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
Shin Bet: Hamas bringing weapons, rocket-making material into Gaza-Palestinian arrested by Navy dishes on naval smuggling; Israel says terror group ‘taking advantage’ of eased blockade-By Judah Ari Gross May 16, 2016, 5:15 pm-the times of israel
The Israeli Navy arrested off the coast of Gaza last month a Hamas-affiliated smuggler who is accused of bringing weapons and illegal building materials into the Strip, the Shin Bet revealed Monday.Salim Jamal Hassan Naman, a resident of the al-Shati refugee camp, admitted to interrogators that he’d been involved in a naval smuggling operation for some time and had helped bring in weaponry and “materials used in the production of rockets, like fiberglass resin,” the security service said.The Shin Bet accused Hamas of “taking advantage” of a recent change in policy concerning the blockade on the coastal Strip. In April, the Defense Ministry extended the permitted distance from the coast for Gazan boats to nine nautical miles, up from the previous six miles.Naman, 39, was picked up by IDF sailors in April after his boat “deviated from the approved sailing area,” the Shin Bet wrote in a statement.After his arrest, Naman was handed over to the Shin Bet for further questioning, where he provided his interrogators with information regarding Hamas’s smuggling operations and attack strategies.Though Naman was most closely affiliated with the Hamas terror organization, he told investigators the smuggling ring brought weapons to a variety of terror groups in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet said.He also gave additional information on the terror group’s methods of using dedicated smugglers as well as Gaza fishermen to bring contraband to and from Egypt.Naman also gave his interrogators information regarding Hamas’s operational plans to use Gazan fishermen as a “camouflage” for their military actions, the Shin Bet said.“The information revealed in this interrogation, along with the interrogations of the other Hamas terror operatives who have been arrested recently, reveal another aspect of the numerous efforts made by Hamas in order to prepare itself for advancing its violent terrorist actions,” the Shin Bet said.“This time, it’s through taking advantage of the relief provided by Israel for the population of Gazan fisherman,” it said.
Army is subordinate to politicians, say PM, Ya’alon in bid to end row-Netanyahu and defense chief issue joint statement after ‘clarification’ meeting over generals being urged to speak out on ethical matters-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 2:48 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon appeared to move past a dust-up over controversial comments made by a top general and the resulting firestorm, releasing a laconic joint statement after a high-tension meeting Monday morning.“Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya’alon met this morning and clarified the matter,” read the statement, put out jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and Ya’alon’s office. “There is no dispute, nor was there ever, as to the army being subordinate to the political echelon, and officers are free to express their views in relevant forums.”The statement ended there, and spokespeople declined to comment further.The statement came after Netanyahu and Ya’alon met in Jerusalem following a verbal scuffle late Sunday over Ya’alon’s backing for IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen Yair Golan, who has been criticized the prime minister and other politicians for appearing to liken certain segments of Israeli society with pre-World War II Germany.At a speech Sunday evening before the IDF’s top brass, the defense minister urged army officers to speak their minds and ignore “political winds.” Officers should be “courageous not only on the battlefield,” Ya’alon said, “but also in the briefing room” when they believe the army or government were not taking into account the ethical ramifications of a decision.Golan’s speech was fiercely criticized by Netanyahu, who also reportedly scolded Ya’alon shortly afterward in a tense phone call.Netanyahu declared the Golan affair behind him last week, but on Sunday night summoned Ya’alon following his speech.“We thought this issue was closed last week. The prime minister wants to know why it was so critical for Ya’alon to reopen it now,” a Prime Minister’s Office official said.The Monday morning conversation was not a “reprimand,” the official explained, but only a “clarification.”Netanyahu seemed to understand Ya’alon’s comments as implying that uniformed officers were duty-bound to publicly challenge and second-guess the decisions of politicians.Ya’alon, who hails from Netanyahu’s Likud party, also took flak from other Likud ministers on Monday over his speech.“The state controls the army and not the other way around,” Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio Monday morning. “In any well-run democracy, army officers, like police officers, do not speak their minds and do not criticize the parliament.”Culture Minister Miri Regev accused Ya’alon of being confused, drawing charges from sources close to Ya’alon that she was a populist, Channel 10 news reported.In the Sunday night speech, Ya’alon also doubled down on his support for the army amid an ongoing public row over the manslaughter indictment of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who killed a disarmed Palestinian stabber in Hebron in March.“In recent months, we found ourselves fighting against an extremist minority, working in the field and on social media. Some have infiltrated mainstream [Israeli] society, clandestinely and in disguise, and are trying to influence the image and values of the IDF,” Ya’alon said in the address at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.The issue is not one of “right or left,” the defense minister continued. The army will not allow “trigger-happy [soldiers], revenge, or the loss of self-control,” he said.Turning to the IDF’s top generals, he instructed them: “Do not fear, do not hesitate, do not be deterred. Be courageous not only on the battlefield, but also in the briefing room. A good army is an army whose officers, junior and senior alike, feel safe in their ability to speak their minds at all times with the knowledge that they won’t be hurt,” he continued.“Keep acting in accordance with your humane conscience and moral compass, and not according to which way the winds are blowing,” he added.A late-Sunday statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu gives “full backing” to the IDF, but reiterated that Golan’s original comments about pre-WWII Germany, made during a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, were “inappropriate.”The prime minister “firmly believes that the comparison to Nazi Germany was an inappropriate statement, made at an inappropriate time, and caused Israel damage in the international arena,” it read.“IDF officers express their opinions freely, in the relevant forums and on the issues that are under their jurisdiction,” the statement said. “The IDF is the people’s army and must remain separate from political debates.”Shortly after his speech, which drew harsh responses from politicians, Golan clarified that he never intended to compare Israel to pre-war Germany.The debate over the army’s values has dominated the public debate following Azaria’s indictment and Golan’s criticism of Israeli society.Ya’alon’s remarks were praised by Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid on Sunday.“[Ya’alon] is right. the IDF is the most moral army in the world, but only because it engages in continuous, open and courageous discussion about its values and the dilemmas it faces,” he wrote on Facebook.“Officers may make mistakes sometimes, but thinking officers who make mistakes are preferable to officers who don’t ask themselves questions about values,” Lapid added.Kulanu MK Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, also backed Ya’alon, and said the “separation between the civil leadership and the military in Israel is one of the basic tenets of its democracy and it must be protected.”Last Wednesday, Israel’s Memorial Day, Ya’alon said soldiers must show restraint, uphold their values, and not “lose their heads” even in the heat of fighting. “Even in the difficult moments, when your blood boils and the rage is great, woe to us if we lose our way and our values,” Ya’alon said at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv. Ya’alon cautioned that excessive force was liable to lead Israel to “the abyss.”
Ex-IDF top officers back Ya’alon in tiff with Netanyahu-The group Commanders for Israel’s Security says military brass has the right to express independent views-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 5:26 pm
Some 200 former high-ranking IDF officers on Monday threw their weight behind Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in his spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was sparked by controversial comments made by the army’s deputy commander.Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group composed of ex-officers ranked brigadier-general or higher, issued a statement saying criticism of the army leadership is damaging to national security and that top IDF officers have the right to give their opinions when it is relevant to military procedures.“The ongoing attacks on the IDF upper echelon are harmful to our defense and to IDF values,” the statement said. “The damage must stop.“There is no question as to the authority of the political leadership to determine policy and as to the obligation of the military leadership to carry it out,” it continued. “But senior officers are supposed to give voice to their views on matters of national security and on everything connected to IDF values.”Netanyahu and Ya’alon have publicly been at odds over a speech by the defense minister in which he urged IDF officers to speak their minds and ignore “political winds.” Officers should be “courageous” not only on the battlefield, Ya’alon said at a Sunday evening gathering of the IDF’s top brass, but also in the briefing room when they believe the army or government are not taking into account the ethical ramifications of a decision.The remarks were a veiled reference to comments made by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan nearly two weeks ago, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, that apparently likened “certain trends” in Israel to pre-Nazi Germany.Golan’s speech was fiercely criticized by many, including Netanyahu, who also scolded Ya’alon shortly afterward in a phone call.“Independent thought by IDF officers is an important part of the national security of Israel,” the former officers said in their statement Monday. “The defense minister understood well the difference between independent thought and compliance with decisions.”Netanyahu declared the Golan affair behind him last week, but summoned Ya’alon for a Monday meeting following the defense minister’s speech the day before. Afterward, the two men issued a joint statement saying: “There is no dispute, and there won’t be any, that the military is subordinate to political authority and that officers are free to express their opinions in the relevant forums.”Shortly after his speech, which drew harsh responses from politicians, Golan clarified that he had never intended to compare Israel to pre-war Germany.
Liberman files defamation suit over leak accusations-Yisrael Beytenu party leader goes to court over claims he released draft version of controversial state comptroller report-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 6:14 pm
Yisrael Beytenu party leader MK Avigdor Liberman on Monday filed a defamation lawsuit for NIS 140,000 ($36,700) against Channel 10 reporter Or Heller over a report last week that the lawmaker had leaked a secret, damning report by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira on the 2014 war with Hamas in Gaza.In the suit, filed at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, Liberman declared that he wasn’t behind the leak and that “the deceitful report from Heller damaged his good name.”He also asked the court to force Heller to publish an apology for the accusation.If he wins the case, Liberman said, he intends to donate the cash to the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers.Channel 10 responded in a statement, “Or Heller published information citing senior sources in the defense establishment, who pointed at Mr. Liberman as the one who leaked the report. During the broadcast Liberman’s extensive response was aired.”Last week Liberman sent a letter to the TV station demanding Heller issue an on-air apology for citing a security official who said he was behind the leak to the Hebrew press.Liberman called the claim “libelous” and wrote, “Mr. Heller must publish an apology and a clarification that the allegations are untrue.” The letter said Liberman “reserves the right to pursue legal actions against Heller.”Heller had cited a senior security official who speculated that Liberman, who was foreign minister during the 50-day conflict, leaked the draft in an effort to discredit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.The official was also quoted as saying that Liberman, whose party has been in the opposition since the formation of the current Netanyahu government last year, was hoping to cause Ya’alon’s political downfall and then replace him as defense minister.Shapira, the state comptroller, asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate the leak and find out who had handed out the draft report to several Israeli journalists.The report accuses Netanyahu and Ya’alon of failing to update the security cabinet in real time of the imminent threat of war with Hamas, and of not discussing the grave threat of the terror group’s attack tunnels, according to Hebrew media sources who read it.But Liberman, the official quoted by Channel 10 said, was uninformed about the tunnels, as he was not present at cabinet meetings on the issue.Shapira has since sent the highly classified draft report to Netanyahu, Ya’alon and other government officials.Hamas, the terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since a bloody 2007 coup against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, has an extensive network of tunnels inside the Strip, including some that reach into Israel and Egypt. The tunnels into Egypt are used primarily to ferry goods and people, while the ones dug into Israel are designed for attacks.The destruction of the tunnels was cited by Israel as one of its primary goals during the 2014 war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. The IDF said it destroyed more than 30 tunnels during the conflict.AFP contributed to this report.
French groups sue Twitter, Facebook, YouTube over racism, homophobia-Lawsuit alleges social media giants failing to delete content deemed racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or defending terrorism-By AFP May 16, 2016, 6:59 pm-the times of israel
PARIS — Two French groups say they have filed a suit against Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for allegedly failing to uphold requirements to delete content deemed racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or defending terrorism.The lawsuit was filed on Sunday by the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) and SOS-Racisme, the organizations said in a press release.They referred to a survey carried out between March 31 and May 10 by their members and those of a third association, SOS Homophobie.In this “first mass test of social networks,” the groups uncovered 586 instances of content that was “racist, anti-Semitic, denied the Holocaust, homophobic (or) defended terrorism or crimes against humanity,” the joint statement said.Only a fraction of these postings was deleted by the host organisations within a “reasonable time,” as required under a 2004 French law: four percent on Twitter, seven percent on YouTube and 34 percent on Facebook.“It’s a mystery whether moderating teams in social media are actually working,” said Sacha Reingewirtz, president of the UEJF.Dominique Sopo, head of SOS-Racisme, said the social media giants were hypocritical.“These platforms seem more shocked about content with bare breasts, which is swiftly censored, than about incitement to hatred,” Sopo said.“Our legal step aims at getting the authorities to apply the law so that these organizations submit to it in full.”The suit has been filed under an article of the French legal code which requires a judge to issue a fast-track preliminary ruling in a complaint.The ruling may be the first step in a full judgment in the case, which can take months or years.
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
Shin Bet: Hamas bringing weapons, rocket-making material into Gaza-Palestinian arrested by Navy dishes on naval smuggling; Israel says terror group ‘taking advantage’ of eased blockade-By Judah Ari Gross May 16, 2016, 5:15 pm-the times of israel
The Israeli Navy arrested off the coast of Gaza last month a Hamas-affiliated smuggler who is accused of bringing weapons and illegal building materials into the Strip, the Shin Bet revealed Monday.Salim Jamal Hassan Naman, a resident of the al-Shati refugee camp, admitted to interrogators that he’d been involved in a naval smuggling operation for some time and had helped bring in weaponry and “materials used in the production of rockets, like fiberglass resin,” the security service said.The Shin Bet accused Hamas of “taking advantage” of a recent change in policy concerning the blockade on the coastal Strip. In April, the Defense Ministry extended the permitted distance from the coast for Gazan boats to nine nautical miles, up from the previous six miles.Naman, 39, was picked up by IDF sailors in April after his boat “deviated from the approved sailing area,” the Shin Bet wrote in a statement.After his arrest, Naman was handed over to the Shin Bet for further questioning, where he provided his interrogators with information regarding Hamas’s smuggling operations and attack strategies.Though Naman was most closely affiliated with the Hamas terror organization, he told investigators the smuggling ring brought weapons to a variety of terror groups in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet said.He also gave additional information on the terror group’s methods of using dedicated smugglers as well as Gaza fishermen to bring contraband to and from Egypt.Naman also gave his interrogators information regarding Hamas’s operational plans to use Gazan fishermen as a “camouflage” for their military actions, the Shin Bet said.“The information revealed in this interrogation, along with the interrogations of the other Hamas terror operatives who have been arrested recently, reveal another aspect of the numerous efforts made by Hamas in order to prepare itself for advancing its violent terrorist actions,” the Shin Bet said.“This time, it’s through taking advantage of the relief provided by Israel for the population of Gazan fisherman,” it said.
Army is subordinate to politicians, say PM, Ya’alon in bid to end row-Netanyahu and defense chief issue joint statement after ‘clarification’ meeting over generals being urged to speak out on ethical matters-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 2:48 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon appeared to move past a dust-up over controversial comments made by a top general and the resulting firestorm, releasing a laconic joint statement after a high-tension meeting Monday morning.“Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya’alon met this morning and clarified the matter,” read the statement, put out jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and Ya’alon’s office. “There is no dispute, nor was there ever, as to the army being subordinate to the political echelon, and officers are free to express their views in relevant forums.”The statement ended there, and spokespeople declined to comment further.The statement came after Netanyahu and Ya’alon met in Jerusalem following a verbal scuffle late Sunday over Ya’alon’s backing for IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen Yair Golan, who has been criticized the prime minister and other politicians for appearing to liken certain segments of Israeli society with pre-World War II Germany.At a speech Sunday evening before the IDF’s top brass, the defense minister urged army officers to speak their minds and ignore “political winds.” Officers should be “courageous not only on the battlefield,” Ya’alon said, “but also in the briefing room” when they believe the army or government were not taking into account the ethical ramifications of a decision.Golan’s speech was fiercely criticized by Netanyahu, who also reportedly scolded Ya’alon shortly afterward in a tense phone call.Netanyahu declared the Golan affair behind him last week, but on Sunday night summoned Ya’alon following his speech.“We thought this issue was closed last week. The prime minister wants to know why it was so critical for Ya’alon to reopen it now,” a Prime Minister’s Office official said.The Monday morning conversation was not a “reprimand,” the official explained, but only a “clarification.”Netanyahu seemed to understand Ya’alon’s comments as implying that uniformed officers were duty-bound to publicly challenge and second-guess the decisions of politicians.Ya’alon, who hails from Netanyahu’s Likud party, also took flak from other Likud ministers on Monday over his speech.“The state controls the army and not the other way around,” Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio Monday morning. “In any well-run democracy, army officers, like police officers, do not speak their minds and do not criticize the parliament.”Culture Minister Miri Regev accused Ya’alon of being confused, drawing charges from sources close to Ya’alon that she was a populist, Channel 10 news reported.In the Sunday night speech, Ya’alon also doubled down on his support for the army amid an ongoing public row over the manslaughter indictment of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who killed a disarmed Palestinian stabber in Hebron in March.“In recent months, we found ourselves fighting against an extremist minority, working in the field and on social media. Some have infiltrated mainstream [Israeli] society, clandestinely and in disguise, and are trying to influence the image and values of the IDF,” Ya’alon said in the address at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.The issue is not one of “right or left,” the defense minister continued. The army will not allow “trigger-happy [soldiers], revenge, or the loss of self-control,” he said.Turning to the IDF’s top generals, he instructed them: “Do not fear, do not hesitate, do not be deterred. Be courageous not only on the battlefield, but also in the briefing room. A good army is an army whose officers, junior and senior alike, feel safe in their ability to speak their minds at all times with the knowledge that they won’t be hurt,” he continued.“Keep acting in accordance with your humane conscience and moral compass, and not according to which way the winds are blowing,” he added.A late-Sunday statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu gives “full backing” to the IDF, but reiterated that Golan’s original comments about pre-WWII Germany, made during a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, were “inappropriate.”The prime minister “firmly believes that the comparison to Nazi Germany was an inappropriate statement, made at an inappropriate time, and caused Israel damage in the international arena,” it read.“IDF officers express their opinions freely, in the relevant forums and on the issues that are under their jurisdiction,” the statement said. “The IDF is the people’s army and must remain separate from political debates.”Shortly after his speech, which drew harsh responses from politicians, Golan clarified that he never intended to compare Israel to pre-war Germany.The debate over the army’s values has dominated the public debate following Azaria’s indictment and Golan’s criticism of Israeli society.Ya’alon’s remarks were praised by Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid on Sunday.“[Ya’alon] is right. the IDF is the most moral army in the world, but only because it engages in continuous, open and courageous discussion about its values and the dilemmas it faces,” he wrote on Facebook.“Officers may make mistakes sometimes, but thinking officers who make mistakes are preferable to officers who don’t ask themselves questions about values,” Lapid added.Kulanu MK Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, also backed Ya’alon, and said the “separation between the civil leadership and the military in Israel is one of the basic tenets of its democracy and it must be protected.”Last Wednesday, Israel’s Memorial Day, Ya’alon said soldiers must show restraint, uphold their values, and not “lose their heads” even in the heat of fighting. “Even in the difficult moments, when your blood boils and the rage is great, woe to us if we lose our way and our values,” Ya’alon said at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv. Ya’alon cautioned that excessive force was liable to lead Israel to “the abyss.”
Ex-IDF top officers back Ya’alon in tiff with Netanyahu-The group Commanders for Israel’s Security says military brass has the right to express independent views-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 5:26 pm
Some 200 former high-ranking IDF officers on Monday threw their weight behind Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in his spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was sparked by controversial comments made by the army’s deputy commander.Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group composed of ex-officers ranked brigadier-general or higher, issued a statement saying criticism of the army leadership is damaging to national security and that top IDF officers have the right to give their opinions when it is relevant to military procedures.“The ongoing attacks on the IDF upper echelon are harmful to our defense and to IDF values,” the statement said. “The damage must stop.“There is no question as to the authority of the political leadership to determine policy and as to the obligation of the military leadership to carry it out,” it continued. “But senior officers are supposed to give voice to their views on matters of national security and on everything connected to IDF values.”Netanyahu and Ya’alon have publicly been at odds over a speech by the defense minister in which he urged IDF officers to speak their minds and ignore “political winds.” Officers should be “courageous” not only on the battlefield, Ya’alon said at a Sunday evening gathering of the IDF’s top brass, but also in the briefing room when they believe the army or government are not taking into account the ethical ramifications of a decision.The remarks were a veiled reference to comments made by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan nearly two weeks ago, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, that apparently likened “certain trends” in Israel to pre-Nazi Germany.Golan’s speech was fiercely criticized by many, including Netanyahu, who also scolded Ya’alon shortly afterward in a phone call.“Independent thought by IDF officers is an important part of the national security of Israel,” the former officers said in their statement Monday. “The defense minister understood well the difference between independent thought and compliance with decisions.”Netanyahu declared the Golan affair behind him last week, but summoned Ya’alon for a Monday meeting following the defense minister’s speech the day before. Afterward, the two men issued a joint statement saying: “There is no dispute, and there won’t be any, that the military is subordinate to political authority and that officers are free to express their opinions in the relevant forums.”Shortly after his speech, which drew harsh responses from politicians, Golan clarified that he had never intended to compare Israel to pre-war Germany.
Liberman files defamation suit over leak accusations-Yisrael Beytenu party leader goes to court over claims he released draft version of controversial state comptroller report-By Times of Israel staff May 16, 2016, 6:14 pm
Yisrael Beytenu party leader MK Avigdor Liberman on Monday filed a defamation lawsuit for NIS 140,000 ($36,700) against Channel 10 reporter Or Heller over a report last week that the lawmaker had leaked a secret, damning report by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira on the 2014 war with Hamas in Gaza.In the suit, filed at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, Liberman declared that he wasn’t behind the leak and that “the deceitful report from Heller damaged his good name.”He also asked the court to force Heller to publish an apology for the accusation.If he wins the case, Liberman said, he intends to donate the cash to the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers.Channel 10 responded in a statement, “Or Heller published information citing senior sources in the defense establishment, who pointed at Mr. Liberman as the one who leaked the report. During the broadcast Liberman’s extensive response was aired.”Last week Liberman sent a letter to the TV station demanding Heller issue an on-air apology for citing a security official who said he was behind the leak to the Hebrew press.Liberman called the claim “libelous” and wrote, “Mr. Heller must publish an apology and a clarification that the allegations are untrue.” The letter said Liberman “reserves the right to pursue legal actions against Heller.”Heller had cited a senior security official who speculated that Liberman, who was foreign minister during the 50-day conflict, leaked the draft in an effort to discredit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.The official was also quoted as saying that Liberman, whose party has been in the opposition since the formation of the current Netanyahu government last year, was hoping to cause Ya’alon’s political downfall and then replace him as defense minister.Shapira, the state comptroller, asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate the leak and find out who had handed out the draft report to several Israeli journalists.The report accuses Netanyahu and Ya’alon of failing to update the security cabinet in real time of the imminent threat of war with Hamas, and of not discussing the grave threat of the terror group’s attack tunnels, according to Hebrew media sources who read it.But Liberman, the official quoted by Channel 10 said, was uninformed about the tunnels, as he was not present at cabinet meetings on the issue.Shapira has since sent the highly classified draft report to Netanyahu, Ya’alon and other government officials.Hamas, the terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since a bloody 2007 coup against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, has an extensive network of tunnels inside the Strip, including some that reach into Israel and Egypt. The tunnels into Egypt are used primarily to ferry goods and people, while the ones dug into Israel are designed for attacks.The destruction of the tunnels was cited by Israel as one of its primary goals during the 2014 war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. The IDF said it destroyed more than 30 tunnels during the conflict.AFP contributed to this report.
French groups sue Twitter, Facebook, YouTube over racism, homophobia-Lawsuit alleges social media giants failing to delete content deemed racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or defending terrorism-By AFP May 16, 2016, 6:59 pm-the times of israel
PARIS — Two French groups say they have filed a suit against Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for allegedly failing to uphold requirements to delete content deemed racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or defending terrorism.The lawsuit was filed on Sunday by the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) and SOS-Racisme, the organizations said in a press release.They referred to a survey carried out between March 31 and May 10 by their members and those of a third association, SOS Homophobie.In this “first mass test of social networks,” the groups uncovered 586 instances of content that was “racist, anti-Semitic, denied the Holocaust, homophobic (or) defended terrorism or crimes against humanity,” the joint statement said.Only a fraction of these postings was deleted by the host organisations within a “reasonable time,” as required under a 2004 French law: four percent on Twitter, seven percent on YouTube and 34 percent on Facebook.“It’s a mystery whether moderating teams in social media are actually working,” said Sacha Reingewirtz, president of the UEJF.Dominique Sopo, head of SOS-Racisme, said the social media giants were hypocritical.“These platforms seem more shocked about content with bare breasts, which is swiftly censored, than about incitement to hatred,” Sopo said.“Our legal step aims at getting the authorities to apply the law so that these organizations submit to it in full.”The suit has been filed under an article of the French legal code which requires a judge to issue a fast-track preliminary ruling in a complaint.The ruling may be the first step in a full judgment in the case, which can take months or years.
