As we enter into a new year, it is a good time for us to reflect on the past year and then direct our attention toward the new one. The New Year can be a new beginning in many ways for all of us.
It can be a time to abandon harmful habits and lifestyles. Relationships can be healed. Families can be drawn closer together. The New Year must also be a time of forgiveness toward others. If our walk with the Lord was less than it should have been, He is patiently waiting for us to restore our trust and dependence in Him. The list could go on and on.
Each of us should take the time to sit quietly with a note pad and write down all the ways we have been blessed by God. As the songwriter once wrote, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.” If we are honest and focus on them, the list will soon become very long. We all have been truly blessed beyond measure.
We must praise God and thank Him every day for His goodness, for abundantly providing for our needs, and for keeping us safe in the palm of His hand. Above all, we must humbly thank God for His matchless gift of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection, freely offered to all who choose to reach out by faith alone to receive it.
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah wrote these words as recorded in Lam. 3:22-23 NASB, “The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
When we rise up each morning, a spirit of praise and thanksgiving should be in our hearts and on our lips. We need to say, “Thank you Lord for this day You have made. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of it. Help me to rejoice and be glad in it. Show me what You would have me do today that I might do it all for Your honor and glory.”
The psalmist penned these words in Ps. 34:1 NASB, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” In Eph. 5:18 the Apostle Paul tells us to thank God always for all things in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 103:1 instructs us to bless the holy name of the Lord with all that is within us. This scripture simply means we are to be passionate in our thanksgiving, in our praise and in our desire to serve Him. Are we passionate in our desire to honor and serve Him?
Perhaps during the past year we did not allow God to be first in all things of our life. Maybe we have become complacent toward Him, or lack the desire for a personal relationship with Him as He requires of us. We must remember that God loves us and as Ps. 145:18 explains, He is near to all who call upon Him.
As we humbly seek His face in prayer, we must call out to Him as the psalmist wrote in Ps. 139:23-24 NASB, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Then in Ps. 51:10 NASB he writes this fervent prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
God’s requirements for His blessing on our lives include humility, prayer, devotion and repentance. When we become sincere and passionate in our desire to follow Him, then God will hear us, forgive our sins, answer our prayers and pour out His blessings on us. As promised in 2 Chron. 7:14-15 NKJV, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
I urge you to begin the New Year with a firm resolve to pray to the Lord and read His Word daily. As we do that, God will speak to us and reveal Himself to us in ways we can’t imagine. Talking with Him and studying scripture is not just a good idea. God commands us to do it. From 2 Tim. 2:15, we are to be diligent in our study of scripture to accurately know the word of truth. We are told in 1 Thess. 5:17 to pray without ceasing. Jesus said in Matt. 6:5 NASB, “When you pray...” Notice that He didn’t say “if” you pray. He said “when” you pray.
Clearly, it’s impossible for us to have a personal relationship with someone we don’t know or understand. If we don’t talk with God as we would talk to a close friend, or listen to what He has to say through the scriptures, then a relationship with Him simply cannot exist. However, those who truly know Him as their Savior and Lord have placed their complete dependence and trust in Him. They have comfort through prayer and His written Word. He is their friend, their guide, their Savior and Master, and their blessed hope for all eternity.
If you have never been born again (John 3:3) by deliberately inviting Jesus into your heart and life, you can do that today. When you have Him in your life, you will truly experience a new beginning because all things will change forever.
However, before you can do that you must understand that you are a sinner in the eyes of God and need the Savior in your life. You must be ready to humbly cry out, “Oh God help me! I am a lost sinner! I need You in my life! Oh God help me now!”
Then just open your heart to Him. Don’t worry about saying everything perfectly. As long as it comes from your heart, He will hear you. When you pray just say something like this...
“Dear God, I realize that I am a lost sinner. You sent Your Son Jesus to shed His blood and die on the cross for me in my place. I believe what You did for me and want my sins forgiven and washed away. I confess them to You now and invite Jesus into my heart and life as my Savior and Lord. Help me to turn away from my old ways and lead a life that is pleasing to You. Thank You for saving me today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Whether you just said a prayer to give your heart to the Lord, or perhaps you have simply re-dedicated your life to Him, nothing will ever be the same as you live for Him. He will put His strong arms around you and will lead you by the hand as you go through the trials of life.
Jer. 29:11-13 NASB, “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
When you begin the New Year with the Lord by your side, it will truly be a new beginning for you like none other...and it will be for all eternity. Praise God for His amazing grace!
Don
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2nd Temple Era Seal Found
by Gavriel Queenann
The Israel Antiquities Authority held a special press conference in Jerusalem's City of David on Sunday to unveil a rare coin from the Second Temple era.
The cartouche – or seal – never seen by the public before, is the size of the modern New Israeli Shekel coin and bears the Aramaic inscriptions “it is pure” and a two-letter abbreviation for the name of God.
It was discovered near the Robinson’s Arch at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. Archeologists say the soil layer above the Herodian road where the seal was found was dated to the first century BCE.
Archaeologist Eli Shukron of the Antiquities Authority, and Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University, who oversaw the excavation, explained to reporters the significance of the coin.
"This is the first time an object of this kind has been found. It is direct archaeological evidence of Jewish activity on the Temple Mount during the Second Temple era," they said.
"Products being brought to the temple had to be stamped pure – which is what this seal was used for," they added.
Such seals are mentioned in the Mishna and discussed in the Talmud – but the cartouche unveiled today does not match any of the four inscriptions included in extant texts.
"What we know is brought down from the surviving literature," the archeologists said. "Here archeology has brought us something new."
Minister of Culture Limor Livnat and Minister of Education Gideon Saar joined dozens of students for the unveiling.
Saar said, "The seal shows the deep connection of Israel to the City of David. It is important excavations like these that demonstrate our bond to Jerusalem. Everything uncovered here strengthens us."
In addition to the seal other artifacts were discovered dating to Second Temple period, and some to the days of the Hasmoneans – such as oil lamps, cooking pots made of clay, a jug containing oils and perfumes, as well as coins of the Hasmonean kings such as Alexander Jannaeus and John Hyrcanus.
More on this topic
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING
Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:22, 23 NKJV
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
John 1:14 NKJV
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Our Lord came here the first time...exactly as the Scriptures promised that He would. Our Lord is sure to return a second time...exactly as the Scriptures promise that He will.
When He came the first time as God manifest in human flesh, it was the most humble of beginnings. People did not believe, nor did they understand, that Jesus was the promised and long awaited Messiah who had come to save His people from their sins. Because of that, almost everyone missed the first coming of the One who was the eternal King and Savior of the world.
However, when Jesus returns to earth at His second coming, He will not be seen as a helpless baby lying in an animal feeding trough in a filthy stable as He was at His first coming. Nor will Jesus appear as a young boy sitting on the lap of the one who physically gave birth to His humanity. He will not return as a suffering Jesus, either - naked, beaten and bleeding while hanging on a cross until dying a most horrible death.
When Jesus arrives here the second time, He will be a victorious Jesus who has conquered death and the grave. At the second coming His fierce wrath will crush and defeat all evil, and He will be ready to declare His righteous judgment on an unbelieving world. Nobody will miss His second coming!
Jesus will descend from heaven in great power and glory riding a milk white stallion - followed by the armies of heaven. His eyes will be as blazing fire. Written on His blood stained robe and thigh will be the Name: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Whether you are ready or not, the King is coming. On that day all who have ignored Him, or have only offered lip service to Him, will witness His awesome majesty - and realize too late that He is God.
The Bible promises that every eye will see His return...every knee will bow before Him...and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. That event will strike indescribable fear in the hearts of the many who have cast Him aside. But, for the few who truly know Him and are watching for Him...oh, what a glorious day that will be!
On that night in Bethlehem many years ago, no room could be found for Him in the inn. Today, almost two thousand years later, there is no room in the hearts of men for the One who has control of their next breath and heartbeat, and who will rule and reign forever and ever.
Are you ready to meet Him? One day soon we will all see Jesus face to face. Is He your Savior, your Lord, and the Master of your life? You must be very sure.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus…as You promised!
Don
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:22, 23 NKJV
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
John 1:14 NKJV
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Our Lord came here the first time...exactly as the Scriptures promised that He would. Our Lord is sure to return a second time...exactly as the Scriptures promise that He will.
When He came the first time as God manifest in human flesh, it was the most humble of beginnings. People did not believe, nor did they understand, that Jesus was the promised and long awaited Messiah who had come to save His people from their sins. Because of that, almost everyone missed the first coming of the One who was the eternal King and Savior of the world.
However, when Jesus returns to earth at His second coming, He will not be seen as a helpless baby lying in an animal feeding trough in a filthy stable as He was at His first coming. Nor will Jesus appear as a young boy sitting on the lap of the one who physically gave birth to His humanity. He will not return as a suffering Jesus, either - naked, beaten and bleeding while hanging on a cross until dying a most horrible death.
When Jesus arrives here the second time, He will be a victorious Jesus who has conquered death and the grave. At the second coming His fierce wrath will crush and defeat all evil, and He will be ready to declare His righteous judgment on an unbelieving world. Nobody will miss His second coming!
Jesus will descend from heaven in great power and glory riding a milk white stallion - followed by the armies of heaven. His eyes will be as blazing fire. Written on His blood stained robe and thigh will be the Name: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Whether you are ready or not, the King is coming. On that day all who have ignored Him, or have only offered lip service to Him, will witness His awesome majesty - and realize too late that He is God.
The Bible promises that every eye will see His return...every knee will bow before Him...and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. That event will strike indescribable fear in the hearts of the many who have cast Him aside. But, for the few who truly know Him and are watching for Him...oh, what a glorious day that will be!
On that night in Bethlehem many years ago, no room could be found for Him in the inn. Today, almost two thousand years later, there is no room in the hearts of men for the One who has control of their next breath and heartbeat, and who will rule and reign forever and ever.
Are you ready to meet Him? One day soon we will all see Jesus face to face. Is He your Savior, your Lord, and the Master of your life? You must be very sure.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus…as You promised!
Don
Saturday, December 17, 2011
WASTED YEARS
Wasted years. Many of us have had them in one form or another, haven’t we?
When I look back over my life, I am ashamed that there were so many wasted years. Years that I could have been serving the Lord, but didn't. There were wasted years of doing things not honoring to Him. Years went by without giving Him all the honor and glory. Many years were wasted not trusting Him, nor being thankful for all He has done.
There were years of wasted opportunities when I could have told others about Jesus, but didn't - choosing to be silent instead. There were wasted years of selfish motives and pride, and wasted years of neglecting the many that stood by me. Wasted years… The list could go on and on.
Oh, how the wasted years littered my life's pathway. Oh, how foolish was I!
But, praise God! Those years were my yesterdays. The wasted years of my yesterdays have been washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb. God blotted out all of them at Calvary – to be remembered no more (Is. 43:25). My sins once as scarlet are now whiter than snow, and what was once red as crimson is now as wool (Is. 1:18). Yesterday’s weight of sin has been cast into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19). Hallelujah! My chains are gone!
The moments of today are filled with a new song - a song bursting forth from deep within my heart and soul. It's a song of praise and thanksgiving. It's a song of sharing the Good News of the gospel. I can sing that new song knowing that those wasted years are in the past – having been removed from me as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).
My tomorrows will be filled with the joy, hope, and assurance that can only come by faith alone in my Savior, Lord, and Master. He gave His life for you and me – paying the full penalty for all sin that we might have life (John 3:16).
However, that new song can’t be sung until we choose to meet Jesus at the cross. It’s at the foot of that cross where He offers forgiveness, redemption, and a new life with Him in our heart. We must humbly submit and kneel before Jesus at that cross, ask Him to forgive our sinful past, accept His sacrificial free gift, repent and turn away from our past life, and confess with our mouth that He is Lord over all (Rom. 10:9,10).
Perhaps there is someone reading this who is living a life of wasted years without Christ as the central focus. Maybe you think of yourself as a Christian, but you’ve never had a close personal relationship with Him, and He’s not the Lord over all things in your life. The years slip away very quickly, and one day they will be gone – all of them wasted.
Then, when your years are gone as they surely will be one day, the time for forgiveness and repentance will also be over, along with any hope of eternal salvation. That should be a horrifying thought – if you don’t truly know Him as your Savior and Lord!
Don’t waste another year. Don’t even waste another day without Him in your life. The psalmist recorded these words in Psalm 84:10 (NKJV), “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” In other words, he is saying that a even few moments in the Presence of God is greater than anything the world would have to offer a thousand times over.
Jesus is calling for you to come to Him today. Listen for His voice and reach out to Him. He’s waiting for you, and He’ll welcome you with open arms as He has promised. Oh, how awesome to hear Him say, “…I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Is. 43:1b).
Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV)For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Don
When I look back over my life, I am ashamed that there were so many wasted years. Years that I could have been serving the Lord, but didn't. There were wasted years of doing things not honoring to Him. Years went by without giving Him all the honor and glory. Many years were wasted not trusting Him, nor being thankful for all He has done.
There were years of wasted opportunities when I could have told others about Jesus, but didn't - choosing to be silent instead. There were wasted years of selfish motives and pride, and wasted years of neglecting the many that stood by me. Wasted years… The list could go on and on.
Oh, how the wasted years littered my life's pathway. Oh, how foolish was I!
But, praise God! Those years were my yesterdays. The wasted years of my yesterdays have been washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb. God blotted out all of them at Calvary – to be remembered no more (Is. 43:25). My sins once as scarlet are now whiter than snow, and what was once red as crimson is now as wool (Is. 1:18). Yesterday’s weight of sin has been cast into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19). Hallelujah! My chains are gone!
The moments of today are filled with a new song - a song bursting forth from deep within my heart and soul. It's a song of praise and thanksgiving. It's a song of sharing the Good News of the gospel. I can sing that new song knowing that those wasted years are in the past – having been removed from me as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).
My tomorrows will be filled with the joy, hope, and assurance that can only come by faith alone in my Savior, Lord, and Master. He gave His life for you and me – paying the full penalty for all sin that we might have life (John 3:16).
However, that new song can’t be sung until we choose to meet Jesus at the cross. It’s at the foot of that cross where He offers forgiveness, redemption, and a new life with Him in our heart. We must humbly submit and kneel before Jesus at that cross, ask Him to forgive our sinful past, accept His sacrificial free gift, repent and turn away from our past life, and confess with our mouth that He is Lord over all (Rom. 10:9,10).
Perhaps there is someone reading this who is living a life of wasted years without Christ as the central focus. Maybe you think of yourself as a Christian, but you’ve never had a close personal relationship with Him, and He’s not the Lord over all things in your life. The years slip away very quickly, and one day they will be gone – all of them wasted.
Then, when your years are gone as they surely will be one day, the time for forgiveness and repentance will also be over, along with any hope of eternal salvation. That should be a horrifying thought – if you don’t truly know Him as your Savior and Lord!
Don’t waste another year. Don’t even waste another day without Him in your life. The psalmist recorded these words in Psalm 84:10 (NKJV), “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” In other words, he is saying that a even few moments in the Presence of God is greater than anything the world would have to offer a thousand times over.
Jesus is calling for you to come to Him today. Listen for His voice and reach out to Him. He’s waiting for you, and He’ll welcome you with open arms as He has promised. Oh, how awesome to hear Him say, “…I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Is. 43:1b).
Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV)For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Don
Sunday, December 11, 2011
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?
All around this world we see people who are suffering in so many ways. Many people are reaching out for help, and asking the question, "What in the world is going on?" Their lives are in a state of turmoil with uncertainty all around them. They see their hopes and dreams vanishing right before their eyes. Many are concerned about their children’s future, and what might be in store for them.
People just don't know which way to turn in a world that seems to be falling apart and ready to self-destruct at any moment. Most don't realize, or they refuse to believe, that we are now living in the days just prior to Jesus' return. My heart and prayers go out for them.
Today we see storm clouds gathering all around Israel with nations committed to destroy her and the Jewish people. We hear of feverish negotiations and schemes underway to further divide Israel and Jerusalem - the apple of God's eye. The nations involved seem to be obsessed in their efforts to divide Jerusalem, with many determined to destroy Israel – that the name of Israel be remembered no more. Sadly, the USA is forcefully leading the way toward those efforts.
God has warned in Zechariah 12:2-3 KJV, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."
Jerusalem has now become the burdensome stone the prophet Zechariah wrote about over 2500 years ago. From those Scriptures, we know that God has promised to destroy every nation attempting to go against Israel. The KJV uses the words "cut in pieces". Just look around, and you will see those pieces beginning to pile up on the cutting room floor - not only here, but worldwide.
As never before we're seeing unprecedented levels of earthquakes, killer tornados and storms, floods, violence, unemployment, volcanoes, bankruptcies, disease, moral decay, a world on the brink of war, and so much more.
We are told in Scripture that all of those things would happen in the last days. Their frequency and intensity will increase as the Day of the Lord draws near. That is exactly what is happening. However, those who know the Scriptures should not be surprised or alarmed.
I personally believe Scripture is telling us that Jerusalem is God's "line in the sand", and when crossed, His fierce wrath and judgment will be unleashed on this unbelieving world. What we are witnessing today may be early warnings of God's wrath - as crossing that line in the sand becomes closer to reality. In spite of all that is happening today, the world hasn’t seen anything yet. It’s only the beginning, and will become much worse.
However, all born-again believers can take comfort in knowing we serve a great God. With the world crumbling all around us, with turmoil everywhere we look, and with Israel surrounded by armies seeking to destroy her, we know that our Sovereign God is in control and holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. He has a plan, and has declared the end from the beginning. Nothing will happen in this world without His knowledge and permission.
We must watch what is taking place with Israel and Jerusalem. They are God's time clock - a clock that is rapidly ticking to usher in the final end time events leading to Christ's return. What a time to be alive to witness those events unfolding just as Scripture foretold!
In these last days I choose to be a watchman as explained in Ezekiel 33:6, ready to sound a trumpet warning…and ready to share the saving gospel message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2; 1 Cor. 15:1-4) while there's still time. I'll do that for as long as I have life and breath, or until Jesus returns for us.
Until that great day arrives, we must trust Him, we must lean on Him, and by faith know that we know He will care for His own as He has promised. Then, in all things, lift up His Holy Name, sing praises to Him, and thank Him - for His return is very near. Hallelujah!
Watch, pray, and keep looking up!
Don
People just don't know which way to turn in a world that seems to be falling apart and ready to self-destruct at any moment. Most don't realize, or they refuse to believe, that we are now living in the days just prior to Jesus' return. My heart and prayers go out for them.
Today we see storm clouds gathering all around Israel with nations committed to destroy her and the Jewish people. We hear of feverish negotiations and schemes underway to further divide Israel and Jerusalem - the apple of God's eye. The nations involved seem to be obsessed in their efforts to divide Jerusalem, with many determined to destroy Israel – that the name of Israel be remembered no more. Sadly, the USA is forcefully leading the way toward those efforts.
God has warned in Zechariah 12:2-3 KJV, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."
Jerusalem has now become the burdensome stone the prophet Zechariah wrote about over 2500 years ago. From those Scriptures, we know that God has promised to destroy every nation attempting to go against Israel. The KJV uses the words "cut in pieces". Just look around, and you will see those pieces beginning to pile up on the cutting room floor - not only here, but worldwide.
As never before we're seeing unprecedented levels of earthquakes, killer tornados and storms, floods, violence, unemployment, volcanoes, bankruptcies, disease, moral decay, a world on the brink of war, and so much more.
We are told in Scripture that all of those things would happen in the last days. Their frequency and intensity will increase as the Day of the Lord draws near. That is exactly what is happening. However, those who know the Scriptures should not be surprised or alarmed.
I personally believe Scripture is telling us that Jerusalem is God's "line in the sand", and when crossed, His fierce wrath and judgment will be unleashed on this unbelieving world. What we are witnessing today may be early warnings of God's wrath - as crossing that line in the sand becomes closer to reality. In spite of all that is happening today, the world hasn’t seen anything yet. It’s only the beginning, and will become much worse.
However, all born-again believers can take comfort in knowing we serve a great God. With the world crumbling all around us, with turmoil everywhere we look, and with Israel surrounded by armies seeking to destroy her, we know that our Sovereign God is in control and holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. He has a plan, and has declared the end from the beginning. Nothing will happen in this world without His knowledge and permission.
We must watch what is taking place with Israel and Jerusalem. They are God's time clock - a clock that is rapidly ticking to usher in the final end time events leading to Christ's return. What a time to be alive to witness those events unfolding just as Scripture foretold!
In these last days I choose to be a watchman as explained in Ezekiel 33:6, ready to sound a trumpet warning…and ready to share the saving gospel message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2; 1 Cor. 15:1-4) while there's still time. I'll do that for as long as I have life and breath, or until Jesus returns for us.
Until that great day arrives, we must trust Him, we must lean on Him, and by faith know that we know He will care for His own as He has promised. Then, in all things, lift up His Holy Name, sing praises to Him, and thank Him - for His return is very near. Hallelujah!
Watch, pray, and keep looking up!
Don
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
MY PRAYER…FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
In light of the time in which we live, I felt led to write and share my fervent prayer with many. Please join together with me in lifting up our praise, our thanksgiving, and our requests before the throne of Almighty God.
Don
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You, I praise You, and I trust in You for who You are, for Your tender care and mercies, for watching over us, and for providing for our every need. Oh Lord, You are our Creator, You are in control of our very existence, and You know all of our thoughts and shortcomings.
But Father, in such a time as this we must humbly fall on our knees and bow before You. As a people and as a nation, we must repent and seek Your face as never before. Lord, we have failed miserably, we have forgotten to acknowledge You as sovereign in all things, and we have gone our own way – only to become lost and desperately in need of Your protective and guiding hand.
In such a time as this, we see evil all around us causing misery and destroyed lives. The foundations and principles on which our nation was established are being diluted and eroded. Our financial institutions are crumbling right before our eyes. Father, we see corruption and greed in all levels of our government. Your Ten Commandments for us are quickly disappearing from public view. Your Truths and our prayers in Jesus’ Name are no longer permitted in our schools – for they are considered offensive and exclusive. But at the same time, satanic, pagan religions are permitted and taught to the young minds who will one day be the leaders of our country.
In such a time as this our moral fabric has been allowed to deteriorate into a seemingly hopeless state with failed marriages, rampant homosexuality and immorality, the slaughter of countless unborn children, hate and violence in the heart and mind of men, and dishonesty is everywhere we look. Lord, it grieves me to know we have fallen so deeply into the pit of self-destruction.
Father, it brings me to tears when I learn that Your Holy written Word is now considered hate literature in many locations, and cannot be preached as it must be preached. Your precious gospel message of salvation is no longer the essential cornerstone for the Christian faith in many churches today. Teachings of repentance, judgment, born-again, accountability, the Way, the Truth, and the Life only through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross have been replaced with teachings of tolerance, love, feelings, self-esteem, sermons that don’t offend, and that many paths lead to heaven. People are dying Lord, and souls are eternally lost every day because they haven’t received the true gospel. May eyes be opened quickly to the everlasting Truth of Your Word.
In these times in which we live, we see nations planning to destroy each other – many diligently seeking the means and the opportunity to destroy even us as a people and nation. Father, help us to never become arrogant in believing that we would always be immune to a devastating attack on our country – either from outside our boarders, or from within. It’s only because of Your watchful eye and Your hand of protection that we’ve been allowed to let freedom ring. I fear that we as a people are no longer a God-fearing nation, but instead we have become a nation that has turned its back on You. We have abandoned the respect and reverence for You - Almighty God - and for the Biblical principles and values that once made our nation great. Lord, how long will Your patience endure? How long will Your cloak of protection continue to cover over us?
For such a time as this we must turn to You, we must lean on You, and we must renew our dependence and trust in You – and in You alone. Father, Your Word promises that if we would humble ourselves, if we would pray and seek after You, and if we would repent – turning away from our evil ways, then You would hear our cries of despair. Only then, will Your blessings be poured out on us again as You have promised – restoring us and healing our land.
I pray that we as a people and a nation will do that for such a time as this – all for Your glory. Forgive me, Lord, for I too have fallen short, and have not always lived a life that is pleasing to You. Help me in every way to bring honor to Your Name, for I love You and desire to do Your Will. I pray this and ask it in the matchless Name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord.
Amen!
Don
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You, I praise You, and I trust in You for who You are, for Your tender care and mercies, for watching over us, and for providing for our every need. Oh Lord, You are our Creator, You are in control of our very existence, and You know all of our thoughts and shortcomings.
But Father, in such a time as this we must humbly fall on our knees and bow before You. As a people and as a nation, we must repent and seek Your face as never before. Lord, we have failed miserably, we have forgotten to acknowledge You as sovereign in all things, and we have gone our own way – only to become lost and desperately in need of Your protective and guiding hand.
In such a time as this, we see evil all around us causing misery and destroyed lives. The foundations and principles on which our nation was established are being diluted and eroded. Our financial institutions are crumbling right before our eyes. Father, we see corruption and greed in all levels of our government. Your Ten Commandments for us are quickly disappearing from public view. Your Truths and our prayers in Jesus’ Name are no longer permitted in our schools – for they are considered offensive and exclusive. But at the same time, satanic, pagan religions are permitted and taught to the young minds who will one day be the leaders of our country.
In such a time as this our moral fabric has been allowed to deteriorate into a seemingly hopeless state with failed marriages, rampant homosexuality and immorality, the slaughter of countless unborn children, hate and violence in the heart and mind of men, and dishonesty is everywhere we look. Lord, it grieves me to know we have fallen so deeply into the pit of self-destruction.
Father, it brings me to tears when I learn that Your Holy written Word is now considered hate literature in many locations, and cannot be preached as it must be preached. Your precious gospel message of salvation is no longer the essential cornerstone for the Christian faith in many churches today. Teachings of repentance, judgment, born-again, accountability, the Way, the Truth, and the Life only through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross have been replaced with teachings of tolerance, love, feelings, self-esteem, sermons that don’t offend, and that many paths lead to heaven. People are dying Lord, and souls are eternally lost every day because they haven’t received the true gospel. May eyes be opened quickly to the everlasting Truth of Your Word.
In these times in which we live, we see nations planning to destroy each other – many diligently seeking the means and the opportunity to destroy even us as a people and nation. Father, help us to never become arrogant in believing that we would always be immune to a devastating attack on our country – either from outside our boarders, or from within. It’s only because of Your watchful eye and Your hand of protection that we’ve been allowed to let freedom ring. I fear that we as a people are no longer a God-fearing nation, but instead we have become a nation that has turned its back on You. We have abandoned the respect and reverence for You - Almighty God - and for the Biblical principles and values that once made our nation great. Lord, how long will Your patience endure? How long will Your cloak of protection continue to cover over us?
For such a time as this we must turn to You, we must lean on You, and we must renew our dependence and trust in You – and in You alone. Father, Your Word promises that if we would humble ourselves, if we would pray and seek after You, and if we would repent – turning away from our evil ways, then You would hear our cries of despair. Only then, will Your blessings be poured out on us again as You have promised – restoring us and healing our land.
I pray that we as a people and a nation will do that for such a time as this – all for Your glory. Forgive me, Lord, for I too have fallen short, and have not always lived a life that is pleasing to You. Help me in every way to bring honor to Your Name, for I love You and desire to do Your Will. I pray this and ask it in the matchless Name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord.
Amen!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
LET THE FEASTS BEGIN
A few days ago as I looked out over the lake that borders our back yard, I was amazed to see large white gulls...hundreds of them...flying in random patterns just off shore. We do have gulls here in the Northland, but I have never seen so many of them flying over the lake at one time.
The birds I observed today were probably migrating to warmer climates for the winter, but had stopped here to feed. And, feed they did! The gulls had apparently located schools of small fish swimming just below the water’s surface, and decided it was a good time for a tasty meal.
The hungry gulls would fly back and forth while searching the prime feeding area...sometimes soaring...sometimes hovering…and, sometimes swooping down for a closer look. Then, they would often splash down onto the water to quickly seize a wiggling morsel in their beak. Their seemingly unorthodox approach to feeding was random, relentless, and frenzied...but was highly productive. The lake surface had become a huge banquet table containing an abundant feast for the bird's pleasure.
This morning’s scene, although very small by comparison, reminded me of two great feast events prophesied in Scripture that will include birds as the invited guests.
The first feast is described in Ezekiel 39:17-20, and will follow the Gog and Magog war. That war will take place when nations surrounding Israel attack that tiny country with a determined effort to destroy her and the Jewish people. When all seems lost, the Lord God of Israel will supernaturally intervene to protect His land and His chosen people. The carnage will be so massive among Israel’s attackers that God will summon the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to the mountains of Israel where they will consume the flesh and blood from the unburied corpses of Israel’s fallen enemy.
The second prophesied feast for birds is recorded in Revelation 19:17-18, and will follow the total destruction of the world’s armies gathered at Armageddon. The armies will be there to prevent the return and kingdom of Christ. However, He will return exactly as promised. He will immediately capture the beast, and will defeat and kill the armies using only the sword of the spoken Word of God. So great will be the slaughter that an angel will call the fowls of the sky to assemble to eat the flesh of the dead. Scripture refers to that feast event as “the great supper of God.”
On a much lighter and joyous note…another feast will take place that will be the greatest feast event of all time, and birds of prey will not be invited. According to Revelation 19:9, Scripture has named that feast “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” The marriage ceremony for the Bridegroom and His one Bride, the raptured church, will have already been performed in heaven. The marriage supper will take place on earth after Christ returns from heaven to begin His millennial reign…and He will bring His Bride with Him.
The marriage supper of the Lamb will truly be a celebration of the ages for all who have placed their faith and trust in Him, and it will be hosted by the Bridegroom, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The cuisine for that special “Groom’s dinner” will be…well, simply heavenly. The Bride of Christ, which includes all born-again believers from Pentecost to the rapture will be there. The believing Jewish remnant will certainly be there, too. The resurrected Old Testament saints who believed by faith alone in a coming Messiah will be there. The tribulation saints who were martyred for their faith will be resurrected and present as well. Also, the survivors of the tribulation who became believers during that time will no doubt join the celebration.
What a tremendous, complete gathering of His followers that will be! As a redeemed, blood-bought child of God, I am also part of the Bride of Christ…and am humbled to tears knowing that I will be there for that supper, too. Oh, my! I want to sit at the banquet table beside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…and the Old Testament prophets…and Jesus’ disciples…and David…and Paul…and Elijah…and the list goes on and on.
But, most of all I want to be there with Jesus…the One who died for me in my place that I might have life. Jesus…my Savior, Lord and Master…the One to whom I owe my heart and soul!
However, no one will be permitted to attend that grand dinner celebration, nor, will they enter through heaven's gate without an advance reservation. The cost of the reservation was paid in full by Jesus' shed blood and death on the cross…where He suffered and died in our place to purchase our redemption. He took all the sin of the world upon Himself, including yours and mine, and paid sin's price for us.
The reservation is a free gift offered to all who would humbly reach out to receive it. We receive that gift by placing our complete faith and trust in Him alone...by asking forgiveness and repenting of our sin-filled life...and by inviting Him to be our life. Finally, we must boldly declare before others that Jesus is Lord of all.
Jesus alone holds the reservation for you and me, but we must deliberately reach out to Him by faith to receive it. I have my reservation for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Do you have yours? You must be very sure!
Don
The birds I observed today were probably migrating to warmer climates for the winter, but had stopped here to feed. And, feed they did! The gulls had apparently located schools of small fish swimming just below the water’s surface, and decided it was a good time for a tasty meal.
The hungry gulls would fly back and forth while searching the prime feeding area...sometimes soaring...sometimes hovering…and, sometimes swooping down for a closer look. Then, they would often splash down onto the water to quickly seize a wiggling morsel in their beak. Their seemingly unorthodox approach to feeding was random, relentless, and frenzied...but was highly productive. The lake surface had become a huge banquet table containing an abundant feast for the bird's pleasure.
This morning’s scene, although very small by comparison, reminded me of two great feast events prophesied in Scripture that will include birds as the invited guests.
The first feast is described in Ezekiel 39:17-20, and will follow the Gog and Magog war. That war will take place when nations surrounding Israel attack that tiny country with a determined effort to destroy her and the Jewish people. When all seems lost, the Lord God of Israel will supernaturally intervene to protect His land and His chosen people. The carnage will be so massive among Israel’s attackers that God will summon the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to the mountains of Israel where they will consume the flesh and blood from the unburied corpses of Israel’s fallen enemy.
The second prophesied feast for birds is recorded in Revelation 19:17-18, and will follow the total destruction of the world’s armies gathered at Armageddon. The armies will be there to prevent the return and kingdom of Christ. However, He will return exactly as promised. He will immediately capture the beast, and will defeat and kill the armies using only the sword of the spoken Word of God. So great will be the slaughter that an angel will call the fowls of the sky to assemble to eat the flesh of the dead. Scripture refers to that feast event as “the great supper of God.”
On a much lighter and joyous note…another feast will take place that will be the greatest feast event of all time, and birds of prey will not be invited. According to Revelation 19:9, Scripture has named that feast “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” The marriage ceremony for the Bridegroom and His one Bride, the raptured church, will have already been performed in heaven. The marriage supper will take place on earth after Christ returns from heaven to begin His millennial reign…and He will bring His Bride with Him.
The marriage supper of the Lamb will truly be a celebration of the ages for all who have placed their faith and trust in Him, and it will be hosted by the Bridegroom, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The cuisine for that special “Groom’s dinner” will be…well, simply heavenly. The Bride of Christ, which includes all born-again believers from Pentecost to the rapture will be there. The believing Jewish remnant will certainly be there, too. The resurrected Old Testament saints who believed by faith alone in a coming Messiah will be there. The tribulation saints who were martyred for their faith will be resurrected and present as well. Also, the survivors of the tribulation who became believers during that time will no doubt join the celebration.
What a tremendous, complete gathering of His followers that will be! As a redeemed, blood-bought child of God, I am also part of the Bride of Christ…and am humbled to tears knowing that I will be there for that supper, too. Oh, my! I want to sit at the banquet table beside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…and the Old Testament prophets…and Jesus’ disciples…and David…and Paul…and Elijah…and the list goes on and on.
But, most of all I want to be there with Jesus…the One who died for me in my place that I might have life. Jesus…my Savior, Lord and Master…the One to whom I owe my heart and soul!
However, no one will be permitted to attend that grand dinner celebration, nor, will they enter through heaven's gate without an advance reservation. The cost of the reservation was paid in full by Jesus' shed blood and death on the cross…where He suffered and died in our place to purchase our redemption. He took all the sin of the world upon Himself, including yours and mine, and paid sin's price for us.
The reservation is a free gift offered to all who would humbly reach out to receive it. We receive that gift by placing our complete faith and trust in Him alone...by asking forgiveness and repenting of our sin-filled life...and by inviting Him to be our life. Finally, we must boldly declare before others that Jesus is Lord of all.
Jesus alone holds the reservation for you and me, but we must deliberately reach out to Him by faith to receive it. I have my reservation for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Do you have yours? You must be very sure!
Don
Monday, November 28, 2011
Iran, Hizbullah preparing for ‘final confrontation’ with U.S. and allies
JERUSALEM — Iran is working with proxies in Bahrain, Gaza Strip, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait and other countries to undermine any U.S.-led effort to destroy its nuclear weapons infrastructure.
“From Iran’s standpoint, a head-on confrontation with the United States and Israel would serve its purposes in the region and build its image as an actor that stands firm against the Western powers and does not submit to pressure,” said a new report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
“If there still was any chance of Teheran agreeing to concessions in its sporadic talks with the West about its nuclear program, the Middle Eastern turmoil has now made a compromise all but impossible,” said the report, “Iran Signals Its Readiness for a Final Confrontation.”
Story source
here
I am growing weary of hearing the annoying, egotistical windbags from Iran constantly shooting their mouths off. They want confrontation? Then, bring it on...let it begin!!! They have absolutely no idea Who they will be dealing with once a massive move is launched against Israel.
Ultimately, only one-sixth (Ezek. 39:2 KJV) of the invading forces will survive to crawl out of the carnage after the Lord God of Israel steps in to protect His chosen people. That will be a fatal confrontation not expected, but is sure to come!
Don
“From Iran’s standpoint, a head-on confrontation with the United States and Israel would serve its purposes in the region and build its image as an actor that stands firm against the Western powers and does not submit to pressure,” said a new report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
“If there still was any chance of Teheran agreeing to concessions in its sporadic talks with the West about its nuclear program, the Middle Eastern turmoil has now made a compromise all but impossible,” said the report, “Iran Signals Its Readiness for a Final Confrontation.”
Story source
here
I am growing weary of hearing the annoying, egotistical windbags from Iran constantly shooting their mouths off. They want confrontation? Then, bring it on...let it begin!!! They have absolutely no idea Who they will be dealing with once a massive move is launched against Israel.
Ultimately, only one-sixth (Ezek. 39:2 KJV) of the invading forces will survive to crawl out of the carnage after the Lord God of Israel steps in to protect His chosen people. That will be a fatal confrontation not expected, but is sure to come!
Don
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Knife in Hezbollah's Heart
Op-ed: In past two years, several Hezbollah arms depots were hit by mysterious explosions
Ronen Bergman
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One of Israel’s (only) achievements in its humiliating defeat in the Second Lebanon War was the United Nation Security Council Resolution 1701, whereby Hezbollah must not deploy armed forces or set up military equipment warehouses in the south of the country. This is precisely the ruling which the organization seeks to water down.
Hezbollah does not do this openly. Hassan Nasrallah declares that his group adheres to international law, and the organization has indeed complied with it in respect to Hezbollah’s outposts on the border with Israel. However, the opposite is true in respect to the reestablishment of arms depots.
One of Hezbollah’s main lessons following its success in the 2006 war was the establishment of as many arms depots as possible in urban areas and in non-residential regions. As result of this combat doctrine, Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its weapons depots, under the noses of UNIFIL and with the quiet backing of the Lebanese army. This is being done as part of the preparations for the Third Lebanon War.
Israel, which invests great intelligence resources in Lebanon, is seeing this and is becoming infuriated. The Israeli aircraft that hover across Lebanon record, day after day, Hezbollah’s military buildup; however, as they adhere to the ceasefire, these aircraft cannot target the arms deliveries, which mostly arrive from Syria.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces are failing to detect these shipments and cannot, or do not want to, operate against them in a strict fashion.
Israel, which wishes to prove its claims, published about a year ago the intelligence files of some Lebanese villages; the photos prove the scope of the weapons being stored there.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Iran/Saudis fulfilling Messiah Prophecy?
Iran and Saudis Acting Out Ancient Messiah Prophecy?
(This is interesting in light of many prophecies coming to pass about Yeshua's soon return.... May their eyes be opened soon!) Mid
By Gil Ronen
Iranian Sejjil 2 missile test launch
Israel news photo: Ehsan
Jews familiar with an ancient compilation of Aggadic exegesis called Yalkut Shimoni noticed in recent weeks that current tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia matches a prophecy it contains regarding the year in which the Messiah – the King who redeems Israel and the world – is to appear.
In particular, the recently revealed Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. and subsequent reports that the Arab nations are pressuring the West to attack Iran, appear to fit the sequence of events predicted in the Yalkut Shimoni.
In to the part of the book dealing with the Book of Isaiah, the following passage appears:"Rabbi Yitzchak said: 'In the year in which the Messiah-King appears, all the nations of the world are provoking each other. The King of Persia provokes an Arab king and the Arab king turns to Aram for advice. And the King of Persia goes back and destroys the entire world. And all the nations of the world are in panic and distress and they fall upon their faces and are seized with pains like those of a woman giving birth, and Israel are in panic and distress and asking 'where shall we go? Where shall we go?,' and He says to them 'my sons, do not fear; all that I have done, I have done only for you. Why are you afraid? Do not fear, your time of redemption has come, and the final redemption is not like the first redemption, because the first redemption was followed by sorrow and servitude under other kingdoms, but the final redemption is not followed by sorrow and servitude under other kingdoms."
Persia is currently known as Iran, and an Arab king – or the Arab king – can be reasonably understood, in modern eyes, as referring to the king of [Saudi] Arabia, the Arab homeland.This passage is relatively well-known and oft-quoted, and some modern versions of it substitute "Edom" for "Aram." Ancient Jewish references to "Edom" are nowadays generally seen as referring to Europe or the West. "Aram" refers to a part of ancient Mesopotamia, roughly congruent to the northern part of modern Iraq and eastern Syria. The instability in precisely this area is reportedly what most concerns the Saudis, as a U.S. pullout from Iraq looms and Syria's pro-Iranian regime teeters.
The prophecy bodes ill for much of the world, which, if Rabbi Yitzchak's quote is to be taken literally, is to be destroyed by Iran before the Messiah steps in.The identity of the compiler of Yalkut Shimoni is not known with certainty but a copy of it is known to have existed 700 years ago, in 1310 CE. The works it quotes are even older, and go back to early Talmudic times.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Leftists and PA Authority At It Again...
New Palestinian Authority Gimmick: Occupy ‘Settler’ Buses
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority, backed by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the pro-PA B’Tselem group, plans a new gimmick – occupying “settler” buses in a “Freedom Ride” on Tuesday.
The ISM, an extreme left-wing group that includes anarchists who have helped take over Israeli state land for the PA, is linking the new PR effort with the Freedom Rides of the U.S. Civil Rights against then-segregated buses in the southern United States in the 1950s and 60s.
“Palestinian Freedom Riders will attempt to board segregated settler buses heading to Jerusalem through the occupied West Bank, in an act of civil disobedience that takes its inspiration from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement Freedom Riders,” according to the ISM.
Its website repeated the accusation of Israeli “apartheid” and falsely stated that Israel has placed a “ban on Palestinians’ access to Jerusalem” under its “colonial regime.”
“Palestinians demand the ability to be able to travel freely on their own roads, on their own land, including the right to travel to Jerusalem,” the ISM said.
Egged public buses operating in Judea and Samaria stop at Jewish communities. Israeli citizens, whether Arab, Bedouin or Jewish, are allowed to board after security checks, if necessary. PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria hurl rocks at public buses almost daily in an effort to try cause a fatal accident.
Egged has not responded to Arutz Sheva's request for a response concerning how they will handle the planned rally.
The campaign effort on Tuesday is also aimed at the light rail system in parts of Jerusalem where the Palestinian Authority claims sovereignty. Jerusalem Arabs with an Israeli identity card are allowed to board.
In Judea and Samaria, activists plan to head to bus stops at Jewish communities and board buses.
Demonstrations also are planned in foreign countries, especially in the Netherlands, where Egged has won a tender to run bus services in a city north of Amsterdam.
The rights group B'Tselem accused Israel of subjecting Arab drivers and passengers to “humiliating” inspections at checkpoints. The IDF has prevented hundreds of terrorist attacks by conducting searches, similar to those carried out almost every security crossing in other countries. From Arutz Sheva
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority, backed by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the pro-PA B’Tselem group, plans a new gimmick – occupying “settler” buses in a “Freedom Ride” on Tuesday.
The ISM, an extreme left-wing group that includes anarchists who have helped take over Israeli state land for the PA, is linking the new PR effort with the Freedom Rides of the U.S. Civil Rights against then-segregated buses in the southern United States in the 1950s and 60s.
“Palestinian Freedom Riders will attempt to board segregated settler buses heading to Jerusalem through the occupied West Bank, in an act of civil disobedience that takes its inspiration from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement Freedom Riders,” according to the ISM.
Its website repeated the accusation of Israeli “apartheid” and falsely stated that Israel has placed a “ban on Palestinians’ access to Jerusalem” under its “colonial regime.”
“Palestinians demand the ability to be able to travel freely on their own roads, on their own land, including the right to travel to Jerusalem,” the ISM said.
Egged public buses operating in Judea and Samaria stop at Jewish communities. Israeli citizens, whether Arab, Bedouin or Jewish, are allowed to board after security checks, if necessary. PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria hurl rocks at public buses almost daily in an effort to try cause a fatal accident.
Egged has not responded to Arutz Sheva's request for a response concerning how they will handle the planned rally.
The campaign effort on Tuesday is also aimed at the light rail system in parts of Jerusalem where the Palestinian Authority claims sovereignty. Jerusalem Arabs with an Israeli identity card are allowed to board.
In Judea and Samaria, activists plan to head to bus stops at Jewish communities and board buses.
Demonstrations also are planned in foreign countries, especially in the Netherlands, where Egged has won a tender to run bus services in a city north of Amsterdam.
The rights group B'Tselem accused Israel of subjecting Arab drivers and passengers to “humiliating” inspections at checkpoints. The IDF has prevented hundreds of terrorist attacks by conducting searches, similar to those carried out almost every security crossing in other countries. From Arutz Sheva
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Friday, November 11, 2011
Obama's and Sarkozy's Real Thoughts on Israel's PM
In case you didn't hear this on the news... and why would you? They suppress and cover up much more than this!! The true natures of both men below are quite evident, but this cements what's obvious. God have mercy...
President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, chatting ahead of a press conference at the G20 summit on Nov. 3, exchanged disparaging words about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that were picked up on an open microphone.
“I can’t stand him. He’s a liar,” Sarkozy said to Obama as the two discussed Netanyahu before the press conference. “You’re tired of him; what about me? I have to deal with him every day,” Obama replied.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Israel Slams UN on PA Rocket Attacks
by Chana Ya'ar 
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations is asking that body's Security Council why it's not “shocked” by the constant barrage of rockets and mortars fired by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel.
Ambassador Ron Prosor declared Wednesday during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the unstable security situation in southern Israel should shock that body's members – which have often expressed deep dismay at similar situations elsewhere in the world.
Prosor criticized the Council at its session on Wednesday for not condemning the attacks by Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists, who earlier this month killed a 56-year-old Ashkelon man and physically wounded 16 other people in a barrage aimed at the southern region.
Another 14 people were also sent to the hospital with trauma reactions and severe anxiety attacks during the five-day period in which rockets and mortars were fired at Israeli civilian communities.
“The pain caused by these attacks is permanent,” Prosor pointed out. “The scars are both physical and psychological... One million Israelis were compelled to stay home from work last week to ensure their safety... 200,000 children were kept home from school.
“These stories should shock and appall the Security Council and all decent people. Yet, not a single world of condemnation has been uttered by this Council. Not one word.
“The silence speaks volumes,” he said.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations is asking that body's Security Council why it's not “shocked” by the constant barrage of rockets and mortars fired by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel.
Ambassador Ron Prosor declared Wednesday during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the unstable security situation in southern Israel should shock that body's members – which have often expressed deep dismay at similar situations elsewhere in the world.
Prosor criticized the Council at its session on Wednesday for not condemning the attacks by Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists, who earlier this month killed a 56-year-old Ashkelon man and physically wounded 16 other people in a barrage aimed at the southern region.
Another 14 people were also sent to the hospital with trauma reactions and severe anxiety attacks during the five-day period in which rockets and mortars were fired at Israeli civilian communities.
“The pain caused by these attacks is permanent,” Prosor pointed out. “The scars are both physical and psychological... One million Israelis were compelled to stay home from work last week to ensure their safety... 200,000 children were kept home from school.
“These stories should shock and appall the Security Council and all decent people. Yet, not a single world of condemnation has been uttered by this Council. Not one word.
“The silence speaks volumes,” he said.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Monday, October 31, 2011
UNESCO grants Palestinians full membership
PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations' cultural agency granted the Palestinians full membership on Monday, a step forward in their long-running efforts to achieve recognition before the world as an independent state.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) became the first U.N. agency to welcome the Palestinians as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on September 23.
A huge cheer erupted in UNESCO's General Assembly after the vote, which marks a symbolic victory for Palestinians in the complex diplomacy that surrounds their collective status and relations with foreign powers.
"Today's victory at UNESCO is the beginning of a road that is difficult, but will lead to the freedom of our land and people from occupation," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said. "Palestine has the right to a place on the map."
Israel called the vote a "tragedy" and the decision damaged relations between UNESCO and the United States, an ally of Israel that provides about 22 percent of the body's funding, or some $70 million.
Legislation stipulates that the U.S. can cut off funding to any United Nations agency that accepts Palestinians as a member.
The White House said the vote was "premature" and would not aid peace and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said UNESCO would suffer.
"Today's vote to grant Palestinian membership in UNESCO is no substitute for direct negotiations, but it is deeply damaging to UNESCO," said Ambassador Susan Rice.
UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova, who previously pleaded for Washington not to withdraw support, told delegates funding may be jeopardized.
"I believe it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that UNESCO does not suffer unduly... We need each and every member of this organization to be fully engaged," she added.
FRENCH ABOUT-FACE
The Palestinians got backing from two thirds of UNESCO's members to become its 195th member. Of 173 countries that voted from a possible 185, 107 voted in favor, 14 voted against, 52 abstained and 12 were absent. Abstentions did not count toward the final tally.
The Palestinians went to UNESCO after making a bid for recognition of the over-arching United Nations system in September before the U.N. Security Council, which has moved the issue to a committee where it is likely to run into a veto from the United States.
"This vote is not directed against anyone, but represents support for freedom and justice," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement to the official news agency WAFA.
"This vote is for the sake of peace and represents international consensus on support for the legitimate Palestinian national rights of our people, the foremost of which is the establishment of its independent state."
But the breakdown of the vote reflected deep divergences in international views on Palestinian statehood.
The United States, Canada, Germany and Holland voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favor. Britain and Italy abstained.
For the European Union, which has stumbled in recent efforts to develop a common foreign policy, the UNESCO vote highlighted persistent rifts with some member states voting for and some against Palestinian membership.
Austrian UNESCO ambassador Ursula Plassnik, whose country voted in favor, said she regretted that the EU had failed to arrive at a common position on Palestinian membership.
France, which previously abstained from a vote on the subject of Palestinian membership in UNESCO, broke with precedent to vote in favor on Monday.
"Since it has been raised today, we must assume our responsibilities and respond to the substance of the issue ... On the substance, France says "yes"- Palestine has the right to become a member of UNESCO," said Hubert de Canson, France's representative at UNESCO.
Israel has said the Palestinian bid would amount to politicization of UNESCO that would undermine its ability to carry out its mandate. It said on Monday it would reconsider its cooperation with the agency.
"We regret that the organization of science has opted to adopt a resolution which is a resolution of science fiction," said Nimrod Barkan, Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, who called the move a tragedy for the agency. "There is no Palestinian state and therefore one should not have been admitted today."
The Israeli foreign ministry said the vote placed unnecessary obstacles on the road to renewing negotiations.
"This is a unilateral Palestinian maneuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement," it said in a statement.
Story sourcehere
In my opinion, joining UNESCO only has propaganda value for the Palestinians in their efforts toward UN membership. My understanding is that the upcoming UN vote is scheduled for 11/11/11. However, gaining UNESCO membership is another step in that direction and pushes Israel farther into a corner.
Regarding the Palestinian's new UNESCO membership, just how can a state/entity that does not yet exist become a member of anything???
Don
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) became the first U.N. agency to welcome the Palestinians as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on September 23.
A huge cheer erupted in UNESCO's General Assembly after the vote, which marks a symbolic victory for Palestinians in the complex diplomacy that surrounds their collective status and relations with foreign powers.
"Today's victory at UNESCO is the beginning of a road that is difficult, but will lead to the freedom of our land and people from occupation," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said. "Palestine has the right to a place on the map."
Israel called the vote a "tragedy" and the decision damaged relations between UNESCO and the United States, an ally of Israel that provides about 22 percent of the body's funding, or some $70 million.
Legislation stipulates that the U.S. can cut off funding to any United Nations agency that accepts Palestinians as a member.
The White House said the vote was "premature" and would not aid peace and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said UNESCO would suffer.
"Today's vote to grant Palestinian membership in UNESCO is no substitute for direct negotiations, but it is deeply damaging to UNESCO," said Ambassador Susan Rice.
UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova, who previously pleaded for Washington not to withdraw support, told delegates funding may be jeopardized.
"I believe it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that UNESCO does not suffer unduly... We need each and every member of this organization to be fully engaged," she added.
FRENCH ABOUT-FACE
The Palestinians got backing from two thirds of UNESCO's members to become its 195th member. Of 173 countries that voted from a possible 185, 107 voted in favor, 14 voted against, 52 abstained and 12 were absent. Abstentions did not count toward the final tally.
The Palestinians went to UNESCO after making a bid for recognition of the over-arching United Nations system in September before the U.N. Security Council, which has moved the issue to a committee where it is likely to run into a veto from the United States.
"This vote is not directed against anyone, but represents support for freedom and justice," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement to the official news agency WAFA.
"This vote is for the sake of peace and represents international consensus on support for the legitimate Palestinian national rights of our people, the foremost of which is the establishment of its independent state."
But the breakdown of the vote reflected deep divergences in international views on Palestinian statehood.
The United States, Canada, Germany and Holland voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favor. Britain and Italy abstained.
For the European Union, which has stumbled in recent efforts to develop a common foreign policy, the UNESCO vote highlighted persistent rifts with some member states voting for and some against Palestinian membership.
Austrian UNESCO ambassador Ursula Plassnik, whose country voted in favor, said she regretted that the EU had failed to arrive at a common position on Palestinian membership.
France, which previously abstained from a vote on the subject of Palestinian membership in UNESCO, broke with precedent to vote in favor on Monday.
"Since it has been raised today, we must assume our responsibilities and respond to the substance of the issue ... On the substance, France says "yes"- Palestine has the right to become a member of UNESCO," said Hubert de Canson, France's representative at UNESCO.
Israel has said the Palestinian bid would amount to politicization of UNESCO that would undermine its ability to carry out its mandate. It said on Monday it would reconsider its cooperation with the agency.
"We regret that the organization of science has opted to adopt a resolution which is a resolution of science fiction," said Nimrod Barkan, Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, who called the move a tragedy for the agency. "There is no Palestinian state and therefore one should not have been admitted today."
The Israeli foreign ministry said the vote placed unnecessary obstacles on the road to renewing negotiations.
"This is a unilateral Palestinian maneuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement," it said in a statement.
Story sourcehere
In my opinion, joining UNESCO only has propaganda value for the Palestinians in their efforts toward UN membership. My understanding is that the upcoming UN vote is scheduled for 11/11/11. However, gaining UNESCO membership is another step in that direction and pushes Israel farther into a corner.
Regarding the Palestinian's new UNESCO membership, just how can a state/entity that does not yet exist become a member of anything???
Don
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saudi royal offers $900,000 reward for capture of Israeli soldiers
RIYADH - A Saudi royal offered a $900,000 reward to anyone who captures an Israeli soldier, on Saturday. Prince Khaled bin Talal, the brother of business tycoon and Fox News co-owner Walid bin Talal, told the Saudi-based broadcaster Al Daleel that the captive would then be released in exchange for Arabs held in Israeli prisons.
Khaled's offer comes days after the prominent Saudi cleric, Awad al-Qarni, put $100,000 on the head of every Israeli soldier.
Al-Qarni's statement - posted on Facebook - was severely criticized, and messages posted online even warned of death threats.
Khaled told the broadcaster: "My offer also comes in response to the threats made against Sheikh al-Qarni."
The Saudi offers follows the recent deal between the Israeli government and Hamas, when Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
Story source
here
In my opinion, Israel should not and will not tolerate this. It's obvious the Saudis would love to trade the Israeli solders back to Israel for a bunch of captured terrorists. Not a good thing to do.....
Don
Khaled's offer comes days after the prominent Saudi cleric, Awad al-Qarni, put $100,000 on the head of every Israeli soldier.
Al-Qarni's statement - posted on Facebook - was severely criticized, and messages posted online even warned of death threats.
Khaled told the broadcaster: "My offer also comes in response to the threats made against Sheikh al-Qarni."
The Saudi offers follows the recent deal between the Israeli government and Hamas, when Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
Story source
here
In my opinion, Israel should not and will not tolerate this. It's obvious the Saudis would love to trade the Israeli solders back to Israel for a bunch of captured terrorists. Not a good thing to do.....
Don
Friday, October 28, 2011
Israeli prisoner swap may be prelude to attack on Iran
Friday, October 28, 2011
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to execute a 1,000-for-1 prisoner exchange last week despite his frequently voiced opposition to such lopsided deals is seen by several Israeli military commentators as an effort to “clear the deck” before possibly undertaking an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Amir Oren, the veteran military analyst for Ha'aretz newspaper, took note of Israel’s exchanging 1,027 Palestinian convicts for army Staff Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who had been captured by Hamas in 2006. Mr. Oren wrote that the price paid by Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak “can be interpreted only in a context that goes beyond that of the Gilad Schalit deal.”
He noted that Israeli leaders in the past have shown a readiness to absorb “a small loss” in order to attain a greater success, generally involving “some sort of military adventure.”
Mr. Oren also noted that, until recently, Mr. Netanyahu had faced opposition to attacking Iran from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and Mossad intelligence chief Meir Dagan. Both retired earlier this year and have been replaced by men believed to hold a different view on Iran.
The Islamic republic has not been a top agenda item since the outbreak of the Arab Spring. Yet Iran’s nuclear program, which Western nations believe is geared for making an atomic bomb, has remained a key concern, despite Tehran’s denials that it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
According to Israeli media reports, a shift in the Israeli government’s views on Iran might have prompted Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s Middle East visit in April: His main mission was to pass on a warning from President Obama against any unilateral attack on Iran.
At a press conference with Mr. Barak in April, Mr. Panetta stressed that any steps against Iran’s nuclear program must be taken in coordination with the international community.
This week, Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yakov Katz wrote that, with the Schalit chapter behind it, “Israel can now move forward to deal with some of the other strategic problems it faces in the region, such as Iran’s nuclear program.” Had Israel first attacked Iran, Hamas‘ patron, it would have endangered the Schalit deal, Mr. Katz said.
Writing in Yediot Achronot, Alex Fishman said that for Mr. Netanyahu, who built a political career as a warrior on terror, the Schalit deal was a very courageous step, particularly in view of an estimate by Israel’s security services that 60 percent of Palestinians who are released in such exchanges return to terror.
"He took a risk in a certain area and thereby focused all our attention on much more troubling fronts — in distant Iran and in the Arab revolutions around us,” Mr. Fishman wrote. To deal with these problems, national consensus is necessary and the freeing of Gilad Shalit went far toward achieving that.
Mr. Oren offered another insight that he says may point Mr. Netanyahu toward military action against Iran.
Although the prime minister failed to make any enduring mark on history during his previous term or so far during his present term, Mr. Netanyahu may see Iran as an opportunity to achieve his Churchillian moment, Mr. Oren wrote. “The day is not far off, Netanyahu believes, when Churchill will emerge from him.”
Story source
here
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to execute a 1,000-for-1 prisoner exchange last week despite his frequently voiced opposition to such lopsided deals is seen by several Israeli military commentators as an effort to “clear the deck” before possibly undertaking an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Amir Oren, the veteran military analyst for Ha'aretz newspaper, took note of Israel’s exchanging 1,027 Palestinian convicts for army Staff Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who had been captured by Hamas in 2006. Mr. Oren wrote that the price paid by Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak “can be interpreted only in a context that goes beyond that of the Gilad Schalit deal.”
He noted that Israeli leaders in the past have shown a readiness to absorb “a small loss” in order to attain a greater success, generally involving “some sort of military adventure.”
Mr. Oren also noted that, until recently, Mr. Netanyahu had faced opposition to attacking Iran from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and Mossad intelligence chief Meir Dagan. Both retired earlier this year and have been replaced by men believed to hold a different view on Iran.
The Islamic republic has not been a top agenda item since the outbreak of the Arab Spring. Yet Iran’s nuclear program, which Western nations believe is geared for making an atomic bomb, has remained a key concern, despite Tehran’s denials that it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
According to Israeli media reports, a shift in the Israeli government’s views on Iran might have prompted Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s Middle East visit in April: His main mission was to pass on a warning from President Obama against any unilateral attack on Iran.
At a press conference with Mr. Barak in April, Mr. Panetta stressed that any steps against Iran’s nuclear program must be taken in coordination with the international community.
This week, Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yakov Katz wrote that, with the Schalit chapter behind it, “Israel can now move forward to deal with some of the other strategic problems it faces in the region, such as Iran’s nuclear program.” Had Israel first attacked Iran, Hamas‘ patron, it would have endangered the Schalit deal, Mr. Katz said.
Writing in Yediot Achronot, Alex Fishman said that for Mr. Netanyahu, who built a political career as a warrior on terror, the Schalit deal was a very courageous step, particularly in view of an estimate by Israel’s security services that 60 percent of Palestinians who are released in such exchanges return to terror.
"He took a risk in a certain area and thereby focused all our attention on much more troubling fronts — in distant Iran and in the Arab revolutions around us,” Mr. Fishman wrote. To deal with these problems, national consensus is necessary and the freeing of Gilad Shalit went far toward achieving that.
Mr. Oren offered another insight that he says may point Mr. Netanyahu toward military action against Iran.
Although the prime minister failed to make any enduring mark on history during his previous term or so far during his present term, Mr. Netanyahu may see Iran as an opportunity to achieve his Churchillian moment, Mr. Oren wrote. “The day is not far off, Netanyahu believes, when Churchill will emerge from him.”
Story source
here
Capital Guard~Terrorist Poster
by Gil Ronen 
A new volunteer force called the "Capital Guard" has begun taking steps against the terrorists released into Jerusalem in the Gilad Shalit deal.
The Guard was formed by prominent Jerusalem activist Aryeh King. As a first measure, a poster (below) is being distributed with the pictures of terrorists who have been allowed to return to the homes in eastern Jerusalem.
"Out of grave concern for the security of Jerusalem's residents, in view of the danger of immediate harm to Jews throughout the city, the Capital Guard offers this warning regarding the terrorists whose pictures appear here, who are roaming freely in the city."
"Dear Jew! If you see one of the terrorists in a crowded place, it is important that you notify those surrounding you whom they are next to!!"
The poster also adds a request – "Dear citizen, please act only in accordance with the law."
The poster will soon be joined by another one, showing the locations of the terrorists' homes.
King told Arutz Sheva before Shalit's release was implemented that the Capital Guard will follow the terrorists about and document their activities. "If they board the light train we will announce on a megaphone that there is a terrorist on board," King explained.
"All activity will be accompanied by a lawyer," he said, and volunteers will be mature people "who will know how to deal with the complex situation without creating friction with Arab populace or arousing an unnecessary or dangerous commotion."
Capital Guard warning poster Aryeh King
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
A new volunteer force called the "Capital Guard" has begun taking steps against the terrorists released into Jerusalem in the Gilad Shalit deal.
The Guard was formed by prominent Jerusalem activist Aryeh King. As a first measure, a poster (below) is being distributed with the pictures of terrorists who have been allowed to return to the homes in eastern Jerusalem.
"Out of grave concern for the security of Jerusalem's residents, in view of the danger of immediate harm to Jews throughout the city, the Capital Guard offers this warning regarding the terrorists whose pictures appear here, who are roaming freely in the city."
"Dear Jew! If you see one of the terrorists in a crowded place, it is important that you notify those surrounding you whom they are next to!!"
The poster also adds a request – "Dear citizen, please act only in accordance with the law."
The poster will soon be joined by another one, showing the locations of the terrorists' homes.
King told Arutz Sheva before Shalit's release was implemented that the Capital Guard will follow the terrorists about and document their activities. "If they board the light train we will announce on a megaphone that there is a terrorist on board," King explained.
"All activity will be accompanied by a lawyer," he said, and volunteers will be mature people "who will know how to deal with the complex situation without creating friction with Arab populace or arousing an unnecessary or dangerous commotion."
Capital Guard warning poster Aryeh King
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Israel's UN Ambassador States Truth
Israel’s UN Ambassador Separates Lies from Truth
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel’s United Nations envoy Ron Prosor put the facts on the line Monday and stated that the Arab world blames Israel for all its woes while failing to help its own people.
He said during a debate on "The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” that “for generations, the Arab world has failed miserably to address the needs of its own people.”
Prosor was highly successful as ambassador to Britain before taking up his new post in the summer and his oratory already has proved him to be one of the best Israel UN ambassadors in years.
“From 1948 until 1967, the West Bank was part of Jordan, and Gaza was part of Egypt.” Prosor stated. “The Arab world did not lift a finger to create a Palestinian state. And it sought Israel's annihilation when not a single settlement stood anywhere in the West Bank or Gaza.”
He also exposed in simple but glaring language ”a glimpse into the real world of the Middle East.”
Prosor stated, “Young people struggle without access to jobs and education. Women are denied basic rights. Free expression is repressed. Minorities are persecuted. Elections are a sham."
“And with their world in flames, Arab leaders continue to blame Israel and the West for all their problems. For years, it's the only explanation that they have been able to offer to their own people… Everything wrong in the Middle East, according to many Arab leaders, is simply Israel's fault. If it's not the Mossad, it's the CIA, or MI6, or some other ‘foreign force.’
Pointing out the brutality of rulers and former rulers in Egypt, Syria, Iran and Libya, the ambassador added, “Two roads stand before us. There is the future offered by Iranian and Syrian leaders -- a future of more extremism, greater violence and continued hate. And there is another road - a path of progress, reform and moderation…
“It is time for this Council to stop ignoring the destructive forces that seek to keep the Middle East in the past, so that we can seize the promise of a brighter future."
Prosor also admonished Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for omitting any reference to Judaism when he told the United Nations last month, "I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the birthplace of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him)."
“He denied 4,000 years of Jewish history,” Prosor said. “It was not a small omission. It was not an oversight. The Palestinian leadership attempts to erase the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel."
Prosor also told the UN Security Council that "Today the Palestinian leadership is calling for an independent Palestinian state, but insists that its people return to the Jewish state".
"The idea that Israel will be flooded with millions of Palestinians is a non-starter. The international community knows it. The Palestinian leadership knows it. But the Palestinian people aren’t hearing it. This gap between perception and reality is the major obstacle to peace. The so-called right of return is the major hurdle to achieving peace," he stated.
From Arutz Sheva
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel’s United Nations envoy Ron Prosor put the facts on the line Monday and stated that the Arab world blames Israel for all its woes while failing to help its own people.
He said during a debate on "The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” that “for generations, the Arab world has failed miserably to address the needs of its own people.”
Prosor was highly successful as ambassador to Britain before taking up his new post in the summer and his oratory already has proved him to be one of the best Israel UN ambassadors in years.
“From 1948 until 1967, the West Bank was part of Jordan, and Gaza was part of Egypt.” Prosor stated. “The Arab world did not lift a finger to create a Palestinian state. And it sought Israel's annihilation when not a single settlement stood anywhere in the West Bank or Gaza.”
He also exposed in simple but glaring language ”a glimpse into the real world of the Middle East.”
Prosor stated, “Young people struggle without access to jobs and education. Women are denied basic rights. Free expression is repressed. Minorities are persecuted. Elections are a sham."
“And with their world in flames, Arab leaders continue to blame Israel and the West for all their problems. For years, it's the only explanation that they have been able to offer to their own people… Everything wrong in the Middle East, according to many Arab leaders, is simply Israel's fault. If it's not the Mossad, it's the CIA, or MI6, or some other ‘foreign force.’
Pointing out the brutality of rulers and former rulers in Egypt, Syria, Iran and Libya, the ambassador added, “Two roads stand before us. There is the future offered by Iranian and Syrian leaders -- a future of more extremism, greater violence and continued hate. And there is another road - a path of progress, reform and moderation…
“It is time for this Council to stop ignoring the destructive forces that seek to keep the Middle East in the past, so that we can seize the promise of a brighter future."
Prosor also admonished Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for omitting any reference to Judaism when he told the United Nations last month, "I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the birthplace of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him)."
“He denied 4,000 years of Jewish history,” Prosor said. “It was not a small omission. It was not an oversight. The Palestinian leadership attempts to erase the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel."
Prosor also told the UN Security Council that "Today the Palestinian leadership is calling for an independent Palestinian state, but insists that its people return to the Jewish state".
"The idea that Israel will be flooded with millions of Palestinians is a non-starter. The international community knows it. The Palestinian leadership knows it. But the Palestinian people aren’t hearing it. This gap between perception and reality is the major obstacle to peace. The so-called right of return is the major hurdle to achieving peace," he stated.
From Arutz Sheva
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Monday, October 24, 2011
Questions and Answers...
A letter about Israel came through my email from someone I do not know. Along with my email addy garnered from this blog, it also was sent to a large number of pro-Israel news sources and other blogs. Because of the obvious anti-Israel, anti-Jewish tone of the letter, I refused to answer. However, I noticed someone else did, and with his permission, I am posting it. I truly appreciate how Danny defends Jews and Israel by countering with questions. This puts the whole situation into perspective and requires the antagonist not only to think about what they've written, but also to back up their accusations with hard facts instead of throwing out media-biased rhetoric.
Someone wrote: "Over time, I have been sent articles from pro-Israel propagandists that would have me believe that the citizens of Gaza live in the lap of luxury. However, this recent UN report contradicts such propaganda. "
Danny's answer: "No Israeli would ever claim that the citizens of Gaza live in the lap of luxury! The fact that Gaza has shopping malls, luxury hotels, night clubs and that many of the financially and politically "connected" citizens own luxury cars and have bloated European bank balances does not change the fact that many Gazans do live in poverty. Everyone knows this and the UN report doesn't tell us anything new. The question remains WHY? Why are the Gazans under blockade? Why does Israel on the one hand provide electricity, water, medical supplies and other basic materials but still monitor and check all shipments made by third parties or imports made by Gazans? The answer is obvious!
Danny's answer: "No Israeli would ever claim that the citizens of Gaza live in the lap of luxury! The fact that Gaza has shopping malls, luxury hotels, night clubs and that many of the financially and politically "connected" citizens own luxury cars and have bloated European bank balances does not change the fact that many Gazans do live in poverty. Everyone knows this and the UN report doesn't tell us anything new. The question remains WHY? Why are the Gazans under blockade? Why does Israel on the one hand provide electricity, water, medical supplies and other basic materials but still monitor and check all shipments made by third parties or imports made by Gazans? The answer is obvious!
The UN report (click here for the original report and not a summary published on a Palestinian website) states that 38% of Gazans live in poverty (In Sub Saharan Africa poverty is over 50%, and the standard of living in blockaded Gaza is still above the standard of living in (for example) Egypt!"
Someone wrote: "Now, some zealots might argue that Israeli Jews are perfectly entitled, as "God's chosen race", to confine 1.5 million souls in an open air, walled ghetto, in conditions not fit for animals to live in, while stealing illegally occupied Palestinian land to build Jewish settlements. Gaza is surely the new Soweto and Sharpville."
Danny's answer: "Why would you think these souls are confined?" Why should Israel want to confine the Gazan's to an "open air ghetto"? Give me one logical reason why this serves Israel's interests?"
Here are some more questions which I would like answered?
1. Why did Israel withdraw from the Gaza Strip, forcibly remove all settlers and give the strip up for complete and autonomous Palestinian rule?
2. Who was democratically elected by Gazans to govern the Gaza strip after all Jewish and Israeli presence was removed, and why is this democratically elected government not only not recognized, but listed as a terrorist organization by ALL the Western Democracies in the world?
Someone wrote: "Now, some zealots might argue that Israeli Jews are perfectly entitled, as "God's chosen race", to confine 1.5 million souls in an open air, walled ghetto, in conditions not fit for animals to live in, while stealing illegally occupied Palestinian land to build Jewish settlements. Gaza is surely the new Soweto and Sharpville."
Danny's answer: "Why would you think these souls are confined?" Why should Israel want to confine the Gazan's to an "open air ghetto"? Give me one logical reason why this serves Israel's interests?"
Here are some more questions which I would like answered?
1. Why did Israel withdraw from the Gaza Strip, forcibly remove all settlers and give the strip up for complete and autonomous Palestinian rule?
2. Who was democratically elected by Gazans to govern the Gaza strip after all Jewish and Israeli presence was removed, and why is this democratically elected government not only not recognized, but listed as a terrorist organization by ALL the Western Democracies in the world?
3. Since the Gaza strip is used by a universally acknowledged terrorist organization as a terror base to launch rockets at civilians in Israel why should anyone complain about Israel's efforts to contain and limit their influence, their power, their access to weapons and their ability to harm innocent civilians? Would any other Western democracy do any less to protect their civilians?
4. Did you ever ask a religious Jew in what way Jews are considered "God's chosen people"? Chosen for what? Why indulge in shallow demagoguery by using this phrase in a context that suits your particular political message? (Click here for a general idea regarding the Jewish interpretation of being "chosen" although there are numerous other, much deeper commentaries on this.)
4. Did you ever ask a religious Jew in what way Jews are considered "God's chosen people"? Chosen for what? Why indulge in shallow demagoguery by using this phrase in a context that suits your particular political message? (Click here for a general idea regarding the Jewish interpretation of being "chosen" although there are numerous other, much deeper commentaries on this.)
The above person writes about "illegally occupied Palestinian land". Here are some more questions:
1. Why is it that the original official charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation drafted in 1964 specifically refers to the West Bank and Gaza strip as land that is NOT part of the Palestinian homeland and why was the charter changed only after 1967?
Anyone needing references is invited to check this out independently – following is a translation of the relevant article:
Article 24: This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields.
2. Why is land that Jews lived on throughout history now considered Palestinian land? Admittedly, Palestinians have lived there since the beginning of the 20th century and a solution needs to be found, so why not use the correct definition of "disputed land"?
3. If indeed this is "Palestinian land" then please supply evidence of Palestinian settlements or kingdoms that existed on this land 1000 years ago. 500 years ago? 300 years ago? 200 years ago? Name one Palestinian King. How about a Palestinian currency? Records of a conflict any time in history between the Palestinian people and any other people? Any documented evidence of a Palestinian people that lived in this area for hundreds of years?
I would appreciate some answers or further questions.
Danny
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Silence and Fanaticism
This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. The author of this email is said to be Dr. Emanuel Tanya, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read.
A German's View on Islam
A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful Muslim majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians -- most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
#1 -- Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
#2 -- Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend fromGermany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
#3 -- Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
#4 -- Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
A German's View on Islam
A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful Muslim majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians -- most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
#1 -- Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
#2 -- Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend fromGermany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
#3 -- Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
#4 -- Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.
Jerry Golden ~ from the Golden Report
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal reached
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 11 October 2011 15.15 EDT
Israeli and Hamas officials have reached a deal that would secure release of the Israeli soldier in the next few days.
Israeli and Hamas officials agreed a prisoner swap deal to secure the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip by Hamas for five years.
Following an emergency cabinet meeting last night the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, made a nationally televised announcement to say the historic deal had been struck. Under the terms of the deal Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
"Today it was finally summarised and both sides signed," he said. Netanyahu said the captured Israeli soldier would be returning home "in the coming days", news which sparked scenes of celebration as tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Gaza.
Netanyahu said he understood the pain of Israeli families who have lost loved ones to violence, but said he had reached "the best deal we could get" given the turmoil in the region.
He also said he had telephoned Shalit's family and told them he was carrying out his promise to bring their son and grandson home.
The deal will bring home Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006 by Palestinian militants who entered Israel and dragged him into Gaza. His capture has been a central justification for Israel's five-year blockade of Gaza.
Little has been known about his fate since then. Shalit's father, Noam, has become a well-known public figure through a campaign to win his son's freedom, leading demonstrations and sleeping in a tent outside Netanyahu's residence. Dozens of Israelis converged on the tent to offer support to the family.
There have been many attempts to negotiate Shalit's release in the past but this is the first time that a successful deal has been reached.
Abu Abadia, a spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, told Israeli media that under the terms of the deal Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. This number includes 15 high security inmates said to have been directly involved in terror attacks, and 200 who will not be permitted to return to the West Bank.
A source involved in the talks told Reuters the deal called for freeing the prisoners in a two-stage arrangement, the first involving the release of 450 for the soldier, and the remaining 550 afterwards.
Details of how the deal was reached have not yet been confirmed but it is understood that both Egyptian and German diplomats played a significant role in the negotiations. German mediator Gerard Conrad is reported to have flown into Cairo on a private jet last week for a meeting that lasted several days and during which he was scheduled to meet with several senior Egyptian officials.
Reports of renewed talks between Hamas and Israel mediated by Egypt were first reported in mid-September. Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the Hamas delegation, headed by the leader of its military wing Ahmed al-Jabari, was anxious to reach a deal quickly.
In previous negotiations, Conrad has proved successful at ironing out many differences of opinion that have prevented a deal being reached in the past. These stumbling blocks have included the number of Palestinian militants that will be released, how many of those will be exiled from the West Bank following their release, and the period over which they will be freed.
Story source
here
This is great news! I pray a deal has finally been reached for his release.
Don
Tuesday 11 October 2011 15.15 EDT
Israeli and Hamas officials have reached a deal that would secure release of the Israeli soldier in the next few days.
Israeli and Hamas officials agreed a prisoner swap deal to secure the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip by Hamas for five years.
Following an emergency cabinet meeting last night the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, made a nationally televised announcement to say the historic deal had been struck. Under the terms of the deal Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
"Today it was finally summarised and both sides signed," he said. Netanyahu said the captured Israeli soldier would be returning home "in the coming days", news which sparked scenes of celebration as tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Gaza.
Netanyahu said he understood the pain of Israeli families who have lost loved ones to violence, but said he had reached "the best deal we could get" given the turmoil in the region.
He also said he had telephoned Shalit's family and told them he was carrying out his promise to bring their son and grandson home.
The deal will bring home Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006 by Palestinian militants who entered Israel and dragged him into Gaza. His capture has been a central justification for Israel's five-year blockade of Gaza.
Little has been known about his fate since then. Shalit's father, Noam, has become a well-known public figure through a campaign to win his son's freedom, leading demonstrations and sleeping in a tent outside Netanyahu's residence. Dozens of Israelis converged on the tent to offer support to the family.
There have been many attempts to negotiate Shalit's release in the past but this is the first time that a successful deal has been reached.
Abu Abadia, a spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, told Israeli media that under the terms of the deal Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. This number includes 15 high security inmates said to have been directly involved in terror attacks, and 200 who will not be permitted to return to the West Bank.
A source involved in the talks told Reuters the deal called for freeing the prisoners in a two-stage arrangement, the first involving the release of 450 for the soldier, and the remaining 550 afterwards.
Details of how the deal was reached have not yet been confirmed but it is understood that both Egyptian and German diplomats played a significant role in the negotiations. German mediator Gerard Conrad is reported to have flown into Cairo on a private jet last week for a meeting that lasted several days and during which he was scheduled to meet with several senior Egyptian officials.
Reports of renewed talks between Hamas and Israel mediated by Egypt were first reported in mid-September. Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the Hamas delegation, headed by the leader of its military wing Ahmed al-Jabari, was anxious to reach a deal quickly.
In previous negotiations, Conrad has proved successful at ironing out many differences of opinion that have prevented a deal being reached in the past. These stumbling blocks have included the number of Palestinian militants that will be released, how many of those will be exiled from the West Bank following their release, and the period over which they will be freed.
Story source
here
This is great news! I pray a deal has finally been reached for his release.
Don
Monday, October 10, 2011
Isolating Israel
By Terry James
Rapture Ready
Monday, October 10, 2011
Israel continues to be made the hold-up to peace in the Middle East, thus the stumbling block to peace for the whole world. That nation’s isolation is being maneuvered and manipulated by pressures from every direction.
The Islamist nations of the region hate the Jewish state - while at the same time refusing to acknowledge it even exists. They surround Israel on all sides except the Mediterranean side. Submarines of Israel’s enemies even lurk in those waters, awaiting the right time to strike. The countries within the United Nations, led by the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, are for the most part overwhelmingly opposed to Israel in every vote taken that involves Israel’s right to exist and thrive in that land the UN antagonists proclaim belongs to the Palestinians.
The European Union (EU) consistently comes down on the side of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) demands that Israel give up whatever territory necessary to accommodate the two-state solution - thus to construct a homeland for the Palestinian refugees. This is demanded, although the refugees are from the surrounding Arab states, nations that prefer to keep the hapless refugees in geographical limbo so hatred of the Jews and accusations that the Jews are cruel occupiers can continue to spew forth.
At the same time, Israel has absorbed thousands upon thousands of those refugees under legal emigration practices. Those émigrés are among the most content people in the Middle East because they are treated fairly and allowed to prosper by the Israeli government and the Jewish citizenry.
The entire world comes against Israel in the form of the Quartet (US, UN, EU, and Russia) who, while putting up a façade that the group of powerful nations wants fairness and peace for all people of the Mid-East region, in actuality works through deceit and subterfuge to force Israel to give up land in every negotiation that comes up in the "Roadmap to Peace" process.
Most troubling - for me, at least, and for those who watch this process unfolding from a premillennial, pretribulational Bible prophecy perspective - is that the United States is at the forefront of the arm-twisting in dealing with Israeli leadership. This is plainly demonstrated despite peripheral niceties by U.S. administration officials. The following recent report is a case in point:
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Israel must find a way to resume negotiations with the Palestinians and has a responsibility to try to ease tensions with its neighbors in the region, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday amid prodding from the United States to return to peace talks.
Standing next to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Barak pushed back a bit on the Pentagon chief's warning that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the region, threatening its security. And he offered no new thoughts on the thorny issues that have stymied the peace talks, including the proposed timetable and the contested settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Making his first trip to Israel as defense secretary, Panetta has pressed the Obama administration's view that the two sides must restart the long-stalled peace talks. And during a news conference with Barak, Panetta said it's time for bold action by both sides to move toward a negotiated two-state solution.
The visit comes amid new international pressure to reach a peace deal by the end of next year, fueled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' move two weeks ago asking the U.N. Security Council to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. (Lolita C. Baldor, "Barak: Israel-Palestinians Must Find Path to Talks," Associated Press, 10/3/11)
The U.S. State Department operatives and the Quartet negotiators are concerned about Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas' asking the UN Security Council a couple of weeks ago to acknowledge the presence of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. They want to avoid a vote on granting this, and prefer that both parties sit down and negotiate Israel’s acquiescence in giving up land for peace. Regardless of the façade of wanting a peaceful solution, the international community, like Abbas - like all of the Jew-hating Islamists - won’t relent until Israel gives them what they want. The deadly, humanistic peace plan stems from a satanic rage long ago prophesied to come to a climax at the end of the age, just before Christ’s return.
It is an infection that grows more virulent. Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world. American universities are among the most receptive hosts of the infection. Professors inculcate students with the venom of luciferic hatred for the Jewish state. Israel is increasingly made the root cause of all that is wrong within the Middle Eastern cauldron. Like in the days of Hitler’s rise in the mid-1930s, the Jew is made to look like the troublemaker of the world in politics and in business. From the imploding economy to the threatened war over the Palestinian refugees, Israel is the focus of attention.
Israel - and the Jewish people - are being isolated, just as the prophets of the Old and New Testament foretold.
Story source
here
Rapture Ready
Monday, October 10, 2011
Israel continues to be made the hold-up to peace in the Middle East, thus the stumbling block to peace for the whole world. That nation’s isolation is being maneuvered and manipulated by pressures from every direction.
The Islamist nations of the region hate the Jewish state - while at the same time refusing to acknowledge it even exists. They surround Israel on all sides except the Mediterranean side. Submarines of Israel’s enemies even lurk in those waters, awaiting the right time to strike. The countries within the United Nations, led by the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, are for the most part overwhelmingly opposed to Israel in every vote taken that involves Israel’s right to exist and thrive in that land the UN antagonists proclaim belongs to the Palestinians.
The European Union (EU) consistently comes down on the side of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) demands that Israel give up whatever territory necessary to accommodate the two-state solution - thus to construct a homeland for the Palestinian refugees. This is demanded, although the refugees are from the surrounding Arab states, nations that prefer to keep the hapless refugees in geographical limbo so hatred of the Jews and accusations that the Jews are cruel occupiers can continue to spew forth.
At the same time, Israel has absorbed thousands upon thousands of those refugees under legal emigration practices. Those émigrés are among the most content people in the Middle East because they are treated fairly and allowed to prosper by the Israeli government and the Jewish citizenry.
The entire world comes against Israel in the form of the Quartet (US, UN, EU, and Russia) who, while putting up a façade that the group of powerful nations wants fairness and peace for all people of the Mid-East region, in actuality works through deceit and subterfuge to force Israel to give up land in every negotiation that comes up in the "Roadmap to Peace" process.
Most troubling - for me, at least, and for those who watch this process unfolding from a premillennial, pretribulational Bible prophecy perspective - is that the United States is at the forefront of the arm-twisting in dealing with Israeli leadership. This is plainly demonstrated despite peripheral niceties by U.S. administration officials. The following recent report is a case in point:
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Israel must find a way to resume negotiations with the Palestinians and has a responsibility to try to ease tensions with its neighbors in the region, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday amid prodding from the United States to return to peace talks.
Standing next to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Barak pushed back a bit on the Pentagon chief's warning that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the region, threatening its security. And he offered no new thoughts on the thorny issues that have stymied the peace talks, including the proposed timetable and the contested settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Making his first trip to Israel as defense secretary, Panetta has pressed the Obama administration's view that the two sides must restart the long-stalled peace talks. And during a news conference with Barak, Panetta said it's time for bold action by both sides to move toward a negotiated two-state solution.
The visit comes amid new international pressure to reach a peace deal by the end of next year, fueled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' move two weeks ago asking the U.N. Security Council to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. (Lolita C. Baldor, "Barak: Israel-Palestinians Must Find Path to Talks," Associated Press, 10/3/11)
The U.S. State Department operatives and the Quartet negotiators are concerned about Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas' asking the UN Security Council a couple of weeks ago to acknowledge the presence of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. They want to avoid a vote on granting this, and prefer that both parties sit down and negotiate Israel’s acquiescence in giving up land for peace. Regardless of the façade of wanting a peaceful solution, the international community, like Abbas - like all of the Jew-hating Islamists - won’t relent until Israel gives them what they want. The deadly, humanistic peace plan stems from a satanic rage long ago prophesied to come to a climax at the end of the age, just before Christ’s return.
It is an infection that grows more virulent. Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world. American universities are among the most receptive hosts of the infection. Professors inculcate students with the venom of luciferic hatred for the Jewish state. Israel is increasingly made the root cause of all that is wrong within the Middle Eastern cauldron. Like in the days of Hitler’s rise in the mid-1930s, the Jew is made to look like the troublemaker of the world in politics and in business. From the imploding economy to the threatened war over the Palestinian refugees, Israel is the focus of attention.
Israel - and the Jewish people - are being isolated, just as the prophets of the Old and New Testament foretold.
Story source
here
Sunday, October 2, 2011
We'll see what God has to say about the matter!!
Israel Formally Accepts Quartet Plan to Restart Talks with PA
by Chana Ya'ar
The State of Israel on Sunday officially accepted a plan by the Quartet of peacekeeping nations to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued Sunday that Israel “welcomes the Quartet's call for direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions, as called for by both President [Barack] Obama and by Prime Minister Netanyahu" in their respective speeches at the United Nations General Assembly.
The PMO statement added that even though Israel had reservations about the plan, “we will raise them at the appropriate time. We call upon the Palestinian Authority to do the same and to enter into direct negotiations without delay,” the statement said.
The Quartet, comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, has published a new timetable for direct negotiations between the two parties, urging both Israel and the PA to come to the table within four weeks. During this initial meeting, the two sides are expected to express their commitment to a timetable which will allegedly bring forth a peace agreement by the end of 2012.
The Quartet statement describing its proposal followed the speech given by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly in which he officially launched the entity's statehood bid.
The PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, has since continued to call on the Quartet to immediately intervene with Israel to halt all Jewish construction in the territories it demands for its hoped-for state, before it will consider a return to negotiations.
In a news release issued by the ministry on the eve of the Jewish New Year last week, the PA government declared “The Israeli authorities continually and arrogantly refuse to abide by the international resolutions and continue to defy the international community through its decision to build 1100 housing units in Jerusalem, bring the number of housing units to more than 1800 units, which were approved by the Israeli authorities in order to judaize Jerusalem and completely isolate it from the West Bank.”
The statement referred to a routine district planning committee decision to expand the number of housing units approved for the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. The plan will be subject to 60 days of public debate before reaching final approval from Jerusalem municipal authorities. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said last week that he had no intention of interfering with or halting the project, nor would he start another building freeze to appease the PA. “We gave at the office,” he commented.
The PA meanwhile called for “actual actions, not only international condemnations, to deter” Israel's building activities. PA officials called on the Quartet “to insure an immediate cessation of settlement activities and protect the two-state solution in accordance with the international terms of reference.” In addition, the PA statement called on the members of the United Nations Security Council to vote in favor of the entity's statehood bid, as “it is a key to the success of the peace process and any future negotiations.”
The United States, one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, has already said from the outset that it will exercise its veto if the PA manages to garner the required nine votes to win passage of the resolution.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
Israel Formally Accepts Quartet Plan to Restart Talks with PA
by Chana Ya'ar
The State of Israel on Sunday officially accepted a plan by the Quartet of peacekeeping nations to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued Sunday that Israel “welcomes the Quartet's call for direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions, as called for by both President [Barack] Obama and by Prime Minister Netanyahu" in their respective speeches at the United Nations General Assembly.
The PMO statement added that even though Israel had reservations about the plan, “we will raise them at the appropriate time. We call upon the Palestinian Authority to do the same and to enter into direct negotiations without delay,” the statement said.
The Quartet, comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, has published a new timetable for direct negotiations between the two parties, urging both Israel and the PA to come to the table within four weeks. During this initial meeting, the two sides are expected to express their commitment to a timetable which will allegedly bring forth a peace agreement by the end of 2012.
The Quartet statement describing its proposal followed the speech given by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly in which he officially launched the entity's statehood bid.
The PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, has since continued to call on the Quartet to immediately intervene with Israel to halt all Jewish construction in the territories it demands for its hoped-for state, before it will consider a return to negotiations.
In a news release issued by the ministry on the eve of the Jewish New Year last week, the PA government declared “The Israeli authorities continually and arrogantly refuse to abide by the international resolutions and continue to defy the international community through its decision to build 1100 housing units in Jerusalem, bring the number of housing units to more than 1800 units, which were approved by the Israeli authorities in order to judaize Jerusalem and completely isolate it from the West Bank.”
The statement referred to a routine district planning committee decision to expand the number of housing units approved for the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. The plan will be subject to 60 days of public debate before reaching final approval from Jerusalem municipal authorities. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said last week that he had no intention of interfering with or halting the project, nor would he start another building freeze to appease the PA. “We gave at the office,” he commented.
The PA meanwhile called for “actual actions, not only international condemnations, to deter” Israel's building activities. PA officials called on the Quartet “to insure an immediate cessation of settlement activities and protect the two-state solution in accordance with the international terms of reference.” In addition, the PA statement called on the members of the United Nations Security Council to vote in favor of the entity's statehood bid, as “it is a key to the success of the peace process and any future negotiations.”
The United States, one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, has already said from the outset that it will exercise its veto if the PA manages to garner the required nine votes to win passage of the resolution.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua
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