaders
are saying, but watch what they are actualy doing. In Jerusalem
as our prime minister declares he will not cede Jerusalem or
the disputed lands, the construction of that very division is
going full steam ahead at a cost of billions of dollars. simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.com]
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed
at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that
the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel).
The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable
yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S.
President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he
wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy
sites.
- Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the president put forward
the proposal during his visit to the White House last month.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, "The flag that flies
over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple
Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.”
- Between 1949 and 1967, the religious sites in the City, as
well as all of Judea and Samaria, had been under the control
of Jordan, which forbid entry of Jews to the Western Wall (Kotel)
and other holy places, as well as barring Christians from churches.
Israel immediately opened all holy sites to all religions after
the entire city was re-united in 1967, returning the Old City
to Israeli sovereignty after nearly 2,000 years. In his short
but enthusiastic speech at the yeshiva, where an Arab terrorist
slaughtered eight young students slightly more than a year ago,
Prime Minister Netanyahu repeated his “Undivided Jerusalem”
message. The packed study hall of the yeshiva interrupted Prime
Minister Netanyahu’s short speech several times with applause.
The first clap of hands was in response to the statement that
Israel’s capital “never will be divided again.”
Jerusalem Day marks the day in the Six Day War upon which the
Israel Defense Forces liberated the eastern neighborhoods of
Jerusalem from Jordanian rule.
- In an attempt to appeal to the national-religious community
after years of neglect from a prime minister, Netanyahu said,
“It is important for me to stay in warm communication with
you. The connection with Jerusalem unites all sectors of the
people, secular and religious, as one."
- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had kept a very close relation
with Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav when he was mayor of Jerusalem and
attended annual Jerusalem Day ceremonies there, but he became
more distant from religious institutions after he followed former
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his new Kadima party. Prime Minister
Netanyahu’s vow on Jerusalem was made in the presence of
Israel’s two chief rabbis, Likud Knesset Member and former
IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, and Jewish Home party chairman
MK Rabbi Daniel Hershkowitz. It was the second time during the
day he promised to keep the city united, having stated earlier
in the day that “Jerusalem was always ours, will always
be ours, and will never again be divided.” His speech was
delivered at Ammunition Hill in memory of soldiers who fell in
the Six-Day War in 1967. Source: Word From Yerushalaim - simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.com
- http://www.wordfromyerushalaim.com
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- UN BIAS AGAINST ISRAEL
- The UN Watch has released a report which once again highlights
the struggle Israel has had to receive justice in the international
arena. They wrote: At last month's emergency session of the UN
Human Rights Council, ambassadors from the world's dictatorships—and
even some democracies—lined up to attack Israel for "targeting
a UN school."
- Canada alone voted in opposition to the grossly one-sided
text. Now a new report by Patrick Martin of Canada's "Globe
and Mail" reveals that, contrary to what was reported worldwide:
- (1) No Israeli shells landed in the UNRWA school compound
(2) No one taking refuge in the UN schoolyard was killed
(3) None of these facts prevented a UN agency from falsely reporting
that "Israeli shelling directly hit two UNRWA schools..."
- Rightfully UN Watch asks: Will the Human Rights Council now
apologize for having falsely condemned Israel for the "targeting
of facilities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Gaza, including schools?"
- "As usual when it comes to Israel, the Council was little
concerned with actual facts. Egyptian representative Hisham Badr,
speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said that "Israel
did not distinguish between combatants and civilians, targeting
United Nations schools."
- According to Yemen, "The attacks against schools…were
grave crimes against humanity." Sudan spoke of the "the
mad attacks by Israel in Gaza, including against United Nations
schools."
- Syria said "UN schools have turned into mass graves."
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti joined the fray—as did
even several Western countries.
- Argentina demanded an "independent international investigation"
on "the attacks on UNRWA schools." Slovenia condemned
"Israeli attacks on schools." Switzerland said that
"at least 46 civilians seeking shelter in UNRWA school were
killed."
- The UN Report ends with a question: "Will any of these
countries issue an apology, or seek to correct the resolution's
false assertions and faulty premises?" There has been no
answer so far.
- (By Ron Ross, BFP Israel Mosaic Radio, February 3, 2009)
simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.com
- http://www.wordfromyerushalaim.com/UN%20bias%20against%20Israel.htm
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- AMERICAN VOTERS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL HS DROPPED 20 PERCENT
IN THE PAST 9 MONTHS
- A new survey found some 49 percent of American voters call
themselves supporters of Israel, down from 69 percent last September,
according to the poll conducted for The Israel Project.”
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/15/1005902/poll-american-voters-suport-of-israel-drops
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- SYRIA AGAIN THREATENS WAR OVER GOLAN
JPost.com - June 28, 2009 By JPOST.COM STAFF - Syrian officials
reiterated their threat to forcefully take the Golan Heights
from Israel unless an agreement between the two countries is
reached soon. A view of the Syrian town of Kuneitra, left by
the Syrians in ruins deliberately, as testament to the "cruelty"
of Israel. During a ceremony Saturday inaugurating a new communications
center in Kuneitra, the Syrian town closest to the border with
Israel, the Syrian Committee for the Liberation of the Golan
threatened to take practical measures to return the Golan to
Syrian control, adding that Israel was not showing any willingness
to negotiate the return of the territory in peace talks. Syrian
President Bashar Assad was also present at the ceremony. Syrian
Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said that the new center would
"report the despair of Syrian residents living in the occupied
Golan, under the rule of the barbaric and racist state of Israel."
Bilal was most likely referring to Druse residents of the Golan,
some of whom have stated their preference for living under Syrian
rule. On Wednesday, Assad said there was no possibility of reaching
an agreement with Israel as it was not committed to a deal. Continued:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245924943807&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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- BARAK TRIES TO PUT HAPPY FACE ON FAILED US VISIT
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak departed New York for
Israel on Wednesday following failed talks with US Middle East
envoy George Mitchell aimed at easing tensions between the two
nations over the continued growth of Jewish towns in areas claimed
by the Palestinian Arabs. Barak said that the talks focused on
a wide range of issues, including Iran and the need for a comprehensive
regional peace, and not just peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Israeli media focused on the issue that certainly dominated
the talks - the ongoing construction of homes in Jewish settlements
and Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of Jerusalem.
- Barak tried to strike a positive note, saying that while
the two sides had not come to any kind of agreement, they were
closer than ever to an understanding on the issue. He insisted
that no one in Washington truly believes life can just come to
a standstill in Jewish settlements and natural growth be halted.
But in recent demands leaked to the media, that appears to be
precisely what the Obama Administration wants, including in large
Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
- Barak did indicate that he had not only been on the receiving
end of criticism during the talks, but had also impressed strongly
upon the Americans that their focus on the construction of a
few Jewish houses is exaggerated and that equal if not greater
importance needs to be placed on the Arabs finally meeting their
peace commitments.
- "The Arab states have something to give to Israel, not
just take," said Barak. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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- IRANIANS WALK OUT OF PERES SPEECH
- Iranian delegates stormed conspicuously out of the opening
event of an interfaith conference in Kazakhstan on Tuesday when
Israeli President Shimon Peres was invited to the podium to deliver
an address. One Iranian later told reporters that his country
views Peres as a "repulsive Zionist" and said he was
not welcome at such a conference. The Iranians returned to the
hall after Peres had finished speaking. For his part, Peres urged
his mostly Muslim audience to cast aside religious fanaticism
and its adherents and make peace with Israel on a basis of reason
and compromise. He specifically called on Saudi King Abdullah
to meet with him in Jerusalem or in Riyadh so that their shared
vision of peace can finally be realized. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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ISRAELIS FACE MAJOR PRICE HIKES
- Israelis on Wednesday saw the prices of basic state supervised
goods go up by one percent following an increase of the value
added tax (VAT) or sales tax to 16.5 percent. That means the
price of bread, salt and other common staple goods has increased
by an amount that will greatly impact the country's poorer sectors
of society. With rising oil prices, the price of fuel in Israel
also rose by about 20 cents per gallon overnight. Additionally,
Israel's Water Authority is working hard to push a bill through
the Knesset that will significantly increase the cost of water
in an effort to reduce water waste and avoid a drought. The increase
will see Israelis pay 250 percent more for every cubic meter
of water over the permitted monthly amount. That new tax will
be imposed retroactively as soon as it gains Knesset approval.
Consumer groups cited by the local media worried that the new
taxes will also result in local businesses hiking up their prices.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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ISRAELI COMPANY HELPS AMERICAN KIDS DEAL WITH SHOTS
- Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva has won FDA approval for
a growth hormone delivery system developed together with Swiss
pharmaceutical company Antares Pharma. The system combines Teva's
top selling Tev-Tropin hormone medication with Antares Pharma's
needle-less injector, which works by shooting a very fine stream
of fluid through the skin and directly into the fatty tissue
beneath. Teva's hormone medication has been available around
the world, including in the US, since 2005, and Antares Pharma's
injector has been in use in Europe for several years. But together
the two products are expected to quickly become the hormone delivery
system of choice in the US, where over $1 billion is spent every
year on hormone injections for children. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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ISRAEL 'FED UP' WITH US SETTLEMENT DEMANDS
- A senior Israeli government official cited by the Hebrew
daily Israel Hayom on Monday said that Jerusalem is becoming
"fed up" with the Obama Administration's exaggerated
focus on the construction of Jewish homes in Judea, Samaria and
eastern Jerusalem. US President Barack Obama and Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton of late have become almost hostile when
demanding that Israel halt the growth of Jewish neighborhoods
in any areas claimed by the Palestinian areas. Israeli officials,
including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon
Peres, have responded by saying they cannot simply freeze the
normal flow of life in these areas.
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak flew to Washington on
Monday in an effort to calm the tension. The official who spoke
to Israel Hayom said Barak will impress upon the Americans that
Israel is ready to consider a construction freeze in Jewish settlements,
but only if it is part of a larger agreement under which Washington
will later publicly back the growth and inclusion inside Israel's
recognized borders of certain larger settlement blocs. In the
meantime, construction in these areas continues, and Israeli
Minister of Intelligence Dan Meridor noted that contrary to the
statements by Obama and Clinton, that is not a violation of Israel's
peace commitments.
- Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Meridor recalled that
when Israel accepted the US-authored Road Map peace plan, it
did so with 14 attached reservations. Those reservations were
acknowledged by the administration of former President George
W. Bush, and Israel was provided with verbal guarantees that
its commitments would not impede the normal flow of life in Jewish
towns. Meridor rejected the Obama Administration's position that
because they agreements were not written down and signed they
no longer bear any weight. "We never had a deal with the
Republican administration; we had an agreement with the United
States," said Meridor. "These understandings were a
part of the agreement. Its written part and its oral part compliment
each other." The agreement between Israel and the Bush Administration
allowed for the ongoing construction of new homes within the
existing boundaries of Jewish towns and neighborhoods in Judea
and Samaria, so long as Israel did not extend those boundaries
or build entirely new settlements. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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ISRAEL TO BUILD ITS OWN NAVY SHIPS
- The Israeli navy has decided against purchasing a new fleet
of naval ships from US contractors, and may instead build its
own vessels at the shipyards in the northern port city of Haifa.
Israel was planning to purchase several corvette-size ships from
either Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman. But when the cost
of the ships from both US providers suddenly jumped up, Israeli
officials were forced to conclude that they couldn't afford them.
- Instead, Israel is seriously designing and building its own
naval corvettes based on the German Meko A-100 model.
- If Israel does indeed decide to start producing its own naval
ships, it would be a huge boost to the local economy. Naval officials
said that boost is now a large determining factor in their final
decision. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=79
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- ILLEGAL ARMS CONTINUE TO FLOW INTO IRAQ FROM IRAN
- DEBKAfile. June 30, 2009 - Parties, processions, a parade
in the fortified Green Zone seat of government and embassies,
and prime minister Nuri al-Malikii´s proclamation of June
30 National Sovereignty Day celebrated the US military´s
handover of towns and cities to Iraqi security personnel on the
way to a full withdrawal by the end of 2011. But the day was
also darkened by the deaths of four US soldiers from "combat-related
injuries" in Baghdad and a bomb-vehicle explosion which
killed at least 27 Iraqis in a Kirkuk market in the north. The
Iraq regime signaled its hopes for a new era by holding an auction
Tuesday for eight oil and gas fields, Iraq´s first major
opening to foreign investment since the energy industry was nationalized
40 years ago. Yet DEBKAfile´s military sources stress that
unresolved tensions among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds still simmer
and may erupt now that 130,000 US troops have withdrawn to 39
rural bases - nowhere near on hand for emergencies in the towns.
A small number remains in the cities to train and advise Iraqi
forces, but Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk and Mosul will be more vulnerable
than ever and security in the small towns of Falluja, Ramadi
and Baquba may also veer out of control under massive, multi-casualty
bombing attacks. Few really believe that the 650,000-strong
Iraqi military is up to maintaining stability or dealing with
a serious insurgency or wave of terror. We are not leaving,"
the US commander in Iraq Gen. Ray Odierno assured Iraqis. "We´ll
continue to be in support of Iraqi security forces to maintain
stability throughout the country."
However, differences have begun to surface. The prime minister
has attributed the pre-withdrawal spike in violence, which claimed
more than 250 lives this month, to al Qaeda and remnants of the
Iraqi Baath insurgents, whereas Gen. Odierno blamed Iran, which
he said "is still supporting, funding and training surrogates
who operate inside of Iraq. They have not stopped and I don´t
think they will stop," he said.
On Monday, US ambassador Christopher Hill said he was concerned
that illegal arms continue to flow into Iraq from Iran. DEBKAfile´s
sources point out that US president Barack Obama´s pledge
on attaining office to withdraw US soldiers from Iraqi cities
by June 30 - on the road to ending an unpopular war which has
claimed the lives of 4,321 US soldiers and tens of thousands
of Iraqis - has no military justification. Iraqi cities, especially
Baghdad, have been left wide open to an upsurge of violence expected
in the coming weeks. And the situation in the Maliki government
is so fluid that a local Iraqi officer, in Mosul, say, might
hypothetically seek US military assistance in a crisis and meet
a refusal from central government in Baghdad. The decision would
then devolve on the American command. http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=1253181
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