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01272017 NEWS AM - Don’t miss Shorashim Insights at the end! Today is International Holocaust remembrance Day! Israelis answer back to secretary of state Kerry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9pA1QLepXo "The policy or advantage of [immigration] taking place in a body (I mean the settling of them in a body) may be much questioned; for, by so doing, they retain the language, habits, and principles (good or bad) which they bring with them. Whereas by an intermixture with our people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws: in a word, soon become one people." —George Washington (1794) Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for MS. H – Back surgery today Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:42`And he sendeth forth his hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt is not for an escape; 43and he hath ruled over treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Lubim and Cushim are at his steps. 44`And reports trouble him out of the east and out of the north, and he hath gone forth in great fury to destroy, and to devote many to destruction; 45and he planteth the tents of his palace between the seas and the holy desirable mountain, and hath come unto his end, and there is no helper to him. The shocking fact about the “Women’s March” CNN won’t tell you about http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-shocking-fact-about-the-womens-march-cnn-wont-tell-you-about/?omhide=true Caution – Language! His facts are good and he uses the crude terms of the “march’ IDF: Proposed US embassy move not roiling Palestinian street Intelligence officer: Palestinians more concerned about the Gaza Strip’s electricity woes than ‘who sits in the White House’ By Judah Ari Gross January 26, 2017, 5:31 pm The Palestinian Authority might see the proposed transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as a “declaration of war,” but average Palestinians don’t seem as aggravated by the notion, an IDF intelligence officer said Thursday. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity as per army regulations, said the conversation on the Palestinian street revolves more around its own internal problems. “The facts don’t show that there’s a big trend here” of Palestinians fretting about the move, the IDF Central Command officer told reporters. “The daily conversation in the West Bank is mainly about the electricity shortage in the Gaza Strip, not the embassy,” he said. Arab and Western leaders have warned of an “explosion” should US President Donald Trump make good on his campaign promise to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with some Palestinians officials calling it a declaration of war. While the White House has tamped down on expectations that the move may be in the offing — with press secretary Sean Spicer saying earlier this week that “there’s no decision” on the issue — the issue has remained a thorn in Arab leaders’ sides, with near daily condemnations and warnings. Many Israeli elected officials have expressed enthusiasm for the move, which they say would constitute official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. Today, even Israel’s allies do not see it as such, saying the issue must be subject to negotiations with the Palestinians, who have claimed East Jerusalem as capital of a future state. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has come out as a staunch proponent of the relocation, starting a social media campaign aimed at swaying Trump to go ahead with the measure. Palestinians, meanwhile, have hinted that such a move would result in violence. “In our opinion moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a declaration of war against Muslims,” Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub told The Times of Israel in an interview earlier this week. “We are talking about a dangerous step that won’t bring stability to the ground,” he continued, adding that “it contradicts previous United Nations resolutions and the policy of the United States since 1967.” The Jordanians, who have remained diplomatically engaged in issues surrounding Jerusalem, have also spoken out against the proposed move. In a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah II of Jordan said earlier this week that such a step would be “crossing a red line.” The officer, wary of sounding political, was reluctant to say definitively what the army believed would happen if the embassy were to move. “I prepare myself for every scenario, so I don’t look at a specific question,” he said. But, the intelligence officer noted, while Arab leadership has condemned the proposal in no uncertain terms, that anger has not seemed to trickle down to the average Palestinian. Unlike in the past, which saw violence directed by larger Palestinian political and terrorist organizations, a spate of stabbings, car-rammings and shootings since 2015 have come from so-called “lone wolves,” individuals with few ties to such groups who decide to strike independently. Despite seeming muted concern over the move by Palestinians, the officer still warned that violence could erupt at any moment. “People always try to tie terror attacks to a specific event,” he said. “This place creates challenges without connection to what happens in the United States, regardless of who sits in the White House.” http://www.timesofisrael.com/proposed-us-embassy-move-not-roiling-palestinian-street-idf-says/ [it is my fervent hope that Trump will keep this promise and help make the statement that this is no group/nation called the “PA”. –rdb] Netanyahu: Trump understands 'danger' of Iran nuclear deal In a phone call prior to their February meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump discuss Iranian aggression toward Israel and the danger of a nuclear Iran; 'As prime minister of Israel, I will not be silent.' Associated Press|Published: 26.01.17 , 21:55 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Donald Trump understands the "danger" of the Iran nuclear deal, adding that Israel will take all measures necessary to stop Tehran from getting atomic weapons. Iran agreed in a deal with world powers in 2015 to limit its ability to enrich uranium in exchange for the removal of some international economic sanctions. Trump vowed at times during the presidential campaign either to walk away from the deal or to renegotiate it but it is not clear what action will be taken now he is in office. Netanyahu vehemently opposed the deal, arguing that it will not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which would pose an existential threat to Israel. Netanyahu said that despite what he described as a revival of anti-Semitism in the West, the greatest danger "comes from Iran." The Shiite power and Israel's archenemy is "calling outright for the destruction of the Jewish state," Netanyahu said, adding that the Iranian regime's calls to "wipe out every Israeli" have been met with "deafening silence" by the world. Netanyahu said he believes the Trump era will change that. "I spoke a few days ago to President Trump and he spoke about the Iranian aggression. He spoke about Iran's commitment to destroy Israel. He spoke about the nature of this nuclear agreement and the danger it poses. We spoke about it together," Netanyahu said. Netanyahu's remarks come ahead of his visit the White House in early February in hopes of forging close ties with Trump. While the two countries are close allies, relations were sometimes tense between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama because of their vastly different world views on the Iran deal and other issues. There is sentiment among the Israeli right wing that Trump's election could usher in a new era of relations with the United States. "As prime minister of Israel, I will not be silent ... and we don't intend to be inactive either," Netanyahu said. "We will take all the measures we need to defend ourselves, and we will take all the measures necessary to prevent Iran from getting the means of mass murder." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4913534,00.html 285 terrorist attacks originated in West Bank in latest wave of terrorism Attacks include 143 stabbing attacks, 89 shooting attacks, 39 vehicular attacks and 9 attacks utilizing explosive devices; 81% of stabbing attacks—the majority of all attacks—were directed at IDF forces. Yoav Zitun|Published: 26.01.17 , 19:24 According to IDF data published today, in the 15 months between October 2015 and the end of 2016, 281 terrorist attacks originating in the West Bank were reported throughout the country. Those attacks include 143 stabbing attacks, 89 shooting attacks, 39 vehicular attacks and 9 attacks utilizing explosive devices. Attacks originating in the West Bank have claimed 6 Israeli lives, compared to 13 in 2015. 81% of stabbing attacks— the majority of all attacks—were directed at IDF forces. Weapons seized by the IDF during raids (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Illegally-produced rifle barrels (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Illegally-produced weapons used in terror attacks (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) IDF forces raiding weapons factory (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) In addition to terrorist attacks, incidents of stone throwing in the last month have significantly increased, especially on West Bank roads. However, the IDF reported that 826 incidents of stone throwing were recorded in the second half of 2016, which constitutes the lowest figure for this category in decades. In order to combat terrorism, security forces, particularly the Judea and Samaria Division of the IDF, have upped activities significantly. Dozens of guard posts have been built, raids conducted on illegal weapons factories, closures of violence-inciting printing presses, seizures of funds destined for terrorists or their families, surveillance of social media sites to prevent incitement, the demolition of 40 terrorist homes and the installation of 1,500 cameras on West Bank roads. According to a senior IDF official, 2017 is also projected to be a "sensitive year." In regards to the new American administration and its effect on attacks, the officer said, "I don't see a connection between the new American government and attacks yet. When Palestinians become agitated concerning Jerusalem, that can influence attacks, but when we see this, we have time to prepare." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L4913490,00.html In call, Mattis assures Liberman of ‘unwavering commitment to Israel’ In a first series of conversations, new Pentagon chief also telephones French and German counterparts to assure them of US commitment to NATO By Times of Israel staff January 27, 2017, 4:41 am In one of his first acts at the Pentagon, new US Secretary of Defense James Mattis called his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Liberman to “underscore his unwavering commitment to Israel’s security,” the Pentagon said. “The secretary called his counterpart during his first week to emphasize his intent to advance the US-Israeli defense relationship and to protect Israel’s qualitative military edge,” the Pentagon said in a readout of the call Thursday. He also spoke with the defense ministers of France and Germany, assuring them of the US commitment to the NATO alliance. The statement said that Mattis and Liberman discussed “regional security challenges in the Middle East and the need to create common approaches to challenges facing the region.” “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the US-Israeli defense relationship, and look forward to meeting in person in the future,” the statement said. The US is Israel’s main ally and supplier of military assistance and weapons. In September they signed a 10-year, $38 billion dollar memorandum of understanding, outlining the terms and amount of US defense aid to Israel over the next decade. While new US President Donald Trump has frequently vowed to support Israel, Mattis has in the past been critical of Israel and US backing for Israel. Mattis has been a critic of the Israeli settlement enterprise, asserting that its continued expansion imperiled Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state. “If I’m in Jerusalem and I put 500 Jewish settlers out here to the east and there’s 10,000 Arab settlers in here, if we draw the border to include them, either it ceases to be a Jewish state or you say the Arabs don’t get to vote — apartheid,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in July 2013. During that same conversation, he also said the United States pays a security price with the rest of the Arab world for its support of Israel. During his confirmation hearings, he indicated that he believes that the US should treat Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, not Jerusalem, because that was current US policy. He also expressed support for a two-state outcome to the Israel-Palestinian conflict “if it brings peace to the Middle East,” he said, while also indicating he is willing to hear alternatives despite his skepticism that another resolution to the conflict exists. “If there’s another solution, I’d be happy to hear what it is,” he said, before later stressing America had a “vital interest” in the two sides reaching a peaceful accommodation to their decades-long dispute. Mattis headed the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) under President Obama from August 2010 to March 2013, a post that has command authority for all US forces in the Middle East with the exception of Israel. http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-call-mattis-assures-liberman-of-unwavering-commitment-to-israel/ Remembering the victims of the Holocaust International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony to be held in the UN in New York, where Holocaust survivor and Yedioth Ahronoth writer will address the General Assembly; Ynet also remembers the millions of non-Jews who were also slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis. Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth|Published: 27.01.17 , 14:26 The United Nations will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day Friday morning in New York in a memorial ceremony in which the main speech will be given by Holocaust survivor Noah Klieger, who is also a featured writer for Yedioth Ahronoth. Klieger, who survived Auschwitz, met at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum with a delegation of UN ambassadors visiting Israel during which Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon took the initiative to bring him to the ceremony. “To stand here as an Israeli in front of all the countries of the world is a huge victory for me, for victims and for the survivors who are still alive,” said Klieger on Thursday, who will be accompanied in New York by his grandson, Yuval who serves in the IDF today. “We need to take advantage of every opportunity to memorialize the Holocaust and to teach it to the younger generation throughout the world so that we don’t forget.” Dannon also said Thursday that he was proud of the fact that Klieger was addressing the world organization. “His story is one of courage and the rebirth of the Jewish people. The UN must take the central role in the struggle against antiSemitism and in remembering the Holocaust,” Danon said. “Members of the UN must make their voices be loudly and clearly heard against the hatred and not allow the UN to be a platform of anti-Semitism.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres will also deliver a speech at the ceremony, along with General Assembly President Peter Thomson and Deputy Head of the US Delegation Michele Sison. MORE http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4913721,00.html Hamas rewriting charter without anti-Semitism, claims official… but still rejects Israel Osama Hamdan warns of violence if US embassy moves to Jerusalem, defends suicide attacks; 2nd spokesman stresses ‘Hamas’s goal remains to liberate every inch of Palestine’ By Dov Lieber January 27, 2017, 2:27 pm A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that the terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip, is rewriting its charter in a way that will remove its anti-Semitic language, but also made plain the group’s ongoing rejection of the Jews’ right to statehood in Israel. The charter, written in 1988, contains a cocktail of Nazi, communist and Islamist anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracy theories, including that Jews were behind the French and Russian revolutions and the two world wars, that they control the media and the UN, that they infiltrated the Freemasons and that they funded colonialism with their wealth. “We will have a clear political document, which is supposed to be in the near future, clarifying all those points,” the official, Osama Hamdan, told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday. “You will find in this document clear words that we [sic] against the Zionists, against the occupation of our lands and we will resist the occupiers, whoever they were. And we are not against anyone regarding to this religion or to his race,” he said. Asked whether Hamas — which avowedly seeks the destruction of Israel and has fought three major rounds of conflict against it since seizing Gaza in 2007, fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately into it, tunneled under the border to carry out terror attacks and orchestrated suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis — would now accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel, rather than in place of it, Hamdan indicated that it would not. Asked how long it would take for the new charter to be published, Hamdan didn’t give a date, saying, “very soon.” While Hamdan sought to give the impression that Hamas is not anti-Semitic (and he is not the first leader in the group to do so), Hamas’s official media is rife with anti-Semitic messages, often wrapped in Islamist rhetoric. In a live broadcast on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV earlier this month, Hamas MP Marwan Abu Ras accused Jews of recruiting prostitutes into the army “in order to lure Arabs into their traps,” and added that Jewish leaders send “AIDS-infected girls to fornicate with Muslim youths.” “My brothers, know that people, stones, and trees all hate [the Jews]. Everyone on Earth hates this filthy nation, a nation extrinsic to Mankind. This fact was elucidated by the Quran and the Sunna,” Abu Ras said. Speaking about US President Donald Trump in November, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar, wondered in an interview with Al-Jazeera if the then Republican candidate was Jewish because he is wealthy. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-rewriting-charter-without-anti-semitism-claims-official-but-still-rejects-israel/ Thousands of Terrorists, Foreign Fighters Tried to Enter America, New Data Shows Officials uncertain how effective U.S. screening methods are BY: Adam Kredo Follow @Kredo0 January 25, 2017 3:23 pm The Department of Homeland Security stopped more than 22,000 “high-risk” travelers from entering the United States in 2015, but officials remain uncertain about how effective these security screening methods are, opening the possibility that risky individuals such as terrorists are still being approved for entry into America, according to a new government report highlighting these flaws. More than 8,100 “known or suspected terrorists, or individuals with connections to known or suspected terrorists, attempted to apply for travel to the United States or board U.S.-bound flights” in 2015, according to the report, which chides U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for failing to determine how effective its current screening methods are. The report, authored by the Government Accountability Office, details potential flaws in CBP’s preflight screening methods and recommends the agency make a greater effort to measure the effectiveness of its predeparture investigative process. Officials noted that CBP’s process has become increasingly critical as a greater number of foreign terrorists and fighters attempt to fly into the United States and exploit security gaps in the agency’s methods. Effective security screening will become even more difficult as the CPB works to expand pre-clearance programs at foreign airports, according to the report, which is a public version of a restricted report originally published late last year. “Recent events have highlighted the increased threat of one group of high-risk individuals, namely foreign fighters— individuals who leave home, travel abroad to terrorist safe havens, and join or assist violent extremist groups,” the report states. “In February 2016, the Director of National Intelligence reported that more than 36,500 foreign fighters—including more than 6,600 from Western countries—had traveled to Syria to train with, support, or join extremist groups, such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).” U.S. authorities detected more than 22,000 “high risk air travelers” in fiscal year 2015, out of the more than 104 million U.S.-bound air travelers in that period. “CBP data show that it identified and interdicted over 22,000 high-risk air travelers in fiscal year 2015 through its predeparture programs,” according to statistics provided in the report. “CBP officers at Preclearance locations determined that 10,648 of the approximately 16 million air travelers seeking admission to the United States through such locations were inadmissible. Similarly, CBP … made 11,589 no-board recommendations to air carriers for the approximately 88 million air travelers bound for the United States from such locations.” While CBP has demonstrated an ability to interdict potential terrorists and other high-risk travels, it has failed to determine how effective it has been. “While CBP’s pre-departure programs have helped identify and interdict high-risk travelers, CBP has not fully evaluated the overall effectiveness of these programs using performance measures and baselines,” the report states. “CBP tracks some data, such as the number of travelers deemed inadmissible, but has not set baselines to determine if pre-departure programs are achieving goals, consistent with best practices for performance measurement,” according to the report. “By developing and implementing a system of performance measures and baselines, CBP would be better positioned to assess if the programs are achieving their goals,” according to GAO recommendations. GAO investigators visited nine foreign airports and one domestic airport from May 2015 through September 2015 in order to observe CBP officers in action. The agency is working on plans to expand pre-departure and pre-clearance programs at various airports, though the efforts have been moving more slowly than expected. GAO officials recommend “that CBP develop and implement a system of performance measures and baselines to evaluate the effectiveness of its pre-departure programs and assess whether the programs are achieving their stated goals,” according to the report, which notes that “CBP concurred with the recommendation and identified planned actions to address the recommendation.” http://freebeacon.com/national-security/thousands-terrorists-foreign-fighters-tried-enter-america-new-datashows/ Madeleine Albright, Mayim Bialik vow to join Trump Muslim registry Both cite their Jewish heritage for the act of solidarity as US president considers a temporary ban on refugees from Muslim-majority countries By JTA January 27, 2017, 12:47 am Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and actress Mayim Bialik said they would register as Muslims if President Donald Trump creates a registry of Muslim Americans. Albright, who served under President Bill Clinton, cited her Jewish ancestry in her statement Wednesday on Twitter. Albright’s parents converted from Judaism to Catholicism in 1941 after their native Czechoslavakia disintegrated at the hands of Hitler. The family eventually immigrated to the US in the late 1940s. Trump is considering a temporary ban on refugees from Muslim-majority countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. During the presidential campaign, he also floated the idea of registering American Muslims in a database. I was raised Catholic, became Episcopalian & found out later my family was Jewish. I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity. — Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) January 25, 2017 Albright, who campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the election season, repeated her stand during a conference call with the Refugee Council USA on Thursday. “Tomorrow is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. How tragic would it be if tomorrow is the day that our president decides to close the door on refugees?” Melanie Nezer, vice president of the Jewish refugee resettlement organization HIAS, said on the call. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/madeleine-albright-and-mayim-bialik-vow-to-join-trumpmuslim-registry/ [Perhaps we should be giving people a constitution test before we allow them to be in government service so they understand the basis of what they are supposed to be defending. The primary function of government is the defense of the integrity of the nation not to be the dumping ground for terrorist groups. It also appears that we need to be sure they understand the fundamental tenets of Islam and what their basic geopolitical doctrines are. – rdb] Five Illegal Aliens Arrested After Shooting Woman 13 Times, Say Police by Bob Price and John Binder25 Jan 2017George, WA1377 Police in George, Washington State, have arrested five illegal aliens wanted in connection with the murder of a woman allegedly shot 13 times. Investigators with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office working in connection with deputy U.S. Marshalls and the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement (INET) task force arrested five illegal aliens who allegedly murdered Jill Sundberg. The woman had been in an argument with one of the alleged shooters shortly before she was killed, KNDO NBC23 reported. Sheriff’s officials reported the following arrests: • Gustavo Tapia Rodriguez, and alleged shooter, age 39, charged with murder in the first degree and kidnapping in the first degree; • Ambrosio Mendez Villanueva, age 25, charged with murder in the first degree and kidnapping in the first degree; • Julio Mendez Villanueva, age 25, charged with murder in the first degree and kidnapping in the first degree; • Fernando Marcos Gutierrez, age 33, been charged with being a material witness along with immigration charges; • Salvador Espinoz a Gomez, age 24, charged with being a material witness, and possession of a firearm, drug charges, as well as immigration charges. The Grant County Sheriff confirmed that all five were in the U.S. illegally, KHQ’s Patrick Erickson Tweeted. Witnesses told police Sundberg was arguing with Rodriguez on the evening of December 21. The report does not disclose what the argument was about. Shortly after the argument, Sundberg was kidnapped and taken to the location where her body was eventually discovered. “This was an immense collaborative effort between responding agencies,” Sheriff Tom Jones told reporters. “Our sincerest thanks to all and continued prayers to the Sundberg family for their senseless loss.” The five arrested were seen leaving the RV park where the argument took place. Sundberg’s hands were allegedly being held behind her back by Varona, FiberOne reported. http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/01/25/5-illegal-aliens-arrestedshooting-woman-13-times-say-police/ [Hang them- rdb] The suspects and the material witnesses drove her to a rest area alongside a highway, according to the police report. Varona was seen kicking the back of one of her legs, forcing her to the ground. Rodriguez then allegedly shot her at least 13 times in the head. After shooting the woman, Mendez Villenueva reportedly wrote a note in Spanish on a piece of carboard and placed it on her back. He secured the message in place by stabbing it into her back with a knife, the report obtained by FiberOne revealed. The group then fled the scene, traveling to a convenience store where they purchased some beer. The Pacific Northwest has experienced crime from foreign nationals in the past. Back in 2015, Breitbart Texas’ Editor-in-Chief Brandon Darby reported how a massive methamphetamine drug operation was being run by a Mexican cartel throughout Oregon, California, and Texas. At the time, some 24 suspects were charged with their involvement in the cartel, and many were illegal immigrants. Sundberg’s body was found on December 22. http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/01/25/5-illegal-aliens-arrested-shooting-woman-13-times-say-police/ NOTE: www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Trump administration asks top State Department officials to leave By Elise Labott, CNN Updated 3:23 PM ET, Thu January 26, 2017 Washington (CNN)Two senior administration officials said Thursday that the Trump administration told four top State Department management officials that their services were no longer needed as part of an effort to "clean house" at Foggy Bottom. Patrick Kennedy, who served for nine years as the undersecretary for management, Assistant Secretaries for Administration and Consular Affairs Joyce Anne Barr and Michele Bond, and Ambassador Gentry Smith, director of the Office for Foreign Missions, were sent letters by the White House that their service was no longer required, the sources told CNN. All four, career officers serving in positions appointed by the President, submitted letters of resignation per tradition at the beginning of a new administration. The letters from the White House said that their resignations were accepted and they were thanked for their service. The White House usually asks career officials in such positions to stay on for a few months until their successors are confirmed. "Any implication that that these four people quit is wrong," one senior State Department official said. "These people are loyal to the secretary, the President and to the State Department. There is just not any attempt here to dis the President. People are not quitting and running away in disgust. This is the White House cleaning house." Mark Toner, the State Department's acting spokesman, said in a statement that "These positions are political appointments, and require the President to nominate and the Senate to confirm them in these roles. They are not career appointments but of limited term." MORE -http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/top-state-department-officials-asked-to-leave-bytrump-administration/index.html [There are many many more at the State Department that need to go byebye. – rdb] EPA Employees ‘Coming to Work in Tears’ Because of Trump Win 'The mood remains dark' BY: Elizabeth Harrington Follow @LizWFB January 26, 2017 11:52 am Environmental Protection Agency employees have not accepted Donald Trump’s victory and are still “coming to work in tears” more than two months after the election. [More snowflakes falling to the ground. Such a pity. – rdb] “At EPA headquarters, the mood remains dark,” ProPublica reported Wednesday. “A longtime career communications employee said in a phone interview Tuesday that more than a few friends were ‘coming to work in tears’ each morning as they grappled with balancing the practical need to keep their jobs with their concerns for the issues they work on.” Trump’s victory has been tough for bureaucrats. The State Department held stress workshops after the election so they would not “become paralyzed by fear.” EPA employees were caught crying before, just after the election, as were White House aides. Energy Department employees were granted counseling. Sobbing staffers greeted Hillary Clinton on Capitol Hill a month after her loss. EPA employees are upset that the new president will take a different approach than the Obama administration. ProPublica called Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who has sued the EPA over its climate change regulations, to lead the agency “dramatic.” The Trump administration froze all EPA grants and contracts to make sure new grants are in line with the new administration’s objectives. They also asked for the schedule of all planned meetings and presentations by the agency through mid-February. Doug Ericksen, the EPA’s communications director for the transition, told National Public Radio that “we’ll take a look at what’s happening so that the voice coming from the EPA is one that’s going to reflect the new administration.” Employees are also scared that the climate change part of the EPA’s website will be removed. http://freebeacon.com/politics/epa-employees-coming-work-tears-trump-win/ [Perhaps they should just get rid of most of that department. – rdb] Trump argument bolstered: Clinton received 800,000 votes from noncitizens, study finds By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times - Thursday, January 26, 2017 Hillary Clinton garnered more than 800,000 votes from noncitizens on Nov. 8, an approximation far short of President Trump’s estimate of up to 5 million illegal voters but supportive of his charges of fraud. Political scientist Jesse Richman of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has worked with colleagues to produce groundbreaking research on noncitizen voting, and this week he posted a blog in response to Mr. Trump’s assertion. Based on national polling by a consortium of universities, a report by Mr. Richman said 6.4 percent of the estimated 20 million adult noncitizens in the U.S. voted in November. He extrapolated that that percentage would have added 834,381 net votes for Mrs. Clinton, who received about 2.8 million more votes than Mr. Trump. Mr. Richman calculated that Mrs. Clinton would have collected 81 percent of noncitizen votes. “Is it plausible that non-citizen votes added to Clinton’s margin? Yes,” Mr. Richman wrote. “Is it plausible that noncitizen votes account for the entire nation-wide popular vote margin held by Clinton? Not at all.” Still, the finding is significant because it means noncitizens may have helped Mrs. Clinton carry a state or finish better than she otherwise would have MORE - http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/26/hillary-clinton-received-800000-votes-fromnonciti/ [That is just the NON- citizen estimate. What about the double and triple voting and the distortions in the registration rolls? You have to love it with someone like David Muir etc makes such a point and then the next day or so someone comes up with a study like this. The voting system is messed up. The True the Vote group showed that years ago with fraudulent voter registrations. – rdb] Putin and Trump may speak by phone Saturday — Kremlin Conversation would be first since US president was sworn in; two leaders had phone conversation following election results By AFP January 27, 2017, 9:57 am MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may speak by telephone on Saturday for the first time since the US president’s inauguration, the Kremlin said Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded “yes” when asked by the RIA Novosti news agency whether such a talk between the two leaders was possible, as reported by CNN. If it takes place, the conversation would be the first since Trump was sworn in on January 20. The two already spoke by phone in November following Trump’s election, and agreed to “normalize” US-Russia relations, which have suffered notably over the crisis in Ukraine. Throughout the electoral campaign, Trump was accused by his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of being Putin’s “puppet.” Less than one month before leaving the White House, former president Barack Obama took reprisals against Moscow over what he said was Russian meddling in the US presidential election. The measures by Obama, who accused Moscow of “efforts to harm US interests,” included the expulsion of 35 intelligence agents and financial sanctions on Russia’s top intelligence agencies. Trump has pledged to mend ties with Putin’s government, and is angered by suggestions that his victory was aided by illegal Russian interference. The new president’s pick for secretary of state, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, has claimed to have a “very close relationship” with Putin. As an oil executive, Tillerson argued against sanctions that the US and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. http://www.timesofisrael.com/putin-and-trumpmay-speak-by-phone-saturday-kremlin/ [Oh My! I am sure that will cause a tremendous case of heartburn in those who would like to perpetuate the cold war. – rdb][ Commentaries: End the Media Posted by Daniel Greenfield Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Last week the media lost its mind over reports that press briefings might be moved from the White House back to the Eisenhower Office Building next door where President Eisenhower held the first ever televised press conference. Media outlets issued panicked reports of being “evicted”, “kicked out” or “exiled” from the cramped theater that used to be the White House’s indoor swimming pool. There was outrage at the thought that they might have to take an equally short walk to the White House Conference Center where they had already worked while the Bush White House spent millions in taxpayer money renovating the room. "The press went crazy, so I said, 'Let's not move it.'" President Trump finally reassured them. He got as much gratitude for it as President Nixon did for ruining a perfectly good indoor pool and as President Bush did for spending a fortune renovating it. Instead the media began spreading the same conspiracy theories accusing Bush of plotting to permanently banish them from the White House. And that’s exactly what President Trump should do. “There’s no way the people are being served if they kick the people’s representatives out of the People’s House,” Ron Fournier absurdly postured. The people elected President Donald J. Trump. Nobody elected Ron Fournier. The National Journal he works for, like most of the Atlantic media properties, specializes in inside baseball for insiders. Trust ratings and approval levels for the media are so far down in the toilet that it would take a plumber to find them. If the media are the people’s representatives, then the people want to elect different ones. Those are some of the same representatives that the media is trying to ban from social media with a fake “Fake News Crusade” and by resisting any expansion of press briefings with threats and warnings. “We’ll have to consider doing things other than protesting and whining,” Fournier threatened. “We’ll have to think about what we can do to bring some pain to make our point.” Do what? Run items accusing President Trump of being a traitor, a liar, a racist, a rapist and a Batman villain? The media has already done all of those. What else is it going to except shout more lies even louder? Within a brief span of time, the media’s fake news operation claimed that Trump had banished the bust of MLK, lifted quotes from a Batman villain and had been cavorting with Russian prostitutes. And that he was a compulsive liar. That last accusation is notably hilarious considering the honesty and integrity of the media. We have had to endure days of the media screaming about crowd sizes at the inauguration and the anti-Trump march they were promoting, of claiming that a sentiment as generic as returning power to the people was lifted from a Batman villain, and of dismissing the worst abuses of their colleagues, whether it was lying about the MLK bust, lying about Rick Perry’s job or peddling the lies of the Steele dossier as intelligence work, as mistakes while shouting that Sean Spicer was a liar. Enough is enough. Margaret Sullivan, the Washington Post’s media columnist and former public editor of the New York Times, declared, “President Trump intends to make the American media his foremost enemy.” If she had a shred of honesty, she would admit that the media had made him its foremost enemy. The media will tell any lie about Trump. It starts every day by accusing him of a dozen different things. And it ends every day by accusing him of a dozen others. It has no standards and no ethics. When one lie, such as the claim that Trump had banished the bust of Martin Luther King, falls apart, they roll out another one. Then they inflate the lie they just told by reporting on it as if it were an actual event. It’s time to get the press out and restore the White House indoor swimming pool to its original function. The press can remain in it if they don’t mind wet clothes, moldy laptops and ruined cameras. Press conferences used to be called in the Oval Office and reporters would hang out close to the action. Then, largely Republican presidents, helped make the media’s occupation permanent. And its sense of entitlement grew. It now believes that it has more of a right to be there than President Trump. President Trump should disabuse them of that delusion. When we talk about the media, we really mean the representatives of a handful of corporations who are in the business of advocating for the left and attacking the right. There is no journalism involved in all this: only opposition research. The distinction between the media and the political left no longer exists. There is no reason to embed a voice of the political opposition in the White House whose only function is using the press briefings as platforms for their smears. Nor is there any reason to provide special status to a handful of corporate left-wing operatives while leaving out the rest of the spectrum. Trump has been opening up more opportunities for conservative media. And that’s a good thing. The media’s tantrums over being moved from the little theater, no matter how moldy and crumbling it might be, isn’t sentiment; it’s status. Keeping the space small allows them to limit who gets in. It’s time to open it up. After the tantrum the media threw over Spicer’s briefing, there is no reason to keep their private club around. Move it out of the White House and open it up to various journalists across the spectrum. The media hates the idea of Trump tweeting. They ought to get used to it. Their old form of access journalism with its layers of privilege, anonymous sources and selective leaks is the old way. And it makes no sense to provide access journalism to a media whose only agenda is soliciting malicious leaks. Digital access isn’t the future. It’s the present. The White House press corps is an outmoded institution. There’s no need to crowd a small number of media elites into a limited space. Or any space at all. We live in a world of instantaneous communications. Every smartphone is capable of doing more than the laptops that reporters were laboring over in the Clinton years. Any of the men and women in that room can email or text their questions. The briefings serve no useful function except as political theater by a privileged class. President Trump has vowed to drain the swamp. A good place to start is the smarmy swamp of privilege over the White House indoor pool. The small club of the press corps is the embodiment of the old establishment and its corrupt gatekeepers that he has vowed to get rid of. Instead of sparring with them in briefings, it’s time to eliminate their special status and strip them of their privileges. Trump doesn’t have to go to war with the press corps. All he has to do is make it irrelevant. http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2017/01/end-media.html Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA FBI investigating JCC bomb threats as hate crime FBI briefs Jewish community leaders, says it is investigating recent rash of bomb threats to Jewish community centers as a hate crime. Ben Ariel and JTA, 27/01/17 05:07 The FBI is investigating the recent rash of bomb threats to Jewish community centers as a hate crime and not a terrorist threat, JTA reported Thursday. The FBI launched a probe last week after 27 JCCs in 17 U.S. states reported receiving bomb threats in one day. A week prior, 16 Jewish community centers in nine states received similar threats. Agents briefed Jewish community leaders across the country through a call Thursday organized by the AntiDefamation League. The agents said the calls targeted over 30 JCCs in 20 states this month and in no case was a bomb found. The FBI does not view the calls as a terrorist threat, the agents said, and they are being investigated by the bureau and the Justice Department as a hate crime, according to JTA. Classifying the investigation as a hate crime facilitates federal involvement in tracking the offender or offenders through additional funding and technical assistance provided to state and local authorities. The agents did not say which if any federal criminal statutes would apply. There are federal penalties of up to five years for bomb hoaxes, and 20 years if serious injury results because of the hoax. The agents said the calls were in a woman’s voice, in some cases disguised through technology. It is not known yet if there was a single or multiple perpetrators. The numbers appeared to have been “spoofed,” or disguised. The agents reviewed for the community leaders strategies for dealing with a bomb threat, emphasizing that the first action should always be to contact local law enforcement. They noted that regional FBI offices are making available to vulnerable groups a presentation, created in the wake of the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Europe, on protecting houses of worship. Additionally, the FBI will deliver a presentation at the Jewish Community Center Association of North America conference taking place in March. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223950 Giuliani to Bennett: Let's strengthen ties Jewish Home chairman meets visiting former NYC Mayor, highlights Israel's leadership in the fight against terror. Ido Ben Porat, 27/01/17 01:07 Jewish Home chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett met on Thursday evening with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is visiting Israel. Giuliani was recently appointed as a cyber security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. Bennett told Giuliani during their meeting that "one of the greatest challenges of the world is terrorism, both physical and cyber, and Israel is one of the leaders in the war against them." Giuliani said that with Trump taking office "there is an opportunity to further strengthen the ties between our two countries in order to promote our common interests." Earlier on Thursday, Giuliani met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and conveyed a personal message from Trump in advance of the meeting to take place between Netanyahu and Trump in February. The former New York City Mayor is a strong friend of Israel. During his tenure as mayor of New York City, the city came under attack on September 11, 2001, and he told Arutz Sheva several months ago that Israel's conduct in the face of ongoing terror inspired him in the aftermath of those attacks. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223941 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. News and Views from Jerusalem A project of Shorashim of the Old City, the Biblical Shop "writing and gathering articles of spiritual or national interest from throughout the web" TO CONTACT US SHORASHIM OF THE OLD CITY The Biblical Shop and Learning Center ADDRESS: --Tiferet Israel 3 Jerusalem 97500 WEB SITE: -- http://www.shorashim.com EMAIL: -- [email protected] PHONE: --(international code) - 972-2-6289729 A) SHORASHIM ON FACEBOOK JOIN US IN OUR Facebook profile called “Moshe Shorashim”. 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Forwarding this newsletter to your friends and acquaintances will help us greatly in this endeavor To Forward simply press the FORWARD Todah Rabba...Thank You CONTENTS 1) “Recognizing Loving-Kindness ” Moshe Kempinski Life Lessons from the Torah Portion Va'eira Exodus 6:2-9:35 In the Torah portion of Shmot, we read at the end the pained cry of a frustrated Moshe: "So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people." ( Exodus 5:22-23) Then Hashem answers Moshe: ".."Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."" (ibid 6:1) In reality this whole interchange is rather unusual. Is it conceivable that Moshe is accusing G-d? If that is so is it conceivable that Hashem answers in a way that essentially conveys the message "dont worry Moshe I am still going to be coming through". Why would Hashem even bother answering Moshe’s seemingly insubordinate and angry question? In essence, though, Moshe is not acting out of frustration with Hashem but rather out of disappointment with himself. He is crying out to Hashem because he feels that it was his inadequacy that caused the increased bondage: "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people, Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people." (Exodus 5:22-23) It is then that Hashem responds with a promise of great strength: "...for with a mighty hand (Yad Chazakah)he will send them out, and with a mighty hand (Yad Chazakah ) he will drive them out of his land." (ibid 6:1) Hashem then repeats His promise of this great strength: Therefore, say to the children of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm ( Zroah Netuya)and with great judgments (Shfatim Gedolim). (ibid:6) What do the words "with an outstretched arm and with great judgments" actually mean? Is Hashem repeating a concept with differing terminology to emphasize his promise? Are the words "outstretched arm" and "great judgements" conveying the same message? We see similar terminology when we read of the Israeli farmer being commanded to recite a very specific text, that we repeat in the Passover Seder, when bringing his first fruits to the temple 'Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; 8and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand (Yad Chazakah) and an outstretched arm (Zroah Netuya) and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.…(Deuteronomy 26:7-9) We can clearly understand what “a mighty hand (Yad Chazakah)” means. Are the words “an outstretched arm (Zeroah Netuya)” meant to convey the same concept? Most Jewish commentators explain that an “Outstretched Arm” represents an ongoing presence of strength. Rashi connects it to the Death of Egypt’s firstborn. The Ramban describes it as an “outstretched arm”: hovering over Egypt waiting to strike at those who would hinder the Exodus. Yet perhaps the concept “outstretched arm” connotes something else as well. We read in psalms: With a strong hand (Yad Chazakah) and an outstretched arm (Zeroah Netuya) , For His lovingkindness is everlasting.(Psalm 136:12) At our Pesach Seder we put a piece of Roasted lamb shank called a ZEROAH. Our mystical tradition connects that symbol on the Seder plate with the Divine attribute of Hessed or Lovingkindness. The greatness of the Exodus from Egypt was not simply that he punished and brought great judgement on the oppressors. He also stretched out His arm as a protective shield of loving Kindness. The Israelites did not only experience the power of Hashem but they grew strong through the lovingkindness he showered unto them. There are many on this journey called life that feel as if they have lost their moorings and are drifting. There are many others that are locked into lives that move along concrete paths and directions and therefore they feel constrained. In all cases they may even see the grandeur of Creation and stand in awe of its infinite nature and still not feel connected. Many find themselves focused on the mighty Hand of G-d they have felt in their life. Others send a lifetime bemoaning the seeming lack of the Mighty Hand. The secret to reconnection lies not in the grandeur of the Infinite and not in the strong hand and power of the Creator. The secret is discovered by searching for the thin thread of Divine loving kindness in our lives. At times that thread seems so fragile and most of the time we take it for granted. That thread is found in the birth of a child, the unfolding of a flower and in the countless blessings in our life that we regrettably take for granted. Yet if we spend the time untangling and revealing the Chut Shel Hesed (thin thread of lovingkindness) that is woven into our lives, everything else falls into place. With that understanding of “Zeroah Netuyah ” ,we ourselves can truly become liberated from the constraints ( Meitzarim) that bind us. Praise the LORD, my soul, and never forget all the good he has done: (Psalm 103:2) LeRefuat Yehudit bat Golda Yocheved SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFTS THE SHMA PENDANT $55 Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear o Israel the L-rd your G-d the L-rd is One" SHMA YISRAEL HASHEM ELOKEINU HASHEM ECHAD includes sterling silver chain The "SHMA" (deuteronomy 6:4) in sterling silver, is encircled by a 9K goldfilled band. diameter 1" /3cm TO VIEW OR ORDER CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR TO ORDER CLICK HERE 2) Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain Progressive activists in the US try to deflect blame for their campus anti antiSemitism. In early December, a bipartisan Congressional bill, H.R. 6421/S. 10, the “Antisemitism Awareness Act,” took on a long-overdue task, namely, increasing “understanding of the parameters of contemporary anti-Jewish conduct and will assist the Department of Education in determining whether an investigation of anti-Semitism under title VI is warranted.” “Jewish students,” the bill accurately noted, “are being threatened, harassed, or intimidated in their schools . . . including through harassing conduct that creates a hostile environment so severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to interfere with or limit some students’ ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or opportunities offered by schools.” The Department of Education had been alerted before to the distressing situation of resurgent anti-Semitism on university campuses, but previous evaluations of Title VI violations were imprecise and “did not provide guidance on current manifestation of anti-Semitism, including discriminatory anti-Semitic conduct that is couched as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist.” This was all too much for critics, including the morally tendentious, malignant group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), who immediately condemned the intent of the bill, attaching to a December 8th press release two letters with signatures from 60 Jewish Studies “scholars” and some 300 “concerned” Jewish student activists, respectively. Clearly oblivious to the current scourge of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic campus activism (in which they have, not coincidentally, been active and complicit), JVP and these faculty and students derided the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act as misguided and dangerous, not because it provides a tool for finally being able to identify instances where anti-Semitic speech and behavior has infected campus communities, but because they believe, seemingly irrationally, that Jewish students are actual and potential victims, not of Leftist and Muslim student groups (as they clearly and demonstrably are), but of Right-wing extremist groups, emboldened, they contend, by the election of Donald Trump in November. The campus war against Israel, promoted relentlessly and virulently for some 15 years now, has been fueled and given life, not by the occasional Nazi-loving skinhead living in his mother’s basement and living on the fringes of society without a substantial base of like-minded fellow travelers, but by student-funded, highly visible, and vocal on-campus groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (with 220 chapters nationwide) and the Muslim Student Association (with over 600 chapters). Jewish Voice for Peace, along with Open Hillel, J Street U, and other pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel groups, frequently join forces with these virulent groups on campuses to stage Israel Apartheid Weeks, construct mock apartheid walls, and sponsor hate-Israel events, seminars, courses, speeches, and boycott and divestment resolutions—all of which appear promiscuously on campuses around the country, and which are, significant to the Antisemitism Awareness Act, the primary source of the hostile environment Jewish students experience, especially, as often happens, when anti-Israel, anti-Zionist radicalism morphs into anti-Semitism. These perpetrators of anti-Israel agitation have been leading a virulent campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel for years now, and it is astonishing that JVP and these meretricious scholars and students ignore all the factual and shameful chronology (of which they have been central fomenters and cheerleaders in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign), and instead are trying to perpetuate the fantasy that the true threat to Jewish students and other Israel supporters is from the Left’s perennial boogeymen, the lunatic fringe of white power extremists who these willfully-blind activists believe, and want others to believe, are the chief perpetrators of anti-Jewish bigotry. Putting aside the obvious fact that it is JVP and many of these well-known anti-Israel faculty signatories themselves who are intimately involved in creating the hostile climate on campuses across the country, the notion that there is any basis in fact that Right-wing extremists have or will pose any serious threat to Jewish students, and that their ascension is the direct result and logical extension of President-elect Trump’s election, is an astoundingly naïve and specious notion. In fact, on university campuses the far Right is essentially invisible, especially in the politically correct culture of Leftist students and faculty which has not only subsumed any opposing viewpoints but barely tolerates conservative or Republican viewpoints, let alone the presence on campus of purveyors of the repugnant ideology of skin heads, white power advocates, or anti-gay, anti-Muslim, or anti-Hispanic radicals. On predominantly liberal campuses, it is obvious that no representatives from Aryan Nation, Ku Klux Klan, or Westboro Baptist Church are ever being invited to speak, let alone are campus chapters of these toxic groups going to be set up and paid for with student funds. JVP and the faculty and students also had another breathtaking claim. Not only does the bill fail to address the actual source of anti-Semitism, they contend, but it is many of them who are the actual targets of hatred, not Jewish students and others who support Israel. “By potentially targeting those offering criticism of the State of Israel, many of whom are Jews themselves, (and not the white supremacists emboldened by President-elect Trump), this bill fails to confront the real threats facing Jews in America,” contended these individuals who claim suddenly to be experts on the nature and source of contemporary anti-Semitism. “Instead,” they suggested, with an obvious terror at having to be held to account for the corrosive and counter-productive ideology they have chosen to promote, “this bill poses a threat to human rights advocates, scholars, and students. . . .” What is the nature of the specific “threat” they suggested the bill will pose? As anti-Israel activists did in California when the Regents implemented a resolution to help identify anti-Semitic speech masquerading as mere “criticism of Israel,” these scholars and students are mortified that their right to libel, slander, and relentlessly demean Israel, Zionism, and Jewish self-determination will be curtailed by the implementation of a bill aimed at classifying and identifying antiSemitic speech, not proscribing it. Of course, what critics of Israel and actual anti-Semites want is to be able to utter any calumny they wish without any repercussions, and certainly without having to defend the viability of their ideology or needing to contend with accusations that they are actually anti-Semitic in their activism—despite seeing themselves merely as “passionate young activists organizing for justice,” whose advocacy is, in their estimation, morally pure and beyond reproach. The student signatories on one of the JVP letters share the paranoid fantasies of their academic elders, who chronically bemoan perceived restrictions on their right and ability to slander Israel and Jews, even though groups like JVP and SJP regularly violate those very academic free speech precepts by shouting down, heckling, and interfering with pro-Israel speakers, events, and celebrations in their toxic campaign to promote their own view of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and foreclose any opposing views. That one-sided monologue, of course, violates the core principal of academic freedom of speech and expression, but it apparently has never occurred to these social justice warriors that free speech is a right enjoyed by parties on both sides of an argument, and that the same protections they exploit and enjoy are necessarily available to and can be claimed by their ideological opponents. “At a time when freedom of expression is under threat across the country,” the students disingenuously cautioned, “we need to be protecting and expanding speech, not restricting it.” But that assumption is false, for two reasons. First, it assumes, mistakenly, that the intent of this anti-Semitism bill is to silence criticism of Israel rather than to help administrators and others define it as anti-Semitic when and if it actually is. The purpose of the bill, as well as the U.S. State Department’s own working definition of anti-Semitism, is only to help define and categorize anti-Semitic speech, not to suppress it, and it specifically upholds all First Amendment rights of JVP and anyone else to utter and give expression to whatever level of hateful speech they wish. No one is telling these toxic Israel-haters to remain silent—or even to not utter anti-Semitic speech. What working definitions and anti-Semitism awareness bills do hope to achieve is to allow those who are pretending only to be antiIsrael but are actually anti-Semitic to be identified as such. The measures are not designed to criminalize or suppress speech, even what we would consider “hate” speech, although going forward Israel-haters may not be able to disguise their anti-Jewish bigotry as successfully as they have when they pretended to care only for the rights of Palestinians and assailed the policies of the Jewish state. It may be inconvenient and even embarrassing for these Israel-haters to finally be named for they are—radical, misguided activists whose unrelenting campaign of vitriol against the Jewish state and its supporters has regularly morphed into pure anti-Semitism—but their efforts to assign the blame to others for the miasma of dark bigotry on campuses they themselves have helped to create shows how crucial this Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is, and why its passage is important to help eliminate, finally, “the oldest hatred” from institutions of higher education. Richard L. Cravatts, PhD, President Emeritus of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, is the author of Dispatches From the Campus War Against Israel and Jews SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFTS RUTH; Naomi’s story $25 The Book of Ruth teaches us much about faith, courage, and loving kindness. Yet it is Naomi's part in the story that teaches us about our obligation to act on our faith with determination and loving kindness. That is dependent on the ability to develop the vision to see all the Divine opportunities opening before us. Yet even then, after that discovery, we must work on finding the courage to act on that awareness and faith. Naomi embodies and teaches us all about that courage and faith. May we be good students " Moshe Kempinski TO VIEW OR TO ORDER CLICK TO VIEW OR ORDER CLICK HERE HERE 3) The ‘Palestinians’, the roulette table, and HaShem By Tuvia Brodie According to a brief internet search, if you gambled at a basic casino where only Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps and Roulette were played, you’d quickly learn about winning and losing. You’d learn that your best odds of winning are with blackjack. Your best odds of losing are with Roulette; and if you play roulette aggressively, you can lose everything on one spin of the wheel. The Palestinian Authority (PA) plays an aggressive game of ‘diplomatic roulette’. It gambles that it can win with one bet--threatening US president Donald Trump. How do you think that's going to play out? The PA gambles by threatening violence, war, bloodshed and rage if the US chooses to move its embassy in Israel from its current location in Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. Just days after Trump won the 2016 US election, the PA threatened to ‘make life miserable’ for Trump if he followed through with his campaign promise to move the embassy (“Palestinians Threaten Trump Over US Embassy Move”, israeltoday, November 13, 2016). A month later (December, 2016), Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat upped the ante: he threatened violence against the US (Pesach Benson, “Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat threatens violence over US embassy move”, honestreporting, December 20, 2016). Erekat added that if the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Arabs across the Arab world would become so infuriated they’d force all Arab-world US embassies to close (ibid). Then, beginning early this month, the PA didn’t just up the ante. It dropped all its chips onto the diplomatic roulette table. It chose a betting number. That number had a name: ‘threaten the US and the world’. The PA threw caution to the wind. First, it had a Fatah official threaten bloodshed (“'Bloodshed will follow if Trump moves US embassy to Jerusalem”, jerusalempost, January 3, 2017). Then on January 5, Jordan joined with Abbas: “Jordan warns of 'catastrophic' repercussions to Trump plan to move US embassy to Jerusalem”, abc.net.au. Then, the floodgates opened: -On January 7, US Secretary of State John Kerry caught the ‘bloodshed-catastrophe’ fever. He parroted the Arabs and declared that an embassy move would ignite the Middle East with violence (Barak Ravid, Jack Khoury, “Kerry: Trump Moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Would Lead to a Mideast Explosion”, haaretz. -On January 8, the PA announced that moving the embassy was a declaration of war against all Muslims (Robert Spencer, “PA top dogs threaten that moving US embassy to Jerusalem ‘declaration of war on all Muslims’”, jihadwatch, January 8, 2017). -On January 10, the PA said it would withdraw its recognition of Israel (Hariet Agerholm, “Palestinian leaders threaten to withdraw recognition of Israel if Donald Trump moves US embassy to Jersusalem”, independent, January 10, 2017). --On January 15, the PA threatened to open the gates of hell: Adam Ragson, “Fatah official: moving US embassy in Israel will open the gates of hell”, jerusalempost. A Fatah spokesman threatened everyone: “The gates of hell will be opened in the region and the world” [emphasis mine] (ibid). -On January 19, 2017, Jack Tonhaben reported that the PA had stated that an embassy move would end Abbas’s rule in the PA (“Palestinian Authority News Agency: Trump Responsible for Spilled Blood If U.S. Embassy Relocated to Jerusalem”, breitbart). The bloodshed that would result from such a collapse would be Trump’s responsibility (ibid). -On January 19, 2017, the PA made Trump responsible for more than bloodshed. Palestinian Media Watch reported an Arab news story from the official PA Daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: “Fatah spokesman warns "the rage of the world will burn" [emphasis mine] if US carries out promised embassy move“. -On January 22, 2017, William Jacobson wrote that a prominent PA leader called Trump ‘Fascist’ and ‘Lunatic’ (“Palestinian leadership launches ballistic tirades as US Embassy announcement nears”, legalinsurrection). The Fatah official said this embassy move was a declaration of war against the whole world [emphasis mine] (ibid). -On January 22, 2017, Abbas repeated his threat: “Abbas threatens steps against US over embassy move”, arutzsheva. -January 22, 2017: Jack Tonhaben, “Abbas: Moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Would ‘Destroy the Peace Process’”, breitbart. -January 22, 2017: “WATCH: Palestinians Burn Posters of US President Trump”, israeltoday. -January 23, 2017: Adam Ragson, “Hamas official says Trump is an ignoramus”, jerusalempost. The threats get personal. But from what we’ve all read about Trump, this new US president doesn’t act like a wimp. He acts like a street fighter. The PA is trying to threaten, frighten and bully Donald Trump. That’s a gamble. The PA takes its ‘diplomatic’ life savings to the roulette table. It makes one bet. Will that bet win big for the PA—or blow up in its face? HaShem, the G-d of Israel, has a Redemption story to show you. It’s the story of the Destiny of the Jewish nation. Will these PA antics play a role in that story? Stay tuned. SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFTS The Psalm of Protection $35 The whole text of psalm 91 engraved on stainless steel pendant. Within the text of the psalm we find the verse "He shall charge angels to watch over you in all your ways"(psalm 91:11) This very popular exclusive Shorashim design has been recreated in hinor of the young men and woimen of the Israel Defense Forces. this is the psalm that is recited before battle by the soldiers of Israel and by the soldiers of other armies in the world. TO ORDER CLICK Here TO VIEW OR TO ORDER CLICK HERE 4) Bomb Threats Targeting Jewish Organizations by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller Despite the fear, parents are keeping their kids in Jewish schools and standing up to evil. As dozens of fake bomb threats have caused chaos in Jewish schools and community centers in the United States and abroad, thousands of ordinary parents are taking a stand to continue their kids’ Jewish education. The first round of bomb threats came on January 9, 2017, when callers phoned 16 Jewish organizations including schools, Jewish Federations and JCC campuses in the South and Northeastern United States. The mostly female callers (some seemed to be recordings) warned of deadly bombs on site. That same day, three Jewish schools in Britain were also closed when callers claimed to have planted bombs in the buildings. Schools and offices closed and thousands of students were evacuated. As panicked parents dropped everything to pick up their terrified children, police swept the dozens of buildings affected. No actual bombs were found. Nine days later, on January 18, 2017, anonymous callers phoned 30 Jewish organizations in 17 states, warning of deadly bombs. Seth Katzen, Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Delaware, which was threatened with bomb on both days, called the hoaxes “telephone terrorism” in an Aish.com interview. “We are doing the best we can based on the new reality,” he explains, noting that the ADL has warned about an increase in anti-Semitism in the United States in recent months. The Siegel JCC Delaware staff is doing their best to keep classes for preschoolers, children, teens, adults and seniors going smoothly despite the disruptions. One mom who raced to her child’s Jewish school on the Sabines JCC campus in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, described what the evacuation looked like there: “The scene was a little chaotic… eighth graders carried barefoot preschool children through the snow as they left their school,” she recalled to reporters. Police tape at the JCC in Nashville, Tennessee after the community center received a bomb threat. In Birmingham, Alabama, the Levite JCC received a bomb threat mid-morning, the busiest time of day when 850 people were on campus. Within minutes, students and staff were being evacuated. Betzy Lynch, Executive Director of the JCC, told Aish.com, “This is designed to incite fear and disruption. I’m sure that people are afraid… that’s what this is designed to do.” She notes that not a single parent withdrew their children from the school. That experience has been repeated in JCCs across the country, spreading fear and uncertainty. Despite the bomb threats targeting their children, parents at JCC schools across the country made the decision to keep their children in the Jewish schools. Phillipa Miller’s sons, aged 2 and 3, attend a JCC preschool that was threatened with bombs twice. “Every morning since the threats, my husband and I are debating whether or now we should just take them out of school. But I don’t want my kids to be fearful of who they are. I want my kids to be proud of being Jewish. So how can I want my kids to be proud Jews and at the same time hide from being Jewish?” Phillipa Miller’s husband Jesse wrote, “These are my babies, two and three years old...if there is even the slightest risk of harm to my kids can I risk sending them to this school? If something did happen could I ever forgive myself...for sending my kids to the JCC after multiple bomb threats have been received? “The answer to these difficult questions is yes… Not only will I not live in fear and allow these terrorists to succeed in their goals of disrupting our community, I will allow this to be a great lesson to my kids. There is a piece of the world out there which is bad… But we won’t allow America to become like a corner of Iran or Nazi Germany where a handful of bad actors rule the day with fear and intimidation…” “So yes, I will send my kids to the JCC for school. And I will teach them that sometimes you need to be brave and take risks to stand up to evil. And if the unthinkable does happen, and a day comes that I sob over the bloodied remnants of children, then I will remain happy and know that my kids would have been happy, confident in the peace that comes from having done the right thing.” “Educating kids and teaching them Jewish values is the only thing that gets us past acts like this,” explains Betzy Lynch of the Birmingham, Alabama JCC. “The only way to deal with darkness is to bring some light and spirituality into the world.” SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFTS TEARDROPS OF FAITH NECKLACE ( $65 ) Psalm 56:9 "Thou has counted my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle." The message is clear. No Tear is ever shed in vain No prayer is ever left unanswered All prayers and all tears await the time of their fulfillment TO ORDER CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR TO ORDER CLICK HERE 5) Stigma by Chava Willig Levy A proud polio survivor, I was blissfully unaware of the stigma many attach to paralysis and deformity. Until I wanted to start dating. I grew up proud to be a polio survivor, blissfully unaware of the stigma many people attach to paralysis and deformity. I grew up proud to be a Jew, blissfully unaware of the stigma many people attach to my faith. I grew up proud to be a girl, blissfully unaware of the stigma many people attach to my gender. It was only later, on the cusp of adulthood, that – on all three fronts – I was rudely awakened. Against my will, I became a warrior. And nowhere did the battle rage more fiercely than at the intersection where all three identities converged: the dating front. I had battled exclusion before. I always won. The movie theater, the restaurant, the concert hall, the university, the world of work: they had dispensed my basic training. This time the barricades wouldn’t budge. When it came to marriage, so central to my Orthodox Jewish upbringing, I seemed destined to remain on the sidelines forever. With every passing year, I searched more and more frantically for someone, anyone, who believed – as I did – that I would marry. It’s not that my parents didn’t believe it. When I asked, they assured me that they did. But I didn’t want to ask. I wanted their words to reach me unbidden. I wanted to hear unshakable conviction, even righteous indignation, in their voices. I didn’t. One day, I heard a lilting song about Vincent van Gogh on the radio. It became a life preserver. Now I understand What you tried to say to me, And how you suffered for your sanity, And how you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they’ll listen now. Surely I couldn’t be the only sane one in my world. And if I were, I refused to believe that the world expected me to embrace its insanity. I often found myself humming a strident, long-forgotten folksong I had known since childhood, I Don’t Want to Get Adjusted to This World. If being well adjusted meant adjusting to society’s maladjusted view of life with a disability, I’d stay maladjusted, thank you very much. Happily, a paperback book on my friend’s living room shelf enabled me to do just that. It almost escaped my notice, that’s how slender it was. But like candy, its spine’s graphic design – pink and orange against a black background – caught my eye and whetted my appetite. Equally diminutive was its title: Stigma. But its author, sociologist Erving Goffman, was an intellectual giant. Stigma: a little word whose meaning I did not know. Goffman wasted no time enlightening me: Stigma is an “attribute that is deeply discrediting” and that reduces the bearer “from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one.” Goffman postulated that a stigmatized individual may consider himself “normal,” a human being like everyone else. At the same time, he may detect – and not without reason – that others do not accept him. And the kicker: As a product of the same society whose members stigmatize him, the stigmatized person subscribes to many of its attitudes, making him “intimately alive to what others see as his failing, inevitably causing him, if only for moments, to agree that he does indeed fall short of what he really ought to be.” Time and again, I saw myself in Stigma’s pages, never more cathartically than in Goffman’s excerpts from The Little Locksmith, the 1943 memoir by Katherine Butler Hathaway, with whose scoliosis I thoroughly identified. When I got up at last… and had learned to walk again, one day I took a hand glass and went to a long mirror to look at myself… That person in the mirror couldn’t be me. I felt inside like a healthy, ordinary, lucky person – oh, not like the one back in the mirror! The discrepancy between Hathaway’s body image and her mirror’s reflection reminded me of the time my cousin Avrumi took me to a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. After the game, we were waiting outside the Garden for my taxi to arrive. Traffic was horrendous and at least fifteen minutes went by – and still, no cab. Then, all of a sudden, I saw Avrumi lifting a wheelchair into the trunk of a yellow taxi. “No!” I called out to him in alarm. “The car we’re expecting is dark blue!” Bewildered, Avrumi turned toward me, the wheelchair in midair. “But this is not your wheelchair.” Equally bewildered, I looked down. Avrumi couldn’t have been lifting my chair; I was still sitting in it. Reading Stigma at age 20 clarified why, unless society holds its “mirror” up to my face, I often have no idea that I am sitting in a wheelchair. It’s almost as if the chair is so much a part of me that I don’t even know it’s there. That night waiting outside Madison Square Garden, I actually thought I was standing. Nourished by Goffman, determined to fight stigma tooth and nail rather than internalize it, it was disheartening that with every passing year, my chances for love seemed to dwindle. When I was 28 years old, my tender Tante Miriam helped me get dressed for the very first time. Several hours later, cheeks blushing, eyes luminous, she confided, “I never realized how attractive you are. I told Uncle Moshe that I can envision a man wanting to marry you.” My confidence boost was short-lived. What did it matter what Tante Miriam could envision, what I could envision, if a man could not? Two years later, in 1982, Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released. The theater lights dimmed and soon I saw two elongated, reptilian fingers rising ominously. They pulled down a branch, juxtaposed against a globe of light glowing in the night sky. Those fingers terrified me. They disgusted me. And based on the audience’s collective gasp, I knew I wasn’t alone. Then, magic. Gradually, the fingers became far more than tolerable. They were lovable. Loving. Life-giving. It occurred to me that mine were too. Within the year, I met and married my husband. SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFTS The Priestly Blessing Pendant $75 The Pendant has engraved on the leaf design the text from Numbers 26: May G-d bless you and keep you May He turn His countenance upon you and be gracious unto you... The design attempts to capture the ancient design of biblical era jewelry found on archeological digs in Israel material: Sterling Silver Dimension 1 3/4" height by 1" width TO ORDER GO TO TO VIEW OR TO ORDER CLICK HERE 6) Va'eira: Hamotzi - For all Times Rabbi Chanan Morisson (Note: I found the following idea difficult to translate, as it requires some knowledge of Hebrew grammar. Nonetheless, it provides a fascinating example of how a Talmudic disagreement over a single letter may reveal a profound philosophical discussion.) (Note2-The Hamotzi blessing is the one said on the eating of bread) It was definitely the low point in Moses’ mission to free the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh responded to the demand for freedom by adding more oppressive measures, and the Israelites began to wish that Moses had never come. Even Moses had his doubts. In response, God commanded Moses to relay the following message to the Israelites: “You will know that I am the Lord your God, the One who brings you out (ha-motzi) from under the Egyptian subjugation.” (Ex. 6:7) Hamotzi — Past or Future? The tense of the verb 'ha-motzi' here is unclear. The Israelites have not yet been freed. Why say, ‘who brings you out’? The future tense, ‘who will bring you out,’ would make more sense. The word 'ha-motzi' brings to mind the blessing recited before eating bread. The Talmud (Berachot 38a) records a debate regarding this blessing. Rabbi Nehemiah felt the blessing should read, “Blessed are You ... Who brought forth (motzi) bread from the earth.” But the other sages argued that the blessing should be “the One Who brings forth (ha-motzi) bread from the earth” — as in our verse. What is the difference between motzi and ha-motzi? The Talmud explains that this disagreement in based on how the verse in Exodus should be understood. According to Rabbi Nehemiah, the word 'ha-motzi' implies the future. The Jews were still slaves in Egypt, and God assured them that He would take them out in the future. The future tense, however, is not appropriate for the blessing over bread. We recite this blessing in recognition of the wheat that has already come out of the earth. The word 'motzi', on the other hand, refers to the past, and is therefore more suitable. Rabbi Nehemiah’s colleagues felt that the word ha-motzi implies both the past and the future. They understood the verse as follows: the Israelites will be freed (in the future), after which they will recognize God as their Liberator (in the past). Since ha-motzi also includes past events, it is also appropriate for the blessing over bread. What is the essence of this disagreement? Is it simply an argument over Hebrew grammar? What is the significance of the blessing over bread being in the past or the future? Contemplating God There are two basic ways to attain love and awe of Heaven. The first approach is to contemplate God’s greatness by examining His works. Reflecting on His amazing creations allows one to appreciate God’s infinite wisdom and justice, and instills a tremendous longing to know God’s great Name (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Yesodei HaTorah 2:1). The second approach maintains that intellectual reflection alone is insufficient. There must also be an emotional element. We need to awaken within ourselves love and awe for the Essence that creates these spectacular works. Rabbi Nehemiah, by preferring the word motzi, concurred with the first approach. Before eating bread, we need to raise our intellectual awareness of the event that occurred: this bread was baked from wheat that God brought forth from the earth. The word motzi is a verb, referring to an event that has taken place. Rabbi Nehemiah stressed the importance of the past tense, since appreciation of God’s greatness is achieved by objectively analyzing God’s hand in history and past events. The other scholars disagreed. The blessing should be ha-Motzi, “the One Who brings forth.” Ha-Motzi is not a verb but a descriptive phrase. We do not only observe the event itself, but we attempt to look beyond it to the Cause of the action. This is a supra-scientific, intuitive approach, relating to God according to His actions. The scholars held that the blessing over bread is not just a way of contemplating the process of wheat growing out of the earth. We must concentrate on the Source of this process, and form a corresponding mental image of God. Beyond Time Since this opinion stresses not the event but the Cause of the event, the framework of time becomes irrelevant. Ha-motzi thus implies both past and future. This changes our understanding of God’s promise to the Israelites, “You will know that I am the Lord your God, the One who brings you out from under the Egyptian subjugation.” We now understand that the present tense is just as accurate as the past and the future. For all time, we will recognize God’s attribute of Ha-Motzi, the One who liberates us from slavery. (Gold from the Land of Israel pp. 110-112. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. II, pp. 176-177) 01262017 NEWS AM Tomi Lahren - 1/21/17 Understanding the Threat https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=49&v=T9G41JJcNRs "When government will expropriate any wealth that people create, the present value of future output can actually be less than the value of the country's tangible resources. The power of predatory government to destroy wealth is truly awesome." -- Arnold Kling (1954-) American economist, scholar, and blogger Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:39And he hath dealt in the fortresses of the strongholds with a strange god whom he hath acknowledged; he multiplieth honour, and hath caused them to rule over many, and the ground he apportioneth at a price. 40`And at the time of the end, push himself forward with him doth a king of the south, and storm against him doth a king of the north, with chariot, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he hath come in to the lands, and hath overflowed, and passed over, 41and hath come into the desirable land, and many do stumble, and these escape from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon. DF soldier wounded in Jenin during arrest raid Residents fire shots, throw pipe bombs at army troops; suspected gunsmithing workshop shuttered in Hebron By Judah Ari Gross January 26, 2017, 10:00 am An IDF soldier was lightly wounded in clashes between troops and residents in the West Bank city of Jenin early Thursday morning, the army said. During the fighting, Palestinians fired gunshots and threw Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs at the troops, who opened fire at their attackers, the army said. It was not immediately clear which of these caused the soldier’s wounds. The soldier received treatment on the scene and was then taken to a nearby hospital for further treatment. The IDF initially did not initially release information about the wounded soldier, as his family had not yet been informed of his condition. The army entered the Palestinian city’s refugee camp to conduct an arrest raid in the city, when they came under attack by local residents. During the operation, the IDF picked up two suspected Hamas members — brothers Muhammad and Ahmed As’ad Abu Khalifa, according to Palestinian media. Over Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the army conducted a number of operations throughout the West Bank, including a crackdown on the manufacturing of illegal weapons in the city of Hebron, the army said. In the village of Aboud, northwest of Ramallah, the IDF also collected evidence from the home of a Palestinian man — identified by Palestinian media as Raed Omar Nizar Barghouti — who opened fire on an army post earlier in the evening, the army said. Small-scale fighting was reported during an arrest raid in the Deheishe refugee camp, outside Bethlehem. The clashes broke out after IDF troops moved into the city to pick up two residents, Palestinian media reported. In Hebron, the army shuttered a workshop that is believed to have been used to craft makeshift guns, the army said. Eight pieces of machinery — drill presses and lathes — were confiscated during the operation. “This operation represents just one of many operations being conducted in the Judea region each night to seize workshops and weapons,” the army said in a statement. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers picked up five more Palestinian suspects, four of them for rock-throwing. The fifth, who was arrested in al-Hashimia, north of Jenin, was suspected of being a member of the Hamas terrorist organization, the army said. http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-soldier-wounded-in-jenin-during-arrest-raid/ Palestinian opens fire on troops in drive-by attack, is shot No Israelis injured in West Bank shooting; wounded gunman said to be receiving medical treatment in incident hours after car-ramming By Judah Ari Gross January 25, 2017, 10:33 pm A Palestinian man opened fire at Israeli troops from a moving car in the central West Bank on Wednesday night, the army said. The soldiers fired back, and injured him. No soldiers were injured in the attack, which took place outside the village of Aboud, northwest of Ramallah. The Palestinian gunman received medical treatment on the scene, the army said. Inside the vehicle, the soldiers found a Carlo-style submachine gun, a makeshift weapon that is prevalent in the West Bank and in the Israeli underworld. The shooting attack came hours after IDF troops shot dead a Palestinian man who rammed his car into a West Bank bus stop north of Jerusalem on Wednesday evening in an apparent terror attack. The Israeli civilians and soldiers who were standing at the bus stop were uninjured. Upon searching the car, the soldiers found the driver to be holding a knife, the military said. According to the army, the driver crashed his truck into the metal bollards surrounding a bus stop near the Kochav Yaakov settlement in the central West Bank, southeast of Ramallah. Israeli troops who were stationed nearby opened fire, killing the Palestinian man. The driver was later identified by the Palestinian health ministry as Hussein Salem Abu Ghosh, 24, from Qalandiya. Car-ramming and knife attacks have been a fixture of a swell of deadly violence in Israel and the West Bank over the past 18 months, and sporadic attacks have persisted even as the wave of violence has somewhat subsided in recent months. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-opens-fire-on-troops-in-drive-by-attack-is-shot/ [Now the nitwits from the EU will start howling again about the excessive murders of the pitiful defenseless palestinians (aka terrorists). – rdb] Police said likely to recommend indicting PM in gifts probe Officials are also weighing investigating Netanyahu as a criminal suspect in submarine affair, according to TV report By Times of Israel staff and Raoul Wootliff January 25, 2017, 11:31 pm Police are likely to recommend indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over gifts he received from billionaire Israeli film producer Arnon Milchan, Channel 10 news reported Wednesday. The probe into Netanyahu’s dealings with Milchan — known as Case 1000 — is the most advanced of the multiple investigations into the prime minister, and will likely be concluded in the coming weeks, according to the report. Police are expecting to recommend an indictment against the premier to state prosecutors, Channel 10 said. Police are also considering investigating Netanyahu as criminal suspect in the so-called submarine affair, Channel 10 reported. In that probe, Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron is suspected of swaying multibillion shekel deals in favor of German shipbuilders ThyssenKrupp, which he represented in Israel. Histadrut Labor Federation chief Avi Nissenkorn was questioned Wednesday over a meeting he had with Shimron, the report said. The meeting allegedly dealt with an attempt to secure an Israeli shipyard in which to dock new German submarines when they arrived in Israel. Another probe against the prime minister known as Case 2000 — which pertains to Netanyahu’s conversations with Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes in which the pair allegedly negotiated an illicit quid pro quo deal — was still far from completion, according to Channel 10. Several US businessmen and publishers have yet to give testimony, including billionaire businessman Sheldon Adelson. Israel Radio reported earlier in the day that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is leaning towards a charge of breach of trust, but not bribery, in Case 1000. After several weeks during which Netanyahu, his wife Sara and son Yair had been questioned by police on multiple occasions, there has so far not been any conclusive evidence to show that the gifts were intended as bribes, the radio station said. Leaked reports of the police investigation have indicated that Milchan spent some NIS 400,000-600,000 ($100,000150,000) on champagne and cigars for the Netanyahus over the best part of a decade. The prime minister and his wife have reportedly told police that the sums involved were far lower, and that the gifts were unremarkable as the Milchans are their best friends. As for gifts from a second businessman named in the case, Australian James Packer, those were of even more negligible value, the Netanyahus reportedly told police. During questioning, Milchan reportedly told police the Netanyahus demanded the champagne and cigars that he allegedly supplied to them, and that they were not, as they have claimed, merely gifts given out of generosity and friendship. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/police-said-likely-to-recommend-indicting-netanyahu-in-gifts-probe/ [It is a bit like the problems and messes will never end and the timing for this really couldn’t be a lot worse. – rdb] PM faces down MKs over criminal probes, rebuffs resignation calls Netanyahu tells lawmakers that investigations into his alleged corruption are accompanied by a ‘celebration of hypocrisy and self-righteousness’ By Raoul Wootliff January 25, 2017, 5:52 pm Put on the spot by opposition MKs on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted the two criminal investigations against him, contending that he has done nothing wrong and would not step down should the allegations lead to further legal action. Slamming the lawmakers in a stormy Knesset Q&A session punctuated by shouts and heckling, Netanyahu said the investigations had been accompanied by a “celebration of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.” The prime minister is being investigated in two separate cases. The first, known as “Case 1000,” is looking into claims that he and his family received luxury gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels from businessmen, among them Israeli movie producer Arnon Milchan. http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu/ Israel said readying to take in 100 orphaned Syrian refugees Children will receive temporary residency, becoming permanent residents after 4 years; will be integrated into Arab Israeli families By Times of Israel staff January 25, 2017, 9:22 pm Israel is to grant refugee status to 100 orphaned Syrian refugee children, in line with a decision by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri on Wednesday. According to Channel 10, the children will receive temporary resident status and become permanent residents after four years, and be able to remain in Israel for their entire lives. Channel 10 said that the children will be integrated into Arab Israeli families. Furthermore, any of the children’s immediate relatives will also be considered for refugee status. The government made the final decision on the future of the refugees and will now liaise with the relevant international organizations to bring the orphans into the country. Israel has been in open conflict with Syria since its creation in 1948, fighting three conventional wars against its northern neighbor. NOW by @MoavVardi – Israel to take in Syrian orphans as refugees w/ path to citizenship. Arab-Israelis will help absorbing. #syria #Israel pic.twitter.com/syk0j4cUDh — George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) January 25, 2017 For more than half a decade, the Syrian civil war has raged just across the border from the Jewish state, reportedly claiming the lives of nearly half a million souls and driving millions more from their homes. The Israeli government has declared itself neutral in the complex conflict, but has not avoided the massive humanitarian catastrophe at its own doorstep. Israel has treated those wounded in the conflict for the past several years. Over 2,000 Syrians have been treated in Israel, 600 in Safed’s Ziv Medical Center alone, since December 2013. Many are women and children. The official line from the Israeli army is that it will treat any Syrian who requires serious medical assistance, no matter who they are. Medical assistance to Syrian civil war casualties, the IDF says, is a humanitarian initiative. Additionally, non-governmental organizations continue to work to help Syrians. The Amaliah organization — which in Hebrew means “the work of God” — offers a number of humanitarian services for Syrians, including providing food, medical aid, drinking water and educational materials; coordinating visits to Israeli hospitals; holding women’s empowerment workshops; and pushing for an internationally backed safe zone in southern Syria. In September, even when the UN was unable to transfer aid to Syrians during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha because it was too dangerous, the IDF transferred one ton of meat from Amaliah. Since August, again with coordination of the IDF, Amaliah has brought in three busloads of Syrians — 120 kids — to be treated in Israeli hospitals. Another initiative, an online crowdfunding campaign, “Just Beyond the Border,” has raised over $350,000 in one month to bring much-needed emergency aid to the children of Syria — more than double its original aim. The campaign’s title reflects the ideology behind it: that Israelis simply cannot ignore the horrors taking place in neighboring Syria. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-take-in-100-orphaned-syrian-children-as-refugees/ [Anyone who says that Israel is an apartheid state is simply a liar. Israel does more for the Islamic group than most of the Islamic states do. You don’t see a bunch of refugees in Saudi, even though they have the facilities to take them in. – rdb] Trump's planned UN cuts to reportedly harm Palestinian Authority In a report by the New York Times, US President Donald Trump's administration is said to be working on executive orders that would drastically cut US funding to the UN and any organization 'that sponsors terrorism'; the orders also state that US will cut all funding to any organization that grants full membership to the Palestinian Authority or PLO. Ynet|Published: 25.01.17 , 23:50 The New York Times reported on Wednesday that according to officials, the newly elected US President Donald Trump has his administration working on executive orders that would cut all funding to any organization that grants full membership to the Palestinian Authority, dramatically cut down on US's role in the United Nations and other international organizations and begin to review and potentially do away with certain multilateral treaties. A draft order titled “Auditing and Reducing US Funding of International Organizations” and obtained by The New York Times cites ending funding for any United Nations agency or other international body that meets any one of several criteria. Those criteria include organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, or support programs that fund abortion or any activity that goes around sanctions against Iran or North Korea. The draft order also calls for terminating funding for any organization that “is controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism” or is blamed for the persecution of marginalized groups or any other systematic violation of human rights. In addition, the order calls for carrying out “at least a 40 percent overall decrease” in any remaining United States funding toward international organizations. The United States provides about a quarter of all funding to United Nations peacekeeping operations, of which there are more than a dozen, in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. At least one of these, the operation in southern Lebanon, directly serves Israeli interests by protecting the country’s northern border, though the draft order characterizes the funding cuts as serving Israeli interests. An explanation accompanying the draft order mentions two United Nations treaties for review: the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The order establishes a committee to recommend where those funding cuts should be made. It asks the committee to look specifically at United States funding for peacekeeping operations; the International Criminal Court; development aid to countries that “oppose important United States policies”; and the United Nations Population Fund, a program that oversees maternal and reproductive health programs. If Trump goes ahead and signs the order and its provisions are carried out, the cuts could severely curb the work of United Nations agencies, which rely on billions of dollars in annual US contributions for missions that include caring for refugees. The second executive order, titled, “Moratorium on New Multilateral Treaties,” calls for a review of all current and pending treaties with more than one other nation. It also asks for recommendations on which negotiations or treaties the United States should leave. The order says this review applies only to multilateral treaties that are not “directly related to national security, extradition or international trade,” but it is unclear what treaties would fall outside these restrictions. The draft orders—each of them only a few pages—leave several unanswered questions. For example, it is unclear whether they call for cutting 40 percent of United States contributions to each international agency separately, or to the overall federal funding budget. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4912997,00.html UN holds off action over new settlement construction Security Council meets on Israeli announcement of 2,500 new homes, but does not decide on immediate response By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 25, 2017, 11:10 pm UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss Israel’s plan to build new settler homes in the West Bank, but took no action. Council members heard a report from UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov after the Israeli government approved a major expansion of 2,500 homes, a month after a UN resolution that demanded an end to settlement construction. The United States refrained from using its veto on Resolution 2334, abstaining from the vote in late December and allowing the resolution criticizing Israel to pass during the final weeks of former president Barack Obama’s administration. During the closed council meeting on Wednesday, the US representative did not take the floor to speak, diplomats said. The settlement building “needs to be condemned,” Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog told reporters. “We believe that any action that is taken in violation of international law or Security Council Resolution 2234, regardless of who violates that resolution, needs to be condemned,” he said. The ambassador, who holds the council presidency this month, said council members received an update of the situation but that no one pushed for immediate action during the talks, requested by Bolivia. Incoming US Ambassador Nikki Haley, confirmed in her post this week, has yet to present her credentials to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The new Trump administration declined to comment Tuesday on the Israeli settlement announcement, marking a dramatic break from the policy of former President Barack Obama, who routinely castigated Israel for building in such areas. Asked at Tuesday’s daily press briefing for a response to Israel’s announcement, White House press secretary Sean Spicer neither approved nor condemned the decision, saying that President Donald Trump would discuss the matter when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington next month. Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters the council must ensure that its own resolutions are upheld and that Israel must not be allowed to “get away with it” by building more settlements. The Swedish ambassador said that despite taking no immediate action, “everyone in the council that spoke today is eager to make sure we find ways to minimize the effects of unilateral action.” Haley told her Senate confirmation hearing that she supports President Donald Trump’s plan to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, an action Arab governments would consider provocative. Guterres is due to follow up on the resolution in March by reporting to the council on Israeli settlement activity. The United Nations on Tuesday denounced Israeli initiatives to accelerate settlement construction on land earmarked to be part of a future Palestinian state. “For the secretary-general, there is no plan B for the two states solution,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Netanyahu said Wednesday that the new homes were just a “taste” of things to come now that Obama was no longer in the White House. http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-holds-off-action-over-new-settlement-construction/ [It would probably be wise for the US to defund the UN and still stay on the Security Council and veto every action they make totally making them useless and worthless (which they are anyway but this way they could do nothing . – rdb] David's Sling test concludes successfully Defense Ministry announces successful testing of the sophisticated anti-missile system, which managed to intercept simulator rockets fired from a high altitude above the Mediterranean, weighing hundreds of kilograms. Yoav Zitun and Reuters|Published: 25.01.17 , 20:58 The Israeli security apparatus completed an experiment stretching over a number of days of the new advance David’s Sling system capable of defending against mid-range missiles. The system is being developed and manufactured jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd and Raytheon Co, a top US arms maker. During the experiment that took place on Wednesday, a number of precision missiles were launched from Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets above the Mediterranean, at which the advanced system dully fired interception rockets upon detection. According to the director of the Ministry of Mefense and the head of the project’s designers Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. (RADS), the experiment concluded successfully in its entirety, managing to intercept every single simulated target in the air at a high altitude far from the Israeli coastline. Officials from the RADS and the Defense Ministry circumvented a question asked David's Sling experiment (Photo: Defense Ministry) by Ynet as to whether a system failure was recorded yesterday during the experiment, responding instead by saying, “This is a series of experiments that lasted a number of days and was completed with full success.” Weighing hundreds of kilograms, the simulated missiles that the system blasted out of the skies were just as precise. The first version of David’s Sling has already been transferred to the IAF which is expected to announce that it will be fit for operational use this year. The system is intended to complete Israel’s air defense capabilities, integrating itself into the anti-missile family which includes the famous Iron Dome short-range interceptor system and the Arrow ballistic missile interceptor, both of which are in service. The experiment marks the fifth of its kind for the David’s Sling system since the completion of its development. The latest round of testing also included American cooperation, with US development paramount to its creation, both in terms of its design and funding. The sophisticated technology with which the state of the art system is equipped is designed to protect the entire breadth of Israeli landscape. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4912923,00.html [Video at the web site. – rdb] Marijuana on way to being decriminalized after minister backs move Gilad Erdan accepts anti-drug body’s recommendation to cut down on prosecution for recreational use; cabinet likely to make move official By Raoul Wootliff January 26, 2017, 1:26 pm In a move seen as paving the way for marijuana to be decriminalized, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Thursday he plans to dramatically change the way the Israeli penal code treats private, recreational use of the drug. Speaking at a press conference to announce his decision, Erdan said he will be adopting proposals put forward by the Anti-Drug Authority to adopt the “Portugal Model,” in which possession and use of the drug would be decriminalized and treated largely as a health issue. “This would mean moving to administrative fines, and criminal prosecution would only be a last resort,” Erdan said. The new tack will need to clear the cabinet, but with many lawmakers backing decriminalization, the move is seen as likely to gain ministerial approval. Under the proposal, home use and possession of marijuana would carry no punishment but those caught smoking in public could be subject to a series of punitive measures. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-move-ahead-withdecriminalizing-marijuana/ [Not so sure how wise this is. Drugs are already a significant problem in the ME. Medical use is one thing this is another. – rdb] Chile court rejects Palestinain suit The Supreme Court of Chile rejects appeal filed by Palestinian civil group to indict Israeli Supreme Court judges for their part in granting permit for construction of West Bank security barrier in Beit Jala. Tovah Tzimuki|Published: 26.01.17 , 12:02 A complaint against three Israeli Supreme Court justices has been rejected in Chile for a second time. The three – Former Judge Asher Grunis, Judge Uzi Feldman, and Judge Nil Handel – had complaints against them for their part in permitting the construction of the West Bank security barrier in the Beit Jala area. The complaint was issued by the Palestinian Federation of Chile in November to the Supreme Court of Chile. It was issued as a private complaint. Chile has the largest population of Palestinians outside of the Middle East, and are very active in Chilean society. The claimants said in their complaint that the construction of the barrier constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity. While the initial complaint was rejected in December, the Federation submitted an appeal, which was ultimately rejected on Tuesday. This is due to the fact that that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the judges as criminals, let alone war criminals or for crimes against humanity. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4913215,00.html [The “PA” group is just nuts. The are a pimple on the backside of the world – rdb] Anti-Defamation League vows 'relentless fight' against Trump over refugee ban ByMichael Wilner 26 January 2017 02:53 In an angry statement the organization called the Trump administration's policy action "a sad moment in American history." WASHINGTON -- The Anti-Defamation slammed the White House on Wednesday for its proposal to ban refugees from the world's most troubled spots and suspend visa issuances from seven Muslim nations. In an angry statement, the organization, whose mission is to fight against defamation of Jews and for the civil and human rights of all, called the Trump administration's policy action "a sad moment in American history." MORE http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Anti-Defamation-League-vows-relentless-fight-against-Trump-over-refugee-ban-479620 [It is way past time for the liberal groups and liberal Jewish groups to stop equating the situation of the Islamic groups with that of the Jewish people in the Holocaust. The German and Polish Jews were an integral part of society and fully integrated into their societies. They were not criminals and their religion had no intent of dominating the world which is a part of the basic ideology of the geopolitical movement called islam. These groups have lost their credibility when they continue to defame the Jewish people by trying to promote a moral equivalency between the two groups. – rdb] Trump says torture works, vows to ‘fight IS fire with fire’ Administration said to be looking at resuming waterboarding, reopening CIA-run ‘black site’ prisons outside the United States By Bradley Klapper, Desmond Butler and Deb Riechmann January 26, 2017, 11:32 am WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Wednesday he believes torture works as his administration readied a sweeping review of how America conducts the war on terror. It includes possible resumption of banned interrogation methods and reopening CIA-run “black site” prisons outside the United States. In an interview with ABC News, Trump said he would wage war against Islamic State militants with the single goal of keeping the US safe. Asked specifically about the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, Trump cited the extremist group’s atrocities against Christians and others and said: “We have to fight fire with fire.” Trump said he would consult with new Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo before authorizing any new policy. But he said he had asked top intelligence officials in the past day: “Does torture work?” “And the answer was yes, absolutely,” Trump said. He added that he wants to do “everything within the bounds of what you’re allowed to do legally.” MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-torture-works-as-his-government-readies-a-review/ [The lefties will go nuts with this one. The idea of ‘conducting a better, nicer, more human war is the delusion of the left and much of the world. The Geneva convention rules of war have probably caused more soldiers deaths and injury than one can record. Since that time the world hasn’t won any wars we have only protracted them. The fundamental principle of waging a war hasn’t changed in millennia, you fight until one adversary surrenders in defeat. That is accomplished by bringing them (including the people who are under their leadership) into submission by destroying their forces OR laying siege which is to make their lives so miserable they give up. Today the UN screams of ‘inhumane treatment’ and just prolongs the war. It is totally idiocy. War is hell it is not human. Fight it with whatever means is necessary and get it over with. – rdb] www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Trump Greets U.K.'s May as World Leaders Look For Cues by Robert Hutton and Margaret Talev January 25, 2017, 4:30 PM CST Theresa May will provide the first test for how world leaders can deal with Donald Trump when she arrives in the U.S. to welcome the new president to the global stage and lay the groundwork for a U.S.U.K. trade deal. “As we rediscover our confidence together –- as you renew your nation just as we renew ours –- we have the opportunity, indeed the responsibility, to renew the special relationship for this new age,” the U.K. prime minister will tell Republican lawmakers gathered in Philadelphia on Thursday, according to excerpts from her prepared remarks. “We have the opportunity to lead, together, again.” The good news for May, who’s due to meet Trump at the White House on Friday, is that he’s eager to cement relations and nail down a U.K. trade deal too -- for his own reasons. He’d like to further drive a wedge into a fractured Europe and strengthen at least one trade relationship as he exits the Trans-Pacific Partnership and prepares to renegotiate Nafta. A close relationship between the U.S. and U.K. would prove that neither nation is turning inward -Trump after an election victory fueled by his “America First” campaign, and May as she takes Britain out of the European Union after last year’s Brexit referendum. So May is opting to brush aside the worldwide protests that followed Trump’s inauguration and worked hard to secure Trump’s first meeting in office with a foreign leader. ‘America First’ For Trump, who will also speak Thursday to the Republican lawmakers in Philadelphia, it’s a chance to show that world leaders are eager to meet with him despite the protectionist and unilateralist themes of his inauguration address. He pledged then that “every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families.” But while May will offer reassuring words in her speech to the gathering of lawmakers, she will implicitly reject the idea of a U.S. withdrawal from international entanglements. “The leadership provided by our two countries through the special relationship has done more than win wars and overcome adversity,” she’s planning to say. “It made the modern world. The institutions upon which that world relies were so often conceived or inspired by our two nations working together.” The new president’s attitude toward some of those institutions -- in particular his criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as “obsolete” -- has alarmed European leaders. As prime minister of the country that makes the second-largest contribution to NATO after the U.S., May can make the argument that America benefits from its involvement. Success for May’s visit would be a clear commitment from Trump to a bilateral trade deal -- even though the actual deal will be much harder to nail down and wouldn’t take effect until the U.K. completes its extrication from the EU some years from now. But it’s important politically that she isn’t seen as compromising British interests. “They want completely different sorts of bilateral trade deals,” Colin Talbot, professor of government at Manchester University, said in a phone interview. “There’s a danger Britain gets stuffed. A quick trade deal is generally a bad trade deal.” May was clear on Wednesday that she won’t follow Trump wherever he goes. “I am not afraid to speak frankly to a president,” she told Parliament. An aide spoke of aiming for a grown-up relationship. No Basketball Game For May, who lacks the relaxed bonhomie of her predecessor David Cameron, talks in the Oval Office could be more comfortable than chatting over hot dogs at a basketball game, as Cameron did with President Barack Obama in 2012. “May will forge a close relationship, as close as she can, to President Trump and her staff to key members of his staff,” Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. “But I believe she will also be quite clear where there are differences. I think she’ll handle them privately to the greatest extent possible, but if required will do so publicly and will not be afraid to do that.” Domestic Politics Trump presents a particular diplomatic difficulty for May because he has few fans even among her fellow British Conservatives. Eight years ago, then-prime minister Gordon Brown opened his weekly questions session in Parliament with effusive congratulations to the newly inaugurated Barack Obama. On Wednesday, May’s response to the inauguration was more restrained: “Later this week, I will travel to the United States for talks with President Trump.” The questions that followed were even colder. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn asked May to “congratulate the 100,000 people who marched in Britain last weekend to highlight women’s rights after President Trump’s inauguration, and to express their concerns about his misogyny.” Others asked her to promise that Britain’s food safety standards wouldn’t be lowered in order to get a trade deal, and that Britain wouldn’t be involved in torture. With Trump’s foreign policy team still taking shape, the diplomatic fine touches of his first official presidential meeting with a world leader might prove a challenge. Eight years ago, Brown brought Obama a penholder carved from the planks of a battleship that had sailed alongside HMS Resolute, whose timbers were used to make the president’s desk. Obama gave Brown a box set of 25 DVDs, which Brown later discovered wouldn’t play on his British equipment. May’s gift to Trump this time is a hamper of produce from her official country residence, Chequers, and an engraved Quaich, a traditional Scottish cup for drinking whiskey, which symbolizes friendship. While Trump has Scottish ancestry, he’s a teetotaler. https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-25/trump-to-unveil-plans-formexico-border-wall-in-security-push [This could be interesting. I truly hope it goes well and that The Donald will hold his own concerning the outdated status of the NATO. – rdb] Economist: Stock Market Gained $2T in Wealth Since Trump Elected by Fox News Insider Jan 25, 2017 5:39 PM Club For Growth founder Stephen Moore reacted to reporting that since President Trump was elected, the stock market gained $2 trillion in wealth. Great! #Dow20K https://t.co/wXFhXBLgag — President Trump (@POTUS) January 25, 2017 "This could be the start of a big bull market rally," Moore said on Risk & Reward, noting the market today crossed 20,000 point threshold. Elizabeth MacDonald recounted how former President Barack Obama told a crowd in 2016 that Trump would need a "magic wand" to bring lost jobs and manufacturing back to America. Moore said that statement, compounded with Democrats' becoming "subservient" to billionaire Tom Steyer and his climate-change-advocate allies, have opened the door for union cooperation with the White House. "We want jobs, not a radical climate change agenda," Moore said in characterizing union bosses' political mindset. Earlier on Fox News Channel, Teamsters' president James P. Hoffa also reacted to the improving jobs outlook. http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/25/stock-market-gains-2-trillion-trump-elected-steve-moore Secret refugee network 'freaking out' over Trump reforms 'Thousands have plane tickets to America and nowhere to go' Published: 2 hours ago. Updated: 01/25/2017 at 9:00 PM Leo Hohmann As early as Thursday, President Trump is expected to drop a bombshell on the refugee-resettlement industry, a network of church organizations, secular NGOs and United Nations-friendly groups that are paid tens of millions of dollars every year to secretly plant Third World migrants into more than 300 U.S. cities and towns. Trump will block the entry of migrants from countries hosting Muslim jihadists, many of them looking to relocate to Western democracies in the wake of the Islamic State’s loss of territory in Syria and Iraq. Trump is planning a moratorium on immigration visas from seven countries of special interest – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. At the same time, Trump is expected to announce a pause in the resettlement of refugees from most countries for at least four months or until a better system of vetting can be developed. Muslim advocacy groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, are now on the defensive. A CAIR press release Wednesday parroted the Obama administration line that refugees coming to America “are the most vetted of all those entering the country. They go through multiple levels of screening by multiple national security agencies before they can enter.” Yet, a closer look reveals otherwise. WND reported on “Eight bloody terror attacks on U.S. soil” in a recent 18-month period leading up to Christmas. The attacks had one thing in common – each one was carried out by a Muslim migrant or son of a Muslim migrant. And it gets worse. Federal agents told the Los Angeles Times Wednesday they are going back to re-investigate dozens of Syrian refugees who have already been allowed into the U.S. by the Obama administration for possible vetting “lapses.” These refugees had derogatory information in their case files that was either ignored or not followed up on, including contact with ISIS leaders. The “mistakes” occurred in 2015 and were already being investigated by the FBI before Trump’s inauguration, the Times reports. Hundreds of Muslim migrants have been arrested on terrorism-related charges since the 9/11 attacks. Some of the most recent incidents occurred on Sept. 17 at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where a Somali refugee carried out a knife attack that wounded 10 shoppers, and another Somali refugee at Ohio State University rammed his vehicle into a crowd of students on Nov. 28, then got out and attacked them with a knife, injuring 11. Also on Sept. 17, another refugee from Afghanistan set off pipe bombs in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, injuring 29. MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/secret-refugee-network-freaking-out-over-trump-reforms/ Days Into Trump Admin, Corrupt Employees Are Already Being Fired At The VA Luke Rosiak 5:49 PM 01/24/2017 Days into Donald Trump’s administration, heads are finally beginning to roll at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Two notoriously corrupt employees in Puerto Rico were fired this week, indicating that more may be on the way. One is the hospital’s CEO, DeWayne Hamlin, who offered an employee $305,000 to quit after she played a role in exposing his drug arrest. “Mr. DeWayne Hamlin was removed from federal service effective January 20, 2017,” the VA said. Jan. 20 was Inauguration Day. Under former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, the agency ignored years of evidence about shoddy work ethic, theft and whistleblower retaliation. The VA finally began a months-long investigative proceeding last year, after an outside agency, the Office of Special Counsel, prodded VA leadership. MORE -http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/24/days-into-trumpadmin-corrupt-employees-are-already-being-fired-at-the-va/ [Having a REAL businessman at the helm is what this country need for a long time. Sack the politicians and put in people who are business people who demand and get results. The PC game is a losing game. – rdb] Trump orders weekly publication of crimes committed by illegals in sanctuary cities January 25, 2017 By Kyle Olson In order to better inform Americans about the impact illegal aliens are having on crime rates in sanctuary cities, President Donald Trump today ordered the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by illegals. In an executive order titled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” Trump directed Secretary John Kelly to be transparent with citizens. “To better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions, the Secretary shall utilize the Declined Detainer Outcome Report or its equivalent and, on a weekly basis, make public a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignored or otherwise failed to honor any detainers with respect to such aliens,” the order reads. The same executive order “directs that federal funds be withheld from cities and counties that don’t cooperate with immigration officials,” http://www.theamericanmirror.com/trump-orders-weekly-list-crimes-committed-illegals-sanctuary-cities/ [You will notice that they are not listed as aliens and not residents and the other euphemisms that the previous pretender to the presidency tried to use to enable their rotten behavior. They are illegal aliens. – rdb] Commentaries: The Case for a Kurdish State in the Middle East by Diliman Abdulkader January 25, 2017 at 4:00 am Many international bodies including the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League continue to push for a Palestinian state, while ignoring calls for a Kurdish one. For far too long, the Arab, Turkish and Iranian peoples and leaderships have used the Israeli-Palestinian issue as justification for their own problems. Without acknowledging the "Kurdish question," which spans four major states -- Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey -- the Middle East will have trouble achieving stability. The goal of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been used by Arabs, Turks and Iranians in the Middle East as a cover to deflect criticism away from their own indifferent leadership. The 22 existing Arab States, along with Turkey and Iran, can easily establish a homeland for the Palestinians, but they are not interested in doing so. The goal of these states is not to create another Arab state, but to eradicate an only Jewish state. Giving the Palestinians a state will not solve the Syrian civil war, the Sunni-Shiite divisions in Iraq will remain, the destructive Islamist path of Turkey's President Erdogan will continue, the world will see continued Iranian aggression against Israel, Sunnis, and Kurds, and the hold hat both Iran and Saudi Arabia have on Islam will only strengthen. The Kurds are large in number (an estimated 40-50 million) and have a unique language, culture, and identity that differs markedly from their neighbors. The main problems in the region center around Islam versus Islam (Arab-Arab, Arab-Iran, Arab-Turk, Iran-Turk) or Islam versus minorities, including Christians, Yezidis, Chaldeans, Alevis, Jews, etc. Kurds embrace Western values such as gender equality, religious freedom and human rights. The Kurdish people have continually suffered in the Middle East. The Turks, under the Ottomans killed tens of thousands of Kurds in massacres in Dersim and Zilan. By the 1990s, more than 3,000 Kurdish villages were destroyed. According to Human Rights Watch, 378,335 Kurdish villagers had been displaced in Turkey. The Kurds have a distinct language and, although Sunni Muslim, they are relatively secular. Within areas with majority Kurdish populations live Kurdish Jews, Shiites, Christians, and Yezidis. This diversity has shaped a tolerant nature within their society. The Kurds push for the separation of religion and state, and allow for churches, mosques, synagogues and temples to be built next to one another -- a respect for the "other" rarely seen in the Middle East. Under the dictatorships in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran, the Kurds are still suffering from Arabization, Turkification, and the Iranian tactic of forcible land confiscation. The Kurds are no strangers to having their historical territories taken over by such regimes; they therefore understand and respect minority rights. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has embraced its Jewish community, and rescued over 3,000 Kurdish Yezedis from ISIS when they were trapped on Mount Shingal in Mosul. Many Christians and minority communities have even requested they be part of the Kurdistan region after the state of Iraq failed them. Kurds have also taken in 300,000 Syrian refugees and 2.3 million internally displaced peoples (IDP) from Iraq. The KRG does not distinguish between them as Sunni-Shiite or Muslim-Christian, but recognizes them as humans suffering from war. This is far different from what we see in Arab nations. Many Gulf states to date have not taken in any refugees, despite sharing a common religion. Saudi Arabia, home of holy cities of Mecca and Medina, has quietly squelched the thought of allowing refugees to seek protection there, even as the Saudi kingdom has hundreds of thousands of empty air-conditioned tents available while their own Arab brothers are suffering in neighboring states. A similar situation is seen in Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. Iran, according to Human Rights Watch, has sent Afghan refugees to fight in Syria by force, under the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which already has violated countless human rights agreements. Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies Director at HRW states that, "Iran has not just offered Afghan refugees and migrants incentives to fight in Syria, but several said they were threatened with deportation back to Afghanistan unless they did." Iran imprisons and publicly executes Kurds to this day. States such as Jordan and Lebanon are forced to take in refugees largely because they share a border with Iraq and Syria; would they if they were not forced? Turkey has used the refugee crisis from the Syrian civil war as political leverage against the European Union to gain accession into the 28-nation bloc, to receive financial aid ($3 billion a year) and to change the demographics of the Kurdish regions in the southeast. There are even reports of Erdogan's regime forcing male refugees in Turkey to go back into Syria to fight with the Turkish military in exchange for aid to their families. Women in Kurdish society were not always free. Kurds are predominantly tribal and many live in rural mountainous regions. Kurdish women were historically victims of honor killings and child marriages. The move away from these practices began when Kurdish resistance groups began to form in the wake of Turkey's crackdowns during the 1980's military coups. The founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, strongly believes in women's liberation and even wrote a book titled Liberating Life: Women's Revolution. Ocalan believed that, "A country cannot be free unless women are free." Kurdistan even recently hosted the International Conference on Women and Human Rights, where it pushed for greater support for women's leadership in the KRG. The emphasis on gender rights as well as ethnic and national rights is a form of democracy unseen in the Middle East. States such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) appoint women to positions such as "Minister of Happiness," which not only belittles women but continues to suppress the potential they can provide to society as a whole. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein attacked the Kurds with chemical weapons in 1988. He murdered 5,000 civilians and destroyed 4,000 villages. Hussein aggressively went after minorities such as the Kurds, despite being Sunni Muslims. Between 1988-1991, his regime murdered thousands, effectively committing genocide. Under Saddam Hussein, thousands of Kurds were forced to leave their homes when the Iraqi military destroyed villages and towns. According to Human Rights Watch: "Arab families were given financial incentives to move north, and the Iraqi government embarked on housing construction projects to bring more Arab families north in order to change the demographic make-up of the north." The Syrian and Turkish regimes have done the same. In Syria, Hafez Assad, Bashar Assad's father, cracked down on Sunni majority and denied Kurds their right to speak Kurdish or open Kurdish schools. Kurds were considered stateless peoples as they were denied Syrian citizenship. Ironically, Hafez Assad had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1969, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. His son, Bashar, also agreed to the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2003. So much for that. Turkey is virtually at war with its Kurds and continues to deny rights to effectively all minorities. Greeks, Armenians and Alevis are oppressed and removed from their historical lands. From the Armenian Genocide to denying the peoplehood of the Kurds, Turkish nationalism has been the main cause of instability within the state. Founded upon the notion of western-secularism by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been attempting to reestablish the primacy of Islam. Erdogan has labeled the Kurds as separatists and a threat. Turkey also apparently fears the success of the Kurds in Syria in their fight against ISIS, and their declaration of an autonomous region. Erdogan seems concerned that his Kurdish population will call for autonomy, as it has. The Kurds, in 1946, temporarily managed to establish their own independent state in northwestern Iran, with the help of the Soviet Union. The Kurdish struggle for freedom continues in Rojhalat (east) for the recognition of their identity and political rights. During the Iran-Iraq war, Kurds were used by both powers against one another as pawns, in order to irritate the other side. Saddam Hussein pushed the Kurds in Iran to rise up, and Iran gave arms to the Kurds in Iraq to fight against the Ba'athist regime, all while killing their own Kurdish populations. To date, Kurds striving to be recognized as a legitimate minority within Iran either disappear, are imprisoned, or are publicly executed. Many of the Kurds affected by these ruling powers did not want to separate, but simply to be able to live a peaceful and stable life; the push for a state was the creation of the states themselves, through their oppression of the Kurds. Any new state that is established must be willing to live with its neighbor in peace. Kurds will need to establish close relations with all the states from which they are separating, particularly as Kurdistan will be landlocked. The creation of a Kurdish state would above all acknowledge that the Kurds exist as a distinct entity, through their language, respect for equal rights, and their secular culture. With the little stability the Kurds have in northern Iraq since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, and the advancement of the Kurds in Rojava within two years after pushing back ISIS, they have proven capable of running a state and respecting all those within it. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the recently-declared autonomous territory in Rojava (western Syrian-Kurdistan) have been a model for all states in the region to follow. As liberal as Kurdistan has become in respect to social freedoms, it continues to be surrounded by states that lack similar values. The states surrounding Kurdish territories, including Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey are currently either failed or under oppressive regimes. Because Kurds are religiously diverse moderates who prioritize their ethno-linguistic identity over religion, Kurdistan offers an opportunity for all its citizens to look towards an inclusive, pluralistic society where religious freedom is not only tolerated, but encouraged. Kurds respect both the Sunnis and the Shiites within their territories and have strong ties with the only Jewish state in the Middle East. A Kurdish state has the potential to bring amity to an otherwise unstable region. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9813/case-for-a-kurdish-state [This is perhaps THE most under reported and poorly thought out situation in the Middle East. The Kurdish history goes back to ancient Assyria and they are distinct whereas the “PA” has no such history. This has been swept under the table by the ME countries and the UN/EU etc have ignored the situation because they want the alliance with Turkey who aligns with the more radical islamic sects. This is a rather long analysis but the content is important to understand if you want to understand the problems going on. – rdb] Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Erekat 'shocked' at Trump's silence on Israeli construction PLO Secretary-General calls on President Donald Trump's administration to clarify its policy with regard to Israeli "settlements". Elad Benari, 26/01/17 03:09 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat on Wednesday said he was "shocked" by the White House's silence on Israel’s construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, and called on President Donald Trump's administration to clarify its policy. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced the approval of 2,500 housing units in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, in order to accommodate the housing needs of the residents and to return their daily routine to normal. The announcement followed the approval earlier this week of 566 new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramat Shlomo, Ramot and Pisgat Ze'ev. While the United Nations and the European Union were quick to condemn the new construction, White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Tuesday declined to express a position on Israeli construction when asked about it in his daily press briefing. "Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States," Spicer said, when asked about Trump's perspective on the Israeli plan to implement the construction plans. "He wants to grow closer to Israel to make sure it gets the full respect in the Middle East," he continued. "We'll have a conversation with the prime minister." Responding on Wednesday to the White House refusing to comments, Erekat told AFP, "We used to hear condemnations, we used to hear American positions saying '(Israel) should stop settlement activities, it's an obstacle to peace.'" "Not commenting, does that mean that President Trump is encouraging... settlement activities? We need an answer from the American administration," he added. Erekat said he was "shocked" that the White House did not comment on the construction announcements as the Obama administration repeatedly did. On Tuesday, shortly after Israel’s announcement, Erekat called on the international community to punish the Jewish state for the new construction. "The international community must hold Israel accountable immediately for what it is doing," he said, adding that Israel had been emboldened by "what they consider encouragement by American President Donald Trump." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223876 [I think you need to get used to this bubba because there is a new sheriff in town and the Islamic occupier of the Whitehouse is gone, thank God. If you look at the fact that he put a hold on the money the “PA” that the Obamination triedto slyly shove under the door as he was leaving you may wake up to the fact that some people in the USA and I do believe this president don’t consider you a viable entity. – rdb] Trump could cut ties with UN over its support for the PA Trump administration reportedly planning to reduce ties with organizations such as the UN that give the PA and the PLO full membership. Elad Benari, 25/01/17 23:26 The Trump administration is preparing executive orders that would clear the way for the United States to reduce ties with organizations that support the Palestinian Authority (PA) or Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including the United Nations, officials said Wednesday, according to The New York Times. The first of the two draft orders, titled “Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations” and obtained by the newspaper, calls for terminating funding for any United Nations agency or other international body that meets any one of several criteria. Those criteria include organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, or support programs that fund abortion or any activity that circumvents sanctions against Iran or North Korea. MORE - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223869 [This is in all the Israeli news today! – rdb] House Speaker: We'll fund the border wall Speaker Ryan says the House will fund the wall that Trump wants to build and will later find a way for Mexico to contribute. Ben Ariel, 26/01/17 02:05 U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said on Wednesday that the House would fund the wall that President Donald Trump wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re going to pay for it and front the money up,” Ryan told MSNBC in an interview when asked who is going to pay for the wall. “There are a lot of different ways of getting Mexico to contribute to doing this,” he added. According to The Hill, Ryan had told his colleagues he will likely move a supplemental spending bill this year to pay for the border wall. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order calling for the construction of “a physical wall” along the southern border to be manned by “adequate personnel so as to prevent illegal immigration, drug trafficking and acts of terrorism.” During his election campaign, Trump met with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto to discuss the construction of a wall separating the two countries. Nieto said his government will negotiate with Trump, but will not pay for the wall - despite Trump's insistence he do so. Trump told ABC News on Wednesday that construction will begin in a matter of months and insisted again that he would press Mexico to reimburse the U.S. Treasury at a later date. "We'll be reimbursed at a later date from whatever transaction we make from Mexico. I'm just telling you there will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form,” the President stressed. Hours after Trump signed the executive order, a senior government official in Mexico said that Pena Nieto is "considering" canceling next week's visit to Washington. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223875 Lebanon claims to have arrested 5 'Israeli spies' Lebanon’s General Security says it arrested a spy ring comprised of five people who allegedly spied for Israeli embassies abroad. Elad Benari, 26/01/17 03:35 Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security announced on Wednesday that it had arrested a spy ring comprised of five people who allegedly “spied for Israeli embassies abroad”, reports the Lebanese Naharnet news website. According to the report, the spy ring included two Lebanese men, two Nepalese women and a Palestinian Arab man. “During interrogation, the detainees confessed to the charges, admitting that they had called phone numbers belonging to the Israeli enemy's embassies in Turkey, Jordan, Britain and Nepal with the aim of spying and passing on information,” a General Security statement said. [You don’t suppose the water boarded them ?? Of course not these wonderful civilized terrorists would never do something like that. – rdb] The investigations revealed that the two Nepalese women were actively recruiting Nepalese domestic workers in Lebanon with the aim of spying for Israel, according to Naharnet. “They gave them the phone number of the Israeli embassy in Nepal so that they pass on information about their employers to the Mossad Israeli intelligence agency,” the General Security statement added. “Following interrogation, they were referred to the relevant judicial authorities on charges of collaborating with the Israeli enemy and efforts are underway to arrest the rest of the culprits,” it continued. This is not the first time that Lebanon has claimed to have arrested people who were spying for Israel. In 2015, Lebanese authorities announced they had arrested two Lebanese nationals and a Syrian on allegations of spying for Israel. The three were identified only by their initials. There were no details on exactly when or where the three were detained. Several weeks later, Lebanese media reported that soldiers had detonated a "listening device" allegedly planted by Israel in the southern Marjayoun region, close to the border with the Jewish state. Lebanon is not alone, as other Arab countries have in recent years made similar claims about Israeli espionage. In 2015, for an example, an Egyptian court sentenced to jail a man convicted of “spying for Israel” in the Sinai Peninsula. Most recently, Algeria claimed to have uncovered an international spy network operating for Israel. The network was reportedly made up of 10 members and was based in southern Algeria. The members allegedly included operatives from Libya, Mali, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Kenya. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223879 [This certainly couldn’t be true. The fact that Israel has the best intelligence probably of anywhere in the world would have nothing to do with their alleged spies picked up by other countries, Right? – rdb] To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 01252017 NEWS AM With His Dream on the Line http://www.aish.com/sp/so/With-His-Dream-on-the-Line.html?s=mm "A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." -- Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) American statesman, Secretary of the Treasury Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:36`And the king hath done according to his will, and exalteth himself, and magnifieth himself against every god, and against the God of gods he speaketh wonderful things, and hath prospered till the indignation hath been completed, for that which is determined hath been done. 37And unto the God of his fathers he doth not attend, nor to the desire of women, yea, to any god he doth not attend, for against all he magnifieth himself. 38And to the god of strongholds, on his station, he giveth honour; yea, to a god whom his fathers knew not he giveth honour, with gold, and with silver, and with precious stone, and with desirable things. IDF shells Hamas outpost in retaliation for shooting incident IDF force along Gaza border reports it was fired on after sound of shooting was reported by another force along Lebanese border; no injuries or damage were reported; an IDF tank fires at a Hamas position in response. Ynet reporters|Published: 24.01.17 , 23:05 An IDF tank shelled a Hamas outpost in the center of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in retaliation for two incidents of shooting at IDF forces earlier in the day. No soldiers were injured and no damage was reported in the shooting, which took place towards soldiers along the border of the strip with Re'im, a nearby kibbutz. Before that, an IDF force reported the sound of firing during regular operations that they were carrying out in the area of Metula in the upper Galilee on the Lebanese border. No soldiers were reported injured or damage reported in that case, either. Lebanese media quoted Israeli media regarding the second incident. The Lebanese reported that "the combat publicrelations unit" of Hezbollah denied that it fired at Israel. Further, Lebanese media added that the situation along the Lebanon–Israel border was completely normal. Lebanese security sources also denied that there had been fire at Israeli forces. They told the El Nashra news site that the situation in the area was calm. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4912403,00.html Israel okays 2,500 new settlement homes, 2 days after PM talks to Trump ‘We’re building — and will continue to build,’ Netanyahu says; Liberman also seeks green light for Palestinian industrial zone By Judah Ari Gross January 24, 2017, 4:07 pm Israel approved the construction of approximately 2,500 homes in the West Bank, most of them in existing settlement blocs it hopes to keep in any peace deal, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Tuesday. The decision came two days after a Jerusalem planning committee approved the construction of 566 housing units in East Jerusalem, and on the heels of a phone conversation Sunday between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, in which the two discussed their plans for the region. Most of the housing units will be built in the large settlement areas, notably in the city of Ariel and in Givat Ze’ev, outside Jerusalem. But some will also go up in settlements outside the larger blocs, due to prior agreements and court decisions. “We’re building — and will continue to build,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following the approval. Palestinians quickly condemned the announcement, calling it “land theft and colonialism.” “Such a deliberate escalation of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise constitutes a war crime and the flagrant violation of international law and conventions, in particular UN Security Council resolution 2334,” said PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, referring to an anti-settlements UN decision passed last month. [This in NO WAY constitutes a war crime. That is a comment that the “PA” nitwit throw around. They need to go read the Geneva convention on what is a war crime. – rdb] Liberman also said he would request permission from the cabinet for the construction of a Palestinian industrial park in Tarkumiya, northwest of Hebron. “It will be one of the largest industrial zones in the West Bank, in which we are planning to set up warehouse and fuel storage infrastructure, along with other elements,” Liberman’s office said in a statement. According to the defense minister, the decision to approve the settlement construction was made in order to “provide a response to the housing needs.” In total, 2,502 housing units were approved for construction in settlements across the West Bank, with most in the north. In the northern West Bank, 899 will be built in the city of Ariel, 292 in the Zufim settlement, 166 in Emanuel, 154 in Oranit, 81 in Etz Efraim, 78 in Alfei Menashe, 18 in Elkana and six in Shaare Tikva, the defense minister’s office said. In the Jerusalem area, some 652 housing units were approved for the Givat Ze’ev settlement, 104 in Ma’ale Adumim and four in Har Gilo. In the Etzion settlement bloc, 21 homes were approved for Efrat, and the defense minister okayed 87 housing units for the Beitar Illit settlement, outside Bethlehem. Outside the larger settlement areas, Liberman and Netanyahu allowed the construction of 86 homes for the former residents of the evacuated Migron settlement, who now live in the Yekev neighborhood of the Kochav Ya’akov settlement, south of Ramallah. The approval was granted in accordance with an agreement between the government and Migron residents. In addition, 20 homes were approved in the Beit El settlement, north of Ramallah, as part of a High Court of Justice decision, the defense minister said. On Sunday, the Jerusalem Municipality approved the construction of 566 new homes in East Jerusalem, in a vote that had been pushed back from December in order to avoid angering the outgoing administration of former US president Barack Obama. The Palestinians condemned the decision as an explicit violation of a recent anti-settlement resolution at the United Nations. Also on Sunday, Netanyahu had his first phone call with Trump since he became US president. On the call, the two leaders discussed ways to “advance and strengthen the US-Israel special relationship” and to boost security and stability in the region, the White House said. Trump stressed “the importance the United States places on our close military, intelligence and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between our countries.” Trump is viewed as being more favorable to Israeli settlement policies than Obama, as he has repeatedly declared that he will move the US Embassy to Jerusalem despite the city’s disputed status and nominated for his ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is the head of American Friends of Bet El Institutions — a group that raises funds for the West Bank settlement of Beit El’s seminary, a news organization affiliated with the settler movement and other activities in the settlement. Both Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who Trump appointed as a senior adviser and said will be his pointman on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, have reportedly donated to Friedman’s organization. http://www.timesofisrael.com/afterpm-talks-to-trump-israel-okays-2500-new-settlement-homes/ In break from Obama, White House keeps mum as Israel expands settlements Trump press secretary also evasive on former president’s last-minute transfer of $221 million to Palestinians, says Trump will examine ‘all aspects of budget’ By Eric Cortellessa January 24, 2017, 11:26 pm WASHINGTON — Hours after Israel defied the international community by approving the construction of roughly 2,500 settlement homes in the West Bank, the nascent Trump administration declined to comment on the controversial move, marking a dramatic break from the policy of former President Barack Obama, who routinely castigated Israel for building in such areas. Asked at Tuesday’s daily press briefing for a response to Israel’s announcement, White House press secretary Sean Spicer neither approved nor condemned the decision, saying that President Donald Trump would discuss the matter when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington next month. “We’re going to have a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and we’ll continue to discuss that,” he said. “Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States, he wants to grow closer with Israel, to make sure that it gets the full respect that it deserves in the Middle East.” The settlement announcement came two days after Trump and Netanyahu had their first phone call since the president assumed power, in which they discussed the Iranian threat and Mideast peace process. Neither the readouts from the White House or Prime Minister’s Office addressed the settlement issue. Earlier Tuesday, Israel approved the large-scale expansion of West Bank settlements, with 2,500 new homes to be built, most of them inside what Israel considers the principle blocs it expects to retain under a peace deal in exchange for mutually agreed upon land swaps. The exact location and scope of those blocs, however, have never been agreed upon by Israelis and Palestinians. The decision also came two days after a Jerusalem planning committee approved 566 housing units in East Jerusalem, a move that was delayed by former president Obama’s strong objections, but came shortly after the Sunday phone conversation between Trump and Netanyahu. “We’re building — and will continue to build,” Netanyahu said Tuesday after the new building plans were announced by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, marking a policy shift to coincide with Trump’s arrival. Spicer was equally evasive when asked if Trump intended to thwart the transfer of $221 million to the Palestinians ordered by Barack Obama on the final day of his presidency. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/white-house-mum-on-israelslatest-settlement-expansion/ In rare move, Australia criticizes settlement expansion FM Julie Bishop, who refuses to call Israeli West Bank construction illegal, urges both sides to avoid unilateral actions By Raphael Ahren January 25, 2017, 11:07 am In a rare rebuke of Israel’s settlement enterprise, Australia on Wednesday expressed “concern” over an announcement of planned expansion of West Bank settlements, and called on Israel to cease unilateral steps that it said undermine the peace process. “The Australian Government is concerned about the significant recent settlement announcement in the West Bank,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told ABC News. “We continue to call on both sides to avoid unilateral action that diminish the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution.” On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced plans to build 2,500 housing units in various towns across the West Bank, mostly, but not exclusively, in the settlement blocs. Australia’s stance on Tuesday’s announcement was notable because Canberra has long been an unconditional friend of Israel, unafraid to defy international consensus to shield the Jewish state from criticism of its settlement policy. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem declined to comment on Bishop’s statement. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/inrare-move-australia-criticizes-settlement-expansion/ Liberman: World should forget about Israeli-Palestinian conflict Defense minister accuses international community of being ‘over-involved,’ says approval of 2,500 housing units in the West Bank ‘nothing new’ By Raphael Ahren January 24, 2017, 8:25 pm Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Tuesday called on the entire international community to “forget about” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that the world’s “over-involvement” does nothing to help achieve peace. “What I propose to everyone — to the Europeans, the Americans, the Russians — is first of all not to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Forget about it,” he told a conference of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “Whoever wants to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should first forget it. The overinvolvement of the world powers, especially Europe, is only disrupting. They don’t contribute anything to the problem’s solution, they only complicate things.” The European states do not have a proper understanding of the conflict and its roots and how it develops, the defense minister continued. “And they come here and force themselves [unto the conflict] without being asked.” A former foreign minister, Liberman said he met with many international leaders and asked them to list one example where international diplomacy succeeded in solving a longstanding conflict. He listed Cyprus, Kosovo, Bosnia, Transnistria, Ireland, Scotland, and other regions in Europe where territorial conflicts are ostensibly ongoing. Europe is currently “looking for direction, falling apart,” Liberman said, citing also the UK’s decision last year to leave the European Union. “After you succeed in one place you can come and teach us,” he said Even beyond their own continent, the Europeans have failed to promote peace in other crises, be it in Africa, Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq, Liberman charged. “And after all that they come to us and give us advice how to make peace,” he said disdainfully. Liberman also rebuffed viewing Israel’s approval earlier on Tuesday of 2,500 new housing units in the West Bank as a reaction to US President Donald Trump entering the White House. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-world-shouldforget-about-israeli-palestinian-conflict/ [Liberman is really correct. The EU is in a mess and their highly touted diplomatic expertise is a fraud. – rdb] Lieberman: 'In the next conflict—we will not stop until a white flag is raised' Lieberman addressed the possibility of an additional conflict during an INSS conference: "The IDF's orders are to go in full force.' Lieberman also addressed the approval to construct thousands of housing units in the West Bank and said of the Palestinians: 'There is no legitimate leader with whom to make peace.' Reut Rimerman|Published: 24.01.17 , 20:04 At a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies on Tuesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the IDF's orders are to "go in full force." "If the other side doesn't yield and raise a white flag, we don't stop." Lieberman also addressed the decision to approve the construction of about 2,500 housing units in Judea and Samaria and connected it to Donald Trump's taking office as the president of the United States: "There is nothing new about it, we have always constructed, including under the Obama administration." Lieberman criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud "Abu Mazen" Abbas, saying, "There is no one there to actually sign a dramatic agreement with that would change reality. We need a powerful leadership with sway in the field, but Abu Mazen is not a legitimate leader." He continued to say that "there is no Palestinian Authority. It doesn't exist. We keep forgetting the fact that the Gaza strip is ruled by Hamas and not by the PA." "There were many good people who worked on an agreement. Why couldn't they work out the problem? It would be impossible to offer Abu Mazen more than what Olmert offered him in Annapolis, including dividing Jerusalem, rehashing the refugee issue, and the evacuation of the West Bank—everything. And what did we end up getting? A no." Liberman was asked what he would advise President Donald Trump. "It isn't right to advise Americans. Let's not exaggerate. We are a small country and they are a world power," said Liberman and verbally attacked the European countries: "I advise the Europeans, Americans and Russians to first of all steer clear of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Whoever wants to help solve the conflict should first forget the excessive involvement of the rest of the world powers, mainly that of Europe. It is mostly disruptive." Regarding the Elor Azaria case, Lieberman said, "I don't know whether the soldier did the right thing or not. That is not my job. Again, I advise everyone to accept and respect the military court's decision even if we are not very comfortable." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4912293,00.html IDF's new wheeled APC finishes first round of operational testing The 'Eitan' is set to replace the aging M113 and comes complete with air conditioning, touch-screen monitors, Trophy active protection system, a 30mm cannon and tops out at 90km/h. Yoav Zitun|Published: 25.01.17 , 13:12 The Ministry of Defense's new wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC), known as the 'Eitan,' has finished its first round of operational testing with the Nahal Infantry Brigade, which will be the first IDF combat unit to make use of the new vehicle. The Eitan is slated to replace the aging M113 APC, which has been in service since the 1970s. The new Eitan is the first wheeled APC to be used by the IDF and includes advanced defense systems such as the Trophy active protection system and hi-tech armor designed to protect against anti-tank missiles. The Eitan was subject to months of grueling tests in varying terrain at IDF training bases in the Negev and Jordan Valley. The Eitan (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) "The Eitan brings both strong resilience and lethality to the battlefield," project head Maj. Sharon Guetta told Ynet. "The vehicle can reach speeds of 90km/h, but its purpose is obviously to enable a fighting force to safely arrive at the target area." MORE -http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L4912662,00.html Trump administration to review $221 m. payment to Palestinians in Obama’s last hours State department says will look at last-minute release of funds, blocked in Congress, to assess whether adjustements are needed to align with president’s priorities By AP January 25, 2017, 2:57 am WASHINGTON — The State Department is reviewing a last-minute decision by former Secretary of State John Kerry to send $221 million dollars to the Palestinians late last week over the objections of congressional Republicans. The department said Tuesday it would look at the payment and might make adjustments to ensure it comports with the Trump administration’s priorities. Kerry formally notified Congress that State would release the money Friday morning, just hours before President Donald Trump took the oath of office. Congress had initially approved the Palestinian funding in budget years 2015 and 2016, but at least two GOP lawmakers — Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Kay Granger of Texas, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee — had placed holds on it over moves the Palestinian Authority had taken to seek membership in international organizations. Congressional holds are generally respected by the executive branch but are not legally binding after funds have been allocated. Granger released a statement Tuesday saying, “I am deeply disappointed that President Obama defied congressional oversight and released $221 million to the Palestinian territories.” She added: “I worked to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars would fund the Palestinian Authority unless very strict conditions were met. While none of these funds will go to the Palestinian Authority because of those conditions, they will go to programs in the Palestinian territories that were still under review by Congress. The Obama Administration’s decision to release these funds was inappropriate.” The Obama administration had for some time been pressing for the release of the money, which comes from the US Agency for International Development and is to be used to fund humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, to support political and security reforms and to help prepare for good governance and the rule of law in a future Palestinian state, according to the notification sent to Congress http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-administration-to-review-221-m-payment-topalestinians-in-obamas-last-hours/ [this entire payment should be blocked period. Making payments to terrorist groups is treason. – rdb] Iraq’s al-Sadr threatens to ‘liberate’ Jerusalem if Trump moves embassy Powerful Shiite cleric joins chorus of Arab leaders warning of violent backlash if US transfers embassy from Tel Aviv By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 24, 2017, 6:33 pm NAJAF, Iraq — Moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be a declaration of war on Islam, influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Tuesday. “Transferring the US Embassy to Jerusalem would be a public and more-explicit-than-ever declaration of war against Islam,” he said in a statement. In a break with previous administrations, new US President Donald Trump has pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Sadr, a firebrand Shiite cleric whose militia once fought US occupation forces in Iraq, called for the “formation of a special division to liberate Jerusalem were the decision to be implemented.” Sadr said the Cairo-based Arab League as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the world’s main panIslamic body, should take a decisive stand on the issue or dissolve themselves. The Najaf-based cleric also called “for the immediate closure of the US Embassy in Iraq” should Washington go ahead with its promised embassy transfer in Israel. Sadr supporters protesting against the lack of services and widespread corruption in the Iraqi state stormed the socalled “Green Zone” in Baghdad twice last year. The protesters entered the parliament buildings and the prime minister’s office but did not attempt anything against the US Embassy there, which is Washington’s largest foreign mission. The United States works with Iraq on a range of issues, notably with military backing for the Iraqi offensive to retake large parts of the country seized by the Islamic State jihadist group. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/iraq-cleric-warns-usmoving-embassy-is-declaration-of-war-on-islam/ [The US should just pull everyone out of the ME areas and let ISIS take over everything and then Nuke the buzzards and solve the problem once and for all. ISIS would probably behead most of those dudes before the US ever got to the point of dealing with ISIS and that would simply be a total and complete bombing desolation much like Dresden or Hiroshima. They are petulant irrational temper tantrum throwing vile pagan nitwits that have done nothing but incite worldwide conflicts and terror. – rdb] Israel advises citizens in Egypt's Sinai to leave, cites attack risk ByREUTERS 24 January 2017 22:52 Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1978 and the eastern coast of the peninsula is a popular international tourist destination. Israel on Tuesday advised its citizens in Egypt's insurgency-hit Sinai peninsula to leave the region, warning of the threat of an imminent attack. Israeli holidaymakers are often warned of the risks they face in Sinai, which borders Israel, but the "Level 1" alert issued by the anti-terrorism directorate is its most severe warning. It described the threat as "very high and concrete." "The directorate warns of the possibility of attacks against tourist sites in the Sinai area in the immediate term," a statement said. An Islamist insurgency in the rugged, thinly populated Sinai has gained pace since the military toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest Islamist movement, in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule. Militants have launched a number of deadly cross-border attacks on Israel in the past few years and have occasionally fired rockets across the border into the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat. The anti-terrorism directorate said that while there was a "constant high threat" in Sinai, Jan. 25, the anniversary of the 2011 revolution in Egypt, was a day that had witnessed attacks in previous years. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1978 and the eastern coast of the peninsula is a popular international tourist destination. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-advises-citizens-in-Egypts-Sinai-to-leave-cites-attack-risk-479504 European group accuses Israel of ‘systematic unlawful killings’ in Gaza Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly adopts resolution slamming Israel for humanitarian crisis in blockaded Palestinian enclave By Times of Israel staff January 25, 2017, 3:57 am A European inter-governmental group has accused Israel of engaging in “apparently systematic unlawful killings” of Palestinian civilians in the buffer zone areas between the Gaza Strip and Israel over the past several years and of exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in the blockaded Palestinian enclave. The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly voted on Tuesday in favor of a resolution, based on an internal report on the humanitarian situation in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave, which charges Israel with “excessive and intentional force without justification against Palestinian civilians in the buffer zone, including against farmers, journalists, medical crews and peaceful protesters, runs blatantly counter to human rights principles and the international law-enforcement standards.” [When terrorists are invading your land you have a perfect right to hill them. That is called self defense. The EU has become so antiSemitic and stupid as to be beyond belief. May the Holy One bring his judgement upon their heads which he is about to do by using the terrorists that they have imported as his vehicle. – rdb] “Cases of the deliberate fatal shooting of individuals who posed no imminent danger to life amounts to an appalling pattern of apparently systematic unlawful killings,” read the report, which was composed by Eva-Lena Jansson, a Swedish politician from the Swedish Social Democratic Party, and presented to the assembly on January 4. [A terrorist is a combatant enemy. Have these folks ever heard of a war or a gorilla war? – rdb] The report cites a Palestinian NGO which is said to have “documented the killing of 136 Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli live fire in the buffer zone, including 20 children.” [That is a NONE source. – rdb] Israeli troops often clash with Palestinian protesters and rioters who hurl rocks at soldiers or cross into the buffer zone and try to cut or otherwise inflict damage on the security fence. There is no indication of “systematic killings” of Gazans in the buffer zone. The resolution, based on the report was passed Tuesday with a vote of 46 in favor, 12 against and two abstentions in the assembly during a session in Strasbourg, France. Representatives from Israel, Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavie and Kulanu MK Eli Alalouf, tried to delay the vote, according to a report in Ynet, but to no avail. The report accuses Israel of “a massive and exceptional escalation in…attacks and harassment of Palestinian fishermen, including use of live fire,” and charges that Gazan fishermen “are now reduced to severe poverty and unemployment as a direct result of Israel’s policies and practices against them.” The report also alleges that since the summer war of 2014, fought between Israel, Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups in and around the Gaza Strip, in which a “huge number of people [were] killed” and in which “the destruction of civil infrastructure…was enormous,” the situation in Gaza became so dire that “many people preferred to flee Gaza and join the masses of refugees going to Europe.” “It is estimated that over 12,620 houses were totally destroyed and 6,455 severely damaged. 17,650 families or about 100,000 persons were displaced,” the report said. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/european-group-accuses-israel-of-systematicunlawful-killings-in-gaza/ [Why were the houses destroyed and the people displaced? Because the Hamas faction of the “PA” had declared and started a war against Israel and was shelling into Israel daily. – rdb] US back in rally mode, lifting S&P, Nasdaq to records AFPJanuary 24, 2017 New York (AFP) - Wall Street investors were back in rally mode Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new records and lifting the dollar against the euro on renewed optimism about US President Donald Trump's policies. The buoyant spirt, which also lifted the Dow back to within striking distance of the 20,000-point milestone, came on a muted day for other leading markets. The London bourse was flat and the pound was pressured after a British court ruled that Britain's government must win parliament's approval before beginning formal Brexit negotiations. US stocks began quietly but picked up momentum as the day progressed. Trump met with leading US automakers and took action to advance two major pipeline projects that had been blocked by former president Barack Obama. Meanwhile, House speaker Paul Ryan signaled support for public works spending, telling reporters he wants an infrastructure package "as expansive as possible." The gains were more in line with the market's bullishness in the six weeks after election, in contrast to recent weeks when US stocks have stagnated. Analysts were generally wary of Trump's inauguration address, which emphasized an "America First" agenda and revived fears of trade protectionism, backed up by his first executive orders Monday. https://www.yahoo.com/news/dollar-ekesgains-asia-sharp-losses-025648627.html Brexit: Supreme Court says Parliament must give Article 50 go-ahead 9 hours agoFrom the section UK Politics Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process, the Supreme Court has ruled. The judgement means Theresa May cannot begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing - although this is expected to happen in time for the government's 31 March deadline. But the court ruled the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies did not need a say. Brexit Secretary David Davis promised a parliamentary bill "within days". Sources have told the BBC the bill - to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and get formal exit negotiations with the EU under way - will be introduced this Thursday, with an expectation that it could pass through the House of Commons in a fortnight. What the Supreme Court case was about During the Supreme Court hearing, campaigners argued that denying the UK Parliament a vote was undemocratic and a breach of long-standing constitutional principles. They said triggering Article 50 would mean overturning existing UK law, so MPs and peers should decide. MORE - http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38720320 [To me this is mindboggling. The public had a mandate vote which authorized the Brexit – the UK leaving the EU which should have nullified the previous decision to enter the EU. NOW the entire think hangs on the rather precarious decision of the Parliament which may try to overtune the previous vote by the people. MOST strange and sounds somewhat ‘manipulated’ to me. – rdb] Germany busts alleged far-right plot to attack Jews, refugees Police raid 12 homes linked to members of extremist ‘Reichsbürger’ movement, arrest 13 people, including several who bought weapons By AFP January 25, 2017, 1:30 pm BERLIN — German authorities on Wednesday carried out dawn raids against far-right suspects accused of plotting attacks on Jews, refugees and police, federal prosecutors said. Police swooped on 12 homes and other sites in six states “as part of a federal investigation on suspicion of forming a right-wing extremist organization,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Six suspects, “connected primarily via social media,” are accused of founding the group “and in early 2016 beginning plans for armed attacks against police officers as representatives of the state, asylum seekers and members of the Jewish community.” Another seven people are believed to have offered assistance to the group, including acquiring weapons. “The aim of today’s raids is to gather evidence of the formation of a group as well as suspected crimes and potential material for use in those crimes,” it said. “There is not as yet any evidence of specific attack plans.” Around 200 police officers took part in the coordinated raids. The prosecutor’s office in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe declined to provide further details. But news agency DPA said the group was believed to belong to the “Reichsbürger” (Citizens of the Reich) movement, a shadowy far-right outfit blamed for shooting dead one police officer and wounding three others during a raid in the southern town of Georgensgmünd in October. And in August, a member of the group — a former Mister Germany pageant winner — opened fire on police carrying out an eviction order at his house in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The 41-year-old gunman was seriously wounded and three officers suffered light injuries. The Reichsbürger group does not recognize the legitimacy of the German republic and believes in the continued existence of the German empire or “Reich.” As a result, many members refuse to pay taxes and fines owed to the state. Authorities believe the movement has several thousand members. A report Wednesday in Berlin’s daily Tagesspiegel newspaper, citing security sources, said that the number of far-right extremists in Germany believed to be violent had increased to 12,100 last year, up from 11,800 the previous year. http://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-busts-alleged-far-right-plot-to-attack-jews-refugees/ Anti-Semitism seen on the rise in Poland University of Warsaw researchers discover sharp spike in negative attitudes, acceptance of hate speech toward Jews By AFP January 25, 2017, 9:50 am WARSAW — Poland has seen a rise in anti-Semitism over the last two years, partly fueled by Europe’s migrant crisis, according to a study released on Tuesday. The University of Warsaw’s Center for Research on Prejudice found acceptance for anti-Semitic hate speech — especially among young Poles on the internet — rose from 2014 to 2016 compared to previous years. Their study was based on a sample of 1,000 adults and 700 youths. The number of surveyed Poles who declared positive attitudes towards Jews dropped from 28 percent in 2015 to 23% in 2016. Researchers attribute the increase to a spike in Islamophobia and anti-migrant sentiment triggered by Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War II. Many of the migrants were from conflict-ridden countries like Syria and Libya. Politicians in eastern EU states, notably Poland’s populist leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, were quick to raise the specter of Islamic State militants carrying out terror attacks once inside the bloc. Very few refugees or migrants arrived in Poland after Kaczynski’s governing Law and Justice (PiS) party refused them entry. Yet, the Warsaw University researchers concluded that “fear of Muslims that arose between 2014 and 2016 has increased negative feelings towards Jews among people regardless of their age or political affiliation.” MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-semitism-seen-on-the-rise-in-poland/ House votes to permanently ban taxpayer funds for abortion By Cristina Marcos - 01/24/17 04:56 PM EST The House passed legislation on Tuesday that would permanently codify existing law banning the use of federal funds for abortion services. Lawmakers approved the measure largely along party lines, with three Democrats joining Republicans in the 238-183 vote. The legislation, written by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), would also permanently prohibit the District of Columbia from using its local funds approved by Congress for abortion services. “That’s what we should be all about. Life affirming and the saving of human life,” said Smith. It does allow exceptions for cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life in danger. The three Democrats who voted for the legislation were Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Daniel Lipinski (Ill.) and Collin Peterson (Minn.). Passage came one day after President Trump issued an executive action prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion services or support abortion rights. It also falls three days before the annual March for Life to protest the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which had its 44th anniversary over the weekend. House Republicans have regularly scheduled votes on bills to restrict abortion over the last six years to coincide with the March for Life. But all of those bills have been met with a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. Former President Obama also opposed the passage of each measure. This time, however, Republicans have an ally in the White House who’s more inclined to sign legislation to limit abortions. Top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway is one of the featured speakers at this year’s March for Life. "As hundreds of thousands of Americans flock to Washington for the March for Life, we must never forget that defending all of our people — especially the defenseless — must be our top priority if we want to be a good and moral nation," House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement. Republicans argued that approving legislation to permanently ensure federal taxpayer dollars aren’t used for abortion services would be a more efficient way of codifying the existing law, which comprises a patchwork of provisions in government spending bills requiring regular renewal. The 1976 statute known as the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funds for covering abortions, has been included in annual appropriation bills. The District of Columbia’s delegate, Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, chastised Republicans for considering legislation to codify the Dornan Amendment that targets D.C. — especially since she doesn't get to vote on the bill. “It insults the District of Columbia,” Norton said. [TOO BAD! – rdb] Democrats noted that Republicans are taking steps to limit abortions after women's marches in Washington and across the country took place the day after the inauguration. “I think the last two days basically indicates why you had a millionplus women march on Saturday,” said Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.). http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/315944-house-votes-topermanently-ban-taxpayer-funds-for-abortion [I am totally pro –choice – You choose whether or not to have sex and once you make that decision the consequences of your action are no longer your choice. Because you made a poor choice doesn’t give you the right to kill another human being and the “products of conception” are a human being. I have during my medical training had the experience of attending an abortion or two and it was a child that was killed. – rdb] Why were protesters wearing hijabs? The dark, powerful, hidden force behind the Women's March on D.C. Published: 50 mins ago WASHINGTON – They gathered by the thousands to watch history on television. They cheered wildly when President Trump said in his inaugural address that the U.S. will eradicate radical Islamic terrorism from the face of the earth. The next day, they looked on in shock and horror at the violent protests in the streets. They were even more horrified when they saw American women wearing hijabs, Muslim headscarves worn as a sign of piety. But this wasn’t Kansas. It wasn’t even the Midwest. It was the Middle East. Cairo, Egypt. Home to tens of millions of devout Muslims. Cheri Berens saw it first hand. From her vantage point, “The entire coffee shop gasped in disbelief at the vision of American women donning the headscarf.” Berens is an American who has lived in Cairo for years working as a researcher for the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. She witnessed the violence that preceded the takeover of the country by the radical Muslim Brotherhood and the counterrevolution that removed it from power. Berens is author of “Cheri’s Memoir: An American Woman Living in Egypt” and is working on her next book, “The Cultural History of Egypt.” And, in an essay on her blog titled “Women’s March to Islam?” she chronicled how for everyday Egyptians watching on television, packed into “every coffee shop in Cairo that had a satellite dish,” the scenes in the streets of Washington, D.C., were disturbingly familiar. They recognized the same methods the Muslim Brotherhood used for decades to finally seize control in Egypt playing out in the American capital. “First we saw protesters smashing windows and torching cars,” wrote Berens. “Hushed murmuring began around me as every single Egyptian in the coffee shop could be heard saying the words: ‘Muslim Brotherhood.'” She observed: “The images we were watching could have been taken right from a street in Egypt. It is exactly what we had experienced on a daily basis for more than a year.” While the violence stunned the Egyptians, it was American women wearing hijabs that evoked agitation and even anger. “We have been fighting to remove the headscarf. Why are these the stupid women putting them on?” asked an Egyptian woman within earshot of Berens. Indeed, it is a question many have asked: Why would American women, and even the homosexual community, make common cause with those who would strip them of their rights and civil liberties? MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/whywere-protesters-wearing-hijabs/?cat_orig=politics [the lemmings marching to the sea as the Islamic pied piper backs the American feminist movement to rally against the man who would free them from the types of oppression that their backers are wanting to implement in the USA. Has the American distaff group gone nuts? Obiously yes. – rdb] NOTE: www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Spicer, the new sheriff, shakes up the White House press room. How refreshing By Tim Graham Published January 23, 2017 FoxNews.com At his first White House briefing, Trump press secretary Sean Spicer drew nervous tweets from the liberal media for calling on sources outside their comfort zone. He didn’t start with the usual alphabet: AP, ABC, CBS, NBC. He started with the New York Post, whose representative asked him when Trump would start building that wall he promised on the southern border. New York Times reporter Michael Grynbaum tweeted within minutes: “Priorities, Day 1: Spicer calls on NY Post, CBN, Univision, Fox News. So far top newspapers & broadcast networks shut out.” CNN media reporter Brian Stelter was wowed: “He's literally AND symbolically going over the heads of the reporters from the biggest newspapers and TV networks.” Spicer eventually came around to the front row. But this was a really refreshing start to the Trump press policy. When I was a White House correspondent for the Christian weekly news magazine World in 2001 and 2002, I knew that those of us back in Row 7 were going to be lucky to get a question in minute 44 of a 45-minute briefing. This is the order the major media expect, even in Republican administrations -- a caste system, where the "prestigious" press outlets hog the spotlight. Instead, Spicer popped all over the room, to the back rows, to the people standing on the sides, and then back to the elite media. This may not last, but it suggests a different approach. After the briefing, CNN’s Jake Tapper insisted he was “not griping,” but insisted normally, for “decades,” the Associated Press had the tradition of the first question. This would be the same AP that just quoted disgraced former CBS anchorman Dan Rather as Spicer’s chief critic. Tapper said “The Associated Press is an organization a lot of newspapers, news organizations use. It’s considered impartial, down the middle. He did not call on Associated Press first. He did call on them, but he didn’t call on them first, second, third, or fourth. He called on The New York Post – which is, I think it’s fair to say, Donald Trump’s favorite newspaper.” Using Tapper’s logic, would it then be odd for Obama to start with The New York Times, which might be Obama’s favorite newspaper? Especially when Tapper’s CNN colleague Jeff Zeleny – then with the Times – asked Obama at the end of his first 100 days what “enchanted” him as president. Minutes late, CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin questioned former Bush White House spokesman Ari Fleischer with smirking condescension: “Listen, I’m all for bucking tradition and calling on different people. But the fact that Sean chose the New York Post to get the very first question, care to comment on that?” Fleischer acknowledged he and his boss observed the liberal-media tradition, but Trump is “entitled” to make changes. “Nothing is sacrosanct. It’s not written in stone.” MORE - http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/23/spicer-new-sheriff-shakes-up-white-house-press-room-how-refreshing.html [Just love to watch the MSM honchos squirm. What a hoot. – rdb] Secret Service agent: I won't 'take bullet' for Trump Facebook posts condemn Republican's candidacy as 'disaster' for country Published: 2 hours ago Bob Unruh A U.S. Secret Service agent who is in a key managerial role when a president or vice president comes through the Denver region had posted on her social media during the 2016 presidential race that she would not “take a bullet” for the GOP candidate, and eventual winner, Donald Trump. “But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here,” she wrote. “Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her.” “I am with Her” was a slogan used by the failed Democrat, Hillary Clinton. In yet another post, the report said, she claimed the nation was moving its civil-rights issues “into a period of bigotry, misogyny and racism that this country has not tolerated for decades. Dark ages. I am horrified and dismayed beyond words.” The Hatch Act forbids federal officials, excluding the president and a few others, from engaging in some political activities. The comments came from Kerry O’Grady, the special agent in charge of the agency’s Denver region, according to a report in the Washington Examiner. MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/secret-service-agent-suggests-she-wouldnt-take-bullet-fortrump/?cat_orig=us [If the job description is that you will protect the president even with your life if necessary and this is her sentiment then she can’t fulfill the job and needs to resign or be terminated. – rdb] Nikki Haley secures Senate confirmation, officially becomes US Ambassador to the UN ByJoy Bernard 25 January 2017 02:49 The South Carolina Governor, who has expressed her explicit support of Israel in the past, was backed by a majority of 96 senators. The US Senate confirmed South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN, officially making Haley another member of the national security team US President Donald Trump is rounding up. In the vote that took place on Tuesday an evident majority of 96 senators backed Haley, with only four opposing her. Those in opposition were three Democratic senators (Tom Udall, Chris Coons and Martin Heinrich) and Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats. Explaining his opposition, Senator Chris Coons said that "the position of US ambassador to the United Nations requires a high level of expertise on international affairs, not someone who will be learning the job." In his statement Coons referred to Haley's lack of foreign policy experience, with others joining in his criticism of Trump' pick and noting that Haley has only ever held office in the US state. Haley was easily approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier on Tuesday, with only two of the committee's 21 members raising objection (Democratic senators Coons and Udall.) Haley is expected to be received with open arms not just by the US Senate, but also by the Israeli government and public, who are well aware of Haley's explicit and publicly expressed support of the State of Israel. At her Senate confirmation hearing she directed her criticism at the UN, slamming the world body for what she deemed a "mistreatment" of Israel, referring to Resolution 2334 the UN's Security Council passed in December 2016. The resolution, which called on Israel to halt its construction of settlement, evoked stunned and angered reactions from the Israeli government, particularly from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who turned an accusatory finger in the direction of then-President Barack Obama and his administration, who chose not to exercise their ability to veto the vote on the resolution. MORE -http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Nikki-Haley-secures-Senate-confirmation-to-become-next-USAmbassador-to-the-UN-479510 Commentaries: [Once again Prager wins the prize for putting it all in perspective. – rdb] America's Second Civil War By Dennis Prager Published Jan. 24, 2017 It is time for our society to acknowledge a sad truth: America is currently fighting its second Civil War. In fact, with the obvious and enormous exception of attitudes toward slavery, Americans are more divided morally, ideologically and politically today than they were during the Civil War. For that reason, just as the Great War came to be known as World War I once there was World War II, the Civil War will become known as the First Civil War when more Americans come to regard the current battle as the Second Civil War. This Second Civil War, fortunately, differs in another critically important way: It has thus far been largely nonviolent. But given increasing left-wing violence, such as riots, the taking over of college presidents' offices and the illegal occupation of state capitols, nonviolence is not guaranteed to be a permanent characteristic of the Second Civil War. There are those on both the left and right who call for American unity. But these calls are either naive or disingenuous. Unity was possible between the right and liberals, but not between the right and the left. Liberalism — which was anti-left, pro-American and deeply committed to the Judeo-Christian foundations of America; and which regarded the melting pot as the American ideal, fought for free speech for its opponents, regarded Western civilization as the greatest moral and artistic human achievement and viewed the celebration of racial identity as racism — is now affirmed almost exclusively on the right and among a handful of people who don't call themselves conservative. The left, however, is opposed to every one of those core principles of liberalism. Like the left in every other country, the left in America essentially sees America as a racist, xenophobic, colonialist, imperialist, warmongering, money-worshipping, moronically religious nation. Just as in Western Europe, the left in America seeks to erase America's Judeo-Christian foundations. The melting pot is regarded as nothing more than an anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic meme. The left suppresses free speech wherever possible for those who oppose it, labeling all non-left speech "hate speech." To cite only one example, if you think Shakespeare is the greatest playwright or Bach is the greatest composer, you are a proponent of dead white European males and therefore racist. Without any important value held in common, how can there be unity between left and non-left? Obviously, there cannot. There will be unity only when the left vanquishes the right or the right vanquishes the left. Using the First Civil War analogy, American unity was achieved only after the South was vanquished and slavery was abolished. How are those of us who oppose left-wing nihilism — there is no other word for an ideology that holds Western civilization and America's core values in contempt — supposed to unite with "educators" who instruct elementary school teachers to cease calling their students "boys" and "girls" because that implies gender identity? With English departments that don't require reading Shakespeare in order to receive a degree in English? With those who regard virtually every war America has fought as imperialist and immoral? With those who regard the free market as a form of oppression? With those who want the state to control as much of American life as possible? With those who repeatedly tell America and its black minority that the greatest problems afflicting black Americans are caused by white racism, "white privilege" and "systemic racism"? With those who think that the nuclear family ideal is inherently misogynistic and homophobic? With those who hold that Israel is the villain in the Middle East? With those who claim that the term "Islamic terrorist" is an expression of religious bigotry? The third significant difference between the First and Second Civil Wars is that in the Second Civil war, one side has been doing nearly all the fighting. That is how it has been able to take over schools — from elementary schools, to high schools, to universities — and indoctrinate America's young people; how it has taken over nearly all the news media; and how it has taken over entertainment media. The conservative side has lost on every one of these fronts because it has rarely fought back with anything near the ferocity with which the left fights. Name a Republican politician who has run against the left as opposed to running solely against his or her Democratic opponent. And nearly all American conservatives, people who are proud of America and affirm its basic tenets, readily send their children to schools that indoctrinate their children against everything the parents hold precious. A mere handful protest when their child's teacher ceases calling their son a boy or their daughter a girl, or makes "slave owner" the defining characteristic of the Founding Fathers. With the defeat of the left in the last presidential election, the defeat of the left in two-thirds of the gubernatorial elections and the defeat of the left in a majority of House and Senate elections, this is likely the last chance liberals, conservatives and the right have to defeat the American left. But it will not happen until these groups understand that we are fighting for the survival of America no less than the Union troops were in the First Civil War. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0117/prager012417.php3 Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Report: Trump to restrict immigration from some Muslim countries Trump expected to sign several orders restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, say sources. Ben Ariel, 25/01/17 03:05 U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Wednesday restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Details of the executive orders were disclosed to the news agency by several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter. In addition to Syria, Trump's orders are expected to temporarily restrict access to the United States for most refugees, according to Reuters. Another order will block visas from being issued to Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified. Trump's restrictions on refugees are likely to include a multi-month ban on admissions from all countries until the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security can increase the intensity of the vetting process. Trump is expected to sign the orders at the Washington headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include immigration and border security. During the election campaign, Trump caused an uproar when he called for a temporary ban on Muslim entry to the United States in order to prevent terrorism. The call was made in the wake of the December 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino, California, in which two terrorists who had been in contact with overseas terrorist organizations killed 14 people at an office Christmas party. Trump also promised during the campaign to institute “extreme vetting” of immigrants to protect the nation from radical Islamic terror. “We should only admit into this country those that share our values and respect our people. We will be tough, and we will be even extreme,” Trump said in a speech in August, three months before he was elected. Former President Barack Obama’s decision to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States was widely criticized, due to fears that those fleeing the country's civil war would carry out attacks. 24 states announced in late 2015 they would block the program to resettle Syrian migrants within their borders due to security concerns, leading to the introduction of a Republican-sponsored bill which would curb the flow of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States in order to prevent terrorists from slipping in. The bill passed the House with broad bipartisan support but was subsequently blocked by Senate Democrats. To block entry from the designated countries, Trump is likely to instruct the U.S. State Department to stop issuing visas to people from those nations, sources familiar with the visa process told Reuters. He could also instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop any current visa holders from those countries from entering the United States. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that the State and Homeland Security departments would work on the vetting process once Trump's nominee to head the State Department, Rex Tillerson, is installed. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223817 Bennett: Time to advance the Regulation Law Bennett calls on Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee chairman Slomiansky to approve Regulation Law, plans to push it foward. Uzi Baruch, 25/01/17 13:5 Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) told Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home) on Wednesday to pass the Regulation Law by the end of next week. Bennett's announcement comes just after Amona residents announced their intention to renew their battle against the upcoming eviction. Previously, they had come to an agreement with the government, but since the agreement was signed, the government has done none of what it had promised to do. In the meantime, the Supreme Court froze the government's outline for the "new" Amona. Amona Council Head Avichai Boaron said, "We have no choice but to renew our fight to prevent the destruction of Amona. "Today, 36 days have passed since the agreement was signed. In another 14 days, the government will destroy our homes. In violation of the agreement, nothing has been signed and no construction has begun. The agreement failed and the government has not kept its word." As soon as the Regulation Law has received the approval of the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, Bennett is expected to work to pass it in the Knesset. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) have continuously opposed the law, which they claim will harm Israel internationally. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223845 MK Yogev: 'They want to topple Netanyahu at any price' Acting chairman fears Protective Edge report used against Netanyahu who functioned well in op. "I was also in favor of limited operation". Benny Tucker, 25/01/17 10:52 Acting Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK and reserve Col. Moti Yogev said in anticipation of the auditor's report on Operation Protective Edge that he has a bad feeling that political elements are trying to take advantage of the report against the prime minister. "I did not read the classified report, which was seen by only two in the Knesset who are allowed to read it, and I can not relate to quotes from the newspapers, but according to what happened at the Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittee during that winter before Protective Edge, I can say that despite the criticism that I heard since the disengagement that no measures have been developed to deal with the tunnel threat - from January 2014 the Prime Minister dealt with this threat very seriously. Even during the operation we met with the Prime Minister frequently and my impression is that Protective Edge was executed properly. I have a feeling that there is a very wide swath of certain people, some openly, some behind the scenes, lying in wait for the prime minister and seeking to bring him down." Yogev thinks that Operation Protective Edge was meant to be a limited operation, "True, the operation took longer because the tunnel threat was exposed to be greater than we expected, there were dead and missing and that is the nature of war, but my feeling is that the war was run responsibly." He said Minister Naftali Bennet's criticism and cabinet disagreements are legitimate, "according to quotes Minister Naftali Bennett pushed that we must go into Gaza in a limited operation to destroy the tunnels up to a range of 2 kilometers, there were those who demanded to eliminate Hamas entirely. At that stage I was against this idea for reasons I will not not detail here. I was in favor of a limited operation when the goals were tunnels, and deterring and crushing Hamas. I understood even then from Naftali, and I think he was right in his claim, that it would be impossible to finish this battle without confronting and dealing with the tunnel threat and so it was. It's legitimate to have differences of opinion in the cabinet until in the end decisions are taken, and it could be that Naftali was right in his claim, I do not know because I was not there and did not hear the exchange between Naftali, the Defense Minister, and the Prime Minister. But the way things were run and presented to us in real time in the Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittee, everything was well-arranged with goals and all eventualities." MK Yogev added that he thought it would have been better to wait a few days until commencing with the operation, "even after the decision I thought we needed to give the forces four days. Today I may say that the years 2013 - 2014 were lean years for training because Yesh Atid and Yair Lapid as finance minister and Ofer Shelah demanded to cut the defense budget so there was no training and restocking, and today the situation is better. And so I was against entering an inclusive war for many reasons, among them because of the need to restore the military to training mode and war mode and not to introduce them immediately into combat as in the second Lebanon war, and this is an important lesson. So I wanted a delay to ready the forces to arrive more prepared and more victorious." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223838 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 01242017 NEWS AM Illegal Weapons Seized in Judea and Samaria in 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgguRDRfpEY "To many a man, and sometimes to a youth, there comes the opportunity to choose between honorable competence and tainted wealth. The young man who starts out to be poor and honorable,holds in his hand one of the strongest elements of success." -- Orison Swett Marden Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:33And the teachers of the people give understanding to many; and they have stumbled by sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil--days. 34And in their stumbling, they are helped--a little help, and joined to them have been many with flatteries. 35And some of the teachers do stumble for refining by them, and for purifying, and for making white--till the end of the time, for it is yet for a time appointed. 10 'Humiliating' Minutes At An Israeli Checkpoint By Stephen M. Flatow/JNS.org January 23, 2017 Remember John Howard Griffin's 1961 book "Black Like Me," about a white journalist who posed as an African-American in order to experience what life was like for blacks in the South? An American journalist recently undertook a Palestinian version of that experiment. Hearing complaints about Israeli checkpoints that supposedly restrict the movement of Arabs in Judea and Samaria, filmmaker Ami Horowitz of Fox News decided to see for himself. He hired a Palestinian driver and, traveling in a car with Palestinian license plates, they drove "throughout the West Bank." How often did Israeli troops interrupt their journey? "We were never stopped," Horowitz reported. Next he decided to see what it's like for Palestinians crossing at the checkpoints that separate Israel from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. One was the Kalandia checkpoint. It's the last defense line for Jerusalem--the final point at which Israeli soldiers can check to make sure that Palestinians are not smuggling bombs, guns or knives into Israel's capital. One would expect there to be long lines and complicated searches that would make the lives of Palestinian travelers difficult. But that wasn't the case at all. Horowitz asked three different Palestinians at the Kalandia checkpoint how long it takes them to get through on a typical day. All three said, "10 minutes." One, in fact, told Horowitz that the time "the soldier checks my ID or my work permit is just one minute." The allegation that Palestinians are unfairly restricted by the checkpoints is circulated regularly by the United Nations, much of the international news media and J Street types. It is an accusation that has been embraced even by the U.S. State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry, in his infamous Dec. 28 speech, declared that the Palestinians in the disputed territories "are restricted in their daily movements by a web of checkpoints and unable to travel into or out of the West Bank without a permit from the Israelis." Yet you could say the exact same thing about Americans. We are restricted by security checkpoints in every airport, every courthouse and countless office buildings throughout the country. We have to empty our pockets, take off our coats, turn our laptops on and off, sometimes remove our shoes, throw out our bottles of water, and submit to body scans and searches, among other things. And we can't travel across America's border without a permit--known as a passport--from the U.S. government. How many of those awful security checkpoints does the Israeli military actually maintain? Look at the website of the extreme left-wing group "B'Tselem," a leading critic of Israel. It states that the military "currently operates 27 permanent staffed checkpoints in the West Bank." Twenty-seven--in a region of more than 2,000 square miles. And 26 of the 27 are situated at the border between Israel and the disputed territories. What sovereign country does not have checkpoints at its border? According to B'Tselem, the Israeli military also operates 16 "temporarily manned checkpoints." They "are generally open for Palestinians to cross without being checked." Israeli security forces are present only "sometimes." I would say they hardly even qualify as "checkpoints." Every year, there are hundreds of attempts by Palestinians to smuggle weapons into Israel. The last year for which I could find that statistic was 2012, when there were 475 such smuggling attempts. So: a 10-minute delay for Palestinians versus 475 terrorist attacks against Israel. Is that a justified trade-off? You decide. Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTBwIGmyWaw [This is a 5 minute video and tells the entire story and how Kerry again needs to learn to do some investigation and get his facts straight instead of listening to the lies of the “PA”. – rdb] http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=952 US released $221 million to Palestinians in Obama’s last hours Officials say outgoing administration defied GOP opposition, sent funds to PA that had been blocked in Congress By Matthew Lee and Richard Lardner January 24, 2017, 12:39 am WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say the Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking. A State Department official and several congressional aides said the outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning. The official said former Secretary of State John Kerry had informed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday. The aides said written notification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office. In addition to the $221 million for the Palestinians, the Obama administration also told Congress on Friday it was going ahead with the release of another $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 million for climate change programs and $1.25 million for UN organizations, the congressional aides said. The aides and the State Department official weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. Congress had initially approved the Palestinian funding in budget years 2015 and 2016, but at least two GOP lawmakers — Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Kay Granger of Texas, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee — had placed holds on it over moves the Palestinian Authority had taken to seek membership in international organizations. Congressional holds are generally respected by the executive branch but are not legally binding after funds have been allocated. The Obama administration had for some time been pressing for the release of the money for the Palestinian Authority, which comes from the US Agency for International Development and is to be used for humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, to support political and security reforms as well as help prepare for good governance and the rule of law in a future Palestinian state, according to the notification sent to Congress. The $1.25 million for UN agencies is to be used as voluntary contributions to the UN Peacebuilding Fund; the UN Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse; the Montreal Protocol Secretariat, which oversees the protection of the ozone layer; the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and the UN System Staff College. [Perhaps congress should demand the funds back and if not returned begin sanctions against the groups. STRICT sanctions and block all activities with them. – rdb] The $4 million for climate programs includes assistance for clean energy, sustainable landscapes, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating a climate technology center. The last-minute allocation also contained $1.05 million in funding for the State Department’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan office and the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. The Palestinian funding is likely to draw anger from some in Congress as well as the Trump White House. Trump has vowed to be a strong supporter of Israel and has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington next month. He has also pledged to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, although White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday a final decision on that had yet to be made. Despite speculation in Israel that an announcement of the move is imminent, Spicer said the decision-making process is only in its very early stages. “If it was already a decision, then we wouldn’t be going through a process,” Spicer told reporters. http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-released-221-million-to-palestinians-in-obamas-last-hours/ [the Obamination is a vile lawless islamist who actually despises the USA and its constitution because he considers it as a colonialist and too wealthy. That is why he worked to destroy the economy and ship everything to lower income contries. – rdb] Jewish Home MK seeks to roll back 2005 settlement withdrawal Shuli Moalem-Refaeli to introduce bill aimed at repopulating northern West Bank settlements evacuated at time of Gaza disengagement By Stuart Winer January 23, 2017, 10:56 pm A lawmaker from the religious-nationalist Jewish Home party plans to introduce a bill aimed at paving the way to revive West Bank settlements that were demolished on the sidelines of the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Plan, despite calls from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not make provocative gestures while the government builds its ties with the new US administration. MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli said her proposed legislation would cancel a current law that prevents Israeli civilians from visiting the sites of former Jewish communities, all located in the northern West Bank, Channel 2 reported Monday. Moalem-Refaeli’s proposal comes amid overt optimism from supporters of the settlement enterprise following the election victory of US President Donald Trump, who is seen by many in the Israeli right-wing as being more supportive of Israel and less opposed to West Bank settlements than the previous Obama administration. Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the Jewish Home party he leads have called the entrance of Trump to the White House the “death knell” of the two-state solution and have recently been pushing a bill to annex the large West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, that lies just outside Jerusalem. In 2005, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon masterminded the unilateral evacuation of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and handing the area over to Palestinian rule, ending a 38-year Israeli military control of the territory. In addition to the eviction of thousands of settlers from the coastal enclave, hundreds of families were removed from Kadim, Ganim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur, four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank that Moalem-Refaeli wants to see rebuilt. The bill aims to cancel a prohibition on driving or hiking in the area of, or visiting the destroyed settlements, and notes that it is “an essential step towards reestablishing the settlements and the return of the settlers who were deported from there.” Unlike the Gaza Strip, from which the IDF pulled out entirely, the army remains deployed in many areas of the West Bank, including the sites of the former settlements. “The withdrawal was a political and security mistake, and even more of a mistake in northern Samaria where the IDF remains responsible for the territory and only the civilians were evacuated,” Moalem-Refaeli told the television station, using the biblical name for the northern West Bank region. “Therefore, my bill seeks to cancel the law and return the civilian life.” Coalition chair David Bitan supports the move as does the head of the Samaria Regional Council in the West Bank, Yossi Dagan, Channel 2 said. “Just as there was no justification to destroy the settlements, there is no justification to prevent Jews from being there,” added Moalem-Refaeli. Speaking to a meeting of his Likud faction on Monday Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s approach to Israel, but also indirectly took aim at his right-wing coalition partners for advancing the bid to annex Ma’ale Adumim, saying that “now is not the time for surprises.” “We are facing great and significant opportunities for the security and future of the State of Israel. But they demand responsibility and discretion so that we don’t squander either the time or the opportunity,” he said. “Now is not the time for knee-jerk reactions, not the time for dictates, and also not the time for surprises.” The cabinet on Sunday unanimously agreed to push off a vote on annexation of Ma’ale Adumim until after Netanyahu and Trump meet next month. Since the evacuation of the four settlements, there have been repeated attempts settlement advocates to visit the sites along with calls to rebuild the communities. In July 2015 security forces removed some 200 protesters from the site of Sa-Nur after they entered the ruins of the settlement to mark 10 years since its evacuation. Among those who took part in the reoccupation of the settlement were families who were evacuated in 2005 as well as rabbis, public figures, and MK Bezalel Smotrich from the Jewish Home party. http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-home-mk-seeks-to-roll-back-2005-settlement-withdrawal/ [Israel needs to annex all of the area of Judea/Samaria and exile the current “PA” leadership and tell those remaining that there is a new order and Israel is their government and to either abide by the law and have the rights of living in Israel or they will be moved to Iraq/Syria or Jordan. – rdb] France condemns new Jewish East Jerusalem homes Citing anti-settlement UNSC resolution, Paris says planned construction ‘constitutes a grave threat to the two-state solution’ By Times of Israel staff January 23, 2017, 10:32 pm France on Monday condemned the planned construction of 566 Jewish homes in Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, citing last month’s anti-settlement UN Security Council resolution. “Settlements constitute a grave threat to the two-state solution, to which the international community reiterated its commitment at the international conference in Paris on January 15,” said a French Foreign Ministry spokesman in a statement. “UN Security Council Resolution 2334 underscored the illegality of the settlements under international law and demanded an immediately and completely halt to such activity,” statement said. [That is a bunch of total garbage. A French court adjudication from Algemeiner “Following Paris Peace Summit, Largely Forgotten 2013 French Court Ruling That Israeli Settlements Are Legal Receives Renewed Attention” https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/19/following-paris-peace-summit-largely-forgotten-2013-french-court-ruling-that-israeli-settlementsare-legal-receives-renewed-attention/ which was ignored for some time indicates that that is not at all true. Perhaps the French should examine their own legal proceedings before making spurious statements. There are numerous articles on international law the decry that claim from the UN which doesn’t have the right to change existing rulings. – rdb] The homes were set to be approved for construction in December, but the measure was pulled from the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee’s agenda at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fearing further pressure from the Obama administration which did not veto the UN resolution. Jerusalem officials hope that US President Donald Trump will be more sympathetic to construction over the green line, though the new administration has not yet laid out any official policy. Israel approved the 566 homes — which are slated to be built in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramot, Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Ze’ev — on Sunday, two days after Trump’s inauguration. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/francecondemns-new-jewish-east-jerusalem-homes/ Using duct-taped gun, Palestinians shoot in the air at IDF checkpoint Soldiers nabs 2 suspected of breaking through barrier, firing shots; overnight, 5 suspected Hamas members arrested By Judah Ari Gross January 24, 2017, 1:20 pm Israeli troops arrested a pair of Palestinians who are suspected of firing a homemade gun into the air after breaking through a checkpoint in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, the army said. Earlier, a car burst through a checkpoint set up outside the Ofra settlement, northeast of Ramallah, while one of its occupants shot into the air. No one was injured, and no damage was caused, the army said. “An IDF force gave chase after the car and caught two suspects inside it, who were in possession of a makeshift weapon,” the army said. A picture of the gun, provided by the military, shows a slapdash device, apparently constructed from water pipes and held together with duct tape. The two were handed over to the Shin Bet security service for questioning. Overnight, IDF troops arrested eight Palestinian suspects across the West Bank, the army said. Five of them were suspected members of the Hamas terrorist group, picked up in Hebron, Tulkarem and the Jalazoun refugee camp. The rest are believed to have taken part in so-called “popular terrorism,” a catch-all term used by the military that generally refers to rock throwing or participating in violent protests. http://www.timesofisrael.com/using-duct-taped-gun-palestiniansshoot-in-the-air-at-idf-checkpoint/ Opposition MKs, Bennett urge release of damning Gaza war report Lapid, Herzog say state comptroller must make full assessment available for sake of families of soldiers who died By Marissa Newman January 23, 2017, 6:47 pm Education Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition lawmakers on Monday pressed the government to make public a damning state comptroller report that is said to fiercely criticize the high-level security cabinet’s conduct during the 2014 Gaza war with Hamas. A Knesset State Control subcommittee was expected to debate and vote on Tuesday on whether to release the report in full. According to Channel 2, the panel has a majority to unseal the report after Likud MK David Bitan, who is also coalition chair, announced he would support such a move. The revised draft of State Comptroller Yosef Shapira’s report is said to intensify its criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon while toning down its disapproval of the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces, according to leaks to Israeli media. Shapira’s report found that despite Netanyahu’s claims to the contrary, the prime minister and Ya’alon did not properly inform the high-level security cabinet of the extent of the tunnel threat, Channel 2 said in November. The cabinet was only notified of the dangers one week before the start of the war, after then-economy minister Naftali Bennett presented the ministers with the information and offered possible solutions to disarm the underground network, the report said, according to Channel 2. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that cabinet members were not apprised of the threats but two of his chief political rivals, Bennett and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, both of whom were cabinet members during the war, have repeatedly claimed that the cabinet was not properly updated on the issues. Both Lapid and Bennett on Monday urged lawmakers to release the full report. “We must not suppress the report on Protective Edge or use it to see heads roll,” but rather learn from it, said Bennett at the weekly Jewish Home faction meeting. “Only the disclosure of the non-confidential elements and learning its details will allow us to move forward,” said Bennett. “I was there; we have what to improve upon.” Yesh Atid leader Lapid said the government must make the report public for the sake of the bereaved Israeli families of soldiers killed in the 50-day conflict. “They need to release the report for the families of the fallen, they deserve to know what happened there. There’s no room for politics when you are talking about the security of soldiers and wellbeing of residents of Gaza-area communities,” he said. Lapid accused Netanyahu of attempting to bury the report for political reasons. “The Prime Minister’s Office fears this report, because serious failures emerge from it,” he said. “Because the report reveals that the account the public received [on the war] was not the true account.” Also joining the chorus was opposition leader Isaac Herzog. “The Israeli public, and especially families who lost loved ones, deserve to know how their leaders acted when they sent their sons into battle, and how discussions on new strategic threats, chief among them the tunnels, were carried out,” he said at the start of the weekly Zionist Union meeting. In an unusual move, Netanyahu requested an additional meeting with the state comptroller in October in order to present him with information that would show the cabinet was informed. But the leaks from the revised draft two months ago appeared to indicate that Shapira remained unconvinced by Netanyahu’s testimony. Channel 2 also reported in November that the latest version of the report softened its criticism of the Israel Defense Forces, as the army’s shortcomings are no longer described as “a grave failing.” A number of tunnels were used by Hamas fighters to infiltrate Israel and carry out deadly attacks on troops during the Gaza Strip conflict in the summer of 2014. During that campaign, dubbed in Israel “Operation Protective Edge,” Israeli forces discovered and destroyed at least 34 tunnels, many of them leading into Israeli territory. http://www.timesofisrael.com/opposition-mks-bennett-urge-release-of-damning-gaza-war-report/ Leaked wartime transcript exposes leaders bitterly divided over how to fight Gaza Quotes from highly secret 2014 security cabinet discussions show Bennett leading push for aggressive offensive as defense brass argues against provoking war, underestimates tunnel threat By Times of Israel staff January 24, 2017, 1:53 pm Leaked transcripts of discussions between senior Israeli officials during the 2014 war with Gaza published Tuesday paint a picture of a deeply fractious leadership, with ministers riven over whether to pursue an aggressive offensive or simply seek to contain Hamas before and during the bloody 50-day conflict. The rancorous transcripts, published by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, offer a near-unprecedented glimpse into the inner working of the secretive body, which is charged with overseeing wartime decision making. The publication, which may violate information security rules, comes as lawmakers are mulling the release of a state watchdog report that reportedly excoriates the cabinet over failing to properly prepare for and counter threats from terror group Hamas during the war. In the excerpts, which begin in the lead-up to the war, then-economy minister Naftali Bennett, from the hawkish Jewish Home party, is seen leading a camp pushing for immediate and heavy action against Gaza, despite the possible high human costs. “Be galloping horses, not lazy bulls,” Bennett chides the IDF chief of staff at one point, pushing for a plan to destroy a network of tunnels used by Hamas to attack Israeli soldiers both in the Strip and in Israel. Others, led in the cabinet discussions by then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, but including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-finance minister Yair Lapid, insisted on a more restrained response, even as Israeli cities were bombarded by rockets from Gaza and IDF soldiers were dying in bitter gun battles in Gaza. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/leaked-wartime-transcript-exposes-leaders-bitterly-divided-over-how-to-fight-gaza/ Cops said to be probing two more cases against Netanyahu Case 3000 may concern submarine deal, TV report says, no details in Case 4000; police to question PM this week for third time By Times of Israel staff January 23, 2017, 11:05 pm Police are reportedly looking into two more possible criminal probes against beleaguered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Channel 10 reported Monday, but provided few details of the new suspicions. The reports of the two fresh probes come with Netanyahu already deeply mired in two graft investigations. The first, dubbed Case 1000, revolves around hundreds of thousands of shekels worth of gifts Netanyahu is supposed to have received. The second, Case 2000, is investigating a supposed secret deal with Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes. The two new cases have naturally been dubbed Case 3000 and Case 4000, Channel 10 said, citing police sources. Netanyahu, is set to be questioned by police for a third time later this week. The TV report offered a “cautious estimation” that case 3000 deals with the submarine affair, in which Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron is suspected of having a possible conflict of interest in representing German shipbuilder Thyssenkrup while it was selling Israel naval vessels. Channel 10 said it’s possible police have new evidence in the submarine affair. The deals for patrol boats and submarines came under intense scrutiny after it emerged that Shimron also served in an advisory capacity for ThyssenKrupp, the German shipbuilder awarded the contracts for building Israel’s submarines and naval attack boats, In December, officers from the Lahav 433 police anti-corruption unit entered the office of legal adviser Ahaz Ben-Ari at the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv and removed information from computers there. The data concerned the cancellation of an international tender to build four new warships to protect Israel’s offshore natural gas rigs in the Mediterranean Sea. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/cops-probing-two-more-cases-against-netanyahu-report/ [Bibi is in rather hot water at this time and he may not be able to squirm out of this one. He and his family have lived a rather high life for some time and the question of ‘pay for play’ has been there on several occasions. When you couple that with a wife who has been antagonistic and from what has been reported very demanding in many areas with an elitist attitude and add to that a potentially very negative report on the conduct of the Gaza event he may not be able to hold on to his power. You must always keep in mind that Bibi IS a politician and all you have to do is look around the USA and see the problems that being a politician can get you in. Corruption and pay backs are most tempting. – rdb] Giuliani: Trump likes Netanyahu ‘very much’ Ahead of Israel visit, former NY mayor says US president and Israeli PM enjoy a very ‘important’ friendship By JTA January 23, 2017, 11:15 pm Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he will bring a message from US President Donald Trump to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits Israel this week. Appearing Monday morning on “Fox and Friends,” Giuliani was asked whether he will be relaying a message to Netanyahu from Trump during a business trip starting that evening. “If I do, it’ll be from him,” Giuliani said. “But I can give the general message, which is ‘I like you very much and we’re very good friends.’ “They were friends even before. This is not a new relationship, but now obviously it’s a much more important one.” Giuliani is traveling to Israel for his law firm, Greenberg Trauring, and while there will meet with Netanyahu — something he said he does every time he visits Israel, since the two men have been friends for 25 years. Last month, the Trump administration named Guiliani an unofficial adviser on cybersecurity. Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone for about a half hour on Sunday, and Trump told reporters that the call was “very nice.” A readout of the call from the White House said that Trump “emphasized the importance the United States places on our close military, intelligence, and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between our countries.” The readout added that Trump and Netanyahu “agreed to continue to closely consult on a range of regional issues, including addressing the threats posed by Iran,” and that Trump “affirmed his unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security and stressed that countering ISIL and other radical Islamic terrorist groups will be a priority for his Administration.” Trump also “emphasized that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties, and that the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal,” according to the readout. On Monday, Netanyahu told his Likud faction during a meeting that the call with Trump was “very warm” and that they would meet in Washington in February. “After eight years in which I withstood enormous pressure on various issues, primarily Iran and the settlements, I certainly welcome the change of approach,” Netanyahu said at the meeting. http://www.timesofisrael.com/giuliani-trump-likes-netanyahu-very-much/ PM: We want Arab citizens to integrate into Israeli society Netanyahu’s call comes amid widespread Arab protests against the government, home demolitions By Times of Israel staff January 23, 2017, 9:23 pm Amid protest and widespread condemnation of his government’s policies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassure the Arab community in Israel that he wants it to be a full part of Israeli society. “Most Arab citizens of Israel want to integrate into Israeli society,” he posted on Facebook on Monday. “I also want this and therefore my government is investing tremendous resources to achieve this goal.” His Facebook post came as hundreds of Arab protesters gathered outside the Knesset, demonstrating against a series of home demolitions in the Arab community and the death of a schoolteacher in disputed circumstances last week. Arab leaders have accused Netanyahu of deliberately stepping up demolitions in Arab communities in an attempt to deflect anger ahead of the expected demolition of the illegal West Bank settlement of Amona. [The step up in demolitions is not to deflect from Amona but to finally see to it that the laws of the land are adhered to and carried out. What is good for one group is good for all. You can’t destroy a village for being ‘illegal’ when there are multiple other areas with illegal construction. Everyone is to be treated with equality under the law. – rdb] The demonstration, including convoys from the north and south of the country, was part of a series of protests called by Israel’s Arab leadership, including the Joint (Arab) List faction and the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel. One of the main demands of Monday’s protesters was that police release the body of Abu Al-Qia’an, a schoolteacher from the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev, who was killed by police after his vehicle slammed into a group of policeman guarding the demolitions. The High Court later ordered his body released. The protesters also called for Public Security Minister Gilad Edran to step down, accusing him of inciting against the Arab public, after he lent his voice to the police claim that Al-Qia’an was motivated by radical Islamist ideology — a claim the police have yet to prove. Netanyahu has been accused in the past of using fear of the Arabs to stir up his right-wing base, most famously in the 2015 elections, when he urged people to get out and vote because “Arabs are going to the ballot boxes in droves, they are being bused in by left-wing NGOs.” The comments immediately drew fire, with Netanyahu’s opponents saying he was inciting to racism against Israeli citizens exercising their democratic right to vote. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-we-want-arab-citizens-to-integrate-intoisraeli-society/ Fatah official: Palestinian leadership should downgrade US ties if embassy moved ByAdam Rasgon 23 January 2017 18:29 The Palestinian Authority and the US have held a close relationship since the establishment of the PA in the early 1990s, to which the US has sent hundreds of millions of dollars. The Palestinian leadership should downgrade its diplomatic ties with the United States if the American embassy is relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a top Fatah official said on Monday. “If that [the relocation of the embassy] takes place, the Palestinian side would have to sever its ties with the official staff of the illegal US Embassy in Jerusalem. In addition to that, there is the issue of the Palestinian political representative’s office in Washington; it would also be necessary to close [it],” Nasser al-Kidwa, a Fatah central committee member, told Al-Quds, a Palestinian daily newspaper, clarifying that the relocation the of the US Embassy would leave the Palestinians with “no other choice.” The Palestinian leadership and the US have had a close relationship since the establishment of the PA in the early 1990s, to which the US has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. Kidwa, who is considered a contender to succeed PA President Mahmoud Abbas, added that the Palestinian leadership should also declare, in the event that US President Donald Trump follows through with his campaign promise to move the embassy, that the US is no longer a broker in the Middle East peace process and turn to the UN. “It would be necessary for the Palestinian side to make clear that it no longer officially considers the United States an interlocutor and that it cannot cooperate with it directly or through the Quartet,” Kidwa stated, adding that it would also be imperative “to go to the Security Council to raise a complaint against the United States of America.” In every round of bilateral negotiations, including the most recent talks mediated by former secretary of state John Kerry, the US has been the primary peace broker between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams. The Palestinian leadership launched a campaign two weeks ago to mobilize the international community against the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Abbas sent a letter to Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and many other world leaders, warning that moving the embassy would have “destructive” consequences for the region’s stability and the two-state solution. Abbas also met with King Abdullah in Jordan on Sunday to discuss the possible relocation of the American embassy. According to Wafa, the official PA news site, Abbas said that he and Abdullah agreed to take a series of coordinated steps if the US relocates its embassy, without elaborating on what they would be. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-IsraeliConflict/Fatah-official-to-Pal-leadership-Downgrade-US-ties-if-embassy-is-moved-479352 [That would be wonderful for a NONentity usurper to stop pretending being a state with relations. We simply would never recognize its existence and then assist Israel in removing the ‘false leadership’ from Israeli sovereign territory. – rdb] Trump calls Egypt’s el-Sissi, offers support White House spokesman says president committed to providing military assistance to Cairo, expanding bilateral ties By Agencies January 24, 2017, 2:46 am WASHINGTON — Egypt’s presidency said Monday that US President Donald Trump spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who expressed hope for a “new push” in bilateral relations under Trump’s administration. The statement said that the newly-inaugurated Trump called el-Sissi on Monday and “expressed his appreciation for the difficulties Egypt bears in its war against terrorism.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump was committed to providing military assistance to Egypt. “The president committed to continuing military assistance to Egypt and working with Egypt to ensure that assistance most effectively supports the Egyptian military’s fight against terrorism,” Spicer said. Trump “underscored the United States remains committed to the bilateral relationship, which helped both countries overcome challenges in the region for decades,” he said. Washington’s annual $1.3 billion in military aid was briefly suspended under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama in 2013, following the ouster of then-president Mohamed Morsi, but was fully reinstated in 2015. Ties have nonetheless been fraught amid disagreements over a rights crackdown and Egypt’s support for renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar. Spicer said “the two leaders discussed a visit to the United States in the future,” and stressed counterterror cooperation. Trump and el-Sissi have already shown a certain bond. Trump said there was “good chemistry” when they met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-calls-egypts-el-sissi-offers-support/ Top Hamas leader in Gaza visits Egypt in first trip since 2013 Ismail Haniyeh arrived Sunday for meetings with security officials in sign of thaw in Cairo’s relations with terror group By Agencies January 23, 2017, 7:07 pm CAIRO — The top Hamas official from the Gaza Strip has arrived in Egypt for meetings with security officials, the highest-level visit by a member of the Palestinian terrorist group since Egypt’s army overthrew an Islamist president in 2013. Ismail Haniyeh arrived late Sunday, Egyptian security officials said, as Hamas officials confirmed the visit. Hamas, an Islamic terrorist group with historic links to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, enjoyed warm relations with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a top Brotherhood figure who was overthrown by the military in 2013 after a divisive year in power. The Egyptian government tightened an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza shortly thereafter, but in recent months there have been signs of a thaw in relations. For most of the past decade, Egypt has been a quiet partner with Israel in a blockade on Hamasruled Gaza, stifling the economy and largely blocking its 2 million people from moving in and out of the territory. Israel maintains the blockade to prevent Hamas, which is openly committed to destroying Israel, from importing weapons. But after a three-year crackdown, signs are emerging that Egypt is easing the pressure in a step to repair its shattered ties with the group. In recent months, Cairo has increased the number of people allowed to exit through the Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world. It also has begun to allow Gaza to import commercial goods through Rafah for the first time since 2013, and sent public signals that it is interested in improving relations. Haniyeh left Gaza in September to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca — the first time Egypt allowed him to leave the territory since Morsi’s ouster. He then went to Qatar to see Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal and discuss issues including the group’s upcoming elections. Mashaal is slated to step down from his position this spring, and Haniya is considered a strong candidate to replace him. Mashaal’s deputy Moussa Abu Marzouk is the other main candidate. http://www.timesofisrael.com/top-hamas-leaderin-gaza-visits-egypt-in-first-trip-since-2013/ Iran Caught Importing Missile Technology BY: Adam Kredo January 23, 2017 1:15 pm Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that they seized a shipment of missile system components bound for Iran, according to official statements that could put the Islamic Republic in violation of international bans on such behavior. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, or DPSU, announced late last week that it had seized at least 17 boxes filled with missile components bound for Iran, according to IHS Jane’s. “The DPSU said that, during an inspection of the aircraft on 19 January, its personnel had found 17 boxes with no accompanying documents, which the aircraft’s crew said contained an aircraft repair kit,” according to the report. “Three boxes contained components that were believed to be for a Fagot anti-tank guided missile system, the rest contained aircraft parts.” Days after this finding, the DPSU said that it had confirmed the missile components were destined for Iran’s Fagot system. Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser and expert on rogue regimes, said that Iran has been illicitly moving such weapons for quite some time. “This isn’t the first time Iran has gotten caught red handed smuggling weapons with false manifests, for example, in 2010 in Nigeria,” Rubin said. “The question is how often does Iran get away with such smuggling and for what purpose? After all, if the weaponry is legal, there’s no reason for lying. If it’s not, Iran is violating international agreements. Either way, only fools and secretaries of state would trust Iran to uphold its agreements.” http://freebeacon.com/national-security/irancaught-importing-missile-technology/ ISIS reveal first deadly 'reaper' drone bomber that mimics US military craft in sick propaganda footage The clip taken in the Iraqi city of Mosul shows the jihadis using the weapon against US-backed forces for the first time BySam AdamsScott Campbell 20:17, 23 JAN 2017 Updated01:58, 24 JAN 2017 Islamic State has revealed its chilling new bomb-dropping drone - copied off the US alternative - in a sick propaganda ‘trailer’ released online. The clip taken in the Iraqi city of Mosul shows the jihadis using the weapon against US-backed forces for the first time. Ground troops can be seen fighting against ISIS in the video with other scenes including a suicide operation and the drone dropping two bombs on troops. The weapon appears to be based on the deadly MQ-9 ‘predator’ aircraft which is used by the American military and manufactured by California-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. MORE -http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/worldnews/isis-reveals-first-deadly-reaper-9679862 Israeli who fought ISIS charged with murder in foreign country 22-year-old Israeli who fought the terrorist group abroad was charged for murder in a country with which Israel has no diplomatic relations; details began emerging from a case uncovered two months ago. Itamar Eichner|Published: 24.01.17 , 13:08 Details emerged from a top secret case involving a 22-year-old Israeli who had been fighting abroad against ISIS before being arrested in June 2015 and charged with murder in a country with which Israel has no diplomatic relations, it was cleared for publication Tuesday morning. The case was exposed approximately 2 months ago by MK Ayoob Kara, who then served as a deputy minister, and was immediately barred from public consumption by the Military Censor. In recent days, a settlement was reached between the parties involved according to which the young man is soon to be released. The Israeli man's family has been ordered to pay the victim's family a sum of of $120,000. The young man's father is currently attempting to collect the money. The incident occurred when the Israeli was away from battle and an errant driver discovered that he was Israeli and attempted to kill him. The Israeli, who was armed, shot him in self defense and killed him before being arrested and charged with murder, leading to concerns that if indicted, he would be sentenced to death. The case was kept under wraps until November 2016, when Deputy Minister Kara published a post on Facebook revealing the details. Kara wrote: "After much deliberation, the Deputy Minister of Regional Cooperation, MK Ayoob Kara, revealed he has been in touch with Ilan Hassin, the 21-year-old Jewish Israeli's father, named Adam Hassin, who has been incarcerated since 6 June 2015 and will soon be indicted". Furthermore, Kara uploaded a picture of himself with the father and a video clip in which he recounts the Israeli's story. The Military Censor has prohibited the post, even though it had already been shared on WhatsApp. Security officials even accused Kara of being irresponsible and causing damage. MORE - http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L4912028,00.html [Being Israeli or Jewish in an Islamic country is not a ‘healthy issue’. The hate and behavior of these people and the result of the governmental bias is just appalling. That is one place where the US needs to exert diplomatic and economic pressure on its ‘so called’ allies. – rdb] NOTE: www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Women’s March Organizer Recently Met Ex-Hamas Operative, Has Family Ties To Terror Group Chuck Ross http://dailycaller.com/author/chuck-ross/ 12:37 PM 01/21/2017 Linda Sarsour, one of the organizers behind Saturday’s Women’s March, being held in Washington, D.C., was recently spotted at a large Muslim convention in Chicago posing for pictures with an accused financier for Hamas, the terrorist group. Sarsour, the head of the Arab American Association of New York and an Obama White House “Champion of Change,” was speaking at last month’s 15th annual convention of the Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America. While there, she posed for a picture with Salah Sarsour, a member of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and former Hamas operative who was jailed in Israel in the 1990s because of his alleged work for the terrorist group. Salah Sarsour, who is also a board member of American Muslims for Palestine, served as a bodyguard of sorts at the convention for Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar, the daughter of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (RELATED: Ex-Hamas Financier Spotted At Muslim Convention In Chicago With Turkish President’s Daughter) While it is unclear if Salah and Linda are related (though they share the same surname, she has suggested in the past on social media that they are not and did not respond to requests for comment), she has other family ties to alleged Hamas operatives. Though she avoids discussing it now, Sarsour has acknowledged in past interviews that she has cousins serving prison time in Israel because of their work for Hamas. Sarsour has denied having any contact with the terror group. She told The New York Times in 2012 that she would not have been appointed an Obama “Champion of Change” if she had. [Taqiyah again and again and again. Lies upon lies. – rdb] The activist has risen to national attention recently. She served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and she is one of four lead organizers for the Women’s March. The event is expected to attract 500,000 people and will feature several high-profile progressive speakers. But it has been heavily criticized for excluding pro-life women’s groups. MORE - http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/21/womens-marchorganizer-recently-met-ex-hamas-operative-has-family-ties-to-terror-group/ [The reality of much of this Democratic –Soros inspired and probably funded – movement is that it has strong roots in the Islamic movement to persist in their attempt to undermine the USA and islamitize the country. The women marching were tools of islamists. So why didn’t they demand that they have on a Burqa or Hijab? That might have changed their willingness to march against someone who is trying to offer them freedom. – rdb] Commentaries: Iran Trains Children for War by Majid Rafizadeh January 23, 2017 at 4:30 am Iran is using new methods of recruiting and training children through its paramilitary militia group, Basij, one of the five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The children, as young as eight years old, are trained to hate the US and Israel and to attack their enemies in the West, as well as to oppose Western values. One of Iran's tactics has been to air promotional video clips on its state media outlets to seduce children. One of the most recent jihadist promotional clips is titled, "Martyrs who defend the sacred shrine." The translation of the video clip, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), goes: "Let us rise up to save the sacred shrine. I have joined [Imam] Hossein's army division. ... I have a warrant from the [Imam Ali] to defend the sacred shrine. On my leader [Ali Khamenei's] orders I am ready to give my life. The goal is not just to free Iraq and Syria; My path is through the sacred shrine [in Syria], but my goal is to reach Jerusalem. ... I do not regret parting from my country; In this just path I am wearing my martyrdom shroud. ... From Mashhad [north-east Iran], I will walk on foot to Damascus. I am like the bird who flocks to the sacred shrine." The training and teachings inspire hatred in these young children, through rampant anti-Americanism and antiSemitism, and focus on damaging the national security of the Unites States ("the Great Satan") and Israel ("the Little Satan"). At Mashad's theme park, "City of Games for Revolutionary Children," children are trained to engage in wars against the US and Israel. They fire bullets through US and Israeli flags or at effigies such as that of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israel National News: "After registering, children don military uniforms and split up into groups of 8-10. They are accompanied by a 'commander' whom they pledge to obey. They then go through 12 activity stations, which include simulations of the Iran-Iraq war, a 'Revolution chamber,' defending various holy shrines, and traversing a minefield with barbed wire. Along the way, they are told about the directives of the Imam (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini and Supreme Leader Khamenei." The "commander" teaches the children about Islamist values. The Middle East Research Media Research Institute (MEMRI) quotes Hamid Sadeghi, director of Iran's Child and the Future Cultural Center (which runs the theme park): "One of [our] cultural experts guides the children at the City of Games. First they are brought into the stations of the Ghadir [Shi'ite holiday honoring Imam 'Ali's succession to the Prophet Muhammad] and of the Lovers of Ahl Al-Bayt [the family of the Prophet Muhammad descended from 'Ali], and [the guide] explains to them about the Mahdi [the Shi'ite messiah]. Then they reach the station of the Rule of the Jurisprudent [Velayat-e Faqih], and then the station of the Revolution, where the guide explains about the Islamic Revolution ...An explanation is also provided about the directives of the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini and [Supreme] Leader Khamenei." The training includes teachings about religious holy wars. Sadeghi, pointed out: "At the City of Games, we are trying to convey to the children messages about fighting, the Holy Defense and current global issues, through games, amusements, and group activities." Iran is not only seducing children, but has actually repeatedly used children in wars, for example, assigning them tasks such as clearing minefields. Iran's actions are a direct violation of international humanitarian law that is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court. According to the United Nations: "Human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian law – treaty and custom – and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court. Parties to conflict that recruit and use children are listed by the Secretary-General in the annexes of his annual report on children and armed conflict." Several Iranian institutions play a crucial role in this matter: the Office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Ministry of Intelligence (Etela'at), and the militia group Basij. Finally, these institutions that recruit children for war, in violation of the international humanitarian law, are the main beneficiaries of the sanctions relief and billions of dollars being poured into the Islamic republic as a result of the nuclear deal. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9801/iran-child-soldiers [This shouldn’t be surprising because Hamas and Fatah in the “PA” have been doing this for years. This is the basis of terrorist, Train up children to hate and fight. That is the way of life. So who is it that wants to keep saying isalm is a peaceful religion. –rdb] Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA 'Imagine an Israel without checkpoints from Jenin to Jerusalem' Bennett calls for a 'Marshall Plan' for Judea and Samaria, including a 'free tourism zone' between Israel and Palestinian Authority. Yoni Kempinski, 24/01/17 12:2 Speaking at a strategic affairs conference on Tuesday, Education Minister Naftali Bennett presented his vision for the future of Judea and Samaria, advocating partial annexation of the area, along with expanded autonomy for the Palestinian Authority and massive investment over the Green Line. Bennett addressed a gathering organized by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an independent think tank at Tel Aviv University, slamming the two-state solution while presenting details for an alternative arrangement. ”First point,” said Bennett, “a Palestine exists,” referring to the Hamas regime in Gaza. “Granted, it's a terror state. It terrorizes its own population and attacks Israeli schools and hospitals using rockets and attack tunnels.” “This leads to the second point: Apply Israeli law in Area C, the Israeli controlled areas." "We will not annex the land, because one can only annex something foreign. This is the Land of Israel, to which Jews have been connected for thousands of years. It is where 450,000 Israelis live.” Area C, which is under full Israeli control, constitutes roughly 60% of Judea and Samaria. All Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are located in Area C, while only 4-5% of Palestinian Arabs live there. The remaining 95% live in Area A, under autonomous Palestinian Authority control and in Area B, also under PA control except for security because of its geographic proximity to Israeli communities. The three areas were designated in the Oslo Accords. ”There are also some 80,000 Arabs living in Area C. They'll be offered Israeli citizenship or residency; it'll be up to them.” In addition to annexing most of Judea and Samaria, Bennett reiterated his support for expanded autonomy for the Palestinian Authority in those areas not annexed by Israel. ”My third point: Autonomy on steroids in Areas A and B, the Palestinian controlled areas. The rest of Judea and Samaria, will be a Palestinian Autonomy. The PA will change: from Palestinian Authority, to Palestinian Autonomy. It will be less than a state.” ”A state manages its taxes, postal service and hospitals. It holds elections, has a flag and provides education. The Palestinian Autonomy will do this, and more, but it will not be a state. “There are two things it won't do: Firstly, it will not allow millions of descendants of Palestinian immigrants to enter. They would end up marching towards Haifa and Tel Aviv. Second, the PA will never have an army. ”So the Palestinians will not have a state, but they will have a strong autonomy.” Beyond strengthening the Palestinian Authority, Bennett advocated what he dubbed a “Marshall Plan for Judea and Samaria” referring to the successful United States post WWII plan, named for then US Secretary of State George Marshall, for rebuilding Western Europe's economy. “Developing Judea and Samaria will improve the lives of everyone living there. It will reduce violence and build coexistence,” Bennett said, calling to “drastically increase the amount of entry points from the P.A. to Israel, and the number of work permits for Palestinians.” Bennett also called for major infrastructure upgrades in the area, including the revamping of Route 60, the primary north-south road in Judea and Samaria. He also advocated creating a “free tourism zone” which would permit travel from Judea and Samaria into pre-1967 Israel without security checkpoints. “Turn Route 60 into an actual highway. Build a Palestinian land port in Jenin. Establish a free tourism zone. Imagine Christian pilgrims traveling from Nazareth to Nablus. From there they would go to Jerusalem and Bethlehem – without stopping at checkpoints. Imagine the jobs a revamped tourism industry would create. These actions and others would give everyone a better life http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223774 Maaleh Adumim rabbi: Apply sovereignty to all Judea and Samaria Rabbi Mordechai Nagari of Maaleh Adumim says it would be wrong to confer sovereignty on Maaleh Adumim and not on all of Judea and Samaria. Benny Toker, 24/01/17 11:45 The rabbi of Maaleh Adumim, Rabbi Mordechai Nagari, said to Arutz Sheva that Israel should apply its sovereignty to all of the communities in Judea and Samaria and not just to Maaleh Adumim. "It's not the Torah's approach to say 'I have rescued myself.' What about all the other communities in Judea and Samaria? Don't they deserve construction laws and labor laws? Today it is possible to fire a pregnant woman in Judea and Samaria because we are second-class citizens." Israeli law does not allow firing a pregnant woman and mandates allowing her return after the paid months of postbirth vacation for 45 days before she can be fired. The IDF Civil Administration does not impose Israeli law in Judea and Samaria, leading to these inequities as well as those regarding land ownership. Taxes and IDF service are the same for Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Rav Nagari added that demolition orders for Amona and for the nine houses in Ofra would have been prevented if these houses had been under Israeli sovereignty. "If Amona and Ofra had been under Israeli sovereignty a while back we could have reached a compensation agreement without any demolition as is accepted in the State of Israel and there would be no need for regulation." "The Torah says that one should not distinguish between one Jew and another Jew and we should apply sovereignty to all of Judea and Samaria," concluded Nagari. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223768 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 01232017 NEWS AM Dr. Einat Wilf on the Uniting Power of Zionism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id0g8umHaaE "Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society." —James Madison (1787) Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy That the world would WAKE Time for a worldwide repentance! U P. Please remember these folks in prayer- ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world Check often – they Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. change Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act WAKE UP Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:30And ships of Chittim have come in against him, and he hath been pained, and hath turned back, and hath been insolent toward the holy covenant, and hath wrought, and turned back, and he understandeth concerning those forsaking the holy covenant. 31And strong ones out of him stand up, and have polluted the sanctuary, the stronghold, and have turned aside the continual sacrifice , and appointed the desolating abomination. 32And those acting wickedly against the covenant, he defileth by flatteries; and the people knowing their God are strong, and have wrought. In call with Netanyahu, Trump vows to ‘closely consult’ on tackling Iran threat, help Israel make peace White House account of first conversation between two leaders underlines contrast with Obama, references Islamic terror, promises ‘unprecedented commitment’ to Israel’s security By Times of Israel staff January 23, 2017, 12:36 am In his first phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening, new US President Donald Trump pledged close consultation in “addressing the threats posed by Iran,” unprecedented support for Israel’s security, and a determination to help Israel achieve peace with the Palestinians. Trump also invited Netanyahu to the White House “in early February.” The White House account of the call made no mention of plans by Trump to move the US embassy to Jerusalem; shortly earlier, Trump’s spokesman had said the administration was “at the beginning stages of even discussing” the controversial move. The Trump-Netanyahu conversation marked what some Israeli officials hope will be the start of reset in ties with the US after years of strained relations with the Obama administration. The language used in the White House’s account of the conversation underlined the shift. The two leaders discussed ways to “advance and strengthen the US-Israel special relationship” and to boost security and stability in the region, the White House said. Trump stressed “the importance the United States places on our close military, intelligence and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between our countries.” The two agreed to “closely consult on a range of regional issues, including addressing the threats posed by Iran,” the White House said. The pledge of close consultation, and the active reference to addressing the Iranian threat, contrasted sharply with President Barack Obama’s friction-filled dealings with Netanyahu on the Iran issue; the nuclear deal the last president negotiated with Iran in 2015 was bitterly attacked by the Israeli prime minister. Trump also “affirmed his unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security” and stressed that he was making a priority of countering Islamic State and “other radical Islamic terrorist groups” — again, language highlighting the shift from Obama, who steered clear of references to Islamist terror. Finally, the new president stressed that Israeli-Palestinian peace “can only be negotiated directly between the two parties, and that the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal.” Here, too, the language was clearly intended to show a distinction from the previous administration, which on December 23, 2016 abstained in a UN Security Council Resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal and branded East Jerusalem occupied territory. Obama’s failure to veto the resolution was castigated by Netanyahu as a shameful “ambush.” According to Netanyahu’s office, the conversation with Trump was “very warm,” and the two leaders discussed the Iran deal, the peace process, and “other issues.” “The prime minister expressed his desire to work closely with President Trump to forge a common vision to advance peace and security in the region, with no daylight between the United States and Israel,” the Israeli statement said. A final date for Netanyahu’s visit will be set in the coming days, the statement said. In Washington, Trump told reporters his phone conversation Sunday evening with Netanyahu “was very nice.” Pressed by reporters after a swearing-in ceremony for his top aides, Trump refused to discuss the contents of the conversation between the two leaders, according to Reuters. Earlier, Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting there was plenty for the two leaders to discuss. “There are many issues between us, including the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria and the Iranian threat,” he said. On Saturday night, Netanyahu released a video addressed to the Iranian people in which he vowed that aggression by Tehran would top his list of priorities during his first contacts with Trump. “I plan to speak soon with President Trump about how to counter the threat of the Iranian regime, which calls for Israel’s destruction,” Netanyahu said in the video, speaking in English with Persian subtitles. Netanyahu had also been expected to discuss Trump’s campaign pledge to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Less than an hour before the phone call, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer released a statement that the administration was “at the very beginning stages of even discussing” the embassy move. Though the statement seemed to counter reports that the controversial move would be announced in the coming days, it was hailed by some in Israel as a sign that the US was on its way to full recognition of Jerusalem as the country’s capital. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu convinced his cabinet to delay voting on a controversial bill to extend Israeli authority to the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim until after he had met with Trump. Netanyahu told his ministers that he didn’t want to blindside the US administration with any unilateral action. At the swearing-in ceremony for his top advisers, Trump spoke briefly, but did not mention his conversation with Netanyahu minutes earlier. Instead, he spoke of his conversations with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, in which he offered his condolences for the casualties of the severe weather there and offered help. Trump also told those assembled that he would shortly be meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-call-with-netanyahutrump-vows-to-closely-consult-on-iran-says-us-will-help-israel-make-peace/ Netanyahu promises unrestricted construction in East Jerusalem PM tells ministers he will remove all obstacles to building in capital, will soon announce extensive construction in settlement blocs By Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 8:55 pm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the high-level security cabinet Sunday he will soon announce expanded construction in the settlement blocs and ease all building restrictions in East Jerusalem. The prime minister said he will remove any political obstacles from regional and local planning committees in order to ease construction in East Jerusalem, according to Hebrew media reports. He added that wide-scale building will soon be green-lighted in the settlement blocs as well. The prime minister also told ministers that his “vision” is that all of the settlements in the West Bank will ultimately come under Israeli sovereignty in any accommodation, Channel 2 news reported. Netanyahu’s declaration on Sunday convinced ministers from the settlement-backing Jewish Home party to postpone a cabinet vote on a bill to annex a West Bank settlement on the outskirts of Jerusalem for at least a month, according to the Haaretz newspaper. The controversial bill, presented by Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, would extend Israeli sovereignty to Ma’ale Adumim. Instead, the cabinet voted unanimously not to approve the proposed legislation until after an expected meeting between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump next month. Netanyahu told the ministers the Trump administration asked him to avoid any “surprise” unilateral measures, according to the Walla news website. “I support Israeli sovereignty over Ma’ale Adumim,” the prime minister is quoted as saying. “There is no question about Ma’ale Adumim, and in any future accord it will be under Israeli sovereignty. But right now, at the request of the US administration, we were asked not to surprise them but to formulate a joint policy.” MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-promises-unrestricted-construction-in-east-jerusalem/ Police inching toward indictment against Netanyahu — reports Expensive gifts from Israeli billionaire Milchan to PM and his wife could lead to charges, TV reports claim; ‘police have a lot more material,’ legal source quoted saying By Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 10:26 pm Police are increasingly moving toward recommending an indictment against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of breach of trust over expensive gifts he allegedly received from businessmen, Israeli television reported Sunday. According to the reports, by both Channel 2 and Channel 10, investigators are considering an indictment in one of two corruption probes into the prime minister. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. The relationship between Netanyahu, his wife, and billionaire Israeli film producer Arnon Milchan forms the core of a police investigation — known as “Case 1000” — into whether the Netanyahus received improper gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels. A second investigation, known as “Case 2000,” is looking into suspicions Netanyahu negotiated with Israel’s topselling newspaper publisher to push legislation to hamper a competitor, in return for more favorable coverage. Quoting a senior state legal source, Channel 2 reported of the case involving Milchan that “what’s been exposed so far is only some of the material. There’s a lot more that the police have regarding gifts — how often they were made and how valuable they were.” Earlier on Sunday, Israel Police chief Roni Alsheich said the probes were close to completion. “We already know what conclusions we have reached in the investigation,” Alscheich told reporters, without elaborating. “I believe we will bring the material to the prosecutor for a decision in the next few weeks,” he said. Sources close to Milchan on Sunday also responded to accusations by a lawmaker from Netanyahu’s Likud party who had accused the billionaire of leaking details of the gifts in order to bring down the prime minister. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/police-inching-toward-indictment-against-netanyahu-reports/ IDF radios stolen from base over summer Radios and encryption equipment were stolen over the summer from a battalion commander's office in the Golan Heights, IDF now relays; as the equipment was stored according to orders, the officer was not sanctioned. Yoav Zitun|Published: 22.01.17 , 20:15 Ynet has discovered that the IDF's Criminal Investigations Division (CID) recently concluded a covert investigation attempting to solve the case of several classified communications devices that were stolen from a battalion commander's office in the Golan Heights. This case joins four similar occurrences over the past year that the IDF elected to make public. The latest, the theft of classified documents and an encrypted mobile phone from a colonel's car, was reported on Sunday morning. The case in the Golan Heights took place last summer but was not made public at the time. The thief or thieves stole five communication devices and encryption equipment used by troops in operations and during training from the private office of an Armored Corps lieutenant colonel. He reported the theft at the time to his commanders and to the CID. IDF communications device are considered controlled military equipment, on par with weapons and ammunition. If their loss is due to negligence, the soldier responsible is likely to be imprisoned for the slip. The CID collected evidence from soldiers on the base and investigated. No disciplinary or criminal sanctions were taken against the officers who had been responsible for the equipment, as it had been stored according to IDF protocol. The Military Advocate General's final decision on the matter is expected any day now. The stolen equipment was never recovered. About a month ago, IDF Manpower Directorate Chief Hagai Topolanski resigned after his laptop was stolen from his home. Two months before that another colonel was suspended from the Air Force after his military encrypted laptop was stolen from his home. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4911199,00.html IDF issues new social media guidelines The Israeli Army publishes new guidelines on how to interact with others on social media; the guide comes after a recent report uncovered that Gazan terrorist group lures soldiers by using fake women's profiles before infecting their phones with spyware. The Media Line|Published: 22.01.17 , 20:24 “This is how Hamas takes over your cellphone,” trumpets a video from the Israeli army video in large Hebrew letters, to a background of scary music. The video then cuts to an interview with an Israeli soldier with his face blacked out, who describes a Facebook message he recently received from someone he believed was a young Israeli woman. “She sent me a message on Facebook. We spoke a lot over a few days. She said she was a prison guard, and I told her I was in the army,” he said. “Then she asked me to download this chat app so that we could talk more. I downloaded it, but it did not work. I tried to reach her again on Facebook, but she didn’t answer.” The soldier then described how the app was actually a spy tactic from the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, which collects information about soldiers and their locations even when their phones are switched off. The video, along with a new radio campaign telling soldiers to report any Facebook friend requests from someone they don’t know comes after the army said that Hamas infiltrated “dozens” of Facebook accounts of Israeli combat soldiers. “The idea is to educate and make soldiers aware as a first line of defense to explain the threat of what Hamas is trying to do and how they’re using the soldiers,” IDF Captain Libby Weiss told The Media Line. “The idea is not to tell soldiers 'Don’t use social media,' but to teach them to be more savvy and aware of how terror organizations use social media to our detriment.” Weiss said that the army does not believe the hacking caused significant damage as it was caught before it became widespread. She said one female soldier saw her profile picture being used in a fake account in Facebook, and alerted the army. The fact that phones now have GPS makes them even more dangerous. Israeli media reported soldiers using their phones to order pizza, giving terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon information on their locations. Israeli analysts said that social media has the potential to cause significant intelligence damage, and that terror organizations see social media as a good way to get information, as it is almost impossible to wipe out completely. “It is a Sisyphean war,” Yossi Kupperwasser, a former senior military intelligence officer told The Media Line. “You close a window and they come through the door. We must always be on alert to the next trick they are going to use.” Social media has been used in the past, as well. In 2001, Palestinian gunmen killed 16-year-old Israeli Ofir Rahum after a Palestinian woman lured him to the area. A Palestinian woman, Mona Jaud Awana, spent weeks gaining Rahum’s confidence, by masquerading as a Jewish immigrant from Morocco named Sally. The use of Facebook, WhatsApp and other applications is widespread throughout Israel. As most 18-year-old Jewish Israelis are drafted, it is almost impossible to stop their use entirely within a militarycontext. “You are sending information to the enemy, without feeling it and without knowing it,” the Israeli soldier in the video warns. “At that moment, you are serving the enemy more than your own country.” http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L4911185,00.html New IDF orders to thwart soldier abductions replace misunderstood protocol Three new military procedures, allowing massive use of force, came into effect this month to replace controversial Hannibal directive By Judah Ari Gross January 23, 2017, 12:24 pm The Israel Defense Forces has replaced its controversial Hannibal Protocol, a military order that grants troops broad permission to do whatever is necessary to prevent the abduction of a fellow soldier, with three new directives, beginning on January 1. A copy of the new orders provided to The Times of Israel clarifies what actions are permitted to prevent an abduction. Since the start of 2017, the army has been reviewing the new orders with its soldiers. The Hannibal Protocol, which could be used in any setting, has been replaced by three distinct orders, depending upon the circumstances of the abduction: in the West Bank during peacetime, elsewhere beyond Israel’s borders during peacetime, or in any location during a war or other emergency situation. No new order exists that deals with a soldier being abducted within Israel during peacetime. The directive for a West Bank abduction is known as “True Test”; the directive for a abduction elsewhere outside Israel is called “Tourniquet”; and the directive for abductions during wartime is, in Hebrew, “Shomer Nafsho,” which connotes caution and the saving of lives. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit would not confirm the existence of the new directives, saying it “cannot elaborate on operational plans.” But news of the protocol change was first reported by Army Radio on Monday morning. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-idf-directives-allow-massive-force-to-prevent-soldiers-kidnapping/ [I would hope they would not make it any more difficult for the soldiers to defend themselves. . – rdb] Gigawatt Global breaks ground on its second East African solar field BySharon Udasin 23 January 2017 02:18 “By adding additional electricity onto the grid now, it does allow for economic stimulation to happen.” Two years after launching East Africa’s first commercial solar field in Rwanda, the American-Israeli-led team at Gigawatt Global has broken ground on their second such venture in the region, in the rolling hills of Mubuga, Burundi The 7.5-megawatt field, located about 100 km. outside the Burundian capital of Bujumbura, will add 15% to the country’s electricity generation capacity, according to the company. Gigawatt Global executives kicked off the $14 million project’s construction at a ceremony in Burundi last week, attended by about 2,500 local and international government officials, investors, religious leaders and diplomats. “Empowering economic and social development is at the heart of our green energy business,” said Michael Fichtenberg, vice president for finance and business development of Gigawatt Global. “This high-impact development investment supported by leading international financial institutions signals that Burundi is open for development and business,” he added. Gigawatt Global is an American- owned Dutch firm focusing on frontier solar and social development enterprise. One of the company’s operational teams is based in Jerusalem. Gigawatt is perhaps best known for inaugurating East Africa’s first utility-scale solar installation, adjacent to Rwanda’s Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, in February 2015. The Rwandan project was the first to be grid-connected within the United States Power Africa Initiative, a program launched by former president Barack Obama in 2013, in which Gigawatt Global is a founding member. “Gigawatt Global is expecting to deploy $2 billion in renewable energy projects in Africa as partners of the White House Power Africa initiative in the coming years, as renewables are taking the lead in power generation in Africa and emerging markets,” said American-Israeli solar entrepreneur Yosef Abramowitz, Gigawatt Global’s cofounder and president. “We are targeting sub-Sahara Africa as a high-impact and high-growth market, with a portfolio of small, medium and large power projects in the highest priority development areas,” he continued. For Abramowitz, the Burundi venture will be his 12th solar field around the world, including those in Rwanda, the US state of Georgia and an unnamed Arab country, as well as eight fields in Israel. The future Burundian solar field constitutes the largest private international investment in the country’s power sector in nearly 30 years, with the power slated to be sold for 25 years to REGIDESO, the national electric company, according to the Gigawatt. The construction and grid interconnection of the project is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2017. “We are very excited at the groundbreaking of the Gigawatt Burundi solar field,” Burundian Energy and Mines Minister Come Manirakiza said in a statement following the event. “After their success in Rwanda, Gigawatt Global has proven it can be relied on to deliver efficient, clean renewable energy at reasonable cost, contributing greatly to our economy and society.” In addition to the solar field itself, the company will be building a 12-km. transmission line in order to funnel the electricity produced by the field to the national grid, Fichtenberg, Gigawatt’s project leader, told The Jerusalem Post. The company has received exclusive advocacy from the US Department of Commerce, due to the fact that the firm is considering including American solar panels in the field’s construction, he said. MORE - http://www.jpost.com/Business-andInnovation/Gigawatt-Global-breaks-ground-on-its-second-East-African-solar-field-479298 [Constantly working in outreach programs to improves the lot of those in less fortunate countries has been the history of Israel from its onset. – rdb] Reports: Ex-chief rabbi to be jailed for 3.5 years Under plea bargain, Yona Metzger would confess to slew of corruption charges in exchange for reduced prison sentence By Times of Israel staff January 23, 2017, 12:41 am Former chief rabbi Yona Metzger is reportedly to be jailed for three and a half years in a plea bargain about to be signed. Metzger reached a plea agreement with state prosecutors over a slew of corruption and bribery charges involving some NIS 10 million ($2.6 million), Channel 2 reported Sunday. Metzger will plead guilty to fraud, theft, conspiracy, breach of trust, money laundering, tax offenses and accepting bribes. In addition to serving jail time, the state will foreclose on an apartment in Metzger’s name in central Tel Aviv. The plea deal was offered after months of negotiations between Metzger’s attorneys and senior officials in the State Attorney’s Office, the report said. In March of last year, Metzger’s trial began at the Jerusalem District Court, with Metger facing charges of accepting some NIS 10 million in bribes through various nonprofit groups, and keeping about NIS 7 million ($1.8 million) for himself. Metzger stepped down as chief rabbi on July 24, 2013 due to the pending fraud investigation, just before the end of his 10-year term in office. In 2014, the Israel Police’s National Fraud Unit, also known by its internal police moniker Lahav 433, opened a months-long investigation into alleged scams linked to Metzger involving millions of shekels of funds purportedly siphoned into his accounts. The case was then handed to the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office, which examined it before passing it on to then-attorney general Yehuda Weinstein, who brought the charges against Metzger. Police said Metzger had stashed about $200,000 with his sister in Haifa, and a search of his home turned up NIS 40,000 (over $11,300 at the time) in cash hidden in various books. At the time, Metzger contended that the money in Haifa came from an inheritance, but the investigation found this claim to be untrue. According to the indictment, various nonprofit organizations connected with the rabbi during his term in office received millions of shekels in donations, some of which Metzger allegedly took for his personal use. In addition to profiting from donations to charitable causes, he was also accused of taking bribes meant to sway his opinion on matters he attended to as chief rabbi. Israel has two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi, or of European Jewish heritage, and one Sephardi, hailing from Jewish communities of the Muslim world. Their responsibilities include running the rabbinical courts and regulating the kosher food supervision industry. Metzger was voted into the prestigious position in 2003 with the support of the senior ultraOrthodox rabbinical authorities at the time. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/reports-ex-chief-rabbi-to-be-jailed-for-3-5years/ [Kind of reminds you of some of the US religious leaders in the past. The bigger they are the harder they fall. – rdb] Palestinian gets life, plus 30 years, for 2015 killing of Israeli Hamas member Abdallah As’hak convicted for West Bank drive-by shooting that killed Malachy Rosenfeld, injured 3 others By Stuart Winer and Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 6:20 pm The Ofer military court on Sunday sentenced a Palestinian man to life in prison and an additional 30 years for the killing of a Jewish man in a 2015 West Bank drive-by shooting. Abdallah As’hak, of the West Bank village of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, was also ordered to pay a NIS 325,000 ($85,000) fine for the terror attack in which Malachy Rosenfeld was murdered on June 29, 2015. Rosenfeld, 25, was killed, and three others were wounded when Hamas terrorists opened fire on their car near the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel, north of Ramallah, as they returned home from a basketball game. As’hak was found guilty of killing Rosenfeld, and the attempted killing of each of the three other Israelis injured in the shooting attack. His specific role in the fatal terror attack was not immediately clear. In July 2015, security forces detained four members of a seven-strong Hamas cell behind the attack, the Shin Bet general security service said at the time. Two others were being held by the Palestinian Authority and the ringleader was said to be in Jordan. The cell also carried out an attack on an ambulance close to the settlement of Beit El on June 27, 2015 in which no one was wounded. They had also attempted to carry out a separate attack on June 6. A month later, As’hak and another West Bank Palestinian, Faiz Ahmed, were indicted for the slaying. The Shin Bet said at the time that the seventh man, Ahmad Najjar, who orchestrated and funded the shooting attack from Jordan, was among the prisoners released by Israel for captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. He has not been apprehended. MORE -http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-getslife-plus-30-years-for-2015-killing-of-israeli/ [NOTHING good can ever come of exchanging terrorist prisoners for captives. It is a bad policy. – rdb] Abbas meets Jordanian king on possible US embassy move Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh heads to Cairo for talks as he drums up support to lead terror group’s political bureau By Avi Issacharoff January 22, 2017, 8:45 pm Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Sunday with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss the repercussions should the United States move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, while a top official from the rival Hamas organization prepared to meet with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday. The two meetings come amid warming ties between Egypt and Hamas, the terror organization and de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, which borders Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The official Wafa Palestinian news agency reported Abbas and the king discussed US President Donald Trump’s declared intention to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which the Palestinians have condemned and Amman has called a “red line.” The two leaders, who have met before, also discussed steps needed to revive the peace process with Israel. The meeting was held in Hussein palace. The get-together came ahead of a gathering of the Arab League in Amman in March. After the meeting, Abbas said that the two sides agreed upon “a series of steps we’ll take if the US moves the embassy to Jerusalem,” without elaborating. Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was considered the leading candidate to become chairman of the Hamas political bureau, and was scheduled to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials on Monday, Palestinian sources told the Times of Israel. Haniyeh’s visit to Egypt is unusual and came after he spent four months abroad. For most of that period, Haniyeh was in Qatar although he also visited various Arab states, including Saudi Arabia. Haniyeh’s visit to Cairo comes in the shadow of strained tensions between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, in part because of Cairo’s cozying up to Hamas. Egypt has recently opened the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, even allowing goods into the Palestinian enclave from Sinai. Among other things, Egypt has permitted the import of materials that are used by the Hamas military wing to build tunnels and to manufacture various weapons. In the past, the tunnels have been used to build a defense network inside Gaza for use against any Israeli incursions, for smuggling between Gaza and Sinai, and to launch deadly terror attacks inside Israel by burrowing under the Israeli-Gaza border fence. The meetings with Haniyeh are expected to strengthen his position in Hamas, which for the past month has been engaged in preparations for elections to the chairmanship of the political bureau. Haniyeh’s main rival in the contest is Moussa Abu Marzouk. His Majesty King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas #Jordan pic.twitter.com/PjcJfxwulV — RHC (@RHCJO) January 22, 2017 http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-meets-jordanian-king-on-possible-us-embassy-move/ [It will be most interesting to see what Abdullah and Abbas think they will do if Trump moves the Embassy to Jerusalem. Jordan depends heavily on US financing and support as does Egypt. If they decide to start another intifada it could significantly impact their bottom line and literally destroy both of their power bases because you could simply shut off the faucet to them until they comply with your wishes. If they were to attack Israel in a more substantial way they could be bombed off the face of the earth which would probably be too bad at this time because they are a bit more stable than the rest of the ME (thank you Obamination and The Hill). Abdullah and al Sisi both are in most tenuous situations because Jordan is like most ME countries and essentially a tribal coalition of radicals. – rdb] Many Arrested Inauguration Day Protesters Will Face Felony Rioting Charges, Prosecutors Say January 21, 2017 7:34 PM WASHINGTON (CBSNEWS/AP) – Most of the approximately 230 protesters arrested on Inauguration Day will be charged with felony rioting, federal prosecutors said. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The office said most of those arrested will be released without having to post bail and must return to court in February. A first group of 10 men appeared in Superior Court just before 3 p.m., and their lawyer entered a not guilty plea on their behalf. A judge released all of them on the condition they not get re-arrested in the District of Columbia. Interim D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said Friday that 217 people were being charged with rioting. The arrests took place in a four-block stretch of downtown Washington around the time of President Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. The arrests came after some protesters created chaos. Windows of downtown businesses were smashed, and police deployed pepper spray and “sting balls” against the crowd. MORE -http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/01/21/many-inauguration-dayprotesters-will-face-felony-rioting-charges-prosecutors-say/ [Those that destroyed property should get time in jail. I would suggest that the $2500.00 many were paid by the Soros group wouldn’t be worth it if you have to pay 100 X’s that amount in fines and do jail time which hopefully will be their fate. – rdb] Trump vows to cherish ‘beautiful letter’ left by Obama Traditional missive was ‘very nice of him,’ president says, teasing, ‘we won’t even tell the press what’s in that letter’ By AFP January 23, 2017, 12:58 am WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump made an emotional mention Sunday of a “beautiful letter” that he said Barack Obama had left for him in the White House. “I just went to the Oval Office and found this beautiful letter from President Obama,” he said at a swearing-in ceremony for several top administration appointees. “It was really very nice of him to do that and we will cherish that,” he said, holding up a white envelope before tucking it back in his jacket pocket. “We will keep that. And we won’t even tell the press what’s in that letter.” It has long been part of American tradition for an outgoing president to leave a letter for his successor on the desk of the Oval Office. The letter left in 1993 by Republican president George H.W. Bush for Democrat Bill Clinton — the man who deprived him of a second term — was considered particularly elegant. “Your success now is our country’s success,” it read. “I am rooting hard for you. Good luck.” Bush warned Clinton that “there will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair.” But the elder Bush added that even entering the Oval Office on his last day as president, “I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago.” http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-vows-to-cherish-beautiful-letter-left-by-obama/ Deception employed' to build new Islamic Center Misleading mosque plan may be part of nationwide pattern Published: 5 hours ago Garth Kant WASHINGTON – Concerned residents in a small Northern Virginia community have dug up misleading information in the application by a local Islamic center for a permit that would have cleared the way to build a mosque, and it may be an example of a pattern of deception practiced around the country. The information includes: An apparent attempt to mislead residents on the use of facility An apparent attempt to mislead residents on the size of the facility And an apparent attempt hide the identity of the owner of the property where the facility would be located On April 5, 2016, by a vote of 4 to 3, the Culpeper County, Virginia, board of supervisors denied an application by the Islamic Center of Culpeper for a “pump and haul” permit on a piece of land where it wants to build a mosque, because such septic systems in the mostly rural area are supposed to be temporary and for emergency use only. Then, on Dec. 12, 2016, the Justice Department sued the county under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, for denying the permit. The DOJ claimed the board denied the permit because of religious reasons and public pressure, citing the fact the county had issued 26 such permits since 1992 and denied only one of the last 19. However, in 2002 the Virginia Department of Health found that particular site unsuitable for a septic tank or the alternative, a drain field. Additionally, the supervisors never mentioned religion as a reason for denying the permit. Supervisor Gary Deal told the local paper, the Daily Progress, he didn’t have a discriminatory bone in his body and that the Islamic Center request did not meet the hardship requirement, saying: “Any hardship would be self-inflicted. I can’t support it.” Supervisor Jack Frazier told the paper that if the site had been a private residence with a failing septic system he would have supported a pump-and-haul permit, but he also found there was no such hardship. Supervisor Bill Chase said, “I’m dead set against this – not because of religion, but because of use.” Applicant Mohammad Nawabe said,”It looks like discrimination to me,” and he blamed the mentality of “small country people. Since the DOJ filed suit, concerned residents have dug up some apparently misleading information in the case made by the Islamic Center. Nawabe had told the board that up to 15 people would attend the meetings at the envisioned mosque. Fellow Islamic Center member Nabeel Babar said the congregation was “really small and like a family, and it’s still like that.” The original application from the Islamic Center of Culpeper stated the proposed use for the site would be “for praying and meeting once a week.” However, the gofundme page of the Islamic Center of Culpeper, VA, or ICC, details much bigger plans for the site. The page says: “The ICC Board of Directors has planned to purchase its own property to build a proper Islamic Center in the Town of Culpeper. We plan to have a full-fledged Masjid (mosque), Weekend Islamic School and Youth Center, insha’Allah.” So, there appears to be a rather large discrepancy between the applicants’ claims and the claims on the Islamic Center’s website over the size of the facility and its use. A “full-fledged mosque” certainly appears to be something exceeding the needs of a 15 members gathering for a weekly prayer session. And a mosque, Weekend Islamic School and Youth Center would certainly seem to provide more than just a place to pray. The applicants also appeared to mislead the board over just how big the facility might become, as the Islamic Center website calls itself “a small but rapidly growing community.” There’s another apparent discrepancy in the deed and a question about just how ownership of the property changed hands. Five days after the haul-and-pump permit application was denied, on April 19, 2016, the sale of the property was initially recorded in the Culpeper Times for $15,000 to Iglesia Pentecostal Cristo Viene INC. Judging by state records and its Facebook page, Iglesia Pentecostal Cristo Viene appears to be a Spanish-language Pentecostal church in Culpeper. A Deed of Correction was submitted on June 22, 2016, “correcting” the name of the owner and changing it to the Islamic Center of Culpeper. However, the Virginia law for correcting deeds states: “Correction deeds can help to clarify the manner in which title to the property is held by the same, initially named grantee, but they cannot be used to change the grantee or to add or omit a grantee.” It appears the Deed of Correction was used precisely to change the name on the deed, an apparent violation of the law. Concerned residents of Culpeper told WND they suspect the name was changed after the sale was announced to hide the true identity of the owner, the Islamic Center. MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/deception-employed-to-build-new-islamic-center/ What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Billionaire George Soros has ties to more than 50 ‘partners’ of the Women’s March on Washington What is the link between one of Hillary Clinton’s largest donors and the Women’s March? Turns out, it’s quite significant Asra Q. Nomani 01.20.17 In the pre-dawn darkness of today’s presidential inauguration day, I faced a choice, as a lifelong liberal feminist who voted for Donald Trump for president: lace up my pink Nike sneakers to step forward and take the DC Metro into the nation’s capital for the inauguration of America’s new president, or wait and go tomorrow to the after-party, dubbed the “Women’s March on Washington”? The Guardian has touted the “Women’s March on Washington” as a “spontaneous” action for women’s rights. Another liberal media outlet, Vox, talks about the “huge, spontaneous groundswell” behind the march. On its website, organizers of the march are promoting their work as “a grassroots effort” with “independent” organizers. Even my local yoga studio, Beloved Yoga, is renting a bus and offering seats for $35. The march’s manifesto says magnificently, “The Rise of the Woman = The Rise of the Nation.” It’s an idea that I, a liberal feminist, would embrace. But I know — and most of America knows — that the organizers of the march haven’t put into their manifesto: the march really isn’t a “women’s march.” It’s a march for women who are anti-Trump. As someone who voted for Trump, I don’t feel welcome, nor do many other women who reject the liberal identitypolitics that is the core underpinnings of the march, so far, making white women feel unwelcome, nixing women who oppose abortion and hijacking the agenda. To understand the march better, I stayed up through the nights this week, studying the funding, politics and talking points of the some 403 groups that are “partners” of the march. Is this a non-partisan “Women’s March”? Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, a march “partner,” told me his organization was “nonpartisan” but has “many concerns about the incoming Trump administration that include what we see as a misogynist approach to women.” Nick Fish, national program director of the American Atheists, another march partner, told me, “This is not a ‘partisan’ event.” Dennis Wiley, pastor of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ, another march “partner,” returned my call and said, “This is not a partisan march.” Really? UnitedWomen.org, another partner, features videos with the hashtags #ImWithHer, #DemsInPhily and #ThanksObama. Following the money, I poured through documents of billionaire George Soros and his Open Society philanthropy, because I wondered: What is the link between one of Hillary Clinton’s largest donors and the “Women’s March”? I found out: plenty. By my draft research, which I’m opening up for crowd-sourcing on GoogleDocs, Soros has funded, or has close relationships with, at least 56 of the march’s “partners,” including “key partners” Planned Parenthood, which opposes Trump’s anti-abortion policy, and the National Resource Defense Council, which opposes Trump’s environmental policies. The other Soros ties with “Women’s March” organizations include the partisan MoveOn.org (which was fiercely pro-Clinton), the National Action Network (which has a former executive director lauded by Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett as “a leader of tomorrow” as a march co-chair and another official as “the head of logistics”). Other Soros grantees who are “partners” in the march are the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Constitutional Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. March organizers and the organizations identified here haven’t yet returned queries for comment. On the issues I care about as a Muslim, the “Women’s March,” unfortunately, has taken a stand on the side of partisan politics that has obfuscated the issues of Islamic extremism over the eight years of the Obama administration. “Women’s March” partners include the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has not only deflected on issues of Islamic extremism post-9/11, but opposes Muslim reforms that would allow women to be prayer leaders and pray in the front of mosques, without wearing headscarves as symbols of chastity. Partners also include the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which wrongly designated Maajid Nawaz, a Muslim reformer, an “anti-Muslim extremist” in a biased report released before the election. The SPLC confirmed to me that Soros funded its “anti-Muslim extremists” report targeting Nawaz. (Ironically, CAIR also opposes abortions, but its leader still has a key speaking role.) Another Soros grantee and march “partner” is the Arab-American Association of New York, whose executive director, Linda Sarsour, is a march co-chair. When I co-wrote a piece, arguing that Muslim women don’t have to wear headscarves as a symbol of “modesty,” she attacked the coauthor and me as “fringe.” Earlier, at least 33 of the 100 “women of color,” who initially protested the Trump election in street protests, worked at organizations that receive Soros funding, in part for “black-brown” activism. Of course, Soros is an “ideological philanthropist,” whose interests align with many of these groups, but he is also a significant political donor. In Davos, he told reporters that Trump is a “would-be dictator.” A spokeswoman for Soros’s Open Society Foundations, said in a statement, “There have been many false reports about George Soros and the Open Society Foundations funding protests in the wake of the U.S. presidential elections. There is no truth to these reports.” She added, “We support a wide range of organizations — including those that support women and minorities who have historically been denied equal rights. Many of whom are concerned about what policy changes may lie ahead. We are proud of their work. We of course support the right of all Americans to peaceably assemble and petition their government—a vital, and constitutionally safeguarded, pillar of a functioning democracy.” Much like post-election protests, which included a sign, “Kill Trump,” were not “spontaneous,” as reported by some media outlets, the “Women’s March” is an extension of strategic identity politics that has so fractured America today, from campuses to communities. On the left or the right, it’s wrong. But, with the inauguration, we know the politics. With the march, “women” have been appropriated for a clearly anti-Trump day. When I shared my thoughts with her, my yoga studio owner said it was “sad” the march’s organizers masked their politics. “I want love for everyone,” she said. The left’s fierce identity politics and its failure on Islamic extremism lost my vote this past election, and so, as the dawn’s first light breaks through the darkness of the morning as I write, I make my decision: I’ll lace up my pink Nikes and head to the inauguration, skipping the “Women’s March” that doesn’t have a place for women like me http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/01/20/billionaire-george-soros-has-ties-to-more-than-50-partners-of-the-womens-march-onwashington/ [So the MSMedia doesn’t bother to do their job again and actually look at the real backing and nidus for this ‘spontaneous’ march. The keep pandering the same garbage because they are into the globalist agenda. This is a globalist George Soros attempt to try to destroy the US and its integrity just as Hillary and spouse as well as the Burning Bushes did (remember who first use the term New World Order – GHWB). The election was won but the battle of the globalists and the radical leftists ‘ala Saul Alinsky’ will continue. Keep your guard up and watch and read and read and read carefully because every issue will be cloaked in anti-Trump anti-Freedom New world order globalist trash and the media will be the mouthpiece for the vile Soros. – rdb] Commentaries: Speech by Geert Wilders at the "Europe of Nations and Freedom" Conference by Geert Wilders January 22, 2017 at 11:00 am Hello Germany. Is everything alright? I'm doing well. Yesterday a new America, today Koblenz and tomorrow a new Europe! It's really a great honor for me to be here today in the beautiful city of Koblenz, at a meeting of the ENF Group, in the presence of so many German patriots. And what you stand for is extremely important. Not only for Germany, but for all of Europe. Europe needs a strong Germany, a self-conscious Germany, a proud Germany, a Germany that stands for its culture, identity and civilization. Europe needs Frauke [Petry], instead of Angela [Merkel]! My friends, that is why Germany is so great. Why you are great. Because you do your duty. And the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and my friend Frauke Petry, and all of you here, stand against the new totalitarianism that threatens us today. We are at the beginning of a Patriotic Spring across Europe, and also here in Germany. And I thank you for that. You are the new Germany. And all our European countries are faced with the question of their existence. My friends, the United Nations expects that the population of Africa will quadruple by the end of the century -- from 1.1 billion today, to 4.4 billion. Studies show that in Southern Africa, one in three adults wants to emigrate. And in North Africa and the Middle East, one in five wants to emigrate. Many of them want to come to Europe in the future. The question that none of our ruling politicians now ask is: How do we protect our country and our identity against mass immigration? How do we protect our values? How do we protect our civilization? Our culture? The future of our children? These are the fundamental questions we have to answer. In recent years, our governments have allowed millions of people to flow uncontrollably into our countries. Our governments have conducted a dangerous open-borders policy. And I know, as do you, that when the citizens of Eastern Europe defeated communism in 1989, they were inspired by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Vaclav Havel, Vladimir Bukovski and others, who told them that people have the right, but also a commitment, to "live in the truth." Friends, liberty requires eternal vigilance. And this applies also to the truth. And Solzhenitsyn added that -- I quote -"truth seldom is sweet; it is almost invariably bitter." And let us hear the bitter truth: Our leaders have lost their ability to recognize danger and understand the truth, because they no longer value freedom. Politicians from almost all of the established parties are promoting our Islamization. Almost the entire Establishment, the elite universities, the churches, the media, politicians, put our hard-earned liberties at risk. They talk about equality, but, incredibly, are incapable of seeing that in Islam, women have fewer rights than men, and infidels have fewer rights than the followers of Islam. They are blind to the truth -- but we are not! And we do not accept that they are blind to the truth. We no longer accept that the elites have abandoned the people. It breaks my heart when I see that people have become strangers in their own land -- almost everywhere in Europe. But it is our country; it's not their country -- it's our country. And it is unacceptable that you fear for the future of your children, that women are afraid, that Jews, ex-Muslims, Christians fear for their safety. Day after day, for years, we are experiencing the decay of our cherished values. The equality of men and women, freedom of opinion and speech, tolerance of homosexuality -- all this is in retreat. And I say to you, my friends: We do not want this. We do not want Germany or any other country in Europe to abolish itself! We don't want that! We want our homeland to remain our homeland. We want to stay who we are! We are secure, free, democratic, proud of our culture! My friends, what we see today is that fear reigns. Many people are desperate. Our rulers are cowardly. Our security is disappearing; our freedom is in danger. And many normal people are afraid to say what they think. Women are afraid to show their blonde hair. And this charade must be stopped! More and more people demand this! We demand this! And I tell you: Enough is enough! And then there is also the great danger of Islamic terrorism. A German undercover journalist recently revealed that some refugee housing centers have become breeding-grounds for terrorists. The consequences are visible to everyone. Recall the massacre at the Berlin Christmas market. Remember also the black summer of terror last year, here in Germany. We also remember Cologne and the mass assaults of hundreds of innocent women. And yet our governments fail to do anything. But if we do nothing, we cease to exist. Some immigrants have come here with entirely different values. This is a fact -- not a political fact, but a fact confirmed by scientists such as the Dutch Professor Ruud Koopmans, from Humboldt University in Berlin. His investigations showed that about half of all Muslims in Germany aspire to the roots of Islam. Professor Koopmans also says that -- I quote -- "of a billion Muslims worldwide, between ten and twenty percent are willing to accept violence, even against civilians, to defend Islam." End of quotation. But despite all these terrible warnings, our rulers refuse to see the elephant in the room. The people are fed up with the political correctness of the elites! Are you fed up, or are you not fed up? We are fed up with the elites, who offer you a beautiful ideal world, in which all cultures are morally equivalent. The people demand -- we demand -- the truth! And we must tell them the truth, because people have a right to the truth! Because the people should not be abandoned. We, here, are the hope of the people! And we will never disappoint them! Never! You may have heard that the Dutch government is trying to silence me. But I say to you, I will never shut up! I am on many death-lists just because they hate me, because I criticize Islam, and because I am a friend of Israel. But I will never be silent, despite all the threats from politicians and terrorists. For the free expression of opinions is, my friends, the basis of democracy. There is, however, much positive news. There is reason for hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Better times will come. The wind started to shift last year. It brought us the victory of -- and from here, congratulations to -- Donald Trump, the President of the United States. But not only in America. We also see it here in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, throughout Europe: The patriots are winning. The time for a change has come. And that is why, my friends, it gives me tremendous courage to see you all here today. This room full of German patriots shows me something very important. It shows me that Germany is not lost! It shows me that Germany will survive! You are a good force. The force that brings this beautiful country back on the right path. On the path to a patriotic future. A secure future. A free future. Our future! History calls on you to save Germany. History calls on us all to save Europe. To save our own humanistic JudeoChristian culture and civilization, our liberties, our nations, the future of our children. And we have no choice. We will do it. My party, the PVV in the Netherlands; Frauke Petry and Marcus Pretzell and the AfD here in Germany; Marine Le Pen and Front National in France -- and yes, Marine Le Pen will be the next president of France! But, naturally, also Hans-Christian Strache and Harald Vilimsky and the FPÖ, our friends in Austria. Tom van Grieken and Gerolf Annemans and our friends from the Vlaams Belang in Flanders. And all the other politicians. But I tell you, we politicians are not important here. It's not about us. It's about you; it's about the voters. It's about the people here in this room, and also the millions throughout the country -- not we, but you are important. You are the true heroes and the saviors of Europe. And I thank you for that. Our parties give the people an opportunity to vote for good patriots. Patriots who want to make our borders safe again! Patriots who want to stop mass immigration! Patriots who want to restore the sovereignty of our countries, our money, our laws and our future. We are fed up with the Europhiles in Brussels, who want to abolish our countries and impose an undemocratic superstate, in which we become a single multicultural society. To this Europe we say no! We stand for a Europe of national states and freedom! We will take our countries back. We will make sure that our countries will stay ours. My friends, this year will be the year of the people! The year when the voice of the people finally will be heard! The year of a democratic and nonviolent political revolution in Europe. The year of liberation! The year of the Patriotic Spring! In two months, next March, we will give the Dutch people the chance to free the Netherlands! And next April, Marine, as I already said, will be the next president of France! And next autumn it's your turn, my dear German friends. I am absolutely convinced that with Frauke Petry, the future of Germany is guaranteed. Long live the German Spring! And I tell you: We will liberate ourselves. We will make our countries great again! We can do it! Everywhere in Europe, we are electing new and courageous politicians who serve the interests of the people. And together we will win! My friends, we live in historic times. The people of the West are awakening. They are casting off the yoke of political correctness. They want their freedom back. They want their sovereign nations back. And we, the patriots of Europe, will be their instrument of liberation! Long live freedom! Long live The Netherlands! Long live Germany! Long live the Alternative for Germany! Thank you. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9812/geert-wilders-koblenz-enf [This man has been the voice in the wilderness for the EU for many years and hopefully he will survive the onslaught from the Globalist establishment to counter them. – rdb] THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Republican Senators to vote in favor of Trump's Sec'y of State Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham will vote in favor of Rex Tillerson despite their concerns over his ties with Russia. Ben Ariel, 23/01/17 03:03 Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that they will vote in favor of President Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, Politico reports. McCain and Graham were previously undecided about voting in favor or Tillerson due to his ties to Russia. Though Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is still holding out on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Graham and McCain’s support will allow Trump to breathe easier, knowing that Tillerson will likely be confirmed later on the Senate floor, according to the report. [I would suggest to Mr. Rubio that his political career is probably going to most tenuous if he decides to vote against Tillerson. Rubio is not an overly bright fellow when it comes to the lay of the land. – rdb] Tillerson needs just a bare majority of votes to win approval, and it appears highly unlikely now that Tillerson will lose the three or more Republican votes that could have scuttled his nomination. McCain said on Sunday he was “very cautious” about voting for Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO who once received an Order of Friendship award from Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Arizona senator said that his deference to a new president combined with several private conversations with Tillerson sealed the deal. “He talked to me a lot about his views with Russia, a lot about the events that have taken place, about … what his duties were as a head of one of the world’s largest corporations,” McCain was quoted as having told ABC’s “This Week.” “Listen, this wasn’t an easy call, but I also believe that when there’s doubt, the incoming president gets the benefit of doubt, and that’s the way I’ve treated every president.” The Foreign Relations panel will vote on Tillerson’s nomination on Monday, according to Politico. While McCain and Graham both offered poor reviews of Tillerson's performance at his confirmation hearing, on Sunday they released a joint a statement saying they would back Tillerson and not buck Trump. [That was probably a politically wise move on their part. Both of those turkeys are part of the people that Trump was complaining about in his inauguration indictment speech on Friday. – rdb] "Though we still have concerns about his past dealings with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin, we believe that Mr. Tillerson can be an effective advocate for U.S. interests," they said, according to Politico. "The views that Mr. Tillerson has expressed, both privately and publicly during the confirmation process, give us confidence that he will be a champion for a strong and engaged role for America in the world." During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Tillerson expressed support for Israel while blasting the Obama administration for its attitude toward the Jewish state, particularly its decision not to veto UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which criticized Israeli construction in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the UN resolution was “not helpful” and “undermines” the conditions for peace talks to continue. He also described then-Secretary of State John Kerry’s subsequent speech criticizing Israel as “quite troubling.” Tillerson stressed the importance of the United States recommitting to its alliance with Israel, which he said “is, was and always has been our most important ally” in the Middle East. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223681 Israel sets to be international ‘smart transportation’ leader Cabinet OKs NIS 250 million plan; Economic Council Head foresees doubling of economy. Hillel Fendel, 23/01/17 02:04 The Cabinet approved on Sunday a 250 million shekel ($66 million) plan to advance and strengthen the smart transportation industry in Israel. The goal of the plan, according to the Prime Minister's Bureau, is to "position the Israeli high-tech industry as a global leader in the field, which according to various estimates, will reach a global market share of approximately $ 7 trillion in 2030." The national plan for smart transportation will complement the national plan for alternative fuels, and in fact the government has changed the name of the relevant authority to "The Alternative Fuels and Smart Transportation Administration." The 250 million shekels will be spent over the next five years, with the objective of promoting innovative solutions for the transportation network in Israel. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the plan and noted Israel's advantage in the "ability to produce conceptual products. This stems from the business environment that we have created here; therefore, the Government must allow this to grow, and also prevent overregulation. We did this in cyber, and we will do so here as well. We will remove impediments to this industry that is developing very quickly and it will assist in implementing smart transportation on Israel's highways." The term "smart transportation" covers many aspects of what to some appears like futuristic traffic modes and control, such as mapping out and clearing evacuation routes during emergencies, tracking stolen or suspicious vehicles and automated enforcement of traffic laws. Applications include emergency notification systems, variable speed limits, collision avoidance systems, and sensors that detect vehicles running red lights or stop signs, traveling in public transportation lanes, crossing double white lines, and the like. The PM's Bureau announced that Israel has an "outstanding advantage in areas that are vital to the revolution currently overtaking the global transportation industry, including processing big data, artificial intelligence, sensor systems and integration between systems." Prime Minister's Bureau Director-General Eli Groner, who will co-chair the plan's steering committee, said, "Just as smartphones have become an inseparable part of our lives, the same may be expected for smart transportation. The State of Israel may play a significant role in this global market, which could lead to significant economic growth. We have a genuine chance to be a global leader in the field." National Economic Council Chairman Prof. Avi Simhon was even more optimistic, saying, "We are on the verge of a revolution that will enable us to double the Israeli economy. Today the state of Israel has a rare opportunity to become a leading player in the global vehicle sector." The new plan includes the high-resolution mapping of the State of Israel, testing innovative technologies in cooperation with commercial and government companies, and building a testing area for autonomous and other vehicles. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223676 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 01222017 NEWS AM A Wine-Oasis in the Israeli Negev Desert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOg40xLyP-Y "[The president] is the dignified, but accountable magistrate of a free and great people. The tenure of his office, it is true, is not hereditary; nor is it for life: but still it is a tenure of the noblest kind: by being the man of the people, he is invested; by continuing to be the man of the people, his investiture will be voluntarily, and cheerfully, and honourably renewed." —James Wilson (1791) Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:27`And both of the kings' hearts are to do evil, and at one table they speak lies, and it doth not prosper, for yet the end is at a time appointed. 28And he turneth back to his land with great substance, and his heart is against the holy covenant, and he hath wrought, and turned back to his land. 29At the appointed time he turneth back, and hath come against the south, and it is not as the former, and as the latter. 566 new East Jerusalem homes green-lighted Palestinians blast vote, which had originally been set for December, a week after the UN adopted a harsh antisettlement resolution By Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 1:43 pm The Jerusalem Municipality approved the construction of 566 new homes in East Jerusalem on Sunday, in a vote that had been pushed back from December in order to avoid angering the outgoing administration of former US president Barack Obama. The Palestinians condemned the decision as an explicit violation of a recent anti-settlement resolution at the United Nations. The homes — which are slated to be built in the neighborhoods of Ramot, Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Ze’ev — were set to be approved for construction in December, but the measure was pulled from the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee’s agenda at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Army Radio reported at the time. The December vote to approve the homes — a week after a United National Security Council resolution called on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem” — was scheduled to take place the morning of a speech by former US secretary of state John Kerry, in which he went on to label settlements as the primary obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. While much of the international community considers these residential areas as settlements, Israel considers them neighborhoods of annexed East Jerusalem and argues that they will be part of Israel in any negotiated peace agreement. Some 430,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state. The announcement of construction projects in East Jerusalem throughout Obama’s eight-year term repeatedly led to diplomatic scuffles between Washington and Jerusalem, most notably the announcement of the approval of over 1,000 homes in Ramat Shlomo in 2010 during a visit by then-vice president Joe Biden. Senior officials said that move was made without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s knowledge. According to a diplomatic cable leaked in 2016, Netanyahu turned to European leaders to help patch up ties with Obama in the wake of the affair. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman told Israel Radio on Wednesday that the vote had been delayed until now due to pressure from the Obama administration, which was particularly critical of Israeli settlement policy in his final month in office. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat praised Sunday’s approval while also taking a jab at Obama, saying, “I hope that an era has ended and from now we will continue to build and and to develop Jerusalem for the benefit of [the city’s] residents,” according to the Hebrew-language Walla News website. Turgeman also hailed the move in a Facebook post Sunday morning, describing the go-ahead for the construction as “just the opening salvo in the approval of additional [building] plans throughout the city,” while adding that “we will continue to build together in Jerusalem! We will continue to strengthen the capital of Israel!” He also noted that the approval coincided “with the entrance of a new American president,” with US President Donald Trump being sworn in only two days before. “The rules of the game have changed with Donald Trump’s arrival as president,” he told AFP. “We no longer have our hands tied as in the time of Barack Obama. Now we can finally build.” Turgeman said that plans for some 11,000 other homes were also in process in East Jerusalem, though he did not say when they could be moved forward. A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the decision violated December’s UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which he said “emphasized the illegality of Israeli settlements.” “We call on Security Council for urgent action based on resolution 2334, to put an end to the extremist policy of the Israeli government which is destroying the two-state solution,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.” Jerusalem Municipality officials had eagerly awaited Trump’s inauguration to go ahead with large-scale building plans in East Jerusalem, with one member of the Jerusalem Municipality Planning and Construction Committee saying in November that “we must send a message to Trump that in Jerusalem, we build.” Trump is viewed as being more favorable to Israeli settlement policies than Obama, as he has repeatedly declared that he will move the US Embassy to Jerusalem despite the city’s disputed status and nominated for his ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is the head of American Friends of Bet El Institutions — a group that raises funds for the West Bank settlement of Beit El’s seminary, a news organization affiliated with the settler movement and other activities in the settlement. Both Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who Trump appointed as a senior adviser and said will be his pointman on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, have reportedly donated to Friedman’s organization. The Jerusalem District Zoning Committee was also scheduled to deliberate the approval of an additional 5,600 homes in East Jerusalem during the December meeting, including 2,600 housing units in Gilo, 2,600 in Givat Hamatos and 400 in Ramot. There was no immediate report on why these homes were not approved on Sunday or when the committee will give them the go-ahead. http://www.timesofisrael.com/566-new-east-jerusalem-homes-green-lighted/ Thousands of Arab Israelis protest home demolitions, discrimination Demonstrators say state-sanctioned racism, excessive police force to blame for deadly violence in Bedouin village last week By Tamar Pileggi January 21, 2017, 5:56 pm Thousands of protesters gathered in the Arab town of Arara in northern Israel on Saturday to protest the recent wave of government-ordered home demolitions in the Bedouin and Arab communities. Waving Palestinian flags, protesters called for an end to what they claimed was state-sanctioned racism and excessive police force against Arabs that lead to the deadly car-ramming incident in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran last Wednesday. [So reacting to illegally build homes is racism? Curing stupid? – rdb] The protests, which were reportedly peaceful, came three days after intense clashes erupted when a local Umm alHiran resident rammed his car into policeman Erez Levi, killing him. The driver, Yaqoub Mousa Abu Al-Qia’an, was shot dead by police, and Israeli officials were quick to brand the deadly incident a terror attack. But local residents and activists insisted that Abu Al-Qia’an was first shot by police, and was not in control of the vehicle when he rammed the police line. According to a Friday report by Channel 10 news, the initial autopsy report on Abu al-Qia’an indicated the 47-year-old father of 12 may have lost control of his vehicle after he was shot in the knee by police. Police surveillance videos from the scene did not definitively resolve questions over the fatal incident. Protesters at the Saturday demonstration bitterly castigated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top security officials for rushing to brand Abu al-Qia’an an Islamist terrorist. “This is the right time to demand the Israeli government stop the home demolitions, because continuing this policy will only ignite the situation here and the members of this government will be responsible for the consequences,” Arara resident Tawfik Mohammaed told the Ynet news website. “It’s unfortunate that the government and police continue to slander the Arab community, just like in the wave of wildfires when they arrested Arabs they accused of nationalistically motivated arson, but eventually released them all.” Attending the protest was MK Ahmad Tibi of the Joint (Arab) List, who vowed that Israel’s Arab minority would not surrender to policies of the Netanyahu government defined by “demolitions and incitement.”[These people break the law and the results of their problem are now the government’s fault? – rdb] Tibi demanded the resignation or dismissal of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich for what he called a “campaign of incitement, slander against Abu al-Qia’an and the wider Arab public.” “We want a discourse based on rights, not a discourse of bulldozers,” Tibi said. The MK further demanded that Abu alQia’an’s body be released to his family without the preconditions police set for his burial, as is often done with bodies of Palestinians terrorists. In the days after the attack, Netanyahu, Erdan, Alsheich and other officials insisted that Abu Al-Qia’an had links to the Islamic State terror group, and called the attack “terrorism” and “murder.” After video footage of the incident was released, Netanyahu and other senior officials reiterated that it was an intentional terror attack. http://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-of-arab-israelis-protest-home-demolitions-discrimination/ Arab leadership to fund reconstruction of demolished buildings After the Israel Police carried out a demolition order against illegal structures in Umm al-Hiran and Qalansuwa, Arab leadership promises to raise money to rebuild. David Michael Cohen/TPS |Published: 21.01.17 , 21:04 The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel HFUC has announced it will raise the funds required to rebuild the illegal homes recently demolished by Israeli authorities in Umm al-Hiran and Qalansuwa. The committee also decided to hold a major protest rally in Wadi Ara Saturday. The valley and hilltops are one of the most densely populated Arab majority areas in Israel. The biggest city in the area is Umm al-Fahm, one of Israel’s biggest Arab cities. Highway 65, one of the country’s major arteries which connect the coastal plain to the Jezreel Valley and which go through the valley, was blocked by protesters. In the past, protests in the area have resulted in violent clashes when police attempted to prevent demonstrators from closing the road, which can cause major traffic jams over a large part of the country. The committee also said protests would continue to take place in Arab cities, towns and villages throughout the country, and that on Monday a protest convoy would drive slowly from various Arab towns to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, where a protest rally would be held. The committee should have no problem raising the necessary funds, as it has a large network of support in Qatar, Turkey, and other Arab and Muslim countries, and in the past has raised funds to rebuild homes demolished by Israeli authorities. In addition, it also gets EU funding. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4910657,00.html [So even though the homes were built without the legal permits, the arab group plans on rebuilding. That is called insurrection. – rdb] Netanyahu tries to put brakes on right’s annexation bid Citing Trump advisers’ request that Israel not surprise Washington with unilateral move, PM seeks delay of bill to annex Ma’ale Adumim By Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 6:45 am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to delay an effort by pro-settlement lawmakers to annex the Ma’ale Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem. On Friday, Netanyahu asked Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the main backer of the initiative, to take a proposed annexation bill off the agenda of Sunday evening’s meeting of the powerful Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Netanyahu reportedly explained to Bennett that he had spoken with advisers to US President Donald Trump, who asked that Israel not “surprise” the US with any unilateral move before the two leaders have a chance to meet, likely in early February. Ma’ale Adumim, a city of some 40,000 residents, straddles a ridge east of Jerusalem. Palestinians say it effectively divides the West Bank into two non-contiguous sections north and south of the city, and thereby makes a viable future Palestinian state less attainable. The bill to apply Israeli sovereignty and civil law to the city was proposed by Likud’s MK Yoav Kisch and Jewish Home’s MK Betzalel Smotrich. According to some reports, Bennett has refused to push off the debate in the cabinet committee. A longtime backer of Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank, Bennett has argued that Trump’s term in the White House offers a rare opportunity for Israel’s government to take a decisive stand against any future Palestinian state. Bennett opposes such a state, calling it a threat to Israel’s existence. The cabinet’s legislation committee, jointly headed by one minister from Bennett’s Jewish Home party and one from Netanyahu’s Likud, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, respectively, votes on granting government support to legislation. Such support is usually decisive in enabling a bill to pass into law. “I’m getting a message from Trump not to jump to the front,” Netanyahu told Bennett on Friday, according to quotes from their conversation carried by the Haaretz daily. But Bennett has reportedly demanded that the larger issue of Israel’s West Bank policy during the Trump term come up in other cabinet forums on Sunday as a precondition to any delay in considering the Ma’ale Adumim legislation. Israel has controlled the West Bank since capturing it in the 1967 Six Day War but has never moved to annex any of the territory beyond extending sovereignty to East Jerusalem. It later applied Israeli law to the Golan Heights, captured from Syria. Most experts see Israel’s policy of extending sovereignty, in moves widely unrecognized by the international community, as tantamount to annexation. Bennett, whose party counts the settlement movement as a major part of its voter base, ran in the past two elections on a platform of de facto annexation of Area C (the parts of the West Bank under Israeli civilian and military control) and extending some form of autonomy to Palestinians in the rest of the territory. After the US abstention on an anti-settlements resolution at the UN Security Council last month, Trump assured Israel that things would be different after he took office. He lamented that the Jewish state was “being treated very, very unfairly” by the international community. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-tries-to-put-the-brakes-on-far-rightsannexation-bid/ Liberman proposes ‘anti-terror coalition’ as path to peace Defense minister says working with moderate Arab states to fight radical Islam could end conflict with the Palestinians By Judah Ari Gross January 22, 2017, 1:13 pm Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman proposed the creation of an “anti-terror coalition” with moderate Arab states as a path to peace with the Palestinians, during a meeting with former CIA director David Petraeus in Jerusalem on Sunday. Liberman met the disgraced former general in Jerusalem’s King David hotel in order to discuss “security challenges — local and global — that stand before” the United States and Israel, according to a statement put out by the minister’s office. During the meeting, Liberman told Petraeus that there was “no chance of arriving at a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.” According to him, attempts to reach peace with the Palestinians in that way have “failed multiple time in the last 24 years.” The only possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Liberman said, was a regional agreement based on an “anti-terror coalition.” Liberman added that the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must include both land and “population” swaps, in which Arab Israeli cities and their residents would become part of a Palestinian state — a central tenet of the defense minister’s peace plan. Petraeus arrived in Israel in order to speak at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank’s conference later this week. In 2012, he stepped down as CIA chief after he was caught providing classified intelligence to his biographer and mistress. Three years later, as part of a plea deal, Petraeus pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. He was given two years’ probation and a $100,000 fine. http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-proposes-anti-terrorcoalition-as-path-to-peace/ Netanyahu to discuss ‘Iranian threat’ in phone call with Trump PM says he’ll speak with new US president Sunday evening on range of issues, including Palestinians and Syria By Times of Israel staff January 22, 2017, 2:06 pm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would speak with US President Donald Trump by telephone later in the day on a wide range of issues, but also specifically on the threat posed by Iran. Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “Many issues are before us: the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria and the Iranian threat.” “I want to clarify, contrary to reports that I read, that ending the Iranian threat — primarily stopping the danger posed by the bad nuclear deal that was signed with Iran — continues to be a top priority of the government of Israel,” Netanyahu said. The US-led deal with Iran, which aims to curb its nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief, was one of the biggest points of conflict between Netanyahu and former US president Barack Obama. During the election campaign, Trump described the nuclear deal as “disastrous” and said it would be his “number one priority” to dismantle it. Yet he sowed confusion when he said he would demand greater oversight over the deal and enforce it, in a speech to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC in March. In that same speech, he also said he would dismantle the deal. In a December interview with CBS, Netanyahu said it was not too late to undo the deal that was Obama’s signature foreign policy achievement, noting that he would present Trump with five alternatives to the accord, without elaborating. “I think what options we have are much more than you think. Many more,” Netanyahu said when asked if he did not fear that abrogating the nuclear accord would put Tehran on the fast track to a nuclear weapon. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-discuss-iranian-threat-in-phone-call-with-trump/ Preventing the next terror attack from Israel’s prisons There are about 6,200 security prisoners in eight of the Israel Prison Services’ detention facilities, and 70 percent of them are defined as having blood on their hands. In a joint interview, three intelligence officers serving in Israel’s most dangerous prisons discuss what it is like to be in the same room with eight murderers, how inmates are turned into informants and how MK Ghattas was caught allegedly smuggling cellphones into jail. Shosh Mula|Published: 21.01.17 , 23:20 The Ktziot Prison, Sunday, December 18. Only a few people, including the prison commander and intelligence officer, Deputy Commissioner Dudu Vaknin, were involved in the drama that was about to take place. Knesset Member Basel Ghattas of the Joint List arrived to visit security prisoners and allegedly smuggle cellphones to them. Everything was ready to document the act. Without suspecting a thing, Ghattas fell into the trap that was prepared for him by the security officials. Following his arrest, the work of the Shin Bet and the Israel Prison Service’s security system received wide coverage. Not much was said about the secret work of the intelligence officers who locate and operate agents in the security prisons, those who work behind the scenes in the most sensitive position in some of the most dangerous places in Israel. In order to understand how it really works, we brought together for the very first time three intelligence officers of security prisoners: The intelligence officer of the Gilboa Prison (600 security inmates), Chief Superintendent Nissim Finish; the intelligence officer of the Ktziot Prison (2,000 inmates), Deputy Commissioner Dudu Vaknin; and the intelligence officer of the Nafha Prison (750 inmates), Chief Superintendent Yossi Krispel. The three spoke candidly about their work in the shadow of danger and their daily meetings with arch-murderers, the recruitment of agents in the prison and providing them with protection, the language and codes and the heavy responsibility to prevent and thwart attacks. “It’s an Israeli invention,” they told us. “This is a position that only exists in Israel, and people come here from all over the world for guidance. MORE - http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L4908720,00.html [Fighting the crime that goes on in prisons is an arduous and amazing task. One never things of the fact that even within an institution you have to have an intelligence agency to break up crime rings. I am sure the same thing occurs in the US. – rdb] Ministers to debate bill granting PM immunity from prosecution Legislation designed to protect a sitting premier proposed by Likud MK amid Netanyahu corruption investigations By Tamar Pileggi January 22, 2017, 12:16 pm The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday will debate a bill that would give Israel’s sitting prime minister immunity from certain types of police investigations and criminal prosecution. A ministerial vote on the bill, proposed by Likud MK David Amsalem after the announcement that police have launched criminal investigations into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would be delayed to allow coalition partners to coordinate positions on the legislation, The Marker business daily reported on Sunday. Amsalem’s bill would amend Israel’s Basic Law to prohibit police from investigating an incumbent premier for fraud, bribery and breach of trust. It would not offer protection from security, sex, violence or drug-related offenses. The legislation would allow sitting prime ministers, who in Israel have no term limit, to serve out the remainder of their tenure before police could launch open an investigation into suspected wrongdoing. In announcing his bill earlier this month, Amsalem claimed media “eagerness” surrounding the latest Netanyahu probe was threatening Israel’s democratic foundations. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/ministers-to-debate-bill-granting-pmimmunity-from-prosecution/ [I am not sure how wise this would be. Holding people closely accountable is an basic advantage for governments to keep graft in tow. – rsb] Hamas MP says Jews recruit prostitutes, AIDS-infected women, to lure Arabs The ‘filthy,’ globally hated Jewish nation will soon be eliminated, Marwan Abu Ras tells worshipers in Gaza By Times of Israel staff January 21, 2017, 2:35 pm In a recent Friday sermon in the Gaza Strip, Hamas MP Marwan Abu Ras accused Jews of recruiting prostitutes into the army “in order to lure Arabs into their traps,” and further added that Jewish leaders send “AIDS-infected girls to fornicate with Muslim youths.” [I do believe that was the contrived trap of Balaam and Balak in the 22nd chapter of Numbers as the gentile pagans were trying to entrap the Israelites. – rdb] During the sermon, which was delivered on January 6 and was broadcast on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Ras also claimed that the Jewish state allowed drugs and tobacco to be smuggled through tunnels into Gaza, while purposefully preventing the entry of essential goods. “Do you know what commodity enters Gaza in large quantities, with the blessings of the enemy? It is drugs,” said Abu Ras. “Drugs only. The second commodity is tobacco. Those who want to smuggle drugs or tobacco into Gaza can do so freely, but to smuggle a useful commodity into Gaza? That is forbidden.” [So who brings it in? – rdb] According to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Hamas MP went on to attack Jews at large for spreading “filthy pornographic movies and websites.” Abu Ras concluded his sermon with an assurance to the crowd that the Jewish state would soon be defeated, adding a prayer that the “criminal Jews” and those who support them would be eliminated. Watch the video here. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-mp-says-jews-recruit-prostitutes-aids-infected-women-to-lure-arabs/ 4 die in bombing at refugee camp on Syria’s Jordan border Explosion in car occurs at isolated makeshift site that UN says houses some 85,000 Syrians By AFP January 21, 2017, 3:55 pm BEIRUT, Lebanon — A car bomb blast killed at least four civilians at a camp for displaced Syrians by the border with Jordan on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. “A car bomb exploded on the outskirts of the Rukban camp on the Jordanian border, killing four displaced people and injuring others,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based monitor. Jordan’s official Petra news agency, citing a military source, also reported the blast at the isolated makeshift camp, which the United Nations says houses around 85,000 Syrians. Jordan closed its nearby border in June 2016, halting aid deliveries to the camp, after a bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed seven Jordanian soldiers. Jordanian officials said at the time that the bomber had come from the camp and declared the borders a closed military zone. The decision prompted shortages at the camp, with rights group Amnesty International in October decrying “hellish” conditions for those seeking refuge there. Aid has been delivered to the camp only twice since the border was closed, most recently in November, when the UN supplied food, hygiene kits and winter clothing. The United Nations says there are more than 600,000 refugees from Syria in Jordan, a figure Amman puts at 1.4 million. In August, King Abdullah II said his country was “doing its utmost to help refugees” from Syria. “However, we have reached our limits… This is an international crisis and an international responsibility, and the world has to do its part,” he said. More than four million Syrians have fled their country since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011. Over 310,000 people have been killed in the violence. http://www.timesofisrael.com/4-die-in-bombing-at-refugee-camp-on-syriasjordan-border/ [Keep in mind folks that you can blame the Obamination and Hillary for much of this carnage. Their decision to support a local rebellion by increasing insurrectionists to fight against Assad was the nidus of much of this problem. – rdb] Finnish NGO in violation of terrorism law for funding Hamas parlay? By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL 01/22/2017 It is unclear if the EU or the Finnish government will pursue legal action against the CMI for a possible violation of anti-terror laws The Finnish organization CMI doled out $18,177 to fund a meeting of the EU and US classified terrorist entity Hamas with the Palestinian Fatah party in Geneva, Switzerland in December, according to a Friday story in the Finland daily Kirkko ja kaupunki. The Finnish organization Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which is headed by Finland’s former president Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari, joined the Swiss government to organize the two day talks to unify the Gaza-based Hamas and the West Bank's Fatah party. The Swiss paid nearly $72,000 for the negotiations. Prof. Gerald Steinberg, the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post on Friday:”The ways in which European officials use NGO funding in the chaotic Middle East is very disturbing. This is the new form of colonialism and, as this case involving the governments of Finland and Switzerland shows, NGO activities can be used as a cover by terrorists -- for which there is no excuse.” MORE - http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Finnish-NGO-in-violation-of-terrorismlaw-for-funding-Hamas-parlay-479195 [The unbelievable actions of the EU countries in their support of terrorists and their organizations and their approach to the invasion of the lands is just mind boggling. It is like you are sitting there watching hug groups of people just commit suicide. They are either terminally stupid or so unbelievably ignorant of facts and deceived that they can’t help themselves. – rdb] Gotcha! Proof of State Department lie in Iran deception 'Sensitive' internal docs reveal 'purposeful' intent to conceal admission from public Published: 6 hours ago The American Center for Law and Justice, which alleges the Obama State Department manipulated video to conceal a spokeswoman’s admission of lying to the public about the Iran deal, says it now has definitive evidence to back its claim. The deleted section contained a question from the Fox News Channel’s James Rosen during a daily press briefing Dec. 2, 2013: “Is it the policy of the State Department, where the preservation or the secrecy of secret negotiations is concerned, to lie in order to achieve that goal?” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “James, I think there are times where diplomacy needs privacy in order to progress. This is a good example of that.” But that exchange was missing from video released by the State Department. The administration initially claimed that the deletion was an unintentional “glitch,” but ACLJ’s media team analyzed the video and identified the “white flash” edit, “determining that this could not possibly be simply a glitch.” Now, ACLJ, as part of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit demanding key records shedding light on its coverup, says it has evidence the “deletion to cover up the Iran lie was intentional.” ACLJ said it obtained a “sensitive but unclassified” internal review of the matter by the U.S. State Department that contains a section expressly notated: “Evidence of Purposeful Editing.” The organization said the State Department’s “own internal evidence shows that a technician in the Public Affairs (PA) office of the State Department ‘received a request to edit the video over the phone from a female caller from elsewhere in PA who could credibly assert that an edit should be made.'” “Additionally, the report presents definitive testimony that ‘the requester had mentioned in the course of the call a Fox network reporter and Iran. The technician indicated that the requester may also have provided the start and end times for an edit.'” ACLJ said it “may have taken until the final hours of the Obama administration for the American people to begin to understand the truth behind the Obama administration’s deliberate deception surrounding the deadly Iran nuclear deal.” “But our critical legal work to unearth the truth will continue. It will be absolutely crucial to undoing the damage done by this flawed deal and dismantling the devastating impact the ‘deal’ continues to have.” WND reported last June the State Department confessed to the deception. At that time, former Department of Homeland Security officer Philip Haney noted, “It just seems that somewhere along the way, the [Obama] administration decided that the best way to deal with unflattering or derogatory information that didn’t suit the narrative was to simply eliminate it.” http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/gotcha-proof-of-state-department-lie-in-irandeception/ Trump inauguration rabbi attacked with antisemitic hate speech ByTamara Zieve 22 January 2017 14:12 “Obviously a lot of people who don’t like Jews had a tough time seeing a Jew stand up proudly before the world." The Anti Defamation League said Sunday that it was "outraged and saddened by the antisemitism leveled at Rabbi Marvin Hier" after the blessing he delivered at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Friday. Rabbi Marvin Hier is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism. He was the target of hundreds of antisemitic messages posted on social media during and following his recitation, including antisemitic caricatures of him and hate speech from white supremacists. “For Jew haters, it was a perfect storm,” the Wiesenthal Center’s associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper told The Jerusalem Post Sunday, noting that IT staff working for his center alone had removed hundreds of antisemitic messages. Trumps inauguration day. U talk alot. Give too much hope in ur speech. Its just too good to be true. But wtf is that jew rabbi there too? — Ö (@hassan_alfaiz) January 20, 2017 “Obviously a lot of people who don’t like Jews had a tough time seeing a Jew stand up proudly before the world,” Cooper said.” To have a Jew wearing a kippa on an international stage and a declared and well-known Zionist - from the far left to the far right a lot of people were very angry.” MORE - http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Trump-inauguration-rabbi-attackedwith-antisemitic-hate-speech-479238 [Just in case you don’t think that anti-Semitism is common in the USA. – rdb] Trump Names Former Climate Scientist Erik Noble to NASA Advisory Role Emma Grey Ellis Science Date of Publication: 01.20.17. 01.20.17 Time of Publication: 7:00 pm. 7:00 pm President Trump hasn’t appointed anyone to lead NASA or even articulated his space policy, but he isn’t ignoring it. This morning, Robert Lightfoot, the agency’s acting administrator, announced the appointment of Greg Autry and Erik Noble as presidential liaisons. Both have backgrounds in the field, and Noble has even done some climate science. Trump named Autry his White House liaison, a role NASA Watch editor Keith Cowing calls “traditional”—and Noble his White House senior advisor at NASA. That’s less typical. “Does that mean he’s at NASA, or is he just another liason?” Cowing says. “My guess is these guys are two peas in a pod.” Which is to say, they’ll probably work together to maintain open lines of communication between the space agency and the Oval Office. In his inaugural address today, Trump promised to “unlock the mysteries of space,” and has in the past suggested expanding NASA’s partnerships with the private sector. He also has said he wants to reduce the agency’s Earth science initiatives. He’s less clear on Mars exploration—a big priority for the Obama administration— saying that he’d like to get the country’s infrastructure in order first. Typically, the White House liaison is a conduit between NASA and other executive agencies, like the Office of Budget and Management, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council, and the myriad others you have to clear things with before hurling objects into space. But Autry and Noble’s specific duties are unclear—because the liaison role typically reflects the president’s priorities. “Each administration treats each appointee position differently,” says Stephanie Schierholz, NASA press secretary. The Trump administration did not respond to request for comment. Autry, in addition to serving on Trump’s NASA-specific transition team, has been a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business focusing on commercial spaceflight. He’s also the coauthor of Death by China, an alarmist look at Sino-American trade relations. That suggests pro-Elon, anti-taikonaut views. Noble is a veteran of the Trump campaign, in which he served as a data analyst. Before that, he was an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Center, doing climate and weather prediction modeling. Such a background would not seem to square with Trump’s climate change denialism and clear disdain for governmentfunded climate research. “Having someone in this position with such a strong background in atmospheric science is a good thing,” says Marco Tedesco, a polar geophysicist at Columbia University who worked with Noble. “Maybe he can open a dialogue about climate change. But still, he will have to do a lot of catch up because NASA is far broader than atmospheric science, far broader than the Earth.” MORE - https://www.wired.com/2017/01/trump-names-former-climate-scientist-eriknoble-nasa-advisory-role/ NOTE: www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Hundreds of thousands mass in DC at anti-Trump women’s march Marchers spill over into Pennsylvania Avenue, packing out route followed by president after inauguration; Madonna makes surprise appearance; Hillary Clinton tweets support for those ‘marching for our values’ By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil and AP January 21, 2017, 4:30 pm WASHINGTON — Wearing pink, pointy-eared “pussyhats” to mock the new president, hundreds of thousands of women — massed in the nation’s capital and cities around the globe Saturday to send Donald Trump an emphatic message that they won’t let his agenda go unchallenged over the next four years. Pop diva Madonna made an unannounced stage appearance, joining activist leaders and other celebrities in exhorting the mostly female crowd to resist any oppression from the new administration. “Welcome to the revolution of love,” she said as she took the stage, wrapping up hours of speeches. “To the rebellion. To our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny.” [what did Trump say that was tyranny for women? NOTHING! He said that Washington was to return power to local governments which is the government of the people. He said the jobs were to be created to get people back to work and that we were to secure the nation so that it would be safe. It is obvious that this group of people have no concept of what the essence of his speech or the direction of this administration is. It is a group of hysterical nitwits. “We march today for the moral core of this nation, against which our new president is waging a war,” actress America Ferrera told the Washington crowd. “Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday. But the president is not America… We are America and we are here to stay.” MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/women-descend-on-dc-to-push-back-against-new-president/ [The only division is coming from these nitwits. Is the moral core of the nation the freedom to be promiscuous and then kill your baby at government expense? I saw signs on the news for ‘reproductive rights’ which is a stupid backwards euphemism for the fact that I can kill my child. That isn’t just a fetus it is a baby and all you have to do is look in the neonatal unit to learn that or participate in a few abortions. What about my right not to spend my money for murdering children? There were signs for LGBT rights. Why am I supposed to give up my ethical and moral beliefs to support something that is unbiblical and is condemned by the creator? If you wonder why this nation has gone to hell in a hand bucket it is because we have raised a generation of people who are fundamentally godless and ignorant people with no understanding or concern for the rights laws of their creator, the laws of the land and the rights of others who actually believe in a moral and ethical system. This is truly a situation of that which is right being called wrong and that which is wrong proclaiming to be right. God Bless Trump who is trying to turn a country gone wrong around and from the number of women involved they are as guilty as the nitwits of DC. – rdb] Pope warns against populism and 'saviours' like Hitler AFPJanuary 21, 2017 Madrid (AFP) - Pope Francis on Saturday warned against populism, saying it could lead to the election of "saviours" like Hitler. In an hour-long interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais conducted as Donald Trump was being sworn in as US president, the pontiff also condemned the idea of using walls and barbed wire to keep out foreigners. MORE https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-warns-against-populism-saviours-hitler-001439301.html [this is Rome trying to keep the people enslaved to a repressive system of control. Absolutely disgusting. Rome is globalism personified with the imprisonment of people’s brains. – rdb] Trump to CIA: We have to get rid of Islamic State Telling agency ‘I am with you 1,000 percent,’ president moves to defuse tensions left by US intelligence findings that Russia tried to tip election in his favor By AFP January 21, 2017, 11:59 pm WASHINGTON, United States — President Donald Trump told the CIA it had his full support on Saturday as he paid a visit to mend fences after publicly rejecting its assessment that Russia tried to help him win the US election. “I am with you 1,000 percent,” Trump said in a short address to CIA staff after his visit to the agency headquarters in Virginia. In his first full day in office, Trump moved swiftly to confront simmering tensions left by US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the US election to try to tip the outcome in Trump’s favor. “I love you, I respect you,” he told members of the US intelligence community. “We’re all on the same wavelength, right?” he asked, referring in particular to the fight against the Islamic State group. “We have not used the real abilities that we have. We’ve been restrained. We have to get rid of ISIS.” Mike Pompeo, Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, has not yet been confirmed by the US Senate. A 53-year-old Republican lawmaker, Pompeo is considered a foreign policy hawk and was an ardent opponent of former president Barack Obama’s administration. Outgoing CIA director John Brennan had stern words for Trump last Sunday, saying he needed to be more “disciplined” in his public comments. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-to-cia-i-am-with-you-1000-percent/ [The nitwits in their marches want to dump Trump, so let them dump him and have their hero, Hillary a murderer and a terrorist/ ISIS enabler. Let’s see how well a march will go with a pro-Islamic group who demand that women wear a Burqa or Hijab and can only go out with a male relative in attendance and can be beaten if out of line. See how well your rights are taken care of then. Blind, Deaf and TOTALLY DUMB are these people of today. =- rdb] Trump Offers Father Down on His Luck $10,000 Check at Inaugural Event by Warner Todd Huston20 Jan 2017Washington D.C.1448 A FedEx courier and former security guard from Illinois was surprised with an invitation to meet with Donald Trump after the President-elect saw a story on the struggling single father. But the special meeting wasn’t the only surprise. The young man was stunned when Trump presented him with a check for $10,000. Shane Bouvet, a 23-year-old single dad, was featured in a Washington Post story highlighting his visit to D.C. to support Donald Trump’s inauguration. The paper revealed that Bouvet was headed to D.C. in a borrowed suit and donated shoes to celebrate Trump’s oath of office. “This is pretty much the biggest thing I’ve done in my life,” Bouvet told the paper. “I don’t get out much. I’m a smalltown, blue-collar guy.” But a mere visit to Washington to see this historic day was far from the only notable thing about Bouvet’s visit, because Trump himself saw the paper’s feature on Bouvet and invited the young man to a one-on-one meeting. On Thursday, only a day before he took the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States of America, Donald Trump met Mr. Bouvet, shook his hand, and offered some help. “This is the greatest guy,” Trump said as he shook Bouvet’s hand in a tented area behind the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday, the Post reported. Bouvet called his father and had him say hello to the president in waiting. The President-elect laughed that Bouvet’s father, who is also named Don, has “a great name.” After Bouvet’s phone call back home, Trump signed autographs for the young man’s son and then came the big surprise. As Mr. Bouvet prepared to end his historic meeting with the President-elect, Donald Trump handed him a personal check for $10,000. As he walked away stunned and crying, Bouvet muttered aloud, “Did that just happen?” http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/20/trump-offers-father-luck-10000-check-inaugural-event/ [I would be willing to put money on the fact after reading a number of accounts of the actions of The Donald that this is just one of many similar episode from this man who the leftists trolls in this country love to hate. – rdb] Commentaries: President Trump Declares Independence His message to America: Remember those things I said in the campaign? I meant them. I meant it all. By Peggy Noonan Jan. 20, 2017 6:49 p.m. ET Washington I was more moved than I expected. Then more startled. The old forms and traditions, the bands and bunting, endured. I thought, as I watched the inauguration: It continues. There were pomp and splendor, happy, cheering crowds; and for all the confounding nature of the past 18 months, and all the trauma, it came as a reassurance to see us do what we do the way we do it. A friend in the Southwest, a longtime Trump supporter, emailed just before the swearing in: “I have been crying all morning.” From joy. I found myself unexpectedly moved during the White House meeting of the Trumps and the Obamas, at the moment Melania Trump emerged from her car. She was beautiful, seemed so shy and game. There are many ways to show your respect for people and events, and one is to present yourself with elegance and dignity. The inaugural address was utterly and uncompromisingly Trumpian. The man who ran is the man who’ll reign. It was plain, unfancy and blunt to the point of blistering. A little humility would have gone a long way, but that’s not the path he took. Nor did he attempt to reassure. It was pow, right in the face. Most important, he did not in any way align himself with the proud Democrats and Republicans arrayed around him. He looked out at the crowd and said he was allied with them. He presented himself not as a Republican or a conservative but as a populist independent. The essential message: Remember those things I said in the campaign? I meant them. I meant it all. The address was bold in its assertion of the distance in America between the leaders and the led: “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished—but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered—but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country.” It was an unmistakable indictment of almost everyone seated with him on the platform. Then a stark vow: “That all changes—starting right here and right now.” Jan. 20 “will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.” And these words were most remarkable, not because they were new, but because he didn’t back away from them, he repeated them in an improvisation: “From this day forward it’s going to be only America first—America first.” To American workers and families: “You will never be ignored again.” The speech will electrify President Trump’s followers. They will feel satisfaction that they understood him and knew what they were backing. And it will deepen the Washington establishment’s unease. Republican leaders had been hoping the address would ameliorate their anxieties about the continued primacy of their traditional policy preferences. Forget that. This was a declaration that the president is going his own way and they’d best follow. Throughout the speech, and much of the day, Mr. Trump looked stern. At first I thought it was the face he puts on when he’s nervous. I don’t think so now. Anyway, it was a remarkable speech, like none before it, and it marked, I think, yet another break point in the two-party reality that has dominated our politics for many decades. And so, now, it begins. And it simply has to be repeated: We have never had a political moment like this in our lives. We have never had a president like this, such a norm-breaker, in all the ways we know. We are in uncharted seas. His supporters, who flooded Washington this week, were friendly, courteous—but watchful. Two Midwestern women told me separately that they used to be but no longer are Republican. They’re something new, waiting for a name. They like Mr. Trump the way you learn to like someone you hired and will depend on. They judged him as exactly what’s needed to cut through the merde machine of modern Washington. He is a destabilizer; he shifts the tectonic plates; in the chaos that results, breakthroughs are possible. And yet all admit that yes, we’re in uncharted waters. The mood among Republicans in Washington is hopeful apprehension. Even Trump supporters, even his staff and advisers, feel it. No one knows what he’ll be like as president, how this will go. Including, probably, him. A GOP senator characterized his mood as “tentatively positive.” Another said, with a big grin: “I feel somewhat optimistic!” We’ll find out a lot the next few months. How will Mr. Trump work with Congress, and what are his specific legislative priorities? How important will the cabinet be? Will the Trumps really live in the White House or just stay and do events a few days a week? Will they come to own the physical space, the psychic space, of the executive mansion and the presidency? Will they give Camp David—those rustic cabins that are a glass, brass and marble-free zone—a chance? The big embassies this week gave receptions to celebrate the inauguration, and invited official Washington. Ambassadors made friendly speeches about their countries’ long, deep and unchanging ties to America. They approached the big change with sangfroid, even jolliness. But Washington still doesn’t know what to make of this thing America did. At the Kuwaiti Embassy I looked out at hundreds of Washingtonians of both parties—diplomats, lobbyists, military brass, journalists—all networking, meeting, greeting, all handsomely dressed. As I surveyed the scene I turned to a social figure of 40 years’ standing. “Do they have any sense they’re living through big history?” I asked. “Noooooo!” she said. The look on her face—if it had been the late 19th century she would have said, “Pshaw!” History is not what they’re about, she was suggesting; satisfying their personal and immediate hungers is what they’re about. The Trump Wars of the past 18 months do not now go away. Now it becomes the Trump Civil War, every day, with Democrats trying to get rid of him and half the country pushing back. To reduce it to the essentials: As long as Mr. Trump’s party holds the House, it will be a standoff. If the Democrats take the House, they will move to oust him. Because we are divided. We are two nations, maybe more. Normally a new president has someone backing him up, someone publicly behind him. Mr. Obama had the mainstream media—the big broadcast networks, big newspapers, activists and intellectuals, pundits and columnists of the left—the whole shebang. He had a unified, passionate party. Mr. Trump in comparison has almost nothing. The mainstream legacy media oppose him, even hate him, and will not let up. The columnists, thinkers and magazines of the right were mostly NeverTrump; some came reluctantly to support him. His party is split or splitting. The new president has gradations of sympathy, respect or support from exactly one cable news channel, and some websites. He really has no one but those who voted for him. Do they understand what a lift daily governance is going to be, and how long the odds are, with so much arrayed against him, and them? http://www.wsj.com/articles/president-trump-declares-independence-1484956174 [Unwavering support for what is in reality a populist revolution and a LEGAL civil war against a repressive, devastating group of government out of control is what we just saw and must now work to keep alive and protect it from those who have suckled at the teet of government for years and don’t want to give up. – rdb] Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Trump's son-in-law cleared to serve in White House Justice Department concludes it would be lawful for Trump to appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner to a White House post. Ben Ariel , 22/01/17 03:04 The Justice Department has concluded that it would be lawful for President Donald Trump to appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner to a White House post, Politico reported Saturday. According to the report, a 14-page opinion dated Friday from Justice's Office of Legal Counsel asserts that a federal anti-nepotism law that applies to agencies across the executive branch does not cover the White House itself. The anti-nepotism law dates to 1967 but Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Koffsky concluded that another law passed in 1978 and conferring broad authority on the president to appoint White House officials essentially overrides the earlier anti-nepotism measure. "We believe that the President's special hiring authority [in the 1978 law] permits him to make appointments to the White House Office that the anti-nepotism statute might otherwise forbid," Koffsky wrote in the opinion quoted by Politico. The opinion clears the way for Kushner, a real estate developer who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, to serve as a senior adviser to the president. Trump, who thinks highly of his son-in-law, recently named Kushner as a senior White House adviser who would deal, among other things, with the Israeli-Palestinian Authority conflict and other Middle East issues. Trump had previously said he “would love” to have Kushner involved in his new administration and would particularly like his help in dealing with other nations and Middle East peace. On Thursday, Trump heaped praise on his son-in-law and told him, “If you can’t produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can. All my life I’ve been hearing that’s the toughest deal to make, but I have a feeling Jared is going to do a great job.” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223627 British PM to meet Trump on Friday British Prime Minister Theresa May will become the first foreign leader to meet the new United States President. Ben Ariel, 22/01/17 01:38 British Prime Minister Theresa May will become the first foreign leader to meet U.S. President Donald Trump when she travels to Washington DC on Friday, the White House said on Saturday. Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave details of May's visit in his first briefing to journalists at the White House, though he was unclear in his remarks as to exactly when May would visit. Spicer also said that Trump has talked about meeting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on January 31, according to Reuters. The BBC noted the "symbolism [of May’s visit to Washington] will be very important" and with Brexit negotiations about to get under way, the fact that May will be meeting the new president so soon will be "politically significant". May on Friday congratulated Trump after his inauguration, saying, according to the BBC, "From our conversations to date, I know we are both committed to advancing the special relationship between our two countries and working together for the prosperity and security of people on both sides of the Atlantic. "I look forward to discussing these issues and more when we meet in Washington," she added. Plans for a meeting between May and Trump were pushed forward by Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, as the new administration looks to secure a strong relationship with Britain, The Independent reported Saturday night. According to The Telegraph, May will visit the U.S. without any other cabinet ministers and the details of the trip have apparently been worked on over the last week. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223625 Madonna raves and curses Madonna to crowd at Women’s March: ‘I’ve thought a lot about blowing up the White House,' calls for revolution. Uzi Baruch, 21/01/17 23:23 At the "Women's March on Washington" held on Saturday in Washington, D.C., legendary pop star Madonna claimed at a she has thought an “awful” lot about blowing up the White House now that President Donald Trump lives there. During that time, Madonna cursed repeatedly on live television, telling “detractors” of the women’s march: “f**k you.” According to Heavy, Madonna also lamented over Hillary Clinton losing the election, saying she believes Trump’s win should “wake us the f**k up.” [The threat to blow up the Whitehouse is actually a threat of insurrection and warrants an arrest and prosecution for incitement and treason. She is a foul mouthed prostitute that deserves nothing but disdain. – rdb] "It took us this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the f**k up. It seems as though we had all slipped into a false sense of comfort...that good would win in the end...we are far from the end. Today marks the beginning of our story. The revolution starts here. "The fight for the right to be free, to be who we are, to be equal. Let's march together through this darkness...we are not afraid. [“Right to be free” is reminiscent of LAWLESS. Also equated to the book of Judges – And everyone did what was right in their own eyes. – rdb] "To our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything: F**k you! F**k you!" Madonna exclaimed. "Yes I’m angry. Yes I am outraged. Yes I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House," she told the crowd. "But I know that this won’t change anything." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223622 Kerry at women's march: 'We're not going backwards' Former US Secretary of State John Kerry joins women's march with his dog, says 'we're not going back to this.' Arutz Sheva Staff, 21/01/17 21:51 Former US Secretary of State John Kerry joined the "Women's March on Washington" together with his dog. [Is that a nice way to refer to his wife? – rdb] Joining the women who worked in the White House under Obama, Kerry is the only member of former US President Barack Obama's Cabinet to have joined the march. The crowd, which was headed from Capitol Hill to the White House, has now grown too large to reach its destination. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223618 [It is obvious the globalists are in a panic mode and hopefully they will burn themselves out (or up) and be done with them. – rdb] To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 01212017 NEWS AM Psalm 149 1Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. 2Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. 3Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. 4For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. NASB Gershon Veroba - Ani Yisrael https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19EVMHFbGwI "When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, 'just men who will rule in the fear of God.' The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws." -- Noah Webster (1758-1843) American patriot and scholar, author of the first dictionary of American English usage (1806) and the author of the 1828 edition of the dictionary that bears his name Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy Please remember That the world would W A K E U P. these folks in prayerTime for a worldwide repentance! Check often – they ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world change Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. WAKE UP Pray that the American people to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for MS – family problems Pray for Family of CML– Pray for Family – Passed away Pray for DA family – one family member passed away and other is terminal Pray for AW – Pray for family – Passed Away! Pray for Chaim Simcha son of Chaya Hilka - improved Pray for DF and wife’s ability to cope – problems Alzheimer’s disease problems Pray for CM – Severe liver failure – Passed away – Pray for Family Pray for M B B – Passed away 12/31 – PRAY for family [Moshe and family are dear friends of East Texas Biblical Prophecy Forum and will be missed greatly after a long battle with a terrible disease! – rdb] Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? Daniel 11:24Peaceably even into the fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his fathers did not, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for a time. 25`And he stirreth up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great force, and the king of the south stirreth himself up to battle with a very great and mighty force, and standeth not, for they devise devices against him, 26and those eating his portion of food destroy him, and his force overfloweth, and fallen have many wounded. Footage shows driver accelerate to strike police officer at roadblock A driver smashes into a police officer at a roadblock in Nazareth Illit, lightly wounding him; the driver flees, but police located the car and arrest all four of the occupants, Nazareth residents aged 18–20. Hassan Shaalan|Published: 21.01.17 , 13:22 An Israel Police officer was lightly injured overnight Friday at a roadblock in Nazareth Illit when he was struck by a car he was ordering to stop; the driver then attempted to flee the scene. The police had set up the roadblock outside the Dodge Center to check vehicles coming into the compound. The driver who injured the officer ignored the flashlight shone through the windshield, accelerated and slammed into the police officer, who was taken for medical treatment at a nearby hospital. The car was located later that night after a police search. The four occupants, young adults aged 18 to 20 from Nazareth, were all arrested. Saturday night, they are to be brought before the Nazareth Magistrates' Court for a remand hearing. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4910504,00.html Israel condemns planned Belgian interrogation of ex-FM Livni Citing personal reasons, Zionist Union MK cancelled Brussels trip, where she may have been questioned for ‘war crimes’ By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 20, 2017, 5:48 pm Israel denounced Friday the “cynical exploitation” of Belgium’s judicial system, after Belgian prosecutors confirmed they wanted to question a former Israeli minister over war crimes allegations. Tzipi Livni, currently a Knesset member with the center-left Zionist Union opposition party, was expected to visit Brussels next week to meet Jewish leaders in the city but “cancelled three or four days before,” a spokesman for the event said. He said the cancellation was for “personal reasons.” Local newspaper Le Soir said prosecutors had been hoping to question Livni over allegations of war crimes in the 2008-9 Israeli war in Gaza, when she was foreign minister. “We wanted to take advantage of her visit to try to advance the investigation,” a spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor Thierry Werts said. Livni’s spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment from AFP, but the Foreign Ministry reacted strongly. “We reject this cynical abuse of the Belgian legal system to advance a political agenda,” ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said. He labelled the attempt to question Livni “another cheap publicity stunt with no legal basis that was organised and executed by an anti-Israeli organisation.” Livni, one of Israel’s most influential women, is named along with other political and military leaders in a complaint filed in June 2010 over alleged crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead. More than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, died during the Israeli-Hamas war between December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009 MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-condemns-planned-belgian-interrogation-of-ex-fm-livni/ Israeli security forces predict uptick in tensions as Trump inauguration looms near By NOAM AMIR/MAARIV,JOY BERNARD 01/20/2017 Security forces increase alertness and prepare to tighten security measures, expressing concern that President-elect Trump's inauguration ceremony will exacerbate an already tense situation. As President-elect Donald Trump is expected to officially be sworn into office later on Friday, the Israeli security establishment is preparing for possible altercations and clashes with Palestinian demonstrators. The incoming American president has already declared in recent months his intention to follow through on several moves that are distinctly opposed to the Palestinian agenda in the region, with Palestinian political ranks vehemently protesting one specific move: his decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israeli-security-forces-predict-uptick-in-tensions-as-Trump-inauguration-looms-near-479072 Following Paris Peace Summit, Largely Forgotten 2013 French Court Ruling That Israeli Settlements Are Legal Receives Renewed Attention by Barney Breen-Portnoy January 19, 2017 6:18 pm A largely forgotten landmark 2013 French court ruling has received renewed attention this week following the international diplomatic summit held in Paris last Sunday at which Israeli settlements were portrayed as illegal. In an editorial published on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “The conference was a failure, but the conferees could have helped themselves by first checking what French courts have to say about those settlements before scoring Israel again…In 2013 the French Court of Appeals in Versailles ruled that, contrary to Palestinian arguments, Jewish settlements don’t violate the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition against an occupying power transferring ‘its civilian population into the territory it occupies.’ The law, the court held, bars government efforts to transfer populations. But it doesn’t bar private individuals settling in the disputed territories.” The Wall Street Journal was referring to the ruling on a lawsuit — detailed here — that was filed by the Palestinian Authority against two French companies that took part in the construction of the light rail line in Jerusalem — which traverses areas the Palestinians hope will be part of the capital city of their potential future state. That ruling, the Wall Street Journal said, “matters because the Paris conference adopted the premise that settlements are illegal as a matter of settled law and the primary obstacle to peace. The French court makes a nonsense of that judgment simply by looking at what the Geneva Conventions say, rather than basing its judgment on a legally meaningless ‘international consensus.’” https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/19/following-paris-peace-summit-largely-forgotten-2013-french-court-ruling-that-israeli-settlements-are-legalreceives-renewed-attention/ Hamas operative killed in Gaza tunnel collapse Terrorist group says Yussef al-Agha died in the collapse of a ‘resistance tunnel,’ the type dug for attacks against Israel By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 20, 2017, 8:51 pm A Hamas operative was killed as a tunnel collapsed in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, his Islamist movement which rules the Palestinian territory said. It said Yussef al-Agha died in Khan Yunis in the collapse of a “resistance tunnel,” the type dug for attacks against Israel. Last year, 22 members of Hamas’s armed wing were killed “preparing equipment,” the majority in a string of tunnel collapses, the terror group said last month. Gaza terrorists have dug dozens of tunnels, many coming under the border into Israel, to launch attacks against the Jewish state; Israel destroyed many of them during the devastating 2014 war with Hamas. It says Hamas has since been rebuilding the network, and Hamas has bragged about doing so. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, imposed by Israel and Egypt to try to prevent it importing weaponry. “Attack tunnels” were a key weapon for Hamas during the last conflict in 2014, with a number of raids inside Israeli territory. Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, has also destroyed tunnels Palestinians use to smuggle commercial goods, cash, people and weapons. Several Palestinians were also killed last year in tunnel collapses on southern Gaza’s border with Egypt. [Works accidents, such a pity. – rdb] http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-operative-killed-in-gaza-tunnel-collapse/ Trump to develop missile defense system against Iran, North Korea By REUTERS 01/20/2017 The administration also stated it would make defeating "radical Islamic terror groups" its top foreign policy goal. WASHINGTON - The Trump administration intends to develop a "state of the art" missile defense system to protect against attacks from Iran and North Korea, the White House said in a policy position posted on its website on Friday. The statement, posted on the White House website within minutes of Donald Trump's inauguration, did not provide details on whether the system would differ from those already under development, its cost or how it would be paid for. The administration also stated it would make defeating "radical Islamic terror groups" its top foreign policy goal. Trump, a Republican, used his inaugural address on Friday to promise to "unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth." In the statement, titled "America First Foreign Policy," the Trump administration said, "Defeating ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups will be our highest priority." ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State. In order to "defeat and destroy" Islamic State and similar groups, the new administration said it "will pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations when necessary," work to cut off funding for terrorist groups, expand intelligence sharing, and use "cyberwarfare" to disrupt propaganda and recruitment efforts. Trump's speech and the statement echoed his campaign criticism of former president Barack Obama and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, for not using the phrase "radical Islamic terror" to describe Islamic State and other hardline jihadist groups. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Trump-to-develop-missile-defense-system-against-IranNorth-Korea-479120 Austria arrests suspected terrorist Austrian armed commandos arrest man suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Vienna. Ben Ariel, Canada, 20/01/17 22:48 Austrian armed commandos on Friday arrested a man suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Vienna, police said, according to AFP. "In recent days indications have grown of an actual suspect planning a supposed act of terror, and Vienna police... immediately began investigating and implemented security measures," spokeswoman Irina Steier told the news agency. "The presence of uniformed and plainclothes police was increased and today at 1800 (1700 GMT) the suspect was arrested in Vienna near his address on the basis of an arrest warrant," Steier said. She provided no details of the suspect, except to confirm that it was a man and that investigations are continuing. The Kronenzeitung newspaper published online a document from the interior ministry saying that a group of "radical Islamists of Albanian origin" intended to launch an attack in Vienna. It said that according to information from a foreign intelligence agency and, independently from a foreign police force, the attack was to take place between January 15 and January 30. The document added that a German-speaking sympathizer of the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group made explosives in Germany and that he intended to bring them to Vienna to carry out an attack. Just last month, Austrian authorities arrested a 25-year-old asylum seeker from Morocco suspected of planning an attack during the holiday season in the city of Salzburg. Like many other countries, Austria has been facing a terror threat from both asylum seekers as well as locals who travel to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside jihadists, then return to their home countries. Facing the challenges of Austrians travelling to the Middle East to join jihadist groups, Austria's parliament in February of 2015 passed a law banning foreign sources of financing to Muslim organizations and requiring imams to be able to speak German. In June of that year, an Austrian court convicted nine people of Chechen origin who were arrested on their way to join Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists together with their Turkish driver. In October, three Austrian teenagers were given custodial terms for trying to join ISIS terrorists in Syria. Meanwhile on Friday, police issued a public warning for people to be on the lookout at crowded public places and to inform police if they see any suspicious objects. Despite fears of terrorism, Austria has been thus far spared in the string of attacks by Islamists suffered by other European countries. MORE -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223604 Nigeria: Boko Haram Attacks Refugee Camp, Killing up to 170 Veronica Neffinger | Editor, ChristianHeadlines.com | Friday, January 20, 2017 Boko Haram militants attacked a refugee camp on Thursday, killing an estimated 170 people. The people living in the camp, as well as the humanitarian aid workers there, have faced tragedy upon tragedy. Earlier this week, the Nigerian army carried out airstrikes meant to target Boko Haram, but instead ended up bombing the refugee camp, killing at least 52 people. After the airstrike devastated the camp, over 100 Boko Haram militants wreaked further havoc on the refugees and aid workers, according to Fox News. Soldiers reportedly tried to keep the militants out, but were largely unsuccessful. The Red Cross reported that nearly 90 people have been taken from Rann in Borno state to Maiduguri city so they can receive medical care. "At least 52 people were killed and 120 wounded," said Tim Shenk, a spokesman for Medecins Sans Frontieres, a medical charity. "The organization's medical and surgical teams in the region are preparing to treat evacuated patients," he added. Nigeria’s air force has promised to investigate the government’s inadvertent bombing of the camp. There are 43,000 people living in the camp, taking refuge from the seven-year scourge of terror Boko Haram has been carrying out in the region. http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/nigeria-boko-haram-attacks-refugee-camp-killing-up-to-170.html President Trump puts fight against ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ at heart of inauguration speech In uncompromising address, new president promises to ‘reinforce old alliances,’ quotes Bible on ‘how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity’ By Times of Israel staff and Agencies January 20, 2017, 8:10 pm WASHINGTON — In a forceful, uncompromising inauguration address, US President Donald Trump placed the battle against Islamic extremism at the heart of his foreign policy as he took office on Friday, vowing to work with allies to destroy the jihadist threat. “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones, and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth,” he declared, referring to the Islamist terror threat in language that his predecessor always preferred not to use. That focus conformed strongly with the mindset of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tweeted his congratulations “to my friend President Trump” even before the 45th president had been sworn in. Trump’s predecessors George W. Bush — who invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban regime — and Barack Obama — who ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden — also fought extremism. But Trump has gone further than both in his use of language, suggesting that he sees the fight as a civilizational battle between America and a threat springing from the Islamic faith itself. Moscow has deployed forces to Syria to protect Bashar al-Assad’s regime from Islamist rebels, but Obama’s administration has argued their brutal tactics alienate moderates and only boost support for the extremist Islamic State group. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/president-trump-puts-fights-against-radical-islamic-terrorism-at-heart-of-inauguration-speech/ [You can bet Israel and her leaders were watching with baited breath. – rdb] President Donald Trump Will Sign Executive Order Sunday to Defund International Planned Parenthood National Steven Ertelt Jan 20, 2017 | 2:24PM Washington, DC A new report out today indicates President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to defund International Planned Parenthood. Most pro-life Americans are anxiously awaiting Congress to pass a bill to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. While that defunding legislation concerns the domestic-based Planned Parenthood abortion corporation, president Trump has the ability to put in place an executive order that would revoke funding for its International affiliate. When pro-abortion former President Barack Obama took office, Obama overturned a policy that prevented funding of groups that promote or perform abortions overseas. The Mexico City Policy covered over $400 million in federal funds, part of which flowed to the abortion businesses International Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes International for their foreign efforts. As LifeNews.com reported, the pro-life policy had been in place during the entirety of the Bush administration and Obama rescinded it on his first week in office. Named for a 1984 population conference where President Reagan initially announced it, the Mexico City Policy made it so family planning funds could only go to groups that would agree to not do abortions or lobby foreign nations to overturn their pro-life laws. While the main bill to defund Planned Parenthood must be approved by Congress, Trump can restore the Mexico City Policy by executive order and reportedly intends to do so on Sunday — according to a report in a proabortion publication. As one of his first acts in the Oval Office, the Republican president-elect plans to restore the “Mexico City policy” as soon as Sunday, a congressional staffer told Foreign Policy. The timing of the executive order on Sunday would coincide with the anniversary of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. MORE - http://www.lifenews.com/2017/01/20/president-donald-trump-will-sign-executive-order-sunday-to-defund-intentional-plannedparenthood/ Jewish groups welcome parts of Trump inaugural address, slam others Conference of Presidents says it ‘looks forward’ to working with administration, Anne Frank Center criticizes ‘hateful speech’ By JTA and Times of Israel staff January 21, 2017, 1:46 am Reacting to the inaugural address of President Donald Trump, Jewish groups mostly stuck to their ideological bearings. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations praised the unifying portions of Trump’s speech and called on him to safeguard Israel’s security and other Jewish interests. “We welcome President Trump’s acknowledgement of the need to heal the divisions in our country, to improve the lives of all Americans, to reinforce alliances and to strengthen our security,” the statement said. “We look forward to working with President Trump and his administration to deepen the historic special relationship between the US and Israel, enhance the safety and security of the Jewish state and its people and on other issues of vital importance to the American Jewish community.” While Trump promised to “reinforce old alliances and form new ones,” he also said the United States “subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.’” “We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay,” the new US leader said. The Zionist Organization of America, a right-wing group whose leaders have praised Trump, congratulated him on “initiating a great new era of the United States of America.” ZOA also praised Trump for using a verse quoted often by Jews from the Bible. In his speech, Trump said, “The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” “We appreciate our new President’s determination to eliminate the scourge of radical Islam, and his quote of one of our favorite lines from Psalm 133, often sung by the Jewish people, about dwelling together in unity,” the statement from ZOA President Morton Klein and Chairman Michael Goldblatt said. The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, which opposes bigotry and promotes Holocaust remembrance, castigated Trump’s speech for failing to reassure the minorities the president’s statements targeted during his campaign. The statement also linked the president to the “alt-right,” a loose movement that traffics in white nationalism. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-groups-welcome-parts-of-trump-inauguraladdress-slam-others/ [when the Jewish community starts to wake up and stops equating the Jewish population in the Holocaust situation with that of the Islamic group WHICH IS NOT a minority by any stretch of the imagination since they are 2.2 billion islamics worldwide. They are confusing a peaceful minority religious group with a radical geopolitical group whose basic tenet is world domination and control. Put your apples and oranges in different baskets please. Wake up and smell the roses before they take off your head. – rdb] Smashed windows, chaotic confrontation near inauguration Spirited demonstrations unfold at security checkpoints near the Capitol; police in riot gear help ticket-holders get through to inaugural ceremony By Jessica Gresko January 20, 2017, 6:32 pm WASHINGTON (AP) — Police deployed pepper spray in a chaotic confrontation blocks from Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday as protesters registered their rage against the incoming president. Spirited demonstrations unfolded peacefully at various security checkpoints near the Capitol as police helped ticket-holders get through to the inaugural ceremony. Signs read, “Resist Trump Climate Justice Now,” ”Let Freedom Ring,” ”Free Palestine.” But at one point, police gave chase Demonstrators march near a inaugural security checkpoint entrance, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 in Washington, ahead of to a group of about 100 protesters who President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) smashed the windows of downtown businesses as they denounced capitalism and Trump. Police in riot gear used pepper spray from large canisters and eventually cordoned off the protesters, who shouted, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” as a helicopter hovered overhead. The confrontation happened about an hour before Trump’s swearing-in at the Capitol. Closer to that scene, lines for ticket holders entering two gates stretched for blocks at one point as protesters clogged entrances. The DisruptJ20 coalition, named after the date of the inauguration, had promised that people participating in its actions in Washington would attempt to shut down the celebrations, risking arrest when necessary. MORE http://www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-make-their-mark-on-trumps-inauguration/ [You want to bet these were paid provocateurs by Soros? –rdb] College won't fund pro-life event since it's not 'unbiased' But it funds pro-choice speech with mandatory student fees Published: 2 days ago Bob Unruh Colorado State University in Fort Collins flagrantly violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection and due process provisions, as well as the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech and ban on viewpoint discrimination, by banning the use of student fees for speakers on topics the university doesn’t like, according to a new federal lawsuit. The U.S. District Court case was brought by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the school’s Students for Life chapter and student Emily Faulkner after the school said the organization couldn’t use student fees for a pro-life speaker because some people wouldn’t “necessarily feel affirmed in attending the event.” Speakers who advocated for abortion and other speakers with other objectionable perspectives, meanwhile, had been funded by the school, the complaint explains. While CSU officials declined to respond to a WND request for comment, connecting a WND reporter to a dead telephone line when a request was submitted, Students for Life’s national leaders explained the problem. “University officials denied the group access to funds from mandatory student activity fees on the basis that they disapproved of its proposed campus event, which featured a speaker on the topic of abortion and bodily rights,” the group said. MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/college-wont-fund-pro-life-event-since-its-not-unbiased-2/?cat_orig=health [If you wonder why we have ignorant college students and youth who don’t even understand the fundamental concepts of what our country is about such as the peaceful transition of power and fundamental concepts of US history, it is because we have so called ‘learning institutions’ in our country whose leaders and teachers are even more stupid and biased. The so called bastions of higher education have become dens of politically based ignorance. – rdb] NOTE: www.Understandingthethreat.com Learn about the real threat to the USA and forget the PC stuff about the ‘peaceful religion’ that our leaders of the past 30 years have been feeding us. – rdb] What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001 Trump Inaugural Address Focuses On ‘We,’ Leaves Himself Out Of Speech Almost Entirely Peter Hasson Reporter, Associate Editor12:46 PM 01/20/2017 In contrast to his predecessor Barack Obama, who had a habit of mentioning himself often throughout his speeches, Trump mentioned himself just three times in two sentences, while referring to “we” the American people 45 times. The first time Trump referred to himself came about halfway through the speech, when he said: “The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.” Trump’s other two references to himself came shortly afterwards. “I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down,” Trump said. That was the extent to which Trump gave himself any mention in his inaugural address. (RELATED: Obama Refers To Himself 75 Times In Farewell Address) He referred to “we” the American people 45 times over the course of the address, including a string of mentions at the end of his speech, playing off his “Make America Great Again” slogan: “Together, We Will Make America Strong Again. We Will Make America Wealthy Again. We Will Make America Proud Again. We Will Make America Safe Again. And, Yes, Together, We Will Make America Great Again.” The full speech remarks can be viewed here. http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/20/trump-inaugural-address-focuses-on-we-leaves-himselfout-of-speech-almost-entirely/ [This is a totally different mindset from what we have seen in the past with many of those in office. The government has by even casual observation a severe “I” or “eye” problem and hopefully you will see some of that corrected. – rdb] Obama says farewell at same moment Trump signs first executive order By Kate Irby Now former President Barack Obama delivered remarks in a farewell event with his staff at Joint Base Andrews following President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the same moment Trump starting signing his first executive orders as president. It is unclear what the executive orders said at press time. The White House website, which was updated with Trump’s policies during the inauguration, contained no information on the orders. Trump aides have told CNN that Trump will sign ceremonial and logistical executive orders on Friday, but he could also be signing more policy-oriented orders. Obama’s speech was consistent with most of his farewell speeches, telling the crowd that he had faith in the America people and their ability to do good together. MORE -http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article127702094.html All References to ‘Climate Change’ Deleted From White House Website at Noon Today 'At 11:59 am eastern, the official White House website had a lengthy information page about the threat of climate change and the steps the federal government had taken to fight it. At noon, at the instant Donald Trump took office, the page was gone, as well as any mention of climate change or global warming.' By: Marc Morano - Climate DepotJanuary 20, 2017 12:59 PM WASHINGTON, DC — A climate of change! Perhaps the most stark contrast between the Obama administration and the Trump administration is on “global warming”. The climate differences were visible today as the White House website was scrubbed of all references to “climate change” at exactly noon today just as President Donald Trump was sworn in. Climate Depot statement: “Climate skeptics are thrilled that one of the very first visible changes of the transition of power between President Obama and President Trump is the booting of “climate change” from the White House website. Trump is truly going to make science great again and reject the notion that humans are the control knob of the climate and UN treaties and EPA regulations can somehow regulate temperature and storminess. Welcome to the era of sound science! MORE - http://www.climatedepot.com/2017/01/20/all-references-to-climate-change-deleted-from-white-house-website-at-noon-today/ It's no revelation that intelligence agencies are politicized By Victor Davis Hanson Published Jan. 19, 2017 Furor has arisen over President-elect Donald Trump's charges that our intelligence agencies are politicized. Spare us the outrage. For decades, directors of intelligence agencies have often quite inappropriately massaged their assessments to fit administration agendas. Careerists at these agencies naturally want to continue working from one administration to the next in "the king is dead; long live the king!" style. So they make the necessary political adjustments, which are sometimes quite at odds with their own agency's findings and to the detriment of national security. The result is often confusion -- and misinformation passed off as authoritative intelligence. After Barack Obama won the 2008 election, George W. Bush intelligence adviser John Brennan stayed on as Obama's homeland security adviser. He is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Under Obama, Brennan loudly criticized the use of enhanced interrogation techniques under the Bush administration. Brennan praised his new boss for his superior approach to combating terrorism. Brennan, who had served a year as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center under Bush, later assured the nation that enhanced interrogation techniques had helped "save lives" and were an important tool in combating terrorism. In 2010, Brennan inexplicably declared that jihad was "a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community," rather than the use of force against non-Muslims to promote the spread of Islam, as it is commonly defined in the Middle East. Brennan assured the nation that the Obama administration's drone assassination program had not resulted in "a single collateral death" -- a claim widely disbelieved even by administration supporters. Compare the similar odyssey of James Clapper, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence under George W. Bush. During his Bush tenure, Clapper had declared that weapons of mass destruction in Iraq indeed had existed but were "unquestionably" sent to Syria shortly before the war began -- a hypothesis perhaps favorable to the Bush administration but unsupported by his own intelligence officers. Clapper also stayed on in the intelligence community under President Obama and eventually was promoted to director of national intelligence -- and soon made the necessary transformations to adapt to an entirely new approach to radical Islamic terrorism. Clapper asserted in congressional testimony that the National Security Agency under the Obama administration did not collect intelligence on Americans. Later, he confessed that such an inaccurate response was "the least untruthful" way of answering. Few were convinced when Clapper insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was "largely secular" -- although that declaration fit well enough the themes voiced by Obama in his earlier Cairo speech. Clapper was also faulted by military intelligence officers at CENTCOM for purportedly pressuring Pentagon officials to issue rosy reports about the supposed decline of the Islamic State -- not accurate, but an administration talking point. Former CIA Director George Tenet stayed on from the Bill Clinton administration to serve under George W. Bush. He soon became a chief proponent of the claim that Saddam Hussein had inventories on hand of weapons of mass destruction. Tenet assured the president that WMD in Iraq was a "slam dunk" case -- a conclusion that turned out not to be based on solid intelligence but was certainly welcomed by the administration. Few believed early intelligence talking points that the American deaths in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 were the result of a spontaneous riot caused by a right-wing filmmaker residing in the U.S. But that implausible intelligence narrative dovetailed with the Obama re-election themes of an al-Qaida on the run and the dangers of Islamophobia in America. The false Benghazi hypothesis fueled then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's false claims on Sunday-morning talk shows that the Benghazi deaths were not caused by al-Qaida affiliates Such politicized assessments are not uncommon. The 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate ludicrously declared that Iran had halted work on nuclear enrichment in 2003. It was likely a politically driven pushback to the flawed 2002 intelligence on Iraqi WMD. The media should spare its current outrage at any suggestion that politics affects the administration of some 16 major intelligence agencies. Journalists should instead listen to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who cynically warned Trump that intelligence agencies "have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you." Careerism and ideology at the top sometimes undermine the work of patriotic and gifted case officers in the rank and file. The integrity of intelligence depends on the probity of individual intelligence chiefs -- and the degree to which administration operatives are kept away from intelligence directors. Reform requires honesty rather than the present self-righteous hypocrisy. There are far too many separate intelligence agencies and thus too many agendas. Directors should have term limits. They should not reinvent themselves to bounce between various directorships from administration to administration. Issuing absurd politically driven hypotheses should be grounds for dismissal -- and giving false testimony to Congress should earn perjury charges. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0117/hanson011917.php3 [Bending with the next breeze seems to be the usual and customary for the “intelligence” service. So who are you supposed to believe? Not them. – rdb] Commentaries: The Inside Story of How John Kerry Secretly Lobbied to Get CAIR Removed From UAE's Terrorist Organization List by Steven Emerson IPT News January 19, 2017 On Nov. 16, 2014, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took the unusual step of designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Muslim American Society (MAS) – as terrorist organizations. They were among 83 groups named for their connections to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. This outraged CAIR officials, who immediately began efforts to get their organization removed from the list. They found a powerful ally in Secretary of State John Kerry, who authorized State Department officials to meet regularly with UAE officials to lobbying on behalf of CAIR and MAS . CAIR already had a sympathetic ear in the Obama administration, including the State Department, that had openly embraced and legitimized the entire spectrum of radical Islamist groups falsely posing as religious or civil rights groups, which both CAIR and MAS had done. At a daily State Department press briefing two days after UAE released its list, a spokesman said that State does not "consider CAIR or MAS to be terrorist groups" but that it was seeking more information from UAE about their decision. He added that "as part of our routine engagement with a broad spectrum of faith based organizations, a range of U.S. government officials have met with officials of CAIR and MAS. We at the State Department regularly meet with a wide range of faith based groups to hear their views even if some of their views expressed at times are controversial." In making that admission, the State Department official had effectively affirmed the Obama Administration policy of embracing radical Islamist group under the euphemism of calling them "faith based groups." The UAE had good reason to designate CAIR, as records obtained by the FBI indicate it was created as front group for a Hamas support network. While CAIR bills itself as "the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization," the reality is quite different. Before helping launch CAIR, Executive Director Nihad Awad worked as public relations director for the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas propaganda arm in the United States. A 2001 Immigration and Naturalization Service memo documented IAP's support for Hamas and found that the "facts strongly suggest" that IAP was "part of Hamas' propaganda apparatus." IAP was part of the "Palestine Committee," created by the Muslim Brotherhood to support Hamas politically and financially. CAIR was added to the Palestine Committee's roster just after its 1994 creation. In 2008, the FBI cut off official contact with CAIR, citing evidence from the Holy Land Foundation terror funding trial which documented the connections between CAIR and its founders to Hamas. In a letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, the FBI explained, "until we [the FBI] can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner." During a 2003 Senate hearing, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said that CAIR is known "to have ties to terrorism." In 2009 correspondence with the FBI, he wrote that cutting off contact with the Islamist group "should be governmentwide policy." [This is most interesting considering the comments that came from the Janet Napolitano and her ‘indignant’ defense of the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR. – rdb] CAIR and its representatives, meanwhile, often espouse radical ideology and propagate the jihadist narrative that the United States is waging a "war on Islam." Awad repeated that message as recently as September when he denounced legislation allowing the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. CAIR officials often side with Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists. CAIR-New York board member Lamis Deek, an attorney, tweeted during the 2012 war between Israel and Hamas that Gaza is a "beacon of resistance, exposes shackles, awakens dignity, inspires revolution, reaffirms our oneness – the reason 'israel' won't last." During a 2009 fundraiser for an effort to break Israel's embargo against the Hamas government in Gaza, Deek explained that Palestinian support for Hamas is a choice for "one united Palestinian state on all of the 1948 territories from the north to the very south. That is what Palestinians chose. And in supporting Palestinian choice we are saying we support their right to liberation from violent colonialism." Just days before the UAE's 2014 designation of CAIR as a terrorist group in the organization's San Francisco chapter bestowed its "Promoting Justice" award to Sami Al-Arian and his family. Al-Arian secretly ran an American support network for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group in the late 1980s and early 1990s. PIJ was responsible for terrorist attacks which killed dozens of Israelis and several Americans. Al-Arian pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide goods or services to the PIJ. His plea agreement included an admission that he was associated with the PIJ. U.S District Judge James S. Moody went further in sentencing Al Arian: "The evidence was clear in this case that you were a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," Moody said. "You were on the board of directors and an officer, the secretary. Directors control the actions of an organization, even the PIJ; and you were an active leader." Since 2001, six CAIR officials have been convicted of terror-related charges. A longtime national board member was deported in part because of his Hamas support. Yet despite the massive evidence linking CAIR to Hamas and other terror groups, the Obama administration repeatedly invited CAIR officials and other radical Islamist groups to the White House. In December 2014, CAIR met with top officials of the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department, asking them to pressure the UAE to remove them from the list, according to reliable sources intimately familiar with the communications. On December 22, 2014, CAIR issued a press release asserting that "the two American Muslim organizations and the U.S. government pledged to work together to achieve a positive solution to the UAE designations. In response to a letter sent by CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad sent to Secretary Kerry protesting the UAE designation, Kerry responded on May 5, 2015 in a letter to Awad stating, "Let me reiterate, first, that the U.S. government clearly does not consider CAIR to be a terrorist organization. As your letter noted, the Department of State rejected this allegation immediately after the UAE designations were announced in November, and we will continue to do so....U.S. officials have raised the issue of CAIR's inclusion on the UAE's terror list with UAE officials on multiple occasions..." That portion of the letter now appears on CAIR's website. But at the time that the letter was sent to CAIR, according to knowledgeable sources, there was an agreement between CAIR and the State Department to keep the letter secret. An excerpt from it was posted on CAIR's website only in May 2016, a year after it was received. The IPT has learned that Kerry and CAIR made this agreement to keep the letter secret so as to protect Kerry from public embarrassment. In light of CAIR's numerous ties to Hamas and other unsavory aspects of its record, Kerry had good reason to believe that the letter could cause a public relations disaster for him. Whatever influence the State Department exerted on the UAE did not work. There has been no indication CAIR and MAS were removed from the Gulf state's terrorist list. When the UAE list was published, CAIR realized that it was going to a public relations disaster for them as well. So they published a FAQ attacking the UAE as a "politically 'authoritarian' regime." The organization seemed more comfortable with this authoritarian regime in 2006, when Awad and CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper led a delegation on a fundraising trip to the UAE. State Department cables show that the delegation, led by the public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, sought millions of dollars from UAE donors. The cables, obtained by the IPT through the Freedom of Information Act, show that CAIR officials met with top UAE leaders and attended an evening reception "in honor of the CAIR group" hosted by a top presidential adviser. The cable also noted that "UAE press has reported that Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al-Makhtoum Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, 'has endorsed a proposal to build a property in the U.S. to serve as an endowment for CAIR.' The cable added that CAIR had already received substantial contributions from several wealthy UAE donors, including one who had already given CAIR $1 million. The Muslim American Society, meanwhile, has its own lengthy record of defending accused terrorists and terror supporters. It was formed as the Muslim Brotherhood's overt arm in the United States. Co-founder Abdurrahman Alamoudi, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to engaging in illegal transactions with Libya and facilitating a Libyan plot to assassinate then-Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, testified in 2012 that MAS's connection with the Brotherhood cannot be disputed. This sordid episode of going to bat for a Hamas-support organization is emblematic of the larger problem of the Obama's administration's inability to pinpoint the heart of the impasse between the Palestinians and the Israelis as unceasing Palestinian terrorism, continued Palestinian subsidies paid to terrorist families, incendiary glorification of terrorists who kill Jews, and massive anti-Semitic incitement in Palestinian schools and media. The outgoing Secretary of State recently crowed in the New York Times about what he got right. This episode is a stark example of what he got wrong. http://www.investigativeproject.org/5758/the-inside-story-of-how-john-kerry-secretly [It should be blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes in their head and a thinking brain that there was a concerted effort and plan by the NOW previous administration to “Islamatize” the US and enable the advance of a radical terrorist group in this country. Most people would label that treason and it should be. There should be a concerted effort to bring charges of treason against the now former occupier of the Whitehouse and put him and those who assisted him away for long time. While this would be unprecedented it is certainly warranted when you look at the facts of the situation. When fellow islamists recognize a group as a terrorist group and you enable them you have committed treason. – rdb] Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Report: The UN is occupying State-owned Israeli land New report shows that the UN compound in Jerusalem infringes on State-owned land. J'lem Affairs Minister: "Time to stand up to UN beatings." Arutz Sheva Staff, 20/01/17 14:14 An investigation by the Regavim organization, which works to ensure that Israeli sovereignty is enforced over State-owned land, has revealed that part of the UN compound in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem lies on State-owned land, and that, therefore, the government can cancel the UN’s permit to reside there any time that it wishes. [YES YES YES - rdb] The organization presented aerial pictures which prove that the UN compound infringes on about 8 acres of Stateowned land which are not part of the original compound granted to the UN for its use. The Jerusalem municipality has confirmed that there are deviations at the site from the original plan, and that Police are checking the matter. Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Zeev Elkin said this morning during an interview with Radio Tel Aviv: “I ordered a check, and it appears that there is a problem there. The time has come for Israel to stop allowing itself to get beaten up by the UN, including the option of [evicting the UN from the premises].” Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely promised: “The matter will be checked in the Foreign Ministry with respect to possible steps that can be taken against the UN agencies, following the Security Council decision against settlements.” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223593 Report: Jared and Ivanka allowed to ride in car on Shabbat Chairman of Republican Party in Israel says the couple received rabbinic permission to ride to inauguration in car out of safety concerns. Arutz Sheva Staff, 20/01/17 15:07 Daughter of Donald Trump Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, who are orthodox Jews, have reportedly received rabbinical permission to travel to Donald Trump’s Presidential inauguration by car - after the onset of Shabbat. In an interview with Kol Barama radio, Mark Zell, the chair of the Republican Party in Israel, said that the couple had been granted special permission by a rabbi to use a vehicle because of “safety” concerns. Jewish law generally forbids riding in a car on Shabbat - except in situations in which human life is at stake. In a separate interview with The Times of Israel, however, Zell indicated that he did not know which rabbi had allowed the exception. “The family spokesperson simply told me they’ll be driving to some of the festivities after Shabbat begins,” he said. “They’ll be having a Shabbat dinner someplace and then I gather they’ll be going to one of these balls.” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223595 'President Trump, don't fear Arab threats!' Likud MK pens letter to Trump, urging the President-elect not to fear Arab threats against moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. Gary Willig, 20/01/17 12:19 Likud MK Avi Dichter, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. penned an open letter to US President-elect Donald Trump telling him not to fear Arab threats of his stated plans to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Tel Aviv. "Dear President Trump - don't sweat over the threats of the Palestinians. Move the American embassy to Jerusalem!" Dichter wrote. "You will be the first leader of the US and the first world leader to do so. You must demonstrate that leadership which makes it clear that you are a different president, and not like the old breed." he said, adding that once the US embassy is moved to Jerusalem, other countries would likely follow suite. "Embassy after embassy would come to Jerusalem." He said that Arab threats over Jerusalem are nothing new. "The battle cry of Islamic terrorism is 'millions of martyrs will march on Jerusalem!'" He urged Trump not to fear the threats that moving the embassy would spark violence across the Middle East. "Mr. President, don't get excited by the threats of the Palestinians. I've heard these same threats dozens of times before, from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations. They all threaten that the Middle East will be inflamed, but the flames always subside and the world just comes to their aid." He said that the Arab nations and Russian President Vladimir Putin understand that America is returning to the vacuum created by outgoing President Barack Obama. "And the Palestinians, apart from whining and threats, do nothing to advance a solution, even they finally understand that time is against them." He accused the Palestinian Authority of using international aid to fund terrorism. "They are a small group which has had so much money poured into it by the international community, and none of it went towards promoting peace. In most cases, the money funded more terrorism." "This year, the US embassy should be in Jerusalem. It's in your hands, Mr. President!" http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223589 'Obama leaves behind a weakened United States' National security expert says outgoing president's naivete, indecision, and focus on reaching a deal with Iran have left the US weaker. Benny Toker, 20/01/17 10:22 Dr.Ephraim Kam, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) sat down with Arutz Sheva to discuss the legacy outgoing US President Barack Obama leaves behind on his last day in office. "We need to examine what Obama received [when he took office] eight years ago. The Middle East, Europe, Russia, and relations with the West. All of these elements have undergone significant changes. The Arab Spring became a disaster after another disaster, and Obama had quite a failures which contributed to this." Dr. Kam said. According to Dr. Kam, Obama "was hesitant in his policies on Iraq and Syria and on how to handle ISIS. The Russians captured [the initiative] on a number of these issues, and instead of dealing with them [Obama] left them to the Russians and the Iranians. And the US became merely a secondary factor. Russia [acted as if] it had become a superpower while dealing with Syria while the US has not fulfilled its role." Dr. Kam laid part of the blame for the rise of ISIS at Obama's feet. "When he came to power there were tens of thousands of American soldiers in Iraq, and then the US troops pulled out and they slowly lost control of what is happening in Iraq and there ISIS was practically built. He did not handle either the Iranian or the Iraqi issue properly and left the arena to his Russian rivals." He said that Obama's faith in the nuclear agreement with Iran was for the short term. "He believes in the agreement, and Iran's nuclear program was indeed rolled back. It would not be so bad for Israel if it would stay rolled back, but in seven years the restrictions in the nuclear agreement will be removed, and then Iran can build and accelerate a full nuclear program and it will be even more severe." He accused Obama of naivete with regards to the Middle East. "The Cairo speech came from an innocent misunderstanding that the Arab world would pursue democracy, and it didn't happen. And in this regard all the good friends of the US, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, have a lot of harsh criticism for the conduct of Obama in the Middle East. Obama thought his nuclear deal would cause Iran to moderate, but that didn't happen. He leaves behind a weaker US, which is less of superpower [than it was before]. The US is weaker and Russia is much stronger." However, Dr. Kam insisted that Obama was not anti-Israel. "He is not anti-Israel, even if he has done some things we did not like. But there was personal animosity between him and the Prime Minister. We should remember that he gave generous aid to Israel. But the personal confrontation exacerbated the misunderstanding, which in the end led to the step he took in the Security Council which was very harmful to Israel, and gives off the stench of the personal hostility. It has been roundly criticized, even by quite a few Democrats." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223585 Poll: Bennett leading right-wing candidate A new poll published by Ma'ariv indicates that Naftali Bennett would lead the country if elections were held today and he ran under Likud. Uzi Baruch, 20/01/17 08:15 A poll published this morning by the Hebrew newspaper Ma’ariv indicates that Naftali Bennett is currently the top right-wing candidate among voters to lead the country. According to the poll, Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party would receive 26 Knesset seats if elections were held now, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as leader of Likud, would receive only 23. On the other hand, if Bennett were to run as head of Likud, he would receive 29 seats, while Lapid would receive 27, the poll indicates. In response to the question of who would best replace Netanyahu after the end of his term, 21% of respondents indicated a preference for Lapid, 12% for Bennett, 7% for Gidon Sa’ar and 6% for former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. The Jewish Home party headed by Bennett would increase from the 8 seats it currently holds to 13, according to the poll. Recent statistics have indicated that Lapid has maintained a slight lead over Netanyahu in polls. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223582 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.