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
Talks underway for possible pope visit to Israel to push peace — report-Francis may travel to region in the fall to advocate accord; advance delegation said expected next month-By Times of Israel staff May 26, 2017, 12:23 am
Israeli and Vatican officials have launched talks to discuss the possibility of Pope Francis paying a visit to Israel and the wider region in a bid to push peace between Israelis and Palestinians.A Vatican delegation is expected in Israel next month and is looking at three possible dates for a potential visit this coming fall, Channel 10 reported Thursday, citing unnamed Vatican sources.There was no immediate confirmation from the Vatican.The report came a day after the pope met with US President Donald Trump in Rome. Trump on Tuesday wrapped up a Middle East visit that included Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Saudi Arabia.In Israel, Trump indicated that he wants to pursue the “ultimate deal” and would like to help facilitate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former real estate lawyer Jason Greenblatt with charting a course forward. Greenblatt stayed on after the trip and has been holding follow-up meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.After his “fantastic” meeting with the pope on Wednesday, the US president vowed to pursue peace around the world.The pontiff has repeatedly called on Israelis and Palestinians to seek a peace deal, most recently in January.The pope visited Israel in 2014, embarking on a three-day trip that also saw him visit the Palestinian Authority.In Israel, he prayed at the Western Wall, leaving a handwritten note with the “Our Father” prayer written in his native Spanish, honored Holocaust victims by kissing the hands of several survivors, and accepted Israel’s request to pray at a memorial to victims of suicide bombings and other attacks.
In letter read out to protesters, Abbas says 'The time has come to live in peace, harmony, security and stability'-Thousands rally for peace in Tel Aviv amid renewed US efforts-Herzog calls for Kulanu, Yesh Atid parties to join ‘one big political bloc’ as left-wing leaders slam government’s diplomatic inaction-By Times of Israel staff May 27, 2017, 10:00 pm
Thousands of people participated in a pro-peace demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square Saturday to mark “50 years of occupation,” under the banner of “Two States — One Hope.”Estimates of the crowd size varied between 15,000 and 20,000. Organizers claimed around 30,000 demonstrators were present.At the protest, leaders of the Israeli left lambasted the country’s right-wing government and its policies and called for new, bold leadership that would take steps towards peace.Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called on the leaders of the Yesh Atid and Kulanu parties to “put ego aside and join together into one big political bloc” that could replace the current government. (Centrist Yesh Atid is in the opposition; center-right Kulanu is in the coalition.)“Together, only together… can we win, and come to power,” he said. Taking the stage, Herzog, whose leadership of the center-left Zionist Union will be challenged by several candidates in a vote on July 4, was met with audible booing from some in the crowd.Herzog spoke of the reported efforts last year to push forward a secret regional peace deal, which he has claimed were thwarted by Netanyahu’s political insecurities.“Not many months ago, Israel stood before a historic opportunity. We could have launched an unprecedented regional negotiation that would have boosted Israel’s security, that would have brought us out of isolation, that would have created and unprecedented regional coalition and would have led to peace,” he said.“And why was this opportunity missed? Because the leadership Israel has today is motivated primarily by fear — fear of change, fear of daring, fear of initiative and fear of hope.”In a letter read out at the event, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: “The time has come to live — both you and us — in peace, harmony, security and stability.“The only way way to end the conflict and the fight against terror in the region and the world is a two-state solution based on the June 1967 borders, Palestine by Israel’s side,” Abbas said in the note. “Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave.”Meretz leader Zehava Galon said Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu is lying when tells us, for a decade now, that he can manage the conflict. That ‘there is no other choice’ and ‘no partner.’ He plays the victim, shows no courage or diplomatic initiative and flees from responsibility and risk-taking. This lie must be eliminated — because it is only meant for his political survival.“Despite Netanyahu’s lies, the Israeli public supports compromise, ending the occupation and says yes to two states for two peoples,” she added.Peace Now Director-General Avi Buskila said 50 years of pro-settlement policies were “endangering our future and burying the Zionist dream” while undermining Israeli democracy.“For years we have allowed a hollow, irresponsible and out-of-control leadership to push us into the abyss,” Buskila said. “Today we are putting an end to it… today we, the citizens of democratic Israel, rise from the trenches to defend our home.“This is the time to illustrate to Israelis, to the Palestinians and to the world that a large portion of the Israeli public opposes the occupation and seeks to arrive at a two-state solution,” said Buskila. “A clear message will come out of Rabin Square: Yes to hope, yes to two states, no to occupation, no to annexation, and yes to a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint (Arab) List, said “I chose to be here today, because I believe we must find a way to fight together.“Now, in the face of the increasingly radical right-wing government, a government that uses minorities as a punching bag, a government that incites again and again… now, in the face of annexation plots, and racist and anti-democratic legislation… we must form a public democratic camp around our common principles — with a clear call for the end of the occupation, for equality, democracy and social justice for all citizens.”Odeh said that for coexistence to be possible, “I must respect and accept your national identity. You must do so as well. This partnership can only be built from mutual respect and an acceptance of the identities of each and every one of us.”He added: “In order to bring about change, we need courage. We must have the courage to fight together for the future we believe in.”Channel 2 news reported Friday night that with US President Donald Trump pushing for peace progress, Netanyahu is again looking to widen his coalition by bringing in politicians from the center-left.The report said that Netanyahu and Herzog spoke by phone on the eve of Trump’s visit to Israel this week, and have arranged to meet in the aftermath of Trump’s trip. Herzog, who met with Trump briefly on Tuesday, has said repeatedly in the last few days that he would back Netanyahu — from outside the coalition — were the prime minister to push for substantive progress in peacemaking with the Palestinians.Netanyahu is working to broaden his coalition because he wants room for maneuver should direct Israeli-Palestinian talks resume, said the TV report, which was not confirmed.Ahead of the rally Saturday, Herzog denied there were any talks on the Zionist Union joining the coalition.“If there is a [peace] process and it is serious, ask me about supporting the initiative from the opposition, not from the government,” he said.The report coincided with a new poll showing more Israelis backing than opposing a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines. The survey showed Israelis supporting a two-state accord deal with the Palestinians, based on the 1967 borders adjusted to include the major settlement blocs, by 47% to 39%, with 14% undecided.Trump reiterated on his May 22-23 visit here that he seeks to broker an Israeli-Palestinian accord. While Netanyahu highlighted his skepticism about Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s readiness for a deal, he did tell Trump that “for the first time in many years — and, Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime — I see a real hope for change.”For his part, Trump was adamant in his final speech at the Israel Museum on Tuesday that Abbas and the Palestinians “are ready to reach for peace.”Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, who along with international negotiations envoy Jason Greenblatt has been tasked by Trump with relaunching the peace process, reportedly told Herzog on Tuesday: “We are planning to move fast in starting a diplomatic process in order to reach a deal.”Senior ministers were quoted in the Channel 2 report saying that it was clear that Trump will be pressing Israel for compromise, and that celebrations on the right because Trump did not refer to Palestinian statehood during his visit, and did not criticize the settlement enterprise, were misplaced. “We’re all dancing on the Titanic,” an unnamed top minister was quoted as saying.The Channel 2 report quoted Israeli ministers who met with Trump and his team saying that the US president and his key advisers drew three conclusions about peacemaking from their trip: That progress on the Israel-Palestinian front is central to progress elsewhere in the Middle East; that Abbas, with whom he has now met twice, is a viable partner; and that the notion that Netanyahu can’t make compromises because of the constraints of his right-wing coalition is false, since the center-left would support him.
On the following day,' Josephus wrote, 'the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set all on fire as far as Siloam'-Ancient war for Jerusalem echoes as stones and arrowheads uncovered-New findings on ancient street confirm 1st century historian‘s account of Roman routing of Jewish rebels in 70 CE-By Sue Surkes May 25, 2017, 9:38 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The remains of weapons used by Roman legionnaires and desperate Jewish rebels in Jerusalem in the first century CE went on display Thursday, with Israeli archaeologists linking the last battle before Jerusalem fell 2,000 years ago with ongoing celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification after the 1967 Six Day War.According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, an account by first century Roman-Jewish historian Josephus on the fall of Jerusalem is being confirmed by objects discovered on an ancient road that used to ascend from the city’s gates and the Pool of Siloam to the Jewish Temple, including the arms.“On the following day, the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set all on fire as far as Siloam,” Josephus wrote in “The Wars of the Jews.”Among other finds, archaeologists dug up stone ballista balls flung by roman catapults and arrowheads used by Jewish rebels behind barricades as the city fell to the Romans in 70 CE.“Josephus’s descriptions of the battle in the lower city has come face-to-face for the first time with evidence that was revealed in the field in a clear and chilling manner,” dig organizers Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi said in a statement.The road is currently undergoing excavation with funds from Elad — a right-wing non-profit organization, whose central project is the renovated City of David archaeological park, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls.The archaeologists have unearthed a 100 meter (328 foot) section of the road, which is paved with large stone slabs.Research indicates that the road was built after the reign of King Herod and possibly even during the rule of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death.Yuval Baruch, the IAA’s Jerusalem district archaeologist, said the aim was to excavate the entire street within five years.The dig began four years ago, resuming excavations undertaken decades ago by American and European scholars.
Cabinet to discuss $50 million improvement plan for East Jerusalem-Priorities to include investments in education, improved sewage infrastructure and more efficient trash removal-By Sue Surkes May 25, 2017, 11:57 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The finance and Jerusalem affairs ministries are to present a joint plan to the cabinet Sunday to improve conditions for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Channel 10 News reported Thursday.The first two clauses — costing NIS 180 million ($50 million) — will deal with the need for better education and for improved sewage infrastructure as well as for more efficient removal of trash.On Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin used the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification to call for immediate action to improve the quality of life in the predominantly Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, which are among the nation’s poorest.“We must take urgent care of East Jerusalem,” the president said. “We cannot sing songs of praise for a united Jerusalem while East Jerusalem, the area where 40 percent of its residents live, is the poorest urban area in Israel.”In a separate development, Channel 10 reported Wednesday that Israel’s National Security Council is considering a plan to transfer control of two East Jerusalem neighborhoods from the Jerusalem Municipality to a yet-to-be established local council.Despite being part of the city, Kafr Aqab and the Shuafat refugee camp are located on the other side of the security barrier and suffer from a dearth of municipal services.Under the plan, the two northern neighborhoods — which together compromise around one eighth of Jerusalem’s population — would be moved to a newly established local council that would remain under Israeli control and receive funding for municipal services directly from the state rather than through the municipality, according to Channel 10.While the report of the plan was welcomed by a number of left-leaning lawmakers, with opposition leader Isaac Herzog saying it would help “ensure a united Jerusalem with a Jewish majority,” the Jerusalem Municipality threw cold water on the idea, telling Channel 10 the establishment of a new local council would not “provide an answer” to the neighborhoods’ problems.
Norway demands PA return funds for women’s center named after terrorist-Oslo also calls for removal of country’s logo from facility honoring Dalal Mughrabi, says it won’t back future projects under current conditions-By Times of Israel staff May 27, 2017, 8:44 pm
Norway’s foreign minister on Friday condemned the Palestinian Authority for naming a women’s center in the West Bank, funded in part by the Scandinavian country, after a female terrorist.“The glorification of terrorist attacks is completely unacceptable, and I deplore this decision in the strongest possible terms. Norway will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists in this way. We will not accept the use of Norwegian aid funding for such purposes,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende said in a statement.Brende’s comments were made in reference to a new women’s center opened earlier this month in the West Bank town of Burqa. The center was named after Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre. Mughrabi and several other Fatah terrorists landed on a beach near Tel Aviv, hijacked a bus on Israel’s Coastal Road and killed 38 civilians, 13 of them children, and wounded over 70.Brende said that Norway had been unaware of the decision to name the center after Mughrabi. He demanded that the country’s name be removed from the center and that the funds it gave for construction be returned.“We have asked for the logo of the Norwegian representation office to be removed from the building immediately, and for the funding that has been allocated to the center to be repaid,” he said.He also said that Norway would no longer participate in similar projects until the country receives assurances “that nothing of this nature happens again.”“We will not enter into any new agreements with either the Palestinian Election Commission or UN Women in Palestinian areas until satisfactory procedures are in place to ensure that nothing of this nature happens again,” he said.Israel commended Oslo’s action, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon saying “Norway took the right step — a tough line against memorializing terrorists is an integral part of the international effort to eliminate terror. We recommend that the international community take thorough steps to check where the money it invests in the PA is going.”Norway’s rebuke of the PA came after the Norwegian branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem brought the matter to the country’s attention on Friday, the organization said in a statement, while thanking Brende for his “swift and clear” response.“The Palestinian Authority undermines the quest for peace in this region, and violates all standards of human decency, when it decides to glorify and perpetuate the despicable legacies of terrorists like Dalal Mughrabi,” ICEJ President Jürgen Bühler said. “The Norwegian government acted properly when it condemned this immoral action by the Palestinian Authority.”Palestinian Media Watch, which first brought attention to the naming of the women’s center, quoted a local village leader saying that “the center will focus especially on the history of the struggle of Martyr Dalal Mughrabi and on presenting it to the youth groups, and…constitutes the beginning of the launch of enrichment activities regarding the history of the Palestinian struggle.”The PA, UN, and Norway behind Palestinian youth center for women named after murderer Dalal Mughrabi https://t.co/B8uombUqMW pic.twitter.com/iL1DHR6FF3— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) May 26, 2017-In addition to the women’s center, the PA has named a number of events and facilities in honor of Mughrabi and the other terrorists who died during the massacre in a firefight with Israeli security forces, with Fatah repeatedly hailing them as “martyrs.”In March, Palestinian Media Watch reported that the PA named a youth camp in Jericho after Mughrabi.Last year on the anniversary of the attack, a Ramallah-area Al-Awael school for girls held the “Dalal Mughrabi Cup” in honor of the killer. The girls’ basketball tournament was also co-organized by the Al-Razi Cultural and Social Association, a Palestinian NGO that works with the Anna Lindh Foundation to promote “intercultural dialogue” and “build trust and improve mutual understanding.”Mughrabi was also honored by Fatah in March two years ago when the party, addressing Israelis on its Facebook page, told them to collect the body parts of murdered Israelis and leave Israel.“On this day, March 11, in 1978, Dalal Mughrabi and her companions declared the birth of the Palestinian Republic in the heart of the occupied territories. The enemy admitted the death of 30 Zionists in the operation, yet according to the reports the number exceeded 80 casualties… Retaliation after retaliation and the windstorms will not subside,” the Facebook post read.
In boost to IS, Libya jihadists Ansar al-Sharia announce dissolution-With Manchester, Egypt attacks linked to North African country, collapse of group responsible for Benghazi US embassy onslaught points to growing strength of Islamic State-By AFP and AP May 28, 2017, 4:07 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its “dissolution” in a communique published online on Saturday.Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in which ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.Ansar al-Sharia is one of the jihadist groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, in the chaos following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. They overran the city in 2014.East Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar earlier this month launched an offensive to oust jihadist fighters from their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.In its communique Ansar al-Sharia said it had been “weakened” by the fighting.The group lost its leader, Mohammed Azahawi, in clashes with Haftar’s forces in Benghazi at the end of 2014.Most of its members then defected to the so-called Islamic State group. Ansar al-Sharia later joined the Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi, a local alliance of Islamist militias.At its zenith, Ansar al-Sharia was present in Benghazi and Derna in eastern Syria, with offshoots in Sirte and Sabratha, western Libya. The organisation took over barracks and other sites abandoned by the ousted Kadhafi forces and transformed them into training grounds for hundreds of jihadists seeking to head to Iraq or Syria.But despite the group’s collapse, the Libya connection in the May 22 Manchester concert suicide bombing and Friday’s attack on Christians in Egypt has shone a light on the ongoing threat posed by militant Islamic groups that have taken advantage of lawlessness in the troubled North African nation.In addition to wide swathes of territory once controlled by Ansar al-Sharia, at its own peak, the Islamic State group controlled a 160-kilometer (100-mile) stretch of Libyan coastline and boasted between 2,000 and 5,000 fighters, many of them from Egypt and Tunisia.It is that Libya that the Manchester bomber, 22-year-old British citizen Salman Abedi, found when he and his family moved back from Britain after Gaddafi’s ouster in 2011.Monday’s bombing left 22 dead, including an 8-year-old girl, and was claimed by IS. Abedi’s brother Hashim has been taken into custody in Tripoli and, according to Libyan authorities, has confessed that he and Salman were IS members.In Egypt, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sent his fighter-jets to bomb militant positions in eastern Libya just hours after IS fighters shot dead 29 Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery. The military said the attackers were trained in Libya.Egypt also has long complained that weapons smuggled across the porous desert border with Libya have reached militants operating on its soil. It also has claimed that militants who bombed three Christian churches since December received military training in IS bases in Libya.
Tel Aviv City Hall lit with Egypt flag in solidarity with Copts terror victims-In first such gesture towards Arab country, municipality building shows Eagle of Saladin after 29 Christian Copts killed by IS gunman-By Times of Israel staff May 28, 2017, 1:36 am
The Tel Aviv municipality building was lit in the colors of the Egyptian flag Saturday night, in a sign of solidarity with Israel’s neighbor, a day after a shooting attack left 29 people dead near Cairo.The building has been illuminated in various flags following other international terror attacks — on Tuesday it was lit in the colors of the Union Jack after a deadly suicide bombing in Manchester — but the latest tribute is the first time the gesture has been made towards an Arab country.Twenty-nine people were killed Friday morning when a bus carrying Christian Copts pilgrims was shot at by masked gunmen in the Egyptian Minya province, south of Cairo. According to the Egyptian Cabinet, 13 of the victims remained hospitalized in Cairo on Saturday evening.The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.The attack drew immediate condemnation from Israel.Israel “strongly condemns the painful terror attack in Egypt and sends the condolences of the Israeli people to [Egyptian] President [Abdel-Fattah] Sissi and to the Egyptian people,” a Friday statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.“There is no difference between terrorism harming Egypt and terrorism harming other countries. Terror will be beaten more quickly if all countries work against it together,” the statement said.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also issued a statement condemning the attack, as did the Islamist terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.Writing on Twitter Saturday night, Tel Aviv Mayor Run Huldai said the decision to light the municipality building was meant to send a message that “those seeking peace will not rest until such horrific acts will end.”Tonight we light up the @TelAviv Municipality with the flag of #Egypt. Those seeking peace will not rest until such horrific acts will end. pic.twitter.com/ym2yiRZClz— Mayor of Tel Aviv (@MayorOfTelAviv) May 27, 2017-Egypt’s Copts, the Middle East’s largest Christian community, have repeatedly complained of suffering discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at hands of the country’s majority Muslim population.Over the past decades, they have been the immediate targets of Islamic extremists. They rallied behind the country’s general-turned-president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in 2013 when he ousted Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches subsequently surged, especially in the country’s south, traditionally Egypt’s Christian heartland.
Children saved from Nazi camps unveil monument to parents-Group saved by Sir Nicholas Winton opens ”Farewell Memorial’ replica of 1939 train door, with hands of infants on one side and those of parents on the other-By AP May 28, 2017, 3:08 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
PRAGUE (AP) — A group of the children saved by Sir Nicholas Winton from Nazi death camps has, some 70 years later, unveiled a monument in Prague’s main train station to honor their parents.The Briton arranged eight trains to carry 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia through Germany to Britain at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He died in 2015 at age 106.The children were sent to foster parents. Back home, most of their parents died in the Holocaust.The Farewell Memorial is a replica of a 1939 train door with the hands of children on one side and those of parents on the other.Milena Grenfell-Baines, one of those saved, said Saturday the monument was a belated expression of thanks.Winton was a 29-year-old London stockbroker in December 1938 when a friend asked him to go to Prague to help in the refugee camps. He decided to do more after seeing that the children of those considered enemies of the Nazis, who had annexed part of western Czechoslovakia, were not being cared for.When Winton returned home, he set to work by taking letterhead from the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, then typing underneath the words “Children’s Section.”He eventually wrung a promise from the British government to let the children enter the country, provided he had a foster home arranged for each one and upon payment of a guarantee of 50 pounds per child.Winton drew up lists of some 6,000 at-risk children and encouraged British families to take them in. He arranged trains from Prague to the Netherlands, then ferries to take the children across the North Sea.The children from Prague helped by Winton were among some 10,000 mostly Jewish children who made their way to Britain on what were known as Kindertransports (children’s transports) just before and during the first years of the war. Many never saw their parents again.
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
Talks underway for possible pope visit to Israel to push peace — report-Francis may travel to region in the fall to advocate accord; advance delegation said expected next month-By Times of Israel staff May 26, 2017, 12:23 am
Israeli and Vatican officials have launched talks to discuss the possibility of Pope Francis paying a visit to Israel and the wider region in a bid to push peace between Israelis and Palestinians.A Vatican delegation is expected in Israel next month and is looking at three possible dates for a potential visit this coming fall, Channel 10 reported Thursday, citing unnamed Vatican sources.There was no immediate confirmation from the Vatican.The report came a day after the pope met with US President Donald Trump in Rome. Trump on Tuesday wrapped up a Middle East visit that included Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Saudi Arabia.In Israel, Trump indicated that he wants to pursue the “ultimate deal” and would like to help facilitate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former real estate lawyer Jason Greenblatt with charting a course forward. Greenblatt stayed on after the trip and has been holding follow-up meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.After his “fantastic” meeting with the pope on Wednesday, the US president vowed to pursue peace around the world.The pontiff has repeatedly called on Israelis and Palestinians to seek a peace deal, most recently in January.The pope visited Israel in 2014, embarking on a three-day trip that also saw him visit the Palestinian Authority.In Israel, he prayed at the Western Wall, leaving a handwritten note with the “Our Father” prayer written in his native Spanish, honored Holocaust victims by kissing the hands of several survivors, and accepted Israel’s request to pray at a memorial to victims of suicide bombings and other attacks.
In letter read out to protesters, Abbas says 'The time has come to live in peace, harmony, security and stability'-Thousands rally for peace in Tel Aviv amid renewed US efforts-Herzog calls for Kulanu, Yesh Atid parties to join ‘one big political bloc’ as left-wing leaders slam government’s diplomatic inaction-By Times of Israel staff May 27, 2017, 10:00 pm
Thousands of people participated in a pro-peace demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square Saturday to mark “50 years of occupation,” under the banner of “Two States — One Hope.”Estimates of the crowd size varied between 15,000 and 20,000. Organizers claimed around 30,000 demonstrators were present.At the protest, leaders of the Israeli left lambasted the country’s right-wing government and its policies and called for new, bold leadership that would take steps towards peace.Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called on the leaders of the Yesh Atid and Kulanu parties to “put ego aside and join together into one big political bloc” that could replace the current government. (Centrist Yesh Atid is in the opposition; center-right Kulanu is in the coalition.)“Together, only together… can we win, and come to power,” he said. Taking the stage, Herzog, whose leadership of the center-left Zionist Union will be challenged by several candidates in a vote on July 4, was met with audible booing from some in the crowd.Herzog spoke of the reported efforts last year to push forward a secret regional peace deal, which he has claimed were thwarted by Netanyahu’s political insecurities.“Not many months ago, Israel stood before a historic opportunity. We could have launched an unprecedented regional negotiation that would have boosted Israel’s security, that would have brought us out of isolation, that would have created and unprecedented regional coalition and would have led to peace,” he said.“And why was this opportunity missed? Because the leadership Israel has today is motivated primarily by fear — fear of change, fear of daring, fear of initiative and fear of hope.”In a letter read out at the event, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: “The time has come to live — both you and us — in peace, harmony, security and stability.“The only way way to end the conflict and the fight against terror in the region and the world is a two-state solution based on the June 1967 borders, Palestine by Israel’s side,” Abbas said in the note. “Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave.”Meretz leader Zehava Galon said Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu is lying when tells us, for a decade now, that he can manage the conflict. That ‘there is no other choice’ and ‘no partner.’ He plays the victim, shows no courage or diplomatic initiative and flees from responsibility and risk-taking. This lie must be eliminated — because it is only meant for his political survival.“Despite Netanyahu’s lies, the Israeli public supports compromise, ending the occupation and says yes to two states for two peoples,” she added.Peace Now Director-General Avi Buskila said 50 years of pro-settlement policies were “endangering our future and burying the Zionist dream” while undermining Israeli democracy.“For years we have allowed a hollow, irresponsible and out-of-control leadership to push us into the abyss,” Buskila said. “Today we are putting an end to it… today we, the citizens of democratic Israel, rise from the trenches to defend our home.“This is the time to illustrate to Israelis, to the Palestinians and to the world that a large portion of the Israeli public opposes the occupation and seeks to arrive at a two-state solution,” said Buskila. “A clear message will come out of Rabin Square: Yes to hope, yes to two states, no to occupation, no to annexation, and yes to a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint (Arab) List, said “I chose to be here today, because I believe we must find a way to fight together.“Now, in the face of the increasingly radical right-wing government, a government that uses minorities as a punching bag, a government that incites again and again… now, in the face of annexation plots, and racist and anti-democratic legislation… we must form a public democratic camp around our common principles — with a clear call for the end of the occupation, for equality, democracy and social justice for all citizens.”Odeh said that for coexistence to be possible, “I must respect and accept your national identity. You must do so as well. This partnership can only be built from mutual respect and an acceptance of the identities of each and every one of us.”He added: “In order to bring about change, we need courage. We must have the courage to fight together for the future we believe in.”Channel 2 news reported Friday night that with US President Donald Trump pushing for peace progress, Netanyahu is again looking to widen his coalition by bringing in politicians from the center-left.The report said that Netanyahu and Herzog spoke by phone on the eve of Trump’s visit to Israel this week, and have arranged to meet in the aftermath of Trump’s trip. Herzog, who met with Trump briefly on Tuesday, has said repeatedly in the last few days that he would back Netanyahu — from outside the coalition — were the prime minister to push for substantive progress in peacemaking with the Palestinians.Netanyahu is working to broaden his coalition because he wants room for maneuver should direct Israeli-Palestinian talks resume, said the TV report, which was not confirmed.Ahead of the rally Saturday, Herzog denied there were any talks on the Zionist Union joining the coalition.“If there is a [peace] process and it is serious, ask me about supporting the initiative from the opposition, not from the government,” he said.The report coincided with a new poll showing more Israelis backing than opposing a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines. The survey showed Israelis supporting a two-state accord deal with the Palestinians, based on the 1967 borders adjusted to include the major settlement blocs, by 47% to 39%, with 14% undecided.Trump reiterated on his May 22-23 visit here that he seeks to broker an Israeli-Palestinian accord. While Netanyahu highlighted his skepticism about Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s readiness for a deal, he did tell Trump that “for the first time in many years — and, Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime — I see a real hope for change.”For his part, Trump was adamant in his final speech at the Israel Museum on Tuesday that Abbas and the Palestinians “are ready to reach for peace.”Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, who along with international negotiations envoy Jason Greenblatt has been tasked by Trump with relaunching the peace process, reportedly told Herzog on Tuesday: “We are planning to move fast in starting a diplomatic process in order to reach a deal.”Senior ministers were quoted in the Channel 2 report saying that it was clear that Trump will be pressing Israel for compromise, and that celebrations on the right because Trump did not refer to Palestinian statehood during his visit, and did not criticize the settlement enterprise, were misplaced. “We’re all dancing on the Titanic,” an unnamed top minister was quoted as saying.The Channel 2 report quoted Israeli ministers who met with Trump and his team saying that the US president and his key advisers drew three conclusions about peacemaking from their trip: That progress on the Israel-Palestinian front is central to progress elsewhere in the Middle East; that Abbas, with whom he has now met twice, is a viable partner; and that the notion that Netanyahu can’t make compromises because of the constraints of his right-wing coalition is false, since the center-left would support him.
On the following day,' Josephus wrote, 'the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set all on fire as far as Siloam'-Ancient war for Jerusalem echoes as stones and arrowheads uncovered-New findings on ancient street confirm 1st century historian‘s account of Roman routing of Jewish rebels in 70 CE-By Sue Surkes May 25, 2017, 9:38 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The remains of weapons used by Roman legionnaires and desperate Jewish rebels in Jerusalem in the first century CE went on display Thursday, with Israeli archaeologists linking the last battle before Jerusalem fell 2,000 years ago with ongoing celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification after the 1967 Six Day War.According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, an account by first century Roman-Jewish historian Josephus on the fall of Jerusalem is being confirmed by objects discovered on an ancient road that used to ascend from the city’s gates and the Pool of Siloam to the Jewish Temple, including the arms.“On the following day, the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set all on fire as far as Siloam,” Josephus wrote in “The Wars of the Jews.”Among other finds, archaeologists dug up stone ballista balls flung by roman catapults and arrowheads used by Jewish rebels behind barricades as the city fell to the Romans in 70 CE.“Josephus’s descriptions of the battle in the lower city has come face-to-face for the first time with evidence that was revealed in the field in a clear and chilling manner,” dig organizers Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi said in a statement.The road is currently undergoing excavation with funds from Elad — a right-wing non-profit organization, whose central project is the renovated City of David archaeological park, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls.The archaeologists have unearthed a 100 meter (328 foot) section of the road, which is paved with large stone slabs.Research indicates that the road was built after the reign of King Herod and possibly even during the rule of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death.Yuval Baruch, the IAA’s Jerusalem district archaeologist, said the aim was to excavate the entire street within five years.The dig began four years ago, resuming excavations undertaken decades ago by American and European scholars.
Cabinet to discuss $50 million improvement plan for East Jerusalem-Priorities to include investments in education, improved sewage infrastructure and more efficient trash removal-By Sue Surkes May 25, 2017, 11:57 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The finance and Jerusalem affairs ministries are to present a joint plan to the cabinet Sunday to improve conditions for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Channel 10 News reported Thursday.The first two clauses — costing NIS 180 million ($50 million) — will deal with the need for better education and for improved sewage infrastructure as well as for more efficient removal of trash.On Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin used the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification to call for immediate action to improve the quality of life in the predominantly Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, which are among the nation’s poorest.“We must take urgent care of East Jerusalem,” the president said. “We cannot sing songs of praise for a united Jerusalem while East Jerusalem, the area where 40 percent of its residents live, is the poorest urban area in Israel.”In a separate development, Channel 10 reported Wednesday that Israel’s National Security Council is considering a plan to transfer control of two East Jerusalem neighborhoods from the Jerusalem Municipality to a yet-to-be established local council.Despite being part of the city, Kafr Aqab and the Shuafat refugee camp are located on the other side of the security barrier and suffer from a dearth of municipal services.Under the plan, the two northern neighborhoods — which together compromise around one eighth of Jerusalem’s population — would be moved to a newly established local council that would remain under Israeli control and receive funding for municipal services directly from the state rather than through the municipality, according to Channel 10.While the report of the plan was welcomed by a number of left-leaning lawmakers, with opposition leader Isaac Herzog saying it would help “ensure a united Jerusalem with a Jewish majority,” the Jerusalem Municipality threw cold water on the idea, telling Channel 10 the establishment of a new local council would not “provide an answer” to the neighborhoods’ problems.
Norway demands PA return funds for women’s center named after terrorist-Oslo also calls for removal of country’s logo from facility honoring Dalal Mughrabi, says it won’t back future projects under current conditions-By Times of Israel staff May 27, 2017, 8:44 pm
Norway’s foreign minister on Friday condemned the Palestinian Authority for naming a women’s center in the West Bank, funded in part by the Scandinavian country, after a female terrorist.“The glorification of terrorist attacks is completely unacceptable, and I deplore this decision in the strongest possible terms. Norway will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists in this way. We will not accept the use of Norwegian aid funding for such purposes,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende said in a statement.Brende’s comments were made in reference to a new women’s center opened earlier this month in the West Bank town of Burqa. The center was named after Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre. Mughrabi and several other Fatah terrorists landed on a beach near Tel Aviv, hijacked a bus on Israel’s Coastal Road and killed 38 civilians, 13 of them children, and wounded over 70.Brende said that Norway had been unaware of the decision to name the center after Mughrabi. He demanded that the country’s name be removed from the center and that the funds it gave for construction be returned.“We have asked for the logo of the Norwegian representation office to be removed from the building immediately, and for the funding that has been allocated to the center to be repaid,” he said.He also said that Norway would no longer participate in similar projects until the country receives assurances “that nothing of this nature happens again.”“We will not enter into any new agreements with either the Palestinian Election Commission or UN Women in Palestinian areas until satisfactory procedures are in place to ensure that nothing of this nature happens again,” he said.Israel commended Oslo’s action, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon saying “Norway took the right step — a tough line against memorializing terrorists is an integral part of the international effort to eliminate terror. We recommend that the international community take thorough steps to check where the money it invests in the PA is going.”Norway’s rebuke of the PA came after the Norwegian branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem brought the matter to the country’s attention on Friday, the organization said in a statement, while thanking Brende for his “swift and clear” response.“The Palestinian Authority undermines the quest for peace in this region, and violates all standards of human decency, when it decides to glorify and perpetuate the despicable legacies of terrorists like Dalal Mughrabi,” ICEJ President Jürgen Bühler said. “The Norwegian government acted properly when it condemned this immoral action by the Palestinian Authority.”Palestinian Media Watch, which first brought attention to the naming of the women’s center, quoted a local village leader saying that “the center will focus especially on the history of the struggle of Martyr Dalal Mughrabi and on presenting it to the youth groups, and…constitutes the beginning of the launch of enrichment activities regarding the history of the Palestinian struggle.”The PA, UN, and Norway behind Palestinian youth center for women named after murderer Dalal Mughrabi https://t.co/B8uombUqMW pic.twitter.com/iL1DHR6FF3— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) May 26, 2017-In addition to the women’s center, the PA has named a number of events and facilities in honor of Mughrabi and the other terrorists who died during the massacre in a firefight with Israeli security forces, with Fatah repeatedly hailing them as “martyrs.”In March, Palestinian Media Watch reported that the PA named a youth camp in Jericho after Mughrabi.Last year on the anniversary of the attack, a Ramallah-area Al-Awael school for girls held the “Dalal Mughrabi Cup” in honor of the killer. The girls’ basketball tournament was also co-organized by the Al-Razi Cultural and Social Association, a Palestinian NGO that works with the Anna Lindh Foundation to promote “intercultural dialogue” and “build trust and improve mutual understanding.”Mughrabi was also honored by Fatah in March two years ago when the party, addressing Israelis on its Facebook page, told them to collect the body parts of murdered Israelis and leave Israel.“On this day, March 11, in 1978, Dalal Mughrabi and her companions declared the birth of the Palestinian Republic in the heart of the occupied territories. The enemy admitted the death of 30 Zionists in the operation, yet according to the reports the number exceeded 80 casualties… Retaliation after retaliation and the windstorms will not subside,” the Facebook post read.
In boost to IS, Libya jihadists Ansar al-Sharia announce dissolution-With Manchester, Egypt attacks linked to North African country, collapse of group responsible for Benghazi US embassy onslaught points to growing strength of Islamic State-By AFP and AP May 28, 2017, 4:07 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its “dissolution” in a communique published online on Saturday.Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in which ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.Ansar al-Sharia is one of the jihadist groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, in the chaos following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. They overran the city in 2014.East Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar earlier this month launched an offensive to oust jihadist fighters from their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.In its communique Ansar al-Sharia said it had been “weakened” by the fighting.The group lost its leader, Mohammed Azahawi, in clashes with Haftar’s forces in Benghazi at the end of 2014.Most of its members then defected to the so-called Islamic State group. Ansar al-Sharia later joined the Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi, a local alliance of Islamist militias.At its zenith, Ansar al-Sharia was present in Benghazi and Derna in eastern Syria, with offshoots in Sirte and Sabratha, western Libya. The organisation took over barracks and other sites abandoned by the ousted Kadhafi forces and transformed them into training grounds for hundreds of jihadists seeking to head to Iraq or Syria.But despite the group’s collapse, the Libya connection in the May 22 Manchester concert suicide bombing and Friday’s attack on Christians in Egypt has shone a light on the ongoing threat posed by militant Islamic groups that have taken advantage of lawlessness in the troubled North African nation.In addition to wide swathes of territory once controlled by Ansar al-Sharia, at its own peak, the Islamic State group controlled a 160-kilometer (100-mile) stretch of Libyan coastline and boasted between 2,000 and 5,000 fighters, many of them from Egypt and Tunisia.It is that Libya that the Manchester bomber, 22-year-old British citizen Salman Abedi, found when he and his family moved back from Britain after Gaddafi’s ouster in 2011.Monday’s bombing left 22 dead, including an 8-year-old girl, and was claimed by IS. Abedi’s brother Hashim has been taken into custody in Tripoli and, according to Libyan authorities, has confessed that he and Salman were IS members.In Egypt, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sent his fighter-jets to bomb militant positions in eastern Libya just hours after IS fighters shot dead 29 Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery. The military said the attackers were trained in Libya.Egypt also has long complained that weapons smuggled across the porous desert border with Libya have reached militants operating on its soil. It also has claimed that militants who bombed three Christian churches since December received military training in IS bases in Libya.
Tel Aviv City Hall lit with Egypt flag in solidarity with Copts terror victims-In first such gesture towards Arab country, municipality building shows Eagle of Saladin after 29 Christian Copts killed by IS gunman-By Times of Israel staff May 28, 2017, 1:36 am
The Tel Aviv municipality building was lit in the colors of the Egyptian flag Saturday night, in a sign of solidarity with Israel’s neighbor, a day after a shooting attack left 29 people dead near Cairo.The building has been illuminated in various flags following other international terror attacks — on Tuesday it was lit in the colors of the Union Jack after a deadly suicide bombing in Manchester — but the latest tribute is the first time the gesture has been made towards an Arab country.Twenty-nine people were killed Friday morning when a bus carrying Christian Copts pilgrims was shot at by masked gunmen in the Egyptian Minya province, south of Cairo. According to the Egyptian Cabinet, 13 of the victims remained hospitalized in Cairo on Saturday evening.The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.The attack drew immediate condemnation from Israel.Israel “strongly condemns the painful terror attack in Egypt and sends the condolences of the Israeli people to [Egyptian] President [Abdel-Fattah] Sissi and to the Egyptian people,” a Friday statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.“There is no difference between terrorism harming Egypt and terrorism harming other countries. Terror will be beaten more quickly if all countries work against it together,” the statement said.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also issued a statement condemning the attack, as did the Islamist terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.Writing on Twitter Saturday night, Tel Aviv Mayor Run Huldai said the decision to light the municipality building was meant to send a message that “those seeking peace will not rest until such horrific acts will end.”Tonight we light up the @TelAviv Municipality with the flag of #Egypt. Those seeking peace will not rest until such horrific acts will end. pic.twitter.com/ym2yiRZClz— Mayor of Tel Aviv (@MayorOfTelAviv) May 27, 2017-Egypt’s Copts, the Middle East’s largest Christian community, have repeatedly complained of suffering discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at hands of the country’s majority Muslim population.Over the past decades, they have been the immediate targets of Islamic extremists. They rallied behind the country’s general-turned-president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in 2013 when he ousted Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches subsequently surged, especially in the country’s south, traditionally Egypt’s Christian heartland.
Children saved from Nazi camps unveil monument to parents-Group saved by Sir Nicholas Winton opens ”Farewell Memorial’ replica of 1939 train door, with hands of infants on one side and those of parents on the other-By AP May 28, 2017, 3:08 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
PRAGUE (AP) — A group of the children saved by Sir Nicholas Winton from Nazi death camps has, some 70 years later, unveiled a monument in Prague’s main train station to honor their parents.The Briton arranged eight trains to carry 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia through Germany to Britain at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He died in 2015 at age 106.The children were sent to foster parents. Back home, most of their parents died in the Holocaust.The Farewell Memorial is a replica of a 1939 train door with the hands of children on one side and those of parents on the other.Milena Grenfell-Baines, one of those saved, said Saturday the monument was a belated expression of thanks.Winton was a 29-year-old London stockbroker in December 1938 when a friend asked him to go to Prague to help in the refugee camps. He decided to do more after seeing that the children of those considered enemies of the Nazis, who had annexed part of western Czechoslovakia, were not being cared for.When Winton returned home, he set to work by taking letterhead from the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, then typing underneath the words “Children’s Section.”He eventually wrung a promise from the British government to let the children enter the country, provided he had a foster home arranged for each one and upon payment of a guarantee of 50 pounds per child.Winton drew up lists of some 6,000 at-risk children and encouraged British families to take them in. He arranged trains from Prague to the Netherlands, then ferries to take the children across the North Sea.The children from Prague helped by Winton were among some 10,000 mostly Jewish children who made their way to Britain on what were known as Kindertransports (children’s transports) just before and during the first years of the war. Many never saw their parents again.
