JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Netanyahu: Trump feels ‘very warmly’ about Israel, Jews-In 60 Minutes interview, Israeli PM acknowledges relations with Obama have not always been smooth, though he insists it was never personal-By Times of Israel staff December 10, 2016, 9:09 am
US President-elect Donald Trump feels “very warmly” about Israel and the Jewish people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes set to be broadcast Sunday.In an excerpt from the interview released early, the Israeli leader said: “I know Donald Trump. I know him very well…his support for Israel is clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state, about the Jewish people and about Jewish people. There’s no question about that.”Asked if he expected a better relationship with Washington after the tumultuous years of Barack Obama’s administration, Netanyahu admitted that he had had differences of opinion with Obama, particularly on the US-led nuclear accord with Iran. But he insisted that the matter was never personal.“Yeah, we had differences of opinion, I had differences of opinion with President Obama,” he said. “Suppose we had the greatest of personal chemistry, okay? So what, you think I wouldn’t stand up against the Iran deal if I thought, as I did, that it endangers the existence of Israel? Of course I would.”A poll last week found that the vast majority of Israelis believe Trump will be a “pro-Israel president.”According to the poll conducted by the Dialog polling firm, 83 percent of Israelis view Trump, a Republican who has made statements putting him in line with many of the Israeli government’s right-wing policies, as pro-Israel.Trump has said he will seek to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, while statements by him and advisers have painted him as supporting or being willing to tolerate settlement building and recognize a unified Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, two issues on which the Netanyahu government often clashed with Obama over the last six years.Most Israelis polled also said they were not overly concerned with fears of a rise in anti-Semitism in the US in the wake of Trump’s victory, which has emboldened some racist and anti-Semitic groups, part of the so-called “alt-right.”In regards to the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump said during the campaign he would tear up, calling it one of the worst agreements in history, 42% of Israelis believe there is no chance he will scrap the nuclear accord, with only 13% saying there is a high chance he will tear up the deal.Netanyahu himself said last week that Israel’s settlement policy is not governed by the United States and the incoming Trump administration will not change that.The premier told the annual Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum for Middle East Policy on Sunday that he would raise the “bad” Iran nuclear deal with Trump, and urged continued US intervention in the Middle East. He also appeared to brush off fears of an uptick in anti-Semitism in the US, noting that the fringe trend of anti-Jewish hatred was a feature of all democracies.Right-wing politicians have contended that settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has nearly ground to a halt under the Obama administration, which forcefully condemns any building over the Green Line.Asked whether Trump’s incoming administration will allow Israel to do whatever it wants regarding settlement building in the West Bank, Netanyahu said “I think we have been doing what we want.”
In landmark deal, Iran to buy 80 Boeing planes worth $16.6b-Agreement, first with US aviation company since 1979, follows announcements of plan to purchase 100 aircraft from Airbus-By Ali Noorani December 11, 2016, 3:18 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran Air finalized a contract to buy 80 planes from US firm Boeing, the official IRNA news agency said Sunday, as it seeks to renew its ageing fleet despite sanctions.IRNA reported that the contract was worth $16.6 billion, in the first such deal since the 1979 Islamic revolution.“Fifty of the planes are 737 and the other 30 are the long haul 777 that will be delivered to Iran Air in a period of 10 years,” said Farhad Parvaresh, chief executive of the national carrier, who signed the contract with Boeing officials in Tehran.It is the first deal with an American aviation firm since the revolution, and comes in spite of fresh tensions over sanctions after US lawmakers voted earlier this month to renew measures against Iran.The lack of new planes and parts has taken a severe toll on Iran’s carriers over the years, earning it one of the worst safety records in the world with close to 1,700 people dying in a string of civilian and military air disasters since 1979, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.“With the signing of this contract, the first important step has been taken for the modernization of the country’s aviation fleet,” Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi was quoted as saying.Iran Air is also due to finalize the purchase of 100 planes from European firm Airbus.“Our goal is to increase our ability to compete in the aviation industry to be able to get back our share in the transport industry in the region and the world,” said Akhoundi, referring to the fact that Iran was a regional hub for air transport before the revolution.-Sanctions pressure-Following initial agreements earlier in the year, the Boeing and Airbus deals were given final approval by the US government in September.Washington lifted some of its sanctions on Iran under a nuclear deal that came into force in January, but many restrictions have remained in place that mean companies trading with Tehran must receive explicit approval from the US Treasury.That includes European firms like Airbus who manufacture some of their parts in the United States.Pressure has been mounting on those in Iran and the United States who want to see increased trade between the two countries in order to cement the nuclear deal.Iranian leaders have reacted angrily to news that Washington will renew its existing sanctions in the coming days, saying it is a breach of the deal, while president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to rip up the accord entirely.Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has faced a barrage of criticism at home after the deal failed to attract the level of foreign investment he promised — mostly because global banks remain wary of doing business with the country.The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has questioned the focus on purchasing billion-dollar fleets of aircraft.“Suppose we modernize our air fleet. Okay, it’s a very important and necessary move. But is it the priority?” Khamenei said in June.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Trump this-Ready for Trump Temple in J’lem? Just kidding-‘Not a single Mexican has ever gotten over’ Israel’s Wall, jokes comedian, imagining the president-elect happily visiting the holy land-By Times of Israel staff December 9, 2016, 2:44 pm
Hosting the current Comedy for Koby tour, in Jerusalem on Thursday night, American comedian Avi Liberman got to musing about the president-elect coming to Israel, as he is bound to do in the near future.Obviously, Trump will love it here, said Liberman, because “you’ve got prophets” and he loves profits.And also, Israel’s got a Wall, and “not a single Mexican has ever gotten over it.”And finally, of course, there’s a unique real estate opportunity: The Trump Temple. Slipping into a Trump impersonation, Liberman had the incoming president happily contemplating the luxury Trump Temple construction project: “And don’t think we’re getting rid of the tradition,” he promised. “We’re going to have a big, fat golden mehitza (dividing men from women) down the middle… and the women are going to pay for it.”On the campaign trail, Trump promised to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He made no known promises regarding Temple construction.The Comedy for Koby tour raises funds for the Koby Mandell Foundation, which was established in the memory of Koby Mandell, 13, who was murdered along with his friend Yosef Ishran by Palestinian terrorists near his home at the West Bank settlement of Tekoa on May 8, 2001. The foundation arranges a variety of programs for relatives of those killed in terror attacks and other tragedies.Liberman regularly brings top US stand-up comedians to Israel for the Comedy for Koby tours, and has also just started holding shows in the US. The current tour in Israel, running till December 12, features Elayne Boosler, Tom Cotter and Allan Havey.
Post-election, Trump closes companies tied to Saudi Arabia-Four ventures set up last year in kingdom shut down as questions swirl over how president-elect will handle his businesses as commander-in-chief-By Eileen Sullivan, CHAD DAY and Randall Chase December 10, 2016, 2:53 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump shut down some of his companies in the days after the election, including four that appeared connected to a possible Saudi Arabia business venture, according to corporate registrations in Delaware.News of the move comes days before Trump was expected to describe changes he is making to his businesses to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the US president.The Trump Organization’s general counsel, Alan Garten, described shutting down the four companies as routine “housecleaning,” and said there was no existing Trump business venture in Saudi Arabia. The four Saudi-related companies were among at least nine companies that Trump filed paperwork to dissolve or cancel since questions were raised after the election about how he would conduct business while in the White House.Trump operates branded hotels and resorts in a handful of countries around the world, though he and his executives have talked about expanding more globally. Last year, Ivanka Trump singled out the Middle East and Saudi Arabia as potential locations.“Dubai is a top priority city for us. We are looking at multiple opportunities in Abu Dhabi, in Qatar, in Saudi Arabia, so those are the four areas where we are seeing the most interest,” Ivanka Trump told the publication Hotelier Middle East in May 2015 while attending the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference. “We haven’t made a final decision in any of the markets, but we have many very compelling deals in each of them.”Trump for years has routinely named corporate entities after the projects to which they were connected. Companies set up as part of licensing or management deals in Indonesia and India bear the names of the cities where those projects are located. The same is true for some of his companies connected to properties and business ventures in the United States.Four of the companies recently dissolved included Jeddah, a major Saudi city, in their formal names. The entities were established three months after Ivanka Trump’s comments, during the presidential campaign. Four more businesses similarly named were also set up around the same time then closed a few months later.Garten said Friday that the dissolution of the companies, which occurred last month, was part of a periodic process to shed corporate entities that were no longer needed or were set up for ventures that did not materialize. Garten said he did not know why the companies were set up last year or whether they involved a business ventures in Saudi Arabia that didn’t happen.“I’m not aware of any deal in Saudi Arabia,” Garten told The Associated Press. “I’ll go further, there is no deal in Saudi Arabia.”Garten declined to say whether the closures were related to Trump’s election or his expected announcement next week about how he will be handling his businesses as president.
Schmooze news-‘Rent-a-Jew’ project introduces Germans to Jews-New initiative aims to promote dialogue through seminars in which participants can talk with Jews, learn about community-By Times of Israel staff December 11, 2016, 4:26 pm
Never met a Jew? If you’re in Germany, here’s your chance.The European Janusz Korczak Academy, a Jewish educational institution in Germany, recently launched its “Rent-a-Jew” initiative, which is aimed at combating negative perceptions of Jews by exposing non-Jews in Germany to the local Jewish community.Rent-a-Jew holds seminars and other events in which participants have the opportunity to socialize with Jews and ask them any questions they may have about the community and its traditions.Mascha Schmerling, a Moscow-born Jew and part of the Rent-a-Jew team, told German broadcaster DW that the purpose of the program is to “to give people the chance to talk to the Jewish community. We want them to see that we’re completely normal people.”Schmerling added that “we don’t want to be defined purely by history and we don’t want to always be seen through this Holocaust lens.”Rent-a-Jew project hopes to ward off #antiSemitism in #Germany https://t.co/IbdQg3v0bI @EJKAev pic.twitter.com/uKKpQEkmQ4— Kate Brady (@kbrady90) December 10, 2016-Germany, home to over 200,000 Jews, the majority of them from the former Soviet Union, has seen a recent uptick in anti-Semitism, with 34 percent more cases of anti-Jewish attacks reported in 2015 than the year before, according to German broadcaster DW.Justin, who recently attended a Rent-a-Jew seminar, told DW that he attended the event because “it’s important to know how others live,” as Jews “live alongside us, although you don’t always know it.”Mohamed, who was also at the Rent-a-Jew seminar, said to DW that “not only have I learnt about day-to-day life in Judaism, but I’ve also learnt that many things I’ve heard about Jews aren’t actually true.”At another recent event, participants were asked what they have heard about Jews, with answers such as “educated” and “money” being the most frequent replies, DW reported.Schmerling said that the seminars provide an opportunity “to break down these prejudices,” as “dialogue is key to any problem. Instead of talking about one another, we need to be talking with one another.”
Israel readies for ‘super-tech’ F-35 stealth fighterjets-First two planes to arrive Monday; US defense secretary to attend welcome ceremony at Nevatim air base-By Mike Smith December 10, 2016, 6:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
AFP — Israel will Monday receive its first F-35 stealth fighter jets, hailed as technological marvels whose helmets alone cost more than most people’s homes but criticized for their price and initial flaws.Built by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, the first two planes’ arrival in Israel is being welcomed as a major event for the country’s military as it seeks to maintain dominance in the turbulent Middle East.US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is to attend the arrival along with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman at the Nevatim air base in the country’s south.The delivery of the first two of 50 F-35s to be purchased by Israel comes as the years-long development of the most expensive plane in history reaches a critical stage.While a list of countries have ordered the planes, Israel, which receives more than $3 billion a year in US defense aid, will be the first with an operational F-35 squadron outside the United States.“I think we don’t fully understand the big advantage of the F-35,” an Israeli Air Force official said.“I think it’s going to be learned in the next few months, maybe years. I think it’s a very super-tech airplane.”Israel has given it the name “Adir” — which means “awesome” in Hebrew. Its first planes are expected to be operational within a year after delivery.It will be receiving the F-35A model for standard takeoff and landings. The B and C models are for short takeoffs and aircraft carriers.Among their main features are advanced stealth capabilities to help pilots evade sophisticated missile systems.The single-pilot jets can carry an array of weapons and travel at a supersonic speed of Mach 1.6, or around 1,200 miles per hour (around 1,900 kilometers per hour).It is unclear if Israel’s planes will be able to deliver nuclear bombs. Israel is believed to be the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed power, though it has never acknowledged it.-High-tech helmet-The ultra-high-tech helmet, at a cost of some $400,000 each, sounds like something out of a science-fiction film.It includes its own operating system, with data that appears on the helmet visor and is also shared elsewhere.Thermal and night vision as well as 360-degree views are possible with cameras mounted on the plane.Israeli firm Elbit Systems has been involved in the helmet’s production.In Israel, the planes, designed for multiple combat situations, will initially replace a group of ageing F-16s.They are seen as helping the country maintain its edge in the Middle East, particularly as its main enemy Iran seeks further influence in the region.“The F-35 has been designed to deal with the most advanced threat systems now being fielded in the Middle East,” Lockheed Martin’s Steve Over told AFP by email.Israel is especially concerned over whether Iran will seek to develop nuclear weapons by violating the international accord it has signed with world powers aimed at preventing it.The country is also keeping an eye on Lebanon’s powerful Shiite terror group Hezbollah, with which Israel fought a devastating war in 2006.Beyond that, in neighboring Syria, Russia has deployed the sophisticated S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems as it conducts an air campaign in support of President Bashar Assad.-‘Only game in town’-Israel is buying its first 33 jets at an average price of about $110 million (103.5 million euros) each.The government last month approved the purchase of the remaining 17.As a comparison, in 2001, Israel agreed to buy 52 additional F-16s from Lockheed Martin at a total cost of $1.3 billion.While the technology can seem dazzling, there have been questions over whether the plane will be worth the cost.A list of flaws have been uncovered, including one where pilots who weighed less than 136 pounds (62 kilos) risked being killed by its eject system.There have also been software bugs and technical glitches, though Lockheed Martin assures such issues have been overcome.Some in Israel have also said the price of the planes will limit the number that can ultimately be purchased, while losing any in combat will be particularly costly.There have also been questions over whether upgrades to the air force’s existing fleet could have sufficed.But the F-35 was “the only game in town” since Israel relies so heavily on US defense aid, said Yiftah Shapir of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.“We couldn’t go and buy French or British or Russian,” he said. “When you have an ally like the United States, the United States would not have allowed that.”In the United States, the air force declared an initial squadron of F-35As ready for combat in August, without giving a timeline for actual combat.The US Marine Corps in 2015 announced that a first group of F-35Bs had attained initial operational capability, though these too have not yet been used in combat.
This Jewish woman’s research may save millions of lives-Joanna Slusky might have the answer to increasingly antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs,’ which scientists say could cause more deaths than cancer by 2050-By Victor Wishna December 11, 2016, 4:22 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
LAWRENCE, Kansas (JTA) – Joanna Slusky places a test tube into an incubating shaker, flips the switch, and it begins to quiver. So does she.“I’m excited,” she said, showing off another gadget in her lab, a contraption that stirs solutions using a magnetic coil and a metal bar. “How great is that?”It’s pretty great — so great that even a psychology major feels the excitement. The work that Slusky is doing at the University of Kansas, where she is an assistant professor of molecular biosciences and computational biology, may ultimately save millions of lives.A protein she designed appears to be one of the most promising responses yet to the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It’s a scourge that infects 2 million Americans each year — more than 23,000 fatally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some world health officials project that by 2050, antibiotic resistance, if unchecked, could be responsible for more deaths globally than all forms of cancer combined.Slusky’s innovation earned the attention of the Palo Alto, California-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which in November named her one of the first five Moore Inventor Fellows. As such, she will receive $825,000 over three years to fund her research, including $50,000 a year from the University of Kansas.It’s an important crossroads for the prospects for global health and a remarkable achievement for the 37-year-old Jewish biochemist, who never saw herself as an “inventor scientist”— a term she admits that she, well, invented.-‘My mother was describing how, as a scientist, she shoots lasers at crystals, and I said, OK, I’m going to be a scientist’-Growing up in an observant Jewish home in New Jersey, Slusky knew from a young age that she wanted to be a scientist. That’s largely thanks to her mother — a Bell Labs physicist who was one of the first women to earn a doctorate in physics at Princeton — who made science “sound like fun,” Slusky told JTA.“There was a car ride that has become one of our family stories,” she said. “The conversation topic was, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ My mother was describing how, as a scientist, she shoots lasers at crystals. My father is a patent attorney, and he told us how he talks to people and he writes things. And I said, ‘OK, I’m going to be a scientist.’ And my brother said, ‘Can boys be scientists, too?’”Slusky attended both Orthodox and Conservative day schools and has always kept Shabbat and kashrut. She said her identity is shaped by both her Jewish tradition and her work.“It’s something I think about a lot,” she said. “I believe that science is fundamentally answering the question of ‘how,’ and Judaism is answering the question of ‘why,’ and those things aren’t in contrast for me. They’re very much two sides coming together.”Slusky’s first job in the sciences, technically, was as a high school-aged babysitter for the children of a professor of molecular genetics. When he learned that she was interested in biochemistry, he connected her to Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy at Rutgers University, in whose lab she worked for two summers.From there, after earning a degree in chemistry from Princeton, to further nurture her commitment to Jewish learning she spent a year at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She then pursued a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by postdoctoral work at Sweden’s Stockholm University and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She joined the University of Kansas faculty in 2014.Along the way, Slusky discovered protein design, which is the study — and application — of the relationship between amino-acid sequencing and resultant 3-D protein structures. Shortly after establishing her lab at K.U., while investigating what she calls a “scientifically interesting” question about protein-protein interactions, she created a new protein, but eventually set it aside.-‘I believe that science is fundamentally answering the question of how, and Judaism is answering the question of why’-“And then, through conversations with colleagues about antibiotic resistance, I got to thinking, ‘I wonder if this protein that I have in the freezer could make bacteria susceptible to antibiotics,” she recalled. “The whole goal of my work is, instead of making new antibiotics, to make the old antibiotics work like new.”Due to what some consider overprescribing and overuse in agriculture, antibiotics today are present in water and soil, where bacteria can develop resistance. While some resist due to mutation of the bacteria target-proteins or the modification of the antibiotic itself, the broader problem is when an antibiotic cannot reach its target due to something called an “efflux pump”— essentially a protein that pushes antibiotics right back out through the bacteria’s membrane. Slusky’s protein disables that pump.She is not the first to attempt this, but previous efforts have focused on different proteins in the efflux pump, often with toxic results. What distinguishes this protein is that it targets the bacteria’s outer membrane — a feature absent from all human cells, which therefore are not vulnerable to unintentional attack. Slusky’s protein should therefore be nontoxic and more potent against the bacteria.The call for applications from the Moore Foundation — established by Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore — came shortly after Slusky’s breakthrough. The funds will allow Slusky to expand her lab, while the publicity could garner more interest and resources, helping her establish enough data to ready the protein for clinical trials — and possibly an approved, effective treatment within 20 years.“It’s just fantastic,” she said of the accolades and the potential to help save lives. “Hopefully it will snowball.”Regardless, Slusky knows there is much work ahead — though, of course, not on Shabbat, which she and her family observe. Slusky and her husband, David, an assistant professor of economics at K.U., and their young daughter are active members of their Conservative synagogue in the Kansas City suburbs.Last Shavuot, Slusky taught a class on Torah and science. Among many topics, she addressed Abraham Joshua Heschel’s philosophy of “radical amazement” at the miraculous, natural world around us.Slusky said it is science that gives her that sense of awe — whether it’s teaching informally among the students and researchers on her staff, helping a hall full of undergrads discover biochemistry for the first time, or working alone in the lab.“The intricacies of protein-protein interactions and discovering new things about them is what fills me with radical amazement, which is a fundamentally religious feeling,” she said. “I also believe I have a responsibility to the world, that my obligation is to bear the burden of the other. And if I have the opportunity to do that on a global scale, then that’s really exciting.”.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Netanyahu: Trump feels ‘very warmly’ about Israel, Jews-In 60 Minutes interview, Israeli PM acknowledges relations with Obama have not always been smooth, though he insists it was never personal-By Times of Israel staff December 10, 2016, 9:09 am
US President-elect Donald Trump feels “very warmly” about Israel and the Jewish people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes set to be broadcast Sunday.In an excerpt from the interview released early, the Israeli leader said: “I know Donald Trump. I know him very well…his support for Israel is clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state, about the Jewish people and about Jewish people. There’s no question about that.”Asked if he expected a better relationship with Washington after the tumultuous years of Barack Obama’s administration, Netanyahu admitted that he had had differences of opinion with Obama, particularly on the US-led nuclear accord with Iran. But he insisted that the matter was never personal.“Yeah, we had differences of opinion, I had differences of opinion with President Obama,” he said. “Suppose we had the greatest of personal chemistry, okay? So what, you think I wouldn’t stand up against the Iran deal if I thought, as I did, that it endangers the existence of Israel? Of course I would.”A poll last week found that the vast majority of Israelis believe Trump will be a “pro-Israel president.”According to the poll conducted by the Dialog polling firm, 83 percent of Israelis view Trump, a Republican who has made statements putting him in line with many of the Israeli government’s right-wing policies, as pro-Israel.Trump has said he will seek to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, while statements by him and advisers have painted him as supporting or being willing to tolerate settlement building and recognize a unified Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, two issues on which the Netanyahu government often clashed with Obama over the last six years.Most Israelis polled also said they were not overly concerned with fears of a rise in anti-Semitism in the US in the wake of Trump’s victory, which has emboldened some racist and anti-Semitic groups, part of the so-called “alt-right.”In regards to the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump said during the campaign he would tear up, calling it one of the worst agreements in history, 42% of Israelis believe there is no chance he will scrap the nuclear accord, with only 13% saying there is a high chance he will tear up the deal.Netanyahu himself said last week that Israel’s settlement policy is not governed by the United States and the incoming Trump administration will not change that.The premier told the annual Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum for Middle East Policy on Sunday that he would raise the “bad” Iran nuclear deal with Trump, and urged continued US intervention in the Middle East. He also appeared to brush off fears of an uptick in anti-Semitism in the US, noting that the fringe trend of anti-Jewish hatred was a feature of all democracies.Right-wing politicians have contended that settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has nearly ground to a halt under the Obama administration, which forcefully condemns any building over the Green Line.Asked whether Trump’s incoming administration will allow Israel to do whatever it wants regarding settlement building in the West Bank, Netanyahu said “I think we have been doing what we want.”
In landmark deal, Iran to buy 80 Boeing planes worth $16.6b-Agreement, first with US aviation company since 1979, follows announcements of plan to purchase 100 aircraft from Airbus-By Ali Noorani December 11, 2016, 3:18 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran Air finalized a contract to buy 80 planes from US firm Boeing, the official IRNA news agency said Sunday, as it seeks to renew its ageing fleet despite sanctions.IRNA reported that the contract was worth $16.6 billion, in the first such deal since the 1979 Islamic revolution.“Fifty of the planes are 737 and the other 30 are the long haul 777 that will be delivered to Iran Air in a period of 10 years,” said Farhad Parvaresh, chief executive of the national carrier, who signed the contract with Boeing officials in Tehran.It is the first deal with an American aviation firm since the revolution, and comes in spite of fresh tensions over sanctions after US lawmakers voted earlier this month to renew measures against Iran.The lack of new planes and parts has taken a severe toll on Iran’s carriers over the years, earning it one of the worst safety records in the world with close to 1,700 people dying in a string of civilian and military air disasters since 1979, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.“With the signing of this contract, the first important step has been taken for the modernization of the country’s aviation fleet,” Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi was quoted as saying.Iran Air is also due to finalize the purchase of 100 planes from European firm Airbus.“Our goal is to increase our ability to compete in the aviation industry to be able to get back our share in the transport industry in the region and the world,” said Akhoundi, referring to the fact that Iran was a regional hub for air transport before the revolution.-Sanctions pressure-Following initial agreements earlier in the year, the Boeing and Airbus deals were given final approval by the US government in September.Washington lifted some of its sanctions on Iran under a nuclear deal that came into force in January, but many restrictions have remained in place that mean companies trading with Tehran must receive explicit approval from the US Treasury.That includes European firms like Airbus who manufacture some of their parts in the United States.Pressure has been mounting on those in Iran and the United States who want to see increased trade between the two countries in order to cement the nuclear deal.Iranian leaders have reacted angrily to news that Washington will renew its existing sanctions in the coming days, saying it is a breach of the deal, while president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to rip up the accord entirely.Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has faced a barrage of criticism at home after the deal failed to attract the level of foreign investment he promised — mostly because global banks remain wary of doing business with the country.The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has questioned the focus on purchasing billion-dollar fleets of aircraft.“Suppose we modernize our air fleet. Okay, it’s a very important and necessary move. But is it the priority?” Khamenei said in June.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Trump this-Ready for Trump Temple in J’lem? Just kidding-‘Not a single Mexican has ever gotten over’ Israel’s Wall, jokes comedian, imagining the president-elect happily visiting the holy land-By Times of Israel staff December 9, 2016, 2:44 pm
Hosting the current Comedy for Koby tour, in Jerusalem on Thursday night, American comedian Avi Liberman got to musing about the president-elect coming to Israel, as he is bound to do in the near future.Obviously, Trump will love it here, said Liberman, because “you’ve got prophets” and he loves profits.And also, Israel’s got a Wall, and “not a single Mexican has ever gotten over it.”And finally, of course, there’s a unique real estate opportunity: The Trump Temple. Slipping into a Trump impersonation, Liberman had the incoming president happily contemplating the luxury Trump Temple construction project: “And don’t think we’re getting rid of the tradition,” he promised. “We’re going to have a big, fat golden mehitza (dividing men from women) down the middle… and the women are going to pay for it.”On the campaign trail, Trump promised to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He made no known promises regarding Temple construction.The Comedy for Koby tour raises funds for the Koby Mandell Foundation, which was established in the memory of Koby Mandell, 13, who was murdered along with his friend Yosef Ishran by Palestinian terrorists near his home at the West Bank settlement of Tekoa on May 8, 2001. The foundation arranges a variety of programs for relatives of those killed in terror attacks and other tragedies.Liberman regularly brings top US stand-up comedians to Israel for the Comedy for Koby tours, and has also just started holding shows in the US. The current tour in Israel, running till December 12, features Elayne Boosler, Tom Cotter and Allan Havey.
Post-election, Trump closes companies tied to Saudi Arabia-Four ventures set up last year in kingdom shut down as questions swirl over how president-elect will handle his businesses as commander-in-chief-By Eileen Sullivan, CHAD DAY and Randall Chase December 10, 2016, 2:53 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump shut down some of his companies in the days after the election, including four that appeared connected to a possible Saudi Arabia business venture, according to corporate registrations in Delaware.News of the move comes days before Trump was expected to describe changes he is making to his businesses to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the US president.The Trump Organization’s general counsel, Alan Garten, described shutting down the four companies as routine “housecleaning,” and said there was no existing Trump business venture in Saudi Arabia. The four Saudi-related companies were among at least nine companies that Trump filed paperwork to dissolve or cancel since questions were raised after the election about how he would conduct business while in the White House.Trump operates branded hotels and resorts in a handful of countries around the world, though he and his executives have talked about expanding more globally. Last year, Ivanka Trump singled out the Middle East and Saudi Arabia as potential locations.“Dubai is a top priority city for us. We are looking at multiple opportunities in Abu Dhabi, in Qatar, in Saudi Arabia, so those are the four areas where we are seeing the most interest,” Ivanka Trump told the publication Hotelier Middle East in May 2015 while attending the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference. “We haven’t made a final decision in any of the markets, but we have many very compelling deals in each of them.”Trump for years has routinely named corporate entities after the projects to which they were connected. Companies set up as part of licensing or management deals in Indonesia and India bear the names of the cities where those projects are located. The same is true for some of his companies connected to properties and business ventures in the United States.Four of the companies recently dissolved included Jeddah, a major Saudi city, in their formal names. The entities were established three months after Ivanka Trump’s comments, during the presidential campaign. Four more businesses similarly named were also set up around the same time then closed a few months later.Garten said Friday that the dissolution of the companies, which occurred last month, was part of a periodic process to shed corporate entities that were no longer needed or were set up for ventures that did not materialize. Garten said he did not know why the companies were set up last year or whether they involved a business ventures in Saudi Arabia that didn’t happen.“I’m not aware of any deal in Saudi Arabia,” Garten told The Associated Press. “I’ll go further, there is no deal in Saudi Arabia.”Garten declined to say whether the closures were related to Trump’s election or his expected announcement next week about how he will be handling his businesses as president.
Schmooze news-‘Rent-a-Jew’ project introduces Germans to Jews-New initiative aims to promote dialogue through seminars in which participants can talk with Jews, learn about community-By Times of Israel staff December 11, 2016, 4:26 pm
Never met a Jew? If you’re in Germany, here’s your chance.The European Janusz Korczak Academy, a Jewish educational institution in Germany, recently launched its “Rent-a-Jew” initiative, which is aimed at combating negative perceptions of Jews by exposing non-Jews in Germany to the local Jewish community.Rent-a-Jew holds seminars and other events in which participants have the opportunity to socialize with Jews and ask them any questions they may have about the community and its traditions.Mascha Schmerling, a Moscow-born Jew and part of the Rent-a-Jew team, told German broadcaster DW that the purpose of the program is to “to give people the chance to talk to the Jewish community. We want them to see that we’re completely normal people.”Schmerling added that “we don’t want to be defined purely by history and we don’t want to always be seen through this Holocaust lens.”Rent-a-Jew project hopes to ward off #antiSemitism in #Germany https://t.co/IbdQg3v0bI @EJKAev pic.twitter.com/uKKpQEkmQ4— Kate Brady (@kbrady90) December 10, 2016-Germany, home to over 200,000 Jews, the majority of them from the former Soviet Union, has seen a recent uptick in anti-Semitism, with 34 percent more cases of anti-Jewish attacks reported in 2015 than the year before, according to German broadcaster DW.Justin, who recently attended a Rent-a-Jew seminar, told DW that he attended the event because “it’s important to know how others live,” as Jews “live alongside us, although you don’t always know it.”Mohamed, who was also at the Rent-a-Jew seminar, said to DW that “not only have I learnt about day-to-day life in Judaism, but I’ve also learnt that many things I’ve heard about Jews aren’t actually true.”At another recent event, participants were asked what they have heard about Jews, with answers such as “educated” and “money” being the most frequent replies, DW reported.Schmerling said that the seminars provide an opportunity “to break down these prejudices,” as “dialogue is key to any problem. Instead of talking about one another, we need to be talking with one another.”
Israel readies for ‘super-tech’ F-35 stealth fighterjets-First two planes to arrive Monday; US defense secretary to attend welcome ceremony at Nevatim air base-By Mike Smith December 10, 2016, 6:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
AFP — Israel will Monday receive its first F-35 stealth fighter jets, hailed as technological marvels whose helmets alone cost more than most people’s homes but criticized for their price and initial flaws.Built by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, the first two planes’ arrival in Israel is being welcomed as a major event for the country’s military as it seeks to maintain dominance in the turbulent Middle East.US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is to attend the arrival along with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman at the Nevatim air base in the country’s south.The delivery of the first two of 50 F-35s to be purchased by Israel comes as the years-long development of the most expensive plane in history reaches a critical stage.While a list of countries have ordered the planes, Israel, which receives more than $3 billion a year in US defense aid, will be the first with an operational F-35 squadron outside the United States.“I think we don’t fully understand the big advantage of the F-35,” an Israeli Air Force official said.“I think it’s going to be learned in the next few months, maybe years. I think it’s a very super-tech airplane.”Israel has given it the name “Adir” — which means “awesome” in Hebrew. Its first planes are expected to be operational within a year after delivery.It will be receiving the F-35A model for standard takeoff and landings. The B and C models are for short takeoffs and aircraft carriers.Among their main features are advanced stealth capabilities to help pilots evade sophisticated missile systems.The single-pilot jets can carry an array of weapons and travel at a supersonic speed of Mach 1.6, or around 1,200 miles per hour (around 1,900 kilometers per hour).It is unclear if Israel’s planes will be able to deliver nuclear bombs. Israel is believed to be the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed power, though it has never acknowledged it.-High-tech helmet-The ultra-high-tech helmet, at a cost of some $400,000 each, sounds like something out of a science-fiction film.It includes its own operating system, with data that appears on the helmet visor and is also shared elsewhere.Thermal and night vision as well as 360-degree views are possible with cameras mounted on the plane.Israeli firm Elbit Systems has been involved in the helmet’s production.In Israel, the planes, designed for multiple combat situations, will initially replace a group of ageing F-16s.They are seen as helping the country maintain its edge in the Middle East, particularly as its main enemy Iran seeks further influence in the region.“The F-35 has been designed to deal with the most advanced threat systems now being fielded in the Middle East,” Lockheed Martin’s Steve Over told AFP by email.Israel is especially concerned over whether Iran will seek to develop nuclear weapons by violating the international accord it has signed with world powers aimed at preventing it.The country is also keeping an eye on Lebanon’s powerful Shiite terror group Hezbollah, with which Israel fought a devastating war in 2006.Beyond that, in neighboring Syria, Russia has deployed the sophisticated S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems as it conducts an air campaign in support of President Bashar Assad.-‘Only game in town’-Israel is buying its first 33 jets at an average price of about $110 million (103.5 million euros) each.The government last month approved the purchase of the remaining 17.As a comparison, in 2001, Israel agreed to buy 52 additional F-16s from Lockheed Martin at a total cost of $1.3 billion.While the technology can seem dazzling, there have been questions over whether the plane will be worth the cost.A list of flaws have been uncovered, including one where pilots who weighed less than 136 pounds (62 kilos) risked being killed by its eject system.There have also been software bugs and technical glitches, though Lockheed Martin assures such issues have been overcome.Some in Israel have also said the price of the planes will limit the number that can ultimately be purchased, while losing any in combat will be particularly costly.There have also been questions over whether upgrades to the air force’s existing fleet could have sufficed.But the F-35 was “the only game in town” since Israel relies so heavily on US defense aid, said Yiftah Shapir of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.“We couldn’t go and buy French or British or Russian,” he said. “When you have an ally like the United States, the United States would not have allowed that.”In the United States, the air force declared an initial squadron of F-35As ready for combat in August, without giving a timeline for actual combat.The US Marine Corps in 2015 announced that a first group of F-35Bs had attained initial operational capability, though these too have not yet been used in combat.
This Jewish woman’s research may save millions of lives-Joanna Slusky might have the answer to increasingly antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs,’ which scientists say could cause more deaths than cancer by 2050-By Victor Wishna December 11, 2016, 4:22 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
LAWRENCE, Kansas (JTA) – Joanna Slusky places a test tube into an incubating shaker, flips the switch, and it begins to quiver. So does she.“I’m excited,” she said, showing off another gadget in her lab, a contraption that stirs solutions using a magnetic coil and a metal bar. “How great is that?”It’s pretty great — so great that even a psychology major feels the excitement. The work that Slusky is doing at the University of Kansas, where she is an assistant professor of molecular biosciences and computational biology, may ultimately save millions of lives.A protein she designed appears to be one of the most promising responses yet to the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It’s a scourge that infects 2 million Americans each year — more than 23,000 fatally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some world health officials project that by 2050, antibiotic resistance, if unchecked, could be responsible for more deaths globally than all forms of cancer combined.Slusky’s innovation earned the attention of the Palo Alto, California-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which in November named her one of the first five Moore Inventor Fellows. As such, she will receive $825,000 over three years to fund her research, including $50,000 a year from the University of Kansas.It’s an important crossroads for the prospects for global health and a remarkable achievement for the 37-year-old Jewish biochemist, who never saw herself as an “inventor scientist”— a term she admits that she, well, invented.-‘My mother was describing how, as a scientist, she shoots lasers at crystals, and I said, OK, I’m going to be a scientist’-Growing up in an observant Jewish home in New Jersey, Slusky knew from a young age that she wanted to be a scientist. That’s largely thanks to her mother — a Bell Labs physicist who was one of the first women to earn a doctorate in physics at Princeton — who made science “sound like fun,” Slusky told JTA.“There was a car ride that has become one of our family stories,” she said. “The conversation topic was, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ My mother was describing how, as a scientist, she shoots lasers at crystals. My father is a patent attorney, and he told us how he talks to people and he writes things. And I said, ‘OK, I’m going to be a scientist.’ And my brother said, ‘Can boys be scientists, too?’”Slusky attended both Orthodox and Conservative day schools and has always kept Shabbat and kashrut. She said her identity is shaped by both her Jewish tradition and her work.“It’s something I think about a lot,” she said. “I believe that science is fundamentally answering the question of ‘how,’ and Judaism is answering the question of ‘why,’ and those things aren’t in contrast for me. They’re very much two sides coming together.”Slusky’s first job in the sciences, technically, was as a high school-aged babysitter for the children of a professor of molecular genetics. When he learned that she was interested in biochemistry, he connected her to Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy at Rutgers University, in whose lab she worked for two summers.From there, after earning a degree in chemistry from Princeton, to further nurture her commitment to Jewish learning she spent a year at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She then pursued a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by postdoctoral work at Sweden’s Stockholm University and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She joined the University of Kansas faculty in 2014.Along the way, Slusky discovered protein design, which is the study — and application — of the relationship between amino-acid sequencing and resultant 3-D protein structures. Shortly after establishing her lab at K.U., while investigating what she calls a “scientifically interesting” question about protein-protein interactions, she created a new protein, but eventually set it aside.-‘I believe that science is fundamentally answering the question of how, and Judaism is answering the question of why’-“And then, through conversations with colleagues about antibiotic resistance, I got to thinking, ‘I wonder if this protein that I have in the freezer could make bacteria susceptible to antibiotics,” she recalled. “The whole goal of my work is, instead of making new antibiotics, to make the old antibiotics work like new.”Due to what some consider overprescribing and overuse in agriculture, antibiotics today are present in water and soil, where bacteria can develop resistance. While some resist due to mutation of the bacteria target-proteins or the modification of the antibiotic itself, the broader problem is when an antibiotic cannot reach its target due to something called an “efflux pump”— essentially a protein that pushes antibiotics right back out through the bacteria’s membrane. Slusky’s protein disables that pump.She is not the first to attempt this, but previous efforts have focused on different proteins in the efflux pump, often with toxic results. What distinguishes this protein is that it targets the bacteria’s outer membrane — a feature absent from all human cells, which therefore are not vulnerable to unintentional attack. Slusky’s protein should therefore be nontoxic and more potent against the bacteria.The call for applications from the Moore Foundation — established by Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore — came shortly after Slusky’s breakthrough. The funds will allow Slusky to expand her lab, while the publicity could garner more interest and resources, helping her establish enough data to ready the protein for clinical trials — and possibly an approved, effective treatment within 20 years.“It’s just fantastic,” she said of the accolades and the potential to help save lives. “Hopefully it will snowball.”Regardless, Slusky knows there is much work ahead — though, of course, not on Shabbat, which she and her family observe. Slusky and her husband, David, an assistant professor of economics at K.U., and their young daughter are active members of their Conservative synagogue in the Kansas City suburbs.Last Shavuot, Slusky taught a class on Torah and science. Among many topics, she addressed Abraham Joshua Heschel’s philosophy of “radical amazement” at the miraculous, natural world around us.Slusky said it is science that gives her that sense of awe — whether it’s teaching informally among the students and researchers on her staff, helping a hall full of undergrads discover biochemistry for the first time, or working alone in the lab.“The intricacies of protein-protein interactions and discovering new things about them is what fills me with radical amazement, which is a fundamentally religious feeling,” she said. “I also believe I have a responsibility to the world, that my obligation is to bear the burden of the other. And if I have the opportunity to do that on a global scale, then that’s really exciting.”.
