When Lori and I stepped off the plane in Israel this past September there was a feeling which swept over us that is difficult to describe. I felt a familiar feeling of home, sincere awe and excitement! Lori had never been to Israel before and it had been her heart’s desire for many years. She too felt this indescribable emotion of being home. The scriptures clung to our hearts as we both took in a deep breath of air. We both knew that this visit was God’s doing and absolutely His timing. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Israel
U.S. Government Reveals Israel’s Top Secret Nuclear Program
The Pentagon has declassified a Defense Department document that reveals the extend of the Israeli nuclear program.
The release breaches an agreement between the two nations to not reveal Israel’s nuclear ability.
The move is seen as retribution by the administration toward Israel for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress. The document revealed Israel’s capabilities while blocking out the sections on the document related to France, Italy, West Germany and NATO nations.
The report states that Israel is “developing the kind of codes which will enable them to make hydrogen bombs. That is, codes which detail fission and fusion processes on a microscopic and macroscopic level.”
The document says that Israel’s ability is “an almost exact parallel of the capability currently existing at our [American] National Laboratories.”
The release is the first time the United States has confirmed that Israel is a nuclear power.
Netanyahu Scores Big Election Victory
Many news outlets proclaimed that it was a race that was too close to call. The evening was filled with commentators speculating that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be struggling to put together a coalition government.
Weeks of uncertainty. A possible path for Netanyahu’s main rival Isaac Herzog to become PM.
In the end, it wasn’t even that close.
With 99 percent of the vote counted, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party scored a decisive victory over his leftist counterpart’s party giving Netanyahu his fourth term as PM. Likud is in line for 29 or 30 seats in the Knesset with Herzog’s ZIonist Union at 24 seats. This means that Netanyahu will be able to quickly put together a ruling coalition and get a new government in place.
The result was stunning for many observers who had been showing polls of Netanyahu behind by as many as 4 to 5 seats at the lowest point. Pundits said that even if Netanyahu somehow pulled out a victory he would be weakened politically both internationally and within Israel.
No one saw this strong a win coming for Likud. By comparison, the last election had Likud teaming up with another party to gain 36 seats. Likud gets 30 alone in this election.
“I am proud of the Israeli people that, in the moment of truth, knew how to separate between what’s important or what’s not and to stand up for what’s important,” Netanyahu told enthusiastic supporters at Likud’s election party at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds. “For the most important thing for all of us, which is real security, social economy and strong leadership.”
Likud minister Silvan Shalom said that it would be likely a coalition of “63 to 64 seats” would be formed in the coming days behind Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“Israel said today a very clear ‘yes’ to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to the Likud to continue leading the State of Israel,” Shalom told reporters. “We’ll do it with our allies. We’ll have a strong coalition that is able to deal with all the important issues.”
Analysts say that Netanyahu’s push to the right in the last days of the campaign, including his change in position refusing to back a two-state solution, helped fuel the unexpected victory as it drew voters from other conservative parties.
Israelis Go To The Polls
Israelis will go the polls today to choose a new government.
Polls show that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trailing in the polls to a group that has stated their intent to work with the Palestinian Authority and other Arab groups throughout the region to create Palestine and give up land.
However, the last polls which were released Friday had enough undecided voters to swing the election in either direction.
As much as 70% of Israel’s eligible voters will go to the polls.
The election is expected to be decided by the 20 percent of the population made up of Arabs. The Arab community has long complained of discrimination by Israeli authorities and expressed their desires to join with groups like Hamas and Hexbollah.
One voter told the Associated Press he was backing Netanyahu because he saw it as a way to defend the nation.
“He is not great, but he is better than anything else out there,” she said. “I can’t vote for the left … It’s a Jewish country, not a Palestinian one,” Meshy Alon said.
In Israel, voters vote for party, not individual candidates. No party has ever won a clear majority in the 120 member parliament, meaning it can take weeks to form a coalition government.
Franklin Graham: Persecution Is Coming
Franklin Graham is sounding the alarm to American Christians that their religious freedoms are being eroded while believers around the world are being persecuted.
“I believe we’re going to see persecution in this country,” Graham said during an interview on “Fox and Friends Weekend” on Sunday. “We’ve already seen many laws that have been passed that restrict our freedom as Christians. I believe it’s going to get worse, and we see no question gaining influence in Washington by those that represent the Islamic faith. We do have a problem in this country and we are losing our religious freedom and we’re losing it a little bit day by day.”
It’s the latest in warnings being given by Graham, who says the current government situation is the most hostile ever toward Christians.
Graham noted how the Obama administration routinely rebukes and condemns Israel while they actively defend Islamic nations who are out for the destruction of Israel.
Graham said that Christians need to stop shying away from expressing God’s view in the arena of ideas because we have the right to stand up for God’s way.
Netanyahu Delivers Strong Warning To Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, looking and sounding like a strong, firm leader of a nation, delivered a strong warning to members of Congress concerning negotiations with Iran over nuclear weapons.
“We have been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Well this is a bad deal. It is a very bad deal. We are better off without it,” Netanyahu said. “We are being told that the only alternative to this bad deal is war. That is just not true. The alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal.”
Over 50 Democratic Party lawmakers, including Vice President Biden, boycotted the speech.
The speech drew multiple standing ovations from the combined houses of Congress and many of the legislators could be seen shaking heads in agreement with virtually all of the Prime Minister’s speech.
“The greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said.
“That is exactly what could happen if the deal being negotiated is accepted by Iran. That deal would not prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons. It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons, lots of them.”
Netanyahu Warns Iran Deal Could Threaten Israel’s Existence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a very hard warning Monday to the members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The nuclear deal the United States is planning with Iran could threaten the very existence of the nation of Israel.
“As prime minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there’s still time to avert them,” Netanyahu told a cheering audience.
Netanyahu downplayed conflicts between the White House and Israel.
“My speech (to Congress) is not intended to show disrespect for President Obama and the office that he holds,” Netanyahu said. “I deeply appreciate all that President Obama has done for Israel.”
The White House tried to sound a conciliatory tone after Netanyahu’s speech, saying the U.S. and Israel are united in the goal of a non-nuclear Iran.
Jerusalem Christian Seminary Attacked In Hate Crime
A Greek Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem was burned Thursday and anti-Christian graffiti was sprayed on a nearby wall.
Police in the area say it’s clearly a hate crime.
The bathroom and corridor of Dormition Abbey was set on fire around 3 a.m. by unknown assailants. As firefighters extinguished the flames, they saw the crudely written graffiti mocking Jesus Christ.
A court has issued a gag-order for most of the details of the crime but a witness shared what they saw about the attack.
“Two people who were hiding their faces came from the east side of the structure near the cemetery and the Catholic church,” he said. “From there they threw flammable liquid at the seminary’s bathroom.”
Israeli President Reuvin Rivlin was outraged by the attack.
“It is inconceivable that an act like this could happen in a house of prayer,” Rivlin said in a statement.
“This is a heinous crime, there must be an investigation and those responsible must be brought to justice. Such criminals not only threaten to set fire to places of worship holy to all of us, but ignite the regional powder keg upon which we all sit.”
Netanyahu Turns Down Private Meeting With Senate Democrats
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down an invitation to meet privately with Senate Democrats during his visit next week to Washington.
Netanyahu said that holding the meeting would “compound the misperception of partisanship” regarding his trip. The White House has accused Republican leaders in Congress with inviting Netanyahu in an attempt to undermine their negotiations with Iran.
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Monday invited Netanyahu to meet in a closed-door session with Democrats during his visit.
“I regret that the invitation to address the special joint session of Congress has been perceived by some to be political or partisan,” Netanyahu wrote. “I can assure you that my sole intention in accepting it was to voice Israel’s grave concerns about a potential nuclear agreement with Iran that could threaten the survival of my country.”
More than a half dozen House and Senate Democrats said they will skip the joint session of Congress out of loyalty to President Obama. Vice President Biden has also said he will not attend the joint session of Congress.
Court Rules Palestinian Terror Groups Liable For Deaths
A court has ruled that two Palestinian groups are responsible for terror attacks that killed Americans.
The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization were found liable by a jury in Manhattan for supporting six terrorist attacks within Israel between 2002 and 2004.
The jury awarded the families of the victims $655.5 million dollars under a special terrorism law.
The case has been running through courts for a decade in an attempt to hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for funding and supporting terrorism within Israel and the surrounding region.
The ruling is a big win for Israel as well as the victims, because Israel can now claim the groups that many Western governments have claimed are the “moderates” in the region are actually funding and supporting terrorism.
The Palestinian groups said they plan to appeal the verdict.
