JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.
12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Finish security fence near Jerusalem to stem violence, Herzog demands-Opposition leader touts separation plan, says barrier around Etzion bloc being held up for ‘obscure political reasons’-By Raphael Ahren February 10, 2016, 5:46 pm-the times of israel
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called for the completion of the West Bank security barrier around the Etzion settlement bloc Wednesday, saying that complete separation from the Palestinians was the only way to stop the current wave of violence.His comment came a day after a jogger in the settlement bloc was injured in an apparent terrorist stabbing attack, as nearly five months of violence mainly in Jerusalem and the West Bank persisted.“We have to finalize the security fence around Gush Etzion. It’s an open area that hasn’t been completed for political reasons that are obscure,” the Labor party chairman told the foreign press during a briefing in Jerusalem.Construction of the fence in part of the Etzion bloc, which lies south of Jerusalem, has been halted amid right-wing claims that it will leave out tens of thousands of settlers. There has also been opposition from environmentalists who point to the route of the fence near the village of Battir, home to terraced hillsides which have been recognized as a World Heritage site.There has also been concern that routing the fence to include settlements will eat into too much Palestinian land, drawing international condemnation.“Nobody knows what the current route is. There’s a whole lot of political turmoil about the route… We’re seeing lots of routes, and lots of ideas. But it’s got to be completed. And we call upon the government to make sure it is completed.”Herzog dismissed concerns that Israel finishing work on the fence would be harshly condemned by the world.“The international community realized that it stopped terror dramatically and, in fact, it actually led to the ability to try to again and again in the last 12 years to reach the two-state solution. Once there is less terror there is more ability to talk.”Herzog, who has touted total separation from the Palestinians as the best way to stem the attacks, said the complete fence would make for better neighbors.“When you study the new wave of terror in depth you realize that only by preventing people from interacting for a while at least — until you calm down the situation — will you be able to preserve the two-state solution,” he said.Completing the fence, which Israel started constructing in 2002 but never finished, is a main plank in a separation plan approved by his party on Sunday, which includes several other “security steps.”“None of us likes barriers. And nobody likes fences,” Herzog said. “But at the end we need to preserve the lives of people here against cruel terror, which is unacceptable by any norms.”The idea of a fence to separate Israel proper plus the settlement blocs from the overwhelmingly Palestinian part of the West Bank was always controversial but has proven efficient, he added. “This reminds me of debate over the security fence before it was erected.It was the same discussion. And when it was erected it brought down suicide bombings by 100 percent.”Despite touting the effectiveness of fences, Herzog also took a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, during a tour at Israel’s border with Jordan, vowed to “surround the entire State of Israel with a fence.”Netanyahu wants fences in certain areas but refuses to tell the Israeli public how he envisions the future borders of the state, Herzog lamented.Asked by The Times of Israel whether he opposes Netanyahu’s goal of completing the fence on the Jordanian border, Herzog replied: “I have no problem with the border policy in the east. All I am saying is that if Netanyahu spoke about fences he should also deal with the fence that is between us and the Palestinians.”He said that the Palestinians must also be given more civilian authority in the West Bank itself as part of “confidence-building measures,” though he stressed that the Israeli army would continue to operate anywhere it sees necessary in the territory.Beyond that, Herzog wants a security conference including “all moderate parties in the region” to tackle a range of issues in the Middle East.“I believe that we have to be realistic,” Herzog said.“And I believe that reality calls right now to understand that tomorrow, peace is not around the corner. What needs to be done is separating from the Palestinians as much as possible. This is taking our fate in our own hands.”He said his separation initiative was aimed at preserving the two-state solution while recognizing that progress cannot be made until the violence stops. He argued that “no other party or leader has presented a plan that is realistic.”While Herzog’s Labor party adopted his proposals on Sunday, several senior members of the party criticized the plan as it appeared to declare the two-state solution as currently unattainable, which, they argued, was a significant departure from traditional Labor positions.AFP contributed to this report.
US confirms Iranian drone buzzed carrier last month-Navy report says the unmanned aerial vehicle, first to fly over carrier since 2014, was unarmed and posed no threats to sailors-By Jon Gambrell February 10, 2016, 6:34 pm-the times of israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian drone that flew over a US aircraft carrier last month was the first to conduct an overflight of an American carrier since 2014, according to a US Navy report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.The January 12 reconnaissance flight by the Iranian Shahed drone was the latest in a series of tense naval encounters between forces of the Islamic Republic and the US Navy, including the brief detention of 10 American sailors who strayed into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.All the incidents have come after Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers including the US, and point to lingering tensions between the two playing out in key waterways used to transport oil.An internal US Navy report on the incident, obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information Act request, said it happened as the USS Harry S. Truman and the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle were 89 nautical miles southwest of the Iranian port of Bushehr. The US Navy also released video it shot of the incident for the first time in response to the AP request.A French helicopter watched the Shahed-121 drone on the cloudy day and the US Navy dispatched a Seahawk helicopter to film it as it flew over the Truman, a nuclear-powered carrier based out of Norfolk, Virginia.The US Navy taskforce in the area publicly described the drone’s overflight as “safe, routine and professional.” But the internal report says the Navy’s higher command described it as “safe, abnormal and unprofessional,” as Iranian drones seldom fly over American carriers.US and French sailors repeatedly confirmed that the Iranian drone had its “wings clean,” the report said. That means it did not carry weapons and didn’t pose a risk to the ship, said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain.“They’re operating in international airspace. You can’t shoot (it) down; that would be illegal,” Stephens said.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is using similar Shahed-129 drones as ground support to forces fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria, the semi-official Fars news agency reported last week. The difference between the two models was not immediately clear. Iran also said it deployed Shahed drones during war games near the Iranian holy city of Qom that simulated a capture of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque in November.“Shahed” means “witness” in both Farsi and Arabic.The last Iranian drone overflight of an American aircraft carrier happened in September 2014 and involved the USS George HW Bush, according to the report. That happened as the US and other world powers were in the midst of negotiating a final agreement over the fate of Iran’s disputed nuclear program. An interim agreement had been reached to limit the program the previous year, but neither side had been able to finalize the deal by a June 2014 deadline, leading talks to be extended.In January, Iranian state television aired footage it said came from a drone overflight of an American carrier. The footage, which the AP could not independently verify, purported to show the drone being launched and then hovering over an unidentified aircraft carrier, a targeting bracket briefly passing over a jet parked on the deck below.Iran has more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of shoreline facing the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Control of that territory, including the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes, has remained a priority for Iran’s military, and it conducts regular drills in the region.American and Iranian forces clashed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. On April 18, 1988, US forces attacked two Iranian oil rigs and sank or damaged six Iranian vessels in response to the near-sinking of the missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts by an Iranian mine. A few months later, in July 1988, the USS Vincennes in the strait mistook an Iran Air flight heading to Dubai for an attacking fighter jet, shooting down the plane and killing all 290 passengers and crew onboard.The US has criticized some of Iran’s recent maneuvers in the Gulf, including what it called a “highly provocative” Iranian rocket test in December near the USS Harry S. Truman, the USS Bulkeley destroyer, the French FS Provence frigate and commercial traffic in the strait.A second report obtained Wednesday by the AP on that incident named the commercial ships nearby as the M/V Glovis Pacific, a car carrier, and the M/V SPF Prudencia, an oil tanker. The report suggested that the rocket fire was meant to “intimidate” the US warships, a test Stephens called extremely dangerous given the close military and commercial traffic nearby.“You’re one broken rocket fin away from creating a serious international incident that could have had unfortunate consequences,” the commander said.
Man arrested for hanging pig’s foot on Arad synagogue-Suspect says he hung forbidden flesh to protest takeover of public shelter by Hasidic community in southern town-By Times of Israel staff February 10, 2016, 6:25 pm
A resident of the town of Arad in southern Israel was arrested for placing a pig’s foot at the entrance to an ultra-Orthodox synagogue on several occasions, police said Wednesday.The man, in his 60s, was released on bail Wednesday after being detained three days earlier. He will be indicted in the near future, police said.The incident appeared to be part of long-simmering tensions over the growing ultra-Orthodox community in the northern Negev development town.In November, worshipers from the Gur Hasidic sect arrived at morning prayers to find a severed pig’s foot hanging near the entrance to the synagogue.Police say the man admitted to placing the pig’s foot at the newly inaugurated synagogue as well as to a number of other incidents where he placed ham and pig flesh on the building.He told investigators he was angry that the synagogue had been established at the site of a public shelter near his house.Pigs are taboo in Jewish culture, both for consuming and touching.The site has been the subject of a lengthy legal battle. Gur Hasidic followers claim the property belongs to the sect while the municipality says it owns the structure. The court eventually ruled in favor of the Gur sect.Ultra-Orthodox community leaders told Kikar HaShabbat that placing the pig’s foot above the synagogue’s door was “a new low” in the “inciters’s fight against the Haredi public.”The working class town, on the edge of the Negev desert, has seen tensions over an influx of ultra-Orthodox residents in recent years.Adherents of the Gur sect accused the city’s mayor, Nissan Ben-Hamo, of fomenting hatred that led to the vandalism-“The fight and the battle by the mayor against the ultra-Orthodox public is the reason for the grim atmosphere in the city and the pig’s foot is one of the results,” Gur community leaders wrote in a letter to Ben-Hamo.Ben-Hamo condemned the act in a November city hall meeting and said he had transferred the details to the police.
US is complicit in Palestinian violence-February 10, 2016, 3:41 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Having just returned from Israel, it pains me to see the photo of sweet 19-year-old Hadar Cohen. The life of this young woman serving in an Israeli Police Border Patrol unit was cut short in the line of duty, while protecting Jerusalemites from what could have been a massacre by heavily armed terrorists. Reading Naomi Ragen’s tribute to Hadar, I imagine that this young Israeli could have been the girlfriend of my younger son, a Penn State student.I am also pained by the senselessness of the loss of young Arab lives, seeing the picture of smiling relaxed faces of three young Palestinian 20-something youths, hailed as martyrs by Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, incited to kill and massacre.During the High Holidays in September, when Mahmoud Abbas uttered lies of incitement — of Israel preparing to seize the Temple Mount, with calls to protect the “Noble Sanctuary” and “blessing the blood of martyrs” — I waited for condemnation from my country’s administration. Only a strong, firm, unequivocal condemnation would correct the direction that Abbas was preparing to take, to make another Palestinian war against Jews.Secretary of State Kerry’s first reaction was not just to equivocate, but to blame Israel for settlement building. In fact, by inserting the topic of settlements, the US bears responsibility for upping the ante on Abbas’s declaration of incitement. The US pronouncement could easily be interpreted as a justification for Abbas’s intentions, and a go-ahead for further incitement. It took days for a delayed and tepid call to Abbas, and a minor scolding to tone down the rhetoric…on both sides.I saw the results of Kerry’s “even-handedness.” With his perhaps wishful effort to appear fair, he empowered messages condoning violence by Abbas, and making Israelis more fearful for their personal safety. I was startled by the reaction of fear I heard from Israelis. If the goal of the US administration was to undermine the current government in Israel, they have only given Israelis more motivation to support it.The reality is that Abbas’s incitement war has resulted in murdering scores more Jews then did the thousands of Hamas missiles during the 2014 Gaza War. There is no Iron Dome against a civilian population motivated to murder.Perhaps there could have been a glimmer of hope in a February 1 JTA posting headlined Kerry stresses ending incitement in call with Abbas. But while the US State Department spokeswoman fed the talking points, the operational message was that “Kerry praised Abbas for a January 19 speech.”What was in that speech? There were a few words of laughable crocodile tears: Abbas said, “We continue to suffer a lot because of the daily killing and slaughter; we are against murder and spilling the blood of any human being…” In Abbas’s perverted world, he promotes sending out martyrs, then complains of their being “slaughtered.”The true message of the speech was one of Palestinian victimhood at the hands of Israel. He compared the plight of the Palestinians to the Armenian genocide and called for continued “resistance” against Israel. In words meant only for the duration of the January 19 speech he claimed “our resistance shall always remain peaceful.”I would assume that Kerry is an intelligent diplomat. Did he not know that he was praising a speech calling for “resistance?” As Abba’s message was focused on claims of victimhood to justify Palestinian “resistance,” did Kerry believe that by cherry picking a few words that sound nice, he was not giving the go-ahead for further violence. Two weeks following that Abbas speech, we saw the murder of Hadar Cohen, and the Palestinian Authority heaping praise on three new martyrs.The US administration needs to take a stand. Only a sustained firm, unequivocal condemnation of incitement, in all matters of speech, official media pronouncements and education of the youth, will stop Abbas’s directing the killing of Israelis. For the US to do otherwise it is a form of complicity in the murder of Jews.As Sadat realized four decades ago, the only real path to peace is through Washington. The US uniquely has the power to stop Abbas, and enforce a redirection in the education of the Palestinian people, which it has not done yet. I do not want to see more pictures of murdered Jews like Hadar, nor the incitement of more young Palestinian killers, all their lives cut short too soon.Golda Meir’s words still ring true, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us” and, I would add, when they don’t incite their kids to martyr themselves on missions to kill our kids.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.
12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Finish security fence near Jerusalem to stem violence, Herzog demands-Opposition leader touts separation plan, says barrier around Etzion bloc being held up for ‘obscure political reasons’-By Raphael Ahren February 10, 2016, 5:46 pm-the times of israel
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called for the completion of the West Bank security barrier around the Etzion settlement bloc Wednesday, saying that complete separation from the Palestinians was the only way to stop the current wave of violence.His comment came a day after a jogger in the settlement bloc was injured in an apparent terrorist stabbing attack, as nearly five months of violence mainly in Jerusalem and the West Bank persisted.“We have to finalize the security fence around Gush Etzion. It’s an open area that hasn’t been completed for political reasons that are obscure,” the Labor party chairman told the foreign press during a briefing in Jerusalem.Construction of the fence in part of the Etzion bloc, which lies south of Jerusalem, has been halted amid right-wing claims that it will leave out tens of thousands of settlers. There has also been opposition from environmentalists who point to the route of the fence near the village of Battir, home to terraced hillsides which have been recognized as a World Heritage site.There has also been concern that routing the fence to include settlements will eat into too much Palestinian land, drawing international condemnation.“Nobody knows what the current route is. There’s a whole lot of political turmoil about the route… We’re seeing lots of routes, and lots of ideas. But it’s got to be completed. And we call upon the government to make sure it is completed.”Herzog dismissed concerns that Israel finishing work on the fence would be harshly condemned by the world.“The international community realized that it stopped terror dramatically and, in fact, it actually led to the ability to try to again and again in the last 12 years to reach the two-state solution. Once there is less terror there is more ability to talk.”Herzog, who has touted total separation from the Palestinians as the best way to stem the attacks, said the complete fence would make for better neighbors.“When you study the new wave of terror in depth you realize that only by preventing people from interacting for a while at least — until you calm down the situation — will you be able to preserve the two-state solution,” he said.Completing the fence, which Israel started constructing in 2002 but never finished, is a main plank in a separation plan approved by his party on Sunday, which includes several other “security steps.”“None of us likes barriers. And nobody likes fences,” Herzog said. “But at the end we need to preserve the lives of people here against cruel terror, which is unacceptable by any norms.”The idea of a fence to separate Israel proper plus the settlement blocs from the overwhelmingly Palestinian part of the West Bank was always controversial but has proven efficient, he added. “This reminds me of debate over the security fence before it was erected.It was the same discussion. And when it was erected it brought down suicide bombings by 100 percent.”Despite touting the effectiveness of fences, Herzog also took a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, during a tour at Israel’s border with Jordan, vowed to “surround the entire State of Israel with a fence.”Netanyahu wants fences in certain areas but refuses to tell the Israeli public how he envisions the future borders of the state, Herzog lamented.Asked by The Times of Israel whether he opposes Netanyahu’s goal of completing the fence on the Jordanian border, Herzog replied: “I have no problem with the border policy in the east. All I am saying is that if Netanyahu spoke about fences he should also deal with the fence that is between us and the Palestinians.”He said that the Palestinians must also be given more civilian authority in the West Bank itself as part of “confidence-building measures,” though he stressed that the Israeli army would continue to operate anywhere it sees necessary in the territory.Beyond that, Herzog wants a security conference including “all moderate parties in the region” to tackle a range of issues in the Middle East.“I believe that we have to be realistic,” Herzog said.“And I believe that reality calls right now to understand that tomorrow, peace is not around the corner. What needs to be done is separating from the Palestinians as much as possible. This is taking our fate in our own hands.”He said his separation initiative was aimed at preserving the two-state solution while recognizing that progress cannot be made until the violence stops. He argued that “no other party or leader has presented a plan that is realistic.”While Herzog’s Labor party adopted his proposals on Sunday, several senior members of the party criticized the plan as it appeared to declare the two-state solution as currently unattainable, which, they argued, was a significant departure from traditional Labor positions.AFP contributed to this report.
US confirms Iranian drone buzzed carrier last month-Navy report says the unmanned aerial vehicle, first to fly over carrier since 2014, was unarmed and posed no threats to sailors-By Jon Gambrell February 10, 2016, 6:34 pm-the times of israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian drone that flew over a US aircraft carrier last month was the first to conduct an overflight of an American carrier since 2014, according to a US Navy report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.The January 12 reconnaissance flight by the Iranian Shahed drone was the latest in a series of tense naval encounters between forces of the Islamic Republic and the US Navy, including the brief detention of 10 American sailors who strayed into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.All the incidents have come after Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers including the US, and point to lingering tensions between the two playing out in key waterways used to transport oil.An internal US Navy report on the incident, obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information Act request, said it happened as the USS Harry S. Truman and the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle were 89 nautical miles southwest of the Iranian port of Bushehr. The US Navy also released video it shot of the incident for the first time in response to the AP request.A French helicopter watched the Shahed-121 drone on the cloudy day and the US Navy dispatched a Seahawk helicopter to film it as it flew over the Truman, a nuclear-powered carrier based out of Norfolk, Virginia.The US Navy taskforce in the area publicly described the drone’s overflight as “safe, routine and professional.” But the internal report says the Navy’s higher command described it as “safe, abnormal and unprofessional,” as Iranian drones seldom fly over American carriers.US and French sailors repeatedly confirmed that the Iranian drone had its “wings clean,” the report said. That means it did not carry weapons and didn’t pose a risk to the ship, said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain.“They’re operating in international airspace. You can’t shoot (it) down; that would be illegal,” Stephens said.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is using similar Shahed-129 drones as ground support to forces fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria, the semi-official Fars news agency reported last week. The difference between the two models was not immediately clear. Iran also said it deployed Shahed drones during war games near the Iranian holy city of Qom that simulated a capture of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque in November.“Shahed” means “witness” in both Farsi and Arabic.The last Iranian drone overflight of an American aircraft carrier happened in September 2014 and involved the USS George HW Bush, according to the report. That happened as the US and other world powers were in the midst of negotiating a final agreement over the fate of Iran’s disputed nuclear program. An interim agreement had been reached to limit the program the previous year, but neither side had been able to finalize the deal by a June 2014 deadline, leading talks to be extended.In January, Iranian state television aired footage it said came from a drone overflight of an American carrier. The footage, which the AP could not independently verify, purported to show the drone being launched and then hovering over an unidentified aircraft carrier, a targeting bracket briefly passing over a jet parked on the deck below.Iran has more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of shoreline facing the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Control of that territory, including the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes, has remained a priority for Iran’s military, and it conducts regular drills in the region.American and Iranian forces clashed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. On April 18, 1988, US forces attacked two Iranian oil rigs and sank or damaged six Iranian vessels in response to the near-sinking of the missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts by an Iranian mine. A few months later, in July 1988, the USS Vincennes in the strait mistook an Iran Air flight heading to Dubai for an attacking fighter jet, shooting down the plane and killing all 290 passengers and crew onboard.The US has criticized some of Iran’s recent maneuvers in the Gulf, including what it called a “highly provocative” Iranian rocket test in December near the USS Harry S. Truman, the USS Bulkeley destroyer, the French FS Provence frigate and commercial traffic in the strait.A second report obtained Wednesday by the AP on that incident named the commercial ships nearby as the M/V Glovis Pacific, a car carrier, and the M/V SPF Prudencia, an oil tanker. The report suggested that the rocket fire was meant to “intimidate” the US warships, a test Stephens called extremely dangerous given the close military and commercial traffic nearby.“You’re one broken rocket fin away from creating a serious international incident that could have had unfortunate consequences,” the commander said.
Man arrested for hanging pig’s foot on Arad synagogue-Suspect says he hung forbidden flesh to protest takeover of public shelter by Hasidic community in southern town-By Times of Israel staff February 10, 2016, 6:25 pm
A resident of the town of Arad in southern Israel was arrested for placing a pig’s foot at the entrance to an ultra-Orthodox synagogue on several occasions, police said Wednesday.The man, in his 60s, was released on bail Wednesday after being detained three days earlier. He will be indicted in the near future, police said.The incident appeared to be part of long-simmering tensions over the growing ultra-Orthodox community in the northern Negev development town.In November, worshipers from the Gur Hasidic sect arrived at morning prayers to find a severed pig’s foot hanging near the entrance to the synagogue.Police say the man admitted to placing the pig’s foot at the newly inaugurated synagogue as well as to a number of other incidents where he placed ham and pig flesh on the building.He told investigators he was angry that the synagogue had been established at the site of a public shelter near his house.Pigs are taboo in Jewish culture, both for consuming and touching.The site has been the subject of a lengthy legal battle. Gur Hasidic followers claim the property belongs to the sect while the municipality says it owns the structure. The court eventually ruled in favor of the Gur sect.Ultra-Orthodox community leaders told Kikar HaShabbat that placing the pig’s foot above the synagogue’s door was “a new low” in the “inciters’s fight against the Haredi public.”The working class town, on the edge of the Negev desert, has seen tensions over an influx of ultra-Orthodox residents in recent years.Adherents of the Gur sect accused the city’s mayor, Nissan Ben-Hamo, of fomenting hatred that led to the vandalism-“The fight and the battle by the mayor against the ultra-Orthodox public is the reason for the grim atmosphere in the city and the pig’s foot is one of the results,” Gur community leaders wrote in a letter to Ben-Hamo.Ben-Hamo condemned the act in a November city hall meeting and said he had transferred the details to the police.
US is complicit in Palestinian violence-February 10, 2016, 3:41 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Having just returned from Israel, it pains me to see the photo of sweet 19-year-old Hadar Cohen. The life of this young woman serving in an Israeli Police Border Patrol unit was cut short in the line of duty, while protecting Jerusalemites from what could have been a massacre by heavily armed terrorists. Reading Naomi Ragen’s tribute to Hadar, I imagine that this young Israeli could have been the girlfriend of my younger son, a Penn State student.I am also pained by the senselessness of the loss of young Arab lives, seeing the picture of smiling relaxed faces of three young Palestinian 20-something youths, hailed as martyrs by Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, incited to kill and massacre.During the High Holidays in September, when Mahmoud Abbas uttered lies of incitement — of Israel preparing to seize the Temple Mount, with calls to protect the “Noble Sanctuary” and “blessing the blood of martyrs” — I waited for condemnation from my country’s administration. Only a strong, firm, unequivocal condemnation would correct the direction that Abbas was preparing to take, to make another Palestinian war against Jews.Secretary of State Kerry’s first reaction was not just to equivocate, but to blame Israel for settlement building. In fact, by inserting the topic of settlements, the US bears responsibility for upping the ante on Abbas’s declaration of incitement. The US pronouncement could easily be interpreted as a justification for Abbas’s intentions, and a go-ahead for further incitement. It took days for a delayed and tepid call to Abbas, and a minor scolding to tone down the rhetoric…on both sides.I saw the results of Kerry’s “even-handedness.” With his perhaps wishful effort to appear fair, he empowered messages condoning violence by Abbas, and making Israelis more fearful for their personal safety. I was startled by the reaction of fear I heard from Israelis. If the goal of the US administration was to undermine the current government in Israel, they have only given Israelis more motivation to support it.The reality is that Abbas’s incitement war has resulted in murdering scores more Jews then did the thousands of Hamas missiles during the 2014 Gaza War. There is no Iron Dome against a civilian population motivated to murder.Perhaps there could have been a glimmer of hope in a February 1 JTA posting headlined Kerry stresses ending incitement in call with Abbas. But while the US State Department spokeswoman fed the talking points, the operational message was that “Kerry praised Abbas for a January 19 speech.”What was in that speech? There were a few words of laughable crocodile tears: Abbas said, “We continue to suffer a lot because of the daily killing and slaughter; we are against murder and spilling the blood of any human being…” In Abbas’s perverted world, he promotes sending out martyrs, then complains of their being “slaughtered.”The true message of the speech was one of Palestinian victimhood at the hands of Israel. He compared the plight of the Palestinians to the Armenian genocide and called for continued “resistance” against Israel. In words meant only for the duration of the January 19 speech he claimed “our resistance shall always remain peaceful.”I would assume that Kerry is an intelligent diplomat. Did he not know that he was praising a speech calling for “resistance?” As Abba’s message was focused on claims of victimhood to justify Palestinian “resistance,” did Kerry believe that by cherry picking a few words that sound nice, he was not giving the go-ahead for further violence. Two weeks following that Abbas speech, we saw the murder of Hadar Cohen, and the Palestinian Authority heaping praise on three new martyrs.The US administration needs to take a stand. Only a sustained firm, unequivocal condemnation of incitement, in all matters of speech, official media pronouncements and education of the youth, will stop Abbas’s directing the killing of Israelis. For the US to do otherwise it is a form of complicity in the murder of Jews.As Sadat realized four decades ago, the only real path to peace is through Washington. The US uniquely has the power to stop Abbas, and enforce a redirection in the education of the Palestinian people, which it has not done yet. I do not want to see more pictures of murdered Jews like Hadar, nor the incitement of more young Palestinian killers, all their lives cut short too soon.Golda Meir’s words still ring true, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us” and, I would add, when they don’t incite their kids to martyr themselves on missions to kill our kids.
