Thursday, February 25, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - U.S. losing ground against Islamic extremism, says former CENTCOM commander

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

U.S. losing ground against Islamic extremism, says former CENTCOM commander

Despite the insistence of President Obama and his senior advisors that the Islamic State and the violent jihadist movement worldwide is losing ground, the former head of U.S. Central Commander says the exact opposite is true.

"The U.S. has lost ground in the fight against Islamic extremism, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said in a recent interview," according to an article inThe Hill, a Washington based newspaper that covers Congressional affairs.

The following are excerpts from this important story:

"Unfortunately, we have lost ground over time," said retired Gen. John P. Abizaid, former commander of U.S. Central Command in an interview published in this month's West Point's Combating Terrorism Center's magazine.
"The scope of the ideological movement, the geographic dispersion of Islamic extremism, the number of terror attacks, the number of people swearing allegiance, and the ground they hold have all increased," said Abizaid.
"Groups like the Islamic State have now taken on state-like forms and features that are unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. So on balance we are in a worse position strategically with regard to the growth of international terrorism, Islamic terrorism in particular, than we were after September 2001," he said.
The dire assessment highlights the difficulty the Obama administration faces as it tries to accelerate the campaign against ISIS in its remaining 10 months in office....
The administration says the primary focus will remain on Iraq and Syria, but that it will also strike ISIS in other places, such as Afghanistan and Libya, if an opportunity arises.
However, with only 10 months remaining in the administration, there is little time for doing significantly more, and the administration has sidestepped questions into whether there will be a more robust effort to go after ISIS in Libya.
"I'm not going to look ahead into the future. We're going to continue to respond to the ISIL threat as it develops. We are carrying out a significant campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and we are prepared — as we have demonstrated in the last 24 hours — to strike ISIL in other parts of the world, as they pose a threat," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Friday, using another acronym for ISIS.
Abizaid also said the U.S. was making a mistake by not acknowledging that modern-day borders of the Middle East are falling apart.
The U.S. is aiming for political solutions in Iraq and Syria that would keep the countries together, instead of broken up along sectarian lines.
"I do not think you solve the problem by trying to reinforce the status quo that existed before September 11, 2001," he said.
"I think the international community and the leaders in the region have got to decide how best to reshape the Middle East and redraw the boundaries to establish stability and a more peaceful structure," he said.
"Nations that are trying to put the status quo back on the map are only going to prolong the conflict and stoke greater violence," he added. "I do not believe we are capable of putting this all back together again. That strategy is bound to fail."
One thing the U.S. can do, he recommended, is to put more effort into organizing and leading the international community to do more to take on ISIS.
"I’m talking about a raiding strategy where we destroy capability over time in a joint force, which is an integrated international air, ground, and naval effort," he said.
"Without American leadership, we’re not going to move in a direction that’s going to produce effective results," he said.
"That doesn’t mean we only employ American assets, but it does mean there has to be American commitment to lead the effort and guarantee our partners that there will be some long lasting measures that take place," he said.

————————–

Order The First Hostage today — the new political thriller about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — is available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats.

——————-

joelcrosenberg | February 25, 2016 at 11:32 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-4ir

Continuity - The Story of the Israeli Family - video Israel Today

Continuity - The Story of the Israeli Family

Thursday, February 25, 2016 | Israel Today Staff

The following video is about Roey, a retired captain and decorated combat soldier in the Israeli army.

WATCH HERE: Israel Today - Continuity

His family history and commitment to the State of Israel is representative of a great many Israeli Jews.

This is what it means to be Israeli.

This is a story about an Israeli family for which sadness and bereavement are an integral part, but also life, hope and dedication.

Want more news from Israel?

Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.

Where Does the History of Israel Begin? - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

Where Does the History of Israel Begin?

Thursday, February 25, 2016 | Tsvi Sadan

ISRAEL TODAY

Topics:

Bible

In the never-ending debate between political rivals, the latest fracas erupted after right-wing Minister of Education Naftali Bennet posted to Facebook this week stating, "I am proud to announce that fifty years after Jerusalem was freed, the educational system will devote the next year to our united capital."

Bennet went on to remind Israelis that "our history begins with Jerusalem."

Left-wing Member of Knesset Stav Shaffir (Labor) rushed to "correct" the minister via Twitter, insisting that "we came here from Egypt," hence, our history as a people with Egypt.

Her tweet was subjected to a feast of ridicule. One fake Twitter account had Shaffir saying that the two Tablets of Stone (Ten Commandments) were made in China because it says in the Mishna that "Moses received Torah from Sini" (in Hebrew, one vowel changes Sinai to Sini, the word for Chinese).

Laughs aside, Shaffir touched upon an ever relevant subject with which Jews have continuously wrestled – does Israel have the right to a land occupied by others?

Those like Shaffir who support a Palestinian state are basically saying that Israel stole another people's land, and it should be given back to them. If indeed they are right, the Bible should have opened, as Shaffir suggests, with the people of Israel leaving Egypt and becoming a nation.

This position is nothing news. From time immemorial, Jews have been suggesting that since the five books of Moses are regarded as Torah or Law, the Bible should begin with the first commandment given to Israel as a people, which is, "this month shall be unto you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2)

Instead, the Bible opens with "in the beginning God created..."

Interesting as the stories of Genesis and those leading up to the Exodus are, the relevant "beginning" is the first commandment, and the passages from Genesis 1 to Exodus 12 are, therefore, superfluous. Or so this logic goes.

But it must be for good reason that the Bible opens with Genesis, and not with Israel in Egypt.

Based on Psalm 111:6, God told the story of Genesis so that Israel could not be accused of being "robbers, because you took by force the lands of Canaan." This famous rabbinical commentary demonstrates that long before there was any Palestinian, Jews were conscience of the fact that the Promise Land was under dispute.

Israel's claim to it rests upon the premise that it was given to her as a declaration of the power of His works and to be a light to the nations.

The Promise Land, therefore, is not some kind of divine reward for those who suffered under the hand of Egypt, or even for those who endured the Holocaust. Israel inherited the Land for the sole purpose of guiding humanity to the God who created heaven and earth. Failing to do so endangers not only Israel, but the entire world.

In other words, the people of Israel sustain the world through submission to God.

In this light, though she claims to be Zionist, Stav Shaffir's understanding of Israel's history actually forfeits Israel's right to the entire Land of Israel, and not just to the "occupied territories," because in a world void of God, Israel is truly a robber of another people's land.

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Overcoming Satanic Attacks of Discouragement - DR. F. DEAN HACKETT CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Overcoming Satanic Attacks of Discouragement

Satan is well-aware of our weaknesses, and he always takes advantage of those weak spots, but you don't have to fall for it. (iStockPhoto | Chepko)

Through many years as a missionary in Asia, I have had lots of opportunity to feel the keen edge of Satan's tool of discouragement. I discovered that he keeps this particular tool in readiness at all times, and he's always sharpening it for use on the unsuspecting.

And that's what alarms me. None of us should ever be taken by surprise.

Just study the description of Satan in the Bible—he is a deceiver of the brethren, a liar, he masquerades as a harmless sheep, but he is actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, and furthermore, he is described a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. That is enough to put us on high alert!

My problem has been, and I suspect yours may be, the fact that we are lulled to sleep for various reasons and we drop our guard.

Satan is well-aware of our weaknesses, and he always takes advantage of those weak spots. Sometimes he afflicts us with sickness as in Job's case, to get our eyes off Jesus. There are times when he brings financial reverses or causes a lack of sufficient funds as in Job's case when he lost all his possessions and his children. His purpose was to bring despair into Job's heart so that he would curse God and turn his back on Him.

There are times when our children are subjected to attack while at boarding school or college in the States. That is most stressful, and if we are not living close to God, it can have devastating effects.

Such things can occur in all of our lives and can cause times of great discouragement and despair because we see the problem rather than the Problem Solver.

There are often times of misunderstanding and criticism that sweep over us like a tidal wave. To make matters worse, the criticism often comes from fellow believers, as in Paul's case in the book of Philippians. Worry and fear may grip our hearts and sometimes produce a spiritual paralysis that neutralizes faith and immobilizes us.

The first thing we need to do is get alone with God and let His reassuring voice speak peace to our hearts. I have found that it often is at times when I am especially busy doing kingdom work that I neglect communion with God. If this condition persists, we are in danger of spiritual starvation while a spiritual feast is spread out before us. Prayer has been pushed aside to meet the urgent needs confronting us. I know this is true from personal experience. Every time I have been caught in the slough of despair, it was because I failed to take the time to be with God and in His Word.

The amazing thing I have discovered when buffeted by Satan is the power of the Word of God to lift my despairing spirit, and the power of prayer to overcome anything Satan throws at me. It has always been amazing to me how the application of His Word and the power of prayer restore me to instant victory.

There are some things we must not forget.

We cannot overcome Satan in our own strength. He will come to hound us at any moment, but we know from God's Word that we are more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. Take time to immerse yourself in God's Word daily and never neglect prayer.

We know that Satan trembles when we bow our knees in prayer, and he flees from the Word.

So know your enemy and his strengths and weaknesses as a good general knows the enemy he faces. Be sure to put on the whole armor of God and stand in the strength of our Mighty Conqueror.

Whoever lives in the light of Christ's presence and Word will be well-able to stand every attack of the enemy and be more than a conqueror through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. F. Dean Hackett has served in full-time Christian ministry since October 1971. He has ministered throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, serving as pastor, conference speaker and mentor. He has planted four churches, assisted in planting 15 others, and currently serves as lead pastor of Living Faith Church in Hermiston, Oregon. Dr. Hackett founded Spirit Life Ministries International in 2001 to facilitate ministries in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to open a training center for workers in those nations. You can find him at F. Dean Hackett - Foundational,Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

DNA Study Offers Definitive Proof That Jewish Ancestry Traces Back To the Land of Israel By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

(Photo: API Flickr/Wikimedia Commons)

DNA Study Offers Definitive Proof That Jewish Ancestry Traces Back To the Land of Israel

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz February 24, 2016 BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And He brought him forth abroad, and said: ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them’; and He said unto him: ‘So shall thy seed be.’ And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. And He said unto him: ‘I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.’”
Genesis 15:5-7 (The Israel Bible™)

There are those who claim that present day Jews are not the descendants of the original Hebrews and therefore have no claim to the land. This claim also discredits the idea that the modern State of Israel could be part of the Messianic return, the ingathering of the exiles predicted by the prophets. For those willing to listen to scientific proof, this claim has been entirely discredited by recent studies in genetics.

Perhaps the strongest voice claiming the present day Jews settling in Israel are not descended from the original Hebrews is Tel Aviv University historian Shlomo Sand. In his international best-seller, The Invention of the Jewish People (2008), he asserts that the Jews of today did not originate in the Mediterranean and that a “nation-race” of Jews never existed.

Jews today, he claims, share a common religion but not a common ethnic background. His book argues that there is no evidence of the expulsion of the Jews from ancient Israel, and therefore it never happened, meaning that the diaspora is a modern invention.

He claims that Judaism was a religion which arose outside of Israel based on massive conversions that continued until the rise of Christianity in the fourth century and that most Jews today are the descendants of people who lived elsewhere in the world, the products of conversion.

Sand equates the Jews’ longing for Israel, what he calls “the mythical Kingdom of David”, with other European nationalist movements. The significant difference according to Sand is that the holy land was to be longed for but not lived in until the divinely sent Messiah arrives.

Sand’s theory has becoming a lightning rod for controversy, attracting criticism as well as high praise. His book received the “Prix Aujourd’hui” in France and has been translated into more languages than any other Israeli book. Haaretz called it a “success for Israel”. Eric Hobsbawm, a Jewish retired professor of history and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, selected Sand’s book as one of his “Books of the Year” for 2009.

However, Professor Sand has also been criticized for his methodology and how he relates to sources and physical evidence. In addition, he admits that this area of history is not his expertise. But without a doubt, the strongest objection to Sand’s rebuttal of modern Jewish claims on the land of Israel comes from recent developments in the area of practical genetics.

Is there archaeological proof of the Exodus? Find out in "Patterns of Evidence: the Exodus" DVD

In 2010, Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, published a study concluding that many “geographically and culturally distant Jews still have more genes in common than they do with non-Jews around them,” and that such genes were of “Levantine origin”. Ostrer said, “I would hope that these observations would put the idea that Jewishness is just a cultural construct to rest.”

Sand replied to the genetic study’s refutation by saying, “Hitler would certainly have been very pleased.”

Breaking Israel News spoke to Bennett Greenspan about the genetic aspect of Judaism and how it relates to the Jewish claim to the Land of Israel. Greenspan founded Family Tree DNA, the first American company to offer genealogical DNA testing directly to the general public, and his conclusions are based on a database of hundreds of thousands of genetic samples .

“On the Y-DNA test that tracks the paternal line, 75-85% of Jews have a Semitic ancestry, that is to say they are from the Middle East. ‘Semitic’ may also include Turkey and Northern Syria, going back 3,000 years,” Greenspan explained.

He said that according to the genetic results, “I am a Jewish Arab. The world has Christian Arabs, Muslim Arabs, and Jewish Arabs. The difference is that 2,000 years ago, the Muslim Arabs didn’t yet have a religion, and the Jewish Arabs did. Our Temple was defiled, the Jews revolted, and we got beat. The Jews were exiled from our land by the superpower of the day.”

“Shlomo Sand is wrong when he says that Jews are no more related to other Jews in other places in the world than to Christians or Muslims,” Greenspan stated unequivocally to Breaking Israel News. “The genetic facts do not at all support that theory, and do support the opposite. The genetic evidence is strikingly clear.”

Sand’s premise, even when he wrote the book, was outlandish to many critics. His reason for taking such an untenable stance was that he believed a common ethnic basis for Judaism “nourishes anti-Semitism”. However, by denying Jewish ethnicity in an attempt to prevent anti-Semitism, Sand’s thesis has become a battle cry for haters of Israel.

The creation of the modern State of Israel has once again made Judaism a national identity and not just a religion limited to the occasional visit to the synagogue. The scattered children of Abraham have gathered together as an unmistakeable result of God’s covenant. Science has proven this to be undeniably true.

BREAKING: This video will change the abortion debate forever - LIVEACTION

Today, Live Action is releasing a groundbreaking new project, which will change the abortion debate.

After years of investigating the abortion industry, one of the most common responses I hear to our work is, “I never realized that’s what happens during an abortion.” Perpetuating ignorance is how the abortion industry stays in business.

Today, we are lifting the veil and providing a window to the womb - during an abortion.

In the new videos, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino uses the facts of medical science, along with animations, to expose the violence of the most prevalent abortion procedures.

WATCH and SHARE this video describing a second trimester D&E abortion now:

Will you help to get this first video in front of millions of people so the truth is revealed and hearts can be changed? Your single “share” on Facebook can reach hundreds of people instantly.

You can also view and share the video at AbortionProcedures.com, which serves as a powerful resource for women who are considering abortion.

Steve, these videos are a game-changer. Please share this first video with others -- your friends, family, local pro-life group, churches, and elected officials. Together, we will change people’s views about abortion forever.

In the fight for life,

Lila Rose
President, Live Action

Invest in the work of Live Action

Unlike Planned Parenthood, we don't get millions of dollars in taxpayer contributions. Help us continue exposing the abortion industry and donate now!

Donate

View this email in your browser