Muslim ruler hires Israeli silversmiths to adorn his palace

Sunday, November 25, 2012 |  Yossi Aloni, Israel Today magazine  

There might be a general Muslim boycott on all Israeli-made goods, but that didn't stop a Muslim ruler from commissioning Israeli silversmiths to craft a stunning diamond-studded candelabrum for his palace.

With a price tag of USD $400,000, the beautifully crafted piece was accompanied by an armed guard all the way from Israel to its new home in one of the nations from the former Soviet Union.

Standing at nearly six feet tall, the candelabrum was carved from pure silver, and includes two flamingos intricately carved from solid gold at its base. Not to mention the 4-carat diamond embedded in the stem. It took eight silversmiths from the Israeli jeweler Hazorfim over four months to craft the work of art.

Since direct contact between Muslim heads of state and Israeli producers is taboo, the deal was brokered by a Russian intermediary, who has already helped the buyer purchase three pieces from Hazorfim, with a fourth in the works.

The buyer reportedly originally commissioned Italian, Russian and Turkish craftsmen to produce the piece. But the level of craftsmanship and care demonstrated by the Israelis eventually won them the contract.

Hazorfim included with the candelabrum a book chronicling the entire process of its creation.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23521/Default.aspx

Matisyahu's New Chanukah Song to Benefit Sandy Victims

Matisyahu's New Chanukah Song to Benefit Sandy Victims

Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu has released a new song titled “Happy Hanukkah” to celebrate the upcoming holiday.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

First Publish: 11/25/2012, Israel National News

Jewish rapper Matisyahu

Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu has released a new song titled “Happy Hanukkah” to celebrate the upcoming holiday.

All proceeds from the song will go to the Jewish Federations of North America and The Robin Hood Foundation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy until the end of Chanukah on December 16.

"I am from New York and wanted to give back to my incredible community in the wake Hurricane Sandy,” Matisyahu said, according to the Cleveland Jewish News.

Matisyahu’s first Chanukah song, “Miracle,” received critical acclaim after its release in 2010.

The Grammy nominated recording artist will kick off his sixth annual “Festival of Light” Chanukah tour on December 8. He is currently in the middle of his fall college tour, which has taken him to college campuses around the country.

The “Happy Hanukkah” song can be downloaded via iTunes, Amazon and MatisyahuWorld.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162487

Tags: Music ,Chanukah ,Jewish ,holiday

Golda Meir

Golda Meir, Former Prime Minister of Israel

Obama Prophecy and Prayer - Prophetc Word from Wendy Alec (11/12/12)

Obama Prophecy and Prayer

Prophetic Word from Wendy Alec – November 12th 2012:

      Rory & Wendy Alec - GOD TV

I sensed the Lord saying: It is time to stop. It is time for a complete turnaround of my people. It is time to pray.
And as my people, as my church, rises up across the nation and the nations of this world to pray –
Pray fervently for President Obama; pray fervently for the government; pray fervently for the White House
That we will see in the land of the living –
That we will see a change in the direction of the White House –
That we will see a change – a transformation even of policies –

And it will be My Hand that has wrought this change says the Lord
For my hand has been restrained, says the Lord – My Hand has been restrained because of the disobedience of my people –
For there have been many prayers that have risen up to my throne but there has been prayerlessness for this government
For I tell you, beloved son, beloved daughter that as you arise in prayer for this government – as you arise in prayer for this President – for this husband; for this father of children, for this President of the nation of America –
That my hand shall once again be loosed to move upon the White House – upon the government – upon the President – in power – in glory and in might
And as you lift up your voice in the day and as you lift up your voice in the night hour before my throne and pray for wisdom for this man –
I tell you that even in an instant – I shall release wisdom –
Even in an instant I shall release revelation –
Even in an instant – his eyes shall be opened to things in the natural and things in the spirit realm that he has been previously blinded to –
And I shall pour out My Spirit upon the White House –

And I shall pour out My Spirit upon Congress
And I shall pour out My Spirit upon the President, and I shall pour out My Spirit upon this government – and shall pour out My Spirit upon this Congress, and there shall begin to come a softening – and the great divides shall start to dissolve –
And one by one, there shall come a working together across the aisles – across the differences – across the issues – and My Spirit shall move at first in individuals – in one man – then in one woman –
Then another, and another, and there shall be within the walls of Congress a spirit of reconciliation – a spirit of working together – and the walls of division shall start to fall – for there has been a stalemate in the spirit says the Lord – but no more

For there shall begin a healing of rifts says the Lord
A healing of rifts
A healing of rifts between the Republicans and the Democrats
A healing of rifts that shall extend even from the Congress to Israel
For there shall even be a healing of rifts between President Barack Obama and President Benjamin Netanyahu

And the spirit of Jezebel shall be rooted out of the White House –
It shall be rooted out of the Congress
For I shall tear down and root out –
And even certain men and certain women shall be removed from their positions
They shall be removed –
And there shall even be removals from a high place – a place of great authority
And in their place I shall position those chosen and appointed by my own hand
There will be Cyrus’ whose hands I shall use
And there will be Marys who hear my voice and who seek my face –
But Lord how can that be?
It shall be – says the Lord of Hosts – for child I am neither Republican nor Democrat – I am God, says the Lord of Hosts.

Is a man’s heart not in my hands?
Have I not said that that I move the heart of kings?
So I wait for you beloved son –
I wait for you my beloved daughter –
Come rend your garments – come dry your tears and bring your supplications for this President –for this government before my throne –
And it shall be – that even in a moment –
Even in a day –
You shall start to see things shift and change –
People removed – people replaced –
And I shall pour out wisdom in the night hour upon Barack Obama –
And he shall hear a voice saying this is the way – walk ye in it
And it shall be my voice says the Lord
And I shall put a hook in his nose to Israel
And I shall water the stony heart and I shall wash his eyes with my salve –the salve of my Holy Spirit
And I will break the bonds of intimidation from this President
For is it not that same spirit of Jezebel that has surely paralyzed his hands in this past term
That has kept his eyes from seeing
That has stopped his ears from hearing
But no more says the Lord of hosts no more shall it be
For I shall raise him as a champion of the poor in this next term
And yes – he shall raise his voice as a champion for the poor and the weak and the helpless
And this is not of himself but it shall be of me
And he shall champion the poor
He shall champion education
He shall champion the common man
And I shall bring to him men and women after my own heart who shall speak to him of things that hold great weight with me
And he shall think deeply on these things
And he shall ponder them in his heart
And there shall be many issues that he shall quietly address that may go unnoticed by the public
But they will not be unnoticed by me
And I will place a steel rod at his back
And he shall start to stand firm – and I shall grant him wisdom concerning economic issues
And yes there will be naysayers
And yes there will be opponents
But as my people – but as my church bring him faithfully before me
I will grant him wisdom to deal with the Middle East
I will grant him wisdom to deal with Israel
And I will send my prophets

My prophets will speak a word to him in season concerning my people Israel

And I will grant him wisdom concerning Israel – wisdom concerning Jerusalem, wisdom concerning Iran

Wisdom concerning Afghanistan

Wisdom regarding China

And a new mantle shall rest upon him in this term
A new mantle
A mantle of wisdom; a mantle of power; a mantle of strength
For it will be a new day
And many, many across America will say – is this the same man? How can it be?
And I tell you - it shall be because I am God -

Prayer for President Barack Obama and the government of the United States
Beloved son – beloved daughter – I feel that the Lord says that he has been grieved, much grieved at the voices of criticism that have risen up from his own people – from his own church these past years – from those across the United States that he has raised up to intercede and stand in the gap for America.
That the Father, Himself is now urging all of us who may have criticised, spoken words that were not beneficial over the President to do a hundred percent turnaround.
To repent of our attitudes – justified as many feel they are, and to get down on our knees, ask for forgiveness and start to earnestly pray.

Prayer for the President of the United States
Father we come before you and humble ourselves under your mighty hand.
We ask your forgiveness for every negative and idle word spoken from our lips against our President – President Barack Obama.
Oh father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for all men, we release your will over the government and across the United States of America

Father in the mighty name of Jesus – we bring President Barack Obama before your throne.

Oh almighty Father, we earnestly ask you for his salvation, that he may come to a vital, living knowledge, to a vital living understanding of you as his living God and as Jesus Christ his Lord and saviour.

We earnestly ask that you would endow him with wisdom in the mighty name of Jesus.

That he would be led even as Moses, even as King David.

That he would hear your voice ring out to his heart and mind – this is the way – walk ye in it.

We release wisdom to President Barack Obama.

We release the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Father, use him father. Use his hands to sign what you would have signed.

Use his voice to speak what you would have spoken.

>Use his eyes to see what you would have seen.

And in the mighty name of Jesus Christ – we break every hold of Jezebel over the White House.
President Obama – we speak to you in the name of Jesus and we free you this day from Jezebel’s clutches.
President Obama - where you have been bound – we cry freedom.

Where your ears have been stopped – we cry open.

Where your hands have been bound – we cry – a severing of the chains – we sever the shackles of intimidation.

We break off all Jezebelic deceptions –

We cut off ungodly advisers –

We remove all ungodly tentacles from your shoulders

We call forth Godly men –

Godly women by your side – day and night –

We call forth day and night prayer for you across the United States and the world.

Prayer arising even from the capital itself.

We call forth wisdom concerning Iran.

We call forth wisdom concerning Israel.

We call forth wisdom concerning Syria.

We call forth wisdom concerning the economic situation.

We call forth wisdom concerning the issues of the day.

We call forth a new mantle of strength.

A new mantle of wisdom.

A new mantle of revelation.

That you would bow your knee in the night hour and hear from the living God.

Father, we place President Barack Obama in your hands, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

May your kingdom come in the White House.

May your will be done in the White House.

In the name of Jesus Christ, your son, amen.

http://www.god.tv/obamaprophecyandprayer

---

Jews show support for Israel over Gaza

Jews show support for Israel over Gaza

Thousands of French protestors in Paris raise signs reading, 'Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Jews.' In New York, members of Jewish organizations express 'unequivocal support for the State of Israel's right to defend itself'

       

Published:  11.21.12, 09:33 / Israel Jewish Scene 'Israel, we're all united' (Photo: AFP)

Some 2,500 people demonstrated in Paris on Tuesday evening in support of Israel's operation in Gaza. Most of the protestors were Jewish.

A similar show of support was also held outside the Israeli Consulate in New York.

Anti-Israel

Neturei Karta hold pro-Palestinian rallies / Yitzhak Tessler Members of extreme Hasidic sect opposing Zionism stage fiery protests in central cities worldwide, tearing Israeli flags and raising signs against Gaza operation Full story

"The Hamas charter calls for destruction of Jews," read some of the signs raised by the French protestors.

Addressing the crowd, the president of the Israelite Consistory of France, Joel Mergui, likened "terrorism that wants to kill in Israel" as "the same that attacks Jewish children in France."

Hundreds of riot police surrounded a group from the militant Jewish Defense League and ordered them to lower flags that bore a Star of David and a clenched fist.

A main axis was blocked off for the demonstration just off the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue, and riot police vans lined neighboring streets.

 
'Stop Palestinian terrorism.' NY protest (Photo: Reuters)

"Everyone seems to forget what Israel has been going through, years of rockets," said one of the protestors. "Every state has a natural right to defend itself. I am French and I'm Jewish and clearly I take an interest in what is happening."

Ariel, another protestor, said: "We feel close to them because they haven't done anything for which they deserve what they're going through. When missiles are fired on you while you're in school, at home or at a restaurant, it's very scary. We want to tell them that we support them with all our hearts."

Past Middle East tensions have impacted on France, which has Western Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim populations, and boosted anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic incidents.


Show of support in Paris (Photo: AFP)


 
'Hamas charter calls for destruction of Jews' (Photo: AP)



'Israel's war is France's war' (Photo: EPA)


'We stand with Israel' (Photo: EPA)


'Israel, we're all united' (Photo: AFP)

A protest organized by Jewish organizations was held in New York. Michael S. Miller, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said during the event: "The purpose of this gathering is to express the unequivocal support for the State of Israel among New York's political, communal, ethnic and faith leaders.

"The flagrant and unprovoked violence emanating from Gaza must immediately come to an end. Until then, we wholeheartedly support Israel's right to defend herself."

He added that any moral comparison between Israel's actions and Hamas' actions should be strongly rejected.

The JTA news agency reported that the Jewish Federations of North America have committed $5 million in assistance to the Jewish Agency's Israel Terror Relief Fund for the immediate needs of the people living under fire.

Organizations representing Orthodox Judaism – the Rabbinical Council of America, the Orthodox Union and the National Council of Young Israel –called on "all Jews to increase their Torah study as spiritual support and merit for those Israeli soldiers and civilians on the front line of battle."

The RCA instructed its members to hold special classes and lectures in their communities "dedicated to the support of the IDF and the State of Israel," JTA reported.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4309617,00.html

Parisians rally in solidarity with Israel

By NADAV SHEMER, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

11/21/2012

Over a thousand people gathered outside Israeli Embassy in a peaceful demonstration supporting Operation Pillar of Defense.

Photo: NADAV SHEMER

PARIS – A couple of thousand people gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Paris Tuesday evening in a peaceful demonstration supporting the country during Operation Pillar of Defense.

As dozens of policemen in riot gear patrolled the adjacent Champs Elysees, Jewish community leaders, local politicians and representatives of pro-Israel groups took to the stage to denounce Hamas rocket attacks and call for the French government to back the Jewish state.

The demonstration was organized by the French Jewish umbrella organization, CRIF, and several other community groups, including B’nai B’rith.

French Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim came to the microphone first, delivering a poetic speech about “friends and family living for years to the rhythm of missiles and sirens.”

Addressing all of France’s rabbis and imams, he said that if they chose to invoke the situation in the Middle East during their sermons, they must do so with respect for the gravity of the situation.

Claude Goasguen, mayor of the 16th arrondissement – an area of Paris with a large Jewish population – was one of several speakers to criticize French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for his alleged failure to back Israel unequivocally. Each mention of Fabius’s name elicited jeers from a large proportion of the crowd.

Other speakers included the president of the Society of Armenian Support for Israel, who declared that “Israel is not a terrorist state,” before shouting, “Am Yisrael hai!” (the people of Israel live) into the microphone.

The crowd, which numbered around 2,000 according to a local television crew, contained a diverse mix of young and old.

Many waved Israeli and French flags, or held placards with the message that France and other Western nations must support Israel and confront terrorism.

Annabelle Timsit, a recent high school graduate who works at the Paris Holocaust Memorial, told The Jerusalem Post that she hoped people of all religions would come to show their support for the fact that Israel was defending itself and not attacking poor civilians, “as the media would like us to believe.”

Meir Djeb was there along with several other members of the Federation of Black Jews, an organization representing Paris’s approximately 250 black Jewish families. The group’s members come mainly from Israel, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

“We are united behind the Israeli people and Tzahal [the Israel Defense Forces],” Djeb told the Post. “It is very important that all of Europe knows that the real terrorists are Hamas.”

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=292826

 

No Obama Veto on Ground Op, Says Ambassador

No Obama Veto on Ground Op, Says Ambassador

Michael Oren, Israel's U.S. ambassador, says Washington will fully support Israel, whatever it decides to do.

 

By Gil Ronen, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/20/2012

 

President Barack Obama

Reuters

 

Israel's Ambassador in the United States, Michael Oren, told IDF Radio Tuesday that there is no American veto on a possible ground maneuver by the IDF in Gaza.

"Washington's support in any step Israel takes is full," he said. "Obama spoke twice with the prime minister and called our situation 'unbearable.'"

Minister of Home Front Defense Avi Dichter refused to say Tuesday whether Israel and Hamas are headed toward a ceasefire or more intensive hostilities. "The probability of an arrangement in the face of requests and pressure is identical to the probability that the operation will be ratcheted up," he told the military station.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that "A ground incursion into Gaza by Israel would be a dangerous escalation and it should be avoided." He added, though, that "Israel has legitimate security concerns and they should be respected." 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162318

Hamas Targets Jerusalem Again

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

 

 

 

 

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem again Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. Israeli time.

 

CBN News Jerusalem Bureau staff reported hearing an explosion seconds after the sirens stopped.

The missile landed outside the city in Gush Etzion, triggering the sirens, but there are no reports of injuries or property damage.

An unconfirmed radio report said it landed in an Arab village in the area.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, as it did last week, claiming it fired an M75 missile with a 75-kilometer range.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Hamas-Targets-Jerusalem-Again/

Rocket Hits Gush Etzion, near Jerusalem

Rocket Hits Gush Etzion

Sirens wailed in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion to warn of incoming missiles. Rocket hits kibbutz home in Negev. One seriously wounded.

 

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/20/2012

People take cover as sirens sound in Jerusalem

Israel news photo

 

A rocket exploded in an open area near an Arab village in Gush Etzion around 2:15 p.m. as sirens wailed in Jerusalem during another barrage of rockets and missiles unleashed by Hamas.

The missile exploded in an open area, and no one was injured. Minutes before the sirens rang out, an AFP correspondent in Gaza City reported hearing the loud report of an outgoing rocket.

The attack was claimed by Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "an M75 rocket at the occupied city of Jerusalem."

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who spent the past two days in Egypt, had been scheduled to hold talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman shortly after noon.
At least one missile was aimed at Jerusalem last week and reportedly exploded in an open area next to an Arab village in Gush Etzion, located south of the capital.

Shortly earlier on Tuesday, three rockets hit a kibbutz, critically wounding at least one person. The early warning siren system did not operate, and there are fears that several young people, possibly children, are trapped in debris.

A Grad missile demolished a Be’er Sheva home. A woman in the house took cover in the reinforced shelter in the house and escaped injury.

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162304

Bostonians rally for Israel amid Gaza operation

By MELANIE LIDMAN, Jerusalem Post

11/20/2012 06:00

Joint effort organized by synagogues, schools, and Jewish NGOs show solidarity for Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense.

Photo: REUTERS

Approximately 1,000 people rallied in Boston on Monday evening to show their support for Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense – one of many pro-Israel solidarity events held across the region and across the country.

Boston’s event was a joint effort organized by a dozen synagogues, schools, and Jewish nonprofit organizations: the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, J Street, the Anti- Defamation League and AIPAC, among others.

“Part of the reason for the rally is there’s a battle for American public opinion and world opinion, and we play a part in that battle,” said Rabbi David Lerner of Temple Emunah in Lexington, one of the congregations co-sponsoring the event.

“It’s a statement to our sisters and brothers and cousins in Israel that we’re supportive and we feel your pain,” he said.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D), a close associate of President Barack Obama, also addressed the crowd.

Patrick visited Israel in March 2011 as part of an “innovation economy mission” to strengthen ties between hi-tech companies in the Boston region and Israel. He has attended many pro-Israel events in the past.

CJP president Barry Shrage did not attend Monday’s event as he rushed off to Israel on Saturday night to express his solidarity in person.

Shrage spent Monday driving around the South and paying a condolence call in Kiryat Malachi for the victims of rocket attacks killed last week.

“I like to have a presence here whenever Israel is in trouble,” Shrage said in a telephone interview ahead of the rally.

“A problem for them is a problem for us too. In my experience, when you are in Israel and visiting and talking to them, the broader nation appreciates that someone is coming to town and not staying away,” he said.

Jewish Community Relation Council executive director Jeremy Burton noted that American Jews have a responsibility to combat the skewed media coverage of the conflict, the day after news of the deaths of 11 members of a single family in an Israeli air strike against Hamas in Gaza dominated headlines.

“There is important work for those not in Israel about telling the world what is going on and the untenable situation that Israel is dealing with,” he said. During the rally, demonstrators heard from Israelis temporarily living in Boston about their experiences. Burton said he hoped to encourage demonstrators to engage on social media and to thank the political leaders who have expressed unwavering support for Israel, including members of Congress.

Burton added that the event, which was thrown together in two days, also allows Bostonians to feel like they're taking action during a time when they’re worried about friends and family in Israel.

“The community understands this is a time to stand with Israel,” he said.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=292653

 

Israelis Pray as Hamas Missile Barrage Intensifies

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Correspondent

Monday, November 19, 2012

MOSHAV BEER TUVIA, Israel -- Hundreds of Israelis gathered to pray for their country as Hamas continued to launch rockets into Israel and the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on terror targets.

 

The terrorist group intensified its missile barrages against southern Israel over the weekend. More than 560 rockets have slammed into Israel so far, with another 300-plus intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries.

Haim Gabo's house on Moshav Beer Tuvia was hit last week while his wife and children sat protected in their safe room.

"I don't want to think about what would happen if we didn't have shelter," Gabo said.

The Israeli army pounded Hamas buildings and weapons' storage facilities by land and sea over the weekend. They've targeted more than 1,350 terror sites in the last six days in what they're calling Pillar of Defense.

The air force has inflicted extensive damage on the terror infrastructure, including buildings, weapons launching facilities, and terrorist workshops.

In one case, Palestinians say a bomb killed 11 members of one family, including women and children. But Moshav Beer Tuvia resident Colleen Montgomery said the bad press against Israel isn't fair.

"Just remember, every time someone holds up a child who has been hurt in Gaza -- which we hope they aren't -- but if they are, somebody needs to place beside that pictures from Syria," Montgomery said.

"This has been a year and a half, two years going on, and nobody is getting in the middle of it, nobody's yelling," she added.

"I wish the yelling would stop at Israel," Montgomery said. "We are doing our best. We know our soldiers. They are not trying to do anything to the civilian population."

Meanwhile, Israeli public support for the ongoing military operation remains high.

Some 31,000 reservists have already been called up for a possible ground offensive. But some Western leaders are warning the Jewish state not to send their soldiers into Gaza.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Israel expects the world to stand behind its right to defend itself.

"We expect our allies to support us to use all our tools to bring peace to our people," he said. "So to say the least, we don't like these kind of reservations."

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall to pray for their nation and for protection for the army. They prayed Psalm 121: "He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps."

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Israelis-Pray-as-Hamas-Missile-Barage-Intensifies/

Watch: Why most Palestinians really support Hamas

Monday, November 19, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

 

 

As the Gaza war rages, international media has made a point of reporting that most Palestinians in Gaza continue to support Hamas, despite the fact that the terror group and its allies sparked the current conflict.

The picture painted by most media is that Palestinians may not be 100 percent happy with Hamas rule, but Israel's purportedly indiscriminate bombing of Gaza continues to drive most Arabs into the terror group's arms.

Last year a Palestinian Arab Christian created a YouTube video that clearly shows the real reason most Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas: Fear. Fear and indoctrination.

Those Palestinians old enough to think for themselves are too afraid to not support Hamas. And those too young to take their own stand are quickly taught that there is no way but the Hamas way.

Watch the shocking truth:

It is also quite telling to realize that all this and more took place without condemnation from the Arab world, without aid missions by foreign humanitarian organizations, and without emergency UN Security Council meetings.

Hamas terrorizes the people of Gaza regularly, and no one cares. Israel returns fire on Hamas terrorists hiding behind those same civilians, and suddenly the world is enraged. Folks, anti-Semitism has taken many guises in these days, and this is one of them.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23509/Default.aspx

IDF Rabbi tweets prophecy pointing to Messiah's coming

Sunday, November 18, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

 

 

As more and more Israelis get called up for active military duty in preparation for a possible invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the chief rabbi of the Israeli army (IDF) has been posting inspirational scriptures to his Twitter feed.

Among the scriptures posted yesterday was Zechariah 12:10, a passage Christians and Messianic Jews see as pointing to Yeshua as Messiah.

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication."

Due to Twitter's space limitations, the rabbi's post stopped there. The verse continues:
"They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."

The IDF chief rabbi has posted that verse before, but it seemed to many to be especially timely now as the battle in Gaza rages and the world howls against Israel. It is also timely because of the verse immediately preceding it, Zechariah 12:9:

"On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem."

The rabbi's posting from Zechariah came just a day after Gaza-based terrorists fired a missile at Jerusalem.

Editor's note: His Twitter account is @IDFrabbi. I receive his tweets.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23505/Default.aspx

Opinion: London 1940-Tel Aviv 2012. What's the Difference?

Opinion: London 1940-Tel Aviv 2012. What's the Difference?

There is only one precedent of a modern democracy besieged under rocket attacks. The similarities - and the difference - are striking.

 

By Giulio Meotti, Italy

Israel National News

First Publish: 11/16/2012

Katyusha Missile

 

There is only one precedent of a modern democracy besieged under rocket attacks.

During the afternoon of September 7, 1940, 348 Nazi bombers appeared over London’s skies. For the next two months, London was bombed day and night. Fires consumed many portions of the city. Residents sought shelter wherever they could find it - many fleeing to the underground station that sheltered as many as 177,000 people during the night.

Little is said or written about the incredible courage being shown by the civilian population of Israel, but it is reminiscent of events 70 years ago in Europe.

Like the Londoners, who endured the blitz stoically, with British aplomb and quiet courage, the people of Israel are equally valiant, going about their daily lives knowing that killers might explode a bomb or rocket in any public place at any time. Since the year of the founding of the state, more than 60,000 rockets have fallen on Israel.

Unlike those who believe in a peaceful and political solution to the "Palestinian" question, the Hamas' Covenant proclaims: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question, except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

Israel is like Guernica, the Basque town that in 1937 was the premature victim of the savage and merciless Nazi Blitzkrieg that was to sweep Europe.

But there is a big difference between the two historic situations.

The Allies during the war didn't hesitate to impose a collective punishment on the German people, while today we like to believe that the State of Israel is facing just individual murderers and isolated fanatics, and must pardon the society that nurtures them.

The Arab population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza is responsible for Hamas' terrorism. Collective punishment of that population by Israel is - when administered in proportion to the evils it is meant to combat - justified and required. The Palestinian Arab population is responsible for Hamas and the PLO.

An enemy society is exactly what the Jewish State is confronting. And in Kiryat Malachi, three residents, killed by Islamic terrorists, are just the latest victims in the war between Israel and that society.

Israel lost the battle during the first Intifada, when Jewish civilians on the roads were routinely assaulted with rocks and firebombs by Arab gangs, because it didn't combat the attacks with the force that may have prevented them from evolving into the terror of today that comes from Gaza.

Palestinian Arabs rock-throwers were met with a vehicle that sprayed them with pebbles. Soldiers were armed with rubber bullets and given orders not to attack when not under attack themselves.
The Jewish "settlers" at that time called on the government to take punitive action against the villages from where the attacks were launched, but the Jewish residents were demonized themselves and were answered with self-righteous hypocrisy decrying the immorality of "collective punishment".
This is how evil has grown to surround Israel.

Even Israel's supporters in the West like to believe that the Jewish State, granting de-facto immunity to the society that sponsors terrorist savagery, committed itself to a higher ethical standard. We like to discern the IDF's "purity of weapons". But preferring an illusion of peace to retaliating with the full force at Israel's disposal against the terrorists' home base - their communities and their ideological supporters, who bear collective responsibility for the terror - is a Jewish crime, not a Jewish virtue.

Terror is a collective punishment, the answer to it must include collective punishment.
Terror is a collective punishment, the answer to it must include collective punishment.

Twenty years after the first Gulf War, Israel remains the only “bunkered” democracy in the world and is now even more relentlessly demonized and ghettoized.

Israel is a small country. This is not to say that it’s destined for extinction; only that it can be.
Moreover, in its vulnerability to extinction, Israel is not just any small country. It is the only country whose neighbors declare its very existence an affront to God and make its destruction a paramount national goal.

But if in 1991, Israel responded with understatement and quiet civil courage, let's hope that today it will react differently to genocidal terrorism. Because, as Joe McCain wrote few years ago, “the Jews will not go quietly again.”

And there is another big difference between London in 1940 and Tel Aviv in 2012: while the West backed the British resistance against the Nazi monster, Israel is alone in fighting a battle for all of us.

As Israelis are heading to shelters these days, the questions in their minds are two: Will the West come to our aid? How many friends can the Jewish State really count on these days?
Take a step forward and say that you are one of those friends. I did.

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing, often the Arutz Sheva op-eds, appears in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He is at work on a book about the Vatican and Israel.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162141

 

Israel destroys Hamas government HQ, troops prepare for Gaza invasion

Israel destroys Hamas government HQ, troops prepare for Gaza invasion

Saturday, November 17, 2012 | Ryan Jones, Israel Today            

 

Israel on Friday night bombed and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters in Gaza City just hours after Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil visited the facility in solidarity with the Gaza terrorist regime.

The destruction of the Hamas government building was seen as sending a message to both Hamas and Egypt that Israel is not afraid to escalate the fight if the threat of rocket attacks on southern Israel does not cease.

Meanwhile, rocket attacks on southern Israel did continue throughout the night and into Saturday morning. Four soldiers were wounded in one rocket strike, and countless civilians were treated for shock.

Israeli military officials said the conflict is likely to last several more weeks. On Friday, the government approved the mobilization of 75,000 reserve troops in preparation for a possible ground invasion of Gaza.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23502/Default.aspx

 

Hamas Rocket Targets Jerusalem from Gaza

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Mideast Correspondent

Friday, November 16, 2012

 

    

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RISHON LEZION, Israel - Israeli security officials have confirmed to CBN News that at least one rocket fired from Gaza landed somewhere near the Gush Etzion community in the West Bank southwest of Jerusalem.

 

This is the first Gaza-launched rocket to reach the environs of Israel's capital.

 

Earlier, sirens sounded for the second straight day in the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv. The armed wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

 

No damage or injuries have been reported in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, and officials now say that the rocket near Tel Aviv did not land, suggesting that it was shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defense system.

 

How troubling is it that Gaza rockets have reached Jerusalem? CBN News' John Waage, who has spent years covering the Middle East in our Jerusalem Bureau, has more. And will Egypt stand with Israel as it has in the past? Sr. International Reporter Gary Lane explains what to expect this time around, following this report.

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian rockets continued to fall on southern Israel Friday as the Israel Defense Forces ramped up its bombardments of terror sites.

 

The key for Israel, say residents, is to allow the country to finish the job.

 

Panic in Tel Aviv

 

 

Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv Thursday for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War, snarling traffic and sending shock waves through the center of the country.

 

"The alarm -- some of us got panic (ked). I was in the street. I saw people run and trying to call their families. A few seconds later, it was normal," one Israeli teen, Adir Joseph, recalled.

 

"And in Tel Aviv it was also," Eden Kabaso, 16, said. "My sister lives there. When there was an alarm she got panicked. She cried. She was also in the street with her kids and it was not a comfortable situation."

 

One rocket reached farther north than ever before -- some 30 miles to the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Lezion.

 

What do Christians need to understand about the spiritual battle at play here? CBN News' John Waage has more on Christian World News below (link at bottom of this feature story.)

 

 

"Everybody freaked out. It was crazy. It was the first time here in Rishon LeZion," Rafi Mor, a Rishon Lezion shop owner, said.

 

The army says in the last 36 hours they've struck more than 500 terror sites. Israelis in Rishon Lezion say their country should keep up the pressure.

 

"There's no way the people from the south have to endure all those missiles day after day after day," resident Omer Shani said. "There is no country in the world that will have -- that could have -- understood it. It can't go on. It just can't go on."

 

Mor agreed. "I think we should have done this step a long time ago," he said. "I think we should solve the problem over there for a long time now. The army needs its time to do its job and finish the work over there."

 

Tel Aviv area resident Ayelet Shoshani said, "I think they need to do more. Now, after what happened yesterday, I can feel (it) -- I don't know how people in the south live, I don't know. I think I would get mad to live like that. I don't think we can get used to that kind of life. It's very difficult."

 

"Don't stop until they are quiet," Rishon Lezion resident Ruthi Schlosser said. "They should go on and beg for (a) ceasefire because it can't continue like that. We are very happy here you know in the midst of Israel, but poor people who are living there, their life must be hell.

 

Israel agreed to hold its fire during Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil's visit to Gaza on Friday, but rockets continued to slam into southern Israeli communities.

 

More than 300 rockets have hit Israel in less than 48 hours. Some 130 more have been intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile battery.

 

In the past, pressure from the international community has forced Israel to stop before it says it has accomplished its goals. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it won't happen this time.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Gaza-Renews-Rocket-Fire-as-Israel-Ramps-Up-Offensive/

Panetta to Barak: Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself

Panetta to Barak: Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, reaffirms that Israel has the right to defend itself.

 

By Elad Benari, Israel National News 

 

First Publish: 11/16/2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

AFP/Paul J. Richards

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak this week about the latest Israeli military moves in Gaza after increased rocket attacks from there, CNN reported on Thursday.

A senior U.S. defense official confirmed the conversation had taken place in the last few days while Panetta was traveling in Asia.

"They spoke about unacceptable attacks by Hamas and other groups in Gaza, and Panetta expressed the U.S. view that Israel has the right to defend itself," the official said, according to CNN.

The United States has given Israel the green light to go ahead with Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. President Barack Obama spoke to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu early Thursday. A White House statement said that “the President reiterated to Prime Minister Netanyahu the United States' support for Israel's right to self defense in light of the barrage of rocket attacks being launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians. The President urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
The statement said Obama and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas needed to stop attacks on Israel to "allow the situation to de-escalate."

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner also underscored Israel’s right to defend itself, saying, “We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence.

“There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties,” he added.

The UN Security Council, at an emergency closed session on Wednesday, discussed the situation in Gaza without coming to any decisions. During the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice strongly defended Israel, saying that said there was no justification for the violence that "Hamas and other terrorist organizations" are aiming at Israel.

“We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately,” Rice said, adding that the rocket attacks were harming efforts to end the Middle East conflict and create a PA state. “Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that does nothing but set back the Palestinian cause. Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza nor to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination and independence.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron also seemed to express an understanding for the IDF operation, when he told Netanyahu on Thursday "Hamas bears the principal responsibility for the crisis."

A Downing Street spokesman told AFP that Cameron told Netanyahu “the rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other armed groups were completely unacceptable and that the increasing frequency of rocket attacks in recent days was the immediate cause of the situation.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, however, slammed the IDF operation as an act of savagery.

"Another savage aggression against the Gaza Strip has begun. Once again, the state of Israel is bombing the Gaza Strip," Chavez, a close associate of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose country arms Hamas, told a cabinet meeting televised by state-run TV.

Venezuela broke off relations with Israel in 2009 during Operation Cast Lead.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162150

Ashton, Merkel say Israel has right to defend itself

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS

LAST UPDATED: 11/16/2012

German chancellor blames Hamas for escalation; EU foreign affairs chief calls for stop to rocket attacks.

Photo: REUTERS/Kimmo Mantyla/Lehtikuva

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both issued strong statements in support of Israel’s right to defend itself on Friday.

Ashton added that she hoped Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil’s visit to Gaza on Friday morning would calm the situation.

“The rocket attacks by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, which began this current crisis are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop,” she said.

“Israel has the right to protect its population from these kind of attacks. I urge Israel to ensure that its response is proportionate,” she said.

“I am deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip and deplore the loss of civilian lives on both sides,” Ashton said.

Ashton added that she had spoken with leaders in the region, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the office of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as to how best to de-escalate the situation.

“In my discussions, I made the point that we must move forward in finding a solution to the Middle East conflict so that million of people in the region can finally live in peace and security,” she said.

A German government spokesman said on Friday that Merkel is "very worried" about an escalation of violence in the Middle East and calls on Hamas to immediately stop shooting rockets from Gaza into Israel."

"Hamas in Gaza is responsible for the outbreak of violence," spokesman Georg Streiter told a news conference. "There is no justification for the shooting of rockets at Israel, which has led to massive suffering of the civilian population.

"The Chancellor urges those responsible in the Gaza Strip to immediately stop firing on Israel. At the same time she calls on the Egyptian government to use its influence on Hamas to limit the violence and bring it to an end."

Streiter said the Israeli government had the "right and obligation" to protect its population.

UN human rights chief urges Hamas, Israel to step back from brink

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced Israel's aerial attacks on Gaza as well as rockets fired by Hamas into southern Israel and called on both sides on Friday to step back from the brink.
"She's appalled that once again civilians are losing their lives... She urges both sides to pull back from an increasingly dangerous confrontation," her spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

"The High Commissioner has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and is deeply concerned by the recent major upsurge in the number of rocket attacks and that they are now being aimed at a major city such as Tel Aviv," he said.

"She is also extremely concerned by the sharp increase in aerial attacks by Israeli forces on the heavily populated Gaza Strip in the past two days," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=292162

Jerusalem Dateline - Fifteen Seconds

Jerusalem Dateline

Chris Mitchell

CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fifteen Seconds

What would you do if you had 15 seconds to find shelter from a rocket attack?

That's the reality people living in the southern Israeli city of Sderot have faced for more than 10 years.

When a Kassam rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip just a couple of miles away, it takes about 15 seconds for it to land. It doesn't pack a great deal of explosives but make no mistake, it can kill, injure, cause extensive damage, and terrify a population.

Living in Sderot is like playing Russian roulette. You don't know when a rocket or mortar shell will land or where. No wonder a large number of people suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Over the weekend, more than 120 rockets fell on Sderot and other towns and cities. Now with longer-range rockets, more than 1 million Israelis are in range of terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

This diagram shows the rockets and their ranges.




Their reach is getting closer to Tel Aviv and Israel's Ben-Gurion airport. It's hard to believe that any other nation would be expected to tolerate this kind of situation.

http://blogs.cbn.com/jerusalemdateline/Default.aspx

Netanyahu: Picture of Bleeding Baby Says It All

Netanyahu: Picture of Bleeding Baby Says It All

PM thanks Obama for understanding "Israel’s need to defend itself, and Israel’s right to defend itself."

By Gil Ronen, Israel National News 

First Publish: 11/15/2012,

Baby injured in Kiryat Malachi

Reuters

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the international media Thursday afternoon, in which he said Israel would continue to do its best to avoid civilian casualties on the enemy side, despite the fact that the enemy is targeting Israeli civilians and hiding behind its own. He also thanked world leaders for "understanding" Israel's right to defend itself.

The way the operation unfolds will depend on the number of civilian casualties caused to Hamas and its ability to expoit that in order to create pressure on Israel to stop punishing it militarily. This pressure has proven highly effective in the past, especially given the Israeli press's tendency to highlight casualties on the enemy side, thus weakening national resolve to go on fighting.

This is the text of the statement:

"In recent days and weeks, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza have made normal life impossible for over one million Israelis," he said. "No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation. This is why my government has instructed the Israeli Defense Forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

"And this is why Israel will continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people.

"I want to remind you that seven years ago, Israel withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. Now Hamas, they took over the areas we vacated. What did it do? Rather than build a better future for the residents of Gaza, the Hamas leadership, backed by Iran, turned Gaza into a terrorist stronghold. They fired thousand of rockets at our cities, at our towns, at our civilians, at our children. They’ve smuggled thousands of rockets and missiles into Gaza, and they deliberately place these rockets and missiles in civilian areas: in homes, in schools, near hospitals. This year alone, they fired over one thousand rockets and missiles at Israel, including close to 200 rockets in the last 24 hours.

"I’m stressing this because it’s important to understand one simple point. There is no moral symmetry; there is no moral equivalence, between Israel and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. The terrorists are committing a double war crime. They fire at Israeli civilians, and they hide behind Palestinian civilians. And by contrast, Israel takes every measure to avoid civilian casualties. I saw today a picture of a bleeding Israeli baby. This picture says it all: Hamas deliberately targets our children, and they deliberately place their rockets next to their children. Despite this reality, and it’s a very difficult reality, Israel will continue to do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties.

"I have to say that from my talks with world leaders, I have the clear understanding that they have a clear understanding of this. Yesterday I spoke to President Obama and I briefed him on Israel’s operations. I want to express my appreciation once again to President Obama for his unequivocal clear sided support for Israel’s right to defend itself. I also want to express my appreciation to the other world leaders I’ve had a chance to speak to in the last 24 hours: to President Hollande of France, to UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, to EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and to Quartet representative Tony Blair. I want to thank them for their understanding of Israel’s need to defend itself, and Israel’s right to defend itself.

"In the past 24 hours Israel has made it clear that it will not tolerate rocket and missile attacks on its civilians. I hope that Hamas and the other terror organizations in Gaza got the message. If not, Israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162129

Canada throws unwavering support behind Israel in Gaza war

Thursday, November 15, 2012 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today  

The government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper once again demonstrated its unwavering support of Israel on Thursday when it unequivocally backed the Jewish state's military response to incessant terrorist rocket fire.

"We fundamentally believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens from terrorist threats," stated Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. "Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism, the great struggle of our generation."

Referencing the hundreds of terrorist rockets that sparked Israel's "Operation Pillar of Cloud" - a provocation much of the world has suddenly forgotten about - Baird said that Canada "condemns the terrorist group Hamas and stands with Israel as it deals with regional threats to peace and security."

The Obama Administration also issued a statement of support immediately following the start of Israel's surprise aerial campaign on Wednesday evening.

"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel," said US State Department spokesman Mark Toner. "We support Israel’s right to defend itself."

However, Toner also threw in what some might see as a veiled warning: "We encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties."

It has been reported time and again that Israel takes more care to avoid civilian casualties than any nation on earth, including the United States. Some Israelis view remarks like Toner's as an assertion of moral superiority, and a suggestion that Israel needs to be reminded to act in a civil manner.

Of course, many also take it as a friendly warning that the rest of the international community is likely to use every Palestinian civilian casualty as a weapon to attack not only Israel's military actions, but its legitimacy as a nation.

Meanwhile, Russia and the Arab world predictably condemned Israel's military response in Gaza while almost completely ignoring the Hamas rocket barrage that preceded it, and Europe registered its displeasure over the "disproportionate" nature of the Israeli action.

Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest, and Israel returned the favor.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23497/Default.aspx