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)
2020 AMERICAN ELECTION
DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN
REVELATION 6:7-8 (500 MILLION DEAD EACH FROM THE 4 JUDGEMENTS)(2 BILLION TOT DEAD HERE)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
THE COVID-19 TOTALS.
WORLD OVER ALL CASES 104,489,288 DEAD 2,265,115 AS OF WED FEB 03,21
AstraZeneca vaccine cuts virus transmission by two-thirds after one dose – study-Non-peer-reviewed research by vaccine creator Oxford University is hailed by UK politicians as confirming strategy of waiting 12 weeks between doses-By AFP-FEB 3,21-Today, 12:17 pm
LONDON, United Kingdom — The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine significantly reduces virus transmission and is highly protective after a single dose, according to an Oxford University study, which the British government said Wednesday vindicated its inoculation strategy.“It does show the world that the Oxford jab works, it works well,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC radio, hailing the study’s findings as “good news.”“It slows transmission by around two-thirds, so it categorically supports the strategy that we’re undertaking,” Hancock said.The study’s findings came amid much debate over the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca shot among the elderly.Although the European Medicines Agency recommended it for adults of all ages last week, several countries have advised against administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to older people.Germany has already said it will not advise over 65s to get it, Italy’s medicines agency on Saturday approved the vaccine for all adults but recommended alternatives for people aged over 55, and French President Emmanuel Macron last week said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was “quasi-ineffective” for those over 65.The UK has been under lockdown since December with schools closed and no definite end-date, although a review of the situation is expected in mid-February.The country has had 3.8 million cases and 108,013 deaths.-Dosing schedule-The Oxford study, which is awaiting peer review, found that those who had been vaccinated with a single dose of the vaccine were 67 percent less likely to test positive with a PCR test, “suggesting the potential for a substantial reduction in transmission.”It also provided backing for the UK’s strategy of administering as many first doses of vaccine to high-risk groups as possible and allowing a 12-week interval before the second dose, which has been criticized by some experts.The other vaccine already being rolled out in the UK, by Pfizer-BioNTech, was designed to be administered with a shorter interval.“We are confident that the 12-week dosing schedule is the right one for both of the vaccines that we’re using in the UK,” Hancock said Wednesday.Researchers found that a single dose was 76% effective in preventing virus symptoms after 22 days and for up to 90 days, while it did not prevent asymptomatic illness.It was more effective to wait 90 days than to administer the second dose, researchers found, “providing further support for current policy.”The survey had 17,177 participants in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. The data covers the period up to December 7, 2020. None of those studied were hospitalized.The vaccine invented by scientists at the University of Oxford is being developed and manufactured by AstraZeneca.The vaccine is cheap to produce and is being sold at cost price. It can also be stored at fridge temperature, while the Pfizer vaccine requires extremely cold storage.
Biden plans to undo ‘national shame’ of Trump child separations-Administration says president committed ‘to remedy this awful harm the Trump administration inflicted on families’By Charlotte Plantive-FEB 3,21-Today, 5:29 am
WASHINGTON (AFP) — In May 2018 a six-year-old Honduran boy named Andres was wrested kicking and screaming from his father by US border guards implementing Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy toward undocumented immigrants.It took another 10 months for the pair to be reunited — but they were among the lucky ones.Hundreds of migrant children like Andres are still waiting to rejoin parents after being taken away by the Trump administration.President Joe Biden has prioritized creating a special task force to reunify the families as part of his sweeping redo of Trump’s immigration policies, which focused on deterring migration from Central America.“It was a moral failure and a national shame that the prior administration used family separation as a weapon against desperate families and children,” an administration official told journalists, briefing on Biden’s plans.“The Biden administration is committed to remedy this awful harm the Trump administration inflicted on families,” said the official.Trump came to power in 2017 promising to halt the mass movement of undocumented migrants over the southern border.But an initial crackdown only slowed the flow, with tens of thousands of individuals and families — especially from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador — crossing each month, and little mechanism in place to send them back.A year later he announced the zero-tolerance program, declaring that any undocumented border crossers would be arrested and charged with a crime.As part of the new regime children were separated from their parents, on a promise that families would be reunited within weeks. But this did not happen in thousands of cases.The policy was applied with little mercy, court filings showed.After being taken from his father Jacinto, Andres went into the custody of US officials, while his father was deported to Honduras.While their separation lasted less than a year, it took a full 16 months to reunite 13-year-old Karin from the mother she was torn from as she was placed in handcuffs.Another youngster, seven-year-old Diana, went to sleep with her father in an immigration facility and woke up to find he was gone, taken away by US authorities.A public outcry and lawsuits forced the Trump administration to halt the separations, but for as many as 5,000 children, the damage had been done.Trump’s immigration officials kept poor records and did little to cooperate with groups seeking to help the children, forcing more lawsuits.According to a document in one of those cases dated January, 611 children had still not been reconnected with their parents.Underscoring the issue of poor documentation, the court filing says that for 392 migrant children, their parents “are believed” to have been deported.For another 201, the parents “are believed” to be in the United States. And for 18, there are no known contacts.No one really knows how many children remain without their families but the figure is estimated to be “as high as 1,000,” said the Biden official.The new task force will have to come up with policies to deal with reunifications. A key question: will the children who are reunited be permitted to stay in the United States legally with their parents? And migrant advocate groups want the children to be able to benefit from counseling for the trauma of separation.On these questions Biden’s immigration advisors remain cautious, saying they have to act within US law, but adding that each family’s situation can be different.
Trump ‘singularly responsible’ for Capitol riot, impeachment trial brief says-‘If provoking insurrection against Congress not an impeachable offense, hard to imagine what would be’; ex-president’s lawyers say trial unconstitutional now he’s left White House-By Agencies-FEB 3,21-Today, 5:13 am
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was “singularly responsible” for the deadly US Capitol riot last month and acquitting the former president could damage American democracy, lawmakers leading the impeachment case said Tuesday, a week before his Senate trial begins.Trump became the first US president in history to be impeached twice when the House of Representatives charged him last month with inciting the mayhem inflicted by his followers when they invaded Congress on January 6.In a pre-trial brief, the House impeachment managers made their case for the Senate to convict, saying the American people should be protected “against a president who provokes violence to subvert our democracy.”Trump’s impeachment was triggered by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall just before the riot, telling them Joe Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march on Congress and “fight like hell.”The mob stormed the Capitol, fatally wounded one police officer, wrecked furniture and forced terrified lawmakers and vice president Mike Pence to hide, interrupting a ceremony to put the legal stamp on Biden’s victory.The nine impeachment managers, all Democrats, argued in their sweeping 77-page document that Trump’s speech had whipped the crowd into a “frenzy.”Trump, they said, “is singularly responsible for the violence and destruction” during the riot that left five people dead.“In a grievous betrayal of his oath of office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol,” wrote the lawmakers, led by congressman Jamie Raskin.“If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be,” the brief states.Failure to convict Trump “would embolden future leaders to attempt to retain power by any and all means — and would suggest that there is no line a president cannot cross.”No ‘January Exception’Although Trump was impeached on January 13, his term ended a week later — before the beginning of the Senate trial.“The present proceedings are moot and thus a nullity since the 45th president cannot be removed from an office he no longer occupies,” Trump lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen wrote in their own brief outlining the case for the defense.They said the trial itself was unconstitutional now that Trump has left the White House.They also said Trump’s speech in Washington, and his repeated refusal to accept the election results, amounted to protected free speech.“The president exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect,” the lawyers wrote.But House Democrat Adam Schiff, lead manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal in early 2020, said such a defense was a “false” argument.Democrats also rejected the reasoning that Trump cannot be tried once out of office.“There is no ‘January Exception’ to impeachment or any other provision of the Constitution,” they wrote, adding that a president must answer for his conduct in office “from his first day in office through his last.”They point to multiple videos — expected to be used as evidence in the trial — which they say show Trump inciting the crowd to commit violence, and show rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” and hunting for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.The pre-trial brief also noted how rioters stated publicly that they stormed the Capitol at Trump’s urging.“We were invited here… by the President of the United States!” one rioter yelled at police officers, according to the brief.Trump spent much of his time after the November 3 vote claiming that the election was stolen.Dozens of courts in multiple states found the argument baseless.But impeachment managers argued that Trump’s constant promoting of unfounded voter fraud accusations fueled his supporters into backing efforts to overturn the election.When those efforts failed, the Democrats wrote, Trump “summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue.”Asked whether the Biden administration was concerned that Trump’s defense team might incite further violence by continuing to argue his claim of election fraud, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was cautious.“Watching the potential for violence is something that we will do closely,” she said.The Senate’s 100 members take up the impeachment trial on February 9, and Democrats acknowledge a conviction is unlikely.With the chamber split 50-50, Democrats would need at least 17 Republicans to break with Trump in order to surpass the two-thirds threshold necessary for conviction.Should that occur, a subsequent vote would be held, with a simple majority required to ban Trump from holding public office in the future.
US lawmaker: Running from rockets fired from Gaza prepped me for Capitol mob-‘I’ve been through much worse,’ Kathy Manning says she thought during the insurrection, recalling having to rush to bomb shelters in Sderot during Israel trip-By Ron Kampeas-FEB 3,21-Today, 9:12 am
JTA — Kathy Manning, a new US congresswoman from North Carolina, has said her remembrance of fleeing bombs aimed from the Gaza Strip into Israel helped steel her during the deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection.“As my heart started to race, I thought to myself, ‘I’ve been through much worse. I’ve had to run to bomb shelters in Sderot with sirens blaring and rockets overhead coming in from Gaza,’” Manning said Monday evening in a virtual chat with the Jewish Federations of North America, the umbrella body she chaired a decade ago.Her remarks were first reported by Jewish Insider.Manning, a Democrat, was one of nine freshmen in Congress to address the virtual mission to Washington.The insurrection, spurred by former US president Donald Trump’s false claims that he won the election, has claimed five lives.Terrorists in Gaza have fired tens of thousands of rockets aimed at Israeli cities and communities since the Hamas terror group took over the Strip in 2007 in a bloody coup.The barrages sparked frequent rocket alarms in cities such as Sderot, where residents generally have 15 seconds to rush to a bomb shelter.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Archaeologists in Egypt unearth an eerie cache of golden-tongued mummies-Corpses dating back to Greek and Roman eras likely received gilded organs to better speak to Osiris, lord of the underworld-By Luke Tress-FEB 3,21-Today, 12:20 am
Archaeologists in Egypt have found a cache of eerie gold-tongued mummies in tombs cut out of rock near the northern city of Alexandria.The 16 burials date back some 2,000 years to the Greek and Roman eras. They were unearthed by an Egyptian-Dominican team near the ancient Taposiris Magna temple.The mummies were poorly preserved and characteristic of their era, which came long after the heyday of Egypt’s pyramid-building old dynasties.The tongues were made of gold foil, likely in the belief they would allow the deceased to speak in the afterlife to Osiris, the ancient Egyptian religion’s lord of the underworld and judge of the dead.They were likely placed in the dead person’s mouth during the embalming process, after the actual tongue was removed.The team also found a woman’s funeral mask, golden flakes representing leaves on a gold wreathe and eight marble masks.Researchers working at the same site have previously found ancient coins bearing the name and image of Queen Cleopatra VII, the fabled final queen of Egypt during the close of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic Kingdom.She ruled from 51 BC until her death in 30 BC, when Rome took over the land.
MIKE LINDELL ON DEMOLIBNUT FIXED VOTER ELECTION FOR BIDEN 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVYD49IoTU0 (P-1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBLf69TCcR8 (P-2)
REBUILD THIRD TEMPLE NOW-TEMPLE INSTITUTE IS TRUE (THESE ARE ALL MYTHS) - MYTH 3RD TEMPLE COMES FROM HEAVEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HTA5H_l0P4
MYTH ONLY THE MESSIAH CAN BUILD THE 3RD TEMPLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCeEjWqV5bM
MYTH - NOT IN HEAVEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4xKP1LAVA
DR ZELENKO ON COVID-19 RECOVERY-TAMAR YONAH
https://soundcloud.com/israel-news-talk-radio/while-cautious-im-not-so-afraid-of-the-coronavirus-anymore-the-tamar-yonah-show
DR VLADMIR ZE'EV ZELENKOS MIXTURE FOR RECOVERY OF COVID-19
https://www.vladimirzelenkomd.com/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TaRDwXMhQHSMsgrs9TFBclHjPHerXMuB87DUXmcAvwg/edit
CANADA-AMERICA LETS BAN ABORTION ALSO-LIBERAL BABY MURDERERS UPSET BECAUSE OF ALMOST TOTAL ABORTION BAN IN POLAND.
HERES MY PETITION TEXT YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SIGN TO BAN ABORTION IN AMERICA AND CANADA.
https://www.change.org/p/citzens-of-canada-and-america-stop-abortion-now-we-must-stop-abortions-in-canada-and-america-sign-here?recruiter=1177433789&recruited_by_id=65fdbbe0-62f1-11eb-ab78-a1ffa963d674&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard
SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype crashes and burns — again-‘We had another great flight,’ official says, ‘We’ve just got to work on that landing’-By AFP-FEB 3,21-Today, 5:58 am
A prototype of a SpaceX rocket the company hopes will one day journey to Mars crashed in a fireball as it tried to land upright after a test flight Tuesday.It was the second such accident after the last prototype of Starship met a similar fate in December.“We had again another great flight,” said SpaceX announcer John Insprucker on an online broadcast.“We’ve just got to work on that landing a little bit,” he added.The company’s founder Elon Musk was uncharacteristically quiet on social media, having announced the night before he was “off Twitter for a while.”The stainless steel rocket, dubbed SN9 or “Serial Number 9,” was cleared for lift-off from Boca Chica, Texas by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) less than a day earlier.The rocket launched smoothly around 2:35 p.m. local time (2035 GMT) and progressively shut down its engines as it reached a height of six miles (10 kilometers), then performed a series of test maneuvers in a horizontal “belly flop” position.It was when the rocket attempted to return to a vertical position for landing that the problems began, with the footage showing it came in too fast and at a bad angle.It landed with a deafening crash, and exploded into bright orange flames and a dust cloud, but the fire did not spread.The company’s next prototype rocket, SN10, appeared to be undamaged on a nearby launchpad.Insprucker put a positive spin on the crash.“We demonstrated the ability to transition the engines to the landing propellant tanks,” he said. “The subsonic reentry looked very good and stable like we saw last December, so we’ve got a lot of good data on flap control.”The company intends to proceed with its next launch “in the near future,” he added.Tuesday’s launch was delayed by several days over problems stemming from SpaceX’s last Starship test on December 9, which also went up in flames.SpaceX had sought a waiver to exceed the maximum allowable risk to the public of Starship SN8.The FAA denied the request, but SpaceX went ahead anyway, landing the company in hot water.The regulator denied SpaceX the opportunity to launch last week and asked them to carry out corrective actions, finally granting its approval Monday night.The company hopes the reusable, 394-foot (120-meter) rocket system will one day carry crew and cargo to fly to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Minister says US will never attack Iran nuclear facilities; Israel may act alone-Tzachi Hanegbi, a close ally of Netanyahu, says in the future there ‘may be no choice’ other than an Israeli strike to prevent a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic-By TOI staff-2 February 2021, 10:21 pm
A Likud minister close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday the US will never attack Iran’s nuclear program, and Israel will have to decide whether to launch such a strike alone or come to terms with a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic.The statement came as tensions heated in the Middle East, with Iran ramping up its nuclear program with ongoing violations of its 2015 deal with world powers, and the US and Israel issuing threats and warnings.Some of the activity is tied to the changing of the guard at the White House. The Trump administration stepped up its pressure on Iran as its tenure drew to a close, while the Biden administration is expected to take a softer approach, despite opposition from Israel and its other regional allies.The United States will never attack the nuclear facilities in Iran. Israel must decide whether it will accept a nuclear Iran,” Tzachi Hanegbi told the Kan public broadcaster. “Israel will be forced to act independently to remove this danger.”“It’s possible that in the future there will be no choice [but to attack Iran militarily],” Hanegbi said. “I hope that when our leadership is met with this dilemma, it won’t accept [a nuclear-armed Iran].”Hanegbi said the Iranians have proved to have a “very limited” capacity to retaliate against Israel. The Jewish state has waged an air campaign against Iranian-linked targets in Syria in recent years without any serious repercussions. Tehran also swore revenge for the killing of its top nuclear scientist last year, blaming Israel for the assassination, but has not yet followed through on the threat.A minor bomb blast at the Israeli embassy in New Delhi this week was being treated as a terror attack, but Israel has not blamed Iran.Hanegbi, who started his Knesset career in 1988, serves as minister of settlement affairs and previously served as minister of justice, internal security, intelligence and nuclear affairs, health, environment and transport, and as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for overseeing Israel’s intelligence services.Israel has twice conducted military strikes against the nuclear programs of its enemies — Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007 — under what’s become known as the Begin Doctrine, which maintains that Jerusalem will not allow an enemy country to obtain an atomic weapon.Hanegbi made similar comments last month, when he threatened that Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear program if the United States rejoined the nuclear deal, as US President-elect Joe Biden has indicated he plans to do, in one of the most forceful recent statements on the issue by an Israeli official.“If the United States government rejoins the nuclear deal — and that seems to be the stated policy as of now — the practical result will be that Israel will again be alone against Iran, which by the end of the deal will have received a green light from the world, including the United States, to continue with its nuclear weapons program,” Hanegbi said.“This of course we will not allow. We’ve already twice done what needed to be done, in 1981 against the Iraqi nuclear program and in 2007 against the Syrian nuclear program,” he said.Hanegbi made the statement after massive airstrikes in Syria targeted over 15 Iran-linked facilities, the latest in a spate of such strikes.Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Israel is still keeping open the possibility of taking action against Tehran’s nuclear project if necessary.“The IDF and Israel’s defense establishment are holding onto the option of taking action against Iran’s nuclear project if that is what has to be done,” he said. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”The interview was broadcast hours after Gantz visited the Depth Corps, the Israel Defense Forces unit tasked with conducting operations far beyond the country’s borders, reviewing operational plans, his office said, in an apparent threat to Iran.IDF chief Aviv Kohavi issued a rare public criticism of the US attitude toward the Iran deal last week, and said that he had ordered the military to develop operational plans for striking Iran’s nuclear program.The Biden administration has said repeatedly it is willing to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, if Iran first returns to compliance. Tehran has said the US must first remove all sanctions it placed on Iran after withdrawing from the treaty.Last month, Tehran announced it was beginning to enrich uranium up to 20 percent — far beyond the 3.5% permitted under the nuclear deal, and a relatively small technical step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran also said it was beginning research into uranium metal, a material that technically has civilian uses but is seen as another likely step toward a nuclear bomb.The United Nations’ nuclear agency said Iran has continued to ramp up its nuclear program in recent weeks by further enriching uranium and installing new centrifuges at its underground Natanz plant, according to a Tuesday report.Iran insists it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a position repeated last week by its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Iran was currently months away from being able to produce enough material to build a nuclear weapon. And, he said, that timeframe could be reduced to “a matter of weeks” if Tehran further violates restrictions it agreed to under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.Biden administration officials have indicated that Israel will be involved in its decision-making process regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
US says sides ‘a long way’ from return to Iran nuclear deal-American officials say Washington’s top priority is to consult with allies on how to proceed on return to 2015 accord-By TOI staff-FEB 3,21-Today, 6:56 am
The United States and Iran are “a long way” from a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.Price said US President Joe Biden has been “very clear” that “if Iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under the [deal], the United States would do the same, and then we would then use that as a platform to build a longer and a stronger agreement that also addresses other areas of concern.“Of course, though, we are a long way from that.”Price said the first steps for Washington were “consulting with our allies, consulting with our partners, consulting with Congress before we’re reaching the point where we’re going to engage directly with the Iranians and willing to entertain any sort of proposal.”He added: “We haven’t… had any discussions with the Iranians, and I wouldn’t expect we would until those initial steps go forward.”An unnamed US official told Reuters the American “priority” was to consult with its regional partners and the partners to the accord first.The Biden administration has said repeatedly it is willing to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, if Iran first returns to compliance. Tehran has said the US must first remove all sanctions it placed on Iran after withdrawing from the treaty.Last month, Tehran announced it was beginning to enrich uranium up to 20 percent — far beyond the 3.5% permitted under the nuclear deal, and a relatively small technical step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran also said it was beginning research into uranium metal, a material that technically has civilian uses but is seen as another likely step toward a nuclear bomb.The United Nations’ nuclear agency said Iran has continued to ramp up its nuclear program in recent weeks by further enriching uranium and installing new centrifuges at its underground Natanz plant, according to a Tuesday report.Iran insists it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a position repeated last week by its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Iran was currently months away from being able to produce enough material to build a nuclear weapon. And, he said, that timeframe could be reduced to “a matter of weeks” if Tehran further violates restrictions it agreed to under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during talks in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)-Biden administration officials have indicated that Israel will be involved in its decision-making process regarding Iran’s nuclear program.The Biden administration’s policy on Iran is expected to be a point of contention between the new US administration and Israel. Israeli officials have voiced strong objections to the US rejoining the nuclear deal, and have also issued threats against Iran in recent weeks.Israel, along with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, are all seeking to dissuade the Biden administration from returning to the Iran nuclear agreement in its original form. The Biden administration has pledged to consult with Israel and its other Middle East allies before making decisions regarding Iran.Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Israel is still keeping open the possibility of taking action against Tehran’s nuclear project if necessary.A Likud minister close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday the US will never attack Iran’s nuclear program, and Israel will have to decide whether to launch such a strike alone or come to terms with a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic.Tzachi Hanegbi told Kan News: “Israel will be forced to act independently to remove this danger.”“It’s possible that in the future there will be no choice [but to attack Iran militarily],” Hanegbi said. “I hope that when our leadership is met with this dilemma, it won’t accept [a nuclear-armed Iran].”
US moves carrier strike group out of Gulf as tensions with Iran appear to ebb-Pentagon spokesperson says USS Nimitz will move to Indo-Pacific Command, but declines to discuss assessments of Iranian military threat-By Agencies-FEB 3,21-Today, 10:18 am
WASHINGTON, United States — US President Joe Biden’s administration has pulled an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf in a sign of potentially easing tensions with Iran, which had soared under former US president Donald Trump.Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday the USS Nimitz carrier strike group had sailed from the US military’s Central Command in the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific Command region.Kirby did not confirm reports the Nimitz was headed back to the United States after some nine months at sea.But he indicated that, after the Trump administration ramped up the US military presence in the Gulf, the Biden administration did not see keeping the carrier there as necessary for US security needs.Kirby declined to discuss the current Pentagon assessment of an Iranian military threat to US bases or Gulf allies.However, he said: “We don’t make decisions like this lightly.”Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “believes that we have a robust presence in the Middle East to respond” to any threat, Kirby added.“The secretary was mindful of the larger geo-strategic picture when he approved the movement of the carrier strike group from the Central Command area of responsibility to the Indo PACOM area of responsibility,” he said.Kirby would not say if the Nimitz would be replaced in the region in the near future, noting that the US Navy has a limited number of aircraft carriers.“We’re constantly watching the threat. We’re constantly trying to meet that threat with proper capabilities,” he said.Trump imposed crippling sanctions on Iran after pulling America out of a nuclear accord in 2018, as part of what he called maximum pressure against Iran.Trump cited Iran’s ballistic missile program and said that the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in 2015, does not go far enough to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. As the Trump administration increased sanctions, Iran gradually and publicly abandoned the deal’s limits on its nuclear development.Tensions between Tehran and Washington steadily increased. During Trump’s final days as president, Tehran seized a South Korean oil tanker and began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels, while the US has sent B-52 bombers, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine into the region.Iran has also increased its military drills, including firing cruise missiles as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman last month.Biden has pledged to return to the nuclear deal, signed with world powers who are also keen to keep the struggling pact going.Iran has missile capability of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), far enough to reach Israel as well as US military bases in the region.Last January, after the US killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, Tehran retaliated by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops, resulting in brain concussion injuries to dozens of American soldiers.
Arriving in Morocco, Israeli envoy makes expanding ties his mission-Ambassador David Govrin anticipates low-level relationship with Rabat will reach full diplomatic heights — building on years of contacts, visits and a shared historY-By Lazar Berman -2 February 2021, 9:45 pm
On December 10, then-White House adviser Jared Kushner told reporters that Morocco had agreed to establish “full diplomatic ties” with Israel. In fact, as Morocco’s King Mohammed VI made clear soon after, Rabat had agreed to re-establish a liason office with an eye toward expanding ties in the future.Nearly two months later, Israel’s man in Rabat says he’s laying the groundwork for that anticipated deepening of government and civil ties, though the Moroccans appear to prefer taking the rekindled relationship slow.“We are trying to expand our bilateral ties with the Moroccans in many different fields,” envoy David Govrin told The Times of Israel this week. “The potential is very high.”Govrin is currently the head of Israel’s liaison office in Rabat, and is likely to become Israel’s ambassador should full diplomatic ties be established. In a December 2020 statement reestablishing ties, the countries agreed to immediately reopen liaison offices, while working to “resume official bilateral ties and diplomatic relations as soon as possible.”“Israel would like to establish our full diplomatic relationship as soon as we can,” Govrin said, but the Moroccan government prefers a gradual process.A Moroccan government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. For now Rabat does not appear to be discussing full ties publicly, though the kingdom is eager to expand cooperation.On Friday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Israeli National Security Council chairman Meir Ben-Shabbat agreed by phone to establish “joint working groups” to promote cooperation between the two countries in a variety of areas, including investments, transportation, water, environment, energy and tourism.And on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke with Bourita — the first conversation between the two top diplomats — and “agreed to work together to rapidly implement the agreements between Morocco and Israel,” Ashkenazi said.Israel and Morocco established low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel’s interim peace accords with the Palestinians, but those ties were suspended after the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000. Nevertheless, informal ties continued, and Israelis could still travel to Morocco as part of organized tours. An estimated 50,000 Israelis travel to Morocco each year, learning about the Jewish community and retracing family histories.King Hassan II of Morocco, right, with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, second from left, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, left , at the Skhirat Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco, September 14, 1993. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)-Govrin, who previously served as Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, said he believed those informal ties would help smooth the resumption of contacts between the countries.“It is much easier than other Arab countries due to the fact that over the last two decades, we’ve had constant contacts with civil society in Morocco. Many representatives of different Moroccan organizations visited Israel,” he said. “The Jewish community here in Morocco played a significant role in connecting the two peoples. So we are not starting from scratch. We are continuing, we are expanding.”The relationship is also aided by Israel’s massive community of Moroccan Jews, which numbers around 700,000, many of whom maintain a connection to the country. Today, some 3,000 Jews remain in Morocco, most of them in Casablanca.Govrin spoke with visiting heads of Morocco’s Jewish community in person in Israel, and with others by phone, before he flew to Rabat.He will be heading to Casablanca later this week to meet the Jewish community there.“I intend to hear their concerns if there are any, and what are the prospects… We should be very attentive to their concerns,” he said.While largely welcoming the resumption of ties, some Moroccan Jews expressed concerns following the December 10 announcement, fearing the reaction of Islamist elements in Morocco opposed to the normalization process.In 2013, for instance, leftists and Islamists demonstrated outside the Tangiers Film Festival against a documentary about Moroccan Jews living in Israel. They claimed it promoted “normalization” with Israel.“I’m afraid that protests will break out, that a rift will be created between the communities, that misunderstandings will prevail,” a Moroccan Jewish woman told AFP shortly after the normalization deal.When news of the agreement with Israel emerged in December 2020, Morocco’s main Islamist parties released statements calling the move “deplorable” and a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.Govrin arrived in Morocco on January 25. Since he is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, he was not required to quarantine in Morocco.Israel’s diplomats are currently operating out of a hotel in Rabat, and will be moving to rented offices soon. Israel still owns its shuttered liaison office in the capital, but sees it as unsuitable for its current needs.“We are trying to establish the infrastructure for our activity,” said Govrin. Those efforts include finding office space, recruiting staff, and starting to meet with Moroccan officials, representatives of the Jewish community, and Moroccan businessmen.The mission is currently working on bringing personnel from Israel and hiring Moroccans as local staff.Govrin, who speaks Arabic and French, openly identifies as an Israeli diplomat in Morocco. “Why should I hide?” he asked. “I don’t have to hide. We went two days ago to a big mall… naturally, we were asked, ‘Where are you from?’ We were welcomed in a very warm way. The same in the hotel we are staying in. It’s really amazing, and it’s wonderful.”Though COVID-19 restrictions have largely dampened international travel, Israel and Morocco are hoping to inaugurate direct flights between the countries in the next two months. Israeli diplomats are preparing for a dramatic rise in the number of Israeli tourists to Morocco.He hopes that significant numbers of Moroccan tourists will visit Israel as well, and that the immigration officials at Ben Gurion Airport “will understand that the reality has changed, and that there is a difference between [Morocco and] Arab countries that Israel does not have full diplomatic relations with, those who are still considered to be our enemies or hostile.”Airport immigration officials in the past have been accused of treating Arabs and critics of Israel with a surfeit of suspicion, in some cases detaining or deporting people for comments they may have made online years ago.Govrin said that Israel must continue to establish ties across the Arab world, and must “look for our partners in each and every Arab country.”“We see these missions as a bridge to the Arab world,” he said.Representing a country that gives prominence to military and security agencies, Govrin sees himself as participating in a campaign no less important for Israel’s security.“I see myself as a soldier of peace,” Govrin said. “I think we should invest our effort as well as our time in this campaign for peace. It’s one thing to sign an official agreement; it’s another thing to implement it.”“Implementing an agreement takes continuous effort and time,” he added. “You have to devote and use all your skills in order to open doors. It’s not easy.”‘A historic week’ On top of Rabat, last week saw Israel open missions in Manama, Bahrain and both Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE.On Thursday, Foreign Minister Ashkenazi held a virtual summit with his top diplomats in those four locations, as well as embassies in Egypt and Jordan, calling the new openings part of a “historic week.”“Opening the missions is a living testament to the changes occurring in the region and to change in Israel’s regional standing,” he said.He said he expected the momentum created over the previous six months to continue with new US President Joe Biden.“The Biden administration is committed to the peace process and normalization in the Middle East, and it will continue operating to widen the circle and to bring other countries in,” Ashkenazi said.
