INTERNATIONAL PULSE Period: February 2011 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 ----- ISRAEL IS GOOD FOR THE PALESTINIANS by Ari Bussel - Israel is good for the Palestinians. It supplies them electricity. It fulfils any order of the Palestinian Authority as a conduit into Gaza. It allows tens of thousands of them to go for medical treatment in Israel. It provides drinking water, assists with the water infrastructure and treats their sewage. Israel provides vaccinations and helps fight the spread of diseases like bird flu. It supplies many commodities and products that are of far superior quality and at the same or lower prices than those brought from Egypt. Israelis are good for other reasons. They actually care about Gazans. Despite being bombed and kidnapped, ambushed and murdered, Israelis will not target civilians of any age. They protect women and children and the elderly and will do everything, risking their own lives repeatedly, to save a human being be he or she a terrorist fighting against them or an innocent bystander. Christian Arabs in Israel love Israel... Christians also know what it means to live under Muslim rule, be it in an Arab country like Lebanon or in any one of numerous African countries where they are slaughtered, their churches set on fire with their occupants burned alive. Druze love Israel. They are loyal to Israel as the Druze in Lebanon are loyal to Lebanon and the Druze of Syria loyal to Syria. But there is something more here - it is loyalty that goes beyond the call of duty. Almost 96% of Druze youth serve in the IDF, a number three times the average for Israeli 18 year old males (if compared to the general Jewish population). Israel, it seems, is a country so many love, yet so many others love to hate. Israeli Arabs are still making up their minds where their loyalties lie-with their country, the Jewish State of Israel, or with a convoluted idea of a revolt, a national aspiration to be disconnected from Israel. When offered the chance to leave and become citizens of a Palestine-in-formation, they reject the idea. Jews choose Israel, for it is their homeland, their shelter, the meaning of their very being, even if often times they do not know how to express their love and appreciation and seem to be distancing themselves from their own land. Mistake not, they have no right or ability to exist if Israel were to cease to exist. Do not mistake past accommodations and patience for weakness. We are strong and our resolve will not be broken. It is harder than granite, stronger than diamonds. It has been shaped under the immense pressure and temperatures of inner earth, over millions of years, and it is included in the DNA of every Jewish person. Source Newsletter: http://www.shamrak.com/index.php ----- EXODUS OF JEWS FROM ISLAMIC EUROPE by David J. Rusin - Do Jews have a future in an increasingly Muslim Europe? Former EU commissioner, Dutch politician Frits Bolkestein, said there is no future for this group in the Netherlands because of "the anti-Semitism among Dutchmen of Moroccan descent, whose numbers keep growing." He feels that this group of Jews should encourage their children to emigrate to either the United States or Israel, because he has little confidence in the effectiveness of the government's proposals for fighting anti-Semitism. Bolkestein's remarks echo those of Benjamin Jacobs, the country's chief rabbi: "It's not that you can't leave the house, but you need to constantly hide, to be careful". He related his own cautionary measures, which include avoiding certain neighbourhoods, and hiding his kippah (yalmulke) when walking through areas with a high number of Muslim immigrants. Next consider Sweden. Last month, the Simon Wiesenthal Center urged traveling Jews to exercise "extreme caution" due to "harassment of Jewish citizens in the southern city of Malmö." An estimated 60,000 Muslims comprise a fifth of Malmö's population and hate crimes regularly impact the lives of its 700 remaining Jews. Also in recent years increasing numbers of Jews moving to Israel from France and the UK. Will this soon be the case for Jews of other European countries as well? Given the list of worrying tales from 2010 alone - Muslims assaulting Jews in Norway and Denmark, stone-tossing Arabs driving Jewish dancers from a stage in Germany, and a poll finding that 38% of Muslim youth in Austria agree that "Hitler had done a lot of good for the people" - the future does not look happy. It has become fashionable to equate the plight of today's Muslim population in Europe with that of the continent's oppressed Jews during the 1930s. However, one can tell which group faces the real threat in modern Europe by watching migratory trends. While European governments are planning fences to keep Muslims from entering illegally, Jews are exiting in droves. People vote with their feet. The results - Muslims in, Jews out - offer critical lessons and warnings. (Throughout history, Jews were a catalyst for cultural, economic, scientific and spiritual renaissance in Europe, America and even in the Muslim world. After Jews were forced out from these places, stagnation and the darkness of tyranny took over!) Source Newsletter: http://www.shamrak.com/index.php ----- FROM PALESTINE WITH LOVE By the second week of 2011, more than 20 rockets, missiles and mortar shells have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel’s southern communities. Some recent attacks include the following: - On Saturday night (Jan. 8), 3 Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip hitting Sdot Negev Regional Council, home to approx 8,000 residents and Eshkol Regional Council, home to approximately 10,000 residents - On Monday (Jan. 10), 3 Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza Strip hitting Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, home to 13,000 residents - Also on Monday (Jan. 10), another militarily-used projectile was launched and hit Eshkol Regional Council - On Tuesday (Jan. 11), a Qassam rocket was launched from Gaza hitting the Ashkelon Shore Regional Council, home to approximately 14,000 residents. Source Newsletter: http://www.shamrak.com/index.php ----- LEBANON'S 'DAY OF RAGE' – IN PICTURES Supporter of the ousted Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri stage a 'day of rage' over the likely appointment of the Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati as his successor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 January 2011 14.10 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/jan/25/lebanon-protests-rage-pictures ----- LEBANON CALM AFTER 'DAY OF RAGE' Roads opened and barriers removed in Beirut while the PM-designate attempts to form a new government. Last Modified: 26 Jan 2011 10:20 GMT Mikati's nomination prompted protests from Hariri supporters who declared January 25 'a day of rage' [Reuters] All roads have been opened and barriers removed in the Lebanese capital after two days of protests, security officials say. Calm returned on Wednesday as talks on forming a new government continued in Beirut. The previous day, Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president, formally appointed Najib Mikati, a billionaire businessman, as prime minister-designate and asked him to form a new government. Parliament members voted to back Mikati, the candidate Hezbollah had proposed as a prime minister. Hezbollah, which enjoys the overwhelming backing of the country's Shia Muslims, has a parliamentary faction as well as a powerful military wing. Mikati gained 68 votes to Hariri's 60, putting the Hezbollah-led opposition in a position to form a government. Mikati, 55, has said he wants to form a unity government. Even though Hezbollah backed him, he is seen as a relatively neutral figure who enjoys good relations with both Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and Hariri, although the latter has said he would not be part of any new unity government. Continued: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111269446413661.html ----- GAZA WAR REPORT STALLED BY PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY ON US REQUEST Papers reveal PA held up Goldstone report from Seumas Milne and Ian Black guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 20.00 GMT Article history UN security council and suggest Abbas was warned of 2008 invasion Footage from al-Jazeera on the leaked Palestine Papers describes how the US influenced Palestinian negotiators, as anger over the leaks grows in Hamas-contolled Gaza Link to this video Palestinian Authority leaders co-operated with US officials in a bid to postpone the reference of the Goldstone report into war crimes in Gaza to the UN security council, leaked papers reveal. The PA, who have denied they made the decision under US pressure, later reversed their decision. The postponement of the report into Israel's 2008 assault on Gaza triggered heavy criticism of the PA leadership, at one time threatening Abbas's position. But at a meeting on 21 October 2009, three weeks after the Goldstone scandal erupted, US national security adviser Jim Jones told the Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat: "Thank you for what you did a couple of weeks ago [on Goldstone]; it was very courageous". On the day the reference of the report was delayed, US officials presented Palestinian negotiators with a "non paper" [a proposal that is off the record in diplomatic terms] committing the PA to "help promote a positive atmosphere conducive to negotiations ... [and] refrain from pursuing or supporting any initiative directly or indirectly in international legal forums that would undermine that atmosphere". Erekat's response was to tell Mitchell: "On going to the UN we will always co-ordinate with you." Continued: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/26/gaza-report-palestinian-authority-stalled ----- PM SAYS PALESTINIANS READY FOR STATEHOOD BY AUGUST AP - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 7:16:00 AM By KARIN LAUB - Palestinians will be ready for statehood by August, as promised in a two-year action plan, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview Tuesday, dismissing a host of steep obstacles to independence. The former World Bank economist visited rural West Bank road destroyed by Israel to demonstrate his belief that independence is inevitable as long as Palestinians don't lose faith. The road was torn up by Israeli troops last week, on grounds that it was paved in a nature reserve in an area under full Israeli rule. Fayyad pledged to repair it immediately as part of his new campaign to challenge exclusive Israeli control over large tracts of the West Bank. http://www.nbc29.com/story/13587206/palestinians-confront-israeli-control-in-west-bank ----- JOHN KERRY CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO CEDE GOLAN HEIGHTS AND EAST JERUSALEM Posted By Josh Rogin Monday, November 29, 2010 - 12:44 PM - On a February trip to the Middle East, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) told Qatari leaders that the Golan Heights should be returned to Syria, that a Palestinian capital should be established in East Jerusalem as part of the Arab-Israeli peace process, and that he was "shocked" by what he saw on a visit to Gaza. Kerry discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a visit to Qatar during separate meetings with Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa, as revealed by the disclosure of diplomatic cables by the website WikiLeaks. The emir told Kerry to focus on Syria as the path toward resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Kerry agreed with the emir that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a man who wants change but pointed out that his arming of Hezbollah and interference in Lebanese politics were unhelpful. Kerry said that Assad "needs to make a bolder move and take risks" for peace, and that he should be "more statesman-like." Kerry also agreed with the emir that the Golan Heights should be given back to Syria at some point. Continued: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/29/wikileaked_john_kerry_calls_for_israel_to_cede_ golan_heights_and_east_jerusalem ----- COLUMBUS DAY = A UNIQUE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE Posted on October 12th, 2009 by JewishByte This year Columbus Day falls out on Isru Chag, “The Day After” the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. What usually comes to mind is a day off of school or work, or both as a working parent. Though Columbus Day is not traditionally thought of, as a Jewish day, the possibility of Columbus himself being Jewish, makes the day hard to ignore. Besides, it is well known that there were many Jews, Marranos and Conversos on board the three ships, including a ship doctor and navigator. (for a complete manifesto click here). There were also influential Jews who helped ensure support for the journey, including “The Abarbanel”, the famous Jewish Bishop, Diego de Deza and others. (see source here) On March 31, 1492 the Edict of Expulsion (also called the Alhambra Decree) was signed. Every Jew in Spain was forced to choose between conversion to Christianity or leaving the country forever without their possessions. 150,000 Jews left Spain, many first went to Portugal, and following expulsion to the Ottoman Empire. On July 31st (7th of Av), the last Jew left Spain according to some sources and August 2nd (9th of Av), according to others. Columbus sailed on August 3, 1492. He did insist, however, that all of his crew be on board August 2nd, which was the not only the day all Jews had to leave Spain but also the 9th of AV. Small wonder, Columbus’s Jewish roots, if genuine, are obscure. If he were known to be a Jew, he could not have received support at the Court of Isabelle andFerdinand. If he were known to be a Converso, his fate might have been worse. It is tragic that so many Jews gave up so much hoping to be spared persecution. It is ironic that they were rewarded with a higher level of persecution. Worst of all, Queen Isabelle, responsible for such persecution, torture anddeath is revered and admired by many. Continued: http://www.jewbyte.info/10/columbus-day-a-unique-jewish-perspective/4392 ----- JORDAN TO SOON SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL Thursday, February 3, 2011 - By Bill Salus - ProphecyDepot.com - With Arab protests sweeping throughout the Middle East, many pundits are pondering the fate of Jordan. Will the Jordanian government collapse alongside Lebanon’s, Tunisia’s, and Egypt’s? Interestingly, Jordan can be found in end time’s bible prophecy. If the prophecies centered on Jordan are about to find fulfillment, then the best days of the Hashemite Kingdom are behind it. Someday Jordan will break ties with Israel. It’s simply a matter of time according to Psalm 83:6-8. Making matters worse, Jordan will befriend Israel’s worst enemies in the process. Rather than calling on America and the west at the time of dire need, Psalm 83 predicts they will call on Assyria, which incorporates modern day Syria and Iraq. Syria is already a proxy of Iran’s and Iraq has been inclined to become one ever since the summer 2010 U.S. troop withdrawal. Thus, allegiance with Syria, Iraq, and by proxy, Iran, appears to be Jordan’s prophetic endgame. Psalm 83:6-8 lists a group of ten Arab populations that will someday confederate in a final attempt to destroy the state of Israel. The goal of the confederacy is to wipe Israel off of the map and set up one last Arab state called Palestine. Jordan is identified inside the list of nations as Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Their modern day equivalents are showcased inside the image. Continued: http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/02/jordan-to-soon-sever-ties-with-israel.html ----- ISRAELIS ARE WARNED TO PREPARE FOR EARTHQUAKE by Hillel Fendel - 1.20.2011 - Given that Israel has not had a major earthquake in nearly 84 years, the Ministry of National Infrastructures is waging a campaign for earthquake preparedness. Films of bookshelves crashing down atop baby cribs and detailed instructions are part of it. In July 1927, the northern Dead Sea area – Israel’s major earthquake-prone area – suffered a major quake that left nearly 300 people dead. Prior to that, the city of Tzfat, in the Galilee, was largely wiped out in 1837 when an earthquake rocked the area; 5,000 people were killed there, and another several hundred in Tiberias. Earthquake researchers say that statistically, another big quake should be feared in Israel within the coming years – including now. In recent years, the northern Dead Sea region was hit by a 4.4 quake in November 2007, and a 5.3 rocker in February 2004. In terms of statistics and probabilities, however, a larger one is still expected. Continued: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141849 ----- YORK UNIVERSITY MOVES TO SUPPRESS OFFENSIVE SPEECH - BUT ONLY WHEN JEWS ARE SPEAKING THIS IS A GREAT EXPOSE. UNBELIEVABLE REALLY, BUT TRUE The Canadian university hosts the odious anti-Semite and pro-terrorist George Galloway, and moves to suppress the free speech rights of a Jewish rabbi for condemning him. by Richard Cravatts. York University in Toronto, which has gained for itself the dubious distinction of being Canada’s epicenter of campus anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, is displaying once again the moral inversion that seems to have infected its student body and administration when the issues of the Middle East are discussed. The issue at hand is a November 16th visit to the York campus by British MP George Galloway, as the invited guest of the York Federation of Students. In 2009, Mr. Galloway had been barred from entering Canada due to his public support of and donations to Hamas, a group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department, Canada, and the EU, but a court has since overturned that decision and given Galloway access to Canada once again. Not everyone was thrilled with the prospect of having Galloway, who, according to wry commentator Christopher Hitchens is “100 percent consistent in support for thugs and criminals,” arriving on the York campus to spew forth his rabid fulminations against Zionism, Israel, and the West. In particular, Toronto-based Rabbi Ahron Hoch took it upon himself to post an announcement on his Aish web site in which he urged readers to proactively protest Galloway’s appearance, and to take specific steps to inform the greater community about the noxious speaker, including emailing York’s president, calling the dean’s office to lodge a formal complaint, and participating in a rally to be held on the York campus. Continued: http://www.israpundit.com/archives/30559 ----- THE PLAGUE OF THE UN-JEWS By Victor Sharpe - October 03, 2010 - Some years ago, posing as a supporter of the PLO, I infiltrated an Arab anti-Israel meeting held in a room above a London pub. There were mostly Arabs present with a sprinkling of non-Arabs, mostly local Brits. Among the Brits was a man who told the audience that he was also a Jew and hated Israel. His self-loathing was limited to his Jewish ancestry, for he displayed no lack of modesty as he stood up and spewed hate against his own people and hostility towards the increasingly embattled Jewish state. But in all the bile that fell from his lips, he revealed a total lack of knowledge about Judaism and Jewish history -- certainly he exhibited no understanding of the rebirth of Israel in its ancestral and biblical homeland or of the immense odds of its survival in the face of enormous Arab and Muslim aggression. His trope was merely to echo the fashionable Arab and pro-Arab propaganda of "the poor Arabs and the nasty Israelis." All he seemed to want to do was ingratiate himself with those Arabs in the misguided belief that they would award him with what he personally lacked in his own sad life: fame and name recognition. If he could achieve that by denigrating and abusing the people from whom he sprung, then so be it. For him, the means justified the ends. What he did not realize was that the Arabs looked upon him with no respect; rather, they treated him with contempt, using him as a useful idiot. I thought of him when I considered the U.K. pro-Palestinian group of Jews -- overwhelmingly leftists -- who attempted to sail to Gaza from the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus in order to bring aid and comfort to the Hamas occupiers of the Gaza Strip. Among the left-wing British Jews was one Yonatan Shapira, who defaced a wall near the Warsaw Ghetto monument with a slogan describing the Arabs in Gaza as suffering like the Polish Jews in the ghetto. However, unlike the Arabs in Gaza, the Jews were slaughtered, and the few survivors gassed, during the Holocaust. Continued: http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/the_plague_of_the_unjews.html ----- ISRAEL DEFEATED, BECOMES PALESTINE By Barry Chamish - Finally, perhaps as policy or maybe out of feelings of conscience or morality, Israel's military leaders are giving us clues to what to expect in the next war. This is a startling new reality if interpreted properly in any punctilious reading: Continued: http://thebarrychamishwebsite.com/newsletters/defeated.htm ----- ASHKENAZI: IN A FUTURE WAR WE'LL NEED TO EVACUATE CIVILIANS By YAAKOV KATZ - 11/09/2010 11:29 - IDF Chief of General Staff says IDF is already working on target banks for future conflicts with Hamas, Hizbullah. Talkbacks (26) Israel will have to evacuate civilian populations during a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip or Hizbullah in Lebanon, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday. “In the future, we will not meet the enemy on the traditional battlefield,” Ashkenazi said. “Hamas chooses to fight within an urban setting. It could have alternatively chosen to fight in the open areas.” Continued: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=194587 ----- OUTGOING IDF INTELLIGENCE HEAD: JERUSALEM 'CORE OF THE WORLD' Published: 11/02/10 - by Gil Ronen - Follow Israel news - The outgoing Head of IDF Military Intelligence, Major-General Amos Yadlin, bade farewell Tuesday to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and related a story from his days as the IDF attache in Washington, DC, in 2004-2006. Yadlin said that when his American colleagues told him that Washington is the center of the world, he replied – “Washington may be the center of the world but Jerusalem is the core of the world.” Continued: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140401 ----- MILITARY INTELLIGENCE CHIEF: ISRAEL IN AN “UNPRECEDENTED” PERIOD OF SECURITY, BUT IRAN CAN ALREADY PRODUCE A NUCLEAR BOMB Posted: November 22, 2010 by joelcrosenberg Israel’s outgoing military intelligence chief, Major General Amos Yadlin, made three remarkable statements in testimony to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, reports Haaretz: ISRAEL IS MORE SECURE THAN EVER BEFORE — “The recent security calm is unprecedented,” Yadlin told the parliamentary committee. Despite emerging and serious threats from Iran and her Radical Islamic allies, for the moment Israel is enjoying a period of remarkable calm in light of the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, almost no terrorism emanating out of the West Bank, relative calm in Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, relatively calm borders for the last four years with Lebanon and Syria, and a regime change in Iraq that led to a nascent but improving democracy. “Israel’s deterrence is very strong but the lull [in regional violence] shouldn’t mislead anyone, the opposite is true. Our enemies are strengthening and arming,” Yadlin added. Does this period qualify as Jews living “securely” in the land of Israel prior to the rise of a Russian-Iranian led coalition that will launch the “War of Gog and Magog” again Israel in the “last days,” as foretold in Ezekiel 38-39? For the moment, it is, in my view, too early to draw a conclusion one way or the other, but it is certainly worth careful consideration. IRAN IS ALREADY ABLE TO PRODUCE ITS FIRST NUCLEAR BOMB — Not that Iran has, but it could, apparently. “Yadlin also told the MKs [Members of Knesset] that Iran has sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture a single nuclear device and may soon have enough for making another bomb,” reported Haaretz. Also, “Iran is busy setting up two new nuclear installations, according to…Yadlin….[who added] that MI has indications that work has began on the installations, but did not comment on the sources.” Haaretz reported that “Yadlin, who will be replaced by Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi after concluding his five-year term, also spoke of Iran as the greatest threat facing Israel, not only in the nuclear respect. ‘Iran is sending its long arms to aid anyone who is working against Israel,’ Yadlin said.” Such assessements are undoubtedly weighing on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s mind as he considers the possible need for an Israeli preemptive strike on Iran. Continued: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/military- intelligence-chief-israel-in-an-unprecedented-period-of-security-but-iran-can-already-produce-a-nuclear-bomb/ ----- ISRAEL BRACES FOR THE IRANIAN RAIN OF FIRE November 5, 2010: The head of Israeli military intelligence warned his political superiors that the next major war Israel encountered would likely result in much higher Israeli casualties, especially to civilians. There is also growing concern about Russia selling advanced anti-aircraft systems to Syria, which could pass them on to Iran. All this could be traced back to preparations Iran has been making for over a decade. Using their oil wealth, and weapons smuggling network, Iran has armed Syria, Hezbollah (the Shia militia in southern Lebanon) and Hamas (the Palestinian terrorist group that runs Gaza) with over 50,000 rockets, plus numerous other weapons. Most of the rockets are short range (about 10 kilometers), but several thousand have a much longer reach, and can hit targets throughout Israel. The Iranian master plan is for Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran to simultaneously fire as many missiles and rockets into Israel as they can. Even if there are no ground forces to follow up such an attack, the casualties (civilian and military) in Israel would be seen as a great Islamic victory, and would demoralize the Israelis. While Israeli defensive moves could do great damage to Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, Iran considers it a reasonable plan. Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas are not so sure, but Iran already has all the rockets and missiles in place. Continued: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20101105.aspx ----- THE HEAD OF ISRAELI MILITARY November 5, 2010: - Intelligence warned his political superiors that the next major war Israel encountered would likely result in much higher Israeli casualties, especially to civilians (because) enemy missiles have a much longer reach, and can hit targets throughout Israel. The Iranian master plan is for Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran to simultaneously fire as many missiles and rockets into Israel as they can...If the Syrians used chemical warheads, Israeli casualties could be as high as 16,000. Over 200,000 Israelis would be left homeless, and it's believed about a 100,000 would seek to leave the country...No unclassified government planning documents have discussed what Israel would do in response to such an attack, but in the past, Israel has threatened to use nukes against anyone who fired chemical weapons at Israel (which does not have any chemical weapons). But current plans appear to try and keep it non-nuclear for as long as possible. Israel commentator Emanuel Winston is panicking already:"They will target Israeli cities with a saturation missile attack. Therefore, Israel has no valid reason to follow any rules of retrained warfare...Consequently, Israel’s rules of engagement should first authorize preemptive attacks to hit all Arab/Muslim cities – including the small towns where Hezb’Allah has implanted missile launchers among their civilians, to strike every military base and, specifically, to take out key leaders hidden in their bunkers. This should be done with tactical nukes, air fuel bombs, sub-munition bomblets, EMP (Electro-Magnetic-Pulse) explosives that disable every computer-driven vehicle or gadget – in addition to every conventional weapon available. " And well he should panic. What Israel's military leaders are now saying publicly is merely a hint, not the likely gruesome assessments for the actual Arab master plan going into effect. Summarized one would read: The plan was to prevent Israel from getting organized by defeating it immediately in an assault of 80,000 missiles in one night. Israel has no defense against even one missile and would collapse quickly in the face of a torrent of rocket fire. The attack began at 11 PM on a Friday night. Half the army was at home on Shabbat leaves, and in Tel Aviv thousands of young soldiers were in dance clubs. Tel Aviv was the city targeted with 10,000 missiles, many accurate to within a few meters. At 11:04 the missiles landed on the clubs. Dancing was exchanged for death in an instant. Sirens throughout the country alerted the citizenry of the attack but already it was too late for hundreds of victims. Missiles successfully struck the Reading and Hadera power plants and the coast went black. Attacks on the Paz Junction fuel depot caused a huge fireball that spread the flames through North Tel Aviv as far as Herzlia. Those trapped in rubble or fire had no one to extricate them. Even if rescue teams and ambulances could make it through the rutted streets, the searing heat, the encompassing darkness punctuated by the outlines of buildings engulfed in fire, it would have made no difference. Hospitals like Ichilov and Sheba were on their way to becoming gutted ruins. http://www.barrychamish.com/ Listen to my radio show: - http://wwfar.com/mp3s/BarryChamish/ http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/the_conpromised_land/6398777 ----- RACISM THE WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT by Steven Plaut - Allow us to introduce you to young Kochav Segal Halevi. The life of the Israeli 26 year old is in danger and he is receiving death threats. In fact he had to go into hiding. His offence? He purchased an apartment in the Arab town of Iblin not far from Haifa. The Arabs of the town do not like the idea of their town being polluted by the presence of a Jew. I mean, one Jew and there goes the neighborhood. The left-leaning Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot (Nov. 7, 2010) described the threats he has been receiving and how he fears for his life. He is now in hiding. Arabs who sell property to Jews have similarly been threatened and attacked. And of course the moderates from the Palestinian Authority routinely torture and summarily execute Arabs who sell property to Jews. Now I mention all this because the leftist media in Israel and in the world are - as usual - up in arms over supposed Israeli Jewish "racism" against Arabs. There are some Jewish closed communities in Israel, some of them religiously observant, in which one must be accepted as a member by an admissions committee in order to live there, and these tend to refuse membership to Arabs "to preserve the character of the community." (In religious communities, non-religious Jews get barred as well. Other communities, including kibbutzim, have age and marital status restrictions.) There have also been calls in recent days, including from some local public officials, in Carmiel and in Safed in the Galilee, to restrict the movement of Arabs into those towns. (Due to justifiable fear for the safety of Jewish residents!) But of course the reality is that, by and large, Israeli Arabs may move into and live in just about any Jewish area in the country, while Jews cannot move into any Arab town or village or neighborhood. Jews cannot move into the Arab areas because they will be murdered if they move there. Every single Israeli understands these unwritten "rules of the game." In fact, Jews often risk their lives just passing through Arab areas, as a group of four Hebrew University Jewish students discovered over the past weekend when they were almost lynched after making a wrong turn into an Arab neighborhood next to the campus. (I myself have made that same wrong turn, the signs being unclear at that intersection.) Jews are also attacked when holding political marches in Arab towns, in contrast with the anti-Jewish marches regularly conducted by Arabs in Tel Aviv and other Jewish areas. - Source Newsletter: http://www.shamrak.com/index.php ----- OBAMA TO PRESENT US ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN BORDER MAP WITHIN 3 MONTHS DEBKAfile Exclusive Report November 14, 2010, The map on the obstacle course to peacedebkafile's Washington sources disclose that the three-month settlement construction freeze-for-incentives deal Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu discussed with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday, Nov. 12, also included a commitment to hold Israel-Palestinian negotiations on the two states' final borders during that period. Assuming the talks collapse, the Obama administration will take the initiative of delineating those borders and present its own map to both sides before the three months are up. Our sources disclose that the boundaries the US map will adhere a lot more closely to Palestinian territorial aspirations than to Israel case. While no one is talking about imposing it on Israel, a rejection by the Netanyahu government would place it on a collision course with the Obama White House. Word about Obama's planned map was not relayed to the Israeli cabinet Sunday, Nov. 14 when Netanyahu reported to the cabinet on his talks with US leaders last week, our Jerusalem sources report. According to our Washington sources, Obama believes that leaving Israel with no more than 4-4.5 percent of the pre-1967 West Bank area should satisfy its essential security requirements. In terms of population, this would entail the evacuation of dozens of settlements plus two important towns, Efrat in Gush Etzion in the south which has a population of 8,000, and Ariel in Samaria which has 20,000 inhabitants. For Washington, it is the Palestinians who are laying down the law. After his ultimatum on construction was accepted as an obstacle to talks, the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas now warns Washington that if every last Jewish resident is not cleared from Ariel, there will be no peace accord. Continued: http://debka.com/article/9146/ ----- SACRAMENTO NATURAL FOODS CO-OP DEBATES PALESTINE POLITICS September 18, 2010 - By Lien Hoang - This article was published on 09.16.10. - Matzo and bath salts are stirring up controversy over at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, where a fraction of its 12,000 owner-members is moving to boycott products that come from Israel. The boycott is being pushed by the Sacramento Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions Working Group. The group says the boycott would end when Israel stops its Gaza blockade, exits the West Bank, grants Arab Israelis the same rights as Jewish Israelis and lets Palestinian refugees return. More than anything, the controversy is a war of symbols, as the half-dozen Israeli brands that would be affected constitute less than 1 percent of SNFC inventory. “If we can stop carrying products tested on animals, surely we can stop carrying products that violate human rights,” activist and Co-op member Maggie Coulter said at a meeting of the Co-op board on September 7. That meeting drew two dozen people to the Co-op on Alhambra Boulevard, where boycott backers accused Israel of creating a system of apartheid for Palestinians. They said rather than support the nation by buying its goods, the store should do its part in pressuring Israel to make concessions to Palestine. Opponents questioned the legality of a boycott, which would alienate Jewish customers and set a double standard for other human-rights violators, including China and countries in Africa and the Mideast. Besides, they said, the board should stick to managing SNFC finances and leave the politicking to President Barack Obama. Continued: http://usacbi.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/sacramento-natural-foods-co-op-debates-palestine-politics/ ----- TAV ALERT It has been brought to our attention that a group of anti-semites is seeking to impose a ban at the Sacramento Food Co-op on all goods manufactured in Israel. The boycott is being pushed by the Sacramento Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions Working Group. The Sacramento Food Co-op Board of Directors will be meeting at 6:00 PM, December 7th, to vote on the ban. TAV is considering what our response should be at Urban Hope. We are in discussion and prayer. Please join your hearts, your minds, and your prayers with ours. No decisions will be made for another several days. We encourage you to send your insights and suggestions along to us via e-mail. Simply press this link Link. We will get back in touch with you. The last e-mail we sent tells you how exactly TAV fits into Urban Hope. Please re-read it for perspective. We are sending this e-mail out beyond the Sacramento area to gain additional insight, prayer, and perspective. God bless, TAV Board of Directors: Douglas Shearer, Richard Paradise, Douglas Krieger http://www.the-tribulation-network.com ----- GUESS WHO WANTS TO GIVE UP WEST BANK? WikiLeaks documents show this leader supports further land swaps - Posted: November 29, 2010 9:17 pm Eastern - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily - JERUSALEM : Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a delegation of visiting U.S. lawmakers he supports further land swaps with the Palestinians and that he does not want his country to govern the strategic West Bank, according to classified documents released by WikiLeaks and reviewed by WND. A February 2009 diplomatic cable marked "secret" recounted a meeting between Netanyahu and a delegation led by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md. "Netanyahu expressed support for the concept of land swaps, and emphasized that he did not want to govern the West Bank and Gaza but rather to stop attacks from being launched from there," read the cable. The cable related Netanyahu spoke to the congressmen about "three options," with regard an Israeli-Palestinian deal: Continued: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=234457 ----- US SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR ISRAEL WORTHLESS WHEN TURKEY CONTROLS MISSILE SHIELD DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis November 21, 2010, 11:42 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Turkey NATO missile shield Turkey's Abdullah Gul sees the joke at NATO summitBy bowing to Ankara's demand to omit Iran, Syria and their ballistic missiles as a threat from the NATO agreement to establish a missile shield base in Turkey, President Barak Obama has devalued any US security guarantees offered Israel - as well as negating the facility's avowed purpose. The missile shield and its location in Europe were conceived in the first place for detecting and defusing Iranian and Syrian ballistic missile before they reached Europe or the United States. "For the first time we've agreed to develop a missile defense capability that is strong enough to cover all Nato European territory and populations as well as the United States," Obama declared Friday, Nov. 19, at the NATO summit in Lisbon. The US president did not say against who or what. Neither did he reveal the full scope of US and NATO's surrender to Turkey. debkafile's military sources report that the covert clauses in the deal additionally provide for the missile base to come under the command of a Turkish general. President Abdullah Gul held out on this point in discussions with President Obama and NATO leaders, following the lead given him by Prime Minister Tayyep Erdogan of Monday, Nov. 15: "Turkey would demand that NATO assign a Turkish commander to oversee the shield. Especially if this is to be place on our soil…," said Erdogan. Turkey's leaders are very close to the Islamic Republic's extremist rulers and see nothing amiss in their deploying large portions of Iran's missile arsenal on Syrian and Lebanese soil (in Hizballah's keeping). A Turkish general in command of the NATO missile shield cannot be expected to regard threatening missile action by Iran, Syria or Hizballah in the same light as would President Obama or NATO Secretary-General Andres Fogh Rasmussen. He would simply follow the orders of his own prime minister. Continued: http://www.debka.com/article/9159/ ----- A NEW PLAYER? Chinese warplanes took part in Turkey's recent air maneuver after breaking their journey to refuel in Iran. Questions should be asked about the role China is willing to play in the military-intelligence alliance binding Syria, Iran and Turkey and the membership of Turkey in NATO... THREAT TO ISRAEL IMMINENT NOW! Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak have made a big deal about the security benefits they say Barak Obama is offering for a second, 90-day moratorium on settlement construction. However the delivery date of the second lot of 20 F-35 stealth warplanes is 2020 - ten years from now! So how will that help Israel stand up to current security threats from Iran, Hizballah, Syria and Hamas? The Obama letter of commitment is meanwhile delayed. (Can Israel trust the US? Obama administration officials have already denied a pledged package of major incentives.) It is Never Enough - Israel is Targeted for Destruction. Lebanese officials and Hizbullah leaders say Israel's withdrawal from Ghajar is not enough. Hizbullah called the Ghajar pullout an Israeli 'trick' to keep its 60,000 rockets targeting Israel. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-502223 ----- UN'S ANTI-ISRAEL BIGOTRY ON RECORD! The United Nations Human Rights Council this month adopted nine resolutions against Israel . (Obama's UN Officials opposed nothing and kept silence!) The Council, engaged in a "universal periodic review" of human rights protection in Lebanon, was examining a report by that country which expressed its objections to "the establishment of the Zionist entity on Palestinian territory". (The Council does not care about systematic killings of Christians in Lebanon and their mass departure from the country) Every United Nations member state was asked to submit a report to the Council on its national human rights record, which was then reviewed by U.N. members who engage in a short dialogue with the state representatives. After Lebanon submitted its report objecting to the creation of the State of Israel, Israel's representative responded, "My delegation would like to state on record our strong objection to the inappropriate and abusive language used to reference the State of Israel. Unfortunately, the existence of a dominant terrorist organization, Hizbullah, as well as political tensions and struggles between different vital groups." Israel's presentation then was rudely interrupted by the Council president, the delegate from Thailand, who broke in to summarily recognize the delegation of Lebanon. "If there were no Israeli occupation there would have been no resistance and resistance of peoples against foreign occupation is a legitimate right. Thank you," the Lebanese delegate stated firmly, to a hall, which broke into applause. The Council president followed up, "I appreciate the concern expressed by the Lebanese delegation." (Such undiplomatic behaviour is never allowed toward any other country!) Source Newsletter from: http://www.shamrak.com/ ----- MAJORITY OF THE P.A. ARABS SEE TWO STATES AS 'TEMPORARY SOLUTION’ by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - Follow Israel news on and .- A majority of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza favor two states only as a step towards an Arab state of Palestine, by the use of violence, if necessary, according to a new poll by the non- profit The Israel Project. The results of the survey were released on Friday, hours before Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said that if Israel agrees to recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a new Arab country based on Israel’s size being shrunk to the indefensible 1949 Armistice Line borders, the PA then would relinquish all claims to “historic Palestine,'which he said includes all of Israel from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Seas. The Israel Project poll of PA Arabs shows that 60 percent favor direct negotiations with Israel for 'two states' of the Palestinian Authority and Israel, but it also reveals that two-thirds agree that “over time, Palestinian must work to get back all the land for a Palestinian state.' Only 23 percent of the respondent agreed that “Israel has a permanent right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.' The option of armed violence still is a high priority for a majority of PA Arabs, 58 percent preferring 'armed struggle' over “engagement with Israel.'A majority of Arabs in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria favor violence, with a higher percentage in Gaza. Continued: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140756 ----- CAR BOMB IN IRAN KILL NUCLEAR SCIENTIST by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - Two explosions in Tehran Monday morning killed one nuclear scientist and seriously wounded another. Both were university lecturers and worked on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Both men, and their wives, who also were wounded, were attacked shortly before 8 a.m. as they drove to work. Iranian media said that the assassinations were carried out by motorcyclists who placed a bomb in or next to the cars and then shot at the passengers. (Do you suppose they knew about the computers) Pictures on Iranian television show evidence of gunshots but not of bomb explosions. One of the cars was identified as a Peugeot, model 206. The semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency accused the United States and “Zionists,' meaning Israel, as being behind the assassinations. Iranian media also quoted an analyst who said the method of using motorcyclists is a “known Israeli system.' Iran’s state television reported, 'In a criminal terrorist act, the agents of the Zionist regime attacked two prominent university professors who were on their way to work.' t identified the scientists as Dr. Majid Shahriari, who was killed, and Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi Dr. Shahriari was a member of the nuclear engineering department of Shahid Beheshti University and Dr. Abbasi worked on nuclear research at the Iranian defense ministry. Assassinations are rare in Tehran, where the secret police ands the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are ever-present. Continued: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ http://www.web-view.net/Show/0XE04F1975425F57094C9974BD4690E81E001E04F11E94 34438186735DBD637488.htm ----- US SILENT ON NINE ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS YouTube: Terrorism against Jews applauded at the U.N. - The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted nine resolutions against Israel with the United States opposing nothing. Every United Nations member state was asked to submit a report to the Council on its national human rights record. Lebanon expressed its objections to "the establishment of the Zionist entity on Palestinian territory." Israel's representative responded with strong objection, but was rudely interrupted. Then Other UNHRC members responded with verbal assaults against the Israeli diplomat. (click title to read more) http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/140783 ----- UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS SIX RESOLUTIONS ON MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT English.news.cn 2010-12-01 FeedbackPrintRSS - UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly adopted six draft resolutions regarding the question of Palestine. The United States and Israel, along with a few other countries, voted against the draft resolutions at the end of a two-day General Assembly meeting to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The first draft resolution affirmed the "inalienable rights" of the Palestinian people and stated "permanent responsibility" of the UN to support the Middle East peace process and a two-state solution to the Middle East question, which would mandate a secure Israel and an independent Palestinian State to live side by side in peace. A second draft resolution pledged continuing support for the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat. Another draft resolution affirmed the illegality of Israeli occupation of the disputed Golan Heights area, which is on the border of Israel and Syria. Another drew attention to the status of Jerusalem, which Israel proclaimed as its capital city. The resolution views such a proclamation as "null and void," and an alteration of the character and status of Jerusalem as a Holy City. The draft resolution stresses that "a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of the city of Jerusalem should take into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and Israeli sides." Continued: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/01/c_13629506.htm ----- ISRAELI PARLIAMENT PASSES LAW REQUIRING REFERENDUM ON TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS English.news.cn 2010-11-23 - JERUSALEM, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed the National Referendum Law on Monday late night by a vote of 65-33. The new law applies to territories annexed by Israel in the aftermath of the 1967 war, namely East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, requiring any Israeli government engaged in peace negotiations necessitating a withdrawal from East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights (seized from Syria) to attain the consent of the Israeli public. Israeli Knesset began debating the referendum bill on Monday afternoon. The bill has been approved in second and third readings after many hours of debates. "A law like this will prevent irresponsible accords in the future, and on the other hand, will allow governments to pass with strong public support any agreement that will answer Israel's national interests," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in support of the legislation, according to local news service Ynet. Continued: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-11/23/c_13617681.htm ---- ISRAEL WARNS ARGENTINA: RECOGNIZING PALESTINIAN STATE SHATTERS PEACE PROCESS Published 11:29 07.12.10 - Argentina's announcement follows Brazil's declaration of recognition last week, in wake of request made by Abbas on Latin American tour last year. Israel's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned as "highly regrettable" Argentina's announcement of the previous day that it recognized Palestine as "a free and independent state" within its borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. The decision was highly "damaging," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, "because they are in fact shattering the foundation of the peace process." Continued: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-warns-argentina- recognizing-palestinian-state-shatters-peace-process-1.329317 ----- FIRE OR A MASSACRE? ISRAELI MEDIA DOWNPLAYS ARSON SUSPICION December 2, 2010 - According to an unconfirmed report on rotter.net, Radio Haifa reported that Arabs have been dancing in the streets of Furadis, just south of Haifa, in celebration of the deadly fire. There is no doubt in my mind that Arabs set the fire. This is terrorism and should be treated as such. The Arabs want their desert back. I say they must go!! Yamit Israel’s deadliest fire leaves 40 dead Blaze breaks out in Carmel, forcing authorities to evacuate Damon Prison, Beit Oren near Haifa. Bus carrying some 50 passengers catches fire. Magen David Adom says 40 prison guards killed by Gil Ronen The fire in the Carmel Mountains may turn out to be the worst terror act in Israel’s history, but major news outlets appear resolute in their will to ignore this fact and its implications. Israel’s major news media, controlled by the Left, are on the whole treating the fire as a “disaster,' spending most of their broadcast time discussing the insufficient preparation for a disaster of this magnitude and downplaying the fact that Arab arson is likely behind the blaze. MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) of the National Union was the first leader Thursday to publicly give voice the possibility that the fire was a terror attack – “an act of arson that turned into a massacre,” in his words. Most of the large forest fires in Israel are set by hostile Arabs, Katz said. He noted that he had proposed a bill for minimum punishment of terror arsonists nine months ago, and blamed Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman for torpedoing it. continued: http://www.israpundit.com/archives/31015 ----- 'PALESTINE ELIGIBLE FOR U.N. MEMBERSHIP' Tue Dec 7, 2010 11:21AM - Palestine already meets the required criteria for being a member state of the United Nations, human rights and international lawyer Paul Wolf says. "Basically, the criteria for being a state are to have a stable population, to have defined territory, to have a government and have the ability to conduct foreign relations," Wolf said on Tuesday. "I think anyone looking at Palestine would say they meet that definition already," he noted in an interview with Press TV. Wolf argued that as Palestinians “get more other countries accepting them and entering into treaties with Palestine," the UN membership will come with time. Moreover, he predicted that such an event would occur soon given that Palestine enjoys ongoing UN support. "It really will not take much. Every year, the UN passes resolutions. They just did it again about a week ago supporting the Palestinian people in various ways," he pointed out. Continued: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/154325.html ----- 'ISRAELI WAR CRIMES' SIGNS TO GO ON METRO BUSES IN SEATTLE DECEMBER 2010 by ALLEN SCHAUFFLER / KING 5 News - KING5.com - Posted on December 17, 2010 at 6:19 PM - Updated yesterday at 6:51 PM - SEATTLE - "Israeli War Crimes," the enormous advertisement reads. "Your tax dollars at work." To the right of the image is a group of children -- one little boy stares out at the viewer, the others gawk at a demolished building, all rebar and crumbled concrete. It's an ad you'll be seeing soon on a handful of Metro buses in downtown Seattle. A group calling itself the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign has paid King County $1,794 so that 12 buses will carry that message around town, starting two days after Christmas. That's December 27: the two-year anniversary of Israeli attacks on Gaza, aimed at stopping rocket attacks and weapons smuggling. Ed Mast, a Seattle man who is a spokesperson for the group, says it’s not meant to be an anti-Israel message, but a message designed to generate discussion and awareness. "I wouldn't say it's an anti-Israel message any more than any complaint about a country is anti-that country. We would like Israel to stop violating human rights. We would like Israel to give equal rights to its Palestinian citizens and its Palestinian subjects who live under occupation," said Mast. At the Pacific Northwest office of the Anti-Defamation League, the ad campaign is seen quite a bit differently. Continued: http://www.king5.com/news/Israeli-War-Crimes-signs-to-go-on-Metro-buses-112108154.html ----- KISSSINGER: GASSING JEWS WOULD NOT BE A U.S. PROBLEM By JTA - 12/11/2010 23:58 - "If they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern," then-US sec. of state tells Nixon on 1973 tape. WASHINGTON, Henry Kissinger is heard saying the genocide of Soviet Jews would not be an American problem on newly released tapes chronicling President Nixon’s obsession with disparaging Jews and other minorities. Kissinger’s remarks come after a meeting between the two men and former prime minister Golda Meir on March 1, 1973, in which Meir pleads for US pressure on the Soviet Union to release its Jews. http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=198996 ----- WIKILEAKS 'STRUCK A DEAL WITH ISRAEL' OVER DIPLOMATIC CABLES LEAKS http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/12/07/18665978.php ----- LEAKS SUGGEST IRAN IS NOW WINNING IN THE MIDDLE EAST Tuesday 07 December 2010 - Juan Cole - Truthdig - News Analysis - Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Photo online - Iran is winning and Israel is losing. That is the startling conclusion we reach if we consider how things have changed in the Middle East in the two years since most of the WikiLeaks State Department cables about Iran’s regional difficulties were written. Lebanon’s Sunni prime minister, once a virulent critic, quietly made his pilgrimage to the Iranian capital last week. Israeli hopes of separating Syria from Iran have been dashed. Turkey, once a strong ally of Israel, is now seeking better relations with Iran and with Lebanon’s Shiites. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Iran was in part an attempt to reach out to a major foreign patron of his country’s Shiite Hezbollah Party. Hariri’s father, Rafiq, was mysteriously blown to kingdom come in 2005, and a United Nations tribunal is now rumored to be leaning toward implicating Hezbollah. Many Lebanese are terrified that the tribunal’s findings might set Kalashnikovs clattering again in Beirut, given that the Hariris are Sunni Muslims linked to Saudi Arabia, and their followers could attack Lebanese Shiites in reprisal. Lebanon, a small country of 4 million, is more than a third Shiite, but Christians and Sunni Muslims have formed the political elite for two centuries. http://www.truth-out.org/leaks-suggest-iran-is-now-winning-middle-east65759 ----- THE CHARADE OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS Monday 06 December 2010 - by: Noam Chomsky, Op-Ed - President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel leave through the doorway in the Cabinet Room of the White House, as the president walks the prime minister to his car following their meetings, July 6, 2010. (Photo: Pete Souza / Official White House Photo) Washington’s pathetic capitulation to Israel while pleading for a meaningless three-month freeze on settlement expansion 'excluding Arab East Jerusalem' should go down as one of the most humiliating moments in U.S. diplomatic history. In September the last settlement freeze ended, leading the Palestinians to cease direct talks with Israel. Now the Obama administration, desperate to lure Israel into a new freeze and thus revive the talks, is grasping at invisible straws – and lavishing gifts on a far-right Israeli government. The gifts include $3 billion for fighter jets. The largesse also happens to be another taxpayer grant to the U.S. arms industry, which gains doubly from programs to expand the militarization of the Middle East. U.S. arms manufacturers are subsidized not only to develop and produce advanced equipment for a state that is virtually part of the U.S. military-intelligence establishment but also to provide second-rate military equipment to the Gulf states – currently a precedent-breaking $60 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which is a transaction that also recycles petrodollars to an ailing U.S. economy. Continued: http://www.truth-out.org/the-charade-israeli-palestinian-talks65701 ----- FORMER EU OFFICIALS CALL FOR STRONG MEASURES AGAINST ISRAEL Ahram online, Saturday 11 Dec 2010 - Days after the US abandons efforts to pressure Israel to stop settlement expansion, former EU leaders call for strident measures in support of Palestinian rights. GRAPHIC: A construction worker works on a new housing unit in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) A group of 26 senior former European leaders are calling for sanctions against the Israeli government in response to its refusal to end settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday. The report says the leaders criticised Israeli policies in a letter sent Thursday to the leadership of the European Union and the governments of the EU's 27 member states ahead of their scheduled ministerial meeting to take place Monday. According to the same report, the signatories to the letter include former EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, former German President Richard von Weizsacker, former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales, former president of the EU Commission and former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and former Irish President Mary Robinson. The letter joins recent recognition of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders declared by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Also, the European Union Council intends to back the Palestinian Authority's efforts to rally international support behind the establishment of a free and independent state, and ending the Israeli occupation. Moreover, European leaders are also calling upon the EU not to accept any unilateral changes to the 1967 borders that Israel has made, and that the capital of the Palestinian state would be East Jerusalem. The EU should support, according to the leaders, only minor exchanges upon which both sides agree. In addition, EU officials point out that any upgrading of relations between the EU and Israel will be frozen until settlement activities stop in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The move comes after days after US officials dropped their demand for Israel to halt all construction in West Bank settlements, leaving peace talks in limbo. http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/1648/World/Region/ Former-EU-officials-call-for-strong-measures-again.aspx -------OurNetwork------- Cephas Ministries Subscribe to Free Newsletters Bible Online KJV mp3s downloadable News Index Cephas Library DVDs/Audios Cephas Live Media Taming The Lion Cephas Central My Blogs Subscribe Adelink (all subjects) A2Z Book Depot Upcoming Events LDS Apologetics JW Apologetics Catholic Apologetics Freemasonry Leaven Scripture Studies Save Our Children Cephas Newsletter Link Community Israel Adelink [Add-a-link all subjects] Rock To Salt Ministry Rapture Watch Ezekiel 38 Apostasy Nicholas Scrolls The Book Peace in Jerusalem To Dare The Future Dare The Future Savvy Info Net [about jobs] Our GoodWill Store Come to the Mall Try Us For A Job