Re: ISRAEL BREAKING NEWS

Admin Tue 23 Dec 2014, 4:25 pm

As World Turns Its Back on Israel, a Surprising Ally Emerges in India
By Lea Speyer December 23, 2014 , 11:00 am
“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets with Narenda Modi in New York City on September 28, 2014. (Photo credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO)
With the EU moving farther away from its traditional support of Israel, it seems as if the Jewish state is finding a new ally in an uncommon place.
According to The Hindu newspaper, India is considering moving away from supporting the Palestinian cause at the UN, Indian government sources said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking to move his foreign policies regarding the Palestinians to a state of abstention, the two sources claimed.
“Like other foreign policy issues, the Modi government is looking at India’s voting record at the United Nations on the Palestinian issue,” one of the sources explained. The second said that only an “administrative nod” would be needed to confirm the new policy.
The report comes on the heels of what many observers are describing as a new age in Israeli-Indian relations. Since coming to power in May, Modi has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times leading to a significant warming in relations.
Last week, in honor of the Hanukkah holiday, Modi published a holiday greeting in Hebrew, surprising Jews, Israelis and Hebrew speakers around the world.
Taking to Twitter, Modi “wished his Jewish friends a happy Hanukkah! Many this Festival of Lights and the festive season ring in peace, hope and well-being for all.”
In September, Netanyahu and Modi met for the first time, marking a historical moment in which any Israeli and Indian premiers met in over a decade.

“We are very excited by the prospects of greater and greater ties with India,” Netanyahu told reporters. “We think the sky’s the limit.”
Along with a warming of diplomatic relations, Israel and India are also engaging in new trade, defense, security, technological and cultural relationships. “Israel and India are at the cusp of a new era of increased cooperation in a wide variety of fields,” Netanyahu said while on a trip to Singh on November 6.
Last month, the two countries conducted a joint missile test on an advanced system, which was hailed by an adviser to the Indian defense minister as “an important milestone in the cooperation between India and Israel.”
In October, India agreed to buy 8,000 Israeli-made Spike missiles and more than 300 launchers in a $525 million defense deal. The missiles were widely used by the IDF during Operation Protective Edge.
Military business between Israel and India is estimated at $9-10 billion.
LISTEN: Israel and India: BFF?

Admin Tue 23 Dec 2014, 12:56 am

Islamist Slams Car Into Crowds in French City
Israel Daily News Stream12 hours ago
idns221214
Today’s Top Stories
1. A driver said to be shouting “God is great” slammed into crowds in a French city, injuring at least 11 people. Some witnesses apparently heard the driver shout “Allahu Akbar” – God is great – and refer to the “children of Palestine.” The media don’t appear to have made a connection but is this car attack a method of terror exported from Palestinians who c
arried out similar attacks in Jerusalem in recent months?
THE WHOLE REPORT CAN BE READ HERE

Admin Mon 22 Dec 2014, 3:58 pm

Syria Downs Israeli Drone Over Golan Heights (PHOTOS)
By Lea Speyer December 22, 2014 , 10:15 am
“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.” (Psalm 91:3)
Arab media reported Sunday night that Syria “brought down” an Israeli drone near the Golan Heights town of Quneitra.
The state-run SANA News Agency said that the unmanned aerial vehicle was on a reconnaissance mission over the border town, flying just over the Syrian side of the border.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television stated an “unmanned aircraft of the Zionist regime was downed near the skies of Quneitra, close to the border.”
MORE

What Did Ben Carson Pray For In Jerusalem? (VIDEO)
“In the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)
JERUSALEM, Israel — As the presidential race for 2016 gets closer, likely candidates start visiting key locations. In addition to Iowa and other states, there is also an important international stop.
This week, Dr. Ben Carson took the opportunity to visit America’s closest ally in the Middle East. This was the retired neurosurgeon’s first visit to the Holy Land.
“It’s really a fact-finding mission. And you hear so many things and read so many things but until you can actually experience it yourself and see for yourself, you really don’t have the proper perspective,” Carson said.
To get that first-hand perspective, Carson paid a house call to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel’s premiere hospital. He also met one of the victims of the recent Har Nof terror attack, in which four rabbis and a policeman were murdered.
“I looked at your scan and you’re very fortunate to be alive,” Carson told the patient.
MORE

Israel Grants Palestinian Christians Travel Visas for Christmas
“Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.” (Proverbs 3:23)
Israel has granted travel visas to Palestinian Christians ahead of Christmas.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 700 Palestinian Christians living in Gaza will be able to visit family members in Israel or the West Bank.
Additionally, 500 Palestinian Christians from the West Bank will be allowed to travel to Gaza to visit family there, and 200 Palestinian Christians from Gaza and the West Bank will be allowed to travel abroad for the same purpose via Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport.
Israel maintains restrictions on Palestinian travel from the West Bank and Gaza due to security concerns. The IDF said the Christmas visas are “confidence-building measures” with the Palestinian Christian population.
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Tax Dollars at Work: Hamas Replenishing Terror Arsenal with Humanitarian Supplies
“The weak have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, .... but with force have ye ruled over them and with rigour.” (Ezekiel 34:4)
Hamas is redirecting building supplies, intended for rebuilding infrastructure damaged during Operation Protective Edge, towards rebuilding its network of terror tunnels instead, Israeli news sources reported Friday. The claim was bolstered by remarks from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon Saturday night.
Ynetnews reported Friday that sources inside the Gaza Strip informed them of the tunnel activity, in addition to other abuses of materials sent for civilian use. According to the news agency, “dual use” materials, such as iron, are being appropriated to replenish Hamas’ arsenal of rockets, severely diminished by this summer’s military engagement.
Hamas has also learned the lessons of the conflict, the report claims. Following the relative success of its tunnels, Hamas has invested in their reconstruction. Since Israel’s Iron Dome technology is most effective against medium-range rockets, the terror group is focusing its energies on its short-range rockets, for which Israel has no defense system as yet. It has conducted several test launches into the sea in recent weeks, as well.
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Israeli Navy to Receive New Warships from Germany
“Yonder sea, great and wide, therein are creeping things innumerable, living creatures, both small and great. There go the ships; there is leviathan, whom Thou hast formed to sport therein.” (Psalm 104:25-26)
Four new corvette warships are on their way to the Israeli Navy, courtesy of the German government.
According to a report by Reuters news agency and Israel Hayom, Germany announced it would be funding the ships, made by German company ThyssenKrupp, to the tune of €115 million ($143 million), pending approval by German parliament’s budgetary committee.
The deal, which was formulated in November and could be approved by the end of this month, is part of the country’s restitution for the Holocaust.
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Hanukkah: The Untold Story
“In the days of Mattathias the son of Johanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the evil kingdom of Greece set upon your nation Israel to make them forget your teachings…” (Hanukkah Prayer)
By: Binyamin Kagedan
During the eight days of Hanukkah, traditional Jews add the following to their daily prayers: “In the days of Mattathias the son of Johanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the evil kingdom of Greece set upon your nation Israel to make them forget your teachings, and to remove them from the laws you desire, you in your great mercy…gave the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure.”
Sound familiar? The little history lesson in this prayer is probably very close to the story of Judah Maccabee and King Antiochus you remember from Hebrew school: The underdog heroes attain a miraculous victory over the powerful villains against all odds, winning back their religious freedom and purifying the defiled temple in Jerusalem.
MORE

Admin Mon 22 Dec 2014, 3:31 pm

Obama Signs US-Israel Strategic Partnership Act Into Law

After unanimous votes to approve the legislation in Congress, Obama signs bill that will strengthen the US-Israel alliance.
United States President Barack Obama has signed into law the 2014 United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act.
The bill, meant to strengthen the US-Israel alliance, passed unanimously in the House of Representatives earlier this month, after passing unanimously in the Senate in September.
The law declares Israel's status as a “major strategic partner” of the United States as well as Washington's "unwavering support" for Israel as a Jewish state.
The legislation orders the expansion of US weapons stockpile in Israel by some $200 million in value, to a total of $1.8 billion, so that the Pentagon can be better prepared to conduct military operations in the volatile Middle East.
It also crucially allows Israel to use the weapons in the event of an emergency, as it did this summer during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
The new law will also require the Obama administration to move toward allowing Israel to be included in the top-tier category for license-free exports of certain US technologies and products.
President Obama signed the bill into law on Friday in Washington, along with a law that bars suspected Nazi war criminals from receiving Social Security benefits.
The Strategic Partnership Act also encourages the inclusion of Israel in the United States visa waiver program, if it should meet program requirements. Currently, Israel citizens traveling to the United States are required to purchase visas beforehand.
Increased cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies is also included in the legislation.
Jewish organization across the US have praised and thanks Congress for its support.
One of the bill's authors also lauded Obama's support of the legislation.
“I applaud the President for signing this bill to strengthen our historic relationship with Israel,” said Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who introduced the bi-partisan legislation with Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO).
“This law will enhance cooperation between Israel and the United States on a wide range of issues - from defense to energy to cyber security - so we can work together to address the many challenges facing both countries.”

Admin Sun 21 Dec 2014, 9:59 pm

Islam: Built on the Blood of (Christian) Martyrs
By: Raymond Ibrahim
In a recent interview on CBN News, Andrew White, an Anglican priest known as the “Vicar of Baghdad,” tried to recount the horrific atrocities Christians in Iraq are suffering at the hands of the Islamic State..."They chopped their children in half; they chopped their heads off."
t should be noted that the targeting of Christian children in Iraq goes back years before the creation of ISIS. For example, in June 2008, a Canadian parliamentary committee heard about how “militant Muslims” were crucifying Christian children: “Since the war began in 2003, about 12 children, many as young as 10, have been kidnapped and killed, then nailed to makeshift crosses near their homes to terrify and torment their parents.”
READ MORE

Germans Rise Up Against Islamization
By: Soeren Kern
There is a mounting public backlash over what many perceive as the government’s indifference to the growing influence of Islam in German society. This backlash represents a potentially significant turning point.
Despite efforts by German politicians and the media to portray PEGIDA as neo-Nazi, the group has taken great pains to distance itself from Germany’s extreme right. The group says that it is “apolitical” and that its main objective is to preserve what is left of Germany’s Judeo-Christian culture and values.
“Many people in Germany have legitimate concerns about the spread of radical Islamic ideology, which promotes violence against non-Muslims, robs women and girls of their natural rights, and seeks to require the application of Sharia law…. Because the rule of law, tolerance and freedom of religion are fundamental Western values, the PEGIDA movement must leave no doubt that it is precisely these values that it seeks to defend.” — Bernd Lucke, leader, Alternative for Germany Party and professor of macroeconomics, Hamburg University.
READ MORE

Palestinians Flee Hamas, Ask Israel to Imprison Them
By: Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinian youths prefer to spend time in Israeli prison than to live in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Over the past two months, more than 20 Palestinians have been arrested while trying to cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
“I’m sad that I’m back in the Gaza Strip. I went through happy times [in Israeli detention], where I had food, calm, good work, although I did not receive a salary. Those were unforgettable days where I had delicious food that we don’t have in the Gaza Strip.” — Rabi, 16, who crossed the border from Gaza and was held in detention for three months before being sent back home.
Not only is Hamas unwilling to accept any kind of responsibility, but it continues to hold everyone but itself responsible for the tragic situation n the Gaza Strip.
Instead of working to improve the living conditions of its people, Hamas is continuing to prepare for the next war against Israel. In recent weeks, Hamas increased its rocket and mortar firing tests out to sea.
READ MORE

So You Think You Know Hanukkah
By: Michael Freund
With its universal themes of heroism, faith and determination, Hanukka has become one of the most well-known and familiar of Jewish holidays. Or Has it?
Or has it? Year in and out, Jews gather for eight nights to light candles, sing songs and celebrate the miracles performed for our ancestors more than two millennia ago. We fry potato latkes, exchange presents and perhaps take a vacation from our daily routines.
This, in a nutshell, is the common conception of the festival: the Hellenists tried to destroy Judaism, we won, now pass me a jelly doughnut.
But the sad truth is that Hanukka, like so many things nowadays, has been “dumbed down,” stripped of its deeper meaning and ripped from its original context.
READ MORE

Obama: Helping Terror Go Nuclear
By: Noah Beck
Last month’s terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue killed five people...Congress showed moral clarity when blaming the horrors on Hamas and Palestinian Authority incitement, but Obama’s statements were perfunctorily “balanced.”
Last month’s terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue killed five people: four rabbis (including three born in the USA) and a Druze police officer. Two Palestinians entered during morning prayers and attacked worshipers with knives, meat cleavers, and a handgun. Congress showed moral clarity when blaming the horrors on Hamas and Palestinian Authority incitement, but Obama’s statements were perfunctorily “balanced.” Obama warned of a “spiral” of violence – an obtuse refrain of those suggesting moral equivalency between terrorism and the fight against it. Obama also misleadingly claimed that “President Abbas…strongly condemned the attacks” omitting that Abbas did so only after pressure from the administration and with equivocation (Abbas suggested a link between recent terrorism and visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, as if to justify the attacks). It’s also worth noting that Palestinians celebrated the massacre (as they did after the 2013 Boston bombing and the 9/11 attacks).
READ MORE

Admin Sun 21 Dec 2014, 9:54 pm

IAF Strikes Hamas Terror Targets Following Rocket Attack
By Lea Speyer December 21, 2014 , 12:05 pm
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)
Late Friday night, the Israeli Air Force struck Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza Strip for the first time since the end of the summer’s war.
The airstrikes, which occurred near Khan Yunis, came in response to rocket fire by terrorists in the Strip. The IAF reportedly struck a Hamas training camp and a cement factory being used to rebuild terror tunnels.
On Friday afternoon, a Kassam rocket landed in southern Israel near an Israeli community in the Eshkol region. Code Red sirens sounded in communities close to the border with Gaza, warning of an incoming attack.
The rocket attack marked the third time terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israel since the end of Operation Protective Edge.
Gaza residents reported low flying Israeli aircraft over Gaza as multiple airstrikes occurred. A spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry said there were no casualties in the attack.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed the Israeli strike, saying that IAF planes “struck Hamas terror infrastructure sites in the southern Gaza Strip.”
“The IDF will not permit any attempt to undermine the security and jeopardize the well-being of the civilians in Israel,” said IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. “The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible and accountable for today’s attack against Israel.”
Border police examine a rocket fired from Gaza which landed in an open area in the Eshkol Region, December 19, 2014. (Photo: Israel Police)
Hamas threatened Israel on Saturday following the airstrikes with more attacks. Hamas Prime Minister Islmail Haniyeh said that the Israeli airstrikes constitute “a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
“We will protect and guard the resistance’s victory in the last conflict,” he stated. “We call on Egypt as the guarantor of the agreement to act and stop the violations by the enemy.”
Ismail al-Ashqar, a senior Hamas member, said that “the resistance has the right to respond to Israeli aggression at the time and place of its choosing.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel would not tolerate any rocket attacks and that Hamas would bear the consequences of its actions.
“If there’s an escalation of hostilities, Hamas will be to blame,” he stated.
Since the end of the war, Hamas has been testing homemade rockets within Gaza for use against Israel.

FIRST LOOK: IDF Medics Treat Syrian Rebels Despite Dangers (VIDEO)
By Ahuva Balofsky December 21, 2014 , 10:00 am
“A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” (Ecclesiastes 3:3)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits at an IDF field hospital for treatment of wounded from the civil war in Syria, in Ramat ha Golan, Northern Israel. February 18, 2014. (Photo: Kobi Gideon /GPO/FLASH90)
A new video, released by Vice News last Wednesday, depicts IDF soldiers offering medical treatment to Syrian rebels. The identities of the injured are not known, and they could well be affiliated with groups hostile to Israel.
Once Israel’s calmest border, with civil war raging in Syria, the northern Golan Heights region is becoming very dangerous. Under cover of night, IDF soldiers collect the injured men and transport them to Israeli medical care.
Although the practice has been going on quietly for some time, Vice reporter Simon Ostrovsky notes this is the first time journalists have been invited to tag along.
According to reports, the United Nations Security Council has been monitoring contact between Israel and Syrian rebels for the past year and a half. A report from May 2014 notes, “During periods of heavy engagement with Syrian forces, [rebel groups] transferred 89 wounded persons across the ceasefire line to the IDF,” and “the IDF handed 19 treated and two deceased individuals” back to the insurgents.
Israel set up a field hospital adjacent to the Golan region demilitarized zone several years ago, treating Syrians on the spot where possible, and transferring more serious cases to medical facilities within Israel. In every case, the patients have been returned to Syria after treatment.
Its practice has been not to identify whether those treated are regime forces, rebels or civilians. Since last year, more than 700 Syrians have been treated by Israel.
Syrian Fighters Rescued by the IDF: The War Next Door

Admin Sat 20 Dec 2014, 3:07 pm

UNITED WITH ISRAEL

WATCH: Obama Describes America as One of the Largest Muslim Countries
Back in 2009, President Obama proudly told a French reporter that according to statistics, if you counted the number of Muslim Americans, the United States would be “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.”
The American leader also said that people in the West should educate themselves more effectively on Islam.
It turns out that the USA would actually have ranked at number 38 on the list of countries with the highest Muslim population. Nevertheless, in 2009, President Obama considered the United States to be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.
We believe that in 2014, this is very important to note, in light of the unprecedented growth of Islamic terror organizations and Muslim extremism throughout the world.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND PLEASE SHARE…
Sign the Petition to Unite Against Islamic Terror
Islamic State terrorists. (Photo: nrg.co.il)Islamic terror poses the greatest threat to the free world. The Islamic State (ISIS), Iran and Hamas all want the same thing: a world dominated by extremist interpretations of Islam.
Tell our leaders that we demand they fight ISIS alongside trusted allies that share our values. Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah and those who support terrorism are the enemy.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN STOP ISLAMIC TERROR
http://stopislamicterror.org/?utm_campaign=Stop%20Islamic%20Terror&utm_source=UWI%20article&utm_medium=article

Admin Fri 19 Dec 2014, 2:29 am

WATCH: American Jew Alan Gross Thanks God for His Release from Cuba
By Lea Speyer December 18, 2014 , 2:30 pm
“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.” (2 Samuel 22:50)
In a true Hanukkah miracle, Alan Gross was released from imprisonment in Cuba on Wednesday in a secret deal that has been brewing for the last year between US and Cuban officials.
Gross thanked his wife, lawyers, governmental officials and the Jewish community for helping to secure his freedom. Above all, he thanked God for giving him his own Hanukkah miracle – that of freedom.
READ MORE VIEW

Netanyahu Tightens Israel's Bonds with Christian Community
By Ahuva Balofsky December 18, 2014 , 10:00 am
“The LORD executeth righteousness, and acts of justice for all that are oppressed.” (Psalms 103:6)
Speaking at a pre-Christmas gathering of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum in Nazareth on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the soldiers who have enlisted in the Israeli army (IDF).
Also in attendance were Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis, Mayor of Nazareth, Ali Sala and prominent Israeli Priest Father Gabriel Naddaf. Naddaf has long been a supporter of the Jewish state.
“We are brothers, partners – we Christians and Jews and Druze and Muslims defending the State of Israel,” The Jerusalem Post reported Netanyahu’s words. “Our country is founded on the idea of a Jewish and democratic state, and in this country, relations between Jews and non-Jews should be in harmony, based on mutual respect, based on equal rights, and the most important thought is also equal obligations, that’s what’s reflected here.”
READ MORE

Admin Fri 19 Dec 2014, 2:18 am

World Support Turns in Favor of Palestinians
By Ahuva Balofsky December 18, 2014 , 12:45 pm

“The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His anointed.” (Psalm 2:2)

Wednesday was a difficult day for tiny Israel on the stage of world politics and diplomacy, with the tide of opinion, especially in Europe, turning squarely in favor of the Palestinians at the small country’s expense. In Geneva, world powers gathered to condemn Israel’s actions in Judea and Samaria; in Luxembourg, the EU Court of Justice removed Hamas from its terror blacklist; and back in the United States, a draft resolution was introduced at the United Nations demanding an Israeli withdrawal from lands wanted for a Palestinian State by 2017.

Geneva Convention Conference

Geneva hosted a one-day conference for the signatories to the Geneva Conventions which govern the rules of war and military occupation.126 of the 196 parties attended Wednesday’s gathering, which adopted a declaration condemning Israel’s activities in Judea and Samaria. The 10-point declaration seeks to “emphasize that all serious violations of international humanitarian law must be investigated and that all those responsible should be brought to justice,” reported The Times of Israel.

The declaration demands that the Geneva Conventions be applied by Israel in conflict zones between Israel and the Palestinians, particularly by not building settlements in Judea and Samaria, which the Palestinians want for their own country. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power is prohibited from colonizing the occupied territory, however, Israel insists this statute does not apply in Judea and Samaria, whose sovereignty has been undetermined since 1947, when the Arabs rejected the UN partition plan. From 1948-1967, those lands were occupied by Jordan, along with Egyptian occupation of Gaza, and at that time, nobody objected.

Additionally, the declaration demands protection of civilians in those areas and East Jerusalem during times of conflict.

Israel, the US, Canada and Australia all boycotted the summit, which Israel’s Foreign Ministry called, “a political move whose sole aim is to utilize the important stage of the Geneva Conventions for the sake of denigrating Israel.” Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird issued a statement saying, “Canada has conveyed its deep concerns and has communicated clearly that it will neither attend this conference nor lend it any credibility.” Ynetnews reported that Israel’s UN mission blasted the gathering, saying, “It confers legitimacy on terrorist organizations and dictatorial regimes wherever they are, while condemning a democratic country fighting terrorism in accordance with international law.”

EU Court of Justice Decision

Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, as anticipated, removed Hamas from the EU terror blacklist, citing improper evidence and procedure. Although the move is a technical one, which EU countries have two months to rectify without needing to unfreeze Hamas assets, the decision nevertheless brought condemnation from several corners.

“We are deeply concerned by the decision of the EU General Court to annul, on procedural grounds, the measures against Hamas,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a statement quoted by AFP and Israel National News.

“We call on the EU to take the immediate remedial steps necessary to keep Hamas listed as a terrorist entity,” he added.

“The EU should maintain terrorism sanctions on Hamas,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “The U.S. position on Hamas has not changed; Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization.”

“Hamas continues to engage in terrorist activity and has demonstrated its intentions during this summer’s conflicts with Israel,” Psaki added. “It fired thousands of rockets into Israeli civilian areas and attempted to infiltrate Israel through tunnels that extended into Israel.”

The Times of Israel reported on Israeli reaction to the news. “Today we witnessed staggering examples of European hypocrisy: in Geneva they call for the investigation of Israel for war crimes, while in Luxembourg the European court removed Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations, Hamas that has committed countless war crimes and countless terror acts,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quoted him as saying.

“It seems that too many in Europe, on whose soil six million Jews were slaughtered, have learned nothing,” he added.

EU representatives have said they still consider Hamas a terrorist entity and are investigating further to have them reinstated to the blacklist.

Palestinian UN Draft Resolution

At the UN, a draft resolution introduced by Jordan on behalf of the Palestinians softened its stance slightly, but continued to demand a firm timetable for Israeli withdrawal from territories claimed for a future Palestinian state. According to AFP, which obtained access to the text of the draft, it calls for a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace solution that brings an end to the Israeli occupation” and sets “Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two States which fulfills the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship.”

The timetable outlined in the draft sets a 12-month negotiation period to resolve all issues, with an additional two years for a full Israeli withdrawal, adding a year to its initial deadline of November 2016 in the October version of the resolution.

Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said he would not push for a quick vote on the issue, in the interest of improving relations and thereby the resolution’s chances for success. He was also open to amending the text if needed.

“We will continue negotiating with all of them and with the Americans if they are ready and willing so that we perhaps can succeed in having something adopted by the Security Council to open a serious door to peace,” the envoy said, as reported by Ynetnews.

Israeli Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz, however, called the move “an act of war.” The Times of Israel reported that he told Israel Radio, “The Palestinians made sure to remove any mention of Israel’s status as a Jewish state from the draft, which means this is not an act of peace, it’s an act of war.”

It is speculated that the US will use its veto against the resolution if it deems necessary, but it has not committed to doing so. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the US would review the resolution and would not oppose it if “it’s done in the spirit of working with people to see how we could proceed forward in a thoughtful way that solves the problem, doesn’t make it worse.” Nine of the 15 members of the Security Council must vote in favor of the resolution for it to pass.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/25999/world-support-turns-favor-palestinians/#A48KRh7a3ZxuA1ok.99

Admin Wed 17 Dec 2014, 7:56 pm

US to Veto Palestinian Push for Statehood in UN
By Ahuva Balofsky December 17, 2014 , 12:05 pm
“Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.” (Deuteronomy 19:14)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome to discuss the Palestinian push for statehood at the UN, December 15, 2014. (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)
The Palestinians are expected Wednesday to submit a draft resolution to the United Nations setting a two-year timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from lands they want for their own independent state. The US has indicated it would veto such a move if necessary.
“We will submit our project to the UN Security Council tomorrow,” a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told AFP late Tuesday.
The Times of Israel reported that the resolution would likely be submitted by Jordan. It is expected to demand a full Israeli withdrawal to the country’s pre-1967 lines by 2016. The US opposes the move primarily because of the deadline, and expressed concern it seeks to determine the conclusion of negotiations before they are completed. The US prefers to avoid using its veto, but is prepared to do so if necessary.
A second version of the draft has reportedly been in the works by France. However, according to Mohammed Shtayyeh, a member of Abbas’s inner circle, the French have “accommodated” the Palestinians and merged the two documents.
“We have merged. We don’t have two texts now. There is one single text. We have happily accepted the French text when the modifications have been added,” Shtayyeh said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US has no set vision of a resolution it would be willing to support in the UN.
“What we’re trying to do is have a constructive conversation with everybody to find the best way to go forward,” Kerry said. “We want to find the most constructive way of doing something that… will not have unintended consequences, but also can stem the violence.”
According to Shtayyeh, who spoke to reporters in Beit Jala, the US “is avoiding [using its veto] by preventing us from collecting nine votes” needed to pass a resolution in the Security Council.
Meanwhile, Hamas has been removed from the European Union’s blacklist of terror organizations. A ruling on its appeal on Wednesday from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg overturned a previous ruling designating Hamas as a terrorist group.
The appeal is based on a technicality, first utilized by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers. The Court of Justice determined there was insufficient legal evidence on file against the group to keep it on the list, but gave the EU a timetable to collect more intelligence and re-present its case.
The Hamas ruling is similar. Israeli sources claim European countries, concerned about the potential change, are already collecting additional evidence against Hamas.
EU rules state that terror designations must be reviewed every six months. Fearing classified information used to support its case might fall into Hamas hands, the Europeans used only low-level, unclassified information to build its case.

Admin Tue 16 Dec 2014, 11:25 am

Netanyahu tells Kerry Israel opposed to French UN bid
Attempts to ‘impose conditions’ will backfire, PM warns; French FM says US will veto Palestinian withdrawal proposal
QUICK WATCH 1:7 min
US Secretary of State John Kerry (left) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Villa Taverna in Rome, December 15, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/Evan Vucci)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected bids to impose a United Nations deadline on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid a flurry of talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Addressing a renewed drive to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to the top of the global agenda, Kerry and Netanyahu met for nearly three hours in the US ambassador’s sumptuous residence in Rome.
“The attempts by Palestinians and some European countries to impose conditions on Israel will only deteriorate regional security and endanger Israel, so we strongly oppose it,” Netanyahu said after rejecting the proposed withdrawal to Kerry.
The Americans are seeking to avert an end-of-year showdown at the United Nations Security Council, which could place them in a diplomatic quandary.
The Palestinians have said they will submit an Arab-backed draft text — setting a two-year deadline for an end to Israel’s decades-long control of the West Bank — to the UN as early as Wednesday. Meanwhile, France has been leading European efforts to cobble together a more nuanced resolution that could prove more palatable to the US administration.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Monday the Palestinians were planning to put a resolution in a form that could be voted upon on Wednesday, though the council was unlikely to vote immediately.
What that resolution says will depend on the outcome of the high-level negotiations in Europe, Mansour said. He told a group of reporters Monday that the Americans are key.
They have two options: to negotiate on the Palestinian and French texts, or produce their own draft resolution, he said.
Mansour said the French draft is “very, very close to the Arab ideas” and includes a timeframe for negotiations, but the Palestinians “want to define clearly the end to occupation.”
He stressed that the Palestinians will not return to direct negotiations with Israel and strongly support the French proposal for an international conference to promote a peace deal that would include the five veto-wielding Security Council nations, key Arab countries and others.
“We tried direct negotiations for 20 years and they failed,” Mansour said. “That is history.”
The French text would set a two-year timetable, but for concluding a peace treaty without mentioning Israeli withdrawal.
Paris is also hoping to seize more of the initiative by not leaving the negotiations solely in the hands of the US.
“What we are hoping for is a resolution which everyone can get behind,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told AFP.
“Even if the Palestinians have a text in their hand, the Americans have already said that they will veto it,” he said. “So on the one hand this resolution cannot be accepted, but on the other that will clearly get a strong reaction from the Palestinian side.”
“The absence of a peace process is fueling tensions on the ground, so it is imperative to make rapid progress on a UN resolution,” said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal.
“It is vital to relaunch the peace talks as soon as possible and on a credible basis to offer some kind of concrete political horizon to the parties,” he told AFP.
US officials have said Kerry is aiming to learn more about the European initiative during his hastily arranged pre-Christmas trip.
Traditionally, the US has used its power of veto at the UN Security Council to shoot down what it sees as moves against its close regional ally, Israel.
But there is a growing impatience in Europe over the peace impasse amid fears the Middle East risks spiraling into even greater chaos.
Several European parliaments have called on their governments to move ahead with the recognition of a Palestinian state.
US officials told reporters accompanying Kerry that Washington has not yet decided whether to veto or back the French-led UN initiative.
The US administration opposes moves to bind negotiators’ hands through a UN resolution — particularly any attempt to set a deadline for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
Kerry also met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and thanked Pope Francis for “his engagement to try to reduce tensions in the region.”
The secretary of state was due to fly to Paris for a dinner meeting with his French, German and British counterparts and the new EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at Orly Aairport.
He will then travel to London to meet with the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, on Tuesday.
Fabius, the French foreign minister, is also to meet with Elaraby on Tuesday.
Diplomatic sources say Paris is hoping to persuade the Palestinians to back their compromise resolution, rather than risk a US veto of the more muscular Arab version.
But the Palestinians appear divided, as frustration grows over the snail’s pace of diplomatic efforts, with the decision resting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Admin Tue 16 Dec 2014, 12:33 am

ISIS Beheads 4 Christian Children for Refusing to Convert to Islam
By Ahuva Balofsky December 15, 2014 , 10:00 am
Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6
Members of ISIS. (Photo: YouTube Screenshot)
Four Christian children were beheaded in Iraq, by the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Canon Andrew White, also known as the Vicar of Baghdad, for refusing to convert to Islam. White was speaking in November to the Orthodox Christian Network in Jerusalem when he made the claim.
The Times of Israel reported on White’s speech. “ISIS turned up and they said to the children, ‘You say the words that you will follow Muhammad,’” he said. “And the children, all under 15, four of them, they said “No, we love Yeshua [Jesus]. We have always loved Yeshua. We have always followed Yeshua. Yeshua has always been with us.
“They said, ‘Say the words!’ They said, ‘No, we can’t.’ They chopped all their heads off. How do you respond to that? You just cry.”
“They are my children,” he said. “That is what we have been going through and that is what we are going through.”
According to the news source, White, vicar of Iraq’s only Anglican church, St. George’s, was forced to flee ISIS on orders from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and he took refuge in Israel. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Anglican Church’s highest official.
White also spoke of 250,000 Iraqi Christians being displaced and the community, once 1.5 million strong, fleeing in fear. According to The Independent, most of White’s staff remains in Baghdad to support the dwindling community.
The Vicar of Baghdad earned his title for reopening St. George’s in 2003, alongside Welby, after it was closed down by Saddam Hussein. The church, originally founded in 1863, is home to Iraq’s largest Christian congregation, numbering 6,500, including 600 Muslim.

Israel Offers Help as Jihadist Gunman Lays Siege on Sydney Cafe (PHOTOS)
“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9)
By Lea Speyer December 15, 2014 , 11:06 am
A hostage is seen escaping a Sydney cafe after a jihadist gunman took hostages. (Photo: 9 News Australia/ Screenshot)
Downtown Sydney was put on lockdown Monday after an armed gunman walked into a busy café, taking hostages and forcing them to display an Islamic flag.
Fearing a jihadist attack, Australian police, including heavily armed paramilitary officers, closed off several blocks around the Lindt chocolate café as negotiators attempt to defuse the situation with the gunman.
Snipers and SWAT teams took up positions around the café, located in the heart of Sydney’s financial district, as police helicopters flew overhead.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told Army Radio that he was in contact with Australian authorities and have offered help to Australian officials. The Israeli embassy in Australia published a tweet, expressing Israel’s support during the shocking situation.
tweet israeli embassy australia
Jewish institutions across Australia were put “in lockdown” on Monday as stricter security measures were imposed, Australian officials said.
Since the attack began mid-morning in Australia, around 9:45 am local time, at least five hostages have escaped. In a dramatic turn and on live television, several of the hostages were seen bolting out of the café into the protection of armed police.
australia terror hostage attack 12-15
While it remains unclear how many hostages remain in the café, initial reports put the number between 30 and 40. Police reported that the number is much lower.
Located across from a television studio, hostages inside the café were first seen standing with their hands pressed against the windows. Local media reports said that a staff member of the café and another women were seen holding up a black and white flag, similar to those used by ISIS.
australia terror attack b 12-15ISIS flag australia terror attack
At one point, Australian TV broadcasted a live shot of what appears to be an armed man wearing a black headband using a young woman as a human shield as he paced near the windows.
australia terror attack 12-15
The gunman is using hostages to call local media outlets to make demands. Police have asked that they not be published.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot, who has repeatedly warned of plans aimed at striking targets in Australia, said that certain indicators reveal that the hostage situation may be a politically motivated attack.
“This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the Australian people,” Abott told reporters in Canberra.
New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn told the media that police were treating the attack as a hostage situation. “There is speculation about what he might want but we have to deal with him at the level of police negotiation,” she stated.
Police confirmed that they are operating on a terror footing.
Since joining a US-led coalition against ISIS, Australia has been on high alert for impending terror attacks by home-grown jihadists returning from fighting in the Middle East. In September, Australian police announced that they had thwarted a major terrorist plot in which a lone wolf attacker, affiliated with ISIS, planned to abduct and behead Australian civilians.
Australian intelligence officials estimate that some 60 of its citizens are currently fighting for ISIS and the Al Nusra Front in Iraq and Syria. Another 15 Australian fighters, including two young suicide bombers, have died in the course of their fighting.
This report is unfolding.
IAF Scrambles Jets after Hamas Drone Scare
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God…” (Isaiah 41:10)
By Lea Speyer December 15, 2014 , 2:15 pm
A Hamas drone (Photo: Al Qassam Brigade's Arabic Website)
Hamas’s military wing launched a drone above the skies of Gaza City during a parade on Sunday, increasing the Israeli Air Force’s alertness level.
The drone, which was locally manufactured, caused the air force to scramble jets to the area, Channel 2 reported. The drone is said to have carried the logo of the Qassam Brigades, the name of Hamas’s military wing.
The unmanned aircraft did not cross into Israeli airspace.
The drone activity was part of a larger demonstration celebrating the Hamas terror group’s 27th anniversary. Thousands attended the rally, including senior members of Hamas.
With weapons on full display, including the R-160 rockets which was fired towards Haifa during the summer’s war, members of the Hamas naval commando unit also put in an appearance.
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When Science & the Bible Collide: Does Hollywood Have It All Wrong?
When it comes to the newest Hollywood blockbuster ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings,’ which was released this past weekend, it is safe to quote the popular saying that “the books is always better than the movie.”
I must admit that while I don’t profess to be a film critic by any stretch, the Hollywood conflict between science and the bible has always been of interest to me and led me to my own research of the legendary Ark of the Covenant which culminated in my book “The A.R.K. Report.”
Whatever you may think of ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’, the blockbuster starring Christian Bale cost approximately $140 million to create, quite a bit more than DeMill’s 1956 ‘Ten Commandments’version. It took more than 1,500 visual effects shots to digitally bolster the ranks of the Hebrews and to help authentically render plagues of hail, locusts and frogs, although some 400 actual amphibians were actually brought to set at one point.
In the case of ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’, director Ridley Scott, who by the way is a self-proclaimed agnostic, offers us amazing visuals while at the same time making darn sure that the audience is aware that all the plagues are not so miraculous after all, but happened due to what most would call ‘natural causes.’
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Jerusalem Dateline: Jerusalem's Mayor Stands Up & Strikes Back (VIDEO)
“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” (Psalm 119:160)
The international community consistently condemns Israel for building in Jerusalem, calling all construction plans counterproductive to peace. Now, Jerusalem’s mayor is standing up and striking back at critics.
Plus, next spring, Israelis head to the polls to vote in a new government. Will Netanyahu hold on to power or will Israeli see a new government and a new era ushered in? How will the elections affect the Jewish state and the larger Middle Eastern region?
READ MORE VIEW VIDEO CLICK HERE

World's Largest Menorah Set to Light Up the Night
“..And behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it...” (Zachariah 4:2-6)
The World’s Largest Hanukkah menorah, as verified by the Guinness World Records, will be proudly standing once again on New York City’s Fifth Avenue and 59th Street just below Central Park in what is known as the Big Apple’s most fashionable plaza.
The menorah will be set up between the Plaza and the Pierre Hotels and is sponsored by the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish movement.
The holiday of Hanukkah begins on the night of Tuesday, December 16th and continues right up until December 24th at sundown. The first candle will be lit on Tuesday evening, with one candle being added every day until the full menorah will be lit up on the eighth day. All weekday lighting’s are scheduled for 5:30 pm, a time of heavy commuter traffic in the area, as most people leave their offices around that time.
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Kerry, Netanyahu to Meet in Rome
US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome on Monday to discuss proposals for a Palestinian state circulating at the United Nations. Israel says it hopes the US would veto any such moves.
WATCH CLICK HERE

Admin Sun 14 Dec 2014, 9:13 pm

Kerry Attempting to "Defuse" Tensions Between Israel, Palestinians
By Lea Speyer December 14, 2014 , 10:00 am
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)
US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Europe early Sunday in his latest round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at heading off a Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN, AFP reported.
Kerry is expected to first stop in Rome where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
European diplomats have been making little progress in their recent attempt to revive failed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Looking to draft a UN resolution which would force both parties to concede to peace, Europeans are waiting on the US for a response to its last proposal.
Kerry told reporters on Friday that he hopes to stop a showdown between Israel and the Palestinians at the UN.
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Terrorist Hurls Acid at Israeli Family in Pre-Sabbath Attack
By Lea Speyer December 14, 2014 , 11:00 am
“Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” (Psalm 32:10)
Medics evacuate a Palestinian man after getting shot when trying to attack Israeli civilians with a chemical substance near the Judean city of Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion on December 12, 2014. A Palestinian man threw acid at an Israeli family in Gush Etzion on Friday. (Photo: Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
Seven people, including young children, were injured in a terror attack before the start of the Sabbath on Friday afternoon.
The attack occurred southwest of Jerusalem near a checkpoint between the Gush Etzion city of Beitar Illit and the Palestinian village of Hussan.
The family, who lived in Beitar Illit, were travelling in their car when a Palestinian terrorist hurled acid into their car. Identified by Palestinian Ma’an News Agency as Jamal Abd al-Majid Ghayatha, 45, the terrorist was shot and seriously wounded after trying to flee the scene.
Affiliated with the Hamas terror organization, Ghayatha spent time in an Israeli prison for previous offenses, Israel Radio reported.
The IDF confirmed in a statement on Friday that Ghayatha was “known to have been previously involved in illegal and hostile riots and activities.”
The father of the family was hit in the face with the acid, burning his eyes. The mother, three daughters aged 8 to 10, and her niece were also splashed with acid, but less severely.
Paramedics from United Hatzalah’s Beitar Chapter responded within minutes to the scene of the attack. All were evacuated to nearby hospitals in Jerusalem after being stabilized.
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Landmark Arab Bank Terrorism Trial Gets Day in Court
By Ahuva Balofsky December 14, 2014 , 9:00 am
“To do justly is joy to the righteous, but ruin to the workers of iniquity.” (Proverbs 21:15)
A date has been set for a bellwether trial to determine damages owed by the Arab Bank to 17 of 310 American plaintiffs for the bank’s role in financing 24 Hamas terror attacks. The May 18 trial will set the precedent against which the remaining cases will be heard.
In 2004, a federal lawsuit was filed in the US by survivors and victims’ families against the Jordan-based financial institution, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. This law allows US citizens to file claims against foreign entities designated as terrorist by the US.
According to the lawsuit, Arab Bank knowingly transferred over $70 million US dollars to a Saudi terror group, charities known to be a front for Hamas, and 11 other globally-designated terror groups.
In addition, reported The Times of Israel, a clerical error enabled the bank to transfer $60,000 to then-Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin undetected by screening software mandated for use by any financial institution with branches operating in the US. Yassin was later assassinated by Israel.
In September, a Brooklyn court found the bank liable on 24 counts of supporting terrorism, following two days of jury deliberation. The bank intends to appeal the decision, but is unlikely to be able to do so before the damages trial proceeds, which could result in billions of dollars of exposure for the bank.
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Raping and Beheading the Faithful
By: Raymond Ibrahim
Muslims beheading Christians was a visibly growing spectacle throughout the month of August. Islamic State militants cut off a Christian man’s head—after compelling him to say the shehada, the Islamic profession of faith, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.”
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Biden Spins Fantasies, Middle East Heats Up
By: P. David Hornik
Speaking to the Saban Forum in Washington on Saturday, Vice-President Joe Biden said that the talks with Iran, which began about a year ago and recently were extended for another seven months, had “brought significant benefits” and slowed down Iran’s nuclear program.
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Are Palestinian Terrorists Immune from Extradition?
By: Stephen M. Flatow
It is one of the great mysteries of American foreign policy that while terrorists from around the world are routinely extradited to the U.S. to be prosecuted for attacks on Americans, there is one class of killers that seems to be immune from extradition: Palestinians.
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Don't Let Palestinian Extremism Hijack Debate about Policing in America
By: Ben Cohen
A winter of discontent is brewing in America. Over the last fortnight, large parts of the country have seethed with anger, first at the decision of a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown...and second, at the decision of a grand jury in New York not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, the Staten Island police officer who placed Eric Garner...in the chokehold that contributed to his death minutes later.
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Britain Unveils World's "Toughest" Counter-Terrorism Law
By: Soeren Kern
The British government has unveiled sweeping new counter-terrorism measures which—if approved by Parliament—would give the United Kingdom some of the “toughest powers in the world” to fight Islamic terrorism.
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ISIS in Gaza: When One Radical Group Believes Another is not Radical Enough
By: Khaled Abu Toameh
Now almost everyone is talking about the Islamic State threats in Gaza against poets, writers and women. The leaflets mention the poets and writers by name — a move that has created panic. The leaflets also include an ultimatum to Palestinian women to abide by Islamic attire or face the Islamic State style of punishment — presumably being stoned to death.
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Admin Sat 13 Dec 2014, 12:21 am

State Department: US Policy on Settlements Will Outlast Obama
“So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, that they might walk in their own counsels.” (Psalm 81:13)
Housing Construction in Jerusalem (Photo: Flash90)
US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday in Washington the US would continue to oppose Israeli settlement activity long after President Barack Obama leaves office in 2017, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Our opposition – this administration’s opposition to settlements – is fully consistent with the policies of administrations for decades, including of both parties. So the notion that that would change is not borne out by history,” Psaki said.
Psaki made her statement in response to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s comments on Tuesday, when he spoke at Mekor Chaim Yeshiva high school in Gush Etzion. Ya’alon was asked about a building freeze in Israeli settlements outside the 1967 borders, to which he responded the Obama administration hindered construction.
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New Study Proves House Demolitions Deter Terror
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
A study initiated in 2008, whose final conclusions will be published next month in the Journal of Politics, offers definitive evidence that Israel’s policy of terrorist home demolitions in fact helps deter future terror attacks. This is in sharp contrast to widely publicized beliefs which claim no less than an Israeli military study concluded the opposite before putting the country’s home demolition policy on hold in 2005.
The study was conducted by Efraim Benmelech, a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and Hebrew University economists Claude Berrebi and Esteban Klor, and reported on by Yishai Schwartz of The New Republic magazine.
The trio collected data on home demolitions and terror attacks from the period of the Second Intifada (2000-2005). Receiving “zero help from any government agency”, according to Benmelech, they had to rely on reports from Palestinian sources, human rights group B’tzelem, and publicly available Israeli security information.
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In Israel, Ex-Pats Perplexed by Political Musical Chairs
“...‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose... You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” (Deuteronomy 17:14-15)
There are two kinds of olim (immigrants) these days in Israel: those who are living through their first sudden call for early elections, and those old-timers who have seen it all before.
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jettisoned two members of his coalition’s cabinet, the Knesset scrambled to dissolve itself on Dec. 8 and set elections for March 17, 2015. While they struggle to understand the rules of the game, the newer immigrants’ faces look hopelessly befuddled.
Students in the ulpan (Hebrew immersion class) in Maale Adumim who hail from countries around the globe were uniformly perplexed. “I try to understand it, but it’s very confusing. … This system seems to generate so much insecurity,” says recent immigrant Betty Anschlawsky, who is from Peru.
“I really don’t understand what is going on with the government,” says Colombian ex-pat Rajel Torres DeLeon.
Sharon Borchardt, who made aliyah from North Carolina this year, says, “I’m so caught up with getting settled that I only keep up with the news on a need-to-know basis. I guess I have no choice but to trust the people who are getting the job done.”
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After Stabbing Terror, Determined Shoppers Returns to Israel's Rami Levy Supermarket
“Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.” (Job 17:9)
Everyone knew that Dec. 4 wasn’t the usual Thursday night at the Rami Levy supermarket. The customers knew and the workers knew. There were still people pushing their carts through the parking lot with groceries in the distinctive pink Rami Levy bags, but everyone could see the place was uncommonly low on shoppers stocking up for Shabbat.
In fact, there was room aplenty to maneuver a shopping cart through the grapefruit and pepper aisles of the supermarket in the Mishor Adumim Industrial Park, the branch where an Arab teenager from Jerusalem had stabbed two men the day before. The lines for the butcher counter and the checkout line were short.
In the wine aisle, Edda Weisberg of Ma’aleh Adumim was shopping with her daughter, who is “a little nervous,” Weisberg said, “but I told her we have to keep going.”
This push to “keep going” echoed among all the shoppers who spoke to JNS.org on the night of Dec. 4 at the supermarket close to the bustling metropolis of Ma’aleh Adumim, which is home to about 45,000 Israelis. There’s a modern mall and a new music conservatory, and the town is accessible by just a 25-minute bus ride from downtown Jerusalem.
“We’re not afraid at all,” said Chen Gavra-Refaeli of the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem, who was selecting lemons in the produce section. “We believe that our enemies want us to stay away, that they want to shut us down, and we can’t let them,” she said.
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Admin Wed 10 Dec 2014, 6:22 pm

Poll: Israelis Value US Support but Do Not Trust Obama
A recent poll reveals that while 96% of Israelis view relations with the US vital, 61% say Obama’s attitude towards the Jewish state is either negative or neutral.
A public opinion poll conducted by Bar-Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) shows that while Israel considers its partnership with the US central, Israelis are much more disapproving of President Obama’s policies than they were two years ago. The poll results were released in advance of a seminar that took place Monday on campus, titled “America’s Standing in the World: Image and Reality.”
Israelis See US as Important, Loyal Ally
According to the survey, a whopping 96% of Israelis consider political ties with the US “important” or “very important.” At the same time, 73% believe the US to be a loyal ally of the Jewish State, and 74% believe that the US would protect Israel against existential threats.
While 95% of citizens attribute their overall security to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel’s ties with the US ranked next in importance, with 91% citing relations with Washington as a determining factor.
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Watch: Israeli Student Stabbed in New York Chabad House
An Israeli student was wounded by a stranger who entered the famous Chabad complex in Brooklyn, New York. Terror and anti-Semitism were probably not the motive.
An intruder stabbed a religious Israeli student at Chabad World Headquarters on 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, a Brooklyn neighborhood in New York. The incident occurred at about 2 in the morning, local time.
The victim was studying with a group when the assailant entered the Chabad house and stabbed 22-year old Levi Rosenblatt of Beitar Illit, Israel. Rosenblatt sustained injuries to his neck and abdomen, which medical responders initially listed as “critical” but then downgraded to “light injuries” after providing medical care.
Police arrived at the scene, cornering the assailant at gunpoint (one of the students caught the standoff on video). Despite pleas from Jewish students urging the attacker to surrender and direct orders from police to drop his weapon, the attacker refused to put down his knife.
At one point in the standoff, police convinced the assailant to drop his weapon, but as they approached him to make the arrest, he grabbed the knife again and attempted to stab another person. Police opened fire, shooting the attacker, who later died of his wounds at a local hospital.
READ MORE WATCH the full incident: (Caution: strong language)

Could this Woman be a Game Changer in the Next Election?
Anett Haskia is an Arab Muslim Zionist. By serving as a role model for young Arab Israelis, she hopes to influence change and help bring about a lasting peace.
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Apartheid? Israeli Arab Judge Head of Israel’s Central Elections Committee
Israel's democratic process and inclusion shows the truth about its reality - there is NO Apartheid!
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Egypt Destroys 60 Tunnels, 800 Homes – Where is the Outrage?
Egypt continues to destroy Hamas terror infrastructure along with homes, but with no world condemnation. Yet when Israel fights a war of defense, it causes an international uproar.
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Declassified Report Reveals CIA Used Israeli Ruling as Justification for Torture
“Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” (Numbers 35:33)
A Democrat-sponsored Senate report released on Tuesday on CIA interrogation methods of terrorists reveals that the US intelligence officials used the rulings of Israel’s Supreme Court to construct an argument justifying harsher practices, as first reported by Ha’aretz.
According to the declassified version of the more than 6,000-page report, CIA officers were concerned over the legal use of harsher interrogation methods when questioning al-Qaeda suspect’s post 9/11.
In a draft memorandum written by the CIA’s Office of the General Counsel, intelligence officials cited the “Israeli example” as justification that “torture was necessary to prevent imminent, significant, physical harm to persons, where there is no other available means to prevent the harm.”
The “Israeli example,” which refers to the “ticking time bomb” scenario, raises the conclusions reached by the Landau Commission in 1987 and ensuing Supreme Court rulings allowing the use of “moderate physical pressure,” against terror suspects when there is a pressing need to obtain information quickly that can prevent an attack.
Referring to the “ticking time bomb” scenario, a CIA attorney wrote that “enhanced techniques could not be preapproved for such situations, but if worse came to worse, an officer who engaged in such activities could assert a common-law necessity defense if he were ever prosecuted.”
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Ya'alon: Obama's Pressure on Israel "Won't Last Forever"
“If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!” (Proverbs 24:10)
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon revealed on Tuesday that the US has pressure Israel into freezing all construction of new homes in Judea and Samaria.
In a closed door meeting with students at the Mekor Chaim Yeshiva in Gush Etzion, the school attended by two of the three teens murdered by Hamas in June, one student asked, “Why did you hold a freeze in the settlements?”
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Poll Shows Overwhelming Palestinian Support for Recent Terror Attacks
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)
The poll, which was conducted by Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, found that more than half of Palestinians support a new intifada against Israel.
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Sheikh Calls for "Slaughter of Jews" on Temple Mount (VIDEO)
“The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” (Psalm 34:15-16)
A sheikh called for the “slaughter of Jews” in a spontaneous sermon captured on video on the Temple Mount.
In a video released by the Middle East Media Research Institute, Omar Abu Sara was filmed saying that Jews were “the most evil creatures to have walked this earth.”
READ MORE WATCH VIDEO

Admin Tue 09 Dec 2014, 11:51 pm

Putin Aide Accuses Israel of Training ISIS Fighters
By Ahuva Balofsky December 9, 2014 , 8:00 am
“Why are the nations in an uproar? And why do the peoples mutter in vain?” (Psalm 2:1)
A top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Israel’s Mossad spy agency of training Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, reports Iran’s Press TV.
Alexander Prokhanov was interviewed by the state-sponsored channel. He also claimed US policies in the Middle East spawned the terror group.
“ISIS is a tool at the hands of the United States. They tell the Europeans that if we (the Americans) do not intervene, ISIS will cause you harm,” he told Press TV.
“They launched their first terror attack against us just a few days back in Chechnya,” he added.
Russia is a long-time supporter of both Iran and Syria. Back in September, reported Israel National News, ISIS issued a video threat to Russia.
“Vladimir Putin, these are the Russian planes that you sent to Bashar. Allah willing, we will take them back to your own turf, and liberate Chechnya and the Caucasus, Allah willing… Your throne is being threatened by us,” one terrorist said in the video, which shows the mass execution of 250 Syrian fighters in the Taqba airbase, the last government stronghold in northern Syria to fall to ISIS.
The Jerusalem Post noted that Russia is facing the greatest unrest in Chechnya in over a decade since Putin sent troops to quell an Islamist uprising in the region. Thursday, gunmen attacked a police post and stormed a building in Grozny, the Chechen capital. Ten policemen and ten militants were killed in the fighting
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10th Graders Raise Millions for Har Nof Victims' Families
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday...” (Isaiah 58:10-11)
By Raphael Poch December 9, 2014 , 9:30 am
Gabriel Greenbaum and his classmates at Rambam Mesivta High School in Lawrence, New York raised $2.4 million for the victims and families of the Jerusalem terror attack that killed five people and left 9 others injured.
The campaign spearheaded by Greenbaum and his compatriots, via a series of crowd-funding websites was so successful that Greenbaum will be creating a new campaign for Druze police office Zidan Saif who was fatally wounded in the same attack.
Both campaigns are ongoing.
Greenbaum told reporters that the amount of money raised “ kept going up and up, I was just in shock. We had, like, an impact.”
The day that the attack occurred, administrators of the high school called an assembly and explained what had happened to the students. Following the assembly, Greenbaum’s 10th-grade class held a brainstorming session as to how they could respond to the attack, and what they could do in the face of terror. They quickly arrived at the idea of a crowd-funding website.
“I told the kids, ‘You’ve got to do something, you can’t just sit,’” said Rabbi Aryeh Young, a teacher at the Long Island school. “And they all immediately gravitated toward the idea.”
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Admin Mon 08 Dec 2014, 9:54 am

BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
LATEST NEWS BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Christian Guide to Judaism and the Jewish People
By: David Nekrutman
Lex orandi, lex credendi – what we pray is what we believe. I have often been asked if there is one book that will help Christians understand Judaism and the Jewish people. I believe the best work to date has always been the Jewish prayer book known as the Siddur.
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Understanding Islamic Terrorism as Religious Sacrifice
By: Louis René Beres
Somewhat like war, Islamic terrorism is founded upon assorted fantasies of redemption through sacrifice. Today, the universal Jihadist rallying cry, “We love death,” animates much of what is presented publicly as “liberation” or “self-determination,” and is common to a broad variety of terrorist groups.
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The Connection Between Thanksgiving and Chanukah
By: Jonathan Feldstein
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Thanksgiving and Chanukah are in the same season. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. Growing up and living in the U.S., it’s part of the prism through which I still look at the world, even while living in the Judean mountains, raising my children here, and living God’s promise to Abraham, as an orthodox Jew in the Land of Israel.
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Denounce Terrorism or Pay the Consequences!
By: Earl Cox
Very few who live outside of Israel possess a clear understanding of Israel’s situation as it relates to Arab-Israelis and the Palestinians, yet we form opinions and attitudes and pass judgments based on news clips and reporters’ comments that are almost always overly sympathetic to the Arab-Israelis of East Jerusalem and their Palestinian kinsmen. Israel’s true situation is rarely articulated.
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Why a Palestinian State Will Become a Source of Instability
By: Khaled Abu Toameh
The Palestinians know very well that if and when they have a state of their own, they will never be able to rely on their Arab brethren. The Arab countries have a long record of turning their backs on the Palestinians, not only with regard to financial aid promises, but even when it comes to basic needs such as medical treatment.
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A Western Tourist Hastn't a Chance in a Persian Bazaar
By: Dr. Mordechai Kedar
There are two kinds of markets in the world today: the Western store and the Eastern bazaar.
the tourist didn’t know the rules of the bazaar and the traders realized that from a mile away. They don’t mind cheating him because he is a Christian, an American, a stranger who pays what he is asked and doesn’t understand the rules.
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Admin Mon 08 Dec 2014, 9:33 am

BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS
[url=http://read more at http//www.breakingisraelnews.com/25401/godfather-israeli-army-reburied-israel-68-years/#IMcL5uOH21xg5ePc.99]Christian Zionist "Godfather" of the IDF Reburied in Israel After 68 Years[/url]

“And David went out; whithersoever Saul sent him, he had good success; and Saul set him over the men of war; and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” (1 Samuel 18:5)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and his wife Sara attend a state funeral of John Henry Patterson in Netanya on December 4, 2014. (Photo: Haim Zach/ Flash90)
In what Haaretz newspaper called a “modest but impressive ceremony” Thursday, John Henry Patterson, commander of the Jewish Brigade in the British army in World War I, was reburied in Israel. The man whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “the godfather of the Israeli army” had expressed a wish to be buried with his soldiers.
Patterson, born in 1867 in Ireland to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother, rose to fame in England after killing two man-eating lions during the construction of a bridge under his supervision in what is today Kenya. His exploits there inspired three movies. He later went on to command the Zion Mule Corps and the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (also known as the Jewish Brigade) in World War I. There, he became enamoured with the idea of a Jewish State.
Zionist hero Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who co-founded the Jewish Brigade and fought alongside Patterson, said of him, “In all of Jewish history we have never had a Christian friend as understanding and devoted.”
Netanyahu shared his personal connection with Patterson, telling attendees that the man had been a personal friend of his father’s, Professor Benzion Netanyahu, and was godfather of his older brother, Yonatan, who was also named after the British soldier. Yoni Netanyahu fell in a rescue operation of Jewish hostages in Entebbe in 1976.
“[Patterson] had absolute confidence that the Jews would make remarkable soldiers – not adequate soldiers, but remarkable soldiers. And I think he had a lot to do with that. He began the reconstitution of the ability of the Jews to defend ourselves,” Netanyahu said. He also pointed out Patterson’s legacy as the first commander of a Jewish fighting force in 2,000 years, linking him to such heroes as King David and Bar Kochba.
Patterson’s remains were originally buried in California, where he lived out the final years of his life with his wife. He passed away in 1947, one year shy of seeing his dream of a Jewish state realized.
Patterson’s grandson, Alan, initiated the transfer of his grandfather’s remains after reading about him in the archives of the Jabotinsky Institute in Tel Aviv. The younger Patterson was surprised to discover the importance of his grandfather’s role in Israel’s history. In 2009, he came up with the idea of reburying his grandfather in Israel, in accordance with the wishes he had expressed.
Alan reached out to Yossi Ahimeir, head of the Jabotinsky Institute, who agreed to take the request to the Israeli government. Once the government was on board, a special delegation was sent to California to complete the legal process required. Patterson’s remains were re-interred Thursday at Moshav Avichayil near Netanya, a moshav (cooperative settlement) established by fighters from the Jewish Brigade in 1932.
“In bringing his ashes to Israel and laying them to rest here, beside the soldiers of the Jewish brigades that he established, we come full circle historically, and we repay a very great debt to one of the heroes of our people, one of the greatest supporters that Zionism, the Jewish people and the State of Israel ever had,” Netanyahu said at the ceremony. “We salute you, John Henry Patterson.”
With input from BBC News, The Independent, Haaretz and Israel HaYom

Hillary Clinton Encourages Closer Ties Between Israel, US
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
Speaking at the 2014 Saban Forum in Washington Friday, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised US-Israel relations, saying the already good ties between the two countries should be strengthened.
“The relationship between the United States and Israel is solid, and will remain solid, and will be part of our foreign policy and our domestic concerns, our values, ideals, forever,” Clinton said in response to a question on the seemingly rocky relationship between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Calling the past six years “quite extraordinary”, she cited the US track record in support of her position. “The funding on Iron dome, the funding of other military needs and equipment, the continuing strategic consultation that we’ve been consistently engaged in, no one can argue with the commitment of this administration to Israel’s security.”
Clinton excused recent tensions between the two governments, saying, “We are two raucous democracies, and sometimes we get carried away.”
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UNITED WITH ISRAEL
Obama Threatens to Punish Israel for Building in Jerusalem, While Easing Sanctions on Iran
Will Obama sanction Israel for building in its capital, Jerusalem? Congress demands answers...
A report revealed by Ha’aretz newspaper indicates that the Obama administration is going to impose sanctions on Israel because of its building plans in Jerusalem, and Congress is demanding clarification on the issue.
Republican Congressmen came together and dispatched a harsh letter to President Barack Obama, demanding that he provide explanations regarding the report.
“We urge you and your Administration to clarify these reports immediately,” 47 republican Congressmen demanded of the Obama administration. “Israel is one of our strongest allies, and the mere notion that the Administration would unilaterally impose sanctions against Israel is not only unwise, but is extremely worrisome. Such reports send a clear message to our friends and enemies alike that such alliances with the United States government can no longer be unquestionably trusted.”
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Looming Peril: ISIS on Israel’s Borders
ISIS has explicit aspirations for global domination, but it has specifically set its sights on Israel and Jerusalem.
The Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terror group is part of the larger picture of the establishment of global jihad organizations, and as such poses a threat to the entire West.
ISIS, which operates out of Iraq and Syria, shares a border with Israel, and has fixed its sights specifically on Israel, vowing to fly its flag in Jerusalem.”The flag of the Caliphate will rise over Baytul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and Rome, even if the Jews and Crusaders despise such,” ISIS clearly stated in its magazine Dabiq.
A report compiled by the Intelligence and Terror Information Center (ITIC), an Israeli-based research group with close ties to the Israel Defense Forces, identified the following ways in which ISIS threatens Israel, Israelis and Jews abroad:
Active Terrorist Fronts on Israel’s Borders
The Syrian Golan Heights are controlled by rebel organizations, the most prominent of which is the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. While ISIS does not currently have a significant presence there, ITIC points out that the dynamics can easily change the Golan Heights from a relatively quiet area to a battle zone.
The border with Syria has been the most peaceful border for years. However, a senior IDF officer serving in the Golan Heights told correspondents 95% of the border between Israel and Syria is controlled by various Muslim rebel groups, and the situation could deteriorate quickly.
In the Sinai Peninsula, the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis terror organization, which has recently pledged allegiance to ISIS, can launch terrorist attacks against Israel and may have already done so.
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Admin Fri 05 Dec 2014, 11:38 pm

UNRWA Spokesperson, Chris Gunness, Calls for Boycott of Major Israeli Paper
By Ahuva Balofsky December 5, 2014 , 12:51 pm
“Thou shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice; neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.” (Exodus 23:1-3)
Chris Gunness
(Photo: YouTube)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) official spokesperson in Gaza, Chris Gunness, reached a new low, urging a boycott of Israel’s largest English-language newspaper, The Jerusalem Post on Twitter. NGO UN Watch is now calling for an investigation.
Gunness made waves this past summer for siding with Hamas during Operation Protective Edge. UNRWA, as well, stands accused of supporting the organization, designated terrorists by most Western countries, returning rockets found in its schools to Hamas, and hiring teachers affiliated with the terror group.
Gunness’s comments were spawned by an op-ed published in The Jerusalem Post, in which Palestinian Human Rights activist Bassam Eid, who himself grew up in an UNRWA-administered refugee camp, called for a reform of the agency’s mandate. According to Eid, UNRWA does not want to help Palestinians improve their lot in life. “The more Palestinians suffer, the more power goes to UNRWA, which allows it to raise unchecked humanitarian funds and purchase munitions,” he wrote.
To offer real relief to the refugees it purports to help, he continued, “proud Palestinians” must “influence donor nations to reform UNRWA and predicate future aid to UNRWA on reasonable conditions,” including transparency and curriculum reform.
Apparently, what drew Gunness’s ire was that Eid did not contact him for a quote. He posted the following on his official UNRWA twitter account:
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Worst Oil Spill in Israeli History Floods Eilat Nature Reserve
By Raphael Poch December 5, 2014 , 9:39 am
“Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.” (Proverbs 21:20)
Worst oil spill in Israeli history (Photo: Twitter)
In what is being called the worst oil spill in Israeli History, millions of liters of crude oil were leaked into the Evrona nature reserve near the Israeli-Jordanian border just north of Eilat.
The spill has caused large amounts of potentially poisonous gas to be released near Eilat and Aqaba, which have raised health concerns and forced residents to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed.
David, an eye-witness to the scene in Eilat yesterday, told Breaking Israel News that the situation is unbearable. “Everyone is staying inside. No one is even opening their doors. You just can’t leave your house.”
He added that he believes the situation in Jordan to be worse. “I heard that people are crowding the hospitals due to health issues caused by the gas on the Jordanian side”.
The pipeline, Eilat – Ashkelon crude oil line, ruptured near the Evrona reserve. The line was pouring out oil for well over two hours before authorities were able to get it under control. Israeli environmental officials predict that the cleanup effort could take years.
Environment Ministry representative Guy Samet told Globes Magazine that; “the full scope of the incident is still not clear to us, but it is certainly a matter of millions of liters of crude oil, which is dangerous both to animals and to the nature reserve itself.”
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Admin Thu 04 Dec 2014, 9:35 pm

Lebanon Detains ISIS Head's Family
“And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.” (Numbers 31:9)
ISIS militants in Syria. (Photo: YouTube Screenshot)
On Tuesday, Lebanese media reported the capture and detention of a woman and child believed to be the wife and young son of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“Military intelligence detained one of his wives, who was traveling with their son, near (Lebanese border town) Arsal 10 days ago,” a security source told AFP.
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Israel Headed to the Polls in the Spring
“Get you, from each one of your tribes, wise men, and understanding, and full of knowledge, and I will make them heads over you.” (Deuteronomy 1:13)
After a turbulent period in Israeli politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday night that the country would be heading to the polls in the spring. This makes the current Knesset, the country’s 19th, the second shortest in its history.
The announcement came after Netanyahu opted to fire two key ministers who in recent weeks have stood against him on a number of key issues. “In recent weeks, including the last 24 hours, Ministers [Yair] Lapid [Finance, Yesh Atid party] and [Tzipi] Livni [Justice, Hatnua party] harshly attacked the government under my leadership. I won’t tolerate any more opposition within the government; I won’t tolerate ministers attacking from within the government the government’s policies and its leader,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
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“It is a miracle that there were no more injuries” – Palestinian Stabbing Attack in a Crowded Jerusalem Area Supermarket
By Tuly Weisz December 4, 2014 , 3:25 pm
“A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men” (Psalm 140:1)Israeli security and police forces seen at the Rami Levy supermarket in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, east of Jerusalem near the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim.(Photo: Nati Shohat/FLASH90)Israeli security and police forces seen at the Rami Levy supermarket in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, east of Jerusalem near the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim. (Photo: Nati Shohat/FLASH90)Yesterday at 4:15 pm, a Palestinian teenager stabbed two people in the crowded Rami Levy supermarket of Mishor Adumim, east of Jerusalem.Both of the victims are men in their 50s and are in moderate condition, with one of them sustaining wounds to the head and shoulder and the other with upper body wounds.The terrorist was shot and apprehended by an off duty security guard working for the Prime Minister’s Office.
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YouTube Disables MEMRI TV Channel
By Ahuva Balofsky December 4, 2014 , 8:55 am
“The wicked walk on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.” (Psalm 12:9)
Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors, translates, and studies Arab, Iranian and Turkish media, schoolbooks, and religious sermons, had its YouTube channel unceremoniously removed Tuesday, Isreallycool blog reported. Claiming “repeated or severe violations of our Community Guidelines and/or claims of copyright infringement,” YouTube disabled access to MEMRI’s extensive collection of translated videos via its site. Videos can still be viewed on MEMRI’s own site.
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France Votes to Recognize Palestine in Symbolic Vote
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:6)
French parliamentarians voiced their opinion in a symbolic vote for their government to recognize Palestine. The vote took place on Tuesday but the move will not take effect immediately nor will it affect France’s diplomatic stance. The vote does however, demonstrate a growing European impatience with the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
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Book Review: A Hopeful Version of Israel's Future
“I shall submit you as a light unto the nations, to be My salvation until the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6
For those who care about the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish People, To Unify A Nation: My Vision for the Future of Israel is a great and quick read. I read the entire book this past Shabbat in which Knesset Member Rabbi Dov Lipman outlines an inspiring vision for the Land and People of Israel in just under one hundred pages.
After reading To Unify a Nation I was left dreaming about the promising potential that lies in Israel and recalling fondly why I made Aliyah in the first place.
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Admin Tue 02 Dec 2014, 9:17 pm

Egypt Thwarted Terror Attack on Israeli Maritime Targets
By Ahuva Balofsky December 2, 2014 , 9:15 am
“And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
Palestinian Hamas security guards on duty at the border between Egypt and Gaza Strip, in Rafah town southern Gaza Strip. (Wissam Nassar/Flash90)
Israeli television has reported on an attempted terror attack last month which was thwarted by Egyptian efforts, The Times of Israel posted. The terrorists commandeered an Egyptian vessel on November 12, but were stopped at sea by other Egyptian vessels, according to the Channel 2 broadcast. Eight men were killed in the incident.
At the time, the Egyptian military acknowledged one of its naval ships came under attack on the Mediterranean, leaving five men injured and eight more missing at sea. Four of the attackers’ boats were destroyed and 32 suspects arrested.
Now, Channel 2 has provided additional details of the assault, though it did not mention its source of information, according to The Times of Israel. The television station claimed that Sunni extremists affiliated with the Islamic State terror group “staged an accident” to get one of their operatives onto the Egyptian missile boat, where he managed to gain control. The plan had been to target Israeli ships and/or gas installations on the Mediterranean.
Egypt noticed something suspicious during routine radio communications with the ship, and sent out other vessels to intercept. These forces were able to secure the ship and “neutralize” the terrorists.
According to Egypt’s official MENA news agency at the time, the commandeered vessel was set alight in the exchange of fire with the assailants and the air force was called in to assist. The entire incident took place 70 kilometers off the Egyptian coast.
The Jerusalem Post reported on its website that Egyptian military sources said “The Egyptian security forces are looking into the possibility that a foreign country gave logistical assistance to the Islamic State militants.”
The paper also quoted Abu Al-Insaari, a journalist acquainted with Islamic State, who said the hijackers were looking to achieve two goals: “to attack a ship transporting 200 Egyptian soldiers to northern Sinai, and to attack an Israeli ship in order to kidnap its crew for use as leverage in negotiations with Israel for the release of Palestinian prisoners.”

CNN Fudges Reports Regarding Judea and Samaria
By Raphael Poch December 2, 2014 , 10:30 am
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”
(Proverbs 6:16-19)
The female terrorist who stabbed and lightly injured an Israeli man at the West Bank Gush Etzion junction, south of Jerusalem, earlier this morning, seen being taken care of by Israeli medical personel after being shot by israeli security forces following the stabbing attack. (Photo: Gershon Elison/ Flash90)
The female terrorist who stabbed and lightly injured an Israeli man at the West Bank Gush Etzion junction, south of Jerusalem, earlier this morning, seen being taken care of by Israeli medical personel after being shot by israeli security forces following the stabbing attack. (Photo: Gershon Elison/ Flash90)
Following a violent day in Judea and Samaria which saw a stabbing attack, a rock throwing attack, a series of firebomb attacks, and an attempted knife attack, tensions have risen once again. In addition, anti-Israel media bias continues to be widespread regarding these events.
Over the course of 24 hours between Sunday and Monday night, numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated across Judaea and Samaria. A Palestinian female terrorist stabbed an Israeli man with a knife in Gush Etzion on Monday morning. She was shot and wounded by IDF soldiers at the scene and taken to hospital in Jerusalem. The victim was lightly wounded and treated on site by paramedics.
On Highway 60, the main thoroughfare of Judaea and Samaria, between the towns of Ofra and Shiloh, Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli bus. No injuries were reported.
Earlier in the day, Border Police arrested an 18 year old Palestinian carrying a large knife near the Tapuach junction.
On Sunday evening, Palestinians threw two firebombs into the backyard of a house in the town of Beit-El.
These attacks come amid heightened tensions between Palestinians and Israelis following weeks of terror attacks and violence.

Admin Mon 01 Dec 2014, 7:04 pm

Attempted Stabbing in Gush Etzion
By Tazpit News Agency December 1, 2014 , 11:53 am
“The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” (Psalm 11:5)
Israeli security forces at the site where a young Israeli man was stabbed and lightly injured earlier today, December 01, 2014. The female attacker was shot and badly injured by security forces after assaulting the Israeli soldier at the West Bank Gush Etzion junction, south of Jerusalem. (Photo: Gershon Elinson/Flash 90)
Israeli security forces at the site where a young Israeli man was stabbed and lightly injured earlier today, December 01, 2014. The female attacker was shot and badly injured by security forces after assaulting the Israeli soldier at the West Bank Gush Etzion junction, south of Jerusalem. (Photo: Gershon Elinson/Flash 90)
A female terrorist, about 20 years old, attempted to stab a man in the Gush Etzion intersection this morning. She was shot on site by security forces. The vicitm is wounded lightly in his shoulder.
The terrorist had a second knife hidden on her body.
Eyal Zahavi, a MDA paramedic who was at the scene, told Tazpit News Agency “the victim was treated on site, with minor wounds. He didn’t need to be hospitalized. The terrorist had gunshot wounds all along her upper body, and MDA together with army paramedics treated her at the site. She was transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital for further treatment at the intensive care unit.”

Jewish Canadian-Israeli Kidnapped by ISIS?
“[A Psalm] of David. Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who traineth my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” (Psalm 144:1)
Canadian-born Israeli Gill Rosenberg made history last month for being the first foreign female to join the Kurdish army in fighting against the Islamic State. Now the young woman, who in Israel goes by her Hebrew name, Gila, may have been captured by IS.
Several Islamist websites, which the Jerusalem Post noted were considered “close” to the al-Qaeda offshoot, reported that she is in IS hands. According to Ynetnews, Rosenberg was taken while fighting with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Kobani, Syria. Kurdish sources, however, believe the reports are IS propaganda.
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Foreign Parliamentarians Condemn Attacks on Israel
By Ahuva Balofsky December 1, 2014 , 11:32 am
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse…” (Genesis 12:3)
Members of Parliament who are Chairmen of Israel Allies Caucuses in countries around the world standing with Jerusalem in Jerusalem. (Photo: Christian Allies Caucus)
At a time when support for Palestine at the expense of Israel abounds, government officials from 31 countries around the world put their names to a petition condemning terror attacks on Israel by Palestinians and their supporters, reported The Jerusalem Post.
The petition was organized by the Israel Allies Foundation, a group consisting of pro-Israel caucuses in governments around the world. These are made up primarily of pro-Israel Christians, and were established in response to the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, whose mandate is to develop stronger ties between Israel and her Christian supporters. The current effort was spearheaded by IAF US director E.J. Kimball.
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When a Hero Needs Saving
By Raphael Poch November 25, 2014 , 12:23 pm
“For I desire steadfast loving kindness.” (Hosea 6:6)
“M” together with some of his family members. (Photo: Karmey Chessed)
On October 27th, 2002 terrorists entered the gas station outside of the city of Ariel in Samaria, attempting to detonate a bomb on a bus full of commuters. The bus driver together with the owner of a nearby hotel successfully intervened and prevented the terrorist from detonating the bomb. A soldier who was on the bus at the time shot the terrorist, and accidentally hit the bomb which partially detonated, causing severe injuries to the driver.
This is the story of “M” who 12 years after the terror attack is still undergoing continuous medical treatments and surgeries for the injuries he acquired while saving the lives of a bus full of people
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Admin Sun 30 Nov 2014, 8:15 pm

The Plight of the Yazidi Sex Slaves
More Reports Coming Out About the Plight of Yazidi Sex Slaves
By Ahuva Balofsky November 30, 2014 , 9:30 am
“Judge the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3)
Yazidi children and families rest and shelter from the sun at Nawrouz refugee camp.
(Photo: UNICEF Syria/2014/Razan Rashidi)
Yazidi children and families rest and shelter from the sun at Nawrouz refugee camp. (Photo: UNICEF Syria/2014/Razan Rashidi)
More horrifying accounts of young Yazidi women being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by the Islamic State are being published weekly in Western media.
Israel Hayom described the dire situation Friday in an extensive report. According to Paulo Kosaka, a well-known Portuguese politician who traveled to the region, the problem of slavery is more widespread than the UN initially acknowledged. “At least several thousand women were enslaved overnight,” he says. “In many cases, these are very young girls, only 11 or 12 years old.”
Many of the women and girls were taken in August, when IS militants took control of the Sinjar region of Iraq where they lived. Some managed to escape their captors, only to discover they had no home to return to. Refugees from Sinjar are now living primarily in the area of Dohuk, a Kurdish city in northern Iraq.
The Yazidis are a religious minority. Culturally Kurdish, they practice a tradition which combines elements of Sufism and Zoroastrianism, making them apostates and idolaters in they eyes of the Islamic extremists of IS.
“Before Shaytan [Satan] reveals his doubts to the weak-minded and weak hearted, one should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar [infidels] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shari’ah that if one were to deny or mock, he would be denying or mocking the verses of the Qur’an and the narration of the Prophet … and thereby apostatizing from Islam,” IS stated in its Dabiq magazine, as reported by The Christian Post.
Now, families of the kidnapped women and girls are paying enormous ransoms to get them back. Nearly 150 girls have escaped or been bought back, according the Christian Science Monitor, some for as much as a year’s salary, or $5,000. Kurdish sources say their government has already paid $1.5 million to retrieve captured slaves, both men and women.
One teenaged girl, Sabreen, spoke to the Christian Science Monitor about her ordeal. “Lots of men used to come and look around and when they would see a girl they liked they would say ‘I want to buy that one,’” she says. “There was an emir who was taking money for the girls – $1,000 to $1,500.” She was ultimately rescued by an uncle, Hamid.
“Suddenly you get a phone call out of the blue saying ‘We have your daughter.’ They don’t tell you their names or anything like that,” Hamid told the Christian Science Monitor. “Or ‘We have your girl. We want this amount of money.’”
“If you can find someone you can trust, that man goes and says, ‘I want this girl to marry,’ and he pays it straight to IS,” he said. “You can’t say ‘I want to buy three girls back’ – they won’t give them to you like that.”
Initially, the family paid $10,000 to rescue one of their relatives. Now, the price has come down, but not enough. “People were willing to pay any amount of money,” says Hamid. “But now in my own family, we have about 30 girls missing. If you have to pay $5,000 for each one of them … you will not be able to buy all of them back

.Israel's Government Appoints New IDF Chief of Staff
“So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you...” (Deuteronomy 1:15)
On Saturday night, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon officially announced the recommendation of Maj. Gen Gadi Eizenkot as the next Chief of Staff of Israel’s Defense Forces, to replace the outgoing Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz in February. He beat out Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh for the position.
Eizenkot was informed of the decision, made jointly by Ya’alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday via text message. His appointment must still be approved by both the cabinet and the Turkel committee.
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Israel's Sixth Prime Minister and Christian Zionism
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:7)
Menachem Begin’s Bond with Christian Zionists
By Raphael Poch March 27, 2014 , 11:56 am
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:7)
Menachem Begin
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin delivers an address upon his arrival in the US for a state visit, January 1, 1978. (Photo: USAF)
Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was the first president to openly welcome Christian Zionist support of Israel. Commemorating the 100th year of his birth, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center together with the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) have put together an evening which focuses on this unique relationship that Begin began, and has continued until today.
Begin’s relationship with Christian Zionists was one of deep respect and longevity. Timothy King, one of the founding directors of ICEJ, ran the first Feast of Tabernacles event in Jerusalem in 1980. Begin attended and addressed the feast in 1981, which was his first public embrace of Christian Zionism. During the address he expressed thanks to Christian Zionists around the world for their support of Israel.
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Admin Sun 30 Nov 2014, 2:34 pm

Arabic Broadcasting Network Funded by US Tax Dollars? Incredibly, Yes!
By: Earl Cox
Most will be shocked to learn that little known Alhurra Netowrk costs American tax papers, including many American Israelis up to $100,000,000.00 (one hundred million dollars) a year, or more!
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Hamas: Rebuild Gaza or We'll Attack
By: Khaled Abu Toameh
Hamas is once again threatening to attack Israel, this time over the failure of the international community and the Palestinian Authority to fulfill their promises to rebuild the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge.
The only option Hamas faces, therefore, is to attack Israel again as a way of ridding itself of the severe crisis in the Gaza Strip and the growing frustration among the Palestinians living there. Hamas’s biggest fear is that this frustration will be translated into disillusionment with its regime. That is why Hamas is now seeking to direct the anger on the Palestinian street toward Israel.
Hamas is also hoping that another war will further increase anti-Israel sentiment around the world and earn the Palestinians even more sympathy.
Hamas’s threats should be taken seriously.
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Islam: Solution or Problem, That is the Question
By: Dr Mark Durie
A slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood is “Islam is the solution”. “It is time to face the truth that Islam itself is part of the problem.” Solution or problem: what is the truth about Islam?
The world has been shocked by ISIS, which has committed beheadings, crucifixions, stonings, enslaving and selling captives, and imposing the notorious ‘three choices’ upon Syrian and Iraqi Christians. More than this, it has showed itself proud to do such things. The fact that thousands of Muslims from around the world have been traveling to the Levant to join ISIS suggests that these people also consider the acts of ISIS to be in accordance with Islam.
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What is the Source of Thanksgiving? The Bible, of Course!
By: Rabbi Naphtali “Tuly” Weisz
As a Jew, I am thankful that when America was discovered, America discovered the Bible. When I used to live in the United States, my curious non-Jewish friends would ask me at this time of year whether I, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, celebrate Thanksgiving? The mere question reminds me that we still have much to learn about each other, because the answer is so obvious once you understand what Thanksgiving is all about.
Every American Kindergartner knows the story how the Pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and gave thanks for their survival and successes. What most people don’t know, however, was that the Pilgrims looked deeply towards the Bible for inspiration which established the Book of Books as the foundation for the New World.
Unlike any other group before them, the Pilgrims were fleeing from religious oppression in Europe
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Is Russia Banning Islam?
By: Raymond Ibrahim
Recent pro-Islamic reports are complaining that Russia is banning the Islamic hijab—the headdress Islamic law requires Muslim women to wear—and, perhaps even more decisively, key Islamic scriptures, on the charge that they incite terrorism.
This begs the following question: what of the Koran? Can it too be banned on the same grounds? After all, Islam’s number one holy book is also replete with calls to violence and terrorism against unbelievers. Koran 8:12 is one of numerous examples: Allah declares “I will cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, so strike [them] upon the necks,” that is, behead them, as the Islamic State has been doing—while citing the Koran.
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Admin Fri 28 Nov 2014, 10:14 pm

Terror Attack on Jerusalem Stadium Thwarted
Major Attack on Jerusalem Soccer Stadium Thwarted
By Ahuva Balofsky November 28, 2014 , 10:19 am
“Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)
Masked Palestinian members of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas, hold their weapons during a march in Gaza City. (Photo: Wissam Nassar/FLASH90)
In a joint operation, Israel’s Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) took down a Hamas terror cell planning a number of large-scale attacks, including one on Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium. Over 30 suspects were arrested and explosives, M-16s and ammunition were confiscated.
The terrorists had been taking their orders from Hamas’ Turkish headquarters, guided by Saleh al-Arouri, the man also responsible for the June kidnapping of three Israeli teens, according to Israel National News. Al-Arouri was also behind another major terrorist cell in Judea and Samaria, broken up in August.
The men were recruited, beginning in 2012, from a number of foreign states, such as Jor
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Archaeological Discovery Near Gaza
“...he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” (Psalm 144:1-2)
Second Temple Era Military Outpost Discovered, Possibly Destroyed By Alexander the Great
By Tzvi Zucker November 28, 2014 , 8:00 am
“Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” (Psalm 144:1-2)
(Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority Spokesperson)
Archaeological excavations in Netiv Haasarah have uncovered a Persian era military installation. Netiv Haasarah is a town in the “Gaza envelope” with a population of about 700. The dig, being headed by Dr. Yael Abadi Rice, found a fortified town and a military tower, from approximately 2,100 years ago. This time period was when the Second Temple was standing in Jerusalem.
“It seems this was a military outpost”, Dr. Rice told Tazpit News Agency. “Besides for the army stationed there, people were sent there to work the area on the road from Ashkelon to Gaza.”
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Biblical Blessings of Rain in the Land of Israel
Israel depends on winter rains to water the Land for the entire year. Find out why the current blessings of November rain are so important.
Rain can really ruin your day. Growing up in the U.S. I viewed rain as an enemy. Many beach days, little league baseball games, camp trips were ruined because of rain.
Rain in Jerusalem.
Here in Israel we have a very different attitude towards rain. When I was 18 and just out of high school I spent a year studying in Israel before starting university back in the U.S. Sometime around November of that year, Israel experienced her first rainfall. The Israeli students went outside without raincoats and were dancing, singing and just having a great time in the rain. It all seemed really weird to me yet it began to change my attitude and understanding of rain.
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Israel’s Thanksgiving: Massive Hamas Terror Plot Exposed
Despite Hamas' continued attempts to harm Israel's citizens, Israeli security forces successfully thwart another deadly plot.
Israeli security forces were successful in exposing a massive Hamas terrorist plot and taking down the terror ring, a security official announced on Thursday.
The Shabak (Israel’s Security Agency) and the IDF exposed the terror network in September and managed to round up its members, many of whom are foreign-trained, before they could execute their sinister plot.
Some 30 terrorists were arrested, including two Jordanians and one Kuwaiti national. A large cache of weapons was seized during the operation, as well as explosive devices, M-16 assault rifles, and ammunition, which were confiscated by Israel’s security forces.
The terror network intended to target Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium and its light rail system. Both attacks, if executed, would have caused massive casualties. The ring has also planned further infiltration attacks, kidnappings and car bombs.
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