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)
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
Netanyahu nixes US trip, says he rejected Obama offer to meet-Official says PM fears visit to AIPAC conference later this month could embroil him in US presidential contest-By Raphael Ahren March 7, 2016, 10:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Prime Minister’s Office said Monday evening that Benjamin Netanyahu will not be traveling to the US later this month to attend the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, and will also miss a potential meeting with US President Barack Obama.The prime minister will instead address the conference on March 20 via satellite.The statement from the PMO thanked Obama for offering to meet with the prime minister on March 18, ahead of the president’s historic trip to Cuba, but said that Netanyahu had decided against making the trip to the US.The White House said after the announcement that it found out about the cancellation through the media.A senior Israeli official earlier cited Tuesday’s upcoming visit to Israel by US Vice President Joe Biden, and fears that the prime minister could inadvertently become entangled in the American presidential campaign, as likely reasons for the decision to skip the AIPAC confab.“At the moment, it looks like we’re not going to Washington,” the official told The Times of Israel ahead of the official announcement. “The thinking is that we’re seeing Biden this week and the assumption is that in the discussion with Biden all the issues will come up.”The official added: “Also, at AIPAC, many of the presidential candidates are giving speeches and might ask for meetings with the PM. We don’t want to get involved in the US election process.”The official spoke on condition of anonymity.The White House said Monday that it proposed a March 18 meeting two weeks ago, and only learned through the media that Netanyahu had decided to cancel his trip, Reuters reported.“We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting, and we were surprised to first learn via media reports that the prime minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in an emailed statement, according to Reuters.“Reports that we were not able to accommodate the prime minister’s schedule are false,” Price said. Obama departs for Cuba on March 21.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
White House ‘surprised’ Netanyahu spurning offer to meet Obama-A year after president refused to meet him, PM turns the tables; administration says it learned he wouldn’t be coming to DC from the media-By Times of Israel staff and Raphael Ahren March 8, 2016, 1:15 am
The White House on Thursday expressed public surprise that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected an offer to meet with the president later this month, and said it only learned Netanyahu was canceling his trip to the United States from the media.In a sign of yet another round of tension between the Israeli and American leaderships, the administration also publicly rejected earlier Israeli reports that the White House had been unable to schedule a time for the meeting as “false.”Netanyahu’s extraordinary decision to spurn the presidential invite came a year after Obama refused to meet with Netanyahu in Washington, citing the proximity to Israeli elections, in what was widely regarded as a sign of the strain in ties between the two leaders; Netanyahu spoke in Congress during that trip against the Iran deal, without coordinating that appearance ahead of time with the administration.Reports had been circulating for more than a week that Netanyahu might skip the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference later this month given that Obama would be out of the country at the time.AIPAC’s Policy Conference kicks off on Sunday, March 20, and lasts until Tuesday, March 22. Obama is embarking on a historic trip to Cuba — the first by an American president since 1928 — on March 21. After his visit in Havana, Obama will travel to Argentina, returning to the US only on March 25. Still, sources in Jerusalem said last week that efforts were underway to schedule a meeting before the president takes off for Havana.In fact, the White House said Monday that it had proposed a March 18 meeting two weeks ago. “We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting, and we were surprised to first learn via media reports that the prime minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in an emailed statement.“Reports that we were not able to accommodate the prime minister’s schedule are false,” Price added.Earlier on Monday evening, an Israeli Channel 10 report had claimed Netanyahu’s office did offer to have the prime minister fly in on March 18 for a meeting with the president, but that no time could be found for a meet-up — an account the White House rejected as false.Also earlier Monday, a senior Israeli official had indicated that the trip was off, but made no mention of the White House having scheduled a meeting.“At the moment, it looks like we’re not going to Washington,” the official told The Times of Israel. “The thinking is that we’re seeing (Vice President Joe) Biden this week and the assumption is that in the discussion with Biden all the issues will come up.” Biden was due in Israel for a short visit on Tuesday.The official also cited fears that the prime minister could inadvertently become entangled in the American presidential campaign: “Also, at AIPAC, many of the presidential candidates are giving speeches and might ask for meetings with the PM. We don’t want to get involved in the US election process.”Later Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying Netanyahu would not be traveling to the US to attend the AIPAC conference, and would also miss a potential meeting with Obama. (The prime minister will instead address the AIPAC conference on March 20 via satellite.)-The statement from the PMO thanked Obama for offering to meet with the prime minister on March 18, but said that Netanyahu had decided against making the trip to the US.
PM lashes Arab MKs for Hezbollah support: ‘Have you gone mad?’-Hezbollah shoots missiles at Arab villages, too, Netanyahu says after lawmakers denounce Gulf states’ ban on Lebanon terror group-By Times of Israel staff March 7, 2016, 7:55 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out Monday at Arab MKs who condemned Gulf Arab states for blacklisting the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah as a terror group.“Countries from the Arab world decided to recognize Hezbollah as a terror group. This is an important development. Even amazing,” Netanyahu said in the Knesset on Monday evening.“But what’s no less amazing is that two parties here in the Knesset condemned the decision. Will you continue to condemn them when Hezbollah shoots missiles at your villages? Have you gone mad?” the prime minister said, adding immediately: “Excuse the expression.”Hezbollah is openly committed to destroying Israel, and has an estimated 100,000-plus rockets and missiles aimed at the Jewish state.Last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to bomb the Haifa ammonia storage facility, bragging that a missile strike there would have an impact similar to a nuclear attack.Hadash and Balad, two of the four parties that make up the mostly Arab Joint List in the Knesset, published condemnations Monday of Sunni Arab states that last week designated Shiite Hezbollah a terror organization. Both parties argued that the move serves Israel.The blacklisting of Hezbollah, announced last Wednesday by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, came amid the continued deterioration of relations between Hezbollah’s Shiite backer Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Gulf monarchies had already sanctioned Hezbollah in 2013 in reprisal for its armed intervention in Syria in support of embattled President Bashar Assad.Hadash, which is helmed by Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh, denounced the blacklisting, which it said came “in the service of occupation and the continued occupation of Arab land.” Hadash backs the continued rule of Assad in Syria.Balad followed Hadash’s lead Monday, posting a condemnation of the Gulf Cooperation Council on its website on Monday afternoon. “Even if there is criticism of its activities, there is no justification to condemn the organization,” Balad said of Hezbollah.Netanyahu’s criticism followed that of other lawmakers.Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, a senior member of the ruling Likud party, called Odeh and Balad head MK Jamal Zahalka “traitors,” saying it was “unbelievable that members of Knesset seek to sabotage Israel’s interests.“Go join [fugitive former Balad leader] Azmi Bishara in Qatar, or in Syria — that’s where traitors belong,” Katz was quoted as saying in a statement released from his office.He said he appealed to the Knesset Ethics Committee to examine the statements and take disciplinary steps against the lawmakers.Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman, who leads the Yisrael Beytenu party, slammed Arab lawmakers as “representatives of the worst extremists in the whole Arab world.”Yesh Atid MK Yaakov Peri called the statements “unfortunate.” In an interview with Channel 2, he said they reflected a deep divide among Israel’s Arabs over the conflict in Syria, with secularists backing Assad’s continued rule and religious Muslims opposing the Assad regime.Balad MKs recently made headlines for visiting the families of Palestinian terrorists. The lawmakers maintained they were simply helping the families retrieve the attackers’ bodies from Israel for burial, but a video of the three MKs ostensibly observing a moment of silence sparked widespread Israeli outrage, and prompted the coalition to draft a controversial bill to allow lawmakers to suspend their colleagues.Former MK Bishara led Balad until he fled Israel in 2007 amid suspicions that he provided information to Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Bishara has denied the allegations, and says he will not return to Israel as he does not believe he will receive a fair trial. Bishara currently resides in Doha, Qatar.Odeh has also recently courted controversy, on February 29 accusing Israel of murdering former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.AFP contributed to this report.
French prime minister says he understands Jews’ fear-Manuel Valls voices ‘solidarity’ with French Jewry, calls current state for community ‘a reality we do not accept’-By AP March 8, 2016, 2:04 am-the times of israel
France’s Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls says he understands French Jews’ fear amid heightened religious tension in the country after attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris last year.Valls expressed his “solidarity” toward French Jews and strongly condemned anti-Semitism whether it comes from the “far-left” or the “far-right” at an event Monday organized by the country’s main Jewish organization.“Yes, Jews of France are afraid to wear the kippa (the traditional skull cap), to go to the synagogue, to do shopping in a kosher market, to send their children to public school. That’s a reality, and a reality we do not accept,” Valls said at the annual dinner of the CRIF Jewish Council.Many high ranking French politicians as well as Catholic and Muslim religious leaders attended the event.
UK counter-terror chief warns of ‘spectacular’ IS attacks-London police’s Mark Rowley says jihadist group aiming for enormous assaults on ‘Western lifestyle’-By AFP March 7, 2016, 8:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
LONDON — Britain’s most senior counterterrorism police officer warned on Monday of the risk of further “spectacular” attacks by the Islamic State group as it trains its sights on “Western lifestyle” targets.London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said British police had carried out a record number of counterterrorism arrests last year.But he warned that the Islamist group had broadened its focus from military and police targets, noting the Paris attacks last year when gunmen attacked bars, a concert hall and a stadium, killing 130 people.“In recent months we’ve seen a broadening of that, much more plans to attack Western lifestyle, and obviously the Paris attacks in November,” Rowley told reporters. “Going from that narrow focus on police and military as symbols of the state to something much broader.”“And you see a terrorist group which has big ambitions for enormous and spectacular attacks, not just the types that we’ve seen foiled to date.”Police have previously said they foiled seven plots between late 2014 and early 2016.Across Britain, police made a record 339 arrests related to counterterrorism in 2015, around half of which resulted in charges being brought.Arrests in the past three years are 57 percent higher than in the previous three years.Some 77% of arrests last year were British nationals, while 14% were female and 13% were aged 20 and under — a new trend that reflects specific targeting by IS group jihadists of vulnerable groups on social media.Britain has suffered only one fatal incident of international terrorism since the July 7, 2005 attacks on the London transport system that killed 52 people.In 2013, two Muslim converts butchered soldier Lee Rigby near his London barracks in broad daylight.Rowley said Britain had some advantages over other Western countries in fighting terrorism, notably its experience with dealing with paramilitary groups linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland and tough laws on gun control that made it difficult to obtain firearms.The Metropolitan Police announced after the Paris attacks that it was training another 600 firearms officers, taking the total number to 2,800, out of a 31,000-strong force.British authorities have since 2014 assessed the country’s threat from international terrorism to be severe, the fourth of five levels meaning an attack is highly likely.
Zionist Union meeting descends into open revolt over Labor leadership-MK Erel Margalit accuses Isaac Herzog of ‘destroying’ Labor, tells Tzipi Livni she’s just a ‘guest’-By Times of Israel staff March 7, 2016, 9:30 pm
Simmering tensions in the Labor Party burst to the surface Monday in a contentious meeting of the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset.Zionist Union is an amalgam of Labor and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party, with the bigger and more established Labor taking the senior spot.In a video captured on a cell phone camera in the meeting, MKs are seen shouting and accusing each other of hurting their party’s popularity.Herzog is seeking to change the party’s bylaws to delay the next primary for party leader for two years, likely in the hope that he’ll still be leader when the Knesset calls new elections.Member of Knesset Erel Margalit, who is mulling a challenge for party leader, shouted at Herzog that he was a “dictator.”“Labor and Zionist Union will disappear because there’s no legitimacy to a leadership that doesn’t go to elections,” Margalit is heard yelling in the video.“To delay primaries for two years is to put the party in the freezer and gives Netanyahu the keys to the country.”Livni interrupted Margalit: “No, no, no, no. What destroys the Zionist Union is that every day someone comes from Labor with his personal issues,” she charged.“You’re a guest in this party,” Margalit replied, shouting.Labor MK Eitan Cabel called on Margalit to “stop spinning all of us,” leading Margalit to shout back that Cabel and Herzog were “destroying the party.”Labor is famous for its internal rivalries, felling its party leaders on average every two years since it last held the premiership in 2001. Its rival Likud, in contrast, has had just four leaders since the founding of the state in 1948.Monday’s closed-door meeting of Zionist Union lawmakers was not the first time Margalit publicly excoriated Herzog for attempting to delay the primaries. At a Saturday event in Beersheba, Margalit called on Herzog to expedite the primaries, and urged former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi to join the party.Postponing the primaries for two years, Margalit said, would be a “grave mistake.”
Bill barring mosques from blasting call to prayer withdrawn-Jewish Home party MK pulls legislation before committee vote after failing to garner coalition support-By JTA March 8, 2016, 1:05 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A bill that would bar mosques from broadcasting the call to prayer on loudspeaker systems was withdrawn by its sponsor.Knesset member Moti Yogev of the Jewish Home party withdrew the bill on Sunday before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation was set to vote on it. He reportedly withdrew the bill after being unable to obtain support from lawmakers in the government coalition.In addition to banning loudspeakers for prayers, which in mosques are held five times a day including before dawn, the bill would also prohibit “conveying religious or nationalist messages, or even words of incitement” through such broadcasts.The law would apply to all houses of worship, but is widely viewed as targeting mosques, since churches and synagogues do not broadcast calls to prayer.Yogev plans to add two changes to the bill that could make it easier for lawmakers to support: prohibiting the use of the loudspeakers during legal rest hours in the country and setting a decibel level threshold, according to Haaretz.A similar ban was proposed in 2014 but failed to win the necessary support.
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
Netanyahu nixes US trip, says he rejected Obama offer to meet-Official says PM fears visit to AIPAC conference later this month could embroil him in US presidential contest-By Raphael Ahren March 7, 2016, 10:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Prime Minister’s Office said Monday evening that Benjamin Netanyahu will not be traveling to the US later this month to attend the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, and will also miss a potential meeting with US President Barack Obama.The prime minister will instead address the conference on March 20 via satellite.The statement from the PMO thanked Obama for offering to meet with the prime minister on March 18, ahead of the president’s historic trip to Cuba, but said that Netanyahu had decided against making the trip to the US.The White House said after the announcement that it found out about the cancellation through the media.A senior Israeli official earlier cited Tuesday’s upcoming visit to Israel by US Vice President Joe Biden, and fears that the prime minister could inadvertently become entangled in the American presidential campaign, as likely reasons for the decision to skip the AIPAC confab.“At the moment, it looks like we’re not going to Washington,” the official told The Times of Israel ahead of the official announcement. “The thinking is that we’re seeing Biden this week and the assumption is that in the discussion with Biden all the issues will come up.”The official added: “Also, at AIPAC, many of the presidential candidates are giving speeches and might ask for meetings with the PM. We don’t want to get involved in the US election process.”The official spoke on condition of anonymity.The White House said Monday that it proposed a March 18 meeting two weeks ago, and only learned through the media that Netanyahu had decided to cancel his trip, Reuters reported.“We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting, and we were surprised to first learn via media reports that the prime minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in an emailed statement, according to Reuters.“Reports that we were not able to accommodate the prime minister’s schedule are false,” Price said. Obama departs for Cuba on March 21.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
White House ‘surprised’ Netanyahu spurning offer to meet Obama-A year after president refused to meet him, PM turns the tables; administration says it learned he wouldn’t be coming to DC from the media-By Times of Israel staff and Raphael Ahren March 8, 2016, 1:15 am
The White House on Thursday expressed public surprise that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected an offer to meet with the president later this month, and said it only learned Netanyahu was canceling his trip to the United States from the media.In a sign of yet another round of tension between the Israeli and American leaderships, the administration also publicly rejected earlier Israeli reports that the White House had been unable to schedule a time for the meeting as “false.”Netanyahu’s extraordinary decision to spurn the presidential invite came a year after Obama refused to meet with Netanyahu in Washington, citing the proximity to Israeli elections, in what was widely regarded as a sign of the strain in ties between the two leaders; Netanyahu spoke in Congress during that trip against the Iran deal, without coordinating that appearance ahead of time with the administration.Reports had been circulating for more than a week that Netanyahu might skip the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference later this month given that Obama would be out of the country at the time.AIPAC’s Policy Conference kicks off on Sunday, March 20, and lasts until Tuesday, March 22. Obama is embarking on a historic trip to Cuba — the first by an American president since 1928 — on March 21. After his visit in Havana, Obama will travel to Argentina, returning to the US only on March 25. Still, sources in Jerusalem said last week that efforts were underway to schedule a meeting before the president takes off for Havana.In fact, the White House said Monday that it had proposed a March 18 meeting two weeks ago. “We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting, and we were surprised to first learn via media reports that the prime minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in an emailed statement.“Reports that we were not able to accommodate the prime minister’s schedule are false,” Price added.Earlier on Monday evening, an Israeli Channel 10 report had claimed Netanyahu’s office did offer to have the prime minister fly in on March 18 for a meeting with the president, but that no time could be found for a meet-up — an account the White House rejected as false.Also earlier Monday, a senior Israeli official had indicated that the trip was off, but made no mention of the White House having scheduled a meeting.“At the moment, it looks like we’re not going to Washington,” the official told The Times of Israel. “The thinking is that we’re seeing (Vice President Joe) Biden this week and the assumption is that in the discussion with Biden all the issues will come up.” Biden was due in Israel for a short visit on Tuesday.The official also cited fears that the prime minister could inadvertently become entangled in the American presidential campaign: “Also, at AIPAC, many of the presidential candidates are giving speeches and might ask for meetings with the PM. We don’t want to get involved in the US election process.”Later Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying Netanyahu would not be traveling to the US to attend the AIPAC conference, and would also miss a potential meeting with Obama. (The prime minister will instead address the AIPAC conference on March 20 via satellite.)-The statement from the PMO thanked Obama for offering to meet with the prime minister on March 18, but said that Netanyahu had decided against making the trip to the US.
PM lashes Arab MKs for Hezbollah support: ‘Have you gone mad?’-Hezbollah shoots missiles at Arab villages, too, Netanyahu says after lawmakers denounce Gulf states’ ban on Lebanon terror group-By Times of Israel staff March 7, 2016, 7:55 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out Monday at Arab MKs who condemned Gulf Arab states for blacklisting the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah as a terror group.“Countries from the Arab world decided to recognize Hezbollah as a terror group. This is an important development. Even amazing,” Netanyahu said in the Knesset on Monday evening.“But what’s no less amazing is that two parties here in the Knesset condemned the decision. Will you continue to condemn them when Hezbollah shoots missiles at your villages? Have you gone mad?” the prime minister said, adding immediately: “Excuse the expression.”Hezbollah is openly committed to destroying Israel, and has an estimated 100,000-plus rockets and missiles aimed at the Jewish state.Last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to bomb the Haifa ammonia storage facility, bragging that a missile strike there would have an impact similar to a nuclear attack.Hadash and Balad, two of the four parties that make up the mostly Arab Joint List in the Knesset, published condemnations Monday of Sunni Arab states that last week designated Shiite Hezbollah a terror organization. Both parties argued that the move serves Israel.The blacklisting of Hezbollah, announced last Wednesday by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, came amid the continued deterioration of relations between Hezbollah’s Shiite backer Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Gulf monarchies had already sanctioned Hezbollah in 2013 in reprisal for its armed intervention in Syria in support of embattled President Bashar Assad.Hadash, which is helmed by Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh, denounced the blacklisting, which it said came “in the service of occupation and the continued occupation of Arab land.” Hadash backs the continued rule of Assad in Syria.Balad followed Hadash’s lead Monday, posting a condemnation of the Gulf Cooperation Council on its website on Monday afternoon. “Even if there is criticism of its activities, there is no justification to condemn the organization,” Balad said of Hezbollah.Netanyahu’s criticism followed that of other lawmakers.Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, a senior member of the ruling Likud party, called Odeh and Balad head MK Jamal Zahalka “traitors,” saying it was “unbelievable that members of Knesset seek to sabotage Israel’s interests.“Go join [fugitive former Balad leader] Azmi Bishara in Qatar, or in Syria — that’s where traitors belong,” Katz was quoted as saying in a statement released from his office.He said he appealed to the Knesset Ethics Committee to examine the statements and take disciplinary steps against the lawmakers.Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman, who leads the Yisrael Beytenu party, slammed Arab lawmakers as “representatives of the worst extremists in the whole Arab world.”Yesh Atid MK Yaakov Peri called the statements “unfortunate.” In an interview with Channel 2, he said they reflected a deep divide among Israel’s Arabs over the conflict in Syria, with secularists backing Assad’s continued rule and religious Muslims opposing the Assad regime.Balad MKs recently made headlines for visiting the families of Palestinian terrorists. The lawmakers maintained they were simply helping the families retrieve the attackers’ bodies from Israel for burial, but a video of the three MKs ostensibly observing a moment of silence sparked widespread Israeli outrage, and prompted the coalition to draft a controversial bill to allow lawmakers to suspend their colleagues.Former MK Bishara led Balad until he fled Israel in 2007 amid suspicions that he provided information to Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Bishara has denied the allegations, and says he will not return to Israel as he does not believe he will receive a fair trial. Bishara currently resides in Doha, Qatar.Odeh has also recently courted controversy, on February 29 accusing Israel of murdering former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.AFP contributed to this report.
French prime minister says he understands Jews’ fear-Manuel Valls voices ‘solidarity’ with French Jewry, calls current state for community ‘a reality we do not accept’-By AP March 8, 2016, 2:04 am-the times of israel
France’s Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls says he understands French Jews’ fear amid heightened religious tension in the country after attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris last year.Valls expressed his “solidarity” toward French Jews and strongly condemned anti-Semitism whether it comes from the “far-left” or the “far-right” at an event Monday organized by the country’s main Jewish organization.“Yes, Jews of France are afraid to wear the kippa (the traditional skull cap), to go to the synagogue, to do shopping in a kosher market, to send their children to public school. That’s a reality, and a reality we do not accept,” Valls said at the annual dinner of the CRIF Jewish Council.Many high ranking French politicians as well as Catholic and Muslim religious leaders attended the event.
UK counter-terror chief warns of ‘spectacular’ IS attacks-London police’s Mark Rowley says jihadist group aiming for enormous assaults on ‘Western lifestyle’-By AFP March 7, 2016, 8:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
LONDON — Britain’s most senior counterterrorism police officer warned on Monday of the risk of further “spectacular” attacks by the Islamic State group as it trains its sights on “Western lifestyle” targets.London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said British police had carried out a record number of counterterrorism arrests last year.But he warned that the Islamist group had broadened its focus from military and police targets, noting the Paris attacks last year when gunmen attacked bars, a concert hall and a stadium, killing 130 people.“In recent months we’ve seen a broadening of that, much more plans to attack Western lifestyle, and obviously the Paris attacks in November,” Rowley told reporters. “Going from that narrow focus on police and military as symbols of the state to something much broader.”“And you see a terrorist group which has big ambitions for enormous and spectacular attacks, not just the types that we’ve seen foiled to date.”Police have previously said they foiled seven plots between late 2014 and early 2016.Across Britain, police made a record 339 arrests related to counterterrorism in 2015, around half of which resulted in charges being brought.Arrests in the past three years are 57 percent higher than in the previous three years.Some 77% of arrests last year were British nationals, while 14% were female and 13% were aged 20 and under — a new trend that reflects specific targeting by IS group jihadists of vulnerable groups on social media.Britain has suffered only one fatal incident of international terrorism since the July 7, 2005 attacks on the London transport system that killed 52 people.In 2013, two Muslim converts butchered soldier Lee Rigby near his London barracks in broad daylight.Rowley said Britain had some advantages over other Western countries in fighting terrorism, notably its experience with dealing with paramilitary groups linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland and tough laws on gun control that made it difficult to obtain firearms.The Metropolitan Police announced after the Paris attacks that it was training another 600 firearms officers, taking the total number to 2,800, out of a 31,000-strong force.British authorities have since 2014 assessed the country’s threat from international terrorism to be severe, the fourth of five levels meaning an attack is highly likely.
Zionist Union meeting descends into open revolt over Labor leadership-MK Erel Margalit accuses Isaac Herzog of ‘destroying’ Labor, tells Tzipi Livni she’s just a ‘guest’-By Times of Israel staff March 7, 2016, 9:30 pm
Simmering tensions in the Labor Party burst to the surface Monday in a contentious meeting of the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset.Zionist Union is an amalgam of Labor and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party, with the bigger and more established Labor taking the senior spot.In a video captured on a cell phone camera in the meeting, MKs are seen shouting and accusing each other of hurting their party’s popularity.Herzog is seeking to change the party’s bylaws to delay the next primary for party leader for two years, likely in the hope that he’ll still be leader when the Knesset calls new elections.Member of Knesset Erel Margalit, who is mulling a challenge for party leader, shouted at Herzog that he was a “dictator.”“Labor and Zionist Union will disappear because there’s no legitimacy to a leadership that doesn’t go to elections,” Margalit is heard yelling in the video.“To delay primaries for two years is to put the party in the freezer and gives Netanyahu the keys to the country.”Livni interrupted Margalit: “No, no, no, no. What destroys the Zionist Union is that every day someone comes from Labor with his personal issues,” she charged.“You’re a guest in this party,” Margalit replied, shouting.Labor MK Eitan Cabel called on Margalit to “stop spinning all of us,” leading Margalit to shout back that Cabel and Herzog were “destroying the party.”Labor is famous for its internal rivalries, felling its party leaders on average every two years since it last held the premiership in 2001. Its rival Likud, in contrast, has had just four leaders since the founding of the state in 1948.Monday’s closed-door meeting of Zionist Union lawmakers was not the first time Margalit publicly excoriated Herzog for attempting to delay the primaries. At a Saturday event in Beersheba, Margalit called on Herzog to expedite the primaries, and urged former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi to join the party.Postponing the primaries for two years, Margalit said, would be a “grave mistake.”
Bill barring mosques from blasting call to prayer withdrawn-Jewish Home party MK pulls legislation before committee vote after failing to garner coalition support-By JTA March 8, 2016, 1:05 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A bill that would bar mosques from broadcasting the call to prayer on loudspeaker systems was withdrawn by its sponsor.Knesset member Moti Yogev of the Jewish Home party withdrew the bill on Sunday before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation was set to vote on it. He reportedly withdrew the bill after being unable to obtain support from lawmakers in the government coalition.In addition to banning loudspeakers for prayers, which in mosques are held five times a day including before dawn, the bill would also prohibit “conveying religious or nationalist messages, or even words of incitement” through such broadcasts.The law would apply to all houses of worship, but is widely viewed as targeting mosques, since churches and synagogues do not broadcast calls to prayer.Yogev plans to add two changes to the bill that could make it easier for lawmakers to support: prohibiting the use of the loudspeakers during legal rest hours in the country and setting a decibel level threshold, according to Haaretz.A similar ban was proposed in 2014 but failed to win the necessary support.
