ISRAEL BREAKING NEWS

Israel’s Defense Chief to US Counterpart: Our Biggest Problems Are Iran, Iran and Iran
By JNS February 19, 2017 , 8:30 a
“And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honour Me.” Psalms 50:15 (The Israel Bible™)


Israeli and American defense chiefs Avigdor Lieberman (left) and James Mattis. (Michael Thaidigsmann and Monica King via Wikimedia Commons)
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had his first official meeting with his new American counterpart, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where the Israeli defense chief told Mattis that the three main problems Israel faces is “Iran, Iran and Iran.”

During their meeting Friday, Lieberman called for the creation of a “real and effective” anti-Iran coalition that would address “the terrorism that [Iran] sends out to the world, the missile development it has been working on and its race to nuclear armament,” according to a statement from Lieberman’s office.

Liberman also said Iran and North Korea are part of the same “axis of evil” that includes “Hezbollah and the [Bashar] Assad regime in Syria.”

The defense chiefs agreed to maintaining an “open and frank” line of communication to improve cooperation. They had previously spoken Jan. 26, shortly after Mattis was confirmed by Congress. In the first conversation, they stressed the need to “advance the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship” and maintain “Israel’s qualitative military edge.”

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83816/israels-defense-chief-us-counterpart-biggest-problems-iran-iran-iran/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=e2abb521d9-BIN_evening_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-e2abb521d9-83546481&mc_cid=e2abb521d9&mc_eid=8dcaf513ae#sYRP1iiSgs3XHrl6.97

Orthodox Jewish Reporter Defends Trump After Attack Over Anti-Semitism [VIDEO]
Jewish Reporter Defends Trump After Attack Over Anti-Semitism [VIDEO]
By JNS February 19, 2017 , 10:30 am
“Remember, Lord, the taunt of Thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom [the taunt of] so many peoples…” Psalms 89:30 (The Israel Bible™
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/turxc.png
Jewish Orthodox reporter Jake Turx questions President Donald Trump on anti-Semitism in America on February 16, 2017. (Screenshot)
During a contentious press conference Thursday at the White House, President Donald Trump told an Orthodox Jewish reporter to “sit down” and accused him of “dishonesty” after the reporter asked a question regarding the uptick in anti-Semitism across America.

The reporter, Jake Turx, from Ami Magazine, responded to Trump’s call for a “friendly” question by standing and saying, “I’m friendly.” Turx started his question by saying that nobody in his community has “accused you or anyone on your staff of being anti-Semitic.”

“We understand that you have Jewish grandchildren, you are their zayde,” Turx said, using the Yiddish term for grandfather, which Trump appeared to understand.
“What we are concerned about and what we haven’t really heard being addressed is an uptick in anti-Semitism and how the government is planning to take care of it,” Turx proceeded to ask, referring to bomb threats at JCCs and other incidents plaguing the Jewish community in recent weeks.

Jewish Reporter Questions Trump on Anti-Semitism
VIDEO
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83832/trump-tells-orthodox-reporter-sit-questioning-anti-semitism-video/#pdMMy8gUdOWupsEJ.9

UN Envoy Haley: US Thinking “Out of the Box” on Mid-East Peace
By JNS February 19, 2017 , 7:30 am
“That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Hashem hath done this, and the Holy
One of Yisrael hath created it.” (Isaiah 41:20)
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that the U.S. “absolutely” supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is open to fresh ideas for a peace deal.
“We absolutely support a two-state solution, but we are thinking out-of-the-box as well,” Haley said after a meeting at the U.N. Security Council on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Haley added that the U.S. is hoping to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to “the table to have them talk through this in a fresh way, to say, ‘Okay we’re going back to the drawing board. What can we agree on?’”
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The statement by Haley came a day after President Donald Trump appeared to back away from unwavering support for a two-state solution, which has been U.S. policy for decades.
“I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump said during his press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
READ more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83814/un-envoy-haley-us-thinking-box-mid-east-peace/#93GUv8yLxmwvhRx7.99

A Settler’s View of Israel’s Future
By Yishai Fleisher
Israel never seems to have a good answer to accusations against the settlement enterprise.
By Yishai Fleisher February 16, 2017 , 7:00 am
HEBRON, West Bank — Last week, Israel’s Parliament passed a controversial bill that allows the government to retroactively authorize contested West Bank Jewish communities by compensating previous Palestinian land claimants. Opposition parties warn that this law could open Israel to prosecution at The Hague, and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said, “Israel’s Parliament has just approved a law to legalize theft of Palestinian land.” This theme has been echoed recently at the Paris peace conference, in a United Nations Security Council resolution and by a major policy speech by then Secretary of State John Kerry, which all condemned settlements.

Israel never seems to have a good answer to accusations against the settlement enterprise. Whenever the claim that Israel stole Palestinian lands is heard, Israel’s answers inevitably are: “We invented the cellphone,” “We have gay rights,” “We fly to help Haiti after an earthquake.” Obvious obfuscation. And when pushed to explain why the much-promised two-state solution is perennially stuck, the response is always to blame Arab obstructionism.

This inability to give a straight answer is a result of 30 years of bad policy that has pressed Israel to create a Palestinian state in the historic Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria, which the world calls the West Bank. This policy has worked to legitimize the idea that the territory of Judea and Samaria is Arab land and that Israel is an intractable occupier. Today, as Israel is beginning to walk back the two-state solution, it is not easy to admit we were wrong; and many people’s careers are on the line. This is why Israel mouths the old party line, yet takes no steps toward making a Palestinian state a reality.

But for us settlers, the truth is clear: The two-state solution was misconceived, and will never come to pass, because Judea and Samaria belong to the Jewish people. Our right to this land is derived from our history, religion, international decisions and defensive wars. Jews have lived here for 3,700 years, despite repeated massacres, expulsions and occupations — by the Romans, Arabs, Crusaders and Ottomans. And the world recognized the Jewish people’s indigenous existence in this land in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the San Remo Accords of 1920
Read more at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/a-settlers-view-of-israels-future.html?_r=4#6glkDhwoeCvLLtB1.99

Muhammad’s Sexual Fantasies of
Virgin Mary
By Raymond Ibrahim
“Our prophet Muhammad—prayers and peace be upon him—will be married to Mary the Virgin in paradise.”
At a time when non-Muslims are constantly warned to speak respectfully of Muhammad, or else offended Muslims might respond with violence—to the shame and blame of those who exercise their freedom of expression—consider what Muslims regularly say about the things non-Muslims hold dear.

Recently during his televised Arabic-language program, Dr. Salem Abdul Galil—previously deputy minister of Egypt’s religious endowments for preaching—gleefully declared that, among other biblical women (Moses’ sister and Pharaoh’s wife), “our prophet Muhammad—prayers and peace be upon him—will be married to Mary the Virgin in paradise.” (Note: the Arabic word for “marriage” denotes “legal sexual relations” and is devoid of Western, “romantic,” or Platonic connotations.)

Where did Galil—this governmental official who also holds that Muslims can wear the hated crucifix to deceive Christians—get this idea? As usual, from Muhammad himself. In a hadith that was deemed reliable enough to be included in the renowned Ibn Kathir’s corpus, Muhammad declared that “Allah will wed me in paradise to Mary, Daughter of Imran”[1] (whom Muslims identify with Jesus’ mother).

If few modern Christians are aware of this Islamic claim, medieval Christians living in Muslim-occupied nations were not. There, Muslims regularly threw this fantasy in the face of Catholic and Orthodox Christians who venerated Mary as the “Eternal Virgi
Read more at http://raymondibrahim.com/2017/02/10/muhammads-sexual-fantasies-virgin-mary/#jGp47vYi1zpiiVMZ.99

Trump Tells Netanyahu to ‘Hold Back’ on Settlements
“For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.” (Genesis 13:15)
By JNS February 17, 2017 , 7:30 am
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first joint press conference Wednesday at the White House, ahead of a private meeting that was expected to herald warmer ties between the Israeli and American administrations. Yet the leaders’ public comments highlighted some of their disagreements, with Trump calling on Israel to “hold back” on settlement building and to show more “flexibility” in negotiations with the Palestinians.
“I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit,” Trump told Netanyahu.
“As with any successful negotiation, both sides will have to make compromises,” he added, before turning to Netanyahu and saying, “You know that, right?”
Trump’s comments follow previous calls by his nascent administration for Israel to halt the expansion of settlement building. In a Feb. 10 interview with Israel Hayom, Trump said he believes settlements “don’t help” the peace process. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Feb. 2, “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”
Since Trump took office Jan. 20, Israel has announced plans to move forward with thousands of new homes in Judea and Samaria, and some members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have called for Israel to annex settlement blocs
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83755/trump-tells-netanyahu-hold-back-settlements-vague-two-state-solution/#mYOQlk4sSkeR033D.99

Hezbollah Leader Calls Trump an “Idiot”, Threatens Israeli Nuclear Reactor

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 17, 2017 , 11:31 am
“It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is established by righteousness.” Proverbs 16:12 (The Israel Bible™)
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Hassan Nasrallah, 2013 (Photo: Stand With Us/Facebook)
In a televised speech last Sunday, Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of the political and military wings of Hezbollah in Lebanon called US President Donald Trump, “an idiot” and former President Barack Obama a hypocrite. His diatribe continued as later in the week, he threatened Israel’s with missile strikes targeting its nuclear reactor.
In a televised address on the website of the al-Manar television last Sunday, Nasrallah directly insulted President Trump.
“We are very optimistic that when an idiot settles in the White House and boasts about his idiocy, this is the beginning of relief for the oppressed around the world,” Nasrallah said. He did compliment the new president, saying Trump removed former President Obama’s “mask of hypocrisy,” revealing the “racist and blood-shedding” of America
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83776/hezbollah-leader-calls-trump-idiot-threatens-israeli-nuclear-reactor/#osyooxAyYdwZaA4d.99

Hamas’s New Leader, Convicted Murderer Sinwar, ‘Draws Inspiration From Hezbollah’
“Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds!” (Micah 2:1)
By JNS February 16, 2017 , 7:30 am
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“Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds!” Micah 2:1 (The Israel Bible™
Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, Jan. 31. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)
Hamas’s newly elected political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is expected to concentrate his efforts on strengthening the Palestinian terrorist organization’s “military wing” and will draw inspiration from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, according to an unnamed senior Hamas official.

“He will focus on turning Hamas’s military wing into the strongest body in the Gaza Strip,” the official told Israel Hayom.

The official said Sinwar is likely to make a number of internal and structural changes to Hamas. “We must remember that for the last six months, [Sinwar’s predecessor Ismail] Haniyeh has been out of Gaza in his election campaign in the Persian Gulf principalities and Arab states, and that Sinwar was essentially leading the movement,” he said.

Now that Sinwar has been officially elected, said the official, “He can put into practice Hamas in Gaza’s policies related to foreign affairs and security, including relations with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, the conflict with Israel and dealing with the civilian population in the Gaza Strip….In contrast with Haniyeh, the new leader will focus on sweeping logistical changes in the policy of Hamas in Gaza.”

“His model is Hezbollah, and he will allocate considerable funds to that end at the expense of civil and welfare activities undertaken by the movement during Haniyeh’s rule,” the official added.
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83714/hamass-new-leader-convicted-murderer-sinwar-draws-inspiration-hezbollah/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=0f5a09386c-BIN_morning_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-0f5a09386c-83546481&mc_cid=0f5a09386c&mc_eid=8dcaf513ae#7lFeESm3pcVSxT7q.97

Cantor Avi Albrecht Makes Site Visits to
Meir Panim: “Very Impressive”appy is he that considereth the poor.” (Psalms 41:2)
By Tsivya Fox February 16, 2017 , 9:30 am

“Happy is he that considereth the poor.” Psalms 41:2 (The Israel Bible™)
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Avi Albrecht (right) at the Ben Gurion Youth Club in Sderot. (Tsivya Fox/Breaking Israel News)
Meir Panim, an Israeli charity organization working to alleviate and diminish the harmful effects of poverty on thousands of men, women and children in Israel, was honored this past week to host prominent cantor Avi Albrecht for an extensive site visit. Albrecht was visibly moved from seeing both the shocking needs of so many in the Holy Land as well as the impressive work of Meir Panim.

Israeli-born Albrecht is recognized worldwide as an outstanding baritone, and has performed in almost every major city in North America, Israel and Europe. Though his repertoire consists of performing Broadway favorites, Yiddish standards, and Italian arias, he is the regular cantor at the prestigious Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland.

“About 15 years ago I was visiting a friend in Israel who told me that there are endless people living in Israel who do not know where their next meal is coming from,” shared Albrecht with Breaking Israel News. “As someone who grew up in Tel Aviv, I felt that this was an impossibility. ‘No one in Israel lacks food,’ I thought. However, we visited a home in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi and I was shocked to see that their refrigerator and cabinets were bare.”

Albrecht’s friend then took him to a Meir Panim free restaurant-style soup kitchen. He was so impressed with the dignity in which the organization was helping their needy patrons that he became a leader for the organization. He spreads the word about the crucial work of Meir Panim and raises funds.

“I believe that everyone should do what they can to alleviate the tragic situation in Israel of children, adults and elderly suffering from hunger,” Albrecht continued. “I personally raise funds for Meir Panim through using my God-given talent as a cantor and through speaking to as many people as possible to get the word out that, yes, hunger is a real issue in Israel. Everyone can do something.”

Albrecht began his singing career when serving in the IDF as part of the IDF Choir. Though he presently resides in Baltimore, his heart is clearly with the Holy Land and, in particular, his work for Meir Panim.

“I drive 3.5 hours each way from Baltimore to the Meir Panim New York office at least one time per week,” he shared with Breaking Israel News. “Meir Panim is involved with helping people every single day. Shouldn’t I be?”

Albrecht’s site visit included the soon-to-open Meir Panim Nutrition Center located in the Israel’s southern city of Kiryat Gat. The enormous building has been intelligently designed to streamline the daily process of making thousands of fresh, hot and nutritious meals for hungry people living in Israel’s poverty-stricken southern regions.

His next stop was to the Sderot Ben Gurion Youth Club sponsored by Meir Panim. The newly refurbished building runs after-school programs for youth from dysfunctional homes as well as for those traumatized by years of rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip.

Then Albrecht traveled north to the town of Or Akiva where Meir Panim runs a free restaurant-style soup kitchen as well as two youth clubs. Speaking with numerous recipients of Meir Panim’s food and after-school enrichment programs, Albrecht stated, “What Meir Panim is doing throughout Israel is very impressive. I encourage anyone who can to partner with the life saving work of this wonderful organization.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83720/world-famous-cantor-devotes-time-energy-israels-needy/#RVBRuyF42u4MMxPl.99

Trump Renounces US Commitment to Two States
“And I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them saith Hashem thy God.” (Amos 9:15)
By Tazpit Press Service February 16, 2017 , 8:30 am
“And I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them saith Hashem thy God.” Amos 9:15 (The Israel Bible™)

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bibi-trump-conf.jp
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu give a joint press conference following their meeting in Washington, February 15, 2017. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
President Donald Trump has announced that US Middle East policy is no longer wedded to the two-state solution.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the White House, at the conclusion of his meeting with PM Netanyahu, the American President said he doesn’t care whether a peace agreement is based on a one state or two state solution, as long as it works. “I’m looking at two states and one state. I am very happy with the one that both parties like. I thought for a while the two state might be easier to do, but honestly if Bibi and the Palestinians, if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, then I am happy with the one they like the best,” Trump said.

He also said that both parties understood that any peace agreement entails compromise from both sides.

Regarding settlements, the US President said he had asked Netanyahu to “go easy” for a while.

He also criticized the UN over the way it treated Israel, saying it was unfair.

He reiterated his commitment to work towards achieving a peace agreement. “Our administration is committed to working with Israel and our common allies in the region towards greater security and stability. That includes working toward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States will encourage a peace and, really, a great peace deal. We’ll be working on it very, very diligently. But ultimately it is the parties themselves who must directly negotiate such an agreement. We’ll be beside them; we’ll be working with them, but it’s up to them.”
The Israeli Prime Minister opened his remarks by thanking President and Melania Trump for “the truly warm hospitality you have shown me, my wife Sara and our entire delegation.”

After emphasizing the strong bonds of common values that are the foundations of the “remarkably strong” alliance between Israel and the US, he said those values were under attack from radical Islam.

“Our alliance is based on a deep bond of common values and common interest, and increasingly, those values and interests are under attack by one malevolent force: radical Islamic terror. Mr. President, you’ve shown great clarity and courage in confronting this challenge head on,” Netanyahu said.

“You call for confronting Iran’s terrorist regime, preventing Iran from realizing this terrible deal into a nuclear arsenal, and you have said that the United States is committed to preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. You call for the defeat of ISIS. Under your leadership, I believe we can reverse the rising tide of radical Islam, and in this great task, as in so many others, Israel stands with you, and I stand with you.

“Mr. President, in rolling back militant Islam, we can seize an historic opportunity, because for the first time in my lifetime and for the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly – as an ally.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83717/us-ends-commitment-two-state-solution/#izxTHOvBMetLzcgM.99

https://unitedwithisrael.org/netanyahu-we-are-called-jews-because-we-come-from-judea/?utm_source=pushengage&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=pushengage
Netanyahu: We Are Called Jews Because We Come from Judea
“Jews are called Jews because they come from Judea. This is our ancestral homeland,” Netanyahu asserted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Israel’s historical connection to Judea and Samaria, stating that “Jews are called Jews because they come from Judea. This is our ancestral homeland.”

Netanyahu made that statement while taking questions from reporters during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

Netanyahu was asked if he came to Washington to tell Trump he was ”backing off the two-state solution.”

Trump himself stated that the two-state solution was not the only possible resolution that would bring peace to the Middle East.

Netanyahu responded by saying that rather than dealing “with labels, he wanted to “deal with substance.”

“So here’s the substance: There are two prerequisites for peace,” he said. “First, the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state. They have to stop calling for Israel’s destruction. They have to stop educating their people for Israel’s destruction.”

The second prerequisite, he said, is that Israel retain security control on its borders.

“Unfortunately, the Palestinians vehemently reject both prerequisites for peace,” he charged. “They continue to call for Israel’s destruction — inside their schools, inside their mosques, inside the textbooks.”

The Source of the Conflict
“They even deny our historical connection to our homeland,” Netanyahu stressed.

“You have to ask yourself: Why are Jews called Jews? Well, the Chinese are called Chinese because they come from China. The Japanese are called Japanese because they come from Japan. Well, Jews are called Jews because they come from Judea. This is our ancestral homeland. Jews are not foreign colonialists in Judea,” he stated.

“The Palestinians not only deny the past, they also poison the present. They name public squares in honor of mass murderers who murdered Israelis, and I have to say also murdered Americans. They pay monthly salaries to the families of murderers, like the family of the terrorist who killed Taylor Force, a wonderful young American, a West Point graduate, who was stabbed to death while visiting Israel,” the premier pointed out.

“This is the source of the conflict — the persistent Palestinian refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any boundary; this persistent rejection. That’s the reason we don’t have peace,” and this must change, Netanyahu demanded.

“But if anyone believes that I, as Prime Minister of Israel, responsible for the security of my country, would blindly walk into a Palestinian terrorist state that seeks the destruction of my country, they’re gravely mistaken,” he concluded.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

Hezbollah Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Finance War Against Israel
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Feb 16, 2017
In an apparent attempt to alleviate its financial woes, Hezbollah has launched a crowdfunding campaign.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group has launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance its terror activities against Israel, Israel’s Ynet reported.

The Iran-backed militia is looking for funds to purchase weapons and other combat materiel under the slogan “Money for jihad is a must,” which has been hashtagged on social media. The program, also dubbed “the initiative to arm jihadists,” allows donors to pay by phone, online, or in installments.

Hezbollah’s campaign also claims that “whoever arms a fighter is considered to have fought,” citing Muslim tradition. According to Hezbollah’s website, “Jihadists who fight in the resistance need clothes and military equipment. This initiative allows you to help equip them.”

Photographs of different pieces of equipment have been uploaded so donors know exactly what weapons they are supporting.

In a video circulated on the group’s twitter account, one of its members can be seen equipping himself and attempting to encourage the public to donate money to the cause.

While this isn’t the first time Hezbollah has resorted to public fundraising, the extensive nature of this effort “raises questions about the financial difficulties the group may be suffering flowing from the fighting in Syria against the rebels and other Jihadist groups which is draining them of precious military equipment,” Ynet said.

Lebanese journalist Hanin Ghaddar observed in The Tower Magazine in December 2016 that Hezbollah was facing financial shortfalls. This is because Iran, its main sponsor, “is also financing other Shi’ite militias in the region, primarily in Iraq. Hezbollah has been forced to reallocate more funds to its military operations in Syria, leading to a serious decline in social services.”

Israelis in recent months undertook a different kind of crowdsourcing, raising over $250,000 in five days to benefit Syrian refugees.
By: The Tower
https://unitedwithisrael.org/hezbollah-launches-crowdfunding-campaign-to-finance-war-against-israel/#.WKYqgTrFffM.facebook

Netanyahu to Trump: Recognize Our Sovereignty Over Golan Heights
Netanyahu Asks Trump to Recognize Israeli Sovereignty in Golan
By Abra Forman February 16, 2017 , 1:30 pm

“And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with the open land about it…” Joshua 21:27 (The Israel Bible™)

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/benjamin-netanyahu-golan-idf.jpg
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a security and defense tour in the Golan Heights, near the Northern Israeli border with Syria. April 11, 2016. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
During their momentous Washington meeting on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked President Donald Trump to give official American recognition to Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the mountainous northern region that Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War.

Netanyahu told reporters at a Blair House briefing after the meeting with Trump that the president had not seemed surprised or fazed by the request, seeming to indicate that the new administration might take a more favorable view towards the issue than previous White House inmates.

“His reaction was not earth shattering,” he said.
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Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, replacing military administration with full sovereignty and rule of law. However, the move was not internationally recognized, though the annexation has never garnered as much controversy or criticism as proposals to bring Judea and Samaria under Israeli sovereignty.

The northern region has remained relatively quiet and peaceful apart from the occasional stray rocket from neighboring Syria, which is embroiled in civil war.

Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Syria during their meeting, with the Israeli premiere stating that Israel had no interest in involving itself in the conflict, though it would continue to take steps to stop weapons from reaching the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, as it has in the past.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83752/netanyahu-trump-recognize-sovereignty-golan-heights/#stqWYlRVlFUxOB1t.99

White House Official: Not Tied to the
Two-State Solution
“I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Yehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Yisrael whom they have scattered among the nations and divided My land.” (Joel 4:2)
The White House has apparently broken with the Obama Administration’s mantra regarding Israeli-Arab peace, which former Secretary of State John Kerry best phrased last December, “The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Speaking a day before Donald Trump’s meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House official said the US will not insist on a two-state solution to the conflict.

“A two-state solution that doesn’t bring peace is not our goal that anybody wants to achieve,” the official said at a White House briefing, according to several media sources. “Peace is the goal, whether it comes in the form of a two-state solution if that’s what the parties want or something else, if that’s what the parties want, we’re going to help them.”

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The official was asked if peace could only be achieved through a two-state solution, and said the US would not “impose” a two-state solution on the Israeli-Arab conflict. “Maybe, maybe not,” the official said, adding “It’s something the two sides have to agree to. It’s not for us to impose that vision. But I think we’ll find out more about that tomorrow.”
On Jan. 18, 2017, at his last news conference as president, Obama said he did not see how the conflict “gets resolved in a way that maintains Israel as both Jewish and a democracy,” adding, “Because if you do not have two states, then in some form or fashion you are extending an occupation, functionally you end up having one state in which millions of people are disenfranchised and operate as second class residents.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83665/white-house-official-not-tied-two-state-solution/#X3wP9JA8IJkimr2M.99

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83682/christian-gift-of-restoration-rings-embodies-prophesied-restoring-of-fortunes-to-israel/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=20e05f8277-BIN_morning_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-20e05f8277-83546481&mc_cid=20e05f8277&mc_eid=8dcaf513ae#whwpr3ixcXvdSMUT.97
Christian Gift Restores Fortunes Prophesied in Jeremiah While Healing Holocaust Wounds
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 15, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall throb and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.” Isaiah 60:5 (The Israel Bible™)

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/shutterstock_329705816-1.jpg
(Shutterstock)
With ‘Restoration Rings’ made from silver and gold donated by pro-Israel Christians, one ministry is seeking to heal the painful wounds of the Holocaust and centuries of Christian persecution through fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the people of Israel will be restored to their rightful place.

The unique project, originated by Canadian faith leader Dean Bye, also recreates an aspect of the building of the Tabernacle, paving the way for the Third Temple as a House of Prayer for All Nations.

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/dean-bye.png
Dean Bye (Screenshot)
The story began in August 2015 in Victoria, Canada, when businessman Jerry O’Leary “heard the call of God to give ten white trucks to Israel to bless the poor”. He approached Dean Bye, founder of Return Ministries, a Canadian ministry dedicated to helping Christians serve Israel and the Jewish people. O’Leary offered Bye the trucks for his projects. Bye took him up on the offer and used the trucks to travel around Canada on a 60-day, 100-stop journey to collect donations.

Rather than money, Bye had the idea to request donations of gold and silver. Initially, Bye imagined people donating old jewelry they no longer needed or wanted, odd trinkets broken or out of fashion. But the response was very different than he expected.

“The first night we were shocked when we witnessed people giving their most precious objects: heirlooms, many husbands and wives giving their wedding bands from off their fingers saying they wanted to stand with the covenant of God of Abraham,” Bye told Breaking Israel News. “This happened in every place we stopped.”

Each piece of jewelry was a personal gift with a unique and personal story of Christian love for the Jewish people. At the end of the tour, the value of the donated gold and silver was an astonishing $2 million.

“We walked away not knowing what to do,” Bye said. “How could you take such heartfelt gifts and just melt it down to sell for money?”

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Rather than turn the precious metals into cash, Bye’s ministry used the donated gold and silver to create what they called ‘Restoration Rings.’ Intended as gifts to Jews in Israel, the rings were engraved with a Hebrew verse from Jeremiah.

For, lo, the days come, saith Hashem, that I will turn the captivity of My people Yisrael and Yehudah, saith Hashem; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. Jeremiah 30:3

Many Christian Bibles translate this verse differently, turning the emphasis on returning the ‘fortunes’ of the Jewish people, which is what the gift was intended to embody.

For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah. ‘The LORD says, I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’

Bye took the literal interpretation of the verse to the Holy Land, organizing a group to bring the rings to Israel. In several ceremonies, the group gave them as gifts to pioneers of the land of Israel, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust.

“We wanted to stand with them and bless them, and the ring was a symbol of that,” said Bye. “We wanted to comfort them, to bring a measure of healing to their infinitely deep wounds, and I think we did.”

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gold-ring.jpg


Auschwitz inmate’s gold ring (Photo credit: Miroslaw Maciaszczyk/JNi Media)
The comfort directly addressed the horrors those survivors experienced in the Nazi camps. In Birkenau, a subcamp of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, the Nazis established a group of barracks referred to as ‘Canada’, named for the country that, at that time, symbolized vast wealth and bounty. All of the belongings and precious items seized from the new arrivals were taken to those barracks to be sorted before shipping to Germany.

“In addition to the horrors of the mass murders, the Holocaust was the greatest robbery in history,” Bye said. “Even though Canada was certainly not to blame, this was a way we, as Canadians, could redeem our name.”

The gift touched the hearts of the survivors by bringing a modicum of healing to a common Holocaust trauma: being violently stripped of their jewelry and belongings by Nazis.

“Many of the Holocaust survivors told us how their rings were torn from their hands as they entered the camps,” Bye told Breaking Israel News. “They told us that having a Christian place a ring on their finger in love restored so much.”

Bye compared the gifts of personal jewelry to the women of Israel giving their brass mirrors to the tabernacle.

And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the serving women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. Exodus 38:8

“I am waiting for something to happen to point towards the rebuilding of the Temple,” Bye said. “I want to see the gold and silver go there.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83682/christian-gift-of-restoration-rings-embodies-prophesied-restoring-of-fortunes-to-israel/#5vzrl4666e5Ebf5w.99

President Joins Archbishop, Sheikh in Reopening Church of Loaves and Fishes After Arson
Rabbi, Archbishop, Sheikh and President Reopen Church of Loaves and Fishes at Interfaith Event
By Abra Forman February 13, 2017 , 11:30 am
“Except Hashem build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except Hashem keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Psalms 127:1 (The Israel Bible™)
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Israeli president Reuven Rivlin attends a reopening ceremony of the historic Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in the Galilee, on February 12, 2017. (Mark Neyman/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin attended an interfaith meeting on Sunday morning at the site of the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes commemorating the completion of the restoration of the building after it was vandalized and set ablaze by arsonists nearly two years ago.
“The last time I was here, we stood together and looked at the burnt walls and the terrible graffiti,” the president said, referring to the June, 2015 attack on the iconic church in Northern Israel.
“Today, I visit here again, and see the renewal of this historic, special, and holy place. I want to thank all the people who worked hard to restore this place, and to say clearly that hate cannot win.”
Also in attendance at the event were President Rivlin’s wife, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Ambassador of Germany Dr. Clemens von Goetze, Sheikh Muwaffak Tarīf, and Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein, as well as the head of the Jordan Valley Local Council, Idan Greenbaum.
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/catholic-church-fire-galilee-june-18-2015.jpg
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83558/president-joins-archbishop-sheikh-reopening-church-loaves-fishes-arson/#jI0fkKzfwtkZImlO.99



Hotovely to Netanyahu: Your Base Demands Sovereignty
At Sovereignty Conference, Right-Wingers Have Stern Message for Netanyahu
By Andrew Friedman February 13, 2017 , 10:30 am
” Thine, O Hashem, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Hashem, and Thou art exalted as head above all.” I Chronicles 29:11 (The Israel Bible™)
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People gather in Ofra and Amona, two communities in Judea and Samaria, October 20, 2016. (Hillel Maeir/TPS)
Why apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria? Because we can, and because it belongs to us, said right-wing activists at the fourth annual Sovereignty Conference, organized by Women in Green founders Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover.
An A-list of speakers from the nationalist camp, including MKs, rabbis, settlement leaders and others braved a cold, rainy Jerusalem night to discuss a range of ideas to promote Israeli sovereignty over the whole Land of Israel. Topics included moral and legal justifications backing Israel’s claim to the land, economic arguments, strategies to accomplish that goal and more.
“Why should we apply sovereignty? I don’t even understand your question,” said Avi Abelow, a resident of Efrat and a social media activist on behalf of Israel. “As long as the world uses tax dollars to finance terror groups like the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, there will be no peace here. Ultimately, our neighbors want to destroy the State of Israel.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83550/hotovely-netanyahu-base-demands-sovereignty/#TWGO2xDJHYgakB8X.99




"Dark Powers Reemerging in the World", Warns Mystic Rabbi
By Abra Forman February 14, 2017 , 11:30 am
“And when they shall say unto you: ‘Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living unto the dead?” Isaiah 8:19 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/shutterstock_168853247-1.jpg
(Shutterstock)
Noted mystic spiritual leader Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi warned against witchcraft and black magic making a comeback in the world In his weekly sermon. The rabbi was confident that the powers of good and God would prevail, giving practical advice on how to fight this spiritual battle while noting the signs of the Messiah apparent in the present situation.
Rabbi Ben Artzi began by warning that dark powers are reemerging in the world, seeking to usurp God’s rule.
“[God] rules the world, and not the powers of impurity. Idol worshippers look to the stars and tell fortunes in tea cups, using tarot cards, and other methods. They believe these things rule the future,” the rabbi said.
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Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi (Wikipedia)
However, he added, “The Jews have nothing to fear from fortune-telling and magic. As the Jewish People, we choose our own future by mitzvot (Torah commandments) and our relationship with Hashem.”
Rabbi Ben Artzi compared those who oppose modern Israel to Pharaoh and his evil magicians, who used dark magic in a futile attempt to oppose God’s will.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83618/mystic-rabbi-warns-black-magic-making-comeback/#Gd5gHigi8GoLZJzL.99



After 27 Centuries of Exile, 102 Members of Bnei Menashe Lost Tribe Return to Israel
“For the tribe of the children of Reuven according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Menashe have received, their inheritance.” (Numbers 34:13)
By JNS February 14, 2017 , 10:30 am
“For the tribe of the children of Reuven according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Menashe have received, their inheritance.” Numbers 34:13 (The Israel Bible™)
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About 100 “Bnei Menashe” (Sons of Menashe) arrive at the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, on June 25, 2015. (Photo by Flash90
One-hundred and two members of India’s Bnei Menashe community are arriving in Israel this week, marking the latest group of so-called “lost” Jews to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel).
Members of the Bnei Menashe community claim to descend from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the 8th century BC. Their immigration is organized by Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit that calls itself “the only Jewish organization today that is actively reaching out to ‘lost Jews’ in an effort to facilitate their return [to Israel].”
In 2005, then-Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar officially recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe, and about 1,700 Bnei Menashe members moved to Israel before the Israeli government stopped giving them visas. The government later reversed that policy, enabling Bnei Menashe immigration to resume. The latest Bnei Menashe immigrants come from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, and will be the first members of their community to make aliyah since January 2014.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83595/102-lost-indian-jews-immigrating-israel-week/#OKWouTSzYtbFyeWV.99

Trump Intended to Move Embassy to Jerusalem at ‘12:01, Day One’
By Valerie Locke February 14, 2017 , 1:30 pm
“Thus saith Hashem: I return unto Tzion and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and Yerushalayim shall be called the city of truth; and the mountain of Hashem of hosts the holy mountain.” Zechariah 8:3 (The Israel Bible™)
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A view of the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock from Mount Scopus (Andrew McIntire/TPS)
President Donald Trump was prepared to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem the moment he took office, but reconsidered after taking into account how it would impact Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, a top Republican official revealed on Monday.
Moving the embassy to Israel’s capital had been one of Trump’s strongest campaigning points, and he had planned on making the controversial policy change the first of his presidency, Senator Bob Corker told The Global Politico podcast in an interview, saying, “I think that was going to be their first move at one point.”
“At one point they were ready to move the Embassy at 12:01 on January 20th. Maybe 12 and 30 seconds.”
Indeed, in the earliest days of his tenure, Trump’s team had already begun making statements on a possible move.
However, Corker said, after considering the issue from a different angle, the president chose to hold back in order to better promote Israel’s interests.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83646/trump-intended-move-embassy-jerusalem-1201-day-one/#syWiw8fqwSsTvsLI.99


Ancient Jars From Judea Reveal Answer to Einstein Puzzle
By JNI Media February 14, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“Canst thou find out the deep things of God? Canst thou attain unto the purpose of the Almighty?” Job 11:7 (The Israel Bible™)
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Scientists can record Earth’s magnetic ebb and flow using ancient jars, like this one, discovered in Judea. (Courtesy Prof. Oded Lipschits)
Albert Einstein considered the origin of the Earth’s magnetic field one of the five most important unsolved problems in physics. The weakening of the geomagnetic field, which extends from the planet’s core into outer space and was first recorded 180 years ago, has raised concern by some for the welfare of the biosphere.
But a new study published in PNAS from Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and University of California San Diego researchers finds there is no reason for alarm: The Earth’s geomagnetic field has been undulating for thousands of years. Data obtained from the analysis of well-dated Judean jar handles provide information on changes in the strength of the geomagnetic field between the 8th and 2nd centuries BCE, indicating a fluctuating field that peaked during the 8th century BCE.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83635/ancient-jars-israel-help-solve-einstein-mystery/#0RIZO0kdi88jWDCE.99

Right Wing Urges Netanyahu to Give Up Two-State Solution on Eve of Trump Meeting
“A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; his mouth trespasseth not in judgment.” (Proverbs 16:10)
By Abra Forman February 12, 2017 , 4:30 pm
“A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; his mouth trespasseth not in judgment.” Proverbs 16:10 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/trump-bibi.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with then-Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, in New York, on September 25, 2016. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Right-wing politicians in Israel are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump to establish new, hardline parameters for a possible ‘peace’ agreement with the Palestinians – the most extreme of which is the discarding of the two-state solution.
The February 15th meeting, marking the first official parlay between the two world leaders, is seen as a watershed moment by the right wing, which believes Trump’s administration will be much more lenient – and possibly even permissive – on the issue of Israel’s so-called “settlements” in Judea and Samaria.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83525/right-wing-urges-netanyahu-give-two-state-solution-eve-trump-meeting/#XwTHBoUU282Px3se.99

In Response to Trump’s Threat, Iran Test-Fires Another Missile
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 10, 2017 , 1:07 pm
“And I will visit upon the world their evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.” Isaiah 13:11 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/iran-missile.jpg
In open defiance of sanctions imposed last week by US President Donald Trump, Iran launched another missile test on Wednesday.

Fox News reported that Iran has just test fired a short-range defensive Mersad surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the same pad 140 miles east of Tehran used to conduct its failed medium-range missile test earlier this month. Iran’s ballistic missile program is prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 223 but SAM missiles like the one launched on Wednesday are not included in that ban.

A US official told Fox News that the missile launch was likely connected to Iran’s 10-day commemoration of the 1979 revolution which is typified by parades displaying military equipment. The celebration commenced last Friday with hundreds of thousands of Iranians holding rallies around the country.

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In response to previous ballistic missile tests that violated the , the US Treasury Department imposed economic sanctions last week targeting 25 individuals and companies associated with Iran’s ballistic missile program.The tests seem designed to antagonize the newly inaugurated President Trump, and in that respect, they are effective. The president responded in is direct manner.

The new national security adviser, Michael Flynn declared that the US was putting Tehran “on notice”.

The Obama Administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions,” Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, said in a statement ten days ago. “The Trump Administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity, and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and place American lives at risk… As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.”

Tensions between the US and Iran are also rising as the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia heat up in Iran. The USS Cole is patrolling the waters off Aden, Yemen after a Houthi rebel suicide boat attacked a Saudi frigate, killing two.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83451/trumps-threat-iran-test-fires-another-missile/#i2IxaJJTp8XBKGPJ.99


France’s Far-Right Marine Le Pen: If Elected, Jews Must Renounce Israeli Citizenship
By JNS February 12, 2017 , 8:30 am
“But the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake Hashem shall be consumed.” Isaiah 1:28 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/marine-le-pen.jpg
Marine Le Pen (JÄNNICK Jérémy/Wikimedia Commons)
In an interview with France 2 TV Thursday, France’s far-right National Front party leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said that if elected, she would ban dual citizenship with non-European Union member states. Asked whether her immigration program would affect French Jews with dual Israeli citizenship, she said it would.

“Israel is not a European Union member and does not identify as such,” she said. The first round of the French presidential election is scheduled for April 23.

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Le Pen said she would make an exception to the policy for dual French-Russian citizens. Russia, she said, has a place in what she called “a Europe of nations.”

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 last Friday, Le Pen said that if elected, she would ban the wearing of yarmulkes in public, as part of a ban on all religious symbols in public that constitutes a “joint struggle” in the fight against radical Islam. She said she realized the ban would be “asking a lot.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83475/far-right-marine-le-pen-elected-jews-must-renounce-israeli-citizenship/#Se0odU07zzcFOPvh.99

The Evolving Threat of Jihad in the West
By Caroline Glick
It is not bigoted to point out the bigotry of others and to confront and challenge it. It is bigoted not to do so. Even worse, it is dangerous.
One of the most important stories related to the September 11 attacks was the one that was deliberately left largely untold. That story is the response of some Muslims in America to the massacre of nearly 3,000 people by Islamic supremacists in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
According to a Washington Post article published on September 18, 2001, in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the river from the destroyed World Trade Center, “Within hours of the two jetliners plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.”
The New York Post reported on September 15, 2001, that Muslim Americans in Patterson, NJ were also seen celebrating the attacks. Word-of-mouth reports abounded in the weeks and months following September 11 of spontaneous celebrations carried out that day in Dearborn, Michigan, in Virginia and other Muslim American communities.
The most notable aspect of the published reports of the celebrations was that there were so few of them.
After all, the notion that any Muslim Americans would celebrate the jihadist attack was certainly newsworthy.
Read more at https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Our-World-The-evolving-threat-of-jihad-in-the-West-480760#ZxweIdbYF4OvyhkM.99


How Trump Can Help Persecuted Christians and Protect Americans with One Move
By Raymond Ibrahim February 6, 2017 , 8:00 am
During a recent interview on CBN, President Trump was asked if he thinks America should prioritize persecuted Christians as refugees. He responded:
Yes. Yes, they’ve been horribly treated. If you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, or at least very, very tough, to get into the United States. If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair — everybody was persecuted, in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.
Trumps response is far different from that given by Barrack Hussein Obama back in November 2015. Then, as president, he described the idea of giving preference to Christian refugees as “shameful”: “That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion,” he had added.
While Obama was making such lofty admonishments, his administration was quietly discriminating against Mideast Christians in a myriad of ways—including, as Trump pointed out above, by very obviously favoring Muslim refugees over Christian ones. Indeed, despite the U.S. government’s own acknowledgement that ISIS was committing genocide against Syrian Christians—and not against fellow Sunni Muslims—the Obama administration took in 5,435 Muslims, almost all of whom were Sunni, but only 28 Christians. Considering that Christians are 10 percent of Syria’s population, to be merely on an equal ratio with Muslims entering America, at least 500 Christians should’ve been granted asylum, not 28.
Read more at https://raymondibrahim.com/2017/02/03/trump-can-help-persecuted-christians-protect-americans-one-move/#hiuBICkGMISbVC1I.99

How Trump Can Help Persecuted Christians and Protect Americans with One Move
By Raymond Ibrahim February 6, 2017 , 8:00 am
During a recent interview on CBN, President Trump was asked if he thinks America should prioritize persecuted Christians as refugees.  He responded:

Yes.  Yes, they’ve been horribly treated.  If you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, or at least very, very tough, to get into the United States.  If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair — everybody was persecuted, in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.

Trumps response is far different from that given by Barrack Hussein Obama back in November 2015.  Then, as president, he described the idea of giving preference to Christian refugees as “shameful”: “That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion,” he had added.

While Obama was making such lofty admonishments, his administration was quietly discriminating against Mideast Christians in a myriad of ways—including, as Trump pointed out above, by very obviously favoring Muslim refugees over Christian ones.  Indeed, despite the U.S. government’s own acknowledgement that ISIS was committing genocide against Syrian Christians—and not against fellow Sunni Muslims—the Obama administration took in 5,435 Muslims, almost all of whom were Sunni, but only 28 Christians.  Considering that Christians are 10 percent of Syria’s population, to be merely on an equal ratio with Muslims entering America, at least 500 Christians should’ve been granted asylum, not 28.
Read more at https://raymondibrahim.com/2017/02/03/trump-can-help-persecuted-christians-protect-americans-one-move/#hiuBICkGMISbVC1I.99

Dear Elaine,

Special update: Netanyahu-May meeting Monday 6 February

srael’s Prime Minister flew to London on Sunday night for a short visit to the UK. He had a substantive meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday followed by a working lunch in 10 Downing Street.

We Believe in Israel joined the counter-protest outside Downing Street organised by the Zionist Federation to ensure that Prime Minister Netanyahu was not greeted solely by a hostile crowd. It looked like there was a larger crowd on our side than on the anti-Israel protest. You can see my short speech to the counter-demo here – I start speaking at 4 mins 08 into the video, after Michael McCann from Israel Britain Alliance: https://www.facebook.com/521248807933259/videos/1429563323768465/

The two leaders spoke briefly to the media ahead of the meeting. Prime Minister May said that the UK remains a very strong and close friend of Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu said bilateral cooperation in trade, technology and security makes Britons and Israelis more prosperous and safer.

The two Prime Ministers discussed bilateral trade, regional security issues, including Iran, and announced a new UK-Israel Trade Working Group to start work on a Britain-Israel trade deal after Brexit. Minister for Trade Policy, Lord Price will visit Israel soon to start this project. PM May invited PM Netanyahu back to the UK later this year to attend the planned events to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

PM Netanyahu released a statement before the meeting saying that he would ask the UK to join a common front against Iranian aggression and he repeated this point in their words to the cameras before the private meeting commenced.

The Downing Street spokesperson issued a detailed statement after the meeting stating that Prime Minister May “committed to working together to build on our longstanding relationship and the strong ties in a wide range of areas, from trade and investment, to innovation and technology, and defence and security”.

The statement added: “They talked about the important work we do together on intelligence-sharing and cyber-security, and committed to talk further about how we can deepen this cooperation, to help keep our people safe."

On Iran, the spokesperson said: "Prime Minister May was clear that the nuclear deal is vital and must be properly enforced and policed, while recognising concerns about Iran’s pattern of destabilising activity in the region."

The statement said the two leaders "talked about the Middle East Peace Process and the UK’s firm commitment to a two-state solution as the best way to bring stability and peace to the region. The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s opposition to settlement activity".

Prime Minister Netanyahu later met with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and they posed for photographs with the desk on which the Balfour Declaration was written in 1917.

Ahead of the visit, my colleagues at BICOM produced a briefing for journalists and BICOM CEO James Sorene was interviewed on LBC radio and BBC2’s Daily Politics Show. James also wrote an article for the Huffington Post about the many opportunities for the UK from a strong partnership with Israel. Richard Pater, BICOM’s Director in Israel wrote a blog about the visit.

You can watch/listen to James' interviews here:

LBC
Daily Politics
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.

Prophet Elijah Visits Mystic Rabbi With Message: “Four Gates of Mercy Are Closed, But One is Open”
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 8, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Hashem.” Malachi 3:23 (The Israel Bible™)

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/vaknin-rabbi.jpg
(Photo: אדם אליוא)
Last Saturday night, a mystic rabbi fell into a trance and received a divine vision that warned of heavenly gates closing, bringing about a period of global suffering. The vision revealed that one gate has been forced open temporarily by Elijah the prophet, but the key to keeping that gate open is in the hands of people.

On Saturday evening, Rabbi Amram Vaknin, a renowned mystical rabbi from Ashdod, arrived at his sister’s house in Ashdod to perform the Havdallah service ending the Sabbath. In the middle of saying the blessings, he fell down in a deep trance. He lay for approximately 20 minutes, occasionally groaning and mumbling. In the middle of his trance, he spoke, giving a clear message for all of Israel.

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Rabbi Amram Vaknin (Photo: Adam Alioa)
“Aaah, Jerusalem,” the rabbi groaned. “Pray for Jerusalem.They need to pray because of the painful decrees. How the city is suffering today!”
The rabbi lay in silence for several minutes, groaning occasionally and uttering a few sentences. After about ten minutes, he began to speak..
“The victory is important.They will win,” the rabbi finally said. “They don’t want to pray, even though I asked them several times. What can I say to those who think they are so great?”

At this point, the rabbi had a vision he was conversing with Elijah the prophet. Rabbi Vaknin, who has had several powerful visions of Elijah, frequently prays at the prophet’s cave in Haifa. The prophet appears to him as a spiritual guide in his visions.

Many of the predictions have come true. In October 2015, Rabbi Vaknin had a chilling vision that much Jewish blood was going to be spilled in Israel. Tragically, the vision proved to be accurate. The wave of violence that began just a few weeks before that vision continued with increasing intensity until the summer. In that time, there were almost one thousand stabbing, shooting, and vehicular attacks that injured over 650 Israelis and killed 47.
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“Hello, Eliyahu (Elijah) the Prophet,” Rabbi Vaknin continued while in the trance. “Please, Elijah, open one of the five gates for them in Heaven. Just in case they want to do teshuva (atone) and pray, and stop with the lies and the falseness, so that one gate will be open for them. And if they don’t repent, then that gate will also close.”

After another long pause, the rabbi received an answer.
“Elijah the prophet opened one good gate. But what will be in Jerusalem will be good and bad,” he said. “They don’t want to pray! They don’t want to stop the lies and evil. I don’t understand. Elijah opened one gate of the five, one gate for good, but where is that good gate?”
Rabbi Vaknin later explained his vision to Gil Nachman, his personal assistant.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83302/prophet-elijah-visits-mystic-rabbi-with-message-four-gates-of-mercy-are-closed-but-one-is-open/#hZAmujJLI1TA2rPE.99Prophet Elijah Visits Mystic Rabbi With Message: “Four Gates of Mercy Are Closed, But One is Open”
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 8, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Hashem.” Malachi 3:23 (The Israel Bible™)

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/vaknin-rabbi.jpg
(Photo: אדם אליוא)
Last Saturday night, a mystic rabbi fell into a trance and received a divine vision that warned of heavenly gates closing, bringing about a period of global suffering. The vision revealed that one gate has been forced open temporarily by Elijah the prophet, but the key to keeping that gate open is in the hands of people.

On Saturday evening, Rabbi Amram Vaknin, a renowned mystical rabbi from Ashdod, arrived at his sister’s house in Ashdod to perform the Havdallah service ending the Sabbath. In the middle of saying the blessings, he fell down in a deep trance. He lay for approximately 20 minutes, occasionally groaning and mumbling. In the middle of his trance, he spoke, giving a clear message for all of Israel.

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Rabbi Amram Vaknin (Photo: Adam Alioa)
“Aaah, Jerusalem,” the rabbi groaned. “Pray for Jerusalem.They need to pray because of the painful decrees. How the city is suffering today!”
The rabbi lay in silence for several minutes, groaning occasionally and uttering a few sentences. After about ten minutes, he began to speak..
“The victory is important.They will win,” the rabbi finally said. “They don’t want to pray, even though I asked them several times. What can I say to those who think they are so great?”

At this point, the rabbi had a vision he was conversing with Elijah the prophet. Rabbi Vaknin, who has had several powerful visions of Elijah, frequently prays at the prophet’s cave in Haifa. The prophet appears to him as a spiritual guide in his visions.

Many of the predictions have come true. In October 2015, Rabbi Vaknin had a chilling vision that much Jewish blood was going to be spilled in Israel. Tragically, the vision proved to be accurate. The wave of violence that began just a few weeks before that vision continued with increasing intensity until the summer. In that time, there were almost one thousand stabbing, shooting, and vehicular attacks that injured over 650 Israelis and killed 47.
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/433-BIN-Subscribe-BiblicalProphecy-600WIDE.jpg
“Hello, Eliyahu (Elijah) the Prophet,” Rabbi Vaknin continued while in the trance. “Please, Elijah, open one of the five gates for them in Heaven. Just in case they want to do teshuva (atone) and pray, and stop with the lies and the falseness, so that one gate will be open for them. And if they don’t repent, then that gate will also close.”

After another long pause, the rabbi received an answer.
“Elijah the prophet opened one good gate. But what will be in Jerusalem will be good and bad,” he said. “They don’t want to pray! They don’t want to stop the lies and evil. I don’t understand. Elijah opened one gate of the five, one gate for good, but where is that good gate?”
Rabbi Vaknin later explained his vision to Gil Nachman, his personal assistant.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83302/prophet-elijah-visits-mystic-rabbi-with-message-four-gates-of-mercy-are-closed-but-one-is-open/#hZAmujJLI1TA2rPE.99


MK Glick's Christian-Jewish Push to Move Embassy First Step To Building Temple, Says Pastor
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 9, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“For thus saith Hashem of hosts who sent me after glory unto the nations which spoiled you: ‘Surely he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.’” Zechariah 2:8 (The Israel Bible™)

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A view of the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem. (Shutterstock)
In a move one prominent pastor believes will be the first step towards building the Third Temple, Jews and Christians are coming together on a project to give President Donald Trump major support for moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
The initiative began last month, when Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a Likud Knesset Member and activist for multi-faith prayer on the Temple Mount, attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump. While in Washington, Rabbi Glick spent much of his time meeting Christian clergy and lay leaders. Out of those meetings grew a project joining Christians and Jews, centered around the battle for Jerusalem.
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/glick-tuly.jpg
Rabbi Tuly Weisz of Israel365 (right) presents MK Yehudah Glick (Likud) with the Jerusalem Covenant. (Courtesy Tuly Weisz)
“We are trying to raise a strong coalition around Jerusalem, to be a tower against the pressure on President Trump not to move the embassy,” Rabbi Glick explained to Breaking Israel News. “He needs a strong support base, and the Jerusalem Covenant is one of the ways we are going to show this support.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83386/mk-glicks-multi-faith-effort-move-embassy-first-step-building-temple-says-pastor/#WYdApmuI5bZqcRHo.99

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-archaeologists-find-another-cave-connected-to-dead-sea-scrolls/?utm_source=pushengage&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=pushengage
Israeli Archaeologists Find Another Cave Connected to Dead Sea Scrolls
Feb 9, 2017
The Land of Israel constantly reveals hidden treasures, testifying to its rich history and the Jews’ deep roots in the land. This time, archaeologists discovered more evidence surrounding the famous, ancient Dead Sea Scrolls.

In one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries in recent memory, and the most important in the last 60 years in the Dead Sea area, Israeli archaeologists have found more evidence surrounding the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

Excavations in a cave on the cliffs west of Qumran, near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, found that Dead Sea scrolls from the Second Temple period were hidden in the cave, but were looted by Bedouins in the middle of the last century.

With the discovery of this cave, scholars now suggest that it should be numbered as the 12th cave found to be containing the rare and ancient scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the world’s oldest biblical manuscripts, which were preserved for thousands of years in the desert’s arid climate and discovered in 1947. The collection is considered the crown jewel of Israeli antiquities.

The scrolls, mostly Hebrew writings from the Second Temple period, were discovered in the Qumran Caves. They are believed to have been written by members of a Jewish sect known as the Essenes.

The scrolls are currently hosted mainly at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The surprising discovery, representing a milestone in Dead Sea Scroll research, was made by Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Ahiad Ovadia from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, with the help of Dr. Randall Price and students from Liberty University in Virginia.

The excavation is a part of the new “Operation Scroll” launched at the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) to undertake systematic surveys and to excavate the caves in the Judean Desert.

Revelations About Recent and Ancient History
Excavation of the cave reveals that it had once contained some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Numerous storage jars and lids from the Second Temple period were found hidden in niches along the walls of the cave and deep inside a long tunnel at its rear. The jars were all broken and their contents removed. The discovery of a pair of iron pickaxe heads from the 1950s, stored within the tunnel for later use, proves the cave was looted.

Until now, it was believed that only 11 caves had contained scrolls. With the finding of this last cave, scholars have now suggested that it would be numbered as Cave 12.

Like Cave 8, in which scroll jars but no scrolls were found, this cave will receive the designation Q12. The Q, for Qumran, stands in front of the number to indicate that no scrolls were found at the location.

“This exciting excavation is the closest we’ve come to discovering new Dead Sea scrolls in 60 years. Until now, it was accepted that Dead Sea scrolls were found only in 11 caves at Qumran, but now there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave,” said Gutfeld. “Although at the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we ‘only’ found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing, the findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen. The findings include the jars in which the scrolls and their covering were hidden, a leather strap for binding the scroll, a cloth that wrapped the scrolls, tendons and pieces of skin connecting fragments, and more.”

The items taken from the excavation site include not only the storage jars, which held the scrolls, but also fragments of scroll wrappings, a string that tied the scrolls, and a piece of processed leather that was a part of a scroll.

The discovery of pottery and numerous flint blades, arrowheads and a decorated stamp seal made of carnelian, a semi-precious stone, also indicate that this cave was used in the Chalcolithic and the Neolithic period.

Seeking a Deeper Understanding
The material, when published, will provide important new evidence for scholars on the archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea caves.

“The important discovery of another scroll cave attests to the fact that a lot of work remains to be done in the Judean Desert and finds of huge importance are still waiting to be discovered,” said Israel Hasson, director-general of the IAA. “We are in a race against time as antiquities thieves steal heritage assets worldwide for financial gain. The State of Israel needs to mobilize and allocate the necessary resources in order to launch a historic operation, together with the public, to carry out a systematic excavation of all the caves of the Judean Desert.”

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

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Could Iran's Seven-Minute Nuclear Threat Be Fulfillment of Gog and Magog Prophecy?
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 7, 2017 , 1:30 pm
“And thou son of man prophesy against Gog and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold I am against thee O Gog chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” Ezekiel 39:1 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/nuclear-explosion-mushroom-cloud.jpg
(Shutterstock)
Several high-ranking Iranian officials threatened Israel and America last week, claiming they could rain down destruction on their Western enemies in an ultra-short war that conforms to a 300-year old prophecy describing the War of Gog and Magog. An end-of-days expert sees an even deeper message hidden in Iran’s bizarre eight-minute threat.
The War of Gog and Magog is described in prophecy as being an unusually short war. A tradition from the Vilna Gaon (a prominent 18th century Torah authority) teaches that the war of Gog and Magog will last 12 minutes. According to a 20th century interpretation, “A third of the world will die, a third will suffer from plague and a third will survive.”
This 18th century prophecy of a 12-minute war was surprising, as it came several hundred years before the advent of nuclear weapons. Conventional wars necessarily last much longer and such a quick war was inconceivable at the time. Such a short war, possibly a nuclear exchange, may have been hinted at in the Bible.
At eventide behold terror; and before the morning they are not. Isaiah 17:14
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83261/does-irans-seven-minute-nuclear-threat-conform-to-gog-magog-prophecy/#vjiI0jlvRfXSMEV9.99



4,000 Settlements Legalized: "This Is History, Jewish People Have Returned to its Land"
“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Yaakov My servant wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein they and their children and their children’s children for ever.” (Ezekiel 37:25)
The Knesset ratified the controversial Expropriation Bill, which retroactively legalizes about 4,000 “settler outposts” located on privately owned land in Judea and Samaria, on Monday. The final vote was 60 to 52.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present for the vote.
Predictably, right-wing politicians celebrated the measure. Immediately following the vote, the Jewish Home party called the vote an “historic day that signals a change in direction for the State of Israel.” In a statement headlined “the beginning of sovereignty,” the party said the new law will serve as a “message to thousands of Israeli families in Judea and Samaria that they will no longer be second-class citizens.”
Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan said “the Israeli government has finally taken responsibility for Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. The Expropriation Law is the first step towards applying Israeli sovereignty in all of Judea and Samaria.”
Ben-Dahan’s party colleague Moti Yogev concurred, adding “something enormous happened today: The Knesset ratified the Expropriation Law… this is history, and it is a reality that the Jewish People have returned to its land.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83225/in-unprecedented-move-knesset-legalizes-4000-settler-outposts-in-judea-and-samaria/#XVY73FbqUOiYDMz8.99


Trump Administration Refuses to Denounce Legalization of 4,000 Settlements
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression; but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19 (The Israel Bible™)
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Donald Trump. (Screenshot)
While his predecessor’s administration would likely have come out with a quick and sharply critical response to Israel’s passing of a law which retroactively legalizes about 4,000 “settler outposts” in Judea and Samaria, President Donald Trump’s State Department remained silent after the news broke Monday night, refusing to condemn the move.
The Regulation Law has been the subject of contention and controversy in Israel, with left-wing politicians threatening that it could lead to an indictment in the International Criminal Court. The law protects thousands of existing Jewish homes in the Biblical heartland which were built with government backing but now face absentee land claims from Palestinian “owners.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83245/trump-white-house-refuses-condemn-settlement-legalizations/#uSJf5LU53bp5s8su.99

Ivanka’s Rabbi Tells President Trump,
“Good Job!” [VIDEO]
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks unto Him, and bless His name.” Psalms 100:4 (The Israel Bible™)
President Trump & Rabbi Lookstein at National Prayer Breakfast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8llcTbauWw

MORE https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83229/ivankas-rabbi-tells-president-trump-good-job/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=a4fb974c97-BIN_evening_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-a4fb974c97-83546481&mc_cid=a4fb974c97&mc_eid=8dcaf513ae

Hamas Refuses Israeli Prisoner Exchange Proposal
“And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.” Judges 16:21 (The Israel Bible™)
Hamas has confirmed the recent reports of a possible prisoner exchange with Israel. Earlier today Az-Aadin al Qassam, the movement’s military wing told Al Jazeera that it had rejected an Israeli proposal, which it described “as way below our minimal requirements”.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83310/hamas-refuses-israeli-prisoner-exchange-proposal/#uFZ3Bt0g64gPowsZ.99

Molotov Cocktail Terror Cell Busted
“I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” Exodus 23:22 (The Israel Bible™)
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Bus on road 443 burned from a Molotov Cocktail. (Hillel Maeir/TPS)
The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed on Tuesday the arrest of a terrorist cell responsible for multiple Molotov cocktail attacks on Route 443 and Route 436 in the area Givat Ze’ev, Judea and Samaria.
The cell, composed of young Palestinians residents of Beit ‘Anan in northwest Jerusalem, has been involved in seven incidents in which Molotov cocktails were thrown on the roads in recent months.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83284/molotov-cocktail-terror-cell-busted/#SVTe6EwQMBJuCQ86.99

Offerings for Third Temple Are Growing Today in Israel’s Forests
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 6, 2017 , 1:30 pm
“I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane-tree, and the larch together.” Isaiah 41:19 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/shutterstock_511852345-1.jpg
Olive trees on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. (Shutterstock)
The nascent Sanhedrin is setting out to reinstate the Biblical Temple forest as part of their ongoing effort to bring the Third Temple into existence and has already begun planting around Israel to provide the agricultural needs of the Third Temple.

Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, explained that the Temple was central to Israel as an agricultural nation strongly connected to its land. The Temple provided a link between the land, and the Divine.

“When people think about sacrifices, they think about animals and blood,” Rabbi Weiss said. “But most of the sacrifices were, in fact, from plants, grown around Israel.”

Many of the elements for the daily Temple service were agricultural and specific to the Temple. Semolina was frequently brought as a sacrifice with olive oil. The wine libation came from vines cultivated using a specific method. Rabbi Weiss pointed out that even some minor aspects of the Temple service required vast agricultural resources.

“The Mishna (Talmud) states that the Passover Lamb was roasted on a stick from a pomegranate tree,” noted Rabbi Weiss. “When the Temple is built, we will need millions of these sticks. Last week we planted 30 pomegranate trees, and this is clearly a very small step towards what we will need after the Temple is built.”

Ever-present on the altar were three piles of wood: the first for burning the animal sacrifices, the second for making coals to burn the incense, and the third for the perpetual altar fire commanded by the Bible.

And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the Kohen shall burn wood on it every morning. Leviticus 6:5

The wood used in these arrangements were considered sacrifices. In the Second Temple period, the wood was provided as an annual offering.

And we cast lots, the Kohanim, the Leviim, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:35

There are many different plants required for the Temple, each with its own special conditions. The Sanhedrin’s new Temple forests are dispersed around Israel to provide the specific conditions suitable for each plant. In the Hebron Hills, they planted 30 Cedars of Lebanon and several pomegranate trees. In Kochav Hashachar overlooking the Jordan Valley, they planted half an acre of grapevines surrounded by Cedars. In Shaarei Tikvah in Samaria, cinnamon trees, one of the 11 ingredients in the Temple incense, are ready to be planted. In Itamar, a vineyard of 200 vines has been dedicated to Temple use. Seven date palms were planted in the Western Negev for use in the Shavuot offering.

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The Sanhedrin is also making efforts to plant in the site of the recently destroyed community of Amona as an expression of connection to the land.

“In Biblical times, planting trees was one of the ways ownership of the land was expressed, but for now, it will be an act of healing,” said Rabbi Weiss, quoting Ecclesiastes.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. Ecclesiastes 3:2

The idea of the Temple forest appears in the Bible, when Abraham planted a forest in Be’er Sheva.

And Avraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Be’er Sheva, and called there on the name of Hashem, the Everlasting God. Genesis 21:33

Later, when Jacob returned to Be’er Sheva, homiletical teachings on Genesis collected in the fifth century describe him visiting the forest his grandfather planted in order to take seedlings down to Egypt.

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Be’er Sheva, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Yitzchak. Genesis 46:1

These seedlings grew into trees and plants that were used by the Nation of Israel when they built the tabernacle.

The arboreal needs of the Temple are mentioned again in the Book of Nehemiah, when a wood offering is brought to the Second Temple.

And we cast lots, the Kohanim, the Leviim, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, Nehemiah 10:35

“The Temple, as a House of Prayer for all Nations, was meant as a tikkun (fixing) for the entire world,” said Rabbi Weiss. “Reinstating the plants in Israel dedicated to maintaining the Temple paves the way to fix the plants and ecology in other places, as well.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83196/temple-forest-sanhedrin-begins-planting-third-temple-offerings/#uiHZbtYwAgR5LqtT.99

Top Iranian Official: We Can Bomb Tel Aviv in 7 Minutes
A senior Iranian official threatened to target Israel immediately if the US attacks the Islamic Republic.
A senior member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and a former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) official warned that Tehran has prepared its forces for war and attained “great achievements” in its ballistic missile development program. If attacked by the US, Iran will immediately retaliate by firing a missile at Tel Aviv, he asserted.
“And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv,” Mojtaba Zonour, a former adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader’s Representative at the IRGC, said on Saturday evening, according to Iran’s Fars News.
In 2015, Zonour stated that “the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has Divine permission to destroy Israel.”
“The Noble Koran permits the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy Israel,” he said, adding that “even if Iran gives up its nuclear program, it will not weaken this country’s determination to destroy Israel.”
Iranian officials and military commanders have repeatedly vowed to obliterate the Jewish state.
Threats to Raze US Military Base
Zonour further threatened that the “slightest aggression” by the US will lead to Iran “razing to the ground” the American military base in nearby Bahrain.
“The US army’s fifth fleet has occupied a part of Bahrain, and the enemy’s farthest military base is in the Indian Ocean, but these points are all within the range of Iran’s missile systems and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake,” he stated ominously.
His remarks came after President Donald Trump slapped new sanctions on Iran and after US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn officially “put Iran on notice” following the Islamic Republic’s most recent illicit missile test.
On Saturday, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, warned Washington to “avoid hostile action or wait for a harsh response.”
“If the enemy makes a mistake, our roaring missiles will hit their targets,” Hajizadeh told reporters on the sidelines of massive military drills dubbed Modafe’an Harim-e Aseman Velayat (Defenders of the Velayat Skies) in Semnan province in northern Iran.
“Knowing the capabilities of our Armed Forces, I am to ensure you that foreign threats cannot do us any harm,” he boasted.
He blamed Washington for needlessly attacking Iran over its missile tests as “a pretext to show their animosity towards us; we are making round-the-clock efforts to defend our country’s security and if the enemy dares to make any mistake our roaring missiles will land on them.”
By: United with Israel Staff
https://unitedwithisrael.org/top-iranian-official-we-can-bomb-tel-aviv-in-7-minutes/?utm_source=pushengage&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=pushengage

USS Cole Deployed Off Coast of Yemen After Suicide Attack on Saudi Vessel [VIDEO]
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 5, 2017 , 2:16 am
“[A Psalm] of David. Blessed be Hashem my Rock, who traineth my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;” Psalms 144:1 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/USS_Cole_DDG-67_turn.jpg
USS Cole (US Navy Photot)
The guided missile destroyer, USS Cole, was deployed to patrol the Gulf of Aden in response to a Houthi rebel suicide attack on a Saudi Arabian war vessel in the Red Sea.
On Monday, a Houthi rebel boat loaded with explosives rammed into a Saudi Al Madinah-class frigate in the Red Sea, killing two and wounding three. Two defense officials told Fox News after the incident that the attack was intended for an American vessel. The Shiite Houthis, backed by Iran, have been fighting a Saudi backed coalition for two years in Yemen.
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=mbV23xjPCPY

Houthi-Rebels attack Saudi Warship during Daylight ! ("Al Madinah") #Yemen

In the video, the narrator said, “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, a victory for Islam!”
Last weekend, Navy SEALs teamed up with United Arab Emirates Special Forces to carry out a raid targeting senior Al Qaeda in Yemen leaders. In the first American combat death under President Donald Trump, Navy Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens was killed and at least three other U.S. service members were wounded in the raid.The USS Cole was attacked by an Al Qaeda suicide boat in October 2000 while docked in Yemen. 17 sailors were killed in that attack.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83076/uss-cole-deployed-off-coast-yemen-suicide-attack-saudi-vessel-video/#BBXzEHGpCvHvKHgZ.99



Christians in Banned Muslim States Fear Trump Order
By JNI Media February 5, 2017 , 9:30 am

“Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: For I am Hashem your God.” Leviticus 25:17 (The Israel Bible™)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/arabchristiansFINAL.jpeg.jpg
Christian Arabs in Israel
Middle East Christians
No one is more afraid of the consequences of President Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim states than the very people the president seeks to protect: the Christians of those countries, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network last week that he was trying to help Middle East Christians, saying, “They’ve been treated horribly, we are going to help them.” Indeed, the Christian travelers from those seven countries visiting the US will receive preferential treatment, but the rest, estimated at about 13 million, back in their home countries, will probably pay for Trump’s congeniality. This is because, no matter how strongly the White House denies that the executive order is a ban on Muslims, over in those home countries no one is buying it.

“Nobody is seeing this as motivated only by security and everybody views this as targeting largely Muslim immigration,” Basem Shabb, the only Protestant member of Lebanon’s parliament, told the WSJ. “Trump’s offer of help is like a poisoned chalice. It has come at the expense of alienating the region’s Christians from their Muslim neighbors.”

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The WSJ quotes Yonadam Kanna, a Christian MP who leads the minorities bloc in the Iraqi parliament, who has no doubt Trump’s executive order will backfire on Iraqi Christians. “This will lead to new discrimination. It will reflect very negatively on minorities,” Kanna said.

He also stressed that while Middle East Christians “appreciate the feeling of support for vulnerable communities,” what they would like President Trump to do “is to help us to stay, not to emigrate.”

Earlier this week, according to Aletia, the head of Iraq’s largest Christian denomination, the Chaldean Catholic Church, Patriarch Louis Raphael I, commented on the Trump ban saying that any preferential treatment will likely encourage “propaganda and prejudice that attack native Christian communities of the Middle East as ‘foreign bodies,’” or worse, as being “supported and defended by Western powers.”

“These discriminating choices,” Raphael I said, “create and feed tensions with our Muslim fellow citizens. Those who seek help do not need to be divided according to religious labels. And we do not want privileges.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83103/christians-banned-muslim-states-fear-trump-order/#0FMEt6cHOXF3jFhi.99

Trump Slaps New Sanctions on Iran After Ballistic Missile Test
“And I will visit upon the world their evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.” (Isaiah 13:11)
President Donald Trump’s administration issued sanctions targeting 25 individuals and entities associated with Iran’s ballistic missile program Friday, in response to the recent missile test conducted by the Islamic Republic.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the sanctions target “multiple entities and individuals involved in procuring technology and/or materials to support Iran’s ballistic missile program, as well as for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.”
The sanctions come just days after Trump put Iran “on notice” about its ballistic missile tests and support for terrorism.
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Iran launched the Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile Jan. 29 at a well-known test site out of the city of Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran. U.N. Resolution 2231, which was put in place after the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran was signed in July 2015, forbids the Islamic Republic from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83094/trump-slaps-new-sanctions-iran-ballistic-missile-test/#VgP3SYA6pMoOIPT3.99



Trump Tweets Lash Out at Judge Who Stopped Ban
“He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, even they both are an abomination to Hashem.” (Proverbs 17:15)
On Friday, a federal Judge in Seattle put a nation-wide restraining order on President Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to visitors from seven Islamic-majority countries considered to be security risks. President Trump responded with a flurry of posts on social media, criticizing the judge’s move.
Judge James Robart, a United States federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, granted a temporary restraining order against President Trump’s immigration executive order signed one week ago, pending review of a suit brought by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Though many cases for individuals have been brought as a result of the travel ban, Robart’s ruling brought for the state of Washington and Minnesota, was the first challenge to the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. The states’ case was based on claims they had suffered financial harm from the travel ban by having students and faculty at state-funded universities stranded overseas. Robart challenged the order’s use of the 9-11 attacks as a justification for the ban, as no terror attacks had been perpetrated by individuals from the seven banned countries since those attacks 15 years ago. In his ruling, Robart said, the order had to be “based in fact, as opposed to fiction.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83071/trump-tweets-lash-judge-stopped-ban/#7upklCghmR480XGm.99


Anti-Semitic Incidents in UK Shot Up 36 Percent in 2016: Report
“Consider how many are mine enemies, and the cruel hatred wherewith they hate me.” (Psalms 25:19)
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United Kingdom increased by 36 percent in 2016, according to a report by Community Security Trust (CST), an organization dedicated to the protection and defense of British Jews.
In its 2016 Anti-Semitic Incidents Report, the group said there were 1,309 incidents compared to 960 incidents in 2015.
“While Jewish life in this country remains overwhelmingly positive, this heightened level of anti-Semitism is deeply worrying and it appears to be getting worse. Worst of all is that, for various reasons, some people clearly feel more confident to express their anti-Semitism publicly than they did in the past,” CST Director David Delew said Thursday.
The report points to a number of factors driving the increase in anti-Semitism, including Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2014; terrorist attacks on Jewish communities in Europe; anti-Semitism among U.K. Labour Party members; the perception of increasing racism and xenophobia following the U.K.’s decision to exit the European Union; and regular discussions about the problem of anti-Semitism in British society.
CST said that while those issues led to an increase in anti-Semitic incidents, they also made it more likely that such incidents would be reported to police.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83105/anti-semitic-incidents-uk-shot-36-percent-2016-report/#tyFMGK3AMSZYwmW6.99

Israel's UN Envoy Defends White House Statement on Settlements
By JNS February 5, 2017 , 8:30 am
“And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Hashem, be nigh unto Hashem our God day and night, that He maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Yisrael, as every day shall require.” (I Kings 8:59)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon downplayed Thursday’s White House critique of the construction of new Israeli settlements, saying that President Donald Trump will determine his policy regarding settlements during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this month.

“I wouldn’t call it a U-turn, the statement is very clear,” Danon told Israel Radio Friday, referring to the common interpretation that the White House’s statement Thursday broke from the Trump administration’s previous softer stance on settlements. “The meaning is: wait until the meeting with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who arrives in Washington in less than two weeks for a meeting with President [Donald] Trump and then set policy.”

Nevertheless, Danon also noted that Israel is a sovereign state and would determine its own policies.

“We will not be in full agreement with the United States on everything over the next four years, but there is communication and messages are being passed,” Danon said.

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had said Thursday, “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.” The White House also said President Trump plans to discuss the topic of settlements with Netanyahu during their Feb. 15 meeting.

Meanwhile, Danon congratulated former ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson on his confirmation as secretary of state during Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

In a discussion with Tillerson, Danon briefed him on Israel’s activities at the U.N. and “expressed his appreciation for [U.S.] Ambassador Nikki Haley’s commitment to stand strong against anti-Israel resolutions.”
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83097/israels-un-envoy-danny-danon-defends-white-house-statement-settlements/#BmwfGI53k2uqaWFB.99

Jewper Bowl: This Year’s Big Game Has Deep Jewish, Israel Connection
By Abra Forman February 5, 2017 , 11:30 am
“For Hashem your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” Deuteronomy 20:4 (The Israel Bible™)

Tom Brady (center) in a 2011 Patriots-Cowboys game. (Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock, Inc)
The millions of Americans gearing up to watch the 51st annual Super Bowl on Sunday might be surprised to learn that this year’s game has a deep Jewish connection which extends to Israel: the owners of both teams competing in this year’s game are Jewish, and both have ties to the Jewish state.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Robert Kraft, billionaire owner of the New England Patriots since 1994, and Arthur Blank, who bought the Atlanta Falcons in 2002, were both raised in Jewish families. They have each donated millions of dollars of their personal wealth to Jewish and Israeli causes over the years, exemplifying the intrinsic Jewish value of tzedaka, or charity.

Kraft grew up outside Boston in an observant family, with a father active in the local synagogue. He did not join sports teams in his youth because he attended Hebrew school in the afternoon and refused to play on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, though he would go on to play football at Columbia University.

After making billions in paper products and real estate, Kraft has given away over $100 million to Jewish and Israeli causes, including health care and education. Kraft’s name is well-known in Jerusalem, where he donated $6 million towards the building of a huge football arena called Kraft Family Stadium.

He has also donated to promote Jewish-Christian relations, endowing chairs in Jewish studies at Boston College and Holy Cross College, and a chair in Christian Studies at Brandeis University. His late wife, Myra, was active in supporting programs for Ethiopian immigrants to Israel.

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The two led multiple trips to Israel, even during the height of the Second Intifada; Myra regularly took Patriots players on the tours, including star quarterback Tom Brady in 2006 – who, though not Jewish, keeps a menorah in his Brookline home.

In 2016, Kraft was awarded an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University.

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Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank (Flickr/BSteve76)
Arthur Blank grew up in New York and made his fortune by co-founding the Home Depot chain with Jewish partner Bernie Marcus, who has said that the company’s practice of donating to communities affected by natural disasters throughout America is directly motivated by the value of tzedakah.

Blank personally has pledged to donate at least half of his personal wealth to charity. He has given $7 million to the National Jewish Health Center in Denver, $250,000 to the Jewish community of Scottsdale, and $150,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, where his team is based.

He has also donated $75,000 to the Jewish Agency for Israel, which is the body primarily responsible for promoting and facilitating Jewish immigration to the Holy Land.

Kraft is hoping for his fifth championship as owner, while it would be Blank’s first. Whichever team wins, it will be a victory for Jewish football fans the world over.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83110/super-bowl-lis-surprising-jewish-connection/#CEcgfOiWrjuqXaHi.99

Over 70 Evangelical Leaders Meet With, Applaud Trump's Israel Envoy Friedman
By JNS February 2, 2017 , 9:30 am
“Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I strengthen thee, yea, I help thee; yea, I uphold thee with My victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (The Israel Bible™)
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Nominated Israel ambassador David Friedman with Donald Trump. (Video Screenshot)
Following a high-profile meeting with David Friedman, President Donald Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to Israel, a group of more than 70 evangelical Christian leaders has issued a joint letter to the president expressing their enthusiastic support for Friedman’s candidacy.

In the letter, the group expressed confidence that Trump “wisely selected a fellow man of faith, character and principle to represent our country’s interests in Israel.” Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, advised Trump on Israel-related issues during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The pro-Israel leaders who convened at the meeting represented millions of Christians around the world, including more than 100 million Hispanic evangelicals in more than 40,000 U.S.-based churches and an additional 500,000 congregations globally.

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Regarding Friedman’s candidacy, Joseph Sabag, U.S. national director for the Israel Allies Foundation, stated, “While Mr. Friedman is someone we have known and trusted, our meeting today only strengthened our support…Mr. Friedman and President Trump represent a vast upgrade in our nation’s support for Israel, and that’s something all Americans should applaud and especially evangelical Christians.”

In addition to supporting Friedman as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, the evangelical leaders’ letter expressed unanimous support for relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/82992/over-70-evangelical-leaders-express-support-for-trumps-israel-ambassador/#Ia9JcpUmZhOoBAoL.99

Islamic Machete Attack at Louvre in Paris
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 3, 2017 , 1:04 pm
“Hashem trieth the righteous; but the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth.” Psalms 11:5 (The Israel Bible™)
(Photo: Benh Lieu Song/ Wiki Commons)
A man armed with a machete shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar‘ (God is great in Arabic) before attacking a soldier posted outside the Louvre Museum in Paris on Friday morning. The soldier was lightly injured in the head but succeeded in shooting the attacker multiple times in the stomach, seriously injuring him.
The assailant was wearing a backpack at the time of the attack, raising concerns that it contained explosives. Police sappers later determined the pack did not contain explosives.
In a statement, French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the attack was “terrorist in nature.”
“We are dealing with an attack from an individual who was clearly aggressive and represented a direct threat, and whose comments lead us to believe that he wished to carry out a terrorist incident,” said Michel Cadot, the head of the French capital’s police force, in a statement.
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Is White House Waffling? Spicer Says Settlements “Not Helpful”
“I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Yehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Yisrael whom they have scattered among the nations and divided My land.” (Joel 4:2)
White House Says "Settlements Not Helpful"
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 3, 2017 , 11:14 am
“I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Yehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Yisrael whom they have scattered among the nations and divided My land.” Joel 4:2 (The Israel Bible™)
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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, January 23, 2017. (Screenshot)
Stopping just short of echoing anti-Israel rhetoric heard from the previous administration just a few weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at a press conference on Thursday that expanding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria “may not be helpful in achieving” the new president’s plan for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority.
“As the president has expressed many times, he hopes to achieve peace throughout the Middle East region,” Spicer said in a statement. “The Trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity and looks forward to continuing discussions, including with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu when he visits with President Trump later this month.”
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are scheduled to meet in the White House February 15.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83053/white-house-waffling-spicer-says-settlements-not-helpful/#L0f3JGtsqxe7PrOo.99

https://unitedwithisrael.org/report-us-threatens-severe-steps-if-palestinians-sue-israel-at-international-court/?utm_source=pushengage&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=pushengage
Report: US Threatens ‘Severe Steps’ if Palestinians Sue Israel at International Court
Palestinian Authority
The possibility of a cessation of American aid in the event of a Palestinian appeal to the court does not represent new policy, but has been set in American law for two years.

The Trump administration has warned the Palestinians that suing Israel in international courts would trigger severe steps by the US, including the closure of PLO offices in Washington and an end to economic aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israel’s Ha’aretz on Wednesday quoted Western and Arab diplomatic sources as saying that the message from the Trump administration was transmitted through the American consulate — and not through the White House or State Department — and consisted of a telephone conversation with a leading Palestinian official directly linked to PA head Mahmoud Abbas.

According to the report, President Donald Trump signed an order during his first week in office to execute a congressional resolution, drawn up during Barack Obama’s term, to move against the PA and Fatah if the Palestinians sue Israel.

“Despite that resolution by Congress, the Palestinian leaders were counting on petitioning the court as a means of halting the settlements. But the messages arriving from Washington in recent days made clear that any such step by the Palestinians would lead to a severe American reaction, so much so that some talked about returning the PLO to the list of terrorist organizations,” said the Palestinian source.

The Palestinian leaders have been fuming over the message from Washington, Ha’aretz reported, saying the new administration was attempting to sabotage the entire Palestinian strategy of recent years, which involves international lawfare and diplomatic struggles against Israel at international bodies.

‘The American Threat is Significant’
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources in Ramallah conceded that no final decision to sue Israel in the international courts has been reached, because of the American threat.

The Palestinian leaders will be discussing the matter over the next few days, Ha’aretz has learned. “The American threat is significant,” the source said.

For several years the PA has been moving toward bringing Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for alleged war crimes and as a means of challenging the legality of the Jewish state.

The possibility of a cessation of American aid in the event of a Palestinian appeal to the court does not represent new policy, but has been set in American law for two years. At the end of 2015, a clause was added to foreign aid legislation, according to which the administration would bar the transfer of any funds to the PA if it initiates any investigation against Israel at the ICC or supports such an investigation.

According to US law, any Palestinian step at the World Court could lead to the closure of PLO offices in Washington. The Palestinians’ appeal to the court in 2014 and 2015 and their continued transfer of information to the prosecutors since then have delayed and frozen some US aid, but has not stopped it altogether.

By: United with Israel Staff