America: Israel Among Top Most "Unacceptable" Countries
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 |
David Lazarus
The US State Department in 2014 condemned Israel as one of the most “unacceptable” countries in the world, just behind North Korea.
According to an article published last week by Foreign Policy, over the past year the Obama Administration State Department cited Israel for "unacceptable behavior" more times than Pakistan, Russia, Egypt, China, Afghanistan and Iraq. The article examined how many times a country’s actions were condemned as “unacceptable,” and Israel came in fourth, right after Syria, Iran and North Korea.
Most of the State Department’s criticisms came in response to Israeli announcements for plans to build housing in Jerusalem. The study also found that the US government panned out unprecedented amounts of condemnation towards Israel for civilian casualties during the summer war in Gaza.
The absurd and arbitrary way in which the United States condemns her allies more that her enemies only serves to render Washington’s pronouncements meaningless in the eyes of most Israelis. How can building homes in Jerusalem be condemned on par with the actions of nations repeatedly engaged in aggressive and murderous violence towards their own civilian populations with absolutely no regard for human rights?
As journalist Micah Zenko pointed out in the Foreign Policy article, US officials regularly condemn actions as unacceptable "but then do very little in response to prevent or deter those actions from reoccurring."
The fact that these ongoing condemnations are hollow does not prevent the US State Department and others from regularly castigating Israel in the international diplomatic arena. Israel’s Ynet news portal found that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the word "concerned" 140 times in 2014 in statements about world events, and Israel was the most “concerning” country of all.
The US government just keeps on pretending that their shameful condemnations of Israel are useful, clueless to the fact that no one is listening. Is it any wonder that Israel refuses to heed to the onslaught of mumbo-jumbo condemnations emanating from the White House and the UN?
Indeed, it would be foolish for Israel to even respond to the endless and empty pronouncements of American and international discontent. King Solomon understood long ago that it is utter folly to answer absurd and silly arguments as if you were dealing with a sensible person.
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.” Proverbs 26:4
Palestinian Arabs Claim They'll Soon Outnumber Jews
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
The Palestinian Authority on Monday played on the fears of most Israelis that they face a “demographic threat,” a notion that has led many, even among conservative Israelis, to believe they have no choice but to establish an independent Palestinian state.
Census figures published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) claimed there are today 6.08 million Arabs living west of the Jordan River (in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza), compared to 6.10 Jews.
The report predicted that in a mere two years, both people groups will number 6.42 million, and that by 2020 Arabs will outnumber Jews 7.14 million-to–6.87 million.
The PCBS has been issuing such warnings for more than a decade, and its predictions somehow never seem to come true. In 2003, it was said the Jewish and Arab populations west of the Jordan would reach parity by 2006. In 2010, the PCBS claimed Arabs would outnumber Jews by the end of 2014.
Israel stopped collecting census data in the West Bank and Gaza with the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1995 as part of the “Oslo Accords.” Since then, Israel has relied on data provided by the PCBS, and has inexplicably taken those figures at face value despite the fact the Palestinian Authority has a vested interest in promoting the idea of a demographic threat to the Jews.
In 2006, a study entitled “Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza: The Million Person Gap” was presented before the US Congress, which was deliberating over continued financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The study found that Palestinian population figures had been grossly inflated.
In 2010, the American-Israel Demographic Research Group published a survey reaching the same conclusion that instead of the 2.5 million Arabs the PCBS says live in the West Bank, the figure is actually closer to 1.5 million.
Both studies were based on pre–1995 census figures, a plummeting Arab birth rate, and a steady stream of emigration from Palestinian-controlled areas.
At the same time, the Jewish birth rate has been on the rise, a long-term demographic trend that clearly favors the Jews.
Additionally, the number of Palestinian Arabs leaving the region every year (an average of around 20,000) is usually matched by the number of Jews making aliyah to Israel.
PHOTO: Birth rates among Arabs west of the Jordan River have plummeted from over 5 births per mother a decade ago to just 2.7 today.
Celebrate and Be Merry! Jesus the Messiah is Palestinian!
Monday, December 29, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
As has become custom, Palestinian Authority last week made a show of claiming Jesus as one of their own in the run-up to Christmas.
Here are some of the more egregious examples (translations provided by Palestinian Media Watch):
We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love,justice and peace. - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, as quoted by the Wafa news agency on December 22.
Christmas is also a Palestinian holiday, because Jesus, peace be upon him, was Palestinian. He was born in Palestine; lived and was sent [as prophet] to Palestine. Therefore, Christmas has a special Palestinian flavor. - Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the PA’s Supreme Sharia Judge, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 22, 2014.
We are standing here, Muslims and Christians, in Yasser Arafat Square, [named after] the symbol of our cause, to celebrate Christmas. So too we will stand united to celebrate victory, far off as it may be. Merry Christmas, let’s celebrate and be merry; Jesus the Messiah is Palestinian, and we are Palestinians and will continue to hold our heads high. - Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam, Palestinian Authority TV, December 7, 2014.
Saeb Erekat, the chief PA peace negotiator who has become notorious for his outlandish historical revisions, stated during the Christmas tree lighting in his hometown of Jericho that Jesus is “the first Martyr, the first Palestinian.”
Sadly, it is not only extremists and fringe elements that are promoting this historical fallacy, but the very leaders whose example most Palestinians look to and follow. As such, the belief that Jesus was a Palestinian, just like the belief that the Jews have no history in this region, has become accepted truth among many local Arabs.
PHOTO: Screenshot from the 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ.”
VIDEO: Christmas in Nazareth
Monday, December 29, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
When the Christmas season begins, that's when Nazareth really comes to lfie.
The ancient Galilean town is the largest Christian community in Israel, the one country in the Middle East where the Christian population is actually growing.
Nazareth is well worth a visit any time of the year, but the following video shows why the Christmas season is extra special in Jesus' hometown.
Israeli Media Takes a Positive Look at Messianic Jews
Sunday, December 28, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
Israel’s leading media group, Keshet, has taken a keen interest in the nation’s Messianic Jewish community after one of its flagship television shows, the popular singing competition Kochav Haba (“The Next Star”), featured a Messianic Jewish contestant.
Keshet’s online news and entertainment portal, Mako, published a weekend story asking readers to take a closer look at Israel’s 15,000 Messianic Jews and to be more welcoming toward those who believe in Yeshua (Jesus).
The article opened by highlighting some of the hostile comments made after openly-Messianic songstress Shai Sol scored a spot in Kochav Haba’s second round following a mesmerizing audition performance.
The negative responses by some to Shai’s appearance were, as the article noted, characteristic of the typical mainstream attitude toward Messianic Jews. But the fact that Mako ran such a sympathetic piece is further evidence that much of Israeli society is not only increasingly tolerant of Messianic Jews, but is also growing more curious about what they believe, and why.
First, it should be noted that the Mako article used the name “Yeshua,” rather than the derogatory “Yeshu,” an acronym used by most Orthodox Jews meaning “may his name and memory be erased.”
Shai was asked by Mako to explain in greater depth what it means to be a Messianic Jew, a subject she briefly touched on in her Kochav Haba pre-audition interview.
“It is a stream of Judaism… We light Shabbat candles and worship God, read the Scriptures and learn the Bible,” replied Shai, noting that the one major difference with mainstream Judaism is that “we believe in both the Tanakh and the New Testament.”
Asked if that means Messianic Jews celebrate Christmas, Shai stated, “Absolutely not. We celebrate only the Jewish festivals. This is not Christianity, this is Messianic Judaism. After all, Yeshua was a Jew.”
The conversation inevitably turned toward “conversion” and “missionary activity.” The interviewer said that for her and many Jews, “when I hear ‘Messianic Jew’ I immediately think of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Shai said there was no connection. “The title ‘Messianic Jew’ always brings up negative connotations of Christians, of a cult, of missionaries. We are not missionaries walking around trying to compel people.”
The young singer explained that if someone like her interviewer was interested, “I would tell you about Yeshua and show you some [supporting] scriptures. I would invite you to a meeting at a [Messianic] congregation.”
Shai further clarified that Messianic faith is first and foremost “humanitarian” in nature, and that one cannot be compelled to accept Yeshua, who “after all [taught us] to spread love. He healed the sick and did many other social works.”
Shai said that many in the Messianic community had expressed support and satisfaction over the fact that a fellow believer had taken the national stage and in so doing had been boldly open about her faith.
“I have received a lot of messages from Messianic youth who are usually afraid to speak about [their faith],” said Shai. “They see in my ‘coming out’ an act of bravery, but I see it as natural.”
The interviewer noted that Shai has a great desire to be “a pioneer for the community, [part of] a Messianic vanguard that builds the bridge between Israeli society and Messianic Judaism.”
Shai will certainly have an opportunity to do that as she has started work on her first CD, and is scheduled to appear again soon on Kochav Haba, where critics rate her among the top contestants.
Jerusalem Home Hit by Firebomb
Sunday, December 28, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Palestinian Arab assailants hurled a firebomb onto the balcony of an apartment in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Nanatziv on Saturday night, causing damage but no injuries.
The owners of the apartment were in the their living room at the time of the attack, and quickly put out the flames before their home caught fire.
“We heard a boom which was extremely frightening. We were in shock. The bomb did not penetrate the apartment, but if it had gotten into our house, it could have set the house on fire,” the victim, Marcel Kornicher, told Israel’s Ynet news portal.
Armon Hanatziv is situated adjacent to the Arab neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber, which has been the scene of regular rioting over the past six months. In November, two residents of Jabal Mukaber attacked a synagogue in another part of Jerusalem, butchering four unarmed Jewish men and wounding many others during morning prayers.
Police and fire officials said they were taking firebomb attacks in Armon Hanatziv and other parts of the capital very seriously after last week’s attack in which 11-year-old Ayala Shapira was critically wounded.
Last Thursday evening, terrorists lobbed a firebomb at the car of Avner Shapira, who was driving home to the Jerusalem-area community of Ma’aleh Shomron with his daughter, Ayala.
Both father and daughter were injured in the attack. Ayala suffered third degree burns over most of her body and had to be placed in a medically-induced coma as doctors worked frantically to save her life.
By Friday afternoon, Ayala had reportedly improved slightly after doctors managed to open a small airway through her severely burned throat. But doctors stressed that the young girl’s road to recovery would be long and complicated.
“The struggle will be long. First we must stabilize her, revive her, and get her to a state where we can begin to reconstruct her face,” Professor Eyal Winkler, the Director of the Plastic Surgery Department at Sheba Medical Center, told Ynet.
His colleague, Professor Gidi Paret, the Director of the Department of Pediatric Intensive Care, explained that Ayala’s “situation is very complicated. She hears us, and we requested her parents to talk to her and stroke her in order to give her a sense of home.”
Over the weekend, police rounded up 12 suspects in the case, including two Palestinian Arab teens who confessed to firebombing the Shapira’s family car and catastrophically wounding a little girl.
The Bible and the Climate
Friday, December 26, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
Following a very wet start to the winter, Israel Today spoke to leading geophysicist Pinhas Alpert, author of Rain and Wind— Meteorology and Weather in Jewish Tradition and Modern Science.
For free access to the January issue of Israel Today Magazine, where you can read the whole article, CLICK HERE
Jewish Girl Critical After Palestinian Firebomb Attack
Friday, December 26, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Western media and even some politicians have in the past described stone-throwing and the hurling Molotov cocktails (firebombs) by Palestinians as “peaceful protest.” But a number of incidents over the past several years have demonstrated that stones and firebombs can kill just as easily as bullets, especially when targeting Jewish vehicles traveling on local highways.
That’s what happened on Thursday evening, when Palestinian assailants lobbed a firebomb at the car of Avner Shapira, who was driving home to the Jerusalem-area community of Ma’aleh Shomron with his 11-year-old daughter, Ayala.
Both father and daughter were injured in the attack. Ayala suffered third degree burns over most of her body and had to be placed in a medically-induced coma as doctors worked frantically to save her life.
By Friday afternoon, Ayala had reportedly improved slightly after doctors managed to open a small airway through her severely burned throat.
Earlier on Friday morning, a knife-wielding Palestinian Muslim stabbed two Israeli police officers following Islamic prayer services atop the Temple Mount. The assailant managed to flee the scene after stabbing one officer in the neck and the other in the hand. Both victims were listed in light condition.
These two incidents are in addition to the numerous rock, firebomb and other physical assaults against Jews in and around Jerusalem that did not result in injury, and where therefore not widely reported.
Local residents continue to speak of a “Silent Intifada,” a wave of low-profile terrorist violence that has the city’s Jewish inhabitants increasingly on edge.
Israeli Politicians in Volatile Whatsapp Group
Thursday, December 25, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
Think Whatsapp is only something you use with families or amongst groups of friends? Not in Israel, where Whatsapp has become something of a raucous digital town hall. Case in point, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported on a Whatsapp group that includes a large number of Israeli Knesset members from across the political spectrum.
The group includes Ofir Akunis (Likud), Miri Regev (Likud), Moshe Feiglin (Likud), Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi, Itzik Shmueli (Labor), Eitan Cabel (Labor), Miki Rosenthal (Labor), Boaz Toporovsky (Yesh Atid), Karin Elharar (Yesh Atid), Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu), Danny Dayan (Jewish Home), Tamar Sandberg (Meretz) and many others.
A transcript of a recent exchange in the group went as follows:
Akunis: As soon as the Islamic terrorism takes over Europea, the EU will change their minds [regarding Hamas].
Sandberg: Ofir, you have nothing else to do? Take care of your oil problem in the desert.
Dayan: Shalom and greetings to all listeners.
Tibi: Akunis, you need to resign your office. As Environment Minister you failed. When did Israel ever experience such an oil spill?
Akunis: I care about the oil spill. But won’t ignore this embarrassing EU decision. I condemn the EU decision with or without oil disaster.
Tibi: Your government is a disaster.
Shmueli: If I were in your [Akunis’] place, I’d instead worry about the Likud disaster in the Knesset.
Dayan: And you, Shmueli, should you worry about negotiating prowess of your party leader Isaac Herzog [who recently gave many Labor positions in a merger with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua faction]
Akunis: Dayan’s right! Concern yourself first about the [poor] humor of Tzipi Livni [who recently used off-color humor to lambast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a popular television satire show]
Shmueli: Did I hurt you?
Akunis: I think you feel offended.
Sandberg: Careful, it’s not only [Netanyahu’s] government that’s on the way out.
Regev: Everyone on the left is full of talk. You count your money in the bank, not in the stairwell. The merger between Labor and Livni has only reinforced Likud, but thanks anyway.
Shmueli: Regev, we won’t let you drag us back into chaos.
Sandberg: Applause.
Dayan: Shmueli, and you actually care about the poor people?
Regev: The poor people are the people, and the left are disconnected from the them.
Some Thoughts on Christmas
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 |
Ludwig Schneider
Even if we do not know the exact day when Jesus was born it is a worthy thing to celebrate the birth of Jesus on a certain day; after all we celebrate our own birthdays.
For free access to the "Christmas issue" of Israel Today Magazine, where you can read the whole article, CLICK HERE
Messianic Musician in Top Israeli Singing Contest
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
Young Messianic Jewish Israelis are increasingly taking the national stage without fear of who they are and in what they believe. That was literally the case on Tuesday when a young Messianic musician auditioned on Israel’s most popular televised singing competition.
So intriguing was the revelation by 20-year-old contestant Shai Sol that she believes in Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah that the top-rated Kochav Haba (“The Next Star”) made her pre-audition interview the focus of its promotional commercials earlier in the week.
When it came time for Shai to speak to the show’s hosts, Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, she boldly told them, “It seems right to reveal [that] I am a Messianic Jewess. We believe in Yeshua.”
“What does that mean?” asked Azar.
Shai explained that Messianic Jews are “Jews who believe in the Tanakh and the New Testament.”
Sela interjected, “So it’s a type of Christian?”
Shai clarified that faith in Yeshua as Messiah is a “stream of Judaism.”
Shai’s mother further expounded, “It’s a stream of Judaism because the New Testament belonged to us before they took it to Christianity.”
Azar expressed concern that announcing her faith might distract the judges from fairly evaluating her music, and advised Shai that “when they speak with you, leave this story out.”
“No way,” replied Shai. “I won’t hide who I am.”
Sela also questioned why the young singer should conceal her faith. “This is who she is,” said the popular model and television personality.
“Whoever would accept me must accept me as I am,” Shai stated firmly.
Persisting, Azar, who is openly homosexual, noted “as someone who is part of a minority that our society is very liberal in a lot of ways, but in others it is ugly and not liberal.”
Seeing that his arguments weren’t winning Shai over, Azar then wondered why her faith in Yeshua need be so openly pronounced “when you are actually here to sing?”
His co-host wasn’t impressed. “This is who she is,” Sela adamantly reiterated to Azar. “If there are people who won’t accept that, the problem is with them. [Shai] does not need to conceal who she is.”
Ultimately, as Shai stood briefly before the judges, she chose not to bring up the subject, just before delivering a mesmerizing performance that landed her a spot in the next round of the competition.
Synagogue Where Jesus Preached Uncovered
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 |
David Lazarus
A synagogue where Jesus likely preached has been uncovered on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. The 1st century Jewish house of prayer was discovered amidst the ruins of the ancient town of Magdala, home to the most well known female disciple of Jesus, Mary Magdalene.
"This is the first synagogue ever excavated where Jesus walked and preached," said Father Eamon Kelly of the Catholic organization developing the property. "This is hugely important for both Jews and Christians,” he added. The synagogue is one of only seven dating back to the time of Jesus uncovered anywhere in the world.
There is a very high probability that Jesus preached in this very synagogue. Before Tiberius was built, Magdala was the only town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 15:39 tells us that Jesus landed here as he "he took a boat, and came to the coast of Magdala." According to the New Testament, Jesus traveled extensively through this area teaching and preaching in local synagogues.
Magdala is just a few kilometers south of Capernaum, the fishing village where Jesus met Simon Peter, and not far from the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached his legendary Sermon on the Mount. The town is also situated on the road that Jesus walked from Nazareth and Bethsaida to Capernaum.
This area is on the Via Maris - an ancient trade route that ran from Egypt along the Mediterranean and then up the western shores of the Sea of Galilee all the way to Syria. Jesus spent much of his time here as it provided an important opportunity for him to teach the multitudes passing through.
People tend to think of Bethlehem or Jerusalem as central places in the life of Jesus, but actually Jesus spent most of his life and ministry in the Galilee and northern Israel. "Eighty percent of Jesus' public life was right here," says Father Kelly, pointing to the Galilee region.
In the times of Jesus, the local synagogue was not just a place for prayer, but also a community center where people would gather to discuss the news or share information about current events. Whenever a new rabbi came to town, it was custom for him to come to the local synagogue meet with the people and teach.
According to archaeologists, the Magdala synagogue was destroyed in 67 or 68 CE by the Romans. A sculpted limestone relief depicting a menorah was uncovered in the center of the synagogue. It is the oldest stone-etched menorah ever found.
Archaeologists have also found fishing pools and Jewish ritual baths at the site, which is now open for visitors.
Who Won't Be Celebrating Christmas?
Tuesday, December 23, 2014 |
David Lazarus
As Christians around the world enjoy the Christmas season, there is one group of followers of Yeshua (Jesus) who won't join the celebration. In fact, they will probably never observe that most central of Christian holidays.
For many Messianic Jews in Israel, Christmas simply isn’t Messianic and certainly isn’t Jewish, making it either irrelevant or unbefitting.
I spoke with a variety of Messianic Jews about believing in Yeshua and celebrating Christmas in modern Israel.
For free access to the "Christmas issue" of Israel Today Magazine, where you can read all the Messianic reactions, CLICK HERE
Our Holiday Gift to You!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
We are please to offer free access to the January 2015 issue of Israel Today Magazine as a holiday gift to all our readers.
Profound, accessible and reliable - this issue contains thought-provoking articles on how Israelis believers view Christmas, climate change debates, and the upcoming election.
Click here to read it now
We would also like to invite you to subscribe to Israel Today Magazine so you never miss another important story.
Click here to subscribe today!
Muslim Cleric Says Jews Should Pray on Temple Mount
Tuesday, December 23, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A prominent Jordanian Muslim cleric last week said that Jews should be permitted to pray atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, which is Judaism’s holiest site. Though the holy site is currently under Israeli sovereignty, Jews and Christians are strictly prohibited from even mouthing silent prayers while visiting.
Like most Jews and many Christians, Sheikh Yassin Al-’Ajlouni ascertained that control of the Temple Mount is “the most important issue of our times,” but said he saw no problem in permitting Jews to pray there.
In a video posted to YouTube, Sheikh Al-’Ajlouni acknowledged that the Jews have a connection to the Temple Mount, what he calls the Beit Al-Maqdis, noting that it “is the place sanctified by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, as well as by Jesus son of Mary and by the Muslims.”
Given that history, Al-’Ajlouni called “upon the Islamic world and upon the Hashemite [Jordanian] sovereign to allocate for the peaceful among the Jewish Israelites a house of prayer within Beit Al-Maqdis.”
Of course, he believes this newfound religious freedom for Jews on the Temple Mount should happen under the sovereignty of Jordan and the Palestinians, the former controlling the Temple Mount itself and the latter administering the eastern half of Jerusalem.
“There should be a special place of worship for the Jews among the Israelites under Hashemite and Palestinian sovereignty, and in agreement with the Israeli regime,” said the preacher.
Interestingly, when referring to the Byzantine Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time of Caliph Omar, after whom the Dome of the Rock is named, Al-’Ajlouni called them “Israelites who were Christians,” drawing a clear connection between all followers of Yeshua (Jesus) and the Nation of Israel.
While a handful of Muslim clerics like Al-‘Ajlouni recognize the Jews’ connection to the Temple Mount and have no problem with Jewish prayers there, the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust (Waqf) that oversees the holy site has repeatedly threatened violence if any but Muslims worship atop the sacred plateau.
Palestinian Muslims vigorously deny the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, and regularly harass and even assault Jews who dare to ascend and tour the site.
Left-Wing Leaders Vow to Keep Jerusalem United
Monday, December 22, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
The leadership of the front-running Labor Party on Sunday vowed ahead of the upcoming national election that they would keep Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty should the public vote them into power.
Party leader Isaac Herzog and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who merged her own Hatnua Party with Labor, made the promise during a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.
“We are committed…to preserving Jerusalem as our capital, to ensuring its future and to protecting this holy place,” said Herzog. “We will do everything to prevent it being divided. We will strive for its social character and for the fact that Jerusalem is not just stones.”
Livni was even more clear in her declaration: “We commit that — no matter what — [Jerusalem] will remain ours, the Jewish people, that it will remain under the jurisdiction of the State of Israel.”
The statements were curious to many observers, given that both Herzog and Livni advocate meeting most Palestinian demands in pursuit of a land-for-peace agreement. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, whom both Labor leaders deem a genuine partner for peace, has repeatedly stated that there would be no peace until Israel surrendered the eastern half of Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, a Knesset Channel poll published on Monday continued to show Livni, Herzog and the Labor Party coming out on top of the March 17 election. Were that scenario to hold true, Herzog would most likely become Israel’s next prime minister.
PHOTO: Herzog and Livni in Jerusalem’s Old City, an area the Palestinians demand control of in exchange for peace.
ISIS Jihadists Copying From Zionism
Monday, December 22, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
The reasons ISIS has been so much more successful than groups like Al Qaeda in attracting recruits is because it is following a model not dissimilar from how Zionism continues to attract Jews to make aliyah to Israel.
That was the conclusion of a recent study by Israeli expert Yigal Carmon, founder of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which since 1998 has been monitoring and providing translations of regional media.
“Al Qaeda glorifies holy war against the West alone,” noted Carmon. “ISIS members belong to a younger generation that realizes it has little change of a terrorist war against the West. So, instead of focusing on the West [an external enemy], they call for the establishment of a caliphate.”
Carmon, who was an advisor on counter-terrorism to former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, explained:
“The jihadists in Syria and northern Iraq convince Muslims in the West, mainly young people, to leave their country and to renounce all prosperity to fight for an Islamic state. They are persuaded that they do not belong in Europe. Because they are Muslims, they would have to return to their true home, which lies in the Middle East.”
Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, Zionism took a similar approach, calling on young Jews to leave the countries to which they didn’t truly belong and immigrate to their true homeland.
Carmon noted that ISIS and others have been using the word “immigration” in calling for recruits to join the caliphate.
Hamas Tries to Calm Gaza Tension After Rocket Strike
Sunday, December 21, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Apparently fearing renewed armed conflict with the Jewish state before it has fully recuperated from the summer’s Gaza war, Hamas officials over the weekend hurriedly announced that the group was not behind a Friday morning rocket attack on southern Israel.
Israel responded to the early morning terrorist rocket fire with a pinpoint aerial strike on a Gaza cement factory that was reportedly providing material for the reconstruction of Hamas tunnels into nearby Jewish communities.
“If there’s an escalation of hostilities, Hamas will be to blame,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted Israel would not tolerate even a single rocket against its citizens.
Palestinian media reported that Hamas officials had told Egyptian mediators that their group was not behind the rocket attack, and that whoever was responsible would be found and punished.
At the same time, Hamas has for months been boasting to Arab media from across the region over its fast-paced efforts to replenish its arsenal and dig new terror tunnels into southern Israel in preparation for the next round of fighting.
Last week, Hamas forces proudly marched through Gaza City with large missiles and aerial drones, a clear message that the group intends to strike Israel even harder next time, even to the detriment of its own population.
Are Hamas Terrorists? Christian Leader Says 'No'
Sunday, December 21, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The General Court of the European Union last week decided to remove Hamas from its list of recognized terrorist organizations, much to the outrage of a majority of Israelis.
But a Christian leader in Bethlehem suggested the European decision was correct and that America should follow suit, insisting there could be no genuine peace without engaging Hamas diplomatically.
Dr. Jonathan Kuttab (pictured), a human rights lawyer and chairman of the board at Bethlehem Bible College, posted to Twitter following the European court ruling:
A short time later, Kuttab posted that it was wrong for anyone to “criminalize” contact with Hamas, the group’s constant and deliberate targeting of civilians notwithstanding:
During the summer’s Gaza war, Bethlehem Bible College posted to YouTube a troubling video that seemed to justify and even support Hamas aggression against Israel. At the time, Israel Today collected a number of responses to the video from local Messianic leaders, some of which appeared on our website, while others were published in our monthly magazine.
One of those responses was provided by leading Messianic Jewish teacher Dan Juster, and is worth revisiting in light of Dr. Kuttab’s assertions.
“This [whitewashing of Hamas] is a stunning piece of propaganda,” said Juster. “Lenin, Stalin and Hitler would have been proud. They [certain Palestinian Christians] say they want to live normal lives. No, they don’t, since they support Hamas, for whom normal life is not even an entertained idea.”
Juster went on to call for a delegation of local Messianic Jews and Arab Christians to “confront [the Bethlehem Bible College] in love and call upon them to repent,” noting that “anyone who exonerates Hamas is an accomplice to terror, even if they profess pacifism personally.”
[hat tip: Rosh Pina Project]
Be sure to check out the January 2015 issue of Israel Today Magazine featuring an interview with a Bethlehem pastor who refuses to toe the anti-Israel line so prevalent among his Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters.
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Temple Mount Hosts Pro-Hamas Rally
Sunday, December 21, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A large group of Palestinian Muslims sporting green Hamas headbands rallied on Friday atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where they called for an Islamist conquest of the city.
Hamas flags were seen in plenty, and many of the demonstrators loudly pledged allegiance to the group’s most notorious terrorists.
The event was made possible by Israel’s reinstating a policy allowing hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to visit the Temple Mount every Friday for weekly Muslim prayer services.
Following the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza, Israel stopped allowing weekly visits by Muslim worshippers. In October, the government inexplicably reversed that decision.
The Temple Mount of late has been increasingly used as a platform from which to call for the eradication of Israel and support for radical jihadist groups like ISIS.
A prominent Muslim cleric late last month delivered a spontaneous sermon atop the Temple Mount in which he called for the “slaughter” of the Jews, “the most evil creatures to have walked this Earth.”
Omar Abu Sara also publicly praised the Islamic State, or ISIS, suggesting it would eventually aid in the utter destruction of the Jews and their state.
Hamas Missile Hits Southern Israel
Friday, December 19, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
For the third time since the conclusion of the summer’s Gaza war, Hamas terrorists operating from the coastal enclave fired a missile into southern Israel on Friday morning.
The locally-made Kassam rocket landed on the outskirts of an Israeli village, causing neither damage nor injuries.
For months, Hamas has been using the money and resources earmarked for the reconstruction of Gaza to instead arm and prepare for the next war against Israel.
Earlier this week, Hamas forces proudly marched through Gaza City with large missiles and aerial drones, a clear message that the group intends to strike Israel even harder next time, even to the detriment of its own population.
Just weeks after the summer war, Arab media was invited to examine Hamas terror tunnel projects that were restarted nearly the moment Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza.
All this as the European Union’s top court this week decided that Hamas no longer belongs on the list of recognized terrorist organizations, a move that has incensed Israelis across the political spectrum.
Israeli Messianic Leaders: The Church Needs Israel
Thursday, December 18, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Veteran Israeli Messianic leaders Jacob Damkani and Joseph Shulam got together for a little chat about the faith and restoration of Israel on Damkani’s online studio program, and the result was something that should be watched by Christians trying to get a handle on Israel and the Jews (see below).
The underlying theme of the chat was how to deal with the notion that Israel and its Jewish population must “convert” to faith in Yeshua (Jesus) in order to complete the restoration process.
“Israel is not being reformed, it is being restored,” said Shulam, director of Netivyah Bible Instruction Ministry. “It began 105 years ago with the first pioneers, through whose strength and courage, and with God’s help, this land has become one of the most advanced nations in the world.”
Damkani, an outspoken street evangelist, continued, “And here we are doing the same work of the pioneers on the spiritual level. They laid the foundation for the restoration of Israel physically, and now there are pioneers in the body [of Messiah].”
Then came the more difficult question of how to return the Gospel to its proper, Jewish context.
“The Jewish people are rediscovering our relationship with Yeshua… [following] a bloody past with the Christian world,” explained Shulam. “You cannot restore something without first clearing out the garbage, both on the Jewish side and the Christian side.”
Damkani chimed in by noting that “we received things in a certain way from the Christian world, and we need to really undress Jesus [of his] blonde [hair and] blue eyes…and discovery him anew so our people can relate to him.”
Shulam pointed out that this process was not only beneficial for the Jews, but for the Christians, as well.
“Christians [around the world] are beginning to realize that they don’t need to import all the division and tradition and man-made institutions from the West, that they can [instead] go straight to the Word of God,” he said. “And all of this through a connection with the historical Yeshua and the historical people of God, the Jewish people, and the Land of Israel.”
Shulam insisted that Christians reconnecting with this biblical foundation “is a key to the restoration. …You cannot have a biblical Church without the Jews being part of it.”
Damkani wondered what it would take to teach the wider Christian world that “it cannot do without Israel, and Israel cannot do without the Church, either.”
Shulam responded with the story of a famous Jewish rabbi who came to faith in Yeshua and who explained the faith-based relationship between Israel and the Church as being like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“The Jewish people have 70 percent of the pieces, but the Church has the centerpiece,” the rabbi was said to have taught, concluding that “we can never finish the puzzle without the Church, and the Church can never finish the puzzle without Israel.”
Watch the full discussion:
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Thursday, December 18, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
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Sodomite Justice at the EU General Court
Thursday, December 18, 2014 |
Tsvi Sadan
The General Court of the European Union is trying to minimize the impact of removing Hamas from the list of recognized terrorist organizations by emphasizing that its decision was merely "procedural," rather than political.
This seems to be an evasive excuse to say the least, particularly when considering the General Court's statement that it "finds that the contested measures [to freeze Hamas assets] are based not on acts examined and confirmed … but on factual imputations derived from the press and the internet."
This is a bizarre statement that seems to be unable to make the connection between "acts" and "factual imputations." This is like saying that an act of rape can't be proven by factual imputation of pictures provided by street cameras.
The General Court's explanation is likewise unconvincing in light of the escalating European measures aimed at coercing Israel into accepting what it deems unacceptable with regards to the peace process.
Indeed, one must wonder why the court convened at this time to deliberate on such a controversial issue in such a way that it has already become a source of great joy for Israel's worst enemies.
Technical as this decision is claimed to be, it is fundamentally a political decision that justifies the relentless assault against Israel. To put it more bluntly, the European judges have managed to turn morality upside down by the obvious insinuation that Israel, and not Hamas, is the perpetrator.
This brings to mind "the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah" that was so unbelievable that God Himself had to come down from His heavenly abode to see for Himself whether or not their actions ("acts") fully corresponded to the outcry against them ("factual imputation"). The question, of course, is what was so wrong with these people to merit complete and total destruction?
Not unrelated to the pervasive and blatant homosexuality that characterized these two ancient cities, Jewish tradition tells us that it was the judicial system that was the cause of the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah.
The sodomite judges were so off the mark that they actually turned conventional wisdom upside down. Their verdicts were so outrageous that they actually appeared to be quite logical.
One example was the case of a man who assaulted his neighbor's wife and caused her to miscarriage. The sodomite court ruled that the wife should be given to the assaulter so he could impregnate her. In another case, the sodomite court ruled that the one who cut off the ear of his neighbor's ass had to care for the animal until it healed.
A third example more related to our topic involved the sodomite court ruling that if one wounded his neighbor, the victim was to pay his assailant a fee for the medicinal service of bloodletting.
It appears as if what we are witnessing in the European General Court’s decision to remove Hamas from the list of recognized terrorist organizations is very similar to the sodomite justice system that so twisted common sense that it actually appeared as completely justifiable.
Israeli Election Less About Conflict, More About Economy
Thursday, December 18, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Yet another public opinion poll in the run-up to Israel’s early election scheduled for March 17 revealed on Wednesday that a merger between the two leading centrist parties would lead to victory at the ballot box.
According to the poll commissioned by Ha’aretz, if former Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction were to join forces with the newly formed Kulanu party of former Likud star Moshe Kahlon, the resulting list would win 24 seats in the next Knesset.
That same poll had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud winning 21 seats, and the opposition Labor Party walking away with 20 mandates.
Such a centrist bloc would have a far easier time than either Netanyahu or Labor leader Isaac Herzog in finding stable coalition partners. While there are rumors that the merger has been considered, Ha’aretz reported earlier that Kahlon had turned down an initial offer from Lapid.
What’s truly interesting about a poll dealing with totally hypothetical scenarios months before the election is what it reveals about the voters and what they want.
Both Lapid and Kahlon have been truly centrist with regards to the peace process. Both believe in constant engagement with what has thus far proved a failed formula for peace, while both ultimately lay the onus for past failures squarely on the Palestinian leadership and terror groups.
But neither Lapid nor Kahlon have ever made their positions on the peace process a central plank in their election platforms. Rather, both men are far more focused on the economic situation within Israel.
It would seem that for Israelis these days, stabilizing the economy and improving their quality of life is more important than continuing to pour resources into a peace process that to date has borne far more rotten than good fruit.
And for good reason. A State of the Nation report published by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies this week showed that a full 80 percent of Israelis have higher monthly living expenses than they do household income.
On average, Israelis are spending about NIS 1,000 more than they are earning. The report blamed skyrocketing housing prices around the country for the widening gap between expenses and income.
In his previous election campaign two years ago, Lapid made slashing housing prices for new homeowners his primary goal. In his previous post as minister of communications, Kahlon lead what has been dubbed the “Cellular Revolution” that ended certain monopolistic practices by Israel’s leading mobile carriers, and resulted in drastically reduced cellular communications prices in the market.
Those are the things that today speak to the bulk of Israelis, many of whom accuse Netanyahu of being out of touch with Israel’s lower and middle classes.
PHOTO: Israel’s next prime minister? Polls show Israelis more interested in Moshe Kahlon’s social welfare policies than Netanyahu’s promises to keep them safe from Iran and the dangers of a Palestinian state.
Palestinians Fear Their Own rulers
Wednesday, December 17, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
Two-thirds of the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria are afraid to criticize Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, according to a survey conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah.
The results of the poll come in the wake of Abbas arresting the leader of the strongest union in the Palestinian-controlled territories.
If two-thirds of Palestinians fear Abbas, how much more does the radical Hamas instill terror in the hearts of the residents of Gaza? Abroad, Abbas' Fatah-ruled Palestinian Authority is often depicted as a pragmatic counterpart to Hamas, and as a genuine partner for peace with Israel.
In Bethlehem, Palestinian church leaders and other Christian institutions assert that they enjoy broad freedom in so-called "Palestine." They talk proudly of freedom of speech and of the press under Palestinian Authority rule. Especially during the Christmas season these Christians preach about harmonious coexistence with the Muslims.
Either the results of the above survey are false and Palestinians in general do not really fear their government, or the Christians leaders in question are concealing the truth for fear of being punished by their Muslim rulers.
Welcome to the "democratic" Palestinian state everyone is so eager to establish.
New Archaeology Supports Existence of King David
Wednesday, December 17, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Detractors of the biblical text like to assert that its passages are filled with little more than folklore and myth. But new archaeological finds have again provided evidence that biblical figures like Kind David did exist and did rule over a large portion of the ancient Near East.
Leading journals recently wrote on the discovery of eight significant sites in Turkey and northern Syria which revealed the existence of a large Philistine kingdom under the rule of Tai(ta) of Hamath.
Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa says this is clearly the same regional ruler as the "Toi, king of Hamath" referenced in II Samuel 8:10, which records that when this king "heard that David had defeated the
entire army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to King David, to greet him
and to congratulate him on defeating Hadadezer in battle --- for Hadadezer
had been at war with Toi."
According to Prof. Galil: "We know for sure now that Toi of Hamath existed, and that he was indeed a historical figure. The biblical text in the Book of Samuel is therefore well supported by the historical reality of the 10th century BC."
These discoveries also helped to clarify more earlier Egyptian finds according to which the Ramses III boasted of having conquered Philistine cities in northern Syria. Previously, archaeologists had believed the pharaoh was exaggerating.
The finds in Syria and Turkey coincide with the recent discovery of a stele, or stone slab, from a later Aramean king, Hazael, who spoke of having killed 70 rival kings during his conquests. Among his listed victims are kings from the "House of David."
This new evidence backs up the biblical account not only of the existence of King David, but of the fact that he was far more than a small-time, hill-top chieftain.
Hamas-Ruled Gaza Prepares for Next War Against Israel
Tuesday, December 16, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
In Gaza, there is no serious reconstruction and certainly no disarmament. Instead, the Hamas-ruled enclave is gearing up for its next war against Israel.
Three months after Operation Protective Edge, nothing has changed in Gaza. The Palestinian media has been full of reports about how the people in Gaza continue to suffer and how Hamas does nothing to help, preferring instead to invest its time and money in new rockets and terror tunnels.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in the recent war are still living in tent camps set up by the refugee agency UNRWA. Well over one million Gazans continue to be caught in the middle of an often-violent dispute between Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Hamas sees violence against Israel as a means of strengthening its own position.
Reconstruction funds totaling USD $5.4 billion that were promised during negotiations in Cairo this summer continue to exist only on paper. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is currently touring the Persian Gulf in an attempt to collect the pledges.
But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the money is not being released because Hamas refuses to honor its agreement to hand over control of Gaza’s border crossings.
Hamas, in turn, blames Israel and Fatah of holding up the money, but it has become clear to both Israelis and Palestinians that the terror group will do anything to prevent the reconstruction of Gaza.
Israel, for its part, has been working for months with the UN to advance the reconstruction in Gaza. But every step of the way, Hamas has scuttled any progress, such as when it suddenly raised taxes on imported cement.
Earlier this week, Hamas forces proudly marched through Gaza City with large missiles and aerial drones, a clear message that the group intends to strike Israel even harder next time, even to the detriment of its own population.
Jewish Parents Honor Slain Druze Police Officer
Tuesday, December 16, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A Jewish couple from New York has decided to name their newborn baby boy after Israeli Druze police officer Zidan Seif, who was killed on November 18 while battling two Palestinian terrorists as they slaughtered Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in Jerusalem.
Seif was widely praised throughout Israel for his selfless actions on behalf of his Jewish countrymen, and his funeral was attended by thousands of Israeli Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Seif as a “hero of Israel,” and said his sacrifice was further proof of the blood bond that exists between the Jews and Druze of Israel.
Alexander and Jennifer Chester of New York agreed and named their newborn son Yaakov Zidan in honor of the slain officer.
“Zidan Seif was part of Israel’s patriotic and loyal Druze community,” Chester wrote in an article carried by Israel’s Ynet news portal. “When he heard the terror attack at the synagogue in Har Nof, he did not hesitate for a moment. He did not consider remaining on the sidelines because he wasn’t Jewish.”
Chester said that he considers Zidan to be “a Jewish hero, and he deserves to have his name spoken by Jews for the rest of time. [Zidan] deserves to have Jews name their children after him.”
Netanyahu Applauds Christian IDF Soldiers; 'We Are Brothers!'
Monday, December 15, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told a pre-Christmas gathering of Christians in Nazareth that they and the Jews are brothers, and that Israel will never cease to defend Christians against the forces that seek to harm and destroy them.
The gathering was organized by the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, whose spiritual leader, Father Gabriel Naddaf, was singled out repeatedly by Netanyahu for his untiring efforts to encourage young Christians to join the Israeli army and fully integrate with Israeli society.
“On the first of December, I took my own son, Avner, to the recruitment center in Jerusalem. He volunteered to become a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. The next day…Father Naddaf took his son, Jubran, to the recruitment enter in Tiberias. He volunteered to become a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces,” Netanyahu recounted to strong applause.
“We are brothers!” the prime minister exclaimed. “We are partners! Christians and Jews and Druze and Muslims who together defend the State of Israel.”
Turning to a group of Christian soldiers attending the event, Netanyahu stated, “We are brothers in arms. I commend you on the will to be full partners in contributing to and defending this nation.”
Netanyahu noted that it was not always easy for Arabic-speaking Christians to so fully join themselves to Israel, but vowed that “we will firmly support you against all that would harass you.”
Echoing what Father Naddaf has been busy instilling both in local Christians and Western leaders, Netanyahu pointed out that Israel is the only place in the region where Christians find safe haven.
“Christians are suffering in the Middle East,” said the Israeli leader, recalling the recent “shrinkage and disappearance of entire Christian communities, communities that were there thousands of years, since the birth of Christianity, entire communities that are erased in one fell swoop, brutally, savagely.”
Netanyahu insisted that all who would criticize Israel and work toward the birth of a Palestinian state that would most likely fall to Hamas must “compare this [regional situation] to Israel, the only nation in the region where the Christian population is growing.”
West Identifies Yet Another 'Window of Opportunity' for Peace
Monday, December 15, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Western diplomats say they have identified yet another of those apparently-not-so-uncommon “windows of opportunity” for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and US Secretary of State John Kerry has summoned everyone to Rome to talk about it.
“If there is a window of opportunity for a consensus resolution it might be this month,” an unnamed Western diplomat told Reuters last week, referring to frantic efforts to cobble together a UN resolution aimed at jump-starting the peace process before the Palestinians put forward their own, more hard-line motion.
Every year or so, American, European and “moderate” Arab leaders engaged in the peace process make similar announcements, usually at times when Israel and the Palestinian leadership are most unlikely to be able to agree on anything.
Even so, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for the Italian capital on Monday, primarily to make sure the Obama Administration sticks to its policy of vetoing any unilateral Palestinians moves at the UN Security Council.
“In a reality in which Islamic terror is spreading its branches to every corner of the globe, we will rebuff every effort that will bring this terror into our own home, into the State of Israel, and these things I say in the clearest possible way,” Netanyahu said before departing. “Even if they are dictated we will stand firm against them.”
The Palestinian resolution, which has been backed at the UN by Jordan, demands a full Israeli surrender of Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”) by November 2016 at the latest, and regardless of whether or not a bi-lateral peace agreement has by then been signed.
Those reading between the lines will notice that November 2016 coincides with the next presidential election in the US, meaning Barack Obama will by that time be a “lame duck” president and, therefore, far less likely to interfere in any subsequent moves should Israel fail to meet the resolution’s demands.
It is not certain the Palestinian resolution will pass in the Security Council when it is presented later this month, even in the absence of an American veto. Nevertheless, European leaders have taken advantage of the situation to hurriedly put forward a new framework for peace negotiations, though there remains some debate over whether or not it, like the Palestinian resolution, should have a two-year deadline.
Meanwhile in Israel, very few are focusing on the stagnant peace process as the Jewish state gears up for yet another national election. That also means that no leader, including Netanyahu, is going to make any far-reaching moves regarding the peace process until at least a month after the March 17 vote.
WATCH: Iranian Militiaman-Turned-Christian Visits Israel
Monday, December 15, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Afshin Javid was born into a pious Muslim family that heartily supported Iran’s “Islamic Revolution” and the rise to power of the ayatollahs. Today, he has embraced faith in Yeshua, and is looking to reconcile with former enemies, including Israel.
In an interview with Channel 2 News (see below) during a visit to Israel last month, Javid recalled that as a young man he enthusiastically joined what is known as the Basij militia in Iran.
The Basij Resistance Force is a volunteer paramilitary organization operating under the auspices of the Revolutionary Guard. It’s young members roam the streets of Iran brutally enforcing the dictates of their clerical overlords.
“We basically enforced Sharia on the streets,” Javid told his Israeli hosts. “If a girl talks to a boy, or a boy is talking to a girl, you grab them, you arrest them, you beat them. We were the ‘Children of Islam.’ That’s what Ayatollah Khomeini called us.”
He even personally took part in six executions, and recalled feeling nothing but callous hatred, despite not even knowing the alleged crimes of the condemned.
The Basij militia continue to be a driving force of anti-Israel sentiment in the Islamic Republic.
“I remember the days when I would walk the streets of Iran shouting ‘Death to Israel,’” said Javid with tears in his eyes. “I had never met a Jewish person, but I hated them.”
After coming to faith, Javid fled Iran, and now lives in Canada. He has hopes that a better future lies ahead for his native land, and can see the younger generations in Iran are ready for and in desperate need of change.
“The drug addiction in Iran is massive. [As are] the suicide rate, the divorce rate,” he explained. “[Everyone] is saying, ‘Look, we didn’t get any of the things that they [the ayatollahs] promised us.’”
But Javid doesn’t believe Western sanctions and diplomatic pressure are going to bring about the desired changes, and certainly not spark a new revolution.
“The only way to change the mindset of a nation is to show them in your friendship a better way to live,” he insisted, noting that Iranians “are stuck in their own school of thought.”
The narration in the following video is in Hebrew, but Javid speaks in English:
Pollster: Netanyahu Could Lose This Election
Sunday, December 14, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month set in motion the process of early elections against the backdrop of public opinion polls showing his Likud Party cruising to an easy victory. But more recent polls have revealed an opposite trend, and a leading pollster now says Netanyahu is by no means a shoo-in for Israel’s next prime minister.
Last week, a pre-election poll for the first time showed Likud coming in second to the leftist Labor Party and its new alliance with former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua faction.
According to that poll, carried out by the Knesset Channel, if elections were held today, Labor would win 23 seats, while Netanyahu and his Likud would take 21, meaning Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog would most likely be tapped by President Reuven Rivlin to form the next government.
Subsequent polls have again shown Likud on top, just barely, but Netanyahu also appeared to be losing the support of several centrist and right-leaning parties, meaning that even if Likud scores more seats, Herzog could still have the best chance of cobbling together a coalition.
Of note, both Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu Party and former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon’s new Kulanu faction have expressed willingness to join a Labor-led coalition. Current centrist powerhouse Yesh Atid, which is expected to take a nosedive in the upcoming vote, would also almost certainly join with Labor, as would the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, for the right price.
Professor Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, who conducts political polls for Channel 10 News and Ha’aretz, told a press conference organized by the Jerusalem Press Club that “it is no longer guaranteed that Netanyahu will be the next prime minsiter.”
Fuchs explained that up until about a month ago, Netanyahu remaining in the prime minister’s chair was considered a “1”, a statistical certainty. Today, said Fuchs, that number had dropped to somewhere between “0” and “1”, though he believed Netanyahu still had a better chance than any other candidate of heading the next government.
Fuchs further noted that the overall trend among Israeli voters is to the right, though parties like Yisrael Beiteinu and Kulanu crossing political lines could still bring a left-wing government to power. The professor also pointed out that the public’s growing distaste for Netanyahu notwithstanding, a plurality of voters still view him as the best candidate for prime minister
Study: Israeli Home Demolitions Deter Terror
Sunday, December 14, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israel takes a lot of flak for demolishing the houses of Palestinian terrorists who carried out successful attacks against Israelis. But a new survey by a respected international journal found that the policy had been successful, and, therefore, had saved many lives.
Appearing in the latest issue of the Journal of Politics, the study titled “Counter-Suicide-Terrorism: Evidence from House Demolitions” was jointly prepared by researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Northwestern University in Chicago.
After examining data from 2000–2005, the period during which Israel carried out the most home demolitions, the researchers concluded that the controversial security measure had resulted in “an immediate, significant decrease in the number of suicide attacks.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently resumed the practice of demolishing the homes of terrorists in response to a string of deadly attacks in Jerusalem.
In addition to providing a direct deterrent, home demolitions are also seen as a counter-measure to the fact that the Palestinian Authority pays a generous monthly salary to the families of jailed or deceased terrorists.
The Journal of Politics in a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication produced by the Southern Political Science Association and published by Cambridge University Press.
Israeli MK: We Can't Trust in God Alone
Sunday, December 14, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A leading, and somewhat controversial member of Knesset earlier this month stated that those in positions of authority in the Jewish state must not rely on God alone when making decisions regarding the governance of Israel.
“We have to hope, we need to pray, but to be rational,” MK Elazar Stern told a political conference organized by Besheva magazine.
Despite himself being a religious, yarmulke-wearing Jew, Stern was insistent that “…when we trusted in God alone, we lost out.”
Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman, the chief rabbi of the Migdal Haemek region in northern Israel, and a long-time personal friend of Stern’s, was not at all in agreement.
“I am sure that you do not mean what you say. …There are children sitting here. Do you want them to hear you say, ‘We relied on God and we lost out’?” Rabbi Grossmann wondered, before stating firmly that “without God there is no world, there is no Nation of Israel, there is no State of Israel, there is nothing, nothing!”
Stern later tried to clarify by noting that he believes “the state of Israel is a miracle. It has no explanation without God,” but remained committed to the notion that “a leader must make rational considerations” and that God cannot be confined to human rationality.
In the current government, MK Stern was a member of the leftist Hatnua Party. Ahead of the upcoming early election, and following Hatnua’s union with the Labor Party, Stern is reportedly looking for a new political home.
Jewish Family Targeted in Acid Attack
Friday, December 12, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A Palestinian Arab terrorist on Friday hurled acid at a family of Israeli Jews south of Bethlehem.
The attack occurred adjacent to the Palestinian Arab town of Husan. As the family was stopped at a local junction, the assailant hurled an acidic substance through an open window of their vehicle.
The father, mother and three of their children, aged 8–10, were all lightly injured in the attack.
The terrorist fled the scene, but was shot and seriously wounded a short distance away by an armed Israeli civilian. A screwdriver was found on the terrorist, indicating he had intended to also stab his innocent victims.
In other violence, a Palestinian rammed his car into an Israeli army checkpoint near the Samarian town of Nablus (biblical Shechem). No one was injured besides the driver.
Young Messianics Draw Closer to Jewish Roots
Thursday, December 11, 2014 |
David Lazarus
As many young Messianic Jewish believers in Israel draw closer to their Jewish roots, we let one young man share his views openly, views which may challenge traditional Christian notions.
The full article appears in the December 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Is Israel a Fulfillment of Prophecy?
Thursday, December 11, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israel’s increasingly vocal Christian antagonists have been trying to blunt support for the Jewish state by Christian Zionists by teaching that it must not be viewed as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
This despite the wholly unprecedented survival of an exiled people for 2,000 years and the eventual rebirth of their nation, and the fact that all this appears to line up pretty neatly with what the prophets foretold.
The reality is that the rebirth of Israel as a nation-state is the most tangible piece of evidence today that God exists and is faithful to His promises. That some leading Christian figures are teaching the opposite is a big problem, according to Tel Aviv-based Messianic Jewish congregation leader Ron Cantor.
“What is the purpose of prophecy if not to confirm the Word of God,” Cantor wonders rhetorically in a video posted to YouTube (see below).
The trick, of course, is being able to properly discern between what is prophetic and what isn’t. As Cantor goes on to explain, there are a few tests that can determine whether or not something is prophetic.
The first test is time. Despite being repeatedly attacked by numerically-superior enemies, the State of Israel has not only continued to exist these past seven decades, but has today become the region’s strongest economic and military power.
The second test is the direct fulfillment of other related prophecies. Jeremiah 16 speaks of a day when people would no longer chiefly identify God as the One who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, but rather as He who brought them home from the “land of the north.” The massive immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union, an “exodus” that outnumbered its biblical counterpart, can not but be referring to this event.
“The evidence is pretty overwhelming,” sums up Cantor. “The only way you can conclude that Israel is not a prophetic fulfillment is if you interpret these passages with a preconceived anti-Israel, anti-Jewish bias.”
Check out the full video below:
Palestinians, Not IDF, Denied Medical Aid to Dying PA Minister
Thursday, December 11, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
As additional details come to light in the untimely death of Palestinian Authority minister Ziad Abu Ein on Wednesday, it would seem that not only did IDF soldiers not kill him, but that Palestinian bystanders actually prevented the Israelis from providing life-saving medical aid as the official lay dying of an apparent heart attack.
What is known is that Abu Ein led what turned into a violent demonstration against Jewish “settlement activity.” That was, after all, his job in the Palestinian Authority. At some point, Abu Ein personally scuffled with Israeli Border Police officers, one of whom grabbed the minister by the throat and pushed him away.
According to Israeli, Russian and British journalists at the scene, it was some five minutes later that Abu Ein sat down short of breath and holding his chest. The eye-witnesses denied allegations that an Israeli soldier had struck Abu Ein in the chest with the butt of a rifle.
At this point, Tom Rayner of Sky News reported that a female Israeli medic attempted to clear the area and administer aid to Abu Ein. But the Palestinian mob was having none of it, and quickly moved the dying man to a nearby vehicle.
The report debunked Palestinian claims that Abu Ein was purposely denied medical attention, a factor that contributed to his death.
The circumstances seemed to support the Israeli army’s assessment that Abu Ein, who suffered from heart disease, had been hit by a major heart attack.
But still, Israel agreed to participate in a full investigation, including sending an Israeli representative, Dr. Hen Kugel, to Abu Ein’s autopsy. Kugel reported back that Abu Ein’s arteries were nearly 80 percent blocked, and that all signs pointed to a massive coronary attack.
“We know that he died from a heart attack. He had significant blockage of the arteries and his heart was in bad shape. When they grabbed his neck it caused massive stress which led to bleeding and then full blockage, which is what killed him,” Kugel told Israel’s Ynet news portal.
While the Palestinian doctors involved reportedly concurred that a heart attack ultimately killed Abu Ein, the Palestinian Authority nevertheless accused Israel of a “cold blooded murder.”
“After hearing the results of the autopsy, the Palestinian government holds Israel fully responsible for the killing of Ziad Abu Ein,” said spokesman Ihab Bseiso.
“What happened is a crime by all means, we cannot sit idle and silent (after) this crime,” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas reportedly told his cabinet.
“The PA has decided to stop all forms of coordination with Israel following
the intentional assassination of…Ziad Abu Ein,” stated Abbas aide Jibril Rajoub.
Already, the fresh incitement was bearing fruit on Thursday as riots erupted in Hebron ahead of Abu Ein’s funeral and Israeli police braced for additional violence in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Poll: Most Palestinians Support Terror Against Jews
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A Palestinian public opinion poll conduced this week found that an overwhelming majority of Arabs in the Holy Land support acts of terrorism against the Jews in order to protect Jerusalem’s Muslim-dominated Temple Mount from Jewish influence.
The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site, but modern Islam denies any Jewish connection to the site, and claims it as the Muslims’ third holiest site. Jewish visits to the Temple Mount and talk of permitting Jews to pray at the holy site are seen as a “provocation” by Arab Muslims in the region.
According to the poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 86 percent of Palestinians believe the Temple Mount is in “grave danger” from Israel.
As such, 80 percent said they support the recent string of deadly terrorist attacks targeting Israeli Jews, including last month’s gruesome synagogue massacre. Well over half of respondents said they would back the outbreak of a new terrorist uprising, or intifada.
It was against this backdrop that a prominent Muslim cleric late last month delivered a spontaneous sermon atop the Temple Mount in which he called for the “slaughter” of the Jews, “the most evil creatures to have walked this Earth.”
Omar Abu Sara also publicly praised the Islamic State, or ISIS, suggesting it would eventually aid in the utter destruction of the Jews and their state.
Watch Abu Sara’s vile sermon atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount:
Palestinian Minister Said Killed in Clash With IDF
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The Palestinian Authority official in charge of “settlement affairs,” Mr. Ziab Abu Ein, reportedly died on Wednesday following an altercation with Israeli soldiers near the northern Samaria Jewish community of Shilo.
Abu Ein was in the area leading a group of Palestinian protestors who ended up violently confronting local Jewish residents and the Israeli soldiers protecting them.
According to Palestinian reports, during the course of the confrontation, Abu Ein inhaled tear gas and was subsequently struck in the chest by the butt of an Israeli rifle. Israeli eye-witnesses said the Palestinian official was not struck by a rifle.
Whatever the case, Palestinian media later reported that Abu Ein had died en route to a nearby hospital in Ramallah. Israeli army officials appraising the situation said it appeared Abu Ein had died of a heart attack, and noted that he had suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes.
Despite evidence that Israel had played no role in his death, Palestinian Authority officials wasted no time decrying what they called Abu Ein’s “barbaric assassination,” and threatening to end all security cooperation with Jerusalem.
The incident threatened to plunge the region once again into a frenzy of violence as local Arabs, spurred on by Palestinian Authority media incitement, seek “street justice” against the Israelis.
Regarding Ziad Abu Ein himself, the man was more than simply the PA official in charge of opposing Israel’s “settlement activity.”
A long time member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council (also known as the Abu Nidal Organization), a recognized terrorist organization in Europe and the US, Abu Ein was convicted in the 1979 murder of two Israelis in Tiberias. He attempted to flee to the US, but was extradited to Israel in 1981 and sentenced to life in prison a year later.
Like many senior Palestinian leaders who had personally participated in the murder of Israeli Jews, Abu Ein was granted de facto amnesty with the signing of the so-called “Oslo” peace accords.
Jerusalem’s Silwan Shows Coexistence is Possible
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider
The international media heavily criticizes Jewish life in what is today called the Arab neighborhood of Silwan near Jerusalem’s Old City.
Every time a Jewish family moves into what historically was the City of David, it is presented as an act of provocation by so-called "settlers."
The media is quick to jump on stories of riots, stone-throwing and other violence in Silwan, but in reality there is a quiet and functioning coexistence between the neighborhood’s Jews and Arabs.
Jewish and Arab children playing peacefully on local streets never makes the evening news. Nor does a wedding invitation in Arabic hanging on the refrigerators doors of several local Jewish families. But even if it’s invisible to the world’s eyes, local Jews and Arabs often work together.
The Jewish residents speak of this openly. The Arabs, however, have to be more careful, often only speaking anonymously.
"One day," an Arab man named Bassem told us, "men knocked on my door and told me that it was forbidden from that moment on to work for Jews. The next morning, the tires of my car were slashed. I got the message. It wasn’t long before all 70 of the local Arabs working at the Jewish [archeological] excavation site quit their jobs."
The upcoming January issue of Israel Today Magazine includes additional interviews with Jewish and Arab residents of Silwan and a deeper analysis of the situation there.
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While Bassem toes the party line when it comes to criticizing Israel, he has nothing against the Jewish "settlers" who are his neighbors.
"I wish all my neighbors were like them [the Jews]," said Bassem. "But if you post my picture, or include my name, then you can be sure that my wife will be a widow and my children orphans! I know what I'm talking about. Some Palestinians were already killed just because they were suspected of having worked for the Jews."
Another local Arab who asked that we not even give him a pseudonym for fear of retaliation added, "I've driven pregnant Jewish women to the hospital several times on Shabbat [a day on which religious Jews won’t drive]. And Jews have helped me to apply for social assistance. Unfortunately, we also have Hamas and Islamic Jihad people among us who can not stand it when we live together in peace with the Jews."
Rabbi Doli Bassok, who is on the committee that moves new Jewish families into Silwan, also spoke of a muted coexistence. "We don’t always trust the Arabs, but we do respect them," he said. "None of us hate the Arabs."
Today, some 90 Jewish families totaling a little more than 600 people live in Silwan among just under 40,000 Arabs. Their presence is seen as a bulwark against efforts to again divide Jerusalem.
The upcoming January issue of Israel Today Magazine includes additional interviews with Jewish and Arab residents of Silwan and a deeper analysis of the situation there.
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WATCH: Arab Muslim Discovers He's a Jew
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Mordechai Halawa’s touching story of growing up a Kuwaiti Muslim with Palestinian Arab ancestry only to discover he’s actually a Jew has been making the rounds in the Israeli media over the past week.
Born Mumtaz Halawa, he always knew his grandmother had been a Jew who converted to Islam in order to marry his grandfather, an Arab from what is now the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Nablus (biblical Shechem).
In Islamic law, someone born to a Muslim father is, therefore, a Muslim. Halawa never thought differently of himself, despite knowing his grandmother’s background.
That was until a Jewish man in Canada, where Halawa had gone to study, informed him that Jewishness is not primarily a religion, but rather an ethnicity that cannot be erased by conversion to one religion or another.
“I felt that until that day I was in a dream world, and then someone smacked me and I woke up,” Halawa told Orot TV.
Having come to a sudden realization that he was the enemy he was raised to hate, Halawa changed his first name to Mordechai, immigrated to Israel, began living as a Jew, married a Jewish girl, and is proudly hopeful that the children he will one day have will be Israelis.
A number of research projects in recent years have revealed that Halawa might not be alone, and that a large percentage of what are considered to be “Palestinian Arabs” have at least some Jewish heritage.
The narration in the video below is in Hebrew, but Halawa speaks in English throughout (besides the opening seconds, when he is speaking to friends in Arabic):
PHOTO: Halawa standing outside the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem, where he lives today. (Orot TV)
Israel Eco-Disaster: We Must Care for Our World
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 |
David Lazarus
In what looks to be a disaster of biblical proportions, five million liters of oil gushed out of a broken pipeline flooding a desert nature reserve in southern Israel, causing one of the worst ecological disasters in the country’s modern history.
The oil poured out of the ground creating a seven-kilometer long river of poisonous sludge flowing down the Arava Valley and through the Evrona Nature Reserve located 20 kilometers north of Eilat. The unique nature reserve is home to many indigenous animals, flora and fauna from biblical times, including rare acacia trees.
“Rehabilitation could take up to 50 years,” said Guy Samet of the Environmental Protection Ministry, who called it one of the gravest pollution events in the country's history. “We are still having trouble gauging the full extent of the contamination,” he added. Police have ruled out foul play after discovering that the pipeline burst during regular maintenance work.
With heavy rains forecasted for this week, officials are now concerned that the highly toxic pollutants could run down to the Gulf of Eilat, endangering the coral reefs and abundant marine life in the Red Sea.
The aging pipeline was first opened in the 1960s to bring oil from Iran in the Persian Gulf and on to European markets across the Mediterranean. Since Israeli-Iranian relations broke down following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the pipeline has been used to bring oil from the Gulf of Eilat to different parts of Israel.
Like many Old Testament prophesies, oil spills can easily appear to be environmental calamities by which God punishes his people for recklessly tampering with his creation. Certainly, the thoughtless exploitation of the earth’s natural resources -- especially during the past century – and all in the name of socio-economic progress, is ungodly. The earth’s resources have been wastefully misused, and many plant and animal species have become extinct, due in many cases, to careless human consumption.
Some fear that modern science has given humans so much power that we think we can play God with the world. Indeed, without God’s Word and His wisdom to guide us, the unshackled progress of science and economics may very well destroy us before they can save us.
While the prophets predicted that God would cause the desert of Israel to blossom and new life to spring up in a land that was barren, one would have to be heartless not to be moved by the sight of the deer, birds and other precious wildlife squirming with suffocation stuck in the muck of this man-made oil spill.
Israel is a tiny land with a very delicate and easily damaged eco-system, and this awful ecological disaster is a rude awaking that we must be more careful in the way we take “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
For as it is written, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”
Do Israelis Want to Oust Netanyahu?
Monday, December 08, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israel is in full election-mode, and everyone is speculating what will be the outcome and long-term ramifications of the upcoming March 17 vote. According to surveys conducted this week, if a majority of Israelis get their way, Benjamin Netanyahu will no longer be prime minister.
A poll commissioned by The Jerusalem Post and Ma’ariv found that 60 percent of Israelis do not want Netanyahu as their next prime minister. According to a Channel 2 poll, 65 percent want a new leader.
Nevertheless, both polls continued to find that Netanyahu’s Likud Party will remain the largest faction in the Knesset following the election, meaning the leader of Likud is most likely to be chosen by the president to form the next government.
But what if Netanyahu were no longer the leader of Likud?
Likud is scheduled to have a primary election ahead of the national vote, and Netanyahu has some serious challengers to his position as party chief.
The Jerusalem Post poll revealed that most Likud voters would by a sizable margin prefer either former Welfare Minister Moshe Kahlon or former Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar to take over as head of the faction.
Kahlon left Likud several years ago, and has announced the formation of his own party that is expected to win at least 10 seats in the upcoming election. Sa’ar recently temporarily resigned from politics, but is said to be considering an immediate comeback to challenge Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, current opposition leader and Labor Party chief Isaac Herzog is declaring on an almost daily basis that he will be Israel’s next prime minister. If the will of the people as reflected in the above surveys holds, Herzog might just be right.
Poll: Israeli View of Obama Falls (Even Further)
Monday, December 08, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Whereas his predecessors were consistently counted among Israel’s best friends in the international arena, US President Barack Obama is seen by the majority of Israelis as being either neutral or negative toward the Jewish state, according to a new survey.
Conducted late last month by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the poll revealed that only 37 percent of Israelis believe Obama has a “positive” attitude toward their country. An equal number labeled the American leader as “negative,” and the remainder listed him as neutral.
Even worse, as far as Israelis are concerned, has been Obama’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and other regional issues.
Some 52 percent of respondents said Obama’s handling of the peace process had been “bad,” and 65 percent felt his policies in general had damaged America’s standing in the Middle East, which in turn harms Israel’s position.
Days after the results of the survey were published, reports leaked that the Obama White House was considering sanctions against Israel, a wholly unprecedented move for an American government.
According to the reports, Obama and his top aides had discussed sanctions as a means of deterring Israeli “settlement activity” and kick-starting the once-again stagnant peace process.
While the reports, which cited unnamed Israeli diplomats, remain unconfirmed, US congressional leaders aren’t taking any chances, and a letter to the president signed by 48 members of the House of Representatives read thus:
“Recent reports suggest that your administration has held classified meetings over the past several weeks to discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions against Israel for its decision to construct homes in East Jerusalem. Israel is one of our strongest allies, and the mere notion that the administration would unilaterally impose sanctions against Israel is not only unwise, but is extremely worrisome.”
Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014, reaffirming Israel as a “major strategic partner” of the US. The bill had already won unanimous support in the Senate back in September, and will now be placed on Obama’s desk for his signature.
Syria Furious, Unlikely to Respond Over Alleged Israeli Airstrike
Monday, December 08, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The embattled regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad on Sunday demanded international sanctions against the Jewish state after what were reported to be Israeli warplanes bombed military targets in Damascus and along the Syria-Lebanon border.
Syria’s official SANA news agency suggested the airstrikes were related to Israel’s upcoming national election and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to remain in power.
But the former head of the Free Syrian Army, Salim Edris, wrote on a website belonging to the Syrian opposition that the target had been advanced S–300 anti-aircraft systems provided by Russia, which Israel feared could make their way into the hands of Hezbollah.
Regardless of the target, the Syrian regime said the act of aggression was unacceptable, and called for “imposing deterring sanctions on Israel, which did not hide its policy in supporting terrorism,” a reference to Damascus’ claims that Israel is actively supporting the various Syrian rebel forces.
While many in Israel have voiced support for the Free Syrian Army and some of the previous Israeli airstrikes certainly aided the battle against Assad’s forces, Jerusalem remains wary of getting too heavily involved.
There is concern in Israel that should Assad fall, any number of forces could seize power in Syria, including groups affiliated with Al Qaeda, turning the country into even more of a have for terrorist activity than it is today.
Christian Affection for Islamic Terrorism
Sunday, December 07, 2014 |
Tsvi Sadan
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you … will perish. (Esther 4)
I am fully aware of the diversity existing within the Christian world. I know that Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), for example, does not even represent all the Presbyterians, let alone other denominations. I also know about the millions of Christians that are true allies of the Jewish people and Israel.
I am also aware of the preference of many to see Christian anti-Semites as "false Christians." But this seems too convenient. It's like me calling self-hating Jews like Norman Finkelstein heathens. Anti-Semitism is a Christian problem that decent Christians need to deal with decisively.
That being said, let me direct attention toward another disturbing growing phenomenon: Christian ties to Islamic terror organizations that are primarily concerned with Israel.
The most publicized case for such ties came to light after Senator Ted Cruz appeared at the inaugural summit of a new organization called In Defense of Christians (IDC), convened in Washington DC this last September. Cruz was booed out after saying that the participants should support Israel.
A day before the conference, Cruz discovered that some of the speakers from the Middle East, like the patriarchs of the Syriac and Maronite Churches, were expressing support for Hezbollah. While these two patriarchs can be excused for befriending terrorists for the sake of their communities, one must wonder about the motivation of some PCUSA members in cozying up to the Lebanese terrorist militia.
PCUSA ties to Hezbollah were exposed a few days ago by the Israeli legal organization Shurat Hadin (Israel Law Center). Contrary to the vague allegations raised by Cruz, on December 5 Shurat Hadin filed a detailed IRS complaint against PCUSA for conducting prohibited activities under US tax law that included meetings between PCUSA members and Hezbollah terrorists.
According to Shurat Hadin, "documentary and video evidence was sent to the IRS showing PCUSA delegates meeting with members of Hezbollah – which is designated by the US as a terrorist organization – as well as publishing anti-Semitic materials and passing around political advocacy materials in violation of its status."
PCUSA is not alone. Leaving aside Palestinian Christian terrorism, a troublesome phenomenon not properly addressed by any of the churches, a growing number of Western Christians have started to collaborate with the Muslim fight against Israel, primarily via support for anti-Israel Palestinian Protestant organizations like Sabeel and Kairos.
Much more blatant is the Christian support for Hamas that has grown virally after the summer’s Gaza war. Non-denominational movements like Tony Compolo’s Red-Letter Christians continue to be counted among those trying to help Hamas to "free Gaza."
And films like With God on Our Side by Porter Speakman, Jr, formerly of Youth With a Mission, and Little Town of Bethlehem, produced by Oral Roberts University chairman Mart Green, are much more than run-of-the-mill anti-Israeli propaganda. By romanticizing Muslim expressions of hate for Israel, such films have effectively become recruitment tools.
Though Christian support for Palestinian violence has thus far remained nonviolent itself, to think this will remain the case is naive at best.
Strange as it may sound, it is precisely at times like this, times of capitulation to false and deadly anti-Semitic narratives, that Christians can shine through and demonstrate the true nature of their faith, which is nourished by Jewish roots. There are many millions of good and honest Christians out there. Will we hear their voices?
Star of David Shines in Miss World Beauty Pageant
Sunday, December 07, 2014 |
David Lazarus
Miss Israel is representing her native country in the international Miss World beauty pageant adorned in a patriotic blue and white gown featuring the Star of David.
Mor Maman, the current Miss Israel, is highlighting her pride in her native land of Israel. The bold decision by Miss Maman to appear in a dress depicting the symbol of the State of Israel is intended to make a clear statement to the international community: Israel is alive, well and here to stay!
Showing off the national colors of Israel with the star of David embossed across the front and along the arms of the gown, Miss Israel will be competing against 100 other beauty queens from around the world.
Last year the pageant was watched by over 2.5 billion people in 180 countries. This year over 3 billion are expected to view the 64th annual event, which will be broadcast live from London.
The competition began on November 20th and concludes with the Grand Final on 14th December.
There is a Miss World app – a free smartphone application from which viewers can vote for their favorite contestants and help them advance to the final round.
View From Israel: Aftermath of the US Midterm Elections
Thursday, December 04, 2014 |
Victor Mordecai
Obama wants to let Shiite Iran “duke it out” with Israel—and even with the Sunni Arab states—without the US having to get involved. Can the Republicans, who crushed the Democrats in the elections, do anything about this before Obama’s appeasement policy allows Iran to acquire the atom bomb?
The full article appears in the December 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Messianic Guest House Loses Appeal to Lesbians
Thursday, December 04, 2014 |
David Lazarus
A Jerusalem District Court has rejected the appeal of the Messianic village of Yad Hashmonah and has ordered it to pay compensation to the tune of USD $15,000 to two lesbians for refusing to allow a wedding reception on its premises.
Judge Moshe Hacohen upheld the previous ruling that since the Yad Hashmonah Messianic Guest House is a open to the public, the community cannot impose its religious faith on individuals or groups who want to use its facilities.
“There were no contradictions in this case,” said Hacohen. “Yad Hashmonah refused to allow the wedding reception because the women are lesbians. In their appeal, the village claims that they have authority to refuse the reception because of their faith. Most of the members of the village are Messianic Jews, who base their faith on elements of Judaism and Evangelical Christianity, a faith based on the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament as the word of God.”
In its appeal, Yad Hashmonah explained that “the lifestyle of these lesbians is in absolute contradiction to the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. The laws regulating freedom of religion must protect us from allowing a ceremony in our backyard which is in complete contradiction to our faith.”
However, the Jerusalem Court determined that the refusal by Yad Hashmonah to allow the lesbian celebration is against the law, which states that “it is forbidden to act in a way that discriminates against persons for services rendered or entrance to public places.” The judge pointed out that the village’s Messianic meeting room is completely separate from the guest house, which is a secular tourist business.
Yad Hashmonah’s lawyers, Michael Decker and Sarah Weinberg, argued that it was the village’s legitimate right to refuse the lesbian celebration given its members’ beliefs in the Bible and their faith, which prohibits same-sex marriages. The lawyers explained that the Messianic believers hold dearly the importance of traditional marriage between and a man and a woman.
The court agreed that the residents of Yad Hashmonah had every right to practice their faith. However, since they are running a regular secular business, they are required to adhere to the law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion or sexual preferences. If Yad Hashmonah wants to open its business to the general public, the judge ruled, then they must be willing to provide services even to persons or groups who are not to their liking or taste.
There are many guest houses and businesses in Israel that are owned and operated by Messianic or Christian organizations. The ruling comes as a warning to all faith-based establishments in Israel that they cannot refuse use of their facilities once they have opened them up to the public.
Netanyahu's Youngest Son Enters the IDF
Thursday, December 04, 2014 |
Yossi Aloni
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, along with their eldest son Yair,
accompanied their youngest son Avner to the recruiting center at Ammunition Hill in
Jerusalem prior to the start of his military service in the role of combat field
intelligence.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said:
"We are as excited as any father and mother, seeing their
son going to the army. We are filled with pride and naturally concern. Everyone
experiences this, every home in Israel, we are no different.
"I told Avner to guard the country and to look after himself. I wish all the soldiers who
are enlisting today success."
The Prime Minister's wife, Mrs. Sara Netanyahu, wished all the recruits success and a safe return home.
Netanyahu chatted with recruits and their families and wished them success on their
recruitment.
Early Elections: Who Wins, and Who Thinks They'll Win?
Wednesday, December 03, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
It’s official. The current government in Israel is dissolving. An early election has been set for March 17, 2015. The nation is about to be plunged into yet another season of political campaigning.
The question on the minds of just about everyone is who benefits most from this move, and, equally important, who thinks they will benefit, but might be sorely mistaken?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triggered the early election process by firing the two leading left-wing ministers in his cabinet - Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni - in hopes that going to the polls would deliver a less fractious 20th Knesset, enabling him to form a government that, in Netanyahu’s words, doesn’t include an “internal opposition.”
Surveys conducted by Channel 2 News and Channel 10 News shortly before Netanyahu’s announcement showed that most Israelis blamed the prime minister for the early elections, but that a plurality of voters would choose his Likud party in the upcoming poll.
According to both surveys, Likud will win 22 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset in March, making it easily the largest party. Next would be the right-wing Jewish Home faction with 17 seats, followed by the left-wing Labor Party (13), a new right-wing party headed by former Likud heavyweight Moshe Kahlon (12), and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu faction with either 10 or 12 seats.
Lapid’s Yesh Atid party is predicted to fall from 19 to just nine seats, while Livni’s Hatnua faction will win just four mandates, barely passing the 3.25 threshold to make it into the Knesset.
If those numbers hold true, Netanyahu might get his wish of being able to form a majority coalition made up of only right-leaning parties that largely share his views on issues ranging from the peace process to economic reforms.
There is much speculation that Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett had a hand in bringing about the early election given that he and his party stand to gain the most. Jewish Home is the only party predicted to grow by more than 50 percent, and Bennett could then make a strong case for demanding the position of defense minister, putting him on track to one day take the prime minister’s chair.
Those on the left see a different outcome.
“The state of Israel isn’t stuck with Bibi anymore,” declared Labor MK Stav Shafir, referring to Netanyahu by his popular nickname.
Shafir continued by calling on left-wing voters: “This is our chance, the democratic camp in Israel led by the Labor party, to show that it is possible to do things differently. This is our time to bring the change that the public in Israel wants so badly.”
Earlier in the week, Shafir’s boss, Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, insisted that despite the current poll numbers, he will be the next prime minister of Israel. “I think today it is clear that I present an alternative to [Netanuahu],” he told Channel 10. “I believe I’ll lead the next government.”
Further afield, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped that whatever government comes next will help advance his own failed efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a failure that Kerry and the Obama Administration largely blame on Netanyahu.
Last, and certainly least, is Hamas, which tried to connect the dissolution of the Knesset to the summer’s Gaza war, even though security issues played little-to-no role in the disputes between Netanyahu, Lapid and Livni.
“The collapse of the Israeli coalition is another example of our victory and of Netanyahu’s defeat in Gaza,” declared ever-informative Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
PHOTO: The 19th Knesset votes unanimously for its own dissolution. (Flash90)
'Palestinians No Longer Believe in Two-State Solution'
Wednesday, December 03, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israeli human rights lawyer Calev Myers, who has done much to defend the local Messianic Jewish community, says most average Palestinians no longer believe in or desire a two-state solution.
Myer’s and his Jerusalem Institute of Justice were recently invited to present the findings of their research before the French Parliament, the Paris Institute of Political Science and other leading institutions in France.
“…the vast majority of Palestinians living in the disputed territories, who do not receive a salary from the Palestinian Authority, would prefer to be citizens of Israel, rather than the proposed state of Palestine,” Myers wrote in a report of the advocacy trip.
A central part of Myer’s long struggle for basic human rights in this land has been taking on the Palestinian Authority, which receives a historically unprecedented amount of international financial aid that never seems to trickle down to the people in need.
“Over the past twenty years, the Palestinian Authority received approximately 26 billion dollars from the international community to build the infrastructure of a future state,” Myers noted. “Tragically, it decided to invest these precious resources on other goals, particularly the personal enrichment of corrupt leaders, as well as military armament for the destruction of Israel.”
Given this situation, and the comparably high living standards of the Arab citizens of Israel, Myers argues that “the Palestinian people no longer believe in two states for two peoples,” and that a one-state solution is now preferable.
Muslims Desecrate Temple Mount by Playing Soccer
Wednesday, December 03, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The Muslims claim that Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, or, more accurately, the Al Aqsa Mosque that occupies its southern end, is the third most holy site in Islam. The Muslims regularly demonstrate their reverence by using the sacred plateau as a soccer field, much to the consternation of the Jews, for whom the Temple Mount is the most holy site in the world.
The Islamic authorities that oversee the Temple Mount could care less if Jews are offended by the soccer matches, given that they do not recognize the Jews’ historical and religious connections to the site.
But Israeli law does, and it officially forbids the desecration of this holy site in such ways.
Police officers stationed at the site are supposed to put an end to soccer games played atop the ruins of the biblical Temple. But just as Muslim intimidation prevents police from protecting freedom of worship for Jews and Christians atop the Temple Mount, so too does it preclude any interference in these acts of desecration.
In fact, insisting that the law be enforced in this regard could land the offended party in hot water, as a Jewish man who became upset upon finding Muslims playing soccer on his religion’s most hallowed ground discovered this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently reassured Jordan’s King Abdullah II that his government would in no way alter the Temple Mount status quo, which permits the Jordanian-linked Islamic authorities there to forbid any hint of non-Muslim worship and to belligerently disregard any Jewish affiliation.
Kurdish Leaders: Israel, US Could Do More Against ISIS
Tuesday, December 02, 2014 |
Elizabeth Blade
As the terrorists of the notorious Islamic State or ISIS sweep across the Middle East, one group more than any other has borne the brunt of trying to halt the advance of the jihadist horde. Israel Today’s Elizabeth Blade spoke with two representatives of the Kurdish people—one from Iraq and the other from Syria—who helped shed light on the situation in this war-stricken region.
The full article appears in the December 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Messianic Video Series Answers Rabbis' Objections to Jesus
Tuesday, December 02, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
What started as a brief set of video responses to anti-Messianic activists in Israel (see below) has blossomed into a new online initiative featuring no fewer than 52 short clips answering the most pressing rabbinical objections to Yeshua (Jesus).
A new Hebrew-language website (messiah.co.il) presents the videos produced by local Messianic media professionals Eitan Bar and Moti Vaknin of the Internet-based ministry “One for Israel.”
The videos and website are “our most advanced production so far, and perhaps the most advanced in Jewish Evangelism until today,” wrote Bar. “In these videos we expose how the Rabbis have been keeping Jesus a secret from Israel for over 2,000 years. We even quote ancient Jewish sources showing that the Old Testament prophecies we refer people to were interpreted in the past just as we interpret them today - as being about the Messiah!”
Israel Today has written before about One for Israel, which is taking a fresh approach to evangelism in the Jewish state. Israeli society is one of the most “online” in the world, and recent statistics showed that every month 18,000 Israelis search Google for the term “redemption,” and over 22,000 search for “Yeshua.”
Some of the topics addressed in the new video series include:
- Why do the rabbis really reject Jesus?
- Can you be Jewish and believe in Jesus?
- Is the Messiah supposed to rule like King David or suffer like Joseph?
- Is the Messiah an incarnation of God in flesh and blood?
- Is the New Testament Anti-Semitic?
- Son of God: a pagan concept, or a Biblical one?
- Does the New Testament claim that Israel have been rejected or replaced?
Below are the two original videos published by Eitan and Moti with English subtitles:
Netanyahu Fails to Save Coalition, Early Elections Expected
Tuesday, December 02, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his finance minister, Yair Lapid (pictured), held a stormy meeting on Monday that was intended to save the governing coalition, but instead made the prospect of early elections all the more likely.
Lapid heads the Yesh Atid party, which is the largest single party in Netanyahu’s coalition. He has for months been at odds with the prime minister over a proposed economic reform that would eliminate taxes on young couples buying their first home, a move Lapid hoped would stimulate Israel’s slumping housing market and bring prices more within reach of average Israelis.
During their meeting, Netanyahu demanded that Lapid freeze the plan, which had been the central plank in Yesh Atid’s electoral platform. He also insisted that Lapid openly back the controversial “Jewish State” bill that would codify Israel’s nature first and foremost as the national homeland of the Jewish people. Lapid and other left-leaning ministers fear the bill would result in discrimination against Israel’s minorities.
Following the meeting, Lapid accused Netanyahu of secretly acting on behalf the ultra-Orthodox parties, with whom it is rumored he would like to form the next government.
“The prime minister decided once again to behave irresponsibly for the nation and put the needs of the public last on his priorities,” Lapid said. “The citizens of Israel understand today that they are led by a prime minister who does not keep his promises, who prefers his own political survival over the good of the public.”
For his part, Netanyahu insisted that the constant bickering and threats from his ministers had made it impossible to effectively govern.
“If the unprecedented behavior of the ministers continues, we will have no choice but to request the support of the voters again,” the prime minister said. “It is not the choice I want, but it is worse to have a government with ministers who harm it against the interest of the public.”
Opposition parties have already submitted a motion for the dissolution of the Knesset, and party officials say Netanyahu’s Likud faction will support them, thereby accelerating the process of early elections, which would presumably be held by mid-March of next year.
Current polls suggest that Netanyahu and his Likud will handily win the election, and that the right-wing overall will benefit, while leading centrist and left-wing parties will almost all lose mandates.
BDS Would Rather Hurt Israel Than Help Palestinians
Monday, December 01, 2014 |
David Lazarus
The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) National Committee are trying to block a $5.4 billion investment to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
The huge sum of money was pledged during a conference this October in Egypt in order to help reconstruct some of the damage done during the recent Israeli military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Norwegian foreign minister who played a role in organizing the fundraising conference announced that half of the 5.4 billion dollars was to be used for rebuilding efforts in Gaza, while the remainder was to support the budget of the Palestinian Authority through 2017.
But the BDS boycott-Israel people are not happy with the project and are actively protesting the Gaza rebuild. Anti-Israel boycott groups are opposed to the rebuild because they are more interested in damaging Israel than helping the Palestinians. They want to keep the Palestinians in poverty, show pictures of destroyed terrorists’ houses and stir up more anger, aggression and sanctions against the Jewish nation.
“It is time the UN feel the extent of public outcry as details emerge of the UN’s complicity in keeping Gaza under siege,” the BDS people claim in a mass mailing demanding that the UN reject the multi-billion dollar support for the Palestinians.
The boycott-Israel groups have run out of ways to criminalize and boycott Israel, so they are now focusing their attention on preventing the Palestinians from developing their lands. They have learned that keeping the Palestinians in poverty and increasing their suffering stirs up international anger and backlash against Israel.
That is the same strategy these hate groups tried when they called for a boycott of the popular SodaStream factory east of Jerusalem. The boycott-Israel groups tried to shut down the factory that employed over 600 Palestinians and and put food on the table and shelters over the heads of their thousands of children. The Palestinians themselves refused to cooperate with the boycott-Israel extremists whose policies would only hurt them while trying to destroy the Jewish nation.
This new BDS rejection of such substantial aid to the Palestinians in order to stir up hatred towards Israel is alarming on many levels, but even more dangerous is their direct support for radical terror groups.
The Palestinian Authority had requested the $5.4 billion for the rebuilding project not only as a chance to repair the damage from the war, but also to weaken the Hamas militants who ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007. The boycott-Israel people want that money to go to Hamas in order to rebuild their terrorist armament.
Israel contends that the building materials donated in the past for building projects in Gaza were used to construct tunnels into Israel intended for terror attacks. Guy Inbar, the spokesman for an Israeli military body that oversees shipments to Gaza, said, “Some of the tunnel-building materials were destined for Palestinian aid agencies, but most of it came through former smuggling routes underneath the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.”
It is unclear how much of this material, if any, wound up with Hamas—an estimate the Israelis were not prepared to make. What is clear is that the BDS and other boycott-Israel affiliates are anti-Semitic warmongers whose only desire is to destroy Israel. By channeling UN funds and other international investments to support Hamas terrorists and other jihadist organizations they are robbing the Palestinians of their rights to live in this land, making them dangerous enemies of both Jew and Arab.
PHOTO: A BDS campaign grotesquely misuses a picture of Jewish Holocaust survivors for its anti-Israel agenda.
Jerusalem Remembers General Who Halted WWI
Monday, December 01, 2014 |
Charles Gardner
The World War I British officer who gave the order to lay down arms in 1918 is the subject of a year-long exhibition in Jerusalem that opened last week.
On the 50th anniversary of his death, Lt.-Gen. Sir William Dobbie’s life is being celebrated at Christ Church, an Anglican community with strong links to the family and located within the ancient walls of the Old City.
When in 1929 riots broke out in what was then part of the British Mandate of Palestine as Arabs became anxious about growing Jewish immigration, the then Brigadier Dobbie – a distant cousin of T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia fame) – successfully brought calm to the situation as he sought God’s guidance!
With very few troops and widespread disorder throughout the country, the career army officer and devout Christian was faced with a dilemma.
Rejecting outright such suggestions as placing the country under martial law or requesting RAF bombing raids on Arab villages, Dobbie turned to prayer.
It was hardly a textbook tactic but, when reinforcements arrived, he spread his men very thinly to cover as wide an area as possible, and the violence ceased in the early stages before things got out of hand.
Out of gratitude, the Jewish community of Hebron presented Dobbie with a silver Hebrew Bible.
As the staff officer on duty on November 11, 1918, Dobbie (then a Lt.-Col.) signed the telegram calling for hostilities to cease at 1100 hours. He actually fought on the front line in all three major wars of the twentieth century, starting with the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902. Then in April 1940 he came out of retirement and helped turn the tide of World War II as he led the defence of Malta, the most bombed place on earth.
Also covering the contributions his family have made to Israel’s welfare, the exhibition includes historic photographs, a film montage, Dobbie’s books and the silver Bible.
The general’s son, Colonel Orde Dobbie, was a member of Christ Church with his wife Flo while living in Jerusalem during the 1970s and 80s. And his grandson, Jos Johnston, has set up the exhibition.
In the foreword to his memoirs – A Very Present Help – Gen Dobbie wrote:
“During the course of a long, varied and interesting military career I have had many tokens of God’s great goodness to me. I have seen his overruling control in my life and his guidance in my affairs… I desire to emphasise, especially to the rising generation, that it is a practical and intensely real thing to let Christ come into one’s life, and that today, as ever before, it is no vain thing to trust in the living God.”
And it was while commanding troops in the Holy Land in 1929 that he gave New Testaments to his soldiers, with the following inscription:
“You are stationed at the place where the central event in human history occurred – namely the crucifixion and death of the Son of God. You may see where this took place and you may read the details in this Book. As you do so, you cannot help being interested, but your interest will change into something far deeper when you realise that that event concerns you personally and that it was for your sake that the Son of God died on the cross here. The realisation of this fact cannot but produce a radical change in one’s life – and the study of this book will, under God’s guidance, help you to such a realisation.”
The oldest Protestant church in the Middle East, Christ Church is the headquarters in Israel of CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people), was built in 1847 to double as a chapel for the British consul, and continues to reach out to both Jew and Arab with the message of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.
PHOTO: General Dobbie pictured with his wife and daughter, both Sybil, in 1941 – the latter being mother to Jos, who has set up the exhibition.
Terrorist Stabs Israeli Teen Near Bethlehem
Monday, December 01, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A Palestinian Arab terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded a 19-year-old Israeli at a bus stop outside the Etzion Bloc of Jewish communities situated just south of Bethlehem.
The assailant was shot and seriously injured by Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene and feared the female terrorist could be wearing an explosive belt.
She was later identified as a resident of a nearby Bethlehem suburb who in 2011 had tried to carry out a stabbing attack at the same location. The girl's family claimed at the time that she was mentally unstable.
The site of Monday's attack is the same junction where a Palestinian terrorist last month attempted to run over Israelis before leaping from his vehicle and stabbing to death 26-year-old Dalia Lemkus.
It is also not far from the site from where the three Israeli teenagers - Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel - were abducted early in the summer, an act that set off a tense showdown culminating in latest Gaza war. The three teens were later found dead, having been summarily executed by their captors.
'Occupation is a Crime - Ferguson to Palestine'
Sunday, November 30, 2014 |
Tsvi Sadan
Signs reading "Occupation is a Crime - Ferguson to Palestine" held aloft during the recent demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri were seen by some as an attempt by the anti-Israel BDS movement to hijack the ongoing crisis in America for their own agenda.
However, Palestinian tweets of solidarity like "the Palestinian people know what it means to be shot while unarmed because of your ethnicity" show that the Ferguson-Gaza comparisons are accepted on a much broader scale than just among BDS supporters.
And these comparisons suggest that the same people justifying terror against Israel are now justifying violent riots in America.
As far as Israel is concerned, framing both places in the context of discrimination when knowing full well that Israel is fighting against sworn enemies, and not against an ethnic group (even accepting assertions that there is Palestinian ethnic group), is yet another lie by the anti-Israel propaganda machine.
And yet, Palestinian solidarity with the looting mobs of Ferguson shouldn't be surprising. They, too, justify violence on the ground of oppression, thus forgetting that oppression is the result of their own violence. Saying otherwise is like accusing American authorities of using force before, rather than after, legitimate demonstrations have turned into looting mobs.
No matter how hard one tries, looting and destruction of property cannot be justified, even if Darren Wilson is a racist who unjustly shot and killed Michael Brown (and I’m not sure he is). Nevertheless, this is exactly what those who compare Ferguson to "Palestine" are doing.
Many may still think that this is about a fringe group that is taking a legitimate protest to dangerous places. It seems, however, that this comparison hit a chord with mainstream Americans, like poet and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye, an American Palestinian who grew up in Ferguson.
Shihab Nye published an article in the Washington Post on August 28 that drew a direct comparison between Ferguson and "Palestine." In this woman’s mind, what happens in both places is the result of an oppressors determination to dominate.
As far as Israel is concerned, this convenient argument ignores certain facts, such as that Israeli dominance over formerly Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian territories came only after these countries attempted to conquer Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973.
Suggesting that Israel lusts for dominance and takes pleasure in suppressing the Palestinians is as bad as accusing the Jews of controlling the world economy. Like it or not, suppression can sometimes come as a result of violent civil uprising, a situation no sovereign country can tolerate.
In her own words, Shihab Nye says that "after unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot, quiet old Ferguson took over the news. Citizens marching, chest placards, 'I'M A MAN TOO' 'DON'T SHOOT.' It's easy to see how delusions of equality in Ferguson – where a white officer might raise a gun against an unarmed black kid – are simply wrong. Why is that harder for people to see about Gaza? People in Gaza actually sent messages of solidarity to Ferguson – Internet petitions signed by Gazan citizens. I thought I was hallucinating. What if they could all march together? 1.8 million Gazans would really clog old Florissant Avenue."
Never mind that Gazans were paying the price for supporting a regime that for 14 years has rained rockets on Israeli civilians. Never mind that the "kid," as Shihab Nye refers to Brown, was not exactly innocent. Even if one chooses to ignore such facts, the prospect of 1.8 million Gazans marching in the streets of St. Louis that so excites Shihab Nye would be a nightmare for the majority of Americans. Though Israelis probably like the idea of transporting Gaza to Missouri, my guess is that if having to make the choice, Americans would take 1.8 million Mexican immigrants over Gazan jihadists every time.
Israel's New Army Chief: Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot
Sunday, November 30, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon on Saturday announced that Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot will become the Israeli army's new chief of staff when current army chief General Benny Gantz steps down on February 15.
Eisenkot has spent the past four years serving as Gantz's deputy. Despite having never served in an elite unit like most of his predecessors, and having never won any top commendations, Eisenkot was seen far and wide as the obvious and proper choice.
Eisenkot was praised by the Israeli press and by politicians from across the political spectrum as one of Israel's most level-headed officers.
The general has made surprisingly few enemies while climbing the army ladder, and set himself apart during the Second Lebanon War in 2006 as an officer who can keep his cool in a tense situation.
When Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers necessitating a strong response, Eisenkot openly disagreed with then-IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Halutz's more aggressive and unprepared approach. Despite not seeing eye-to-eye, Eisenkot was able to remain on good terms with Halutz, which enabled him to continue to effectively execute his post.
Five years later, then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak wanted to name Eisenkot as the new IDF chief of staff, but the general turned down the appointment, noting that Gantz was a more senior officer and would be the right choice at that time.
Eisenkot is seen as a safe and stabilizing choice for army chief, as well as being a skilled strategist.
Eisenkot's appointment was also interesting given his disagreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yaalon over their approach to the Iran nuclear crisis. The general has on several occasions stated that Israel should not resort to military action unless and until Iran poses a clear and immediate existential threat to the Jewish state. Netanyahu has argued that by such a time, it could be too late to save Israel.
Israel Prepares for Possible Early Elections
Sunday, November 30, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Israel's media on Sunday was abuzz with reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended to initiate early elections sometime next month.
On at least two occasions over the past several days, Netanyahu was reported to have told close associates that he cannot continue to govern the country while trying to hold together a fractious unity coalition including parties ranging from the right-wing Jewish Home to the leftist Hatnuah.
"The coalition will only survive if I can govern," Channel 2 quoted the prime minister as telling his aides. "I'm not sticking to my chair. I was chosen to run the country and the nation as I see fit, but I can't run the country this way."
Netanyahu appeared to be trying to lay the blame for the situation squarely on the shoulders of the charismatic leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, current Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whom many see as a future prime minister himself.
Lapid's proposed 2015 national budget, along with various other economic reforms, have been panned by Netanyahu and his Likud Party, who believe the proposed cuts will ultimately harm the IDF and national security at a time when terrorism is again on the rise and Iran is inching ever closer to attaining nuclear arms.
Lapid and Netanyahu also remain largely at odds over how to approach the stagnant peace process with the Palestinian Authority.
From the sidelines, opposition leader and Labor Party head Isaac Herzog said he was confident that early elections would put him in the prime minister's chair.
"I think today it is clear that I present an alternative to [Netanuahu]," he told Channel 10 over the weekend. "I believe I'll lead the next government."
Herzog made his assertion despite the fact that a series of recent polls showed that if elections were held now or in the near future, Netanyahu's Likud would again come out on top, and be the only reasonable option for form the new government.
Netanyahu's approval rating has been plummeting since the summer, but a poll commissioned by Ha'aretz over the weekend showed that Likud would still win 24 seats in early elections, up from the 18 it current holds. The national-religious Jewish Home would grow from 12 to 16 seats, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Our Home faction drop to 11 seats, and a new right-wing party to be headed by former Likud member Moshe Kahlon would win 12 mandates.
Were these numbers to hold true, Netanyahu would be able to put together a majority 63-seat right-wing government.
On the other side of the aisle, the Ha'aretz poll sees Lapid and his Yesh Atid party sliding from its current 19 seats down to 12, while Herzog's Labor would fall from 15 to 13 seats. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni's Hatnua would win just four mandates.
Palestinian State Suffers Setbacks in Europe
Sunday, November 30, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Efforts to secure unilateral recognition of an independent Palestinian state suffered serious setbacks in Europe last week, despite warnings by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that, following Sweden's decision, far more countries were likely to recognize "Palestine" with or without the agreement of Israel.
On Wednesday, former, and possibly future, French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged members of his UMP party to vote against an upcoming motion in France's National Assembly demanding Paris follow Stockholm's example regarding a Palestinian state.
Similar motions recently passed in Britain, Ireland and Spain.
But Sarkozy, who reiterated that he was still in favor of the creation of a Palestinian state, was level-headed about what unilateral recognition would mean.
"I will fight for the Palestinians to have their state. But unilateral recognition a few days after a deadly attack and when there is no peace process? No!" he was quoted as saying by French media.
A similar opinion was recently expressed by new Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, a long-time and harsh critic of Israel's "settlement enterprise."
Israel's antagonists were certain that Koender would champion their cause. But in a surprising statement issued shortly after his appointment, the new foreign minister said: "The overwhelming majority, including the Dutch government, believes that it does not contribute to the priority issue of restarting negotiations if we all of a sudden go ahead [and recognize a Palestinian state] because Sweden also did it."
On a continent-wide level, a European Union Parliament vote on recognizing "Palestine" that was scheduled for last Thursday was postponed until mid-December following petitions to alter the resolution's wording.
The parliament's leading center-right party, the European People's Party, insisted that while it was in favor of a Palestinian state, recognition of such an entity must be conditioned on the successful conclusion of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
These European leaders appeared to have heeded Israel's warnings that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state would hand the Palestinian Authority all it demanded without the need for compromise or reciprocity, thereby effectively killing the peace process.
PHOTO: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a press conference in Ramallah in 2009. [Flash90]
Druze to Jews: There is a Covenant of Blood Between Us
Friday, November 28, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The family of slain Druze police officer Zidan Seif on Thursday paid an emotional visit to the Jerusalem synagogue where he fell last week while defending Jewish worshippers against two rampaging Palestinian terrorists.
Seif was one of the first officers to respond to the scene after it became clear a severe terrorist incident was underway at the Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood.
Survivors of the attack told the family that the terrorists were hacking and shooting their way through unarmed worshippers nearly unchecked before Seif arrived. The officer opened fire already from outside the synagogue, causing the terrorists to halt their grizzly killing spree and engage in a gun battle during which Seif sustained his fatal injury.
Local Jews who were on hand to receive the Druze family said that without Seif’s selfless actions, many more Jewish worshippers would have been slaughtered that morning.
Seif’s uncle was quoted by Israeli media as telling his hosts: “Our prophet, the Prophet Jethro binds us to the Jewish people.”
The Druze of Israel have long spoken of an ancient “blood covenant” with the Jewish nation. It is because of this deep connection that the Druze community, by its own request, is the only minority community in Israel that is required to do mandatory military service alongside their Jewish bethren.
PHOTO: Officer Zidan Seif's father meets with Jewish rabbis at the scene of the Jerusalem synagogue terrorist attack, where the Druze policeman gave his life defending his Jewish countrymen.
Israel to Remember 850,000 Jews Driven From Arab Lands
Friday, November 28, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
On Sunday, November 30, Israel will commemorate the 850,000 Jews driven from their homes in neighboring Arab countries on the occasion of the Jewish state’s rebirth.
While the international community has numerous days and events marking the flight of hundreds of thousands of Arabs from the land during Israel’s War of Independence (there is even an official UN commemoration), the Jewish side of the equation is all but ignored.
For thousands of years Jews had been living in what are today Arab countries, with many of their communities dating back much earlier than the Arab Muslim conquest of the region.
Some 70 years ago, with the rise of Arab nationalism and a growing struggle for control of what the British called “Palestine,” the newly-created Arab regimes began a campaign of intimidation and oppression against their own Jewish citizens.
Local Jews in Arab countries had their property expropriated, their citizenship stripped, and a great many were imprisoned, tortured and murdered.
One regional Jewish community in particular, that centered in and around Baghdad, was over 2,500-years-old. Originally based in Babylon, this community had given birth to the Babylonian Talmud and had long been a leading Jewish cultural center.
But with the rebirth of Israel as a nation-state, the Iraqi government at the time attacked and dispossessed the local Jews, driving nearly the entire community to emigrate to the new Jewish state and elsewhere.
PHOTO: Aharon Aboudi grew up in Iraq, before his family was evicted and forced to build a new life in Israel.
Can God Go to War Too?
Thursday, November 27, 2014 |
Aviel Schneider & Esti Eliraz
Does God decide what politics have to look like? Or do politics provide the limits within which God can work? Does God lead His people Israel into battle? Or does the nation drag the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob into war? Are Israel’s enemies automatically God’s enemies? These questions are a source of heated debate in Israeli society.
Israel Today spoke to a number of leading religious and political authorities to examine the different positions on this important topic.
The full article appears in the December 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Turkey Provides Hamas With New Headquarters
Thursday, November 27, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The Hamas terrorist organization has found a new best friend in the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has decided to move its international headquarters from war-torn Damascus to Istanbul.
Israel has expressed a certain degree of shock that a NATO-member like Turkey will now host and facilitate a recognized terrorist organization. But all appeals from Jerusalem have been ignored by Erdogan.
Already, the Turkish government’s decision is having a negative impact on the region. Israeli security forces this week arrested 30 Hamas-linked terrorists who were planning a series of large-scale attacks on Jerusalem. The cell received its instructions and funding from Hamas offices in Turkey.
In communications with NATO headquarters in Brussels, Israel said that it was incomprehensible for a member of the international military alliance to not only maintain ties to a group like Hamas, but to actually facilitate its activities. But Erdogan is a long-time friend of Hamas’ parent movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Once close ties between Israel and Turkey took a nosedive in mid–2010 when Israeli commandoes raided a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break the maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. While commandeering the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, Israeli troops were attacked, leading to a battle that left nine Turkish nationals dead.
Erdogan accused Israel of piracy, and diplomatic relations between the two nations were drastically reduced.
PHOTO: Gaza-based Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Erdogan meet in Turkey in 2012.
Pope Francis and the Myth of Flower Power
Thursday, November 27, 2014 |
Tsvi Sadan
Pope Francis is an intriguing figure, and the name he chose for himself, Francis, after Francis of Assisi, is a telling choice, if only for the reason that he is the first pope ever to take this name.
A Catholic friend has suggested that St. Francis, a wealthy lad who chose poverty, is an attractive role model for "Beat Generation" Catholics who witnesses and lived through the hippie cultural revolution of the 1960s. The hippie movement changed the Western world forever by turning, among other things, anti-war and peace sentiments into prominent social values.
In many ways, the Beat Generation ushered in today's ideal of multiculturalism that is affecting religion by placing all faiths on the same plane of truth and importance.
It is within this context of the 1960s that the famous Vatican II Council released the ecclesiastical document Nostra Aetate that dealt with relations between the Church and non-Christian religions.
Regarding Islam, it stated that "the Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth … they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God … they value the moral life and worship God…"
In this light we can better understand Pope Francis' remarkable comments to journalists as he flew back to Rome following an appearance before the European Parliament in Strasburg on Tuesday. Nick Squires from The Telegraph quoted the Pope as saying the following regarding possible dialogue with the Islamic State (ISIS): "The door is always open … I never say 'all is lost', never."
Though Christians and other minorities have been subjected to "barbaric acts of violence" by an "unjust aggressor," the Pope seems to be saying that the only legitimate way to stop the Islamic State's violent expansion is through peace talks, that by their very nature look for compromises.
It is legitimate to try to stop an unjust aggressor, said the Pope, while at the same time warning of "another threat, that of state terrorism … Each state, for its own part, feels it has the right to massacre terrorists. But so many innocent people perish at the same time as the terrorists."
Just to make the picture clear, the states the Pope spoke of that are today busy massacring terrorists are mainly Israel, America, Great Britain and France.
According to the Pope, fighting the Islamic State is possible only "with international consensus. No country can, on its own, stop an unjust aggressor." In other words, since such consensus can never be achieved, entities like the Islamic State can only be stopped through peace talks, if at all.
There was a humorous slogan during the 1960s that went something like this: "If you wanna be a hippie, put a flower in your pipi." Unbelievable as it may sound, the representative of Christianity on earth believes that somehow "flower power" can prevail over a horde of jihadists whose ultimate goal is to raise the flag of the Caliphate over St. Peter’s Basilica.
It was of people like this that is has been said, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Arabs and Jews Unite to Proclaim Messiah's Return
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 |
David Lazarus
A new generation of Arab and Jewish followers of Jesus met together last week to strategize on how to “turn Israel upside down.”
Two hundred and sixty Messianic Jewish and Arab pastors, youth leaders, evangelists, Bible-school teachers and ministry leaders gathered for a three-day council to discuss, study, pray and work together to effectively bring the word of God in power to Arabs and Jews throughout the whole Land of Israel.
These seasoned men and women of faith embody decades of labor proclaiming the Gospel to local Arabs and Jews. Most have given up everything to preach Messiah to their unbelieving Muslim and Jewish families and friends. Despised because of their faith, they have lost jobs, suffered rejection and endured multiple other hardships, yet their passion to bring the Good News to their people remains unquenched.
“We will keep preaching and teaching the Word of God until it changes the people of Israel,” declared one leading pastor. “We must be willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel and keep going no matter what happens. God will accomplish His will through the power of His word.”
With tensions now raging in Jerusalem and across Israel, it was astonishing to witness firsthand the deep friendships between these Arabs and Jews. Even the cold-blooded murders in a Jerusalem synagogue that took place on the final day of the gathering could not separate these godly men and women from their warm fellowship in Messiah.
In fact, the cowardly acts of terror and violence still raging in Jerusalem only served to move them to stand even stronger together and compelled them to more boldly declare the life-giving Word of God to both Muslim and Jew.
A regular theme throughout the gathering was the need to understand God’s prophetic word concerning the Last Days.
Scriptures related to the Second Coming of Messiah were studied. There are many signs that we are living in the latter days, particularly the return of the Jewish people to their biblical land, and the leadership of the local congregations in Israel discussed the need to prepare God’s people for the Messiah’s soon return.
All agreed that time is short, and the peoples of this land, both Arab and Jew, must hear the Word of God now.
It was mentioned that some local leaders are not teaching or preaching about the Second Coming. They do not want to stir up controversy or division over what can be a difficult subject.
While there remains much debate in Christianity and among Messianic Jews as to what exactly will happen around the Second Coming of the Lord, all were in agreement that He is coming, and that the Gospel much be preached in boldness, especially in Israel, before it is too late, for He comes this time in glory and in judgment.
According to many New Testament scriptures, the return of Messiah should unify believers, inspiring them to ready themselves in purity and holiness. It is seen as a cunning ploy of the enemy to cause so much confusion and division concerning the Last Days and Messiah’s return.
The leadership of the local Arab and Jewish congregations in Israel prayed for unity of faith in the Messiah’s return and boldness to tell others of His coming Messianic kingdom, the only real solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the peace of Jerusalem.
First ISIS Terrorist Arrested in Israel
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
Vocal support for the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS) has been growing among Israeli and Palestinian Arabs, but so far no one had acted on the jihadist horde's ideology.
That changed on Saturday evening, when Israeli security forces performing a sweep of suspected terrorists in Judea and Samaria arrested a Palestinian man who had taken up arms as a member of ISIS.
In a related development, Muslim cleric Ali Abu Ahmad last Friday delivered a fiery sermon at the Al Aqsa Mosque that occupies the southern portion of Jerusalem Temple Mount.
In speaking to the faithful, Abu Ahmad denounced the Jews as "the most vile of creatures," and openly prayed for the jihadists of ISIS to defeat America and its allies in Syria and Iraq.
"Oh Allah, annihilate America and its coalition. Oh Allah, enable us to cut off their heads. Oh Allah, help our brothers, the mujahideen in the land of Iraq and Syria," Abu Ahmad cried.
Palestinian and other Muslim leaders accuse Israel of denying Muslim rights at the Temple Mount, but Abu Ahmad's open incitement without fear of repercussions clearly proves the opposite is true.
Watch Abu Ahmad's sermon and prayer (with English subtitles):
Israeli Beast-masters Unleash Wild Boars, Claims Palestinian Leader
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
If Israel’s antagonists in the region are to be believed, the Jewish state employs all manner of bizarre and even mythical tactics against its foes. The latest, according to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, is the unleashing of wild boars upon the fields of Arab farmers.
“Every night, they [Israelis] release wild boars against us,” Abbas said during a conference in Ramallah last Friday. “Why are they doing this to us?”
The accusation was apparently a little too over the top even for Abbas’ own media department, because the official English-language reports from the event omitted all mention of wild boars.
But the Arab media was all over the claim, which ultimately brought it back to the mainstream international press after media watchdogs translated regional news reports.
Another of Abbas’ assertions did make the cut in the official conference report, that being that his regime is seeking to establish “bridges of love” with the Israelis.
This from the same Palestinian leader whose official government mouthpiece praised as martyrs the terrorists who slaughtered four Jewish worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue.
Both Israel and Iran Pleased by Extension of Nuke Talks
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 |
Ryan Jones
A US-set deadline for concluding an agreement with Iran over its defiant nuclear program passed on Monday, forcing Washington and its allies to extend the negotiations by another seven months, a development that pleased both Israel and the Islamic Republic.
"New ideas surfaced" in the days leading up to the deadline, US Secretary of State John Kerry said without elaborating, before reiterating his position that the US and the West "would be fools to walk away" from 12-years of diplomatic efforts that have thus far born little, if any, fruit.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saw in the extension of the talks and Kerry's attitude toward the situation a clear victory for Iran.
On his English-language Twitter account, the Iranian leader gloated that "arrogant" world powers had done their best to "bring Iran to its knees, but they were not able and will not be able to do so."
Israel has long feared that Iran is simply stringing the West along until such a time that it can successfully test a nuclear device, at which point negotiations become moot.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on his Facebook page that Israel, too, was happy with the extension of negotiations, at least when compared to the alternative.
Netanyahu had been tirelessly warning the West against accepting the currently tabled nuclear arrangement, which would have effectively enabled Iran to continue a suspected clandestine nuclear arms program, while being relieved of nearly all international sanctions.
"We have always said that no agreement is preferable to a bad agreement and the agreement that Iran signed is a very bad and dangerous agreement for Israel, for the region and in my opinion for the future of the entire world," wrote the Israeli leader.
He later told the BBC that "the right deal that is needed is to dismantle Iran's capacity to make atomic bombs and only then dismantle the sanctions."
Jerusalem Church Faces Regular Attacks
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
A church in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Musrara has for months been facing regular attacks by local Arab Muslims over its refusal to sell the property and move out.
Living Bread International Church has ministry centers in Jerusalem, Gaza and Jericho. It has a 20-year lease on the Jerusalem location, but was recently told by a gang of Arab residents that it must vacate the premises, which is situated near the Old City.
"When we said we would not sell it, they decided to take it by force," Karen Dunham, pastor and director of the ministry, told The Jerusalem Post
Since then, Dunham said the church's 45 employees have been subjected to constant harassment, as have two Jewish orphans with Down's Syndrome that are housed at the facility.
Staff members, including Dunham herself, have been physically assaulted, property has been stolen, and the assailants have started building make-shift structures on the church's property in an attempt to take it over.
As with many similar situations in the city, Dunham has been frustrated by the Police Department's reluctance to fully and effectively enforce the law.
"We...took pictures of [the assailants] during attacks and [were] able to identify them using Facebook, but after filing the first two or three police reports I realized nothing was happening," she said. "They [the assailants] continued to sit outside [the church] and harass us."
Police in Jerusalem rarely take firm action in cases of Arab violence against the city's Jewish residents, and are even less likely to intervene in Arab assaults on a largely Arab church. And this for fear of further inflaming Muslim rioters who have for the past six months turned parts of Jerusalem into something of a war zone.
Poll: Arabs Prefer Israel to Palestinian Authority
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 |
Israel Today Staff
The picture painted by the mainstream international media and loud-mouthed anti-Israel advocates is always the same: Israel is a racist and oppressive place to live for Arabs. This, so the argument goes, is particularly true following this week's government approval of the controversial "Jewish State" law.
But, if Israel's such a bad place for non-Jews to live, then why does an overwhelming majority local Arabs prefer life under the rule of the Israeli government, as opposed to the Palestinian Authority?
That was the finding of a survey commissioned by Israel's Channel 10 News and carried out last week by the Statnet research institute, which is headed by Israeli Arab statistician Yousef Makladeh.
Makladeh asked fellow Arabs plainly and clearly: "Under which authority do you prefer to live, Israel or the Palestinian Authority?"
A full 77 percent of respondents chose Israel.
This was despite the fact that most respondents said that as a minority, they experience some degree of racism, and that only nine percent felt they enjoy full equality with Israel's Jewish citizens.
An 81 percent majority said they believe Israel is trying to alter the status quo on the Temple Mount, where Jews are currently forbidden to pray, but 84 percent said they oppose the reactionary violence emanating from the Arab sector.
An earlier Peace Index poll found that a 46.5 percent plurality of Israeli Arabs ultimately support allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest site. Just 34 percent continue to oppose such a change, and 19.5 percent declined to weigh in on the topic.
PHOTO: Former Israeli President Shimon Peres hosts a Muslim holiday together with local Arab leaders at the presidential residence in Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount: To the Jew First
Monday, November 24, 2014 |
David Lazarus
"Israel must rescind the abusive authority of the Muslim Waqf, restore law and order, and open up the Temple Mount to peoples of all faiths to come to worship and pray at this holy place," says Israeli pastor. "The time has come for the Jews to again declare, 'The Temple Mount is in our hands.'"
The full article appears in the December 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Israel in Their Hearts: The Jewish State's Honorary Consuls
Monday, November 24, 2014 |
Yossi Aloni
They are the long arm of Israeli diplomacy, and they aren't even Israeli
citizens. They help foster strong relations, and open doors that would
otherwise be shut. They are motivated by love for Israel, and, no, they
receive no monetary compensation. In fact, they invest much of their own
time and money to fulfill their important diplomat mission.
Introducing the honorary consuls of the State of Israel, a total of 77
specifically accredited persons, many of them non-Israeli Jews, but also
including a large number of Bible-believing Christians.
Earlier this month, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs held its second
Honorary Consuls of Israel conference, which was attended by 48 of the
honorary consuls, representing 36 nations, 13 of which don't even have
official diplomatic representation in Israel.
One of the honorary consuls in attendance was Roberto Nelkenbau of
Bolivia, which severed all diplomatic ties to Israel in 2009. As the only
representative of Israel in the South American country, Nelkenbau is often
called upon to provide consular services to Israelis visiting Bolivia,
which remains a popular destination for backpackers from the Jewish state.
Following the summer's Gaza war, the Bolivian government decided to punish
Israel by canceling a 1972 agreement that exempted Israeli visitors from
obtaining a visa before arriving. Nelkenbau quietly negotiated with his
government on Israel's behalf, ultimately securing an understanding
whereby Israelis could continue to travel to Bolivia and pay at the border
for a temporary visa.
The backpacking and hiking adventures in which these Israelis partake are
often dangerous, and Nelkenbau regularly plays a key role in dealing with
accidents involving Israelis in Bolivia.
And while he is known to Israelis visiting the country, Nelkenbau is even
more recognizable among his own countrymen. Like most of the other
honorary consuls, Nelkenbau is a known public figure in his country. He is
a former professional race car driver who today owns a chain of popular
cinemas.
Also like Nelkenbau, many of the honorary consuls are from nations in
which Israel has no embassy or official diplomatic representation. These
consuls, in effect, serve as Israel's ambassador. They raise the Israeli
flag with pride at their residences, the addresses of which are often used
by the Israeli government for all matters pertaining to government or
local media.
One of the longest-serving honorary consuls is Benny Gilbert of Barbados.
Despite Barbados' small size, Gilbert has been able to play an important
role in Israel's global diplomacy. Any time there is an important vote
regarding Israel at the UN, the Jewish state scrambles to find nations
willing to vote on its side. In such situations, the Israeli Foreign
Ministry calls up Gilbert and guides him in how to approach the government
of Barbados and what message to convey. More than once, Gilbert's
intervention has resulted in Barbados abstaining from votes on important
anti-Israel resolutions. "My greatest success was convincing Barbados to
abstain from a vote on accepting the [State of] Palestine at the UN, [a
motion] the government had planned to support," said Gilbert.
Fredrik Ekholm is one of the newer honorary consuls. He represents Israel
in the city of Vasa, Finland. As a devout Christian, Ekholm is constantly
on the lookout for anti-Israel boycotts, which he and a group of
like-minded Christians immediately seek to counter by promoting the
boycotted Israeli goods.
"I explain to people that they must not be foolish. Even if they have
criticism of Israel, it is no reason to boycott Israeli products, which
are the best available," said Ekholm. "I believe that doing business with
Israel is a blessing."
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Ekholm owns a company that imports Israeli wines and Dead Sea products to
Finland. He also regularly organizes pro-Israel conference and rallies,
and never tires of directly intervening when he comes across biased
anti-Israel news reports.
"Whenever I read or see reports negative of Israel, I immediately pick up
the phone and contact the reporter in question to correct him," said
Ekholm, who has become something of a one-man PR army.
"The problem is that the media in Europe constantly reports false
information," he explained. "We have to find a way to deliver the right
information, and one way is through videos. In Finland, we have published
numerous videos, for instance showing Hamas hiding rockets in residential
areas or calling for Israel's destruction. Those who see the videos often
change their tune."
Jewish businessman Philip Kaye has been serving as Israel's honorary
consul to Wales since 2010. In this capacity, Kaye works closely with the
Israeli Embassy in London, in addition to also operating as a one-man PR
war room. Not a scrap of anti-Israel propaganda in the local media escapes
Kaye, who immediately responds either personally or by mobilizing
a network of pro-Israel voices.
"People are affected by the information they receive. This is not a lost
cause, and we must not give up," said Kaye. During the last Gaza war,
Kaye hosted the former mayor the rocket-battered southern Israel town of
Sderot, David Buskila. "We introduced [Mayor Buskila] in churches, where
he explained life under the threat of missiles," said Kaye.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to arrange any media interviews."
Presently, Kaye is working to bring Israeli musicians for a first of its
kind music festival in Wales. "I try to advance Israeli interests not only
in politics, but also in culture and economy," he said.
But doing this work often comes with a price.
Kaye has received threats in the past, but said local police are on the
case and he is not frightened. Much more harrowing is the situation for
Israel's honorary consul in Cordoba, Argentina, Mr. Alejandro Orchansky.
The Jewish businessman's private home has been the scene of four
demonstrations by pro-Palestinian activists, and he has received a number
of death threats necessitating regular police protection.
Orchansky related that the situation is so bad that most are scared to
actually speak up for Israel, or to even be neutral on the subject.
"I fight constantly with a local media that is completely against Israel,"
he said. "I spoke to journalists and asked, 'Why don't you allow anyone to
write in favor of Israel, or at least to be neutral?' The answer shocked
me: 'What do you want, we would be the only ones!'"
Orchansky lamented that the media in Argentina are "like cattle. I found
the best way is to avoid politics and instead show the beauty of Israel.
I show Israel's achievements in medicine, education and culture. I also
take governors and other trainees on tours of Israel. They all return to
Argentina as ambassadors for Israel."
During the recent conference, attending honorary consuls met with Israeli
President Reuven Rivlin, who provided an overview of the current situation
in the region. They also received briefings from senior Foreign Ministry
officials and toured local "hot spots" like the Gaza border.
Concluding the visit, Israel's Foreign Ministry called the honorary
consuls "an important part of Israel's diplomatic 'Iron Dome,'"
referencing the anti-missile system that saved so many lives during the
Gaza war.
PHOTO: Israel's honorary consuls meet with President Reuven Rivlin in
Jerusalem. (Chaim Tzach)
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Israel's New 50 Shekel Note: The Devil is In the Details
Monday, November 24, 2014 |
Tsvi Sadan
I would never have come up with the following if it wasn't for Avshalom Kor,
a Hebrew linguist known for his five-minute daily Hebrew show on Israel's Army
Radio. He drew my attention to the text appearing on the newly-released 50
shekel note that displays the portrait of Shaul Tschernichovsky (1875-1943),
one of Israel's most celebrated modern poets.
The design of the banknote itself was inspired by one particular line from the
poem "Oh My Country, Place of My Birth," a love song for the Land of Israel.
The full poem describes the Land that was given as an inheritance to
Israel, but the anonymous designer chose the bank note's theme based on
a single line reading "the smell of the spring orange groves."
Accordingly, the note has the poet's portrait under the canopy of an
orange tree.
Though the poem mentions olive trees, grapevines and other native biblical
vegetation, the designer nevertheless chose to hide the feverish yearning
of the poet for the Land of his fathers by highlighting the only tree in
the poem that carries no Jewish flavor.
On the note's back appears the verse "For I shall yet have faith in
mankind, In its spirit great and bold" from another of Tschernichovsky's
poems, "I Believe," written six years before the first Zionist Congress in
1897, when the Jewish state was still only a dream.
Distilling this beloved poem to one line demonstrates that Tschernichovsky
was willing to believe in mankind, so long as mankind was willing to
support the return of the Jewish people to their Land.
In other words, what "I Believe" seems to say is that humanity can't
become what it ought to be so long as mankind denies the right of the Jews
to return to their Land. Typical to many Zionists of the time,
Tschernichovsky believed that the solution to the "Jewish problem" was
immigration to the Land of Israel, the only place where the Jewish people
could be truly free. And not only for the sake of the Jews, but for the
sake of all humanity.
Tschernichovsky and other Zionists truly believed the redemption of the
Jews was the key to the redemption of the world. It is in this context
- that the wellbeing of humanity depends upon the wellbeing of the Jewish
people in the Land of Israel - that the verse "For I shall yet have faith
in mankind, In its spirit great and bold" should be understood.
This is not, as the bank note designer would apparently like us to
believe, an atheistic Nietzschean epithet that can be embraced by all
liberal atheists of the world. Rather, Tschernichovsky's faith in mankind
was clearly dependant on the way mankind treated the Jewish people.
This attempt to turn a beloved Zionist poet into some kind of post-modern
liberal Jew who could just as happily lived in Berlin as he could in Tel
Aviv is a sham and a disgrace to his memory.
And yet, the note's text, which went under the radar of those supposed to
guard against such subversive messages on official Israeli insignia, does
reflect a small Jewish minority in Israel that pushes to make "I Believe"
the new Israeli anthem. Who knows whether this will ever happen, but in
the slim chance it will, keen readers will find that even in "I Believe,"
Tschernichovsky's vision for Israel and the world is deeply messianic.
PHOTO: Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug at the unveiling of the new 50
shekel bank note.