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
FULL SPEECH NETANYAHU AT UN 2016-SEPT 22
http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Speeches/Pages/speechUN220916.aspx
Trump to Netanyahu: I’ll recognize undivided Jerusalem if president-Prime Minister meets Republican candidate at his Manhattan office, will sit down with Hillary Clinton later Sunday-By Times of Israel staff and AP September 25, 2016, 6:26 pm
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday that if elected president, he would recognize Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” of Israel.Donald Trump’s camp said the candidate and Netanyahu discussed a wide variety of issues, including Israel’s experiences in building walls, during a meeting between the two at the billionaire businessman’s office in Manhattan, New York. Trump vowed to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital, in the event he is elected.“Mr. Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism,” a statement from the Trump campaign read. “Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed at length Israel’s successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders.”“Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel,” the statement added.Trump also said the two discussed “at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other regional security concerns.”“Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State,” according to the release.The two convened for an hour and 20 minutes in Trump Tower, in Manhattan.Netanyahu’s bureau released a statement saying the prime minister “thanked Mr. Trump for his friendship and support of Israel.”“Prime Minister Netanyahu presented to Mr. Trump Israel’s stance regarding regional issues related to Israel’s security and its efforts to bring peace and stability to the region,” the prime minister’s statement read.Pictures released by the Prime Minister’s Office show the two shaking hands and smiling in Trump’s gilded home in the Trump Tower.Trump had seemed to suggest earlier in his campaign that he would not support military aid to Israel or other countries, but the statement seems to walk that back.“Mr. Trump agreed that the military assistance provided to Israel and missile defense cooperation with Israel are an excellent investment for America,” the statement reads.Present at the meeting with the two were also envoy to the US Ron Dermer and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew who advises the candidate on Israel.Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was expected to meet Netanyahu later on Sunday. Both meetings had the potential to set the tone for relations between the allied countries during the next presidential administration.Both meetings were closed to the press.Sources close to Netanyahu said he is meeting the candidates in their homes or offices because he appreciates they are busy ahead of the presidential debate, scheduled for tomorrow.Trump tweeted Sunday that he was “looking forward to” his meeting with Netanyahu at Trump Tower, where the candidate lives. In meeting both candidates, the Israeli leader was seeking to project neutrality this time after perceptions arose that he favored Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012.According to Israeli sources, the meetings were set up after the Trump campaign spoke to Netanyahu’s staff on Friday. Netanyahu’s office then reached out to the Clinton campaign in a bid to avoid the appearance of favoring the GOP candidate.A senior Israeli official in New York said Thursday that neither Clinton nor Trump had asked to meet with Netanyahu, according to a Bloomberg report.The one-on-one discussions will follow what was likely Netanyahu’s final meeting with Obama last week, capping what has been a sometimes rocky relationship between the leaders of the two allies.Trump has been a fierce critic of the Iran nuclear agreement and promised during a speech to AIPAC earlier this year that he would deepen ties between the two countries if he were elected president, adding the days of “treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one.” But he also raised eyebrows when he questioned Israel’s commitment to a peace deal last year and said he didn’t want to show any bias in favor of one side or the other.Clinton has supported a negotiated two-state solution in the region, vowed to enforce the Iran nuclear agreement and help defend Israel’s security. The former secretary of state suggested in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 earlier this month that the Islamic State group was “rooting for Donald Trump’s victory” and he had helped strengthen the hands of extremists by his provocative statements about Muslims.The meetings will also come after the US recently completed a 10-year, $38-billion military aid package for Israel. Clinton said in a statement that it would help “solidify and chart a course for the US-Israeli defense relationship in the 21st century as we face a range of common challenges.”Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
Trump adviser: Israel can annex West Bank and remain Jewish-David Friedman claims Israel would remain 65% Jewish even if it assimilated Palestinians in Judea and Samaria; official numbers tell a different story-By Times of Israel staff September 24, 2016, 11:36 pm
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s adviser on Israeli affairs has argued Israel could annex the West Bank while retaining its Jewish character, claiming that “the whole idea that we have to jettison Judea and Samaria to retain the Jewish characteristics of Israel is not true.”In a video obtained by Channel 2 News, David Friedman, during a recent meeting with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, said Israel would maintain its Jewish majority even if it made the 1.7 million Palestinians living in the West Bank Israeli citizens.Friedman noted that currently 75 percent of Israel’s 8.16 million citizens are Jewish. He noted that Jews were multiplying while “Arab birth rate has gone down.” He also claimed that “a lot of Arabs are leaving,” though he did not offer backing for this statement.Friedman asserted that “if you ask ten statisticians how many Arabs are living in the West Bank they couldn’t give you the right answer, because nobody really knows.“The bottom line is under most calculations if you took the entire state of Israel from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea and you annexed all of Judea and Samaria into Israel, the Jewish population would still be about 65%. That’s the conventional wisdom right now,” he said. He noted that this excluded the Gaza Strip’s population.“So the idea that if Jews somehow take control over Judea and Samaria it’s no longer a Jewish state, is not true. Those aren’t the numbers.”Friedman has said in the past that Trump would support Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and would likely back a complete annexation if Israel deemed it necessary.Current estimates of the West Bank population, according to Israeli, Palestinian and US numbers, put the number of Palestinians at anywhere between 2.7 and 2.9 million.Adding the more conservative 2.7 million to Israel’s current population shows the country’s Jewish numbers shrink from approximately 75% to 56%.Adding Gaza’s population of approximately 1.7 million — as it is unlikely Israel could secure international backing for a bi-national state that excludes the Strip — further diminishes the Jewish percentage to 48.
Prosecutor seeks 12-year jail sentence for teen stabber-Ahmed Manasra was 13 when he seriously wounded 2 Israelis last year in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood-By AFP and Times of Israel staff September 25, 2016, 10:00 pm
An Israeli prosecutor called Sunday for a 12-year jail term to be handed down to a Palestinian minor for stabbing an Israeli child in October 2015, his lawyer said.Ahmed Manasra, a 14-year-old Palestinian, was convicted in May this year of the attempted murder of two Israelis in a knife attack last October.He was 13 when he carried out the attack with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan Manasra.The two stabbed and seriously wounded a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.Hassan Manasra was shot dead by security forces, while Ahmed Manasra was hit by a car as they fled.Manasra’s lawyer Lea Tzemel told journalists after a hearing behind closed doors that her client had apologized “to the child he stabbed, who was present in court.”After his conviction in May, she said Manasra “said he just wanted to scare Jews so they’d stop killing Palestinians.”“The prosecution is demanding a 12-year prison sentence,” she said on Sunday.“We have requested a procedure of reintegration, given that he is a minor and minors have more rights when it comes to reintegration into society,” Tzemel added.Manasra, an East Jerusalem resident, was the youngest Palestinian to be convicted by an Israeli civilian court in the current round of violence.Early last month, Israeli lawmakers approved jailing children as young as 12 convicted of “terrorist offenses” following repeated attacks by young Palestinians.Since last October, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese were killed in a wave of Palestinian car-ramming, stabbing, shooting, and bombing attacks.Some 230 Palestinians and one Jordanian were also killed during that period. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead during protests or killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.The court is to sentence Manasra on November 7.
California Governor Jerry Brown signs anti-BDS bill into law-Newly approved legislation prevents companies that boycott or discriminate against any sovereign country from trading with the state-By JTA September 25, 2016, 9:31 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a measure that prevents companies that boycott or discriminate against any sovereign country, including Israel, from doing business with the state.Brown signed Assembly Bill 2844 on Saturday afternoon. The State Senate approved the bill by a vote of 34 to 1 on August 24, and the State Assembly passed it by 69 to 1 on August 30.An earlier version of the legislation banned the state from making contracts worth over $100,000 with companies boycotting Israel. In order to satisfy critics, who said it violated the constitutional right to boycott, the bill was modified to include reference to other countries as well.The approved version does not prohibit companies working with the state from boycotting Israel. Rather, companies have to certify that they do not violate California civil rights laws in boycotting a foreign country – including Israel, the only country mentioned by name – according to The Jewish Journal.“We commend Governor Brown for signing this bill,” said Janna Weinstein Smith, American Jewish Committee’s Los Angeles Regional Director, in a statement. “The bill sends the clear and unmistakable message that the state of California wants no part of the goals and tactics of the BDS movement. Thanks to this legislation, those who wish to target Jews and Israelis for discrimination will not be doing business with the state of California.”The Israeli-American Coalition for Action in a statement also praised the legislation, and praised the leadership of Assembly member Richard Bloom, who introduced the original bill; the California Legislative Jewish Caucus; and Assembly member Travis Allen, in passing the bill.
UN holds urgent talks as airstrikes pound Syria’s Aleppo-At meeting, France slams ‘war crimes’ amid heavy barrage by Syrian, Russian forces-By Carole LANDRY and Karam al-Masri September 25, 2016, 8:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council met for urgent talks on Sunday as Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held east Aleppo in the worst surge of bombing to hit the devastated city in years.Britain, France and the United States called the emergency meeting to turn up pressure on Russia and press demands that it rein in its ally Syria to halt the intense bombing campaign on Aleppo.“War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo,” French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters, adding: “They must not be unpunished and impunity is simply not an option in Syria.”“Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse in Syria, they have,” British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.“The incendiary munitions that are dropping on Aleppo are indiscriminate and a clear breach of international law — the barrel-busting bombs that are falling from the skies likewise,” he said.Residents and a monitor reported heavy air raids overnight and early Sunday on the besieged east of the city, which Syria’s army has pledged to retake.US Ambassador Samantha Power said more than 150 air strikes had hit the city over the past 72 hours. She accused Russia and Syria of launching an “all-out offensive” to re-take Aleppo.At least 115 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian bombardment of eastern Aleppo since the army on Thursday announced an operation to take it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The monitor said at least 19 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks and artillery fire.Residents said cluster bombs rained down on Saturday night on eastern parts of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege.“All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I couldn’t sleep until four in the morning,” said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar, who was out looking for bread in the Al-Kalasseh neighborhood.“Today the streets of my neighborhood are full of unexploded cluster bombs. One person was killed when he disturbed one and it exploded,” he added.“It tore him apart… it was an awful scene.”In the nearby neighborhood of Bab al-Nayrab, 30-year-old Imad Habush was baking bread in a small wood-burning oven outside his house.“None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread,” he said.“I don’t know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. We’re civilians here. We’re not carrying weapons, and we’re besieged. We have no way to escape.”Air strikes were continuing on the eastern neighborhoods on Sunday, the Observatory said, with at least 14 civilians, including two children, killed since dawn.Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.The eastern portion of the city has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages.A truce deal hammered out by Russia and the United States this month was meant to allow aid to be trucked into the east of the city.But the ceasefire fell apart before any assistance was brought in. And the army and its Russian ally have since pounded the eastern neighborhoods with a force that residents say is virtually unprecedented.More than 300,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed, and the latest bid by Moscow and Washington has virtually collapsed, despite ongoing talks to save it.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Saturday he was “appalled by the chilling military escalation” in Aleppo and warned that the use of advanced weaponry could amount to war crimes.The United States and its European allies said Saturday it was up to Moscow to save the truce.“The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts,” read a joint statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and European Union.“Patience with Russia’s continued inability or unwillingness to adhere to its commitments is not unlimited,” the statement added.But Russia has blamed Washington for the ceasefire’s failure, saying it did not uphold its commitment to ensure moderate rebels distanced themselves from jihadist groups like former Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.Syria’s foreign minister said Saturday that his government was confident of “victory” with support from “true friends” including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah.“Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab army is making great strides in its war against terrorism,” Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly.But on the ground, the army was pushed back from the strategic Handarat camp north of Aleppo city that they captured on Saturday, the Observatory said.
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
FULL SPEECH NETANYAHU AT UN 2016-SEPT 22
http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Speeches/Pages/speechUN220916.aspx
Trump to Netanyahu: I’ll recognize undivided Jerusalem if president-Prime Minister meets Republican candidate at his Manhattan office, will sit down with Hillary Clinton later Sunday-By Times of Israel staff and AP September 25, 2016, 6:26 pm
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday that if elected president, he would recognize Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” of Israel.Donald Trump’s camp said the candidate and Netanyahu discussed a wide variety of issues, including Israel’s experiences in building walls, during a meeting between the two at the billionaire businessman’s office in Manhattan, New York. Trump vowed to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital, in the event he is elected.“Mr. Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism,” a statement from the Trump campaign read. “Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed at length Israel’s successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders.”“Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel,” the statement added.Trump also said the two discussed “at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other regional security concerns.”“Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State,” according to the release.The two convened for an hour and 20 minutes in Trump Tower, in Manhattan.Netanyahu’s bureau released a statement saying the prime minister “thanked Mr. Trump for his friendship and support of Israel.”“Prime Minister Netanyahu presented to Mr. Trump Israel’s stance regarding regional issues related to Israel’s security and its efforts to bring peace and stability to the region,” the prime minister’s statement read.Pictures released by the Prime Minister’s Office show the two shaking hands and smiling in Trump’s gilded home in the Trump Tower.Trump had seemed to suggest earlier in his campaign that he would not support military aid to Israel or other countries, but the statement seems to walk that back.“Mr. Trump agreed that the military assistance provided to Israel and missile defense cooperation with Israel are an excellent investment for America,” the statement reads.Present at the meeting with the two were also envoy to the US Ron Dermer and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew who advises the candidate on Israel.Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was expected to meet Netanyahu later on Sunday. Both meetings had the potential to set the tone for relations between the allied countries during the next presidential administration.Both meetings were closed to the press.Sources close to Netanyahu said he is meeting the candidates in their homes or offices because he appreciates they are busy ahead of the presidential debate, scheduled for tomorrow.Trump tweeted Sunday that he was “looking forward to” his meeting with Netanyahu at Trump Tower, where the candidate lives. In meeting both candidates, the Israeli leader was seeking to project neutrality this time after perceptions arose that he favored Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012.According to Israeli sources, the meetings were set up after the Trump campaign spoke to Netanyahu’s staff on Friday. Netanyahu’s office then reached out to the Clinton campaign in a bid to avoid the appearance of favoring the GOP candidate.A senior Israeli official in New York said Thursday that neither Clinton nor Trump had asked to meet with Netanyahu, according to a Bloomberg report.The one-on-one discussions will follow what was likely Netanyahu’s final meeting with Obama last week, capping what has been a sometimes rocky relationship between the leaders of the two allies.Trump has been a fierce critic of the Iran nuclear agreement and promised during a speech to AIPAC earlier this year that he would deepen ties between the two countries if he were elected president, adding the days of “treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one.” But he also raised eyebrows when he questioned Israel’s commitment to a peace deal last year and said he didn’t want to show any bias in favor of one side or the other.Clinton has supported a negotiated two-state solution in the region, vowed to enforce the Iran nuclear agreement and help defend Israel’s security. The former secretary of state suggested in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 earlier this month that the Islamic State group was “rooting for Donald Trump’s victory” and he had helped strengthen the hands of extremists by his provocative statements about Muslims.The meetings will also come after the US recently completed a 10-year, $38-billion military aid package for Israel. Clinton said in a statement that it would help “solidify and chart a course for the US-Israeli defense relationship in the 21st century as we face a range of common challenges.”Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
Trump adviser: Israel can annex West Bank and remain Jewish-David Friedman claims Israel would remain 65% Jewish even if it assimilated Palestinians in Judea and Samaria; official numbers tell a different story-By Times of Israel staff September 24, 2016, 11:36 pm
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s adviser on Israeli affairs has argued Israel could annex the West Bank while retaining its Jewish character, claiming that “the whole idea that we have to jettison Judea and Samaria to retain the Jewish characteristics of Israel is not true.”In a video obtained by Channel 2 News, David Friedman, during a recent meeting with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, said Israel would maintain its Jewish majority even if it made the 1.7 million Palestinians living in the West Bank Israeli citizens.Friedman noted that currently 75 percent of Israel’s 8.16 million citizens are Jewish. He noted that Jews were multiplying while “Arab birth rate has gone down.” He also claimed that “a lot of Arabs are leaving,” though he did not offer backing for this statement.Friedman asserted that “if you ask ten statisticians how many Arabs are living in the West Bank they couldn’t give you the right answer, because nobody really knows.“The bottom line is under most calculations if you took the entire state of Israel from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea and you annexed all of Judea and Samaria into Israel, the Jewish population would still be about 65%. That’s the conventional wisdom right now,” he said. He noted that this excluded the Gaza Strip’s population.“So the idea that if Jews somehow take control over Judea and Samaria it’s no longer a Jewish state, is not true. Those aren’t the numbers.”Friedman has said in the past that Trump would support Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and would likely back a complete annexation if Israel deemed it necessary.Current estimates of the West Bank population, according to Israeli, Palestinian and US numbers, put the number of Palestinians at anywhere between 2.7 and 2.9 million.Adding the more conservative 2.7 million to Israel’s current population shows the country’s Jewish numbers shrink from approximately 75% to 56%.Adding Gaza’s population of approximately 1.7 million — as it is unlikely Israel could secure international backing for a bi-national state that excludes the Strip — further diminishes the Jewish percentage to 48.
Prosecutor seeks 12-year jail sentence for teen stabber-Ahmed Manasra was 13 when he seriously wounded 2 Israelis last year in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood-By AFP and Times of Israel staff September 25, 2016, 10:00 pm
An Israeli prosecutor called Sunday for a 12-year jail term to be handed down to a Palestinian minor for stabbing an Israeli child in October 2015, his lawyer said.Ahmed Manasra, a 14-year-old Palestinian, was convicted in May this year of the attempted murder of two Israelis in a knife attack last October.He was 13 when he carried out the attack with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan Manasra.The two stabbed and seriously wounded a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.Hassan Manasra was shot dead by security forces, while Ahmed Manasra was hit by a car as they fled.Manasra’s lawyer Lea Tzemel told journalists after a hearing behind closed doors that her client had apologized “to the child he stabbed, who was present in court.”After his conviction in May, she said Manasra “said he just wanted to scare Jews so they’d stop killing Palestinians.”“The prosecution is demanding a 12-year prison sentence,” she said on Sunday.“We have requested a procedure of reintegration, given that he is a minor and minors have more rights when it comes to reintegration into society,” Tzemel added.Manasra, an East Jerusalem resident, was the youngest Palestinian to be convicted by an Israeli civilian court in the current round of violence.Early last month, Israeli lawmakers approved jailing children as young as 12 convicted of “terrorist offenses” following repeated attacks by young Palestinians.Since last October, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese were killed in a wave of Palestinian car-ramming, stabbing, shooting, and bombing attacks.Some 230 Palestinians and one Jordanian were also killed during that period. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead during protests or killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.The court is to sentence Manasra on November 7.
California Governor Jerry Brown signs anti-BDS bill into law-Newly approved legislation prevents companies that boycott or discriminate against any sovereign country from trading with the state-By JTA September 25, 2016, 9:31 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a measure that prevents companies that boycott or discriminate against any sovereign country, including Israel, from doing business with the state.Brown signed Assembly Bill 2844 on Saturday afternoon. The State Senate approved the bill by a vote of 34 to 1 on August 24, and the State Assembly passed it by 69 to 1 on August 30.An earlier version of the legislation banned the state from making contracts worth over $100,000 with companies boycotting Israel. In order to satisfy critics, who said it violated the constitutional right to boycott, the bill was modified to include reference to other countries as well.The approved version does not prohibit companies working with the state from boycotting Israel. Rather, companies have to certify that they do not violate California civil rights laws in boycotting a foreign country – including Israel, the only country mentioned by name – according to The Jewish Journal.“We commend Governor Brown for signing this bill,” said Janna Weinstein Smith, American Jewish Committee’s Los Angeles Regional Director, in a statement. “The bill sends the clear and unmistakable message that the state of California wants no part of the goals and tactics of the BDS movement. Thanks to this legislation, those who wish to target Jews and Israelis for discrimination will not be doing business with the state of California.”The Israeli-American Coalition for Action in a statement also praised the legislation, and praised the leadership of Assembly member Richard Bloom, who introduced the original bill; the California Legislative Jewish Caucus; and Assembly member Travis Allen, in passing the bill.
UN holds urgent talks as airstrikes pound Syria’s Aleppo-At meeting, France slams ‘war crimes’ amid heavy barrage by Syrian, Russian forces-By Carole LANDRY and Karam al-Masri September 25, 2016, 8:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council met for urgent talks on Sunday as Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held east Aleppo in the worst surge of bombing to hit the devastated city in years.Britain, France and the United States called the emergency meeting to turn up pressure on Russia and press demands that it rein in its ally Syria to halt the intense bombing campaign on Aleppo.“War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo,” French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters, adding: “They must not be unpunished and impunity is simply not an option in Syria.”“Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse in Syria, they have,” British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.“The incendiary munitions that are dropping on Aleppo are indiscriminate and a clear breach of international law — the barrel-busting bombs that are falling from the skies likewise,” he said.Residents and a monitor reported heavy air raids overnight and early Sunday on the besieged east of the city, which Syria’s army has pledged to retake.US Ambassador Samantha Power said more than 150 air strikes had hit the city over the past 72 hours. She accused Russia and Syria of launching an “all-out offensive” to re-take Aleppo.At least 115 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian bombardment of eastern Aleppo since the army on Thursday announced an operation to take it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The monitor said at least 19 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks and artillery fire.Residents said cluster bombs rained down on Saturday night on eastern parts of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege.“All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I couldn’t sleep until four in the morning,” said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar, who was out looking for bread in the Al-Kalasseh neighborhood.“Today the streets of my neighborhood are full of unexploded cluster bombs. One person was killed when he disturbed one and it exploded,” he added.“It tore him apart… it was an awful scene.”In the nearby neighborhood of Bab al-Nayrab, 30-year-old Imad Habush was baking bread in a small wood-burning oven outside his house.“None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread,” he said.“I don’t know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. We’re civilians here. We’re not carrying weapons, and we’re besieged. We have no way to escape.”Air strikes were continuing on the eastern neighborhoods on Sunday, the Observatory said, with at least 14 civilians, including two children, killed since dawn.Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.The eastern portion of the city has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages.A truce deal hammered out by Russia and the United States this month was meant to allow aid to be trucked into the east of the city.But the ceasefire fell apart before any assistance was brought in. And the army and its Russian ally have since pounded the eastern neighborhoods with a force that residents say is virtually unprecedented.More than 300,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed, and the latest bid by Moscow and Washington has virtually collapsed, despite ongoing talks to save it.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Saturday he was “appalled by the chilling military escalation” in Aleppo and warned that the use of advanced weaponry could amount to war crimes.The United States and its European allies said Saturday it was up to Moscow to save the truce.“The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts,” read a joint statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and European Union.“Patience with Russia’s continued inability or unwillingness to adhere to its commitments is not unlimited,” the statement added.But Russia has blamed Washington for the ceasefire’s failure, saying it did not uphold its commitment to ensure moderate rebels distanced themselves from jihadist groups like former Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.Syria’s foreign minister said Saturday that his government was confident of “victory” with support from “true friends” including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah.“Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab army is making great strides in its war against terrorism,” Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly.But on the ground, the army was pushed back from the strategic Handarat camp north of Aleppo city that they captured on Saturday, the Observatory said.
