-
ISRAEL
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- IRAN ATTACK SCENARIO: A CATASTROPHE
By David DeBatto - Global Research - June 24, 2008 - "Israel
has said a strike on Iran will be "unavoidable" if
the Islamic regime continues to press ahead with alleged plans
for building an atom-bomb." (London Daily Telegraph, 6/11/2008)
- "Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany joined President
Bush on Wednesday in calling for further sanctions against Iran
if it does not suspend its uranium enrichment program."
Mr. Bush stressed again that "all options are on the table,"
which would include military force. (New York Times, 6/11/2008)
- We are fast approaching the final six months of the Bush administration.
The quagmire in Iraq is in its sixth painful year with no real
end in sight and the forgotten war in Afghanistan is well into
its seventh year. The "dead enders" and other armed
factions are still alive and well in Iraq and the Taliban in
Afghanistan again controls most of that country. Gas prices have
now reached an average of $4.00 a gallon nationally and several
analysts predict the price will rise to $5.00-$6.00 dollars per
gallon at the pump by Labor Day. This, despite assurances by
some major supporters of the decision to invade Iraq that the
Iraq war "will pay for itself" (Paul Wolfowitz) or
that we will see "$20.00 per barrel" oil prices if
we invade Iraq (Rupert Murdoch).
- One thing the Pentagon routinely does (and does very well)
is conduct war games. Top brass there are constantly developing
strategies for conducting any number of theoretical missions
based on real or perceived threats to our national security or
vital interests. This was also done prior to the invasion of
Iraq, but the Bush administration chose not to listen to the
dire warnings about that mission given to him by Pentagon leaders,
or for that matter, by his own senior intelligence officials.
Nevertheless, war gaming is in full swing again right now with
the bullseye just to the right of our current mess – Iran.
- It’s no secret that the U.S. is currently putting the
finishing touches on several contingency plans for attacking
Iranian nuclear and military facilities. With our ground forces
stretched to the breaking point in Iraq and Afghanistan, none
of the most likely scenarios involve a ground invasion. Not that
this administration wouldn’t prefer to march into the seat
of Shiite Islam behind a solid, moving line of M1 Abrams tanks
and proclaim the country for democracy. The fact is that even
the President knows we can’t pull that off any more so he
and the neo-cons will have to settle for Shock and Awe Lite.
- If we invade Iran this year it will be done using hundreds
of sorties by carrier based aircraft already stationed in the
Persian Gulf and from land based aircraft located in Iraq and
Qatar. They will strike the known nuclear facilities located
in and around Tehran and the rest of the country as well as bases
containing major units of the Iranian military, anti-aircraft
installations and units of the Revolutionary Guard (a separate
and potent Iranian para-military organization).
- Will this military action stop Iran’s efforts to develop
nuclear weapons? Probably not. It will probably not even destroy
all of their nuclear research facilities, the most sensitive
of which are known to be underground, protected by tons of earth
and reinforced concrete and steel designed to survive almost
all attacks using conventional munitions. The Iranian military
and Revolutionary Guard will most likely survive as well, although
they will suffer significant casualties and major bases and command
centers will undoubtedly be destroyed. However, since Iran has
both a functioning Air Force, Navy (including submarines) and
modern anti-aircraft capabilities, U.S. fighter-bombers will
suffer casualties as well. This will not be a "Cake Walk"
as with the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003 when the Iraqi
Army simply melted away and the Iraqi Air Force never even launched
a single aircraft.
If the United States attacks Iran either this summer or this
fall, the American people had better be prepared for a shock
that may perhaps be even greater to the national psyche (and
economy) than 9/11. First of all, there will be significant U.S.
casualties in the initial invasion. American jets will be shot
down and the American pilots who are not killed will be taken
prisoner - including female pilots. Iranian Yakhonts 26, Sunburn
22 and Exocet missiles will seek out and strike U.S. naval battle
groups bottled up in the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf with
very deadly results. American sailors will be killed and U.S.
ships will be badly damaged and perhaps sunk. We may even witness
the first attack on an American Aircraft carrier since World
War II. That’s just the opening act.Scroll down the page
http://www.infowars.com/?p=2850
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- OBAMA RECEIVING JEWISH SUPPORT, ALONG WITH "UNENDORSEMENT"
FROM HAMAS
June 4th, 2008 by Ron Chusid
- Sometimes an unendorsement helps more than an endorsement.
In April, Ahmed Yousef, an advisor to Hamas, made some favorable
comments about Obama in an interview. This was spun by conservatives
as meaning that Hamas had endorsed Obama. If so, today he received
the unendorsement after speaking before the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Reuters reports: Hamas promply unendorsed
Obama, a Christian who has had difficulty dispelling a rumor
campaign suggesting he is a Muslim and that his advisers have
a pro-Arab bent. “Obama’s comments have confirmed that
there will be no change in the U.S. administration’s foreign
policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Hamas official Sami
Abu Zuhri told Reuters in Gaza. “The Democratic and Republican
parties support totally the Israeli occupation at the expense
of the interests and rights of Arabs and Palestinians,”
he said. “Hamas does not differentiate between the two presidential
candidates, Obama and Mccain, because their policies regarding
the Arab-Israel conflict are the same and are hostile to us,
therefore we do have no preference and are not wishing for either
of them to win,” Zuhri said. Continued: http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=3363
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- PRESIDENT BUSH'S PLAN FOR PEACE HAS BEEN WIDELY ACCEPTED
INTERNATIONALLY AS WELL AS THE ISRAELI AND PA GOVERNMENTS
Germany-Palestine-Confab
June 20, 2008 The German Foreign Ministry will host an international
conference in Berlin next week aimed at boosting security and
rule of law in the Palestinian territories under the control
of the Palestinian Authority (PA) the press reported Thursday.
High-ranking political representatives from around 50 countries
will attend a meeting dubbed `The Palestine Security Conference'.
Talks will dwell on rebuilding Palestinian civil police and the
judicial system as donor nations have already pledged 118 million
euros, dpa quoted German government circles as saying. The Palestinian
delegation will be headed by western-backed PA Prime Minister
Salam Fayad. At the same the Mideast Quartet, comprised of the
US, Russia, EU and UN, is scheduled to meet on the sidelines
of the Palestine confab.
- US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and her Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov are also slated to take part in the Mideast Quartet
talks. UPDATE by Pastor James Cutchan
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- ISRAEL TODAY:
- "Helping US Economy. The Israeli Defense Ministry submitted
an official request to the Pentagon, asking to purchase a squadron
of F-35 stealth-enabled Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). Each plane
is estimated to cost between $70-80 million. In addition to the
25 planes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the Defense Ministry
also asked for an option to purchase 50 more. Already in September,
the IDF announced its intention to purchase up to 100 JSF fighter
jets over the next decade.... Flip-Flopping Candidate! Democratic
presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama qualified his
support for a united Jerusalem last Thursday after Arabs voiced
intense anger at this policy. Within 24 hours, he backtracked
and declared. "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the
parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will
be part of those negotiations…" Two Political .....
are Playing Jewish Card. Hillary Rodham Clinton assured thousands
of AIPAC activists that Barack Obama will be "a good friend
to Israel." ... Never Ending Story. In his interview in
Dubai on June 2, president Bashar Assad raised his price for
a 'peace' deal with Israel. The Golan, which Syria's invading
army lost to Israel in the 1967 war, is not enough any more.
Assad is also demanding a strip of the eastern shore of the Sea
of Galilee... Syria rejected Israel's demand that Damascus cut
its ties with Iran and Arab militant groups as a condition for
a peace agreement. "Damascus does not want preconditions,
that would put the cart before the horse…" ... Israeli
Defence Minister Ehud Barak will retroactively approve illegal
construction by Arabs in ten neighbourhoods in Judea and Samaria.
The approvals are part of Israel's 'gestures' toward the Fatah/PA
in Judea and Samaria.... " http://www.shamrak.com/
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- IRAN WARNS AGAINST ISRAELI STRIKE
- By Stan Goodenough - June 10, 2008 - Israel will pay a "very
painful price" for any attack that is launched against Iran's
nuclear facilities, that country's defense minister reportedly
warned at the weekend, further ratcheting up tension between
the Tehran and Jerusalem. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was responding
to a threat by Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who
was quoted in the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot Friday as saying
that if Iran continues its plan to develop nuclear weapons, Israel
will attack it.
- "The window of opportunity has closed," Mofaz,
a former IDF chief of staff and defense minister said. "The
sanctions are not effective. There will be no choice but to attack
Iran to stop its nuclear program."
- Along with political figures in Washington, including President
George W. Bush, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
and his Republican opponent John McCain, Israel's leaders have
repeatedly voiced their total unwillingness to allow Iran to
acquire nuclear weapons.
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has both vowed to pursue
nuclear power and to see Israel wiped off the map of the Middle
East. Observers anticipate that either the US or Israel will
have to strike Iran before the end of the year. Time, and other
options, appear to have run out. http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2480
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- CRISES THREATEN TO SINK ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
- By Stan Goodenough - June 10, 2008 - The government of Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert could be pushed off its increasingly shaky
pedestal sooner rather than later, as the opposition calls for
the dissolution of the Knesset and the Israeli public registers
an all time high in its mistrust of Israel's politicians. According
to poll results published in the Israeli press Tuesday, fully
90 percent of citizens believe corruption taints the country,
and 51 percent believe you have to be corrupt to become a successful
politician here.
- Meanwhile the center-right Likud Party of former Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu announced that it plans, within the week,
to submit a bill for the dissolution of the Knesset (Israel's
parliament).
- Ynetnews quoted Likud MK Silvan Shalom as informing the faction
that "on June 18 we will bring forth a motion calling for
the dissolution of the Knesset in order to hurry the coming election
in the most dignified way possible… "The decision has
been made," Shalom said. "Olmert's government has reached
the end of the road. All it cares about now is political survival."
- Olmert should take his leave "in an appropriate manner.
"We shouldn’t have to see a government, a prime minister,
resign disgracefully," Shalom added. On June 6 the Labor
Party of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced that it will
support a bill calling for the Knesset's disbanding. Labor is
a senior partner in the coalition government. Analysts say that
even with the successful passing of a bill, it could still take
months before the dissolution actually takes place. November
2008 is currently seen as the earliest likely month for elections
for a new Israeli government. http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2481
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- 'EXASPERATED RICE BUILDING UP JERUSALEM IMPEDES PEACE
- By Stan Goodenough - June 15, 2008 - United States Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice came to Jerusalem Sunday to tell Israel's
government it needs to stop construction in its ancient capital
because it makes the Arabs angry. "Ongoing Israeli construction
in areas the Palestinians want for their future state 'has the
potential to harm the negotiations,'" Rice said according
to The Jerusalem Post.
- In a meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni, Rice said she is "very concerned that at a
time when we need to build confidence between the parties, the
continued building and the settlement activity has the potential
to harm the negotiations going forward." The Post said Rice
"appeared more exasperated with the Israeli construction
than she has in [the] past."
- "Look, it's a problem, and it's a problem that we're
going to address with the Israelis. "This is obviously a
road map obligation that is not being met," she reportedly
told journalists on her plane. Both Rice and Livni were [appropriately
- Ed. note] dressed in black as they stood in front of the press
before going into their meeting. It is Rice's sixth visit to
Israel this year - pushing up her drop-in average to once-a-month,
after making 11 stops in the previous year-and-a-half. The Bush
administration is understood to be increasingly desperate to
secure some sort of Israeli-"Palestinian" agreement
before the end of its term next January.
- Creating a Palestinian state in the heart of the Jews' historical
homeland is the ultimate aim of the US-sponsored "peace"
process.
- The Islamic-Arab world insists that Jerusalem, with its holiest
parts, be the capital of that state.
- Apart from the Jews, no other nation has ever had Jerusalem
as its capital, and there has never been a State of Palestine.
According to the Jewish-Christian Bible, Jerusalem belongs to
the Jewish people as the capital of their exclusive homeland,
which includes all the territory the international community
accuses Israel of "occupying" and wishes to see turned
into a Palestinian state. Continued:
- http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2488
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- YOM YERUSHALAYIM
- Jerusalem Day
- This photo is but one of many scenes that filled the streets
of Jerusalem recently as Israelis by the thousands gathered in
the capital to celebrate 40 years since the city's reunification
at the end of the 1967 war.
- Here, flag bearing crowds dance through the streets enroute
to the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem's Old City, where thousands
gathered to pray for the city, beloved of Hashem and beloved
of Jews throughout the centuries.
- You'd have loved being part of these celebrations. Come to
the Land! Immerse yourself in the richness and flavor of the
root of Jesse that is found in the City of David, the Mount of
Zion. It is to Jerusalem that the Mashiach will come and in the
kingdom to come, it is to Jerusalem that all nations will gather
to worship Hashem. (Zechariah 14)
http://hethathasanear.com/
-
- WHAT IS TRUTH?
by Harold Smith - from Jerusalem, Israel - "Then Pilate
entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him,
'Are You the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered him, 'Are you
speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this
concerning Me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation
and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You
done?' Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that
I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is
not from here.' (Luke 17:20-21) Pilate therefore said to Him,
'Are You a king then?' Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that
I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have
come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.' Pilate said to
Him, 'What is truth?'" (John 18:33-38)
- From this passage, Y'shua was taken to the cross and put
to death for our sin. But the greatest part of this event was
in His defeat of that death with His Resurrection that followed.
That victory was obtained over 2,000 years ago and, by it, set
free all who would embrace His Resurrected Life as their own.
Continued in their last newsletter. http://hethathasanear.com/
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ISRAEL'S MESSIANIC JEWS UNDER ATTACK
- June 06, 2008 By TIM MCGIRK/ARIEL Pedestrians walk near the
outer wall of Jerusalem's old city.
Reuters  The flyers appeared
everywhere inside the Jewish settlement of Ariel, on car windshields
and telephone poles, and in bus shelters. "Beware,"
it read, "these are the members of the Jewish Missionary
Cult. They are baptizing Jews into Christianity." Included
was a photo of Pastor David Ortiz and his address.Ortiz didn't
give it a thought. His Jewish neighbors liked him, and so did
Ariel's mayor, who found Ortiz, originally from Brooklyn, useful
in recruiting funds and political support from American and German
Evangelicals for this stone-clad settlement on a breezy hilltop
inside Palestinian territory.
- But somebody disliked Ortiz and his beliefs enough to try
to kill him and his family. By chance, Ortiz and his wife Leah
were gone on March 20th when an unknown person dropped off a
bomb disguised as a holiday gift package loaded with candy and
chocolates. When Ortiz's 15 year-old son Ami plucked off a chocolate,
it detonated a bomb powerful enough to blow out all the apartment's
windows apartment and to be heard a mile away. The bomb was packed
with nails, screws and needles. Doctors found over 100 pieces
of metal embedded in the boy's body by the blast, which sheared
off the skin and muscle on his legs and chest. The teenager survived,
but still faces six more operations of skin grafts and the removal
of shrapnel from his eyes. Whoever did it, says Ortiz, knew "that
we adults wouldn't open up the Purim package — it would
be the kids."
- Continued: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1812430,00.html
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- BURNING OF THE BIBLES-JERUSALEM POST- ISRAELI SECULAR NEWSPAPER
- The burning of hundreds of New Testaments by yeshiva students
in Or Yehuda last week was regrettable and unplanned, the city's
deputy mayor, the man who spurred the students to act, told The
Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon of Shas used
the opportunity of speaking to the Post, which publishes a monthly
Christian Edition, to apologize to Christians worldwide, saying
he hoped the incident would not inflame tensions between Jews
and Christians. Following the publication of the story on Tuesday,
however, many messianic Jewish and other Christian groups expressed
grave concern over the increasingly violent nature of anti-missionary
activity in Israel. Continued:
- http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1211288128832
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ISRAEL SAVES LIFE OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN
- On Monday, May 19, 2008, thirty two year old Nadia Aieed
was filling a water bucket from a water pipeline in the fields
between Palestinian Jericho and the nearby Israeli Moshav Argamon.
This is an area of the Jordan Valley located several miles north
of the Dead Sea. Without warning, a poisonous Echis Coloratus
(mid-east saw scaled viper) struck Nadia on the top of her left
sandaled foot inflicting a deep and painful wound. Continued:
http://www.clalit.org.il/haemek/Content/Content.asp?CID=82&u=614&t=0
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- TURNING UP THE 'HEAT' ON MESSIANIC JEWS
By Chris Mitchell - Mideast Bureau Chief - June 4, 2008 - CBNNews.com
- JERUSALEM, Israel - In the latest in a growing number of incidents
against Israeli Messianic Jewish believers -- Jews who believe
that Yeshua (Jesus, in Hebrew) is the Messiah -- a group of ultra-Orthodox
youth set fire to New Testaments collected from the town's residents.
The Bible burning, which took place in Or Yehuda, a town of about
28,000 located between Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport, was first
reported in the Israeli daily Maariv. Continued with a  http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/385992.aspx
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? It appears that the Lord is pushing Messianic
believers into the mainstream of Israeli society. While the body
of believers in Israel is still quite small, we have received
a tremendous amount of national attention in the past two months.
Most of the press coverage has been fair. The media is presenting
us to a reluctant population as Israel-loving, Army-serving citizens
(unlike the orthodox, most of whom do not serve in the army).
All this publicity is something new. I have no doubt that this
will result in salvation's. I also have no doubt that it will
result in persecution from the orthodox. Please pray for the
congregations and their leaders in Israel that we properly receive
this harvest and withstand the persecutions. Pray that we would
not back down and that we would be even bolder in the coming
days. To God be the glory. [Borther in Christ Jesus]
- -----
- “INTOLERANCE" IN ISRAEL
- Israel signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Article 18 states: “Everyone has the right to…change
his religion…and freedom…to manifest his religion or
beliefs in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
Avraham Benjamin, Israel’s First Secretary (Information)
said in 1980 that Israel is a “country universally known
for its religious freedom, tolerance, and plurality of views…”
- Obviously, such “respect for diversity” no longer
exists in Israel, if it ever did. There is much more freedom
to witness for Christ in countries of the former Soviet Union,
where evangelical Christianity flourishes. In the coldest part
of the Cold War, Billy Graham was invited to hold crusades in
some of these countries. But never in Israel. Evangelicals fantasize
that Israel is turning to Christ. Statistics prove otherwise:
In 1920, nearly 12 percent of the inhabitants of Palestine were
Christian. But, largely as a result of decades of consistent
unpublicized government persecution, Israel’s population
of Christians had shrunk to 2.1 percent in 2004. Anti-Christianity
in Israel increases. (See, Christians in Israel: An Endangered
Species) Legislation now pends in Knesset that would not just
deport but could imprison Christians such as Barbara Ludwig.
It says, “Whoever…publicizes things in which there
is an inducement to religious conversion is punishable by - one
year imprisonment.” (1) This is exactly what Jesus prophesied
would happen in the last days. Jewish leaders “…will
deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in the synagogues.”
(Matthew 10:17)
- Whole story: http://www.truthtellers.org/alerts/christiandeportedfromisreal.htm
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- ISRAEL MINISTERS MULL PLANS FOR MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST IRAN
PT 1
Ralf Beste, Cordula Meyer and Christoph Schult – Spiegel
Online June 16, 2008 - Dani Yatom, a member of the Israeli parliament,
the Knesset, was invited to attend a NATO conference in Brussels
last year. While reviewing the agenda, Yatom, a retired major
general, was surprised to see that the meeting was titled "The
Iranian Challenge" and not "The Iranian Threat."
When a speaker with a French accent mentioned that a US military
strike against Iranian nuclear facilities would be the most dangerous
scenario of all, Yatom said, politely but firmly: "Sir,
you are wrong. The worst scenario would be if Iran acquired an
atom bomb." Yatom, 63, has spent most of his life in the
military. He was a military adviser to former Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin and, in the mid-1990s, was named head of Israel's
Mossad intelligence agency. Nevertheless, Yatom, a member of
the Labor Party, is not some reckless hawk. Unlike most Knesset
members, he flatly rejects, for example, a major Israeli offensive
against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But Yatom's willingness
to strike a compromise ends when he is asked what he considers
to be the best response to the Iranian nuclear program. "We
no longer believe in the effectiveness of sanctions," says
Yatom. "A military operation is needed if the world wants
to stop Iran." Continued also see Part 2
- http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=8799
-----
- BUSH: PALESTINIANS STATE 'DEFINED' BY JANUARY
- Reuters:
 Abbas meets with
US president, prods for US pressure to halt Israeli settlement
in West Bank. Bush confident Palestinian state can be established
by end of his term
- By Yitzhak Benhorin - 04.24.08 Israel News - WASHINGTON –
President George W. Bush sought to boost the Middle East peace
process Thursday by voicing fresh optimism about the creation
of a Palestinian state. During a meeting with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, he said he remained confident that the definition
of a state for the Palestinian people would be reached before
he leaves office in January. "I believe it's in Israel's
interests and the Palestinian people's interest to have leaders
willing to work toward the achievement of that state," Bush
said during the meeting held at the White House. (Bush, Abbas
in White house Photo: Reuters)
- Abbas headed into the meeting with the goal of prodding the
Bush administration to pressure Israel to stop settlement activities
in the West Bank. He defined a halt on settlements as a condition
of the map to peace.
- Jordanian King Abdullah II, who met with Bush earlier this
week, had also called for an end to all Israeli settlement activities,
as well as the lifting of the blockades and restrictions on the
movement of Palestinians.
- In a statement published by the Jordanian Embassy, he was
reported to have told the US president that "it is important
that Israel refrains from measures that would jeopardize negotiations
with the Palestinians."
Abbas said Palestinian leaders are "doing everything we
can" to reach a peace deal that would be satisfactory for
his people and for Israel. "I cannot say that the road to
peace is paved with flowers," Abbas said. "It is paved
with obstacles. But together, we will work very hard in order
to eliminate those obstacles and achieve peace." Also, most
prophecy students also know Israel will build a temple and worship
therein during the first half of the seven-year tribulation very
shortly after the "covenant with many" is confirmed
by the beast (king of the West). [Daniel 9:27].
- It is inconceivable that the Arabs would ever agree to Israel's
building a temple in Jerusalem, which is, they say, their holy
place. The militant Muslims won't even recognize Israel's right
to exist as a political state in "their holy land."
Something very dramatic will happen very shortly after the "covenant's"
confirmation ceremony on the first day of the tribulation. Something
so dramatic that it will void the "covenant" and allow
for Israel to immediately build a temple. But immediately before
the "covenant" is confirmed; the true Church of Christ
will literally be caught up: Retired pastor/teacher
- James McCutchan
- -----
- BLAIR UNVEILS NEW 'WEST BANK PACKAGE'
- By HERB KEINON May 13, 2008 Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Tuesday
unveiled a package of steps designed to allow greater movement
in the West Bank, and help the Palestinian economy grow in a
way in which he said would be consistent with protecting Israeli
security. Blair, speaking a day before the arrival of US President
George Bush, said that the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority,
after weeks of negotiations, have agreed on the steps which he
said could begin to change the reality on the ground."For
Palestinian statehood to be possible in the eyes of Palestinians
there must be hope that occupations will, over time, be lifted,"
Blair said. "For Palestinian statehood to be possible in
the eyes of Israelis, there must be hope, over time, that the
security of Israel will be improved and not harmed by the way
the Palestinians run their territory."Blair, at a press
conference at his headquarters in the American Colony Hotel,
said that the centerpiece of the package is an area in and around
Jenin which is greater in land mass than the Gaza Strip, where
the Palestinians will be given increased security authority and
a number of economic and social projects will begin there.In
addition, Blair said that the Israelis had agreed to remove four
checkpoints throughout the West Bank, upgrade seven others, and
move one. Continued:
- http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_blair_unveils_new_package.html
-
- -----
- ISRAEL INTENT ON ABIDING BY TIMEFRAME OF ANAPOLIS MIDDLE
EAST PEACE
- Following his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush
Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel was intent
on abiding by the timeframe set at the Annapolis Middle East
peace conference to achieve a deal with the Palestinians by the
end of the year. At a joint press conference held in Jerusalem,
Olmert added that Israel was making enormous efforts to resolve
the contentious issues of borders, refugees and security, and
laying the groundwork for discussing the volatile issue of Jerusalem
in the future.
Olmert addressed the issue of Iran, saying that the Islamic republic's
disputed nuclear program was the greatest danger facing the region
today. In reference to the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip,
Olmert said that Israel will not tolerate attacks by Hamas. Olmert
added that he hoped Israel would not have to "act against
Hamas in other ways with military power that Israel hasn't yet
started to use in a serious manner." Continued: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_5.14.08.html
- -----
- HOW 'NAKBA' PROVES THERE'S NO PALESTINIAN NATION
- FrontPageMagazine.com By Steven Plaut
- http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_how_nabka_proves_there_is_no_palestinian_nation.html
- -----
- ISRAEL IS PUSHING AMERICA TO ATTACK IRAN
- Israel lobby authors in Israel "There is only one country
in the world that is putting any pressure on the U.S. to attack
Iran, and that is Israel," Mearsheimer told a packed lecture
hall in Jerusalem. Fortunately however, U.S. military commanders
are currently resisting that pressure More ... http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=8791
- -----
- WHY HEZBOLLAH'S VICTORY MAY LEAD TO PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
- Mike Whitney talks to Frank Lamb – Global Research.ca
June 14, 2008
- Question: Between May 7 to May 10, Hezbollah took over Beirut,
shut down the city's TV and communications facilities, blocked
the main highways, closed the airport, and surrounded the homes
of the leading political leaders with armed gunman. The action
was taken in response to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's decision
to outlaw Hezbollah's telecommunication network and sack the
head of security at Beirut airport. Although the incident has
been downplayed in the western media, it appears that Hezbollah
achieved a total victory and is now recognized as the strongest
group operating within Lebanon. What affect will Hezbollah's
victory have on the political dynamic within Lebanon?
- Franklin Lamb: I don't believe Hezbollah achieved a 'total
victory' as the question suggests, but its achievements were
certainly strategic and that sets out the future in many respects.
As you rightly imply, Hezbollah's emphatic statement by its quick
move into the March 14 areas was aimed at Israel, the Bush Administration
and their agents and allies in Lebanon and the Middle East. Continued:
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=8793
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- UNDER PRESIDENT BUSH PROPOSED PLAN THESE SITES WILL BE ISLAMIC
RULE
- Email addressed to a Christian: On May 13th, 14th & 15th,
President Perez of Israel is hosting a summit in which many of
the world leaders have been invited. President Bush will be attending
this event. He will not go the Western Wall to pray; he will
not go to any of the holy sites, such as Mount Calvary or the
Garden of Gethsemane. Under Bush's new proposed Road Map to Peace
plan, these sites will be under the Islamic Rule of Law.
In Israel, Bush will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres
and Olmert and speak to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament,
which will be a first for Bush. He will honor "close ties
over the past six decades" with Israel, said White House
press secretary Dana Perino. Following the event to honor Israel,
Bush will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah.
And in Egypt, Bush will visit Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Abbas. During these visits, Bush
will try to continue to push forward his peace plan, the plan
that will force Israel to give up a large percentage of Judea
and Samaria, which they call occupied territories, and divide
the Holy City of Jerusalem.
I am asking you to vote and let President Bush know that you
oppose him organizing a summit to divide Jerusalem on Israel's
60th Anniversary. God's words say that I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse them that curse thee. Your Ambassador to
Jerusalem, Mike Evans [submitted by email]
- -----
- RICE IN MID-EAST TO PRESSURE ISRAEL ON WEST BANK ROADBLOCKS
05/04/2008 - By Haaretz Service and Reuters
- http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_rice_to_pressure_against_road_blocks.html
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ISRAEL'S STATICIDE
May 28, 2008 - By: Frank J. Gaffney Jr. - FrontPageMagazine.com
- There is a Greek tragedy unfolding today in the Middle East.
In response to past mistakes and as a result of hubristic political
calculation, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is setting in
motion forces that promise to lead inexorably to grief for his
nation. The result could be staticide, the destruction of the
Jewish State, with incalculably serious repercussions for the
Free World in general and the United States in particular.
- In the pursuit of peace with its neighbors, Israel has made
one strategic concession after another. In 1979, it surrendered
the Sinai to Egypt when Anwar Sadat promised peace and then was
murdered for doing so. In 1993, Israel adopted the Oslo accords,
legitimating one of its most virulent enemies, the PLO terrorist
chief Yasser Arafat, and setting the stage for Palestinian control
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
- Eight years ago this month, Israel unilaterally withdrew
from South Lebanon, creating a vacuum promptly filled by Iran’s
proxy army there, Hezbollah. Then, in 2005, Israel forcibly removed
its citizens living in Gaza and turned the Strip over temporarily
to Arafat’s right-hand man and successor, Fatah leader Mahmoud
Abbas. Continued: http://support.tjci.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5377&JServSessionIdr009=m33dldldo2.app5a
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BARRY CHAMISH JUNE 16, 2008 "GOING CRAZY"
- http://www.cephas-library.com/barry_chamish_Jun_16.html
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ISRAEL'S TRUCE WITH HAMAS IS A VICTORY FOR IRAN
- June 19, 2008 - By: Michael Oren - Wall Street Journal -
Proponents of an Israeli-Palestinian accord are praising the
cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that went into effect [Thursday]
morning. Yet even if the agreement suspends violence temporarily
-- though dozens of Hamas rockets struck Israel yesterday --
it represents a historic accomplishment for the jihadist forces
most opposed to peace, and defeat for the Palestinians who might
still have been Israel's partners. The roots of this tragedy
go back to the summer of 2005 and the Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza. The evacuation, intended to free Israel of Gaza's political
and strategic burden, was hailed as a victory by Palestinian
terrorist groups, above all Hamas. Hamas proceeded to fire some
1,000 rocket and mortar shells into Israel. Six months later
Hamas gunmen, taking advantage of an earlier cease-fire, infiltrated
into Israel, killed two soldiers, and captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
Hamas's audacity spurred Hezbollah to mount a similar ambush
against Israelis patrolling the Lebanese border, triggering a
war in which Israel was once again humbled. Hamas now felt sufficiently
emboldened to overthrow Gaza's Fatah-led government, and to declare
itself regnant in the Strip. Subsequently, Hamas launched thousands
more rocket and mortar salvos against Israel, rendering parts
of the country nearly uninhabitable. Continued:
- http://support.tjci.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5385&JServSessionIdr009=rwn7dl02b1.app7a
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- 'WE GOT NOTHING', SAID NETANYAHU WHO WANTED THE ISRAELI PRISONER
BACK
- By Jim Hutchens - Israeli Opposition leader, Likud Chairman
and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The
Gaza-controlling Hamas terrorist organization got a period of
quiet in which to regroup and rearm in readiness for the next
round of terrorist attacks...In exchange, Israel got nothing.
I would like to know, what did we achieve here exactly? Hamas
will not stop rearming. We didn't get [kidnapped IDF soldier]
Gilad [Schalit] back. We got nothing. The government is allowing
Hamas to go about rearming before the next round of terror attacks.
…The government agreed because it has a policy of weakness.
It promotes passiveness and the lack of action characteristic
of many of the governments in Israeli history. This is evident
of a lack of leadership. … this is a matter of impotence...
the prime minister and the defense minister are blaming each
other for putting politics first. This is an incompetent government
faced with a clear security threat and doing absolutely nothing
about it...We have to stop being passive and work towards toppling
Hamas' rule. Israel cannot afford to have an Iranian enclave,
which has no intention of recognizing our right to exist. In
the next conflict, we will find ourselves facing deadlier weapons
and we'll pay a heavier price. We have to have faith in our own
military strength and we have to utilize it to bring Hamas down.
Anything else is escapism."
- God says: “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without
revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. … Therefore
thus says the Lord God: An adversary shall be all around the
land; He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall
be plundered.” Thus says the LORD: “As a shepherd takes
from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall
the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria—
in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!” (Amos
3:7, 11-12).
- The Jerusalem Connection says: New political leadership is
soon destined for Israel and the U.S. Regardless of who that
will be in either country, the present Road Map to Peace will
be altered and none to soon; it is a failure of Biblical proportions,
advocated by failed political leaders. God’s people need
to pray that God would grant both nations leaders who are righteous
and will make the people rejoice, leaders who are free from corruption
and self-absorption, full of the spirit of wisdom and understanding
in the knowledge of God and His Word. Only then can we deal appropriately
with those who “with cunning conspire against your people,
who plot against those You cherish those who say, “come
let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be no
more.” (Psalm 83:3-4).
- IRAN DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN
The economic sanctions against Iran are being pursued on a number
of fronts simultaneously. On the American domestic scene, several
bills have been put before Congress to restrict U.S. cooperation
with states and companies doing business with Iran. In the last
year there was a flurry of activity in certain state legislatures
requiring states to withdraw investments from any company doing
business with Iran. This is all great but divestment can also
be implemented on an individual and congregational level as well.
Send a letter to your investment manager about divesting your
personal investments from Iran. No matter the size of your portfolio
or pension we should all make our investments "Iran-Free"
and "Terror-Free".
- Source: The Jerusalem Connection International
- -----
- OFFICIALS: ISRAELI KILLS SELF AT SARKOZY CEREMONY
By DAN BALILTY (Associated Press Writer) - From Associated Press
- June 24, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
BEN-GURION AIRPORT, Israel - An Israeli police officer fatally
shot himself Tuesday at an airport departure ceremony for French
President Nicolas Sarkozy, sparking fear of an assassination
attempt and prompting bodyguards to whisk away Sarkozy and Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, officials said.
- Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there had been no assassination
attempt on the French leader.
- Another police official said the shooting was a suicide,
while a third said it may have been accidental.
- Dark-suited men quickly ushered Sarkozy and his wife up the
stairs of their plane. At the same time, security guards with
guns drawn rushed Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres toward
their cars.
- Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, rushed up the stairs
ahead of her husband.
- The shooting occurred while a military band was playing,
and the leaders apparently didn't hear anything.
- The incident was over within minutes, and Olmert boarded
the plane to inform Sarkozy what had transpired, witnesses said.
Police spokesman Shlomi Sagi confirmed that a policeman guarding
the airport committed suicide just as Sarkozy was about to board
his plane. Officials said he shot himself in the head.
- Witnesses said the man fell from a roof after shooting himself.
He was at least 100 yards away from Sarkozy's Ctd:
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20080624/48607140_3ca6_1552620080624-457951917
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- SARKOZY IS TRYING TO STEAL BUSH'S THUNDER
- This ought to build a fire under Bush and Olmert to hasten
the pace to get the roadmap completed. The Sovereign God of the
universe is putting his plan on 'fast forward.'
Sarkozy offered his country’s good offices as a possible
peace broker between the Palestinians and Israelis. "I ask
you to trust us because we want to help you," said Sarkozy,
the first French president to address the Knesset since Francois
Mitterrand in 1982. The Israeli media is hailing him as the most
pro- Israel French leader. He offered French troops to guarantee
a possible Palestinian – Israeli peace deal.
"France is ready to provide its guarantee, ready to mobilize
its diplomatic service, its resources, its soldiers. You can
trust France," he told the Israeli lawmakers.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN IN ADMINISTRATION
- "And he (God) removeth kings, and setteth up kings .
. ." (Daniel 2:21). "By me (God) kings reign, and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the
judges of the earth" (Proverbs 8:15 & 16). "The
king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water:
he turneth it whithersoever he will" (Proverbs 21:1). "For
I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none
like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all of my pleasure: . . . . . yea, I have
spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it,
I will also do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11). Retired pastor/teacher
- James McCutchan
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