INTERNATIONAL PULSE Period: August 2009 End-Time Church / Pluralism Global Politics Israel

ISRAEL    Visit 'Peace In Jerusalem' for more comprehensive ongoing reports by Retired Pastor/Teacher James McCutchan - Jmccutchan@aol.com ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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 ----- 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