JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Egypt slams ‘unjustified, incomprehensible’ settlement plans-New Israeli building permits in East Jerusalem, West Bank undermine international efforts to resume peace process, Cairo says-By Tamar Pileggi July 7, 2016, 3:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Egypt condemned Israel’s recent announcement of new building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in response to the uptick in Palestinian terrorism as “unjustified and incomprehensible,” saying the move served to undermine ongoing international efforts to resume the peace process.In a statement issued Thursday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry charged that new building permits announced by Israel on Sunday weren’t conducive to reaching regional peace, joining other countries and international bodies in blasting the move.“The Israeli escalation is unjustified and incomprehensible, particularly because it coincides with regional and international efforts aimed at encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to build an environment of trust in order to resume negotiations,” Cairo said.On Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman approved some 800 new homes in the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and the nearby West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, after 13-year-old Hallel Ariel was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in her home and Rabbi Miki Mark from the nearby settlement of Otniel was killed in a drive-by shooting last week.On Wednesday, Channel 2 reported the government was pushing forward with a plan to funnel some NIS 50 million ($12.8 million) to Jewish areas in the West Bank city of Hebron and the neighboring settlement of Kiryat Arba.Egypt has taken an increasingly active role in the recent international overtures to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In June, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joined counterparts from 28 other countries for the Paris peace summit, an international conference aimed at advancing the peace process based on a two-state solution.Israel’s announced settlement expansion raised new hackles in the international community, including the United States, European Union and United Nations.The State Department responded to the announced construction in the capital in an unusually strongly worded statement that accused Israel of systematically seizing Palestinian land, calling into question Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution.A day earlier, a spokesman for UN head Ban Ki-moon said the secretary general was “deeply disappointed” by the announcement.Netanyahu brushed off international criticism at a Wednesday press conference in the Rwandan capital, saying, “Building in Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim is not, with all due respect, distancing peace.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
More Mizrahim in Israeli education, committee advises-Suggestions include heritage trips to Morocco and Spain, TV series on Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, and university departments on Middle Eastern Jewry-By Times of Israel staff July 7, 2016, 5:51 pm
A committee tasked with better incorporating Mizrahi Jewish culture and history in Israel’s education system handed its recommendations to Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday.Among the suggestions were the production of a documentary series chronicling the legacy of Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewry and sponsoring school heritage trips to Spain and Morocco.Formed at the beginning of the year, the panel, headed by Israel Prize laureate Erez Biton, aimed to determine ways to balance Israel’s educational curricula to include greater emphasis on the story of Jews from Muslim lands. For decades, the curricula have been criticized for an allegedly biased emphasis on European, or Ashkenazi, Jewish history, to the neglect of Sephardi and Mizrahi traditions and cultures — those of Spain and Muslim lands.The committee submitted its recommendations to the ministry, which said it would devise a plan of action.“After 68 years, we’re righting a historic injustice,” Bennett said in a statement after receiving the report. “The students of Israel will learn the entire Zionist and Jewish story, including the rich heritage of Mizrahi Jews.”“I wish to repair, to change. Not only for the members of the Mizrahi communities, but also for my own children,” he said.The report called for greater inclusion of Mizrahi and Sephardi literature, history and tradition in classrooms; television programming on the cultural contributions and history of eastern Jewry; and the establishment of a national day honoring the Jews of Muslim lands. Moreover it called for greater research and study of Mizrahi Judaism in higher education, greater inclusion of Mizrahi Jews in the Council of Higher Education, and the naming of institutions and streets after Mizrahi figures.“I’m excited to open for our students a window toward beauty they haven’t yet encountered,” committee chair Biton said in a statement.“The report and recommendations are a statement of legitimacy to a valid Mizrahi identity, without taking anything away from the current Israeli identity,” he said, “Bennett has given a historic meaning by establishing the committee. This is the first time since the creation of the state that this opportunity has been given – it’s exceptional.”
Reaching out to Muslims, Netanyahu plans Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan trips-Prime minister looks to build new alliances to thwart Palestinian efforts to internationalize conflict-By Raphael Ahren July 5, 2016, 10:30 pm-the times of israel
NAIROBI, Kenya – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit Kazakhstan and possibly Azerbaijan this winter, he said Tuesday, as he looks to extend a series of overtures aimed at expanding Israel’s diplomatic reach.Netanyahu announced his travel plans during a briefing with Israeli reporters accompanying him on his current four-country tour in eastern Africa.During the briefing, he laid out his plan to create new alliances around the globe in a bid to strengthen Jerusalem’s position in the conflict with the Palestinians.He said the trip would take place in the winter but did not give exact dates.Azerbaijan, which has a long border with Iran, is a secular state that has long had warm relations with Israel. Nearly 98 percent of its 10 million inhabitants are Muslim, the vast majority of them Shiites.Kazakhstan, which was recently elected to a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council, is the world’s tenth largest country. Some 70 percent of its 18 million inhabitants are Muslim.Visits by Israeli leaders to non-Arab Muslim-majority countries are rare.In 2009, then-president Shimon Peres went to both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, becoming the first Israeli head of state to visit these countries since Jerusalem established diplomatic relations with them. In 1993, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.In April, the National Security Council’s counter-terrorism bureau issued a travel warning against Azerbaijan, saying there were “continuing potential threats” against Israelis travelers and recommending Israelis to avoid “non-essential visits” to the country.Speaking to reporters in his Nairobi hotel, Netanyahu focused on his vision to improve ties with countries across the globe, including in Latin America and especially in Africa.Netanyahu is currently in the middle of a five-day swing through east Africa, with visits to Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, the first visit by an Israeli head of state to sub-Saharan Africa in decades.During his term Netanyahu has sought to expand Israel’s diplomatic sphere, reaching out to countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa normally downplayed as partners, and at the same time has sought secret cooperation with some Sunni Muslim states in the Persian Gulf.The ultimate goal of his vision to improve ties is to end the automatic majority the Palestinians have in international forums such as the UN, and thus force Ramallah to abandon its strategy of internationalization of the conflict and to resume bilateral negotiations, he said.“Israel is perceived here, but not only here, as a world power in some areas, such as technology, intelligence, water, agriculture, cyber security and other areas I will not detail here. This is how Israel is seen,” he said.Many countries are keen to cooperate with Israeli in these matters and build stronger alliances, including super powers such as Russia, China, Japan and India, as well Arab countries in the Middle East and Latin American countries, he said.“My goal is to talk directly and seriously with the Palestinians. But that’s impossible because they are escaping to international forums where they have an automatic majority,” he said. Rather than to negotiate directly with Israel, the Palestinians choose to unilaterally turn to international bodies to advance their statehood bid, the prime minister lamented.His policy to expand Israel’s foreign ties “will lead to a situation in which the Palestinians will no longer have this shelter and will have to discuss with us on a bilateral basis, something they refuse to do it as long as they have the international refuge.”
Electricity-starved Gazans look to sun for help-Tired of frequent power cuts, more Palestinians in the coastal enclave are turning to solar panels to power their homes-By Sakher Abou El Oun July 7, 2016, 5:01 pm-the times of israel
GAZA CITY (AFP) — Nahed Abu Assi’s farm has been bombed in each of the three Gaza wars since 2008 and like in the rest of the Palestinian enclave, he receives only a paltry amount of electricity each day.With his chickens dying and the cost of using generators high, Assi now hopes to do as others have done in Gaza — if he can find a loan to pay for it: install solar panels.“The electricity is cut for hours every day,” the balding 52-year-old said.“You have to connect to generators that cost a lot to fuel and that need regular repairs to keep the lamps and the livestock fans running around the clock.”A growing number of Gazans fed up with their erratic electricity supply are turning to solar power in an area where the sun shines for the vast majority of the year.Gray and black solar panels are increasingly visible on rooftops.Stores and advertisements promoting such technology have also expanded, and authorities in the enclave running by the Islamist movement Hamas are also turning to solar power.“Schools, hospitals and public institutions have been equipped with solar panels and other projects have been launched to at least try to partially resolve the electricity crisis,” said Raid Abu al-Hajj, head of the solar energy unit in the strip’s energy authority.Some 10,000 homes could soon be equipped with photovoltaic panels.The option is not cheap. Assi expects to fork out $5,000 to $6,000 for panels, but he says the investment will pay off over time.Gaza and its population of 1.9 million people has only one electricity plant and it has been damaged by wars with Israel, the most devastating of which was fought in the summer of 2014. Residential areas, in which Gazan fighters embedded their military infrastructure including rocket launchers, were heavily bombarded in Israeli airstrikes.Gaza imports electricity from Israel and Egypt, but those supplies are not nearly enough.Electricity demand is estimated at 450 megawatts, but only 250 are available: 27 percent from Israel, 22 percent provided by Gaza’s own plant and six percent by Egypt.Israel has maintained a blockade on the Gaza Strip for around a decade in a bid to keep out materials that Hamas could use for military purposes.But Gazans — half of whom live below the poverty line — are now being allowed to import solar panels and prices have gradually come down, Hajj said.Those taking advantage include Daoud Tarazi, who decided to equip his home and his petrol station with solar panels.He said it was “no longer possible to work with 18 hours of electricity cuts per day” at his station, he said.At home, where he receives 12 hours of electricity per day, “food spoils in the refrigerator and electronic equipment always breaks down.”With the panels, his bills have fallen since he no longer has to operate generators. Beyond that, solar power does not pollute and he no longer has to deal with days without electricity.“There are only five or six days per year without sun in Gaza,” he said.Solar panels also provide a safer alternative to the dangers of generators and candles, said Mohammed Atallah, a businessman and member of a renewable energy organization that has installed solar panels for street lights for roads traversing the Gaza Strip.Health officials say explosions and fires from generators and candles have caused the deaths of 24 people in recent years, most of them children.But despite the recent spike in interest, solar power remains only a tiny part of the energy mix in the Gaza Strip — amounting to around three megawatts, said Hajj.“But within three years, we hope to reach 15 megawatts,” he said.
Netanyahu asks Ethiopia to help free Israelis held in Gaza-Prime minister hails bilateral ties with Addis Ababa, says he’s committed to bringing remaining Ethiopian Jews to Israel-By Raphael Ahren July 7, 2016, 4:38 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday met with his Ethiopian counterpart in Addis Ababa and asked him for assistance in securing the release of Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Mengistu, who entered the Gaza Strip in September 2014, is one of two Israelis held captive by Hamas, which also holds the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. Mengistu’s family and the families of the two soldiers have protested outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence demanding action to ensure Avraham’s release and the return of the soldier’s bodies.“We always raise the issue of our citizens at various opportunities, including here, of course,” Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.The prime minister has come under fire in recent weeks for not securing Turkish assistance to pressure Hamas to release Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, the second Israeli held in Gaza; and the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul. Israel signed a reconciliation deal with Turkey that dealt with aspects of its policy on Gaza but did not touch on the issue of the Israelis held there.Netanyahu also said Israel was working to bring the remaining 9,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In November, the government approved the immigration of the remaining community that didn’t previously qualify despite their fervent Jewish identity. The decision faltered three months later when the Prime Minister’s Office refused to implement the program because the $1 billion needed to fund the absorption process was not in the state budget. It was eventually approved in April, and was supposed to begin in June. But as Netanyahu flew to Africa on a four-day tour this week, his office refused to comment on reasons why the process has not started.“We have a commitment and we are honoring it on a humanitarian and family reunification basis,” he said. “This will be carried out under this budget. We are obligated and we are dealing with it.”Netanyahu arrived in Addis Ababa earlier on Thursday for the final stop of his four-country state visit to East Africa, which aimed at strengthening diplomatic and economic ties. He and Hailemariam discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of water, agriculture, communications, tourism, and education, the Prime Minister’s Office said.Netanyahu said he wanted “integrated teams that are working on a government to government level but also the businesses that have created their own abilities in this field, proven abilities, in Israel and worldwide, to work with you and Ethiopian companies.”While the prime minister didn’t discuss military cooperation or the defense industry, the head of Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s largest defense contractors, was reported to be accompanying him on his visit to Ethiopia.At the same time, Netanyahu’s push for Israel to be granted “observer status” at the African Union gained Ethiopia’s backing.“Israel is working very hard in many African countries. There is no reason to deny this observer position to Israel,” Hailemariam Desalegn said.The position of observer is granted to some non-African countries who wish to engage with the AU, follow proceedings and address its gatherings. Israel had been an observer at the AU’s predecessor organization but its status was not renewed at the AU’s founding in 2002.The 54-member organization, headquartered in Addis Ababa, would be an important diplomatic ally for Israel, as is Ethiopia which begins a two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has used his country’s AU observer status since 2013 to attend AU summits, deliver addresses and shore up diplomatic support in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“You said Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel,” Netanyahu said in his joint statement with Hailemariam. “And that’s absolutely true. In fact, it goes back 3,000 years to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and I suggest that we don’t wait another 3,000 years to cement this extraordinary relationship.”Addressing the Ethiopian parliament in Addis Ababa, Netanyahu was greeted by loud clapping, and extended “greetings from Jerusalem, the city I grew up in and where King Solomon met the Queen of Sheba.”“You in Ethiopia, you fought for your freedom for millennia. We respect you, we admire you. You resisted foreign rule and lived as a free independent homeland. We too live as a free independent homeland,” he said.Before concluding his week-long trip across eastern Africa and heading back to Israel, he told lawmakers that he is already planning his next visit to the country.Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Egypt slams ‘unjustified, incomprehensible’ settlement plans-New Israeli building permits in East Jerusalem, West Bank undermine international efforts to resume peace process, Cairo says-By Tamar Pileggi July 7, 2016, 3:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Egypt condemned Israel’s recent announcement of new building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in response to the uptick in Palestinian terrorism as “unjustified and incomprehensible,” saying the move served to undermine ongoing international efforts to resume the peace process.In a statement issued Thursday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry charged that new building permits announced by Israel on Sunday weren’t conducive to reaching regional peace, joining other countries and international bodies in blasting the move.“The Israeli escalation is unjustified and incomprehensible, particularly because it coincides with regional and international efforts aimed at encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to build an environment of trust in order to resume negotiations,” Cairo said.On Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman approved some 800 new homes in the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and the nearby West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, after 13-year-old Hallel Ariel was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in her home and Rabbi Miki Mark from the nearby settlement of Otniel was killed in a drive-by shooting last week.On Wednesday, Channel 2 reported the government was pushing forward with a plan to funnel some NIS 50 million ($12.8 million) to Jewish areas in the West Bank city of Hebron and the neighboring settlement of Kiryat Arba.Egypt has taken an increasingly active role in the recent international overtures to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In June, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joined counterparts from 28 other countries for the Paris peace summit, an international conference aimed at advancing the peace process based on a two-state solution.Israel’s announced settlement expansion raised new hackles in the international community, including the United States, European Union and United Nations.The State Department responded to the announced construction in the capital in an unusually strongly worded statement that accused Israel of systematically seizing Palestinian land, calling into question Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution.A day earlier, a spokesman for UN head Ban Ki-moon said the secretary general was “deeply disappointed” by the announcement.Netanyahu brushed off international criticism at a Wednesday press conference in the Rwandan capital, saying, “Building in Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim is not, with all due respect, distancing peace.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
More Mizrahim in Israeli education, committee advises-Suggestions include heritage trips to Morocco and Spain, TV series on Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, and university departments on Middle Eastern Jewry-By Times of Israel staff July 7, 2016, 5:51 pm
A committee tasked with better incorporating Mizrahi Jewish culture and history in Israel’s education system handed its recommendations to Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday.Among the suggestions were the production of a documentary series chronicling the legacy of Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewry and sponsoring school heritage trips to Spain and Morocco.Formed at the beginning of the year, the panel, headed by Israel Prize laureate Erez Biton, aimed to determine ways to balance Israel’s educational curricula to include greater emphasis on the story of Jews from Muslim lands. For decades, the curricula have been criticized for an allegedly biased emphasis on European, or Ashkenazi, Jewish history, to the neglect of Sephardi and Mizrahi traditions and cultures — those of Spain and Muslim lands.The committee submitted its recommendations to the ministry, which said it would devise a plan of action.“After 68 years, we’re righting a historic injustice,” Bennett said in a statement after receiving the report. “The students of Israel will learn the entire Zionist and Jewish story, including the rich heritage of Mizrahi Jews.”“I wish to repair, to change. Not only for the members of the Mizrahi communities, but also for my own children,” he said.The report called for greater inclusion of Mizrahi and Sephardi literature, history and tradition in classrooms; television programming on the cultural contributions and history of eastern Jewry; and the establishment of a national day honoring the Jews of Muslim lands. Moreover it called for greater research and study of Mizrahi Judaism in higher education, greater inclusion of Mizrahi Jews in the Council of Higher Education, and the naming of institutions and streets after Mizrahi figures.“I’m excited to open for our students a window toward beauty they haven’t yet encountered,” committee chair Biton said in a statement.“The report and recommendations are a statement of legitimacy to a valid Mizrahi identity, without taking anything away from the current Israeli identity,” he said, “Bennett has given a historic meaning by establishing the committee. This is the first time since the creation of the state that this opportunity has been given – it’s exceptional.”
Reaching out to Muslims, Netanyahu plans Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan trips-Prime minister looks to build new alliances to thwart Palestinian efforts to internationalize conflict-By Raphael Ahren July 5, 2016, 10:30 pm-the times of israel
NAIROBI, Kenya – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit Kazakhstan and possibly Azerbaijan this winter, he said Tuesday, as he looks to extend a series of overtures aimed at expanding Israel’s diplomatic reach.Netanyahu announced his travel plans during a briefing with Israeli reporters accompanying him on his current four-country tour in eastern Africa.During the briefing, he laid out his plan to create new alliances around the globe in a bid to strengthen Jerusalem’s position in the conflict with the Palestinians.He said the trip would take place in the winter but did not give exact dates.Azerbaijan, which has a long border with Iran, is a secular state that has long had warm relations with Israel. Nearly 98 percent of its 10 million inhabitants are Muslim, the vast majority of them Shiites.Kazakhstan, which was recently elected to a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council, is the world’s tenth largest country. Some 70 percent of its 18 million inhabitants are Muslim.Visits by Israeli leaders to non-Arab Muslim-majority countries are rare.In 2009, then-president Shimon Peres went to both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, becoming the first Israeli head of state to visit these countries since Jerusalem established diplomatic relations with them. In 1993, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.In April, the National Security Council’s counter-terrorism bureau issued a travel warning against Azerbaijan, saying there were “continuing potential threats” against Israelis travelers and recommending Israelis to avoid “non-essential visits” to the country.Speaking to reporters in his Nairobi hotel, Netanyahu focused on his vision to improve ties with countries across the globe, including in Latin America and especially in Africa.Netanyahu is currently in the middle of a five-day swing through east Africa, with visits to Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, the first visit by an Israeli head of state to sub-Saharan Africa in decades.During his term Netanyahu has sought to expand Israel’s diplomatic sphere, reaching out to countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa normally downplayed as partners, and at the same time has sought secret cooperation with some Sunni Muslim states in the Persian Gulf.The ultimate goal of his vision to improve ties is to end the automatic majority the Palestinians have in international forums such as the UN, and thus force Ramallah to abandon its strategy of internationalization of the conflict and to resume bilateral negotiations, he said.“Israel is perceived here, but not only here, as a world power in some areas, such as technology, intelligence, water, agriculture, cyber security and other areas I will not detail here. This is how Israel is seen,” he said.Many countries are keen to cooperate with Israeli in these matters and build stronger alliances, including super powers such as Russia, China, Japan and India, as well Arab countries in the Middle East and Latin American countries, he said.“My goal is to talk directly and seriously with the Palestinians. But that’s impossible because they are escaping to international forums where they have an automatic majority,” he said. Rather than to negotiate directly with Israel, the Palestinians choose to unilaterally turn to international bodies to advance their statehood bid, the prime minister lamented.His policy to expand Israel’s foreign ties “will lead to a situation in which the Palestinians will no longer have this shelter and will have to discuss with us on a bilateral basis, something they refuse to do it as long as they have the international refuge.”
Electricity-starved Gazans look to sun for help-Tired of frequent power cuts, more Palestinians in the coastal enclave are turning to solar panels to power their homes-By Sakher Abou El Oun July 7, 2016, 5:01 pm-the times of israel
GAZA CITY (AFP) — Nahed Abu Assi’s farm has been bombed in each of the three Gaza wars since 2008 and like in the rest of the Palestinian enclave, he receives only a paltry amount of electricity each day.With his chickens dying and the cost of using generators high, Assi now hopes to do as others have done in Gaza — if he can find a loan to pay for it: install solar panels.“The electricity is cut for hours every day,” the balding 52-year-old said.“You have to connect to generators that cost a lot to fuel and that need regular repairs to keep the lamps and the livestock fans running around the clock.”A growing number of Gazans fed up with their erratic electricity supply are turning to solar power in an area where the sun shines for the vast majority of the year.Gray and black solar panels are increasingly visible on rooftops.Stores and advertisements promoting such technology have also expanded, and authorities in the enclave running by the Islamist movement Hamas are also turning to solar power.“Schools, hospitals and public institutions have been equipped with solar panels and other projects have been launched to at least try to partially resolve the electricity crisis,” said Raid Abu al-Hajj, head of the solar energy unit in the strip’s energy authority.Some 10,000 homes could soon be equipped with photovoltaic panels.The option is not cheap. Assi expects to fork out $5,000 to $6,000 for panels, but he says the investment will pay off over time.Gaza and its population of 1.9 million people has only one electricity plant and it has been damaged by wars with Israel, the most devastating of which was fought in the summer of 2014. Residential areas, in which Gazan fighters embedded their military infrastructure including rocket launchers, were heavily bombarded in Israeli airstrikes.Gaza imports electricity from Israel and Egypt, but those supplies are not nearly enough.Electricity demand is estimated at 450 megawatts, but only 250 are available: 27 percent from Israel, 22 percent provided by Gaza’s own plant and six percent by Egypt.Israel has maintained a blockade on the Gaza Strip for around a decade in a bid to keep out materials that Hamas could use for military purposes.But Gazans — half of whom live below the poverty line — are now being allowed to import solar panels and prices have gradually come down, Hajj said.Those taking advantage include Daoud Tarazi, who decided to equip his home and his petrol station with solar panels.He said it was “no longer possible to work with 18 hours of electricity cuts per day” at his station, he said.At home, where he receives 12 hours of electricity per day, “food spoils in the refrigerator and electronic equipment always breaks down.”With the panels, his bills have fallen since he no longer has to operate generators. Beyond that, solar power does not pollute and he no longer has to deal with days without electricity.“There are only five or six days per year without sun in Gaza,” he said.Solar panels also provide a safer alternative to the dangers of generators and candles, said Mohammed Atallah, a businessman and member of a renewable energy organization that has installed solar panels for street lights for roads traversing the Gaza Strip.Health officials say explosions and fires from generators and candles have caused the deaths of 24 people in recent years, most of them children.But despite the recent spike in interest, solar power remains only a tiny part of the energy mix in the Gaza Strip — amounting to around three megawatts, said Hajj.“But within three years, we hope to reach 15 megawatts,” he said.
Netanyahu asks Ethiopia to help free Israelis held in Gaza-Prime minister hails bilateral ties with Addis Ababa, says he’s committed to bringing remaining Ethiopian Jews to Israel-By Raphael Ahren July 7, 2016, 4:38 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday met with his Ethiopian counterpart in Addis Ababa and asked him for assistance in securing the release of Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Mengistu, who entered the Gaza Strip in September 2014, is one of two Israelis held captive by Hamas, which also holds the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. Mengistu’s family and the families of the two soldiers have protested outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence demanding action to ensure Avraham’s release and the return of the soldier’s bodies.“We always raise the issue of our citizens at various opportunities, including here, of course,” Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.The prime minister has come under fire in recent weeks for not securing Turkish assistance to pressure Hamas to release Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, the second Israeli held in Gaza; and the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul. Israel signed a reconciliation deal with Turkey that dealt with aspects of its policy on Gaza but did not touch on the issue of the Israelis held there.Netanyahu also said Israel was working to bring the remaining 9,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In November, the government approved the immigration of the remaining community that didn’t previously qualify despite their fervent Jewish identity. The decision faltered three months later when the Prime Minister’s Office refused to implement the program because the $1 billion needed to fund the absorption process was not in the state budget. It was eventually approved in April, and was supposed to begin in June. But as Netanyahu flew to Africa on a four-day tour this week, his office refused to comment on reasons why the process has not started.“We have a commitment and we are honoring it on a humanitarian and family reunification basis,” he said. “This will be carried out under this budget. We are obligated and we are dealing with it.”Netanyahu arrived in Addis Ababa earlier on Thursday for the final stop of his four-country state visit to East Africa, which aimed at strengthening diplomatic and economic ties. He and Hailemariam discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of water, agriculture, communications, tourism, and education, the Prime Minister’s Office said.Netanyahu said he wanted “integrated teams that are working on a government to government level but also the businesses that have created their own abilities in this field, proven abilities, in Israel and worldwide, to work with you and Ethiopian companies.”While the prime minister didn’t discuss military cooperation or the defense industry, the head of Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s largest defense contractors, was reported to be accompanying him on his visit to Ethiopia.At the same time, Netanyahu’s push for Israel to be granted “observer status” at the African Union gained Ethiopia’s backing.“Israel is working very hard in many African countries. There is no reason to deny this observer position to Israel,” Hailemariam Desalegn said.The position of observer is granted to some non-African countries who wish to engage with the AU, follow proceedings and address its gatherings. Israel had been an observer at the AU’s predecessor organization but its status was not renewed at the AU’s founding in 2002.The 54-member organization, headquartered in Addis Ababa, would be an important diplomatic ally for Israel, as is Ethiopia which begins a two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has used his country’s AU observer status since 2013 to attend AU summits, deliver addresses and shore up diplomatic support in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“You said Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel,” Netanyahu said in his joint statement with Hailemariam. “And that’s absolutely true. In fact, it goes back 3,000 years to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and I suggest that we don’t wait another 3,000 years to cement this extraordinary relationship.”Addressing the Ethiopian parliament in Addis Ababa, Netanyahu was greeted by loud clapping, and extended “greetings from Jerusalem, the city I grew up in and where King Solomon met the Queen of Sheba.”“You in Ethiopia, you fought for your freedom for millennia. We respect you, we admire you. You resisted foreign rule and lived as a free independent homeland. We too live as a free independent homeland,” he said.Before concluding his week-long trip across eastern Africa and heading back to Israel, he told lawmakers that he is already planning his next visit to the country.Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.
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