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)
US accuses Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians-Annual US report on human rights says nearly half of Palestinians killed by Israel were not carrying out attacks, and many times did not pose a threat to life-By Times of Israel staff and Agencies April 14, 2016, 1:21 am
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration accused Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians during a wave of deadly violence, in an annual report that pointed to a global decline in human rights.The annual report by the State Department into human rights abuses around the world accused Israeli forces of “excessive use of force” in the Palestinian territories, and “arbitrary arrest and associated torture and abuse, often with impunity,” by the IDF, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.According to numbers cited in the report, 149 Palestinians were killed in 2015 by Israeli security forces, but only 77 were in the course of attacking Israelis.“There were numerous reports of the ISF (Israel security forces) killing Palestinians during riots, demonstrations, at checkpoints, and during routine operations; in some cases they did not pose a threat to life,” the report read.The numbers clash with Israeli accounts that some two-thirds of Palestinians killed during a wave of violence beginning in October were in the midst of attempting or carrying out attacks and the rest died in clashes with security forces.The report comes months after Secretary of State John Kerry was asked by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and nine other US lawmakers to probe instances of what they said were possible extrajudicial killings by Israeli forces.Leahy and his fellow signatories asked Kerry in February to look into claims of “gross violations of human rights” by Israel and Egypt, citing examples of alleged extrajudicial killings by both countries and saying it could affect aid to the countries.On Israel, the letter asked Kerry to investigate “what may be extrajudicial killings,” citing claims by Amnesty International and other human rights groups relating to the deaths of Fadi Aloun, Sa’ad al-Atrash, Hadeel Hashlamoun and Mutaw Awisat.According to Israel, all four were killed while in the midst of attempting to attack Israelis in Jerusalem and Hebron, though those claims are disputed.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily to the letter when its existence was reported in March, defending the IDF’s actions.“The IDF and the Israel Police do not engage in executions. Israel’s soldiers and police officers defend themselves and innocent civilians with the highest moral standards against bloodthirsty terrorists who come to murder them,” Netanyahu said in a statement on March 30. “Where is the concern for the human rights of the many Israelis who’ve been murdered and maimed by these savage terrorists? This letter should have been addressed instead to those who incite youngsters to commit cruel acts of terrorism.”The State Department report said the biggest human rights violations in Israel were terror attacks against civilians, and “institutional and societal discrimination” against Arabs, Israelis of Ethiopian extraction, women, non-Orthodox Jews and migrants.In the Palestinian territories, the report singled out the PA for failing “to condemn incidents of anti-Semitic expression and embraced as ‘martyrs’ individuals who died while carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians.”Hamas, it said, was guilty of a slew of humans rights abuses in the Gaza Strip, including “security forces killing, torturing, arbitrarily detaining, and harassing opponents, including Fatah members, and other Palestinians with impunity. Terrorist organizations and militant factions in the Gaza Strip launched rocket and mortar attacks against civilian targets in Israel, and they did so at or near civilian locations in Gaza.”The report also pointed at Israeli legislation forcing foreign government-funded NGOs to take certain measures, which critics say would target groups critical of the government.The report condemned abuses by the Islamic State group, Boko Haram, al Shabab and the Taliban in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several African nations where it said lack of governance, poor governance or outright repression fueled radical movements.Both Jerusalem and Ramallah were left off a list of governments accused of pushing back “with increasing vigor and viciousness” against groups that seek to empower ordinary people and fight corruption in 2015.The report singled out North Korea, China, Cuba, Sudan and Iran and also cited Russia, Rwanda, Congo, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Egypt and Vietnam for repressive steps.“In every part of the world, we see an accelerating trend by both state and non-state actors to close the space for civil society, to stifle media and Internet freedom, to marginalize opposition voices, and, in the most extreme cases, to kill people or drive them from their homes,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.In Iran, the government stifled and harassed human rights groups looking into allegations of abuses in addition to stifling dissent, the report said. It also noted severe restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, association, speech and religion, a lack of free and fair elections and abuse of due process and use of capital punishment.In Egypt, the report said the government continued to apply restrictive registration laws to investigate and shut down human rights organizations, especially those linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. It said the government also imposed travel bans on human rights defenders and political activists.The report noted the Turkish government used anti-terror laws as well as a law against insulting the president to stifle legitimate political discourse and investigative journalism, and criticized the prosecution of journalists and the driving of opposition media outlets out of business or bringing them under state control.
Hamas, not economy, the source of Gaza’s woes, Amos Gilad says-No solution in sight, but military deterrence should prevent conflict in the Strip this summer, Defense Ministry official asserts-By Judah Ari Gross April 13, 2016, 10:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Gaza’s economic situation is ultimately irrelevant to peace negotiations and the current security situation, a senior Defense Ministry official declared Wednesday at a conference on the beleaguered coastal strip’s financial woes.Amos Gilad, director of the ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau, scoffed at the assertion made by some at the conference that economic development in the coastal enclave could be the solution to Gaza’s problems and mitigate the security threats to Israel that emanate from the territory.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working. They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” he said, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.“Economics alone can’t solve [Gaza’s problems]. Economics are not the fundamental solution,” Gilad said in his address.So long as Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, he added, there will not be peace there.“No recognition of Israel. No recognition of a Palestinian state [in the West Bank and Gaza, so long as it excludes Israel]. At least they’re dedicated to their cause,” he said.The conference, “Gaza, what next?” was the the second in a three-part series on the economics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hosted by Hebrew University and the AiX group, an Israeli-Palestinian economics research team.Gilad, a former general in the Israel Defense Forces, brushed off assertions that a port or lightened security measures would have an impact on the economic situation in Gaza.Gilad also rejected allowing Hamas to open a seaport in the coastal enclave, even one that only exported goods.“No port in the world can be guarded completely,” he said.If such a port were created, he noted, Hamas would be in charge of it, boosting the group’s influence as an opponent of the Palestinian Authority, the supposed representative of the Palestinian people.Gilad’s blunt talk on the subject did not go over well with the crowd, and several audience members called out at various times during his address.“I’m sorry to give you a harsh picture, but that’s what it is,” he said. “I don’t see a magic solution.”Gilad left immediately following his speech, but his comments reverberated long after among attendees.Hisham Abed el-Rezek, who came to the conference from the University of Gaza, described the economic situation in the Strip as “catastrophic.”The people of Gaza, he said, are at a breaking point. High unemployment, slow reconstruction following the 2014 war with Israel and an uncertain future created an environment of “desperation.”“If Gaza remains as it is, the people will come [into Israel] over the fence and under the fence, over the ground and under the ground, over the sea and under the sea — they want to live,” he said.“I wish Amos would have stayed to hear that.”
PA prime minister urges donors to pay up for rebuilding of Gaza-Rami Hamdallah says only one-third of the roughly $3.5 billion pledged after 2014 war has been delivered-By Agencies April 13, 2016, 10:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister has urged international donor countries to “make good on their pledges” to help rebuild the war-battered Gaza Strip.Rami Hamdallah told a group of donor representatives on Wednesday that only one-third of the roughly $3.5 billion pledged at a 2014 conference has been delivered. The donors are to meet next week in Brussels.He said they were able to repair more than 100,000 partially damaged homes, while giving compensation to businesses damaged in the war between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions.But he warned that funding was drying up.“We call upon you to honor your obligations and effectively contribute to saving Gaza,” he told the conference of donors, United Nations officials and others in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.Conditions in Gaza, home to 1.8 million people, have steadily deteriorated since the Hamas terror group seized control of the territory in 2007 and prompted an Israeli and Egyptian blockade which limits the import and export of goods and restricts many basic materials, such as wood and concrete.Israel and Egypt fear such material will be used to attack Israel. Hamas is avowedly committed to the destruction of Israel.The frayed relationship between the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, and the terrorist Hamas group, which runs Gaza, has also impeded reconstruction.The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said “reconstruction is progressing and it is progressing because of the excellent efforts of both the government of Palestine and international community.”“But the difficulties in Gaza remain.”Bashir Rayyes, the Palestinian Authority’s coordinator for Gaza reconstruction, said reconstruction was suffering from shortages.“The big part of the third (of funds delivered) went to humanitarian assistance and feeding people and what have you. So, what we really have for the Gaza reconstruction is less than $400 million, way less than $400 million, and that in itself is a very big problem.”“(The $400 million) only brings Gaza back to its previous misery in 2014, but that’s not enough.”He said at the current rate, the reconstruction efforts could continue until as late as 2020.
Israel Police appoints first Muslim deputy commissioner-Jamal Hakrush will lead a newly formed division aimed at improving police services in Arab communities-By Times of Israel staff April 13, 2016, 7:52 pm
Jamal Hakrush was promoted Wednesday to the second-highest rank in the Israel Police, that of deputy commissioner, the first-ever Arab Muslim to reach the lofty rank.Hakrush, who hails from the Galilee village of Kafr Kanna, will lead a newly formed police division aimed at improving police services in Arab communities.Hakrush was formally appointed Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich.At the ceremony, Alsheich praised Hakrush and called for qualified Arab Israelis to join the police. Alscheich said that Hakrush, and the Israel Police, will work to crack down on illegal weapons in the Arab community.Earlier this year, Alsheich announced a new initiative to fight the “frighteningly high” rates of domestic violence, murder, illegal weapons possession, and other crimes in the Arab sector.The new program, the brainchild of Alsheich and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, seeks to recruit 1,300 new officers and build dozens of new stations in Arab population centers.“This issue is not only of concern to the police, but also to the Arab community itself,” Alsheich said at the time.“There is a strong desire to strengthen policing in the Arab community. I met dozens of leaders of Arab local councils and discovered that there was great willingness. ‘Just send in the police already,’ they told me.”
Despite rising emigration, 2,000 expected at Limmud Moscow-The Jewish learning conference is expecting record-setting attendance for the four-day event-By JTA April 13, 2016, 11:21 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
More than 2,000 Muscovite Jews, including a chief rabbi of Russia, have signed up to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Limmud FSU — a group that organizes Jewish learning conferences for Russian speakers in the former Soviet Union.The expected record-setting attendance for the four-day event in the Russian capital, which starts Thursday, would make Limmud Moscow the world’s second largest event of its kind after Britain’s Limmud, according to Limmud FSU founder Chaim Chesler. Limmud FSU had its inaugural event in Moscow.The keynote address Thursday will be delivered by Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, whose last appearance at a Limmud Moscow event was in 2007, Chesler said Wednesday. He added the event was sold out two months in advance “because we were limited in our own capacity.”Among those who will be featured at the conference are Russian-American political commentator Vladimir Pozner, Russian human rights activist Irina Yasina and Solomon Perel, who as a Jewish child survived the Holocaust by assuming the identity of an Aryan German boy and attending Hitler Youth activities.Sandy Cahn, a co-founder of Limmud FSU, said the attendance “is the best evidence that Jewish life is thriving in Russia.” Attendance last year at Limmud Moscow stood at fewer than 1,500 participants.The event comes amid a dramatic increase in Russia in Jewish immigration to Israel, or aliyah. Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky attributed the rise to a financial crisis that last year halved the ruble’s value against the dollar, and to lingering concerns among Russian Jews over rising nationalism and undemocratic practices.Russia provided Israel with 6,700 newcomers last year — a 32 percent jump over 2014, which was the most dramatic increase in aliyah recorded anywhere last year. Most immigrants came from Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other major cities with highly educated Jewish communities, Sharansky said.The Limmud model began in Britain in 1976 for and by Jewish educators and has since been adapted by Jewish communities worldwide. It features lectures and activities whose only common theme is Jews and Judaism. Some 2,600 participants attend Britain’s main Limmud conference annually, organizers said.
Iran and Italy ink $20 billion in trade deals-Deals during visit by Italian premier include plans for energy cooperation, scheme to renovate Tehran airport-By Nasser Karimi April 14, 2016, 12:16 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran and Italy signed a series of bilateral agreements during a visit by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Tehran this week, signaling both countries’ desire to restore ties following this year’s implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.The agreements included plans for cooperation between Italian electricity and gas company Enel and the National Iranian Gas Export Company, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.Enel said the memorandum of understanding lays out details for possible cooperation involving natural gas, liquefied natural gas and related infrastructure. The agreement could include information-sharing, studies, analysis and training, “as well as exploring future opportunities for long term supplies,” Enel said.Other deals include a car component agreement with Danieli Group, an agreement with the Milan Airports company to renovate a domestic airport in Tehran, and another focused on promoting tourism, according to IRNA.Ali Reza Daemi, deputy energy minister, told IRNA the two countries also agreed to build several biomass, solar and geothermal power plants.Financial terms were not disclosed.Separately, Italian oil services company Saipen said it inked a memorandum of understanding with Razavi Oil and Gas Development Company for work on the Toos gas field project, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of the city of Mashhad. It said the field holds more than 60 billion cubic meters of gas.Italy once ranked among Iran’s top trading partners, with 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in trade before international sanctions were imposed on Iran over its nuclear ambitions. A landmark deal to remove those sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program went into effect in January.“Before the sanctions Italy was Iran’s budgets trade partner in the European Union and today we want Italy to play that role again,” President Hassan Rouhani said during a ceremony to welcome the Italian premier. “Today, we want Italy to play its former role.”Renzi’s two-day visit, which began Tuesday, was the first by an Italian leader since Giuliano Amato visited in 2001.Renzi’s trip follows a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Rome in January in which the two countries inked billions of dollars in trade deals. Those agreements included agreements for oil services firm Saipem to upgrade two Iranian oil refineries and another for work on pipeline projects in the country.Later Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Renzi that Iran welcomes improving relations with Italy, particularly in the field of economic cooperation.Khamenei, who has final say on all major decisions in the country, said that Iran does not have the same attitude toward “some other European countries, since they act as the United States dictates,” according to IRNA.
Iranian pilot defects, threatens regime he’ll seek asylum in Israel-Opposed to Iran’s ruling ethos, Ahmad-Reza Khosravi fled to Turkey last year. Now he says he’ll work to harm the Islamic Republic if it doesn’t stop harassing his wife and son-By Neda Amin and Mohsen Rostambakhsh April 13, 2016, 9:39 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
VAN, Turkey — An Iranian pilot who defected to Turkey last year is threatening to seek asylum in Israel and work openly to undermine the regime in Iran if it does not cease what he says are its intimidation tactics against the wife and son he left behind.Major Ahmad-Reza Khosravi, 39, a pilot in the helicopter unit of the Iranian Security Services, fled Iran to Turkey in March 2015 after he was refused repeated requests to be discharged from the military, requests he made due to ideological differences with the regime. Recently the subject of an apparent kidnap plan to bring him back to Iran, Khosravi has now gone public with his criticism of the Iranian leadership.In a face-to-face interview with The Times of Israel in the Turkish city of Van where he is now residing, Khosravi said if the regime does not stop threatening his wife and son, who are still in Iran, he will seek to harm the regime in any way he can.“If you do not leave me alone and stop harassing my family, I will seek asylum in Israel and start fighting you, even with arms,” Khosravi said, in a message to Iran’s leaders that he delivered in the interview with the Times of Israel’s Persian edition.Born in 1977 in Khomein in central Iran, Khosravi entered the Iranian Police Academy at age of 18 and went on to join the security services’ helicopter unit.Khosravi told The Times of Israel that after serving 19 years in the Security Services and struggling with the ideological beliefs of the oppressive Iranian regime, he put in a request to be discharged.“I wanted to resign due to the differences in beliefs and opinions with the regime, and since I do not believe in the religion of Islam,” he said. “I had problems with the regime’s policies, because they are based on deception, duplicity and lies.”After he tried to resign several times and was rebuffed, Khosravi said, the Iranian security services began to harass him and his family.“All my actions and my private life were watched and my phone conversations were listened to. I did not have any personal life; even my wife’s phone was under surveillance.”In the end, under duress and fearing for his life, Khosravi decided to flee the country, and embarked on a daring escape to reach neighboring Turkey.After crossing the border in March 2015, he managed to secure a meeting with a senior UN official. Khosravi explained that as a member of Iran’s defense personnel he had not been allowed to own a passport, and therefore had to escape Iran with no identification.“Since I was a military person who had defected from Iran, and therefore my life was in danger, the UN and the Turkish police took care of my issue with extra sensitivity and guarded me very carefully,” he said. “The Turkish police looked after me, and called me every few hours asking about my situation.”When the Iranian authorities found out he had escaped, they contacted his wife and threatened to have him extradited from Turkey, he said.In September 2015, Turkish authorities arrested two Iranians who were allegedly sent to Turkey to kidnap Khosravi and return him to Iran.Abdolsalam Tatari and Mohammad Mohammadian reportedly arrived in Turkey planning to make their way to the city of Van, in eastern Turkey, where Khosravi was residing.Two weeks ago they were both sentenced by a Turkish court to six years and eight months in jail, according to Turkish media reports. Mohammadian denied the accusation but Tatari acknowledged that an Iranian man named “Hajji” had commissioned him to find “the pilot.”The Turkish reports on the sentencing do not name Khosravi. Rather, they refer to the pilot by his initials “A.R.K.”Khosravi said that the regime is worried his defection could inspire other pilots or military officers to do the same.“I can tell you that there are other pilots like me who are forced to work and live the way they do. But they are not defecting because they fear this dictatorial regime and have to continue working under the hardships imposed by the regime.”Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
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
Peace deal draft defining Golan as Syrian triggers fury in Jerusalem-Vowing to stymie language in accord being hammered out by world powers, Netanyahu raises issue with Kerry, plans to discuss it with Putin, TV report says-By Times of Israel staff April 11, 2016, 10:19 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly fuming over indications that plans for a negotiated settlement for Syria, being worked on with the support of the US, Russia and other major world powers, could specify that the entire Golan Heights, including the western two-thirds of the strategic ridge captured by Israel in 1967, is Syrian land.Netanyahu discussed the issue in a telephone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry a few days ago, a Channel 10 TV news report said Monday. He will also discuss the matter when he travels to Russia next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin.The TV report said that the Prime Minister’s Office had confirmed that Netanyahu was concerned over the issue, that he had made clear that any such language would be unacceptable to Israel, and that he would “act to ensure” any agreement included no such provision.Israel was frequently attacked from the Golan in its first two decades of statehood, captured the Heights in the 1967 war, and extended Israeli law to the area in 1981, a move tantamount to annexation.Prior to to the eruption of the Syrian civil war, some Israeli security chiefs had encouraged the Israeli political leadership to explore the possibility of reaching a peace treaty with President Bashar Assad, which could also have enabled a treaty with Lebanon and the isolating of Assad’s key ally Iran, in return for relinquishing the Golan. Since Syria descended into civil war chaos and mass slaughter, however, the notion of Israel relinquishing the strategic high ground has become highly improbable.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Golan on Monday. During his tour, he said Israel has carried out dozens of strikes against Hezbollah and associated targets in Syria to prevent the Lebanese group from obtaining advanced weapons. Israeli officials have warned that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters may try to set up a base across the border, on the Syrian-held eastern one-third of the Golan, to launch attacks against Israelis.
Rivlin meets religious leaders, urges calm ahead of Passover-President tells senior Muslim, Christian, Jewish clergy Israel is committed to status quo on Temple Mount-By Times of Israel staff April 13, 2016, 10:55 pm
President Reuven Rivlin called on the leaders of Israel’s faith communities to work toward reducing tensions surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to promote a message of tolerance ahead of the upcoming holidays of Passover, Orthodox Easter and others.“This is a moment of genuine crisis, and the obligation to avert the outbreak of violence which threatens the innocent rests upon the shoulders of each and every one of us,” Rivlin said during a meeting of the Council of Faith Community Leaders in Israel at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.“Already now, the tension has increased across the whole city, and in particular, in the Holy Basin, and around the Temple Mount itself. Israel is committed to the status quo, is vigilant in its enforcement, and will ensure it is maintained.”The meeting was attended by Israeli Chief Rabbi David Lau, Council of Muslim Religious Leaders chair Sheikh Mohammed Kaiyuan, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffak Tarīf and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, among others.The meeting came hours after Palestinian leaders warned that Jews visiting the Temple Mount compound during the upcoming Passover festival would inflame tensions. In an incident last week first reported on Wednesday, a Jewish couple was secretly married while on a visit to the Temple Mount, leading several Israeli politicians to warn that the move threatened to ignite new violence around the holy site.On Wednesday, Adnan Gaith, the head of Fatah’s armed Tanzim wing in Jerusalem, told Israel Radio that any calls by Jewish religious and political leaders to visit the flashpoint compound — which today houses the Muslim shrines of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and is known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif, or the Holy Sanctuary — “will not bring about peace or quiet.”Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Muslim cleric in charge of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also warned against increased Jewish “provocations” at the compound during the Jewish festival, which begins Friday evening, April 22.Both Gheit and Hussein, who did not appear to be referring to the Temple Mount wedding, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of exacerbating tensions there.Muslims regard the compound as the third-holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.In Judaism, the Temple Mount, the location of both ancient Jewish temples, is so holy that Jews have traditionally refrained from setting foot there due to ritual purity rules. They congregate instead at the adjacent Western Wall, a retaining wall of the ancient temple complex that is now considered the most revered site for Jewish prayer. During Passover, some religiously observant Jews seek to visit the Mount in homage to the pilgrimages taken by Jews to the site in biblical times.Under an agreement between the Israeli government and Islamic authorities at the site reached after Israel’s conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray on the mount itself.Jewish visitors suspected of violating the Temple Mount prayer ban are routinely arrested by police.Clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces erupted at the compound in September 2015 amid fears among Muslims that Israel was planning to change rules governing the site. Israel denied any such plans.Stuart Winer and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.
New look at ancient shards suggests Bible even older than thought-Handwriting analysis of 2,600-year-old Hebrew texts indicate literacy in Kingdom of Judah widespread before exile, suggesting seminal text could have been written then-By Tamar Pileggi and AP April 12, 2016, 2:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
High-tech handwriting analysis of First Temple period writings inscribed on pottery shards indicates the Bible may have been written earlier than some scholars believe, Tel Aviv University researchers have found.Most scholars agree that key biblical texts were written in the 6th century BCE, during the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple.But a collection of military orders written in ancient Hebrew dated to the end of the First Temple period uncovered in the Negev Desert is shedding new light on the age of the oldest biblical texts.With the help of sophisticated imaging tools and complex software, Tel Aviv University researchers determined the series of 2,600-year-old inscriptions were written by at least six different authors, indicating that literacy in the Kingdom of Judah may have been far more widespread than commonly believed.This finding, published Monday in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, makes it possible for the earliest books of the bible to have been written before the exile and during the First Temple period, TAU archaeology professor Israel Finkelstein said.“There’s a heated discussion regarding the timing of the composition of a critical mass of biblical texts,” said Finkelstein, who led the team of researchers together with physics professor Eliezer Piasetzky. “But to answer this, one must ask a broader question: What were the literacy rates in Judah at the end of the First Temple period? And what were the literacy rates later on, under Persian rule?”Known as the Arad ostraca, the writings were discovered in the ruin of an ancient Judahite military fortress near the Negev city in the 1960s, and mainly consist of mundane military orders including commands regarding the movement of troops and the provision of supplies for the small garrison stationed there.The TAU team of archaeologists, physicists and mathematicians developed specialized imaging tools and algorithms to photograph, digitize and analyze the handwriting of the missives — 16 ink inscriptions on ceramic shards. The team used multispectral imaging to reconstruct Hebrew letters that had been partially erased over time, and then used a computer algorithm to analyze the writings to detect differences in handwriting strokes.Doctoral student Arie Shaus, who helped develop the algorithm, said it was the first time such technology has been used to reconstruct and perform handwriting analysis on ancient Hebrew inscriptions.“We designed an algorithm to distinguish between different authors, then composed a statistical mechanism to assess our findings,” said researcher Barak Sober. “Through probability analysis, we eliminated the likelihood that the texts were written by a single author.”Multiple writers indicates that reading and writing abilities existed throughout the military chain of command, from commanders all the way down to petty officers.“Literacy existed at all levels of the administrative, military and priestly systems of Judah. Reading and writing were not limited to a tiny elite,” said Piasetzky.While it’s uncertain how many in the 100,000-strong Kingdom of Judah could read and write, the researchers estimates that hundreds were literate.According to Piasetzky, the existence of an educational infrastructure could have enabled the composition and compilation of biblical texts that constitute the basis of Judahite history and theology.However, a higher literacy rate does not necessarily mean the Bible was written during a certain period.“Biblical texts did not have to have been written by many people, or read by many people, to have been written down,” Prof. Edward Greenstein of Bar-Ilan University told The New York Times.In recent years, many scholars have attributed the composition of a group of biblical texts, from the Book of Joshua to the second Book of Kings, to the period after the siege, according to Finkelstein. That theory holds that the biblical texts were written as a result of the exile to Babylon, when the composers began to think about their past and put their history to parchment.Finkelstein, however, said he has long believed those texts were written in the late 7th century BC in Jerusalem, before the siege. He said the study offers support for that theory.“It’s the first time we have something empirical in our hands,” said Finkelstein.Shmuel Ahituv, an Israeli bible scholar who did not participate in the study, also believes literacy in ancient Judah was widespread before 586 BC and that the biblical texts in question were written before the siege of Jerusalem. He said he believes this is apparent through a literary analysis of the biblical texts alone. “I don’t need algorithms,” Ahituv chuckled.
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)
US accuses Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians-Annual US report on human rights says nearly half of Palestinians killed by Israel were not carrying out attacks, and many times did not pose a threat to life-By Times of Israel staff and Agencies April 14, 2016, 1:21 am
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration accused Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians during a wave of deadly violence, in an annual report that pointed to a global decline in human rights.The annual report by the State Department into human rights abuses around the world accused Israeli forces of “excessive use of force” in the Palestinian territories, and “arbitrary arrest and associated torture and abuse, often with impunity,” by the IDF, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.According to numbers cited in the report, 149 Palestinians were killed in 2015 by Israeli security forces, but only 77 were in the course of attacking Israelis.“There were numerous reports of the ISF (Israel security forces) killing Palestinians during riots, demonstrations, at checkpoints, and during routine operations; in some cases they did not pose a threat to life,” the report read.The numbers clash with Israeli accounts that some two-thirds of Palestinians killed during a wave of violence beginning in October were in the midst of attempting or carrying out attacks and the rest died in clashes with security forces.The report comes months after Secretary of State John Kerry was asked by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and nine other US lawmakers to probe instances of what they said were possible extrajudicial killings by Israeli forces.Leahy and his fellow signatories asked Kerry in February to look into claims of “gross violations of human rights” by Israel and Egypt, citing examples of alleged extrajudicial killings by both countries and saying it could affect aid to the countries.On Israel, the letter asked Kerry to investigate “what may be extrajudicial killings,” citing claims by Amnesty International and other human rights groups relating to the deaths of Fadi Aloun, Sa’ad al-Atrash, Hadeel Hashlamoun and Mutaw Awisat.According to Israel, all four were killed while in the midst of attempting to attack Israelis in Jerusalem and Hebron, though those claims are disputed.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily to the letter when its existence was reported in March, defending the IDF’s actions.“The IDF and the Israel Police do not engage in executions. Israel’s soldiers and police officers defend themselves and innocent civilians with the highest moral standards against bloodthirsty terrorists who come to murder them,” Netanyahu said in a statement on March 30. “Where is the concern for the human rights of the many Israelis who’ve been murdered and maimed by these savage terrorists? This letter should have been addressed instead to those who incite youngsters to commit cruel acts of terrorism.”The State Department report said the biggest human rights violations in Israel were terror attacks against civilians, and “institutional and societal discrimination” against Arabs, Israelis of Ethiopian extraction, women, non-Orthodox Jews and migrants.In the Palestinian territories, the report singled out the PA for failing “to condemn incidents of anti-Semitic expression and embraced as ‘martyrs’ individuals who died while carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians.”Hamas, it said, was guilty of a slew of humans rights abuses in the Gaza Strip, including “security forces killing, torturing, arbitrarily detaining, and harassing opponents, including Fatah members, and other Palestinians with impunity. Terrorist organizations and militant factions in the Gaza Strip launched rocket and mortar attacks against civilian targets in Israel, and they did so at or near civilian locations in Gaza.”The report also pointed at Israeli legislation forcing foreign government-funded NGOs to take certain measures, which critics say would target groups critical of the government.The report condemned abuses by the Islamic State group, Boko Haram, al Shabab and the Taliban in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several African nations where it said lack of governance, poor governance or outright repression fueled radical movements.Both Jerusalem and Ramallah were left off a list of governments accused of pushing back “with increasing vigor and viciousness” against groups that seek to empower ordinary people and fight corruption in 2015.The report singled out North Korea, China, Cuba, Sudan and Iran and also cited Russia, Rwanda, Congo, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Egypt and Vietnam for repressive steps.“In every part of the world, we see an accelerating trend by both state and non-state actors to close the space for civil society, to stifle media and Internet freedom, to marginalize opposition voices, and, in the most extreme cases, to kill people or drive them from their homes,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.In Iran, the government stifled and harassed human rights groups looking into allegations of abuses in addition to stifling dissent, the report said. It also noted severe restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, association, speech and religion, a lack of free and fair elections and abuse of due process and use of capital punishment.In Egypt, the report said the government continued to apply restrictive registration laws to investigate and shut down human rights organizations, especially those linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. It said the government also imposed travel bans on human rights defenders and political activists.The report noted the Turkish government used anti-terror laws as well as a law against insulting the president to stifle legitimate political discourse and investigative journalism, and criticized the prosecution of journalists and the driving of opposition media outlets out of business or bringing them under state control.
Hamas, not economy, the source of Gaza’s woes, Amos Gilad says-No solution in sight, but military deterrence should prevent conflict in the Strip this summer, Defense Ministry official asserts-By Judah Ari Gross April 13, 2016, 10:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Gaza’s economic situation is ultimately irrelevant to peace negotiations and the current security situation, a senior Defense Ministry official declared Wednesday at a conference on the beleaguered coastal strip’s financial woes.Amos Gilad, director of the ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau, scoffed at the assertion made by some at the conference that economic development in the coastal enclave could be the solution to Gaza’s problems and mitigate the security threats to Israel that emanate from the territory.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working. They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” he said, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.“Economics alone can’t solve [Gaza’s problems]. Economics are not the fundamental solution,” Gilad said in his address.So long as Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, he added, there will not be peace there.“No recognition of Israel. No recognition of a Palestinian state [in the West Bank and Gaza, so long as it excludes Israel]. At least they’re dedicated to their cause,” he said.The conference, “Gaza, what next?” was the the second in a three-part series on the economics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hosted by Hebrew University and the AiX group, an Israeli-Palestinian economics research team.Gilad, a former general in the Israel Defense Forces, brushed off assertions that a port or lightened security measures would have an impact on the economic situation in Gaza.Gilad also rejected allowing Hamas to open a seaport in the coastal enclave, even one that only exported goods.“No port in the world can be guarded completely,” he said.If such a port were created, he noted, Hamas would be in charge of it, boosting the group’s influence as an opponent of the Palestinian Authority, the supposed representative of the Palestinian people.Gilad’s blunt talk on the subject did not go over well with the crowd, and several audience members called out at various times during his address.“I’m sorry to give you a harsh picture, but that’s what it is,” he said. “I don’t see a magic solution.”Gilad left immediately following his speech, but his comments reverberated long after among attendees.Hisham Abed el-Rezek, who came to the conference from the University of Gaza, described the economic situation in the Strip as “catastrophic.”The people of Gaza, he said, are at a breaking point. High unemployment, slow reconstruction following the 2014 war with Israel and an uncertain future created an environment of “desperation.”“If Gaza remains as it is, the people will come [into Israel] over the fence and under the fence, over the ground and under the ground, over the sea and under the sea — they want to live,” he said.“I wish Amos would have stayed to hear that.”
PA prime minister urges donors to pay up for rebuilding of Gaza-Rami Hamdallah says only one-third of the roughly $3.5 billion pledged after 2014 war has been delivered-By Agencies April 13, 2016, 10:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister has urged international donor countries to “make good on their pledges” to help rebuild the war-battered Gaza Strip.Rami Hamdallah told a group of donor representatives on Wednesday that only one-third of the roughly $3.5 billion pledged at a 2014 conference has been delivered. The donors are to meet next week in Brussels.He said they were able to repair more than 100,000 partially damaged homes, while giving compensation to businesses damaged in the war between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions.But he warned that funding was drying up.“We call upon you to honor your obligations and effectively contribute to saving Gaza,” he told the conference of donors, United Nations officials and others in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.Conditions in Gaza, home to 1.8 million people, have steadily deteriorated since the Hamas terror group seized control of the territory in 2007 and prompted an Israeli and Egyptian blockade which limits the import and export of goods and restricts many basic materials, such as wood and concrete.Israel and Egypt fear such material will be used to attack Israel. Hamas is avowedly committed to the destruction of Israel.The frayed relationship between the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, and the terrorist Hamas group, which runs Gaza, has also impeded reconstruction.The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said “reconstruction is progressing and it is progressing because of the excellent efforts of both the government of Palestine and international community.”“But the difficulties in Gaza remain.”Bashir Rayyes, the Palestinian Authority’s coordinator for Gaza reconstruction, said reconstruction was suffering from shortages.“The big part of the third (of funds delivered) went to humanitarian assistance and feeding people and what have you. So, what we really have for the Gaza reconstruction is less than $400 million, way less than $400 million, and that in itself is a very big problem.”“(The $400 million) only brings Gaza back to its previous misery in 2014, but that’s not enough.”He said at the current rate, the reconstruction efforts could continue until as late as 2020.
Israel Police appoints first Muslim deputy commissioner-Jamal Hakrush will lead a newly formed division aimed at improving police services in Arab communities-By Times of Israel staff April 13, 2016, 7:52 pm
Jamal Hakrush was promoted Wednesday to the second-highest rank in the Israel Police, that of deputy commissioner, the first-ever Arab Muslim to reach the lofty rank.Hakrush, who hails from the Galilee village of Kafr Kanna, will lead a newly formed police division aimed at improving police services in Arab communities.Hakrush was formally appointed Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich.At the ceremony, Alsheich praised Hakrush and called for qualified Arab Israelis to join the police. Alscheich said that Hakrush, and the Israel Police, will work to crack down on illegal weapons in the Arab community.Earlier this year, Alsheich announced a new initiative to fight the “frighteningly high” rates of domestic violence, murder, illegal weapons possession, and other crimes in the Arab sector.The new program, the brainchild of Alsheich and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, seeks to recruit 1,300 new officers and build dozens of new stations in Arab population centers.“This issue is not only of concern to the police, but also to the Arab community itself,” Alsheich said at the time.“There is a strong desire to strengthen policing in the Arab community. I met dozens of leaders of Arab local councils and discovered that there was great willingness. ‘Just send in the police already,’ they told me.”
Despite rising emigration, 2,000 expected at Limmud Moscow-The Jewish learning conference is expecting record-setting attendance for the four-day event-By JTA April 13, 2016, 11:21 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
More than 2,000 Muscovite Jews, including a chief rabbi of Russia, have signed up to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Limmud FSU — a group that organizes Jewish learning conferences for Russian speakers in the former Soviet Union.The expected record-setting attendance for the four-day event in the Russian capital, which starts Thursday, would make Limmud Moscow the world’s second largest event of its kind after Britain’s Limmud, according to Limmud FSU founder Chaim Chesler. Limmud FSU had its inaugural event in Moscow.The keynote address Thursday will be delivered by Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, whose last appearance at a Limmud Moscow event was in 2007, Chesler said Wednesday. He added the event was sold out two months in advance “because we were limited in our own capacity.”Among those who will be featured at the conference are Russian-American political commentator Vladimir Pozner, Russian human rights activist Irina Yasina and Solomon Perel, who as a Jewish child survived the Holocaust by assuming the identity of an Aryan German boy and attending Hitler Youth activities.Sandy Cahn, a co-founder of Limmud FSU, said the attendance “is the best evidence that Jewish life is thriving in Russia.” Attendance last year at Limmud Moscow stood at fewer than 1,500 participants.The event comes amid a dramatic increase in Russia in Jewish immigration to Israel, or aliyah. Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky attributed the rise to a financial crisis that last year halved the ruble’s value against the dollar, and to lingering concerns among Russian Jews over rising nationalism and undemocratic practices.Russia provided Israel with 6,700 newcomers last year — a 32 percent jump over 2014, which was the most dramatic increase in aliyah recorded anywhere last year. Most immigrants came from Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other major cities with highly educated Jewish communities, Sharansky said.The Limmud model began in Britain in 1976 for and by Jewish educators and has since been adapted by Jewish communities worldwide. It features lectures and activities whose only common theme is Jews and Judaism. Some 2,600 participants attend Britain’s main Limmud conference annually, organizers said.
Iran and Italy ink $20 billion in trade deals-Deals during visit by Italian premier include plans for energy cooperation, scheme to renovate Tehran airport-By Nasser Karimi April 14, 2016, 12:16 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran and Italy signed a series of bilateral agreements during a visit by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Tehran this week, signaling both countries’ desire to restore ties following this year’s implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.The agreements included plans for cooperation between Italian electricity and gas company Enel and the National Iranian Gas Export Company, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.Enel said the memorandum of understanding lays out details for possible cooperation involving natural gas, liquefied natural gas and related infrastructure. The agreement could include information-sharing, studies, analysis and training, “as well as exploring future opportunities for long term supplies,” Enel said.Other deals include a car component agreement with Danieli Group, an agreement with the Milan Airports company to renovate a domestic airport in Tehran, and another focused on promoting tourism, according to IRNA.Ali Reza Daemi, deputy energy minister, told IRNA the two countries also agreed to build several biomass, solar and geothermal power plants.Financial terms were not disclosed.Separately, Italian oil services company Saipen said it inked a memorandum of understanding with Razavi Oil and Gas Development Company for work on the Toos gas field project, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of the city of Mashhad. It said the field holds more than 60 billion cubic meters of gas.Italy once ranked among Iran’s top trading partners, with 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in trade before international sanctions were imposed on Iran over its nuclear ambitions. A landmark deal to remove those sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program went into effect in January.“Before the sanctions Italy was Iran’s budgets trade partner in the European Union and today we want Italy to play that role again,” President Hassan Rouhani said during a ceremony to welcome the Italian premier. “Today, we want Italy to play its former role.”Renzi’s two-day visit, which began Tuesday, was the first by an Italian leader since Giuliano Amato visited in 2001.Renzi’s trip follows a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Rome in January in which the two countries inked billions of dollars in trade deals. Those agreements included agreements for oil services firm Saipem to upgrade two Iranian oil refineries and another for work on pipeline projects in the country.Later Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Renzi that Iran welcomes improving relations with Italy, particularly in the field of economic cooperation.Khamenei, who has final say on all major decisions in the country, said that Iran does not have the same attitude toward “some other European countries, since they act as the United States dictates,” according to IRNA.
Iranian pilot defects, threatens regime he’ll seek asylum in Israel-Opposed to Iran’s ruling ethos, Ahmad-Reza Khosravi fled to Turkey last year. Now he says he’ll work to harm the Islamic Republic if it doesn’t stop harassing his wife and son-By Neda Amin and Mohsen Rostambakhsh April 13, 2016, 9:39 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
VAN, Turkey — An Iranian pilot who defected to Turkey last year is threatening to seek asylum in Israel and work openly to undermine the regime in Iran if it does not cease what he says are its intimidation tactics against the wife and son he left behind.Major Ahmad-Reza Khosravi, 39, a pilot in the helicopter unit of the Iranian Security Services, fled Iran to Turkey in March 2015 after he was refused repeated requests to be discharged from the military, requests he made due to ideological differences with the regime. Recently the subject of an apparent kidnap plan to bring him back to Iran, Khosravi has now gone public with his criticism of the Iranian leadership.In a face-to-face interview with The Times of Israel in the Turkish city of Van where he is now residing, Khosravi said if the regime does not stop threatening his wife and son, who are still in Iran, he will seek to harm the regime in any way he can.“If you do not leave me alone and stop harassing my family, I will seek asylum in Israel and start fighting you, even with arms,” Khosravi said, in a message to Iran’s leaders that he delivered in the interview with the Times of Israel’s Persian edition.Born in 1977 in Khomein in central Iran, Khosravi entered the Iranian Police Academy at age of 18 and went on to join the security services’ helicopter unit.Khosravi told The Times of Israel that after serving 19 years in the Security Services and struggling with the ideological beliefs of the oppressive Iranian regime, he put in a request to be discharged.“I wanted to resign due to the differences in beliefs and opinions with the regime, and since I do not believe in the religion of Islam,” he said. “I had problems with the regime’s policies, because they are based on deception, duplicity and lies.”After he tried to resign several times and was rebuffed, Khosravi said, the Iranian security services began to harass him and his family.“All my actions and my private life were watched and my phone conversations were listened to. I did not have any personal life; even my wife’s phone was under surveillance.”In the end, under duress and fearing for his life, Khosravi decided to flee the country, and embarked on a daring escape to reach neighboring Turkey.After crossing the border in March 2015, he managed to secure a meeting with a senior UN official. Khosravi explained that as a member of Iran’s defense personnel he had not been allowed to own a passport, and therefore had to escape Iran with no identification.“Since I was a military person who had defected from Iran, and therefore my life was in danger, the UN and the Turkish police took care of my issue with extra sensitivity and guarded me very carefully,” he said. “The Turkish police looked after me, and called me every few hours asking about my situation.”When the Iranian authorities found out he had escaped, they contacted his wife and threatened to have him extradited from Turkey, he said.In September 2015, Turkish authorities arrested two Iranians who were allegedly sent to Turkey to kidnap Khosravi and return him to Iran.Abdolsalam Tatari and Mohammad Mohammadian reportedly arrived in Turkey planning to make their way to the city of Van, in eastern Turkey, where Khosravi was residing.Two weeks ago they were both sentenced by a Turkish court to six years and eight months in jail, according to Turkish media reports. Mohammadian denied the accusation but Tatari acknowledged that an Iranian man named “Hajji” had commissioned him to find “the pilot.”The Turkish reports on the sentencing do not name Khosravi. Rather, they refer to the pilot by his initials “A.R.K.”Khosravi said that the regime is worried his defection could inspire other pilots or military officers to do the same.“I can tell you that there are other pilots like me who are forced to work and live the way they do. But they are not defecting because they fear this dictatorial regime and have to continue working under the hardships imposed by the regime.”Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
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
Peace deal draft defining Golan as Syrian triggers fury in Jerusalem-Vowing to stymie language in accord being hammered out by world powers, Netanyahu raises issue with Kerry, plans to discuss it with Putin, TV report says-By Times of Israel staff April 11, 2016, 10:19 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly fuming over indications that plans for a negotiated settlement for Syria, being worked on with the support of the US, Russia and other major world powers, could specify that the entire Golan Heights, including the western two-thirds of the strategic ridge captured by Israel in 1967, is Syrian land.Netanyahu discussed the issue in a telephone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry a few days ago, a Channel 10 TV news report said Monday. He will also discuss the matter when he travels to Russia next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin.The TV report said that the Prime Minister’s Office had confirmed that Netanyahu was concerned over the issue, that he had made clear that any such language would be unacceptable to Israel, and that he would “act to ensure” any agreement included no such provision.Israel was frequently attacked from the Golan in its first two decades of statehood, captured the Heights in the 1967 war, and extended Israeli law to the area in 1981, a move tantamount to annexation.Prior to to the eruption of the Syrian civil war, some Israeli security chiefs had encouraged the Israeli political leadership to explore the possibility of reaching a peace treaty with President Bashar Assad, which could also have enabled a treaty with Lebanon and the isolating of Assad’s key ally Iran, in return for relinquishing the Golan. Since Syria descended into civil war chaos and mass slaughter, however, the notion of Israel relinquishing the strategic high ground has become highly improbable.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Golan on Monday. During his tour, he said Israel has carried out dozens of strikes against Hezbollah and associated targets in Syria to prevent the Lebanese group from obtaining advanced weapons. Israeli officials have warned that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters may try to set up a base across the border, on the Syrian-held eastern one-third of the Golan, to launch attacks against Israelis.
Rivlin meets religious leaders, urges calm ahead of Passover-President tells senior Muslim, Christian, Jewish clergy Israel is committed to status quo on Temple Mount-By Times of Israel staff April 13, 2016, 10:55 pm
President Reuven Rivlin called on the leaders of Israel’s faith communities to work toward reducing tensions surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to promote a message of tolerance ahead of the upcoming holidays of Passover, Orthodox Easter and others.“This is a moment of genuine crisis, and the obligation to avert the outbreak of violence which threatens the innocent rests upon the shoulders of each and every one of us,” Rivlin said during a meeting of the Council of Faith Community Leaders in Israel at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.“Already now, the tension has increased across the whole city, and in particular, in the Holy Basin, and around the Temple Mount itself. Israel is committed to the status quo, is vigilant in its enforcement, and will ensure it is maintained.”The meeting was attended by Israeli Chief Rabbi David Lau, Council of Muslim Religious Leaders chair Sheikh Mohammed Kaiyuan, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffak Tarīf and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, among others.The meeting came hours after Palestinian leaders warned that Jews visiting the Temple Mount compound during the upcoming Passover festival would inflame tensions. In an incident last week first reported on Wednesday, a Jewish couple was secretly married while on a visit to the Temple Mount, leading several Israeli politicians to warn that the move threatened to ignite new violence around the holy site.On Wednesday, Adnan Gaith, the head of Fatah’s armed Tanzim wing in Jerusalem, told Israel Radio that any calls by Jewish religious and political leaders to visit the flashpoint compound — which today houses the Muslim shrines of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and is known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif, or the Holy Sanctuary — “will not bring about peace or quiet.”Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Muslim cleric in charge of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also warned against increased Jewish “provocations” at the compound during the Jewish festival, which begins Friday evening, April 22.Both Gheit and Hussein, who did not appear to be referring to the Temple Mount wedding, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of exacerbating tensions there.Muslims regard the compound as the third-holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.In Judaism, the Temple Mount, the location of both ancient Jewish temples, is so holy that Jews have traditionally refrained from setting foot there due to ritual purity rules. They congregate instead at the adjacent Western Wall, a retaining wall of the ancient temple complex that is now considered the most revered site for Jewish prayer. During Passover, some religiously observant Jews seek to visit the Mount in homage to the pilgrimages taken by Jews to the site in biblical times.Under an agreement between the Israeli government and Islamic authorities at the site reached after Israel’s conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray on the mount itself.Jewish visitors suspected of violating the Temple Mount prayer ban are routinely arrested by police.Clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces erupted at the compound in September 2015 amid fears among Muslims that Israel was planning to change rules governing the site. Israel denied any such plans.Stuart Winer and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.
New look at ancient shards suggests Bible even older than thought-Handwriting analysis of 2,600-year-old Hebrew texts indicate literacy in Kingdom of Judah widespread before exile, suggesting seminal text could have been written then-By Tamar Pileggi and AP April 12, 2016, 2:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
High-tech handwriting analysis of First Temple period writings inscribed on pottery shards indicates the Bible may have been written earlier than some scholars believe, Tel Aviv University researchers have found.Most scholars agree that key biblical texts were written in the 6th century BCE, during the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple.But a collection of military orders written in ancient Hebrew dated to the end of the First Temple period uncovered in the Negev Desert is shedding new light on the age of the oldest biblical texts.With the help of sophisticated imaging tools and complex software, Tel Aviv University researchers determined the series of 2,600-year-old inscriptions were written by at least six different authors, indicating that literacy in the Kingdom of Judah may have been far more widespread than commonly believed.This finding, published Monday in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, makes it possible for the earliest books of the bible to have been written before the exile and during the First Temple period, TAU archaeology professor Israel Finkelstein said.“There’s a heated discussion regarding the timing of the composition of a critical mass of biblical texts,” said Finkelstein, who led the team of researchers together with physics professor Eliezer Piasetzky. “But to answer this, one must ask a broader question: What were the literacy rates in Judah at the end of the First Temple period? And what were the literacy rates later on, under Persian rule?”Known as the Arad ostraca, the writings were discovered in the ruin of an ancient Judahite military fortress near the Negev city in the 1960s, and mainly consist of mundane military orders including commands regarding the movement of troops and the provision of supplies for the small garrison stationed there.The TAU team of archaeologists, physicists and mathematicians developed specialized imaging tools and algorithms to photograph, digitize and analyze the handwriting of the missives — 16 ink inscriptions on ceramic shards. The team used multispectral imaging to reconstruct Hebrew letters that had been partially erased over time, and then used a computer algorithm to analyze the writings to detect differences in handwriting strokes.Doctoral student Arie Shaus, who helped develop the algorithm, said it was the first time such technology has been used to reconstruct and perform handwriting analysis on ancient Hebrew inscriptions.“We designed an algorithm to distinguish between different authors, then composed a statistical mechanism to assess our findings,” said researcher Barak Sober. “Through probability analysis, we eliminated the likelihood that the texts were written by a single author.”Multiple writers indicates that reading and writing abilities existed throughout the military chain of command, from commanders all the way down to petty officers.“Literacy existed at all levels of the administrative, military and priestly systems of Judah. Reading and writing were not limited to a tiny elite,” said Piasetzky.While it’s uncertain how many in the 100,000-strong Kingdom of Judah could read and write, the researchers estimates that hundreds were literate.According to Piasetzky, the existence of an educational infrastructure could have enabled the composition and compilation of biblical texts that constitute the basis of Judahite history and theology.However, a higher literacy rate does not necessarily mean the Bible was written during a certain period.“Biblical texts did not have to have been written by many people, or read by many people, to have been written down,” Prof. Edward Greenstein of Bar-Ilan University told The New York Times.In recent years, many scholars have attributed the composition of a group of biblical texts, from the Book of Joshua to the second Book of Kings, to the period after the siege, according to Finkelstein. That theory holds that the biblical texts were written as a result of the exile to Babylon, when the composers began to think about their past and put their history to parchment.Finkelstein, however, said he has long believed those texts were written in the late 7th century BC in Jerusalem, before the siege. He said the study offers support for that theory.“It’s the first time we have something empirical in our hands,” said Finkelstein.Shmuel Ahituv, an Israeli bible scholar who did not participate in the study, also believes literacy in ancient Judah was widespread before 586 BC and that the biblical texts in question were written before the siege of Jerusalem. He said he believes this is apparent through a literary analysis of the biblical texts alone. “I don’t need algorithms,” Ahituv chuckled.
