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
Finnish knife attacker who killed two identified with IS, police say-Asylum seeker Abderrahman Bouanane, who last year went on stabbing rampage in Turku, said to have acted alone, reacted to Syria bombardments-By JARI TANNER-FEB 7,18-TOI
HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish police say the Moroccan asylum-seeker who killed two people and wounded eight others in last year’s stabbing attack in southwestern Finland identified strongly with the Islamic State group and was motivated largely by hatred after heavy bombardments by the Western-led coalition in the Syrian city of Raqqa.Olli Toyras of the National Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that Abderrahman Bouanane became radicalized some three months before the August 18 attack in the western city of Turku, and although he acted alone, he thought of himself as an IS fighter.“We don’t think any group is being involved in this,” Toyras said, although adding that the suspect’s phone and computer contained IS-related photos and material. “He has seen himself as a fighter, a soldier, a man of IS. He would have liked IS to have taken credit for the attack.”On the day of the attack, Bouanane had bicycled from Turku’s outskirts to the city center, bringing along two kitchen knives he had taken from a friend’s home.He attended prayer at a local mosque before he started a stabbing rampage in Turku’s main market square that lasted some three minutes and left two women dead and eight others — six women and two men — wounded.Toyras said Bouanane, born in 1994, had picked his victims at random. His initial target had been a Finnish soldier waiting at a bus station but he abandoned the plan as too risky.Toyras said Bouanane had keenly followed earlier terror incidents in Belgium and France, was willing to die for “a martyr cause” and was waiting to be shot dead by the Finnish police.The suspect came to Finland in 2016 and saw later his asylum application rejected. But police said that was not considered the main motive.Following the attack, police discovered a manifesto posted online by Bouanane that was strongly influenced by Muslim and IS world views and contained disparaging references to Western religions.The case is being investigated as two counts of terror-related murder and eight counts of attempted murder with a terror-related motive.State prosecutors are expected to file official charges by the end of February.
Egypt opens border gate into Gaza Strip for three days-Rafah crossing has not been opened since the beginning of the year; Hamas officials say 35,000 Palestinians are waiting to pass through-By Khaled Abu Toameh-FEB 7,18-TOI
Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for three days, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo announced on Wednesday.The terminal will be open in both directions, the embassy said.It was the first time that the border crossing has been opened since the beginning of this year.Palestinian ambassador to Egypt Diab Al Louh thanked Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for the gesture. Al-Louh also thanked the Egyptian security authorities for their assistance.The last time the terminal was open was 50 days ago. During 2017, the terminal was open for a total of 35 days only.In the past few months, the Egyptians promised more than once to reopen the border crossing, but failed to do so at the last moment.The border crossing has been almost continuously closed since 2013. Occasionally, the Egyptians opened the terminal for a few days at a time to allow patients to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment.Thousands of Gaza residents are on travel lists — most of them medical patients, students and holders of residency permits of other countries. Only a few thousand will make it out in the time allotted.Hamas handed control of the Gaza side of the crossing to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority on November 1, as the first part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal designed to end a bitter, decade-long split.That was supposed to have been followed by the handover of full civil control in Gaza by December 1.But the target date was missed amid differences over the future of tens of thousands of civil servants recruited by Hamas since it seized control of the territory in 2007. Hamas is also refusing to give up its arms and its military wing.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saudis reportedly okay airspace for direct India-Israel flights; Riyadh denies-Israeli sources confirm agreement struck for route from Tel Aviv to Delhi; Air India says still awaiting regulatory approval-By TOI staff-FEB 7,18
Saudi Arabia reportedly okayed the use of its airspace for flights between Israel and India, according to Hebrew-language media Wednesday. However, a Saudi official quickly denied the claim.The approval, which would cut hours off the flight route, would be a first and mark a major milestone in Israel’s attempts to deepen ties with Gulf Sunni states.In a deal struck with Riyadh, Air India will begin offering direct flights from Tel Aviv to New Delhi on March 20, ahead of the Passover holiday, according to the Haaretz daily and the Kan broadcaster, citing Israeli aviation officials.The Saudi Arabia Aviation Authority denied ever granting such approval, and a spokesman for Air India told Reuters that the airline is still waiting for the Indian aviation regulator to approve the move.The report came as Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj was visiting Riyadh on an official trip.Currently, El Al is the only airline offering direct flights from Israel to India, with a Tel Aviv-Mumbai route. In order to avoid Saudi Arabia, which forbids flights to and from Israel over its airspace, the plane must detour over the Red Sea and around the Arabian peninsula, adding over two hours to the flight.The Israeli Tourism Ministry is hoping Wednesday’s approval will be a gateway for other Far East countries that had been discouraged from offering direct flights due to the need to bypass Saudi Arabia, Israel’s Globes business daily reported.The report comes as Israel has tried to build ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states allied with the US, which have a common enemy in Iran. However, Riyadh has remained skittish about openly admitting to contacts with Israel.The direct flight proposal was a main topic on the agenda during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India last month. Speaking at an economic forum in Mumbai, Netanyahu said the goal was for a “efficient and direct route” to be established between the countries.
Palestinian caught entering military court with suspected pipe bomb-Security forces arrest man who had what appeared to be an improvised explosive device hidden in his clothes-By TOI staff-FEB 7,18
Security forces arrested a Palestinian man Wednesday who was caught with what appeared to be a small pipe bomb as he entered a West Bank military court, police said in a statement.Border Police guards and military police stopped the man at the entrance to the Samaria Military Court in the northern West Bank.The suspected improvised explosive device was concealed in his clothing, police said.It was the third such incident in the past two months at the same military court.On December 28 Border Police officers arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian teen who was carrying a pipe bomb as he walked into the court building.Less than two weeks earlier, police arrested a Palestinian man who tried to enter the same military court with two pipe bombs. Security forces used sappers to defuse the explosives, which were found in the suspect’s coat along with a knife.Earlier Wednesday an Israeli security guard was lightly wounded when a Palestinian assailant attacked him with a knife at the entrance to a West Bank settlement, officials said. The attacker opened the door to the guard post at the entrance to Karmei Tzur, in Gush Etzion, and stabbed one of the guards in the palm of his hand. A second guard shot the assailant and killed him, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
After me, the blood-Terror and revenge, border tensions and rash pronouncements in the papers point to another typically violent day, and more to come, in the Middle East-By Joshua Davidovich-TOI-FEB 7,18
The horrifying slow burn of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is evident in Israel’s print press Wednesday morning, which feature a grieving wife of a terror victim, dead and injured Palestinians amid army operations, a crisis brewing nearly unseen in Gaza, international condemnation, war clouds in the north, and a frankly terrifying lack of even a hint of the P word — peace — that the country and region seems to have just gotten used to.Both tabloids Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom lead their front pages with the headlines “Manhunt in Nablus” alongside pictures of a mourning Miriam Ben-Gal at the funeral of her husband Itamar, killed in a stabbing terror attack in Ariel the day before. Both papers play up the sad eulogies and teary meeting between Ben-Gal and Yael Shevach, whose husband was killed in a terror attack a month earlier.“Itamar, I want to promise you we will stand up and be strong,” Yedioth quotes Ben-Gal saying at the funeral. “We will continue as you wanted, to settle the land of Israel, to raise our kids. To do only good and to live in happiness just as you wanted from us.”Broadsheet Haaretz also leads its front page with a picture from the funeral, but its main story leads with the bloody toll of that manhunt in Nablus, with a Palestinian dead and 50 injured, a news placement decision that may seem insensitive to Israeli eyes, but actually follows a classic news judgment hierarchy (often boiled down to “If it bleeds, it leads”).“According to eyewitnesses in Nablus, when IDF forces began to leave the city, they were fired on from the Balata refugee camp. One of the IDF vehicles got stuck and soldier began to exchange fire,” the paper reports.The Palestinian death gets scant mention in Yedioth and does not even make it into Israel Hayom’s two-paragraph account of the activities in Nablus, though it does devote a full page to the killing of Ahmed Jarrar, wanted for the shooting of Raziel Shevach a month ago, under the jingoistic headline “The account is settled.”Unlike the Rambo-esque headline and praise from politicians for the terrorist’s end, the paper quotes Yael Shevach’s more measured response to the death.“I can’t be happy on a day like this, after I got the terrible news about the death of Itamar,” she’s quoted saying.Elsewhere the paper quotes Shevach speaking about the similarities between her husband Raziel and Itamar Ben-Gal.“They were both educators, men of Torah,” she’s quoted saying. “Raziel and Itamar both loved life, dressing nicely and eating well. Raziel was on his way from a circumcision and Itamar was on his way to a circumcision. Raziel’s sister is supposed to get married in less than a month and also Miriam’s sister is supposed to wed in less than a month.”Perhaps the most actually newsy thing out of the funeral was minister Uri Ariel’s call: “This is the time for the Temple Mount, for the people of Israel to recognize the holiness of the land, the holiness of the mountain and the building of the Temple Mount,” which Haaretz reports came amid cries of “revenge” among the mourners.Ariel’s statements, which also included urging deporting families of terrorists and other harsh measures, somehow evade the attention of reports in Israel Hayom and Yedioth, but in the latter paper, op-ed columnist Aviad Kleinberg cottons on to the explosive potential of his words and writes that being angry doesn’t mean you don’t have to speak responsibly.“The local bonfire needs more fuel and the minister is happy to pour it on,” he writes. “How much in blood will this cost us? These are questions that don’t interest the minister, just like questions of political logic don’t interest him.”The ability of ministers to adopt policies with bloody consequences also plays into an op-ed by Zvi Bar’el in Haaretz, albeit on another front. Bar’el warns that should the army continue to carry out the government’s will in clamping down on Gaza, war may be the result.“The strategy of closure, which is designed to bring about the collapse of Hamas, has become bankrupt because Israel has no effective civilian tools left to pressure Gaza with. The IDF and the Shin Bet security service were the first to understand that Hamas can serve as a vital tool to help stop the firing of rockets into Israel, on condition that it can survive,” he writes. “Between the threat presented by a strong Hamas and the benefit to be gained from its strength, the IDF has concluded that in the current diplomatic situation, Hamas’ ability to govern should be preferred. This isn’t a strategic betrayal of the deterrence formula but actually supports it. The more the Gaza economy improves, the more Hamas will have to lose.”In Israel Hayom, though, columnist Amnon Lord praises the cabinet for its clear messaging regarding tensions in the north, especially a tour on the border by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers Tuesday, writing that it was giving Iran ample room to get its missile factories out of Lebanon before things get bad.“Precisely the statements by Israeli ministers over the last week, threatening as they were, as with the tour, go to teach how to manage the ‘missile crisis’ in a way that won’t lead to a military confrontation. What Israel has done slowly over the last months, and more intensively over the last week, is to make its position clear,” he writes. “The tour sharpened the messaging. If Iran does not take a step back on the missiles, it will leave Israel to decide the timing of the next war… So long as the main actors are connecting through Russia, the chances of a military operation are slim.”
Russian hackers exploit weakness in US cyber defense-Group known as 'Fancy Bears' targets dozens of employees working on secret projects including drones, missiles, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms-By JEFF DONN, Desmond Butler and Raphael Satter-TOI-FEB 7,18
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian hackers exploited a key vulnerability in US cyber defenses to come within reach of stealing some of the nation’s most secret and advanced defense technology, an Associated Press investigation has found.What may have been stolen is uncertain, but the cyberspies clearly took advantage of poorly protected email and scant direct notification of victims.The hackers known as Fancy Bear, who also intruded in the US election, went after at least 87 people working on military drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms, or other sensitive activities, the AP found. Thirty-one agreed to interviews.Employees at both small companies and defense giants like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics were targeted. Contacted by the AP, those companies offered no comment.“The programs that they appear to target and the people who work on those programs are some of the most forward-leaning, advanced technologies,” said Charles Sowell, a former senior adviser in the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence, who reviewed the list of names for the AP. “And if those programs are compromised in any way, then our competitive advantage and our defense is compromised.”“That’s what’s really scary,” added Sowell, who was himself one of the hacking targets.The AP identified Fancy Bear’s prey from about 19,000 lines of the hackers’ email phishing data collected by the US-based cybersecurity company Secureworks, which calls the hackers Iron Twilight. The data is partial and extends from March 2015 to May 2016.Most of the people on the target list worked on classified projects. Yet as many as 40 percent clicked on the hackers’ phishing links, the AP analysis indicates. That’s the first step in potentially opening their accounts or computer files to digital theft.Hackers predominantly targeted personal Gmail, with a few corporate accounts mixed in. Personal accounts can convey classified information — whether through carelessness or expediency — and lead to more valuable targets or carry embarrassing personal details that can be used for blackmail or to recruit spies.Among their interests, the Russians seemed to be eyeing the X-37B, an American unmanned space plane that looks like a miniature shuttle.Referring to an X-37B flight in May 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin invoked it as evidence that his country’s space program was faltering.“The United States is pushing ahead,” he warned Russian lawmakers.Less than two weeks later, Fancy Bear tried to penetrate the Gmail account of a senior engineer on the X-37B project at Boeing.The hackers also chased people who work on cloud-based services, the off-site computer networks that enable collaborators to work with data that is sometimes classified. For example, the cyberspies tried to get into the Gmail of an employee at Mellanox Federal Systems, which helps the government with high-speed storage networks, data analysis and cloud computing. Its clients include the FBI and other intelligence agencies.Yet of the 31 targets reached by AP, just one got any warning from US officials.The FBI declined to give on-the-record details of its response to this Russian operation. Agency spokeswoman Jillian Stickels said the FBI does sometimes notify individual targets. “The FBI takes … all potential threats to public and private sector systems very seriously,” she said in an email.However, three people familiar with the matter — including a current and a former government official — previously told the AP the FBI knew the details of Fancy Bear’s phishing campaign for more than a year.Pressed about notification in that case, a senior FBI official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the hacking operation because of its sensitivity, said the bureau was overwhelmed by the sheer number of attempted hacks. “It’s a matter of triaging to the best of our ability the volume of the targets who are out there,” he said.A Pentagon spokeswoman, Heather Babb, said the department recognizes the evolving cyber threat and continues to update training and technology for military, civilian and contract personnel. But she declined to comment on this hacking operation.The Defense Security Service, which protects classified US technology, focuses on safeguarding corporate computer networks.“We simply have no insight into or oversight of anyone’s personal email accounts or how they are protected or notified when something is amiss,” spokeswoman Cynthia McGovern said in an email.
Hoenlein: Like UK, France of old, Iran and Turkey are trying to carve up region-Jewish leader says he can't understand why people don't see what's happening, urges US to support its allies more visibly; warns against giving up on bipartisan support for Israel-By David Horovitz-TOI-FEB 7,18
The head of American Jewry’s main umbrella group warned that Iran and Turkey are working aggressively to carve up the Middle East, much as Britain and France did in the Sykes-Picot agreement of a century ago, and that the whole world will be adversely impacted for decades if they are able to do so.Two empires — the Ottoman and the Persian — are being “resurrected” and are “redrawing the lines of the Middle East,” Malcolm Hoenlein said. “We’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey… We’re seeing a redrawing of the Middle East which could impact us for decades to come…This affects Africa. This affects Asia. It’ll affect Europe. It’ll affect everybody.”To face up to the threat, Hoenlein urged the US to more visibly support its friends and allies, notably including Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and to ratchet up sanctions on Iran, among other steps.Interviewed by The Times of Israel on Monday, ahead of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization’s annual leadership mission to Israel later this month, Hoenlein also said he believes US President Donald Trump has a realistic chance of brokering Israeli-Arab peace, and that his bid to do so marks a real opportunity for Israel.“A strong president can deliver for everybody, if it’s done right,” said Hoenlein, the Conference’s longtime executive vice president. “We haven’t tested the capabilities really, but he certainly is invested, he’s appointed people to do it. For Israel it’s a unique opportunity. So, could he? Yeah. I think strong leaders are the ones who can get things like this done.”At the same time, however, Hoenlein assessed that Mahmoud Abbas’s bitterly anti-Trump and “anti-Semitic” speech in Ramallah last month marked a “turning point” in the US president’s attitude to the Palestinian Authority president. Trump, said Hoenlein, is furious with Abbas for, as he sees it, “walking away” when he was trying to initiate a process, and now regards Abbas as “just not interested in talking, not interested in negotiations” and as having insulted the US.Hoenlein also argued that the situation in Iran is less stable than is widely perceived, given that the economic situation outside the major cities is dire, and that average Iranians feel they have seen none of the promised economic benefits of the Iran nuclear deal.In the interview, Hoenlein also related to concerns that Israel is increasingly becoming perceived as a partisan cause in the United States, and urged: “Israel has to be a bipartisan issue. Israel cannot be seen as a left, right, conservative, liberal, Republican or Democrat [cause].”Hoenlein acknowledged falling support for Israel on “the Democratic left in particular,” and insisted that “the answer is not to write it off and just to condemn it.” Rather, the pro-Israel community had to ask itself how best to reach out to key demographics that are becoming less supportive of Israel.Where the rival US political leaderships are concerned, he said, “We have to show appreciation for what this administration has done, for what the president has done and the vice president and others, and at the same time keep in mind, about the larger population, that we want to keep all Americans behind Israel.”Hoenlein also talked about recent visits he has made to Qatar and the UAE, and other encounters with Arab and Muslim leaders, including Syria’s President Bashar Assad. And he explained how he has striven to avoid being lumped in with certain other visitors who “put on shows” when on trips to the Middle East, and are regarded by leaders in this region, he said, as “the clowns.”The following is an edited transcript of the conversation.The Times of Israel: Israel is talking about potentially closing several embassies worldwide and consulates in the US for budgetary reasons. Is that something you would want to weigh in against? Malcolm Hoenlein: We have tried to advise about the potential implications. I understand the budgetary constraints. But their presence in these communities are pivotal — really the link to Israel. And so I would urge that, wherever possible, this be reviewed and considered.Sitting outside, it’s very easy to tell Israel to spend money in these places. But I think generally, right now, the foreign service, the Foreign Ministry, are seen by many as diminished, and internally I know there are very bad feelings. And it’s a mistake: The Foreign Ministry is a critical agency and the role they play, at a time when we’re fighting for the hearts and minds of people, is very important.There is a lot of talent in the Foreign Ministry that is not fully utilized. There are a lot of really good people with whom we work closely. There seems to be a wholesale rather than a retail approach to assessing what is important and what isn’t.“Fighting for the hearts and minds of people.” We’ve spoken often about the relationship between the US and Israel, American Jewry and Israel. It seems that Israel has now become a partisan issue in the United States. How concerned are you by that? Israel has to be a bipartisan issue. Israel cannot be seen as a left, right, conservative, liberal, Republican or Democrat [cause].We can’t afford the move — which I think is more towards indifference than it is towards hostility, although we do see the negative numbers in the Democratic left in particular.The answer is not to write it off and just to condemn it. The question is how do we educate, how do we reach out to them? We have several programs that are targeting those audiences.We had the chairman of the Democratic Party come to the President’s Conference; we talked with him about outreach. He was very sympathetic and supportive of it. We have seen that others who have gotten involved in the Democratic Party were able to achieve significant accomplishments. So the mistake would be to write it off and to just say that, They’re against us and therefore we don’t deal with them.We have to work with Democratic members of the House and Senate. I will tell you honestly, I sense from some of them more edginess because of the polarization that’s going on.I think we have to be more creative. We have America’s Voices, [a program] that tries to bring people [to Israel] who can appeal to those audiences and give the personal testimony of what they see — [including that this is] no apartheid state. They come here and they say, This is 180 degrees different than what we expected. And when they say it — these are non-Jews, movie actors, sports stars, others to whom young people can relate — when they say, Guys, you’ve got it wrong, [that makes a difference]. We did a very extensive study of this and we found that there are ways to counter the [anti-Israel] arguments.BDS is a symptom, it’s a tool. It’s not the problem. We have to focus on the campuses, we have to strengthen our efforts there and the pro-Israel groups that are doing more. We’ve got to get faculty more motivated, we’ve got to get administrations to understand their responsibilities; we have a legal apparatus now, the Lawfare project and others, and they’re making a difference. They’re putting administrations on notice that you can’t just get away with it anymore. The Jewish students — their rights, their protection — is going to be an uppermost priority for us and for the community as a whole and it better be for them.After some of the tough years recently, there’s a real sense of relief to see the public statements [made during Vice President] Pence’s visit, and the president’s visit before-We have to work with Democratic members of the House and Senate. I will tell you honestly, I sense from some of them more edginess because of the polarization that’s going on. That is permeating American society as a whole, but also the political process.President Trump has been extremely pro-Israel. The question is whether Israel is over-embracing Trump. In American politics, pendulums swing. He won’t be the president forever. From the Israeli government’s point of view, it seems we’re becoming a partisan issue and they sometimes seem quite happy about it.Look, I think after some of the tough years recently, there’s a real sense of relief to see the public statements [made during Vice President] Pence’s visit, and the president’s visit before. I was with [Trump] at the Western Wall. It was truly amazing. You see the change in atmosphere and attitude.Frankly, America leads. There is no doubt. Whether it’s a peace process, whether it’s negotiation. What America says, [matters]. Even if they don’t like the president, as most Europeans and others do not, they have to take into account that America is saying, We’re drawing the line here: No more anti-Israel bias at the UN or you’ll pay a price for it.When we had the [UN anti-settlements] resolution at the end of the Obama administration [that the US allowed through by choosing not to veto], in contrast to what we’re seeing now, I think Israeli officials and others have a right to be appreciative and to want to foster it, to build on it. At the same time, there’s always a question of balance and how you go about it.I think we have to show appreciation for what this administration has done, for what the president has done and the vice president and others, and at the same time keep in mind, about the larger population, that we want to keep all Americans behind Israel.Do you have a sense of what the president meant when he said he took Jerusalem off the table, and also what he meant in saying that Israel would have been asked or would be asked to “pay more” or give up something down the road? And how this might play out? On putting Jerusalem “off the table,” he was saying, Look, it’s not a question of whether we’re gonna move the embassy — we are. But he was talking about moving it to West Jerusalem. And in that [December 6] statement, he talked about a two-state solution. He talked about many other things that got overlooked in the context of the reference to the embassy, and the vice president reinforcing it, saying it would done by the end of next year.The real key here is that it doesn’t change anything on the ground. If they had put up a plaque the first night, and declared an embassy, it would’ve been over with and that would’ve been it.What I think he meant [about Israel paying later] was that if we get the process going — he’s a deal-maker — that concessions are to come from both sides. He was saying to Israel, Look, you know, if I gain these things [for you], we’re gonna ask of you things as well. I don’t think anybody could expect, in negotiations, that Israel was never going to be asked to make any concessions or contributions to the process. That’s what the president was saying to the Palestinians: Look, it’s not gonna be a one-way street. You come to the table. I did this [Jerusalem move] to try and defuse this issue. Because the fact is that that part of the issue is irrelevant — you know, recognizing West Jerusalem. Everybody recognizes it.[I think the administration is interested in] coming up with creative solutions to the problems. Just like it’s been true here that Likud governments are generally those that reach accords, I think a more right-wing [US] government may have it easier getting to an accord and may be able to bring the Congress and others behind them to a meaningful resolution, or at least progress towards a resolution.Hence his anger at [Palestinian Authority President] Abbas for walking away, when he saw it as initiating a process, and [now] says that this guy is just not interested in talking, is not interested in negotiations, that he insults us. [Abbas’s] speech, I think, was a real turning point.The Ramallah address, talking about the illegitimacy of Israel? Yes. The attacks on Israel. It was anti-Semitic. And the attacks on Trump.When you’re president of the United States and you say, I’m giving this guy hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars every year. We gave [Abbas] a bye. The truth is the Obama administration did not hold him to account in the way they should have. So your pendulum is swinging. We are now finally seeing him held to account. But it’s not unfair. Even the Scandinavian countries are now cutting aid because they are using that money to build tributes to martyrs, to killers and to terrorists.You have to think of it in the mindset of a president like Trump who comes out of real estate and who really values the deal, considers deal-making an art. I think he really hoped for and wants to see a negotiated deal. I don’t think it’s peripheral for him.You think he was only recognizing West Jerusalem? That’s what this was? I’m saying it didn’t go beyond that in his statement. I hope he was talking about the unity of Jerusalem, but I don’t think, in his statement…He didn’t rule out a Palestinian part…He didn’t rule out anything. He talked about a two-state solution.What the president did, when he went to the Kotel [the Western Wall, last May] and put on a yarmulke — after the UNESCO votes and after what had happened in the months before — and declared this a Jewish holy site and said a psalm, I think that that was a bolder move than the statement on Jerusalem. And yet there wasn’t one demonstration anywhere, not one protest against it, in the whole Arab world. Why? Because you do it the right way. You just do it.It’s often how you do it, how you present it. He just did it as a fait accompli and said, Listen, this is a Jewish holy site. He recognized it. He didn’t diminish anybody else’s rights by doing it. It was a very dignified event. I went there because I wanted to see the dynamic. I wanted to see how he and the others acted in the context. And I have to say, it was very impressive. And the fact is that you didn’t have a protest anywhere about it.[The opposition to Trump’s moves regarding Jerusalem] is largely manufactured. It’s used, as you know, “Al-Aqsa is under siege.” They know that that brings people to the streets and that can incite violence.It sounds like you think this president actually could make peace if there was a genuine will on the other side, that he would be willing to push for the kinds of compromises that are necessary? [There’s a] confluence of factors, including the changes in the Arab world — the fact that they are pressing Abbas to come to an accord, and will be able to support him and help him if he does… You saw the demonstrations in Iran, where they said, We will not die for Palestine, we will not die for Hamas, we will not die for Hezbollah. People are getting tired of the issue. So that’s one factor.And then you have a president who’s really strong. But a strong president can deliver for everybody, if it’s done right. We haven’t tested the capabilities really, but he certainly is invested, he’s appointed people to do it. For Israel it’s a unique opportunity.So, could he? Yeah. I think strong leaders are the ones who can get things like this done.Let me ask you about American Jews and Israel. The CEO of the Jewish Agency [Alan Hoffmann] spoke recently about an event where he had an appearance, and all the questions that he had from young American Jews were about pluralism in Israel, or rather the ostensible lack of pluralism in Israel. So, I’m asking you about the alienation of young American Jews.Are we concerned about the alienation of young people? There are many issues that could exacerbate it — the immigrant issues, [arrangements for pluralistic prayer at] the Western Wall, other things. But it’s more fundamental. It means that we haven’t done a good enough job, starting at age 3, inculcating kids, educating them in understanding Israel, building ties to Israel. Birthright is great. There are other efforts. We have to do it when they’re younger, when they formulate a lot of their attitudes, earlier on. We have tremendous kids on campuses, working day and night, with incredible devotion. The good guys don’t get the notice. The bad guys get the notice.I think [the stance on Israel] is reflective of the general trend amongst young people in American society today, towards indifference, towards, you know, “it is what it is.” And then you have the devoted few who are on the extreme left — the Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace or whatever it’s called, these groups, who are not necessarily very large but they are very vocal, very extreme. Young people who are not inoculated, who don’t have the confidence to stand against it, become vulnerable to it. So we have to inoculate them much earlier. You have to educate them.It’s not to enforce on them, it doesn’t mean they can’t have differences with Israel, or be critical of certain aspects of Israel and policy. It’s the feeling of connection, relationship [that we need to instill]. We have a lot of programs that are ongoing to try and counter it. There is an awful lot that has to be done. We need more creativity, we have to learn to use social media more effectively, we have to reach them where they are and to find the vehicles to get them.Tell me about your recent, controversial trip to Qatar.I was in Qatar 20 years ago. Our visit there led to Shimon Peres’s visit and the opening of the [Israeli] interests section. I’ve had contact with the Qataris periodically — I was sort of alienated when they turned more hostile to Israel. I went there primarily on the MiA issue, just as I went to see [Bashar] Assad in Damascus [in 2011] and President Erdogan and many others, because families have asked and because I feel we can’t leave any stone unturned. They do have influence. So far we have not seen them deliver on it, but we hope they will.There are other issues too [with Qatar]. I went for one day. I wanted it to be clear that it was only business, I had meetings from early morning — 7:30, straight through until late at night — until I went back. I never discussed it publicly, it only became public because of some of the people who were involved. I don’t think that’s the effective way of doing things.I visit a lot of Arab countries. I meet a lot of controversial people, in the interest of the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and I think the record of these past decades and my doing it speak for themselves. But I never speak about it because I think that’s what gives me credibility with them and effectiveness: They know they can talk to me in confidence and that I am not interested in exploiting it or grandstanding it. I am only interested in what we can accomplish.You were at a conference in Azerbaijan not too long ago, attended by numerous Arab and Muslim leaders.Yes, Azerbaijan is a remarkable country. It’s a great friend of Israel, a great friend of the Jewish people. A Jewish community of 2,600 years; no history of anti-Semitism. You can walk in Baku with a yarmulke on your head and have no problem whatsoever. I was invited by Sheikh al-Islam, the head of the Muslim community there, and by President Aliyev to participate — it was the end of an inter-religious solidarity conference, and the Muslim leaders from 42 countries [were there] plus other religious leaders, from the Pope’s representative to the Greek Orthodox, etc. They invited me to speak and participate.The Iranian spokesman, representing [President] Rouhani, gave a really vicious diatribe and there were others who gave pretty tough speeches, but I responded equally toughly.What was interesting to me was that I got a smattering of applause but no interruptions and no booing to my remarks, and they were really tough. I said I spoke as a Jew, a Zionist and an American, and [responded to the Iranians and others as to] why their effort to denigrate other religions does not build up theirs. It doesn’t give them more credibility. I went through the whole history of the Jewish connection [to the land of Israel] and answered almost all the points that the Iranians and others had made, but in pretty tough terms. Afterwards, many [of those present] wanted to take pictures with us and people came to talk to us — leaders from many Muslim and Arab countries. That’s a message about the need to be present, to be able to talk, to communicate. You never know what good comes out of it.What do you make of what’s unfolding in Iran now? Is the regime stable? We try to stay in touch with a lot of people from inside Iran and from outside Iran. You need to speak to a lot of people to try to get an accurate assessment. I think that the internal situation is much more disruptive than is communicated. The economic conditions are terrible. When the deputy minister of environment says, We’re water bankrupt. When you see the unemployment [rate] among young people, 30-40% — amongst women, even; among college graduates, I think it’s 40%. The economic condition outside the big cities is terrible. They feel that they were lied to about the [nuclear] deal — that they derived no benefit. Especially when 40% of the economy is controlled by [Supreme leader] Khamenei and the IRGC, so they already take off the bulk of anything that comes in.We’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey, that are redrawing the lines of the Middle East, with Russia-They resent the involvement with Hezbollah and with Hamas. You saw that in the demonstrations, as was true during the Green Revolution, when they were yelling in the streets, We will not die for Hamas, we will not die for Hezbollah, we’ll die for Iran.The internal situation is not as stable as it is portrayed to be. They’re negotiating a lot of deals. They’re trying to make deals.Their aggressiveness is expanding all the time. There are bases in more and more places. They’re building military facilities in Syria. But also the Lebanon-Syria-Iraq highway, and the crescent that they have established. Now there are two. One that goes through Lebanon. One that goes through the Persian Gulf. Their presence now in the base in Qatar. There are many others — places where Iran is establishing itself, a military and an economic and other presence.Every African leader, when you meet them — they used to talk to us about China, and now they talk to us about Iran, about the fear of Iran, of Iran’s infiltration, of Iran’s efforts to infiltrate the regime.And by the way, [there’s] a parallel in terms of Turkey: What I see happening, and what seems to escape people, is that we’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey, that are redrawing the lines of the Middle East, with Russia. They’re party to this too. Russia building bases in Sudan. Turkey putting $50 million in a base in Somalia. You see them in Afghanistan, in Qatar. All of them fighting for bases in Libya. Twenty-nine foreign bases in Syria. We’re seeing a redrawing of the Middle East which could impact us for decades to come.The Russians — with almost nothing in terms of their own investment — are expanding that influence constantly. I don’t know how people can look at all of this and not notice this dramatic change.You have two empires — the Ottoman and the Persian empire — being resurrected. The aggressiveness, with Erdogan building mosques — thousands and thousands of mosques all over the world. The eighth in Sweden opened up. And every Friday they send a message to the imams with what they’re supposed to say. I was in one Muslim country, and I asked [a leader] about it. And he looked out the window of his home, and he said, You see that, you see that, you see that, all new mosques, sponsored by Turkey. Even the Saudis [are doing the same] in some places.People don’t look at the aggressive outreach which is still emanating from the Middle East, and the potential [consequences] of this. This affects Africa. This affects Asia. It’ll affect Europe. It’ll affect everybody.And the US should be doing what about that? The US should be supporting our friends more visibly — especially central Asia countries like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, others that want to be pro-West, that are standing against the pressures from Iran, Turkey, Russia, others. We should be continuing to build our presence, because it was the absence of the United States that gave free rein and license to everybody.We have to increase the sanctions on Iran. They do work. They do have an impact.We should be doing more work with the broadcasts. We have to reform Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, who often become tools for our enemies and [who] broadcast against friends and allies in the region.There are many things that we could do: Standing up for [Egypt’s] President Sissi. You can criticize and you can push for human rights and do all those things. At the same time you’ve got to recognize the realities that these countries face, and the danger of the collapse of any one of them and the ripple effect that would have.We don’t have the resources to do everything. But early investment at a much lower level can help prevent you having to invest a great deal later on because we ignored or allowed a situation to metastasize to the point where you needed to have hundreds of billions of dollars in expenditures.Coming back for a moment to the conference you attended in Azerbaijan. The speaker [on behalf of Iran] was Mahmoud Vaezi, who read out a speech from Rouhani as you said. He attacked the US and Trump, for doing everything for the Zionists. There was nothing explicitly anti-Semitic [in what was published].What is “Zionists”? It is a code-word for Jews… He doesn’t say Jews. He said Zionists. He saw us sitting in the front row. He attacked “the Zionists” all the time. He talked about the conspiracies — the United States and the Zionist conspiracy. This is classic anti-Semitic rhetoric.They would assert that their opposition is to Israel, not the Jews. They would say, as they do, Look at how well we treat the Jews [in Iran].Well of course. But it doesn’t matter. When you’re talking in a public international forum like this, and you talk about conspiracy theories — the way he described the United States and the Zionists’ “collusion” and all that, this is classically anti-Semitic. The terminology and references. There was no attempt to cloak it or to hide it, and say, We don’t mean the Jews, we don’t mean anything else. They didn’t say anything like that. It was really very blatant.At an international forum like this, that’s supposed to talk about solidarity, and you had all the Christian leaders there, and others, sitting there, it would have been an opportunity to send a different message if you’d wanted. But [Iran] didn’t. And there were Muslim leaders there who were very upset by the message, who came out afterwards and said to us that the hostility in his message, that it’s not reflective of our views and it’s not reflective of who we are.What do you think of the Trump administration’s responses to the recent protests in Iran? It was better than saying, We don’t get involved in internal political manifestations. But it has to be a sustained effort. We have to do more to be supportive of the young people. I don’t mean weapons. Fax machines matter. Just the expressions of support, so that they know they’re not alone. That was the biggest criticism we got after the Green Revolution [in 2009]. They’d say: We put our lives on the line and you abandoned us.They got rhetorical support this time? Rhetorical support — that’s so important… This way at least they know that you have a president who supported them. I’m sure previous administrations also have sympathy for the Iranian people. But you’ve got to manifest it. You’ve got to say it. Because they have to hear it. They have to hear that you’re willing to take a public stand in support. Was it enough? Maybe not… This has to come from within. But it will only come from within if they know there is support from without.And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeatedly supportive response to the recent protests? For Israel to show friendship, its messages to the Iranian people get a tremendous response. A tremendous number of people watch it. I actually did the first one, many years ago. We got a lot of response to it. Because I said, We are not against the Iranian people. We are for you. We want to support you. But the regime is one that is not serving your interests, is not serving the region’s interests.You were also in the UAE a while back.I was in the UAE in the past year. There are opportunities. The dialogue is very important. We look at the map and we see this one mass. It’s not so. Each country is unique. Each one has its own interests. Having the channels of communication open, having the opportunity to see first hand, you get a very different understanding. You go to this massive air force base and you see the UAE and the Americans, and see how intense is the amount of action, because of Iraq and Syria, flying out of these places.When I met Assad, I sat three hours [with him]. The first hour, he was really probing me. The second hour he opened up and told me incredible things, once he felt confident enough-To hear their concerns and their perception gives you a much more fully rounded view of what is happening in the region and an opportunity to share our perspectives. Sometimes, they’re really taken aback by how much we know or by the fact that we follow all this so closely. It gives us more credibility. The only way we’ll have sustained relationships is if our facts are correct, if it passes the test of time, if they see that we can sustain what we say, and the legitimacy of the case that we make.Every Arab leader I’ve ever met spends the first period [of conversation with us] testing us. Are we serious? To see whether you guys know what you’re talking about.When I met Assad, I sat three hours [with him]. The first hour, he was really probing me. The second hour he opened up and told me incredible things, once he felt confident enough. And I never talk about [the specifics of what he said, or what other leaders tell me in confidence]. I never discuss it. And they know it. Some of them have said it.I’ve said to them: Why me? I’m not the most likely candidate for this. I wear a yarmulke. I have my views. They say, That’s exactly it, because we want people who know who they are.You know they have a term — “the clowns” — for some of the people who get involved and who put on shows about all of it. But they don’t take them that seriously.You met [ex-Mahmoud Abbas Gaza security chief, and now Abbas rival, Mohammad] Dahlan when you were in the UAE.I met with Dahlan.What did you make of him? It was an interesting discussion. I wasn’t overwhelmed. I can’t say that anything much came of it.You didn’t come away thinking, this is a guy…Who’s going to take over? No.With whom we can make peace? You didn’t come away with any definitive sense? He has an operation. He brought in advisers from Europe, and advisers, his people, from elsewhere. But I knew Dahlan from before. I was very impressed with him when I met him the first time, when he was a boss in Gaza. This time I did not get a sense that this is a guy who is in a position to take over.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) 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 ANIMAL 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Abbas, Putin to discuss new peace talks mechanism sidelining US – report-Palestinians seeking to oust Middle East Quartet from process, and have Russia play a much more prominent role-By TOI staff and Khaled Abu Toameh-FEB 7,18
When they meet on February 12, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss a new proposed peace negotiations mechanism meant to sideline the United States, a Palestinian diplomat in Russia told the Russian Interfax news agency on Wednesday.The two men are scheduled to meet in the Black Sea beach resort of Sochi.Interfax reported the new mechanism would seek to replace the Middle East Quartet, established in Madrid in 2002, which is composed of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia.The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority is trying to convince Russia to play a much more prominent role in the peace talks, having declared the US unqualified to act as an “honest broker” due to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.At the Sochi meeting, Abbas is expected to tell Putin that the Palestinians do not believe the Trump administration is capable of playing any “constructive” or “positive” role in efforts to achieve peace with Israel, a PA official in Ramallah said last week. The PA president has also been seeking greater European involvement in the peace process.Relations between the PA and the US administration have soured rapidly since Trump’s December 6 announcement. US threats to cut funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees have further exacerbated tensions.“We are hoping that Russia and the EU will step in to fill the void,” the PA official said. “We believe that these countries should and can play a larger role in any peace process in the wake of the Trump administration’s hostile policies toward the Palestinians and bias in favor of Israel.”Last Thursday, Abbas met in his Ramallah office with two senior Russian officials, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the security council, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat and PA General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj also attended the meeting.Abbas told them that the PA was interested in developing and strengthening its relations with Russia. He also expressed appreciation for Russia’s support for the Palestinians in various areas, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.Abbas emphasized the importance of Russia’s political stance, due to its “great weight in the international arena and as part of the Quartet, which should continue to play a fair and just role,” Wafa quoted him as saying.Wafa quoted the Russian officials as saying that Putin was looking forward to his meeting with the PA president. The envoys also affirmed Russia’s continued support for the Palestinians and efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, it said.Amid his efforts to rally the international community against the US, Abbas will also deliver a rare address to the UN Security Council on February 20, the council’s president said Thursday.On Tuesday, Abbas insisted that the Palestinians have never rejected any invitation to resume peace talks with Israel.“Our hands are extended for peace through negotiations,” he said. “We support the war on terrorism in every place in the world.”Still, Abbas, who was speaking at the Jerusalem Capital of Muslim Youth 2018 festival in Ramallah, reiterated that the US administration was no longer qualified to act as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Pence says US to unveil ‘toughest’ sanctions on N. Korea-Pressure will continue 'until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,' vice president says-By Zeke Miller-TOI-FEB 7,18
TOKYO, Japan (AP) — US Vice President Mike Pence said the US is preparing to announce the “toughest and most aggressive” economic sanctions against North Korea in the coming days, boosting pressure on the bellicose government during the Winter Olympics.Pence, who is set to lead the US delegation to the opening ceremonies Friday, made the announcement in Japan Wednesday, following meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.“The United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever — and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all,” Pence said.US officials declined to detail the expected sanctions beyond Pence’s comments, citing concerns that any additional information could be used by those trying to skirt the new measures. They are expected to be implemented before the conclusion of the games.On a six-day trip to Japan and South Korea, Pence is seeking to reassure and refocus American allies on the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.In meetings with government leaders, military officials and US service members, Pence said he wants to make sure the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics don’t distract from the bellicose North Korean human rights abuses and nuclear program. He met Wednesday with Abe at his official residence to discuss increasing pressure on the North.“The United States is with you in this challenge,” Pence told Abe as they began their bilateral talks. “And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”Pence watched Japanese troops demonstrate the simulated deployment of Japan’s surface-to-air missile defense system, which would attempt to intercept a North Korean missile. He also participated in a briefing at Japan’s Ministry of Defense on the threat.“The people of Japan can be assured: The full range of the Armed Forces of the United States will continue to be dedicated to the protection of Japan,” Pence said, promising again that “all options are on the table” to address the North Korean threat.Pence will travel on to South Korea Thursday for meetings with President Moon Jae-in, where he will promote the Trump administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” against the North, as the South pursues a diplomatic opening around the Winter Olympics.As North Korea’s march toward obtaining a functional nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the US has exceeding the American government’s estimates, the Trump administration has worked to rally the international community to embrace tougher economic sanctions and isolation of the North.At the same time, Pence has not ruled out a potential meeting with North Korean officials at the Olympics, telling reporters, “we’ll see what happens.” But he pledged that his message in any potential interaction would include the same message he has been delivering publicly: that the North renounce its nuclear weapon and missile programs.“We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games,” he said. “We’ll be there to cheer our athletes, but we’ll also be there to stand with our allies, and remind the world that North Korea is the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet.”As his personal guest to the opening games, Pence invited Fred Warmbier, the father of Otto Warmbier, an American who died last year days after his release from captivity in North Korea.Pence is expected to take other symbolic moves on the trip to keep attention on North Korea, including a Thursday morning meeting with defectors from the North.It comes after US President Donald Trump welcomed Warmbier’s parents and a prominent defector at his State of the Union last week, as well as a larger group of those who fled the North to the Oval Office Friday.
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
Finnish knife attacker who killed two identified with IS, police say-Asylum seeker Abderrahman Bouanane, who last year went on stabbing rampage in Turku, said to have acted alone, reacted to Syria bombardments-By JARI TANNER-FEB 7,18-TOI
HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish police say the Moroccan asylum-seeker who killed two people and wounded eight others in last year’s stabbing attack in southwestern Finland identified strongly with the Islamic State group and was motivated largely by hatred after heavy bombardments by the Western-led coalition in the Syrian city of Raqqa.Olli Toyras of the National Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that Abderrahman Bouanane became radicalized some three months before the August 18 attack in the western city of Turku, and although he acted alone, he thought of himself as an IS fighter.“We don’t think any group is being involved in this,” Toyras said, although adding that the suspect’s phone and computer contained IS-related photos and material. “He has seen himself as a fighter, a soldier, a man of IS. He would have liked IS to have taken credit for the attack.”On the day of the attack, Bouanane had bicycled from Turku’s outskirts to the city center, bringing along two kitchen knives he had taken from a friend’s home.He attended prayer at a local mosque before he started a stabbing rampage in Turku’s main market square that lasted some three minutes and left two women dead and eight others — six women and two men — wounded.Toyras said Bouanane, born in 1994, had picked his victims at random. His initial target had been a Finnish soldier waiting at a bus station but he abandoned the plan as too risky.Toyras said Bouanane had keenly followed earlier terror incidents in Belgium and France, was willing to die for “a martyr cause” and was waiting to be shot dead by the Finnish police.The suspect came to Finland in 2016 and saw later his asylum application rejected. But police said that was not considered the main motive.Following the attack, police discovered a manifesto posted online by Bouanane that was strongly influenced by Muslim and IS world views and contained disparaging references to Western religions.The case is being investigated as two counts of terror-related murder and eight counts of attempted murder with a terror-related motive.State prosecutors are expected to file official charges by the end of February.
Egypt opens border gate into Gaza Strip for three days-Rafah crossing has not been opened since the beginning of the year; Hamas officials say 35,000 Palestinians are waiting to pass through-By Khaled Abu Toameh-FEB 7,18-TOI
Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for three days, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo announced on Wednesday.The terminal will be open in both directions, the embassy said.It was the first time that the border crossing has been opened since the beginning of this year.Palestinian ambassador to Egypt Diab Al Louh thanked Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for the gesture. Al-Louh also thanked the Egyptian security authorities for their assistance.The last time the terminal was open was 50 days ago. During 2017, the terminal was open for a total of 35 days only.In the past few months, the Egyptians promised more than once to reopen the border crossing, but failed to do so at the last moment.The border crossing has been almost continuously closed since 2013. Occasionally, the Egyptians opened the terminal for a few days at a time to allow patients to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment.Thousands of Gaza residents are on travel lists — most of them medical patients, students and holders of residency permits of other countries. Only a few thousand will make it out in the time allotted.Hamas handed control of the Gaza side of the crossing to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority on November 1, as the first part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal designed to end a bitter, decade-long split.That was supposed to have been followed by the handover of full civil control in Gaza by December 1.But the target date was missed amid differences over the future of tens of thousands of civil servants recruited by Hamas since it seized control of the territory in 2007. Hamas is also refusing to give up its arms and its military wing.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saudis reportedly okay airspace for direct India-Israel flights; Riyadh denies-Israeli sources confirm agreement struck for route from Tel Aviv to Delhi; Air India says still awaiting regulatory approval-By TOI staff-FEB 7,18
Saudi Arabia reportedly okayed the use of its airspace for flights between Israel and India, according to Hebrew-language media Wednesday. However, a Saudi official quickly denied the claim.The approval, which would cut hours off the flight route, would be a first and mark a major milestone in Israel’s attempts to deepen ties with Gulf Sunni states.In a deal struck with Riyadh, Air India will begin offering direct flights from Tel Aviv to New Delhi on March 20, ahead of the Passover holiday, according to the Haaretz daily and the Kan broadcaster, citing Israeli aviation officials.The Saudi Arabia Aviation Authority denied ever granting such approval, and a spokesman for Air India told Reuters that the airline is still waiting for the Indian aviation regulator to approve the move.The report came as Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj was visiting Riyadh on an official trip.Currently, El Al is the only airline offering direct flights from Israel to India, with a Tel Aviv-Mumbai route. In order to avoid Saudi Arabia, which forbids flights to and from Israel over its airspace, the plane must detour over the Red Sea and around the Arabian peninsula, adding over two hours to the flight.The Israeli Tourism Ministry is hoping Wednesday’s approval will be a gateway for other Far East countries that had been discouraged from offering direct flights due to the need to bypass Saudi Arabia, Israel’s Globes business daily reported.The report comes as Israel has tried to build ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states allied with the US, which have a common enemy in Iran. However, Riyadh has remained skittish about openly admitting to contacts with Israel.The direct flight proposal was a main topic on the agenda during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India last month. Speaking at an economic forum in Mumbai, Netanyahu said the goal was for a “efficient and direct route” to be established between the countries.
Palestinian caught entering military court with suspected pipe bomb-Security forces arrest man who had what appeared to be an improvised explosive device hidden in his clothes-By TOI staff-FEB 7,18
Security forces arrested a Palestinian man Wednesday who was caught with what appeared to be a small pipe bomb as he entered a West Bank military court, police said in a statement.Border Police guards and military police stopped the man at the entrance to the Samaria Military Court in the northern West Bank.The suspected improvised explosive device was concealed in his clothing, police said.It was the third such incident in the past two months at the same military court.On December 28 Border Police officers arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian teen who was carrying a pipe bomb as he walked into the court building.Less than two weeks earlier, police arrested a Palestinian man who tried to enter the same military court with two pipe bombs. Security forces used sappers to defuse the explosives, which were found in the suspect’s coat along with a knife.Earlier Wednesday an Israeli security guard was lightly wounded when a Palestinian assailant attacked him with a knife at the entrance to a West Bank settlement, officials said. The attacker opened the door to the guard post at the entrance to Karmei Tzur, in Gush Etzion, and stabbed one of the guards in the palm of his hand. A second guard shot the assailant and killed him, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
After me, the blood-Terror and revenge, border tensions and rash pronouncements in the papers point to another typically violent day, and more to come, in the Middle East-By Joshua Davidovich-TOI-FEB 7,18
The horrifying slow burn of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is evident in Israel’s print press Wednesday morning, which feature a grieving wife of a terror victim, dead and injured Palestinians amid army operations, a crisis brewing nearly unseen in Gaza, international condemnation, war clouds in the north, and a frankly terrifying lack of even a hint of the P word — peace — that the country and region seems to have just gotten used to.Both tabloids Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom lead their front pages with the headlines “Manhunt in Nablus” alongside pictures of a mourning Miriam Ben-Gal at the funeral of her husband Itamar, killed in a stabbing terror attack in Ariel the day before. Both papers play up the sad eulogies and teary meeting between Ben-Gal and Yael Shevach, whose husband was killed in a terror attack a month earlier.“Itamar, I want to promise you we will stand up and be strong,” Yedioth quotes Ben-Gal saying at the funeral. “We will continue as you wanted, to settle the land of Israel, to raise our kids. To do only good and to live in happiness just as you wanted from us.”Broadsheet Haaretz also leads its front page with a picture from the funeral, but its main story leads with the bloody toll of that manhunt in Nablus, with a Palestinian dead and 50 injured, a news placement decision that may seem insensitive to Israeli eyes, but actually follows a classic news judgment hierarchy (often boiled down to “If it bleeds, it leads”).“According to eyewitnesses in Nablus, when IDF forces began to leave the city, they were fired on from the Balata refugee camp. One of the IDF vehicles got stuck and soldier began to exchange fire,” the paper reports.The Palestinian death gets scant mention in Yedioth and does not even make it into Israel Hayom’s two-paragraph account of the activities in Nablus, though it does devote a full page to the killing of Ahmed Jarrar, wanted for the shooting of Raziel Shevach a month ago, under the jingoistic headline “The account is settled.”Unlike the Rambo-esque headline and praise from politicians for the terrorist’s end, the paper quotes Yael Shevach’s more measured response to the death.“I can’t be happy on a day like this, after I got the terrible news about the death of Itamar,” she’s quoted saying.Elsewhere the paper quotes Shevach speaking about the similarities between her husband Raziel and Itamar Ben-Gal.“They were both educators, men of Torah,” she’s quoted saying. “Raziel and Itamar both loved life, dressing nicely and eating well. Raziel was on his way from a circumcision and Itamar was on his way to a circumcision. Raziel’s sister is supposed to get married in less than a month and also Miriam’s sister is supposed to wed in less than a month.”Perhaps the most actually newsy thing out of the funeral was minister Uri Ariel’s call: “This is the time for the Temple Mount, for the people of Israel to recognize the holiness of the land, the holiness of the mountain and the building of the Temple Mount,” which Haaretz reports came amid cries of “revenge” among the mourners.Ariel’s statements, which also included urging deporting families of terrorists and other harsh measures, somehow evade the attention of reports in Israel Hayom and Yedioth, but in the latter paper, op-ed columnist Aviad Kleinberg cottons on to the explosive potential of his words and writes that being angry doesn’t mean you don’t have to speak responsibly.“The local bonfire needs more fuel and the minister is happy to pour it on,” he writes. “How much in blood will this cost us? These are questions that don’t interest the minister, just like questions of political logic don’t interest him.”The ability of ministers to adopt policies with bloody consequences also plays into an op-ed by Zvi Bar’el in Haaretz, albeit on another front. Bar’el warns that should the army continue to carry out the government’s will in clamping down on Gaza, war may be the result.“The strategy of closure, which is designed to bring about the collapse of Hamas, has become bankrupt because Israel has no effective civilian tools left to pressure Gaza with. The IDF and the Shin Bet security service were the first to understand that Hamas can serve as a vital tool to help stop the firing of rockets into Israel, on condition that it can survive,” he writes. “Between the threat presented by a strong Hamas and the benefit to be gained from its strength, the IDF has concluded that in the current diplomatic situation, Hamas’ ability to govern should be preferred. This isn’t a strategic betrayal of the deterrence formula but actually supports it. The more the Gaza economy improves, the more Hamas will have to lose.”In Israel Hayom, though, columnist Amnon Lord praises the cabinet for its clear messaging regarding tensions in the north, especially a tour on the border by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers Tuesday, writing that it was giving Iran ample room to get its missile factories out of Lebanon before things get bad.“Precisely the statements by Israeli ministers over the last week, threatening as they were, as with the tour, go to teach how to manage the ‘missile crisis’ in a way that won’t lead to a military confrontation. What Israel has done slowly over the last months, and more intensively over the last week, is to make its position clear,” he writes. “The tour sharpened the messaging. If Iran does not take a step back on the missiles, it will leave Israel to decide the timing of the next war… So long as the main actors are connecting through Russia, the chances of a military operation are slim.”
Russian hackers exploit weakness in US cyber defense-Group known as 'Fancy Bears' targets dozens of employees working on secret projects including drones, missiles, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms-By JEFF DONN, Desmond Butler and Raphael Satter-TOI-FEB 7,18
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian hackers exploited a key vulnerability in US cyber defenses to come within reach of stealing some of the nation’s most secret and advanced defense technology, an Associated Press investigation has found.What may have been stolen is uncertain, but the cyberspies clearly took advantage of poorly protected email and scant direct notification of victims.The hackers known as Fancy Bear, who also intruded in the US election, went after at least 87 people working on military drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms, or other sensitive activities, the AP found. Thirty-one agreed to interviews.Employees at both small companies and defense giants like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics were targeted. Contacted by the AP, those companies offered no comment.“The programs that they appear to target and the people who work on those programs are some of the most forward-leaning, advanced technologies,” said Charles Sowell, a former senior adviser in the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence, who reviewed the list of names for the AP. “And if those programs are compromised in any way, then our competitive advantage and our defense is compromised.”“That’s what’s really scary,” added Sowell, who was himself one of the hacking targets.The AP identified Fancy Bear’s prey from about 19,000 lines of the hackers’ email phishing data collected by the US-based cybersecurity company Secureworks, which calls the hackers Iron Twilight. The data is partial and extends from March 2015 to May 2016.Most of the people on the target list worked on classified projects. Yet as many as 40 percent clicked on the hackers’ phishing links, the AP analysis indicates. That’s the first step in potentially opening their accounts or computer files to digital theft.Hackers predominantly targeted personal Gmail, with a few corporate accounts mixed in. Personal accounts can convey classified information — whether through carelessness or expediency — and lead to more valuable targets or carry embarrassing personal details that can be used for blackmail or to recruit spies.Among their interests, the Russians seemed to be eyeing the X-37B, an American unmanned space plane that looks like a miniature shuttle.Referring to an X-37B flight in May 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin invoked it as evidence that his country’s space program was faltering.“The United States is pushing ahead,” he warned Russian lawmakers.Less than two weeks later, Fancy Bear tried to penetrate the Gmail account of a senior engineer on the X-37B project at Boeing.The hackers also chased people who work on cloud-based services, the off-site computer networks that enable collaborators to work with data that is sometimes classified. For example, the cyberspies tried to get into the Gmail of an employee at Mellanox Federal Systems, which helps the government with high-speed storage networks, data analysis and cloud computing. Its clients include the FBI and other intelligence agencies.Yet of the 31 targets reached by AP, just one got any warning from US officials.The FBI declined to give on-the-record details of its response to this Russian operation. Agency spokeswoman Jillian Stickels said the FBI does sometimes notify individual targets. “The FBI takes … all potential threats to public and private sector systems very seriously,” she said in an email.However, three people familiar with the matter — including a current and a former government official — previously told the AP the FBI knew the details of Fancy Bear’s phishing campaign for more than a year.Pressed about notification in that case, a senior FBI official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the hacking operation because of its sensitivity, said the bureau was overwhelmed by the sheer number of attempted hacks. “It’s a matter of triaging to the best of our ability the volume of the targets who are out there,” he said.A Pentagon spokeswoman, Heather Babb, said the department recognizes the evolving cyber threat and continues to update training and technology for military, civilian and contract personnel. But she declined to comment on this hacking operation.The Defense Security Service, which protects classified US technology, focuses on safeguarding corporate computer networks.“We simply have no insight into or oversight of anyone’s personal email accounts or how they are protected or notified when something is amiss,” spokeswoman Cynthia McGovern said in an email.
Hoenlein: Like UK, France of old, Iran and Turkey are trying to carve up region-Jewish leader says he can't understand why people don't see what's happening, urges US to support its allies more visibly; warns against giving up on bipartisan support for Israel-By David Horovitz-TOI-FEB 7,18
The head of American Jewry’s main umbrella group warned that Iran and Turkey are working aggressively to carve up the Middle East, much as Britain and France did in the Sykes-Picot agreement of a century ago, and that the whole world will be adversely impacted for decades if they are able to do so.Two empires — the Ottoman and the Persian — are being “resurrected” and are “redrawing the lines of the Middle East,” Malcolm Hoenlein said. “We’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey… We’re seeing a redrawing of the Middle East which could impact us for decades to come…This affects Africa. This affects Asia. It’ll affect Europe. It’ll affect everybody.”To face up to the threat, Hoenlein urged the US to more visibly support its friends and allies, notably including Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and to ratchet up sanctions on Iran, among other steps.Interviewed by The Times of Israel on Monday, ahead of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization’s annual leadership mission to Israel later this month, Hoenlein also said he believes US President Donald Trump has a realistic chance of brokering Israeli-Arab peace, and that his bid to do so marks a real opportunity for Israel.“A strong president can deliver for everybody, if it’s done right,” said Hoenlein, the Conference’s longtime executive vice president. “We haven’t tested the capabilities really, but he certainly is invested, he’s appointed people to do it. For Israel it’s a unique opportunity. So, could he? Yeah. I think strong leaders are the ones who can get things like this done.”At the same time, however, Hoenlein assessed that Mahmoud Abbas’s bitterly anti-Trump and “anti-Semitic” speech in Ramallah last month marked a “turning point” in the US president’s attitude to the Palestinian Authority president. Trump, said Hoenlein, is furious with Abbas for, as he sees it, “walking away” when he was trying to initiate a process, and now regards Abbas as “just not interested in talking, not interested in negotiations” and as having insulted the US.Hoenlein also argued that the situation in Iran is less stable than is widely perceived, given that the economic situation outside the major cities is dire, and that average Iranians feel they have seen none of the promised economic benefits of the Iran nuclear deal.In the interview, Hoenlein also related to concerns that Israel is increasingly becoming perceived as a partisan cause in the United States, and urged: “Israel has to be a bipartisan issue. Israel cannot be seen as a left, right, conservative, liberal, Republican or Democrat [cause].”Hoenlein acknowledged falling support for Israel on “the Democratic left in particular,” and insisted that “the answer is not to write it off and just to condemn it.” Rather, the pro-Israel community had to ask itself how best to reach out to key demographics that are becoming less supportive of Israel.Where the rival US political leaderships are concerned, he said, “We have to show appreciation for what this administration has done, for what the president has done and the vice president and others, and at the same time keep in mind, about the larger population, that we want to keep all Americans behind Israel.”Hoenlein also talked about recent visits he has made to Qatar and the UAE, and other encounters with Arab and Muslim leaders, including Syria’s President Bashar Assad. And he explained how he has striven to avoid being lumped in with certain other visitors who “put on shows” when on trips to the Middle East, and are regarded by leaders in this region, he said, as “the clowns.”The following is an edited transcript of the conversation.The Times of Israel: Israel is talking about potentially closing several embassies worldwide and consulates in the US for budgetary reasons. Is that something you would want to weigh in against? Malcolm Hoenlein: We have tried to advise about the potential implications. I understand the budgetary constraints. But their presence in these communities are pivotal — really the link to Israel. And so I would urge that, wherever possible, this be reviewed and considered.Sitting outside, it’s very easy to tell Israel to spend money in these places. But I think generally, right now, the foreign service, the Foreign Ministry, are seen by many as diminished, and internally I know there are very bad feelings. And it’s a mistake: The Foreign Ministry is a critical agency and the role they play, at a time when we’re fighting for the hearts and minds of people, is very important.There is a lot of talent in the Foreign Ministry that is not fully utilized. There are a lot of really good people with whom we work closely. There seems to be a wholesale rather than a retail approach to assessing what is important and what isn’t.“Fighting for the hearts and minds of people.” We’ve spoken often about the relationship between the US and Israel, American Jewry and Israel. It seems that Israel has now become a partisan issue in the United States. How concerned are you by that? Israel has to be a bipartisan issue. Israel cannot be seen as a left, right, conservative, liberal, Republican or Democrat [cause].We can’t afford the move — which I think is more towards indifference than it is towards hostility, although we do see the negative numbers in the Democratic left in particular.The answer is not to write it off and just to condemn it. The question is how do we educate, how do we reach out to them? We have several programs that are targeting those audiences.We had the chairman of the Democratic Party come to the President’s Conference; we talked with him about outreach. He was very sympathetic and supportive of it. We have seen that others who have gotten involved in the Democratic Party were able to achieve significant accomplishments. So the mistake would be to write it off and to just say that, They’re against us and therefore we don’t deal with them.We have to work with Democratic members of the House and Senate. I will tell you honestly, I sense from some of them more edginess because of the polarization that’s going on.I think we have to be more creative. We have America’s Voices, [a program] that tries to bring people [to Israel] who can appeal to those audiences and give the personal testimony of what they see — [including that this is] no apartheid state. They come here and they say, This is 180 degrees different than what we expected. And when they say it — these are non-Jews, movie actors, sports stars, others to whom young people can relate — when they say, Guys, you’ve got it wrong, [that makes a difference]. We did a very extensive study of this and we found that there are ways to counter the [anti-Israel] arguments.BDS is a symptom, it’s a tool. It’s not the problem. We have to focus on the campuses, we have to strengthen our efforts there and the pro-Israel groups that are doing more. We’ve got to get faculty more motivated, we’ve got to get administrations to understand their responsibilities; we have a legal apparatus now, the Lawfare project and others, and they’re making a difference. They’re putting administrations on notice that you can’t just get away with it anymore. The Jewish students — their rights, their protection — is going to be an uppermost priority for us and for the community as a whole and it better be for them.After some of the tough years recently, there’s a real sense of relief to see the public statements [made during Vice President] Pence’s visit, and the president’s visit before-We have to work with Democratic members of the House and Senate. I will tell you honestly, I sense from some of them more edginess because of the polarization that’s going on. That is permeating American society as a whole, but also the political process.President Trump has been extremely pro-Israel. The question is whether Israel is over-embracing Trump. In American politics, pendulums swing. He won’t be the president forever. From the Israeli government’s point of view, it seems we’re becoming a partisan issue and they sometimes seem quite happy about it.Look, I think after some of the tough years recently, there’s a real sense of relief to see the public statements [made during Vice President] Pence’s visit, and the president’s visit before. I was with [Trump] at the Western Wall. It was truly amazing. You see the change in atmosphere and attitude.Frankly, America leads. There is no doubt. Whether it’s a peace process, whether it’s negotiation. What America says, [matters]. Even if they don’t like the president, as most Europeans and others do not, they have to take into account that America is saying, We’re drawing the line here: No more anti-Israel bias at the UN or you’ll pay a price for it.When we had the [UN anti-settlements] resolution at the end of the Obama administration [that the US allowed through by choosing not to veto], in contrast to what we’re seeing now, I think Israeli officials and others have a right to be appreciative and to want to foster it, to build on it. At the same time, there’s always a question of balance and how you go about it.I think we have to show appreciation for what this administration has done, for what the president has done and the vice president and others, and at the same time keep in mind, about the larger population, that we want to keep all Americans behind Israel.Do you have a sense of what the president meant when he said he took Jerusalem off the table, and also what he meant in saying that Israel would have been asked or would be asked to “pay more” or give up something down the road? And how this might play out? On putting Jerusalem “off the table,” he was saying, Look, it’s not a question of whether we’re gonna move the embassy — we are. But he was talking about moving it to West Jerusalem. And in that [December 6] statement, he talked about a two-state solution. He talked about many other things that got overlooked in the context of the reference to the embassy, and the vice president reinforcing it, saying it would done by the end of next year.The real key here is that it doesn’t change anything on the ground. If they had put up a plaque the first night, and declared an embassy, it would’ve been over with and that would’ve been it.What I think he meant [about Israel paying later] was that if we get the process going — he’s a deal-maker — that concessions are to come from both sides. He was saying to Israel, Look, you know, if I gain these things [for you], we’re gonna ask of you things as well. I don’t think anybody could expect, in negotiations, that Israel was never going to be asked to make any concessions or contributions to the process. That’s what the president was saying to the Palestinians: Look, it’s not gonna be a one-way street. You come to the table. I did this [Jerusalem move] to try and defuse this issue. Because the fact is that that part of the issue is irrelevant — you know, recognizing West Jerusalem. Everybody recognizes it.[I think the administration is interested in] coming up with creative solutions to the problems. Just like it’s been true here that Likud governments are generally those that reach accords, I think a more right-wing [US] government may have it easier getting to an accord and may be able to bring the Congress and others behind them to a meaningful resolution, or at least progress towards a resolution.Hence his anger at [Palestinian Authority President] Abbas for walking away, when he saw it as initiating a process, and [now] says that this guy is just not interested in talking, is not interested in negotiations, that he insults us. [Abbas’s] speech, I think, was a real turning point.The Ramallah address, talking about the illegitimacy of Israel? Yes. The attacks on Israel. It was anti-Semitic. And the attacks on Trump.When you’re president of the United States and you say, I’m giving this guy hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars every year. We gave [Abbas] a bye. The truth is the Obama administration did not hold him to account in the way they should have. So your pendulum is swinging. We are now finally seeing him held to account. But it’s not unfair. Even the Scandinavian countries are now cutting aid because they are using that money to build tributes to martyrs, to killers and to terrorists.You have to think of it in the mindset of a president like Trump who comes out of real estate and who really values the deal, considers deal-making an art. I think he really hoped for and wants to see a negotiated deal. I don’t think it’s peripheral for him.You think he was only recognizing West Jerusalem? That’s what this was? I’m saying it didn’t go beyond that in his statement. I hope he was talking about the unity of Jerusalem, but I don’t think, in his statement…He didn’t rule out a Palestinian part…He didn’t rule out anything. He talked about a two-state solution.What the president did, when he went to the Kotel [the Western Wall, last May] and put on a yarmulke — after the UNESCO votes and after what had happened in the months before — and declared this a Jewish holy site and said a psalm, I think that that was a bolder move than the statement on Jerusalem. And yet there wasn’t one demonstration anywhere, not one protest against it, in the whole Arab world. Why? Because you do it the right way. You just do it.It’s often how you do it, how you present it. He just did it as a fait accompli and said, Listen, this is a Jewish holy site. He recognized it. He didn’t diminish anybody else’s rights by doing it. It was a very dignified event. I went there because I wanted to see the dynamic. I wanted to see how he and the others acted in the context. And I have to say, it was very impressive. And the fact is that you didn’t have a protest anywhere about it.[The opposition to Trump’s moves regarding Jerusalem] is largely manufactured. It’s used, as you know, “Al-Aqsa is under siege.” They know that that brings people to the streets and that can incite violence.It sounds like you think this president actually could make peace if there was a genuine will on the other side, that he would be willing to push for the kinds of compromises that are necessary? [There’s a] confluence of factors, including the changes in the Arab world — the fact that they are pressing Abbas to come to an accord, and will be able to support him and help him if he does… You saw the demonstrations in Iran, where they said, We will not die for Palestine, we will not die for Hamas, we will not die for Hezbollah. People are getting tired of the issue. So that’s one factor.And then you have a president who’s really strong. But a strong president can deliver for everybody, if it’s done right. We haven’t tested the capabilities really, but he certainly is invested, he’s appointed people to do it. For Israel it’s a unique opportunity.So, could he? Yeah. I think strong leaders are the ones who can get things like this done.Let me ask you about American Jews and Israel. The CEO of the Jewish Agency [Alan Hoffmann] spoke recently about an event where he had an appearance, and all the questions that he had from young American Jews were about pluralism in Israel, or rather the ostensible lack of pluralism in Israel. So, I’m asking you about the alienation of young American Jews.Are we concerned about the alienation of young people? There are many issues that could exacerbate it — the immigrant issues, [arrangements for pluralistic prayer at] the Western Wall, other things. But it’s more fundamental. It means that we haven’t done a good enough job, starting at age 3, inculcating kids, educating them in understanding Israel, building ties to Israel. Birthright is great. There are other efforts. We have to do it when they’re younger, when they formulate a lot of their attitudes, earlier on. We have tremendous kids on campuses, working day and night, with incredible devotion. The good guys don’t get the notice. The bad guys get the notice.I think [the stance on Israel] is reflective of the general trend amongst young people in American society today, towards indifference, towards, you know, “it is what it is.” And then you have the devoted few who are on the extreme left — the Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace or whatever it’s called, these groups, who are not necessarily very large but they are very vocal, very extreme. Young people who are not inoculated, who don’t have the confidence to stand against it, become vulnerable to it. So we have to inoculate them much earlier. You have to educate them.It’s not to enforce on them, it doesn’t mean they can’t have differences with Israel, or be critical of certain aspects of Israel and policy. It’s the feeling of connection, relationship [that we need to instill]. We have a lot of programs that are ongoing to try and counter it. There is an awful lot that has to be done. We need more creativity, we have to learn to use social media more effectively, we have to reach them where they are and to find the vehicles to get them.Tell me about your recent, controversial trip to Qatar.I was in Qatar 20 years ago. Our visit there led to Shimon Peres’s visit and the opening of the [Israeli] interests section. I’ve had contact with the Qataris periodically — I was sort of alienated when they turned more hostile to Israel. I went there primarily on the MiA issue, just as I went to see [Bashar] Assad in Damascus [in 2011] and President Erdogan and many others, because families have asked and because I feel we can’t leave any stone unturned. They do have influence. So far we have not seen them deliver on it, but we hope they will.There are other issues too [with Qatar]. I went for one day. I wanted it to be clear that it was only business, I had meetings from early morning — 7:30, straight through until late at night — until I went back. I never discussed it publicly, it only became public because of some of the people who were involved. I don’t think that’s the effective way of doing things.I visit a lot of Arab countries. I meet a lot of controversial people, in the interest of the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and I think the record of these past decades and my doing it speak for themselves. But I never speak about it because I think that’s what gives me credibility with them and effectiveness: They know they can talk to me in confidence and that I am not interested in exploiting it or grandstanding it. I am only interested in what we can accomplish.You were at a conference in Azerbaijan not too long ago, attended by numerous Arab and Muslim leaders.Yes, Azerbaijan is a remarkable country. It’s a great friend of Israel, a great friend of the Jewish people. A Jewish community of 2,600 years; no history of anti-Semitism. You can walk in Baku with a yarmulke on your head and have no problem whatsoever. I was invited by Sheikh al-Islam, the head of the Muslim community there, and by President Aliyev to participate — it was the end of an inter-religious solidarity conference, and the Muslim leaders from 42 countries [were there] plus other religious leaders, from the Pope’s representative to the Greek Orthodox, etc. They invited me to speak and participate.The Iranian spokesman, representing [President] Rouhani, gave a really vicious diatribe and there were others who gave pretty tough speeches, but I responded equally toughly.What was interesting to me was that I got a smattering of applause but no interruptions and no booing to my remarks, and they were really tough. I said I spoke as a Jew, a Zionist and an American, and [responded to the Iranians and others as to] why their effort to denigrate other religions does not build up theirs. It doesn’t give them more credibility. I went through the whole history of the Jewish connection [to the land of Israel] and answered almost all the points that the Iranians and others had made, but in pretty tough terms. Afterwards, many [of those present] wanted to take pictures with us and people came to talk to us — leaders from many Muslim and Arab countries. That’s a message about the need to be present, to be able to talk, to communicate. You never know what good comes out of it.What do you make of what’s unfolding in Iran now? Is the regime stable? We try to stay in touch with a lot of people from inside Iran and from outside Iran. You need to speak to a lot of people to try to get an accurate assessment. I think that the internal situation is much more disruptive than is communicated. The economic conditions are terrible. When the deputy minister of environment says, We’re water bankrupt. When you see the unemployment [rate] among young people, 30-40% — amongst women, even; among college graduates, I think it’s 40%. The economic condition outside the big cities is terrible. They feel that they were lied to about the [nuclear] deal — that they derived no benefit. Especially when 40% of the economy is controlled by [Supreme leader] Khamenei and the IRGC, so they already take off the bulk of anything that comes in.We’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey, that are redrawing the lines of the Middle East, with Russia-They resent the involvement with Hezbollah and with Hamas. You saw that in the demonstrations, as was true during the Green Revolution, when they were yelling in the streets, We will not die for Hamas, we will not die for Hezbollah, we’ll die for Iran.The internal situation is not as stable as it is portrayed to be. They’re negotiating a lot of deals. They’re trying to make deals.Their aggressiveness is expanding all the time. There are bases in more and more places. They’re building military facilities in Syria. But also the Lebanon-Syria-Iraq highway, and the crescent that they have established. Now there are two. One that goes through Lebanon. One that goes through the Persian Gulf. Their presence now in the base in Qatar. There are many others — places where Iran is establishing itself, a military and an economic and other presence.Every African leader, when you meet them — they used to talk to us about China, and now they talk to us about Iran, about the fear of Iran, of Iran’s infiltration, of Iran’s efforts to infiltrate the regime.And by the way, [there’s] a parallel in terms of Turkey: What I see happening, and what seems to escape people, is that we’re reliving the 1920s. What happened with Sykes-Picot is happening now. But it’s not the French and British, it’s Iran and Turkey, that are redrawing the lines of the Middle East, with Russia. They’re party to this too. Russia building bases in Sudan. Turkey putting $50 million in a base in Somalia. You see them in Afghanistan, in Qatar. All of them fighting for bases in Libya. Twenty-nine foreign bases in Syria. We’re seeing a redrawing of the Middle East which could impact us for decades to come.The Russians — with almost nothing in terms of their own investment — are expanding that influence constantly. I don’t know how people can look at all of this and not notice this dramatic change.You have two empires — the Ottoman and the Persian empire — being resurrected. The aggressiveness, with Erdogan building mosques — thousands and thousands of mosques all over the world. The eighth in Sweden opened up. And every Friday they send a message to the imams with what they’re supposed to say. I was in one Muslim country, and I asked [a leader] about it. And he looked out the window of his home, and he said, You see that, you see that, you see that, all new mosques, sponsored by Turkey. Even the Saudis [are doing the same] in some places.People don’t look at the aggressive outreach which is still emanating from the Middle East, and the potential [consequences] of this. This affects Africa. This affects Asia. It’ll affect Europe. It’ll affect everybody.And the US should be doing what about that? The US should be supporting our friends more visibly — especially central Asia countries like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, others that want to be pro-West, that are standing against the pressures from Iran, Turkey, Russia, others. We should be continuing to build our presence, because it was the absence of the United States that gave free rein and license to everybody.We have to increase the sanctions on Iran. They do work. They do have an impact.We should be doing more work with the broadcasts. We have to reform Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, who often become tools for our enemies and [who] broadcast against friends and allies in the region.There are many things that we could do: Standing up for [Egypt’s] President Sissi. You can criticize and you can push for human rights and do all those things. At the same time you’ve got to recognize the realities that these countries face, and the danger of the collapse of any one of them and the ripple effect that would have.We don’t have the resources to do everything. But early investment at a much lower level can help prevent you having to invest a great deal later on because we ignored or allowed a situation to metastasize to the point where you needed to have hundreds of billions of dollars in expenditures.Coming back for a moment to the conference you attended in Azerbaijan. The speaker [on behalf of Iran] was Mahmoud Vaezi, who read out a speech from Rouhani as you said. He attacked the US and Trump, for doing everything for the Zionists. There was nothing explicitly anti-Semitic [in what was published].What is “Zionists”? It is a code-word for Jews… He doesn’t say Jews. He said Zionists. He saw us sitting in the front row. He attacked “the Zionists” all the time. He talked about the conspiracies — the United States and the Zionist conspiracy. This is classic anti-Semitic rhetoric.They would assert that their opposition is to Israel, not the Jews. They would say, as they do, Look at how well we treat the Jews [in Iran].Well of course. But it doesn’t matter. When you’re talking in a public international forum like this, and you talk about conspiracy theories — the way he described the United States and the Zionists’ “collusion” and all that, this is classically anti-Semitic. The terminology and references. There was no attempt to cloak it or to hide it, and say, We don’t mean the Jews, we don’t mean anything else. They didn’t say anything like that. It was really very blatant.At an international forum like this, that’s supposed to talk about solidarity, and you had all the Christian leaders there, and others, sitting there, it would have been an opportunity to send a different message if you’d wanted. But [Iran] didn’t. And there were Muslim leaders there who were very upset by the message, who came out afterwards and said to us that the hostility in his message, that it’s not reflective of our views and it’s not reflective of who we are.What do you think of the Trump administration’s responses to the recent protests in Iran? It was better than saying, We don’t get involved in internal political manifestations. But it has to be a sustained effort. We have to do more to be supportive of the young people. I don’t mean weapons. Fax machines matter. Just the expressions of support, so that they know they’re not alone. That was the biggest criticism we got after the Green Revolution [in 2009]. They’d say: We put our lives on the line and you abandoned us.They got rhetorical support this time? Rhetorical support — that’s so important… This way at least they know that you have a president who supported them. I’m sure previous administrations also have sympathy for the Iranian people. But you’ve got to manifest it. You’ve got to say it. Because they have to hear it. They have to hear that you’re willing to take a public stand in support. Was it enough? Maybe not… This has to come from within. But it will only come from within if they know there is support from without.And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeatedly supportive response to the recent protests? For Israel to show friendship, its messages to the Iranian people get a tremendous response. A tremendous number of people watch it. I actually did the first one, many years ago. We got a lot of response to it. Because I said, We are not against the Iranian people. We are for you. We want to support you. But the regime is one that is not serving your interests, is not serving the region’s interests.You were also in the UAE a while back.I was in the UAE in the past year. There are opportunities. The dialogue is very important. We look at the map and we see this one mass. It’s not so. Each country is unique. Each one has its own interests. Having the channels of communication open, having the opportunity to see first hand, you get a very different understanding. You go to this massive air force base and you see the UAE and the Americans, and see how intense is the amount of action, because of Iraq and Syria, flying out of these places.When I met Assad, I sat three hours [with him]. The first hour, he was really probing me. The second hour he opened up and told me incredible things, once he felt confident enough-To hear their concerns and their perception gives you a much more fully rounded view of what is happening in the region and an opportunity to share our perspectives. Sometimes, they’re really taken aback by how much we know or by the fact that we follow all this so closely. It gives us more credibility. The only way we’ll have sustained relationships is if our facts are correct, if it passes the test of time, if they see that we can sustain what we say, and the legitimacy of the case that we make.Every Arab leader I’ve ever met spends the first period [of conversation with us] testing us. Are we serious? To see whether you guys know what you’re talking about.When I met Assad, I sat three hours [with him]. The first hour, he was really probing me. The second hour he opened up and told me incredible things, once he felt confident enough. And I never talk about [the specifics of what he said, or what other leaders tell me in confidence]. I never discuss it. And they know it. Some of them have said it.I’ve said to them: Why me? I’m not the most likely candidate for this. I wear a yarmulke. I have my views. They say, That’s exactly it, because we want people who know who they are.You know they have a term — “the clowns” — for some of the people who get involved and who put on shows about all of it. But they don’t take them that seriously.You met [ex-Mahmoud Abbas Gaza security chief, and now Abbas rival, Mohammad] Dahlan when you were in the UAE.I met with Dahlan.What did you make of him? It was an interesting discussion. I wasn’t overwhelmed. I can’t say that anything much came of it.You didn’t come away thinking, this is a guy…Who’s going to take over? No.With whom we can make peace? You didn’t come away with any definitive sense? He has an operation. He brought in advisers from Europe, and advisers, his people, from elsewhere. But I knew Dahlan from before. I was very impressed with him when I met him the first time, when he was a boss in Gaza. This time I did not get a sense that this is a guy who is in a position to take over.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) 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 ANIMAL 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Abbas, Putin to discuss new peace talks mechanism sidelining US – report-Palestinians seeking to oust Middle East Quartet from process, and have Russia play a much more prominent role-By TOI staff and Khaled Abu Toameh-FEB 7,18
When they meet on February 12, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss a new proposed peace negotiations mechanism meant to sideline the United States, a Palestinian diplomat in Russia told the Russian Interfax news agency on Wednesday.The two men are scheduled to meet in the Black Sea beach resort of Sochi.Interfax reported the new mechanism would seek to replace the Middle East Quartet, established in Madrid in 2002, which is composed of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia.The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority is trying to convince Russia to play a much more prominent role in the peace talks, having declared the US unqualified to act as an “honest broker” due to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.At the Sochi meeting, Abbas is expected to tell Putin that the Palestinians do not believe the Trump administration is capable of playing any “constructive” or “positive” role in efforts to achieve peace with Israel, a PA official in Ramallah said last week. The PA president has also been seeking greater European involvement in the peace process.Relations between the PA and the US administration have soured rapidly since Trump’s December 6 announcement. US threats to cut funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees have further exacerbated tensions.“We are hoping that Russia and the EU will step in to fill the void,” the PA official said. “We believe that these countries should and can play a larger role in any peace process in the wake of the Trump administration’s hostile policies toward the Palestinians and bias in favor of Israel.”Last Thursday, Abbas met in his Ramallah office with two senior Russian officials, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the security council, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat and PA General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj also attended the meeting.Abbas told them that the PA was interested in developing and strengthening its relations with Russia. He also expressed appreciation for Russia’s support for the Palestinians in various areas, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.Abbas emphasized the importance of Russia’s political stance, due to its “great weight in the international arena and as part of the Quartet, which should continue to play a fair and just role,” Wafa quoted him as saying.Wafa quoted the Russian officials as saying that Putin was looking forward to his meeting with the PA president. The envoys also affirmed Russia’s continued support for the Palestinians and efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, it said.Amid his efforts to rally the international community against the US, Abbas will also deliver a rare address to the UN Security Council on February 20, the council’s president said Thursday.On Tuesday, Abbas insisted that the Palestinians have never rejected any invitation to resume peace talks with Israel.“Our hands are extended for peace through negotiations,” he said. “We support the war on terrorism in every place in the world.”Still, Abbas, who was speaking at the Jerusalem Capital of Muslim Youth 2018 festival in Ramallah, reiterated that the US administration was no longer qualified to act as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Pence says US to unveil ‘toughest’ sanctions on N. Korea-Pressure will continue 'until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,' vice president says-By Zeke Miller-TOI-FEB 7,18
TOKYO, Japan (AP) — US Vice President Mike Pence said the US is preparing to announce the “toughest and most aggressive” economic sanctions against North Korea in the coming days, boosting pressure on the bellicose government during the Winter Olympics.Pence, who is set to lead the US delegation to the opening ceremonies Friday, made the announcement in Japan Wednesday, following meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.“The United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever — and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all,” Pence said.US officials declined to detail the expected sanctions beyond Pence’s comments, citing concerns that any additional information could be used by those trying to skirt the new measures. They are expected to be implemented before the conclusion of the games.On a six-day trip to Japan and South Korea, Pence is seeking to reassure and refocus American allies on the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.In meetings with government leaders, military officials and US service members, Pence said he wants to make sure the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics don’t distract from the bellicose North Korean human rights abuses and nuclear program. He met Wednesday with Abe at his official residence to discuss increasing pressure on the North.“The United States is with you in this challenge,” Pence told Abe as they began their bilateral talks. “And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”Pence watched Japanese troops demonstrate the simulated deployment of Japan’s surface-to-air missile defense system, which would attempt to intercept a North Korean missile. He also participated in a briefing at Japan’s Ministry of Defense on the threat.“The people of Japan can be assured: The full range of the Armed Forces of the United States will continue to be dedicated to the protection of Japan,” Pence said, promising again that “all options are on the table” to address the North Korean threat.Pence will travel on to South Korea Thursday for meetings with President Moon Jae-in, where he will promote the Trump administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” against the North, as the South pursues a diplomatic opening around the Winter Olympics.As North Korea’s march toward obtaining a functional nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the US has exceeding the American government’s estimates, the Trump administration has worked to rally the international community to embrace tougher economic sanctions and isolation of the North.At the same time, Pence has not ruled out a potential meeting with North Korean officials at the Olympics, telling reporters, “we’ll see what happens.” But he pledged that his message in any potential interaction would include the same message he has been delivering publicly: that the North renounce its nuclear weapon and missile programs.“We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games,” he said. “We’ll be there to cheer our athletes, but we’ll also be there to stand with our allies, and remind the world that North Korea is the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet.”As his personal guest to the opening games, Pence invited Fred Warmbier, the father of Otto Warmbier, an American who died last year days after his release from captivity in North Korea.Pence is expected to take other symbolic moves on the trip to keep attention on North Korea, including a Thursday morning meeting with defectors from the North.It comes after US President Donald Trump welcomed Warmbier’s parents and a prominent defector at his State of the Union last week, as well as a larger group of those who fled the North to the Oval Office Friday.
