JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
After Temple Mount resolution, PM offers UN staff a Jewish history lesson-Netanyahu announces session following passage of UNESCO text that omits mention of Jewish ties to holiest site in Judaism-By Times of Israel staff and AFP May 6, 2016, 8:50 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday invited United Nations staff in Israel to a seminar on Jewish history, three weeks after the UN’s cultural body, UNESCO, declined in a resolution to acknowledge Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.The UNESCO resolution refers to Israel as the “occupying power” at every mention and uses the Arabic Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram al-Sharif without even once calling it the Temple Mount, as it is known to Jews. The text does refer to the Western Wall Plaza but places it in quotation marks, after using the Arabic Al-Buraq Plaza.On Friday, Netanyahu reiterated that his “shock” that UNESCO would adopt “a decision denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site.”“That is why today I am announcing a seminar on Jewish history for all UN personnel in Israel,” he said in a statement.“I will personally host the lecture at the Prime Minister’s Office,” said Netanyahu, the son of renowned late historian Benzion Netanyahu, noting that it will be delivered by a “leading scholar of Jewish history.”Diplomats will also be invited, “including of countries which voted for this outrageous decision,” Netanyahu said of the resolution on “Occupied Palestine” presented by several Arab states.“I was shocked to hear that UNESCO adopted a decision denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site,” Netanyahu said in a statement when the resolution passed.“It is hard to believe that anyone, let alone an organization tasked with preserving history, could deny this link, which spans thousands of years.”The UNESCO resolution, authorized by the executive board’s Programme and External Relations Commission, was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.The resolution was approved by 33 states, including France, Russia, Spain and Sweden. Seventeen countries abstained while six voted against including the United States, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.Ghana and Turkmenistan were altogether absent from the vote at the 58-member board.Netanyahu said back when the UNESCO decision was announced that he would host a special lecture on Jewish history for all UN personnel in Israel.It was not immediately clear when the seminar would be held, but Reuters quoted sources close to the prime minister as saying it could be next week.It was also unclear how many UN staff and diplomats planned to attend. UNESCO had no immediate comment.
Man seeks restraining order against God-Haifa resident asks court to keep the Almighty away, claiming He is being mean to him-By Stuart Winer May 4, 2016, 2:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
An Israeli man has petitioned the Haifa Magistrate’s Court for a restraining order against God, claiming the Almighty has been particularly unkind to him.The initiator of the request, a resident of the northern port city, represented himself in court, the Walla news site reported on Wednesday.A protocol of the hearing noted that God did not turn up for the session, although it did not specify how the court determined the Omnipresent was not in fact there, as opposed to merely exercising the right to remain silent.The petitioner, who was not named in the report, noted that he had tried to obtain the restraining order from police for the past three years but that police had merely sent a patrol car to his home on 10 occasions.He argued that over a three-year period God, had exhibited a seriously negative attitude toward him, although details of just what divine mischief he had borne the brunt of were not mentioned in the report.Presiding Judge Ahsan Canaan denied the request, which he said was ludicrous, asserting the applicant needed help not from the court but rather from other sources.The report did not include a response on the outcome from any of the multitude of available spokespeople on behalf of the Lord.
In Gaza, deadly flames expose a very fragile standoff with Israel-After a fire kills 3 Palestinian children, Hamas points most of the blame at the PA. Plainly, it doesn’t want a new war… for now-By Avi Issacharoff May 8, 2016, 4:07 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
In one sudden and tragic moment on Friday night, discussion over the latest escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel was relegated to secondary importance for some residents of Gaza. Local media began reporting extensively on an incident in the northwest of the Strip, in the Shati refugee camp.Three toddlers from the al-Hindi family had perished in a fire in their home, caused by the candles lit in their room. The horror was reinforced by images of the three bodies that quickly spread across social media and on news sites that decided not to blur out the pictures.By Saturday morning, a vitriolic blame game between Hamas and Fatah was in full swing, with Israel also being connected to the incident.At the center of the stormy debate is the question of who is responsible for the continual power outages that led the bereaved family (like tens of thousands of other Gaza families) to light candles.The accusations began with members of the Hindi family themselves. On Saturday morning, they published pictures of some of the men in the extended family standing amid the rubble of what was left of the house, holding portraits of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.On the pictures it was written “child killers.”The response from Ramallah came swiftly.Within a few hours, Jamal al-Muhsin, a member of Fatah’s central committee, said the Hindi family themselves were responsible for the deaths of the three children because they did not heed the instructions of the Gaza authorities, who urge residents not to leave candles burning in homes when dealing with power outages.Muhsin, who is considered one of the closest men to Abbas, also said that Hamas was responsible for the incident, because it does not allow the government of Hamdallah to operate in the Strip and deal with the power problem.Additionally, in an attempt to ease the criticism against the PA over the fire in Gaza, Abbas spoke over the phone to the father of the three killed children. Hamdallah also announced the family will be given a new house and some money.But the story doesn’t end there.At the funeral for the three children Saturday afternoon, Hamas’s Gaza head Ismail Haniyeh accused the government in Ramallah of strongly opposing a seaport in Gaza and refusing to “establish projects” to lift the siege — the security blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza, to prevent its Hamas terror rulers from importing weaponry.“Who bears the responsibility?” asked Haniyeh. “Who takes $70 million in taxes each month? Who insists on imposing a tax on fuel for the power station? Who refuses to extend the gas line from Israel to the power station in Gaza?” Haniyeh fumed, while noting that the PA’s shortcomings did not detract from “the crimes of the occupation” — i.e. Israel.At the heart of the power supply dispute is an excise tax on fuel that comes from Israel via the PA. Hamas refuses to pay and demands the government in Ramallah pony up. The PA is paying for half of the tax now and says Hamas must pay the other half.Meanwhile, the power company claims that it does not have enough money to buy sufficient gas. One can guess, then, that the power outages will continue. And therefore, the residents of Gaza will continue to use candles for light.-Hamas and Israel: A love-hate story-Still, even as Hamas speaks out against the PA, it seems to be doing whatever possible to avoid another round of fighting with Israel, limiting itself in its response to Israeli tunnel-seeking incursions into the Strip and seemingly accommodating, however grudgingly, Israeli activity within Gazan territory.In recent days the Israel Defense Forces have operated just inside Gaza – in a strip of 150 meters from the border within Palestinian territory. Hamas was content with firing a limited number of mortars into open areas in protest.What it did not do was fire rockets at Israeli towns or to send out its special forces for a raid by land or by sea.During the days that the IDF operated within the strip, Hamas sent messages to Israel via Qatar, Egypt, the UN and others to say that it was not interested in another war. An agreement was indirectly created between the two sides — with the help of Egyptian mediators — under which Israel will leave this inside “perimeter” soon, Hamas will cease firing, and during the fighting Hamas won’t do more than fire a few perfunctory rounds.Practically speaking, in a manner that it would never admit to, Hamas thus signaled it would not go to war over the recent Israeli operations on the border. Even in Haniyeh’s weekly Friday night speech, routinely full of pathos and battle cries against Israel, the former prime minister chose this time to emphasize that Hamas does not want a war.Yet the cold status quo could change. Within Hamas’s military wing, some are demanding the group take violent action with an “opening strike” that they hope will eventually bring about the lifting of the siege of Gaza.There is also increasing support among ordinary Gazans for a new round of fighting, especially among those who have little to lose.One errant Israeli shell or Palestinian mortar, as I wrote here on Friday, will strengthen advocates for war in both camps. But a deadly accident, like a candle knocked over, can ignite the region just the same.
Bionic arms, dragon robot are hit at Jerusalem event-Israeli capital is first foreign city to host the Geek PicNic outdoor science fair, established in Russia in 2011-By Jessica Steinberg April 27, 2016, 1:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Tech lovers and nerds were in their element Tuesday, as the second day of a three-day outdoor science and technology fair in Jerusalem brought them into close contact with dragon robots and bionic arms.Geek PicNic, an event exported from Russia for the first time in its five-year history, has been brought to Israel’s capital for Passover, giving parents and kids visiting Sacher Park a novel way to fill at least some of the seven-day holiday.Event-goers swarmed around a massive metal dragon robot made in Russia and brought by ship to Israel, waited in line at the American-made “Hand of Man” to slip their hand into a robotic glove that crushed waiting cars, and sat on the grass in front of the stage, listening to a TED-style talk by a scientist in a white coat.It’s the first time the Russian festival, established by a handful of students in St. Petersburg in 2011, and later held in Moscow as well, has ever taken place abroad.Israel was chosen because it’s a place where startups and technology meet, and it made sense “philosophically,” said Nick Goreley, one of the original founders present at Geek PicNic Jerusalem-The organizers also sought a location that would have summery weather in the springtime, said Goreley, on a day that saw temperatures soar to 93° Fahrenheit as Israel was hit by a heatwave.It was producer Carmi Wurtman, a Jerusalem concert promoter who brings live shows and festivals to the capital, who thought Geek PicNic would be a good match for Jerusalem.After meeting with Goreley, Wurtman visited his first Geek PicNic in Moscow and agreed to host the event in Jerusalem, getting the municipality to co-sponsor what he hopes will become an annual event.That’s an enticing thought for Goreley, he said.The 26-year-old Russian entrepreneur said he and his partners came up with the first Geek Picnic in 2011, “just for fun.” They were more focused their second year and drew around 7,000 visitors with master classes and TED-style lectures, as well as a job fair for programmers. They receive no government support for the festival, said Goreley.The festival, said Wurtman, evokes elements of the annual American desert events of Burning Man and Coachella, bringing together creative types and iconoclasts from the technology and science worlds.Sacher Park was divided into areas of interest, such as drones, space, bionic parts and 3D printing, and offered a geek paradise in the form of a market selling items such as Star Wars and The Hobbit memorabilia, thought games and science experiment kits. There was also a gaming area and a fashion market that explored at how technology is changing the clothing industry.There were morning and evening events, with guests like “bionic” drummer Jason Barnes, who performs with his robotic arm, an electric lightning show, and a pair of warriors who dueled each other with lightning bolts.“It’s the Midburn of tech events,” said Wurtman, referring to the Israeli version of Nevada’s Burning Man, held each June in the Negev Desert.According to Wurtman, over 35,000 tickets were sold for the three-day festival, although everyone present Tuesday afternoon was from Intel Israel, a sponsor of the event.The best part of the event, said Wurtman, is the connections made between the different creators, who came from Israel, the US and Europe.
Work-related deaths in Israel among highest in West, report finds-54 laborers died in accidents in 2015, and over 50,000 were injured, resulting in billions of shekels in state payouts-By Times of Israel staff May 8, 2016, 1:22 pm
The rate of worker deaths in Israel is among the highest in the West, and double that of the European Union average, according to the findings of a new Economics Ministry and National Insurance Institute report published Sunday.Laborer deaths are on the rise when examined in five-year increments, the report said, and Israel’s 13.2 per 100,000 workers in 2013 was higher than the EU and United States. Most of the deaths are foreign laborers, the report found.In 2015, 54 laborers died in work accidents — 34 of whom were working on construction sites — and over 50,000 workers were injured. Most of the construction workers, 21 of the 34 who died, fell to their deaths.According to a Haaretz report in April, 15 workers died in work-related accidents in the first quarter of 2016. The Economy Ministry found that in half the cases, there were no sanctions imposed on contractors following worker deaths, according to the report.The state paid over NIS 4.5 billion in 2015 for workers’ compensation due to injury, amounting to over two million workdays and at the expense of billions to the national economy, the Economy Ministry said.The report’s findings “require concerted efforts to reduce work-related injuries in Israel,” head of the Economy Ministry’s safety administration told Haaretz, calling for greater cooperation to prevent accidents.On Sunday, hours after the report was published, a worker in a Dimona factory was taken to a hospital in serious condition after a heavy object fell on him, crushing his chest.Last week a construction worker fell to his death while working on a building on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael. The same day, a worker was injured when he fell three stories at a Holon building site.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
After Temple Mount resolution, PM offers UN staff a Jewish history lesson-Netanyahu announces session following passage of UNESCO text that omits mention of Jewish ties to holiest site in Judaism-By Times of Israel staff and AFP May 6, 2016, 8:50 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday invited United Nations staff in Israel to a seminar on Jewish history, three weeks after the UN’s cultural body, UNESCO, declined in a resolution to acknowledge Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.The UNESCO resolution refers to Israel as the “occupying power” at every mention and uses the Arabic Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram al-Sharif without even once calling it the Temple Mount, as it is known to Jews. The text does refer to the Western Wall Plaza but places it in quotation marks, after using the Arabic Al-Buraq Plaza.On Friday, Netanyahu reiterated that his “shock” that UNESCO would adopt “a decision denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site.”“That is why today I am announcing a seminar on Jewish history for all UN personnel in Israel,” he said in a statement.“I will personally host the lecture at the Prime Minister’s Office,” said Netanyahu, the son of renowned late historian Benzion Netanyahu, noting that it will be delivered by a “leading scholar of Jewish history.”Diplomats will also be invited, “including of countries which voted for this outrageous decision,” Netanyahu said of the resolution on “Occupied Palestine” presented by several Arab states.“I was shocked to hear that UNESCO adopted a decision denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site,” Netanyahu said in a statement when the resolution passed.“It is hard to believe that anyone, let alone an organization tasked with preserving history, could deny this link, which spans thousands of years.”The UNESCO resolution, authorized by the executive board’s Programme and External Relations Commission, was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.The resolution was approved by 33 states, including France, Russia, Spain and Sweden. Seventeen countries abstained while six voted against including the United States, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.Ghana and Turkmenistan were altogether absent from the vote at the 58-member board.Netanyahu said back when the UNESCO decision was announced that he would host a special lecture on Jewish history for all UN personnel in Israel.It was not immediately clear when the seminar would be held, but Reuters quoted sources close to the prime minister as saying it could be next week.It was also unclear how many UN staff and diplomats planned to attend. UNESCO had no immediate comment.
Man seeks restraining order against God-Haifa resident asks court to keep the Almighty away, claiming He is being mean to him-By Stuart Winer May 4, 2016, 2:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
An Israeli man has petitioned the Haifa Magistrate’s Court for a restraining order against God, claiming the Almighty has been particularly unkind to him.The initiator of the request, a resident of the northern port city, represented himself in court, the Walla news site reported on Wednesday.A protocol of the hearing noted that God did not turn up for the session, although it did not specify how the court determined the Omnipresent was not in fact there, as opposed to merely exercising the right to remain silent.The petitioner, who was not named in the report, noted that he had tried to obtain the restraining order from police for the past three years but that police had merely sent a patrol car to his home on 10 occasions.He argued that over a three-year period God, had exhibited a seriously negative attitude toward him, although details of just what divine mischief he had borne the brunt of were not mentioned in the report.Presiding Judge Ahsan Canaan denied the request, which he said was ludicrous, asserting the applicant needed help not from the court but rather from other sources.The report did not include a response on the outcome from any of the multitude of available spokespeople on behalf of the Lord.
In Gaza, deadly flames expose a very fragile standoff with Israel-After a fire kills 3 Palestinian children, Hamas points most of the blame at the PA. Plainly, it doesn’t want a new war… for now-By Avi Issacharoff May 8, 2016, 4:07 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
In one sudden and tragic moment on Friday night, discussion over the latest escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel was relegated to secondary importance for some residents of Gaza. Local media began reporting extensively on an incident in the northwest of the Strip, in the Shati refugee camp.Three toddlers from the al-Hindi family had perished in a fire in their home, caused by the candles lit in their room. The horror was reinforced by images of the three bodies that quickly spread across social media and on news sites that decided not to blur out the pictures.By Saturday morning, a vitriolic blame game between Hamas and Fatah was in full swing, with Israel also being connected to the incident.At the center of the stormy debate is the question of who is responsible for the continual power outages that led the bereaved family (like tens of thousands of other Gaza families) to light candles.The accusations began with members of the Hindi family themselves. On Saturday morning, they published pictures of some of the men in the extended family standing amid the rubble of what was left of the house, holding portraits of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.On the pictures it was written “child killers.”The response from Ramallah came swiftly.Within a few hours, Jamal al-Muhsin, a member of Fatah’s central committee, said the Hindi family themselves were responsible for the deaths of the three children because they did not heed the instructions of the Gaza authorities, who urge residents not to leave candles burning in homes when dealing with power outages.Muhsin, who is considered one of the closest men to Abbas, also said that Hamas was responsible for the incident, because it does not allow the government of Hamdallah to operate in the Strip and deal with the power problem.Additionally, in an attempt to ease the criticism against the PA over the fire in Gaza, Abbas spoke over the phone to the father of the three killed children. Hamdallah also announced the family will be given a new house and some money.But the story doesn’t end there.At the funeral for the three children Saturday afternoon, Hamas’s Gaza head Ismail Haniyeh accused the government in Ramallah of strongly opposing a seaport in Gaza and refusing to “establish projects” to lift the siege — the security blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza, to prevent its Hamas terror rulers from importing weaponry.“Who bears the responsibility?” asked Haniyeh. “Who takes $70 million in taxes each month? Who insists on imposing a tax on fuel for the power station? Who refuses to extend the gas line from Israel to the power station in Gaza?” Haniyeh fumed, while noting that the PA’s shortcomings did not detract from “the crimes of the occupation” — i.e. Israel.At the heart of the power supply dispute is an excise tax on fuel that comes from Israel via the PA. Hamas refuses to pay and demands the government in Ramallah pony up. The PA is paying for half of the tax now and says Hamas must pay the other half.Meanwhile, the power company claims that it does not have enough money to buy sufficient gas. One can guess, then, that the power outages will continue. And therefore, the residents of Gaza will continue to use candles for light.-Hamas and Israel: A love-hate story-Still, even as Hamas speaks out against the PA, it seems to be doing whatever possible to avoid another round of fighting with Israel, limiting itself in its response to Israeli tunnel-seeking incursions into the Strip and seemingly accommodating, however grudgingly, Israeli activity within Gazan territory.In recent days the Israel Defense Forces have operated just inside Gaza – in a strip of 150 meters from the border within Palestinian territory. Hamas was content with firing a limited number of mortars into open areas in protest.What it did not do was fire rockets at Israeli towns or to send out its special forces for a raid by land or by sea.During the days that the IDF operated within the strip, Hamas sent messages to Israel via Qatar, Egypt, the UN and others to say that it was not interested in another war. An agreement was indirectly created between the two sides — with the help of Egyptian mediators — under which Israel will leave this inside “perimeter” soon, Hamas will cease firing, and during the fighting Hamas won’t do more than fire a few perfunctory rounds.Practically speaking, in a manner that it would never admit to, Hamas thus signaled it would not go to war over the recent Israeli operations on the border. Even in Haniyeh’s weekly Friday night speech, routinely full of pathos and battle cries against Israel, the former prime minister chose this time to emphasize that Hamas does not want a war.Yet the cold status quo could change. Within Hamas’s military wing, some are demanding the group take violent action with an “opening strike” that they hope will eventually bring about the lifting of the siege of Gaza.There is also increasing support among ordinary Gazans for a new round of fighting, especially among those who have little to lose.One errant Israeli shell or Palestinian mortar, as I wrote here on Friday, will strengthen advocates for war in both camps. But a deadly accident, like a candle knocked over, can ignite the region just the same.
Bionic arms, dragon robot are hit at Jerusalem event-Israeli capital is first foreign city to host the Geek PicNic outdoor science fair, established in Russia in 2011-By Jessica Steinberg April 27, 2016, 1:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Tech lovers and nerds were in their element Tuesday, as the second day of a three-day outdoor science and technology fair in Jerusalem brought them into close contact with dragon robots and bionic arms.Geek PicNic, an event exported from Russia for the first time in its five-year history, has been brought to Israel’s capital for Passover, giving parents and kids visiting Sacher Park a novel way to fill at least some of the seven-day holiday.Event-goers swarmed around a massive metal dragon robot made in Russia and brought by ship to Israel, waited in line at the American-made “Hand of Man” to slip their hand into a robotic glove that crushed waiting cars, and sat on the grass in front of the stage, listening to a TED-style talk by a scientist in a white coat.It’s the first time the Russian festival, established by a handful of students in St. Petersburg in 2011, and later held in Moscow as well, has ever taken place abroad.Israel was chosen because it’s a place where startups and technology meet, and it made sense “philosophically,” said Nick Goreley, one of the original founders present at Geek PicNic Jerusalem-The organizers also sought a location that would have summery weather in the springtime, said Goreley, on a day that saw temperatures soar to 93° Fahrenheit as Israel was hit by a heatwave.It was producer Carmi Wurtman, a Jerusalem concert promoter who brings live shows and festivals to the capital, who thought Geek PicNic would be a good match for Jerusalem.After meeting with Goreley, Wurtman visited his first Geek PicNic in Moscow and agreed to host the event in Jerusalem, getting the municipality to co-sponsor what he hopes will become an annual event.That’s an enticing thought for Goreley, he said.The 26-year-old Russian entrepreneur said he and his partners came up with the first Geek Picnic in 2011, “just for fun.” They were more focused their second year and drew around 7,000 visitors with master classes and TED-style lectures, as well as a job fair for programmers. They receive no government support for the festival, said Goreley.The festival, said Wurtman, evokes elements of the annual American desert events of Burning Man and Coachella, bringing together creative types and iconoclasts from the technology and science worlds.Sacher Park was divided into areas of interest, such as drones, space, bionic parts and 3D printing, and offered a geek paradise in the form of a market selling items such as Star Wars and The Hobbit memorabilia, thought games and science experiment kits. There was also a gaming area and a fashion market that explored at how technology is changing the clothing industry.There were morning and evening events, with guests like “bionic” drummer Jason Barnes, who performs with his robotic arm, an electric lightning show, and a pair of warriors who dueled each other with lightning bolts.“It’s the Midburn of tech events,” said Wurtman, referring to the Israeli version of Nevada’s Burning Man, held each June in the Negev Desert.According to Wurtman, over 35,000 tickets were sold for the three-day festival, although everyone present Tuesday afternoon was from Intel Israel, a sponsor of the event.The best part of the event, said Wurtman, is the connections made between the different creators, who came from Israel, the US and Europe.
Work-related deaths in Israel among highest in West, report finds-54 laborers died in accidents in 2015, and over 50,000 were injured, resulting in billions of shekels in state payouts-By Times of Israel staff May 8, 2016, 1:22 pm
The rate of worker deaths in Israel is among the highest in the West, and double that of the European Union average, according to the findings of a new Economics Ministry and National Insurance Institute report published Sunday.Laborer deaths are on the rise when examined in five-year increments, the report said, and Israel’s 13.2 per 100,000 workers in 2013 was higher than the EU and United States. Most of the deaths are foreign laborers, the report found.In 2015, 54 laborers died in work accidents — 34 of whom were working on construction sites — and over 50,000 workers were injured. Most of the construction workers, 21 of the 34 who died, fell to their deaths.According to a Haaretz report in April, 15 workers died in work-related accidents in the first quarter of 2016. The Economy Ministry found that in half the cases, there were no sanctions imposed on contractors following worker deaths, according to the report.The state paid over NIS 4.5 billion in 2015 for workers’ compensation due to injury, amounting to over two million workdays and at the expense of billions to the national economy, the Economy Ministry said.The report’s findings “require concerted efforts to reduce work-related injuries in Israel,” head of the Economy Ministry’s safety administration told Haaretz, calling for greater cooperation to prevent accidents.On Sunday, hours after the report was published, a worker in a Dimona factory was taken to a hospital in serious condition after a heavy object fell on him, crushing his chest.Last week a construction worker fell to his death while working on a building on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael. The same day, a worker was injured when he fell three stories at a Holon building site.
