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
Congresswoman cancels Capitol Hill BDS event, denies prior knowlege-Office of Democratic lawmaker says it fired staffer who booked ‘first of its kind’ anti-Israel briefing-By JTA September 14, 2016, 7:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A US congresswoman whose office was set to sponsor the first conference in a congressional building backing the movement calling to boycott Israel has withdrawn her support, canceling the event.On Tuesday, the office of Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee told The Weekly Standard, a conservative news website, that the event organized by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation would not take place.The event, titled “What is BDS? A Capitol Hill Briefing,” was scheduled for Friday. BDS is an acronym for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Ads for the briefing, which featured activists in the BDS movement, said it would be the “first of its kind” on Capitol Hill. It was to take place in the Rayburn Building.Rooms in Capitol Hill office buildings must be booked through a member of Congress. Mike McQuerry, Jackson Lee’s spokesman, told The Weekly Standard that a staffer who was no longer working in the office had approved the booking in March, but that Jackson Lee had been unaware of it.McQuerry said that as soon as the congresswoman’s office was made aware of the booking, the office removed its name, effectively canceling the event.
Doctors: Peres showing improvement, still in serious condition-Former president to be kept sedated for at least another day; is responding to stimuli, opened his eyes-By Raoul Wootliff September 14, 2016, 5:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Former president Shimon Peres was showing signs of improvement Wednesday but remains in serious condition after suffering a major stroke a day earlier, according to doctors treating him at the Sheba Medical Center.Peres was still sedated and on a respirator, but was stable and has responded to stimuli, the head of the hospital told reporters.“After 24 hours of intensive treatment, I can say that although he is still in serious condition, he is stable and there is an improvement,” Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss said.“What I can say is that, even though we are still waiting, there is improvement and that is good,” he added.Rafi Walden, Shimon Peres’s son-in-law and personal physician, said that the former president is “responsive and understands what is being said to him.”Walden said Peres is under “relatively light sedation,” and will remain that way for at least another day in order to allow his body to rest.Earlier Wednesday, Walden warned that Peres had likely suffered permanent damage from the Tuesday evening stroke.Meanwhile, Peres’s daughter, Tsvia Walden, told Army Radio Wednesday that her father had opened his eyes.“Yesterday he could hardly move his hand and today he has a tight grip,” she said. “There is an improvement since yesterday, but this does not help us predict the future.”She said Peres “opened his eyes for several minutes.”After feeling unwell during lunch on Tuesday, Peres was rushed to the hospital in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan for medical tests. Initial blood tests revealed a chemical imbalance. After further tests, at around 7 p.m. aides and a nurse attending to him noticed a deterioration in his usually gregarious interaction with those around him.He said his head hurt, causing the medical team to suspect a stroke. He was given a CT scan at 8 p.m. that confirmed internal bleeding in the brain.The “massive intracranial hemorrhage” occurred in the middle of a typically busy day for the nonagenarian, who turned 93 on August 2 but has remained active in public life after a seven-decade career as a politician.Peres’s granddaughter on Wednesday said he seemed to be comfortable and not suffering.“I was at his side with the family and his excellent [medical] team most of the night and all morning,” Mika Almog wrote on Facebook Wednesday morning, in a post accompanied by a picture of her and Peres.“He slept. He seems comfortable, not suffering. I hope he is regaining his strength. The rest is unknown at this point,” she wrote.Peres is the elder statesman of Israeli politics, one of the country’s most admired symbols and the last surviving link to its founding fathers.Over a seven-decade career, he’s held virtually every senior political office, including two stints as prime minister and extended terms as foreign, defense and finance minister. He won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in reaching an interim peace agreement with the Palestinians.Long a divisive personality in Israeli politics, Peres finally became one of Israel’s most popular public figures in his later years.Earlier this month, Peres underwent surgery to receive an artificial pacemaker after he was diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm in July following a series of minor health scares.The implant was recommended by Peres’s doctors, including personal physician Walden, after he was diagnosed in July with atrial fibrillation.He suffered a mild heart attack in January and underwent a cardiac angioplasty to open a blocked artery. He had been hospitalized twice after suffering chest pains.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Kaine downplays presidential readiness amid Clinton illness-Deflecting health scare concerns, VP hopeful says his running mate’s energy ‘staggers me. I have a hard time keeping up with her’-By Will Weissert September 14, 2016, 7:22 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) — Tim Kaine’s role as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate means he’d be one heartbeat away from the presidency. Clinton’s health scare, complete with a widely-viewed video of her stumbling and being supported by aides after abruptly leaving a 9/11 memorial service in New York City, makes that fact more relevant to some — and a bit awkward.Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland found that out by offering what’s usually benign praise of any presidential running mate, telling an audience on Monday that Kaine was, “wonderfully prepared” to “be the president if that ever became necessary.”Asked the same day if there’s more pressure to prove he’s up for the presidency given Clinton’s pneumonia, the usually folksy and expansive Kaine was curt: No, he said, he absolutely does not think that. He did not elaborate.As Clinton recovers from pneumonia and prepares to resume campaigning Thursday, Kaine is emphasizing instead that her “energy staggers me. I have a hard time keeping up with her.”“She is working so hard, even pushing through. She got told, ‘Hey, you’re a little bit sick,'” Kaine told hundreds of supporters from the steps of the graduate library on the University of Michigan campus during a Tuesday rally. He characterized Clinton’s response as: “‘Well, I’m going to still go at it.'”Clinton’s illness could put more pressure on Kaine to look more presidential — instead of just relishing his usual role as political attack dog or top Clinton cheerleader. But Kaine can’t embrace that too much without calling unwanted attention to Clinton’s health.Clinton’s illness was on the minds of some voters as Kaine briefly visited Michigan, a swing state that he promised was “going to be close” between Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.Kim Clarke chatted with Kaine when the candidate popped into a coffee shop just off the university’s campus shortly before his Tuesday rally. Clarke told Kaine of Clinton, “it’s OK to be sick,” to which Kaine immediately responded that the illness wasn’t a big deal and Clinton would recover soon.Clarke, a 56-year-old who works for the University of Michigan, said afterward that when she heard about Clinton’s health problems “my first thought wasn’t, ‘Oh, Tim Kaine, what’s going to happen.” But she also said the stakes have risen for the Virginia senator.“You obviously want your vice-presidential candidate to be of the same timber as the presidential candidate because things happen,” Clarke said. “If that person were to have to step in, you’d want to know that they have similar leadership characteristics.”During a campaign stop later Tuesday at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, 21-year-old Will Dammann gave Kaine a student government T-shirt. Dammann said he normally voted Republican, but that he would support Clinton and Kaine in November because he doesn’t think Trump is good for the GOP.“He’s a very trustworthy person. He comes across as caring and assertive,” Dammann said of Kaine’s qualities as a potential president. But also said he didn’t think it would come to that: “I think Secretary Clinton is going to be fine.”Same goes for Alex Juntti, a 21-year-old English major at the University of Michigan who attended Tuesday’s rally after his Ancient Law class. He said he still sees Kaine as more of a Clinton campaigner-in-chief than someone who needs to prove he’s up for the presidency.“To me, this isn’t his audition for a potential presidency,” Juntti said.
Opposition MKs: PM’s frosty relations with US reduced military aid-Lawmakers say Netanyahu’s spats with Obama led to weaker defense deal than Israel could have secured-By Tamar Pileggi September 14, 2016, 7:07 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a new 10-year, $38 billion defense aid deal with the United States, saying his spats with US President Barack Obama were to blame for Washington’s refusal to dole out additional defense funding.Israel and the US finalized the 10-year defense deal on Tuesday, described as Washington’s largest aid package to any country in history, and were set to sign it on Wednesday.The new aid package will see Israel receive $3.8 billion annually — up from $3 billion — starting in 2019 and through 2028. While the defense package heralds an increase in aid, a number of reports said Israel had sought an additional $400 million for missile defense spending — which could have raised the total amount to more than $4 billion annually. However, the final figure was set without that provision.Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, charged on Wednesday that “the prime minister’s relationship with the White House and the way in which he handled the negotiations have caused billions of dollars worth of damage to the economy, security and to Israel’s defense establishment.”Shelah nevertheless hailed the agreement as “a testament to the strong ties between the US and Israel.”According to Zionist Union MK Erel Margalit, Netanyahu’s “personal and political interests” during the months-long negotiations was a “direct continuation of his conduct, which is harming Israel’s foreign relations.” Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, Margalit said the prime minister “must have forgotten the US is our natural political ally, not Russia or [Vladimir] Putin.”Former Likud MK Dan Meridor told Army Radio that Netanyahu should have leveraged the US-led nuclear deal reached with Iran and world powers to get increased military aid from Washington.“When it became clear that the Americans were going to sign an agreement with the Iranians, we could have pursued a different policy and gotten a better agreement,” he said.Netanyahu and Obama publicly sparred over the nuclear accord, with Israel arguing it posed an existential threat to the Jewish state and challenged its qualitative military edge in the region.Under the terms of the deal reached on Tuesday, Israel pledged not to seek additional funding from Congress for the next decade. The agreement also includes a provision curtailing Israel’s ability to spend the funds on its own arms industry over the next six years — a key area of dispute during talks. Washington had wanted Israel to spend a larger amount of the funds on American-made products. Currently, Israel can spend 26.3 percent of US military aid buying from its own domestic defense companies.The defense package, known as the memorandum of understanding, “constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history,” the State Department said Tuesday.The acting head of Israel’s National Security Council, Yaakov Nagel, who touched down in Washington on Tuesday, was to sign the agreement on behalf of Israel on Wednesday.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF dismisses Syria claim it shot down 2 Israeli aircraft-Army says planes safe, but confirms they were targeted by surface-to-air missiles during overnight bombing run in response to errant mortar fire-By Times of Israel staff and AFP September 13, 2016, 10:44 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Syrian state television said the Syrian army shot down an Israeli fighter jet and drone Tuesday morning, a claim swiftly denied by the IDF.The statement from the Syrian army said one aircraft was downed over the skies of the Syrian town of Quneitra, near the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, and the other, a drone, was shot down closer to Damascus.“Our air defenses blocked the attack and shot down the military aircraft in (the southern province of) Quneitra and a drone west of Sa’sa” in the province of Damascus, said the statement carried by state news agency SANA.The alleged achievement was highlighted widely in Syrian state media.The IDF in a statement confirmed it had been shot at, but said aircraft used to target Syrian positions overnight were safe.“Two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission overnight to target Syrian artillery positions,” an IDF statement said. “At no point was the safety of IDF aircraft compromised.”Channel 2 news reported on Tuesday evening that the missiles fired by the Syrians were launched well after the raid, as the Israeli planes were on their way back to base.Earlier Tuesday morning Israel’s army said it struck artillery positions belonging to the Syrian regime from the air in response to mortar fire that struck the Golan Heights Monday.The apparently errant mortar fire — the fifth such incident in just over a week — was recorded hours after a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States took effect in Syria at sundown Monday.The civil war in Syria has generated a number of spillover incidents over the years. Israel has said it holds the regime of Bashar Assad responsible for all errant fire, regardless of the source. The IDF frequently retaliates against stray missile strikes inside Israeli territory.Israel has also reportedly carried out bombing runs to keep advanced weapons from being transferred to terror group Hezbollah.Syria’s army claims the Israeli strikes are being used to help rebel groups, including Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, fight the regime.“This blatant attack comes in the framework of the Zionist enemy’s support of the armed terrorist groups in a desperate attempt to raise their morale after their heavy losses in the Quneitra outskirts,” the Syrian army’s Tuesday statement said, apparently referring to fighting in the regime-held town of Hader on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.On Saturday, too, a mortar shell exploded on the Israeli Golan Heights, prompting an Israeli retaliation. A military spokeswoman said the projectile was most likely unintentional spillover from the internal fighting in Syria. A short time later, the Israeli Air Force struck artillery targets belonging to the Syrian army, the army said.Hours later, a second mortar shell fired from Syria struck the Golan Heights. The shell exploded on the border, causing no casualties or damage.
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
Congresswoman cancels Capitol Hill BDS event, denies prior knowlege-Office of Democratic lawmaker says it fired staffer who booked ‘first of its kind’ anti-Israel briefing-By JTA September 14, 2016, 7:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A US congresswoman whose office was set to sponsor the first conference in a congressional building backing the movement calling to boycott Israel has withdrawn her support, canceling the event.On Tuesday, the office of Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee told The Weekly Standard, a conservative news website, that the event organized by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation would not take place.The event, titled “What is BDS? A Capitol Hill Briefing,” was scheduled for Friday. BDS is an acronym for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Ads for the briefing, which featured activists in the BDS movement, said it would be the “first of its kind” on Capitol Hill. It was to take place in the Rayburn Building.Rooms in Capitol Hill office buildings must be booked through a member of Congress. Mike McQuerry, Jackson Lee’s spokesman, told The Weekly Standard that a staffer who was no longer working in the office had approved the booking in March, but that Jackson Lee had been unaware of it.McQuerry said that as soon as the congresswoman’s office was made aware of the booking, the office removed its name, effectively canceling the event.
Doctors: Peres showing improvement, still in serious condition-Former president to be kept sedated for at least another day; is responding to stimuli, opened his eyes-By Raoul Wootliff September 14, 2016, 5:52 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Former president Shimon Peres was showing signs of improvement Wednesday but remains in serious condition after suffering a major stroke a day earlier, according to doctors treating him at the Sheba Medical Center.Peres was still sedated and on a respirator, but was stable and has responded to stimuli, the head of the hospital told reporters.“After 24 hours of intensive treatment, I can say that although he is still in serious condition, he is stable and there is an improvement,” Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss said.“What I can say is that, even though we are still waiting, there is improvement and that is good,” he added.Rafi Walden, Shimon Peres’s son-in-law and personal physician, said that the former president is “responsive and understands what is being said to him.”Walden said Peres is under “relatively light sedation,” and will remain that way for at least another day in order to allow his body to rest.Earlier Wednesday, Walden warned that Peres had likely suffered permanent damage from the Tuesday evening stroke.Meanwhile, Peres’s daughter, Tsvia Walden, told Army Radio Wednesday that her father had opened his eyes.“Yesterday he could hardly move his hand and today he has a tight grip,” she said. “There is an improvement since yesterday, but this does not help us predict the future.”She said Peres “opened his eyes for several minutes.”After feeling unwell during lunch on Tuesday, Peres was rushed to the hospital in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan for medical tests. Initial blood tests revealed a chemical imbalance. After further tests, at around 7 p.m. aides and a nurse attending to him noticed a deterioration in his usually gregarious interaction with those around him.He said his head hurt, causing the medical team to suspect a stroke. He was given a CT scan at 8 p.m. that confirmed internal bleeding in the brain.The “massive intracranial hemorrhage” occurred in the middle of a typically busy day for the nonagenarian, who turned 93 on August 2 but has remained active in public life after a seven-decade career as a politician.Peres’s granddaughter on Wednesday said he seemed to be comfortable and not suffering.“I was at his side with the family and his excellent [medical] team most of the night and all morning,” Mika Almog wrote on Facebook Wednesday morning, in a post accompanied by a picture of her and Peres.“He slept. He seems comfortable, not suffering. I hope he is regaining his strength. The rest is unknown at this point,” she wrote.Peres is the elder statesman of Israeli politics, one of the country’s most admired symbols and the last surviving link to its founding fathers.Over a seven-decade career, he’s held virtually every senior political office, including two stints as prime minister and extended terms as foreign, defense and finance minister. He won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in reaching an interim peace agreement with the Palestinians.Long a divisive personality in Israeli politics, Peres finally became one of Israel’s most popular public figures in his later years.Earlier this month, Peres underwent surgery to receive an artificial pacemaker after he was diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm in July following a series of minor health scares.The implant was recommended by Peres’s doctors, including personal physician Walden, after he was diagnosed in July with atrial fibrillation.He suffered a mild heart attack in January and underwent a cardiac angioplasty to open a blocked artery. He had been hospitalized twice after suffering chest pains.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Kaine downplays presidential readiness amid Clinton illness-Deflecting health scare concerns, VP hopeful says his running mate’s energy ‘staggers me. I have a hard time keeping up with her’-By Will Weissert September 14, 2016, 7:22 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) — Tim Kaine’s role as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate means he’d be one heartbeat away from the presidency. Clinton’s health scare, complete with a widely-viewed video of her stumbling and being supported by aides after abruptly leaving a 9/11 memorial service in New York City, makes that fact more relevant to some — and a bit awkward.Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland found that out by offering what’s usually benign praise of any presidential running mate, telling an audience on Monday that Kaine was, “wonderfully prepared” to “be the president if that ever became necessary.”Asked the same day if there’s more pressure to prove he’s up for the presidency given Clinton’s pneumonia, the usually folksy and expansive Kaine was curt: No, he said, he absolutely does not think that. He did not elaborate.As Clinton recovers from pneumonia and prepares to resume campaigning Thursday, Kaine is emphasizing instead that her “energy staggers me. I have a hard time keeping up with her.”“She is working so hard, even pushing through. She got told, ‘Hey, you’re a little bit sick,'” Kaine told hundreds of supporters from the steps of the graduate library on the University of Michigan campus during a Tuesday rally. He characterized Clinton’s response as: “‘Well, I’m going to still go at it.'”Clinton’s illness could put more pressure on Kaine to look more presidential — instead of just relishing his usual role as political attack dog or top Clinton cheerleader. But Kaine can’t embrace that too much without calling unwanted attention to Clinton’s health.Clinton’s illness was on the minds of some voters as Kaine briefly visited Michigan, a swing state that he promised was “going to be close” between Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.Kim Clarke chatted with Kaine when the candidate popped into a coffee shop just off the university’s campus shortly before his Tuesday rally. Clarke told Kaine of Clinton, “it’s OK to be sick,” to which Kaine immediately responded that the illness wasn’t a big deal and Clinton would recover soon.Clarke, a 56-year-old who works for the University of Michigan, said afterward that when she heard about Clinton’s health problems “my first thought wasn’t, ‘Oh, Tim Kaine, what’s going to happen.” But she also said the stakes have risen for the Virginia senator.“You obviously want your vice-presidential candidate to be of the same timber as the presidential candidate because things happen,” Clarke said. “If that person were to have to step in, you’d want to know that they have similar leadership characteristics.”During a campaign stop later Tuesday at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, 21-year-old Will Dammann gave Kaine a student government T-shirt. Dammann said he normally voted Republican, but that he would support Clinton and Kaine in November because he doesn’t think Trump is good for the GOP.“He’s a very trustworthy person. He comes across as caring and assertive,” Dammann said of Kaine’s qualities as a potential president. But also said he didn’t think it would come to that: “I think Secretary Clinton is going to be fine.”Same goes for Alex Juntti, a 21-year-old English major at the University of Michigan who attended Tuesday’s rally after his Ancient Law class. He said he still sees Kaine as more of a Clinton campaigner-in-chief than someone who needs to prove he’s up for the presidency.“To me, this isn’t his audition for a potential presidency,” Juntti said.
Opposition MKs: PM’s frosty relations with US reduced military aid-Lawmakers say Netanyahu’s spats with Obama led to weaker defense deal than Israel could have secured-By Tamar Pileggi September 14, 2016, 7:07 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a new 10-year, $38 billion defense aid deal with the United States, saying his spats with US President Barack Obama were to blame for Washington’s refusal to dole out additional defense funding.Israel and the US finalized the 10-year defense deal on Tuesday, described as Washington’s largest aid package to any country in history, and were set to sign it on Wednesday.The new aid package will see Israel receive $3.8 billion annually — up from $3 billion — starting in 2019 and through 2028. While the defense package heralds an increase in aid, a number of reports said Israel had sought an additional $400 million for missile defense spending — which could have raised the total amount to more than $4 billion annually. However, the final figure was set without that provision.Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, charged on Wednesday that “the prime minister’s relationship with the White House and the way in which he handled the negotiations have caused billions of dollars worth of damage to the economy, security and to Israel’s defense establishment.”Shelah nevertheless hailed the agreement as “a testament to the strong ties between the US and Israel.”According to Zionist Union MK Erel Margalit, Netanyahu’s “personal and political interests” during the months-long negotiations was a “direct continuation of his conduct, which is harming Israel’s foreign relations.” Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, Margalit said the prime minister “must have forgotten the US is our natural political ally, not Russia or [Vladimir] Putin.”Former Likud MK Dan Meridor told Army Radio that Netanyahu should have leveraged the US-led nuclear deal reached with Iran and world powers to get increased military aid from Washington.“When it became clear that the Americans were going to sign an agreement with the Iranians, we could have pursued a different policy and gotten a better agreement,” he said.Netanyahu and Obama publicly sparred over the nuclear accord, with Israel arguing it posed an existential threat to the Jewish state and challenged its qualitative military edge in the region.Under the terms of the deal reached on Tuesday, Israel pledged not to seek additional funding from Congress for the next decade. The agreement also includes a provision curtailing Israel’s ability to spend the funds on its own arms industry over the next six years — a key area of dispute during talks. Washington had wanted Israel to spend a larger amount of the funds on American-made products. Currently, Israel can spend 26.3 percent of US military aid buying from its own domestic defense companies.The defense package, known as the memorandum of understanding, “constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history,” the State Department said Tuesday.The acting head of Israel’s National Security Council, Yaakov Nagel, who touched down in Washington on Tuesday, was to sign the agreement on behalf of Israel on Wednesday.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF dismisses Syria claim it shot down 2 Israeli aircraft-Army says planes safe, but confirms they were targeted by surface-to-air missiles during overnight bombing run in response to errant mortar fire-By Times of Israel staff and AFP September 13, 2016, 10:44 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Syrian state television said the Syrian army shot down an Israeli fighter jet and drone Tuesday morning, a claim swiftly denied by the IDF.The statement from the Syrian army said one aircraft was downed over the skies of the Syrian town of Quneitra, near the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, and the other, a drone, was shot down closer to Damascus.“Our air defenses blocked the attack and shot down the military aircraft in (the southern province of) Quneitra and a drone west of Sa’sa” in the province of Damascus, said the statement carried by state news agency SANA.The alleged achievement was highlighted widely in Syrian state media.The IDF in a statement confirmed it had been shot at, but said aircraft used to target Syrian positions overnight were safe.“Two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission overnight to target Syrian artillery positions,” an IDF statement said. “At no point was the safety of IDF aircraft compromised.”Channel 2 news reported on Tuesday evening that the missiles fired by the Syrians were launched well after the raid, as the Israeli planes were on their way back to base.Earlier Tuesday morning Israel’s army said it struck artillery positions belonging to the Syrian regime from the air in response to mortar fire that struck the Golan Heights Monday.The apparently errant mortar fire — the fifth such incident in just over a week — was recorded hours after a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States took effect in Syria at sundown Monday.The civil war in Syria has generated a number of spillover incidents over the years. Israel has said it holds the regime of Bashar Assad responsible for all errant fire, regardless of the source. The IDF frequently retaliates against stray missile strikes inside Israeli territory.Israel has also reportedly carried out bombing runs to keep advanced weapons from being transferred to terror group Hezbollah.Syria’s army claims the Israeli strikes are being used to help rebel groups, including Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, fight the regime.“This blatant attack comes in the framework of the Zionist enemy’s support of the armed terrorist groups in a desperate attempt to raise their morale after their heavy losses in the Quneitra outskirts,” the Syrian army’s Tuesday statement said, apparently referring to fighting in the regime-held town of Hader on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.On Saturday, too, a mortar shell exploded on the Israeli Golan Heights, prompting an Israeli retaliation. A military spokeswoman said the projectile was most likely unintentional spillover from the internal fighting in Syria. A short time later, the Israeli Air Force struck artillery targets belonging to the Syrian army, the army said.Hours later, a second mortar shell fired from Syria struck the Golan Heights. The shell exploded on the border, causing no casualties or damage.
