Romney to host fundraiser in Jerusalem

Exclusive: Romney to host fundraiser in Jerusalem

By LAHAV HARKOV - Jerusalem Post

07/11/2012

Republican candidate to arrive in Israel July 29, present Mideast policy at conference in J'lem.

Photo: Brian Snyder / Reuters

Presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will host a fundraising event in Jerusalem at $60,000 or more per plate on July 29, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.

Delegates are set to fly in from the US for the event, which a Republican source said would be “a small meeting, but a big fundraiser.”

Related:

• 'Romney to visit Israel in summer, meet Netanyahu'
• Romney plays Israel card with talk of upcoming visit

Immediately after the fundraising meeting, Romney will host a conference in Jerusalem, where he will lay out his Middle East policy. Romney plans to visit the UK for two days, attending the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on July 27, before flying to Israel.

The Republican candidate will stay in Jerusalem for two days, Israeli Republican political consultant Jonny Daniels told The Jerusalem Post, during which Romney will meet with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Shelly Yechimovich (Labor) and senior Palestinian officials.



“It’s going to be a statesmanlike visit, because [Romney] needs to be careful about how everything is perceived,” Daniels explained. “It’s exciting to have the president of Israel meet with the next president of the United States four months before he is elected.”

Daniels has been in touch with the Prime Minister's Office, which he says is debating how to hold a Netanyahu-Romney photo-op without showing the cast on the prime minister's leg, from a soccer injury.

The Romney camp’s biggest concern on his trip to Israel is Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, according to Daniels, who said both Netanyahu and Peres are expected to raise the issue. Romney will have to tread carefully, because many Republican voters are unfamiliar with Pollard’s “disproportionate sentence,” Daniels explained, and as such, may not be sympathetic to releasing someone convicted of espionage. The consultant pointed out that former CIA director James Woolsey, a Republican, has spoken out in favor of Pollard’s release.

Last year, Romney told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations he would be "open to examining" the Pollard case if elected president.

The Republican candidate plans to leave Israel on July 31, and is considering a stop in Germany en route to the US. In May, The Jerusalem Post reported Romney was planning a trip to Israel this summer, which the candidate’s campaign confirmed earlier this month.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=277050

Judea and Samaria Not 'Occupied'

Download Historic Document: Judea and Samaria Not 'Occupied'

Conclusions of Levy Committee report made available by government. "Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria."

By Gil Ronen, Israel National News

First Publish: 7/10/2012

Construction in Judea and Samaria

Israel news photo: Flash 90

"After having considered the terms of reference set out in the Commission's mandate, and in light of what we have heard, as well as the considerable body of material presented to us by a wide range of bodies, our conclusions and recommendations are as follows: "Our basic conclusion is that from the point of view of international law, the classical laws of 'occupation' as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, over the course of decades.

"Therefore, according to international law, Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered to be illegal."

So begin the conclusions of the report of the Commission to Examine the Status of Building in Judea and Samaria, a legal panel headed by Supreme Court Justice (ret.) Edmund Levy.

The committee goes on to say that, "With regard to settlements established in Judea and Samaria on state lands or on land purchased by Israelis with the assistance of official authorities such as the World Zionist Organization Settlements Division and the Ministry of Housing, and which have been defined as 'unauthorized' or 'illegal'" – administrative blockages imposed on the planning and zoning authorities "must be removed immediately."

Pending completion of procedures granting valid building permits, the state "is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders, since it brought about the present situation by itself."

An English translation of the historic document has been made available to the public for download in .pdf format by the government, at this url.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157709

Rock music vs. prayer calls

Rock music vs. prayer calls

Tuesday, July 10, 2012 | Aviel Schneider

The muezzin calls to prayer five times a day. During the daytime, no one is annoyed by it, but during the night and early morning the Islamic prayer is particularly bothering the non-Muslims eager to get some sleep.

For many years now, the Jewish residential quarter of French Hill, Jerusalem, has been afflicted with the noisy prayer calls of their Arabian neighbors from Isawiya. Now, however, things seem to be changing as the Jewish residents are determined to teach their neighbors a lesson. “We are going to play some rock music one hour before the muezzin's call to prayer, at 4:00 a.m. sharp,“ a disturbed Jewish activist told the news website Maariv. “By taking this measure we would like to show the other side how difficult it has been for us for all these years. We cannot bear this any longer,“ he continued.

The mayor of Isawiya promised to tackle the situation by talking to the muezzin and convincing him to reduce the megaphone’s volume but that didn't help. Now, however, residents believe the four huge loudspeakers in the direction of the village will make their Muslim neighbors change their mind.

Initially considering the option of Hasidic or Oriental music, the dwellers of French Hill have finally opted for the loud rock, aimed at showing the level of their annoyance. Hailed as the fight between the Muslim and Jewish muezzins in the Israeli media, some people believe that should the experiment prove successful, there will be other neighborhoods eager to follow suit by implementing the same technique.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23290/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Discovery of 'God particle'

Israelis rejoice over discovery of 'God particle'

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH

07/04/2012

Scientists revel with colleagues around world over discovery in Geneva of new sub-atomic particle.

Photo: REUTERS

Theoretical and experimental physicists see the groundbreaking discovery of a new subatomic particle – announced Wednesday in Geneva – as even more of a technological and scientific achievement than America’s first landing on the moon. But unlike the astronauts’ romp over the dusty lunar rocks in 1969, the new breakthrough is so intangible that it leaves the general public clueless.

Scientists at Geneva’s European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) – where scores of Israelis have worked for decades to bring the discovery nearer – confirmed that they had discovered a particle fitting the description of the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle” seen as key to understanding how the universe is built. It was suggested in 1964 by six physicists – including University of Edinburgh physicist Peter Higgs, the particle’s namesake – as a way to explain mass.

At a morning press conference in Geneva, CERN Director-General Rolf-Dieter Heuer said, to the cheers of scientists and reporters, “We have a discovery. We should state it. We have a discovery! We have observed a new particle consistent with a Higgs boson.”

The Higgs particle, although crucial for understanding how the universe was formed, remains theoretical.

It explains how particles clumped together to form stars, planets and even life. According to the theory, without the Higgs particle, the particles that make up the universe would have remained a primordial soup.

In particle physics, bosons are one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particles, the other being fermions. The Higgs boson is the final building block that has been missing from the “Standard Model,” which describes the structure of matter in the universe. The model is for physicists what the theory of evolution is for biologists.What scientists don’t yet know from the latest findings is whether the particle they have discovered is the Higgs boson as described by the Standard Model, a variant of the Higgs or an entirely new subatomic particle that could force a rethink on the fundamental structure of matter.

Knesset Science and Technology Committee chairman Ronit Tirosh said Wednesday that she was “very proud of the contribution of Israeli scientists [to] the discovery.”

Astrophysicists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Tel Aviv University, the Technion-Institute of Technology in Haifa and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have been active in the massive effort, which involved CERN’s particle accelerator – the largest machine in the world, costing over $10 billion.

Prof. Yaron Oz, dean of TAU’s faculty for exact sciences, who worked on CERN’s multinational team at Geneva for four years and has made numerous visits since, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview that the huge facility “is like the UN should be. Everybody is devoted to making the discovery as a team, without any politics or vested interests. I worked even with Iranians there, and there was never a harsh word between us. We all just wanted to understand. It has already proven that the nations of the world can function harmoniously for joint targets.”

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator is based on superconducting electromagnets working at very low temperatures: less than two degrees above absolute zero (-271° Celsius). This experimental system includes the world’s largest superconducting electromagnets, built in conjunction with Israeli companies. The entire structure includes 10,000 radiation detectors spaced just one millimeter apart, has a volume of 25,000 cubic meters and features half a million electronic channels. Most of the muon radiation detectors were built from components produced in Israel.

While the foremost concern is a better understanding of the origins and development of the universe, Oz had no doubt that in the future, various new technologies would result that would benefit mankind.

In the first stage after the announcement, “people won’t feel a change unless they are interested in the universe. Later, the public will feel an improvement in computerization and other technology. Even health benefits could result. The aim was not to create a product. No layman knew what quantum mechanics and lasers were, but today, these are in all electronic household appliances.

Nuclear physics is used on a daily basis to treat cancer patients.”

Oz said he thought Albert Einstein “would have been very happy today. He had even larger targets – the United Field Theory. We are not there yet, but we hope the Large Hadron Collider will lead to this.”

Asked about the term “God particle,” Oz said that “one has to separate science from religion. This phrase does not refer to divinity.”

His TAU colleague Prof. Aharon Levy, who is modern Orthodox and has headed a research group in Hamburg, agreed. “The term originates with Max Lederman, an American experimental physicist who won the Nobel Prize in physics for his work with neutrinos. He wrote a book using this term, by which he meant the mysterious particle being part of everything. First, everything was created without mass. Particle physics aims at understanding what conditions created the Big Bang that created the Universe, to look backwards as much as possible to that event.”

As a religious person, Levy said the discovery “does help us understand how much we don’t understand about the universe. A religious Jew might say the discovery shows the orderliness of nature that is evidence that the universe was created by a Divine power, but we don’t get involved in this.”

There was much excitement at the Weizmann Institute as well. Prof.

Giora Mikenberg was the ATLAS Muon Project leader for many years and now heads the Israeli LHC team. He, Prof. Ehud Duchovni and Prof. Eilam Gross of the Rehovot institute’s particle physics and astrophysics department, have been part of the effort to find the Higgs boson since 1987.

“I have been searching for the Higgs since I was a student in the 1980s,” Gross enthused. “Even after 25 years, it still came as a surprise.

No matter what you call it – we are no longer searching for the Higgs but measuring its properties.

Though I believed it would be found, I never dreamed it would happen while I was holding a senior position in the global research team.”

The LHC particle accelerator enables collisions of particle beams that create conditions similar to those that existed in the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang. The likelihood of creating the Higgs boson in a single collision is similar to that of randomly extracting a specific living cell from the leaf of a plant, out of all the plants growing on Earth. To cope with this task, Mikenberg developed specific particle detectors manufactured at Weizmann, and in Japan and China.

The calculations that scientists, including Gross, carried out in recent months played a central role in finding the particle, as they revealed, with a high degree of statistical significance, a new particle with a mass similar to the expected mass of the Higgs. The wording is purposely cautious, leaving room for the possibility that a new particle other than the Higgs could be found within this mass range. The probability that this is, indeed, a new particle is quite low, the Weizmann scientists concluded.

http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=276274

Ari Sorko-Ram Shares his heart at Messiah 2012

Ari Sorko-Ram Shares his heart at Messiah 2012

The second night of Messiah 2012, was a night of connection between the Messianic movement in America and the Messianic movement in Israel. The service began with worship being led by a group of Israeli's, as they brought real excitement to the service with their songs, each word which felt as if they came from deep within each individual singer. One highlight was the video accompanied by Shani Ferguson, daughter of the nights guest speaker Ari Sorko-Ram.

The youth worship team was followed by a concert by Barry and Batya Segal from Jerusalem. The Segals are known for there TV program Roots and Reflections and their humanitarian work through their ministry Vision for Israel and The Joseph Storehouse. The concert by the Segals was the perfect way to prepare the conference attendees for the evenings message brought by Ari Sorko-Ram. Just before Ari spoke his wife Shira introduce a group of forty Israeli youth who we brought to the conference through the efforts of the MJAA and Jewish Voice Ministries International.

Ari's message encouraged the crowd to identify the difference between a vision and an assignment. The difference being an assignment is something we are called to personally perform and a vision is something that should live on after we finish our assignment. A primary example given was king David and King Solomon. King David was given the vision for building the Temple but King Solomon actually completed the vision establish through his father.

His message purpose seemed to be to encourage those who have been leaders in the Messianic movement to not look at their vision as something that ends with them, but instead to pass the vision on to the next generation to follow through until in is completed or passed on to the following generation. He also encourage younger believers to step up and help bring these visions to fullness. Ari and Shira have for over thirty years spearheaded Maoz Israel a ministry of encouragement in Israel providing for the physical and spiritual needs in the Land. For more information about visit www.maozisrael.org.

Each nights services are being live streamed and can be viewed by visiting www.mjaa.org and clicking on the link.

http://www.messianictimes.com/daily-news-1/312-ari-sorko-ram-shares-his-heart-at-messiah-2012

'Pretend Pollard is a Greek-American, and free him'

'Pretend Pollard is a Greek-American, and free him'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

07/05/2012

Former CIA director James Woolsey reverses Clinton-era stance, recommends clemency, in 'Wall Street Journal' letter.

Photo: REUTERS

Former CIA director James Woolsey called for the release of Jonathan Pollard in a letter to the editor, printed in the Wall Street Journal Thursday, hinting that his being Jewish may be a reason he is still behind bars. "For those hung up for some reason on the fact that he's an American Jew, pretend he's a Greek- or Korean- or Filipino-American and free him," Woolsey wrote.

 

As CIA director in the early 1990s, Woolsey recommended against clemency for the spy, but now says that the nearly-two decades that Pollard served since then are enough.

"Of the more than 50 recently convicted Soviet bloc and Chinese spies, only two—Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen—also received life sentences, and two-thirds of these some-50 enemy spies served or have been sentenced to less time than Pollard has already served," Woolsey explained.

Pollard, he added, expressed remorse for his actions, cooperated with the US government, and pledged not to use the crime for profit after his release.

Earlier this week, President Shimon Peres promised to continue to work for the release of Pollard in a meeting with his wife, Esther, in Jerusalem.

Peres met with Esther Pollard for the first time since his trip to Washington last month, where he asked US President Barack Obama to commute Pollard’s sentence to the over 26 years that he has served.

Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.


http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=276318

'US quietly bolstering presence in Persian Gulf' - Jerusalem Post

'US quietly bolstering presence in Persian Gulf'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

07/03/2012

According to 'New York Times' report, US sending planes, ships to Gulf in bid to protect Hormuz, reassure Israel over Iranian threat.

Photo: REUTERS/Handout

The United States has quietly increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf to deter Tehran from attempting to shut the Strait of Hormuz, according to a New York Times report published Tuesday.
Linking the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean, the Strait is used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil on a daily basis, and the popular assessment within the IDF is that Iran – which borders the channel to the north and east – has the ability to shut it down if it so chooses.

Citing a senior administration official, the report stated that the deployment of a number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iranian territory was partly done to reassure Israel that the US is taking the Iranian threat seriously. "When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it," the report quoted the official as saying.

The report identified a number of visible elements of the US buildup in the Gulf, including sending increasing numbers of aircraft, including the F-22 Raptor, which boasts stealth capabilities, into two separate bases in the Persian Gulf. The planes join jets and carrier strike groups already in the area.
According to the report, the the US navy has also been sending advanced ships capable of enhancing the country's ability to patrol the Strait and reopening the waterway should Iran try to block shipping. In addition, the navy sent a converted amphibious transport and docking ship and doubled the number of minesweepers assigned to the region.

“The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ the Times quoted a senior US Defense

Department official as saying on condition of anonymity. “Don’t even think about closing the Strait. We’ll clear the mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the gulf.”

Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee drafted a bill on Sunday calling for Iran to try to stop oil tankers from shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz to countries that support sanctions against it.

More than a third of the world's seaborne oil exports pass through the narrow Strait of Hormuz from the oilfields of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Qatar's liquefied natural gas exports are all shipped through Hormuz.

http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=276116

Yad Vashem Softens Criticism of Pope Pius XII

Yad Vashem Softens Criticism of Pope Pius XII

Yad Vashem has modified its account of Pope Pius XII’s actions toward the Jews during WWII, following long diplomatic dispute.

 

Yad Vashem entrance - photo by Steve Martin

 

By Rachel Hirshfeld

First Publish: 7/3/2012

Vatican Reuters

 

 

Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum has modified its account of Pope Pius XII’s actions toward the Jews during World War II, following a long diplomatic dispute with the Vatican.
Critics have long contended that Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, could have done more to prevent the systematic slaughter of Jews in Nazi-Europe. The controversial issue has since become the single most divisive issue in Vatican-Jewish relations.

A wall panel at the Yad Vashem memorial still lists occasions when the wartime Pius did not protest the slaughter of Europe’s Jews, but also offers accounts those who say the church’s “neutrality” helped save lives.

“This is an update to reflect research that has been done in the recent years and presents a more complex picture than previously presented,” Yad Vashem said in a statement. “This change is not a result of Vatican pressure,” the statement added.

Antonio Franco, the papal envoy in Israel, called the move a “positive evolution.”

In 2007, Franco threatened to skip that year’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem to protest the panel’s old text. While he eventually relented, the dispute heightened tensions between the Vatican and Israel, as well as the Pope’s image among world Jewry.

While the Vatican claims that more Jewish deaths would have resulted if the Pope had been more critical of the Nazis, critics argue that he could have and should have done more.

The old panel displayed at Yad Vashem said Pius XII was "active" in obtaining a treaty with Germany to protect the Church's rights "even if this meant recognising the Nazi racist regime."
It said he cancelled a letter denouncing racism and anti-Semitism, and failed to protest publicly the murder of Jews. It accused him of declining to sign the Allied declaration condemning the extermination of Jews and said he had failed to take actions to prevent the transport of Jews from Rome to Auschwitz.

The new panel attributes the signing of the deal to Pius XI, and notes that he made reference to the deaths of hundreds of people during a 1942 radio address, though he did not specifically mention Jews.

"The pope's critics claim that his decision to abstain from condemning the murder of the Jews by Nazi Germany constitutes a moral failure," the panel says. "The lack of clear guidance left room for many to collaborate with Nazi Germany, reassured by the thought that this did not contradict the Church's moral teachings." "His defenders maintain that this neutrality prevented harsher measures against the Vatican and the Church's institutions... thus enabling a considerable number of secret rescue activities," it adds.

Yad Vashem in the past said the panel would only be changed if the Vatican agreed to open its archives to researchers and evidence showed Pius XII's role had been misrepresented. The Vatican has yet to open those archives fully, though it has made public selected documents. But Yad Vashem said on Sunday that new research "has clarified certain issues, while still leaving many questions open."

After decades of reluctance, the Vatican recognized Israel in 1993, followed by Pope John Paul II’s official visit to the Jewish state in 2000, during which he stopped at Yad Vashem. The current pope, Pope Benedict XVI, visited Israel in 2009.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157456

Mitt Romney Planning Summer Visit to Israel

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

  

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney plans to visit Israel this summer, the New York Times reported Monday.

"He's a strong friend of Israel and we'll be happy to meet with him," Ron Dermer, senior advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the Times. "We value strong bipartisan support for Israel and we're sure it will only deepen that," Dermer said.

Romney has been critical of Obama's policies toward the Jewish state, accusing him of throwing Israel "under the bus."

"I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite," Romney said in June when asked about Israel.

The two-day visit will take him away from the campaign trail during a crucial period of his general election fight against President Obama. But Romney hopes it will help him gain support of Jewish voters, evangelicals, and conservatives. It could also help boost his foreign affairs credentials.

Details of the trip have yet to be disclosed, but Dermer said he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government officials, including President Shimon Peres, in Jerusalem during his two-day visit.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/July/Mitt-Romney-Planning-Summer-Visit-to-Israel/

Stunning Synagogue Floor Discovered in Galilee

Stunning Synagogue Floor Discovered in Galilee

Mosaic floor of 1,700 year old synagogue shows Samson placing torches between the tails of foxes.

By Gil Ronen

 

From the mosaic.

 

Jim Haberman

A monumental synagogue building dating to the Late Roman period (around the 4th-5th centuries CE) has been discovered in archaeological excavations at Huqoq in the Galilee.

Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). This second season of excavations has revealed portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of the synagogue building. The mosaic, which is made of tiny colored stone cubes of the highest quality, includes a scene depicting Samson placing torches between the tails of foxes (as related in the book of Judges 15). In another part of the mosaic, two human (apparently female) faces flank a circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refers to rewards for those who perform good deeds.

“This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient [Late Roman] synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson [one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq – ed.],” said Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Kenan Distinguished Professor in the department of religious studies in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly.”

The excavations are being conducted by Prof. Magness and David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto in Canada. Students and staff from UNC and the consortium schools are participating in the dig.
Excavations are scheduled to continue in the summer of 2013.

Woman's head, inscription in Hebrew. Jim Haberman

 

Dig leaders with mosaic. Jim Haberman

 

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157418

 

 

Happy Birthday To My Good Wife!

                  

Laura Jean Unzicker was born 53 years ago,

In the home of Lorraine and father Otto.

Two sisters, Linda and Judy, had already come,

Later in my eyes, she was "the one."

A little spunky, with "Dorothy Hamill" hair keen,

She caught my look, when a youthful seventeen.

Married just a year later in life's time, by gosh,

She since gave birth to Ben, Hannah, Christen, and Josh!

And as we moved from state to state,

She followed the Lord's hand, with me, her mate.

Faithful and diligent, giving all she had,

She is the best, and me, oh so glad!

So happy birthday to my good wife,

Who has made quite the impact in life.

And since we met, just 36 years ago,

Her love grows for family, friends and yo!



             

Happy Birthday to Laurie my love!

Your husband,

Steve

Palestinians Want Bethlehem as 'Heritage Site'

CBNNews.com

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

 

 

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!

  

Palestinians are asking a U.N. agency to designate parts of biblical Bethlehem as endangered world heritage sites.

Letters were sent to the global cultural organization UNESCO, saying the international community has a "legal and moral responsibility" to the sites.

Palestinians want recognition for the Church of the Nativity and a Bethlehem pilgrimage route, but UNESCO turned down the bid, saying it needs more work.

Some Israeli government officials have contended that the Palestinians' request is an effort to wipe out traces of Jewish history. Christian denominations are opposed as well. A decision on the matter is expected this week.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/June/Palestinians-Want-Bethlehem-as-Heritage-Site/

Putin: Russia already recognizes 'Palestine'

Putin: Russia already recognizes 'Palestine'

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Russia reinserted itself into the Israeli-Palestinian "peace" process in a major way this week with a highly publicized visit by President Vladimir Putin.

While meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Putin said that Russia had no problem recognizing an independnet Palestinian state, noting that Moscow had already done so during the days of the Soviet Union.

"We [recognized Palestine] 25 years ago, and our position has not changed," said Putin.
Putin thanked Abbas for his "responsible" leadership, either ignoring or rejecting the fact that even the Obama Administration now views Abbas' intansigence and insistence on pre-conditions as the main obstacle to restarting peace talks.

"Palestinian leadership, and the president personally, have been behaving responsibly to achieve peace based on the two-state solution," said Putin.

Putin also threw his weight behind Abbas' efforts to reconcile with Hamas and forge a national unity government with the terror groups, despite the fact that Hamas remains openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

The Palestinians hailed Putin's visit as "historic" and named a street in Bethlehem after the Russian leader, which was something of a faux pas considering Europeans typically only name streets after deceased persons.

Abbas' office said he is keen to hold the next Middle East peace summit in Moscow, where the Palestinians feel thier position will be more favored than in Washington or other Western capitals.
Putin met earlier in the week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, but those talks were reportedly focused far more on Iran and Syria, rather than on the conflict with the Palestinians.

Putin warned Israel against a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, insisting that such an endeavor would "backfire." He also urged the West, presumably including Israel, to keep its nose out of Syria's affairs. Russia is cautiously backing the regime of Bashar Assad againster a Western-supported insurgency.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6139670746694843000#editor/target=post;postID=524284077974496588

Israel PM Netanyahu Hosts Bible Study

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Jerusalem Correspondent

Sunday, June 24, 2012

 

 

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revived a decades-old tradition: Bible study at the Prime Minister's house. The Prime Minister opened the first session of the "Bible Study Club" at his official Jerusalem residence.

"We're studying the Bible and the Bible is the book of the Jewish people, but also the book of universal values," Netanyahu said. "It's the story of the Jewish people and it expresses the hope that we will return to this land."

Netanyahu has revived a tradition started by Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. "I think in many ways it's a parable for humanity because if the Jewish people we're able through this vast odyssey in time to ford all the rivers, to cross the chasm of annihilation, and to come back to our ancestral homeland, to rebuild our lives, this means there's hope for all humanity," Netanyhu told the group.

Netanyahu asked Jewish Bible teacher Micah Goodman to lead the session.

"I communicate Biblical stories and Biblical ideas and how the Bible could guide us in very sophiscticated, modern challenges of Jewish sovereignty in Israel, we have to communicate that to secular Israelis and to religious Israelis," Goodman said. Goodman told participants that they were there to try to uncover the secrets of the book of the Jewish people.

Netanyahu, his wife, Sarah, and more than a dozen rabbis and scholars studied the book of Ruth from the Jewish scriptures, known to Christians as the Old Testament.

"I thought I was going to lead the conversation but it turns out that our Prime Minister is quite an intellectual and he doesn't only have what to say, he's got some very interesting things to say and he asked me very tough questions," Goodman told CBN News.

Goodman also said that as the leader of the Jewish people in a volatile Middle East, Netanyahu needs a refuge from time to time.

"He escaped to the Bible, to something that's beyond time, beyond politics, beyond the day to day. And diving into this great text and dealing with these great ideas, somehow, he felt like it was a breath of fresh air for him," Goodman explained.

Netanyahu said he studies the Hebrew Bible with his sons every sabbath. Two years ago, his younger son, Avner, placed third in the Annual International Bible Competition held in Jerusalem.

Goodman said that Netanyahu told the group that when he reads the Bible, he's always shocked at how relevant it is.

"And so we're studying our map and our compass and our foundation, the Bible," Netanyahu concluded. "And you're all welcome to join us, especially if you can learn Hebrew."

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/June/Israel-PM-Netanyahu-Hosts-Bible-Study/

Golden Age Club in Jerusalem

Greetings all.

I received this post recently on my Facebook page from a friend and thought it would be good to share on "Love For His People" blog.

Thanks,

Steve Martin

"I'm trying to find people to help stop the senior club next to my house from closing. I wrote this:

Don't turn out the lights!

Each day, 20-25 elderly people come to the Golden Age club on HaShayish St. in Jerusalem, Israel. At the Club they meet, talk, share, support one another, celebrate their birthdays and their grandchildren and even their great-grandchildren's birthdays together.

They celebrate the Jewish holidays, organize arts and crafts exhibitions and so much more … when they come to the Club loneliness retreats, and they are among friends.

The Club began operating in the early '90s. Each member has their story - they are alone or sick, disabled, a survivor of the Holocaust... some of them fought or lost children in Israel's wars.

But the Club is about to be closed because the Jerusalem Municipality is withdrawing its subsidies.

Cutbacks began in January 2010 when the Club hours were cut and it began opening only three days a week. In October 2011 the subsidized transportation system was halted (subsidized by AMIT – the Association of volunteers for aid for the elderly in Jerusalem) meaning some of the members could not physically get to the Club.

In our community today, an increasing number of elderly individuals can go for many weeks without seeing another person or are unable to even leave their homes.

Community support for the elderly is of the highest importance. Socially, and also to support their emotional and cognitive needs - the Club gives them all of this.

Closing the Club means to turn off the lights for the elderly who have given of themselves since the beginning of the State and even before.

We can not let this happen! Please give a hand to help! Together we can change this grim reality of shutting the elderly out of their refuge from loneliness and isolation, and allow them to live the rest of their lives with dignity and friendship.

Thats what I wrote for now- its just heartbreaking. One woman said that sometimes they dont have money for yarn (They knit at the club) so they look in the garbage for sweaters to unravel and use its yarn.

I was there the other day- the afternoon program has people between the ages of 75- 90 working on electronic cords- they get some pocket money One cried and said that if the club closes he has nothing to live for.

I am deeply concerned for the well being of these people as they will not have anywhere else to go if this avenue closes for them.
I was hoping that you might know an organization/ company/ private person that may want to assist.
I just need to find that one person that knows a person that knows of a company or somebody willing to help... They need $20,000 for a whole year of it being open... Maybe I need to find 20 people to donate $1000 each or even 200 people to donate $100... That might be easier..
Do you have any suggestions for me?
Thanks so much...

Adena.

This is our facebook group. Please join us... https://www.facebook.com/RespectOurElderly

והדרת פני זקן Respect our elderly

Each day, 20-25 elderly people come to the Golden Age club on HaShayish St. in Jerusalem, Israel. At the Club they meet, talk, share, support one another, celebrate their birthdays and their grandchildren and even their great-grandchildren's birthdays together. Each member has their story - they are...

 

Lawmakers Join in Support of Detained Iranian Pastor

CBNNews.com

Thursday, June 21, 2012

 

  

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling for the immediate release of imprisoned Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.

Tuesday's vote followed a petition with more than 120,000 signatures of people urging lawmakers to approve the measure.

The American Center for Law and Justice has been following Nadarkhani's case and advocating on his behalf. ACLJ Chief Counsel Jordan Sekulow said he is "hopeful" that the entire Senate will propel the resolution forward.

"Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has sacrificed so much for his faith and has refused his captors' calls for him to renounce Christ," Sekulow said in a message to supporters.

He added that the resolution is key to strengthening the international fight against religious persecution toward Nadarkhani and others.

The ACLJ is now pressing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to call a full vote on the issue.

Nadarkhani is facing death by hanging in Iran for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He's been in prison away from his wife and two sons since 2009, often under harsh treatment and poor living conditions.

Sign the online petition urging more pressure on Iran to release Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and dismiss his death sentence.

The American Center for Law and Justice has also started a Twitter campaign to spread the word about Nadarkani's case. @CBNNews has joined the effort. Learn how you can "Tweet for Youcef" here.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2012/June/Lawmakers-Join-in-Support-of-Detained-Iranian-Pastor/

'Son of Hamas' Makes Movie Exposing Islam

CBNNews.com

 

 

 

Mosab Hassan Yousef video

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Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Christian convert and the son of a Hamas leader, is now working on a movie about the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Yousef announced the project at a press conference in Jerusalem Tuesday. It was his first visit to Israel since he left in 2007.

"I think this is the time to expose the real nature of Islam," Yousef told reporters.

"Islam is not a religion of peace," he continued. "Islam is a religion of war and most Muslims don't understand the true nature of Islam. This is the time and I would like to announce it today here from Jerusalem, next to the Temple Mount."

In Yousef's book, Son of Hamas, he explains how he worked with Israeli security to stop terror attacks against the Israelis.

Many Palestinians, including Yousef's parents, view him as a traitor to Islam and worthy of death.

"I'm not to be addressed as his mother because he's not my son," Yousef's mother, Rubha told Reuters. "He gave his loyalties to a religion other than Islam. We're Muslims and he attacked our religion."

But Yousef remains unapologetic about his Christian faith.

"Usually people are ashamed when they do something wrong. People love to live in the darkness ... I live in the light. I didn't do anything wrong by saving human life," he said.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/June/Hamas-Leaders-Son-Makes-Movie-Exposing-Islam-/

Southern Israel under heavy fire, 11 wounded

Southern Israel under heavy fire, 11 wounded

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired more than 50 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel on Tuesday and into Monday morning. Eleven border policemen were wounded in one of the attacks.

The attacks began during the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and continued with a hail of rocket fire throughout the day. The only casualties reported were from a direct missile strike on a building near the coastal town of Ashkelon, where 11 officers with Israel's Border Police suffered light-to-moderate shrapnel injuries.

The assault continued on Wednesday morning with more short-range Kassam rocket attacks and at least one medium-range Grad missile attack that targeted the town of Beersheva.

Israeli forces responded with numerous overnight aerial raids on terrorist installations in Gaza. A number of terrorists were reportedly killed in the Israeli reprisals, but army officials cautioned that the situation was likely to get a lot more intense in the coming hours and days.

Gaza's Hamas rulers have actually claimed responsibility for many of the rocket attacks, a departure from the group's usual policy of letting smaller allied terror groups take the blame for attacks on southern Israel.

It is likely that Hamas is feeling emboldened by the assumed Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt's presidential election. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and views the rise to power of the latter in neighboring Egypt as the start of a new era of "resistance" against the Zionist regime.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23265/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Iran, Syria, Russia, China Plan Massive War Games

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

 

 

  

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Iran, Syria, Russia, and China will take part in the "biggest-ever war games in the Middle East," Iran's semi-official FARS News Agency reported Tuesday.

According to the report, 90,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 400 aircraft, warships, submarines, destroyers, and minesweepers will rendezvous along the coast of Syria within a month for the massive exercise.

Egypt has given China permission to send 12 warships through the Suez Canal, which reportedly will dock at Syrian ports over the next two weeks.

The announcement comes on the second day of meetings between Iran and the P5+1 -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany -- in Moscow.

Both Russia and China have vetoed military intervention in Syria and additional economic sanctions against Iran at the U.N. Security Council.

Tuesday's announcement also comes on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he will visit Israel on June 25.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/June/Iran-Syria-Russia-China-Plan-Massive-War-Games/

Así es Israel

Ahava Love Letter - “No Rejection”

Ahava Love Letter

“No Rejection” “For the sake of His great name, the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make you His own.” (1 Samuel 12:22)

Dear family of friends,

Most of us know of rejection. We understand, and have felt the pain of, this hurtful emotion. When carried out beyond the soulish realm into the physical arena, it can be devastating. I would think that all of us have experienced it at the receiving end at one time or another, in soul and body.

In 1 Samuel 12:22, quoted above, the prophet Samuel delivered a message to the nation of Israel at the end of his life. He prophesied that the Lord would not reject them as His people. After what they had already gone through, in deliverance from Egypt and the ongoing battles against surrounding peoples, this had to be a great word to hear. To know that the living God would not reject you, for His great name’s sake, was one promise to hang onto.

I am trusting it also can be a promise for those of us who are grafted into the spiritual vine, as believers, whether Jew or Gentile.

As we stand on the Lord’s promise to cover our back, and our front, even in the midst of false accusation, we can face the enemy and defeat him, not only on our behalf but for others who need our strength and support.

A primary purpose of the ministry of Love For His People is to stand with those who daily face worldwide rejection and the onslaught of the enemy, primarily our Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel. We already know that the Lord stands with them - just the fact that Israel and the Jewish people are still around today is proof enough. But we are also called as believers to stand with them, those living in Israel, as they hold claim to the Promised Land given to them.

Love For His People is committed to stand with His chosen ones, and will hold to His eternal word that “for the sake of His great name, the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make you His own.”

I know many of you share this heartfelt commitment also. In my communications to friends in Israel, I know they appreciate it very much indeed. I also am aware that they continually need our prayers, encouragement, and financial help as never before.

We appreciate and thank you who have faithfully shared in this ministry of prayer and financial support for Jewish believers. Please consider sending a gift today to that end. When we hold up their hands, the Lord Yeshua promises to hold up ours.

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

 

Love For His People, Inc. truly appreciates your generous support. Please consider sending a monthly charitable gift of $5-$25 each month to help us bless Messianic Jews in Israel. You can send checks to the address below. Todah rabah! (Hebrew - Thank you very much.)

©2011 Steve  Martin      Love For His People, Inc.  12120 Woodside Falls Rd. Pineville, NC 28134      

E-mail: ahavaloveletters@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin  and  Love For His People       

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople and ahavaloveletter 

 

Blogger: http://loveforhispeople.blogspot.com         YouTube: loveforhispeopleinc

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858.  Tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.

Ahava Love Letter #30   Origianl published date: Aug. 16, in the year of our Lord 2011