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)
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 113,696,997 DEAD 2,522,302 AS OF FRI FEB 26,21
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
Analysis-Coronavirus vaccines block disease, but do they hinder infection? Herd immunity usually achieved when 60%-80% percent of a population inoculated or recovered, but ‘escape variants’ carry greater risk of virus continuing to circulate-By Marlowe HOOD -FEB 26,21-Today, 3:02 pm
PARIS, France (AFP) — As reports from Scotland and Israel — where much or most of the population have gotten COVID-19 shots — confirm that vaccines largely prevent people from getting sick, another question is still up in the air: do they also block infection? A lot depends on the answer, experts say.If vaccines being rolled out worldwide ward off not only symptoms but the virus itself, it could sharply slow the pathogen’s spread and hasten the return to normalcy.“If the true impact on infections was very high, it would be great news because that is what we need for herd immunity,” Marc Lipsitch, director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told AFP.Herd immunity is achieved when most of a population — estimates vary between 60 to 80 percent — have acquired defenses against a virus, whether through vaccination or because they caught the bug and survived.But if the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines — and perhaps others made in China, Russia and India — shield poorly against infection, then even people who have rolled up their sleeves to be injected remain potential, unwitting carriers.“The big concern is that the vaccines prevent illness, hospitalization and death, but won’t sufficiently prevent transmission,” Peter English, a UK-based consultant in communicable disease control and former chair of the British Medical Association’s Public Health Medicine Committee, told AFP.‘Escape variants’In that scenario, communities and economies already reeling from the pandemic face prolonged mask-wearing, social distancing and more-or-less hard lockdowns until vaccine campaigns can be completed.“There is also a greater risk that vaccine ‘escape variants’ might be thrown up as the virus continues to circulate,” English said.Several such variants — more contagious, more deadly, or both — have already proliferated in England, South Africa and Brazil as the SARS-CoV-2 virus finds it harder to find new hosts, a predictable phase in the evolution of a pandemic.But recent studies along with others in the pipeline give a reason for optimism.Research covering the entire Scottish population of 5.4 million — a fifth inoculated with the Pfizer or Oxford/AstraZeneca shots — provides real-world validation that the vaccines prevent COVID-19 symptoms and illness more than 90 percent of the time.A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine — comparing two groups in Israel of nearly 600,000 persons each, one vaccinated and the other not — also reported reduced illness in line with clinical trials.But unlike the research from Scotland, the Israeli findings also showed infections had sharply declined in the vaccinated cohort — by 92 percent among those at least one week past the second of two doses.Encouraging results-The true level of protection may not be that high because Israel does not systematically test for COVID-19 among people with no symptoms, the authors acknowledge.“They are likely to have failed to detect some asymptomatic cases, and we know that people without symptoms can still transmit the infection,” said English.But the results are still encouraging, he added.“These findings give us hope that vaccination alone may get the R number below 1,” English said, referring to the threshold above which a virus continues to spread.“If it can — and this is the big question — we would eventually no longer need to take behavioral measures such as lockdowns or masks to interrupt spread.”But how is it that despite hundreds of studies, as well as rigorous clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people and resulting in more than half-a-dozen successful vaccines, we still do not know how well they block infection?One reason, said Lipsitch, is that when the pandemic began its devastating march across the globe last Spring this was not a priority.“What the global community cared about most, the question they wanted answered quickly, was how well vaccines prevent disease,” he said, noting that clinical trials were designed with that in mind.“We got answers quickly,” he added. “But we wouldn’t have if we had tried to do too many things at once — especially things like measuring impacts on infection.”Asymptomatic to deadly-Another reason is the challenge of tracking a disease affecting millions that range in impact from zero symptoms to death.“Trying to work out how many people are asymptomatic but potentially infectious is difficult,” said English. “How do you identify them unless you are routinely testing everybody?”On top of that, even the best measures of infection — so-called PCR tests — are only about 70 percent sensitive outside laboratory conditions, he added.But to what extent vaccines impact infection is likely to come into focus soon.“The limited data available suggests that vaccines will at least partly reduce transmission, and the studies to determine this with more clarity are underway,” Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center, wrote Wednesday in the New York Times.One of the most promising signals so far has come from the clinical trials for the Moderna vaccine developed in the United States.“When people came in for their second shot, they were tested for the virus in the nose,” commented Lipsitch, who is writing a study interpreting the data.“There was a more than 60 percent reduction in the proportion who had the virus on Day 28 if they got the vaccine, rather than a placebo, on Day Zero.”If anything, the effect was even larger, he added.
Israeli accused of spying for Hamas, providing intel on rocket defense array-Shin Bet says Mohammad Abu Adra, who for family reasons was permitted frequent travel between Israel and Gaza, was recruited 18 months ago to gather information for terror group-By TOI staff-FEB 26,21-Today, 11:21 am
An Israeli civilian was indicted Friday for allegedly acting as an agent for the Hamas terror group inside Israel, providing the organization with information that included locations of Iron Dome missile defense batteries.Mohammad Abu Adra, 43, was arrested on February 3 following an investigation by police and the Shin Bet security service.Authorities said Abu Adra is the son of an Israeli Bedouin father and a Gazan mother, and his wife is from Gaza as well. Due to his special status, he was allowed to travel on a regular basis between the Strip and the Israeli city of Rehovot.For this reason, Hamas recruited Abu Adra some 18 months ago, the Shin Bet said, with Abu Adra agreeing to work for the terror group, maintaining clandestine contacts with it and gathering and transmitting information requested of him from inside Israeli territory.No information was provided on the nature of the information provided to Hamas by Abu Adra beyond Iron Dome locations.He was indicted Friday at the Beersheba District Court for security offenses that include membership in a terror organization, a decision to commit treason and providing information to the enemy.A statement from the Shin Bet said Hamas “is ceaselessly working to recruit Israeli citizens for the purpose of intelligence gathering in order to enable terror attacks in Israel.”A source in the security agency said this was another example of the group taking advantage of those permitted to cross between Israel and Gaza “to destabilize the region, despite of, and in parallel with, ongoing efforts to reach a [long-term] arrangement” between the sides.A similar case was reported by the Shin Bet in January 2020, when it arrested two Israeli citizens who allegedly used their ability to move between Gaza and Israel to provide the terror group with details about Israeli security facilities and other intelligence information.According to the agency, the two men — Rami Amoudi, 30, and Rajab Daka, 34 — were recruited by the Gaza-based terror group in October 2019 and tasked with filming security installations in central Israel, including “military bases, police stations and Iron Dome battery placements.”The Shin Bet said Daka was also asked to provide the precise locations of where rockets launched from Gaza had landed during the bouts of fighting, apparently to help the terror group improve its accuracy.In November an Israeli citizen was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of heading a cross-border smuggling ring that transferred thousands of tons of concrete, piping, metals and electronic equipment from Israel to Hamas.
Jewish Indian women elders spearhead revival of Purim musical tradition-COVID-19 restrictions prevent holiday synagogue performance in Mumbai, but members of India’s largest Jewish community Bene Israel are still passing on the Hindu-inspired art form-By Renee Ghert-Zand-FEB 26,21-Today, 6:06 am
This year, COVID-19 competes with Haman as the villain of the Jewish holiday of Purim for India’s Bene Israel “kirtankars.” The kirtankars, a group of elderly women from the Mumbai Jewish community who sing kirtan, or traditional devotional songs, had planned to perform a kirtan about Queen Esther in the synagogue for the holiday. But with places of worship mostly closed due to the pandemic, the women’s performance has been canceled.Kirtans are traditional storytelling songs inspired by Hindu devotional music. The ones sung by the Bene Israel are in the local Marathi language and include Hebrew words. They extol great figures of the Hebrew Bible, such as Joseph, Moses, David and Elijah. The one the women had hoped to perform this week is called “Esther Ranichi Katha” or the tale of Queen Esther who saved the Jews.“There’s been a spike in Covid cases, so religious worship has been restricted. We will probably have five to ten people — not even a minyan [prayer quorum] — at the synagogue. And it isn’t safe for the women, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s, to leave their homes to travel,” said Elijah Jacob, former Joint Distribution Committee director in India.“It’s a shame because they were so excited to do their recital,” he said of the kirtankars, or kirtan singers.Jacob has been active in recent years in working with the women to preserve and perform the kirtans of the Bene Israel community, which were popular from the 1880s until the 1940s. Local interest in them waned considerably after the majority of Bene Israel Jews emigrated to Israel or Commonwealth countries after Israel and India gained independence.“The last time I remember hearing a kirtan performed was at the Elly Kadoorie School here in Mumbai in the mid-1990s,” Jacob said.The Bene Israel, the largest Indian Jewish community, is said to have had its founding with a shipwreck of Jews from the Kingdom of Israel off India’s Konkan coast circa 175 BCE. These Jews lived among the local Hindu community, and because everything was lost to them, they did not have Torah and Talmud texts to guide their lives. They didn’t have rabbis, nor did they remember all of the festivals.“Most traditions were passed on orally after the shipwreck. The Bene Israel practiced the basics of Judaism, such as not working on the Sabbath, circumcision, the kosher laws, and the recitation of the Shema prayer,” Jacob said.According to Hebrew University anthropologist and Indian Jewry specialist Dr. Shalva Weil, the first recorded evidence of the Bene Israel community is from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when they — like many others — migrated to Bombay (as Mumbai was formerly known) under British rule.“The first synagogue in Bombay, called the Gate of Mercy Synagogue, was established in 1796,” Weil told The Times of Israel.The Bene Israel’s exposure in the late 19th century to the Bible in written form by Scottish and American Christian missionaries spurred the composition and performance of the kirtans focusing on heroes of the Hebrew Bible.According to a recent article in The Times of India, Samuel Mazgaonkar David Haeem Divekar, Benjamin Ashtamkar, Isaac Abraham Talegaonkar and several other Bene Israel community members began writing and performing kirtans in the 1880s. Initially frowned upon by some, these kirtans became a hit at local celebrations like weddings, circumcision ceremonies and housewarming parties. Within a few years, a repertoire of 42 kirtans was created.Some of the kirtans were published in printed books, while others were jotted down in notebooks.Bene Israel kirtans are undoubtedly inspired by Hindu musical traditions, and are often accompanied by Indian musical instruments. However, they are also adopted from Sephardic Jewish tunes for Sabbath eve prayer-type songs known as zemirot.These Sephardic melodies were introduced to the Bene Israel Jews by Cochin Jewish leaders who came up to Bombay from southern India to help establish the community and bring it in line with mainstream Judaism beginning in the late18th century. Sephardic Jews arrived in Cochin following their expulsion from the Iberian peninsula in the late 15th century.Enjoy this Bene-Israel Kirtan from 1867.Posted by Wbwo Daniels on Friday, June 12, 2020-“Having these tunes in the kirtans helps people follow and sing along, because they are familiar with them,” Jacob said.While the kirtans had mostly fallen by the wayside in Mumbai, they were kept alive within the Bene Israel community in Israel.“When I carried out fieldwork among the Bene Israel in Lod many years ago, we had kirtan evenings,” Weil recalled.“They were led by a woman named Flora Samuel, who was the former headmistress of the Sir Elly Kadoorie School. She even published a journal article about the kirtans,” she said.Former AJDC director Elijah Jacob (right) with kirtan performers at Indian Jewish heritage conference in Delhi, 2017 (Elijah Jacob)-Whereas the kirtans — which include narration and in pageant-like style — were produced and performed by men at their inception, they have become the domain of women since the 20th century. Therefore, it was the older female members of the Bene Israel community in Mumbai to whom Jacob turned in the effort to revive the educational art form.In 2015, American ethnomusicologist Anna Schultz heard Weil lecture about the Jewish kirtans at a conference at Stanford University. Schultz subsequently traveled to India to research the cultural translation of the devotional songs from the Hindu context to the Jewish one. She introduced Jacob to a Hindu kirtankar who had composed a kirtan comparing the biblical Noah to Manu, the first man according to Hindu tradition.Book of collected Bene Israel kirtans, published 2016 (Courtesy of Elijah Jacob)-This spurred Jacob to approach the women of the local Jewish community’s Orot HaTorah group to work with him on collecting and recording the kirtans (in writing and in audio formats) that they remembered from their youth. Fortunately, a member of the JDC board also had a stash of some two dozen kirtans written down by his great-grandfather, which he happily handed over to the project. Jacob also asked the women to write their own kirtans.A book of the collected kirtans was printed in 2016. It is in Marathi, and therefore accessible only to speakers and readers of the language. Jacob said he hopes to raise funds to translate the kirtans into English and to produce a second edition.So far, Bene Israel kirtankars have performed twice in Mumbai and once in Delhi — always to packed houses.In speaking with The Times of Israel by Zoom, kirtankars Ruby Moses (Rivka Moshe), Diana Korlekar, and sisters Shoshanna and Hannah Kolet said they would love to be invited to perform in Israel.Based on the interest of the younger generation of Indian Israelis in their heritage as expressed in social media groups, it seems the women would be well-received.The kirtans keep Jewish identity alive-Moses, 68, said she isn’t afraid the kirtan tradition won’t be passed down, even in India where there are only about 1,000 Jews between the ages of 13 and 30 left in Mumbai, according to Jacob.“These are about what our great leaders did for us. The kirtans keep Jewish identity alive,” she said.Unlike Moses, who was unfamiliar with the kirtans as a girl, Shoshanna Kolet, 75 remembered her uncle teaching her one about Moses.“This is our traditional culture. We are passing it on to new generations. That’s why we are writing kirtans,” she said.Korlekar, 76, wasn’t going to let the coronavirus pandemic completely stop her from performing the Queen Esther kirtan. Before signing off from the video chat interview, she pulled out the lyrics and began singing a bit of the song. Moses kept time on a tambourine, and the Kolet sisters joined in.
13 Thou shalt not kill.(Murder)(THAT INCLUDES ABORTION)
MATTHEW 18:6
6 But whoso shall offend (HURT) one of these little ones (CHILDREN) which believe in me,(JESUS) it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.(THATS THE DEATH PENALTY FOLKS)
EXODUS 21:12
12 He that smiteth (MURDER)a man,(OR BABY) so that he die, shall be surely put to death.(THATS THE DEATH PENALTY PEOPLE)
REVELATION 9:20-21
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils,(OCCULT) and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,(DRUG ADDICTIONS) nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Iran’s supreme leader says women in cartoons must wear hijabs-Unclear if ruling issued by Ali Khamenei will be enforced; foreign films showing unscarved women can be screened in Iran, but locally made productions are banned from doing so-By TOI staff-FEB 26,21-Today, 9:06 am
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared that women depicted in cartoons or animated films must wear the hijab head covering.According to the country’s Tasnim news agency, when asked on Saturday whether it is necessary for animated female characters to be portrayed with their hair covered, Khamenei answered that “observing hijab in animation is required due to the consequences of not wearing hijab.”It was unclear whether the declaration would be enforced in any way.Due to Teheran’s strict censorship laws, scenes deemed immoral or offensive are often censored, while films considered hostile to Islamic values are banned.Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, it became mandatory for women to wear a hijab and modest clothing in public, a move enforced by the Islamic religious police of Iran, known as Guidance Patrol.Iranian TV can show foreign films with unscarved women — although too much leg or cleavage gets blurred out or otherwise hidden.But local programs must normally abide by strict rules in which no female hair can be shown, even for historical dramas or scenes set in a family home where real-life women do not cover their heads.Iranian film-makers must obtain three separate authorizations: for the script, filming and release.But the authorities admit that a majority of Iranians now own a satellite dish — even though they are technically illegal — beaming in uncensored programming from all over the world.It is part of the steady erosion of strict Islamic rules — in practice, if not in theory — that has also seen headscarves pushed further and further back, especially in wealthier parts of Tehran.AFP contributed to this report.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
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) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)
IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)
ISAIAH 34:10
10 It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32 And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)
COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AM
Owner: Vessel likely hit by a missile or a mine-Explosion hits Israeli-owned cargo ship in Gulf of Oman, no injuries-Maritime intelligence firm says blast likely stemmed from ‘asymmetric activity by Iranian military’; ship identified as MV Helios Ray owned by Israeli shipping magnate Rami Ungar-By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre-FEB 26,21-Today, 4:44 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. The explosion forced the vessel to head to the nearest port.The site of the blast, the Gulf of Oman, saw a series of explosions in 2019 that the US Navy blamed on Iran against the backdrop of steeply rising threats between former President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders. Tehran denied the accusations, which came after Trump abandoned Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on the country.In recent weeks, as the administration of Joe Biden looks to re-engage with Iran, Tehran has escalated its breaches of the nuclear accord to create leverage over Washington. The deal saw Tehran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling sanctions.Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahaman-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. Another private security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, similarly identified the ship as the Helios Ray.Satellite-tracking data from website MarineTraffic.com showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 0600 GMT Friday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back toward the Strait of Hormuz. It still listed Singapore as its destination on its tracker.An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing in the Gulf of Oman Friday. The crew and vessel were safe. The explosion forced the vessel, reported to be the Helios Ray, to head to the nearest port. pic.twitter.com/vT7IZkKegq — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 26, 2021-A United Nations ship database identified the vessel’s owners as a Tel Aviv-based firm called Ray Shipping Ltd. Calls to Ray Shipping rang unanswered Friday.Abraham Ungar, 74, who goes by “Rami,” is the founder of Ray Shipping Ltd., and is known as one of the richest men in Israel. He made his fortune in shipping and construction.Ungar said he did not know exactly what had hit the vessel, which had several holes, but it was most likely “missiles or a mine placed on the bow.”“Israeli authorities will investigate this together with me,” he told the Ynet news site. “I don’t think this deliberately targeted an Israeli-owned ship, that has not happened to me before.”Ungar said it was most likely linked to previous attacks on shipping in the area. “I think it is part of the game between Iran and the US, that’s why they are hitting Western ships.”According to the Nikola Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy, where Ungar provides support and maritime training, he owns dozens of car-carrying ships and employs thousands of engineers.The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet was “aware and monitoring” the situation, Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich told the AP. She declined to immediately comment further.While the circumstances of the explosion remain unclear, Dryad Global said it was very possible the blast stemmed from “asymmetric activity by Iranian military.”As Iran seeks to pressure the United States to lift sanctions, the country may seek “to exercise forceful diplomacy through military means,” Dryad reported. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident.The explosion on Friday recalled the summer of 2019, when the US military blamed Iran for suspected attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic shipping lanes. In the preceding months, the US had attributed a series of suspected attacks to Iran, including the use of limpet mines — designed to be attached magnetically to a ship’s hull — to cripple four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report
New US administration's first military action-Israel said very pleased with US strikes in Syria: ‘Biden is not Obama’-Officials tell Walla News they see attacks on Iran-backed militia base as a positive signal about new administration’s posture toward Tehran, say US gave Israel advance notice-By TOI staff and Agencies-FEB 26,21-Today, 4:00 pm
Israel is highly pleased with Thursday night’s US airstrikes against an Iranian-backed militia base on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Israeli officials told Walla News Friday.Officials told Walla they see the strikes as a positive signal about the new administration’s posture toward Iran, and believe it will send a message to Tehran that it must restrain itself and its proxies in the region.They said they had been concerned by growing Iranian provocations in the region, often through its proxies, and had shared this concern with the Americans.“The Iranians didn’t realize that [US President Joe] Biden is not [Barack] Obama, and that if they will continue down this road of miscalculation they will eventually get hit,” an Israeli official told Walla.The report added that Washington had notified Israel in advance of the airstrikes. The notice was a routine update that occurs whenever US operations may affect Israel and vice versa.In the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, the US launched airstrikes in Syria targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.The Biden administration had emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist. Biden’s decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen US military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend US troops in Iraq.Additional images of the targeted site. 90% confident this is the border crossing as mentioned last night. pic.twitter.com/YYxuIE1Ssz— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) February 26, 202.“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington. Speaking shortly after the airstrikes, he added, “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,” referring to a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition personnel.Austin said he recommended the action to Biden.“We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline,” Austin said. “We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets.”Then-Secretary of Defense nominee Lloyd Austin speaks during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 19, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP)-Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US action was a “proportionate military response” taken together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners.“The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,” Kirby said. “At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.”Kirby said the US airstrikes “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups,” including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. The US has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for numerous attacks targeting US personnel and interests in Iraq in the past.Further details were not immediately available.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 22 people were killed after the strike hit three trucks loaded with munitions coming from Iraq near the Syrian city of Bukamal. The British-based war monitor has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of inflating casualty numbers, as well as inventing them wholesale.The group said all the dead were from Iraq’s state-sponsored Hashed al-Shaabi force, the umbrella group over many small militias that have ties to Iran.The funeral for the killed Kata'ib Hezbollah militant in US airstrikes last night is underway this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/RBAJG3TMQc— Kyle Glen (@KyleJGlen) February 26, 2021-Biden administration officials condemned the February 15 rocket attack near the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, but as recently as this week officials indicated they had not determined for certain who carried it out. Officials have noted that in the past, Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks that targeted US personnel or facilities in Iraq.Kirby had said Tuesday that Iraq is in charge of investigating the February 15 attack.“Right now, we’re not able to give you a certain attribution as to who was behind these attacks, what groups, and I’m not going to get into the tactical details of every bit of weaponry used here,” Kirby said. “Let’s let the investigations complete and conclude, and then when we have more to say, we will.”A little-known Shiite militant group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam, Arabic for Guardians of Blood Brigade, claimed responsibility for the February 15 attack. A week later, a rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone appeared to target the US Embassy compound, but no one was hurt.Iran this week said it has no links to the Guardians of Blood Brigade.Worshipers in Iran chant slogans during Friday prayers ceremony by a banner showing slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, left, and Iraqi Shiite senior militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in Iraq in a US drone attack on January 3, and a banner which reads in Persian: ‘Death To America,’ at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, January 17, 2020. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)The frequency of attacks by Shiite militia groups against US targets in Iraq diminished late last year ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, though now Iran is pressing America to return to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal. The US under the previous Trump administration blamed Iran-backed groups for carrying out the attacks. Tensions soared after a Washington-directed drone strike that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year.Trump had said the death of a US contractor would be a red line and provoke US escalation in Iraq. The December 2019 killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk sparked a tit-for-tat fight on Iraqi soil that brought the country to the brink of a proxy war.US forces have been significantly reduced in Iraq to 2,500 personnel and no longer partake in combat missions with Iraqi forces in ongoing operations against the Islamic State group.
US strikes Iran-backed fighters in Syria, in 1st military action under Biden-Pentagon says airstrikes ‘destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point,’ are retaliation for attacks on American targets in Iraq; war monitor claims 22 killed-By Agencies and TOI staff-FEB 26,21-Today, 2:15 am
WASHINGTON — The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.The airstrikes were the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist. Biden’s decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen US military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend US troops in Iraq.“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington. Speaking shortly after the airstrikes, he added, “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,” referring to a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition personnel.Austin said he recommended the action to Biden.“We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline,” Austin said. “We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets.”Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US action was a “proportionate military response” taken together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners.“The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,” Kirby said. “At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.”Kirby said the US airstrikes “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian- backed militant groups,” including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. The US has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for numerous attacks targeting US personnel and interests in Iraq in the past.Further details were not immediately available.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 22 people were killed after the strike hit three trucks loaded with munitions coming from Iraq near the Syrian city of Bukamal. The British-based war monitor of uncertain funding has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of inflating casualty numbers, as well as inventing them wholesale.The group said all the dead were from Iraq’s state-sponsored Hashed al-Shaabi force, the umbrella group over many small militias that have ties to Iran.Biden administration officials condemned the February 15 rocket attack near the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, but as recently as this week officials indicated they had not determined for certain who carried it out. Officials have noted that in the past, Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks that targeted US personnel or facilities in Iraq.Kirby had said Tuesday that Iraq is in charge of investigating the February 15 attack.“Right now, we’re not able to give you a certain attribution as to who was behind these attacks, what groups, and I’m not going to get into the tactical details of every bit of weaponry used here,” Kirby said. “Let’s let the investigations complete and conclude, and then when we have more to say, we will.”A little-known Shiite militant group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam, Arabic for Guardians of Blood Brigade, claimed responsibility for the February 15 attack. A week later, a rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone appeared to target the US Embassy compound, but no one was hurt.Iran this week said it has no links to the Guardians of Blood Brigade.The frequency of attacks by Shiite militia groups against US targets in Iraq diminished late last year ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, though now Iran is pressing America to return to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal. The US under the previous Trump administration blamed Iran-backed groups for carrying out the attacks. Tensions soared after a Washington-directed drone strike that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year.Trump had said the death of a US contractor would be a red line and provoke US escalation in Iraq. The December 2019 killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk sparked a tit-for-tat fight on Iraqi soil that brought the country to the brink of a proxy war.US forces have been significantly reduced in Iraq to 2,500 personnel and no longer partake in combat missions with Iraqi forces in ongoing operations against the Islamic State group.
Netanyahu on Biden’s Iran strategy: It’s a mistake to rely solely on agreements-Asked whether he trusts US president on nuclear issue, premier says he relies on himself; starts singing when asked repeated questions about allegedly illegal acceptance of gifts-By TOI staff-FEB 26,21-Today, 12:23 am
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he has told US President Joe Biden that he will do whatever it takes to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, regardless of whether Washington reenters the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.“I told him, with or without an agreement, my obligation as the prime minister of Israel, as the prime minister of the Jewish state, is to prevent a recurrence of the terrible things that have been done to our people,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 13.“There is a regime whose flagship goal is to destroy us. I will do everything I can, everything in my power, to prevent it from attaining nuclear weapons,” he said.When pressed on whether that includes the use of military force, Netanyahu asserted, “Including whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.”Israel will always uphold the military option, he said, while the sanctions are to a great extent dependent on Biden. “I’ll never put Israel’s security in anybody else’s hands,” he repeated.He rejected the premise that the existing deal, which Iran has violated, would be better than no agreement at all.“An agreement with a state like that? How many times do we need to learn from history. Agreements are made. But if you rely solely on agreements, that’s a mistake,” said Netanyahu.Asked if he relies on Biden when it comes to the Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu responded: “I rely on myself, on ourselves.”“I don’t entrust the security of Israel to anybody else… Israel must be able and determined to defend itself, by itself,” he added, clarifying that he has a close relationship with Biden. “We are friends, close friends even. He eulogized my father; I spoke to him after the death of his son.”The Biden administration is seeking to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, which former president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from in 2018.Washington has said it is prepared to reenter the JCPOA if Iran first returns to compliance with the restrictions it has been openly violating for the past several months. While Jerusalem’s priority is the nuclear issue, it is hoping the US will also demand curbs to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and regional aggressions. Biden has said he wants to address those issues in a subsequent agreement after the sides return to the existing JCPOA, but Israel fears the US will lose the leverage that has been built by the Trump administration’s maximum pressure sanctions regime once it returns to the old deal and that Iran will not be willing to negotiate further.‘I’m sorry’The combative interview addressed a range of topics, including Netanyahu’s handling of the pandemic. The premier insisted that he has handled the crisis well given the country’s world-leading vaccine drive.However, Channel 13 pushed back against the premier over the rest of his government’s managing of the health crisis and urged Netanyahu to apologize for the thousands of lives lost in Israel thus far.“Every death…. is terrible. We’re in a joint struggle… I’m sorry that we haven’t succeeded [in preventing the deaths], and together we’ll succeed… We’re the only ones who will succeed because I’ve brought vaccinations,” Netanyahu said, while refraining from answering whether his policies for dealing with the pandemic led to avoidable fatalities.“Every death is a tragedy. But for a while now, there’s no reason for anybody to die, or at least 97 percent, 95 percent,” he said — a reference to the vaccines’ effectiveness.“Tens of thousands of businesses are indeed fighting for their lives… When I try to help them [financially], I’m told by politicians and legal advisers that I can’t do that” because of the election campaign, he lamented.Netanyahu railed at the Israeli media and at legal officials for opposing his spending plans amid the campaign for the March 23 elections.He declared his intention to turn Israel into “the fastest growing economy in the world.”Asked why neighboring Cyprus had a lower death toll proportionately, Netanyahu noted that it is an island.“We’re not an island. We have the Palestinians in our midst. We can’t close Jenin… Thirty prime ministers have called me to say we congratulate you for the way you have handled this,” he said.The premier repeated his claim that Israel will be the first country to emerge from the pandemic and denied Australia and New Zealand are already in the clear.He claimed that local media is always highlighting blunders while international media has recognized Israel’s successes. Much of the international media’s focus of late has also been on the fact that the Palestinians have gone largely unvaccinated as Israel has inoculated roughly half of its citizens.Protesters chant slogans during a demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)-Netanyahu denies stoking divisions-Netanyahu denied accusations that he fuels divisions in Israeli society, as he was asked about past comments against Arabs, the left and other divisive rhetoric.“I am the prime minister of everyone. I bring vaccines to all Israelis, without exception. I bring peace agreements to all Israelis, without exception. I bring economic assistance to all Israelis, without exception. I protect the security, better this year than ever, of all Israelis, without exception…. And I stop the Iranian nuclear armament for all Israelis, without exception,” he told Channel 13.He dismissed a Thursday poll from the network, which found that 58% of Israelis don’t want him to continue as prime minister. “Wait for the real survey,” he responded, referring to next month’s elections.Defending his decision to keep schools closed longer than any other country, Netanyahu told the network, “I prioritized life above all else.” The health experts advised against opening schools fully, since this would rapidly spread contagion, with fatal consequences, he explained.‘I attack the media because it deserves it’Netanyahu was also pressed during the television interview on his corruption cases.Asked about telephoning Arnon Milchan, who is a prosecution witness in Netanyahu’s trial on graft charges, the premier said he didn’t remember exactly when he called him.He had told Channel 12 earlier this month that he had spoken to Milchan “once or twice” to wish him happy holidays. When the interviewer noted that there hadn’t been any holidays during the time Netanyahu called, the premier pivoted: “It’s all spin by the prosecution to obscure the fact that the cases against me are collapsing.”“It is permitted to talk to a prosecution witness,” he added, dismissing the cases against him as “fabricated.”Netanyahu said that if he forms a government after the March 23 elections, he won’t use it to evade the trial through legislation or a request for immunity. “I won’t advance those laws,” he said.He was asked whether his acceptance of expensive gifts from millionaires like Milchan showed he has a “values” problem, and why a wealthy man like him needed to take NIS 700,000-worth gifts of champagne and cigars from Milchan. Netanyahu responded: “I’ll tell you about my values. I dedicate my life, despite the endless false attacks on me, my wife and my children… to public service.” He then spoke about the regime in Iran seeking “to destroy the Jewish state,” and his commitment to prevent this.Pushed again on the matter, Netanyahu began to sing the chorus of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” (originally released in 1969 by the group Steam).He had used the words “na na na na” to dismiss questions by Channel 12 last week regarding his handling of the pandemic and chose to put a tune to them in the Channel 13 interview. Interviewer Udi Segal cut him off by saying he was being contemptuous.Netanyahu responded that he objected to Channel 13’s efforts to distract the public’s attention from the important issues.As the interview neared its end Netanyahu was asked about former US president Donald Trump, whom the premier praised as a great friend of Israel.Netanyahu rejected the notion that Trump lost the presidential elections because he didn’t tell the truth, worked to change the rules of democracy and attacked the media, as the interviewee put it. “You’ve determined the reason why he was defeated. I think there are other interpretations for his loss,” Netanyahu said.Asked if he views himself as the Israeli version of Trump, in part for the ways he too admonishes the press, Netanyahu said, “I attack the media because it deserves it… While world media praises the Israeli miracle, you’re always attacking, everywhere.”
UAE’s first ambassador to Israel to take up post next week-Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah will present his credentials to President Riviln, meet top government officials, and look for a place to live-By TOI staff and Jacob Magid-25 February 2021, 10:59 pm
The United Arab Emirates’ first-ever ambassador to Israel will arrive next Monday and spend several days in the country, during which time he will meet with senior officials as well as scout out suitable locations for the embassy and his home, an Emirati official confirmed to The Times of Israel.Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah will come with a small team of staffers and stay for five days at this point, the Walla news website reported, citing Israeli and Emirati senior diplomatic sources.On Tuesday, Al Kajah, 40, will present his credentials to President Reuven Rivlin.During the rest of his visit he will also meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Ministry Gabi Ashkenazi and other senior Israeli officials, Walla said.Israel and the UAE normalized ties last September with the signing of the so-called Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, in a deal brokered by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration. Bahrain also joined the accords, establishing ties with Israel.Earlier this month, UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum swore in Al Khajah.I met today with HE Eitan Na'eh, Head of Mission of the State of Israel to the UAE, at @MoFAICUAE’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.During the meeting, we discussed bilateral relations and means of strengthening and developing them in all fields in light of the Abraham Accords. pic.twitter.com/GdnfSMquNk— Mohamed Al Khaja (@AmbAlKhaja) February 23, 2021-At the beginning of the week, Al Khajah met with Israel’s temporary ambassador in the UAE Eitan Na’eh, who is stationed in Abu Dhabi. The Israeli embassy is currently working from a temporary office until a permanent location can be found.Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah, the UAE’s first ambassador to Israel (Twitter)-Last week Al Khajah met with Zvi Heifetz, Israel’s special envoy to the Gulf States, Walla reported.Al Khajah has opened a Twitter account that posts messages in both English and Hebrew. So far he has gained nearly 30,000 followers.The UAE embassy to Israel also already has a Twitter account, opened this month.Although the exchange of embassies has progressed, a visa waiver agreement between Israel and the UAE has been held up due to the coronavirus pandemic.Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed an impending trip to the UAE and no future date has yet been announced. The Prime Minister’s Office said at the time that the decision to postpone the trip indefinitely was made due to the closing down of air travel to and from Israel, as part of a national lockdown aimed at preventing coronavirus infections arriving from abroad.Netanyahu had planned to travel to Abu Dhabi and Manama ahead of the March 23 elections in Israel, in what would have been his first official visit since the establishment of official diplomatic relations with the UAE and Bahrain last year. The trip had at first been tentatively scheduled for early January, and then for later in that month, but was pushed off by COVID-related considerations.
