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
North Korea’s 2nd ICBM test augurs a new normal-Pyongyang’s Friday launch will likely spur additional tests, but that doesn’t mean it will strike US soil imminently-By Foster Klug July 30, 2017, 5:45 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For all its bluster and over-the-top propaganda, North Korea often does just what it says it will do when it comes to its weapons development.So it goes with its lightning-quick push to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile. The clear message after Friday’s late-night test, the second in a month of a missile that may be able to reach most of the US mainland: Get used to this — it’s the new normal.So what exactly does that mean? From the West’s point of view, it portends more and scarier missile and nuclear tests, each one more powerful than the last; a dogged determination by the North to ignore, as it has for decades, financial sanctions and other outside pressure, including a slightly more forceful clampdown from its biggest enabler, China; and an increasing likelihood that a determined, unchecked North Korea will soon turn its rhetoric about being capable of nuking America’s heartland into a reality.All this is meant to force the United States to accept terms that Pyongyang favors: a formal end to the Korean War that would remove US forces from the Korean Peninsula, weaken ties between Seoul and Washington, and make it much more likely that the North’s ultimate dream of a Korea united under its rule comes true.Outsiders have long dismissed or ignored North Korea’s atomic boasts and propaganda, even as they’ve failed through sanctions, threats and isolation to hinder the North’s progress. It remains to be seen whether an effort led by a Trump administration distracted by political infighting can rise to the most serious challenge yet in what has been a decades-long nuclear standoff.To see exactly what North Korea is aiming for, just read its propaganda.The North promised a stream of missile “gift packages” for the United States after its first ICBM test on July 4.Then on Saturday, hours after its second test of the Hwasong-14, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was quoted as saying by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency that “the US trumpeting about war and extreme sanctions and threat against the (North) only emboldens the latter and offers a better excuse for its access to nukes.”Friday’s test “is meant to send a grave warning to the US,” Kim said, and “make the policy-makers of the US properly understand that the US, an aggression-minded state, would not go scot-free if it dares provoke the” North.That does not mean North Korea is planning to attack the United States with a nuclear missile. The country’s leadership values its survival above everything else, including the welfare of its people. North Korea’s huge artillery and missile armament along the North-South border could do serious damage to Seoul, but such an attack would spell the end of Pyongyang because of Washington’s massive weapons advantage. Nor is the North quite there militarily. It must still prove that its ICBMs can navigate the multitude of technical hurdles needed to accurately strike a faraway target.Each new test, however, makes that more likely.Having a working “nuclear strategic force” would also allow the North to introduce doubt into the US-South Korea alliance. If fighting broke out between the rival Koreas, the argument goes, would Washington really rush in knowing that Pyongyang could hit the US heartland with its nukes? The latest test also does something that North Korea strives for in every word of its propaganda: It bolsters the dignity of the proud, authoritarian state, which has long seen itself as surrounded by hostile nations bent on its destruction. How many Third World US enemies, after all, have built ICBM programs? The message is as much for the elite in Pyongyang as for the North’s enemies, intended to solidify support for a leader who, despite massive external pressure, can stand up to the superpowers threatening his people.Unless Seoul, Washington and their partners can find a way to stop the North, the near future looks pretty clear.“More tests are needed to assess and validate the reliability of the Hwasong-14, so North Korea is sure to follow this launch with many more,” missile expert Michael Elleman wrote on the 38 North website after Friday’s launch.More tests. More instability. More pressure to pursue indigenous nuclear programs among North Korea’s other presumed targets, Seoul and Tokyo, as they lose faith in the US “nuclear umbrella.” And more possibility that a miscalculation in one of the world’s most heavily armed regions could lead to fighting.That’s the new normal.
Violence erupts in Jaffa at funeral for suspect killed by police-TV journalist beaten, equipment destroyed during procession for young resident suspected of fleeing scene of shooting at city’s port earlier-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 11:49 pm
Violence erupted in Jaffa on Saturday night during the funeral of a young resident who was shot and killed by police men while allegedly fleeing the scene of a shooting at the city’s port in the early hours on the morning.Hundreds attended the funeral procession for the 22-year-old, whose name was under gag order, during which a Channel 2 crime reporter covering the event was beaten and his camera equipment was destroyed as residents blocked the paths of vehicles caught up in the melee.The Channel 2 reporter, Gilad Shalmor, was taken to hospital with light injuries.The procession started at the deceased suspect’s home in Jaffa toward a mosque on Yefet street, a main road in the city, where worshipers prayed before making their way to the cemetery for burial.The procession became a protest for the family of the suspect and residents against Israeli police. Police officers were deployed to the area but maintained a distance, according to reports in the Hebrew-language media.Earlier in the day, riots broke out in the city as protesters hurled stones and rolled burning tires at police officers over the shooting incident. At least three were detained for questioning, police said.Police said officers opened fire in the early hours of Saturday at two men who were suspected of being involved in a shooting at the Jaffa port. According to police, the men attempted to flee the scene of the shooting on mopeds.Channel 10 reported that the suspects shot back at police during the chase. Police said an investigation into the incident has been opened.The police officer who shot at the suspects said he did so after they refused to stop and that the shots he fired were aimed at the back wheel of the moped.A lawyer for the suspect’s family told Ynet that there was no reason for the police to have “used live fire since there was no danger to their lives.”Arab residents hold protest following fatal police shooting in Jaffa https://t.co/avJ0sM425x pic.twitter.com/XJg4gNZU1H— Ruptly (@Ruptly) July 29, 2017-A gag order was placed on the details of the earlier shooting at the port but the background is believed to be criminal.After the riots on Saturday afternoon, police representatives met with community leaders in Jaffa in an attempt to prevent any further violent clashes.
IDF soldiers raid Palestinian media offices in Ramallah-Troops seize documents, equipment ‘used for incitement’ at Palmedia, army says; PA condemns operation-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 7:10 pm
IDF soldiers early on Saturday raided the offices of a Palestinian media group in the West Bank city of Ramallah, seizing equipment and documents.The Palmedia group headquarters were raided on suspicion of incitement to terror in its broadcasts and other news content, the Israeli military indicated.The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that several offices working with Palmedia, a media production company that provides broadcast services to other media outlets, were also broken into by Israeli forces.Wafa said the offices were “ransacked,” and some damage was caused to the property.It also reported that residents hurled stones at the soldiers as they left the area.Palestinian news agency Ma’an said at least 10 IDF vehicles had surrounded the Ramallah headquarters of the company before the raid, according to witnesses.An IDF spokesperson told Ma’an that the soldiers “seized media equipment and documents used for incitement” from the offices, adding that the raid was part of “ongoing efforts against incitement.”The Palestinian Ministry of Information condemned the raid, saying in a statement that it “proves Israel’s intentions to prevent the guardians of truth from continuing their media, national, and ethical role of transferring the message of our people’s desired freedom.”Israel has long accused the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas of incitement against Israel and Israelis, through educational programs and media, and has blamed Palestinian incitement for the waves of violence over the past few years.The raid came a day after tensions surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem appeared to have abated following some two weeks of clashes and violence after the installation of security measures at entrances to the site in the wake of a July 14 terror attack in which terrorists shot dead two Israeli police officers using weapons they had smuggled onto the holy compound.The security equipment angered Palestinians who then launched near-daily riots in and around East Jerusalem and the West Bank and boycotted the site, praying in protest in the streets surrounding the compound.Under heavy pressure from Jordan, which administers the site — the third-holiest in Islam — Israel rolled back the security measures on Thursday and worshipers returned to pray. Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount, which also houses the Dome of the Rock, ended peacefully.The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and is revered as the site of the destroyed biblical temples.
SlutWalk Chicago backtracks, will allow Zionist symbols at event-Organizers of event had previously said they would bar participants from carrying ‘nationalist’ displays-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 11:26 pm
The organizers of Chicago’s annual SlutWalk announced that Zionist symbols would be allowed at the August 12 event, overturning an earlier decision which barred participants from carrying any such religious signs.Speaking to Haaretz, one of the event’s organizers, Red, said the event would be open to anyone wishing to protest rape culture, including those who would choose to display Zionist or Jewish symbols. The organizer added that he believed SlutWalk Chicago should apologize to Jews for the previous ruling.“We are not banning any symbols or any kind of ethnic or heritage flags,” Red told Haaretz. “Those are welcome, everyone is welcome to express themselves as they see fit at SlutWalk. And we encourage people to bring signs and symbols that represent fighting sexism, patriarchy, rape culture, and that takes a lot of different forms for different people, and we support them in how they decide to show up for SlutWalk.”SlutWalk Chicago had originally banned Zionist symbols in a statement July 16, less than a month after the organizers of a separate parade in the city celebrating the lesbian community banned three Jewish women carrying Jewish Pride flags.“We still stand behind @DykeMarchChi’s decision to remove the Zionist contingent from their event, [and] we won’t allow Zionist displays at ours,” read the official statement on Twitter,” SlutWalk Chicago said in the statement, adding that “all participants will be well protected, so [people] making Zionist or any other similarly nationalist, imperialist displays will be ejected [from the event].”According to Haaretz, SlutWalk later reached out to members of Chicago’s Jewish and Muslim communities to explain that the event would be inclusive to all participants.“As a feminist person myself, I feel very strongly about Palestinian liberation and radical Jewish resistance,” Red told Haaretz. “I care very deeply about those concerns, but I do think that at SlutWalk Chicago we have some apologizing to do around the confusion with some of our tweets.”SlutWalk is an event held in multiple cities around the world aimed at drawing attention to women’s rights and widespread sexual harassment.On June 24, organizers of the 21st annual Chicago Dyke March told the women that the rainbow flags with a white Star of David in the center would be a trigger to people who found it offensive.A Dyke March collective member told the Windy City Times that the women were told to leave because the flags “made people feel unsafe,” and that the march was “anti-Zionist” and “pro-Palestinian.”More than 1,500 LGBTQ individuals and their supporters participated in the march.
Soon there will only be one Judaica store left in Manhattan-Online marketing has squeezed sales at West Side Judaica, which is set to close its doors next year after over 80 years-By Ben Sales July 29, 2017, 11:27 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
NEW YORK (JTA) — Yaakov Seltzer remembers a different world, when he would sell his customers prayer books, then hand them an invitation to his daughter’s wedding.When they would come in to Seltzer’s store to order a kippah for their new grandson, then ask him to attend the bris.Or they would stop in on a Friday afternoon with nothing to buy, just to wish him a good Shabbat.But though the Upper West Side of Manhattan is still heavily Jewish, the world Seltzer longs for has disappeared. And soon, so will his store, West Side Judaica, which Seltzer plans to close sometime next year.When it shutters, after 83 years in operation, the neighborhood will be bereft of a Jewish bookstore. Only one Jewish bookstore, J. Levine Books and Judaica, will remain in all of Manhattan.“I miss the people I used to have come into the store every week,” Seltzer said. “The new generation doesn’t support us. They don’t know us personally because they use online [stores]. They don’t feel obligated.”Seltzer made the decision to close after an automatic rent increase in his lease kicked in three months ago. He said the rent, combined with declining sales due to competition from online retailers, made the business unprofitable.In the past decade, the store’s sales have been cut by more than half. For the first time in memory, Seltzer said, last week the store had a day with less than $1,000 in revenue — barely enough to make the new rent of $24,000 a month. He said he hasn’t taken home a salary in three months.‘It’s an online world’-“It’s an online world,” Seltzer said. “There’s no way I can pay $24,000 a month in rent and compete with someone online who’s selling without any of my expenses.”But while the Manhattan Jewish bookstore is now an endangered species, the peril hasn’t extended to independent bookstores as an industry. While competition from Amazon led to the closing of the Borders bookstore chain, and has imperiled Barnes and Noble, the number of American independent bookstores has only grown. Between 2009 and 2014, the number of independent bookstores in the United States grew 27 percent, according to The New York Times.Nor is Daniel Levine, the fourth-generation owner of J. Levine’s, worried about meeting the same fate as West Side Judaica. Levine’s Midtown store has invested heavily in an online presence, including selling goods as a third party on Amazon. Between 2007 and 2012, Levine saw his revenue rise 20%. Since then, he said, it’s grown even more.Plus, Levine’s relatives own his shop’s building — so he said he pays half as much as Seltzer in rent.But Levine isn’t celebrating his newfound monopoly over Manhattan. He and Seltzer, separated by 50 city blocks, worked more as partners than competitors. They stayed in close touch and would send each other items when a customer asked for something that was out of stock.After speaking to me, Levine’s first call was to check in on Seltzer, whom he calls “Yanky.”-‘It’s a little scary to be the only Judaica store left in Manhattan’-“It’s a little scary to be the only Judaica store left in Manhattan,” Levine said, adding that if Amazon takes more of a toll from the Judaica business, people “won’t be able to physically see these things and touch them.”Seltzer also shifted his business in an effort to stay afloat. He once sold 80% books and 20% Judaica. Now it’s 50-50. The right side of the store looks largely like a standard-issue Jewish book shop: volumes from the Orthodox publisher ArtScroll sitting regally on the shelves next to specialty volumes on medical ethics, biblical geography and how to comfort mourners; a rack of prayer shawls in the back; a stack of framed Jewish wedding contracts up front.But the left side is an emporium of novelties made for an Orthodox Jewish clientele with money to spend. There are greeting cards embossed with menorahs, birthday wishes in Hebrew or “Welcome to your new yeshiva.” There’s a line of games from Magical Mitzvah Park to Cholent, The Game! The Slow-Cooking, Fast-Moving Strategy Card Game.At the front, a mesh sports shirt with ritual fringes hangs in the window. Nearby is a lectern used by religious Jews for prayer or study. Long, twisting shofars dangle from the ceiling. But in many cases, Seltzer said, the variety doesn’t help. Customers will photograph items with their phones and then buy online.“I personally don’t think it’s ethical to take pictures, but my employees don’t want to be police,” he said.Local Jewish schools and synagogues still buy from West Side Judaica, though that business has also declined. Lisa Exler, director of Jewish studies for the nondenominational Beit Rabban Day School a couple blocks away, still buys some books from Seltzer. The school orders its prayer books and Pentateuchs directly from Koren Publishers Jerusalem, an Israeli company. But Exler turns to West Side Judaica for niche items, like collections of Bible commentaries or the small, blue, right-to-left workbooks traditionally used in Jewish schools.“They were super friendly, always happy to show me different books,” Exler said.When she was choosing among Bible commentaries, an employee “showed me there’s this version and that version, this has a better binding and lasts longer. He knows his merchandise, and took the time to make sure I was getting what the students needed.”Seltzer moved into the current location in the 1990s, when the internet wasn’t a threat. When he took over the store in 1980, 46 years after its founding, it was in a nearby location with 40% less space. Back then the rent was $1,100 a month — about $3,250 in 2017 dollars, still 86% lower than the current rent.Over the years he has hired family, employing his wife, mother, brother and brother-in-law. On Wednesday afternoon, three relatives talked in Yiddish as one wrapped a gift and another rang up one of the few customers in the store.Seltzer has considered moving about half a mile up Broadway, where he could pay $15,000 a month. But at 60, he doesn’t have the energy for another move and the costs it involves. He will begin a going out of business sale soon, and will close sometime after Hanukkah, near the end of the calendar year.And after that? Seltzer isn’t sure.If he gets an influx of revenue, he may change his mind, though Seltzer said he does not want to be “the boy who cried wolf.” More likely, he anticipates doing what most in his situation have done: Take his decades of experience and connections with publishers, and sell books and Judaica online.With the efficiency of shipping nowadays, Seltzer doesn’t even think he’ll need to keep an inventory.“You can have a big website, and you think they have everything,” he said. “They have nothing.”
US imam apologizes for sermon attacking Jews-Ammar Shahin, who called for God to ‘liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews,’ says he is ‘deeply sorry for the pain’ he caused-By JTA July 29, 2017, 2:27 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A California imam who accused Jews of “desecrating” the mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and seemingly called for their annihilation has apologized.“I said things that were hurtful to Jews. This was unacceptable,” Ammar Shahin of Davis, California, said at a press conference Friday, according to a statement by the Anti-Defamation League, which welcomed the apology. “I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused. The last thing that I would do is intentionally hurt anyone, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise. It is not in my heart.”A national Muslim umbrella group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, had earlier denounced the sermon.“We are disturbed deeply by the remarks of an imam from the Islamic Center of Davis during a sermon (khutba), which is meant to be a spiritual and uplifting speech before the congregational prayer every Friday. Instead, the sermon turned into a tirade against Jews by misquoting a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad,” said the statement posted Friday by MPAC.The sermon last week drew controversy after the Middle East Media Research Institute translated it and published a transcript. In MEMRI’s translation, Shahin calls on God to “liberate the Al Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews. Oh Allah, destroy those who closed the Al Aqsa Mosque. … Oh Allah, count them one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one.”The sermon referred to Israel’s temporary closure of the compound after three gunmen opened fire, killing two Israeli policemen, and the temporary installations after that attack of metal detectors. The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site, and the third holiest site in Islam.Shahin and his mosque have said that his intended reference was purely to the individuals shutting down the compound.Other translators, according to a Washington Post report on Friday, said the MEMRI translation distorted the sermon, while saying that Shahin’s direct reference to “Jews” was nonetheless disturbing. Among Shahin’s critics was the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.These critics, along with MPAC, took issue particularly with Shahin for peddling an interpretation of the hadith — the saying of Muhammad — that casts Jews as villains in envisioning the end days. MPAC cited other readings of the hadith as envisioning harmony among the monotheistic religions.The MPAC statement expressed frustration with MEMRI, an organization that has drawn fire from Islamic groups for what they say is its tendency to cut and paste Muslim pronouncements to cast them in the worst possible light.“Groups like MEMRI exacerbate political divisions on the Middle East conflict rather than aim to reconcile differences,” the statement said. “In this case, it is doubly disappointing that an American imam used his pulpit to only provide more fuel for such groups to attack our communities writ-large.”MEMRI has said it stands by its translation.The MPAC statement noted that it also condemned the Al Aqsa closure — indeed, its statement on the matter was a lead item on the website’s front page as of Friday afternoon. It also noted the dangers both Jews and Muslims face in what it said was an atmosphere in the United States of increased hostility to minorities.“Despite differences segments of our communities may have over foreign policy issues, we must stand together against destructive hatred in all its forms,” it said.Seth Brysk, director of ADL’s San Francisco Office, issued a statement Friday, saying, “We welcome Imam Shahin’s apology and his clear recognition that hateful words have consequences. This is an important first step, but it is only the beginning of a journey that he needs to make in restoring confidence in his religious leadership and his understanding of the roots of anti-Semitism.”
Australian PM: Terror plot to bring down plane foiled-Four arrested in raids in Sydney; security bolstered at all Australian domestic and international airports-By Rod McGuirk July 30, 2017, 1:20 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police disrupted a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane and arrested four men on Saturday in raids on homes in several Sydney suburbs, the prime minister said on Sunday.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said security had been increased at Sydney Airport since Thursday because of the plot. The increased security measures had been extended to all major international and domestic terminals around Australia overnight.“I can report last night that there has been a major joint counterterrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane,” Turnbull told reporters. “The operation is continuing.”Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said details were scant on the specifics of the attack, the location and timing.“In recent days, law enforcement has been become aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an improvised devise,” Colvin said.“We are investigating information indicating the aviation industry was potentially a target of that attack,” he added.Turnbull advised travelers in Australia to arrive at Australian airports earlier than usual — two hours before departure — to allow for extra security screening and to minimize carry-on baggage.Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the plot was the 13th significant threat disrupted by police since Australia’s terrorist threat level was elevated in 2014. Five plots have been executed.“The primary threat to Australia still remains lone actors, but the events overnight remind us that there is still the ability for people to have sophisticated plots and sophisticated attacks still remain a real threat,” Keenan said.” In light of this information, it’s very important that everyone in Australia remains vigilant.”The operation was carried out by the Australian Federal Police, the New South Wales state police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main domestic spy agency. The investigation could continue for days, Colvin said.Seven Network television reported that 40 riot squad officers wearing gas masks stormed an inner-Sydney house before an explosives team found a suspicious device.A woman led from a raid by police with her head covered told Nine Network Television: “I love Australia.”None of the four suspects arrested in five raids had been charged, police said.
Trump: China doing ‘nothing’ on North Korea-US president tweets he’s ‘very disappointed’ in Beijing, says he won’t allow situation to continue-By AFP July 30, 2017, 4:04 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US President Donald Trump warned Saturday that he would “no longer” allow China to “do nothing” on North Korea, after the belligerent hermit state launched an intercontinental ballistic missile test.In his critique, which came in two tweets, Trump linked trade woes with the Asian giant to policy on North Korea, after South Korea indicated it was speeding the deployment of a US missile defense that has infuriated China.“I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk,” Trump wrote.“We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!”Trump has vowed to take “all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region.”I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017-…they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017-The US and South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to-surface missiles after the launch, the US army said.The heads of the US and South Korean militaries discussed “military response options” after North Korea’s launch, the Pentagon said.China, Pyongyang’s main economic and diplomatic ally, opposes any military intervention and calls for a resolution through dialogue.The US military will also roll out “strategic assets” to the South following the North’s missile test late Friday, according to South Korean defense minister Song Young-Moo.Song declined to specify the nature of the mobilization, but the phrase usually refers to high-profile weapons systems, such as stealth bombers and aircraft carriers.The THAAD battery comprises six interceptor missile launchers. Two launchers have been tentatively deployed at a golf course-turned-US military base in Seongju County, 187.5 miles (300 kilometers) south of Seoul.China has long argued the deployment will destabilize the region.On trade, the United States has blamed the unbalanced relationship — marked by a trade deficit with China of $309 billion last year — on Beijing’s policies that impede access to their market. China says Washington’s own rules restricting US high-tech exports are partially to blame.
The Canaanites weren’t annihilated, they just ‘moved’ to Lebanon-A UK-based study of ancient genomes finds Canaanites form over 90% of modern Lebanese ancestry, a trait they share with ancient Israelites-By Amanda Borschel-Dan July 28, 2017, 4:30 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A new study suggests the biblical account of the annihilation of the ancient Canaanite people at the hands of the invading Israelites was a bit premature, claiming their descendants are still living just up the road, across the Lebanese border.New genetic research from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has found that far from being destroyed, the Canaanites morphed into the inhabitants of modern Lebanon.Scientists in the United Kingdom-based genetic research center sequenced the genomes of five 4,000-year-old Canaanite individuals and compared them to other ancient and present-day populations, including a sample of 99 modern Lebanese.The results, published July 27 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, show that 93 percent of the ancestry of modern Lebanese ancestry comes from the Canaanites.Had they been destroyed by the Israelites, who were commanded by God to annihilate them, it would have been a form of patricide. According to the study, the Canaanites were the common ancestor for several ancient peoples who inhabited the Levant during the Bronze Age, such as the Ammonites, Moabites, and Israelites.“Each achieved their own cultural identities but all shared a common genetic and ethnic root with Canaanites,” according to the authors of the new study.“For the first time we have genetic evidence for substantial continuity in the region, from the Bronze Age Canaanite population through to the present day. These results agree with the continuity seen by archaeologists,” said Dr. Claude Doumet-Serhal, co-author and director of the Sidon excavation site in Lebanon.The Canaanites, like the Israelites a Semitic-speaking people, were at the center of Bronze Age civilization and “inhabited an area bounded by Anatolia to the north, Mesopotamia to the east, and Egypt to the south, with access to Cyprus and the Aegean through the Mediterranean,” according to the study.Mystery surrounds the fate of the Canaanites, who later came to be known as the Phoenicians, as they appear in scant historical records. Although they introduced several innovations into society, including the first alphabet, other than in the Hebrew Bible — where their annihilation is clearly detailed — there are a few mentions in ancient Egyptian and Greek texts.As reported in Science, Greek legend has it that the Canaanites originally came from the East.According to the study, the Canaanite-related ancestry “derived from mixture between local Neolithic populations and eastern migrants genetically related to Chalcolithic Iranians.” The scientists estimate, “using linkage-disequilibrium decay patterns,” that the genetic mixture took place between 6,600–3,550 years ago, “coinciding with recorded massive population movements in Mesopotamia.”Further, the Eurasian ancestry in the modern Lebanese genetic samples was not present in Bronze Age Canaanites or earlier Levantines. “We estimate that this Eurasian ancestry arrived in the Levant around 3,750–2,170 years ago during a period of successive conquests by distant populations,” write the scientists.Did a Canaanite genocide occur? In Deuteronomy 20:16, the ancient Israelites are commanded by God to completely wipe out the several Canaanite peoples after the death of the Hebrew leader Joshua.“But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded.”However, according to the report, archaeological evidence does not support widespread destruction of Canaanite cities between the Bronze and Iron Ages. For example, coastal cities such as Sidon and Tyre “show continuity of occupation until the present day.”The analysis of the DNA from five Canaanite skeletons found in Sidon who lived 4,000 years ago, and comparison with modern day Lebanese, paint a picture much different than the annihilation recorded in the Bible.“It was a pleasant surprise to be able to extract and analyze DNA from 4,000-year-old human remains found in a hot environment, which is not known for preserving DNA well,” said Dr. Marc Haber, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Haber said the team overcame the climate’s challenge by taking samples from the petrous bone in the skull, which is a very tough bone with a high density of ancient DNA.“Genetic studies using ancient DNA can expand our understanding of history, and answer questions about the likely origins and descendants of enigmatic populations like the Canaanites, who left few written records themselves,” said Dr. Chris Tyler-Smith, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.“The overlap between the Bronze Age and present-day Levantines suggests a degree of genetic continuity in the region,” according to the study.
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
North Korea’s 2nd ICBM test augurs a new normal-Pyongyang’s Friday launch will likely spur additional tests, but that doesn’t mean it will strike US soil imminently-By Foster Klug July 30, 2017, 5:45 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For all its bluster and over-the-top propaganda, North Korea often does just what it says it will do when it comes to its weapons development.So it goes with its lightning-quick push to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile. The clear message after Friday’s late-night test, the second in a month of a missile that may be able to reach most of the US mainland: Get used to this — it’s the new normal.So what exactly does that mean? From the West’s point of view, it portends more and scarier missile and nuclear tests, each one more powerful than the last; a dogged determination by the North to ignore, as it has for decades, financial sanctions and other outside pressure, including a slightly more forceful clampdown from its biggest enabler, China; and an increasing likelihood that a determined, unchecked North Korea will soon turn its rhetoric about being capable of nuking America’s heartland into a reality.All this is meant to force the United States to accept terms that Pyongyang favors: a formal end to the Korean War that would remove US forces from the Korean Peninsula, weaken ties between Seoul and Washington, and make it much more likely that the North’s ultimate dream of a Korea united under its rule comes true.Outsiders have long dismissed or ignored North Korea’s atomic boasts and propaganda, even as they’ve failed through sanctions, threats and isolation to hinder the North’s progress. It remains to be seen whether an effort led by a Trump administration distracted by political infighting can rise to the most serious challenge yet in what has been a decades-long nuclear standoff.To see exactly what North Korea is aiming for, just read its propaganda.The North promised a stream of missile “gift packages” for the United States after its first ICBM test on July 4.Then on Saturday, hours after its second test of the Hwasong-14, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was quoted as saying by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency that “the US trumpeting about war and extreme sanctions and threat against the (North) only emboldens the latter and offers a better excuse for its access to nukes.”Friday’s test “is meant to send a grave warning to the US,” Kim said, and “make the policy-makers of the US properly understand that the US, an aggression-minded state, would not go scot-free if it dares provoke the” North.That does not mean North Korea is planning to attack the United States with a nuclear missile. The country’s leadership values its survival above everything else, including the welfare of its people. North Korea’s huge artillery and missile armament along the North-South border could do serious damage to Seoul, but such an attack would spell the end of Pyongyang because of Washington’s massive weapons advantage. Nor is the North quite there militarily. It must still prove that its ICBMs can navigate the multitude of technical hurdles needed to accurately strike a faraway target.Each new test, however, makes that more likely.Having a working “nuclear strategic force” would also allow the North to introduce doubt into the US-South Korea alliance. If fighting broke out between the rival Koreas, the argument goes, would Washington really rush in knowing that Pyongyang could hit the US heartland with its nukes? The latest test also does something that North Korea strives for in every word of its propaganda: It bolsters the dignity of the proud, authoritarian state, which has long seen itself as surrounded by hostile nations bent on its destruction. How many Third World US enemies, after all, have built ICBM programs? The message is as much for the elite in Pyongyang as for the North’s enemies, intended to solidify support for a leader who, despite massive external pressure, can stand up to the superpowers threatening his people.Unless Seoul, Washington and their partners can find a way to stop the North, the near future looks pretty clear.“More tests are needed to assess and validate the reliability of the Hwasong-14, so North Korea is sure to follow this launch with many more,” missile expert Michael Elleman wrote on the 38 North website after Friday’s launch.More tests. More instability. More pressure to pursue indigenous nuclear programs among North Korea’s other presumed targets, Seoul and Tokyo, as they lose faith in the US “nuclear umbrella.” And more possibility that a miscalculation in one of the world’s most heavily armed regions could lead to fighting.That’s the new normal.
Violence erupts in Jaffa at funeral for suspect killed by police-TV journalist beaten, equipment destroyed during procession for young resident suspected of fleeing scene of shooting at city’s port earlier-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 11:49 pm
Violence erupted in Jaffa on Saturday night during the funeral of a young resident who was shot and killed by police men while allegedly fleeing the scene of a shooting at the city’s port in the early hours on the morning.Hundreds attended the funeral procession for the 22-year-old, whose name was under gag order, during which a Channel 2 crime reporter covering the event was beaten and his camera equipment was destroyed as residents blocked the paths of vehicles caught up in the melee.The Channel 2 reporter, Gilad Shalmor, was taken to hospital with light injuries.The procession started at the deceased suspect’s home in Jaffa toward a mosque on Yefet street, a main road in the city, where worshipers prayed before making their way to the cemetery for burial.The procession became a protest for the family of the suspect and residents against Israeli police. Police officers were deployed to the area but maintained a distance, according to reports in the Hebrew-language media.Earlier in the day, riots broke out in the city as protesters hurled stones and rolled burning tires at police officers over the shooting incident. At least three were detained for questioning, police said.Police said officers opened fire in the early hours of Saturday at two men who were suspected of being involved in a shooting at the Jaffa port. According to police, the men attempted to flee the scene of the shooting on mopeds.Channel 10 reported that the suspects shot back at police during the chase. Police said an investigation into the incident has been opened.The police officer who shot at the suspects said he did so after they refused to stop and that the shots he fired were aimed at the back wheel of the moped.A lawyer for the suspect’s family told Ynet that there was no reason for the police to have “used live fire since there was no danger to their lives.”Arab residents hold protest following fatal police shooting in Jaffa https://t.co/avJ0sM425x pic.twitter.com/XJg4gNZU1H— Ruptly (@Ruptly) July 29, 2017-A gag order was placed on the details of the earlier shooting at the port but the background is believed to be criminal.After the riots on Saturday afternoon, police representatives met with community leaders in Jaffa in an attempt to prevent any further violent clashes.
IDF soldiers raid Palestinian media offices in Ramallah-Troops seize documents, equipment ‘used for incitement’ at Palmedia, army says; PA condemns operation-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 7:10 pm
IDF soldiers early on Saturday raided the offices of a Palestinian media group in the West Bank city of Ramallah, seizing equipment and documents.The Palmedia group headquarters were raided on suspicion of incitement to terror in its broadcasts and other news content, the Israeli military indicated.The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that several offices working with Palmedia, a media production company that provides broadcast services to other media outlets, were also broken into by Israeli forces.Wafa said the offices were “ransacked,” and some damage was caused to the property.It also reported that residents hurled stones at the soldiers as they left the area.Palestinian news agency Ma’an said at least 10 IDF vehicles had surrounded the Ramallah headquarters of the company before the raid, according to witnesses.An IDF spokesperson told Ma’an that the soldiers “seized media equipment and documents used for incitement” from the offices, adding that the raid was part of “ongoing efforts against incitement.”The Palestinian Ministry of Information condemned the raid, saying in a statement that it “proves Israel’s intentions to prevent the guardians of truth from continuing their media, national, and ethical role of transferring the message of our people’s desired freedom.”Israel has long accused the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas of incitement against Israel and Israelis, through educational programs and media, and has blamed Palestinian incitement for the waves of violence over the past few years.The raid came a day after tensions surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem appeared to have abated following some two weeks of clashes and violence after the installation of security measures at entrances to the site in the wake of a July 14 terror attack in which terrorists shot dead two Israeli police officers using weapons they had smuggled onto the holy compound.The security equipment angered Palestinians who then launched near-daily riots in and around East Jerusalem and the West Bank and boycotted the site, praying in protest in the streets surrounding the compound.Under heavy pressure from Jordan, which administers the site — the third-holiest in Islam — Israel rolled back the security measures on Thursday and worshipers returned to pray. Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount, which also houses the Dome of the Rock, ended peacefully.The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and is revered as the site of the destroyed biblical temples.
SlutWalk Chicago backtracks, will allow Zionist symbols at event-Organizers of event had previously said they would bar participants from carrying ‘nationalist’ displays-By Times of Israel staff July 29, 2017, 11:26 pm
The organizers of Chicago’s annual SlutWalk announced that Zionist symbols would be allowed at the August 12 event, overturning an earlier decision which barred participants from carrying any such religious signs.Speaking to Haaretz, one of the event’s organizers, Red, said the event would be open to anyone wishing to protest rape culture, including those who would choose to display Zionist or Jewish symbols. The organizer added that he believed SlutWalk Chicago should apologize to Jews for the previous ruling.“We are not banning any symbols or any kind of ethnic or heritage flags,” Red told Haaretz. “Those are welcome, everyone is welcome to express themselves as they see fit at SlutWalk. And we encourage people to bring signs and symbols that represent fighting sexism, patriarchy, rape culture, and that takes a lot of different forms for different people, and we support them in how they decide to show up for SlutWalk.”SlutWalk Chicago had originally banned Zionist symbols in a statement July 16, less than a month after the organizers of a separate parade in the city celebrating the lesbian community banned three Jewish women carrying Jewish Pride flags.“We still stand behind @DykeMarchChi’s decision to remove the Zionist contingent from their event, [and] we won’t allow Zionist displays at ours,” read the official statement on Twitter,” SlutWalk Chicago said in the statement, adding that “all participants will be well protected, so [people] making Zionist or any other similarly nationalist, imperialist displays will be ejected [from the event].”According to Haaretz, SlutWalk later reached out to members of Chicago’s Jewish and Muslim communities to explain that the event would be inclusive to all participants.“As a feminist person myself, I feel very strongly about Palestinian liberation and radical Jewish resistance,” Red told Haaretz. “I care very deeply about those concerns, but I do think that at SlutWalk Chicago we have some apologizing to do around the confusion with some of our tweets.”SlutWalk is an event held in multiple cities around the world aimed at drawing attention to women’s rights and widespread sexual harassment.On June 24, organizers of the 21st annual Chicago Dyke March told the women that the rainbow flags with a white Star of David in the center would be a trigger to people who found it offensive.A Dyke March collective member told the Windy City Times that the women were told to leave because the flags “made people feel unsafe,” and that the march was “anti-Zionist” and “pro-Palestinian.”More than 1,500 LGBTQ individuals and their supporters participated in the march.
Soon there will only be one Judaica store left in Manhattan-Online marketing has squeezed sales at West Side Judaica, which is set to close its doors next year after over 80 years-By Ben Sales July 29, 2017, 11:27 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
NEW YORK (JTA) — Yaakov Seltzer remembers a different world, when he would sell his customers prayer books, then hand them an invitation to his daughter’s wedding.When they would come in to Seltzer’s store to order a kippah for their new grandson, then ask him to attend the bris.Or they would stop in on a Friday afternoon with nothing to buy, just to wish him a good Shabbat.But though the Upper West Side of Manhattan is still heavily Jewish, the world Seltzer longs for has disappeared. And soon, so will his store, West Side Judaica, which Seltzer plans to close sometime next year.When it shutters, after 83 years in operation, the neighborhood will be bereft of a Jewish bookstore. Only one Jewish bookstore, J. Levine Books and Judaica, will remain in all of Manhattan.“I miss the people I used to have come into the store every week,” Seltzer said. “The new generation doesn’t support us. They don’t know us personally because they use online [stores]. They don’t feel obligated.”Seltzer made the decision to close after an automatic rent increase in his lease kicked in three months ago. He said the rent, combined with declining sales due to competition from online retailers, made the business unprofitable.In the past decade, the store’s sales have been cut by more than half. For the first time in memory, Seltzer said, last week the store had a day with less than $1,000 in revenue — barely enough to make the new rent of $24,000 a month. He said he hasn’t taken home a salary in three months.‘It’s an online world’-“It’s an online world,” Seltzer said. “There’s no way I can pay $24,000 a month in rent and compete with someone online who’s selling without any of my expenses.”But while the Manhattan Jewish bookstore is now an endangered species, the peril hasn’t extended to independent bookstores as an industry. While competition from Amazon led to the closing of the Borders bookstore chain, and has imperiled Barnes and Noble, the number of American independent bookstores has only grown. Between 2009 and 2014, the number of independent bookstores in the United States grew 27 percent, according to The New York Times.Nor is Daniel Levine, the fourth-generation owner of J. Levine’s, worried about meeting the same fate as West Side Judaica. Levine’s Midtown store has invested heavily in an online presence, including selling goods as a third party on Amazon. Between 2007 and 2012, Levine saw his revenue rise 20%. Since then, he said, it’s grown even more.Plus, Levine’s relatives own his shop’s building — so he said he pays half as much as Seltzer in rent.But Levine isn’t celebrating his newfound monopoly over Manhattan. He and Seltzer, separated by 50 city blocks, worked more as partners than competitors. They stayed in close touch and would send each other items when a customer asked for something that was out of stock.After speaking to me, Levine’s first call was to check in on Seltzer, whom he calls “Yanky.”-‘It’s a little scary to be the only Judaica store left in Manhattan’-“It’s a little scary to be the only Judaica store left in Manhattan,” Levine said, adding that if Amazon takes more of a toll from the Judaica business, people “won’t be able to physically see these things and touch them.”Seltzer also shifted his business in an effort to stay afloat. He once sold 80% books and 20% Judaica. Now it’s 50-50. The right side of the store looks largely like a standard-issue Jewish book shop: volumes from the Orthodox publisher ArtScroll sitting regally on the shelves next to specialty volumes on medical ethics, biblical geography and how to comfort mourners; a rack of prayer shawls in the back; a stack of framed Jewish wedding contracts up front.But the left side is an emporium of novelties made for an Orthodox Jewish clientele with money to spend. There are greeting cards embossed with menorahs, birthday wishes in Hebrew or “Welcome to your new yeshiva.” There’s a line of games from Magical Mitzvah Park to Cholent, The Game! The Slow-Cooking, Fast-Moving Strategy Card Game.At the front, a mesh sports shirt with ritual fringes hangs in the window. Nearby is a lectern used by religious Jews for prayer or study. Long, twisting shofars dangle from the ceiling. But in many cases, Seltzer said, the variety doesn’t help. Customers will photograph items with their phones and then buy online.“I personally don’t think it’s ethical to take pictures, but my employees don’t want to be police,” he said.Local Jewish schools and synagogues still buy from West Side Judaica, though that business has also declined. Lisa Exler, director of Jewish studies for the nondenominational Beit Rabban Day School a couple blocks away, still buys some books from Seltzer. The school orders its prayer books and Pentateuchs directly from Koren Publishers Jerusalem, an Israeli company. But Exler turns to West Side Judaica for niche items, like collections of Bible commentaries or the small, blue, right-to-left workbooks traditionally used in Jewish schools.“They were super friendly, always happy to show me different books,” Exler said.When she was choosing among Bible commentaries, an employee “showed me there’s this version and that version, this has a better binding and lasts longer. He knows his merchandise, and took the time to make sure I was getting what the students needed.”Seltzer moved into the current location in the 1990s, when the internet wasn’t a threat. When he took over the store in 1980, 46 years after its founding, it was in a nearby location with 40% less space. Back then the rent was $1,100 a month — about $3,250 in 2017 dollars, still 86% lower than the current rent.Over the years he has hired family, employing his wife, mother, brother and brother-in-law. On Wednesday afternoon, three relatives talked in Yiddish as one wrapped a gift and another rang up one of the few customers in the store.Seltzer has considered moving about half a mile up Broadway, where he could pay $15,000 a month. But at 60, he doesn’t have the energy for another move and the costs it involves. He will begin a going out of business sale soon, and will close sometime after Hanukkah, near the end of the calendar year.And after that? Seltzer isn’t sure.If he gets an influx of revenue, he may change his mind, though Seltzer said he does not want to be “the boy who cried wolf.” More likely, he anticipates doing what most in his situation have done: Take his decades of experience and connections with publishers, and sell books and Judaica online.With the efficiency of shipping nowadays, Seltzer doesn’t even think he’ll need to keep an inventory.“You can have a big website, and you think they have everything,” he said. “They have nothing.”
US imam apologizes for sermon attacking Jews-Ammar Shahin, who called for God to ‘liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews,’ says he is ‘deeply sorry for the pain’ he caused-By JTA July 29, 2017, 2:27 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A California imam who accused Jews of “desecrating” the mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and seemingly called for their annihilation has apologized.“I said things that were hurtful to Jews. This was unacceptable,” Ammar Shahin of Davis, California, said at a press conference Friday, according to a statement by the Anti-Defamation League, which welcomed the apology. “I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused. The last thing that I would do is intentionally hurt anyone, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise. It is not in my heart.”A national Muslim umbrella group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, had earlier denounced the sermon.“We are disturbed deeply by the remarks of an imam from the Islamic Center of Davis during a sermon (khutba), which is meant to be a spiritual and uplifting speech before the congregational prayer every Friday. Instead, the sermon turned into a tirade against Jews by misquoting a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad,” said the statement posted Friday by MPAC.The sermon last week drew controversy after the Middle East Media Research Institute translated it and published a transcript. In MEMRI’s translation, Shahin calls on God to “liberate the Al Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews. Oh Allah, destroy those who closed the Al Aqsa Mosque. … Oh Allah, count them one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one.”The sermon referred to Israel’s temporary closure of the compound after three gunmen opened fire, killing two Israeli policemen, and the temporary installations after that attack of metal detectors. The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site, and the third holiest site in Islam.Shahin and his mosque have said that his intended reference was purely to the individuals shutting down the compound.Other translators, according to a Washington Post report on Friday, said the MEMRI translation distorted the sermon, while saying that Shahin’s direct reference to “Jews” was nonetheless disturbing. Among Shahin’s critics was the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.These critics, along with MPAC, took issue particularly with Shahin for peddling an interpretation of the hadith — the saying of Muhammad — that casts Jews as villains in envisioning the end days. MPAC cited other readings of the hadith as envisioning harmony among the monotheistic religions.The MPAC statement expressed frustration with MEMRI, an organization that has drawn fire from Islamic groups for what they say is its tendency to cut and paste Muslim pronouncements to cast them in the worst possible light.“Groups like MEMRI exacerbate political divisions on the Middle East conflict rather than aim to reconcile differences,” the statement said. “In this case, it is doubly disappointing that an American imam used his pulpit to only provide more fuel for such groups to attack our communities writ-large.”MEMRI has said it stands by its translation.The MPAC statement noted that it also condemned the Al Aqsa closure — indeed, its statement on the matter was a lead item on the website’s front page as of Friday afternoon. It also noted the dangers both Jews and Muslims face in what it said was an atmosphere in the United States of increased hostility to minorities.“Despite differences segments of our communities may have over foreign policy issues, we must stand together against destructive hatred in all its forms,” it said.Seth Brysk, director of ADL’s San Francisco Office, issued a statement Friday, saying, “We welcome Imam Shahin’s apology and his clear recognition that hateful words have consequences. This is an important first step, but it is only the beginning of a journey that he needs to make in restoring confidence in his religious leadership and his understanding of the roots of anti-Semitism.”
Australian PM: Terror plot to bring down plane foiled-Four arrested in raids in Sydney; security bolstered at all Australian domestic and international airports-By Rod McGuirk July 30, 2017, 1:20 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police disrupted a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane and arrested four men on Saturday in raids on homes in several Sydney suburbs, the prime minister said on Sunday.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said security had been increased at Sydney Airport since Thursday because of the plot. The increased security measures had been extended to all major international and domestic terminals around Australia overnight.“I can report last night that there has been a major joint counterterrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane,” Turnbull told reporters. “The operation is continuing.”Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said details were scant on the specifics of the attack, the location and timing.“In recent days, law enforcement has been become aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an improvised devise,” Colvin said.“We are investigating information indicating the aviation industry was potentially a target of that attack,” he added.Turnbull advised travelers in Australia to arrive at Australian airports earlier than usual — two hours before departure — to allow for extra security screening and to minimize carry-on baggage.Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the plot was the 13th significant threat disrupted by police since Australia’s terrorist threat level was elevated in 2014. Five plots have been executed.“The primary threat to Australia still remains lone actors, but the events overnight remind us that there is still the ability for people to have sophisticated plots and sophisticated attacks still remain a real threat,” Keenan said.” In light of this information, it’s very important that everyone in Australia remains vigilant.”The operation was carried out by the Australian Federal Police, the New South Wales state police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main domestic spy agency. The investigation could continue for days, Colvin said.Seven Network television reported that 40 riot squad officers wearing gas masks stormed an inner-Sydney house before an explosives team found a suspicious device.A woman led from a raid by police with her head covered told Nine Network Television: “I love Australia.”None of the four suspects arrested in five raids had been charged, police said.
Trump: China doing ‘nothing’ on North Korea-US president tweets he’s ‘very disappointed’ in Beijing, says he won’t allow situation to continue-By AFP July 30, 2017, 4:04 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US President Donald Trump warned Saturday that he would “no longer” allow China to “do nothing” on North Korea, after the belligerent hermit state launched an intercontinental ballistic missile test.In his critique, which came in two tweets, Trump linked trade woes with the Asian giant to policy on North Korea, after South Korea indicated it was speeding the deployment of a US missile defense that has infuriated China.“I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk,” Trump wrote.“We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!”Trump has vowed to take “all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region.”I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017-…they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017-The US and South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to-surface missiles after the launch, the US army said.The heads of the US and South Korean militaries discussed “military response options” after North Korea’s launch, the Pentagon said.China, Pyongyang’s main economic and diplomatic ally, opposes any military intervention and calls for a resolution through dialogue.The US military will also roll out “strategic assets” to the South following the North’s missile test late Friday, according to South Korean defense minister Song Young-Moo.Song declined to specify the nature of the mobilization, but the phrase usually refers to high-profile weapons systems, such as stealth bombers and aircraft carriers.The THAAD battery comprises six interceptor missile launchers. Two launchers have been tentatively deployed at a golf course-turned-US military base in Seongju County, 187.5 miles (300 kilometers) south of Seoul.China has long argued the deployment will destabilize the region.On trade, the United States has blamed the unbalanced relationship — marked by a trade deficit with China of $309 billion last year — on Beijing’s policies that impede access to their market. China says Washington’s own rules restricting US high-tech exports are partially to blame.
The Canaanites weren’t annihilated, they just ‘moved’ to Lebanon-A UK-based study of ancient genomes finds Canaanites form over 90% of modern Lebanese ancestry, a trait they share with ancient Israelites-By Amanda Borschel-Dan July 28, 2017, 4:30 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A new study suggests the biblical account of the annihilation of the ancient Canaanite people at the hands of the invading Israelites was a bit premature, claiming their descendants are still living just up the road, across the Lebanese border.New genetic research from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has found that far from being destroyed, the Canaanites morphed into the inhabitants of modern Lebanon.Scientists in the United Kingdom-based genetic research center sequenced the genomes of five 4,000-year-old Canaanite individuals and compared them to other ancient and present-day populations, including a sample of 99 modern Lebanese.The results, published July 27 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, show that 93 percent of the ancestry of modern Lebanese ancestry comes from the Canaanites.Had they been destroyed by the Israelites, who were commanded by God to annihilate them, it would have been a form of patricide. According to the study, the Canaanites were the common ancestor for several ancient peoples who inhabited the Levant during the Bronze Age, such as the Ammonites, Moabites, and Israelites.“Each achieved their own cultural identities but all shared a common genetic and ethnic root with Canaanites,” according to the authors of the new study.“For the first time we have genetic evidence for substantial continuity in the region, from the Bronze Age Canaanite population through to the present day. These results agree with the continuity seen by archaeologists,” said Dr. Claude Doumet-Serhal, co-author and director of the Sidon excavation site in Lebanon.The Canaanites, like the Israelites a Semitic-speaking people, were at the center of Bronze Age civilization and “inhabited an area bounded by Anatolia to the north, Mesopotamia to the east, and Egypt to the south, with access to Cyprus and the Aegean through the Mediterranean,” according to the study.Mystery surrounds the fate of the Canaanites, who later came to be known as the Phoenicians, as they appear in scant historical records. Although they introduced several innovations into society, including the first alphabet, other than in the Hebrew Bible — where their annihilation is clearly detailed — there are a few mentions in ancient Egyptian and Greek texts.As reported in Science, Greek legend has it that the Canaanites originally came from the East.According to the study, the Canaanite-related ancestry “derived from mixture between local Neolithic populations and eastern migrants genetically related to Chalcolithic Iranians.” The scientists estimate, “using linkage-disequilibrium decay patterns,” that the genetic mixture took place between 6,600–3,550 years ago, “coinciding with recorded massive population movements in Mesopotamia.”Further, the Eurasian ancestry in the modern Lebanese genetic samples was not present in Bronze Age Canaanites or earlier Levantines. “We estimate that this Eurasian ancestry arrived in the Levant around 3,750–2,170 years ago during a period of successive conquests by distant populations,” write the scientists.Did a Canaanite genocide occur? In Deuteronomy 20:16, the ancient Israelites are commanded by God to completely wipe out the several Canaanite peoples after the death of the Hebrew leader Joshua.“But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded.”However, according to the report, archaeological evidence does not support widespread destruction of Canaanite cities between the Bronze and Iron Ages. For example, coastal cities such as Sidon and Tyre “show continuity of occupation until the present day.”The analysis of the DNA from five Canaanite skeletons found in Sidon who lived 4,000 years ago, and comparison with modern day Lebanese, paint a picture much different than the annihilation recorded in the Bible.“It was a pleasant surprise to be able to extract and analyze DNA from 4,000-year-old human remains found in a hot environment, which is not known for preserving DNA well,” said Dr. Marc Haber, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Haber said the team overcame the climate’s challenge by taking samples from the petrous bone in the skull, which is a very tough bone with a high density of ancient DNA.“Genetic studies using ancient DNA can expand our understanding of history, and answer questions about the likely origins and descendants of enigmatic populations like the Canaanites, who left few written records themselves,” said Dr. Chris Tyler-Smith, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.“The overlap between the Bronze Age and present-day Levantines suggests a degree of genetic continuity in the region,” according to the study.
