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)
HAMAS THREATENS ISRAEL OVER THE TEMPLE MOUNT.
Hamas leader
threatens Israel over ‘plans’ for Temple Mount-Haniyeh says ‘sword of
Jerusalem’ will protect holy site amid Palestinian concerns incoming
police minister Ben Gvir will alter delicate status quo-By Jack
Mukand-DEC 14,22-Today, 7:45 am
The political leader of the Hamas
terrorist group, Ismail Haniyeh, threatened retaliation on Tuesday to
any changes to the status quo at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.The esplanade
is the holiest place for Jews as the site of the Biblical temples, while
the al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop the mount, is the third-holiest
place for Muslims, who believe that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to
heaven from there.“We will absolutely not permit the implementation of
Zionist plans at the al-Aqsa Mosque or in Jerusalem more broadly,”
Haniyeh said in an address commemorating Hamas’s 35th anniversary.“The
sword of Jerusalem has not and will not be sheathed,” he said.Hamas
supporters refer to its latest major flareup with Israel in May 2021 as
the “Sword of Jerusalem Battle.” The terror group claims that the
rockets it fired during that conflict were retaliation for Israeli
security forces entering the al-Aqsa Mosque after Palestinians threw
stones and other objects at them.Israel claimed sovereignty over all of
Jerusalem after its victory in the 1967 Six Day War, but allowed the
Islamic Waqf, a Jordanian institution, to retain its administrative
authority over the mount. Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not
pray there, in a delicate status quo that has been slipping as some
Jewish activists push for expanded prayer rights.Haniyeh’s comments come
amid speculation that the appointment of far-right Otzma Yehudit party
leader Itamar Ben Gvir to the position of national security minister
might usher in policy changes that would allow Jews to pray in a more
conspicuous manner at the site. Police have for decades enforced the
Jewish prayer ban as a public security measure.On Monday, Ben Gvir
called for an end to the prayer restrictions, which he said constituted
anti-Jewish “apartheid” at the holy site.During coalition-building
negotiations, expected incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the
right-wing Likud party reportedly shot down an Otzma Yehudit proposal
to change the status quo on the mount.A poll in May found that 50
percent of Israeli Jews think Jews should be allowed to pray at the
site. Three out of four respondents said they supported that view
because Jewish prayer demonstrates Israeli sovereignty.Many rabbis,
however, interpret Jewish law as prohibiting visits to the Temple Mount
because visitors could tread on sacred ground. Israel’s Chief Sephardic
rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, condemned Ben Gvir’s periodic ascents as
“blasphemy” in June.Minor changes to the status quo at the holy site or
even rumors of such changes have sparked violent protests in the past,
including contributing to last year’s war between Israel and Gaza terror
groups. In 2017, a decision to place metal detectors and cameras at the
compound following a deadly attack there sparked several days of angry
protests and condemnation from Israel’s Muslim neighbors.Hamas’s
Haniyeh, an Islamist, said on Tuesday that “Hamas has made a compact
with our people over the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque and has preserved the
depth of the Islamic sense of connection to our Jerusalem and our
al-Aqsa.”Haniyeh’s broadcast displayed the message “al-Aqsa in danger”
and a Hamas logo prominently featuring the Dome of the Rock, located in
the Mosque complex.Vitriol from terrorist organizations like Hamas is
often seen as fueling clashes in Jerusalem, like the ones in April that
saw 160 Palestinians wounded and Israeli security forces moving on the
al-Aqsa complex.
Pope Francis issues dire warning for humanity,
sees ‘greater omens, destruction’ in the world-By Isabel Keane-December
13, 2022 3:28pm
Pope Francis painted a grim picture of the
future during Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, warning he sees “greater
omens of greater destruction and desolation” in the world.The
85-year-old pontiff shared his dark vision for humanity during a Mass
ahead of Monday’s holiday celebrating the Feast Day of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, the patron of Mexico.Francis said the holiday, which
commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a young man in 1531 in
Mexico City, came at a “complicated and difficult time for the
inhabitants of the New World.”He related it to present day, noting we
are also living through “a difficult time for humanity … a bitter
period, full of the roar of war, of growing injustices, famines,
poverty, suffering.”Despite how seemingly bad things are, the pope said
his vision for the future appears with “greater omens of greater
destruction and desolation.”“And although this horizon seems bleak and
disconcerting, with omens of even greater destruction and desolation,
his divine love and his coming down to us tell us that this too is a
propitious time of salvation,” the pope added.Pope Francis warned that
he sees “greater omens of greater destruction and desolation” during a
mass this week.Pope Francis warned during Mass this week that he sees
“greater omens of greater destruction and desolation.”Ahead of the
holiday, Francis said the Virgin Mary welcomes people to put aside their
“prejudices and fears” and put their trust in the Lord.In recent
months, Francis has grown increasingly vocal in his criticisms of
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, now entering its 10th month. Over
the summer, he denounced the “ferocity and cruelty” of Russian
forces.“We do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which
was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented,” the pontiff said
during a conversation with editors of Jesuit media. “And I register an
interest in testing and selling weapons. It is very sad, but basically
this is what is at stake.”The leader of the Roman Catholic Church made
his strongest plea to Putin back in October, when he implored him
to “stop this spiral of violence and death” and end the war.“How the war
is going in Ukraine has become so grave, devastating and threatening
that it sparks great worry,” Francis said at the time. “In fact, this
terrible, inconceivable wound of humanity, instead of shrinking,
continues to bleed even more, threatening to spread.”
Drag Queen
Biden Invited to White House Previously Tweeted, “Kids Are Out to Sing
and Suck D!”Paul Joseph Watson-December 14th 2022, 5:00 am
The
drag queen who Joe Biden invited to the White House for the “Respect for
Marriage Act” signing this week previously tweeted, “kids are out to
sing and suck D!”Yes, really.Drag queen activist Marti Cummings
celebrated his invitation to the event on Monday by tweeting, “To be a
non binary drag artist invited to the White House is something I never
imagined would happen. Thank you President & Dr. Biden for inviting
me to this historic bill signing. Grateful doesn’t begin to express the
emotions I feel.”Biden invited a drag queen to the White House today for
the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act. This drag queen performs
and puts on shows for kids. The Biden admin encourages this.
pic.twitter.com/s8dCDBZJBA — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 12,
2022-Although Cummings has his account on private, other Twitter users
were able to uncover previous tweets made by the activist, one of which
stated, “kids are out to sing and suck D!”"He wants us to perform [with]
us next year!" pic.twitter.com/5dwmyTjWsC — Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell)
December 13, 2022-“Anyone who thinks drag isn’t for children is wrong,”
Cummings also asserted, along with a picture of a young boy who was
apparently “excited” to perform with drag queens.Cummings also appeared
in a music video called “Show Me Your D*ck,” which includes erect
penises flashing up on screen.Biden's invited White House guest, a
non-binary Drag Queen Story Hour performer who advocates for children
embracing drag, starred in a music video for the song, "Show Me Your
D*ck," as erect penises flash across the screen.
pic.twitter.com/jsKcQ60UaV — Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) December 13,
2022-Another video showed the activist bragging about how he had gay sex
with 52 men in a single year, a rate of one per week.Cummings has
repeatedly insisted that children should be exposed to drag queen
shows.“I love doing Drag Story Hour. Despite what conservatives say,
this family friend event is a way to spread joy, teach acceptance &
love,” he said in an Instagram post. “A way to bring people together.
Kids just want to hear their favorite stories…keep spreading hate
because I’m gonna keep spreading joy.”A post shared by martigcummings
(@martigcummings)-Media outlets responded hysterically when Donald Trump
unwittingly met accused anti-Semite Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago
mansion a few weeks ago.Will any of them react similarly to this? Don’t
hold your breath.
Former CNN Producer Pleads Guilty In Pedo Scandal-by Zero Hedge-December 14th 2022, 4:09 am
Former
CNN producer John Griffin, who worked ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Chris
Cuomo, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to using interstate
commerce to entice and coerce a 9-year-old girl to engage in sexual
activity as his Vermont ski house.This is a different CNN pedophile
than Jake Tapper’s former producer, Rick Saleeby, who resigned after it
emerged that he solicited sexually explicit photos of an underage
girl.Griffin admitted to meeting the girl’s mother on a website during
the summer of 2020, after which he persuaded her to bring the 9-year-old
child to his Ludlow, Vermont ski home for illegal sexual
activity, AP reports.According to the Daily Mail, Griffin ‘used Google
Hangouts and Kik to convince the mothers that a “woman is a woman
regardless of her age,” and that “women should be sexually subservient
and inferior to men,” according to the indictment. In June of 2020,
Griffin advised a mother of 9- and 13-year-old daughters that the
mother’s responsibility was to see that her older daughter was “trained
properly.” Griffin later transferred over $3,000 to the mother for
plane tickets so the mother and her 9-year-old daughter could fly from
Nevada to Boston’s Logan airport. The mother and child flew to Boston
in July of 2020, where Griffin picked them up in his Tesla and drove
them to his Ludlow house. At the house, the daughter was directed to
engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity. Reading this
indictment will make you sick to your stomach
pic.twitter.com/61FugCnJNg— BUY PILLOW 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) December 11,
2021-Griffin, who originally pleaded not guilty to three counts, was
arrested on Dec. 10, 2021, a day after he was indicted by a grand jury.
He worked for CNN for around eight years, and was fired following his
arrest.Griffin also allegedly attempted to entice two other children
over the internet to engage in sexual activity – proposing a “virtual
training session” in a video chat in April 2020 which would involve
instructing a mother and her 14-year-old daughter to get naked and touch
each other at his direction. In June 2020, Griffin proposed to the
purported mother of a 16-year-old that she take a “little
mother-daughter trip” to his ski house for sexual training involving the
minor.Griffin faces 10 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced on
March 20, 2023, and must pay full restitution to the victims – an amount
which is yet-to-be determined by the court. He also faces a $250,000
fine and other fees, and has agreed to forfeit his Tesla, electronics,
and donate half the proceeds from his home in Vermont – and a Mercedes
Benz, into the court registry.
Zelensky: If Putin Suddenly Dies, ‘There Would Be No War’Volodymyr Zelensky-Frances Martel13 Dec 2022827
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted in an interview published Monday
that, should Russian leader Vladimir Putin suddenly die, the Russian
invasion of his country would abruptly end, as the Russian state would
collapse and not have resources to continue.Zelensky made the prediction
in response to a question from David Letterman, who traveled to Kyiv to
interview Zelensky for his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No
Introduction. Letterman explicitly asked how the war effort would
continue without Putin, who Zelensky has held personally responsible for
the war.Russia invaded Ukraine under Putin in 2014, seizing its Crimean
Peninsula and fighting a proxy war using separatists sympathetic to
Moscow in the eastern Donbass regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. That war
precedes Zelensky’s rise to the presidency by five years; Zelensky took
office as the “pro-Russian” candidate in the 2019 presidential election
after a lengthy career in comic acting.Here is what the elites said
about Zelensky two years ago https://t.co/4ua9llLnaG — Frances Martel
(@francesmartel) March 1, 2022-Putin greatly escalated the geographic
scale of the war in February, announcing a “special military operation”
to oust Zelensky and his allegedly “Nazi” government. Putin claimed that
Zelensky, despite winning an election that the opposition did not
denounce as unfree or unfair in 2019, was an illegitimate head of state
because of the events that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych in
2014. Yanukovych was succeeded by the man Zelensky defeated in the 2019
election, Petro Poroshenko.Putin also claimed that Ukraine did not exist
as a legitimate country, had “no tradition” of sovereignty, and was
“completely created by Russia.”The “special military operation”
announcement preceded the open presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian
soil and the “annexation” of four more regions: Luhansk and Donetsk, and
the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.Letterman reportedly
interviewed Zelensky for his Netflix program in October, the same month
that Zelensky issued a presidential decree branding any talks with Putin
himself “impossible” and demanding Russia replace its president before
any further negotiations.Letterman asked Zelensky if he thought that the
Russian people believed and supported Putin.“Unfortunately, we have to
state that quite a large percentage of people believe him [Putin],” the
Ukrainian president said, blaming their “cowardice” in the face of
war.“They are aware of the reality but they are just afraid,” he
lamented.Letterman then asked about the influence Putin as a solitary
figure has on the war.“Let’s just say that Putin got a really bad cold
and died,” Letterman suggested, “or accidentally fell out a window and
died, would this [the invasion] continue?”The reference to windows
appeared to be a nod to the many suspicious deaths of political,
business, and medical leaders by “falling” out of windows that have
occurred in Russia in the past five years.“No. There would be no war,”
Zelensky responded. “There wouldn’t be. The authoritarian regime is
dangerous as it poses great risks. Because you can’t allow just one
person to have total control over everything.”“That’s why when such a
person is gone, institutions come to a halt,” he continued. “That’s what
happened back in the Soviet Union. Everything collapsed. And that’s why
I think if he’s gone, it will be hard for them. They will have to deal
with their internal policy rather than foreign issues.”Zelensky appeared
to be referring to the fragility of the Russian regime, not necessarily
Putin’s ability or skill at controlling it. Zelensky has nonetheless
had an acrimonious relationship with Putin since he came into the
presidency, walking out of a four-way talk with the Russian leader in
2019 as the only bitterly unsatisfied participant. In December of that
year, the leaders of Germany and France chaperoned a meeting between
Zelensky and Putin under a formal known then as the “Normandy Four.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
and Putin all said publicly they believed the talks led to some
progress, and that open communication between the parties was in itself a
positive step.“Look, it’s very difficult to negotiate [with Putin], but
today there were moments when we agreed on something, on certain
things,” a frustrated Zelensky said after the meeting. “That’s because
he dissects every question into details … and then we begin to even
consider every word. So yes, this is difficult.”“Many questions were
tackled, and my counterparts have said it is a very good result for a
first meeting. But I will be honest — it is very little, I wanted to
resolve a larger number of problems,” he admitted.Zelensky has since
resorted to addressing the Russian people directly, rather than speaking
to Putin. In a nationally televised address directed to Russians in
February, Zelensky countered accusations of “Nazism,” noting his
ancestors had fought the Nazis (Zelensky is Jewish, which he did not
directly mention in that speech).“They tell you that we’re Nazis. But
how can a people that lost eight million lives to defeat the Nazis
support Nazism? How can I be a Nazi?” Zelensky said at the time. “Say it
to my grandfather, who fought in World War II as a Soviet infantryman
and died a colonel in an independent Ukraine.”“If Russia’s leadership
does not want to meet us across the table for the sake of peace, perhaps
it will sit at that table with you,” he concluded.Zelensky also stated
on several occasions that he was open to some negotiations with the
Russian government prior to his decree banning talks with Putin in
October.In remarks on Monday to the G7 member states, Zelensky urged the
Russian government to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine by
Christmas, a request Moscow is unlikely to fill.“This is the time for
normal people to think about peace, not aggression. I suggest Russia to
at least try to prove that it is capable of abandoning the aggression,”
Zelensky said. “It would be right to start the withdrawal of Russian
troops from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine this
Christmas. If Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine, it will ensure a
lasting cessation of hostilities.”Follow Frances Martel
on Facebook and Twitter.Entertainment.
Israeli AI predicts heart
failure in muscle inflammation patients with 80% accuracy-Myositis
elevates chances of heart failure, so Rambam Hospital team built a
special algorithm that analyzes ECG tests and gives early warning-By
Nathan Jeffay-dec 14,22-Today, 4:55 pm 0
Israeli researchers have
built an artificial intelligence tool that analyzes ECG tests and
predicts heart failure with high accuracy weeks before it happens.The
new technology is for sufferers of myositis — muscle inflammation —
which elevates the risk of heart failure.The physician who led the
research, Dr. Shahar Shelly of Rambam Healthcare Campus, told The Times
of Israel that it is the first AI tool built especially for this
population. It analyzes heart patterns that are unique to them, and can
bring about earlier detection than is currently possible, he said.He
reported in peer-reviewed research that the algorithm successfully
predicted 80 percent of heart failure cases among a sample of myositis
patients.The study was carried out by running the algorithm on their ECG
tests, and then comparing its predictions regarding who was at risk of
heart failure with medical records to see who actually ended up
suffering from heart failure.“We are running ECG tests through the AI
model, which sees details that doctors can’t normally detect and then
predicts who is at risk of heart failure,” said Shelly.“Given that it’s
these cardiac dysfunctions that often end up killing people, this can
save lives.”Shelly conducted the study together with the researchers of
the Cardiology Department at the prestigious US-based Mayo Clinic
Medical Center.They taught the AI model by showing it ECG scans and
medical records of 89 myositis patients from 2000 to 2020. The algorithm
built a picture of subtle patterns in ECGs that seem to increase the
chance of heart failure.It hasn’t been deployed in clinics yet, but
Shelly said that this is the aim, after more research.“Further down the
road, the use of this model will allow the provision of appropriate
treatments at an early stage, even before the deterioration of the
patients’ medical condition,” he said. “We are talking here about
preventing serious illness and even deaths.”Shelly added: “Early
detection is what is important here. The algorithm is looking for
cardiac dysfunction, and when it finds it, doctors can take steps to
prevent heart failure, such as changing treatment strategies.“For a
population that is at heightened risk of heart failure, this can make a
very big difference.”
Ukraine claims to shoot down swarm of
Iran-made attack drones over Kyiv-No reports of injuries; US envoy to
Kyiv confirms more military support on the way-By AFP and TOI staff-dec
14,22-Today, 12:37 pm 0
Ukrainian forces said Wednesday they had
shot down an entire swarm of Iranian-made drones launched at the capital
by Russian troops in their latest attack on Kyiv.Explosions rang out
over a central neighborhood in the early hours of Wednesday, the mayor
said, and AFP journalists saw law enforcement and emergency service
workers inspecting metal fragments at a snow-covered impact site.“The
terrorists started this morning with 13 Shaheds,” Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky said, referring to the Iran-made weapons.“According
to the preliminary information, all 13 were shot down by our Ukrainian
air defense systems.”He added that residents of the capital, which has
now been subjected to nearly ten months of air raid sirens and frequent
aerial attacks since Russia invaded the country in February, should stay
alert to government warnings of incoming attacks.Kyiv region officials
praised the Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare units for
downing the latest wave of suicide drones.US ambassador in Ukraine
Bridget Brink said following the morning attacks that Kyiv could
continue to rely on Washington’s backing.“More support is on the way,”
she wrote on Twitter, a day after US officials said Washington is poised
to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally
agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more
robust weapons.Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on social media at 6:41
am local time (0441 GMT) that “explosions” had been heard in the central
district of Shevchenkivsky and that emergency services were
responding.“Debris from downed drones hit one administrative building
and four more residential buildings suffered minor damage. No one was
injured,” added Sergiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv regional military
administration.Since a series of key battlefield setbacks this summer
and autumn, Russia has been pummeling critical infrastructure across
Ukraine with missiles and drones, plunging millions into cold and
darkness in winter.Moscow last week also targeted Ukrainian energy
infrastructure, piling pressure on the country’s power grid, whose
operators have for weeks been forced to implement rolling
blackouts.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said this week that
between 40 and 50 percent of the country’s grid was out of action
because of Russia’s strikes.The latest round of attacks on Wednesday
came one day after Zelensky issued urgent appeals to around 70 countries
and international organizations at a Paris conference to help Ukraine
withstand Russian attacks this winter.In a video message from Kyiv,
Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine needed assistance worth around 800
million euros in the short term for its battered energy sector.He also
said that his country needs spare parts for repairs, high-capacity
generators, extra gas and increased electricity imports.Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba called on Ukraine’s allies to provide his country with
more weapons to help it “fight through the winter” and sustain Kyiv’s
military advances.
Strike reportedly left 10 people dead,
including Iranians-IDF chief confirms Israel behind strike on Iran arms
convoy near Syria-Iraq border-Aviv Kohavi hails ‘advanced capabilities’
that enabled pilots to evade missile defenses and hit ‘truck number 8’
in 25-vehicle procession in early November
By TOI staff and Agencies-DEC 14,22-Today, 11:52 amUpdated at 1:15 pm 2
IDF
Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi confirmed Wednesday that an airstrike in
early November on a convoy allegedly carrying Iranian arms near the
Syria-Iraq border was carried out by the Israeli Air Force.Kohavi said
Israeli intelligence uncovered which truck within the 25-vehicle convoy
was carrying weapons from Iran to Lebanon, and “advanced capabilities”
allowed the pilots to carry out a precision strike.“We could have not
been aware of the Syrian convoy a few weeks ago,” Kohavi told a
conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya.“We could have not
known that it was heading from Iraq to Syria, we could have not known
what’s in it and we could have not known that out of the 25 trucks,
truck number eight was the one carrying weapons,” he said.“We needed to
send pilots to the right place and they had to evade surface-to-air
missiles fired at them. They needed to attack, they needed to hit their
targets and come back safely and not kill people who shouldn’t be
killed. These are very advanced capabilities,” said Kohavi.The strike
reportedly left 10 people dead, including an unknown number of Iranians.
Syrian media shares this video claiming to show the convoy of trucks
carrying fuel from Iran to Lebanon, an hour before it was targeted over
night on the Iraq-Syria border. Nahr Media says the trucks were
accompanied by Lebanese Hezbollah forces. pic.twitter.com/glXLjWoJ0r —
Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) November 9, 2022-At the time of the
November incident, the Israeli army refused to comment, in line with its
general policy to not confirm involvement in specific strikes in
Syria.It wasn’t clear why Kohavi, who will end his term as military
chief of staff next month, chose to acknowledge the IDF’s responsibility
for the strike.Israel has allegedly carried out hundreds of strikes on
targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but
rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. It has acknowledged,
however, that it targets arms shipments and posts of Iran-allied groups,
such as Lebanon’s terrorist Hezbollah.At the time, Hezbollah said it
had nothing to do with the convoy that was attacked.The Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor of
unclear funding, said the strike hit tanker trucks carrying fuel and
other trucks carrying weapons for the militias in Syria’s eastern
province of Deir el-Zour.Most alleged Israeli strikes have been focused
on areas of Syria closer to Damascus or the country’s center, though it
has been accused of carrying out attacks outside that area as well,
including in Deir el-Zour.Iran is an ally of Syrian President Bashar
Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help Syrian
troops during the country’s 11-year civil war. Both Tehran and the Assad
government are allied with Hezbollah, which has fought alongside
Assad’s forces in the war.Israeli strikes have continued in Syrian
airspace, which is largely controlled by Russia, even as ties with
Moscow have frayed in recent months. Israel has found itself at odds
with Russia as it has increasingly supported Ukraine while seeking to
maintain freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.‘Over 400 attacks
prevented’ by West Bank ops-Kohavi also referred to the IDF’s regular
raids in the West Bank, saying hundreds of attacks have been prevented
as a result of military operations.“Unfortunately, we are unable to
prevent all attacks. On a personal level it causes great pain and on a
professional level, it’s a failure,” Kohavi said.“Over the past year, we
prevented over 400 attacks together with the Shin Bet and the security
forces, which allows the citizens of the country to live in peace and
get stuck in traffic jams. This is a sign of a healthy society,” Kohavi
said.The military said Wednesday morning that it had detained 15 people
in overnight raids in the West Bank and seized a number of
weapons.Tensions have been high in the West Bank over the past year,
with the IDF conducting an ongoing major anti-terror offensive mostly
focused on the northern West Bank to deal with a series of Palestinian
attacks that have left 31 people in Israel and the West Bank dead since
the start of the year.The operation has netted more than 2,500 arrests
in near-nightly raids, but has also left more than 160 Palestinians
dead, many of them — but not all — while carrying out attacks or during
clashes with security forces.
UN Palestinian rights official’s
social media history reveals antisemitic-Francesca Albanese tells ToI
she acknowledges ‘mistakes’ in past reference to a ‘Jewish lobby’; is
latest UN official probing Israel to show evidence of blatant
prejudice-By Luke Tress Today, 6:54 amUpdated at 3:00 pm 26
A
lawyer heading the UN Human Rights Council’s open-ended investigation
into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians said during a 2014 conflict
between Israel and Gaza terror groups that the “Jewish lobby” was in
control of the United States.Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer, was
appointed earlier this year as the UN special rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories. The rapporteur
is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council
tasked with investigating human rights in Palestinian areas, publishing
public reports and working with governments and other groups on the
issue.Albanese, who now says she regrets the “Jewish lobby” remark, has
long been a harsh critic of Israel, and the Israeli mission to the UN in
Geneva formally objected to her appointment, arguing that she harbors
significant bias against the Jewish state.A review of her past social
media posts, media appearances and talks with activist groups found that
aside from inveighing against a “Jewish lobby,” she has also
sympathized with terror organizations, dismissed Israeli security
concerns, compared Israelis to Nazis and accused the Jewish state of
potential war crimes.Then, as now, she refers to Israel as a
settler-colonial enterprise and to Jews in Israel and the pre-state
British mandate as foreign interlopers subjugating an indigenous
Palestinian population. In her first official report to the UN this
year, she urged a rejection of the conflict paradigm, describing Israel
solely as an oppressor and legitimizing Palestinian “resistance.” She
rarely acknowledges Palestinian terrorism.In 2014, in an open letter
posted to her Facebook page, Albanese castigated the US and Europe for
their conduct during Operation Protective Edge, a war between Israel and
Gaza terror groups that year.“America and Europe, one of them
subjugated by the Jewish lobby, and the other by the sense of guilt
about the Holocaust, remain on the sidelines and continue to condemn the
oppressed — the Palestinians — who defend themselves with the only
means they have (deranged missiles), instead of making Israel face its
international law responsibilities,” Albanese wrote.She was not employed
by the UN at the time, but had previously worked for the UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) a UN agency
that assists displaced Palestinians and their descendants, according to
her LinkedIn profile. The letter she posted was meant to raise funds
for UNRWA.As of publication, the previously unreported post remained on
her personal Facebook page, which is viewable by the public and
identifies her as a UN investigator.In another post from that year,
which was hidden from view after her office was contacted by The Times
of Israel, Albanese referred to the Israel lobby and Israel’s greed. The
comments were directed at the BBC over its coverage of the conflict,
even though the British broadcaster is often critical of Israel.“The
Israeli lobby is clearly inside your veins and system and you will be
remembered to have been on the big brother’s side of this orwellian
[sic] nightmare caused once again by Israel’s greed. Shame on you BBC,”
she wrote.
And last year, she referred to Jewish and pro-Israel
lobbies influencing Israeli arms sales and quieting criticism of
Israel.Responding to the revelations about Albanese’s statements, the
Foreign Ministry claimed that antisemitism is widespread in the
UN.“Antisemitism is a persistent malice that has infected the United
Nations Human Rights Council for far too long,” read a statement by
Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. “Comments made by UN
Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese that surfaced today are yet
another stain on the credibility of this body and yet another example of
the impunity that exists today regarding antisemitism and antisemitic
comments made by UN officials.”The mission argued that the lack of
accountability for statements by UN officials “only works to legitimize
antisemitism and endangers the Jewish people.”References to Jews and
Jewish lobbies wielding disproportionate power are viewed as antisemitic
because they conjure age-old tropes and conspiracy theories about Jews
controlling the world from the shadows. Many of those stereotypes also
depict Jews as greedy.“Talking about a uniform and ever-powerful Jewish
lobby feeds into the stereotype of Jewish power, that there is a
nefarious Jewish hand manipulating governments,” said Susan Heller
Pinto, the vice president of international policy at the Anti-Defamation
League.“When she’s saying America is subjugated by the Jewish lobby it
reinforces that image of this Jewish lobby being all-powerful and
America and America’s actions and policies being directed by this Jewish
lobby, and that’s antisemitic,” Heller Pinto said. “It’s making
generalized statements. It’s not a political critique of an Israeli
action, it is blanket characterizations that invoke age-old antisemitic
tropes.”Earlier this year, an investigator with the UN Commission of
Inquiry into the conflict apologized after a similar “Jewish lobby”
comment caused an uproar. Contacted by The Times of Israel via email,
Albanese attempted to distance herself from her past remarks.“Some of
the words I used, during Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2014,
were infelicitous, analytically inaccurate and unintendedly offensive,”
she said through her office. “People make mistakes. I distance myself
from these words, which I would not use today, nor have used as a UN
Special Rapporteur.”“Following this clarification, our attention should
not be distracted from the unlawful state practices which cause
suffering for millions and denial of human rights on a daily basis in
the occupied Palestinian territory,” she said. “This is what I am
mandated to report on and which should be our focus.”Code of conduct-In
her application for the special rapporteur position, Albanese stated
there was not “any reason, currently or in the past, that could call
into question” her moral authority or credibility, and that she did not
“hold any views or opinions that could prejudice the manner” in which
she investigates.Special rapporteurs are not paid for their work and are
appointed to three-year terms, with the possibility of a three-year
extension. The Human Rights Council code of conduct for mandate-holders
stresses that they should be objective and eliminate “double-standards
and politicization,” and act with “integrity, meaning, in particular,
though not exclusively, probity, impartiality, equity, honesty and good
faith.”Previous rapporteurs into the Palestinians have also been
staunchly opposed to Israel, which is the only country that is assigned a
permanent investigator. A series of mandate-holders have held the
rapporteur position on the Palestinian territories since 1993.Albanese
has also compared Israel to Nazi Germany, which is viewed as deeply
offensive in Israel and an affront to the victims of the Holocaust.In a
2015 post uncovered by The Times of Israel, she shared a picture of what
she said was a Nazi trooper and a Jewish man, and next to it, an
Israeli soldier and a Palestinian. And in an interview with Italian
media, she compared the Nakba, the Palestinian word for the
“catastrophe” of Israel’s creation, to the Holocaust, in a comment that
was previously reported by the pro-Israel group UN Watch. In the
first pic a Nazi soldier, a dog, and a man on the ground – who is a Jew.
In the second pic an Israeli soldier, a dog, and a man on the ground –
who is a Palestinian. Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany is considered
antisemitic according to the widely-accepted definition formulated by
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Albanese has recently
spoken out against the IHRA definition.Armed resistance-albanese has
also been heavily critical of Israel in other more recent or previously
reported comments, repeatedly brushing aside Israeli security concerns,
including since she took up the special rapporteur position, and has
justified violence against Israel and Israelis.Last month she told a
podcast that Israeli security fears were “paranoia thinking.”“Israel
cannot claim self-defense while illegally occupying and while directing
an act of aggression against another country,” she said. “Those who have
the right to self-defense are the Palestinians.”In an interview with
Italian media earlier this year, she accused Israel of being “very
effective in passing off the equation ‘resistance equals terrorism.’ But
an occupation clearly necessitates and generates violence.” She said in
another interview that Palestinian violence is “inevitable.”Earlier
this year, after a flare-up between Gaza terrorists and Israel, she
said, “Palestinians’ right to resist is inherent to their right to exist
as a people.” She also said the right to Palestinian armed resistance
was a “necessary conversation” that had been “demoted.” Palestinians'
right to resist is inherent to their right to exist as a people. An
unlawful act of resistance does not make the resistance unlawful. An
unlawful act of an unlawful occupation makes the occupation more
unlawful (and the list on the desk of the ICC Prosecutor longer) —
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) August 8,
2022-In a speech delivered to a gathering in Gaza via video earlier this
month, she said, “There is a right to oppose this occupation.” The
Times of Israel translated her comments from Arabic, although she
delivered the speech in English, because the English audio was not
available.“The occupier cannot say he is defending himself,” she told
the audience in the enclave, which has been ruled by the Hamas terror
group since a bloody takeover in 2007.Seven years earlier, she expressed
joy over the European Union’s General Court taking Hamas off of its
terror blacklist: “Two good news one after another from the radio while I
was taking a nap. Normalization in the relations usa cuba and removal
of hamas from the list of terror organizations. Was i dreaming???”The
post was also recently removed. The Times of Israel contacted Albanese’s
office for comment on that post and several others but did not receive a
response.On at least one occasion she condemned Palestinian rockets
fired at Israel.“Indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza is no acceptable
response to Israel’s unlawful bombings, because it harms civilians and
it is therefore unlawful too,” she said earlier this year.Major crime
allegations-She has rejected any Israeli presence in the West Bank as
“foreign alien domination,” saying it has “no justification,” “no
reason,” and calling it “an instrument to colonize the land.”Israel
justifies its presence in the West Bank, which sits on highlands
overlooking the country’s central plains, on security grounds. There is
also heavily documented evidence of a Jewish presence in the West Bank
going back thousands of years which is recognized by UNESCO, among other
bodies.In 2018 Albanese posted a screenshot of a quote she attributed
to David Ben-Gurion that said, “We will abolish partition and expand to
the whole of Palestine.” The quote appeared to be a translation of a
disputed 1937 letter Ben Gurion wrote to his son.Albanese commented that
“taking all of Palestine (and much more in fact) has always been the
plan of the Zionists.”She has also said Israel may be guilty of alleged
major crimes including genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes
against humanity.She said this year that “dozens” of journalists have
been killed in the conflict since the year 2000, all by Israel.
According to the UN’s own statistics, both those claims are false.“There
is a practice of willful killing that is ongoing and could definitely
be a crime against humanity,” she said.Even though she declared she was
objective when she applied for the rapporteur position, she acknowledged
on a panel last year that she had doubts about taking up the post.“Deep
down perhaps I feared that embarking on research on a matter in which I
had deeply held personal views could compromise my objectivity,” she
said.Before she took up the position in May, Israel argued that her bias
should disqualify her from the post.“The newly appointed special
rapporteur’s opinion expressed in numerous articles, events and media
outlets endlessly voicing anti-Israel libel show that she is unfit to
take up this role,” Merav Marks, legal adviser for the Israeli mission
to the UN in Geneva, said at the time.The American Jewish Committee also
condemned her appointment at the time.Israel — backed at times by the
United States — has long accused the Human Rights Council of anti-Israel
bias and has generally refused to cooperate with its
investigators.Echoes of Kothari-Albanese’s “Jewish lobby” comments
echoed recent statements by another UN official investigating Israel.In
July, Miloon Kothari, a member of the UN’s commission of inquiry looking
into alleged Israeli crimes, said that social media was “controlled
largely by the Jewish lobby.” He also questioned why Israel was allowed
in the UN.Kothari’s open-ended commission of inquiry has been described
as harshly critical of Israel and the country’s backers point out that
it almost entirely ignores Palestinian terror and violence.Among those
who have spoken out against the use of the “Jewish lobby” trope is US
State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who called
Kothari’s comments unacceptable.“Outrageous that a [Human Rights
Council] appointed human rights expert on Israel and the West Bank and
Gaza repeated antisemitic tropes [and] questioned Israel’s legitimacy as
a UN member,” Lipstadt said. “It is wholly unacceptable that such
comments would come from an appointed member of a Commission of
Inquiry.”The Prime Minister’s Office and officials from Canada, Britain
and a number of other countries have also condemned Kothari’s remarks.UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office said in response to
Kothari’s comments, “There is no room for antisemitism in the work of
the UN.”“Israel is unquestionably a member state of the United Nations,
with the same rights and responsibilities as the other 192 countries
that make up this organization,” a Guterres spokesperson said. Guterres
spoke out against antisemitism last month and met last week with Jewish
leaders to discuss bias.Albanese is also not the first special
rapporteur to be accused of trafficking in antisemitic tropes. In 2011,
American jurist Richard Falk, who held the post at the time, was
condemned for posting an antisemitic cartoon.“The actions of Richard
Falk at the time, statements by UN officials, it just feeds into the
lack of confidence that people have in the United Nations to be
even-handed and constructive when it comes to anything related to Israel
and even related to Jews,” said the ADL’s Heller Pinto.Defending
Kothari-Albanese has defended Kothari, calling criticism of his remarks
“preposterous allegations of antisemitism” and a “smear campaign.” My
solidarity with the @UN_HRC Commission of Inquiry on ISR/PAL for the
preposterous allegations of Antisemitism. The CoI is mandated to
investigate the "root causes" of violence & pursue accountability.
May this be the real target of the smear campaign?
https://t.co/btmnKo98i8— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt
(@FranceskAlbs) July 29, 2022-She said criticism of the commission of
inquiry “seemed to be coordinated. I think that this should prompt
scrutiny.”She has also questioned Israel’s involvement in the UN,
calling pro-Israel activities “vile.”“This should trigger a proper
inquiry inside the UN,” she said. “I’ve personally seen the breach of
the code of conduct by Israeli authorities, the Israeli
ambassador.”Albanese said last week that Israel had granted her
permission to visit the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but later posts
appeared to say Israel had blocked the visit due to statements she has
made.Her first report as a rapporteur, released in October, called
Israel an “intentionally acquisitive, segregationist and repressive
regime.”Reports by UN investigators are significant outside of the UN
because they are cited by media and other organizations, making their
way to the public, which is likely unaware of bias allegations.
