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)
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
EU slams ‘appalling’ video targeting its Israel envoy-Settler group’s film depicts Lars Faaborg-Andersen in a Hannibal Lecter mask, accuses ambassador of supporting ‘terror state’-By Times of Israel staff February 29, 2016, 10:20 pm
The European Union delegation to Israel on Monday slammed a settler group’s video that targets the EU ambassador and accuses him of setting up a “terror state.”“The video posted by an Israeli settler group attacking the Ambassador of the European Union to Israel is appalling,” a statement from the EU said.“Resorting to personal threats and slander can never be justified, despite differences of opinion,” it added.The video, released a day earlier, charges that the ambassador was working to “establish a terror state.”It accuses Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the Danish head of the EU delegation in Israel, of “undermining Israel’s sovereignty, ignoring the law, building wherever he wants and establishing a terror state — on Route 1!” The group was apparently referring to prefabricated homes built in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.The accusation relates to mobile homes presented by the EU to Palestinian and Bedouin families living in the West Bank area east of Jerusalem, which Israel has charged amount to illegal construction by the European umbrella body.The video was produced by a settler group opposed to the creation of a future Palestinian state, which calls itself the “Jerusalem Periphery Forum.”“Andersen must be restrained!” flashes onto the screen at the video’s conclusion, alongside a mock-up photo of Andersen with a Hannibal Lecter mask across his face.In text on a Facebook post that carried the video, the group said that Andersen “is the man behind the illegal construction around Route 1, whose purpose is to create facts on the ground: territorial contiguity for a future terror state.”In its response, the EU slammed the allegations “of the EU supporting terror” as “unacceptable.“We appreciate that the Israeli government has quickly condemned the video and we trust that the Israeli authorities will take appropriate action,” the statement said.Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold was quick to criticize the video on Sunday. His office released a statement saying that he “condemns the disrespectful way the European Union ambassador was presented.”The EU rejected the criticism of its policy of housing aid, placing blame for the need for its assistance on Israel.“The EU provides humanitarian assistance to communities in need in the West Bank in accordance with the humanitarian imperative. This includes providing shelter to otherwise homeless people. According to its obligations under international humanitarian law it’s actually Israel’s own responsibility as the Occupying Power to cater for the basic needs of the population in question. Failing that, Israel has the duty to agree to and facilitate international relief schemes and grant unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.”One left-wing lawmaker accused the settler group of “systematically working to sabotage Israel’s foreign relations.”Meretz Knesset Member Tamar Zandberg said in a statement Sunday evening that she had “asked the attorney general to determine whether this is incitement, and to examine the organization’s sources of funding, out of concern it is using public funds.”Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
Rivlin to family of fallen officer: ‘We are forced to live with the sword’-In condolence visit to bereaved relatives of Eliav Gelman, president vows ‘no one will prevent us from keeping our faith’-By Stuart Winer February 29, 2016, 6:37 pm-the times of israel
President Reuven Rivlin on Monday paid a condolence visit to the family of Eliav Gelman, the air force reservist officer killed by friendly fire during efforts to stop a terrorist who was attacking him last week.“I have visited many homes across Israel in the past months, we all understand that we are forced to live with the sword,” Rivlin told the bereaved Gelman family at their home in the settlement of Karmei Tzur. “We have returned to our land, and no one will prevent us from keeping our faith.”Palestinian Mamduh Amro, 26, from the village of Dura near Hebron, tried to stab the IAF reserve officer on February 24 at the Gush Etzion Junction in the Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.Gelman, a father of two from the nearby West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, was hit by errant IDF gunfire aimed at Amro.He was taken in critical condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he succumbed to his wounds some two hours after the attack. He had been on his way home from his Air Force base, where he was on reserve duty.“You know how heavy is the price we pay, and how horrific is the loss,” Rivlin said. “Like your wonderful and dear son, and husband. At one terrible moment, the Israeli people become aware of such incredible people — while of course, you knew all along.”Amro, the attacker, sustained moderate to serious injuries and was treated in Jerusalem.Israeli forces surveyed Amro’s home overnight Sunday ahead of its demolition, the army said Monday.The Etzion Junction has seen a spate of Palestinian attacks, many targeting soldiers stationed at the intersection.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Family of Israeli missing in Gaza pleads for global pressure on Hamas-Avraham Mengistu’s parents and brother travel to Geneva to meet diplomats and seek humanitarian assistance-By AFP February 29, 2016, 10:31 pm-the times of israel
The family of an Israeli man who went missing in 2014 after crossing into the Gaza Strip appealed Monday to the international community to help bring him home.Avraham Mengistu, a 29-year-old Israeli of Ethiopian descent, was deeply depressed and suffering from mental problems when he wandered unarmed across the border to Gaza a year and a half ago, they said.The Defense Ministry has determined that Mengistu was held by Hamas after illegally crossing the border, but the Islamist movement governing Gaza has provided no information about his whereabouts or condition.“We are kept in the dark,” the man’s 30-year-old brother Gashao told AFP during a visit to Geneva, with a representative of Israel’s mission to the United Nations serving as translator.His father Ayaline sat next to him, looking anxious and drawn, and his mother Agurnesh sat nearby, weeping quietly.The family, who live in the southern city of Ashkelon, not far from the Gaza border, had traveled to Geneva to meet with diplomats and groups and appeal to them to put pressure on Hamas “to do the right thing,” Gashao said.With his parents sitting nearby looking anxious and drawn, Gashao insisted “the international community has influence over Hamas.”“They can help this go beyond politics. It is a human rights and a humanitarian issue,” he said.“When Hamas is asking for humanitarian assistance, and contributions to the people in Gaza, then the international community should tell them: don’t expect us to assist you when you are violating the same rights of the other side,” Gashao said.“We are talking about an innocent civilian. He’s not a soldier. He was never a soldier,” he said.He explained that Avraham, distraught after the death of another brother and hospitalized several times for mental problems, had been exempt from Israeli military service.The family rejected reports that they had previously been angry with the Israeli military’s reaction to Avraham’s disappearance, and had claimed that more effort would have been put into finding him if he were white.Members of Israel’s 135,000-strong ethnic Ethiopian community say they suffer from discrimination.But Gashao said this was not an issue in this case: ” The government is doing what it can.”Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as bargaining chips to demand concessions, including the release of prisoners.In 2011, Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for five years after he being kidnapped during a cross-border raid into Israeli territory.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Top Arab MK accuses Israel of murdering Yasser Arafat-Reviving claim denied by Israel and dismissed by French investigators, Joint List leader Ayman Odeh says ex-Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, now a Likud MK, ‘gave orders to murder the leaders of the Palestinian people’-By Times of Israel staff February 29, 2016, 7:23 pm
The leader of Israel’s main Arab political party on Monday accused the Israeli government of murdering Yasser Arafat.In an interview on Channel 2, Knesset member Ayman Odeh, who heads the Joint (Arab) List in the parliament, said the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service murdered Arafat. He said that Avi Dichter, who headed the Shin Bet in 2004 when Arafat died, “sent the people” who murdered him. Dichter is now a Likud MK.Various Palestinian leaders, and Arafat’s widow Suha, have claimed since the PLO chief’s death that Israel assassinated him, an accusation Israel has always denied. Arafat died in Percy military hospital near Paris at the age of 75 in November 2004, after developing stomach pains while at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. French investigators last April announced they had not found evidence he had been poisoned, and a French prosecutor subsequently closed the case.Odeh was being interviewed in the wake of a stormy Knesset committee session over planned legislation which, if passed, could give MKs the right to boot out a colleague for “inappropriate” behavior. Ninety of the 120 MKs would have to back such a step, which could be taken against MKs for supporting armed struggle by a hostile state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel. The controversial bill, which is making its way through the Knesset, was initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid widespread outrage that three Arab MKs from Balad, one of the Joint List’s constituent factions, recently held a meeting with families of terrorists killed during attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis.Challenged on TV with the allegation that members of his party were supporting terrorism, Odeh responded, “People who murdered Arabs with their own hands are sitting in the Knesset.”MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home), who chaired the Knesset panel session earlier in the day and was also in the TV studio, responded bitterly that Odeh was labeling as murderers “people whose job is to stop terrorism.”“Absolutely,” insisted Odeh. “There are heads of the Shin Bet who gave orders to murder the leaders of the Palestinian people.”Asked by the interviewer at the end of the segment whether he wanted to withdraw the allegation, Odeh repeated, “They sent the people to murder the leadership of the Palestinian people… Take Dichter, for instance,” he said. “He sent the people who murdered Arafat and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.” Yassin and Rantisi were two leaders of Hamas who advocated suicide bombings, and who Israel killed in separate, closely spaced raids in Gaza in 2004.
IDF rescues 2 soldiers from Qalandiya refugee camp-The two split up after their jeep was hit by firebombs; not clear why the troops entered camp north of Jerusalem-By Judah Ari Gross March 1, 2016, 12:38 am-the times of israel
The IDF rescued two soldiers who fled their vehicle after it was attacked in the Qalandiya refugee camp north of Jerusalem late Monday night, the IDF said.After approximately an hour, both soldiers were safely extracted from the West Bank refugee camp. No Israelis were reported injured in the incident, according to an IDF spokesperson.Just before 11:00, two non-combat soldiers from the Oketz K-9 unit entered the refugee camp in the central West Bank for as yet unknown reasons. As they drove through, a group of Palestinians attacked their vehicle with rocks and firebombs. The jeep caught fire, forcing the two to flee the scene, the IDF said.As they fled, the pair separated. “One of them made phone contact almost immediately, and within 20-30 minutes the (rescuers) had reached him. The second one took about an hour to make contact, and then (it became possible to) pick him up,” an army spokesperson said. רכבם של החיילים שנכנסו בטעות למחנה הפליטים קלנדיה. הרכב הלך (לא ברור מה עם הרדיו טייפ והמערכת), החיילים חולצו בשלום pic.twitter.com/qgt4cwznWk-— אלי שלזינגר (@leizersh) February 29, 2016-The incident will be investigated in order to discover “what the circumstances were that led them into the camp,” as the pair did not appear to be on a mission and were not combat soldiers, the IDF said.It was not immediately known if the two soldiers had an IDF dog with them, as they serve in the army’s K-9 unit.Palestinians reported an ongoing firefight between the soldiers and local residents following the incident. An army spokesperson couldn’t confirm the reports, however.Additional army and Border Police troops entered the refugee camp in order to quell the ongoing riot as well as retrieve the burned vehicle, according to the IDF.
39 Palestinians said held in Israeli adminstrative detention in past 10 days-Palestinian Prisoners Club says 45 additional suspected terrorists have their detention extended-By AFP February 29, 2016, 11:31 pm-the times of israel
Israel has over the past 10 days slapped “administrative detention” orders on 84 Palestinians, a controversial procedure under which terror suspects can be held without charge, a Palestinian NGO said Monday.The Palestinian Prisoners Club said 39 Palestinians had been arrested and placed under administrative detention for periods of between two and six months, while the other 45 had their detention prolonged.Last Friday, journalist Mohammed al-Qiq ended a 94-day hunger strike staged in protest at his administrative detention under a deal for his release in May. Israel’s Shin Bet says he is a Hamas activist.The latest reported arrests raise to more than 700 the number of Palestinians held under administrative detention, out of a total of more than 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, according to the NGO.The Prisoners Club, which follows their cases, said it was the highest number since 2009.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Sanders keeps his Judaism in the background, irking US Jews-During more than three decades in politics, Democratic presidential hopeful has developed few ties with Jewish groups-By Rachel Zoll and Josef Federman March 1, 2016, 12:27 am-the times of israel-ap
NEW YORK (AP) — As Bernie Sanders headed toward victory in New Hampshire, observers noted the barrier he was about to break: Sanders would become the first Jewish candidate to win a major party presidential primary.But instead of the burst of communal pride that usually accompanies such milestones, the response from American Jews has been muted. One reason: The Vermont senator, the candidate who has come closer than any other Jew to being a major party presidential nominee, has mostly avoided discussing his Judaism.Sanders won’t identify the Israeli kibbutz where he briefly volunteered in the 1960s. When reporters found the kibbutz, Sha’ar Ha’amakim in northern Israel, he wouldn’t comment.In New Hampshire, he described himself as “the son of a Polish immigrant,” not a Jewish one. At a Democratic debate, he spoke of the historic nature of “somebody with my background” seeking the presidency, but didn’t say “Jewish.” A recent headline in the liberal Jewish Daily Forward newspaper read, “We Need To Out Bernie Sanders as a Jew — For His Own Good.”Rabbi James Glazier of Temple Sinai, in South Burlington, Vermont, said Sanders’ comments were being discussed by fellow rabbis in the liberal Reform movement. “What did he leave out there? He didn’t say ‘Jewish Polish’ immigrant. Reform rabbis have picked up on this big time.”Sanders’ lack of religious observance is not what rankles. Many Jews identify “culturally” instead of religiously with the faith.But unlike some other prominent non-observant Jews, Sanders, during more than three decades as a mayor, congressman and US senator, has developed few relationships with Jewish groups or leaders on religious issues or on Israel. He has supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but has not made Israel in a priority.“I would say that he has never been one of those in Congress who was active in a Jewish caucus, who turned out for Israel, who was involved in those issues — and he still isn’t,” said Jonathan Sarna, an expert in American Jewish history at Brandeis University.Ironically, when Sanders gave his most religiously focused campaign speech, he underscored his distance from Judaism. It was last fall at Liberty University, the evangelical school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell in Virginia, and Sanders addressed the school on Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year.Discussing his beliefs in the speech, he said he was “motivated by a vision” for social justice “which exists in all of the great religions.” Later, he attended a local Rosh Hashana gathering.The Sanders campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment.Sanders has said the Holocaust wiped out much of his father’s family in Poland. As a child in Brooklyn, Sanders went to Hebrew school and had a bar mitzvah.“Being Jewish is very important to us,” his brother, Larry, said in an interview. “There was no problem of debate, it was just a given in our lives, just as being Americans was a given in our lives. But Bernard is not particularly religious. He doesn’t go to synagogue often. I think he probably goes to synagogue only for weddings and funerals, rather than to pray.”In his secular-leaning home state, Sanders was rarely called on to discuss his faith. In 1988, he married his second wife, Jane, who was raised Roman Catholic.He has been facing increasing challenges about his support for Israel.At a 2014 Vermont event, after the war started between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, some voters demanded Sanders do more to protest Israeli bombing. The war killed more than 2,200 Palestinians in Gaza, including hundreds of civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side.Sanders said Israel “overreacted” with the intensity of its attacks, and he called the bombing of UN schools “terribly, terribly wrong.” But he also criticized Hamas for launching rockets into Israel. Israel has said Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties, since it carried out numerous attacks from residential areas in Gaza.“I believe in a two-state solution, where Israel has the right to exist in security at the same time the Palestinians have a state of their own,” Sanders said.Despite Sanders’ reticence about discussing his Jewish roots, his religious identity is clear, Sarna said.“I think it is very much a statement about America that someone who everybody knows is of Jewish background and has a Jewish name and sounds Jewish from Brooklyn can get several delegates,” Sarna said. “There is a sense that only in America could a Bernie Sanders be a candidate.”
Dutch find 30 war crimes suspects among refugee wave-Ten are from Syria, justice minister tells lawmakers; Holland took in nearly 60,000 Mideast migrants last year-By AFP February 29, 2016, 11:22 pm-the times of israel
Dutch officials have identified 30 war crimes suspects, including 10 Syrians, among tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year, the justice ministry said Monday.Immigration authorities found the 30 after investigating 170 people, Deputy Justice Minister Klaas Dijkhoff told parliament in a letter following questions from MPs.Ten of the suspects were from Syria, while the others are from Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Georgia, he said.Under the Geneva Convention, refugees can be refused asylum “when serious grounds exist to believe that they are guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or other non-political serious crimes,” Dijkhoff said.But 20 of them could not be sent back because of ongoing wars or fears of inhumane treatment.A similar Dutch investigation in 2014 identified 50 war crimes suspects, even though the number of refugees reaching the country was much lower.The Netherlands took in 58,800 migrants last year, almost double the number which arrived in 2014 as Europe grapples with its worse refugee crisis since World War II.The issue is polarizing Dutch society and boosting the popularity of the far-right populist MP Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party.Several anti-immigrant demonstrations have turned violent, with refugee centers attacked and damaged.
Portugal journalists: Slain Palestinian terrorists are not ‘murdered’-Union rejects complaint from PA official over use of word to describe victims of attacks, and not their perpetrators-By JTA February 29, 2016, 7:50 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The union of Portuguese journalists has rejected a complaint by the Palestinian Authority about a reporter’s use of the word “murder” to describe only victims of terrorist attacks and not their perpetrators.Portugal’s Syndicate of Journalists published its decision last week on a complaint that Hikmat Ajjuri, the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to Portugal, filed in December against Henrique Cymerman, the Israel reporter for Portugal’s Independent Communication Company, or SIC.The December 13 report by Cymerman focused on incitement in the Palestinian Authority “to kill Jews,” as Cymerman, who is Jewish, described it. In the report, Cymerman said that many of the perpetrators of attacks against Israelis regard their actions as part of a holy war. He also interviewed people who said it was in reaction to the Israeli occupation.The item had an on-screen caption that read “22 Israelis were murdered and roughly 100 Palestinian assailants were killed.”Ajjuri complained the article was biased because it “equates the occupier and the occupied and goes further to justify the cold-blooded murder by the Israeli occupation forces of Palestinian youths and children.”The syndicate found that Cymerman used terminology “that can be neither condemned nor deemed inappropriate,” wrote Sao Jose Almeida, the organization’s president.In defending against the allegation, Cymerman cited his close contact with the Vatican and Pope Francis for the promotion of peace. But Almeida said this was irrelevant to complaints against his journalistic integrity.Twenty-eight Israelis and three foreign nationals have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. Nearly 170 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
EU slams ‘appalling’ video targeting its Israel envoy-Settler group’s film depicts Lars Faaborg-Andersen in a Hannibal Lecter mask, accuses ambassador of supporting ‘terror state’-By Times of Israel staff February 29, 2016, 10:20 pm
The European Union delegation to Israel on Monday slammed a settler group’s video that targets the EU ambassador and accuses him of setting up a “terror state.”“The video posted by an Israeli settler group attacking the Ambassador of the European Union to Israel is appalling,” a statement from the EU said.“Resorting to personal threats and slander can never be justified, despite differences of opinion,” it added.The video, released a day earlier, charges that the ambassador was working to “establish a terror state.”It accuses Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the Danish head of the EU delegation in Israel, of “undermining Israel’s sovereignty, ignoring the law, building wherever he wants and establishing a terror state — on Route 1!” The group was apparently referring to prefabricated homes built in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.The accusation relates to mobile homes presented by the EU to Palestinian and Bedouin families living in the West Bank area east of Jerusalem, which Israel has charged amount to illegal construction by the European umbrella body.The video was produced by a settler group opposed to the creation of a future Palestinian state, which calls itself the “Jerusalem Periphery Forum.”“Andersen must be restrained!” flashes onto the screen at the video’s conclusion, alongside a mock-up photo of Andersen with a Hannibal Lecter mask across his face.In text on a Facebook post that carried the video, the group said that Andersen “is the man behind the illegal construction around Route 1, whose purpose is to create facts on the ground: territorial contiguity for a future terror state.”In its response, the EU slammed the allegations “of the EU supporting terror” as “unacceptable.“We appreciate that the Israeli government has quickly condemned the video and we trust that the Israeli authorities will take appropriate action,” the statement said.Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold was quick to criticize the video on Sunday. His office released a statement saying that he “condemns the disrespectful way the European Union ambassador was presented.”The EU rejected the criticism of its policy of housing aid, placing blame for the need for its assistance on Israel.“The EU provides humanitarian assistance to communities in need in the West Bank in accordance with the humanitarian imperative. This includes providing shelter to otherwise homeless people. According to its obligations under international humanitarian law it’s actually Israel’s own responsibility as the Occupying Power to cater for the basic needs of the population in question. Failing that, Israel has the duty to agree to and facilitate international relief schemes and grant unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.”One left-wing lawmaker accused the settler group of “systematically working to sabotage Israel’s foreign relations.”Meretz Knesset Member Tamar Zandberg said in a statement Sunday evening that she had “asked the attorney general to determine whether this is incitement, and to examine the organization’s sources of funding, out of concern it is using public funds.”Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
Rivlin to family of fallen officer: ‘We are forced to live with the sword’-In condolence visit to bereaved relatives of Eliav Gelman, president vows ‘no one will prevent us from keeping our faith’-By Stuart Winer February 29, 2016, 6:37 pm-the times of israel
President Reuven Rivlin on Monday paid a condolence visit to the family of Eliav Gelman, the air force reservist officer killed by friendly fire during efforts to stop a terrorist who was attacking him last week.“I have visited many homes across Israel in the past months, we all understand that we are forced to live with the sword,” Rivlin told the bereaved Gelman family at their home in the settlement of Karmei Tzur. “We have returned to our land, and no one will prevent us from keeping our faith.”Palestinian Mamduh Amro, 26, from the village of Dura near Hebron, tried to stab the IAF reserve officer on February 24 at the Gush Etzion Junction in the Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.Gelman, a father of two from the nearby West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, was hit by errant IDF gunfire aimed at Amro.He was taken in critical condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he succumbed to his wounds some two hours after the attack. He had been on his way home from his Air Force base, where he was on reserve duty.“You know how heavy is the price we pay, and how horrific is the loss,” Rivlin said. “Like your wonderful and dear son, and husband. At one terrible moment, the Israeli people become aware of such incredible people — while of course, you knew all along.”Amro, the attacker, sustained moderate to serious injuries and was treated in Jerusalem.Israeli forces surveyed Amro’s home overnight Sunday ahead of its demolition, the army said Monday.The Etzion Junction has seen a spate of Palestinian attacks, many targeting soldiers stationed at the intersection.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Family of Israeli missing in Gaza pleads for global pressure on Hamas-Avraham Mengistu’s parents and brother travel to Geneva to meet diplomats and seek humanitarian assistance-By AFP February 29, 2016, 10:31 pm-the times of israel
The family of an Israeli man who went missing in 2014 after crossing into the Gaza Strip appealed Monday to the international community to help bring him home.Avraham Mengistu, a 29-year-old Israeli of Ethiopian descent, was deeply depressed and suffering from mental problems when he wandered unarmed across the border to Gaza a year and a half ago, they said.The Defense Ministry has determined that Mengistu was held by Hamas after illegally crossing the border, but the Islamist movement governing Gaza has provided no information about his whereabouts or condition.“We are kept in the dark,” the man’s 30-year-old brother Gashao told AFP during a visit to Geneva, with a representative of Israel’s mission to the United Nations serving as translator.His father Ayaline sat next to him, looking anxious and drawn, and his mother Agurnesh sat nearby, weeping quietly.The family, who live in the southern city of Ashkelon, not far from the Gaza border, had traveled to Geneva to meet with diplomats and groups and appeal to them to put pressure on Hamas “to do the right thing,” Gashao said.With his parents sitting nearby looking anxious and drawn, Gashao insisted “the international community has influence over Hamas.”“They can help this go beyond politics. It is a human rights and a humanitarian issue,” he said.“When Hamas is asking for humanitarian assistance, and contributions to the people in Gaza, then the international community should tell them: don’t expect us to assist you when you are violating the same rights of the other side,” Gashao said.“We are talking about an innocent civilian. He’s not a soldier. He was never a soldier,” he said.He explained that Avraham, distraught after the death of another brother and hospitalized several times for mental problems, had been exempt from Israeli military service.The family rejected reports that they had previously been angry with the Israeli military’s reaction to Avraham’s disappearance, and had claimed that more effort would have been put into finding him if he were white.Members of Israel’s 135,000-strong ethnic Ethiopian community say they suffer from discrimination.But Gashao said this was not an issue in this case: ” The government is doing what it can.”Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as bargaining chips to demand concessions, including the release of prisoners.In 2011, Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for five years after he being kidnapped during a cross-border raid into Israeli territory.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Top Arab MK accuses Israel of murdering Yasser Arafat-Reviving claim denied by Israel and dismissed by French investigators, Joint List leader Ayman Odeh says ex-Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, now a Likud MK, ‘gave orders to murder the leaders of the Palestinian people’-By Times of Israel staff February 29, 2016, 7:23 pm
The leader of Israel’s main Arab political party on Monday accused the Israeli government of murdering Yasser Arafat.In an interview on Channel 2, Knesset member Ayman Odeh, who heads the Joint (Arab) List in the parliament, said the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service murdered Arafat. He said that Avi Dichter, who headed the Shin Bet in 2004 when Arafat died, “sent the people” who murdered him. Dichter is now a Likud MK.Various Palestinian leaders, and Arafat’s widow Suha, have claimed since the PLO chief’s death that Israel assassinated him, an accusation Israel has always denied. Arafat died in Percy military hospital near Paris at the age of 75 in November 2004, after developing stomach pains while at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. French investigators last April announced they had not found evidence he had been poisoned, and a French prosecutor subsequently closed the case.Odeh was being interviewed in the wake of a stormy Knesset committee session over planned legislation which, if passed, could give MKs the right to boot out a colleague for “inappropriate” behavior. Ninety of the 120 MKs would have to back such a step, which could be taken against MKs for supporting armed struggle by a hostile state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel. The controversial bill, which is making its way through the Knesset, was initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid widespread outrage that three Arab MKs from Balad, one of the Joint List’s constituent factions, recently held a meeting with families of terrorists killed during attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis.Challenged on TV with the allegation that members of his party were supporting terrorism, Odeh responded, “People who murdered Arabs with their own hands are sitting in the Knesset.”MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home), who chaired the Knesset panel session earlier in the day and was also in the TV studio, responded bitterly that Odeh was labeling as murderers “people whose job is to stop terrorism.”“Absolutely,” insisted Odeh. “There are heads of the Shin Bet who gave orders to murder the leaders of the Palestinian people.”Asked by the interviewer at the end of the segment whether he wanted to withdraw the allegation, Odeh repeated, “They sent the people to murder the leadership of the Palestinian people… Take Dichter, for instance,” he said. “He sent the people who murdered Arafat and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.” Yassin and Rantisi were two leaders of Hamas who advocated suicide bombings, and who Israel killed in separate, closely spaced raids in Gaza in 2004.
IDF rescues 2 soldiers from Qalandiya refugee camp-The two split up after their jeep was hit by firebombs; not clear why the troops entered camp north of Jerusalem-By Judah Ari Gross March 1, 2016, 12:38 am-the times of israel
The IDF rescued two soldiers who fled their vehicle after it was attacked in the Qalandiya refugee camp north of Jerusalem late Monday night, the IDF said.After approximately an hour, both soldiers were safely extracted from the West Bank refugee camp. No Israelis were reported injured in the incident, according to an IDF spokesperson.Just before 11:00, two non-combat soldiers from the Oketz K-9 unit entered the refugee camp in the central West Bank for as yet unknown reasons. As they drove through, a group of Palestinians attacked their vehicle with rocks and firebombs. The jeep caught fire, forcing the two to flee the scene, the IDF said.As they fled, the pair separated. “One of them made phone contact almost immediately, and within 20-30 minutes the (rescuers) had reached him. The second one took about an hour to make contact, and then (it became possible to) pick him up,” an army spokesperson said. רכבם של החיילים שנכנסו בטעות למחנה הפליטים קלנדיה. הרכב הלך (לא ברור מה עם הרדיו טייפ והמערכת), החיילים חולצו בשלום pic.twitter.com/qgt4cwznWk-— אלי שלזינגר (@leizersh) February 29, 2016-The incident will be investigated in order to discover “what the circumstances were that led them into the camp,” as the pair did not appear to be on a mission and were not combat soldiers, the IDF said.It was not immediately known if the two soldiers had an IDF dog with them, as they serve in the army’s K-9 unit.Palestinians reported an ongoing firefight between the soldiers and local residents following the incident. An army spokesperson couldn’t confirm the reports, however.Additional army and Border Police troops entered the refugee camp in order to quell the ongoing riot as well as retrieve the burned vehicle, according to the IDF.
39 Palestinians said held in Israeli adminstrative detention in past 10 days-Palestinian Prisoners Club says 45 additional suspected terrorists have their detention extended-By AFP February 29, 2016, 11:31 pm-the times of israel
Israel has over the past 10 days slapped “administrative detention” orders on 84 Palestinians, a controversial procedure under which terror suspects can be held without charge, a Palestinian NGO said Monday.The Palestinian Prisoners Club said 39 Palestinians had been arrested and placed under administrative detention for periods of between two and six months, while the other 45 had their detention prolonged.Last Friday, journalist Mohammed al-Qiq ended a 94-day hunger strike staged in protest at his administrative detention under a deal for his release in May. Israel’s Shin Bet says he is a Hamas activist.The latest reported arrests raise to more than 700 the number of Palestinians held under administrative detention, out of a total of more than 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, according to the NGO.The Prisoners Club, which follows their cases, said it was the highest number since 2009.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Sanders keeps his Judaism in the background, irking US Jews-During more than three decades in politics, Democratic presidential hopeful has developed few ties with Jewish groups-By Rachel Zoll and Josef Federman March 1, 2016, 12:27 am-the times of israel-ap
NEW YORK (AP) — As Bernie Sanders headed toward victory in New Hampshire, observers noted the barrier he was about to break: Sanders would become the first Jewish candidate to win a major party presidential primary.But instead of the burst of communal pride that usually accompanies such milestones, the response from American Jews has been muted. One reason: The Vermont senator, the candidate who has come closer than any other Jew to being a major party presidential nominee, has mostly avoided discussing his Judaism.Sanders won’t identify the Israeli kibbutz where he briefly volunteered in the 1960s. When reporters found the kibbutz, Sha’ar Ha’amakim in northern Israel, he wouldn’t comment.In New Hampshire, he described himself as “the son of a Polish immigrant,” not a Jewish one. At a Democratic debate, he spoke of the historic nature of “somebody with my background” seeking the presidency, but didn’t say “Jewish.” A recent headline in the liberal Jewish Daily Forward newspaper read, “We Need To Out Bernie Sanders as a Jew — For His Own Good.”Rabbi James Glazier of Temple Sinai, in South Burlington, Vermont, said Sanders’ comments were being discussed by fellow rabbis in the liberal Reform movement. “What did he leave out there? He didn’t say ‘Jewish Polish’ immigrant. Reform rabbis have picked up on this big time.”Sanders’ lack of religious observance is not what rankles. Many Jews identify “culturally” instead of religiously with the faith.But unlike some other prominent non-observant Jews, Sanders, during more than three decades as a mayor, congressman and US senator, has developed few relationships with Jewish groups or leaders on religious issues or on Israel. He has supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but has not made Israel in a priority.“I would say that he has never been one of those in Congress who was active in a Jewish caucus, who turned out for Israel, who was involved in those issues — and he still isn’t,” said Jonathan Sarna, an expert in American Jewish history at Brandeis University.Ironically, when Sanders gave his most religiously focused campaign speech, he underscored his distance from Judaism. It was last fall at Liberty University, the evangelical school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell in Virginia, and Sanders addressed the school on Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year.Discussing his beliefs in the speech, he said he was “motivated by a vision” for social justice “which exists in all of the great religions.” Later, he attended a local Rosh Hashana gathering.The Sanders campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment.Sanders has said the Holocaust wiped out much of his father’s family in Poland. As a child in Brooklyn, Sanders went to Hebrew school and had a bar mitzvah.“Being Jewish is very important to us,” his brother, Larry, said in an interview. “There was no problem of debate, it was just a given in our lives, just as being Americans was a given in our lives. But Bernard is not particularly religious. He doesn’t go to synagogue often. I think he probably goes to synagogue only for weddings and funerals, rather than to pray.”In his secular-leaning home state, Sanders was rarely called on to discuss his faith. In 1988, he married his second wife, Jane, who was raised Roman Catholic.He has been facing increasing challenges about his support for Israel.At a 2014 Vermont event, after the war started between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, some voters demanded Sanders do more to protest Israeli bombing. The war killed more than 2,200 Palestinians in Gaza, including hundreds of civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side.Sanders said Israel “overreacted” with the intensity of its attacks, and he called the bombing of UN schools “terribly, terribly wrong.” But he also criticized Hamas for launching rockets into Israel. Israel has said Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties, since it carried out numerous attacks from residential areas in Gaza.“I believe in a two-state solution, where Israel has the right to exist in security at the same time the Palestinians have a state of their own,” Sanders said.Despite Sanders’ reticence about discussing his Jewish roots, his religious identity is clear, Sarna said.“I think it is very much a statement about America that someone who everybody knows is of Jewish background and has a Jewish name and sounds Jewish from Brooklyn can get several delegates,” Sarna said. “There is a sense that only in America could a Bernie Sanders be a candidate.”
Dutch find 30 war crimes suspects among refugee wave-Ten are from Syria, justice minister tells lawmakers; Holland took in nearly 60,000 Mideast migrants last year-By AFP February 29, 2016, 11:22 pm-the times of israel
Dutch officials have identified 30 war crimes suspects, including 10 Syrians, among tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year, the justice ministry said Monday.Immigration authorities found the 30 after investigating 170 people, Deputy Justice Minister Klaas Dijkhoff told parliament in a letter following questions from MPs.Ten of the suspects were from Syria, while the others are from Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Georgia, he said.Under the Geneva Convention, refugees can be refused asylum “when serious grounds exist to believe that they are guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or other non-political serious crimes,” Dijkhoff said.But 20 of them could not be sent back because of ongoing wars or fears of inhumane treatment.A similar Dutch investigation in 2014 identified 50 war crimes suspects, even though the number of refugees reaching the country was much lower.The Netherlands took in 58,800 migrants last year, almost double the number which arrived in 2014 as Europe grapples with its worse refugee crisis since World War II.The issue is polarizing Dutch society and boosting the popularity of the far-right populist MP Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party.Several anti-immigrant demonstrations have turned violent, with refugee centers attacked and damaged.
Portugal journalists: Slain Palestinian terrorists are not ‘murdered’-Union rejects complaint from PA official over use of word to describe victims of attacks, and not their perpetrators-By JTA February 29, 2016, 7:50 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The union of Portuguese journalists has rejected a complaint by the Palestinian Authority about a reporter’s use of the word “murder” to describe only victims of terrorist attacks and not their perpetrators.Portugal’s Syndicate of Journalists published its decision last week on a complaint that Hikmat Ajjuri, the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to Portugal, filed in December against Henrique Cymerman, the Israel reporter for Portugal’s Independent Communication Company, or SIC.The December 13 report by Cymerman focused on incitement in the Palestinian Authority “to kill Jews,” as Cymerman, who is Jewish, described it. In the report, Cymerman said that many of the perpetrators of attacks against Israelis regard their actions as part of a holy war. He also interviewed people who said it was in reaction to the Israeli occupation.The item had an on-screen caption that read “22 Israelis were murdered and roughly 100 Palestinian assailants were killed.”Ajjuri complained the article was biased because it “equates the occupier and the occupied and goes further to justify the cold-blooded murder by the Israeli occupation forces of Palestinian youths and children.”The syndicate found that Cymerman used terminology “that can be neither condemned nor deemed inappropriate,” wrote Sao Jose Almeida, the organization’s president.In defending against the allegation, Cymerman cited his close contact with the Vatican and Pope Francis for the promotion of peace. But Almeida said this was irrelevant to complaints against his journalistic integrity.Twenty-eight Israelis and three foreign nationals have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. Nearly 170 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.
